Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
Commentary: Why development quality matters to China's modernization

Xinhua) 08:18, March 07, 2023

This photo taken on July 18, 2022 shows C919 jets in Pucheng County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Can China succeed in pulling off its feat of modernization? The ongoing "two sessions" have shed some light on the answer.

In deliberation with his fellow lawmakers on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping once again fleshed out the idea of high-quality development, after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last year highlighted it as the "first and foremost" task in building a modern socialist country in all respects.

By laying out the principles and priorities for high-quality development, Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the country's roadmap for modernization much clearer.

As an unprecedented experiment in the history of global development, Chinese modernization demands decades of endeavor. To turn this grand goal into reality, a concrete action plan with long-term thinking is a must.

Pursuing the sheer speed of growth is unsustainable and too costly for today's China, which is already the world's second-largest economy. The improved handling of the relationship between quantity and quality of development will create continuous momentum for the modernization drive.

The annual growth target for this year of around 5 percent, as put forward on Sunday, has sent a clear signal: China will not resort to flood-like stimulus or inefficient investment to seek excessively high growth that would eat into its future.

Instead, efforts will be revved up to make the economy more advanced, balanced and eco-friendly.

The priorities of high-quality development, as Xi set forth during Sunday's deliberation, include achieving greater self-reliance in science and technology, creating a new development pattern, and promoting agricultural modernization.

These directions are vital to the future of Chinese modernization. The fierce global competition on development has created an urgent need to foster new growth drivers and strength, which can only be realized through prowess in science and technology.

Self-reliance in key areas, be it advanced technology or grain production, is key to bringing modernity to over 1.4 billion people in China, and this cannot rely solely on the supply from the international market.

Reforms to let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation will unleash to the utmost the vitality of one of the world's biggest markets, while high-standard opening up will create more development opportunities, both for China and other countries.

Unlike capitalist economies, the immutable goal of China's modernization drive is to meet the people's aspirations for a better life. This entails not just increased incomes and enough jobs, but also a narrower wealth gap, a richer cultural life, clean air and clear waters. All this can only be delivered through an economy of higher quality.

First raised by the CPC leadership in 2017, high-quality development is not an empty political slogan for China. It is a natural call in the new stage of development and can already be seen and felt in numerous areas.

A lot can be seen from the rise and fall of certain numbers. Over the past five years, the contribution of scientific and technological progress to China's economic growth exceeded 60 percent, while its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP fell by 14.1 percent.

In 2022, China's per capita disposable income grew 5 percent in nominal terms year on year, while the tax and fee burden was cut by 4.2 trillion yuan (about 609 billion U.S. dollars).

This year, China aims to create around 12 million urban jobs, up from last year's target of over 11 million, while pledging to further reduce pollutant emissions and energy intensity.

By seeking innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared growth, high-quality development will set China on the right path toward a modern future. And the world will benefit from it too.

While global prosperity is haunted by rising protectionism and geopolitical conflicts, China's high-quality development will not only allow the rest of the world to share its dividends, but also inspire other developing countries to explore their own paths toward modernity.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Experiences are now a primary driver of travel, with three in five Gen-Z and Millennial travelers prioritizing experiences over things, said the co-founder and CEO of Arival, a leader of insights for the travel experiences industry.



But traveler expectations and behaviour have changed dramatically as Europe emerged from the pandemic. The Arival 360 Berlin conference will deliver the insights, tools and connections tour, activity and attraction businesses need to gain a competitive edge in this dynamic new landscape, added Douglas Quinby



Arival 360 Conference 2023, taking place in Berlin from March 5-7, assembles leadership from across the in-destination experiences industry  tours, activities and attractions  to explore the major shifts and trends that will shape travel experiences across Europe in 2023 and beyond.



Sessions will reveal exclusive research from Arival on changing traveler habits and preferences, evolving marketing trends and new technology. Attendees will also have the opportunity to connect with leading tour and attraction operators, and network with key online travel agencies, distributors and technology potential partners  leaving them with actionable strategies to transform their businesses.



A few of the key experiences trends Arival 360 Berlin will explore:

 The rise of mobile and last-minute booking: mobile is now the leading booking channel as younger travelers choose what to do on the fly

 The surge in small groups and premium experiences  travelers want more than a cheap ticket, they want an experience to remember.

 The rise of the creator economy  TikTok will overtake Facebook for experiences discovery by 2024

 The economy and the outlook for Europe  Arival will explore strategies to thrive in uncertain times



Arival 360 Berlin will explore these themes and many more across more than 50 sessions and 60+ speakers. Here Session tracks will focus on the following topics:

 Exclusive Traveler Trends  new research and insights on traveler trends from Arival and market forecasts from ForwardKeys

 Marketing & the Future of Distribution  a series of sessions delving into the future of marketing, sales, and how creators and sellers of experiences can grow in 2023

 The Future of Experience Design  key trends and practical guidance on the future of experience design, explore what travelers want and how operators can deliver amazing experiences for tomorrows travelers

 The Creator Economy  learn about and acquire customers amid the rapid rise of vertical video, content creators, TikTok and more

 Culinary  Arival has assembled leaders from one of Experiences fastest growing categories to help experience creators and sellers understand the importance of food in the future of tours and activities

 Emerging Technology  from the future of restech, connectivity and channel management to Google Things to do, dynamic pricing, digital marketing and ChatGPT, Arival will host a series of interactive sessions on the tech poised to change our industry

 Responsible Tourism  More than a buzzword, sustainability has become mission critical to destinations  and experience operators are on the frontlines.



More than 600 representatives from 300+ companies across the tours, activities, attractions and experiences sectors will walk through the doors of the 2023 Arival 360 Conference. Speakers include many of the industrys leading influencers and executives.  TradeArabia News Service
Huge Blackout in Argentina. Did the Country Get Nord Streamed?

March 6, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)On Wednesday, March 1, Argentina suffered a major power outage which left at least 20 million people, 40% of the population, without electricity in the middle of the worst heat wave the country has experienced in 20 years, as well as a devastating drought. Temperatures have been running as high as 35C in some places. Large swaths of Metropolitan Buenos Aires and at least seven other provinces were affected and while some electricity was restored after a few hours the same day, power wasnt fully restored in the country until two days later.

Thanks to years of disinvestment under the neoliberal Mauricio Macri government (2015-2019), Argentinas electric grid is not in good shape, and smaller blackouts happen with some regularity. But Finance Minister Sergio Massa has already filed a criminal complaint with Judge Adrian Gonzalez Charvay calling for an investigation into three fires that had been deliberately set under a 500 KW high-tension transmission line outside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan area which caused it to catch fire. This in turn caused the shutdown of sections of the interconnected grid, requiring the Atucha I nuclear plant to be taken offline as a precautionary move. That removed 10,000 MW from the interconnected grid of the 25,000 MW that were in demand at that moment. Six million households were left in the dark.

Almost immediately circles linked to Macri started screaming that Atucha represented a grave nuclear threat to the country. Who needs nuclear energy?

The relevant question here is whether the blackout represents an attack on the nations civilian infrastructure that President Vladimir Putin warned could occur internationally were Seymour Hershs revelations about the U.S. role in blowing up Nord Stream not thoroughly investigated. Look at the threats that U.S. and Western geopolitical circles are making against the Peruvian port of Chancay that China is building. Look at the threats against Argentina that Rep. Maria Elvia Salazar (R-FL) made at the House Foreign Affairs Committee March 1 for daring to collaborate with China on space and military matters, charging it had made a pact with the devil and should be forewarned before its too late.

Julio De Vido, a former Planning Minister under the two Kirchner governments (2003-2015) and a participant in two Schiller Institute international conferences, told Radio Grafica on March 3:

I think there are interests that want Argentina to abandon its nuclear plan and thats why Atucha was named as the reason for the systems failure. Theres a whole operation underway to try to reverse the agreements that we had signed with China and Russia for the building of three more nuclear plants. They try to link [nuclear plants] with corruption and dirty energy.

He then pointedly added,

We have to see how Germany will manage by returning to coalon top of which the Yankees blew up the pipeline [Germany] had built with Russia to guarantee its supply, referring to the Hersh revelations. The reality is that there are U.S. interests that dont want Argentina to develop in a sovereign manner. [Southern Command head Gen.] Laura Richardson said it very clearlyno lithium, no nuclear energy, no energy resources.

As for blaming Atucha for the blackout, De Vido told La Politica Online that Operation Atucha has a geopolitical smell to it. The country is about to complete its enriched uranium plant which is 100% Argentine; and finishing its CAREM small modular reactor prototype, and the nuclear powers dont like that. It worries the Southern Command. Blaming Atucha was no casual mistake.
Explora Journeys, the privately-owned luxury lifestyle brand of the MSC Group headquartered in Geneva, has unveiled the design of its Ocean Penthouses and Ocean Residences on board of Explora I, the first of a planned fleet of up to six luxury ships.

Ocean Penthouses range from 43 to 68 sq m, while Ocean Residences range from 70 to 149 sq m, making them among the largest in the industry.

Time has been spent on enhancing the fluidity and harmony of the suites and their spaces, implementing linear design principles to maximise space.

The Ocean Penthouses of Explora I, offer a sumptuous retreat with ocean-front floor-to-ceiling windows and expansive terraces to unwind and relax, said the Swiss company in a statement.

Each of the four penthouse types offers a distinctive private dining area for four and a large seating area that provides an inviting space for guests to entertain in their suite, as well as a calm, comfortable place to spend time and relax, it stated.

Ahead of its maiden journey departing from Southampton, UK, on July 17, this is the second unveiling of the unique design philosophy for its 461 ocean-front Homes at Sea after sharing the plans for its entry-level Ocean Suites last year.

With a maritime heritage of over 300 years coupled with an innate understanding of luxury, the owners family has carefully curated the design of the suites, penthouses and residences to create the ultimate luxurious Home at Sea. The elegant design is a reflection of the brands distinctive European DNA, it stated.

Thoughtfully designed to stimulate the senses and reflect the brands philosophy of creating an Ocean State of Mind owing to carefully considered elements such as natural light, colour, space, privacy, and connection with the sea, Explora Journeys has worked meticulously to ensure every guest experiences an opulent, yet intimate retreat as they embark on their own ocean journey.

Jason Gelineau, Head of Product of Explora Journeys, said: "Environmental respect and sustainability have been key in design choices, ensuring a balance between the tactile and visual experience of every material used."

"Eco-friendly details such as refillable bathroom amenities have also been weaved into the suite offering and where feasible, we are sourcing sustainable products including B Corp-certified items. We will also have a no single-use plastic policy on board," he noted.

"All comprise a walk-in wardrobe with a seated vanity area and feature a Dyson Supersonic hairdryer, heated floors in the bathrooms, personal binoculars, wireless bed-side charging, a personal mini-bar replenished according to the guests preferences, an espresso machine with bio-degradable pods, a kettle and teapot, and a complimentary personal refillable water bottle for each guest. 24-hour guest services also ensure every desire or request is provided," he added.

Gelineau pointed out that fusing Swiss precision with the finest European craftsmanship and conscious, respectful design, Explora Journeys has worked with luxury brands such as Molteni&C, part of the Molteni Group, the leading independent group in the high-end furniture sector with 100% Italian production.

"The identity of Molteni&C lives in all the suites of Explora I through iconic sofas and chairs as well as the new Molteni&C|Outdoor collection for selected terraces, all marked by the core values of Molteni: tradition, quality, durability and reliability, supported by research and innovation," he noted.

The spacious Ocean Residences provide effortlessly elegant spaces with separate living, dining and sleeping areas.

"They offer a panoramic ocean-front terrace with a private outdoor whirlpool, a dining table and sun loungers. The materials showcase the care, attention and calibre of the design, such as Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble used in the bathrooms of Cocoon, Serenity and Retreat Residences," explained Gelineau.

"With four unique types of residences to choose from within the category, their names, Cocoon, Cove, Retreat and Serenity, reflect the calming effects of the ocean and the Home at Sea feeling. The Cocoon and Serenity Residences feature unique wrap-around terraces, while Cocoon, Serenity and Retreat Residences offer a separate bathtub and walk-in-shower," he added.

According to him, all Ocean Residences are served by a dedicated team of Residence Hosts providing bespoke butler services 24 hours a day.

Further enhancing the magnificent outdoor spaces, suite terraces have been furnished with exquisite pieces by Manutti, one of the worlds leading luxury outdoor furniture brands.

Luxury bed and bath linens are from Frette, who use the most skilled Italian artisans to craft products that embody luxury, comfort and creativity, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
EIR LEAD EDITORIAL FOR TUESDAY MARCH 7, 2023

Its Time for a Change

March 6, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Will the collective West (already a fragmenting assembly) regain its sanity and drop the policies that lead the world to global war and nuclear annihilation?

An opportunity is presented this week in the United States, where an expected vote on a War Powers Act resolution will call upon members of the House of Representatives to take a stand on ending the illegal U.S. military presence in Syria.

If a crack forms in the dam of hypocrisy, will a truthful policy be able to sweep it away?

Gen. Milley visited Syria this Saturday, March 4. He was part of an occupying military force that continues to operate in a sovereign country without its permission. What about sovereignty and territorial integrity?

For the U.S.-U.K.-NATO axis, the Kurds, a minority group in Syria, are said to require protection from the depredations of the Damascus authorities, headed by the supposed chemical weapons enthusiast Bashar al-Assad. What of Donetsk and Lugansk, which had been subjected to military attacks by the Kiev authorities for the better part of a decade, with some 14,000 or more killed? The supposed defenders of democracy lied, mouthing support for a Minsk peace process while planning the reconquest of those territories.

Argentina has withdrawn from a 2016 pact with the U.K. that conceded control of the Malvinas Islands to the U.K. But according to U.K. Foreign Secretary Cleverly, the islands are British: Islanders have the right to decide their own futurethey have chosen to remain a self-governing U.K. Overseas Territory, he said. Are the people of Crimea and the eastern provinces of Ukraine allowed to decide their own future?

China is accused of all manner of atrocities in Xinjiang, with demands that the international community stand up to what the U.S.-U.K.-NATO axis considers a cruel autocracy. But did those same powers, with direct responsibility for the Minsk process, stand up for the people of Donetsk and Lugansk, a majority of whom plainly do not want to be administered by Kiev?

The rules-based order appears to have as many exceptions as it does rules. Free trade and open markets are extolled, except for China. Sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacrosanct, except for Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Crimea. Terrorists must be rooted out and punished, anywhere in the world, except for the Nord Stream bombers.

The opportunity to end the occupation of Syria is a flank. So is the expose by Seymour Hersh of the Nord Stream bombing. These are opportunities ripe to be exploited to induce a much broader change.

A new world is dawning. As the trans-Atlantic financial system crumbles and disintegrates, world power is shifting to Eurasia, to the Global South more broadly. Leaders of many nations increasingly trust China and Russia more than the West. The world effects of the NATO-Russia war being played out mostly in Ukraine is only catalyzing, accelerating these changes. The British saw the writing on the wall years ago, and have, with their U.S. friends, deployed Russiagate and the anti-China campaign to maintain control. Although they cannot succeed in this, they may succeed in bringing about nuclear devastation.

The Global South has had enough of this hypocrisy. Have the citizens of the West?
On this version of Hot off the Wire:

 The FBI and Mexican officials say four U.S. citizens were kidnapped by gunmen after crossing into Mexico. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday the four were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups.

 National transportation authorities say a corporate jet may have experienced stability problems before the severe buffeting that caused the death of a passenger.

 Two flights scheduled to depart from Boston Logan International Airport made contact with each other near the gate area.

 Election officials in Florida, Missouri and West Virginia say they are withdrawing from a bipartisan, multistate effort aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter rolls that has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trumps false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

 Greenhouse gas emissions from the way humans consume food could add nearly 1 degree of warming to Earths climate by 2100, according to a study out Monday in Nature Climate Change.

 French officials say the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is going fast enough to allow its reopening to visitors and faithful at the end of 2024.

 The government is rolling out a new dashboard that lets travelers see which which airlines let families with young children sit together on flights at no extra cost.

 Police say one person is dead and two are fighting for their lives after unfounded fears of gunfire led to a stampede at the end of a rap concert in upstate New York.

 In this week's religion roundup, a sacred, sinking town in India faces a grim future.
HOLDREGE  The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation Districts board of directors approved water service agreements with several irrigation districts for the 2023 irrigation season.

The one-year agreements were signed with Licso Irrigation District located upstream of Lake McConaughy and four districts downstream of Lake McConaughy including Keith and Lincoln Counties Irrigation District, PaxtonHersey Water Company, Platte Valley Irrigation District and Suburban Irrigation District, collectively referred to as the Glendo Canals.

These agreements provide the Glendo Canals the opportunity to accrue supplemental storage water from Lake McConaughy to be released after the Glendo Canals have exhausted all their natural flow and Glendo storage water sources. Lake McConaughys lower water levels have resulted in Central not offering supplemental storage water to these canals for the upcoming irrigation season, but the canals will be able to accrue supplemental storage water by limiting canal diversions during the early 2023 irrigation season.

The accrual and release of the accrued supplemental storage water will not impact Centrals irrigation customers or water supply.

Also at Mondays meeting:

The board approved purchase of a 125VDC battery bank for $37,985. The battery bank supplies uninterrupted electrical service for the 24 hour operations center in Gothenburg.

The board voted to approve the purchase of a river land tract near the Johnson No. 2 river return in the amount of $115,400.

It was approved by the board to change the time and location of the April board meeting, On April 3, 2023, the board will hold their regular monthly business meeting at 9:00 am (MDT) at the Lake McConaughy Visitor Center in Ogallala, Neb.

Civil Engineer Tyler Thulin reported that Lake McConaughys elevation was at 3229.3 feet on Monday (49.5% of capacity), which is up 2.1 feet since the February board meeting. Inflows are around 975 cubic feet per second (cfs) and releases are about 250 cfs. Snowpack in the North Platte basin is currently at 124% of median average and 104% of median average in the South Platte basin.
Every spring Nebraskas central Platte River valley hosts one the most remarkable wildlife spectacles in North America: sandhill crane migration. More than 500,000 cranes will descend there to rest and refuel before continuing their journey north.

One popular place to view these birds is Fort Kearny State Recreation Area, located southeast of Kearney. At dawn and dusk, visitors can walk the parks hike-bike trail to a bridge over the Platte, where birds gather to roost in the river. And during the day, the cranes take to the surrounding fields to find food. The visitor center at Fort Kearny State Historical Park  adjacent to the SRA  acts as an information center for crane viewers, offering tips on where to find the birds.

Park superintendent Joe Blazek says this is perhaps the greatest advantage to viewing cranes at Fort Kearny: all the information thats available. We know where the cranes are, Blazek said. Well guide you and tell you where you can have the best chance of seeing the cranes. Its better than being on your own.

The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The admission fee is $4 for adults, $1 for children ages 3 to 12, and free admission for children ages 2 and under. Guests also can watch a 15-minute video presentation on the cranes and learn more about their migration journey.

Another advantage to viewing cranes at Fort Kearny, Blazek said, is the range of viewing experiences available. Besides watching the cranes feeding during the day, visitors can see as many as 20,000 birds roosting in the river at night from the Hike-Bike Trail bridge. The bridge is one-third mile from the parking lot, and the best viewing times are a half hour before sunrise and sunset. The trail is flat and paved, Blazek said, and it isnt a strenuous walk.

Blazek offered a few tips for those planning to view the cranes from the bridge:

Dress appropriately. This time of year, we get all kinds of weather. One day itll be 70 degrees and the next day itll be a blizzard, Blazek said. I would pay attention to the weather and make sure youre ready for the elements.

Bring binoculars.

Observe crane viewing etiquette: Keep your voice low and avoid sudden movements; wear darker colors; no flash photography.

Crane numbers typically reach their peak in the third week of March, though cranes can be viewed from early March to early April.

Crane viewers have available to them 120 campsites at Fort Kearny SRA.

A Nebraska state park entry permit is required at Fort Kearny SRA and SHP. Daily permits are good until noon the next day, and cost $6 for residents and $12 for nonresidents. You also can purchase an annual permit, which is $31 for residents and $61 for nonresidents.

For more information about Fort Kearny SRA, visit OutdoorNebraska.org or call 308-865-5305.
OMAHA  Some Nebraska school districts did not receive bulletins warning that schools across the state could be subject to a string of phony shooting reports.

But the apparent communication slipup, according to education officials, did not impede responses to a wave of hoax calls that involved at least 10 schools across Nebraska on Thursday morning, including Lincoln High School.

The Nebraska State Patrol issued multiple bulletins regarding the trend of "swatting," or making a prank call to elicit a large emergency response. Such incidents have occurred across the country in the past month, including in Kansas, Minnesota and Colorado.

Multiple Nebraska districts did not receive the bulletin.

The bulletin was distributed via email earlier in the week to law enforcement agencies across the state and to the Nebraska Department of Education, said Cody Thomas, a spokesman for the State Patrol.

The previous week, bulletins were sent directly to law enforcement agencies and numerous school districts that are "actively engaged in a growing partnership" with the State Patrol's Nebraska Information Analysis Center, Thomas said.

The Department of Education did not distribute the bulletin to districts because officials felt comfortable with the State Patrol sending it directly, said David Jespersen, department spokesman.

Jespersen said he heard some schools received the bulletin, but it was filtered into "junk" folders. And, he added, the State Patrol may not have as extensive a distribution list as the Nebraska Department of Education.

But overall, Jespersen said emergency response teams and local law enforcement handled the situations well in affected districts.

"The school districts that got the call, there were a lot of different reactions and responses to it and they all did great," he said. "Sometimes people think if an incident happens, everyone should follow this and it's just not reasonable. What's good for one district might not be good for another."

Omaha Public Schools did not receive a bulletin, said Bridget Blevins, OPS spokeswoman.

"We work closely with local and state agencies when there is a safety concern at one of our schools, but we are not aware of anyone in our district receiving a specific bulletin in advance of this week's swatting incidents," Blevins said in an email.

The district follows a standard response protocol for all safety concerns, regardless of whether officials have advanced warning, Blevins said. Officials were grateful for the quick response from law enforcement partners at Omaha South High School on Thursday.

Blevins said there haven't been any other swatting calls in the district in recent years.

While the district does not currently have a formal partnership with NIAC, Blevins said conversations are ongoing on how district officials "can best connect with them on safety matters in the future."

Lincoln Public Schools received the bulletin, but a spokeswoman was unclear on what agency distributed it to the district's security director.

An LPS school was among those subjected to a hoax call Thursday, according to a statement from LPS.

"Lincoln Police, working with our staff, were able to quickly determine the call was a hoax and part of a national trend aimed at disrupting the learning environment in our schools," the statement said.

This wasn't the first time the district experienced a swatting call, said district spokeswoman Mindy Burbach. Another incident occurred last fall.

But the bulletin issued by law enforcement allowed school officials to prepare for a potential incident  and eventually manage things once the hoax call was made, Burbach said.

Kearney Public Schools did not receive a bulletin, but officials did receive a call from the Kearney Police Department last week regarding the trend, said spokeswoman Tori Stofferson. It speaks highly, she said, of the positive relationship between local police and the school district.

Officials at Scotus Central Catholic High School in Columbus received communication from NIAC, but it was filtered into a "junk" folder. Officials never saw notice of the "swatting trend."

"It was troubling yesterday, reading that law enforcement and NDE had received information about this. I felt like we were not privy to this information," said Jeff Ohnoutka, school president.

But Ohnoutka praised local police, who arrived inside the school building in less than one minute from the time the hoax call was placed.

All districts previously were invited to join a partnership between NIAC, the State Patrol, the Nebraska Department of Education and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Public Policy Center.

"A large number have signed on to the effort and NIAC will continue working to add schools to the school safety partnership," Thomas said in an email.

After Thursday's incident, Thomas said the State Patrol has been in communication with numerous schools that are joining NIAC's partnership program, which includes providing threat assessments, safety presentations in schools and situational awareness bulletins.
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Authorities have identified a driver killed in a head-on crash near Clinton in Rock County on Sunday morning.

The Rock County Medical Examiners Office reported that Jorge J. Susunaga, 19, of Woodstock, Illinois, was killed in the crash that happened after he crossed the center line of Highway 67 near Clinton about 7:10 a.m. Sunday.

Susunaga was pronounced dead at the scene and preliminary results of a forensic examination confirmed that he died from injuries sustained in the crash, the Medical Examiners Office said in a statement.

The investigation determined that Susunaga was driving a 2001 Ford Explorer east on Highway 67 when he crossed the center line into the path of a westbound 2015 Ford Taurus driven by a 24-year-old male from Sharon. The Explorer caught fire and was fully engulfed when emergency personnel arrived at the scene, Rock County Sheriffs Office Sgt. David Rossmiller said.

Photos: Remembering horrific van crash that killed 7 young people in 1999
The city of Madison is gearing up to sue carmakers Kia and Hyundai for creating a public nuisance by failing to equip their vehicles with anti-theft software, which it says led to a sharp uptick in the theft of the companies vehicles last year.

The City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution authorizing the city to hire outside legal counsel to file a federal lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai for what the city in a statement called their role in creating a public nuisance.

Car thefts dropped by 5% in Madison last summer, compared to the prior year, but thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles increased by 270%, making up 45% of all stolen auto cases in July and August. Rates of Kia and Hyundai thefts are even higher in Milwaukee, where the two brands comprise 60% of all stolen autos.

The two brands are especially susceptible to theft because of a manufacturing flaw in less-expensive models that allows vehicles to be stolen without a key. Viral TikTok challenges spearheaded by the Milwaukee-based Kia Boys show people how to start a vehicles engine with a USB cable and a screwdriver.

Madison residents deserve better, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said in a statement. These corporations cut corners and put people at risk. In their search for profits, they pushed the costs of keeping people safe off to cities like Madison. Thats unacceptable.

Madison police responded last summer by assigning burglary detectives to stolen auto cases and giving out 150 steering wheel locks to Kia and Hyundai owners.

Kia and Hyundai last month started offering free software upgrades for some model owners, but not before major insurance companies Progressive and State Farm announced they would not issue new insurance policies for their vehicles.

Three Milwaukee County residents have filed two class-action lawsuits against the manufacturers in the last six months. Cities such as Cincinnati also have filed class-action lawsuits to recover damages for their residents.

Stolen autos can lead to other public safety concerns. In the statement, the city pointed to an incident in which a stolen Kia Soul was found on fire after having crashed into a tree on the citys Southeast Side after being stolen out of a parking garage the day before.

This real-world example is one of many that have taxed city resources, while putting city staff, residents and infrastructure in danger because of the manufacturers failure to install industry standard anti-theft technology in their vehicles, Rhodes-Conway said.
After three long years of missing out due to the pandemic, ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show, finally kicked-off the eagerly awaited live-comeback today.

"Thank you for such a magnificiant opening day of ITB Berlin 2023. We are looking forward to the next days!," said the organisers.

"Together with the entire industry, I expect a spectacular comeback, bursting with energy, driven by this years slogan 'Open for Change. There is a lot of disruption, consolidation and challenges taking place right now," said Dirk Hoffmann, Managing Director, Messe Berlin, organiser of the event.

"Altogether, we are looking forward to welcoming around 5,500 destinations, regions and companies. International participation in ITB Berlin is extremely high again with exhibitors from 161 countries," he said.

The in-person event from March 7 to 9 will see domestic and international exhibitors present in large numbers.

This years ITB Berlin is for the first time taking place for trade visitors only and is accompanied by the prestigious ITB Berlin Convention. Selected programme items will be streamed on the supporting online platform at ITBxplore.

"Demand for travel is stronger than ever," said Julia Simpson, President & CEO, tweeting on the opening of ITB Berlin 2023.

Georgia is the official host country of ITB Berlin and it hosted the festive opening gala at the CityCube Berlin in the presence of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. Georgia is presenting a wealth of activities and attractions over the next three days, including todays conference on Adventurous Georgia.

Saudi Arabia will be the largest exhibitor at the show and its co-exhibitors include NEOM, the giant smart city project in the desert. At the Media Monday event, Saudi Arabia presented the opportunities awaiting investors and tourists in the kingdom.

Under the slogan Mastering Transformation this years ITB Berlin Convention is divided into different segments  or tracks, featuring around 400 speakers and over 200 sessions, reflecting the most important current topics shaping the global tourism and travel industry.

Leading speakers and experts will take to the conference stages to share their knowledge on hot topics, including Travel Technology, Marketing & Sales, Future Travel, Hospitality, Sustainability and Social Responsibility.

On the Green Stage, the first session will be on Gender Equality: Tourism as a door opener for female empowerment and the role of gender equality in addressing the climate crisis. The eTravel Stage will kicking off with a discussion on Technology Trends impacting Travel  Whats coming, whats shaping the industry?

For students, young professionals, trainees, qualified tourism professionals or anyone switching careers, the ITB Career Center will help you find out about new job opportunities and provide comprehensive professional advice.

The Home of Luxury by ITB at the Marshall Haus is welcoming luxury tourism providers and buyers from around the world and will create a unique environment featuring networking events and meetings in an exclusive atmosphere.

The Best Exhibitor Award (BEA) is making its return at the trade show. Over the next three days, a team of students from various branches of the CBS International Business School, will be assessing all of the exhibitors stands.

There is also the new virtual B2B platform, ITBxplore, and ITB App. These are virtual companions of the live event which offer exhibitors, trade visitors and media members a wide range of content.

As in previous years, Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East are strongly represented, with Egypt, Morocco, Qatar and Oman located in Hall 4.2, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and newcomer Saudi Arabia in Hall 3.2b.
ATLANTA  Election officials in Florida, Missouri and West Virginia said they are withdrawing from a bipartisan, multistate effort aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter rolls that has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trumps false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

The system to thwart voter fraud known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, has become a target of suspicion among some Republicans after a series of online posts early last year questioning its funding and purpose.

Louisiana withdrew last year and Alabama is in the process of doing so. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Monday that he had been pushing the group to address concerns by him and others.

It appears that ERIC will not make the necessary changes to address these concerns, therefore, it is time to move on, Ashcroft said in a statement.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner said he did not expect the departure from the program to affect his states ability to maintain accurate voter rolls. Florida's secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shane Hamlin, the group's executive director, confirmed the three states had provided notice to withdraw.

We will continue our work on behalf of our remaining member states in improving the accuracy of Americas voter rolls and increasing access to voter registration for all eligible citizens, Hamlin said in a statement.

The program was started in 2012 by seven states and was bipartisan from the beginning, with four of the founding states led by Republicans. After the states officially depart, participation will be limited to 28 states and the District of Columbia.

The departures have frustrated state election officials involved in the effort and have demonstrated how deeply election conspiracies have spread throughout the Republican Party.

Election officials who pull out of ERIC are primarily harming their own states ability to keep their voter list accurate," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a statement Monday to The Associated Press. "Its odd and disturbing to me that any official would choose validating misinformation over being part of a collaborative that has the sole and well-established purpose of improving the integrity of our elections.

Not all Republican-led states have been reevaluating their participation in the program. In a recent survey by the AP, election offices in 23 states and the District of Columbia said they had no intention of leaving, including eight led or controlled by Republicans.

Rates of women voter registrations are surgingparticularly where reproductive rights are threatened Where rates of women voter registrations are surging Americans across the country broadly support access to abortion Women have been registering to vote at increased rates in states where abortion access is most threatened Abortion and other issues have spurred enthusiasm from both parties ahead of midterms More young people are also registering in states where abortion is salient What new registrations mean when it comes to election day and beyond
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a pre-election interview with The New Yorker that, I am a Black woman, lets not forget. Certain folks frankly dont support us in leadership roles.

Sad, but true. Yet that doesnt explain why she swept all 50 of the citys wards a mere four years ago to become the citys first Black lesbian mayor.

What does explain her earlier victory was her showing up at the right time with the right campaign to address the issues of that time, particularly police accountability.

This time was not like that. This time she won only 17% of the overall vote, too low in the nine-person field to make the April runoff. She lost to Paul Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson.

She might as well have said, The crime rate went up. Just about everyone in Chicago  or who knows someone from Chicago  seems to have stories to tell about friends or relatives who have been shot, robbed, carjacked or otherwise victimized by the citys crime surge.

Like other cities, Chicago had a crime surge after COVID-19 hit. Homicides jumped from 500 in 2019 to 776 in 2020, and peaked at 804 in 2021, according to Chicago Police Department statistics. Then homicides fell last year by nearly 14% to 695.

When rioters in August 2020 looted stores and broke windows on Michigan Avenues Magnificent Mile and other prestigious downtown properties, it looked like the city was falling apart. Still, Lightfoot didnt seem to have much of a plan for dealing with the problem, outside of her stern disapproval.

No, its not necessarily the mayors fault that such crises break out. But what really matters is how well he or she handles it and gets ahead of it. Lightfoot, for all of her earnest speeches about hope and reforms, never seemed to have much of a handle on the problems or much success at working with others to fix them.

I was sadly reminded of the blizzard of 1979, which dumped more than 20 inches of snow on the city and led to Mayor Michael Bilandic unexpectedly being unseated by challenger Jane Byrne, who served one term before she lost her reelection bid to South Side U.S. Rep. Harold Washington. Even in Chicago, many noted  including me  the voters know when enough is enough.

Then, in those days before Chicago turned to nonpartisan runoff elections, Washingtons Democratic bid against Republican nominee Bernard Epton set off one of the most racially contentious elections in Chicago history.

Politics aint beanbag, Washington often observed, quoting an old saying that goes back to 19th-century Chicago novelist Finley Peter Dunne. Washington understood the times and worked to change them.

Today, we see race, ethnicity and gender continue to be issues in Chicago, but fortunately the voters seem to have gotten a little better at focusing on issues that affect all colors of Chicagoans.

Vallas is white, and Johnson is African American. But, in the often-quoted spirit of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I believe they should be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their platforms.

Of course, that approach can be complicated by the language that we use.

For example, Vallas is keeping his laser focus on crime, saying in speeches that its time to take our city back. Lightfoot compared that line to Vote for Epton before its too late as a racial dog whistle, echoing back to 1983. Well, not quite.

Johnson, by contrast, has backed away from his early support of the defund the police movement to call instead for reversing the lack of investment in high crime areas so police dont have to behave as crisis interventionists, therapists and social workers on emergency calls.

Vallas, backed by the Fraternal Order of Police, presented himself as the tough-on-crime candidate who also supports restoring a community policing model that builds strong relationships between police and the communities they serve.

I have long supported community policing as well as alternative services to take some of the burden off police in emergency calls. As departing Mayor Lightfoot showed, coming up with new ideas is great, but putting them into action can be quite another matter.

Chicago politics, like elsewhere, still aint beanbag. Nevertheless, lets hope it stays civil.
The Idaho House Affairs Committee recently recommended passage of a bill that claims to ban sexually explicit public performances, a bill that was drafted to try to end public drag shows often associated with gay pride festivals.

As is becoming increasingly predictable for bills authored by the Idaho Family Policy Council, a Christian nationalist organization that argues the country should be run by Old Testament law, the bill is drafted so that it bans a wide swath of activity that has nothing to do with the announced intention of banning explicit performances in public.

It defines proscribed sexual conduct to include: Sexually provocative dances or gestures performed with accessories that exaggerate male or female primary or secondary sexual characteristics. If you understand what those terms mean, you begin to see the staggering scope of public performances that fall within the bills crosshairs.

Primary sexual characteristics are reproductive organs, so that part makes some sense. Secondary sexual characteristics, however, refer to an incredibly broad range of physical features that tend to develop over the course of puberty. It includes pubic hair and womens breasts, for example, but it also includes male facial hair, wider hips in women, greater muscularity in men, a high voice in women, a low voice in men.

So a bodybuilding show, for example, highlights secondary sexual characteristics. So does any dancing that involves shaking the hips. So does a beard contest. The only requirement would be that these include sexually provocative dances or gestures  a term that is nowhere.

This definition is so broad that it is hard to imagine a single concert where numerous potential violations would not occur  each representing a potential $10,000 payday for an enterprising parent. Almost no episode of Americas Got Talent would be in the clear. As Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, pointed out, its highly unlikely that a Madonna concert she attended as a child would be safe. Lots of plays would be on shaky ground.

The ban is so vague and broad it is highly unlikely it would survive the strict scrutiny thats required in First Amendment cases. Thats why its authors have used the proliferating bounty hunter lawsuit technique, which allows a law to effectively sidestep the Constitution.

This technique was first used by Texas to effectively ban abortion before the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The idea behind it is that nobody can challenge the constitutionality of the law until theyve already gone through court and lost a lawsuit, so it is able to exert coercive influence for a long time before it faces constitutional scrutiny.

And the coercive effect would be felt immediately. It would allow a parent to sue not only performers but promoters, so anyone who organized a concert or a play in Idaho would be facing the constant risk of an onslaught of lawsuits that could bankrupt them.

Its clear that this isnt an accident.

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, made a motion to remove this bit of language, recommending the rest of the bill for passage. The Republican majority rejected that motion, insisting on keeping the language about secondary sexual characteristics.

Thats why lawmakers should reject the bill. It is poorly drafted and so broad that it would have an enormous chilling effect on free expression.

But shouldnt we do something to prevent sexually explicit performances in front of children? Of course. A law in place since the 1970s does just that.

Idaho Code 18-4105 bans uncovered genitalia or displays of sexual acts in public. These are clear lines for artists to follow so that they can predictably stay on the right side of the law, unlike the intentionally vague ones drawn up in the drag ban bill.

And as for non-explicit drag shows, theres a solution for that, too. Parents can be responsible for deciding what kinds of shows their children should see. Dont want your kid to see performers in drag? Dont take them to a drag show. Problem solved.(tncms-asset)7e80bada-5fb1-11ea-8316-00163ec2aa77[1](/tncms-asset)
TWIN FALLS  This years Social Science and Humanities Symposium hosted by the College of Southern Idaho will serve as a bridge between the agriculture sector and academia.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science, and open to the public, the event, with its theme of Food: Farming, Famine, and the Future, will feature a lineup of speakers who will explore ways in which food production and distribution have shaped history and the current state of the world.

Previous symposiums have focused on topics such as 9/11, the anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the Vietnam War, but with Idahos economy closely tied to agriculture, this years subject hits closer to home.

None of those topics are quite as near to the heart of the community, said Perri Gardner, associate professor of political science at CSI.

And what takes place at the symposium isnt going to be a class on raising crops.

There are agriculture majors on this campus, Gardner said, but this is less on the scientific or industry view as it is the academic perspective from social science and humanities.

The topic of food will be looked at from many different angles.

The event will kick off with Dr. Mark Fiege, who wrote Irrigated Eden 22 years ago, will discuss how irrigation has changed Idahos landscape.

Hell be reflecting on that and giving us some updates, Gardner said, noting that southern Idaho is a fertile place as long as we have water.

Another focus of the symposium is food insecurity.

That is super relevant because we are facing all sorts of food insecurity issues in the world, such as Ukraine and that area of the world right now, Gardner said.

Nisha Bellenger, assistant professor of political science at Boise State University, will speak about the link between domestic terrorism and food security. In addition, a group of panelists who will participate near the conclusion of the event will address local food insecurity issues, and could be a call for action for those wanting to make a positive change.

Craig Quarterman of Congressman Mike Simpsons office will discuss ag policy, including the Farm Bill, up for reauthorization this year.

The Farm Bill is a tremendously impactful piece of legislation by and large, not just for ag policy but including food stamp benefits, Gardner said.

And those at the symposium will hear from a pair of 17-year-old girls who host a podcast called Millennial Ag.

...We will hear the young persons perspective on the agricultural economy, Gardner said.

Other featured speakers include Dr. Patrick Hatzenbuehler, assistant professor of economics and rural sociology at the University of Idaho, and Lloyd B. Knight, deputy director from the Idaho Department of Agriculture.

This is an excellent opportunity to engage with other people who want to have insightful, honest, rational dialogue about important issues that face us in Idaho, and in the country and the world, Gardner said.

Those in attendance will include members of the community, CSI faculty and staff, CSI students, and people involved in K-12 programs.

It will be an interesting mix of folks, Gardner said. You will be hard-pressed to find a room with that diversity of background and interests.

The registration fee is $75 and includes continental breakfast and lunch. Academic credit is available.

Register at csi.edu/sshs.

Learn more about the symposium's agenda here.
TWIN FALLS  Harrison Elementary Schools principal is on administrative leave, the school districts spokesperson says.

Principal Melissa Ardito was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 7, Twin Falls School Districts Eva Craner said Monday, responding to a public records request by the Times-News.

Vice Principal Amy Kenyon is serving as lead administrator, Craner said.

Ardito, who has been the principal of Harrison Elementary for nearly a decade, is still an employee of the Twin Falls School District, Craner said.

Prior to becoming principal, Ardito spent five years as vice principal at several schools in the district.

The school district declined to discuss its actions due to the confidentiality of personnel issues.
SALT LAKE CITY  Lindsey Lundholm looked out over hundreds of people at the Utah State Capitol last year and felt a deep sense of healing. Abuse survivors, religious leaders and major party politicians were all gathered to rally for an end to a legal loophole that exempts religious clergy from being required to report child sexual abuse once it comes to their attention.

Lundholm, one of the rallys organizers, recalled telling the crowd how, growing up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho, she told her bishop about her painful abuse only to see it go unreported.

Unearthing the trauma wasnt easy, but back in August she hoped reforms could be forthcoming so others would not face what she did.

There was really a lot of momentum, said Lundholm, now a teacher in northern Utah. Everyone we were talking to was like, This is a no brainer. This is something that needs to be changed.

It hasnt.

Proposals to reform laws that exempt clergy from child sex abuse reporting requirements went nowhere in Utahs statehouse this year, failing to receive even a hearing as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year. Efforts were stymied by a coalition of powerful religious groups, continuing a yearslong pattern in which Catholics, Latter-day Saints and Jehovahs Witnesses have defended the exemptions as survivors like Lundholm fight for reform.

In Utah, where the majority of lawmakers are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, state law requires most professionals  therapists, doctors and teachers among them  to report abuse, yet clergy are exempt from alerting authorities about abuse they learn of through confessions.

Republicans and Democrats announced plans last year to reform laws that exempt religious clergy from reporting child sexual abuse cases revealed in conversations with parishioners.

Behind-the-scenes conversations between legislative leaders in Utah and what Senate President Stuart Adams said was a broad base of religious groups helped thwart four separate proposals to add clergy to the list of professionals required to report child sexual abuse.

I think they have First Amendment rights and religious protections, Adams, a Latter-day Saint himself, said, noting fears among religious leaders that clergy could be punished for breaking vows of confidentiality.

Each proposal was introduced or announced after an Associated Press investigation found that the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sexual abuse reporting hotline can be misused by its leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harms way.

In lawsuits detailed in the investigation, attorneys from the faith widely known as the Mormon church have argued clergy-penitent privilege allows them to refuse to answer questions and turn over documents about alleged sexual abuse.

Church officials declined to comment about the stalled legislative efforts. The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City did not respond to requests for comment but campaigned against them, saying in January that priests and clergy were different from other professionals mandated to report sexual abuse.

Legislation that would require a priest to (report sexual abuse) violates our right to practice our religion, Bishop Oscar Solis, of the Salt Lake City Diocese, wrote in a Jan. 25 letter to parishioners.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox last month said he had no problem with the bills moving forward and receiving consideration in the statehouse.

I think its an important conversation to have. Weve encouraged the Legislature to look at this and make sure that our model is the right model, he told reporters.

Marci Hamilton, chief executive of the abuse prevention nonprofit Child USA, said churches have maintained the same playbook for decades in opposing more disclosure.

Routinely it involves a two-pronged approach, defending clergy-penitent privilege in statehouses and using it to avoid damaging disclosures in court cases, said Hamilton, also a University of Pennsylvania law professor.

They have not veered from it. Both institutions are hoping that time will simply let everybody start trusting them again, Hamilton said, referring to Catholics and Latter-day Saints.

But, she added, by preventing the public  and especially the sincere believers  from getting the full story you dont create the accountability that these organizations should be held to and the secrets continue.

Laws in 33 states exempt clergy  regardless of religion  from laws requiring people report child sexual abuse allegations to authorities. Religious leaders have systematically fought efforts to expand the list of states. They currently oppose efforts from Vermont to Washington.

Kansas lawmakers introduced multiple proposals on penalties for not reporting suspected child sexual abuse, including one in the state Senate that would have added clergy to a list of mandatory reporters. It faced especially fierce public rebukes from Catholic leaders because it didnt exempt confessions. No proposal received even a hearing before an initial deadline this year.

In the wake of the APs investigation last year, Republican state Rep. Phil Lyman and Democratic Rep. Angela Romero announced plans to reform Utahs clergy-penitent privilege loophole. Lyman, who served six years as a Latter-day Saints bishop, said at the time lawmakers should want to reexamine the loophole regardless of religious or political affiliation.

People should be able to go and confess their sins to their bishop without fear of being prosecuted up until when they are confessing something that has affected someones else life significantly, he told the AP in August.

Lyman ultimately released a proposal that broadly affirmed clergys exemption from mandatory reporting. It didnt advance or receive a hearing.

Portraits of resilience: Survivors of clergy abuse tell their stories Patrick Shepard Dorothy Small Salvador Bolivar The Charbonneau sisters Jacob Olivas Mark Belenchia John Vai
Power in Pearls tea

The Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society celebrates Womens History Month with its Power in Pearls: An Afternoon Tea at One Starling from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at One Starling, 1 Starling Ave.

The event will feature tea, sherry, mimosas, music and traditional English refreshments by British native and chef Janet Ashby. Tickets are $25 per person and must be purchased in advance by calling 276-403-5361 or visiting the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center & Museum, 1 East Main St., Martinsville, from 1-4 p.m. today through Friday. Attendance is limited to 50. All proceeds will benefit the Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society.

The purpose of Womens Health Month is to commemorate and encourage the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Supreme Court Justice the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, As women achieve power, the barriers will fall. As society sees what women can do, as women see what women can do, there will be more women out there doing things, and well all be better off for it.

John Phillips, historical society president, stated in a press release, We encourage you to celebrate Womens History Month to honor women who have devoted their lives to bettering our community and beyond. Using Coco Chanels advice, A woman needs ropes and ropes of pearls, the afternoon tea is the perfect occasion to acknowledge the females ability to balance influence and grace.

Located at the corner of Starling Avenue and Church Street, One Starling is a four-square house originally built in 1925 by Nicholas and May Schottland. Nicholas and his brother, Michael, founded Virginia Mirror Company. It is now a bed & breakfast and event space owned and operated by Historical Society Life Members Cindy and Steve Edgerton. For a virtual tour, visit https://onestarlingbnbevents.business.site/.
A doctor who previously cared for patients in McDowell County is coming back as the newest physician at Old Fort Family Medicine.

Dr. Jesse Pace will start seeing patients at Old Fort Family Medicine in June. Pace previously worked as a physician in McDowell County with Mission Health. He served McDowell patients for six years before he left Mission amid the transition to HCA Healthcare.

We have worked hard to secure his return to McDowell County, said Dr. Brian Ware, the founder of Old Fort Family Medicine, to The McDowell News. He will be starting with us this summer. His return will generate a lot of interest in the community.

A native of western North Carolina, Pace earned his bachelors degree in biology with a minor in Bible studies at Lee University in Tennessee. After college, he received his doctorate in osteopathic medicine in 2012 from Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Phoenix, Ariz. From there, he completed his family medicine residency at MAHEC in Asheville. He is board-certified in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative treatment, according to the practices website.

Dr. Pace spent six years after residency practicing in McDowell County and has been an integral part of helping this area build a strong network of primary care providers, reads the website. He is excited to join the outstanding team at Old Fort Family Medicine and carry on providing excellent care to the surrounding community.

Ware told The McDowell News he is looking forward to working alongside Pace again as they care for the people of McDowell. Old Fort Family Medicine is at 32 E. Main St. in Old Fort.

Dr. Pace has been passionate about the health and wellness of the McDowell community for many years, Ware said. He was very disappointed that his transition out of the Mission/HCA health system took him away from his patients in Marion. I remained connected with Dr. Pace during his time in Asheville and took the first opportunity I could to invite him back to McDowell County.

I think his return to the area is a major win for the community, for his Marion patients, and also for Dr. Pace. Dr. Pace and I practiced together when I first started with Mission, at the Glenwood practice. Since that time, our families have become good friends and we are excited to reunite as colleagues at Old Fort Family Medicine.

Pace will see patients of all ages and has extensive experience in geriatrics  treating adults older than 55. He is well-trained in complex chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, high cholesterol and mental health.

The practices website states he enjoys helping people keep up with their recommended health maintenance and vaccinations as well as collaborating with patients to diagnose and treat a broad spectrum of health concerns to achieve their health goals. When not seeing patients, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters in the outdoors hiking, camping and fishing, according to the website.
West Marion Community Forum Inc. will host the second annual Juneteenth Freedom Festival, happening Thursday, June 15, through Sunday, June 18.

This is a live event featuring various activities, speakers and performances. The Juneteenth Freedom Festival will celebrate African American culture, heritage, and, most importantly, abolishment of slavery. It is a place for all races, nationalities and religions to join hands and truthfully acknowledge a period in history that shaped and continues to influence our society today, according to a news release.

Last years festival was a huge success and we anticipate more participation from residents to our second annual Freedom Festival, said Paula Swepson, executive director of West Marion Community Forum, also known as West Marion Inc. There will be activities for all, whether you like to visit Lake James or like going to festivals for the arts and crafts or good food. All are welcome and we encourage any and everyone to join us and celebrate our culture and freedom.

The tentative schedule is as follows:

Thursday, June 15  Miss Juneteenth Pageant

Friday, June 16  Fun Day at Lake James

Saturday, June 17  Festival at West Marion Community Park

Sunday, June 18  Worship Service at West Marion Community Park

Organizers are in need of vendors, volunteers and sponsors for the festival at West Marion Community Park on Saturday, June 17. If you think this is something in which you are interested in participating, reach out to by email to westmarioncommunityforum@gmail.com or call 828-442-7366.

Organizers are offering the Juneteenth Freedom Festival free of charge to the community.

However, staging an event of this magnitude has expenses that we cannot avoid. As a result, local sponsorship is vital to the events success. We would greatly appreciate it if you joined us to sponsor this momentous event in our community, reads a statement from West Marion Inc.

There are five sponsorship levels for you to choose from:

Freedom  ($1,000 and up; eight available): Six event T-shirts, social media acknowledgement, hyperlink on West Marion website, logo on event banner, full-page ad in event guide.

Jubilee  ($500-$999; eight available): Four event T-shirts, social media acknowledgement, hyperlink on West Marion website, logo on event banner, -page ad in event guide.

Emancipation  ($250-$499; 15 available): Four event T-shirts, social media acknowledgement, logo on West Marion website, logo on event banner, -page ad in event guide.

Foundation  ($100-$249; 15 available): Two event T-shirts, social media acknowledgement, logo on West Marion website, business card-size ad or name in event guide.

Village  ($25 to $99): One event T-shirt, social media acknowledgement, name in event guide.

West Marion Community Forum Inc. is a nonprofit organization under the IRS code 501(3) of North Carolina statutes. All donations go directly to the Juneteenth Freedom Festival general fund to make this event a success. Sponsorship donations are tax-deductible, and we will gladly provide a letter attesting to your support, according to the news release.

Make checks payable to: West Marion Community Forum Inc., 220 W. Grayson St., Marion, NC 28752.

For more information, email westmarioncommunityforum@gmail.com or call 828-442-7366.

For more information on the organization, visit the website for West Marion Community Forum at www.westmarion.org.
A Tuesday morning wreck on East Court Street in Marion resulted in minor injuries for one person and temporarily knocked out power for 343 customers.

Shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, a small sport utility vehicle hit a power pole on East Court Street near the intersection with Highland Drive. The impact broke the pole in half. When emergency officials arrived on the scene, they found the power lines down and arcing, said Marion Fire Chief Ray McDaniel.

The Marion Fire Department and other emergency officials contacted Duke Energy, Spectrum cable and Frontier telephone service about the collision. All of those utilities had lines on that pole, McDaniel said.

McDowell EMS, McDowell Rescue Squad, Marion Fire Department, and Marion Police Department responded to the incident.

The wreck resulted in 343 people in that part of Marion being without electricity. It also closed much of East Court Street to traffic. The street, from McDowell Avenue to Gilkey Street, was shut down Tuesday morning.

As of noon Tuesday, the power was restored to all customers.

As of 12:40 p.m. Tuesday, at least one lane was still closed because Duke Energy is still on the scene working to replace the pole, said Marion police and fire officials.

One person in the small SUV suffered minor injuries.

The driver was Cheri Reeves, 63, of Marion who was traveling west toward Marion when she ran off the road to the right, striking the Duke Energy power pole. She was transported to Mission Hospital McDowell with minor injuries, according to Police Lt. Jamie Harklerode.

Additional information was not available as of early Tuesday afternoon.
One of the defeated candidates in Nigerias presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, demonstrated on Monday with hundreds of his supporters in the capital Abuja in front of the headquarters of the Electoral Commission (Inec), which they accuse of manipulating the results.

Bola Tinubu, the ruling partys candidate, was declared the new president-elect of Africas most populous country by the Inec on Wednesday, after an electoral process whose transparency has been criticized by many observers.

The two main unsuccessful presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition party (the PDP, which came second) and outsider Peter Obi of the LP, which came third, disputed the results, denouncing massive fraud.

Hundreds of PDP activists, dressed in black, marched to the headquarters of the Electoral Commission on Monday midday, waving placards that read No to election rigging, Inec, publish the real results and Save our democracy.

The commission directly aided and abetted the monumental rigging and manipulation of the election results in favor of the ruling party, said PDP national chairman Iyorchia Ayu at the rally.

While the Inec has acknowledged flaws in the electoral process, it rejects accusations of fraud. According to the opposition, system failures during the downloading of results allowed the manipulation of ballots and disparities in the results of manual counting in polling stations.

International observers, including those from the European Union, noted major logistical problems, disenfranchised voters and a lack of transparency. Bola Tinubu, the former governor of the economic capital Lagos, will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, 80, who is due to step down in May with a disastrous record marked by exploding poverty and insecurity.
Concerns are rising in Africa over the role Iran is playing as a major destabilizing player in the region through the support of terrorist proxies, notes the Military Africa magazine in an analysis on Irans approach to foreign intervention to identify proxy wars and then offer support to the non-state actors requiring weapons.

Having supported Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Fatimiyoun in Afghanistan, its well known that Iran is playing a significant role in West Africa, the magazine states, adding that Iran is also using both its soft power through education and marriage to build up its presence in North Africa. At the same time, it is providing weapons, training, and other types of support with the engagement of a range of other countries to militias in the region.

Iran is playing an active role in the Sahel across North Africa with various groups while Morocco, one of the U.S.s most long-standing allies in the region raised concerns as early as 2006 that the region was becoming a breeding ground and exporter of a new generation of terrorists.

In Africa, there is rising concern that the support and materiel being provided to individuals by Iran and other malign actors in North Africa would result in increased attacks and instability. Attacks are taking place against local populations and Western forces in the region with French and U.S. special forces having already experienced casualties.

The provision of drones to Polisario by Iran and Algeria, and their likely spread to other groups is a major escalation in their offensive capabilities, the magazine warns, adding that Morocco, which has experienced devastating terrorist attacks in the past, because of its pro-Western role as a firewall against Islamic extremism, is once more on the front lines.

Iranian drones which have made their way to North Africa through Algeria are posing a threat to the stability of the region, at a time Morocco has been calling the international communitys attention to this threat and warning against the acquisition of drones by terrorist and separatist groups.

At the end of 2022, Moroccan Senior Officials highlighted Iran and Algerias new alliance along with statements made by Iranian officials about the sale of drones to Algeria as part of a significant arms deal. Senior officials from the Kingdom have also highlighted statements made by Polisario Front about the receipt of drones and other weapons from Algeria, along with training and the development of infrastructure to operate them, reports the Egyptian Military Africa magazine.

Late last year, the separatist Polisario Front threatened to use military drones against Moroccos Royal Armed Forces stationed along the Western Sahara defence wall. The announcement came as the Polisarios leader Brahim Ghali was preparing to launch a military movement from Tindouf for the fronts war of attrition against Morocco, the magazine recalls.

Omar Mansour, the Polisarios envoy to Mauritanias President revealed the news at a press conference in Nouakchott at the time. The Sahrawi army will soon use armed drones in the war of attrition in Western Sahara, Mansour threatened.

The magazine warned that Iranian drones on Moroccos borders pose a serious concern for the country, as unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and even military operations. The drones are capable of surveying vast areas of Moroccan territory, allowing the Iranian government to gain insight into the Kingdoms activity and movements. Furthermore, the drones could be used to provide intelligence on the Moroccan military on the Polisarios positions, making them vulnerable to airstrikes and other forms of aggression.

For the publication, as the Iranian drones become increasingly prevalent in the region, Morocco is likely to face a heightened risk of attack, making this an urgent matter that must be addressed.

Accordingly, the Moroccan Armed Forces enforced a land and air exclusion zone east of the defensive wall and started operating a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Turkish-designed Bayraktar TB2 drones. Less than twenty-four hours after the Polisario threatened to use unmanned aircraft against Morocco, Moroccos Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita warned against the acquisition of armed drones by terrorist and separatist groups.

Iran, after undermining the stability of Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, is in the process of destabilizing our region, declared Omar Hilal, Moroccos ambassador to the United Nations.

As is being seen in Ukraine, armed drones provide the ability to attack targets from a distance  not too long ago only an option for countries with air forces or ballistic missiles. Having weaponized drones on the border of Morocco controlled by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front is the equivalent of Russian missiles in Cuba.

In the same way that this had major geopolitical consequences, independent observers and Moroccan officials are raising concerns that this very real threat is being lost in the fog of Russias invasion of Ukraine, the focus on China spy balloons, and the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

Irans growing military-industrial complex is producing and shipping drones, and weapons including missiles and cluster bombs, to stoke conflicts and instability around the world. While the world focused on Ukraine, its weapon sales and ability to work around sanctions to generate revenue at home should be a major cause for concern for the West. The Algeria and Iran axis as it relates to Morocco and Polisario needs far more attention from the U.S. and others who tend to look at this through the lens of a dispute between neighbours, rather than as is increasingly the case Polisario as a proxy for Iran and Algeria, building up capabilities to attack a U.S. ally.

Similarly, Russias invasion of Ukraine is part of a broader strategy to reform the Soviet Bloc, Irans engagement with Algeria needs to be seen as part of its objective of an arc of influence stretching from the Middle East through North Africa and into the West Africa. Morocco is a key buffer between these regions and of critical importance.

In this broader context, theres a real danger that, just as in the past, as Morocco sounds the alarm about drones on its borders that the warnings will not be heard, and the Iran-Algeria axis will grow stronger and more dangerous for the region.
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:

A 44-year-old man who presented with chest pain and dyspnea. (A) Chest X-ray shows very subtle nodular opacities, primarily in lower lobes, representative of pneumonia and a discrete silhouette sign of the right cardiac border (arrow). The AI system interpreted this chest X-ray as normal. It was also interpreted as normal in the clinical radiology report. (B) CT scan shows the lower lobe airspace opacities with vague tree-in-bud morphology (box) and an area of consolidation (arrow). Pulmonary angiography was performed 5 hours after X-ray. This was the sole false-negative critical finding by the AI tool. Credit: Radiological Society of North America

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool can accurately identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays in a clinical setting, according to a study published in Radiology.

Chest X-rays are used to diagnose a wide variety of conditions to do with the heart and lungs. An abnormal chest X-ray can be an indication of a range of conditions, including cancer and chronic lung diseases.

An AI tool that can accurately differentiate between normal and abnormal chest X-rays would greatly alleviate the heavy workload experienced by radiologists globally.

"There is an exponentially growing demand for medical imaging, especially cross-sectional such as CT and MRI," said study co-author Louis Lind Plesner, M.D., from the Department of Radiology at the Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Meanwhile, there is a global shortage of trained radiologists. Artificial intelligence has shown great promise but should always be thoroughly tested before any implementation."

For this retrospective, multi-center study, Dr. Plesner and colleagues wanted to determine the reliability of using an AI tool that can identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays.

Researchers used a commercially available AI tool to analyze the chest X-rays of 1,529 patients from four hospitals in the capital region of Denmark. Chest X-rays were included from emergency department patients, in-hospital patients and outpatients. The X-rays were classified by the AI tool as either "high-confidence normal" or "not high-confidence normal" as in normal and abnormal, respectively.

Four examples (out of a total of nine) of X-rays classified as abnormal, unremarkable by the reference standard (provided independently by two board-certified thoracic radiologists, with a third radiologist in cases of disagreement) but as normal by the AI tool. All X-rays show very subtle and unremarkable findings; these X-rays were all classified as normal by the clinical radiologic report as well. (A) X-ray in a 58-year-old woman with very discrete linear atelectasis in the lingula segment of the left upper lobe (arrow). (B) X-ray in a 61-year-old woman shows presence of a cervical rib on the right side (arrow). (C, D) Images in a 48-year-old woman (C) and 64-year-old woman (D) show very subtle degeneration in the spine with osteophytes in lower thoracic segments (arrow). Credit: Radiological Society of North America

Two board-certified thoracic (chest) radiologists were used as the reference standard. A third radiologist was used in cases of disagreements, and all three physicians were blinded to the AI results.

Of the 429 chest X-rays that were classified as normal, 120, or 28%, were also classified by the AI tool as normal. These X-rays, or 7.8 % of all the X-rays, could be potentially safely automated by an AI tool. The AI tool identified abnormal chest X-rays with a 99.1% of sensitivity.

"The most surprising finding was just how sensitive this AI tool was for all kinds of chest disease," Dr. Plesner said. "In fact, we could not find a single chest X-ray in our database where the algorithm made a major mistake. Furthermore, the AI tool had a sensitivity overall better than the clinical board-certified radiologists."

According to the researchers, further studies could be directed toward larger prospective implementation of the AI tool where the autonomously reported chest X-rays are still reviewed by radiologists.

The AI tool performed especially well at identifying normal X-rays of the outpatient group at a rate of 11.6%. This suggests that the AI model would perform especially well in outpatient settings with a high prevalence of normal chest X-rays.

"Chest X-rays are one of the most common imaging examination performed worldwide," Dr. Plesner said. "Even a small percentage of automatization can lead to saved time for radiologists, which they can prioritize on more complex matters."

More information: Louis L. Plesner et al, Autonomous Chest Radiograph Reporting Using AI: Estimation of Clinical Impact, Radiology (2023). DOI: 10.1148/radiol.222268 Journal information: Radiology
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:

Freeze-dried roselle flowers were used to extract the antioxidant compounds and organic acids. Credit: RMIT University

Antioxidants in the roselle plant have anti-obesity properties that could help in food alternatives to current weight management medications, according to new research.

The RMIT study, led by Ph.D. candidate Manisha Singh, investigated how antioxidant compounds (phenolic extracts) and organic acid (hydroxycitric acid) found in the Hibiscus Sabdariffa could inhibit the formation of fat cells.

When the body has an excess of fat intake, fat can be deposited in the cell, which turns them into fat cells called adipocytes.

Adipocytes are vital for regulating the body's energy and sugar levels. However, when energy intake exceeds expenditure, it can cause the fat cells to grow in both size and number, contributing to obesity.

Human stem cells were separately treated with phenolic extracts and hydroxycitric acid before they were turned into fat cells.

While cells treated with hydroxycitric acid showed no change in the fat content of the adipocytes, cells treated with phenolic extracts had 95% less fat as compared to control cells.

Singh's research is the first of its kind to use human fat cells to test the impacts of phenolic extracts and hydroxycitric acid from roselle.

Singh's Ph.D. supervisor Professor Benu Adhikari, from RMIT's Food Research and Innovation Center, said the results of the study could impact how we approach obesity management.

Current methods of obesity management focus on lifestyle changes and medication.

While medication is effective, they can also have negative side effects such as high blood pressure or impact the kidney and liver.

"The phenolic extracts from the roselle could help create a health food product that is effective in interfering with the formation of fat cells, but also bypass the bad side effects of some medications," Adhikari said.

Encapsulating the phenolic extracts of the roselle will help extend its shelf life and control how it gets absorbed in our bodies. Credit: RMIT University

A natural enzyme blocker

Senior Lecturer Dr. Thilini Thrimawithana, from the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, said there is a growing interest in researching how antioxidant-rich compounds, called polyphenols, could one day help manage diseases like obesity to avoid side effects of medications such as Orlistat and Liraglutide.

Polyphenols are found in food sources such as vegetables and fruits. When consumed, antioxidants remove the oxidation that forms in our bodies, which can help slow down aging and prevent diseases.

Singh's research also found polyphenols in the roselle had similar digestive enzyme-inhibiting properties as some obesity management medications.

The polyphenols inhibit the digestive enzyme called lipase. This enzyme helps break down fats into small fractions so they are absorbed by the body through the intestine. The excess fats are turned into fat cells.

By inhibiting the lipase enzyme, the fat cannot be absorbed so it is passed through the colon as waste.

"Because these polyphenolic compounds are plant-derived and can be consumed, there should be fewer or no side effects," Singh said.

Next steps

Adhikari, a leading food researcher whose interest began as a farmer back in Nepal, predicts the roselle will play a bigger role in Australia's health food industry.

"Australia has the perfect climate for farming the roselle. The plant is hardy, disease resistant and it doesn't need a lot of space or water to grow," he said.

The team plans to encapsulate the phenolic extracts for use in health food products. They say the extracts could be turned into little beads and used to make a refreshing drink.

"Phenolic extracts oxidize easily, so not only does encapsulation extend its shelf life, but it lets us control how they are released and absorbed by the body," Adhikari said.

"If we don't encapsulate the extract, it could break down in the stomach before we can reap its benefits."

The study is published in the International Journal of Food Science & Technology.

More information: Manisha Singh et al, Impact of phenolic extracts and potassium hydroxycitrate of Hibiscus sabdariffa on adipogenesis: a cellular study, International Journal of Food Science & Technology (2022). DOI: 10.1111/ijfs.16269
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:

Bipolar disorder numbers are rising in Ghana. Credit: Shutterstock

Attitudes to mental health conditions are often influenced by matters of awareness and belief systems. Bipolar disorder is one of the conditions that's frequently misunderstood and stigmatized.

This is the case in Ghana, where bipolar is generally referred to as atenkabrane nsesae yareea condition characterized by extreme changes in mood. A recent study estimated that less than 1% of respondents in the Volta Region of Ghana for example knew the signs and symptoms of bipolar. Some people believe it "runs in the family" or that it is contagious.

Because of these beliefs, when people with bipolar disorder are discharged from hospital, they are not always welcome among their family members. This leads to overcrowding in the psychiatric hospitals. Even in healthcare centers, people with bipolar are sometimes treated insensitively.

Tackling stigma requires challenging belief systems and norms by providing knowledge and creating awareness. As mental health specialists, that is what we hope to do here.

Bipolar disorder facts

Bipolar disorder is one of the commonest mood conditions, along with depression and anxiety. Statistics from the World Health Organization suggest that in Ghana there are about 157,543 people with bipolar: 83,354 are females and 74,189 are males. Among them, 46,054 (29%) are young adults (20-29) and 3,257 (2%) are over 70 years of age. This condition is more prevalent in young adults than older people because of vulnerability and developmental changes.

Bipolar is characterized by both manic episodes, or hypomania, such as impulsive behavior, and depressive episodes, such as sadness which disrupts the individual's normal functioning. People with this condition feel normal in between these moods but may have difficulty with concentration and communication.

There are various types of bipolar conditions. To make a diagnosis, the affected person must meet the criteria stated in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual V or the WHO's International Classification of Disease 11. Trained mental health professionals can make a diagnosis of bipolar condition.

It has been reported that the presence of comorbidities such as substance abuse disorder creates a diagnostic challenge. The symptoms may be similar.

The exact cause of bipolar condition is not known. Multiple factors may be at play: genetic or familial transmission, imbalance of brain chemicals or environmental factors like stress and trauma.

Bipolar condition can be well managed with appropriate treatment. It requires lifelong treatment, and it's important to adhere to it to prevent relapse.

The condition is managed by a group of anti-psychotic medications called mood stabilizers and in severe cases through electro-convulsive therapy. Treatment is managed by psychiatrists, mental health nurses and clinical psychologists. Effective treatment combines pharmacotherapy such as lamotrigine and lithium carbonate and psychotherapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy can be delivered in a group or individual format to provide skills to manage psychosocial, vocational, interpersonal and cognitive challenges.

Bipolar treatment in Ghana

Unfortunately, less than 2% of people with bipolar disorder get treated in Ghana.

Services are typically provided at Ghana's three main tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Pantang, Accra and Ankaful. Regional hospitals and primary care facilities also provide treatment for the condition. Severe cases are referred to the tertiary psychiatric hospitals.

Beyond these care pathways, Ghanaians sometimes use complementary and alternative therapies, especially spiritual interventions. This may be influenced by the family caregivers' understanding of the condition. Spiritual interventions like prayer camps are sometimes provided under poor hygienic conditions. And there is an increase in relapse because the patients aren't given the mood stabilizers and psychotherapy they need.

More education and awareness creation is needed at the community level in Ghana to tackle stigma and encourage the use of the correct medication and psychotherapy.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The old "get out of the water" fear once was stoked by a fictional shark tale set off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

Florida could have an updated version that is even more fraught with danger. "Get out of your shower and bath." Or, at least, don't let tap water get sucked up your nose.

The idea revolves around a death in Southwest Florida in February from a "brain-eating amoeba" known as Naegleria fowleri.

The Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County confirmed that a person was infected with Naegleria fowleri, "possibly due to sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water."

The local NBC affiliate reported that the person used a neti pot filled with tap water as a sinus rinse.

A neti pot is a container designed to rinse debris or mucus from the nasal cavity, according to Mayo Clinic. People use neti pots to treat symptoms of nasal allergies, sinus problems or colds. The Mayo Clinic cautions that "it's important to use bottled water that has been distilled or sterilized. Tap water is acceptable if it's been passed through a filter with a pore size of 1 micron or smaller or if it's been boiled for several minutes and then left to cool until it's lukewarm."

Florida's health department has not released details on the person who died or identified the use of a neti pot, but acknowledged how administering the rinse could have resulted in this death.

You cannot contract the infection by drinking tap water, according to the health department. When you swallow water, it goes down your windpipe and into your stomach and organisms are broken down through the body's digestive process.

Water contaminated with the amoeba has to enter the body through the nose to do damage.

"Because that is the pathway for Naegleria to work its way into the cerebral spinal fluid in the brain, what ends up happening is the infection overwhelms the body, and ... unfortunately, it's highly dangerous and fatal," Dr. Joe Pepe, an administrator at the Charlotte County Health Department, told NBC2.

The department warned of the potential dangers of Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic single-celled living amoeba.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, instances like this happen when water containing the amoeba enters the body through the nose.

"This typically happens when people go swimming, diving, or when they put their heads under fresh water, like in lakes and rivers," according to the CDC. "The amoeba then travels up the nose to the brain, where it destroys the brain tissue and causes a devastating infection called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis."

At that point, the infection is almost always fatal, the CDC says.

Naegleria fowleri is not found in salt water, like the ocean, the CDC says. Also, you can't get a Naegleria fowleri infection from a properly cleaned, maintained, and disinfected swimming pool. Chemicals like chlorine kill the amoeba.

In very rare instances, Naegleria fowleri has been found in swimming pools, splash pads, surf parks, or other recreational venues that are poorly maintained or don't have enough chlorine in them. Portable backyard pools usually are filled with untreated water from a hose.

Naegleria fowleri generally fares better in warm, fresh water sources that are 80 degrees or more, which is why lakes and rivers in warm climes like Florida can be potential sources.

Infections from Naegleria fowleri are rare, according to the CDC. There have been 31 infections reported in the United States between 2012 and 2021between zero and five cases annually in that period. Of those cases, 28 people were infected by exposure to recreational water, two people were infected after rinsing their sinuses using contaminated tap water, and one person was infected by contaminated tap water used on a backyard slip-n-slide.

In 2022, three cases were reported in Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona.

Between 1962 and 2022, 37 cases have been reported in Florida, second only to Texas with 39 cases, according to the CDC.

A 13-year-old Palatka, Florida boy, vacationing at a North Central Florida campground, died after he was infected with the amoeba in August 2020, News4Jax reported. The property was not named because it was not positively identified as the source of the infection.

Florida's health department reported a case in Hillsborough County in July 2020.

How to avoid the infection

On Feb. 23, the Florida Department of Health issued warnings for people in Charlotte County on how to protect against contracting the infection. But the health department's tips can apply elsewhere.

When making sinus rinse solutions, use only distilled or sterile water.

Tap water should be boiled for at least 1 minute and cooled before sinus rinsing.

Don't let water go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming in small hard plastic or inflatable pools.

Don't jump into or put your head under bathing water in bathtubs, small hard plastic or inflatable pools. Rather, walk or lower yourself in.

Avoid letting children play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers, "as they may accidentally squirt water up their nose."

Avoid slip-n-slides or other activities where it is difficult to prevent water going up the nose.

Keep small hard plastic or inflatable pools clean by emptying, scrubbing, and allowing them to dry after each use.

Keep regular swimming pools adequately disinfected before and during use.

Symptoms of infection

Symptoms of Naegleria fowleri infection after exposure can include headache, fever, nausea, disorientation, vomiting, a stiff neck, seizures, loss of balance, and hallucinations.

If you experience symptoms after getting water sucked up your nose seek medical attention immediately.

On Friday, the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County said it was providing nasal clips and educational materials at 1100 Loveland Blvd. in Port Charlotte while supplies last.

2023 Miami Herald.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Shutterstock

Barely a month goes by without headlines announcing yet another advancement in cancer vaccines.

Just last month, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted breakthrough therapy designation to Moderna and Merck's skin cancer vaccine. This allows expedited development and review of drugs intended to treat serious conditions.

We already have a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical and other cancers. We also have a vaccine to protect against the hepatitis B virus, which can cause liver cancer.

But you may have heard of new types of cancer vaccines being developed using technology similar to that used for COVID vaccines. Decades before COVID vaccines, scientists had been working on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines targeting cancer.

Rather than preventing disease, these vaccines are a personalized treatment for cancer, to combat disease.

How do they work?

Traditionally, vaccines inject part or all of a weakened virus (or other pathogen) into the body to provoke an immune response.

mRNA works by injecting only the genetic instructions and allowing the body's cells to make part of the cancer protein (antigen) itself. This trains the immune system to develop antibodies against the protein.

When these same proteins are present on an invading tumor cell, the immune system stimulates an immune response against it.

While COVID mRNA vaccines respond to one antigenthe spike protein on the outside of coronaviruscancer vaccines act on several antigens present on the tumor surface.

The mRNA cancer vaccines train the patient's immune system to fight their own cancer. Most trials are manufacturing vaccines for individual patients based on the specific antigens present on their tumors.

It takes around two months to produce a vaccine.

How are they made?

To make these vaccines, a sample of the patient's tumor and healthy tissue is taken. These samples are DNA-sequenced to compare differences between the DNA in the cancerous cells and the healthy cells.

Scientists identify problem mutations driving disease. These can then be used as antigen targets in the mRNA vaccine.

Bespoke approaches allow scientists to target a wider range of cancer antigens. Targeting multiple antigens decreases the odds that cancer cells will mutate and become resistant to vaccines, because the immune system attacks on multiple fronts.

Personalized medicines are extremely expensive because they are bespoke products. Manufacturing costs for bespoke treatments remain high. However, with rapidly falling costs of different aspects such as genome sequencing (some companies are now offering genome sequencing for just US$100), sequencing the entire genome is becoming more viable. Science in Motion.

As large-scale manufacturing increases in future for off-the-shelf vaccines, there will be resource efficiencies that reduce cost.

What vaccines are in development?

In December 2022, Moderna and Merck (known outside the United States and Canada as MSD) published the results of its early phase (2b) clinical trial. The trial was investigating a combination therapy of an mRNA vaccine and immunotherapy (a drug that stimulates an immune response) in advanced stage melanoma patients.

After one year of treatment in 157 patients, they found the combination reduced the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 44%.

Now, Moderna and Merck plan to follow up their initial trial with a phase 3 trial for advanced melanoma in 2023. Phase 3 trials test for safety and efficacy in larger groups of patients.

BioNTech has several mRNA cancer candidates in the works, including for advanced melanoma, ovarian cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. It will release results from its own phase 2 melanoma trial (of 131 patients) using immunotherapy and an mRNA vaccine combination later this year. Its primary aim is to measure cancer progression and survival over 24 months in previously untreated patients.

A third company called CureVac is also developing mRNA vaccines targeting a range of cancers including ovarian, colorectal, head and neck, lung and pancreatic.

CureVac has a deal with Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, to develop small, portable mRNA bioprinters to automate the process of producing patient mRNA. These can be shipped to remote locations where they are able to churn out vaccine candidates based on the DNA template (recipe) fed into the machine.

A lot of these vaccines, including those targeting cancer, are in pre-clinical to phase 1 stages of development, to test the effects and side effects in the laboratory, animal models or small groups of patients.

When will they become available?

Overseas, Moderna and Merck's mRNA cancer vaccine was fast-tracked for review by the US FDA in February 2023.

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration has not approved the use of mRNAs for use either alone or with other cancer treatments yet.

In January 2023, the United Kingdom's National Health Service partnered with BioNTech to fast-track the development of mRNA cancer vaccines over the next seven years. Eligible UK cancer patients will get early access to clinical trials from late 2023 onwards. By 2030, these mRNA vaccines will be made clinically available to around 10,000 cancer patients.

In Australia, BioNTech is establishing its Asia-Pacific mRNA clinical research and development center in Melbourne, in partnership with the Victorian government. This would develop mRNA vaccines for research and clinical trials, including personalized cancer treatments.

Meanwhile, Moderna will develop Australia's first large-scale mRNA vaccine facility at Monash University by 2024, in partnership with the state and federal government. This will give Australians priority access to mRNA vaccines made locally.

What else could the technology be used for?

Aside from cancer, there is huge potential to use mRNA technologies across many gene therapies.

There are studies underway testing mRNA vaccines for various diseases such as evolving COVID strains, seasonal influenza, malaria, HIV, cystic fibrosis and even allergies, giving new hope for many previously incurable diseases.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The father needed answers.

He'd recently completed a six-week Mass. General program designed to help parents whose children were struggling with ADHD. He had read the materialand re-read it. He'd tried to connect with his daughter. But nothing was working. She was frustrated. He was frustrated. Their relationship felt broken.

I don't know what to do, he told his doctor. Can you please help?

The physician, Dana Allswede, a psychologist in the hospital's Child Outpatient Psychiatric Department, remembers the email as one of many describing similar sentiments. Every week she hears from overwhelmed parents. For some, it's about toddler tantrums. For parents of older children, the urgent question is whether their teenager is displaying normal adolescent behavior or something more serious.

These accounts follow national trends. Pew Research Center's Parenting in America Today survey, released in January, found that mental health issues are a top concern for parents, with 40% saying they are extremely or very worried their children may experience anxiety or depression, and 36% feeling somewhat worried. In 2015, only 54% of parents reported worrying at all.

The Pew survey matches 2021 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that more than a third of high school students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, with almost half reporting persistent levels of sadness and hopelessness.

"There are clear data to show that youth have been disproportionately affected in terms of the mental health impact relative to some of the other age groups," said Archana Basu, a research scientist in epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School and a clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Even before COVID, the numbers were moving in the wrong direction, with the National Library of Medicine and the CDC reporting increases in depressive symptoms and suicide-related behavior.

John Weisz, who runs Harvard's Lab for Youth Mental Health, notes that as mental health issues for children have risen, there are fewer providers to care for them. "Access was reduced partly because many clinicians left the workforce or reduced working hours because of the pandemic's impact on their families," he said, "and also because many clinical services stopped or sharply reduced in-person services."

In other words, many families are forced to wait months before seeing a clinician, leaving them to navigate on their own. The most important thing parents can do? Take care of themselves.

"Parents investing in their own mental health is actually one of the most effective things for children," Basu said. "Because the more regulated they are, the more emotional availability they have and the more they can support their children." The more parents can model what it's like to regulate their own emotions, the more children can learn to do this for themselves. This connection is beneficial for all children, from newborns to high schoolers.

Allswede has also seen the benefit of parents investing in themselves. One project she works on brings parents together virtually to share information and talk about the challenges they face, without their children present.

"[It's about] connecting them with other parents who are going through the same thing so that they know they're not alone, and they can lean on one another," she said. "It's felt more isolating to be a parent in the past few years  everyone has been through a lot."

When parents have the mental and emotional capacity to support their children at home, the effect is powerful, Basu says. Physical health and mental health are usually intertwined, so focusing on being active together, healthy eating, and ensuring that everyone is getting enough sleep has major implications for a family's well-being. Parents can also encourage healthy peer interactions and social activities, or even introduce cognitive behavioral tools like mindfulness and relaxation. Parental monitoringsetting clear expectations, discussing social decisions, and responding appropriately to a child's behavioris not only an expression of concern but guards against risky behaviors such as substance use and unsafe sex. Each of these small activities has the potential to make a huge difference.

"Anything that helps to moderate and mitigate the impact of a severe or traumatic stressor could be thought about as a buffer or protective factor," Basu said.

Another option is remote care. In a meta-analysis led by the graduate student Katherine Venturo-Conerly, the Lab for Youth Mental Health found that remote delivery of mental health care yielded positive effects similar to those of in-person care. Additionally, the pandemic prompted the lab to accelerate development of "brief digital interventions" that children can complete on their own. These resources can be made available for use at home, helping to fill clinical gaps.

"There is much that parents can do on their own to help their children develop resilience and coping skills," Weisz said. "It makes a positive difference when parents understand what the treatment is that their child is receiving, what the goals are, and how skills learned with a therapist can be implemented, practiced, encouraged, and praised in real life outside of therapy sessions."

On a policy level, Basu emphasizes that any measure that supports parents ultimately supports children. Passing legislation such as paid parental leave or revisiting which interventions merit insurance coverage would represent important steps in making resources more accessible and giving parents what they need to succeed.

Allswede said that in her support groups, she has seen parents become emotional and tearful when they share how meaningful it is to feel understood. Normalizing these challenges can help parents open up about their experiences, which helps other families navigate their own situations. All of this gives parents the bandwidth they need to support the positive mental health of their children.

"We use the metaphor often of putting on your own oxygen mask before putting on your child's oxygen mask," she said. "I hear from families all the time who have been managing really challenging situations on their own for so long  [they] desperately need this support and reach out. And I'm glad they do."

This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu.
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:

UNGD wells by region, 2002 and 2015. Maps of Pennsylvania and New York show the locations of drilled UNGD wells (red dots) in Pennsylvania by the end of 2002 (one total well) and by Dec 31, 2015, the end of our study period (9596 total wells). The southernmost group of ZIP codes in Pennsylvania (yellow) were all exposed to UNGD activity and the 36 of these that started UNGD between 2008 and 2010 were included in the study. The two northern groups, labeled the main (blue, further north) and alternative (red) control regions, were UNGD-free, due to a statewide ban on UNGD, although the alternate control might have experienced air pollution-related exposure due to proximity. Credit: The Lancet Planetary Health (2023). DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00009-8

A new University of Chicago study examining Medicare claims found older adults living near fracking sites in Pennsylvania were more likely to be hospitalized for cardiovascular diseases than those who lived in nearby New York state, where fracking is banned. The research was published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

Prachi Sanghavi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences at UChicago and senior author on the paper, said she first became interested in studying the potential health impacts of fracking in the early 2010s. This was during the peak of the unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) boom, colloquially known as "fracking."

"There was a lot of buzz about the environmental effects of UNGD, and several documentaries were produced on the subject," she said. "I do a lot of work with Medicare claims data, and I realized that we could use that approach to determine if there was a measurable effect on population health based on what the stories were suggesting."

Her team collected Medicare claims data for tens of thousands of patients generated between 2002 and 2015 in both northern Pennsylvania, which experienced a fracking boom, and next-door New York state, where UNGD was banned. They found an association between the development of new fracking sites and increased rates of hospitalization for health conditions such as acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and ischemic heart disease.

"Although we can't point to one specific part of fracking operations as the culprit, folks living near fracking sites could be affected by exposure to things like air or water pollution that often come with fracking activity," said Kevin Trickey, first author on the study and a former research analyst in the Sanghavi lab.

"Our study connects nearby fracking activity to real, serious human health outcomes, suggesting it's not just a matter of economics or environmental sustainabilitybut that policymakers and residents alike should start prioritizing the health of citizens, whether drilling new wells or plugging old ones."

Researchers have previously found elevated levels of airborne hydrocarbons and other pollutants near fracking sites, but a clear relationship between those pollutants and negative health outcomes has not yet been established. While prior studies have indicated a likelihood of this connection, this study applies statistical analysis to economics data for causal inference analysis to more directly connect UNGD to specific negative health outcomes in older adults.

In the current study, the team determined there were an additional 11.8, 21.6 and 20.4 hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure and ischemic heart disease, respectively, per 1,000 Medicare users than would be expected if there were no fracking in the area.

"We don't find strong associations easily in the world," Sanghavi said. "We've heard a lot of anecdotes, seen the documentaries, but it's usually very difficult to find the connection, even when it exists. Even in cases where an individual might have an experience that seems to have a direct relationship to something like fracking, that doesn't necessarily translate to a population health effect, and here we find thatyes, there is a measurable association with people's health."

The effects were not just limited to the initial phases of UNGD. The study found that the risk continued even after drilling ended, indicating that the health impacts could be connected to the byproducts of the regular functioning and production of the well.

The researchers say these results should be a call to action for communities and policy makers affected by fracking development. "This study provides additional evidence for those who think they may be experiencing exacerbated health issues as a result of fracking in their communities," Sanghavi said. "I hope that these results can help communities and governmentswho have an interest in protecting people's healthby equipping them with more information for making an informed decision about UNGD."

"Natural gas is an important source of energy in our current infrastructure," she continued. "One could do a cost/benefit analysis and determine that the benefits of gas extraction outweigh the health effects on local populations. But who is bearing the cost of those decisions? The communities that are most affected by this should have all of the information and be a part of the conversation."

The study, "Hospitalizations for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among older adults living near unconventional natural gas development," was supported by the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratories. Zihan Chen of the University of Chicago is also an author on the paper. The authors declare no conflicting interests.

More information: Kevin S Trickey et al, Hospitalisations for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among older adults living near unconventional natural gas development: a difference-in-differences analysis, The Lancet Planetary Health (2023). DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00009-8 Journal information: The Lancet Planetary Health
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:

Calibration plots, SCORE2 low-risk model by ethnicity (LOESS plotted). Calibration plots, asses model fit by graphically comparing predicted probability to the proportion of observed events in decile groups of the population. Loess, locally estimated scatterplot smoothing. Credit: eClinicalMedicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101862

Dutch people with a low income are up to 1.5 times more at risk of a heart attack or stroke than their wealthier compatriots. Among Surinamese Hindus the risk is 1.9 times higher. This is according to research by the LUMC and the HagaZiekenhuis hospital. Dutch doctors do not look at these factors. The study was published in eClinicalMedicine.

For years cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide. It is caused by, among others, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. A new study by GP and Ph.D. candidate Janet Kist, Professor Mattijs Numans, Professor Rolf Groenwold (all from the LUMC) and Ronne Mairuhu from HagaZiekenhuis shows that a low income further increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Patients' ethnicity also plays an important role. This is significant because most doctors do not currently include income and ethnicity as risk factors.

To determine whether someone is at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, doctors mainly look at factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. Using a nationally approved risk calculator, they advise their patients on whether early medication is needed to prevent future cardiovascular problems.

In countries such as England and Scotland, socioeconomic status and ethnicity have been included as risk factors for cardiovascular disease for 10 to 15 years already. As far as the researchers are concerned, the same should soon happen in the Netherlands. They argue that early treatment with statins, for example, can help patients with low socioeconomic status or of Surinamese Hindustani descent prevent cardiovascular disease in the short term. "Then the risk of stroke decreases by up to 22%," says Kist. "For heart attacks, it is 33% even. The effect may be even greater in the longer term."

More important, say Kist and colleagues, is to look at social change and patient lifestyle. "If you live in poverty, it is practically impossible to eat healthily," says Mairuhu. "Healthy food is simply too expensive. We can't solve this in the consulting room. This is really a job for politicians."

Kist and the research team looked at data from 155,000 people aged between 40 and 70 from the region of The Hague and Zoetermeer. They linked figures from hospitals and GP practices to data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). "This made it clear that cardiovascular diseases are 1.5 times more common in low-income patients," says Kist. "The possible causes are an unhealthy lifestyle and stress. What also stood out was that cardiovascular diseases are 1.9 times more common in people from a Surinamese Hindustani background. This is partly due to genetic factors."

More information: Janet M. Kist et al, SCORE2 cardiovascular risk prediction models in an ethnic and socioeconomic diverse population in the Netherlands: an external validation study, eClinicalMedicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101862 Journal information: EClinicalMedicine
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:

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics analysis reveals distinct alterations of protein expression levels associated with suppression of the neuronal AMPK isoform in aged mice. Credit: Aging (2023). DOI: 10.18632/aging.204554

The Aging journal has published a new research paper titled Isoform-specific effects of neuronal repression of the AMPK catalytic subunit on cognitive function in aged mice.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) functions as a molecular sensor that plays a critical role in maintaining cellular energy homeostasis. Dysregulation of the AMPK signaling has been linked to synaptic failure and cognitive impairments. In a recent study, researchers Xueyan Zhou, Wenzhong Yang, Xin Wang, and Tao Ma from Wake Forest University School of Medicine demonstrated abnormally increased AMPK activity in the hippocampus of aged mice. The kinase catalytic subunit of AMPK exists in two isoforms, 1 and 2, and their specific roles in aging-related cognitive deficits are unknown.

"Taking advantage of the unique transgenic mice (AMPK1/2 cKO) recently developed by our group, we investigated how isoform-specific suppression of the neuronal AMPK may contribute to the regulation of cognitive and synaptic function associated with aging," the researchers write.

The team found that aging-related impairment of long-term object recognition memory was improved with suppression of AMPK1 but not AMPK2 isoform. Moreover, aging-related spatial memory deficits were unaltered with suppression of either AMPK isoform. Biochemical experiments showed that the phosphorylation levels of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2  subunit (eIF2) were specifically decreased in the hippocampus of the AMPK1 cKO mice. The team further performed large-scale unbiased proteomics analysis and revealed identities of proteins whose expression is differentially regulated with AMPK isoform suppression. These novel findings may provide insights into the roles of AMPK signaling pathway in cognitive aging.

The researchers conclude, "In summary, the current study reported that suppression of neuronal AMPK1 isoform can improve aging-related impairments of long-term recognition memory."

More information: Xueyan Zhou et al, Isoform-specific effects of neuronal repression of the AMPK catalytic subunit on cognitive function in aged mice, Aging (2023). DOI: 10.18632/aging.204554

Provided by Impact Journals LLC
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Making a connection between the flu and the risk of subsequent heart problems significantly increased flu vaccination rates among older Danish adults, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology. A reminder message the day before the start of a national vaccine program also helped "nudge" people to get vaccinated.

Each year, seasonal influenza accounts for more than 500,000 deaths globally and certain high-risk groups are disproportionately affected, including older adults and those with diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions. An annual flu shot is widely recommended to prevent influenza infection or lessen its severity and complications should someone get sick. Still, vaccination rates aren't nearly what they should be in many countries, including the U.S., and that's especially true for younger people with chronic diseases like heart disease.

"Figuring out ways to increase the percentage of people who get the flu [shot] and other vaccines is important," said Tor Biering-Srensen, MD, MSc, MPH, Ph.D., professor, Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark, and the study's chief investigator. "Vaccines help prevent infectious diseases and for flu, specifically, many countries lag well behind the WHO recommendation for over 75% of the population to be vaccinated."

While earlier studies have tested different nudge strategiesthat is, messages designed specifically to educate, remind and push positive health behaviorsto increase flu vaccination in select populations, this study is the largest of its kind and involved all adults 65 years or older in Denmark.

The NUDGE-FLU trial randomized 964,870 Danish citizens across 691,820 households to receive one of nine different electronic letters featuring a specific message about the upcoming flu season and the need for vaccination to see which, if any, would increase influenza vaccination uptake among older adults. The communications were delivered via the country's electronic letter system on September 16, 2022. Citizens were either in usual care (no letter) or they received one of nine nudge strategies (participants were randomized 1:1, so for every citizen receiving no letter, one received one of the nine intervention letters). In addition to the letter that linked the flu vaccine with a reduction of cardiovascular events, and the approach that sent the standard flu pamphlet two weeks before the flu season started and a reminder on the day the vaccine became widely available, the other seven messages included:

A clear recommendation from a leading health authority to get vaccinated

A nudge for people not to be in the minority and to get vaccinated

A nudge to join the majority to prevent the flu from spreading (collective goal)

The role flu vaccination can play in helping in a pandemic to protect you and your loved ones (gain framing)

The danger of too few people getting vaccinated placing you and your loved ones at risk (loss framing)

A prompt to make a plan to get vaccinated and record their appointment in a space provided; and

A basic letter without name personalization

The primary endpoint was the receipt of influenza vaccination on or before January 1, 2023; while flu vaccination can continue throughout the influenza season, fall is the ideal time to assure protection.

Compared with usual care, influenza vaccination rates were significantly higher in the group receiving a letter highlighting potential cardiovascular benefits of vaccination (81% vs. 80.12%) and the group receiving repeat letters about the importance of flu vaccination generally and to let them know about available flu vaccines at the start of the study and 14 days later (80.85% vs. 80.12%).

"The only two nudge strategies that significantly increased flu vaccine uptake were the simple reminder and explaining that flu vaccination may also prevent cardiovascular events," Biering-Srensen said.

He added that these strategies improved vaccination rates across major subgroups, including participants with cardiovascular disease. The cardiovascular benefits message, which stated that "in addition to its protection against influenza infection, influenza vaccination also seems to protect against cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and heart failure," resulted in a greater increase in vaccine uptake among the participants who had not been vaccinated for influenza in the prior season.

Biering-Srensen said he expects these increases in flu vaccine uptake may have been even more pronounced in countries where vaccination rates are low. Denmark has among the highest flu vaccine rates to start withmore than 80% this season. During the 2021-2022 influenza season, only 49% of U.S. adults received a flu vaccine, despite widespread recommendations for annual flu vaccination.

More research is needed to test the messaging around the flu and related cardiovascular outcomes given that was the most effective message to boost flu vaccination.

"As cardiologists, it's very interesting that just telling people that we can also prevent other downstream issues like cardiovascular outcomes was what worked the best of all the nudge strategieseven better than the reminder, which we expected would be positive," Biering-Srensen said. "A lot of studies have shown that people who get the flu vaccine have a lower risk of cardiovascular outcomes, and there may be protective effects [for the heart] that are not specific to flu infection. The flu vaccine may have broader benefits that we don't yet know."

He said that these improvements were accomplished through a simple email, making it a replicable and very low-cost intervention that could help prevent flu-related deaths and associated complications. They will be further analyzing the data to see if certain nudge messages worked better in people with diabetes and other chronic conditions.

The study is limited to the Danish population, which has free access to influenza vaccination, so the bump in vaccine uptake may be different if cost is a barrier.

This study was simultaneously published online in The Lancet at the time of presentation; a pre-specified analysis of the trial was simultaneously published online in the journal Circulation.

More information: Niklas Dyrby Johansen presented the study, "A Nationwide Randomized Trial Of Electronically Delivered Nudges To Increase Influenza Vaccination Uptake: The NUDGE-FLU Trial," on Sunday, March 5, in the Great Hall. The study was funded by Sanofi. Journal information: Circulation , The Lancet
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:

Malnutrition is leaving children in Malawi vulnerable to the country's worst-ever cholera outbreak, the United Nations warned Tuesday as it appealed for more than $50 million to help combat the spread.

An estimated 4.8 million childrenone in twoin the southeast African nation need humanitarian aid, the UN children's agency UNICEF said.

By the end of March, more than 213,000 children aged under five are expected to be acutely malnourished, with more than 62,000 expected to be severely malnourished, said Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF's representative in Malawi.

"As a severely malnourished child is 11 times more likely to die from cholera than a well-nourished child, a bout of cholera may amount to a death sentence for thousands of children in Malawi," he told reporters in Geneva via video-link.

Malawi is experiencing the deadliest cholera epidemic in its recorded history, combined with a polio outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 infections.

The first case of cholera was documented just over a year ago, and the disease has since spread to all 29 districts.

More than 50,000 people have been affected and more than 1,500 have died as of March 2. Children comprise more than 12,000 of the cases and 197 of the fatalities, said Schwenk.

As the 2023 rainy season reaches its peak in the country, UNICEF warned that without immediate action, the outbreak will worsen.

The agency has provided life-saving medication, safe water and cholera prevention and treatment information, but is now running short of funding and supplies and is appealing for $52.4 million.

"To prevent future outbreaks of cholera, we have to support the country with significant investments in health, water and sanitation infrastructure," said Schwenk.

Cholera is an acute water-borne diarrhoeal disease that can kill the most vulnerable patients within hours if left untreated.

Since the outbreak began, Malawi has carried out two large vaccination campaigns, but due to limited supplies, has offered just one instead of the usually recommended two doses of oral vaccine.

 2023 AFP
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

On Dec. 13, 2022, dancer, actor and television personality Stephen "tWitch" Boss, best known for his work on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," was found dead in a motel in Los Angeles from suicide. He was only 40 years old. Beloved by his fans, Bosswho was married with three childrenalways appeared happy, well-adjusted and outgoing. So, it came as a shock to the people who followed his career that he would die by suicide.

In 2020, 45,979 people died by suicide in the U.S., equating to one death by suicide every 11 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. During that same time period, 12.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide and 1.2 million adults attempted suicide. Youth and young adults ages 1024 years account for 14% of all suicides, and suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people, according to the CDC.

But how does someone get to a point so low that they would take their own life? And how can someone that seemingly has it all fall victim to suicide, especially when they leave behind a grieving family to always wonder what went wrong?

Antonia Phillip, M.D., assistant clinical professor and board-certified adult and geriatric psychiatrist at VCU Health, was one of Boss' fans. Like others, she was shocked by the news.

Phillip, who specializes in adult and geriatric psychiatry, knows that some clients don't seek help at first because of the stigma sometimes associated with mental illness.

"The mind is the most complex organ in the body and also the head of the body," she said. "The brain is the thing that thinks and feels and controls the rest of you. We need it. Just as we take care of ourselves physically we also need to take care of our emotional, psychological being. Our culture is changing to accept that and promote it."

Phillip discussed the subject of suicide and suicide prevention in an interview with VCU News.

What leads someone to suicide?

That's a tough question because it is usually multifactorial. There might never really be one answer that leads someone to suicide. A lot of people experience a history of trauma, physical and mental abuse, sexual abuse or are exposed to violence in some way, who have a history of suicide in their family at a young agethey are more likely to repeat violence and in this case, violence toward themselves as suicide. In some cases, patients may even be receiving treatment. However, enduring emotions like depression, anxiety or other mental illnesswhether clinical or otherwise chroniccan lead to suicide when stressors arise and the person can no longer bear it.

Change in a person's life can also be a trigger. Change such as when a loved one passes, losing a job, getting a divorceto name a fewand difficulty adjusting to these changes can increase psychological and emotional stress, leading someone to suicide. In addition, people who engage in substance abuse, particularly alcohol, and people who have access to firearms are more at risk to suicide.

Altogether, when someone is led to suicide, in that moment of time, he or she feels hopeless or some despair about the future. Imagine the presence of being in a dark hole where you can't see anyone, can't see a future, can't problem solve but instead feel immense emotion like depression with no determined way out of that feeling or situation. That is hopelessness and a person may consider the solution is to self-destruct.

How can someone appear to have it all, be happy and well-adjusted and die by suicide?

One in five people in America will experience a mental health episode in a given year. We don't recognize that a lot of people are hurting mentally and emotionally. Also, our perception of people is not always accurate. We can put on a mask, so to speak, when we need to. Typically, people who die by suicide are probably suffering from some type of mental illness, but they are not able to communicate their pain for any reason. They may not know how to describe it or discern what it is. Others may identify what it is but choose not to manage it and just try cope. They will appear happy and do things to overcompensate, like being extra social and humorous, but inside many people are struggling with a mental illness.

There are multiple other reasons that could distract someone away from getting help. Someone may think, "I have it all, a beautiful home, a wife and kids, I make money. I shouldn't be depressed. Why do I feel this way? I am so embarrassed. I feel guilt and shame." Add emotional conflicts like these on top of depression, for example, and it snowballs, soon becoming a bigger beast. Usually, people who are depressed can't function academically or professionally, but some people can. A lot of the population are high functioning and so appear well-adjusted but are inwardly depressed. It can also be a genetic predispositionmental illness. These and more can explain why some people who appear happy die by suicide. There is usually something there under the surface that is not doing well. They appear happy but underneath it all, something negative is brewing.

What is a mental illness?

Mental illness can refer to multiple conditions that affect us emotionally, psychologically and can include different diagnoses or disorders like depression, anxiety, phobia, adjustment disorder, bipolar disorder, acute stress disorder, PTSD, eating disorders like anorexia, sexual disorders and the list of possible disorders goes on.

What are outward signs that someone is contemplating suicide?

Detachment, withdrawal, substance use and abuse, particularly alcohol, giving away items, especially personal items, not taking care of themselves anymore, missing appointments, being lackadaisical about their health, not taking prescribed medications. They could be engaging in high-risk behaviors or have a preoccupation with death or dying that is not usual for them. Someone who is contemplating suicide may make suicidal statements like, "I want to die, or I want to kill myself." If this is the case, one can ask further questions of that person. Ask them to tell you more, actively listen and if there is any concern the person is actively suicidal, get them care. Call 911.

What are the hidden signs that someone is contemplating suicide?

Mood changes. Someone who has a known mental illness, such as anxiety or depression, and is known as struggling emotionally but then suddenly appears different. That's to say, for example, they suddenly appear to be very happy or joyful. That could be a sign they are contemplating suicide. There are clinical cases of patients whose families or friends may report "we are doing so good" but then took their own lives. On the other hand, someone could have worsening mood. Perhaps they appear more irritable or have what we term psychomotor agitation (a state of restlessness and anxiety that results in repetitive and unintentional movements). Continue to monitor mood changes, even positive ones. Ask questions, be more present. Provide care, concern and support to help prevent a suicide that someone may be contemplating.

Do people that die by suicide consider beforehand what it will do to their families?

I personally believe a person with a mental illness diagnosed or undiagnosed who has died by suicide was thinking "the world would be a better place without me." They are not well. They are not in their normal state of mind. They can't bear the emotional pain and psychological turmoil. They not only feel bad, but think they are bad. I truly believe they think they are doing better for others as well when they die by suicide. When they are down in that dark hole, they are unable to see or feel supported. But that is not the truth of the matter.

What are some of the ways people can help someone they believe is contemplating suicide?

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide or are verbalizing suicidal ideations, call 911 or call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline). You can also visit 988Lifeline.org. There are always professionals and clinical providers available no matter the day or time. At VCU, you can call 804-828-6200 to reach University Counseling Services. There are multiple other crisis lines as well in Virginia.

If you know someone that is presenting signs of being high risk for suicide, tell them you are there. That you are open to listen. Encourage the person to feel safe to speak to someone whether a family member or a professional about how they are feeling. Monitor them until a health care provider or team can get to them. Depression is the inability to problem solve, a feeling of helplessness and loneliness. By showing support, you help someone who may be feeling this way.

Also, have a safety plan if there is a history of suicide in the family. Knowing what's best and what steps to take to help a friend or family member can be critical.

Make sure that weapons like firearms are not easily accessible. Hide medications and get sharp objects out of reach. Take out all pesticides and dangerous chemicals in the home.

In severe cases where supervision at home is acceptable for a person with passive suicidal ideation, and this is usually with children or adolescents, a parent or guardian can even monitor the person by taking the hinges off the door of their room for easy visibility and to reduce feelings of loneliness.

These are all some ways people contemplating suicide may be helped but always check in with your loved ones no matter how they appear.

If someone is thinking about suicide, what should they consider to help reverse those thoughts?

I like to remind patients that emotions can go up just as much as they go down and often are self-perpetuating. What's more is suicidal thoughts may not always be as obvious as "I want to die." If you or someone you know are having thoughts like that or even more subtle like, "Life is not worth living," or "I need a way out," or "I can't take this anymore," you can try to counteract those thoughts and influence the emotion with the following:

Take 10 deep breaths being mindful of the breath, focusing the mind on each breath by counting quietly in your head, feel the breath filling your lungs and belly with air. Hold the breath for four to five seconds and the slowly release for six seconds while repeating peaceful words or phrases like "Everything will be OK" or "Stay calm" in your head. This exercise of mindfulness helps to slow the breathing and reduce anxiety or stress that one may be feeling physiologically.

Start a gratitude journal. Writing at least three to five things you are grateful for is a simple exercise which produces endogenous dopamine that can improve one's emotional state. It also helps to refocus the thoughts onto more positive things.

Be nonjudgmental with yourself. Check the facts as sometimes thoughts or emotions may be an interpretation of events but not the actual truth of a situation. This may include speaking to someone like a behavioral health clinician about it. Maintaining a therapeutic relationship with a counselor is an important adjunctive treatment for improving mental health.

Repeating several phrases of affirmation, such as "It is enough to do my best," "Every day is a fresh start," and "This may be challenging but I can get through anything especially with the right help," can create hopefulness and boost problem-solving abilities.

Refocus attention since when you are distracted, emotions can change. Plan pleasant events. For example, listen to music or watch a movie, draw and color, go out for walks in a safe time and manner, or exercise, watch funny videos, place a cold compress or ice at the nape of the neck, to name a few.

Meditate on positive emotions. For instance, when you're feeling sad, try to think about what joy feels like, looks like, sounds like. What are you doing when you feel joy, etc. Immerse yourself onto a more positive emotion.

Call a trusting and supportive friend or loved one, or call a help line.

Every life can be experienced as worth living. As psychologist Marsha Linehan describes, building a life worth living takes time and patience.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Marko Aliaksandr/Shutterstock

The kidneys perform a critical role in the body by removing waste and excess fluid in the form of urine. In a condition known as diabetic nephropathy, complications from diabetes disrupt the ability of the kidneys to function properly. Now, researchers in Japan have shed new light on a potential target for the development of therapies for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

In a new study published in JCI Insight, researchers led by University of Tsukuba employed an inducible mouse model to investigate the role of transcription factor c-Maf in the adult mouse kidney under normal and diabetic conditions.

c-Maf is a transcription factor (a type of protein that regulates gene activity) that plays a role in embryonic kidney development. However, determining the function of c-Maf in the adult kidney has been challenging, as c-Maf deletion results in embryos that are unable to survive. To address this challenge, the research team from the University of Tsukuba developed a mouse model in which c-Maf can be inactivated via application of a drug called tamoxifen, which is commonly used to treat breast cancer. The research team called this model c-Maf TAM, and set out to investigate the role of c-Maf in the adult kidney using these c-Maf TAM mice .

"Our initial analyses revealed that compared with control mice, c-Maf TAM mice exhibited higher glucose levels in urine, increased water intake and urine output, and higher urinary albumin levels following treatment with tamoxifen," says senior author of the study, Professor Satoru Takahashi. "However, no morphological changes were observed in the kidneys of c-Maf TAM mice."

Graphical abstract. Credit: JCI Insight (2023). DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.163306

The researchers identified genes that were differentially expressed in c-Maf TAM and control mice. They found that two key transporters of blood sugar, Sglt2 and Glut2, showed lower expression in c-Maf TAM mice. Further investigation revealed that c-Maf appeared to directly control the expression of these two sugar transporters.

The researchers then evaluated the effects of diabetic conditions in c-Maf TAM mice. "Under diabetic conditions, c-Maf deletion appeared to lower blood glucose levels through the regulation of Sglt2 and Glut2 expression," says Professor Takahashi. "Furthermore, c-Maf deletion promoted recovery from hyperglycemia and suppressed diabetic nephropathy."

These findings indicate that c-Maf deletion can improve diabetic conditions and offers protective effects in the kidneys. c-Maf may be a potential target for the development of therapeutics for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

More information: Mitsunori Fujino et al, Transcription factor c-Maf deletion improves streptozotocin-induced diabetic nephropathy by directly regulating Sglt2 and Glut2, JCI Insight (2023). DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.163306 Journal information: JCI Insight
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:

High virus titers were found in SARS-CoV-2-infected dead hamsters. Angel care or embalming could prevent transmission from dead bodies of infected hamsters. This suggests that preventing infection is critical when handling infected corpses, as is the proper treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected corpses. Credit: Yoshihiro Kawaoka from University of Tokyo, Japan.

During the pandemic, COVID-19 control measures in several countries prevented family members from coming into contact with loved ones who died from the infection. This had an impact on cremation practices and caused emotional distress. Researchers from Japan have now shown that, while deceased SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals may be a potential source of the virus, transmission can be stopped by using appropriate procedures. Their research provides evidence for national guidelines.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has presented unique challenges for clinicians, patients, and families. Of these, the death and loss of a loved one has been the one of the most painful and overwhelming. This psychological stress is compounded by the inability to see loved ones one last time and perform cremation rituals, due to the restrictions around exposure to the bodies of patients who died as a result of COVID-19.

Many medical facilities still refuse to allow bereaved family members to perform cremation for those who died from the infection. However, there is a lack of evidence to support these restrictions, and their acceptability varies between countries.

There have been reports of infectious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being found in individuals who died from the infection. However, it is unclear whether the virus can be transmitted from their bodies.

In Japan, nurses perform postmortem care or "angel care" for deceased persons by wiping their surfaces and shaving or applying chemicals. In addition, the body openings are plugged with cotton pads to prevent bodily fluid leakage.

In contrast, "embalming" or the treatment of a body to keep it from decaying, is common in the United States and Canada, and has recently become popular in Japan. How these practices impact the risk of infection from deceased persons, particularly for infection with SARS-CoV-2, is unknown.

SARS-CoV-2-infected dead hamsters had high virus titers. Angel care or embalming could prevent transmission from infected hamsters' dead bodies. Proper treatment of SARS-CoV-2-infected corpses is critical to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection. Credit: Yoshihiro Kawaoka from University of Tokyo, Japan.

To fill this knowledge gap, a research team from Japan has analyzed the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from a deceased individual's body by using a hamster model. They analyzed whether the virus can spread from COVID-19-infected dead hamsters, and whether this spread can be reduced by using angel care and embalming.

Their recent work was published in mSphere on January 10, 2023. Sharing the motivation behind their investigation, Prof. Kawaoka states, "It has been two and a half years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 from the body of a deceased, infected person still remains unclear."

The researchers infected Syrian hamsters with SARS-CoV-2/UT-NCGM02/human/2020 (the Wuhan strain of the virus) before euthanizing them and treating the bodies with either angel care or embalming (7% formaldehyde and 4% glutaraldehyde) treatment. As a control, one group of hamster bodies was treated with alcohol and wrapped in wire nets. Healthy hamsters were then co-housed with the bodies for 24 hours and their organs were collected to check for transmission of the virus.

High SARS-CoV-2 titers were found in the lungs and nasal turbinate of some hamsters who shared a house with a dead infected hamster, implying a risk of infection. In contrast, angel care was effective in preventing the leakage of gas and bodily fluid leakage from the bodies, effectively preventing infection of the co-housed hamsters. Embalming also prevented the transmission of virus to any of the live hamsters.

Prof. Kawaoka explains, "Infectious viruses may be transmitted via postmortem gases produced during the decomposition process or other postmortem changes in the dead body. Angel care or embalming could prevent this transmission."

In summary, these findings emphasize the importance of avoiding infection when handling the body of a deceased individual who had SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that sealing body cavities can control virus spread even if embalming is not performed. Prof. Kawaoka concludes by saying, "We do know that the virus remains in the bodies of deceased persons, but with appropriate precautions and guidelines, we can at least let the families see their loved ones once before they depart."

These findings could guide local and national guidelines on funerary rites and provide a modicum of solace to those who lose loved ones to COVID-19.

More information: Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto et al, SARS-CoV-2 Transmission from Virus-Infected Dead Hamsters, mSphere (2023). DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00411-22
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:

In vivo assays with male fly populations. (A) Male fly populations were placed into empty plastic vials and survival was examined every hour until all flies were dead. (B), (C) Male fly populations were subjected to elevated temperatures for 120 s as stated in the Methods section. The percentage of flies experiencing a seizure (B) and the time to the first seizure (C) are shown. (D) Male fly populations were subjected to a learning assay as described in the Methods section. The percentage of flies that learned to avoid the quinine-laced light side of the setup was recorded. Vitamin B5 was included in the food as indicated for at least one generation prior to the assays. The concentrations of vitamin B5 used were 4 mM in (A) and 2 mM in (B), (C) and (D). N values for each experiment shown were 25 in (A), 75 in (B) and (C), and 30 in (D). The asterisks for statistical analyses indicate *p  0.05, **p  0.01, and ****p  0.0001. CTRL indicates OreR flies and TM indicates TANGO2G517 flies. The overall results of the learning trials (see Figure 1D for females and S1D for males) are shown for males (E) and females (F) at each training (16) or test (7) cycle. Both male and female OreR wild type (CTRL) flies learned avoidance predominantly during the third and fourth training cycles and some in the fifth. In contrast, the TANGO2G517 female flies learned this avoidance during the sixth training cycle and during the testing (cycle 7). When the TANGO2G517 mutants were grown in the presence of vitamin B5, their ability to learn avoidance was observed earlier and predominantly during the fourth, fifth and sixth training cycles. Credit: Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease (2022). DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12579

A simple vitamin could successfully treat a rare but potentially fatal genetic disease, according to research led by a Concordia undergraduate student.

In a paper published in the Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease, the authors describe how vitamin B5 can mitigate the life-altering and life-threatening effects related to mutations in the Transport and Golgi Organization 2 (TANGO2) gene in Drosophila melanogasterfruit flies.

Flies with the mutation exhibited symptoms commonly associated with TANGO2 deficiency disease (TDD): they died of starvation almost twice as fast as those without it, had difficulties moving and learning and had a neuromuscular defect that manifested as spasms when exposed to high temperatures. However, when flies with the mutation were supplemented with vitamin B5, these symptoms quickly improved or, in some cases, disappeared.

"TDD is a very rare disease, but some clinicians noticed that phenotypes in patients with TDD resembled phenotypes in individuals who can't metabolize lipids very well," says Michael Sacher, a professor from the Department of Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Science and the paper's supervising author.

Lipids are fatty compounds that perform several important functions, including moving and storing energy and producing hormones. They are generally activated by bonding with the coenzyme A molecule, which needs vitamin B5 to be produced.

"Since TDD is a lipid metabolism problem, we thought that if we just boosted production of coenzyme A, we would see some sort of effect on the fruit flies," Sacher continues. "And that was exactly the case."

Clear and rapid improvements

The paper's lead author is Paria Asadi, who expects to complete her BSc in fall 2023. She designed and conducted a series of assays to record the differences between control and experimental groups of fruit flies.

Asadi first studied the behavior of fruit flies with the mutation and noticed phenotypes consistent with TDD seen in humans: they died 50 percent faster if deprived of food, suggesting a metabolic defect; they exhibited ataxia, a neurodegenerative condition characterized by poor muscle control and abnormal movements, among other symptoms; they exhibited intellectual deficits during a learning assay, in which the flies were slower to avoid exposure to the bitter taste of quinine than those without; and they were more susceptible to seizures when exposed to higher temperatures.

She then repeated these experiments on another line of fruit flies with the TDD mutation but with vitamin B5 added to their food. The results were not only remarkablethey were also quick.

"We saw that they had improved, in some cases to wild levels," she says. "They did not have a very significant learning deficit or metabolic crises after starving. This shows that vitamin B5 can potentially be therapeutic for TDD patients."

Other types of B vitamins were also used in tests, but none led to rescues as pronounced as B5.

Any exposure is good exposure

The researchers noticed degrees of improvement even after a very short exposure to vitamin B5. The longer the exposure, however, the more marked those improvements were.

"We were seeing a time-dependent rescue," Sacher says. "Presumably, that would hold for humans as well. Even if a neurodevelopmental delay has occurred, which unfortunately happens to children, we can at least try to prevent a potentially fatal metabolic crisis."

Asadi recalls presenting these findings at a TDD family conference in summer 2022 where she had a chance to talk to families affected by the disease.

"One of the mothers told me that since her child started taking multivitamins their lives had changed for the better. Just knowing how meaningful the research we are doing is for the lives of affected families was a turning point in my life," she says. "It made me realize how biological research at the molecular level can be impactful for so many people."

More information: Paria Asadi et al, Vitamin B5, a coenzyme A precursor, rescues TANGO2 deficiency diseaseassociated defects in Drosophila and human cells, Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease (2022). DOI: 10.1002/jimd.12579
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay

New Curtin University-led research has found Australian health care students often hold negative attitudes and beliefs towards people living with obesity, which could lead to poor clinical care outcomes.

The research, titled "Explicit and implicit weight bias among health care students: a cross-sectional study of 39 Australian universities," published in the journal eClinicalMedicine, surveyed 900 health care students across 39 Australian universities and found students held explicit and implicit weight-biased attitudes and beliefs, were fearful of "gaining weight" and lacked confidence in clinical settings when helping patients living with overweight.

Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Ravisha Jayawickrama, from the Curtin School of Population Health, said individuals who were on the receiving end of weight bias or discrimination around the world had a 60% greater risk of mortality and were 2.5 times more likely to experience mental health disorders, such as anxiety.

"Our study found the level of weight bias exhibited by Australian health care students was alarming and has the potential to negatively impact the care that people living with obesity receive, contributing to poor health outcomes and quality of life. These impacts could include spending less time in consultations, raising unwarranted concerns about a patient's weight, and being unwilling to perform certain examinations," Miss Jayawickrama said.

"Students surveyed believed that obesity was within a person's control and that they lacked willpower, while some expressed dislike towards people living with overweight or obesity. We also found male students were more likely to explicitly state their bias toward these groups, and while females expressed greater empathy for these patients, they held a greater fear of 'gaining weight' themselves.

"A smaller number of students did express empathy for people living with obesity and were more likely to view them with compassion, understand their emotions, and the ongoing challenges they face when trying to lose weight and maintain weight loss."

Senior co-author Dr. Blake Lawrence, also from the Curtin School of Population Health, said by 2025 it is expected that 23% of the global and 35% of the Australian adult population will be living with obesity.

"Australian health care students are going to be future health practitioners, doctors and nurses, so it is critical that educators and universities play a key role in reducing this stigma and weight bias exhibited by these students," Dr. Lawrence said.

"Given the predicted rise in obesity, we need to better educate our students, health care trainees and practicing professionals on the negative impact of weight bias to enhance the Australian healthcare system. No individual, no matter their weight, color, gender or ethnicity, should experience discrimination when seeking medical attention.

"We need to support students to develop the skills and abilities that will enable overweight and obese people to be treated with equity and dignity in health care settings."

More information: Ravisha S. Jayawickrama et al, Explicit and implicit weight bias among health care students: a cross-sectional study of 39 Australian universities, eClinicalMedicine (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101894 Journal information: EClinicalMedicine
The bulk of food and drinks sold by four out of five global producers across three major markets are unhealthy, according to a survey, with Kraft Heinz Co. faring the worst.

The analysis conducted by the World Action on Salt, Sugar & Health, an NGO, selected 2,346 products sold by Danone, Kellogg Co., Kraft Heinz, Nestle SA and Unilever Plc in Australia, France and Mexico. It ranked them on the basis of the most widely used standards  Health Star Rating, Nutri-Score and Warning Labels. Apart from Danone, all others sold a greater proportion of unhealthy food.

Improving the nutritional content of food and drink by reformulating recipes with less salt, sugar and saturated fat is by far the most important strategy that any company should make to improve public health, Mhairi Brown, policy and public affairs lead with WASSH, said in a statement. However, by relying solely on industrys willingness and without government enforcement, we are unlikely to see a meaningful shift.

Producers are under pressure to make their portfolios healthier because obesity is already a public health crisis in countries like the U.S., and on the rise in the developing world. The worldwide economic impact of excess body weight will more than double to $4.27 trillion in 2035 from 2020 levels as prevalence of the condition continues to rise, according to a report.

Reducing the salt and sugar content of their foods could also insulate company revenues from laws restricting the sale and marketing of junk food. A greater emphasis on environmental, social and governance among investors is an added motivation for making portfolios healthier.

Four-fifths of Kraft Heinz products didnt meet health standards across the three markets, with its entire sample in Mexico failing to make the grade. Some 72% of the products surveyed that were made by Kelloggs didnt meet the health criteria. The Crunchy Nut maker last year failed to legally challenge regulations that would ban it from advertising its sugary cereals in the UK.

Activia yogurt maker Danone bucked the trend. Only 35% of products scored below the standard definitions of healthy. Earlier this week, it promised that at least 90% of products by volume of sales in the UK and Ireland will not be high in sugar, salt or fat, as defined by the government policy.

A Unilever spokesperson said the company is committed to giving consumers healthier choices and termed the findings of the survey incomplete and misleading as they were based on a small subset of their portfolio. Kraft Heinz is committed to reducing sugar and salt in its products, while noting that there isnt a globally aligned model yet for judging how healthy food items are, according to its spokesperson.

Others did not immediately comment on the report.

The selection of products was based on the lines mentioned on companies country websites and major retailers, the report said.

Groups like ShareAction, an investor campaign group which supported the research, have been calling on companies to be more transparent about the healthiness of their portfolios to help investors scrutinize their offerings and evaluate the threat of potential anti-junk food legislation on sales.

Danone and Unilever report on their portfolios content according to government-approved nutrition models while Nestle committed to the same in its 2022 annual report, but the others are yet to follow suit, making it harder to get a full picture for comparison.

Food manufacturers must be more transparent and disclose what proportion of their sales can be classed as healthier, Holly Gabriel, a campaigner at ShareAction said. This disclosure must be followed with meaningful targets to grow the proportion of sales coming from healthier food and drink.

These are Trader Joe's customer's favorite items Top overall Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, spicy corn chips, swept the competition this year, taking home the top prize. Runners-up included the hash browns, chicken soup dumplings, Everything but the Bagel sesame seasoning blend, and chocolate croissants. The chips also won in the poll's favorite snack category. Customers were also fans of the Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers, Organic Corn Chip Dippers, World's Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs and Crunchy Curls, which were all among the top vote-getters. Top beverage The Sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Juice was the fans' favorite beverage, though it is seasonal. The canned drink is a simple three-ingredient blend of apple juice, water and bubbles. Following is the Triple Ginger Brew, Sparkling Peach Black Tea with peach juice, Sparkling Cranberry & Ginger Beverage and the Non-Dairy Brown Sugar Oat Creamer. Top cheese Now that Hall of Famer Unexpected Cheddar is no longer an option in the poll, the store's cheddar cheese with caramelized onions took home top accolades. Runners-up included Syrah Soaked Toscano, seasonal Baked Lemon Ricotta, Blueberry & Vanilla Chevre and its various bries. Top entree Replacing the longtime Mandarin Orange Chicken is Trader Joe's Butter Chicken -- spiced chicken in a tomato and cream sauce with basmati rice. Indian is popular with Trader Joe's customers. Second runner-up was Chicken Tikka Masala, followed by Kung Pao Chicken, Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese and BBQ Teriyaki Chicken. Top household item Seasonal candles won out in this category. Its seasonal scents include Peony Blossom, Cedar Balsam, Honeycrisp Apple and Vanilla Pumpkin. Runners-up: Daily Facial Sunscreen, Ultra-Moisturizing Hand Cream, Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo & Conditioner, and Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Mask. Top produce Unsurprisingly, customers voted bananas as their top choice. The chain is known for its 25-cent organic bananas and 19-cent regular bananas. Following choices were Teeny Tiny Avocados, Honeycrisp Apples, Brussels Sprouts and Organic Carrots of Many Colors. Top dessert The tiny and crunchy Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones won top dessert, followed by Danish Kringle, Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, Chocolate Lava Cakes and Brookie. Top vegan/vegetarian Among its many vegan and vegetarian options, the Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto came out on top. Vegetable Fried Rice, Beefless Bulgogi, Palak Paneer, Cauliflower Gnocchi followed.
TUESDAY, March 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- An injection of allograft disc tissue into the spine alleviates pain associated with degenerative disc disease, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology, held from March 4 to 9 in Phoenix.

Douglas Beall, M.D., and Islam Fayed, D.O., both from Clinical Radiology of Oklahoma in Edmond, and colleagues report on the 36-month follow-up of an open-label extension to the VAST randomized trial in which 218 patients with one- or two-level degenerative lumbar disc disease and refractory chronic low back pain were randomly assigned to investigational allograft or saline. Fifty patients (46 treated with allograft) had follow-up data available.

The researchers found that in the allograft-treated group, the mean change from baseline in the visual analog scale score at month 36 was 35.35. Patients in the allograft-treated group had clinically meaningful benefits through 36 months in both pain and function, with 60 percent reporting 50 percent improvement in pain and more than 70 percent having a 20-point reduction in the Oswestry Disability Index.

"Existing treatment for chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease is often ineffective or the effects are short-lived," Beall said in a statement. "We need better treatments for this condition since conservative care is not providing the long-term outcomes that patients deserve. Injectable allograft treatment might be the answer for many people."

Beall disclosed financial ties to VIVEX Biologics, which funded the study.
TUESDAY, March 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- When a country makes progress in women's rights, both women and men are likely to live longer, a new global study shows.

Researchers found that across 156 countries, people living in places with greater gender equality  in areas like education and work opportunities  typically had a longer life expectancy. And that was true of both women and men.

For every 10% increase in a standard measure of a country's gender equality, women gained an average of 4 months in life expectancy, while men were right behind, at 3.5 months.

Experts said the findings illustrate how empowering women can have universal benefits. They also counter the notion that when women make gains, men lose.

"Excluding women from society is detrimental to everyone, and it's a pity many politicians fail to understand that in the 21st century," said lead researcher Dr. Cat Pinho-Gomes, of the George Institute for Global Health at Imperial College London.

There are many reasons that gains in women's rights can, over time, translate to better well-being for all, according to Pinho-Gomes.

"We hypothesize that, initially, gender equality tends to be achieved in education," she said.

That, in turn, creates a range of changes  from better jobs for women to lower birth rates  that improve women's life expectancy to start. Later, Pinho-Gomes said, if the playing field starts to level in politics and leadership positions, even broader change becomes possible.

"Inclusion and involvement of women in the workforce, economy and politics leads to better policies for everyone," Pinho-Gomes said.

She noted that men, in general, tend to die earlier from injuries and preventable diseases, compared with women. So when a society becomes healthier and wealthier overall, men's health may benefit as much as women's, if not more, Pinho-Gomes added.

Sheila Davis is chief executive officer of Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit that works with governments around the world to provide better health care.

She said that when women have access to fundamentals, like health care and education, "there's a ripple effect across communities."

"We see it all the time," said Davis, who was not involved in the new study.

She noted that women are the caregivers of the family  of children and elderly relatives  and when they are healthier, so is everyone else.

The findings, published online March 6 in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, are based on an analysis of how countries were performing on the gender-equality front between 2010 and 2021. The researchers used a standard measure that gauges equality in education, economic opportunities and political leadership.

In 2021, the study found, each 10% increase in a country's overall gender equality was linked to longer life expectancy among women and men  tacking on several months for both.

But equality in education stood out, especially in lower- to middle-income countries. In those regions, greater educational opportunities for women spurred a significant gain in life expectancy for all  though particularly for women.

That is likely because education is a "prerequisite" for women's overall empowerment, according to Pinho-Gomes.

"Without education, women cannot be involved in other spheres of life and be independent," she said. "Education is also essential for women to look after their health and that of their children, including girls and boys."

Davis agreed. "We know that education has a huge impact," she said. And that includes access to higher education that allows women to move into professional occupations.

Davis noted that at the health care facilities her organization supports worldwide, women account for nearly two-thirds of all community health workers.

In higher-income countries, the study found, education equality actually seemed to benefit men's life expectancy more. It was linked to a narrowing in the traditional gender gap in life expectancy, because men made more gains.

Pinho-Gomes explained it this way: Improvements in gender equality, which usually start in education, initially benefit women more, as their basic health and living standards improve.

But once a society achieves a certain level of gender equality  not only in education, but economically and politically  there are systemic changes that may actually benefit men's health and life expectancy even more.

Oftentimes, Davis noted, women's empowerment is cast as being about women only, to the detriment of men.

But as these findings show, she said, supporting women "will benefit all of us."

More information

The World Health Organization has more on women's health.

SOURCES: Cat Pinho-Gomes, MD, MPH, DPhil, honorary research fellow, George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, United Kingdom; Sheila Davis, DNP, chief executive officer, Partners in Health, Boston; PLOS Global Public Health, March 6, 2023, online
MONDAY, March 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- People with schizophrenia have an increased risk for an emergency department visit for interpersonal violence during the perinatal period, according to a study published online March 6 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

Kelly Leslie, M.D., from the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a population-based cohort study involving 1,802,645 pregnant people, 4,470 of whom had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, to compare the risk for an emergency department visit for interpersonal violence in pregnancy or within one year postpartum.

The researchers found that 3.1 and 0.4 percent of those with and without schizophrenia, respectively, had a perinatal emergency department visit for interpersonal violence, for a relative risk of 6.88 and an adjusted relative risk of 3.44. When calculated separately for the pregnancy period and the first year postpartum, results were similar (adjusted relative risks, 3.47 and 3.45, respectively). Pregnant people with schizophrenia were as likely as those without schizophrenia to be screened for interpersonal violence (74.3 versus 73.8 percent), and they were more likely to report it (10.2 versus 2.4 percent). Schizophrenia was associated with an increased risk for a perinatal emergency department visit for interpersonal violence among patients who did not self-report interpersonal violence (4.0 versus 0.4 percent).

"The majority of people, both with and without schizophrenia, are screened for interpersonal violence during pregnancy," Leslie said in a statement. "This suggests there are many opportunities for health care providers to intervene and prevent harm to these patients and their children."
MONDAY, March 6, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- After receiving a warning letter from Republican attorneys general in 20 states, Walgreens said it does not plan to distribute abortion pills in those states -- even in the ones where abortion is still legal. The letter warned the company it could face legal consequences if it sold the abortion medication in their states.

The company responded to each attorney general, telling them it would not sell abortion pills by mail or in stores in those states, NBC News reported.

"This is a very complex and in-flux area of the law, and we are taking that into account as we seek certification to dispense mifepristone," Fraser Engerman, Walgreens senior director of external relations, told NBC News. "We are not dispensing mifepristone at this time. We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program; however, we will only dispense in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do if we are certified."

Many other pharmacies were also sent letters but did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Those were Albertsons, Costco, CVS, Kroger, Rite Aid, and Walmart. The attorneys general who sent the letter were in states where abortion is illegal, including Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia, as well as states where abortion is still legal, such as Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana, NBC News reported.

"We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states," the letter said. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said on Facebook that he wants to ensure "that pharmacies throughout the nation aren't subverting state and federal statute to ship abortion pills in the mail," according to NBC News.

More than half of U.S. abortions in 2020 were completed by medication instead of surgery, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that advocates for abortion access. While the abortion pills are legal in 37 states, in 15 of those states, they must be prescribed by a doctor rather than other health workers, NBC News reported.
The University of Montanas provost will be leaving her position at the end of the semester to spearhead a new higher education initiative.

Though shes leaving the provosts office, Pardis Mahdavi will continue to expand educational opportunities for UM and other universities as executive director for the Networked University, an initiative that seeks to build opportunities for universities to collaborate and utilize their strengths.

Were all better off if we kind of do our things well, but collaborate across disciplines, Mahdavi said on Monday. No one up until now had thought about kind of going up in elevation a bit and doing this at the national level. I also think theres something to be said for this very significant and needed change in higher education to come from the Rocky Mountain West, not the coasts.

The first three universities to collaborate in the partnership include UM, the University of Washington and Northern Arizona University.

It has been terrific to form a partnership with Dr. Mahdavi, UM President Seth Bodnar said in a statement. She is a bold leader and transformative thinker. I am excited to work with her in this new role to enhance and drive collaboration to best meet our students needs.

Through the partnership, students will be able to enroll in online courses and engage with learning opportunities offered by participating campuses. Eventually, the initiative will offer joint degrees between campuses.

We are not doing a service to this next generation if were not creating legible pathways for them to be able to engage in the world and create the world around them that they want to see, Mahdavi said.

The goal of the initiative is to dissolve the rigid silos of higher education and promote interdisciplinary training to better prepare students for the unique challenges of today, which is similar to the work Mahdavi took on in her time as UMs provost.

After joining Main Hall this past summer, Mahdavi spearheaded an ambitious academic renewal project for the university to bolster interdisciplinary opportunities for students and faculty. The first phase of that process will be rolled out at a Board of Regents meeting next week.

The efforts that we began here at the University of Montana around interdisciplinary (education) at the college level, we really saw an opportunity to take this nationally, Mahdavi said. Lets be real. No one university can be all things to all people. At the same time each university has unique strengths.

As Mahdavis time in the provosts office winds down she says she will miss her partnership with Bodnar as well as her team in Main Hall. Shell also miss spending every single day of my life in Montana, though shell still spend much of her time in Big Sky Country for her new position.

As executive director, Mahdavi will head the Networked Universitys coordinating center, and will be based in both Arizona and Montana. The initial funding for the program is $2.1 million, which will support Mahdavis salary as well as a grant writer and project manager.

Adrea Lawrence, who is currently the dean of the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education, will move into the role as interim provost beginning May 15.

Adrea is a thoughtful leader and she has been researching higher education for a very long time, Mahdavi said about Lawrences transition. To have a provost who spent their entire career thinking about pedagogyI think it's great for this institution, especially as we start to tackle things like general education. Having someone like Adrea at the helm, I think helps us.

Lawrence said she is eager to continue working with the universitys dedicated and collaborative group of deans and learning from other colleges about how to best serve students. Shes also eager to continue Mahdavis work to restructure academic programs at UM to maximize interdisciplinary opportunities with a birds eye view.

The kind of change that we have been talking about is really difficult and it marks a pretty significant transition from the way UM has operated to the way it might operate or could operate, Lawrence said. I think it just takes some time to figure out how to play to our strengths, how to adjust in really volatile times and how to make sure that we are preparing our students for the futures that theyre going to be stepping into.

The College of Education is currently considering Associate Dean Dan Lee to replace Lawrences leadership of the program.

He is a seasoned administrator, he was a superintendent and a principal in K-12 for a number of years, Lawrence said about Lee. That experience is really important  he understands people, he understands how institutions work, he understands the landscape of K-12 right now, particularly in Montana.

She added that Lee has also been involved in conversations updating statewide education policy that have been recently opened by the Office of Public Instruction.

Bodnar is eager for Lawrence to join the administrators at Main Hall.

Dr. Adrea Lawrence has worked tirelessly on behalf of the students and faculty of the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education, he said in a statement. As our new provost, I am excited that her leadership and vision will now extend across our entire campus.

Lee Enterprises.
The Transportation Department said Monday it will roll out a "dashboard" to let travelers see at a glance which airlines help families with young children sit together at no extra cost.

The announcement comes as the department works on regulations to prevent families from being separated on planes.

It's the latest salvo in the Biden administration's efforts to clamp down on what it calls "junk fees" and to put pressure on airlines to improve service.

The dashboard rewards airlines with a green check if they guarantee that an adult family member can sit next to their young children if seats are available. On Monday, only three of the 10 U.S. airlines listed on the website received a green check: Alaska, American and Frontier.

The site also includes links to each airline's customer policies.

"Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a release announcing the dashboard. He gave his department credit for pressuring airlines, "and now we're seeing some airlines start to make this common-sense change."

Airlines say they try to seat families together, but they have stopped short of making iron-clad promises. This year, several carriers pledged to make changes in their seating policies.

Last month, Frontier Airlines said it would automatically seat at least one parent next to any child under 14.

Last week, American Airlines updated its customer-service plan with a guarantee that children 14 and under would be seated next to an accompanying adult at no extra cost.

United Airlines said it would let families with children under 12 pick adjoining seats at no extra cost starting in early March in certain fare classes.

The announcement seemed to fall short of Transportation standards however, because the department issued a notice last July that it intends to ban extra charges to have a family adult sit next to children up to age 13.
Jamie Sherman spends her summers walking barley fields.

She's the director of the barley breeding program at Montana State University, and she walks the lengthy rows of MSU research farms, looking for the best performing plants.

Those that are too tall and falling over don't make the cut. Neither do any infested with disease, or that seed at the wrong time. The breeding program  which analyzes some 50,000 barley lines a year  seeks to fine-tune barley varieties for growers in Montana by breeding them for drought and disease resistance.

Shermans decisions are fast and instinctual. Scanning the crop variations with her eyes, Sherman said the process is almost like an art form  one that comes naturally from having done this kind of work for so many years.

But Sherman isnt alone in making her breeding decisions. A drone overhead has already scanned the same field Sherman has, and it has a special camera to take measurements that humans cant.

The lab, which has used drones to gather data for the past few years, is comparing drone data to human observations. If the drone measurements prove reliable, they could help speed up the breeding process and reduce lab and labor costs.

The barley drones are just one use of precision agriculture technology thats gaining steam at MSU right now.

Outstanding in its field

Using technology to collect data  and then using that data for agricultural decision-making  is a burgeoning field, and its helping researchers answer questions they couldnt before. But there are still economic and technological barriers limiting the widespread adoption of precision agriculture, and some farmers worry machines will replace them.

Researchers don't see it that way  if done right, they see it as a way to help them.

Shermans lab wants to use drone data to help breed barley with deeper root systems, which can access soil water more efficiently and be more successful in drought. To do that, researchers can measure how much water the plant leaves are giving off as a proxy for soil water.

Thats a measurement nearly impossible for a human to do at scale  but for a multispectral camera, its a piece of cake.

Scott Powell, an environmental spatial analysis professor at MSU, said multispectral images show how a plant reflects light in ways the human eye can't see. The images can help researchers answer more difficult questions about plant health.

Essentially, were collecting data across different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the visible bands like red, green and blue that our eyes can see, Powell said.

But importantly for crop monitoring, we collect data in the near infrared position of the spectrum, which is non-visible to us, " he said.

Healthy, green plants follow a certain spectral signature that researchers can see in the imagery  something that changes if a plant becomes stressed.

Using that data, researchers can map the variability of plant health across one field. That variability could be related to moisture limitations, nutrient limitations, or differences in soil chemistry, among other factors, Powell said.

Math and ag

In the past, conventional agriculture treated fields as a single unit, and applied fertilizer and pesticide at one standard rate.

But now, researchers can create mathematical models for input application based on differences in plant health in one field.

That means data can show which sections, for example, have enough nitrogen in the soil  so producers can skip applying fertilizer there and put it in other areas that are under-fertilized.

The same logic goes for other chemicals like herbicide and pesticide. Reducing their use saves producers money and reduces environmental damage.

Bruce Maxwell, an agroecology professor in the land resources and environmental sciences department at MSU, has been experimenting with different rates of nitrogen on farmland for years.

Chuck Merja, a wheat farmer in Cascade County and one of the producers working with Maxwell, said the research has both improved his yields and saved him money.

By tracking yield information across his fields for several years, Merja could understand where the low and high yielding areas were. His initial goal was to improve the areas with lower yield.

But after several seasons experimenting with different fertilizer rates and seeing no improvement, Merja tried a different approach  moving nitrogen he would have put on low yielding areas to high yielding sections instead.

There are some areas that are just not going to put out a crop no matter how many resources you throw at them, Merja said. Instead we can put that nitrogen on areas that have a proven high performance.

Efficiency in the barley

Using resources efficiently is the backbone of precision agriculture. Its also what Maxwell and other researchers are trying to automate, so that farmers dont have to figure out the optimal rate and location for inputs themselves.

So much of precision agriculture has gotten focused on new gadgets that we can add to machines to monitor and measure things, but without thinking about exactly what youre measuring and why, Maxwell said.

If those fancy gadgets dont help you make better decisions  better meaning, you make more money and reduce pollution  theyre not useful, he said.

Thats why Maxwells team is spearheading technology that can actually help farmers make decisions, rather than just collect data.

Feeding the technology years of a fields yield information, input rates and weather conditions allows it to make a predictive model of optimal input rates based on what happened in years past. The more data, the more accurate the model.

The whole thing is automated down to the point where it basically spits out a map that says, heres what the optimum would be given the data so far, Maxwell said.

But Maxwell said that sometimes when he presents his research, people bring up concerns that automation will cost farmers their jobs.

Its important to remember that many farmers have generational knowledge that cant be replaced by machines, Maxwell said.

I want to see that traditional knowledge combined with the new approaches, Maxwell said.

How people interpret whats happening on their farm and have for years and years through generations has a lot of value. We should be careful not to lose that.

Students of technology

More and more students at MSU are interested in learning about precision agriculture technology.

Some want to gain that expertise so they can integrate tech into their own family farms, said Paul Nugent, an agricultural engineering professor whos working on creating a precision agriculture minor for MSU.

Nugent and his colleague Jasmine Neupane joined MSU last spring to build the precision agriculture program. This year, theyve offered four classes covering the basics of the field, and are waiting to hear student feedback before finalizing the minor.

There are still other courses that dial into the specifics of precision agriculture, like one that teaches students how to build and fly their own drones.

Mike Walach, a professor in agriculture technology who focuses on aviation, said in order to do useful work in precision agriculture, people first must learn how to collect data.

The most challenging part of the field is then knowing what to do with that massive amount of data, Walach said.

Processing speed is another obstacle. While much improved from just five years ago, it can still take hours or even days to process the thousands of images taken by drones.

Thats one of the barriers to a lot of precision agriculture  just dealing with that data quick enough for it to be useful, Walach said.

Drones at a cost

And, while the cost of drones and cameras has dropped dramatically in recent years, it's still expensive.

The high-end consumer and low-end professional drones can cost anywhere between $2,500 and $6,000, depending on its camera and other components, Walach said. Users also typically need a subscription to processing software, which can cost thousands.

Were not at the point of huge adoption of a lot of this tech, Walach said. I think at the end of the day, the question is  what is it going to do for me? Will I be able to save money? Will it increase my yield? There has to be a benefit. Otherwise, its just another gadget.

Aside from using drones to monitor crop health, some MSU researchers are experimenting with technology to better understand animal behavior and livestock interactions with predators.

Having a clearer picture of how cattle use landscapes and rangeland helps ranchers manage herds more efficiently, said Tim DelCurto, a professor in range beef cattle and management at MSU.

DelCurto said that new technology is helping researchers answer questions that they couldnt before  like how grazing patterns are affected by the weather and which animals in a herd eat the most supplemental feed.

What were finding is that a lot of our previous assumptions about animal behavior were wrong, DelCurto said.

Livestock are equipped with GPS collars that send out a geo-stamped location every five minutes. Researchers are also putting accelerometers into cattle ear tags  essentially a Fitbit for cows that can track their movements and activity, DelCurto said.

That technology can also use cameras to monitor what livestock are eating and even their interactions with predators.

Please fence me in

Virtual fencing is another upcoming technology  GPS collars restricted to defined fencing areas could someday replace barbed wire, DelCurto said.

While the upfront cost is high, the price for virtual fencing is comparable to traditional fences over time, because paying for additions or repairs wouldnt be necessary.

We could someday be in a situation where a rancher could sit in his office and move cattle to new pasture, DelCurto said.

Still others are focused on improving existing technology, like cameras that capture predator movement in real time for ranchers.

Since 2020, MSU wildlife biologist Jared Beaver has been working to improve game cameras so that they only capture helpful images. Thats because with current game cameras, 90% of the images are empty with no animals  effectively useless to ranchers, unless they have time to sort through thousands of photos.

But Beavers team has created an automated camera that only captures images when a predator is nearby, automatically alerting the rancher in real time so they can respond quickly.

The camera is still in its early stages, and the team is working to improve the automation so it can categorize the type of predator and trigger a response.

To Beaver, the goal of new technology is to improve existing management strategies, not replace them.

Thats really what drives my work  when there seems to be a need for it, Beaver said.

None of this is meant to replace the other tools. Our toolbox is not finite. Its really a question of, how can we grow that toolbox to make the current tools we have that much more effective.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has one word for those who exhibit hate for others: losers.

Schwarzenegger, 75, said a tour of Auschwitz months ago spurred his message, and he described feeling a "tremendous weight" that reminded him of the "horrors" that occurred at the concentration camp where Nazi soldiers killed around 1 million Jewish people and other groups during the Holocaust.

The former governor of California made a statement Monday in a more than 12-minute video on YouTube addressing those going down a path of hate in a recent uptick in racist and antisemitic ideals.

"Throughout history, hate has always been the easy path, the path of least resistance," Schwarzenegger said. "Let me be clear, you will not find success at the end of the road. You will not find fulfillment or happiness because hate burns fast and bright."

Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks out against anti-Semitism and hate in new YouTube video.

The "Terminator" actor used his father, a Nazi soldier, and the other "broken men" who he grew up with around in Austria after World War II, as examples of the path of hateful rhetoric.

"They fell for a horrible loser ideology," he said. "They were lied to and misled into a path that ended in misery."

Through his experience, Schwarzenegger empathized with others who fall "into a trap of prejudice" through how they grew up or through "big tech's algorithms that push you to the extreme." But he said those paths are for the "weak."

"It breaks you," he said. "That's why there's never been a successful movement based on hate."

'Solidarity is the answer': Amid a rise in hate crimes, Black and Asian Americans are standing together

Within the last decade, hate crimes in the U.S. have increased. In 2020, hate crime reports spiked to their highest level in 12 years, largely triggered by a surge in crimes against Black and Asian Americans, according to an FBI report released in August 2021. The number of hate crimes reported in 2021 decreased by nearly 1,000, but only a fraction of agencies reported numbers during that year.

Story continues

More: Over 7,000 hate crimes were reported to the FBI in 2021. Here's why that data is flawed.

"I don't want you to be a loser, I don't want you to be weak," Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger shared his message on Twitter and encouraged his followers to share it with others.

'You can stop this war': Arnold Schwarzenegger makes impassioned plea to Putin, Russians

"With hate and anti-semitism on the rise, many of you may know someone who needs to hear this. Do me a favor and share it with them, gently," he wrote. "Remember the goal is getting them to listen, and if it feels like an attack, the listening part of their brain will turn off."

'Screw your freedom': Arnold Schwarzenegger calls anti-maskers 'schmucks' in powerful rant

The former governor has spoken out on humanitarian issues in the past, including telling anti-maskers "screw your freedom" during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic and speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin to "stop this war" during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Contributing: Jenna Ryu, Hannah Yasharoff, Grace Hauck, Christine Fernando and N'dea Yancey-Bragg

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arnold Schwarzenegger denounces antisemitism: 'Loser ideology'
[Source]

Two people have been arrested in connection with a suspected anti-Asian attack in Queens, New York.

The two alleged suspects, Natalie Plaza, 18, and Elijah Fernandez, 21, were arrested on hate crime and assault charges on Monday night, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

On Thursday, Plaza, Fernandez and another male suspect, who is still at large, allegedly yelled anti-Asian slurs at Cecille Lai, a 44-year-old Filipino woman, and Kyle, her 23-year-old son, from a white Acura SUV just after 2:30 p.m. near Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

According to Lai, she and her son got a lift to the 7 train in Corona. As they exited the vehicle, the driver behind them honked aggressively even though the light was red.

More from NextShark: This is my country: Woman filmed yelling racist insults at Sydney cafe worker

The female attacker allegedly shouted "ugly Asian" at them and threw water at Lai, to which she responded by throwing her leftover food back at the woman.

The woman and the two men then got out of their vehicle to punch and kick both victims in their heads.

"She jumped out of the car and I saw the driver come out of the car," Lai told ABC 7. "But the last thing I remember is her punching me. After that, I don't remember."

More from NextShark: Asian-Owned Nail Salons Across America are Making Masks and Donating Supplies

The suspects then fled the scene westbound on Roosevelt Avenue in the white SUV. According to Lai, they also tried to hit her with their car as they were leaving.

First responders took the victims to hospitals, where they were treated for their head injuries, according to police.

Lai suffered a concussion, scratches on her eye and bruising on her body, while Kyle suffered a skull fracture. He will reportedly need an MRI to check if there is bleeding in his brain.

More from NextShark: Vietnamese language courses offered at Ivy Leagues Brown and Princeton for the first time ever

"I can't even sleep," Lai said. "When it turns quiet, it's traumatizing."

Story continues

Lai, who works as a chef, is planning to hold a rally later this week to speak out against hate crimes.

The NYPDs Hate Crimes Task Force is currently investigating the incident.

More from NextShark: 10 Men Are Taking Alexander Wang to Court Over Alleged Sexual Misconduct

Individuals with any information in relation to this case are urged to contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips.
It is a common scene  Mr. Bennett is lying in a hospital after some routine testing when a CNA enters the room to take his vitals.

This scene, however, is not playing out in hospital or medical facility but at the Foothills Higher Education Center in Morganton. And Mr. Bennett isnt even human, but a manikin.

Manikins are training simulators that simulate real-life situations nursing students might one day encounter. They are one of the many training tools the Western Piedmont Community College Nursing Program uses to make sure its graduates are ready for the challenges the field will throw at them in the future.

According to Beverly Berry, dean of health and human services for WPCC, the training simulators mimic actual medical conditions in a controlled environment. The simulators can mimic heartbeats, blood pressure, body temperature changes and more. Some of them even sweat.

Pediatric Hal is one of the most advanced simulators we have, said Ladonya Edwards, simulation lab coordinator. He is anatomically correct  he has bowel sounds, heart sounds, lung sounds, pupil reflexes and he can speak.

There is even one that can simulate childbirth.

In addition to the simulation lab, the nursing program offers a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to its students. And Berry said the results speak for themselves.

Our job placement, 100%, weve had that for several years, she said. Our nursing program has around a 93% pass rate on the NCLEX, thats very good.

Graduates of the program earn an Associate Degree and eligibility to take the NCLEX. Passing that test makes them a registered nurse and opens up the job opportunities and competitive pay Berry said draws many students into the field.

North Carolina data shows that around $51,000 per year is the low end, $72,000 is the median and $95,000 is the upper end for RNs, she said. There is a great earning potential, well above a livable wage.

Berry said WPCCs research shows the average Registered Nurse in Burke County makes around $28 per hour. She said one reason the pay is so good right now is the need has never been greater.

For North Carolina, we have projected between 2021 and 2031, there will be 203,200 projected openings for registered nurses, Berry said. Even though there is 100% placement, there is still a great need for students to go into nursing.

Cindy Davies, WPCC vice president of academic affairs and workforce development, believes the need will only increase in the near future.

With the baby boomers retiring right now, over the next 10-20 years, they are going to need more care, Davies said. So there is a big need for healthcare workers right now, nursing in particular.

While WPCC nursing program graduates have no difficulty finding a job, the program is challenging. Berry said there are pre-requisites students must meet before being accepted and the course work is rigorous.

There is a test called the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) which predicts success in the program, Berry said. (Prospective students) also have to have some science courses, usually a biology or, preferably, at least one semester of anatomy or physiology.

She said students also are required to have their CNA-1.

Students need to know if this is really for them, she said.

The college doesnt leave students to their own devices, however. Instead, WPCC offers several programs to help prospective students prepare for the program from prep classes for the TEAS to a partnership with Burke County Public Schools.

The partnership, Career and College Promise, allows prospective nursing students to dually enroll and begin the program while still in high school.

(They) can get a lot of those general education courses out of the way and be more ready to start the nursing program directly out of high school, Berry said.

The extra help does not end when a student is accepted either.

When students apply here, theyll be matched with a nursing faculty advisor that helps them to plan the best options, Berry said.

Portions of the training also can double as opportunities for students to network with potential future employers. Berry said nursing students participate in clinical experience in hospitals and clinics in and around Burke County while they are in the program. Beyond providing students with valuable real-world experience, these clinicals also are a great way to make connections and land a job while still completing their training.

Theyre writing their resume when theyre in clinic, she said. Students get exposure to multiple clinical settings and, often, they can get their foot in the door.

One thing todays nursing students wont have to grapple with, though, is waiting lists.

In the past, there were often waiting lists for some of these programs, Davies said. People might be thinking its hard to get in  but, as far as competing against a lot of other people, were just not seeing the same numbers as before COVID.

Berry said the program can accept up to 65 students each year, and that limit is only in place because of the number of students who typically apply.

If we need to go to more than 65, we would, said Berry. Wed look to hire more faculty and expand that number if we got the interest.

She said the need is so great, WPCC and its industry partners like UNC Health Blue Ridge and Broughton Hospital will do what they need to do to train as many nurses as possible if the programs starts seeing more interest.

We recognize that we have a responsibility to the community, said Davies. Were all going to need good healthcare and we are working very closely with our workforce partners  trying to get as many people who have that passion connected as possible.
By Alex Pologruto | Mar 29, 2023

MURRAY, Ky.  The Murray State University College of Humanities and Fine Arts (CHFA) has produced a high rate of recent graduates being accepted into a law school post-graduation. The students from the department who have applied for law school have seen a 100 percent success rate of getting into a school with a majority of these graduates receiving scholarships.

Dr. Kathy Callahan, Chair of the Department of History, and Dr. Drew Seib, Chair of the Department of Political Science and Sociology, have aided these students in preparing them best for their future law school and bar endeavors.

The Department of Political Science and Sociology in the CHFA offers a pre-law program with a focus in political science combining a political science major with a pre-law minor. With the pre-law area, the undergraduate pre-law students work towards two objectives: admission to law school and to complete an undergraduate degree which will help students compete in law school. Former pre-law students have gone on to a variety of law schools, including University of Louisville, St. Louis University and University of Kentucky.

Seib highlights recent alumni of the program and their current endeavors:

Chynnique Ross, class of '17

Desiree Isaac, 15: She currently serves as the University Attorney and Title IX Coordinator at Shawnee State University.

Chynnique Ross, 17: She is a graduate of the University of Illinois Chicago law school and is currently an Associate at Elizabeth L. Carter, Esq., LLC. She is also the founder of thelightlaw.org/.

Katy King, 17: Graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from Belmont College of Law in 2021. She is currently a personal injury attorney and her biography can be found at griffithinjurylaw.com/bio/katelynn-king-personal-injury-attorney.cfm.

Abby (Rock) Klaber, 20: Currently in her third year of law school at the University of Louisville School of Law.

"Yes, recently of the graduates in our pre-law program who have applied for law school, 100 percent of them got into law school somewhere, said Seib. Many of our students do go on to get into one of their top choices, even with scholarships. We have quite a few alums in law school now who are receiving 80 percent plus tuition scholarships and others with smaller scholarships. In addition, it's worth noting that LSAT scores for students in our program have been going up. This I'm sure also helps with the acceptance rate and scholarships.

Callahan highlights recent alumni of the CHFA and their current endeavors:

Nathaniel Humphrey, class of 21

Joseph Tondini, 18: Completed law school at Southern Illinois University in 2022

Will True, 18: Clerking for the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court and attended law school at Belmont University

Nathaniel Humphrey, 21: As an undergraduate student, he served as an intern to United States Congressman Brett Guthrie in Washington, D.C. and currently is attending law school at Northern Kentucky University

Dalton York, 21: On-air personality on the Western Kentucky University NPR Station in Bowling Green and will be attending Brandeis Law School at the University of Louisville in the fall of 2023

Nicholas (Nick) Jackson, 17: Previously worked as an admissions officer at several universities and now will be attending law school at the University of Louisville or the University of Kentucky

Eric Gray, 19: Completed a Master of Arts degree in History at Murray State and now will be attending the University of Memphis for law school

Chancie Coleman, 12: Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Murray State and is now an attorney in Murray, Kentucky

My degree in History from Murray State was a vital component to both my acceptance into law school and academic success throughout my three years of legal education, said True. History allowed me to develop my writing skills while studying a discipline that naturally sparks my interest. I believe having that opportunity was a contributing factor for my competitive GPA, which is often one of the most important criteria used by law schools in making admissions decisions. Additionally, having already extensively written throughout my time at Murray State prepared me for the rigorous writing requirements at law school.

"Will True is a real star, said Callahan. All of our students have been successful when applying to law school. Joseph Tondini recently graduated from Southern Illinois University, William True recently graduated from Belmont and Nathanial Humphrey is currently a law student at Northern Kentucky University."

We have several notable recent alumni, said Seib. One in particular, Cole Manion, will be clerking for Justice Sarah Campbell of the Tennessee Supreme Court. It sounds like Murray State has multiple alumni clerking for the Tennessee State Supreme Court! Others have served as summer associates with law firms."

For more information on the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the pre-law program please visit murraystate.edu/CHFA or call 270-809-6937.
TUESDAY, March 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Flu kills more than 500,000 people globally each year and leads to heart problems for many others. Publicizing those potential cardiac ills may spur folks to get their annual flu vaccine, researchers say.

Danish researchers who studied vaccination messaging methods said the two best ways to get people to roll up their sleeves were either a simple reminder or by noting the link between contracting the flu and future heart problems.

As cardiologists, its very interesting that just telling people that we can also prevent other downstream issues like cardiovascular outcomes was what worked the best of all the nudge strategies  even better than the reminder, which we expected would be positive, said study leader Dr. Tor Biering-Srensen. He is a professor in the Center for Translational Cardiology and Pragmatic Randomized Trials at Copenhagen University Hospital.

A lot of studies have shown that people who get the flu vaccine have a lower risk of cardiovascular outcomes, and there may be protective effects [for the heart] that are not specific to flu infection," Biering-Srensen continued in a news release. The flu vaccine may have broader benefits that we dont yet know.

The research involved nearly 965,000 Danish citizens aged 65 and older. Half received one of nine different electronic letters recommending a flu shot while the other half got no message.

The other messages, which included a clear recommendation from a leading health authority to get vaccinated, did not result in a greater number of shots, the investigators found.

The goal was to influence vaccinations by Jan. 1, the ideal time to ensure protection, according to the researchers, though vaccinations can continue throughout the flu season.

The vaccination rate was found to be higher in people who received a letter about heart benefit than in those who received no letter: 81% compared to 80%. For the simple reminder, vaccination was 80.85% compared to 80.12% for no letter.

The heart message had a greater increase in vaccine uptake among the participants who had not been vaccinated for influenza in the prior season.

Biering-Srensen thinks these increases in flu vaccine uptake might have been even more pronounced in countries where vaccination rates are low. In the United States, for example, only 49% of U.S. adults got a flu shot in the 2021-2022 influenza season, whereas about 80% of Danes get their shot.

An annual flu shot is widely recommended to help prevent infection, lessen illness severity and reduce complications.

Figuring out ways to increase the percentage of people who get the flu [shot] and other vaccines is important, Biering-Srensen said. Vaccines help prevent infectious diseases and for flu, specifically, many countries lag well behind the [World Health Organization] recommendation for over 75% of the population to be vaccinated.

The flu vaccine is free in Demark, so results could be different if cost were a barrier, the study authors noted.

The study was presented at a recent meeting of the American College of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation, in New Orleans. It was also published online March 5 in The Lancet. A pre-specified trial analysis was published online in the journal Circulation.

The study was funded by Sanofi, which makes flu vaccines.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on flu vaccines.

SOURCE: American College of Cardiology, news release, May 3, 2023
ST. HELENA  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.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

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 she 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.
American Canyon legal wars continue over millions of dollars in anticipated school fees tied to the Watson Ranch housing development, with the latest twist being the Napa Valley Unified School District's plan to sue the city.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

The Watson Ranch developer last fall sued the school district. The lawsuit said payment of fees required under a 2016 school facilities funding agreement between the parties hinges on the district building schools to serve Watson Ranch residents.

Meanwhile, the district claims falling enrollment means a Watson Ranch elementary school and a second American Canyon middle school called for by that agreement aren't needed. But the developer still owes school fees.

American Canyon is caught in the middle. The school district wants the city to withhold building permits for Watson Ranch until the developer pays school fees. Yet Watson Ranch homes and apartments are sprouting.

On Feb. 23 in closed session, the district's board of education voted unanimously to sue American Canyon. It also intends to file a cross-complaint against the Watson Ranch developer and an affordable housing developer in Watson Ranch.

As of Monday morning, the school district had yet to file the legal papers in Napa County Superior Court. But both the city and school district are already making their cases in the court of public opinion.

American Canyon's Watson Ranch has some sights to behold The Napa Valley's largest development in decades includes Lemos Pointe, which will include 231 modular units and 186 apartments.

American Canyon loves and appreciates the students, parents, teachers and faculty in our American Canyon schools and we know the districts actions do not reflect our communitys values, the city said in a long message posted on its website.

The Napa school district's superintendent, Rosanna Mucetti, responded with a message to American Canyon school families and staff. (The city of American Canyon also shared Mucetti's statement on its website.)

First and foremost, the City of American Canyon is clearly violating the law and prioritizing the needs of developers over the needs of children in the community, Mucetti wrote in part.

In other words, not only are legal battles brewing, but also a battle for the hearts and minds of American Canyon residents.

At its center is Watson Ranch, which is to become Napa County's largest new community in decades. This project in American Canyon is to someday include more than 1,000 homes, a hotel, parks and a town center.

The thought in 2016 was a community this big would need a school. The Watson Ranch developer and school district reached an agreement that goes beyond the usual school fees.

Watson Ranch would provide 10 acres ready for development for the district to buy for an elementary school. It would pay about $20 million in school fees to help build the school and also a second American Canyon middle school.

Theyre going to build great homes, theyre going to provide a place where we can have a fantastic school and they provided their fair share of funding, the district's then-superintendent Patrick Sweeney said.

By 2021, things had changed. The school district was experiencing falling enrollment that it didnt expect Watson Ranch growth to overcome. It jettisoned plans for the elementary school and middle school mentioned in that 2016 agreement.

Napa County's population continues to shrink Napa County saw its population fall 1% in 2021, according to the state.

American Canyon I LLC, the Watson Ranch developer, took the position that fees paid under the 2016 agreement are to be used exclusively for those schools.

In August 2022, the district sent American Canyon a letter asking the city not to issue Watson Ranch building permits unless the developer showed proof of payment for school fees. The city declined.

School districts rely on developer fees to build and improve facilities to accommodate new students generated by development, the district told the Napa Valley Register in October.

"At a bare minimum, the developer is legally required to pay its statutory developers fees," the district statement said. "Under the Education Code, developers must pay their statutory developer fees prior to issuance of building permits for square footage on which the fees are imposed."

City Attorney William Ross responded to the school district last year. He said the city usually refrains from issuing building permits until developers show they have paid school fees. But in this case, the district furnished the city with the 2016 agreement as evidence of compliance.

The 2016 agreement between the school district and developer, and a separate development agreement between the developer and city, give the developer certain vested rights, Ross wrote to the district.

Stated differently, under the current scenario, the city is both statutorily and contractually obligated to proceed with its obligation to process the project, including the project entitlements and permits, Ross wrote to the district.

The courts may have to sort everything out. Meanwhile, both the city and school district are staking out their ground.

Although American Canyon is not a party to the school agreement and has done everything it can do to resolve the dispute, we are deeply saddened to now begin preparing to defend ourselves against the district, the citys website message says.

Mucetti and the district see things differently.

The district simply wants the city to follow the legal process and ensure that developers pay their fair share before they are issued permits, she wrote to American Canyon school families and staff.

One question is how all of this will affect relationships between the school district and the city.

The two parties still must work together. For example, City Manager Jason Holley said the district asked American Canyon to consider rezoning some district properties so the district can generate money.

"At least on the city side, we're going to do our best to maintain a level of professionalism and accord during this unfortunate process," Holley said on Monday, adding the city will be truthful and transparent.

He added the developer of the Lemos Pointe apartments in Watson Ranch, which the district has also said it would sue, has tried to pay school fees. It resorted to sending a $723,000 check made out to the school district to the city, which was received on Monday. The city will mail the check to the district.

"And we hope to put all of this behind us soon enough, because we have important matters in front of us," Holley said.

School district officials released comments on Tuesday.

"We value our relationship with the City of American Canyon a great deal and continue to work with them," the statement said. "However, they issued building permits without ensuring that developers paid their required fees first  fees needed to help keep our facilities warm, safe, and dry for students and maintain our existing level of service."

The district has tried on multiple occasions to remedy this situation and collect the fees as outlined in its board-approved Developer Fee Study. However, the developer has indicated that it wants to pay a lower amount, the statement said.
An American Canyon High School teacher was arrested on campus Thursday after hours in connection with felony counts of kidnapping and sexual battery in Dixon.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Stephen Michael Pult-Vega, 52, was later booked into the Solano County jail.

According to a notice from the Napa Valley Unified School District, Pult-Vega has since been placed on administrative leave.

"We take the safety and care of our students very seriously. While we cooperate with law enforcement, we will continue to provide you with as much information as we can as soon as we can," read the district's message to the American Canyon High School community. "Safety remains our top priority. Anyone with questions or concerns about the investigation is asked is asked to contact Dixon Police directly."

A Dixon Police official confirmed the arrest Friday, saying the alleged incident reportedly occurred at a Dixon motel and has no other Dixon link. Though no details were released, the official emphasized that there is no ongoing threat to anyone in or around Dixon.

The only connection to American Canyon High is the suspect's employment there, the official added, and no students, minors or other staff are involved.

Pult-Vega was a fine arts instructor at the school, teaching art and digital photography, according to a 2013 story in the American Canyon Eagle, a former sister publication to the Napa Valley Register.

The matter remains under investigation.
A discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit filed against the popular Napa heirloom bean company Rancho Gordo by a former worker is set to go to trial on Tuesday.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

In the lawsuit, filed in July 2021, plaintiff Martha Martinez alleges that Rancho Gordo discriminated against her on the basis of her race, sex and pregnancy, in violation of Californias Fair Employment and Housing Act. The lawsuit also accuses Rancho Gordo of retaliation and wrongful termination.

Martinez worked as a shipping clerk  which involves packaging bean shipments  at the company for about five months, from November 2019 to February 2020; she was placed there by a temporary staffing agency, Alkar Human Resources.

Martinez is Salvadoran, and during the time of her employment, Martinezs co-workers and supervisor  who are largely of Mexican descent  made derogatory and offensive comments about Salvadorans, the complaint alleges. That includes, translated from Spanish, Salvadorans are very horny and Salvadorans they are like whores. They like to take husbands away from others, according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleges that Martinez learned she was pregnant on February 2020 and told people at the company, though the company contends in the court documents that she didnt tell managers. About two days later, Martinez told warehouse manager Mayra Barajas she couldnt come to work that day because of a family emergency. Barajas then told her Rancho Gordo wouldnt need her anymore because business was running slow.

A few days later, Martinez texted Barajas requesting a meeting regarding the reason for her termination, and informed Barajas she believed she was wrongly terminated because of her pregnancy, according to the complaint. Barajas told Martinez she wasnt aware of the pregnancy, congratulated her, and told her shed been absent too frequently.

The company, in other court records, has said that no one involved in the decision to remove Martinez was aware she was pregnant. But the complaint alleges that Rancho Gordos explanation for her dismissal was a false, pre-textual reason masking a discriminatory motive.

Attorneys representing Martinez, and those representing Rancho Gordo, didnt respond to requests for comment before the Napa Valley Register went to press.

According to court documents, Rancho Gordo contends that Martinez had been requested among other extra workers from the temp agency leading up to the busy holiday season. The documents say that holiday season winds down in February and March, and therefore results in cancellations of those assignments. Rancho Gordo ended all temporary assignments in February 2020, according to the documents.

As for the offensive comments about Salvadorans, Rancho Gordo contends that they only happened on one day. And because Martinez didnt report the alleged harassment to management, the company wasnt put on notice to respond to them, according to the documents.

The legal battle so far has been contentious. Martinez' attorneys earlier this year essentially accused Rancho Gordo of failing to preserve evidence  text messages  related to the case after receiving a letter telling them to preserve evidence in 2020, and a judge issued a $2,660 sanction against Rancho Gordo in response, the documents say.

Martinez is seeking damages for lost wages and general damages, as well as punitive damages against Rancho Gordo in an amount sufficient to punish and deter defendant's conduct, and to set an example for others.

The original lawsuit also included claims of wage theft that have now been dismissed. It also named Alkar Human Resources as a defendant, but those claims have been settled, according to the court records.

Based on Yajome Street in Napa, Rancho Gordo opened in 2003 when its founder Steve Sando, then a produce seller at the Yountville farmers' market, began offering a wide variety of unusual and heirloom bean varieties, eventually winning praise from chefs such as Thomas Keller of The French Laundry.

Napa Valley Register city editor Howard Yune contributed to this report.
DUBLIN, Calif.  In gripping and heart-wrenching testimony, the families of three East Bay homicide victims  including a 9-year-old girl abducted and killed  described their final memories of their loved ones from the witness stand and ended a three-decade wait to confront the man accused of murdering them.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

One witness, the best friend of the 9-year-old Hayward girl, stared into the eyes of accused Bay Area serial killer David Emery Misch. They remind me of the kidnappers eyes, she testified.

At the end of the two-month preliminary hearing in January for Misch, an Alameda County judge found that there was enough evidence to advance the case to the next stage, giving the green light for prosecutors to proceed to trial. No trial date has yet been set, and Misch  already serving life for murdering a woman in 1989  has no reason to hurry things along, other than his expressed disgust with the food at the Santa Rita Jail.

Misch is charged with three counts of murder. Two related to the Feb. 2, 1986, killings of best friends Michelle Xavier, 18, and Jennifer Duey, 20, whose nude bodies were found in a remote area off Mill Creek Road in Fremont, a grisly scene that suggested a sexual motive and that some sort of struggle had occurred just before Duey was fatally shot and Xavier was stabbed to death.

The third murder charge pertains to an incident 2 1/2 years later, when a 9-year-old girl named Michaela Garecht was abducted in callous fashion by a man who baited her by moving her scooter as she bought candy at a Hayward convenience store, then grabbed her when she went to retrieve it.

But while ordering Misch to stand trial, Judge Paul Delucchi dropped a bombshell and said he believed that when it came to the killings of Xavier and Duey, he doubted that Misch acted alone. Delucchi honed in on a particular suspect  a former police officer  and said he got chills up and down my spine when a retired Fremont investigator recounted his interview with the suspect.

The former officer worked in Fremont and Union City as a reserve in the late 1970s, before brief stints as a lawman in Seaside and Modesto, state records show. His brother was dating a relative of Dueys.

I think he was up to his eyeballs in this thing, I really do, Delucchi said, referring to the second suspect. He added, (Xavier and Duey) wouldnt have gone up there with David Misch. They didnt know David Misch from Adam.  They would go up there with somebody they recognized and trust.

In 1989, Misch was arrested and charged with using a 12-inch knife to fatally stab 36-year-old Margaret Ball. He was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to life. It wasnt until 2018 that Misch was charged in Xavier and Dueys killings and, two years later, prosecutors charged him with murdering Michaela. Until recently, he faced special circumstances allegations that made him eligible for life without parole, but newly elected District Attorney Pamela Price, who ran on a platform opposing death or life-without-parole sentences, dismissed them.

The preliminary hearing was akin to an unearthing of a murder mystery time capsule, and it raised almost as many questions as it answered. Dozens of witnesses were called to the stand, most of whom were asked to recall decades-old memories of murder investigations, their final interactions with the victims, or the wrenching process of learning their loved ones had been killed.

Michelle was becoming my confidant and my best friend, her mother, Christine Xavier, said on a witness stand, before describing how she learned her daughter had been killed. I just remember screaming, and neighbors came walking in, just walking in the house, and so Im kind of blank after that.

Forensic evidence links Misch to both crimes, prosecutors say. Despite the litany of witnesses, Mischs arrest almost entirely boils down to this: DNA evidence from underneath Dueys fingernails was matched to him by a margin in the quintillions. And partial hand and fingerprints from Michaelas scooter  while initially thought to be unusable evidence  were determined by a technician to have come from Misch as well.

(Duey) was not docile or someone who would succumb to being sexually assaulted without a fight, Deputy District Attorney Colleen McMahon, who handled the preliminary hearing, argued in court. McMahon said the evidence indicated Duey fought off her attacker and was making a run for it when she was shot from behind, but that she ended up eventually solving her own murder by fighting back.

Michaela lived on Seneca Street in Hayward, a residential area full of families with children. One day, she went across the street and knocked on the door of a family that had just moved into the area, explaining that she noticed a girl her age lived there and was wondering if they could be friends.

It worked. The two became inseparable, and on Nov. 19, 1988, they decided they were going to be twins for the day. They coordinated their outfits and when they got hungry, decided to ride to the Rainbow Market on scooters. The store was little more than a block away, but they still asked for permission before heading down.

At the store, Michaela wanted to get the most bang for their $5 bill, her friend recalled on the witness stand 34 years later. They left with Mountain Dew, Laffy Taffy and beef jerky, but quickly noticed one of their scooters  Michaelas  was missing. They soon found it in the parking lot. When Michaelas friend heard a scream, she turned and watched in horror as her best friend was dragged, kicking and screaming, into a gold or tan-colored sedan.

At the end of her daylong testimony, she talked about looking into Mischs eyes as he sat a few feet away from her in the courtroom.

The intensity of the eyes, and the shape of them, they struck me as memorable to that day, she said. They remind me of the kidnappers eyes.

Despite a widespread search, eyewitnesses, and national media attention over many years, Michaela was never seen or heard from again. Misch was arrested on unrelated charges just days after her abduction, which has led authorities to theorize she was murdered sometime in that time frame.

Duey had fallen in love with accounting, her mother said on the witness stand. Xavier got a good job at Nordstrom and hoped to be a buyer for the department store one day. The two met in high school and became so close theyd regularly go on double dates and attend each others family gatherings. They did both of those things the night they were killed, first to San Ramon for a grandparents birthday party, then back to Alameda County where they rendezvoused with the men they were dating.

But the foursome couldnt agree on where to go next, so the guys went bar hopping and Duey and Xavier  who wanted to order a pizza and rent a movie  decided to do their own thing. Exactly how they ended up on Mill Creek Road is unclear.

Of all people, it was Mo Sabraw, a longtime Alameda County judge, who spotted the young womens bodies while driving with his wife on Mill Creek Road. His widow, now in her 90s, recalled in court testimony that day and how other passers-by began stopping along the road too. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered both victims clothes had been folded on a barbed-wire fence.

Mischs attorneys have attacked the forensic evidence. In Duey and Xaviers case, they argued it didnt provide anything beyond the suggestion that Duey and Misch had some sort of interaction sometime before her death.

We cant even say that he was actually present when these killings occurred. Assuming that he was, we cant say what if anything he did, defense attorney Paul Feuerwerker argued.

Mischs other lawyer, Ernie Castillo, argued against the Michaela murder charge. His case was much simpler: that theres no evidence Michaela is actually dead, and that the fingerprint analysis was contradictory and on the verge of being unethical.

Delucchi said he had a hard time believing Michaela, as a prepubescent girl, simply started a new life for herself after her violent abduction.

To think that a 9-year-old would somehow volitionally decided to do what? Just disappear? To assume some new identity and never contact (her family) again? Delucchi said. Thats a conclusion that this court is simply unprepared to make.

On Friday, Misch pleaded not guilty to the charges and waived time for a speedy trial. He is next due in court on May 19 where Delucchi will hear a motion from defense attorneys to sever the Fremont case from the Hayward case.

Photos: Scenes from the Alex Murdaugh murder trial
Amid a dramatic rise in hate crimes against ethnic groups in California, one lawmaker seeks to create a special intervention unit to directly address those incidents.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

If signed into law, the Combat Hate Crimes proposal would create a Hate Crimes Intervention Unit inside Californias Department of Public Health.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1079, would also establish a special ad council to create anti-racism campaigns to raise awareness, plus promote understanding and respect for people from all walks of life.

AB 1079s author Assemblymemeber Corey Jackson, D-Riverside, told The Sacramento Bee his proposal would create partnerships among state officials, community leaders and organizations to provide alternatives and intervention strategies in communities where hate crimes have occurred.

Jackson said AB 1079 would implement a plan of action to mobilize those community and state partnerships to respond when a hate crime has been confirmed by the Department of Justice.

Anytime we begin to see excessive violence or rhetoric to an event, it usually leads to inciting violence against people based upon race, creed, color, religion, orientation, all of these things, Jackson said. We have nothing systemically in place right now to be able to counter those narratives.

Update: Napa resident Ian Rogers, Jarrod Copeland sentenced in bomb plot against Democratic office Ian Rogers and Jarrod Copeland were sentenced Wednesday on federal charges stemming from a 2021 bomb plot against Democratic offices in Sacramento.

AB 1079 is just one among a series of anti-racism bills recently introduced by Jackson  proposals he believes will help make Californians feel safe, respected and valued in an equitable, inclusive society.

Under the proposed legislation, the newly established California Ad Council would create campaigns similar to the Love Has No Labels campaign created by the national nonprofit Ad Council in 2015.

The California Ad Council is designed to make sure that our children and that society as a whole begins to see more narrative change when it comes to more positivity, said Jackson.

The campaigns would be directly proportional and targeted to combat the percentage of hate crimes committed against each group, Jackson said.

Data shows recent rise

According to state Department of Justice data, California in 2021 saw an increase in hate crimes, which grew by 32% from 1,330 in 2020 to 1,763 in 2021.

Hate crimes against Black people increased by 12.5% in the same time frame. Crimes motivated by a persons sexual orientation rose from 205 incidents in 2020 to 303 in 2021, a 47% increase, according to the Department of Justice.

Anti-Asian bias events rose by 177%, from 89 in 2020 to 247 in 2021. And anti-Hispanic or Latino bias events grew to 29% from 152 in 2020 to 197 in 2021.

Hate crimes based on religion, including anti-Jewish bias events, increased by 32% in 2021, the data says.

The bill seeks to do two things, institutionalize anti-racist practices within the system of the state, Jackson said. But (also) making sure that the state is involved in shaping that narrative against (hate).

Recent reports in California

The legislation comes at a time when hate crimes and similar acts of violence have happened in California, some just within recent months.

Earlier this year, racist flyers were found on the sidewalks and driveways of a Folsom neighborhood, according to Folsom Police Department.

In another incident, last week five people were arrested after a series of bombings that began Dec. 13 in Fresno. According to Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama, a task force of local police and FBI agents found bomb-making components, firearms, methamphetamine and white supremacist paraphernalia, including Nazi flags.

Additionally, on Wednesday two supporters of former President Donald Trump, Napa resident Ian Rogers and Vallejo resident Jarrod Copeland, were sentenced to federal prison for their plans to bomb the Democratic Party headquarters in downtown Sacramento.

Jackson added he wants to do more than speak out or offer thoughts and prayers when such incidents happen.

This (bill) is an accumulation of everything that weve been living through, Jackson said. This is timely because we know when 2024 comes, this rhetoric is going to happen again and we need systems in place to be able to combat these things.

In terms of fiscal impacts, the Department of Justice will determine the cost of the unit and to submit a budget change proposal no later than Sept. 15 next year for inclusion in the governors 202526 budget proposal, according to the bill.
Sudan army agrees to open passage for urgent humanitarian cases

130 Ukrainian servicemen back as part of prisoner exchange

Finland launches Europe's most powerful nuclear reactor

Over 6,000 British to play role in Charles III and Camilla Coronation

9 patients transported from Artsakh to Armenia thanks to ICRC

Washington forces Yerevan to join anti-Russian sanctions

Gyumri - Yerevan train crashes into truck and derails

Group brawl due to traffic accident

SK military prevent North Korean patrol chasing boat

Russian peacekeepers celebrate Easter in Artsakh

Traffic on Getap-Martuni road one-way due to risk of bridge collapse

RA Ministry of Finance delegation visits Washington

$230 million damage to Artsakh economy due to blockade

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
The US is following reports of a shooting incident on March 5 inside Nagorno-Karabakh which killed five individuals. US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price noted this at Mondays Department press briefingand referring to Azerbaijan's recent sabotage operations at the Lachin corridor.

We offer our condolences to the families of those injured and killed. There can be no military solution to conflict, and the use of force to resolve disputes is never acceptable. The only way to sustain peace is at the negotiating table and toand the use of force undermines negotiations. [US] Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono is in the region to stress the only way forward is through direct dialogue and diplomacy. And as the [US] Secretary [of State] has emphasized, the United States is committed to Armenia-Azerbaijan peace negotiations, Price added.

He emphasized that the US is not going to oppose any mediation to the parties, and the latter will have to decide for themselves.

This is a question for the parties themselves, and we are not going to put ourselves against any other offer of mediation, and in fact were not a mediator. We are a partner to the two countries. I think we have demonstrated both in word and in deed the nature of our relationship with the two countries, our ability to bring the two countries together, our willingness and readiness to help bring about additional progress in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said the US State Department spokesperson.

We are not doing this as a means by which to compete with Moscow. We are doing this in an effort to bring about the settlement and resolution of a longstanding dispute between these two countries, and unfortunately a dispute that has consistently taken lives, just as it did on March 5th. Our interest here is in peace and security. Its in the interests of the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well, Ned Price added.

At around 10am on March 5, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces targeted and opened fire on a staff shift vehicle of the Passport and Visa Department of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Police. Three Artsakh policemen were killed and one was injured as a result. Baku, in turn, reported the death of two Azerbaijani servicemen.
Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) with Armenia, nine patients from the Republican Medical Center of Artsakhand with serious diseases of the oncology and pathologies requiring emergency surgical interventionshave been transported today to specialized medical institutions of Armeniaand with the mediation and escorting of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

And nine patients, who had been transferred to Armenia for medical treatment, have returned to Artsakh, together with accompanying persons, the Ministry of Health of Artsakh informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical centers of Artsakh.

Six children remain in the neonatal and intensive care unit of Arevik medical center.

Six patients remain in the intensive care unit of the Republican Medical Center, and one of them is in critical condition.

A total of 153 medical patients have been transported so far from Artsakh to Armenia with the mediation and assistance of the ICRC.
At just 10 years old, Olivia Antillon-Galvan already has her sights set on becoming a quantum physicist or an astronaut one day. Annika Wardlaw, 11, wants to be a heart and lung surgeon. Now, both girls are starting to consider other areas of science.

Today really made me want to go into marine biology, said Wardlaw, of South Miami, as Antillon-Galvan grinned and nodded in agreement.

The two were among the 30 who were part of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida group, ages 10 to 18, who visited the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science on Saturday for the 19th annual Women and Girls Exploring Earth Sciences Day.

The event was spearheaded by one of the Rosenstiel Schools first tenured female faculty members, Rana Fine, ocean sciences professor emerita who studies how the worlds oceans absorb and distribute gasessuch as oxygen and carbon dioxidein addition to how that process is changing as oceans warm. When she started teaching at the University of Miami, Fine explained that she was one of just four women doing research in the physics of the ocean at a university in the United States.

We started this activity to share our excitement as well as the importance of the oceanic, atmospheric, earth, and climate sciences, Fine told the girls. Its been very exciting to be a part of the ocean sciences, and today you are going to be introduced to many aspects of our science by the women faculty and graduate students at Rosenstiel School. I really hope we inspire you to think about a career in the sciences.

Throughout the morning, the Scouts visited different stations organized by a group of Rosenstiels female faculty and staff members, as well as many graduate students. Maria Cartolano, marine mammal science lecturer, along with graduate students Natalyn Jones, Rachael Heuer, and Brieanna Wagler taught the girls about the different types of marine mammals. And they staged a dolphin being stranded to show the Scouts the best ways to help the animals survive, including making a call to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Rescue line.

Cassandra Gaston, associate professor of atmospheric sciences, and graduate students Hope Elliott and Haley Royer, explained some of what's involved in the aerosol sciences, highlighting their research on how Saharan dust may help fertilize the Amazon rainforest. They also showed the students how to create a cloud in a jar using some of their labs equipment to simulate the conditions needed for clouds to form in the sky. The trio also did an experiment demonstrating how clouds eventually must release rain. They put shaving cream on top of water and allowed the girls to place droplets of food coloring on the shaving cream, which eventually seeped into the water.

Ocean sciences associate professor Hilary Closewho studies what happens to organic carbon in the oceanalong with graduate students Elizabeth Yanuskiewicz and Lillian Henderson led the Scouts in a forensic sciences experiment, where they had to find out what a mystery group of parkgoers fed some manatees. Using a chemical process called extraction chromatography, the girls determined whether it was freeze-dried beets, spinach, or spirulina.

Finally, graduate students Juliana Grilo and Remedy Rule led the group around the Rescue a Reef lab, where corals and other marine organisms are being grown to eventually be replanted in the ocean. In the lab, the Scouts viewed juvenile corals under a microscope and learned about the different types of coral in Florida, as well as how the lab helps cultivate coral to restore those lost to disease and bleaching.

By lunchtime, the girls were bubbling with excitement. Grace Singler, 10, of South Miami said it was difficult to choose her favorite part of the day.

It was so fun watching corals move under the microscope, saving a pretend dolphin, making clouds in a jar, and finding out the mystery of what the manatees were eating, she said.

Mina Boomer, 12, said the morning stations really made her think more about a career in the sciences.

It was really fascinating to learn that there are so many species different from us living in the ocean, and it made me think about how important it is to protect our wildlife, she said. I now see this as an option for my career.

After lunch, the Scouts learned about how scientists measure stress in Gulf toadfish from Danielle McDonald, marine biology professor. They also were told about shark research, from graduate student Laura McDonnell, and what the University is doing to help corals survive, from research associate Liv Williamson.

Lori Ross, chief mission delivery officer for the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, said the event was a wonderful opportunity for the organization to expose the girls to some of the types of careers available in the sciences.

This is a way for the girls to find a field they love that perhaps they didnt know about before, Ross said. Also, meeting women who look like them who are working in the earth sciences is so inspiring. We always tell girls, you can be whatever you want to be. But until they really see it, often they dont believe it.
She will be visiting India between March 7-10 on the invitation of her Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal.

During the visit, the India-USA Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on March 10 to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

The Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade and maximise investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors.

--IANS ans/vd

( 123 Words)

2023-03-06-22:36:02 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said RuPay and UPI technologies are India's identity in the world. "In the era of 'Industry 4.0', platforms developed by India are becoming models for the world," PM Modi said while addressing a post-Budget webinar on the subject of 'Enhancing Efficiency of the Financial Services for Creating Growth Opportunities'. This was the tenth of the series of 12 webinars being organised by the government. The objective behind hosting the webinars is to seek ideas and suggestions for the effective implementation of the initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023. "RuPay and UPI are not just a low cost and highly secure technology, but it is our identity in the world. There is immense scope for innovation. UPI should become a means of financial inclusion and empowerment for the whole world, we have to collectively work for it. I suggest that our financial institutions should also have a maximum partnership with fintech to increase their reach," PM Modi said. 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. In what is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with another country, India and Singapore last month 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. The virtual launch function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his 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 countries will be able to send money in real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account. 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. To begin with, the facility will be extended to travellers from G-20 countries. (ANI)
Clearing the hardest hurdle for securing a loan of USD 2.9-billion bailout package from the IMF, President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed Sri Lanka's Parliament on Monday evening that China had given assurance that it would back the island country's debt restructuring. Making a special address in Parliament, the President said that the EXIM Bank of China last night handed over a new letter of assurance pertaining to Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, according to Newswire. He further stated that a letter of intent signed by himself and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was thereafter immediately handed over to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "We have completed our responsibilities. Now, I hope the IMF will do their part by the 3rd or 4th week of this month," President Wickremesinghe said. The President added that this will enable the first round of funds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be issued to Sri Lanka. President Wickremesinghe in his address to parliament said that with the provision of fertiliser, the country achieved a successful harvest during Yala and Maha seasons -- Maha and Yala are synonymous with two monsoons -- and the export of agricultural products has gained a fair degree of normalcy and economic problems since June 2022 have been resolved to some extent. According to Newswire, he told Parliament that the government took many extremely difficult economic measures to stabilise the economy and efforts are now being made to ensure economic growth. The President told Parliament that the government implemented various measures such as providing essential commodities, uninterrupted electricity supply, fertiliser to farmers, and additional funds for Samurdhi beneficiaries and restored tax policies implemented in 2019 to improve revenue as the emergency tax cuts implemented earlier led to a decrease in government revenue. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI/NewsVoir): Vikas Lifecare Limited is pleased to announce that its subsidiary company Genesis Gas Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Genesis) enters into Joint Venture Agreement with Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) to set up India's first Integrated Smart Meter Manufacturing Plant with Capital Expenditure of Rs 1100 million. IGL and Genesis joined hands to establish India's first Integrated State-of-the-art Smart Meter Manufacturing Plant to manufacture Diaphragm Gas Meters equipped with IoT technologies like LoRa, LoRaWAN, Bluetooth, NFC, NB-IoT etc. These Smart Meters shall provide much-needed solutions to manage consumers' energy demand and metering with utmost accuracy and on real-time basis. Initially, the Smart Meter Manufacturing Plant shall have installed capacity to manufacture 1 Million Meters annually, and is planned to be operational by April 2024. The rise in disposable incomes, rapid urbanization, climate stability challenges and the government's thrust towards the use of clean energy is leading to increase in market for gas distribution companies thus enhancing the demand for smart metering solutions. Through proposed Joint Venture, IGL and Genesis are aiming to tap this demand not only for domestic consumers but for international market as well by providing latest technology-based metering solutions meant for long range communications and capable of working in low-power networks, automated metering, prepaid metering. Gas Metering Solutions market is presently dominated by offshore suppliers, with minimal presence of Indian players. This IGL and Genesis Joint Venture, which is being announced following the spirit of Government of India's Make in India - Make for World initiative, shall be instrumental in paradigm shift in favour of Indian Players. The proposed Joint Venture shall also develop necessary software, interface with in-built smart analytics, dashboards and predictive maintenance protocols, systems as these are becoming a necessity for running any gas distribution business in an efficient manner. The proposed Joint Venture between IGL and Genesis shall have equity participation from both the partners in the ratio of 51:49 respectively. Commenting on the occasion, Sanjay Kumar, Managing Director of IGL said, "The state-of-the-art plant will be manufacturing hub for Smart Gas Meters for domestic as well as export markets. This will showcase IGL capabilities in manufacturing and asset management field, apart from its core business of City Gas Distribution. I am quite sure this venture by IGL will be a fruitful and growth enabling diversification move for IGL and Genesis." Pawan Kumar, Director (Commercial) of IGL said, "This will a be major step for IGL towards diversification into allied manufacturing business in line with company's Mission & Vision, aiming for green, clean & sustainable growth. This JV will help in import substitution and will give impetus to make in India initiative in Amrit Kaal (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav)." Dr Vikas Garg, Chairman of Vikas Group & Director, Genesis said, "This Joint Venture will be a game changer and will revolutionize the Smart Metering technology in India and will be a step forward towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat, a much-needed impetus to the concept of a Smarter and Digital India. We are sure that our investment in the growing gas sector is going to be very meaningful in nation-building as energy accounting is as important, if not more than the distribution of gas. This Gas Meter manufacturing is one of the many initiatives that our group is focusing to meet our domestic as well as export requirements. Our company Genesis's MDM and Head End System are already recognised as a must for any gas distribution business." The securities of the Vikas Lifecare Ltd. are listed on both the Stock Exchanges, BSE (Scrip Code: 542655) and NSE (Symbol: VIKASLIFE). This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 7 (ANI/PNN): SKINTILLATINGG Clinics and Institute, a renowned cosmetology clinic, has launched a new program called 'Discover Real You' aimed at helping people achieve healthy skin and hair by educating them on adopting healthy lifestyles. The 21-day program provides proper consultation with doctors, prescriptions for skin problems, guidance for daily skincare regimen, and online sessions with Dr Akshaya Jain, the founder and CEO of SKINTILLATINGG Clinics and Institute. The program ends with one treatment session at the SKINTILLATINGG clinic and coffee with Dr Akshaya Jain. Participants can expect a 10-20% improvement in their skin and hair within 20 days, with some individuals experiencing even more significant results. The 'Discover Real You' program is a unisex initiative designed for different age groups, starting from 15 years to 65 years. The primary aim is to educate people about the importance of maintaining healthy skin and hair, as beautiful skin and hair are not a luxury but a necessity. The program is available for just INR 5000/-, and there are no hidden charges. In addition to promoting healthy skin and hair, the program also raises funds for the LGBTQ community's better health and emotional well-being, education, and aesthetic surgeries through the AMALEENI foundation. Dr Akshaya Jain, who is celebrating International Women's Day on 8th March, is committed to women's equality and inspiring women to follow their dreams and self-confidence. The 'Discover Real You' program aligns with Dr Akshaya Jain's vision of empowering individuals through cosmetology and providing guidance on investments and ROI mapping. The SKINTILLATINGG Institute for Aesthetic cosmetology, certified by the Government of India, trains doctors, nursing staff, and therapists to establish their career in cosmetology. Dr Akshaya Jain's entrepreneurial journey and the SKINTILLATINGG brand's success are remarkable, considering the challenges she faced while climbing the ladder of success. She has also established the AMALEENI Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports weaker sections of society by funding their course fee for therapist training and providing major funding for aesthetic surgeries for LGBTQ and transgender people. The 'Discover Real You' program is an opportunity for men and women to become a part of a journey towards healthy skin and hair while supporting a noble cause. Together, let us make a few lives scintillating with SKINTILLATINGG Clinics and Institute. This story is released by Satish Reddy from https://worldnewsnetwork.co.in/ This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
On the eve of International Women's Day, Vedanta on Tuesday launched a talent acquisition programme - Project Panchhi - for recruiting 1,000 women from marginalised communities across the country. According to a company statement, the project's aim is to recruit young women from remote areas, in the operational areas of the company's metals, mining and oil and gas businesses in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Goa, etc. The firm also said it plans to increase the diversity in its workforce by specifically focusing on the recruitment of women, underrepresented in the sector. Project Panchhi aims to recruit girls from marginalised communities. Many of these girls are first-generation learners who aspire to further study to have professional careers. Vedanta said the firm was undertaking a selection process to identify the right candidates based on various criteria and would support their higher education in leading institutions. After graduation, these girls will join Vedanta's operations as graduate trainees. This programme is inaugurated at Vedanta's Alumina Refinery operations at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha) where in the first phase, 40 girls have been identified. Vedanta's Chairman Anil Agarwal said, "I strongly believe that Project Panchhi will give young girls wings to soar. It will enable girls from remote parts of the country to pursue higher education, learn skills and financially empower themselves." The Chairman added, "Vedanta's motto 'Transforming for Good' embodies our mission to bring positive change in the lives of our communities. I proudly look forward to seeing these girls succeed and emerge as tall leaders in our organisation." Madhu Srivastava, Group Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Vedanta, said, "Project Panchhi is a unique initiative towards inclusive development of our communities and in line with our overall vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. We are confident that these upskilled young girls would emerge as leaders and become shining examples for others in their communities, states and country at large". Vedanta's Lanjigarh operations, the site of the first roll-out of this project, houses a world-class 2 MTPA alumina refinery. The refinery is currently undergoing expansion to 5 MTPA and will deploy significant manpower. This offers immense opportunities for the recruits to get a hands-on learning experience. (ANI)
The Ministry of Defence has signed agreements, worth Rs 9,900 crore, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the procurement of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft and three cadet training ships, respectively. The Union Cabinet had on March 1, approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore. The Cabinet had also cleared the signing of contract with L&T for the acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships from L&T, worth more than Rs 3,100 crore under Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} category. 'Buy (Indian-IDDM)' category refers to the procurement of products from an Indian vendor that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 50 per cent Indigenous Content (IC) on cost basis of the total contract value, according to the ministry. According to the ministry, HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft possessing good low-speed handling qualities and provides better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats. The statement of the ministry, released on Tuesday, said the signing was done in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, along with other officials of the ministry, and representatives of HAL and Larsen and Toubro were also present during the signing. The statement said the aircraft would meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force for the training of newly-inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being an indigenous solution, the aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years. HTT-40 contains about 56 per cent indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60 per cent through the indigenisation of major components and subsystems, the ministry added. The HAL would engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The cadet training ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations, according to the ministry. The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, search and rescue, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed at Larsen and Toubro's shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai. According to the statement, the project will generate employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years. (ANI)
Instead of smearing each other's faces with colours, Hrithik and his family chose to work out together.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfH09FOHtH/?hl=en

Taking to Instagram, the 'Krrish' star dropped a video in which we can see Hrihtik's son busy lifting weights, while the rest do lunges.

Hrithik's ex-wife Sussanne is in the corner, working out. Sussanne's boyfriend Arslan Goni was present as well.

"No rang or bhang , just sweat n fun ! A customized whole gang Holi morning workout by @swapneelhazare !Happy Holi beautiful people! How's your Holi going," Hrithik captioned the post.

Hrithik and his family's unconventional way of celebrating Holi garnered netizens' attention.

"Arreyyy...what," a social media user commented.

"Hahahhaa this is epic," another one wrote.

Sussane also dropped a comment and said that it was the "best holi ever."

Meanwhile, on the work front, Hrithik recently wrapped the Hyderbad schedule of 'Fighter', which also stars Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor in significant roles.

'Fighter' will be India's first aerial action film. It will also be the first time that Hrithik will share screen space with Deepika. The film is tipped to cater to a global audience with a story deeply that is rooted in India.

Presented by Viacom18 studios in association with Siddharth Anand's Marflix Pictures, 'Fighter' is set to release on January 25, 2024. (ANI)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday asked officers to gear up fully for making two sessions of G-20 slated to be held in the state on March 15-17 and March 19-20 a huge success. The Chief Minister, who reviewed the arrangements for the mega event here, said Punjab is fully ready to host the sessions and asked the officers to ensure foolproof arrangements for the working sessions slated to take place at the holy city of Amritsar next week. Batting for flawless planning and execution, he said no stone should be left unturned for making this event a huge success. He said they were fortunate to have got a once in a lifetime opportunity to hold such a mega event in the state, adding rumour mongers will never succeed in tarnishing the image of state. The Chief Minister said the government is duty bound to make elaborate arrangements for the comfortable stay of the dignitaries participating in the summit. He said apart from assuring their cozy stay in state, the guests will be offered the traditional Punjabi food, and will also be given a glimpse of rich Punjabi culture during the cultural events in the evening. Mann hoped the state government will set a new benchmark by successfully hosting the two sessions of G-20 in the state. He said that it is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that the state has got two sessions of G-20, first in March 15, 16 and 17 on education and then on labour on March 19 and 20. Mann said that this summit will promote Punjab as a most preferred destination for business on the international level and it will also provide a stage to the government to showcase its achievements and facilities for setting up new businesses. He said this is a golden opportunity when Punjab can be presented as a land of best opportunities and by bringing maximum investment they can create new employment opportunities for the youth. Mann said the government will involve every Punjabi in the event so that the rich heritage of state is showcased to the visiting dignitaries. --IANS vg/vd ( 368 Words) 2023-03-06-20:36:03 (IANS)
The incident was reported on March 4 and the passenger was identified as Anil Meena.

According to sources, the Air India official handed over the passanger to Delhi Police after he was caught smoking inside the flight's lavatory.

"He was smoking inside lavatory when the alarm started ringing which alerted the flight crew," said an official privy to investigation.

"The Delhi ATC was informed about the incident and the passenger was handed over to Delhi Police as soon as the flight landed at IGI Airport.

"On interrogation, the man disclosed that he was a chain smoker," said the official.

On Sunday, the Delhi police has lodged a case against a student for allegedly urinating on a fellow passenger on a New York-Delhi American Airlines Flight.

The student was said to be drunk at the time of the incident.

The incident allegedly took place on flight number AA292, which took off from New York on Friday and landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi at 10.12 p.m. on Saturday.

--IANS ssh/vd

( 214 Words)

2023-03-06-21:42:04 (IANS)
Acting tough on the suicide of an intermediate student, the Telangana government on Monday cancelled affiliation of a corporate junior college where he was studying. The Board of Intermediate Education announced cancellation of affiliation of Sri Chaitanya College, Narsingi, where 16-year-old Satwik hanged himself due to harassment by the Principal, incharge, teacher and others. The order will come into effect from next academic year. The intermediate first year (Class 11) student hanged himself in the classroom after study hours on the night of February 28. In a suicide note, the student wrote that he was taking the extreme step due to mental torture by the Principal and three others. Based on the suicide letter and a complaint lodged by the student's parents, police arrested Principal (Administration) Akalanakam Narasimha Chary, Principal Tiyyaguru Siva Ramakrishna Reddy, warden Kandaraboina Naresh, and Vice Principal Vontela Shoban Babu. A court sent them to judicial custody. Police have charged the four with harassment and insulting the victim in the name of studies, thereby forcing him to take the extreme step. Police in its remand report stated that the Principal and others used insulting words and even beat up Satwaik in front of other students, making mentally upset. On the day when the student died by suicide, his parents had come to the college meet him. After they left, Chary and Ramakrishna Reddy used foul language. Meanwhile, the Education Department on Monday held a meeting with representatives of various private colleges to discuss ways to prevent such incidents. The Board of Intermediate Education decided to constitute a committee to control misleading advertisements by the colleges. The officials also announced that action will be taken against the colleges conducting classes beyond the fixed hours. Board of Intermediate Education Secretary Sunil Mittal said that the biometric system will be implemented from next academic year. --IANS ms/vd A ( 317 Words) 2023-03-06-21:58:07 (IANS)
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that the common people will get immediate treatment even in the villages of the state while high-quality health services will be made available to serious patients sitting at home by identifying them. On Monday, Pathak flagged off the mobile medical unit run by the voluntary organization The Hans Foundation at the State Institute of Health and Family Welfare. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said, "This service has been started in ten districts of the state (Prayagraj, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Chandauli, Chitrakoot, Fatehpur, Shravasti, Bahraich, Balrampur and Siddharthnagar) with the help of Hans Foundation to take health services to the doorsteps of common people." "Necessary equipment and medicines will be available in these units along with MBBS doctors, pharmacists, ANMs and lab technicians. A total of 74 mobile medical units have been made operational. Free general OPD and primary check-up services will be made available in two-gram panchayats daily through the available resources in these vehicles operated by social unit "The Hans Foundation" established in 2009," he added. The Deputy CM further said, "With this, serious diseases can be identified timely and treatment can be provided to them." Earlier, the programme was inaugurated by Pathak by lighting the lamp. In the welcome address, Principal Secretary Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma said, "These units have been started for the health care of the general public." The Deputy CM informed that smartphone devices are being distributed to 81,811 ASHAs and 7,713 urban ASHAs (a total of 89,524). In the past smart phones have been distributed to 85,248 rural ASHAs and 4,776 urban ASHAs. He said, "With all the ASHAs of the state having smartphones, they can help in providing better health services to the people of their area. Effective health plans can be prepared by assessing the condition of the area with the information provided by them on various applications related to health programs. The intention of the government is to provide high-level health services to all." In the programme, four very important administrative manuals, a guide for inquiry officers on disciplinary proceedings, a guide for medical officers, a reference book for chief medical officers and a book for capacity building of clerical cadre were also released. (ANI)
Division Bench of Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice C Jayachandran will consider this on Tuesday.

"The repeated incidents of fire at the yard remain a cause of concern for local residents, and as per reports, plastic waste piled up at Kochi Corporation's solid waste treatment plant has gone up in smoke without fail every year since 2019. Despite repeated episodes, the authorities have not been able to take concrete action to check such mishaps," the writ petition reads.

The fire incident occured last Thursday and it still has not been extinguished completely.

The Indian Navy's helicopters with fire and rescue officials are operating at Brahmapuram to douse the fire.

The Kerala government on Saturday held a meeting and decided to explore a flooding approach to extinguish the ongoing fire which broke at the Brahmapuram waste plant in Ernakulam District on Thursday, an official statement said.

An official statement from the State Government stated that the meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary of Kerala discussed the ongoing efforts and options available for extinguishing the fire.

On Sunday another meeting was held at Kochi by Kerala Health Minister Veena George and Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev with Ernakulam District Administration officials on this matter.

On Monday, Congress workers marched to the Kochi Corporation Office as part of the protest seeking a High Court-monitored probe into the fire incident. (ANI)
A woman from Vadodara has lodged a complaint against her husband and in-laws for mental and physical torture. She has even alleged that her husband threatened an acid attack and divorce over a domestic issue. Nikitaben Sheth lodged a criminal complaint against her husband Aakash, father-in-law Babubhai, and mother-in-law Jyotiben on Monday. In her complaint to the Panigale police station, she claimed that her husband threatened her with an acid attack because she was opposed to her husband's of extramarital affairs. According to the complaint, in 2019, Nikita married Aakash as per tradition, with both side's approval. From their union, they have one son. In September 2022, accidentally, she found her husband's photo with a woman. When she informed her in-laws, they started harassing and torturing her. Last Saturday, she asked her husband to break all ties with the other woman, which led to a quarrel between the two, during which her husband threatened to divorce and an acid attack. Police have booked the husband and in-laws for domestic violence, voluntarily causing hurt, using foul language, and criminal intimidation. --IANS/ har/arm ( 197 Words) 2023-03-06-23:00:05 (IANS)
RJD MLC Sunil Singh, who was present in party leader and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi's residence on Monday when the CBI team came to question her, claimed that the investigators asked her old and out of context questions. "Rs 10 crore was recovered from a MLA of BJP in Karnataka and the CBI is conducting raids on number 10 (Rabri Devi's residence is at 10 Circular Road, Patna). "I was present inside Rabri Devi's residence when the CBI was quizzing her. It was out of context questions that CBI sleuths asked her. The CBI team was headed by a DIG rank officer and the situation was such that they were telling jokes. They have asked all old questions which they had asked Rabri Devi and other members of the Lalu family already in the past. The CBI team came here to the house of Rabri Devi for the Holi Milan Samaroh," he said. "CBI is taking action on the directions of the BJP and it is carrying out political vendetta with the leaders of the opposition parties. The CBI takes action only against the leaders who are anti-BJP," Sunil Singh added. "The central agencies like CBI, ED and Income Tax are losing credibility through such raids. Hence, no one is taking them seriously. Everyone is understanding now that these agencies are acting on the directions of BJP leaders," he said. "In 2024, BJP will not get a single seat in Bihar. All 40 seats will go to Mahagathbandhan. Hence, BJP is anguished about it. It is deliberately asking the CBI to conduct raids on the opposition leaders," Singh said. --IANS ajk/vd ( 289 Words) 2023-03-06-23:04:03 (IANS)
China amends Legislation Law to improve legislative system

Global Times) 08:27, March 07, 2023

Whole-process people's democracy to be upheld, developed

The opening meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, on Sunday started to deliberate a draft amendment to the Legislation Law, eight years after the law was first amended in 2015. The new changes highlight the implementation and oversight of the Constitution as well as promoting whole-process people's democracy to better protect human rights and social fairness and justice.

Summarizing the practical experience of legislative work in the new era, the proposed amendment has taken into consideration the new work methods and demand for legislation in recent years, and is expected to further improve the legislative system and mechanism, and enhance the quality and efficiency of legislation, said Wang Chen, vice chairman of the 13th NPC Standing Committee on Sunday.

The 37-article draft amendment covers mainly seven sectors. The highlights include enhancing the implementation and oversight of the Constitution, and specifying the constitutional compliance review requirements in legislation and the record and review system for normative documents.

"In the Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, it asked the country's legal system to step up legislation in key, emerging and foreign-related fields, and advance the rule of law in domestic and foreign-related affairs in a coordinated manner. The amendment has made clearer and more specific what our tasks are in light of these requirements outlined in the report," Feng Yujun, a Professor of Law School at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

"Now we have entered the "deep-water" stage of reform and opening-up, where a variety of challenges and risks have emerged. It is impossible to follow the old rules and logics. It is a reflection of the changes in concept of legal works from subject-oriented approach to problem-solving approach based on actual practices," Feng said.

Another focus of the amendment is the emphasis on whole-process people's democracy, which "should be upheld and developed during the legislative process," according to the Xinhua News Agency. It also proposes to codify the requirement of respecting and protecting human rights in the legislative work.

Ahead of the opening of the session, Wang Chao, spokesperson for the first session of the 14th NPC, noted that efforts have been made during the revision of the law to make sure that every link in the legislative process reflects the people's voices and reality at the grassroots level.

To better hear the voices of the people, the draft stipulates that the working bodies of the Standing Committee should set up local legislative outreach offices in light of actual needs to solicit opinions from the grassroots and people from all walks of life.

Feng explained that outreach offices have been set up in multiple regions across the country in recent years and have made plenty of achievements. Writing it into the law will legalize and consolidate its practice to ensure its effectiveness.

On improving the legislative procedures and working mechanisms of the NPC and its Standing Committee, the draft proposes detailed requirements of the constitutionality review and the recording and review system for legislations and normative documents.

In particular, the draft requires a bill's explanatory document to include opinions on issues of constitutionality, and calls on the NPC Constitution and Law Committee to explain issues of constitutionality involved after reviewing a bill.

On local legislative work, the draft pledges to expand the legislative power of cities with subsidiary districts to include affairs pertaining to primary-level governance. It also adds provisions on regional coordination on legislation.

The NPC Standing Committee completed two readings of previous versions of the draft amendment in October and December 2022, which were then published online to solicit public opinion.

The Legislation Law was adopted in 2000 by the 9th NPC, and amended in 2015 by the 12th NPC.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Sheng Chuyi)
The northeastern state of Nagaland is heading for another Opposition-less government as almost all political parties have expressed their willingness to support the NDPP-BJP alliance government, which is likely to assume office on Tuesday. Earlier, in April last year, an Opposition-less United Democratic Alliance (UDA) government was formed to expedite the Naga political dialogue with the Central government. A senior BJP leader told IANS that in Nagaland, no party was keen to remain in opposition, and each of them wanted to remain with the government for various reasons, including the development of all areas. "Till now, only Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas Paswan) in writing has submitted a letter supporting the NDPP-BJP alliance government. No other party has so far provided any letter of support to the alliance government even as they have verbally expressed their willingness to support the government," the BJP leader said. He said that the central leaders of the BJP and the top leaders of NDPP along with Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio would decide whether the government would take any support from all other parties after they submit their letters of support. The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), along with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power in Nagaland for a second straight term by winning 37 seats together in the 60-member Assembly. In the February 27 elections, the results of which were declared on March 2, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured six seats; National People's Party led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma managed five seats; Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas Paswan), Naga People's Front and Republican Party of India (Ramdas Athawale) bagged two seats each; Janata Dal (United) bagged one seat; while four seats were won by Independent candidates. As many as 12 political parties had fielded 183 candidates, including four women nominees in the recent assembly polls. The Congress, which governed the state for many years till 2003, had contested 23 seats but drew a blank once again. The grand old party had no legislator in the outgoing Assembly. Nagaland Congress president Kewekhape Therie lost in Dimapur against BJP's H. Tovihoto Ayemi by a margin of 6,959 votes. Leaders of NCP, NPP and NPF separately said that they would support the NDPP-BJP coalition government, and after holding discussions among themselves, they would submit letters of support to the Governor. Even as the NDPP-BJP is yet to stake a claim to form the government, the alliance government, according to the earlier announcements, is likely to assume office on Tuesday. On Sunday, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda in Delhi and discussed the government formation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several central BJP leaders and ministers are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony. The NPF had emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 elections, but the NDPP and the BJP, with the support of the independent MLAs, managed to form a coalition government. In April last year, 21 of the 26 NPF legislators led by former Chief Minister Taditui Rangkau Zeliang had "merged" themselves with the NDPP and formed the Opposition-less all party UDA government to expedite the Naga political dialogue with the Central government. However, the Congress, which ruled the state for the most part, does not have a single MLA in the outgoing assembly. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) --IANS sc/pgh ( 584 Words) 2023-03-06-23:08:02 (IANS)
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Garima Srivastava (IRPS) as Secretary of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board under the Department of Agricultural Research & Education.

She has been appointed to the post for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Srivastava is a 1999-batch Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer.

Palka Sahni, a Bihar cadre IAS officer of 2004 batch has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Food & Public Distribution for a tenure of five years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Aradhana Patnaik, a 1998 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of Health & Family Welfare under the Health Ministry.

Mukta Shekhar, a 1994 IRAS officer, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Heavy Industries Ministry.

Anil Subramaniam, a Central Secretariat Services officer, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry.

Kamal Kishore Soan, a 1998 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Labour Ministry.

Himani Pande, a 1998 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the DPIIT.

Tanuja Thakur Khalkho, an IRAS officer of 1995 batch, has been appointed as Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor in the Rural Development Ministry.

Amarpreet Duggal, an IPoS officer of 1999 batch, has been appointed as Joint Secretary in the Department of School Education & Literacy.

--IANS ans/vd

( 283 Words)

2023-03-06-23:08:03 (IANS)
Future conflicts will be unpredictable. The constantly-evolving world order has forced everyone to re-strategise. Constant vigil on the Northern and Western borders as well as the entire coastline must be maintained. We need to be ready to deal with all future challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said this to the navel commanders on Monday. Rajnath Singh reviewed the operational capabilities of the Indian Navy during the Naval Commanders' Conference held aboard India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant on March 06. He interacted with the Naval Commanders and witnessed the operational demonstrations at sea, highlighting the Navy's capability to undertake multi-dimensional missions towards safeguarding the maritime interests of the country. In his address to the Commanders, Singh described secured borders as the first requirement to ensure social and economic progress, asserting that India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, is moving forward in a'mrit Kaal' with renewed thrust and zeal to achieve this objective. Emphasising that economic prosperity and security scenario go hand-in-hand, he pointed out that the defence sector has emerged as a major demand creator, which has been boosting the economy and ensuring the country's development. "In the next 5-10 years, orders worth over $100 billion are expected to be placed through the defence sector and it will become a major partner in the economic development of the country. Today, our defence sector is on the runway, soon when it takes off, it will transform the country's economy. If we want to see India among the top economic powers of the world by the end of aAmrit Kaal', we need to take bold steps towards becoming a defence superpower," the Defence Minister said. Rajnath also made special mention of the credible and responsive presence of the Navy in the Indian Ocean Region. He stated that Mission-Based Deployments of the Navy have strengthened India's position as a preferred security partner of friendly foreign countries in the region. He reiterated the need for a huge country like India to be completely self-reliant and not dependant on others for its security. He listed out numerous steps taken by the Government to achieve Aatmanirbharta' in defence, including notification of four Positive Indigenisation Lists, increase in FDI limit and creating a favourable environment for Indian vendors including MSMEs. He termed the recent announcement of earmarking record 75 percent of the defence capital procurement budget for domestic industry in 2023-24 as a testament to the Government's firm commitment to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Rajnath Singh commended the Navy for being at the forefront of indigenisation and innovation through inductions of ships and submarines and development of niche technologies, in consonance with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat' vision. On the commissioning of INS Vikrant, he stated that it further reinforced the belief that India's Naval designing and development is at a promising stage and more progress will be made in the times to come. The operational demonstrations witnessed by the Defence Minister included complex Aircraft Carrier and Fleet operations, weapon firings by ships and aircraft and Underway Replenishment at Sea. In addition, a demonstration of indigenous products, including spotter drone, remote controlled lifebuoy and fire-fighting bot was witnessed by the minister. The strides taken by the Indian Navy towards pole-vaulting' the technological curve, through indigenous sources in the domains of Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Laser technology and cryptography were also demonstrated. --IANS gcb/arm ( 574 Words) 2023-03-06-23:14:02 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Delhi government to carry out a special recruitment drive to fill up vacancies in various government departments reserved for persons with disabilities (PwDs). A division bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after taking note of 1,351 vacancies available under the PwD direct recruitment quota. The bench also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad also noted the positions also include 356 vacant posts for visually impaired people. The court has directed the concerned Delhi government officials to send the requisition to the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSB) and the Union Public Service Commission (UPBSC) within a month. The DSSB and UPSC have been directed to issue notification advertisements within 30 days thereafter. The order read: "The DSSSB/UPSC, as the case may, shall conduct a written test/ interview/ process of selection within 30 days from the last date of receipt of applications by the DSSSB/ UPSCaThe DSSSB/ UPSC, as the case may, shall declare the result and the process of appointment be concluded within a period of 30 days from the date of declaration of result/ interview." The court demanded a notification outlining the eligible candidates for consideration and the acquisition of Annual Performance Assessment Reports (APAR) or other pertinent information in respect of eligible candidates within a period of 45 days on the subject of vacancies to be filled through promotion. "Convening of Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC)/ interview by the concerned authority be concluded within 45 days from the date of finalisation of the list of eligible candidates. The order of appointment be issued within 30 days from the date of convening of DPC/ interview, as the case may be," it said. The court order came after an organisation, National Federation of the Blind, had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition alleging inaction on the part of government officials in filling positions designated for candidates who are blind or have low vision. It was claimed that despite Supreme Court directives, the government was failing to fill open positions and was not giving candidates with visual impairments any form of reservation. --IANS spr/pgh ( 374 Words) 2023-03-06-23:26:02 (IANS)
On the basis of Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) profiling, a Kenyan passenger arriving from Nairobi by EK516 on March 6, 2023, was followed discreetly by officers of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) customs from the flight gate.

According to officials, the passenger was a medical professional carrying a portable oxygen concentrator which was providing oxygen support to a critically-ill four months old infant who was visiting India with his parents for cardiac surgery.

On personal search, taking due care for the safety of the infant, seven bars of gold weighing 7 kg (approx) ingeniously concealed in the oxygen concentrator bag were recovered.

Further investigation on the matter is on. (ANI)
Major Aaina Rana, the first commanding officer of the 75 Road Construction Company (RCC) at Pipalkoti in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district said that she had seen people in uniform in Pathankot during childhood and it was the primary motivating factor for her to join the armed forces. She said, "I am Major Rana and I am looking after the construction and maintenance of the road till Mana Pass. I am from Pathankot. Pathankot shares its maximum area with the military cantonment." "Since childhood, I had seen people in uniform in Pathankot and that was the primary motivating factor for me to join the armed forces. None of my family members is in the army, this was also one of the factors," she added. Explaining her parent's reaction to her joining the armed forces, she said, "They were not shocked at all. They were very happy. I got married into a 'Fauji' family. My professors in college were also very happy." "I have not joined BRO, rather I was the first one who has taken over the command of RCC. It was an opportunity for me. It is a great step taken from the end of DGBR and the Army. I do not see it very differently because the men do not treat me differently just because I am a lady officer. It is a wonderful experience," she added. On challenges faced by Major Aaina Rana on daily basis, she said, "I do not take the daily work, the weather here as challenges but as an opportunity. To improve myself, I take all the work as an opportunity. The terrain itself here is challenging but it is not just for me but for the men also who are working day and night." Extending her wishes on Women's Day she said, "My message is for both young boys and girls. If you love this organisation and have that passion to wear this uniform then definitely you should join it. This is a way of life." (ANI)
Former Union Finance Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram has alleged that the bulk of the amount of over Rs 12,000 crore electoral bonds sold so far has been donated to the BJP anonymously. In a series of tweets on Monday, the Congress leader said, "Over Rs 12,000 crore worth Electoral Bonds sold so far. The bulk of the amount has been purchased by corporates and donated to the BJP anonymously." He further slammed the corporates for donating money through electoral bonds to the government. "Why are corporates so eager to donate through the non-transparent Electoral Bonds mechanism? Corporates do not donate through Electoral Bonds because they love democracy. Corporate donation is the way to express their thanks to the Government for the numerous favours they had got in the past years. It is a neat arrangement. Favours are done quietly. Rewards are received secretly. Long live our anonymous Democracy," he added. The eectoral bonds scheme was floated by the NDA government in 2018 to cleanse the system of political funding in the country. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. The electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India, according to the Ministry of Finance. Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, will be eligible to receive the electoral bonds. The electoral bonds will be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorised bank. (ANI)
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party''s Neiphiu Rio and National People''s Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma will take oath as a Nagaland and Meghalaya Chief Ministers respectively today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national President JP Nadda are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of both the Chief Ministers. Nagaland political stalwart and its longest-serving chief minister Neiphiu Rio is set to assume office for a fifth consecutive term after the convincing win. Rio on Saturday had tendered his resignation as Chief Minister of Nagaland to Governor La Ganesan and staked claim to form the new government in the state. The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the Nagaland election, with the two parties having secured 37 seats in the 60-member assembly, as per the data by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Rio won the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency, trouncing Seyievilie Sachu of the Congress by a mammoth margin of 15,824 votes. He bagged a total of 17,045 votes, which comes to 92.87 per cent of the total votes polled in the seat. Notably, a history was scripted in Nagaland when the state elected its first women legislators in its 60 years of statehood. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before Thursday''s result. The two women lawmakers - Hekhani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling NDPP defeated the sitting MLAs in Western Angami and Dimapur-III seats respectively. The Northeast state saw a triangular contest as Congress and CPIM, which have been arch rivals for years, stitched a pre-poll alliance to defeat the ruling BJP. In Meghalaya, the NPP-led alliance, with the support of 45 MLAs two of the BJP has staked claim to form the government in the state. Among the allies, the eight cabinet berths will go to the NPP, two to the United Democratic Party (UDP) and one each for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People''s Democratic Party (HSPDP). Sangma''s NPP won 26 seats in the Assembly elections and is all set to form the government in as the chief minister for a second consecutive term. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present. Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party''s Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2. United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats in the results of assembly polls announced on Thursday. Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats. BJP, People''s Democratic Front and Hill State People''s Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates. BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately. (ANI)
Amid the protest by the state government employees demanding an increase in dearness allowance (DA), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that Trinamool Congress (TMC) government will not be able to provide it on par with that of the Central government. Speaking at the extended budget session in the Assembly, the Chief Minister further said the protesting Opposition that they can behead her but she can't do anything to increase the dearness allowance. She explained the difference in the salary structures of the Central and state governments and claimed that the TMC government is already giving its employees DA of 105 per cent. "I am giving 105 per cent DA. How much more do you want? State government employees have different pay scales from central employees. We don't have so much capacity as they (the Centre) are not giving 100 days' work money and others. Accept what we are giving (DA issue). If you don't like me, behead me. But beyond this, I cannot do anything," said Banerjee in the state assembly on protests over Dearness allowance and other demands. Notably, in the 2023-24 budget, West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya announced a 3 per cent hike in the dearness allowance for state government employees and pensioners. Several organisations of state government employees are protesting for increasing the dearness allowance on par with the central government employees. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday will question former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in Tihar jail in connection with the Delhi Excise policy case, said sources. Earlier on Monday, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court sent him to Judicial Custody till March 20. Sisodia was arrested on February 26 in an ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD). The Special Judge MK Nagpal on Monday sent Sisodia to Judicial Custody for 14 days after noting that CBI didn't demand further Custody of him at this time, but it may be sought later if required. Sisodia has been allowed to have medicines prescribed in his MLC conducted by the CBI officials. He has also been permitted to carry a pair of spectacles, a diary, a pen, and a copy of The Gita during the judicial custody period. As requested by Sisodia's side, the court also directed the Jail superintendent to consider the request of keeping the accused in the vipassana cell/ Meditation cell. The CBI during the hearing submitted that he has not supported the investigation, and the witnesses were terrified. "His party and leaders are politicizing the matter and that various important witnesses are to be examined," CBI added. On the last date, the Court issued notice to CBI on bail moved by Sisodia and listed the matter for March 10, 2023. Earlier, Sisodia himself submitted in the court that CBI officials are "taking care of me, treating me respectfully and giving all things and not using any third degree. But they are making me to sit so long 9-10 hours daily and asking the same questions again and again... it not less not mental harassment." On this, the Court directed CBI not to ask repetitive questions. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in his bail petition in a trial court stated that no fruitful purpose would be served to keep him in custody as all the recoveries have already been made. (ANI)
As per information, the fire incident broke out on March 2 and has still not been extinguished completely.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kerala government held a meeting and decided to explore a flooding approach to extinguish the ongoing fire which broke at the Brahmapuram waste plant in Ernakulam District on Thursday, an official statement said.

An official statement from the State Government stated that the meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary of Kerala discussed the ongoing efforts and options available for extinguishing the fire.

The meeting on the ongoing Brahmapuram fire incident was attended by senior officers of the government of Kerala, and other state and Central agencies.

Following the incident, the rescue operation was started under which over 5000 litres of water were sprayed in active fire zones.

On Sunday another meeting was held at Kochi by Kerala Health Minister Veena George and Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev with Ernakulam District Administration officials on this matter.

Congress workers on Monday marched to the Kochi Corporation Office as part of the protest seeking a High Court-monitored probe into the fire incident. (ANI)
CM Raveendran, Additional Private Secretary of Kerala Chief Minister, arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office for interrogation in the LIFE Mission scam case on Tuesday. On February 27, Raveendran did not appear before the ED for questioning in connection with the LIFE Mission Scam case. The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday (February 23) issued notice to Raveendran in the LIFE Mission Scam case. It is learnt he had informed the ED that he can't appear on February 27 as the legislative assembly session is underway at Thiruvananthapuram. According to the notice issued earlier, he shall appear before the ED officials at its Kochi office on February 27 at 10 am. A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court on Friday sent M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to judicial custody till March 8 in the LIFE Mission Scam case. On February 16, the remand report submitted by ED in the PMLA Court against M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to the Kerala CMO in the LIFE Mission Scam Case, revealed some WhatsApp chats between him and other accused Swapna Suresh. The remand report had alleged that there is a larger nexus involving government representatives in the allocation of contracts and the generation of proceeds of crime via the upfront commission as a bribe. "In his WhatsApp message sent to Swapna on July 31, 2019, Sivasankar warned Swapna to be very careful and asked to take care. In his WhatsApp message, Sivasankar told Swapna not to get involved and warned her that if something goes wrong, they would put blame on her. He also told Swapna to keep away from the process to which Swapna replied that she would give it to Sarith and Khalid (other suspects in the case). Sivasankar also told Swapna that CM had asked him to get a job for Swapna," the remand report had read. The report further said that the material evidence such as the WhatsApp conversation between Swapna Suresh and Sivasankar and the statement given by Suresh, it is clearly indicating that there is a larger nexus involving government representatives in the allocation of contracts and generation of proceeds of crime via the upfront commission as a bribe. (ANI)
The woman was identified as Mehreen Riyaz, a nursing student who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital, added the police.

The woman was living in a PG accommodation at Noor Nagar, Shahin Bagh. She hired an auto-rickshaw from her Shahin Bagh to CC Narket NFC. After reaching CC Market, she had a heated argument with the auto-driver.

The auto driver got infuriated and attacked her with a sharp object and she received injuries on her lower abdomen on the right side.

On her complaint, an FIR had been registered under IPC at NFC Police Station and further investigation has been taken up.

Efforts are being made to identify the auto driver.

The incident took place at around 8.30 pm but was reported after about fice hours from the Hospital. (ANI)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested an absconding accused, then Director of Pearl Group, on his arrival in New Delhi, in connection to a multi-crore chit fund case. The arrested accused have been identified as Harchand Singh Gill. The accused was brought back to India upon being deported from Fiji. The agency registered a case on February 19, 2019, against the then Chairman/CMD and Promoter/Director of Pearl group and others after conversion of Preliminary Enquiry registered earlier on the directions of the Supreme Court of India to enquire into the said allegations. The arrested accused will be produced on Tuesday before the Designated Court at Rouse Avenue District Courts, Delhi. Earlier on March 4, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at as many as 15 premises in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit-fund companies. "Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches on March 1, 2023, at 15 premises consisting of residences and offices at various locations in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit fund companies that is Pincon Group and Tower Infotech Ltd. under PMLA, 2002," ED said in a press release on Friday. ED had recorded a money laundering case against Tower Infotech Ltd and Pincon Group on the basis of FIRs registered by CBI and West Bengal Police for misappropriating Rs 156 Crore and Rs 638 crore respectively collected from its investors. The above chit-fund companies have collected money from the public by luring them with attractive schemes and offering very high rates of interest. These two companies have cheated the public by not returning the money, ED alleged. "Searches were carried out at the residences of directors of Pincon Group and Tower Group which include Manoranjan Roy, Hari Singh and beneficiaries Subharti Banerjee, Sanjay Basu & Mina Dey and Ramendu Chattopadhyay and beneficiaries of Eden Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, its directors- Indrajit De and Sachchidanand Rai, Indian Structural Engineering Company Pvt Ltd and Ashish Wheels Ltd," ED stated in the release. As per the release, during the searches, incriminating documents, digital evidence consisting of mobile phones and laptops and cash worth Rs 1.27 crore were seized. (ANI)
Congress has called a two-hour-long state-wide bandh of markets in Karnataka on March 9 against the "corrupt BJP government", said party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday. The Congress called a bandh after several Congress leaders, led by former chief minister Siddaramaiah protested demanding the arrest of BJP MLA Madal Virupaksha, whose son was caught taking a bribe by the state's Lokayukta. "The 9th Karnataka Bandh is a symbolical bandh of markets only for 2 hours from 9 AM-11AM only against "Corrupt BJP Govt". To avoid inconvenience, road-rail transport, educational institutions, exams, hospitals, essential services are all exempted and not a part of the bandh," said Surjewala in a tweet. Last week, on Thursday, Karnataka Lokayukta officers caught Virupaksha's son, a chief accountant at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), while he was allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a contractor. The anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of the MLA's son, Prashant Madal, during which they also recovered Rs 6 crore in cash. "The anti-corruption branch of Lokayukta caught Prashanth Maadal, son of BJP MLA Maadal Virupakshappa while he was taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Over Rs 1.7 crore in cash was recovered from his office," the Karnataka Lokayukta said in a statement earlier. Reacting to the recovery of alleged bribe money from the residence of the BJP MLA's son, CM Bommai said an impartial investigation was being conducted into the corruption charge against the BJP MLA and his son. "The Lokayukta, which was closed during the Congress government, was re-launched by us with the aim of comprehensively curbing corruption in the state. It is our stand that the Lokayukta should conduct an independent and impartial investigation into this matter (recovery of cash from the house of the MLA's son)," tweeted Bommai. However, the CM's assurance of a fair probe did not wash with Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy, who demanded Bommai's resignation in the light of the scandal. "Scams and corruption are rife in the state. The government had been asking for evidence. The recovery of cash from the residence of the BJP MLA's son is proof of this government's corruption. We demand that the CM tender his resignation over this," said Reddy. According to the Lokayukta, more than Rs 1.7 crore in cash was found at Prashanth Madal's office. Significantly, in light of the seizure of cash from his son's house, the BJP MLA on Friday stepped down as the chairman of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited Limited. Further, hitting back at Union Home minister Amit Shah, who claimed earlier that the Congress and the JD(S) ranked No.1 in corruption, Siddramaiah said, "Amit Shah is a big liar". (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh Governor Syed Abdul Nazeer expressed his gratitude to the people of the state today and conveyed his good wishes on the occasion of ' Holi' festival. Sharing his best wishes to the people of Andhra Pradesh, Abdul Nazeer said, "I convey my greetings and good wishes to the people of Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of the 'Holi' festival." "Holi signifies a colourful and vibrant festival which strengthens the feeling of fraternity and goodwill amongst the people and fosters peace and prosperity in the society," he added. Conveying the message of Holi, Nazeer said, "Holi festival reinforces our trust and confidence in national integration through a joyful celebration of a sprinkling of colours. The festive spirit of 'Holi' transcends across all social barriers and strengthens the social fabric and symbolises the power of truth and the triumph of good over evil." With Holi just around the corner, celebrations for the festival have already begun. There is a feeling of enthusiasm among people as they prepare to play the auspicious festival of colours with their friends and family. The festival of Holi celebrates the spirit of inclusiveness and humanity heralds the onset of spring after winter in the Indian subcontinent. The festival marks the victory of good over evil and is celebrated on two days - Holika Dahan and Holi Milan. (ANI)
Stating the day as "joyous", Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren congratulated Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma for taking the oath and said that he has 'familial relations' with the Sangma family. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader also attended the oath ceremony in Shillong. "It is a joyous day. I too had the opportunity to attend this ceremony, we have familial relations with the Sangma family. You can imagine the delight when a younger brother takes the oath. I wish him all the best," Hemant Soren told the media. Earlier in the day, National People's Party chief Conrad Sangma took oath as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second consecutive term in Shillong. After taking oath as the CM, he said, "We will continue to work on the foundations we have laid in the last five years for the development of the state. We are giving a lot of importance to youth and employment. The overall efficiency of benefits of various schemes reaching the grassroots level has improved." Along with Conrad Sangma, Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers of Meghalaya. Other than them, nine ministers also took oath on Tuesday. These were namely, Abu Taher Mondal, Kyrmen Shylla, Marcuise N Marak, Rakkam A Sangma, Alexander Laloo Hek, Dr Ampareen Lyngdoh, Paul Lyngdoh, Comingone Ymbon, and Shakliar Warjri. In Meghalaya, the NPP-led alliance, with the support of 45 MLAs two of the BJP has staked claim to form the government in the state. Among the allies, the eight cabinet berths will go to the NPP, two to the United Democratic Party (UDP) and one each for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP). Sangma's NPP won 26 seats in the Assembly elections and will form the government in as the chief minister for a second consecutive term. Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party's Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2. United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats in the results of assembly polls announced on Thursday. Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats. BJP, People's Democratic Front and Hill State People's Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates. BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately. (ANI)
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday held Janata Darshan program at his constituency, Gorakhpur and heard the problems of the people. He directed the police officials to teach a 'befitting' lesson to the land mafias in the state. CM Yogi Adityanath on a visit to Gorakhpur interacted with the people in the Janata Darshan outside Mahant Digvijaynath Smriti Auditorium of Gorakhnath Temple Complex and directed the administration and police officials to ensure that no land mafia encroaches on anyone's land and asked them to give such elements befitting lessons through legal means, informed the government through a release. CM Yogi also warned the officers against negligence at any level, ensuring quick and effective action on complaints related to land grabbing. All this while, the Chief Minister kept handing over the application letters to the concerned officials along with necessary directions. He met with 500 people and said, "There is no need to worry about anything. Quick, quality and satisfactory action would be taken to solve your issues." In the case of mutual land dispute, CM directed the officers to conduct counselling first between the aggrieved parties and then take appropriate legal action. Talking with the people who came with complaints, CM said, "Don't panic, strict action will be taken." Regarding complaints related to other districts, CM Yogi instructed officers to send those to the concerned officers of those districts. On complaints related to revenue in Janata Darshan, he directed the officers to expedite the disposal of land measurement and revenue-related matters in tehsils. He said, "Where necessary, the police force should also be taken along". CM Yogi also ensured full support to those who came seeking financial help for the treatment of serious diseases. He instructed the officers to complete the process of cost estimation of treatment on a priority basis and send it to the government. "The government will not let lack of funds come in the way of treatment", CM said. Further, CM Yogi Adityanath also showered his love and blessings on the children who came to the Janata Darshan with their mothers and gave them chocolates. Earlier, newly constructed Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) were inaugurated at Gorakhpur's Jangal Kauria and Chargaon (Khuthan) Community Health Centres (CHCs) on Monday by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to a media release by the state government, the PICU was developed by Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Limited (Hurl), with the Corporate Environment Responsibility (CER) fund and will benefit five lakh children, including 2.5 lakh residents each at Jangal Kauria and Chargaon. (ANI)
Congress leader Sachin Pilot has written a letter to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot calling on him to give a sympathetic ear to the demands of the widows of soldiers who lost their lives in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. As per Pilot's letter, the protestors urged him to push for a relaxation in the rules for giving government jobs to family members of those who lost their lives in the terror attack. The women have also demanded an investigation into the alleged ill-treatment meted out to them by the police, the Pilot's letter reads. Earlier on Monday, the widows of soldiers met Pilot in Jaipur and said he would convey their message to the Gandhi family. Speaking to ANI, one of the widows of the soldiers said, "Sachin Pilot is the son of a farmer and he will definitely convey their message to the Gandhi family." Congress leader Sachin Pilot met the protesting widows of soldiers who lost their lives in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in Jaipur on Monday. The protest is against the alleged non-fulfilment of promises made to them by the state government. The women were staging a dharna outside Sachin Pilot's residence. "This behaviour against women and especially widows of those who have sacrificed their lives for our country is punishable and unapologetic. The government will have to take strict action against the police and people involved in this," Pilot told reporters after meeting the women. The women sitting in dharna say that they hope that Sachin Pilot can make them meet Gandhi's family. They said that the Gehlot government of the state is not paying attention to their demands, so they want to convey their message to the Gandhi family. The women have been staging a dharna for several days in Jaipur. Police allegedly ill-treatment women when they wanted to meet Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over their demands. (ANI)
In a bid to allay fears, officials of Bihar government on Tuesday interacted with Bihar-based migrant workers in Chennai. The two officials from Bihar government, Balamurugan-- Rural Development Department Secretary and superintendent of police (SP), special task force Santhosh Kumar, met with the migrant workers, who are spooked after several "false" videos of attacks on them surfaced on social media. "A few videos circulated through WhatsApp and other social media platforms with a message that these incidents (alleged attacks) happened with Bihari labourers. It has been confirmed that those videos are fake," Balamurugan said, adding that the situation is returning to normalcy. Earlier on Monday, Tamil Nadu DGP C Sylendra Babu said that the situation is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. While speaking to ANI, the top cop urged the media to act responsibly while also asking the people not to spread any such messages on social media which are "offensive". "The situation now is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. A few of them have left for the Holi celebrations. They had already booked their tickets and therefore they are gone, otherwise, we are able to convince them through the employers. The police officers have reached out to the migrant workers and also convinced them that there is no such incident of attack on Bihari workers or workers from any other state here. Whatever they have seen in the media that the migrant labourers are attacked, they are all fake videos," the police official said.He said that the migrant labourers are now convinced, as a result of the reach out by the police. "Most of them have not even taken place in Tamil Nadu. They were now convinced. In the places where the north Indian workers were employed, we have intensified the police patrol. Hindi-knowing police officers are in constant touch with them," he said. The DGP informed that special helplines were set up in districts including Erode, Tripur, Coimbatore, and Chennai to encourage people to come forward to give a complaint "if at all there is any". "There has been not even one complaint from them," he said. Mentioning the team from Bihar which visited the state to gather information about the alleged 'attacks', the police officer said that they have visited almost all places in the state where the migrant labourers are employed. "They have got the first-hand information that every offensive information that has been published from March 1 onwards, is devoid of truth. They are completely fake videos. The district administration and the police are in touch with the employers and sometimes the workers," he said. The DGP elaborated on the steps taken by the administration and police to counter the rumours and said that the real motive behind the rumours and fake videos can be ascertained after the investigation. "Since March 1, we started countering the fake information. On March 2, I came on video and clarified the situation about a particular video. My officers who are also from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh also gave video bytes. Our 37 social media cells have also countered in terms of comments, and other means that these incidents have never taken place in Tamil Nadu. We requested to delete these contents. Many of the channels did not delete, therefore, we have registered criminal cases against them. Because of this, many of them have deleted the contents," he said adding that some of them are still keeping it. He said that the police have registered nine cases so far and investigating the matter. "We have registered nine cases so far based on the legal opinion and complaints. We are investigating and based on the investigation, it will be possible for us to know what is the real motive behind the creation of such videos and without verifying the facts, they still continue to do it," the police official said. He appealed to the migrant workers not to believe in what has been reported in the media and the rumours on social media stating that the police officials are active in their protection. "Rumours are very dangerous and can cause serious law and order problems. Therefore, do not forward any such posts on social media which is very offensive and which can cause serious bitterness between two groups of people. I appeal to the migrant workers that there is nothing of this nature which has been reported in the press has happened. You can trust our officers, we are in touch with you. Keep attending to your work. There is nothing adverse here. We are always here for your protection," he said. "Everybody must act responsibly including the members of the press," the DGP added. (ANI)
The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel on Tuesday celebrated Holi near the International Border in the RS Pura sector of Jammu. They also extended best wishes to locals ahead of the festival of colours. Speaking to ANI, one of the BSF personnel said, "Our BSF family is very big and we are celebrating holi with full joy. We are away from the family but we are celebrating holi with joy with our BSF family." On the occasion of Holi the BSF jawans were seen dancing and singing songs. Earlier on March 6, Border Security Force (BSF) jawans celebrated Holi with locals at the International Border in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The BSF, which is called the first line of defence, are deployed at the International Border with Pakistan. Speaking to ANI, a woman jawan said that the locals visit the BSF camp every festival and celebrate. "We are celebrating Holi. While the Jawans are here, locals have also joined in the celebrations. They come to us and celebrate every festival. We don't feel too far away from home when we are around them. We want to tell people to celebrate the festival without a worry in the world. The borders are secure," she said. Another jawan, too, extended his best wishes for Holi saying that the locals have been very supportive. "The civilian population on the borders is very supportive. They come to us to celebrate every festival together. It gives us great joy when they are here celebrating festivals with us. I would like to extend my best wishes to the people ahead of the festival of colours. Celebrate the festival with happiness. We are guarding the borders and there's no reason to worry," he said. "They are like a family. While we miss our loved ones back home, especially at festivals, they lift our spirits by celebrating with us. We spend time together. I extend my best wishes to fellow countrymen on the occasion of Holi," another jawan said. While Holi is celebrated over two days in North India, its preparations and all related events start a week in advance. Choti Holi and Holika Dahan will be marked on March 7 (Tuesday). It is marked during Pradosh Kaal (which starts after sunset) while Purnimasi Tithi is prevailing, as per Hindu beliefs. The festival of Holi celebrates the spirit of inclusiveness and humanity and heralds the onset of Spring in the Indian subcontinent. The festival, marking the victory of good over evil, is celebrated over two days -- Holika Dahan and Holi Milan. (ANI)
In a bid to ensure peace and security in the district, police beefed up security arrangements on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad as Holi celebrations coincided with Shab-e-Barat this year. "Police took out a flag march with paramilitary forces and the whole area was checked through drone regarding Holi and Shab-e-Barat in Moradabad," Hemraj Meena, senior superintendent of police (SSP) said. SSP further stated that action will be taken against those who play DJ more than the prescribed decimal, and notice will be given to all. In Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh, a mosque has been covered with tarpaulin before the festival of Holi, in order to ensure it is not smeared with colour. On the instructions of the police administration on Holi, for the purpose of maintaining peace and order, Abdul Karim Masjid at Aligarh's most sensitive crossroad the "Halwaiyan" is covered with a tarpaulin at night so that hoodlums do not smear the mosque with colours during Holi. Notably, like the last few years on Holi, the mosque in the sensitive area was also covered with tarpaulin at night so that no one would throw colour on the mosque due to Holi. Earlier on March 6, Delhi Traffic Police made special traffic arrangements for Shab-e-Barat, an Islamic ceremonial festival celebrated on the intervening night of March 7 and March 8 wherein a large number of devotees from Delhi and outside are likely to offer prayers at graveyards and mosques in Delhi. The devotees are likely to travel throughout the night from one place to another, for which adequate traffic arrangements are required to be made. Delhi Traffic Police will ensure the safety of motorists on roads, ensure a smooth flow of traffic, keep the pedestrians on the footpaths, guide the devotees/road users regarding routes and traffic diversions and prevent rash and negligent driving or performance of stunts on two-wheelers. Delhi Traffic Police appealed to all motorists to avoid traffic violations especially drunken driving, over-speeding, triple riding, riding without a helmet, and driving in the wrong carriageway. (ANI)
Captain Deeksha has undergone training with the special force troops and has undergone rigorous training with the special forces operatives.

She was misidentified to have been deployed in Turkiye as part of Operation Dost.

In the pictures shared by Indian Army, she can be seen training with her male counterparts. She is a medical doctor and is trained for special operations as she may be required to provide help to troops during special operations.

Medical officers in special forces units have earlier also been closely associated with special operations. (ANI)
Members of Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam on Tuesday filed a complaint against Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan, a day after he met Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over "rumoured" attacks on migrant labourers, in Coimbatore district of the southern state. Citing confusion in the state, triggered by Paswan's meeting with Governor Ravi, the members filed a complaint with the police in Coimbatore. Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam said, Paswan met with the Governor and also filed a petition regarding the incident despite the attacks having been termed "false" and "fake". "This is creating a confusion," they added. Condemning the incident, the members of Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam also met City Police commissioner and urged him to take action against the leader. Paswan on Monday called on Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai. The meeting came in the bakdrop of panic sweeping the state's migrant labourers from Bihar amid rumours of attacks. Paswan also interacted with migrant labourers from Bihar amid rumours of targeted attacks. "Today, the national president of Lok Janshakti Party @iChiragPaswan met Bihari labourers living in Tamil Nadu and assured them of all possible help against the atrocities being committed against them," the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said in a tweet. Earlier on Monday, Tamil Nadu DGP C Sylendra Babu said that the situation is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. While speaking to ANI, the top cop urged the media to act responsibly while also asking the people not to spread any such messages on social media which are "offensive". "The situation now is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. A few of them have left for the Holi celebrations. They had already booked their tickets and therefore they are gone, otherwise, we are able to convince them through the employers. The police officers have reached out to the migrant workers and also convinced them that there is no such incident of attack on Bihari workers or workers from any other state here. Whatever they have seen in the media that the migrant labourers are attacked, they are all fake videos," the police official said. He said that the migrant labourers are now convinced, as a result of the reach out by the police. He also appealed to the migrant workers not to believe in what has been reported in the media and the rumours on social media stating that the police officials are active in their protection. "Rumours are very dangerous and can cause serious law and order problems. Therefore, do not forward any such posts on social media which is very offensive and which can cause serious bitterness between two groups of people. I appeal to the migrant workers that there is nothing of this nature which has been reported in the press has happened. You can trust our officers, we are in touch with you. Keep attending to your work. There is nothing adverse here. We are always here for your protection," he said. "Everybody must act responsibly including the members of the press," the DGP added. (ANI)
Foreign and domestic tourists celebrated Holi in Rajasthan's Jaipur on Tuesday. After a grey Covid period, tourism is also at its peak and this is reflected in the Dhulandi program organised by the tourism department as part of the Dhulandi festival. It was held at the Khasa Kothi Hotel, especially for foreign tourists. The tourism department organised a grand event at the Khasa Kothi Hotel with programs showcasing the rich culture of Rajasthan. Many local artists participated in the dance performances in which the tourists couldn't help themselves but join the party of dancers. The businessmen and officials associated with the tourism industry said that it's the first time Jaipur is witnessing a huge crowd of tourists for the festival after the Covid season is over. And this is a matter of happiness for the hotel industry and tourism sector. In another event, MP Ghanashyam Tiwari was seen celebrating the Dhulandi festival and drenched in colours at his residence. Some BJP MPs also joined the celebrations at MP Tiwari's residence and were seen singing folk songs and dancing. 'Holi and Dhulandi is a festival of democracy', said MP Tiwari in a conversation with ANI, 'it is celebrated by people of every religion and caste'. He added that election is also round the corner which will also be celebrated. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla was also seen celebrating Holi along with other MPs at his residence. (ANI)
Kejriwal had forwarded the names to the Lieutenant Governor for their appointment to the Cabinet.

The development came after the President accepted the resignation of AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday.

Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency and has been a key member of Sisodia's education team.

She had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency and lost to BJP's Gautam Gambhir.

Bhardwaj, the party's national spokesperson, had served the Delhi Jal Board as its vice chairman.

The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government.

The Delhi council of ministers now has a strength of five, including CM Arvind Kejriwal, who doesn't hold any portfolios.

Sisodia had resigned from his all 18 posts following his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam.

After former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain's arrest last year, seven portfolios handled by him were shifted to Sisodia, who was looking after 18 departments when he was arrested.

He is now lodged in Tihar's jail after Rouse Avenue Court on Monday sent him to judicial custody till March 20.

Sisodia had resigned from his all 18 posts following his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam. (ANI)
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) made the declaration through separate notifications published on Tuesday and issued on Monday.

As per the first notification, the President is pleased to accept, on the advice of the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the resignation of Manish Sisodia, a Minister in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with immediate effect".

Another notification also mentioned acceptance of Satyendra Jain's resignation.

"The President is pleased to accept, on the advice of the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the resignation of Satyendra Jain, a Minister in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with immediate effect," states the notification.

In a surprise move on March 2 evening, Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia and jailed minister Satyendar Jain tendered their resignations to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who accepted both.

The resignations were sent to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, from where they were forwarded to the President.

Two further notifications also pointed to acceptance of the appointment of two new ministers in the Delhi cabinet-- Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

"President is pleased to appoint, on the advice of the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj as Ministers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, with effect from the date they are sworn in," it said.

The development came after the President accepted the resignation of AAP ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday.

Atishi represents the Kalkaji constituency and has been a key member of Sisodia's education team.

She had also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the East Delhi constituency and lost to BJP's Gautam Gambhir.

Bhardwaj, the party's national spokesperson, had served the Delhi Jal Board as its vice chairman.

The legislator from Greater Kailash was also a minister during the first stint of the AAP government. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Tuesday congratulated doctors at Omandurar Government Hospital in Chennai for conducting a rare surgery where a blood clot was successfully taken away by pinhole surgery in the brain. While addressing the press conference at the hospital, he said "A patient named Pratap came to the hospital with a brain clot and paralysis. Doctors told him to immediately go for brain surgery. Within a few hours, Pratap was successfully discharged and now he is absolutely fine. I thank and congratulate the team of doctors". "Since he was admitted at right time Dr Periyakarupan diagnosed him and did a pinhole surgery immediately where a blockage in the brain was removed and within a few minutes the patient started to move his hand and leg" Subramanian added. He further mentioned the steps that need to be taken when a person faces such symptoms. "Our Tamil Nadu Government has already introduced free surgery for paralysis and a blood clot in the brain. Blood clotting in the blood is regularly happening in youth. If anyone faces these symptoms just get admitted within 4 hours so that they can be cured," He said. On the successful surgery of the patient TN Health Minister Ma. Subramanian took to Twitter and expressed his pleasure. "Congratulations to Pratap (36) who was admitted for stroke at Omanturar Government Pannoku Hospital for successfully removing the blood clot from the blood vessels of the brain and saving him from stroke." TN Health Minister tweeted. He appealed to the Tamil Nadu public to approach government hospitals and avail of benefits provided by the state government. "This is the first time in India that a government hospital has done this kind of surgery. It is normally done in private hospitals where 6 to 8 lacks bills would have been paid. I appeal to TN People that if any symptoms are found then they should immediately approach the Government hospital and make use of the service where everything is free and good care is provided," He said. He also appealed to the media to spread information among the public about their initiative related to free surgery for blood clots in the brain and paralysis cases. "The state government's aim is to make sure health benefits reach everyone at right time so I appeal through media people to make the public aware of the use of government hospitals. There is less awareness among people that the government is doing free surgery for blood clots in the brain and paralysis," He said. (ANI)
A late night fire broke out in a restaurant on Bikaner-Jaipur road killing two men and destroying goods worth lakhs of rupees. The police rushed to the spot and closed the gas line suppy, after which the fire was controlled. Of the deceased, one is from Bihar and other is from Kolayat. A dozen fire brigades reached the spot to extinguish the fire. BJP leaders staged a sit-in protest in front of the PBM hospital mortuary demanding compensation for the dead. Jayanarayan Vyas Police station officer Mahavir Prasad Vishnoi said that the fire broke out around 2 AM and was put out early morning. After the fire was extinguished, police found bodies of two young men. The deceased were later identified as Hare Krishna son of Rakesh Kumar hailing from Patna, Bihar and Gyan Singh son of Dhane Singh of Kolayat. Both of them are said to be 24 years of age. Bodies were completely burnt while recovered and are kept in the mortuary. The post-mortem will be done only after the relatives of the deceased identify and confirm the dead, said the officials. The reason behind the fire is believed to be a short-circuit. The fire first broke out on the first floor of the two-storey building and then spread to the second floor. Both of the men who were killed in the fire were sleeping on the first floor of the building while the incident took place. The cylinders were also stored on the first floor. The police rushed to the sport first and later called in the fire brigades. And later managed to control the fire. (ANI)
After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement in the UK where he sought the intervention of the US and Europe to restore democracy in India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Wayanad MP alleging him of shaming and mocking the country and its people from a foreign land. Addressing a press conference, senior BJP leader and former union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "It's utterly shameful that Rahul Gandhi, from a foreign land, has tried to hurt the spirits of India's consensus on the subject that no foreign country must intervene in India's internal affairs." Prasad urged Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge to clear the party's stand over Rahul Gandhi's statement in which he sought America and Europe's interference to restore democracy in India. The BJP MP said Rahul Gandhi has sought to shame India's Democracy from a foreign land. "Rahul Gandhi through his lectures in London has made a mockery of India's polity, Parliament, judicial system, strategic security and its people. We ask Congress president Kharge if you feel that you are an elected president of Congress, do you support this irresponsible and shameful comment of Rahul Gandhi that 'America and Europe must intervene in India to restore democracy'? If you do not support Rahul Gandhi's statement, then disown it," stated Ravi Shankar Prasad. The BJP leader's remarks came after Rahul Gandhi in the UK said, "Why Europe and the US - the defenders of democracies were oblivious of how a huge chunk of democracy in India has come undone?" The BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi is under the influence of "anarchist and Maoist elements". In reference to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Prasad questioned, "Sonia Gandhi Ji, BJP would like to urge you to make your stand very clear - where do you stand in the face of this utterly irresponsible statement of your son asking for interference by America and Europe to restore democracy in India?" The BJP leader termed Rahul Gandhi's remark as an "utterly irresponsible statement" and "shameful". "Rahul Gandhi ji, you stop insulting India on foreign soil. If the country defeats you, again and again, do not take out its anger by going abroad," added Prasad. Countering the Wayanad MP's remarks on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Prasad said, " Sangh has done a great service for the nation. It is dedicated to the nation. Nehru ji used to criticize Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Indira ji also used to criticize, Rajiv ji also used to criticize and Rahul ji also used to criticize RSS. Now see, where did the Sangh reach and where did you end up? Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an interaction at the Chatham House in London termed the RSS a "fundamentalist" and "fascist" organisation alleging that it has captured pretty much all of India's institutions. He said, "The nature of democratic contest in India has completely changed and the reason is that one organisation called RSS - a fundamentalist, fascist organisation has basically captured pretty much all of India's institutions." Rahul Gandhi further said Europe and the US are not doing enough to restore democracy in India as they are getting trade and money from the country. The Congress leader also mentioned how the various institutions in the country were under threat. "It shocked me how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country. Press, Judiciary, Parliament, and Election Commission are all under threat and are controlled in one way or the other," Rahul Gandhi said. (ANI)
The carcasses, which were found by Madurai district forest officials, were seized and sent for post-mortem.

"Yesterday 18 peacocks and today more than 20 dead peacock carcasses have been confiscated," informed district forest officials.

According to a local villager, he had found ten peacocks and later the forest department found 40 peacocks.

"More than ten peacocks were found dead in the field while I was tending cows. After this I informed the police, then the forest department found 40 peacocks dead in the last two days. Forest department should take action against the concerned person," said Muthuraj a local villager.

The Madurai wildlife range officer said that a case has been registered and necessary action will be taken.

"A case has been registered and an investigation is underway," said Madurai Wildlife Range Officer.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
The Delhi High court on Tuesday permitted the termination of 27-week pregnancy suffering from cardiac abnormality. The High court passed the direction after perusing the report of the medical board of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. A woman approached the court seeking permission for the termination of pregnancy. Justice Prathiba M Singh granted permission for termination of pregnancy after perusing the report of the medical board which recommended a termination. The procedure is to be done at AIIMS. The bench directed the petitioner to be admitted at the AIIMS on March 9. A report was filed by the medical board constituted at the AIIMS which had six members. Delhi High court on March 3 directed the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to examine the woman who has sought permission to terminate a 27-week pregnancy. The woman has said that the foetus is suffering from cardiac abnormality. "Considering the nature of abnormality let a medical board be constituted by the AIIMS," the bench had said. The woman approached the court through advocate Anwesh Madhukar seeking permission to terminate the pregnancy. The court noted that in the report of the ultrasound done on February 17, some abnormality was found in the foetus. After that, the case was referred to a foetal medical expert. The abnormality was found in the subsequent examination on February 25. The court perused the report of February 25 wherein a cardiac abnormality with the foetus was found. It is stated that no abnormality was found in the ultrasound done on January 5, 2023. The Petitioner is a 32-year-old married woman who is currently at a 27-week gestational age and by way of the instant petition, she has sought the intervention of the High Court in passing directions to conduct medical termination of her pregnancy under Section 3(2B), Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 (as amended by the MTP Amendment Act, 2021). Given the fact that time is of the essence in the present case and also owing to the substantial foetal abnormalities, the Petitioner has approached the High Court for enforcement of her 'Right to life' under Article 21, Constitution of India, and has sought directions against the Respondents qua medical termination of her pregnancy under Section 3(2B), Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1970, the petition stated. (ANI)
While tracing and tracking the funds being moved by the Popular Front of India (PFI) across the country, especially the States of Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar etc, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigations into the Phulwari Sharif PFI case of Bihar have led to the unearthing of a large network of hawala operatives in South India and their arrest from Karnataka. A PFI funding-by-hawala module operating out of Bihar and Karnataka with roots in the UAE has been busted with the arrests of five PFI operatives from Kasargod, Kerala and Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka. PFI cadres in Phulwarisharif and Motihari had vowed to continue PFI activities in a clandestine manner in Bihar and had also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar's East Champaran District. Three operatives of the module had been arrested on February 5, 2023, said NIA statement. The probing agency said the five arrested on Tuesday have been found to be actively involved in PFI's criminal conspiracy to move and channelise illicit funds procured from outside India for distribution among PFI leaders and cadres. Earlier in this case, seven accused persons have already been arrested when they had gathered in Phulwari Sharif area of Patna in July last year for training and to carry out acts of terror and violence. NIA teams have been carrying out extensive searches in Kasargod (Kerala) and Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka since Sunday. Searches were conducted at eight locations leading to the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crore rupees. Pursuing the investigational leads since July 2022, the NIA team found that despite the ban on PFI imposed on September 27, the PFI and its leaders and cadres continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes. 'Following the money', NIA investigators reached Md Sarfraz Nawaz and Md Mahammad Sinan, who had been found making deposits in the bank accounts of the accused and suspects in the PFI case. Dogged in pursuit of the money trail and connecting the dots, NIA managed to unravel the international conspiracy and linkages to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had collected illegally generated funds from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and handed them over to Muhammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Abdul Rafeek M and Abid KM in India. NIA investigations have shown that Mohammad Sarfaraz, Md Sinan and Md Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of the accused and the suspects. These five accused will be produced in NIA Special Court Patna shortly. Further investigations are on to track, trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the banned PFI, said NIA. (ANI)
"I feel happy to have got this chance. Women can also get all work done if they are hard-working and sincere," she said.

Nine MLAs including Kruse took oath as ministers in the Nagaland cabinet on Tuesday.

Kruse along with G Kaito Aye, Jacob Zhimomi, KG Kenye, P Paiwang Konyak, Metsubo Jamir, Temjen Imna Along, CL John and P Bashangmongba Chang took oath in Kohima.

History was scripted in Nagaland when the state elected its first women legislators in its 60 years of statehood. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before the 2022 result.

Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) leader Neiphiu Rio was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Nagaland for the fifth time.

Taditui Rangkau Zeliang and Yanthungo Patton also took oath as Deputy chief ministers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Nagaland Governor La Ganesan, BJP President JP Nadda and Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma witnessed the oath-taking ceremony in Kohima.

The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the Nagaland election, with the two parties having secured 37 seats in the 60-member assembly, as per the data by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Rio won the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency, trouncing Seyievilie Sachu of the Congress by a mammoth margin of 15,824 votes.

He bagged a total of 17,045 votes, which comes to 92.87 per cent of the total votes polled in the seat.

The Northeast state saw a triangular contest as Congress and CPIM, which have been arch rivals for years, stitched a pre-poll alliance to defeat the ruling BJP. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu CM Stalin took to Twitter to congratulate the newly sworn-in CM.

"Congratulations to Thiru @SangmaConrad on being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second term. May you have a successful tenure and fulfil the aspirations of the Meghalaya people." Stalin tweeted.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the oath-taking ceremony of Meghalaya's Chief Minister.

PM Modi also congratulated CM Sangma on Twitter and gave him best wishes.

"Attended the oath-taking ceremony of Shri @SangmaConrad Ji and his ministerial team. Congratulations to those who took the oath. Best wishes to them in their pursuit of taking Meghalaya to new heights of growth." PM Modi tweeted.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also attended the oath-taking ceremony of CM Sangma.

CM Soren while speaking to the media said "It is a joyous day. I too had the opportunity to attend this ceremony, we have familial relations with the Sangma family. You can imagine the delight when a younger brother takes the oath. I wish him all the best,".

Earlier in the day, National People's Party chief Conrad Sangma took oath as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second consecutive term in Shillong.

Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhalang Dhar took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers of Meghalaya along with Conrad Sangma.

Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party's Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2.

BJP, People's Democratic Front and Hill State People's Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately. (ANI)
After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's statement in the UK where he sought the intervention of the US and Europe to restore democracy in India, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said that Waynand MP through his statements abroad has opened a shop of anger, hatred and violence. "Gandhi had raised the slogan that he is going to open a Mohabbat ki dukan (shop of love) by Bharat Jodo Yatra, but it seems that instead of love, he has opened a shop of anger, hatred and violence by his actions abroad," Kumar said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comment in London that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is "fundamentally fascist" has provoked a backlash with the Sangh slamming him saying the Congress leader proved the Britishers' basic idea for forming the party. "Congress was formed by Britishers in 1885. Rahul Gandhi has proved the Britishers' motto for forming the Congress party which they formed for controlling the people who were fighting for their freedom," Indresh Kumar, a senior leader said while talking to ANI. He further said that Rahul Gandhi is not Indian, but a foreigner dreaming of "ruling" India with help of other countries. "He is not an Indian, but a foreigner and with the help of foreigners, he is dreaming to rule the country, which is very unfortunate. Rahul is insulting his elders that too sitting in England and is condemning India's democracy. He is conspiring to rule India which is a very heinous and condemnable act," Kumar said. RSS leader also said that the Sangh is known as a "patriotic organization" in the whole world. "Not only the whole country, the world knows that RSS was and will remain a patriotic organization. It was and will remain a movement for social reform, it was and will remain a movement for social service, it is a symbol of economic well-being. It does not create discrimination," Kumar added. He also said that the Wayanad MP's remarks in London have brought shame to the party which is known as a grand old party of the country. "A party, which was said to have fought the war of freedom has been ashamed now. What can be more humiliating than this? This is an insult to the nation, an insult to a freedom fighter, an insult to the party, an insult to the soldiers killed in the line of duty and an insult to India," the RSS leader said. Gandhi in an interaction at the Chatham House in London termed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a "fundamentalist" and "fascist" organisation alleging that it has captured pretty much all of India's institutions. Rahul Gandhi said, "The nature of democratic contest in India has completely changed and the reason is that one organisation called RSS - a fundamentalist, fascist organisation has basically captured pretty much all of India's institutions." Rahul Gandhi further said Europe and the US are not doing enough to restore democracy in India as they are getting trade and money from the country. The Congress leader also mentioned how the various institutions in the country were under threat. "It shocked me how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country. Press, Judiciary, Parliament, and Election Commission are all under threat and are controlled in one way or the other," Rahul Gandhi said. (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his stating that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a "fundamentalist" and "fascist" organisation. Bommai said the way Rahul Gandhi speaks on foreign soil makes me doubt his integrity. Talking to ANI, CM Bommai said, "The way Rahul Gandhi speaks whenever he is on foreign soil makes me doubt his integrity and intelligence." Earlier on Monday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an interaction at the Chatham House in London termed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) a "fundamentalist" and "fascist" organisation alleging that it has captured pretty much all of India's institutions. Rahul Gandhi said, "The nature of democratic contest in India has completely changed and the reason is that one organisation called RSS - a fundamentalist, fascist organisation has basically captured pretty much all of India's institutions." The Congress leader also mentioned how the various institutions in the country were under threat. "It shocked me how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country. Press, Judiciary, Parliament, and Election Commission are all under threat and are controlled in one way or the other," Rahul Gandhi said. Rahul claimed that he had been warned by the intelligence officers to be "careful" while speaking on the phone as his calls were being recorded. "I myself had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians had Pegasus on their phones. I have been called by intelligence officers who told me, 'Please be careful about what you are saying on the phone because we are sort of recording the stuff'. So this is the constant pressure that we feel. Cases on the opposition. I have got a number of criminal liable cases for things that should under no circumstances be criminal liable cases. That's what we are trying to defend," the Congress leader said in his address. (ANI)
Launching the 100th Janaushadhi Kendra at Bengaluru South on Tuesday, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya said that the first priority of the government is to provide cheap and better quality medicines to all citizens. Mandaviya also launched NaMo Free Dialysis Centre and inaugurated NaMo Day Care Center and flagged off four NaMo Mobile Healthcare Units in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the occasion of 5th Jan Aushadhi Diwas. He said that disease affects both rich and the poor equally, but the rich man can buy medicines at any cost but the poor man is unable to get treatment many times due to lack of medicine, but our government is providing low cost and better quality medicines to everyone through Jan Aushadhi centers. "Keeping this in mind the Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been opened across the country. At these kendras, every citizen, whether poor or rich, can buy medicines at very cheap prices," he said while addressing the gathering. Highlighting the slogan of Jan Aushadhi Diwas 'Sasti bhi, Achhi bhi', the minister said,"The quality and affordable medicines are available on Jan Aushadhi Kendras. NGOs and many others joined the journey of Jan Aushadhi and today more than 9000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras are in existence." Mandaviya urged the youth to become 'Jan Aushadhi Mitra' to publicise the benefits of Jan Aushadhi Kendras for betterment of the people. The health minister also informed that opening a Jan Aushadhi Kendra is very easy and anyone who opens Jan Aushadhi Kendra gets 20 per cent commission. Union Minister also narrated last year's incident when PM was interacting with the beneficiaries of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojna, a woman beneficiary shared her experience that she belongs to a poor family, she has two sons and her husband is earning 15-20 thousand rupees monthly. She said, "She has been suffering from two-three diseases and around Rs 5,000 used to get spent on her medicines only. When she came to know about Jan Aushadhi Kendras and started availing the benefits, she started getting the medicines at Rs 1100. She found that the quality and effect of this medicine from Jan Aushadhi Kendra was same and she could save around Rs 4000 in this way." Department of Pharmaceuticals is celebrating the Jan Aushadhi Diwas on March 7. Events have been planned in different cities starting from March 1, 2023 to March 7, 2023 to create awareness about the Jan Aushadhi Scheme. "Seminars, participation of children, women and NGO's, Heritage walks and Health camps and many other activities engaging PMBJKs owners, Beneficiaries, State/UT officials, Public Representatives, Doctors, Health Workers, Nurses, Pharmacists, Jan Aushadhi Mitra's organised at different locations across the country covering all State/UTs," he said. This campaign generated awareness about the usages of generic medicines and benefits of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana and its salient features and achievements. With an objective of making quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India in November, 2008. As on January 31, 2023, the numbers of stores have increased to 9082. Under the PMBJP, 743 districts out of 764 districts of the country have been covered. "This scheme ensures easy reach of affordable medicine to the people in every nook and corner of the country. The Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) to 10,000 by the end of December,2023. Product basket of PMBJP comprises 1,759 drugs and 280 surgical instruments," he said. Further, new medicines and nutraceuticals products like protein powder, malt-based food supplements, protein bar, immunity bar, sanitizer, masks, glucometer, oximeter, etc., have been also launched. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested five Hawala operatives in Phulwarisharif Popular Front of India (PFI) case from Kerala and Karnataka. With these arrests from Kasargod in Kerala and Dakshin Kannada in Karnataka, the NIA said, a PFI funding-by-hawala module operating out of Bihar and Karnataka with roots in the United Arab Emirates has been busted. Those arrested have been identified as Mohammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Iqbal, Abdul Rafeek M and Abid K M Sivasankar.The arrested persons have been found to be actively involved in PFI's criminal conspiracy to move and channelise illicit funds procured from outside India for distribution among PFI leaders and cadres, said the NIA. Earlier in this case, seven accused persons have already been arrested when they had gathered in Phulwarisharif area of Patna in July last year for training and to carry out acts of terror and violence. NIA teams have been carrying out extensive searches in Kasargod and Dakshin Kannada since Sunday, said the anti-terror agency, adding "searches were conducted at eight locations leading to the seizure of multiple digital devices and incriminating documents containing details of transactions running into several crore rupees."While tracing and tracking the funds being moved by the PFI across the country, especially the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Bihar, the NIA said, its investigations into the Phulwarisharif PFI case of Bihar have led to the un-earthing of a large network of hawala operatives in South India and their arrest from Karnataka. PFI cadres in Phulwarisharif and Motihari in Bihar had vowed to continue PFI activities in a clandestine manner in Bihar and had also arranged a firearm and ammunition recently to eliminate a youth of a particular community in Bihar's East Champaran district. Three operatives of the module had been arrested on February 5 this year. Pursuing the investigational leads since July 2022, the NIA team found that despite the ban on PFI imposed on September 27 laat year, the PFI and its leaders and cadres continued to propagate the ideology of violent extremism and were also arranging arms and ammunition to commit crimes. 'Following the money', the NIA investigators reached Md Sarfraz Nawaz and Md Mahammad Sinan, who had been found making deposits in the bank accounts of accused and suspects in the PFI case, said the NIA."Dogged pursuit of the money trail and connecting the dots, NIA managed to unravel the international conspiracy and linkages to the funds while investigating Iqbal and other associates who had collected illegally generated funds from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and handed them over to Mahammad Sinan, Sarfraz Nawaz, Abdul Rafeek M and Abid K. M. in India." Investigations have shown that Mohammad Sarfaraz, Md Sinan and Md Rafeek deposited this money in different bank accounts of accused and the suspects. . "Further investigations are on to track, trace and choke international as well domestic illicit funding channels of the banned PFI," added the NIA. (ANI)
Amid a spurt in cases of the H3N2 virus, medical experts said that the virus can spread from person to person during the festival and it's important to take precautions. "I would really say that people should celebrate Holi but be careful especially the elderly and those who have underlying comorbid conditions like chronic respiratory diseases, heart problems. Patients having kidney problems or dialysis need to be careful about going into a crowded place and getting an exposure." said Dr Randeep Guleria, chairman, Institute of Internal Medicine and Respiratory and Sleep Medicine and Director, Medical Education, Medanta, Gurugram. Madhukar Rainbow Children's Hospital Director Paediatrics, Dr Nitin Verma urged citizens to take precautions including being vaccinated each year and avoiding contact with sick individuals. "You must take precautions to prevent H3N2 influenza, including being vaccinated each year, frequently washing hands with soap and water, avoiding contact with sick individuals, covering the mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing, and staying away from school or work when ill," said Dr Nitin Verma. He further suggested to avoid crowded situations and cover mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing. "If unwell contact your health care professional. Avoid crowded situations and use a face mask, wash hands, avoid touching your mouth and nose, cover your mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing." he said. "With Holi festival do avoid crowded places, celebrate with near and dear ones, refrain from going out if unwell, maintain distance and wash hands frequently. So celebrate safely and prevent the spread of H3N2 influenza," he added. (ANI)
Virupakshappa was absconding for five days after his son was arrested along with 4 others while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakhs.

The BJP MLA has been given interim bail with the condition of a Rs 5 lakh bond and surety.

The bench also directed him to appear before Lokayukta within 48 hours.

Earlier this month, the anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of Virupakshappa's son Prashant Madal and recovered Rs 6 crore cash.

Karnataka Lokayukta officers caught Virupakshappa's son while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

"The anti-corruption branch of Lokayukta yesterday caught Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Over Rs 1.7 crore in cash was recovered from his office," Karnataka Lokayukta said.

Lokayukta was on duty after getting a complaint about the demand for a bribe. Over Rs 1.7 crore cash was found at Prashanth Madal's office, Lokayukta officials said.

Speaking to reporters, Virupakshappa said that the money found in the raid was his "earned money".

"It was our earned money. I have not done any illegal transactions as president of KSDL. We kept the money from our groundnut plantation and crusher at home. This money was discovered during the Lokayukta raid. I have a document for that money and I will give it," he said.

He further said that he would not quit the party even after the party expelled him from the primary membership.

"However, I will not quit the BJP. I will prove my innocence in the case and I will get a clean chit in a legal battle. BJP is my mother party," he added. (ANI)
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday spoke with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on the issue of alleged misbehaviour with three widows of the soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack in 2019. "Rajnath Singh spoke with Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot on the matter of misbehaviour with widows of soldiers who lost their lives in the Pulwama attack," a source told ANI, adding that Rajasthan CM assured of action in the matter. The widows of the soldiers have been protesting against the alleged non-fulfilment of promises made to them by the state government and also alleged that police assaulted them while they went to meet CM Ashok Gehlot on Saturday. Earlier on Monday, Congress leader Sachin Pilot met with widows of soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack and said that action must be taken against police personnel who misbehaved with them. The former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan met the women at his official residence on Monday. Pilot also wrote to CM Ashok Gehlot, urging him to be "sympathetic towards the demands of widows of Pulwama martyrs and to ensure that their demands are fulfilled". "In politics, the order of the people is above everything else and whatever the people want happens," Pilot said. As per Pilot's letter, the protestors urged him to push for a relaxation in the rules for giving government jobs to family members of those who lost their lives in the terror attack. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Police on Tuesday arrested a migrant worker from Jharkhand for allegedly making and sharing a fake video which claimed that locals thrashed workers. According to Tamil Nadu Police, Manoj Yadav and his friends are natives of Jharkhand and were living in Maraimalai Nagar area. Police investigation revealed Yadav made the video to gain popularity and to create unrest among the migrant workers. He has been sent to judicial custody. "One Manoj Yadav of Jharkhand and his friends, who are migrant workers residing at Maraimalai Nagar area, created a video as if they are beaten up by Tamil Nadu people, and facing a lot of problems in their workplace and requested the Government of Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to help them to return back to their native place," tweeted Tamil Nadu Police. "Tambaram city police investigated this and found out, this video was created by Manoj Yadav for gaining popularity and to create unrest among the migrant workers. Manoj Yadav was arrested and remanded to judicial custody by Tambaram city police," added Tamil Nadu Police. Meanwhile, stepping up the investigation into the rumours of the alleged 'attack' on the Bihar migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu, the police of both states on Monday swung into action with the Bihar Police issuing the preservation notice to social media platforms while the Tamil Nadu Police is conducting the reach out programmes to the labourers to allay their fears. The Bihar Police has asked the platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Gmail to save the links of the posts by the miscreants in connection with the rumours of the alleged 'attack', to help in the probe in the future. Earlier on Monday, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) C Sylendra Babu said that the situation is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. While speaking to ANI, the top cop urged the media to act responsibly while also asking the people not to spread any such messages on social media which are "offensive". "The situation now is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. A few of them have left for the Holi celebrations. They had already booked their tickets and therefore they are gone, otherwise, we are able to convince them through the employers. The police officers have reached out to the migrant workers and also convinced them that there is no such incident of attack on Bihari workers or workers from any other state here. Whatever they have seen in the media that the migrant labourers are attacked, they are all fake videos," the police official said. He said that the migrant labourers are now convinced, as a result of the reach out by the police. "Most of them have not even taken place in Tamil Nadu. They were now convinced. In the places where the north Indian workers were employed, we have intensified the police patrol. Hindi-knowing police officers are in constant touch with them," he said. The DGP informed that special helplines were set up in districts including Erode, Tripur, Coimbatore, and Chennai to encourage people to come forward to give a complaint "if at all there is any". "There has been not even one complaint from them," he said. Mentioning the team from Bihar which visited the state to gather information about the alleged 'attacks', the police officer said that they have visited almost all places in the state where the migrant labourers are employed. "They have got the first-hand information that every offensive information that has been published from March 1 onwards, is devoid of truth. They are completely fake videos. The district administration and the police are in touch with the employers and sometimes the workers," he said. (ANI)
After Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the recently-held Tripura Assembly polls, Manik Saha on Wednesday will take oath as the Chief Minister of the northeast state for the second time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda will attend the swearing-in ceremony tomorrow. The mega event will be held at Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala. Amit Shah and Nadda already arrived in Agartala on Tuesday. They were received at Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport by Manik Saha. Chief Minister-designate Manik Saha on Monday called on Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya to stake claim to form the government in the Northeast state. Earlier on Monday, there was a general meeting of all the newly elected BJP MLAs who unanimously proposed the name of Manik Saha for the leader of the legislature party. "My sincere gratitude to all for electing me as the leader of the legislature party. Under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi ji, we shall work together to build 'Unnata Tripura, Shrestha Tripura' and ensure the welfare of all sections of people," tweeted Saha after the meeting. Manik Saha on Friday submitted his resignation to Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya at Raj Bhavan in Agartala. The Governor asked him to continue until the new government is sworn in. Speaking to the media, Saha said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the event on March 8. "Last time, the oath-taking ceremony took place at Assam Rifles Ground and this time it will take place at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain present in the ceremony," Saha told reporters. He further said that BJP president JP Nadda will also visit the state to take part in the oath-taking ceremony. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah will also be there during the Oath taking ceremony along with various other leaders of the party," he added. He said several chief ministers of BJP ruled states will also join the event. BJP returned to power in the state by winning an absolute majority. According to the Election Commission of India, BJP won 32 seats with a vote share of around 39 per cent. Tipra Motha Party came second by winning 13 seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) got 11 seats while Congress bagged three seats. The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) managed to open its account by winning one seat. The CPI(M) and the Congress, arch rivals in Kerala, came together in the Northeast this time in a bid to oust the BJP from power. The combined vote share of CPI(M) and Congress remained around 33 per cent. Chief Minister Saha defeated Congress' Asish Kumar Saha from the Town Bordowali seat by a margin of 1,257 votes. In the 60-member Tripura assembly, the majority mark is 31.The BJP, which had never won a single seat in Tripura before 2018, stormed to power in the last election in alliance with IPFT and had ousted the Left Front which had been in power in the border state for 35 years since 1978. The BJP contested on 55 seats and its ally, IPFT, on six seats. But both allies had fielded candidates in the Ampinagar constituency in the Gomati district. The Left contested 47 and Congress on 13 seats, respectively. Of the total 47 seats, the CPM contested 43 seats while the Forward Bloc, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) contested one seat each. The CPI(M)-led Left Front ruled the state for nearly four decades, with a gap between 1988 and 1993, when the Congress was in power but now both parties joined hands with the intention to oust BJP from power. (ANI)
The officials said that they have received various inputs of "nefarious activities" being planned by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in Kashmir Valley pre-Holi festival celebrations.

"Keeping various inputs of nefarious activities being planned by Pakistan sponsored terrorists in Kashmir Valley pre Holi festival celebrations, Indian Army and J-K police authorities held Joint security meetings to curb any terrorists related incident in Uri and Rampur sectors before happening," an official statement said on Tuesday.

Regular day and night patrols were sent out in the villages of Bandi, lagama and Machikrand to meet minority pocket heads and ensured their safety.

Frequent interactions with locals were carried out to gain real-time inputs.

Joint forces have sensitised NH1A to deny any IED-related incidents.

This Joint effort of the Indian Army and locals, J-K police had successfully ensured smooth and safe conduct of Holi Celebrations up till Line of Control in Uri and Rampur sectors, it added.

While Holi is celebrated over two days in North India, its preparations and all related events start a week in advance.

Choti Holi and Holika Dahan were marked on March 7 (Tuesday). It is marked during Pradosh Kaal (which starts after sunset) while Purnimasi Tithi is prevailing, as per Hindu beliefs.

The festival of Holi celebrates the spirit of inclusiveness and humanity and heralds the onset of Spring in the Indian subcontinent. The festival, marking the victory of good over evil, is celebrated over two days -- Holika Dahan and Holi Milan. (ANI)
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said that 100 Namma Clinics will be established, in total 240 will be functioning in all Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards. Nineteen PHCs' are upgraded and four super-speciality hospitals are also constructed, read a statement from CMO. Speaking at the inauguration of the 100th Janaushadi Center in Jayanagar organized on behalf of the Ministry of Fertiliser and Chemicals, CM Bommai said that special care has been taken for the health in Bengaluru and Namma Clinic has been opened in every ward. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also participated in this event. The CM said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision as well as a concern for the poor. Before he became the PM, there was no program for the sale of medicines at a nominal price. The administrator must have concern for very minute things. Any person who has experienced poverty only understands the travails of the poor. Modi knew what poverty is. Many patients will not be having Rs 100 to buy medicines." The pharmaceutical companies fix the cost of medicine very high and above the reach of poor patients. Understanding this, the PM started the initiative of Janaushadi centers where medicines are available at very nominal rates. Modi has implemented such programs to ensure that the benefits reach the last man in society, he said. The CM said, "The potable water is ahead of the health and the PM had announced that every house in every village will be provided clean drinking water in five years. And this is possible only if the leader has the commitment, intelligence, and zeal to do it." By implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission, the PM has proved what's impossible. and doing the impossible things has been the quality of a real leader. Over 10 crore houses were getting potable water. In Karnataka, in the last 72 years, only 25 lakh houses have had tap water, and in the last three years, 40 lakh houses have been provided pure drinking water, he added. The CM complimented Union Minister Madaviya as an active minister who provided the additional vaccines to the State during the covid pandemic, as well as arranged to release an additional quantity of urea fertilizer to Karnataka. CM Bommai said that Lok Sabha MP Tejaswi Surya has concern for the poor and he has made a record by having 100 Janaushadhi centers in a constituency. He said, "Lok Sabha member Tejaswi Surya has created a record by having 100 Janaushad centers in one constituency, and this is his concern for the poor." Minister R Ashok, MP Tejaswi Surya, and others were present on the occasion. (ANI)
UMEED scheme of Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM) with support from District Administration has empowered a Self-Help Group of Pouni Block of Reasi district to taste the entrepreneurial success with the establishment of kitchens at Dogra Rural Haat. According to an official statement from the Department of information and public relations, it was launched in March 2021 by District Administration Reasi in convergence with JKRLM, UMEED. It harnessed the culinary skills of homemakers, honed them to earn a livelihood out of their kitchens at Dogra Haat. A four Cluster level federation SHG of women from Block Pouni turned cooking into a career option and made good profits which is helping them to support their families financially. After starting the livelihood venture 'Dogra Haat', many skill development training were imparted to support and increase the capacities of these women. They were taught the basics of stocking up the pantry, making quick recipes, packing techniques, social media skills and order management related to cooking techniques. The SHG members were also made to understand promotional strategies for the modern market to run their kitchen single-handedly, while keeping adequate quantity and affordable pricing as the core mantra of the business. The kitchen of these SHG members offers an attractive menu with more than 20 varieties of comfort Dogra Recipe food. Some of the popular dogra food cuisines include Makki ki Roti, Saag, Quer, Khurmure, special dogra recipe dal or mixed rice are available in their kitchen and this sets them apart from commercial restaurants. Lassi and Kheer is also one of the most sought after items by visitors in these kitchens. The response to the Dogra Haat has been overwhelming as it has become a favourite layover point for tourists travelling to the famous shrine of Shivkhori. The Haat has delivered big orders to tourists and many other rural and urban customers are amongst their clientele. The turnover of Haat has reached around Rs 7 lakhs in a span of two years. Dogra Haat Kothian is more a women's empowerment movement than a business and they have been able to motivate women from all age groups and even conservative families after earning their trust. Many in the area hail the role of Kailash Kumari, Cluster coordinator of Ekta Mahila CLF, Pouni and Neelam Kumari who is also Sarpanch of Kothian Panchayat who worked hard for the success of Dogra Haat. Dogra Haat, Kothian has played a key role in empowering SHG women who are now confident of their skills and have become financially independent. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Public Department secretary D Jagannathan IAS on Tuesday said that the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has expressed gratitude for their "cooperation" in the migrant issue. "Bihar Government has thanked us for the cooperation we have given to them," Jagganathan said. Earlier on Saturday while addressing the media on the incident, Jagannathan termed the news of the alleged assault on North Indian migrant labourers in the southern state as "false propaganda" to disrupt the state's relationship with Bihar. The alleged assault on Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu has stirred massive political ruckus in both states. LJP chief has launched an attack on the Bihar CM for the issue. Amidst the prevailing development on the issue, a team from Bihar led by Balamurugan IAS landed in Chennai on Saturday to take stock of the matter. While speaking to the media he said, "We have reached Chennai we met police officials and next we have conducted meeting in Collector's office." He said that the team visited Tiruppur on Sunday and met the district administration and police officials to know about the actions taken so far in the case. "We have spoken to the Labour Association, and Industry Association and inquired about the news and met the Migrant workers of Bihar," he added. The team also paid a visit to Coimbatore, before finally interacting with the migrants in Chennai earlier this morning. Balamurugan IAS expressed his gratitude for the persistent cooperation of the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. "After the fake news came out TN Government has taken a lot of steps. Even the Chief secretary explained about it," he added. The ruckus over the assault on migrants in Bihar emerged after unverified reports on social media claimed that migrant labourers were targeted in Tamil Nadu, Nitish Kumar on Thursday expressed concern over the situation which he said came to his notice through newspaper reports. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Police deemed the reports as fake. Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police Sylendr Babu released a statement, saying that the video doing rounds of social media was "false" and "mischievous". "Somebody in Bihar posted false and mischievous videos saying that migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu. Two videos were posted. Both are false as these incidents happened at an earlier date in Tiruppur and Coimbatore. One was a clash between two groups of migrant workers from Bihar while another was from a clash between two local residents in Coimbatore," the top cop said. (ANI)
In a last ditch attempt, Home Minister Amit Shah would hold a meeting with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which played a significant role in the February 16 Assembly polls, emerging as the second single largest party securing 13 of the 20 vital tribal reserved seats in Tripura. In the 60-member Tripura Assembly, 20 seats are reserved for the tribals and these are very crucial to dominate the electoral politics of the state. Despite differences on many counts, the BJP leaders, including Shah, tried a lot before the elections to get the support of the TMP to obtain a maximum number of tribal reserve seats. A senior BJP leader told IANS that the ruling party is now frantically trying to convince the TMP to join the government, which would assume office on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda and other senior leaders. "Shah would hold a meeting with TMP supremo and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman to discuss his demands," the BJP leader said, refusing to be named. Shah arrived in Agartala on Tuesday evening from Nagaland. Talking to IANS, the TMP chief said that he got an invitation to hold a meeting with the Home Minister to which he responded positively. "Unless we get a written assurance from the government about the constitutional solutions to our 'Greater Tipraland State' demand, we will not join the government, and rather sit in the opposition maintaining an equal distance from all the parties," said Deb Barman, who returned to Agartala on Tuesday after holding a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Deb Barman said that he held a discussion with Sarma in Guwahati about TMP's 'Greater Tipraland State' demand. "It would be a great mistake if any political party wants to govern Tripura without involving the tribals as they are the indigenous people of the state. Till the time we don't get an honourable constitutional solution for our people, we will not be part of any government. We will play a constructive role as the first indigenous party which has 13 MLAs for the interest of the people. "We cannot be looking after our individual interest over our communities. I will wait for the official response from the Government of India on how it would like to see the future of our tiprasa in the next decade," Deb Barman tweeted. Sarma had earlier said that the issues raised by the TMP need to be discussed by the Centre and the new BJP government in Tripura. Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that talks between the BJP and the TMP may resume but it should be under the Constitutional framework, and not on the condition of dividing Tripura. The issues related to the tribals can be heard and discussed, the Assam Chief Minister had told the media. Sarma, who before the Assembly polls held several rounds of negotiations with the TMP chief, had said that talks can resume but "we cannot talk about Greater Tipraland State". The TMP, which came to the forefront before capturing the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April 2021, pushed the CPI-M and the Congress into third and fourth positions, respectively, in the February 16 elections, the results of which was announced on March 2. TMP, which for the first time contested 42 seats on its own, emerged as the second largest party after the ruling BJP, securing 13 seats out of the total 20 tribal reserve seats. The BJP won 32 seats, including six tribal reserve seats, while its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) got one seat. In the 2018 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 36 seats, including 10 tribal reserve seats, while and its ally IPTF bagged eight tribal reserve seats. The CPI-M had secured 16 seats, including two tribal reserve seats. The TMP, since 2021, has been demanding elevation of the TTAADC areas by granting a Greater Tipraland State or a separate state under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution facilitating the party to garner the support of the tribals, who constitute one-third of Tripura's little over four million population. The party, in support of its demands, organised agitations both in the state and in the national capital. The ruling BJP, CPI-M led Left parties, Congress and the Trinamool Congress have been strongly opposing the demand of the TMP. In the Assembly elections, CPI-M won 11 seats but none of the tribal reserve seats though the Left party has a strong base among the tribals since 1952. The CPI-M led Left Front, which contested the Assembly elections in a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress, had fielded 47 candidates while 13 seats were allotted to the Congress, which bagged three seats. (Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) --IANS sc/arm ( 834 Words) 2023-03-07-19:24:06 (IANS)
CM Dhami drenched in the merriment of Holi was seen dancing to Pahari songs at the function.

It is not CM Dhami's first pre-Holi bash for this year, earlier on Sunday, CM Dhami celebrated the function with his mother and the local people at his residence in Khatima.

CM Dhami also took to Twitter to post a picture with his mother expressing his love and wrote, "Matri Devo Bhava Today at Nagra Terai, Khatima, applied Holi Tilak to 'Mataji' and seek her blessings. This affectionate blessing of Mother always gives me new energy to serve all the people of Devbhoomi."

The colourful festival of Holi is just a day away with celebrations already beginning in different parts of the country. The market is flooded with colours, sprayers and other decoratives, with PM Modi's 'Atmanibhar Bharat' touch.

As customers go shopping this Holi, they are increasingly rejecting Chinese products and preferring local Made in India products.

In the past, Chinese products primarily were the only options for consumers, which have drastically changed for the better with several local makers making inroads in this segment. (ANI)
Police said that they have also recovered 12 country-made pistols from the possession of the accused identified as Sherdin, a resident of Zakir Colony, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Chandan Chowdhary, said that specific inputs were received on March 3 that an illegal firearms supplier would come to supply illegal weapons near J Block, Mandir Marg, Saket.

Acting on the inputs, a trap was laid and Sherdin was apprehended.

"During cursory search, seven illegal weapons (country-made pistols ) were recovered from his possession. After completion of legal proceedings, the accused was arrested by Saket police station team," said the DCP.

"Apart from this, five more illegal weapons were recovered from another member of the same syndicate at the instance of accused Sherdin. In this regard, a separate case was registered at Simbhawali police station in district Hapur, Uttar Pradesh," said the DCP.

During interrogation, Sherdin disclosed that he used to procure illegal weapons from UP and supply them in Delhi-NCR.

"He revealed that he opted for this profession to make easy and handsome money. He used a Scooty for supply of firearms," said the DCP, adding that Sherdin is found previously involved in four criminal cases registered in UP.

"His further criminal history is also being verified from concerned police station Meerut," the DCP added.

--IANS ssh/uk/

( 253 Words)

2023-03-07-20:08:03 (IANS)
Delhi Police had made elaborate security arrangements near Jama Masjid when both festivals are celebrated together.

An official said that Delhi police has deployed a large number of companies and the area is being monitored through drone cameras.

DCP Sanjay Kumar Sen of Central District is monitoring the area along with senior officers and is visiting the area to take stock of the security arrangements, officials said.

"The way both the festivals are together, people looked worried but nothing to worry about, it's time to celebrate the festival. Delhi Police is fully prepared. Our local police unit is engaged. Five companies have been called from outside. And a lady company employee is deployed, " DCP Central Delhi said.

The Delhi Police will take strict action against the people who are caught creating ruckus or doing wrong things on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat and Holika Dahan, the official said. (ANI)
Built by Goa Shipyard Limited and commissioned into the Indian Navy on 07 March 2014, the ship is a capable and potent part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet.

The ship's primary role is to undertake coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of Sea Lines of Communication, HADR and SAR duties, the official said.

The ship was deployed for hoisting the Indian Tricolour in Perth on 15 August 2022 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahostav celebrations.

Recently, the ship represented the Indian Navy at the maiden International Fleet Review in Bangladesh, and NAVDEX at Abu Dhabi, an official informed.

Wishing INS Sumedha and her crew of 10 officers and 135 sailors a very happy anniversary and fair winds, an official of Eastern Naval Command said. (ANI)
Delhi Jal Board Vice-Chairman Saurabh Bhardwaj inspected the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP) on Tuesday as the water level in the Yamuna River continues to fall. Saurabh Bhardwaj said during the inspection that the water level in Yamuna had witnessed an unprecedented decrease. The condition of Yamuna today is usually seen in the months of April and May in Delhi. Saurabh Bhardwaj informed that this time the water level of Yamuna near Wazirabad Barrage has suddenly gone down to 671.7 feet in the month of February itself. He said that the normal level of Yamuna River at Wazirabad Barrage should be 674.5 feet. He further informed that the depth of Yamuna here should be 3.5 feet, but presently it's even less than 1 foot. The water level and depth of the Yamuna are measured from the sea level. Saurabh Bhardwaj said that out of the present water level of 671.7 feet, Yamuna is silted up to 671 feet at Wazirabad Barrage, which means that the water depth is mere 0.7 feet. He also said the depth of Yamuna should be at least 3.5 feet which allows the offtake of raw water from Yamuna for the Water Treatment Plant. Visible water of Yamuna at the barrage is also not actually water from the Yamuna but actually the industrial waste released by Haryana that cannot be treated.Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the key reason for the water level decrease in Yamuna is not rising temperatures but the rampant illegal sand mining being done indiscriminately in the Yamuna river in the state of Haryana. The sand mafia had stopped the Yamuna water released for Delhi in an area of about 7-8 km from Yamuna Nagar that lies in Haryana, where the sand mafia is indiscriminately mining sand in the Yamuna River. During the inspection, Saurabh Bhardwaj addressed the media and said that the Yamuna water, which is presently visible near Wazirabad Barrage, is not the actual Yamuna water but industrial waste which is being released from Haryana. He referred to images from Google Maps and satellite imagery to show that there is no water in Yamuna. The flow that is reaching Delhi is coming from two drains. Industrial waste is constantly being released into Yamuna by Haryana through DD2 and DD8 drains. "Apart from hazardous chemical elements in this industrial waste, the ammonia level is also way higher than the prescribed limits. The excessive ammonia disallows the visible water to get treated in the Water Treatment Plants. Previously also, Haryana had released industrial waste, but due to the sufficient amount of water in Yamuna, water could be treated."Water production in the water treatment plants of Wazirabad and Chandrawal, the two major treatment plants of Delhi, which are dependent on Yamuna water, have been badly affected due to the decrease in water level in Yamuna and the increase in the ammonia content. The Wazirabad plant produces 131 MGD of water on a daily basis helping the water supply in Delhi. Now, due to the shortage of water in the Yamuna, this plant is producing just 82.69 MGD of water. Similarly, the Chandrawal plant has a capacity of 100 MGD of water per day, but this plant is producing only 78 MGD. Saurabh Bhardwaj informed that water has to be diverted from the Haiderpur Plant to run these plants, which has affected the Haiderpur plant's own capacity. These Water Treatment Plants supply water to 40 per cent of Delhi. This means that at present, about 40 per cent part of Delhi is affected due to water supply shortages. The falling water levels in Yamuna have reduced the production of water in Delhi's water treatment plants considerably. The impact of the reduction in water production is clearly visible in Delhi's water supply. Many areas of Delhi are witnessing a water crisis, and people are facing water-related challenges. Saurabh Bhardwaj said that this water supply crisis could also affect the Lutyens Delhi, which will include Central Government Offices, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi Chief Minister's office. Areas that get water supply through the plant include Delhi University, Vijayanagar, Timarpur, Old Secretariat, Civil Lines, Naya Bazar, Lahori Gate, Peeli Kothi, Barfkhana, Malka Ganj, Jhandewalan, Patparganj, Motia Khan, WA, Pusa Road, Rajendra Nagar, Karol Bagh, Central Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament, India Gate, Vigyan Bhawan, Janpath, Rakabganj, North Avenue, NDMC Area, East Patel Nagar, Baba Faridpur, New Rajendra Nagar, Double Storey, South Patel Nagar, Cantonment areas, RK Puram, Vasant Vihar, Akbar Road, Sarojini Nagar etc. are areas where water supply will be affected. On the other hand, the area that will be impacted by the Wazirabad plant includes Modi Colony, Defense Colony, Majnu Ka Tila, Moolchand Hospital, Sundernagar, Rajghat, Subhash Park, Ramlila Ground, Delhi Gate, Daryaganj, ISBT, Timarpur, Gulabi Bagh, Bharat Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Mukherjee Nagar, Hudson Lane, Model Town, Azadpur Mandi, Jahangirpuri, Shalimar Bagh, Lawrence Road, Wazirabad, Burari, Gopalpuri etc. that will face water supply problems. Saurabh Bhardwaj said that there is a need to take necessary steps immediately to control this water crisis, otherwise, it will become very difficult to control it. This is not a crisis for any political party but for the entire Delhi, and the BJP should not rejoice in this crisis. Saurabh Bhardwaj appealed to the people to play Holi with raw colours instead of colours that come with lots of chemicals, as it takes a lot of water to cleanse them. He said that the water crisis is so big that people may not have to go to their offices without cleaning the Holi colours for many days. Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the Haryana Government of ignoring the illegal sand mining which is rampant in Yamuna in Haryana. He raised questions at the Haryana government about how the sand mafia is carrying out sand mining on such a large scale in the Yamuna, and the Government of Haryana remains unaware of it. He said that the Delhi Government had brought this matter to the notice of the Haryana Government and had demanded the Haryana Government take strict action against the sand mafia. Strict action should also be taken against the officials who are hand-in-glove with the sand mafia in Delhi region also. He asked the Lieutenant Governor to suspend such corrupt officials as Delhi Government didn't have the authority to suspend such officials. (ANI)
Union minister Kishan Reddy on Tuesday said that instead of buying branded medicines, people should buy generic medicines which have the same impact. On the occasion of Jan Aushadhi Divas, Union Minister Kishan Reddy participated in the Jan Aushadhi Divas program organized at NIMS Hospital in Panjagutta, Hyderabad. Kishan Reddy while speaking to the media said that after 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken many steps in the Health sector. "New Medical colleges, additional PG seats, additional medical seats and AIIMS hospitals in every state capital and 5 lakh rupees are given for the treatment to the middle class and lower middle class working community in private corporate hospitals," Minister said. Minister Reddy said that people are seeing that PM Jan Aushadi scheme was introduced and implemented successfully. He informed that there are around 9,500 Janaushadhi Kendras with 1,759 generic medicines available. He also said that the medicines here are more efficient and have the same impact like the branded medicines. "The Indian government is trying to promote the Janaushadhi Kendras for the poor people and common people. Instead of buying branded medicines, buy generic medicines which have the same impact," the minister added. Every year Jan Aushadi diwas is celebrated on March 7th. The sixth day of Jan Aushadhi Diwas, 2023 was celebrated as "Aao Jan Aushadhi Mitra Banein" on Tuesday. On this occasion, a large number of people took the pledge 'Jan Aushadhi Shapath' digitally on the MyGov platform to promote the use of generic medicines. With an objective of making quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all, Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India. Under this scheme, dedicated outlets known as Janaushadhi Kendras are opened to provide generic medicines. The Jan Aushadhi scheme was launched in November 2008 with the objective of having at least one Jan Aushadhi Store in each district of the country. (ANI)
Gilgit Baltistan has been seething and boiling with anger and dissent against Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Continuing indifference of mainstream political leadership in Islamabad has resulted in widespread protests in the region. For weeks, public protests have reverberated across Gilgit city over 22-hour power shortages. The region has been suffering major power breakdowns for months with only promises from leadership in Islamabad. A new wave of protests is likely to hit the region from March 10. Spearheading the protests, the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action Committee has given a 16-charter of demands to the administration. The demands presented by the Gilgit-Baltistan Awami Action include power crisis, food shortage, land grabbing and various other issues that the people in the region have been facing for a long time. The continuing power breakdown has only added to the increasing misery of the people. Due to power shortages, business establishments have been forced to shut down in the evening hours. Schools and other educational institutions have been shut down while the majority of the cottage industries remain shuttered. The erratic power supply has caused unemployment and despair among the people, resulting in waves of thefts and violence. In addition to the power crisis, people have been facing difficulty in purchasing food materials. Prices of wheat flour and other food articles skyrocketed as the country hobbled on multiple crises. Long queues for wheat flour could be seen in cities and villages across the mountainous region with squabbles, black marketing and hoarding making it difficult for people to access basic food items. Children remained hungry and women toiled hard to make at least one meal a day for the family. As people cried out for help, the lawmakers travelled to Islamabad and foreign shores in the name of seeking aid but to escape public scorn. Pakistan's federal government has paid little attention and money to the poor region. Of the promised Rs 4 billion package, Islamabad has approved only Pakistani rupees (PKR) 21 crore which has brought a majority of the development projects to a halt. The halted projects have spiked unemployment and misery among the people. The misery and helplessness among the people have been so widespread that diverse communities have come together to raise their voices for the past several weeks. Public anger has been building over the years with the army treating the region as a colony, forcing the farm and land owners to give up their land for a cabal of land grabbers. Recently, Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn reported that people of Gilgit Baltistan have taken to the streets in freezing temperatures for various reasons, including questions about land rights, taxation, extensive power cuts and reduction in the amount of subsidised wheat that the centre provides the region. The issues have been existing in Gilgit Baltistan for decades. However, Pakistan has refused to pay attention to the problems faced by the people in Gilgit Baltistan. The Pakistani army's role in changing the demographic profile of the region, sowing seeds of sectarianism and openloot of the region's resources has been well documented. The Pakistani army made the loot "official" when the China-Economic Corridor project was implemented. Dissent began to swell across the region when people witnessed how the Islamabad Rawalpindi cabal took away their land to help themselves and their friends from China, dissent began to swell across the region. The local residents have serious reservations about the state taking over the land in the region as they believe that the land belongs to the people, Dawn reported. The state has been acquiring land in Gilgit Baltistan for CPEC and other projects. People of the region have been realising that the leaders of Islamabad and Rawalpindi under the garb of land acquisition are colonising them and making them poorer, helpless, and seething. (ANI)
A Belarusian court has sentenced the country's exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to 15 years in prison. Another prominent opponent, Pavel Latushko, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and three others were sentenced to 12 years in prison, Euro News reported citing state news agency Belta and the human rights organisation Viasna. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was charged with 12 crimes, including "conspiracy to take power unconstitutionally," according to the Euro News report. Tsikhanouskaya took to her official Twitter handle to react to the court's verdict. In a tweet, Tsikhanouskaya wrote, "15 years of prison. This is how the regime "rewarded" my work for democratic changes in Belarus. But today I don't think about my own sentence. I think about thousands of innocents, detained & sentenced to real prison terms. I won't stop until each of them is released." Tsikhanouskaya became popular after running in Belarus' disputed presidential election in 2020, Euro News reported. A series of mass protests were reported after the election, which were met with arrests, cases of torture, the death of several demonstrators, harsh sentences and forced exile. As per the news report, Viasna has estimated that Belarus had 1,461 political prisoners as of 1 March 2023. On Friday, the Leninsky District Court in Minsk sentenced Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony and fined him about USD 65,000, TASS reported. Ales Bialiatski, who heads the unregistered Vesna Human Rights Center, was found guilty of criminal charges registered against him. Vesna representatives Valentin Stefanovich and Vladimir Labkovich, who was implicated in the case along with Bialiatski, were sentenced to 9 and 7 years, respectively, in a maximum security penal colony. Meanwhile, Dmitry Solovyov, who is currently outside of Belarus, was sentenced to eight years in prison, as per the TASS report. The court imposed a fine of around USD 40,000 each upon each defendant. (ANI)
Four US citizens were assaulted and kidnapped by gunmen in northeastern Mexico on Friday in a case of mistaken identity, CNN reported citing a US official with knowledge of the investigation. The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) has called for people's help in finding the US citizens and identifying those responsible for the act. The agency has also announced a reward of USD 50,000 for their return and arrest of those involved. The missing Americans, who were not identified, drove into Matamoros on Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina plates, the FBI in San Antonio said, according to CNN. The FBI said that the four US citizens were fired upon by unidentified gunmen and were "placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men." The FBI stated that it is cooperating with other federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies to investigate the kidnapping. The US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said that an innocent Mexican citizen was killed in the encounter. "We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens," Salazar said. "This is the most fundamental role of the US government. Officials from various US law enforcement agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to achieve the safe return of our compatriots." According to the official, the Americans had travelled to the border city of Matamoros for medical procedures. The Americans are believed to have been targeted by mistake and were not the intended victims, according to the official, as per the CNN report. The official said that the investigators believe a Mexican cartel likely mistook them for Haitian drug smugglers. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has made a similar statement. He said that the people had crossed the border to purchase medicines. However, there was a confrontation between groups and they were detained, as per the news report. "The information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups and they were detained," CNN quoted Mexican President as saying. "The whole government is working on it," he added. Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a press briefing on March 6 (local time) said that they are closely following the kidnapping of four US citizens in Matamoros on March 3. He said that the FBI is working very closely with other federal agencies and Mexican law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter. "We are closely following the kidnapping of four US citizens in Matamoros on March 3 - the FBI, working very closely with other federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies to investigate this," Price said. "I'm sure you saw the FBI put out a reward for their safe return. We're standing ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. We do also remind Americans about the existing travel guidance when it comes to this particular part of Mexico. The Travel Advisory for Tamaulipas state remains at Level 4: Do Not Travel. We encourage Americans to heed that advice," he added. (ANI)
United States Republican Senator Chuck Grassley accused President Joe Biden's nominee for the country's ambassador to India Eric Garcetti of being engaged in "blatant sexual misconduct" and urged members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday to vote against him. Taking to Twitter, Grassley said, "President Joe Biden's nomination Eric Garcetti to be ambassador to India is before foreign relations come this week I conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations against Garcetti irrespective of partisan politics." "The evidence is clear that Jacobs (Garcetti's deputy chief of staff) engaged in blatant sexual misconduct and racist behaviour for years. The evidence is clear that Mayor Garcetti either had direct knowledge of it or chose willful ignorance as a defence," he added. The influential Republican senator urged the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote against the nomination of Eric Garcetti and said, "The facts and the evidence compel me to oppose the Garcetti nomination and I hope my colleagues will join me in doing the same." In the previous Congress, Grassley was primarily responsible for Garcetti's nomination not passing through the Senate as he placed a hold on it and then carried out his own investigations. In the first week of January, Garcetti was re-nominated as US envoy to India. White House Press Secretary reiterated that the Democrats will continue to seek the confirmation of Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was unanimously and bipartisanly voted out of committee, to serve as Ambassador to India. Last year, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmed the nomination of Garcetti to be the US Ambassador to India. However, the nomination needed to be confirmed by a majority of the US Senate. Jean-Pierre also called the nomination of the Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti as well-qualified and meritorious to serve in the role. "So we see this as he is well qualified, meritorious to serve in this vital role, and we're hopeful that the full Senate will confirm him properly. Again, he was voted out of committee and unanimously with strong bipartisan support," the White House Press Secretary said in a statement. (ANI)
This is an optimistic time for India-US relations, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is scheduled to travel to India this week, said on Monday (Local Time). Ahead of her visit to India, Raimondo said, "This is an optimistic time for US-India relations, and I am excited to visit India during such a special time of year, the celebration of Holi," according to the statement released by the US Department of Commerce. "Through the CEO Forum, the Commercial Dialogue, and IPEF, we are making excellent progress in bringing our countries closer together by creating new markets for trade, expanding those that already exist, and reinforcing our shared commitment to democracy," she added. Raimondo will visit India from today to March 10 on the invitation of Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles. During the visit, she will participate in the Indo-US Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum which will be held on March 10 2023. "During the visit, the US-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on March 10th, 2023, to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries," according to the statement released by the US Department of Commerce. The Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors. The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to the pandemic and other factors, it could not be held. It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with a strategic outlook focusing on supply chain resiliency & diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years. Earlier, India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by the Indian Commerce & Industry Minister and US Secretary of Commerce on 9th November 2022 via video conference for which identified key priorities were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses. (ANI)
China has recently used artificial intelligence (AI) to stimulate its island-building activities in South China, a move that, if and when it happens, might aid to support its maritime claims in the fiercely contested maritime region, reported Asia News. According to a report in South China Morning Post (SCMP), as cited by Asia News, this month a team from the Tianjin campus of the Civil Aviation University of China's Transportation Science and Engineering College conducted an AI simulation of the development and operation of a logistics network in the South China Sea, which they claim will increase China's economic activity and territorial claims in the disputed sea. The simulation states that this logistical network may span 17 to 80 features in the Spratly and Paracel Islands, according to the SCMP report that was published last month in the peer-reviewed Chinese journal Operations Research and Management Science. Additionally, the researchers stated that "it has become a top priority to build a logistics network that can operate successfully and coordinate various modes of transport," and "the construction of these transport facilities has laid very favourable basic conditions for the construction of a logistics network in the South China Sea," according to the SCMP report, as reported by Asia News. Building new harbours, warehouses, and cargo ships as well as maintaining regular flights between China and 20 island airports in the most comprehensive scenario would cost 20 billion yuan (USD 2.9 billion), according to SCMP, which includes 80 characteristics. The report also stated that China would be able to dispatch workers and equipment to any feature within six hours following a typhoon or other emergency thanks to its logistical network. The simulation did face some difficulties, according to SCMP, including defining variables like the location of the central transport hub, the size and timeline for building a pier, the kinds of transport ships and aircraft, mapping out the routes for those vehicles, and taking into account variations in cargo capacity. However, SCMP points out that an AI that can take into consideration helicopters is still being developed, whereas the simulation solely took into account fixed-wing aircraft. With comparable applications in its "grey zone" policy, which involves coercive tactics short of actual military combat, China's grand strategy is poised to give AI an outsized strategic role. The National Bureau of Asian Research notes in a report from May 2021 that AI, along with other technologies like algorithms, Big Data analytics, and quantum computing, are enabling concepts used in Chinese military doctrine like algorithm confrontation, which asserts that the side with the advantage in data will win a conflict. The paper also points out that in order to improve marine intelligence, data gathering, and surveillance, China's future grey zone tactics would probably incorporate more cutting-edge technologies, such as AI and associated data-processing capabilities. Jonathan Hall, in a December 2018 Global Risk Insights piece, mentions that AI might provide China with an advantage over other claimant states and the US in the South China Sea. According to Hall, China has created a working model of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled diplomatic system that is now utilised to reduce the workload for decision-makers overseeing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), processing massive volumes of data and making recommendations for policy. Hall notes such technology gives Chinese decision-makers a significant advantage in terms of the effectiveness and precision of their assessments and can be used in other contexts, such as the South China Sea disputes. In fact, China may already be utilising AI's benefits in its "grey zone" approach to the South China Sea issues, which conflates the use of military power with civilian force to achieve diplomatic and political goals. According to a report in Asia News, in a January 2022 article for the Jewish Policy Center, Benjamin Noon and Christopher Bassler noted that China's strategists believe that as AI plays a more significant role in decision-making, future warfare will become a race to produce the fastest computers, with wartime commanders having supercomputers that can outperform the decision-making abilities of their operators. According to Noon and Bassler, China's military planners compare upcoming combat to a video game. The operational commander's mental state determines the outcome of the battle, highlighting psychological warfare. They point out that China wants to outwit the enemy and weaken its resolve to resist. China's deployment of AI in grey zone strategies, however, might have both positive and negative effects. While AI gives strong military powers a huge tactical edge over weaker governments, SCMP observed in an article from October 2019 that its deployment undermines international trust, necessitating caution in AI applications. The paper also issues a warning against the prospect of an AI arms race and probable uses of AI in the decision-making process for WMD use, reported Asia News. (ANI)
At least 15 Hindu students were injured after being allegedly attacked by the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists on Monday in Punjab University's new campus when they were celebrating Holi, Dawn reported. A number of videos surfaced on the social networking platform which showed that Hindu communities were being attacked by the IJT even after the students got permission from the administration for the celebration of Holi. An application had been filed with the police for the registration of a case against the attacker. Some other videos also showed that the security guards were carrying batons and beating the students and they were running from the scene, reported Dawn. Talking about the incident, Sindh Council General Secretary Kashif Brohi said that the members of the Hindu community and the council had organised a Holi celebration after getting permission from the university administration. He said the IJT activists started hurling threats after students had posted invitations for the Holi celebration on their Facebook page. He said on Monday morning the members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside PU law College to celebrate the Holi when the IJT activists carrying guns and batons attacked them. Brohi further added that the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor's office when the security guards came there holding batons and started beating them. He said the security guards also bundled four to five students into their vans, not allowing them to record their peaceful protest, according to Dawn. He said an application was submitted to the administration and police for case registration against the IJT activists and security guards for torturing them. However, IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid told Dawn that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi. He further stated that the attackers might have used their name but the IJT will not. The IJT will ensure equality for minority community members to hold their religious events. He said the security guards might have attacked the students and IJT had nothing to do with it. He said they were holding Dars-i-Quran on the campus and were not present there. A PU spokesman said action would be taken against the students involved in attacking minority community members, reported Dawn. (ANI)
Li Keqiang, China's outgoing premier, made an effort to position himself as Xi Jinping's ideological rival during his final year in office. At his final significant speech on Sunday, it was evident he had failed, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. The Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping are now at the centre of the Chinese government's efforts to consolidate power, uniting the state with the party and the party with Xi. Li spoke for an hour to the National People's Congress on Sunday in Beijing, mentioning Xi Jinping a record 17 times as opposed to five times in his first speech in 2014. Former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao did not once mention outgoing President Hu Jintao in his final speech in 2013. After almost ten years in office, he was name-checked twice in 2012. Repetition is useful in the opaque world of Chinese elite politics, where language is weighed and obscured by lofty metaphors. Likewise, omission. According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, Li praised "the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary" at the introduction of his annual Work Report in 2014, which detailed the advancements made in the previous year. Xi was young and ambitious but still a first among equals because he had not yet eliminated all of his rivals. He then advanced swiftly. This social organisation was "led by General Secretary Xi Jinping" by 2016. The "leadership of the Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core" was achieved in just one more year. The distinction allowed Xi to elevate his own idea to the status of a founding doctrine of the Communist Party, making any threat to Xi, a threat to the Party as a whole. Five years ago, Li made reference to Xi's predecessors through their theories, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory. Today, there is only Xi Jinping Thought, a dense 515-page book on the theory of China's modernization that places the party, and subsequently Xi, at the centre of China's economic, political, and social development. In practice, this implies that by the end of this week's National People's Congress, a lot of the duties that state bureaucrats may have previously handled will increasingly be handled by party apparatchiks. One can get an idea of the scope of some of these changes in a nation of 1.4 billion people by picturing the Labor Party (the national secretariat, not legislative Members) overseeing the Attorney General's office and the Australian Tax Office. Nis Grunberg, the head analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, predicted that Xi would seek to increase his influence within the Chinese government by appointing individuals to key positions at the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministries of Finance and Science and Technology. He said that the third-term president will feel more certain that the administration will support his programme because of the appointment of important Xi Jinping supporters in the state machinery. "The administrative restructuring will shorten the leash on the fields of financial policy and national security, further institutionalising Communist Party authority over policymaking." Alfred Wu, an assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, predicts that Xi will go further by limiting the accountability of ministers in crucial positions. He wishes to establish committees on internal affairs, finance, and economics. These panels will report to Xi personally. They won't just report to the minister anymore, read a report in The Sydney Morning Herald. Wu believes that this layer, which will include some local authorities and members of the Politburo, will primarily come from below the cabinet-level standing committee. "Power will be concentrated more in his hands since he's a control freak. He will be able to give an order to the minister after passing it along to his loyal associates," Wu claimed, adding that he's number one, the others are there to just help. Sources close to Li, cited by The Sydney Morning Herald, spent a lot of time trying to create the impression that he was responsible for decisions that restrained some of Xi's worst instincts, such as crackdowns on private technology, real estate developers, and the authoritarian fervour of Xi's Covid-1 lockdown strategy. Li spent 26 pages of his annual work report on Sunday discussing the past and just six discussing the coming year. Li could only offer "recommendations for the work of government in 2023" after leaving office and entering retirement. The study was likely created by the departing premier's team, who will have minimal influence on the future administration, according to Chen Long, a partner at the research firm Plenum China. The 67-year-old became premier ten years ago as a result of an agreement between Xi and the Communist Youth League Faction of former president Hu. Both have already been defeated, resulting in the lifting of many of Xi's policy restrictions, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. (ANI)
Crippling with the economic crisis, Sri Lanka has initiated the use of the Indian Rupee (INR) for economic transactions with India. This move will not only assuage Sri Lanka's currency crisis but also will improve its bilateral ties with India, reported Mawrata News. The Deputy High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Vinod K Jacod, while addressing the inauguration of the Medicare 2023 health care exhibition in Colombo on March 3, 2023, said that the bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka are at their peak. He cited strong people-to-people ties as the primary driver. The Indian Rupee (INR) will be used for commercial transactions between India and Sri Lanka starting on March 2, 2023, according to discussions between the high commissions of India and Sri Lanka. According to a Sri Lankan website, Mawrata News, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) created an enabling framework in 2022, representatives from the Bank of Ceylon, the State Bank of India, and the Indian Bank shared their experiences and informed the audience that they had started carrying out INR-denominated trade transactions through their respective Vostro/Nostro accounts. On March 2, 2023, a discussion on the usage of the Indian Rupee (INR) for trade between India and Sri Lanka was organised by the Indian High Commission. The participating banks listed the advantages of settling in INR, such as quicker turnaround times, cheaper exchange rates, simpler access to trade credits, etc. The positive effects of this programme on the travel and hospitality sector, including its contribution to raising collections that can be used by other industries, were also noted. The benefit of settling in INR was also discussed by the participating banks, including quicker timescales, cheaper exchange rates, and simpler access to trade credits, among other factors. The initiative's beneficial effects on the travel and hotel industries were also emphasised, as was its contribution to growing collections that other industries may make use of. The Deputy High Commissioner stated that the bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka are at their peak and largely focused on five key developments that are at the heart of the strong bilateral relationship, read a report in Mawrata News. Despite occasional tensions and disagreements, particularly over maritime boundary disputes, India and Sri Lanka have signed a number of bilateral agreements to strengthen their relationship, including trade agreements, cultural exchange initiatives, and defence cooperation. The two nations have also disagreed over China's expanding influence in the region. India and Sri Lanka have continued to hold high-level visits and meetings and have signed several agreements in recent years to strengthen their economic and security ties. However, the diplomatic relations between the two countries are subject to change based on various factors including geopolitical changes, leadership changes, and other international developments. The diplomat also noted that in addition, a significant amount of support was provided through the iconic Suwaseriya 1990 ambulance during Covid-19, as well as through medical supplies in response to specific requests from hospitals in Kandy, Hambantota, and Jaffna. This support was extended by the people and government of India during Vaccine Maitri and with the expedited issuance of medical visas, immediately after the lifting of travel restrictions by the government of Sri Lanka. He remembered that Sri Lanka had asked India and the Sri Lankan government for $4 billion in economic, financial, and humanitarian support in 2022. In a show of unity, India has been standing behind Sri Lanka at G20 summits and has also extended an invitation to HE President Ranil Wickremesinghe to attend the Voice of Global South Conference in January 2023. The sharing of intelligence information that exposed the island's expanding network of Islamic radicals was greatly assisted by India. Although the Easter attacks may have been avoided, Sri Lanka was informed by India. India has legitimately expressed alarm over China's expanding influence in Sri Lanka. India considers China's expanding influence in Sri Lanka, a strategically significant nation in the Indian Ocean, to be a possible danger to national security. India built a cultural centre in Jaffna and is also preparing to begin a ferry service between Sri Lanka and South India. The opening of Palaly's international airport has also prompted visitors from both sides to use both its land and air services. India has worked to strengthen its ties with Sri Lanka in reaction to China's expanding influence there, offering assistance for economic growth and security cooperation. In order to counter China's influence in the Indian Ocean, India has also attempted to cooperate with other nations in the area, such as Japan and Australia, Mawrata News reported. (ANI)
The exercise is being conducted at the Pangode Military Station from March 7-8, 2023.

It is for the first time that the armies of both nations are engaging in this format with each contingent comprising a Company Group each from the Thiruvananthapuram-based Indian Army troops and French 6th Light Armoured Brigade.

The exercise is aimed at enhancing inter-operability, coordination and cooperation between both forces at the tactical level. The scope of the exercise involves the establishment and operationalisation of a joint command post to secure an envisaged area for undertaking joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, establishing an Internally Displaced Population (IDP) camp and move of disaster relief materials.

"The maiden edition of India-France joint military exercise #FRINJEX will be conducted at #Thiruvananthapuram. The two-day exercise aims at enhancing interoperability between both Nations in Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief Operations. #IndiaFranceFriendship #IndianArmy," the Indian Army had earlier tweeted.

The Joint exercise will further cement defence cooperation with France which is a crucial aspect of the overall Indo-France strategic partnership. (ANI)
According to officials, the first incident took place in the jurisdiction of Regi police station when unknown militants hurled a grenade, which fell in an open area around the Malazai police post. There were no casualties in the attack.

Militants also threw grenades at the Jabba Masjid police post in the jurisdiction of the Michni Gate police station. There were, however, no casualties.

The officials said the Counter Terrorism Department had registered the cases, according to Dawn.

Recently, at least nine security personnel were killed and 13 were injured in an explosion near a truck of the Balochistan Constabulary in the Bolan district of Balochistan on Monday. The Police suspected it a suicide attack.

According to officials, the explosion occurred at the Kambri bridge on the Quetta-Sibi highway and targeted a vehicle of security forces.

"This seems to be a suicide attack," a senior security official told The Express Tribune. He said the bomber rammed his explosive-laden motorcycle into the police vehicle.

The Balochistan Constabulary personnel were returning from duty in Sibi Mela when they were targeted. The truck overturned with the intensity of the explosion.

The bodies and injured personnel were shifted to Sibi where they were provided medical aid. The condition of some of the injured is reportedly critical which may increase the death toll. (ANI)
To register their protest against lawlessness in their area, the residents of Bakkakhel staged a demonstration in Mandi Bazaar on Monday, reported Dawn. The elders from the tribe and young people staged roadblock on Bannu-Miranshah Road by laying the coffin of a young man killed in an explosion on Sunday. Masoom Wazir, Waliullah, Gohar Wazir, and other elders spoke at the event and denounced the bomb explosion, claiming that it killed an innocent youth and injured two others. A report in Pakistani newspaper read that the protesters stated they were gathering the bodies of loved ones killed in acts of terrorism and expressed serious concern about the lawlessness in the districts of Bakkakhel, Janikhel, and Mamandkhel. They claimed that individuals were too afraid to leave their homes to visit bazaars and markets to buy necessities. They said that the tribal people will not remain silent; instead, they will raise their voices for the restoration of normalcy in their communities. The speakers declared that they will soon call a tribal jirga to plan out a course of action and to pressure the government to recognise that sustaining peace in the area is its primary duty. They also urged the government to act in order for people to be able to support their families and improve law and order, according to a report in Dawn. The protesters dispersed later and the route was made accessible to traffic. They also laid to rest the young man who died in the explosion of an IED placed at a motorcycle on Sunday. On Monday, two people--one of them a teenager--were shot and murdered in separate events in different portions of the Lakki Marwat district. According to the police, Barkatullah, Ghazanfar Ali, and Shakir shot and killed Naqeebullah in Langerkhel Hathi Khan village due to a long-standing grudge. The attackers were able to flee. Elsewhere, in the Shagai region, armed rivals killed Mohammad Ali Shah, 15, and injured his 13-year-old brother Syed Ali Shah. A case was lodged against Manzoor Shah and Rehmatullah Shah. In another incident, a teenage boy was shot at and injured by two unidentified men in the Paharakhel Pakka area, Dawn reported. (ANI)
The minority Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan continues to face persecution by state agencies and the Taliban. The graves of the Ahmadiyya community located at Talwandi Khajoorwali district of Punjab's Gujranwala district were recently desecrated and demolished by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) radicals. Sources reveal that no complaint was filed by the police in this regard. In another incident, Dr. Raseed Ahmad, a 75-year-old man, was killed by TLP radicals in his house located at the Gotriala area of Punjab province. Dr. Rasheed Ahmad had acquired Norwegian citizenship but came back to Pakistan long ago and established a homeopathy clinic in his hometown providing free medical care to the public. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has been facing persecution because of their faith. They are considered non-Muslims by many mainstream Muslims. In a recent incident, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan radicals prevented the members of Ahmadiyya community from entering their mosque located in Kasur city of Punjab province. Sources said that they harassed and manhandled the members of the Ahmadiyya community who had come for prayers. Further, they closed the doors of the mosque. Members of the Ahmadiyya community approached local police in this connection but the police did not take any action. India on Friday (local time) slammed Pakistan on the issue of religious freedom of minorities at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Using its right to reply, India's representative Seema Pujani slammed her Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar saying, "No religious minority can freely live or practice its religion in Pakistan today. The Ahmadiya community continues to be persecuted by the state for simply practising their faith." Responding to the statement delivered by Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, Pujani said, "Pakistan's representative has once again chosen to misuse this august forum for its malicious propaganda against India." The Indian Representative also shed light on the issue of enforced disappearances. "In the last decade, Pakistan's own commission of inquiry on enforced disappearances has received 8463 complaints. The Baloch people have borne the brunt of this cruel policy. Students, doctors, engineers, teachers and community leaders are regularly disappeared by the state, never to return back," said Pujani. (ANI)
Terming the relationship with India a "top priority", Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Farhan Al-Saud said that the relationship between both nations has grown exponentially, adding that there is a need for measurable progress in all sectors especially the economic and trade relationship. Highlighting the strong relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the minister said that both leaders want to see actual results, progress in relationship between the countries. "The relationship with India is a top priority and we need to have measurable progress in all sectors especially the economic and trade relationship," the Saudi Foreign Minister said in an interview with President of Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Samir Saran at Raisina 'Ideas Pod'. Al-Saud said the relationship between India and Saudi Arabia in the last five years, has grown exponentially. "Part of that is the very strong relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince who have a very strong working relationship. Both of them are very similar in the sense that they both are very result oriented. They don't want just a nice talk, they want to see actual results, they want to see progress and that means that we in the government have a very clear direction," he said while defining the similarities between both the leaders who believe in action. Emphasizing on India's rising global stature, he said, "India is a fantastically dynamic country with huge potential and we've seen that especially in the last five years, the trajectory for India is fantastic. The potential that India holds is almost unmeasurable." Acknowledging the fact that India has played an important role in the developmental journey of the Kingdom for several decades given the large Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia, he said, "The connection has existed even before that, you know hundreds of years given the trade relationship. We're now building on that connection, on that relationship in a way that is not just benefiting both of us, it's really benefiting the international Community." He also said that India's huge size offers great potential as a huge amount of India's trade to Europe passes through the Red Sea. "We are of course India's most important energy partner as that's the case for traditional energies but we're also looking to continue that into the renewable era," he added. Earlier, Saleh Eid Al Husseini, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India, said that he wants to bring this relationship to the highest level. Speaking on the celebrations of the Kingdom's founding day here, the envoy said he was happy to have a strong and friendly relationship between the two countries. Underlining the strong relationship between the Kingdom and India, Husseini said, "We are very happy to have a strong relationship with our friendly country India. Also for a long time, we have had this relationship and we have been asked to bring this relationship to the highest level that we can." While speaking on the foundation day celebration, the envoy highlighted the Kingdom's governance and how the youth has been its focus as the next generation. "We are very proud to have a country that started in 1727 and this year as I said reflects good governance and we hold our future, our children and all our Saudi Arabia is now focussing on youth on the next generation", said the Envoy. "Our country is celebrating around 300 years and this reflects nations' governance, reflects equity, to have the prosperity of their people. To bring modernization and at the same time to regain the culture of the society. It's not by chance to be 300 years old unless the state is caring about its neighbours, caring about its people, seeking peace all over the world", added the envoy. (ANI)
Nepali Embassy in India on Tuesday celebrated Holi and International Women's Day. Nepali Ambassador to India Shankar Prasad Sharma on the occasion said: "I am very happy to organize this kind of program in the Nepal Embassy here. Many people, including diplomats, have attended this program and are enjoying it." He said: "I also would like to salute our embassy colleagues for organizing the same thing. Today, I think we are also celebrating International Women's Day. I would like to wish all the best for very hard-working, intelligent, talented women of the world, including Nepal, and including in the embassy and those who are present here." He said that Nepalis have already celebrated Holi yesterday and that in Nepal, Holi is called Fagu Purnima. Holi in India will be celebrated on March 8. The Nepali Ambassador further said that: "Nepal has also made significant progress in the area of education. We talk about gender parity, it's more than one. If you talk about the business owned by women in Nepal, it is more than 33 per cent. If you talk about the representation at the local level, in the government in Nepal, it's more than 40 per cent. And the parliament, national parliament and the provinces, it's about 33 per cent. So I think we have made a great achievement, but we need to do a lot more in this area, including health and education." Holi celebrations at the Nepali embassy were marked with various dance performances. Everybody was dressed in colourful clothes. Women were seen dancing together. On Monday, with fun and gaiety, diplomats and several other people took part in the Holi Mahotsav 2023 hosted by MoS MEA Meenakshi Lekhi in Delhi. The video of foreign delegates playing Holi went viral on social media. Delegates from many countries took part in Holi Mahotsav 2023 organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. Foreign diplomats were seen dancing to Bollywood songs in the programme. At the programme, Meenakashi Lekhi said that the G20 is on and everybody is looking upto India for solutions to some tough problems. Lekhi also said, "Holi is the victory of good over evil and that is the message for today as well." Brendan Ward, Ireland's Ambassador to India said, "Holi is one of the most famous of many festivals of India. It is celebrated around the world. It is a popular festival now in Ireland, especially among the Indian students at the university. In the context of India's G20 Presidency, it is an opportunity for India to showcase its culture in the wider world." (ANI)
Iraq Starts Enforcing 2016 Ban on Alcoholic Beverages

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- Iraq has begun enforcing a 2016 ban on alcoholic beverages, an official document showed, a move some Iraqis attribute to the growing clout of Islamic religious parties that they fear is threatening social freedoms.

Enforcement took effect when the law was published in Iraq's official gazette on Feb. 20, seven years after its passage by parliament. No official reason for the delay has been given, but analysts said religious parties exert more influence in the current coalition government than recent predecessors.

Under the law, imported alcoholic beverages are prohibited and cannot be sold in local markets, or replaced by domestically manufactured versions.

Border crossings and airport authorities have been ordered to confiscate any alcoholic drinks in the possession of travellers, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

But despite the ban, liquor stores around the capital Baghdad and in some provinces remain open for business with proprietors telling Reuters that they had not been officially informed that they must stop trading.

Iraqi government officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Iraq is a conservative, mainly Muslim society where most men and women eschew alcohol, which is proscribed under Islamic religious law, but it is not an Islamic state, critics of the alcohol ban say.

Licenses to sell alcohol have only been issued to non-Muslims in Iraq and, while drinking in public is not prohibited, it is frowned upon. In the capital Baghdad, it is not unusual to see youths drinking on the banks of the Tigris river.

Aswan al-Kildani, a lawmaker from Iraq's Christian minority, said the ban would run against freedoms guaranteed in Iraq's democratic constitution, and that he had filed a challenge in federal court.

Some Iraqis worry Iraq will become an Islamic republic, like neighbouring Iran.

"Iraq is not an Islamic state and there are different religions and sects. Some religions allow drinking alcohol and the government cannot impose a certain opinion or an ideology on all others," said Baghdad-based political analyst Ali Sahib.

Ending a year of deadlock, the largest parliamentary bloc known as the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-aligned Shi'ite Muslim political factions, managed to form a government in October last year.

Shi'ite religious groups have dominated parliament since the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled the secular regime of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Still, Iraq's stance on alcohol has long been seen as relatively liberal in the Islamic world compared with neighbours such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where possession of alcohol is outlawed.

Editing by Mark Heinrich.
"Glad to meet American Jewish Committee delegation on their visit to India. Discussed about the sea change in India-US and India-Israel relationships since 2014. Appreciate their sentiments and support, as also their working with Indian community organizations in the US," Jaishankar tweeted on Tuesday.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is the leading global Jewish advocacy organization. From city halls to Capitol Hill, at the UN and in world capitals, AJC works to impact policy and opinion on some of the most important issues facing the Jewish people.

Recently too, Jaishankar discussed the strengthening of India's relationship with the US and Israel in a meeting with the delegation comprising the American Jewish Committee and the Indian diaspora.

"Glad to meet a delegation of the American Jewish Committee and the Indian Diaspora in South Block today morning. Discussed strengthening India's relationship with the US and Israel. Appreciated their suggestions on promoting community-based activities," Jaishankar tweeted.

Thirty years ago, full diplomatic relations were established between India and Israel. Since then, India and Israel have successfully steered the relationship forward. (ANI)
The death toll from the explosion in Dhaka's Gulistan street is likely to increase.

According to Dhaka Tribune, eleven firefighting units were at the scene, but they had to halt their rescue efforts in the evening as one of the affected buildings had developed cracks.

The Rapid Action Battalion's bomb disposal unit also rushed to the spot to inspect the buildings.

According to officials, the explosion happened in the Alubazar area of Fulbaria in the capital.

The blast affected two buildings near the BRTC bus counter, the six-storey building and another four-storey sanitary market, which houses a branch of Brac Bank.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police outpost Inspector Bacchu Miah said, twenty of the injured were taken to the DMCH. He said that all of them are receiving treatment at the hospital's emergency unit.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately.

The police believe it was an accident not a case of sabotage but said they will investigate that possibility. People willing to donate blood for the injured have been asked to go to DMCH.

Witnesses said many people are feared trapped in the basements of the buildings. (ANI)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Sri Lanka has received financial assurances from all major bilateral creditors, Sri Lanka-based Daily Mirror reported. The IMF board will hold a meeting on March 20 for the consideration of approval for the State Level Agreement for financing under an Extended Fund Facility. In a statement, IMF noted that the financial assurances from creditors paves the way for consideration of approval of the state-level agreement reached on September 1, as per the Daily Mirror report. It further stated the arrangement will support the authorities program of ambitious reforms and will help Sri Lanka emerge from the current crisis. "Sri Lanka has now received financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors. This paves the way for consideration by the IMF's Board on March 20 the approval of the Staff Level Agreement reached on September 1, 2022 for financing under an Extended Fund Facility. Approval by the Board would also catalyze financing from other creditors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank," IMF said in a statement. According to the Daily Mirror report, IMF further stated, "The arrangement will support the authorities' program of ambitious reforms, that they have already embarked upon, which will help Sri Lanka emerge from its current crisis and set it on a trajectory of strong and inclusive growth." IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva welcomed the progress made by Sri Lankan authorities in taking decisive policy actions and obtaining financial assurances from major creditors, including India, China and the Paris Club. Kristalina Georgieva tweeted, "I welcome the progress made by Sri Lankan authorities in taking decisive policy actions & obtaining financing assurances from all their major creditors, incl. China, India & the Paris Club. Look forward to presenting the IMF-supported program to our Exec. Board on March 20." Earlier on Monday, Deputy Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo Hu Wei presented the financial assurance letter by the Exim Bank of China to Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena at the Presidential Secretariat. Sri Lankan President's Media Division tweeted, "The Deputy Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo Hu Wei officially presented the financial assurance letter issued by the Exim Bank of #China to the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena at the Presidential Secretariat today (07)." It further said, "Mr. Hu Wei revealed that large-scale companies are looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka in the near future to explore new #investment opportunities." Earlier on Monday, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed Sri Lanka's Parliament on Monday evening that China had given assurance that it would back the island country's debt restructuring. Making a special address in Sri Lanka's Parliament, the President said that the EXIM Bank of China last night handed over a new letter of assurance pertaining to Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, according to Newswire. He further stated that a letter of intent signed by himself and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was thereafter immediately handed over to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Newswire. "We have completed our responsibilities. Now, I hope the IMF will do their part by the 3rd or 4th week of this month," Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe said. Ranil Wickremesinghe added that this will enable the first round of funds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be issued to Sri Lanka. (ANI)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday held a meeting with United Arab Emirates ambassador to India Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali, Deputy Chief of UAE Mission Majid Alnekhailawi and Abdulaziz Alhashmi, head of the Political Section, UAE Embassy and discussed bilateral ties between the two nations. Ministry of Finance took to its official Twitter handle to inform about the meeting between Nirmala Sitharaman and UAE Embassy officials. Ministry of Finance tweeted, "Mr. Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali, Ambassador of UAE to India, along with Mr Majid Alnekhailawi, Deputy Chief of UAE Mission & Mr. Abdulaziz Alhashmi, Head of Political Sectio, UAE Embassy, called on FM Smt @nsitharaman to discuss bilateral relations between India and UAE, today." On March 1, UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in India to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. Notably, India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1. Meanwhile, UAE's Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy participated in the eighth edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi. She attended the meeting along with a number of UAE ministers and officials. According to the statement released by the UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the participation of Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy demonstrates the depth of the strategic relations that bind the two nations. During the session entitled "A Region of Opportunities: From the Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea," she focused on the UAE's approach to building more sustainable and effective partnerships with other countries and its vision to use technology, science, and innovation to enhance these partnerships, which aim to benefit humanity. According to the statement, Reem Ebrahim Al Hashimy said that UAE's hosting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) to focus on finding solutions and new innovations to address global challenges. (ANI)
Russian troops are continuing efforts to take control of the city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut in Ukrainian), which has seen relentless fighting in recent says, as it is an important defence hub for Ukrainian forces in Donbass, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday. "Taking (Artyomovsk) under control will allow further offensive actions deep into the defence of the armed forces of Ukraine," he said, RT reported. As well as being a stronghold for Ukraine's forces, Artyomovsk is part of a 70-km-long line of defence created by Kiev since fighting began in Donbass in 2014. In a months-long campaign, Russian forces have systematically captured settlements around the city and have been surrounding Artyomovsk from the north, south, and east. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted that he would not surrender the city, despite his Western backers and military advisers reportedly urging him to cut his losses and withdraw. Shoigu also said that Russian forces have taken the settlements of Nikolaevka, Dvurechnoe, Krasnaya Gora, Gryanikovka and Paraskovievka, and the "American strategy of 'breaking Russia by force of arms'" had failed. "Western countries are increasing the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, expanding training programmes for Ukrainian army personnel. "At the same time, the support of the Kiev regime by NATO countries is not leading to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield," he added, noting that Kiev's losses have significantly increased. According to the minister, in February alone the casualties suffered by Ukraine's armed forces increased by more than 40 per cent compared to January and amounted to over 11,000 servicemen. "In this regard, the Kiev regime's indifference towards its people is surprising," Shoigu noted, adding that Kiev doesn't seem to care how many people die. Russia's priority, on the other hand, remains the preservation of the life and health of personnel and civilians, he stressed. --IANS vd ( 326 Words) 2023-03-07-20:32:02 (IANS)
The commission also informed regional election officials that the local elections cannot be held on March 9 as scheduled due to unexpected and unavoidable reasons, Xinhua news agency reported.

The regional election officials were told that they are to gazette April 25 as the election day.

Regional election officials published gazettes earlier this year, announcing that local elections would be held on March 9. However, the elections were delayed after the government said there were inadequate funds.

Sri Lanka holds elections for local government bodies once every four years, and the postponed local elections were originally scheduled to be held in 2022.

--IANS int/arm

( 135 Words)

2023-03-07-20:42:03 (IANS)
A Georgia man is behind bars after an overnight shooting took the life of a child while he was sleeping, according to the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office.

Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee said Rodracious Stephens and several others fired several shots into a trailer on Harrisburg Road, killing 10-year-old Damarion Byrd.

This is a very egregious crime in our community, Massee said. I dont have to tell yall that when a 10-year-old child is killed in his bed while sleeping, thats a horrible crime.

Deputies said that the 39-year-old Stephens has been arrested and remains in Baldwin County Jail.

Byrd was a student at Lakeview Academy, according to deputies.

Several other people are being investigated in connection to Byrds death.

Stephens was arrested while hiding in a local motel, according to deputies.

TRENDING STORIES:

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
An 11-year-old Waynesville boy died unexpectedly Friday.

Wade Boswell, a fifth grader at Waynesville Elementary School, died in an accident at home March 3.

>> Police ID Troy teen killed in very tragic accident at Treasure Island Park

Warren County Sheriffs Office dispatch records showed that a parent called police around 6:15 p.m. after they found his iPad on the driveway. They said he was last seen by a drain near a pond and the parent was worried he may have fallen into the water.

Around 10 minutes later, the log showed that the child had been pulled from the water and CPR was being done.

Boswell was taken to Dayton Childrens South in Springboro, where he was pronounced dead. Boswells cause and manner of death has not been determined yet by the Montgomery County Coroners Office.

The incident remains under investigation, according to the Warren County Sheriffs Office.

>> Certainly disappointed; RTA responds to Dayton Public Schools criticism of student transportation

Counsellors were on site to help students and staff at Wayne Local Schools, officials told our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati.

A visitation for Boswell is scheduled for Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Stubbs-Conner Funeral Home in Waynesville. A celebration of life will follow immediately at 7 p.m.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) delivers remarks during a protest in support of student debt cancellation as the Supreme Court begins oral arguments outside of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday February 28, 2023. Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images

126 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Biden expressing support for his student-debt relief plan.

It comes after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the cases blocking the relief.

GOP lawmakers have continued to challenge the legality of his plan.

Over 100 Democratic lawmakers want to make sure President Joe Biden knows they're on his side when it comes to student-debt relief.

On Tuesday, 126 lawmakers, led in part by Sens. Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar, sent a letter to Biden affirming their support for his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year.

After Biden announced the plan at the end of August, two conservative-backed lawsuits paused the implementation of the relief, and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in both of the cases last week. His administration has continued to express confidence that the loan forgiveness is legal, and the group of Democratic lawmakers reiterated that they believe the "debt relief plan falls squarely within your administrative authority, we expect the legal challenges to the plan will fail, and 40 million Americans will be able to have their debts reduced or eliminated as they return to repayment."

"Through your action, approximately 20 million borrowers will have no remaining balance, and nearly 90 percent of relief dollars will go to those earning less than $75,000 a year," they wrote. "In the less than 4 weeks that the application for debt relief was available and before the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) was required to stop accepting applications as a result of lawsuits from opponents of the program, 26 million people applied to the Department to be deemed eligible for relief."

They also cited recent data from the Education Department that reflected how the relief will benefit the lowest-income earners, along with benefitting communities of color.

Story continues

Since Biden's debt relief plan was announced, many Republican lawmakers attacked that relief as unfair, costly, and an overreach of executive authority.

"How will canceling #studentloans for wealthy elites help working class Americans (many of whom never event went to college or have student debt) when they are already struggling to put food on the table and gas in the tank?" Republicans on the House education committee wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Some Republicans have also recently introduced legislation to end the student-loan payment pause and block Biden from canceling student debt broadly. While that legislation is unlikely to progress to final votes, SoFi Bank  a student-loan refinancing company  filed a lawsuit on Friday to end the student-loan payment pause, citing revenue losses it said was directly cause by the latest payment pause extension.

In light of the ongoing litigation, Biden extended the student-loan payment pause through 60 days after June 30, or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues a final decision on the legality of Biden's relief, whichever happens first, and the Education Department has affirmed the payment pause's legality.

Still, as borrowers await the Supreme Court's decision, Democratic lawmakers have continued to voice support for Biden's plan, and the need to get relief to millions of borrowers before payments resume.

"The President has the legal authority to cancel student debt," Missouri Rep. Cori Bush wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. "The Supreme Court MUST uphold the law."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with a February shooting that killed a 17-year-old and wounded a 13-month-old.

>> TRENDING: 16-year-old drives car that traps, kills 17-year-old in Miami Co.

On February 18, Cincinnati Police were dispatched to Clearbrook Drive at around 4:45 a.m. after receiving reports of a shooting, a spokesperson for the department stated, according to WCPO.

When officers arrived, they found two juveniles shot, Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Johnathan Cunningham informed.

The 17-year-old was in critical condition and was subsequently transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center by medics for further intensive treatment, Cunningham said. The 13-month-old suffered less serious injuries and was taken by a private citizen to the same hospital.

On March 3, the 17-year-old died from his injuries.

Travion Spraggs was identified as the dead child.

Officers arrested a 15-year-old boy for shooting the teenager and the baby.

The 15-year-old boys identity was not released because he would be classified as a juvenile offender, WCPO stated. If he is tried as an adult, the identity will be released.








Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Robin L Marshall - Getty Images

1883 spoilers follow.



Good news, Yellowstone fans! The Yellowstone universe is expanding... again.

Thanks to the wild success of the flagship series, creator Taylor Sheridan has been able to dive deep into the Dutton family's history and explore their origins through two prequels, 1883 and 1923.

While 1923 has already been renewed for season two, there's been no news on a second season of 1883 since its debut last year. This isn't too surprising given the unfortunate fates of many of the main characters, but it's still a bit of a blow to fervent fans nonetheless.

It's not all bad news, though. We may not be seeing Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) and co again, but we are getting an 1883 spin-off series set in the same era, titled 1883: The Bass Reeves Story.

It sounds like a good'un (and it's based on a true story!), so join us here at Digital Spy as we tell you everything you need to know about it.

1883: The Bass Reeves Story potential release date - When's it on?

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

1883: The Bass Reeves Story began production in October 2022 and is still ongoing, so there's a chance fans could get to see the new series by the end of the year  though 2024 is looking a little more realistic.

1883: The Bass Reeves Story cast - Who's in it?

Robin L Marshall - Getty Images

Selma's David Oyelowo will lead the stacked cast as Bass Reeves, a real-life legendary lawman who was the first Black deputy US marshal west of the Mississippi River.

"Bass Reeves is a character who the Lone Ranger was actually based on," Oyelowo said (via Collider). "But unfortunately, he was whitewashed out of history. He was born into enslavement, went on to fight in the Civil War, then escaped to the Indian Territory; learned the Native American languages and skills, which ended up being applied to his career as a lawman, and had the most prolific career. 3000 arrests in his career and someone whose exploits are truly legendary. We're doing it as a six-part miniseries. So basically a six-hour movie."



Lauren E Banks will play Bass' "strong and fiercely loyal" wife Jennie, while Demi Singleton (King Richard) will appear as the duo's "precocious daughter" Sally.

Story continues

Other cast members include Dennis Quaid as deputy US marshal Sherrill Lynn, Shea Whigham (Perry Mason) as a cruel enslaver named Colonel George Reeves, Barry Pepper (Creed III) as 1st Cherokee Mounted Rifles leader Esau Pierce, and Forrest Goodluck (The English) as a young Cherokee man named Billy Crow.

Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone, has also teased that he'll appear in the spin-off.

When the actor arrived at the Yellowstone season-five premiere with a goatee, he told ET: "I'm switching it up on ya. This is for a role that I did in 1883," though he wasn't prepared to spill any more details.

1883: The Bass Reeves Story plot - What will happen?

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

According to the official synopsis (via Variety), the show "will bring the legendary lawman of the wild west to life.

"Reeves, known as the greatest frontier hero in American history, worked in the post-Reconstruction era as a federal peace officer in the Indian Territory, capturing over 3,000 of the most dangerous criminals without ever being wounded."

Reeves was born into slavery in 1838. He joined the US Marshals in 1875 and was assigned to the Western District of Arkansas, which also had authority over the Native reservation Territory.

When Oklahoma became a US state in 1907, Reeves was relieved of his duties as a marshal, though he continued to serve in law enforcement until 1909, the year before his death.

Whatever happens on the show, Reeves' story will be given more time to unfold on the small screen than it would have had on the big screen  that's according to Oyelowo (via Collider).

"Back in the day when you watched Ben-Hur or Lawrence of Arabia, that was epic storytelling," Oyelowo said. "But you put a three-hour, four-hour film in front of people now: oh, gosh! But you let them binge something that's six to ten hours, they're all in. So I think it's just a reframing of it. Maybe it's just a mental leap people need to take to engage with the storytelling a little bit longer."

1883: The Bass Reeves Story trailer - When can I watch it?

Given the current stage of production, we're in for a bit of a wait. But rest assured that as soon as we hear of a trailer, you'll be the first to know.

Yellowstone seasons 1-5, 1923 season 1, and 1883 season 1 are all available to stream on Paramount+.

You Might Also Like
Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

A Moody's analysis said GOP spending cuts in a debt ceiling increase could cost Americans 2.6 million jobs.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren cited the report in a letter to Biden, saying Republicans are risking a recession.

Negotiations to raise the debt ceiling aren't making much progress, with a default potentially as soon as 4 months away.

A recession  and millions of jobs losses  could be on the horizon if Congress doesn't reach a clean deal to raise the debt ceiling.

On Tuesday, Moody's Analytics released an analysis on what could happen if Republicans fail to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling before the US runs out of money to pay its bills, which could happen as soon as July. House Republican lawmakers have expressed their intent to negotiate a deal to raise the debt ceiling to achieve spending cuts on Democratic priorities, but those negotiations appear to be stalled  and the country is inching closer to a catastrophic default.

The analysis suggests that even if a default is avoided, the kinds of spending cuts the GOP is demanding could still lead to a big economic downturn. Moody's economists Mark Zandi, Cristian deRitis, and Bernard Yaros predicted that if Republicans achieve a "dramatic reduction in government spending" while leaving Medicare and Social Security off the table, as they have vowed to do, it could trigger "a recession in 2024, costing the economy 2.6 million jobs at the worst of the downturn and pushing unemployment to a peak of near 6%."

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren cited the analysis in a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to "put forward a budget this week that rejects Republican calls for tax breaks for the wealthy and massive job losses for everyone else."

"The Republican approach to the debt ceiling will either result in a catastrophic default and an economic recession - or massive cuts to key government programs that destroy millions of jobs. You must reject both options," Warren wrote.

Story continues

"Republican-imposed austerity would mean the U.S. economy in 2033 would still be short nearly 1 million jobs and 3 percentage points of GDP growth  as if our economy stood completely still for a year," she added. "In fact, the economic impact would be so great, that it would result in even more job losses than a short-lived debt ceiling breach, in both the short- and long-term."

It's hard to know exactly what would happen if the US defaults on its debt, because it's never happened before. One thing that's clear is that the economic picture won't be pretty. A default could mean a historic financial crisis, one that drags down the rest of the world, too, as the market for US government debt is a key aspect of global finance.

If there were to be a default, Moody's sees two scenarios. There could be a shorter default that would quickly lead to Congress passing a debt ceiling increase, which sends the US into a mild recession at the end of year as 1 million jobs are lost, or a prolonged breach, which would lead to the loss of 7 million jobs, and household wealth falling by $10 trillion as stock prices tank by nearly a fifth.

Warren is holding a hearing on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the "disastrous impacts" of a debt default, including testimony from Moody's Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi.

"Lawmakers have a lot of work to do," Zandi told Insider. "They need to increase, suspend, or do away with the debt limit by mid-August  or the government won't be able to pay all its bills, and that'll create chaos in financial markets and push the economy into recession. The next six months are going to be drama filled."

As Insider previously reported, Republican lawmakers have yet to detail where exactly they want to cut spending in a debt ceiling deal, but they have floated some ideas. Those include cuts to student-debt relief programs and welfare programs like SNAP, while vowing to leave Medicare and Social Security untouched in these negotiations.

Still, Biden has insisted the process to raise the debt ceiling be bipartisan and without negotiations, and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the importance that Congress act during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday.

"At the end of the day, there's only one solution to this problem, and that is Congress  whatever else may happen will happen  but Congress really needs to raise the debt ceiling," Powell said. "That's the only way out in a timely way that allows us to pay all of our bills."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico last week were killed and two were returned to the U.S., the State Department confirmed on Tuesday.

Two U.S. citizens were returned to the United States, the bodies of two other U.S. citizens killed in the same incident were also recovered, department spokesperson Ned Price said during a news conference.

The two survivors  one of whom suffered serious injuries  were taken to Brownsville, Texas, and were being treated at a local hospital there as of Tuesday evening, according to the FBI.

The four U.S. citizens, who have not been publicly identified, were kidnapped at gunpoint on Friday in Matamoros, in the state Tamaulipas, shortly after crossing the border into Mexico, officials said . A Mexican woman was also killed in the episode. The four Americans were later found in Ejido Longoreno, a rural area east of Matamoros, The Associated Press reported , after getting caught amid fighting between rival cartel groups last week.

Were providing all appropriate assistance to [the victims] and their families, Price said on Tuesday. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased. We thank our Mexican and U.S. law enforcement partners for their efforts to find these innocent victims, and the task forward is to ensure that justice is done.

Both the FBI and the Justice Department are investigating the episode, and authorities will be relentless in pursuing justice on behalf of the victims, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Tuesday. We will do everything in our power to identify, find, and hold accountable the individuals responsible for this attack on American citizens.

The FBI said that the investigation into the kidnapping was ongoing, and that the agency was working with the State Department to recover the bodies of the two victims who were killed.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also addressed the kidnapping on Tuesday.

Since day one of this administration, we have been focused on disrupting transnational criminal organizations, including Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers, Jean-Pierre said at the daily press briefing, adding the Biden administration had imposed powerful new sanctions against cartel organizations in recent weeks.

She declined to provide names of those abducted. For the sake of privacy and out of respect to the families, we are going to refrain from further comment about those circumstances at this time, she said.
Court photos of Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. United States District Court for the District of Columbia

A judge issued an arrest warrant for two Capitol riot defendants who were on house arrest.

Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson are accused of hitting police on Jan. 6, 2021, court docs show.

Pollock is the sister of Jonathan Pollock, a January 6 defendant who has been missing since 2021.

A federal judge issued warrants for the arrest of two January 6 Capitol riot defendants who went missing on Monday.

Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III are both accused of several charges, including assaulting Capitol officers, theft of government property, entry to restricted grounds, and violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, court documents show.

Joe Boland, a supervisory special agent with the FBI's Lakeland, Florida office, said the bureau learned Pollock and Hutchinson had "tampered with or removed" the ankle monitors used to track them and notified the court after they couldn't locate either of them, the Associated Press reported on Monday. The Lakeland, Florida, FBI field office, and an attorney for Pollock did not immediately return Insider's requests for comment on Tuesday. A public defender representing Hutchinson declined to comment.

Pollock is the sister of Jonathan Daniel Pollock, another January 6 defendant the FBI has been searching for since June 2021. In March 2022, the FBI offered a $15,000 reward for any information on his whereabouts. He was caught on body camera footage charging toward police officers and hitting them with flagpoles and a riot shield, according to an affidavit.

Hutchinson is accused of helping Jonathan Pollock grab a fence to push their way through the crowd, giving rioters "unobstructed access to the line of police officers", according to court documents. Hutchinson is also accused of squaring off in a "fighting stance" with police officers and throwing punches at them, according to the affidavit.

Olivia Pollock is accused of holding a flag pole between police and rioters and trying to pull a baton from a Capitol Police officer's belt, according to the affidavit. She also "reaches out and strikes" an officer on body camera footage, elbows him in the chest, and attempts to take his baton a second time, according to the affidavit.

More than 1,000 people have been charged with crimes connected to the January 6 Capitol insurrection so far while at least 476 have pleaded guilty to charges related to the riot.

Read the original article on Insider
Its been 15 years since a massive fire started at the Salisbury Millwork, taking the lives of two firefighters.

Victor Isler and Justin Monroe made the ultimate sacrifice on March 7, 2008. On Tuesday morning, exactly 15 years later, first responders and community members gathered to pay their respects.

PREVIOUS: Salisbury remembers 2 firefighters 14 years after deadly Millwork blaze

Channel 9s Hannah Goetz was present as the fire department honor guard placed a wreath of honor at a memorial wall. Over the radio, the deputy chief ordered all Salisbury fire stations to lower their flags to half-staff. There was also a moment of silence.

In the last 15 years, many new members have joined the Salisbury Fire Department. Goetz asked them why it was so important for them to honor Isler and Monroe, despite not knowing them.

The Salisbury Fire Department escorts the bodies of Victor Isler and Justin Monroe, at their funeral Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Salisbury, N.C. Firefighters Monroe and Isler lost their lives in a five-alarm fire in Salisbury, N.C. , earlier this week. (AP Photo/The Salisbury Post, Sean Meyers)

The Salisbury Fire Department escorts the bodies of Victor Isler and Justin Monroe on Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Salisbury, N.C. Firefighters Monroe and Isler lost their lives in a five-alarm fire in Salisbury, N.C. (AP Photo/Salisbury Post, Jon C. Lakey)

The Salisbury Fire Department escorts the bodies of Victor Isler and Justin Monroe Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Salisbury, N.C. Firefighters Monroe and Isler lost their lives in a five-alarm fire in Salisbury, N.C. (AP Photo/Salisbury Post, Jon C. Lakey)

I think being on the job, this is family, and its always going to be family -- whether youre at Salisbury, youre at Concord, youre at Charlotte -- they are always going to be brothers from another mother, said Capt. Curtis Summers. Thats how it is in this job, so thats how it connects me.

Flags remained at half-staff until the end of the day Tuesday.

>> At 5 p.m. on Channel 9, a Salisbury firefighter from that day will join Goetz to share more about the men Monroe and Isler were, and how he keeps their legacies alive at the station.

(WATCH BELOW: Fire Chief Defends Procedures At Deadly Millworks Fire)
Two of the four U.S. citizens who went missing after a violent kidnapping in Mexico last week have been found dead and two are alive, Mexican and U.S. authorities said Tuesday. Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said one of the surviving U.S. citizens was wounded and the other wasn't.

He said all four were found in a wooden shack, where they were being guarded by a man who was detained, according to The Associated Press.

Villarreal added that they'd been moved around by their captors, even to a medical clinic at one point, to try to "create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them."

The Americans were found in a rural area east of the border city of Matamoros, the AP said, citing Tamaulipas state chief prosecutor Irving Barrios.

Mexico's security secretary identified the surviving Americans as Latavia "Tay" McGee and Eric James Williams. Earlier, CBS News learned the other two Americans were identified as Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard.

Zalandria Brown, of Florence, South Carolina, told the AP she'd been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, was one of the victims.

Zalandria Brown said Zindell Brown, who lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and two friends were with a third friend who was going to Mexico for "tummy tuck" cosmetic surgery.

Federal and state officials escorted the two surviving Americans to an international bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border, the attorney general in Tamaulipas confirmed in a tweet posted Tuesday afternoon.

The FBI confirmed in a statement to CBS News Tuesday evening that both surviving victims were taken to a U.S. hospital and said one was being treated for serious injuries.

But Villareal said the wounded American, Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the wound wasn't life threatening, the AP reported.

Earlier, the attorney general's office in Tamaulipas, where the Americans disappeared Friday, announced on Facebook that all four U.S. citizens had been found.

Story continues

"Investigation and intelligence work continues to capture those responsible," the statement read.

Both survivors had been returned to the U.S. by Tuesday afternoon, State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed during a press briefing. Officials were still "in the process of working to repatriate the remains" of the two victims who were killed, Price said. He declined to share additional information about the investigation into their abduction.

"The investigation is in its earliest days," Price told reporters. "I understand we may have more to share from the FBI at the appropriate time."

The Americans were found as a result of joint search operations, according to the attorney general in Tamaulipas, but how officials ultimately located and rescued them remained unclear.

"Of the four, two of them are dead, one person is wounded and the other is alive and right now the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are going for them for give the corresponding support," Villarreal said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, "Those responsible will be found and they are going to be punished."

He also lamented American media coverage of the kidnapping and accused U.S. reporters of sensationalism, saying, "It's not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they go quiet like mummies," according to the AP.

An American woman, abducted in Mexico last week, sits inside an ambulance after she was found alive in Ejido Longoreno, on the outskirts of Matamoros, Mexico, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. / Credit: / AP

A convoy of ambulances and SUVs transported the survivors to a section of the U.S.-Mexico border near Brownsville hours after they were found on Tuesday, the AP said.. Whether the bodies of the deceased individuals were transported along with them wasn't immediately known.

An Associated Press journalist reported seeing the group of vehicles speeding down a long dirt road toward their destination, accompanied by Mexican military Humvees, armored vehicles, state police and National Guard troops. Mounted on their trucks were .50-caliber machine guns.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland did not confirm the deaths, but said Tuesday that senior officials at the Department of Justice are working with multiple federal agencies in the U.S. as well as authorities in Mexico.

"During this difficult time, I want to offer my deepest sympathies to the families of the Americans who were attacked and kidnapped," Garland said.

The Americans were kidnapped after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in Matamoros, a border city in northern Mexico, the FBI said earlier this week. All four people had driven from Brownsville, Texas, to Mexico on Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.

Lopez Obrador said Monday that the four Americans had crossed the border to purchase medicine and found themselves caught in crossfire between two groups of armed individuals. Officials previously said a Mexican woman had also died in Friday's crossfire. Her identity is not known.

Their car was hit by gunshots soon after the group grossed the border in Matamoros, the FBI San Antonio Division office reported in a statement issued on Sunday.

"All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men," the office said. At the time, the FBI announced a $50,000 reward in exchange for the victims' return as well as the kidnappers' arrests.

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes, at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. / Credit: STR / AP

A video posted to Twitter on Friday raised national concerns as it appeared to show the moment the Americans were kidnapped, CBS News' Christina Ruffini previously reported. In the video, a woman is seen walking alone before being forced into a white pickup truck. Men armed with guns and wearing bulletproof vests then appeared to force several others into the vehicle. At least two of the victims were seen being dragged across pavement toward the truck.

On Monday, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement that the Americans were "violently kidnapped at gunpoint" and that U.S. agencies were coordinating with their counterparts in Mexico to recover the missing people.

President Biden was also briefed on the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a Monday news conference.

"These sorts of attacks are unacceptable," Jean-Pierre told reporters. "Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance."

Memphis releasing 20 more hours of Tyre Nichols arrest video: CBS News Flash March 8, 2023

New details emerge about kidnapping in Mexico after 2 Americans killed, 2 rescued

Mexico's medical tourism attracts Americans to travel to risky areas
A Red Cross worker closes the door of an ambulance carrying two Americans found alive after their abduction in Mexico. (Associated Press)

For the record:

8:51 p.m. March 7, 2023: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the suspect in custody, Jose Guadalupe N., is 23. He is 24.





Two of four U.S. citizens kidnapped at gunpoint in northern Mexico last week were found dead Tuesday, Mexican authorities said, while two others were rescued after an intense manhunt that renewed U.S. focus on violence south of the border.

The Americans were located Tuesday morning in a small wooden house in a field outside the violent border city of Matamoros, said Irving Barrios Mojica, the attorney general of Tamaulipas state. Mexican authorities detained one suspect, identified only as Jose Guadalupe N., 24, who they said was guarding the house.

The two survivors  Latavia Tay McGee and Eric James Williams, who was badly wounded in his left leg  were rushed to the border in a convoy of ambulances and law enforcement vehicles and handed over to U.S. authorities in Brownsville, Texas.

The frantic rescue came four days after unknown gunmen fired on the tourists amid a busy stretch of downtown Matamoros, then loaded them into the back of a pickup truck and sped away.

The disappearance of the four friends sparked an international incident, with the FBI launching an investigation, the White House intervening and some Republican members of Congress calling for invading Mexico with U.S. troops.

A white minivan with North Carolina license plates and several bullet holes sits in a street where four U.S. citizens were kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico. (Associated Press)

"This tragic incident only highlights a rising preoccupation in the United States about Mexico's lack of interest in facing down organized crime," said Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice Universitys Baker Institute. The kidnapping in Matamoros, he said, "has become a symbol of impunity in Mexico."

The U.S. government condemned the kidnapping and deaths, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying Tuesday that "attacks on U.S. citizens are unacceptable, no matter where ... they occur."

And though Kirby said the FBI had worked closely with Mexican officials and would continue to collaborate with them, there was little doubt that the incident threatened to further inflame binational tensions over Mexico's security strategy.

Story continues

With homicides in Mexico hovering around all-time highs and a record number of American deaths linked to Mexican-produced fentanyl, many in the U.S. have grown increasingly critical of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's hugs not bullets crime-fighting policy, which purports to emphasize social programs over violent confrontations with criminal groups.

And while in practice Lopez Obrador's strategy largely resembles that of his predecessors, with high-profile arrests of cartel leaders, regular seizures of drug shipments and even more federal troops in the streets, his softer rhetoric, combined with violent incidents such as the one in Matamoros, "reinforces the narrative being pushed on the right side of the U.S. political spectrum that Mexico is a lawless country," said security analyst Alejandro Hope.

The Americans who were killed have not been officially identified but were named by various news outlets as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown.

Family members of the victims told news outlets that the four arrived in Matamoros on Friday so that McGee could undergo a tummy tuck  a surgical procedure to remove abdominal fat.

Each year, nearly 1 million U.S. citizens seek medical procedures in Mexico, where drugs and treatments are generally much cheaper than in the United States, according to the Mexican Council for the Medical Tourism Industry.

According to the FBI, the four were in a white van with North Carolina license plates when unidentified gunmen fired on their vehicle. The Americans were then thrown into the back of a truck and spirited away, a violent scene captured on a widely disseminated video. Mexican authorities said a Mexican woman was killed in the shootout.

Violence in broad daylight is common in Tamaulipas state, which has long been one of the most lawless regions of Mexico and which is currently the site of a turf war between dueling factions of the Gulf cartel. The state ranks high in homicides, kidnappings and disappearances; in the vast majority of cases, the victims are Mexicans.

That the victims this time were Americans immediately made the kidnapping international news.

On Tuesday, some Mexicans reacted to news of the rescue operation with a mixture of relief and exasperation. Seldom if ever do the frequent kidnappings of Mexican nationals attract such attention. And the vast majority go unsolved in a country where the number of "disappeared" has soared to more than 110,000.

What has to happen so that the cases of kidnapping and disappearance in Mexico are investigated at the same speed with which they dealt with the case of the four Americans taken in Matamoros? Pascal Beltran del Rio, editorial director of Excelsior newspaper, wrote on Twitter.

The government only prosecutes criminals under foreign pressure, tweeted Lilly Tellez, a senator with the center-right National Action Party. We Mexicans are utterly defenseless.

The attack came at a time when U.S. officials along the border and in Washington have become increasingly attuned to violence in Mexico.

Citing high levels of overdose deaths, several prominent Republicans, including former U.S. Atty. Gen. William Barr, have called in recent months for Mexican cartels to be designated as "terrorist organizations." And this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he plans to push legislation that will "set the stage" for the use of U.S. military force in Mexico.

He seemed to be taking a cue from former President Trump, who, after the 2019 killings of nine American women and children from a small Mormon community in northern Sonora state, also threatened to send soldiers into Mexico.

Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that his government would not allow "foreign countries" to intervene in his nation's domestic affairs, adding that Mexico doesn't "meddle" in American law enforcement issues. His administration has sought to highlight how Americans' appetite for illicit drugs and the illegal flow of firearms from the U.S. have played a significant role in Mexico's violence.

He criticized what he described as "tabloid" coverage of the Matamoros incident and said media outlets are "silent like mummies" when Mexicans are killed in the United States.

But he also said he hoped it would not sour U.S.-Mexico relations.

"We are working daily to guarantee peace, security," the president said. "We are very sorry that this happened in our country and we send our condolences to the families of the victims."

U.S. and Mexican officials said they are still investigating a central question: Why were the U.S. visitors in Matamoros attacked in a city where many tourists cross over daily from Brownsville with no problems?

Barrios said the tourists may have been the victims of confusion," or mistaken identity. One theory is that the assailants may have opened fire after mistaking the van for a vehicle transporting rival gangsters.

Business leaders in Tamaulipas said they worried the incident would deflate commerce, especially in the medical tourism sector.

Unfortunately," said Julio Cesar Almanza Armas, who heads Tamaulipas' Federation of Chambers of Commerce, "what happened here is going to be a mark against us for many years."

Special correspondents Cecilia Sanchez Vidal in Mexico City and Juan Jose Ramirez in Matamoros contributed to this report.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
One of three suspects wanted in the killing of a Lewisville pawn shop owner was arrested Tuesday, according to police.

Denyrion Keyshaun Skinner, 17, turned himself in to the Lewisville Police Department on Tuesday, police said in an update. He is charged with murder and is being held at the Lewisville jail on a $250,000 bond.

Another suspect, JaTevon Marquise Johnson, 18, was identified and arrested Feb. 25.

Damonta Jerone Skinner, 19  the last of the three suspects  is still wanted by police in connection with the Feb. 14 shooting death of Daniel White, 54.

At about 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 14, three young men, all dressed in black hoodies and blue jeans, jumped out of a red, late model Ford Escape SUV, rushed into the Lewisville Pawn Shop at 962 S. Mill St., confronted White and tried to rob the store, police said.

One of the robbers shot the store owner in the chest, police said. All three left the scene in the red SUV and headed south on Mill Street toward I-35 East.

Denyrion Skinner and Damonta Skinner fled to Dallas after the shooting, and Damonta is believed to still be in the South Dallas area, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lewisville Police Department Tip Line at 972-219-8477. Information can also be submitted anonymously by texting TipLPD to 847411 or can be submitted to Denton County Crime Stoppers at dentoncountycrimestoppers.com or through its P3 Tips mobile phone app.
A 2-year-old died after he was left in his dads car for several hours, Florida police say.

Port St. Lucie police said the toddlers father called authorities just after 1 p.m. on Monday, March 6, after realizing he had forgotten his son in his car. The 2-year-old had been left in the car for several hours.

Officials began life-saving measures after arriving at the scene, police said in a news release. The child was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The boys father was arrested and charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm, police said.

On Tuesday, March 7, temperatures were in the 80s in Port St. Lucie, with a projected high of 88, according to the National Weather Service.

Port St. Lucie is about 110 miles north of Miami.

Man thought he took grandson to day care, but he was dead in the pickup, AL cops say

Toddler left home alone while parents go to New York, South Carolina cops say

2-year-old dies after she was left alone in a hot car, New Jersey cops say
Update: Polk County Sheriffs Office has identified three of the four people killed after two small planes collided in Central Florida.

The victims are:

Faith Irene Baker, 24, of Winter Haven. Baker was a pilot and flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation.

Zachary Jean Mace, 19, of Winter Haven. Mace was a student at Polk State College.

Randall Elbert Crawford, 67, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Baker and Mace were in one of the planes, a Cherokee Piper 161, while Crawford was aboard the other plane, a Piper J-3 Club.

Deputies are working to confirm the identity of the fourth person killed who was inside the Piper J-3 Cub.

READ: 2 dead after 2 small planes collide in Central Florida

The four people killed were the only occupants of the planes, the sheriffs office said.

In a prepared statement, Sheriff Grady Judd said:

My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed in todays crash. The NTSB and FAA will be investigating the cause and circumstances of the collision. Please keep the families in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time.

READ: After 8 straight days of record heat, cooler air is on the way

See our previous coverage below:

Investigators say two people have died after two small planes collided Tuesday afternoon near a Central Florida lake.

According to the Polk County Sheriffs Office, the planes collided mid-air over Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

Deputies say first responders from multiple agencies arrived to find one of the planes fully submerged in the lake and the other partially submerged.

The sheriffs office confirmed the planes were a sea plane registered to Jack Browns Seaplane Base in Winter Haven and a fixed-wing plane operated by Sunrise Aviation out of Ormond Beach on behalf of Polk State College.

Multiple agencies are participating in an active search of the lake for any occupants of the planes.

Story continues

Investigators confirmed Tuesday evening two bodies had been located in the search but they havent been identified pending notification of their families.

Both the FAA and NTSB have been called to investigate.

Channel 9 is monitoring the situation and is working to gather additional details.

Read: 9 ways to protect yourself from deadly amoeba

Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for updates.

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A civilian resident of Bakhmut against the background of houses destroyed by Russian shelling, March 3

Read also: UN confirms death of 8,101 civilians in Ukraine due to war, including over 450 children

In February alone, 138 civilians were killed and 451 people were injured. Explosive devices and shrapnel are the most common causes of civilian casualties, the report said.

The agency stressed that the figures only include verified casualties, while the actual number of victims in the war is much higher, as the flow of information from some places is delayed due to ongoing fighting. This applies, in particular, to cities like Mariupol, Lysychansk, Popasna, and Severodonetsk.

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
ATLANTA (AP/Boston25)  More than 20 people from around the country, including three Massachusetts residents, faced domestic terrorism charges Monday after dozens in black masks attacked the site of a police training center under construction in a wooded area outside Atlanta where one protester was killed in January.

The site has become the flashpoint of ongoing conflict between authorities and left-leaning protesters who have been drawn together, joining forces to protest a variety of causes. Among them: People against the militarization of police; others who aim to protect the environment; and some who oppose corporations who they see as helping to fund the project through donations to a police foundation.

Flaming bottles and rocks were thrown at officers during a protest Sunday at Cop City, where 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, or Tortuguita, was shot to death by officers during a raid at a protest camp in January. Police have said that Tortuguita attacked them, a version that other activists have questioned.

Almost all of the 23 people arrested are from states across the U.S., while one is from Canada and another from France, police said Monday.

Massachusetts residents arrested in the protest include 19-year-old Ayla Elegla King, 49-year-old Alexis Papali, and 26-year-old Timothy Bilodeau, according booking photos published by the DeKalb County Sheriffs Office.

Like many protesters, Tortuguita was dedicated to preserving the environment, friends and family said, ideals that clashed with Atlantas hopes of building a $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center meant to boost preparedness and morale after George Floyds death in 2020.

Now, authorities and young people are embroiled in a clash that appears to have little to do with other high-profile conflicts.

Protesters who oppose what detractors call Cop City run the gamut from more traditional environmentalists to young, self-styled anarchists seeking clashes with what they see as an unjust society.

Story continues

Defend the Atlanta Forest, a social media site used by members of the movement, said Monday on Twitter that those arrested were not violent agitators but peaceful concert-goers who were nowhere near the demonstration. A representative of a public-relations firm involved in the groups events said that it could not immediately comment.

After Tortuguita was killed in January, demonstrations spread to downtown Atlanta. A police cruiser was set ablaze, rocks were thrown and fireworks were launched at a skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation. Windows were shattered. The governor declared a state of emergency.

On Sunday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a midnight news conference, pieces of construction equipment were set on fire in what he called a coordinated attack at the site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in DeKalb County.

This image provided by the Atlanta Police Department shows construction equipment set on fire Saturday, March 4, 2023 by a group protesting the planned public safety training center, according to police. (Atlanta Police Department via AP)

Surveillance video released by police shows a piece of heavy equipment in flames. It was among several destroyed pieces of construction gear, police said.

Protesters also threw rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police, officials said. In addition, demonstrators tried to blind officers by shining green lasers into their eyes, and used tires and debris to block a road, the Georgia Department of Public Safety said Monday.

Officers used nonlethal enforcement methods to disperse the crowd and make arrests, Schierbaum said, causing some minor discomfort.

Along with classrooms and administrative buildings, the training center would include a shooting range, a driving course to practice chases and a burn building for firefighters to work on putting out fires. A mock village featuring a fake home, convenience store and nightclub would also be built for rehearsing raids.

Opponents have said that the site would be to practice urban warfare, and the 85-acre (34-hectare) training center would require cutting so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging.

Many activists also oppose spending millions on a police facility that would be surrounded by poor neighborhoods in a city with one of the nations highest degrees of inequality.

Color Of Change, a civil rights organization, has been working alongside activists in Atlanta, and leaders have said the facility will only harm Black communities as a result of what they describe as the increased militarization of law enforcement.

This just takes up a lot of space in a Black community ... and it provides more access, more tools, and more resources to an institution that actually needs more accountability, Color of Change President Rashad Robinson told the AP by phone Monday.

Atlanta police and construction personnel stand near damaged property at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center in DeKalb County, Ga., Monday, March 6, 2023. More than 20 people from around the country faced domestic terrorism charges Monday after dozens of young men in black masks attacked the site of a police training center under construction in a wooded area outside Atlanta where one protester was killed in January. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has said that the site was cleared decades ago for a former state prison farm. He has said that it is filled with rubble and overgrown with invasive species, not hardwood trees. The mayor also has said that while the facility would be built on 85 acres, about 300 others would be preserved as public green space.

Many of those already accused of violence in connection with the training site protests are being charged with domestic terrorism, a felony that carries up to 35 years in prison. Those charges have prompted criticism from some that the state is being heavy-handed.

Lawmakers are considering classifying domestic terrorism as a serious violent felony. That means anyone convicted must serve their entire sentence, cant be sentenced to probation as a first offender and cant be paroled unless they have served at least 30 years in prison.

Meanwhile, more protests are planned in coming days, police said Monday.

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
Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman outside City Hall on Tuesday announcing a measure aimed at designating Los Angeles a "sanctuary city." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Soon after President Trump took office, Los Angeles immigration groups demanded that City Hall label L.A. a haven for immigrants in the face of his promised crackdown.

The Los Angeles City Council ultimately passed a resolution that declared L.A. a "city of sanctuary"  a symbolic gesture that offered no legal protections.

Now, Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman want to strengthen L.A.'s laws around immigration. They announced Tuesday they would seek passage of an ordinance declaring L.A. a "sanctuary city" and barring city personnel or resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement.

If adopted, the law would be largely similar to one in San Francisco. It prohibits city employees from using city funds or resources to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the enforcement of federal immigration laws unless such assistance is required by federal or state law.

Raman said her office worked with immigration advocates and others on the proposed law. Some of the leaders of those groups told The Times they are looking to next year's presidential election.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presumed Republican candidate, has made cracking down on people in the country without authorization a focus.

"We want to make sure that L.A. is ready for a worst-case scenario," said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of programs and campaigns at the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The law sought by the three council members would codify existing policies, including a 2017 executive directive issued by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti that prohibits all city employees from using public facilities or resources to assist or cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.

The proposed law would also bar federal immigration authorities or other entities connected to immigration enforcement from accessing city databases or anyone's personal data.

The proposal follows moves by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, which in 2020 voted to ban the transfer of inmates to ICE custody unless the authorities have a judicial warrant.

Story continues

The council members' motion asks the city attorney to prepare a draft ordinance within 60 days that would prohibit, to the extent permissible by law, the use of city resources, property or personnel for any federal immigration enforcement.

Nearly 10% of the nations 11.1 million immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization reside in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center report.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Hernandez said it's time that L.A. lives "up to its promise to our immigrant communities."

"Symbolic gestures are not enough," Hernandez said. "Internal policies that can be changed from one day to the next are not enough."

Hernandez's office said in a news release that the "city and internal LAPD policies still allow for ICE officers to access city jails to interrogate people in LAPD custody, and, under certain circumstances, LAPD officers are permitted to transfer individuals to ICE custody, even when judicial warrants are not issued." The proposed ordinance seeks to limit those interactions.

The Los Angeles Police Department declined to answer questions about its policies.

The Times also sent multiple questions to ICE about its practices. In response, the agency said its operations are "focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws."

Following Trump's election and promise to deport migrants, mayors in Boston, Chicago and elsewhere reaffirmed their cities as sanctuaries, and the California Legislature passed a law that aims to protect immigrants.

L.A.'s efforts around establishing itself as a sanctuary have come in fits and starts. The city in 2017 set aside $2 million for a legal defense fund to pay for attorneys for individuals and families who are detained or at risk for deportation.

City leaders also introduced a resolution that year to declare L.A. a city of sanctuary, calling it a direct response to Trumps efforts to unwind a program that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

However, it took the city two years to vote on the resolution, and by then, immigrant advocates said, its declaration had lost significance.

President Biden has reversed some immigration policies but also faced criticism for proposals that immigration groups say would mirror Trump's tough crackdown.

At the same time, ICE's surveillance capabilities have expanded. The agency has worked with third-party vendors to collect data from utility companies and private databases, according to findings from a two-year investigation published last year by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology.

For example, the report found that ICE has drivers license data for 3 in 4 adults living in the U.S. and can track the movement of vehicles in cities that are home to nearly 75% of adults.

Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said declarations of sanctuary city labels are empty rhetoric unless cities and counties also ensure that ICE cant access troves of data collected by those municipalities.

The group has filed a lawsuit against a third-party vendor in a federal case in California.

We encourage cities to analyze city data and how its being stored and whether its susceptible to warrants, Cahn said.

In Los Angeles, mobility data are collected by the city, for example, Cahn said.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation spokesperson Colin Sweeney said the city receives route or drop-off and pickup information from companies that offer scooters, bicycles and some taxis in L.A. to ensure operators are following city rules. The city doesnt gather information about riders, Sweeney said.

The department is prohibited from sharing its mobility data with law enforcement unless required by a subpoena or warrant, Sweeney said. No federal agency has ever accessed or sought access to this data, he added.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, predicted that the proposal, if passed, would strain L.A.s education and healthcare system.

People tend to flock to areas where they know that there isnt cooperation with federal immigration authorities, said Mehlman, calling the proposal "costly" for taxpayers.

The phrase "sanctuary city" dates to the 1980s, when U.S. immigration policies allowed some Central American immigrants entry but not others. In response, Berkeley and a few other municipalities declared themselves sanctuary cities to accept those migrants.

A divided L.A. City Council adopted a resolution in 1985 declaring Los Angeles a city of sanctuary for immigrants fleeing political persecution and violence, particularly refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.

After one council member threatened a ballot measure to overturn the resolution, the council watered it down and dropped the phrase city of sanctuary."

Instead, the council voted to reaffirm a policy that banned city employees from considering a persons "refugee or residence status" before providing city services.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A 34-year-old dad died after the car he was driving was hit by a suspected drag racer going over 100 miles per hour, Tennessee police and loved ones say.

Nashville police said Jacob Barnhardt died the afternoon of March 6 after he was involved in a three-car wreck with a driver who lost control.

Barnhardt was driving in a northbound lane when a driver on the opposite side of the highway, Patrick Ewin, lost control of his Dodge Charger Hellcat and crossed into Barnhardts lane, police said in a March 6 news release. Ewin, 31, was driving over 100 miles per hour when he lost control, police said, and surveillance footage shows him racing another car.

After hitting Barnhardt, Ewin hit a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, police said. The pickup truck driver was uninjured.

Officials extricated Barnhardt from his car and transported him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died, according to police.

Ewin was taken to the hospital with minor injuries before he was taken to jail, police said. He is charged with vehicular homicide by recklessness.

Loved ones shared memorials for Barnhardt on social media.

Heaven gained a great one far too soon!! For sure one of the best friends I have ever known. Thank you for everything, one friend wrote in a Facebook post. Pray for his family & children. Sending all the love and strength.

Gone too soon, another friend posted on their Facebook story.

Loving dad killed while driving back from date night with wife, Maryland reports say

Dad being treated steps out of ambulance and is fatally hit by a semi, TN cops say

Dad of 6 fatally struck as wife watched him help stranded motorist, Texas reports say
A group of Americans were attacked after crossing the border into Mexico, leaving bullet holes in their white van. AP

Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexican are dead, while the other two were found alive.

US officials confirmed the survivors are back in the US.

Relatives told CNN and ABC News the group traveled for one of them to get a tummy tuck procedure.

Two of the four Americans kidnapped by armed gunmen after crossing the Mexican border on Friday were found dead, according to US officials and a Mexican governor. The two survivors were found alive in Tamaulipas on Tuesday.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed in a press conference that the two survivors have been "repatriated back to the United States," according to CBS News.

Price added: "We are in the process of working to repatriate the remains of the two Americans who were killed."

Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement on Tuesday confirming the FBI "immediately contacted" Mexican law enforcement and security partners on Friday in an attempt to locate the victims after learning that the four Americans were attacked.

The two surviving Americans are receiving medical treatment back in the US, Garland said.

Relatives told CNN and ABC News that the Americans  identified by family as a group of friends, Zindell Brown, Latavia McGee, Eric James Williams, and Shaeed Woodard  were traveling for one of them to get a tummy tuck procedure.

Insider previously reported that the group traveled into Mexico in a white van with North Carolina license plates before they were fired at and taken by armed gunman. CNN reported that investigators believe they were mistaken for smugglers by a drug cartel.

"The Justice Department will be relentless in pursuing justice on their behalf," Garland said Tuesday. "We will do everything in our power to identify, find, and hold accountable the individuals responsible for this attack on American citizens."

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday that a Mexican citizen not involved in the incident was also killed.

Story continues

"On Friday, March 3rd, unknown assailants in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, violently kidnapped at gunpoint four US citizens in an incident in which an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed," the statement read. "US law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots."

Obrador confirmed at a press conference Monday that the group was abducted on March 3 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, near the Rio Grande and southern US border with Brownsville, Texas. The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims.

It was originally reported by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that the group traveled to buy medication. The journey isn't uncommon for Americans who seek affordable health care. Prescription drugs, such as Insulin, can be thousands of dollars cheaper in Mexico, according to Kaiser Health News.

In recent months, American women have increasingly sought out abortion medication from Mexico, a Mexican abortion rights activist told Insider after the US Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Border Patrol agents patrol along a line of shipping containers stacked near the border Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022, near Yuma, Ariz. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

Four Americans were kidnapped after crossing the border to buy medication in Mexico.

The kidnapping happened on March 3. On March 7, two were found alive and two deceased.

The US citizens had North Carolina license plates. A Mexican citizen was killed in the confrontation.

Four US citizens who crossed the US-Mexico border for a medical procedure were kidnapped in Mexico on Friday after a confrontation between armed groups.

On Monday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed at a press conference that four Americans were abducted by groups on March 3, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, near the Rio Grande and southern US border with Brownsville, Texas.

The group crossed into Mexico in a white van with North Carolina license plates, before they were fired at and taken by armed gunman, per the FBI. An unnamed US official told CNN that the Americans may not have been the intended targets.

"We are paying attention," Obrador said at a press conference on Monday. "The information we have is that they were from the US and crossed the border to buy medicine in Mexico. There was a confrontation between groups and they were detained. All of the government is working on it."

On Tuesday, Mexican officials confirmed two of the Americans were found dead. The two survivors were rescued in Tamaulipas.

The FBI offered $50,000 reward for the return of the victims, and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Attorney General Merrick Garland released a statement on Tuesday confirming the FBI "immediately contacted" Mexican law enforcement and security partners in an attempt to locate the victims after learning that the four Americans were attacked.

The two surviving Americans are receiving medical treatment back in the US, Garland said.

"The Justice Department will be relentless in pursuing justice on their behalf," Garland said Tuesday. "We will do everything in our power to identify, find, and hold accountable the individuals responsible for this attack on American citizens."

Story continues

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said that a Mexican citizen was killed during the confrontation.

"On Friday, March 3rd, unknown assailants in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, violently kidnapped at gunpoint four US citizens in an incident in which an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed," Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico said in a statement. "US law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots."

A woman driving by witnessed the confrontation, and said two of the van's occupants were dragged out, according to The Associated Press.

The Gulf cartel has a heavy presence in Matamoros, where kidnappings and violence between armed factions have become common. Thousands of Mexicans have disappeared amid the infighting, the AP reported.

Insider previously reported that it was unclear what medical procedures or medications the Americans had crossed to purchase. Relatives then told CNN and ABC News that the group traveled to Mexico for one of them to get a tummy tuck procedure.

For over a decade, Americans have traveled to Mexico for cheaper prescription drugs, such as Insulin, which can be thousands of dollars cheaper in Mexico, according to Kaiser Health News.

In 2015, the US federal government estimated that nearly 1 million Californians crossed into Mexico for health care reasons, including to buy medication.

However, one type of medication, in particular, has become increasingly sought after in recent months. Following the US Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, one Mexican abortion rights activist told Insider that American women were seeking abortion medication from Mexico on a daily basis.

Read the original article on Insider
Trump at CPAC Alex Wong/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump provided the headliner speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend. He painted a gloomy picture of the United States with a Democrat, President Biden, in the White House, and portrayed himself as the only person who can save the Republican Party and the nation. Trump's former United Nations ambassador and current GOP rival, Nikki Haley, got chased into an elevator by Trump supporters after saying in her non-prime-time speech that the GOP needed a new generation of leaders, in a veiled criticism of the former president.

Other Republicans used their time at the podium to call for eradicating transgender rights and stripping Big Tech of the legal immunity social media companies have under Section 230, the protection from liability for what users post that is currently being challenged at the Supreme Court. Far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said in her speech that the liability shield is letting tech executives censor conservative voices, "acting like editors rather than publishers." But some of the GOP's heaviest hitters  including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and likely presidential contenders former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis  didn't show up at the sparsely attended conference. Here are four lessons from this year's event:

1. Trump showed the GOP nomination is his to lose

Many Democrats, and even some Republicans, think Trump's 2024 presidential bid is doomed, said the Texarkana Gazette in an editorial. "His presidency was a fluke, they say. His time has passed." But this year's CPAC showed that "this nomination is still Donald Trump's to lose."

CPAC was "always a big GOP event in the past," but this year's version "was mostly a yawn fest." Nikki Haley "failed to excite the crowd. Presumed candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis failed to show up." Trump was the only person who really "energized" the crowd, and all he had to do was hit some of "his usual familiar talking points," with "a lot of 'us against them'" mixed in. CPAC's straw poll wasn't even close, with Trump taking 62 percent support for the 2024 nomination, followed by DeSantis with 20 percent and Haley in single digits.

Story continues

2. Low attendance and energy showed CPAC isn't what it used to be

The big takeaway was "how lame this year's CPAC really was," said Danielle Lee Tomson in Politico. Attendance was low. Energy was low. "Speakers like Donald Trump Jr. and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) addressed nearly empty rooms." Even the WiFi went out at times. The troubles started before the event when CPAC chair Matt Schlapp faced "sexual assault allegations from a male campaign staffer, a claim he denies," and it was downhill from there.

Former Trump strategist "insisted that despite the lackluster conference, the GOP and its right flank were still strong." He said you could see CPAC's importance in the attendance of "warriors" like failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and James O'Keefe, a "media provocateur" recently ousted by his own board. With "warriors" like that, who needs enemies? "Vibes matter," and CPAC showed that "conservatives  both Trump and institutional Republicans alike  aren't vibing with each other."

3. CPAC represents what the GOP mainstream has become

This year's CPAC was "eminently mockable," said Joe Walsh in The Bulwark. "There was Steve Bannon accusing Fox News of stealing the election from Donald Trump. And Marjorie Taylor Greene lying that Ukraine President Zelensky demanded American 'sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine.'" The hits kept coming: Kari Lake proclaiming Steve Bannon a "modern-day George Washington," Lauren Boebert "strutting and yelling on stage." The hits kept coming.

But don't let the "richly deserved mockery" convince you these people aren't to be taken seriously. These are the forces that put Trump in the White House in 2016 and almost got him re-elected in 2020. The people at CPAC weren't the "some loony far-right fringe" of the Republican Party. "They are the party." The GOP mainstream has become "radicalized." Its base and activists "no longer believe in truth, they've given up on democracy, they want to destroy their political opponents, and they want an authoritarian to give them back the America they long for."

4. This spotlighted the growing GOP rift

CPAC "underscored the difficulty Republicans will have in keeping their increasingly fractured coalition together for 2024," said Josh Kraushaar in Axios. The GOP used to be defined by the "three core conservative principles" that were the "pillars" of the Reagan revolution: "free markets, a muscular foreign policy, and traditional social values." But Trump's Make America Great Again movement has shifted "the GOP's center of gravity toward a more protectionist, populist, and belligerent outlook."

Signs of the split were everywhere. Trump said the GOP was once "ruled by freaks, neocons, open-border zealots and fools," and promised the party was "never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove, and Jeb Bush." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "leave your hands off of our sons and daughters," while "two of the highest-profile speakers  former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley  are unapologetic Ukraine hawks." The fight for the party's 2024 nomination will come down to a duel between Trump, who "is prioritizing the 30 percent of Republicans who consider themselves 'Trump-first Republicans,'" and his rivals who will "compete for backing among those who support the party first."

You may also like

Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D.

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?
Mexican authorities reported they found the four missing U.S. citizens taken against their will during their trip to Mexico, with two found dead and two rescued alive.

The post 4 US Citizens Kidnapped In Mexico After Being Mistaken For Haitian Drug Traffickers; 2 Found Dead, 2 Rescued Alive appeared first on Blavity.

CNN reported that the search for Latavia Tay Washington McGee, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard and Eric Williams has ended, and Mexican officials shared they discovered their whereabouts. Unfortunately, Brown and Woodard were found deceased, and Williams was injured. Washington McGee was unharmed. Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios revealed the update in a tweet.

Derived from the joint search actions, the four American citizens deprived of their liberty last Friday were found. Unfortunately, two dead. Investigation and intelligence work continue to capture those responsible. Details will be given later, Barrios wrote.

Corporaciones federales y estatales, con personal de Consulado #EUA en #Matamoros entregaron en puente internacional a 2 ciudadanos de aquel pais, localizados hoy luego que fueron privados de su libertad el pasado 3 marzo #Sedena #Marina #GuardiaNacional #FGJT #SSPT #FGR #CNI  Dr. Irving Barrios Mojica (@IrvingBarriosM) March 7, 2023

The four friends went to Mexico to support Washington McGee, a mother of six, in her cosmetic surgery. Her family told CNN this was her second or third time going to the country for a medical procedure since she had no complications after she went three years ago.

Story continues

According to CNN, on Friday, unidentified shooters kidnapped the friends from their white minivan as they journeyed to the border city of Matamoros. Authorities speculate the suspects who shot at the van and forced the South Carolina residents into another vehicle were members of the Mexican cartel and believed the tourists were mistaken for Haitian drug traffickers and werent the intended targets.

This tragic situation is another incident involving the Mexican drug war. In addition, the CDC has warned Americans to minimize the risks involved in visiting other countries for medical procedures.

The investigation is ongoing as authorities uncover the details behind the attack.
Carpathian Shepherd Dog - Alamy

A 40kg Carpathian Shepherd Dog who allegedly knows 300 Latin commands faces being put down after it bit a police officers bottom.

Pc Michael Obern screamed out in agony as the large canine chomped straight through his trousers and underwear and into his left buttock, a court heard.

The female dog - called Shroom - also attacked a woman on a glamping site and its owner, Gemma Sankey, has now been convicted of failing to control a dangerous animal.

Magistrates found her guilty of two counts after hearing Sankeys bizarre defence in which she said the dog was very intelligent and knew more than 300 commands in Latin, while also claiming both the victims injuries were self-inflicted.

Carpathian Shepherd Dogs originate from Romania where they were bred for their size and strength to guard livestock from bears and wolves. They are said to be fearless and to make excellent guard dogs.

Sankey, 51, told the court she had worked as a dog psychologist with a special knowledge of canine aggression for over 35 years, but prosecutors said she had no formal qualifications, and should not be considered an expert.

In October 2021, Pc Obern was helping Sankey move some items into a Travelodge in Devizes, Wilts, when the dog turned on him, prosecutors said.

Pc Michael Obern - Solent

The officer revealed he had been warned by Sankey in a previous meeting not to wear high-vis clothing as this would make the dog react.

The Wiltshire Police officer, who knew Sankey from his time as a community support officer, told magistrates he therefore chose to wear a black police vest in a bid to appease the animal.

But he told Salisbury Magistrates Court that when he approached the dog it almost immediately attacked him: I managed to pet her but she then bit my left buttock.

It ripped my trousers, ripped my boxer shorts and broke the skin.

The dog was on a lead but it was quite a long one. I then told Ms Sankey to take the dog inside.

I had a bruise for a week, but I had been bitten by a human in another incident a few months before so Id already had a tetanus injection.

Story continues

The court was shown bodycam footage captured by Pc Obern in which he could be seen petting the dog.

Moments later, the police officer was heard screaming in pain as the dog bit him in the buttock off camera.

Sankey, of Amesbury, Wilts, denied both offences and said her dog did not bite Pc Obern nor the woman at the glamping site.

Gemma Sankey - Solent

She told the court: When Shroom gets terribly excited she jumps up occasionally.

Sankey added: Pc Obern gave Shroom a slap hit and then he turned away.

His injuries were not caused by a bite from Shroom - a Chihuahua would have made more bite marks.

She told the hearing she was an expert in animal behaviour and had previously owned four dogs and 15 horses.

However, prosecutor Natalie Cheesman told the court there was no evidence Sankey was an expert in canine aggression, and that she had no relevant qualifications.

She continued: The bite made Pc Obern scream out in pain before he walked away.

Ms Sankey is in denial about what Shroom is capable of.

I submit that you can tell the two incidents are extremely similar.

Magistrates deliberated for just 30 minutes before finding Sankey guilty of two counts of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.

She will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard Shroom has been kept in police custody since biting Pc Obern and that the Crown Prosecution Service would now be submitting an application for a destruction order.
China confident of meeting 2023 economic growth target

Xinhua) 08:28, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- China is confident of meeting its 2023 economic growth target through hard work, an official with the country's top economic planner said Monday.

The country aims to expand its economy by around 5 percent in 2023, according to a government work report submitted Sunday to the national legislature for deliberation.

"China is still a developing country, and development is the top priority," Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a press conference.

The country needs to maintain reasonable economic growth to boost employment, improve people's livelihoods, and prevent and defuse risks, Zhao said.

The 5-percent growth target, which is conducive to accelerating the creation of a new development paradigm and promoting high-quality development, is in line with current economic momentum, and will guide all sectors to focus on improving the quality and efficiency of development, Zhao said.

The growth target is underpinned by the quick recovery of China's consumer market. Consumption of tourism, catering and other services has rebounded significantly since the Spring Festival holiday, getting the economy off to a strong start, he said.

With the changes in COVID-19 response policies, there has been a notable increase in the mobility of both people and goods, indicating a faster recovery. "China's economy is steadily improving," Zhao said, adding that the country is "full of confidence" in achieving the 2023 economic growth target.

Speaking about China's economic performance last year, Zhao said the country has made outstanding achievements in economic development.

In 2022, China's economy expanded by 3 percent, higher than the 2.1 percent growth of the United States and the growth seen in some other major economies.

China follows a win-win strategy of opening up, actively participates in economic globalization, and strives for the common development of all countries, he said. "China welcomes the people of other countries aboard the express train of the country's development."

With regard to foreign investment, Yang Yinkai, also deputy head of the NDRC, said China will continue to open up industries in sectors such as telecommunications, the internet, education, culture and medical care in an orderly manner.

China will also encourage more foreign investment in advanced manufacturing, modern service industries, energy conservation and environmental protection, and to the central and western regions and northeast China, Yang said.

As a steadfast proponent of high-level opening up, China will welcome foreign investment "in a more open and inclusive manner," Yang noted.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Student-parents can model good time management strategies and study habits for their children. Halfpoint Images/Moment Collection/Getty Images

Pursuing a college degree as an adult with children is a monumental but worthwhile endeavor. Research shows that earning a degree increases income and therefore health outcomes for the whole family. Higher income has also been associated with experiences that lead to more brain activity and cognitive development for infants.

Being a student and a parent at the same time, however, can be challenging. Student-parents not only must juggle their own classwork and daily life routines, but they also must find time to help their children excel in their schoolwork. Many children across the country are struggling in school, have experienced learning loss due to the pandemic and need extra academic support.

Im a research scholar with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and the clinical director of the Children and Family Programs at Kennesaw State University. At KSU, I share evidenced-based best practices with students who are parents to support personal, interpersonal and academic success. I was once a student-parent myself, completing my dissertation while caring for my 10-month-old daughter.

Here are five things student-parents can start doing today to help themselves and their children excel in school.

1. Choose a family-friendly campus

Not all colleges and universities are family-friendly. At many colleges, student-parents are overlooked and face a higher risk of dropping out. Look for institutions that support student-parents  for example, with lactation rooms, on-campus child care, commuter rooms, changing tables and family events on campus.

While 1 in 5 U.S. undergrads are raising a child, less than half of community colleges and public universities offer on-campus child care services. And when they do, there may be a waitlist. Student-parents may need to research high-quality daycares nearby. Speaking with other parents can go a long way in finding the best care for your child.

2. Stick with predictable schedules

Predictable schedules and environments help kids thrive and build resilience in times of uncertainty. Planning out the day also allows student-parents to schedule time to devote to their own classwork and complete assignments.

Story continues

Research finds that routines help new parents acclimate to parenthood. A regular bedtime may influence school performance, school attendance and health in children whose parents are divorced. Conversely, having an irregular bedtime may lead to children having more behavioral problems and lower resilience.

Parents can foster routines by creating a set wake-up, schoolwork, dinner and bedtime schedule for both themselves and their child. Family rituals and routines that guide behavior help create a safe emotional environment for young children. For example, making time for dinner together as a family can increase childrens sense of belonging, emotional connections and support between family members.

3. Set clear rules and expectations

When parents have clear rules and expectations at home, children can better understand which behaviors are off-limits. This means parents can spend less time arguing with, reminding and reprimanding their children. Taking the time to set these expectations upfront can reduce parents stress levels and save them time in the long run to focus on their own classwork.

These rules can work for parents too. For example, the expectation that screen time is allowed only after homework is completed works at any age.

When clear rules and expectations are in place, parents can focus attention on what their child is doing right. Praising a child for trying their hardest, sitting still and following directions will increase the likelihood they will behave well in the future. Think of it as a banking system: If a child hears mostly negative feedback and reprimands, this creates a deficit in their bank and has negative impacts on their behavior later. But if a parent praises their child often, this builds up cash for the times when they must make withdrawals and reprimand them.

Pregnant and parenting students are covered by Title IX, which ensures their right to equal educational opportunities on college campuses. Courtney Hale/iStock/Getty Images Plus

4. Model time management

Children watch and learn from their parents behavior. Student-parents can model good time management strategies and study habits while they do their schoolwork.

Additionally, research suggests that it can be mutually beneficial when children and parents complete their work together. Coworking alongside your child can increase their appreciation for education and teach good study habits. The example parents set as hard-working students themselves, and how they communicate the value of education, can aid their childs education.

5. Get involved

Children whose parents are involved in their education and school activities perform better at school. But what does positive involvement look like? It can be instilling the importance of education, asking questions about their activities or advocating for the best teacher fit. Parents can also volunteer for school events, join the PTA, attend school events and  for those low on time  communicate frequently with teachers and administration via email or online systems that display grades and allow message sending.

Student-parents can also advocate for themselves in their own studies. Professors may not know which students are also parents and the challenges that this brings. They also may be unaware that pregnant and parenting students are covered by Title IX and cannot be discriminated against due to their pregnancy or parental status. Librarians and counselors can be excellent sources of information for student-parents who are navigating college and seeking the support services that are best for them.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Allison Garefino, Kennesaw State University.

Read more:



Allison Garefino receives funding from GA Department of Early Care and Learning; BOOST ARP grant

Crystal Rainwater receives funding from Kennesaw State University and DECAL.
A man accused of driving onto a sidewalk and running over and killing a 53-year-old pedestrian has been arrested, according to Oklahoma authorities.

Marlon Evans faces multiple charges, including first-degree manslaughter, following the Saturday, March 4, incident in Tulsa, police said.

Why didnt you stop? Why? the victims sister, Kim Cole, told KOKI. I dont understand such disregard for life.

The Tulsa Police Department said the hit-and-run crash happened at 2:30 p.m.

Multiple witnesses saw the driver, later identified as Marlon Evans, driving on 61st St. when he veered off the road, drove onto the sidewalk, hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk, and kept driving, police said in a Monday, March 6 news release.

Police identified the pedestrian as Michael Cobb. He died shortly after he was struck, according to the release.

Evans was found within minutes of the incident. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, driving on the sidewalk, no drivers license and no insurance, police said.

He remains in the Tulsa County Jail on a $200,000 bond as of Tuesday, March 7.

Cole said she is grateful authorities captured Evans.

He had a life. He had a family that loved him, he had friends that loved him, Cole told KOKI of Cobb. I would never leave somebody laying on the side of the road, ever. And (the driver) made it so much worse by doing that. And now I dont have my brother.

Intoxicated 18-year-old intentionally runs over man outside Target, Minnesota cops say

29-year-old crossing road with child dies after two cars hit her, Florida cops say

Four dead after car runs red light and causes SUV to flip off bridge, Missouri cops say
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  Malaysian police have found the body of a young woman trapped in a car that was swept away by rushing waters, the fifth death of seasonal floods that have also forced more than 43,000 people to flee their homes.

Police said in a statement Monday that a 23-year-old woman reported missing was believed to be driving to work earlier in the day on a flooded road in southern Johor state when her car was washed away. Rescuers retrieved the car hours later and found her body.

A man driving to work in a palm oil plantation in Johor was similarly found dead recently after rescuers retrieved his car from floodwaters. Three older people also drowned.

Johor, the countrys second-largest state bordering Singapore with four million people, is the worst affected with over 40,000 evacuated to schools and community centers. The number of evacuees has dropped from over 50,000 a few days ago.

Several other states including remote areas on Borneo island were also hit.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visited flood victims Sunday in Johor and vowed to speed up flood mitigation projects in the state. This matter cannot be delayed and should be dealt with more seriously so that (flooding) does not happen again, he tweeted.

The Meteorological Department has said the country was experiencing its sixth episode of continuous heavy rain from the annual monsoon season that started in November. In December, tens of thousands of people were also evacuated due to flooding.

Images posted by police in Johor showed roads and homes disappearing under muddy waters, with only rooftops visible.

Further rain and storms are predicted Tuesday in parts of Johor and eastern Malaysian states on Borneo, which could cause more flash floods. Authorities also warned waters in over a dozen rivers nationwide have reached dangerous levels.
Artists conception of a probe floating on Saturns moon Titan.

It boggles the mind to think of all the wondrous things that NASA has achieved since its inception in 1958, but its equally astounding to think about all the projects that couldve been. Here are seven impressive concepts that died on the vine, whether because of huge cost, technological intractability, or just being too weird, even for NASA.

This article was originally published on March 9, 2022.

Read more

A low-cost transport system to the Moon

Artistic conception of AstraGate.

TransAstronautics Corporation recently proposed a plan, dubbed AstraGate, in which a transportation system would be built between Earth and the Moon. Instead of using propellant, the system would involve the transfer of energy and momentum between inbound and outbound vehicles, a feat accomplished with orbiting AstraGate stations. The system is designed to make it affordable for middle class people to go to and from a lunar research center just as regular trans-Atlantic steamship travel allowed for rapid settlement and expanded trade between the old world and new, according to an emailed description of the proposal. The plan was pitched to NASAs Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program in both 2018 and 2019, both times making it through to the second round but no further.

Annotated image showing AstraGate.

Craig Peterson, a systems engineer at TransAstronautics Corporation, said a combination of factors led to the proposal being rejected; the sheer scale of the concepts and application of materials was something they did not think could credibly be accomplished, he wrote to me in an email. To which he added: Weve shelved it for the time being.

The Mobile Geological Laboratory

The Mobile Laboratory (MOLAB), or Mobile Geological Laboratory, as photographed in 1965.

In the early 1960s, as preparations were being made for the upcoming Apollo missions to the Moon, NASA considered various ways that astronauts might be able to explore and investigate the lunar surface. Among these concepts was the ambitious Mobile Laboratory, or MOLAB for short. The large four-wheeled rover, in addition to providing mobility, would offer a temporary habitat for the astronauts while also serving as a science laboratory. A prototype was built and tested in the New Mexico desert, but at 8,200 pounds, the GM-built MOLAB was seriously bulky; getting it to the Moon wouldnt be easy or cheap. The prototype was eventually loaned to the U.S. Geological Survey, which used it to map mineral deposits and take soil samples.



Story continues

A nuclear rocket

Technicians at work on a conceptual nuclear rocket in 1964.

From 1955 to 1973, the United States sought to develop a nuclear rocket for use in long-duration missions. The basic idea was to use fission to heat liquid-hydrogen and expel it as thrust at rates that would supersede those of chemical rockets, according to NASA. The original idea was to create atomic aircraft for the U.S. Air Force, but the program shifted to a space-based application, requiring NASA to take over. The program reached its penultimate phase, an effort to build a Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA). A second-generation NERVA engine was built and tested on the ground, but the program was terminated before any in-flight tests could be conducted.



A space station for the masses

Artists conception of an advanced space habitat.

With the success of the Apollo missions, NASA turned its eye to the prospect of offworld colonies. The space agency ran its summer studies at NASA Ames in 1975, allowing experts and artists to share their visions of what space-based colonies might look like. The resulting concepts were bold, including space habitats in which 10,000 people would work, raise families, and live out normal human lives, according to one of several NASA studies. The wheel-like habitats would simulate gravity, allowing for traditional homes, monorails, trees, grass, bodies of water, and agriculture. There was hope that some habitats might appear as early as the 1990s, but these ideas, though wonderful, were a bit much from a technological perspective.

A trip to the nearest star

Rough schematic showing the design of an interstellar probe.

In 1988, NASA, along with the Universities Space Research Association, presented a preliminary design for a probe that would explore Alpha Centauria triple star system located 4.37 light-years from Earth. The uncrewed, 440-ton probe would take just 100 years to reach the closest star system to our own, but several technologies must be developed in order for this mission to be possible, as the authors of the proposal admitted. This included a pulsed fusion microexplosion drive and a long-life fusion reactor capable of outputting 300 kW of power. The probes reactor would also power its communications system, allowing it to transmit data on the properties of the interstellar medium, unseen features of Alpha Centauri, and more precise astrometric readings pertaining the stars position, motion, and luminosity. Unfortunately, Project Longshot, as it was called, was exactly thata long shot, and the technology needed for the mission remained out of reach.



The Space Shuttle that never was

An uncrewed X-34 on the tarmac.

The Space Shuttle was the way of the futureor so it seemed. Eager to take the program to the next level, NASA began to explore updated concepts for a reusable space transportation system, which they did starting in the early 199os. The culmination of these efforts was the Orbital Sciences X-34, a prototype for testing a low-cost reusable vehicle and for running suborbital flight experiments. An X-34 neared completion in 2001, but the program was axed due to budget concerns.



A probe to explore Titans oily sea

Conceptual image of TiME.

In 2009, Proxemy Research submitted its proposal for the Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) for inclusion in NASAs Discovery program. The probe would launch toward Saturn in 2016 and reach Titans Ligeia Mare in 2023. Floating in the methane-ethane sea, the lander was to spend nearly 100 days performing the first exploration of an extraterrestrial sea, according to the proposal. The estimated $425 million mission would acquire an improved understanding of Titans methane cycle, investigate the moons history, and explore the limits of life, according to NASA. TiME made it all the way to the final stage of the Discovery selection process, but the project was ultimately rejected. The good news is that NASA did eventually choose a mission to Titan, namely the aerial Dragonfly mission, which is expected to launch in 2027.

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Twitter on Monday lost its appeal in a case involving the FBI's requests of user information. Above, a sign hangs at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco in 2021. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)

Twitter may not publicly quantify the number of times the FBI demands user information from it for national security investigations, a federal appellate court ruled Monday.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the FBI was justified in blocking the social media giant from publishing aggregate counts of such requests in its biannual "Transparency Report" online because doing so could jeopardize national security.

Circuit Judge Daniel Bress, an appointee of President Trump, wrote that although the court acknowledged "Twitter's desire to speak on matters of public concern," the "governments restriction on Twitters speech is narrowly tailored in support of a compelling government interest: our Nations security."

The decision affirms a similar ruling by a lower district court judge in 2020. Bress was joined in his decision by two other conservative judges: Carlos Bea, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, and Lawrence VanDyke, a Trump appointee who also wrote a concurring opinion.

Attorneys for Twitter and for the federal government did not respond to requests for comment.

Some observers criticized the decision as a blow to the 1st Amendment rights of people and entities such as Twitter that find themselves caught up in national security cases or want to publish information about them.

"This ruling is really undermining those 1st Amendment protections for anyone who gets swept up in a super-secret government investigation," said Andrew Crocker, senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which had filed a brief in support of Twitter.

Twitter first filed its lawsuit challenging the FBI's directive not to publish the figures during the Obama administration in October 2014.

Legal wrangling over disclosures of how often the government requests information from social media companies and just what kind of information agencies wanted erupted at the start of that year. That's when big companies such as Google and Facebook said they wanted to disclose more about government surveillance on their platforms in the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations about the vast scope of U.S. surveillance efforts.

Story continues

In response, the U.S. government agreed to allow companies to release information about the number of information requests they had received, but with limits. The government said the companies could report only the number of requests in "bands" of 1,000. That is, companies could report receiving between zero and 999 such orders but could not provide more detail or specify the exact number of requests they'd received. They also could not disclose that they had received no such requests in any given period.

In April 2014, Twitter provided the FBI with a draft of its latest Transparency Report, in which it quantified the number of requests for user information it had received from the FBI in much smaller increments.

The report was going to quantify "national security letters," through which the government can request subscriber information and billing records in national security cases. It was also going to quantify orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, which allows for court-ordered surveillance in real time or the release of stored content and other records by a company such as Twitter.

Twitter officials wanted to say how many of each sort of request it had received from the government by increments not of 1,000, but of 25  that is, that it had received between 1 and 25 such requests, or between 25 and 50. They also wanted to be able to say whether the company had received no such requests.

The FBI pushed back, ordering Twitter not to publish the report because it included classified information that would harm national security if released.

Twitter responded by filing suit, arguing that the restrictions were "an unconstitutional prior restraint and content-based restriction on, and government viewpoint discrimination against, Twitters right to speak about information of national and global public concern."

The government disagreed, though the details of its arguments were obscured because they were filed under seal. The reason: Government officials said they included classified information.

In its decision Monday, Bress said the court had reviewed those records and determined that the government had met its burden of proving the restrictions were necessary. It was unclear Monday whether the panel's decision would be appealed.

Crocker, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he was "very disappointed" in the ruling and hoped it would be challenged.

Action by the government to block publication of material in advance  known as "prior restraint"  is subject to the strictest legal standard of review, given the sanctity of the 1st Amendment, and it has been rejected in incredibly important cases in the past, Crocker said.

Perhaps most famously, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971 rejected the government's argument for blocking the publication by newspapers of the Pentagon Papers, a classified study of U.S. decision-making in Vietnam.

Crocker said the 9th Circuit panel had strayed from the standards around prior restraint that have protected free speech for years and set a "very, very bad precedent for 1st Amendment in national security cases."

In a 2022 report, Twitter said the U.S. accounted for 20% of all government information requests globally during the period under review, which was the most of any single country.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
On Dec. 24, around noon, Abdul Sharifus phone rang. A woman without a car needed milk for her baby.

Among the Congolese community in the city, 26-year-old Abdul had earned the nickname 911 for his willingness to assist those who needed support, picking up groceries, driving people to doctors appointments, or dropping them off at work. Buffalos unofficial moniker is The City of Good Neighbors, and Abdul was certainly a neighbor you could rely on.

You call him and hed be there quick, his cousin Ally Sharifu said.

He talked to anybody and helped everybody, his friend Djumpili Djouma said.

Left: Abdul and Ally; right: Abdul and wife Gloria Courtesy Ally Sharifu

Abduls wife, Gloria, who was eight months pregnant, urged him to stay home. A blizzard, one of the worst to hit the city in decades, had been raging since the previous day. But if Abdul didnt offer a hand, who would? The storm had knocked out power in some households. The city announced that emergency services were backlogged. The mayor warned that the thick snow drifts, icy roads, and toppled trees would likely bring the city to a standstill for days to come.

Gregarious, friendly, and quick to make jokes, Abdul embraced his role in the community. After arriving in 2017 with his cousin Ally, Abdul came to embody the spirit of a city that has forged critical support systems in the vacuum left by institutional neglect. As he settled in, Buffalo was striving to escape its hard-luck reputation as one of the most racially segregated and economically disenfranchised cities in the nation.

The steel mills and their well-paid union jobs were mostly gone, but in their place eventually bloomed one of the most robust labor movements in the country: In 2021, local Starbucks employees sparked an organizing campaign that has resulted in nearly 300 of the companys branches unionizing nationwide, and in early 2022, workers at the local Tesla plant began efforts to form the first union in the companys history. A socialist candidate who vowed to defund police nearly unseated the four-term incumbent mayor, Byron Brown, in the closely contested 2021 election. Young people from around the region have been moving into the city, drawn by affordable housing costs, a burgeoning arts scene, and an expanding food culture. They carry ambitions to help transform Buffalo into a bastion of tolerance and equitable social policies.

Story continues

At the center of all the changes were residents like Sharifu, landing in Buffalo from every corner of the globe. After decades of Rust Belt exodus, the city had in recent years opened its doors to refugees, who filled vacant storefronts with new businesses and invited loved ones to join them in their new home. For the first time since the 1940s, Buffalos population is growing. A city long anchored by its past now offers a possible glimpse into Americas future, rooted in its peoples collective belief that while the institutions around them might fail, they can always count on one another.

To Abdul, turning down a neighbor in need wasnt an option. He put on boots and a thick winter coat, trudged through the snowbank rising on his front lawn, stepped into his red Toyota SUV, and drove into the storm.

A view of downtown Buffalo, New York, on March 4, 2023 Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

On their flight into the city six years ago, Abdul and Ally Sharifu looked out the window and saw only white. Buffalo was coated in snow, which the young men had never seen up close.

Born in Kalemie at the eastern edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo, they were small children when their parents were killed in the countrys civil war. An auntie shuttled them over the border to Burundi, where they lived with her in a refugee camp for more than a decade, awaiting word from the international organizations tasked with finding them a place to permanently resettle.

Sometimes you dont believe you will find a new home, said Ally, two years older than his cousin.

Ally Sharifu at his home in Buffalo, New York, on March 4, 2023 Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

They found work with a bus company. Ally drove while Abdul collected passengers fares. Their boss paid them around 16% of each days revenues.

Then one day, out of nowhere, they learned that the United States had accepted their applications for asylum, though not their aunts. A plane carried them to Washington, DC, where they spent a night at a hotel marveling at the pristine buildings and commercial abundance around them. This place is so good, Ally remembered thinking. The next day, they boarded another plane, which took them to Buffalo, the second most populous city in Americas fourth most populous state.

Buffalo had become a common destination for refugees since the turn of the millennium, part of the local governments plan to bolster its declining population with waves of new arrivals who were brought in through four resettlement organizations based in the city. Within two decades, a city that had one of the smallest immigrant populations of any its size transformed, boasting residents from Somalia, Nepal, Yemen, Ethiopia, Myanmar, South Sudan, Iraq, Rwanda, Bhutan, Liberia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Congo, and elsewhere  a migration pattern that reflected a timeline of the worlds varied conflicts. From 2006 to 2013, the citys population of foreign-born residents nearly doubled. Over the last two decades, more than 16,000 refugees have made a home in Buffalo, creating magnet communities that have subsequently drawn immigrants looking to settle in an American city with familiar faces, languages, and support systems.

A refugee resettlement program placed the Sharifus in a house on the citys East Side, where 85% of Buffalos Black residents live. The program covered their expenses for two months, enrolling them in classes teaching English, which they didn't yet speak, and connecting them with work opportunities. Ally started working at a plant manufacturing plastic products. Abdul got a job at a sugar refinery, and then as a machine operator at a factory producing pharmaceuticals.

Dropping into a new place where he didnt speak the language or understand the customs left Ally uncomfortable. For the first few weeks, he rarely left the house. I was too scared to go outside, he said.

Why you always stay inside every day? he recalled Abdul asking him.

These are people I dont know, Ally replied.

The longer you live with them, the more you will understand them, Abdul said.

MLK Jr. Park in Buffalo, New York, on March 4, 2023 Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

On Abduls urging, they began taking walks around the neighborhood, and then around the city, exploring downtown and meeting people at MLK Jr. Park and the Chinese restaurant on Broadway. Working full-time jobs that often left them exhausted, they dropped out of the weekly English classes after six months and instead picked up the language through immersion.

Though they had arrived in a city where they knew nobody, many of their Congolese friends from the Burundi camp were making their way to the States, part of an Obama administration effort to welcome in more refugees. A woman Ally had a crush on landed in Colorado, then joined them in Buffalo, where she and Ally got married. Another friend, Justin Kahoro, landed in Florida, before making the trip north to move in with the group. The four of them squeezed into the two-bedroom house, with Ally and his wife in one room, and Abdul and Kahoro in the other.

Their circle expanded from there. Through old family ties, Kahoro knew another Congolese resident in Buffalo, Enock Rushikana, who had arrived a decade earlier and introduced them to other expats. Rushikana owned a couple of vacant houses on a narrow street on the East Side. Ally and his wife moved into one next to him, and Abdul and Kahoro moved into another one a few doors down. The block quickly became a social hub, alive with dinner parties, summer barbecues, and cozy winter gatherings around living room televisions.

With a steady job and his first kid on the way, Ally signed a lease on a car. He hadnt foreseen how such a simple decision would suddenly make him the most popular member of their newfound community. Soon, he was getting calls nearly every day from friends, friends of friends, and relatives of friends asking for favors that required a vehicle. He was happy to help at first, but the more he helped, the more the requests came in, until eventually he concluded that he was spending too much of his free time with other peoples families instead of his own. Guilt-ridden, he started turning off his phone when he was at home or making excuses.

So people started calling Abdul to try to get in touch with Ally, but instead of turning them over to his cousin, Abdul volunteered to handle the tasks himself.

He filled my job of helping people, Ally said. So they all call him every day, every day, and people leave me alone because Abdul is always ready to help.

By then, Abdul had his own car, a used Chevy sedan nearly two decades old. Then, in spring 2022, he upgraded his ride, signing a lease on a brand-new red Toyota SUV that he decorated with flame decals on the doors.

Though he usually rocked athleisure sweats and Air Jordans, on the day he got his car, he put on a charcoal suit and white loafers.

I have a new car, now I have to wear a suit, Ally remembered his cousin telling him with a grin.

Beaming proudly, Abdul posed for photos in front of the car and revved the engine for his friends cheering on the sidewalk.

Anyone who called Abdul for help would see the red SUV pull up within minutes. Most often, the requests came from older folks who needed groceries. While there are a few corner stores in the neighborhood, the nearest supermarket, Tops Friendly Markets, is 2.5 miles away. Abdul became a regular presence at the store, a one-man transportation service with a trunk full of food.

Bullet holes are seen in the window of Tops Friendly Market at Jefferson Avenue and Riley Street, as federal investigators work the scene of a mass shooting on May 16, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

It was only a matter of chance that Abdul was not at the Tops supermarket on May 14, 2022, when a white supremacist killed 10 people with an assault rifle. The shooter, who would be sentenced to life in prison, had driven 200 miles to target a location in a predominantly Black neighborhood. When we heard the news, Ally said, we just say thank you to God we were not there.

Following the massacre, the supermarket shut down for three months, forcing its regular customers to travel even further to buy food. The tragic spotlight on Tops drew national attention to the absence of grocery stores across the East Side, but that fact had been a prominent concern to locals for decades. Tops had opened in 2003 thanks to $3 million in public funding that came only after years of community activists calling on the city to bring a supermarket to the area.

Olive Burd / BuzzFeed News

The East Side had once boasted a flourishing bounty of commerce. After World War II, Black families who were part of the Great Migration made their way into Buffalo for jobs at its plentiful factories and booming steel plants, working side by side with the descendents of Polish and Italian immigrants who mostly lived in the southern part of town. The most affluent families lived in the citys northern suburbs. The East Side, which spans from downtowns Main Street to the railyard at the citys edge, was redlined for Black residents. As in many segregated American cities in the mid-20th century, the Black community in Buffalo developed its own self-sustaining economic ecosystem, flush with supermarkets, banks, restaurants, florists, bars, jazz clubs, and clothing shops.

As plants shut down in the 1970s and 80s, longtime steelworkers whod earned around $30 an hour settled into minimum wage jobs at less than $6 an hour. The economic damage rippled across the city but hit the neighborhoods with the least to spare hardest. Businesses across the East Side shut down. Supermarket chains like Acme Markets, A&P, Super Duper, and Bells closed their doors. By the time the Sharifu cousins arrived on the East Side, boarded-up brick buildings and empty lots outnumbered the open storefronts around them, and shuttered factories loomed over the horizon. Today, a third of Buffalos residents live in poverty, the third highest rate among the countrys major metropolitan areas.

In recent years, under the administration of mayor Byron Brown, who took office in 2006, the city has aimed to resurrect its economy through development projects centered on creating jobs in the medical and education fields. New hospital and university facilities have sprouted up around downtown, luring new residents. But the influx of middle-income arrivals has led to rising rents in Buffalo. Apartments that had rented for $500 less than a decade ago have tripled in cost. As in many cities seeking to balance the benefits of urban development with the gentrification it tends to yield, an undercurrent of mistrust simmers among longtime Buffalo residents, rooted in the question of who benefits from the citys supposed renaissance and who gets left out.

Today, a third of Buffalos residents live in poverty, the third highest rate among the countrys major metropolitan areas.

I dont know if its for us, Sparkle Eubanks, a teachers assistant who lives on the East Side, said of the citys new developments. Before Buffalo started having all the outsiders come in, we didnt have anything.

The absence of government services has left many residents reliant on informal support systems. Often, the upwardly mobile members of marginalized communities become critical pillars in lifting up those who feel left behind.

Ben Caudle, an 81-year-old entrepreneur who has owned a bar, two laundromats, a taxi stand, a snow plow business, an auto body shop, and a salvage yard, said that over the years he has loaned thousands of dollars to East Side residents facing eviction and small business owners facing financial ruin. Caudle, who opened his first business in 1963 with money he saved from his seven years working at a General Motors plant, now runs a flea market in a building that years ago housed a supermarket. Aiming to give local merchants a place to sell their wares, he rents out the space to more than a dozen vendors who sell clothes, furniture, Buffalo Bills bedding, shoes, bags, and a wide range of knick-knacks. Sometimes, when times are tough, as it has been during the pandemic, he lets them stay at the market even when they cant pay rent.

Express Flea Market in Buffalo on March 5, 2023 Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

Louise Sano, who was born in Rwanda and went to school in Namibia, runs a clothing shop on a street where more than a dozen immigrant-owned businesses have filled blocks long riddled with vacant storefronts. She serves as a de facto lender in her community, giving out money that doesnt always get paid back.

I came with a suitcase and now I have a whole village, said Sano, who arrived in Buffalo in 2007 after her husbands sister had landed there through a refugee resettlement program.

Last year, she said, a new landlord took over her building and doubled her rent. I told him, I survived COVID, but I dont know if Ill survive you, she said. But even as her rent rises, she has refrained from increasing prices in her store.

One recent morning, one of her regular customers, Jeffrey Moore, came in to purchase several neckties with colorful prints. Moore didnt hide his intentions: He was buying the ties for his wife, who operates a vendor table at Caudles East Side flea market, where she resells them for a profit. Sano supports the arrangement.

The bread is big enough for everybody to get a bit, said Sano. Everybody should be able to eat.

Before opening her own storefront, Sano had initially launched her business in 2010 through an incubator program organized by WEDI, a local nonprofit, which provides new entrepreneurs a space to operate at the West Side Bazaar, a global marketplace with vendors from Peru, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Palestine, South Sudan, and elsewhere.

The bazaar became a symbol of cultural diversity and hope and equity, said WEDIs executive director Carolynn Welch. When you walk in, you find people from all different paths of life together, getting along, eager to learn about everybody, all in this tiny little area together.

In September, the West Side Bazaar burned down in an electrical fire, destroying the inventories of all its vendors. The bazaar has been closed while WEDIs organizers pursue a new space for it. But some vendors are too traumatized to restart, Welch said.

The heavy reliance on nonprofit programs and personal generosity means that the precarious patchwork of support systems stretches thin, subject to the inconsistencies of goodwill.

Were made to feel like theres not enough, said Kelly Camacho, who grew up on the East Side and works as an organizer for the local advocacy group Citizen Action. If this group is getting resources, where are mine? Were being set up to be fighting for these resources.

The bread is big enough for everybody to get a bit.

During the early months of the pandemic, as mutual aid programs popped up across the country, a group of Buffalo residents started a community fridge network to serve residents struggling to access food. Eventually, seven fridges went up across the city, their power cords plugged into outlets at local businesses and households. The program is run by around 20 volunteers who stock fridges with fresh produce and prepackaged meals donated by locals and restaurants, said Lauren Knowstro, one of the unpaid organizers. So many people turned to the program that volunteers had to restock the supply every day, at a cost of around $150 per fridge.

But by the end of the pandemics second year, she said, funding was drying up and volunteers were burning out. We were so low on donations, she said. The organizers wondered if theyd be able to keep the program going for much longer.

Then the Tops shooting illuminated the problem of food scarcity on Buffalos East Side, and a new wave of donations poured in from around the world, enough to sustain the program for at least another year. But the attention was short-lived. A month after the Buffalo massacre, a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, burst into the news cycle, and the impact on the fridge network was immediate.

We saw a steep decline after Uvalde, said Knowstro, who grew up in Buffalo. Theres no finger-pointing. Its just humanity. Theres an influx of support after a tragedy, and then youre onto the next tragedy. People get compassion fatigue.

When Tops closed, more people relied on the fridges. During the supermarkets hiatus, volunteers were restocking them two or three times a day, reflecting the absence of nearby alternatives. While areas without access to fresh food are often called food deserts, Knowstro said she prefers the term food apartheid because desert implies the lack of availability is because of geography rather than systemic inequality.

A community fridge in Buffalo on March 5, 2023 Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

Now that almost a year has passed since the surge of donations, the community fridge network again faces concerns about its future.

Creating more community fridges  is that a sustainable path forward? Knowstro said. Or do we need the administration to create more grocery stores? Were a Band-Aid. After the Tops shooting, there was this rush to help. Everybody wanted to help. But nothing changed for the community.

After the Tops shooting, there was this rush to help. Everybody wanted to help. But nothing changed for the community.

No new supermarkets broke ground. No government food programs emerged. No grocery delivery service for low-income residents swept in. The old disparities remained. And when Tops reopened in July, Abdul Sharifu was back prowling its aisles, pushing a shopping cart flush with goods that would end up in somebody elses kitchen.

Abdul knew he couldnt do this forever, Ally said. In the summer, Abdul married Gloria, a woman he had known since his days in Burundi, and they moved into their own place down the block while another newly arriving Congolese immigrant filled his old bed in the other house. By the start of winter, Gloria was eight months pregnant with their first child. Recognizing that the needs of his family would occupy him once their child was born, Abdul began contemplating who he would appoint as his successor to serve the people who turned to him for help.

A gas station canopy lies on its side after high winds and heavy snow along Lake Shore Boulevard on Dec. 27, 2022, in Lackawanna, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. John Normile / Getty Images

Government officials warned that the blizzard coming on Dec. 23 would be severe, with winds more than 70 miles per hour and more than 4 feet of snowfall. In a press conference the day before the storm, they advised residents to stock up on food, water, and other essentials.

But many on the East Side living paycheck-to-paycheck lacked the funds for unforeseen expenses. Some without a car couldnt quickly make it to the store and back in the window before the storm hit.

The night before the storm, Ally called Abdul to tell him to reach out if he or Gloria needed anything. Abdul called Ally the following morning to check in, letting him know that he was doing well and prepared to ride out the blizzard. The storm worsened throughout the afternoon. By evening, roads were impassable and the fierce wind and rising snowbanks made it nearly impossible to walk more than a few steps outside.

The next day, around 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Gloria called Ally to inform him that Abdul had left to get somebody milk two hours earlier and still hadnt returned. Calls to his phone went straight to voicemail. Ally called friends around the city, wondering if maybe Abdul had gotten stranded somewhere and ended up taking refuge at their place.

Ally went to bed that night trying to calm the anxiety in his stomach. He held out hope that Abdul had made his way to somebodys house; Abdul had friends all over town. On Christmas morning, he filed a missing persons report to the police, posted a message on Facebook with Abduls photo, and called hospitals to ask if theyd admitted his cousin. He gathered a group of friends to look for Abdul. Then he made his way through the snow. Unsure which direction to walk, he headed west. He checked corner stores, restaurants, and the nearest supermarket.

After hours of aimless searching, he spotted a red vehicle draped in snow beside a train station half a mile from Tops. As he approached, he could tell from the flame decals that it was his cousins car. But when he reached it, he found it empty. He noticed that its windshield wipers had been raised, peeking above the thick layer of snow. It occurred to him that even in the frantic moments when Abdul decided to abandon his car, hed had the presence of mind to prevent his wipers from being damaged by the snow piling on the windshield.

Ally searched the train station, thinking it might have offered a pocket of shelter amid the storm. He knocked on doors in the surrounding blocks. As night fell, he returned home, trying to ward off the rising dread.

That night, he slept fitfully. I swear to God, Abdul was in my dream, he said.

Bro, are you crazy? You went outside? he said to his cousin in the dream.

No problem, my brother, Abdul replied. Chill. Im good.

The next day, a man who saw the Facebook post called Ally to inform him that he had found somebody who resembled Abdul lying in the street on Christmas Eve, unconscious but still breathing, and had driven him to the hospital. Ally rushed over, but when he arrived, the medical staff led him downstairs. Confusion took over. Why are we going to the basement? he remembered thinking. I will always remember how cold it was down there.

The reality only hit him when he saw his cousins body.

I was sick, Ally said.

He broke down. A panic attack followed the sobs.

For so long it was just me and him, he said. After that, I feel like Im by myself.

Two weeks later, Abduls wife gave birth to their son.

Of the 31 Buffalo residents who died in the blizzard, 20 were Black  in a city where Black people make up around a third of the population. Some, like 57-year-old Loretta Andrews, 74-year-old Edward Parson Jr., and 93-year-old Doris Williams, died in their homes after power outages shut off their heat. Some, like 22-year-old nurse Anndel Taylor, died trapped in their cars on their way home from work. Some, like Abdul, died while trying to walk to safety.

The tragedy underscored inequities that continue to grip the city. Rita Jones, who grew up on Buffalos East Side and manages Caudles flea market, said the areas residents have complained for years that the city often neglects to pour snow-melting salt on most of the roads in their neighborhoods, as it does in more affluent and commercial districts. City officials issue blizzard warnings but otherwise leave residents to fend for themselves. Those without fully stocked pantries are more likely to brave the conditions to obtain supplies. Those unable to take time off work have less time to prepare before a storm hits.

But resilience is exhausting when repeatedly called upon  a trait honed out of necessity, foisted upon those with no choice but to navigate scarcity.

Because of the citys reputation for harsh winters and its lore of producing hard-scrabble steelworkers toughened by mills that filled their lungs with asbestos and carcinogenic fumes, outsiders perception of Buffalo is usually framed by an admiration for its peoples resilience. But resilience is exhausting when repeatedly called upon  a trait honed out of necessity, foisted upon those with no choice but to navigate scarcity.

People turned to Abdul Sharifu because they had nobody else to turn to, and he provided services that nobody else would provide. His death brought pain to those who loved him, but also left a vacuum for those who needed him.

Ally shows a picture of himself and Abdul from Abduls wedding day. Malik Rainey for BuzzFeed News

When he misses his cousin most, Ally scrolls through his phone to look at pictures and videos of their happiest moments. Abdul in a yellow shirt, orange camo sweatpants, and white Jordan IVs, posing on the porch with friends  always the most stylish among them. Abdul in a shiny red suit and Nike slides the day before his wedding, entertaining guests with jovial antics each time one presented him with a gift, kneeling down so they could try to balance the wrapped boxes on his head.

This guy, all the time was joking, Ally said.

After Abduls death, Gloria moved to Syracuse, where her brother, sister, and mother live. She told Ally that she couldnt bear to live in the house she shared with Abdul and needed a fresh start, he said.

Ally started a GoFundMe to help cover his cousins funeral costs and support Gloria and their child. More than $64,000 flowed in, including an outpouring of small donations from people with little to spare  a testament, he said, to all the lives Abdul had touched. Part of the money went toward paying off Abduls red Toyota SUV, which had $10,000 left on the lease. Ally installed a baby seat in the back.

It was important that we were able to buy the car, Ally said. Now Abdul has something to pass down to his son. 
After years of crashes along the tracks, town officials are pushing the MBTA and Keolis to make improvements at seven commuter rail crossings in Abington.

A little more attention needs to be paid and I think Keolis and MBTA have had plenty of time to look at that, said Abington Town Manager Scott Lambiase.

Lambiase hired transportation safety consultants in 2022 to study the towns railroad crossings following the death of 18-year-old Katelyn McCarthy in May. The Abington High School senior was hit and killed by a commuter rail train at Birch St. while walking across the tracks with a friend. Engineers from TrafInfo are expected to present their recommendations to Abingtons Board of Selectmen in the coming weeks.

The town provided Boston 25 News a map showing 12 reported incidents along the tracks since 1997, including six fatalities. One of the incidents involved a 78-year-old man who was killed crossing North St. in 2017 when a train collided with his pick-up truck. Two more cars were hit by trains in 2018 and 2020 resulting in no injuries.

Lambiase said the MBTA Commuter Rail can travel up to 70 mph through Abington.

Its surprising how fast they can come by, Lambiase said. I dont believe it is necessary to go that fast.

An MBTA spokesperson said the crossings in Abington meet federal standards and are equipped with flashing lights, bells and gates.

Motorists should never attempt to beat a train when they see the crossing lights flashing and motorists should never drive around lowered gates. If pedestrians need to cross a railroad, they should use only designated crossings, look both ways, and cross the tracks quickly, without stopping, MBTA Spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in an email.

Abington Selectman Alex Bezanson said hes been asking the MBTA to make changes since 2016.

I just think they need to slow it down. Other towns around the South ShoreScituate, Cohasset, Hinghamdont have the problems we have, Bezanson said.

Story continues

Why havent there been more changes? Why is it that we even have to go through this study and this process to bring it to their attention and say, We need to see something done here. This is unacceptable, Lambiase said. I would like to see them come out and make some upgrades to crossing signals, gates, signage.





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 Justice Department has reached a milestone in its prosecution of the U.S. Capitol attack, confirming it has arrested at least 1,000 people in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, nearly half of whom still face the prospect of trials or plea agreements.

A new wave of cases, many of which involve higher-level charges of assaults against police, continues to expand a prosecution that is already the largest in American history.

FBI searches for two Capitol riot defendants who have disappeared

Twenty-six months into the criminal investigation, the newest cases continue to reveal new details and evidence about alleged criminal activity amid the riotous mob.

Slightly more than half of the men and women charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 attack have entered guilty pleas in their cases. But even as cases close, new defendants and charges continue to surface, which could stretch the overall prosecution well into 2024, if not beyond.

In its latest update, the Justice Department said the FBI is seeking to identify at least 260 more people wanted in the attack.

In many of its court filings, including a sentencing memo issued Monday, the Justice Department characterizes the Jan. 6 investigation as sweeping and unprecedented, calling it "a violent attack that forced an interruption of the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote count, threatened the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 Presidential election, injured more than one hundred police officers, and resulted in more than 2.8 million dollars in losses."

New details revealed by new cases and trials

The Justice Department announced charges Monday against a pair of North Carolina men, who are accused of rifling through desks in the U.S. Senate Chamber. The charging document alleges one defendant photographed a printed copy of a speech by Sen. Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, criticizing former President Donald Trump. The speech was delivered in February 2020, ahead of Romney's guilty vote against Trump in the former president's first impeachment trial.

Story continues

According to the Justice Department's court filings, Romney had written the name "Mike" atop the speech and signed his name. The name "Mike" was a reference to either his colleague Sen. Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, or Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, and shared in February 2020, according to a Romney spokesperson.

In the February trial of Capitol riot defendant Noah Bacon, a U.S. Capitol Police sergeant revealed that only 88 senators were accounted for in the Senate Chamber when the mob attacked the Capitol and a lockdown was ordered. The sergeant, who was testifying as a prosecution's witness, said two officers were sent outside to do "reconnaissance" for an escape route, as they sought a way to evacuate safely from the danger.

The latest wave of newly charged defendants include a former New Jersey state trooper, the sister of a Chicago police officer and a Florida man accused of wearing a panda costume while amid the mob.

Trial success

The Justice Department has secured a nearly unblemished record in Capitol riot trials over the first two years of prosecutions. Only one defendant, a New Mexico man who requested a bench trial  with no jury and a verdict rendered by a judge  was fully acquitted. The defendant, Matthew Martin, argued he was unaware he was actually in a restricted space on Jan. 6.

Every jury to hear a U.S. Capitol riot case has returned at least a partial conviction. The latest rounds of guilty verdicts have included several for seditious conspiracy, against members of the far-right Oath Keepers group. Jurors also convicted the so-called QAnon Shaman, Jacob Chansley of Arizona, who stood in horns and fur on the Senate dais. Juries have also convicted former New York Police officer Thomas Webster and Richard Barnett of Arkansas, the man who sat with his feet on a desk in the office of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 found alive, officials say

Critics slam Fox News for depiction of January 6 attack

Derek Carr, Geno Smith sign big contracts ahead of NFL's free agency
A U.S. Army soldier accused of the 2020 fatal shooting of a fellow comrade in a wooded area in Byram has hired a veteran attorney to represent him at his upcoming murder trial after a judge agreed to reverse the 25-year-old's request to represent himself.

Jamaal Mellish, who was stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York when he and co-defendant Hannan Aiken purportedly kidnapped Cpl. Hayden Harris and drove him to Sussex County to kill him, will now be represented by defense attorney Joel Harris, state Superior Court Judge Michael Gaus ruled on March 3.

Mellish, who insisted in February 2022 that he serve as his own attorney since "no one is willing to fight more than myself," reversed course in late 2022, filing a request with the court to hire Harris. The move comes two months before the trial is set to begin.

Jamaal Mellish, at left, sits next to co-defendant Hannan Aiken during a hearing in state Superior Court in Sussex County on Friday, Feb. 19, 2022.

Mellish told the judge on March 4 he has had difficulties receiving case-related materials while he has been housed in Mercer County jail, where he was transferred last year when the court sought to separate him from Aiken. Aiken, 18, who was a juvenile at the time of his alleged transgressions, was initially held in the Morris County Juvenile Detention Facility but was later moved out following several complaints that he had allegedly assaulted other inmates. His case was moved to the adult court and he is now being held in Morris County jail.

Mellish, who was moved to the maximum security unit in the Mercer County Correctional Facility in the late summer, stated he had no issues doing research in the Morris County jail, but found resources were limited in the Mercer County facility. There is limited access to a single computer in his unit, legal research is outdated and a paralegal was rarely available to help, he said.

Documents and USB drives that have been sent to the jail since August have not been received by Mellish for reasons that are still unknown, Gaus noted.

Gaus granted Mellish's request, but warned switching from being self-represented to being represented by a lawyer is "not a bouncing ball" and it would be "highly unlikely" he would allow him to move forward in the case solo again.

Story continues

Aiken's competency

Jamaal Mellish watches as attorneys leave the courtroom following a hearing in state Superior Court in Sussex County on Friday, Feb. 22, 2022.

Aiken's defense attorneys late last year raised concerns that the man, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, may lack understanding of the charges and consequences against him, and as a result, a judge ordered he undergo a psychological exam.

The report, submitted by a doctor at Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton, found Aiken was competent to stand trial, with the doctor noting that Aiken understood the roles of the judge, jurors and attorneys and did not appear irrational, paranoid or psychiatrically influenced during the evaluation, the judge said.

The judge, who has the final say on whether a defendant is competent, agreed with the doctor's determination. Thomas Militano and Matthew Young, public defenders representing Aiken, had sought their own expert but decided against it and did not contest the doctor's report.

Competency evaluations are sought by defense attorneys if they believe their client is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against them or may be unable to assist properly in their defense due to a mental disease of defect.

Hannan Aiken narrows his eyes at the camera during a hearing in state Superior Court in Sussex County as co-defendant Jamaal Mellish speaks with attorney Joel Harris on Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.

Aiken, the brother of Mellish's girlfriend, has been diagnosed with unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cannabis-use disorder and alcohol-use disorder, Gaus said, referring to the doctor's report.

Mellish and Aiken are each facing 11 counts in an indictment, including murder which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The young service member's death quickly became one of Sussex County's highest profile cases and shook up the small, quiet Byram community when firefighters came upon Harris' body during their annual Santa run in December of 2020.

Mellish and Aiken are accused of kidnapping Harris during a dispute over a vehicle trade in a parking lot in Glen Park, New York. Prosecutors say the duo bound and gagged the Tennessee native, and as Aiken held Harris at gunpoint, Mellish drove to Byram and shot and killed him. The men partially buried Harris under snow and then drove back to Glen Park, where they were stopped roughly six hours after Byram firefighters came upon the crime scene off Ross Road.

A trial date is set for May 1.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Byram NJ: Accused killer of Fort Drum soldier hires lawyer
Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office, has said that Ukraine was not involved in the explosions at the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline and had no information about any pro-Ukrainian agents who could have done it.

Source: Podoliak's comment after The New York Times posted an article, citing sources in the United States, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about Ukrainian government, I have to say: Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about "pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups". What happened to the Nord Stream pipelines? "They sank," as they say in RF itself...," Podoliak said.

Background: The New York Times published an article, citing its sources and data from the intelligence community. It allegedly suggests that non-governmental groups, including Russians and Ukrainians, were behind the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

It is also stated that there is no evidence of the involvement of either the official Ukrainian authorities or the US or British citizens in the attack, as the Russian side has repeatedly claimed, or the government of Russia itself, which Ukraine and some other European countries considered guilty of blowing up its gas pipelines to destabilise the energy market in Europe.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force Command

Of course, Patriot will be in Ukraine. The decisions are made, people are being trained (), he said.

According to him, the supply of Patriots will be known when the Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk had tested the system at its wheel, or we will report about the first Rushist (a slang mix between pro-Russian and fascist) plane that that Patriot hits.

Read also: Germany to start moving Patriot systems to Poland next week  Spiegel

Ihnat urged Ukrainians to be patient.

Reports that Patriot had already arrived in Ukraine appeared after the Spanish newspaper Razon published an interview with Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

Read also: Poland pledges Leopard tanks to Ukraine

The publication quoted the Polish minister as saying: I should emphasize that particularly thanks to the efforts Poland has done, the Patriot systems  or the first Leopard tanks, among other items, have already reached Ukraine.

However, Polands Ministry of Defense soon issued a correction, saying that Blaszczak did not say that Patriot systems were already in Ukraine, but wanted to emphasize that the decision to transfer these systems was made due to the efforts of Poland. The ministry said that the false report was probable due to a translation error.

The United States officially announced the transfer of Patriot during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys visit to Washington in December 2022.

According to Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine, the Armed Forces expect that the Patriot and SAMP-T anti-aircraft missile complexes will be delivered to Ukraine after April 2023.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The authorities have issued an air-raid warning throughout Ukraine for the second time on the morning of 7 March. The danger lasted 20 minutes.

Source: Air-raid warning map

Details: At 12:22, an air-raid warning was issued in the capital and in the central oblasts. A few minutes later, it spread to the entire territory of the country.

The sound of sirens signifies the threat of missile and air strikes. It is essential to go to a shelter at the time the sirens sound.

Update: The all-clear was given at 12:41. First, the all-clear was given in Kyiv and eastern and western oblasts. A few minutes later, the all-clear was given throughout Ukraine. The danger lasted for 20 minutes.

Background:

At 10:31 on March 7, an air-raid warning was issued throughout Ukraine. The danger lasted just over 20 minutes.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A state representative has filed a bill that would require schools to have regularly scheduled lockdown drills involving school resource officers and law enforcement.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, would require school districts to include school resource officers and law enforcement in lockdown drills and to designate the days of drills to be school safety and awareness days.

Under existing law, school boards are required to have a comprehensive school emergency operations plan. Law enforcement personnel help develop the plan but are not required to participate in drills.

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter

Warren said that the legislation emerged after seeing the events last May at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, when 19 fourth-graders and two teachers were killed by a gunman. Responding law enforcement faced criticism for a lack of coordination and action.

What happened in Texas was just totally disorganization, she said. Nobody knew who was in charge. Nobody knew how to do this. Nobody knew what to do there.

Warren said she wants the bill to put everyone on the same page.

Its working out a plan between law enforcement and the school system, Warren said. So, nobody will be guessing whos in charge and what we need to do.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey, via communications director Michael Sibley, said he has not yet seen the legislation. Amanda Wasden, director of external affairs at the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said Thursday the department did not have a comment on the bill.

Student safety is paramount, and our members have flagged student and school safety as one of their top priorities for the coming legislative session, said Ryan Hollingsworth, executive director of the School Superintendents of Alabama, in a statement. SSA is currently reviewing all pre-filed bills and looks forward to conversations with sponsors and stakeholders.

Story continues

In the Alabama State Department of Educations Manual of State Laws and Regulations, School Safety and Discipline, principals are required to instruct and train students for emergency drills and evacuations. The fire marshal requires at least one emergency drill each month. Emergency drills include but are not limited to safety, security, severe weather, fire and code red drills.

Code red drills can be issued in the event of a perceived immediate threat to a school involving acts of violence, such as terrorism, a person possessing a firearm or a deadly weapon, or any other threat of violence. Code red drills must be conducted within the first six weeks of the fall and spring semesters.

Warren said that these school safety and awareness days will be days for the drills.

Everybody will be in sync with each other doing the drills, so we know how everything should pull off, she said.

The 2023 legislative session starts next Tuesday.

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.
Photograph: Grace Beahm Alford/Reuters

Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina lawyer found guilty of murdering his wife and son, has long been a thief and liar  but his being a convicted killer is still a shock, his brother has said in the first interview a member of the family has given since the trial.

In an interview with the New York Times, Randy Murdaugh said he remained unsure if Alex murdered his son and wife in June 2021. Randy Murdaugh added that while he respects the jurys verdict, he has known Alex as a protective father and husband.

Related: Murder and mystery in the south: how the Murdaugh trial gripped America

He knows more than what hes saying, said Randy Murdaugh, referring to Alexs lying about the murder. Hes not telling the truth, in my opinion, about everything there.

Randy, Alexs older brother, said in the interview that the pair were not close, despite going to the same college and law school, and working at the familys law firm together.

Its not like there was some problem with our relationship, necessarily, Randy Murdaugh said. We just really werent alike, so we didnt do stuff together.

Weeks after the murder, Randy Murdaugh said that much of the family rallied around Alex, who suggested the killing of his 22-year-old son Paul was due to Pauls involvement in a fatal 2019 boating accident. Maggie Murdaugh, Alexs wife, was shot dead alongside Paul.

Months after the murders, Randy confronted Alex about financial records that showed Alex had embezzled millions from the family business. In an emotional conversation, Randy recalled, Alex admitted to stealing, and to a severe addiction to painkillers.

Alex promised never to lie to Randy again, Randy said, but soon broke that pledge. A day later, Alex told police and Randy that he had been shot on the side of the road by an unknown person.

Police later said Alex Murdaugh had arranged to have someone else shoot him, in the hopes that his surviving son Buster could collect his life insurance money.

Story continues

Randy soon stopped speaking with Alex, who has been charged with stealing more than $8m from the family firm. The pair have not spoken in almost a year.

But in July last year, when Alex was arrested over the murder of his wife and son, Randy re-examined aspects of what he knew about his younger brother.

Randy Murdaugh told the newspaper that the family has dealt with similar uncertainty, given the gruesome nature of the crime and the previous understanding they had of Alex.

The not knowing, Randy Murdaugh said, is the worst thing there is.

Randy Murdaughs interview stands in sharp contrast from statements given by Alexs defense lawyers, who have said that the Murdaugh family fully believes he did not murder anyone. His lawyers also said the family supports him.

On Friday, Alex Murdaugh was given two sentences of life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. The sentences capped a six-week, televised trial in which Alex maintained his innocence, though that was undermined by cellphone video captured by his son that placed him at the scene of the murders shortly before they occurred.

Randy said the Murdaugh family is focused on supporting Buster, who has lost his immediate family. Randy said his life has attracted international attention given his brothers crimes.

Randy told the New York Times he hoped the trial would give him some closure and an answer about the circumstances around the death of his nephew and sister-in-law, but he said he has not stopped thinking about it.

I hoped that after the trial, because theres nothing more that can be presented, that Id stop thinking about this, Randy Murdaugh said. But so far, that has not been the case.
Alex Murdaughs brother Randy has broken his silence to reveal what he really thinks happened on the night that the disgraced attorneys wife Maggie and son Paul were gunned down in a brutal crime that shocked South Carolinas Lowcountry and captured the nations attention for the better part of two years.

Randy became the first family member of the disgraced attorney to speak out after the high-profile trial, where Murdaugh was convicted of all charges and sentenced to life in prison.

The 56-year-old admitted that he believes his sibling is not telling the truth about the 7 June 2021 killings.

He knows more than what hes saying, Randy told The New York Times.

Hes not telling the truth, in my opinion, about everything there.

Randy  who despite supporting him in the courtroom has not spoken to his brother in more than a year  revealed he has questions about his brothers behaviour in the immediate aftermath of Maggie and Pauls slayings.

At the time, he said that he was doing everything he could think of to find out who the killer was  reaching out to contacts, asking people what they had heard and passing anything he found onto investigators.

I spent considerable time, day after day for weeks on end, calling people, he said.

His brother, meanwhile, did nothing of the sort, he said.

As Murdaughs older brother who is also an attorney, Randy stopped short of saying that he believes he carried out the murders.

He said that  even after attending almost every day of the six-week trial, seeing all the evidence laid out in court and seeing a jury of 12 peers reach a unanimous verdict of guilty  he still doesnt know whether to think his brother capable of killing his wife and son.

While he respects the jurys verdict, he said he still struggles to reconcile the man he has known his whole life who loved and protected his family with a man capable of shooting his wife and son multiple times in such a brutal fashion.

Still not knowing what to believe is the hardest thing for the whole family, he said.

Story continues

The not knowing is the worst thing there is, he said.

Randy Murdaugh talks with his nephew Buster Murdaugh during the double murder trial (AP)

He added: I hoped that after the trial, because theres nothing more that can be presented, that Id stop thinking about this. But so far, that has not been the case.

The Murdaugh family  who reigned over the Lowcountrys legal system for almost a century  put on a united front in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, throughout Murdaughs trial.

Every day, Murdaughs brother John Marvin, sister Lynne and surviving son Buster came to court and sat behind Murdaugh in a show of support for the now-convicted killer. Randy attended most  but not every  day..

Buster and John Marvin also took the stand to testify in Murdaughs defence, as part of the defences strategy to paint the 54-year-old as as loving family man who would never have killed his wife and son.

Buster, 26, told jurors that his father had been destroyed and heartbroken after the murders.

Randy was not called to testify by the defence or the prosecution  something he told the Times he believes could be because he didnt fully fit in with either side of the case.

While hes unsure about his brothers guilt for the murders, Randy told the Times he has no doubt that his sibling is a serial liar and a thief.

Like his brother, Randy also followed in the familys footsteps and pursued a career in law.

The two brothers joined the law firm Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED)  founded by their great grandfather Randolph Murdaugh Sr in 1910.

It was this law firm that Murdaugh worked for up until September 2021  when his partners learned he had been stealing millions of dollars in funds from the firm and its clients going back a decade. The law firm now no longer exists and had to be renamed.

From left, Randy Murdaugh; John Marvin Murdaugh; his wife, Liz Murdaugh; Brooklynn White; and Buster Murdaugh, the son of Alex Murdaugh, leave the courthouse for lunch (AP)

Murdaugh is now facing a staggering 99 charges for allegedly stealing at least $8.7m from settlements from dozens of legal clients he represented through his law firm PMPED.

Randy said he learned about his brothers theft in early September 2021 when his fellow law firm partners showed him evidence of his crimes. He said that he and another law firm partner confronted Murdaugh and he confessed to stealing fromthe firm.

Randy told the Times that Murdaugh appeared to be relieved to finally tell the truth and promised never to lie to him again.

One day later  on 4 September 2021  Murdaugh orchestrated a botched hitman plot, lying to his family, friends and law enforcement again that he had been ambushed in a drive-by shooting.

He later confessed to orchestrating a plot for his alleged drug dealer Curtis Eddie Smith to shoot him dead so Buster could get a $12m life insurance windfall.

Now, Randy said he is still working at the renamed law firm where he has taken on some of his brothers clients.

He revealed he has to convince people that he is not like his brother, who has tarnished the familys reputation.

The doubts Randy has now come in stark contrast to the stance he seemed to take in the immediate aftermath of the murders.

In the days after the 7 June 2021 murders, John Marvin and Randy gave an appearance on Good Morning America insisting their brothers innocence.

My brother loved Maggie and loved Paul like nothing else on this earth, just like he loves Buster, Randy said in the 17 June interview. So theres no possible way he could have anything to do with this, I can assure you.

Alex Murdaugh as he is sentenced to life in prison (AP)

But, some cracks started to show as Murdaughs string of alleged crimes came to light.

In July 2022, when Murdaugh was charged with Maggie and Pauls murders, the family released a statement saying: The entire family has been consistent that regardless of what goes on, we want the truth.

Randys comments also fly in the face of the image of the familys unwavering belief in Murdaughs innocence that his defence attorneys are keen to present.

After six weeks of trial, they came away more convinced that he did not do this, and they are steadfastly in his camp and support him, attorney Jim Griffin told reporters at a press conference after Murdaughs sentencing.

Ultimately, it took less than three hours for the jury to return a unanimous verdict that Murdaugh is guilty of murdering his wife and son on the familys Moselle property back on 7 June 2021.

Murdaugh, 54, was then sentenced by Judge Newman to life in prison the following day  and is currently behind bars in South Carolina.

Murdaughs conviction has now shone a spotlight on some other mystery deaths tied to the South Carolina legal dynasty.

Days on from the murders, an investigation was reopened into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in the middle of the road in Hampton County.

The openly gay 19-year-old had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But the victims family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours.

An investigation was also reopened into another mystery death connected to the Murdaugh family  that of their longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.

She died in 2018 in a mystery trip and fall accident at the family home. Murdaugh then allegedly stole around $4m in a wrongful death settlement from her sons.

Murdaugh is now also facing around 100 charges over a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme and a bizarre botched hitman plot.
Above video courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife

Story at a glance

A volunteer at the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo in Central Texas allegedly pocketed an alligator egg or hatchling at least two decades ago.

Texas Parks and Wildlife said the alligator had been living illegally in someones backyard in Central Texas and had grown to nearly 8 feet.

Alligators dont make good pets, yall, Parks and Wildlife posted.

NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS (KXAN)  An alligator that was reportedly stolen from a Central Texas zoo as an egg was recently returned there after being found by Texas Parks and Wildlife.

A post by the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo, which is roughly an hour from Austin, says a former volunteer at the zoo in New Braunfels appears to have pocketed an alligator hatchling or egg at least two decades ago, according to their post.

We got a call from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that someone apparently has had in their possession for over 20 years now. Interesting part of this story is evidently they volunteered here, the video said.

Either the egg or the hatchling alligator at the timeput it in their pocket and took off and actually kept this thing as a pet, they continued.

Photos show blue heron capture baby alligator

Texas Parks and Wildlife said the alligator had been living illegally in someones backyard in Central Texas and had grown to nearly 8 feet. The alligator was found about 50 minutes from the zoo, staff said.

Alligators dont make good pets, yall, Parks and Wildlife posted.

A spokesperson confirmed that the alligator was found in Caldwell County. The woman who had the alligator will face two misdemeanor charges, one for illegal possession of an alligator egg and the other for possession of an alligator without a permit.

The alligator will live at the Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo for the rest of its life, zoo staff said. It was introduced to the other alligators this week.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An alligator believed to have been stolen from a Texas zoo more than 20 years ago has been returned to the zoo it was allegedly taken from.

Officials from Texas Parks and Wildlife contacted Animal World Snake Farm and Zoo, saying they found an alligator that had been in a former zoo volunteer's care for more than 20 years, a representative for the zoo said in a video on Facebook.

It is alleged that the volunteer stole either an egg or young alligator hatchling decades ago, put it in her pocket and kept it as a pet.

"Here in Texas, though, the possession of alligators is really regulated," the zoo official said. "And once Texas Parks and Wildlife found out that she had it and she was unable to meet the requirements to obtain these permits, they looked for someone who could take it in."

"Being that we are the rightful owners of that alligator, we were their first phone call," the official said.

Employees from the zoo, which is in New Braunfels near San Antonio, traveled about 50 miles to the woman's house to retrieve the alligator.

While alligators are often associated with or spotted in Florida, the animal does exist in about 120 counties in Texas, ranging from the Sabine River in East Texas to the Gulf of Mexico and in the coastal marshes to the Rio Grande, according to the Galveston government.

There are four types of alligator permits in the state of Texas: a farmer permit, which allows one or more alligators to live in captivity for commercial purposes, like selling alligator meat eggs and hides; an import permit, which allows a person to bring the animals and their eggs and parts into the state; and an export permit, which allows a person to remove an alligator from the state.

There is also a nuisance control permit, that allows people to remove nuisance alligators from properties. They must attend a training course first, but can process or sell alligators they catch.

In Florida this week, a man opened the door of his Daytona Beach home to find an alligator, which attacked him, police said, according to CBS Miami.

Story continues

Last month, an 85-year-old woman in a Fort Pierce, Florida, retirement home was killed by a 10-foot alligator, according to officials.

Outside of Florida, a "very lethargic" abandoned alligator was found near a lake in Brooklyn's Prospect Park on Sunday. The 4-foot alligator was possibly suffering cold shock, local authorities said, since the species is used to tropical climates. It was captured and taken to the Bronx Zoo.

2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 found alive, officials say

Critics slam Fox News for depiction of January 6 attack

Derek Carr, Geno Smith sign big contracts ahead of NFL's free agency
STAUNTON  In November, Dwayne L. White was sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife, who was shot a dozen times. Last week, the Augusta County man was given an additional five years behind bars for a probation violation stemming from an unrelated 2016 shooting conviction in Staunton.

White, 43, remains at Middle River Regional Jail as he waits to be transferred to the Virginia Department of Corrections.

In August, a jury convicted White of first-degree murder for the killing of Kelin Pacheco-White, 38, who was slain at the couple's Crimora home on Morton Road the night of July 19, 2021. Evidence showed she was shot 12 times with a .40-caliber handgun, including four times in the back.

White claimed self-defense at the trial, and said after his wife pulled a gun on him it went off repeatedly as they struggled over the weapon.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison plus three more years on a felony gun charge.

Following his sentencing hearing in the slaying, in November a major probation violation report was filed in Staunton stemming from a previous 2016 conviction. In that case, White was sentenced to a five-year prison term for shooting into a home on Montgomery Avenue, where two adults and a child were inside. Another five years were suspended.

White served his five-year sentence in the Staunton case and was released in November 2019. The violation report said he was compliant while under supervised probation up until he killed his wife.

Last week on Feb. 28 in Staunton Circuit Court, the five years that were previously suspended were added to White's life sentence for violating his probation in the Staunton shooting case, giving him a total of life in prison plus eight years.

"Mr. White's conduct has left us with no choice but to recommend the court impose all of his suspended time in the case here. We hope both courts' rulings ensure he never has the chance to hurt anyone again," said Staunton Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew Falwell.

Story continues

White was also convicted in a previous shooting in Waynesboro in 2006.

Lower raises on the table as Augusta County Schools struggle to balance the budget

After heartbreaking loss ends season, Buffalo Gap girls basketball still has bright future

Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Already serving life, Augusta County man gets 5 more years in prison
NFT fans will be able to purchase the digital collectibles with their own Amazon account via debit or credit cards. Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP

Amazon is set to launch its own NFT marketplace next month, with the option of having digital collectibles linked to physical goods delivered to customers doorsteps, according reports.

The details so far state that the marketplace will have 15 NFT collections available on launch for US-based customers, before expanding worldwide.

NFT aficionados will be able to purchase the digital collectibles with their own Amazon (AMZN) account via debit or credit cards.

This will allow those who do not have access to a crypto wallet, such as Metamask, the ability to buy NFTs without having to purchase cryptocurrencies like ethereum (ETH-USD).

According to reports the Amazon NFT marketplace could be called either 'Amazon NFT Marketplace' or 'Amazon Digital Marketplace'.

Web3 media outlet The Big Whale reported a date of April 24 for the launch.

NFTs linked to physical goods delivered to doorsteps

After the initiative is launched, Amazon shoppers will be able to purchase fashion-oriented NFTs that are linked to physical clothing, such as jeans, trainers and sweatshirts, according to a report.

These NFTs will be delivered to customer NFT accounts whilst the physical piece of clothing is being delivered to customer doorsteps.

One clothing company that has been at the forefront of linking NFTs with their physical produce is Nike.

Nike (NKE) acquired the virtual assets company RTFKT in 2021, which was integrated into the new "Nike Virtual Studio" to unleash a series of Nike-branded NFTs.

An example of this is Nike's Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks NFT range that is linked to the apparel retailer's 'real-world' Dunk sneakers.

Amazon NFT initiative has been in development for months

Jeff Bezos' tech and online retail multinational has been taking progressive steps towards incorporating more Web3 features into its platforms.

Back in January, crypto news outlet Blockworks reported that the world's largest retailer was launching a digital assets enterprise involving NFTs.

Story continues

According to the January report, four sources told Blockwork's that an Amazon NFT initiative is expected to be made available to consumers worldwide in the spring.

In the same month Amazon Web Services (AWS) partnered with web3 firm Ava Labs in a bid to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology.

Were joining forces with @Amazon to help enterprises and governments build compliant blockchain solutions. #AWS makes it easier to launch and manage #Avalanche nodes, giving the network more strength and flexibility for developers.https://t.co/vgabB5c6Ya  Ava Labs  (@avalabsofficial) January 11, 2023

NFT market slump and the FTX collapse

The launch of digital collectible services on Amazon was delayed following the collapse of Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022.

After the collapse of FTX the entire crypto ecosystem took a critical hit to its reputation, and the interest from web2 firms and retails in launching NFT marketplaces almost evaporated.

However, the interest in NFTs amongst consumers has been slowly picking up pace again. The market for digital collectibles has shown signs of recovery since the beginning of 2023, according to data from DappRadar.

A recent report from DappRadar showed healthier figures for the NFT market as a whole. In January NFT trading volume stood at $946m, up 38% from December 2022.

Companies such as Gucci, Nike and McDonalds (MCD) are developing digital collectibles as a promotional strategy to increase interest in their offerings.

Gucci is now running its own NFT-based metaverse event in The Sandbox. The Italian fashion label has created the first significant virtual environment on the metaverse platform that incorporates the brand's NFTs, called 'Gucci Vault Land'.

What are NFTs?

NFT stands for 'non-fungible token', and can usually be purchased on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

They are unique digital assets that exist on a blockchain, which is a decentralised digital ledger that records transactions.

Think of NFTs as digital collectibles or artwork that are unique and can't be replicated. They can be anything from a digital image or video to a tweet or a music album, or even a digital piece of clothing that can be used within a virtual world.

When someone purchases an NFT, they own a digital certificate of ownership that verifies that they own the original, one-of-a-kind version of the asset.

This certificate is stored on the blockchain and can't be replicated or altered.

NFTs have become popular in recent years as a way for creators and artists to sell and monetise their digital creations.

They also provide collectors with a way to own and invest in unique digital assets.

Amazon has been contacted by Yahoo Finance UK, but have yet to reply with comment.

Watch: Ukraine purchasing military equipment with crypto | The Crypto Mile
By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday defeated a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of nearly 7,000 workers in California that claimed the company should have reimbursed employees who worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic for home office expenses.

U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria in San Francisco said the named plaintiff, David Williams, failed to show that Amazon had a company-wide policy of not reimbursing employees for internet, cell phone and other costs, and the judge denied his motion to certify the workers as a class.

The judge said that more than 600 of the 7,000 proposed class members were reimbursed $66.49 on average for home internet expenses, and some were reimbursed in full.

Williams' motion for class certification was denied without prejudice, meaning he can file a renewed motion later on.

Amazon and lawyers for Williams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Williams sued Amazon in 2021 individually and added class-action claims last year. He has accused Amazon of violating a California law requiring employers to reimburse workers for reasonable work-related expenses.

Chhabria in January denied Amazon's motion to dismiss the case. The company had argued that it did not owe reimbursements because the costs resulted from government stay-at-home orders and not any decision by Amazon.

Williams' lawyers have filed similar lawsuits against several other companies including IBM Corp, Fox Broadcasting Co and Oracle Corp. Some of those cases have settled, with businesses agreeing to give remote workers stipends of up to $83 per month to cover home office expenses.

(This story has been refiled to add the dropped word "in" in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
 Read the full article on Motorious

What an absolute beauty!

Despite rain casting a bit of a shadow over Amelia Island on Sunday, the crowds came out to bask in the beauty of the classics entered into this years Amelia Concours dElegance. After judging concluded and the sun began peeking out from behind the cloud cover, a stunning 1935 Avions Voisin Type C25 Aerodyne captured the coveted 2023 Best in Show title.

See some classic cars left in the woods here.

If youre thinking this Type C25 Aerodyne looks a bit familiar, there might be good reason for that feeling. Owners Merle and Peter Mullin purchased chassis 50010 in the early part of this century. The classic underwent a nut-and-bolt restoration over the period of three years. Not too long after that process was complete the Mullins entered it into the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours dElegance where it won Best of Show after wowing judges and attendees.

In case you arent aware, Peter Mullin is the founder of Mullin Automotive Museum in California, which boasts quite the collection of classic Bugattis. He is also a longtime supporter of the Pebble Beach Concours dElegance and many other concours held globally and he currently sits on the board for the Peterson Automotive Museum as well as serves as President of the American Bugatti Club.

When the Type C25 Aerodyne was unveiled at the 1934 Paris Salon de lAutomobile it was hailed by Gabriel Voisin as the car of the future. Sleek and forward-thinking for its day, using lightweight allows for many parts, the timing of the release did the vehicle zero favors. A mere six were made before the drums of war began beating in Europe, bending automotive production toward the manufacturing of tanks, guns, and other battle implements. Thus, this classic is exceedingly rare, guaranteed to turn heads everywhere one appears.

Photos credit: Hagerty Media

Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
American Car Center went out of business across the country. The dealership had a location on North Tryon Street in Charlotte. Its not clear why, but it posted an apology on its website to customers.

A lot of customers have questions about payments, tags, titles, mechanical issues, and more.

ALSO READ: Kia, Hyundai reimbursing drivers of certain models that caught fire

Tnequa Watkins was genuinely happy the car she bought from American Car Center runs well, but her temporary tag expired. She says her brothers did too  he also bought a car from the dealership.

So, what am I supposed to do, drive around illegally or leave my car parked and not have a job that I have, to find the money to continue to pay these car payments? she asked. In the meantime, Watkins says shes paying for a car she cant legally drive. I have no other transportation, she said.

ALSO READ: Chewed wires? How to keep rodents out of your engine

Heres what anyone in this situation should know:

1. If you have a temporary tag, contact the DMV. Have your bill of sale or lease agreement handy.

2. Keep making payments. You dont want to hurt your credit. You can pay these four ways.

- Pay online at amfinancial.com.

- Pay by phone at 877-720-4477.

- Pay in person at a CheckFreePay location. Find a location here.

- Pay by mail. Make checks or money orders payable to Westlake Portfolio Management. Include your billing payment slip or write your Westlake account number on the check. Allow seven business days for delivery if using standard mail.

 Regular mail:

Westlake Portfolio Management

P.O. Box 847405

Los Angeles, CA 90084-7405

 Overnight mail:

Westlake Portfolio Management

ATTN: LBX # 847405

3440 Flair Drive

El Monte, CA 91731

3. As you may have noticed in No. 2, a group called Westlake Portfolio Management is handling the payments for American Car Center. If that company contacts you, take it seriously, it is not a scam.

For general questions, customers can contact WPM at 877-854-1898 or wpmcustomercare@wpmservicing.com.

Story continues

For credit inquiries associated with WPM reporting contact creditbureaus@wpmservicing.com.

4. American Car Center is based in Tennessee, where dealers are required to be bonded. If you have a problem with your car, there may be money you can tap into. File a complaint with the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission here.

5. You can always talk to a lawyer if you think you need more help.

(VIDEO: Honda issues Do Not Drive warning for cars with certain Takata airbags)
Mexican soldiers - STR/AP

Two Americans who travelled to Mexico for a tummy tuck operation have been found dead after being abducted by cartel gang members, in what officials believe was a case of mistaken identity.

Two others have been found alive, although one is fighting for their life in hospital, officials said.

The group of four people had crossed the border from Texas in a white minivan on Friday and had just reached Matamoros, in the north east of Mexico, when they came under fire.

Photographs show the partially wrecked car, with North Carolina number plates and a shattered passenger-side window, crashed into at least one other car outside a shop in the city.

A video posted on social media showed men with assault rifles and tan body armour loading the four people into the bed of a white pickup in broad daylight.

The victims' car - STR/AP

One was alive and sitting up, but the others seemed either dead or wounded. At least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck.

Authorities are working on the theory that a Mexican cartel mistook the Americans for Haitian drug smugglers, an unnamed US official told CNN on Tuesday morning.

According to her mother, LaTavia "Tay" McGee and her cousin Shaeed Woodard were among the victims in Matamoros along with their friends Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

It is not yet known who has died.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Mr Brown, was one of the four victims.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she told the Associated Press. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

LaTavia "Tay" McGee is one of four Americans who were kidnapped after crossing into Mexico from Texas

Ms Brown said that her brother, from Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied a third friend who was going to Mexico for tummy tuck surgery.

Mother-of-six Ms McGee was due to undergo the "tummy tuck" procedure, while Mr Brown, Mr Woodard and Mr Williams were named as travelling with her.

Story continues

Medical procedures south of the border are often significantly cheaper than in the US.

Ms Brown said the group was extremely close and they had all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.

Zindell kept saying, we shouldnt go down, she said.

The incident illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Shaeed Woodard is one of four Americans who were kidnapped

Americo Villarreal, the Tamaulipas Governor, said on Tuesday: Of the four, two of them are dead, one person is wounded and the other is alive and right now the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are going to them to give the corresponding support.

The governor did not share any additional details about where or how they were found.

Mexican officials said a Mexican woman had also died in Fridays crossfire.

The bodies of the deceased have been returned to the US.
Americans remain largely divided on how many immigrants and asylum-seekers should be allowed to enter the country, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

Forty-four percent in the poll from The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said they think fewer immigrants should be allowed into the U.S., while 34 percent said it should remain the same. Another 20 percent said immigration should increase.

The numbers are largely the same on asylum, with 43 percent saying the U.S. should reduce the number of asylum-seekers. However, there is a slight increase in the portion that said asylum should increase, at 24 percent, while 30 percent said it should remain the same, the poll found.

Republicans are much more likely to support a decrease in both overall immigration and asylum, with 65 percent and 68 percent saying as much respectively.

Democrats, on the other hand, are fairly split on both issues. They are more likely to support the status quo on immigration, with 42 percent saying immigration should remain the same, compared to the 27 percent each said it should either increase or decrease.

However, Democrats are slightly more likely to favor an increase in asylum, with 37 percent expressing support for an increase and 36 percent approving of the status quo. Another 26 percent said there should be a decrease in the number of asylum-seekers.

Public support for immigration overall appears to have waned since the early days of the Biden administration.

An AP-NORC poll from March 2021 found that 41 percent of Americans supported the status quo on immigration, while 28 percent thought it should increase and 29 percent thought it should decrease.

Republicans have hammered the Biden administration on its response to an increased influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. There were more than 250,000 encounters at the southern border in December, the highest point of Bidens presidency, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Story continues

Border encounters dipped substantially in January to around 150,000, which the administration has attributed to several new asylum policies.

The AP-NORC poll was conducted Feb. 16-20 with 1,247 adults and had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The four Americans who were kidnapped by gunmen just across the southern border on Friday were traveling to Mexico for a medical procedure, according to several media reports.

Family members told CNN that the group of tight-knit friends was traveling from South Carolina to Mexico so that one could undergo a medical procedure, but they never made it to the appointment.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador similarly confirmed on Monday that the group crossed the border to buy medicine, and there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained.

The group, which was traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates, was shot at by gunmen soon after crossing into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on Friday evening, according to the FBIs San Antonio Division. The four Americans were then placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene.

A Mexican citizen also died in the attack, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said.

We have no greater priority than the safety of our citizens  this is the US governments most fundamental role, Salazar added. US law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Above-ground storage tanks at the Southern California Gas Co. Honor Rancho underground natural gas storage facility in Santa Clarita in 2022. (Bing Guan / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

On the same day that a Southern California Gas Co. executive took heat from frustrated customers and advocacy groups over a proposed $4.9-billion rate hike, a coalition of community groups pressed the Los Angeles city attorney to investigate the utility over "potential price gouging and market manipulation."

Twenty groups, consisting of social, environmental, health and utility justice organizations, wrote a letter to City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto on Monday to express their grave concern that "SoCalGas facilitated a price gouging effort to enrich their parent company, Sempra Energy."

The letter highlights findings from the California Public Utilities Commission that while gas prices increased about 30% between January 2022 and January 2023 for customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, they more than doubled for customers of San Diego Gas & Electric and nearly tripled for those relying on SoCalGas during the same period.

A recent filing showed that Sempra, the parent company of SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric, made $2.9 billion in profit in 2022. At the end of 2021, the most recent year for which data were available, the top three executives at Sempra had accrued about $100 million in compensation.

According to experts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a combination of out-of-state natural gas supply constraints, combined with early and persistent cold weather conditions across the West and low storage inventories in the western region, drove up commodity prices," said Brian Haas, a SoCalGas spokesman.

Haas pointed to factors that caused high prices "including out-of-state pipeline maintenance and low storage inventories outside of SoCalGas service territory." He said an upcoming CPUC proceeding is the right venue to examine prices.

Feldstein Soto, sworn in as city attorney in December, is legal counsel to the mayor, City Council and city departments, advising them on what they can and cant do. Her office handles lawsuits filed for and against the city, which could include a lawsuit against SoCalGas on the city's behalf if it decided to pursue it.

Story continues

Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in February, outlining similar concerns with wholesale natural gas prices in California and other Western states.

The governor asked FERC to focus its investigatory resources on assessing whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior or other anomalous activities are driving these ongoing elevated prices in the Western gas markets.

Ivor Pine, a spokesman for the city attorney's office, said officials there have received the letter from the community groups and are reviewing it.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell on Fox News. (Photo illustration: Kelli R. Grant/Yahoo News; photos: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx via AP, Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Ben Margot/AP)

A jury is to hear Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in April. But in the court of public opinion, Dominion has already presented a damning case that has damaged the cable networks reputation, according to experts.

Yahoo News spoke to professors who specialize in journalism ethics, as well as to experts in First Amendment law, who said that the case against Fox News is unusual in that it appears to show how those in charge at the network made a deliberate decision to broadcast information that they knew at the time was false. Whether or not Fox will be found legally liable for defaming Dominion, experts said, its conduct seems to have clearly violated the core principles of journalistic ethics.

In a pair of sensational court filings made public over the last few weeks, Dominion has laid out a trove of evidence obtained during the discovery process  including deposition transcripts, email and text records  revealing that, in the days and weeks after the 2020 election, high-ranking Fox executives and on-air stars did not believe the allegations of voter fraud being made by then-President Donald Trump and his allies.

Fox News nevertheless proceeded to promote those unfounded claims to its primetime audience  the largest of any cable news network  repeatedly giving airtime to Trump's attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who, according to the filings, were privately believed by many Fox staffers to be unreliable.

Giuliani, with Powell behind him, speaks to the press about lawsuits related to the 2020 election, at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Dominion alleges that Fox's decision to promote these false claims was part of a cynical strategy to recover viewers loyal to Trump, who had abandoned the network for other conservative outlets like Newsmax after Fox reported, accurately, that Joe Biden had taken Arizona. That effectively meant the election was over and Trump had lost. Dominion points to a variety of evidence, including internal communications at the time, indicating concern within the network over the backlash after the Arizona call  and its impact on the companys stock price. It also notes depositions given by Fox News reporters who later said they were reprimanded for fact-checking false claims made by Trump surrogates on air.

Story continues

Fox, in its own filings, has accused Dominion of cherry-picking soundbites, omitting key context, and mischaracterizing the record.

Dominions lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, Fox said in a statement last week. Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear FOX for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

President Donald Trump at an election night event at the White House early in the morning of Nov. 4, 2020. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Legal experts told Yahoo News that the breadth of evidence presented by Dominion is unusual for libel cases brought against media organizations, which require public figures to prove that defamatory statements were made with actual malice, meaning that the defendant knew they were false at the time or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

It's just so rare to have such contemporaneous evidence of a defamation defendants state of mind when the statements are being made, Enrique Armijo, a First Amendment scholar and professor at Elon University School of Law, told Yahoo News. It's pretty bad when you have someone in the news department saying, 'This person is crazy,' and then interviewing that person on the air.

The evidence against Fox is also singular in another respect.

It's really rare, to my knowledge, to have a major news organization, or what claims to be a news organization, willingly broadcast what it knew to be lies, said Samuel Freedman, a professor at Columbia Journalism School. It's an egregious violation of journalism ethics.

Freedman told Yahoo News that if news organizations publish or broadcast factually inaccurate material, it is typically the result of an honest mistake, not a deliberate decision.

Maybe there was sloppy reporting, maybe the verification wasn't done carefully enough. Maybe even some self-interested actor successfully planted information with a news organization, he said. But none of those apply here.

A truck displays a message during a protest at News Corp headquarters in New York City on Feb. 21. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Christopher Hanson, an associate professor at the University of Marylands Merrill College of Journalism, pointed to the Society of Professional Journalists four key principles of ethical journalism, which it encourages all people in all media to practice.

Fox appears to have violated every one of these, big time, he said.

A spokesperson for Fox News declined to provide an on-the-record response to the accusations of unethical conduct, directing Yahoo News to the statement included above.

'Seek truth and report it'

The first of these principles is Seek truth and report it, under which the SPJ offers a number of guidelines, including Verify information before releasing it and Gather, update and correct information throughout the life of a news story.

Fox News, said Hanson, obviously [was] doing the opposite in the days and weeks after the 2020 election. He cited text and email records in the Dominion filings. In one from the host Tucker Carlson to fellow host Laura Ingraham on Nov. 18, 2020, Carlson wrote: Sidney Powell is lying. I caught her. Its insane.

Sidney is a complete nut, Ingraham responded. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.

Likewise, a Nov. 19 email from News Corp's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, described claims that Giuliani was making at a press conference aired live on Fox News as Really crazy stuff. And damaging.

Giuliani at the RNC news conference on Nov. 19, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Dominion has accused Fox News of broadcasting approximately 115 defamatory statements about Dominions voting machines, many of which, it says, were made after Dominion began sending at least a dozen separate and widely-circulated fact check emails each pointing to verifiable third-party information debunking the claims.

According to the SPJ, part of seeking truth and reporting it is to provide context, and to Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing.

In its court filings, Fox notes that on Nov. 22, 2020, anchor Eric Shawn conducted an interview with Dominion spokesperson Michael Steel. But it contends that Dominion declined other invitations from Fox to tell its side of the story.

'Minimize harm'

According to the SPJ, Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect, and journalists should balance the publics need for information against potential harm or discomfort.

Ethics experts who spoke to Yahoo News said the decision by Fox to air false claims of voter fraud was exacerbated by the potential that they could erode viewers faith in the legitimacy of the 2020 election and in democracy more broadly.

As Carlson put it during his show on Nov. 19, 2020, what Powell and Giuliani were alleging would amount to the single greatest crime in American history.

According to one of the Dominion filings, on Jan. 5, 2021  the day before a mob of Trump supporters, fueled by false claims of a stolen election, violently stormed the U.S. Capitol  Murdoch emailed Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, writing: It's been suggested our prime time three should independently or together say something like the election is over and Joe Biden won, and that such a statement would go along [sic] way to stop the Trump myth that the election [was] stolen.

No such statement was ever made by the primetime hosts on air.

Because there's so much going on, you cannot prove that this coverage directly caused Jan. 6, but it looks very, very likely that it contributed to it, Hanson said.

Trump supporters take over the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress meets to certify the Electoral College votes. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Freedman argued that there is a straight line between Foxs decision to give credibility to the fraud claims and the events of Jan. 6.

And that, just as we've seen, has so done much lasting damage to our democracy, he said.

'Act independently'

The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public, says the Society of Professional Journalists.

Journalists are encouraged to resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.

Internal communications obtained by Dominion reveal that executives and anchors at Fox News were concerned about the financial impact of the backlash over their decision to call Arizona for Biden and that they set out to lure back viewers whod defected to outlets like Newsmax.

"Viewers going through the 5 stages of grief, Scott wrote to Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO and executive chairman of Fox Corporation, on Nov. 9, 2020. It's a question of trust the AZ [call] was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.

After that, according to Dominion, Fox executives also began to criticize Fox hosts for truthful reporting.

Examples of this included in the filings include a Nov. 12 text chain between hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, in which Carlson complained that one Fox reporter, Jacqui Heinrich, should be fired for fact-checking a tweet from Trump, which referred to Fox's coverage of supposedly rigged voting machines.

A protester holds a sign at Fox headquarters on June 14, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Please get her fired, Carlson wrote to his fellow hosts. It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. Its measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.

A few days later, according to Dominion, Rupert Murdoch sent an email with the subject line Watching Giuliani! This apparently referred to a press conference being broadcast live on Fox News at which Giuliani and Powell rattled off a series of unsubstantiated charges about Dominion voting machines. In the body of the email read: Really crazy stuff. And damaging.

Fox aired the press conference in its entirety.

According to the filing, then-White House correspondent Kristen Fisher said in a deposition that she had been reprimanded for attempting to fact-check some of the outlandish claims made by Giuliani during the press conference that Murdoch called really crazy stuff.

If you have your eye on the bottom line, and [are] losing money because your audience is going away, so you  put out stuff that you know is false in order to appease your audience, then you're not independent of your audience, you're a slave to your audience, said Hanson.

Freedman emphasized that there is nothing untoward about being a for-profit news organization, noting that there are plenty of responsible, ethical news organizations that worry about their stock price. If you're in a capitalist economy, that's a reasonable worry.

However, he said, the idea that you would promulgate known falsehoods, conspiracy theories, not just kind of innocent errors, but an attack on the integrity of the election system, purely to keep your audience numbers high so your stock price holds its value, that's a total dereliction of journalistic duty.

'Be accountable and transparent'

The SPJs final principle of ethical journalism includes acknowledging and correcting mistakes, and exposing unethical conduct in journalism, including within [ones] own organization.

Fox News' Manhattan headquarters on Jan. 20, 2021. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Again, Fox appears to have done the opposite, according to Dominion, which notes in its filing that Despite the internal recognition that the election was over, Fox did not retract its claims about Dominion. Instead, it kept defaming Dominion. To this day, Fox has never retracted the false statements it broadcast about Dominion.

Foxs primary argument is that allegations of voter fraud by a sitting president are newsworthy, and that the First Amendment should protect the right of the press to report on newsworthy allegations without fear of being sued for defamation.

Under Dominions approach, if the President falsely accused the Vice President of plotting to assassinate him, the press would be liable for reporting the newsworthy allegation so long as someone in the newsroom thought it was ludicrous, Fox writes in its own motion for a summary judgment. Such a rule would stop the media in its tracks.

Fox's position is ... news outlets have to be able to talk about what the president and his representatives are saying, even if that turns out to be false, said Armijo, the First Amendment scholar from Elon University. He said that courts in some states have accepted this argument as a limited defense against libel suits, under whats known as the neutral reportage privilege.

Neutral reportage privilege says if youre reporting neutrally on something, you're privileged. You're not going to be held liable for your reporting if it turns out to be defamatory, Armijo explained. The operative word in this defense, though, is neutrally, as it almost always requires the reporting in question to be unbiased and in the public interest.

Armijo said the best evidence Dominion has that Foxs reporting was not, in fact, neutral was the fact that Fox had Dominion's responses to these allegations, and it was not giving them the same level of attention, [or] endorsement in its reporting, that it was giving the false claims by Powell, Giuliani, [MyPillow CEO Mike] Lindell and others about Dominion.
Hundreds of Proud Boys began their day on Jan. 6, 2021, at the Washington Monument receiving instructions from Ethan Nordean, a Seattle-based leader, to organize themselves by rank.

Leadership over here. General members over here, Nordean said while gesturing. Leadership means officers. Come on, guys, lets do this. Were gonna get organized real quick.

Video of Nordeans instructions, displayed Tuesday by prosecutors during the seditious conspiracy trial of five Proud Boys leaders for their Jan. 6 activities, preceded the groups fateful march, which would culminate with dozens of them overrunning police lines and entering the building.

Prosecutors spent the day walking jurors through footage of the groups approach to the Capitol  which they noted began hours before then-President Donald Trump began speaking to a crowd of supporters near the White House. Nordean is charged alongside Proud Boy Chairman Enrique Tarrio and leaders Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola with conspiring to derail the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden.



Tarrio was sidelined because of his Jan. 4 arrest for actions at a previous pro-Trump march in Washington, and prosecutors have described the groups subsequent scramble to keep members organized for Jan. 6. Ultimately, Nordean took charge, assembling hundreds of Proud Boys who had descended on the city near the monument early in the day. Biggs and Rehl also appeared to play leading roles.

What emerged was a picture of an organized advance, with hundreds of Proud Boys marching down Constitution Avenue, a spectacle that forced at least one road closure and alarmed law enforcement, which monitored their movements. Prosecutors have contended that the group intended to forcibly prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election on Jan. 6 to help Trump remain in power, which the group viewed as key to their own future.

The Justice Department argued that the group had become increasingly disillusioned with police after several members were stabbed at a December 2020 pro-Trump march in Washington  a simmering fury that boiled over after Tarrios arrest. Jeremy Bertino, one of those stabbing victims, has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and testified that he believed the Proud Boys leaders hungered for an all-out revolution by the time Jan. 6 arrived.

Story continues

Defense attorneys for the groups leaders say the Proud Boys are little more than a glorified drinking club that had no overarching plan on Jan. 6. Theyve argued that no evidence shows that the group explicitly planning to disrupt the Jan. 6 proceedings and that there was no organized effort or goal.

The evidence prosecutors displayed on Tuesday offered cryptic references to a plan. At one point, just after 11 a.m., Nordean brought the large group to a stop and said he intended to link up with Alex Jones, the far-right radio host who traffics in conspiracy theories. Shortly before 11:30 a.m., after the Proud Boys had marched past the thinly defended West Front of the Capitol, Nordean was recorded saying, We have a plan and they can adjust.



When one person recording the group mentioned that they should go check out the Capitol, a member who moments earlier was walking alongside Nordean turned around and asked her to leave. And when Proud Boy Daniel Milkshake Scott shouted, Lets take the fucking Capitol, another person replied, Lets not fucking yell that, all right?

The exchange prompted Nordean to reply, It was Milkshake, man, ya know  idiot. Another unidentified person near the group added, Dont yell it, do it. Scott pleaded guilty last month to obstructing Congress Jan. 6 proceeding and helping facilitate a breach of police lines.

When the Proud Boys arrived at the Capitol, the relatively staid crowd grew restive, prosecutors indicated. Then, after rioters began breaching the barricades, dozens of Proud Boys and their marching companions were among the first to cross the collapsed police line and drive up pressure on the outnumbered forces trying to keep the mob out of the Capitol.

Throughout the march, Nordean, Biggs and others repeatedly stoked the groups anger at police to rally the other men.

Enrique shows up and gets detained before he gets to D.C. and hes charged with two felonies, multiple felonies for what? Nordean said during a brief stop on the march. We put ourselves on the line every goddamn time we come out here. We put our lives and our safety and everything on the line, and these people put us in jail. Well, Im tired of it. Its time to just say no.

Later, Biggs would tell the same group: Were gonna let the motherfucking world know that we fucking exist and were not going any goddamn where. So lets fucking march through this fucking city thats our goddamn city and be loud and motherfucking Proud Boy proud, and lets go fucking kick some goddamn ass. Metaphorically speaking, but you know what I mean.

Shortly after 11 a.m., as the Proud Boys approached the Capitol, they passed a group of law enforcement officers putting on gear. Some members of the group began berating them.

Honor your oath. Pick a side. Dont make us go against you, shouted Christopher Worrell, a Proud Boy who was later seen in video footage deploying a canister of chemical spray in the direction of police officers at the Capitol.

Nordean rallied the group a second time by slamming police for arresting Tarrio and failing to charge anyone in the stabbing of a Proud Boy during a December 2020 pro-Trump march.

You took our boy in and you let the stabber go. You guys gotta prove your shit to us now.  Well do your goddamn job for you, he said. And dont forget, we dont owe you anything. We dont owe you anything. Your job is to protect and serve the people. Not property or bureaucrats.



Prosecutors also showed jurors how many members of the group that marched with Nordean, Biggs and Rehl to the Capitol would later help facilitate key breaches of police lines. Pezzola would ignite the breach of the building itself by using a stolen police riot shield to smash a Senate-wing window, which he reached after the first wave of the mob  lined with participants in the Proud Boys march  overran police lines.

Defense attorneys have described the Proud Boys march as largely consisting of protected First Amendment activity, and have said that efforts by the government to tag the five Proud Boys leaders with the actions of other group members amounts to guilt by association.
An Olathe teen was sentenced in Johnson County District Court Monday to more than seven years in juvenile detention for his role in a robbery turned homicide at Black Bob Park.

The 15-year-old defendant, who is not being named because of his age, will remain in juvenile corrections until hes 22, according to the Johnson County Prosecutors Office. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July.

Last week, another 15-year-old received the same sentence in the case after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in August. Prosecutors initially charged seven teens allegedly involved in the plot and filed motions to charge each of them as adults, with the exception of two 13-year-olds, who werent old enough under state law.

The judge denied motions to charge three of the teens as adults last year.

On May 14, police arrived at the park to investigate a report of gunshots and found Marco Cardino, 19, suffering from gunshot wounds. Cardino was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Prosecutors claim the group drove to the park that evening to steal from Cardino, after setting up a marijuana deal. A witness testified in Johnson County District Court in December that one of the teens brought a weapon and fired at Cardino when he tried to flee.

The teen accused of shooting the victim will be tried as an adult. His preliminary hearing is set for March 28.

The 15-year-old sentenced Monday received a dual sentence, and faces nearly 13 years of additional time in the Kansas Department of Corrections if he is non-compliant with his juvenile sentence.
Heather Barron, left, and her boyfriend Kareem Leiva, not pictured, in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday where they were convicted of murder in the death of Barron's son, 10-year-old Anthony Avalos. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Anthony Avalos' mother and her former boyfriend were convicted of murder Tuesday in the 2018 death of the 10-year-old, whose short and tragic life exposed massive shortcomings in the county's child welfare system.

The defendants, Heather Barron and Kareem Leiva, opted to have their case heard by a judge rather than a jury. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta handed down the verdict after spending six days reviewing evidence.

The defendants were also convicted of torturing Anthony and abusing two of his siblings, and Ohta upheld a special circumstances allegation that the couple tortured the boy in the commission of a murder. Under California law, they must face a punishment of life without parole at a sentencing hearing next month.

Neither Barron nor Leiva showed any reaction as Ohta read the verdict. Some relatives and victims' rights advocates in the gallery shouted "yes!" when the judge read that Leiva was guilty of the first count. After Ohta finished reading the verdict, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami walked into the gallery and hugged several of Avalos' relatives, many of whom were crying.

I will always remember Anthony as a loving, funny little boy who loved spending time with us, his aunts his uncles. Today, I feel relief that they will finally pay for what they did," his aunt, Maria Barron, said during a news conference following the hearing. "But we will forever have to carry this pain in our heart because nobody will ever take the pain away, of losing Anthony.

Prosecutors alleged that Barron had abused Anthony and two of his siblings for years, but the situation turned even more dangerous, and deadly, after she began dating Leiva. An alleged gang member, Leiva would routinely beat the children with belts, prosecutors said, pour hot sauce in their mouths and make Anthony and his siblings fight one another. The losers of the impromptu brawls would then suffer corporal punishment at Leiva's hands, prosecutors alleged.

Story continues

The children also were forced to kneel on exposed floors, nails or uncooked rice for long periods of time or hold a squatted position, dubbed the "Captain's Chair," until they fell over from pain. Barron had inverted the locks on several bedroom doors in her Lancaster home so the children could be trapped inside, where they had no access to food, water or a bathroom, prosecutors had alleged. If the children urinated while locked in, Leiva would shove their faces in their own waste.

In June 2018, paramedics arrived at the family's Lancaster home to find Anthony brain dead and without a pulse, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Saeed Teymouri. During his opening statement, Teymouri spoke while displaying pictures of a withered Anthony in an emergency room. He said the boy was "so malnourished and dehydrated that his veins were collapsed."

Maria Barron testified that she reported abuse allegations to the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services in 2015, one of 13 times the agency received reports about violence against Anthony from teachers, counselors, relatives or police between 2013 and 2017.

Yet, the boy remained in Leiva and Barrons home. The agency never made an attempt to remove the children from Barron's custody and no DCFS employees have been disciplined in connection with the case.

Several DCFS employees took the stand during the five-week trial, but they failed to explain why they didn't take additional steps out of concern for Anthony's safety. One DCFS employee could be heard laughing and telling jokes while receiving a description of abuse suffered by Anthony over an emergency hotline, according to a recording played during the trial.

DCFS sent members of its media relations staff to monitor portions of the trial, but the agency has not issued any statement on the case. The failures of the child welfare agency in Anthony's death drew comparisons to a similar tragedy, the torture and murder of Gabriel Fernandez. Hatami also served as lead prosecutor in that case, and several of Fernandez's relatives attended court Tuesday in support of Anthony's loved ones.

"Nobody won in this case. I never win in any of my cases. We cant bring Anthony back, and we still have a Department of Children and Family Services that keeps failing our children," Hatami said after court. "But I do believe that the two people most responsible for Anthonys death have been found guilty. They are going to be held responsible for what they did. And Anthonys voice was heard loud and clear in court.

Barron initially told paramedics that Anthony hurt himself, but the boy's siblings both testified that Leiva repeatedly dropped the 10-year-old on his head.

In interviews with police, Leiva admitted to abusing Anthony but denied delivering the blows that killed him. Barron claimed she was a victim of domestic violence at Leiva's hands and powerless to stop him, although prosecutors presented evidence that showed the woman had been accused of abusing her children long before Leiva entered her life.

Attorneys for the defendants were not immediately available for comment.

Explaining his ruling, Ohta said testimony from Anthony's siblings and medical evidence were key to rejecting Barron and Leiva's defense. Barron's contention that her son had thrown a fit and injured himself the morning paramedics responded was scientifically impossible, Ohta said, noting that several doctors testified Anthony was in a state of dehydration so severe he may not have consumed liquids for at least five days.

Defendant Barron waited to call 911 until Anthony was literally deceased, Ohta said, adding that Barron had shown a "flagrant" disregard for her son's well-being.

Ohta also concluded that Barron and Leiva treated Anthony significantly worse than the other children in their care, singling him out for intense suffering.

"It is clear to this court that both defendants targeted Anthony as a scapegoat for extreme cruelty, the judge said. Anthony served as the chosen target to gain some level of relief from their troubles.

Anthony's siblings, Rafael and Destiny, took the stand in one of the most brutal days of the emotional trial. Rafael, now 12, told the courtroom that Leiva took his own children and fled once he realized Barron was calling the police the day Anthony was found dead. When Barrons attorney asked Rafael whom he blamed for Anthonys death, Rafael simply blurted out the name Kareem.

After describing how Leiva repeatedly slammed Anthony on his head the day before he died, Hatami asked Destiny if the boy just lay on the carpet unable to move. She said yes.

And what did Mommy do? Hatami asked.

Nothing, Destiny, now 13, replied.

After court, Hatami and several of Anthony's relatives excoriated Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon for his decision to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty in the case. Gascon had also ordered prosecutors to remove the special circumstance allegation in the case, part of his broader approach to limit the use of life imprisonment, but Hatami refused.

Without the special circumstances allegation, Barron and Leiva still would have faced 25-years-to-life in prison for the murder conviction, but they would have eventually become eligible for parole. Hatami  a longtime critic of Gascon who is both suing the district attorney and expected to challenge him in the 2024 election cycle  blasted his boss for making the sweeping decision without reviewing the case or meeting with the victims' families.

"What kind of a person is that?" Hatami repeatedly asked.

Tiffiny Blacknell, director of communications for the district attorney's office, said the focus should have stayed on the victims Tuesday.

Today should be about holding the people who harmed this helpless child accountable for their heinous actions, and we are grateful to the court for having done that. Unfortunately, it seems this tragedy is being politicized," she wrote in a statement. "These two people face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. This guarantees that they will die in prison. That is the appropriate and also a very serious outcome. No one should pretend otherwise.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Three members of the Indiana Court of Appeals have denied Justin M. Blake's effort to get his 2022 murder conviction overturned.

Blake and co-defendant Britany Overton were charged with the murder of Alex Jackson.

Overton testified against Blake at his trial. The state dismissed her murder charge and allowed her to plead guilty to robbery as a level 5 crime. She was sentenced to 20 years in jail.

Blake was convicted of murder and robbery. He received a sentence of 58 years on the murder charge and three years on the robbery. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

Previous coverage:Justin Blake sentenced to 61 years for murder, robbery of Alexander Jackson

He filed an appeal of his convictions alleging the trial court "erred in admitting prejudicial evidence during his trial," and in instructing the jury on accomplice liability. Blake alleged his conviction for murder and robbery constitute double jeopardy.

After reviewing the case, the appeals court affirmed Blake's conviction and sentence.

Background of murder charge

Blake, Jackson, Overton, and an unknown person identified as "K. J." were traveling around Indianapolis in Jackson's rental stopping to shoplift and commit armed robbery, according to court documents.

At some point, Blake became paranoid that Jackson was going to "snitch" on them. He directed the group to a place on North Mann Road in Morgan County.

Blake and K.J. forced Jackson from the vehicle and into a wooded area.

Overton testified she heard Jackson scream followed by several gunshots. Blake and K.J. then returned to the car and left the area.

After dropping off K.J., Blake told Overton he had shot Jackson.

Blake kept Jackson's vehicle. He crashed it several days later while running from the police.

K.J. was never identified by Blake or Overton.

Blake may appeal the appeal court's decision.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Appeals court affirms 2022 murder conviction for Justin Blake
The Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday grilled attorneys for James and Jennifer Crumbley about how the couple treated their son before he carried out a deadly school shooting, focusing on why they bought him a gun despite his mental health troubles and why they didnt take him home after seeing his note that read: The thoughts wont stop, help me.

There were warning signs all over the place, Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Christopher Yates said during a one-hour hearing. At the end of the day, arent we looking at foreseeability more than anything else?

The appeals court is trying to decide whether the Crumbleys  who are the first parents in America charged in a mass school shooting  should stand trial on involuntary manslaughter charges for the actions of their son, Ethan Crumbley, who pleaded guilty last year to murdering four students and injuring seven others at Oxford High School in November 2021.

Jennifer Crumbley, sat to the left of attorney Mariell Lehman as Crumbley's husband, James Crumbley, sat to the right in the Oakland County courtroom of Judge Cheryl Matthews on March 22, 2022, regarding pretrial matters.

Judges question Crumbley parents' choices

The Michigan Supreme Court last year ordered the appeals court to hear the case at the request of the Crumbleys, who have long maintained they had no idea their son would carry out a mass school shooting, and want the charges thrown out.

During a one-hour hearing Tuesday, the court appeared focused on the Crumbleys actions  and inactions  noting the parents had bought their son the gun that was used in the shooting, despite knowing he was struggling mentally and hallucinating months earlier. Judges also questioned why the parents didnt bring their son home from school when they were summoned over a troubling drawing he had made in math class on the morning of the shooting, why they didnt hug him in the counselors office when they were called in over the violent drawing and why they didnt check his backpack that day.

The prosecution argues that the key issue in this case is foreseeability, that the Crumbleys knew their son had access to a gun and was struggling mentally. And that the parents, more than anyone else, could have prevented the massacre had the parents taken their son home, or at least told the school that he had access to a gun.

Story continues

But the Crumbleys did none of that, a prosecutor argued to the appeals court, stressing the couple had a legal duty to control their child and prevent him from harming others. But they failed to do so, and should therefore be held criminally responsible, the prosecutor argued.

More:Prosecutor embarrasses James, Jennifer Crumbley in wild new court filing

More:Michigan Supreme Court temporarily halts trial of James, Jennifer Crumbley

Oxford High School shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley pleads guilty for his role in the school shooting that occurred on Nov. 30, 2021, during a his appearance at the Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022.

Dad 'told him to take some pills and suck it up'

His intentional act was foreseeable, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Shada argued to the court. "These parents knew he had reported hallucinations  (and) had asked to go to the doctor. They did nothing.

Instead, Shada stressed, his dad told him to take some pills and suck it up while his mom laughed at him. Months later, he said, they bought him what he wanted more than anything else.

Instead of getting him help, they bought him a gun, Shada said. They knew he was fascinated with guns  he had targets on his bedroom wall.

Lawyers for the Crumbleys argue the prosecution is overreaching in trying to hold the parents responsible for their sons actions.

I will concede that these parents made tremendously bad decisions ... they were ill-equipped ... but criminal trials are not based on whether parents made the right decisions or did the right things, defense attorney Shannon Smith argued, stressing the case will set a dangerous precedent for parents everywhere if allowed to proceed.

Obviously, there could not be a more horrific set of facts before this court for you to decide, said Smith, who is representing the mother.

More:Oxford school officials: Ethan Crumbley's parents never refused to take him home

More:Oxford High School shooter should've been sent home under policy, former school officials say

Defense attorney Shannon Smith cross-examines Amanda Holland at a hearing for James and Jennifer Crumbley, parents of Ethan Crumbley who are accused of the deadly school shooting at Oxford High School in late November, sit in the courtroom of Judge Julie Nicholson of 52/3 District Court in Rochester Hills on Feb. 8, 2022. The couple is facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly buying the gun that the police say their son used in the shooting that killed four students and injured six other students and a teacher.

Parents weren't involved in the planning, defense lawyer argues

But the liability in this case rests with the son, not the parents, Smith argued.

The thing they did not do is plot this murder, hold the gun and shoot the kids, said Smith, who also noted that Ethan Crumbley, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult and pleaded guilty to all charges.

This is not a child unintentionally shooting a gun. Were talking about a teenager who wrote elaborate plans in a journal that they didnt know about  we have a person who put together this plan, Smith said. Until the prosecution can show that the parents were part of the plan, they can be charged as aiders and abetters.

But thats not whats being charged here, Smith noted, later noting the facts of this case align more with a case involving the termination of parental rights.

But what about the warning signs? the judges asked.

That math sheet was so troubling, said one judge, who appeared to take issue with the Crumbleys behavior in the school office on the morning of the shooting. They came into the school, didnt hug him, (and) left him in the school for the rest of the day.

Concerns about precedent of charging parents

The defense lawyer responded:

As a parent of four kids, yes, that math sheet was troubling, Smith said. But, she added: Everyone was convinced that (Ethan) was not a threat to others safety when they left him at school that day, there were only suicidal concerns.

Wouldnt that warrant looking in the backpack if hes suicidal? one judge asked.

The problem is we are looking backwards at this case, Smith responded. At the end of the day, it truly wasnt foreseeable that (Ethan) was going to take this gun and shoot people. If they did foresee their child doing that, there would be so many things done.

Judge Christopher Murray also noted: It is a valid concern about the precedent that this will set.

At issue in this case is whether the Crumbleys acted with gross negligence, and, whether they had a legal duty to inform the school that their son had access to a gun. The defense argues no such legal duty exists, and that holding the parents criminally responsible for the actions of their son  who pleaded guilty to all charges  sets a dangerous precedent, in that parents could be charged for any crime carried out by their child.

We cant set precedent? Is that what you're saying? Judge Michael Riordan asked.

The defense answered no, but argued that the facts of this case do not warrant setting a precedent.

Dont parents have a legal duty for the welfare of their children? one judge asked.

Smith responded: Yes, but that doesnt extend to every action that they encounter.

One judge asked the prosecutor: What do you fault the parents with the most?

"They could have checked (the backpack) to see if he had the gun, taken him home from school, adequately secure the weapon ... they did none of them," the prosecutor said. "They certainly had the ability to prevent it."

The Crumbleys have maintained that the gun was locked in a drawer, while the prosecution has argued that Ethan had easy access to it.

Either way, as one judge noted, Michigan has no safe storage law involving guns.

Families of victims want parents tried

Parents of some of the Oxford High student victims were at a news conference with attorney Ven Johnson at the same time as the Court of Appeals hearing. A judge had crippled their civil lawsuits, ruling that Oxford schools and its employees are immune from liability. The families are appealing.

Responding to a question, the parents said James and Jennifer Crumbley should be charged and be among those held accountable.

"Hell, yeah," said Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre, who was killed. "They bought a gun for their kid, right? And he used it to murder our kids. Absolutely."

"It's crazy. Think about this, there's all this going on and all this legal talk. Four kids were murdered, and everybody gets to throw their hands up in the air."

The Court of Appeals will issue its decision at a later date.

Free Press staff writer Christina Hall contributed to this report.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Appeals Court grills Crumbley lawyers, cites 'plenty of warning signs'
The head of the union representing Postal Police officers is blasting the United States Postal Service after a ruling backed up what hes been arguing for nearly three years.

He told 9 Investigates that his officers want to patrol outside of post office buildings to protect mail carriers. It comes after a series of attacks on mail carriers nationwide and here in Central Florida.

This is so simple. You have police officers, use them, Frank Albergo said. Albergo is the president of the Postal Police officers union.

Channel 9 showed you surveillance photos of a Jeep Grand Cherokee and an accused robber, targeting two USPS workers on two different days in October 2022 out delivering mail in Pine Hills.

Read: Attack on Seminole County mail carrier for special key the latest in growing crime trend

Months earlier, two other robbers, who have not yet been identified or arrested, were caught on surveillance video before brutally attacking a mail carrier in Orlando.

In those cases, the crooks were after the carriers master arrow key, which can open big blue mailboxes or clusterboxes where hundreds of pieces of mail are stored in one place. The ultimate goal is to steal your mail.

Read: Postal carrier attacks on the rise nationwide: Heres what most robbers are after

Its outrageous. Carriers are being attacked every day. Mail is being stolen every day. Americans are suffering. Bank accounts are being drained. And yet, the Postal Service is sitting on their hands. It doesnt make sense, Albergo said.

The Postal Police Officers Association has been fighting for the right to go back to proactive patrolling since August 2020, when they were told they were only allowed to perform law enforcement duties inside USPS property. Now, an arbitrator has sided with the union, meaning the Postal Service could allow its officers to follow carriers and protect them.

Read: Union leaders say postal police could protect mail carriers

Story continues

You have carriers being robbed. Theyre having guns stuck in their face. Its just a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt. And they just refuse to use Postal Police officers, Albergo said.

The Postal Service confirmed it has no plans to change policy, despite the arbitrators ruling. Channel 9 told you the agency has known about this problem for at least three years. An audit initiated in 2019 found management controls over arrow keys were ineffective, the number of arrow keys in circulation is unknown, and that new technology, including keyless locking and key tracking, could improve management controls over lost keys and protect workers.

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.
Failed Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem has been sanctioned by a judge who declared his lawsuit challenging Novembers election results groundless and not brought in good faith.

Finchem, a Donald Trump-backed election denier who has yet to concede his defeat, in December filed a lawsuit seeking a new election. He alleged misconduct in Adrian Fontes win by more than 120,200 votes to become secretary of state.

Finchems suit claimed now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) wrongly flagged his Twitter account for misinformation, and didnt seek proper approval for voting machines and software. He also called out Hobbs for not recusing herself from overseeing the election despite running for governor.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Iyer Julian tossed out the lawsuit last year, saying the allegations didnt constitute misconduct sufficient to survive dismissal.

Subsequently, Fontes filed a motion seeking to sanction Finchem and his lawyer Daniel McCauley III, alleging they failed to present any evidence to back their claims of voter fraud. Hobbs joined the motion.

The judge last week, ordered Finchem and McCauley to pay the legal fees of Hobbs and Finchem, but declined to impose additional penalties.

State law says sanctions should only be applied in rare cases, Julian noted, but this case qualifies.

None of contestant Finchems allegations, even if true, would have changed the vote count enough to overcome the 120,000 votes he needed to affect the result of this election, Julian wrote. The court finds that this lawsuit was groundless and not brought in good faith.

The judge also noted Finchem canceled a request to review ballots, suggesting that he had no expectation that an inspection would yield a favorable outcome.

This demonstrates that Finchem challenged his election loss despite knowing that his claims regarding misconduct and procedural irregularities were insufficient under the law to sustain the contest, Julian added.

Story continues

Finchem, in a statement on Twitter following the ruling, continued lying and said the judge should be removed from the bench for her abuse of judicial authority.

Judge Julian is punishing me for daring to assert my [First] Amendment protections, which constitutionally guarantee separation of powers, and has shredded statutory protection for contestants to challenge suspicious election results, Finchem wrote.

During his campaign, Finchem said he wouldnt have certified President Joe Bidens 2020 election win in Arizona. He also met with former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to discuss the fake electors scheme aimed at overturning Bidens victory.

Another Arizona election denier, failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, also has lost her legal challenge seeking to toss out the results of her 2022 defeat and continues to push false claims that the election was stolen from her.

Lake has been floated as a potential Senate candidate and a potential running mate for Trump in 2024.

Related...
Alberto Mariani/AP

A former high school art teacher is leading a bipartisan effort to recall an elected official for shirking his lawful duty and perpetuating a Trumpian fiction about voter fraud in Cochise County, Arizona.

Its the far-reaching effects of The Big Lie, Eric Suchodolski, 53, of Sierra Vista, told The Daily Beast. Its basically seeped into the fabric of a nice place like this.

From what Suchosdolski can tell, County Supervisor Tom Crosby, a Republican, was seeking to create something from nothing when he called the countys voting machines into question shortly before the election in November. Crosbya former border patrol agentand his allies complained that the machines were not certified and continued to voice doubts after the state documented otherwise. Crosbys crew contended that the signatures were in the wrong place.

Two weeks before Election Day, Crosby joined Supervisor Peggy Juddthe other Republican on the three-member boardin calling for the ballots to be counted by hand.

The countys longtime director of elections, Lisa Marra, was joined by the county attorneys and the state solicitor in saying such a last-minute switch to a manual tally would be inadvisable, unwarranted, and against state law. Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley agreed, saying the proposed hand count does not comply with clearly stated Arizona law.

Congress Seat Could Flip if Arizonas Officials Dont Certify Election in Time

The election went ahead without any hitches. Crosby and Judd nonetheless repeatedly failed to certify the results even though the board was required to do so by law. All 47,000 could have conceivably been tossed as a result of their actions.

During a Dec. 1 court hearing, McGinley ordered the board to proceed with what he termed its nondiscretionary duty. Crosby asked for a one-day delay.

The item was misagendized on the agenda, he complained.

The lone Democrat on the board, Supervisor Ann English, warned the judge that Crosby was planning to bring out-of-state election deniers into court the next day and stage an extended verbal smackdown between them and state officials.

Story continues

I think its a circus that doesnt need to happen, English said.

The judge asked if such shenanigans are normal.

Normally its not normal, but within the context of whats going on now, it seems to be becoming more normal, English replied.

McGinley ordered the board to meet later that same day. Judd and English did as ordered and performed their legal obligation. Crosby simply didnt show.

In the meantime, Crobsy and Judd had filed suit against Marra for failing to go along with the manual tally. Crosby and Judd were themselves named as defendants in a suit brought by the Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans (AARA) challenging the legality of the hand count.

Crosby retained lawyer Bryan Blehm, whose views regarding the Big Lie and a larger conspiracy were reflected by a recent tweet.

Tweets by BlehmLawAZ

Never forget that the COVID monstrosity was an intentional effort by Democrats & rhinos to eliminate the President of the United States & all of his followers, Blenheim tweeted. They did so by stealing your elections through widespread mail in voting. Never forget they must be punished severely.

Crosby dismissed any concerns that the county would be stuck with the legal bills, saying his side was sure to win. But he suffered twin defeats in state court and was ordered to pay the other sides attorney fees: $30,715 for the Marra case and $86,394 for the AARA suit, a total of $117,109. Suchodolski heard fellow citizens suggest that this was $117,109 more than the county should have to pay.

Despite prevailing in court, the highly respected Marra resigned, saying she had grown weary of being harassed because of her opposition to the hand count.

Suchodolski lives in Crosbys district and he wrote a letter to the editor of a local newspaper proposing a non-partisan, multiparty effort to recall his representative. Suchodolski is himself an independent who admired the late Sen. John McCain, who was known as a compassionate conservative. He likes to think that the crazies are in the minority and there is a reasonable majority that shares his outrage, especially when everybodys ballot was placed in jeopardy over compounded falsehoods.

What happened here affected all the votes,  he said.

Suchodolski repeatedly checked with the county elections office to see if anybody had filed to mount a recall. Nobody had. He decided he would have to set things in motion.

I managed to get in touch with some people who know other people and I just sort of got the ball rolling, he told The Daily Beast. I wasnt looking to take the lead on this.

On Dec. 14, he held the first meeting of The Committee to Recall Tom Crosby. He had drafted a petition that read:

Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby violated his oath of office and attempted to obstruct our countys election processes. He defied the order of an Arizona Superior Court judge by refusing to certify our countys 2022 election. This would have disenfranchised more than 47,000 county voters. He interfered with election officials, ignored legal advice of our county attorney, and promoted an illegal hand count of 100% of ballots. He violated multiple Arizona Title 16 statutes regarding elections. These actions resulted in unwarranted expenses to taxpayers. Supervisor Crosby is unfit to continue in his elected position and should be recalled.

Suchodolski explained that they would need to get 10 percent of the districts electorate to sign within 120 days. That meant 4,700 signatures, with another 1,300 as a cushion against any that might be tossed out. Should they reach their goal, Crosby would be removed from office. A replacement would likely be elected in November.

Volunteers began collecting signatures at everything from a Martin Luther King Day event to outside a taqueria to a farmers market.

The last count, we were about 25 percent to our target, Suchodolski said on Sunday.

Crosby and Judd remained the 2-1 majority on the board of supervisors and they voted to assign the former duties of the departed election director Marra to County Recorder David Stevens, a known election skeptic.

We built this house on sand, English said. I think you have vilified the election process.

Crosby did not respond to a request for comment. Suchodolski continues to seek a recall as a way to counter the seepage of the Big Lie and affirm his hope that the crazies are just a vocal minority.

I guess we will find out, he said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Tomas Ovalle)

Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a powerful, 12-minute address urging antisemites to abandon their hateful ideologies and choose strength.

On Monday, the former action movie star and former governor of California shared the impassioned speech via Facebook in a video produced by ATTN, a Los Angeles-based "issues-driven" media company.

I dont care how many hateful things you may have written online. I dont care how often youve marched carrying that hateful flag or what hateful things you may have said in anger. There is still hope for you," he said in the video.

Schwarzenegger, who was Californias most recent Republican governor, began his address by describing the horrors he encountered when touring the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He also referenced his father, who was a member of the Nazi party, and his upbringing in Austria post-World War II.

When you walk through a place like Auschwitz, you feel a tremendous weight, he said. There are reminders everywhere of the horrors that happened there: The suitcases never claimed by the prisoners . . . The logbooks with thousands of names crossed out, as if a cruel accountant only measured death. The gas chambers with scratches in the walls from the fingernails of people who tried to hold onto life. The crematorium where the Nazis tried to erase all of their atrocities.

Schwarzenegger said his remarks weren't aimed at people who have been the target of antisemitism, but rather, he wanted to address people who are fueled by hate, the ones perpetrating the antisemitism.

I want to talk to you if youve heard some conspiracy theories about Jewish people, or people of any race or gender or orientation, and thought, That makes sense to me. I want to talk to you if youve found yourself thinking about anyone as inferior and out to get you because of their religion or the color of their skin, or their gender, he added.

I dont know the road that has brought you here, but Ive seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs, so I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path.

Story continues

The Terminator star discussed growing up surrounded by the men who lost the Second World War. He described the way their bodies were riddled with injuries and shrapnel . . . and that their hearts and their minds were equally riddled with guilt. He said he witnessed the men drinking to numb their pain and the way they felt like losers who not only lost the war, but had fallen for a horrible, loser ideology.

Teddy Von Nukem, left, and Peter Cvjetanovic attend a far-right rally in 2017. (Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

At one point in Schwarzeneggers address, the infamous photo of Charlottesville, Va., protesters Teddy Von Nukem and Peter Cvjetanovic was shown. The men became two of the most prominent faces of the 2017 far-right rally. Earlier this year, on the day he was due in court for a drug-trafficking charge, Von Nukem died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Missouri.

Throughout history, hate has always been the easy path, the path of least resistance. . . Its easier to find a scapegoat for a problem than to try to make things better ourselves...," Schwarzenegger said. "You will not find success on the end of that road... there has never been a successful movement based on hate.

I can understand how people can fall into the trap of prejudice and hate. Whether you grew up surrounded by hate or get sucked in by some of Big Techs algorithms that push you to the extreme.

When you spend your life looking for scapegoats, you take away your own responsibility, you remove your own power, you steal your own strength.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2021 there was a 34% increase in antisemitic incidents than the year before. That was the highest number on record since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

There has also been a staggering increase in antisemitism on Twitter according to combatantisemitism.org, which said that Kanye Ye Wests antisemitic comments triggered an increase of 136% in toxic comments, threats and identity attacks toward Jewish people on the social platform.

Late last year, related to Wests tirade against Jewish people, a well-known hate group flocked to a busy 405 freeway overpass in Los Angeles. Demonstrators gave Nazi salutes and displayed a banner that read Kanye is right about the Jews.

In the following weeks, L.A. residents found fliers at their homes and on their cars, advertising conspiracy theories about Jewish people.

And last month, Jaime Tran, 28, was charged with federal hate crimes after he shot two Jewish men as they left religious services in Los Angeles. After his arrest, Tran admitted to police that he had searched for a kosher market on Yelp prior to the attacks and knew the men were Jewish because of their head gear.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Arnold Schwarzenegger tackled the rise in hate crimes in America in a 12-minute YouTube address shared Monday (6 February).

The Terminator star specifically targeted antisemitism and told those who embrace hate that they would die miserably.

According to the US Anti-Defamation League, the US has recently seen a rise in antisemitic incidents, with 2,717 incidents last year  the highest since it began tracking in 1979.

There has never been a successful movement based on hate, Schwarzenegger said in the video.

Nazis? Losers. The Confederacy? Losers. The Apartheid movement? Losers. I dont want you to be a loser. I dont want you to be weak despite all my friends who might say, Arnold, dont talk to those people. Its not worth it, I dont care what they say. I care about you. I think youre worth it. I know nobody is perfect I can understand how people can fall into a trap of prejudice and hate.

Its easier to make excuses that the Jewish people conspired to hold you back than it is to admit that you just needed to work harder, the actor continued.

Its easier to hate than it is to learn Nobody who has chosen the easy path of hate has gotten to the end of the road and said, What a life. No. They die as miserably as they lived.

No matter how far youve gone, I want you to know you still have a chance to choose a life of strength, Schwarzenegger said.

You have to fight the war against yourself The [hate] path is easier  you dont have to change anything, everything in your life that you arent happy about can be somebody elses fault [But] you will end up broken. I dont want you to go through all that.

In a similar video shared last year, the former Californian governor opened up about his Nazi father when talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[My father] was injured at Leningrad and the Nazi army he was part of did vicious harm to the great city and to its brave people, he said.

To the Russian soldiers listening to this broadcast, you already know much of the truth that Im speaking. Youve seen it in your own eyes. I dont want you to be broken like my father.

The rise in antisemitism has been a hot topic of late. Last week, Steven Spielberg expressed his concerns about the trend during a 2 March appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Not since Germany in the Thirties have I witnessed antisemitism no longer lurking, but standing proud with hands on hips like Hitler and Mussolini, kind of daring us to defy it. Ive never experienced this in my entire life, especially in this country, the director said.
Is your relationship written in the stars  or written in the moon? On TikTok, people are trying to determine compatibility based on how the moon phase at the time of their birth lines up to their partners, and sharing results using the hashtag #MoonPhase.

Essentially, this TikTok trend puts relationships to a cosmic test. If the two moon phase images complete each other, the understanding is that the couple is compatible and whether they complete each other. The visual is making some users emotional.

Hopped on the moon phase trend & this is mine & peachys  they literally hug each other perfectly. Im emotional



Waning crescent x Waning Gibbous pic.twitter.com/aPeoqKlkGI   (@sleepyshinobii) March 6, 2023

But is this an accurate way of finding your astrological soulmate? As an astrologer, Im never surprised when the moon gets pulled into conversations about love. The moon, within astrology, governs our innermost feelings and how we process them, and plays a huge part in how we approach our deepest relationships (seriously, I wrote a whole article about it).

In fact, when it comes to measuring compatibility between two birth charts, its the first aspect I look at, not sun signs. Why? If the moon sign aspects certain planets in the chart, then it adds potency and power to the planet, as well as the promise of a long term relationship.

This TikTok trend, though, is about moon phases  the stage the moon was in when you were born  not natal Moon signs, which is the zodiac sign the moon was in when you were born.

Heres the difference, and whether theres any credence to the trend.

What role does the natal moon play in relationships?

Within astrology, the moon is the part of ourselves that we cannot express with words, but understand within our heart that can be picked up by others through nonverbal communication. The moon uses its intuitive nature to assess emotions.

Story continues

The moon expresses itself differently depending on the sign its in. Each of us has a natal moon sign derived by the moons placement in time of birth. Within relationships, these signs interact. A Gemini and Sagittarius moon, for example, oppose each others emotional needs (the signs are exact opposites), but can encourage each other to grow.

So, do moon or lunar phases play a role in compatibility?

Moon sign compatibility is one thing; lunar phase compatibility is another. TikToks version of compatibility is visual. Moons that fit together are compatible, point blank.

But its more complicated than that.

As the TikTok trend indicates, astrologers do believe that each moon phase imbues a person with a certain personality. This is because each of the eight moon phases is said to exhibit a different energy: Full moons are times of release, new moons are times of renewal.

Heres a breakdown of lunar phases and how they may affect personality.

New moon individuals tend to use renewal as a way to keep bonds tight.

Waxing crescent moon natives require stability.

First quarter moon people may long for freedom.

Those born under the waxing moon gibbous phase are more aware of their needs.

Full moon beings give their all to relationships.

Waning gibbous phase is on board to commit.

The last quarter moon adds forgiveness and compassion to their partnerships.

The waning crescent moon person is turbulent but fun in their relationships.

Note that the lunar phases take on a specific vibe depending on the signs theyre in and the aspects being made to other planets, as mentioned above, which makes it more complicated than TikToks simplified explanation.

Ive known clients whove been a new moon and full moon couple and had long term relationships. When it comes to romantic matters of the heart, the rough and tough connections seem to form longer lasting partnerships. The challenge and desire to grow as a unit is what makes two difficult lunar phases stick together. It all boils down to how much work you want to put into the relationship. My professional opinion is that everyone can get along with anyone  if they choose to.

In short? Compatibility is complicated

TikTok, youre half right and wrong on this one. Yes, the moon matters  but theres more to analyzing romantic factors.

In astrology (and in life), timing is everything, and there are more elements to consider than lunar phasing aligning. Its more than just natal charts, too: We have to look at transits to see when individuals are ready for love. My favorite moment occurs when Jupiter (which is an expansive and lucky planet) connects with the planet of love Venus and the moon. Emotions between people only grow stronger from these combinations.

But if you want to try the moon phase compatibility text on Tiktok, heres how

Before embarking, make sure you have the CapCut app downloaded, as youll use this to access the template required for the moon phase trend.

Find the moon phase when you and your partner were born using this website, or a similar tool

Screenshot the moon phase images Find a video on TikTok using this trend Click CapCut try this template in TikTok Click use template in CapCut Select the images of the moon Input birthdays Add music

Find out if youre soulmates  just kidding!

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
An Athens teenager remained incarcerated Tuesday and a Bethlehem teen remained hospitalized with serious gunshot wounds following a shooting Friday night outside a restaurant where they both worked in the Barrow Crossing shopping center in Winder.

The 16-year-old Bethlehem resident was shot five times causing extensive injuries to his body, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said Tuesday.

Kathryn Titus, said the victim, her grandson, Lorenzo Sanchez, has been undergoing surgeries since his hospitalization.

"There are so many shattered bones in his body that his life will be permanently affected by this," she said.

The suspect is not talking and we have been unable to speak with the victim. Hes unable to speak due to his injuries, Smith said.

Oconee Blotter:Shoplifters active at stores; some caught, some wanted

Party shooting:Athens man shot at party in Five Points; teen gunned down at apartment complex

The victim was transferred from Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, the sheriff said.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. at the shopping center off Loganville Highway, which is host to several stores including a Publix and Target.

Titus said her grandson and the suspect worked together at a restaurant and the shooting occurred as the eatery was being locked for the night.

Lorenzo and his stepfather went to the restaurant to close it and soon afterward the shooting occurred, according to Titus.

She said the family had recently moved from Athens to Bethlehem and that her grandson, a former student at Cedar Shoals High School, was attending the Foothills Education Charter High School, due to his work hours.

"He is a well-behaved, respectful young man," she said.

Titus said the family had moved to Bethlehem thinking a smaller town would be safer.

"It's not that we were living in fear, but Athens is turning into another Gwinnett County and Atlanta situation," she said.

Story continues

The suspect, Edwin Emiliano Rodriguez-Pena, 18, of Athens, is charged with five counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated battery, one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm during a felony.

The suspect remains in the Barrow County Jail without bond.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Barrow County investigators at (770) 307-3080, ext. 3083.

A GoFundMe page was set up to collect money for Lorenzo's medical expenses. Search for Lorezo Sanchez at: https://www.gofundme.com/

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens teen charged with shooting another teen in Barrow County
(Bloomberg) --

Most Read from Bloomberg

Any attack on Irans nuclear sites would violate international law whether by Israel or any other country, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Monday.

International Atomic Energy Agencys Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi was reacting to comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as a shift in Israeli perceptions of the time-frame for any potential strike on Irans expanding atomic program.

Attacks on nuclear facilities are illegal, are a violation of the UN Charter, the statutes of the IAEA, Grossi said.

Israel Rethinks Its Iran Strike Timeline as Russia Enters Mix

Netanyahu had scolded Grossi on Sunday, calling him a worthy gentleman who made unworthy remarks after the UN diplomat first made comments about the illegality of attacking nuclear sites. Netanyahu reiterated Israels line that it was permitted to defend itself.

Israeli officials believe the window for a potential strike on Tehrans nuclear program could be narrowing because Iran is seeking sophisticated new air-defense systems from Russia that would make any future military action more difficult. This is ahppening as Irans output of highly-enriched uranium is surging to record highs.

The IAEAs 35-member board of governors convened Monday in the Austrian capital Vienna to discuss Irans work. Investigators detected particles enriched to 84% purity last month and are still trying to determine how they came to be at a nuclear-fuel plant in Fordow.

Trying to confirm that diplomatic technical solutions are possible is my job, Grossi said. Maybe military people think otherwise.

Story continues

Grossi met with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi over the weekend, saying the conversation resulted in a marked improvement in dialog. The Islamic Republic has stonewalled a separate IAEA investigation into particles discovered at three locations almost four years, as well as removed monitoring equipment installed as part of the countrys moribund agreement with world powers.

The visit followed almost two years of indirect talks between Iran and the US, to resuscitate the 2015 nuclear deal that former US President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018. Iran retaliated by gradually ramping up its nuclear work and restricting surveillance at some of its atomic facilities.

Netanyahu questioned against which law is Israel prohibited from attacking Iran and asked whether the country is permitted to defend itself. It is clear that we are and it is clear that we will do so, he said Sunday.

Iran accuses Israel of assassinating its nuclear scientists, most recently as in late 2020, as well as hacking and other nuclear sabotage. Israel doesnt publicly own up to them but they are widely acknowledged by officials both in the US and in Israel.

Grossi said he wants to defuse and deter any possibility of the use of force. The IAEA and Iran will convene more technical meetings very soon in Tehran to clarify investigators questions, he said.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
An involuntary manslaughter charge against Leeyona Ward, 22, of North Linden, (left) in a fatal shooting was dismissed Monday morning by the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office. By Monday afternoon, however, the prosecutor's office had presented a case to a Franklin County grand jury and secured an indictment for murder. Her attorney, Joseph R. Landusky II, (right) contends that prosecutors are going after Ward because she is a Black woman who shot a white man.

Less than three hours after an involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed Monday morning against Leeyonna Ward in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, a grand jury reindicted her with an even more serious charge: murder.

In both cases, Ward, 22, of North Linden, is accused of fatally shooting 24-year-old Preston Allman and trafficking in drugs.

Wards attorney said the man she fatally shot in 2021 was trying to carjack her. He maintains that Ward was only ever charged with a crime because she is Black and Allman was white.

If you just change the color of the people, if my clients a white woman and shot a Black guy carjacking her, Id bet everything I owned that this case never wouldve gotten indicted, said Ward's attorney, Joseph R. Landusky II.

Landusky said hes not blaming any one person but said its a systemic issue.

Franklin County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Janet Grubb, who oversees the offices criminal division, told The Dispatch she flatly rejects any allegation of racial bias.

Though no living person is free of prejudice, we strive to make decisions on cases that are free of discrimination of any sort, Grubb said.

Past reporting:Woman who claimed self-defense now charged with manslaughter in North Linden shooting

After manslaughter case dismissed, Columbus woman now faces murder charge

In the now-dismissed case, Ward was accused in court documents of causing Allman's death as a result of an alleged drug deal gone bad.

Ward was scheduled to go to trial Monday for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated trafficking in drugs, among other charges. But after a witness backed out of testifying, prosecutors asked Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page to allow the trial to be postponed.

Page denied the request to move back the trial. Prosecutors then asked Page to dismiss the case, which Page did around 11:30 a.m.

By 2 p.m. Monday, Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyacks office brought evidence to a county grand jury again, and Ward was indicted for murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and trafficking in drugs, among other charges.

Story continues

In the new case, Ward is accused in court documents of purposely causing Allman's death.

More court news:Judge says Ohio State not liable for student's death at 2020 unsanctioned fraternity party

More court news:Columbus man pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter, gets 25-year sentence

An alleged drug deal, attempted carjacking and fatal shooting

Court records filed by Columbus police claim Ward was meeting a man for a drug deal around 9:30 p.m. May 1, 2021, in the parking lot of a market on Oakland Park Avenue in North Linden. That man is the witness who decided not to testify, and his name is Eduardo Contreras, 27, according to Landusky.

The Dispatch reviewed a video captured by the market's security camera, but for much of the brief video, a van parked closer to the camera obscures what's happening in Ward's car.

The video shows Ward pulling into a parking spot and Contreras getting into the passenger seat. Within 15 seconds, Allman is approaching the car.

Court records claim Ward and Contreras told authorities what happened in the car: Allman climbed into the back seat of the vehicle and pointed a BB gun at Ward, pressing it into her neck. Ward suddenly jumped out of the vehicle.

The video shows the car, with the driver's door open, move forward and crash into the market. Why is unclear. Ward may have accidentally hit the gas pedal while bailing from the vehicle.

The driver's door shuts. Contreras gets out of the passenger side and runs away. At the same time, Ward runs forward with her gun pointed.

The video shows Ward opening the driver's door and shooting at Allman, who is now sitting in the driver's seat. Allman then drives the car away.

Landusky said Allman was still pointing the BB gun at Ward  which Ward believed to be a real gun  when she defended herself. She also had the right to apprehend a violent criminal, Landusky said.

He still had a gun in his hand and she shot him, Landusky said. (Prosecutors) are trying to make it like its some drug case. There was never a drug transaction. There was never any money exchanged. It was all a trap to rob my client at gunpoint and carjack her car.

Landusky accused Contreras of planning the carjacking with Allman, alleging that he arrived with Allman and that he supplied Allman with the BB gun.

But this other guy never got charged with any of it, Landusky said.

Contreras is currently in prison after pleading guilty to arson and drug possession in unrelated cases.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Attorney alleges Columbus woman charged in murder because she's Black
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday, amid his wider, multiday trip to the Middle East.

Wheels down in Baghdad, Austin tweeted after landing in the Iraqi capital. Im here to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq.

Austin reportedly met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad Al-Abbasi while in Baghdad and emphasized Americas commitment to helping fight the militant Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, The Associated Press reported.

Well continue working to accomplish this mission together, Austin said, per the AP. Through the global coalition to defeat Daesh, we liberated more than 50,000 square kilometers from Daesh and freed more than 4.5 million Iraqis from their cruel grip.

This is a critical mission and were proud to support our Iraqi partners, he added.

The visit comes just weeks ahead of the 20-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  A helicopter pilot told investigators he didnt hear a pilot on the ground announce he was taking off before the fatal collision of their aircraft at an Australian theme park, according to the preliminary report released Tuesday.

The investigators said they havent ruled out the routine radio call being made by the other pilot, however, and plan to investigate further.

The two Sea World helicopters collided during scenic flights Jan. 2 at the tourist city of Gold Coast near Brisbane.

The incoming pilot, Michael James, managed to land his damaged craft after the collision and save those on board, but the other helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed into shallow water. The departing pilot and three of his passengers were killed, and nine people were injured.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report found that as James returned from his 5-minute flight, he saw six passengers being loaded onto the second Eurocopter helicopter. But his assessment was that he would be clear of the craft and it would pass behind him.

James told investigators that as he came into land, he didn't see the other helicopter departing and was focused on the landing site and on managing the downwash of his rotors to avoid a pleasure boat crossing through the approach path.

Two passengers spotted the rising helicopter and tried to verbally and physically warn James, the investigators found, but James never saw the other helicopter. The helicopters collided 23 seconds after the second craft lifted off at a height of about 130 feet.

The investigation will look closely at the issues both pilots potentially faced in seeing the other helicopter, said Angus Mitchell, the chief commissioner at the safety bureau.

James and two passengers on the incoming helicopter were seriously injured by glass when the windshield shattered, while the remaining three passengers suffered minor injuries.

On the outbound helicopter, those killed were pilot Ashley Jenkinson, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, and Sydney woman Vanessa Tadros. The other three passengers suffered serious injuries.

Story continues

Ten-year-old Nicholas Tadros, the son of Vanessa Tadros, was initially in a coma and remains hospitalized after part of his leg was amputated last week.

Mitchell said the investigation would also examine the use of traffic collision avoidance systems, which pilots reported were installed but not fully integrated into the helicopters that collided, and were of limited use near helipads or while maneuvering.

James told investigators he didn't hear any alert from the system before the collision.

Mitchell noted there was no requirement for the helicopters to be equipped with such a system.

He said the survivors and the families of those killed "want to not only understand how the tragedy unfolded, but equally, and most importantly, why it occurred. And why didnt the safety equipment, processes and procedures that are designed to prevent an accident like this work on this occasion?

A final report from the safety bureau, one of several investigations into the accident, is expected to take at least another 18 months to complete.
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian officials on Tuesday warned of rising risks of bushfires in the east after about two years of frequent flooding and rain, as a severe heatwave pushed temperatures in several regions, including Sydney, to their highest in two years.

A total of 33 fires are burning across New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state of which Sydney is the capital, with 12 not contained yet. Five public schools have been shut amid a total fire ban across large parts of the state.

Two bushfires have been downgraded from emergency warning levels overnight, but officials said they could flare up again.

"It's going to be another tough day for firefighters and potentially even into tomorrow before we get some reprieve", NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers told ABC television. "It's going to take many days to get control on these fires."

No injuries have been reported from the latest bushfires yet but authorities said some residents had to be evacuated.

Many regions in New South Wales on Monday recorded their hottest day since January 2021 with temperatures hitting more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Temperatures are forecast to reach mid-to-high 30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday but conditions are expected to ease from Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology said hot and dry conditions along with gusty winds will elevate the fire danger levels.

The state is fighting its worst bushfire conditions since the devastating fires in 2019 and 2020 in Australia's east that killed 33 people, billions of animals and burned an area nearly half the size of Germany.

Since late 2020, Australia's weather has been dominated by La Nina, which brings more rain and floods. But the weather event is "likely near its end" and neutral conditions, which is neither La Nina or its opposite El Nino, were likely to prevail through autumn, the weather bureau said last week.

"People have been really thinking and looking at floods over the last few years, they haven't really been thinking about their fire preparation," NSW Rural Fire Service inspector Ben Shepherd told Sky News.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney, Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Alexander Schallenberg, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, has considered it dangerous to suggest that Ukraine could cede part of its territory in exchange for peace.

Source: Schallenberg in an interview with Der Standard, reports European Pravda

Details: The minister does not see anything wrong with the fact that European societies have different opinions on how to achieve peace in Ukraine.

Quote: "The fact that we can discuss freely is what characterises pluralistic democracies and distinguishes us from Vladimir Putin and his system. We must not make the mistake of pretending that only one opinion is allowed," said Shallenberg.

He also expressed hope that a situation in which there would be a place for diplomacy would arise again.

"But we have not got it yet. Russia is looking at the battlefield to make a decision, and it would be very dangerous to say that Ukraine should give up certain parts of its territory for the sake of peace. One thing is absolutely clear to me: there can be no decision regarding Ukraine without Ukraine," Shallenberg stressed.

The minister once again defended his position on the impossibility of banning entry to Europe for all Russians and justified the decision to allow the Russian delegation to enter the OSCE meeting.

"Let there be no doubt, we unconditionally support Ukraine in the struggle to restore its territorial sovereignty and integrity. Russia is brutally violating all the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. But we must not burn all our bridges and all channels of dialogue, and we will also need platforms for negotiations when the time is right, such as the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe," he noted.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
 Ukraines top army commanders still support the continued defense of the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut.



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting of the Ukrainian High Command, at which further actions of Ukrainian army in the Bakhmut area were discussed. The meeting was attended by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhnyi and the Commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi.





 Ukraines government has appointed Semen Kryvonos as new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).



According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, with the appointment of NABU head, Ukraine has fulfilled all seven recommendations of the European Union following the acquisition of the candidate status. The prime minister added that Ukraine had gained a fully formed working and independent anti-corruption infrastructure.





 Ukrainian special forces conducted raids deep into Russias Bryansk Oblast as early as June 2022.



I wont reveal a secret by saying that our Special Operations Forces have been operating in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions for a very long time, said the former commander of Ukraines 24th Separate Assault Battalion, Yevhen Dykyi. Our Special Forces are walking the Russian rear, blowing up things that need to be blown up.





 Polish oil refining company PKN Orlen will demand compensation from Russia's Tatneft after oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended.



The Russians have stopped pumping oil to Poland, said Orlen CEO Daniel Obajtek. He declined to specify how much Orlen will seek to get from Tatneft in the lawsuit, saying he could not discuss the details of the contracts.





 Russia should not be allowed to assume its scheduled April presidency of the UN Security Council.



Thats according to Ukraines Permanent Representative at the UN, Serhiy Kyslytsya. This will be the saddest day in the history of the UN until April 1, 2023, if justice doesnt prevail and the Russian Federation takes over the chairmanship of the Security Council, he stated.





Story continues

 Ukrainians bought 413 new electric cars in February 2023, which is three times more than in February 2022.



Compared to January 2023, the market of new electric cars in Ukraine has grown by 40%, Ukravtoprom reported. The Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular model on the Ukrainian market. Ukrainians bought 134 new cars of this model in one month.



 After suffering huge equipment losses, Russia is redeploying to Ukraine mothballed tanks and infantry vehicles that are not suited for the modern battlefield.



The Russian military is deploying 60-year-old T-62 battle tanks, the UKs Ministry of Defense reported. It is very likely that even the elite First Guard Tank Army (1 GTA) will be re-equipped with T-62s to replace lost tanks.





 The National Commission for the State Regulation of electronic communications, or NCEC, has blocked more than 700 illegal gambling websites.



The list includes many Russian and international online casinos, in particular the worlds largest online poker platform Pokerstars.com, as well as 1Xbet, MelBet, FonBet, FanSport, Joker, BetWinner, etc.





 The Russian cargo ship Sparta IV, sanctioned by the U.S. government slipped quietly through the Bosporus Strait into the Black Sea during the hours of darkness with a suspected load of war supplies for Russias invasion of Ukraine.



As noted by Naval News, the ship was loaded in Syria and sailed with a Russian Navy escort. It is expected to unload in the city of Novorossiysk, Russia, a base heavily involved in the invasion of Ukraine. According to Naval News, the Sparta IV is one of four ships owned by SC South LLC, a Russian shipping company which is involved in transporting military equipment.

 Dont miss: Let's take a look at the battle map. What is going on around Bakhmut



MP Serhiy Rakhmanin shares his thoughts on the ongoing battle of Bakhmut, and clarifies the combat situation in the area.





 In our opinion: Getting out from the closed circle of losses



Director of Art Arsenal Olesya Ostrovska-Lyuta explains why protecting Ukraines cultural heritage is a pressing necessity for the Ukrainian government, amid Russias genocidal attempts to stamp out Ukraines identity.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Ukrainian defence of Bakhmut continues to degrade forces on both sides.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review; European Pravda

Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces likely stabilised their defensive perimeter following previous Russian advances into the north of the town, the report states.

A Russian strike destroyed a bridge over the only paved supply road into Bakhmut still under Ukrainian control around 2 March. Muddy conditions are likely hampering Ukrainian resupply efforts as they increasingly resort to using unpaved tracks.

Public disagreements between the Wagner Group and the Russian Ministry of Defence over the allocation of munitions highlights the difficulty in sustaining the high levels of personnel and ammunition required to advance with their current tactics.

Background:

NATO intelligence estimates the losses of the Russian side in the battles for Bakhmut as being five times higher than the Ukrainian losses.

Major General of the Armed Forces of Austria Bruno Hofbauer believes that the city of Bakhmut will not fall in the near future.

Instead, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was of more symbolic than operational importance, and its fall would not necessarily mean that Moscow had regained the initiative in the war.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Alice Robb explores life as a student at the School of American Ballet in New York, in her new book (Nina Subin)

From the age of nine until the age of 12, Alice Robb was a student at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has the photographs and the psychological scars to prove it. She gave up ballet at the age of 15 and built a successful career as a journalist and writer. Yet it has defined her ever since.

Dont Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet is her ode to her long-lost dream of dancing with Americas leading ballet company, New York City Ballet, but also an attempt to understand and unravel the effect that early training had upon her  and the effects that it might have on all the little girls who long to be ballerinas.

Ballet does not exist in a vacuum, she writes in her introduction. It is a laboratory of femaleness  a test-tube world in the middle of modern New York or London or Paris, in which traditional femininity is exaggerated. The traits ballet takes to an extreme  the beauty, the thinness, the stoicism and silence and submission  are valued in girls and women everywhere. By excavating the psyche of a dancer, we can understand the contradictions and challenges of being a woman today.

The starting point for her book is a photograph she unearthed of her class at the School of American Ballet (SAB) when she was about 11 or 12. There are 20 girls in the picture, hair scraped back, backs erect, necks stretched. Of those, only one is still a professional dancer, but they were all marked and shaped by the years they tried to achieve their ambitions, suffering eating disorders, loss of confidence and profound depression.

In this they are not alone. She quotes a Teen Vogue survey that estimated that of the 300,000 girls who train at a professional level every year, with a serious intention of becoming ballerinas, only 2 per cent will make it into companies, and thats not even taking account of all those who take up ballet recreationally. I read a lot of ballet memoirs, says Robb. But they are stories of ballet success. The narrative tends to be theres all this pain and sacrifice but look how its paid off. Yet all the people who almost make it are also making pretty much exactly the same sacrifices and going through the same amount of pain, so I think those stories are also worth telling.

Story continues

We are talking on Zoom because Robb is currently based in New York, though she is about to move to London where her boyfriend lives and works. She is an attractive 31-year-old, her mass of hair loosely tied back, her manner warm and interested. Ballet still has such a hold on the feminine imagination, she continues. So many little girls go through a ballet phase, so I think it is like an under-explored, under-analysed part of femininity. It has the same appeal as Princess culture, but its more attainable.

That was its original attraction for her. I just loved the girliness of it, she says with a grin. But she pursued her ambition with steely determination. She was turned down for SAB twice before she was accepted; she carried on dancing at different academies when she was thrown out, even when it became obvious that her body was developing in ways that made it impossible for her to pursue a professional career  her hips that continued to widen, her feet that refused to arch. For years afterwards, she would dream she was auditioning for a role, and suddenly feel the joy of thinking it was not too late, that she could still be a star.

Its a level of obsession that she examines in minute detail, but why did it hold her in its grip for so long? SAB was the real goal of my childhood, she explains. And although I was only there three years, it was also the summer programmes, the extra classes, the schools I attended afterwards. On top of that I was practising at home, stretching every day, trying to walk with my feet turned out, dancing every Saturday. Ballet really was my identity.

I think I knew that there was something seductive about ballet and about the way I acted within ballet. I was definitely a shy kid as so many dancers are, and it was a relief at some level to just follow instructions. To know what the rules were even if youre trying to do things that are physically very challenging, or even impossible.

Whereas the world outside can feel like this scary free-for-all. Particularly when I was growing up, I think there was this pressure to take advantage of opportunities that previous generations of women hadnt had access to. Ballet was a way to sidestep all that. Of course, we were all very ambitious, but there was some comfort in the rules, and the structure, the sense that there was a ladder of progress that you could just put one foot in front of the other and climb.

Alice Robbs Dont Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet is her ode to her long-lost dream of dancing with Americas leading ballet company (source)

For each of her three years at ballet school, Robb was one of the children who performed in the professional production of George Balanchines The Nutcracker at NYCB. It was so powerful to be in such proximity with those professional dancers, she adds. I think that I still have this romantic, idealistic image that dancers are the ideal woman, beautiful, controlled but also powerful.

Yet her book is a searing testimony that lays bare the cost of that ideal. Its pages are haunted by stories of suppression and pain. Its title is taken from a quotation by Balanchine, the Georgian-American choreographer who co-founded both the School of American Ballet (1934), and New York City Ballet (1948), where he was artistic director for an astonishing 35 years. Famously, he said ballet is woman, and his works were inspired by the dancers he was working with, who were very often the women he loved. He had five ballerina wives and gave each a signature scent. His dancers by and large adored him and aspired to be his muse, but he cultivated a style that prized an extremely low body weight. Robb quotes him telling one corps de ballet dancer: You are like inside a cocoon; your true personality will only be revealed when all the fat is gone, and you are down to your bones.

He died in 1983 but his ethos was continued by his successor Peter Martins who left the company in 2017 after allegations (which he denied) of sexual abuse came to light. And Balanchines dominant shadow still haunts Robbs own idea of what it is to be a ballerina. That obsession with a certain body type has influenced the view of what a dancer should look like ever since; the constant exhortation of her classmates to lengthen and tone up were disguised messages that they should lose weight to dangerously low levels. Robb not only quotes examples of famous ballerinas starving themselves to achieve their ideal weight but talks about a classmate who ended up unable to digest solid food.

The glorification of thinness is a recurring theme, but it is also an amplification of obsessions in the world beyond dance. You hear so many justifications, Robb says. Like ballet just looks better on a certain type of body or its so you can see the choreography. But these are all conventions. Ballet is made up. When I quit ballet, there was some element of relief in realising that I didnt have to wear a leotard anymore, and it didnt matter if I gained five pounds. But it wasnt like I was going into a world where looks and weight didnt matter. People are still applauded and rewarded for being thin.

When I quit ballet, there was some element of relief in realising that I didnt have to wear a leotard anymore, and it didnt matter if I gained five pounds

It is not just body dysmorphia that Robb identifies as part of the cost of ballet, through stories of both famous and unknown dancers. She also recognises the way that ballet  and it is specifically ballet rather than other forms of dance  requires self-sacrifice, a setting aside of self, an endurance of all kinds of hardship, both physical and psychological. All are qualities valued in women, but all seen at their most extreme in ballet.

She talks about Margot Fonteyn, the greatest dancer of her own and many other ages, who was always at the beck and call of worthless men; of the American ballet star Gelsey Kirkland, principal dancer with NYCB and then with American Ballet Theater in the Seventies and Eighties, who drove herself to cocaine addiction in her attempt to prove herself worthy. She describes the way that ballet studios can easily be a breeding ground for abuse of young girls by powerful men and for the cultivation of low self-esteem among the girls who study there.

When I think about why ballet had such an impact on me, I realise I was doing it at such a formative time, she says. Youre discovering who you are and how you relate to your body. Yet people would say all the time, your body is your instrument. Thats just a different way to relate to your body. You are objectifying yourself, learning to see your body as not exactly your own, but as something that is serving an art.

It is compelling reading, but I wonder how much her view is tempered by it being seen through the perspective of Balanchines NYCB. I think that company has had this somewhat specific struggle of how to carry on without Balanchine, she says. But I dont think its that different. A lot about it is universal. I think ballet culture and training are pretty similar everywhere.

For all her trenchant criticism, she clearly values ballet as an art form  though she admits she finds it hard to watch because it can still put me in a funny mood. I am saying this with an awareness of how ridiculous it sounds because I was not particularly close to becoming a professional dancer, but it can make me feel nostalgia and regret over not making it.

For each of her three years at ballet school, Robb was one of the children who performed in the professional production of George Balanchines The Nutcracker at NYCB (Debra Goldsmith)

Towards the end of the book, too, she notes some signs of change and hope. Her classmates find different kinds of resolution in their relationship with ballet; her friend who suffered the most extreme eating disorders carries on dancing and enjoys the best and healthiest years of her career in a contemporary dance company. Robb goes to see Seattles Pacific Northwest Ballet and notes a new inclusivity.

Robb admits that writing the book has been therapeutic for her. I do think things are changing, she admits. But I didnt focus on what is happening now because I wanted to look at the long-term impact of this training that happened to people in the 1990s.

So yes, it is changing, you are starting to see different types of partnering, and non-binary dancers. Misty Copeland has done a lot to change the image of ballet, both in terms of her muscularity and also obviously her race. Social media has given professional dancers more power and more of a platform. But I do think ballet is still a very insular world, its still so competitive that people feel they cant afford to speak out.

Looking back, does she feel it gave her anything? Oh yes, she says smiling. I do spend a fair amount of time talking about the negatives, but there were many positives as well. I think the most obvious one is probably the discipline of ballet. You have to show up for work every day. It sets you up for so many things. Even for being a freelance writer. I am intrinsically motivated, I show up.

Dont Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet, by Alice Robb, is out now
Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Bank of America's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

A total of 25 investors have a majority stake in the company with 48% ownership

Insiders have sold recently

A look at the shareholders of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) can tell us which group is most powerful. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 59% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Therefore, a good portion of institutional money invested in the company is usually a huge vote of confidence on its future.

In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Bank of America.

Check out our latest analysis for Bank of America

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bank of America?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Bank of America does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. 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 Bank of America's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Bank of America. The company's largest shareholder is Berkshire Hathaway Inc., with ownership of 13%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 7.6% and 5.9%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

Story continues

Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Bank of America

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that Bank of America Corporation insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a very large company, so it would be surprising to see insiders own a large proportion of the company. Though their holding amounts to less than 1%, we can see that board members collectively own US$509m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 28% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Bank of America. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Public Company Ownership

It appears to us that public companies own 13% of Bank of America. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

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 2 warning signs for Bank of America (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
bank of england

The Bank of England has admitted that Brexit is making the City easier to regulate despite issuing warnings against the Governments plan to axe swathes of red tape.

Senior Threadneedle Street officials told the Treasury committee on Tuesday that leaving the bloc has been good for competition and for the overall safety of the UK financial services industry.

Vicky Saporta, executive director at the Bank, said: Leaving the EU produces opportunities for us to manage our financial system in a way thats more appropriate.

We can tailor things to UK circumstances to facilitate competition and competitiveness but also, given that we have a massive financial system in a medium sized economy, we can be flexible when we see risks arising and not be constrained by a harmonised [EU] system.

The comments came despite the Bank being locked in a tussle with the City and Treasury over the speed and scope of post-Brexit rule changes.

On Monday, Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank, warned that post-Brexit reforms in the insurance industry will increase the risk of firms going bust and potentially leave taxpayers with a multi-billion pound bill.

Meanwhile, Sam Woods, head of the Banks Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), hit out against the bankers bonus cap, saying: The only effect of the cap is to increase the fixed pay of bankers...its a completely crazy system.

The regulator is in the process of removing the cap after former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced it would be scrapped in his ill-fated mini-Budget.

Mr Woods also said that banks are unlikely to need to hold a bespoke cash buffer to cover the fallout from climate change.

He said: "There might be a question that in order to capture climate risks... might you need a new slab of capital to deal with climate risks? I have become more sceptical about that proposition through time.

Separately, the European Banking Authority, which writes the rulebook enforced by the European Central Bank, called for a crackdown on lenders in the bloc flouting gender diversity rules.

The EBA said that more than a quarter of nearly 800 European banks and investment companies it reviewed were ignoring diversity policies introduced in 2014, including setting targets to increase female representation in leadership positions.
Bank of Luxemburg, which operates nine branches in Northeast Wisconsin including the Dyckesville branch shown here, was awarded a $26,200 grant from the Wisconsin Fast Forward program for worker training.

MADISON  Bank of Luxemburg is one of 24 businesses in Wisconsin receiving a state grant for a training program that could lead employees to higher wages.

The bank was awarded $26,200 from the Wisconsin Fast Forward grant program offered annually by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. It will use the funds to provide 29 hours of leadership skills training by the Initiative One Leadership Institute to six current staff members, who will receive 16.8 continuing education units through the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay when they finish training and could receive a wage increase of $1.50 per hour or more.

Overall, the Fast Forward program awarded more than $3.8 million to its 24 recipients this year, with individual amounts ranging from $5,000 to $400,000. All projects require a 50% cash or in-kind employer match, and the training must provide skills that are transferrable to the job.

The minimum requirements for a business to receive funding are that 85% of the participants must complete training, 65% must gain employment (hiring unemployed trainees or promoting underemployed ones), and 75% of trainees who are current employees receive pay raises.

The grants are expected to support worker training programs for up to 1,415 trainees, including unemployed and underemployed people as well as current employees. The businesses receiving grants are involved in education, financial services, health care, information technology, manufacturing and production, and transportation.

For more on the Wisconsin Fast Forward program, visit wisconsinfastforward.com.

Established in 1903 and based in the village of Luxemburg, Bank of Luxemburg has Kewaunee County locations in Luxemburg, Casco, Algoma and Kewaunee; Brown County locations in Green Bay, Dyckesville and Howard; and Door County branches in Sturgeon Bay and Fish Creek. It also has an ITM (interactive teller machine) at Stodola's IGA grocery store in Luxemburg, along with ITMs in Fish Creek and Howard. For more information, visit bankofluxemburg.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Bank of Luxemburg receives Wisconsin DWD grant for worker training
Ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of Bakhmut on January 14, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A Ukrainian soldier told the Washington Post the fighting in Bakhmut is brutal and at close quarters.

The soldier said there have even been fistfights as they fight off waves of Russian mercenaries.

Bakhmut is widely expected to fall to Russian forces soon, but it will be a hollow victory.

Fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been one of the primary battles in the war for months, has featured brutal, close quarters combat, according to a Ukrainian soldier.

In some cases, Ukrainian troops have searched house-to-house for the enemy and been forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat, Dmytro Vatagin, a 48-year-old Ukrainian soldier, told the Washington Post.

"Fistfights have been happening," Vatagin said. "Everyone has their own fighting story."

The infamous Wagner mercenary group has played a central role in the fight for Bakhmut. Vatagin told the Post that Wagner has thrown its forces  a mix of seasoned fighters and newly released convicts  "like meat" at the frontline in relentless waves that have exhausted Ukrainian defenders. Wagner has recruited Russian prisoners for the fight and treated them like "cannon fodder," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said last month.

Similarly, UK officials have claimed that some Russian reservists in the attacks were told to fight with shovels.

The mercenary group has suffered roughly 30,000 casualties in the war, Kirby said.

Russia's extreme costs in assaulting Bakhmut, a city of roughly 70,000 before the war, are seen by most Western analysts as out of step with the strategic value of the gained territory, from which they could advance down two highways should they still have combat power.

"It is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said of Bakhmut in comments to reporters on Monday, per Reuters.

"The fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," Austin added.

Story continues

The city is seemingly on the verge of falling to Russian forces, but Ukraine is not giving up without a fight and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said that his top generals have called for reinforcing Bakhmut's defense. That said, top military experts have suggested that it might be time for Ukraine to cut its losses in Bakhmut.

"The tenacious defense of Bakhmut achieved a great deal, expending Russian manpower and ammunition. But strategies can reach points of diminishing returns," Michael Kofman, an expert on the Russian military at the Center for Naval Analyses, said on Twitter.

"This fight doesn't play to Ukraine's advantages as a force," Kofman said, warning that if Ukrainian forces continue to expend resources on Bakhmut "it could impede the success of a more important operation."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Home secretary Suella Braverman speaking in the House of Commons. (Reuters)

A BBC journalist has accused Suella Braverman of keeping the media in the dark about her controversial new plans to try and deport asylum seekers who reach the UK through unauthorised means.

The home secretary told MPs on Tuesday legislation will be introduced which means migrants will be detained and swiftly removed.

People crossing the Channel will not be able to claim asylum in the UK, will face a lifetime ban on returning and will never be allowed to settle in the country or gain citizenship.

Campaigners have already described the plan as unworkable and Braverman has also conceded it may be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

BBC News home and legal correspondent Dominic Casciani said that despite weeks of robust dialogue with the Home Office about assisting reporters better, there had been no briefings to explain the new bill and they were still in the dark".

For weeks Home Affairs specialists from the national media have had a robust dialogue (ahem) with the Home Office about how we believe it is not assisting professional reporters to properly inform audiences of its policies. As of now, we're still in the dark about this bill https://t.co/ovAnrlFw1T  Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC) March 7, 2023

He tweeted: Briefings allow a Whitehall department to get facts out to all reporters equally, in time for clear and accurate reporting of a new plan. It gives the reporters time to absorb the full context and consider how best to report it and what any opposition amounts to.

Casciani added: Today there is no official briefing (as of yet) from the Home Office on a plan that they know is controversial. Parts of it have been briefed out to selected newspapers  including complex legal points that reporters would want to ask about.

Read more: Suella Braverman vows to 'push boundaries of international law' to stop migrants

Story continues

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the bill a con and described the plans as Groundhog Day less than a year after reforms were brought into force under the Nationality and Borders Act.

The opposition party pressed ministers to show how the latest plan was different to the last piece of legislation to tackle illegal migration.

Read more: The Tories are doing the same thing yet again and nobody expects results

Under the new bill, asylum seekers would be removed if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means. (Reuters)

Prime minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference following the launch of new legislation on migrant channel crossings. (Reuters)

The UNs refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it is profoundly concerned by the bill and that, if passed, it will amount to an asylum ban, making it a clear breach of the Refugee Convention.

We urge the government, and all MPs and peers, to reconsider the bill and instead pursue more humane and practical policy solutions, the agency said.

In a letter to MPs and peers, Braverman conceded it was more than likely the bill does not meet ECHR obligations.

She wrote: This does not mean that the provisions in the bill are incompatible with the convention rights, only that there is a more (than) 50% chance that they may not be.

During a a press conference following the launch of new legislation, prime minister Sunak said we dont believe it is necessary to leave the ECHR but did not rule out the move.
Scouted/The Daily Beast/Retailers.

Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.

New Kids on the Block helps you navigate all the new and exciting launches from our favorite brands, all in one place. From bottle craft cocktails concocted by our favorite NYC restaurant to balm bronzer, check out our top product discoveries we found over the last month.

Pixi AfterSun Sheet Masks

Spring and summer are already on the horizon, and Pixi has us covered (literally) with its new SunTreats collection featuring an EOD Cleansing oil formulated to remove pore-clogging SPF, a spray-on Sun Mist with SPF 50, and my personal favorite, the AfterSun Sheet Masks. Protecting your skin from the sun starts with sunblock of course, but this nourishing sheet mask helps soothe irritation, calm inflammation, and restore hydration after sun exposure.

Buy Pixi AfterSun Sheet Masks at Pixi, $null

Brixton Surplus in Paradise Collection

Brixton may be most known for its premium hats, but dont overlook the brands California-cool apparel. The latest collection for springSurplus in Paradisefeatures a selection of tropical floral prints, bold colors, and retro-inspired stripes. Both the men's and womens collections feature aloha-inspired graphics and design and also include new hat styles to choose from, too, of course.

Buy Brixton Surplus in Paradise Collection at Brixton, $null

Saie Sun Melt Cream-Balm Bronzer

While Saies wildly popular Sun Melt Cream-Balm Bronzers launched last year, in February, the beauty brand expanded its best-selling collection with two new shades to suit a wider range of skin tones. If you havent tried this beautiful formula yet, let me tell you: it is worth the hype. The semi-matte cream allows you to build up color gradually for a soft contour effect or an all-over glow. Its the best bronzer I have ever used.

Buy Saie Sun Melt Cream-Balm Bronzer at Saie, $32

Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray

Story continues

Just in time for spring, LOreals premier clean and sustainable brand, Pureology, re-launched its top-rated Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray with a new look and packaging made from 100% post-consumer recycled materialsthe same hair-perfecting formula inside. The multi-use spray is a godsend for color-treated hair like mine (though any hair type will benefit from using it), because it primes and fortifies hair for and from UV damage and heat damage while simultaneously repairing existing damage and leaving your hair feeling like actual silk.

Buy Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray at Sephora, $34

Buy Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray at Ulta, $34

Arrae

Arraes flagship supplements, Bloat and Calm, have been two of my go-tos since the brand launched a few years ago. Now, the brand has launched an all-natural antacid alternative that, unlike traditional over-the-counter acid reflux and heartburn treatments on the market, doesnt burn through your gut liningit actually helps protect it.

Buy Arrae at Arrae, $40

Shiseido Urban Environment Vita-Clear Sunscreen SPF 42

I live for multitasking beauty products (as mentioned above), and Shiseidos newest Urban Environment Vita-Clear Sunscreen SPF 42 is the skincare-suncare hybrid of my sun-damaged skins dreams. The new formula is infused with the brands Sun Dual Care Technology, including vitamin C not only to help shield the skin from the suns damaging rays but also to help lift sun spots while combatting dullness and fine lines at the same time. Stock up before summer, yall!

Buy Shiseido Urban Environment Vita-Clear Sunscreen SPF 42 at Sephora, $38

Via Carota Bottled Craft Cocktails

One of New York Citys most beloved restaurants is now offering its signature cocktails in luxe bottles to top your home bar cart withno reservation or mixologist required. Via Carotas range of bottled cocktails comes in a range of its signature drinks: Classic Negroni, White Negroni, Old Fashioned, Signature Manhattan, Espresso Martini, and the Signature Martini.

Buy Via Carota Bottled Craft Cocktails at Via Carota, $39

Dont forget to check out our coupon site to find more deals, including Nordstrom Rack coupons, Macys coupons, Overstock coupons, and adidas coupons.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
BuzzFeed News; Kate Somerville; Differin; Jori; Revision Skincare; Drunk Elephant; Skinfix

Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI  prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

With the popularity of complicated skin regimens and slugging , or the practice of slathering petroleum jelly products like Vaseline or Aquaphor on your face before bed, some people end up with skin problems from using too much or the wrong types of products on delicate areas of the face.

For example, the area around your eyes can be sensitive to certain products, and the result can be keratin buildup and clogged pores, said Dr. Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

While social media trends like slugging are popular right now, in some cases, it can contribute to the development of milia, Zeichner told BuzzFeed News. Applying heavy oils to the face can block the pores, causing pimples and milia.

Milia, which are also called milk spots or oil seeds, are tiny white bumps that can be mistaken for whiteheads. However, the skin condition is unrelated to acne. The skin bumps are deeper than your average pimple, and they dont itch or cause pain.

Milia are often located on the face, but can also show up in other areas of the body, including the arms, legs, genitals, or chest. On the face, milia can be found on the nose, scalp, eyelids, cheeks, gums, and even inside the mouth .

Although milia are common in newborns, the skin condition can affect anyone. A number of factors can play a role in their formation, including hygiene, skincare, sleep, medications like steroid use, and other skin conditions such as rosacea or dandruff.

Milia, either in newborns or adults, can go away on their own . However, a dermatologist can remove milia by manually extracting or deroofing them, which is done with a scalpel, needle, or laser.

There are also some at-home treatments that may help to get rid of the white bumps, too. (You should never squeeze them  theres no opening for the skin cells to escape, and it can cause infection or even scarring.). Milia can be persistent, so we talked to dermatologists on what products and ingredients you should be looking for and what to do if they keep coming back.

Story continues

Drunk Elephant

This serum from Drunk Elephant contains glycolic acid to help the skin shed dead cells, which can help keep the pores clear and improve your overall complexion. The product contains both alpha and beta hydroxy acids, which are peeling agents or chemical exfoliants. (Glycolic acid is an AHA.)

AHAs and BHAs remove the top layer of the skin to treat milia, acne, scars, melasma, hyperpigmentation, roughness, and age spots, according to Zeichner. The serum also contains raspberry fruit extract to rehydrate and soothe the skin.

Its important to know that although the product is called a night serum, its still a chemical exfoliant. Like other exfoliants, Drunk Elephant recommends that you should only be using this product once or twice a week to avoid dryness and sensitization.

The pump sends out just the right amount of product, and it really helps keep my pores clear and I have not had any milia, which I am prone to getting. I have been using this for awhile now, I don't think I've ever had any stinging or burning sensation and I do have sensitive skin. I love drunk elephant and I love supporting a cruelty free company with products that actually works. minimalmom6You can buy the T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum from Sephora for $90.

Kate Somerville

This exfoliator also contains AHAs and BHAs to help brighten the complexion and remove dead cells from the skin's surface.

Ingredients like papaya, pineapple, and pumpkin enzymes in the scrub naturally exfoliate the skin without being too harsh or overdrying. It also contains aloe vera, honey, and vitamin E that help soothe and soften the skin, which should help skin texture and the appearance of pores.

Since the product is an exfoliant scrub, the brand recommended that you should only use it once or twice a week to avoid burning or tingling.

Im an experienced exfoliator and have used many different kinds, at all price points, and this is decidedly one of the best!! Normally I might write off some KS products as too expensive, but this is worth every penny. You use a small amount as a mask a couple of times a week, and it brings back the glow that gets dulled by clogged pores, makeup use, and general skin cell residue. Explorethepore

You can buy the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Exfoliating Treatment from Sephora for $88.

Revision Skincare

The daily-use brightening facial wash from Revision cleans pores and exfoliates the skin. Compared to other exfoliants, the cleanser can be used every day according to Revision, even if you have sensitive skin.

I prefer chemical exfoliators containing salicylic acid/or glycolic acid over harsh scrubs that can damage the top layer of the skin, Emily Wood, a board-certified dermatologist at Westlake Dermatology, told BuzzFeed News.

In addition to AHAs and BHAs (salicylic acid is a BHA), this product also has ingredients like vitamins C and E to help naturally brighten and restore moisturize the skin.

I love that it is gel based with no physical exfoliants so it seems much more gentle on the skin than some of the more abrasive cleansers. I have also noticed my skin appears much more refreshed after I use this cleanser so the brightening effects are real! I will definitely be buying this gentle yet effective cleanser again! Ashley

You only need a small amount to exfoliate, so the bottle might last you a while!You can buy the Revision Skincare Brightening Facial Wash from Dermstore for $40.

Differin

Although the gel is used for acne treatment, Dr. Marie Leger, a board-certified dermatologist at Entiere Dermatology in New York City, recommended the over-the-counter retinol to help prevent milia by promoting skin cell turnover, or the shedding of dead skin cells.

Adapalene, the active ingredient in Differin, works to prevent pores from clogging with bacteria and sebum, the waxy substance produced by the body.

I like to apply this on bare skin after cleansing and let it sit over night. It really lowers the inflammation of the pimple and makes it much smaller. I wear a full face of makeup every day and this really helped lessen the amount of acne/milia on my face. I usually get bumps under my lip but this help make them completely disappear! GwenXAnh

You can buy the Differin Adapalene Gel 0.1% Acne Treatment from Ulta for around $15.

Jori

The Jori Acne & Oil Primer prevents breakouts, blemishes, hormonal acne, and pimples with salicylic acid. In general, topical use of BHAs like salicylic acid works as an exfoliant by unplugging blocked skin pores . For people with skin conditions, salicylic acid can treat dry, scaly, or thickened skin by softening them.

Hydroxy acids like salicylic acid can help open up blocked pores and exfoliate dead cells on the surface of the skin, Zeichner said. Over time, with regular use, to block it under the skin will be released,

You can buy the Jori Acne & Oil Control Primer from Amazon for $70.

Skinfix

In addition to the salicylic acid, the SkinFix cleanser has niacinamide and azelaic acid, which prevent sebum buildup, minimize pores, fight bacteria, and support healthy pH levels.

The product can be used daily, but like other BHAs, its a good idea to only apply the product three times a week, and then work up to daily use.

ive been using it for about 2 weeks now and my skin feels so much smoother, even toned and so CLEAR! I feel like I've just discovered a new miracle product and I am so excited to continue using it and see how far it takes my skin on this journey! I have a lot of scarring and BHA is so good for that, I cant wait to see how it helps my skin! chxrming

You can buy the SkinFix Azelaic Acid BHA Cleanser from Sephora for $35.

More on this
(Bloomberg) -- The White House endorsed a bipartisan bill that could give the president authority to ban or force a sale of TikTok, support that could hasten passage and break a deadlock over how to address privacy concerns around the popular Chinese-owned app.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The bill introduced Tuesday would give the president the ability to force the sale of foreign-owned technologies, applications, software or e-commerce platforms if they present a national security threat to US users. It doesnt mention Beijing-based Bytedance Ltd.s TikTok by name, but the video-sharing app, which has about 100 million users in the US, is the clear target.

We look forward to continue working with both Democrats and Republicans on this bill, and urge Congress to act quickly to send it to the presidents desk, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

This is the first time the Biden administration has weighed in on legislation to deal with the app, which the White House says pose national security risks. Critics of TikTok say it allows the Chinese government access to data and viewing trends of the roughly 100 million Americans  as well as users globally  who have made it one of the worlds most popular apps.

At the same time, the administration wants to avoid the legal challenges that beset former President Donald Trumps push to ban TikTok and Tencent Holdings Ltd.s WeChat messaging app. Trump ordered those products banned from app stores in 2020, but a federal judge blocked the order, arguing that it would violate free speech rights.

These risks are not going away, and unfortunately our tools to date have been limited, Senator Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who is one of the bills cosponsors, said at a briefing Tuesday. We are going to create a new set of authorities.

Story continues

Read More: One TikTok Bill Has the Most Support Right Now. Heres Why.

James Lewis, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the Trump deal was thrown out of court in less than 30 minutes. This administration has thought carefully about how to do something that will stand up in court. Being able to say, Congress passed a law that gives us this authority really helps.

It strengthens their hand in any future battle either to negotiate with TikTok or to negotiate with the court, Lewis added.

It was unclear how the bill introduced by Warner and John Thune, the Senates No. 2 Republican, might affect a separate national-security review of TikTok. That review, led by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, or Cfius, was meant to come to an agreement addressing concerns surrounding US user data. But that process appears to have stalled.

TikToks opponents in Congress have rejected the companys assurances that its Chinese owner doesnt have access to US user data, including viewing patterns and geolocation. In addition, reports that TikTok promotes or hides certain content has raised questions about whether Chinese authorities could influence what content American users see.

TikTok has presented a security plan called Project Texas that pledges to insulate the companys US operation from Chinese influence. The plan includes an independent board of directors to oversee data security, third-party vetting and a partnership with Oracle Corp. to store user data and audit the platforms algorithms.

TikToks Response

The swiftest and most thorough way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for Cfius to adopt the proposed agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years, TikTok spokeswoman Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement Tuesday. We have been waiting for Cfius to finalize our agreement for over six months now, while our status has been debated in public in a way that is divorced from the facts of that agreement and what weve achieved already.

The backlash has had TikTok waging an all-out charm offensive globally for months. To drum up goodwill and defend its data protection and content moderation policies in Washington, executives have enlisted lobbyists to engage with more than 100 congressional offices. In the second quarter of last year, TikTok spent $2.1 million on lobbying on issues including childrens privacy, content moderation and antitrust  the most to date.

In comments that may have presaged the Biden administrations support for the approach in the Warner bill, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in an interview last month that its dangerous business to pass a law to outlaw a particular company. I think its probably more thoughtful to say, These are the kinds of risks were worried about, from these categories of companies and were going to enable some department to run a process to assess the risk and take action.

Warners bill would still need to go through a Senate committee, and its unclear where the measure ranks among Chuck Schumers priorities. As Senate majority leader, he determines whether it would come to the floor for a vote. It would also need to pass the House of Representatives, where several lawmakers have their own bills that would explicitly ban the app.

Anti-China sentiment crosses party lines in Congress, and a number of senators from both parties said Tuesday they were aligned on taking action against TikTok. Republican Marco Rubio of Florida has said flat-out that its time to ban TikTok for good.

Were very united on this topic, Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, told reporters. He said the US needs to bring all aspects of American power and policy to the China challenge.

(Updates with James Lewis comment, starting in seventh paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
With the approaching end of Title 42, the White House is reportedly considering reimplementing the policy of detaining migrant families rather than temporarily releasing them into the United States.

President Joe Biden is considering detaining families for a maximum of 20 days, the New York Times reported. The reconsideration is based on growing fears within the White House that illegal border crossings will surge with the May 11 expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era public-health measure that allowed for the immediate rejection of asylum claims.

The administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly and humane processing of migrants, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told the New York Times in a statement.

The news marks an abrupt reversal from Bidens previous commitment to reject the border policies of former president Donald Trump, which Democrats have cast as inhumane, often referring to Republican efforts to put kids in cages.

Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately, then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden tweeted in June 2020. This is pretty simple, and I cant believe I have to say it: Families belong together.

Leecia Welch, a lead attorney for the Supreme Court case Reno v. Flores which set limits on childhood detention, called the news heartbreaking.

Ending the inhumane practice of family detention has been one of the only positive immigration policy decisions of the Biden administration, Welch told the Times. It is heartbreaking to hear there could be a return to the Trump-era use of this practice.

Although the Biden administration has consistently sought to make a point of approaching the border crisis and illegal crossings with a different tact from his predecessor, the president has sometimes reinforced Trump-era policies.

In early January, Biden expanded Title 42 by offering a limited number of individuals from Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba legal entrance into the United States so long as they had a financial sponsor. However, nationals from those countries who did not follow the new procedure would be expelled.

Story continues

The following month reports emerged that the White House was considering overhauling Americas asylum-adjudication system to expedite the workflow at border-processing centers.

These initiatives may have worked in the intervening months as border crossings between America and Mexico hit new lows since Biden first came to office. Between December 2022 and January 2023, such crossing dropped by 42 percent. Still, one anonymous White House official told Reuters Its all on the table when it comes to ongoing internal deliberations about border control.

Under Biden, the number of illegal migrants caught along the Mexico border rose to a record high in 2022. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) caught 234,088 people crossing along the southern border in April 2022, the highest figure in the recorded history of the DHS.

The policy of family detention has been used by Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

More from National Review
The Biden administration is considering restarting the controversial policy that detains migrants who enter the country illegally with their children, two sources familiar with the planning confirmed.

President Joe Biden stopped the Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy known as family detention shortly after he took office.

The New York Times first reported that the administration was considering reintroducing the policy.

In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, "No decisions have been made as we prepare for the Title 42 Public Health Order to lift. The administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants."

Migrants wait for US Border Patrol to be taken to a detention center on May 26 2022 in Eagle Pass Texas, USA. Title 42, the Trump era mandate which was set to prevent migrants from entering the US, was to expire on May 23 but was blocked by a lawsuit filed by several states citing that the move to strike down the law

Two sources familiar with the planning said White House and DHS officials have met multiple times in recent days to discuss what would be necessary to restart the policy when Title 42 ends May 11.

No decisions have been made yet, the sources said. Many inside the administration are resisting the move, the sources added.

President Barack Obama had used the policy starting in 2014, and President Donald Trump continued it.

Title 42 is a public health law that was invoked by the Trump administration in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Border agents have used it to deny migrants the right to enter the U.S. to claim asylum. More than 2.3 million people have been expelled since the Trump administration invoked it.

Policymakers in both parties, as well as Homeland Security officials, have widely predicted a large increase in the number of migrants crossing the border when Title 42 lifts, adding to the record high number of border encounters in the past year.

Immigrant rights groups and other groups say Title 42 has been used to expel asylum-seekers without hearings.

The American Civil Liberties Union has said that Title 42 has been misused to kick people who are seeking asylum out of the country and that U.S. law guarantees the right to seek asylum.

The Biden administration previously tried to lift Title 42 through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order, but Republican states sued to keep it in effect.

The Biden administration now plans to let the public health emergency declaration expire May 11.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Bidens pick to join the Federal Communications Commission and break its 2-2 partisan deadlock has withdrawn her name from consideration. The move comes after Senator Joe Manchin explained he would vote against her.

Gigi Sohn, who was nominated by Biden in October of 2021, has faced a bruising confirmation battle. Her nomination has remained at a standstill for months, due to vocal opposition from Republicans and some dissent from fellow Democrats.

The unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family, Sohn said in explaining her decision to withdraw.

First reported by the Washington Post, Sohns statement blamed cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets.

The lawyer has been scrutinized in hearings for tweets critical of Donald Trump and conservative media outlets. Sohn has urged that Sinclair Broadcast Groups license be reconsidered and has called Fox News state-sponsored propaganda.

Manchin explained in a statement that an FCC commissioner must be able to stay above the partisan fray.

Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that, Manchin wrote. For those reasons, I cannot support her nomination to the FCC and I urge the Biden administration to put forth a nominee who can bring us together, not drive us apart.

Sohns withdrawal represents a blow to the Biden administration as it attempts to navigate a slim majority in the Senate.

Prior to being elected, Biden promised that he would reverse Trumps deregulatory moves and return to the Obama administrations policy of net neutrality. Sohn was a chief architect of that policy.

The commission will now remain deadlocked between two Republican-appointed commissioners and two Democratic-appointed ones for the foreseeable future, only able to pass bipartisan proposals.

Story continues

In a statement, Senator Ted Cruz applauded Sohns defeat on the same grounds as Manchin.

The withdrawal of Ms. Sohns nomination is a major victory and represents a strong bipartisan agreement that we need a fair and impartial candidate who can receive the support needed for confirmation, wrote Cruz. The FCC is not a place for partisan activists; free speech is too important.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the pick in a Tuesday press conference, pointing to Sohns tremendous intellect and her role as a consumer-safety advocate. Jean-Pierre did not announce a timeline for a new pick.

More from National Review
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden will host South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a state visit on April 26, the White House and Yoon's office said on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the visit would celebrate the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and highlight Washington's "unwavering commitment" to South Korea. She said the leaders would discuss deepening political, economic and security ties.

It will be the second state visit of Biden's administration after one by French President Emmanuel Macron in December.

Yoon's spokesperson said it would be the first state visit to the United States by a South Korean president since 2011 and mark a "historic milestone" for the alliance ... "to evolve more actively in preparation for the rapidly changing international situation and future uncertainties."

The talks would cover combined defense posture, extended deterrence and high-tech and economic security, and enable a "'strong alliance in action' that protects the lives and safety of the peoples of both countries," the spokesperson said in a statement.

The announcement comes after South Korea said on Monday its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation, seeking to end a dispute that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front among the allies against China and North Korea.

The U.S.-South Korean alliance dates from the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a stalemate and in which China backed North Korea.

Washington and Seoul have sought since to contain North Korea but have been unable to halt its growing nuclear and missile programs which now threaten both allies.

They also share concerns about China's growing might and Washington sees Seoul as a key partner in its efforts to rally allies to push back against Beijing.

As North Korea's nuclear capability increases, calls have grown within South Korea for the country to develop its own nuclear capability. Seoul has also sought a strengthening of extended deterrence, which refers to the ability of the U.S. military to deter attacks with its nuclear umbrella.

Biden met Yoon in Cambodia in November and said after a trilateral summit involving Japan that the three allies were "more aligned than ever" on North Korea's "provocative behavior."

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and David Brunnstrom in Washington and Josh Smith in SeoulEditing by Doina Chiacu and Matthew Lewis)
President Biden will host South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol next month for an official state visit in a more formal show of support for a key U.S. ally in Asia as the White House seeks to counter China and deal with North Koreas missile tests.

The president and first lady will host Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, on April 26. The visit will include a state dinner, which is typically attended by White House officials, lawmakers, donors and other high-profile guests.

The upcoming visit celebrates the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The two will discuss the importance of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and our shared resolve to deepen and broaden our political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties, Jean-Pierre said.

North Korea and China are likely to be two major topics of discussion during the visit next month.

The U.S. has warned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia for its war effort in Ukraine, and tensions between Washington and Beijing were heightened after a Chinese spy balloon was detected over the U.S. last month. There is also the looming concern about Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.

More broadly, Biden has spoken often about the need to have competition with China without it escalating to confrontation.

North Korea has also tested long-range missiles on multiple occasions in recent months. The U.S. has tried for years to work with South Korea and Japan to help reduce tensions with North Korea and guard against Pyongyangs missile tests.

Aprils state visit will be the second Biden has hosted since taking office more than two years ago. The president and first lady hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, at the White House in December.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Biden is leading Marianne Williamson by more than 70 points among Democratic primary voters, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

Seventy-seven percent of respondents in the Morning Consult poll said they would support Biden in a Democratic primary or caucus, while just 4 percent said they would support Williamson following her campaign announcement last weekend.

Williamson, a spiritual adviser and author who previously ran for president in 2020, officially launched her second long shot bid for the Democratic nomination on Saturday.

More than half of Democratic primary voters  52 percent  said they had never heard of Williamson, and her popularity was limited among those who were familiar with the self-help author, the poll found.

Twenty percent of Democrats said they had favorable views of Williamson, while 13 percent said the opposite. The remaining 15 percent said they had heard of the Democratic candidate but had no opinion on her, according to the poll.

Williamson on Sunday accused the Democratic National Committee (DNC) of rigging the primary system in favor of Biden by reorganizing the calendar.

The new primary calendar, which was recommended by Biden, will place South Carolina in the first-in-the-nation position. Bidens win in South Carolina in 2020 was key to his ultimately securing the Democratic nomination.

The DNC should not be rigging this system, Williamson told ABCs This Week. They dont even pretend anymore. Theyre not even covert about their swaying the primary season. Theyre very overt about it.

However, Biden and other Democrats appear to have largely dismissed Williamsons presidential bid. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) suggested on Sunday that no serious Democrats are considering a challenge to Biden, while White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre joked about Williamsons aura on Monday.

Im just not tracking that, Jean-Pierre said of Williamsons bid. I mean, if I had a, what is it called? A little globe here  a crystal ball that I can tell you. A magic eight ball, whatever. If I could feel her aura.

Story continues

I just dont have anything to share on that, she said to laughter from reporters in the briefing room.

The Morning Consult poll was conducted March 3-5 with 829 potential Democratic primary voters and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ANDER HARRER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Executives at for-profit colleges might soon be on the hook personally if their schools fail to repay costs owed to the U.S. government, according to new guidance released by the Department of Education last week.

Check Your $2 Bills: They Could Be Worth Upwards of $4,500

Learn: With a Recession Looming, Make These 3 Retirement Moves To Stay On Track

On March 3, the Education Department outlined how it will implement long-standing provisions in the Higher Education Act that govern relationships with colleges. Among other things, the Act grants the Secretary of Education authority to require private-college leaders that fail to operate in a financially responsible way to assume personal liability for the cost of unpaid debts owed to the Department.

The guidance clarifies circumstances in which the Education Department can require certain individuals to assume personal liability as a condition of allowing schools they own or operate to participate in federal financial aid programs. It also details considerations when determining whether to require an individual to assume personal liability by signing the institutions program participation agreement.

In such cases, the Education Department would be able to pursue those individuals for the cost of liabilities that are not otherwise paid for by their institutions  including those stemming from closed schools and borrower defense discharges.

The new guidance comes amid a broader move by the Biden administration to crack down on for-profit colleges that defraud or otherwise mislead students and to provide debt relief to students who got loans to attend the schools. It also comes as the administration faces the prospect that the federal student loan forgiveness program announced last summer will be struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Biden-Harris Administration is canceling the loans of more than a million borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges. But too often, the owners and executives of these colleges escape liability, Education Department Under Secretary James Kvaal said in a statement. Congress gave the Department the authority to make college owners and operators personally responsible for these losses in certain circumstances and we are going to use that authority to hold them accountable, defend vulnerable students, protect taxpayer dollars, and deter future risky behavior.

Story continues

The guidance would require an individual to assume personal liability on behalf of the institutions or groups of affiliated institutions that pose the largest financial risk to the United States  including schools that receive funding through federal financial aid each year. Heres what the Department will consider when determining the riskiest institutions:

Civil or criminal lawsuits, settlements, or disciplinary or legal actions by the Department or other state or federal agencies involving federal student aid or claims of dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation, consumer harm, or financial malfeasance.

Significant compliance issues, such as findings stemming from program reviews or audits, unpaid liabilities from either of those processes, or findings of a lack of administrative capability.

Executive compensation or a bonus structure that could significantly affect the financial health of the institution.

The aim is to not only protect students but also to help the government recoup money that comes through tax dollars.

Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt?

Social Security: Women Get $354 Per Month Less Than Men  Heres Why

Individuals who control schools and reap substantial profits are responsible for running healthy institutions, said Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray. When financially risky schools jeopardize the safety of the governments Title IV funds and take advantage of students, we intend to hold those individuals accountable.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Biden Targets Top College Executives in Student Loan Forgiveness Fight  How Taxpayers and Borrowers Benefit
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's nominee for a key fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Gigi Sohn, withdrew on Tuesday, dealing a setback for Democrats who have been unable to take control of the telecom regulator for more than two years.

Sohn confirmed Tuesday she was withdrawing after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said he would vote against confirming her.

"We appreciate Gigi Sohn's candidacy for this important role. She would have brought tremendous intellect and experience," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday adding her withdrawal was "clearly unfortunate."

Since January 2021, Democrats have been unable to command a majority of the five-member FCC, stalling the party's efforts to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules revoked under Republican President Donald Trump. The open internet laws seek to bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid fast lanes.

"The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time," Sohn said in a statement. "Unfortunately the American people are the real losers here. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes."

Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate but two Democrats are currently absent because of health issues.

Sohn who was first nominated in October 2021, had her third hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in February.

Sohn said in 2021 she "could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies."

Story continues

Republicans in February offered a sweeping denunciation of Sohn on a number of grounds and accused her of misleading Congress, which she rejected.

Many Democrats said Republicans were doing the bidding of powerful telecom companies that did not want to face regulation from the FCC.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said Tuesday Sohn's withdrawal demonstrates the need for a nominee "committed to serving as an even-handed and truly independent regulator."

In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the open internet net neutrality rules.

At least two other Democrats were undecided on Sohn's nomination.

Sohn joins several other high-profile Biden nominees who withdrew from consideration, including Neera Tanden, who had been tapped to lead the Office of Management and Budget and Sarah Bloom Raskin, who was nominated to become the top bank regulator at the Federal Reserve.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Katharine Jackson; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; writing by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Bill Berkrot, Leslie Adler and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
BRUSSELS  Two months after leaving his job in the White House as Joe Bidens czar for competition policy, Tim Wu has some words for backers of the national anti-monopoly movement that he has helped foster: Beware the blowback. And dont count on Congress.

In the United States, a lot has happened in the last two years, but there is, based on looking at the history, a real danger, I think of a kind of premature declaration of victory, Wu said at an antitrust conference in Brussels last week.

There is an almost certain moment of a kind of Empire Strikes Back situation that I hope my allies in the administration in the United States are ready for.

At a gathering for global antitrust thinkers and policymakers in Brussels last week, Wu spoke about  and directly to  a movement that has hit a high-water mark under Biden. Regulators have pushed hard against corporate growth with some major cases, including the Justice Departments new lawsuit to block JetBlues takeover of Spirit Airlines, and the Federal Trade Commissions recent challenge to Microsofts $68 billion deal for Activision Blizzard.

Since the end of Obamas presidency, anti-corporate sentiment has exploded in mainstream politics, helping to propel former academic critics like Wu, as well as the FTC chair Lina Khan and DOJ prosecutor Jonathan Kanter, into key enforcement roles under Biden.

But given a largely failed effort to revamp U.S. antitrust law in Congress last year, and the potential for the White House to change hands in two years, Wu and others are now worried the movement could pass without meaningful reform.

To build a more permanent constituency for stronger oversight of corporate growth, Wu suggested a five or six point plan that we need to do over the next two years to institutionalize this program.

While new legislation is one part of the plan, it is not the driver, Wu said: I think it's very important not to just have it focused on, you know, did Congress pass new legislation.

Story continues

He added that Congress at this point is possibly the least democratic branch of the United States government.

In an interview on the sidelines of the conference  held at a decidedly unpopulist hotel on Brussels swanky Avenue Louise  Wu elucidated his multi-pronged plan, which in a sign of its complexity jumped to seven points during the conversation.

Among the goals: institutional change within the White House.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden issued a wide-ranging executive order directing agencies across the federal government to focus on competition policy issues. As part of the order, Biden set up a Competition Council, which meets several times each year.

Wu said that for long-term stability, the competition council  currently housed within the National Economic Council  should at some point become a free-standing operation within the White House, with its own director and staff. The timing of this isnt clear, he said, since free-floating groups in the White House risk losing relevance.

Also critical, he said, would be the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department racking up some wins in court.

The Justice Department scored a key victory last fall in blocking the merger of publishing giants Penguin Random House and Simon and Schuster. However it also lost challenges to a health care deal, a merger of two sugar producers and a deal between two national security contractors.

The FTC, meanwhile, recently lost its bid to block a small Meta acquisition that it believes will boost the companys dominance in the nascent virtual reality market.

We have to win some big cases, Wu said. We can either work through legislative change or win some cases, ideally both. But if neither happen, then were in trouble.

The agencies have a number of pending cases, including two DOJ lawsuits against Google and an FTC lawsuit to block Microsofts $69 billion takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard.

While competition policy is unlikely to revert fully back to the free market consensus that prevailed for several administrations, serious headwinds remain for Wu and his allies in the movement. The DOJ and FTC have so far struggled to win over judges in several recent cases, and dominant companies across the economy still have considerable pull with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. And despite the notes of anti-corporate populism that drive modern conservative politics, House Republican leaders have empowered antitrust skeptics in some key committee jobs.

Wu, an author and professor who is now back outside government at Columbia University Law School, offered a few further prescriptions for Biden: Keep appointing federal judges supportive of a progressive economic agenda; offer clear new agency enforcement guidance; support academic research into the effects of corporate power; and push agencies across the federal government to reflect a corporate-watchdog worldview.
Sixteen former Agape Boarding School students who sued for alleged abuse at the southwest Missouri school have settled their cases for undisclosed amounts.

The number represents about two-thirds of the two dozen lawsuits filed against Agape Baptist Church, the organization that operated the now-closed school near Stockton in Cedar County.

Court records show that the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their cases with prejudice, meaning the suits cannot be filed again. Four cases were dismissed in January and refiled in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri and four are pending in state court.

The newly settled cases, filed since February 2021 by former students from across the country, accused the school of negligence, infliction of emotional distress and battery by staff and fellow students. Some of the abuse, the suits alleged, involved sexual assault, torture, starvation and excruciating restraints of students.

Im super grateful to have it over with, said Josh Bradney, of California, who attended the school from 2014 through 2016. Its a big burden lifted and a good step toward moving forward.

Bradney, now 21, sued the school in February 2021 under the name John Doe II but later went public with his identity. The lawsuit alleged that he was subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse by students and a staff member.

The abuse, Bradney told The Star on Monday, changed my life forever.

Now we can feel like we got some justice, he said. And were not going to stop fighting for the safety of kids.

Agape attorney John Schultz declined to comment on the lawsuits or confirm whether any had been settled.

Randy Cowherd, who represents Bradney and other former Agape students, said that we are certainly grateful that our clients cases were settled to their satisfaction.

We hope the settlements will result in some form of closure for them that will assist them in working through the impact of the abuses they suffered while at Agape.

Story continues

In addition to the lawsuits that were settled, Cowherd said, another case was resolved without the necessity of filing a lawsuit.

Ryan Frazier, whose firm filed about 20 lawsuits against Agape, declined to comment on the cases.

Authorities launched a criminal investigation into abuse allegations at Agape in early 2021, and five staffers  including the schools medical coordinator  were charged later that year with low-level felonies of physically assaulting students.

The cases of four of those five staff members have recently been resolved. Three pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanors and each got two years probation. The case of another staffer was dismissed after his alleged victim failed to show up to testify. The fifth has a hearing scheduled for March 13.

On Jan. 11, Agapes former director, Bryan Clemensen, announced that the school would close on Jan 20. It became the fourth and final unlicensed Christian boarding school in Cedar County to shut down since September 2020.

The announcement came as Missouris new attorney general said he planned to continue the effort launched last fall to get a court injunction to close the school. Clemensen said the decision to close Agape was voluntary and due to the lack of financial resources to continue caring for the boys.
This article originally appeared on Backpacker

The United States' national parks continued their gradual climb toward pre-Covid visitation levels in 2022 even as some of the most popular destinations in the system saw entries tumble, according to new data the National Park Service released this week.

Overall, the NPS said that it recorded 312 million recreation visits to the sites it manages in 2022. While those numbers still trail the record of nearly 331 million visitors it set in 2017, they're 15 million, or 5 percent, higher than the number of visitors the NPS welcomed in 2021. The NPS's visitor numbers have steadily climbed since 2020, when pandemic closures and travel restrictions dropped them to a low of 237 million. Last year's most popular national park was perennial favorite Great Smoky Mountains, which recorded just shy of 13 million visits, or 14.59 percent of the national park system's total.

Not all national parks saw an equal increase, however, with some of the most popular destinations posting significant drops compared to 2020. Yellowstone, which the NPS largely closed following catastrophic flooding in June, saw the steepest drop, bringing in 3.29 million visitors in 2022, a decrease of nearly a third compared to 2021. Most of Utah's national parks saw their visitation decline as well in 2022, with the largest, Zion, drawing nearly 7 percent fewer visitors than the year prior. Arches National Park, which piloted a timed entry system last year in an attempt to alleviate crowding, received nearly 20 percent fewer visitors than in 2020. (Besides those restrictions, Utah officials speculated to Deseret News that high gas prices may have played a part in discouraging visitors from road-tripping to the state's parks.)

While some large parks took a hit, smaller parks saw their visitation climb: In a press release, the National Park Service noted that the eight most popular parks, which bring in 25 percent of the NPS's visitors, experienced only a 1.2 percent increase in visitation last year. Meanwhile, the next 19 most popular parks, which also account for about 25 percent of the agency's visitors, saw their visitation numbers climb by 10 percent.

Story continues

"We're excited to see our efforts to increase visitation to parks in the off-season and in parks that are less well-known paying off," NPS Director Chuck Sams said in the statement. "Many parks with record visitation in 2022 are on what we would call 'the road less traveled.' The subtle shift in park visitation is good for visitors, good for protecting parks, and good for local communities whose economies benefit from tourism dollars."

Overcrowding in national parks has become an increasingly prominent issue over the past few years, with nonprofits, lawmakers, and park staffers floating solutions to help alleviate crowding at some of the most popular destinations. Besides limiting entries, many policymakers have suggested different schemes for more evenly spreading visitors across the system, with ideas ranging from increased advertising for less-visited destinations to web pages that would keep would-be visitors informed about crowding levels in popular parks in real time.

The 10 Most Popular National Parks in 2022

Great Smoky Mountains (12,937,633 visits) Grand Canyon (4,732,101) Zion (4,692,417) Rocky Mountain (4,300,424) Acadia (3,970,260) Yosemite (3,667,550) Yellowstone (3,290,242) Joshua Tree (3,058,294) Cuyahoga (2,913,312) Glacier (2,908,458)

For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today.
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Big Technologies fair value estimate is UK1.93

Current share price of UK2.40 suggests Big Technologies is potentially 24% overvalued

Our fair value estimate is 69% higher than Big Technologies' analyst price target of UK3.26

Does the March share price for Big Technologies PLC (LON:BIG) 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. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Big Technologies

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK24.9m UK28.6m UK31.3m UK33.4m UK35.1m UK36.5m UK37.6m UK38.6m UK39.4m UK40.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Est @ 9.23% Est @ 6.81% Est @ 5.11% Est @ 3.92% Est @ 3.09% Est @ 2.51% Est @ 2.10% Est @ 1.82% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.3% UK23.2 UK24.9 UK25.3 UK25.2 UK24.7 UK23.9 UK23.0 UK22.0 UK20.9 UK19.8

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK233m

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.3%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK40m (1 + 1.2%)  (7.3% 1.2%) = UK661m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK661m ( 1 + 7.3%)10= UK327m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is UK560m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of UK2.4, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

Important 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 Big Technologies 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 7.3%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.881. 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 Big Technologies

Strength

Currently debt free.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Commercial Services industry.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price exceeding the intrinsic value? For Big Technologies, we've compiled three additional aspects you should assess:

Financial Health: Does BIG have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does BIG'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 AIM 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is giving another go at legislation targeting wasteful government spending amid a partisan stalemate over the nations debt limit.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H,) Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), on Tuesday will reintroduce the Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act.

The bill doesnt mention any specific cuts to programs but would instead direct agencies to identify programs and activities that are unnecessary, defunct, or unnecessarily duplicative, could be administered by another agency more effectively, or operate more effectively if the program or activity were consolidated with another.

Agencies would then be required to provide lists of the identified programs to Congress and can make recommendations for legislation to eliminate or consolidate the identified programs.

The push comes after the bill previously passed the Senate in late December, shortly before the congressional session came to an end. But lawmakers involved in the effort are working to get the bill across the finish line this year.

I authored the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act back in 2010 to cut down wasteful government spending. The Identifying and Eliminating Wasteful Programs Act builds on that legislation to further protect taxpayer dollars, Cuellar, a prominent House moderate, said in a statement.

The revived bipartisan effort coincides with an ongoing battle over the nations debt limit on Capitol Hill.

The nations debt ceiling, which limits how much money the Treasury can borrow to pay the governments bills, was capped by Congress at about $31.4 trillion in 2021. But the country ran up against the threshold in January, prompting the Treasury to implement so-called extraordinary measures to buy time for Congress to raise the cap again or risk a default  a prospect that has some experts already raising alarm bells.

While Democrats insist budget negotiations be carried out separately from debt ceiling discussions, Republicans say both must go hand in hand, vowing not to raise the limit without some reforms to curb government spending.

Story continues

At the same time, however, some moderate Democrats are pressuring President Biden to lean into discussions with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to find a bipartisan path forward to raise the debt ceiling.

According to projections released last month by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), the country risks default on the national debt as early as June absent a deal from Congress and the White House to increase the borrowing limit.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Washington  A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a bill Tuesday that would give the executive branch new powers to take action against tech companies with ties to foreign adversaries and cut them off from the U.S. market, a measure that would allow the Biden administration to eventually ban Chinese-owned TikTok and other tech products in the name of protecting national security.

The legislation  titled the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act  would apply to technology tied to China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela that "poses an undue or unacceptable risk" to national security.

"Today everybody is talking about TikTok. But before there was TiKTok, there was Huawei and ZTE. Before that, there was Russia's Kaspersky Labs," Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and one of the bill's lead sponsors, said at the Capitol, referencing previous action to block technology from other Chinese and Russian firms.

"Instead of playing Whac-A-Mole on Huawei one day, ZTE the next, Kaspersky, TikTok, we need a more comprehensive approach to evaluating and mitigating these threats posed by these foreign technologies from these adversarial nations," he added.

TikTok, the massively popular social video platform, has come under fire in recent years from U.S. lawmakers and regulators who have expressed increasingly dire concerns about its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, and the potential for the Chinese Communist Party to gain access the app's vast trove of user data.

Sen. Mark Warner speaks during news conference with other lawmakers to introduce the RESTRICT Act in the Capitol on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. / Credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The RESTRICT Act would give the Commerce Department tools to mitigate threats from foreign technology companies, including banning them, and create a "rules-based process" aimed at withstanding potential legal challenges, Warner said. It would also encourage the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify some information on why the technology companies posed an unacceptable risk.

Story continues

"We've got to have our intelligence community be forward-leaning at being willing to declassify the information about why some of these foreign-based technologies pose national security risks, so we're not just asking the public to trust us," Warner said.

The group, led by Warner and Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, also includes Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Republican Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah.

"There are a lot of us that are concerned about privacy," Romney said. "We say, 'Gosh, we don't want the government to know everything we're doing. We want to protect our personal privacy.' Well, one thing a lot worse than having our government infringe on our privacy is having the Chinese Communist Party infringe on our privacy and be able to track us and follow us."

The White House said it backed the legislation, the first time it has formally endorsed a plan that could lead to a ban on TikTok.

"This legislation would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans' sensitive data and our national security," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement that "the swiftest and most thorough way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for [the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] to adopt the proposed agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years."

"We have been waiting for CFIUS to finalize our agreement for over six months now, while our status has been debated in public in a way that is divorced from the facts of that agreement and what we've achieved already," Oberwetter said. "We will continue to do our part to deliver a comprehensive national security plan for the American people."

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines on a separate bill that would allow President Biden to ban TikTok. House Democrats on the committee voted against it, citing concerns about unintended consequences and the legislation's scope.

The Senate and House voted last year to ban the app from government devices, and the White House recently gave agencies 30 days to implement the ban.

TikTok has defended its handling of user data and said it does not share data with the Chinese government. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to testify to Congress later this month.

New details emerge about kidnapping in Mexico after 2 Americans killed, 2 rescued

Mexico's medical tourism attracts Americans to travel to risky areas

U.S. reportedly considering reinstating detention of migrant families
Seattle Public Schools superintendent Brent Jones told the School Board that improving math and reading results is difficult on top of the already challenging task of catching students up after pandemic learning losses.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) officials are using various strategies to boost the math and reading proficiency of Black male students, which will  in their opinion  be advantageous to all students, namely other groups of students furthest from educational justice.

According to The Seattle Times, Superintendent of Schools Brent Jones has indicated that these two subject areas have been the most difficult for Black male students, especially on top of the already challenging task of bringing them up to speed after pandemic learning losses.

Seattle attracted widespread attention in 2016 for having the fifth-largest gap in academic achievement between Black and white students among the 200 largest school districts in the nation.

Seattle Public Schools will begin implementing enVision, a new math curriculum, this school year. It is designed to make math and literacy classes more equitable. (Photo Credit: Screenshot/YouTube.com/KING5 Seattle News)

In response, SPS established the Office of African American Male Achievement in 2019, a project aimed at incorporating Black male student views across all departments and schools within the district.

The district also created objectives through 2026 based on the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) results. The standardized exam was administered statewide in the spring, including scores for third-grade reading and seventh-grade math.

The goal is for 70% of seventh-grade Black male students to score a proficient or higher on the SBA math test by 2026. (The focus on raising scores among these students is part of an initiative to give these kids more science, technology, engineering, math, or STEM opportunities.) However, 45% achieved well below proficiency on the Spring 2022 exam. About 24% met or exceeded math proficiency, while 23% received a below grade.

The districts goal for English language arts is for 70% of third-grade Black male students to receive proficient scores by Spring 2024. Nearly 32% who took the standardized English language arts exam in Spring 2022 scored proficient or better. However, this fell short of the districts target by about 16 percentage points.

Story continues

Caleb Perkins, executive director of college and career preparation, stated that the math data is a little bit more concerning, but pointed out that they only recently started with particular efforts.

Among these efforts is enVision, a new math curriculum whose goal is to help students gain a deeper understanding of math to solve problems more effectively and comprehend why they are solved. It is to be implemented this school year.

There is a common belief in our society that some people are math people and that other people are not, said math program manager Elissa Farmer, according to The Times. Societal beliefs impact what students can do and what educators think what students can do.

In a first, SPS is also evaluating student experiences through ongoing feedback gleaned from its report, Our Voice Our Vision: Strategies for Honoring and Supporting Black Excellence In Seattle Public Schools, which makes recommendations for improving academics among Black students.

The report has spawned at least two initiatives. One is the so-called climate survey. Essentially, students indicate how well they believe they will do in math and reading classes. So far, they have been self-reporting much better outcomes than their test scores indicate. The bottom line, added Perkins, is we need to dramatically improve our system to promote literacy and math outcomes.

There is optimism that the five strategies, which make up the second initiative that the report spawned, will help achieve this for Black male students as well as other students of color, multilingual learners and students with individualized education plans. The strategies are excellent instruction and joyful learning; strong connections and connected families; expanded learning and enrichment; equitable policies and student supports, and opportunity pathways.

These strategies are grounded in the research and engagement with students and families, said Jones, The Times reported. Weve thought through how each of these strategies and initiatives will lead to improved student outcomes.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post If Black male student math performance improves, all students benefit, Seattle school district theorizes appeared first on TheGrio.
The Vega-C rocket taking off from the Kourou space base, French Guiana on December 20, 2022.

The Ukrainian space agency is not too happy with the results of an investigation into the Vega-C rocket anomaly, which blamed a faulty part made in Ukraine for the mission failure.

In a statement issued on Monday, the State Space Agency of Ukraine condemned a recent failure report, arguing that the presented conclusions remain to be premature and may still require further investigation to identify if there could be additional factors that led to the failure of Vega C LV launch, the space agency wrote.

Read more

On Friday, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the results of a months-long investigation into the launch failure of its Vega-C rocket in December 2022. The rockets second stage, called the Zefiro 40, suffered a decrease in pressure and the mission was terminated about 2 minutes and 27 seconds after launch.

An Independent Enquiry Commission determined that the throat insert, a component of Zefiro 40s nozzle, was overly eroded, leading to the drop in pressure. Avio, the Italian company that built Vega-C, has since decided that it will no longer use that type of throat insert, which was produced by Ukrainian company Yuzhnoye, for future models of the rocket. The Commission confirmed that the cause was an unexpected thermo-mechanical over-erosion of the carbon-carbon (C-C) throat insert of the nozzle, procured by Avio in Ukraine.

However, the Ukrainian government is not convinced with the results of the investigation. The Statement which is based on the conclusions of the Independent Enquiry Commission unfortunately leaves no grounds for further discussions and casts a shadow over the reputation of the space industry of Ukraine, Ukraines space agency wrote in its statement. The space agency also added that the components delivered to the Vega-C rocket were completely compliant with the requirements imposed.

Story continues

Ukrainian specialists who participated in a certain part of investigation which they were granted access to, provided their considerations and suggestions that objectively did not find reflection in the conclusions of the Independent Enquiry Commission, the statement added.

Conditions in Ukraine have been steadily deteriorating since 2014, when Russia first invaded the country. And now, with the ongoing war with Russia in the east, its far worse. Ukraines space agency may or may not have provided a substandard component to Avio, and its likely well never know. That said, it takes a village to both test and launch a rocket, and it wouldve been refreshing to see the blame get spread around, instead of it being pinned to a single provider.

Indeed, ESA and the European space industry as a whole are now laser-focused on getting the Vega-C rocket back in the air and delivering payloads to space. It seems unlikely that ESA and its partners will honor Ukraines request to re-open the investigation, as they look to leave the failed launch behind them.

More: Florida Startup Moves Closer to Building Data Centers on the Moon

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Chatiqua Keyes-Carr purchased her house in the city of Erie after working through a financial literacy program provided by the Erie Housing Authority and Eagle's Nest Leadership Corp.

For a time, Chatiqua Keyes-Carr, a 31-year-old mother of two, was not eager to visit her bank.

It was a reminder that her account was several hundred dollars in the red.

"I got caught in a scam, money got drawn out of my account, and I owed money, she said. But instead of taking care of it, I avoided that account for a long time.

A child care instructor who spent seven years in public housing, Keyes-Carr said she's turned her finances around thanks to programs in financial literacy provided by the Erie Housing Authority and the Eagles Nest Leadership Corp.

A closed bank office in the 700 block of East Avenue is indicative of a shortage of banks in a broad area of Erie's east side.

Those programs helped Keyes-Carr to save about $6,500 to purchase her first home, a four-bedroom house in the 2500 block of Wayne Street.

Keyes-Carr said the experience reinforced the importance of personal financial responsibility.

And Keyes-Carr also believes it is important for financial institutions to have a strong and easily accessible presence in all neighborhoods, especially low-income and minority communities, to give residents a bridge to the kind of assistance and knowledge that she used to remake her life.

In Erie, some view that kind of access as being in short supply.

"There are hardly any banks in any areas of the minority community. That's a huge problem," said Angela Euell-McNair, who serves on the Erie School Board and owns Jumpstart Early Learning Center at the Booker T. Washington Center.

The Rev. Jerry Priscaro of St. Ann Catholic Church on East Avenue remembers when banks could still be found in his eastside neighborhood.

Angela Euell-McNair

He said it meant small business owners had just a short trip to drop off their daily deposits.

It meant there was a good chance the person behind the counter might recognize you if you went in to talk about a mortgage.

The presence of the bank building and its employees was a message, it seems to him, that the bank believed in the neighborhood.

"We used to have a bank on East Avenue," said Priscaro, who is the coordinator of the East Avenue/Hess Avenue Neighborhood Watch. "Now, I personally don't know if there is a bank on the east side from the bayfront to East 38th."

Story continues

The Rev. Jerry Priscaro of St. Ann Catholic Church.

For Euell-McNair, that's a minor but frequent inconvenience. Several times a week, she drives deposits from her business in the 1700 block of Holland Street to her bank at Seventh and State streets.

"That's a pretty good little drive," she said.

For others  someone who doesn't drive or isn't savvy with mobile banking  that distance serves as a barrier, she said.

"It makes it hard. I see a lot of people spending money to go to check-cashing services. I see them lined up on payday," Euell-McNair said. "They just have nowhere else to go."

Shrinking numbers

The changes Priscaro has seen in his neighborhood aren't unique to Erie.

Banks across the country continue to close more branches than they open.

It's true in Pennsylvania. It's true in Ohio. It's true in Michigan. And it's especially true in the country's urban areas.

A study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, known as NCRC, found that the United States lost about 6,000 of its 95,000 bank branches between 2016 and 2018.

Of those branches that closed, 82% were in urban ZIP codes.

In Erie, the most recent round of cuts came in September, when Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group announced plans to close 280 branches by the end of 2021, including a drive-through location in the Liberty Plaza and a branch in Linesville.

At about that same time, Warren-based Northwest Bank announced plans to close 42, or about 20%, of its 205 full-services offices, including the Grandview Plaza location and a branch in Lake City.

More: Bank branches closing in Erie, Crawford counties

Even after those most recent cuts, and earlier rounds of shuttered branches, bank offices remain plentiful in downtown Erie and in most suburban areas of Millcreek, Harborcreek and Summit townships. Bank offices can also be found in the county's smaller population centers including Corry, Waterford, Union City and Wesleyville.

In fact, nine different banks operate 44 branches in the city of Erie and surrounding suburbs. Another 13 credit unions also operate in the city, some of them from multiple locations, according to creditunionsonline.com.

But you won't find them on East Avenue, Parade or East 26th streets or in most of Erie's inner-city neighborhoods.

Outside of the Peach Street and State Street corridor, bank and credit union branches are in short supply in large swaths of the city, particularly on the city's east side and north of East 38th St.

Consider this: An examination of 12 census tracts on Erie's east side  all east of State Street, west of Bird Drive and Franklin Avenue, and north of East 33rd Street  shows the area is home to 31,125 people, according to censusreporter.org.

What that area is not home to is a banking institution.

Understanding the change

Competing forces are at work, said Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend.

Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business at Penn State Behrend.

On one hand, the Community Reinvestment Act, enacted in 1977 and designed to encourage banks to meet the needs of all segments of their communities, including low-income areas, "kind of forced banks to be good citizens," Filbeck said.

But the reality of bank branches in city neighborhoods also has been shaped by the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

"There is an increased push for ensuring capital adequacy of banks," Filbeck said. "There is more of a focus on ensuring capital adequacy of banks and maintaining their portfolio."

Maintaining a local branch can cost more than $1 million a year, he said.

Pete Sitter, spokesman for Erie-based Marquette Savings Bank, said the bank hasn't lost sight of its obligations.

"All our branch locations fulfill the mandates of the Community Reinvestment Act that require all banks to meet the needs of the communities they serve," he said in an emailed response to a question.

"In fact, our Peach Street office  which is located in one of the poorest ZIP codes in Pennsylvania  serves lower income neighborhoods in the lower east and west sides," he said.

Study: Eries 16501 is states poorest ZIP code

"It is also important to know that Marquette has significant commitments of support for organizations that directly impact inner-city residents such as: Our West Bayfront, The Sisters of Saint Joseph east and west side Neighborhood Networks and the Saint Martin Center, where we have sponsored financial education programs in addition to neighborhood revitalization efforts," Sitter said.

Cost-cutting move

Local financial institutions acknowledge that branch locations have been declining for decades.

The reason is simple: "Lower profit margins," said Thomas Brennan, spokesman for Erie Federal Credit Union.

"Financial institutions were looking to reduce costs by closing inefficient branch office locations. Also, there were a number of mergers after the financial crisis that forced branch consolidation and reduction," he said in an emailed response to a question.

He continued, "U.S. banks continue to close brick and mortar branches in record numbers as customers are significantly increasing their use of mobile/online banking and noting a decline in foot traffic. The closures are/were driven by a combination of 'digital adoption' and demographics. Younger people are less likely to visit branches."

Does location matter?

But with the growth of mobile and online banking, it's fair to ask how much location really matters. After all, millions of Americans are customers of online banks they never visit.

More: How to bank during a pandemic

Davona Pacley, one of the co-founders of Erie's Black Wall Street, understands the argument. She has had bank accounts for much of her life but doesn't often visit a bank in person.

Still, Pacley views convenient access to banks as a community priority.

Davona Pacley

In some cases, the presence of a bank office is symbolic, an expression of confidence, "that there is going to be other things flourish in that community," Pacley said.

"Banks do need to have centralized space to show there is growth there and that there can be possibilities and homeownership," Pacley said. "If you don't want a bank in the community, you don't want to see the community grow."

"Many people don't feel comfortable with some banks and the banks don't feel comfortable with them, either," Priscaro said. "It helps if a bank has a vested interest in a neighborhood."

The three financial institutions that responded to questions from the Erie Times-News, Erie Federal Credit Union, PNC and Marquette Savings Bank, each stressed in different ways that their existing locations, especially those in downtown Erie, are geared to meeting the needs of the inner-city population.

In detailed responses, all three struck common themes, writing about their roles in financial literacy and proximity to inner-city residents.

Brennan, of the Erie Federal Credit Union, said, "We continue to serve a significant number of members who reside in underserved, inner-city neighborhoods. For example, we have over 3,400 members who reside in the 16501, 16503 ZIP codes. We know that for us to make an impact in a particular community or part of the community, we need to be there."

Bank officials say that maintaining an office isn't the only way to demonstrate commitment.

The decision about where to locate a bank branch "would likely not be a direct link to additional investment in poorer neighborhoods," Sitter said. "In general, banks locate where other businesses  such as grocery stores, pharmacies, schools, department stores and post offices  are located and people can make all their stops in one area."

Jim Stevenson, regional president for PNC, said his bank contributes to the community in numerous ways.

"Our investments in Erie County include our comprehensive collaboration with several organizations, like St. Martin Center and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pa.," Stevenson said.

Especially important, he said, "has been our collaboration with Eagles Nest Leadership Corp. to promote job skills training and financial education."

Why banks matter

Filbeck, who has been working on an initiative to bring financial literacy to high school students, said a lack of a banking relationship tends to force people toward predatory lenders and check-cashing services.

"It's a supply-demand relationship," Filbeck said. "If you don't have a supply (of banks) who can charge reasonable fees for basic banking services, it's a captive market. When you don't have these types of organizations, people tend to live with current consumption. There is nothing in their environment to encourage that process of saving."

Euell-McNair knows something about that world.

She grew up in a household where her mother would go to a bank, but her father would pay a fee each time he needed to cash a check.

"My mom was more educated in that area," she said. "I think a lot of people are misinformed. I am able to see both sides of that."

Some argue that having a bank on the next block isn't essential.

But after securing a $22,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan with the help of her bank, Euell-McNair believes having a relationship with a bank, wherever it might be located, is important.

"At that time I was going into that bank almost every other day. If I wasn't going into that bank and I didn't have those relationships, I wouldn't have gotten that loan either."

According to a report by the Hope Policy Institute, which works to help shape financial policy, people who don't use banks pay a price.

"Approximately 34 million households in the United States live at least partially outside the financial mainstream," according to the institute. "As a result, households that live outside the financial mainstream spend nearly 10 percent of their annual income on interest and fees from non-bank services."

Pacley said she understands that proximity isn't the only thing that keeps people away from banks or credit unions. She has friends her own age and younger who don't have bank accounts.

"A lot of people in our community don't trust banks," she said. "I have met a lot of older people who do not keep their money in banks. They keep it in a can on top of the fridge. There is still that mistrust."

In some cases, experience with expensive overdraft fees is to blame, she said.

More: Getting started in online banking

Not a bank desert

While the nearest bank is often a short car trip or bus ride away for many in the city of Erie, few residents could be described as living in a bank desert.

Although a food desert is often defined as an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable fresh food, a 2019 study by the Federal Reserve Bank describes bank deserts as a place with no bank branch within 10 miles.

Opinions vary on what it means to live in a community with limited access to banks.

A 2019 report on banking deserts by the Bank Policy Institute argues that concerns about the inclusiveness of the U.S. banking system have been overstated.

The BPI study concluded, "the vast majority of the U.S. population has access to a bank with only 6 percent of Americans living in banking deserts, and (2) those living in low-income or minority areas are more likely to have better access to bank branches than those living in middle- or upper-income areas."

The Federal Reserve paints a bleaker picture, saying that people who don't have access to a financial institution are 20% more likely to have no credit score, a hurdle for anyone trying to obtain a loan.

According to the Federal Reserve, "The negative effects are similar to having a $6,000 reduction in annual income."

Keyes-Carr, whose path to homeownershipwas highlighted on social media by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, remembers thinking about the distance to bank branches when she lived in public housing.

"When you actually have banks in your community, its easier for you to go there and ask questions. You can find out much easier about what programs are out there to help you, she said.

'Chipping away at hope'

Gary Horton, president of the NAACPs Erie branch, said the lack of bank branches in some sections of Eries inner city speaks to the broader issue of disinvestment.

Its a continuation of chipping away at inner-city peoples hope, Horton said. Weve seen it with schools closing. With supermarkets going away. And now you see it in some parts of the city with banks."

However, Horton said, mechanisms exist that can forge solutions.

Community Benefit Agreements are one possible remedy, Horton said. Such agreements are legally binding documents that usually stipulate that multimillion-dollar economic development projects must have a tangible, positive impact on residents and affected neighborhoods.

Gary Horton, then 68, president of the Urban Erie Community Development Corp., is part of a group that wants to develop a health and wellness center, an urban farming facility and a solar panel network on the 25-acre Savocchio Park property, shown here June 4, 2020. The land is located near East 16th Street and Downing Avenue in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Creating bank branches or in-person banking options in underserved areas could be accomplished as part of a CBA tied to a large-scale community improvement project, he said.

Horton said banking options for underserved residents/businesses could also be forged as part of a project in any of Erie's eight federal Opportunity Zones, all of which are in designated low-income census tracts.

I think the banks have the incentives, now they have to have the commitment and the creativity to come into these areas, Horton said. You need creativity and non-status quo thinking. The tools and the resources are there to do that.

But there is little to suggest a change in direction. In fact, trends suggest more cuts will come.

"While the need for a branch office will always be there, the traditional branch office is evolving," Sitter said. "The popularity and prevalence of smartphones and access to the internet has enhanced the use of online and mobile banking."

The coronavirus has only accelerated the process, forcing thousands of local customers to make do with something other than a face-to-face meeting at the bank.

But Pacley said she hasn't given up on banks and she hasn't given up on the idea of seeing more bank offices in the neighborhoods where people live.

Banks should be more than places that hold on to your money and cash your checks, she said.

"I think if banks focused more on getting into their own homes and focused more on homeownership I think there would be a wave," she said.

Bishop Dwane Brock, of Victory Christian Center and Eagles Nest Leadership Corp., is one of the people who helped Keyes-Carr expand her financial knowledge.

Brock, who has worked with several local banks, including PNC, on financial literacy programs for high school students and young adults, recognizes the role financial institutions are playing in financial literacy.

More: How schools can teach kids to be smart consumers

But he also sees the value of what's been lost.

"Minorities need to be able to walk into a bank and see people who look like them  tellers, loan officers, bank managers, Brock said. That is very important.

But there is more to it than that.

If youre not using a bank, if you dont have a bank close to you that you can access and maintain an account at, then you dont exist economically in a sense, he said.

This subscriber-only article has been made available to all viewers. Thank you for your support of local journalism in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Area of inner-city Erie barren of banks, economic benefits they bring
We no longer have to count how many jelly beans are in a jar, but old battles have become new again, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama told theGrio.

As the nation marks 58 years since Bloody Sunday, Black civil rights leaders and elected officials are committed to winning what they see as the modern fight to protect voting rights.

On March 7, 1965, Alabama state troopers pummeled voting rights activists on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma as they attempted to make their way to Montgomery, the state capital, to protest Jim Crow laws that denied the right to vote for millions of Black Americans.

Within months, the violence of that day propelled the nation forward and galvanized Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. However, nearly six decades later, leaders warn that the country is slipping backward in the progress to achieve racial equality and protect the right to vote.

In this March 7, 1965 file photo, an Alabama state trooper swings a billy club at John Lewis (right foreground), chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to break up a voting rights march in Selma, Alabama. Lewis went on to continue efforts against voter suppression as a U.S. congressman. (Photo: AP/File)

We no longer have to count how many jelly beans are in a jar, but old battles have become new again, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama told theGrio.

Guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar and other voter suppression tactics used historically to stop Black Americans from exercising their right to vote compelled the marchers of Bloody Sunday  led by civil rights icon John Lewis  to peacefully protest against racial discrimination and intimidation at the ballot.

Sewell, the only Black member of Alabamas congressional delegation, said today new legal tactics had been implemented to suppress voter turnout.

Now, all of a sudden, we have state laws that will restrict you from being handed water while youre waiting in line, she said, referring to a law enacted in Georgia in 2021.

Since the 2020 presidential election  and following incessant false claims of voter fraud by former president Donald Trump and his allies  there have been more than 400 bills introduced in states across the country that restrict voting, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Story continues

Moreover, rulings from the Supreme Court in recent years have struck down key elements of the Voting Rights Act, making it increasingly difficult for the federal government to enforce oversight. Several legal cases, most of which involve the redistricting of congressional maps, have been battle-tested in the courts.

The Brennan Center cites that of the 73 cases that have been filed challenging state drawings of maps, more than half remain pending. One of those cases is where the civil rights movement found critical momentum due to the events of Bloody Sunday.

The fight to restore the full enforceability of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is hanging in the balance as the Supreme Court is reviewing yet another Alabama case before them, said Sewell. When you think about what questions were asked, and the conservative nature of this [Supreme Court], it will strike another big blow to the Voting Rights Act by this time attacking Section 2, which allows for people to sue and show racial discrimination in voting after the fact.

People gathered in Selma, Alabama, on Sunday to listen to the speech of President Joe Biden on the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. One sign bears the likeness of the late Rep. John Lewis, who was among the marchers beaten in 1965. (Photo: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Svante Myrick, president and CEO of the progressive advocacy group People For the American Way, says he doesnt believe its a coincidence that the rise in bills attempting to limit voting happened after the 2020 death of John Lewis.

They were thinking to themselves, Okay, there he goes  they have no defenders left. It is time to carry out the full-out assault that weve wanted to see, frankly, since the Civil War, Myrick told theGrio. He said the goal of far right-wing conservatives is to take away the right to vote for any people that [they] deem to be insufficiently American  people who are not white, people who are not men, and frankly, people who will not vote conservatively.

He continued: But that coordinated attack only comes because they think nobodys watching.

Myrick said now more than ever, pro-voting rights lawmakers and activists have to beat back those bills in the state legislature and fight to pass more progressive legislation.

Last year, Democrats attempted to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore key protections of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court reversed, and the Freedom to Vote Act, which would expand voting protections. However, Democrats failed to overcome Senate Republicans use of the filibuster tactic.

In a divided Congress in which the House of Representatives is led by Republicans resistant to passing any voting rights legislation, Myricks admits, Its not going to pass this year.

He still applauds President Joe Biden for going on the record to call for ending the filibuster to pass voting rights reform on Capitol Hill, a position the White House was previously reluctant to take.

[It] was a direct result of a lot of organizing by People for the American Way and other similar groups, said Myrick. That is a huge breakthrough. It creates not only an opportunity in 2024, but actually something to run on in 2024  a platform that should inspire and motivate voters.

President Joe Biden delivers a speech on March 5 to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. More than 600 civil rights demonstrators were beaten by white police officers as they tried to cross the bridge during a 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery on March 7, 1965. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

In the absence of some of the legal protections of the Voting Rights Act and the emergence of state laws that policy advocates say are making it harder for Black and minority groups to vote, there have been examples of high turnout among impacted communities. That has been largely credited to organizers who ensured voters knew how and when to vote.

Tafeni English, the Alabama state director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said, Theres this civic engagement that has to continue happening to combat voter suppression.

It looks very dark, and it looks very bleak, but at the same time, those are opportunities  and always have been for movements  to strategize and to collectively fight this, she told theGrio.

English, who helped lead a memorial celebration this Bloody Sunday anniversary as director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center, said SPLC launched the Vote Your Voice grant program that funds grassroots organizations.

We realized, she explained, that in order for us to really tackle this issue of voter suppression, we have to have people on the ground, empowering people and reminding them of their power.

However, Myrick warned that out-organizing voter suppression is unsustainable and costly.

A short-term, maximal effort voter turnout can get us through a cycle or two or three, he said, but it will wear out voters, volunteers and donors.

On the first day of early voting in Georgia for the 2020 general election, people wait in line Oct. 12 at the C.T. Martin Natatorium and Recreation Center in Atlanta. Among new tactics decried as voter suppression is a Georgia law that prohibits giving water to people standing in line to vote. (Photo: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Myrick continued: This level of sustained effort to overcome a set of rules that have been rigged is not what we should expect or demand  from communities that are already underinvested in.

He called on Congress and Biden to do everything they can to make voting easy, accessible, safe and convenient.

Advocates believe it will take a multi-racial, multi-generational and multi-religious coalition similar to the marchers on Bloody Sunday to win the long-term battle for voting rights.

It is because of that intersectionality, of course, that they won, said Myrick. We should take that lesson from Bloody Sunday, too, as we form coalitions, making sure that our tent is wide enough.

The truth, he added, is that the majority of Americans want racial equality.

Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, noted that a small minority of white men in power leads the political forces behind voter suppression.

They have shown that they will tear the democracy down and allow for there to be a straw man leadership if it takes care of a minority of a certain type  white, primarily male  and stay in power over everybody else, Campbell told theGrio. Because at the end of the day, thats really whats driving a lot of this.

The issue around voting rights is not just a Black issue; its an American issue, she added, and we all have a role to play in that.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post On Bloody Sunday anniversary, Black leaders say the fight for voting rights endures appeared first on TheGrio.
The gunshots rang out intermittently outside of Joe's Pub & Grill on East Dublin Granville Road as Columbus police officers waited, guns drawn, attempting to locate the man who was firing them.

Body camera footage released Tuesday by the Columbus Division of Police shows the roughly more than two minutes that passed in the early hours of Saturday before the armed man  who police identified Monday as Pataskala resident Mark A. Sharpe  emerged in plain sight, firing on officers and prompting them to fire back and strike him multiple times.

"He's in between cars in the parking lot," one officer can be heard saying in the footage before gunfire was exchanged in the pub's parking lot on the city's Northeast Side. "We really don't have eyes on him."

As Columbus police officers Evan Romine and Kenneth Sauer took cover together behind a cruiser, a nearby civilian sheltering with them can be heard saying: "That dude's probably about to die tonight."

"Very possibly," one of them replied.

Police dispatchers had received three 911 calls around 12:30 a.m. Saturday  which the division has also now released  in which callers indicated the man was possibly intoxicated and, after he was kicked out of the bar, smashed a window of a vehicle outside, where he retrieved a handgun.

Body camera footage shows Columbus police officers, guns drawn, moments before they were fired upon by a male suspect and returned fire, wounding him.

One gunshot is audibly heard in one of the 911 calls, sending the patrons of the pub at 4949 East Dublin Granville Road fleeing to the bathrooms for shelter.

"Oh my God, he just shot in here," one female caller exclaims. "Everyone get down and get back here now!"

Sharpe, 39, has since been charged with three count of felonious assault for firing at three officers when they responded to the scene of the shooting outside the pub, which is located just west of Hamilton Road.

Previous coverage:Three Columbus officers identified who exchanged gunfire with Pataskala man, wounding him

Also on Monday, Columbus police identified the three officers who reportedly exchanged gunfire with Sharpe as Romine  an eight-year veteran of the division  as well as Sauer and Tamer Khadre, who have each been with the division for four years.

Story continues

In the body camera footage, a single shot can be heard when the first officers began to approach the gunman outside the bar. The officers, believing the gunman was firing at them, radioed the information to dispatchers and took cover behind their vehicles.

"He's firing at us," one of the officers says.

Amid the confusion and with little visibility in the dimly lit parking lot, officers strained to to identify where exactly the armed man was located. More officers continued to arrive on scene, and eventually they determined that he was likely between two vehicles outside the bar.

As shots ring out sporadically, officers can be heard giving verbal commands to the man to put up his hands.

Body and dash camera video shows the suspect fired at least three shots before the spree crescendoed in the violent confrontation with the officers.

After a few minutes pass, the gunman appears to be seen emerging from between the two cars toward one group of officers. One of those officers yells for the man to put his hands up. Instead, the suspect can be seen stopping, assuming a spread-legged stance and pointing his handgun at officers, firing multiple rounds as officers return fire.

Dash camera footage shows him falling to the ground and officers immediately approaching him. Body camera footage from Romine, who can be seen brandishing an assault rifle-type weapon, shows him kicking the gun away from the suspect, sending it sliding under a nearby car.

As the man later identified as Sharpe lies critically wounded on the ground, officers pat him down and one officer attempts to handcuff him. But because Sharpe had a gunshot wound on his arm, officers cannot successfully apply the handcuffs.

Homicides:Columbus police identify two victims killed in West Side shooting

No one else was injured, and police reported recovering the gun at the scene.

Footage shows officers rendering medical aid to Sharpe at the scene in accordance with Andre's Law, a law named for Andre Hill, the 47-year-old man fatally shot in 2020 by then-Columbus officer Adam Coy, that requires police officers to give first aid until paramedics arrive. Officers can be seen and heard applying gauze and at least one tourniquet to stop bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds.

Body camera footage shows the responding police and medical presence in the aftermath of a police shooting on Saturday outside Joe's Pub & Grill on East Dublin Granville Road

Sharpe was initially transported to Mount Carmel East hospital in critical condition, but police said on Monday that Sharpe appeared poised to survive his injuries.

Police chase:Columbus officer injured after armed robbery suspects crash into cruiser during chase

The shooting marks the third instance so far in 2023 that Columbus police officers have fired and struck a suspect, one of which proved fatal.

On Feb. 5, officer Joshua Ohlinger shot Michael Cleveland, 66, after a brief foot chase following an attempted traffic stop on the South Side, potentially paralyzing him for life, according to his attorney. Six days later on Feb. 11, SWAT officers with the Columbus Division of Police fatally shot Andrews, 46, of Athens, in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Grove City while trying to arrest him on warrant for rape.

Columbus police shootings in 2023:Columbus faith leaders, activists lament police shootings

As it does for all incidents in which a Columbus Division of Police officer discharges a weapon, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation into the shooting and the circumstances that led to it.

elagatta@dispatch.com

@EricLagatta

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus police release body cam, 911 calls from Saturday shooting
By Valerie Insinna and Abhijith Ganapavaram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new supplier problem has stymied deliveries of Boeing's 767 freighter and KC-46 tanker, the company confirmed on Tuesday.

According to a March 6 report by aviation publication The Air Current, Boeing has not delivered any 767-based jets in 2023 due to a quality issue surrounding the center fuel tank made by Triumph Group's aerospace structures unit, which did not complete cleaning and paint adhesion processes before delivering the items.

In a statement on Tuesday, Boeing acknowledged a "quality issue" had forced the company to rework 767Fs and KC-46s before delivery, but said it had not changed its delivery plans for the year.

Boeing declined to comment on when the issue was first identified and how many aircraft could be affected by the problem, which requires the primer inside the fuel tank to be removed and then repainted.

The Air Current reported that it could impact more than a dozen aircraft in Boeing's inventory as well as delivered planes stretching back to 2021.

Triumph declined to comment on the matter, saying it had sold its aerostructures unit in July 2022. It is unclear whether the affected fuel tanks were made by Triumph or under the unit's new ownership of Daher Aerospace Inc.

The U.S. Air Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 767-related issue is the latest evidence of the hurdles facing deliveries and adds further texture to a challenging industrial picture ranging from supply chain pressures to internal snags at both Boeing and Airbus.

On Monday, Leeham News reported a software problem had delayed some 737 MAX deliveries by up to a year. The problem concerns the Option Selection Software used when an aircraft built for one customer has to be reconfigured before being delivered to a different customer.

A Boeing spokesperson told Reuters the issue "does not affect the timing of Boeing airplane deliveries and has no impact to our delivery outlook." Boeing expects to deliver at least 400 of its bestselling 737 MAX narrowbody planes in 2023.

Story continues

Boeing characterized the problem as a documentation issue that will not require rewriting software, and which mostly impacts aircraft that have already been delivered.

The story prompted a series of broadly similar analyst notes noting the topic was not new, though it has not apparently previously been reported by media or analysts.

"The potential impact could be delays for 30-40 aircraft," wrote Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu.

Meanwhile, deliveries of the widebody 787 Dreamliner remain paused due to a data analysis error related to the aircraft's forward pressure bulkhead. Boeing has not changed its delivery target of 70 to 80 Dreamliners this year.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna, Abhijith Ganapavaram; Editing by Mark Potter and Deepa Babington)
Extra border patrol agents have been transferred to points of the U.S.-Canada border as an influx of migrants  many from Mexico  are starting to cross into the country from the north.

The 25 extra agents have been assigned to a busy part of the northern border, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told NBC News. Some of those agents had previously been assigned to the southern border, NBC said, citing a source familiar with the move.

The agents have been transferred to the Swanton Sector of the U.S.-Canada border, which includes all of Vermont and parts of New York and New Hampshire.

While the apprehension numbers are small compared to other areas with irregular migration flows, Swanton Sector apprehensions constitute a large change in this area, the CBP spokesperson told NBC. The deployed team will serve as a force multiplier in the region and assist to deter and disrupt human smuggling activities being conducted in the Swanton Sector area of responsibility.

CBP encounters at the northern land border have surged in the last two years, according to the departments data. Overall encounters in January were up nearly 100 percent over one year ago.

But the surge in the Swanton Sector has been even more severe. Encounters in this fiscal year have already blown past the last fiscal year. Agents had just 24 encounters in January 2022  this January, there were 367.

The surge has caught the attention of federal authorities. It comes as more migrants are choosing to fly from Mexico to Canada and then attempt to enter the U.S. from the north; statistically, authorities are less likely to turn them away in the north under the federal governments Title 42 program.

But agents say the conditions in the north at this time of year, with frigid temperatures and winter weather, means migrants are faced with dangerous conditions when trying to enter the U.S. Swanton Sector. Patrol Chief Agent Robert Garcia said in a statement last month that it was dangerous for both migrants and patrol agents.

As we progress deeper into winter and continue to address the ongoing pace of illicit cross-border traffic, the level of concern for the lives and welfare of our Border Patrol Agents and those we are encountering  particularly vulnerable populations  continues to climb, Garcia said. It cannot be stressed enough: not only is it unlawful to circumvent legal means of entry into the United States, but it is extremely dangerous, particularly in adverse weather conditions, which our Swanton Sector has in incredible abundance.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Over the past year, many Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX) insiders sold a significant stake in the company which may have piqued investors' interest. When evaluating insider transactions, knowing whether insiders are buying versus if they selling is usually more beneficial, as the latter can be open to many interpretations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

The insider, Eric Francis Thepaut, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$848k worth of shares at a price of US$40.99 each. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$47.74. As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 22% of Eric Francis Thepaut's stake.

Insiders in Boston Scientific didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

I will like Boston Scientific better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Insiders At Boston Scientific Have Sold Stock Recently

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of Boston Scientific shares. In total, insider Arthur C. Butcher sold US$583k worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. This may suggest that some insiders think that the shares are not cheap.

Story continues

Insider Ownership Of Boston Scientific

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Boston Scientific insiders own 0.2% of the company, currently worth about US$165m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Boston Scientific Insiders?

An insider hasn't bought Boston Scientific stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. The company boasts high insider ownership, but we're a little hesitant, given the history of share sales. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that Boston Scientific is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Ben Savage, former star of Boy Meets World, is running for Congress.

Savage, 42, confirmed on Instagram that he is running to represent District 30 in the Los Angeles area, which is currently held by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schiff is running for the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who last month announced plans to retire.

I am a proud Californian, union member and longtime resident of District 30 who comes from a family of unwavering service to our country and community, Savage wrote in an Instagram post announcing his candidacy on March 6.

I firmly believe in standing up for what is right, ensuring equality and expanding opportunities for all, his post also read. Im running for Congress because its time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our countrys most pressing issues.

District 30 includes areas such as Hollywood, Burbank and Glendale.

Ben Savage and Betsy Randle in

Savages Instagram announcement came after he filed paperwork for his campaign with the Federal Election Commission in January.

On his campaign website, the actor referenced his past as a child actor, though without referring to Boy Meets World, in which he starred from 1993 to 2000.

He also reprised his role as Cory Matthews in the Girl Meets World reboot from 2014 to 2017.

Savage noted on his campaign website that thanks to his acting past, he learned the value of a hard days work by age 5 and the importance of union membership.

Fans couldnt resist references to Savages Boy Meets World legacy in comments about his campaign announcement on Instagram, with one person chiming in, Boy meets congress!

Mr. Feeny would be soo proud, another fan wrote.

Ben savage. Honest. Loyal. Decent, another person commented, referring to Corys campaign slogan when he runs for eighth grade president in Boy Meets World.

According to his campaign website, Savage graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science and currently lives in West Hollywood.

Story continues

Outlining his priorities on his campaign website, Savage said he was focused on issues including reforms and improvements to police-citizen interactions, homelessness, affordable housing, protecting unions and affordable health care, among other areas.

Savage was unsuccessful in a bid for a West Hollywood City Council seat last year.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Samuel Besca and Matilda Besso Besca on their wedding day in Ioannina, Greece.

BOYNTON BEACH  Joseph Bescas family rarely shared their story of surviving the Holocaust. But now, with the help of a sacred heirloom, the Boynton Beach resident is honoring their memory and preserving the past.

On March 25, 1944, more than a decade before Joseph Besca was born, Germans deported his grandparents and his father, Samuel, to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, ripping them from their home in Greece. The family, which also included Samuel Bescas brother and two sisters, shared their final moments at the killing center.

He went to the right, they went to the left, Joseph Besca said of his father. He actually saw them walking toward the crematorium.

A close look at the Purim megillah, containing the "Scroll of Esther," that Joseph and Mark Besca donated to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The Germans forced approximately 1,900 Jews out of Ioannina, Greece, and into the camp. Fewer than 150 people survived, including his father, who endured abuse, hunger and uncertainty until the liberation of Auschwitz.

Samuel Besca then returned to his family home in Greece. There, he unearthed an item that his parents had buried outside for safekeeping: a silver case measuring about 14 inches long.

The megillah case  adorned with images of flowers, a crown and the Ten Commandments  held a sacred text known as the "Scroll of Esther," which recounts the story of Jewish deliverance in ancient Persia. Also known as the biblical Book of Esther, the scroll is usually read during Purim, a celebratory holiday that falls on March 6 and 7 this year.

And thanks to a recent donation by Joseph Besca and his brother, Mark, their father's treasured heirloom will now be archived by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and shared with the world.

This megillah has an extraordinary history, said Fred Wasserman, a museum acquisitions curator. Its survival speaks to the continuity between generations despite the Holocaust, and powerfully echoes the Purim story of Jewish perseverance and survival that is recounted in the Scroll of Esther itself.

Story continues

"Lets share this with the world." Besca family weighs decision to donate family heirloom

The heirloom, much like their fathers stories, had been kept inside the family for generations. Though he survived the genocide, Samuel Besca grappled with a lifetime of trauma and a distrust for others.

He used to wake up in the middle of the night screaming, his son said. I didnt understand why until he said, I see the dogs. The German shepherds coming at me.

But his family's story is filled with blessings, too. Shortly after the liberation of Auschwitz, his father reunited with a woman named Matilda Besso, his high school sweetheart. A Christian family harbored Besso before she traveled to Palestine during the war. And after she reunited with Samuel Besca, they got married, opened a small store in Greece and then gave birth to Joseph, their first son, in 1956.

Samuel Besca & Matilda Besso Besca pose for a photo near Lake Pamvotis after the Holocaust.

They later immigrated to New York in search of a better life for their new family. They found a tight-knit community of Jews and fellow Holocaust survivors, including many who, much like Samuel, were hesitant to relive their past.

"There were people in my family that refused to talk about the Holocaust until their later years, before they passed," Joseph Besca said. "It was too painful of a memory."

Samuel Besca and his wife had their second son, Mark, in 1959, giving Joseph a brother and best friend. And with their parents' passing  their father in 1996 and their mother in 2009  the sons wanted to honor their family's story, both the good and bad.

'We need to be louder than hate': Officials, residents plot strategy to fight antisemitism

Lake Worth High teacher removed from class after 'disturbing,' 'racially charged' incident

Wild HOA board meeting boils over amid claims of forged signatures, unlawful imprisonment

Joseph Besca, now 66, and Mark, now 63, also wanted to ensure that history is preserved as more Holocaust survivors pass away each year.

"Mark and I talked about this at great length and we said, 'You know what? Let's share this with the world,'" Joseph said. "We have to teach this to every generation and we have to make sure it never happens again."

With an office in Boca, the Holocaust Museum races to preserve history

The family heirloom is now being housed at the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center. The center in Bowie, Md., less than an hour from the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., is a two-story research and storage facility that holds a majority of the museums collection.

While many artifacts are on display at the museum itself, tens of thousands of items are researched and preserved at the center, which includes laboratories and a climate-controlled environment. Artifacts are sometimes rotated between the center in Maryland and the museum in Washington.

And every object that enters the collection, including the Besca family heirloom, is eventually digitized and uploaded to the museums website for all to see, said Robert Tanen, director of the museums Southeast Region.

The unfortunate reality is that millions and millions of stories were snuffed out and will never be told, he said. Each story and each collection thats donated to the museum is a new piece of this unfinished puzzle that well have to build the story of the Holocaust.

Tanen, whose office is based in Boca Raton, said the museum is racing to document the stories of Holocaust survivors and their families while the opportunity still exists.

You can shake their hand, he said of the remaining Holocaust survivors. You can give them a hug. You can take a picture with them. Yet, right now, were experiencing a resurgence in antisemitism and Holocaust denial. Imagine what thats going to be like when we dont have survivors here to stand up and tell their stories."

That makes donations like Mr. Bescas that much more significant and important," he continued.

To view the museum's full collection online, visit www.ushmm.org. And anyone who wants to inquire about donating an artifact can send an email to curator@ushmm.org.

Giuseppe Sabella is a reporter covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton Beach man donates family heirloom buried during the Holocaust
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government expects to resume beef exports to China in the next few days and is planning to request a revision of the protocol that triggered the ban after it discovered a case of mad cow disease, a government official said on Tuesday.

The plan to revise protocols comes a few weeks after Brazil found a case of mad cow disease in the northern state of Para, sparking a self-imposed ban on beef exports to China, in compliance with a bilateral sanitary agreement signed in 2015.

Last week, a Brazilian case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy was dubbed 'atypical' after tests conducted by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

China "may have some questions, but the expectation is that they will give an answer (about ending the ban) tomorrow or the day after," Carlos Ernesto Agustin, special advisor to the ministry of agriculture, told Reuters.

The suspension of beef exports to China is a major upset for Brazilian meatpackers, which have to use other plants in South America to send product to the Asian country.

"We will talk in the future and try to change the protocol. There is no need to be so extensive," Agustin said.

An alternative would be, for example, to place under embargo exports of meat coming from the state or region where the case of the disease was registered, not a countrywide ban, he explained.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's leftist government, which has been reluctant to criticize Nicaragua's authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, will for the first time on Tuesday express concern over the persecution of opponents in his country, two sources said.

The concern will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the sources who helped prepare the document told Reuters on Monday.

Brazil was criticized on Friday for not joining a declaration signed by 55 countries that sharply criticized Ortega and for not even speaking out during the council meeting.

Brazilian diplomats took part in the negotiation of the declaration criticizing Nicaragua, but chose not to endorse it because it did not leave a door open for negotiations.

The alternative text, which will be presented by Brazil's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Tovar Nunes, will say that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government follows with concern the persecution of opponents, the withdrawal of their rights and expulsions from the country.

At the same time, however, the Lula government wants to keep an open door to be a possible channel for dialogue, emphasizing that Brazil is committed to democracy and wants to play a "constructive" role in solving the crisis in Nicaragua.

"The document expresses concern, but does not throw stones, precisely so as to leave open a possibility for dialogue," said one source, who confirmed that Brazil did not support Friday's declaration because it interrupts the possibility of mediation.

Lula has long avoided criticizing the rights situation in Nicaragua and Venezuela, whose governments with origins in the left were traditionally allied to his Workers Party (PT).

On Tuesday, the U.N. Human Rights Council will discuss a report that concludes there have been "serious and systematic violations" committed in Nicaragua that can be considered crimes against humanity, including torture, extrajudicial executions and arbitrary arrests.

The report by the council's experts points to Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, the president's wife, as those responsible for the abuses.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito Moab Police Department via AP

Brian Laundrie's mother provided new details about the letter she wrote to her son that said burn after reading on the envelope, which has become the center of a dispute in the ongoing lawsuit between the Laundries and Gabby Petitos parents.

In a sworn affidavit filed on Monday, Roberta Laundrie said that the letter she wrote to her son had nothing to do with Petitos murder and should remain private. A lawyer representing Petitos parents previously called it a damning piece of potential evidence with references to burying a body.

"While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian's actions and his taking of Gabby's life, I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter, Roberta said in her affidavit.

Petitos parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, in March sued the Laundries for emotional distress, accusing them of hiding that they knew about the murder in the weeks before Petitos body was found near a Wyoming campground. After returning to his parents Florida home, Laundrie also disappeared and was found dead by suicide in a nature preserve after a weekslong search for him. A written confession to Petitos murder was found in his backpack.

In a December court hearing, Patrick Reilly, a lawyer representing the Petito family, said the letter written by Roberta could be evidence of the Laundrie familys involvement after the murder. The letter contained references to helping Laundrie get out of prison, getting a shovel, and helping bury the body, he said, according to CNN.

In her affidavit filed on Monday, Roberta said the contents of her letter were taken out of context and she had written it months before her son killed Gabby. (The letter is undated, and Reilly argued it should be up for a jury to decide if its relevant to the lawsuit.)

Roberta said her relationship with Brian was strained in the months leading up to the trip, and she wrote the letter with the purpose of reaching out to him during a difficult time.

Story continues

My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by miles of separation we would soon be faced with, she said.

She admitted to writing burn after reading on the envelope, but said that it was an inside joke referring to a book Gabby had given Brian called Burn After Writing, which instructs readers to answer questions and express themselves on the page, and then burn the book.

This is where my message to Brian came from and I wrote on the cover of the letter for Brian to Burn After Reading, Roberta said. In short, I was trying to connect with Brian and repair our relationship as he was planning to leave home  and I had hoped this letter would remind him how much I loved him.

Roberta also hit back against suggestions that she had given the letter to Brian after the murder.

"There has been some speculation that this letter was in Brian's possession or in his backpack when he died  insinuating that I gave it to him as he left my home on September 13, 2021  but that is not true because the FBI had the letter in their possession and questioned members of my family about it prior to October 20, 2021 when my husband and I found Brian's remains in the reserve," Roberta said.

Roberta said in her affidavit that she did not expect anyone to read the letter and argued that it should remain private. A judge has yet to rule on whether it may be submitted into evidence.

In some way, I did not want anyone else to read it as I know it is not the type of letter a mother writes to her adult son and I did not want to embarrass Brian, Roberta said. That is why I wrote Burn After Reading on the envelope and I knew that Brian would know what that meant. I am now appreciative that he actually kept it.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Reilly said Gabby's parents have waited a long time for the Laundries to address their daughter's death  and were offended to see Roberta's statements on Monday.

"Gabbys parents are extremely offended that Roberta Laundrie used Gabby to defend herself, yet she never spoke up while Gabby was missing," Reilly said.

Reilly said the letter remains relevant to the case and questioned Roberta's crediblity on when it was written. He emphasized that the letter was undated and said fully disclosing its contents could help determine when it was actually written.

"Curiously, since a portion of the letter has already been disclosed, and Roberta Laundrie chose in her affidavit to disclose other portions of the letter, she doesnt want Joe and Nichole to see the entirety of the letter," Reilly said.

More on this
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) that passed the Earth in 2020. Scientists expect comet C/2023 A3 will be even brighter. Alexander Ryumin/TASS via Getty Images

Astronomers have spotted a newly-referenced comet that is heading towards Earth.

The comet is likely to be so bright it could outshine our stars.

The last time the comet visited Earth was around 80,000 years ago, astronomers said.

A recently-spotted comet is expected to shine brighter than the stars in the night sky as it passes our planet, according to astronomers.

The comet, named C/2023 A3, is hurtling toward the Earth at about 180,610 mph, per space.com.

If all goes well, the comet, which last passed by the Earth about 80,000 years ago, will start being visible with the naked eye around October 2024, according to data from the Minor Planet Center.

It could be as bright or brighter as our stars, and much more brilliant than the recent ZTF green comet that passed the Earth last month.

Brighter than the Green Comet

C/2023 A3 is expected to reach a brightness magnitude between -0.7 and -5, per space.com. That technical term means it will potentially be as bright as Venus in our night skies.

By comparison, the recent Green Comet ZTF had a brightness of around magnitude +4.6 (the lower the magnitude, the brighter), per space.com.

Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) taken at NAOJ Mitaka Campus on January 31, 2023. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

That means C/2023 A3 has the potential to be at least about 100 times brighter than ZTF, and six times brighter than NEOWISE, a comet that grazed the Earth in 2020, according to Ukrainian astronomy magazine The Universe. Space. Tech.

But of course, these are just predictions, and a lot could happen to the comet before then.

For one, the comet will have to survive the sun. The ball of gas, ice, and dust is now heading toward our star and it will have to survive its smoldering rays. The critical moment will be its perihelion  its closest approach to the sun  on September 24, 2024.

Still, scientists are hopeful, according to the Universe. Space. Tech., because the comet is expected to be quite large and its perihelion is far from the sun, about 36 million miles away.

NASA keeps a close eye out for objects that graze the Earth

C/2023 A3 was spotted on February 22 by the NASA-funded asteroid early detection system Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).

Story continues

The system, operated by the University of Hawaii, is made up of four telescopes placed in Hawaii, Chile, and South Africa. These automatically scan the sky to spot potential threats to Earth coming from the sky.

NASA keeps a close eye on near-Earth objects that could hurt our planet, but it doesn't always catch them this early.

For instance, NEOWISE was spotted only three months before it passed by the Earth in 2020. On that occasion, we were lucky and the comet only passed our planet, offering spectacular vistas to onlookers.

C/2023 A3, however, isn't expected to be a planetary threat. Astronomers think it will pass about 0.5 Astronomical Units, or 44 million miles, from our planet.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Andrew MacAskill and Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has set out details of a new law barring the entry of asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the Channel, a proposal some charities say could be impractical and criminalise the efforts of thousands of genuine refugees.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping boat arrivals one of his five key priorities after the number of migrants arriving on the south coast of England soared to more than 45,000 last year, up 500% in the last two years.

The new legislation will mean anyone who arrives this way will be prevented from claiming asylum and deported either back to their homeland or to so-called safe third countries.

Anger over immigration has played a defining role in British politics over the last decade and Sunak's Conservatives hope that by taking a hard line they can rebuild their popularity as they trail the main opposition Labour party by around 20 percentage points in opinion polls.

The U.N.'s refugee agency said it was "profoundly concerned" by the proposals, which would deny people the right to asylum "no matter how genuine and compelling" individual cases may be.

The government said on the first page of the draft legislation that it may not be compatible with Britain's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, meaning it could face legal challenges if made into law.

Sunak said he would do "whatever is necessary" to stop the small boats and was ready to fight any legal challenges.

"We're up for the fight, I wouldn't be standing here if we weren't - but we're actually confident that we will win," he told a press conference.

The legislation will allow the detention of migrants without bail until they can be removed, interior minister Suella Braverman said, and those entering Britain illegally would no longer be able to use anti-slavery laws to try to block removal.

Story continues

Only children, people who are considered too ill to fly or those at a "real risk of serious and irreversible harm" will be allowed to claim asylum in Britain.

Just under two-thirds of those who arrive on small boats are currently granted asylum or another form of humanitarian protection, interior ministry figures show.

While the number of applications for asylum in the UK hit a 20-year high of nearly 75,000 in 2022, it is still below the European Union average. Germany received more than 240,000 asylum applications last year.

LEGAL WRANGLING

Opposition politicians and charities have questioned whether the latest plans would be any more effective than previous attempts in the last five years to deter people from making the crossing.

Labour's home affairs spokesperson Yvette Cooper described the government's announcement as another "Groundhog Day" and said it should be working with other countries to address the matter.

Last year, Britain agreed a deal to send tens of thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away (6,400 km) to Rwanda.

The first deportation flight was blocked by an injunction from the European Court of Human Rights. London's High Court then ruled it lawful in December, but opponents are seeking to appeal that verdict.

Braverman said she was in discussions with the European human rights court to halt the use of injunctions to prevent the future deportation of migrants.

She suggested to parliament that without changes to the law, 100 million asylum seekers could qualify for protection in Britain, but didn't provide supporting evidence for that figure.

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young, William James, Muvija M and Alistair SmoutEditing by Sharon Singleton, Bernadette Baum and Mark Potter)
Emma Heming Willis, the wife of actor Bruce Willis, plead with paparazzi over the weekend to give the iconic actor space as he battles dementia.

In a video posted to Instagram, Heming Willis described the struggles she faces as she tries to help her husband navigate the world.

If you are someone who is looking after someone with dementia, you know how difficult and stressful it can be to get someone out into the world and just to navigate them safely, even just to get a cup of coffee, she said in the video.

Photographers are complicating their efforts, she added, noting, I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space.

Please dont be yelling at my husband, asking how hes doing, whatever. The woo-hooing and the yippee-ki-yays  just dont do it, ok? Give him the space.

She added that purpose of her video was to raise awareness of how to treat people with dementia.

Willis, known for his roles in films such as Die Hard and Pulp Fiction, was originally diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder. Last month, his family revealed his condition has developed into frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a progressive disease that has no cure.

Bruce Willis diagnosed with aphasia, stepping away from acting, family says

The award-winning actor has been absent from the spotlight since his daughter, Rumer Willis, shared his initial diagnosis last year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
PARIS (AP)  Camellias that towered five meters (16 feet) high served as the ready-to-wear altarpiece for Chanels sparkling, bloom-inspired fall display.

Meanwhile, Miuccia Pradas baby sister brand Miu Miu  another headline show on Paris Fashion Weeks last day  drew stars such as Kylie Minogue for its study in off-kilter creativity. Some of the show's front row seats were left empty amid France's nationwide strikes again pension reform.

Here are some highlights of the fall-winter 2023-24 collections, including when Associated Press caught up with Penelope Cruz:

CHANELS CAMELLIA

It was the flower that launched a thousand designs. Legend has it that the camellia first became Gabrielle Coco Chanels obsession in 1913 when she pinned one to her belt  seduced, the house said, by its simplicity, shape, purity and vitality. Over a century later, the winter flower is still center stage.

Camellia is more than a theme, its an eternal code, creative director Virginie Viard said. I like its softness and its strength.

As ever, there was a restraint in Viards design aesthetic, for instance, in the use of a limited palette of whites, shadowy blacks and shades of pink. The camellia, too, was handled strictly, adorning pockets, buttons and jackets, prints or leather shoes.

But the ubiquitous sparkle of sequins and in plays in shape  slits in gowns, asymmetrical coats and swooshes of diagonal fabric on skirts  gave the collection motion.

Viard also dabbled in mens styles with menswear jackets and dandy-like British dressing gowns.

The faded colors, the dusky pink, the crafted pieces, the touches of 1960s and 70s, a certain English vibe, the comfortable enveloping coats, the authentic materials, make the collections more real, and more charming too," Viard said.

PENELOPE CRUZ ON LAGERFELD

Penelope Cruz revisited her memories of late designer Karl Lagerfeld following Chanels show.

At a 1999 Vanity Fair party, Lagerfeld and current designer Viard were discussing the actress becoming a Chanel ambassador. It was meant to be a secret.

Story continues

Karl and Virginie were speaking in French and they thought I was not understanding," Cruz said. "And they were talking about me becoming an ambassador to the brand. But I understood everything, pretending that I was not, and I was looking to a different place, Cruz said. They gave me the great news quite soon after that!

Cruz spoke with love for the house, which feels like a family, whose designs and magic had made her dream, even as a young girl growing up in Spain.

The Oscar winner also spoke of Viards tongue-in-cheek style. Tuesdays fall-winter set was based on the 1966 movie Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? a satirical French mockumentary about runway hyperbole and the excesses of the fashion industry.

But of course, Virginie does have a sense of humor, Cruz said. You have to be brave to mix some materials and colors. It was fun.

MIU MIUS DISRUPTIONS

Nearly 50 screens lining the walls and columns of the Palais dIena beamed out scenes of the set construction at the Miu Miu show, beside white tube lighting and a white corrugated iron backdrop.

The program notes came with a text by Korean artist Geumhyung Jeong: There is a codependency, but in the end, machines do not need us. We need them.

The link to the decors theme of the off-kilter fashion display was unclear to some, but Prada seemed to want to challenge the set rules of dressing.

Knickers poked out from under a brown leather mini-dress, cut so short they were no longer truly underwear. The appliques on one light silk umber gown were so heavy they structured the dress rather than vice-versa. Three-dimensional flowers adorning a top were intentionally obscured by a sheer green cardigan.

The fashion twists bowled over Pradas guests, who cheered and applauded, including Kylie Minogue in a demure black velvet minidress.

'CELEBUTANT' RUNWAY TURN

The daughter of former NBA star Dwyane Wade and stepdaughter of actress Gabrielle Union, Zaya, 15, trod the boards at Miu Miu in her fashion week debut as a model.

Im not crying, you are, Wade posted on Instagram on a story of his daughter modeling.

Wade and Union sat front row in all-black outfits and shades cheering her on, when she strutted past in an oversized olive green knit coat ensemble with pencil skirt and slingback shoes.

The moment may have been even more poignant after Zaya, who came out as transgender in 2020, was recently officially granted gender change and name.

Zaya has become a vocal advocate for queer rights and education for younger LGBTQ+ people.

STRIKES, DARLING

The back-to-back runways of Paris Fashion Week are frenetic. Private cars snake round blocks, snared traffic is normal and crowds of photographers make it difficult to navigate the sidewalks around show venues.

As a result, social movements in the French capital are often imperceptible.

The labor strikes across France on Tuesday left some chunks of front row seats empty at Miu Miu. While Chanel, which last season shut out guests who arrived a couple of minutes late, started its show  gasp  tardily.

Both likely resulted from limited transportation options, with many Paris metro lines shuttered for the day. In addition, some guests left the city early to avoid the chaos of the strikes launched in protest of President Emmanuel Macrons proposed pension reforms.

Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, was one such early leaver. Chen posted videos and photos of her trying to reach Charles de Gaulle Airport, including people walking along the highway, owing to a protest blocking traffic around the airport.

Y-PROJECT DISSECTS

Weary fashionistas made it to the finish line at Y-Project  for some representing the final big show of the Paris seasons 107 on-calendar runway collections or presentations.

Glen Martens rarely disappoints with his award-winning scruffy, forward style that riffs on fashion history.

Dissection was a key theme for fall  with black tops snipped away to a rectangle of fabric held by straps, and denim jackets deconstructed in segments. Yet history is never too far away.

An ice blue three-dimensional ruffled tunic hinted at the Shakespearean stage, and a sheer white top evoked the structure of a corset.
China plays important role in stabilizing world economy: Russian expert

Xinhua) 08:29, March 07, 2023

ST. PETERSBURG, March 6 (Xinhua) -- China is of great importance in stabilizing the world economy, Irina Kokushkina, associate professor of the Department of World Economy at St. Petersburg State University, has said.

China has maintained stable economic growth despite some negative factors such as the impact of pandemic and the global economic downturn last year, Kokushkina said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

The expert sees several reasons for China's economic growth in 2022. The first is timely taking into account all risk factors and making adjustments appropriately. The second is integrating national macro-control with market regulations to stimulate the economy. The third is relying on its own resources and releasing economic potential.

China continues to increase investment into science and technology and promote major projects in the sector, the expert said, noting that China's spending on research and development rose by about 10 percent in 2022 from the previous year, the seventh year in a row of double-digit growth of the figure.

The country has made biotechnology, space exploration and the development of a green economy as priorities for years. To achieve development in these areas, the country has pledged to actively increase investments.

"Being a stable and reliable partner, China plays an important role in the stability of the world economy and international relations," she said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Camilla Alves McConaughey had a few unexpected visitors on her recent trip to Paris.

While on a trip to Paris for fashion week, Alves McConaughey, who is married to actor Matthew McConaughey, shared the surprises on her Instagram story, with one photo of her daughter holding some sweet raspberry treats.

"Look who showed up in Paris!!! Vida!!" she wrote over the photo. "My 13 year old."

@camilamcconaughey via Instagram

In a subsequent black-and-white picture, Alves McConaughey posted that her son and mother, who sat cozied up smiling together at a cafe, also headed to France for the fun.

"Look who else showed up!! Levi (14 now!!) and my mom too!!," she wrote, adding green and yellow hearts.

The native Brazilian also added a few lines in Portuguese, which translates to, "Look who arrived here in Paris  my daughter, my son and my mother!!"

@camilamcconaughey via Instagram

She and Matthew McConaughey also share a 10-year-old son, Livingston.

Alves McConaughey was pictured with son Levi Alves McConaughey and daughter Vida Alves McConaughey at the Stella McCartney Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 fashion show on Monday, March 6.

The trio donned coordinating beige outfits, with Alves McConaughey sporting a black bandeau top and tan trousers with a blazer, fedora and snake-print heels. Meanwhile, Levi wore matching plaid pants and a zip-up under an off-white jacket, with Vida showing off a light-colored dress with an attention-grabbing female face.

Camila Alves McConaughey with son Levi Alves McConaughey, and daughter Vida Alves McConaughey at the Stella McCartney Womenswear Fall Winter 2023-2024 on March 06, 2023 in Paris, France. (Arnold Jerocki / Getty Images)

But the trip to Europe wasn't seamless for the Austin-based couple.

In another Instagram story posted on Sunday, March 5, Alves McConaughey showed video footage of people approaching her to ask how she was coping with her traumatic flight experience.

On March 1, the model and designed was on a Lufthansa flight with Matthew McConaughey that was rerouted by severe turbulence. Alves McConaughey shared a frightening video from inside Airbus A330, which was hit by unstable air while 37,000 feet up.

On (a) flight last night, the plane dropped almost 4000 feet, Alves McConaughey wrote in the caption for the video. Everything was flying everywhere. To respect the privacy of those around me, thats all I am showing, but the plane was (in) CHAOS and the turbulence (kept) on coming.

The plane took off from Austin, Texas and was headed to Germany when it experienced severe turbulence while flying over Tennessee, according to NBC News. Lufthansa Flight 469 was ultimately forced to land at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., with seven people taken to the hospital upon a rough landing.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - Canada on Tuesday said it would deploy medical technicians and assistants from the Canadian Armed Forces to Poland to train members of the Ukrainian military in Ottawa's latest assistance to Kyiv to combat the Russian invasion.

Since February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, Canada has committed over C$1 billion ($726.90 million) in military assistance to Ukraine.

"Canada has deployed seven Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants from Canadian Forces Health Services units to Poland, where they will train members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the skills needed to save lives effectively in combat situations," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defense Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday.

Canadian medical trainers will integrate into the Polish-led training that is centered on advanced tactical medical skills, with focus on combat survivability, the Canadian government said, adding the medical assistance training will start in March.

Canadian Armed Forces members are supporting members of Ukraine's military in the United Kingdom and Poland as part of an operation to provide broader military training.

Canada is extending its efforts to train Ukrainian sappers in Poland as part of the operation until October, Ottawa added.

Through this training, which started last fall, 45 Canadian Armed Forces members are equipping Ukrainian combat engineers with specialized skills such as engineering reconnaissance, and the use of explosives for demolition and de-mining.

In a joint press briefing with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday, Trudeau also stressed the need to urgently provide energy equipment to Ukraine as its infrastructure has come under attack during the war.

($1 = 1.3757 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - A man accused of throwing gravel at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election campaign pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a charge of common assault, prosecutors and his lawyer said.

Trudeau was hit by a handful of gravel in 2021 while on the campaign trail as he made his way past a crowd shouting their opposition to COVID-19-related mandates and restrictions. The prime minister was not injured and his Liberal Party went on to win the election.

A sentencing hearing for Shane Marshall, who is aged in the mid-20s and is from the province of Ontario, will be held on May 1. Marshall's lawyer, Luke Reidy, said the plea likely meant his client will avoid jail time in the sentencing.

A CTV camera had captured what looked to be white gravel hitting Trudeau and one of his bodyguards as he walked toward his campaign bus in London, Ontario, in 2021.

Marshall, who was a member of the right-wing People's Party of Canada, was charged by police with assault with a weapon. The party expelled Marshall after the incident.

"I'll be communicating with the Crown's office on sentencing and there will probably be a joint submission on sentencing, and that was largely the incentive for the plea this morning," Reidy said.

Marshall admitted he picked up a handful of gravel and threw it in the direction of Trudeau and a crowd of security personnel and supporters as the Liberal Party leader stepped aboard a campaign bus, CBC News reported, citing an agreed statement of facts read in court.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, editing by Deepa Babington)
Canadian premature twins Adiah Laelynn and Adrial Luka Nadarajah were given a "0% chance of survival" at birth, and now they're turning 1 (Photo via Twitter/ @GWR)

These adorable Canadian premature twins are continuing to defy the odds.

Over the weekend, Guinness World Records took to Twitter to celebrate Adiah Laelynn and Adrial Luka Nadarajah's first birthday with a commemorative video, and announce them as the new record holders for being the world's lightest and most premature twins.

Adiah, who was born 23 minutes before her brother, weighed 330 g, and Adrial weighed 420 g  a combined weight of 1.65 lb.

At birth, which occurred in April of last year, the pair were given a "0% chance of survival," as they arrived at a gestational age of 22 weeks  126 days early.

When I went into labour, the babies were denied all life-sustaining measures at the hospital I was admitted to and almost left to die, the twins' mother, Shakina Rajendram, recalled in the video interview shared by Guinness World Records. "We were in shock."

Rajendram explained that the next day she was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ont., where she was warned by a specialist of her babies' low survival chances if they were born ahead of the 22-week mark.

The twins held out until exactly 22 weeks  just 15 minutes past midnight.

The twins weren't quite out of the woods yet, however. They spent the subsequent 6 months in the hospital where they faced several complications including infections that led to sepsis, brain bleeds and extremely thin and fragile skin.

Adiah was the first to be given the OK to leave the hospital, after 161 days in the NICU, and Adrial a week later. While Adrial revisited the hospital twice due to infections and respiratory issues since then, Rajendram said both babies are making excellent progress.

Shes [Adiah] an extremely happy and social baby, and smiles all day long, Rajendram shared. She is very chatty and has conversations with us and her toys for hours.

Observant, attentive and intelligent, she said of Adrial.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Student debt relief has been a hot topic for years now, with some big things happening  policy-wise  in the past year: Last summer, the Biden administration announced a plan to cancel up to $20,000 for people holding federal student loans.

Then in December, Congress passed the SECURE ACT 2.0, which created provisions for employers to match student loan payments for those with debt while also adding to retirement accounts. Late in February, the Supreme Court heard arguments related to a lawsuit trying to block Bidens debt relief program.

There has been a now three-year pause on federal student loan payments due to the global pandemic, and its widely known that nearly 47 million student loan borrowers owe around $1.8 trillion.

That, combined with the fact that a majority of Americans dont have $500 to cover unexpected expenses, has provided an in for fintech companies to develop numerous technology approaches to solving the student debt problem.

While some fintech companies have taken the borrower approach, others are looking at it from an employee benefit perspective and attracting interest from venture capital investors. Those include Goodly, Highway Benefits, which announced $3.1 million in seed funding last week, and Candidly, which announced $20.5 million in Series B funding today.

Candidly, previously known as FutureFuel, partners with entities, including employers, financial institutions, retirement and wealth management firms, to embed artificial intelligence-driven student debt and savings optimization products into employee benefits engines.

We exist to crush debt, and to empower hard-working Americans to go beyond student debt, into wellness, and ultimately wealth, said Laurel Taylor, founder and CEO of Candidly, in an interview. More specifically, most who have student debt are focused on achieving freedom from debt at the expense of building wealth. Our mission and our capabilities enable users to make simultaneous progress so that we don't have to choose between our past and our future when it comes to financial health and wellness.

Story continues

Altos Ventures led the new financing and was joined by existing investor Cercano Management. In total, Candidly has raised $57 million.

The Series B financing follows a year of record growth in which the company saw 10x revenue growth and a 3,600% increase in payments flowing through the Candidly platform, Taylor said.

Candidly is earmarking some of the new funding to continue operationalize the advancement of the SECURE Act 2.0, which was up for a vote in Congress. The company is developing a suite of tools that allow employers to match employees student loan payments, emergency savings contributions and tax-advantaged retirement contributions.

On the borrower side, there are also public service loan forgiveness tools and Federal Forgiveness Finder to better access federal student debt relief programs. Borrowers who have used Candidly's gamified repayment and auto-payment tools were able to send an average of $45 in extra payments to their loans each month, Taylor said.

In addition, 2022 was a big year for the company with regard to distribution partners, including Guild, Empower, Lincoln Financial Group and Vanguard, joining existing partners like UBS and Fiserv, which Taylor said enables Candidly to serve over 35 million Americans.

In February, the company announced that its customer, American Eagle Outfitters, used Candidly to help employees pay down more than $100,000 in student loan debt.

While the company is able to shave years off of debt payments and help a customer no longer miss out on savings and retirement, Candidly can also serve as a gap filler should the Biden administrations one-time discharge for student debt be allowed to progress, or even if it doesnt.

The one-time discharge isn't a painkiller, but it may be a vitamin, Taylor said. It helps a little bit, but there's still a big amount of debt to slog through for the average American in our workforce today. The reason we raised this round was to scale our ability to transform financial outcomes for the users that we serve, for the employers that are providing us as a benefit and for the channels that are distributing us.
WASHINGTON  The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police sharply criticized a wildly misleading Fox News report downplaying the severity of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Last night, an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger wrote in a department-wide bulletin on Tuesday.

In a major escalation of the Republican partys efforts to rewrite the history of that day, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) granted Fox host Tucker Carlson hours of security camera footage from the riot.

Having supposedly reviewed the material, Carlson claimed snippets of calm scenes better represent the days events than footage of rioters fighting against the police.

They were peaceful, Carlson said of the pro-Trump mob. They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.

Carlson never contacted the police for context, Manger said in his memo.

The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video, Manger wrote. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments.

Several Republicans blasted Carlsons false portrayal of the riot. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took the unusual step of rebuking Fox News, the Republican partys greatest partner in media, and saying he associated himself with Mangers letter, which he held up for the cameras at a press conference.

More than 500 rioters have pleaded guilty to federal charges for their actions that day, which had been inspired by Donald Trumps lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people with assaulting or interfering with police, and Trump remains under investigation for his efforts to overthrow the election.

Carlson claimed the video showed officers acting as tour guides for shirtless rioter Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, who infamously stood from the Senate rostrum wearing a fur hat with horns.

Story continues

Manger called the tour guide allegation false and pointed out that the mob outnumbered the police. Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building, Manger said.

Carlsons most disturbing accusation, Manger said, was that Officer Brian Sicknick had been healthy and vigorous after rioters attacked him with pepper spray, implying that Sicknicks death had nothing to do with the days events. The D.C. medical examiner said Sicknick died of natural causes, namely a stroke.

Manger said that the department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day.

Sicknicks family, meanwhile, put out a statement calling Fox News sleazy and dishonest.

Related...
Shannon Stapleton via Reuters

A Florida woman accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is on the lam after tampering with her ankle monitor bracelet and failing to appear at her trial.

An FBI hunt is now underway for Olivia Pollock, who was meant to show up to court Monday to face trial on charges related to the Capitol attacks, including assaulting police officers and interfering with law enforcement. She ultimately failed to appear, according to a bench warrant obtained by The Daily Beast. Instead, at court on Monday, Pollock was declared a fugitive.

She disappeared Friday with another accused Jan. 6 rioterJoseph Hutchinson IIIafter the pair tampered with or removed the ankle monitors that track their location, said Joe Boland, a supervisory special agent with the FBIs Lakeland, Florida office, according to the Associated Press.

Boland told the outlet that the FBI has recovered one of the defendants ankle monitors but did not specify who it belonged to. The pair remains on the run.

While many accused Jan. 6 defendants were denied bail, Pollock and Hutchinson were both released from custody one month after their arrests, in June 2021, and ordered to wear GPS monitors.

Pollock last appeared in court on Feb. 22 via Zoom, alongside two others charged in the case, Joshua Doolin and Michael Perkins. Doolin and Perkins were scheduled to face trial on Monday alongside Pollock, but will now receive a bench trial without her.

She will be tried alongside Hutchinson, who is meant to face court in August.

Hutchinsons last interaction with the court was Feb. 27, when he asked permission to travel to D.C. to attend the trials of the Pollock and her co-defendants. It stands to reason that there is no good reason that the court should deny me the ability to support my friends and learn court procedure, Hutchinson wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves and seen by The Daily Beast.

Hutchinson is representing himself at trial, though an attorney appointed to assist him as standby counsel declined to comment to the Associated Press on Monday.

Story continues

Pollock is the sister of another Jan. 6 riot defendant, Jonathan Pollock, who disappeared months ago after a federal arrest warrant was issued for him in June of 2021. He is charged with Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers or Employees; Aiding and Abetting; Theft of Government Property; Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority; and Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds.

Elita Amato, a laywer for Olivia Pollock, told the Associated Press that her client had been diligently assisting in her defense for her upcoming trial prior to her disappearance.

The Daily Beast has contacted the FBI for further comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Tourists flocked to the Caribbean last year in numbers not seen since the pandemic began, with the Dutch Caribbean and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico surpassing even pre-pandemic visitor arrivals, officials said Tuesday.

More than 28 million people visited the region in 2022, a more than 50% jump compared with the previous year, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

Its clearly apparent that even in the face of the devastating blows delivered by the pandemic, as a region, we have responded with hope, strength and determination to prevail, Kenneth Bryan, the organizations chairman, said during a news conference in Barbados.

The U.S. market drove more than 50% of arrivals to the region last year with 14.6 million U.S. tourists visiting  three million more than the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of European visitors nearly doubled to 5.2 million. Visits from Canadians, though, did not rebound as expected, with some 2.1 million reported.

Governments, tourism officials and local businesses in one of the most tourism dependent regions in the world celebrated the increase in visits.

The Caribbean region (had) one of the quickest recovery rates in 2022, said Neil Walters, the tourism organizations acting secretary general.

Six islands and countries including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands surpassed total pre-pandemic arrival numbers, Walters said.

The number of cruise ship visitors also soared last year, with 19.2 million visits reported, five times compared with the previous year. However, it fell short of the record 30.4 million visits announced in 2019.

Nearly all destinations reported an increase in visitors except for Haiti, which saw a more than 20% drop amid a spike in gang violence and political instability.

Bryan said tourism officials expect overall arrivals to the Caribbean to increase by up to 15% this year, possibly surpassing pre-pandemic levels. A record 32 million people visited the Caribbean in 2019, a number that dropped by 65% the following year when the pandemic began.
Carlsberg announced its withdrawal from the Russian market back in March 2022

Staying on board for another half a year will allow me and the team to continue delivering on our challenging plans for 2023 and accomplishing the sale of the Russian business before the summer, the message on Carlsbergs website reads.

Read also: 800 businesses moved to safer regions in year of war

Cees 't Hart served as CEO of Carlsberg for eight years. He will leave the post no later than the end of Q3 2023.

On Aug. 17, 2022, Reuters reported that Carlsberg brewing company expects to complete the sale of the Russian business in 2023.

Read also: The Ukrainian business holdings of Russias oligarchs

In April 2022, Russian business newspaper Kommersant reported that Carlsberg may sell its Russian business to Anadolu Efes AB InBev Efes.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The New Castle County Police Department has identified the man fatally shot by an officer on Monday night as 22-year-old Andrew Edelmann and provided more information Tuesday about the shooting near Elsmere that also injured a 21-year-old woman.

Department spokesperson Sgt. Tracey Duffy said that officers had information that Edelmann was going to deliver a "quantity of illegal drugs" near Maryland and East Reamer avenues at about 7:30 p.m. Monday. She did not specify what that quantity was.

INITIAL REPORTING:New Castle County police officer conducting drug investigation shoots 2 people, 1 fatally

Duffy said officers also knew Edelmann drove a Hyundai Santa Fe, which they found in the 7-Eleven parking lot on Maryland Avenue. County police tried to detain Edelmann as part of the drug investigation, but he "ignored their commands" and tried to escape, according to Duffy.

Edelmann then sped up his car, Duffy said, and drove in the direction of the officers, though she did not say how fast Edelmann was driving. A nearby officer fired his gun, hitting Edelmann and a woman in the passenger seat.

They were both taken to Christiana Hospital, where Duffy said Edelmann later died. The 21-year-old woman is still in the hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries," according to police.

MORE:Jury finds former Wilmington officer guilty of lying to investigators after teen shooting

Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Unit and the Delaware Department of Justice are investigating the shooting. As per police policy, the officer who fired the gun has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.

Anyone with information related to Monday's police-involved shooting should contact Detective Lt. Justin Breslin of the agency's criminal investigations unit at (302) 395-8110 or by email at Justin.Breslin@newcastlede.gov.

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: New Castle County police ID man fatally shot by officer Monday night
(Getty/iStock)

Somewhere underneath the rubble, Mike Leum could hear a woman's voice. It was five days since the cataclysmic earthquakes that had shattered cities across Turkey and Syria, and thousands of people were still missing in the wreckage of collapsed buildings.

Mr Leum had arrived in Turkey one day earlier on 10 February, leading a small team of volunteers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Along with colleagues from LA's fire department and public works agency, the veteran search and rescue worker was one of nearly 9,000 foreigners from 68 countries who came to Turkey's aid.

"The devastation was immense and widespread," he tells The Independent. "Frequently we were just removing debris buckets at a time... it was back-breaking work."

Workers were ultimately able to rescue the woman in the rubble, along with her 18-year-old son. Then Mr Leum returned home to California, where scientists say the chance of a similarly powerful earthquake within the next 30 years is roughly 50-50.

"Yeah, it could easily happen here," observes Mr Leum.

America's Pacific coast is crisscrossed with geological fault lines, many bearing close similarities to those of Turkey and Syria. Some are historically overdue for a major quake, which could kill thousands or tens of thousands of people and cause tens of billions of dollars worth of damage.

That is why US scientists, engineers, and government officials are closely studying February's earthquakes for lessons about how to prepare for the next West Coast "big one".

BOTH 52yr old mother and 18yr old son have been rescued!!! Amazing teamwork with international rescue teams! LASD SAR is honored to be a part. @LASDHQ @KCBSKCALDesk @NBCLA @ABC7Desk @FOXLA (permission to use). pic.twitter.com/xxKKoQJy9f  Mike Leum (@Resqman) February 11, 2023

Last week legislators in Los Angeles County, which governs much of the territory surrounding the city of LA, voted unanimously to take action against the kind of flawed concrete-framed buildings that killed so many people in Turkey.

Story continues

The motion could is a first step towards requiring apartment complex owners to retrofit such buildings against collapse, just as the city of Los Angeles itself did in 2015. San Francisco officials are also considering such a law.

Meanwhile, the tragedy has jolted some homeowners in the San Francisco Bay Area to consider hardening their houses against earthquake damage, according to local contractor Howard Cook.

"Whenever there is a big earthquake, we always get more business," Mr Cook, a former earthquake assessor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who now runs a construction firm called Bay Area Retrofit. "We also get business when there is a small earthquake here. When people are shaken up they think about doing something."

Yet there are major barriers to retrofitting all the West Coast's vulnerable buildings, not least the considerable expense of such works and the lobbying power of big landlords.

"We've found time and time again that it's only after large earthquakes that there's adequate political will to change anything," says Terrence Paret, a longtime earthquake engineer at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, who spent weeks in Turkey studying the disastrous 1999 Azmit quake and who has helped harden historic buildings from Alcatraz to the Washington Monument.

"In California, a number of times, there's been an earthquake that caused damage and suddenly there's the will to pass new law. This is how it happens every time, invariably."

'A poster child for whats going to happen in California'

The initial quake on 6 February came just after 4am Turkish time, with its epicentre near Gaziantep on the border with Syria. At a seismic magnitude of 7.8, it was the strongest such tremor in Turkey since 1939, and was followed by thousands of aftershocks.

Across both countries, hundreds of thousands of buildings collapsed or suffered serious damage. The death toll was massive: nearly 47,000 in Turkey and in 6,700 in Syria, as well as hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes.

And, in the wake of the tremors, there came not only rescue workers like Mr Leum but scientists, engineers, and architects from across the world, hoping to learn from the disaster.

"These have been very high interest events," says David Cocke, president of the California-based Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), which has been helping coordinate such "earthquake reconnaissance" missions around the globe since 1973.

Most earthquakes spring from fractures in the earth's crust known as faults, often forming the boundary between tectonic plates. While these plates usually move extremely slowly, they can sometimes get stuck, straining against each other until a sudden slip causes them to lurch.

Turkey sits on its own tectonic plate called the Anatolian Plate, sandwiched between the Eurasian Plate and the Arabian Plate pushing up from the south. Similarly, the North American Plate is rubbing up against the vast Pacific Plate as they drift past each other in opposite directions, part of the infamous 25,000-mile-long ring of fire that surrounds the Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Oregon and Washington, a smaller plate called the Juan de Fuca is slowly being dragged underneath the North American, creating a giant fault known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

The Cascadia fault is less active than those in California, but has a higher potential for destruction. A massive magnitude 8.7 to 9.2 quake in the year 1700 is thought to have caused a tidal wave in Japan nearly 5,000 miles away, as well as possibly inspiring native American legends. Scientists estimate a 37 per cent chance of a magnitude 7.1 or greater earthquake striking within the next 50 years, with a 14 per cent chance of a magnitude 9.

Californias earthquakes cannot match that power, but are far more frequent. State officials predict a 48 per cent chance of a magnitude 7.5 or greater earthquake somewhere in the state within the next 30 years.

According to some scientists, Californias complex fault systems bear a close resemblance to those in Turkey. This earthquake is a poster child for whats going to happen in Southern California," Colorado geology professor Karl Mueller told California broadcaster KTLA. University of Washington expert Harold Tobin also drew comparisons between Turkey's North Anatolian Fault and the Seattle Fault.

Researchers are particularly alarmed by the severe "back to back" aftershock that worsened February's disaster. At a magnitude of 7.5, it was ten times stronger than typically expected, partly because it actually originated from a separate fault. That suggests the same thing could happen after a quake on California's famous San Andreas Fault, posing extra challenges for disaster response.

"Most commonly youll see aftershocks on the fault that ruptured in the main earthquake or immediately adjacent to it," seisomologist William Barnhart told The New York Times. "But when you get into these regions where you have a spatially complex fault network, you can also get large aftershocks on different faults some distance away.... if you had a large San Andreas Fault earthquake, could you also have a quick follow-up on the San Jacinto fault, or the Garlock fault?"

Fellow seismologist Ross Stein likewise said: "There is no question that were going to learn an enormous amount."

The West Coast has thousands of potentially unsafe buildings

Another lesson for American cities lies in the rubble itself. According to David Cocke, the damage in Turkey was far worse than many engineers expected given Turkey's "pretty modern" building regulations, which should have prevented such widespread devastation.

Those regulations are based on similar laws passed by California and other western US states after the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, in which officials were shocked by the collapse of supposedly earthquake-resistant buildings including a psychiatric ward and a freeway overpass.

Then and now, one of the key culprits was a type of architecture that is widely used across the world. The San Fernando buildings were supported by concrete columns, reinforced with metal beams to make them more "ductile", or flexible. This reinforcement included metal hoops wrapped horizontally around the inside of the columns, but their design turned out to have a fatal weakness.

Imagine carrying a basket of rocks and swinging it from side to side. If the basket's woven strands were too far apart, some of the rocks would fly out. That, says Mr Paret's colleague Robert Kraus, is roughly what can happen when the vicious lateral motions of an earthquake cause solid concrete to fracture into smaller chunks. Without a dense enough "basket" of reinforcing hoops, these chunks will break off the column until it can no longer support the weight of the building on top of it.

This type of "non-ductile concrete", or NDC, has been banned in new buildings by most US states since the late 1970s. But Turkey did not follow suit until the late Nineties, and Mr Paret says its rules have been poorly policed.

"In California there's a pretty well-enforced system of plan check and building inspection," says Mr Paret. "These are things that have been absent from Turkey for a long, long time, and you're reading about them now  builders getting away with a lot of stuff that they should never have gotten away with."

Mr Paret and Mr Kraus stress that even a very severe earthquake could not cause the same devastation in the US, precisely because its building regulators have learned the lessons of 1971. "Turkey outstrips us a hundred to one, a thousand to one, in terms of the number of these buildings," says Mr Paret. "Almost everything is an NDC building... it's entire cities constructed with the same technique".

He adds that Turkish apartment buildings often compound this with a tall, largely open-plan ground floor for shops, which may prove unable to hold up the other floors in a serious earthquake.

Mr Leum agrees, saying that California would fare much better than almost anywhere else in the world thanks to its decades of improving building standards.

Six days after the first quake in Antakya, Turkey, February 2023 (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

Nevertheless, the western US still has plenty of NDC offices and apartment complexes that predate the late Seventies, which could become deathtraps in a serious quake. "There's thousands and thousands of buildings out there that have not been retrofitted," says David Cocke. "One of the big lessons [of Turkey] is that we need to go back and evaluate and retrofit those buildings, or we're gonna have problems."

Estimates vary as to how many remain. In California, it could be anything from 7,000 to 40,000, with nearly 4,000 in San Francisco alone. Numbers for Washington and Oregon are murkier still. According to the USGS, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in southern California could collapse around 50 NDC buildings, with as many as 7,500 people caught inside.

Meanwhile, the city of Portland estimates that it has about 1,800 buildings made of similarly vulnerable unreinforced masonry (URM). Seattle estimates 1,145, and the The Los Angeles Times found as many as 640 across the greater LA area.

There is also a risk to individual homes, which are subject to looser regulations. "People don't get killed in houses unless they're on a steep hill," says Howard Cook. "But there will be hundreds of thousands of people without a home. Where are they going to go?"

Earthquake safety advocates face an uphill battle

This situation is what LA County's board of supervisors is now trying to address. Their new motion asks officials to prepare new rules requiring mandatory retrofits to all NDC buildings in unincorporated areas  that is, areas not subject to their own city governments  as well as buildings owned by the county itself.

While there are only a handful of non-ductile concrete buildings in unincorporated areas or owned by the county, the county must insist on renewed urgency to retrofit and repair vulnerable structures to prevent as much loss of life as possible," stated the motion, according to The Los Angeles Times.

It also orders an inventory to be taken of all "soft-storey" residential buildings in the county, meaning buildings whose upper levels are held up by slim supports so that cars can park on the ground floor.

Full retrofit mandates remain rare in the US. California leads the way for NDC buildings, starting with the city of Los Angeles in 2015, followed by Santa Monica and West Hollywood. San Francisco is slowly working towards a similar order, having successfully forced retrofits of most URM buildings after the 1989 Prieto quake.

Soft-storey retrofit mandates also exist in the Bay Area cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and Fremont, as well as the greater LA cities of Culver City, Beverly Hills, and Pasadena.

Los Angeles firefighters prepare to deploy to Turkey on 6 February 2023 (Allison Dinner/EPA)

California passed a URM retrofit mandate in 1986, but left it up to local jurisdictions to decide how they should comply. Mr Paret says many places decided it was enough to just put up signs warning people that a given building was unsafe, like the ubiquitous and largely ignored cancer warnings plastered on everything from couches to coffee shop cash registers in the Golden State.

For individual homes, Mr Cook says there is practically no regulation, meaning owners may pay thousands of dollars for modifications that won't actually protect them from quakes. "They're completely worthless," he says of Bay Area governments. "Once the earthquake hits, and a bunch of people die and are injured, all of a sudden things will change."

Moreover, LA's order may already be failing in its goals. According to a 2021 white paper by the architecture firm Omgivning, after the first six years of the mandate only 31 per cent of affected buildings had completed the three-year goal of submitting a works checklist to city officials, while just under 4 per cent had actually completed construction. That was despite the mandate's very long deadline for all buildings to be retrofitted  25 years from the date that building owners get notice.

"I absolutely believe we're not going to hit that target, and furthermore we're going to fall well short of it," says Omgivning project director Roberto Vazquez. "That doesn't go to say that we can't get there... [but] if we put 100 per cent on the burden on the building owner, it almost never works out."

To start with, retrofits can be tremendously expensive. Mr Kraus estimates around $150 to $200 per square foot in downtown LA, meaning the biggest apartment buildings run into the low tens of millions. Mr Vazquez says Omgivning regularly gets calls from building owners who have received a notice from the city  but "unfortunately, once they learn how much it's going to cost, they take our assessment and probably tuck it away in a folder in a drawer somewhere."

It can also be hard to tell exactly which buildings need retrofitting. A well-reinforced concrete column and an NDC column can look identical from the outside, while blueprints for old buildings are often missing. Finding the truth requires painstaking detective work or physical examinations with metal detectors, ground-penetrating radar, and even chipping hammers to manually expose the metal within.

Finally, retrofits are logistically complex and can be very intrusive. Mr Vazquez says buildings typically lose plumbing, electricity, and water for the entire 6-12 months of the project. In residential buildings, it can cost just as much to temporarily rehouse tenants as it does to perform the work itself.

That is to say nothing of what happens when a building has many different owners, such as a condo complex, or changes hands several times over the years. "These are very difficult problems  one might say insurmountable," Mr Paret warns.

'Get to know your neighbours  your life may depend on them'

Unsurprisingly, local and state governments have often baulked at either forcing such costs onto landlords or spending taxpayer money on them. In 2015, then California governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed building owners to claim back 30 per cent of their retrofit spending as a tax credit.

"The problem I have is the way theyve gone about it," said Mr Brown at the time. "Theyve identified the problem. Theyve established a set of rules and guidelines... but theyve done so without providing an easy and reasonable means of funding all this extra work."

Yet Mr Cocke says big landlords have tended to resist being asked to pay for the work themselves. "I don't want to say real estate developers are evil or anything like that; I work for a lot of them," he says. "But there's always gonna be somebody that says 'oh, you're going to mess up our economic model by doing that'."

Of course, he adds, "the risk that you're living with is that there's gonna be an earthquake and your building is going to be significantly damaged, and your operations are going to be shut down for months and months and months."

Indeed, LA County's effort was challenged by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, which argued that its members were "barely surviving" after pandemic-era rent freezes and warned that creating an inventory of soft-storey apartment buildings would cause insurance premiums to spike.

"While seismic retrofitting serves a vital need, it is important to recognise that these projects are extremely costly," said lobbyist Max Sherman, according to The Los Angeles Times. "We ask the county to not start this process with housing providers still reeling from financial hardships."

The California Apartment Association likewise asked LA County to seek feedback from owners about the right timeline for a retrofit order. An interview request from The Independent met with no response.

Still, Mr Vazquez believes that retrofit mandates can work if building owners have proper incentives. Even without spending state funds, officials could relax planning rules and other forms of red tape in exchange for retrofitting, or bid for some of the $1.3 trillion in federal funding released by Joe Biden's landmark 2021 infrastructure law.

"These buildings [collapsing] can damage the pedestrian on the street; they can damage other safe buildings that are adjacent to them," he says. "It should be looked at as public infrastructure and a public benefit."

Mr Paret is sanguine about these headwinds, saying that engineers like himself sometimes need a reality check about local governments long list of competing priorities. Nevertheless, he, Mr Kraus, and Mr Vazquez all said the calamity in Turkey could help shift public opinion and catalyse government action.

"I expect and can well imagine that there will already have been some very heated homeowners' association meetings, with some members being frightened and demanding action in ways that maybe weren't happening before," says Mr Paret. "Whether the heated meetings translate to actual results  that I'm not so confident in."

Until then, Mr Leum has stark advice for West Coast residents that does not require any government intervention. "The lesson to be learned is that there won't be enough rescue personnel," he says. "If a similar situation happens in the US, it's going to be primarily neighbour helping neighbour...

"So get to know their neighbours, because there's a pretty good chance that your life might depend on them, and theirs might depend on you."
By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is not planning a systematic easing of sanctions on Venezuela after an initial round allowed partners of state-run oil firm PDVSA to resume taking oil for past debts, a State Department official said.

In November, Washington issued a six-month license allowing Chevron Corp to expand operations and export Venezuelan oil to the United States. Eni and Repsol also began taking Venezuelan crude for debt with U.S. approvals, This year, Trinidad and Tobago received a U.S. nod to jointly development an offshore natural gas field with Venezuela.

Those moves by U.S. President Joe Biden's administration contrasted with former President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" policy of restrictions designed to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

But the State Department licenses do not indicate a general turn in policy towards Venezuela, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez told Reuters in an interview at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

"There have been limited changes in specific sanctions and we can take them back in any moment," Fernandez said. The Chevron license came after Maduro's administration resumed political talks with the opposition in Mexico last year, while the Trinidad authorization was requested by Caribbean countries to secure future energy supplies.

"I can categorically say that we don't have any plans to liberalize further on Venezuela," said Fernandez, stressing: "In this moment, there are no plans to ease the sanctions more."

Chevron received and shipped about 86,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude last month after resuming exports to the United States following a four-year hiatus.

The Chevron, Eni and Repsol cargoes have not represented an increase in Venezuela's overall oil exports. The country will require massive new investment following years of conflict with international oil companies, an exodus of qualified staff, and U.S. sanctions.

Story continues

Venezuela's exports last year were 716,000 bpd, up slightly from the previous year, according to data supplied to OPEC. They remain a fraction of the 2.8 million bpd the nation was producing a decade ago.

Analysts and oil executives at CERAWeek said they do not expect a sizeable increase in Venezuela's oil exports that could stabilize oil markets disrupted after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Fifteen years ago, "There was a good number of international investors in Venezuela. Production was over 3 million bpd... Now look at Venezuela," said Alistair Routledge, Exxon Mobil's country manager for Guyana.

"It's essential that governments understand that we are investing in a horizons of 20-30 years, so we need stability and regulations that are supportive," he said.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by David Gregorio)
Chance the Rapper / Martin Short Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images / Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Chance the Rapper joked that he almost kept his plane seat next to Martin Short.

The comedy legend offered to switch seats so the rapper could sit next to his daughter.

Chance took Short up on the offer, but said he almost stayed put so he could sit next to the "Only Murders in the Building" star.

Chance the Rapper joked he almost kept the plane seat next to Martin Short after the comedy legend offered to switch so the rapper could sit next to his daughter.

On February 26, Chance and his daughter, Kensli, 7, were flying from Los Angeles to Chicago after Chance had been filming "The Voice" on the west coast for a month and a half.

"We get on the plane and realize that our seats aren't together," Chance told Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" Monday.

He said he was looking around the cabin, doing the "awkward dad" move where he would look around and see if anyone would realize he was trying to shuffle seats to sit with his daughter without having to directly ask anyone to swap.

"But before I could even, like, make the suggestion, this kind older gentleman gets up and he's like, 'The girl can have my seat,' and I looked at him in his face and I'm like, 'Are you Martin Short?' And it was Martin Short! It was the Martin Short!" Chance told Fallon.

Chance said he "super freaked out," and that his daughter was excited, too, because she loves Short from "The Santa Clause 3."

Chance ended up taking Short up on his offer so he could fly next to his daughter, but he was tempted to keep the seats as they were once he realized who was next to him.

"I almost told him that it was fine and that I would just sit next to him," Chance admitted.

"He was really, really nice," Chance said of Short, adding, "And I don't think he knows who I am. So I think he just did it, which is hilarious, but also, it's like, that's a really kind gesture."

Fallon then asked Chance whether he's a talker on flights or if he prefers to keep to himself.

"If I'm sitting next to Martin Short I'm a talker for sure," Chance said.

Story continues

The interaction first went viral on the day of the flight when Chance tweeted the story to his 7.9 million followers, with a photo of Short as Jack Frost.

Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) February 26, 2023

"I really ain't wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together," Chance said in the Tweet. "We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it's THE Martin Short!!"

"SHOUTOUT TO JACK FROST," Chance said.

Read the original article on Insider
The charges against a chicken-suit wearing man at Maurice A. Ferre Park were dropped Tuesday after state prosecutors viewed police body-camera footage and determined the costumed character was just exercising his right to free speech and wasnt really bothering anyone.

Morgan Dmitrimahan Gianola was charged last month by Miami police with disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest without violence. The charges came after he and three others dressed up in yellow chicken suits and clucked their way through a crowd attending the opening of Dog & Cats Walkway, a pet project of dozens of animal sculptures by Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo.

The chicken outfits were supplied by Miami filmmaker Billy Corben, a frequent critic of Carollos, who said he believed the project was a big waste of taxpayer money.

In his close-out memo, Assistant Miami-Dade State Attorney Michael Fente said video footage of the incident lacks any evidence of any conduct considered disorderly and that the crowd at the Feb. 11 event in downtown Miami seemed generally uninterested in any of the actions of the chicken-suit wearers. He also said there was no evidence that Gianola was told to leave and he didnt appear to resist arrest.

Gianola, 31, and the others were also handing out T-shirts with a police mug shot of Carollo from when he was arrested on a domestic violence incident two decades ago. After his arrest on three misdemeanor counts, Gianola hired a trio of high-powered attorneys to defend him. Carollo, who claimed not to have seen the commotion, dismissed it as a stunt.

The protest group, which referred to itself as CUCK  or the Committee to Undermine the Carollo Klan  showed up at the park to protest the project championed by Carollo, which was also questioned by some in Miamis booming fine arts community.

Carollo, who chairs the trust that oversees Bayfront and Ferre parks in downtown Miami, latched on to the concept of dozens of colorful animal sculptures in the park next to the citys museums about two years ago. The commissioner and his wife said the idea came up after visiting a similar-type park in Colombia that he said attracts large crowds.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have both been invited to the coronation. (Reuters)

British people are more likely to say Meghan Markle should stay away from King Charles's coronation  but would be happy to see Prince Harry attend, according to a new poll.

The Bloomberg and Deltapoll survey revealed 41% of Brits were keen for Harry to be at the event in May, with 37% saying he shouldnt go, and a further 22% saying they did not know.

When asked if they wanted to see the Duchess of Sussex accompany him, 39% said they wanted her there, while 43% thought she should stay home.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed that they had been invited to the coronation but did not say if they would be attending.

Read more: 'It's revenge'  How people have reacted to Harry and Meghan eviction

The Royal Family pictured in 2018. (Reuters)

It comes after the couple confirmed they had been asked to leave their Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor just weeks after Harrys autobiography Spare was released.

Last week, it emerged the King had offered the keys to Frogmore Cottage to Prince Andrew, who it is believed has been told by his brother to leave his nearby Royal Lodge residence by this autumn.

The decision is likely to be interpreted as a major rebuke by Charles to his son, who since moving to North America in 2020 has criticised the monarchy and individuals within the institution.

Harry and Meghans favourability rating with the British public has been on a downward trend since 2018, according to YouGov.

Recent polling showed how their popularity in the UK had declined particularly since the release of the prince's book.

Read more: Prince Harry could lose another royal role after Frogmore Cottage eviction

Prince Harry and Meghan have criticised the monarchy and individuals within the institution. (Reuters)

The YouGov tracker showed only a quarter of Brits (24%) think positively of Harry, while 68% have a negative opinion of him  giving him his lowest ever favourability rating of -44.

Meghan performs even worse, with a positive rating of 22% and a negative rating of 68%, giving her a net favourability of -46.

Across all age groups, only Prince Andrew beats Meghan and Harry in the unpopularity stakes.

Story continues

The survey showed even fewer Brits (46%) wanted the disgraced Andrew at the coronation, with 36% saying he should be there and 17% unsure.

King Charles's coronation will take place on the morning of Saturday 6 May.

It will be held at the historic Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony has taken place for the last 900 years.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, will also be crowned alongside the King, using the Queen Mary Crown.
Frank Scibelli, a veteran restaurateur in Charlotte, has plans to grow the Yafo Kitchen brand with a new full-service concept.

Yafo, a fast-casual brand focused on chef-inspired Mediterranean fare, opened in SouthPark in 2016, followed by two more locations in Dilworth and Plaza Midwood. Scibelli told the Charlotte Business Journal that creating a full-service restaurant based around the food that inspired Yafo is something he and executive chef Shai Fargain have been planning for some time.

ALSO READ: Bang Bang Burgers aims to make more of South End restaurants patio space

Scibelli said it wasnt until he met up with Fargain in Tel Aviv, Israel, during a recent family trip that the concept really took hold. The pair had dinner at a restaurant that Fargain had recommended, and Scibelli said it was a lightbulb moment.

Read the full story here.

(WATCH BELOW: Crafting cocktails at PARA in South End)
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP)  A suburban Chicago teenager pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the fatal shootings of his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the child's father.

Byrion Montgomery, 17, appeared before a Will County judge in Joliet. Montgomery is charged as an adult with multiple crimes, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and home invasion.

He has been jailed and bail is set at $20 million. The Will County State's Attorney's Office said he would be appointed a public defender.

The shooting in Bolingbrook, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Chicago, was reported about 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Montgomery was arrested about two hours later.

Seventeen-year-old Samiya A. Shelton-Tillman, 40-year-old Cartez Daniels, and 9-year-old Sanai Daniels were pronounced dead at the scene. Cartez Daniels was shot and stabbed, according to the complaint.

Tania Stewart, 34, was shot but survived. She was in stable condition Tuesday at a hospital. Two boys ages 3 and 14 were in the home at the time but were not harmed.

Police have said Shelton-Tillman and Montgomery dated.

The violence that occurred is something no one should ever have to endure or worry about, Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta said in a statement. My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims, and my prayers are sent to the victim still in the hospital.

Relatives of the victims told WLS-TV that Sanai was Cartez Daniels daughter and that he had been engaged to Stewart, who is Shelton-Tillmans mother.

Reed Silva, Cartez Daniels stepmother, told the Chicago Tribune that he worked as a carpenter.

He could do anything, mathematically," Silva said. "He loved his family. He loved everybody. He tried to do anything he could for anybody. He was making life better for him and his kids and his family.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was swept into office in 2019 with a multiracial coalition. Her successor will have to forge something new.

Lightfoots ouster in the mayoral election kicked off a five-week scramble to dissect the 46 percent of voters who didnt pick either man who made the runoff  and neither Democratic candidate has the clear advantage in a city that struggles with its racial divisions.

Former Chicago schools chief Paul Vallas 33 percent made him the largest vote-getter in the first round in the citys mayoral election. But the turnout data from last week makes it clear that locking down a victory will be hard-fought after alienating Lightfoot voters on the trail. Vallas, who is white, may have tapped most of his potential in the many white majority wards he won and will have to lean heavily on getting Black voters who align with his push for more police presence and voters of color turned off by a progressive message.

Things aren't any easier for Brandon Johnson, Vallas Black, left-leaning rival in the April 4 runoff, who won the second spot with 21 percent  and a radically different coalition to go with his perspective on crime, policing and education.

The Cook County commissioners best opening to pull in a large chunk of voters will be among the 17 percent who voted for Lightfoot. Yet that still leaves him scavenging in areas like moderate Latino-majority wards and even his home precinct.

Race is one of the most definitive predictors in how an area votes in Chicago, like in many other areas, said Frank Calabrese, an independent political consultant who has studied several campaigns in Illinois. If Vallas is doing 30, 35, 40 percent in Black wards, that means hes doing really well.

How Vallas wins

Vallas didnt even come close to 30 percent numbers in most Black-majority wards on Election Day. And although that was a contest divided among nine candidates, he typically landed third or fourth place in those areas  several points behind Johnson, and where Lightfoot did her best.

Story continues

However, Vallas, who got the endorsement of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police and ran a tough-on-crime campaign, did well with voters in areas that resoundingly rejected the incumbent mayor: white-majority wards on the citys North and Southwest sides, where a mix of wealthy families and civil service workers like police officers or firefighters live.

The prime pockets of voters available to Vallas are those who went for Willie Wilson, a prominent Black conservative businessperson who also ran for mayor on a police-heavy platform. In the handful of majority-Black precincts Wilson captured, he got up to 42 percent of the vote, and came in second or third in many others  capturing voters unlikely to swing left to Johnson without a lot of convincing.

What may bridge Vallas shortfall with Black voters is the outpouring of support hes winning from well-known Black Democratic political figures, including former Secretary of State Jesse White and several respected City Council members.

Its a Black man running against a white man when it comes down to Black wards, Calabrese said of Johnson. That being said, Black residents care about crime and quality of life issues at the same level, if not more than other parts of the city. Vallas is going to have a resonating message.

Latinos and Asian voters are big unknowns

Demographically, the city is split evenly among white, Black and Latino residents, but it doesnt break down that way when it comes to who actually shows up to cast ballots.

Despite having a Latino candidate on the ballot in Garcia, participation among Latino voters was abysmal last week, said Jaime Dominguez, a Northwestern professor who worked on a rare poll with BSP Research weighted toward measuring Black and Latino voters.

The demographic already does not vote in droves, he said, and it didnt help that Garcia entered the race late and missed out on big union support, like Johnsons backing from the Chicago Teachers Union. A large share of Latino voters were still undecided leading before Election Day last week.

Vallas can keep building off of the Latino votes he already won, Dominguez and Calabrese said. The frontrunner clinched several majority-Latino wards last week, and placed second in other moderate areas receptive to his law-and-order messaging.

Ill be honest with you  I think that some people think Vallas is a Latino last name, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in an interview, laughing. As his team went door-to-door in majority-Latino communities, that comment came up quite a lot.

Then there are Asian American voters, who have a stronger stake in Chicago politics this cycle, after post-2020 redistricting led to Chinatown and surrounding neighborhoods becoming a slightly majority Asian ward, which is also 20 percent Latino and 25 percent white. Vallas came away with 58 percent of the vote there, while Johnson and Garcia had about 13 percent each.

This shows the division among Asian communities on the issue of public safety, said Grace Pai, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Chicago. Progressives want non-police options to address a rise in general violence and anti-Asian attacks, while she said others want more law enforcement present to protect businesses and patrol. And both sides are vocal within the communities that comprise about 7 percent of the city.

Johnson had made more of a concerted effort than Vallas to reach out to Asian American surrogates during the campaigns initial stages, she said.

Whats also unclear is how Johnsons aspirations of decreasing police funding will ring with a broader set of voters, though he distanced himself from those remarks before last weeks election.

Whether youre Latino, Caucasian, African American  public safety is resonating, Ald. Gil Villegas, who was endorsed by Garcia and is heading to a runoff of his own, said in an interview. If youre not speaking about that regardless of your ethnicity or your gender, people want to feel safe. Quality of life is a big issue.

How Johnson wins

One analysis shows Vallas could pick up Garcias Latino voters and Johnson could consolidate the Black vote  but low Hispanic voter turnout and incoming endorsements from Black and Latino leaders will blur the election picture.

Johnson won over Ramirez-Rosas ward on the Northwest Side, which is more than half Latino and has a significant white population, by a high margin  making the area more of an exception among the citys Latinos.

The alderman endorsed Johnson and was confident about his ability to attract Latino voters in the runoffs. Ramirez-Rosa pointed to Johnsons use of Spanish-language advertising, as well as recent wins from progressive Latinos, including himself and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who also endorsed Johnson.

Now, Johnson faces challenges in keeping up appeal with the progressives he won over while not turning off Latinos by going too far to the left, Dominguez said. Surrogates for either candidate will make a large difference during the runoff campaign process, and some believe Latino leaders  including Garcia  will eventually back Johnson.

Johnson making the runoff shows the potential success of a candidate running on a nuanced public safety plan, said Patrice James, founding director of the Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative, recently founded to promote Black interests in the state.

Black voters are not only sophisticated, James said, but have long memories of Chicagos lack of investment in their communities  such as former Mayor Rahm Emanuels controversial shuttering of 50 schools in mostly Black neighborhoods. Vallas has his own history with school closures when he led the system in the 1990s.

They remember disinvestment and the fallout of what it means when schools close in your neighborhood and how that impacts home values, she said. Its no secret Johnson is about community.  I think that will resonate with a lot of voters.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misstated Frank Calabrese's affiliations. He is an independent political consultant.
Chinas new foreign minister, Qin Gang, came out swinging in his debut press conference Monday, warning that U.S. policies toward China were pushing the two countries toward potential conflict.

Qin used the nearly two-hour briefing to denounce everything from the Biden administrations Indo-Pacific Strategy and weapons sales to Taiwan to what he said was the U.S. role in prolonging Russias aggression against Ukraine. The press briefing on the sideline of the annual meeting of Chinas 3,000-member parliament, the National Peoples Congress, marked Qins highest profile public event since he completed his tenure as Chinese ambassador to the U.S. in December.

Qin accused the Biden administration of policies designed to contain and suppress China in all respects driven by what he called a hysterical neo-McCarthyism that was inflicting serious harm on bilateral relations.

If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path  there will surely be conflict and confrontation and who will bear the catastrophic consequences? Qin said.



Qin hinted at the potential for nuclear conflict between the two countries by saying that those policies could risk the future of humanity. And he implicitly referenced Bidens comments in his State of the Union speech last month that the United States seeks competition, not conflict with China by accusing the U.S. of not fair competition, but malicious confrontation.

Qins uncompromising tone echoes that of his patron, Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping.



On Monday, Xi accused the U.S. and other Western countries of all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our countrys development, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing Chinese state media. That rhetoric also casts doubt on the sustainability of Xi and President Joe Bidens agreement in their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November to try to stem the slide in U.S.-China ties.

Story continues

Bilateral ties have been battered by the discovery and subsequent destruction of a Chinese spy balloon over the continental U.S. in February. Biden administration warnings last month that the Chinese government is considering providing lethal weaponry to Russia in its war against Ukraine have further roiled relations. And the conclusion of a Department of Energy report published last week that concluded (albeit with low confidence) that a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China, sparked the Covid-19 pandemic has renewed congressional anger toward Chinas role in a pandemic that has killed more than a million Americans.



Qin insisted the balloon was a civilian air ship that an unexpected accident blew over the continental United States. Bidens move to destroy the balloon abused force and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided, Qin said.

The perennial hot button issue of U.S. support for Taiwan also was front and center in Qins press conference.

Qin warned that Beijing will take all necessary measures to enforce its claim of sovereignty over the self-governing island. And he floated a bizarre conspiracy theory for the Biden administrations policy of continuing to provide defense weaponry to the island. Why does the U.S. keep on professing the maintenance of regional peace and stability while covertly formulating a plan for the destruction of Taiwan? Qin said, without elaborating.



Qin also touted Beijings Ukraine peace proposal unveiled last month as a vehicle to promote talks for peace. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan have both dismissed the proposal as a distraction that fails to challenge Russias aggression. Qin likewise avoided mention of that and instead implicitly blamed the U.S. for the conflict.

There seems to be an invisible hand, pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agenda, Qin said, without providing any additional details.

Beijings concerns about the Bidens ability to rally allies and partners to counter what Blinken calls Chinas threat to the rules-based international order also emerged in Qins remarks. Qin slammed the Indo-Pacific Strategy as a plot to encircle China. And he denounced Japan  which announced a dramatic expansion of its military forces in December  of taking part in a new Cold War to contain China.

And Qin flexed his familiarity with U.S. political fault lines with comments that appeared to target Donald Trumps tough language on China at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday.

If the United States has the ambition to make itself great again  containment and suppression will not make America great, and it will not stop the rejuvenation of China, Qin said.


Chinas new foreign minister said the United States is heading for conflict and confrontation with Beijing, as he defended his countrys stance on the war in Ukraine and close ties with Russia.

Qin Gang said Washington should change its distorted attitude towards China, accusing it of engaging in suppression and containment instead of engaging in fair competition.

Relations between the US and China have seen a spike in tensions over numerous matters, including trade, Taiwan, a spy balloon encroaching on US airspace, and Beijings stance on Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Qin made the comments on Tuesday at his first news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting after assuming responsibilities from the outgoing Wang Yi.

A close ally of Chinas president Xi Jinping, Mr Qin said Washington regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge.

This is like the first button in the shirt being [done up] wrong, he said, one of a string of analogies.

If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, he said. And who will bear the catastrophic consequences?

The United States perception and views of China are seriously distorted, he said.

Likening US-China competition to a race between two Olympic athletes, he said: If one side, instead of focusing on giving ones best, always tries to trip the other up ... then this is not fair competition.

Relations between the US and China suffered a serious setback last month after the Biden administration ordered the shooting down of a spy balloon off Americas east coast.

Washington maintains it is not looking to stoke conflict with China.

Mr Qin also spoke of wolf warrior diplomacy, acknowledging a more abrasive attitude recently from Chinese diplomats.

When jackals and wolves are blocking the way, and hungry wolves are attacking us, Chinese diplomats must then dance with the wolves and protect and defend our home and country, he said.

Story continues

On the war in Ukraine, Qin said an invisible hand was escalating the conflict to serve certain geopolitical agendas  another swipe at the US.

Beijing vehemently denied US suggestions that it is considering supplying artillery to Russia, but it has a no limits partnership with Russia that predates the conflict.

Mr Qin did not confirm if President Xi would visit Russia, as suggested last month by Vladimir Putin.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at an annual parliamentary session in Beijing, Qin said the close interactions between both leaders - President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin - provided the anchor for China-Russia relations.

He did not give a definite answer when asked if Xi would visit Russia after China's parliament session, which goes on for one more week.

Asked whether it is possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said that countries should use whatever currency is efficient, safe and credible.

"Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion," he said.

China, which has refused to name Russia as the aggressor in the Ukraine conflict, has often criticised the United States for bullying other countries with unilateral sanctions.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Writing by Yew Lun Tian; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.)
BEIJING (Reuters) - The Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict, China's foreign minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

The "invisible hand" is "using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas", Qin said on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing, calling for dialogue to begin as soon as possible.

"Conflict, sanctions, and pressure will not solve the problem...The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected," Qin said.

Qin's reiteration of China's position on the Ukraine war comes amid growing tensions between Beijing and the European Union, which has questioned China's sincerity as a mediator when it has refused to name Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.

Qin also said Beijing has not provided weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict, amid loud warnings from U.S. officials on unspecified "consequences" for China, should it send lethal aid to Russia.

"(China) is not a party to the crisis and has not provided weapons to either side of the conflict. So on what basis is this talk of blame, sanctions and threats against China? This is absolutely unacceptable."

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Writing by Laurie Chen and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.)
By Ryan Woo

BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States should change its "distorted" attitude towards China or "conflict and confrontation" will follow, China's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while defending its stance on the war in Ukraine and its close ties with Russia.

The U.S. had been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than engaging in fair, rules-based competition, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing.

"The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," said Qin, a trusted aide to President Xi Jinping and until recently China's ambassador in Washington.

"It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong."

Relations between the two superpowers have been tense for years over a number of issues including Taiwan, trade and more recently the war in Ukraine, but they worsened last month after the United States shot down a balloon off the U.S. East Coast that it says was a Chinese spying craft.

The U.S. says it is establishing guardrails for relations and is not seeking conflict but Qin said what that meant in practice was that China was not supposed to respond with words or action when slandered or attacked.

"That is just impossible," Qin told his first news conference since becoming foreign minister in late December.

Qin's comments struck the same the tough tone of his predecessor, Wang Yi, now China's most senior diplomat after being made director of the Foreign Affairs Commission Office at the turn of the year.

"If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?"

Story continues

In Washington, John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, brushed off the criticism and said the United States does not seek confrontation with Beijing.

"We seek a strategic competition with China. We do not seek conflict," Kirby told reporters. "We aim to compete and we aim to win that competition with China but we absolutely want to keep it at that level."

U.S. officials often speak of establishing guardrails in the bilateral relationship to prevent tensions from escalating into crises.

Qin likened Sino-U.S. competition to a race between two Olympic athletes.

"If one side, instead of focusing on giving one's best, always tries to trip the other up, even to the extent that they must enter the Paralympics, then this is not fair competition," he said.

'JACKALS AND WOLVES'

During a nearly two-hour news conference in which he answered questions submitted in advance, Qin made a robust defence of "wolf warrior diplomacy", an assertive and often abrasive stance adopted by China's diplomats since 2020.

"When jackals and wolves are blocking the way, and hungry wolves are attacking us, Chinese diplomats must then dance with the wolves and protect and defend our home and country," he said.

Qin also said that an "invisible hand" was pushing for the escalation of the war in Ukraine "to serve certain geopolitical agendas", without specifying who he was referring to.

He reiterated China's call for dialogue to end the war.

China struck a "no limits" partnership with Russia last year, weeks before its invasion of Ukraine, and has blamed NATO expansion for triggering the war, echoing Russia's complaint.

China has declined to condemn the invasion and has fiercely defended its stance on Ukraine, despite Western criticism of its failure to single Russia out as the aggressor.

China has also vehemently denied U.S. accusations that it has been considering supplying Russia with weapons.

ADVANCING RELATIONS WITH MOSCOW

Qin said China had to advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent and close interactions between President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, anchored the neighbours' relations.

He did not give a definite answer when asked if Xi would visit Russia after China's parliament session, which goes on for one more week.

Since Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour a year ago Xi has held talks several times with Putin, but not with his Ukrainian counterpart. This undermines China's claim of neutrality in the conflict, Kyiv's top diplomat in Beijing said last month.

Asked whether it was possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said countries should use whatever currency was efficient, safe and credible.

China has been looking to internationalise its currency, the yuan, which gained popularity in Russia last year after Western sanctions shut Russia's banks and many of its companies out of the dollar and euro payment systems.

"Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion," Qin said.

(Reporting by Yew Lun Tian, Laurie Chen, Ryan Woo and the Beijing Newsroom; additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Martin Quin Pollard; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Tom Hogue and Alex Richardson)
(Bloomberg) -- Chinas military on Tuesday unveiled a general as the new effective counterpart of Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A March 7 report in the PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, said that General Liu Zhenli attended a group discussion as chief of the People Liberation Armys Joint Staff Department. An official announcement of the personnel decision has yet to emerge.

The session came during this weeks annual gathering of the National Peoples Congress in Beijing, the paper said. A number of top personnel appointments are being made during the NPC, including the expected unveiling of Li Qiang as premier on March 11.

General Li Zuocheng, who has served as head of the PLA joint staff, is still listed as a member of Chinas Central Military Commission, the countrys top military body. Lis retirement was expected after he stepped down from the Communist Party-level CMC at the partys 20th Congress in October. Liu joined the party CMC at that same session.

The Joint Staff Department is a central target for Xis overhaul of the nations military, as it oversees PLA operations, intelligence and training.

Like his predecessor, Liu, 59, is a veteran of Chinas war with Vietnam more than four decades ago. Liu previously commanded Chinas elite 38th Army Corps and later became chief of staff of the Peoples Armed Police Force. He was most recently chief of staff for the PLAs ground forces.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
BEIJING  The U.S. and China are hurtling toward inevitable confrontation and conflict unless Washington changes course, Beijings new foreign minister warned Tuesday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gangs fiery comments underlined the deepening tensions between the worlds two largest economies in the wake of the surveillance balloon saga and Russias war in Ukraine.

They echoed similarly sharp remarks Monday by Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, blaming U.S. efforts to contain China for deteriorating relations and suggesting Beijing would increasingly seek to push back.

Qin spoke at a news conference in Beijing, his first since he took office in December, on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Chinas rubber-stamp legislature, where Xi is expected to complete the biggest government reshuffle in a decade.

In a wide-ranging rebuke of U.S. policies, Qin  who until recently was the Chinese ambassador to the U.S.  questioned President Joe Bidens assertion that the U.S. seeks competition with China but not conflict.

In fact, the U.S. sides so-called competition is all-round containment and suppression, a zero-sum game, he said, suggesting conflict may be unavoidable unless Washington stops trying to suppress Beijing.

The U.S. side supposedly wants to put guardrails on Sino-U.S. relations and not to clash, Qin continued. In fact, it wants China not to respond in words or action when slandered or attacked. That is just impossible.

If the U.S. side does not put on the brakes and continues down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can stop the derailment and rollover into confrontation and conflict, he said.

In a speech to political delegates Monday, Xi also accused the U.S. of trying to fence China in.

Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our countrys development, he said, according to Xinhua, Chinas state-run news agency.

Story continues

Qin also criticized Washingtons decision early last month to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off South Carolina, repeating Beijings insistence that it appeared over U.S. territory by accident.

The U.S. side violated the spirit of international law and international practice by making presumptions of guilt, overreacting, abusing force and making use of the issue to create a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided, he said.

Of Taiwan, the self-ruling island that Beijing claims as its territory, Qin said it was the first red line in Chinas relations with the U.S., which is Taiwans most important international backer.

The U.S. bears unshirkable responsibility for the creation of the Taiwan issue, he said.

Xi Jinping Party Congress in China (Greg Baker / AFP - Getty Images)

Qin said the U.S. had disrespected Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity by providing defensive weapons to the island, which Beijing has said it could take by force if necessary.

He also denied U.S. allegations that China is considering providing Moscow with ammunition and artillery to aid its fight against Ukraine.

The U.S. has warned China not to supply arms to Russia for its war. China and Russia declared a no limits partnership weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, and China has tried to appear neutral in the conflict, refraining from condemning Russian aggression or even calling it an invasion.

Qin said Tuesday that China-Russia relations must move steadily forward as the world becomes more turbulent.

China is neither the creator of the crisis nor a party to it, nor has it provided weapons to any party to the conflict, so why should China be blamed, sanctioned, pressured or even threatened? Qin said.

He repeated calls for a negotiated solution to the Ukraine conflict. Western officials quickly dismissed a 12-point peace proposal that Beijing issued last month as too favorable to Russia.

It is regrettable that efforts to persuade and promote talks have been undermined, Qin said, as if an invisible hand is pushing the conflict to escalate, taking advantage of the Ukrainian crisis to achieve certain geopolitical intentions.

Eric Baculinao reported from Beijing and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping told CATL on Monday he had mixed feelings about its status as the world's largest battery maker - remarks that come at a time when the company is rapidly expanding abroad and moving to undercut domestic rivals.

After a presentation by CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun, who described how the company commands 37% of the global battery market, Xi was quoted as saying that he was "both happy and worried", glad about its leading position but concerned about the risks.

Xi was speaking in a closed-door meeting with industry and commerce representatives on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament, according to a statement published by the official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

CATL has been building factories overseas and last month agreed to license its technology to a new plant that Ford Motor Co is building in Michigan.

It has also offered to cut costs for Chinese automakers, sources have said, seeking to knock back challenges from smaller domestic rivals such as CALB and EVE Energy, which have factories ramping up this year.

"Emerging industries must do a good job in planning, figuring out how big the market is and where the risks are," Xi was quoted as saying.

"They should avoid marching ahead alone in an invincible fashion, only to be caught out by others and fail in the end."

Xi added that companies need to balance development and security.

CATL did not respond to a request for comment.

Xinhua did not say whether Zeng had responded to Xi, but state broadcaster CCTV reported that Zeng said Xi was very happy with the development of the new energy industry and had asked private companies to lead development and innovation.

The company's shares fell 1.6% on Tuesday, in line with a decline in China's blue-chip CSI300 Index.

FORD DEAL IN FOCUS

Beijing has tightened its grip over the country's biggest companies in recent years, regulating how they do business in and outside China on areas from fundraising to data security.

Story continues

At the same time, it has come under growing pressure from Washington, which has restricted Chinese companies' access to advanced AI chips and other semiconductors, citing national security.

In an expansion of these tensions, Republican senator Marco Rubio last month asked the Biden administration to review CATL's deal with Ford, saying that it would deepen U.S. reliance on the Chinese Communist Party for battery technology.

China also plans to scrutinise the deal to ensure the Chinese company's core technology is not shared with the U.S. automaker, Bloomberg reported last month.

Dong Yang, an official from China EV100, the country's leading auto industry think tank, this week published a lengthy defence of the deal, saying the benefits of the collaboration far outweighed the risks of technology being leaked.

The Ford-CATL partnership will be win-win for both parties without threatening China's leadership in the EV industry, Dong wrote.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda GohEditing by Edwina Gibbs and David Goodman)
Chris Rock has a response for those who asked why he didnt hit Will Smith back at the Oscars ceremony last year.

The comedian addressed the infamous slap head-on, in-depth in his live Netflix special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, which arrived on the streamer on Sunday (5 February).

Smith stormed the stage at the 94th Academy Awards after Rock made a joke about Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.

A lot people go, Chris how come you didnt do nothing back? How come you didnt do nothing back that night? Rock told the Baltimore Hippodrome Theatre audience. Because I got parents, thats why. Because I was raised.

He added: And you know what my parents taught me? Dont fight in front of white people.

Elsewhere in the special, Rock blamed Pinkett Smith for allegedly starting their feud.

According to Rock, the Girls Trip actor attempted to force him to quit hosting the Oscars in 2016 because her husband didnt get a Best Actor nomination for Peter Landesmans sports drama, Concussion.

Chris Rock at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore (Kirill Bichutsky/Netflix)

Years ago, his wife said I should quit the Oscars. I shouldnt host cause her man didnt get nominated for Concussion. And then he gives me a f***ing concussion, Rock quipped.

The comedian also said in the special: I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whipped.

Smith plays an escapee Louisiana slave in the 2021 drama directed by Antonie Fuqua.

Following the 2022 Oscars, in which Smith won Best Actor for his titular role in King Richard, the actor was banned as a member of the Academy for 10 years, and will not be permitted to attend the 2023 ceremony.

In his first late-night talk show appearance since the Oscars fiasco, Smith told The Daily Show with Trevor Noah that he was going through something that night, attributing his actions to bottled rage.

This years Oscars ceremony takes place on 12 March.
A source close to Jada Pinkett Smith has claimed that Chris Rock is obsessed with the actor and podcast host.

Rock infamously made a joke about Pinkett Smiths shaved head while presenting an award at the 2022 Oscars ceremony. (The Matrix Reloaded star has spoken about suffering from alopecia.)

In the aftermath of the joke, Pinkett Smiths husband, Best Actor winner Will Smith, walked onstage and slapped Rock.

The comedian addressed the incident in his recent Netflix stand-up special Selective Outrage, claiming that Pinkett Smith had started the feud back in 2016.

Speaking to People, a source described as being close to Pinkett Smith said: Jada has had no part in all of this other than being heckled. Chris is obsessed with her and thats been going on for almost 30 years.

Look where he chose to film his Netflix special. Her hometown [of Baltimore]. Obsessed.

Back in 2016 she helped start a movement with the Academy Awards by questioning why there are so few Black members, and Chris took it to this?

In his stand-up special, Rock claims that Pinkett Smith told him to quit the Oscars in 2016 because Will Smith wasnt nominated for Concussion.

Jada Pinkett Smith seen during her Red Table Talk podcast (Facebook)

Pinkett Smith was one of the many Hollywood stars to boycott the ceremony that year because of a lack of racial diversity among the nominees.

The report in People quotes the source as saying: [Pinkett Smith] never asked Chris to not host the Oscars ever. She publicly said in a Facebook post at the time Chris would be a great Oscars host and is perfect for the job.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Pinkett Smith and Rock for comment.

This years Oscars ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. In an interview this week, the late night talk show host described how he would react if another slap should occur.

The Oscars will take place on Sunday 12 March.
Netflixs first live stand-up special, starring Chris Rock, pulled in enough viewers to make the streamers top 10 shows in the United States last week. It could not, however, break into the worldwide rankings.

The latter result was expected within Netflix, given that Chris Rock: Selective Outrage  the platforms first foray into live programming  was released Saturday night in the United States, as opposed to Thursday or Friday for most of the streamers shows, and has a running time (one hour) far shorter than the typical Netflix series.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Despite those structural disadvantages, though, Selective Outrage placed seventh in the United States for the week of Feb. 27-March 5. Netflix doesnt break down viewing time by country, supplying figures only for its global top 10. The companys 10th ranked English-language series worldwide for the week, season two of Next in Fashion, piled up 16.16 million hours of viewing (but did not make the U.S. top 10, suggesting the bulk of its watch time came from other countries).

Selective Outrage was also only available in English over the weekend and began rolling out in other languages this week. As expected, Rock used the special to offer his (scathing) thoughts on being slapped by Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars.

Netflixs top title for the week was season three of Outer Banks, which had 99 million hours of watch time worldwide and was the No. 1 show in 40 countries, including the United States. Season two of Sex/Life debuted in second place among series with 43.89 million hours of viewing.

More detailed viewing data on Selective Outrage could come in a few weeks when Nielsen releases its U.S. streaming charts for Feb. 27-March 5  provided, again, that its relatively short running time and small release window for that week dont place it outside the top 10.

Click here to read the full article.
Kirill Bichutsky / Netflix

It makes sense that Chris Rock is still thinking about the Slap. Getting smacked by Will Smith on live TV while presenting at the Oscars is a more outrageous situation than most people will ever have to face in their lives. It was weird! Rock has a right to be confused and upset.

But it makes no sense to extrapolate a larger argument about so-called cancel culture out of this extremely specific situation. Unfortunately, thats what Rock did in his latest special, Selective Outrage, which premiered live on Netflix on Saturday. In it, Rock jokes that Smith epitomizes the wokeness disease currently afflicting America, wherein everyone practices selective outrage, taking aim at whomever it is fashionable to dislike while ignoring inconvenient truths about other people. Rock likens Smith to hypocritical music fans. Even though Michael Jackson and R. Kelly committed the same crime, people have only canceled Kelly. Even though everybody called [Smith] a bitch, Smith only slapped Rock.

Its a weak argument all the way through. Other writers have already pointed out that the first example requires its own selective ignorance; Kelly retains plenty of outspoken fans . But even if Kelly were a good example of an unfairly deplatformed artist, his situation translates poorly to Rocks. Kelly sexually abused minors; Rock made a joke in poor taste about Smiths wife. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison , after which some fans stopped listening to his music; Smith slapped Rock, which most people agreed was unwarranted even before Smith himself apologized. The offenses and punishments at play are so different that it barely makes sense to put them in adjacent sentences. These situations only seem related if you strip them of context and present their skeletal remains as evidence of cancel culture  or, as Rock rebrands it, selective outrage.

To be fair, he does try to differentiate his perspective from the usual right-wing talking points. He emphasizes the problem of selectivity more so than outrage; he tries to make his special cohere around the ridiculousness of hypocrisy, rather than the plight of censorship. Some of his better jokes hit that note precisely, as when he makes fun of Lululemon for saying its anti-hate  if they sell $100 yoga pants, Rock quips, they hate the poor. But it remains unconvincing that Rocks real problem with Smith is his hypocrisy. Rocks problem with Smith is that he slapped him on live TV.

Story continues

And thats fine! Its fine to be upset about that, and its even fine to milk that moment for all its worth and then some until you get an hourlong special and a fancy Netflix deal. But its annoying to pretend that this schoolyard spat says something about societys ills. Smith acted in a way that was unpredictable and entitled, but he did so at a closed event for the Hollywood elite, which Rock was presenting at because he is a member of that aristocracy. This is not the behavior of a prototypical brainwashed leftist, on a continuum with typing out woke-ass tweets on a phone made by child slaves. Its the behavior of one guy, one time, under a highly unique set of circumstances.

Its annoying to pretend that this schoolyard spat says something about societys ills.

Rocks attempt to make the Slap into a cultural referendum betrays his class anxiety, common among aging comedians who insist they arent out of touch. In some jokes, Rock makes his cognitive dissonance explicit, like when he tells the audience, Im rich, but I identify as poor. In others, it seeps into his parenting. Though he brags that his kids are fucking spoiled and go to the best schools on earth, he also laments that they dont understand what its like to be normal people. When his daughter Lola gets in trouble on a school trip and doesnt even care, he admits, I kind of snapped. He begs the dean of Lolas crazy rich white school to kick her out so that shell have to write about it on her college application. By the end of the joke, Rock triumphs; he manufactured adversity for his privileged daughter, and it worked, he says. The whole thing humbled Lola. But underneath this ridiculous setup is the sincere belief that rich kids know nothing if they dont know suffering.

Therein lies Rocks artistic quandary. He made a name for himself  as a voice of the Black middle class , and he was at his sharpest and most celebrated when he spoke frankly about the imperfect, divided world he came up in. Now hes been rich and famous for decades. The insularity of his wealth has cost him legitimacy as a participant in and observer of the culture. Because hes a smart guy, Rock knows hes too rich to be relatable, so he waters down the specifics of his actual life until they resemble something normal people can rally behind. He presents getting slapped at the Oscars by Will Smith as falling victim to selective outrage because the latter seems class-neutral. Its a savvy tactic, but its also dishonest.

Rocks personal grievance with Smith is legitimate, but by trying to mash it into the shape of a cultural cautionary tale, he does himself and his comedy a disservice. It might be true that Smiths outburst is indicative of a culture in which some celebrities increasingly believe they ought to be immune from critique. It might also be true that Smiths outburst was the result of a pent-up, yearslong Oscars feud between these two. But blaming Smiths behavior on the culture writ large is unspecific and unconvincing; more than anything, it feels like a cynical way for Rock to cash in on the one-year anniversary of his virality. 
A man reportedly forced women into vehicles and raped them three times in one week.

>> Deputies: Home connected to Bengals RB Mixon part of shooting investigation; Juvenile hospitalized

Rodolfo Castillo was indicted on six counts of kidnapping, three counts of aggravated robbery, one count of robbery, four counts of rape, and one count of attempted rape, WCPO reported.

Woman kidnapped, raped, and robbed

On February 13, he contacted a transportation service and asked for the driver to come to an apartment complex in the 1400 block of West Kemper Road in Forest Park, WCPO continued. He allegedly requested a female driver.

When the driver arrived, Castillo got into the passenger seat and held a screwdriver to the womans ribs, Hamilton County prosecutors informed. He then ordered her into the back seat, tied her hands and feet, and forced her to the floor.

Next, the man drove the woman to her bank and withdrew money from her account, prosecutors said. The amount of money that Castillo stole was not released in WCPOs article.

Finally, he drove her to a parking lot, raped her, then dropped her off at a gas station, threatening to kill her if she reported the incident to the police, prosecutors stated.

Witnesses reportedly saw the man at the apartment complex, coming up in that laundry room then dash[ing] off, but did not report it to the police.

Woman assaulted

On February 14, Castillo offered a ride to a woman leaving a Kroger in Woodlawn. However, when they were driving, he reportedly punched the woman multiple times and took her phone, prosecutors said. He later threatened to rape and kill her if she did not cooperate.

The victim was able to jump out of the vehicle at a traffic light where a bystander helped her and called the police. The man fled the scene by the time officers arrived.

Woman kidnapped and raped

On February 16, a woman received a text message from a number she believed was a third-party mutual friend, prosecutors claimed. The text asked for a ride from the same apartment complex on West Kemper Road.

Story continues

When she arrived at the apartment complex, Castillo entered her vehicle, held a knife to her ribs, took her phone, and directed her to an unknown location to park, a spokesperson for the Hamilton County Prosecutors Office wrote.

He conducted the same actions to the woman he encountered on February 13. He allegedly forced the victim to the back seat, tied her hands and feet, then forced her to the floor, prosecutors said. He later drove to a dark parking lot and raped her.

As he returned to the apartment complex, he raped her a second time, prosecutors continued.

Castillo threatened to kill the woman if she told anyone, prosecutors said.

Conclusion

Prosecutors were concerned that Castillo attacked more women who have yet to come forward.

He was held in the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $775,000 bond.

A conviction on all charges would result in a maximum possible sentence of 85 years in prison.
A robotic dog built by Boston Dynamics is demonstrated at a conference on robotics and artificial intelligence in Las Vegas in 2019. (Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images)

Amid lingering concerns about surveillance and safety, the Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to accept the donation of a dog-like robot for the LAPD.

The controversial device would be paid for with a nearly $280,000 donation from the Los Angeles Police Foundation. The Police Commission and the council's public safety committee have approved the move.

The department said it intends to deploy the device in limited scenarios and primarily for reconnaissance. Nicknamed Spot, it can climb stairs, open doors and navigate rugged terrain, giving police a set of eyes in potentially dangerous situations while keeping officers out of harm's way, officials say.

Under the department's policy, its use would be restricted to incidents involving the SWAT team, such as an active shooter, barricaded suspect or explosive device.

Critics are dubious.

As with other police technologies, they worry about its potential for misuse to harm and spy on Black and brown communities.

Hamid Khan, with the oversight group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, said that even if the robot starts out with a more benign purpose, law enforcement cannot be trusted to regulate itself. Throughout its history, the LAPD has justified new technology and programs by saying it would be used only in narrow circumstances, Khan said.

"There's a long history of mission creep with the LAPD that what we have seen, and everything we have called out has then suddenly been transformed into a much wider expansion of its deployment," he said. "If we go back historically, the helicopter fleet first came out, then we saw the SWAT and that it's only going to be in particular situations, but SWAT has been normalized."

On social media, critics of the LAPDs plan have circulated news stories about the robotic canine's disastrous deployment in New York City.

The nation's largest police force first acquired the technology in 2020. Its use didn't get widespread attention until the next year, when it sparked a public outcry after a viral video showed the robot trotting alongside New York City officers during a hostage situation at a high-rise public housing building.

Story continues

Critics denounced the decision to use the device in what they said is an overpoliced community, and they also raised concerns about privacy and data collection. After several days, the New York City Police Department broke its contract with Boston Dynamics and returned the robot.

LAPD Lt. Ruben Lopez, who oversees SWAT, said the department learned from what happened in New York. In Los Angeles, the Police Department's "strict policies" for Spot's use would ensure "we dont abuse it, so we can avoid confrontations and stuff with people who dont want to be arrested," he said.

The dizzying pace of technology has forced police departments to keep up and made the adoption of devices like Spot "inevitable," he said.

"We will not use it to surveil," he said, noting similar concerns about widespread police surveillance after the LAPD bought drones five years ago. Its baseless ... we havent had a single violation."

As with the department's drones, its use must be approved by the deputy chief of the counter terrorism bureau, and the police chief must be notified.

The donation has cleared several hurdles, most recently with a 4-1 vote by the council's public safety committee in January.

Steve Soboroff, a police commissioner, said the device is intended to save lives and that fears of the technology someday being used to spy on or attack people are "ridiculous." He said the department had worked to devise safeguards against such abuse.

This isnt about perception; it isnt about how it looks. Its about saving lives of the public and saving the lives of police officers and saving the lives of suspects, some of whom are severely mentally ill and are severely in drug stupors," he said. Theres no missiles attached to it, and theres not secret chemicals attached to it.

Several council members have signaled they would vote against the robot.

In a Twitter thread, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez wrote that the robot's deployment in New York "isn't just disturbing, it's deeply unjust. Especially when talking about low-income tenants and communities of color."

Soto-Martinez, the sole "no" vote on the public safety committee, has signaled his continued opposition to the robot.

Today, LA's Public Safety Committee will decide whether we should allow the LAPD to use a "robot dog"



These mechs were already rejected in NYC because they were used to aggressively police working-class communities of color.



We can't allow this dystopian machine in LA. (thread) pic.twitter.com/vOaFdDrXgN  Hugo Soto-Martinez (@HugoForCD13) January 24, 2023

Opposition to the robots has mounted in recent months, following an uproar over a proposal in San Francisco to weaponize robots for use in killing people in certain situations. City leaders dropped the plan under public pressure.

Critics fear that it's only a matter of time before other cities push for armament.

Earlier this year, Boston Dynamics, the company that manufactures Spot, joined other robotics firms in an open letter condemning the arming of robots, saying the practice will harm public trust in the technology in ways that damage the tremendous benefits they will bring to society.

The technology has been in use for years in more than 30 countries around the world, the company said.

Another company, Ghost Robotics, has started marketing a weaponized dog-like robot to several branches of the U.S. military and its allies. And the four-legged robots were seen trotting around the grounds at International Defense Exhibition and Conference, an arms fair held every two years in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi.

Besides the controversy in policing, Spot has received benign attention, appearing in viral social media videos, dancing to pop songs. Earlier this year, Jimmy Fallon featured the robot on an episode of The Tonight Show, and Boston Dynamics has highlighted the technologys use in countries worldwide. For example, Londons Heathrow Airport is using one of the robots to do 3-D laser scans of a 1960s-era cargo tunnel thats being refurbished. In Ukraine, its being used to sweep for mines.

Across the U.S., the devices are starting to be used in various roles by police departments in cities such as Honolulu and St. Petersburg, Fla. The Homeland Security Department is considering deploying robot dogs manufactured by Ghost Robots to help patrol the southern U.S. border.

But experts say that efforts at regulation nationwide of police technology have been piecemeal and largely failed to keep up with new developments in robotics.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A skateboard and sign that reads skaters for Tyre are seen in front of Memphis City Hall while Tyre Nichols family reviews footage inside of the traffic stop that resulted in Nichols being taken to the hospital in critical condition in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday, January 23, 2023. Nichols was a skater and members of the Memphis skateboarding community came out to support his family.

The City of Memphis will release nearly 20 hours of footage Wednesday afternoon from the scene where Tyre Nichols was beaten by multiple Memphis police officers in early January.

The footage, along with accompanying charging documents, comes over a month after the initial body camera footage was released.

"The investigation has been concluded," Jennifer Sink, chief legal officer for the City of Memphis, said in a Tuesday morning presentation before the Memphis City Council's Public Safety Committee.

In total, 13 officers from the Memphis Police Department were investigated. Seven were fired, three were suspended and two had their internal charges dismissed. One officer retired, but the recommendation for that person was termination.

The officer who retired submitted his retirement before the hearing was scheduled. Sink said the city cannot compel someone to come to work or a hearing unless they're employed by the City of Memphis.

EXPERT ANALYSIS:Experts say these are the key challenges prosecutors will face in the Tyre Nichols case

RELATED:SCORPION Unit supervisor had prior reprimands, illegally searched man's car

"What happened, at my direction, was the hearing was still held, nobody appeared, but that was to be expected," Sink said. "The hearing officer made a determination based upon the information available to him."

Although that officer was not officially fired, Sink said there will be a record that shows the charges brought against the officer, along with the course of action recommended for each of the violations.

Four employees from the Memphis Fire Department were also charged. Two emergency medical technicians  Robert Long and JaMichael Sandridge  along with Lt. Michelle Whitaker were fired Jan. 30. The fourth MFD personnel received a suspension and remedial training.

According to Sink, all of the officers who struck Nichols were part of the first group of terminations and criminal charges.

One other person, who was suspended, did, at the tail end, "place hands on legs, but that was not a strike or an assault." That person received a suspension.

Story continues

All of the suspensions are without pay and they will return to work after.

With the city's current pension system, an employee can retire  even if they are facing disciplinary action  and retain their pension. Sink said that Tennessee state law, which says a government employee's pension can be rescinded if convicted of a crime, is the "only mechanism that the city has to revoke or rescind somebody's pension."

"We need to fix that," said Memphis City Councilman JB Smiley. "It's upsetting...because I don't know the extent of what he or she has done, but what I do know is that they played a part, in something that played out very publicly, which ultimately added to life being taken from a young man. I just don't like the fact that his parents, essentially, are paying this officer to go on and live."

Nichols was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation in the evening hours of January 7, though officials have since said there was no evidence to support whether he actually committed one.

Video footage from the traffic stop showed Nichols, 29, being pulled from his car before being held on the ground while other officers pepper sprayed him. When Nichols got up and began running, now-former Officer Preston Hemphill fired his taser at Nichols. It is unclear if the prongs of that taser actually hit Nichols.

Nichols was eventually caught at a second scene, less than 100 yards from his mothers house, where officers punched, kicked, pepper sprayed and hit him with a baton.

Five officers  Tadarius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Justin Smith, Demetrius Haley and Desmond Mills, Jr.  were initially fired and later charged. A sixth officer, Hemphill, was also fired, but he has not been criminally charged.

Footage showed Nichols slumped on the side of an unmarked squad cruiser as officers meandered around him. Eventually, he was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition. He died three days later.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

Lucas Finton is a news reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: City of Memphis completes Tyre Nichols beating investigation
Clearwater police arrested a Dunkin employee Monday night after authorities say he became involved in an argument with a customer and then shot him.

Khalil Abdul Shakur Shaheed, 22, of St. Petersburg, was booked in the Pinellas County Jail on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and a charge of carrying a concealed firearm, according to a news release from the Clearwater Police Department

Shaheed was working at the Dunkin at 2551 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd about 6 p.m. Monday when he got into argument began with a customer, according to police. Police said the customer, identified only as a 38-year-old Clearwater man, was trying to buy ice cream for his girlfriend and two children.

When the customer and his family left through the front door, Shaheed went out the back door and confronted the man in the parking lot. The argument between the two men continued and became physical, a previous news release from Clearwater police said.

Shaheed then pulled a gun from his waistband and shot the man, hitting him twice in the legs, police said.

The customer was taken to Bayfront Heath St. Petersburg and is in serious but stable condition, police said.

A Clearwater police spokesperson said Tuesday that investigators didnt know what sparked the argument between the two men.

Records show Shaheed was being held in jail Tuesday on a $15,000 bond.
Two years after the Jan. 6 riots, a Cleona man is facing felony charges for his role in allegedly breaching the U.S. Capitol and assaulting police.

Cameron Edward Hess, 26, is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Both charges are considered felonies.

Hess is also accused of several misdemeanors, including knowingly entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds and disorderly and disruptive conduct.

Cameron Hess, 26, Cleona, is accused of assaulting and obstructing officers during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6. Prosecutors said Hess tried to gain access to the Capitol building while police tried to direct rioters back out of the rotunda door.

Agents were able to identify Hess via US Capitol CCTV video footage entering the US Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021 through the east rotunda doors, according to court documents.

A short time later, riot police push Hess out of the Capitol building. Hess again pushes into the Capitol building at around 3:24 p.m. while law enforcement was trying to direct the rioters out of the rotunda door.

Terry Brown:Myerstown man gets probation for Jan. 6 Capitol riot role: 'I do regret doing what I did'

James Jeter:'Holes that can't be filled': Lebanon County law enforcement sees youth gun violence rise

Hess had returned as police were attempting to close the rotunda doors and physically engaged with a municipal officer, the release said. Photos show Hess attempted to hold the door open as the officer working to close the door ordered Hess to stop. Officials said law enforcement successfully pushed Hess out of the rotunda doors.

Cameron Hess, 26, Cleona, is accused of assaulting and obstructing officers during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6. Prosecutors said Hess tried to gain access to the Capitol building while police tried to direct rioters back out of the rotunda door.

According to the affidavit, two witnesses submitted tips to the FBI and identified Hess. Investigators also linked photos for Hess's social media account to video and photos of him entering the building, including photos of Hess covering his face as he was hit by pepper spray bullets.

United States Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey filed an arrest warrant for Hess on Feb. 27. FBI agents arrested Hess on Thursday, and he was released from custody after being arraigned and waiving his rights to a hearing in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Story continues

According to the conditions ordered by Harvey on Tuesday, Hess is not allowed to travel to the District of Columbia except for purposes related to his case. He is also not allowed to travel outside the continental United States and is prohibited to drink excessively.

Cameron Hess, 26, Cleona, is accused of assaulting and obstructing officers during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6. Prosecutors said Hess tried to gain access to the Capitol building while police tried to direct rioters back out of the rotunda door.

In the 25 months since Jan. 6, officials said more than 985 individuals have been arrested nationally for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 319 of those individuals are charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, officials said in a release.

Hess's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. on March 23.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Cleona man charged with assaulting officer during Capitol Riots Jan. 6
When Florida legislators kick off their 2023 legislative session Tuesday, expect a number of bills that will be red meat for the majority's Republican base.

Among them are major proposals to expand gun rights, further restrict diversity efforts at public universities and expand the ability to sue media outlets for defamation  all measures that shed light on the direction of a prospective presidential bid by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

With a GOP supermajority holding power across both chambers in Tallahassee, DeSantis will face little meaningful resistance in shaping the states politics as he sees fit, politics watchers in the state said, as he continues to build out a likely presidential campaign.

Whatever the governor wants to get through, it will get through this session, said Susan MacManus, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Florida. Its going to offer some clues  some huge clues  as to what kind of campaign hes going to run."

A DeSantis spokesperson declined to answer questions about the coming session. The governors recent memoir frequently trumpets his accomplishments in Florida as models for national policy. One chapter is even called Make America Florida, and he writes that the Florida blueprint is a blueprint for Americas revival.

Here are some of the biggest items the GOP Legislature will be focusing on in its March 7-to-May 5 session.

Expanding gun rights

Republican leaders have already introduced legislation that would allow people to carry concealed loaded guns anywhere without permits  a proposal DeSantis has signaled is one of his top priorities for the coming session.

This was something that Ive always supported, he said in December. Itll be something that will be done in the regular session.

Under current Florida law, people who seek to carry concealed guns in public are required to get concealed weapons licenses from the state. A constitutional carry measure  as conservatives gun rights activists call the bill  or permitless carry  the term preferred by gun safety and gun control activists, as well as neutral groups  would eliminate the requirement.

Story continues

In recent weeks, however, Senate Republicans have combined the legislation with measures they say would increase school safety, like creating a standardized school threat assessment process and expanding a program that allows school district employees to carry guns at schools.

Democrats have blasted the combination as a political ploy to make the permitless carry proposal more palatable to voters.

They should be two separate bills, state Sen. Jason Pizzo, a noted DeSantis critic, said in an interview. Theyre not germane. ... They shouldnt be combined together.

Cracking down on anything 'woke'

DeSantis heavy lean into culture war issues related to education has helped raise his national profile. Conservatives have celebrated his 2022 Stop WOKE Act, which in effect curtailed conversations about race in schools; his pressure on the College Board, which appeared to prompt the group to water down its Advanced Placement African American studies course (the group claims it didn't make the changes because of DeSantis); and his retaliation against Disney after it objected to a piece of legislation  dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill by critics  to restrict teaching young students about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Hes not about to stop that approach.

Another Republican-proposed bill in the Legislature would build on those efforts by cracking down on diversity programs at state universities. The bill, HB 999, would consolidate state control over such schools. It would allow the Florida Board of Governors, in effect, to force universities to remove majors and minors in such subjects as critical race theory and gender studies and to bar spending on programs or activities that support them. The Board of Governors oversees the states public universities, and 14 of its 17 members are appointed by the governor.

The bill would also give schools boards of trustees the authority to review faculty members tenure at any time.

In addition, DeSantis and state Republicans are not letting up on their focus on targeting transgender people.

A pair of corresponding bills in the state House and Senate would, if enacted, ban requiring students, educators and other school employees from using pronouns that "do not correspond with that persons sex." They would also ban school employees from sharing their own pronouns if they do not correspond with their sexes and from asking students for their preferred pronouns.

The same bills would also expand the Parental Rights in Education Act, which that critics call the Dont Say Gay law, by extending a ban on teaching students about sexual orientation and gender identity through the eighth grade (the current law implemented such a ban through the third grade).

Andres Malave, an aide to Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, disputed that any focus by legislators on high-profile culture war-related legislation like HB 999 was coming from the governors office.

These proposals are all member-driven, and they will move their way through the appropriate processes, he said in an interview.

Going after the media

Another bill expected to get serious consideration, at DeSantis urging, would make it easier to successfully sue media organizations for defamation.

The bill, HB 991, would limit the actual malice requirement that has traditionally allowed journalists some room for error so theyre not pressured to self-censor while holding powerful people accountable. The term actual malice refers to the idea that people acted on information they knew to be false or with reckless disregard for its accuracy.

Notably, the bill would also classify allegations of discrimination against other people on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity as defamation.

Experts have raised substantial questions about the bills constitutionality and legality, given that it includes several provisions that would seem to contradict landmark Supreme Court rulings on First Amendment rights.

The bill in essence puts in writing former President Donald Trumps calls during his 2016 campaign to open up our libel laws," and its movement through the Legislature would advance the DeSantis administrations combative approach to the news media.

In a roundtable discussion last month about media defamation practices, DeSantis urged the Legislature to act on the issue, saying, Legacy media outlets increasingly divorce themselves from the truth and instead try to elevate preferred narratives and partisan activism over reporting the facts.

Pizzo said about the bill, DeSantis is just literally copying [Trumps] playbook.

Well know where hes going by what happens in this session

Other conservative bills are getting national attention, including one that, if it is enacted, would eliminate the Democratic Party in the state and another that would require bloggers who write about the governor and legislators to register with the state.

Despite the Republican supermajority in the Legislature, many Florida politics watchers dont expect those bills to pass.

I call them silliness bills, MacManus said. I think there is a danger in moving forward with bills like those if [DeSantis] anticipates running for president.

The Legislature will also consider more conventional Republican proposals pushed by DeSantis, like "record tax relief" and an education plan that would boost teachers salaries while limiting school board terms and stripping unions of leverage in negotiating pay for educators.

Well know where hes going by what happens in this session, MacManus said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Pune, India - (NewMediaWire) - March 7, 2023 - "Coal Import" Size, Scope, and Forecast 2023-2032 report has been added to the Market Research Archive of Absolute Reports. Industry experts and researchers have offered an authoritative and concise analysis of the Global Coal Import with respect to various aspects such as growth factors, challenges, restraints, developments, trends, and opportunities for growth. This report will surely be a handy tool for market players to come up with effective strategies with the aim of strengthening their positions in the market.

What is the Coal Import growth?

China is the largest coal producer and consumer. The huge coal consumption in China encourages foreign coal producers to expand their production capacity. In addition, overseas coal mines are mostly opencast ones, which makes it easy to increase production. However, coal production in China is restricted by environmental protection policies and other factors. In recent years, some small and medium-sized coal mines had to cut or even stop production because their environmental protection facilities failed to meet standards. Meanwhile, the rising mining costs have made the coal prices in China higher than the international coal prices. For example, in 2019, the average price of imported coal was only US$78 per ton, about 10% lower than that of domestic coal.

According to Researchers, the logistics costs for imported coal are very low because imported coal mostly enters China by sea. While the logistics costs for domestic coal are far higher because the prices of refined oil are more expensive in China than in other parts of the world, and the expressway tolls are excessively high. Therefore, China imports a large quantity of coal every year.

China's coal imports rose from 204.06 million tons in 2015 to 299.67 million tons in 2019. In 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the deterioration of relations between China and Australia, China's coal imports have shown a downward trend. In 2021, China's coal imports amounted to approximately 323.21 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%.

Story continues

Coal imports are classified into anthracite, coking coal, other coal, other bituminous coal and lignite. The first three types of coal are used for thermal power generation and collectively called as steam coal in China. China's coal imports are dominated by steam coal that has a low average price.

Get a Sample PDF of report - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-sample/22022638



According to Researchers, coal import can bring the following benefits to China: (1) Appropriate amount of coal imports can suppress the price fluctuations and speculation on China's coal market so that the downstream industries can maintain stable production and operation; and (2) the import of high-quality coking coal that China lacks can promote the development of China's coke and metal smelting industries.

According to Researchers' prediction, if the COVID-19 epidemic is relieved in 2022, China's coal imports will increase in 2023-2032. Although China has reduced its coal imports from Australia, it will look for coal from other countries as an alternative. If the COVID-19 epidemic continues in 2023, it is expected that China's coal imports will continue to decline in 2023 and will not resume growth until 2024.

Browse Detailed TOC, Tables and Figures with Charts which is spread across 60 Pages that provides exclusive data, information, vital statistics, trends, and competitive landscape details in this niche sector.

Client Focus



1. Does this report consider the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on the Coal Import?



Yes. As the COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war are profoundly affecting the global supply chain relationship and raw material price system, we have definitely taken them into consideration throughout the research, in Chapters, we elaborate at full length on the impact of the pandemic and the war on the Coal Import Industry

Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of Russia-Ukraine War and COVID-19 on this Coal Import Industry.

TO KNOW HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR WILL IMPACT THIS MARKET - REQUEST SAMPLE

This report provides a pin-point analysis of changing dynamics and emerging trends in the Global Coal Import. Additionally, it provides a futuristic perspective on various factors that are likely to fuel the growth of the Global Coal Import in the coming years. Further, the authors of the report have shed light on the factors that may hinder the growth of the Global Coal Import.

Coal Import - Competitive and Segmentation Analysis:

2. How do you determine the list of the key players included in the report?



With the aim of clearly revealing the competitive situation of the industry, we concretely analyze not only the leading enterprises that have a voice on a global scale, but also the regional small and medium-sized companies that play key roles and have plenty of potential growth.

Top Key Players of the Global Coal Import

Huaneng Group Fuel Co., Ltd.

Xiamen ITG Group Corp., Ltd.

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd.



Short Description About Coal Import:

The Global Coal Import is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2023 and 2032. In 2023, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.

This report studies the Coal Import, covering market size for segment by type, by application, by sales channel (Direct Channel, Distribution Channel), and by region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa).

This report provides detailed historical analysis of global market for Coal Import from 2015-2020, and provides extensive market forecasts from 2023-2032 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the sales/revenue/value, gross margin, historical growth and future perspectives in the Coal Import.

Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 is also concerning. Since the outbreak in December 2019, the COVID-19 virus has spread to all around the world and caused huge losses of lives and economy, and the global manufacturing, tourism and financial markets have been hit hard, while the online market/industry increase. Fortunately, with the development of vaccine and other effort by global governments and organizations, the negative impact of COVID-19 is expected to subside and the global economy is expected to recover.

This research covers COVID-19 impacts on the upstream, midstream and downstream industries. Moreover, this research provides an in-depth market evaluation by highlighting information on various aspects covering market dynamics like drivers, barriers, opportunities, threats, and industry news & trends. In the end, this report also provides in-depth analysis and professional advices on how to face the post COIVD-19 period.

The research methodology used to estimate and forecast this market begins by capturing the revenues of the key players and their shares in the market. Various secondary sources such as press releases, annual reports, non-profit organizations, industry associations, governmental agencies and customs data, have been used to identify and collect information useful for this extensive commercial study of the market. Calculations based on this led to the overall market size. After arriving at the overall market size, the total market has been split into several segments and sub-segments, which have then been verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with industry experts such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives. The data triangulation and market breakdown procedures have been employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all segments and sub-segments.

Get a Sample Copy of the Coal Import Report 2023

3. What are your main data sources?



Both Primary and Secondary data sources are being used while compiling the report.



Primary sources include extensive interviews of key opinion leaders and industry experts (such as experienced front-line staff, directors, CEOs, and marketing executives), downstream distributors, as well as end-users.Secondary sources include the research of the annual and financial reports of the top companies, public files, new journals, etc. We also cooperate with some third-party databases.

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, historical data and forecast (2023-2032) of the following regions are covered in Chapter 4 and Chapter 7:

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa

Please find a more complete list of data sources in Chapters

1. To study and analyze the global Coal Import consumption (value) by key regions/countries, product type and application

2. To understand the structure of Coal Import by identifying its various sub segments.

3. Focuses on the key global Coal Import manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the value, market share, market competition landscape, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years.

4. To analyze the Coal Import with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market.

5. To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks).

6. To project the consumption of Coal Import submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries).

7. To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.

8. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.

Customization of the Report

4. Can I modify the scope of the report and customize it to suit my requirements?



Yes. Customized requirements of multi-dimensional, deep-level and high-quality can help our customers precisely grasp market opportunities, effortlessly confront market challenges, properly formulate market strategies and act promptly, thus to win them sufficient time and space for market competition.

Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/22022638

Detailed TOC of Coal Import Market Insights and Forecast to 2032

1 Overview of China's Coal Industry

1.1 Definition of Coal

1.2 Classification of Coal

1.3 Industry Chain of Coal

1.4 The Impact of COVID-19 on China's Coal Imports

2 Analysis on Environment of Coal Import in China, 2019-2022

2.1 Economic Environment

2.2 Policy Environment

2.3 Technological Environment

3 Analysis on Coal Supply in China

3.1 China's Coal Reserves

3.2 Production Capacity of China's Coal Mines

3.3 Production Volume of Coal in China

4 Analysis on Coal Demand in China

4.1 Major Downstream Consumers of Coal in China

4.2 Consumption Volume of Coal in China

4.3 Market Size of Coal in China

5 Analysis on Coal Import in China

5.1 Scale of Coal Import in China

5.2 Average Import Prices of Coal in China

5.3 China's Reliance on Coal Imports

6 Analysis on Coal Imports by Type in China

6.1 Steam Coal Import in China

6.2 Coking Coal Import in China

6.3 Anthracite Import in China

7 Analysis on Major Sources of China's Coal Imports

7.1 China's Coal Imports from Indonesia

7.2 China's Coal Imports from Australia

7.3 China's Coal Imports from Mongolia

7.4 China's Coal Imports from Russia

8 Major Coal Importers in China

8.1 Major Steam Coal Importers in China

8.2 Major Coking Coal Importers in China

9 Prospect of Coal Import in China, 2023-2032

9.1 Major Factors Influencing Coal Import in China

9.2 Forecast on Import Volume of Coal in China

9.3 Forecast on Types and Major Sources of China's Coal Imports

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart Part of Coal Types in China

Chart Industry Chain of Coal

Chart China's GDP, Disposable Personal Income Per Capita and Total Retail Sales Value of Consumer Goods, 2013-2022

Chart China's Industrial Added Value from 2013 to 2022

Chart China's Regulatory Policies on Coal Industry

Chart China's Import Tariffs on Coal

Chart Output Volume of Coal in China 2013-2022

Chart China's Energy Consumption Structure

Chart Downstream Consumption of Coal in China

Chart New Production Capacity of the Thermal Power Generation Industry in China 2013-2022

Chart China's Steel Output 2013-2022

Chart Apparent Consumption of Coal in China 2013-2022

Chart Sales Revenue of China's Coal Mining and Washing Industry 2013-2022

Chart Import Volume of Coal in China 2013-2022

Chart Import Value of Coal in China 2013-2022

Chart Average Import Prices of Coal in China, 2013-2022

Purchase this report (Price 3000 USD for a single-user license) - https://www.absolutereports.com/purchase/22022638

About Us:

Absolute Reports is the credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs. At Absolute Reports, our objective is providing a platform for many top-notch market research firms worldwide to publish their research reports, as well as helping the decision makers in finding most suitable market research solutions under one roof. Our aim is to provide the best solution that matches the exact customer requirements. This drives us to provide you with custom or syndicated research reports.

Contact Us:

Organization: Absolute Reports

Web: https://www.absolutereports.com
(This March 6 story has been refiled to remove the garble from paragraph 1)

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The president of Colombia's Senate, Roy Barreras, asked the government on Monday to suspend negotiations with drug traffickers, adding that these talks negatively impact the Andean country's goal of implementing a policy of total peace.

Barreras, an ally of leftist President Gustavo Petro, made his request as the government faces a scandal which alleges that the president's brother and eldest son received money from accused drug traffickers looking to benefit from the total peace policy.

"I ask the government to suspend all kinds of official or unofficial dialogue, conversation or negotiation with drug traffickers," Barreras said at a press conference. "They aren't necessary and they harm the noble purpose of total peace."

The total peace policy is a bid by Petro to end the Andean country's almost six decades of internal armed conflict, which has left hundreds of thousands dead.

The attorney general has opened an investigation against the president's son Nicolas Petro Burgos and his brother Juan Fernando Petro in connection with the allegations which both men deny.

As part of his total peace policy, Petro is offering criminal gangs the chance to surrender to justice in exchange for reduced sentences if they hand over their earnings and reveal their cocaine trafficking routes.

Drug trafficking gangs will be able to surrender themselves to justice once the law presented by the government which will allow them to do so has been passed by Congress, Barreras said.

The president has restarted peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and is looking to begin separate negotiations with two dissident factions of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which signed a peace deal with the state in 2016.

Danilo Rueda, the government's High Commissioner for Peace, acknowledged "serious rumors" of lawyers entering negotiations with drug traffickers in connection with the total peace policy, but added that neither his office nor Petro have anything to do with the alleged illegal actions.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Lincoln Feast.; Writing by Oliver Griffin)
A 60-year-old Columbia area doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to illegally distributing various prescription drugs, including oxycodone, adderall, Xanax and hydrocodone.

Dr. James Oscar Williams, a family medicine doctor who practices in West Columbia, will be sentenced at a later date, said Judge Joe Anderson.

Federal prosecutors and attorneys for Williams have agreed on a five-year prison sentence for the doctor, who has no prior criminal record, according to public records. Anderson said he may or may not abide by that agreement in sentencing.

Williams was indicted on charges of 51 illegal drug transactions involving prescription drugs in 2018 and 2019.

In a plea deal, prosecutors allowed him to plead guilty to two counts of drug trafficking in exchange for his guilty plea and the agreed-upon five year prison sentence.

Williams was in court Monday with his two defense lawyers, Johnny Gasser and Gregory Harris, both of Columbia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike OMara prosecuted the case. Jamey Jones, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who worked the case, also was in the courtroom.

OMara said the state Department of Labor and Licensing, which has a board overseeing doctors discipline, will make the decision on what action to take with respect to Williams license.

At Mondays hearing, no mention was made of the motive Williams had in distributing quantities of prescription drugs.

However, OMara said that Hawthorne Pharmacy in Columbia became concerned about the quantities of drugs that Williams was writing prescriptions for and began to refuse to do business with him. Williams then turned to a hospital pharmacy run of Prisma. When Prisma began to have reservations about the quantities of drugs Williams was writing prescriptions for, the hospital pharmacy stopped allowing him to buy there.

More information will be released at the as-yet unscheduled sentencing hearing.
Principal Attorney from Sandoval Law Firm Explains Who Is the Responsible Party (Employer or Third-Party) And What Type of Insurance Do They Have for Work Injuries

Austin, Texas --News Direct-- Hector Sandoval

Although suffering an injury on the job raises immediate questions about who is going to pay for medical care and lost wage payments, the first question that must be addressed is; what type of insurance your employer or the at-fault party has?

In Texas, your employer could have Texas Workers Compensation Insurance, could be Self-Insured, could be a Non-Subscriber (No Workers Compensation but has an ERISA Plan) or, your employer could be uninsured. If you are injured on the job but it was the fault of another company or their employee (Third-party), you could have a case and you would need to know if that company has commercial liability coverage. Determining which scenario or combination of scenarios your case falls into is going to determine what kind of injury benefits you could seek.

For this reason, its crucial to make an early assessment in your case of what rights you have so that you can do what is necessary to:

Receive theyou need;

Receivethat you may be entitled to; and

Hold your employer responsible for anythey may have caused.

Consider contacting a work accident attorney who can fight for your rights. Sandoval Law Firm was started with three goals in mind:

Provide sound legal advice backed with aggressive representation!

Provide Clients with Personal Service like no other law firm out there!

Treat every case like a million-dollar case!

The Focus on Customer Service and Individual Attention

When hiring a work injury law firm in Texas to represent you, its important for you to consider how you are treated from the first contact with the firm! Lawyers and law firms are in the customer service industry too even though some lawyers dont realize it. How can you and your family trust a law firm or a lawyer with your case at a time when you are most vulnerable and experiencing high stress without either speaking directly with the person you are entrusting to protect your rights or meeting with them in person! Dont settle!

Story continues

The Attorney-Client Relationship at Sandoval Law Firm, PLLC!

At the Sandoval Law Firm, you will speak directly with me and I will do my best to earn your trust from our first meeting. I pride myself on being available to discuss your legal issue on the phone or in person, and determine quickly whether we believe we can help you and, if we cant, we will, at the very least, try to offer some guidance to you and your family so that you can continue with your lives with peace of mind, knowing youve spoken to a lawyer who tried to help.

When you call Sandoval Law Firm, PLLC, Ill immediately put my legal experience to work for you! My firm handles all types of personal injury cases. Personal service means, you will be able to talk to me at all phases of your work injury case!

Call Sandoval Law Firm at (346) 347-7777 and put Sandoval to work for you! Our website is https://sandovalpllc.com/. Para leer informacion en espanol, favor visite www.sandovalpllc.com/es

Contact Details

Sandoval Law Firm

Hector Sandoval

+1 346-347-7777

Hector@Sandovalpllc.com

Company Website

https://sandovalpllc.com/lead-attorney-spotlight/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/what-you-need-to-consider-in-your-texas-work-injury-case-according-to-accident-attorney-hector-sandoval-262812101
The Daily Beast

NBCMaking random strangers cry is all in a days work for Donald Trump, if the former president is to be believed, and Colin Jost just doesnt get it.Why is everyone in Trumps stories always crying?Thats the question Jost asked near the top of Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update, and a query that has been on millions of peoples minds ever since the former president told a seemingly enthralled Tucker Carlson earlier this week in his first post-arraignment interview. As Jost explained, Do
GOSHEN - A New York City corrections officer who lives in Middletown has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison after pleading guilty to burglary in a violent home invasion in which he stabbed his wife, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced.

Hoovler said the corrections officer, Jonathan Harris, 41, of Middletown, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in state prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

According to Hoovler, as admitted during the plea process and in charging documents filed in court on July 16, 2022, Harris broke into the home of his wife in the town of Wallkill in violation of a previously issued order of protection.

When his wife tried to call 911, Harris knocked the phone out of her hands. Harris then stabbed her in the chest, causing a puncture wound to her liver.

Harris fled the residence but was apprehended after a traffic stop by police. It was subsequently determined that Harris was an active corrections officer for the city of New York, Hoovler said.

Harris later pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary, a felony.

Hoovler thanked the Town of Wallkill Police Department for their investigation and arrest of Harris.

Haverstraw fatality: Maybrook passenger dies in car crash on Palisades Parkway

Tax breaks: State Senator James Skoufis launching probe into Orange County IDA

Downtown revitalization: State awards grants to Port Jervis, Sleepy Hollow, Cornwall

"The significant sentence imposed in this matter is appropriate in light of the admitted violent conduct of the defendant," Hoovler said in a statement released by his office. "This type of behavior is reprehensible for anyone, let alone a sworn corrections officer who is entrusted to protect and serve. My office will continue to support victims of domestic violence by aggressively prosecuting those responsible for these crimes."

"I urge all victims of domestic violence to seek out the support available to them by contacting law enforcement, my office or organizations such as Fearless! Hudson Valley who are there to assist," Hoovler's statement concluded.

Story continues

Peter Troxler, Harris' attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment.

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: Corrections officer going to prison after pleading guilty to burglary
Raymond Chan, left, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor, and his attorney Harland Braun after a court hearing in January. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A federal judge called Monday for a three-week delay in the corruption trial of former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, after learning that Chan's main lawyer was still in the hospital after an unexpected surgery.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said he will seek to resume witness testimony March 27, giving time for Harland Braun, Chan's lawyer, to recover from what has been described in court as an infection.

Chan, a onetime aide to Mayor Eric Garcetti and former head of the Department of Building and Safety, is accused of participating in a bribery and racketeering scheme led by former Councilmember Jose Huizar and involving downtown high-rise development projects. Braun, who has been leading the defense team, went to the hospital last week, prompting the cancellation of testimony Friday.

Braun's abrupt absence has created a new atmosphere of uncertainty around the trial, which has been underway since Feb. 21.

Braun, 80, is a seasoned attorney who has represented many high-profile defendants, including actor Robert Blake, director Roman Polanski and Theodore J. Briseno, a former LAPD officer who was twice acquitted of criminal charges in the Rodney King beating case.

The other attorney on Chan's defense team, Brendan Pratt, earned his law degree in 2021. Also seated at the defense table is Even Chan, the defendant's daughter-in-law, who described herself as an assistant when approached by The Times.

Pratt told the court Monday that doctors had not determined the source of Braun's infection. He did not say what type of surgery had been performed, describing it as a "half measure." Pratt said he has been relying on Braun's son for medical information on the veteran attorney, but also had also spoken with Braun directly.

"He sounded very weak, and expressed his concern that he does not know when he will be discharged from the hospital," Pratt said.

"We still don't have a diagnosis, do we?" the judge asked minutes later.

Story continues

"No we don't, your honor," Pratt said.

Prosecutors have four witnesses left in the case. Jurors have heard from former Planning Commissioner David Ambroz, mayoral aide Kevin Keller and Richelle Rios, Huizar's estranged wife, among others.

On Friday, the judge advised Pratt that he would need to familiarize himself with the exhibits in the case. The judge told the prosecution he would do everything in his power to "keep this trial on track.

Im definitely not going to mistrial, he said last week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A conservative federal judge in Texas is poised to rule in a lawsuit that could disrupt abortion access across the nation by halting distribution of a key abortion pill, mifepristone, which was approved by the FDA more than two decades ago. (Allen G. Breed / Associated Press)

A conservative federal judge in Texas is poised to rule in a lawsuit that could disrupt abortion access across the nation  including in states with strong abortion protections such as California  by halting distribution of a key abortion pill.

Ironically, the case is filed in Texas, but the impact will be felt entirely in states that permit abortion, said Elisabeth Smith, an attorney who directs state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

The lawsuit, filed in November on behalf of several antiabortion groups and doctors, alleges that the drug, mifepristone, is not safe for use in medication abortion. The complaint claims the U.S. Food and Drug Administration chose politics over science when it approved the drug more than two decades ago.

About 54% of abortions nationwide rely on a two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol. In January, the FDA finalized a new rule that broadened access to abortion pills by allowing patients to receive medication by mail after a telemedicine appointment with a certified provider.

If the Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, rules the FDA's approval of mifepristone was unlawful, women in the U.S. could face the most far-reaching limit on abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade last year.

But there are a range of potential legal scenarios. The Times spoke to attorneys and abortion providers about whats at stake in the Texas case and how they are preparing.

Is mifepristone safe?

Mifepristone, which is approved by the FDA for medical termination of pregnancy up to 10 weeks gestation, has been in use since 2000. Leading physicians groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Assn., have said the drug is safe and effective.

Taking mifepristone has a lower risk of complications, the medical groups noted, than removing a wisdom tooth, having a colonoscopy or taking Viagra.

Serious side effects occur in less than 1% of patients, and major adverse events  significant infection, blood loss, or hospitalization  occur in less than 0.3% of patients, key medical groups said in an amicus brief . The risk of death is almost non-existent.

Story continues

What does the lawsuit allege?

Antiabortion groups, including the relatively new umbrella Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, argue that the FDA exceeded its regulatory authority in 2000 by using an accelerated review process reserved for drugs to treat serious or life-threatening illnesses when it approved use of mifepristone. It also argues the agency never studied the safety of the drugs under the labeled conditions of use despite being required to do.

The plaintiffs also ask the judge to withdraw misoprostol for use in abortions. But restricting that drug would be more complicated, experts say, because it was developed and approved to treat stomach ulcers. While the lawsuit asks for an injunction against the two-drug cocktail, it focuses on mifepristone.

In its legal response to the lawsuit, the FDA said it reviewed the scientific evidence thoroughly and determined that the benefits of mifepristone outweigh any risks. The agency also disputed that its approval of mifepristone was accelerated, noting that it came four years after the manufacturer first submitted its new drug application.

Among the plaintiffs is Dr. Shaun Jester, a Texas obstetrician and gynecologist who claims that one of his patients suffered complications after traveling from Texas to New Mexico to obtain mifepristone, suffering two weeks of moderate to heavy bleeding and then developing a uterine infection. If she had waited a few more days before receiving care from Dr. Jester, she could have been septic and died, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit asks Kacsmaryk to issue a nationwide preliminary injunction that would block access to mifepristone  not only in the states that have decided to criminalize abortion, but also in states that have taken steps to protect abortion access.

Who is Judge Kacsmaryk?

Republican former President Trump nominated Kacsmaryk, 47, to serve as a United States district judge for the Northern District of Texas first in 2017 and then, after that nomination died, again in 2018. A controversial pick, his nomination was opposed by Senate Democrats as well as a coalition of civil rights groups that argued he was a culture warrior with a record of hostility to legalized abortion and same-sex marriage.

From 2014 to 2019, Kacsmaryk served as deputy general counsel for First Liberty Institute, a Christian conservative nonprofit group that litigates on cases involving religious freedom. He opposed same-sex marriage, writing that the Catechism holds that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.' He criticized the Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that recognized a womans constitutional right to abortion, protesting that even the unborn child must yield to the erotic desires of liberated adults.

Kacsmaryk, who was confirmed in 2019 in a nearly party-line Senate vote, presides alone over the judicial district's Amarillo division. He has frequently sided with conservatives. In 2021, he halted the Biden administrations attempt to end the Remain in Mexico policy, a ruling that forced asylum seekers to return to Mexico while they awaited their U.S. immigration court date. Last year, he ruled that teenagers need parental consent to obtain birth control and that Biden administration attempts to protect LGBTQ workers and transgender youth were unlawful.

How might the judge rule?

Kacsmaryk could order the FDA to start the process for revoking mifepristone, a process that is likely to take months or years. But he could also interpret his powers more broadly and order the FDA to immediately revoke approval for mifepristone and remove the drug from the market.

If we were assuming a reasonable judge, I think many people would say the worst he could do is order the FDA to start the process for revoking the drug, said Greer Donley, an associate law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who specializes in abortion policy. The problem is that no one really trusts that he's going to follow the letter of the law.

Even if Kacsmaryk ordered an immediate halting of the drug, Donley said, the FDA could exercise its enforcement discretion.

The FDA is the final decision maker, Donley said. The courts do not enforce law. The agencies have power to decide not to enforce the law.  But just because the FDA can exercise enforcement discretion doesn't mean it will.

Whatever approach the FDA takes, the manufacturer of mifepristone, GenBioPro, could decide its unlikely that the Biden FDA would go after it, and take the risk of continuing to distribute the pill.

But we're at a point right now," Donley said, "where there's been a lot of risk aversion in the reproductive rights movement, and probably for good reason: There's a huge appetite in the anti-abortion movement to go after anyone who's a part of providing abortion care.

I live in a blue state. How worried should I be?

Experts say a ruling taking the drug off the market would add pressure on overtaxed abortion providers as well as people seeking to end their pregnancies.

If mifepristone were no longer available, women would still be able to obtain an abortion, but their choice would narrow. They could take off-label misoprostol alone or obtain a surgical abortion.

Misoprostol is safe and effective, said Elizabeth Nash, a state policy analyst for the Washington, D.C.-based Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. Women in numerous countries that don't have access to mifepristone use only misoprostol for abortions, but the two-dose regimen is more effective and some patients might feel uncomfortable with taking it alone as it requires taking more medication, and there are more side effects such as vomiting and diarrhea, experts say.

If more patients opted for surgical abortions, the demand would put additional strain on many clinics already reeling from the Dobbs vs. Jackson ruling that overturned Roe, because procedural abortions take more time and require more staff.

Many abortion providers across the nation, including more than half in California, provide only medication. A few providers in some states  particularly those with fewer protections  might decide not to switch to the misoprostol-only regimen and stop providing abortions altogether.

At this point, if we lose a few providers, that has a real impact on the remaining providers, Nash said.

After the Dobbs ruling plunged many clinics across the country into a chaotic, patchwork system of access, any further limitation to abortion care would be devastating, said Smith, of the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Because no medication abortions are happening in the states that ban abortion right now," Smith said, "this is just going to impact people in states where abortion remains legal.

Already, Smith noted, the plaintiffs have gone beyond their call to halt distribution of mifepristone. In a reply brief, they expanded their ask, asking the judge to limit all medication abortion across the country.

Some legal experts, however, said they doubted Kacsmaryk would go so far as to halt the distribution of misopostrol  a drug that is used not just for abortion, but also for stomach ulcers, miscarriage care and to induce labor.

"I think that that's extremely unlikely," Donley said: "Look, this judge, I don't trust him at all. He might try to be extremely radical ... but that would have really serious implications  not just for abortion care, but for all of reproductive healthcare. I would be pretty surprised if he went that far."

How are abortion providers preparing?

Even in California, with its multiple protections for abortion, providers are bracing for the Texas ruling.

I've heard some people describe this as more devastating than Dobbs, and I don't think that's wrong, said Sue Dunlap, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles. What this Texas court has the potential to do is literally take one of the safest medications in the country off the market.

About 50% of Planned Parenthood of L.A.s patients choose medication abortion  a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, Dunlap said. The other 50% opt for surgical abortion. If mifepristone were no longer distributed, Dunlap is uncertain how many patients would shift to misoprostol only.

For now, Dunlap is making sure Planned Parenthood clinics are stocked up on a three-month supply of misoprostol. She is also working to make sure her 600 employees at Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles are prepared with scripts to help patients navigate any changes in the abortion landscape.

For a licensed practitioner to go from one moment where they're describing and offering a mix of mifepristone-misoprostol abortion to misoprostol only, or perhaps recommending surgery, where the day before they might have offered medication abortion, it's a complete transformation of the practice, Dunlap said. All of us, in one way or another, need to be able to shift and meet that moment.

Could the ruling have effects beyond abortion?

Some lawyers note the arguments in the abortion pill case could set a dangerous precedent for public health, allowing politicians to venture beyond abortion care and go after other types of drugs, such as birth control, HIV prevention and treatment, COVID-19 vaccines and gender-affirming care.

"Limiting the FDA discretion and limiting their authority, injecting ideology and politics into the process of drug approval is a really dangerous proposition," Smith said. "This case goes to the heart of the Food and Drug Administration's authority, and the discretion that they have to look at scientific and medical research, approve drugs, make determinations about what is safe."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A man and a woman walk out from Restaurante Atrio, carrying three bags of stolen wine bottles worth up to &1.7 million, in Caceres, Spain October 27, 2021 in this frame grab taken from CCTV video released on July 20, 2022. Spanish Police/Handout via REUTERS

A former beauty queen and her partner stole wine worth $1.7 million from a restaurant in Spain.

The couple were sentenced on Monday to around four years in prison.

They ordered a 14-course meal to scout the restaurant, then stole the wines in the dead of night.

A former Mexican beauty queen and her Romanian-Dutch partner were sentenced four years in prison for an audacious heist which saw them pose as high-end diners to steal $1.7 million worth of wine.

Priscila Guevara, 28, and Constantin Dumitru, 49, were sentenced Monday for the 2021 plot which saw them book a 14-course meal from the Atrio hotel in the Spanish city of Caceres, per local media.

According to Spain's El Pais, the theft took place on October 27, 2021, and was initially successful.

One of the bottles was from 1806 and was worth around $330,000, according to police. Officers released security footage including a shot of Dumitru and Guevara leaving the hotel with the stolen wine.

They had visited the hotel three times in the summer, scoping out the location and planning their theft, the outlet wrote, citing a local court's statement of facts.

On the day of the heist, Guevara checked into the Atrio with a faux Swiss passport, while Dumitru arrived as an unregistered guest, per El Pais.

The two defendants seen from a screen in the press room during an oral hearing of the trial for the theft of bottles from Atrio, at the Provincial Court, on 27 February, 2023 in Caceres, Extremadura, Spain. Carlos Criado/Europa Press via Getty Images)

That evening, the couple ordered a 14-course meal at the hotel's Michelin-star restaurant, and then were led on a guided tour of the wine cellar, per the outlet.

After they returned to their rooms, Guevara called room service to order a salad at 2 a.m. to distract the receptionist, who was alone on night shift, per El Pais.

The receptionist refused to leave his post at first, wondering why Guevara wanted to eat a salad when she had just finished a 14-course meal, the outlet reported. But he accepted Guevara's request eventually, it said, leaving his desk for 20 minutes, which gave Dumitru time to steal the keycard to the wine cellar.

Story continues

But Dumitru later realized he stole the wrong key, and had to call Guevara to distract the receptionist again, per The Guardian, citing court statements.

"Moments later, the woman again called the front desk, this time asking for a dessert. After initially objecting, the employee finally agreed to bring her some fruit," the court statement said, per the outlet.

General view of wine bottles at Restaurante Atrio wine cellar in Caceres, Spain January 16, 2011. Carles Allende/Restaurante Atrio/ Handout via REUTERS

Dumitru snagged the right keycard this time and entered the cellar, stuffing 45 bottles into a backpack and two duffels, El Pais reported.

Dumitru then went back up to the couple's hotel room. They left the before dawn next morning, lining their bags with towels so the glass wouldn't clink, according to El Pais.

Days later, the Atrio's owners realized the wine was stolen and reported the theft to the police.

"They were professionals, they knew exactly what they were doing," wrote Jose Polo, one of the owners of Atrio, at the time.

Nine months after the heist, Guevara and Dumitru were arrested some 1,300 miles away in Croatia, near the border to Montenegro, wrote El Pais. They were returned to Spain to stand trial.

The wines were never recovered, but the pair was ordered by the court to pay $800,000 in damages to insurers, per The Guardian.

Guevara was given four years in prison, while Dumitru was sentenced to four and a half. Both pleaded not guilty, and their sentences can be appealed, per El Pais.

As for the restaurant at Atrio, the stolen wines were insured, and the establishment has won its third Michelin star since the heist.

The Caceres public prosecutor's office and a lawyer for Dumitru did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
By Hannah Lang

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. federal appellate court judges questioned on Tuesday whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was correct to reject Grayscale Investment's application for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, since the agency had previously approved bitcoin futures products.

The SEC rejected Grayscale Investment LLCs application to convert its flagship spot Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF) last June, arguing the proposal did not meet anti-fraud and investor protection standards.

A panel of judges in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Washington pressed the SEC on Grayscale's argument that, because the regulator previously approved certain surveillance agreements to prevent fraud in bitcoin futures-based ETFs, the same setup should also be satisfactory for Grayscale's spot fund, since both spot and futures funds rely on bitcoin's price.

Bitcoin futures ETFs track bitcoin futures contracts, or agreements to purchase or sell bitcoin at a certain price on a specified date. A spot bitcoin ETF would track bitcoin's underlying market price. Proponents say a spot bitcoin ETF would give investors exposure to bitcoin without directly buying it.

"It seems like it's fine for an agency to say okay, we need some more information, but it seems there's quite a bit of information here on how these markets work together, and the SEC has not offered any explanation... that the petitioners here are wrong," said Judge Neomi Rao.

Grayscale's lead counsel Donald Verrilli Jr., an Obama-era U.S. solicitor general, told the court that a spot bitcoin ETF would "better protect investors" because it would give them the benefit of oversight on the basis of the surveillance agreements set up with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where bitcoin futures trade.

Emily True Parise, senior litigation counsel for the SEC, argued the regulator lacks data to determine whether those surveillance agreements could also pick up potential fraud and manipulation in the spot markets.

Story continues

"The evidence is just mixed at this point. It's bi-directional sometimes," she said, noting that bitcoin futures have only been trading since 2017.

The case comes as the crypto industry has increasingly been at odds with the SEC over the regulator's crackdown on digital asset products, including those that offer investors returns on certain digital tokens.

The case's outcome could either vindicate the SEC's posture or pave the way for other companies to offer spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) if the judges rule in favor of Grayscale.

Other would-be issuers of spot bitcoin ETFs that the SEC rejected include FMR LLC's Fidelity, SkyBridge Capital and Valkyrie Investments Inc.

Valkyrie's chief investment officer, Steven McClurg, said in a statement that his company does not believe a spot bitcoin ETF will be approved within the next year. A Fidelity spokesperson said the company looks forward to constructive dialogue with the SEC. A representative for Skybridge declined to comment.

Grayscale's chief executive officer, Michael Sonnenshein, has said he expects a final ruling in the case this fall, and that he anticipates the court will rule in Grayscale's favor. He told Reuters in January that Grayscale would appeal the case if the court backed the SEC's decision to reject its bitcoin ETF proposal.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, launched in 2013, has $14 billion in assets under management, according to Grayscales website. The GBTC discount to bitcoin is hovering around 45%, having come under pressure after crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis, Louise Heavens and Josie Kao)
The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the planned new Atlanta police public training center will be good for the community and that the violence surrounding it must stop.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne was in DeKalb County, where he spoke to Mike Register after another violent protest over the weekend saw at least 23 people arrested.

Video shows the moments demonstrators dressed in all black broke away from an otherwise peaceful music festival, shot fireworks at police and set construction vehicles on fire.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

On Monday, the Georgia State Patrol returned to the training center site off Key Road to get a look at the damage and investigate what police are calling a coordinated attack.

Several agencies stepped in to help during the violence on Sunday and arrested or detained nearly three dozen people. Of all of the arrests, only two people were from Georgia. The rest are from the U.S, Canada and as far away as France.

Register was quick to say that what the demonstrators did is not peaceful protest. Its criminal and terrorist activity.

RELATED STORIES:

We cant have 150 plus people deciding that they are going to charge a construction site, burn equipment and theyre going to put law enforcement officers safety and lives in jeopardy, Register said. We are not going to tolerate that!

Register said he doesnt even think of the demonstrators as protesters.

I call it a crowd of criminals, Register said.

Register said that state, federal and local investigators led by the GBI will fold what happened Sunday around the site into an investigation underway for months into dozens of acts tied to opposition to the new training center. The investigation is building a basis for one sweeping indictment prosecutors from the Georgia Attorney Generals office and DeKalb District Attorneys office are expected to soon ask a grand jury to return.

Story continues

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Winne asked Register if he was working toward a racketeering indictment, but Register said thats something the attorney generals office will have to address.

Activists insist that Atlanta police and other agencies are responding to peaceful protests with violence themselves.

Aurielle Marie is an activist who is part of a coalition of groups and individuals in the so-called Stop Cop City movement.

When it comes to calling a body, a gathering body of 150 people criminal, that is a gross mischaracterization that theyre using to absolve themselves, Marie said. Who would you be more afraid of would you be afraid of a 20 year old who maybe got his hands on a roman candle in the middle of a park or would you be afraid of an armed and dangerous militarized police force.

Register said weaponized fireworks and other objects were directed toward police. He said he fought overseas to defend the right to peaceful protests, which he calls a cornerstone of our country.

Register said its telling that only two of the protesters arrested during this incident were from Georgia.

Marie said that if the concern really is about outside agitators, Atlanta police would not be building the training facility and marketing it to outside law enforcement bodies.

Register said the new training facility would actually improve the relationship between police and the community, including confrontations with the potential to turn violent.

Marie disagrees.

Theres no data that supports that giving them $90 million to build a playground is going to make Atlanta more safe, Marie said.

Winne made phone calls to try to determine if the Atlanta Public Safety training center is being marketed to outside agencies and if so, to whom. So far, he hasnt heard back.
The Transportation Department is launching a dashboard to clarify which airlines seat children 13 and under next to an accompanying adult for no extra charge in the latest push by the Biden administration to crack down on hidden corporate fees.

The department said it has received a number of complaints in which children, including one as young as 11 months, were not seated next to an accompanying adult. The DOT undertook a review of airlines family seating policies and found that carriers did not guarantee young children would sit next to an adult, although they generally had policies that aimed to do so.

The department said in a statement Monday that no U.S. airlines guaranteed fee-free family seating as recently as a month ago. In recent weeks, carriers including United, Frontier and American have changed their policies around family seating.

Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the statement, adding that the department had pressed airlines to guarantee fee-free family seating. All airlines should do this promptly, even as we move forward to develop a rule establishing this as a requirement across the board.

President Joe Biden went after junk fees in last months State of the Union address, saying that airline carriers cant just treat your child like a piece of luggage. In its Monday statement, the Transportation Department said it is crafting a rule that would prevent airlines from charging families to sit together. Last summer, the department urged airlines to do everything in their power to seat children ages 13 and under with an adult at no extra charge.

Last month, several Democratic senators introduced the Families Fly Together Act to ban airlines from charging families extra to sit together. The Biden administration plans to send Congress additional proposed legislation on the issue in the coming weeks, the DOTs statement said.

Story continues

In recent months, the U.S. airline industry has suffered significant operational problems, including a Federal Aviation Administration outage that grounded flights nationwide in January, the cancellation of thousands of Southwest Airlines flights in December because of severe winter weather, and industry delays and cancellations during the summer travel season.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
David Harbour said that "Stranger Things" season five will begin filming in June, per Collider.

Harbour said that he doesn't have to do as much training for season five.

The actor lost 80 pounds for season four, but this time, Hopper is "well-fed" again.

David Harbour says that he has a few months left to train ahead of filming for "Stranger Things" season five  but this time, he doesn't have to lose a third of his body weight.

According to Collider, Harbour said at the Middle East Film & Comic Con in Abu Dhabi over the previous weekend that filming for the Netflix series' fifth and final season will kick off in June of this year. This time around, however, Harbour said that he doesn't have to undergo the same physical transformation as the previous season, in which his character, Hopper, was held in a Russian prison camp.

"I did a lot of training for season four," Harbour said, per Collider. "He was in a very specific position, that Russian prison. It was about making him a different guy and sort of shedding a layer of himself physically, mentally, and emotionally. But now he's back in town, he's back in America where they have cheeseburgers, so he will be well-fed."

Harbour told GQ in July 2022 that he lost "about 80 pounds" between the show's third and fourth seasons through intermittent fasting and Pilates. While the actor told People that the weight loss "felt like a rebirth" for him physically, he also told GQ that he didn't think he would "ever do that again." He previously told GQ that he had regained the weight already for his Santa Claus slasher "Violent Night."

Harbour will have his work cut out for him this year: the actor previously told Collider that he would be simultaneously filming the final season of "Stranger Things" and Marvel's "Thunderbolts" this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.

Read the original article on Insider
The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC) is asking for your help honoring their founder.

The dance company is collecting letters to honor founder Jeraldyne Blunden with a U.S. postage stamp.

In 1968 Blunden founded DCDC as a place where young African American children could grow into accomplished artists. She later passed away in 1999.

>>CV: Dayton Contemporary Dance Company awarded resilience grant

Members of DCDC have collected nearly 6,500 letters in support of the stamp, with their goal being 10,000.

Her daughter, Debbie Blunden-Diggs, the current artistic director at DCDC, says the support shows the lasting impact Blunden has made.

I think it just cements even more what she meant to everybody. Not just to me as my mother, and not even just to DCDC as the founder and the artistic director, but to this whole community of people that were along for the ride with her, Blunden-Diggs told us.

Those interested in sending a letter in support of the movement are asked to visit dcdc.org for step-by-step instructions.

The deadline for letters to be submitted is June 15.
Today Daytons Jewish Community is set to celebrate Purim with a creative twist.

This years celebration will be themed Purim in Jerusalem, according to a release from Chabad of Greater Dayton.

Festivities will begin with a Megillah reading around 5:30 p.m. at Chabad of Greater Dayton, located at 2001 Far Hills Avenue in Oakwood.

>>Honda, LGES holds groundbreaking ceremony for new EV battery plant in southeast Ohio

Following the reading, there will be a virtual tour of the ancient holy temple along with a live harp performance and dinner.

Purim is a time to celebrate as a community, to gather together  adults and children  to hear the story of our survival as a people, said Rabbi Levi Simon, Programming Director of Chabad of Greater Dayton. What greater joy can there be than to be surrounded by family and friends in celebration of our rich heritage!

Leaders are expecting a record-breaking turnout in attendance, according to the release.

To RSVP, visit the Chabad of Greater Daytons website HERE.

Those participating are encouraged to come in costumes.




Daytona Beach police have released bodycam video from the night a man was attacked by an alligator on his doorstep.

The man told Channel 9 he was barely out the door when the gator lunged at his leg.

The gator was found underneath Scott Hollingsworths trailer when police arrived.

Read: Alligator euthanized after biting Volusia County mans leg in his front yard

Hollingsworth said he had to shake the gator off his leg and stepped back inside to call for help.

At first, he didnt believe it was an alligator.

Read: A truly remarkable alligator: Gatorland icon Chester dies at 60

You know, the back of the house we see them. We have a pond back there, Hollingsworth said. But theyre always in the water or theyre on the edge, the very edge of the grass. It came a long way out of the water, that we havent seen before.

Hollingsworth was taken to the hospital for minor injuries from the gator bite.

Read: Elderly woman dies after alligator attack in Florida while walking dog

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrived shortly after Hollingsworth left and called a trapper to euthanize the gator.

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.
By Sabine Siebold and Andrius Sytas

PABRADE TRAINING GROUND, Lithuania (Reuters) -A decision on a permanent deployment of a German brigade to Lithuania will be "up to NATO", German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday in response to calls by Vilnius for a larger NATO presence in the country.

"This is not down to who wants what - or who wants to provide what - but rather up to NATO," Pistorius told reporters at the drills of hundreds of German troops in Lithuania.

Since 2017, Germany has led an international battalion with some 1,500 troops in Lithuania as part of a NATO effort to deter Russia from attacking the Baltic region, seen as one of the weakest spots in the alliance's eastern flank.

Berlin also has a brigade of some 3,000 to 5,000 troops on standby in Germany, which it says could be deployed to Lithuania within 10 days if needed.

But Lithuania wants the brigade to be deployed on its soil, on a permanent basis, Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.

"The defence strategy of the Baltic states cannot rely only on reinforcements. It has to also rely on trustworthy in-place capabilities. Our geography demands it," he told reporters after meeting Pistorius.

There have been concerns, however, that any permanent deployments would be costly and deprive NATO of the flexibility to freely move troops to other locations along its eastern flank.

Pistorius said NATO still had to present its so-called regional plans, documents that will spell out the alliance's adapted defence planning in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and which are expected to be submitted in the coming weeks.

The issue will be discussed at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, Pistorius said.

"And we will discuss what makes more sense militarily: To have a brigade deployed permanently here in Lithuania...or whether it makes more sense militarily to remain flexible."

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Andrius Sytas, Editing by Friederike Heine, Angus MacSwan and Sharon Singleton)
Russians shot a Ukrainian soldier after shouting

The statement said Shadura had gone missing on Feb. 3 during fighting in the Bakhmut area. The body of the soldier is in Russian-occupied territory. The final identification will be established after the return and examination of his remains.

The command of the 30th Separate Mechanized brigade and the brothers of the hero express their sincere condolences to his family and friends. Revenge will be inevitable, said the brigades command said in its statement.

On March 6, a video of murder by shooting of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war after he said Glory to Ukraine appeared on the Internet. It unknown where and when the video was shot.

Read also: Ukrainian blogger who interviews Russian POWs shares his experiences

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, sent a video of the murder of the Ukrainian prisoner of war to international partners and fellow ombudsmen from different countries of the world as confirmation of yet another Russian war crime.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the murdering of a Ukrainian prisoner of war a terrible war crime and more proof that Russias war against Ukraine is genocide.

A criminal case has been opened under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war).

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin embraces Major General Matthew McFarlane during his unannounced trip to Baghdad, Iraq, on March 7, 2023. / Credit: IDREES ALI / REUTERS

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Iraq Tuesday on an unannounced visit barely two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.



"I'm here to reaffirm the US-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq," Austin tweeted as he landed in Baghdad.

Austin is the highest ranking cabinet official to visit Iraq since the beginning of the Biden administration.

The stop was kept secret until he landed for security reasons.

He's in the midst of a multi-nation visit to the region.

Austin's visit comes ahead of the March 20 anniversary of the ground invasion that ushered in two decades of bloodshed that Iraq is only now beginning to emerge from.



In the run-up, Iraq has hosted a raft of foreign officials, including the Iranian, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres.



Since US-led coalition troops ousted Saddam's Sunni Arab-dominated regime, Iraq's Shiite majority has led Iraq under a confessional power-sharing system.



Successive governments have forged close ties with Iraq's Shiite-led neighbor Iran, while Iraq maintains relations with Iran's arch foe, the United States, in a delicate balancing act.



Both allies provided extensive support during Iraq's fight against the Sunni extremists of ISIS, who overran swathes of northern and western Iraq and parts of neighboring Syria in 2014.



The jihadists were ousted from Iraqi territory in 2017 but retain sleeper cells in desert and mountain hideouts in both Iraq and Syria.



Iraq announced the end of combat operations by US-led coalition troops at the end of 2021 but some units remain deployed to provide advice and training.

The U.S. has 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, the Reuters news agency points out.

How San Diego is bouncing back from COVID

Transportation Department rolls out family seating dashboard for air travel

Four U.S. citizens kidnapped in Mexico at gunpoint
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) (C) speaks during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol December 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Democrats have struggled to find ways to counter Republican culture wars in education.

But Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat and former school principal from New York, has some ideas.

He says Republicans' parental rights push is 'a sham' and Biden needs to 'speak up' to support public education

Democrats have struggled to find ways to counter Republican culture wars in education, but Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York has some ideas.

In one recent video, the former middle school principal mocks Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by sending him a care package of "triggering" anti-racism books and some sage to burn, because he says "Cousin Ron" seems "mad stressed." In another, he invites viewers to join the "Woke America USA" organization that he says he founded after the country allowed "a psychopath to get into our White House" in 2016.

As House Republicans push a "parents' rights" agenda for schools, he says it's time for President Joe Biden to "speak up" more about how "parents have always had rights in public education" and how their voices are "essential." Bowman is speaking up, too.

In Congress, Bowman has drawn attention as the first male member of a small group of progressive House lawmakers dubbed "The Squad." But before that, he spent 20 years in public education and founded a middle school in the Bronx. Parents were always partners with him, he said, stressing the word "always."

"Republicans introducing a bill of rights for parents is another scare tactic," he told Insider. "Through their misinformation, they're scaring parents into believing that they don't have rightsand Democrats and teachers unions are somehow taking their rights away in our schools."

House Republicans introduced "parents bill of rights" legislation this month to promote parents' roles in their children's education. They've argued that some lessons  and books  go too far for children, and they've specifically targeted the teaching of gender issues, sexuality, and race in schools.

Story continues

DeSantis, a potential 2024 contender, signed laws last year that have led to the removal of books on race and diversity from school libraries and banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for young students.

"We must ensure school systems are responsive to parents and to students, not partisan interest groups," he said in his January 3 inauguration speech.

Ron DeSantis. Executive Office of the Governor, State of Florida

Bowman gets serious toward the end of his video message to "Cousin Ron," saying "You are trying to erase my history. You are trying to erase my culture and my heritage, and as a Black man, if I don't have knowledge of myself, and knowledge of my history, how can I properly contribute to society?"

Democrats have said Republicans are focused on politically divisive messages and undermining public schools while they ignore major concerns in education, such as affordable child care, proper funding for schools, and improving the pipeline to higher education.

The party needs to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans who are trying to fool Americans into thinking they support parental involvement, Rep. Veronica Escobar, co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, said at a conference last week. What they really want is an "iron grip" over children's books and teachers' lessons, which will only lead to more teachers leaving the profession, she argued.

While Democrats focus on creating a highly educated workforce, Escobar said, "extreme" Republicans are trying to "essentially limit access to education for many of our kids."

Delivering that response hasn't always been easy for Democrats, who were left searching for a better answer when the former chairman of their party, Terry McAuliffe, blew it in a 2021 debate with now-Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. His disastrous comment that parents shouldn't be "telling schools what they should teach" was a gift to Youngkin  who ran with the slogan "Parents Matter"  and a lesson in what not to say.

What Youngkin, DeSantis, and other Republicans are doing is "all a sham" because parents have always had rights, Bowman said, and McAuliffe's response was "misguided and misinformed."

"This is one of the reasons why we at the federal level, have to have louder voices so that we can be very, very clear on where we stand on education so someone like Terry McAuliffe doesn't make that mistake," Bowman told Insider.

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 2, 2023

'Black history is American history'

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently called out those "hiding behind the guise of 'parents rights' to try to defund public education," writing in a Newsweek op-ed that his department is working to "raise the bar for parent partnership."

Bowman said he wants Biden, Cardona, Vice President Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden, a community college professor, to speak even more about public education and parents' longstanding rights as partners. He wants Biden to hold a town hall and "speak up on what's real in our public schools."

Bowman, a member of the Committee on Education and The Workforce, said he is frequently in touch with the White House on education issues.

"It's more about vision setting, less about Republican nonsense," he said. "Because our vision setting is much more powerful than their nonsense."

His vision for education, he said, includes an end to annual standardized testing, a greater focus on project-based learning, more equitable funding for public education, and greater investments in children with special needs.

But he also wants to emphasize lessons on "this nation's history of racism and white nationalism," just as some Republicans have worked to ban them from public schools.

He and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey last month reintroduced the "African American History Act" to support education programs made voluntarily available for students, parents and teachers.

"Black history is American history," he said, and he wants students to learn about other cultures, too.

"If we learn about each other, guess what?" he told Insider. "You create a society rooted in empathy for one another, which is healthy for democracy, and healthy for public safety, and better for our economy. See that? Summarized in one sentence."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Democrats blasted the White House on Tuesday for reportedly considering reinstating a policy that would detain migrant families who cross the U.S. border illegally.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that she would not comment on a New York Times report that the administration was considering reviving a family detention policy, adding, Im not saying its being considered. ... Im not saying it is not.

Democrats have sounded the alarm over the idea, demanding the White House not reimplement a much-criticized policy Biden ended when he took office.

I am disgusted and disappointed that our nation would ever consider reinstating a program that has been proven to cause harmful, long-term effects on migrant families, especially children, who have been forced to flee their home nations in search of freedom, safety, and democracy, said Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.).

We abandoned this family detention program for a reason  it is a failed policy that is incapable of offering humanity and compassion to migrants when they need it most, he added.

If reinstated, the family detention policy would be the latest example of Bidens crackdown on migrants at the southern U.S. border. Last month, his administration introduced its most restrictive border measure yet, which disqualified migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they had traveled through other countries.

Democrats have repeatedly criticized the White House for resorting to immigration policies similar to former President Donald Trumps. Critics of the policy say the measure will target vulnerable people, including children, and lead to family separations, which under Trump split 5,500 children from their parents at the southern border. White House officials, meanwhile, have vehemently rejected those comparisons.

Locking immigrant families and children into cages along the border is dangerous, ineffective, and wrong, tweeted Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas). The Biden Administration did the right thing by ending family detention. We cant go back.

Story continues

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) called the idea a grave mistake.

Instead of relying on costly failed policies that traumatize migrants and cruelly encourage more families to separate, we must focus on building a safe and humane immigration system, he tweeted.

Family detention serves two purposes: lining the pockets of private prison companies and acting as a useless deterrent to prevent migrants from seeking their legal right to asylum. This failed policy is callous and inhumane, said Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) in a statement.

David Xol-Cholom of Guatemala hugs his son Byron at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 22, 2020, as they reunite after being separated about one and half years during the Trump administration's widescale separation of immigrant families.

David Xol-Cholom of Guatemala hugs his son Byron at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 22, 2020, as they reunite after being separated about one and half years during the Trump administration's widescale separation of immigrant families.

The report about the Biden administration considering family detention comes as the administration prepares for Title 42 to expire in May. The Trump-era policy has allowed border authorities to swiftly expel migrants under the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic. But lawmakers have chastised the White House for implementing more aggressive policies instead of fulfilling its promise of a more compassionate approach to immigration. In January, nearly 80 Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to Biden voicing concern about his immigration measures.

No decisions have been made as we prepare for the Title 42 Public Health Order to lift, a Department of Homeland Security official told HuffPost. The Administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants.

Local city offices have vowed to fight the policy.

If this inhumane policy returns, we will join advocates & welcoming cities in fighting it, just as we did when all the past administrations instituted this cruel practice, tweeted the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.

Immigration and human rights groups have also called the Times report alarming.

President Biden promised to end family detention on the campaign trail and repeatedly condemned the Trump administration for detaining families. Yet, the Biden administration is now seemingly moving towards repeating mistakes from the past, Setareh Ghandehari, the advocacy director of Detention Watch Network, a coalition of immigration organizations, said in a statement.

If the Biden administration revives family detention, it will be yet another example of how the Biden administration has reneged on its promises to bring fairness to the immigration system, Ghandehari added. Instead, this administration has doubled-down on the use of detention, surveillance, and restrictive border policies that result in deportations  tearing apart families and communities.

Related...
The Des Moines City Council approved $200,000 for Des Moines Public Schools on Monday, cutting out the Food Bank of Iowa from a deal in the wake of its dispute with the Des Moines Area Religious Council and its network of pantries.

The decision came on the heels of the city's looming ultimatum telling the food providers to solve differences or risk losing half a million dollars in funding. Last month, the two organizations said food rescue operations would be restored to all DMARC-affiliated pantries, not just those that are Food Bank partners, in order to help food-insecure Iowans.

But City Manager Scott Sanders told the Register last week the council's decision came after speaking with individual council members, most of whom agreed it would be preferable to send the money directly to the schools rather than funneling it through the Food Bank.

"The funds previously allocated to the Food Bank of Iowa were always intended to go toward DMPS food assistance. Those funds will now simply go directly to Des Moines Schools and their pantries," Sanders said in a statement.

On Monday, council members approved providing $300,000 in funding to DMARC as planned, paid for through American Rescue Plan Act money.

The $200,000 in ARPA funds previously under consideration for the Food Bank of Iowa, plus now an additional $100,000 funded through local option sales tax revenue, will now be allocated solely to Des Moines Public Schools.

With funding in hand, Des Moines Public School officials say they will continue to work with the food bank to establish a food pantry in all of its schools by the end of the school year. Many schools have access to pantries within the building, but there are a few left to be established, said Amanda Miller, DMPS director of food and nutrition services and logistics.

The $300,000 in funding will be used by individual food pantries to purchase items to build capacity, such as shelving, refrigerators and freezers. It will also be used to purchase items that schools currently can't get from the Food Bank of Iowa, such as culturally appropriate food, cleaning supplies, feminine hygiene products, and household items.

Story continues

Miller emphasized this funding will not change the district's working relationship with the Food Bank of Iowa.

"There is no reason that any decision by the City of Des Moines will change our long-time relationship with the Food Bank of Iowa," she said. "The Food Bank has been great partners with us expanding access to families who need this service. We will continue to work with the Food Bank of Iowa to procure readily available food from their warehouse. The money for the supplies this provides are items that we currently cant get from the Food Bank and have been using outside donations for."

At-large council members Connie Boesen and Carl Voss told the Register they support the decision to allocate the funding directly to the school district, which will allow students to fill their backpacks with nutritious and culturally appropriate foods they may not find at home. It could help support smaller grocers in town as well, Voss added.

"It's a win-win," he said Monday night.

How did we get here?

A public dispute between Central Iowa's leading food insecurity nonprofits raged since last fall, which has resulted in bare shelves at impacted food pantries and raised concerns that food previously being donated from area businesses was going to the landfill.

The Des Moines City Council intervened this past December, issuing an ultimatum for DMARC and Food Bank of Iowa to work out their differences by the end of last year, or they would lose half a million dollars in funding. The CEOs of both organizations quickly worked out an agreement to begin negotiations.

The agreement also included a promise to begin "immediate collaboration" on food rescue efforts to all DMARC-affiliated pantries, not just those that are Food Bank partners. Food pantries say the excess food donated from grocery stores and convenience stations is an essential service for their clients, and without it, they struggled to provide the same level of aid to food-insecure residents.

But weeks later, city officials expressed frustration that food rescue still was not reaching city pantries.

Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie previously told the Register if the two organizations could not work out their differences and effectively collaborate, "we may have to look at where we should put the funding to be most effective."

Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC announced last month they had reached a deal to end the months-long impasse, which included the promise to restore food rescue operations in the metro.

Almost three weeks after Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC announced their agreement, food rescue operations have not been restored to all DMARC-affiliated pantries.

However, local food pantries say they are hopeful. Anne Bacon, CEO of IMPACT Community Action, previously told the Register they expect to see an increase in food rescue by this week.

Breaking news reporter Francesca Block contributed to this report.

Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: City Council gives $300K to public schools, cuts out Food Bank of Iowa
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answers questions from the media in the Florida Cabinet following his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida. Phil Sears/AP Photo

GOP lawmakers in Florida have introduced a six-week abortion ban.

Republican presidential candidates are typically anti-abortion.

DeSantis faces an uncertain future in how he handles the issue.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida faces a delicate balancing act on the issue of abortion as he heads into the state's lawmaking period, one that's widely expected to be a launching pad for a White House run.

Anti-abortion advocates are pushing the governor to further restrict abortion under the glare of the national spotlight. The earliest chance to do so kicked off Tuesday, when GOP state lawmakers introduced a bill that would make abortion illegal in Florida past six weeks in a pregnancy.

Republican candidates have supported anti-abortion measures in past presidential elections. But the 2024 White House contest will be the first presidential election since the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Since then, nearly half of US states have restricted or fully banned abortion. All the while, the risk of voters' seeing candidates as going too far remains uncertain, and a rigid ban could be a political liability during a general election.

Public opinion is mixed on abortion, with Gallup showing that most people in the US support abortion being legal and that more people want the laws to be less strict rather than more.

Many Republican midterm candidates were hesitant to address abortion during the 2022 cycle, and congressional Democrats believe Roe's demise followed by subsequent abortion bans staved off a "red wave."

Democrats put Republicans on the spot about the issue, holding votes on abortion access and saying the court's decision would snowball to demolish other rights, including to birth control access and same-sex and interracial marriage.

While DeSantis has described himself as "pro-life" and said he'd "welcome" such legislation, he has not led from the front with abortion restrictions in the same way he did for numerous other policy priorities, from curbing illegal immigration to reducing taxes.

Story continues

Should DeSantis run for president, he would face former President Donald Trump, someone anti-abortion groups often refer to as "the most pro-life president in history" because he delivered for their cause, including by appointing three Supreme Court justices that helped overturn Roe. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is also expected to run, has a robust anti-abortion record that he implemented nationally alongside Trump.

But the ramifications of a six-week ban in Florida would go beyond politics. Florida is the only state in the southeast that allows abortions for up to 15 weeks, and the only states in that region that go further are North Carolina and South Carolina. An earlier cut off would limit abortion access for millions of travelers who come to Florida for an abortion from neighboring states and countries.

The sixth week of pregnancy is when an embryo develops cardiac activity, but is also a time when it's hard for patients to know they're pregnant without a test.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida. Phil Sears/AP Photo

Anti-abortion groups want federal restrictions

DeSantis signed a bill into law last year  under fanfare with anti-abortion groups  that put the current, 15-week ban into law. It's currently being litigated because Florida's constition contains a right to privacy.

As the session kicked off in Tallahassee on Tuesday, the path to a six-week abortion ban in Florida appeared more clear than it did a few months ago.

Republicans hold a two-thirds majority in the legislature, and Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo told reporters Tuesday that she supported the six-week ban because it had exceptions for rape and incest that are not part of current law.

The comments were different from last year, when Passidomo said she would support limiting abortion for up to 12 weeks.

Asked about the six-week ban on Tuesday, DeSantis told reporters he hadn't seen the bill that was filed, but suggested that legislation would be written in such a way that a further ban wouldn't go into effect unless the court were to green-light Florida's 15-week ban.

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, told Insider that she was lobbying in Passidomo's district ahead of the 60-day sessions to pressure the leader to go further than her initial backing for a 12-week ban. Supporters from the organization demanded a bill that "protects life at conception" during a press conference in Tallahassee on Tuesday.

"When you look at the record for life in Florida, it could be a whole lot better," Hawkins told Insider in an interview. "DeSantis and Florida really need to show leadership on this issue."

A 12-week ban was not going to give DeSantis "the credentials we'd look for," Hawkins said of DeSantis pursuing the GOP nomination among other contenders.

But Caitlin Connors, Southern regional director for the influential Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, didn't express the same frustration with DeSantis as Students for Life, saying that she thought the governor had been clear that he'd sign a six-week ban into law.

"The legislature is going to have to figure out what the consensus is. We encourage them to do something like a Heartbeat Bill to see those protections put in place," Connors said, referring to a six-week ban.

Crossing anti-abortion groups ahead of an election is potentially fraught. Advocates pour millions of dollars into campaigns, knock on doors in districts, and do phone banking at a rate that rivals advocates of numerous other causes.

Marilyn Musgrave, SBA Pro-Life America's vice president of government affairs, told Insider that the group would only support presidential candidates who back a national abortion restriction, which would create a gestational-limits ceiling on abortion in every state. The limit could be 20, 15, or six weeks, she said, and the organization's leaders would talk to all candidates running.

The group is still deciding whether it'll endorse in a primary, and which criteria it'll use to do so, she added.

She and other anti-abortion advocates disagree with the premise that Republicans should try to avoid the topic of abortion, and said during the midterms Republicans should have put Democrats on the spot over loose restrictions.

"When you look at the specific races, it was the failure of some candidates to articulate their pro-life beliefs and pro-life stance," Hawkins said. "They refused to talk about abortion, and they let their opponents do the talking on abortion. That hurt them."

Sen. Lauren Book, a Democrat of Plantation, Florida, gestures as she speaks to the media on February 6, 2023 in the Senate Office Building at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Phil Sears/AP Photo

Democrats vow to go to 'war' against six-week ban

Democratic lawmakers in Florida who support abortion rights are outnumbered in working to stop anti-abortion legislation.

"I now have fewer rights than my mother did," Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell of Polk County said during a response to the governor's address. In a press conference with reporters, she acknowledged the math was difficult but vowed the party would fight, arguing that a six-week ban was broadly unpopular among Floridians.

Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Democrat of Plantation, Florida, accused Republicans of going "scorched earth" with their abortion ban bill.

"This is it. They have come," she said in a statement. "And if it's a war they want, it's a war they will get. This issue bridges the partisan divide, and we will not go down as easily as they believe."

The bill also drew condemnation from the White House. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused DeSantis of "attacking the freedom to make one's own healthcare decisions"  echoing similar comments Vice President Kamala Harris made during a speech on abortion in Tallahassee last month.

In a speech that clocked in under 30 minutes, DeSantis appeared to signal that he would couple anti-abortion measures with policies supporting parents, including tax cuts on needed baby items. One sentence in his speech was about abortion, in which he said Florida was "proud to be pro-family and we are proud to be pro-life."

He also urged the legislature not to "worry about the chattering class" during the session.

"We won't back down and I can promise you this," he said, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Clarification March 9, 2023: This story has been updated to clarify that while Florida is the only southeastern state to allow abortion for up to 15 weeks, South Carolina and North Carolina have later gestational limits.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) used his highly anticipated State of the State address on Tuesday to preview what is expected to be the core message of his likely 2024 presidential campaign, touting his work transforming Florida into a bastion of conservatism and hinting at more fights to come.

Speaking to a joint session of the state legislature as lawmakers kicked off their annual session, DeSantis riffed on his usual talking points: how he pushed back on the so-called biomedical security state in his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; how he fought against woke culture; and how Americans were flocking to Florida en masse because of it.

We defied the experts, we bucked the elites, we ignored the chatter, we did it our way: the Florida way. And the result is we are the No. 1 destination for our fellow Americans who are looking for a better life, DeSantis said.

Working together, we have met big challenges, and we led the nation on many big issues, he added. We dont make excuses. We dont complain. We just produce results.

His speech  the first State of the State address of his second term as governor  marked the beginning of a whirlwind 60-day legislative session in Florida that is expected to deliver DeSantis a number of key policy victories as he moves toward a likely 2024 presidential bid.

State Republicans, who won supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature last November, have indicated that theyll move quickly on a long list of proposals spanning everything from concealed carry laws to K-12 education, an issue that has been central to DeSantiss political reputation.

In his remarks, DeSantis laid out a long wish list for the legislative session. He asked lawmakers to take up tax legislation that would remove taxes on baby supplies, lamented Floridas lawsuit-happy legal climate and urged the legislature to consider tort reforms, and pass new enhancements for Floridas natural resource protection efforts.

Story continues

But the speech also included several of the red-meat issues that DeSantis has become known for nationally.

He railed against the Chinese Communist Party and touted efforts to bar entities tied to the Chinese government from purchasing certain land in Florida. He also went after the Biden administration and its approach to border security, lamenting the massive amount of fentanyl being trafficked around the southern border that has devastated families throughout our nation.

Notably, DeSantis said little about abortion in his speech. At one point, he said that Florida was proud to be pro-life, but did not offer any details on what he expected from lawmakers over the next two months.

Less than an hour before his address, Republican lawmakers in the state House and Senate filed bills that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. DeSantis signed a 15-week ban on the procedure last year, though he has said that he would sign tougher restrictions into law.

For DeSantis, the speech and the beginning of the legislative session kicks off something of a countdown to his presidential bid. While he hasnt publicly announced his intentions, hes actively preparing for a campaign and is expected to travel to key early primary states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, this month.

DeSantis has said that he will make a decision on his 2024 plans once the legislative session ends in May.

But his remarks on Tuesday were reminiscent of a presidential hopeful in waiting. He cast Florida as being on the front lines in the battle for freedom, and urged lawmakers to run through the tape as they begin their legislative session, saying that now is not the time to rest on our laurels.

We have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility to swing for the fences so that we can ensure that Florida remains No. 1, he said. Dont worry about the chattering class. Ignore all the background noise. Keep the compass set to true north. We will stand strong. We will hold the line. We wont back down. And I can promise you this: You aint seen nothing yet.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Members of The Desert Sun newsroom, including new executive editor Kate Franco (front row, fifth from left) gathered for a going-away party for former executive editor Julie Makinen (seventh from left) Saturday in Palm Desert.

Kate Franco, who's worked at The Desert Sun for the last 23 years, most recently as the managing editor, has been named executive editor of the newspaper.

Im honored and humbled to have been picked for this role, Franco said. It has been a privilege to represent The Desert Sun for 23 years so far, hopefully many more ahead.

Kate Franco is deeply invested in her community and this newsroom, said Greg Burton, executive editor of The Arizona Republic, who also oversees the West Region for Gannett (which includes The Desert Sun). Shes a leader whos been in the trenches for more than two decades, making stories about the film festival or discriminatory housing better for readers and more urgent for decision makers. Theres nobody I trust more to lead The Desert Sun.

In her more than two decades in The Desert Sun newsroom, Franco said she has learned from numerous executive editors who have each faced challenges "from economic booms and busts to the sweeping digital transformation of the media landscape."

Its no secret that we are headed into another era of change, and as a company and as an industry there is a renewed recognition of the huge appetite for local news, Franco said. That includes hyper-local news about short-term vacation rentals in neighborhoods or corruption at city hall. It is local and regional environmental news that we are helping to parse for our readers.

More:Desert Sun editor Julie Makinen bids farewell after 4 years in 'best and toughest' job

It is what we do best, and I want to assure you thats the kind of journalism that drives me to keep going after 23 years, she added.

Franco was born and raised in Milwaukee and surrounding communities, where her family still lives. She earned a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before arriving in the desert in 2000, Franco was an editor at community newspapers in La Crosse, Wisconsin; Winona, Minnesota; and Newport, Rhode Island. She also has experience in nonprofit communications and political speech writing.

Story continues

Coming to the desert

Franco started her tenure at The Desert Sun in 2000 as an assistant news editor, earning a promotion to the news editor spot a few months later. Among her roles at The Desert Sun have been helming the features department and overseeing Desert magazine and Desert Outlook magazine.

She also spearheaded The Desert Suns events and strategic partnership efforts in the years before COVID-19. She founded the Desert Adventure Club and oversaw The Desert Suns Storytellers program for several years, relishing the chance to meet so many readers out in the community. She also served a term on The Desert Suns editorial board.

She was promoted to managing editor in 2019, leading The Desert Suns news coverage of the valleys communities, city governments, schools, agencies, events and festivals, and the pandemic shutdowns and subsequent return to non-pandemic life.

Kate Franco, executive editor of The Desert Sun.

We as a newsroom team have a clear mission for the coming days and weeks and months, Franco said. First and foremost, we need to continue to bring a laser focus to our coverage of our local community, all of them, from Desert Hot Springs to Thermal to the high desert. We need to cover every corner of the desert with equal scrutiny and celebration."

Franco lives in Palm Desert with her husband, Al Franco, who was an editor at The Desert Sun for decades. They have extended family in the east valley and across Southern California, from Blythe to Murrieta. Franco is an avid swimmer, and when it gets too hot for that in the desert, she and Al enjoy quality vacation time with her family on Lake Michigan.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Kate Franco, 23-year veteran of The Desert Sun, named executive editor
Tymofiy Shadura

Shadura was from the village of Mala Derevychka of the Lubarska community of Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukrinform news agency reported on March 7.

Serhiy Melnyk, an elder of the Gleznensky district of the Lubarska Territorial Community told Ukrinform that Shadura was mobilized and at the end of December last year went to defend Ukraine.

Read also: Ukraine Ground Forces commander Syrskyi arrives in Bakhmut

He is from a large family of six children  five sons and a daughter. Tymofiy was the oldest, Melnyk said.

He said Shadura had worked in a collective farm and then engaged in subsistence farming.

He lived with his mother, and had no family of his own.

Melnyk added that Shadura was had been reported missing, and relatives learned a day earlier that a video had been made of his murder.

Everyone is shocked in the community, crying. I will say that the act of Tymofiy Shadura is heroic, because he, as a hero, said Glory to Ukraine! Melnyk said.

Read also: Photographers show daily life of Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut

On March 6, a video of the shooting of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war appeared on the Intenet. In the shocking footage, Shadura is hit by a hail of bullets after saying Glory to Ukraine! It is unknown where and when the video was shot.

On March 7, the command of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade named the murder victim as Shadura. He had been missing since Feb. 3 after fighting in the Bakhmut area. The body of the soldier is currently in Russian-occupied territory. The final identification will be held after his return and examination, the brigade said.

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets has sent a copy of the video of the Shaduras murder to Ukraines international partners and ombudsman from different countries of the world as an example of yet another war crime by Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war a terrible war crime and more proof that the Russias war against Ukraine is genocide.

Story continues

A criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war) has been opened.

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
OTTAWA  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has buckled to political pressures and is calling an investigation into allegations that Beijing interfered with Canadian elections.

I will be appointing an independent special rapporteur, who will have a wide mandate and make expert recommendations on combating interference and strengthening our democracy, the prime minister said Monday evening in Ottawa.

Trudeau stopped short of the public inquiry that opposition parties have demanded. Instead, he pitched a convoluted plan led by an eminent, unimpeachable expert, minus any deadlines.

The prime minister said he has also consulted the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP)  an all-party group of MPs and senators who have top secret security clearances  about allegations that Beijing meddled with the 2019 and 2021 campaigns.

Chinas embassy in Canada has called the claims  pure slander and total nonsense  and accused media of spreading all kinds of disinformation without offering evidence why the stories are wrong.



Trudeau said the rapporteur will enlist NSICOP and others who can investigate and make recommendations that could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review process. He said options for next steps include a commission, an examination, a panel of judges or a judicial review.

He emphasized that federal party leaders agree the 2019 and 2021 election results were not impacted by foreign interference. He had tough words for actors using the issue to get an edge on the next campaign.

Foreign interference is a complex landscape that should not be boiled down to sound bites and binary choices, he said. It should certainly not be about partisan politics.

Trudeau also pledged C$5.5 million to combat disinformation, because we know disinformation often generated abroad can be a real threat to our elections.

The grab bag of measures buy Trudeau time to figure out how to repair the damaging perception that his minority government is a beneficiary of Beijing interference.

Story continues

Trudeaus sudden course change comes in response to pressure from opposition parties and a House committee since a bombshell story on Feb. 17 cited unverified intelligence reports about Beijings interference strategy  details that were shared with Five Eyes allies, including the United States.

Leaks from inside Canadas spy agency reported by the Globe and Mail and Global News allege the Chinese government oversaw covert campaigns that backed 11 federal candidates, a majority of them Liberal.

The countrys national police agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, confirmed last week that they were not actively investigating the allegations. On Monday, the agency confirmed it has launched a probe to find the whistleblowers.

Unauthorized disclosures from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service allege Chinese diplomats in Toronto and Vancouver bragged about influencing voters to the extent that two incumbent Conservatives were driven out of office in 2021.

The RCMP has initiated an investigation into violations of the Security of Information Act associated with recent media reports, spokesperson Robin Percival said in a statement. This investigation is not focused on any one security agency.

The political stakes are high for Trudeau who risks appearing indecisive, feeding opposition charges the third-term prime minister is not fit to lead.

Recent polling by the Angus Reid Institute suggests a majority of Trudeaus own Liberal supporters believe Beijing likely attempted to meddle in Canadas recent elections. The same poll found that 42 percent of Conservative voters feel the 2021 election was stolen.

Trudeau asked Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino to guide the creation of a foreign influence registry in Canada, similar to the Australian governments scheme. He acknowledged the endeavor is a double-edged sword that risks fueling xenophobia.

We have to be mindful of history anytime were talking about registries of foreigners in our country, he said.



Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had pressed for a public inquiry, calling anything short of that unacceptable. The party has criticized the Liberals handling of Beijing, even after the government announced last year it would be taking a new hawkish approach with the Chinese Communist Party.

An all-party House committee has also been studying the allegations.

This is not about Chinese Canadians who are first and foremost the victims of Beijings interference activities, Conservative MP Michael Cooper told the Commons procedure and House affairs committee last week.

This scandal is about what the prime minister knows about this interference, when he first learned about it, and what he did about it or failed to do about it.
(NewsNation)  Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, says he was intentionally trying to create controversy when he called Black Americans a hate group, arguing people took his words out of context and that the outrage is coming mostly from white people.

Its almost entirely white people that canceled me, Adams said Monday on CUOMO. Black America is actually completely fine, both conservative and liberal, if they see the context.  Black people are contacting me and saying, Come over to the barbecue, lets talk, and all these things.

Adams came under fire after making the remarks during a Feb. 22 episode of his YouTube show, in which he urged white people to get away from Black people.

Transgender pastor claims bias, sues Lutheran denomination

Responding to the criticism, he said the comments were merely hyperbole that were taken out of context.

I intentionally courted controversy. I was trying to attract attention so that I could have a productive argument, Adams said.

Variety reported that the comments were made in response to a Rasmussen poll that said 26% of Black respondents disagreed with the statement Its OK to be white, while another 21% of Black people surveyed said they were unsure. The remaining 53% of Black respondents agreed with the statement.

I dont think it makes any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore. It doesnt make sense, Adams said on his YouTube show. Theres no longer a rational impulse.

The Anti-Defamation League has denounced the phrase Its OK to be white as a hate slogan.

USDA panel unveils recommendations to resolve discrimination in farming

Newspapers across the country dropped the comic strip from publication after Adams comment. He claims that he was the latest subject of cancel culture and that his main source of income would now be lost.

Story continues

But he called the situation a weirdly good experience.

If global cancellation is my price for free speech, it was worth it, Adams said. Im probably the only white man in America who has free speech today because I can say whatever the hell I want and I cant get further canceled.

He refused to apologize for the comments because I offended people so that they would be drawn to the solution.

Instead, he offered a reframe to allow people to get out of what he called a mental trap of a worsening racial divide in America.

Weve literally monetized racism so that everybody can be a little bit madder at each other, Adams said. If you monetize racial divide, youre only going to get more of it.

Faulting the energy he put into his comments, Adams said he can understand why people came to the conclusion that he literally meant what he was saying. He disavowed racism  always have, always will, he said  but went on to offer context about other racist things that he approves of.

For example, historically Black colleges. Feels a little racist, totally approve, Adams said. Black History Month? Feels a little bit racist to some people, totally approve. Black people should get their own month; makes perfect sense in light of American history.

During a segment of the show where viewers call in, a Black teacher in Missouri who said she was a longtime fan of the Dilbert comic strip said she was hurt by the comments. She asked Adams how shes supposed to explain this kind of rhetoric to her students.

Adams suggested she tell them to stop looking backward and start looking forward.

Tell your students that they have a perfect path to success as long as they get good grades, he said. Im assuming youre a good teacher and you have a good enough school that they can get a good education, and if they employ strategy, and dont look backwards, just strategy, theyll do great. Now, therell still be way too much systemic racism, but youll be able to just slice through it like it didnt exist.

In responding to Adams explanation, Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson said nothing he heard convinced him that Adams was indeed utilizing hyperbole.

This is a rehash and a retread of the same kind of myopic, narcissistic self pre-occupation of so many white guys who think they are the biggest victims of racism in the country, Dyson said. White supremacy is white supremacy, however you dress it up and whatever cartoon name you give it.

Mark Davis, a conservatives radio host, rejects Dysons argument that Adams is trying to dress up white supremacy, but he did criticize Adams approach to trying to address race relations.

Welcome to America 2023, where there is no grace, there is no good will, there is no benefit of the doubt, so we need precision of language, rather than stunts like Scott (pulled), Davis said. I love Scott, I think the newspapers who canceled him are just virtue signaling, but he stepped into a bear that he should have known existed.

At the end of the interview, host Chris Cuomo asked Adams if he would do it again.

Would I do it again to get to this place? I have to tell you, I feel like Im supposed to be here. Its a weird feeling. Like I never felt bad about getting canceled, and I cant explain that, except that I feel like I was supposed to be here, he answered. I feel like the race relations in the country are so broken that you just have to stir up some crap to get anybodys attention and maybe convince them to look forward and maybe work together with people who have exactly the same goals.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Speakers discussing the proposed ordinance to add caste to Seattles anti-discrimination laws at Seattle City Hall, on Feb. 21, 2023. AP Photo/John Froschauer

Seattle became the first city in the U.S. to outlaw caste-based discrimination against immigrants from stigmatized groups in South Asias traditional social hierarchy.

The ordinance, adding caste to Seattles existing anti-discrimination policies, was proposed by Kshama Sawant, the only Indian American councilwoman in the city, which is home to an estimated 75,000 Indian Americans. Sawant, herself from a privileged caste background, has been a vocal critic of the discriminatory caste system. Sawant said the ordinance  which was approved on Feb. 21, 2023  would help put an end to an invisible and unaddressed form of discrimination in Seattle.

A year ago, in January 2022, the California State University, Americas largest public higher education system, also added caste to its anti-discrimination policy, allowing students, staff and faculty across its 23 campuses to report caste bias and discrimination.

Influential interest groups advocating for the Hindu community in the U.S. have opposed the Seattle decision. The Coalition of Hindus in North America, a Hindu advocacy group, has called it nothing but bigotry against the South Asian community by using racist, colonial tropes of caste.

While the caste system is often conflated in Western media with the Hindu religion and India alone, that is far from the truth. As social scientists specializing in South Asian studies, we assert that the caste system neither is exclusive to the Hindu religion nor is it restricted to India and Indians.

Caste in South Asia

While the caste system originated in Hindu scriptures, it crystallized in its current form during British colonial rule and has stratified society in every South Asian religious community. In addition to India, it is present in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan.

Social, economic and political status in this pernicious system is tied to traditional occupations fixed by birth. Brahmins, for example, who were traditionally assigned priestly work, are at the top, and Dalits, relegated to the bottom, are forced into occupations that are considered abject in South Asia. These include janitorial work, maintaining sewage systems, skinning dead animals, and leather tanning. Strict rules of caste-based marriages maintain these boundaries firmly.

Story continues

Caste organizes social life not only among Hindus but also in Muslim, Christian, Sikh and Buddhist communities in the region. It is an intergenerational system based on birth into a caste group. Caste identities stay even generations after someone converts out of Hinduism and into any of these faiths.

Among South Asian Christians, Anglo-Indians  of mixed descent from Indian and British parents  are parallel to Brahmins, who remain at the top of the hierarchy. Middle-level Hindu castes come next, followed by those from Indigenous backgrounds. Those who converted to Christianity from Dalit groups are placed at the bottom. In other words, the system remains unchanged.

Muslims across the region are organized with the minority Ashraf communities at the top. The Ashraf community claims noble status as the original Muslims in South Asia because of their descent from Central Asian, Iranian and Arab ethnic groups. The middle in this social hierarchy is composed of Ajlaf, considered to be low-born communities that converted from Hindu artisanal castes. The group at the bottom includes converts from Dalit communities who are identified with the demeaning term Arzal, which means vile or vulgar.

In the Sikh community, the powerful landowning caste, Jat-Sikhs, are at the top, followed by converts from Hindu trading communities in the middle and converts from lower-caste Hindu communities, Mazhabi Sikhs, at the bottom.

Dalit Sikhs gather for a protest in New Delhi. AP Photo/ R S Iyer

While Buddhism in India is close to being casteless, its dominant versions in Sri Lanka and Nepal have caste-based hierarchies.

Caste carries over after conversion

While many of the so-called lower-caste groups converted to escape their persecution in Hinduism, their new religions did not treat them as fully equal.

South Asian Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Buddhists with Dalit family histories continue to face prejudice from their new co-religionists. They are excluded from or experience segregation at shared places of worship and sites of burial or cremation across all these regions.

Social scientists have shown that strict caste-based rules continue to regulate social organization and everyday interactions. Intercaste marriages are rare: for example in India, they have stagnated at about 5% of all marriages over the past several decades. When they take place, rule-breaking individuals risk violent retribution.

While urbanization and education have normalized everyday interactions across caste groups in shared urban spaces, entertaining lower-caste individuals in upper-caste households is still taboo in many families. A 2014 survey found one in every four Indians to be practicing untouchability, a dehumanizing practice in which people from Dalit castes are not to be touched or allowed to come in contact with upper-caste individuals. Untouchability was prohibited in India in 1950 when its egalitarian constitution came into force.

However, homeownership is segregated by caste, and religion and caste discrimination is pervasive in the rental market, where residential associations use flimsy procedural excuses for keeping lower-caste individuals out.

Lower castes are expected to defer to the higher status of upper castes, refrain from expressing themselves in shared spaces and avoid displaying material affluence. They risk being punished by socioeconomic boycotts, which could include ostracizing the Dalits or keeping them out of employment.

It may even include assault or murder. In Pakistan, anti-blasphemy laws are used as a pretext for caste violence against Dalits, many of whom have converted to Christianity.

Caste and life outcomes

Studies show that caste-based identity is a major determinant of overall success in South Asia. Upper-caste individuals have better literacy and greater representation in higher education. They tend to be wealthier and dominate private-sector employment, as well as entrepreneurship.

While affirmative action programs initiated by the British and continued in independent India have made improvements in the educational levels of lower-caste groups, employment opportunities for them have been limited.

Studies also demonstrate how caste identity affects nutrition and health through purchasing power and access to health services.

Most socioeconomic elites in South Asia, regardless of religion, are affiliated with upper-caste groups, and the vast majority of the poor come from lower-caste groups.

Caste in the diaspora

Scholars have documented similar discriminatory practices in the diaspora in the U.K., Australia, Canada and the African continent.

Caste has started getting recognition as a discriminatory category, especially in the U.S., in recent years. A 2016 survey, Caste in the USA, the first formal documentation of caste discrimination within the U.S. diaspora, found that caste discrimination is pervasive across workplaces, educational institutions, places of worship and even in romantic partnerships.

In 2020, the state of California sued Cisco Systems, a technology company in the Silicon Valley, on a complaint against caste-based discrimination. Harvard University, Colby College, University of California, Davis, and Brandeis University have recognized caste as a protected status and have included it in their nondiscrimination policies.

Seattles new ordinance may trigger similar moves across other U.S. cities where South Asian Americans from nonelite caste backgrounds are settling down and address caste-based discrimination among other South Asian faith communities as well. For now, this ordinance will help put the spotlight on this centuries-old system that denies equality to a substantive section of the population on the basis of an oppressive ideology.

This is an updated version of a piece first published on April 27, 2022.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Aseem Hasnain, Bridgewater State University and Abhilasha Srivastava, California State University, San Bernardino.

Read more:



The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Disneyland Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Disney continues to sever ties with Song of the South.

"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," the song that originates from Disney's 1946 movie Song of the South, has been pulled from the Magic Happens parade at Disneyland, the Los Angeles Times reports. Officials confirmed to the outlet that a lyric from the song was removed from the parade soundtrack without specifying why.

Presumably, though, it's for the same reason Disney is overhauling Splash Mountain: because Song of the South has been condemned for utilizing racist tropes. The film takes place on a Georgia plantation in the Reconstruction-era South, and one of the main characters is a Black man, Uncle Remus, who works there and sings "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah."

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in 2020 that Song of the South is "not appropriate in today's world," and the NAACP has said it "helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery" by giving "the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship." In "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," Uncle Remus sings about "what a wonderful day" it is. The Magic Happens parade now features a Peter Pan song in place of "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," the Times reports.

Disney's log flume ride ride Splash Mountain was based on Song of the South and features the song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." But the company announced in 2020 the ride will be retooled as Tiana's Bayou Adventure based on The Princess and the Frog, which features Disney's first Black princess. Splash Mountain closed at Disney World earlier this year, though it is still open at Disneyland.

You may also like

Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D.

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?
Students visit Van Wall on Friday, March 3 during the "Find Your PATH-Way Day" event hosted by the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy.

The DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy hosted a Find Your PATH-Way Day event for area high school students on Friday, March 3, and more than 100 students were attendance, representing AC/GC High School, ADM High School, Panorama High School, Perry High School and Woodward-Granger High School.

The event featured site visits to local businesses and organizations, as well as an introduction to Career Advantage Academies at DMACC.

Helping students find their path is an important part of the DMACC Career Academy's mission, said Eddie Diaz, Director of the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy. By exposing students to various careers, we aim to help them find their passion, and develop skills and talent for a competitive workforce.

Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn speaks with students exploring the Criminal Justice Academy and Human Service Academy during the "Find Your PATH-Way Day" event.

Site visits during Find your PATH-Way Day included stops at the Dallas County Paramedic Station, Dallas County Hospital, Perry Police Department, Perry Public Library, Percival Scientific and Van Wall. Academy presentations included Applied Engineering, Health Occupations, Criminal Justice and EMT, Teacher Academy and Welding Academy.

Thousands of Iowa high school students take advantage of DMACC Career Advantage offerings each year, giving them a jump start on their academic and career goals while attending tuition-free college courses. With the early start on college, students gain hands-on experience that can lead directly to a degree, diploma, certification, apprenticeship or a job while saving time and money.

Tom Lipovac, DMACC Career Advantage Advisor at the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy, said DMACC Career Advantage offerings give students the opportunity to reflect, explore and build.

Applied engineering students are pictured during the DMACC "Find Your PATH-Way Day" event on Friday, March 3 in Perry.

Through DMACC Career Advantage, students can reflect on their interests while discovering and pursuing their personal passions; gaining experience, knowledge and training; and building marketable skills while earning high school and college credit at the same time, Lipovac said.

Story continues

The DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy serves students from AC/GC, ADM, Dallas Center-Grimes School District, Madrid, Ogden, Panorama, Perry and Woodward-Granger School Districts. High school students who are interested in taking DMACC classes during the 2023-24 school year should contact their high school counselor this spring.

For more information about the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy and Career Advantage Program, call (515) 428-8100 or visit dmacc.edu/perry. The DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy is located at 1011 2nd St. in Perry.

DMACC Career Academy Certified Nurse Aide students McKenna Carroll, Audrey Simmons, Bella McDivitt, Georgia Simmons, Katie Tuel (CNA Instructor), Kaylee Wuebker and Kaitlyn Leber pose with an inflatable DMACC Bear on Friday, March 3 outside of the DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy.

This article originally appeared on Perry Chief: DMACC Perry VanKirk Career Academy hosts Find Your PATH-Way Day event
Dmytro "Da Vinci" Kotsiubailo, a volunteer of the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps and a Hero of Ukraine, has been killed at the front line in Donbas.

Source: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "Today, Dmytro Kotsiubailo, [known as] 'Da Vinci', Hero of Ukraine, a volunteer, a symbol, a man of courage, has fallen in battle. The fighter of the 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade, the combatant. [He] died in the battle near the city of Bakhmut, in the battle for Ukraine.

He has been defending our independence and the dignity of our people since 2014. One of the youngest heroes of Ukraine. One of those whose personal history, character, and courage forever became the history, character, and courage of Ukraine.

For more than nine years, Ukrainian heroes have been fighting gruesome battles for their country, for the future of Ukraine. Peace and relative safety in the rear towns is their merit. Our confidence in the victory of Ukraine is their resilience and strength.

Ukraine will always remember its heroes. Our memory of them will not die. This enemy who came to Ukraine will perish.

The 67th brigade, soldiers, glory to your bravery! All Ukrainians who fight for Bakhmut, glory to your heroism! Thank you to all the soldiers whose resilience and perseverance are destroying the army of the occupier[s] in Donbas! Eternal memory to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine!"

Details: Kotsiubailo was 27 years old. The Second Lieutenant headed a separate mechanised battalion known as Vovky Da Vinchi [the Da Vinci Wolves  ed.] as part of the 67th Separate Mechanised Brigade.

"Da Vinci" was at the front since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. In 2014, he was seriously wounded by a tank shell in Pisky, Donetsk Oblast.

After recovery and three months of rehabilitation, he returned to the front, where he continued to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Story continues

By President Zelenskyys decree of 30 November, 2021, Kotsiubailo was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






The critical lead in a Lexington homicide case that went unsolved for over a year came courtesy of new forensic technology, which Lexington investigators turned to after failing to identify a homicide victim for months.

After finding decomposed human remains on Cambridge Drive on Feb. 17, 2022, the Fayette County Coroners Office and the Lexington Poilce Department had great difficulty advancing their investigation because they couldnt figure out who the victim was.

The body was partially decomposed when it was found, making it difficult to determine identifying characteristics. According to court records, the Fayette County Coroners Office initially believed the victim was a younger male and that he had been deceased for several months.

Months after the remains were discovered, Othram, a forensic genealogy laboratory, helped identify 40-year-old Jimmy Medlock as the victim. That information later led to the arrest of 35-year-old Jennifer Kashuba, an individual who Medlock previously lived with.

The breaking moment of this case was when (Othram) DNA Laboratory was able to provide us with a name of a possible person who had not been listed as missing or deceased, the coroners office said in a press release. Once we received this information, Robbery Homicide was able to track the DNA sample of the deceased from a previous out of state arrest.

Othram said in a news release that the victim was believed to be 5-foot-1-inches and 84 pounds at the time of his death. Other characteristics included short light brown or blond hair and a tattoo on his thigh.

The case was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) in March 2022, but none of the leads led to the identification of the body. Later in the year, the coroners office partnered with Othram, which ultimately led to the critical lead.

Forensic investigators used a fairly new practice called forensic-grade genome sequencing to build a comprehensive DNA profile for Medlock, according to Othram. Investigators used the DNA profile created by Othram to confirm the identity of Medlock and arrest Kashuba.

Story continues

David Middelman, CEO of Othram, said forensic-grade genome sequencing has been available since 2018 when the company first launched. He said it has taken off in the last few years and that the company has worked with agencies at the local, state and federal levels.

Its a newer kind of DNA test that allows us to work cases when CODIS (a program that operates DNA profiles) is unable to return an identity or an informative lead to law enforcement, Middelman said.

Middelman said Othram has worked in Kentucky often, but he couldnt remember working a case with Lexington police previously.

Rather than the traditional cold cases thats laid dormant for years, heres a case that didnt work through the conventional methods and immediately transitioned to a different approach, and that way instead of this case going cold and ending up in the archives, it was resolved, Middelman said.

Kashuba faces charges of murder, evidence tampering and abuse of a corpse, according to jail records. Kashubas arrest citation says the victim was stabbed in the chest once. Kashuba admitted to the stabbing after her arrest, court records say.
Three years after human remains were found in a remote area of Oregon woods, they have been identified, police said.

DNA extracted from a tooth helped identify the body as missing woman Grace Lorna Narvaez-Weaver, Oregon State Police said in a March 7 news release posted to Facebook.

Narvaez-Weaver was last seen at an Olympia post office in July 2019, according to a March 2021 tweet from the Olympia Police Department.

Missing Person - Grace Lorna Narvaez-Weaver



If you have contact with Grace or know her whereabouts, please check her welfare and contact OPD @ 360-704-2740 or call Thurston County Crime Stoppers @ 1-800-222-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/rhAtByrovW  Olympia Police Dept. (@OlyPD) March 31, 2021

Her remains were found in an extremely remote, wooded area off a US Forest Service Road, 13 miles east of Sweet Home in Linn County in April 2020, according to Oregon police.

Law enforcement recovered an almost-complete skeleton that had distinct articles of clothing but no identification, police said.

After examining the body, officials determined it belonged to a woman who was 30 to 50 years old, according to police.

The Oregon State Medical Examiners Office uploaded the case into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System  NamUs, police said.

The medical examiners office also submitted a bone sample, which would be used to develop a DNA profile, according to police.

However, when the profile was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), no matches were found, police said.

The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office created a forensic illustration based on the womans physical characteristics, which was used in future news releases as well as the main image attached to the then-unknown womans profile on NAMUS website, police said.

Despite Linn County Sheriffs Offices efforts, there were no matches or leads in the case, police said.

Story continues

As the case was close to becoming cold, the Oregon State Medical Examiners Office turned to investigative genetic genealogy, according to police.

Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with traditional genealogical methods to create family history profiles, according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related.

Police said a sample from the womans tooth was sent to Parabon NanoLabs to create a a new DNA profile.

Parabon used DNA Phenotyping to gain more insight into the womans predicted characteristics, police said. This report showed the woman was likely of Northern European and African descent.

This information, along with a newly rendered image, was uploaded to the womans profile on NamUs, according to police.

Parabons investigative genetic genealogy report offered the biggest breakthrough in the case, as it suggested the remains belonged to a woman reported missing out of Washington, Narvaez-Weaver, police said.

Last September, the Linn County Sheriffs Office contacted Narvaez-Weavers family with the possibility that the body found in Oregon could be hers, according to police.

After a family member provided their own DNA sample, it confirmed that the woman was Narvaez-Weaver.

Graces case is an excellent example of how advanced technologies like investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) and phenotyping can be used to help resolve a case before it goes cold, CeCe Moore, Parabons chief genetic genealogist, said in the release.

Police said an investigation into Narvaez-Weavers death is ongoing.

A man was found dead in California river 25 years ago, cops say. His ID is now known

Lady in the fridge was a mystery for 27 years. Body now identified as California mom

Skeleton found by river in 2018 alongside rubber chicken identified, Colorado cops say
[Source]

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) official has called former President Donald Trump a serial rapist and the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) a gathering of sexual predators on TV.

Lindy Li, who serves as DNC Womens co-chair and DNCs mid-Atlantic regional chair, made the remarks on Saturday while commenting on the event in an interview with MSNBCs Yasmin Vossoughian.

Lets also not ignore the fact that CPAC has become a gathering of sexual predators. Lets be honest, said Li, before referencing various allegations brought against organizer Matt Schlapp, Rep. Jim Jordan (R, OH-4) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R, FL-1).

She then called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA-14) as an adulteress and accused Rep. Lauren Boebert (R, CO-3) of bragging about carrying a Glock handgun in Congress. Finally, she said, Tonight, we have Trump, a serial rapist.

More from NextShark: 2 men accused of stabbing woman and Queens pizzeria owners who intervened indicted for attempted murder

More from NextShark: Tulsi Gabbard says Democrats push 'cowardly wokeness,' 'anti-white racism' after leaving party

Writer E. Jean Carroll previously accused Trump of rape, citing a mid-1990s incident that allegedly occurred in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury department store. That suit  apart from her defamation claims against the former president  will enter trial next month.

Story continues

Lis comments visibly surprised Vossoughian, who took a few seconds to pause and breathe before clarifying that the claims remain to be allegations.

I, I just  I just want to be clear here though, you know, that  its important to put out there, we, we understand the accusations that have been made against, of course, the former president, Lindy. And of course, I understand your passion in this topic as well. But I want to be clear, of course, that, that  none of that has actually rung true as of yet. Just, theyve all been accusations, so far. More from NextShark: Asian man fatally shot near Philadelphia for driving too slowly

During the interview, Li also took a jab at former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, calling the Indian American presidential candidate a sellout for comments she made in 2010 while defending the Confederate Flag as part of South Carolinas heritage.

Li also reduced the anti-woke movement to being anti-Black.

This years CPAC was held at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland from March 1-4. A straw poll conducted among attendees revealed Trump as the preferred GOP nominee (62%), followed by Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis (20%), Michigan businessman Perry Johnson (5%) and Haley (3%).
A woman who collapsed in a supermarket after being told by doctors that her symptoms were caused by stress has been diagnosed with stage four cancer.

Mollie Mulheron, 24, had recently returned from travelling in the Galapagos Islands where she began experiencing symptoms, but was assured by doctors she was simply too stressed.

Despite Mulheron experiencing such difficulty with breathing that she almost drowned while snorkelling, doctors insisted her the issues were in her head.

However, after returning to the UK she collapsed in public and was rushed to hospital  where doctors diagnosed her with a 15cm tumour spanning her heart and lungs.

Now, Mollie has been given a diagnosis of stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma. She says she still cant comprehend whats happened.

Mollie said: That was the worst news of my life, I cant even explain how it felt now.

I just cried and screamed and screamed  it was out of nowhere, I knew something was wrong but I didnt think it was that wrong.

Im waiting to hear how much its spread. It doesnt mean Im going to die tomorrow but it means treatment needs to start now.

Theyve given me an injection to try and preserve my fertility so kids arent out the question. Its put me in early menopause, its the worst part for me as I always wanted to be a mum.

Mollie, from Skipton, Leeds, had travelled to the Galapagos Islands to pursue her dream of travelling.

(Mollie Mulheron / SWNS)

While there, she worked as an English teacher and enjoyed exploring the tropical islands.

However, she began to experience symptoms such as difficulty breathing and swallowing. Typical signs of non-Hodgkins lymphoma may include swollen lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groin, abdominal pain or swelling, chest pain, coughing or trouble breathing, persistent fatigue, fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss.

She was told there werent enough students for her to teach, so she booked a flight home for 4 February  but within 48 hours of touching down in the UK, she collapsed and began throwing up in a supermarket.

Story continues

An ambulance was called and Mollie was rushed to hospital where she underwent blood tests, and X-ray and CT scans.

(Mollie Mulheron / SWNS)

She was given the devastating diagnosis and told the tumour had been affecting her heart.

Doctors prescribed steroids to stop the tumour from growing. Due to the advanced stage, Mollie swiftly began chemotherapy.

Ive been fit and healthy my whole life, Ive always been completely fine  I dont know what has caused this, Im healthy and young, three weeks ago I was in Galapagos living my best life, said Mollie.

(Mollie Mulheron / SWNS)

I still cant comprehend it now - [when I was told] I was screaming to my mum about my future plans, how I wanted to be a mum and get married, all I could do was stare at the wall and cry and scream.

The doctors immediately put me on steroids to stop the growth of the tumour while they tried to figure out what was going on.

They couldnt start treatment until they knew exactly what it was so I was waiting for the biopsy to come back.

When I finally got the results, it wasnt what we hoped for  its non-Hodgkins lymphoma which is rare and aggressive.

(Mollie Mulheron / SWNS)

The doctors seem hopeful they can treat it and say the success rate for the type of cancer I have is good and it looks hopeful.

The only sad thing is that its stage four which means its on both sides of my chest and has spread to other parts of my body.

I started chemo and had a bad reaction to the first treatment, but the doctors said it was because they started it too fast, and after that it was okay, I just had a few side effects like headaches.

The doctors say there are a lot of treatments they can try because Im young, fit and healthy.
(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying that the planned merger "would put travel out of reach for many cost-conscious travelers".

JetBlue prevailed in a months-long bidding war for Spirit Airlines after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its $3.8 billion merger offer in late July last year but the acquisition had been expected to face a tough antitrust review from the beginning.

Below are the key events of the takeover saga:

Date Development

Feb. 7 Frontier makes a cash-and-stock offer of $25.83/share for Spirit

Airlines

Feb. 8 Lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department say Spirit and Frontier's

merger to create the fifth-largest airline in the country would

face close scrutiny

March 10 Several public advocacy groups call on U.S. regulators to block

Frontier's bid for Spirit

April 5 JetBlue makes an unsolicited $3.6 billion, or $33/share, all-cash

bid for Spirit

April 6 JetBlue mounts a vigorous defense of its unsolicited $3.6 billion

bid for Spirit, adding that it is "highly confident" of securing

regulatory approval

April 7 Spirit says that it would enter into discussions with JetBlue on

its $3.6-billion offer as it could likely lead to a "superior

proposal" to the one from Frontier

May 2 Spirit rejects JetBlue's $33/share offer, saying it had a low

likelihood of winning regulatory approval

May 10 Head of Sun Country Airlines throws his backing behind potential

merger in the ultra-low-cost airline sector

May 11 Spirit says it will hold a shareholder meeting on June 10 for a

vote on its proposed merger with Frontier

May 16 JetBlue makes hostile all-cash takeover offer of $30/share and adds

it was ready to "negotiate in good faith a consensual transaction

at $33"

May 19 Spirit Airlines urges shareholders to reject the hostile offer from

JetBlue, saying it was "a cynical attempt to disrupt" its merger

with Frontier

Story continues

May 31 Proxy advisory firm ISS urges Spirit shareholders to vote against a

proposed merger with Frontier

June 2 Frontier agrees to pay a break-up fee of $250 million in a bid to

salvage its $2.9 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines

June 3 Shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis recommends Spirit Airlines

investors approve Frontier Group's $2.9 billion takeover bid,

saying it was the "best available" at this time.

June 6 JetBlue sweetens its takeover bid for Spirit by offering $31.50 per

share in cash, comprising $30 per share at deal close and the

prepayment of $1.50 per share of the reverse break-up fee.

June 8 Spirit Airlines delays to June 30 a shareholder meeting to vote on

its proposed merger with Frontier.

June 14 Spirit Airlines said it was in talks with JetBlue Airways and has

granted JetBlue access to the due diligence information being

shared with Frontier Group. Spirit said it was expecting to decide

on the proposal by the end of this month.

June 20 JetBlue Airways said it had sweetened its takeover offer for Spirit

Airlines to $33.50 per share.

June 24 Frontier bumps up the cash component of the deal by $2 per share to

$4.13 per share, prompting Spirit Airlines to urge its shareholders

back a deal with its ultra-low-cost rival at a meeting next week.

June 25 ISS urges Spirit shareholders to vote for a proposed merger with

Frontier after the carrier sweetened its offer.

June 27 Frontier's Chief Executive Barry Biffle says the revised offer for

Spirit will be enough to secure a merger deal with the

ultra-low-cost carrier.

June 27 JetBlue ratcheted up its bidding war. Offers a "ticking fee", which

would give Spirit shareholders a monthly prepayment of 10 cents per

share between January 2023 and the closing of the deal, raising the

overall deal value to $34.15 per share.

June 28 ISS says JetBlue's latest offer is "more favorable" but maintains

its support for the Frontier deal.

June 28 Spirit rejects JetBlue's sweetened takeover offer and recommends

that shareholders vote in favor of a merger with Frontier at a

meeting on Thursday.

July 7 Spirit postponed a shareholder vote scheduled for July 8 on its

$2.4 billion sale to Frontier so its board can continue discussions

with both Frontier and JetBlue. Spirit said it now plans to hold a

special meeting on July 15.

July 11 Frontier has asked Spirit to delay the shareholder vote on its

proposed offer until July 27, citing the need for more time to

gather sufficient proxy support.

July 13 Spirit said it intends to delay the shareholder vote on its merger

deal with Frontier Group to July 27 as Frontier seeks more time to

drum up proxy support for its buyout bid.

July 15 ISS recommends shareholders of Spirit Airlines to vote against the

proposed deal with Frontier.

July 27 Spirit Airlines said it would go ahead with a vote on its sale to

Frontier, with its shareholders expected to shoot it down,

according to people familiar with the matter.

July 28 JetBlue prevailed in a months' long bidding war for Spirit Airlines

after the ultra-low-cost carrier accepted its $3.8 billion buyout

deal.

Oct. 19 Shareholders of Spirit Airlines voted in favor of JetBlue's

takeover offer, moving the companies closer to creating the

nation's fifth-largest carrier.

Feb. 7 Spirit Airlines Inc said it expects U.S. antitrust

regulators to decide whether to allow the low-cost carrier to

proceed with its $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways Corp in

the "next 30 days or so."

Feb. 8 JetBlue officials are answering questions and giving

depositions as the Justice Department presses on with its antitrust

review of the company's plan to buy Spirit, with a decision

expected within weeks.

Feb. 10 The U.S. Department of Justice is likely to sue to

block a pending $3.8 billion merger between JetBlue Airways and

Spirit Airlines, Politico reported, citing five people with

knowledge of the matter.

JetBlue Airways Corp said it believes there is a "high

Mar. 6 likelihood" the U.S. Justice Department will file an antitrust

lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost

rival Spirit Airlines Inc.

Mar. 7 The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop

JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying that the

planned merger "would put travel out of reach for many

cost-conscious travelers."

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes and Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Anil D'Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)
In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, once it became clear that then-President Donald Trump had lost the race to Joe Biden, allies of the former president began claiming without evidence that the election had been stolen.

Dominion Voting Systems, a private voting machine manufacturer, became central to those claims, which asserted that the company conspired with Democrats to rig the election against Trump.

In 2021, Dominion filed a series of defamation lawsuits against key election deniers, suggesting their unfounded claims caused severe damage to the company.

These lies also have threatened the personal safety of our employees and customers, Dominion CEO John Poulos said after filing one of the lawsuits. No amount of money will repair the damage done."

Heres what we know.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

What is the background?

Unfounded claims that Trump, not Biden, won the election began spreading online and on air before the race between the two candidates had even been called.

Dominion and another voter machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, became right-wing targets for purportedly helping steal the race. False claims that the company was tied to top Democrats or that its machines switched and deleted Trump votes, flipping key races, gathered hundreds of thousands of interactions online.

The lawsuits claim several high-profile, right-wing media groups and individuals helped amplify those claims.

'Shockingly reckless': Fox News hosts privately shot down Trump's 'big lie' over election fraud

Who is being sued?

Fox News and Fox Corporation

One American News Network

Newsmax

Patrick Byrne, former head of Overstock

Rudy Giuliani, Trump attorney

Sidney Powell, former Trump lawyer

Mike Lindell, MyPillow founder and chief executive officer

Former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, left, listens to Sidney Powell, during a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters, Thursday Nov. 19, 2020, in Washington.

What do the lawsuits say?

Dominion in March 2021 filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, for allegedly making and amplifying false claims deliberately about Dominion and the 2020 election. The voting machine manufacturer asserts that the lies were good for Fox's business, and that legal action followed repeated demands for retractions.

Story continues

The company also filed suit against OAN and Newsmax, accusing the conservative news outlets of allegedly promoting 2020 election fraud claims, despite knowing they were untrue.

The lawsuits against Byrne, Giuliani, Powell and Lindell make similar allegations.

More: Dominion Voting sues Fox for $1.6 billion over false 2020 election fraud claims

Revelations from the lawsuits

Court filings in the case against Fox News revealed that top executives and news hosts privately shared they did not buy into Trumps allegations of 2020 election fraud, despite giving airtime to many of those same false claims.

"Privately, Fox's hosts and executives knew that Donald Trump lost the election and that he needed to concede," the filing reads. "But Fox viewers heard a different story  repeatedly."

A Fox spokesperson said Dominion mischaracterized the record and "cherry-picked" quotes from "key context."

Keynote speaker Mike Lindell talked about how it was time to hold an election with out electronic voting machines. About 500 people attended the evening portion of Rock The Red event held at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion June 11, 2022.

What do the parties being sued say?

A Fox spokesperson told USA TODAY last month that press freedom and freedom of speech  which are fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution and protected by New York Times v. Sullivan  are at the core of the Dominion case.

OAN and Newsmax filed motions to dismiss Dominions lawsuits against them, but efforts by the two conservative networks were both denied. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis ruled that it was reasonably conceivable that Dominion had a claim for defamation against Newsmax.

Giuliani, Powell and Lindell motioned to dismiss the cases against them, but U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected those requests. Powell and Lindell also filed countersuits alleging an abuse of justice and violation of First Amendment rights, both of which were tossed out by Nichols.

Dig deeper:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dominion sued Fox News, OAN for 2020 election fraud claims
Consumers can now see which airlines guarantee that families can sit together a no extra cost, after a Department of Transportation dashboard debuted Monday as the Biden administration tries to eliminate what it calls junk fees.

The tool shows which airlines have committed to allowing children under 13 to sit fee-free next to an accompanied adult. The dashboard lists just three major airlines  Alaska, American and Frontier  that have made the commitment.

President Biden promised a crackdown on junk fees in his State of the Union address last month, pinpointing airlines for not showing full ticket prices upfront and saying they should refund money if flights are canceled or delayed.

My administration is also taking on junk fees, those hidden surcharges too many businesses use to make you pay more, he said at the time. For example, were making airlines show you the full ticket price upfront and refund your money if your flight is canceled or delayed.

Baggage fees are bad enough  they cant just treat your child like a piece of luggage.

A release from the Transportation Department highlighted that no major airlines guaranteed fee-free family seating before the Biden administration took over but since then three airlines have made such a commitment.

Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. We have been pressing airlines to guarantee family seating without tacking on extra charges, and now were seeing some airlines start to make this common-sense change.

The dashboard also shows airline policies for cancellations and delays, including whether they allow customers to rebook flights for no additional costs or if they provide services and accommodations for customers who are stuck with long delays and cancellations.

The aggregation of such information comes after delays and cancellations around the holiday season ravaged the transportation industry, leaving customers stranded in airports at the height of the travel season.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Needle injection. Illustrated | Gettyimages

A new class of weight-loss drugs is being hailed as a miracle injection that helps people shed pounds of stubborn weight. Doctors and health experts are excited about the treatments, seeing them as a powerfully effective way to tackle the world's growing obesity epidemic. A recent report from The World Obesity Federation predicts that 51 percent of the world, over 4 billion people, will be obese or overweight within the next 12 years if significant action isn't taken. The NGO found that obesity rates were rising "particularly quickly among children and in lower-income countries," per CNN.

Researchers discovered the latest generation of weight-loss drugs somewhat accidentally. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk developed semaglutide to treat type 2 diabetes, which the FDA approved as an injectable called Ozempic. When patients taking Ozempic started to report significant weight loss, the company produced a drug specifically for that purpose, with a higher dose of semaglutide, under the name Wegovy. In 2021, the FDA approved Wegovy "for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or overweight with at least one weight-related condition," like high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics added the drug to new guidelines for treating childhood obesity in adolescents aged 12 and over. A study showed that patients using Wegovy lost an average of 15 percent of their body weight. Another approved diabetes treatment, tirzepatide, which is marketed under the name Mounjaro by Eli Lilly, helped patients lose an average of 21 percent of their body weight, according to a study.

But the drugs, which have become particularly popular mong celebrities, are not without controversy. They may increase the risk of thyroid tumors, and must be taken "for a lifetime," The Economist explains. Plus they're very expensive, costing between $900 and $1,300 per month.

What are the commentators saying?

These new drugs "represent the vanguard of a weight-loss revolution," writes Derek Thompson in The Atlantic, but their viral popularity should be a red flag. As a medical achievement, the drugs are "stupendous inventions," and their rollout must be done delicately. The current frenzy "raises questions about ethics, fairness, culture, and America's berserk relationship with beauty." A simple injection, albeit with a "luxury price tag," sounds nice, but we mustn't overlook the "complex interplay" of factors, including metabolism and environment, that contribute to weight gain. These new treatments could "augur a public-health revolution," though right now they "represent an elite cultural makeover more than a medical intervention."

New medications such as these are changing the narrative around obesity, which has "long been framed as a result of poor lifestyle decisions and a failure of willpower," Stat News says. The discourse about the effectiveness of these drugs underscores that obesity is a chronic medical condition, "and not something that's just a matter of a moral failing on the individual patient's part," Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician-scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital, tells Stat. "I have never seen a conversation surrounding obesity, obesity as a disease, the treatment of excess weight in a way that I see now."

The costs associated with treating obesity are "a drag on economic growth," says The Economist. If new drugs can address these, they could "make the world wealthier" and should be "welcomed with open arms." Research suggests even curbing obesity by 5 percentage points could save close to $430 billion annually. But the new treatments "certainly should not be taken for cosmetic reasons," and governments should focus on "preventing people from becoming obese in the first place," the magazine adds.

What's next?

Pescriptions for Wegovy and similar medications have risen exponentially in the U.S., leading to a shortage. Novo Nordisk could sell between $3 billion and $4 billion worth of Wegovy in America this year, and plans to launch the drug in more countries in the coming months, The Economist says. Even though many insurers don't cover the expensive drugs, and governments are hesitant to back them, these concerns "will presumably evaporate if it becomes clear that widespread use of the drugs will bring big cost savings to insurers or governments in the form of avoided treatments for conditions related to obesity."

In time, the high cost of the drug should eventually come down. "Insurers and governments will presumably be able to negotiate discounts to drugmakers' list prices," The Economist writes. The arrival of rival products will also drive the price down. "In the very long run, the new drugs will lose their patents and become available in generic form," the magazine adds.

Still, there are some lingering questions about the long-term effects of these medications. "One big question facing researchers now is whether people will need to take these medications for life to maintain their weight," Scientific American says. It is also too early to tell who will respond to the drugs and who won't, though they appear less effective for people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers are also concerned that "by offering a weight solution in societies that prize thinness, these drugs could also inadvertently reinforce the disputed link between excess weight and health," Scientific American adds.

You may also like

Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D.

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?
Duchess of York attends a charity gala in London, 2019 (Getty Images for BFI)

The Duchess of York has revealed the career she always wanted to persue as a child - that of a female detective.

Growing up with a love of the headstrong George in Enid Blytons Famous Five, Sarah Ferguson said she was obsessed by whodunnits and female crime sleuths.

Writing in The Independent ahead of International Womens Day, she describes how detective work became an opportunity for female servants who were privvy to the goings on in the wealthy homes where they worked.

It also became a profitable sideline for famous actors such as Maud West and Kate Easton.

(Getty Images)

It was an opportunity for more exciting, adventurous and varied career offering financial security and independence. A career with a purpose, open to women of all ages and backgrounds.

The duchess, who has written a number of books, said her latest heroine was inspired by the detectives of the past.

Recently, she spoke of her love for the late Queen and how she would always be there for her ex-husband Andrew.

Sarah and he married in 1986 but the couple split up in 1992 and have remained friends. Last month she pledged to do all she can to financially support Prince Andrew.

Andrew has lived at the Grade II listed building in Windsor for 20 years and shares the seven-bedroom property with his former wife. He has been keeping a low profile since being stripped of his royal duties and reaching an out of court settlement with Virginia Giuffre last year.

The King is understood to want Prince Andrew to move out and reportedly move into Harry and Meghans home, Frogmore Cottage.
A Dunkin customer was shot twice after he got into an argument with a shop employee while ordering ice cream, according to the Clearwater (Florida) Police Department.

The victim was listed in serious but stable condition at the hospital, police said in a Tuesday, March 7 news release.

It happened March 6 at a site on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard that houses a combined Dunkin and Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop, officials said. Clearwater is about 20 miles west of Tampa on Floridas Gulf Coast.

Khalil Abdul Shakur Shaheed ... became involved in an argument Monday evening with a customer, a 38-year-old Clearwater man who was trying to buy ice cream for his girlfriend and two children, police said in the news release.

As the victim and his family departed via the front door of the business, the suspect left out the back door and confronted the victim in the parking lot, where the argument continued. Shaheed pulled a gun out of his waistband and fired three times, hitting the victim twice in the legs.

Investigators have not released details on what started the in-store dispute.

Shaheed, 22, was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County jail around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

He is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm, police say. He lives in nearby St. Petersburg, jail records show. Bond was set at $15,000.

The identity of the victim in the shooting was not released.

An unidentified body, a burned home and a missing car create mystery for Florida cops

Skeleton found 5 years after woman accepted ride in suspicious truck, Florida cops say

Intoxicated 81-year-old woman kicks officer full force in groin, Florida cops say
(FILES) In this file photo taken on October 11, 2018 Founder of the Dyson company, designer James Dyson, poses with products during a photo session at a hotel in Paris. - British electric appliance pioneer Dyson will switch headquarters to Singapore this year due to booming Asian demand but not because of Brexit, the company said Tuesday, January 22, 2019. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images - CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

Dyson profits dipped last year despite demand for its high-end hair dryers and vacuum cleaners driving up sales to a new record.

Sir James Dysons engineering group grew revenues to 6.5bn in 2022, up from 6bn in the previous year. The total was boosted by a higher proportion of direct sales via the Dyson website, with no cut of revenues for third-party retailers.

It came as Ebitda, a measure of operating profits, fell from 1.5bn to 1.3bn. Dyson's full statutory accounts for the year are not yet available.

The company, which is headquartered in Singapore with engineering operations in Britain, closed its Russia business last year and said higher shipping and logistics prices had cost it 120m last year.

Roland Krueger, the companys chief executive, said 2022 had been one of the toughest years that Dyson has faced but said it had increased investment in R&D.

It recruited more than 1,000 new engineers and scientists last year and said capital expenditure  on equipment and facilities  had jumped from 284m to 463m.

Staff missed out on a bonus under the companys performance scheme but Dyson said 90pc of staff had been handed a one-off payment in recognition of exceptional efforts and that salaries would rise.

Many electronics companies struggled with higher costs last year amid semiconductor shortages and lockdowns in China for much of the year. Dyson closed its Russia business in February, in the days before Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, the company unveiled the Dyson Zone, a 749 set of headphones with air-purifying filters designed to protect wearers from pollution, as well as a new version of its cordless vacuum.

Revenues rose as customers increasingly chose to buy from its own stores and website, rather than through third-party retailers, and spent more on higher-end devices.

Mr Krueger said: This was one of the toughest years that Dyson has faced but thanks to some exceptional efforts from individuals we navigated it, while the fact we stepped up investment in the development of cutting-edge new technologies means we are well positioned for 2023 and our ambitious plans beyond.

Last year, Dyson opened a new headquarters in Singapore, where it moved its base in 2019. It opened new robotics and software centres in London and Hullavington in Wiltshire. It said it would invest 500m in its growing haircare business which includes dryers, straighteners and curlers.

Sir James, who moved back to Britain in 2021, has warned that working from home is damaging productivity and that short sighted government tax rises are hampering growth.
Escambia County Sheriffs Office deputies are searching for multiple suspects Tuesday after a man was shot during an early morning robbery.

ECSO spokeswoman Morgan Lewis said a 71-year-old man was walking on Old Corry Field Road when two individuals attempted to rob him with a firearm.

One of the suspects shot him in the ankle and fled the scene, Lewis said.

In case you missed it:'Its not normal to shoot your friend': Pensacola man sentenced to life for 2020 slaying

Santa Rosa swatting arrest:Swatting calls to Milton High School net New Jersey teen a felony charge.

Lewis said that when the two suspects attempted to rob the man, they pulled out firearms, but the victim also had a gun and everyone began exchanging fire. Lewis said authorities are unsure if the 71-year-old hit any of the suspects.

The 71-year-old man then took himself to the hospital where deputies responded around 5:30 a.m.

Lewis said the SRSO believes there were two suspects involved in the shooting. The incident remains under investigation.

The unidentified man is receiving treatment in a local hospital.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia man shot in ankle during armed robbery, suspects sought
El Paso County sheriff's deputies arrested three men allegedly found with firearms and methamphetamine in the Upper Valley after gunshots were reportedly fired from a vehicle near the Texas-New Mexico state line.

The arrests occurred about 6:30 a.m. Friday after a witness saw gunshots being fired out of a vehicle in Anthony, New Mexico, and then followed the vehicle about 6 miles south to Canutillo, sheriff's officials said Tuesday.

The witness led deputies to the vehicle parked outside a business in the 7100 block of Doniphan Drive, officials said. Deputies arrested the three men after allegedly finding methamphetamine, stolen property and an assault rifle and a handgun in the vehicle.

Brandon Rivas

New Mexico authorities are investigating the shots-fired case over the state line in Anthony.

Drug trafficking:Man, 20, sentenced to prison after smuggling cocaine, fentanyl to pay drug debt

Brandon Rivas, 21, of the Upper Valley, was arrested on charges of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, unlawful carrying of a weapon and a warrant on a theft case from 2021. On Tuesday, Rivas remained held under a total bond of $81,000 at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown, according to jail records.

Julio Cesar Balderrama Jr.

Julio Cesar Balderrama Jr., 28, of Canutillo, remains at the Downtown jail on a charge of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance with a $20,000 bond.

Fernando Hernandez Jr., 27, of Anthony, New Mexico, was arrested on a charge of possession of a controlled substance and released that same day on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond, which requires only a signature and a promise to show up to court, a jail log showed.

Crime:El Paso boy, 15, allegedly caught with gun, arrested in video of West Side shooting

Fernando Hernandez Jr.

Anyone with information regarding shootings, drug dealing and any other criminal activity may anonymously call Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 915-566-8477 (TIPS).

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso sheriff's deputies arrest 3 after gunshots fired from vehicle
A police search late Monday night in a West El Paso neighborhood stemmed from a vehicle that fled during a traffic stop, a police spokesman said.

A police dog and officers were searching after a driver evaded a traffic stop and later stopped the vehicle. Four people then ran off in a neighborhood near the Dorris Van Boren public library, 551 Redd Road, a spokesman said.

Crime:El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrests 3 men after gunshots fired from vehicle

El Paso police at a crime scene. File art.

Two of the four were apprehended after a search in the area of Totonaca Lane and Medano Drive. A 17-year-old man was arrested on charges of evading arrest, possession of marijuana and failure to identify, and an 18-year-old man was arrested an evading arrest charge, police said.

Warning: Department of Public Health imposters

The El Paso Department of Public Health recently issued a warning about a potential door-to-door scam involving water filtration sellers posing as public health workers.

The Public Health department warning stated that some door-to-door peddlers claim they are conducting a water study in the neighborhood. If no one answers the door, they leave flyers with phone numbers urging homeowners to contact them as soon as possible.

Politics:El Paso Chamber announces opposition to proposed climate charter

The Department of Public Health stated that its employees always identify themselves with a city of El Paso identification and will never ask for personal information, such as Social Security numbers and bank information, nor will they sell anything or ask to inspect your home's water.

To report a suspected fraud, call the police nonemergency line at 915-832-4400.

Spring break safety efforts rise

The sun is shining, the weather is warming up and spring break season is here. It's also time for various agencies to urge people to stay safe.

The El Paso Police Department is stepping up traffic enforcement for spring break looking for all types of traffic violations with a focus on drunken driving, officials said. Additional officers will work overtime March 6-17 as part of the Texas Department of Transportation's Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, or STEP.

Story continues

More:Got kids? Check out these spring break camps in El Paso and Las Cruces

The Texas Department of Transportation has launched its statewide "Drive Sober. No Regrets" spring break drunken driving prevention campaign to remind drivers, especially college students, to drive sober.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission statewide will visit hundreds of alcohol retailers, including stores, bars and restaurants, in undercover operations and open inspections to identify sales to intoxicated persons and minors as part of spring break enforcement efforts.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso police search neighborhood; spring break enforcement steps up
A judge on Monday ordered sanctions against Republican Mark Finchem, the losing candidate in Arizonas secretary of state race who challenged the election results in court.

In granting the sanctions, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Iyer Julian said Finchem and his attorney, Daniel McCauley III, filed their lawsuit without substantial justification.

Finchem lost the election to Democrat Adrian Fontes by 120,208 votes.

Julian in December dismissed Finchem's lawsuit, which requested a new election, alleged that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs had engaged in misconduct and claimed that illegal votes were cast because of errors in the laboratory testing of voting machines and voting software issues.

After the dismissal, Hobbes joined Fontes in filing a motion for sanctions against Finchem and his lawyer.

Julians order Monday asked Fontes and Hobbs, who is now governor, to submit an application for an award of attorneys fees and statement of costs. The order did not impose additional penalty damages.

The order said that while Arizona courts recommend that sanctions be awarded only in "rare cases" to avoid discouraging legitimate lawsuits, Finchem's election challenge was one of those rarities.

"None of Contestant Finchems allegations, even if true, would have changed the vote count enough to overcome the 120,000 votes he needed to affect the result of this election," Julian wrote. "The Court finds that this lawsuit was groundless and not brought in good faith."

Julian noted that Finchem withdrew his request to inspect ballots, "suggesting that he had no expectation that an inspection would yield a favorable outcome." Doing so, the judge said, "demonstrates that Finchem challenged his election loss despite knowing that his claims regarding misconduct and procedural irregularities were insufficient under the law to sustain the contest."

Finchem's attorney said Finchem plans to appeal but did not provide additional comment.

Story continues

NBC News has asked the offices of Fontes and Hobbs for comment.

Finchem was among several GOP candidates for statewide office in Arizona who repeatedly cast doubt on Joe Bidens presidential victory or falsely claimed that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Prominent election deniers such as Arizona attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake lost their bids last year.

Lake, who also mounted an election challenge in court, has repeatedly claimed that she lost because of illegal votes and misconduct by election officials. An appeals court last month upheld a lower court ruling that said Lake had not provided evidence to support her claims.

Hobbs filed for sanctions against Lake after the lawsuit was dismissed in December; a judge rejected Hobbs' request.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
From left, South Bend Mayor James Mueller, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter and South Bend Chief of Police Scott Ruszkowski discuss murder charges filed against Derrick Pratcher related to the shooting death of a security guard in a South Bend parking garage.

SOUTH BEND  A 33-year-old Elkhart man is charged with killing a security guard in a downtown South Bend parking garage late Sunday night.

Derrick Pratcher allegedly shot and killed security guard Robert Pulliam Jr., 62, after the guard confronted him for loitering in the Wayne Street Parking Garage, prosecutors allege in court documents.

On parole:Man convicted of murder accused of raping DTSB worker

Prosecutors claim Pratcher was illegally carrying the handgun he allegedly used to kill Pulliam. He was prohibited from carrying a firearm because of a previous felony conviction of operating a vehicle after being suspended for life. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from owning or possessing a firearm.

The killing occurred about 11:21 p.m. Sunday after two witnesses  employees on patrol for South Bend Venue Parks & Arts, according to a probable cause affidavit  saw an unfamiliar man loitering near city vehicles parked in the public garage. The witnesses alerted Pulliam, the on-duty security guard at the garage working for ASM Global, a venue management company paid by the city.

According to police, Pulliam approached Pratcher to tell him he was trespassing and had to leave. Pulliam took a photo of the mans vehicle and license plate then turned his back to dial 911.

Pratcher pulled a handgun from his bag and shot the security guard in the back of the head at close range, police claim.

Pratcher allegedly then got in his car, a rental black Kia Sportage with a Florida license plate, and drove away from the garage. He was not at the scene when South Bend Police Department officers arrived in response to reports of shots fired made at 11:23 p.m.

More:South Bend police unveil video surveillance control room for 'real time crime center'

Officers found Pulliam unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head. An autopsy confirmed that Pulliam died as a result of the wound, and a pathologist ruled the death a homicide, prosecutors claim.

Story continues

But police recovered a photo Pulliam had taken of the vehicles license plate, documents say. The photo's timestamp was 11:21 p.m.

Officers reportedly discovered Pratcher was renting the car and tracked its location to Vandalia, Mich., about a 45-minute drive northeast from downtown South Bend. On Monday afternoon, Cass County Sheriffs office deputies said they found Pratcher alone in the car at a park.

Police say Pratcher admitted that he owned the gun and that he had been in the parking garage in the Kia on Sunday night. But he denied that he encountered anyone in the garage, police say.

He is charged with murder, unlawful carrying of a handgun as a felon, and a misdemeanor count of unlawful carrying of a handgun.

Last summer:Booming crowds at Howard Park bring more nuisance calls and a debate on how to handle them

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, local officials noted that the garage, at the corner of Wayne Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, is one people commonly use for trips downtown.

Pratcher was initially confronted by two Venue Parks & Arts workers who noticed him loitering around the city vehicles, according to charging documents.

After speaking with Pratcher briefly, the two workers said they left the garage. One of them kept watch while parked across the street and eventually notified the security guard.

South Bend police officers regularly patrol areas where many people gather. But South Bend Mayor James Mueller said the city doesnt want to be reactionary and call for a heavier armed presence throughout downtown and city parks.

Its unclear if the security guard had a firearm or another weapon.

"On a typical day, downtown is very safe, our parks are safe, and there is not this issue," Mueller said, "even though we do have a gun violence problem in the city, just like we do across the country."

We know there are a lot of guns around in the community, the mayor added. We know folks are exercising their Second Amendment right, so that makes things challenging across the board, where there are so many guns in the hands of our residents, (who are) walking around in our streets, in our community centers and in our parks. Thats a challenge.

Correction: A prior version of this story stated that one of the two witnesses was a Downtown South Bend ambassador. Charging documents say that both employees were on patrol for South Bend Venues Parks & Arts.

Tribune reporter Marek Mazurek contributed to this report.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Elkhart man charged with murder of guard in South Bend parking garage
Haraldur Thorleifsson formerly worked at Twitter. Haraldur Thorliefsson

Elon Musk accused a former employee of using their disability as an "excuse" to do "no actual work."

The former employee, Haraldur Thorleifsson, said he has muscular dystrophy.

Musk and Thorleifsson engaged in a heated exchange on Twitter on Monday.

Elon Musk has accused a laid-off Twitter employee of using their disability as an "excuse" to do "no actual work."

The accusation was aimed at Haraldur Thorleifsson, a former Twitter director who engaged in a public spat with Musk on Monday.

Musk tweeted: "The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm. Can't say I have a lot of respect for that."

Musk added: "But was he fired? No, you can't be fired if you weren't working in the first place!"

A statement on Thorleifsson's personal website, posted before his altercation with Musk, says: "I have genetic muscle atrophy, often called muscle dystrophy. The one I have is called Dysferlinopathy. I use a wheelchair and I am slowly but surely losing strength in my upper body and arms. I don't like it but that doesn't really change anything."

Twitter and Thorleifsson didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Thorleifsson, who is based in Reykjavik, Iceland, joined Twitter as a full-time employee in 2021 after Twitter acquired Ueno, a creative agency he founded. He was named by several Icelandic media outlets as the nation's person of the year for 2022.

Amid his spat with Musk on Monday, Thorleifsson posted a picture of himself in a wheelchair. He later posted a Twitter thread describing the effects of muscular dystrophy on his body.

His exchange with Musk kicked off when he tagged the Twitter owner in a tweet that said: "9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees. However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?"

Story continues

Thorleifsson said later he'd received an email from Twitter's head of HR, who confirmed he was no longer employed by the company.

Disabled employees at Twitter filed a class-action lawsuit against the company in November, saying Musk's new "extremely hardcore" work culture and orders to "work long hours at high intensity" forced them to resign.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Getty Images for Heidi Klum)

Elon Musk has become involved in a humiliating spat with an employee who was not sure whether he had been fired.

The series of events began when Halli Thorleifsson  who has been employed by Twitter since it acquired his company, and has been working in product design since  asked Mr Musk whether he had been fired. He said that his access to his work computer had been cut off, but that he was yet to receive any official indication of whether he was still employed.

Mr Musk then began an exchange that some referred to as the strangest exit interview ever conducted. He asked Mr Thorleifsson what work he had been doing, to which he received a detailed reply.

But the Twitter chief executive then attacked Mr Thorleifsson, accusing him of using disability as an excuse and doing no work.

But was he fired? No, you cant be fired if you werent working in the first place!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

The comments prompted outrage that Mr Musk was apparently making Twitter employees aware of their employment status through public tweets. Many also speculated about the possible consequences of discussing employees disabilities in such a public arena.

Mr Thorleifsson then tweeted a long thread in which he laid out his health situation, explaining that he has muscular dystrophy and that it has affected his wellbeing.

My legs were the first to go, he wrote. When I was 25 years old I started using a wheelchair.

Its been 20 years since that happened.

In that time the rest of my body has been failing me too. I need help to get in and out of bed and use the toilet.

For a long time I thought my arms would remain strong. A doctor told me they would.

But they ended up losing strength. Which, I dont mind telling you, was hard to accept.

But you okay the cards you are dealt and Ive managed to create a wonderful life.

Story continues

He noted that his condition meant that it was easier to type on the phone, rather than compose long messages, and that much of his work had been in meetings with other Twitter employees anyway. He also suggested that information had been shared confidentially with Twitters HR department, before it was posted by Mr Musk.

But as I told HR (I'm assuming that's the confidential health information you are sharing) I can't work as a hands on designer for the reasons outlined above.



I'm typing this on my phone btw. It's easier for because I only need to use one finger.  Halli (@iamharaldur) March 7, 2023

He went on to explain that he had become independently wealthy by building the very company that Twitter had acquired.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you are going to pay what you owe me?



I think you can afford it?  Halli (@iamharaldur) March 7, 2023

In another post, Billy Markus  the creator of Mr Musks favoured cryptocurrency dogecoin  said in an unusual remark that the Twitter chief executive had behaved badly. In a reply, Mr Musk called Mr Thorleifsson the worst.

Hes the worst, sorry.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

Mr Musk has faced criticism for using his Twitter account to attack people before. Most notably, he called a British cave diver who assisted with the rescue of 13 Thai children a pedo guy  though a court later found that he had not defamed the man in question.
Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Elon Musk publicly trolled a Twitter employee who wanted to know if they still had their job.

He told the employee to justify their work, posted laughing emojis and memes when they answered.

The employee later confirmed he was laid off, but doesn't know if he'll be paid severance per his contract.

On Tuesday, Elon Musk engaged in an online spat with a Twitter employee who wanted to find out if they'd been laid off.

Haraldur Thorleifsson, who uses the Twitter handle @iamharaldur, tweeted at Musk on Monday evening saying he lost his laptop access nine days prior and did not know if he was still employed.

"However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails," wrote Thorleifsson.

Thorleifsson, a creative designer and father of two, lists himself on LinkedIn as a director at Twitter based in Reykjavik, Iceland. He founded a creative agency, Ueno, which was acquired by Twitter in 2021 and lists offices in Iceland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

Four hours after Thorleifsson tweeted, Musk responded. "What work have you been doing?" the CEO wrote.

When Thorleifsson responded that he would need permission from Twitter's lawyers to publicly disclose his work at the company, Musk tweeted: "It's approved, you go ahead."

Thorleifsson listed several of his work responsibilities and achievements, such as hiring designers, helping the company to appeal to younger users, and leading projects to "level up design across the company."

"Level up from what design to what? Pics or it didn't happen," Musk wrote. "We haven't hired design roles for four months. What changes did you make to help with the youths?"

Thorleifsson replied that he didn't have access to any pictures or documents as evidence because he'd been locked out of his computer.

Musk also posted a clip from the 1999 comedy film "Office Space," asking Thorleifsson: "Would you say that you're a people person?"

The meme clip features an exasperated employee trying to justify his role to two managers.

Story continues

"Yes! I am a people person!" Thorleifsson responded to Musk's jibe.

When Thorleifsson answered one of Musk's questions by writing "Figma" and "all active design projects," the billionaire responded with two laughing emojis.

Thorleifsson later tweeted that Twitter's head of human resources had emailed him to confirm he no longer worked at the company. "Now the next question is if you will make sure I get paid what I'm owed per my contract?!" he tweeted.

Musk did not respond further, as of midnight EST.

After his exchange with Musk, Thorleifsson tweeted that he was "ok" with being laid off and said it was "fair enough."

"Companies let people go, that's within their rights. They usually tell people about it but that's seemingly the optional part at Twitter now," Thorleifsson wrote.

His next focus is on receiving his severance pay as stated in his contract, he added.

Thorleifsson also posted a photo of himself, revealing that he uses a wheelchair.

Thorleifsson runs a fund that builds wheelchair ramps in Iceland.

Several former Twitter employees who have disabilities filed a class action lawsuit against the social media company in November. They said that Musk's work demands after he took over the firm broke California state and federal discrimination laws.

Dmitry Borodaenko, an engineer laid off after Musk's acquisition, said in the lawsuit that he is a cancer survivor and was let go after telling his manager he wanted to work from home. He'd made the request out of concern that he was at "extra risk" from COVID-19, the lawsuit said.

Thorleifsson, Twitter, and Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer media award in Berlin - Hannibal Hanschke/Pool Photo via AP, File

Elon Musk has publicly questioned the work ethic of a disabled Twitter director who was forced to contact the billionaire personally to ask if hed been sacked.

Haraldur Thorliefsson, an Iceland-based Twitter designer, made contact with the Twitter owner after he was locked out of his account without being told if he still had a job.

Mr Thorliefsson, who uses a wheelchair, sent a Tweet to Mr Musk asking: [Nine] days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.

However, your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails.

Mr Musk responded on Twitter by asking Mr Thorliefsson: What work have you been doing.

When Mr Thorliefsson responded he had been leading all active design work at Twitter, Mr Musk responded with laughing emojis.

What work have you been doing?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

After the exchange, Mr Thorliefsson said he had been contacted by Twitter's human resources chief, confirming he no longer had a job.

Mr Musk then went on to raise questions over Mr Thorliefsson's disability. Mr Thorliefsson, who joined Twitter in 2021 after it acquired his company, is wheelchair bound and has muscular dystrophy, a condition that causes muscle mass loss and weakness.

The world's richest man claimed Mr Thorliefsson did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm.

You can't be fired if you weren't working in the first place!

On his personal website, Mr Thorliefsson says he uses a wheelchair and is slowly but surely losing strength in my upper body and arms.

He said on Tuesday he still did not know if he would be paid money he is still owed by Twitter.

But ok, fair enough, I've been laid off and I'm ok with that.



Next up though is finding out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me per my contract.



Or, will @elonmusk , one of the richest people in the world, try to avoid paying?



Stay tuned!!  Halli (@iamharaldur) March 7, 2023

Mr Musk has summarily sacked thousands of Twitter's workers since buying the business last October. The social network now has fewer than 2,000 employees, down from more than 7,500 last year.

Story continues

A further 200 employees, largely engineers, were sacked last week. Most Twitter employees have been given little notice when losing their jobs, simply finding themselves locked out of work laptops.

Mr Musk has demanded the remaining employees adopt a hardcore work ethic, with many working weekends or overnight. Some staff have slept in sleeping bags on the floor or in beds installed in meeting rooms.

A skeleton team of Twitter engineers has been forced to enact sweeping changes at the social network. On Monday, a change enacted by the company's engineers meant no links posted to the site worked for several hours.

Mr Thorliefsson responded to Mr Musk's comments saying he had told human resources he was unable to do manual work including typing for extended periods of time because of his condition.

He is able to use one finger to type on a phone keyboard. This wasn't a problem before Mr Musk took over, Mr Thorliefsson added.

He said Mr Musk had shared confidential health information and asked the billionaire are you going to pay what you owe me?
Wider opening-up drives foreign trade and FDI growth

By Liu Zhihua and Zhong Nan (China Daily) 08:31, March 07, 2023

A total knee replacement system made by Johnson& Johnson, a multinational company based in the United States, is displayed at the fourth China International Import Expo in Shanghai in 2021. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Businesses and analysts say China's strong economic recovery will result in higher levels of investment from overseas. Liu Zhihua and Zhong Nan report.

Michel Doukeris, CEO of AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, recently visited a number of eateries and bars in Beijing.

"We saw bars and restaurants with a lot of people, as well. I'm very pleased to see how consumption is quickly returning to the streets of Beijing," he said.

"The key message is that everybody is fully committed to the development and growth of China, particularly quality growth," he said, adding that his company will keep increasing investment in the country, the world's largest beer market.

That is just one example of how foreign investors are finding the Chinese market endlessly attractive.

Underpinned by its optimized COVID-19 response and steady economic recovery, experts and businesspeople believe that China will provide increasingly huge development opportunities for companies at home and abroad, especially as the ongoing two sessions are sending policy signals of strengthened efforts to expand high-standard opening-up and build an improved business climate.

Experts and policy advisers said China will likely launch more policy measures this year to boost the confidence of foreign investors while improving the quality of overseas trade and foreign direct investment.

That will enhance the positive interplay between domestic and international economic activity, and inject more growth impetus into the global economy against headwinds, they said.

According to the Government Work Report submitted to the National People's Congress for deliberation on Sunday, China will further its efforts to attract and utilize more foreign investment this year.

The report outlined several measures to achieve this goal, including expanding market access, further opening-up of the modern services sector, ensuring national treatment and improving services for foreign-funded companies, and facilitating the launch of large foreign-funded projects.

China also plans to take more action to join high-standard economic and trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The country will steadily expand institutional opening-up by proactively adopting relevant rules, regulations and standards, the report said.

"The key for China to retain existing FDI is to strengthen efforts on tasks such as establishing a unified, fair and orderly national market, enhancing policy consistency and firmly safeguarding the legitimate interests of businesses," said Huo Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies.

"With that, we will not only stabilize FDI, but also offset disruption to China's industrial and supply chains from factors such as the United States' attempts to decouple."

To spur a new influx of FDI, he said China is expected to increase the level of openness in the services sector, improve the implementation of laws and policy measures that enable foreign investors, and revise regulations and legal provisions that do not conform to the principle of national treatment of overseas investors.

Huo also urged further expansion of market entry in China's high-tech industries and improved regulations on cross-border travel for professionals working in the sector to expand FDI in related industries.

Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the country is expected to focus on its own agendas, despite external challenges such as growing protectionism.

Strengthening efforts to expand high-level opening-up will create a more enabling environment for trade and investment, said Zhang, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Sheng Chuyi)
Elon Musk. Carina Johansen/Getty Images

Elon Musk says it's "super concerning" that smart youths aren't having more sex.

He was responding to a tweet about high IQ youths not having as much sex as average IQ youths.

The tweet's content can be traced back to a paper published in 2000, titled: "Smart teens don't have sex."

Elon Musk is concerned about the sex lives of smart teenage boys.

On Monday night, the Twitter CEO replied to a tweet from a user named Bronwyn Williams. Williams referenced research that said youths with IQs over 130 are "3-5 times less likely" to have had sex than those with average IQs.

"Boys with an IQ that would qualify for intellectual disability (60) were still more likely to have had sex than those with a very high IQ (130)," Williams tweeted, adding that this "does not bode well for humanity."

"Super concerning," Musk tweeted in response.

Williams' tweet references a research paper published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2000, titled "Smart teens don't have sex (or kiss much either)."

The study tracked 12,000 adolescents in the US between the 7th and 12th grades to try to determine the link between intelligence and sexual activity.

The study found that adolescents on the upper end of the intelligence distribution were less likely to have sex than their peers. But teens on the lower end of the intelligence distribution were also less likely to be sexually active than other people their age, the study found. Meanwhile, those with higher intelligence scores were also found to be more likely to have sexual relationships later in life.

Carolyn Halpern, a professor at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and of the study's researchers, told WebMD in 2000 that more intelligent teens are "probably thinking about their educational and occupational goals and the possible negative consequences of early sexual activity."

Story continues

It's worth noting that the research was published 23 years ago. A study published in 2021 in the academic journal "Archives of Sexual Behavior" found that from 2009 to 2018, people, be they teenagers or adults, have been having less sex all around.

Musk is known to frequently tweet about population collapse, claiming that humans need to increase fertility rates immediately to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Tuesday criticized a former employee with a disability after the worker inquired about whether hed been laid off by the social media giant.

Haraldur Thorleifsson, whose bio says he led an innovation team at Twitter, reached out to Musk publicly on the platform to say that his work computer access had been cut off for over a week, but that Twitters HR wasnt able to confirm his employment status.

Youve not answered my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet youll answer me here? Thorleifsson Tweeted.

Musk responded by asking, What work have you been doing?

Thorleifsson listed a number of tasks he purportedly performed at the company, among which was led design crits to help level up design across the company.

Level up from what design to what? Pics or it didnt happen, Musk said, to which Thorleifsson countered that his work laptop was locked, barring access to any pics or docs.

Would you say that youre a people person? Musk wrote, sharing a video clip from the movie Office Space in which an employee is asked What would you say you do here?

Musk later replied to a separate thread discussing the exchange to claim that Thorleifsson did no actual work while at Twitter.

The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm. Cant say I have a lot of respect for that, Musk said.

Thorliefsson explained in a reply that he has muscular dystrophy and has been using a wheelchair for the last 20 years.

Im not able to do manual work (which in this case means typing or using a mouse) for extended periods of time without my hands starting to cramp I can however write for an hour or two at a time, Thorliefsson said. This wasnt a problem in Twitter 1.0 since I was a senior director and my job was mostly to help teams move forward, give them strategic and tactical guidance.

Story continues

The former Twitter employee said he sold his company Ueno to the social media app amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

My company was making a lot of money and Twitters offer was lower than any smart valuation would say. But like you I made a bet on Twitter having a lot more potential than it has had, Thorliefsson said to Musk, referencing the Tesla CEOs controversial acquisition of the company last year.

Musks takeover of Twitter has been rife with platform issues and concerns about security and content moderation on the app. Twitters leadership has been largely reshuffled and staff has been significantly slashed.

Thorliefsson said he eventually got confirmation from HR that his employment with the company had been terminated.

To be clear. You have every right to lay me off. Thats totally fair and fine. But usually people are told when that happens, he said to Musk. Maybe with a letter or something. Which didnt happen for 9 days despite multiple emails to you and others.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
These are the big Emmerdale spoilers for the week of 13-17 March 2023. (ITV)

Leylas efforts to get the better of Callum on Emmerdale next week backfire when shes snatched and left bound and gagged.

Plus, Marshalls dad Colin reaches out  but is his apology all that it seems? Cathy runs a big risk on a night out, while Victoria finds herself dwelling on past horrors.

Its a full-on week in Emmerdale, so read on to digest all the spoilers for 13-17 March 2023.

Kidnap horror for Leyla

Leyla Cavanagh [ROXY SHAHIDI] (ITV)

Suzy has a risky plan to take down Callum: label him as a grass in order to antagonise his criminal associates. The problem with the plan being that Callum is soon confronting Suzy and attacking her with a brick.

Read more: Next week's Coronation Street spoilers

Read more: Next week's EastEnders spoilers

An unconscious Suzy is then rushed to hospital, where Leyla cant help but feel guilty as she sits by her friends bedside. The police then admit that Callum has an alibi and that theres no evidence to place him at the scene of the attack, all of which leaves Leyla having to tell Suzy once shes woken that her assailant is still at large.

Leyla is then left upset and disconcerted when she starts receiving threatening messages from Callum. And when Caleb finds her sobbing in the graveyard, his advice is to play to win where Callum is concerned. The trouble is, Leylas efforts result in her being kidnapped. And when Suzy subsequently discovers that Leylas missing, she and the family are left filled with dread

Has Marshalls dad had a change of heart?

Marshall [MAX FLETCHER]; Colin [MARK NOBLE] (ITV)

Jai confides his fears in Laurel that their family will be impacted by taking on Marshall  unaware that hes been listening in on the conversation from the stairs.

The next day, Marshalls dad Colin turns up, having supposedly had a change of heart. He then goes all out to convince his son that hes sorry for disowning him over his sexuality and that its now time for him to come home.

In the wake of him deciding to move back in, Marshall is left very confused when his dad love bombs him with messages. But will his anxiety about the situation also end up impacting on others?

Story continues

Cathy is in danger

April Windsor [AMELIA FLANAGAN]; Cathy Hope [GABRIELLE DOWLING] (ITV)

Brenda warns Bob that mustnt let the B&B interfere with his responsibilities to Cathy. But a distracted Bob fails to pick up on the warning signs, and when the kids head off to a gig, Cathy comes up with a plan to shake off Wendy as a chaperone.

Read more: Emmerdale viewers in tears over suicide storyline

Pretty soon, Cathys reckless behaviour is raising eyebrows. And when she ends up putting her own life in danger, Bob belatedly realises that she needs proper help.

Will Charles regret his intervention?

Charles Anderson [KEVIN MATHURIN]; Alex [LIAM BOYLE]; Naomi [KARENE PETER] (ITV)

Manpreet advises Charles to give Alex a chance and to only judge him if he ends up letting Naomi down.

Soon, Charles is encouraging Alex to go for a job interview, and Naomi is delighted when hes successful. The trouble is, the vacancy is in Wales and Alex is in a quandary as to whether he should take it. But Charles talks him into it, and when Alex leaves, the village vicar ends up putting his foot in it where Naomi is concerned.

Victoria is reliving past trauma

Amy Wyatt [NATALIE-ANN JAMIESON]; Matty Barton [ASH PALMISCIANO]; Victoria Sugden [ISABEL HODGINS] (ITV)

A delighted Amy and Matty are breaking the news of their engagement to a somewhat thrown Victoria, who eventually reveals why shes acting strangely.

As it turns out, an encounter with a man on her night out has triggered memories of her past trauma with rapist Lee. In the wake of this admission, Ethan decides to keep an eye on Victoria and advises her to move on from the events of the previous evening and find someone new.

Paddys decision

Paddy Kirk [DOMINIC BRUNT] (ITV)

Marlon hopes that a walk around the village with Paddy is a sign that his best friend has turned a corner.

Read more: Dominic Brunt says Paddy's mental health storyline 'made me appreciate what I have'

Later, the Man Club reconvenes and Jimmy opens up, giving Bear food for thought in the process. Paddy, meanwhile, makes a decision about his future, but its clear that his struggles are continuing.

Watch: Lisa Riley opens up about Mandy Dingle
To generations of Indianapolis students, Bernard Barcio's name was synonymous with wildly creative lessons on antiquity. He helped them wrangle catapults for a national contest and build chariots as he taught the roots of Western civilization. For his efforts, he won Indiana Teacher of the Year in 1986.

Closer to the Latin and classics teacher's Broad Ripple home, friends and neighbors knew him for his continuous gestures of generosity, like carrying treats in his coat pockets to feed neighborhood dogs and leaving books inside a little free library box. He died Feb. 20 at age 84.

"He was kind of an epic person who touched a lot of lives," his son Phillip Barcio said.

Bernard Francis Barcio was born to Theodore and Stella (Nudi) Barcio on Oct. 10, 1938, in Cudahy, Wisconsin. His parents' families immigrated from the Calabria region of southern Italy, and his mother was a homemaker while his dad was a supervisor on the railroad.

Bernard Barcio taught students for decades around Indianapolis.

His Catholic upbringing influenced Barcio's decision to attend Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he earned his bachelor's degree and became fluent in Latin. He attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to study classical languages and antiquity and completed post-graduate work with Tufts University in Naples, Italy. He later received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Butler University.

"He settled on a secular life but had a lot of passion for Latin," Phillip Barcio said. "He got really fascinated by the ruins of Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius and the long history of the Italian people."

Indiana legends lost:Doyel: David Benner, a legend at IndyStar and then the Pacers, dies

A teacher Indianapolis remembers well

Bernard Barcio arrived in Indianapolis in 1965 thanks to a job posting he saw seeking a Latin teacher for Indianapolis' Park School, which is now Park Tudor. Once on the faculty, he met and married Lillian Rose Barcio, the headmaster's secretary and mother of three daughters including Karen Pence, the wife of Mike Pence, the former vice president and governor.

Story continues

At Park School  and throughout his teaching career at Eastwood Middle School, North Central and Carmel High Schools, Butler University and IUPUI  Barcio became known for enlivening his lesson plans.

If you study Spanish, you can go to Mexico or Spain and you can see the context in which the language is being used," Barcio told IndyStar in 2019. "For ancient Latin, the context doesnt exist anymore and for an effective Latin teacher, youve got to help recreate the context in which it was used."

To accomplish that, he founded the National Catapult Contest, for which students built machines that launched rocks or spears using materials that would have been available to ancient Romans. The competition drew attention from national media and even the U.S. Pentagon, who worked with the kids to learn more about the contraptions that the Viet Cong used to take down U.S. helicopters, Barcio told IndyStar in 2019.

Remembering:Theresa Murray spent decades saving lives. Her tragic death could save more, friends hope

Bernard Barcio looks at a 10-pound stone during the National Catapult Contest in 1974.

"He just made everything come alive rather than having it be in a book," his daughter Cyndi Barcio said. "Now you're experiencing it. You know what (ancient Romans) went through."

Bernard Barcio would dress up as people from ancient history, including the Roman soldier Fabius Loreius Tiburtinus, and not leave out the true but uncomfortable details of raids and misogyny.

Eventually, the teacher united these efforts under the nonprofit Pompeiiana, which produced a newsletter from 1974 to 2003 that was distributed to Latin classes worldwide, Phillip Barcio said.

The newsletter came together inside the family's Broad Ripple home. The kids' father recorded them reciting Latin, recruited them to help with Roman-style banquets to teach his students and handed his kids a quarter every time they made it through the Greek alphabet.

Generous with books and heirloom tomatoes

Barcio's children grew up with plenty of vestiges of their father's Italian American upbringing. He fermented homegrown Concord grapes in jars in a bedroom closet to make wine and grew tomatoes from seeds the family had brought over from Italy.

"In addition to putting books in the free library box, he was putting packets of heirloom tomatoes in there," Phillip Barcio said.

Bernard Barcio spent about 12 years figuring out ancestral recipes after the death of his mother, who had a penchant for withholding an ingredient or so from the written versions to preserve her magic touch. His daughter Cyndi later published them for the family.

Jodessa Cooper:Loving caretaker, 'darn good' cook, lifetime Colts fan  dies in shooting

He sang in Christ the King Catholic Church's Resurrection Choir and saw that thousands of his handcrafted wooden crosses went to those without homes, Phillip said. The Salvation Army was among the recipients of his rocking chairs and horses around Christmas time, and his wooden furniture found homes via Habitat for Humanity.

To honor Bernard Barcio's legacy, the family is fundraising through GoFundMe for a college scholarship for first-generation Americans. The family also is looking into assembling an archive of materials from Pompeiiana and Barcio's years teaching.

Barcio's parents; his wife, Lillian Rose Barcio; and his beloved cat Tulia preceded him in death. He is survived by his brother, Joseph Barcio; son Phillip (Audrey) Barcio; daughter Cyndi Barcio; and stepdaughters Marsha (Jim) Louzan, Karen (Mike) Pence, and Sheryl (Jeff) Donnella.

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bernard Barcio, Latin teacher known for his catapult contest, dies
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Manx Financial Group (LON:MFX), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Manx Financial Group with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

See our latest analysis for Manx Financial Group

How Fast Is Manx Financial Group Growing?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. Impressively, Manx Financial Group has grown EPS by 22% per year, compound, in the last three years. If growth like this continues on into the future, then shareholders will have plenty to smile about.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. It's noted that Manx Financial Group's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort our analysis of its margins. Manx Financial Group maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 23% to UK20m. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

Story continues

Since Manx Financial Group is no giant, with a market capitalisation of UK29m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.

Are Manx Financial Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Theory would suggest that it's an encouraging sign to see high insider ownership of a company, since it ties company performance directly to the financial success of its management. So as you can imagine, the fact that Manx Financial Group insiders own a significant number of shares certainly is appealing. Owning 36% of the company, insiders have plenty riding on the performance of the the share price. Those who are comforted by solid insider ownership like this should be happy, as it implies that those running the business are genuinely motivated to create shareholder value. Although, with Manx Financial Group being valued at UK29m, this is a small company we're talking about. So this large proportion of shares owned by insiders only amounts to UK11m. That's not a huge stake in absolute terms, but it should help keep insiders aligned with other shareholders.

Is Manx Financial Group Worth Keeping An Eye On?

You can't deny that Manx Financial Group has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. Further, the high level of insider ownership is impressive and suggests that the management appreciates the EPS growth and has faith in Manx Financial Group's continuing strength. Fast growth and confident insiders should be enough to warrant further research, so it would seem that it's a good stock to follow. You should always think about risks though. Case in point, we've spotted 4 warning signs for Manx Financial Group you should be aware of, and 3 of them are a bit concerning.

Although Manx Financial Group certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Key Insights

The projected fair value for China Shenshan Orchard Holdings is S$0.36 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

China Shenshan Orchard Holdings' S$0.35 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

China Shenshan Orchard Holdings' peers are currently trading at a premium of 40% on average

How far off is China Shenshan Orchard Holdings Co. Ltd. (SGX:BKV) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model is the tool we will apply to do this. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for China Shenshan Orchard Holdings

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (CN, Millions) CN4.19m CN5.43m CN6.59m CN7.61m CN8.48m CN9.21m CN9.82m CN10.3m CN10.8m CN11.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 41.51% Est @ 29.64% Est @ 21.32% Est @ 15.51% Est @ 11.43% Est @ 8.58% Est @ 6.59% Est @ 5.19% Est @ 4.21% Est @ 3.53% Present Value (CN, Millions) Discounted @ 7.7% CN3.9 CN4.7 CN5.3 CN5.7 CN5.9 CN5.9 CN5.9 CN5.7 CN5.5 CN5.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN54m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.7%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CN11m (1 + 1.9%)  (7.7% 1.9%) = CN198m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN198m ( 1 + 7.7%)10= CN95m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is CN149m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of S$0.3, the company appears about fair value at a 3.0% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 China Shenshan Orchard Holdings as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.7%, 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.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For China Shenshan Orchard Holdings, there are three fundamental factors you should further research:

Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for China Shenshan Orchard Holdings (of which 1 doesn't sit too well with us!) you should know about. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for BKV's future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday imposed sanctions on nine people, including two Russian commanders involved in the war in Ukraine, and three organisations the bloc holds responsible for sexual violence and other violations of women's rights.

The move is the first time the EU has issued a sanctions package targeting perpetrators of sexual violence, using powers it established in 2020 to penalise human rights abusers.

The sanctions also target two policemen in Moscow, two Taliban officials, and others in Myanmar and South Sudan, according to an EU list seen by Reuters ahead of its official release, which also included Iran's Gharchak women's prison.

The 27-nation EU did not immediately name those blacklisted but their identities will be published in the bloc's official journal later in the day, on the eve of International Women's Day.

"By imposing these sanctions, we're sending a clear message to perpetrators that they won't get away with their crimes," said Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

"These horrific, inhuman acts have consequences. This is also a message to the victims: the EU will support you, wherever you are in the world."

The measures include a freeze on any assets that the targeted individuals and organisations hold in the EU and a ban on travel into the bloc. Companies in the EU are also forbidden from providing services to those under sanctions.

The list named the Russian commanders in Moscow's war against Ukraine as Nikolay Kuznetsov and Ramil Ibatullin. The two could not be immediately reached for comment.

It said Kuznetsov "was part of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and members of his unit systematically participated in acts of sexual violence and rape in Ukraine in March/April 2022".

Ibatullin led a division whose members "committed acts of sexual and gender-based violence against the Ukrainian civilian population", according to the EU document.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Gabriela Baczynska and Bernadette Baum)
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union plans to encourage governments and companies to use more stable, long-term power market contracts to avoid massive price swings as part of a reform demanded by member states following an unprecedented energy crisis

Most Read from Bloomberg

The EUs executive arm wants to keep the marginal pricing model and avoid drastic changes to the market design in a bid to ensure predictability and keep electricity flowing freely across the region, according to a draft of the overhaul seen by Bloomberg News on Tuesday. The European Commissions proposal is due to be unveiled on March 16.

Europes political agenda last year was dominated by soaring energy prices. The goal of the reform is to make the regions energy market more resilient after the expiration of emergency tools adopted to shield the impact of gas supply cuts by Russia, which was formerly Europes biggest provider. Top objectives include shielding consumers from soaring prices, weakening the link between electricity and natural gas, and spurring the development of renewable energy.

The proposal includes a set of measures aimed to create a buffer between short-term markets and electricity bills paid by consumers, in particular by way of incentivizing longer term contracting, to improve the functioning of short-term markets to better integrate renewables and enhance the role of flexibility and to empower and protect consumers, the commission said in the draft, which may still change before publication.

Under the current EU electricity market design, gas sets the price for all power thats sold into the market. That means consumers are bearing the brunt of Russias supply reduction after its invasion of Ukraine, and their bills dont reflect the growing share of low-cost renewables like wind farms that get to sell at big margins.

Story continues

The commission is planning to weaken the link between gas and power by an increased use of power purchase agreements and so-called Contracts for Difference, where governments can guarantee investors a fixed price.

Under the reform, public support for low-carbon energy projects would be structured as two-way contracts for difference, which set a minimum and a maximum price, so any revenues above the ceiling are paid back, according to the draft. The rule would apply to new investments in generation of solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower and nuclear energy.

Moreover, the proposal will require that such money is then channeled to support all electricity consumers proportionate to their consumption based on their share of overall consumption to mitigate the effect of high prices, the commission said.

--With assistance from Jorge Valero.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Conor Humphries

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A new pact to facilitate the safe transfer of EU citizens' personal data to the United States might not come into force in time to avoid a suspension of Facebook's transatlantic data flows, the U.S. firm's lead European regulator said on Tuesday.

Facebook owner Meta, which has warned a stoppage could force it to suspend Facebook services in Europe, declined to comment on the possible timing of the regulator's decision or the new pact's entry into force.

European Union regulators led by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon are finalising a ban on the legal tool used by Facebook to transfer European user data because of concerns U.S. intelligence agencies could access them.

In an interview, Dixon said the ban could be in place by mid-May while a new EU-U.S data protection framework that would provide an alternative basis for the transfers might take longer.

"There is certainly a chance of that. More than a chance, I would say," said Dixon, who is lead European regulator for U.S. technology firms, including Apple, Google and Twitter, as their regional headquarters are in Ireland.

"They could be very close in timeline or the DPC's suspension order could come into effect in advance," Dixon told Reuters. "Things are coming down to the wire."

The suspension could create a precedent for other firms. It must be signed off by other European regulators by April 13, and after that, Dixon said she would have another month to issue a ruling.

A spokesperson for Meta said the company "welcomes the progress policymakers have made towards ensuring the continued transfer of data across borders and awaits the regulators final decision on this matter."

NEW FRAMEWORK

Officials have said the new EU-U.S. framework, which aims to offer EU citizens the same level of data protection as under European law, may be ready by summer. "They are still talking about July," Dixon said.

Story continues

It is expected to face legal challenge from critics who believe it is too weak. Two previous U.S.-EU pacts, Safe Harbour and Privacy Shield, were struck down by the European Union's top court.

Dixon said she and her fellow regulators were positive about the new deal and that the European Commission was confident it would survive court challenge.

Critics, such as privacy campaigner Max Schrems have accused Dixon and her office of being under-resourced and too soft, a charge she rejected.

"We are really hitting our stride, working at pace," said Dixon, whose office issued over 1 billion euros in fines last year - around two-thirds of the fines issues in the EU and Britain combined last year.

It is working on 22 large-scale international cases including against Google, Meta and Tik Tok, after concluding 17 cases last year, she said.

It plans to increase its staffing to around 250 this year from 200 last year and 27 when Dixon joined in 2014.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is not happy with a plan under consideration by the City of Amsterdam to create a new "erotic centre" near its headquarters, the drugs regulator said on Tuesday.

Amsterdam has been considering relocating legal prostitution away from its historic red light district for years and in February announced three possible locations.

Two are near the new EMA building, which is near major hotels and the city's financial district.

The EMA moved its headquarters to Amsterdam in 2019, leaving London after Britain left the European Union.

The agency said in a statement it was "very concerned" about plans for the centre, which is to include around 100 "work spaces" for sex workers as well as bars and entertainment.

"The change of the location of the Red Light District is motivated by concerns of nuisance, drug-dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour," the EMA said in a statement.

"Locating the Erotic Centre in close proximity to EMAs building is likely to bring the same negative impacts to the adjacent area."

The agency said it was concerned for the safety of its staff and visitors and noted that it had an agreement in place with the Dutch government guaranteeing "security and tranquillity" of its offices.

The city is facing several challenges from groups opposed to relocating the red light district and a spokesperson said Tuesday they could not immediately respond to the EMA's specific concerns.

Prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since the year 2000 and was tolerated in the red light district for decades before that.

However the district has been changing in recent years as residents complain about excessive tourism. In February the city announced a plan to ban smoking cannabis in the red light district.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday a Georgian draft law on transparency of foreign influence was a "very bad development" for the country and could seriously affect its ties with the EU.

"This is a very bad development for Georgia and its people," Borrell said in a written statement.

Protesters in the small ex-Soviet state threw petrol bombs and stones at police on Tuesday night after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on "foreign agents" which critics say represents an authoritarian shift.

"The law in its current form risks having a chilling effect on civil society and media organisations, with negative consequences for the many Georgians benefiting from their work. This law is incompatible with EU values and standards," Borrell said.

"It goes against Georgias stated objective of joining the European Union, as supported by a large majority of Georgian citizens. Its final adoption may have serious repercussions on our relations," said Borrell, who is in Stockholm for a meeting of EU defence ministers.

Borrell said the EU "urges Georgia to uphold its commitment to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, and recalls the right of people to a peaceful protest."

(Reporting by Andrew Gray)
Andriy Kobolev, former head of Naftogaz

On March 1, 2023, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed a pre-trial restriction against former Chairman of the Board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine in the form of bail of UAH 229.2 million, the prosecutors said.

According to the courts decision, the suspect had to post bail within five days of the announcement of the court ruling, i.e. by March 3, 2023, as well as undertaking to inform the detective/prosecutor about it.

Read also: Naftogaz plans to increase gas production by 1 bcm in 2023

The SAPO emphasized that contrary to some media reports, as of today (March 7), the court has not seized any of the suspects bank accounts in this criminal case.

Also, there are currently no initiatives on the part of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the SAPO to block the suspects accounts, which would prevent him from using his financial assets.

On March 2, the owner of the Concord Capital investment company, Ihor Mazepa, announced a fundraiser for Kobolevs bail.

The businessman planned to collect UAH 229.2 million by March 6 and called on businesses to join the initiative.

All the collected funds, and we must collect UAH 229.2 million by Monday, March 6, will go on court bail for the biggest enemy of the Russian gas monopoly and a brilliant manager of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev, Mazepa said.

Read also: Anti-graft agency appeals against court ruling to release ex-Naftogaz head Kobolyev

At the same time, Kobolyev has denied the SAPOs statement that his accounts were not blocked.

Given yet another manipulative statement from the SAPO, I would like to share this screenshot, he wrote on Facebook.

I received these text messages right before the New Year, right after I told several of my visitors in Kyiv that after the New Year holidays I would come to talk about money from Western partners for the restoration of Ukraine. Of course, the SAPO will now say Oh, its not us. But who? And why? And on what grounds? Because I still havent received an official answer.

Story continues

On Jan. 19, 2023, the NABU and the SAPO charged Kobolyev with the abuse of his official position to arrange for a payment of bonuses worth more than UAH 229 million back in 2018.

The prosecutor requested that Kobolyev be held in custody with an alternative bail of UAH 365 million ($9.9 million).

However, the court decided to leave him free.

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
GARDNER  A former Narragansett Regional School Committee member and Templeton business owner pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in Winchendon District Court on Tuesday.

Under an agreement with the court, Audrey Robinson, 39, also known as AJ Robinson, will serve three years of supervised probation, register with the state as a sexually dangerous person (SDP), attend sex counseling, and have no unsupervised contact with children under 16.

Robinson entered the plea under her legal name, which is also the name she used when she served on the Narragansett Regional School Committee for three years after being elected in 2014. She is the owner of the former Serendipity Salon in Templeton, now known as Phoenix.

In entering her plea, Robinson told Judge Whitney Brown that she did not dispute the states facts and waived her right to a jury trial. Robinson admitted that her actions had been stupid and naive, according to her attorney, Kristen J. Patria.

The Boston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigation and Kik, the messaging app

Robinson was charged in 2022 and arraigned on July 11, 2022, after law enforcement officials said that she had used a cellphone to send two videos depicting child pornography to an undercover agent on an instant messaging app called Kik, a platform on which users meet, discuss, and trade images of minors, links to child pornography, and videos. Robinson was interviewed by a Templeton police officer and two FBI agents, one of whom was assigned to the Boston Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, according to officials.

Charges brought in July 2022:Ex-Narragansett Regional School Committee member charged with child pornography possession

During the original investigation, Robinson admitted to having a Kik account in the past, but initially denied having sent the images. She signed a written consent form to permit a search of her cellphone and agreed to scroll through the photos on the phone while an officer observed.

Story continues

A search warrant to conduct a forensic examination of the phone was granted by the Winchendon District Court and a full file system extract of the device was completed by the Massachusetts State Police Cyber Crime Unit. The investigation revealed the phone contained pictures and videos of child sexual abuse material. The account of the person who sent the images was later connected to Robinson through the IP address and other identifying factors, according to police.

More:Police warn parents that online child predators target children in small towns, too

Robinson's lawyer argues against requirement to register as sexually dangerous person

In the disposition hearing, Patria requested that his client not be required to register as a sexually dangerous person, citing Robinsons lack of a prior criminal record, limited interaction with children, community involvement, and cooperation with investigators. Patria also said that Robinson had been bullied after coming out in middle school, and had been in therapy for years. Patria provided the court with several letters of support for Robinson from members of the community.

Patria also noted that Robinson had not been involved in the production of the images found on her cellphone.

But Brown upheld the states request for Robinson to register, citing the serious nature of the videos found by investigators on the cellphone, and Robinson's active sharing of them with others. The judge said she was not diminishing Robinsons good acts in the community with her ruling requiring Robinson to register as an SDP with the state. Under the agreed conditions, Robinson will not be required to wear a GPS device and will be permitted to travel out of state.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Templeton business owner pleads guilty to child pornography possession
By Victoria Waldersee and Kate Abnett

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany has declared last-minute opposition to a landmark European Union law to end sales of CO2-emitting cars in 2035, demanding that sales be allowed of new cars with internal combustion engines after that date if they run on e-fuels.

The EU law would require all new cars sold from 2035 to have zero CO2 emissions, making it effectively impossible to sell new fossil fuel-powered cars.

The rules - which Germany, alongside a majority of EU countries and lawmakers, previously supported - would not ban internal combustion engines (ICEs).

But the law is seen as a death knell for the technology because of a dearth of options that could enable ICE cars to operate without producing CO2.

Here's what you need to know.

WHAT ARE E-FUELS?

E-fuels, like e-kerosene, e-methane, or e-methanol, are made by synthesizing captured CO2 emissions and hydrogen produced using renewable or CO2-free electricity.

The fuels release CO2 into the atmosphere when combusted in an engine. But the idea is that those emissions are equal to the amount taken out of the atmosphere to produce the fuel - making it CO2-neutral overall.

Germany and Italy want clearer assurances from the EU that sales of new ICE cars can continue beyond 2035, if they run on CO2-neutral fuels.

WHO MAKES THEM?

Most major carmakers are betting on battery-electric vehicles - a technology that is already widely available - as the main route to cut CO2 emissions from passenger cars.

But suppliers and oil majors defend e-fuels, as well as a number of carmakers who don't want their vehicles weighed down by heavy batteries.

E-fuels are not yet produced at scale. The world's first commercial plant opened in Chile in 2021, backed by Porsche and aiming to produce 550 million litres per year. Other planned plants include Norsk e-Fuel in Norway, due to begin producing in 2024 with a focus on aviation fuel.

CAN E-FUELS CLEAN UP CARS?

Story continues

E-fuels can be used in today's ICE vehicles and transported via existing fossil fuel logistics networks - good news for suppliers of ICE car component makers and companies which transport petrol and diesel.

Supporters say e-fuels offer a route to cut the CO2 emissions of our existing passenger car fleet, without replacing every vehicle with an electric one.

Critics highlight that manufacturing e-fuels is very expensive and energy-intensive. Using e-fuels in an ICE car requires about five times more renewable electricity than running a battery-electric vehicle, according to a 2021 paper in the Nature Climate Change journal.

Even advocates say Europe will not have enough spare renewable power to produce e-fuels at scale and will have to import it from other regions.

Some policymakers also argue that e-fuels should be reserved for hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as shipping and aviation - which, unlike passenger cars, cannot easily run on electric batteries.

WHAT NEXT FOR THE EU LAW?

Days before the final vote on the EU law, which was scheduled for March 7, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing called into question Germany's support for it, surprising policymakers including the environment ministry led by the Greens.

Free Democratic Party member Wissing said the use of e-fuels should remain possible after 2035, and a promised European Commission proposal on this was still missing.

The EU law says the Commission will make a proposal on how vehicles running on CO2-neutral fuels can be sold after 2035, if this complies with climate goals. But Germany's transport ministry wants clearer assurances.

Berlin's last-minute move angered some EU lawmakers and diplomats, who warn that allowing one country to torpedo an already-agreed law would endanger other carefully negotiated deals on EU policies.

For now, the future of one of Europe's core climate change policies is uncertain.

If Germany's coalition government cannot agree a position on the law, it will have to abstain in the EU vote. Italy has already voiced opposition, alongside countries including Poland - raising the possibility of enough support to block the law.

EU officials are racing to find a solution. The European Commission said on March 6 it is in talks "at all levels" to conclude the law as soon as possible.

WHAT DO COMPANIES WANT?

Big auto component suppliers in Germany such as Bosch, ZF and Mahle are members of the eFuel Alliance, an industry lobby group, as are oil and gas majors from ExxonMobil to Repsol.

Carmakers such as Piech, Porsche and Mazda are broadly supportive of the technology. Porsche holds a stake in e-fuel producer HIF Global and is the sole buyer of fuel from its pilot project in Chile.

BMW has invested $12.5 million in e-fuel startup Prometheus Fuels, while also investing billions in battery-electric technology.

Other carmakers including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, have made clear that they are betting on battery-electric vehicles to decarbonise.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Victoria Waldersee; editing by Jason Neely)
By Josie Kao

(Reuters) - As International Women's Day (IWD) approaches on Wednesday, here is a look at what the global event stands for, this year's theme and the issues that activists are focusing on.

On Tuesday, Spain unveiled a bill to boost the share of women in politics and business, including a proposed requirement that women hold at least 40% of seats on the boards of directors at large companies.

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY?

IWD is an annual event to celebrate the achievements of women and push for rights progress. It has roots in the U.S. socialist and labour movements of the early 20th century, particularly as women were fighting for better working conditions and the right to vote.

The first recorded celebration was in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland when over a million people rallied to support women's rights.

Since then, the event has grown not only in size but also in its scope. Focus has expanded to issues ranging from violence against women to parity in the workplace.

While no single group has ownership of the event, the United Nations is often at the forefront of celebrations after it officially recognized IWD in 1977. However, celebrations around the world are usually decentralized, though some countries recognize IWD as a public holiday, including China, Russia and Uganda.

WHAT IS THIS YEAR'S INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY THEME?

The U.N.'s theme this year is "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality." The topic highlights how technology is crucial to advancing rights but a growing digital gender gap is impacting everything from women's job opportunities to safety online.

According to the U.N., 259 million fewer women have access to the internet than men, and women are largely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

"Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet womens needs and promote gender equality," says the U.N.'s website. "Their lack of inclusion, by contrast, comes with massive costs."

Story continues

Previous U.N. themes have included climate change, rural women and HIV/AIDS.

WHY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY IMPORTANT?

While the U.N.'s theme this year underscores how the fight for gender equality has evolved in the 21st century, celebrations around the world are also focused on longstanding issues including poverty and violence.

A World Health Organization report in 2021 found that nearly one in three women worldwide is subjected to physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, an issue that ties in with women's economic opportunities, access to sex education and reproductive rights.

In recent years, there has also been a push to make IWD more inclusive of racialized women as well as of transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people, since the early movement was largely focused on cisgender white women fighting for voting rights.

While IWD is a chance to raise awareness on rights gaps, organizers also use the day to celebrate progress and the achievements of individual women.

(Reporting by Josie Kao in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
TALLAHASSEE  Gov. Ron DeSantis opened the 2023 legislative session Tuesday by declaring that while he has pushed Florida onto controversial, conservative ground over the past four years, he is determined to shift the state even further right in coming weeks.

Speaking to a House chamber crowded with lawmakers  DeSantis' State of the State address was structured to echo far beyond the state Capitol, in advance of his expected bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

We find ourselves in Florida on the front lines in the battle for freedom, DeSantis said in his 30-minute speech. Together, we have made Florida the nations most desired destination and we have produced historic results.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd after speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on March 5, 2023, in Simi Valley, Calif.

After running through highlights of his first term  fighting COVID-19 vaccine mandates, pushing parental rights in schools and blunting migrants from staying in the state  DeSantis pledged that more is to come.

Nows not the time to rest on our laurels. We have the opportunity and indeed the responsibility, to swing for the fences, he said, telling the Republican-controlled Legislature, Dont worry about the chattering class.

I can promise you this, you aint seen nothing yet, the governor concluded.

Defiant Trump: 'I won't even think about leaving': Trump at CPAC says indictment wouldn't push him out of 2024 race

Book tour: 2024 preview? Ron DeSantis does a book tour to discuss his Florida record - not Donald Trump

The governors office set up a video camera in the House press gallery Tuesday to capture DeSantis State of the State address, possibly for future campaign purposes. Hes also been touring the nation in recent days promoting his new book, a political memoir titled, The Courage to Be Free: Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival.

In a mark of DeSantis growing influence on the national stage, looking on for the governors address was Taiwans senior diplomat to the U.S., Bi-khim Hsiao. Her presence also served as a reminder that DeSantis has joined many U.S. politicians in casting the China and the Chinese Communist Party as a threat economically, culturally and militarily.

Story continues

China considers Taiwan illegal and a breakaway province.

Now we see the CCP trying to make strategic land purchases across the U.S., DeSantis said. Our message in Florida is very simple: We will not allow land grabs by CCP-backed businesses in our state.

DeSantis directs session:Before presidential bid, DeSantis has policies to push. Florida lawmakers are set to comply

See the governor, read the book:Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches book in Venice ahead of likely presidential bid

Five things to watch in Tallahassee:With DeSantis directing, here are five issues to watch this Florida Legislature session

Florida's rightward shift:How Florida turned red: Changing population, weak opposition, aggressive Gov. Ron DeSantis

DeSantis is certain to be helped by Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate, the first time in modern Florida history that the GOP has held such dominance.

In the weeks leading up to Tuesdays opening, Republican leaders have been dutifully teeing up much of the legislation DeSantis has sought, including new limits on civil lawsuits and outright bans on socially conscious investing by governments, and diversity programs at colleges and universities.

DeSantis calls for new regulations on social media platforms and expanding the ability to sue news organizations and individuals for defamation also have been put in play by lawmakers. So, too, are $2 billion in proposed tax breaks, a wide range of giveaways that top the record level $1.2 billion the governor signed into law last year.

Indeed, DeSantis, re-elected last November by the most lopsided margin in a Florida governors race in four decades, is likely to have an easy time getting his wish list fulfilled this spring. The governor is already planning trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, early Republican presidential primary states, while lawmakers are toiling away in Tallahassee this spring.

Polls show former President Donald Trump still dominating what could prove a crowded field of potential Republican presidential candidates. DeSantis, though, has emerged as his leading early rival and the two-month legislative session is likely to prove a stage for him to enhance his conservative image.

Former President Donald Trump stands behind Ron DeSantis, then a candidate for governor of Florida, at a 2018 rally in Pensacola, Fla. The former allies could find themselves competing against each other for the presidency in 2024.

Democrats, vastly outnumbered, say the session is unlikely to address the issues most on the minds of Floridians.

With all of the culture war nonsense, were wasting everybodys time, said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa. And Floridians are still crying out for help with real problems, like the affordability crisis, property insurance, rent, home prices, utilities, auto insurance, health care.

Other Republican priority bills expected to be approved this session will eliminate college majors in gender studies, outlaw gender-affirming care for trans youth, and extend a ban on teaching about gender and sexuality from third grade up to eighth grade, an expansion of last years parental rights legislation dubbed by critics, Dont Say Gay.

More: Florida Republicans file bills to ban abortion after six weeks of pregnancy

Here we are once again about to go into a legislative session totally ignoring the real issues that we should be dealing with here, said Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park.

Other measures include the biggest expansion of private school vouchers yet seen in Florida, and an effort to further restrict job protections for faculty at universities. Also coming before lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn in May will be legislation allowing a death sentence to be imposed without a unanimous jury and another letting Floridians carry concealed guns without a permit or training, and expand efforts to blunt undocumented immigration to the state.

DeSantis formal kick-off for his bid for the Republican presidential nomination is expected sometime after lawmakers leave Tallahassee.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In state of the state, DeSantis pledges to push Florida further right
By Laurie Chen

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), began its annual session on Sunday and is expected to unveil the biggest government reshuffle in a decade after setting a modest target for annual economic growth.

Coming months after President Xi Jinping secured a norm-breaking third term as supreme leader, the sessions will further consolidate his authority and outline key government policy goals.

Here are key details and issues to look out for:

WHAT IS THE NPC?

The 3,000-member NPC is China's national legislature, and in principle the most powerful state body under the Chinese constitution, although in practice the ruling Communist Party wields more power.

Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China's cabinet.

Its top body, the roughly 170-member NPC Standing Committee, meets more frequently to pass legislation. The Standing Committee also has the power to amend semiautonomous Hong Kong's mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.

The NPC meetings overlap with those of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body. Together, the annual meetings are known as the lianghui, or "Two Sessions", and usually last between one and two weeks.

WHICH GOVERNMENT POSITIONS WILL BE FILLED?

In the biggest personnel change, Li Qiang is poised to be confirmed as premier after being ranked second in order after Xi when the new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee was revealed at October's congress of the ruling Communist Party.

Li will make his public debut during a televised media conference on the final day of the session, where he will answer questions that have been submitted in advance.

Several top economic jobs will go to a new crop of Xi loyalists, many with little overseas exposure, replacing an older generation of officials viewed as more reform-minded.

Story continues

Xi confidant He Lifeng is expected to become vice premier overseeing the economic portfolio, while top state bank official Zhu Hexin is likely to replace Harvard-educated Yi Gang as central bank governor, sources have told Reuters.

The NPC will also appoint top government positions including vice president, NPC chair, vice premiers, state councillors, head of the Supreme Court and ministers.

Xi himself will be confirmed in his third presidential term.

WHAT KEY POLICY ANNOUNCEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE?

China set a modest target for economic growth this year of around 5%, lower than many analysts had expected.

It will boost defence spending by 7.2% this year, slightly outpacing last year's increase and pledged "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan as well as resolute steps to oppose Taiwan independence.

China's science and technology policies should aim to build the country's strength and self-reliance, while coal will remain a key to energy security.

The country will guard against risks among property developers while deepening financial reform and further opening up to foreign investment.

WHAT ELSE WILL BE DISCUSSED?

The NPC will discuss Xi's plans for an "intensive" and "wide-ranging" re-organisation of state and Communist Party entities, state media reported last week without giving details of the changes. Analysts expect the revamp to further deepen Party penetration of state organs.

The NPC will also review draft amendments to China's Legislation Law, which include authorising emergency lawmaking by the NPC Standing Committee and requiring constitutional scrutiny of laws before they are passed, according to Changhao Wei, fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center.

Several NPC and CPPCC delegates have put forth policy proposals in recent days, with China's historically low fertility rate a hot topic.

WHO IS ATTENDING?

This year, 2,977 nationwide delegates have been chosen to attend the NPC and are "broadly representative" of society, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Each provincial-level region is represented by a delegation, as are Hong Kong, self-ruled Taiwan and the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

According to Xinhua, 26.5% of delegates are women, a slight increase from last year, and about 15% are ethnic minorities, many of whom will be prominent in traditional attire amid the sea of dark-suited delegates gathered in the cavernous Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square.

(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Editing by Tony Munroe and Lincoln Feast.)
The family of a 19-month-old who died after being exposed to fentanyl, allegedly at an Airbnb property in Florida, is suing the vacation rental company over the toddlers death.

Enora Lavenir died Aug. 7, 2021, while her family was staying at a rental in Wellington, Florida, during a visit from France, the family said in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County Court.

The toddler died of acute fentanyl toxicity and the manner was ruled as accidental by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiners Office.

However, its not clear how the child ingested the fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine, or where it came from.

The lawsuit alleges that while the Airbnb listing advertised the unit as a peaceful place to stay, it had a history of being used as a party house. Days before the French family arrived, according to the complaint, someone threw a party where drugs were consumed.

Enora was exposed to fentanyl residue left in the rental, according to the suit, which accuses Airbnb, the rental propertys owner, the property manager and a prior guest of negligence in the childs death.

How Enora died

Enoras mother, Lydie Lavenir, booked the four-bedroom, two-bath lake house in the affluent residential neighborhood from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9, 2021, for a family vacation for herself, her husband and their five children, the suit says.

The family checked into the rental property on Aug. 6. Enora played and relaxed with her siblings and took a nap with her older sister on one of the beds of the home the following morning.

Enora Lavenir. (Courtesy Lavenir family)

More than an hour into the toddlers nap, Lydie Lavenir went to check on her and found her unresponsive and foaming at the mouth, prompting cries and screams for help, according to the suit, which was filed in December.

She performed chest compressions on the child and the family called 911. Enora was taken to HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Story continues

Enoras father, Boris, recalled the terror of hearing his wife when she found their daughter unresponsive.

Then I heard, Enora is dead! Enora is dead, he told NBC Nightly News.

A medical examiner report found that Enora had a lethal level of fentanyl in her blood  a drug her parents said they never heard of prior to her death.

Lydie Lavenir and Boris Lavenir. (NBC News)

Overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, have taken a staggering toll on the U.S., with more than 56,000 people dying from overdoses in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of overdose deaths involving such drugs that year was more than 18 times the number of deaths in 2013.

After months of investigation, it is not clear where the fentanyl that killed Enora came from.

There were no signs of any narcotic medications or any illegal narcotics at the crime scene and her death was listed as accidental, the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office said in an incident report.

Enoras case is now closed pending viable leads, according to the sheriffs office.

The medical examiners investigation report says that the parents tested negative for drugs and Enoras formula also tested negative.

In the sheriffs office report, investigators said a resident of the neighborhood reported there had been a large party at the scene two nights before the Lavenir familys arrival. The report also says investigators were advised that there had been several parties and rentals prior to the familys stay at the location.

Family accuses Airbnb of negligence, says rental was a party house

The suit alleges that Airbnb failed to ensure the property was safe for the Lavenir family.

Though Airbnb says parties and drugs are prohibited at their rentals, the company failed to issue a warning about risks and ensure spaces are properly sanitized, according to the suit.

In reality, the subject premises had a history of being used as a party house and had just days earlier hosted a group of approximately a dozen adults who used cocaine and other drugs, including but not limited to fentanyl throughout the home, the suit says.

It further alleges that Airbnbs cleaning procedures are inadequate to decontaminate a property and eliminate the risk from drugs or residue.

Airbnb had a duty to take reasonable care of the safety of its guests and provide a rental free of drugs and residue left behind from previous guests and to provide sufficient warning of the risk of harm, according to the suit.

An Airbnb spokesperson offered condolences to Enoras family in a brief statement that did not mention the suit.

Our hearts go out to the Lavenir family and their loved ones for their devastating loss, the spokesperson said.

The Lavenir familys booking was the first time the property had ever been booked via Airbnb, but it had been leased out on other rental sites.

The complaint also accuses the rentals owner, Ronald M. Cortamilia, and its manager, Yulia A. Timpy, who controlled bookings, as well as prior guest Aaron Kornhauser, who booked the space via Vrbo vacation rentals, of negligence.

The suit says days before the Lavenir familys check-in date, Aaron Kornhauser was visiting Palm Beach County for a concert. He rented the property from July 30 to Aug. 1, 2021, for six adults. However, Kornhauser ended up staying there with 11 other adults, according to the complaint. He brought or permitted others to bring illicit drugs including cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana, which were consumed throughout the premises including the bedrooms and kitchen counter, the lawsuit alleges.

The Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office incident report indicates investigators interviewed Kornhauser, who said individuals in the residence used cocaine and marijuana but not fentanyl. He told authorities he could not explain how fentanyl would have gotten into the residence.

In a reply to the complaint, an attorney for Kornhauser said the negligence of the parents of the decedent was the sole or a contributing proximate cause of the alleged injuries and damages.

The attorney claimed the damages in the complaint were caused by the negligence of other parties Kornhauser had no control over and cant be liable for, including the co-defendants and anyone present in the property such as cleaners or subsequent renters.

An attorney for Cortamilia, the property owner, also cast blame on the parents, saying the negligence and careless conduct of the parents of the decedent was the sole or a contributing proximate cause of the alleged damages.

NBC News asked attorneys for Kornhauser and Vrbo for comment but did not hear back. A lawyer for Cortamilia did not have further comment. Timpy, the manager, does not have an attorney listed in online court records. Attempts to reach Timpy were unsuccessful.

Authorities tried to speak with previous renters and talked to neighbors but were ultimately unable to determine how Enora ingested the fentanyl and where the drug came from, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office incident report.

Lavenir family attorney, Thomas Scolaro, said the family remains devastated in the wake of losing their daughter and hopes to draw attention to the dangers of fentanyl.

Fentanyl is incredibly potent. So youre only talking about a couple of grains of salt-size particles, which would result in this level of toxicity to a 19-month-old baby, he said.

Im not surprised that the sheriffs office did not find a vast reserve of fentanyl in the unit, Scolaro added. But what we do know based on the timeline, and based on the statements from these prior renters, is there were drugs in that unit and the child was not exposed anywhere else, period. Theres literally no other conceivable place this child could have encountered this fentanyl but in that rental home.

This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Photo: RCMP Prince George RCMP are asking the public's help to identify a suspect in a stabbing downtown on Saturday.

Police are asking the public's help to identify a suspect in a stabbing downtown Prince George on Saturday.

Police were called to a business in the 600-block of Quebec Street shortly after 6 p.m., after a 38-year-old man came in and told staff he'd been stabbed. The victim was transported to the University Hospital of Northern B.C. for his injuries.

Investigators are looking to the public to help identify the suspect in this investigation. Surveillance video shows the assault happening at approximately 5:50 p.m. near First Avenue and Quebec Street," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said. "The suspect is seen wearing a red hoody, dark coloured pants, and a grey hat with a red bandanna under the hat. If anyone can identify the suspect they can speak with a police officer by calling the Prince George RCMP non-emergency line at 250-561-3300."

Anyone with security or dash camera video from the area at the time of the incident is asked to contact police.

Tips can also be made anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.northernbccrimestoppers.ca (English only).
By Leah Douglas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of farmers and climate activists rallied in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to call for significant climate provisions in the farm spending bill Congress hopes to pass this year.

Agriculture contributes about 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions according to the Environmental Protection Agency, mostly from fertilizer application and livestock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) made climate a priority under the Biden administration and has spent more than $3 billion on grants for projects implementing and quantifying the benefits of climate-friendly farming practices.

The effort underway in Washington to write the next farm bill, which is passed every five years and funds commodity, nutrition, and farm spending programs, could test the Biden administration's effort to reach net zero agriculture emissions by 2050. Some Senate Democrats want to expand conservation and climate funding in the bill, but Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee have criticized USDA's climate spending and want to trim the bill's half a billion dollar price tag.

At Tuesday's rally, the mostly small-scale farmers in attendance spoke about the need to prioritize funding for climate-friendly farming practices to ensure soil health and water conservation as they increasingly feel the effects of a warming climate.

Sedrick Rowe, a first-generation organic peanut farmer in Albany, Georgia, told Reuters that he and nearby farmers have shifted their planting schedules earlier as the spring and summer months have gotten warmer.

"Every farmer, from organic to conventional, is experiencing this," he said.

Speakers also called for the farm bill to incorporate protections for farm workers, who face significantly higher risk of heat-related illness and death than workers in other sectors.

"We need a farm bill that puts the wellbeing and livelihood of our communities, of our farm workers, as a priority," said Marielena Vega, a farm worker organizer with the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils, an environmental group.

The rally ended with a march to Capitol Hill.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Josie Kao)
Heather Mae Kelley

The FBI has launched a massive search for a Michigan woman who has been missing for almost three months, with authorities suspecting she may have been killed.

According to the Detroit FBI office, 35-year-old Heather Mae Kelley of Portage has been missing since Dec. 10.

"There is evidence to suggest that she may have been the victim of a homicide," the FBI said in a press release Tuesday.

When Heather Mae Kelley went missing

Kelley, a mother of eight, left her home at about 9 p.m. Dec. 10 and called her children at about 10:30 to tell them she would be home soon.

She didn't make it back, and her pickup was found abandoned the next day at North Sprinkle Road and East Michigan Avenue in Comstock Township, authorities said.

Kelley is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. She has blond hair and brown eyes. She always wears a silver heart necklace and has tattoos on her forearms of a lion, a rose and a dream catcher.

More:Appeals Court grills Crumbley lawyers, cites 'plenty of warning signs'

More:New details emerge about missing child found in Port Huron closet

A Facebook page called Help Us Find Heather Kelley also has been created.

Silent Observer is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that could lead to Kelley's whereabouts.

How to help

The FBI, along with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office and the Portage police, is requesting the public's help in locating Kelley. If you have any information about her whereabouts, or any tips that may help explain her disappearance, you are urged to call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office at 269-383-8748 or the Portage police at 269-329-4567.

Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: FBI seeks help finding missing woman Heather Mae Kelly
(Bloomberg) -- The Food and Drug Administrations chief is facing questions from a top lawmaker about the agencys response to a report that UK drugmaker GSK Plc hid and downplayed cancer risks from Zantac, its blockbuster heartburn drug, for four decades.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Representative Rosa DeLauro, the House Appropriations Committees ranking Democrat, wrote FDA Commissioner Robert Califf Tuesday demanding to know whether the agency plans to investigate GSKs actions reported in Bloomberg Businessweek in February. DeLauro asked how the FDA plans to hold the company accountable, according to her letter that was reviewed by Bloomberg.

Zantac and its generics were removed from the market in April 2020 after it was determined that their active ingredient, ranitidine, could degrade to form a probable carcinogen called NDMA. GSKs research showed a year before its 1983 approval that Zantac could form the chemical under certain circumstances, but the UK company didnt share those findings with some its most senior US managers or the FDA, Bloomberg Businessweek reported last month.

All the while the company continued to sell and profit from a drug that might harm people (including those who took it routinely for years), attempted to discredit evidence of the cancer risks, and failed to provide any warning, DeLauro wrote.

Once a component in rocket fuel, NDMA is now only used to induce cancer in lab rats. Even when GSK learned of Zantac pills and injections becoming discolored, a sign of degradation, the drugmaker never checked for the presence of the chemical, also called N-Nitrosodimethylamine.

Similar Findings

Story continues

The National Toxicology Program, the Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer all have found significant positive associations between NDMA intake and increased cancer risk. according to a legal filing by former National Institutes of Health toxicologist Ronald Melnick that DeLauro cited in her letter. Drawn from documents obtained during discovery in the lawsuits, its findings are similar to those of the Bloomberg Businessweek story. The filing was written for plaintiffs in federal lawsuits against GSK by people who developed cancer after taking Zantac or generic forms of the drug.

So far, the courts have shot those cases down. US District Judge Robin Rosenberg, in the Southern District of Florida, dismissed the suits last year, saying there wasnt a widespread acceptance in the scientific community of an observable, statistically significant association between ranitidine and cancer. GSK has also said theres no consistent, reliable evidence that Zantac increases the risk of cancer.

Its hard to prove a single product is responsible for a disease, and epidemiological studies of the relationship between Zantac and cancer have yielded inconsistent findings. Plaintiffs are more likely to have their day in state court if GSK doesnt settle. The first such trial is set for July in California.

Read More: How a Deadly Pathogen Spread at Abbotts Infant Formula Plant

DeLauro has long been a watchdog over the FDA, calling for greater oversight of products such as baby formula and e-cigarettes. Valisure, the independent laboratory that found NDMA in Zantac in 2019, is located in DeLauros Connecticut district. While Valisures testing methods have been criticized, the FDA also found NDMA in Zantac after being alerted by the lab.

DeLauro called on the FDA to remove Zantac and its generics from shelves in December 2019. Yet the agency didnt force the drugs off the market until April 2020, which was months behind other countries in taking the products off the shelves, DeLauro said in the letter. The congresswoman plans to reintroduce legislation she has pushed that would give the FDA expanded authority to force drug recalls.

Other Products

Since 2021, Valisure has also uncovered harmful chemicals in hand sanitizers, sunscreens, antiperspirants and dry shampoos. All those products were contaminated with a potent carcinogen called benzene, a derivative of crude oil. Recalls of some also took more than a year after Valisure released its findings. The company has called for Congress to mandate the kind of independent testing of drugs and personal-care products that it does.

After Valisure discovered benzene in some aerosol sunscreens and antiperspirants, Procter & Gamble Co. tested all of its spray-on products. The company issued a large recall in December 2021 of several dry shampoos, including Pantene and Herbal Essences brands.

In contrast, Unilever Plc didnt take action until almost a year later in October 2022 when the company issued a massive recall that included Dove, Suave, Bed Head and Tresemme dry shampoo brands. Congress gave the FDA mandatory recall authority over cosmetics in December when it passed a large appropriations bill.

Read More: Scientist Flagged Toxins in China-Made Heart Pills Early On

Bloomberg filed a Freedom of Information Act request in December to learn what FDA testing had turned up about benzene levels in these dry shampoos but was told by the agency in January that it didnt have any records responsive to the request, meaning the FDA hadnt done any analysis. The agency didnt respond to requests for comment in January or again this week.

DeLauro didnt give the FDA a deadline for a response to her questions, including how the agency plans to prevent other companies from taking actions like GSKs, but did say she expects a prompt reply.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. health officials are alerting consumers about two more recalls of eyedrops due to contamination risks that could lead to vision problems and serious injury.

The announcements follow a recall last month of eyedrops made in India that were linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections. One person died and at least five others had permanent vision loss.

There's no indication the latest recalls are related to those products.

The Food and Drug Administration posted separate recall notices for certain eyedrops distributed by Pharmedica and Apotex after the companies said they are voluntarily pulling several lots of their products from the market. Both companies said the recalls were conducted in consultation with the FDA.

Pharmedica on Friday said it is recalling two lots of Purely Soothing 15% MSM Drops due to problems that could result in blindness." The over-the-counter drops are designed to treat eye irritation. The Phoenix-based company said consumers should immediately stop using the drops and return them to the place they were purchased.

The recall affects nearly 2,900 bottles, according to the company. The drops were manufactured in Arizona.

Last week, the FDA posted a separate recall announcement from Apotex recalling six lots of prescription eyedrops used to treat a form of glaucoma. The company said it launched the recall after finding cracks in a handful of bottle caps.

The drops are distributed as Brimonidine Tartrate Ophthalmic Solution. 0.15% and were sold between last April through February.

Apotex said in an email that the eyedrops were manufactured in Canada. The company hasn't received any reports of injuries related to the drops.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
(Getty Images)

A mother who was living with an undiagnosed terminal cancer is urging women to seek further investigation if they have health concerns.

Kelly Pendry, 42, from Ewloe, North Wales, was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2021.

Her initial symptoms of heavy, prolonged periods and a lot of pain began in 2016, reports BBC.

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare cancer affecting 600 people in the UK each year.

According to the bone and soft tissue cancer charity, Sarcoma UK, leiomyosarcoma develops in the smooth muscle cells, which are sometimes called involuntary muscles because they cause the organs to contract without our control.

Involuntary muscles are most commonly found in the limbs, the abdomen, the uterus, and the retroperitoneum (which is found deep in the abdomen and pelvis, behind the abdominal lining).

Common symptoms include a lump or swelling in the soft tissue under the skin. For uterine leiomyosarcoma, symptoms may include vaginal bleeding post-menopause, vaginal bleeding between periods, unusual vaginal bleeding and pain around the pelvis or stomach.

Leiomyosarcoma affects around 600 people in the UK per year.

The mother of two said that she was told by a doctor that her body was experiencing side effects post-pregnancy. Elsewhere, she was advised to consider different contraception and was prescribed antidepressants.

I felt like I was a drama queen, she said. I felt like I was overthinking it, I felt like is this in my head a bit, is this stupid?

(Getty Images)

Pendry was diagnosed with benign fibroids in November 2020, but the pandemic delayed her surgery.

By June 2021, Kelly said she was bleeding every day and looked nine months pregnant. It was around this time that a doctor mentioned the possibility of a sarcoma.

After a lung biopsy, Kelly was diagnosed with stage four and terminal cancer.

I was told by a nurse not to make plans for Christmas, she said.

She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy to maximise the time she has to live. One year on from the treatment, Kelly experiences side effects including tiredness, hot flushes, aches and pains.

Story continues

At present, her husband is raising money for Kelly to get access to treatment in the US, which they believe could extend the time she has to live.

On 16 March, Michael Pendry will run from where they live in Ewloe, North Wales to where the couple met in Hanham, Bristol. The run is approximately 180 miles and he will be running it across four days. At the time of writing, he has raised nearly 60,000 ($72,000) out of a goal of 75,000 (90,000).

In a statement, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board told the news outlet: Were very sorry to hear about Ms Pendrys experience and would encourage her to contact her GP practice, which is an independent contractor of the health board, so her concerns can be investigated.
Sen. John Fetterman "will be back soon," an aide said Monday, in releasing the first photos of the Pennsylvania Democrat since he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression nearly three weeks ago.

In the photos, Fetterman and his chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, are seen seated together at a table in a bright hospital room, looking over some papers. Fetterman is wearing a hoodie and shorts, an outfit he would have typically been spotted in before he entered the Senate.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

"Productive morning with Senator Fetterman at Walter Reed discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill and other Senate business," Jentleson tweeted. "John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes. He's laser focused on PA & will be back soon."

Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed on Feb. 15 to receive treatment for clinical depression. He has remained hospitalized since, with few concrete indications of when he would be able to return to the Senate.

"We don't have a lot to update folks with since there's no real news to report except that John is doing well, working with the wonderful doctors, and remains on a path to recovery," Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello said in a statement last week. "He is visiting with staff and family daily, and his staff are keeping him updated on Senate business and news."

Calvello said then that the senator's team was "moving full speed ahead" and had last week opened a new office in Erie, Pa., with more expected in the coming weeks.

"We understand the intense interest in John's status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes," Calvello said. "However, as we have said this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update."

Story continues

Fetterman, 53, had a stroke in May, days before he overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's Senate race. He spent the day of his primary election in surgery having a defibrillator installed. His campaign later disclosed that Fetterman had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy years before and had not followed the recommended medical advice for his condition.

Last month, Fetterman was hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital for lightheadedness during a retreat for Democratic senators, Calvello said then. His doctors ruled out a second stroke.

He had just returned to Congress from that hospitalization when he was evaluated by the attending physician of Congress, Brian P. Monahan, who suggested inpatient care for depression that had become "severe in recent weeks," Jentleson said in a statement at the time.

Fetterman's stroke last year sidelined him from the campaign for about two months and left him with an auditory processing disorder that inhibited his ability to hear, especially when there is competing background noise. In mid-August, Fetterman resumed public campaign events, where he spoke openly about his health setback and recovery.

---

The Washington Post's Colby Itkowitz contributed to this report.

Related Content

Talking to children who left Russia about the war in Ukraine

As drug deaths soar, experts urge expanded access to methadone

California was hit with 12 feet of snow. Is it enough to ease the drought?
Critical Mass traces the construction of a huge space station just beyond the moon. (Illustration for Dutton / Penguin Random House)

If Jeff Bezos needs a blueprint for building a space station beyond the moon with ore from an asteroid, he just might want to start with Critical Mass, a newly published sci-fi novel by Daniel Suarez.

The 464-page book describes in detail how entrepreneurs, engineers and astronauts take advantage of a cache of material mined from an asteroid to create a giant, ring-shaped space station, a space-based solar power system, a mass driver for delivering resources from the moon and a nuclear-powered spaceliner.

To add to the drama, theyre doing all this in the midst of a global climate crisis in the late 2030s.

Building space outposts and moving heavy industry off-Earth to preserve our home planets environment is an overarching theme in Bezos long-term space vision. We want to go to space to save the Earth, he said in 2016. I dont like the Plan B idea that we want to go to space so we have a backup planet.  This is the best planet. There is no doubt. This is the one that you want to protect.

Suarez agrees with Bezos sentiment, but not because the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin came up with the idea. In the latest episode of the Fiction Science podcast, Suarez points out that Princeton physicist Gerard K. ONeill, Bezos space mentor, had the idea first.

This is the idea of settling deep space by re-creating our biosphere in free space as opposed to settling another planet, he says.

With Critical Mass and the other books in his Delta-V trilogy, Suarez aims to do what ONeills 1970s-era mix of science fiction and fact, The High Frontier, did for the likes of Jeff Bezos. Suarez aims to get people thinking about how a space-based society could work.

I want more people who arent interested in space to become interested in space, and to recognize that it has a direct impact on their lives, and it can help them. he says. In order to safeguard Earth, we must, some of us, go to space. Thats really what Im trying to get across: that its not a wasted effort. Its not a hobby, or a billionaires fun vacation. It can be so much more.

Story continues

Its important to stress at this point that Critical Mass is a novel, not a textbook. The story follows up on an asteroid mining expedition thats the focus of Delta-V, the first book of Suarezs yet-to-be-completed trilogy.

The expedition crew runs into trouble at the asteroid Ryugu  which happen to be a real space rock that was sampled by Japans robotic Hayabusa 2 spacecraft. Only three astronauts are able to return, and they waste no time working with their support team on a risky plan to rescue two of their crewmates who are stuck on a deep-space outpost.

The plan involves setting up a new type of cryptocurrency, based on the value of in-space resources that have been secretly stockpiled and sent from Ryugu to Earth-Moon L2, a gravitational balance point just beyond the moon. Material mined from the asteroid is used initially to build that giant space station at L2 through additive manufacturing, and then to set up a robotic lunar mining operation with a mass-driver delivery system.

Daniel Suarez. (Photo:  Steve Payne)

Suarez doesnt stint on the details, including just how fast a mass driver would have to sling blocks of compressed lunar material to send them to L2 (2.38 kilometers per second.) He also works in references to real-world technologies that were pure science fiction in ONeills day.

Even asteroid mining isnt all that far out of a concept: A decade ago, a Seattle-area venture called Planetary Resources looked as if it had a chance of turning the technology into a trillion-dollar industry. But by 2020, Planetary Resources asteroid ambitions had fizzled out, along with those of a different venture called Deep Space Industries.

Suarez argues that those startups failed mostly because they started up too soon  and draws a parallel to the dot-com crash of 2000.

Multibillion-dollar companies went bankrupt, he recalls. At the time, quite a few pundits were saying that the internet was over. And as we know, it was not over. The biggest stage was yet to come.

In the same way, advances in space technology are on track to make the pipe dreams of the past more achievable, Suarez says.

Also, the urgent need, the burning fuse of climate change, increasing conflict, species extinction  all of these things are pressing us to try to relieve the burden of the modern world on our Earth, he says. To try to lift polluting and heavy industries into space, to avail ourselves of new energy and resources without further impacting the planet.

Suarez says the key to unlocking space resources is to develop methods for in-situ resource utilization, or ISRU. It so happens that Bezos Blue Origin space venture recently announced a significant advance in ISRU technology: a process called Blue Alchemist that promises to turn lunar soil into components for solar cells.

Space-based solar power is another key technology: If researchers can develop a way for spacecraft to capture the energy from sunlight and beam it safely to the surface of Earth or the moon, that could open up a new energy frontier. It so happens that the technology is getting serious attention from academic institutions such as Caltech, from companies such as Northrop Grumman, from the European Space Agency and from the U.S. military.

Yet another frontier has to do with robotic additive manufacturing, otherwise known as 3D printing. It so happens that Relativity Space is getting set to launch the worlds first 3D-printed rocket, while ventures including Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited are testing 3D printers and recyclers that are optimized for zero-G.

The novels bag of technological tricks also includes CRISPR-enabled genome surgery that has the potential to put cancer cases into remission, and cycler spacecraft that could offer a more efficient way to send payloads and people to the moon (or Mars).

Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez. (Dutton / Penguin Random House)

Suarez is well-placed to write about the frontiers of technology  not only thanks to his background as a software developer and systems consultant, but also because of the research hes done for a string of techno-thrillers written over the course of the past decade and a half.

I got a pretty good reputation with scientists and engineers and other people  innovators, entrepreneurs, people in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, defense, all sorts of places where I could go to talk to people and ask them questions about how things work, he says.

Critical Mass and the book that preceded it, Delta-V, also feature tech titans you can immediately recognize as stand-ins for Elon Musk, Richard Branson and, yes, Jeff Bezos.

These are composites, Suarez says. They of course compete with one another, and what this has created is almost a space race in a way similar to the one between the Soviet Union and the United States. Except its literally individuals doing it, which I guess is progress, but it certainly makes it interesting.

Suarez turned up the dials on your typical space billionaire to create one of the central characters of the book series, named Nathan Joyce.

I wanted to examine if somebody were to, say, go just a little further and actually send people to do something quite dangerous, Suarez says. Not without their permission, but to go talk to the types of people who climb mountains or dive deep in caves and risk their lives, really just for the thrill of it, or for the experience of it, or to see around the next bend.

Suarez points to research suggesting that the willingness to take on an adventure may be linked to a genetic variant known as the Wanderlust Gene  and he speculates that explorers on the space frontier may well be more likely to possess that variant.

There might be an evolutionary basis for this, in that we have societies that are settled, and occasionally among us theres a rare few who are not satisfied and have to go find the edge. And this is what helps us grow as a species and expand, he says. I think theyre still among us.

Today, such risk-takers may satisfy that urge by taking up base jumping, or racing fast cars, or flying high-performance jets. But when the space frontier beckons  perhaps with an assist from a billionaire like Nathan Joyce or Jeff Bezos  Suarez believes theyll heed the call.

Their existence is our great hope, he says. They can help push that frontier back.

Daniel Suarezs website provides more information about Critical Mass and the real-world science behind it.

My co-host for the Fiction Science podcast is Dominica Phetteplace, an award-winning writer who is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and currently lives in Berkeley, Calif. To learn more about Phetteplace, visit her website, DominicaPhetteplace.com.

Check out the original version of this item on Cosmic Log for bonus reading recommendations from Suarez and the Cosmic Log Used Book Club. And stay tuned for future episodes of the Fiction Science podcast via Anchor, Apple, Google, Overcast, Spotify, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Radio Public and Reason.

More from GeekWire:
Ukraine country outline. Illustrated | Gettyimages

Russia has been surrounding the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. While Russian officials have long held that the potential capture of the city could be a key victory, Ukraine and its American allies have placed less emphasis on Bakhmut's potential fall. Here's everything you need to know:

What is the situation in Bakhmut?

Located in Ukraine's northeast Donetsk region, Bakhmut has been one of the epicenters of fighting ever since the Russo-Ukrainian war broke out. The city is just over 120 miles from the Russian border, and prior to the war, was home to more than 70,000 people. However, BBC News reports that just over 4,000 civilians remain.

Fighting has been intense in Bakhmut in part due to its close proximity to Russia. Ukraine has been able to hold off the majority of invading Russian forces, but with resources dwindling, the Russian army has been "attacking Bakhmut from three directions in a persistent attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops," The New York Times reports.

The fighting has gradually chipped away at Ukrainian defenses, and the Times notes that "Russian forces have gradually captured surrounding territory, nearly cutting off the city" for the past seven months. Moscow has continually been ramping up efforts to loosen Ukraine's hold on Bakhmut. Reuters notes that thousands of Russian shells have fallen on the city, and despite the best defensive efforts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the end of 2022 that Russia had "actually destroyed Bakhmut" and "turned [it] into burnt ruins."

Reuters also reported that Ukrainian troops have been amassing west of Bakhmut in preparation for a potential retreat. However, the order to abandon the city has yet to come.

Why is Russia so keen to capture the city?

A large part of it is symbolic. The desire to overtake Bakhmut "reflects [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's long-held aim of capturing Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, collectively known as the Donbas," Time notes. Ukrainian lawmaker Yehor Cherniev told Time that while Bakhmut may not be a strategically important city for Russia, they will still "try to hold it as long as possible," more as a show of force than anything else.

Story continues

The fight over Bakhmut has "come to symbolize the grinding war of attrition in Ukraine," The Washington Post reports. The country's ability to hold the city has so far been a source of pride for Ukraine as the war enters its second year, and while the Post concurs that Bakhmut has little strategic value, "the relentless, intensifying fight for control of the city ... has made it a rallying cry and political battleground for both sides."

However, one faction that does see strategic value in taking Bakhmut is the Wagner Group. Described by ABC News as "a private military organization run by an ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin with tens of thousands of fighters," there are an estimated 50,000 combatants from the Wagner Group in Ukraine, according to the White House.

For Wagner Group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the takeover of Bakhmut "represents a chance to showcase Wagner's abilities  even at enormous human cost  as he jockeys with Russia's military chiefs for influence," the Post notes. This comes despite the often poorly trained Wagner members sustaining heavy casualties against Ukrainian freedom fighters.

What has each side said about the situation?

The Russians have unsurprisingly been eager to raise their flag over Bakhmut, given the symbolic win it would represent. However, Russia also seems to believe that the capture of the city would have a series of ripple effects. Moscow thinks "capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region," Reuters notes. Putin has long been propagandizing a key victory in Bakhmut, and it would finally give him "some good news from the front," The Associated Press adds.

However, Ukraine and its Western allies have responded with a more muted, and likely more realistic, take on the situation. Even if Bakhmut is captured, it would not represent the death blow that Russia is hoping for, Mick Ryan, a former Australian general, told CNN. "[A Ukrainian retreat] should be treated as a routine tactic rather than a harbinger of disaster," he said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has led the American government in playing down Russia's advancement on Bakhmut. A Ukrainian withdrawal would not "[change] the tide of this fight," Austin told reporters, per The Financial Times. He added that if this is the decision that Ukrainian forces eventually come to, he "would not view that as an operational or strategic setback."

What if Russia captures Bakhmut?

Given that victory would be largely symbolic for Putin, the tide of the war probably would not change. But Russia would limp away from a win. Ukrainians "have used Bakhmut to inflict massive losses on the attacking force," CNN notes, with some estimates putting the Ukrainian-to-Russian death toll at a ratio of 7:1. Even as they advance, Russia may still not have an easy time finalizing their hold over the city, and Zelensky was told by his top generals that rather than retreat, they were both "in favor of continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening positions in Bakhmut," Reuters says.

You may also like

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D.

Can Fox News survive?
A newly purchased home burned down weeks after it was sold in West Virginia. Then, a federal investigation ensued.

The fire was no accident, officials say. A group of men planned on destroying the house before they bought it for $5,000 in Bluefield, according to prosecutors.

Their goal was to collect $285,500 in insurance money from Allstate after submitting a fake insurance claim for the home, court documents show.

The men succeeded in setting fire to the home, but Allstate denied them the money after investigating the claim, prosecutors said.

Now, two men, ages 53 and 45, both of Bluefield, Virginia, were each sentenced March 6 to three years and five months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

An attorney representing one of the men declined to comment on his clients sentencing. McClatchy News contacted an attorney representing the other for comment and didnt immediately receive a response.

The case dates to July 2019, when one of the men approached a third man, another co-defendant in the case, about the arson scheme and directed him to buy the home before giving him the $5,000 to do so, according to his sentencing memo.

This co-defendant, 37, of Welch, was sentenced to three years and one month in prison in September after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, prosecutors said.

Ward Morgan, his attorney, told McClatchy News in a statement that his client used poor judgment in this matter and accepted responsibility for his actions.

Each of the mens sentences, Morgan said, reflected their respective degrees of culpability.

How the arson scheme unfolded

Around the time Morgans client agreed to his role, he was being investigated for similar fires in McDowell County, about 40 miles west of Bluefield, West Virginia the sentencing memo says.

When local authorities noticed him in the Bluefield area, suspicions were aroused, the sentencing memo states.

Story continues

After buying the home on July 1, he and the man who gave him the money to purchase it took out an insurance policy on it, prosecutors said. When they did, they lied and said the house was bought for $50,000 instead of $5,000, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Then, the three men decided to burn down the house in August 2019, according to prosecutors.

The 53-year-old, with the help of two others who were paid $500 each, burned down the home early in the morning on Aug. 6, 2019, prosecutors said.

The men were unaware authorities were already suspicious and had placed a hidden camera on a telephone pole across the street from the home, according to the sentencing memo.

The camera caught the men in the house before it burned down, the memo says.

After a fake insurance claim was filed with Allstate, the company spent over $13,000 investigating the matter before denying the $285,500 in insurance money the men had sought, prosecutors said.

The two most recently sentenced men were also ordered to pay $13,140 each in restitution, according to officials.

Bluefield is about 285 miles west of Richmond, Virginia.

An unidentified body, a burned home and a missing car create mystery for Florida cops

Lost hiker starts a wildfire while trying to signal for help. Now hell pay $300,000

Homeowner wanted revenge against his HOA, so he set his condo on fire, Florida cops say
Photo: . A woman who sent nude photos in act of revenge has escaped without a criminal record after pleading guilty in North Vancouver provincial court to a charge of transmitting an intimate image without consent.| photo Cindy Goodman, North Shore News

A 41-year-old woman who sent nude photos of her ex-boyfriend to the mans daughter in an act of revenge porn has been handed a conditional sentence by a judge.

The North Vancouver woman was handed the sentence Monday in provincial court after pleading guilty to a charge of transmitting an intimate image without consent.

The sentence means if the woman obeys court-ordered terms including staying away from the man and his family for a year, she wont have a criminal record.

In a sentencing hearing Monday, Crown prosecutor, articling student Justine Jarvis, described how on Oct. 2, 2022, the woman sent a series of images to the daughter of her former boyfriend.

Seven of those photos showed both the mans face and genital area, according to the prosecutor, and appeared to have been taken during a FaceTime video call.

After receiving the photos, the daughter called police.

After the North Van woman learned that she had been reported to authorities, she asked the ex-boyfriend to meet her in person and then threatened to send more intimate photos of her ex if the complaint wasnt dropped, said the prosecutor

Police later attended her home and arrested her.

Crown counsel and the womans defence lawyer both requested a conditional sentence as part of a joint submission.

Defence lawyer Lisa Jung said her client was in a relationship starting in August 2018 and moved to be with that boyfriend in January 2022, leaving her job and previous home to continue the partnership. After she moved, however, the woman learned that her boyfriend no longer wanted to be with her and made an emotional and reactive decision to send the photos, the lawyer said.

In agreeing to the conditional sentence, Judge Joseph Galati told the woman in North Vancouver provincial court that if distribution of the photos was more widespread, she would not have been let off without a criminal record.

Conditions of the discharge include orders that the woman attend counselling as directed by a probation officer and have no contact with her former boyfriend or his family.
A Seminole County firefighter is off the job for now after being arrested for allegedly tagging businesses and vandalizing a mural in Orlando.

Surveillance video from a Virginia Drive tattoo parlor on Feb. 27 shows Seminole County Firefighter Brian Baine, his girlfriend Miranda Buzzella and two others allegedly tagging businesses with ACAB stickers.

ACAB is an acronym for anti-law enforcement messaging.

Police said the pair is also responsible for vandalizing a mural with the same acronym on the Orlando Urban Trail in the Mills 50 District.

Read: Orlando man sentenced to federal prison for role in brazen ATM burglary

Tattoo and graffiti artist Johnny Coppersnake said the stickers can cause damage to businesses.

Trying to remove that sticker -- youre messing up the whole vinyl, he said. The price of everything has gone up these days.

Baine faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.

Read: Exclusive: Channel 9 speaks with Osceola teacher assaulted by 19-year-old student

He could lose his job as a firefighter and paramedic.

Baine is currently on unpaid leave while police continue to investigate the incident.

Seminole County Fire Chief Matt Kinley told Channel 9 the following:

Read: Floridas 2023 legislative session: Lawmakers plan to tackle these 9 key issues

We proudly work together with our fellow first responder families in law enforcement every day to serve our community. If there is evidence to support that this individual took any actions regarding vandalism that involved anti-law enforcement hate messaging -- make no mistake, it has absolutely no place in our organization.

Buzzella faces the same charges as her boyfriend.

Baine was hired in November 2021 and is an unassigned floating firefighter in the Altamonte Springs area.

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.
Did you know there are some financial metrics that can provide clues of a potential multi-bagger? Firstly, we'll want to see a proven return on capital employed (ROCE) that is increasing, and secondly, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (NZSE:FPH) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. To calculate this metric for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.19 = NZ$330m  (NZ$2.1b - NZ$369m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2022).

So, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has an ROCE of 19%. In absolute terms, that's a satisfactory return, but compared to the Medical Equipment industry average of 11% it's much better.

View our latest analysis for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

When we looked at the ROCE trend at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, we didn't gain much confidence. Over the last five years, returns on capital have decreased to 19% from 31% five years ago. And considering revenue has dropped while employing more capital, we'd be cautious. If this were to continue, you might be looking at a company that is trying to reinvest for growth but is actually losing market share since sales haven't increased.

Story continues

The Key Takeaway

We're a bit apprehensive about Fisher & Paykel Healthcare because despite more capital being deployed in the business, returns on that capital and sales have both fallen. The market must be rosy on the stock's future because even though the underlying trends aren't too encouraging, the stock has soared 121%. In any case, the current underlying trends don't bode well for long term performance so unless they reverse, we'd start looking elsewhere.

If you'd like to know about the risks facing Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should be aware of.

While Fisher & Paykel Healthcare isn't earning the highest return, check out this free list of companies that are earning high returns on equity with solid balance sheets.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Five women who were denied abortions under several overlapping anti-abortion laws in Texas have filed a lawsuit against the state, marking the first time that pregnant women have sought legal action themselves after a wave of restrictions following the US Supreme Courts decision to strike down Roe v Wade.

The state was the first to implement a near-total ban on abortion care, months before the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion last June, triggering a wave of state-level legislation that restricts care and threatens providers with criminal penalties.

Under the states so-called trigger law designed to take effect without those constitutional protections affirmed by Roe v Wade, Texas doctors could face up to 99 years in prison for providing an abortion.

None of the states bans make exceptions for pregnancies from rape or incest, and conflicting exemptions in each law for receiving abortion care in the event of medical emergencies have resulted in widespread confusion among providers and hospitals fearing legal blowback, according to abortion rights advocates.

The plaintiffs, two of whom are pregnant, told their stories from outside the Texas capitol on 7 March, warning that the states anti-abortion measures expose pregnant patients to severe risk of illness, injury and death.

The five women, two doctors and the Center for Reproductive Rights, an abortion rights legal advocacy group, are suing Texas authorities to clarify emergency medical exceptions to the states anti-abortion laws.

Amanda Zurawski was cruising through the second trimester of her pregnancy and in the middle of planning a baby shower when everything changed, she said at a press conference.

Her obstetrician discovered that she dilated prematurely, and soon after her membranes ruptured, draining amniotic fluid and endangering the life of her expected child. Multiple doctors told her that the loss of her daughter was inevitable but, under Texas law, she was told that there was nothing they could do, she said.

Story continues

It meant that even though that complete certainty that we would lose Willow, my doctor could not intervene as long as her heart was beating or I was sick enough for the ethics board at the hospital to consider my life at risk and provide the standard healthcare I needed at that point: an abortion, Ms Zurawski said.

I cannot adequately put into words the trauma and despair that comes with waiting to lose your own life, your childs life or both, she added. For days I was locked in this bizarre and avoidable hell: Will Willows heart stop or will I deteriorate to the brink of death?

Anna Zargarian, one of five plaintiffs a lawsuit against Texas abortion laws, speaks in front of the state capitol in Austin, Texas on 7 March. (AP)

Within minutes, she developed sepsis and spent three days in a hospital intensive care unit, followed by another three days in another wing of the hospital.

What I needed was an abortion, a standard medical procedure, she said. I needed an abortion to protect my life and the future lives of my babies that I dream and hope I can still have one day ... The barbaric restrictions our lawmakers passed are heaving real-life implications on real people.  More people have been and will continue to be harmed until we do something about it.

Anna Zargarian, whose water broke at just 19 weeks of pregnancy after her membranes ruptured prematurely, was denied an abortion under Texas law despite the chances of her unborn childs survival being slim to none, she said at the presser.

My heart broke into a million pieces. I didnt even know a pain like that could exist until that moment, she said. The child I was so excited for was not going to live, and I needed an abortion to preserve my health, and I could not get one in Texas.

After looking for an open appointment with abortion providers in neighboring states, all of which were booked with a surge of patients after Texass laws were enacted, she ultimately found an appointment in Colorado.

What I needed most in that moment was the choice that Texas lawmakers robbed me of: the choice to lose my child with dignity and respect for my body and wellbeing and future, she said.

President Joe Bidens administration has repeatedly urged Congress to pass legislation that would codify abortion protections under Roe v Wade precedent into law, a virtually impossible demand under a Republican-controlled House of Representatives that has endorsed nationwide abortion restrictions.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has held a series of meetings with reproductive health advocates and state lawmakers in the wake of the Supreme Court decision, including one with a plaintiff in the Texas suit, has signalled her support.

The lawsuit includes devastating, first-hand accounts of womens lives almost lost after they were denied the health care they needed, because of extreme efforts by Republican officials to control womens bodies, she said in a statement.

Many extremist so-called leaders espouse freedom for all, while directly attacking the freedom to make ones own health care decisions. Like the overwhelming majority of Americans, the president and I believe women  in consultation with their doctors  should be in charge of their reproductive health care, not politicians, she added.

Texas is also at the centre of a federal lawsuit challenging the commonly used abortion drug that is used for more than half of all abortions in the US. A decision from a federal judge in Amarillo who was appointed by Donald Trump could block the US Food and Drug Associations 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, which would significantly disrupt access to medication abortion nationwide.

In a separate statement on 7 March, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said stripping women of their right to make their own health care decisions endangers womens health, with potentially life-threatening consequences.

The Texas lawsuit filed by women patients magnified the reality of Republican Governor Greg Abbotts anti-abortion measures, with devastating, first-hand accounts of womens lives almost lost after they were denied the healthcare they needed.

Horrifying details of needless pain. All because of extreme efforts by Republican officials to take away a womans right to choose. The stories told today  in 2023 in the United States of America  are shameful and unacceptable, she added.

The Independent has requested comment from Governor Abbotts office, who is among the defendants in the lawsuit along with state Attorney General Ken Paxton and the state medical board and its director.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Floridas Republican-led legislature on Tuesday filed bills that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy but offer exemptions for victims of rape and incest if they can provide official proof of the crime.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate filed similar legislation to make abortions illegal two weeks after a pregnant person's first missed period, tightening the 15-week ban they approved last year. The measure also seeks to prevent government entities and educational institutions from using public money to financially help people to travel outside the state for an abortion.

The proposed 6-week ban already has the support from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said during his Tuesday state of the state speech in Tallahassee that "we are proud to be pro-family and we are proud to be pro-life.

He told reporters after his address that he would sign the abortion bill into law.

Republicans have supermajorities in the House and Senate, so Democrats have no ability to stop the legislation from going forward.

The abortion proposal is a clear signal that DeSantis will support hard-right conservative priorities ahead of his likely 2024 election bid. Florida, once a perennial swing state, has shifted Republican in recent years and the governor has capitalized on the GOP electoral successes by supporting legislation that cracks down on illegal immigration, bans Florida Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming care and limits how race and gender identity can be taught in schools.

The governor last year also supported the states ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and, after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, said that Florida would expand pro-life protections.

The proposal drew widespread criticism from Democrats, including from White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre who said the proposal would affect millions of women, both in Florida and its neighboring states that have stricter limits but whose residents rely on Florida to access abortions.



Story continues

We know that these bands are already having a devastating impact on women's health, she said. Politicians like Governor DeSantis  espouse quote, freedom for all, unquote, while directly attacking the freedom to make one's own health care decisions. Their rhetoric doesn't come without consequences here.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) unsuccessfully convinced House leaders last year to add exemptions for rape and incest victims to the 15-week ban. Florida Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book (D-Plantation), who worked with Passidomo last year on the exemptions, said on Tuesday that incest victims are already fleeing the state for treatment and the 6-week bill will only make things worse for them.

If its a war they want, its a war they will get, Book wrote in a statement. This issue bridges the partisan divide, and we will not go down as easily as they believe.

State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-Fort Myers) and state Sen. Erin Grall (R-Vero Beach), who filed legislation in their respective chambers, stated in their bills that the exemptions would apply to victims who have been pregnant for less than 15 weeks. They will require anyone seeking the exemptions to provide documentation, such as a court restraining order or police report, to prove they were victimized.

The lawmakers filed the bills on the first day of this years Legislative session after months of speculation that legislators would seek to further restrict abortion access. The 15-week ban that took effect in July is enforced but the state Supreme Court is currently weighing a legal challenge to it. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue the 15 week ban violates a state privacy clause that the Florida high court had previously cited to strike down abortion bans.

Republican legislative leaders had initially said any future bans would have to wait until the high court decides on the case.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) said the current proposal includes a trigger provision that will enact the 6-week ban if the high court strikes down the privacy clause. Renner brought up the states argument in the Supreme Court case that the privacy clause relates to informational and data privacy rights.

This is going ahead and having the conversation on where we want to land in Florida, Renner said. Thats where weve landed.

The proposed measure would place Florida with six other states that have already approved 6-week bans, including Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Dakota and Oklahoma.

The bill also provides up to $30 million for the Florida Department of Health to create a statewide parenting support network. The network would beef-up state-funded services already offered to pregnant people by expanding resources to those who gave birth within one year. The measure also prohibits doctors from using telehealth services to consult with patients about treatment with abortion medications.

The head the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates criticized the 6-week ban proposal, saying it would worsen the lives of parents statewide.

This near total abortion ban has nothing to do with what is best for Floridians and everything to do with Ron DeSantis ambition to be president and what he thinks Republican primary voters want, Alliance Director Laura Goodhue wrote in a statement.

Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.
Florida Republicans in both the state House and Senate have introduced legislation that would ban abortion after six weeks into a pregnancy, a time when many people dont yet know they are pregnant.

The bill was filed on the first day of the legislative session, just minutes before Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) gave his state of the state address.

It includes limited exceptions if the person obtaining the abortion is a victim of rape or incest. But the exception would only be allowed up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. The person would also need to prove they are a victim by providing a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation.

The bill would also require medical abortion pills to be dispensed in person by a physician, and would ban abortion care by telehealth, including mailing abortion medication.

Health care providers who violate the ban could be charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

DeSantis is widely expected to use his second term as governor as a springboard to launch a presidential campaign, and the policies he endorses as governor will be seen as a preview for the platform he would run on.

While he has so far sidestepped questions about stricter laws, DeSantis has faced criticism from anti-abortion groups and other Republicans for not going far enough with the states abortion laws.

DeSantis last year signed a law banning abortion after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The bill was immediately slammed by state and national Democrats, who are looking to make abortion a major pillar of the 2024 presidential campaign.

DeSantis has made it clear his only focus is on imposing a MAGA agenda that hurts more and more Floridians every day. This new more extreme abortion ban he called for will only make it harder for Floridas women and girls to seek the care that they need, state Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said in a statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Gabriella Borter and Joseph Ax

(Reuters) -Republican lawmakers in Florida filed bills on Tuesday to outlaw most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a ban that would severely undercut access to the procedure in the U.S. South if passed by the state's Republican-controlled legislature.

The bills, filed on the opening day of the legislature's 2023 regular session, make exceptions for rape and incest cases but not explicitly for the life or health of the pregnant person.

Florida Republicans, including Governor Ron DeSantis, have signaled their wish to further curtail abortions in the state after last year approving a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Patients have been traveling to Florida from across the U.S. Southeast to end their pregnancies since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, gutting federal abortion rights. More than a dozen states have banned the procedure almost entirely since that landmark ruling.

Data from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration showed that the number of out-of-state abortion patients rose 38% in 2022 compared to 2021.

DeSantis, who is expected to challenge former President Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, told reporters on Tuesday that he supported "pro-life legislation" when asked about the new bills. He has previously said he would sign an abortion ban as early as six weeks.

DeSantis said he thought the rape and incest exceptions in the bills were "sensible."

Abortion rights advocates and Democrats, including White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, spoke out on Tuesday against the new bills, which would ban abortion before many women know they are pregnant.

"As with all abortion bans, this bill will prevent people from accessing essential healthcare and take away people's power over their own bodies, their lives, and their futures," Laura Goodhue, executive director of Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Joseph Ax; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Richard Chang)
A Florida Republican filed a six-week abortion ban on Tuesday  confirming that the Sunshine State will very likely restrict abortion care earlier than its current 15-week ban.

State Sen. Erin Grall (R) filed the bill, which would ban abortions after six weeks with limited exceptions, on the first day of the states legislative session. State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R) filed a companion measure in the Florida House.

Most people dont know theyre pregnant before six weeks, which means this legislation will be a major barrier to critical services for Floridians and others in the southeast who seek care in Florida because their own states banned abortion following the fall of Roe v. Wade. The restriction includes exceptions for rape and incest, but only up until 15 weeks of pregnancy  and in order to get one, the survivor must provide a copy of a restraining order, police report, medical record, or other court order or documentation to prove she was a victim of rape or incest, according to the legislation.

The proposed legislation also includes an exception for the life of the pregnant person if two physicians certify in writing that the woman will die if she continues the pregnancy. Exceptions to abortion bans are often useless and are only included to make extreme restrictions seem more reasonable.

The legislation also bans abortion care by telehealth, including mailing the medication for abortion. It seeks to prohibit any person other than a physician from inducing a termination of pregnancy, which appears to criminalize anyone self-managing their abortion in the state of Florida.

Anyone who willfully performs or actively participates in a termination of pregnancy that violates these restrictions can be charged with a third-degree felony, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon that he will sign the six-week ban if it gets to his desk.

Story continues

Florida Republicans have gone scorched earth with what is effectively an all-out abortion ban.Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book (D)

Grall previously introduced the states current 15-week abortion ban, which was enacted last year.

For decades now, Florida has been a nationwide leader in defending the rights of the unborn. SB 300 will make Florida a beacon of hope for those who understand that life is sacred and must be protected, Grall told HuffPost in an emailed statement.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R) told HuffPost she supports Gralls legislation and hopes to see it enacted into law.

I am pro-life, and the Floridians I speak with on a daily basis overwhelmingly support the prior steps our Legislature and Governor have taken to protect unborn life, promote adoption, and support parents, she said. The legislation filed today by Senator Grall builds on Floridas strong track record of protecting the most vulnerable, especially the unborn.

Democrats spoke out against the proposed six-week ban.

Today, Florida Republicans have gone scorched earth with what is effectively an all-out abortion ban  with threats to criminalize women and their doctors, Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book (D) told HuffPost.

Today, women who suffer miscarriages are sent home to get sicker and risk death before they can receive medical care, she continued. Today, child victims of incest are forced to flee the state as medical refugees to get care. And with this bill, it will only get worse. This is it. They have come.

Book said Democrats will fight the legislation.

And if its a war they want, its a war they will get. This issue bridges the partisan divide, and we will not go down as easily as they believe, Book said. On behalf of my daughter all women and girls in our state, thats a promise.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would sign a six-week abortion ban.

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would sign a six-week abortion ban.

With Floridas Republican supermajority, its all but certain that the six-week abortion ban will pass through the legislature and become law. The success of this bill is also critical for DeSantis, who needs to pad his anti-choice record ahead of a potential 2024 presidential run.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized DeSantis and the extreme abortion ban legislation.

Politicians like Governor DeSantis espouse freedom for all, while directly attacking the freedom to make ones own health care decisions, she said. This proposal is wrong and out of touch with the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Floridians, who support a womans right to choose, she said.

Democrats and pro-choice leaders have been bracing for Republicans to introduce more extreme abortion restrictions in the Sunshine State for months. Given that the Supreme Court repealed federal abortion protections last year, many knew that Republicans would try to further restrict abortion further; they just didnt know how far anti-choice lawmakers would go.

Passidomo mentioned in November the possibility of a 12-week ban with exceptions for rape and incest survivors. And in December, DeSantis hinted at support for a six-week abortion ban, but his comments were vague at best.

Abortion opponents initially saw Floridas current 15-week abortion ban, which is being challenged in court, as a big accomplishment. But since Roe v. Wade fell last summer and over a dozen states have near-total abortion bans on the books, the 15-week ban is simply a reminder to DeSantis base that the governor has not gone far enough.

DeSantis will likely face a crowded far-right Republican primary pool in 2024, which will include former President Donald Trump  and hell need a more extreme ban on his track record to even compete.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) told HuffPost in December that a 2024 ballot initiative codifying abortion rights in Florida is definitely something that is being actively explored. However, Eskamani, who worked at Planned Parenthood for six years before joining the Florida House, said it would extremely difficult to reach the 60% threshold required to approve such a measure.

Related...
Re. Kelowna councillor suggests light rail may be the answer to city's traffic congestion (Castanet, March 7)

I have lived in Kelowna for nearly 20 years.

There used to be a train that ran right through town, running out along the lakeshore, cutting through Oyama and then along the entire shore of Kalamalka Lake. This rail line used to be a burden to any and all who live along it and was a frightening thought to many parents, a relic of a bygone industrial era that has since been turned into a world class recreational trail.

This has been one of the single biggest improvements to the community since we moved here. Parents no longer have to worry about their children on the tracks, vehicles no longer have to wait at crossings and nobody complains about the whistle.

Now (one of) our newest city councillors has proposed we bring back a railway for the benefit of who? Nobody wants to use it, though they'd all be happy if someone else did.

Where would we even put it? The most likely answer would be along the rail trail.

I often say if we left Kelowna, I would not move back to any other community with a railway.

What about all that traffic anyways? I often marvel how a community made up mostly of people from somewhere elseVancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and more recently Torontobrings itself to complain about Kelowna traffic? I say, what traffic?

I came from Vancouver. I thank my lucky stars I left that traffic nightmare for a city where I am 20 minutes from everywhere.

Show me the numbers on the rapid bus line. Is it anywhere near capacity?

We cannot wish people onto transit. Building a railroad through Kelowna again would be the biggest boondoggle of our generation and set this city back.

I 100% do not support any kind of rail system in the Okanagan Valley. We just got rid of it. Don't bring it back.

Jeff Frank, Kelowna
PIERRE  Never say die in the Legislature, especially three days before the end of session.

A proposal to cut the overall sales tax on groceries was hoghoused, meaning seriously amended, Monday by Sen. Herman Otten, R-Tea. The amended bill, HB 1094, passed the Senate 18-17 and will be debated in the House. If the House agrees with the amendment, possibly as soon as Tuesday, and votes to approve it, HB 1094 will be sent directly to Gov. Noem's desk for signing.

If the House does not agree with the amendments, a conference committee will be called to come to an agreement on the final bill.

That's set up a showdown between the Senate, House and Governor's Office. And it's still unclear which three tax cuts will make the final budget bill, due Thursday at the end of session.

More:South Dakota Democrats, Republicans split on whether tax cuts will come to fruition

"I just believe that this should be part of the discussion at the end of the day," Otten said, explaining why he brought the amendment. The original bill, HB 1075, was essentially killed by the House Appropriations committee in February.

Currently, there are two other tax proposals: one to lower the overall sales tax and one to give single-family dwelling homeowners a $425 tax rebate.

The overall sales tax cut was originally 4.2%. However, an amendment successfully approved Monday by the Senate brought the proposed tax cut to 4.3% set to expire in 2025. The House must now approve the amendment.

House Republicans, through Majority Leader Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Pierre, favor lowering the overall sales tax, calling it a broad-based tax cut.

S.D. Senator Lee Schoenbeck gestures for the applause to quiet down after being sworn in as President Pro Tempore of the Senate on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre.

Senate Republicans have bounced between the property tax rebate and now the food tax, though, with the bipartisan vote taken Monday.

It's unclear how much Gov. Kristi Noem has been pressuring the Senate to push the grocery tax over to the House side.

Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown, and President Pro Tem, said the Governor's Office had called every senator except him, since he's been a hard no on the grocery tax cut.

Story continues

"In some instances, they were successful," Schoenbeck said. "They made offers that got them the votes."

Schoenbeck, who said he wasn't in favor of any of the options, has constantly reiterated his support for strong fiscal responsibility and worries by reducing the overall sales tax on groceries to zero, it could bring an income tax in the future.

"I get [Noem] wants to have one national headline that says she led a tax cut," he said. "Me, I just care about fiscal responsibility. I spent a lot of years trying to help this state just be normal. It does a lot of damage to us when the Governor's objectives are national and the rest of us are just trying to stay here and fix problems."

Gov. Kristi Noem talks to reporters about the proposal to cut the overall sales and use tax on groceries in Pierre on Monday, March 6.

Noem has not announced if she's considering a run for the Republican nomination for the 2024 Presidential race.

Meanwhile, Noem bit back at Schoenbeck during an impromptu press conference with reporters Monday afternoon, nearly 30 minutes after the Senate adjourned for the day.

"When Sen. Schoenebeck stands up on the Senate floor and says he can't support a grocery sales tax repeal because it sets us up for an income tax, I would wholeheartedly disagree with him and say he's being deceitful in that narrative," Noem said. "Because if he approaches a different tax cut this year, and in two years, we're faced with repealing a sales tax on groceries, that's when we get dangerously close to not being able to balance our budget and not be responsible."

More:Overall sales tax cut moves toward final hearings in SD legislature

Noem has continued to press for a cut to the sales tax on groceries, even after the original bill was killed. She said the proposal was responsible legislation, because it affected all families, not just those who own a home  taking a dig at the property tax rebate.

"In fact, what [the Senate] did was pass a rebate program to send people checks," Noem said. "It's not very conservative. It's not very Republican. South Dakota doesn't do that and then try to sell it as property tax reform."

If the property tax rebate is included in the final budget bill, Noem was resolute on what could happen.

"That seems like a really irresponsible budget," Noem said. "We don't have to pass a budget this week. If these legislators want to sit here and take a couple of months to do the right thing, I've got nowhere to go."

Veto Day is March 27.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Senate brings back Noem's proposal to cut sales tax on groceries
By Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) - Two elderly South Korean victims of wartime forced labour took to the streets in wheelchairs on Tuesday, saying they rejected a compensation deal announced this week, potentially complicating Seoul's efforts to end a diplomatic spat with Japan.

Under President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by South Korean private-sector companies, rather than seeking payments from Japan. The two victims, whose consent is required for the deal to proceed, rebuffed the proposal saying Tokyo should pay compensation and apologise.

Their opposition could mean that a proposal hailed as "groundbreaking" by U.S. President Joe Biden may not be a done deal, prolonging a dispute that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

The two women, Yang Geum-deok and Kim Sung-joo, both now aged 95, worked at a Mitsubishi Heavy aircraft factory in Nagoya, Japan when they were teens during World War II.

Living outside Seoul, the ailing women travelled to a demonstration at the parliament, joining hundreds of supporters including opposition lawmakers, who waved red cards and banners, calling Yoon's diplomacy "humiliating" and demanding the deal be withdrawn.

"We can forgive, if Japan tells us one word, we are sorry and we did wrong. But there's no such word," Kim said, with hands shaking by the effects of a stroke.

"The more I think about that, the more I cry," she said, escorted by her son.

On Tuesday, Yoon said the proposal was a result of meeting both countries' common interest.

Relations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, but none has been compensated.

Japan has said the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday his government's stance had not changed.

Story continues

The two victims were part of so-called "Labour Corps" where young Korean girls were drafted to work in Japanese munitions factories during the war.

Kim had her finger chopped while cutting metal plates for fighter jets. During the day, Yang wiped rusted machine parts with thinner and alcohol but had no gloves, so her hands were bleeding at night.

After Japan lost the war in 1945, they returned home but didn't get paid for their 17-month-long labour stint.

Overall there are about 1,815 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to government data.

The compensation for each woman was estimated at around 210 million won ($161,465.18), according to the Victims of Japanese Wartime Forced Labor support group.

Like Yang and Kim, some of the 15 plaintiffs say they will reject the government's plan, setting the stage for more legal battles.

"It is so unfair. I don't know where Yoon Suk Yeol is from. Is he truly a South Korean? I won't take that money even if I starve to death," said Yang, chanting "Yoon Suk Yeol Out".

($1 = 1,300.5900 won)

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Josh Smith and Sharon Singleton)
A new bipartisan bill would grant the Secretary of Commerce power to target tech companies based in foreign adversary nations, opening the door for a nationwide ban on China-based TikTok.

"The Chinese Communist Party has proven over the last few years that it is willing to lie about just about everything," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who introduced the bill alongside Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. "That likely won't end with TikTok, which is why it's important to establish a holistic and methodical approach to the challenges that are posed by technology from foreign adversaries."

'An overarching framework' to confront foreign tech threats

Though TikTok is in the limelight now, the lawmakers indicated that the bill seeks to establish an "overarching framework to evaluate foreign technology threats." The bill doesn't mention TikTok by name.

Acknowledging that the app is used by some 100 million Americans each month, Warner said the legislation would direct the Commerce secretary to coordinate with the National Intelligence director to provide declassified information about why TikTok and other technologies pose risks.

"This is a popular app," said Warner who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "I think its going to be incumbent upon the government to show its cards as to how this is a threat."

The six countries classified as foreign adversaries are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.

The White House on Tuesday indicated that the Biden administration is supportive of the bill; National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged Congress to "act quickly to send it to the Presidents desk" in a statement.

Twelve senators from both parties signed onto the bill.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pauses to speak with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 10, 2022.

The Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties have expressed concern that the Chinese Communist Party could gather information about American customers through TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, or that it could be used to spread misinformation.

Story continues

TikTok: 'a ban on the export of American culture'

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told USA TODAY in a statement that a ban of the app would equate to a "ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide."

"We appreciate that some members of Congress remain willing to explore options for addressing national security concerns that don't have the effect of censoring millions of Americans," Oberwetter said.

Tick-tock, TikTok: As Biden sets deadline for ban of social media app, here's what we know

House adopted similar legislation

The legislation is similar to a bill introduced last month by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, which would expand Biden's ability to crack down on software applications deemed a national security threat.

McCaul's bill advanced through the Foreign Affairs Committee last week after a 24-16 vote along party lines. New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the committee, indicated Democrats would not oppose all measures against TikTok, but that the specific bill "bites off more than it can chew."

The Biden administration is also hardening its stance against TikTok, confirming last week that it has "concerns" about the app. The White House moved to ban TikTok from all government-issued devices last month, giving federal agencies 30 days to delete the app.

Dig deeper:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: TikTok ban: Bipartisan bill would let Commerce secretary ban app
Ben Savage Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for New York Comic Con

Actor Ben Savage is running for Congress, the former Boy Meets World star announced Monday.

The 42-year-old is entering the race for California's 30th Congressional District, which covers West Hollywood, Burbank, and parts of Pasadena, as a Democrat. The seat is currently held by Rep. Adam Schiff (D), who announced in January he is running for Senate.

On Instagram, Savage said he's throwing his hat into the ring because it's "time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative, and compassionate solutions to our country's most pressing issues. And it's time for new and passionate leaders who can help move our country forward. Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests."

Savage, who graduated from Stanford University in 2004 with a degree in political science, interned for the late Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter in 2003. After starring in the Boy Meets World reboot Girl Meets World, Savage turned his focus to politics, running unsuccessfully for a seat on the West Hollywood City Council in 2022. He filed his congressional paperwork with the Federal Election Commission in January, and at the time, his spokesperson told ABC News that Savage was "still making decisions and always looking for opportunities to give back and serve the community."

You may also like

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?

Why drivers don't want to let go of the stick shift
A former top official on China in the Donald Trump administration praised US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday for publicising the White House's concern that Beijing is considering supplying lethal aid to Russia in its war on Ukraine.

"I actually commend [Blinken] for calling out Beijing's plans publicly," said Matthew Pottinger, the top Asia adviser on Trump's National Security Council. "I have to believe that [Blinken] would not have made this public unless he believed that he had high confidence in it."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference on February 18, where he said that China might be considering supplying Russia with lethal military aid. Photo: AP alt=US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference on February 18, where he said that China might be considering supplying Russia with lethal military aid. Photo: AP>

Pottinger told The Washington Post that warnings by top government officials, including US President Joe Biden; Blinken; Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo "bought a year ... of Beijing restraint" in terms of direct military support to Russia.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Pottinger, who testified last week at a hearing of the new House select committee on China, said that if it was true that "Beijing is very seriously contemplating" providing Russia such support, he thought it was "a very bad sign".

"It means that Beijing is really looking to see whether it can find ways, covert ways, to move all that equipment that Russia needs into that conflict," Pottinger, now a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, added.

China has repeatedly denied the claim, accusing Washington of spreading "false information".

Story continues

China's possible involvement has become one of the most important factors in determining how long the war in Ukraine will continue. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no inclination to stop even though Ukraine's military has so far held off the invasion.

With the US and other Nato member nations assisting Ukraine's efforts with missile systems, ammunition and commitments to send advanced tanks, the possibility of Beijing entering the fray with lethal military hardware raises the prospects of a deeper conflict pitting Beijing and Moscow against Washington and its allies.

"I think that Xi Jinping's original hope was probably very much aligned with Putin's ... for a very rapid victory by Russia over Ukraine," Pottinger said.

A year later, he continued, "Beijing may believe that it has an interest in prolonging the war as long as possible to drain Western attention, Nato attention ... to create a more favourable strategic situation in the western Pacific, including around Taiwan".

Pottinger's concerns echoed those voiced by another Trump-era official. Fiona Hill, who served as the director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council under Trump, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month that Beijing may be looking to prolong the Ukraine war.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on February 15, Fiona Hill said Beijing might be looking to prolong the Ukraine war. Photo: Getty Images via AFP alt=At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on February 15, Fiona Hill said Beijing might be looking to prolong the Ukraine war. Photo: Getty Images via AFP>

"China has no interest in Russia losing in this war, and might in fact have a vested interest in this war going on in Ukraine as long as possible, because it does take up a large amount of equipment and armaments, particularly ammunition and then the increasing demands from Ukraine ... for other equipment," said Hill, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Centre on the United States and Europe.

Pottinger has supported robust efforts to counter Beijing's more assertive posture on Taiwan, but said he would not recommend putting the island under the US "nuclear umbrella".

Beijing considers Taiwan to be a wayward province that must eventually be united with the mainland, by force if necessary. As is the case with many Western countries, the US does not recognise the island as an independent state. But Washington is committed by law to support Taiwan's military defence - a stance Beijing strongly opposes.

"There are conventional means to deter an ill-advised war that Xi Jinping is clearly considering right now," Pottinger said.

"We need to start talking about the ways that Beijing may seek to threaten escalation dominance - including all the way up the ladder to nuclear - and some of the things that we would do and then our allies would do.

"I don't think that it's necessary to take the step of of declaring proactively that Taiwan is under our umbrella," he added. "Remember, we're trying to maintain the status quo; we're not trying to change it."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Indianapolis City-County Council unanimously appointed Dr. Eugene White, a former Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent and former Martin University president, to the Indianapolis Public Library Board on Monday evening.

He received a unanimous recommendation by the Council's Municipal Corporations Committee during a Feb. 8 meeting, where councilor Frank Mascari of District 21 said he was "super over-qualified" for the position.

"I know there's some serious issues on the board so I'm honored to be asked to serve," White said during the meeting.

White's appointment will likely shape board dynamics and the path forward in seeking a new CEO for the library, which still has no permanent leader. White told IndyStar he hopes to revisit the controversy over the library's CEO decision.

He joins a library board facing significant internal division and public mistrust.

Protesters in support of Nichelle Hayes chant Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, outside the Indianapolis Public Library.

Community outcry ensued in December after a divided board offered the job of library CEO to Gabriel Morley, a white man from Louisiana, rather than then-interim library CEO Nichelle Hayes, a Black woman with deep roots in Indianapolis and significant community support.

After Morley declined the offer, the board decided to restart the search process rather than appointing Hayes, the only remaining finalist.

More:Inside the Indianapolis library board's CEO decision, which left them without a CEO

The City-County Council took a rare step of intervention and asked the board to appoint Hayes as CEO. The board majority declined.

Before White's appointment, the board was evenly split between three trustees who supported appointing Hayes for CEO and three who did not. White replaces Dr. TD Robinson, who did not support Hayes for CEO and resigned amid public opposition in January.

White told IndyStar that his first priorities will involve asking questions about what happened during the CEO search, why Hayes was not offered the CEO position, and why, after Morley declined, she still was rebuffed. White said that from what he knows, he believed their explanation to be "weak."

Story continues

"I know that situation with looking for the new CEO split the community, split the staff, and just turned out to be a mess," White said. "That seems to be a preponderance of tough decisions going wrong and hopefully we can revisit that."

White further told IndyStar that historical institutional racism is so entrenched in the country "that one almost has to start with the assumption that it exists, and work forward."

The library has been accused of institutional racism before, accusations dating back to the summer of 2021, when library workers demanded the resignation of then-CEO Jackie Nytes. She denied the claims and resigned in August that year.

The continued refusal of the majority of the board to appoint Hayes as CEO deepened the accusations that the board was guilty of the systemic overlooking of qualified Black women for positions of leadership in the city.

White has long stewardship serving in educational roles

White is a former IPS superintendent. He served in the role for nearly eight years until his retirement in 2013. Previously, White served as superintendent of Washington Township Schools and principal of North Central High School.

Several months after leaving IPS, White was appointed interim president of Martin University, a predominantly Black private university in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. He then served in the role in a permanent capacity for over five years before officially retiring in June 2019.

White is widely credited with lifting Martin University out of financial probation from its accrediting agency during his term as president.

The next public meeting of the library board is on Mar 27.

Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Public Library Board: Eugene White appointed by Council
An influencer said a man took photos of her while she was asleep on a plane. Getty Images

A former Obama admin official and her family hit turbulence on a flight to Maryland last Friday.

The turbulence launched the passengers, and former official Dana Hyde later died of her injuries.

The NTSB is investigating if the plane was experiencing stability issues apart from the turbulence.

A former official who served in both the Barack Obama and Bill Clinton administrations died after suffering injuries from a violently turbulent flight last Friday.

Dana Hyde, a former senior US State Department advisor under Obama and an attorney on the 9/11 commission, was flying back from New England, where she had been visiting schools with her son and husband, Jonathan Chambers, according to the Associated Press.

The company jet they were aboard hit severe turbulence, hurling the passengers on board, and leaving Hyde with blunt-force trauma, according to the chief medical examiner's office. The pilot was forced to divert its landing to Connecticut, where Hyde was pronounced dead at a Hartford hospital, per the AP.

According to the Washington Post, Chambers sent an email to his colleagues at broadband company Connexon after the crash, saying that "the plane suddenly convulsed in a manner that violently threw the three of us," leaving Hyde "badly injured."

The NTSB has launched an investigation into the incident, noting that there was a reported "trim issue," referring to the plane's ability to stay stable and level during the flight, and that equipment from the plane like the cockpit voice recorder would be analyzed.

"She loved and was beloved," Chambers wrote to his colleagues, according to the Post. "Dana was the best person I ever knew. She was a wonderful mother to our boys and she was accomplished professionally."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, between 2009 and 2021, 30 passengers and 116 crew members were seriously injured due to turbulence on flights.

Read the original article on Insider
Kari Lake, the election denier who lost her Republican bid for governor of Arizona last year, was recently called out on her loss by a former Republican National Committee spokesperson.

During an interview at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Tim Miller a former deputy communications director for the RNC, asked Lake if its time for Republicans to change the strategy and appeal to more moderate voters, given weve lost three straight elections.

Lake bulldozed through the question and reached straight for her extremist playbook, insisting that it came down to corrupt stolen elections and that both she and ex-President Donald Trump had actually won the elections they lost.

But dont you think you really lost the election because you didnt reach out to the McCain voters? Miller asked, noting that Lake had told supporters of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to get the hell out during a campaign rally last year.

And you campaigned hard MAGA, he added.

Lakes response? Thats fake news.

You werent appealing to my people, Miller added. You werent appealing to moderate Republicans. Maybe you wouldve won if youd done that.

Lake claimed that she brought the establishment together but unfortunately, a few of them didnt come over and they rigged the election. She wrapped up the interview by telling Miller he dressed like a 13-year-old.

The footage was shot for The Circus, a docu-series that airs on Showtime. Miller tweeted the clip, saying that Lake did not concur with my theory that her loss was attributable to turning off McCain Republicans.

Too simple. Too pat. Mustve been something more nefarious, he quipped.

Lake leaned heavily on Trumps brand of politics during and after her campaign, baselessly insisting the election was stolen from her. She challenged her defeat in court and lost again. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) won the November election by just over 17,000 votes.

Watch the interview below.

Related...
Photo: The Canadian Press A family of asylum seekers from Colombia is met by an RCMP officer after crossing the border at Roxham Road into Canada, Thursday, February 9, 2023 in Champlain, New York. Migration in both directions across the Canada-U.S. border is likely on the agenda today as Immigration Minister Sean Fraser visits Washington, D.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Canada's immigration minister was scheduled to sit down with his U.S. counterpart Tuesday as both countries face mounting political pressure to staunch the flow of undocumented migrants across their shared border.

Sean Fraser's office said the minister would be meeting with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas before he holds a news conference at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The meeting comes as Quebec Premier Francois Legault has been pushing the federal Liberal government to do something about the tens of thousands of would-be asylum seekers pouring into the province from the U.S. each year.

In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly acknowledged that it's time for Canada and U.S. to renegotiate the 2004 immigration treaty that creates an incentive for migrants to sneak onto Canadian soil.

The Safe Third Country Agreement, as it's known, allows both Canada and the U.S. to turn away refugee claimants from a third country who try to make a claim for asylum at an official entry point.

That treaty, however, doesn't cover claims by migrants who arrive in Canada by entering between official crossings, such as at Quebec's Roxham Road, the country's busiest unofficial entry point.

More than 39,000 claims were filed in 2022 by people who were intercepted by the RCMP, the vast majority of them in Quebec.

Legault has urged Trudeau to raise the issue with U.S. President Joe Biden, who is expected to make his first official in-person visit north of the border later this month.

"Roxham Road will have to be closed eventually, whether we like it or not," Legault wrote in a letter to the prime minister last month.

"Quebec has a long tradition of welcoming refugees, and we are proud to contribute to this humanitarian duty. However, this influx cannot continue.... The capacity to receive refugees has been greatly exceeded."

Mayorkas, meanwhile, has been targeted by Republican rivals on Capitol Hill who want to hold him and the rest of Biden's administration to account for what they call a "crisis" of illegal immigration in the U.S.

As part of that effort, some of Biden's critics have taken to talking more and more about the Canada-U.S. border, though the scope of irregular migration is nowhere near the numbers at the U.S.-Mexico frontier.

They've formed the Northern Border Security Caucus, a new coalition of 28 Republican members of Congress who say they are concerned about the influx of drugs, crime and undocumented migrants from Canada.

The group acknowledges that the perils of the northern border pale in comparison to the escalating migratory crisis south of the Rio Grande.

But they cite a steady increase in recent months in the number of "encounters" between border agents and people lacking U.S. legal status as evidence that the problem is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Some blame Canada's lack of visa requirement for travellers from Mexico and what they consider a less stringent approval process for student visas than the U.S. has.

From October through January, the first four months of fiscal 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded 55,736 encounters at or near the northern border with people deemed inadmissible to the U.S.

That was more than twice the nearly 24,000 encounters during the same four months the previous year, and already halfway to the 109,535 reported during the entire 12-month stretch of fiscal 2022.
A former White House official died on Friday after the business jet she was traveling on encountered severe turbulence.

Dana Hyde, who served in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, was transported to a hospital in Hartford, Conn., after her plane made an emergency landing at Bradley International Airport, according to Connecticut State Police.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the incident, said the turbulence event resulted in fatal injuries. In an update on Monday, NTSB said investigators are now looking at a reported trim issue that occurred prior to the inflight upset.

They will continue to learn more after they analyze information from the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and other sources of information like weather data, NTSB said in a tweet.

Hyde was flying from Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene, N.H., to Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia with her husband and one of her sons, after taking a trip to visit schools in New England, according to The Washington Post. Her husband and son, as well as two members of the flight crew, were not injured in the incident.

Under President Obama, Hyde led the U.S. foreign aid agency known as the Millennium Challenge Corporation and served as associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. She also worked as a senior adviser in the State Department.

Earlier in her career, she served as counsel on the 9/11 Commission and worked as a special assistant in the Clinton White House.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros have now been identified as a group of friends who travelled to Mexico for a tummy tuck procedure.

Family members named the group on Monday as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

The four were travelling in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates when they crossed the US border into Mexico on Friday (3 March).

Not long after entering Matamoros  an area dominated by the Gulf drug cartel  they came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck. They have not been seen since.

Ms McGees mother Barbara Burgess told ABC News that her daughter had traveled from her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to get a tummy tuck in Mexico, and that her cousin Mr Woodard and their two friends were accompanying her on the ride.

Ms Burgess said she was worried about her daughter going and warned her it might not be safe.

But, her daughter brushed off her concerns telling her: Ma, Ill be okay.

Ms Burgess last heard from Ms McGee on Friday when she called to say that they were just 15 minutes from the cosmetic surgeons office where she was scheduled to have the procedure that day.

She never heard from her daughter again.

Ms Burgess said she tried calling Ms McGee later that day but her phone went straight to voicemail.

Not long later, she said she received a visit from an FBI agent, revealing what had happened.

Mr Browns sister Zalandria Brown told The Associated Press that the situation felt like a bad dream as she revealed that her younger brother had voiced concerns about travelling to such a dangerous place.

Shaeed Woodard was identified as one of the four Americans kidnapped (Facebook Shaeed Woodard)

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, she said.

But Mr Brown, a 28-year-old living in Myrtle Beach, still went on the trip with his three friends  in part because they had all agreed to help share driving duties.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, said Ms Brown.

Story continues

To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Mr Browns mother Christina Hickson told WPDE she immediately recognised him in the disturbing video circulating on social media.

The video, which has not been verified, shows armed men loading four people into the bed of a white pickup truck.

While one individual is moving and sitting upright, the other three are merely dragged limp into the vehicle.

I knew that he was a third one that was placed on the truck, at that point, my heart was low... Because of how they were treating him, said Ms Hickson.

LaTavia McGee is one of four Americans who were kidnapped after crossing the border into Mexico (Family handout)

They were just slamming them on the truck like they were dead dogs and that was the most heartfelt moment so far.

She added: The waiting is the worse part. It has its advantages and disadvantages. But, however, no news is good news. Thats the way Im staying with it. No news is good news and thats what will give me the audacity to.

Mr Williams North Carolina divers license was found at the scene of the abduction, reported ABC News.

US officials have not yet formally identified the four people kidnapped.

(AP)

The US State Department is advising Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping. The region is on the Level 4: Do Not Travel list.

The border city of Matamoros is largely controlled by the Gulf drug cartel, with violence and migrant smuggling rife.

Oliver Rich, Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division of the FBI, said in the press release that the FBI is seeking the publics help in identifying the assailants responsible for the assault and kidnapping.

(Associated Press)

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers.

An investigation  involving the FBI, federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies  is currently underway.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or to submit tips anonymously online at https://tips.fbi.gov
A former Navy couple from Selma pleaded guilty Monday to allegations they stole the personal information of thousands of people and sold it on the dark web for $160,000 in digital currency, according to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.

Marquis Hooper, 32, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. His co-defendant, Natasha Chalk, 39, was charged with conspiracy.

Both are scheduled to be sentenced on July 24, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston.

They face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the conspiracy convictions. Hooper also faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for the wire fraud conviction, and two years in prison, consecutive to other counts, for the aggravated identity theft conviction.

Federal prosecutors said the couple used their positions in the Navy to siphon the personal information from thousands of people from a private company that normally restricts access to its database to businesses and government agencies with a proven and lawful need for the personal information, according to court records.

Investigators said the couple began their illegal venture in 2018 when Hooper was stationed in Japan as a chief petty officer with the Navys 7th Fleet. His wife was a reservist serving at Lemoore Naval Air Station in California.

Although Hooper separated from the Navy in October 2018 after a 10-year career, he was able to convince the private company that he was working on behalf of the Navy and needed access to their records to run background checks on sailors.

His scheme worked and within a few months, Hooper and Chalk were able to collect the personal information from more than 9,000 people. Prosecutors said they then sold the information on the dark web for $160,000.

Some of the personal information sold by Hooper and Chalk was used by thieves to try and withdraw money from peoples bank accounts, according to federal officials.
When people think of the funding crisis in further education, thoughts normally turn to the rising price of a typical four-year college degree. But that's not the only financial gap that exists: Those who want to pursue hands-on careers in trades like medical technicians, automotive mechanics, welding, carpentry or air conditioning specialists also regularly find themselves out of pocket when it comes to paying for the required training that many of these jobs need. A startup called Fynn has built a financing platform for these vocational hopefuls -- a "SoFi for trade students" in a sense. It currently works with around 150 technical colleges in the U.S., and now with some traction -- $4 million loaned since the platform first went live in the summer of 2022 -- today it's announcing $36 million in funding to continue building out its business.

Fynn's funding is coming in two parts, an $11 million seed, and a $25 million debt facility for providing financing to students. The seed includes backing from Y Combinator, where Fynn first started as part of the Summer 2019 cohort (originally called TradeUp), and Susa Ventures.

Eric Menees, Fynn's CEO and co-founder (with Ethan Anderson and Bhavin Gupta), said in an interview that the gap that Fynn is looking to fill is two-fold.

First, there is a distinct labor shortage globally. Countries like the U.S. have been hit with a triple whammy of more people than ever attending four-year schools, plus the knowledge worker and service industries (which require little to no experience or training) both growing, leaving a gulf that tradespeople used to fill. Trade jobs have the challenge of being at a higher bar: they may pay better than other service jobs (and some "knowledge worker" jobs), but to do them you need special skills and qualifications, and the work is by and large undeniably harder and potentially more risky.

Second, there is the issue of affordability. For those who do want to go into vocational jobs, typically they need to go through technical colleges to do so. And while the tuitions and the time periods are lower and shorter than those for four-year degrees, they are not insignificant.

Story continues

"Some jobs like diesel mechanics have four-month training programs, and others like welding might be a year," Menees said. Those periods are not directly proportional to tuition: It can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 to go through the welder training, while those four-month diesel mechanic courses are $10,000, he said.

And what's more, because the colleges that teach these trades are not typically classified as educational institutions, those wanting to attend these are usually unable to access federal and state loan programs designed to give students a helping hand with finance.

"A typical profile for someone who wants to go to a trade school is an 18-year-old out of high school without credit history and working in something like the food service industry," Menees said. "How is that kid supposed to get $10,000 to be in a mechanic program?"

Fynn takes an approach similar to that of others in other areas of vocational education like coding. It gives users options like payment pauses and loan forgiveness if their jobs change or are lost. It also generally aims to provide a very low-friction onboarding -- promising answers in minutes to loan requests -- but has built a risk assessment model that it believes has been solid at both providing financing for students at schools with strong course completion rates, and to would-be students who are most likely to graduate and get work.

Fynn says that currently those who take its loans and go through and complete courses get a 172% bump in salaries, and that currently 85%-90% of those who take loans get through their courses and get jobs. (It also helps with job placement for those using its platform, a sign of how it might grow over time to cover other services beyond loans.)

Part of that risk model, Menees points out, involves "sharing risk with institutions in the space." That is to say, big employers back these loans in part to get more talent in the door. They look to Fynn to do the vetting and take on the main part of the default risk, so that they do not have to.

"This provides a path to six-figure salaries" for people who might not have previously had it, Menees said.

Indeed, the fact that there aren't a lot of financing options out there addressing the specific needs of vocation students says something about how this sector of the market has been overlooked, and in some regards misunderstood, up to now. Of course, Fynn's success will almost certainly lead to more competition here, too. Why wouldn't SoFi itself become the SoFi for vocational students?

For now, most of those would-be competitors have yet to pounce, though, leaving some interesting opportunities for Fynn.

Having access to trade school programs shouldnt be this complex, especially at a time when skilled workers are needed more than ever. There is still time to solve Americas labor-supply issues, which is good news, said Leo Polovets, general partner at Susa Ventures, in a statement. Our investment enables Fynns continued growth as a leader in skills-based education financing and allows them to continue helping low-income students achieve middle-class status through quality education.

Updated to correct/remove detail on income share agreements, which are not offered by Fynn.
A 19-year-old Gainesville man who was sentenced to life in prison for sexual battery is finally behind bars after skipping town before his trial.

Ian Montero-Lopez was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison, plus 30 years on two counts of sexual battery of a person between 12 and 17 years old, and sexual battery by use of physical force.

He was also designated a sexual predator.

Courts:Eighth Circuit judge sentences convicted sexual predator to life in prison

Eighth Judicial Circuit:Grand jury indicts 5 Gainesville men on murder charges in separate cases

Montero-Lopez was originally arrested on Dec. 24, 2021, and accused of giving a teen narcotics and then sexually battering her, records show. His bail was set at $125,000 and he later bonded out on Feb. 10, 2022.

Court records also show Montero-Lopez had his bond canceled on Oct. 4. An arrest warrant was ordered on Oct. 19, the same day jury selection was scheduled to begin.

Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson in a Facebook post wrote Tuesday that local detectives and investigators with the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, through their "dedication to staying in touch with the victims," were able to locate Montero-Lopez.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville man convicted of sexual battery gets life sentence
Photo: Scott Olson (Getty Images)

This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.



Last month, Eugene became the first city in Oregon to pass an ordinance requiring new residential buildings to be fossil fuel-free. But the policy may never go into effect  not if the natural gas industry gets its way.

Read more

Ever since the electrification ordinance passed, a group funded by Oregons largest gas utility has been busy collecting petition signatures from Eugene residents in an attempt to rescind it. The group bears the hallmarks of astroturfing  when corporate interests create the illusion of grassroots support for their side of a political debate. If the group can collect 6,460 signatures by March 9  which it says it already has  the ordinance can be moved to a ballot referendum for the public to vote on this November, effectively stopping its scheduled implementation this summer and potentially canceling it for good.

Environmental advocates say the petition represents a cynical new strategy from the fossil fuel industry to not only preempt, but overturn electrification ordinances nationwide.

Theyre thinking that if they can roll back climate policy in progressive, dark green Eugene, then they can do it anywhere, Dylan Plummer, a senior campaign representative for the nonprofit Sierra Club, told Grist. Our coalition is ready to fight and do whatever it takes  to show that our city supports climate justice and a transition off of fossil fuels.

Eugene, with a population of roughly 175,000, is just one of more than 90 cities and counties across the United States that have adopted policies to electrify their residential, commercial, or municipal buildings, often as part of an effort to meet emissions reduction targets. Natural gas appliances contribute to climate change  both at the point of combustion in peoples homes and through the extensive leakage of unburned fuel from pipelines, storage facilities, and the appliances themselves.

Story continues

Gas-powered appliances also come with heavy health risks. Stoves that run on gas, for example, leak cancer-causing benzene, as well as pollutants that contribute to respiratory problems, including nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter. Widely reported research published last December found that more than 1 in 10 cases of childhood asthma in the United States can be attributed to the use of gas stoves.

Eugene city councilors discussed these issues at length during a special meeting on February 6  and for many months before then. Under pressure to take concrete action to advance the citys climate goals, including halving citywide fossil fuel use by 2030, compared to a 2010 baseline, the council eventually passed a policy 5-3 that would require new homes less than four stories high to be built without natural gas hookups.

Were building the city that we want to see in the future, Councilor Lyndsie Leech told her colleagues at the time. The ordinance was signed by Eugenes mayor shortly after it passed, and city councilors expected it to go into effect in June.

The opposition, however, has been fierce and well-organized.

Many gas utilities nationwide have tried to stop local governments from phasing out fossil fuels in buildings by advocating for so-called preemption laws, state-level policies that take away city and county councils authority to mandate building electrification. Others have filed lawsuits challenging statewide climate plans that would require them to reduce their emissions. But environmental advocates say the pushback in Eugene has been particularly zealous. A petition committee called Eugene Residents for Energy Choice is currently collecting thousands of signatures in an effort to walk back the City Councils already-approved electrification ordinance.

Its a very, very aggressive campaign, said Anne Pernick, a community manager at the environmental nonprofit Stand.earth, which advocates for building electrification in communities nationwide. Weve seen state preemptions and local lawsuits  but I cant find another example of whats happening in Eugene to overturn something that has passed.

Eugene Residents for Energy Choice is taking advantage of a petition process that allows ordinances passed by the City Council to be put up for a vote by the public. If a petitioner can collect signatures from 6,460 Eugene residents within 30 days of an ordinance being signed by the mayor, that ordinance can be placed on a ballot referendum and sent to voters on the next election day, so long as its more than 90 days away.

Until the election, the ordinance in question cant be implemented. That means a successful petition would prevent Eugenes building electrification policy from going into effect this June, as currently planned. Rather, it would be put off at least until the next election in November  and potentially canceled altogether, if voters reject the ballot measure then.

Eugene Residents for Energy Choice says its already surpassed the 6,460-signature threshold and is looking to collect even more, as petitioners often do in case some signatures are illegible or deemed invalid by the county clerks office. We have collected nearly 10,000 signatures, and we need your help to gather more before the March 9 deadline! the group said in an email sent to its mailing list on February 28.

Eugene Residents for Energy Choice describes itself as a group of local Eugene residents who are simply trying to put building electrification on the ballot  to give Eugene residents a voice in this important matter. But the group appears to be funded in large part by NW Natural, a gas-only utility serving parts of Oregon and Washington with a long history advocating against building electrification. Public records show that NW Natural contributed more than $51,400 to the petition committee just four days after Eugene city councilors passed the electrification policy, followed by another $600,000 less than a week later.

Before then, a similar group called Eugene for Energy Choice  whose website URL now redirects to that of Eugene Residents for Energy Choice  was distributing pamphlets around Eugene with NW Naturals branding on them, calling itself a concerned group of workers and organizations that wanted Eugene residents to have their say on building electrification. The other organizations were three building trade unions and two lobbying groups, one for hop growers and one for Oregons restaurant and hotel industries.

Environmental advocates say Eugene Residents for Energy Choice, which touts the benefits of natural gas, is a front group for NW Natural and its allies, designed to create the illusion of organic grassroots opposition to building electrification. Screenshots provided by the Breach Collective, a Eugene-based climate justice nonprofit, show that a private campaign management services organization, which claimed to be working with NW Natural, spent much of February hiring full- and part-time workers to gather petition signatures in Eugene for up to $35 an hour.

Theyve just blanketed the city with canvassers, collecting signatures and employing deceptive talking points, said Plummer, with the Sierra Club. He said hes seen them at anti-electrification protests outside city hall, too. A couple of us approached them and said, Whats your deal, are you guys just really into natural gas or what? And they said, No, no, no, were just paid.

The campaign management services company did not respond to Grists request for comment, and neither did Eugene Residents for Energy Choice. NW Natural confirmed that it hired the campaign services company to attend a public hearing outside Eugene City Hall, but it said the companys employees were there to help direct traffic. The utility also acknowledged its financial contributions to Eugene Residents for Energy Choice, but it described the group as a separate entity that has independent decision-making authority.

Although environmental groups have described the petition as a first-in-the-nation attempt by the gas industry to roll back local climate policy, Pernick said its nothing new for utilities to pull out all the stops to oppose building electrification. Theres a common playbook, she said, with messaging that implies residents could have their gas-powered stoves and heating systems taken away from them at a moments notice.

It can get really illogical, Pernick told Grist, as if people are coming to rip out your gas appliances tomorrow. Most electrification ordinances so far, including Eugenes, only affect new construction.

Other common talking points hold that natural gas is a necessary part of a climate-safe energy mix, even though its a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change. They also say that building electrification will foist burdensome costs onto ratepayers, strain the electric grid, and make the energy system less reliable. With support from trade groups, including the American Gas Association and the American Public Gas Association, gas utilities trot out these arguments whenever natural gas is under threat.

NW natural is no exception; with more than one-third of its estimated gas connections in Eugene and other jurisdictions that are considering electrification policies, the utility has been vocal about the supposed pitfalls of electrification. Recently, its come under increased scrutiny for what critics have called deceptive marketing practices. In 2022, lawmakers and environmental organizations called on Oregons attorney general to investigate the utility for spending thousands of dollars distributing natural gas-related coloring books to the states public schools. And in January, students in Portland planned to protest a NW Natural-sponsored teacher training on natural gas and hydrogen, calling it part of a broader misinformation campaign about natural gas. (The training was canceled at the last minute.)

Separately, NW Natural made national headlines this winter for hiring a consultant to give expert testimony during a public hearing in Multnomah County, which overlaps with Portland, over the health hazards of gas stoves. The consultant downplayed the science linking air pollution from gas stoves to respiratory problems in children.

Now, environmental advocates say NW Natural is using Eugene Residents for Energy Choice to whip up controversy over the policy to electrify residential buildings. Pamphlets from the groups predecessor described the City Councils ordinance as forced electrification  a ban on choice, and multi-page newspaper ads from the group have touted so-called renewable natural gas as a climate-friendly alternative to costly electrification requirements. Independent analyses show that its almost always cheaper for homeowners when houses are built with electric appliances rather than gas ones.

Eugene Residents for Energy Choice claims on its website that 70 percent of Eugene voters oppose building electrification, based on a 2021 poll paid for by NW Natural. [W]e believe all Eugene residents should have a voice in choosing what energy system is right for them, the groups website reads. A separate poll of Oregon voters conducted by the public policy opinion firm FM3 Research suggests at least 56 percent of Oregon voters support transitioning from using natural gas in buildings and replacing it with clean, renewable electricity.

Plummer, with the Sierra Club, thinks Eugene Residents for Energy Choice will almost certainly succeed in moving the City Councils electrification ordinance to the ballot this November. But his organization, along with several others that supported the ordinance, aims to counter the petition committee with its own public education campaign.

Their efforts include an appeal to the Eugene city attorney requesting changes to the proposed ballot measure so that it more clearly communicates how building electrification is needed to meet Eugenes goal of halving fossil fuel use by 2030. Hundreds of Eugene students also organized a school strike last Friday, when they marched onto the streets of downtown to demonstrate youth support for the electrification ordinance.

Our priority is cutting through NW Naturals misinformation and educating voters about what is going to be on the ballot this fall, Plummer told Grist. Citing Eugenes historically progressive and environmental bent, he said, Were very confident that if Eugene voters are presented with accurate information, they will vote overwhelmingly to support this ordinance.

This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/accountability/a-gas-utilitys-astroturf-campaign-threatens-oregons-first-electrification-ordinance/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Gov. Gavin Newsom says that California is "done" doing business with Walgreens. Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Shae Hammond//MediaNews Group/East Bay Times via Getty Images

Gov. Gavin Newsom says California is "done" doing business with Walgreens.

Newsom tweeted on Tuesday that Walgreens "cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk."

On Friday, Walgreens said it won't be selling an abortion pill in 20 states.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is going to war with Walgreens over the company's decision to stop selling an abortion pill in 20 states.

"California won't be doing business with @walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. We're done," Newsom tweeted on Monday.

Newsom did not elaborate on how far-reaching the business ties are between the state of California and Walgreens, or say what he specifically plans to roll back.

A spokesperson for Newsom told Insider that California is "reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state."

"We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right-wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls," the Newsom spokesperson told Insider.

Walgreens has 586 stores in California, more than almost any other state and behind only Florida, with 820 Walgreens stores, and Texas, which has 701 outlets in the state.

Newsom's feud with Walgreens comes after the company said on Friday that it will not dispense mifepristone, an abortion pill, in 20 states. Walgreens told Insider that it intends to seek FDA certification to distribute mifepristone "only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible."

"Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws," Walgreens said in its statement. "Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate."

Newsom has been staunchly pro-choice. In December 2021, he said he plans for California to be a "sanctuary" for abortions. This was before the Supreme Court gutted Roe v. Wade in June, undoing 50 years of legalized abortion in the US.

Representatives for Walgreens and Newsom did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Gavin Newsom has announced that California wont be doing business with Walgreens after the retailer announced last week that it will no longer sell abortion medication in 20 states.

California wont be doing business with [Walgreens] -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk, Mr Newsom tweeted on Monday. Were done.

Walgreens decision to stop selling mifepristone, the first of two medications necessary for a medication abortion, is another blow to the reproductive rights movement.

Medication abortion is the most common kind of abortion in the US and is currently legal in 37 states  including states where the retailer will no longer offer the medication.

Retailers have faced pressure from anti-abortion groups who are seeking to fully cut off abortion access following last Junes Supreme Court ruling.

In February, Republican attorneys general of 20 states signed a letter addressed to Walgreens threatening the company over its distribution of mifepristone  the same 20 states Walgreens will no longer sell the drug in.

California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk.



We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023

The retailer also made its announcement in advance of a forthcoming ruling from a conservative judge in Texas on a lawsuit seeking to block the use of medication abortion across the country in what is the most significant abortion-related legal case since Roe v Wade was overturned last year.

The lawsuit, filed by an anti-abortion group, targets the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) approval of mifepristone two decades ago. Unlike the decision reversing Roe v Wade, a reversal of the FDAs approval of mifepristone would likely affect people in every state.

Story continues

Walgreens decision to stop selling the drug in advance of any legal ruling, however, irked abortion rights advocates who noted that it will make it harder for people to get healthcare and could put lives in danger.

Mr Newsom, who has criticised the Democratic Party for not doing enough to fight back against far-right social policy, made his feelings clear on Monday.

It is not immediately clear how much business the State of California has with Walgreens or how exactly that business would be affected, but Mr Newsoms stand nevertheless won plaudits from Nancy Sinatra, a resident of the Los Angeles area.

Thank you, Governor!



Since California has the 4th largest economy in the world, people had better begin to pay attention to @GavinNewsom https://t.co/kMsp5aLyly  Nancy Sinatra (@NancySinatra) March 7, 2023

Thank you, Governor! Since California has the 4th largest economy in the world, people had better begin to pay attention to [Gavin Newsom], Ms Sinatra tweeted.

Other major retailers like CVS, RiteAid and Kroger have not yet made clear if they plan to continue distributing mifepristone in the future following Walgreens announcement.

Mr Newsom has attempted to elevate his national profile over the last year as he eyes a potential run for the presidency  positioning his governorship as an antidote to governor Ron DeSantiss in Florida.

Mr Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor, said he will only run next year if president Joe Biden declines to pursue a second term.

Mr Biden, should he choose to run again, will have at least one primary opponent: author Marianne Williamson, who also pursued the nomination in 2020, announced her candidacy last week.
Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of National Defence Anita Anand arrives to appear as a witness at the Standing Committee on National Defence, regarding the surveillance balloon from the People's Republic of China, in Ottawa, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Defence Minister Anita Anand says there is no indication the flying objects shot down over Yukon and Lake Huron last month were affiliated with a foreign country.

But Anand says she won't otherwise speculate on the origins or purpose of those two objects, or of a third shot down off the coast of Alaska, because they have not been recovered.

Anand made the comments today during an appearance with senior military officers at the House of Commons defence committee.

The three objects were shot down in short order between Feb. 10 and 12, days after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was destroyed off the coast of South Carolina.

U.S. and Canadian officials have previously indicated that the three objects were likely balloons, but said they did not pose a threat to national security.

Anand was also asked about reports that Chinese surveillance buoys were recovered in Canada's Arctic waters, but she would not comment due to national security concerns.
Georgia deputies are searching for a murder suspect who may have been kidnapped the night before he was supposed to appear in court.

Christian Demond Williams had been scheduled to go before a judge Monday for his charges in a 2021 murder case. However, Williams attorneys alerted prosecutors to a video that showed their client being kidnapped.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorneys Office shared the video with Channel 2s ABC affiliate WGXA-TV News.

The video shows two people dressed in all black hit Williams and drag him out of the front yard at his home. The camera view does not show how they left with Williams.

TRENDING STORIES:

District Attorney Anita Howard told WGXA News that her office is concerned about the safety of Williams and the community.

Mr. Williams has displayed dangerous behavior in the past, and we believe he and whomever he may be with  voluntarily or against his will - are a risk to the community. We are trying to determine if this incident is a kidnapping or if Mr. Williams is on the run. Either way, we need to get Mr. Williams back in custody for his own safety and the safety of the community, Howard said.

WGXA-TV News reports that Williams had been out on bond since January, but his bond was revoked last week.

His monitoring company reported that he was in violation of his ankle monitor and house arrest, according to court documents.

Williams was last seen wearing all dark clothing and the red ball cap shown in the video. He is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds.

Anyone with information on Williams or his whereabouts are urged to call the Bibb County Sheriffs Office at 478-751-7500 or call Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.

IN OTHER NEWS
ATLANTA (AP)  A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in one of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Monday, a key step toward reaching commercial operation at the first new nuclear reactors built from scratch in decades in the United States.

The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. said operators reached self-sustaining nuclear fission inside the reactor at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta. That makes the intense heat that will be used to produce steam and spin turbines to generate electricity.

A third and a fourth reactor were approved for construction at Vogtle by the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2009, and the third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016. The company now says Unit 3 could begin commercial operation in May or June.

Unit 4 is projected to begin commercial operation sometime between this November and March 2024.

The cost of the third and fourth reactors was originally supposed to be $14 billion. The reactors are now supposed to cost more than $30 billion. That doesn't include $3.68 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the owners after going bankrupt, which brings total spending to more than $34 billion.

The latest set of delays at Unit 3 included a pipe part of a critical backup cooling system that was vibrating during startup testing. Construction workers had failed to install supports called for on blueprints. The company has also said it had to repair a slowly dripping valve and diagnose a problem involving water flow through reactor coolant pumps.

Georgia Power said Unit 3 would continue startup testing to show that its cooling system and steam supply system will work at the intense heat and pressure that a nuclear reactor creates. After that, operators are supposed to link the reactor to the electrical grid and gradually raise it to full power.

We remain focused on safely bringing this unit online, fully addressing any issues and getting it right at every level, Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, said in a written statement. Reaching initial criticality is one of the final steps in the startup process and has required tremendous diligence and attention to detail from our teams.

Story continues

Georgia Power owns a minority of the two new reactors. The remaining shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Oglethorpe and MEAG would sell power to cooperatives and municipal utilities across Georgia, as well in Jacksonville, Florida, and parts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

Georgia Power's 2.7 million customers are already paying part of the financing cost, and state regulators have approved a monthly rate increase of $3.78 a month as soon as the third unit begins generating power. The elected Georgia Public Service Commission will decide later who pays for the remainder of the costs.

Vogtle is the only nuclear plant under construction in the United States. Its costs and delays could deter other utilities from building such plants, even though they generate electricity without releasing climate-changing carbon emissions.

___

Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.
By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in its telecoms networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.

An interior ministry spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed that the German government was carrying out a general review of telecoms tech suppliers, but said that this was not directed at specific manufacturers.

The German government, which is in the midst of a broader re-evaluation of its relationship with top trade partner China, has been wary of expressly singling out Huawei, even while pursuing legislation enabling it to crack down on the firm.

An interior ministry paper on the review obtained by Reuters said that a specific supplier could be banned from providing critical components if it were deemed to be directly or indirectly controlled by the government of another state.

"We cannot be reliant on components of individual suppliers," Finance Minister Christian Lindner told Welt TV.

The review could lead to Germany asking operators to remove and replace components already built into networks, the interior ministry spokesperson said, adding that current legislation did not foresee compensation for them.

"This is a sign that the German government may finally be taking China-related risks to national security seriously," said Noah Barkin, managing editor with research firm Rhodium Group's China practice who specialises in German-Chinese relations.

"But after years of dithering, the German 5G network is deeply dependent on Chinese suppliers. It will take many years to unwind this."

Critics of Huawei and ZTE say that their close links to Beijing's security services mean that embedding them in the ubiquitous mobile networks of the future could give Chinese spies and even saboteurs access to essential infrastructure.

Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject these claims, saying that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals.

Story continues

Referring to reports in German media about a possible ban, the Chinese embassy in Germany said in a statement Beijing would be "very puzzled and strongly dissatisfied" if any such decision were taken.

In response to a Reuters request for comment, China's foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped Germany would "make an independent decision in line with its own interests, economic patterns and international rules that does not receive interference from a third party".

Beijing has often suggested that decisions made by European countries that it perceives as hostile are due to pressure from the United States.

A Huawei spokesperson said it did not comment on speculation and it had a "very good security record" during its 20 years of delivering technology to Germany and the rest of the world. A ZTE spokesperson said no evidence had been produced to suggest its products were insecure, but it welcomed external scrutiny.

Asked about the potential ban, two of Germany's top telecoms operators, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone Germany, said they fully complied with current regulations but did not respond to political speculation.

GERMANY LAGGING

While several countries across Europe are still formulating telecom policies, only Britain and Sweden have so far banned Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment.

"The devil is in the details, it would be a major step forward if this included all access network components where operators have made excessive use of Huawei in recent years," said Thorsten Benner, China expert and director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin.

Germany passed an IT security law in 2021 setting high hurdles for makers of telecommunications equipment for next-generation networks, but stopping short of banning Huawei and ZTE as some other countries have done.

A new report shows that Germany has actually become even more dependent on Huawei for its 5G radio access network equipment (RAN) than in its 4G network, even though operators have avoided using the firm's technology for the core networks.

The German government was last month unable to answer a parliamentary request about how many Huawei components operators were using in their 5G networks, filed in part in response to the report.

"It's disconcerting that the government only right now starts to do a thorough mapping of where operators use Huawei and ZTE components and that they don't have that information in real time," said Benner.

Sweden's telecom regulator PTS, which in 2020 banned Chinese companies from rolling out 5G, gave telecom operators taking part in 5G auctions until Jan. 1, 2025 to remove gear from China from their infrastructure and core functions.

Britain, meanwhile, wants telecom firms to remove equipment and services from Huawei in core network functions by Dec. 31, 2023, from an original target of Jan. 28, 2023.

The deadline to remove all Huawei gear from Britain's 5G networks by the end of 2027 remains unchanged.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke, Friederike Heine and Hakan Ersen; Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Liz Lee; Editing by Alexander Smith and Stephen Coates)
Samantha Lee/Insider

You should be honest about how a change in sexual appetite makes you feel, says a sex therapist. Crystal Cox/Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Crystal Cox/Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider

Partners can feel out of sync in their sex life if they have different desire types.

Telling your girlfriend how the lack of sex makes you feel while being curious about what she needs could help, said sex therapist Ian Kerner.

Have a question for Julia? Fill out this anonymous form. All questions will be published anonymously. You can read more Doing It Right here.

Dear Julia,

My girlfriend never wants sex anymore. It's been over a month and I'm starting to feel unwanted and as if she finds me gross, though she's never said that.

We've had this issue multiple times. Every time I think it's almost fixed, something flips and she stops wanting to be intimate with me.

It makes me really sad and sometimes frustrated, but I feel like I can't share my feelings because it'll be seen as coercion. But in truth, I've been crying every night over it.

Is there anything I can say?

- Florida

Dear Florida,

I've also had moments where I've stayed silent about my negative emotions. I worried that if I shared, I would hurt that person or worse, they would take my vulnerability as a sign I needed too much. This is all to say that I'm familiar with the pangs of desperation you're likely feeling.

You shouldn't dismiss how you feel about your sexual bond with your girlfriend because they show you deeply care about being connected to her. In fact, you should be honest with her about how this change in sex has affected you, Ian Kerner, a sex therapist who works with couples, told me.

Kerner, who wrote the New York Times best-selling book "She Comes First," said differences in what men and women typically need to feel sexually desirable, plus inaccurate media portrayals of heterosexual sex, often lead men to believe there's something inherently wrong with them or their partner when their sexual interest is out of sync.

But there are ways to communicate your desires while having empathy for your girlfriend's needs, according to Kerner. He said that as long as both partners are up for working on their intimate bond, improvement is possible.

Story continues

It's normal for you and your girlfriend to need different things to feel in the mood

According to Kerner, the ways people get in the mood for sex typically fall into two buckets, spontaneous desire and responsive desire.

Someone who has spontaneous desire, which is very common among men, can simply think of sex or see their girlfriend looking hot and to be ready to go, said Kerner.

Someone with responsive desire, which is more common among women, "have to have the motivation or the intention to be sexual, and then desire emerges from that motivation," like a "simmering" of sexiness, Kerner said. Sexting throughout the day, lots of kissing before moving to genital touch, or spending quality time on a date are just a few examples of the "spark" people with spontaneous desire need to feel ready for sex, according to Kerner.

It's likely you and your girlfriend have different desire types, but that doesn't mean you're sexually incompatible, Kerner said. It does mean you should be aware of these differences and make sure you talk about them from a place of curiosity, not judgment, together.

In his latest book "So Tell Me About the Last Time You Had Sex," Kerner explains how couples can better understand what turns the other on (and off) for a more mutually satisfying sex life.

Think about what sex means to you emotionally and share that with your girlfriend

From a young age, society teaches men and women to internalize our emotions and sexuality in different ways. So when men and women come together to have sex, misunderstandings can happen, Kerner explained of a dynamic he often sees between the coupled partners he counsels.

"What often gets lost is that there's really emotional meaning for men in sex," Kerner explained. "These guys feel lonely, neglected, rejected. They are yearning for connection. They're just not expressing it that way, because they were taught not to express vulnerable emotions."

Unaware of their male partner's true emotions, the woman partner may view his frustration as a sign he's blaming her, or that he only sees her as sex object. In reality, he wants to connect in a way that works for both of them, but doesn't know how to articulate that, Kerner said.

The key to breaking this cycle is your acknowledgment that sex is more than just sex for you, and the willingness to talk about your emotions with your girlfriend from a place of softness, Kerner said.

He suggested broaching the conversation by saying something like, "I know it's been hard for us to have sex lately and I really miss it. I feel kind of disconnected from you and lonely and I'm hoping we can talk about it."

In sharing your own softness perhaps your girlfriend can share hers too, and explain what she needs to enjoy those intimate moments you crave. Be open to her needs, whether it's phone-free time just talking with each other, a 30-minute make out session, the dishes in the sink to be clean pre-sex, or something completely different.

It can be scary to wear your heart on your sleeve in this way when vulnerability is so often seen as a sign of weakness. But I know that every time I've been brave enough to go there, sharing my sadness or fear of being left, I've become closer to myself and the people I love.

I think it's worthwhile, Florida.

As Insider's resident sex and relationships reporter, Julia Naftulin is here to answer all of your questions about dating, love, and doing it  no question is too weird or taboo. Julia regularly consults a panel of health experts including relationship therapists, gynecologists, and urologists to get science-backed answers to your burning questions, with a personal twist.

Have a question? Fill out this anonymous form. All questions will be published anonymously.

Read the original article on Insider
Simon Berghan is one of four players that have been added to the Scotland squad (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

Glasgow quartet Simon Berghan, Scott Cummings, Rory Darge and Stafford McDowall have been added to the Scotland squad for the Six Nations game against Ireland on Sunday.

Suspended Grant Gilchrist, who misses the rest of the campaign after being handed a three-week ban following his red card in the last match away to France, has returned to Edinburgh and Josh Bayliss has returned to Bath.

With matches against the Irish and Italy at BT Murrayfield remaining, Gregor Townsends side have two wins from three fixtures, while Ireland have won all three of their games.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 28: GloRilla performs onstage at Center Stage on January 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Terence Rushin/Getty Images)

Terence Rushin/Getty GloRilla

GloRilla is speaking out in the wake of the deadly stampede at her show in Rochester, New York, which killed two women and injured eight others.

"I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sunday's show," the Grammy-nominated rapper, 23, wrote on Twitter late Monday.

She added, "My fans mean the world to me praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected ."

The tragedy occurred after the concert ended at about 11 p.m., when the crowd at Main Street Armory surged towards the exit after some audience members reported hearing gunshots, according to the Associated Press.

Police entered the venue and found three women critically injured, including a 33-year-old who died at a hospital, per the AP's reporting.

I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sundays show. My fans mean the world to me praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected   GloRilla  (@GloTheofficial) March 7, 2023

RELATED: GloRilla Speaks Out After NY Concert Stampede That Reportedly Left One Fan Dead, 9 Others Injured

On Monday, Buffalo's mayor, Byron Brown, identified the concert-goer as Rhondesia Belton, who worked for the City of Buffalo Traffic Violations Agency.

"Her family, friends, and colleagues are devastated and left to mourn this tragic loss. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"This is another difficult day for our City's workforce and our entire community. I join all of our City employees in mourning the loss of one of our own," Brown, 64, wrote in another tweet.

Later on Monday, authorities said a 35-year-old woman, whose name was not released, also died from her injuries. A third woman remains in critical condition, while seven others were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Story continues

Rhondesia Belton

Byron W. Brown Twitter Rhondesia Belton

RELATED: AstroWorld Tragedy Is the Latest Deadly Crowd Surge: Past Fatal Stampedes and What Causes Them

Despite law enforcement finding no evidence of gunshots at the venue, they're reportedly investigating multiple causes for the stampede.

These include "possibly crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and other contributing factors," Rochester Police said at a news conference on Monday.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Now, authorities are investigating the venue to see if it took proper precautions to accommodate the crowd, Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans said, adding that the incident was a "tragedy of epic proportions," according to The New York Times.

"When you go to a concert, you do not expect to be trampled," he said. "Your loved ones expect you to be able to come home."

The incident comes more than a year after 10 people were killed in a crowd surge at rapper Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival in Houston in November 2021.
As per the information available at the moment, the soldier killed by the occupiers for shouting "Glory to Ukraine!" was Tymofii Shadura, a military serviceman from the 30th Mechanised Brigade.

Source: the press service of the brigade on social media, General Staff, representative of the 30th Mechanised Brigade in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "Yesterday, a video of Russian occupiers executing a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine after he said Glory to Ukraine! was posted on social media and news outlets.

As per the information available, it was Tymofii Shadura from the 30th Mechanised Brigade."

Details: It is noted that Tymofii Shadura was considered to be a missing person since 3 February 2023, after combat actions near the city of Bakhmut.

At the moment, the body of the Ukrainian defender is on the temporarily occupied territories.

The brigade has pointed out that the final identification will be made after the body is returned and all examinations are done.

Quote from the General Staff: "The shooting of an unarmed prisoner is a cynical and brazen disregard of the norms of international humanitarian law and the customs of war. This is what vile murderers do, not warriors. The Russian occupiers have once again clarified that their main goal in Ukraine is the cruel extermination of Ukrainians.

Not a single death of our warriors will go unpunished. But we will do it in a legal and fair way  on the battlefield, in court or in an international tribunal.

With a cool head, in accordance with the customs of war and with honour, we will surely take revenge for everyone! Eternal memory and Glory to the Hero!"

Update: In an interview with Ukrainian Pravda, the 30th Mechanised Brigade reported that Tymofii Shadura, born in 1982, was mobilised in December 2022.

According to the data provided by the serviceman himself, when he joined the brigade, he had combat experience and previously served in the 92nd brigade [but when was not stated  ed.].

Story continues

Shadura came from and lived in the village of Mala Derevychka, Lubar district, Zhytomyr Oblast. The hero's mother and two of his brothers live there.

Shadura himself, in the data he provided for the 30th Mechanised Brigade, indicated that he was not married.

Background:

On 5 March, a horrific video appeared on the internet showing an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war being shot by the Russians after saying "Glory to Ukraine!"

The Security Service of Ukraine has opened a criminal proceeding regarding the video in which Russian invaders shot a Ukrainian soldier.

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets called the shooting of the Ukrainian soldier "another Russian war crime".

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate the circumstances of the shooting of the Ukrainian prisoner of war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the video of Russian invaders shooting a Ukrainian soldier who said "Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine)!"

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Google CEO Sundar Pichai reminded Google employees to be mindful of spending. Brandon Wade/Reuters

Google CEO Sundar Pichai justified a new desk-sharing program at the company's cloud unit, per CNBC.

This was after employees taunted the "corpspeak" used while announcing the new program.

Pichai said many staffers work in the office two days just a week, so it can feel like a "ghost town."

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, justified the company's new desk-sharing program, saying the office can look desolate with many employees just coming in twice a week, CNBC reported on Monday.

"To me, it's obvious that they are trying to be efficient and save money but at the same time also utilize resources," Pichai said at an all-hands meeting last week, CNBC reported citing an audio recording it obtained. "There are people, by the way, who routinely complain that they come in and there are big swaths of empty desks and it feels like it's a ghost town  it's just not a nice experience."

Last month, staff at Google's cloud division in five US locations  including New York City and San Francisco  were told to coordinate on their alternate days in the office and share their desks with coworkers. While the policy is just for cloud employees now, Pichai said last week other teams have the "freedom to experiment," per CNBC.

The executive also reminded Google employees to be mindful of spending.

"We should be good stewards of financial resources," Pichai said, per CNBC. "We have expensive real estate. And if they're only utilized 30% of the time, we have to be careful in how we think about it."

The desk-sharing program had previously drawn criticism from some employees who taunted the "corpspeak" used while announcing the initiative, per the broadcaster.

The belt-tightening at Google comes amid difficult times in the tech industry after years of splashy employee benefits. Companies that over-hired during the e-commerce boom during the pandemic are now facing a drop-off in demand.

Over 450 tech companies have laid off nearly 124,000 employees this year so far, according to the Layoffs.fyi tracker.

Story continues

A Google spokesperson confirmed the company's desk-sharing program, in an emailed response to Insider, but did not comment on Pichai's comments.

The spokesperson said it developed the new arrangement for Cloud employees after running pilots and surveys and is "combining the best of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility and focus we've all come to appreciate from remote work, while also allowing us to use our spaces more efficiently."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chicago native and comedian Brittani Nichols is a writer on ABCs Abbott Elementary. Quinta Brunson, the shows creator and star, spent time in Chicago earlier in her career taking classes at Second City, but ironically, that Chicago connection is not how they met.

Nichols wound up meeting Brunson when they both worked on a BuzzFeed web series called You Do You. They would again work together on HBOs A Black Lady Sketch Show. How did that lead to the ABC sitcom?

Advertisement

Around the time Abbott Elementary was first coming together, Nichols had sold a show to the streaming platform Quibi, which later went out of business. As Nichols looked around for her next project, Brunson mentioned: I have this pilot at ABC and if it goes, just keep it in mind as you make decisions.

This season, Nichols said shes been drawn to writing for Gregory. To me, hes really the straight man of Abbott. Hes the one looking around and thinking: No, everyone around here is nuts, and Im the normal one. A lot of his quirks and eccentricities are infused with the personalities of all the writers, so its fun to throw bits of us into Gregory.

Advertisement

Though primarily a writer, Nichols has also appeared on camera. When asked about a worst moment in her career, she recalled her role on the Amazon series Transparent.

My worst moment 

Im going to give you some context: I had never eaten a bagel until I was in college. And in my first interaction with a bagel, I accidentally put sour cream on it because I didnt know what cream cheese was. This was at Yale and we had a condiment station; there were several white condiments that werent labeled, and you just kind of had to be able to tell them apart. And I had never had sour cream or cream cheese, but I had seen people putting white stuff on a bagel. I clearly picked the wrong one.

So I swore off bagels after that. At the time, I didnt realize I had put the wrong thing on it, and I thought: I just dont like bagels. And I literally didnt have another bagel until this story Im about to tell you.

Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams in an episode of "Abbott Elementary." (Gilles Mingasson/ABC)

Cut to August 2015, Id been cast in Transparent playing one of Carrie Brownsteins best friends (Brownstein played a character named Syd Feldman). I got cast off of meeting the shows creator Joey Soloway at a Pride event and a mutual friend was like, Brittanis really funny! and days later I had an offer in my inbox.

But I was so new, I truly had no idea how anything worked in TV. I had been a production assistant and I had been in jobs around the industry. And I had shot my own web series. But as far as a real TV set with professionals on the Paramount lot? No. I was so overwhelmed most of the time I was there. People dont talk about the small things that make you realize: Oh, this is truly my first time because I dont know how to navigate this situation. Like, do I just hang out in my trailer until someone comes to get me? No one tells you this stuff.

So this was the last episode I was going to be appearing in. And the scene is with the whole Pfefferman family. Its Yom Kippur in the episode and, of course, I had no idea what that is  I had no idea about any Jewish holidays. But this is a show about a Jewish family, so bagels are part of their lives.

Were at this dinner and the whole gang is there. My character was there to sort of break some of the awkward tension. And were given bagels to eat because thats what theyre breaking their fast with.

Advertisement

In the action line for the episode, it says something like: She feasts on bagels. Im supposed to be aggressively eating bagels. And I take that to heart (laughs).

I dont have any lines in this scene. My job was to eat bagels and make faces. But I can tell that the camera is catching me a fair amount of the time. I dont know what take that theyre going to use. But I know that the action says Im supposed to feast on these bagels. Again, I have not eaten a bagel since my very unfortunate situation in college.

The cast if "Abbott Elementary" from left:Tyler James Williams, Quinta Bruin, Lisa Ann Walter and Sheryl Lee Ralph. (Gilles Mingasson/ABC)

Well, I end up eating not one bagel, not two bagels, but four bagels. Thats a lot of bagels. It almost became a bit I was doing.

I also didnt know about spit buckets. So every time they reset my bagel, I would eat the bagel.

The worst part is, they didnt end up using any of the footage of me eating the bagels! In the episode, there are a couple shots of me passing a plate and making a face. So I did all that bagel eating for nothing. I gave my appetite to all these bagels for nothing!

And of course, when they called lunch I couldnt eat anything because I was full of bagels (laughs).

Advertisement

What is the reality of eating on camera and what is a spit bucket?

A spit bucket is what it sounds like: When an actor is seen eating something on camera, when they call cut you just spit it into a bucket so you dont have to swallow it and end up eating pounds and pounds of food. A lot of time the food is treated with something to make it last longer. Or its cold because its been out for so long. Or it can be really disgusting because theyre not making it with someone tasting it in mind.

Brittani Nichols is a writer for the hit series Abbott Elementary." (MAIWENN RAOULT / NYT)

Luckily the bagels werent gross. With my previous bagel experience, I thought this was going to be disgusting. I thought I was going to have to put on a performance to convince everyone that I was enjoying these bagels. So in that respect, I was relieved that the bagels tasted good. And there was actual cream cheese on the bagels this time.

Four bagels with cream cheese is a lot of bread and dairy in one go.

(Laughs) It is. It really didnt hit me until I left. So much of that day was normal nerves, but then I became concerned that I was going to become physically ill. Luckily I was still pretty young and could eat whatever I wanted and bounce back.

But I imagine if Id had a spit bucket, that would be pretty gross too. Just to have that sitting next to you with all your spit-out food in it for hours. That doesnt sound like a great option to me either!

Advertisement

On Abbott, when theyre in the teachers lounge eating lunch, theyre really just snacking and those are snacks that the actors themselves like. But there was an episode in which Quinta is on a date and the tag is that shes eating ribs really hardcore and her face is plastered in barbecue sauce. And she did not have a spit bucket. Whats hilarious is the idea for that scene was hers! So I wrote it, and then when we were on set filming it she was like, Brittani, why did you do this to me! (laughs)

The takeaway 

I have no regrets  I enjoyed giving it my all even though it was such a small role and no one really gave a crap that I was doing all this character work with these bagels. No ones ever going to watch that and be like, Wow, that bagel eating!

But it was my first big Hollywood experience. And now I have enough production experience to make an informed decision about whether I want to eat the food or if I need a spit bucket.

Quinta Brunson about to dig into a plate of ribs on "Abbott Elementary." (Bonnie Osborne/ABC)

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribune.com
Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Republican members of Congress lambasted Tucker Carlson on Tuesday for his characterization of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection as peaceful chaos, citing police statementsand their own lived experiencesas evidence to the contrary.

I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on January 6, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters on Tuesday, according to NBC News. It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way thats completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.

McConnell held up and referenced a letter written by Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, who ripped into Carlsons offensive and misleading portrayal of events during his Monday night broadcast. Carlson presented footage from that day, given to him exclusively by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), that he claimed demolishes the idea that Jan. 6 constituted a deadly insurrection and that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknicks death the next day resulted from its events, as his family has contended.

The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video, Manger wrote in the letter to his officers, which was first reported by Politico. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments. Manger also maintained that, had Sicknick not been assaulted by rioters while defending the Capitol, he would not have died the next day.

Speaking to reporters at the Capitol, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) was franker.

I think its bullshit, he said, according to NBC News. I was here. I was down there and I saw maybe a few tourists, a few people who got caught up in things.

If those who attacked the Capitol were merely visitors, he said, they shouldve probably lined up at the visitors center and came in on an orderly basis.

The sentiment was echoed by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who noted to NBC News that when you come into the chambers, when you start opening the members desks, when you stand up in their balconyto somehow put that in the same category as, you know, permitted peaceful protest is just a lie.

Story continues

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), a frequent contrarian within the GOP ranks, told reporters it was really sad to see Tucker Carlson go off the rails like that and claimed the Fox News host was joining a range of shock jocks that are disappointing America and feeding falsehoods.

The American people saw what happened on Jan. 6, Romney said. Other Republican senators, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mike Rounds (R-SD), also joined the pile-on.

I think the Jan. 6 committee had a partisan view of things, and Id like to know more about what happened that day and the day before, Graham said, according to NBC News. But Im not interested in whitewashing the COVID lab theory, and Im not interested in whitewashing Jan. 6.

The criticism of Carlson extended to GOP House members. I don't really have a problem with making it all public, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) told Politico. But if your message is then to try and convince people that nothing bad happened, then it's just gonna make us look silly.

I don't think transparency is ever a mistake. I think Tucker's message doesn't make any sense, he added.

Seven people died in connection with the riot, according to a bipartisan Senate report released in June 2021, while two D.C. police officers died by suicide months later. Nearly 140 police officers were injured that day, and the Department of Justice said more than 1,000 people have been arrested.

Carlson has promised to show more of the House surveillance footage on Tuesday, which he claimed on Monday was vetted by Capitol Police with only minor reservations. A Capitol Police source told NBC News that the agency only got advance notice of one of the clips aired on Monday and was not permitted to preview more.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is preparing to launch its first public hearing stemming from its investigation into the evacuation of Afghanistan, vowing to examine President Bidens role in the chaotic U.S. exit from the country.

The hearing  and those that follow  will zero in on one of the most dramatic months of the Biden presidency. While Biden allies tout the largest evacuation in history as a success despite inheriting difficult circumstances and a deal brokered by the prior administration, the GOP has cast the event as nothing short of a disaster.

Lawmakers on the panel will meet Wednesday with two leaders of outfits that organized amid the withdrawal, staging charter flights to aid Afghans seeking to escape the country, as well as other veterans, including a former Army medic on the scene amid a suicide bombing just outside the airport gates.

The U.S. evacuated roughly 88,500 Afghans in August of 2021, but that exit came at a steep price. Thirteen service members lost their lives as the military tried to maintain control of Hamid Karzai International Airport while numerous Afghan allies were left behind.

The country, now under Taliban rule, is facing an economic crisis and food shortage, while many of those who aided the U.S. during its 20-year mission in Afghanistan have struggled to flee the country or remain in hiding.

The committee, led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), is seeking to focus on the difficulty of evacuating allies as the U.S. rushed to meet an end-of-August deadline to leave the country.

What happened in Afghanistan was a systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level  and a stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration. As a result, the world watched heartbreaking scenes unfold in and around the Kabul airport, McCaul said in a statement to The Hill.

I want every gold and blue star family member, and every veteran out there who watch this hearing to know: I will not rest until we determine how this happened  and hold those accountable responsible.

Story continues

That story will be told from the veteran perspective on Wednesday.

Scott Mann with Task Force Pineapple and France Hoang with Allied Airlift 21 will speak about their efforts to organize charter flights out of Afghanistan. Aiden Gunderson is the medic who will testify about the scene on the ground, as will Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a sniper who was working at the airport gates.

Peter Lucier, a veteran who works with Team America Relief, which worked to help Afghans seeking to evacuate and is still working to assist those who wish to leave the country, will testify at the invitation of committee Democrats.

Veterans groups and lawmakers spent months sounding the alarm the U.S. was not moving fast enough to process the Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) given to those who assisted military efforts in the country. It was many of those same voices that sprang into action during the evacuation.

But it was the horrifying images of Afghans running on the tarmac with luggage and even hanging from airplanes that captured public attention.

Numerous private groups launched in the hectic days of the withdrawal, raising significant private funds to secure charter flights to ferry Afghans out of the country.

Still, the efforts had their own complexities.

On the one hand, they aided vulnerable Afghans in escaping the country, in some cases even after the U.S. had withdrawn, assisting those who otherwise may have had little chance of escaping.

Many were organized by those with ties to the military, determined to rescue those they had connected with over their service.

But some who were evacuated to official U.S.-connected intermediate sites fell short of the standards needed to secure passage to America, including Afghans who worked with the military for less than the three years required to secure an SIV. Some remain abroad, left to pursue a journey to the U.S. though the refugee system, which often takes years.

Absent from Wednesdays hearing are any Afghan people evacuated during the withdrawal or other representatives from the Afghan community.

This was an issue that was very intimate and close to the Afghan diaspora in the U.S., said Mustafa Babak, executive director of the Afghan-American Foundation, noting that many were working to get their own relatives out of the country during the evacuation.

He said the group has struggled to get answers to their own questions about the evacuation that continues to impact those who fled.

Some of these questions we have been asking from the very beginning, since August 2021 when the whole process started. Whether it be whats happening to those who are still left behind, SIVs, the evacuation process, and the resettlement process, and future for those who made it to the U.S., he said.

The U.S. commitment to leave Afghanistan was negotiated under the Trump administration through the Doha Agreement, which required the removal of all U.S. troops.

But the terms of the agreement collided with already slow SIV processing times that diminished to just a trickle under the Trump administration.

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the committee, nodded to the circumstances leading up to the evacuation, saying through a spokesperson that any review cannot be done with a lens focused only on those days in August 2021.

As we continue the relocation effort, its important to learn from both the success and challenges of the evacuation. However, any efforts to paint a narrow picture that strips out the context of our policy decisions leading up to the 2021 evacuation would be a disingenuous attempt to mislead the American public and politicize the issue. Democrats on the committee will seek to understand that context so the same mistakes are not repeated going forward, a spokesperson for House Foreign Affairs Democrats said in a statement to The Hill.

The first hearing could also mark a significant shift in the power dynamic for a former GOP minority that has struggled to get cooperation from the Biden administration.

McCauls team previously released a report criticizing Biden for the withdrawal, which while failing to deliver any smoking guns, offered a detailed look at the circumstances leading up to the withdrawal as well as the evacuation itself.

The Biden administrations, and specifically the State Departments, refusal to provide Congress with the necessary information regarding Americas unconditional withdrawal from Afghanistan has hampered the Minority Committees ability to complete a thorough investigation, said the report, which was released at the anniversary of the withdrawal last August.

The committee has made clear it hopes to use its newfound power to secure more cooperation from the Biden administration. I have subpoena power. I reserve that until necessary, McCaul recently said in an interview with Fox News.

But Im prepared to do that to get answers to these questions.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Tax season 2023

Gov. Mike DeWine anchored his proposed two-year budget around ways to help children and families in Ohio.

Among those ideas: A $2,500 tax deduction for people with kids.

"It is a budget that focuses on our people, on our families, and on our children, for they are Ohios greatest asset," DeWine said during his State of the State address. "It reflects our obligation to make sure every Ohioan has the tools to succeed, to get a good job, to live their dreams, whatever they may be."

More:When to expect your Ohio and federal tax refunds this year

But what exactly does a tax deduction entail, and how would it affect your bottom line?

Here's what you need to know.

Tax deduction vs. tax credit

A tax deduction is an amount subtracted from your taxable income, which ultimately lowers your taxes.

This is very different from a tax credit, such as the Child Tax Credit enacted by Congress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tax credits are taken out of the income taxes you owe. Depending on the amount and type of credit, this can reduce your taxes to zero or lead to a refund from the government.

DeWine said he opted for a deduction over a credit to help people out on their taxes, specifically.

"What we've done gives tax relief," DeWine told USA TODAY Network Ohio reporters and editors last month. "The other is a subsidy to families. And again, there's nothing wrong with that. And I'm not necessarily at at all against that, but they're just different things. They're just different animals. They're just different goals that you have in mind."

The proposal would cost the state about $130 million per year, according to the Office of Budget and Management.

How much would I save?

DeWine's proposed deduction would save parents some money, but the impact is less pronounced than a credit would be. It also depends how many children a family has; the deduction is $2,500 per kid.

For example, families with two children earning $100,000 would save at most $184. That same family would get $5,000 off their tax bill with a credit.

Story continues

A single parent of one child who makes $40,000 would save about $69.

To approximate how much you would save from the deduction:

Calculate your state income taxes using your current taxable income and tax rate. Reminder: Ohio has tax brackets that use different rates for different levels of income.

Subtract the deduction from your current taxable income  $2,500 for one child, $5,000 for two, etc. Calculate taxes for that amount with the applicable tax rate.

Subtract the second number from the first.

Note: This applies only to state income taxes, not federal.

Some critics of DeWine's proposal have said it doesn't help those who need it the most. Ohioans who make under $26,050 don't pay income taxes, meaning they wouldn't see any financial relief through the deduction.

"The wealthier you are, the more you get from it, but its still very, very little," said Guillermo Bervejillo, a policy fellow at Policy Matters Ohio, a progressive, nonprofit research institute.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine presents his budget during his State of the State address at the Ohio Statehouse in January.

Will DeWine's proposal pass?

It's too soon to say whether the deduction will end up in the final two-year budget.

House lawmakers started reviewing the governor's proposal last month and will eventually pass their own version of the spending plan. State Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said he expects the Senate Finance Committee to get a crack at it beginning mid-April.

Dolan and Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, who chairs the House Finance Committee, said they appreciate the spirit of DeWine's proposal and want to find ways to help parents. But it's unclear what the final version will look like, and Edwards wants to ensure any deduction affects all families in Ohio.

"This might be an incentive for trying to relieve obstacles for people who want to have children and are thinking about family planning," Edwards said.

House Republicans also have bigger plans for the state's tax code. They want to eliminate the state's progressive tax system in exchange for a flat tax rate on Ohioans earning over $26,050.

Rea Hederman, the vice president of policy at the conservative Buckeye Institute, said that kind of broad tax proposal is more appealing than something that would only affect certain Ohioans.

Any time you start to give people deductions based on certain characteristicsyoure shrinking the tax base so other people have to pay a higher tax rate," Hederman said.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine child tax deduction would affect tax bills
Senator Lindsey Graham said Monday he plans to introduce legislation that will designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups, setting the stage for the U.S. to use military force against the criminal organizations if necessary.

Graham appeared on Fox News to react to the news that four Americans were kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico, with shocking footage showing armed men dragging the U.S. citizens into a white pickup truck. Governor of the Mexican state Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal, confirmed that two of the four have since been found dead, the Associated Press reported. The other two were found alive.

Number one. Id do everything I could to get them back, Graham explained to Jesse Waters.

I would do what Trump did. I would put Mexico on notice. If you continue to give safe haven to fentanyl drug dealers, then youre an enemy of the United States. Seventy to one hundred thousand people have died from fentanyl poisoning coming from Mexico and China and this administration has done nothing about it, he added.

Graham pointed to an interventionist anti-cartel strategy proposed last week by former attorney general Bill Barr in the Wall Street Journal.

[Following Bill Barrs idea,] Im going to introduce legislation, Jesse, to make certain Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law and set the stage to use military force if necessary to protect America from being poisoned by things coming out of Mexico, he said.

In his op-ed, Barr explained that proscribing these cartels is not enough.

These narco-terrorist groups are more like ISIS than like the American mafia. Case-by-case prosecution of individuals can be a part of an overall effort, but the only way to defeat them is to use every tool at our disposal inside Mexico, wrote Barr. Merely designating the cartels as terrorist groups will do nothing by itself. The real question is whether we are willing to go after them as we would a terrorist group.

Story continues

A far more aggressive American effort inside Mexico than ever before [is needed], including a significant U.S. law-enforcement and intelligence presence, as well as select military capabilities, added Barr. Optimally, the Mexican government will support and participate in this effort, and it is likely to do so once they understand that the U.S. is committed to do whatever is necessary to cripple the cartels, whether or not the Mexican government participates.

During his Senate Judiciary hearing last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland admitted to Graham that current policies are not stopping fentanyl from killing Americans.

Its a horrible epidemic, but its an epidemic thats been released on purpose by the Sinaloa and the new generation Jalisco cartels, Garland said.

While the attorney general agreed that fentanyl should not lose its Schedule I status, he demurred on raising mandatory minimums.

Additionally, asked if he would be opposed to Graham and his colleagues designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Garland explained he wouldnt be opposed, but added there are diplomatic concerns. We need the assistance of Mexico in thisThey are helping us, but they could do much more.

If this helping, I would hate to see what not helping looks like, Graham retorted.

The cartels also promise to be a live issue in the 2024 presidential race. One Republican candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, has already pledged to use justified military force to decimate them Osama bin Laden-style, [Qasem] Soleimani-style.

Graham concluded by sending a direct warning to Mexico.

I would tell the Mexican government: If you dont clean up your act, were gonna clean it up for you, Graham said.

More from National Review
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday said he was prepared to introduce legislation to set the stage for U.S. military force in Mexico, saying it was time to get tough on the neighboring country after four Americans were kidnapped by armed men this week.

Graham told Fox News host Jesse Watters that he would follow the advice of former President Trump on Mexico policy.

I would put Mexico on notice, Graham said. If you continue to give safe haven to drug dealers, then you are an enemy of the United States.

Graham added he would introduce legislation to make certain Mexican drug cartels foreign terrorist organizations under U.S. law and set the stage to use military force if necessary.

I would tell the Mexican government if you dont clean up your act, were going to clean it up for you, the senator said.

It was unclear what type of legislation the GOP lawmaker was suggesting. The Hill has reached out to Grahams office for clarification.

Military action in Mexico would require an Authorization for Use of Military Force, which would need to pass a divided Congress and then be signed into law by the president. Congress would need a two-thirds majority to override a veto.

Even then, President Biden, as the commander-in-chief, has direct control over the armed forces. The president has committed to working with Mexico to stop the flow of illicit drugs across the border.

A Mexican governor said Tuesday that two of the Americans kidnapped were found dead, while one was wounded and another was unharmed.

The four Americans traveled to Mexico on Friday and were kidnapped in the city of Matamoros after they were caught in a deadly shootout, officials announced.

The group was traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. U.S. authorities, who believe the Americans were likely mistaken for someone else, had offered a $50,000 reward for their safe return.

Story continues

The city of Matamoros is dominated by the Gulf drug cartel. Other cities and states in Mexico are under increasing strain from cartel groups vying for power and markets across the country.

Conservatives this week latched onto news of the captured Americans to renew calls for tougher action against Mexico.

Former Trump administration Attorney General William Barr called Mexico a failed Narcos state in a Fox News interview, saying its government is corrupt and lacks the ability to deal with the cartels.

We have to deal with this group like we dealt with ISIS, Barr said, referring to the U.S.-designated terrorist group. We have to use every tool, we have to use economic, we have to use intelligence assets, military assets and law enforcement and we have to methodically dismantle these groups.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican Museums gave Greece three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon on Tuesday and the Greek side said the gesture should be imitated by others, a likely reference to a collection of sculptures from the ancient temple that are held by Britain.

The fragments have been in the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for more than a century and Pope Francis ordered their return last December.

The pope has donated them to Ieronymos II, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, as a gesture of ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

Ieronymos' representative at Tuesday's signing ceremony at the Vatican Museums, Rev. Papamikroulis Emmanouil, called the pope's gesture "historic".

Emmanouil said there was "much left to do to heal the wounds and traumas suffered by this monument (the Parthenon) because of practices that belong to a distant past".

"The hope is ... that his gesture by the Holy Father will be imitated by others. His Holiness the pope of Rome has proven that this is possible and realistic," he said.

The Parthenon, which is on the Acropolis in Athens, was completed in the fifth century BC as a temple to the goddess Athena, and its decorative friezes contain some of the greatest examples of ancient Greek sculpture.

According to the Vatican Museums website, one piece being returned to Greece is the head of the horse that was pulling Athena's chariot on the west side of the building. The others are from the head of a boy and the head of a bearded male.

In his address at the signing ceremony the governor of Vatican City, Cardinal Fernando Vergez, said the three pieces were acquired by the papacy "correctly" at the start of the 19th century. He did not elaborate.

With the donation to Greece, the Vatican Museums no longer holds any parts of the Parthenon.

The pieces are being returned as London and Athens have entered talks over the a collection known as the Parthenon Sculptures held by the British Museum.

Story continues

Greece has repeatedly called for the permanent return of the sculptures, which British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the temple in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Greece's then-ruler.

The British Museum has long ruled out returning the marbles, which include about half of the 160-metre (525-foot) frieze that adorned the Parthenon, and insists they were legally acquired.

Last month, British Museum chair George Osborne said the UK was working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens.

(This story has been refiled to specify that the Pope ordered the return of fragments last December, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
By Stamos Prousalis and Kristian Brunse

ATHENS (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Greece on Wednesday and workers went on strike in the biggest show of public anger yet over the country's deadliest train disaster that killed 57 people last week.

The crash on Feb. 28 has stirred public outrage over the crumbling state of the rail network. Striking workers say years of neglect, underinvestment and understaffing - a legacy of Greece's decade-long debt crisis - are to blame.

In the largest street protests the government has faced since being elected in 2019, police estimated more than 60,000 people, among them transport workers, students and teachers, took part in demonstrations in cities across Greece.

More than 40,000 people marched to parliament in central Athens alone, chanting "Murderers!" and "We are all in the same carriage".

Violence briefly broke out when a group of protesters clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas at the crowd. Protesters hurled petrol bombs in front of parliament and set a van and garbage bins on fire.

Thousands also took to the streets in Greece's second-biggest city of Thessaloniki, where a group of protesters hurled stones at a government building.

Many of the around 350 people aboard an intercity passenger train that collided head-on with a freight train while travelling on the same track were university students heading north to Thessaloniki from Athens.

"Message me when you get there," a placard in Athens read, echoing what has become one of the slogans of the protests over the past week.

"You feel angry because the government did nothing for all of those kids. The public transport is a mess," said 19-year-old Nikomathi Vathi.

"We're going to be here until things change," said another student, Vaggelis Somarakis.

The conservative government, which had been planning to call an election in the coming weeks, promised on Wednesday to fix the ailing rail system.

Story continues

Transport Minister George Gerapetritis told a news conference he understood the anger the accident had caused.

"No train will set off again, if we have not secured safety at the maximum possible level," he said after announcing a suspension of the service while it reviews safety.

WARNINGS

Rail workers had already been staging rolling strikes since Thursday, bringing the network to a halt.

They say their demands for improvement in safety protocols have gone unheard for years and have promised to "impose safety" to ensure that a crash will not be repeated.

"We drivers have filed complaints about these things, we have gone on strike about it, we have made warnings, we have protested," said the head of the train drivers' union, Kostas Genidounias.

"They told us we were lying, we were slanderous, we had other interests. In the end it showed that the workers were right."

Greece's largest public sector union ADEDY joined Wednesday's 24-hour strike. City transport workers walked off the job in solidarity, disrupting metro, tram and bus services in the capital. Ships also remained docked at ports as seamen participated in the action.

"It's not the time to fall silent," a teachers' union said.

The government, whose term expires in July, has blamed the crash mainly on human error and deficiencies it says have not been fixed over the past decades.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has handed the portfolio to Gerapetritis, one of his closest allies.

Gerapetritis said funds would be invested in upgrading infrastructure and hiring staff, and also promised to shed light to the causes of the crash.

Greece sold its state-owned railway operator, now called Hellenic Train, to Italy's state-owned Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 during its debt crisis. The sale was a term in the country's bailout agreements with the European Union and the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.

(Additional reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Renee Maltezou, Angeliki Koutantou, Lefteris Papadimas, Louiza Vradi, Florion Goga, Alkis Konstantinidis, Alexandros Avradmidis in Athens and Murad Sezer in Thessaloniki; Writing by Karolina Tagaris and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Alison Williams)
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition party Popular Will said on Tuesday that Juan Guaido, once the most visible global face of the country's opposition, will be its candidate in an October presidential primary.

Guaido, a 39-year-old industrial engineer, headed an interim government beginning in January 2019, before being replaced as head of the opposition legislature at the end of 2022.

Though Guaido was recognized as Venezuela's rightful leader by many Western countries which consider President Nicolas Maduro's 2018 re-election to be fraudulent, Maduro remains in office and is enjoying loosened U.S. sanctions and renewed relations with some neighbors.

Popular Will opposed the removal of the interim government, saying it would seek unity among the opposition ahead of the presidential contest expected in 2024.

Popular Will's national activist team has decided "that Juan Guaido will be the candidate," party national coordinator Freddy Superlano said at the group's Caracas headquarters.

At least a dozen candidates have said they will participate in the primary, which will come amid widespread voter apathy and uncertainty about whether the millions of Venezuelans who have migrated abroad will be able to vote.

Guaido and some other candidates, including previous opposition presidential hopeful Henrique Capriles, are barred by judicial and administrative rulings from holding public positions.

The government has said those who are barred cannot run until their bans expire, but the opposition says the decisions are part of a government strategy to tamp down dissent.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Richard Chang)
Images of Fox News personalities, from left, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Maria Bartiromo, Stuart Varney, Neil Cavuto and Charles Payne appear outside News Corporation headquarters in New York on July 31, 2021. (Ted Shaffrey/AP)

NEW YORK  Fox News is on an unlikely collision course with two leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination over the rights of journalists.

In defending itself against a massive defamation lawsuit over how it covered false claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election, the network is relying on a nearly 60-year-old Supreme Court ruling that makes it difficult to successfully sue media organizations for libel.

Advertisement

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, two favorites of many Fox News viewers, have advocated for the court to revisit the standard, which is considered the foundational case in American defamation law.

It is ironic that Fox is relying on a landmark case that was designed to help the news media play the watchdog role in a democracy and is under attack by Gov. DeSantis, Donald Trump and other figures who have been untethered in their attacks on journalists as enemies of the people, said Jane Hall, a communication professor at American University.

Advertisement

Eye-catching evidence has emerged from court filings in recent weeks revealing a split screen between what Fox was portraying to its viewers about the false claims of election fraud and what hosts and executives were saying about them behind the scenes. Sydney Powell is lying, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in a text to a producer, referencing one of the attorneys pushing the claims for Trump.

In an email a few weeks after the 2020 election, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch described a news conference featuring Powell and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, another attorney who pushed the election lies: Really crazy stuff. And damaging.

Aside from the revelations about Foxs inner workings, the outcome could have broad implications for media organizations because of how they and the courts have come to rely on the libel law Fox is using as a shield.

In its $1.6 billion lawsuit, voting machine maker Dominion Voting Systems argues that Fox repeatedly aired allegations that the company helped rig the general election against Trump despite many at the news organization privately believing the claims were false.

Fox says the law allows it to air such claims if they are newsworthy.

In a 1964 decision in a case involving The New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court greatly limited the ability of public officials to sue for defamation. It ruled that news outlets are protected against a libel judgment unless it can be proven that they published with actual malice  knowing that something was false or acting with a reckless disregard to whether it was true or not.

In one example of how the law was applied, editors at the Times acknowledged last year that an editorial mistakenly linked former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palins rhetoric to an Arizona mass shooting. Palin lost her libel suit because she couldnt prove the newspaper erred without concern for the truth.

Some advocates for free speech worry that the Dominion-Fox lawsuit ultimately could give a conservative Supreme Court a chance to revisit the standard set in the case, known as New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. While the case has been among the courts most durable precedents, the newly empowered conservative majority has indicated a willingness to challenge what had been considered settled law  as it did last year in overturning abortion rights.

Advertisement

Two Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have publicly expressed interest in giving the precedent another look.

In dissenting from a 2021 decision not to take up a libel case, Gorsuch wrote that what began in 1964 as a decision to tolerate occasional errors to allow robust reporting has evolved into an ironclad subsidy for the publication of falsehoods by any means and on a scale previously unimaginable. He said the modern media landscape is much different today, and suggested it was less careful.

My wish is that the parties would settle and this case would go away, said Jane Kirtley, director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and the Law at the University of Minnesota. I dont see any good coming out of it.

A perceived strength in Dominions case also worries some supporters of the press.

Dominion says Fox was, in effect, torn between the truth that Joe Biden legitimately won the race and pleasing viewers who wanted to believe Trumps lies. In depositions released last week, Murdoch argued that Fox as a network did not endorse the claims, but that some of its commentators  Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Sean Hannity  at times did.

Murdoch was among several at Fox to say privately they didnt believe the claims made by Trump and his allies that widespread fraud cost him reelection. In his deposition, Murdoch said he could have prevented guests who were spouting conspiracies from going on the air, but didnt.

Advertisement

One of the defenses is that even false speech about public figures is protected so long as it is believed by the speaker, First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams said. But no one at Fox appears ready to say that he or she did believe the assertions ... and there now appears to be substantial evidence that no one there at Fox did so. Its a major blow.

Foxs entire prime-time lineup privately disparaged Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, according to court papers. Laura Ingraham, in a text to Carlson, called her a nut. In a deposition, Hannity said he did not believe her theories for one second. Nevertheless, Powell was interviewed on Fox 11 times between Nov. 8 and Dec. 10, 2020, according to court papers.

Dominions lawyers say Fox is arguing that it has no legal responsibility for broadcasting even the most horrible allegations, knowing they are false, as long as they are deemed newsworthy.

Fox said Dominion is presenting an extreme view of defamation, one in which the network had a duty not to report the allegations but to suppress them or denounce them as false.

Under Dominions approach, if the president falsely accused the vice president of plotting to assassinate him, the press would be liable for reporting the newsworthy allegations so long as someone in the newsroom thought it was ludicrous, Fox lawyers said in court papers.

Such a rule would stop the media in its tracks, Fox said.

Advertisement

Theres a high bar for proving libel  and thats deliberate, First Amendment attorney Lee Levine said. Dominion has to show that a reasonable audience could conclude that someone at Fox was making these allegations, not just the interview subjects, he said.

Still, Levine said, Dominion has the strongest defamation case hes seen in 40 years of being involved in the topic.

George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center, said Fox should cite a lesser-known neutral reportage standard that dates back to a court case from the 1970s. It holds that news organizations should not be discouraged from reporting something newsworthy even if there are serious doubts about the truth, as long as that information comes from responsible and prominent sources.

But the U.S. Supreme Court has not weighed in on that argument, and a number of lower courts have rejected it. Its also not clear that the defense would be legally applicable in the Dominion case against Fox.

There is sentiment in Republican circles that the Sullivan standard goes too far in protecting news organizations.

DeSantis last month urged the Supreme Court to revisit libel laws, saying they are used to smear politicians and discourage people from running for office. A bill being considered in the Florida Legislature would significantly weaken standards in the state. Trump said last year that the court should consider his own defamation lawsuit against CNN a perfect vehicle for revisiting precedents.

Advertisement

Some media law advocates that the University of Minnesotas Kirtley has talked to privately, people who are usually eager to support the press in libel cases, are queasy about publicly backing Fox in the voting machine lawsuit.

Many see the case as a surrogate to hold Fox and Trump supporters accountable for what happened after the 2020 election, she said.

I dont think a libel suit is the vehicle to deal with this, and you have to think about what damage could be done to libel law if Dominion wins, she said.
A woman who battled mouth cancer and learned to eat and breathe again became a pilot while undergoing treatment  and says she now feels totally liberated.

Jackie Burch, 30, noticed a sore on her tongue in December 2019 and went to the doctor to have it checked.

After pushing for a biopsy on the growth she was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in April 2020.

Jackie, originally from Orange County, California, underwent surgery to remove the growth in November 2020, and spent a week with a tracheostomy - an opening in the neck with a tube inserted to help you breathe.

Two months later the growth returned, and Jackie pushed to have two further surgeries in January 2021 because she wanted the best possible chance to live cancer free.

Despite her ordeal, Jackie decided to learn to fly and started her training whilst still undergoing treatment.

Now two years in remission, Jackie has obtained her pilots licence and loves to fly a light aircraft, built by her husband, Tobias Stein, 31.

Jackie, a hotel host and former civil engineer based in Lucerne, Switzerland, said: It was terrifying mentally and physically to go through it.

When the growth started coming back on my tongue again, I got really scared.

It was tough. More emotionally than anything else, because I came out of surgery with a tube in my nose, my arm in a bandage, and Im breathing through a hole in my neck.

My tongue is tethered. My voice is different. My speech is different.

(Jackie Birch / SWNS)

However Jackie said flying has helped her feel liberated in spite of her cancer experience.

She said: Flying - its absolutely the most ultimate freedom Ive ever felt.

My tongue or my smile is crooked. But the most important thing is that Im doing exactly what I want to do in my life.

Jackie met her husband, Tobias, a pilot, in December 2016 and discovered a passion for aviation after seeing he was building an aircraft in his house.

She said: After I lost my job, he suggested to pay for me to get flying lessons.I thought   how can a girl say no to that?

Story continues

(Jackie Birch / SWNS)

But Jackies training was halted when she discovered a growth on her tongue in December 2019.

She went to her doctor in New Zealand, where she was living at the time, and had a biopsy which revealed she had precancerous cells on her tongue growth.

She was told her to monitor it and on her return to the United States she started a course of steroid injections and pills to get rid of the lump.

Jackie said: I was like, this really hurts now. I need to have this removed.

She had another biopsy in April 2020 which revealed she had squamous cell carcinoma.

Jackie said: It was crazy. It was silent and something just like completely changed. The doctor said I was one of only two people who have ever had this.

(Jackie Birch / SWNS)

Following her diagnosis and biopsy she underwent further scans and tests but in July 2020 her cancer returned.

She had an hour long operation to remove the growth in November 2020 - including a neck dissection to test the lymph nodes for cancer.

Jackie spent a week with a tracheostomy and had shoulder pain where her nerves were damaged.

She said: Honestly, it was tough. More emotionally than anything else.

I just thought  What did I just do? Am I ever going get better? Am I ever going eat that hamburger again?

It was really hitting me when I got out of the hospital.

Seven days later, I was doing great. I started being able to close the hole in my neck.

I was breathing out of my mouth and I was still eating out of the tube of my nose. Slowly I got the tube out of my nose and started eating some food - mainly blended food.

(Jackie Birch / SWNS)

The couple had bought a hangar home to house their new aircraft - a bush airplane named Pocahontas and a Cessna 150  when Jackie relapsed.

Jackie said: I didnt really have any friends while I was recovering in our new home on the airstrip, so I was really excited to start the flying lessons again because I was bored and I wanted to get it done.

As soon as Jackies arm and shoulder had improved she started taking flying lessons again.

Within a year she gained her private pilots license in March 25 2021 and began flying a small single engine piston aircraft.

Jackie said: My wounds were healing. My energy started coming up. I was a maniac. I wanted to get everything done.

I was so stoked that I could talk on the radio, after the tracheostomy and learning to breathe again. I could be understood on the radio, which is absolutely incredible to me.

The feeling of getting past that fear was amazing. Its such a subconscious fear. Im an engineer. I know the wing is really not going to fall off right?

I wanted to get everything done

That has been such an incredible journey to continue to acknowledge that I have a fear but also find so much joy in getting to my destination.

The super amazing thing about aviation is the community. It is such a tight community of people, theres such openness, camaraderie of the pilot community.

Its absolutely 100% freedom. When Im in America, say I wanted to go fly to Las Vegas, I could just set off from my house and in half an hour Im at Las Vegas.

Jackie is now in remission but has been told there is a chance her cancer could return.

She said: On my last cancer check-up, I learned that in the first two years theres between a 20 and 30 per cent chance the cancer comes back.

There is this sense of pressure that you only live once. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Health is not a given and still to this day I have these conversations with myself  Is this, in this moment really what I want to do?

I dont really think about it all the time. I mean, I always have to basically use a fork to move food in my mouth. But other than that it doesnt affect my life on a day to day anymore.
Almost half of Ukrainians are in favour of the immediate prosecution of people involved in corruption in the Defence Ministry, while the same number believe that it is necessary to conduct a longer and more thorough investigation.

Source: Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), according to the results of a survey conducted between 14-22 February

Quote: "There is a debate in society about the Defence Ministry... The issue has polarised Ukrainians: 46% believe that it is better to investigate more thoroughly and for a longer time, while at the same time the same number (47%) of respondents believe that there should be immediate decisions on the slightest suspicion of corruption."

Details: Sociologists noted that they asked Ukrainians this question after the scandal concerning possible corruption in the Defence Ministry, which shook the country in early 2023.

One half of Ukrainians are convinced as for now that everyone should be immediately removed from office and prosecuted for the slightest suspicion of corruption, because this is especially important during times of war.

Others believe that this will provoke instability within the Defence Ministry and negatively affect the country's defence capabilities and the acquisition of weapons from the West, so it is better to investigate such suspicions more thoroughly, albeit for a longer time.

The study was conducted between 14-22 February. Two thousand and two respondents over the age of 18 living in all regions of Ukraine (except Crimea) were interviewed using the telephone interview method based on a random sample of mobile numbers. The sample did not include residents of territories that were temporarily beyond the control of the authorities of Ukraine until 24 February (Crimea, Sevastopol, some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts), and the survey was not conducted among citizens who had left the country after 24 February.

Formally, under normal circumstances, the margin error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) did not exceed 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 10%, and 1.1% for indicators close to 5%.

Story continues

A certain systematic deviation is added due to conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error. However, sociologists believe that the results obtained are still highly representative, offering a fairly reliable analysis of the public mood.

Background:

ZN.ua reported on 21 January that the Defence Ministry procured food for soldiers which was two or three times more expensive than in shops in Kyiv. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, already involved in the case of embezzlement of US$580,000 during the procurement of military ammunition, signed a contract with the Aktyv company in December.

Information about "chicken eggs for 17 hryvnias" went viral: the journalists investigation mentioned the price per egg, even though the document contained the price for 100 grams.

The Ministry of Defence called the information about food being too expensive as misleading and manipulation and promised to turn to the Security Service of Ukraine. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov denied the accusations of his ministry. Later in his interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov admitted that he was too emotional and promised to thoroughly check all facts discovered by the journalists.

Viacheslav Shapovalov, Deputy Minister of Defence, resigned on 24 January 2023 due to a scandal over food procurement for the Ukrainian military at inflated prices. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi was fired from the position of the head of the state procurement department at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, a fact that became known on 25 January.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal issued instructions that the state procurement system for the Armed Forces of Ukraine be updated, to include the publishing of prices for food and goods.

At the end of February, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine published updated contracts for the procurement of food products for the army; the food supply service will range from UAH 137 to UAH 144 [approximately US$3.71-3.9], the terms of the contracts have been shortened, and food prices have decreased. In particular, eggs will cost UAH 8-9 [equiv. to approx US$0.22-0.24] each.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Slapping, kicking, grabbing, covering the mouth with a hand -- and, oh yes, pouring water on a victim. Thats what allegedly happened on a New Hampshire school bus transporting intellectually disabled children home from school last month.

But the kids werent fighting amongst themselves. Police say it was the bus driver assaulting the children who were just five to six years old.

The incident happened on February 17th, said Hudson, NH Police Chief Tad Dionne. Three days later, Hudsons school department found out about it from a parent.

The district contacted families of the students that were on this bus once we were made aware of the initial concern, said Hudson School Superintendent Daniel Moulis, Ed. D. The actions of the driver were wrong and violated the trust of our students and our parents.

The actions also broke the law. Monday, Hudson police arrested the driver, 68-year-old Virene Poliquin, who had been employed for six years at Durham School Services.

She is charged with nine Class A misdemeanor simple assault counts on three juvenile students, said Dionne. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Virene Poliquin assaulted one student seven times and two other students once.

Those assaults were allegedly caught on the buss surveillance tape. Among those who viewed it, Chief Dionne.

Ive been a police officer for a long time, he said. Needless to say, there are not too many events that make me pause when reviewing a case. This incident did so. Poliquins actions are completely unacceptable, disturbing and without justification under the law.

Poliquin posted a $500 bail -- but no one came to the door of her home, save for a barking dog.

But down the street, neighbor Dorothy Matthews was willing to weigh in. A lot.

I have anger towards that person because I dont know why you could do this to a child, said Matthews who, along with her husband, served as a foster parent for thirty years.Its bad enough you do it to another person thats your age, but to a child whos defenseless?

Story continues

You are much stronger and wiser than them. It just hurts my heart.

And Matthews knows kids can be a handful at times.

Kids, theyre not always Mr. Perfect, Mrs. Little Perfect, she said. And they do things that aggravate you. But goodness gracious, youre an adult. Please. Treat children with tenderness and care.

Class A Misdemeanors in New Hampshire are serious enough to warrant a possible prison sentence of less than one year. Poliquin faces arraignment in a Nashua Courtroom early next month.

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
Royal commentator Jennie Bond has said that William and Kate would prefer to have the disgraced Prince Andrew as their neighbour over Meghan and Harry.

The comments come as the King may reportedly offer the couple a suite of rooms in Buckingham Palace that previously belonged to the Duke of York, after asking them to vacate their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage.

It is understood that the King has instead offered the keys to Frogmore Cottage to his brother, who is said to be resisting any attempt to move him out of his current home, the Royal Lodge.

They [Prince and Princess of Wales] will be absolutely supportive of Charles decision. They probably dont want Harry and Meghan as their near neighbours, Bond told OK! Magazine.

I think theyd probably have Andrew, she added.

Bonds words follow reports that King Charles III has officially invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to his and the Queen Consorts coronation this spring.

A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told The Times that they have received email correspondence about the coronation, but no decision has been disclosed about whether they will accept the invitation or not.

It has been reported that the couple will not appear in any royal processions or on the balcony of Buckingham Palace alongside other working members of the royal family if they do end up attending the coronation. This would echo the arrangements during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee celebrations last summer.

On Saturday evening (4 March), Harry took part in a new interview with author Gabor Mate, during which he revealed that the lack of physical affection he received as a child impacts the way he parents his two children, Archie and Lilibet, today.

Key Points

Harry and Meghan have reportedly received official invitation to the Kings coronation

Chris Rock questions Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family in Netflix stand-up show

Prince Harry left Royal Family because he felt different

Therapy helped me overcome my mothers death, says Duke of Sussex

Duke and Duchess of Sussex stunned by request to vacate Frogmore Cottage

Story continues

Harry and Meghan will not appear on Buckingham Palace balcony if they do attend coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 14:30 , Ellie Muir

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not likely to appear on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace if they do attend the coronation on 6 May, it has been reported.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markles spokesperson has indicated that they have received their invitation to the King and Queen Consorts coronation via email correspondence, but have not disclosed any decision about their attendance.

The Sun now reports that, if they are going to the ceremony, they will not appear in any formal procession or on the balcony along with other working members of the royal family.

This would echo their absence from the balcony during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee celebrations last summer. Harry and Meghan travelled to the UK to celebrate the Queens 70th anniversary on the throne but only appeared in public alongside the rest of the family a few times.

Inside Frogmore Cottage: the residence at the centre of a new royal row

Tuesday 7 March 2023 16:33 , Ellie Muir

The Grade II-listed Frogmore Cottage has been part of the royal familys property portfolio since the 19th century.

Over the years, various members of the royal family have lived in the 10-bedroom house, which was first built as a retreat for Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, in 1801.

It is currently known for being the first marital home and UK residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

My colleague Kate Ng has the full report here.

Inside Frogmore Cottage, the residence at the centre of a new royal row (Alamy Stock Photo)

Inside Royal Lodge: The 30-room mansion Prince Andrew may have to vacate for Frogmore Cottage

Tuesday 7 March 2023 16:16 , Ellie Muir

The Duke of York has resided in the Royal Lodge in Windsor Park for nearly 20 years, but reports suggest his time there may be coming to an end.

Prince Andrew first moved into the vast property in 2004 and made it his family home. He lives there with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

But it has now been reported that he may have to move out of Royal Lodge, as his brother the King may cut his 249,000 annual allowance.

Kate Ng has the full report here.

Prince Andrew is claimed to be resisting calls for him to move into Frogmore Cottage (Alamy Stock Photo)

William and Kate would prefer Andrew as neighbour over Harry and Meghan, claims royal commentator

Tuesday 7 March 2023 16:01 , Ellie Muir

A royal commentator has said that the Prince and Princess of Wales would rather have Prince Andrew as their neighbour over Prince Harry and Meghan.

It comes after reports last week revealed King Charles III evicted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, and reportedly offered the keys to his disgraced brother Prince Andrew.

But reports also suggest that he is set to extend an olive branch and offer a suite in Buckingham Palace to Harry and Meghan Markle.

In response to the news that the Sussexes could be staying in Buckingham Palace, just 10 minutes away from Kensington Palace where the Prince and Princess and Wales live, English journalist and royal commentator Jennie Bond said that William and Kate would prefer Andrew as their neighbour over Harry and Meghan.

They [Prince and Princess of Wales] will be absolutely supportive of Charles decision. They probably dont want Harry and Meghan as their near neighbours, Bond told OK! Magazine.

I think theyd probably have Andrew, she added.

It comes after Prince Harry alleged in his tell-all memoir Spare that his brother had once hit him. Harry also claimed that William and Kate did not like his wife Meghan and repeatedly described them behaving with hostility, while William is alelged to have urged his brother not to marry Markle before their wedding in 2018.

Read the full report here.

King Charles ordered Sussexes eviction to save monarchy, Piers Morgan says

Tuesday 7 March 2023 15:42 , Ellie Muir

Piers Morgan has said that King Charles III is moving to save the monarchy from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as he requests that the pair vacate their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

Speaking on his TalkTV show Piers Uncensored, Morgan said: Moving to save the monarchy and its reputation from these two flamethrowers, who keep wanting to trash it and burn it to the ground.When accused by co-host Tessa Dunlop of shouting Harry and Meghan down, Morgan said he thinks they are a malevolent duo intent on fleecing their royal titles for hundreds of millions of dollars adding that they are causing damage to their family and the institution.

Morgan said the King and Prince William are sick and tired of being trashed by the couple, alluding to Harrys claims made in his tell-all memoir Spare and his Netflix documentary with his wife, Harry & Meghan.

Discussing whether they should attend the coronation, Morgan said good riddance to the pair and expressed that he does not want them to attend the ceremony.If I was Charles and Camilla...I wouldnt trust the pair of them as far as I could throw them, he said.

"I haven't evicted them from this home, Harry's father has evicted them from this home."



Piers Morgan responds to historian Tessa Dunlop telling him, "you've got what you want" as the King evicts Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage.@piersmorgan | @TessaDunlop | #PMU pic.twitter.com/Ef4YfEf3co  Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) March 1, 2023

WATCH: Where will Harry and Meghan stay in UK after 'eviction' from Frogmore?

Tuesday 7 March 2023 15:23 , Ellie Muir

Camilla to be called Queen instead of Queen Consort after coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 15:02 , Ellie Muir

As speculation continues over whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the coronation this spring, it has been reported that the Queen Consort will be known as the Queen instead following the ceremony.

Before her death last September, the late Queen Elizabeth II announced that it was her sincere wish that Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.

But a report quoting insiders at Buckingham Palace has suggested that the royal may shed the cumbersome title of Queen Consort for the simpler title of Queen.

My colleague Kate Ng has the full report here:

Camilla to be called Queen instead of Queen Consort after coronation (PA)

Digital map to share details of coronation weekend events

Tuesday 7 March 2023 14:46 , Ellie Muir

People have been encouraged to share how they will celebrate the Kings coronation on a digital map set up by the government.

The public will be able to share events they are hosting over the coronation weekend from Saturday 6 May to Monday 8 May so others in the local community can find out what is happening and get involved.

Get all the details below:

Digital map to share details of coronation weekend events (Getty Images)

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare, royal expert says

Tuesday 7 March 2023 14:15 , Ellie Muir

King Charles IIIs decision to request the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to vacate their UK residence cannot be seen as anything other than a reaction to the release of Prince Harrys memoir, a royal expert has said.

In freelance writer and royal commentator RS Lockes opinion: Evicting the Sussex family from Frogmore Cottage is transparently punitive and King Charles wanted the couple and the public to know it.

Kate Ng has the full report here.

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare, royal expert says (Getty Images)

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity

Tuesday 7 March 2023 13:51 , Ellie Muir

The Duke of Sussex has marked the 40th anniversary of the UKs leading HIV and sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust.

In a letter, released on Monday (6 March), Prince Harry said his work with the charity is a big piece of his mothers legacy, referencing Princess Dianas philanthropic work with people living with HIV and AIDS.

Read the full report here.

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity (PA Images)

Piers Morgan thanks Meghan Markle in acceptance speech at Sports Journalism Awards

Tuesday 7 March 2023 13:31 , Ellie Muir

Holy oil used during King Charles coronation will no longer include ambergris from whale intestines

Tuesday 7 March 2023 13:14 , Ellie Muir

The oil used to anoint the King and Queen Consort Camilla in the coronation on 6 May will be cruelty-free.

This part of the ceremony is said to be one of the most sacred of the days rituals but will reflect modern anti-animal cruelty sentiments, according to a statement published by Buckingham Palace.

Previous versions of the holy oil have included civet oil, from the glands of small mammals, and ambergris from the intestines of whales.

This oil was used at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and is based on a formula that has been used for hundreds of years.

The altered formula for the holy oil for King Charles and Queen Consort Camillas coronation reflects concerns about animal cruelty and the need to protect wildlife.

Read the full report here.

Holy oil used during King Charles coronation will no longer include ambergris from whale intestines (PA Media)

Sarah Ferguson says she has not received invite to Kings coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 12:51 , Ellie Muir

Prince Andrews ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, has revealed that she has not yet been invited to the coronation.

Speaking at an event in New York City yesterday (6 March), Ferguson quipped that her attendance at the Kings coronation on 6 May was TBD, which means to be decided.

The invitations havent gone out yet. Have they? she asked, reports MailOnline.

She insisted that whether she receives an invite or not, she will be celebrating King Charles and Queen Consort Camillas coronation.

The Duchess of York added that she could instead set up a tea room at the bottom of the drive with bunting and cakes.

Fergusons comments come after representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that the pair had received invites to the Kings coronation, but they had not yet decided whether they will be attending.

Read the full report here.

Sarah Ferguson says she has not received invite to Kings coronation (Getty Images)

Tuesday 7 March 2023 12:24 , Peony Hirwani

Piers Morgan says he has never uttered racist word or sentiment against Meghan Markle

Tuesday 7 March 2023 11:44 , Peony Hirwani

On Sunday (5 March), the founder of Women in Leadership Publication, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu retweeted a clip of Piers Morgan challenging journalist Ernest Owens for posting a series of tweets accusing him of being racist towards Meghan Markle.

Piers Morgan demanding evidence of his racist tirades against Meghan Markle is Caucacity on steroids, she wrote. Mr Arbiter of What is Racism who uses his White privilege and global platform to aggravate racist/sexist/misogynist attacks against her accuses @MrErnestOwens of no evidence.

Morgan responded to Mos-Shogbamimu, writing: Oh look, Britains most repulsive race-baiter strikes again!

Ive never uttered one racist word or sentiment about Meghan Markle. I couldnt give a damn about her skin colour, only her vile campaign  with her dim doormat husband  to destroy the Royal Family with lies and smears.

Oh look, Britain's most repulsive race-baiter strikes again! I've never uttered one racist word or sentiment about Meghan Markle.

I couldn't give a damn about her skin colour, only her vile campaign - with her dim doormat husband - to destroy the Royal Family with lies & smears. https://t.co/n3lHg50N5q  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 5, 2023

Chris Rock questions Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family in Netflix stand-up show

Tuesday 7 March 2023 11:04 , Peony Hirwani

Chris Rock has joked about Meghan Markles accusations of racism against the royal family.

During his stand-up special, titled Selective Outrage, the comedian addressed Markles interview with Oprah Winfrey that occurred in April 2021. In the interview, Markle and Prince Harry said that, while at Buckingham Palace, there were concerns raised about how dark their babys skin might be before Archie was born.

Rock questioned the belief that Markle was the victim of racism, and brushed off her experience by saying she was merely dealing with in-law s***.

Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? he started, adding: Seems like a nice lady  just complaining. Like didnt she hit the light-skinned lottery?

Read more:

Chris Rock sends up Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family

Tuesday 7 March 2023 10:24 , Peony Hirwani

Harry close to being exiled from his family after self-sabotaging his relationship with William, says Lady Victoria Hervey

Tuesday 7 March 2023 09:34 , Peony Hirwani

Lady Victoria Hervey has said that Prince Harry is close to being exiled from his family after self-sabotaging his relationship with his brother Prince William.

I think Prince Harry is self-sabotaging his relationship with his brother so much so that it has now become Cain and Abel, she said.

Its becoming a bit of a blood sport. Harry is getting himself closer and closer to being exiled. I think hes only one or two steps away from that happening.

Hervey told The Mirror that she thinks Harry is also pushing the line as much as possible so that happens and he can wallow in Victimhood.

Camillas crown wont feature controversial Koh-i-noor diamond at King Charles coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 08:54 , Peony Hirwani

The Queen Consort will wear Queen Marys crown for her and King Charles IIIs coronation at Westminster Abbey this spring.

However, neither the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond nor its replica will feature in the crown, with Camilla opting to reuse the crown it was once set in instead.

Read more:

Camilla has chosen her crown for King Charles coronation

Digital map to share details of coronation weekend events

Tuesday 7 March 2023 08:14 , Peony Hirwani

People have been encouraged to share how they will celebrate the Kings coronation on a digital map set up by the government.

The public will be able to share events they are hosting over the coronation weekend from Saturday 6 May to Monday 8 May so others in the local community can find out what is happening and get involved.

Get all the details below:

Digital map to share details of Coronation weekend events

Holy oil used during King Charles coronation will no longer include ambergris from whale intestines

Tuesday 7 March 2023 07:34 , Peony Hirwani

The oil used to anoint the King and Queen Consort Camilla in the coronation on 6 May will be cruelty-free.

This part of the ceremony is said to be one of the most sacred of the days rituals but will reflect modern anti-animal cruelty sentiments, according to a statement published by Buckingham Palace.

Ellie Muir reports.

Coronation oil made with whale intestine ambergris to be cruelty free

Piers Morgan says hes sick of talking about Harry and Meghan

Tuesday 7 March 2023 06:54 , Peony Hirwani

Piers Morgan has said that hes sick of talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Im sick of talking about them, the English broadcaster said. I think most of us are but they cant stop yapping about themselves.

"I'm sick of talking about them... I think most of us are but they can't stop yapping about themselves."



Piers says nobody takes Prince Harry's "self indulgent arrogance" seriously anymore, but if Harry "keeps lying, we'll keep having to cover it."pic.twitter.com/I8nAwYVQOB  TalkTV (@TalkTV) March 6, 2023

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity

Tuesday 7 March 2023 06:14 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke of Sussex has marked the 40th anniversary of the UKs leading HIV and sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust.

In a letter, released on Monday (6 March), Prince Harry said his work with the charity is a big piece of his mothers legacy, referencing Princess Dianas philanthropic work with people living with HIV and AIDS.

Ellie Muir reports.

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare, royal expert says

Tuesday 7 March 2023 05:34 , Peony Hirwani

King Charles IIIs decision to request the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to vacate their UK residence cannot be seen as anything other than a reaction to the release of Prince Harrys memoir, a royal expert has said.

In freelance writer and royal commentator RS Lockes opinion: Evicting the Sussex family from Frogmore Cottage is transparently punitive and King Charles wanted the couple and the public to know it.

Find out more below:

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare

Everything we know about King Charles IIIs coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 04:54 , Peony Hirwani

The King and Queen Consorts coronation ceremony is just weeks away.

Heres everything you need to know about the coronation weekend in May:

When is the coronation of King Charles III?

Prince Harry says he always felt different from rest of royal family

Tuesday 7 March 2023 04:14 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke of Sussex has opened up about how he always felt slightly different from other members of the royal family and said his mother felt the same way.

In a new interview for readers of his memoir Spare, Prince Harry spoke about grieving his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and what it is like to live with loss.

Speaking to author Gabor Mate, an expert in trauma and healing, Harry said that the release of his book made him feel incredibly free, despite sources saying his father and brother are furious about it.

He described feeling slightly different to the rest of my family while growing up and that he lived in a bubble that was eventually burst by going to therapy.

Kate Ng reports.

Prince Harry says he always felt different from rest of royal family

Harry and Meghan will not appear on Buckingham Palace balcony if they do attend coronation

Tuesday 7 March 2023 03:34 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not likely to appear on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace if they do attend the coronation on 6 May, it has been reported.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markles spokesperson has indicated that they have received their invitation to the King and Queen Consorts coronation via email correspondence, but have not disclosed any decision about their attendance.

The Sun now reports that, if they are going to the ceremony, they will not appear in any formal procession or on the balcony along with other working members of the royal family.

This would echo their absence from the balcony during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee celebrations last summer. Harry and Meghan travelled to the UK to celebrate the Queens 70th anniversary on the throne but only appeared in public alongside the rest of the family a few times.

Sarah Ferguson says she can financially support Prince Andrew amid Royal Lodge eviction reports

Tuesday 7 March 2023 12:05 , Ellie Muir

Sarah Ferguson has addressed reports that her ex-husband Prince Andrew has been asked to leave his residence at Royal Lodge and has been offered the keys to Harry and Meghans former home, Frogmore Cottage.

The disgraced Duke of York has resided in the Royal Lodge in Windsor Park for nearly 20 years, but reports suggest his time there may be coming to an end and that his brother, King Charles, may cut his 249,000 annual allowance.

Prince Andrew first moved into the vast property in 2004 and made it his family home. He lives there with Ferguson, and despite the pair splitting in 1992, they have remained close since.

Speaking to Hello! on Sunday (5 March), Ferguson addressed the reports that Andrew may have his annual allowance taken away.

The duke reportedly told friends that this would mean he would not be able to cover the cost of maintaining the 98-acre estate.

However, sources said that the King vowed not to leave his younger brother homeless or penniless and it is understood that he has now offered Andrew the keys to Frogmore Cottage after requesting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to vacate it.

This is really a matter for the Duke and His Majesty, Sarah said of the reports, before adding that Andrew doesnt actually take taxpayers money since he stepped back from royal duties.

Ferguson continued, claiming that she is in the position to support [Andrew] and the rest of the family through my work.

The Duchess of York has released a new novel titled The Most Intriguing Lady. It is set in the Victorian period and is about a Dukes daughter who solves crimes in the inner circles of high society.

Read the full report here.

Sarah Ferguson says she can financially support Prince Andrew following Royal Lodge eviction reports (Getty Images)

WATCH: Harry Styles and Elton John among celebrities declining to perform at King Charless coronation concert

Monday 6 March 2023 20:30 , Kate Ng

Digital map to share details of coronation weekend events

Monday 6 March 2023 19:30 , Kate Ng

People have been encouraged to share how they will celebrate the Kings coronation on a digital map set up by the government.

The public will be able to share events they are hosting over the coronation weekend from Saturday 6 May to Monday 8 May so others in the local community can find out what is happening and get involved.

Get all the details below:

Digital map to share details of Coronation weekend events

King Charles III to break from tradition with specific outfit choice for coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 18:30 , Kate Ng

King Charles III has been advised to wear an outfit for his coronation that goes against previous royal tradition, according to reports.

In previous ceremonies, the King or Queen has traditionally worn silk stockings and breeches. However, recent reports have claimed that King Charles will opt to wear his military uniform instead.

Nicole Vassell reports:

King Charles III to break from tradition with coronation outfit choice

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity

Monday 6 March 2023 17:30 , Kate Ng

The Duke of Sussex has marked the 40th anniversary of the UKs leading HIV and sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust.

In a letter, released on Monday (6 March), Prince Harry said his work with the charity is a big piece of his mothers legacy, referencing Princess Dianas philanthropic work with people living with HIV and AIDS.

My colleague Ellie Muir reports:

Prince Harry hails Princess Dianas legacy as he marks 40 years of HIV charity

Camillas crown wont feature controversial Koh-i-noor diamond at King Charles coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 16:30 , Kate Ng

The Queen Consort will wear Queen Marys crown for her and King Charles IIIs coronation at Westminster Abbey this spring.

However, neither the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond nor its replica will feature in the crown, with Camilla opting to reuse the crown it was once set in instead.

Get the full story below:

Camilla has chosen her crown for King Charles coronation

Andrew Lloyd Webber composes new anthem for King Charles coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 15:30 , Kate Ng

An anthem written by Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of 12 new pieces of music commissioned by King Charles for his coronation.

Lloyd Webber said he was incredibly honoured to have been given the opportunity to compose a new number. My anthem includes words slightly adapted from Psalm 98. I have scored it for the Westminster Abbey choir and organ, the ceremonial brass and orchestra.

Helen William reports:

Andrew Lloyd Webber composes new anthem for King Charles coronation

WATCH: New details discovered on centuries-old chair King Charles will sit on at coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 14:30 , Kate Ng

Prince Harry seeking apology before committing to Kings coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 13:30 , Kate Ng

While the world awaits to heart whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will travel to the UK to attend the Kings coronation, we take a look back at what Prince Harry has said previously.

He refused to commit to attending the ceremony in May, but is said to be seeking an apology from the King and the Prince of Wales before he makes any decisions.

Read the full report:

Prince Harry seeking apology before committing to King Charles coronation

Harry and Meghan will not appear on Buckingham Palace balcony if they do attend coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 13:26 , Kate Ng

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not likely to appear on the famous balcony of Buckingham Palace if they do attend the coronation this May, it has been reported.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markles spokesperson has indicated that they have received their invitation to the King and Queen Consorts coronation via email correspondence, but have no disclosed any decision about their attendance.

The Sun now reports that, if they are going to the ceremony, they will not appear in any formal procession or on the balcony along with other working members of the royal family.

This would echo their absence from the balcony during the late Queen Elizabeth IIs platinum jubilee celebrations last summer. Harry and Meghan travelled to the UK to celebrate the Queens 70th anniversary on the throne, but only appeared in public alongside the rest of the family a few times.

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare, royal expert says

Monday 6 March 2023 12:30 , Kate Ng

King Charles IIIs decision to request the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to vacate their UK residence cannot be seen as anything other than a reaction to the release of Prince Harrys memoir, a royal expert has said.

In freelance writer and royal commentator RS Lockes opinion: Evicting the Sussex family from Frogmore Cottage is transparently punitive and King Charles wanted the couple and the public to know it.

Find out more below:

Impossible that Harry and Meghans Frogmore Cottage eviction not linked to Spare

Kate Middletons piano teacher writes song for entire nation to sing at King Charles coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 11:33 , Peony Hirwani

A music teacher who taught the Princess of Wales and her family to play piano has composed a song to celebrate the Kings coronation.

Daniel Nicholls, 58, who lives near the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, says he wants the whole nation to learn and sing Defender Of Us All by the time of the ceremony on 6 May.

Nicholls co-wrote the song with his wife Sandra, 65, because they were inspired by Charless desire for inclusivity and diversity.

He told the PA news agency: We sent it out to schools in England and Scotland and weve had very positive responses to it.

Our aim is to get all schools to sing it on the Friday before the coronation and then have the entire nation singing it on 6 May.

Read more:

Kate Middletons piano teacher pens coronation song for the nation

Piers Morgan on news of Meghan and Harry receiving official invitation to the Kings coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 11:13 , Peony Hirwani

Piers Morgan has responded to news of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex receiving an official invitation to the Kings coronation via email.

The arrogance of this statement is comical, he wrote on Twitter. These Monarchy-trashing clowns shouldnt be anywhere the Coronation, let anyone taking their time to make a decision.

The arrogance of this statement is comical. These Monarchy-trashing clowns shouldnt be anywhere the Coronation, let anyone taking their time to make a decision. https://t.co/DXuY83tVUa  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 5, 2023

King Charles III picks France and Germany for first state visits

Monday 6 March 2023 10:25 , Peony Hirwani

King Charles III will travel to France and Germany for his first state visits since becoming monarch, underscoring Britains efforts to build bridges with its European neighbors following years of strained relations caused by Brexit.

Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, will visit both countries between 26-31 March, hosted by Presidents Emanuel Macron of France and Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany, Buckingham Palace said on Friday (3 March).

During the trip, the royals plan to celebrate the nations shared history and values, commitment to environmental preservation, and cooperation on the war in Ukraine, the palace said.

Holy oil used during King Charles coronation will no longer include ambergris from whale intestines

Monday 6 March 2023 09:55 , Peony Hirwani

The oil used to anoint the King and Queen Consort Camilla in the coronation on 6 May will be cruelty-free.

This part of the ceremony is said to be one of the most sacred of the days rituals but will reflect modern anti-animal cruelty sentiments, according to a statement published by Buckingham Palace.

Ellie Muir reports.

Coronation oil made with whale intestine ambergris to be cruelty free

Prince Harry says he always felt different from rest of royal family

Monday 6 March 2023 09:25 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke of Sussex has opened up about how he always felt slightly different from other members of the royal family and said his mother felt the same way.

In a new interview for readers of his memoir Spare, Prince Harry spoke about grieving his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and what it is like to live with loss.

Speaking to author Gabor Mate, an expert in trauma and healing, Harry said that the release of his book made him feel incredibly free, despite sources saying his father and brother are furious about it.

He described feeling slightly different to the rest of my family while growing up and that he lived in a bubble that was eventually burst by going to therapy.

Kate Ng reports.

Prince Harry says he always felt different from rest of royal family

Harry and Meghan not fighting eviction from Frogmore Cottage

Monday 6 March 2023 08:55 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accepted the Kings decision to ask them to vacate Frogmore Cottage, it has been reported.

A source close to the couple has said they are OK with the Kings decision and are not fighting it.

Read the full story here:

Harry and Meghan not fighting eviction from Frogmore Cottage

Everything we know about King Charles IIIs coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 08:25 , Peony Hirwani

The King and Queen Consorts coronation ceremony is just weeks away.

Heres everything you need to know about the coronation weekend in May:

When is the coronation of King Charles III?

Camilla to be called Queen instead of Queen Consort after coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 07:55 , Peony Hirwani

As speculation continues over whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the coronation this spring, it has been reported that the Queen Consort will be known as the Queen instead following the ceremony.

Before her death last September, the late Queen Elizabeth II announced that it was her sincere wish that Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.

But a report quoting insiders at Buckingham Palace has suggested that the royal may shed the cumbersome title of Queen Consort for the simpler title of Queen.

Read the full report here:

Camillas title to change after coronation in May, report says

Chris Rock questions Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family in Netflix stand-up show

Monday 6 March 2023 07:25 , Peony Hirwani

Chris Rock has joked about Meghan Markles accusations of racism against the royal family.

During his stand-up special, titled Selective Outrage, the comedian addressed Markles interview with Oprah Winfrey that occurred in April 2021. In the interview, Markle and Prince Harry said that, while at Buckingham Palace, there were concerns raised about how dark their babys skin might be before Archie was born.

Rock questioned the belief that Markle was the victim of racism, and brushed off her experience by saying she was merely dealing with in-law s***.

Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? he started, adding: Seems like a nice lady  just complaining. Like didnt she hit the light-skinned lottery?

Read more:

Chris Rock sends up Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family

Anthem for King Charles IIIs coronation has been written by Lloyd Webber

Monday 6 March 2023 06:55 , Peony Hirwani

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the English composer who created the scores for blockbuster musicals such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Evita, has written the anthem for King Charles IIIs coronation.

The work by Webber is one of a dozen new pieces Charles commissioned for the grand occasion taking place May 6 at Westminster Abbey. It includes words adapted from Psalm 98 and is scored specifically for the abbeys choir and organ.

I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion, Webber said in a statement distributed by Buckingham Palace.

Read more:

Anthem for Charles IIIs coronation written by Lloyd Webber

Emma Bridgewater releases commemorative mugs for the Kings coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 06:25 , Peony Hirwani

A pottery company with strong royal connections has launched hand-painted commemorative mugs marking the forthcoming coronation of the King.

Staff at Emma Bridgewater, who have begun painstaking work on the pieces, which include small plates, a teapot and a half-pint mug, are expecting big demand from collectors, royalists, and members of the public keen to own an item marking the historic moment.

Read more:

Emma Bridgewater releases commemorative mugs for the Kings coronation

Oil for Charles III's coronation consecrated in Jerusalem

Monday 6 March 2023 05:55 , Peony Hirwani

Two senior clergymen in Jerusalem have consecrated the holy oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation.

The oil was consecrated on Friday (3 March) morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of Christs crucifixion and burial, Buckingham Palace said in a statement.

The ceremony was conducted by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, and the Most Rev Hosam Naoum, the Anglican archbishop in Jerusalem.

Read more:

Oil for Charles III's coronation consecrated in Jerusalem

Voices: Not even The Kardashians can keep up with Harry and Meghan

Monday 6 March 2023 05:25 , Peony Hirwani

The royal family is not really meant to be what it has become: a rolling soap opera. A boring, banal, but bizarrely addictive guilty pleasure, writes Tom Peck.

Read his op-ed below:

Not even The Kardashians can keep up with Harry and Meghan | Tom Peck

Piers Morgan on news of Meghan and Harry receiving official invitation to the Kings coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 04:55 , Peony Hirwani

Piers Morgan has responded to news of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex receiving an official invitation to the Kings coronation via email.

The arrogance of this statement is comical, he wrote on Twitter. These Monarchy-trashing clowns shouldnt be anywhere the Coronation, let anyone taking their time to make a decision.

The arrogance of this statement is comical. These Monarchy-trashing clowns shouldnt be anywhere the Coronation, let anyone taking their time to make a decision. https://t.co/DXuY83tVUa  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 5, 2023

Piers Morgan says he has never uttered racist word or sentiment against Meghan Markle

Monday 6 March 2023 04:25 , Peony Hirwani

On Sunday (5 March), the founder of Women in Leadership Publication, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu retweeted a clip of Piers Morgan challenging journalist Ernest Owens for posting a series of tweets accusing him of being racist towards Meghan Markle.

Piers Morgan demanding evidence of his racist tirades against Meghan Markle is Caucacity on steroids, she wrote. Mr Arbiter of What is Racism who uses his White privilege and global platform to aggravate racist/sexist/misogynist attacks against her accuses @MrErnestOwens of no evidence.

Morgan responded to Mos-Shogbamimu, writing: Oh look, Britains most repulsive race-baiter strikes again!

Ive never uttered one racist word or sentiment about Meghan Markle. I couldnt give a damn about her skin colour, only her vile campaign  with her dim doormat husband  to destroy the Royal Family with lies and smears.

Oh look, Britain's most repulsive race-baiter strikes again! I've never uttered one racist word or sentiment about Meghan Markle.

I couldn't give a damn about her skin colour, only her vile campaign - with her dim doormat husband - to destroy the Royal Family with lies & smears. https://t.co/n3lHg50N5q  Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 5, 2023

King Charles to offer Harry and Meghan apartment in Buckingham Palace after Frogmore Cottage eviction

Monday 6 March 2023 03:55 , Peony Hirwani

King Charles III could offer the Duke and Duchess of Sussex an apartment in Buckingham Palace as their UK residence when they visit the country, it has been reported.

The suite of rooms that the King may offer to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously belonged to Prince Andrew.

The Mail on Sunday quoted a source as saying: His Majesty is furious [with Harry], as is [Prince] William. But the King is not a bad man. He has no wish to see his brother Andrew homeless or penniless. Nor does he wish to deprive the Sussexes of a base in the UK.

London is a better fit. The Sussexes have always wanted rooms at Buckingham Palace. They could have Andrews old rooms there, which are currently being vacated.

Kate Ng reports.

King Charles to offer Harry and Meghan apartment in Buckingham Palace

Harry and Meghan have reportedly received official invitation to the Kings coronation

Monday 6 March 2023 03:22 , Peony Hirwani

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly been officially invited to the King and Queen Consorts coronation via email correspondence.

A spokesperson for the couple said that they recently received email correspondence from His Majestys office regarding the coronation.

However, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not yet disclosed whether or not they will accept the invitation and fly to the UK for the ceremony on 6 May.

Sunday 5 March 2023 23:29 , Katy Clifton

Thanks for following our live updates, we are pausing our coverage for the evening.

William and Kate considering Prince George role at coronation

Sunday 5 March 2023 18:45 , Kate Ng

Prince George might be given an official role at his grandfathers coronation, it has been reported.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be considering whether their eldest child, nine-year-old George, and second in line to the throne, should be included in the congregation at Westminster Abbey.

My colleague Ellie Muir has the full story:

William and Kate considering Prince George role at coronation

VOICES: Not even The Kardashians can keep up with Harry and Meghan

Sunday 5 March 2023 17:45 , Kate Ng

The royal family is not really meant to be what it has become: a rolling soap opera. A boring, banal, but bizarrely addictive guilty pleasure, writes Tom Peck.

Read his op-ed below:

Not even The Kardashians can keep up with Harry and Meghan | Tom Peck

Everything we know about King Charles IIIs coronation

Sunday 5 March 2023 16:45 , Kate Ng

The King and Queen Consorts coronation ceremony is just weeks away.

Heres everything you need to know about the coronation weekend in May:

When is the coronation of King Charles III?

WATCH: Where will Harry and Meghan stay in UK after eviction from Frogmore?

Sunday 5 March 2023 15:45 , Kate Ng

Camilla to be called Queen instead of Queen Consort after coronation

Sunday 5 March 2023 14:50 , Kate Ng

As speculation continues over whether or not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the coronation this spring, it has been reported that the Queen Consort will be known as the Queen instead following the ceremony.

Before her death last September, the late Queen Elizabeth II announced that it was her sincere wish that Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service.

But a report quoting insiders at Buckingham Palace has suggested that the royal may shed the cumbersome title of Queen Consort for the simpler title of Queen.

Read the full report here:

Camillas title to change after coronation in May, report says

Sarah Ferguson says she has no judgement of Harry and Meghan

Sunday 5 March 2023 13:45 , Kate Ng

Sarah Ferguson has revealed she has no judgement towards Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the path they have chosen, while reflecting on the judgement she has faced all [her] life.

The Duchess of York, 63, spoke candidly about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs decision to step back from their royal roles and relocate to California, as well as her own experiences being judged, during a new interview.

Chelsea Ritschel reports:

Sarah Ferguson says she has no judgement towards Harry and Meghan

Chris Rock questions Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family in Netflix stand-up show

Sunday 5 March 2023 12:50 , Kate Ng

Chris Rock has called out Meghan Markle for accusing the royal family of being racist.

The comedian was hosting a stand-up special, titled Selective Outrage, which was historically broadcast on Netflix live.

During the set, he addressed Markles interview with Oprah Winfrey that occurred in April 2021. In the interview, Markle and Prince Harry said that, while at Buckingham Palace, there were concerns raised about how dark their babys skin might be before Archie was born.

My colleague Jacob Stolworthy has the full story:

Chris Rock lambasts Meghan Markles racism claims against royal family

Harry and Meghan not fighting eviction from Frogmore Cottage

Sunday 5 March 2023 11:45 , Kate Ng

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accepted the Kings decision to ask them to vacate Frogmore Cottage, it has been reported.

A source close to the couple has said they are OK with the Kings decision and are not fighting it.

Read the full story here:

Harry and Meghan not fighting eviction from Frogmore Cottage
Out with the old, in with the new? Amid news that King Charles III evicted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from Frogmore Cottage, their UK home, the Sussex couple is reportedly considering a new destination for their travels: a private island all their own.

A source recently told Heat magazine that Harry is pushing hard to go down the private island route as the couple plots their next investment, and that he loved the idea of living in a natural and eco-friendly environment, according to The Mirror. Given the couples years of requesting privacy around their internal affairs in the face of invasive tabloid reporting and paparazzi stalking their every move, a private island could make a lot of sense as a place to truly get away.

More from Robb Report

Harry and Meghan got a taste of the island life when they visited Kaibu Island island during a royal tour in 2018, an 800-acre private island off the coast of Fiji. They stayed on the islands Vatuvara resort, a solar-powered conscientious luxury resort that serves food fresh off its farms and is accessible only by private plane.

A stunning shot of the Vatuvara Private Islands, where Harry and Meghan visited in 2018.

Heats source further suggested that Harry and Meghan arent just looking to build a vacation getaway but to relocate entirely.

The situation is rapidly becoming uncomfortable to the point of untenable, the source claimed of Harry and Meghans life in the public eye. There are talks of keeping base in LA and heading somewhere new like Canada, South Africa or one of the other countries where they have more popularity and public sympathy.

This report comes as the royal family served Harry and Meghan with an eviction notice in January requiring them to vacate the home gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II. The couple have confirmed the eviction notice via a spokesperson and are reportedly in the process of shipping the remainder of their personal items back to their home in California.

Story continues

King Charles IIIs coronation is still around the corner, and Harry and Meghan have also confirmed that theyve been invited via email. But amid the eviction and Harrys overall strained relationship with the royals after his memoir Spare revealed further family secrets, its hard to imagine a royal reunion is coming anytime soon.

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Kate Middleton, Viola Davis, and more are fans of the brand.

Getty Images Photo: Getty Images

Theres something about Helen Mirren  as in, she has this innate superpower that makes me want whatever she has. Not to mention, her style has been on its A-game since forever, and Id be happy to argue anyone who thinks otherwise. Green on green! She did it, and I want it, but its a recent press look of hers thats been ingrained in my mind since the second the photos dropped online, particularly those cool star kicks she wore because Im a sneakerhead, okay!

Lets rewind back to February 20, which seems so long ago but also just like it was yesterday. Where does time go? That day, Mirren was in Germany to attend the Golda photocall during the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, and her outfit for her appearance was probably the coolest of all the ones that debuted on the red  err, gray  carpet. She wore a bright-pink turtleneck sweater, black pinstripe track pants with pink side piping, plus the coolest sneakers Ive seen in a minute  and thats saying a lot, because I see plenty.

Mirrens white kicks, which have a chunky platform sole and a star embroidered on the exterior side of the shoe, are from Sole Bliss, an under-the-radar brand that specifically focuses on footwear for bunions and wide feet. The label already has an impressive list of fans, including Mirren (whos also been seen on its heels), Kate Middleton, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, and Julia Roberts, so Im not sure how I have been sleeping on this brand, but I certainly wont be missing out anymore. Its an open secret in Hollywood, and now its time to get acquainted with it.

Sole Bliss

Shop now: $289; solebliss.com

In addition to the trendy details on Mirrens kicks, like the platform (and shock-absorbing) sole and the star embroidery, there are also plenty of practical  possibly life-changing  features, like a zip fastening for easy wear, an anatomically contoured footbed with underfoot cushioning, and the brands signature Bunion Bed stretch panel.

Story continues

Thanks to an impressive mix of impeccably designed details, the shoes certainly dont lack any support or comfort, which is exactly why shoppers are raving about these miracle sneakers. One reviewer loved the sneakers so much, they purchased multiple pairs, writing, I now have three pairs of trainers from Sole Bliss, and they are without doubt the most comfortable I have ever owned. Plenty of others wrote similar praise, calling them, comfortable right out of the box, a joy to wear all day long, and extremely high quality. Whats more, even if you dont have bunions or wide feet, these sneakers are still a great option because, well, comfort is comfort, after all.

Mirrens kicks cost $298, which might seem steep for sneakers, but for top-quality kicks made in Italy that have so much praise to back them up, the price is worth it. Shop the Mirren-worn sneakers for yourself below, and get ready to let all your (foot) worries melt away with each step.

Sole Bliss

Shop now: $289; solebliss.com

Sole Bliss

Shop now: $289; solebliss.com



Sole Bliss

Shop now: $289; solebliss.com

For more InStyle news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on InStyle.
Magdalena Cruz alleges the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities protected her mother's rapist, a caretaker at the residential facility where she was housed. FangXiaNuo/Getty Images

A woman alleges her mom was raped in 1985 by her caretaker at a developmental facility.

She is now suing the New York agency that oversaw the facility, claiming they never reported it.

She's suing under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that extended the statute of limitations on rape claims.

Magdalena Cruz always believed she was born of rape, but she never knew who her father was. After taking a DNA test through Ancestry.com, Cruz learned he had been her mom's caretaker at a disability facility in the '70s and '80s, according to a new lawsuit.

Cruz is now suing, alleging that the agency tasked with overseeing the facility covered up the abuse.

The facility, the Monroe Developmental Center in Rochester, never conducted an investigation or told the police what happened, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday in New York State Supreme Court. It also hid the fact that Cruz's mother, identified as I.C. in the complaint, had allegedly been physically abused at the facility, court papers say.

I.C., who is described in the lawsuit as "extremely developmentally disabled," was placed in the care of MDC in 1976, according to the suit. In 1986, months after the alleged rape occurred, I.C.'s parents were notified that she was pregnant and that they suspected she was raped by another patient, and the facility told them they would conduct an "internal investigation" and notify the police, the lawsuit says.

Cruz is represented by both Susan Crumiller, founding attorney of the Feminist Litigation Firm, and Carrie Goldberg of the Victims' Rights Law Firm. Crumiller and Goldberg filed the case under a new joint initiative called the Survivors Law Project.

Cruz said she knew she was a child of rape and experienced difficulties with her mental health. She believed she would never be able to have children of her own because of her family trauma, the lawsuit says.

In 2019, Cruz began looking into the circumstances of her birth. Through open records requests, Cruz learned that MDC never conducted an investigation or told the police about the alleged rape. She also learned that her mother had allegedly been physically harmed at the facility, suffering abrasions, cuts, and bruises, according to the lawsuit.

Story continues

Upon learning of her mother's alleged mistreatment, Cruz was shocked and decided to investigate further, her lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

She bought a DNA test from Ancestry.com and found her mother's alleged rapist on her own, according to the lawsuit.

The test results revealed that she had biological relatives on her father's side. She found photos of the family online and noticed they shared the same physical features  such as the same eyes, the lawsuit alleges.

She then identified a man named James Burrus by searching through online photos, the lawsuit says.

Burrus, the lawsuit says, lived in Rochester, just miles from the MDC facility. When she cross-referenced the records she received, she noticed that a caretaker with the initials J.B. had made comments about I.C.'s behavior in her personal files, according to the lawsuit.

That's when Cruz says she realized James Burrus and J.B. the caretaker might be the same man, according to the lawsuit.

She told the police what she found in 2019 and confirmed a match, the lawsuit says. The Brighton Police Department told her that a James Burrus had been employed by MDC in 1985 and had a connection to I.C.

At the time of her discovery, Cruz had no legal recourse because the statute of limitations on the alleged rape had passed.

Cruz is suing New York on behalf of her mother under the Adult Survivor's Act, a state law giving survivors a one-year window from last November to file a complaint against an alleged attacker and other responsible parties for incidents of sexual assault perpetrated at any point in their adult lives within the state of New York.

Cruz wouldn't have been able to sue without the new law, her attorney Crumiller said.

"It's the difference between getting justice and living the rest of your life knowing that your abuser got away with it," Crumiller said in an interview.

Several high-profile lawsuits have been filed under the Adult Survivor's Act, including one brought by Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll, who is suing former President Donald Trump for rape and defamation.

Claims like Carroll's are normally off limits because they fall outside the statute of limitations, which in New York was raised in 2019 to 20 years for civil lawsuits involving some sex crimes. That barrier has now been temporarily lifted, and there is no cap on the damages.

Crumiller told Insider that she's suing the New York State Office for People with Developmental, Disabilities, the agency that oversaw the facility, because she believes the institution should be held accountable for the alleged rape.

"The reason that these patterns continue unabated is because of the institutions that coalesce around rapists and protect them," Crumiller said.

When MDC discovered that I.C. was pregnant, they recommended that she go on birth control, according to the lawsuit. This was an indication that the facility expected and condoned patient mistreatment, Cruz alleges.

I.C. did not have the capacity to consent to sexual intercourse because her mental acuity matched that of a 2-year-old, Crumiller said.

"There's no reason for her ever to have gone on birth control," Crumiller said. "She didn't have the capacity to consent to a sexual relationship with anyone."

Read the original article on Insider
Luxury brand Hermes notched a major legal victory last month against MetaBirkins, an NFT collection found to have violated trademarks protecting the French designers Birkin handbag. But despite the ruling's historic nature, Hermes still isn't satisfied.

The luxury house filed a motion on Friday asking for the court to issue a permanent injunction specifically barring MetaBirkins creator Mason Rothschild from ever selling MetaBirkins NFTs again. Such a block would represent a more severe action against the NFT creator than what a Manhattan jury previously handed down in early February.

Notwithstanding the verdict in Hermess favor, Rothschild continues to promote MetaBirkins NFT sales through various social media channels, and he will obtain a royalty from any such sales, attorneys for the fashion giant wrote. Rothschilds past and present conduct demonstrates he is likely to continue infringing Hermess trademarks if a permanent injunction is not issued.

Hermes attorneys argued that since Februarys verdict, Rothschild still remains in a position to profit from the MetaBirkins NFT collection, while he meanwhile continues to publicly speak out against the jurys decision.

The company claims those actions, in conjunction with Rothschilds past conduct, have caused irreparable harm to Hermes, and cannot be remedied with standard monetary compensation. It would need to prove both assertions for an injunction to be ordered.

Was the MetaBirkin Verdict Bad for NFTs, or Just for Knockoffs?

Rothschild did, in fact, tweet repeatedly in the days following the cases verdict, lambasting jury members for not finding his NFT collection to have possessed sufficient artistic relevance to be considered free speech.

Take nine people off the street right now and ask them to tell you what art is but the kicker is whatever they say will now become the undisputed truth. Thats what happened today. A multibillion dollar luxury fashion house who says they care about art and artists but..  Mason Rothschild (@MasonRothschild) February 8, 2023

But beyond defenses of his projects artistic legitimacy, Rothschild does not appear to have posted anything that specifically directed followers to purchase MetaBirkins NFTs following the verdict. In Fridays filing, attorneys for Hermes primarily took issue with Rothschilds repeated tagging of the MetaBirkins collections Instagram handle in posts.

Though MetaBirkins was banned from OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, the collections website is still active, as is its listing on NFT trading platform LooksRare. It does not appear, though, that any Metabirkins NFTs have sold since December.
Dmytro Kotsiubailo, commander of the First Mechanized Battalion "Da Vinci Wolves" and Hero of Ukraine, was killed in action near Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on March 7.

"He has been defending our independence and the dignity of our people since 2014. One of the youngest heroes of Ukraine. One of those whose personal history, character, and courage forever became the history, character, and courage of Ukraine," Zelensky said in a video address.

Kotsiubailo (call sign Da Vinci) became one of the youngest Ukrainian servicemen to receive the Hero of Ukraine national title in 2021. He was killed at the age of 27.

Kotsiubailo, whose battalion is part of the 67th Mechanized Brigade, took part in the EuroMaidan in 2014, soon after joining the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps and fighting off Russia in Ukraine's Donbas region.

In November 2022, the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps was reformatted into the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade, with Kotsiubailo as head of one of the brigade's battalions. The Right Sector is a Ukrainian nationalist movement.

"For more than nine years, Ukrainian heroes have been fighting for the future of Ukraine. Peace and relative safety in the rear towns is their feat. Our confidence in the victory of Ukraine is their stability and strength," added Zelensky.

"Ukraine will always remember its heroes. Our memory of them will not die. This enemy who came to Ukraine will perish."
Real estate lawyers are an interesting breed. By law, they are required in several states to represent clients in a real estate closing, and in eight states, they are required to represent both the buyer and seller.

Sometimes, they put on a different coat and help negotiate deals as a real estate agent does. For one relatively under-the-radar real estate attorney in Santa Monica, California, a simple tweet about seller strategy in a commercial real estate investment transaction has given him, at last count, more than 100,000 views in less than a day. Heres the tweet from The Real Estate Lawyer at Sinai Law Firm:

A large client of mine got an unsolicited offer to buy one of his 25 properties. Offer came in at $5.5 million, slightly above the market value. Im only selling for $7 million, tell them thats what I want. I told him it will probably drive them away. I dont care. I dont need to sell. If they want it, it will take $7 million. Buyer asked me how did my client justify that price. Thats a 2.5 cap! I told him he is not wrong. There was no justification for $7 million. But thats what it will take. Buyer accepted, and we went to escrow shortly after. (Tweet edited for clarity.)

Sometimes its not the messenger but the message. In this crazy real estate economy with low inventory and mortgage rates rising again, an unknown attorney has drawn a larger-than-life share of attention on social media. And while 100,000 views would make most social influencers laugh, getting that kind of response when you only have 626 followers is relatively rare. On top of that, the tweets popularity resulted from a stated strategy and an all-cash offer that occurred in 2021.

This is actually something that happened well over a year ago. My client was wealthy and knew how wealthy he was. He was old school and not super sophisticated and found an opportunity at the right time. The buyer needed the property, attorney Avi Sinai, proprietor at Sinai Law Firm, told Benzinga.

Story continues

Depending on the type of representation, real estate attorneys serve various functions for their clients as part of a property transfer. But for some, tagging along to help choose or bid on a property also comes in handy and, in Sinais case, can save some money, as they can do everything except market the property.

If someone wants me to be involved in a transaction, I will, Sinai said. Sometimes I do it and theres just me and no agent. Ive handled about 16 transactions in the last year. I had a neighbor reach out to me who had inherited a property that wasnt worth much years ago and is now worth $4 million in a nice neighborhood in L.A. The real estate broker quoted him a 5% commission rate, and I agreed to do it at my hourly rate.

As for the market, times in L.A. are tough. Sinai says the commercial side is in a 70% slowdown in activity. For his residential clients, he said, Those who have money and dont need loan contingencies are the only strong buyers out there.

Looking for a way to boost returns? Benzingas Real Estate Offering Screener has the latest private market investments with offerings available for both accredited and non-accredited investors.

Recently added:

Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.

This article He's Not An Agent, But A Los Angeles Area Attorney's Tweet Has Given Him A Name In Real Estate originally appeared on Benzinga.com

.

 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
This photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, delivers a speech during a national meeting against the coronavirus, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Aug. 10, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korea News Service via AP, File) (Uncredited/AP)

SEOUL, South Korea  The influential sister of North Koreas leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take quick, overwhelming action against the United States and South Korea  one day after a nuclear-capable B-52 flew over the peninsula.

The United States flew the bomber to the Korean Peninsula for a joint drill with South Korean warplanes, and the allies militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Advertisement

Kim Yo Jong didnt elaborate on any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

Advertisement

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.

Mondays flyover of the B-52 bomber was the latest in a series of U.S.-South Korean aerial exercises involving powerful U.S. aircraft. The U.S. deployed a long-range U.S. B-1B bomber or multiple B-1Bs to the peninsula a few times earlier this year. South Korea said those drills demonstrated the allies ability to make a decisive response to potential North Korean aggressions.

Last Friday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they would conduct a computer-simulated command post training from March 13-23 and restore their largest springtime field exercises that were last held in 2018.

The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018 to support now-dormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. But theyve been restoring their exercises after North Korea last year conducted a record number of missile tests and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals.

In a separate statement Tuesday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry called the flyover of the U.S. B-52 bomber a reckless provocation that pushes the situation on the peninsula deeper into the bottomless quagmire. The statement, attributed to the unnamed head of the ministrys foreign news office, said there is no guarantee that there will be no violent physical conflict if U.S.-South Korean military provocations continue.

North Korea often unleashes fiery rhetoric in times of heightened animosities with the United States and South Korea. Possible steps North Korea could take include a nuclear test or the launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile targeting the mainland U.S., observers say.

Last month, Kim Yo Jong threatened to turn the Pacific into the Norths firing range. In her statement Tuesday, she said North Korea would consider a possible U.S. attempt to intercept a North Korean ICBM a declaration of war. She cited a South Korean media report saying the U.S. military plans to shoot down a North Korean ICBM if its test-launched toward the Pacific.

All known North Korean ICBM tests have been made at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries, and the weapons landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Advertisement

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Monday praised the leaders of South Korea and Japan, saying the two came to understand that potential of collaboration into the future is more important and have a greater value and realizing you have to deal with historic issues.

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
On a Wednesday afternoon in the summer of 2021, gunfire erupted on Rotary Street in Montgomery. When the smoke cleared and police arrived, they found two teens dead and two others wounded.

A month later, a diss track was posted to YouTube taunting one of the targets of the shooting to come back and get his car (which he had left behind while fleeing the scene) so that they could murder him too. Beyond the lyrics themselves, the videos violent revelry consisted of one male after another brandishing weapons and flashing gang signs at the camera  adults, teens, and children alike.

This sort of gang violence and lawlessness  wanton, senseless, sadistic, arrogant  is quickly becoming more normal than abnormal in some of Alabamas major cities. In December alone, Montgomery witnessed gang-related shootings everywhere from the campuses of high schools to the front doorstep of the mayors office. Birmingham and other large localities around the state have seen the same and worse.

But make no mistake: gang-related murders, menace, and mayhem are not confined merely to metropolises. According to the National Gang Center, Alabama has experienced a steady increase in gang activity statewide over the past decade, with gang-related violence and criminal activity being reported in urban, suburban, and rural areas. One in-depth survey  which was conducted during the last crime wave, but which tracks with the trends were seeing today  found gang activity in 46 Alabama cities and towns, and a gang presence in 74 percent of these communities.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is calling for support of the Alabama Criminal Gang Prevention Act.

Its high time we give Alabama police and prosecutors the tools they need to take back their streets. For far too long, law enforcement in our state have lacked laws on the books that would allow them to combat criminal gangs. This must change  and it must change now.

That is why we need the Alabama Criminal Gang Prevention Act, legislation drafted by my office that should be a top priority for passage during the upcoming session of the Alabama Legislature.

Story continues

The Alabama Criminal Gang Prevention Act contains three critical components:

First, the act would criminalize gang-related activity, providing enhanced penalties for offenses committed for the purpose of benefiting, promoting, or furthering the interests of a criminal gang. No longer would Alabama lack a law that specifically defines and targets criminal gang-related activity.

Second, the act would impose additional prison time on anyone who uses a firearm in connection with criminal gang-related activity, adding years or even decades to a convicted offenders sentence. No longer would Alabama allow gangbangers to commit crimes and terrorize communities by brandishing and using firearms without suffering severe, mandatory repercussions.

Third, the act would require anyone age 16 and over charged with criminal gang-related activity to be charged as an adult, ensuring that juveniles who commit adult crimes do adult time. No longer would Alabama tolerate the recruitment and exploitation of youths by gangs for their use as child shields in the commission of crimes, relying on a minors ability to get a slap on the wrist in juvenile court and be back on the streets in little to no time.

Gang violence and lawlessness are an increasing threat to the safety of the public  and to the rule of law. This is no small matter. A well-ordered state cannot abide groups of criminals that act with such brazenness and impunity, engaging in rampant illegality and escaping just punishment because police and prosecutors lack the legal tools they need to effectively hold gang members accountable.

This is a problem that Alabama  and Alabama alone  must address. The U.S. Department of Justice of today, under the corrupt stewardship of Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, has reassigned resources away from fighting crime to focus on persecuting political enemies, harassing law-abiding parents, spying on citizens who dissent from the lefts woke agenda, and meddling in American elections.

We must empower Alabama law enforcement to crack down on criminal gangs and the violence and lawlessness they inflict on the citizens and communities of our great state.

We must enact the Alabama Criminal Gang Prevention Act.

Steve Marshall is the attorney general of Alabama.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Steve Marshall: It's time for Alabama to crack down on criminal gangs
NEW YORK (AP)  A toast to the disruptors, Edward Nortons tech billionaire says in Rian Johnsons Oscar-nominated Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

And why not a toast? Sundays Academy Awards wont give a prize for best villain, but if they did, Miles Bron would win it in a walk. (With apologies to the cloud of Nope.) He is an immediately recognizable type we've grown well acquainted with: a visionary (or so everyone says), a social media narcissist, a self-styled disrupter who talks a lot about breaking stuff.

Miles Bron is just the latest in a long line of Hollywoods favorite villain: the tech bro. Looking north to Silicon Valley, the movie industry has found perhaps its richest resource of big-screen antagonists since Soviet-era Russia.

Great movie villains dont come along often. The best-picture nominated Top Gun: Maverick, like its predecessor, was content to battle with a faceless enemy of unspecified nationality. Why antagonize international ticket buyers when Tom Cruise vs. Whomever works just fine?

But in recent years, the tech bro has proliferated on movie screens as Hollywoods go-to bad guy. Its a rise that has mirrored mounting fears over technologys expanding reach into our lives and increasing skepticism for the not always altruistic motives of the men  and it is mostly men  who control todays digital empires.

Weve had the devious Biosyn Genetics CEO (Campbell Scott) in Jurassic World: Dominion, a franchise dedicated to the peril of tech overreach; Chris Hemsworths biotech overlord in Spiderhead; and Mark Rylances maybe-Earth-destroying tech guru in 2021's Dont Look Up. We've had Jesse Eisenberg, who indelibly played Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2010's The Social Network, as a tech bro-styled Lex Luthor in 2016's Batman v. Superman"; Harry Mellings pharmaceutical entrepreneur in 2020s The Old Guard"; Taika Waititi's rule-breaking videogame mogul in 2021's Free Guy"; Oscar Isaac's search engine CEO in 2014's Ex Machina; and the critical portrait of the Apple co-founder in 2015's Steve Jobs.

Story continues

Kids movies, too, regularly channel parental anxieties about technology's impact on children. In 2021's The Mitchells vs. the Machines, a newly launched AI brings about a robot apocalypse. Ron's Gone Wrong" (2021) also used a robot metaphor for smartphone addiction. And TV series have just as aggressively rushed to dramatize Big Tech blunders. Recent entries include: Uber's Travis Kalanick in Showtime's Super Pumped; Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu's The Dropout; and WeWork's Adam and Rebekah Neumann in Apple TV's We Crashed.

Some of these portrayals you could chalk up to Hollywood jealousy over the emergence of another California epicenter of innovation. But those worlds merged long ago. Many of the companies that released these movies are disrupters, themselves  none more than Netflix, distributor of Glass Onion." The streamer was cajoled into releasing Johnson's sequel more widely in theaters than any previous Netflix release. Estimates suggested the film collected some $15 million over opening weekend, the old fashioned way, but Netflix executives have said they don't plan to make a habit of such theatrical rollouts.

And the distrust goes deeper than any Hollywood-Silicon Valley rivalry. A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 70% of Americans think social media companies do more harm than good. Tech leaders like Meta chief Zuckerberg have at times been seen favorably by only 1 in 5 Americans.

As characters, tech bros  hoodie-wearing descendants of the mad scientist  have formed an archetype: Masters of the universe whose hubris leads to catastrophe, social media savants who can't manage their personal relationships. Whether their visions of the future pan out or not, we end up living in their world, either way. They're villains who see themselves as heroes.

In my mind, hes really the most dangerous human being around, Rylance says of his Peter Isherwell. He believes that we can dominate our way out of any problem that nature hands us. I think thats the same kind of thinking thats got us into the problem were in now, trying to dominate each other and dominate all the life were intimately connected to and dependent on.

Glass Onion, nominated for best adapted screenplay, presents a new escalation in tech mogul mockery. Nortons eminently punchable CEO, with a name so nearly Bro, is enormously rich, powerful and, considering that hes working on a volatile new energy source, dangerous. But Bron is also, as Daniel Craigs Benoit Blanc eventually deduces, an idiot. A vainglorious buffoon, Blanc says.

In Johnsons film, the tech bro/emperor bro truly has no clothes. Hes just skating by with lies, deceit and a bunch of not-real words like predefinite and inbreathiate.

Even though Johnson wrote Glass Onion well before Elon Musks shambolic Twitter takeover, the movies release seemed almost preternaturally timed to coincide with it. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive was only one of Johnsons real-world inspirations, though some took Bron as a direct Musk parody. In a widely read Twitter thread, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro said Johnson was dramatizing Musk as a bad and stupid man, which he called an incredibly stupid theory, since Musk is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in human history." He added: How many rockets has Johnson launched lately?

Musk himself hasnt publicly commented on Glass Onion, but he has previously had numerous gripes with Hollywood, including its depictions of guys like him. Hollywood refuses to write even one story about an actual company startup where the CEO isnt a dweeb and/or evil, Musk tweeted last year.

Musk will soon enough get his own movie. The Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney on Monday announced he was several months into work on Musk, which producers promise will offer a definitive and unvarnished examination of the tech entrepreneur.

At the same time as the tech bros supervillainy supremacy has emerged, some movies have sought not to lampoon Big Tech but to imbibe some of the digital world's infinite expanse. Phil Lord, who with Christopher Miller has produced The Mitchells vs the Machines and the multiverse-splitting Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, says the internet has profoundly influenced their approach to film.

We, legacy media, are responding in maybe subconscious ways to new media, says Lord. Were all just trying to figure out how to live in the new world. Its changing peoples behavior. It changes the way we find and experience love. It changes the way we live. Of course, the stories we tell and how we tell them are going to change as well and reflect that. Into the Spider-Verse certainly reflects having a lot of content from every era in your brain all at the same time.

The best-picture favorite Everything Everywhere All at Once," too, is reflective of our multi-screen, media-bombarded lives. Writer-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, whose film is up for a leading 11 Oscars, say they wanted to channel the confusion and heartache of living in the everything-everywhere existence that tech moguls like Miles Bron helped create.

The reason why we made the movie is because thats what modern life feels like, says Kwan.

So even though Miles Bron won't go home with an Academy Award on Sunday, he still wins, in a way. It's his world. We're all just living in it.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

___

For more coverage of this years Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
A Merced man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for making bombs that he used to retaliate against three intended victims in Merced and Lemoore, federal prosecutors said.

The office of U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced Monday that 53-year-old Wes Parker McDaniel was sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison for using explosives to destroy property and manufacturing bombs.

McDaniel pleaded guilty to felony charges in federal court last year.

Court records show McDaniel made 12 bombs or destructive devices using illegal fireworks he purchased in Nevada, shrapnel, ammunition, fire-starting material and other items between Feb. 1, 2021 and June 22, 2021. McDaniel used six bombs at homes in Merced and one in Lemoore, according to a U.S Department of Justice news release.

The release does not make clear why McDaniel was retaliating against the victims.

McDaniel used three of the bombs on a home where he mistakenly thought one of his targets lived. Authorities said one of those bombs hit a wall of the home and exploded, damaging the wall, destroying a fence and badly burning a propane tank. In other instances, McDaniel placed two bombs near a vehicle of one of the victims, and threw a bomb at the home of a third victim.

Authorities executed a search warrant at McDaniels home where they located bomb-making material, boxes of ammunition, a .22 caliber rifle and six bombs. As a convicted felon, McDaniel is prohibited from possessing ammunition, destructive devices and firearms, according to the release.

McDaniel was ordered to pay $2,180 in restitution to cover the loss of the fence, according to the release.
About 11 hours after Port St. Lucie police named Manuel Sanabria as an armed and dangerous homicide suspect, he was shot and killed by Fort Lauderdale officers Tuesday morning.

The shooting happened just before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Northwest Seventh Street. Port St. Lucie named Sanabria as the shot suspect around 11:20 a.m.

Port St. Lucie police said that at 9:30 Monday night they found a man shot to death in a car in the 6200 block of Northwest Duke Circle. Officers said Sanabria drove off in a 2016 silver Ram pickup with FL Tag QAZ8X. One database says Sanbria lives in that block of Duke Circle and has immediate family living in North Lauderdale.

On Tuesday, Fort Lauderdale police say they saw the silver pickup truck around Sunrise Boulevard and Northwest 10th Terrace and gave chase. The chase ended less than a mile away, in the 1500 block of Northwest Seventh Street, after Sanabria hit parked cars and a pedestrian, a man now in critical condition..

Police say the 38-year-old Sanabria got out holding a black metal object resembling a firearm and charged towards the officers, taking a shooting standce, while pointing the object in their direction.

Four officers fired, police said, hitting Sanabria multiple times. What Sanabria was holding, Fort Lauderdale police said, was a piece a firearm.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Patrick Lynn said the 38-year-old Sanabria Our officers took the action they felt was necessary to defend themselves.

Sanabria was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he died, police said.

As is standard, the four officers who fired at Sanabria are on administrative leave with pay during an internal review. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting.
Hope Hicks, left; Donald Trump, center; Kellyanne Conway, right. AP File

Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks have met with prosecutors probing a 2016 Trump hush money payment.

Both could directly link Trump to the payment, federal prosecutors have said in the past.

The $130,000 secured adult actress Stormy Daniels' silence concerning an alleged affair with Trump.

Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway  two of Donald Trump's most trusted advisors in his improbable 2016 climb to the presidency  could now impact his 2024 campaign by directly linking him to a hush-money scheme from their earliest days together.

In the last week, both women have met with prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in his intensifying probe of felony records fraud and other potential illegalities surrounding the $130,000 payment, according to published reports.

Both Hicks and Conway directly tie Trump to the money-for-silence scheme, federal prosecutors have said in court papers from the 2019 prosecution of Michael Cohen, the former president's fixer-turned-nemesis, who admittedly brokered the payment and who is also meeting regularly with prosecutors.

Hicks, Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and later his White House communications director, was seen Monday afternoon arriving at a lower Manhattan office building used in the DA's investigation, the Associated Press reported. She left some four hours later.

Conway, Trump's campaign manager turned senior advisor, likewise met with the DA on Wednesday, the New York Times reported.

It's unclear if Hicks and Conway merely were interviewed by prosecutors, or appeared before an ongoing grand jury, and either way, it's unknown if they are helping in the probe. The district attorney's office has declined to comment on the investigation.

The $130,000 was wired by Cohen to Daniels, through her attorney, on October 27, 2016, at Trump's direction, Cohen said three years later in explosive, televised Congressional testimony against the then-sitting president.

"He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair," Cohen told the committee, "and to lie about it to his wife, which I did."

Story continues

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison for the payments. and a series of other admitted crimes, including tax-dodging and lying to Congress about Trump's involvement in a plan to build a tower in Moscow, also on the then-president's behalf.

Cohen was the only person prosecuted for these crimes. But both Hicks and Conway were implicated in documents from the time as being aware of the payments to Daniels.

Hicks was in on a flurry of calls including Trump, Cohen, and two top executives at the National Enquirer, on October 8, 2016, the day after the publication of Trump's notorious Access Hollywood tape, prosecutors have alleged.

At 7:20 p.m. that day, Hicks joined a four-minute, three-way conference call with Trump and Cohen as they allegedly talked about safeguarding Clifford's silence, the feds alleged on pages 41 and 42 of a 269-page search warrant.

About ten minutes after that call, Cohen called David Pecker, the then-publisher of the National Enquirer and a personal friend of Trump. Three minutes after that call, Cohen received a call from Dylan Howard, former editor-in-chief at the Enquirer.

Some eight minutes after that call ended, Cohen called Hicks again, and they spoke for two minutes. By around 9 p.m. that night, Cohen got a text message from Howard saying that Clifford's lawyer had agreed to the hush money deal.

"So far I see only 6 stories. Getting little to no traction," Cohen later texted about Trump's alleged dalliance, federal filings also say. "Same. Keep praying!! It's working!" Hicks responded.

As for Conway, Cohen has described her connection to the hush-money payment in his 2020 memoir, "Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump."

When Cohen wanted to relay to Trump that Daniels had been paid off, it was Conway who relayed the message, he wrote.

She "called and said she'd pass along the good news," Cohen wrote.

Attorneys for Trump and Conway did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Hicks, Robert P. Trout, declined comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The GOP-led House Judiciary Committee on Monday subpoenaed the former disinformation czar of the Department of Homeland Security for testimony.

Committee chairman and Republican representative Jim Jordan ordered the appearance of Nina Jankowicz for a deposition, which is scheduled for April 1o, according to documents obtained by CNN. Jankowicz briefly served as head of the departments Disinformation Governance Board before it was disbanded  three weeks after its announcement  prompting her to resign.

The subpoena indicates the GOP majority on the panel likely plans to grill Jankowicz about her involvement on the board, which was designed to combat so-called disinformation in American society. Jordan had previously asked Jankowicz to provide a transcribed interview, CNN reported.

The briefness of the boards life likely owed to the blistering criticism it and Jankowicz received from the media. Some pundits exposed Jankowiczs questionable fact-finding record, which including her erroneous labeling of the now-confirmed Hunter Biden laptop story as a Russian influence op.

Last May, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas insisted to CNNs Dana Bash that the board would not surveil American citizens and that Jankowicz would be politically neutral. Jankowicz donated to President Bidens campaign during the 2020 cycle and campaigned for Hillary Clinton.

Eminently qualified, a renowned expert in the field of disinformation, Mayorkas said of the boards appointee.

Mayorkas also came under scrutiny for haphazardly communicating the boards function and objectives. He stated that it would lack operational authority or capability, yet he told Bash it would assess disinformation threats from various sources and disseminate those best practices to the operators. The identities and responsibilities of the operators were not specified.

It works to ensure that the way in which we address threats, the connectivity between threats and acts of violence are addressed without infringing on free speech, protecting civil rights and civil liberties, the right of privacy, Mayorkas said of the boards purpose.

Story continues

In August, the Homeland Security Advisory Council concluded in a report that there is no need for a separate Disinformation Governance Board.

More from National Review
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -HSBC's China unit said on Tuesday it has not been told by regulators to restrict outbound remittances and was unaware of recent capital outflow curbs, after billionaire Mark Mobius, its client, said he could not take money out of the country.

China's foreign exchange regulator also said on Monday there is no change in policy on cross-border remittance of funds and that it would continue to promote opening-up to the world.

"We did not receive any requirements from the Chinese regulators to restrict outbound remittances, nor are we aware of any policy changes recently by the Chinese authorities with regards to cross-border capital outflows," an HSBC China spokesperson said via email.

HSBC China made the statement in response to Reuters' questions regarding Mark Mobius' claims that he could not remit his money out of China from his account with HSBC in Shanghai due to China's capital controls.

Mobius, founder of Mobius Capital Partners, told FOX Business last week that he faced all kinds of barriers in the process, including requirements to show records from 20 years of how he made the money.

HSBC China declined to comment on individual client circumstances but said: "As common practices in many countries commercial banks conduct businesses under operational procedures and control requirements for processing transactions appropriately."

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement to Reuters late on Monday that individual remittance of funds needs to go through a bank's basic process and is subject to internal control requirements.

The Chinese forex regulator added it will urge commercial banks to optimise cross-border financial services and improve quality of service.

(Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sam Holmes)
(Bloomberg) -- Hungarys government and most of parliament are united in support for Swedens NATO membership bid after months of foot-dragging from Prime Minister Viktor Orbans ruling party, a senior lawmaker said.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A delegation from Orbans Fidesz party told their counterparts in Stockholm on Tuesday that they support the expansion of the alliance, which the Nordic nations are trying to join following their neighbor Russias invasion of Ukraine. The group will have a similar meeting in Helsinki on Wednesday.

Hungarys parliament is then scheduled to ratify the North Atlantic Treaty Organizations enlargement in the week of March 20, according to the latest agenda on its website.

We made it clear that the Hungarian government, the Hungarian president, the prime minister and most Hungarian lawmakers clearly support a Swedish NATO membership, Csaba Hende, one of the Hungarian parliament members and a former defense minister, told TT news service.

Ratification would leave Turkey as the only holdout in the 30-member defense alliance.

It would also put an end to months of delays as Orban had effectively sought to use NATO expansion as leverage during his own standoff with the European Union over more than $30 billion in blocked funds.

With Hungarys EU funds still suspended over graft and rule-of-law concerns  and with no public commitments from either Finland or Sweden to support the unblocking of the cash  the visit has largely become a face-saving attempt to allow Orbans lawmakers to vent their frustrations before approving enlargement anyway.

Ruling party lawmakers  two from Hungarys national legislature and two from the European Parliament  were also expected to tell their counterparts to stop spreading lies about the erosion of democracy in Hungary, Zsolt Nemeth, the head of parliaments foreign affairs committee and a member of the delegation, told Bloomberg on March 3.

Story continues

Preparing the ground for ratification, Orbans foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said last month that the government had backed NATO expansion all along and that it was parliamentarians who needed to be convinced.

In reality, Orban is the chairman of his Fidesz party and vets each of the partys candidates ahead of legislative elections, who are then expected to toe the party line on legislative votes.

--With assistance from Kati Pohjanpalo and Niclas Rolander.

(Updates with lawmakers comment starting in third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Ibraheem Yazeed, the suspect accused of the kidnapping and killing of Aniah Blanchard in 2019, pleaded not guilty to all murder charges at his arraignment on Monday, court documents show.

A Macon County grand jury indicted Yazeed on three counts of capital murder in November. The charges are capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery and capital murder of a victim in a vehicle.

Yazeed, 33, is in custody at the Lee County Detention Center where he has been held without bond since November 2019.

Blanchard, who was a student at Southern Union State Community College, was last seen alive on Oct. 23, 2019, in Auburn. Court documents show a witness saw Yazeed force Blanchard into her car outside an Auburn convenience store.

More:Alabama House approves laws named for Aniah Blanchard

Blanchards car was found at a Montgomery apartment complex days later scraped, dented and containing evidence of blood. Blanchards remains were discovered in Macon County about a month after she was reported missing.

Yazeed was arrested in Escambia County on Dec. 4, 2019.

Yazeed was initially to be tried in Lee County before the case was moved to Macon County, Yazeeds attorney William Whatley said.

At the time of Blanchard's murder, Yazeed was free on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and assault in an unrelated case. Alabama voters in November approved Aniah's Law, which makes it easier for judges to deny bail to those accused of violent crimes.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.

Your subscription makes our journalism possible. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Ibraheem Yazeed pleads not guilty in murder of Aniah Blanchard
China pursues self-reliant sci-tech progress to benefit all

Xinhua) 08:33, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of national legislators and political advisors are in Beijing for annual sessions that will set key development agenda of China for the year and beyond. Achieving self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology has been a heatedly discussed topic as the country aims for high-quality development driven by innovation.

Not far from the main venue of the sessions, the Great Hall of the People, a popular exhibition is being staged at the National Museum of China to showcase the progress of the country's manned space program over 30 years, precisely illustrating how China has accomplished in sci-tech self-reliance as well as benefits it has brought to the world.

SELF-RELIANT BUT OPEN

According to a government work report submitted Sunday for the national legislators to deliberate, breakthroughs have been made in core technologies in key fields, and a series of innovations have emerged in areas such as manned spaceflight, lunar and Martian exploration, deep-sea and deep-earth probes, supercomputers, satellite navigation, quantum information, nuclear power technology, airliner manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

In late 2022, China's space station Tiangong entered the new phase of application and development. It now features a basic three-module configuration consisting of the core module named Tianhe, and two lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian.

The construction of the space station benefits from China's system of pooling national resources and strengths. Hundreds of thousands of scientific researchers have participated in the program, inspired by the spirit of self-reliance and independent innovation. The self-development rate of key components of the space station reached 100 percent.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed on many occasions the importance of self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology.

Speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development, said Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, while attending a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province on Sunday at the ongoing first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature.

To open up new areas and new arenas in development and foster new growth drivers and new strengths in face of fierce international competition, China should ultimately rely on scientific and technological innovation, he said.

Building self-reliance and strength in science and technology is key to building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects within the set time frame, Xi added.

The nation's achievements in space exploration, with the space station construction as an outstanding example, reflect the strength of innovation in China, said Wang Xiaojun, head of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body.

Sci-tech empowerment is a prominent symbol of China's high-quality development, while sci-tech innovation has become an important driving force for Chinese modernization, Wang added.

The country moved up to the 11th place in the 2022 Global Innovation Index and firmly remains the only middle-income economy in the top 30, according to the latest ranking published by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

China's spending on research and development totaled 3.087 trillion yuan (about 445 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, an increase of 10.4 percent over the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Not only does the perseverance with self-reliance advance the sci-tech development of China, but it also creates more opportunities for global cooperation.

In its manned space program, China has signed agreements and carried out cooperation projects with France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Pakistan, and many space agencies and organizations. Its Tiangong space station is the first of its kind open to all UN member states.

In a cooperation program with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, projects from 17 countries have been included in the first batch of Tiangong's experiments in aerospace medicine, life sciences and biotechnology, microgravity physics and combustion science, astronomy and other emerging technologies.

China is fully aware that independent innovation should never exclude international cooperation.

THE GLOBAL CHAIN

Self-reliance in science and technology has helped Chinese high-tech enterprises to forge their core competitiveness, and enabled them to become an essential part in the global innovative industrial chain.

Located in Ningde, east China's Fujian Province, battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is now operating at full capacity, with its blue battery cells to be shipped to automakers worldwide, including BMW, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Founded in 2011, CATL has ranked first in the world in terms of the usage of its power battery system for six consecutive years, and also in the shipment of its energy storage battery for two consecutive years.

To get more deeply involved in global industrial cooperation, CATL has built power battery production plants in Thuringia of Germany and Debrecen of Hungary. In February, it confirmed that it would work with Ford Motor Company on the latter's lithium iron phosphate battery plant in the U.S. state of Michigan, providing technology and service support to the new plant.

In 2022, China's foreign trade withstood the impact of multiple unexpected factors, with exports of EVs, photovoltaic (PV) products and lithium batteries growing by 131.8 percent, 67.8 percent and 86.7 percent, respectively.

According to the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, China's global market share of PV polysilicon, lithium battery cells and modules exceeded 70 percent in 2021.

"China today is the biggest driver of clean energy technologies," Fatih Birol, chief of the International Energy Agency, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Zou Ming, an NPC deputy and a senior engineer with the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Research Institute, said that enterprises should give full play to the major role of innovation and transform sci-tech innovation into the biggest driving force on the Chinese path to modernization.

BENEFITS FOR ALL

While adhering to independent innovation, China has been actively promoting sci-tech sharing and exchanges, aiming to benefit all mankind.

The contribution of scientific and technological progress to the country's economic growth has exceeded 60 percent, said the government work report.

In February, a group of guests from Mexico came to Fujian Province to study the technology of "Juncao," an economical and environmentally friendly substitute for timber as a substrate for growing mushrooms.

Discovered by Chinese scientists, Juncao is famed as "magic grass," as it is particularly suitable for developing countries to improve their agriculture and reduce poverty.

It is becoming a new sustainable industry in countries and regions along the Belt and Road and has been introduced to 106 countries, creating hundreds of thousands of job opportunities and helping to alleviate poverty.

At a UN meeting in 2019, former President of the General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces described Juncao as "emblematic of China's Belt and Road Initiative," which, according to the World Bank's estimates, could contribute to lifting 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.

China has also hosted a large number of international students learning about the Juncao technology. So far, the country has held 310 international training sessions on the technology, both at home and abroad, training more than 10,000 people.

When chairing a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee last month, Xi 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.

China has established sci-tech cooperation relations with more than 160 countries and regions, and signed 116 inter-governmental agreements on sci-tech cooperation.

In 2022, China signed or renewed 25 international sci-tech cooperation documents, and carried out fruitful cooperation with many countries in multiple fields, including COVID-19 control, biodiversity, climate change and clean energy.

The country's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope has been available for scientists worldwide since April 1, 2021. Meanwhile, products, technologies and services related to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System have been applied in more than half of all countries around the world.

After the recent devastating earthquake hit Turkiye, China quickly deployed several satellites to help analyze the disaster situation and allocate relief resources.

Sci-tech progress will make China better prepared for international sci-tech cooperation, and the country will continue to contribute to global sci-tech development for the benefit of humanity.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Lakshman Gogada holds up a picture on his phone showing Devasish Nandepu, who was posing for an Instagram photo. Godaga was with Nandepu the night he was killed. (Shanna Madison / Chicago Tribune)

A 14-year-old boy was charged in the January fatal shooting of a graduate student from India outside a Walmart in the West Chatham neighborhood, Chicago police announced Tuesday.

The juvenile was charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm in the death of Devasish Nandepu, 23.

Advertisement

[ A Walmart run for 3 international graduate students ends in deadly shooting, senseless robbery for $6 on South Side ]

Nandepu was shot in the back during a robbery Jan. 22 outside Walmart in the 8300 block of South Holland Road, where another graduate student was shot in the chest. Nandepu was pronounced dead the next morning, according to the Cook County medical examiners office.

The juvenile was arrested Monday on the Far South Side by the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and Chicago police. The boy was identified as one of the people involved in the armed robbery of three graduate students in the Walmart parking lot.

Advertisement

One of the students had just enrolled at Illinois Institute of Technology, while Nandepu and another came from India to start the spring semester at Governors State University.

According to a police report, the three students were on their way to the Walmart when a Kia pulled up and two gunmen wearing face masks jumped out. One was carrying a long gun, possibly a rifle, and the other a handgun, as they began to demand the victims belongings, the police report said.

Get on the ground, they yelled, saying they wanted their cellphones and pass codes but after snatching a $5 bill and a $1 bill, without the phones, the attacker with the rifle began to shoot  hitting Koppala and Nandepu, according to the police report.

The shooter got back in the Kia and fled.

I was saved by Gods grace, but they both were hit by bullets, Lakshman Gogada, one of the students, told the Tribune in February.
Little Elm Councilman Tony Singh likes to joke that hes an accidental politician. Growing up as a military brat with his father in the Indian Navy, 42-year-old Singh had become accustomed to packing his bags every few years.

But now, Little Elm is my home forever, Singh says.

With the goal of serving his newfound community, Singh signed up for Citizens Government Academy, an eight-week program offering Little Elm residents the opportunity to learn about the local governments daily functions and roles. To help keep residents safe, the sales engineer and his wife Crystal volunteered with the police department, the fire department, Citizens on Patrol and Make 380 Safe. Before joining the town council, Singh served as a commissioner on the towns planning and zoning commission.

I thought elected officials should be more proactive, should be there for the community all the time, they should be accessible, he said of his run for the town council. People should be your first priority. Im a volunteer first and a politician second.

Thousands joined the celebration of Diwali at the Rustin Pavilion in the Southlake Town Square Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Nipa Guswarambi, 6, left, joins younger sister, Dhiti, 3, at the fountain, while Priya Abbott, 6 and older sister, Roma, enjoy sweet treats.

Joan Patel has a friend snap a keepsake photo of her at the Diwali celebration in Southlake, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.

The growing number of Indian-Americans in North Texas is establishing itself as a formidable block in cities throughout the Metroplex. From technology, to schools to politics, Indian-Americans like Singh have made an indelible mark in the cultural fabric of North Texas.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010 and 2020 5-year estimates

Asians are the states fastest-growing population, with Indian-Americans being the largest group in that category. Overall, Texas has the second largest Indian-American population in the country. In 2010, there were 230,842 Indian-Americans in Texas, making up 0.9% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2020, that number nearly doubled, with 434,221 Indian-Americans making up 1.5% of the states population.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010, 2015, 2020 5-year estimates

That growth was apparent in Dallas-Fort Worth, where about 220,000 Indian-Americans live. In Collin County, the Indian-American population grew from 3.8% to 7.5% in the last decade, and Denton County from 2.2% to 4.1%. The percentage of Indian-Americans in Dallas County went from 1.6% to 2.4%, and in Tarrant County it increased from 0.9% to 1.1%. Between 2015 and 2020 alone, about 14,189 more resided in Fort Worth, Dallas and Plano.







A career solving problems

McKinney resident Dinesh Hooda, 39, said he came to Texas in 2011 for the job opportunities. He had worked for cybersecurity company McAfee in India for nearly eight years before being transferred as a senior software engineer. Hooda earned a masters degree in computer science in India, and later an MBA from Texas A&M University.

Technology always fascinated me from the beginning when I was a child, because you can achieve more things by following the latest technology and it leads to more work, he said. Technology makes good use of human power and multiplies it a lot.

Hooda is one of a large proportion of Indian-American science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workers in North Texas. More than half of Indian-American employees work in only three industries: computer science and mathematics, management and health care. They also own 5% of all businesses in Collin, Denton, Dallas and Tarrant counties, representing more than a third of all Asian businesses.

Proud parents in the audience getting video of their children performing at the celebration of Diwali in Southlake, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.

The color and pageantry of Bollywood showed in the performances during the celebration of Diwali in Soutrhlake, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022.

Indian-Americans are among the highest earners of all immigrants, according to an August report from the Indian American CEO Council and the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. The average income for Indian-Americans in Dallas-Fort Worth is $58,879, about 48% more than other groups. And 41% make $150,000 or more annually, according to the Census Bureau. In North Texas, most Indian-Americans are college educated, with nearly half having a graduate or professional degree.

It was difficult for Hooda, his wife and four-year-old son to adjust to the change at first, not having the community he had in India. Even finding vegetarian food, which was usually easily accessible to them, had proved to be a challenge. And when school started, his son was anxious to go fearful that his teachers wouldnt understand him.

We did not know anyone here except my manager to whom I was reporting to, he said. When you dont know anyone, then smaller things also become bigger things.

That was until Hooda attended an Indian Independence Day event hosted by the India Association of North Texas. For the first time, Hoodas family was able to connect with Indian Americans living in North Texas. Since then, that group has given them a sense of belonging and a tie to their Indian culture.

It was really big for me, because I made a couple of friends from that group. And then that way, I felt that yeah there are more more people here in the area which look more like me. And then they also were going through the same immigration challenges in which I am going through, Hooda said.

Hooda now works as senior technical program manager at Uber, where he works with engineers to prevent fraud on the platform.

I want to definitely continue to work on challenging problems and solve them, and continue to grow in my career, Hooda said.

Urmeet Juneja, who is Sikh, in his home in Frisco.

A familys promising future

Frisco resident Urmeet Juneja, 50, moved to the U.S. in 2012 to build a promising future for his family of four. Over the past decade, he and his wife Harleen raised their two kids Rajmeet and Manraj in North Texas, and that future has become a reality.

Since I came from India to the U.S., it was kind of a little challenging to settle down. Not that much for me, but for my family and kids, because it was a change in culture, it was a change in language, Juneja said. So the kids took some time to get acclimatized with the culture and the language here. It was a couple of years before they actually felt settled down.

Rajmeet and Manraj had to leave behind friends as well as extended family back in India, so Texas was initially a lonely place for them. Because English had not been their primary language, it took about a year of ESL classes before they felt fully comfortable communicating with classmates and teachers.

What I could see is they would hang out with friends who were of the same culture and same background, Juneja said. It took them some time to get into the groove where they had friends who were non-immigrants.

Many crowded the edge of the stage to snap photos and shoot video of performers at the celebration of Diwali in Southlake, Texas, Saturday.

Soon, the family found a gurudwara, or Sikh temple, to worship at every Sunday. Later, Juneja became president of the India Association of North Texas. That community involvement helped the family remain connected to their values and culture and makes them feel at-home, Juneja said.

We have a very large community, Juneja said. I myself am involved with the India Association of North Texas, so thats kind of heavy involvement in the cultural activities and educational activities that the association does, plus we also deal with the state representatives, the mayor and all to take up the issues of the Indian community, if any, and then we also focus on growing the cultural diversity and showing that to the community at large. That keeps even the children connected with their culture, which is back in India.

A senior at UTD, Rajmeet, 21, will be earning a computer science and engineering degree in 2023. As a Centennial High School senior, Manraj wants to attend the UT McCombs School of Business, majoring in business and finance. In the long-term, the 17-year-old plans to take up corporate law.

That was the goal  that my kids would live in an environment where theyll get a better education, theyll get more prospects once they grow up, he said. Im hoping my kids grow up and get into good jobs or start something of their own and do well in their life. And at the same time, also keeping intact their cultural values and being in touch with their Indian value system which we have grown up into.

Tony Singh with Little Elm City Council near his truck at home in Little Elm.

A significant political constituency

The more than 4.16 million Indian-Americans have appeared as a significant political constituency. In the United States, there are 1.9 million Indian-American voters.

Indian-Americans serve as elected officials throughout the Lone Star State, and even more ran for county, state and federal office this year. In the November election, advocacy group Indian American Impact endorsed six Texas candidates of South Asian descent. One of those who ran for re-election and won is Judge Juli Mathew, who in 2018 became the first Asian judge in Fort Bend County. Also, Euless resident Salman Bhojani became the first South Asian elected to the Texas legislature.

When I was running, there were very few [Indian-Americans] running, but now I see more and more people are running every year, Councilman Singh said. In coming years, Indian-Americans will be a very big group, which can influence a lot of things in this area, in all of Texas.

Groups like SAAVETX are helping to register South Asian voters in places of worship, community centers and neighborhoods throughout Texas.

Groups like SAAVETX are helping to register South Asian voters in places of worship, community centers and neighborhoods throughout Texas.

Because of their relatively young status and recent arrival, the IACEO/UTD report says, its possible that the full political impact of the Indian-American community has not been fully realized. The Indian-American population is relatively young, with a median age of 40, compared to 46 for other immigrants. About two-thirds arrived in the U.S. after 2000. Dallas-Fort Worth approved the fourth highest number of green card holders from India, behind New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

Groups like SAAVETX and the Indian American Coalition of Texas have helped to register South Asian voters in places of worship, community centers and neighborhoods throughout Texas. Those efforts helped to drive record turnout for the 2020 election. The biggest concern for the Indian-American community is the immigration system, Juneja says.

I was fortunate enough to come on an L-1A visa, which is the executive visa, but most of the Indian American community comes on the H-1B visa and then they struggle to keep the status intact. A lot of times their kids they grew up for like 14, 15 years, they stay on H-1B, and the kids after the age of 21 they are out of status and they have to struggle to find their own immigration status, Juneja said. We have the people who have been staying here from such a long time. But then also we have an influx of new people coming in every year on an H-1B visa, those who have been here for 10 years and still struggling to get a permanent status.

In 2003, Singh moved to Texas from India to get his masters degree in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. Then in 2011, he decided to settle in Little Elm with Crystal because it had the unique charm of a small town, like the beach on the shores of Lake Lewisville, with all the amenities of a big city, including health care that Crystal needed as a cancer survivor.

Now in his second term, Singh still does regular volunteer work, like helping out at the Little Elm Area Food Bank every first Saturday of the month and making donations through his nonprofit called the Little Elm Angels Foundation. He aims to get more residents informed of what is happening with their town and get more involved.

As long as I can take care of the people, respond to people on-time, be accessible to people and create value for the town, well be here, Singh said.
A storm that developed in the Indian Ocean last month has become the longest-lasting recorded cyclone as of Tuesday, as it is forecasted to wallop Mozambique for a second time in just a month.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy began in the Indian Ocean on Feb. 6, crossing the entire southern part of the ocean before making landfall in Madagascar on Feb. 21 and then Mozambique on Feb. 24, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The storm is now headed back to Mozambique this week as it hit the 31-day milestone on Tuesday. It now holds the record for longest-lasting tropical storm alongside Hurricane John, which lasted 31 days in 1994.

At this time, it does appear to be a new record holder for longest-lasting recorded tropical cyclone but we are continuing to monitor the situation, Randall Cerveny, WMO rapporteur for weather and climate extremes, said in the press release.

The storm brought heavy rains and flooding to the regions, and has killed at least 21 people this far.

Mozambique officials said that 1.75 million people have been affected this far by the storm, with more than 8,000 people displaced, the WMO said in its press release.

Freddy also broke the record for all-time accumulated cyclone energy  a measure of the systems strength over time  with already recording 66 units of all-time accumulated cyclone energy, which overrode the previous 2016 record of 53, according to the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service.

The service also said that it is only the fourth tropical system to cross the southern Indian Ocean from east to west.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Rescuers on a remote Indonesia island searched for signs of life on Tuesday after a landslide that killed 15 people, awaiting equipment and reinforcements to boost efforts to find 42 people still missing, the disaster agency said.

The landslide on Monday followed six days of torrential rain and buried houses on a village on the island of Serasan in the Natuna region, about 80 km (49.71 miles) off the island of Borneo.

Disaster agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said the landslide was estimated to have been 100-200 metres (328-656 ft) long and there were just 42 people involved in a rescue mission complicated by the remote location.

Heavy equipment such as excavators had yet to arrive, he said, with those helping in the operation required to travel by boat, vehicles then on foot.

"The number of fatalities might change at anytime. Of 15 fatalities, 10 bodies had been retrieved," Abdul said by phone, adding 1,216 residents had been moved to temporary shelters in mosques and community health centres.

A video seen by Reuters showed rescuers in helmets working with flashlights in darkness to try to free victims, with houses destroyed and roads blanketed in mud.

Two helicopters would be sent from the capital Jakarta on Tuesday to help the rescue effort, as well as a plane carrying tents, food and blankets for evacuees, said Abdul.

Natuna's rescue agency head told Antara News Agency that military would be deployed to help the rescue and some equipment had been dispatched, including extraction tools and lighting equipment.

(This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of island to Serasan, not Searasan, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Martin Petty)
Danielle Miller is seen following a 2020 arrest in Florida.

Danielle Miller is seen following a 2020 arrest in Florida.

A social media influencer and self-professed con artist who once boasted the friendship of infamous scammer Anna Delvey has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1 million in pandemic-related loans.

Danielle Miller, 33, pleaded guilty Monday in Boston to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft over accusations that she stole the identities of more than 10 people to take out loans, open bank accounts and receive thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits. The money was then used to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included chartering a private jet and booking luxury hotel stays, federal prosecutors said.

Miller, whose social media accounts feature photos and videos of her wearing an ankle monitor while sporting designer clothing and driving a Rolls-Royce, struck a plea deal with prosecutors to forfeit $1.3 million and serve six years in prison, Reuters reported. Each wire fraud charge otherwise carries a sentence of up to 20 years.

Miller accepted responsibility for her role in the offenses charged in the indictment, her attorney told HuffPost in a statement Tuesday.

Her sentence, scheduled to be handed down June 27, could reportedly overlap with a five-year sentence that she received last year in Florida as part of a separate identity fraud case.

From July 2020 to May 2021, Miller bankrolled her glamorous lifestyle using fake photo IDs and fake business names to apply for COVID-19 relief loans funded by the federal government, according to prosecutors.

She also used other peoples identities to rent a luxury apartment in Miami, arrange a private Gulfstream jet flight from Florida to California  where she arranged luxury accommodations under an identity theft victims name  and rent a Zipcar vehicle in Miami that was never returned. The car was later found abandoned but traced back to Miller after her name was discovered on a piece of paper inside, according to a criminal complaint.

Story continues

Miller meanwhile publicized her thefts, authorities said, with social media photos of herself at Californias ritzy Beverly Hills Hotel and the nearby Petit Ermitage. Illegal transactions were made at both luxury hotels in September 2020 with a photo ID that matched Millers face but bore a different name, an investigating agent said in a court document.

By the time of the agents 2021 probe, Miller already had a criminal record that included arrests in five different states, many of which were related to larceny and identity-related fraud, the agent said.

I more so consider myself a con artist than anything, Miller told New York Magazine in a profile last year while under house arrest and awaiting trial.

The former law student, whose father was once president of the New York State Bar Association, said she learned how scamming works while serving time in New York following a grand larceny arrest in her college days. It was during this time that she said she befriended fellow inmate Delvey  born Anna Sorokin  whose elaborate thefts were the focus of a hit Netflix miniseries in 2022.

I literally just researched on the internet, Miller told New York Magazine of her scamming know-how. It was very readily available to me. No one taught me it. I just overheard some things while I was in Rikers Island.

Related...
A social media influencer pleaded guilty Monday to using identities she stole to obtain more than $1 million in pandemic relief to help fund a lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said.

Danielle Miller, 32, assumed identities through the online Massachusetts drivers license portal and other methods and displayed some of the cache from her scheme on social media, according to the U.S. attorneys office for Massachusetts. Victims also came from Wisconsin and Arizona, a criminal complaint filed in the case noted.

Prosecutors say Danielle Miller used stolen identities to get more than $100,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration and allegedly spent taxpayer money at various luxury hotels throughout California. (@killadmilla via Instagram)

Federal officials say hers is one of the more egregious cases of fraud that emerged from government efforts to recharge the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which locked down communities and businesses starting in 2020.

In all, Miller obtained $1.5 million through fraud, most of it related to pandemic relief efforts, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

Authorities said in the complaint that, in September 2020, she used counterfeit ID to buy $2,390 worth of private jet airfare from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to the Los Angeles area.

There, she spent $5,500 at Petit Ermitage, a luxury hotel in West Hollywood, and posed for a photo in front of a Rolls-Royce at the Beverly Hills Hotel, according to the complaint. She posted an image of her with the car on Instagram with the words Shes back.

The next month, she used a pilfered identity to rent a Honda Civic, which was abandoned in Miami, it said. Inside was a document from the Florida unemployment department in her real name, the charging document said.

Miller pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. attorneys office. She is free on $100,000 bond and living in the New York City area, according to court documents.

A still-active Instagram account belonging to Miller shows her in photos posted last year wearing an ankle monitor.

Her attorney, Mitchell C. Elman, said Miller has accepted responsibility for her role in the offenses as charged.

Story continues

Federal investigators started looking into Miller in early 2021, after an Abington, Massachusetts, woman discovered her identity was stolen; someone applied for a lease in her name, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities then discovered $102,400 in Small Business Administration loan funds had been deposited in a bank account in the victims name, unbeknownst to her, the complaint said.

Authorities zeroed in on Miller by linking the network used to access the victims information on the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles site to a Miami high-rise, according to court documents.

Soon, investigators said, they were looking at photos of Miller not on social media but on fraudulent ID cards.

There, they found that the original Massachusetts victims identity and the identities of multiple other victims were used to buy money orders worth thousands in cash, according to the complaint. Investigators said the stolen identities were also used to open bank accounts, obtain credit cards and apply for rental cars.

Miller also opened a bank account in the name of another victim and collected $6,204 in Arizona unemployment benefits, the criminal complaint said.

She accessed the identities of 27 people through the Massachusetts drivers license portal alone, 10 of which were used to apply for more than $900,000 in federal SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans, offered under the pandemic national emergency, the complaint said.

Prosecutors allege Miller ran her scheme from July 2020 through May 2021, when she was arrested.

Miller faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the three counts of wire fraud, a mandatory two-year sentence on the identity theft charges and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the charges when she is sentenced June 27.

Some experts say pandemic relief fraud could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars in taxpayer money stolen, lost or otherwise wasted. Much of the federal relief money related to the pandemic went to small-business owners as loans and was forgiven. But some who obtained loans lied about owning viable businesses or about how many workers they employed.

The White House last week proposed a $1.6 billion plan to combat pandemic relief fraud.

Nearly a year ago, President Joe Biden announced that his administration was cracking down on pandemic relief fraud. Far too many working families bore the brunt of this unchecked fraud, he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Ophelia Nichols has 11.2 million followers on TikTok. Ophelia Nichols via TikTok.

The TikTok star Ophelia Nichols said she found a wedding dress worth $4,819 in a thrift store.

She said she bought the designer dress for $50 and planned to give it away to a fan.

After seeing Nichols try on the dress, her followers urged her to keep it for herself.

A TikTok influencer known for acting as a motherly figure to her fans has told them she bought a designer wedding gown for $50 at a thrift store and hopes to donate it to a follower who's planning to get married.

Ophelia Nichols, a 41-year-old creator from Alabama known on TikTok by the nickname Mama Tot, has developed a following of 11.2 million by role-playing as a momlike figure to her younger fans, reacting to other creators discussing difficult life experiences and responding to requests for advice about a particular issue a follower is facing by using comforting words.

On Sunday, Nichols posted a video in which she could be seen holding up a white wedding gown, which she said was from the luxury bridal brand Romona Keveza.

According to Nichols, the original label on the dress said it cost $4,819. Romona Keveza wedding dresses in the brand's current collection start at about $3,500, Brides magazine reported.

The TikToker said she "felt so bad" about buying the dress for such a bargain that she tried to tell a worker in the store how valuable it was but said the employee was happy to let her have it for $50.

Nichols said she wanted to have the dress cleaned to give it away to one of her followers  whom she calls her "tater tots"  who's planning to get married but can't afford a designer dress. She then recalled preparing for her own wedding and looking through designer magazines, wishing that she could afford to splurge on her gown.

"I cried when I put this dress in my truck because I would have given anything to have this years ago when I got married, and I know that it would mean something to one of you," she said. "Sure, I could get it cleaned and sell it on eBay for whatever, but no, I want somebody else to have this experience that I didn't get a chance to have."

Story continues

The TikToker filmed herself trying on the dress and said she would ideally like to give it to a local fan in Alabama so that they could try it on first to see whether it fit well.

"This is stunning. This would have been the dress I would have gotten married in. I'm speechless," she said as she twirled around in the gown on camera.

Instead of scrambling to put their names forward to win the dress giveaway, an overwhelming majority of Nichols' commenters said they thought the creator should keep the dress because they thought it looked good on her and they felt sympathy after she talked about how much she loved it. A number of people suggested that she could even wear the gown to renew her vows with her husband, Derick, whom Nichols refers to online as Papa Tot.

"No, no, I want someone else to enjoy this beautiful gown that may be wouldn't have the opportunity to," Nichols wrote in response to one commenter who suggested this.

Nichols has yet to make another statement about when she plans to give away the dress. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

She has in the past appealed to her fans for help.

Last year, she asked for information about her 18-year-old son, Randon Lee, who was shot and killed in June. Nichols asked her TikTok followers whether anyone knew something that could identify Lee's killer. She also shared a link to a GoFundMe page at the time, which raised $280,980 to cover his funeral costs. Police arrested a man on suspicion of the murder in August, multiple reports said.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

Read the original article on Insider
Danielle Miller is accused of duping the US government out of pandemic relief funds (killadmilla/Instagram)

An Instagram influencer has admitted to stealing $1.5m in Covid relief funds to pay for her luxurious lifestyle.

Miami-based Danielle Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to the Department of Justice.

Federal prosecutors say that between June 2020 and May 2021 she used more than 10 stolen identities and fake business names to claim pandemic-related financial assistance.

She then allegedly used the money to pay for her rent in a luxury building, stay in a luxury hotel and charter a private plane.

The Massachusetts US Attorneys Office says that Miller got the money from the US Small Business Administration, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and other unemployment benefits.

Miller, who has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, was arrested in May 2021 and indicted by a federal grand jury in July of the same year.

There, Miller posted her extravagant use of the fraud proceeds and stolen identities, publicizing her purchasing of luxury goods and renting of luxury accommodations. Posts to this account included a post showing Miller at luxury hotels in California where transactions were made using the bank account in one of the victims names, prosecutors stated.

The wire fraud charges could see Miller receive up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The aggravated identity theft charges carry a mandatory sentence of two years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

She is set to be sentenced on 27 June.
U.S. officials are looking into whether a pro-Ukrainian group conducted the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, according to a report from The New York Times.

The New York Times reported Monday that U.S. officials are reviewing intelligence suggesting that a group supportive of Ukraine attacked the natural gas pipelines; however, there are no apparent ties between that group and the Ukrainian government.

The Nord Stream pipelines connect Russia to Germany and Western Europe for the delivery of natural gas. They have become a major flashpoint in the war between Russia and Ukraine, along with its impact on energy prices in Europe.

Explosions in the Baltic Sea last September damaged the pipelines, leading to finger-pointing across the globe. Several top Western leaders suggested that Russia could be behind the attack in the wake of the explosions.

The Ukrainian government has denied any involvement in the attack, but a number of U.S. officials have thought for some time that the country could be the most likely perpetrator, according to the Times. Ukraine opposed the creation of the pipeline.

The new intelligence, according to the Times, suggests that the attack was carried out by opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but officials said it did not specify the members or the funders of the group. Officials also declined to disclose how the intelligence was gathered or the strength of the evidence.

Europes decades-long dependence on Russian oil and natural gas has come back to bite key Ukrainian allies. The combination of sanctions on Russian energy and shocks to global supply of oil and natural gas caused a steep increase in energy costs in Europe, along with a lesser bump in the U.S.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Last week marked the beginning of International Womens Month -- a 31 day celebration of women everywhere and the monumental impact theyve had all over the world.

The specific holiday in honour of womens societal and economical accomplishments always falls on 8 March, known as International Womens Day (IWD).

The event was first recognized by the United Nations in 1975 and has since been celebrated by more than 80 countries worldwide. The day has also been a major part of the womens rights movement and helped create conversations about gender biases.

This year, the International Womens Day website and the UN have set a theme which focuses on gender equity and equality.

Heres everything you need to know about IWD, from how it started to how to celebrate this years theme.

How did International Womens Day begin?

The origin of the holiday dates back to 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City to demand for change within their society, as noted on IWDs official website. They demanded shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights.

On 28 February 1909, the first National Womens Day was observed. One year later, a woman named Clara Zetkin, a member of the Social Democratic Party in Germany, suggested the idea of a Womens Day that would be held every year in every country on the same day to press for their demands.

After an agreement was made in Denmark in 1911, International Women's Day was honored for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. It later got moved to 8 March in 1914 and has stayed the same since.

IWD was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1975.

What is this years theme?

The International Womens Day website announced that this years theme is #EmbraceEquity. The organisation notes that a focus on gender equity needs to be part of every societys DNA.

They also highlight the difference between equity and equality, explaining that the former means creating an inclusive world, through acts like challenging gender stereotypes, calling out discrimination, drawing attention to bias, and embracing diversity.

Story continues

Another goal of the campaign is to get the world talking about Why equal opportunities arent enough.

People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action, the site reads.

The UNs theme is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. It is focused on the untold contributions to the digital world that women have made and continue to make. The organisation also noted that women make up only 22 per cent of artificial intelligence workers globally.

Today, a persistent gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking technologys full potential, the UNs site reads. Their underrepresentation in STEM education and careers remains a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance. And the pervasive threat of online gender-based violencecoupled with a lack of legal recoursetoo often forces them out of the digital spaces they do occupy.

The UN says that on this years IWD, they are calling on governments, activists and the private sector alike to power on in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable.

How can you take part in IWD this year?

IWDs official website says that one way that people can embrace equity is through reflect on how we can all be part of the solution, not the problem. This can be done through talking to your friends, family or colleagues about ways to work collectively to impact positive change

The organisation also encourages social media users to share a picture of themselves doing the IWD #EmbraceEquity pose, in which you wrap your arms around your shoulders as if youre giving yourself a hug. People are also urged to submit their photos to the International Womens Day 2023 gallery.

Additionally, the IWD website explains how you can find some worldwide events, from community gatherings to concert performances, going on near you. On the website, you can specify what country and city youre located in to find your local or virtual IWD event.

Another way to take part in the campaign is by sharing visuals from their IWD social media package on social media. The organisation will also be broadcasting an event in observance of the holiday at 10 am ET on 8 March, with the theme of: DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality

The broadcast will celebrate the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education and curtailing the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities.

It will also include  technologists, innovators, entrepreneurs, and gender equality activists in order to provide an opportunity to highlight the role of all stakeholders in improving access to digital tools.
A behind-the-scenes organization that helps states maintain their voter lists is beginning to lose members, with three Republican-led states  most notably Florida  announcing that they were departing the organization on Monday.

The secretaries of state of Florida, West Virginia and Missouri all said that they were pulling out of the Electronic Registration Information Center, often known as ERIC.

We have lost confidence in ERIC, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said Monday.

ERIC  a little-known but an important part of Americas election infrastructure  has been facing an onslaught of criticism, ranging from false claims that the organization is a left-leaning group that inflates the voter rolls for Democrats to more behind the scenes fights on its internal structure and practices.

The group is responsible for identifying out-of-date registrations on member states rolls, which typically includes voters who moved either within the state or to another member state, or voters who died out of the state theyre registered to vote in.

The three states withdrawal also surprised some member states, with Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson saying the overall criticisms of ERIC are not rooted in anything legitimate.

In 2012, seven states  roughly split at the time between Democratic and Republican chief election officials  formed ERIC to address some challenges arising from the lack of a federally-mandated national voter registration database.

Since 2012, membership to ERIC has ballooned  with more than 30 members at its height that spanned deep red states to blue bastions across the country.

But recently, two states  Alabama and Louisiana  exited the compact over the last year, with Alabamas new secretary of state alluding to conspiracy theories that percolated on far right websites about how the organization was secretly part of a liberal plot to take over voter rolls.

Florida, West Virginia and Missouris departure, however, publicly reveals the broader fight about the organizations governance and bylaws. Some Republican secretaries of state have been pushing for changes to ERIC, which have been the source of tense discussions for months that the departing secretaries alluded to in their announcements.

Story continues

Republicans secretaries have been pushing for an end to a requirement around eligible but unregistered voters  sometimes referred to as EBUs. In addition to list maintenance requirements around voters who have out-of-date registrations, ERICs bylaws require that state election officials contact those eligible but not registered people at least every two years to see if they would like to register. Some Republican officials want to scrap that requirement.

In his letter announcing his intention to withdraw from the organization, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft called those mailings superfluous  saying they were going to people who made the conscious decision to not be registered.

Florida, notably, flouted the EBU mandates before the midterms and did not send the required mailers, several ERIC members with knowledge of the organization told POLITICO.

Some Republican secretaries have also been called for changing the composition of the organizations board. The board is currently composed of one senior election official from every member state, along with non-voting ex-officio positions. One ex-officio position is vacant, and another is currently filled by David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who helped stand up the organization in 2012 and who is now the founder and executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research.

Republicans have called for the elimination of ex-officio positions, which would effectively boot Becker from the board. Becker has been a vocal defender of the security of the 2020 and 2022 elections, notably rebutting many of former President Donald Trump's and his allies claims that the presidential election was stolen from Trump. More broadly, Becker has regularly called out people he believes were criticizing or critiquing election systems in bad faith. Although not mentioned by name in the Mondays announcements, the three secretaries allude to Becker in their decisions to withdraw by citing a partisan actor.

On Monday, Trump falsely claimed ERIC was "pump[ing] the rolls" for Democrats. On his social media site Truth Social, he called for Republican governors to pull their states out while also calling for severe restrictions on when people can cast their ballots, saying there should only be "SAME DAY VOTING" with limited exceptions.

Becker was not immediately available for an interview. ERICs executive director Shane Hamlin did not return a request for comment on Monday afternoon.

The decision by Florida to withdraw from the consortium comes just weeks after Byrd, an appointee of GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, said the partnership had helped the state to identify voters who have voted in more than one state. Byrd told members of a legislative panel that the information was used in the arrest of a woman last November who had allegedly voted in both Alaska and Florida.

We do derive valid information from ERIC in order to do list maintenance, Byrd told legislators.

DeSantis himself pushed for Florida to join the group in 2019 after former Gov. Rick Scott had blocked it. The likely presidential contender has made election integrity a talking point in his speeches and pushed to create a special unit to investigate election related crimes, including voter fraud. DeSantis even praised ERIC in passing during a press conference last summer as an important tool in that toolbox.

Some officials in the elections sphere expressed shock on Monday at the three states' abrupt decision to withdraw from the compact. In Florida, local election supervisors learned about the move just minutes before it was announced by the DeSantis administration.

"Surprised with the suddenness of the decision to withdraw, but the important question will be what out of state resources will now be available to us to continue to maintain a clean and accurate voter registration database," Bill Cowles, the supervisor of elections in Orange County, Fla., said in an email.

Multiple secretaries of state told POLITICO that they were not given any heads up by their counterparts that their states were withdrawing from the compact, with some being sharply critical of the move.

Their decision to bail on the most effective election integrity collaborative in our country is similarly seen as more of a strategic way to gain favor among extremists as opposed to any sincerely held concern, Benson wrote in a text to POLITICO.

Some were particularly caught off-guard by the timing of the announcements. ERIC members met late last month to discuss some of the proposed changes  where they were either voted down or tabled, according to several members. But the groups governing board is set to meet again on March 17, and multiple ERIC members flagged that meeting as a potential make-or-break moment before Mondays surprise departures.

I think it probably casts a shadow over March 17, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, said in an interview. It seems to have knocked the legs out from under some of the proposed changes because the states that those changes were meant to accommodate are gone. Simon added that he hoped states that have recently left would reconsider.

But those dropping out said they didnt want to wait.

We gave them more than enough time, Ashcroft, the Missouri secretary of state, said in an interview. And at the February meeting, they made it clear that they weren't interested in doing what needed to be done. So why wait?

In the interview, Ashcroft alluded to the possibility that some of the states that left may be looking to set up an organization similar to ERIC.

What I will say is that there have been conversations ongoing for a substantial period of time, about how can we do a better job of cleaning our voter rolls and serving the people? Either by changing ERIC or by creating a new system, or if there is a way that states can do that solely in-house.

It is unclear if any other states will follow Florida and the others out of the organization, at least before the March 17 meeting. But some states have threatened to do so.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, circulated a letter earlier on Monday before the withdrawals calling for changes to the organization. His letter references a rushed and chaotic vote taken at the February meeting, and calls for immediate action at the upcoming March meeting on proposals to eliminate the ex-officio positions and to allow members to use ERICs services a la carte, specifically calling for letting states skip EBU mailers.

I want to emphatically state that Ohio remains in constant discussion with fellow member states about the future of ERIC, and I will not accept the status quo as an outcome of the next meeting, LaRose wrote in his letter, which was shared with POLITICO. Anything short of the reforms mentioned above will result in action up to and including our withdrawal from membership.
A former colleague once was surprised when she saw a note left to me by my husband in my native language Hindi. She said it had never occurred to her that I would be speaking or writing in another language. She didnt think of me as being different. She meant it as a compliment, but it speaks to the fact that we are accepted and blended to such an extent that our difference is no longer obvious. While the point of diversity is to incorporate unique views and perspectives, if those who are perceived as different do not feel comfortable or are expected to fit in, then we have not achieved our goal.

As an Indian woman living in the U.S., I find special meaning in International Womens Day. Living in America has forced me to think about my own identity in a very deliberate way. I grew up in a middle-class household in India. At the time, I did not realize the double privilege I had being part of the majority Hindu population and a middle-class urban-educated woman. Coming to the U.S. suddenly removed that privilege. As an international student here, I stood out everywhere I went  to the grocery store, for a walk, to the gym, to class. Even after being in the country for almost 30 years, I feel a level of discomfort when I am in a new environment.

Advertisement

A well-meaning friend has often reminded me that I am not a real Indian. In other words, I dont fall into the definition of who an Indian woman is supposed to be. To some degree, I can empathize with minorities in the U.S. and in India, and yet, as part of the educated class in America, I am a minority with privilege. As an Indian, I am part of the wealthiest minority in the U.S., but I am also a woman from a developing world living and working in the U.S., which comes with its own set of challenges.

Most of us live at the intersection of so many different boundaries  geographical, sexual, political, linguistic, racial. These intersecting identities offer us the opportunity to connect with each other on many different levels. Diversity forces us to move out of our comfort zone. The more you interact across different cultural platforms, disabilities, and social and sexual groups, the more you are forced to see things differently.

Advertisement

As a professor and graduate director for an international relations program, Ive witnessed this interaction firsthand. A few years ago, a woman from Oman joined our Master of Arts program. She wore a hijab, had two children and was the trainer for her countrys Olympic sprinting team. She broke many stereotypes for our students. A Muslim student from Nigeria, while studying at my university, decided to start wearing a hijab. After making this decision, she experienced the world differently and, as a result, felt more in control and became more socially active, challenging a common stereotype about our community.

We must see people beyond labels; otherwise, we fall prey to what Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie calls the danger of a single story.

We also have to be careful of invoking notions of universalism since it often embodies the outlook of the dominant culture. A few years ago, I was fortunate to have two African American women in my graduate class who reminded me that when we talk about American feminism, we are usually referring to white feminism. The experiences of Black women in America and their movement are very different, much like the differences between rural and urban feminism and Western and non-Western feminism.

Edouard Glissant, a writer from Martinique, said: Thought of the other is sterile without the other of the Thought. In other words, merely accepting that differences exist is not enough to generate deep change in our thinking. He calls for aesthetics of turbulence, which breaks assumptions and forces people to think differently, where each is changed and changes the other. The process is not easy, but through the process of adjustment and readjustment, we create a new hybrid culture.

Social psychologist Adam Galinsky suggests that minorities and women possess a narrow range of acceptable behavior in society leading to a low-power double bind  if we dont speak up, we go unnoticed, but if we do speak up, we get punished. Perspective taking, or looking at the world through the eyes of another person, and advocating for others are a few of the important tools to we can use to step up for each other.

Accepting and embracing diversity means paying attention to the lone voice that disagrees with the rest. As the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Jyotika Saksena, Ph.D., is a professor and graduate program director in international relations in the department of history and political science at the University of Indianapolis. She is a Public Voices fellow with the OpEd Project.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Authorities are investigating the non-life-threatening shooting of a child at the Cincinnati home of Bengals running back Joe Mixon.

Deputies were called to the 7900 block of Ayers Road in Anderson Township just before 8:30 p.m. Monday, the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office said.

A child was transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, it said.

An incident report from the sheriffs office names two suspects who have not been charged. Mixon is not one of them.

"We cannot confirm additional details outside of what is outlined in the Incident Report. Our investigative team continues to review the evidence and conduct interviews. No charges have been filed at this time. That is all we have to release," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Mixon's representative and the Bengals did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Authorities said sheriff's deputies obtained a search warrant for the home "and were able to gather evidence that will be part of this active investigation."

"Our detectives will continue to review this evidence diligently and conduct interviews," the sheriffs office said in a statement, adding that it hopes to have an update later this week. It declined to respond to additional questions.

Mixon was charged at the same home in February and accused of pointing a gun at a woman and threatening her, NBC affiliate WLWT of Cincinnati reported.

The charge was dismissed, and the case was reassigned, according to WLWT, which said it was unclear whether Mixon lives at the property, which a trust listed as the owner.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon on Jan. 2, 2023. (Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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.

Top investigative stories

______________________________________________

RFE/RL identifies 100 Russian soldiers killed attempting to seize Kyiv last March

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty identified some 100 soldiers of Russian elite military units killed during the battle of Moshchun, three kilometers north of Kyiv, in March 2022.

RFE/RL used open-source research, documents, and interviews with sources to identify Russian soldiers attempting to take Kyiv last March. Among them were paratroopers, marines, and servicemen specializing in reconnaissance. These soldiers reportedly belong to at least three elite divisions of Russia's Airborne forces from Pskov, Tula, and Ivanovo, and two marine brigades from Vladivostok and Kamchatka regions.

Among those killed in battle, the RFE/RL identified 45 paratroopers of Russia's 331st Guards Airborne Regiment based in Kostroma.

At least 12 of them reportedly had taken part in the military parades in Moscow, six had fought in Syria, and three had received awards for participating in the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014.

The 331st Guards Airborne Regiment was one of the three Russian units taking part in the Battle of Ilovaisk in eastern Donetsk Oblast, during which at least 420 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in August 2014, according to RFE/RL.

The 155th Separate Marine Brigade from the Russian eastern city of Vladivostok reportedly had at least 30 soldiers killed in Moshchun. Among them was Captain Andrey Ivanov, who posthumously received the highest Russian military award, Hero of Russia.

Story continues

Russia's defeat in Moshchun prevented its troops from encircling Ukraine's capital and subsequently forced Russian troops to withdraw from northern Ukraine in early April 2022, RFE/RL reported.

Find the full story in Ukrainian with English subtitles here.

Suspilne identifies Russian soldiers that could be responsible for killing volunteers in Bucha

Suspilne, Ukraine's state-owned TV channel, identified Russian soldiers allegedly responsible for killing four and injuring one civilian on Kyivo-Myrotska Street in Bucha on March 4, 2022.

Among these people were three volunteers delivering food to an animal shelter. (Revisit their story here).

Having obtained pictures and videos from the phones of the victims and CCTV footage from street cameras, journalists managed to reconstruct the events of that morning.

Russian troops allegedly shot at a car on Kyivo-Myrotska Street, injuring a man. The car caught fire and a man living nearby came out to check whether help was needed. Russian soldiers shot him dead.

Soon after, the volunteers, Serhiy Ustymenko, 25, Maxym Kuzmenko, 28, and Anastasia Yalanska, 26, turned to Kyivo-Myrotska Street where Ustymenko's parents lived.

When Russian soldiers saw their car, they shot Kuzmenko in the head. Ustymenko and Yalanska managed to jump out of the car, trying to escape, but Russian soldiers shot them too, Yalanska's mother told Suspilne.

Suspilne identified some of the soldiers caught on CCTV cameras around the time of the murder on the street where it was committed.

Among them is Aleksandr Dosyagaev, the commander of the second battalion of the Russian 104th Guards Air Assault Regiment. He is reportedly the one leading his troops to Kyivo-Myrotska Street in Bucha on March 4, 2022.

Find the full story in Ukrainian with English subtitles here.

Bihus.Info identifies proxy owning real estate for Russia-backed politicians Medvedchuk, Kozak

Former lawmakers Viktor Medvedchuk and Taras Kozak, charged with treason, allegedly used a proxy to keep hold of expensive real estate and land plots in Kyiv, Bihus.Info outlet found.

Lviv resident Olha Kuts, 62, is allegedly a nominal owner of companies linked to Medvedchuk and Kozak. The two are under Ukrainian sanctions, stipulating that their bank accounts are frozen and assets confiscated.

These assets involve a residential complex in central Kyiv and a few land plots across the city, the estimated cost of which amounts to hundreds of millions of hryvnias, according to Bihus.Info.

On paper, Kuts owns 55% of the companies linked to Medvedchuk, while 45% hold affiliates of Medvedchuk and Kozak. Since Kuts is a majority stakeholder, these assets allegedly went unnoticed by Ukrainian law enforcement and weren't seized by the state, Bihus.Info reported.

In conversation with Bihus.Info, Kuts confessed to being a nominal owner of a number of companies at the request of Taras Kozak's father she worked for back in the 2000s.

Following the Bihus.Info investigation, a Lviv court arrested assets of companies nominally owned by Kuts.

In late February, a Ukrainian court seized Hr 5.6 billion ($152 million) in assets belonging to Medvedchuk's wife, Oksana Marchenko. In April last year, the court arrested Lviv real estate registered to relatives of Medvedchuk and Kozak.

Kozak fled Ukraine in 2021. Medvedchuk was detained in Ukraine and handed over to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange in September 2022.

Find the full story in English here.

Independent Russian media identify people behind Russian censorship

Roskomnadzor, Russia's agency responsible for censorship, suffers from employee shortage and hires students, Russian media outlet iStories found.

Candidates for the position at Roskomnadzor's Internet censorship department are told they will be required to look for criticism of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's war against Ukraine online.

Early career employees get a salary of 40,000 rubles ($530), heads of departments' wages start from 100,000 rubles ($1,300), while top managers earn 500,000 rubles ($6,630) and more.

Roskomnadzor employees are also exempt from military service, according to iStories.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Roskomnadzor has blocked 125,000 pieces of content about Russia's war against Ukraine and adjacent topics as of January, according to iStories.

The story is part of the #RussianCensorFiles, a series of investigations published in February by iStories and other outlets, based on more than 2 million documents leaked from Roskomnadzor.

The leak revealed that Roskomnadzor is tasked with being Putin's personal watchdog, dedicated to tracking down anyone criticizing the Russian president online.

Information from the agency is then passed to Putin's administration and Russian law enforcement bodies.

Over 1,000 employees within Roskomnadzor specialize in tracking content, ranging from speculations about Putin's health to memes that mock the Russian leader, according to the report.

Read the full story in Russian via the link. Some of the earlier stories of the #RussianCensorFiles series are now available in English here.

Independent Russian media: Putin's alleged mistress, kids live in lavish villa next to presidential residence

According to Proekt Media, a Russian investigative outlet, Putin reportedly built a luxurious villa for his alleged girlfriend, former gymnast Alina Kabaeva, and her kids.

The villa is located next to Putins presidential residence on Lake Valdai between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Putin commissioned the construction of a villa for Kabaeva in 2020, next to the presidential residence which had been built 15 years earlier, Proekt wrote citing an anonymous source.

Proekt also found other real estate Kabaeva uses. Among them is the largest apartment in Russia, a 2,600-square-meter penthouse of 20 rooms in Sochi, and three other flats there, registered under the name of her grandmother.

Watch the full story in Russian with English subtitles here.

Recognition

______________________________________________

The Kyiv Independent journalists win award for investigation into International Legion

The Kyiv Independent's investigative reporters Anna Myroniuk and Alexander Khrebet received the #AllForJan Award in Warsaw on March 2 for their investigation into alleged leadership misconduct in the Ukrainian army's International Legion.

The International Legion was established following the full-scale Russian invasion for foreigners eager to help defend Ukraine.

The award-winning investigation revealed the International Legions commanders' alleged involvement in the misappropriation of light weapons and small arms, including Western-provided ones.

Other allegations include threatening legionnaires with a gun and sexual harassment of female subordinates.

For this story, journalists interviewed over 30 sources in the Legion and beyond.

The #AllForJan Award was established in 2020 and "recognizes best media coverage, exceptional and courageous reporting with a great impact on society, and innovative ways of bringing the story to the public."

The award was named after Slovak investigative reporter Jan Kuciak who was assassinated in 2018. Kuciak covered the corrupt activity of businessmen and their connections with top-level politicians in Slovakia.

As the #AllforJan award committee stated, the Kyiv Independent was the first Ukrainian media outlet to break the story despite the sensitivity of the topic during Russia's all-out war.

The Kyiv Independents investigation into the International Legion came out in two parts.

The #AllForJan prize was awarded to the second story in the series, published in November, while the first story, published in August, made it to the final of Ukraines National Investigative Journalism Competition.
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 while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?

So, the natural question for Investigator Resources (ASX:IVR) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

See our latest analysis for Investigator Resources

Does Investigator Resources Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Investigator Resources last reported its balance sheet in June 2022, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$6.2m. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through AU$5.3m. That means it had a cash runway of around 14 months as of June 2022. While that cash runway isn't too concerning, sensible holders would be peering into the distance, and considering what happens if the company runs out of cash. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

How Is Investigator Resources' Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Although Investigator Resources reported revenue of AU$234k 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. With cash burn dropping by 6.3% it seems management feel the company is spending enough to advance its business plans at an appropriate pace. Investigator Resources makes us a little nervous due to its lack of substantial operating revenue. We prefer most of the stocks on this list of stocks that analysts expect to grow.

Can Investigator Resources Raise More Cash Easily?

Even though it has reduced its cash burn recently, shareholders should still consider how easy it would be for Investigator Resources to raise more cash in the future. Generally speaking, a listed business can raise new cash through issuing shares or taking on debt. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

Since it has a market capitalisation of AU$55m, Investigator Resources' AU$5.3m in cash burn equates to about 9.7% 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.

How Risky Is Investigator Resources' Cash Burn Situation?

Investigator Resources appears to be in pretty good health when it comes to its cash burn situation. Not only was its cash runway quite good, but its cash burn relative to its market cap was a real positive. While we're the kind of investors who are always a bit concerned about the risks involved with cash burning companies, the metrics we have discussed in this article leave us relatively comfortable about Investigator Resources' situation. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 5 warning signs for Investigator Resources (of which 3 are a bit unpleasant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. If you see this, it typically means it's a company with a great business model and plenty of profitable reinvestment opportunities. In light of that, when we looked at Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for Union Pacific:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.16 = US$9.8b  (US$65b - US$5.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, Union Pacific has an ROCE of 16%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Transportation industry average of 14%.

Check out our latest analysis for Union Pacific

roce

In the above chart we have measured Union Pacific's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

How Are Returns Trending?

There hasn't been much to report for Union Pacific's returns and its level of capital employed because both metrics have been steady for the past five years. This tells us the company isn't reinvesting in itself, so it's plausible that it's past the growth phase. So unless we see a substantial change at Union Pacific in terms of ROCE and additional investments being made, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger. This probably explains why Union Pacific is paying out 45% of its income to shareholders in the form of dividends. Given the business isn't reinvesting in itself, it makes sense to distribute a portion of earnings among shareholders.

Story continues

Our Take On Union Pacific's ROCE

In summary, Union Pacific isn't compounding its earnings but is generating stable returns on the same amount of capital employed. Although the market must be expecting these trends to improve because the stock has gained 70% over the last five years. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

One more thing, we've spotted 1 warning sign facing Union Pacific that you might find interesting.

While Union Pacific may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iranian missile attacks across the Iraqi border are unacceptable and put both civilians and regional stability at risk, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on a visit to the Iraqi capital nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion.

"With its missile attacks, the Iranian regime shows not only that it recklessly and brutally suppresses its own people, it also puts human life and the stability of the whole region at risk to hold on to power," she said on Tuesday.

"It is unacceptable and dangerous for the whole region," she told a news conference with her Iraqi counterpart.

Last year, Tehran fired missiles at bases of Kurdish groups in northern Iraq it accuses of involvement in protests against its restrictions on women, displacing hundreds of Iranian Kurds and killing some.

Iran has for years refuted Western claims it is a destabilising influence in the region. Tehran has accused Western countries of orchestrating unrest and has accused protesters in ethnic minority regions of working on behalf of separatist groups.

Baerbock, visiting Iraq on the same day as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said she was sending a signal that Europe's biggest economy wanted deeper cooperation with Iraq.

She said she would discuss Iraq's security and stability, the question of Yazidis, and cooperation on climate change.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Editing by Paul Carrel, Matthias Williams and Sharon Singleton)
Chris Rock didnt hold back in his first stand-up special since last years infamous Oscars slap. Not only did the comedian directly address Will Smith slapping him at the Oscars in March 2022, but he also mocked the actors relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith  which has made headlines ever since she admitted to having a relationship with August Alsina during her marriage.

During his live-streamed Netflix special, titled Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, the comedian quipped that he didnt have any entanglements, referencing the term Pinkett Smith used to describe her relationship with Alsina back in 2020.

His wife was f***ing her sons friend, Rock said on Saturday 4 March.

Now, I normally would not talk about this s***. But for some reason [they] put that s*** on the internet...We all been cheated on. Everybody in heres been cheated on. None of us have ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us on television.

He added: She hurt him way more than he hurt me, OK?

In July 2020, Jada Pinkett Smith confirmed during an episode of her Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk, that she had a relationship with Alsina. Will Smith appeared alongside Pinkett Smith in the episode, in which she explained that she and her husband were separated amicably when the romance occurred, which had not been disclosed to the press at the time.

We decided that we were going to separate for a period of time and you go figure out how to make yourself happy and Ill figure out how to make myself happy, Pinkett Smith said.

The GI Jane star went on to use the term entanglement when describing her involvement with Alsina. From there, as time went on, I got into a different kind of entanglement with August, she said, before being prompted by Smith to confirm it was a relationship, absolutely.

The Red Table Talk episode came two weeks after Alsina spoke out about their relationship, claiming that Smith gave him his blessing to have a relationship with the actors wife. In an interview with The Breakfast Club, Alsina claimed Smith approved of the relationship after his marriage transformed into what he described as a non-romantic life partnership.

Story continues

I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation due to the transformation from their marriage to life partnership that theyve spoken on several times and it not involving romanticism, Alsina said.

He added that he totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life and I truly and really, really deeply loved and have a ton of love for her.

Pinkett Smiths representative has since said that Alsinas claims are absolutely not true.

The Girls Trip star also denied the details of Alsinas account about her husband giving permission during Red Table Talk episode. The only person who could give permission in that particular circumstance was myself, she said.

What August was probably trying to communicate  because I could see how he would perceive it as permission, because we were separated amicably  I think he wanted to make it clear that hes not a homewrecker. Which hes not, she added.

Alsina reportedly met Pinkett Smith in 2015 after being introduced by her son, actor and rapper Jaden Smith.

Smith and Pinkett Smith, who tied the knot in 1997, have spoken candidly about their marriage over the years. While the two have fielded rumours about an open relationship in the past, both Smith and Pinkett Smith share the belief that they have a non-conventional marriage.

In 2013, Pinkett Smith took to Facebook to address rumours she and her husband were in an open relationship, writing: Here is how I will change my statement...Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one.

Two years later, the King Richard actor addressed rumours that the two were separating, and clarified they were not getting a divorce. Under normal circumstances, I dont usually respond to foolishness, he wrote in a Facebook post at the time. But, so many people have extended [to] me their deepest condolences that I figured  What the hell I can be foolish, too! So, in the interest of redundant, repetitious, over and over-again-ness Jada and I are NOT GETTING A DIVORCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 2018, Smith admitted in an episode of TIDALs Rap Radar podcast that he and his wife refer to ourselves as life partners. He then elaborated on their complex dynamic in his 2021 self-titled memoir, Will, writing that they were suffering the brutal death of our romantic fantasies, the burning away of the idealistic illusion of the perfect marriage and the perfect family. Neither of us wanted a divorce; we knew we loved each other, and some aspects of our union were magical. But the structure of the life that we had established was strangling both of us.

That same year, the I Am Legend star confessed in a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey that he and his wife believe its fantasy that they can make each other happy.

We realised that it was a fantasy illusion that we could make each other happy. We agreed that she had to make herself happy and I had to make myself happy, he said. Then we were going to present ourselves back to the relationship already happy  versus demanding that the other person fill our empty cup.

Nearly two weeks before the 2022 Oscars, and the infamous Oscars slap, Smith discussed some of the rumours surrounding his relationship with Pinkett Smith in an interview with Gayle King for CBS Mornings.

Theres never been infidelity in our marriage, he said. Jada and I talk about everything, and we have never surprised one another with anything, ever.

The couple also joked there would be no more entanglements in their marriage during a conversation with Laverne Cox at the 2022 SAG Awards on Sunday 27 February, where Pinkett Smith said: No more of those, yeah, no more in response to a question about the relationships.

On 27 March 2022, comedian Rock was presenting an award for Best Documentary Feature when he made a joke about Pinkett Smiths shaved head. Smith then stormed onstage and hit Rock across the face with an open palm before returning to his seat.

Later that night, Smith was awarded his first Oscar for Best Actor for his role in King Richard, a biopic about the father of Serena and Venus Williams. After the Oscars slap, Smith was banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Approximately 1 million women experience the start of menopause every year, yet many are surprised and bewildered by its arrival, so much so that they cant even help themselves. According to a 2021 survey of 1,000 U.S. women, more than 70% of women dont treat their menopausal symptoms because they dont even understand whats happening to their own bodies.

It sneaks up on even the most well-resourced people. Oprah Winfrey and her longtime buddy, journalist Maria Shriver, spoke out about the silence surrounding menopause during a conversation in the Paramount+ series The Checkup With Dr. David Agus. Both women described being unprepared for the change of life.

Advertisement

The fact that people with resources like Winfrey and Shriver didnt know what was happening to them shows just how little we talk about menopause. To combat this lack of knowledge, experts argue that we should normalize it; Australian obstetrician Martha Hickey and three womens health professors from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia advocated doing just that in The British Medical Journal. Winfrey and Shriver also used that word.

Theyre wrong. If there were any normalizing to do, women would be discussing this now, but were not. Only 9% of those surveyed in 2021 reported that they had a conversation about menopause with their mother.

Advertisement

Instead, we need to start these discussions about menopause. And the best way to do that is to include men in these talks.

One of the reasons why menopause remains culturally shrouded is that its been identified as an exclusively female problem.

Its not. Andropause, also known as male menopause, is characterized by an age-related decrease in testosterone levels. The sex hormone changes occur gradually in men unlike women, who experience a more dramatic plunge during menopause. Still, about 50% of men will experience symptoms, and its attracted the attention of the medical community; theres significant research into male menopause, or climacterium, that gets spun into a new conversation about virility but never enters the discussion as an analog of womens menopause.

It should. Not only do middle-aged and elderly men experience a decline in testosterone production and plasma concentrations, but they also encounter mood swings, occasional night sweats, weight gain in the upper body and irritability.

Its significant enough that researchers have examined how pharmacists, the health professionals people interact with the most often, can help men who are experiencing these problems. Pharmacists are ultimately more effective in managing mens symptoms than primary care providers. As a result of these findings, guidelines on how pharmacists can screen men appeared in 2021.

This same idea was proposed for women as early as 2005, but its not gained as much traction. Indeed, treatment for menopause has dropped off considerably since the 1990s, largely because the side effects of hormone treatment were published and scared women away. As a result, effective treatment thats available to women has been kept from them, and theyve been required to suffer when it hasnt been necessary.

That men can get more relief for similar yet less significant problems should have been expected and not just because society can be sexist. However, thats not the entire explanation for the abandonment of women undergoing menopause. Its because we as women have intentionally left men out of the conversation about womens reproductive symptoms.

Menopause is just the far end of menstruation, and we keep boys and men out of discussions of reproductive health from an early age. Health and sexual education classes are often gender-segregated. Boys learn more about menstruation from parents, siblings and classmates than they do from sex education.

Advertisement

This extends into adulthood, when men report being aware of their partners menopausal symptoms but unaware of how to access treatment for symptom management.

But theres potential here. In a 2019 study to assess mens perceptions and attitudes toward menopause, 75% of subjects reported perceiving themselves as largely influential in their partners lifestyle and medical choices. If they knew more about accessing medical management for menopause, there might be fewer surprises for women.

Of course, theres another reason why we dont talk about menopause, and it isnt medical. Its about how womens value is determined by their ability to bear children. Men dont experience that type of devaluation; they can impregnate a woman throughout their lives.

That conversation involves reversing misogyny, a much taller order than getting women the help they need and deserve when menopause hits. Thats something we can begin now.

We need to start the conversation about menopause by extending explicit invitations to men to join in.

Margena Christian, Ed.D., is a former health and wellness editor with Ebony magazine. She is currently a senior lecturer of English and professional writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a Public Voices fellow of the OpEd Project.

Advertisement

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
By Tim Kelly

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's new medium-lift rocket failed on its debut flight in space on Tuesday after the launcher's second-stage engine did not ignite as planned, in a blow to its efforts to cut the cost of accessing space and compete against Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket, Japan's first new model in three decades, lifted off without a hitch from the Tanegashima space port, a live-streamed broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) showed.

But upon reaching space, the rocket's second-stage engine failed to ignite, forcing mission officials to manually destroy the vehicle 14 minutes into the flight.

"It was decided the rocket could not complete its mission, so the destruct command was sent," JAXA said in a statement.

The failed attempt followed an aborted launch last month, and the debris would have fallen into the ocean east of the Philippines, JAXA said.

Science and Technology Minister Keiko Nagaoka said in a statement that the government had established a task force to investigate the "very regrettable" failure.

"This will have a serious impact on Japan's future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness," said Hirotaka Watanabe, a professor at Osaka University with expertise in space policy.

CHEAPER ACCESS TO SPACE

The H3 was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite, which was also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.

"The H3 is extremely important to ensure our access to space and to ensure we are competitive," JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa told reporters. JAXA's goal of fielding a competitive launcher was unchanged, he added.

H3 builder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it was confirming the situation surrounding the rocket with JAXA and did not have an immediate comment.

MHI has estimated that the H3's cost per launch will be half that of its predecessor, the H-II, helping it win business in a global launch market increasingly dominated by SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

Story continues

A company spokesperson said earlier that it was also relying on the reliability of Japan's previous rockets to gain business.

In a report published in September, the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the cost of a Falcon 9 launch to low Earth orbit at $2,600 per kilogramme. The equivalent price tag for the H-II is $10,500.

A successful launch on Tuesday would have put the Japanese rocket into space ahead of the planned launch later this year of the European Space Agency's new lower-cost Ariane 6 vehicle.

Powered by a new simpler, lower-cost engine that includes 3D-printed parts, the H3 is designed to lift government and commercial satellites into Earth orbit and will ferry supplies to the International Space Station.

As part of Japan's deepening cooperation with the United States in space, it will also eventually carry cargo to the Gateway lunar space station that U.S. space agency NASA plans to build as part of its programme to return people to the moon, including Japanese astronauts.

Shares of MHI closed 0.37% lower, while the broader Japanese benchmark index was up 0.25%.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly, Maki Shiraki and Rocky Swift; Additional reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama in Tokyo and Joey Roulette in Washington; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jamie Freed)
Japans first new rocket in three decades was ordered to self-destruct in what is being perceived as a blow for the countrys space business ambitions.

While Japans next-gen H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima spaceport as planned, the launchers second-stage engine did not ignite, leading to officials sending a self-destruction signal.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said it hoped to investigate and better understand what went wrong with the new medium-lift rocket.

A destruct command has been transmitted to H3 around 10.52am (Japan Standard Time), because there was no possibility of achieving the mission, said Jaxas statement on Tuesday.

H3s destruction also reportedly destroyed its payload disaster management satellite ALOS-3, which had sensors to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.

The nearly 60-metre-tall rockets builder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries hoped a successful launch would win it more business in the global launch market dominated by Elon Musks SpaceX.

H3s cost per launch was touted to be half that of its predecessor H-II.

With a lower-cost engine using 3D-printed parts, H3 was expected to make Japans space launch business more competitive.

The rocket is reportedly designed to launch government and commercial satellites, as well as to carry supplies to the International Space Station.

The rocket had previously failed to launch on 17 February due to a main engine malfunction stopping the ignition signal from reaching its side booster.

In space, the difference between success and failure is extremely small! Also, launching to space is and remains hard!, tweeted Nasas former head of science Thomas Zurbuchen, following the launch failure.

This will have a serious impact on Japans future space policy, space business, and technological competitiveness, Hirotaka Watanabe, a space policy expert at Osaka University, told Reuters, adding that the latest launch was a complete failure.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hoping to hold a summit meeting with South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol next week, the head of Japan's ruling coalition party Komeito said on Tuesday.

"Prime minister Kishida has indicated that he would like to hold a summit meeting with South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol as early as late next week," Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi told a news conference, adding that he hoped to see further progress in the thawing of relations between Tokyo and Seoul.

South Korea announced on Monday that it would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by private companies, as it sought to end a dispute with Japan which has led to fraught relations between the countries.

Japan welcomed the move while some forced labour victims and South Korea's main opposition party condemned the plan.

Kyodo reported on Monday that Tokyo was floating March 16 and 17 as potential dates for Yoon's visit to Japan.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami, editing by Ed Osmond)
COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Netflixs Wednesday, a viral smash that cemented Jenna Ortegas star in Hollywood, succeeds thanks to its very specific tone: The series transplants the kooky, traditionally flat character into a supernatural teen drama, allowing viewers to watch her amusingly squirm through the squishy emotional discomfort. It wasnt easy to strike that balance, at least according to Ortega during a recent podcast interview.

I dont think Ive ever had to put my foot down on a set in a way that I had to on Wednesday, the actress said this week. Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all.

During her appearance on Mondays Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, the host noted that Ortega and Wednesday had the tiniest needle to thread between viewer expectations for a teen show and actually staying true to the character. As Ortega said during her interview, most of what Wednesday does in the series feels out of character. Her being in a love triangle made no sense, Ortega explained. There was a line about a dress she has to wear for a school dance, and she said, Oh my God, I love it. I cant believe I said that. I literally hate myself. And I had to go, No.

Jenna Ortegas Dance Scene in Wednesday Is the Moment the Show Becomes Great

At times, Ortega said, she took changes into her own hands. I even became almost unprofessional in a sensewhere I just started changing lines, she told Shepard. The script supervisor thought I was going with something, and then I had to sit down with the writers, and they would be like, Wait, what happened to the scene?' And I would have to go and explain why I couldnt go do certain things.

Later on, Ortega said shed vetoed the initial plan for Wednesdays now-viral dance scene, which was originally written as a flashmob in which everyone started dancing with her: I said, either cut it, or have Wednesday knock someone out, and then its done.

Story continues

I grew very, very protective of her, Ortega added of her character. At the same time, she granted, You cant lead a story and have no emotional arc because then its boring and nobody likes you.

During a previous interview about the dance scene, Ortega revealed that shed wound up filming the entire number with COVID. The actress told NME that she woke up on the morning of the shoot feeling like Id been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus. (MGM, which produces Wednesday, told NME at the time that strict COVID protocols were followed and once the positive test was confirmed production removed Jenna from set.) Ortega said that she received medicine between takes while she waited for a positive COVID test result but there was no time to reshoot the scene.

Ortega has been making the press rounds as she prepares for the debut of her latest film, Scream VI. In an Elle profile published Tuesday, Wednesday creator Tim Burton mused that to succeed in the role, You have to kind of be Wednesdayand thats what Jenna is. Whether she likes it or not, shes got that in her soul, and as a person.

How the Hell Is Wednesday So Freaking Popular?

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
The DOJ has filed a lawsuit to block JetBlue Airways' proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines. Marcus Mainka/Shutterstock

The Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against JetBlue Airways on Tuesday.

The lawsuit seeks to block JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit Airlines.

Passengers will pay more if the airlines are allowed to combine, the DOJ said in its suit.

If JetBlue is allowed to buy Spirit Airlines, passengers will end up paying more in airfare across the board, the US Department of Justice argues in a new lawsuit it filed Tuesday to block the merger.

That's because right now, Spirit helps push prices down in the markets where it operates. Case-in-point: Once Spirit comes to town, airfares go down an average of 17%, the DOJ says in its filing. And if it leaves a market, airfares overall in that market go up 30%, the DOJ calculates.

The DOJ says those figures prove that Spirit's competition helps keep prices low for consumers. JetBlue even admits this, the DOJ contends in its filing. "JetBlue has recognized that its own fares and revenues on a route drop significantly when Spirit enters," the DOJ says.

All that would change if JetBlue were able to take over Spirit, the DOJ says. In other words: It'd be a win for the airline and its bottom line, but a big loss for flyers.

JetBlue agreed to purchase Spirit for $3.8 billion in July 2022 after a bidding war with Frontier Airlines. JetBlue attempted to dodge the incoming lawsuit from the US government's antitrust division, releasing additional data on Monday that said JetBlue was "three times more effective than Spirit at bringing down competitor fares."

JetBlue previously stated it would reconfigure Spirit's planes if a merger were completed to remove 10-15% of their seats. It also would eliminate the brand and its ultra-low-cost model.

The elimination of Spirit would remove about half of ultra-low-cost capacity nationwide, which the DOJ says would have an adverse effect on cost-conscious fliers. Other big ultra-low-cost carriers include Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines. They're known for bare-bones amenities, but  as advertised  super-low prices.

Story continues

If the merger were to go through, the new JetBlue would become the fifth-biggest airline in the US  leapfrogging Alaska Airlines. JetBlue says bulking up would allow it to better compete with the four biggest US carriers: American, Delta, United, and Southwest.

"The Big Four airlines have a lock on about 80% of the market," JetBlue says. "JetBlue's combination with Spirit allows it to create a compelling national challenger to these dominant airlines."

The carrier also argues that Spirit and JetBlue don't primarily compete with each other. It says they overlapped only on 11% of routes.

When the New York-based carrier originally announced the intended merger, CEO Robin Hayes said the deal would allow JetBlue to grow faster. "We can go head-to-head with the legacies in more places to lower fares and improve service for everyone," he said in July 2022.

Tuesday's antitrust filing is the second against JetBlue in the past few years. The first targeted the carrier's Northeast Alliance where it coordinates with American Airlines. That case is still being reviewed by a judge.

The Tuesday lawsuit said that the agreement with American constitutes a "de facto merger" with the world's largest airline, citing language used by Spirit before the merger. The government said that further bolsters its suit that Spirit should remain independent.

Read the original article on Business Insider
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday subpoenaed a former Biden administration official who oversaw the Department of Homeland Security's disinformation board.

Jordan, R-Ohio, called on Nina Jankowicz to appear before the committee April 10 for a deposition as Republicans scrutinize the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board, which drew widespread GOP criticism after it launched last year.

Jankowicz ignored voluntary requests for a transcribed interview, Jordan said, citing two letters last year and three letters since he took the helm of the committee in January.

Jankowicz said on Twitter that she would comply with the subpoena and defended her work at the agency.

"I will happily testify to the truth of the Board under oath: That it was a working group meant to address disinformation that endangered Americans safety, and that  because of the Republican Partys irresponsible lies about it  our democracy is less secure," she tweeted.

In response to a request for comment, Jankowicz said that "the abuse of congressional oversight powers is about to get wildly out of control" under Jordan.

"His 'weaponization' committee is the entity that is actually weaponizing our government, and the American people deserve better," she wrote in an email.

In a new letter to Jankowicz on Monday, Jordan said the committee is considering potential legislation that would prohibit establishing boards like the one at DHS, adding that Jankowicz was "uniquely situated" to provide information to those ends.

Before she was appointed to run the board, Jankowicz was a disinformation fellow at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based public policy think tank, where she studied the intersection of democracy and technology in Central and Eastern Europe.

Jankowicz resigned in May after the board was paused amid criticism from congressional Republicans, who sought to pass legislation to end it. DHS shuttered the program in August.

Story continues

In an MSNBC interview after her resignation, Jankowicz argued that Republicans had mischaracterized the board and said its role was to battle disinformation while protecting Americans freedom of speech, privacy and civil liberties.

Jordan on Monday also subpoenaed Chip Slaven, the former interim executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, and Viola Garcia, the organization's former president.

Slaven and Garcia were involved in requesting federal law enforcement support in response to heated and sometimes violent local school board meetings.

In a September 2021 letter to President Joe Biden, they said public schools and education leaders were under an immediate threat and called on federal law enforcement for assistance in handling "the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation.

Weeks later, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI in a memo to hold strategy sessions with law enforcement to address threats to school board members, teachers and other public school staff members.

In response to a request for comment, the new head of the National School Boards Association appeared to distance the organization from Slaven and Garcia.

"The individuals subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee are no longer associated with the National School Boards Association," Executive Director and CEO John Heim said in a statement.

"In the aftermath of the 2021 letter sent to the White House, the NSBA has made internal reforms; reaffirmed its commitment to nonpartisanship; established in policy the importance of parental partnerships in a childs education; and underscored NSBAs fundamental belief in local control," Heim said.

Jordan previously subpoenaed the Justice Department, the FBI and its director, Christopher Wray, and the Education Department over their actions relating to school boards.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Representative Jim Jordan (R., Ohio.) issued a series of subpoenas on Monday aimed at senior executives of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) as part of an investigation into the organizations push to have the Biden administration to crack down on parent protesters, who they accused of engaging in domestic terrorism.

Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, demanded that former NSBA interim executive director, Chip Slaven, and the current treasurer-secretary of the organization, Viola Garcia, provide documents and testimony before Congress about their efforts to target parents critical of woke school-board policies.

In September 2021, the NSBA, a nationwide non-profit that represents 90,000 school board members and 14,000 districts, sent a letter to Joe Biden asking the president to investigate threats made against educators over policies such as mask mandates.

The note cited 20 episodes across the United States in which teachers and administrators were allegedly harassed, threatened, or intimidated by members of the public for instituting Covid-related policies and/or introducing progressive notions about sexuality and race into school curricula. However, based on local news reports the NSBA cited, the vast majority of incidents enumerated did not qualify as threats of physical violence.

Examples cited in the document include a Michigan man disrupting a school meeting performing a Nazi salute to protest Covid-19 policies and a letter emailed to an Ohio school board member warning: We are coming after you.

Nevertheless, a month after NSBA submitted the letter, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to work alongside state attorneys to investigate whether prosecutable offenses did occur. According to the NSBA letter, these threats could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.

Later on, the organization issued a statement saying its members regret and apologize for the letter following public pushback.

Story continues

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona actually solicited the letter from the NSBA, according to emails obtained by the nonprofit Parents Defending Education.

Growing concern amongst parents that the plea for federal assistance crossed the line is leading the Ohio Republican to take the organization to task for allegedly targeting parents. Specifically, Jordan alleges that the Department of Justice created a specific threat tag targeting concerned parents and empowering the agency to investigate parents simply for speaking out on behalf of their children.

A third member included in Representative Jordans subpoena request was Nina Jankowicz, the short server leader of the Department of Homeland Securitys Disinformation Governance Board.

The body was quickly disbanded a mere three weeks after its inception following public uproar. Many Republicans derided the new body as the Ministry of Truth, a reference to the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell.

Jankowicz condemned the subpoena, telling The Hill:

Under Jim Jordan, the abuse of congressional oversight powers is about to get wildly out of control. His weaponization committee is the entity that is actually weaponizing our government, and the American people deserve better.

More from National Review
The House Judiciary Committee on Monday issued three subpoenas in an effort to forge ahead on two of its most controversial probes.

The panel sent subpoenas to two figures previously connected with the National School Boards Association (NSBA), part of its ongoing investigation into a short-lived Justice Department memo encouraging the FBI to coordinate with school boards amid rising violent threats to its members.

A third subpoena was sent to Nina Jankowicz, who briefly served as the head of the Department of Homeland Securitys Disinformation Governance Board, which was swiftly disbanded amid Republican criticism.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has cast the 2021 school board memo as an anti-parent directive and claimed without evidence that the NSBA coordinated with the White House as part of a pretext to go after parents.

The board sent a letter to the White House the week before the memo was released, laying out a spate of incidents at recent school board meetings, noting that some threats could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.

The initial letter from the National School Boards Association references a meeting with the White House and the Department of Education and asks for the Justice Department to review whether the threats may violate a number of different federal laws.

The Justice Department memo fell far short of what the group was asking for, however, stressing coordination and partnership with local law enforcement over any legal review.

The ensuing political storm caused the National School Boards Association to issue a statement saying its members regret and apologize for the letter.

While Jordan has said the policy has a chilling effect on free speech, a D.C.-based federal judge in September dismissed a suit from parents in Michigan and Virginia, saying the memo does not impact constitutionally protected conduct.

The subpoenas were sent to Viola Garcia, who is now the groups treasurer-secretary, and Chip Slaven, the former interim executive director of the NSBA who is no longer with the organization.

Story continues

The board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jankowicz, a disinformation expert who has worked throughout Eastern Europe, was hired to lead the Department of Homeland Securitys newly created DHS Disinformation Governance Board that would help its different agencies in dealing with disinformation on topics as varied as migration to addressing plots from Russia and Iran.

But Republicans quickly labeled the board as the Ministry of Truth in a nod to George Orwells novel 1984 and couched it as a government effort to control speech.

The Department of Homeland Security paused the work of the board just three weeks after it was announced, indicating the group never even formally met.

Jankowicz is in the midst of fundraising to sue Fox News over the way the board was covered by the outlet, claiming it made over 500 scaremongering statements about my role, my views, and my personal life over the next nine months.

In a Go Fund Me post, Jankowicz said misinformation about her role began as soon as her April hiring even though the Board had nothing to do with arbitrating or restricting speech.

Reached for comment, Jankowicz said that she will not be cowed by conspiracy theories or intimidation.

Under Jim Jordan, the abuse of congressional oversight powers is about to get wildly out of control. His weaponization committee is the entity that is actually weaponizing our government, and the American people deserve better, she said.

I will happily testify to the truth of the Board under oath: That it was a working group meant to address disinformation that endangered Americans safety, and  because of the Republican Partys irresponsible lies about it  our democracy is less secure. Jankowicz added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A memorial for witness Treja Kelley in the 5200 block of South Sangamon Street on Sept. 12, 2019, in Chicago. Kelley was shot and killed after testifying in a murder trial. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

SPRINGFIELD  For the second year in a row, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is proposing the state spend tens of millions of dollars on a witness protection program that went unfunded for the first nine years of its existence.

Eight months since the long-neglected initiative secured its initial funding, however, no witnesses have been relocated, and only about $67,500 of the $30 million approved by the General Assembly last spring has been spent, primarily on employee-related expenses.

Advertisement

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, which oversees the program, said it is still trying to come up with rules on how to dole out the money, ensure it has enough employees to administer the program and finalize how potential recipients will be informed about the fund.

While we are all eager to get Victim Witness Protection Funds to those in need, ICJIA must take several steps to ensure this new $30 million program is appropriately designed, fully established, and effectively administered, ICJIA spokeswoman Cristin Evans said in an emailed response to questions.

Advertisement

The fund is intended to reimburse police departments and states attorneys offices for money spent on victims or witnesses in need of relocation because of security concerns, ICJIA said. The funding would also help police departments start their own witness protection funds.

Pritzker urged legislators to financially support the witness protection fund in his 2022 budget speech, at the start of an election year in which Republicans made crime central to their campaign and accused the Democratic governor of being weak on the issue. Pritzker initially proposed $20 million but when that budget passed through the legislature a few months later, $30 million was set aside for the fund.

Victims and witnesses need to feel safe if theyre going to be willing to come forward and identify violent criminals, Pritzker said during his February 2022 address from the Old State Capitol in Springfield. If we want people to speak up without fear of intimidation, we need to give law enforcement the resources they need to protect victims and witnesses that want to do the right thing.

Pritzkers proposal to again provide up to $30 million for the program is a reflection of the governors commitment to stable funding for this program and the appropriation ensures the program can move forward without delay, his office said.

The governors office is dedicated to the success of this program, so we wanted to ensure they had the appropriation authority they needed, Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said in an email. These deposits could potentially cover multiple years and they may not fully expend in the near-term unless the demand is there.

Witness protection is best known as a federal undertaking. The federal witness security program has been around since the early 1970s and has provided protection for some 19,000 people, according to federal authorities.

Victims and witnesses, as well as their family members, under the federal program typically get new identities with documentation, according to the U.S. Marshals Service website, and theyre offered basic living expenses, medical care, job training and help seeking employment.

States that provide witness protection services independent of the federal program include California. The witness relocation program in California, which has a population about three times that of Illinois, received about $2.4 million in funding in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, according to a report from the California attorney generals office.

Advertisement

During that time, the program managed 114 new cases and provided help to 124 witnesses and 161 of their family members, according to the report.

Several law enforcement agencies contacted by the Tribune said theyd welcome large-scale state funding for witness protection efforts. But the degree of demand for it is unclear. In the 1990s, Illinois ran a witness protection program for two years and saw little participation.

Generally, anything that helps more victims and witnesses, obviously, states attorneys are all for that, said Gray Noll, the states attorney of downstate Morgan County who also heads the Illinois States Attorneys Association. I think that witness intimidation is certainly more of a concern in the larger counties. ... Is this $30 million going to help counties statewide? No. But it will certainly help counties that struggle with that issue.

Only in rare cases do police and prosecutors relocate victims or witnesses out of concern for their safety, and law enforcement officials have acknowledged that moving victims or witnesses away from danger, and away from the families, friends or their jobs, can be complicated.

Just the mere fact they say were going to relocate you to a safe neighborhood, to a safe area away from these gangs, away from the threat, thats still a big upheaval when youre asking somebody to do that, said former Chicago police First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio, who retired from the department in 2020.

The states witness protection fund was established under a 2013 law known as the Gang Crime Witness Protection Act whose chief House sponsor was state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch, a Democrat from Hillside who is now the House speaker. The measure had nearly unanimous support, passing 112-0 in the House and 42-3 in the Senate.

Advertisement

This bill is designed to break the code of silence amongst gangbangers who are causing trouble in the streets throughout our great state, Welch said on the House floor moments before it passed, according to a transcript of the April 2013 debate.

Under the law, monetary assistance is limited to rent, security deposits, temporary living costs, moving expenses and other relocation expenses. The law also says that the counties can apply for as much as 75% reimbursement of the relocation costs. Also, no more than 50% of the funding in a given fiscal year can be allocated to a single county, under the law.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed the measure into law, but during his years in office it received no funding as Quinn focused on priorities such as managing pension costs and unfunded liabilities.

His successor, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, feuded with the Democrat-led General Assembly, which led to a more than two-year budget impasse. The program continued to go unfunded during the first three years of Pritzkers administration.

Past state efforts at funding similar relocation initiatives were inconsistent.

In 1996, then-Republican Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law the Gang Crime Witness Protection Program. It was a two-year pilot program, administered by the Illinois State Police, for local prosecutors and the attorney generals office. Legislators appropriated $666,000 for the program.

Advertisement

According to a 1997 ICJIA evaluation of the program, which covered the first 16 months of its operation, three counties submitted requests for reimbursement of $30,962 in costs related to protection or relocation of 27 people in 18 cases.

While the evaluation noted that the program had a significant impact on those few gang-related cases to which it provided service, it also made clear the program had some shortcomings.

There were marked levels of unawareness of the program on the part of law enforcement and prosecutors staff, the evaluation stated. The lack of communication is believed to be a major constraining factor to its effective implementation and utilization.

Evans, the ICJIA spokeswoman, said the agencys evaluation results of the witness protection pilot program during the Edgar years are informing ICJIAs development of the new program.

Despite the low participation cited in the 1997 program evaluation, ICJIA anticipates a greater demand for this funding once it is released, Evans said in her email. In addition, ICJIA employs an effective outreach strategy for notifying potential applicants of funding opportunities and will target messaging to the eligible entities. This is a new program and funding will be adjusted moving forward based on demand.

Riccio recalled witness protection efforts being made two or three times a year, as there were limited assets for providing such services.

Advertisement

The witness that they were relocating had to really be critical to the case, Riccio said. You couldnt be kind of a circumstantial witness. You couldnt be kind of a wishy-washy. You had to be the person to really point the finger at the offender.

Cook County has provided some relocation services for victims or witnesses. The Cook County states attorneys office has said, for instance, that during roughly the first 10 months of 2021, prosecutors relocated, or were in the process of relocating, individuals or family members connected to about three dozen cases out of the thousands of cases the office handled that year.

A spokeswoman for Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx couldnt say whether her office would apply for funding from the new state program, though she said we continually look for opportunities that allow us to better serve and protect residents.

In Aurora, Illinois second most populous city, a police spokesman said there were only two cases involving his department that hes aware of in which witnesses needed protection, and both of those were handled by the federal witness protection program.

DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin on Sept. 14, 2022, in his Wheaton office. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin, whose jurisdiction includes a portion of Aurora, said he saw more cases that would warrant witness protection during his days as a Cook County prosecutor than he has encountered in DuPage. But he didnt discount the need for such a program in DuPage.

We have gangs here in DuPage County just like they do in Chicago and we run into the same situations with witnesses, said Berlin. I think its important for prosecutors that we know that this moneys available and that if theres a need for it we can apply for it.

Advertisement

Will County States Attorney James Glasgow acknowledged the demand for witness protection in his jurisdiction isnt real heavy. But he said the state fund could be helpful for domestic violence victims who are afraid of their abusers, and he plans on having his prosecutors who handle those cases inquire about funding.

So many times (domestic violence victims are) completely financially dependent on their abuser, he said. But this would give us the opportunity to at least temporarily get them on their own two feet, maybe get them into some counseling, a job track of some kind.

While law enforcement officials say retaliation for testifying against someone at trial is rare, there have been high-profile cases that contributed to such fears.

People at Apostolic House of Prayer Church in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood pray during a memorial service for witness Treja Kelley, 18, a former church member who was fatally shot while walking home from work. (Camille Fine / Chicago Tribune)

In one example, Treja Kelley, 18, was shot and killed in September 2019, just months after she testified in the murder trial for a man accused of killing her teenage cousin in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Chicagos South Side.

According to Cook County prosecutors, a $5,000 bounty was placed on Kelley after she helped win a guilty verdict. A man charged in her killing is awaiting trial.

In another case, 26-year-old Kimberly Harris, who survived a shooting that killed her boyfriend, was shot to death in 2011 on the West Side just two days after she was offered $20,000 to decline to testify at the trial of the alleged gunman.

Advertisement

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Democrat from the West Side who co-sponsored the legislation a decade ago to establish the witness protection fund, said last month that the money, if spent appropriately, could be helpful in cities such as Chicago where police often struggle to solve violent crimes.

We just have to make sure that the money goes out the door, he said. We have money to deal with the problems and we cant let that money sit on the shelf.

jgorner@chicagotribune.com
WASHINGTON  Rep. Jim Jordan, a key House Republican chairman, subpoenaed three people Monday as he continues to probe whether federal authorities are investigating parents who protest at school board meetings or otherwise infringing on free speech.

Jordan of Ohio, the head of the Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed Chip Slaven, the former CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and Viola Garcia, former president of NSBA.

Jordan also subpoenaed Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of the Department of Homeland Securitys disbanded Disinformation Governance Board, which was disbanded last year after Republicans voiced concerns about infringing on First Amendment rights.

Gun seizure orders are up: FBI gun seizure orders from people who fail background checks hit historic rates

Slaven and Garcia wrote a letter to President Joe Biden in September 2021 saying school boards were under an immediate threat and asking for law enforcement for the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation in response to COVID-19 restrictions. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo in October 2021 to the FBI and U.S. attorneys about the disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school officials.

Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray have testified repeatedly that they have not targeted parents voicing concerns at school board meetings, but focused on violent incidents and threats of violence.

Jordans subpoenas are the latest step in wide-ranging House Republican investigations of the Biden administration, including previous subpoenas to the FBI and Education Department about the school board memo.

DOJ to appeals court: Donald Trump can be sued over role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Heres what we know about the investigation:

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a hearing of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Feb. 9, 2023 in Washington. Jordan subpoenaed three school board and disinformation board officials as part of the Judiciary Committee's investigations of the Biden administration.

Why is Jordan concerned about school board investigations?

Jordan has voiced concerns about whether the Justice Department is misusing its criminal and counterterrorism resources to investigate parents whose protests at school board meetings over curriculum and policies are protected by the First Amendment.

Story continues

Jordan said FBI whistleblowers disclosed the FBI created a threat tag to categorize the cases and investigated at least 25 incidents based on the school board letter.

Democrats on the panel released a 316-page report last week that the three whistleblowers revealed so far have been paid by organizations led by former administration officials and did not reveal any first-hand misconduct at the agency.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., reads a book in the House chamber on Jan. 4, 2023. Nadler, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, released a report skeptical of the information provided to the Republican-led panel from three FBI whistleblowers.

What have the FBI and Education Department said?

Garland and Wray each disputed the Republican interpretation of the memo. Garland said he was offering federal assistance to local authorities if necessary for violence and threats of violence.

"We did not sic the FBI on parents," Garland told the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2021.

The FBI issued a statement last week at its subpoena deadline for documents about school boards that it was committed to cooperating with Congress.

"As Director Wray and other FBI officials have stated clearly on numerous occasions before Congress and elsewhere, the FBI has never been in the business of investigating speech or policing speech at school board meetings or anywhere else, and we never will be," the statement said. "Our focus is and always will be on protecting people from violence and threats of violence."

Trump, Russia, Biden: The US has 3 special counsel investigations at once. What are they?

Attorney General Merrick Garland insisted the memo was meant to respond to threats and violence directed against local school board officials.

Why was Jankowicz subpoenaed?

Jordan said his panel is investigating Jankowicz to learn why the Disinformation Governance Board was created and what it did before being disbanded. He seeks answers about how the board intended to define disinformation, how it planned to collect information and from what sources.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the creation of the board in April 2022, saying it would highlight Russian disinformation and false claims that encourage people to migrate to the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the Department of Homeland Security suspended the effort in May 2022 following weeks of criticism from Republicans and questions about whether the board would infringe on free speech rights.

Jordan said the subpoenas followed requests Jan. 27 to Slaven and Garcia for voluntary, transcribed interviews. Jordan said requests to Jankowicz were sent May 5, Jan. 27, Feb. 16 and March 1.

Georgia Trump investigation: Georgia grand jury foreperson's unusual media tour likely heartburn for Trump inquiry

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jordan subpoenas former school board association execs in Biden probe
Joseph Kony speaks to journalists in southern Sudan in November 2006. Stuart Price/AFP via Getty Images

Eleven years ago, a documentary catapulted the name Joseph Kony onto the global stage. The controversial film Kony 2012 told the story of a Ugandan warlord whose forces are believed by the United Nations to be responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 people, the abduction of at least 20,000 children and the displacement of more than two million people.

Though most of the world hadnt heard of Kony before then, Ugandans knew and feared him. The founder of the Lords Resistance Army unleashed a wave of violence across northern Uganda for two decades.

In 2005, the International Criminal Court brought charges of crimes against humanity against Kony and four of his top commanders. In 2013 and 2021, the US announced a US million bounty for information leading to Konys capture.

Read more: ICC upholds jail term for Ugandan rebel commander Ongwen - why it matters for Africa

He remains at large.

Now the International Criminal Court wants to confirm the charges against Kony in his absence. The hope is that this will renew international efforts to find Africas most wanted fugitive.

So, who is Joseph Kony?

His early life

Joseph Rao Kony was born in 1961 in Odek sub-county in northern Uganda. He was one of six children in the Acholi middle-class family of Luizi Obol and Nora Oting.

Konys parents were farmers. His father was a Catholic, his mother an Anglican. Kony was an altar boy until 1976. He dropped out of school at age 15 to become a traditional healer.

In 1987, aged 26, Kony founded the Lords Resistance Army, a Christian fundamentalist organisation that operated in northern Uganda until 2006.

Altar boy turned rebel leader

Kony rose to prominence after taking over the Holy Spirit Movement, a rebel group led by Alice Lakwena, his aunt, to topple the Ugandan government.

The Holy Spirit Movement was formed after Ugandan president Tito Okello, an Acholi, was overthrown by the National Resistance Army  led by Yoweri Museveni  in January 1986. The Acholis largely occupy northern Uganda.

Story continues

Musevenis National Resistance Army was a rebel outfit that later metamorphosed into the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces. Today its the national army.

When it came to power, the National Resistance Army appeared to deliberately target the Acholi population in the north. Villagers were violently attacked by army troops and subjected to food shortages. Houses were burnt down, leading to forced displacements. The scale of these attacks was never documented or substantiated.

Kony joined the Holy Spirit Movement to fight for the rights of the Acholi. By 1987, however, army troops had crushed the movement  Lakwena escaped into Kenya where she died in a refugee camp in 2007.

Kony established the Lords Resistance Army and proclaimed himself his peoples prophet. He soon turned against his supporters, supposedly in an effort to purify the Acholi and turn Uganda into a theocracy.

The rebel group carried out indiscriminate killings. It forcibly recruited boys as soldiers and girls as sex slaves.

Read more: In one of 2016's best books, a former Lord's Resistance Army child soldier reveals the reason behind the mayhem

Ideologically, the group espoused a mix of mysticism, Acholi nationalism and Christian fundamentalism. It claimed to be establishing a theocratic state based on the biblical 10 commandments and Acholi tradition.

Kony proclaimed himself the spokesperson of God. He claimed to have been visited by a multinational host of 13 spirits, including a Chinese phantom.

Konys military offensive

Kony and his rebel outfit committed a string of atrocities against civilians. The group waged war for more than two decades within Uganda  and later in the politically unstable neighbouring countries of Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic  in an effort to topple Museveni. The actual number of militia members varied over this period, hitting a high of 3,000 soldiers in the early 2000s.

After the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the US, the American government designated the Lords Resistance Army a terrorist group.

In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for top commanders of the Lords Resistance Army for crimes against humanity.

In August 2008, the US declared Kony a global terrorist, a designation that carries financial and other penalties.

Read more: Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony: the latest US arrest bid raises questions

The Lords Resistance Army was eventually forced out of Uganda following the failed Juba peace talks of 2006-2008 between the groups leadership and the Ugandan government. The talks were mediated by the government of southern Sudan.

Kony and his militia went into hiding in the DRC. In December 2008, Uganda, DRC and Sudan launched an offensive dubbed Operation Lightning Thunder to track them down.

Konys rebel group attacked Congolese civilians suspected of supporting the operation. Villagers were raped, their limbs mutilated and hundreds killed. The group eventually splintered to evade capture, with most members escaping into the Central African Republic.

Uganda called off the operation in March 2009, saying the Lords Resistance Army was at its weakest point ever.

In November 2013, Central African Republic officials reported that Kony was ready to negotiate his surrender. He was reported to be in poor health in Nzoka, a town in the countrys eastern region. He never showed up.

By 2017, the rebel groups membership had shrunk to an estimated 100 soldiers. In April that year, the US and Ugandan governments ended efforts to find Kony. They stated he no longer posed a significant security risk to Uganda. But he is still wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Kony today

Some of the fighters from the Lords Resistance Army took advantage of Ugandas 2000 amnesty programme, which offered blanket immunity to any rebel who had taken up arms against the government since 1986.

Konys exact location, however, remains unknown. Hes thought to be hiding in the vast jungles of the Central African Republic or in Sudan.

While attempts to bring Kony to justice continue, post-conflict northern Uganda is on the slow path to economic and social recovery.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters.

It was written by: Dennis Jjuuko, UMass Boston and Tonny Raymond Kirabira, University of Portsmouth.

Read more:



The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Chaos erupted inside a King County courtroom on Monday after a judge refused to release a suspect in a home invasion and rape case.

Muhammad Sesay, 20, was arrested four months ago after a string of burglaries. He and another man, Bubacarr Touray, were charged in connection to a home invasion and rape in Kirkland. Touray is accused of raping a Kirkland mother, identified only as Jennifer, while Sesay held her at gunpoint.

Relatives of Sesay were hoping he would be released on house arrest, but the judge denied the request, prompting emotional outbursts in the courtroom.

Jennifer spoke out against the release, expressing her fear that Sesay could come back for her and hurt someone else.

This is not malicious teenagers, this is not a mental health crisis, said Jennifer. It was Sesay. He thrust his semi-automatic weapon to my temple.

Sesays defense attorney argued that he was a young man without any prior convictions and suffered from underdiagnosed PTSD and abuse he suffered as a young boy. Sesays sister also begged the judge to let him out on house arrest.

I feel like a lot of criminals have a history of abuse and its sad, said Jennifer. But it doesnt mean we dont need to protect our communities from these people.

The case against both defendants, Sesay and Touray, is ongoing.
Defeated Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, a Republican who refused to concede in his loss to his Democratic opponent, was sanctioned by a state judge over his lawsuit that challenged his loss last year.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian said the suit brought forward by Finchem and his attorney was groundless and not brought in good faith.

The court ordered Finchem to pay the legal fees incurred by Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and his office, who were challenged in court by Finchem when he sought to have the election results thrown out and ballots recast. In December, Julian rejected Finchems suit that alleged thousands of Republican voters were disenfranchised in the November elections.

The costs of those fees have not been determined.

Finchem alleged in his lawsuit that technical issues at polling locations in Maricopa County cost him about 200,000 votes in November. Although printer issues at around 70 polling locations in the county did mean that tabulation machines were unable to read ballots, election officials have maintained that everyone was still able to vote.

Julian said that even if everything that Finchem alleged in his lawsuit were true, it still would not have been enough to win him the election.

Finchems expert report identified 80,000 potentially missing votes, the ruling said. Yet, Finchem lost the election he challenged by 120,208 votes. That margin was so significant that even if it were assumed that 80,000 votes were missing and that those votes would all have been cast in his favor, the result of the election would not have changed.

The March 1 ruling from Julian hands yet another loss to a Republican candidate in Arizona who sought to fight the results of the 2022 elections.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake also launched an unsuccessful quest to challenge her loss to Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), claiming state elections officials intentionally sabotaged her victory. An Arizona judge ruled against Lake in December.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A federal judge has upheld former South Carolina banker Russell Laffittes November 2022 conviction on six counts of bank-related fraud.

The rejection of Laffittes appeal by trial Judge Richard Gergel Monday clears the way for Laffittes sentencing at a later date. Laffitte, a former friend of convicted double-murderer Alex Murdaugh who helped the ex-attorney misappropriate large amounts of money, is subject to up to 30 years in prison. As a first-time offender he would likely get much less.

In rejecting Laffittes appeal, Gergel wrote there was sufficient evidence to uphold each of the six counts of fraud against Laffitte. The ex-banker had acted with reckless disregard for Palmetto State Banks interest, made various false representations to hide fraud, the judge wrote.

Laffittes attorneys also lost their bid in contending that Gergel acted wrongly when he made a last-minute decision to replace two sitting members of the jury with two alternate jurors after the panel had deliberated some nine hours without coming to a decision. At that point, at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2022, a flurry of notes were sent to the judge, indicating some jurors were having various issues, including one juror who needed to be excused to go home and take medicine.

In his ruling, Gergel acknowledged the substitution of two alternate jurors was unusual but fair and reasonable under the circumstances. Following the verdict, Laffitte hired a new defense team that criticized his first defense team for purportedly not handling the jury substitution matter better.

Gergel wrote, the claims of Defense Team No. 2 that Defendants trial counsel was ineffective in addressing the replacement of jurors and that Defendant was prejudiced by these alleged errors are wholly without merit.

Prosecutors had no comment Monday about Gergels decision.

Mark Moore, a Columbia attorney on Defense Team No. 2, who represents Laffitte, said he was disappointed with the ruling.

Story continues

While we respectfully disagree with the courts ultimate decision, we will now proceed to the next phase of this litigation and continue our efforts to protect Mr. Laffittes constitutional rights..

None of this would have happened without Murdaugh

Laffittes trial in November 2022played out over nine days.

The jury heard from 15 prosecution witnesses and nine defense witnesses, who included members of Murdaughs former law firm and Laffittes former bank, Palmetto State Bank.

Murdaugh was fired from his law firm in September 2021; Laffitte was fired from his bank in January, 2022.

An indictment in the case charged that over a period roughly from 2011 to 2021, Laffitte helped Murdaugh misuse and misappropriate several million dollars, mostly in money from legal settlements that Murdaugh steered to Palmetto State Bank. Laffitte would then place the money in conservatorships that he and Murdaugh could dip into.

During the trial, Laffitte took the stand, denied that he had stolen or misused any money and told the jury he had been misled by Murdaugh, whom he trusted as a longtime friend and bank customer.

Testimony at the trial showed how some officials at the bank and the firm worked at times to cover up the self-dealing, money-making behavior by Murdaugh and Laffitte.

The bank and the law firm, now called the Parker Law Group, are the two most prominent and powerful institutions in Hampton County, witnesses testified.

None of this would have happened without Alex Murdaugh, but none of it could have happened without the defendant (Laffitte), lead federal prosecutor Emily Limehouse told the jury in her 70-minute closing argument.

Murdaugh was convicted late last week of murdering his wife and son at the 1,770-acre family estate, called Moselle, on June 7, 2021, as investigations into his financial dealings were heating up. He was sentenced to life in prison on both counts.
A jury awarded $8.25 million to a Black mom and her two daughters who sued a California county after they were detained by sheriffs deputies outside of a Starbucks, according to court documents.

The California jury reached its unanimous verdict on March 1, according to a final judgment filed in the United States District Court of Northern California.

On the morning of Sept. 20, 2019, Aasylei Loggervale was driving her daughters, Aasylei Hardge-Loggervale, then 19, and Aaottae Loggervale, then 17, to their colleges in California, the lawsuit says. The women had been driving overnight from Nevada and stopped at a Starbucks in Castro Valley, California, about 25 miles southeast of San Francisco.

As they were resting in the car and getting ready to go inside to get coffee, two deputies with Alameda County Sheriffs Office approached the vehicle and told the mother that there had been multiple recent car break-ins in the area, the lawsuit says. One of the deputies asked for her identification, but she refused because, as a Black person, she feared that the encounter could result in serious physical harm or death to her and/or her daughters, the lawsuit says.

The deputy continued to insist that she hand over her drivers license while Aasylei Loggervale repeatedly told him that she didnt have anything to do with any car thefts, the lawsuit says. At one point, the daughters started to record the encounter on their cellphones.

When Aasylei Hardge-Loggervale got out of the vehicle to use the bathroom at Starbucks, the deputy told her that all three of them were being detained, the lawsuit says.

Deputies handcuffed the mother and daughters and put them forcefully into patrol vehicles, the lawsuit says. They then searched the familys vehicle and belongings, according to the lawsuit.

The mother and daughters were held for several minutes despite the fact that no reasonable suspicion existed to detain them, the lawsuit says. They were later released without being cited or charged.

Story continues

All three had abrasions to their wrists and arms and suffered physical pain as well as emotional distress, fear (and) embarrassment, the lawsuit says.

The Alameda County Sheriffs Office and a lawyer representing the county did not respond to requests for comment from McClatchy News.

The trial, which was held in San Francisco, was held over five days, and the jury deliberated for more than 16 hours before deciding to award the mother and daughters the sum, according to their lawyer, Craig Peters.





Peters told McClatchy News that the most significant part of the verdict for the family, who declined to be interviewed, was the recognition from others that their rights had been violated.

He said the money being awarded wont change the fact that the women have been traumatized and will always see the world in a different way.

You cant replace when somebody takes away your security, safety and privacy, he said.

A major factor in this case, he said, was the deputies subconscious or implicit bias that caused them to treat the mother and daughters like suspects rather than members of the public that should be protected by law enforcement.

If you retell this story, and you make this family into three white woman, I think you get a very different result, he said.

The final judgment says one of the deputies and the county must pay $2.75 million to the mother and $2 million to each of the daughters. A second deputy and the county must pay $750,000 to each of the daughters, the judgment says.

Man threatened to shoot Black customers at stores, restaurants around US, feds say

Youre getting one to the chest. Rapper files $10M claim over CA deputys threats

Black applicants less likely to get past companys AI screening tools, CA lawsuit says
The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued to block a merger between JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines on Tuesday, contending that the deal would lead to higher fares and fewer choices for passengers.

The departments attempt to block the $3.8 billion deal, which would create the nations fifth-largest carrier, argues that the merger would hinder Spirits current ability to create lower fares in markets served by larger airlines.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the DOJ asserted that JetBlues plans would harm passengers who rely on Spirits low-priced tickets, and it would also affect those who benefit from the more competitive prices on other carriers.

If the acquisition is approved, JetBlue plans to abandon Spirits business model, remove seats from Spirits planes, and charge Spirits customers higher prices, DOJ wrote in court filings. JetBlues plan would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides  and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry  and leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options.

DOJ filed the suit with the Democratic attorneys general for D.C., Massachusetts and New York.

The move marks the Biden administrations latest attempt to prevent corporate consolidation, adding to a string of antitrust enforcement efforts in industries like book publishing and digital advertising.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and other DOJ officials formally announced the suit during a press conference on Tuesday.

I want to reiterate that the department continues to closely examine practices and review proposed mergers to ensure that they are consistent with federal antitrust law, Garland said. Companies in every industry should understand by now that this Justice Department will not hesitate to enforce antitrust laws and protect American consumers.

JetBlue has said the deal will create a low-fare challenger to the countrys four largest airlines  American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines  that make up about 80 percent of the market.

Story continues

JetBlues acquisition of Spirit should not be considered in a vacuum  it is simply the latest step in a trend toward consolidation in the airline industry, DOJ wrote.

In advance of the announcement, JetBlue this week released new data that the company said shows how the merger could increase competition. The two airlines overlap on 11 percent of their nonstop routes, and JetBlue says it will divest all of Spirits holdings in Boston and New York  JetBlues two largest markets  to further reduce the overlap.

If allowed to merge, the new company would comprise about 9 percent of the market. JetBlue shareholders approved the deal last fall after the airline emerged from a bidding war with Frontier to acquire Spirit.

The Hill has reached out to JetBlue and Spirit for further comment.

Updated at 11:58 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Lila Moss modelling for Chloe (Scott Garfitt/AP) (AP)

Lila Moss has emerged as one of the biggest names of Paris Fashion Week.

The 20-year-old model  who is the daughter of model Kate Moss and co-founder of Dazed Media Jefferson Hack  walked in the viral show for Coperni on Friday night.

The show was inspired by a 17th-century fable called The Wolf And The Lamb, transporting it to the 21st century with the role of wolves being played onstage by robot dogs.

Models interacted with the dogs, with Moss walking down the runway in a black halterneck minidress, placing her handbag in the mouth of one of the robots.

The show notes said: Coperni shows that there is neither a dominant nor a dominated, but that the man and the machine live in harmony.

The runway was a sensation on social media, and its not the first time Coperni has gone viral. Last season, the French womenswear brand made headlines by featuring model Bella Hadid having a white dress spray painted onto her body on the runway.

Moss kicked off Paris Fashion Week last week not by walking the runway, but by sitting front row at the Saint Laurent show.

She wore a Nineties-inspired outfit that could have been straight out of her mother Kates wardrobe: a black low-waisted column skirt, paired with a sheer black crop top and a bright red lip.

She then took to the runway last Thursday to walk for French fashion house Chloe, which is under the creative direction of Uruguayan-American designer Gabriela Hearst.

She wore yet another Nineties-inspired outfit to close the show: an angelic white slip dress with spaghetti straps, accessorised with pearl jewellery over the top, and simple black sandals.

Moss made her runway debut on the Miu Miu catwalk in Paris in 2020, and since then has walked for the likes of Fendi, Versace and Richard Quinn.

She appeared on the cover of the May 2022 edition of British Vogue, wearing an ethereal pale blue headpiece paired with pink make-up, and earlier this year announced she was the new face of YSL Beauty.

Story continues

She often walks the red carpet with her mother  the duo both wore Burberry to the 2022 Met Gala. Kate donned a black velvet tuxedo-style gown, and Moss wore a sheer high-necked gown with bejewelled detailing.

More recently, Moss attended Dame Vivienne Westwoods memorial service at Southwark Cathedral in London with her mother.

Moss also raises awareness around Type 1 diabetes  last year she appeared in a joint campaign for Versace and Fendi with her blood glucose monitoring device clearly visible.

She told The Kit in 2020: I think not many people know that I have diabetes. Its not visible from the outside, so no one would really know just by looking at you.
Kerry Katona has told of her terror after her eight-year-old daughter collapsed while on a family holiday.

The 42-year-old former Atomic Kitten told how her youngest child Dylan-Jorge, known as DJ, was rushed to hospital in Turkey after she lost consciousness after becoming overheated having her hair blow-dried.

Katona told OK! magazine: On the last day, I was blow-drying our DJs hair and she collapsed, with her eyes rolling back. It was the most terrifying thing ever. Ryan picked her up and ran outside with her to get some fresh air, and she just sat there staring at me and throwing up. The hospital said her blood pressure had dropped as she was overheated and hungry.

Read more: Kerry Katona: Botched tummy tuck was my fault

"DJ told me later she was so disorientated she thought Ryan was throwing her off the balcony! We just couldnt wait to get on that plane to get her home."

DJ is Katona's daughter with late husband George Kay.

The reality TV star was on holiday with her personal trainer fiance Ryan Mahoney, who she met on dating app Bumble in 2018. He proposed in August 2020.

Katona revealed she had also been unwell during the holiday and had spent most of the time in bed with kidney stones.

Watch: Kerry Katona says she has no regrets about her past

She had feared the stomach pains were caused by problems from her recent cosmetic surgery.

Katona recently underwent a second 'tummy tuck' after revealing the procedure she originally had in 2021 left her "lumpy" and "swollen" because she went straight back to work instead of following doctors advice about resting.

Katona said previously: Ive been waiting so long for this surgery after having my tummy tuck in 2021 with a different clinic.

Kerry Katona was also unwell on the holiday. (PA)

"My body hasnt been the same since. My stomach was all swollen and all the fat was stuck at the top  it shouldnt be like that. It was all lumpy and uneven.

Story continues

It was my own fault because I didnt allow time for my body to recover. I went straight back to work when I should have been resting."

The reality TV star underwent a second abdominoplasty at a private hospital in Manchester on 23rd January and said she is "so happy" with the results.

Kerry Katona recently underwent a second tummy tuck. (YouTube)

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! winner said: "And this time, Im making sure I recover properly.

She hopes to lose three stone by her 43rd birthday in September.

Katona said: "Im going to look amazing. I am on a mission. Once I put my mind to something, I see it through. I am going to look phenomenal."

The former pop star underwent a series of breast reduction operations in the last year, which had also caused complications.

Read more: Kerry Katona compares herself to Honey Monster before third breast reduction

The pop star is also mother to Molly-Marie, 21, and Lilly-Sue, 20, from her marriage to Brian McFadden and Heidi, 16, and Maxwell, 14, from her second marriage to Mark Croft.
Kevin Robinson during a Phoenix City Council District 6 runoff election debate at the First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.

In his pitch to Phoenix City Council District 6 voters for the March 14 runoff election, political newcomer Kevin Robinson plays up a) his longtime experience in law enforcement and b) that hes a centrist who can bridge differences.

The latter remains to be seen. Theres little history to assess his political leanings or beliefs.

Robinsons sometimes tentative and perfunctory answers in debates  I can promise that voters will always get a call back from me  reflect that lack of knowledge of city hall inner workings.

What does give him a leg up against Sam Stone, a former chief of staff for term-limited City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, is his insight on police issues. Some of those issues are front and center for the Phoenix City Council and may just propel Robinson into office.

Robinson is actually a police reformer

Critics dismiss Robinson as a status quo or pro-police candidate  a similar descriptor is assigned to attorney Kesha Hodge Washington, whos challenging incumbent Carlos Garcia, a community activist, in the District 8 runoff  because hes backed by law enforcement groups.

But thats selling him short.

In the law-enforcement arena, Robinson is really a centrist  perhaps even progressive  reformer.

A couple of instances highlight his work for change.

More from Kwok:Could Sam Stone beat the odds and win?

Robinson was part of a task force commissioned by the Arizona Supreme Court to reevaluate unannounced search warrants, or so-called no-knock warrants, following the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky., during a forced entry drug investigation.

The task force recommended changes to the process, including a list of factors that a magistrate should weigh before granting no-knock and nighttime search warrants. That includes the presence of weapons or hostages or known violence from occupants at the location.

The task force also recommended that a police supervisors approval of the search warrant be taken into consideration by the magistrate.

Story continues

Presiding judges and the Arizona Judicial Council, which have the authority to fashion the rules, went further and made the supervisor approval a requirement  which Robinson favored and said was a best practice during the time he oversaw the SWAT unit.

He supported Phoenix's civilian review board

The second occurred in spring 2020 when the mayor and council first tackled the idea of a civilian review board on police misconduct. Robinson backed Carlos Garcias proposal that, on a narrow 5-4 vote, created a civilian office with investigative powers.

At the time, he called it a needed response to lost public confidence in law enforcement and said that police should welcome citizen oversight, not fear it.

'180 degrees different':Robinson, Stone square off in debate

The Legislature has since enacted a law that prevents a civilian-led entity from investigating police misconduct. Phoenix's Office of Accountability and Transparency has, as a result, been relegated largely to a role of keeping watch on internal police investigations.

Nevertheless, Robinson maintains that police officers should not be afraid of accountability from citizen oversight.

By comparison, Stone derides the civilian office as a jobs program for people who have made a living protesting cops and bristles at the notion that the system for investigating and punishing bad police behavior needs reform.

His public safety experience gives him an edge

The issue of law enforcement looms large in Phoenix not just because of perennial concerns over crime and police staffing but also because of an ongoing Department of Justice investigation into Phoenix Police over claims of civil rights violation, including excessive use of force and discrimination.

Phoenix Police are expected to initiate some reforms on their own even before the DOJ probe finishes, as it has begun to do with a proposed update to their Use of Force policy.

Robinson could influence changes there, having chaired Phoenix Polices disciplinary review board for more than a decade and headed the departments use of force board for three years.

He serves on AZPOST, which investigates law enforcement misconduct and disciplines officers, up to revocation of the officer's certification.

Robinson stands to be a strong ally of the mayor to guide the city in the aftermath of the DOJ investigation.

He also could act as a foil to police critic Carlos Garcia should Garcia win reelection. Who knows, the two might even find common ground to strike a compromise.

On myriad issues, Stones experience as Sal DiCiccios right-hand person trumps Robinson. On public safety, Robinson has a clear edge.

Reach Abe Kwok at akwok@azcentral.com. On Twitter: @abekwok.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kevin Robinson's edge over Sam Stone? He's a longtime Phoenix cop
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle endorsed Brandon Johnsons bid for Chicago mayor against Paul Vallas on Tuesday morning, describing Johnson as the leader who reflects our vision, our values and our hopes for our city.

As a Cook County commissioner, hes been focused on working families on the West Side and beyond. He successfully championed efforts to bring more transparency and equity to public safety. Hes been a leader in the countys efforts to eliminate crushing medical debt. Hes also been a stalwart supporter of small businesses, Preckwinkle said at a news conference standing next to Johnson outside the Cook County building. He will bring to the mayors office a profound sense of responsibility, a commitment to honesty, and a healthy dose of courage, and believe me, hes going to need all of it.

Advertisement

Like Johnson is now, Preckwinkle was the Chicago Teachers Unions chosen candidate for her unsuccessful mayoral bid in 2019 after she voiced strong support for an elected school board as well as a vow to freeze charter school expansions and closures of public schools.

You wont find much better preparation than standing in front of a classroom full of middle schoolers or teenagers, Preckwinkle said Tuesday of Johnson, whos also served as a CTU organizer.

Advertisement

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle embraces Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson before giving her endorsement during a news conference outside City Hall on March 7, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Though Preckwinkle and Johnson have been longtime allies and are both former teachers, Preckwinkle  chair of the Cook County Democratic Party and 4th Ward Democratic committeeperson  did not endorse in the first round of the mayoral election, citing her long-standing relationships with several candidates, including Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, Rep. Kam Buckner, Ald. Roderick Sawyer and Ald. Sophia King.

In the waning days leading up to the first round of voting last week, however, Preckwinkles campaign did issue a text alert to certain voters against Vallas, referring voters to a Tribune story about Vallas Twitter account liking racist posts, and warning: Dont be fooled. Chicago deserves a mayor who isnt racist.

Tuesday, she suggested Johnson had been her pick all along. The two have been close allies since his campaign for County Board in 2018, and Preckwinkle confirmed Tuesday she had been lobbying fellow elected officials in the days following the Feb. 28 election to rally around him.

Johnson and Vallas came out on top to advance to the April 4 runoff, thwarting Lightfoots bid for a second term even before the second round of voting.

Preckwinkle, who lost to Lightfoot four years ago, said Tuesday she had the stupid idea that on March 1, I was going to be able to rest after the Feb. 28 election. And then, of course, my candidate won, and Ive been making calls on his behalf to Democrats ever since. Ive been encouraged by the response that weve gotten. Weve got a lot of work to do.

One of Johnsons former rivals in the mayoral campaign, Sawyer, has already endorsed Vallas. Asked whether hed spoken with other campaign rivals, including Garcia, Johnson said hed had several conversations with the other candidates who ran for mayor and those conversations are going well.

Johnson defeated incumbent Commissioner Richard Boykin  a Preckwinkle antagonist  in the Democratic primary in 2018, earning her endorsement and financial support. Boykin had helped lead opposition to Preckwinkles short-lived tax on sweetened beverages  known as the pop tax  which was supported by labor unions as a way to avert layoffs in the countys budget.

At the time, Johnson painted Boykin as the big business candidate aligned with the Republican Party. That year, four Preckwinkle rivals on the board  Boykin, Tim Schneider, John Fritchey and Gregg Goslin  lost their reelection campaigns, clearing the way for commissioners more friendly to Preckwinkles agenda.

Advertisement

Asked whether Johnson, who was just sworn in to his second term as a county commissioner, had the administrative chops to run the city, Preckwinkle said, I think you have to remember, when I was alderman, I had a staff, a full-time staff of three and a part-time staff of two. The critical challenge is finding good people who are willing to work with you, she said. Its all about recruiting good people, and I have confidence that Brandon is going to do exactly that.

Vallas has touted endorsements from Black leaders including retired Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, while Johnson has received backing from longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.

Also Tuesday, Vallas released the first TV ad of the runoff season in a 30-second spot featuring White promising that the former schools chief would be a mayor for all Chicagoans.

Chicago Tribunes Alice Yin contributed.

aquig@chicagotribune.com
The kidnapping in Mexico this week of four U.S. citizens that left two of them dead has renewed the focus on the politically charged issue of southern border security and prompted calls from some lawmakers for the Biden administration to more seriously crack down on cartels.

Biden administration officials called the killings unacceptable  potentially escalating tensions around the already fraught issues of border security and U.S.-Mexico relations as authorities work to learn more about the circumstances of the incident.

U.S. and Mexican authorities had been searching for four Americans who were kidnapped last Friday after crossing the border for a trip to get a medical procedure. Two of the Americans were found dead on Tuesday. One of the others was found injured, and the fourth is alive.

The FBI had said unidentified gunmen started firing at the four Americans vehicle shortly after it crossed into Mexico. They were then taken from the scene by armed men. Officials have not said whether the four Americans were deliberately targeted in the attack.

Attacks on U.S. citizens are unacceptable no matter where or under what circumstances they occur, John Kirby, a national security spokesperson for the White House, told reporters Tuesday. And were going to work closely with the Mexican government to make sure justice is done in this case.

Kirby said it was too soon to discuss any potential policy changes that would stem from the attack, but some lawmakers were quick to offer up legislative prescriptions.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday on Fox News that he was ready to introduce a measure that would classify certain Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations and set the stage for the U.S. to use military force in Mexico in the wake of the kidnapping.

I would tell the Mexican government if you dont clean up your act, were going to clean it up for you, Graham said.

Other Republicans, such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), have previously argued for designating cartels as terrorist organizations, and the deadly kidnapping just over the border has renewed those calls.

Story continues

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday told reporters that agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on.

More broadly, the incident in the city of Matamoros has given Republicans another opening to lob political attacks at the White House over its immigration record.

GOP lawmakers have for months argued the Biden administration has not done enough to curb the flow of migrants and drugs at the southern border, suggesting that what they see as the presidents lax approach to border security is resulting in violence.

Four Americans were kidnapped by a Mexican cartel. Two are dead. Theres no chance the cartel would be SO BOLD if America had a president who took border security seriously. We are a laughingstock because of Bidens weak leadership, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, tweeted Tuesday.

The White House on Tuesday pushed back against criticisms that Bidens border policies are connected to the latest instance of violence across the border.

Officials noted that Biden recently signed an order giving expanded authority to the Treasury Department to penalize cartels, that the Department of Homeland Security screens and vets each individual encountered at the border, and Biden has backed funding for increased border security measures.

Stopping the flow of fentanyl across the border has also been a top priority for Biden, officials said, and they noted that U.S. authorities last year seized twice as many drugs as the amount confiscated in 2020 as part of efforts to crack down on drug traffickers.

The State Department has issued a travel advisory for the area where the incident took place telling Americans to avoid it due to the risk of crime and kidnapping.

The U.S. and Mexico have for years been engaged in at times tense discussions over the issues of migration and cracking down on cartels. During the last administration, then-President Trump at one point claimed drug cartels were in control of the area south of the U.S. border, and at another point called on Mexico to wage war on cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth, a plea that was rebuffed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Biden traveled to Mexico in January to meet with Lopez Obrador to talk about border security and migration issues. The U.S.-Mexico tensions were at times on full display during the visit, including when Lopez Obrador implored Biden to do away with disdain for the region.

This is the moment for us to determine to do away with this abandonment, this disdain, and this forgetfulness for Latin America and the Caribbean, he said.

The issue of border security and how best to combat violent drug cartels is sure to linger beyond this weeks deadly kidnapping and well into the next election.

Former President Trump, who is running for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination and has made border security the center of his campaigns, earlier this year offered his vision for getting aggressive toward cartels.

Trump, in a pre-recorded video released in January, said he would order the Pentagon to use special forces, cyber warfare and other actions to inflict maximum damage on cartel leadership, infrastructure and operations, and he pledged to ask Congress to legislation ensuring convicted drug smugglers and traffickers receive the death penalty.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
STUART  A man charged with murdering a woman found strangled inside a Palm City home last year will serve life in prison after pleading guilty in court, a judge ordered Monday.

James Matthew Stephenson, 62, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Lorri Summer Wright, 49, of Texas, who was found June 21, 2022 wrapped in a blanket on a bed in a home where he lived on the property in the 4400 block of Southwest Honey Terrace.

Wearing earphones, James Stephenson stands motionless with his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Matthew Vasko, while being sentenced by Judge William Roby to life in prison without parole on Monday, March 6, 2023, in the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart. Stephenson pled guilty to the first-degree murder of Lori Summer White, of Texas, who was found dead on June 21, 2022, inside a home in the 4400 block of Honey Terrace in Palm City.

During a hearing steeped in profound sadness with more than a dozen relatives and friends looking on, Wrights sister Christine Gardner, 55, of Houston, described how Stephensons brutal actions devastated their family.

As you wake each morning the rest of your life and look at the bars of your cell, I hope you see her face and remember what horrible things you did to her. Summers life was important to a lot of people, Gardner said, as some watching openly sobbed. She was loved and cherished and so terribly missed. I am beyond devastated by the loss of my sister.

As Wrights relatives and a friend took turns to speak in court, Stephenson, who was handcuffed to waist chains and shuffled in leg irons, stared ahead standing at a podium before Circuit Judge William Roby.

Gardner said the grief of Wrights murder left her broken inside.

Every time I close my eyes, I see what you did to her. I can see and feel her fear as you chased her through the house, tearing her clothes like a savage, she said. I can see your hands wrapped around her throat as you squeeze the life out of her battered body. You could have stopped at any time; you should have stopped. Yet you continued until she took her last breath.

Family members wear a button for Lorri Summer Wright, 49, of Texas, while in the courtroom during the sentencing of James Stephenson, who pled guilty for the murder of Wright on Monday, March 6, 2023, at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart. Wright was found dead June 21, 2022 inside a Palm City home in the 4400 block of Southwest Honey Terrace.

Murder investigation

Wright was killed either June 21, 2022 or the day before in a house owned by Alan S. McPherson, who at the time was with a friend out of the country on vacation, court filings show.

She was there to clean the house while they were on a fishing trip, Assistant State Attorney Brandon White said Monday.

Story continues

Wright died of asphyxiation and the state believed Stephenson used his hands to strangle her, White said.

Her body showed blunt force trauma injuries to her head and neck and to her left foot, both knees and wrist, according to an arrest affidavit.

She was wearing jeans shorts, but no shirt. Her passport, purse and a Texas identification card were found near her body.

Deputies found blood droplets in a hallway, near a laundry room and on the rear patio.

Internal affairs probe:Officer suspended after improperly handling domestic case nearly 2 months before woman's death

Opinion: The 'constitutional carry' lie and why gun advocates don't love the latest Florida bill

Stephenson was arrested June 22, 2022 by Martin County sheriff's deputies and a U.S. Marshals task force at a West Palm Beach Hooters restaurant after Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies received information he was at the location.

Martin deputies began searching for Stephenson after they received information that hed made phone calls to people he knew and told them he had just killed someone.

A Martin County Sheriff's Office vehicle (right) stands watch at a home along Southwest Honey Terrace on Wednesday, June 22, as the Martin County Sheriff's Office is investigating a homicide that was reported Tuesday evening.

A woman who was friends with Stephenson reported to deputies that he had called her twice the day Wrights body was discovered, saying he was sorry and he killed a female dog walker, who was located on Alans bed, an arrest affidavit states.

McPherson also reported receiving text messages from Stephenson confessing on June 21, 2022 that he had killed Wright.

McPherson, who did not attend Mondays hearing, told investigators Stephenson and Wright had been together at his house partying and drinking together on June 19.

McPherson indicated Stephenson had been living in a trailer in his backyard since October 2021.

Stephenson and Wright, he said, met for the first time on June 16, the day McPherson and another man left for vacation.

Capt. Ruben Romero (left) and Maj. John Cummings, both of the Martin County Sheriff's Office, on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, discuss a homicide in Palm City that was reported Tuesday evening on Southwest Honey Terrace. The suspect is considered to be armed and dangerous.

His iphone was recovered the day after his arrest in Palm Beach County from a man who found it along a roadway more than 14 miles from where Stephenson was apprehended, court records show.

Plea deal, violent past

White said the plea deal developed as prosecutors were about to present evidence to a grand jury to seek an indictment of first-degree murder.

The defense reached out to us and said that potentially he wanted to plead to life in prison, White said. We spoke to him; we spoke to the family and the family agreed that that would be a good resolution.

A first-degree murder indictment returned last month noted Stephenson is also known as James Matthew Avera.

Court records show Wrights murder was not the first time hes has been convicted of violent crimes against women.

In February 2012 in Palm Beach County, under the name Avera, he was convicted of domestic battery and other charges after an altercation with a woman who said he was her ex-boyfriend. He was accused of running over the womans head with a truck during a heated argument.

Stephenson was sentenced to 19 months in prison. He was released after serving less than six months, state records show.

As part of Mondays plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, grand theft of a firearm and second-degree murder.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office really put him in a tight box because of their investigation, White said after court. He's going to die in prison and  like the family said, he'll be forgotten.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: James M. Stephenson pleaded guilty to murder as part of a plea deal
A tv screen shows a file image of Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul. KIM Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Kim Jong Un's sister threatened the US against intercepting North Korean missile tests on Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong comments come as the US and South Korea ramp up military and combat drills.

Ms. Kim's presence in her brother's government is mysterious, but she may be gaining influence.

Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong threatened the US on Tuesday against intercepting any North Korean missile tests over the Pacific Ocean, calling any interference a "declaration of war."

It's a rare public warning from Kim Yo Jong  and a sign she could be gaining more influence in her brother's government.

According to a press release on the Korean Central News Agency, Kim said the Pacific "does not belong to the dominium of the US or Japan" and reaffirmed North Korea's right to test weapons in the area.

Kim specifically referenced the country's plans to test intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons," Kim said.

Her involvement in her brother's government has been a mystery, but she's been more public recently.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Kim Yo Jong has long been seen as Kim Jong Un's unofficial second-in-command and a potential heir to North Korea's leadership if her brother should become incapacitated or die suddenly.

One of her most public appearances came in 2018 when Kim became the first member of North Korea's ruling family to visit South Korea for the Pyeongchang's Winter Olympics, the Journal said.

Kim Jong Un has appointed a variety of women to prominent roles in his regime. Experts believe the increasing prominence of his daughter Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to be 10 or 11 years old, may signal that he is preparing her as an heir.

Meanwhile, tensions have ramped up in the area as the US and South Korean militaries conduct training exercises nearby. The Associated Press reported that one drill on Monday involved the US and South Korea flying a B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula.

The allies also simulated a North Korean nuclear crisis for a tabletop exercise in February. In the coming weeks, their militaries have a variety of drills planned including their largest field exercises ever.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a fresh warning to the US and South Korea, threatening them with severe consequences if they went ahead with joint military drills set to start next week.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea is monitoring the restless military moves by the US forces and its South Korean puppet military, adding that Pyongyang is on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, the official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday.

The latest comments indicate North Korea could ramp up provocations in conjunction with the drills, with Kim last month threatening to turn the Pacific Ocean into a firing range if they went ahead.

The rhetoric may be a hint that Pyongyang could start testing whether its nuclear warhead designs can withstand the heat of reentering the atmosphere, as it looks to increase its capability to deliver a credible strike against the US and its allies.

The warning comes as US and South Korea prepare to hold their Freedom Shield exercises from March 13-23, drills designed to bolster their defenses against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats. The drills are expected to be some of the largest the two have held in years.

South Koreas spy agency later in the day briefed lawmakers in parliament on information that North Korea may test-launch its new solid-fueled ICBMs by next month.

Yun Kun-young, a lawmaker who was briefed by the National Intelligence Service, told reporters that North Korea may also launch a spy satellite in April and was preparing large-scale exercises involving unconventional weapons. He added that the NIS was not ruling out the possibility of North Korea testing its ICBM in a normal trajectory toward the Pacific Ocean.

Story continues

The last time North Korea launched a missile into the Pacific was October 2022, when it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, flying about of 4,600 kilometers (2,860 miles), and marking the longest distance traveled by a North Korean missile to date.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, brought back joint military exercises with his countrys US ally. The drills had been scaled down or halted under former President Donald Trump, who was hoping the move would facilitate his nuclear negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trumps three meetings with Kim from 2018 led to no concrete steps to wind down Pyongyangs nuclear program, which only grew in strength and size.

North Korea for decades has called the joint exercises a prelude to an invasion and nuclear war. Last month, it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to deliver a nuclear warhead to the American mainland a day after its foreign ministry threatened the US with unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions for holding military exercises with South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong also said in her comments that any attempt by the US or others to shoot down one of its ICBMs over international waters would be regarded as a clear declaration of war.

(Updates with South Korea NIS breifing)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The influential sister of North Koreas leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take quick, overwhelming action against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strength against the North.

The U.S.-South Korean training on Monday involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Kim Yo Jong didnt describe any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.

Hours after Kims statement, the General Staff of North Koreas Korean Peoples Army said it put its front-line artillery units on alert and heightened surveillance activities after it detected a live-fire artillery drill by the enemy in the South Korean border town of Paju on Tuesday morning.

The General Staff said about 30 rounds were fired during the South Korean exercise, which it described as a very grave military provocation that aggravated tensions, and urged its rival to immediately stop such activities near the border.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff described the North Korean claim as absurd and denied that the South's military had fired any artillery at the shooting range the North was referring to.

Story continues

The South Korean Defense Ministry said after Mondays training that the B-52s deployment demonstrated the allies capability to deter North Korean aggression. The U.S. deployed B-1B bombers to the peninsula a few times earlier this year. Last month, the U.S. and South Korea also held a simulation in Washington aimed at sharpening their response to North Korean nuclear threats.

Last Friday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they would conduct a computer-simulated command post training from March 13-23 and restore their largest springtime field exercises that were last held in 2018.

The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018 to support now-dormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. But they have been restoring their exercises after North Korea last year conducted a record number of missile tests and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals.

In a separate statement Tuesday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry called the flyover of the U.S. B-52 bomber a reckless provocation that pushed the situation on the peninsula deeper into the bottomless quagmire. The statement said there is no guarantee that there will be no violent physical conflict if U.S.-South Korean military provocations continue.

North Korea often uses fiery rhetoric in times of heightened animosity with the United States and South Korea. Possible steps North Korea could take include a nuclear test or the launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of targeting the mainland U.S., observers say.

Last month, Kim Yo Jong threatened to turn the Pacific into the Norths firing range. In her statement Tuesday, she said North Korea would consider a possible U.S. attempt to intercept a North Korean ICBM a declaration of war. She cited a South Korean media report saying the U.S. military plans to shoot down a North Korean ICBM if it is test-launched toward the Pacific.

All known North Korean ICBM tests have been made at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries, and the weapons landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

South Korea on Monday took a step meant to ease a thorny history dispute with Japan in what was seen as an effort to boost Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation. The step involves a plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyos colonial rule, but without requiring Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Monday praised the leaders of South Korea and Japan, saying the two came to understand that the potential of collaboration into the future is more important.

___

Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Four Americans who traveled to Mexico last week to seek medical care got caught in a deadly shootout and were kidnapped by heavily armed men who threw them in the back of a pickup truck, officials from both countries said Monday.

The four were traveling Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. They came under fire shortly after entering the city of Matamoros from Brownsville, at the southernmost tip of Texas near the Gulf coast, the FBI said in a statement Sunday.

The kidnapping victims were identified as Zindell Brown, Eric James Williams and cousins Latavia Tay McGee and Shaeed Woodard, according to ABC News.

The survivors -- Williams and McGee -- have returned to the U.S., their families said.

READ MORE:

All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men, the FBI said. The bureau offered a $50,000 reward for the victims return and the arrest of the kidnappers.

On Tuesday, Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal announced the four had been found -- two were found dead, one was hurt, and one was unharmed, he said. Here is what we know about them.

Zindell Brown

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, is one of the four victims.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she said in a phone interview. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Zalandria Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied a third friend who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery. A doctor who advertises such surgeries in Matamoros did not answer calls seeking comment.

Brown said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.

Story continues

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, Brown said.

Eric Williams

Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, was among the kidnapped Americans. The brothers are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina, he said. (Michele Williams via ABC News)

Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, was among the kidnapped Americans. The brothers are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina, he said.

Williams described his brother as easygoing and fun-spirited.

He didnt know his brother was traveling to Mexico until after the abduction hit the news. But from looking at his brothers Facebook posts, he thinks his brother did not consider the trip dangerous.

He thought it would be fun, Williams said. He hadnt heard anything about his brothers whereabouts, he said.

Gov. Villarreal said the wounded American, Eric Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the wound was not life threatening. The survivors were taken to Valley Regional Medical Center with an FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Latavia Tay McGee

According to ABC News, McGee is a mother of five who traveled from South Carolina for a cosmetic medical procedure. A relative of Zindell Brown said Monday that it was for a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where Fridays kidnapping took place. (Tay McGee via ABC News)

According to ABC News, McGee is a mother of five who traveled from South Carolina for a cosmetic medical procedure. A relative of Zindell Brown said Monday that it was for a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where Fridays kidnapping took place.

McGees mother, Barbara Burgess, told ABC News the FBI came to her home on Tuesday to notify her that her daughter was alive. She said she had to hold my heart when she got the news.

McGee spoke to her mother from a Texas hospital on Tuesday, Burgess said McGee confirmed she had no major injuries.

Shaeed Woodard

Woodard and McGee were cousins, ABC News reports. Channel 9 is working to learn more about him. (Laquonda Green via ABC News)

Woodard and McGee were cousins, ABC News reports. Channel 9 is working to learn more about him.

Video of kidnapping

A video posted to social media Friday showed men with assault rifles and tan body armor loading the four people into the bed of a white pickup in broad daylight. One was alive and sitting up, but the others seemed either dead or wounded. At least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck.

The scene illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained, without offering details. He originally said the four Americans came to Mexico to buy medications.

Tamaulipas chief prosecutor, Irving Barrios, told reporters that a Mexican woman died in Fridays shootings. He did not specify whether she was killed in the same gunfight where the kidnapping took place.

A woman driving in Matamoros who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal said she witnessed what appeared to be the shooting and abduction.

The white minivan was hit by another vehicle near an intersection, then gunfire rang out, the woman said. Another SUV rolled up, and several armed men hopped out.

All of a sudden they (the gunmen) were in front of us, she said. I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.

She said the gunmen forced a woman, who was able to walk, into the back of a pickup. Another person was carried to the truck but could still move his head.

The other two they dragged across the pavement, we dont know if they were alive or dead, she said.

Mexican authorities arrived minutes later.

Zindell Browns family asked people to share any relevant information with local authorities. Odell William Brown, his father, said the family is still searching for answers.

I dont know which way to go right now, he said. We dont know whats what.

Violence in Matamoros

Shootouts in Matamoros were so bad on Friday that the U.S. Consulate issued an alert about the danger and local authorities warned people to shelter in place. It was not immediately clear how the abductions may have been connected to that violence.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday the Americans were kidnapped at gunpoint and an innocent Mexican citizen died in the attack. He said various U.S. justice agencies were working with their Mexican counterparts to recover the missing persons.

President Joe Biden had been informed of the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.

Victims of violence in Matamoros and other large border cities of Tamaulipas often go uncounted because the cartels have a history taking bodies of their own with them. Local media often avoid reporting on such episodes out of safety concerns, creating an information vacuum.

The State Department warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Tamaulipas. However U.S. citizens who live in Brownsville or elsewhere in Texas frequently cross to visit family, attend medical appointments or shop. Its also a crossing point for people traveling deeper into Mexico.

As the headquarters of the Gulf cartel, Matamoros was once relatively calm. For years, a night out in the city was part of the two-nation vacation for spring breakers flocking to Texas South Padre Island.

But increased cartel violence over the past 10 to 15 years frightened away much of that business. Sometimes U.S. citizens are swept up in the fighting.

Three U.S. siblings disappeared near Matamoros in October 2014 while visiting their father and were later found shot to death and burned. Their parents said they had been abducted by men dressed in police gear identifying themselves as Hercules, a tactical security unit in the city.

(WATCH BELOW: 4 Americans in van with NC plates kidnapped in northern Mexico, officials say)
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday it would work with Japan to enhance security cooperation after Seoul's proposal to compensate people forced to work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation.

South Korea said on Monday that its companies would compensate such victims of forced labour, seeking to end a dispute that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.

"The defence ministry will also review strengthening South Korea-Japan and South Korea-U.S. security cooperation," a ministry spokesperson told a regular press briefing.

He said a dispute over a South Korean destroyer's alleged radar lock on a Japanese patrol plane in 2018 was not related to the forced labour issue, and that the ministry's stance remained unchanged.

Japan has said a South Korean warship had locked its targeting radar on a Japanese aircraft, strongly protesting the action as "extremely dangerous." Seoul has said the vessel was performing routine operations.

The alleged radar incident was one of a list of issues that has clouded the neighbours' relations, which plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers.

Japan's Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said cooperation with South Korea and the United States is becoming "increasingly important" in the face of North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.

"Although there are currently various issues between the defence authorities of Japan and South Korea, the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Forces intend to maintain close communication with the South Korean side for the sake of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, including the response to North Korea," Hamada said.

North Korea on Monday lashed out at joint military drills by the United States and South Korea, saying any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a "declaration of war."

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi in Seoul and Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Kim Coghill and Gerry Doyle)
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean lawmakers, citing intelligence officials, said on Tuesday that North Korea could hold large-scale military drills and test its new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in March or April.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's first child is believed to be a son, and the leader also has a third child whose gender is unknown, the lawmakers said after being briefed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The son has not made a public appearance, the NIS said.

Kims daughter, who is identified as Kim Ju Ae, has been seen in public with the leader on several occasions in recent months, prompting speculation that she is being groomed to be the next leader.

But the South Korean agency believes the most likely explanation behind the series of the daughters recent public appearances is that Kim wants to prove the legitimacy of the regimes fourth generation succession, the lawmakers said.

They said on North Korea's food situation, the NIS attributed it to the country's grain policy, distribution problems and the COVID situation but the agency added it is not severe enough to be considered a threat to the regime, citing a report that the country is facing an annual rice shortage of 800,000 tonnes.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Kim Coghill and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
(Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it did not recognise the price cap introduced by Western countries on its oil exports, after the United States said that the cap was "working well".

Washington was one of the key architects of the Western price cap on Russian oil, which aims to drive down Moscow's revenues used to fund its invasion of Ukraine.

"We do not and will not recognise any cap. We are working so that this system does not harm our own interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Russia's economy has proved remarkably resilient in the face of tough Western sanctions, but the price cap has complicated its efforts to sell oil globally.

Moscow, which accounts for around 10 percent of global oil supplies, said last month that it would cut output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to the price cap.

U.S. officials argue that the price cap is working, as Russia's Urals blend - a benchmark of Moscow's exports - sells at a steep discount to international marker Brent.

"I think the beauty of the process is that it is working and that Russian oil and Russian products are being traded below the price cap," U.S. Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein said on Monday.

(Writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office asked the Monterey County Superior Court to deny a motion seeking another trial for convicted murderer Paul Flores.

The claims of misconduct are baseless and the claims of judicial error are incorrect, the District Attorneys Office said in its response.

A jury convicted Flores of murdering Cal Poly student Kristin Smart in October, after his attorney, Robert Sanger, made nine unsuccessful requests for a mistrial.

Sanger filed two motions for a new trial and a judgment of acquittal Feb. 24  days ahead of Flores sentencing date  asking the judge to overturn his clients conviction by a Monterey County jury because he claimed the trial evidence did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

In its motion, released Monday, the DAs office said the claims in Sangers motions appear to willfully misrepresent the actual arguments of the prosecutor and the defense.

Defense attorney: Prosecutor made egregious errors

Sanger claims that Chris Peuvrelle, who prosecuted the case as a deputy district attorney for the SLO County District Attorneys Office, made several prosecutorial errors during his opening and closing arguments.

Peuvrelles blatant mischaracterization of the burden of proof was one of the most egregious errors, Sanger said in the motion, particularly in his rebuttal to Sangers closing arguments.

In his closing arguments, Sanger called the prosecutions case a conspiracy theory.

Peuvrelle, who is now a supervising attorney for Monterey County, replied in rebuttal that it was absurd for more than 50 witnesses, six cadaver dogs and the media to be in on a grand conspiracy theory.

Sanger also argued the prosecutions expert witnesses were not experts and testified authoritatively without a scientific basis.

The motion called forensic evidence presented by the prosecution junk science.

Finally, Sanger argued in the motion that Jennifer Hudson, who testified that Flores told her in 1996 that he killed Smart, perjured herself on the stand.

Story continues

The defense attorney alleged the prosecution allowed Hudson to do so, even though San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office detectives failed to corroborate her story.

Sanger also claimed the prosecution concealed the fact that one of the women who testified she was raped by Flores, Rhonda Doe, went to Cal Poly in 1996, during the drama and accusations against the defendant.

Sanger also claimed the judge erroneously excluded defense evidence, including testimony from a man who claimed Smart was stalking him, one of Smarts ex-boyfriends and another man who claimed Smart told him she was pregnant with his child.

Smarts psychological report was also not admitted into the trial but should have been, the motion said.

SLO County DA asks court to deny motion

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office denied that any prosecutorial error was made during Peuvrelles rebuttal argument.

Case law explains that a prosecutors statements must be evaluated in the context of the argument and the jurys instructions to decide if there is a reasonable likelihood the jury understood or applied the comments in an improper or erroneous manner, the report said.

During the Flores trial, the jury instructions explained that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Flores murdered Smart in order to convict him.

In his closing argument, Peuvrelle said, (Sanger) would have you believe that its not just possible but a reasonable interpretation that 50-something witnesses, spanning 26 years, are involved in a grand conspiracy to convict Paul Flores. He would have you believe that six dogs are involved in a grand conspiracy to convict Paul Flores. ...

Just for that, counsel has presented you with a binary choice. Is this a conspiracy theory? Is that the truth? Or is it true that Paul Flores is guilty of first-degree murder.

After closing arguments, Sanger made a motion for a mistrial claiming that Peuvrelle misstated the burden of proof in this argument.

The court denied Sangers motion, responding that the jury instructions override all statements made by the attorneys during the trial.

Sanger included the argument about mischaracterization of the burden of proof in his Feb. 24 motion for a mistrial as well.

The prosecution noted that the judge had already disagreed with this claim, and that Peuvrelle did not confuse the jury about the burden of proof required to convict Flores.

(Peuvrelles) words made clear that he was critiquing the defense argument ... and not telling the jury that if they found the defense theory unreasonable they therefore must find Paul Flores guilty, the prosecution wrote in its response to the motion.

The prosecution also disputed Sangers argument, which stated that Peuvrelle violated the courts ruling by asking if a woman ball-gagged in a photo, found on Flores computer, looked like she was having fun.

Peuvrelles full statement was, (Sanger) said, Conspiracy theories are fun. Okay, maybe you think its possible that everybody, the dogs, are in on it. Did it look like the woman with the ball gag in her mouth was having fun in this conspiracy theory, according to the report. Did it look like anybody was having fun? No. Because this is not a fun case. I apologize but you have seen things in this case no human being should see.

From the context of the argument, it is clear that the prosecutor is addressing the defense claim that all of the evidence was manufactured, tainted or mischaracterized by highlighting the absurdity of the notion that all of the evidence and all of the people involved were out to get Mr. Flores, the DAs response read.  The use of the having fun phrase was a rhetorical flourish of repetition and did not violate the courts order.

The DAs response also argued that its witnesses were credible and the prosecutions use of evidence was accurate.

The prosecution argued that Sanger committed sanctionable offenses, as California law forbids lawyers to knowingly make false statements, according to the DAs response.

In their motion, the defense mischaracterized their own argument, they mischaracterized the prosecutors argument, they failed to include many all of the actual statements they were challenging and when they did they failed to provide the surrounding statements that provided necessary context, the response said.

In addition, the prosecution argued that using Hudsons testimony was appropriate.

Jennifer Hudson testified at a preliminary hearing and was honest and credible at Preliminary Hearing. She also testified at trial and was honest and credible at trial, the DAs response said. She was extremely emotional during her testimony as she expressed regret for not having come forward sooner. The jury clearly thought she was credible and rejected defenses non-stop personal attacks and unprofessional line of questioning against her.

Finally, the prosecution argued that the court appropriately chose what evidence to exclude from the trial, such as Smarts psychological report.

Whats next?

A Monterey County Superior Court judge will hear the motions on March 10. If the motions are denied, Flores sentencing will occur immediately after.

Flores faces a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison or life without parole.
This story has been updated.

A Chicago man has been charged with the murder of a woman who was found shot to death over the weekend in a Glenview motel, police said.

Advertisement

Melvin Trimble, 37, of 1632 S. St. Louis Ave., was charged early Tuesday with the first-degree murder of Aliyaha Frierson, 27, of Chicago.

Frierson was found with an apparent gunshot around 5:12 a.m. Sunday after Glenview police responded to reports of a shooting at the Motel 6, in the 1500 block of Milwaukee Avenue.

Advertisement

As police attempted emergency measures for Frierson, other officers simultaneously took Trimble into custody at the motel, Glenvuew police said. Authorities said they recovered a gun at the scene.

Frierson was declared dead at the scene just before 6 a.m., police said.

Authorities lodged murder charges against Trimble early Tuesday, and he was scheduled to appear in the Skokie branch of Cook County court Tuesday for a bond hearing. Police said they believe the shooting was an isolated incident.

Bond was set at $500,000 cash during a Tuesday hearing in the Skokie branch of Cook County court. Prosecutors said Trimble and the victim had a tumultuous on again-off again relationship. Trimble, prosecutors said, called 911 to report the shooting, but the call came 45 minutes after motel guests reported hearing a gunshot. Trimble reportedly told the 911 dispatcher that he and the victim were in a tussle that ended deadly, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also said Trimble had a lengthy criminal history and is facing a predatory criminal sexual assault charge in a separate case.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Could Lake Lanier be renamed over its ties to a Confederate soldier?

A federal commission is considering renaming both Lanier and Buford Dams for their namesakes connection to the Confederate south.

Lake Lanier has been known by its name for more than 60 years.

But now the Department of Defense Naming Commission is examining Army Corp projects like Buford Dam and Lake Lanier with namesakes of the Confederacy.

Lake Lanier draws millions of visitors each year. It was built and is operated by the Army Corp of Engineers along with Buford Dam for flood control and water supplies.

The lake is named after Sidney Lanier, a 19th-century musician, and poet, who penned the poem song of the Chattahoochee. He also served several months as a private in the Confederate army.

TRENDING STORIES:

Should that be grounds to change the name of the lake?

I kind of get why the name should be changed and everything just because for such a beautiful place I think it shouldnt have such a bad connotation with it, lake visitor Ashley Davidson said.

I dont think there is enough of a connection between the Confederacy and the namesakes of the lake and the dam to justify changing the names, said Clyde Morris, vice president of the Lake Lanier Association.

Morris told Channel 2s Tom Regan that the decision to name the reservoir after Sidney Lanier had nothing to do with his short service in the Confederate army.

Likewise, for Algernon Sydney Buford. The city took on his name in recognition of his ownership of a local railroad, not his participation in the Civil War.

We dont think theres a good enough reason to be changing Laniers name or the Buford Dams name, Morris said.

Would you vote to change the name if you could or keep it the same? Regan asked lake visitors Tom and Dena Lahalieh.

Story continues

I kind of like the name Lanier, they answered.

Theres no timeline on when a decision on a possible name change of the lake and dam will be made, but it would likely be years.

RELATED NEWS:
At least 23 Georgia teenagers and children have been shot to death since the start of 2023, painting a stunning portrait of escalating gun violence among young people.

The youngest victim was just two years old.

Channel 2 Action News has spoken to the families of multiple victims in metro Atlanta, who are all now grappling with the unimaginable loss of a child. Many parents have told us that the gun violence needs to stop.

Here are some of their stories:

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

April 8

A 15-year-old boy was shot to death after a car drove by his home and fired bullets inside, according to the Macon Telegraph. Ozias Gore was taken to the hospital, where he died.

April 7

An 18-year-old Fayette County man was shot to death by his girlfriends brother after the two got into a fight. Jeremiah McCrae was from Newnan.

Investigators said McCrae had gotten into a fight with his girlfriends brother. Thats when deputies said he went and got an AR-15-style weapon to confront the brother.

Deputies said the brother had his own gun and shot McCrae. The Sheriffs Office has not released the name of the shooter at this point.

March 20:

A man is accused of shooting a 19-year-old to death in Augusta, deputies said.

On Sunday, around 1:20 a.m., Richmond County deputies were called to the McDonalds on Peach Orchard Road in reference to a shooting. When deputies arrived, they found a teen, later identified as DaQuantavious Proctor,19, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Later that day, deputies found and arrested Xavier Hatcher, 23, for the murder of Proctor.

Hes facing charges of aggravated assault, murder, possession of a firearm or knife during a crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

March 14

11-year-old Asijah Love Jones was shot and killed when a stray bullet intended for someone else flew through her bedroom window, deputies said. Kionta Jahuan Parks, 21, was arrested a month later and charged with murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, terroristic threats and acts, as well as numerous violations of Georgias Street Gang and Terrorism Act.

Story continues

March 9

A 16-year-old boy was one of two people shot and shot and killed outside of a home in Dekalb County. The other victim was 22 years old. Neither victim has been identified.

March 8:

An 18-year-old was shot in Savannah and died days later, according to WSAV-TV. Savannah police responded to reports of a shooting on March 5 on East 55th Street. Nazentea Phillips died on March 8. So far, no one has been charged.

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death in Morgan, Georgia in Madison County, according to the Morgan County Citizen. Police identified the victim as Kingsly Gibbs. A second teen, 17-year-old Imunn Sanford, was also shot and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Its unclear what lead to the shooting or if anyone has been taken into custody.

March 6:

A 10-year-old boy was shot to death in his own bed on Monday morning after someone opened fire on his home as he slept, according to WMAZ. Sheriff Bill Massee identified him as Damarion Byrd. Felony murder warrants were obtained for 39-year-old Rodracius Demaris Stephens of Milledgeville. He was arrested and taken to jail.

March 4:

A 15-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were shot and killed when someone opened fire outside of a Sweet 16 birthday party in Douglasville. Ajanaye Hill and Samuel Moon were both running from the scene when they were killed.

On the same day in Troup County, a 16-year-old boy was shot to death outside of a LaGrange skate park. Nasir Truitt suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died at the hospital. According to police, motive appears to be an argument between two groups of people, leading to multiple shots being fired.

Family members say Truitt was a good kid and are still trying to wrap their minds around why another teen would kill him.

As you can imagine, my family and I are beyond devastated and have more questions than answers. Of which no question or answer will bring Nasir back, the teens cousin Yormica Truitt-Jordan wrote in social media posts.

He was a good kid. He never bothered anyone. This all seems so surreal and Im not exactly sure how things with me or my family will go back to normal.

March 2:

A 15-year-old boy was shot to death while he attempted to rob a home in Hawkinsville, police said. A person inside shot the teen, who has not been identified.

TRENDING STORIES:

March 1

A 2-year-old girl died after she was shot by another child with a pellet gun in Habersham County. The child was identified as Jaylea Hutchinson, 2. Deputies said the shooting appeared to be a tragic accident. Its unclear if anyone is facing charges.

A 16-year-old boy was shot to death behind an abandoned home in Gwinnett County. Police said the family of Jose Daniel Martinez reported the teen missing Wednesday morning. He was found shot to death at a home on Paden Mill Trail that afternoon. Homicide detectives canvassed the area and were able to develop leads that lead to the arrest of Dennis Calzadilla, 20, of Lilburn in connection to Martinezs death.

Feb. 23:

Keymarion Manor, 19, was shot to death in Macon on Feb. 23, according to the Macon Telegraph. He had been charged in connection to a 2020 murder and was awaiting trial.

Feb. 21:

A 15-year-old girl was shot to death in her bed in Peachtree City. Police said Madison Gessweins body was found by her mother. Three teens have been arrested in connection to her death. Justus Smith, Jacobean Brown and Yeshua Mathis have all been arrested and charged with murder. Browns father was found dead of a gunshot wound just days earlier.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Feb. 18:

A 19-year-old man was killed along with his mother and father at a motel in Columbus. Michael Carter, Jr. and his father, Michael Carter, Sr., both were pronounced dead at the scene. Tonya Carter, 50, died days later. Police told WTVM that the Carters were married for decades and Michael Carter Jr. was their son. A 4-year-old boy who was identified as their grandson was also injured in the shooting.

Feb. 14

A 13-year-old boy was shot to death in front of his father outside a home in Norcross. Family members told Channel 2 Action News that Jaeden Travis was being harassed by a group of teens that showed up to his house that day. He ran outside to confront them with a pellet gun and was shot to death, police said. No one has been charged with murder in Travis death.

Feb. 2:

An 18-year-old man was shot to death during a home invasion in Baldwin County. Syee Devon Havior was shot multiple times and died at the hospital. According to investigators, multiple people went to Haviors home just after midnight, and one opened fire when they arrived. It is unclear if Havior knew the people who came to the home.

Feb. 1:

A 17-year-old boy was killed in northwest Atlanta after an argument. Police have not identified that teen. A 19-year-old was also injured in the shooting but survived.

Jan. 28:

A 13-year-old girl who lived in Jefferson County was pronounced dead days after she was shot in her grandparents home, according to WJBF. ARhianna Moye was shot in the neck at a home in Louisville on Jan. 12. Her 17-year-old brother, Anthony Maurice Mincey, was charged with 2nd degree cruelty to children, reckless conduct, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm by someone under 18 and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Jan 21:

A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed outside of a popular skating rink. Police said Deshon DuBose was shot outside Cascade Family Skating. Atlanta police later released surveillance video of the people they believe may know what happened to DuBose.

Jan. 10

A 15-year-old boy was shot to death in Macon on Jan. 10, according to the Macon Telegraph. Officers arrested 57-year-old Algie Bryant and charged him with murder.

Jan. 9:

An 18-year-old boy was shot as he walked out of a gas station in DeKalb County. The teens mother says her son, Akhir Muhammad, was killed in an attempted robbery. She said her son worked in valet parking, but was studying to become a general electrician.
Atlanta Police Department

A legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild was arrested and charged with domestic terrorism while monitoring a Sunday night demonstration against an Atlanta police training facility that opponents have dubbed Cop City.

Thomas Jurgens is an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the civil-rights group confirmed on Monday. Jurgens also works with the National Lawyers Guild, which monitors protests. Jurgens was acting as a legal observer at the time of his arrest in Atlanta, the NLG said in a statement. He is one of more than 40 people charged with domestic terrorism in connection to protests against Cop City, raising concerns from civil liberties advocates.

An employee at the SPLC was arrested while actingand identifyingas a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the SPLC said in a statement. The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters.

The proposed police training facilitya $90 million, 85-acre project on the current site of an Atlanta foresthas been the subject of long-running opposition from environmentalists, racial justice activists, and religious leaders. Tensions escalated at the proposed construction site in late 2022, when police began a series of arrests on domestic terrorism charges, even though many of the defendants are not accused of any illegal activity beyond misdemeanor trespassing, Grist reported at the time.

In January, police shot and killed the activist Manuel Tortuguita Paez Teran, whom they accused of shooting at them. The case is currently under investigation, but has fueled a fresh wave of demonstrations, including a Sunday night concert in the forest.

Atlanta PD Slaps 23 Cop City Protesters With Domestic Terrorism Charges

Some distance from the concert, demonstrators set fire to construction vehicles, hurling objects over a fence into a construction area, video shows. In a statement, Atlanta police said they had detained 35 people, 23 of whom were soon charged with domestic terrorism.

Story continues

On March 5, 2023, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers, the Atlanta Police Department said in a statement. They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers.

Soon thereafter, concertgoers filmed mass arrests as police cleared out the makeshift music festival.

Aurielle Marie, a poet who won Georgias 2022 Author of the Year Award, attended the concert and live-tweeted the crackdown. They were doing things like snatching and grabbing people indiscriminately and they ended up grabbing several legal observers who were there doing a protected job, which is to monitor protests, Marie told The Daily Beast.

NLG legal observers are easy to identify, dressing in neon green hats to distinguish them both from protesters and police. Members of the group act as legal watchdogs at protests, recording potential abuses like police brutality. For its efforts, the group has sometimes become a target of the same forces it monitors. During protests in New York City in 2020, police were alleged to have given orders to round up all the green hats. The NLG legal observers who were targeted in that case later won a settlement in a federal lawsuit against the New York City Police Department.

Marie filmed police leading away one handcuffed NLG observer who was wearing the bright green cap. Although the mans face is not visible in the short clip, he appears to have hair and a beard of the same color and length as Jurgens, and is wearing a light-green long-sleeved top, like Jurgens is wearing in his mugshot.

Theyre arresting legal observers. Several. pic.twitter.com/EChx0tI0dh  queer & black & beloved (@YesAurielle) March 6, 2023

Reached for clarification on its statement, which describes the defendants as black-clad, the Atlanta Police Department referred The Daily Beast to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Jurgens has been charged with domestic terrorism, a rarely used Georgia statute that comes with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison if convicted, and a maximum detention of 35 years. Legal experts have raised concerns about the use of domestic terror charges against Atlanta activists.

As someone who handled capital murder cases in Georgia, I can tell you Georgia law has a lot of ways to deal with violence against law enforcement or against anyone, Patrick Keenan, a professor of law at the University of Illinois previously told NBC News. So this domestic terrorism statute is not necessary and it can lead to this politicized use that I think doesnt do anybody any good.

As of Monday, more than 40 people are facing domestic terror charges related to the police training facility. The NLG and SPLC both issued statements condemning Jurgens arrest and police treatment toward Stop Cop City activists.

Law enforcement detained at least 35 demonstrators in Atlanta on Sunday, including an NLG Legal Observer, the NLG said in a statement. All of these arrests are part of ongoing state repression and violence against racial and environmental justice protesters, who are fighting to defend their communities from the harms of militarized policing and environmental degradation. Each of these instances, including the many protesters charged with domestic terrorism, make clear that law enforcement views movement activists as enemies of the state.

Marie said the moment calls for legal observers.

As were aware, and the Atlanta Police Department is well aware, the legal observers are there to make sure the rights of protesters are not being infringed upon by law enforcement, they said, especially because of the death of Tortuguita that happened a month ago in the same forest.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Biometric technology may make it easy to unlock your phone, but democratic lawmakers have long cautioned against the use of facial recognition and biometrics by law enforcement. Not only have researchers documented instances of racial and gender bias in such systems, false positives have even led to real instances of wrongful arrest. That's why lawmakers have re-introduced the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act. This actually marks the third time the bill was introduced to the Senate  despite being introduced in 2020 and 2021, the act was never advanced to a vote.

If passed, the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Act would outright ban any use of facial recognition or biometric surveillance by the federal government unless that use is explicitly approved by an Act of Congress. That approval itself would be pretty limited: It would need to define who was allowed to use biometric surveillance, the exact type of biometric surveillance they would be using and the specific purpose it would be used for. Approval would also have the burden of further restrictions, such as adhering to minimum accuracy rates that would hopefully avoid false positives in the rare instances when use of the technology is approved.

The bill also hopes to encourage local and state governments to follow its lead, including a clause that would tie some federal funding for local law enforcement to complying with a "substantially similar" ban on facial recognition and biometrics.

While the bill hasn't had much luck making it to the floor of either chamber of congress, some states and local governments have been banning facial recognition technology on their own. In 2020, Portland Oregon put strict guardrails on the use of facial recognition technology. New York State and Massachusetts have also put restrictions on the use of biometrics. Even the IRS walked back plans to use facial recognition for identity verification purposes.

That sounds encouraging for the re-introduced bill, but that momentum isn't universal: Law enforcement still sees biometrics as a useful tool for investigating crime, and the TSA has been testing systems that compare travelers to the photo on their passport or driver's license.
By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Toymaker Lego said store openings in China and strong demand in Western Europe and the Americas had delivered 17% sales growth in 2022, adding that it expects to outpace the market this year.

The family-owned company known for its colourful plastic bricks said sales rose to 64.6 billion Danish crowns ($9.25 billion) last year, when it opened 155 new stores, bringing the total number of Lego shops globally to more than 900.

"We have really good momentum, and I think it will continue in 2023," Lego Chief Executive Niels Christiansen told Reuters.

Lego plans to open another 145 stores this year, mostly in China, which Christiansen said in an interview he expects will help it to grow sales by a high single-digit percentage.

Top sellers in 2022 included Lego's Star Wars and Harry Potter building sets, and its City and Technic ranges.

The Danish company, which employs more than 27,000 people globally, saw sales spike both during the pandemic when many people stayed home and after lockdowns were lifted.

"After a few extraordinary years we may see a return to more normal growth," Christiansen said. "But we believe we can continue to outpace the market."

'EXTRA COSTS'

Lego's operating profit of 17.9 billion crowns was up 5% from a year earlier, after 32% growth the previous year.

Christiansen said it had raised prices on some products in September, but by less than increases in its input costs.

"High growth in sales has helped us compensate for those extra costs on freight, energy and raw materials," he said.

The CEO said that Lego has no immediate plans to raise prices and he was optimistic that costs of freight and raw materials were coming down.

As part of its strategy of placing production close to its key markets, Lego plans to begin operating new factories in Vietnam and Virginia, U.S. in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

($1 = 6.9859 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Lena Dunham has responded to a joke Donald Glover made at Sunday's WGA Awards. (Vianney Le Caer / Invision / Associated Press)

Lena Dunham denies ever using the N-word with Donald Glover after the "Atlanta" actor cracked a joke about it over the weekend.

"Donald Glover told a joke referencing Lena Dunham for last nights WGA Awards," a representative for Dunham told The Times on Monday in a statement. "It included, for effect, language Lena never used, nor would use."

A representative for Glover confirmed in an email to The Times that Glover's joke was indeed exactly that.

Glover made the remark as a part of an eight-minute talk, full of wisecracks and roasts, to present a comedy award to writer-producer Paul Simms at Sunday's Writers Guild of America Awards.

During the bit, Glover recalled working with Dunham on the set of the HBO series "Girls," in which his character dated Dunham's character. Glover said he asked Dunham for her take on Simms, who produced "Girls" and later produced Glover's FX show, "Atlanta."

"I asked Lena ... 'Hey, what made you decide to work with Paul?' And she goes, 'Honestly, this n let's me do whatever I want,'" Glover said, drawing sparse laughter from the room.

He added: "I remember thinking two things: One, Lena is using the N-word extremely liberal with me. Who does she think she is, Chevy Chase? ... And two, that's the kind of producer I want."

Earlier in his speech, Glover had cracked another N-word joke, insinuating that Chase also used the slur with Glover when they worked together on the sitcom "Community" starting in the late 2000s.

The joke renewed buzz around Chase's history of bad behavior.. He had reportedly used the N-word on set in 2012 and apologized to his "Community" colleagues, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Both Glover and the show's creator, Dan Harmon, also claimed in a 2018 New Yorker profile that Chase was known to make racist jokes while on set. Some of the jokes, Harmon said, were directed at Glover out of jealousy.

Early last year, Chase addressed concerns about hisreputation during an interview on " CBS Sunday Morning ." When asked about stories from colleagues on "Community" and "Saturday Night Live"  some of whom thought he was a "jerk"  he said, I dont give a crap."

"I am who I am," Chase said. "And I like who I am. I dont care. And its part of me that I dont care. And Ive thought about that a lot. And I dont know what to tell you, man. I just dont care.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Donald Glover has confirmed that Lena Dunham did not use the N-word after joking about it an awards speech.

On Sunday (5 March), the Atlanta creator presented an honorary award to executive producer Paul Simms at the Writers Guild Awards.

Later during his speech, Glover recalled meeting Simms on the set of Girls.

I asked Lena [Dunham], Hey, what made you decide to work with Paul [Simms]? And she goes Honestly, this n**** lets me do whatever I want, said Glover.

And I remember thinking two things. One, Lena is using the N-word extremely liberally. Who does she think she is, Chevy Chase? And two, thats the kind of producer I want.

Glovers representatives confirmed to The Independent that the comment was a joke.

Dunhams representatives also denied that the Girls creator had used the slur.

Donald Glover told a joke referencing Lena Dunham for last nights WGA Awards, they said. It included, for effect, language Lena never used, nor would use. Full stop.

Earlier in the speech, Glover had told a story about his Community co-star Chase allegedly referring to him using the word.

Dunhams representatives claimed that Glover had added the word into his story for effect' (Getty Images for The Gotham Film)

Chevy Chase once called [Saturday Night Live writer Herb Sargeant] one of the funniest writers working in television, Glover said. Chevy Chase once called me You know what? This is about Paul.

The Independent has contacted representatives of Chase for comment.

Glovers allegations about Chase are in line with previous reports of his on-set behaviour around Glover on Community.

In a 2018 interview with The New Yorker, showrunner Dan Harmon said Chase would try to disrupt Glovers scenes and make racial cracks between takes, attributing these comments to Chase being jealous of his co-stars talent.

I remember apologising to Donald after a particularly rough night of Chevys non-PC verbiage, and Donald said, I dont even worry about it, Harmon said.

Glover added that he saw Chase as fighting time. Chase told the publication that he was saddened to hear that Donald perceived me in that light.
Pexels

Only one in every 100,000 people on Earth are breathing safe levels of fine particulate pollution, according to a new study.

For the research, scientists gathered data on fine particulate matter from more than 5,000 on-the-ground monitoring stations, along with data on weather and geography, using machine learning to map out airborne particulate levels. The study found that on 99.82 percent of land across the six habitable continents, particulates exceed levels deemed safe by the World Health Organization.

Tracking changes in air quality across time, scientists found that particulate pollution has fallen in Europe and North America over the past two decades, but risen in sub-Sharan Africa, India, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The findings were published in the journal The Lancet Planetary Health.

Fine particulate pollution comes from cars and trucks, power plants, factories, wildfires, and cook stoves. It can aggravate asthma and heart disease and increase the risk of lung cancer and heart attack. Scientists say that particulates are a leading risk factor for premature deaths globally.

The new study provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution, Yuming Guo, who researches environmental health at Monash University in Australia, said in a statement. With this information, policymakers, public health officials, and researchers can better assess the short-term and long-term health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies.

ALSO ON YALE E360

For Low-Income Pittsburgh, Clean Air Remains an Elusive Goal
Ambulances line up outside the emergency department as they transport patients into MLK Community Hospital in Los Angeles on Dec. 16. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: I strongly agree with Dr. Daniel J. Stone's piece on the key challenges that our healthcare system is failing to meet. He focuses on mental health needs, out-of-control drug prices, insufficient hospital funding and a bloated and inefficient private health insurance industry.

I would also add inequitable hospital funding, glaring health disparities, healthcare professional burnout and the growing menace of profit-oriented private equity taking over U.S. healthcare.

These problems are all linked, of course. Enacting Stone's "Medicare for all" solution, a unified system of public financing, would be a major effective step in meeting all these challenges.

Other countries have already got this, and it works well. How much longer must Americans suffer?

Steve Tarzynski, MD, Santa Monica

The writer is president of the California Physicians Alliance, which advocates for single-payer healthcare.

..

To the editor: Stone extols the virtues of a single-payer system for the U.S. We already have two single-payer plans called Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), but with built-in inefficiencies and costly limitations.

As a result, a growing number of Medicare beneficiaries have been turning to Medicare Advantage, while in California, Medi-Cal is being transformed into a multi-specialty, managed-care plan like Kaiser Permanente.

As for Ozempic, an injectable treatment for Type 2 diabetes, the same medication, formulated in a higher dose for managing obesity, is dispensed under the brand name Wegovy. In Great Britain, the list price for a month's supply of four injection pens of Wegovy  which is not yet covered by the National Health Service  is about $88, whereas in the U.S. the same prescription product sells for $1,349.

Why the vast disparity? I imagine Stone and his patients are asking the same question.

Harold N. Bass, MD, Porter Ranch

..

To the editor: Stone hits the mark with his incisive and honest critique of our American healthcare system. My attention was drawn particularly to primary care physicians having to step outside their scope of practice to prescribe psychoactive medications.

Story continues

I am a licensed marriage and family therapist, and I cannot relay the amount of times my clients have been unable to book appointments with psychiatrists due to shortages, insurance glitches, prolonged waiting periods, or because more and more psychiatrists are becoming fee-for-service practitioners.

Many times, these same clients have to pay out of pocket for psychiatric consults, and these were the fortunate ones. Having to pay cash for a service that is covered by your insurance, and for which you pay a handsome monthly premium, is appalling.

Something has to change. It appears America prioritizes wealth over mental health.

Regina Lehrer, Westlake Village

..

To the editor: Stone should have added the exhausting healthcare expenditures associated with patient non-compliance. The most significant component is substance abuse, including alcohol and recreational drug abuse.

Rates of cigarette smoking have diminished over many years, due in part to the prohibition on advertising. Unfortunately, it seems that alcohol advertisements have replaced cigarette advertisements.

Bruce R. Ellinoy, Manhattan Beach

The writer is a retired critical care pharmacist.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Members of a Lake County Board special committee on pandemic investment and recovery tasked with doling out $135 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act have their work cut out for them after receiving more than 75 project applications last fall from entities seeking a share of $45 million the county has left to distribute.

The Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery and Investment, a subcommittee that reports to the County Boards Financial and Administrative Committee, met Friday for a presentation and discussion of more than 79 project proposals that were scored by the consulting firm Bronner Group on factors such as countywide impact, community feedback alignment, readiness, equity, budget and impact and effort.

Advertisement

Lake County has dispersed approximately $90 million of the ARPA funds so far, and all funds must be used Dec. 31, 2026.

Special committee chair Paul Frank, D-Highland Park, said the county is in a position where a lot of these projects scored highly and that members would have to decide how much they are willing to spend on.

Advertisement

Maybe we want to not spend all of the remaining $35 to $40 million on these ARPA allocation projects, maybe we do, Frank said. Its a decision for us because there are some other things out there board members and the county are looking at.

Committee vice chair Michael Danforth, R-Fox River Grove, said that among 79 applications the county scored, some, if not all of those projects are going to be worthy of serious consideration.

Brenda OConnell, Lake Countys community development administrator, also updated the board on the Lake County Rental Assistance Program, which is set to wind down over the summer as the county disburses the last portion of $6 million it was granted in county board ARPA allocation.

OConnell said the program, which has funded more than 400 households with up to six months of rent assistance since its launch last year, has been successful in helping both tenants avoid evictions and landlords receive rent payments.

Can we continue to make sure that rental assistance is flowing to those populations? Were asking all those questions with our providers, OConnell said. The providers are continuing to see new need and most of that is around, housing is expensive, food is expensive, basic needs are expensive.

Another possible destination for ARPA dollars, premium pay for Lake County Sheriffs Office deputies and corrections offers, was not among the proposals analyzed by the consultant, though it is on the radar for board members.

Committee member Linda Petersen, R-Antioch, asked whether a request for premium pay for Lake County Sheriffs Office employees and corrections officers was factored into county staffs $10-$20 million soft cap range that had previously been discussed for the round of project considerations. Assistant county administrator Matthew Meyers confirmed that board members will still have to consider premium pay outside of the scope of the 79 project pitches.

I think we have to look at, like Paul (said), at other things we havent really given a lot of attention to and look at those, too, Petersen said.

Advertisement

Petersens question followed Javier Perezs public comment imploring the board to add to a vote on the topic to a future meeting agenda.

The federal government who gave our county ($135.2 million) recognized the daily sacrifices and unconscionable working conditions that your law enforcement employees experienced, Perez said. We ask you take serious consideration of awarding additional compensation to the people who were not able to work from home in the pandemic like most of your civilian employees did and in fact were forced by obligation of their duty to confront the coronavirus in person.

Gail Weil, executive director of the Community Youth Network Counseling Center, called for the county during public comment to give serious consideration to a proposal to expand the centers physical space to serve more clients.

We are seeing an unprecedented need for mental health services in Lake County, Weil said.

Member Jessica Vealitzek, D-Hawthorn Woods, asked if underspending in general on items of mental health was factored into scoring.

Bronner Group consultant Alex Iseri said that, on average, projects related to mental health and substance abuse scored better than most other categories.

Advertisement

Improving broadband service and access for Lake County residents is another area some county board members want to prioritize.

I know (Special Committee on Broadband) Chair (Jennifer) Clark came to the committee, Meyers said. I know some dollar value thoughts have been tossed around a little bit. Premium pay certainly has been an item that has come up over the last couple of weeks.

Theres certainly an opportunity to fund additional rounds for rental (assistance), as Brenda (OConnell) had spoke on this morning, he added. Food distribution needs are still evident based on the amount of funds were spending and the rate.

This is the hard part, Frank noted near the end of the meeting, when were getting down to the end of the ARPA dollars.
Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, seen in 2018, admitted in a deposition that he knew former President Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were false. (Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

To the editor: An appropriate resolution to Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6-billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News would be to require Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro to record themselves apologizing to the American people for having knowingly lied to them about the 2020 election being rigged.

They should be recorded saying that they knew all along that Joe Biden won the race, but they were only interested in ratings and money and had no interest in telling the truth. Fox News should be required to play the recordings frequently and at different times of the day for at least two months.

Doug Emerson, Camarillo

..

To the editor: We've learned that Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his dishonest minions at Fox News were aware they were pulling a fast one on their audience by insisting there was election fraud.

In another article in The Times, we learned that two men pleaded guilty for conspiring to bomb Democratic sites in Sacramento because they were unhappy with the 2020 election results.

One has to wonder that if these men had been successful in their plot, would the Fox News hosts have believed "mission accomplished"?

Tom Brayton, Long Beach

..

To the editor: At the daily newspaper where I once worked, the publisher made his views clear: "My first duty is to report the news. My second duty is the welfare of my employees. My third duty is to make a profit."

Murdoch has obviously upended these commendable values: Money comes first, and reporting the news fairly comes last.

No wonder many Brits call him the "dirty digger."

Spencer Grant, Laguna Niguel

..

To the editor: How awful it is that the only accountability for Fox News conscious and deliberate proliferation of lies about the 2020 election is a defamation suit from a voting machine corporation.

Meanwhile, there is apparently no accountability for how this massive deceit has directly damaged our democracy, which will be ongoing for the foreseeable future and undoubtedly repeated.

Story continues

Fox News, and all other so-called news networks, should have to pay the price.

Dain Olsen, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Minister of Defense of Lithuania Arvydas Anusauskas

Lessons learned in Ukraine help us purposefully develop our military potential, he said. We are also taking a firm stand to support Ukraine with all our capabilities and are preparing a new support package for Ukraine.

Read also: Lithuania to hand over anti-drone weapons to Ukraine

So far, Lithuania has provided almost EUR 409 million ($437 million) worth of military support to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian minesweepers.

The minister added that Lithuania is preparing for the upcoming summer NATO summit in Vilnius. The summit will deal with, among other matters, the prospects of Ukraine's membership in the alliance.

Read also: Lithuania sends L70 anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine

Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda called on Western countries to cross any remaining "red lines" in supplying military aid to Ukraine.

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
Mandatory Credit: Photo by NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13789701d)A row of houses in London, Britain, 02 March 2023. UK house prices in February dropped by the most in more than 10 years according to mortgage lender Nationwide showing signs of a slowdown in the housing market due to high inflation and rising borrowing costs.Housing market slowdown in Britain, London, United Kingdom - 02 Mar 2023 - NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The pandemic set Londons rental market on a rollercoaster ride.

First, an exodus of tenants sent demand plummeting. Prices nosedived. Then, the easing of restrictions brought office workers, students and corporate relocators back all at once, forcing tenants into desperate bidding wars. Rents soared.

But the problem is only going to get worse. Now, the London rental market is hurtling towards a third phase of the pandemic fallout: a supply black hole.

City-living is back. Londons population is forecast to rise by 700,000 by 2031, according to the Greater London Authority.

According to estimates by JLL property consultants, this means the capital needs another 300,000 rental properties in the next eight years. But a tax crackdown and high mortgage rates are driving landlords out of the market and housebuilding cannot keep pace.

At the same time, higher housing costs mean tenants are renting for longer, and households are shrinking, meaning tenants are using homes less efficiently.

Overall, by 2031, JLL estimates London will have a shortfall of 110,500 rental homes.

In reality, this could be far higher, given the headwinds to home ownership and the challenges for small landlords limiting supply levels, warns Emma Rosser, of JLL.

There is a snowball effect, this problem is growing cumulatively. We are already feeling the effects. Rents are rising. Tenants cant find somewhere to live, she says.

Rental demand in London in February was 44pc higher than the five-year average, while supply was down by 41pc, according to property website Zoopla.

The rents achieved on new lets in London rose by 14pc in 2022, according to referencing service Homelet. But this is not enough to encourage large-scale investment.

Landlords know that there is demand but many are unable to step in to fill the supply gap, says Rosser. Demand historically has been met by small-scale landlords. Now we are at a tipping point. The population will increase, but while that is growing the supply from individual landlords will not continue growing."

Story continues

UK Finance, the lender body, expects a 27pc year-on-year drop in the value of buy-to-let lending across 2023. Mortgage rates and high taxes mean this year their profits are really eradicated," says Rosser.

Tax changes that came into full effect in April 2020 mean that landlords who own properties in their own names are no longer able to offset all of their mortgage interest costs against their tax bills. This magnifies the blow of higher rates  even if their properties become loss-making, they still have to pay the same amount of income tax.

Total rental supply is likely to fall as mortgage-financed landlords find the cost of their mortgage payments rise close to, if not above, their rental income when they refinance at higher rates, says Andrew Wishart, of Capital Economics, a research consultancy.

Supply is dwindling just as London is grappling with an all-mighty pandemic hangover.

Initially, during lockdown, renters left London in droves. But when the capital reopened, they returned in droves. This created a bottleneck, made worse by the fact that the returning crowd wanted larger properties and outdoor space, says Tim Bannister, of property website Rightmove.

In the first phases of the pandemic return to the capital, the use of the rental housing supply became less efficient as tenants leased properties with extra bedrooms.

Tenants who secured deals in this initial return phase, before prices began to soar, signed long leases because they knew they had good deals. As prices rose, more tenants also renewed old leases, opting not to move in a rising market, says Bannister.

In 2021-22, the average private renter had been living in their current home for 4.4 years, according to the English Housing Survey. This was the longest period of time since at least 2010 and a jump from 3.5 in 2013-14. This means there is less churn  another factor that reduces the supply of properties being listed to rent.

Every time peoples housing needs change, more tenants need to move house. The pandemic shift to homeworking brought a surge in people needing to move. I dont think were completely settled in terms of hybrid working. That is a structural change that is still working its way through the rental market, says Bannister.

But now tenants have a new reason to reassess their living arrangements  the cost of living crisis, says Bannister. Now, people want smaller, more affordable properties. That is a significant change heaped on top of a significant change, says Bannister.

Rising costs create a spiral of pressures for rental demand. The lack of housing and particularly of homes at the right price, means people are delaying their life milestones. A large part of that is down to housing costs, says Rosser.

Renters are increasingly likely to be childless. Data from the English Housing Survey shows that from 2014-15, the number of renting households with no children rose by 17.8pc to 3.2million. This meant the share of renters who did not have families rose from 62.6pc to 68.4pc.

Based on current trends, the average household size will fall from 2.5 to 2.3 between now and 2031, says Rosser. This means the rental demand needs more properties even just to cater for the same number of people.

But the number of people is growing  and population growth in the capital flows disproportionately into demand for rental properties.

Between 2011 and 2021, Londons population grew by 9pc, but the number of households grew by 19pc. Data from the English Housing Survey shows that the number of renting households rose by 33pc.

This is partly because population growth in the capital is typically driven by young professionals who are much more likely to move into the rental sector than buy their own homes.

High house prices, which have jumped by 83pc since 2011, compared to a 24pc increase in average gross pay, means Londoners are also increasingly being shut out of the housing ladder.

This pressure will be made worse by the end of the Help to Buy scheme this month, says Rosser.

Nationally, the scheme supported around 50,000 first-time buyer home purchases each year. Maybe more of those people who would have bought will be staying in the rental market, says Rosser.

As small-scale landlords fall by the wayside, institutional build-to-rent investors are stepping in to fill the supply gap. A record 2.7bn was invested in London build-to-rent in 2022, but this will be slow to translate into new rental properties. The sector has delivered 5,400 homes a year over the last three years.
Ariel Skelley / Getty Images

Stretching your nest egg as far as possible is something that's most likely front of mind for retirees who aren't very wealthy. With no new sources of income aside from Social Security or possibly a pension, it's important to settle in a place to retire that won't drain your savings.

Similar: Can I Draw Social Security at 62 and Still Work Full Time?

Learn More: 3 Ways to Recession Proof Your Retirement

However, getting a clear sense of exactly how long your retirement savings will last requires understanding how much it costs to live in the state you're calling home. As anyone trying to get by somewhere with a high cost of living can attest, even basic necessities can quickly winnow down your retirement account. And it only gets more complicated if you decide you don't want to spend your entire retirement in the same place, as your costs won't be consistent throughout your retirement.

That's why GOBankingRates performed a study to compare the cost of living in every state and determine how long you can survive off of $100,000. Granted, $100,000 won't buy you a lot of time in any state. But, these results will give you a sense of just how much you need to save.

kieferpix / Getty Images/iStockphoto

51. Hawaii

Annual Expenditure: $95,939.44

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 0 month 13 days

To say that Hawaii is the most expensive state to live in is something of an understatement: Hawaiians pay more than double the national average per year. You'll need over $2 million to survive retirement in this state -- the most in the country.

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned About the Safety of Your Money in Your Bank Accounts?

50. District of Columbia

Annual Expenditure: $79.358.60

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 3 months 4 days

The District of Columbia holds a special place on this list. Not counted as a state, the area stands as its own district designated by the federal government. The district is $16,000 cheaper than Hawaii but still falls under one of the most expensive places to retire. You'll need to budget over $25,000 for housing costs in the district.

Story continues

FilippoBacci / Getty Images/iStockphoto

49. Massachusetts

Annual Expenditure: $78,055.08

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 3 months 11 days

Massachusetts is not a state that's kind to your retirement savings, with sky-high housing costs playing the biggest part in making things difficult.

MundusImages / Getty Images

48. California

Annual Expenditure: $71,746.02

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 4 months 21 days

California's not an easy place to stretch your retirement dollar, with the cost of housing coming in at more than double the average for the country.

Social Security: Whether You're 62, 65, 67 or 70, Here's Why Your Age Matters

xavierarnau / iStock.com

47. New York

Annual Expenditure: $70,129.65

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 5 months 5 days

Some might gripe that the only thing imperial about the Empire State is how much it costs to live there, with the average New Yorker needing more than $70,000 a year to cover expenses.

pkujiahe / Getty Images/iStockphoto

46. Alaska

Annual Expenditure: $66,010.51

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 6 months 4 days

Costs in Alaska are generally high -- particularly for healthcare and utilities -- but there's one area where the state won't eat so far into your nest egg: Alaska is the most tax-friendly state for retirees.

WilliamSherman / Getty Images

45. Maryland

Annual Expenditure: $64,654.84

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 6 months 19 days

Maryland is one of the more expensive states for retirees to live in, but a lot of the older residents can afford it: It's one of the states with the richest retirees.

Social Security: Women Get $354 Per Month Less Than Men -- Here's Why

RyanJLane / Getty Images

44. Oregon

Annual Expenditure: $63,194.89

$100,000 Will Last: 1 years 6 months 30 days

Oregon has a cost of living that's higher than the country as a whole, particularly in housing, which is almost $7,200 higher than the national average. However, if you're dead set on enjoying the beautiful coastlines of the Pacific Northwest in your golden years, consider making your home in Brandon. It's the best city in the state to buy a home.

JayLazarin / Getty Images

43. Connecticut

Annual Expenditure: $60,900.69

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 21 days

Not only is Connecticut one of the pricier states in the country to live in, but for many retirees, the source of their income might not be as stable as they would hope. Connecticut is the worst state for pensions in the U.S.

CHBD / Getty Images/iStockphoto

41(tie). New Hampshire

Annual Expenditure: $60,535.70

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 24 days

If you're dead set on living in New Hampshire in retirement but you're looking to avoid some of those high costs, steer well clear of the 03854 ZIP code -- home to New Castle Island. It's the most expensive ZIP code in the state.

Social Security: No Matter Your Age, Do Not Claim Benefits Until You Reach This Milestone

XKarDoc / Getty Images/iStockphoto

41(tie). Vermont

Annual Expenditure: $60,431.42

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 24 days

Not only is Vermont a tough place to maintain your nest egg, it's also a pretty rough spot for building it up as well. The Green Mountain State is the state where it's hardest to save $1 million for retirement, another GOBankingRates study found.

edella / Getty Images

40. Maine

Annual Expenditure: $60, 118.57

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 7 months 28 days

It's possible that the high cost of living in Maine has some residents thinking big in terms of what it means to be wealthy. In a GOBankingRates survey, the most common answer for what it meant to be "rich" in Maine was an income of $10 million a year or more, the highest answer for any state.

Joel Carillet / Getty Images

39. Washington

Annual Expenditure: $59,545.02

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 4 days

If you're surprised to see Washington so far down this list, keep in mind that it's home to Seattle, one of the most expensive cities in the country. Best to look for more affordable cities.

Social Security: 20% Cuts to Your Payments May Come Sooner Than Expected

BDphoto / Getty Images

38. Rhode Island

Annual Expenditure: $58,867.19

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 11 days

If you've compiled an impressive nest egg over the course of your career, Rhode Island isn't a great place to keep it protected.

KenWiedemann / Getty Images

37. New Jersey

Annual Expenditure: $58,606.48

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 8 months 15 days

Like many of the most expensive states in the country, the main culprit for New Jersey's high cost of living is housing, with New Jersey residents paying more than $1,300 higher than the average American for a place to live.

wanderluster / Getty Images

36. Arizona

Annual Expenditure: $55,165.18

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 22 days

Arizona's costs are a bit higher than the national average in every category except utilities, and healthcare.

See: Can I Draw Social Security at 62 and Still Work Full Time?

1MoreCreative / Getty Images

35. Delaware

Annual Expenditure: $55,060.90

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 25 days

Although Delaware might be on the higher side for costs, it can also offer some great ways to protect your nest egg: It's one of the best states to retire rich in the country.

Adventure_Photo / Getty Images

33(tie). Colorado

Annual Expenditure: $54,539.49

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 29 days

While your $100,000 will only last just under two years in Colorado, it depends upon which city you land in. If you want to stay in the Rocky Mountain State but don't like the "mile high" costs in Denver, consider Colorado Springs where it's over $10,000 a year cheaper.

urbancow / Getty Images

33(tie). Montana

Annual Expenditure: $54,643.77

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 9 months 29 days

If you were hoping to keep your nest egg healthy after retiring to Montana by investing well, you might find it harder there than elsewhere. Montana is one of the worst states to grow your money, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

Learn: Ways You Can Lose Your Social Security Benefits

ImagineGolf / Getty Images

32. Nevada

Annual Expenditure: $53,809.51

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 9 days

If you want to spend your golden years in the Silver State, prepare to spend a little more. Costs are at least 10% higher than the national average across every category except for utilities, where they're actually 20% under what the rest of America pays.

Joel Carillet / Getty Images

29(tie). Virginia

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

You'll pay less for groceries, utilities and transportation than the average American if you opt to retire to Virginia, but there's clearly more to the story. That would be the cost of housing, which is over $1,100 higher than the national average.

nycshooter / Getty Images

29(tie). Florida

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

Florida might only be middle-of-the-pack for stretching a six-figure retirement fund, but it's still a popular destination for many retirees. And you have plenty of options to choose from in terms of which Florida city stacks up the best for you.

Read More: 7 Ways Baby Boomers Are Wasting Money in Retirement -- and How To Stop It

amygdala_imagery / Getty Images

29(tie). Utah

Annual Expenditure: $53,600.95

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 10 months 13 days

Regardless of how long it lasts, Utah is doing plenty to help you build that retirement account. It's the state where it's easiest to save $1 million for retirement.

Shutterstock.com

28. Idaho

Annual Expenditure: $51,932.44

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 4 days

Idaho's scenic landscape could be considered incentive enough to retire there, but the state's low costs are an additional perk.

catnap72 / Getty Images

27. Pennsylvania

Annual Expenditure: $51,202.46

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 12 days

In Pennsylvania, housing costs are just a couple of hundred dollars below the national average. However, if you're looking to stretch your retirement savings as far as possible, you can still do better, especially when Pennsylvanians pay more than average for groceries, utilities and transportation.

Read: 10 States That Receive the Most Social Security

sharply_done / Getty Images/iStockphoto

26. Minnesota

Annual Expenditure: $50,837.48

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 19 days

In Minnesota, it costs about the same as the national average to live here. That's not true statewide, though, as Minneapolis is among the more expensive major cities in the country.

Shutterstock.com

25. North Dakota

Annual Expenditure: $50,628.91

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 23 days

One place you probably won't overspend in North Dakota is on housing. You can expect to pay less than $9,500 per year.

iofoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

24. North Carolina

Annual Expenditure: $49,898.94

$100,000 Will Last: 1 year 11 months 30 days

If you're looking for a place to live in retirement where you're not in the hustle and bustle of the city but also still close enough to take advantage of city living on occasion, North Carolina might be the place to look. Three of the best suburbs for retirement are in the Tarheel State: Bermuda Run, Fairfield Harbour and Sunset Beach.

More: Expert Says 'Silent Crisis' with Retirement Savings Looms Worldwide -- How To Act Now

dlewis33 / Getty Images

23. Wisconsin

Annual Expenditure: $49,794.66

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 3 days

You can make $100,000 last over two years in retirement if you're living in the Badger State. And your annual housing costs are lower than the national average, as well.

Shutterstock.com

22. Kentucky

Annual Expenditure: $49,481.81

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 6 days

Kentucky's biggest cost advantage over other states is in its housing, where you'll pay almost $2,000 less than the national average.

RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images

20(tie). South Dakota

Annual Expenditure: $49,273.25

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 10 days

There's one thing you don't have to worry about in South Dakota: state income tax. That's because it's one of the seven states without any, which could make a significant difference in how long you can stretch that nest egg.

Find: 7 Affordable Places To Retire if You Love the Great Outdoors

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

20(tie). South Carolina

Annual Expenditure: $49,168.96

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 10 days

The question of how long $100,000 lasts in retirement might be especially apt for South Carolina. A GOBankingRates survey determined that most residents of the Palmetto State have about $50,000-$100,000 saved for retirement.

Shutterstock.com

19. New Mexico

Annual Expenditure: $49,012.54

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 14 days

If you enjoy life in the big city but can't handle the high cost of living that usually comes with it, New Mexico might offer you the best compromise. .

peeterv / Getty Images/iStockphoto

18. Louisiana

Annual Expenditure: $48,803.98

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 17 days

Not only is Louisiana among the better states for stretching your savings in retirement, it's also the best state to grow your money, according to a separate GOBankingRates study.

$2,000 Quarter? Check Your Pockets Before You Use This 2004 Coin

Kirkikis / Getty Images

15(tie). Illinois

Annual Expenditure: $48,282.57

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

In Illinois, you can stretch $100K to a bit more than two years. And if you decide you want to make the Windy City your home, you'll have plenty of options in selecting from the many different suburbs around the city.

Zview / iStock.com

15(tie). Texas

Annual Expenditure: $48,230.43

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

Texas offers a range of advantages to its elderly residents when it comes to stretching retirement dollars.

Jeremy Hardin / Getty Images/iStockphoto

15. (tie) Wyoming

Annual Expenditure: $48,230.43

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 25 days

The cost of living in Wyoming is lower than it is for the country as a whole.

Housing Market 2023: Is a Double-Digit Drop in Prices Coming?

RiverNorthPhotography / Getty Images

14. Michigan

Annual Expenditure: $48,074

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 0 months 28 days

The Great Lake State is as welcoming as it is scenic, and the low costs mean you can enjoy more of it with your nest egg.

Shutterstock.com

12(tie). Nebraska

Annual Expenditure: $47,917.58

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 1 day

Nebraska's cost-of-living scores are either at or below the national average in every category except for transportation. However, at least some of the money you can save on things like groceries and housing will end up with the state government: Nebraska is the least tax-friendly state for retirees.

Davel5957 / Getty Images/iStockphoto

12(tie). Ohio

Annual Expenditure: $47,917.58

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 1 day

Housing is especially affordable in Ohio, coming in at almost $2,400 less than what the average American is paying. Add that to costs that are either below average or less than 2% over it, and it's not hard to see why Ohio cracked the top 20 in this study.

I'm a Self-Made Millionaire: These Are the 6 Investments Everyone Should Make During an Economic Downturn

dlewis33 / Getty Images

11. Arkansas

Annual Expenditure: $47,239.75

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 12 days

The cost of a comfortable retirement in Arkansas is very low, coming in below any other state in the country save for Mississippi and its incredibly low cost of living.

Joel Carillet / Getty Images

8(tie). Tennessee

Annual Expenditure: $47,031.18

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

Whether it's the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville or Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee is a great state for American music. Of course, if you're retired and living there, it's the low costs that might be music to your ears.

ablokhin / Getty Images

8(tie). West Virginia

Annual Expenditure: $46,926.90

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

West Virginians are paying less for housing and utilities than most Americans, but that's counter-balanced by higher-than-average costs on groceries and "miscellaneous" expenses.

Save More: 5 Things You Should Always Pay For With Cash

Purdue9394 / Getty Images

8(tie). Indiana

Annual Expenditure: $46,874.76

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 15 days

Indiana offers retirees the chance to stretch their savings much further than most of the country; this is important to the Hoosier State, as Indiana is the state with the poorest retirees in the country.

Shutterstock.com

6(tie). Iowa

Annual Expenditure: $46,509.77

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 23 days

Like many states in the Midwest, Iowa boasts low housing costs that help push the overall cost of living down significantly. However, while it's housing leading the charge, Iowa's costs are below what the average American pays across the board.

TriggerPhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto

6(tie). Missouri

Annual Expenditure: $46,457.63

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 23 days

Although most costs are lower in Missouri, the Show-Me State is especially affordable when it comes to housing. A year of a roof over your head costs an average of just $8,299.21, making it one of just twenty states where you can expect to pay under $9,000 per annum.

Learn More: 5 Expensive Renovations Homeowners Always Regret

krblokhin / Getty Images/iStockphoto

5. Georgia

Annual Expenditure: $46,196.93

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 1 month 26 days

Low costs in Georgia mean a retiree can make $100,000 last them for two years and one month. Even if you're living well by saving on basic costs, though, not everyone is in the same situation: Atlanta is among the places in the U.S. with the most income inequality.

Shutterstock.com

4. Alabama

Annual Expenditure: $45,936.22

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 6 days

You can expect to stretch your retirement savings by retiring almost anywhere in the Yellow Hammer State, but that's especially true if you decide to call the city of Birmingham home: It's one of the cheapest places to retire in the entire country.

Shutterstock.com

3. Kansas

Annual Expenditure: $45,623.38

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 9 days

Kansas is a great state to retire to if you want to stretch your nest egg as far as possible, and it's even better if you're living off of a pension funded by the state: Kansas is one of the best states for pensions.

See: 5 Kitchen Appliances That Just Aren't Worth the Money

Tiago_Fernandez / Getty Images

2. Oklahoma

Annual Expenditure: $44,736.98

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 2 months 28 days

Oklahoma has low costs statewide that will help you stretch $100,000 for a full two and a half years.

Shutterstock.com

1. Mississippi

Annual Expenditure: $44,319.85

$100,000 Will Last: 2 years 3 months 4 days

No state has a lower cost for a comfortable retirement than Mississippi, where you can expect to pay almost $3,400 less for housing than the country as a whole. All told, the cumulative cost of living in Mississippi is almost $8,000 lower than the national average.

Andrew Zarivny / Shutterstock.com

How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State

States on either coast might offer a lot in terms of great weather and loads of culture, but they certainly ask a lot in terms of your pocketbook. The 15 states where $100,000 stretches the least in retirement include five states on the Pacific Ocean (Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska). On the East Coast, the worst states for your retirement nest egg are New York, Maryland, District of Columbia and all six of the states that make up New England.

On the other end of the list, it's hard to miss that states from the South and the Midwest have the lowest costs by far. Of the 15 states where your $100,000 in retirement savings goes the furthest, all but one (Wyoming) are in one of those two regions.

More From GOBankingRates

Jordan Rosenfeld and Amen Oyiboke-Osifo contributed to the reporting for this article.

Methodology: In order to find how long $100,000 will last across the country, GOBankingRates first found (1) the national average annual expenditures for people 65 and older, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2021 Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Then, GOBankingRates created (2) state-level annual expenditure estimates by multiplying the national figure by each state's overall cost of living index score for 2022 from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Finally, GOBankingRates found (3) how many years $100,000 will last in each state by dividing $100,000 by each state's average annual expenditures estimate. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were then ranked with No. 1 being the state where $100,000 will last the longest and No. 51 being the state where it will run out most quickly. GOBankingRates provided supplemental information on the average annual cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, and healthcare for people 65 and older in each state by again using MERIC's cost of living indices for each category to factor out national estimates from the CES. All data was collected on and up to date as of February 21, 2023.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Long $100K in Retirement Will Last in Every State
Vivek Ramaswamy at CPAC in Dallas, Texas, on August 5, 2022. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Vivek Ramaswamy alleged that a consultant offered him the chance to buy his way onto a CPAC straw poll.

He claimed the consultant said he would rank second if he paid "a few hundred thousand dollars."

Ramaswamy only received 1% in the unscientific poll, with Donald Trump winning by a large margin.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech millionaire turned longshot candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, claimed on Monday that he was offered the chance of a second-place finish at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll.

The only catch: he'd have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Appearing on Fox Business, Ramaswamy alleged that a consultant called his campaign shortly after he declared his candidacy on February 21.

Ramaswamy alleged that the consultant, who he did not name, said: "Hey, we can get you up to number two on there if you pay a few hundred thousand dollars."

Ramaswamy, who is a relative unknown in what is likely to be a crowded field of Republicans, said he was "shocked."

Asked if he agreed to pay to be placed second in the straw poll, he responded: "Absolutely not."

Ramaswamy, who has never served in political office, received just 1% of the vote in the unscientific straw poll of potential Republican primary candidates. Former President Donald Trump came in first with 62%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump's likely main rival, trailing him in second at 20%.

Perry Johnson, a millionaire from Michigan who announced his candidacy last week, came in third with 5% of the vote. He placed higher than former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Ramaswamy added in a later tweet of the Fox Business exchange that his "#1 promise" would be to expose corruption in the political process.

Insider contacted Ramaswamy asking for further information on the allegation, but did not immediately receive a response.

Story continues

In a statement sent to Insider, CPAC said that "Washington DC is riddled with unscrupulous consultants who make false claims including this one."

It added that "anybody with a rudimentary understanding of politics knows how a straw poll work: it takes organization and/or popularity for a candidate to do well. One thing is enduringly true about presidential politics, it takes both to get to the Oval Office."

According to Politico, a Ramaswamy aide said they recalled the phone call offer. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to provide the name of the consultant, fearing they would face retribution, the media outlet reported.

The aide claimed the consultant offered to "get tickets and bus a bunch of people in for the straw poll" if they paid "upward of $100,000," per Politico.

The aide added: "I was taken aback, because I've never been to CPAC before, and it's very activist driven but I think if any of them knew it was an artificial poll, they'd be pretty pissed about that."

March 7, 2023: This story has been updated with a response from CPAC.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrainian service members inspect a destroyed Russian tank near Kivsharivka village in the Kharkiv region in December. (Sergey Bobok / AFP via Getty Images)

Bound for the battlefield, sounding harried and anxious, the Russian soldier placed a hasty phone call  to a Ukrainian military hotline.

"They say you can help me surrender voluntarily, is that right?" asked the serviceman, explaining that he was soon to be deployed near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

"When Ukrainian soldiers come, do I just kneel down, or what? Do you promise not to film me while this is happening?"

In fluent Russian, the hotline operator calmly assured him hed be given detailed instructions on how to safely lay down his weapon and turn himself in.

"When you get to the front lines, just call us right away," she said.

At a crucial juncture in an extraordinarily bloody war, Ukraines military is focused on one task: removing Russian soldiers from the battlefield. But faced with a foe whose ranks are known to be riddled with unwilling fighters, Ukrainian military strategists realized there might be more than one means to that end.

With that, the I Want to Live outreach was born, aimed at providing invading forces with step-by-step information on how to abandon the ranks. Initially run by Ukrainian police, the program has had a ramped-up, military-operated version in place since mid-September.

Ukrainian soldiers on Sunday fire a self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. (Libkos / Associated Press)

On Russian-language social media, Ukrainians have spread the word about the program's website, intended as a portal for the surrender-curious or their loved ones. It has attracted more than 13.3 million visits  7.6 million of those from Russian territory, organizers said.

Russian soldiers also provide personal data through a chatbot on the encrypted messaging app Telegram  information Ukrainian authorities use to winnow down those who are serious about turning themselves in. The chatbot, together with the hotline, has drawn nearly 10,000 contacts, according to organizers.

Citing security reasons, Ukrainian officials declined to disclose how many surrenders have been brokered via the program. But hotline operators field calls around the clock from Russians who are soon to be mobilized, are in the midst of being deployed or are already on the battlefield. Callers might be jittery or stoic, defensive or remorseful, coolly businesslike or floridly emotional  sometimes all of those in a single conversation.

Story continues

So, this is not fake? one Russian soldier asked.

It is not fake, the Ukrainian operator replied.

The 10-member hotline team, all active-duty service personnel with backgrounds in psychology, is tasked with providing callers with clear, concise instructions, while being alert to signs that the outreach might be a probe by Russian intelligence, meant to elicit information about Ukrainian methods and intentions.

Vitaly Matvienko, spokesperson at the Ukrainian department for prisoners of war, which manages the "I Want to Live" hotline for Russians who wish to surrender. (Pete Kiehart / For the Times)

However tense the backdrop, those dealing directly with would-be surrenderers try to calm them down, said Vitaly Matvienko, a junior lieutenant who serves as spokesman for the program, which is run by the department for prisoners of war.

Hi, Im listening, goes a typically low-key operator salutation in an audio sampling of recent calls provided by the Ukrainian military. In the recordings made public, callers' voices are distorted to shield their identities.

Hotline operators initially worked out of military headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, but were later moved to a secret location because they are now seen as a high-profile potential target, Matvienko said. The military refused to make any operators available for interviews but said they are male and female, a range of ages and all able to chat easily in colloquial Russian.

When it comes to surrenders in the field, both sides are aware that the moment carries enormous risk for all involved, he said.

In general, its a very dangerous process, said Matvienko. But strict protocols, clearly laid out in advance, improve the odds of everyone staying alive.

Russians who want to turn themselves in are told to wave a white cloth, remove the magazines from their guns, point the barrels to the ground and eschew body armor and helmets. They are assured that in the event they want to be sent home in a prisoner swap, their paperwork will reflect that they were captured, not that they gave up voluntarily.

If its a bring-your-own-tank surrender, which happens not infrequently, the turret is to be turned in the opposite direction. If its a group surrender  also a fairly common occurrence, with a Russian squad often fearing retribution from commanders but agreeing to act jointly and surreptitiously  the highest-ranking soldier must identify himself.

The body of a Russian soldier lies amid abandoned positions in Mala Rohan, Ukraine, in May. (Pete Kiehart / For The Times)

If a surrendering soldier runs out of options for separating himself from his unit, the hotline offers help.

"We can coordinate with special units that will extract you safe and sound," one operator told a worried caller.

Like so much in this conflict, the I Want to Live program employs both high-tech methods and simple communication tools.

Russians facing deployment can communicate with the Ukrainian side using the Telegram chatbot, and before leaving for the front, they're urged to procure and hide a basic flip phone  not a smartphone  and use that to call the hotline.

Ukrainians say they've heard from Russian soldiers already on the battlefield who learned of the hotline by word-of-mouth or from a scrawled-on slip of paper passed from hand to hand.

In Russias battle to subdue Ukraine, now in its second year, one of Moscows greatest advantages is the sheer number of troops it can throw into the fight, Western military analysts say  which is why Ukraine is willing to try novel tactics to reduce those numbers.

In addition to the 190,000 Russian soldiers who took part in the initial multipronged invasion that began in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the mobilization of 300,000 more, many of whom are now in Ukraine. And another major mobilization is expected as Russia seeks to mount a spring offensive.

But despite a more than 2-to-1 Russian advantage in its standing military, Moscows faltering performance has been blamed on troop quality, which has deteriorated as the war goes on. Western military observers consistently cite poor morale, substandard training and shambolic supply practices as key factors in a string of Russian battlefield routs last autumn.

In order to snatch a victory of sorts from the jaws of defeat, Putin must now rely on the overwhelming numbers provided by mass mobilization, analyst Peter Dickinson wrote in a report last month for the Atlantic Council. This is a tried and tested Russian tactic, but it also carries considerable risks.

Deploying thousands of untrained soldiers to fight against battle-hardened and highly motivated Ukrainian troops could result in the kind of carnage that breaks armies, he wrote.

At the start of the invasion, some Russian troops apparently believed they would be welcomed by Ukrainians as liberators. But fierce military resistance, coupled with widespread shows of disdain and defiance from civilians, soon disabused them of that notion.

Last autumn's mobilization by Putin prompted a huge exodus of fighting-age men from Russia, with hundreds of thousands settling in Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other nearby countries to avoid being conscripted.

Western analysts say it has become more widely known within Russia that Moscows commanders have scant regard for the lives and welfare of their own troops.

January and February saw an uptick in Russian-language social media postings about harrowing field conditions and chaotic leadership  accounts widely echoed in months of intercepted calls home from deployed Russian troops.

A man who asked to be identified by his call sign, Summer, checks bodies in a refrigerated train used to store the remains of Russian soldiers in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in May. (Pete Kiehart / For The Times)

In mid-February, a British military intelligence assessment said Russian forces were suffering what appeared to be the highest casualty rates since the early weeks of the war  many occurring near the hotly contested town of Bakhmut. While Ukraine has suffered heavy attrition as well, Russia lost exceptionally large numbers of troops and armored vehicles in a failed attempt last month to storm the Ukrainian-held eastern town of Vuhledar  an apparently bungled opening volley in a much-vaunted Russian spring offensive.

Ukrainian officials hope that such setbacks will serve a dual purpose: inflicting a costly defeat, and prompting Russian soldiers to recognize the sometimes suicidal role they are expected to play in human-wave attacks on fortified Ukrainian positions, which have been a recurring feature of recent fighting.

With their own eyes, they see they are nothing more than cannon fodder, Matvienko said. They see one of their comrades being ordered to walk into a minefield to find a path, and he gets blown up, and another is told to go next, and hes blown up too, and on it goes.

Episodes like this, he said, can galvanize a desperate sense of self-preservation.

They realize this is real and not some war movie, he said. And the thought has to occur to them: How do I save myself?

One caller, sounding angry and despairing, used an expletive to describe the prospect of sudden death in battle.

A single mortar shell, and its done, he said. Who needs this war?

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Jeffrey Hatton is escorted out of a courtroom after pleading guilty to a count of aggravated sexual assault of a child in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence.

A 26-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison after admitting to raping a family member more than 10 years ago.

Jeffrey Hatton pleaded guilty to a count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of five years to life in prison.

He initially faced a five-count indictment charging him with two counts of aggravated sexual assault and three counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact.

However, as part of his plea, the remaining counts will be dismissed.

He will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

The case against Hatton began in 2017, when the family member told a counselor that Hatton had been sexually abusing her.

The counselor, a mandatory reporter at the time, contacted Child Protective Services and the Lubbock police department.

By then Hatton was about 19 years old but he was taken into custody as a juvenile and taken to the Lubbock Juvenile Justice Center on a directive to apprehend. He spent a night at the center before he was released.

In 2018, Hatton was certified as an adult and was indicted by a Lubbock County grand jury.

All instances of abuse occurred outside a 30-day window and Hatton would have been charged with a count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, which carries a punishment of 25 years to life in prison without parole. However because those acts happened when he was a juvenile, this prevented prosecutors from filing that charge, despite being certified as an adult.

The investigation revealed Hatton abused the girl for years.

"The Lubbock police department did a very thorough investigation in this case," said prosecutor Cara Landers after the plea hearing. "They were able to gather enough information to help substantiate the outcry by the victim and to help support her in this case. She is one of the strongest people I've ever met and we're hopeful that this in some way allows the family to move forward and to achieve closure."

Story continues

Hatton's attorney, Charles Blevins, declined to comment.

Lander's said at the time the girl made her outcry, certain professions including counselors, teachers and clergy were designated under Texas law as mandatory reporters who were legally obligated to report outcries of child abuse to authorities.

That law has since changed to include all adults.

"It's a class A misdemeanor to fail to report suspected child abuse," Landers said. "And that if you know (that a child is being sexually abused), you have a duty to report."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock man pleads guilty to sexually abusing family member for years
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko believes that Ukraine has challenged Belarus with the "sabotage" of the A-50 radar plane at Machulishchy airfield, and he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "louse" for this.



Source: Belarusian state-owned national news agency BelTA



Quote: "There is only one conclusion. I used to think that Ukraine needed peace, and that Zelenskyy was rooting for his people. President Zelenskyy is just a louse. Just a louse! Such operations are not carried out without the approval of the country's leader and commander-in-chief. I am telling you this as the president.

He's a louse because he runs around Belarus, sends people to us, and asks, as I said before: Let's sign a non-aggression pact, let's make a deal, we have no problems with you.

To which I said: We're not going to attack. No, let's sign a treaty under the auspices of the United Nations that you will not attack us. You heard me make all these statements. And at this time... Well, the challenge has been thrown.

If they expect, I know that they want to drag us into a war at the behest of the Americans; if you think that by throwing this challenge you will drag us into a war tomorrow, which is already going on all over Europe today, you are mistaken."

Details: Lukashenko said that Ukraine trained the "terrorist" and the Belarusians conducted a brilliant operation and "in some four, five days" were able to identify all his accomplices and detain those in Belarus.

At the same time, he is convinced that "we cannot relax in any way".

Quote: "I want to emphasise once again, especially to the local scoundrels and those who escaped: they have all been identified, and we will find them, there, abroad. And to the fugitives, I repeat: get ready, we are coming for you. And do not howl. And do not post in these messengers. We have strong nerves, we know what to do."

Story continues

Background:

On 26 February, explosions occurred at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus in the morning. Later, there was information that a Russian A-50 military aircraft was damaged.

Alexander Azarov, Head of the BYPOL initiative, reported that Belarusian partisans were involved in sabotage at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus. According to Azarov, the participants of the alleged sabotage in Machulishchy had left Belarus and are now safe.

After the explosion, the entourage of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus claimed that the A-50 was fine and posted allegedly "fresh videos", although the military monitoring media outlet Belaruski Hajun reported that the Russian aircraft flew to Taganrog, Russia, for repairs.

Andrii Yusov, representative of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, said that Russia cannot currently produce A-50 AWACS aircraft, one of which was probably damaged at the Belarusian Machulishchy airbase.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has said that Belarus had detained an alleged "terrorist of the Ukrainian secret services" and his accomplices, who were "involved in an attempted sabotage of an A-50 aircraft at the Machulishchy airfield". Earlier, Lukashenko did not admit that anything had happened in Machulishchy.

Source: Belarusian state-owned national news agency BelTA



Quote: "The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the CIA leadership are either working on the side or behind the back of the Republic of Belarus. A terrorist has been trained. He is a Russian with a Russian passport and a Ukrainian passport.

He was born in Kryvyi Rih and lived in Crimea. Some relatives are in Austria; some stayed in Kyiv. He was recruited by the Ukrainian Secret Service in 2014, I think. He is an IT specialist or well versed in IT technologies. He was preparing to commit terrorist acts."

Details: Lukashenko said that the saboteur was "trained" by the SSU and used "the highest technologies".

Quote: "What we saw when we implemented the operation in Belarus was really something incredible. The highest technologies were involved. He learned all this in more than one month. After training, he was routed [as the Belarusian KGB says] to our territory."

Lukashenko also expectedly blamed Kyiv for everything. As the self-proclaimed Belarusian president states, the "operation" originates from the Ukrainian capital.

According to Lukashenko, the "saboteur" chose the route "Warsaw  Brest, Warsaw  Lodz  Riga  Pskov, and then Minsk".

Quote: "I won't go into detail about how the instruments of crime, these drones, were transferred. They chose a small drone. Because if they had used a large one, our surveillance systems would have tracked it, of course.

But we established that this small Chinese-made drone, which is also sold in our stores, was sold in the United States (this Chinese drone), and then it was brought back to Ukraine. And in Ukraine, these two drones were used, this person was trained, and others helped him."

Story continues

Details: Lukashenko continues to insist that the Russian aircraft did not suffer any significant damage other than "scratches and one hole in the hull".

Quote: "We showed you this plane. As I was told, it even met the president [Lukashenko  ed.] when I was returning from Beijing. However, we asked the Russians to take this plane for maintenance and send us another one. That's what happened."

Background:



On 26 February, explosions occurred at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus in the morning. Later, there was information that a Russian A-50 military aircraft was damaged.

Alexander Azarov, Head of the BYPOL initiative, reported that Belarusian partisans were involved in sabotage at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus. According to Azarov, the participants of the alleged sabotage in Machulishchy had left Belarus and are now safe.

After the explosion, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus' entourage claimed that the A-50 was fine and posted allegedly "fresh videos", although the military monitoring media outlet Belaruski Hajun reported that the Russian aircraft flew to Taganrog, Russia, for repairs.

Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, said that Russia cannot currently produce A-50 AWACS aircraft, one of which was probably damaged at the Belarusian Machulishchy airbase.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Lake County treasurer Holly Kim at the beginning of one of her TikTok videos, which feature self-deprecating jokes and a "behind-the-scenes" look at life in local politics. (- Original Credit: News-Sun (Holly Kim / HANDOUT))

Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim has ventured to an online frontier where few American politicians have dared to dip their toes: TikTok.

The social media platform has more than 100 million American users and has elicited the fear and ire of politicians in Congress, facing skeptics in Illinois, too. Unlike the detractors, many of them up in there in years and unaware of the fun theyre missing, Kim is all-in on TikTok.

Advertisement

A former social media manager, the 42-year-old Mundelein resident sees TikTok  where users create and share short videos garnished with a wide variety of sounds and imagery spliced from music, movies and even memes  as the best venue through which to engage the emerging crowd of voting young adults and teens that make up Generation Z.

Almost 40% of TikTok users are between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, a January Statista report found, and thats plenty enough for Kim to know its where she needs to be to reach that group.

Advertisement

Kim deploys multi-demographic campaigning using traditional methods like door-knocking and sending mailers, but the ability of such methods to reach younger folks drops off the face of the planet.

Even a text campaign, like, theyre not going to text you, Kim said. Theyre texting their friends on Discord and Snapchat, theyre not text texting. Good luck with a robocall, and theyre not who the mailers are going to. And so its like, what avenues do you have for that demographic that is now voting? And they are an organized powerhouse.

So, the self-described nerdly Democrat launched her TikTok channel as part of her detailed campaign social media strategy, where Kim regularly updates followers about the treasurers office, county politics and the ups and downs of daily life. Kims 5,000 Facebook followers dwarf her TikTok following of just over 600, but the audience is growing steadily thanks in part to consistent content, the ability to share videos across platforms and the apps algorithm.

Help, Mom made a TikTok!

Kims oldest son, Cal Ning, wasnt exactly over the moon he found out his mom had joined the platform.

When she first told me, I was like, What?! Cal told the News-Sun. Usually, having your parents on TikTok is like this thing, like, Oh my goodness, my mom is on TikTok.

But once Kims children started to digest the content and observe how she was taking her jokes and quips about local politics to a new audience, and how her channel was popping up on friends feeds, they saw the vision behind her leap onto the platform.

Cal, whos been on and off TikTok as his interest swells and wanes, said friends started letting him know what he was missing on his moms channel.

Advertisement

 (Friends) tell me about it, Cal said. If I havent seen it right away, if I havent seen my mom that day yet theyll be like, Oh my gosh I saw your mom on my For You page!

Sometimes, Kim taps her kids to help showcase the behind-the-scenes life of a local politician, like one video with more than 1,500 views showing Kim bursting into Cals room wearing different shirts for political groups, asking, Hey, do you want to go to a rally?

Quirky interactions with her kids makes for interesting fodder, but Kims life as a local TikTok politico also includes editing Gary Glitters Rock n Roll over videos of the governor and other area elected officials at groundbreaking ceremonies and recaps of other political events.

Its interesting to see how my mom incorporates it into what she does, Cal said. Honestly, Ive learned a couple of the local shops and places like that because of my moms TikToks.

Boom, roasted

Beware, Lake County political hopefuls, or you may be a blunder away from finding yourself as the subject of Kims meme-making abilities.

Advertisement

Take the example of a Mundelein trustee candidate who recently came under fire for his comments about Asian people being smarter than others in a joint interview with the Daily Herald.

Kim pasted the storys lead and looped music from a once-viral YouTube public service announcement campaign promoting rail safety called Dumb Ways To Die, slapped a quick tank your political aspirations caption over the loop and warned followers with a #dontdothis hashtag.

All is fair in love, war and local politics.

That applies to self-deprecation, too, a practice Kim honed in real life before taking it to her social media pages.

TikTok fiction, Kim wrote in a recent video, Everyone knows Im on time. #running late #events.

The video shows Kim lying in bed before receiving a text about an event she was supposed to be in attendance at, then dashing in a sped-up, cartoonish fashion to get dressed for work and make the photo op.

Advertisement

Another recently uploaded municipal election-themed video touts the start date for early voting this spring with a choose your character sound bite from the popular Super Smash Bros video game franchise as Kim depicts characters vying to serve on school, library, park and city or village boards.

Its a given that Lake County politicians are constantly working on bringing more residents  voters  into their online folds through regular content on mediums like Facebook, and even Instagram and Twitter. Its not rare to hear, as Kim echoed, that politicians have to be where people are.

Social-wise, Kim said, I encourage others, too, youve got to be where the people are.

Other area politicians, including at least one Republican, and newly elected state representative Nabeela Syed, D-Inverness have dabbled on TikTok, but Kim is the standard-bearer. Her approach boils down to a hypothesis that voters, especially younger people, are sick of traditional campaigning methods from politicians.

Being on TikTok, where users sometimes go viral for sharing personal and embarrassing stories, or just for doing fun dance routines, provides a lot of relatability to younger people and a chance to differentiate yourself as a candidate and political voice, Kim said.

Oh, vote for me and heres why, blah, blah, nobody wants to hear that, Kim said. They want to know everything you stand for, but not like that. If there are digestible snacks in ways they can understand and hear it, then people are really receptive.

Advertisement

I think a lot of (politicians) are still kind of afraid, but Ive toed into it, Kim added. I actually really enjoy the madness because I grew up on the internet. I love memes, I make memes and so this is like a step up.

She closed by playfully leveling a challenge at political rivals and allies.

Im a little lonely, she said, so if all of the other elected officials could get on TikTok, Id really appreciate it.

Cal cracked a laugh when asked about his moms observation about being herself TikTok without ruining her political career.

My mom is already goofy and shows how she is in real life on other social media platforms, Cal said. And on TikTok, its just added to that a little bit.
Idris Elba as John Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun. (John Wilson/Netflix)

The last time we encountered Idris Elba as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, he was cuffed up and under arrest for a multitude of murders, for which he was, in fact, completely innocent.

As cliffhangers go, the end of Luther Season 5 was a doozy, and now  four years on  were to finally find out what happened after that dramatic series five closer, with the release of the long-promised Luther feature film The Fallen Sun on Netflix today.

Read more: Idris Elba really doesn't want to play James Bond

But how did we get to that point? To prep you for Luthers inaugural big-screen adventure, heres the story so far, from that very first TV episode in May 2010 to his final terrestrial outing on 4 January 2019

Luther: Season one | 2010

When we first meet maverick cop DCI John Luther (Idris Elba), hes working for Londons Serious Crime Unit and separated from his wife, Zoe (Indira Varma), whos now shacked up with new beau, Mark (Paul McGann).

Unlike later series, season one pits Luther against a different antagonist each episode, including a Satanist who kidnaps women and drains them of their blood, a former army sniper whos targeting random civilians and a serial killer who robs his victims of their jewellery.

But threaded through those six episodes is Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), an icy, Oxford-educated psychopath who develops a close, quasi-romantic relationship with our rule-bending hero. The season climaxes with Luthers colleague, DCI Ian Reed (Steven Mackintosh), murdering Zoe, before being gunned down by Alice. Cue Nina Simones Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood.

Luther: Season two | 2011

Luthers second series jettisoned the episodic format, and was made up instead of two two-part stories. In the first, Luther is tasked with finding a Punch mask-wearing serial killer (Lee Ingleby) who bases himself on the 19th century folkloric figure Spring-Heeled Jack, while at the same time attempting to rescue a teenage girl (Aimee-Ffion Edwards) from the world of organised crime.

Story continues

Read more: First look at the Luther movie

In the second story, a set of twins (both played by Steven Robertson) begin a series of random attacks, deciding their victims fate on the roll on a dice (its Luthers computer whizz colleague Benny Silver who makes the role-playing game association).

Alice, meanwhile, starts the series incarcerated at a mental institution, but escapes when a visiting Luther wedges a keycard into an apple and lobs it over the wall. Later, she tells Luther shes leaving the country for Mexico. Hasta luego!

Luther: Season three | 2013

Another run of four episodes, made up of two double-parters. In the first story, Luther finds himself on the trail of a murderer who, it turns out, is being manipulated by a now ageing serial killer, while in the second, our hero is assigned to hunt a vigilante killer, Tom Marwood (Elliot Cowan), who targets criminals whom he believes deserve to die.

While all this is going on, DS Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) is co-opted into an investigation into Luthers, lets say unconventional policing methods, before hes popped by Marwood. The series ends with a returning Alice stabbing Marwood in the neck before absconding.

Luther: Season four | 2015

Just one two-part story this time. Several months on from the end of series three, Luther is lying low in a rundown shack on the coast, before hes drawn back into policing when a cannibalistic serial killer (John Heffernan), suffering from Cotard syndrome (thats a condition where someone holds the belief that theyre actually dead), begins a murder spree.

At the same time, Luther is told that Alice Morgan is dead, and discovers that an organised crime boss named George Cornelius (Patrick Malahide) was instrumental in her death.

Luther: Season five | 2019

Luthers final season, screened over four nights in January 2019, looked very much like a full stop. In it, Luther finds himself investigating a man (Enzo Cilenti) who leads a respectable life as a surgeon by day, but by night is a ruthless killer, aided in his crimes by his psycho psychologist wife (Hermione Norris). But our favourite DCI also has to contend with George Cornelius, who blames Luther for the kidnap of his son, who it turns out has been abducted by Alice Morgan  who wasnt dead after all. Quelle surprise!

Read more: Luther creator responds to BBC diversity chief claims

Cornelius hires a hitman who kills Luthers long-time buddy Benny (Michael Smiley) only for George to shoot the assassin dead, framing Luther for the murder. The series ends with Alice falling to her apparent death and Luther under arrest.

Luther: The Fallen Sun | 2023

Idris Elba as John Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun. (John Wilson/Netflix)

And so here we are. Four years after being led away in cuffs, John Luther is back for his first feature film. Penned by series creator Neil Cross and directed by Jamie Payne (who helmed all four episodes of season five), Luther: The Fallen Sun begins with our hero in the clink, while London finds itself terrorised by yet another serial killer, someone that Netflixs official synopsis describes as a cyber psychopath (Andy Serkis).

When I first read the script I literally wanted to have a shower, the Gollum actor told Good Morning Britain recently. It was one of the darkest parts I've ever been offered and I did almost consider not doing it.

It's so well directed, he went on. For people who loved the TV series, this is on an elevated, bigger scale of that.

What the critics think of Luther: The Fallen Sun

Evening Standard: It's good to have Idris Elba's crime-fighter back (3 min read)

Independent: Netflix film makes a good case for Idris Elba as the next Batman (3 min read)

Digital Spy: Luther: The Fallen Sun is more of the same  for better and worse (3 min read)

We always knew that season five was the end of DCI John Luther, Neil Cross told Zavvi recently. He couldnt get his badge back after that, which meant there had to be a new dynamic in place for the movie.

Even though Luther wont be a DCI in this, rest easy, the trench coat is back, as is his former boss (and one of the few Luther regulars who isnt now dead), Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley). So although this wont quite be the Luther of old, with its gritty London locations and grisly serial killer baddie, this is still very much the Luther weve all grown to love since 2010.

Roll on the sequel.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is streaming on Netflix now. Watch a trailer below.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney is working on a new documentary about Elon Musk, the multi-billionaire tech entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter.

Musk will be a definitive and unvarnished examination of the worlds richest man, and Gibney said: I have been working on this film, off and on, for some time and am hugely excited about it. I am delighted by this extraordinary group who are working with me. Onward!

Gibney won an Academy Award for his 2007 film Taxi to the Dark Side, which focused on the December 2002 killing of an Afghan driver named Dilawar, who was beaten to death by American soldiers while being held in extrajudicial detention and interrogated at a black site at Bagram air base.

He has also made the documentaries Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine.

Gibneys Musk comes after the BBC series The Elon Musk Show, which included interviews with the controversial businessmans family, friends and employees. Read The Independents three-star review here.

This month, a BBC investigation found that Twitter is struggling to protect users from online abuse and child sexual exploitation due to changes made since Musks takeover.

BBC Panoramas report cited figures from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue think tank that showed that tens of thousands of new accounts have popped up and immediately followed known abusive and misogynistic profiles since Musk took the reigns.
Taylor Swift didn't wear red lipstick until an Allure photo shoot in March 2009.

Her makeup artist told Elle Australia she had to ask Swift's mom permission to use red lipstick.

Swift apparently loved the look so much that the artist gifted her a tube to take home with her.

Taylor Swift hasn't always had that "red lip, classic thing" that fans like.

In fact, it took until March 2009 for the pop superstar to claim her iconic look.

Swift had just released her hit album, "Fearless," and the 19-year-old was gearing up for The Fearless Tour, her first-ever headlining run.

Swift had signed on to do a cover with Allure that same month. Her makeup artist for the shoot, Gucci Westman  founder of the clean beauty brand Westman Atelier  claims she helped Swift venture into the world of the red lip.

"Yeah, I've worked [with Taylor Swift], many times," Westman recently told Elle Australia. "I haven't worked with her in quite a while but I used to work with her, and I remember I was the first one to give her a red lip."

Westman recalled the Allure shoot and said she had to ask Swift's mom, Andrea Swift, for special permission to use the bold color.

"She'd never worn a red lip," Westman told Elle. "When the red lip happened, I had to get permission by her mom."

At the time, Westman said Swift's management told her that "Taylor doesn't do red."

"Well, Taylor needs to try red," Westman said she countered.

An Allure article about the shoot explains that Westman was trying to give Swift "an updated Vargas-girl look, with a strong mouth and beautiful skin." Westman finished the look with "mauve blush, brown eye shadow, black mascara, and vivid red lipstick."

Swift apparently loved the red lipstick so much that Westman gave her a tube of her own to take home, launching a recognizable look that has carried on throughout Swift's career.

Taylor Swift performs during the Fearless Tour at Madison Square Garden on August 27, 2009 in New York City. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Red lipstick has since become synonymous with Swift's aesthetic since that fateful Allure shoot.

She kicked off the Fearless Tour shortly after in April 2009, where she immediately took to showcasing her new red-lip look.

Story continues

Despite the many costume changes throughout the show each night, one thing remained constant: The red lipstick.

Taylor Swift performs during the Fearless Tour at Madison Square Garden on August 27, 2009 in New York City. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Swift has since worn red lipstick to major events like the Grammys, in music videos like "Shake It Off," and on several album covers, including "Red," "1989," and "Midnights."

She has also referenced the look many times in her lyrics, starting with the "Red" deluxe track "The Moment I Knew" ("In red lipstick with no one to impress").

This imagery appears most often throughout "1989," in "Blank Space" ("Cherry lips, crystal skies"), "Wildest Dreams" ("Red lips and rosy cheeks"), and "Style" ("I've got that red lip, classic thing that you like"), among others.

Most recently, she mentioned red lips in "Maroon," the second track on her newest album "Midnights" ("The lips I used to call home / So scarlet, it was maroon").

Read the original article on Insider
Federal charges have been filed against a man accused of attacking a flight attendant and trying to open a plane's emergency exit door on a weekend flight to Boston.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was on board a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles when a flight attendant believed he had tried to tamper with the emergency exit door, according to the U.S. attorney's office for Massachusetts.

About 45 minutes before landing at Boston Logan International Airport, crew members were alerted that the "starboard side door" had been disarmed, the federal prosecutor's office said. A flight attendant who inspected the door noticed the handle had been moved toward the unlocked position.

The attendant, who was not identified, secured the handle and went to notify fellow crew members. Another attendant noted that Torres had been by the door earlier and suspected he might have tampered with it, federal officials said.

"A flight attendant then confronted Torres about tampering with the door, to which he allegedly responded by asking if there were cameras showing that he had done so," the prosecutor's office said.

The captain was notified that Torres might pose a threat to the flight and asked to land as soon as possible. Torres later approached the same door as two flight attendants stood near it, according to the prosecutor's office.

"Torres then allegedly thrust towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck area three times," the prosecutor's office said.

Passengers tackled Torres and helped the crew restrain him until the plane landed, when he was taken into custody.

The airline said no injuries were reported.

Passengers interviewed after the flight landed told authorities that Torres had asked someone about where the door handle was on the plane's safety card, the prosecutor's office said.

Video recorded from inside the plane and shared with NBC News shows a man yelling that if he were shot by authorities he would not die. He later enters the aisl, says he is taking over the plane and appears to attack a flight attendant near the front before others subdue him.

Story continues

Torres has been charged with a count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. Federal court records weren't immediately available for Torres on Monday, and it's unclear whether he has retained an attorney.

Torres is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

United Airlines praised the quick actions of its crew and passengers in restraining Torres.

"We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation," the airline said. "We are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A man from Maui, Hawaii, who refers to himself as Dolphin Dave, is accused of harassing humpback whales and dolphins in Hawaii.

This weekend, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) received an influx of calls about a man "pursuing a humpback whale," on the big island, the department said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The suspect was identified as 65-year-old David Jimenez, who was allegedly seen snorkeling close to a humpback whale in Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park on Sunday, DLNR said.

The video that allegedly shows Jimenez with the whale appears to have been filmed under water by himself. / Credit: Hawaii DLNR

The department shared a video on social media that appears to have been filmed under water by Jimenez himself. He is seen swimming close to the whale, reaching out and nearly touching its fin.

When the department's enforcement division arrived on the scene, Jimenez was near a pod of dolphins. A responding officer recorded Jimenez allegedly pursing the pod and leading a group to chase the animals.

At one point in the video, Jimenez appears to extend his hand toward the whale, nearly touching it. / Credit: Hawaii DLNR

Jimenez is known as "Dolphin Dave" on Facebook, where he shares dolphin-inspired art.

When asked about the incident, Jimenez told officers "he's not going to stop swimming with whales and dolphins, 'because it's magical and others do much worse things,'" the department said.

He was cited for allegedly violating two Hawaii Administrative Rules  one that protects endangered whale species, and another that prevents the harassment of wildlife in a state parks. He is set to appear in court in May.

CBS News has reached out to Hawaii DLNR and Jimenez for further comment and is awaiting response.

Several animals in Hawaii are protected under the several federal and state laws, according to DLNR. Under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, humpback whales are protected, and other Hawaii state laws protected endangered, threatened and indigenous species like other whales, seals and many different types of dolphins.

While humpback whales were once considered endangered  and many populations around the world still are classified as endangered or threatened  they are not considered at risk in Hawaii, according to NOAA. Still, they are at risk of harassment from boats, particularly because they often swim close to shore and attract whale-watching tours.

Story continues

NOAA advises whale watches to keep a safe distance and do not touch the whales.

How small business owners can save this tax season

Interest rates "likely to be higher," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell tells lawmakers

2 kidnapped Americans found dead in Mexico, 2 found alive, officials say
HOUSTON (AP)  A Texas inmate is facing scheduled execution Tuesday evening for fatally stabbing his estranged wife and drowning her 6-year-old daughter in a bathtub nearly 14 years ago.

Gary Green, 51, is set to receive a lethal injection for the September 2009 deaths of Lovetta Armstead, 32, and her daughter, Jazzmen Montgomery, at their home in Dallas.

The girl's father, Ray Montgomery, said he is not cheering for Greens execution but sees it as the justice system at work.

Its justice for the way my daughter was tortured. Its justice for the way that Lovetta was murdered, Montgomery said.

As of late Tuesday morning, Greens attorneys had not filed any appeals seeking to stop his execution at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas. His attorney did not return several calls and emails seeking comment.

In prior appeals, Greens attorneys claimed he was intellectually disabled and has had a lifelong history of psychiatric disorders.

These impairments likely rendered (Green) unable to form the requisite intent to commit capital murder, Greens attorneys wrote in 2018.

Those appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower appeals courts.

The high court has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually disabled, but not for people with serious mental illness.

Authorities said Green killed the two after Armstead sought to annul their marriage.

On the day of the killings, Armstead had written two letters to Green, telling him that although she loved him, she had to do whats best for me.

In his own letter, which was angry and rambling, Green expressed the belief that Armstead and her children were involved in a plot against him.

You asked to see the monster so here he is the monster you made me ... They will be 5 lives taken today me being the 5th, Green wrote.

Armstead was stabbed more than two dozen times while Green drowned Jazzmen in the homes bathtub.

Authorities said Green also intended to kill Armsteads two other children, then 9-year-old Jerrett and 12-year-old Jerome. Green stabbed the younger boy but both survived.

Story continues

Told (Green) because were too little to die and we wont tell anybody about it, the 9-year-old told jurors in testimony about how he convinced Green to spare their lives.

Josh Healy, one of the prosecutors with the Dallas County District Attorneys Office that convicted Green, said the boys were incredibly brave.

Green was an evil guy. It was one of the worst cases Ive ever been a part of, said Healy, who is now a defense attorney in Dallas.

Montgomery said he still has a close relationship with Armsteads two sons. He said both lead productive lives and one has a daughter who looks like Jazzmen.

They still suffer a lot I think, said Montgomery, who is a special education English teacher.

In recent years, Montgomery and Jerome Armstead have participated in domestic violence seminars. Montgomery said hes tried to help other people recognize the signs of domestic violence, signs he didnt see before Lovetta Armstead and his daughter were killed.

Just being able to go out and help and spread awareness has been like therapy to me, he said.

Montgomery, who is a deacon at his church in Dallas, said hes continued to live his life like his daughter is still here, including throwing her a party every birthday. He also had a high school graduation party for her, including a parade at her gravesite and a backyard barbecue with family.

That was my way of dealing with it, to make it feel like shes still here. I prayed over her grave one day and I told her I would never let her name die down, Montgomery said.

Greens execution is the first of two scheduled in Texas this week. Another inmate, Arthur Brown Jr., is set to be executed Thursday.

Green would be the fourth inmate in Texas and the eighth in the U.S. put to death this year.

Green is one of six Texas death row inmates who are part of a lawsuit seeking to stop the states prison system from using what they allege are expired and unsafe execution drugs. Despite a civil court judge in Austin preliminarily agreeing with the claims, three of the inmates have been executed this year. ___ Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/juanlozano70.
A man has been arrested in connection with a deadly daylight shooting at an apartment complex in Boston over the weekend, law enforcement officials announced Tuesday.

Austin Dillon, 36, of Dorchester, is expected to be arraigned Roxbury District Court on charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm after one person was killed in a shooting at an apartment building on Weaver Way in the citys Roxbury neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, according to the Boston Police Department.

Officers assigned to the Boston Police Fugitive Unit nabbed Dillon on a murder warrant in the area of Razella Street on Monday night.

Emergency crews responding to a report of a shooting at the apartment building around 3:30 p.m. found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The man, whose name hasnt been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fatal shooting marks the latest of eight homicides in the city since the start of 2023.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact Boston Police Homicide Detectives 617-343-4470.

An investigation remains ongoing.

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
Editors Note: This content contains information about sexual assault of a child. If you know or suspect that anyone under 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas child abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400. To learn more about how to identify signs of child abuse or neglect, click here.

A convicted pedophile will spend life in prison plus 220 years.

Graf

Peter Arnold-Brooks Graf was convicted Thursday on a single count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, two counts of indecency with a child and nine counts related to child pornography.

More:Archer County man convicted of multiple child sex crimes

Seventy-Eighth District Court Judge Meredith Kennedy on Monday sentenced him to life in prison for the sexual assault conviction and 20 years in prison on each of the other convictions. She made the sentences consecutive.

Graf was arrested in May 2018 for incidents involving a 10-year-old child that initially came to light in February 2016. Detectives learned in their investigation of crimes against multiple underaged children. When they reviewed digital devices, they found thousands of nude images of a child, including images where the child was in positions that displayed their genitals "lewdly." The images also showed a younger victim who was 1 or 2 years old at the time the photos were taken.

This shows again our commitment of locking up those who prey on children in our community, Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie said. I am proud of the work that our Special Victims Unit Chief Brooke Robb did in going after this child molester with a vengeance.

We applaud Judge Meredith Kennedy for stacking the sentence and sending the message that each act of child sexual abuse deserved its own punishment, Dobie Kosub, First Assistant District Attorney, said. This monster will never see life out of prison again, nor will he ever be able to harm another child.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Man found guilty of child sex charges get life sentence
Troy Police Department

An Illinois coroner has confirmed that a man reported missing last April only to be found eight months later in a hideaway closet in his own house had committed suicide.

Richard Maedge, 53, disappeared on April 27 last year after phoning his wife, Jennifer, to tell her that he was leaving work early. She got home to find his Dodge Durango parked outside their house in Troy and his keys and wallet inside, but he was nowhere to be seen.

She immediately reported him missing but a police search of the house found nothing, as did a second search after she complained about a bad smell in the building.

On Dec. 11, as she was decorating the Christmas tree, Jennifer Maedge went to look for decorations in a storage area behind a clothes cupboard under a staircaseand found her husbands body.

Thats when I discovered him, she told the St. Louis Dispatch at the time. He had committed suicide.

That verdict was confirmed last week by the Madison County Coroners Office after toxicology tests and a physical examination of the mummified remains.

Although the family was able to give Maedge a proper funeral, almost eight months after his suicide, the family says the police investigation was half-hearted and shoddy.

Mistakes were made, and I want answers, said Maedges sister, Marilyn Toliver, after his funeral. If it means filing a complaint and going all the way to the governor, I will.... I should have been screaming from the beginning, but I was suckered in by the police department saying they were doing their job and looking for him.

One possible explanation for Maedges suicide was that he and Marilyn had been involved in a battle with another sister for guardianship of their dementia-stricken father, who died in August.

Stung by the familys accusations, Troy Police Chief Brent Shownes issued a statement last week, reported by the Belleville News-Democrat, listing all the steps his force had taken to find the missing manincluding no fewer than three searches of the house with specialist officers and cadaver dogs, searches around surrounding areas, and multiple interviews with family members.

Story continues

Officers investigating Maedges disappearance described the house as a hoarder home, making their search that much harder.

Another issue appears to have been that although family members, neighbors, and even the mailman, complained of a sewer-like or ammonia-like smell around the home, it was never that strongand appeared to disappear entirely after a plumber visited and capped off a sewage pipe in the basement.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Phoenix police.

A mother has died after a knife-wielding man suspected of injuring her and another woman was fatally shot by responding officers on Monday evening in south Phoenix.

Officers responding to multiple domestic violence calls after 6 p.m. arrived at a home near 41st Avenue and Alta Vista Road. They found an elderly woman in front of the house with injuries, Phoenix police spokeswoman Sgt. Melissa Soliz said Monday night. The officers found another injured woman, identified as 40-year-old Monica Castro, near the inside of the doorway on her knees with a man, identified as 40-year-old Anthony Castro, kneeling behind her with a knife in each hand, Soliz said.

Witnesses heard officers make multiple commands to Anthony Castro before they shot him, according to Soliz. He did not comply with commands to drop the items he was holding while "hiding" behind Monica Castro, police said.

At least one officer discharged his weapon and no officers were injured in the incident, Soliz said.

Police learned Monica and Anthony Castro's three children, between ages 9 and 14, were walking around the neighborhood and asking for help, Soliz said. The children were uninjured, Soliz added.

The woman was taken to a hospital and was in extremely critical condition Tuesday night but police later said she died. The elderly woman, who is Anthony Castro's grandmother, was released from the hospital, Soliz said.

"As part of our transparency protocol a critical incident briefing video will be released within 14 days," read a statement from Phoenix police on Tuesday.

Law enforcement officers shot at least four people in Maricopa County in January, according to information from the Maricopa County Attorneys Office.

A six-month analysis by The Arizona Republic revealed police statewide not only shot people more times in the first half of 2021 than they did in the same time span the past two years, but more of those shootings were fatal.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Woman dies in stabbing; suspect with knife killed by Phoenix police
Pueblo County Sheriff deputies and Pueblo West firefighters responded to the scene of an explosion and house fire on May 5, 2020.

A 42-year-old Pueblo man has pleaded guilty to four federal charges in connection with a May 5, 2020, explosion and fire at a Pueblo West home that was reportedly caused by an illegal butane hash oil operation.

Jeremiah Bo Bryant pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Denver last week to four felony charges including manufacture of a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance, maintaining drug-involved premises and creating a substantial risk of harm to human life while illegally manufacturing controlled substances, according to Pueblo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Gayle Perez.

Sheriff deputies initially responded to a home at 994 S. Tierra Buena on the report of an explosion. When they arrived, the homes attached garage was on fire and Pueblo West firefighters responded to put out the fire.

Pueblo County Sheriffs Office detectives investigated the cause of the fire and determined it was the result of an explosion caused by an illegal butane hash oil operation set up in the garage and a back room of the rental home. Detectives executed a search warrant and recovered evidence of a hash oil manufacturing operation that reportedly included tubs of marijuana product, hash oil and extensive equipment used in the making of butane hash oil, including several butane tanks.

Investigators alleged the hash oil operation was used to produce vape cartridges. Because of the explosion, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration was called in to assist with the investigation and federal charges were pursued, Perez said.

The home was condemned by the Pueblo Regional Building Authority. At the time, then-Sheriff Kirk Taylor said with the extent of the damage to the home, "this couldve been a lot worse for not only the resident, but for the neighbors. Taylor said it was a very volatile situation because of the butane.

Bryant was not immediately arrested because he suffered burns during the incident and had to be hospitalized for treatment. He has since recovered and was arrested in April on a federal warrant.

Story continues

The warrant was issued as the result of a November 2021 grand jury indictment, Perez said.

Bryant entered the guilty pleas as part of a plea agreement and to avoid trial. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

I commend the investigative work of our detectives, who in partnership with the DEA did a great job on this case which ultimately led to the federal grand jury indictment and this guilty plea, said Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero.

More explosion news:Pueblo West home condemned after hash-oil lab explodes

Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Man pleads guilty in Pueblo West explosion of illegal hash oil lab
Firefighters rescued a 23-year-old man who was swept away by fast-moving storm runoff in the Pacoima Wash on Tuesday morning. (KTLA-TV Channel 5)

A 23-year-old homeless man swept away by fast-moving storm runoff in the concrete-lined Pacoima Wash was rescued from the flood control channel Tuesday morning, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The man, who was described as hypothermic and not terribly communicative after being rescued from 3-foot-deep water moving 8 to 10 mph, had been carried 2.5 miles from San Fernando to Pacoima, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the LAFD. He fell into the water near Foothill Boulevard and was rescued near Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

More than 100 firefighters were deployed in the rescue effort, he said.

The man was hospitalized in "fair condition for treatment of hypothermia and abrasions to his hands," according to the LAFD.

Bystanders did the right thing by alerting authorities and staying out of the dangerous water, Humphrey said, adding that often times people attempt to rescue and they become victims.

After historic winter storms dumped several feet of snow on California's mountains in recent weeks, another atmospheric river forecast to hit the state this week has raised significant concern about flooding and structural damage.

Warm rain is expected to fall on top of the state's near-record snowpack, which can melt the snow too quickly and cause major runoff issues at lower elevations.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
In a statement Monday, United Airlines praised the "quick action of our crew and customers" and said the company was working with law enforcement. Above, a United jet in New Jersey. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

A man tried to open an emergency exit door and stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon on a Los Angeles-to-Boston flight Sunday, prosecutors said.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, was arrested Sunday at Boston Logan International Airport, the Department of Justice said in a statement Monday.

Torres, of Leominster, Mass., was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.

The alleged incident took place on United Airline Flight 2609, which left Sunday morning from Los Angeles International Airport.

About 45 minutes before landing in Boston, flight crew were notified that one of the planes door was disarmed, according to a complaint filed in federal court in Massachusetts on Monday.

The starboard side doors locking handle had been moved out of the locked position, and an emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the disarmed position, according to prosecutors.

Torres was seen around the door, prosecutors said, and a flight attendant confronted him. Torres asked the flight attendant if a camera had captured him tampering with the door, according to the complaint.

Then, Torres got out of his seat, and thrust towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion. He hit the attendant on the neck three times, prosecutors said.

Passengers tackled Torres and helped restrain him. Torres was immediately taken into custody upon the flights arrival to Boston, prosecutors said.

In an interview with police, Torres said he went into the bathroom and broke a spoon in half to make a weapon, according to the complaint. He also said that he disarmed the door.

He told police he had the idea of jumping out of the plane and acknowledged that many people would die if he opened the plane door, according to the complaint.

A message left for Torres' public defender wasn't immediately returned.

United, in a statement Monday, praised the "quick action of our crew and customers" and said the company was working with law enforcement.

"No serious injuries were reported," the statement read. "We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Reuters/Court TV

For most of Alex Murdaughs six-week murder trial, Wendell Butterfield took up residence in the Colleton County courtroom on a gallery bench directly behind the disgraced former lawyer.

Butterfield, an 80-year-old South Carolina state constable with over 50 years of law enforcement experience, wasnt just a spectator. The former judge, who also has a doctorate in theology, had a job to do: He was security for Judge Clifton Newman, Court of Clerk Becky Hill, and the court reporters.

Along the way, however, Butterfields stoic presence behind Murdaugh caught the attention of viewers watching the proceedings online. That, and his brightly colored suitsespecially a yellow one.

For the casting of the Murdaugh Murders Movie. Who should play Mr. Fashionista? one Twitter user asked. His daughter thinks Clint, I think Eastwoods a little long in the tooth these days.

Another added: Dr. Wendell Butterfields suit was telling. It brought the sunshine today.

Butterfield, who agreed to the courthouse gig just weeks before the trial began in January, told The Daily Beast that he was shocked to learn that the clothes his wife picked out for him got so much attention. He added that he wasnt thinking about his outfits when he arrived at the courthouse every morning to a sea of spectators and reporters from around the country.

I had no idea that my suit choices were making quite a stir, he added. Its been surreal.

Watch the officer watching Alex thinking Im going to have to tackle this dumb bitch today arent I #MurdaughTrial pic.twitter.com/dpOUVQ2zo2  Jay (@theshamingofjay) February 28, 2023

Hill told The Daily Beast it was a no-brainer to ask Butterfieldwhose resume includes stints as a Marine, in the Colleton County Sheriff's Department, and with Homeland Security conducting auditsto join the already-robust courthouse security team.

Story continues

He takes pride in his uniform and the way he looks and is always immaculately dressed with starched shirts and pants, a crisp blazer, a tie, and shoes that are shined, and a very similar likeness to a favorite and very loved actor of mine, Clint Eastwood, she said, adding that Butterfield showed up to work every morning before time to report with his coffee in one hand and my sweet tea in the other.

The security job, Butterfield said, also allowed him to have a front-row seat to one of the most anticipated murder trials in South Carolina. He said that while he was concentrating on the safety of Hill, Newman, and other courthouse staffhe was also closely watching Murdaugh and the 12-person jury.

There were a few times when Murdaugh seemed a little distracted and nervous. He was listening to witness testimonies and could tell when he didnt seem too pleased about what was being said, Butterfield said, adding that Murdaughs body language would change from time to time.

Murdaugh seemed to be very involved in discussing some matters with his attorneys sometimes but the topic of discussion is unknown, he added.

Originally, Butterfield said, he was stationed at the side of the courtroom out of everyones eyesight. But he wasnt too thrilled about the seat placement because it was too far away from the people he was tasked with protecting and did not have a good view of the proceedings.

So I took the first seat in the second row behind Murdaugh so I could go right through the gate if something were to happen, he explained. But I didnt care for the fact that that meant the camera was right in my face.

Interesting that the defense has attorney Maggie Fox sitting next to Alex Murdaugh today.

Also CHECK OUT THAT YELLOW SUIT. pic.twitter.com/wkI3amwugz  Mandy Matney (@MandyMatney) March 2, 2023

Butterfield said the live-streaming of the trial didnt stop him from concentrating on what I was doing. He said he closely listened to dozens of witnesses as prosecutors presented their argument that Murdaugh fatally killed his wife and son near the dog kennels of their familys hunting estate on June 7, 2021. And, he said, he watched how the jury and Murdaugh himself were responding to the trial.

The thing I noticed that most was that the majority of the jury was paying attention to everything that was being said, Butterfield noted. They were very engaged.

He said that he believed it was a very bad idea when Murdaugh made the decision to take the stand in his own defense. Several jurors have since come out and agreed with Butterfields analysis, saying they did not believe Murdaughs emotional testimony was genuine.

The defense tried to talk him out of it, he added. But he knew what he wanted to do and he was going to do it regardless of what he was being told.

Butterfield said his family would sometimes come to the courthouse while he worked, including his wife who one day sat next to the mystery novelist Rhonda Rich.

They hit it off, Butterfield said.

The only real stir in the courtroom, he said, came from Murdaughs own family.

Butterfield said that the family was warned not to communicate with Murdaugh after his sister came up to the defense table. Despite a sharp warning, Murdaughs sister later passed a book to one of his legal clerks on the defense team.

The clerk ended up giving it to Murdaugh and it was noticed. The book was confiscated and Murdaughs sister was told that was the second time the family was warned and if something were to happen again, she would be restricted from the courthouse, Butterfield explained. She wasnt too happy about it.

Prosecutor Shreds Alex Murdaughs Vigilante Theory for Double Murders

Court staff eventually moved Murdaugh's family several rows behind the defense table to ensure there was no communication for the rest of the trial, Butterfield said. On Friday, a jury only deliberated for about three hours before convicting Murdaugh of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Butterfield said that as the verdict was being read, Murdaugh was gritting his teeth.

The next day, the packed courtroom was bristling with anticipation for Murdaughs sentencing. After a searing admonishment, the judge gave Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

There was no clapping or whooping or anything like that in the courtroom, Butterfield said. Everyone understood that Newman did not allow that.

Since the end of the trial, Butterfield said, he has been blown away that his fashion choices have been talk of the town on all the different social media outlets. His daughter, Shanna Ayer, who first alerted him to his online fame, told The Daily Beast that she enjoyed his turn in the spotlight.

I was very proud of him and honored that he was being showcased as the best dressed in the courtroom, Ayer added. My dad is an amazing man who takes pride in everything he does. He is very humble but he deserves all the attention and praise for sure.

But Butterfield added that he has a different favorite moment about this trial.

The moment it was over, he said with a laugh.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
PATERSON  Henry Rhodes, the manager of two city school transportation companies, pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he put childrens safety at risk by hiring unqualified bus drivers, including some with criminal records.

Rhodes, 59, of Paterson, also admitted getting lucrative student busing contracts for the companies by giving school districts bogus information about the companys drivers credentials.

Hes relieved that the cases are behind him, said Howard Lesnik, Rhodes attorney, adding that its been a long time with this hanging over his head, so hes glad to be able to move forward.

Essex County Prosecutor's Office conducted a search warrant on A-1 Elegant Tours Inc., a school bus company, on Friday May 31, 2019 in Paterson, N.J.

The guilty plea came almost three years after the first set of charges were filed against Rhodes and Shelim Khalique, the brother of a Paterson city councilman, who is the owner of one of the companies, A-1 Elegant.

While the initial charges were pending, Rhodes admitted in his guilty plea that he engaged in the same type of driver-qualification scam with a separate company  American Star Transportation  owned by another Khalique brother, Jwel.

State investigators say that after Shelim Khalique and Rhodes were indicted in the A-1 Elegant case, the company transferred its equipment, assets and employees  including Rhodes  to American Star and continued to engage in similar misconduct.

A-1 Elegant has been linked to operating with at least 21 different names since 2005, according to a 2020 investigation published by the USA TODAY Network New Jersey.

State authorities did not disclose Rhodes role in the American Star probe when they announced criminal charges against Shelim and Jwel Khalique last December. Rhodes was arrested on a separate complaint related to American Star and waived his right to have his case presented to the grand jury, Lesnik said.

Essex County Prosecutor's Office conducted a search warrant on A-1 Elegant Tours Inc., a school bus company, on Friday May 31, 2019 in Paterson, N.J.

Rhodes agreed to cooperate with the state in prosecuting the other cases, Lesnik said.

The state has not disclosed the status of the pending charges against the two Khalique brothers.

Story continues

Mr. Rhodes has acknowledged playing a leadership role at these companies that misled and defrauded school districts and put childrens lives in danger, said Attorney General Matthew Platkin. Now he will be held accountable for not only committing these offenses, but also continuing to engage in the same crimes even after he and his employers were charged the first time.

Personnel files seized during the execution of a search warrant revealed that A-1 Elegant employed numerous drivers who did not have valid commercial drivers licenses or required endorsements and had suspended licenses and/or criminal records, according to the Attorney Generals Office.

The state also contended that A-1 Elegant employed bus aides with criminal records, and officials said two former A-1 Elegant bus drivers drove buses with one or more children on board while under the influence of narcotics, resulting in a bus crash in Essex County. The investigation revealed that the defendants employed over 30 drivers with criminal convictions, including a Megans Law registrant.

The American Star probe started in February 2022 after a River Edge police officer stopped one of its buses for running a stop sign. Investigators said the driver was found to be unlicensed and had a pending case for patronizing a prostitute.

American Star racked up more than 40 violations and more than $33,000 in fines in 2021-22, according to Paterson school district records. Many of those violations were related to drivers' operating the vehicles without insurance or other certifications and endorsements required by law.

The company also accrued 13 violations during the same time period while working under contract at Jersey City Public Schools, according to violation notices obtained by NorthJersey.com through a public information request. Many of those reports identified drivers who repeatedly were found without the proper licenses, certifications or documents, and in one instance, students were left unattended during morning drop-off and a student was injured, according to the documents.

Leading up to the plea deal, Rhodes was facing potentially more than 40 years related to the charges involving A-1 Elegant and American Star Transportation and more than $1 million in fines and restitution.

As part of the deal, Rhodes pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree conspiracy and two counts of second-degree theft by deception. Prosecutors will recommend that Rhodes serve no more than four years. He also will not owe any fines or restitution.

Rhodes is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ school bus drivers: Paterson companies used unqualified drivers
Range Rover sports utility vehicles (SUV) in the paintshop at Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Land Rover vehicle manufacturing plant in Solihull, UK - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

The head of Britain's manufacturing lobby group will today launch a scathing attack on the Conservative Party's disregard for the rule of law and call for closer ties with the European Union.

Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, will argue that the Tories have damaged Britain's international reputation and mismanaged their economy, and demand an industrial strategy to arrest the country's decline.

Although the speech includes praise for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after he secured a deal with Brussels on the status of Northern Ireland, it is likely to be interpreted as a sign that business leaders are preparing for a Labour government.

Speaking at a conference in London, Mr Phipson will say: We need to reset our political and trading relationship with the EU which has been marked by such rancour.

While the unity of the response towards Ukraine has eased some of the tensions with the EU, the political mismanagement of our economy and, damage to the reputation of the UK as a partner on such a grand scale, together with the disregard of the rule of law in our political system cannot continue.

Manufacturers, especially those in the complex car and aviation industries, have been long-term critics of the UKs terms of exit from the EU because of the extra paperwork and costs involved in moving parts back and forth over many borders.

Steel makers and other energy-intensive manufacturers are also frustrated at a lack of a government plan over support for their businesses, since competitors abroad, particularly in the US, are having money thrown at them by way of subsidies which are not available in Britain.

Manufacturers are bringing operations back to the UK amid a fracturing of globalisation following the war in Ukraine and diplomatic crackdown on China, according to a Make UK survey, with 40pc of companies switching to domestic suppliers in the past year.

However, almost half of companies said that EU suppliers are more cautious about working with UK partners.

Story continues

Mr Phipson will ask Rishi Sunak to create an industrial strategy in part to attract battery plants for car making and to rescue Britains threatened motor industry whose production is still way below pre-pandemic levels.

He will say: There is an urgent need to encourage battery capacity in the UK if we are to keep our automotive sector, one of the jewels in our manufacturing crown.

The intervention comes after a series of complaints from UK business figures about how the government is prioritising other matters over growth and jobs.

Businessman Iain Anderson, a friend of Liz Truss, the former prime minister, and Michael Gove, quit the Conservatives after 40 years last month, citing the partys f---business attitude to Brexit  following an infamous outburst by Boris Johnson in 2018  and his concerns Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will focus on culture wars rather than the economy.

The UK is expected to have the lowest growth this year of the G7 group of developed economies, according to the International Monetary Fund, behind the US, Japan, Canada, France, Italy and Germany.

Donations from business leaders have helped propel Labour to its highest level of donations in 14 years with the Sainsbury family, of supermarket fame, leading the pack.

Last year, Make UK told the government to stop treating businesses as the enemy within in targeting then-prime minister Mr Johnson and his perceived anti-business rhetoric.

It warned that overseas suppliers in turn were turning their backs on the UK as there are more fights than friendly words between Britain and its nearest neighbours and lead times grow longer and longer.
Two Americans are dead and two others have been found alive after the group was kidnapped in Mexico, officials say.

The group crossed the border in Texas and disappeared after being caught in a crossfire between cartels near the border last week.

Officials have not identified the four American citizens, but family and friends said the group were tight-knit friends from South Carolina traveling to Mexico with the intent of undergoing a medical procedure.

Here's what we know about when and where the shooting and kidnapping took place.

Americans crossed border from Brownsville to Matamoros, then shooting began

On Friday, March 3, the group of friends were in a white minivan when they crossed the US-Mexico border. CNN reports that they traveled from South Carolina. They crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into the city of Matamoros in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

This map shows that communities sit right next to one another on the US-Mexican border:

According to the FBI, unidentified gunmen fired upon them while in the van "shortly after" they crossed the border.

The FBI says they were each placed into a pickup truck and taken from the scene by armed men. A video posted to social media captured the scene, with one person appearing alive and sitting up and others appearing dead or wounded, according to the Associated Press.

A woman driving in Matamoros who asked not to be identified told the AP that she witnessed the event, saying the white minivan was hit by another vehicle near an intersection and then shots were fired. She said another SUV then came up to the scene and several armed men hopped out.

All of a sudden (the gunmen) were in front of us, she said. I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.

Tamaulipas governor confirmed two Americans were killed

On Tuesday, March 7, officials confirmed two of the Americans were killed.

Story continues

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal confirmed the deaths by phone, saying details about the four missing Americans had been confirmed by prosecutors. He did not disclose additional details about the case.

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes, at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday.

Americans in Mexico identified as friends by family

The four Americans have been identified as Latavia "Tay" McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams by family members.

Zalandria Brown said her brother, Zindell, and two friends had accompanied another friend on the trip. The third friend was traveling to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery, Brown said. She said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Matamoros, Mexico: City where Americans killed seen on map
North suburban gourmands searching for a top sirloin locally will have a choice of Brazilian and Argentinian steaks at a Morton Grove restaurant opening this week.

Offering up the most-hyped red meat of the Western hemisphere, Cultura Steaks, 9432 Waukegan Road, is an expansion of its adjoining sub sandwich shop that has gained some notice in the past year with Brazilian steak.

Advertisement

The three partners who opened Cultura Subs will now offer a 40-seat restaurant with all food certified as halal for observant North Shore diners. The sit-down option and demand for the 12-ounce Brazilian Picanha fillet at the sub joint persuaded the trio to expand next door even as the restaurant business continues to endure a shakeout from the pandemic.

People looked in at the subs shop and saw there was limited dine-in, partner Khaleel Musa said, noting the handful of chairs pushed against a ledge at the front window. Theyd turn around and drive off. But for many who came in, they liked the Picanha in a bowl. That gave us the idea to open Cultura Steaks.

Advertisement

The partners scouted the marketplace first. Several Brazilian steakhouses were popular in the city of Chicago before the pandemic, but dont have outposts in the suburbs. Although Coopers Hawk opened at the Sawmill Station shopping center, the likes of McCormick and Schmick and Bonefish Grill closed in recent years in Skokie. Room seemed to exist, they thought, for an eatery branding itself above fast casual.

Musa, whose family is Palestinian, never previously worked in the restaurant business, and runs a fitness center in Bensenville. He handles the business end. Running marketing and promotions via social media and other means is Fabian Gonzalez, who was born in Argentina, moved here as a child and worked as a busboy and waiter at a steakhouse in Chicago. Chief cook is Jose Luis Vinueza, who said he ran 11 restaurants at the Quito airport in his native Ecuador before moving to Chicago and working as the butcher at a Brazilian steakhouse.

Were a team, said Musa. We rely on the strength of our talents to complement each other.

Jose Luis Vinueza separates a cut of meat into sirloin and picanha sections for Cultura Steaks, an offshoot of Cultura Subs in Morton Grove. (George Castle / Pioneer Press)

Cultura Steaks will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner nightly. Musa said the restaurant plans to expand hours in the summer, offering a couple of tables for outdoor dining. The sub shop already has an outdoor table under an umbrella. Diners who cant wait for smaller version of steaks for lunch can visit the sub shop, which opens at 11 a.m. One kitchen will serve both outlets with Vinueza in charge.

Entrees for the steakhouse include a 14-ounce version of the picanha steak; a 16-ounce bife ancho, a boneless 16-ounce ribeye; a mar y tierra, a 10-ounce filet mignon paired with jumbo shrimp, and a bife de chorizo, a 16-ounce New York strip steak garnished with portobello sauce. Non-steak entrees will be lamb chops, tilapia and grilled chicken. Several pasta dishes are also available.

Appetizers include stuffed Ecuadorian-style empanadas, a steak-and-chicken combo, sauteed mussels and fried calamari.

Distinguishing itself in the market was a key to Cultura Subs kickoff, and will be again with the steakhouse.

Advertisement

We branded it as the Latin-American steak shop, as most sub shops were Italian-style, said Gonzalez.

Argentinian beef was long branded as prime cut before Brazilian beef became popular. Fabian said his homelands steaks are typically marinated with chimichurri sauce, comprised of parsley, garlic and paprika. They are usually cooked on a grill with hot stones to add flavor.

Brazilian steaks also are garnished with chimichurri sauce, but are often served on a skewer.

Argentinian steaks are flank steaks, and are more chewy and juicy, said Vinueza. Brazilian steaks are sirloin and are more tender.

As Cultura Steaks is halal, no alcohol will be served. Instead, the partners will offer a non-alcoholic beer and wine along with mocktails.
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has launched an audit of the Legislature where she previously served in both braches.

As I committed, my office has begun an audit of the state Legislature, DiZoglio said in a statement Tuesday. We hope this will increase transparency, accountability and equity in an area of state government that has been completely ignored. Historically, the Legislature has been a closed-door operation, where committee votes have been hidden from the general public, and legislation has been voted on in the dark of night.

DiZoglio ran on a campaign of encouraging transparency, after earning a reputation as an independent voice who was not afraid to stand up against leadership in her three terms in the House and two terms in the Senate.

Taxpayers deserve more -- they deserve the opportunity to weigh in on legislative, budgetary and regulatory matters that are important to them. Everyone should have equitable and transparent access to and information about all state-funded agencies, including the Legislature. Unfortunately, the Legislature has not been audited since 1922, while Massachusetts ranks as one of the least transparent and least accessible state governments in the nation, her statement on the audit says.

The Legislature is exempt from public records law and has come under criticism for keeping committee vote tallies private. Most committees do not publicly share a breakdown of how lawmakers vote on bills, and the House and Senate do not take recorded votes even on most of the bills that make their calendars.

In the fiscal 2023 budget, about $46.9 million is going to the House of Representatives, $29 million is earmarked for the Senate, and $10.9 million is spent on joint operations. Gov. Maura Healey proposed an about $1 million increase across the board for the Legislature in her fiscal year 2024 budget recommendation.

Two months into her term, DiZoglio has announced audits of the MBTA, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority in light of allegations of racial discrimination, and now the Legislature.

Story continues

It is my hope that the Legislature welcomes the opportunity for an audit to uncover where we can, and must, do better as a state government. Our office looks forward to working with them, DiZoglio said.









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
HARRISBURG, Pa.  Doug Mastriano lost the Pennsylvania governors race last year by double digits, an almost unheard-of shellacking in a battleground state where winners and losers are often separated by a single percentage point.

But another way to look at the election  the way the ultra-MAGA retired Army colonel-turned-state senator looks at it  is that he converted millions of voters to his cause and can now strategize, politically, about how to use them.

What do you do with a movement of 2.2 million? he told POLITICO on a recent day in his office in the state capitol. Were keeping it alive.

In a sit-down interview, Mastriano, who rarely speaks with the mainstream media, made it clear that he is not finished with his quest to win higher office and transform the Republican Party along the way. He said he is praying about whether to go forward with a potential Senate run in 2024. After God, his wife, Rebbie, will have the final word he said.



Weve seen people in the past, other Republican gubernatorial candidates, they rise and they disappear when they lose. Why? he asked. You have people that love you and support you.

If he pulls the trigger, Mastriano would run in a primary for the right to take on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, an institutional figure in the state. Virtually no one in the Pennsylvania GOP establishment is eager for that matchup. But Mastriano said Casey is a letdown to the anti-abortion cause. Casey's father, former Gov. Robert Casey Sr., signed abortion regulations into law that went all the way to a landmark Supreme Court case, where they were largely kept intact.

I think hes a huge disappointment. Hes nothing like his dad, he said. His dad was more pro-life than most Republicans.

Until now, Mastrianos future plans have been a mystery within political circles. He has few relationships with party leaders and eschews traditional consultants, leaving it all but impossible for GOP officials to know what hes thinking. In that vacuum of information, rumors have been swirling that he might be eyeing a challenge against Republican Rep. John Joyce, whose seat is safely red. But he ruled that out: Congressman Joyce and myself are friends.

Story continues

What Mastriano ultimately decides to do will illuminate just how chastened the most diehard supporters of former President Donald Trump are after the 2022 midterms. Usually, losses of that magnitude drive people out of electoral politics. But the last three federal elections have been discouraging for Republicans, and each time, theyve shown little desire to course correct. Trump himself is campaigning again in 2024 and remains the frontrunner for the nomination. Whether the GOP finally does move on will be determined, in large part, by how Republican primary voters treat potential and declared candidates like him and Mastriano.

Inside Mastrianos small legislative quarters, an anti-abortion protest sign sat in the corner. Wearing his trademark spurs and a 3rd Infantry Division ball cap, he said that his fans have been encouraging him to run for the Senate. But he was open about the fact that those encouraging him arent Republican dignitaries.

Its mostly supporters across the state, he said. Nobody with big names have come out and said, Doug, you need to think about this. Just people like you and me.

In fact, Mastrianos flirtation with another statewide campaign is sure to give heart palpitations to GOP leaders. When a blue wave swept across Pennsylvania in 2022  Democrats won the gubernatorial race, Senate race and a majority of state House contests  most Republican officials pointed the finger at Mastriano. His staunchly anti-abortion stance that allowed for no exceptions, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, and his appearance at the capitol the day of the Jan. 6 attack alarmed many swing voters.



After staying out of primaries last year, the Senate GOPs campaign arm intends to get involved this time around. Party leaders at the national and state level have aggressively courted Dave McCormick, the former hedge fund CEO who narrowly lost the Senate primary in 2022, to run again against Casey. Though McCormick sought Trumps endorsement and employed former Trump aides during his campaign, Republicans believe he has a mainstream appeal that would attract suburban voters.

Mastriano declined to weigh in on the possibility of a McCormick bid: Unbelievably, I've never met him, so I'd hate to make a judgment on him without meeting him since he's probably going to run. He also speculated that there could be a number of Republican candidates who vie for the Senate next year, though he declined to name names: I think I'll have a few people also running that I know and like.

As he considers whats next, Mastriano is analyzing what went wrong in 2022, even showing a willingness to bend on certain political tactics that, last cycle, his party shunned.

Republicans, he said, have to embrace no-excuse mail-in voting. That they did not is the reason he thinks he lost. He said he knew during the campaign that it was going to cost him. Its just so  repugnants the wrong word  its just so antithetical to how I view elections, he said.

Mastriano said he was sure he was going to beat now-Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro right up until Election Day. He didnt buy the polls showing him down badly.



Because Id go to these rallies and people would say, We've never seen this. In Josh Shapiro's home county the night before the election, I had over 1,000 people  we stopped counting at 1,000. I saw no Shapiro signs in his own county, he said. Here I am in Montgomery County the night before the election, Im like, we got this. The rally was just electric.

Mastriano did not formally concede until five days after the election.

He acknowledged that taking on Casey could be a challenge.

How do I beat the Casey name? Mastriano? he said with a grin. At least they know who I am now.

In the meantime, Mastriano is taking steps to position himself for a possible run. He is holding a rally this Saturday in central Pennsylvania, which will feature Trump lawyer Christina Bobb and conservative media personality Wendy Bell as speakers. He led a hearing on the East Palestine train derailment over the border from the incident in western Pennsylvania, and he successfully pushed a committee he chairs to subpoena Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to testify. He also hired Dan Cox, the unsuccessful Maryland gubernatorial nominee, as his chief-of-staff.

Toward the end of the interview, Mastriano said Cox was part of his A team. As it happens, Coxs hiring is also a reason political insiders think he might want to run for higher office again.

Hmm, he said, laughing. Gute erkennung. As the Germans say, Good deduction.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority says its fully investigating what caused a panel to fall from the ceiling at the Harvard Station last week.

Surveillance video released Friday by the MBTA shows several riders can be seen walking near the bottom of an escalator when the tile suddenly crashed down on the southbound side at the Harvard Square Red Line stop, nearly hitting a rider.

Cianna Navarro was the MBTA passenger who had a close call with the ceiling tile.

In that moment I didnt really know is it was a one-off situation or if more of the ceiling tiles were going to come falling down, Navarro said in an interview Monday night.

MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville says his inspectors believe the piece fell after the supports corroded. He explained the panels are decorative and hang from the actual ceiling. Gonneville says the panels were originally installed in 1978 but underwent a detailed inspection in 2021. But he says because of the design of the station  the inspections didnt have a clear view of the problem area.

You see a cloud of dust and debris when the panel that the MBTA says weighed about 20-25 pounds fell from above.

Navarro said the entire ordeal stunned her into stillness for a moment as she was engulfed in a thick black cloud of debris while another passenger came her to aid.

And I remember when I responded to the bystander that I was okay but when I went to go close my mouth, there was like a mouthful of dirt and dust - it was disgusting, said Navarro.

The 21-year-old Suffolk University student said she is looking at the positive in the scary situation.

But it has made me appreciate life more, I guess, you know, dont take things for granted.

Inspectors are now removing any panels to give inspectors a clear view. The Harvard station has four to five hundred of these panels and so far ten have been removed.

The MBTA says a system-wide safety audit of the ceilings will take a couple of weeks.

Story continues

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
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is showing he can play offense against vulnerable Senate Democrats by forcing them to take tough votes, driving a wedge between red state Democrats up for reelection and the partys base.

McCarthy put them in a difficult position last week by forcing them to vote on a GOP-sponsored resolution blocking a Biden administration rule encouraging retirement managers to consider environmental, social and corporate governance  or ESG  factors when making investment decisions.

Senate Democrats will take another politically charged vote Wednesday on a House-passed resolution to block a new D.C. crime bill that would lower penalties for carjackings, burglaries and robberies.

The looming vote prompted Biden to tell anxious Senate Democrats at a meeting last week that he would buck his own statement of administration policy and sign the resolution, giving them political cover to vote for it and dodge Republican accusations of being soft on crime.

But its still a tough vote for Democrats up for reelection who support D.C. home rule and D.C. statehood, such as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who told reporters last week that he was undecided on what he called a complicated issue.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., center, and his chief of staff Dan Meyer, left, walk away from reporters at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

A PAC affiliated with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) quickly pounced on his uncertainty.

Thousands upon thousands of Virginians work in Washington, D.C., every day . But Tim Kaine doesnt take keeping them safe seriously. Kaine refused to give a straight answer when asked if hed support GOP legislation that would reverse dangerous changes D.C. made to its criminal code, the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with McConnell, said Monday.

Kaine told reporters Monday that he has decided to vote to block the D.C. crime bill.

Story continues

He holds one of 23 Democratic seats up for reelection next year.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said McCarthy is helping Senate Republicans put Senate Democrats on the defensive, which could help them win back the majority next year, given the favorable electoral map.

The House has got off to a great start.  Theyre doing their job, theyre helping us, he said. Its calling people out. The [environmental, social, corporate governance bill] last week, this week the crime bill here in D.C.

Its obviously good votes for us, he added.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) argued that McCarthy is helping Senate Republicans put Senate Democrats on the defensive. (Greg Nash)

McCarthys pressure campaign on Senate Democrats is part of an intensifying battle with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who tries to highlight what he calls MAGA extremism in the House whenever possible.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), an adviser to the Senate Republican leadership, said McCarthy is defining important differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates for voters.

I think it demonstrates the different policy choices depending on who would be in charge after the 2024 election. So I think a little definition is helpful, he said.

Biden gave vulnerable Senate Democrats political cover when he told them he will sign the resolution to block the D.C. crime bill, but he enraged many House Democrats who voted against it after the White House budget office announced on Feb. 6 that the administration opposed the GOP-sponsored measure.

After the Office of Management and Budget called it a clear example of how the District of Columbia continues to be denied true self-governance and why it deserves statehood, 173 House Democrats voted against the resolution.

This could become an issue in the Arizona Senate race next year. Rep. Rubin Gallego (D-Ariz.), who plans to challenge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) if she runs for a second term, was one of the Democrats who voted to uphold the D.C. crime bill.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) voted to uphold the D.C. crime bill, a vote that could become an issue in a potential race between him and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). (Greg Nash)

The House resolution nullifying the D.C. crime bill has even split Democratic progressives.

Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.) are two progressive Democrats who say they will vote for it even though they both also support granting statehood to the District of Columbia.

One House Democrat told The Hill last week that the White House flip-flop on the crime bill was amateur hour and heads should roll.

McCarthy gave Senate Republican candidates more ammo for next years races by passing another resolution to disapprove a D.C. bill allowing noncitizens to vote, although that resolution will likely remain bottled up in a Senate committee, according to one GOP aide.

If Senate Democrats refuse to let it come to the floor, it will give Republicans another talking point.

Democrats are twisting themselves into knots trying to defend bills that go easy on violent criminals, allow noncitizens to vote, and enshrine Bidens radical green energy agenda. Its been fun to watch, said Philip Letsou, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

McCarthy passed an additional resolution to disapprove a D.C. bill allowing noncitizens to vote, although that resolution is not likely to make it out of a Senate committee. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The House is working on another resolution to block a Biden expansion of the Waters of the United States rule that would give the Environmental Protection Agency broader jurisdiction over streams and wetlands.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a resolution last week to overturn the Biden water rule and the House is expected to pass it this week.

That means Senate Democrats, especially those up for reelection in farm states, will take another tough vote on a GOP resolution blocking a Biden administration action.

The idea that you could have the federal government taking over all waterways no matter how small or inconsequential, in some cases the equivalent of a puddle, I think strikes people in rural parts of the country as obnoxious, said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.).

He said the issue could come up for a vote next week.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who will take the lead on the resolution in the Senate, said the Biden rule expands the [federal] jurisdiction on the waters into unnamed waters that are not within their jurisdiction.

She said that would require more permitting in the agriculture and construction industries.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Hill on Monday that he will vote for the Republican resolution to block the expansion of federal authority over streams and wetlands.

Farm-state senators facing potentially competitive reelection race next year include Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Kaine, Sinema and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

Twenty-four state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit challenging the EPAs waters of the United States rule, including attorneys general from Montana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Democrat Jennifer McClellan, holding the receipt for a poll tax her father once had to pay tucked into the pages of a family Bible, was sworn into the U.S. House on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a ceremonial swearing-in with McClellan, who was joined by her two children, on the chamber floor. Members on both sides of the House  Democrats and Republicans  stood and applauded when it was noted she was the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

Virginia is now the 23rd state to be represented by a Black woman, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of historical records.

It is a tremendous honor, not only when I think back on my own family history, and what my parents and grandparents and great-grandparents went through to make this possible, but the fact that Im the first from Virginia, the birthplace of American democracy and the birthplace of American slavery, is kind of poetic justice, McClellan told The Associated Press in an interview Monday.

McClellan recalled how her parents and grandparents faced Jim Crow-era obstacles just to vote. She said her grandfather had to prove he could read and find three white men to vouch for it. Her father, a pastor and professor, had to pay a poll tax to vote and kept the proof in his now-worn Bible. Her mother, the first woman in her family to attend school beyond eighth grade, did not vote until the 1965 Voting Acts Right was enacted.

What sparked my interest in government was listening to them tell their stories, where they saw the best of government in the New Deal and the worst of government in Jim Crow, she told the AP. Those stories not only made me want to focus on making government a force for helping people and solving problems, but I'll carry those stories into the House chamber with me.

The longtime state lawmaker won a special election last month to represent Virginia's blue-leaning 4th District, which stretches from Richmond south to the border with North Carolina. The seat was opened when Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term in November.

Story continues

McClellan won't shift the balance of power in the House, which is narrowly held by Republicans with a 222-seat majority. Democrats have 213 seats.

McClellan called McEachin a big brother figure, starting with his mentorship of Black college students like her at the University of Richmond. McClellan went on to become an associate general counsel at Verizon over a 20-year career with the company. She also represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly for nearly two decades and joined with McEachin in the statehouse to press a range of progressive goals.

She became a force behind many Democratic proposals, including bills to expand voting access, ensure abortion rights and curb climate change. She ran for governor in 2021 but lost in a crowded Democratic primary to Terry McAuliffe.

After McEachin's death from the secondary effects of colorectal cancer, McClellan considered following in his footsteps again, as she did in 2017 when he vacated a seat in the state Senate. This time, though, she missed McEachin's phone calls of advice.

I really felt his absence, McClellan said, adding that she ultimately decided she could build on his legacy.

McClellan, the first Virginia state delegate to give birth while in office, has two children. Speaking by phone over the background noise of children arriving home from school, McClellan told the AP she was ready to bring a brand-new perspective as a Black mom, a Black woman and a working mom.

___

Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
As the newly appointed chief medical officer at the nations top public health agency, Debra Houry says her job is to make sure the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is ready to respond quickly to the next pandemic.

Houry was named to her position as part of CDC Director Rochelle Walenskys massive agency reset aimed at correcting mistakes and regaining the publics trust after the COVID-19 and mpox responses.

COVID certainly showed where we could improve, but I think the agency itself has just been changing too. And so we needed to look to where we can really be more proactive and flexible and respond to the public, Houry, who is based in the CDCs Atlanta headquarters, said in a recent interview from D.C.

The CDC has been under intense criticism from Republicans, Democrats and the general public for a delayed and inconsistent response to the pandemic, and the changes are meant to make the agency more nimble.

A new culture at the CDC

Walensky came on as director in January 2021 after long saying the agency needed to move faster and communicate better. In April, she called for an in-depth review of the agency, and the initial public announcements came in August.

My goal is a new, public health action-oriented culture at CDC that emphasizes accountability, collaboration, communication and timeliness, she said in an August statement.

Houry said moving quickly is a challenge for a government organization as large as the CDC with many long-tenured career officials, but its a way to try to ensure success.

With change management, the longer you do it, the more people have angst, concern, she said.

Houry, who comes from a background in emergency medicine, is part of a new leadership team that reports directly to Walensky, including the former director of Maine CDC Nirav Shah, who is taking over as principal deputy director.

That direct line, Houry said, is important, because it helps the agency deputies make sure all the various divisions are talking with each other. Houry said she wants to knock down the artificial separations between divisions so that theres much more communication and collaboration.

Story continues

I think when theres more layers, its easier to  hide is not the right word, its like its easier to stay in your silo. And when those layers are removed, the silos dont exist, Houry said.

Houry has been at CDC since 2014, serving first as director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and then most recently as acting principal deputy director. Prior to her time at CDC, she was a professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.

Prioritizing action and outreach

Houry said she knows CDC has a reputation for being an academic-focused agency. One of the main criticisms it faces is that it is too focused on data analysis at the expense of action.

Experts have said the agency was too slow to recognize the extent of the coronaviruss spread in the early days of the pandemic and continuously issued confusing and often contradictory guidance about masks and quarantines. The initial tests to detect the virus were also flawed, and rollout of vaccines was seen as sluggish.

CDC has also struggled with how to communicate to a pandemic-weary and politically divided public, some of which is skeptical of health officials more broadly.

Walenskys plan aims to fix that, and Houry is helping to lead the charge to make CDC much more response-ready.

One of the main changes is to make deployments a normal part of an emergency response.

During the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency needed to reassign people, and it was done on a volunteer basis for just a couple months at a time.

Houry said the short rotations led to too much turnover, so there was a need to not only make deployment longer but also mandatory.

I think it became clear that we needed to have a bigger bench for responders, but we also had other priorities and other issues that we had to make sure we were covering  across the agency, Houry said.

But it became very clear, both under the prior administration and the current administration, that we needed to have longer rotations. The goal is to have the majority of the agency ready to deploy on a response and not for one to two months but for six months at a time minimum, she added

The initial phase of the reorganization wrapped up at the end of February, and Houry said she understands that Congress wants to see progress.

People want to make sure that moving boxes is not all that were doing. And I agree, because if its just a reorganization, you know  that doesnt solve things. Its like, how do you change the culture? How do you change processes? Houry said.

Houry said Walensky is also pushing to get more flexibility from congressional appropriators.

We have not received significant increases for a lot of our core work, Houry said.

The CDCs nearly $11 billion budget is also too specific, she said.

I think we have 150 budget lines. And so that makes it hard to be nimble. If we had fewer budget lines with more flexibility, we could be more nimble, Houry said.

Improving staff morale

She said the lines are targeting specific diseases and cant be shifted. But if instead of a budget line on Lyme disease, a line on malaria, it could be combined into an all-encompassing tropical disease unit.

Another concern is agency morale. CDC employees have been enormous strain since 2020, and Houry said she hopes the reorganization can take some of the pressure off.

Our staff are awesome. You know, theyve worked hard for the past few years, even pre COVID but they truly are 24/7, Houry said.

She thinks morale is improving.

I think staff are feeling, they certainly are still tired because you know, we have several different responses going on. But theyre able to be part of these changes. And for many of them, its exciting. Were looking at, how do we do our science differently? Houry said. People are inspired. So I think its an exciting time for the agency and its time for us to really innovate.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Matt Johnson via Flickr

In her latest bid to be president, Marianne Williamson seems to have some early and unlikely fans of her 2024 Democratic primary campaign: Republicans.

No, Republicans arent actually interested in sending the geodesic dome-inhabiting, self-help book-writing, new age, far-left Democrat to the White House. But they are interested in wreaking some havoc in the Democratic primary.

Williamsons presidential bidat least on the official calendaris all but three days old. But after a media circuit over the weekend, most notably including a sit-down interview with ABC News, Williamsons critiques of the Democratic establishment and President Joe Biden are being eaten up by the right, who quickly amplified them to their base.

The Republican National Committees research page tweeted out three separate clips of Williamson over the weekendone in which she said the Democratic National Committee is rigging the primary for Biden, one comparing the news reports pronouncing her campaign a long shot to the ones that called Hillary Clinton a shoo-in, and one in which she said Biden should debate her.

Biden Press Secretary Draws Laughs With Marianne Williamson Crystal Ball Joke

He certainly should debate me, Williamson said. Its called democracy, and Im running as well.

In a statement, RNC spokesperson Emma Vaughn told The Daily Beast it is no wonder the DNC rigged the primary calendar for Biden. They know Marianne Williamson would beat him in New Hampshire and Iowa.

(Conversations about changing the DNCs nominating calendar have been happening for yearsand the calendar was set before Williamson hopped into the race.)

Republican insiders say theres reason for boosting Williamson. She represents a divide among Democratsone Republicans want to amplify, perhaps to distract from their own intra-party chaos.

The more we talk about Marianne Williamson, the weaker Biden looks. And Marianne Williamson, a perfect caricature of the Democratic Party, is a lot of fun to talk about, one senior GOP aide told The Daily Beast.

Story continues

Another Republican who wished to remain anonymousthis one a former Trump strategistsaid they were normally one to enjoy a good troll campaign, but I actually think Republicans should be very excitedand very quietabout running against Biden.

The good thing, this strategist continued, is that anything that exposes the cracks in the Democratic Party is a good thingeven if its facilitated by a politician whose guiding principle is the power of the crystals.

The GOP campaign to boost Williamson also seems to be percolating into right-wing media. Dick Morris, a former Clinton adviser turned Republican, talked about Williamson on Newsmax in late February, after reports surfaced that she was planning a run.

If anybody offers an alternative to Biden, theyre gonna get a lot of votes simply because theyre not walking dead like Biden is. And I think that she will do very well in the early polling and might well be the leak that breaks the dam. All the other Democrats might be afraid to run because nobody is. But now she is, Morris said.

Even Marianne Williamsons 2020 Campaign Manager Wishes She Wouldnt Run

Other online conservative pundits lauded Williamson for joining the race.

Finally a Democrat with the guts to take on Biden directly. NONE of the top Democrats think Biden should run again. But only @marwilliamson is stepping up. Watch thisshes fantastic, Steve Hilton, a conservative Fox News host, tweeted next to a video of Williamsons launch.

Even publications that usually find any reason to dunk on Democrats seem to be giving her a clean read. The Citizen Free Press, a far-right quick-links site, circulated clips of her launch in which she criticized establishment politicians for knowingly allowing children to go hungry.

An Insider reporter who attended Williamsons announcement speech at Union Station in Washington, D.C., also spotted a staffer for a GOP member of Congress at Williamsons launch event on Saturday.

Williamson is a self-help book author by trade and a spiritual guru whos known for palling around with celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern, the latter of whom Williamson once lived with. Shes also known for her unconventional policy ideas, like creating a Department of Peace. She ran for president in 2020 in the crowded Democratic field and twice made it onto the debate stage, where internet commentators described her as the politician equivalent of a girl who carries crystals in her pocket. (Williamson, for the record, said in 2019 that shes never owned crystals.)

Theres a pretty obvious motivation for Republicans to hammer the wedge between Wiliamson and Biden. Williamson and the GOP, for the time being, share a mutual target: Biden. They just also have different motivations. Williamson wants to beat him in the primaries. The GOP wants to beat him altogether.

Although Williamsons bid is undoubtedly a long shot, if she manages to gain some momentum, she could take away crucial time and resources from the early months of Bidens re-election campaign and take a bite out of his incumbent advantage.

Marianne Williamson Set to Mystify America Again With 2024 Run

Williamsons campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the apparent favor from conservatives, or a question on whether Williamson would willingly accept Republican endorsements of her candidacy. Its unclear what her actual staffing situation is likeand whos on her early roster of support.

Last cycle, Williamson did get caught on a hot mic acknowledging Republicans were often nicer to her than lefties.

What does it say that Fox News is nicer to me than the lefties are? What does it say that the conservatives are nicer to me? she wondered in the 2019 hot-mic moment, going on to add, Im such a lefty. I mean, Im a serious lefty I didnt think the left was as mean as the right. They are.

Williamson is the first to announce a primary bid against Biden, but theres no guarantee shell be alone in that effort. Progressive commentator and former congressional candidate Nina Turner, for one, hasnt ruled out a 2024 bid of her own.

There is an appetite among people across our movement to keep working-class issues front and center in the national discourse. I am often asked if I am willing to take on that responsibility, but as of now, I have not made any decision, Turner said in a statement. However, what I do know is that our party will only benefit from having a transparent and open process, where dissent is welcomed and not shut out, Turner added.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a unique human amalgamation of Democratic politics and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, also says hes considering a run for president. He told a crowd in New Hampshire on Friday that he was thinking about it.

And Ive passed the biggest hurdle, which is my wife has green-lighted it, he said.

But those challenges are unlikely to sway the strategy for Democrats national campaign armthe Democratic National Committeewhich supports the incumbent by default. The Senate and House campaign arms for Democrats do the same.

Marianne Williamson Calls for Primaries to Be Nullified After Bernies Weak Showing

In February, the DNC also passed a resolution explicitly supporting Bidens re-election, expressing the committees complete support for President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration, and support their re-election in 2024.

That would likely mean the DNC would not host debates between Biden and Williamson, or any other primary challengers, for that matter.

Biden, meanwhile, has not officially announced his 2024 plans, though the White House is adamant he intends to run. Some polls show the majority of Democratic voters would prefer otherwise.

A February poll conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 37 percent of Democrats want Biden to run for another termdown from 52 percent prior to the midterm elections.

The White House on Monday also presented itself as unbothered by news of Williamson hopping in the race. Im just not tracking that, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. I mean, if I had aa, uh, whats it called? A little globe herecrystal ballthen I can tell you If I could feel her aura.

If by some exceptional circumstance Biden chose not to run in 2024, Williamson could get a bit of a first-mover advantage in what would surely become a crowded primary.

But for now, she has the primary circuit all to herself. Williamson soon plans to visit New Hampshirea state that promises to host the first primary in the nation, even though it goes against the DNCs new primary calendar. Shes hoping Democratic voters there and elsewhere will hear her pitch.

The Democratic Party needs to be a conduit for the healing of this country, Williamson told ABC News. But first, the Democratic Party needs to look in the mirror and heal itself.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are not pushing back on King Charles' decision to evict them from their U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage.

A source tells PEOPLE in this week's issue that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are "matter-of-fact" about being requested to leave Frogmore Cottage and aren't trying to overturn the decision. The source adds that Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, are happy to raise their two children in California, where they moved in 2020 after stepping back as senior members of the royal family.

However, those close to the couple say the decision is "unfortunate"  especially in terms of security, as Frogmore Cottage in Windsor was a haven for the pair and their children, 3-year-old son Archie Harrison and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet Diana, when they visited the U.K.

RELATED: All About Frogmore Cottage, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's U.K. Home That They've Been Told 'to Vacate'

Frogmore Cottage

GOR/Getty Frogmore Cottage

Last week, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan told PEOPLE, "We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage."

The statement followed a report by The Sun that King Charles plans to move his brother Prince Andrew to the residence. The second son of Queen Elizabeth, who stepped back from public duties over his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, currently resides at the much larger Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

PEOPLE understands that the couple knew about the move before the release of Prince Harry's book, Spare, in January.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

Samir Hussein/WireImage Meghan Markle, Prince Charles and Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan lived at Frogmore Cottage from 2019 to 2020. The couple relocated from the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage, on the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, to the residence before the birth of Archie in 2019. After stepping back from their working royal roles in early 2020, they briefly stayed in Canada before settling in Meghan's home state of California.

Story continues

It remains to be seen whether the couple will receive a refund for part of the $2.9 million they spent on refurbishments and rental costs on the property over several years, as the time on their lease has not yet expired.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral

Karwai Tang/WireImage Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Royal historian Robert Lacey tells PEOPLE that King Charles is making moves that Queen Elizabeth did not.

"Charles is now the guardian of the institution. The King just can't sit back," he says. "It shows Charles has a steel that his mother lacked. The Queen could never bring herself to confront Harry as an adult."

Global Citizen Live, New York - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

It's still unclear if Prince Harry and Meghan will return to the U.K. in May for Charles' coronation.

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement this weekend, "I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty's office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

Buckingham Palace had no comment.
Melania Trump is backing congressional lawmakers efforts to bring a monument marking the womens suffrage movement to the National Mall in Washington.

Wonderful to see bipartisan legislation introduced in the House to help secure a monument on the National Mall, Trump tweeted to her more than 2 million followers on Tuesday.

A monument, Trump said, would tell the unique, moving and powerful stories of women throughout American history.

The former first lady has kept a relatively low profile since exiting the White House in 2021. Shes made a limited number of public appearances and granted few interviews in recent years, typically tweeting out sporadic messages to recognize holidays or to promote her charitable work and line of Christmas ornaments.

Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) introduced the Womens Suffrage National Monument Location Act (H.R. 1318) last week. The legislation, timed to coincide with the beginning of Womens History Month, would authorize the location of a monument on the National Mall to commemorate and honor the womens suffrage movement and the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sponsored a Senate version of the bill last year.

Then-President Donald Trump signed a bill in December 2020 authorizing an outdoor suffragist monument, but securing a location to install it on the National Mall requires an act of Congress.

The move to honor the womens suffrage movement has found unanimous, bipartisan support among at least one exclusive group. Jill Biden and every former first lady  including Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter  serve as honorary co-chairs of the Womens Suffrage National Monument Foundation, which is leading the push for the commemorative work.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two of the Americans who were kidnapped at gunpoint just over the Mexican border on Friday have been found dead, while two others were found alive with one wounded, a Mexican state governor said Tuesday.

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said that the fourth kidnapping victim had no injuries, according to The Associated Press. The FBI revealed on Sunday that the group of four Americans were kidnapped by armed men on Friday, and asked for the publics assistance in helping locate them.

The four Americans were in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates and were taken by the gunmen just after crossing into Matamoros in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The FBI confirmed the deaths on Tuesday evening, saying in a statement that the two surviving victims of the kidnapping were receiving care at a local hospital in Brownsville, Texas. One of the survivors suffered serious bodily injuries as a result of the attack, the FBI said.

Earlier today, the FBI was notified that Mexican authorities had located the four missing American victims who were kidnapped on March 3 in Matamoros, Mexico. The FBI is saddened to report that two of the victims are deceased. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims in this tragic event, the statement read.

The FBI added that the incident remains an ongoing criminal investigation, and that it will work with other federal agencies and international partners to determine the facts of what happened and to hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes. The agency said that FBI Victim Services is working with the victims and their families to help them recover, and that the FBI is working with the State Department to recover the deceased victims.

Several media outlets had reported on Tuesday that the group was traveling to Mexico for a medical procedure.

The State Department has a Level 4 warning in place for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, warning Americans to not travel there due to crime and kidnapping, which it says is common along the northern border.

Story continues

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday that that the kidnapping was unacceptable, and that U.S. law enforcement agencies were working with Mexico to address the situation. She did not offer more details due to privacy concerns.

These sorts of attacks are unacceptable. Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. U.S. law enforcement is in touch with Mexican law enforcement, she said.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement on Monday that a Mexican citizen was also killed during the incident.

We have no greater priority than the safety of our citizens  this is the U.S. governments most fundamental role, Salazar said. U.S. law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots.

Updated at 6:29 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Courtship of wild giant pandas spotted in SW China

Xinhua) 08:39, March 07, 2023

This photo taken on Dec. 29, 2021 with an infrared camera shows a wild giant panda drinking water at the Ya'an area of the Giant Panda National Park in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)

CHENGDU, March 6 (Xinhua) -- While conducting a field patrol, staff with China's Giant Panda National Park found two wild giant pandas in search of mates.

On March 3, Ma Wenhu, a staff member with the park's Tangjiahe area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, found a giant panda lying on a tree branch in the sun.

"Because the light was particularly good that day, I scanned the slope opposite me with a monocular telescope. As a result, I accidentally came across the animal," Ma recalled.

Ma added that another wild giant panda climbed up the tree and gradually approached the one in the tree. Ma observed that the giant panda who approached the tree constantly smeared perianal gland secretion on the branches and attracted the attention of the other by shaking the tree trunk.

Park experts said the behavior of giant pandas smearing odor with their perianal glands, coupled with the fact that the first panda to climb the tree was a female, indicates the arrival of giant panda estrus in spring.

The fourth national survey of giant pandas in 2015 found that there were 1,864 wild giant pandas in China.

Owing to the relentless protection efforts by Chinese zoologists, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded the giant panda from endangered to vulnerable in 2016.

This photo taken on March 3, 2023 shows two wild giant pandas in search of mates in the Tangjiahe area of the Giant Panda National Park in Qingchuan County of Guangyuan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo by Ma Wenhu/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Chicago's South Shore Drill Team marches past East Dundee Village Hall on Barrington Avenue during the Thom McNamee Memorial St. Patrick's Day Parade. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

Here are some other events happening from March 10 to 16 in Aurora, Naperville and Elgin.

Dublindee

Advertisement

Celebrate St. Patricks Day in Dundee with the traditional Thom McNamee Memorial St. Patricks Day Parade at 11 a.m. March 11 at Rosie OHares Public House in East Dundee. Tickets are free. At 702 Water St. dundeestpats@gmail.com; dundeestpats.org.

The festivities include the Kilted 5K run, a pet parade, corned beef eating contest and more. Fireworks are March 18.

Advertisement

St. Charles Irish parade

The St. Charles St. Patricks Day parade will be at 2 p.m. March 11 in downtown St. Charles. Tickets are free. At Main Street between Sixth Street and Fourth Avenue. 630-443-3967; stcstpatricksparade.com.

There will be an opening ceremony at 11 a.m., photo opportunities, a scavenger hunt, themed events and specials around town.

Chicago tribute

Brass Transit  The Musical Legacy of Chicago performs the music of Chicago at 7:30 p.m. March 11 at the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. Tickets are $43-$63. At 425 Fawell Blvd. 630-942-4000; atthemac.org.

Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Brass Transit presents a show filled with all the hits from Chicagos golden age of 1969-1976, complete with trademark horns and vocals.

Female composers celebrated

Chamber Music on the Fox celebrates two American composers during Womens History Month with concerts at 7:30 p.m. March 12 at the New England Congregational Church in Aurora and at 7:30 p.m. March 13 at the First Congregational Church of Dundee in West Dundee. Tickets are $10-$20. At 406 W. Galena Blvd. in Aurora and 900 S. 8th St. in West Dundee. 224-276-8881; chambermusiconthefox.org.

Advertisement

Rediscovered: Piano Quintets of Florence Price and Amy Beach recognizes the contributions of two American women who earned their way into the male-dominated composer field at the turn of the 20th century. Pianist Liang-yu Wang and KAIA String Quartet will be featured.

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.
Gregory Morales, general manager of the new 1001 Mexican Restaurant & Bar in West Hartford, considers himself and the restaurants head chef, artists.

Morales is creating the atmosphere, the specialty drinks made with fresh fruits and herbs, while chef Juan Carlos Carranza Cardona is creating the taste by adding his own twist to Mexican favorites.

I like having a collaboration with another artist and seeing a portrait slowly come together, Morales said. Were blending our two concepts: craft cocktails and scratch food.

The men, Morales, 30 and Cardona, 35, were brought together through silent partners to create the restaurant at 134 Park Road.

Theyve been in soft opening mode for about a month, keeping the hours of Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. and plan to expand the hours when theyve completed finishing touches.

Cardona, a native of Honduras who became an expert in Mexican cuisine while working in California, said through a translator he prides himself on making everything from scratch  even the guacamole is made to order.

The salsa and chips are all made in house and they are building a vegan menu where, for instance, the tacos are filled with ingredients such as cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini.

Cardona is such a stickler for freshness, he shops for ingredients every day, he said through a translator. He also likes to do his own twist on popular dishes.

Hes passionate about his good quality and appearance, Morales said of Cardonas food. Juan Carlos is phenomenal.

Morales, who works front of house and is an expert mixologist, has 12 years in the restaurant business.

I like the thankfulness and the gratitude you get when you give quality service, Morales said.

He loves talking to customers, setting the atmosphere and creating craft cocktails with herbs such as mint, sage, basil, thyme and fresh fruits such as blueberries and raspberries. You wont find any flavored vodka at his bar.

Story continues

The brands of tequila, gin, vodka and other alcohol are carefully selected for each cocktail.

Three of the favorites hes created for the restaurant are called, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, The Hornets Nest, The Angry Flamingo.

To me its like a party  a party for your taste buds, he said of the signature drinks. I Layer the flavors so you taste it in a specific way.

So far the eatery seats 32, has a seven-seat bar and theyre working on a patio envisioned with lots of plants, Morales said.

While customers will know theyre in a Mexican restaurant  there will be a flag, a few sombreros and a mural has been commissioned  the atmosphere wont be overdone, Morales said. Each table is candlelit at night.

In an effort to appeal to a broader audience and families, the background music will be todays pop, rather than Mexican, he said.

I wanted it to be welcoming to everyone and family friendly, Morales said.

The men also know what they dont want the restaurant to become.

We dont want a party, nightlife place. It seems like theres a lot of those in West Hartford, Morales said.
The four Americans kidnapped in Matamoros have reportedly been found. Two are dead, one is injured and the fourth is unharmed, according to the Associated Press.

The tragic news came hours after the Americans were identified as a group of friends who travelled to Mexico so that one of them could get a tummy tuck procedure.

Family members named the group as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina.

The four were travelling in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates when they crossed the US border into Mexico on Friday.

Not long after entering Matamoros  an area dominated by the Gulf cartel  they came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck.

A video circulating on social media appears to show the four friends being loaded into a pickup truck during their abduction  many of them dragged limply into the vehicle.

The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to their return and the arrest of those responsible.

Key Points

Four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Tamaulipas on Friday

FBI appeals for publics help in identifying assailants

Video of violence in Matamoros emerges

Americans crossed border to buy medicine, Mexican president says

Innocent Mexican citizen killed in incident

Details on discovery remain scant

15:23 , Megan Sheets

Details about the discovery of the four kidnapped Americans remains scant.

The news that two of the Americans were found dead and two others alive initially came from Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal, via the Associated Press.

Mr Villarreal said that one of the survivors was wounded and the other was not.

He did not give any identifying details.

The Independents Andrea Blanco reports:

Two Americans kidnapped in Matamoros, Mexico, are found dead, one wounded

Missing Americans found in Mexico

15:10 , Megan Sheets

The four Americans kidnapped in Matamoros have been found, according to a Mexican governor.

Story continues

Two of the victims are dead, one injured and another unharmed, according to the Associated Press.

Kidnapped American Latavia Tay McGee travelled to Mexico for cosmetic surgery

14:51 , Andrea Blanco

The four Americans kidnapped in Mexico on Friday have now been identified as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina.

Ms McGee, who is pictured below, had travelled to the country for cosmetic surgery, her mother told the Associated Press.

LaTavia McGee is one of four Americans who were kidnapped after crossing the border into Mexico (Family handout)

Family of kidnapped US citizen says it feels like a bad dream'

14:20 , Rachel Sharp

The family of one of the kidnapped US citizens has spoken out to say that it feels like a bad dream.

Zalandria Brown said that her younger brother Zindell Brown is one of the four victims who are now missing after being abducted by armed men in Matamoros on Friday.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she told the Associated Press.

To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Ms Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, had gone on the trip with his three friends because one of the women  Latavia Tay McGee  had booked to get a tummy tuck at a clinic in Mexico.

She said that her brother had spoken about his concerns of going to such a dangerous place but the four had all gone to help share driving duties on the trip.

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, she said.

Mom of kidnapped American says she urged daughter not to go

13:50 , Rachel Sharp

The mother of one of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico has revealed that she urged her daughter not to go.

Latavia Tay McGees mother Barbara Burgess told ABC News that her daughter had traveled with her three friends from her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to get a tummy tuck at a clinic in Mexico.

Ms Burgess said she was worried about her daughter going and warned her it might not be safe.

But, her daughter brushed off her concerns telling her: Ma, Ill be okay.

Ms Burgess said she last heard from Ms McGee on Friday when she called to say that they were just 15 minutes from the cosmetic surgeons office where she was scheduled to have the procedure that day. She never heard from her again.

Ms Burgess said she tried calling her daughter later that day but her phone went straight to voicemail.

Not long later, she said she received a visit from an FBI agent, revealing what had happened.

Four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico identified as group of friends who travelled for tummy tuck

13:20 , Rachel Sharp

The four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros have now been identified as a group of friends who travelled to Mexico so that one of them could get a tummy tuck procedure.

Family members named the group on Monday as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

The four were travelling in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates when they crossed the US border into Mexico on Friday.

Not long after entering Matamoros  an area dominated by the Gulf cartel  they came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck. They have not been seen since.

Read the full story here:

Identities of four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico made public

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for US military to rescue kidnapped Americans

12:50 , Rachel Sharp

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for the US military to take out the Mexicancartels after it was announced that four American tourists were kidnapped while in Mexico.

Graig Gaziosi reports.

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for US military strike on Mexican cartels

PICTURED: Kidnapped American Shaeed Woodard

12:20 , Rachel Sharp

The four Americans kidnapped in Mexico on Friday have now been identified as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina.

Mr Woodard is pictured below:

Shaeed Woodard was identified as one of the four Americans kidnapped (Facebook Shaeed Woodard)

PICTURED: Kidnapped American Latavia Tay McGee

11:59 , Rachel Sharp

The four Americans kidnapped in Mexico on Friday have now been identified as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina.

Ms McGee is pictured below:

LaTavia McGee is one of four Americans who were kidnapped after crossing the border into Mexico (Family handout)

Innocent Mexican citizen killed in kidnapping incident

10:15 , Oliver O'Connell

An innocent Mexican citizen was killed during the kidnapping of four Americans, according to US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.

Mr Salazar did not offer any additional details about the circumstances of the killing.

We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens, he said, according to CNN.

This is the most fundamental role of the US government. Officials from various US law enforcement agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to achieve the safe return of our compatriots.

What we know about the abduction of four Americans in Matamoros

08:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has launched an appeal for information after four American citizens were ambushed and kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico on Friday 3 March.

An investigation involving the FBI, federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies is currently underway to find them.

Oliver Rich, special agent in charge of the San Antonio Division of the FBI, said in a press release that the bureau is seeking the publics help in identifying the assailants.

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for tip-offs leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of their captors.

Details regarding the incident are currently sparse but here is everything we do know so far about this developing story.

What we know about the kidnapping of four US citizens in Mexico

State Department: Do not travel to Tamaulipas

06:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The US State Department has advised Americans not to travel to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping, with the region featuring on its Level 4: Do Not Travel list.

The US Consulate in Matamoros issued a warning to its employees on Friday in response to the latest outbreak of violence.

Matamoros, Mexico: We received reports of police activity occurring in the vicinity of Calle Primera and Lauro Villar in connection to a shooting. U.S. government employees have been instructed to avoid the area until further notice. https://t.co/HmMr3HNJ9G pic.twitter.com/3pnP5cs0Jo  Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) March 3, 2023

Ambassador Salazar: No higher priority than the safety of our citizens

04:15 , Oliver O'Connell

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar released a statement on Monday:

On Friday, March 3, unknown assailants in Matamoros, Tamaulipas kidnapped four US citizens at gunpoint in an incident that tragically killed an innocent Mexican citizen. We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens. This is the most fundamental role of the US government.

He also tweeted that the embassy is working with the Mexican authorities to secure the release of the Americans.

Protecting  citizens is our most important role.  officials work with  authorities to secure the safe return of 4  citizens taken at gunpoint on Friday in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The @FBI offers a reward for information leading to their return: https://t.co/NXgckIFiCP https://t.co/dqyMjQci9X  Embajador Ken Salazar (@USAmbMex) March 6, 2023

White House closely following situation

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the White House is closely following the assault and kidnapping of four American citizens in Mexico.

Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.

Press sec. Jean-Pierre says White House is closely following the assault and kidnapping of four American citizens in Mexico.



Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. https://t.co/GuJqZZuSDm pic.twitter.com/EQjHyfohje  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 6, 2023

Where were four US citizens abducted at gunpoint in Matamoros?

02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has launched a search for four US citizens who were kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico.

The group of four Americans drove across the US border with Mexico on Friday, crossing into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in their white minivan, according to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico.

Not long after crossing the border, they were ambushed by a group of gunmen who fired on the passengers in the vehicle.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Mexico kidnapping map: Where were four US citizens abducted at gunpoint in Matamoros?

01:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Twitter video reveals violence in Matamoros

A widely shared video on Twitter appears to show the aftermath of violence in Matamoros on Friday, around the time the four Americans were kidnapped.

Asi la violencia este viernes en Matamoros.



Completamente rebasadas las autoridades en Tamaulipaspic.twitter.com/rZP1Y00kee  Joaquin Lopez-Doriga (@lopezdoriga) March 4, 2023

New images of kidnap scene in Mexico

01:02 , Graeme Massie

(AP)

(AP)

(Associated Press)

FBI seeks publics help

00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Here is the full text of the FBIs call for public assistance in identifying the captors of the four Americans.

Oliver Rich, Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), whose territory includes Brownsville, Texas, announced today that the FBI is seeking the publics assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible for the assault and kidnapping of four US Citizens, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on March 03, 2023.

The FBI, federal partners, and Mexican law enforcement agencies are investigating. The FBI is announcing a reward of $50,000 for the return of the victims and the arrest of those involved.

On March 03, 2023, four Americans crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico driving a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle. All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men.

The public is urged to call FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 with any information regarding this investigation. Tips can also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov

Individuals who provide information may remain anonymous.

Identities of four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico made public

00:09 , Graeme Massie

The identities of three of the four US citizens kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico after being ambushed when they crossed the border have been made public.

Christina Hickson says her son, 28-year-old Zindell Brown, is one of the group of four Americans who drove across the US border with Mexico on Friday, crossing into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white minivan, reported WPDE.

Identities of three Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico made public

Americans buying medicine were not intended target, reports say

Monday 6 March 2023 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The four US citizens kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico are not believed to have been intentionally targeted, CNN reports.

Citing a US official with knowledge of the investigation, the network reports that it was likely a mistake.

The same official said the Americans were not thought to have been in Mexico for criminal purposes.

Americans kidnapped in Mexico not intended target, US official says

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for US military strike on cartels

Monday 6 March 2023 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for the US military to take out the Mexicancartels after it was announced that four American tourists were kidnapped while in Mexico.

The FBI announced that the Americans were kidnapped on 3 March in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

Graig Graziosi reports.

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls for US military strike on Mexican cartels

How did the Americans get caught up in a shootout?

Monday 6 March 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

According to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico, the group had crossed into the north eastern state of Tamaulipas on the Gulf Coast from Brownsville, Texas, driving a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates.

Shortly after they had entered the country, they were attacked by gunmen in the border city of Matamoros.

After firing on the van, the attackers then moved the passengers to another vehicle and drove them away from the scene, the embassy said.

The identities of the Americans has not yet been disclosed and the purpose of their trip has not yet been substantiated.

On Monday morning, an unnamed US official said the four Americans were not the intended targets and they had traveled to Matamoros for medical procedures.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the group were in the country looking to buy medicine.

The information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups and they were detained, the president said. The whole government is working on it.

Two cartel shootouts in Matamoros on Friday

Monday 6 March 2023 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Matamoros is notorious as a centre for gang violence and illegal migrant smuggling. It is dominated by the Gulf drug cartel but there has been infighting between splinter groups in recent years.

Tamaulipas state police said on its social media channel that people had been killed and injured in two shootouts in Matamoros on Friday in which neither the military nor police had been involved but did not offer any further detail on the shootings or say whether the kidnappings were connected.

State Department: Do not travel to Tamaulipas

Monday 6 March 2023 21:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The US State Department has advised Americans not to travel to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping, with the region featuring on its Level 4: Do Not Travel list.

The US Consulate in Matamoros issued a warning to its employees on Friday in response to the latest outbreak of violence.

Matamoros, Mexico: We received reports of police activity occurring in the vicinity of Calle Primera and Lauro Villar in connection to a shooting. U.S. government employees have been instructed to avoid the area until further notice. https://t.co/HmMr3HNJ9G pic.twitter.com/3pnP5cs0Jo  Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) March 3, 2023

Marjorie Taylor Greene wants strike on cartels in Mexico

Monday 6 March 2023 20:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for the US military to strategically strike and take out the Mexican Cartels.

The controversial congresswoman has tweeted several times about Mexico and the cartels sincw news broke of the kidnapping of four Americans on Friday.

Initially she wrote: Mexican Cartels kidnapped 4 Americans this weekend and Mexico is so DANGEROUS that if you go to Mexico you are on your own! But but but.. Ukraine!

Mexican Cartels kidnapped 4 Americans this weekend and Mexico is so DANGEROUS that if you go to Mexico you are on your own!



But but but.. Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/TwBSmHSVZv  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023

Later, she expounded:

Our military should be stationed at our southern border. We should strategically strike and take out the Mexican Cartels, not the Mexican government or their people, but the Mexican Cartels which control them all. They are international terrorists and criminals murdering Americans everyday with drugs and crime! They are making BILLIONS on drug and human trafficking and are terrorizing anyone who stands in their way. Our military is competent and should take them out swiftly. Make an example out of these monsters. The only difference between the Cartels and ISIS is that the Cartels are on our southern border.

Our military should be stationed at our southern border.



We should strategically strike and take out the Mexican Cartels, not the Mexican government or their people, but the Mexican Cartels which control them all.



They are international terrorists and criminals murdering https://t.co/4ETBxyfXQs  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023

Rep Greene finally added: Whats the difference between ISIS and Antifa and the Mexican Cartels? Nothing. They are all terrorists and should be treated accordingly.

Whats the difference between ISIS and Antifa and the Mexican Cartels?



Nothing.



They are all terrorists and should be treated accordingly.  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023

Ambassador Salazar: No higher priority than the safety of our citizens

Monday 6 March 2023 20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar released a statement on Monday:

On Friday, March 3, unknown assailants in Matamoros, Tamaulipas kidnapped four US citizens at gunpoint in an incident that tragically killed an innocent Mexican citizen. We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens. This is the most fundamental role of the US government.

He also tweeted that the embassy is working with the Mexican authorities to secure the release of the Americans.

Protecting  citizens is our most important role.  officials work with  authorities to secure the safe return of 4  citizens taken at gunpoint on Friday in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The @FBI offers a reward for information leading to their return: https://t.co/NXgckIFiCP https://t.co/dqyMjQci9X  Embajador Ken Salazar (@USAmbMex) March 6, 2023

White House closely following situation

Monday 6 March 2023 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the White House is closely following the assault and kidnapping of four American citizens in Mexico.

Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.

Press sec. Jean-Pierre says White House is closely following the assault and kidnapping of four American citizens in Mexico.



Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. https://t.co/GuJqZZuSDm pic.twitter.com/EQjHyfohje  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 6, 2023

What we know about the abduction of four Americans in Matamoros

Monday 6 March 2023 19:00 , Megan Sheets

The FBI has launched an appeal for information after four American citizens were ambushed and kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico on Friday 3 March.

An investigation involving the FBI, federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies is currently underway to find them.

Oliver Rich, special agent in charge of the San Antonio Division of the FBI, said in a press release that the bureau is seeking the publics help in identifying the assailants.

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for tip-offs leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of their captors.

Details regarding the incident are currently sparse but here is everything we do know so far about this developing story.

What we know about the kidnapping of four US citizens in Mexico

Innocent Mexican citizen killed in kidnapping incident

Monday 6 March 2023 18:45 , Megan Sheets

An innocent Mexican citizen was killed during the kidnapping of four Americans, according to US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar.

Mr Salazar did not offer any additional details about the circumstances of the killing.

We have no higher priority than the safety of our citizens, he said, according to CNN.

This is the most fundamental role of the US government. Officials from various US law enforcement agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to achieve the safe return of our compatriots.

Mexican president says Americans were buying medicine

Monday 6 March 2023 18:15 , Megan Sheets

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said the four Americans kidnapped were in the country for medical procedures.

The information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups and they were detained, he said. The whole government is working on it.

The president made his comments after an unnamed US official told CNN that the Americans were targeted in a case of mistaken identity.

Where were four US citizens abducted at gunpoint in Matamoros?

Monday 6 March 2023 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The FBI has launched a search for four US citizens who were kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico.

The group of four Americans drove across the US border with Mexico on Friday, crossing into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in their white minivan, according to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico.

Not long after crossing the border, they were ambushed by a group of gunmen who fired on the passengers in the vehicle.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Mexico kidnapping map: Where were four US citizens abducted at gunpoint in Matamoros?

Americans targeted by mistake says US official

Monday 6 March 2023 17:01 , Oliver O'Connell

CNN reports that the group of Americans assaulted and kidnapped in Matamoros were targeted by mistake and were not the intended victims of the attack.

The network cites a US official with knowledge of the situation.

It is also not believed that the group was in Mexico for criminal purposes.

The four Americans crossed into Mexico on Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates and were abducted a short time later.

FBI seeks publics help

Monday 6 March 2023 16:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Here is the full text of the FBIs call for public assistance in identifying the captors of the four Americans.

Oliver Rich, Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), whose territory includes Brownsville, Texas, announced today that the FBI is seeking the publics assistance in identifying the person(s) responsible for the assault and kidnapping of four US Citizens, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on March 03, 2023.

The FBI, federal partners, and Mexican law enforcement agencies are investigating. The FBI is announcing a reward of $50,000 for the return of the victims and the arrest of those involved.

On March 03, 2023, four Americans crossed into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico driving a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle. All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men.

The public is urged to call FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 with any information regarding this investigation. Tips can also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov

Individuals who provide information may remain anonymous.

Pictures of minivan after shooting emerge

Monday 6 March 2023 16:19 , Oliver O'Connell

#Ultimahora 



Secuestran a 4 estadounidenses en Matamoros, revela FBI.



En un comunicado oficial, el gobierno estadounidense ofrece una recompensa de 50,000 dolares a quien aporte informacion para rescatar a las victimas y capturar a los delincuentes. https://t.co/yijXcvAdnA  ElefanteBlancoMX (@MxElefante) March 6, 2023

Twitter video reveals violence in Matamoros

Monday 6 March 2023 15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

A widely shared video on Twitter appears to show the aftermath of violence in Matamoros on Friday, around the time the four Americans were kidnapped.

Asi la violencia este viernes en Matamoros.



Completamente rebasadas las autoridades en Tamaulipaspic.twitter.com/rZP1Y00kee  Joaquin Lopez-Doriga (@lopezdoriga) March 4, 2023

Americans advised against travel to Tamaulipas

Monday 6 March 2023 15:10 , Joe Sommerlad

The purpose of the groups visit to Mexico is currently unclear.

However, the US State Department is advising Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping.

The region is on the Level 4: Do Not Travel list.

The border city of Matamoros is largely controlled by the Gulf drug cartel, with violence and migrant smuggling rife.

Tamaulipas lies in north east Mexico, just south of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico (Google Maps)

FBI appeals for publics help in identifying assailants

Monday 6 March 2023 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad

Oliver Rich, special agent in charge of the San Antonio Division of the FBI, said in a press release that the bureau is seeking the publics help in identifying the assailants responsible for the assault and kidnapping.

A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers.

An investigation  involving the FBI, federal partners and Mexican law enforcement agencies  is currently underway.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or to submit tips anonymously online here.

Four Americans kidnapped at gunpoint in Tamaulipas on Friday

Monday 6 March 2023 13:55 , Joe Sommerlad

Four US citizens who were kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico on Friday have been made the subject of a manhunt by the FBI.

The group had crossed the Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white minivan when they were ambushed by gunmen who fired on the passengers, according to the US Embassy & Consulates in Mexico.

The four Americans were then placed in another vehicle and driven from the scene by their captors, the embassy said.

Heres Rachel Sharps report.

FBI launches search for four US citizens kidnapped at gunpoint in Matamoros, Mexico

Monday 6 March 2023 13:37 , Joe Sommerlad

Hello and welcome to The Independents live coverage of the FBI investigation into the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico.
With its warm climate, beautiful beaches and proximity to the U.S., Mexico is a popular tourist destination for many Americans.

But some people may be reconsidering their travel plans after four Americans were kidnapped and two of them killed when they traveled last week to Matamoros, Mexico. They were caught in the crossfire of rival cartel groups in the border city in Tamaulipas state, according to Gov. Americo Villarreal. The deaths of the U.S. citizens who traveled south of the border for what Mexican authorities called a "medical treatment.''

"Im sure people will have some pause after such a graphic and horrible incident," said Gabby Beckford, a noted Seattle-based travel influencer who took a two-month excursion across Mexico last year. "This will remind me not to be lax about my safety precautions and to always be mindful of my surroundings."

2 KIDNAPPED AMERICANS DEAD IN MEXICO: 2 more survivors have returned to the US, authorities say: Live updates

Mexico remains one of Americans' most traveled destinations. Nearly 29 million Americans traveled to Mexico in 2021, according to data researcher Statista. By contrast, about 75 American citizens died by homicide in Mexico in 2021, according to the most recent U.S. State Department statistics.

And in the past few months, taxi drivers have been harassing Ubers in Cancun and three Americansdied in Mexico City in October 2022. 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.

Story continues

IS IT SAFE TO TAKE A TAXI IN CANCUN?: Here are the safest ways to get around, per travel agents

STAY SAFE WHILE TRAVELING: Here are 17 CIA tips, advice to think like a spy on vacation

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

Opinion: Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing Americans. Here's how the US needs to fight back.

What is the updated Travel Advisory for Mexico?

Tourists enjoy the beach in Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021.

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.

 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.

STAYING SAFE: US tourists warned about popular Mexico spots plagued by drug cartel intimidation, violence

"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 against 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 travel to Mexico safe? What about Cancun, Cabo, Playa del Carmen
A Miami influencer regularly flaunted her extravagant lifestyle to her 34,000 Instagram followers. Rides on private jets. High-end designer handbags. A luxury South Florida waterfront apartment.

But her online person was a facade.

The woman behind the account, Danielle Miller, funneled more than $1 million in a pandemic-related loan scam to finance the ruse she shared on social media, according to court records. The 32-year-old pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

From July 2020 through May 2021, Miller received pandemic-related relief loans by using fake business names and the stolen identities of more than 10 people, court records say. While making purchases and reservations, Miller presented the bogus drivers licenses in the victims names with her photograph on them.

Miller brazenly publicized her lavish lifestyle, which assisted investigators in tying her to the scam. She posted a photo that linked her to luxury hotels in California, where transactions were made using one victims bank account. Miller also arranged private jet charter flights from Florida to California and rented the luxury Miami apartment using the forged IDs.

According to officials, Miller is no stranger to fraud-related cases. She had previously been arrested in Florida and was even profiled last year in a New York Magazine piece detailing her scams.

I more so consider myself a con artist than anything, Miller told the magazine. You know how they have that saying that you can sell ice to an Eskimo? If theres something that I want, Im getting it.

A New York native, Miller grew up a block from Central Park, according to the New York Magazine profile. She is the daughter of Michael Miller, the former president of the New York State Bar Association. From 2016 to 2019, Miller attended Pepperdine Law, her LinkedIn profile says.

Miller will be sentenced on June 27, 2023, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV. She may face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each charge of wire fraud. The identity theft charge is a mandatory sentence of two years in prison plus a fine of up to $250,000.
Two standardized test scores will no longer be required for admission to one area university.

Miami University announced Tuesday that neither ACT nor SAT will be required for admission but optional for first-year and transfer students through spring 2026.

>> Two standardized test scores will no longer be required for admission to one area university.

The announcement comes after students admitted for the fall of 2021 and 2022 were the most academically accomplished in Miamis history, and an increase of 24.7 percent in applications, according to a release from the university.

Since Miami has been test optional, about 50 percent of our applicants have asked us to use an ACT or SAT score in our evaluation of their application. We continue to enroll extremely accomplished students, and the academic profile of each new class continues to be among the best of all Ohio public universities, Miami University Director of Admission Bethany Perkins said.

>> Dayton Police search for driver who crashed into building then fled

According to the university, it will evaluate applications based on grades, GPA, the strength of the curriculum, application essays, co-curricular and extracurricular activities, talent, personal background, and other factors.

A test score has never been the only factor Miamis admission committee considers in application evaluation, and it certainly isnt the most important factor. There are much better predictors of college success such as the strength of a students curriculum and achievements in high school courses, Perkins said.

Additionally, standardized test scores are not required for merit scholarships or university-deemed competitive programs such as Honors College, the Farmer School of Business, or Nursing. Students wanting test scores to be considered will still have that option.

>> Dayton police still investigating deadly February hit and run; Asking public for information

The extension of our test-optional policy will allow us to evaluate the outcomes of Miami Universitys Class of 2025 before deciding whether the university should be test optional permanently. Analysis of graduate data, combined with the student retention and success data were already evaluating, will enable us to make a well-informed decision based on the best interests of future students, Vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Success Brent Shock, said

To learn more about the test-optional admission for Miami University, visit their website.




Michael Guest (R-MS).

Mississippi Republican Rep. Michael Guest, who represents the state's third district in Congress, reintroduced a bipartisan bill Tuesday targeted at fentanyl trafficking.

The END FENTANYL Act, which Guest also proposed last year, would require customs and border protection to update its manuals at least every three years on the prevention of drug and human smuggling. It also would require the commissioner of CBP to report any changes to the House and Senate committees on homeland security and the Senate government affairs committee.

In 2019, a study from the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that policies had not been updated in 20 years. Fentanyl is "50 to 100 times more potent than morphine," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and fentanyl overdoses have become the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45, according to another set of CDC data.

Joining Guest as cosponsors of the bill are three other Republicans and four Democrats. Rep. Mike Ezell, a Mississippi Republican from the state's fourth district, is a cosponsor. Rep. David Trone, D-MD, joined Guest in reintroducing the bill.

The damage that has already been caused by fentanyl is irreparable. Overdoses caused by fentanyl is now the leading cause of death in Americans aged 18 to 45, but we can act to mitigate the continued devastation that the drug is causing in communities across our nation, Guest said in a statement. This bill is a strong step forward in our mission to save as many lives as possible from this deadly drug, and we must continue to work with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop the flow of fentanyl into our communities. Im grateful for Congressman Trone and Senator Scott for their efforts towards this important goal.

The bills is similar to one that passed the Senate last year by unanimous consent, but it did not reach the House floor before the end of that Congress. The bill will need approval in the House Homeland Security Committee, on which Guest serves as vice-chair, before it can reach the House floor.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Michael Guest files bill to address drug smuggling and fentanyl deaths
President-elect Donald Trump (center) is greeted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (left) as he arrives at the White House on Jan. 20, 2017.

President-elect Donald Trump (center) is greeted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (left) as he arrives at the White House on Jan. 20, 2017.

Michelle Obama opened up about leaving Washington, D.C., with her husband, former President Barack Obama, after Donald Trumps inauguration.

You walk through the Capitol, you wave goodbye, you get on Marine One, and you take your last flight flying over the Capitol, she said in Tuesdays debut episode of Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast, according to People.

Then, the former first lady dismantled one of Trumps very first lies in office: his claim that a massive crowd turned out to witness his inauguration.

There werent that many people there, she said. We saw it, by the way!

Trump, who has always been obsessed with crowd size, was reportedly enraged when the turnout for his inauguration was smaller than the turnout for Obamas 2008 celebration. Trump lied about the crowd size, and infamously sent Sean Spicer, then White House press secretary, to argue with the media about it.

Spicer called it the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, which Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway defended as alternative facts.

The former first lady called that final day in Washington emotional for so many different reasons, according to People. And she noted the lack of diversity among Trumps guests.

There was no diversity, there was no color on that stage, she told interviewer Hoda Kotb. There was no reflection of the broader sense of America.

As they left Washington, she finally let her emotions out.

When those doors shut, I cried for 30 minutes straight, uncontrollable sobbing, because thats how much we were holding it together for eight years, she said.

The first episode of the podcast is available Tuesday via Audible.
First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama, and former First Lady Michelle Obama talk on the steps of the Capitol after Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017. Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Michelle Obama said she cried uncontrollably on Air Force One on Trump's inauguration day.

Obama said she cried because "that's how much we were holding it together for eight years."

This was after the Obamas left the White House in 2017, on Trump's inauguration day.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama says she cried uncontrollably when she boarded Air Force One for the last time on January 20, 2017.

In a clip in "Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast," Obama described her experience on former President Donald Trump's inauguration day. A preview audio clip from the podcast was released on SoundCloud on Monday.

"When those doors shut, I cried for 30 minutes. Straight, uncontrollable sobbing, because that's how much we were holding it together for eight years," she said, describing what it was like boarding Air Force One for the last time at Joint Base Andrews.

Obama also talked about what it was like having to attend then-President-elect Trump's inauguration ceremony.

"There were tears, there was that emotion. But then to sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display  there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage," Obama said. "There was no reflection of the broader sense of America."

"And many people took pictures of me and they're like, 'You weren't in a good mood?' No, I was not! But you had to hold it together, like you do for eight years," Obama added.

In July 2019, Obama said in an interview with CBS host Gayle King that having to attend Trump's inauguration as one of the few people of color there was "a lot, emotionally."

Four years after he took office, Trump became one of the few presidents to skip his successor's inauguration. He left the White House on the morning of January 20, 2021, on Marine One, to fly to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Representatives for Obama did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
DETROIT (AP)  Prosecutors on Tuesday defended charges against the parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan school in 2021, telling an appeals court that extreme drawings and the boy's fascination with guns should have been a wake-up call on the day of the shootings.

A three-judge panel heard arguments in a groundbreaking case that could send James and Jennifer Crumbley to prison if they're eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the acts of Ethan Crumbley at Oxford High School.

Ethan, 16, has pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder and could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Charging the parents of a shooter is rare and, frankly, it should be, said Joseph Shada, an assistant prosecutor in Oakland County. It should be reserved for an egregious set of circumstances, an extreme set of facts.

The Crumbleys have been ordered to trial in suburban Detroit, though the case was suspended in November when the Michigan Supreme Court called a timeout and told the appeals court to take a look at the charges.

The appeals court challenged lawyers on both sides but seemed to sharply question the couple's lawyers more.

There were warning signs all over the place. ... At the end of the day, arent we looking at foreseeability more than anything else to determine whether there can be criminal liability that attaches? Judge Chris Yates said.

Judge Michael Riordan noted that James Crumbley bought the gun for Ethan, who was 15 at the time. Judge Christopher Murray said the first thing the father did when he heard about the shooting was go back home and see if the gun was there.

Earlier on the day of shooting, the Crumbleys were summoned to school for a meeting. A teacher had discovered a drawing with a gun pointing at the words: The thoughts wont stop. Help me.

The school apparently didn't demand that the Crumbleys take Ethan home. He subsequently killed four students and wounded seven other people with a gun that was in his backpack.

Story continues

There were a number of ways in which they could have exercised ordinary care to prevent this, Shada said. They could have checked to see if he had the gun they just gifted him days earlier. They could have simply taken him home from school. ... They did none of them.

Defense attorney Mariell Lehman said the school's concern on the day of the shooting was that Ethan might harm himself, not others, and should not go home to an empty house.

It was not foreseeable from the drawings on that homework that he was going to later carry out the premeditated murders of those students, Lehman said.

Co-counsel Shannon Smith had a similar message, saying it was nowhere on their radar.

I will concede that these parents made tremendously bad decisions," Smith said. But criminal trials for criminal culpability are not based on whether parents make the right decisions."

Riordan said the case is being closely watched.

There are a lot of families with kids who might not be as stable as the parents would like them to be, the judge said. What's going to be the guidepost that we lay out for other cases to follow? Is it the kid's bullied in school, comes home complaining about that  lock up all the guns? Is it the kid seems down, make sure the kid doesn't go to school?

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
A handful of members of the Edward-Elmhurst Health & Fitness Center picketed the closing of the Naperville facility on Brom Drive over the weekend. The health system said the center is closing as of April 1 so the site can be used for other patient care services. (Steve Shamrock)

Naperville resident Don Orchard and his wife joined Edward Hospitals Health & Fitness Center before it was built in 1988.

The couple visited a construction trailer at 775 Brom Drive and liked the Naperville hospitals commitment to wellness, Orchard said. When they began using the facility, they liked seeing their doctors and other hospital staff exercising along with them at the first medically based fitness center in DuPage County, he said.

Advertisement

It created a camaraderie, and the sense that the hospital truly promoted healthy lifestyles, he said.

People look at it as an institution, Orchard said. This is part of the fabric of the town.

Advertisement

But now he and others feel betrayed and abandoned, he said, after Edward-Elmhurst Healths executive leadership team announced last week that the center was closing April 1 so the site could be used for additional patient care services. No information was provided as to what will be filling the space.

People are pretty upset, Orchard said.

Naperville resident Steve Shamrock was so unhappy he started an online Change.org petition, Keep Edward-Elmhurst Fitness Center Open, which had collected more than 2,300 signatures as of Tuesday. He and a handful of people picketed outside the Naperville fitness center over the weekend.

Shamrock, a center member for 15 years, said because so many people have been working out there together for years, its almost like a family.

Whats really rankling people is that there was no community input whatsoever.  It just strikes as just completely out of touch, he said.

If the hospital system had given people more than a few weeks notice, members might have had time to adjust, Shamrock said. Now they want answers as to why members opinions werent sought.

Edward-Elmhurst Health officials, speaking in an emailed statement, said since announcing the closure, theyve heard from a number of community members and appreciate the feedback theyve shared and the connection many of them have to the center.

The decision to close the facility stemmed in part from COVID-19 pandemic, which created challenges for fitness facilities nationwide as members looked for and have continued with fitness options at home or elsewhere, the statement said.

Advertisement

Our membership at the two Edward-Elmhurst Health & Fitness locations is down nearly 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels and weekly member visits have decreased more than 15% over the same time frame, officials said.

We want our members to know this was not a decision we made lightly, and we remain extremely committed to working with them to meet their health and wellness needs at our Seven Bridges location, officials said.

Members can switch to their Seven Bridges health club, which is about 15 minutes to the east at 6600 S. Route 53 in Woodridge. It opened in 1997.

I wont be going over to Seven Bridges, Orchard said.

Besides the added distance, he said, the Naperville fitness center has a much different vibe than Seven Bridges.

Families tend to prefer the Woodridge facility because it offers childrens programming whereas the Naperville membership is older and programs are catered to them, Orchard said.

Advertisement

Not everyone who exercised at the Naperville was physically fit, but they wanted to get healthy, he said.

The proximity of the fitness center to Edward Hospital was reassuring should an emergency arise during exercise, which did happen when Orchard worked as the centers assistant director from 2000 to 2008, he said.

Theres a lot of elderly that come in with walkers, crutches, you name it, Shamrock said.

The Martin Avenue Apartments, which offers subsidized senior housing, is adjacent to the center so many residents there use it, he said.

Shamrock swims because of arthritis, and the Naperville pool is very easy for anyone, even disabled adults, to exit, he said. Its also a short trip to the locker room.

The lap pool at Seven Bridges is smaller and harder to get out of, he said, and its a hike to the locker rooms.

Advertisement

Its really far and so, if youre elderly, theres no way to get to it. Its going to be very painful, Shamrock said.

Many elderly members use aquatics for cardio and therapy because it is their only choice, he said.

Another concern is getting practice time for the Naperville Waves Masters Swim Club, which currently has hours at both the Naperville and Woodridge pools.

Its already challenging to get pool time, said Shamrock, whose wife swims with the club.

Edward-Elmhurst officials said schedules for land-based and aquatic classes and Waves master swim program classes at Seven Bridges are being expanded and will be available in mid-March.

In addition, officials said all four of the Seven Bridges pools are designed for accessibility, including ADA-compliant pool lifts that lower and raise members into and out of the water from the pool deck as well as therapy and lap pools with graduated steps to enter the water so a ladder is not needed.

Advertisement

The move to close the fitness center, Shamrock said, sends a message that Edward-Elmhurst Health prioritizes profits over health by reallocating space used for preventative services for those in which people are already sick and need treatment.

Orchard said he believes the health system sold out Naperville fitness center members because sick people generate more revenue than healthy ones.

Obviously if its about the money, its about the money, he said.

subaker@tribpub.com
Former vice president Mike Pence has filed a motion asking a judge to block a federal grand-jury subpoena for his testimony relating to January 6. His legal team is arguing that he is protected by the Constitutions speech or debate clause.

A source told CNN that the motion was filed Friday night. Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, 2021, and wants Pence to testify about his interactions with Trump leading up to the 2020 election and the day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November to oversee the investigation into the alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Whereas many would expect Pence to assert executive privilege as a former member of the second branch, Pences team has decided to go a different route, claiming legislative privilege. According to his team, Pence was also acting as president of the Senate on January 6, meaning he is shielded by the Constitutions speech-or-debate clause, which protects lawmakers from certain law-enforcement actions targeted at their legislative duties.

As president of the Senate, the vice president breaks ties when the chamber is deadlocked. Every four years in January, he or she also leads the electoral-vote count that facilitates the transfer of power from one administration to the next.

It is admittedly a constitutionally murky area with no clear outcome, explained political scientist Mark Rozell to Politico. Since there is a legislative function involved in the vice president presiding over the Senate, a court very well could decide that it must address the scope of the speech or debate privilege and whether it would apply in this case.

Efforts to resist the subpoena could be complicated by the release of Pences memoir detailing his interactions with Trump leading up to January 6. His team previously indicated to the Justice Department that hed be open to answering questions if they were limited to the matters he had previously discussed publicly.

Story continues

Also on Friday, former president Donald Trump filed a separate, sealed motion attempting to prevent Pence from speaking to a grand jury on certain matters related to the probe on the grounds of executive privilege, as first reported by CNN. The motion argues that the president can shield aides from sharing internal communications.

However, some observers say Pences motion may prove to be more effective. Executive privilege has limits that can be overcome in criminal proceedings, while protections from the Constitutions speech-or-debate clause have remained mostly impenetrable.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments in February in a similar case. Representative Scott Perry (R., Pa.) is attempting to shield access to his cellphone from January 6 investigators. He too is asserting legislative privilege.

More from National Review
This image provided by the Alexandria, Va., Sheriff's Office of Hatchet Speed. Speed, a military veteran accused of telling an undercover FBI agent about a plan to

This image provided by the Alexandria, Va., Sheriff's Office of Hatchet Speed. Speed, a military veteran accused of telling an undercover FBI agent about a plan to "wipe out" the nation's Jewish population, was convicted on Tuesday of storming the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory. (Alexandria Sheriff's Office via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP)  A military veteran accused of telling an undercover FBI agent about a plan to wipe out the nations Jewish population was convicted on Tuesday of storming the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Bidens 2020 electoral victory.

A federal judge heard trial testimony without a jury before convicting Virginia resident Hatchet Speed, a former U.S. Naval reservist who was assigned to an agency that operates spy satellites. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden is scheduled to sentence Speed on May 8 for his role in a mobs attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

McFadden convicted Speed of all five charges in his indictment, including a felony count of obstructing an official proceeding, the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress for certifying the Electoral College vote. The judge also convicted Speed of four misdemeanors.

The FBI recorded Speeds conversations with the undercover agent more than a year after the riot. Speed told the agent that he marched to the Capitol with members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, authorities said.

Speed also spewed antisemitic rhetoric linked to his dislike for government, according to prosecutors. They argued that Speeds hateful ideology helps explain why he joined the Capitol attack.

Speed was deeply worried about a Biden presidency and believed false claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, prosecutors wrote in a court filing. They said Speed expressed his admiration for Adolf Hitler and told the undercover agent that he believes Jewish people control Biden, a Democrat.

Story continues

Speed saw the Jews as everywhere, fighting to destroy Christians, and he was not willing to sit by, prosecutors wrote.

McFadden said the limited trial testimony about Speeds antisemitism wasnt a factor in his verdict. But the judge cited statements that Speed made about Jan. 6 in support of his conviction on the obstruction charge.

His own words show the defendants actions were knowing and willful, the judge said.

Speed was arrested in June 2022 on riot-related misdemeanor charges. A grand jury later indicted him on the felony obstruction charge.

On Jan. 6, Speed drove to Washington, D.C, from his home in Vienna, Virginia. After attending the Stop the Steal rally, where Trump addressed a crowd of supporters, Speed joined the mob that attacked the Capitol.

Around 3 p.m., Speed entered the building through a door to the Senate wing of the Capitol after other rioters breached it. He remained inside the Capitol for roughly 40 minutes.

After leaving, he texted another rioter that he had backed out after hearing that the vote had been postponed.

In other words, prosecutors wrote, because Speed thought he succeeded in obstructing the certification, he left the U.S. Capitol Building.

An undercover FBI agent, posing as a like-minded individual, met with Speed at least three times in March 2022 and April 2022. The FBI recorded their discussions of his motives and actions on Jan. 6.

Speed wanted to stop that certification. He left the U.S. Capitol only because he believed he succeeded in that effort, prosecutors wrote.

During the recorded conversations, Speed also outlined a plan to enlist Christians to wipe out the countrys entire Jewish population.

To defeat the Jewish threat and topple the government, Speed told the (agent) that a violent response was necessary  and that the Jews stood in the way, prosecutors wrote.

Speed began panic buying thousands of dollars worth of firearms and silencers in February 2021, prosecutors wrote. They said Speed later told the agent that he had a plan to kidnap and disappear his enemies after mock trials, and he thought the silencers could come in useful for the effort.

The undercover agent testified under a pseudonym at a separate trial for Speed in Virginia on gun charges. After a retrial in January, a federal jury in the Eastern District of Virginia convicted Speed of three counts of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm silencer. He is sentenced to be sentenced for those convictions on April 13.

Speeds attorneys accused prosecutors of treating him like a political puppet. They also accused the Justice Department of engaging in last-minute gamesmanship, bringing the felony obstruction charge in Speeds Washington case only after his first trial in Virginia ended in December with a deadlocked jury and a mistrial.

Because the government failed to convince a jury of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt under the crimes alleged, the government simply chose to allege more crimes, they wrote in a court filing.

Prosecutors said they decided to bring the obstruction charge as they began preparing for trial in earnest.

This is not a vindictive prosecution. It is a well-founded one, they wrote.

Speed was a petty officer first class in the U.S. Naval Reserves and was assigned to the Naval Warfare Space Field Activity at the National Reconnaissance Office, the FBI said. The National Reconnaissance Office operates U.S. spy satellites used by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies. The agency said Speed was not part of the reserve unit at the time of the Jan. 6 riot.
Ten more German-made Leopard 2 tanks would arrive in Ukraine this week, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said at a news conference on March 7, cited by Reuters.

Poland has led Western efforts in providing Ukraine with modern Leopard main battle tanks, having delivered the first batch on Feb. 24. In total, Warsaw pledged to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks.

The Polish defense minister also told reporters that his country was ready to launch a maintenance center for Leopard tanks transferred to Ukraine.

Ahead of a meeting of European Union defense ministers in Sweden, Blaszczak said he would talk to his German counterpart Boris Pistorius about "the low availability of spare parts for Leopard tanks."

According to Blaszczak, this problem could be tackled mainly by the German arms industry, but Poland is also ready to manufacture the spare parts.

Pistorius said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk on Feb. 26 that NATO could likely provide Ukraine with a total of 62 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks.

After months of delay, Germany finally agreed to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allowed the re-export of the same models from other countries on Jan. 25.


The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is one step closer to being back under state control after a bill was approved by the Missouri House Monday, only a decade after the city regained control of its police.

The bill, sponsored by St. Louis Republican Rep. Brad Christ, would place control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in the hands of a police board of commissioners, which would be made up of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, a former Democratic member of the Missouri House, and four commissioners appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson.

The makeup of the board would be nearly identical to the one that controls the Kansas City Police Department, which is a rare setup and often a contentious topic. Kansas City is the only city in Missouri with a police department controlled by the state.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and several Kansas City area lawmakers and leaders have been pushing for more local control of the citys police department, but have been largely unsuccessful. The effort to place St. Louis police back under state control will certainly diminish the likelihood of Kansas City regaining control of its police department with the current legislature.

Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, a St. Louis Democrat, said it is important to acknowledge the history of police boards in Missouri, which were created in Civil War-era racism. She also pointed out that St. Louis mayor is a Black woman and the city has a high population of Black residents.

This bill within itself is infringing directly on the rights of people of the City of St. Louis in order to vote, Bosley said.

Rep. Barbara Phifer, a St. Louis Democrat, said she was opposed to the bill because there was no evidence presented that showed shifting control would actually solve the problem of violence in the city.

I think everybody here would agree we have a problem with violence in the City of St. Louis, Phifer said. No one has given us any evidence that this bill would help correct the problem.

Story continues

While debating the bill on March 1, Rep. Rasheen Aldrige, a St. Louis Democrat, questioned if state control would really help stop crime, and pointed out the three Kansas City police officers that were shot and injured Feb. 28 while executing a search warrant as an example of crime levels in a city where police are controlled by a state board of commissioners.

Kansas City also had 171 killings in 2022, making it the second deadliest year for the city. The record for deadliest year was set in 2020 when 182 people were killed.

Aldridge pointed out that several of the lawmakers sponsoring versions of this legislation dont live in St. Louis. He suggested they reach out to the lawmakers from St. Louis to collaborate on how best to handle crime in the city.

Christ said the bill is intended to curb crime in a city he said has been inundated with violence. During the Feb. 28 debate, he discussed issues like long wait times for first responders and businesses being hesitant to open in the city as pressing consequences of the crime.

Its insane how bad the crime situation has become in St. Louis, Christ said.

However, violent crime declined in St. Louis between 2020 and 2021, according to data from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A group of bipartisan legislators are "deeply concerned" about how thousands of errors ended up permanently etched into a Korean War memorial meant to honor the more than 36,000 service members who died during the conflict.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance -- a $22 million project unveiled last summer -- contains more than one thousand spelling mistakes, incorrectly includes nearly 250 troops who died outside of the conflict, and omits about 500 others who should be on it, according to the independent Korean War Project, numbers first published by The New York Times.

"Errors of this magnitude should not have made it past the initial blueprints, much less carved into stone, and certainly not erected and unveiled to the public," six lawmakers from both chambers of Congress wrote in a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last week. "We find these errors deeply concerning and write to seek accountability on how the Remembrance Wall's glaring flaws went unnoticed until post-construction."

Read Next: Top Ohio Guard General Keeps Job After Shoving Reporter

The call for accountability included a request for a formal explanation from the Defense Department about how the errors came to be, due by the end of the month.

The letter pointed to previous legislation meant to establish the Remembrance Wall, which directed the DoD to "transmit a complete, accurate list based on such criteria to the Department of the Interior" for its construction. That apparently did not occur.

"We find it unfortunate that what should have been a touching tribute for bereaved family members and a grateful nation has turned into an embarrassing gaffe," the letter said.

Military Times was first to report in 2021 that the Korean War Project, a database of Korean War casualties run by two Dallas-based brothers, Hal and Ted Barker, had warned that the soon-to-be constructed memorial would have errors.

Story continues

The Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, the nonprofit charged with building the memorial, used data from the Defense Department, which was never scrubbed of errors, according to The New York Times.

"That stone needs to be fixed," Neil Thorne, an Army veteran and volunteer military historian, told Military.com on Tuesday. "Moreover, though, I would say you have a database problem."

Thorne, who processes paperwork for lost medals for veterans and was recently credited with recreating the documentation for Col. Paris Davis that finally led to his receiving the Medal of Honor on Friday, pointed to several possible reasons for the errors, including that the DoD may have misread the original records during transcription or that the records could have been put together by hand.

"In World War II, Korea, Vietnam -- you're also dealing with clerk typists who are drafted, many of them, and they're there for two to three years and done," he said. "So even if it's a modern problem with interpreting the records, it also may be further back in how it was recorded at the time."

The lawmakers -- who include House Committee on Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers; ranking member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Roger Wicker; Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz.; and Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark. -- called for the Pentagon to furnish a plan to "provide a revised and accurate list of names" to the Department of the Interior and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation.

"We must take the necessary steps to correct the issue, find the communication and research flaws that caused the errors, and ensure such errors are never repeated," the letter said.

-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.

Related: More Than 43,000 Names -- US and Korean -- on New Wall of Remembrance at Korea War Memorial
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday issued a rare rebuke of Fox News after one of its hosts downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, McConnell said his partys favorite cable network erred in its airing of Capitol security footage from that day on conservative host Tucker Carlsons program Monday night. Carlson claimed the violent attack on the Capitol was overhyped, pointing to cherry-picked footage of Donald Trump supporters calmly walking through the Capitol.

It was a mistake for Fox News to depict this in a way thats completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks, McConnell said Tuesday, holding up a letter from the head of the Capitol Police that he said correctly summed up the events.

Capitol Police Chief Tom Mangers letter to his department said the Fox News report was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the attack, in which more than 140 police officers were injured after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on Jan. 6, McConnell said Tuesday.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Fox News on Tuesday for the misleading footage of Jan. 6, 2021, shown on Tucker Carlson's show Monday night.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized Fox News on Tuesday for the misleading footage of Jan. 6, 2021, shown on Tucker Carlson's show Monday night.

It is very rare for McConnell to bring up, unprompted, anything having to do with Trump and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Its even more unusual for him to criticize a GOP-friendly network on which he often appears.

Other GOP senators also ripped Carlson on Tuesday after he attempted to whitewash the Jan. 6 riot. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) called it bullshit; Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said the event was clearly more than a peaceful protest of some rowdy boy scouts; and Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) called the events of Jan. 6 an abomination.

Story continues

McConnells decision to call out Fox News stands in sharp contrast to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who gave Carlson exclusive access to the Capitol security footage. The speaker has yet to address Fox News use of the footage.

Last week, McCarthy defended his decision to grant Carlson access to the footage. It almost seems like the press is jealous, he told The Washington Post.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, called on Fox News chief Rupert Murdoch to stop Carlson from airing more falsehoods about the Jan. 6 attack on Tuesday evening.

I dont think Ive ever seen an anchor treat the American people, and American democracy, with such disdain, Schumer said of Carlson. And hes going to come back tonight with another segment. Fox News should tell him not to. Fox News  Rupert Murdoch  tell Mr. Carlson not to run a second segment of lies. You know its a lie. Youve admitted its a lie.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell holds up a letter from the Capitol Police chief at a press conference on March 7, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Mitch McConnell slammed Fox News for airing Tucker Carlson's misleading portrayal of January 6.

He held up a letter from the Capitol Police chief calling the depiction "offensive and misleading."

But he notably declined to fault House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for handing over the footage.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday issued a rare rebuke to Fox News for airing selectively edited footage of the January 6 assault on the Capitol on Tucker Carlson's show on Monday night.

At the top of his weekly press conference at the Capitol, McConnell produced a print-out of an internal letter from US Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manager describing the footage as "offensive and misleading."

"With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night, I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of Capitol Police about what happened on January 6," said McConnell.

But he later declined to criticize House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for handing over 40,000 hours of footage to Carlson in the first place.

"My concern is how it was depicted, which is a different issue," he said. "It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks."

Pressed further, McConnell again declined to fault McCarthy.

"Now, you all know I have many faults, but one of them is not answering the question in a way that I don't want to answer it," he quipped.

McConnell took a similar tack when asked about the issue last week, notably declining to offer commentary on McCarthy's move while reiterating several times that his "main concern is the security of the Capitol."

Most other Republicans reserved judgment as well, praising the release of the footage as a victory for transparency while calling for broader distribution of the material to other news outlet.

Story continues

But this week, several Senate Republicans blasted the depiction of the footage, with Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina telling reporters that Carlson's portrayal was "bullshit."

Democrats, for their part, have been staunchly critical of the decision.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at his press conference on Tuesday that Carlson's segment was "one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen in the history  of the entire history  of cable television."

"Tucker Carlson is a propagandist publicly pretending to be a newsman," said Schumer.

Manger's letter, a copy of which was obtained by Insider, specifically rebutted a series of claims Carlson made on his show on Monday night, including that officers acted as "tour guides" for rioters.

"You fought like hell on January 6 and risked your lives to protect the Constitution and everything this country stands for," said Manger. "You, along with our law enforcement partners, saved every Member of Congress and their staff."

"TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side," Manger also wrote.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A man is in custody after he was accused of kidnapping his boss, killing her and throwing her in a Georgia river, news outlets report.

Erica Atkins, 40, was first reported missing early in the morning March 5, The Eatonton Messenger reported. Ten hours later, a fisherman called the Jones County Sheriffs Office to report that he had seen a body while fishing on Cedar Creek.

As deputies responded to the body in the creek, a report went out about a possible kidnapping in Locust Grove, about 40 miles southwest, The Eatonton Messenger reported.

Officials determined the body in the river and the missing person were both Atkins, Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills told the Union Recorder.

Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin told The Eatonton Messenger one of Atkins employees, 38-year-old Romero Johnson of Norman, Oklahoma, had been taken into custody. Austin told the news outlet Johnson and Atkins were friends and coworkers.

Locust Grove police told the Union Recorder they believe Johnson kidnapped and killed Atkins at her home before driving her body through multiple counties headed east. They accused Johnson of then dumping her body in Cedar Creek along the highway.

Johnson was arrested and charged with kidnapping and murder, and was booked in Henry County Jail, according to WSB-TV.

Police did not share a motive for the killing. McClatchy News reached out to police for comment, but did not receive a response.

Atkins was a mother and the owner of Birdsong Books, a bookstore in Locust Grove that specializes in new [and] used books ranging from fiction, non-fiction, children, African-American, and Christian living, according to the Henry County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There has been an outpouring of messages on social media for Atkins and her family, and she was a beloved member of her community.

We will never forget your luminous light. You shined so very much! fellow business owner Shanna Amoah posted on her Facebook page. May your legacy of service and community, continue on.

Story continues

She was an awesome woman to work with and loved what she did with Birdsong Books, the McDonough Mistletoe Market, where Atkins was a vendor, shared on its Facebook page.

Atkins leaves behind multiple children, the youngest of whom is 10 years old, according to The Eatonton Messenger.

Locust Grove is 36 miles southeast of Atlanta.

Body of Georgia man missing during business trip found rolled in a rug, officials say

Missing moms boyfriend stole her disabled sons benefits after she vanished, feds say

Womans suspicious death aboard Carnival cruise ship under FBI investigation, feds say

Father and son shot to death at their car dealership, South Carolina cops say
A man is in custody after being accused of driving away from a car crash that killed a mother and her 3-year-old daughter in West Virginia, police said.

Sara Pettry, 30, was driving on March 5 with her 3-year-old daughter, Brooklyn, and two other children when they were involved in a two-vehicle crash, according to a West Virginia State Police news release on March 7 and family.

Police said the other car, a gold Lincoln SUV, drove away from the accident. Officials did not disclose the cause of the crash.

Pettry and her daughter died at the scene, and a 7-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy were taken to hospitals, according to police.

State police were able to reconstruct the scene of the crash and identified the other driver as 54-year-old Kevin Graybeal.

Graybeal was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, reckless driving, driving suspended, obstructing an officer and assault, according to the release.

Police said after being arrested, Graybeal was taken to an area hospital for treatment of injuries they believe he received in the crash.

Loved ones have shared their condolences on social media for the loss of Pettry and her daughter.

She will be missed so so much (and) Ill miss her randomly texting me to just talk and going over in the summer to let our babies play, Pettrys cousin Laura Jeffries posted on her Facebook page. I still feel like this is a dream, I cant believe this has even happened.

Willie lost his beautiful wife and little daughter in a horrific car crash last night on his birthday, another family member posted. They asked for financial support for Willie as he learns to navigate life without them while raising his other two girls.

Pettry was a mother of three girls and a resident of Naoma, around 50 miles south of Charleston.

Mom and bookstore owner kidnapped and killed by one of her employees, Georgia cops say

Parents hid body of 16-year-old son they said ran away, Arizona sheriff says

2-year-old dies after his dad forgets him in car for hours, Florida police say

Husband and wife die when deputy chasing another car hits their truck, NC cops say
Chef Dan Moody poses at the new Smokeshow BBQ at 22 E. Chicago Ave. in Naperville. Featuring smoked meats as well as vegan options, the American barbecue restaurant is the latest offering from Scott Harris Hospitality. (Scott Harris Hospitality)

Customers visiting the new Smokeshow BBQ in downtown Naperville will get the feeling like theyre in their familys back yard having a great barbecue and a good time, chef and pitmaster Dan Moody says.

Smokeshow BBQ at 22 E. Chicago Ave. in the River District dining and shopping center is the latest restaurant from the Scott Harris Hospitality group, joining Fat Rosies, La Sorella di Francesca and Vasillis and the soon-to-open Davanti Enoteca.

Advertisement

Before launching Smokeshow, Moody said he visited and sampled a lot of area barbecue restaurants to get a feel for the market.

This place was really good with food; this place had a really good vibe. But no one had that complete package, he said.

Advertisement

Smokeshow is the best of both worlds, said Moody, who has been the culinary director for Scott Harris Hospitality for more than four years.

Chef Dan Moody, pit master at Smokeshow BBQ in downtown Naperville, shows some of the smoked products he serves at his new restaurant, including vegan options like smoked jackfruit on the left. (Scott Harris Hospitality)

Moodys had an interest in barbecue since he was a child that grew into a hobby as he got older, he said.

Its just always been something thats kind of fascinated me, watching stuff on TV and all the backyard barbecues we did when I was younger. It just kind of stirs like the small passion, he said.

It wasnt until he starting talking with Scott Harris Hospitality a few months ago about his ideas that Moody was able to turn that hobby into a business.

His goal is for Smokeshow customers to experience mouthwatering, American barbecue the entire family will enjoy, he said.

The menu features a variety of meats  beef brisket, pastrami, pulled pork, spare ribs, house bacon and chicken  that are smoked anywhere from six to 12 hours.

Theres a big difference between barbecue and grilling, he said.

People often confuse rubbing sauce on grilled chicken as barbecue.

Advertisement

Smokeshow focuses on the rub before the meat is smoked in a blend of hickory, cherry and oak woods.

When we do it, the barbecue sauce should be an afterthought. You should enjoy the meat for the flavor of that meat or the ribs for the ribs, Moody said.

Thats where good Texas barbecue is today. They really want you to focus on the quality of the meat, how tender it is, how juicy it is. And then if you want a little sauce to change up a bite here and there, thats what its there for, he said.

For vegans, Moody smokes a jackfruit that creates a dish like a pulled pork sandwich.

Fresh jackfruit is processed and tossed with a little bit of oil followed by one of the restaurants signature rubs used for barbecue pork.

Then we smoke it (for two hours) in a separate smoker so that theres no cross contamination, he said.

Advertisement

The same wood blend is used, bringing in the flavor and the caramelization that pitmasters get from a smoker.

No meal would be complete without side dishes, and those include coleslaw, baked beans, mac and cheese, waffle fries and house pickles.

The restaurant also will have a kids menu with burger or pulled pork sliders, chicken nuggets, and mac and cheese.

A full bar features cocktails and a variety of draft beers, including Shiner Bock and Lone Star, as well as nonalcoholic options, such as root beer, sweet tea and nitro cold brew.

subaker@tribpub.com
The author's twins Courtesy of Conz Preti

On Twitter, an Argentine mom shared that she couldn't tell her twin babies apart.

She took them to the police for fingerprints to figure out who is who.

As a twin parent, I made sure to always know who was who when mine were newborns.

In early March, Sofi Rodriguez tweeted that she had to take her twins to the police station for fingerprints. She couldn't tell her identical twins apart and needed help figuring out who was who. Rodriguez joked she was winning the "Best Mom" award of the year.

Her viral tweet amassed over 350,000 likes and over 24,000 retweets, including other twin parents and twins sharing similar stories.

Someone replied to Rodriguez's tweet saying that he and his identical brother used to have bracelets to identify them. One baby wore it on his right hand and the other on his left. One day their bracelets fell off and their parents put them back on without knowing who was who. "He could be me and I could be him," he said.

As a twin parent, I can relate. I was terrified of confusing my newborn daughters when they were born. But I had my own methods to tell them apart.

How I told my identical twins apart

I knew my twins were identical before they were born. Because I was over 35 when I got pregnant, I took genetic testing to ensure everything was OK with my unborn daughters. One of those tests determined that they were genetically identical.

My initial plan was to pierce their ears when they were born, a tradition in Argentina, and have them wear different colored earrings. But my babies were born in New York City, and the nurses at the hospital said they couldn't pierce newborn ears.

When we were discharged, I decided to keep their bracelet tags with "Baby A" and "Baby B" for as long as possible. But that plan backfired because they were gaining weight steadily, and the bracelets were tight on their tiny wrists and needed to be cut off.

I decided to buy organic, child-safe nail polish and paint one of the twins' toenails blue, and the other pink.

Story continues

Courtesy of Conz Preti

While that did the trick, spending time with them made me realize I could tell them apart without the nail polish. To me, they looked different from each other, despite everyone saying they were identical. As their mom, I noticed that their ears and hairline were different and that one had a tiny birthmark  which eventually disappeared.

When we took them for their first haircut, one requested bangs and the other didn't, so now everyone can tell them apart easily.

A midwife shares her tips for twin parents

I reached out to Allison LaCross, a midwife who has attended over 1,000 births, including several sets of twins, to see if what I did made sense.

She says that once the babies are born at a hospital, nurses will put different hats on the babies or mark them with "Baby A" and "Baby B" depending on the order they were born. In my case, only Baby A had a marked hat with a sharpie.

"We often recommend keeping these items or choosing one color scheme per child to take the guess-work out of 'who is who?'" LaCross said.

If a color scheme seems too limiting or redundant, LaCross says that painting the babies' toenails is safe as long as it's done with nontoxic nail polish. She also recommends being intentional about the spaces babies spend time in, like putting one baby always on the left side bassinet and the other always on the right, or choosing a side on the stroller for each and sticking to it. I do this with my twins and their car seats and haven't ever switched sides in three years.

New parenting can feel like a haze, and LaCross says these small things can make a difference.

"As they grow and you get to know your children better, there will be subtle mannerisms, physical features, or personality differences that will help you distinguish one from the other," she said.

This is true for my twins. While physically identical, their personalities could not be more different. One of my girls is a daredevil and very independent, while the other wants to cuddle all day and is super gentle.

All parents of twins know that at some point in your life, you will call your child by the other twin's names. Even when I know who is who, in the chaos of parenting multiple children, I sometimes go through the list of all the household's names before getting it right.

Read the original article on Insider
Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mon.) posed for a picture with members of the far-right neo-Nazi movement last week, but he says he did not know who the individuals were at the time.

A photo taken March 1 in front of the Capitol shows Rosendale posing with Ryan Sanchez, who was part of a white supremacist group, and Greyson Arnold, a pro-Nazi podcaster and blogger who was at the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. The photo gained traction on social media, causing the lawmaker to speak out.

I absolutely condemn and have zero tolerance for hate groups, hate speech, and violence. I did not take a meeting with these individuals, Rosendale said in an email to The Billings Gazette. I was asked for a photo while walking between hearings, accommodating as I do for all photo requests, and was not aware of the individuals identity or affiliation with these hate groups that stand in stark contrast to my personal beliefs.

Rosendale has faced scrutiny in the past for his connections to fringe groups on the right.

In 2014, a photo was taken of him speaking at an Oath Keepers rally in Montana. The leader of that group, Stewart Rhodes, was convicted last year of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Capitol riot; he has yet to be sentenced.

Rosendale voted to oppose the certification of election results from a number of states, amid pressure from then-President Trump to overturn the 2020 election because of baseless claims that the contest was stolen from him.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Mike Collett-White and Stefaniia Bern

KYIV -At a memorial service on Tuesday for four Ukrainians killed last year while carrying out a raid on Russian territory, ordinary soldiers rubbed shoulders with volunteer fighters of the Brotherhood Battalion to which those killed belonged.

The ceremony, at the historic gold-domed St. Michael's cathedral in central Kyiv, underlined the unclear relationship between irregular groups and Ukraine's formal armed forces fighting against Russia.

The groups' role in the war is the focus of increasing scrutiny, after several videos purporting to show cross-border sabotage raids into Russian territory have surfaced and the Kremlin has raised the alarm over the security threat.

Reuters has not independently verified the videos.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has branded the saboteurs as "terrorists" and urged his security services to bolster defences along the frontier.

The four members of the Brotherhood Battalion later buried in Kyiv were Yurii Horovets, 34, Taras Karpiuk, 38, Maksym Mykhailov, 32 and Bohdan Liagov, 19.

They were killed on Dec. 25 last year, according to Russia's FSB security service, which said at the time that they were armed with foreign-made guns and four improvised explosive devices.

Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the raid then, and have subsequently denied involvement in attacks claimed by Ukrainian-based groups on Russian soil.

Last week, for example, a different group called the Russian Volunteer Corps led by a Russian nationalist in exile who opposes Putin's rule, said it had briefly taken control of a small border village.

Putin denounced that attack in a televised address, saying: "We will crush them". Ukraine portrayed it as a false "provocation" by Russia to justify its full-scale invasion.

Later the same day four members of Russia's National Guard were wounded when their car ran over a mine in the village of Sushany, just across the border from Ukraine, said Alexander Khinstein, a senior federal parliamentarian.

Story continues

The raids present Kyiv with a dilemma. If regular forces were involved, it would represent a significant escalation in a war that has so far been fought almost exclusively on Ukrainian soil.

But Ukrainian officials have also cast the attacks, which have so far involved small armed groups on limited missions, as a sign Russians may take up arms against their leaders.

"Maybe Russians will begin to wake up," Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov said in response to the operation claimed by the Russian Volunteer Corps.

Ukraine is believed to have struck deep inside Russia on several occasions using drones, though officials decline to confirm them.

'PAIN AND PRIDE'

At the memorial for the Brotherhood fighters, whose bodies local media said were returned to Ukraine in late February, hundreds of soldiers and civilians crammed into the cathedral's ornate interior to watch priests bless the coffins.

Mourners lit candles and a man sobbed over one of the caskets.

Outside, as the coffins were being carried into the cathedral, the leader of the nationalist Brotherhood movement which is associated with the Battalion said he felt both "pain and pride".

"They were one of the most courageous ones to die in battle," Dmytro Korchynsky, a controversial figure in Ukraine for his ultra-nationalist and devout Orthodox Christian views, told Reuters.

"Our aim is to bring the war over to Russian territory. It's bad that the war is currently only on our territory, it has to expand to the enemy's territory as well."

Korchynsky was careful to distinguish between the battalion's activities in Ukraine, including areas occupied by Russians - where he said its members coordinate with Ukraine's armed forces - and those on Russian soil.

"When we are on Russian territory, we act autonomously," he added.

Ukraine's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its relationship with the Brotherhood Battalion, called "Bratstvo" in Ukrainian, and the armed forces.

The conservative nationalist Brotherhood movement began around 20 years ago to promote Christian values. Western media reports say it has been active in sometimes dangerous combat missions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Korchynsky said most of the Brotherhood volunteers were Christians, and that the numbers were "constantly growing.

"The battalion has several hundred fighters," he said. "We can't disclose precise numbers, as the battalion takes part in investigative and reconnaissance activity."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White and Stefaniia Bern; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Credit - Illustration by Richard Mia for TIME

Samuel Hammond sits at a cluttered desk in his Washington office, holding up the pamphlet that changed the world. Its a giant space fetus, the think-tank staffer says with a grin. Youre never going to get that from a liberal child-welfare organization.

The pamphlet, titled The Conservative Case for a Child Allowance, does indeed show a big pink fetus, silhouetted against a globe and held by a pair of hands. Released in early 2021, the paper features an epigraph from the Book of Psalms: Children are a gift from the Lord. In it, Hammond and his co-author argue that giving cash to parents would strengthen families, bolster the institution of marriage, and reduce abortions, while at the same time boosting the economy and lessening dependence on the state. As the title suggests, its a right-wing argument for a proposal more often associated with the bleeding-heart left.

Hammond is a scholar of poverty and welfare policy at the Niskanen Center, a little-known think tank that may be the most interesting institution in D.C. At Niskanens headquarters near Capitol Hill, a small team of wonks is busy cooking up unconventional proposals to address intractable problems. Want to solve climate change? Forget the Green New Deal and focus on building more electric transmission lines. Want to reduce incarceration? Dont defund the policegive them funding to solve crimes. Want to improve access to health care? Slash outdated regulations to increase the supply of doctors.

More from TIME

Its tempting to think theres no place for serious policy discussion in todays Washington. Politics is all about culture-war theatrics, Congress seems hopelessly stalemated, and the President cant even give a State of the Union address without it devolving into a yelling match. With the 2022 midterm elections bringing back divided government, few in D.C. expect much to come out of a new Congress that will be lucky to raise the debt ceiling without creating an economic catastrophe along the way, much less forge new and innovative approaches.

Story continues

But under the surface, something curious is happening in the world of American policy. In the wake of the Trump presidency, old ideological lines have melted away, and new space has opened for strange-bedfellows alliances. Conservatives, no longer wedded to abstract ideas of small government, have proposed protectionist boosts to manufacturing. Liberals, their eyes opened to the governments capacity for overreach, have proposed regulatory rollbacks to boost the supply of housing and clean energy. In December, protections for same-sex marriage and an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act both became law with broad bipartisan support, capping a congressional term that also included successful bipartisan legislation on infrastructure, veterans, semiconductors, and gun control.

The Niskanen Center, a quirky eight-year-old policy shop with roots on the libertarian right, is both vanguard and driver of this underreported trend. Working outside, or between, the partisan silos in which most D.C. advocates are enmeshed, its gained a reputation on Capitol Hill for unorthodox policy ideas that can bridge left-right divides. Versions of Hammonds child-allowance expansion, for example, were included in both Donald Trumps 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Joe Bidens 2021 American Rescue Plan. The latter expansion has been credited with cutting child poverty nearly in half before it expired, and a further expansion has been proposed by Senator Mitt Romney and two fellow Republicans. Niskanen played a role in many of last years bipartisan successes and has gotten traction with proposals on climate, immigration, and criminal justice. The New York Times columnist David Brooks has hailed Niskanen as one of the most creative think tanks in America today and credited it with helping birth a new center in the fallow fields of American policy thought.

The aforementioned pamphlet, titled The Conservative Case for a Child Allowance. The Niskanen Center

At a time of polarization, Niskanen has become a home for heterodox thinkers from left and right alike. In its D.C. office suite, a former Bernie Sanders campaign staffer is working on proposals to increase access to health-care and disability benefits by simplifying regulations; at the same time, a former staffer at the libertarian Cato Institute is mapping out new ideas for copyright reform. Niskanens head of immigration policy is a Republican former national-security lawyer; its head of climate previously worked for an environmental group that was accused of racism for supporting a revenue-neutral Washington state climate initiative. The influential center-left writer Matt Yglesias is a Niskanen fellow; the Times columnist Ezra Kleins embrace of supply-side progressivism echoes many Niskanen ideas. Niskanen is one of the most provocative, original players in the think-tank world and the ideas space overall, says Zach Graves, executive director of the Lincoln Network, another heterodox new institute that focuses on technology and innovation.

Niskanens emergence in Washington is more than a story about an obscure think tanks fight to make a mark. Its about whether policymakers can pick up the pieces of the old ideologies Trump smashed and reassemble them for a substantive new era. Its about whether ideas have a place in our politics at all, or whether were doomed to division and stasis instead. Liberal democracy is in the balance, right? says Niskanens president, Ted Gayer, an economist who served in the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush. If our government institutions fail, people lose confidence in them. Youre left with populism or youre left with authoritarianism, but youre not left with a governing philosophy that is going to help promote public welfare and help government operate more effectively.

Niskanen (pronounced Niss-CAN-enn) was founded in 2014 by Jerry Taylor, one of Washingtons great mad geniuses. A thinker of uncommon intellectual flexibility and charisma, Taylor blazed a 30-year trail through the world of policy thought before flaming out in scandal. But he started out as a conventional movement conservativea wild-eyed Reaganite, as he describes it today.

As a college student at the University of Iowa in the 1980s, Taylor worked for the political campaigns of Sen. Chuck Grassley and former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. When his college loans ran out, he ditched school and moved to D.C. to work for the American Legislative Exchange Council, the influential pro-business state-level conservative lobbying group. After a few years, he was recruited by Cato to work on environmental issues. Climate change was just starting to come on the public radar as an issue, but it hadnt yet acquired a polarizing left-right valence. (The conservative UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, for example, was at that time an early evangelist for addressing global warming.) Taylors job was to change that, convincing right-wingers that the science was a sham and the solutions being proposed would constitute an unwarranted attack on Americans liberty and prosperity.

Taylor had no background in the subject, but he read voraciously and had a knack for marshaling evidence to make persuasive arguments. For more than 20 years, he was wildly successful in a role he describes as Catos lead climate denier. The doubts he helped to sow became conventional wisdom on the right, lending ammunition to Republicans who blocked climate action for decades. But over the years, Taylor grew uncertain about his own conclusions. The more he looked at the evidence, the harder he found it to deny that the scientists sounding the alarm about climate were correct. He naively assumed his objective-minded allies in the libertarian movement would, like him, want to follow the data where it led. Instead, he found his views distinctly unwelcome among his colleagues.

Taylor left Cato, proclaimed himself a climate hawk, and founded his own think tank. He named it after William Niskanen, a former Reagan economic adviser and Cato co-founder whose 2011 death led to a power struggle in which the Koch brothers sued to seize control of the institute. To inhabitants of the insular world of professional libertarians, the name was an obvious middle finger to Taylors former home. (To everyone else, Niskanen meant nothing; the name remains a puzzling albatross for the organization.) In his new incarnation as a climate denier whod seen the light, Taylor was instantly embraced by the environmental movement. The center was soon flush with money from liberal foundations.

Jerry Taylor at the Niskanen Center in Washington, D.C., in April 2017. Greg Kahn

Taylor oriented the nascent organization around his broadening doubts about libertarian ideology, which he increasingly saw as overly rigid and fixated on the wrong things. He made common cause with an emerging cohort of thinkers who questioned libertarianisms traditional home on the right side of the political spectrum. Libertarian values could just as easily lead to an embrace of left-wing causes like same-sex marriage and drug decriminalization, but organizations like Cato tended to ignore those issues in favor of a relentless focus on shrinking government. Liberaltarians, led by Taylors former Cato colleague Brink Lindsey, argued that the Bush Administration had betrayed libertarians with its foreign adventurism and big-government excess, and called for a new fusionism of libertarians and the political left.

When I met him in 2015, shortly after Niskanens founding, Taylor was fixated on the idea that libertarianisms anti-statism was counterproductive to its supposed project of maximizing individual liberty. The Nordic countries, he pointed out, combine a robust welfare state with a strongly capitalist ethos. (Hammond would later articulate this agenda as the free-market welfare state.) At the time, I found Taylor interesting but not particularly relevant: Niskanen seemed to be serving a niche within a niche.

Then Trump was elected, and suddenly Taylor had a lot of company among right-wing apostates. Scores of D.C. conservatives in good standingHill staffers and lobbyists, opinion journalists and advocates, lawyers and party veteransfound themselves politically homeless, appalled by the new Presidents actions. Taylor invited them to Niskanen, where he began hosting a secret, off-the-record weekly gathering called the Meeting of the Concerned.

It was sort of comically sad, Bill Kristol, the former Republican commentator and operative, recalls of the meetings early days. As each Republican politician, organization and institution capitulated to Trump, it was like, There goes another one. It was at one of these meetings that Kristol met a young lobbyist named Sarah Longwell. The two would go on to found Defending Democracy Together and the Bulwark, cornerstones of a now-robust center-right anti-Trump infrastructure.

The initial panic of the Trump Administration subsided, and the tenor of the groups conversations began to change. As Trumps GOP steadily turned against Republicans like Senators Jeff Flake, Bob Corker and John McCain, Taylor and his allies began to wonder whether their old party could be saved. Democrats had their own extreme elements, they felt, but were also welcoming moderate candidates as the midterms approached. It began to dawn on the group that their allegiance might be misplaced. As late as 2018, no one in that room wanted to come out and say, The only way to save the country is for the Democrats to take power, Taylor tells me in an interview from his home in Utah. Then the dam just broke.

The ideological journey that began with the hard right had left Taylor in the center, or perhaps on the center-left. In October 2018, in an essay titled The Alternative to Ideology, he announced he was embracing a new label: moderate. Moderation has a poor image in American politics, he acknowledged, yet moderate politicians tend to be the most popular, and the plurality of voters describe themselves as moderates. The low regard we have for moderation in public life consequently fuels the ideological and partisan zealotry that is tearing this country apart, Taylor wrote, calling for a new politics of compromise marked by humility, prudence, pragmatism, and a conservative temperament.

One area where he saw the need for moderation was climate. In the early 2000s, members of both parties were open to market-based approaches to reducing carbon emissions, such as cap-and-trade. But those glimmers of bipartisanship faded over the next decade. Conservatives, bolstered by Taylors Cato-era talking points, became resolutely hostile to any sort of action on an issue they saw as phony. (Taylors brother, James Taylor, played a key role in that effort as president of the pro-industry Heartland Institute, which continues to downplay the threat of climate change.) Meanwhile, a new generation of radical climate activists on the left viewed capitalism itself as part of the problem.

Read More: The Sunrise Movement Rethinks Its Strategy.

Taylor, who founded Niskanen in part to push for a carbon tax, believed his new friends on the left were getting dangerously off course. When the Green New Deal was put forward, I was just appalled, Taylor says. If youre going to tell me I cant be for climate action unless Im for universal education through grad school, free housing, every last paragraph of the [Democratic Socialists of America] platform, thats nuts. Taylor believed his view was widely shared in mainstream environmental circles, but no one wanted to say it for fear of criticizing an ally. In March 2019, he published a 30,000-word critique of the Green New Deal. The essay soured some liberal donors on Niskanen, Taylor says. But it epitomized the space the think tank hoped to occupy: practical approaches to real problems, unencumbered by the groupthink of left and right alike.

A hard-drinking chain-smoker with a volatile streak, Taylor, associates say, struggled to manage Niskanen as it grew. In June 2021, Taylor was arrested for misdemeanor assault and battery after allegedly attacking his wife in a drunken rage. He resigned from Niskanen after the incident came to light. Citing a confidentiality agreement, Taylor declined to discuss the incident further, chalking it up to a messy divorce and noting that the charges against him were eventually dismissed.

Gayer, who had been serving as interim president of the Brookings Institution, took the reins late last year, paving the way for the organization to move past its brilliant but erratic founder. Gayers task now is to professionalize Taylors ragtag band and give it coherence at a moment when its approach is suddenly in demand.

The Trump years were not exactly a golden age of policy intellectualism. D.C. careened from crisis to crisis; Congress struggled to keep the lights on. But Trumps rise was also a wake-up call to the political world. He channeled a widespread sense of frustration with failing institutions and the status quoa fed-upness that policymakers had preferred to ignore or downplay. And he trampled party dogmas, disdaining former GOP commitments such as free trade, deficit reduction, foreign alliances, and entitlement reform. As the dust settles from his presidency, its become clear that the ideological reordering Trump set in motion is permanent and ongoingand that neither major party has successfully articulated a vision for Americas future thats persuasive to a broad swath of the electorate.

Trump exploded the old-style, Reaganite fusionist conservatism, says Brink Lindsey, Niskanens Thailand-based vice president and Taylors former Cato colleague, who coined the liberaltarian idea back in 2006. Meanwhile, he says, on the center-left, there should be a profound frustration with the inability to mount a 60-40 coalition against the madness that has erupted on the Republican side. Whats wrong with the sane people that they cant all get together?

This unsettled climate has created an opening in the middle that the old institutions on left and right are ill-suited to fill, and which Niskanen is trying to occupy. Both sides have firmly entrenched coalitional imperatives, things they have to say to be good allies, says Steven Teles, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University and Niskanen adviser. Were not part of either coalition. The biggest problem we have is that were kind of out there on our own. But thats also a strength.

To critics, Niskanens neither-fish-nor-fowl posture can be bafflingly squishy. The iconoclasts it employs dont always play well with others: one of Taylors early staffers, Will Wilkinson, was fired for an intemperate tweet in 2021, and Hammond is known in policy circles almost as much for his pugilistic demeanor as for his ideas. The centers litigation arm recently boasted about suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stop a pipeline in New Jersey, even as its climate shop broadly advocates for making it easier to build electric transmission lines. (Gayer acknowledged the apparent tension but told me the case was consistent with our commitment to opposing procedural requirements that inhibit the construction of productive and needed infrastructure.)

Several contemporaries of the centers namesake, Bill Niskanen, told me he was surely spinning in his grave: Niskanen was a libertarian so principled that he was fired from his job as chief economist for Ford when he refused to go along with the companys opposition to Japanese imports. One of Niskanens seminal papers argued against government investment in research and development, whereas the Niskanen Center in 2019 cosponsored a study arguing for just that. If I had a time machine and I could go back and ask him, I would bet 10-to-one hed be opposed to a huge expansion of the welfare state for payments per child, says David R. Henderson, a Hoover Institution economist who served with Bill Niskanen on the Council of Economic Advisers in the 1980s.

But on Capitol Hill, the Niskanen Center is widely seen as a breath of fresh air. The centers lobbyists often cold-call congressional offices to explore potential collaboration. They seek to provide objective analysis and high-quality information, not spin. And their relationships on both sides of the aisle can be crucial in the polarized atmosphere of todays Congress, where Democrats and Republicans rarely socialize and often harbor distorted ideas of each others priorities. Instead of assuming people disagree with us, we meet them where they are and see if we can find areas of agreement, says Kodiak Hill-Davis, a Republican lobbyist who broke with the GOP over Trump and now heads Niskanens government-affairs team.

When you have an organization thats able to do outreach and get support from the other party, thats not tainted by politics, thats very helpful, says a Democratic policy staffer who worked with Niskanen on the VICTIM Act. Sponsored by then-Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat, after the failure of broader police-reform legislation, the bill would provide grants to law-enforcement agencies to hire more homicide detectives and improve evidence processing. Niskanens year-old criminal-justice team focuses on policies to prevent crime and improve policing. I worked on sentencing reform and decarceration for more than a decade, but I was continually frustrated that there was never a plausible affirmative argument for how to control crime and protect public safety, says Greg Newburn, Niskanens criminal-justice director. The VICTIM Act passed the House with unanimous Democratic support and 30 Republican votes, but hit a snag in the Senate, where it was killed late last year by a procedural objection from GOP Sen. Rand Paul.

They spend a lot of time thinking through issues in a way thats refreshing, a Republican policy staffer whos worked with Niskanen on immigration tells me. Niskanen was heavily involved in serious bipartisan talks to reform immigration policy late last year by protecting Dreamers, fortifying the asylum system and increasing border security, multiple sources involved in the discussions told me. This is a policy area where the status quo is so terrible that even the tiniest incremental gain that might only help 100 people is still 100 more people than the status quo, says Niskanens immigration policy director Kristie De Pena, who recently teamed up with a well-known Iowa Republican and Democrat to argue that red states could ease their labor shortages by resettling refugees.

Niskanen describes such initiatives as transpartisan rather than bipartisan. Its staffers see this as an important distinction: bipartisan implies a half-a-loaf compromise in which both sides give up much of what they want, whereas a transpartisan solution is a win-win that offers something to everyonelike a child allowance that Republicans see as pro-family and Democrats see as curbing poverty. The center recently published a major paper on housing policy, an area where Yes In My Backyard reformers are starting to make headway against opponents on both left and right.

To Gayer, all these small-bore initiatives add up to big-picture optimism that the wrecking ball of the Trump years will give way to a new era of substantive policymaking. They say hope is not a strategy, but hopelessness is even worse, Gayer says. Its a messy world, and were still adjusting to massive changes in society. But this is what democracy looks like, and we need to engage.

Correction, March 7:

The original version of this story misstated the disposition of a domestic-violence complaint against Jerry Taylor. The charges were dismissed, not dropped.
AP



"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."



This past week, former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On March 2, Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty on four counts: the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during a crime. The jury needed less than three hours of deliberation to deliver a verdict in the high-profile case, which has been the subject of documentaries on Netflix and HBO Max. The trial began on January 23 in Walterboro, South Carolina.

There has been a great amount of national interest in the case because of the familys prestige, as well as its prior legal troubles. Heres what you need to know about Alex, Maggie, Paul, and Buster Murdaugh.



Who Is Alex Murdaugh?

AP

Richard Alexander Murdaugh is a member of a prominent legal family in the South Carolina lowcountry. Three generations of his familyhis great-grandfather, grandfather, and fatherserved over 87 years as solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit. The elected position oversees prosecutions throughout the area. Because of its prosecutorial legacy, the family gained a reputation for its power and ability to wield influence.

Murdaugh followed the family example by becoming a lawyer. He worked as an attorney in a local prosecutors office and also at the law firm of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED). The firm was founded in 1910 by Randolph Murdaugh Sr., Alexs great-grandfather.

Murdaugh and his family lived in Hampton, South Carolina, before relocating to their sprawling Moselle property in nearby Islandton. At around 1,700 acres, the complex contained the Murdaugh house, dog kennels, a cabin, and stretches of swamp land.

In light of his legal troubles, the South Carolina Supreme Court disbarred Murdaugh in July 2022. He is still facing 99 criminal charges not related to the murders. State prosecutors have accused Murdaugh of stealing more than $8.7 million from clients at his law firm and others in fraud schemes. Family members of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs housekeeper who died in a trip and fall accident at the Murdaugh home in 2018, are among the potential victims included in the state grand jury indictments. The family reached a settlement with the PMPED firm in 2021, according to Live 5 news in Charleston, South Carolina.

Story continues

In September 2021, three months after the murders of Paul and Maggie, Alex Murdaugh allegedly conspired to pay Curtis Eddie Smith to kill him so that his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, would inherit a $10 million insurance windfall. Alex initially claimed he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting but later confessed to orchestrating the plot after his story unraveled.

Attorney Richard Harpootlian revealed, upon Murdaughs 2021 arrest, that his client was a 20-year opioid addict. Murdaugh also admitted this during the murder trial.

Who Was Maggie Murdaugh?

Maggie Murdaugh, born Margaret Kennedy Branstetter, graduated from the University of South Carolina, where she met Alex Murdaugh, in 1991. She was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. The pair married on August 14, 1993, and later had two sons, Paul and Buster. The full-time homemaker was described as a dedicated mother, according to the BBC.

According to a November 2021 New York Post article, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh had sold their house in Hampton, South Carolina, prior to the murders and split their time between Edisto Beach, South Carolina, and the Moselle hunting lodge.

On June 7, 2021, Maggie was shot to death with a rifle at the familys Moselle estate. She was 52.

In September 2021, People reported that Maggie had met with a divorce lawyer six weeks prior to the murders, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

Maggie Murdaughs sister, Marian Proctor, spoke in front of the jury on February 14. The Post and Courier reported that, in her testimony, she said Alex Murdaugh never talked about finding the person responsible for killing Maggie and Paul in the weeks after their deaths. Meanwhile, Proctor said the rest of the family lived in fear of the unknown killer.

Who Was Paul Murdaugh?

Paul Murdaugh, Alex and Maggies younger son, was an undergraduate student at the University of South Carolina. Family and friends described Paul, known as Paw Paw by his father, as inquisitive and kind, according to the BBC. He took particular care of his elderly grandparents. However, his ex-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty, shared that Paul could be violent in the Netflix docuseries Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.

The 22-year-old was also shot to death, likely with a shotgun, on June 7, 2021. He was found near his mother at the Moselle property.

Paul had previously been in the spotlight as the suspected driver in a fatal boating accident in Beaufort County, South Carolina, in 2019 that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.



At the time of the accident, six people were on the boat, which was owned by Alex Murdaugh. According to testimony from four others on the boat, Murdaugh became agitated and got into an altercation with his ex-girlfriend. After returning to the wheel of the boat, he accelerated. Records indicate the boat hit the front of a bridge and then a pylon before beaching itself. Beach was thrown overboard, and an autopsy showed she died of blunt force trauma to the head and drowning, according to authorities.

Surveillance video showed Paul using his older brothers ID to buy alcohol at a local gas station earlier that night. The Post and Courier reported that hospital tests found his blood alcohol concentration was over 0.28 at the time of the accident, more than three times the legal limit to drive a car.

Paul was indicted on charges of boating under the influence, causing great bodily harm, and causing death in the crash. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment, according to ABC 4, but was unable to stand trial for any of the charges because of his murder.

Who Is Buster Murdaugh?

AP

Richard Alexander Buster Murdaugh Jr., Alex and Maggie Murdaughs elder son, graduated from Wofford College in 2018 and had plans to follow his father into the family law firm, according to the BBC.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported in September 2021 that Buster was expelled from the University of South Carolinas School of Law for plagiarism, according to court documents.

The Post and Courier reported that the bulk of Alex Murdaughs jailhouse phone calls went to Buster, with their conversations ranging from small talk to the sons potential return to law school. The calls also revealed the family had paid a Columbia lawyer, Butch Bowers, around $60,000 to help secure Busters readmittance.

Buster, 26, was consistently present at the trial and testified that his father was destroyed by Paul and Maggies murders. He put his head in his hands as the jury delivered its guilty verdict.



Mallory Beachs family named Buster in a civil lawsuit over the boat accident that caused her death. However, his name was removed from the case as part of a settlement approved in January 2023, according to ABC 4.

Buster has also been linked to the unsolved hit-and-run death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith in 2015, but no official allegations or charges have been brought against anyone in the case. Smith, who was openly gay, was found dead on the side of a Hampton County road. According to Newsweek, South Carolina Highway Patrol files indicate that 10 people interviewed about the incident suggested that Buster should be questioned. However, rumors of his involvement in the death or potential relationship with Smith remain unfounded.

Buster currently lives with his girlfriend, lawyer Brooklyn White, in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Elon Musk concluded a bizarre Twitter exchange with a worker who was not sure if he had been sacked by the company.

A Twitter thread by Icelandic entrepreneur Haraldur Thorleifsson to which Mr Musk responded has gone viral on the platform, engaging more than 11 million people.

Mr Thorleifsson, who goes by the pseudonym Halli, said access to his work computer was cut nine days ago when Twitter sacked about 200 more employees.

However, your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. Youve not answered my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet youll answer me here? he said, tagging the Twitter CEO.

He went on to ask for help from co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, saying: I joined because I believed in what you were building.

Hours later on Monday, Mr Musk responded to the thread by asking: What work have you been doing?

Mr Thorleifsson said his answer would mean breaking confidentiality and asked if his former bosss lawyers could approve that in writing so that he could break terms of confidentiality.

Its approved, you go ahead, Mr Musk said.

The Twitter employee said he led the efforts to save about $500k on one SaaS contract and led prioritisation of design projects across the company to make sure Twitter was able to deliver with a small team.

What work have you been doing?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

Mr Musk asked Mr Thorleifsson more specific questions about the SaaS contract and design projects.

Mr Musk ended the exchange by sharing two laughing emojis, without offering a clear answer to his question.

  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

Mr Thorleifsson is a disabled Icelandic professional who founded and ran a design agency called Uneo for seven years before it was acquired by Twitter in 2021, according to his website. Mr Thorleifsson received the Person of the Year in Iceland in 2022 and made headlines for negotiating the acquisition price of his company Ueno to be paid as salary instead so that he could pay 46 per cent in taxes instead of 22 per cent.

Story continues

Taking Mr Musks reaction in his stride, Mr Thorleifsson said he did not mind Mr Musk laughing as he is himself quite funny. He said he got an email by HR confirming he was fired.

But ok, fair enough, I've been laid off and I'm ok with that.



Next up though is finding out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me per my contract.



Or, will @elonmusk , one of the richest people in the world, try to avoid paying?



Stay tuned!!  Halli (@iamharaldur) March 7, 2023

Then all of the sudden, Twitters head of HR, (who had previously twice been unable to tell me if I had a job or not) emailed and said I was no longer employed, he said.

Which is totally ok and it happens all the time. Companies let people go, thats within their rights. They usually tell people about it but thats seemingly the optional part at Twitter now, he added.

He said next up is to find out if one of the richest people in the world will pay him his dues.

In another round of layoff last week, Twitter let go at least 200 staff, cutting back 10 per cent of its 2000 people strong workforce, according to a report by The New York Times.

Mr Musk, who acquired the social media platform in October 2022, has steadily sacked about 50 per cent of employees, laying off 7,500 as he sought to reduce costs.
Haraldur Thorleifsson/Handout

A day after Elon Musk commenced a war against a disabled former Twitter employee, in which he suggested that the staffer had asked for physical work accommodations he didnt actually need, the billionaire issued a rare apology. He also claimed that the ex-employee, Haraldur Halli Thorleifssonwho was swept up in Twitter's latest round of job cutswas considering staying at the company.

I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful, Musk wrote, adding that he had spoken with Thorleiffson, who has muscular dystrophy, on a video call.

Thorleifsson had worked for Twitter in Iceland since February 2021, when he sold his digital brand agency to the company. His battle with Musk began when he tweeted at the billionaire on Monday, claiming that he had lost access to his work computer nine days prior alongside roughly 200 other staffers. Subsequently, he said, the companys human resources department would not confirm whether he was still employed, while Musk ignored his emails.

After the tweets went viral, Musk put Thorleifsson through a public trial, asking him to explain the work he had been doing for Twitter. Evidently unsatisfied with his former staffers answers, Musk responded to some of the tweets with a pair of crying-with-laughter emojis and a link to a scene from Office Space.

That public humiliation wasnt enough. The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm, Musk wrote. Cant say I have a lot of respect for that.

He added, But was he fired? No, you cant be fired if you werent working in the first place.

Thorleifsson fired back several hours later in a long thread explaining his disability.

My legs were the first to go. When I was 25 years old I started using a wheelchair, he wrote.

Story continues

In the 20 years since, he said, the rest of my body has been failing me too. I need help to get in and out of bed and use the toilet.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I read you can't go to the toilet on your own either @elonmusk



I'm sorry to hear about that. I know the feeling.



The only difference is I can't do it because of a physical disability and you're afraid someone you hurt will attack you while you poop. https://t.co/0XcsMpJW9z  Halli (@iamharaldur) March 7, 2023

He decided to sell his business to Twitter because he was tired, he said, and because my body was continuing to get weaker. His condition, he continued, has impacted his fingers, preventing him from doing manual work like typing or using a mouse for extended periods of time. But he can still write for shorter periods, explaining why he could tweet but not work full-time in certain roles at Twitter.

In a tweet commenting on Musks situation, Joshua Erlich, an employment and civil rights attorney based in Virginia, wrote, lord grant me defendants this dumb.

He expanded on that quip in a message to The Daily Beast, in which he said it isnt clear what region would have jurisdiction over a theoretical case Thorleifsson might file, and that some details about the firing are still unclear.

But Musk's the reality is tweet reads like Musk looked up this employee's human resources file and is tweeting out the company's internal reasoning for the termination, he said. That reasoning seems pretty problematic and it would be more than enough to carry [a] disability discrimination or failure to accommodate case deep into litigation.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Im here because I want you to know that this is the chance to give people a chance to meaningfully contribute to their society, said Carissa McGee (left), a formerly incarcerated person from Albuquerque and supporter of Senate Bill 64. And I promise you that these individuals want it more than any other person that Ive ever come across. Denali Wilson (right) is an attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico and an organizer with the New Mexico Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.

This story was originally published by Source New Mexico.

A week before the Second Chance bill got through its final committee in the Legislature, another branch of government reaffirmed the importance of young peoples capacity for change, and that they should be treated differently than adults.

Senate Bill 64 would end life without parole as a sentencing option for children and, in most circumstances, provide eligibility for parole after someone serves 15 years in prison for a crime they committed when they were under the age of 18.

It has already passed through the New Mexico Senate, and the House Judiciary Committee on Monday approved it in a bipartisan 7-3 vote. If the entire House of Representatives gives approval, it would continue to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams desk.

A week earlier, the New Mexico Supreme Court published its decision in State v. Rodriguez, a case about whether young people can ever give up their rights to have their age and life circumstances be taken into account when a judge decides to send them to a juvenile facility or an adult prison.

We are hard-pressed to conceive of a decision that cuts closer to the core of societys interest than an election to give up on one of its children, the Justices wrote.

In interviews with Source New Mexico, three people who worked on Rodriguezs case said the courts decision reaffirms that children, even those who are involved in very serious violence or harm, are capable of tremendous change and rehabilitation.

What is an amenability hearing?

Christopher Rodriguez, of Albuquerque, was 16 years old in June 2015 when the events happened that led to his case.

Like most people caught up in the criminal legal system, Rodriguez took a plea deal, which is an agreement between prosecutors and defendants that can resolve charges of criminal conduct or delinquency without having to go to trial.

Part of Rodriguezs deal entitled him to an amenability hearing under the New Mexico Childrens Code.

Story continues

State law requires judges to consider at least seven different factors during these hearings, including the childs maturity based on their home, environmental situation, social and emotional health, brain development, trauma history and disability.

The state, at that point, has the burden to prove that they are not amenable, said Allison Jaramillo, who is representing Rodriguez in his appeal and is the go-to expert on juvenile issues among appellate public defenders in Santa Fe.

When the district court makes that finding, and when the state has presented enough evidence to convince the court, then a judge is given jurisdiction to sentence the child as an adult, Jaramillo said.

Despite overwhelming testimony from witnesses that Rodriguez was amenable to treatment and capable of reform, Second Judicial District Judge Brett Loveless found he was not, and sentenced him as an adult.

Rodriguez tried to appeal Loveless findings, but the Court of Appeals in 2019 unanimously said he did not have a right to appeal his conviction because whenever someone enters a plea on the underlying charges, they sign away their right to appeal the trial judges amenability determination.

The decision upended criminal defense practice in this area because prosecutors and defendants had struck these kinds of plea deals in many cases, Jaramillo said.

Things only got worse for Rodriguez in 2020 when the New Mexico Supreme Court denied his request to review the appeals courts decision.

The New Mexico Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Youth joined the Juvenile Law Center to ask the Supreme Court in March 2020 to reconsider the appeals courts decision.

The lower courts ruling was disruptive to the spirit of so much of our law in New Mexico, said Denali Wilson, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties of Union and an organizer with the Coalition.

Listen:The Reporter's Notebook Podcast, Ep. 55: Carissa McGee and Juvenile Justice

Marsha Levick, chief legal officer for the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, wrote that the Court of Appeals ignored key differences between children and adults that are supposed to guide these kinds of decisions.

Not only did the Supreme Court reopen Rodriguezs case, it allowed full written and oral arguments and on Feb. 28 unanimously reversed the lower courts ruling, concluding that a child defendant can challenge an amenability determination even if they have entered a valid guilty plea and waived their appeal rights.

The justices wrote that if they were to conclude that a juvenile defendant waived the right to appeal an amenability determination, they would make the hearing itself, state law, and past court decisions pointless.

They pointed to their previous decision in 2010 where they said the ability to appeal the outcome of an amenability hearing cannot be bargained away.

They wrote that if a court could simply consider the childs amenability without actually looking at the factors required under state law, that would reduce the amenability hearing to nothing more than window dressing and the findings made in that hearing nothing more than an empty shell along the path to imposing an adult sentence upon a juvenile.

Amenability is central to whether or not we punish children as adults, or we punish them or hold them accountable and responsible in the juvenile justice system, Levick said in an interview on Monday.

The decision underscores thats almost a sacred right that kids have, Levick said.

Levick said she is very grateful to see the New Mexico Supreme Court step up in the Rodriguez case and reinforce these principles that are really central to how we treat children in this country.

How are these things connected?

While Senate Bill 64 doesnt deal with amenability hearings, it allows the New Mexico Parole Board to consider cases again on the back end, either 15, 20, or 25 years into the sentence, Wilson said.

All 75 people impacted by the legislation are people who either had an amenability hearing and the decision was to send the child to an adult prison, or they didnt have one at all, Wilson said.

The New Mexico Senate chamber inside the New Mexico State Capitol on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Santa Fe, N.M.

For children who arent entitled to an amenability hearing, the question of whether its appropriate for a child to be sent to an adult prison was never asked in the first place, Wilson said.

We dont even consider them at all, Wilson said. We say, Automatically, this child is to be sentenced as an adult.

Jaramillo told the committee on Monday the bill would bring New Mexico in line with current brain science and psychology which recognize that young people are different from adults in important ways, including decision making, impulsivity, and response to peer pressure.

The Second Chance bill also addresses the problem of what is called functional life without parole, Jaramillo said, which is when someone gets a very long sentence where they might as well be sentenced to life without parole, because their parole eligibility date is when they will be either very old or dead anyways.

It makes me hopeful to see New Mexico, both this bill having success in the Legislature, and our Supreme Court recognizing that children are different and that they need to be treated differently, Jaramillo said.

Allowing more folks to make their case in front of the parole board earlier has everything to do with maintaining hope of actually regaining their freedom someday, Levick said.

I have no doubts that for the men and women who are incarcerated in New Mexico who have been waiting for this opportunity, its all about hope, and they will hold on to that, and in most cases, hopefully, theyll be able to come home, Levick said.

Austin Fisher is a reporter for Source New Mexico.

Others are reading:

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: N.M. Supreme Court reaffirms childrens capacity for change
A man investigating noises in his kitchen came face to face with a naked woman  who is accused of smacking him in the head with a pan, Virginia deputies say.

He then shot her in the leg, the Carroll County Sheriffs Office said in a news release.

It happened Feb. 26 at a rural home in Austinville, and the man and woman did not suffer life-threatening wounds during the ordeal, officials said. Austinville is in western Virginia, about 120 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

During the course of the investigation, deputies determined that the shooting was the result of a breaking and entering, the sheriffs office said.

The homeowner, who heard a noise at the rear area of the home, went to the kitchen and observed an unclothed female, who was unknown to the homeowner, coming into the rear door at which time (she) began hitting the homeowner with a cast iron fry pan in the head and hand.

The homeowner said he was able to force the woman back out the door and lock it, officials said. However, she stayed on his porch, turning all the electrical breakers off, beating on his window and threatening to kill him, according to deputies.

The female then began beating on the same door in which she had already made entry previously, at which time the homeowner discharged his firearm, striking the female in the lower leg area, the sheriffs office said.

Deputies said they arrived to find the 35-year-old Austinville woman with a gunshot wound to the leg. She was taken to a hospital for medical care, then discharged into the custody of the sheriffs office.

Details of the homeowners injuries and his identity were not released.

The woman faces charges of felony breaking and entering an occupied home while armed with a deadly weapon, assault and battery, and damage property, officials said.

No charges will be filed on the homeowner, after consulting with the Carroll County Commonwealth Attorney Roger Brooks, the sheriffs office said. The shooting was justified as self-defense.

Story continues

Awkward arrest sees naked man and woman in towel arrested in Florida, deputies say

Woman fights off naked stranger who suddenly appeared as she showered, NJ police say

Suspect loses pants in manhunt, continues his escape while naked, Florida cops say
Oak Park police Sgt. Robert Monty talks about the event Feb. 25, 2023 at Oak Park Village Hall where the village was giving away free steering wheel locks to owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicle models. (Brian OMahoney / Pioneer Press)

A growing number of municipal police departments are responding to the theft of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicle models by offering residents steering wheel locks  with the hope of deterring thieves  and the towns of Oak Park and River Forest are among them.

In fact, village officials told Pioneer Press that the Oak Park Police Department gave out about 80 of the locking devices during a giveaway Saturday.

Advertisement

This was a great opportunity to partner with residents to work together to try to deter some of these vehicle thefts that have been widespread throughout the country, said Sgt. Robert Monty, who is coordinating the distribution in Oak Park.

In a news release announcing the giveaway that took place Saturday, village officials pointed to regional and national upticks in thefts, or attempted thefts, of Hyundai and Kia models that use an actual key to start the vehicle rather than a key fob and push-button.

Advertisement

Law enforcement officials recommend Hyundai and Kia owners take extra security measures such as a steering wheel lock device or engine immobilizer. Hyundai and Kia owners can also contact the manufacturer to learn about additional safeguards such as a recent software update for some of the targeted models, officials said.

In River Forest, the police department is helping residents who own Hyundais to be proactive in stopping thieves.

Residents who have purchased a Hyundai vehicle built between 2010 and 2021 are eligible to receive a complimentary, anti-theft, steering wheel lock device while supplies last, officials announced in the Feb. 17 village electronic newsletter and also posted on the village Facebook page.

Village officials said the thefts could be inspired by a TikTok social media challenge referred to as Kia Boys, which shows easy ways of getting control of a vehicle and being able to steal it without the key.

According to an August 2022 news release from Cook County Sheriff Tom Darts office, there were 642 reported thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Cook County since from the start of 2022 to July 1, compared with 74 during the same period in 2021, representing an exponential increase.

This is an extremely concerning trend and the public needs to know so they can be vigilant in protecting themselves, Dart said in the release.

Oak Park resident Johnna Lemke received a steering wheel lock Feb. 25, 2023 at Oak Park Village Hall when the village was giving away free steering wheel locks to owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicle models. (Brian OMahoney / Pioneer Press)

Oak Park police Chief Shatonya Johnson, left, talks to Gretchen Frickx and her 16-year-old daughter, Anja Frickx Feb. 25, 2023 at Oak Park Village Hall where the village was giving away free steering wheel locks to owners of certain Hyundai and Kia vehicle models. (Brian OMahoney / Pioneer Press)

In response to increasing thefts targeting its vehicles without push-button ignitions and immobilizing anti-theft devices, Hyundai introduced a free anti-theft software upgrade to prevent the vehicles from starting if stolen. Launched Feb. 14 as a service campaign for nearly four million vehicles, the technology rolled out first to more than one million model year 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue vehicles and is scheduled for the remaining eligible affected vehicles by June, the release states.

We have prioritized the upgrades availability for owners and lessees of our highest-selling vehicles and those most targeted by thieves in order for dealers to service them first, Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said in the release.

Advertisement

Hyundai is providing free steering wheel locks to law enforcement agencies for distribution to local residents who own or lease affected models, the release states.

We reached out to Hyundai and they were offering (the device) to owners of their vehicles between those dates that were affected. Weve also reached out to Kia but we havent heard back from them yet. Hyundai has sent us multiple units of this device, Ben Ransom, crime prevention officer for the River Forest Police Department, told Pioneer Press.

At one point, River Forest had more than 100 free steering wheel locks available for distribution. Police departments are asking that residents residents pre-register to get the devices.

Ransom said there were 15 motor vehicle thefts between Jan. 1, 2020 and Feb. 23, 2023 in River Forest and several of those thefts were not associated with the TikTok challenge but, rather, keys being left in vehicles.

This is particularly a concern in cold weather when people like to warm up their cars and either leave their key in the ignition or dont realize that keyless-start vehicles can be driven away even if the fob is not present, said Ransom.

There are several steps that all motorists and vehicle owners can take to help prevent theft, law enforcement officials have said.

Advertisement

Park in garages if you have them. Lock your vehicle. Dont (leave out) anything of value within the vehicle, said Ransom,

The advice is repeated across municalities.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.

Pioneer Press staff contributed.
Candice Gay, Quillan Jacobs sister, speaks to a crowd of friends and family during a vigil for Jacobs on Nov. 19, 2021 outside of the Second Baptist Church in downtown Columbia. Jacobs was shot and killed by police after a separate shooting incident incident left five people injured.

Columbia community members are calling for greater police oversight following revelations in recent reporting related to the 2021 officer-involved shooting death of Quillan Jacobs.

Jacobs was alleged to have participated in a firefight outside of Vibez Lounge Nov. 14, 2021 that resulted in five bystander injuries, with Jacobs shot and killed by officers soon after.

More: Columbia police: 1 killed, 5 injured in 'mass casualty incident' downtown

Recently released medical examiner and police reports have indicated officers failed to activate body-worn cameras, that Jacobs was shot 13 times and that there was lack of gunshot residue found on Jacobs.

Chriss Jones, representing Stop Police Violence, a division of local advocacy organization Race Matters, Friends, during a public comment at Monday's Columbia City Council meeting called on the council and City Administrator De'Carlon Seewood to have the case reopened.

"The coroner ruled (Jacob's) death a homicide," she said. "It is time we learn from history so we don't have to keep repeating the cycle of police violence. ... Join me and say his name, Quillan Jacobs!"

She referenced conflicting police written reports and ballistics reports where only two bullets could not be attributed to handguns issued to Columbia Police Department officers.

Jacobs' family was in the Columbia City Council meeting audience Monday holding signs with his name.

Mourners stand stand around a vigil for Quillan Jacobs on Nov. 19, 2021 in the alley next to the Second Baptist Church in downtown Columbia.

Other oversight concerns regarding the city's police were brought forth by Columbia business owner Anthony Willroth in relation to charges filed last week against Donye Jackson. Jackson was allegedly involved in an October shooting in the area of Hitt of Locust streets that left three injured, including a University of Missouri student.

More: Three men wounded in Friday night Homecoming shooting near Hitt Street

Prior to the October shooting, Jackson's family had a civil suit related to human rights violations against the city's police department leadership, Willroth said, referencing other media reporting, The civil suit was in U.S. District Court but dismissed after the death of the family's, Stephen Wyse, of natural causes in June, he added.

Story continues

Willroth said he has seen police body-worn camera footage from the civil suit, which he alleges features Columbia Police Chief Geoff Jones,

The officer behavior Willroth alleges should not be defended by attorneys for the city, he said.

Better civilian oversight of police also was called for by Laura Gutierrez Perez, who is a former member of the Citizens Police Review Board.

"These families are waiting for answers and I think you owe them those answers," she said. "... We need effective civilian oversight. SB 26 has rendered the police accountable to no one."

The questions the public have need to be answered, said First Ward Council Member Pat Fowler following public comments at the end of Monday's meeting.

She also referenced a closed-door meeting in which council members received more information giving further background to recent publicly released information. Council members are not yet able to speak publicly about the information that was received she said, which also was backed up by Third Ward Council Member Roy Lovelady.

"I got lots of calls and questions. ... Extend us some grace because there are some things we just cannot speak about," he said.

From 2021: Family of suspect in Nov. 14 shooting holds vigil after he was killed by police

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe sought responses from City Manager De'Carlon Seewood specifically about the Jacobs death investigation.

When Jacobs was killed, that set off an independent Missouri Highway Patrol investigation, Seewood said, adding there is misinformation out publicly in relation to his death.

The patrol investigation only looks at the officer-involved shooting and does not review what led to it, he said.

"We have three separate investigations. One is the highway patrol, one is the investigation that looks at what led up to the officer-involved shooting and the internal affairs investigation," Seewood said, adding a gun and shell casings were found.

The city's investigative reports were released via authorization from the county prosecutor's office, he added.

City leaders still have to figure out what can be said and acknowledge what happened, Buffaoloe said.

"To not acknowledge it is just as harmful. ... It is important to acknowledge when these things happen," she said.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Community members want new investigation of 2021 officer-involved shooting
(Photo/Indian Health Service)

Breast cancer is the second deadliest cancer among women, behind lung cancer. But its treatable when caught early, and doctors recommend regular mammogram to screen for breast cancer for women between 40 and 89 years old.

Neither white women nor their Indigenous counterparts are getting mammograms as frequently as they should, according to a new study.

Researchers conducted the study between 2005 and 2019 using Medicare fee-for-service claims data, and later analyzed testing frequency for 457,476 women living in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Washington. The last claims-based trends on mammograms were from 1991 to 2001.

The majority of the women (78%) were White, 1.5% were American Indian, and 20% were listed as another race. The study results were analyzed in 2022, and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine on March 1, 2023.

Data showed that, over the 15-year study period, about 62% of women did not have any mammograms at all. Mammogram use over the same period declined significantly among White women and women of other races, with no significant change for Native women. In rural areas, annual mammogram use dropped among White women while it rose among Native women.

The study also showed that white women in higher-income communities were 31% more likely to get mammograms, but higher incomes were not associated with mammography use for American Indian women.

Still, overall, the study showed that Native American women were 13% less likely to have a mammogram than White women.

Our results show that we should not assume that income will have the same impact on mammography across racial/ethnic groups, researcher Bhavika Patel, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology and a diagnostic radiologist in the Department of Radiology at the Mayo Clinic, said in a statement. The literature shows that among American Indian/Native American women, cultural factorssuch as comfort discussing [mammograms] and connection to their native culturemay exert more influence on mammography [uptake] than income alone. Hence, policies to improve mammography [uptake] need to be specifically tailored to American Indian/Native American women.

About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. "

Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee awarded the German company Siemens Mobility a $5.6 million grant to construct a passenger rail vehicle manufacturing plant in the Davidson County city of Lexington, part of a broader $32.9 million package state and local governments plan to invest in the site.

The facility is expected to create 506 jobs by 2029 with a minimum average wage of $51,568.

Siemens Mobility, a division of the Munich-based conglomerate Siemens, currently produces passenger vehicles at a facility in Sacramento, California, but the company had sought to add a second U.S. plant east of the Mississippi River.

On Tuesday, the state shared that Siemens selected Lexington over an alternative site in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The county seat of Davidson County, Lexington is about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte and 100 miles west of Raleigh.

The expansion will provide additional capacity to meet anticipated growth in demand, provide facilities for maintenance and servicing for the Eastern region, said Mark Poole, finance director for the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Siemens Mobilitys initial agreement with North Carolina was set to begin in 2024, but the company requested a one-year delay citing potential supply chain issues and labor shortages.

According to the Walden Model, which North Carolina uses to calculate the value of incentives it awards companies, the Siemens plant in Lexington will increase the state GDP by around $1.6 billion by 2036, the last year of the companys agreement with the state.

By then, the state estimates the project will have added $30.3 million in net revenue.

The $5.6 million job development investment grant, or JDIG, will only be realized if Siemens achieves its hiring targets. But the projects overall incentive package is much greater, as the North Carolina Department of Transportation will allocate $9.4 million to improve infrastructure around the site and the state will put $626,300 into a local utility fund. Additional public money will go to local community colleges to train future Siemens employees.

Story continues

In total, North Carolinas package for the Siemens plant is worth $16.8 million, while local incentives from Davidson County and the city of Lexington total an additional $16.1 million.

This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.

Open Source

Do you enjoy Triangle tech news? Subscribe to Open Source, The News & Observer's weekly technology newsletter and look for it in your inbox every Friday morning. Sign up here.
Sen. Thom Tillis is calling out coverage by Fox News on Monday night of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

I think its bullshit, Tillis told reporters.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson released never-before-seen footage from inside the Capitol given to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Carlson called the Jan. 6 committee and members of the media liars for how they portrayed the insurrectionists over the past two years and said the attackers were simply sightseers who revered the Capitol.

I was here, Tillis, a Republican, countered in remarks to NBC News. I was down there and I saw maybe a few tourists, a few people who got caught up in things. But when you see police barricades breached, when you see police officers assaulted, all of that ... if you were just a tourist, you shouldve probably lined up at the visitors center and came in on an orderly basis.

Tillis confirmed his statements to McClatchy, adding that he believes Carlsons reporting is just as wrong as when a liberal media outlet says there were mostly peaceful protests with a burning Kenosha, making reference to the riots in Wisconsin that broke out following the police shooting in August 2020 of Jacob Blake.

Theres no place for either of those two extremes, Tillis said.

Tillis and January 6

Tillis is in his sophomore term in the Senate and talked about his memories of Jan. 6 as he walked from an underground train car to the Senate chamber on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol.

Sen. Tillis reacts to Tucker Carlson's narrative that Jan. 6 was peaceful:



"I think it's bulls**t." pic.twitter.com/eFHS09Lq0h  Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) March 7, 2023

He said it began as any other day with protesters on the mall expressing displeasure. Then things took a stark turn.

Story continues

I saw people breaching fences, assaulting police officers, using pepper spray, breaking windows, destroying this building were walking through right now, Tillis said. And it was wrong.

Was Tillis ever scared for his safety?

Not at all, Tillis said. Because I would have picked up something and defended myself.

Tuesdays reaction to Carlsons coverage of Jan. 6 isnt the first time Tillis has spoken out against the events of that day. Previously, he called it a dark day in American history that should not be repeated. He asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the insurrection and hold responsible anyone who broke the law in an attempt to stop the election certification of President Joe Biden and keep former President Donald Trump in power.

Pushback to Jan. 6 accounts

Not long after McCarthy became House speaker he released 44,000 hours of video footage from Capitol security cameras exclusively to Carlson.

The decision was met with backlash from both political parties. Concerns included whether McCarthy might have inappropriately released security details and why he chose to release the footage to a news host who has repeatedly pushed conspiracy theories about the insurrection.

Other members of Congress have spoken out against Carlson and McCarthy since Monday nights segment aired, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who called it one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on cable television.

Schumer said McCarthy is as culpable as Carlson and further eroded the countrys democracy.
A woman in her 30s was found dead inside a car that sank into a lake overnight in Austin, according to Texas police.

Calls started pouring in to the Austin Police Department at 3:37 a.m. on March 6 from residents of a neighborhood on the citys east side saying they could hear a woman screaming for help, a department spokesperson said at a news briefing.

Officers arrived at the scene, 1502 Scenic Drive, in 15 minutes and spotted a vehicle in the water, near a boat ramp on the shore of Lake Austin, the department said.

Rescue swimmers entered the lake at 4:01 a.m., found the woman, and pulled her onto land, police said. Despite life-saving measures, she was pronounced dead at the scene by 4:16 a.m.

Its not clear how the car ended up in the water, but investigators say it appears to have gone down a boat ramp while the woman was inside, police said.

Another person had been in the car with her but was unhurt and speaking with police.

Homicide detectives are investigating, the spokesperson said, adding that while there are no signs of foul play, it is still early in the investigation.

Man falls through ice while trying to rescue neighbors dog, Wisconsin officials say

Brother comes to rescue after 3-year-old falls from 100-foot cliff, OK family says

Four dead after car runs red light and causes SUV to flip off bridge, Missouri cops say

Boater thought he hit log  then hears horrified screams of American mother in Belize
Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch. Jabin Botsford - Pool/Getty Images

The Supreme Court declined to take up a city's request to block a lawsuit brought by atheists over a prayer vigil.

Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the court, but questioned whether the atheists had a right to sue.

"Really, most every governmental action probably offends somebody," Gorsuch said.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to block a lawsuit brought by a group of atheists against a Florida city's prayer vigil, but Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned whether the group had a right to sue.

"Really, most every governmental action probably offends somebody," Gorsuch, who agreed with the court's decision not to intervene in the case, said in a statement, referencing a concurring opinion he wrote in a 2019 Supreme Court case involving the separation of church and state.

"No doubt, too, that offense can be sincere, sometimes well taken, even wise," Gorsuch continued. "But recourse for disagreement and offense does not lie in federal litigation."

A group of atheists, represented by the American Humanist Association, sued the city of Ocala, Florida, over its hosting of a 2014 prayer vigil after a local shooting that injured several children, claiming the event violated the First Amendment's establishment clause, which bans the government from endorsing religion.

In 2018, a Florida federal district judge sided with the atheists. The city of Ocala appealed that decision, arguing the group lacked standing, or the legal right to sue.

A federal appeals court found that that at least one of the atheists who attended the vigil, Lucinda Hale, had standing as she alleged she was "directly affected" by the event and suffered an injury because of it. The court returned the case back to the district court to further review whether the city violated the establishment clause.

The city asked the Supreme Court to determine if the atheists were actually harmed by the prayer vigil to have their lawsuit move forward, and to rule on whether "psychic or emotional offense allegedly caused by observation of religious messages an injury sufficient to confer standing." But the Supreme Court refused to intervene on Monday.

Story continues

Gorsuch, in his statement, said the district court should reconsider whether the atheists had standing, noting that the Supreme Court "has never endorsed the notion that an 'offended observer' may bring an Establishment Clause claim."

"It didn't matter that the plaintiff went to the vigil knowing that she would be offended," Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, wrote of the lower court's decision. "What mattered was that prayers reached her ears."

While Gorsuch did appear sympathetic to the city of Ocala's request to dismiss the lawsuit, he agreed that the legal battle should play out in the lower courts.

Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court's decision, saying the justices should have reviewed the case to settle the so-called offended observer theory.

"I have serious doubts about the legitimacy of the 'offended observer' theory of standing applied below," Thomas, widely considered the most conservative justice, said.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority in recent years has reviewed a number of disputes concerning religious liberty and the First Amendment's free exercise of religious and establishment clauses, often handing down rulings in favor of religious groups and interests. In a notable case last year, the court sided with a former public high school football coach who lost his job for praying on the field after games.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's top court will hear a petition on Thursday demanding the arrest of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and an investigation into his leadership during a decade-long civil war that killed thousands of people, court officials and petitioners said.

Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla commander, led rebels against Nepal's security forces during the conflict, which raged for 10 years until 2006 and killed about 17,000 people before a peace deal overseen by the United Nations put an end to hostilities.

The Himalayan nation is already in the midst of a political crisis since Dahal backed an opposition candidate as the country's president last month, prompting one of his allies in the communist-dominated ruling coalition to withdraw support.

Bimal Paudel, an official at the Supreme Court, said the petition seeking Dahal's arrest has been registered and the first hearing is scheduled on Thursday.

In a public gathering three years ago, Dahal - who still goes by his nom de guerre Prachanda - said he was ready to take responsibility "for 5,000 deaths" during the civil war, blaming the then state forces for the remaining fatalities.

In December, Dahal, 68, was appointed prime minister for a third time after joining the political mainstream under the peace deal.

Relatives of the victims of the conflict said in the petition: "Since the transcript of his objectionable expression accepting that he killed people, including our relatives, is available (on) the social media ... we demand that he be arrested and investigated".

A spokesperson for the prime minister declined to comment on the petition. On Sunday Dahal said there was a "conspiracy" against him.

The former rebels, including Dahal's ruling Maoist Centre party, have said that cases of abuse committed during the conflict must be settled by two transitional justice panels set up under the peace deal.

Nepal abolished its 239-year old monarchy after the peace deal turned the Hindu-majority county into a secular republic and created seven federal provinces.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Democratic governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that California will boycott Walgreens after the company decided not to distribute abortion pills in 20 GOP-dominated states, many of which have restricted the procedure.

California wont be doing business with @walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk. Were done, Newsom tweeted.

The governors comments come amid the pharmacy chains move to refrain from dispensing mifepristone, one of two drugs required to chemically terminate a pregnancy, in various Republican states following demands from state officials. In a February letter, attorneys general from Missouri, Georgia, Florida, and other red states threatened litigation if the company started distributing the drug.

We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states, they said in the letter, which was also addressed to CVS.

The letter noted the dangers of abortion pills, citing statistics suggesting that they are more likely to yield complications in the first trimester than surgical abortions are, therefore making them riskier. When the complications do arise, they often happen at home rather than with medical help nearby, the letter stated.

Federal law and several state laws prohibit using the mail to send or receive any drug that will be used for abortion, the officials said.

These state laws reflect not only our commitment to protecting the lives and dignity of children, but also of women, the letter reads.

California is reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state. We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls, a spokesperson for Newsom told the Hill Monday.

Following its move not to supply abortion pills in certain states, Walgreens said in a statement provided to CNN that it is keeping within the confines of the law.

Story continues

We intend to be a certified pharmacy and will distribute Mifepristone only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible, the company said.

Ahead of the Supreme Courts anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade, Newsom proudly declared California a sanctuary state for abortion. Newsom assembled a coalition of prominent Democratic lawmakers in the California state government to draft a proposal to subsidize travel and lodging for out-of-state women seeking an abortion. Newsom told the Associated Press in December 2021 that California would strive to facilitate the abortions of women coming from other states.

More from National Review
Gov. Gavin Newsom gives the inaugural address on Jan. 6 in Sacramento. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

In an attempt to counter GOP efforts to limit reproductive rights, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will cut ties with Walgreens over the company's decision to stop selling abortion medication in 20 Republican states.

"California won't be doing business with Walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk," Newsom tweeted Monday. "We're done."

Newsom's missive is the latest political maneuver from the governor in the national battle between red and blue states over abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision last summer.

Using the force of the California economy, Newsom is attempting to push back on the pressure GOP leaders are putting on retailers to cut off access to abortion medication in their states.

Attorneys general in 20 GOP-led states sent a letter to Walgreens and CVS last month threatening legal action if the retailers sold abortion pills by mail in their respective states. On Friday, Walgreens responded and said it would not sell the medication in those states.

Newsom's tweet, his spokesman said, was "a shot across the bow."

"Companies seem to be caving to political pressure from right-wing extremists and there are consequences for those decisions," Anthony York said.

Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. fell 1.8% on Monday after Newsom's announcement. The Illinois retailer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

How California might stop doing business with Walgreens and what impact such a move could have on Californians was not immediately clear. Newsom's aides said Monday that his administration did not have any details on what cutting ties would entail and was only beginning to review all relationships between Walgreens and the state, including Medi-Cal and Covered California contracts.

On Wednesday, Newsom's office said the state would not renew at least one $54 million contract between the California Department of General Services and Walgreens that "allows the State to procure specialty pharmacy prescription drugs, primarily used by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and its correctional healthcare system."

Story continues

The contract would have renewed on May 1 and the state said DGS informed Walgreens Wednesday of its decision to withdraw from the agreement. The governor's office said the state "instead will explore other options for furnishing the same services" and continue to review other contracts with Walgreens that could be terminated.

Advocates for Californians who receive state-sponsored healthcare said it was difficult to determine if the decision to sever ties with the retailer would affect patients given the lack of details.

Newsom has a tendency to seize on hot-button political issues and make attention-grabbing announcements before he has determined how the state will carry out his plan.

The governor declared his desire to pass a windfall profits penalty on oil companies last fall in response to record gasoline prices in California. He and lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to cap the industry's profits in a special legislative session.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
U.S. first lady Jill Biden speaks during a visit to the Ivy Tech Community College Valparaiso campus on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

First lady Jill Biden visited the Valparaiso campus of Ivy Tech Community College Monday to help highlight the schools Energy Technology Program that is currently training 80 students as early as their sophomore year in high school for high-paying union jobs in the energy sector.

Biden, who is herself a teacher at a community college, told a crowd of college officials, local leaders and Ivy Tech students that such career-connected learning beginning in high school is the future of the American economy. These arent a Democratic idea, or a Republican idea. Theyre American ideas championed by people from both parties, she said. Its how we grow the economy from the bottom up, and the middle out.

Advertisement

Those in attendance didnt need any convincing. Sandy Strilich Daly was working in landscaping before receiving her certification and associate degree in electric line construction in the energy program and getting hired by NIPSCO 12 years ago.

Now shes a working foreman heavy equipment operator for NIPSCOs gas construction department. Twelve years ago I knew I needed to find a job that paid well, that had benefits, Strilich Daly told Biden.

Advertisement

U.S. first lady Jill Biden, center, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor and nominee for U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su, on left, speak with students during a visit to the Ivy Tech Valparaiso campus on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

She was one of a handful of current and former students at three stations set up to give Biden a snapshot of the electric line, renewables, and gas programs offered at the college. After one year in the program, students can earn technical certification, and after two years they can earn an associate degree.

High school students as young as Chesterton High School sophomore Oliver Wood can achieve the certification and then continue on for their associate degree after high school graduation. Ivy Tech Energy Department Chair Majid Mohseni said apprentice linemen earn a starting wage of $45 per hour at NIPSCO and that the school has an agreement with NIPSCO that its students will be first in line for interviews off the street if they hold a certificate or associate degree.

NIPSCO retiree Mike Jones helped start the Energy Technology Program at Ivy Tech and now serves as an emeritus professor at the school. He said the average graduate earns $25 per hour fresh out of school.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden, on left, listens to Ivy Tech Valparaiso adjunct professor Mike Jones during a visit to the campus on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

High school education just isnt enough for the jobs of the 21st century, Biden told the crowd. She was accompanied by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk. Su gave a shoutout to the union steelworkers and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in attendance while explaining that good union jobs like theirs are dependent upon good community pathways.

Community colleges are the on-ramp to that entire system, Su said. Turk said the United States will need over one million more electricians before the early 2030s.

He said over $74 billion in private and public funds are being invested in over 100 new battery plants in the U.S. You can have a great job and you can be secure in expansion and you can save the planet while youre doing it, Turk said.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden, on left, goes in for a hug with Ivy Tech Community College student Lane Seibert during a visit to the Valparaiso campus on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

Ivy Tech in Porter, LaPorte, Starke and Jasper counties serves over 10,000 students, including over 4,500 high schoolers. At its 90 locations throughout the state nearly 170,000 students are enrolled; 75,000 of them are high schoolers earning dual credit. Ivy Tech Valparaiso Chancellor Aco Sikoski said over 80% of the schools graduates have no debt upon graduation.

Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann said nearly two million Hoosiers have no credentials beyond high school. These are the jobs that are most vulnerable to automation, she said of the roles those workers fill.

Advertisement

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said its crucial Indiana starts educating its students at a very early age so high school students understand the pathways available to them for these quality jobs.

U.S. first lady Jill Biden, center, laughs as she speaks with students during a visit to the Ivy Tech Valparaiso campus on Monday, March 6, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune)

We need more communities to follow Ivy Techs lead, Biden said. Together were going to be able to transform what it means to make a living and make a life here in America.

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Mar. 6The Saint Anselm College men's basketball team will host the eight-team East Regional of the NCAA Division II basketball tournament this weekend at Stoutenburgh Gym in Goffstown.

Included among those eight teams is the Hawks' neighbor from seven miles away, Southern New Hampshire University.

Saint Anselm, which received an automatic bid by winning the Northeast-10 Conference championship, is the top seed for the region and will host eighth-seeded Caldwell (New Jersey) on Saturday at a time yet to be determined. Saint Anselm is 22-7, Caldwell 21-9. The Hawks are 2-0 all-time against Caldwell, the last meeting coming in December of 2006.

The NCAA appearance will be the 22nd for the Hawks under head coach Keith Dickson.

The Penmen (20-8), who reached the NE10 semifinals before bowing out, received an at-large bid. SNHU is the third seed and will play sixth-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas of Sparkill, New York, on Saturday. St. Thomas is 26-4.

The NCAA tourney appearance is the 21st for SNHU and the first since 2017. The Penmen are 1-2 all-time against STAC.

Five of the eight regional teams are Northeast-10 Conference members. The other matchups feature No. 2 Bentley (21-6) of the NE10 vs. No. 7 Dominican (21-8), and NE10 runnerup New Haven (20-10), the fourth seed, against No. 5 Pace (20-10), also of the NE10.

The field for the 64-team field was announced late Sunday night.

Details on tickets will be announced in the coming days.

SNHU women dancing, too

The SNHU women's disappointment from dropping the NE10 championship game on Sunday lasted about seven hours. The Penmen late Sunday were picked as an at-large team for the NCAA Division II tournament and received the No. 2 seed for the East Regional at Assumption University in Worcester, Mass. SNHU will play St. Thomas Aquinas in a first-round game on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

The SNHU women claimed the NE10's regular-season title. They are 21-7 and playing in the NCAAs for a second straight season, fourth all-time. St. Thomas Aquinas is 21-8 this season.

Story continues

The other matchups in the eight-team regional feature top seed Assumption against Dominican, NE10 tournament champ Bentley vs. Le Moyne, and Jefferson against Daemen.

Keene State men at Swarthmore

The Keene State College men's basketball, which survived the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III tournament in a four-team pod in Keene, plays at Swarthmore (Pennsylvania) College in a round of 16 contest Friday night at 7:15.

The Owls (28-1) are ranked No. 5 in the country while Swarthmore (26-3) is ranked seventh. This season marks the third time since 2016 that KSC has reached the round of 16.

Keene State beat Swarthmore 84-83 in an NCAA first-round contest last season, also on the Garnet's home floor.

Plymouth State six to host NCAA game

The Plymouth State men's hockey team, up to a program-best No. 8 in Monday's USCHO national poll after winning the MASCAC tournament crown over the weekend, will host the 10th-ranked University of New England in an NCAA first-round contest on Saturday night (7 p.m.) at Hanaway Rink. The contest is a rematch of last season's NCAA first-rounder won by the Nor'easters in double overtime.

PSU is 23-3-1 while UNE is 19-6-2.

The winner of the PSU-UNE game advances to visit the top-ranked team in the country, Utica, in a second-round game on Saturday, March 18, at 7 p.m.
Nicholas Braun has admitted to being sad as hell that Succession is coming to an end.

The critically acclaimed HBO drama will return for its fourth and final season later in March.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Braun  who plays Cousin Greg  said that the cast were all bummed to say goodbye to Succession.

We were expecting it while we were making the show, but you dont believe it till [creator Jesse Armstrong] says it, he said. Were all pretty bummed.

Braun added that he was sad as hell on his last day of filming.

I finished a couple of weeks ago, and it was a really tough day, you know, saying goodbye to everybody, he said. Its been the greatest working experience in my life. So, saying goodbye to those people is really tough.

However, he stressed that the season finale was fire.

The last episode of Succession will air in May, with showrunner Armstrong admitting as he announced the news that he was conflicted by the show ending.

Season 4 will see the three Roy kids face off against dad Logan (HBO)

Theres a promise in the title of Succession, he said. Ive never thought this could go on forever. The end has always been kind of present in my mind.

Armstrong said that after considering extending the series, his team of writers decided to do something a bit more muscular and complete, and go out sort of strong.

Last week, the trailer for season four was released, showing the Roy children teaming up to take on patriarch Logan (Brian Cox) after he ruthlessly cut off his kids from the familys global media empire at the end of season three.

We were cut out behind our backs, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) tells his two siblings, before proposing partnerships with Logans enemies: Stewy Hosseini (Arian Moayed), Sandi Furness (Hope David) and Nan Pierce (Cherry Jones).

Shiv (Sarah Snook) then suggests that they get into a knife fight, with Kendall replying: Lets blow it up.

Succession returns to HBO Max in the US on Sunday 26 March. In the UK, the show will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Monday 27 March.
Nicki Minaj. Getty/Paras Griffin

Nicki Minaj's former manager recalled quitting on her right before she scored the biggest hit of her career.

"I was just like, 'God damn,'" said Sickamore.

The producer said he quit on Minaj after an argument at a photo shoot.

Nicki Minaj's former manager Sickamore has recalled quitting on the rapper just before the scored one of the biggest hits of her career.

"She had this VIBE magazine shoot, you know, it's like a two-page spread, and she had a diner, and she got to the place, and I wasn't there, and she didn't have no trailer," Sickamore, who was Minaj's manager in 2007 and 2008, told VladTV.

"She had to change in the bathroom, and she called me like flipping out  as she should  and then I was cocky. I was like, 'Man, I don't need all of this. Just don't worry about it, you can find your own manager.'"

Sickamore said that after his outburst, Minaj tried to fix things, but he didn't want to.

"So she calls me back. She gave me an opportunity. She's like, 'Are you sure? Like, you sure you know what you're doing?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, my own mother don't talk to me like this. I'm not going to let anybody talk to me like this,'" he said.

"So we handled business. It was like a little bit of money or whatever. We cleaned that up, next thing I know, 'Super Bass.'"

Released as a single in 2011, "Super Bass" made it to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting song for a female rapper without a featured artist since Missy Elliot's "Work It" in 2002. To date, "Super Bass" has sold over 12 million units worldwide.

Sickamore concluded: "I was just like, 'God damn.'"

Sickamore. Getty/Johnny Nunez

Last week, Minaj announced the launch of her own record label.

"There's a big announcement coming. Well, I have a record label now," the 40-year-old said on the latest episode of her "Queen Radio" show.

"I believe so strongly in loyalty, and because I've spend my whole life giving to others that turn around and shit on me."

Minaj did not reveal the label's name, but did reveal some of the artists who will be on its roster, including Nana Fofie, Tate Kobang, Rico Danna, and London Hill. Minaj's longtime friend Patty Lauren, also known as Patty Duke, will be the artist relations representative for the label.

"Don't think my label is just rap, or Black, or anything," added the rapper. "We got some other genres of music."

Read the original article on Insider
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma Republicans formally censured their nonbinary Democratic colleague Tuesday after state troopers said the lawmaker blocked them from questioning a transgender rights activist accused of assaulting a police officer during a protest over anti-trans legislation.

The party-line vote means Rep. Mauree Turner, who uses they/them pronouns, will be removed from all committee assignments unless the second-term lawmaker issues a formal apology, including to the Highway Patrol, which provides security at the Capitol complex.

Turner, the first openly nonbinary and Muslim person elected to the Legislature in Oklahoma, said Tuesday that won't happen, as Republicans continue to work to strip away the rights of trans people.

I think an apology for loving the people of Oklahoma is something that I cannot do, said Turner, D-Oklahoma City, flanked by several Democratic colleagues. Its something that I actively refuse to do.

Turner's denouncement comes as Republicans throughout the U.S. push proposals that advocates for LGBTQ rights say are trying to erase the legal existence of people who are trans and to restrict the expression of people nonbinary, gender-fluid or who perform in drag.

In Oklahoma, recent efforts by the GOP-controlled Legislature to prohibit gender-affirming medical care for trans children and pass other anti-trans legislation, including a prohibition on insurance coverage for gender-affirming care for people of all ages, have led to demonstrations at the Capitol. One protest last week became heated when a protester was accused of pouring water on a state representative and scuffling with a trooper before being arrested.

Officers wanted to question the activist, who was inside Turner's legislative office.

When we go up to the representative's office, we were not allowed in, even from opening the door, said Trooper Eric Foster, with the Highway Patrol.

Officers ultimately were able to speak to the person in Turner's office, who was later arrested on a complaint of assault and battery on a police officer, Foster said.

Story continues

Speaker of the House Charles McCall said in a statement that the House stands by law enforcement.

I will not allow members of the House of Representatives to use their assigned offices and official positions to impede law enforcement from carrying out investigations or making arrests in the state Capitol, said McCall, R-Atoka.

But Turner, who is Black and represents a diverse constituency that includes Oklahoma City's Asian business district, said one of their goals is making sure all people are welcome at the Capitol.

I just provide my office as a space of grace and love for all the folks in all communities that seek refuge from the hate in this building, Turner said. Trans people don't feel safe here.

House Democratic Leader Rep. Cyndi Munson said the House's censure vote was absolutely embarrassing.

Its clear what theyre trying to do is silence a member who does not think like them, act like them, dress like them, who challenges their positions, especially when they are running legislation to harm people in our community," Munson said.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of national LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, also condemned the Oklahoma House, saying a statehouse is where everyone, including lawmakers, should feel safe and heard.

Transgender people are under attack by extremists who are baselessly trying to limit their private, best practice healthcare," said Ellis. "Every Oklahoman and every American should be outraged that lawmakers are working overtime to target people, including their own colleague.

___

Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter: @apseanmurphy
A Norfolk Southern employee was killed after a train hit a dump truck in Ohio Tuesday.

The accident happened on a rail line that runs through the Cleveland area at around 1 a.m., WKYC reports.

A spokesperson for Cleveland-Cliffs, part of the area the rail line runs through, told WKYC the accident is being controlled by Cleveland police and Norfolk Southern.

The victim was identified by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office as Louis Shuster, 46.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, WKYC reports.

This is the third Norfolk Southern incident in Ohio in just over a month.

On Feb. 3, 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, just under an hour drive from Pittsburgh. The train was carrying vinyl chloride in some of the cars and burned for days before a controlled release was executed.

>>>>Vinyl chloride: What we know about the toxic chemical released at East Palestine train derailment

Over the weekend on March 4, around 20 cars of another Norfolk Southern train derailed near the Clark County Fairgrounds near Springfield, Ohio.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Americans kidnapped in Mexico: 2 found dead, 2 alive, reports say At least one injured in explosion in New Castle Allegheny County Police no longer patrolling Pittsburgh, official says VIDEO: Pittsburgh police searching for suspects responsible for vandalizing Shepherds Wellness Center DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
By Hyunsu Yim and Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea said any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned in a statement that Pyongyang would see it as a "declaration of war" if the U.S. took military action against the North's strategic weapon tests.

She also hinted that the North could fire more missiles into the Pacific Ocean. The United States and its allies have never shot down North Korean ballistic missiles, which are banned by the United Nations Security Council, but the question drew new scrutiny since the North suggested it will fire more missiles over Japan.

"The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the U.S. or Japan," Kim said.

Analysts have said that if North Korea follows through on its threat to turn the Pacific Ocean into a "firing range", it would allow the isolated and nuclear-armed state to make technical advances in addition to signalling its military resolve.

In a separate statement, the chief of the Foreign News Section at North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of "aggravating" the situation by conducting a joint air drill with a B-52 bomber on Monday and planning U.S.-South Korea field exercises.

In response, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, said Pyongyang's "reckless nuclear and missile development" is to blame for the deteriorating situation.

The United states deployed the B-52 bomber for a joint drill with South Korean fighter jets, in what South Korea's defence ministry said was a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

The two countries will conduct more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises known as the "Freedom Shield" drills starting next week.

Story continues

On Tuesday, U.S. and South Korean warplanes practised quickly taking off in a drill designed in response to North Korean threats to destroy airfields, Yonhap news agency reported.

North Korea's army said its enemy launched 30 rounds of artillery near the border on Tuesday and it demanded an immediate halt to what it called "provocative actions".

South Korea denied doing so and said the claim was groundless.

Around 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, leaving the countries technically at war.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Josh Smith; Editing by Sandra Maler, Stephen Coates and Ed Osmond)
CAIRO (AP)  A passenger train derailed Tuesday north of Cairo, killing at least two people and injuring 16 others, Egyptian authorities said. It was the latest in a series of rail accidents in the country in recent years.

The train went off its tracks as it traveled through a station in the city of Qalyub on its way to the city of Menouf in the Nile Delta, state prosecutors said in a statement. They said they had opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.

At least 20 ambulances were dispatched and the injured were transferred to hospitals, health authorities said.

Videos of the aftermath posted on Facebook showed crowds of people and emergency services gathering around the rail cars, which had remained upright. In other footage, passengers were seen being pulled from the wreckage through rail-car windows.

Train derailments and crashes are common in Egypt, where the railway system which has a history of mismanagement and poor maintenance of equipment. In recent years, the government announced modernization initiatives to improve its railways.

In 2018, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said some 250 billion Egyptian pounds, or $8.13 billion, would be needed to properly overhaul the North African country's neglected rail network.

In 2021, two trains collided in the southern Egyptian city of Tahta, killing 32 people. Later that year, a train derailed in the Qalyubia province, killing 11 people.

Egypts deadliest train crash was in 2002, when more than 300 people were killed after a fire broke out on an overnight train journeying from Cairo to southern Egypt.
Michael ONeill wants Paddy McNair to emerge as a leader within the Northern Ireland squad (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Archive)

Michael ONeill wants Paddy McNair to head a new generation of leaders within the Northern Ireland squad as they look to a future when the stalwarts of the last decade are no longer around.

ONeill on Tuesday named his first squad since returning to the job in December, and was forced to select a relatively inexperienced group with the likes of Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Ali McCann, and Shayne Lavery out injured.

Jonny Evans is included, but it remains uncertain what role he will be able to play in the opening Euro 2024 qualifier away to San Marino on March 23 and the home match against Finland that follows, as the 100-cap defender has not featured for Leicester since November due to calf and thigh problems.

 The boss has named his squad for the @EURO2024 qualifiers  #GAWA  Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) March 7, 2023

In Jonny Evans, Craig Cathcart and Shane Ferguson, ONeill has called up three players who were all in his first Northern Ireland squad back in 2012, but Davis and Corry Evans, two others from that group, are sidelined by long-term ACL injuries.

Dallas has not yet recovered from the broken leg he suffered last season.

What will be interesting about this window in particular is how we will cope without, at this moment in time, Steven, Corry, Stuart, players that have been with me a long time, ONeill told the PA news agency.

Players emerge all the time. You look at Paddy McNair, 27 years of age, McNair needs to become a huge player in this group, a really big player and he has to embrace that role.

McNair is well established as one of Northern Irelands most reliable players with 58 caps since his 2015 debut, and ONeill now wants the Middlesbrough man to have a bigger voice within the group.

Story continues

I dont think he needs to add anything (to his game), but at 27, he has to develop his leadership skills and that personality in his play, he said. I think he has that.

ONeill also highlighted 23-year-old Sunderland defender Dan Ballard, a player who got his first call-up late in ONeills first reign but made his debut under Ian Baraclough and quickly established himself, earning 16 caps to date.

(Dan) Ballard is the same, he said. I already see that in Daniel playing at Sunderland. Sunderland have a young team and I see him as a leader in that team.

What I see in some of my younger players is the ability to step in and deal with situations they face. Watching Trai Hume at Sunderland, he looks very assured and calm, Conor Bradley at Bolton is playing very well.

How those players are dealing with situations gives me a lot of confidence. We will need players to emerge very quickly in the next 12 to 18 months and the team may look different to what it does now, but it will certainly grow and progress in that period.

 Michael O'Neill on the new faces in the squad: Sean Goss, Cameron McGeehan, @Eointoal7 and Isaac Price  #GAWA pic.twitter.com/muvBDBDfa6  Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) March 7, 2023

ONeill has called up four uncapped players in Motherwells Sean Goss, Ostends Cameron McGeehan, Bolton defender Eoin Toal and Everton teenager Isaac Price while the likes of Burton forward Dale Taylor, Aberdeen winger Matthew Kennedy and Manchester Citys Shea Charles have only a handful of caps.

With so much experience missing there is an added importance on Jonny Evans being involved to whatever extent he can be, which may include him playing before he makes his first-team return for Leicester.

Jonny is not a player that loses fitness very easily and also not a player who depends on that  Jonnys game is played with his brain, his intelligence as much as anything else, ONeill said.

Im optimistic hell be fit and I know hes desperate to be involved. Although hes not had 30 games this season I believe hell be able to come in and handle games at this level.
At least 239 youths booked into Kentuckys juvenile detention centers in 2022 werent the significantly more violent predators about whom Gov. Andy Beshear and legislators warn as they call for guards to be armed with tasers and pepper spray, according to a state database obtained by the Herald-Leader.

Instead, they were so-called status offenders, charged with minor, age-specific violations like truancy or running away from home. On average, they spent a week in custody, although five were locked up for a month or more in pre-trial detention.

Unfortunately, sometimes, our prosecutorial team and judges feel its what has to be done. Its a tough thing to have to do, said McCracken County Attorney Cade Foster.

Fosters county sent status offenders to juvenile detention 16 times in 2022.

And more than 100 youths held in juvenile detention last year were wards of the state, usually teenagers from broken homes who were assigned to caseworkers at the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services, according to a separate set of state records.

Experts say there is almost certainly crossover between the two groups  kids assigned to social workers who landed in lockup because of a lesser offense, such as fleeing foster care  but its impossible to say exactly how much. The youths names typically are kept confidential, making it impossible to cross-reference them.

Rules posted in the hallway near the classrooms at the Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center on Spurr Road in Lexington.

Sad stories can be found in these numbers from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Last April, for example, a teen-aged boy in Boyd County was jailed in the Boyd Regional Juvenile Detention Center by mistake, according to state records.

The boy was the victim in an abuse and neglect case, not an offender. It was his mother who had legal problems.

But a district judges order to take the boy into custody and deliver him to DCBS apparently was misunderstood by police. By the time state officials realized the error and tracked him down, the boy was in the general population at the detention center alongside youths charged with crimes.

Story continues

DCBS did not know the youth had been found. (It) immediately sent a DCBS worker to the detention center to retrieve the youth, according to the states Report of Detention Violation filed two days later.

The Boyd Regional Juvenile Detention Center, in Ashland, is not a desirable place for anyone to spend time, much less a child who did nothing wrong. During a riot at the facility in October, according to state records, some of the two dozen youths choked and attacked staff with a broom. One employee had the tip of a finger cut off.

The Boyd detention center director wrote to DJJ in Frankfort to blame the eruption at least in part on perilously low staffing: Some staff are struggling to feel safe ... Even some residents are expressing concern for staff and wanting to retaliate.

One girl, 54 rejections

In other instances last year, DCBS social workers said they wanted to get youths in their charge out of the juvenile detention centers for a more appropriate setting. But they struggled to find any openings in foster homes or private agencies, especially if the kids had mental illness or a history of misbehavior.

The phrase can be released when placement is found is repeated over and over in juveniles detention files.

A DCBS supervisor wrote in an email last June that she collected 54 rejections for a Madison County girl locked inside the Fayette Regional Juvenile Detention Center, from therapeutic foster homes and qualified residential programs statewide. The girls own relatives likewise refused to take her, the supervisor wrote.

She is now a non-offender in detention, a DJJ employee emailed a colleague. A violation report ... will go up the DJJ chain because she is only being held for placement, not on the actual charge.

The detention center could not simply set her free, officials said, because she was a minor, and there would be nobody at the front door to greet her and to be responsible for her.

This has always been an issue, said Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto, a longtime childrens advocacy attorney in Kentucky.

Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto

DJJ has kids who have served their time, as you could describe it, but DJJ has nowhere to put them. The release date arrives and there is not a placement for them, DiLoreto said. It would do the legislature well to study where exactly we are putting all of our kids in Kentucky. This is a deeper problem.

One juvenile detention case in 2022, in Adair County, was a teenager with a 59 IQ, which is significant mental impairment.

A second case, a teen girl in Warren County, had a traumatic brain injury from being dropped on her head as a baby.

A third case, a teen boy in Fayette County, was left behind with expiring residency papers when his parents returned to Africa without him.

State records did not identify what landed those teens in juvenile detention.

Lock em up!

Kentuckys problem isnt just that its juvenile detention centers are plagued by violence among youths and staff and by the chronic neglect of youths in their cells for days on end, making them dangerous places to be, critics say.

Its that many of their residents shouldnt be there at all because theyre not the criminal threats to society for whom lockup is intended.

Detention is ineffective. It is expensive. And it produces even worse conduct, said Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, R-Fruit Hill. But thats the first instinct: Lock em up!

State Sen. Whitney Westerfield

Westerfield repeatedly has tried to convince his fellow lawmakers to stop jailing status offenders. His Senate Bill 200, in 2014, did at least significantly increase the number of status complaints steered toward diversion programs rather than detention, according to a 2020 analysis by the Urban Institute.

Its terribly easy to be tough on crime. Its very popular to be tough on everyone who breaks the law. You look like youre the good guy, and its really easy to get carried away by that sort of mindset, he added. I get it. Thats what weve been doing decade after decade. Its just that it doesnt work.

DiLoreto, the childrens advocacy attorney, said its not just politics. Past reform efforts also were thwarted by school districts, which view habitual truancy as a threat because their funding is tied to average daily attendance, she said.

And judges do not like it when anyone, even a minor, ignores their orders, she said. A teenager who disobeys a judicial order to stop skipping school easily can find himself locked behind a steel door, she said.

The judges have a particular view about their authority, and they will not let it go when they feel disrespected, DiLoreto said. Their view is, We always have contempt authority. That means we can always incarcerate.

One peer-reviewed study, published in 2020 in the journal Crime & Delinquency, showed a significant increase in recidivism among more than 46,000 juvenile cases involving pre-trial time spent in custody, even for minor offenses. Generally, locked-up youths are less likely to benefit from any deterrence than they are to suffer from poor living conditions, risky new relationships and the stigma of having been a state prisoner, according to the study.

However, none of the several juvenile justice measures advancing through the 2023 General Assembly this winter would end the practice of locking up status offenders.

The only legislation that would, House Bill 591, is sponsored by Rep. Derrick Graham of Frankfort, the top House Democrat. But in the Republican-majority legislature, Graham doesnt have much clout. His bill has not moved as the session enters its final weeks.

Nobody wants to detain a runaway

Officials with the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department for Community Based Services declined to be interviewed for this article about the treatment of youths in their custody.

In a brief statement, a DJJ spokeswoman said her agency has no authority over which youths are sent to its detention centers or when they are released. The courts do that.

DJJ does not have any control over which juveniles are detained, spokeswoman Morgan Hall said. Also, DJJ cannot release a juvenile back into the community without them being picked up by their legal guardian or DCBS caseworker. Releasing a minor without proper supervision would be irresponsible of DJJ.

The Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Bowling Green, Ky., photographed Sept. 6, 2021.

Christian County locked up 25 status offenders in 2022, more than any other county, including the far more populous and urban Jefferson and Fayette counties, according to the state database.

The most common charge was contempt of court, with an underlying charge of beyond control, bringing an average of 10 days in detention.

Most Christian County youths were sent to the McCracken Regional Juvenile Detention Center, a 90-minute drive to the west in Paducah. That facility, like the one in Boyd County, has experienced riots.

Christian District Judge John Lindsey Adams said he tries to avoid jailing status offenders whenever its possible. Adams said that he oversees one of the states last remaining juvenile drug courts, so he has a small population of youths whose behavior he closely tracks over an extended period.

You very well could be seeing running away from home or beyond the control of the person exercising custodial control  lots and lots of different circumstances. One thing I definitely can tell you about that is that every case is driven by its individual circumstances, facts and merit, Adams said.

Still, the judge rejected the idea of a ban on detention for status offenses.

There are times  such as when kids keep running away, putting themselves at risk  where locking them into a physically secured building looks like the only answer, at least in the short-term, he said.

If you take that off the table, what are we supposed to do? Adams asked. Whether its me or a family court judge in some of those cases, what should you do with an habitual runaway? I promise you that nobody wants to detain a runaway.

KY Senate gets bill with $48M in annual funding to fix juvenile justice system

Ky. House gets juvenile justice bill with tougher rules for most serious charges
Passengers on a flight from Charlotte to Sarasota, Florida, got an unexpected delay last month when the aircraft had to avoid another plane that was cleared to take off on the same runway.

The National Transportation Safety Board says its investigating the incident, which happened on Feb. 16.

SEE MORE: Dog surrendered by owner at Charlotte Douglas airport; rescue tries to find home

The NTSB says an American Airlines flight from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport was set to land at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport and it was cleared to use the runway. However, an Air Canada Rouge flight was also cleared to take off on the same runway.

Update: The flights involved were Air Canada Rouge flight 1633 to Toronto and America 2172 from Charlotte. https://t.co/z3e5iDZIrn  NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) March 7, 2023

According to the NTSB, the American Airlines crew self-initiated a go-around, which means the plane climbed again and circled back for another landing attempt.

A flight path on FlightAware.com shows that the American Airlines plane was under 100 feet up when the pilots started the go-around. The plane climbed up to about 3,100 feet and circled around to successfully land about eight minutes later.

No injuries were reported.

A recent trend?

This is the latest in a recent series of near-misses at U.S. airports. The NTSB is investigating another incident in Austin, where a FedEx cargo plane passed over the top of a Southwest Airlines jet.

We still believe the planes were within 100 feet of each other, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in an interview about the Austin incident.

Then weeks later, a Jet Blue plane that was landing at Boston Logan International Airport had to pull up to avoid a Learjet that was crossing an intersecting runway.

ALSO READ: Family denied boarding, told they were on no-go list during layover at Charlotte airport

Story continues

The Associated Press reported that those incidents, and similar incidents in New York, California, and Hawaii have led the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to call for a safety summit while igniting a debate about whether air safety is declining.

I dont know that I can say that its a trend, but these are disturbing because it just takes one, Homendy said in an Associated Press story. That is why we investigate incidents  so that we can identify problems, especially when we see trends, and address them before they become a full-blown accident.

(WATCH: Charlotte Douglas Airport firearm discoveries hit all-time high in 2022, TSA says)




Whats Quickly? Its where readers sound off on the issues of the day. Have a quote, question or quip? Call Quickly at 312-222-2426 or email quickly@post-trib.com.

Why should taxes from the casino in Gary go to fund a convention center anywhere in Lake County? Are these other cities worse off? Seems to me they are booming with development! Look at Merrillville they have a brand new community center and already want tax money for improvements. Incredible! Let Gary develop itself if it is able to. Can Gary get tax revenue from other cities in Lake County?

Advertisement

The Trump troll has now set a new standard for dopiness, blaming Obama and Biden for reducing the number of ounces in a half-gallon. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures must be shocked to learn of it.

Can someone please tell Trump calling people names should be left in the third grade? How does anyone with more than a 6th grade education find this rhetoric appealing?

Advertisement

The new Alien movie starts filming this week. Im sure they are going to ruin it by making the lead character a strong female, having the alien be a metaphor for sexual assault and making the plot center around corporate greed. Im sure there will also be a black character. Who would watch such woke garbage.

Chevron should do a little better with their ads. They show workers loading boxes and the bottom of the boxes are not taped shut. The boxes show an opening where everything would just fall through. The boxes had to be empty for this ad.

A tax refund is money you loaned the government. You get it back at the end of the year and they dont give you interest. You adjust the amount of the loan by the way you fill out your W-2.

Total student loan debt relief if implemented by Biden will cost $389 billion. Total cost of the 2017 Republican tax cuts was $1.9 trillion. Republicans have no problem giving corporations and billionaires big tax cuts, but erasing some student loan debt that would benefit millions of our young adults is too much. They are nothing but hypocrites.

Are you paying for Joes college loan buyout? No, you are paying for Don the Cons failed trickle-down economic scheme. It didnt work for Hoover, it didnt work for Reagan, it didnt work for Trump. It has never worked, except if you are part of the 1% then it works fine. During the 1992 presidential campaign Bill Clinton said: What I want you to understand is the national debt is not the only cause of declining economic conditions in America. It is because America has not invested in its people. It is because we have not grown. By the way, while you lost your tax cut, the uber-rich got to keep theirs.

Prices in all areas are gradually coming down. Eggs, gas, prescriptions and other critical consumer products are now close to their pre-COVID levels or even better. I am not surprised that compliments from our conservative friends are on mute! Look for them to raise the volume on complaining about President Bidens age, the border, wokeism and college loan debt relief. I mention these items because Republicans apparently feel that complaining and catering to big business is their pathway to the White House. We must not forget former President Trump gave corporations a 14% tax cut. That means our government was receiving 14% less in tax collections. Yet, Republicans are hard set against giving individuals a break on their college debt. The reason is simple. Big corporations contribute to campaigns. Individuals with big college debt generally dont!

Another Republican claiming huge tax returns. Monopoly Money does not count.

I am not a Trump supporter because of the way he acts in public. That being said, some say he have a plan to save the country, but I cannot find out what the plan is. Trump just claims to election was rigged with no proof and has numerous lawsuits against him. Are these two things going to be his agenda for re-election? He has said he will deport most criminals but that is like saying he will build a wall.

Advertisement

Read more at www.post-trib.com/opinion.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating a close call between two flights at a Florida airport last month.

In mid-February, an Air Canada flight was cleared for takeoff on the same runway that an American Airlines flight was cleared to land on at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, according to NTSB.

The two jets were about 3,100 feet apart when the American Airlines jet discontinued its landing and began its climb-out, after an air traffic controller advised the flight crew that Air Canada was departing, the FAA said in a statement.

The incident follows a recent series of close calls at U.S. airports. The NTSB and the FAA are also both investigating a Feb. 27 incident, in which a private charter jet nearly collided with a JetBlue plane.

The private jet reportedly took off without clearance at Boston Logan International Airport while a JetBlue flight was preparing to land on an intersecting runway, according to the FAA.

A near crash between two passenger planes at John F. Kennedy International Airport in mid-January has also triggered investigations from both agencies. A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to stop its takeoff from the New York airport midway because an American Airlines flight was crossing the runway, the FAA said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that they have launched a special investigation into Norfolk Southern after multiple recent accidents.

Since December 2021, NTSB said they have launched investigations into five significant accidents involving Norfolk Southern  including when nearly 30 cars derailed in Springfield over the weekend.

>> Safety plan released following NTSB initial investigation following East Palestine derailment

Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices, with the input of employees and others, and implement necessary changes to improve safety, the agency said in a media release.

These accidents include according to NTSB:

Dec. 8, 2021 in Reed, Pennsylvania : an employee for National Salvage and Service Corporation assigned to work with a Norfolk Southern work team replacing track was killed when the operator of a spike machine reversed direction and struck the employee

Dec. 13, 2022 in Bessemer, Alabama: a Norfolk Southern trainee conductor was killed, and another conductor was hurt, when the lead locomotive of a Norfolk Southern freight train struck a steel angle iron protruding from a gondola car on another Norfolk Southern freight train that was stopped on an adjacent track

Feb. 3, 2022 in East Palestine, Ohio: a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed. The derailment resulted in a significant fire and hazardous materials release.

>> RELATED: East Palestine derailment: Timeline of key events in toxic train disaster

March 4, 2022 in Springfield, Ohio: a 2.55-mile-long Norfolk Southern freight train derailed

>> RELATED: Springfield train derailment: Clark Co. officials No hazardous materials leaked; NTSB on scene

March 7, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio: a Norfolk Southern employee was killed during a movement

>> RELATED: Dump truck crashes into Norfolk Southern train, killing conductor in Cleveland

Story continues

The investigation will also review an Oct. 28 derailment in Sandusky, Ohio.

The agency will be looking at several organizational factors and safety cultures that may have contributed to these accidents.

We will look at their management practices, their policies. Well also look at safety culture--thats an important part of this--to make sure there is a robust, comprehensive, strong safety culture in the railroad, Jennifer Homendy, NTSB Chairwoman previously told CNN.

The NTSB isnt the only one who wants answers. News Center 7s Brandon Lewis spoke with Springfield residents about their reaction to the investigation.

If its such a frequent occurrence, I feel like they should look into it for sure, Hunter Combs said.

Dallas Fitch agreed.

I definitely think if all these derailments are linked to that company they should definitely be looked into, Fitch said.

News Center 7 reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment. They replied in part:

Moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in safety. This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue.

The full statement can be read here.

THE NTSB recommended Norfolk Southern not wait to make safety changes.

News Center 7 will follow this developing story and update as more information becomes available.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced Tuesday that theyre launching a special investigation into Norfolk Southerns organization and safety culture.

Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices, with the input of employees and others, and implement necessary changes to improve safety, the NTSB said in a media release.

Since Dec. 2021, the NTSB has launched five investigations involving Norfolk Southern incidents, with one of those being in Pennsylvania and three being in Ohio.

On Dec. 8, 2021, an employee for National Salvage and Service Corporation assigned to work with a Norfolk Southern work team replacing track was killed when the operator of a spike machine reversed direction and struck the employee in Reed, Pennsylvania, the NTSB said.

On Feb. 3, 50 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, just under an hour drive from Pittsburgh. The train was carrying vinyl chloride in some of the cars and burned for days before a controlled release was executed.

>>>>Vinyl chloride: What we know about the toxic chemical released at East Palestine train derailment

Over the weekend on March 4, around 20 cars of another Norfolk Southern train derailed near the Clark County Fairgrounds near Springfield, Ohio.

On March 7, a Norfolk Southern employee was killed after a train hit a dump truck near Cleveland, Ohio.

As part of the special investigation, the NTSB will also review the Oct. 28, 2022, Norfolk Southern derailment in Sandusky, Ohio, the media release said, marking the fourth Norfolk Southern investigation out of Ohio.

The continued safe operations of Norfolk Southern is vital to the United States. The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture. The NTSB will conduct an in-depth investigation into the safety practices and culture of the company. At the same time, the company should not wait to improve safety and the NTSB urges it to do so immediately, the NTSB said.

Story continues

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Americans kidnapped in Mexico: 2 found dead, 2 alive, reports say At least one injured in explosion in New Castle Allegheny County Police no longer patrolling Pittsburgh, official says VIDEO: Pittsburgh police searching for suspects responsible for vandalizing Shepherds Wellness Center DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday it is opening a special investigation into Norfolk Southern Railway's safety practices and culture in the wake of a hazardous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and other recent incidents involving the rail operator.

The last time the agency opened such an investigation was in 2014 for Metro-North following several significant accidents.

PHOTO: A view of the scene in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 24, 2023, as cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened on Feb. 3. (Matt Freed/AP)

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Railroad Administration also announced Tuesday that it will conduct a safety assessment of Norfolk Southern's railway safety operations "following multiple safety incidents."

The scrutiny comes after a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed on Feb. 3 near East Palestine, Ohio, sending toxic chemicals into the air, soil and creeks in the area. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called the derailment "100% preventable" and said it was "no accident."

Most recently, a Norfolk Southern train derailed Saturday near Springfield, Ohio. The railroad company told authorities that this incident did not involve hazardous materials. But officials acknowledged Monday that cars on the train that did not derail did have hazardous contents.

MORE: NTSB on East Palestine toxic train derailment: '100% preventable'

A Norfolk Southern train conductor was killed in a collision with a dump truck at a rail crossing at the property of steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs, in Cleveland, Ohio, early Tuesday.

DOT said information collected in its supplemental assessment will "[provide] a more expansive look at Norfolk Southern's overall safety culture and operations." The probe will review the findings and recommendations of the 2022 Norfolk Southern system audit and revisit FRA's recommendations and the scope of the railroad's responses.

"After a series of derailments and the death of one of its workers, we are initiating this further supplemental safety review of Norfolk Southern, while also calling on Norfolk Southern to act urgently to improve its focus on safety so the company can begin earning back the trust of the public and its employees," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a press release.

Story continues

Following the announcement of the NTSB investigation into their safety and culture, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told ABC News that "moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up."

"We are going to invest more in safety," Shaw said in a statement. "This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue."

PHOTO: Chair of the NTSB, Jennifer Homendy, listens as Robert Hall, Director of the NTSB's Office of Railroad, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials, speaks on the East Palestine train derailment, Feb. 23, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE)

Shaw is set to testify before the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee during a hearing on Wednesday amid calls for reform.

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown and Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, introduced legislation last week looking to regulate the railroad industry in the wake of the East Palestine disaster.

"It shouldn't take a rail disaster to get us working together like that. And that's what we're going to be doing," Brown told ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.

NTSB's preliminary report into the East Palestine incident found that a wheel bearing appeared to overheat moments before the derailment. A final report with recommendations might not be finished for up to two years, officials said.

Representatives from NTSB were on site Monday investigating the wreck near Springfield.

The cause of the accident is not yet known, Shaw said.

"In some ways, the cause does not matter," he said in his statement Tuesday, adding that he "called together every member of our management team this afternoon to emphasize the urgency of finding new solutions."

The company plans to hold "safety stand-down briefings reaching every employee across our network" on Wednesday, Shaw said.

ABC News' Amanda Maile contributed to this report.

NTSB to open special investigation into Norfolk Southern following recent derailments originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is launching an investigation into Norfolk Southerns safety practices as the company faces increasing scrutiny following a string of train derailments, including a high-profile derailment in Ohio last month, the agency announced Tuesday.

The NTSB said in a release it is launching a special investigation into the company, citing the number and significance of recent incidents involving Norfolk Southern.

The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture. The NTSB will conduct an in-depth investigation into the safety practices and culture of the company, it said in a statement. At the same time, the company should not wait to improve safety and the NTSB urges it to do so immediately.

Norfolk Southern has come under intense fire after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, sparking environmental and public health concerns. A second train derailed in the state last week, but the cars were empty and no injuries were reported.

The NTSB said it has sent investigators to the sites of five significant accidents involving Norfolk Southern since 2021, including the death of an employee in an accident Tuesday.

Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a statement the cause of Tuesdays accident wasnt known but we will of course cooperate fully with the National Transportation Safety Board.

I called together every member of our management team this afternoon to emphasize the urgency of finding new solutions. Tomorrow we will hold safety stand-down briefings reaching every employee across our network, Shaw said. Moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in safety. This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue.

Story continues

The Norfolk Southern derailments have also placed federal rail regulations in sharp focus.

The federal investigation comes as lawmakers are pursuing legislation that would increase rail regulations and enhance safety measures. The bipartisan proposal, however, has run into Republican opposition in the Senate, because it leaves specifics up to the Transportation Department.

Updated at 5:19 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A coalition of New York Republicans on Tuesday introduced legislation that would ban Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from profiting off his fabrications if he is convicted of certain crimes, revving up their attack against the embattled congressman.

The legislation does not mention Santos by name, but lawmakers who introduced the two related measures made clear they are directed toward the New York Republican, who has been the target of scrutiny for fabricating parts of his resume and submitting questionable financial disclosure reports.

Its very simple, Rep. Anthony DEsposito (R-N.Y.), the lead sponsor of the legislation, said at a press conference Tuesday. If you are defrauding the American people, if you are making a mockery out of the peoples House, or violating campaign finance law, you should not be able to turn it into a payday.

Should fraudsters like George Santos be indicted or convicted of crimes listed in my legislation, our legislation, they wont be able to make money from a book deal, a TV movie, Dancing with the Stars or the next Netflix special, he added.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is seen outside of his office in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Greg Nash)

The group of Republicans introduced a bill and a resolution. The bill  titled the No Fortune For Fraud Act  would create a law that applied to House members who are convicted of offenses involving financial or campaign finance fraud, including conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims and false, fictitious or fraudulent claims, in addition to violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

The resolution, known as the No Fame for Fraud Resolution, would amend House rules to make the policy apply to lawmakers indicted for the same offenses.

DEsposito circulated the legislation last month. On Tuesday, he described the list of offenses as any unlawful acts that would result in members losing their pensions.

Story continues

This legislation is about ensuring that elected officials who break the publics trust are held accountable for their wrongdoings, DEsposito said. No one should be able to profit off lying to the American people and swindling their way into the Peoples House.

Asked on Tuesday if he is confident that Santos will be convicted of an offense, DEsposito said yes.

Of everything that we read, obviously none of us are part of the investigation, but everything that weve read, the holes and stories, the misinformation, you know, I think all roads are leading to, you know, to the issues at hand, and were going to let due process play out, he added.

A number of groups have received formal complaints about or are said to be investigating Santos amid questions about his background and finances. Last week, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the congressman.

DEsposito said the group has had conversations with leadership, adding that he is confident the measures will make it to the floor.

New York GOP Reps. Nicholas LaLota, Brandon Williams, Mike Lawler, Nick Langworthy and Marc Molinaro  all first-term representatives  joined DEsposito as co-sponsors of the legislation. All six lawmakers have called on Santos to resign. DEsposito, LaLota and Molinaro have also expressed support for Santos to be expelled.

George Santos is a scam artist, and we New York Republicans are here to stop him, LaLota said during Tuesdays press conference.

Any other person should have been embarrassed for having been exposed for those lies. They wouldve shown remorse, they wouldve paid in shame. But not George Santos, he later added. He tweeted more, he went on national TV, he even positioned himself in a center-aisle seat during the State of the Union. Why? Because George Santos is dead broke, and hes trying to use his new infamy to enrich himself, to further what we set out to do three years ago  to use his persona as a public figure to enrich himself.

The congressman continued, saying, We New York Republicans can smell a scam from a mile away, and George Santoss scam absolutely stinks.

Asked on Tuesday if the New York Republicans were satisfied with GOP leaderships reaction to Santos  specifically pointing out House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.)  DEsposito said he was pleased with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) without commenting on Stefanik.

Stefanik, the highest-ranking congressional Republican from New York, has pointed to the process Santos will go through.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sayfullo Saipov is "a proud terrorist" who deserves the death penalty for the "unremorseful slaughter of innocent civilians" during a Halloween 2017 terror attack in New York City, a prosecutor argued in federal court on Tuesday.

Saipov was convicted in January of killing eight people and trying to kill 18 more in the ISIS-inspired truck attack on a bike path adjacent to the Hudson River. It was the deadliest terror attack in New York since Sept. 11, 2001.

A jury will soon begin deliberating on whether he should get the death penalty.

MORE: NYC truck terror attacker fights to avoid death penalty over ethnic discrimination claims

During closing arguments in the penalty phase on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Houle showed photographs of each of the deceased victims that depicted them in the bloodied, twisted state in which they were found.

"It is brutal to look at these photographs but it is important because that brutality is exactly what the defendant intended," Houle said. "With each death he made himself more culpable, more deserving of the ultimate punishment."

PHOTO: The mugshot of Sayfullo Saipov is displayed at a news conference at One Police Plaza in New York, Nov. 1, 2017. (Craig Ruttle/AP, FILE)

Saipov, in a dark jacket and white shirt, sat at the defense table with his head bowed, hands in his lap and mask covering his face. Nine of the 28 counts he was convicted of carry the possibility of the death penalty.

"Murder is always terrible but when the defendant made the choice to murder multiple people he exposed himself to a harsher punishment," Houle said. "He stole eight lives."

Houle showed photographs of the victims with their families and reminded the jury of the anguished testimony of the victims' relatives. Hernan Ferruchi's widow testified her "life came crashing down." Diego Angelini's widow testified "she still thinks about Diego every single day" and how their children -- ages 11, 9, 7 and 5 -- cry because they miss him.

"The defendant chose to take so much from all of these families," Houle said.

Ann-Laure Decadt's baby, Joseph, was weeks old when she was killed in the attack. The jury saw photos of the mother and baby. Decadt's mother and sister were on the bike path with her and watched her die.

Story continues

"A word has not yet been invented to describe the pain she feels," Houle said of Decadt's mother's testimony.

MORE: NYC bike path terror attack: Suspect found guilty

During the prosecutor's closing statement, the husband of an FBI agent associated with the case suffered a medical episode and was taken from the courtroom. An ambulance was called.

After a recess, the defense moved for a mistrial and asked that jurors be told who the person is.

"There is no way they won't speculate about someone sitting with the victims' families," defense attorney David Patton said.

At the time, the jury was watching a video that depicted the mangled school bus Saipov had struck. Children were inside and the driver was injured.

"Someone had a very strong reaction to that," Patton said.

PHOTO: A damaged Home Depot truck remains on the scene, Nov. 1, 2017, after the driver mowed down people on a riverfront bike path near the World Trade Center in New York. (Mark Lennihan/AP, FILE)

Federal prosecutors objected to the mistrial.

"The defendant has not been deprived of a fair trial because someone suffered a medical episode," Houle said.

The defense compared the moment to an emotional outburst during the penalty phase by Saipov's father, who shouted "dirty ISIS bastards" and punched the door on his way out of court.

"The two are not even close," Judge Vernon Broderick said.

Broderick denied the mistrial and declined to identify to the jury who suffered the medical episode. He told jurors the episode "had no bearing on the case" and instructed them to disregard it.

MORE: American couple could face death penalty for allegedly torturing foster child in Uganda

During his closing argument, Patton said told jurors they face "an awesome responsibility and power" and should spare Saipov the death penalty and let him "die in obscurity, not as a hero, not as a martyr."

"It is not necessary to kill Sayfullo Saipov, not for our safety or anyone else's and not to do justice," Patton said. "In this case, we are asking you to decide that meeting death with more death is not the answer."

In seeking to convince jurors that Saipov would be sent to "one of the most locked-away places on the planet," Patton showed them photographs of ADX, the maximum security prison in Colorado, along with images of the maximum security unit where he would be confined to a cell at least 22 hours a day, be allowed two 15-minute phone calls per month and three escorted showers a week.

"The width of the room is the length of the bed," Patton said, describing a photograph of the cell. "Mr. Saipov's life will be regulated to the nth degree."

In the government's rebuttal, prosecutor Jason Richman took aim at the defense's request that Saipov serve life in prison.

"The defendant decided death," said Richman, who noted that 17 children lost their parents in the attack. "He chose death and he chose hate. It is time for him to face the consequences of his choices."

The jury will begin deciding Saipov's fate after Broderick reads the charge in court on Wednesday, a process that could take several hours, the judge said. A decision for death must be unanimous.

A death sentence for Saipov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, would be the first by a federal jury in New York in decades. Federal juries in Brooklyn approved a death sentence for a man who murdered two New York police detectives in 2007 and 2013, but both sentences were tossed out on appeal.

NYC truck terror attacker deserves death penalty for 'unremorseful slaughter': Prosecutor originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Maggie Haberman, a White House correspondent for The New York Times, on Monday suggested why former President Donald Trump was yet to really go on full attack against Ron DeSantis, his potential 2024 GOP rival.

CNNs Wolf Blitzer asked Haberman: Its interesting that Trump is so far avoiding criticizing DeSantis by name. Why is that? And should we expect the overt jabs to start flying soon?

Haberman noted how Trump has been road-testing derogatory nicknames for the Florida governor.

But in general, I think hes trying not to elevate him. I think hes trying not to put too much of a face on him, she said. Because he is somebody, DeSantis, that not every Trump voter knows, who not everybody is familiar with and I think he wants to keep him sort of at a remove.

Haberman suspected it was going to change, though, as DeSantis embarks on a 90-day book tour to promote his new memoir, The Courage to Be Free: Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival, which a New York Times book critic described as reading like it was churned out by an AI bot.

Then we are going to know exactly how many other people are jumping into this field, so a lot could change, Haberman added.

Watch the video here:

Related...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Obama-era consumer watchdog formed in response to the 2008 financial crisis, finds itself facing another existential threat.

The Supreme Court recently agreed to take up a ruling from the ultra-conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals finding that the CFPBs funding mechanism is unconstitutional.

The agency itself has long enjoyed public support: A voter poll conducted at the beginning of December 2022 found that 8 out of 10 people polled supported its mission.

Depending on the high courts ruling, the CFPB could face major hurdles in its efforts to crack down on predatory lending and enforce other consumer protection laws. Other agencies could be threatened, too.

Voters overwhelmingly support the CFPB: 8 in 10 voters support consumer watchdog agency: poll

Heres what experts say is at stake.

What does the CFPB do?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Greg Nash)

The agency itself was created to help protect consumers from the types of business practices to led to the Great Recession and housing market meltdown in 2008.

With fewer resources, the CFPB could struggle to go after large institutions such as Wells Fargo, which in December agreed to pay $3.7 billion to settle a CFPB lawsuit accusing the bank of unlawfully repossessing vehicles, freezing accounts and hitting consumers with surprise overdraft fees when they had sufficient funds.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who cheered the Fifth Circuit decision, has pledged to pass bills to bring the CFPB under the appropriations process and limit its rule-making authority, among other measures that would weaken the agencys power.

Critics of the anti-CFPB push note that the Fifth Circuit lawsuit was brought by a trade association representing payday lenders, which the CFPB frequently sues for alleged predatory tactics.

Story continues

They also point to industry donations.

Liberal advocacy group Accountable.US noted that McHenry was the top recipient of campaign contributions from commercial banks in the 2022 election cycle, receiving $1.6 million, and has brought in the third most campaign cash from payday lenders among sitting members of Congress.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

Republicans would move to weaken the bureau

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Greg Nash)

Republicans in Congress are preparing for a Supreme Court ruling that would require the CFPB to be funded through the appropriations process instead of the Federal Reserve.

With control of the House, Republicans would have considerable leverage in appropriations negotiations, giving them considerable control over CFPBs future, experts say.

GOP lawmakers, along with allies in the financial services sector, have long lamented that Congress has little control or oversight over the independent agency.

Theyve also pushed back on the CFPBs recent efforts to cap bank overdraft fees and credit card late fees, arguing that theyd shift costs to other consumers.

An ongoing fight: Supreme Court to review constitutionality of funding consumer protection bureau

I think at the end of the day, the bureau probably survives, but with a smaller budget and maybe a bipartisan commission. But Republicans are gonna be in the drivers seat, so theyll be able to say, If Democrats want this bureau at all, youre going to do it our way, said Ian Katz, managing director of strategic policy firm Capital Alpha Partners.

Several high-profile Republicans including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have introduced bills to abolish the CFPB altogether.

Its very possible  that youd have a situation where maybe the House of Representatives says, Well, were not gonna fund it anymore, and it [goes] out of existence, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told The Hill.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) addresses reporters during a press conference on Thursday, July 14, 2022 to discuss corporate greed.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) addresses reporters during a press conference on Thursday, July 14, 2022 to discuss corporate greed.

Legal uncertainty could undermine the CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Greg Nash)

The Supreme Court isnt expected to rule on the CFPB case until 2024, leaving a legal cloud hanging over the CFPB that is prompting companies to challenge the bureau.

Last week, TransUnion asked a federal court to block a CFPB lawsuit against the company until the Supreme Court rules on the agencys constitutionality.

Past agency actions have grabbed headlines: Wells Fargo settles CFPB allegations for $3.7B

The CFPB is suing TransUnion for allegedly tricking users into signing up for recurring payments that are difficult to cancel, violating a 2017 settlement with the watchdog. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement that TransUnion is an out-of-control repeat offender that believes it is above the law.

The Fifth Circuit decision could also endanger proposed rules, like the CFPBs recently unveiled rule to cap credit card late fees, which the agency said would reduce those fees by $9 billion annually.

Trade associations representing banks and other financial services firms are gearing up to challenge the rule in court.

I think companies now are going to challenge the CFPB on everything that they dont like, whether its rulemaking or a fine, Katz said. They see a weakened institution, or one thats at least under a cloud of uncertainty.

Existing rules could also be in jeopardy

There are concerns that existing rules could be in trouble if CFPBs funding mechanism is found unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

If CFPBs funding mechanism is found unconstitutional, there are concerns that more than just the payday lending rule at the center of the case could be at risk.

As part of the October decision by the Fifth Circuit, the court moved to vacate the 2017 Payday Lending Rule, saying then that the funding employed by the Bureau to promulgate the [rule] was wholly drawn through the agencys unconstitutional funding scheme.

But in a legal sidebar detailing some of the potential legal ramifications the agency faces, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) argued that the reasoning could reverberate well beyond that one regulation.

The reasoning could call into question the legality of every CFPB action funded by the Bureau Fund, the CRS stated in the January post. The CFPB uses the Bureau Fund to cover the costs of nearly all of its vast rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudicatory activities.

Mitria Wilson-Spotser, vice president and federal policy director at the Center for Responsible Lending, made a similar argument, while also raising concerns about the impact the risks posed to policies such as the Qualified Mortgage rule.

The reason we have this housing appreciation, the reason why we have homeownership rates at the rate that we do in the United States today is because of that rule, she told The Hill, while also saying she thinks everything is up for play if the Supreme Court ultimately rules against the CFPBs funding structure in the case.

Other agencies with similar funding could be at risk

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is seen in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Greg Nash)

Proponents defending how the agency is funded have often cited how other banking regulators are financed outside the annual government appropriations process.

That includes the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

There is no constitutional principle that says that Congress cannot have some agencies funded independently, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who helped set up the agency more than a decade ago.

Congress has done that since the very first banking regulator was created in 1863, and every banking regulator since then has been funded the same way, she told The Hill.

But, if the Supreme Court agrees with the judgment handed down by the federal appeals court, some have expressed concerns about what that could mean for other agencies and entitlement programs that are also funded independent of annual appropriations.

We havent seen the same types of legal challenges to the Federal Reserve. We havent seen the same types of legal challenges to the OCC, Wilson-Spotser said.

We havent seen the same types of legal challenges to Social Security and Medicare, she added. But if the court agrees with this precedent, there is no doubt in my mind that we will see them in the future.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP)  A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery veered violently off course when four Americans were caught in a drug cartel shootout, leaving two dead and two held captive for days in a remote region of the Gulf coast before they were rescued from a wood shack, officials said Tuesday.

Their minivan crashed and was fired on shortly after they crossed into the border city of Matamoros on Friday as drug cartel factions tore through the streets, the regions governor said. A stray bullet also killed a Mexican woman about a block and a half away.

The four Americans were hauled off in a pickup truck, and Mexican authorities frantically searched as the cartel moved them around  even taking them to a medical clinic  to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them, Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said.

They were found Tuesday in a wooden shack, guarded by a man who was arrested, in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Tecolote on the way to the Gulf called Bagdad Beach, according to the state's chief prosecutor, Irving Barrios.

The surviving Americans were whisked back to U.S. soil on Tuesday in Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas and just across the border from Matamoros. The convoy of ambulances and SUVs was escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted machine guns.

A relative of one of the victims said Monday that the four had traveled together from the Carolinas so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in Matamoros.

The governor said the wounded American, Eric Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the injury was not life threatening.

Its quite a relief, said Robert Williams, 38-year-old Eric's brother, reached by phone Tuesday in North Carolina. I look forward to seeing him again and actually being able to talk to him.

Robert Williams was not sure if the other survivor, Latavia Burgess, was the one seeking the surgery.

Story continues

The survivors were taken to Valley Regional Medical Center with an FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI.

The two dead  Shaeed Woodard, age 33, and Zindell Brown, in his mid-20s  will be turned over to U.S. authorities following forensic work at the Matamoros morgue, the governor said.

Video and photographs taken during and immediately after Friday's abduction show the Americans white minivan sitting beside another vehicle, with at least one bullet hole in the driver's side window. A witness said the two vehicles had collided. Almost immediately, several men with tactical vests and assault rifles arrived in another vehicle to surround the scene.

The Mexican authorities' hypothesis is that it was confusion, not a direct attack, the state prosecutor said.

The gunmen walked one of the Americans into the bed of a white pickup, then dragged and loaded up the three others. Terrified civilian motorists sat silently in their cars, hoping not to draw attention. Two of the victims appeared to be motionless.

The shootings illustrate the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the people responsible would be punished. He referenced arrests in the 2019 killings of nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens in Sonora near the U.S. border.

Lopez Obrador complained about the U.S. medias coverage of the missing Americans, accusing them of sensationalism. He said that when Mexicans are killed, the media go quiet like mummies.

We really regret that this happens in our country, he said, adding that the U.S. government has every right to be upset by the violence.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland put blame for the deaths squarely on the drug cartels

The DEA and the FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on Garland said.

The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for the victims return and the arrest of the abductors.

Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that he and his brother Eric are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina.

Williams described his brother as easygoing and fun-spirited.

He didnt know his brother was traveling to Mexico until after the abduction hit the news. But from looking at his brothers Facebook posts, he thinks his brother did not consider the trip dangerous.

He thought it would be fun, Williams said.

When told that his brother was among the survivors Tuesday, Williams said that when they meet, Ill just tell him how happy I am to see him, and how glad I am that he made it through, and that I love him.

___

Loller reported from Nashville. AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
An award ceremony is held during the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on March 5, 2023. On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)



On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights.



Sixty feature, short, animated, and documentary films from different countries including Egypt, Algeria, France, Switzerland, Argentina, South Korea, Bulgaria and Latvia take part in the competitions of the AIWFF that runs from March 5 to 10.

The festival's founder and president, screenwriter Mohamed Abdel-Khalek, said at a red-carpet gala on Saturday evening that holding the festival in such difficult economic conditions was a challenge, hoping that "imagination would overcome economic conditions" in this AIWFF version.

The festival's activities include symposiums, lectures and filmmaking workshops for young people in Aswan, who managed through training in past editions to make qualified films that competed in Arab international film festivals.

Egyptian 40-minute short feature film Sara's Birthday, produced by Plan International Egypt and the National Council for Women and directed by Yasser Shafiey, was screened as the opening film of the festival.

Fatima Nouali, president of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival and a jury member at the Egyptian film competition of AIWFF, said that this opportunity will allow her to watch various new Egyptian films, some of which might be picked to be screened at her festival in Morocco.

"The role of women is very important in society and cinema is a reflection of society, so it is very important to have festivals concerned with women's causes and films," Egyptian actress Bushra Rozza told Xinhua.

In the opening ceremony attended by the Egyptian culture minister and the governor of Aswan, the festival honored a number of filmmakers and stars, including Egyptian veteran movie star Nabila Ebeid, Spanish actress Cuca Escribano, Tunisian filmmaker Salma Baccar and Dutch filmmaker Mijke de Jong.

"I mainly make films about women - brave women, lonely women and beautiful women. I think it's very important to hear women's voices," De Jong said.

The festival is held with the support of the Egyptian ministries of culture, tourism and social solidarity and in partnership with the European Union delegation to Egypt.

Since its first edition in 2017, AIWFF has established itself as a "window" drawing the features of the worlds of Egyptian and Arab women, said Egyptian Culture Minister Neveen El-Kilany in her remarks during the opening ceremony.
VINNYTSIA, Ukraine (AP)  As the mothers cries of anguish pierced the cold morning air, mourners who had fought back tears could hold them no longer.

Oh Yana, oh my daughter, Olena Rikhlitska howled. My baby, my little one.

Her only child, 29-year-old Yana Rikhlitska, lay in a coffin before her, the younger woman's blonde hair still in the tight braids she adopted when she voluntarily joined the Ukrainian army as a medic late last year.

Just over a week ago, Associated Press journalists filmed Yana Rikhlitska as she helped treat wounded soldiers in a field hospital outside Bakhmut, which Russian forces have pulverized during a three-sided assault to seize the city in eastern Ukraine.

A few days later she was dead. Rikhlitska and another medic were killed by shelling as they shuttled between the field hospital and the front line.

As friends, colleagues and relatives gathered Tuesday in her home city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine to bid her a final farewell, they remembered a person full of vitality and spurred by a life-long drive to help others.

She was really friendly and kind, said Viktor Fateyev, 39, a colleague from the IT company where she worked in the human resources department. She was like a mother to everyone; she was the focus point everyone gathered around.

Rikhlitska was in Brazil just before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. She spent a few months in the South American country practicing capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, Fateyev said, clutching a bunch of yellow tulips as he waited to pay his respects at the funeral.

She flew home after the invasion, he said, and straight away began fundraising and working as a volunteer for troops to help the Ukrainian defense effort. It wasnt long before she decided to become a front-line medic.

He spotted her in the AP video when it aired, Fateyev said, and posted it in a group chat of her co-workers. Everyone was so excited, he said. And then, the next day... he trailed off.

Story continues

Tetiana Obraztsova, 30, a member of a volunteer combat medic group who met Rikhlitska in September, said Rikhlitska ferried humanitarian aid to Bakhmut even before she became a medic. Russia has been trying to capture the city for six months.

She did all that she could, right from the start of the full-scale war, Obraztsova said.

Fellow volunteer Anastasia Muzyka, 29, recalled Rikhlitska as bright, kind and indefatigable.

She was fiery, in a good way. She was so dedicated. It was like she was never tired, Muzyka said. In combat, eventually even soldiers need to rest, she added, but not Yara. She was always there, helping everyone.

It was during her volunteer work in August that she met her future husband, Oleksandr, who was in the Ukrainian army. Amid the din of war, their love blossomed, and the couple married on Dec. 31, 2022.

She was fire, the fire that cannot be extinguished. said Oleksandr, who would only give his first name.

Childhood friend Snizhana Zaliubivska, 28, remembered Rikhlitska displaying a desire to help even as a little girl. The two had lost touch in recent years, but Zaliubivska was devastated to hear of her friend's death.

It wasnt a surprise that she was volunteering. She was a true patriot of the country, she said. She would never refuse anyone, she was always helping everyone who would ask.

Draped with the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, Rikhlitskas coffin was transported to the military section of the local cemetery and opened once more. Ashen-faced, her mother gently stroked her daughter's cheek, and kissed her one last time.

No, no! Olena Rikhlitska sobbed as the coffin was carried to the grave and lowered to the sound of a gun salute. Only the support of her husband, Mykola, and another relative prevented her from sinking to the ground.

Behind them, row upon row of Ukrainian flags fluttered above the graves of the war dead, snapping in the breeze.

___

Vasilisa Stepanenko contributed reporting.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  Oklahoma voters on Tuesday rejected the legalization of recreational marijuana, following a late blitz of opposition from faith leaders, law enforcement and prosecutors.

Oklahoma would have become the 22nd state to legalize adult use of cannabis and join conservative states like Montana and Missouri that have approved similar proposals in recent years. Many conservative states have also rejected the idea, including Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota last year.

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and many of the states GOP legislators, including nearly every Republican senator, opposed the idea. Former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, an ex-FBI agent, and Terri White, the former head of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, led the "no" campaign.

Were pleased the voters have spoken," said Pat McFerron, a Republican political strategist who ran the opposition campaign. "We think this sends a clear signal that voters are not happy with the recreational nature of our medicinal system. We also think it shows voters recognize the criminal aspects, as well as the need for addressing mental health needs of the state.

Oklahoma voters already approved medical marijuana in 2018 by 14 percentage points and the state has one of the most liberal programs in the country, with more than 2,800 licensed dispensaries and roughly 10% of the states adult population having a medical license to buy and consume cannabis.

On Tuesday's legalization question, the no side was outspent more than 20-to-1, with supporters of the initiative spending more than $4.9 million, compared to about $219,000 against, last-minute campaign finance reports show.

State Question 820, the result of a signature gathering drive last year, was the only item on the statewide ballot, and early results showed heavy opposition in rural areas.

Oklahoma is a law and order state," Stitt said in a statement after Tuesday's vote. "I remain committed to protecting Oklahomans and my administration will continue to hold bad actors accountable and crack down on illegal marijuana operations in our state.

Story continues

The proposal, if passed, would have allowed anyone over the age of 21 to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, plus concentrates and marijuana-infused products. Recreational sales would have been subjected to a 15% excise tax on top of the standard sales tax. The excise tax would be used to help fund local municipalities, the court system, public schools, substance abuse treatment and the states general revenue fund.

The prospect of having more Oklahomans smoking anything, including marijuana, didn't sit well with Mark Grossman, an attorney who voted against the proposal Tuesday at the Crown Heights Christian Church in Oklahoma City.

I was a no vote because I'm against smoking, Grossman said. Tobacco smoking was a huge problem for my family.

The low barriers for entry into Oklahoma's medical marijuana industry has led to a flood of growers, processors and dispensary operators competing for a limited number of customers. Supporters had hoped the state's marijuana industry would be buoyed by a rush of out-of-state customers, particularly from Texas, which has close to 8 million people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area just a little more than an hour drive from the Oklahoma border.

Michelle Tilley, campaign director for Yes on 820, said despite Tuesday's result, full marijuana legalization was inevitable. She noted that almost 400,000 Oklahomans already use marijuana legally and many thousands more use it illegally.

A two-tiered system, where one group of Oklahomans is free to use this product and the other is treated like criminals does not make logical sense, she said in a statement.

___

Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter: @apseanmurphy
omakase

Omakase, a Japanese culinary experience, is the latest foodie trend to hit the scene. The dining style translates to I leave it up to you, meaning leaving the meal totally up to the chef. With Omakase, you dont have to spend time deciding what to order at a restaurant. This experience is completely life-changing, and it is great for indecisive diners who love trying multiple flavors and want a culinary expert to lead the way.

At an Omakase experience, the chef curates the menu using the finest ingredients, while you enjoy an exceptional meal in an intimate setting. In general, you should budget to spend between $100 to $300 per person at an Omakase experience. Whether youre taking yourself out on a date or gathering with family and friends for a celebration, Omakase is a great way to celebrate through fine dining.

If you are looking to try Omakase, Travel Noire gathered eight omakase experiences around the U.S.

Related: HAGS, A New Queer Fine Dining Experience In NYC

Saishin  New York City

Located on the Gansevoort Meatpacking Hotel roof, a 12-course meal will cost about $135 and a 15-course meal $175. The quartz Omakase bar seats 16 guests. The restaurant honors traditional Japanese Cuisine and prides itself on mindful sourcing, quality and seasonal ingredients.

Mujo  Atlantas Only Omakase Spot

This restaurant is the only place in the A where you can find Omakase. Costing $225 per person, the chef uses seasonal ingredients and fresh fish flown in straight from Japan. The restaurant honors the tradition of Edomae sushi.

Hiroki  Philadelphia

Head to the Fishtown neighborhood of Philly for this Omakase concept. Chef Hiroki Fujiyama was inspired by his hometown Kyoto when putting together this menu. Omakase at Hiroki costs $155 per person.

Akikos  San Franciscos Family-owned Omakase Spot

This downtown San Francisco spot is family-owned and operated. Only the finest local and seasonal fresh fish are used and arrive daily from Japans Tsukiji Fish Market. The menu changes daily to ensure that all ingredients are fresh.

Story continues

Blue Ribbon  Boston

Located at Kenmore Squares Hotel, this menu is crafted by Master Sushi Chef Yoshi Ueki. Fish is flown in daily from the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and local New England waters. This experience starts at $150 per person.

Uchi  Austin, Aspen, Dallas, Denver, Houston and Miami

Originally opened in Austin in 2003, Uchi has grown to have homes in Dallas, Denver, Houston and Miami. From Dec. 14th to Dec. 17, there will be a popup at Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado, and theres even a vegetarian-tasting menu!

Sushi Sho  Waikiki Beach, Oahu

When youre in Oahu, Hawaii, you have to dine at Sushi Sho. Make sure to make reservations months prior because this place is always booked.

Located at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, this Omakase experience pairs different types of seasoned rice with over 40 varieties of fresh fish. This experience will cost about $300 per person.

Soko  Los Angeless Omakase Spot

Take a trip to Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Los Angeles for an oceanfront Omakase experience. The menu includes fresh red snapper, tuna, yellowtail and more. This Omakase experience will cost you $185, and its totally worth it.

Related: Louis Vuitton Opens A Fine-Dining Vegetarian Pop-Up In Seoul
Renowned Brunello producer Biondi-Santi has simultaneously released two historic vintages, Biondi-Santi 2016 Riserva Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and Biondi-Santi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. The 2016 Riserva is the final vintage that previous owner and winemaker Jacopo Biondi-Santi had a hand in, while the 2017 is the first that was fully crafted by the new winemaking team with no input from the wineryand appellationsfounding family. Together, these two astounding wines are a piece of history representing the past, present and future of Biondi-Santi.

The 2016 Riserva is only the 42nd produced by the winery since it was established in 1888 by Ferruccio Biondi-Santi; riserva wines are only made in exceptional years. Ferruccios grandfather, Clemente Santi, is said to be the first in the area surrounding the hilltop Tuscan village to have produced a wine using 100 percent Sangiovese, known locally as Brunello, while Ferruccio was the first of the family to produce a bottle labelled Brunello di Montalcino Biondi-Santi Tenuta Greppo. Although the familys winemaking history in the region stretches back to the Middle Ages, their winery and Tenuta Greppo estate were sold in 2016 to EPI, a French company which also owns several Champagne houses and is headed by Christopher Descours.

More from Robb Report

At an event unveiling not only the two vintages but the second edition of La Voce di Biondi-Santi, a new audio experience that introduces wine lovers in the stories of Biondi-Santi. The evening included readings from the exclusive podcast (accessible by QR code included with each bottle) by actor Tomas Arana and commentary and piano performance from Susan Lin MW, who was the featured artist for last years release, which featured the theme Equlibrium. The theme this year is Wonderment. Biondi-Santi CEO Giampiero Bertolini explained to members of the wine press, Last year, when we launched the last vintage from Jacopo Biondi-Santi, the 2012, we held a tasting comparing the first and last vintage from him, the 1971 and 2012 When we put the two wines together, the color was exactly the same. I was amazed by this. There was a sense of wonderment that appeared in my mind that got me thinking about the meaning of this word. And that is why we decided to use this word to explain the vintage to our consumers.

Story continues

Theres a podcast thats included with the bottle of wine.

The first wine tasted was the Biondi-Santi 2017 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG ($270), which was sourced from estate vines with between 10 and 25 years of age and fermented in concrete tanks before three years of aging in large oak barrels and one in bottle. It exhibited an elegant nose of black cherry and caramel with a hint of mint. It has gorgeous, polished tannins and bright flavors of pomegranate, strawberry, cocoa powder and eucalyptus. The long finish is marked with soft dried herb notes. Speaking about the vintage via video, technical director Federico Radi explained that although 2016 was a warm vintage, the estates position in the cooler part of Montalcino offered great acidity. At first sip you can perceive excellent balance and harmonious consistency with beautiful elegance on the first impression, with good density and depth.

Next up was the Biondi-Santi 2016 Riserva Brunello di Montalcino DOCG ($800). There was more complexity on both the nose and palate, with aromas of cassis, black plums and herbes de Provence. It has a sense of sophistication in the mouth, with flavors of dark berries, dark chocolate and dried Mediterranean herbs. Opulent tannins carried on into the lengthy finish, which was marked with a burst of fresh cranberry. Harvested from vines more than 25 years old, the 2016 Riserva was fermented in vertical oak barrels, aged in oak barrel for three years and bottle-aged for two additional years prior to release. Federico Radi, again by video, pointed out, You can enjoy this today but also put it in your cellar for many, many years.

The Biondi-Santi family held back 30 percent or more of their production each year, a practice that continues under the Descours leadership, offering a deep library of back vintages that are released annually. The current back vintage release is 1999; last years was 1985. To offer a perspective on ageability, we tasted the Biondi-Santi 1983 Riserva Brunello di Montalcino DOCG (released in 2021) and can confirm a sense of wonderment at the color alone, which did not appear to have faded at all after almost 40 years. It has a bouquet of cherry liqueur, shaved truffle and a whiff of rose petal. It opens on the palate with baking spice notes that are quickly joined by luscious tannins and flavors of black cherry, cigar box and a touch of charcuterie. Vibrant acidity is evident from first sip through the enduring finish. These wines are definitely built not just to age but to age exceptionally well.

Best of Robb Report

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
[Source]

Eiichiro Oda, the famed mangaka behind the record-breaking manga series "One Piece," recently turned to the artificial intelligence (AI) program ChatGPT for inspiration for the next installment of his series.

In a video uploaded by the official One Piece staff Twitter account on Feb. 26, Oda is shown asking the popular AI chat software to write the manga's new chapter.

I cant think of what to do with next weeks One Piece, so can you come up with a story for me? Id like a very funny one. Oda purportedly told the AI, according to Animehunch.

More from NextShark: The Jinxs Lover: New teaser released for KBS K-drama starring Seohyun of Girls Generation

ChatGPT responded with a plot that introduced a new enemy called the King of Shadows, a mysterious Devil Fruit-using character with the power to control shadows who aims to get the Straw Hats crews mascot, Tony Tony Chopper:

The crew takes a ship to the east coast to fight him, and a fierce battle with the king begins. However, the king has powerful abilities, so the crew struggles. There Robin remembers the existence of a legendary tribe called the People of Shadows, whom she had met in the past, and sets out to find them. The crew visits the Island of Shadows, the land of the People of Shadows. There, they decide to fight to regain the power that the king has stolen from the Shadow People. During the battle, the crew meets new allies and joins forces with them to fight the king. More from NextShark: Elon Musk says Teslas Chinese rivals work hardest, smartest In the end, they defeat the king and rescue Tony Tony Chopper. But before they leave the Isle of Shadows, Robin decides to study the history of the Shadow People and remains in their royal palace. After learning more about the history of the Shadow People and making new discoveries, she rejoins the gang.

Story continues

When Oda told the AI he found the story boring, it spun another storyline in which an alien joins Luffys crew of pirates to fight an evil spaceship:

The aliens enlist the help of their captain and crew to continue their voyage in pursuit of the evil spaceship. Along the way, they land on an island. But the island is inhabited by a witch with evil powers. The witch is plotting to steal a piece of star that the aliens have. The star pieces are necessary for the restoration of the aliens planet. More from NextShark: BLACKPINK to make U.S. award show debut at 2022 Video Music Awards The captain, crew and aliens join forces to defeat the witch. They are victorious. But the aliens know they are running out of time to track down the spaceship. After getting the star fragment, they rush back to the ship and chased after the spaceship. Finally, the captain and crew assist the aliens and help them rebuild their planet. The aliens then leave the ship and return to their planet.

Apparently pleased with the idea, the manga creator indicated that this will be the basis for the next installation in the "One Piece" saga, saying, "Thats exactly what Ill do!"

"One Piece" has become one of the best-known and best-selling manga series in the world since its first installment was released in 1997.

The series follows Luffy and his team as they hunt for the titular treasure coveted by all pirates. Now with over 100 volumes, the series released its last installment last year on July 25 in the Japanese weekly manga magazine Shonen Jump.

Adventure is on the horizon! One Piece sets sail in 2023 https://t.co/5YhPXFt8GS pic.twitter.com/GQH2MSAvCF  Netflix (@netflix) January 30, 2023

In January, Netflix announced its One Piece live-action adaptation will be available for streaming later this year.

Adventure is on the horizon! One Piece sets sail in 2023, Netflixs official Twitter account wrote, sharing a poster for the upcoming series.
A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

The North Pacific Right Whale, which has only had 18 confirmed sightings off the states coast since 1955, was spotted in Monterey Bay on Sunday, March 5, according to a Facebook post from Monterey Bay Whale Watch.

A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

The company described the whale species as critically endangered. There are only about 500 North Pacific Right Whales left in the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

Photos posted on social media by the company show the whales back, along with its flipper and fin popping up just above the waters surface.

A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

We honestly were not even sure what we were looking at until we studied our photos closely: this right whale had barnacles, which are not commonly seen in this species, the whale-watching company wrote.

Facebook users were in awe of the whale-watching companys encounter, with one calling it absolutely amazing and another referring to the animal as the Holy Grail.

What an incredible sighting, another user commented.

A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

The whale-watching company said the last noted sighting of the whale off the coast was last April in Half Moon Bay. Before that, the species was last seen off Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands in May 2017 and off La Jolla the month prior.

Endangered species remains threatened

The animals were listed as an endangered species in 1970 after commercial whaling greatly reduced right whale populations in the Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA Fisheries.

A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

They were deemed the right whale to kill by whalers, because when killed they would float, the whale-watching company said.

The species is also very slow moving and spends much of its time on the surface, according to the company.

While whaling is no longer a threat, human activity, like entanglement in fishing gear, vessel strikes and climate change, still threaten the species, NOAA fisheries said.

Story continues

A group of whale watchers got a 15-minute glimpse of one of the rarest whales in the world off the California coast.

Given the species rarity, any data collected... is extraordinarily valuable to the scientific community, the whale-watching company said.

Those who happen to spot the rare creature should snap as many photos as possible and call 831-375-4658 to aid researchers, the company said.

Dozens of sharks swarm fishing boat in feeding frenzy off Louisiana coast, video shows

Rare white dolphin spotted off Southern California coast. See the video

Mind-blowing photos and video show orcas swimming off Pismo Beach coast
(Bloomberg) -- After months of wrangling over how to limit TikTok in the US, legislation that stops short of an outright ban of the Chinese-owned app seems to be gaining the most momentum  even as key questions remain.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and an outspoken critic of TikTok, plans to introduce the bill Tuesday thats expected to give the Biden administration the power to prohibit foreign technologies or companies when necessary.

Who likes this bill?

The bill doesnt mention TikTok, the popular short-video app, by name, which may be part of its appeal.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in interview last month that its dangerous business to pass a law to outlaw a particular company. I think its probably more thoughtful to say, These are the kinds of risks were worried about, from these categories of companies and were going to enable some department to run a process to assess the risk and take action.

Weve worked extraordinarily closely with the administration, Warner told reporters Tuesday, ahead of a 3 p.m. press conference where he was set to unveil his legislation. I would be disappointed if they didnt support it, having taken as much input as we took from them.

Warners approach also has bipartisan support: a cosponsor is Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the chambers No. 2 Republican.

Investors seem to like the bills chances. Snapchat owner Snap Inc. surged almost 9.5% on Monday on anticipation of the bills release by Warner. Pinterest Inc., which competes with Snap for digital advertisements, and Youtube owner Alphabet Inc. rose 1.6% in the same trading session.

Story continues

A bill like Warners could solve a major dilemma for the Biden administration. For months, the administration has been trying to come to a national-security deal with TikTok that would limit Chinas ability to access US user data. But that process has stalled, in part because the administration is wary of the blowback from Republicans who argue any deal that allows TikTok to keep operating is too risky.

Whats the likeliest outcome?

Lawmakers have two main concerns with TikTok, which has about 100 million users in the US. First, TikToks opponents in Congress have rejected the companys assurances that its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance Inc., doesnt have access to US user data, including viewing patterns and geolocation. Second, reports that TikTok promotes or hides certain content has raised questions about whether Chinese authorities could influence what content American users see.

One possibility is that passage of legislation would force Bytedance to sell TikTok. That would solve some problems for the US in defusing any political tension over the apps ownership.

We have certainly made clear some of our national security concerns with respect with respect to the TikTok application, which is why its not authorized for use on government devices, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.

How soon?

The bill would still need to go through a Senate committee, and its unclear where the measure ranks among Chuck Schumers priorities. As Senate majority leader, he determines whether it would come to the floor for a vote.

Also unknown is whether the House of Representatives, where hawkish Republicans are in control, will take up Warners bill.

There are several other, more drastic TikTok bills in the House. A Republican-only bill from House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul would give the president authority to sanction any app. Another GOP bill, from Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, would limit TikToks operations in the US.

Congress has already banned TikTok on government devices, and the Biden administration recently issued guidance giving federal employees 30 days to remove it.

Whats TikToks response?

The growing backlash has had TikTok waging an all-out charm offensive globally for months. To drum up goodwill and defend its data protection and content moderation policies in Washington, executives have enlisted a star-studded group of lobbyists to engage with more than 100 congressional offices. In the second quarter of last year, TikTok spent $2.1 million on lobbying on issues including childrens privacy, content moderation and antitrust  the most to date.

TikTok has presented a security plan called Project Texas that pledges to insulate the companys US operation from Chinese influence. The plan includes an independent board of directors to oversee data security, third-party vetting and a partnership with Oracle Corp. to store user data and audit the platforms algorithms.

The goal here is to have a massive amount of oversight, Will Farrell, who leads TikToks US Data Security team, said at a conference in Washington Monday. So you dont have to take our word for it.

--With assistance from Jenny Leonard, Daniel Flatley and Laura Litvan.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern on Feb. 6. (Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Images of dead fish floating in murky water and menacing plumes of gray smoke are haunting the nations front pages. Interviews with distressed residents are interspersed with exasperated talking heads on our television screens. A month after the train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, America continues to bear witness to the communitys suffering.

Though any fiery train wreck is hazardous, this one was particularly catastrophic given the chemicals onboard. Chief among them was cancer-causing vinyl chloride gas, which officials intentionally released into the surrounding air to avoid an explosion. Residents were evacuated during this operation, but long-term pollution and exposure concerns remain. Just last week the Environmental Protection Agency ordered the railway to test the air for dioxins, which can also cause cancer and linger in the environment long after vinyl chloride and other plastic chemicals are burned.

Soon the camera crews will pack up and public attention will shift to the next big story. But for East Palestine, the story is just beginning, and the following chapters are likely to be grim. We know because the same chemical contaminated  and eventually destroyed  several towns in Louisiana decades ago.

Morrisonville, La., was founded after the Civil War by freedmen and blossomed into a vibrant, predominantly African American community. But in 1958, chemical giant Dow built a vinyl chloride plant near the river, displacing the towns sugar and cotton plantations. Demand for PVC plastic  the main product manufactured with vinyl chloride  grew, and the plant further encroached on the community. As one resident put it to the Times-Picayune at the time, the plant was right on top of us. Blaring sirens warning of toxic releases soon became a part of daily life. During these events, residents were told to close windows and doors and huddle inside to avoid breathing in too much of the toxic fumes.

Story continues

When environmental groups and the EPA started noticing increased diseases and dying fish in the 1980s, Dow made modest offers to buy residents out of their homes, often barely enough to buy or rent a new home. When residents refused, they faced pressure. If they didnt take the offer, the company suggested, their property would soon become worthless because of the pollution. By the early 1990s, the town was entirely abandoned, save for a graveyard.

Reveilletown, La., was another bustling community built by formerly enslaved people and destroyed by the PVC plastics industry. A major manufacturer, Georgia Gulf, eventually overtook the town, spewing vinyl chloride and its byproducts into the air and water. The company razed the community, dispersing the residents far from one another  severing their common bonds, church memberships and any political cohesion they might otherwise have had. The residents of the town organized a candlelight vigil in 1989 in which Black and white environmentalists mourned the death of the community, according to former resident Janice Dickerson.

A similar fate befell Mossville, La. Vinyl chloride producers polluted the town and a decade ago began buying out residents when the toxic consequences were borne out.

Vinyl chloride production not only laid waste to these towns, but it also contributed to the surrounding region becoming known as Cancer Alley. The water, air and land in this area have become the sewers of Americas plastic and chemical industries. Seven of the 10 U.S. census tracts with the highest cancer risks from air toxics are in this area, according to a 2014 EPA analysis. The same analysis found that residents of one town are 50 times more likely than the average American to develop cancer from air pollution.

The vinyl chloride emissions in East Palestine originated from a train carrying the chemical, rather than a plants smokestacks. As a result, most public scrutiny has focused on the Norfolk Southern Railway corporation and transportation agencies instead of the chemical industry. (A second Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio on Saturday, though officials say this crash involved no hazardous materials.) Improved railroad and chemical transport safety is undeniably crucial for preventing this type of disaster in the future.

However, its also important to look at the bigger picture. The East Palestine train was carrying this dangerous chemical in the first place because of a booming plastics industry thats expanding to Ohio and other parts of Appalachia. What happened in Louisiana will happen elsewheretoo unless swift action is taken.

PVC is ubiquitous, used in products as wide-ranging as toys and pipes. But its also very replaceable. Materials experts say that alternatives including glass, ceramics, linoleum and polyesters are feasible substitutes in most cases. Thats why it would be a common-sense move for the government to restrict all nonessential uses of PVC, giving way to a phaseout of vinyl chloride production.

PVC has already been banned in most food packaging in Canada and South Korea, and legislation to ban it has been floated in California. However, more comprehensive action is needed on PVC  and on the larger plastics crisis. Two months before the derailment, the United Nations kicked off negotiations for a global treaty to limit the production and use of plastic. The Ohio disaster is a stark reminder of plastics human costs and should energize calls to make this treaty as strong as possible.

Until then, vinyl chloride and plastics plants will continue to poison air and send toxic trains barreling across Americas railways. Whats at stake is the health of nearby residents, their communities and the environment. History has shown that this dirty industry risks turning even the liveliest small communities into ghost towns.

Rebecca Fuoco is the director of science communications at the Green Science Policy Institute. David Rosner, a professor of sociomedical sciences and history at Columbia, and Gerald Markowitz, a history professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, are the authors of Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A martial artist performs during the launching ceremony of a Chinese martial arts, or Wushu, training program at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, March 6, 2023. The program was launched here on Monday in efforts to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Myanmar. A total of 33 students aged 10-50 will attend the courses from March 7 to May 30 at the China Cultural Center. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)

A Chinese martial arts or Wushu training program was launched in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday in efforts to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Myanmar.

China Cultural Center in Yangon and FSSL (Myanmar) Services Limited jointly organized the three-month summer program to deepen cultural exchanges between the two countries and broaden the cultural knowledge of Myanmar students.

A total of 33 students aged 10-50 will attend the courses from March 7 to May 30 at the China Cultural Center.

Speaking at the launching of the training program, Xu Ling, who is in charge of the China Cultural Center in Yangon, said that it is the first training program of Wushu and Tai Chi since the opening of the center.

Xu said that she hopes the training courses will help the participating students develop a healthy and disciplined lifestyle after they come to understand the traditional Chinese culture.

Participants pose for a group photo during the launching ceremony of a Chinese martial arts, or Wushu, training program at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, March 6, 2023. The program was launched here on Monday in efforts to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Myanmar. A total of 33 students aged 10-50 will attend the courses from March 7 to May 30 at the China Cultural Center. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)
An 83-year-old Lodi man who ordered the revenge killing of his wifes doctor  whom he blamed for her death  will spend the rest of his life in state prison.

Robert Elmo Lee was sentenced Monday in San Joaquin County Superior Court to life without the possibility of parole in the 2018 murder-for-hire of Lodi podiatrist Thomas Shock, 67.

Judge Lauren P. Thomasson handed down the life term. Prosecutors on Monday labeled the case as one of a husbands devotion turning horribly wrong.

Mr. Lee twisted a devotion for his late wife into a perverse obsession with Dr. Shock, one that led to inexcusable violence, San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said in a statement announcing Lees sentencing.

Lees wife, Bonnie, visited Shock for an ingrown toenail, but alleged substandard care led to her foot being partially amputated in 2014. Bonnie Lee died of an infection two years later, in 2016.

Shock was investigated and disciplined by the Medical Board of California before Bonnie Lee died, but it was not known whether Shocks care contributed to the womans death, the Stockton Record reported.

Lee was convicted in March 2022 of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain in Shocks August 2018 killing at the doctors Lodi home. Lee hired three men to kill the doctor. Lodi police on Aug. 1, 2018, found the doctor dead of multiple gunshot wounds just inside his Rivergate Drive home.

A page of the medical complaint Lees wife filed was found near the doctors body, the Stockton Record reported at the time.

The three men Lee paid to execute Shock are all serving prison sentences in the kill-for-pay plot, San Joaquin County prosecutors said

Mallory Stewart pleaded guilty to murder in the first degree, as well as a weapons enhancement, for firing the fatal shots. Christopher Costello was found guilty for taking part in the scheme and getaway driver Raymond Jacquett IV, 29, also was sentenced for his role.
One of the three men caught on video using a stolen truck to destroy the ATM at an Orlando bank is headed to federal prison for his role in the crime.

Investigators say back in May of 2022, 23-year-old Carlos Tawan Reed, Jr. and two other men brazenly wrapped a chain around the ATM at the Chase Bank on Colonial Drive and used a stolen pickup truck to destroy the machines casing, exposing the cash boxes it contained. They drove away with more than $115,000 but were quickly spotted by Orange County deputies, leading to a high-speed chase.

READ: SunRail sees huge turnout for free Saturday. Could weekend service return?

The chase ended when deputies used spike strips to disable the getaway car. Reed and the other two men each tried to run from the vehicle but deputies were able to capture them and retrieve all of the stolen money.

Reed pleaded guilty in November to bank burglary and bank theft in connection with the destruction of an ATM. He was sentenced Monday to spend four years and three months in federal prison.

READ: Exclusive: Channel 9 speaks with Osceola teacher assaulted by 19-year-old student

His accomplices, 24-year-old Deontrae Walden and 24-year-old Wendell Harp, Jr., have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

According to the State Attorneys Office, Walden has admitted to his involvement in five other similar burglaries in Central Florida.

Deontrae Walden, 23, Carlos Reed, Jr., 22, & Wendell Harp, Jr., 23, are accused of stealing from a Chase Bank ATM on East Colonial Drive

READ: Man dies, woman seriously injured in shooting at Sanford apartment complex

A fourth man, identified as Aqunis Green, was later arraigned and has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the incident in Orlando. However, officials say Green is already serving three years and 10 months in federal prison for similar crimes in East Texas and faces another 20 years if convicted in Florida.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Orange County Sheriffs Office as part of the Department of Justices Project Safe Neighborhoods program. For more information on the nationwide initiative, click here.

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.
Investigators in Osceola County want to hear from any possible victims after they arrested an Orlando pastor who is accused of sexually battering a member of his congregation.

Deputies arrested Eddy Noelsaint last week.

According to investigators, Noelsaint lured the woman to his home in Kissimmee for what he called a spiritual revival.

Watch: Exclusive: Channel 9 speaks with Osceola teacher assaulted by 19-year-old student

They say he gave her drugs and engaged in non-consensual sexual acts.

Deputies said he attacked the alleged victim again months later when she met with the pastor to look for apartments.

Watch: Its not right: Homeowners feel abandoned after spending a fortune on solar systems they cant use

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A woman describes her experience with a 20-pound ovarian cyst. (Photo: Getty Images)

Kenya Smith thought her postpartum recovery was "normal"  until it wasn't.

"The first symptom was that it was hard to lay on my stomach," the Utah-based content creator and mom of three recalls, of the moment she knew something wasn't right with her body. "I wasn't having a lot of other symptoms. And then, after a couple of months, I was having trouble using the restroom. My stomach was always bloated  it felt constantly bloated, and it never shrank back down."

Smith, 27, wasn't just bloated. Months after giving birth to her third child in March 2022, she looked pregnant. But it wasn't a baby: It was a 20-pound ovarian cyst. At the time, however, Smith had no idea what was going on with her health, and she struggled to find doctors who could give her a straight answer.

No real answers

Smith, who chronicled her scary experience on TikTok, tells Yahoo Life that she initially went to her ob-gyn to get answers. Doctors told her she was "inflamed" following her pregnancy, and she was sent home with laxatives.

Yet while the laxatives helped relieve some of the "pressure" she felt, her body had not returned to anywhere close to its shape before she gave birth. Smith looked for answers elsewhere, and found a clue as to what might be going on with her after seeing a post on social media about a woman with fibroids. The woman, Smith says, had a stomach that looked a lot like hers  and so, Smith called her ob-gyn to ask if something of the kind could be causing her issues.

Yet despite only having a baby a few months earlier with the doctor, Smith was told she was no longer a priority  she would have to wait two and a half months for a visit.

Rather than waiting, Smith took her health care into her own hands. She went to an allergist to see if food allergies could be causing the problem. She saw a naturalist for a hair test. She even took a pregnancy test to make sure she wasn't pregnant again. No test provided tangible results, and with a stomach that kept expanding, Smith knew time was of the essence. At this point, she wasn't sleeping from the intense pressure and pain, and eating was a challenge, she said, because she "didn't have room for food."

Story continues

After much back-and-forth with insurance and doctors' offices, Smith was able to persuade a different physician to do a stomach ultrasound.

"That's not a baby," a distressed Smith remembers telling the ultrasound technician. "What do you think that is, if not a baby?"

Scary possibilities

When the ultrasound technician did take a look at Smith's stomach, Smith says "her face dropped." There was a huge mass in her ovary.

The technician (who, Smith believes, was trying to help) told Smith that "things that grow this fast are [often] cancer." As someone with a history of cancer in her family, that potential news led Smith to call her husband, "sobbing."

Kenya Smith in November 2022, before her cyst was removed. (Photo: Kenya Smith)

The next step was to get a CT scan to provide further details about the mass. Following a scan  which included plenty of discussion with doctors about referrals and insurance company questions  Smith was connected to Dr. Jessica Hunn, a board-certified ob-gyn and gynecologic oncologist. That's when she finally received some useful answers.

A solution

Hunn came highly recommended, not just for her skills as a doctor, but also for her passion for advocating for women's health. Smith knew she had found the right doctor after she was able to schedule an appointment quickly, finally making her situation feel as urgent as Smith knew it was.

Hunn tells Yahoo Life she was "so impressed" that Smith actively pursued her own care, especially after so many professionals had dismissed her pain.

"I think there is a shortage of physicians taking care of nonpregnant women patients," Hunn explains. "Ob-gyns are quite busy with pregnant women who have acute needs, and there are a lot of pregnant women in Utah and in the U.S. Gynecologists who only take care of women's nonpregnant needs are much harder to get in to see. Some women have to wait six months to see a gynecologist for a biopsy or an ultrasound, for a basic work-up."

She continues: "Getting in for surgery with a skilled and trained gynecologist can be equally as difficult. I don't think that is acceptable, and women need to have better access to care. This is a problem in Utah, but I see it across the country as well."

Smith's CT scan, revealing an ovarian cyst. (Photo: Kenya Smith)

Hunn recommended surgery. So she first drained the cyst  almost 10 liters of liquid  and then removed it, along with Smith's ovary and Fallopian tube.

No cancer was found in the mass  "not even pre-cancer, which was a miracle," says Smith, who was left with just a few "small scars." Hunn told Smith that her fertility would probably not be affected by the surgery, because her other working ovary was healthy.

"Going from a pregnancy into that, I didn't even know my body. A lot of people are like, 'How did you let it go that long?' But being postpartum, your body is so hard to predict anyway. I just didn't know what was going on," Smith explains. "I shared it on TikTok because I wanted to spread awareness. I saw the fibroid thing, with a girl sharing her experience, and I'm so glad she shared that, because I needed an ultrasound  I wanted to repay that experience."

How common is Smith's story?

Dr. Jennifer Wider, an expert on women's health, explains that ovarian cysts are "fluid-filled sacs, found inside the ovary or on its surface."

"Each egg that forms inside the ovary is contained inside a follicle," she tells Yahoo Life. "The follicle is filled with fluid, as a way to protect the egg as it grows. During ovulation, the follicle releases the egg, the fluid gets discharged, and the follicle shrinks. If the follicle does not release an egg or dispel the fluid, it can become swollen, forming a cyst. This is known as a functional cyst and is related to the menstrual cycle. Another type of cyst that is not related to menstruation is called a pathologic cyst and is formed by abnormal cell growth  most pathologic cysts are benign, but in rare cases, they can be cancerous."

Exactly why Smith's cyst grew so large is not known. Wider says that there are "no real predictor factors" to explain why a cyst may become massive. One possibility is PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), as it can lead to multiple ovarian cysts, with some increasing in size. Another potential risk factor is endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside your uterus.

In general, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a Yale Medicine ob-gyn and the founder of a women's health website, Madame Ovary, says that ovarian cysts are "very common." Small cysts often resolve on their own and do not need removal. Larger ones, like Smiths cyst, are much more rare.

"Most of the time women will feel some discomfort; a sense of fullness in the abdomen, or some pain, which would prompt a visit to her health care provider," Minkin explains. "Some women really don't feel a lot of pressure or discomfort. The best way to evaluate for an ovarian cyst is usually an ultrasound of the pelvis."

Dr. Staci Tanouye, a board-certified ob-gyn, agrees, saying that most ovarian cysts don't cause symptoms. Cysts that grow abnormally large, as Smith's did, can cause "pressure or pain"  and can lead to other complications, because they can bleed or rupture, exacerbating the pain.

"These cysts can also increase the risk of the ovary twisting on itself and cutting off its blood supply, called an ovarian torsion," she explains. "Ovarian torsion can cause severe pain and require emergency surgery."

If you feel this kind of pain and suspect a cyst, Tanouye says, "It's always a good idea to talk with your doctor. If someone ever has acute or severe pain, a visit to the ER may be necessary."

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
[Source]

Over 50,000 people have signed a petition demanding the Academy Awards Committee to withdraw its invitation to Donnie Yen to present an Oscar due to his support for the Chinese government.

Yen, 59, was among those named last week as a presenter for the 95th Academy Awards, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. Other actors of Asian and Pacific Islander descent announced for the role include Dwayne Johnson, Riz Ahmed and Deepika Padukone.

The Change.org petition claims to have been published by a group of people from Hong Kong who believe that the Oscars should represent respect for human rights and moral values, rather than support for actions that violate them.

Born in Guangzhou, China, on July 27, 1963, Yen was raised in Hong Kong and first held Hong Kong citizenship from 1963 to 1974. After moving to the U.S. when he was 11 years old, he obtained U.S. citizenship.

More from NextShark: US lawmaker delegation arrives in Taiwan on heels of Pelosi visit that stoked China's fury

However, Yen changed his citizenship back to Hong Kong in 2009 and renounced his American citizenship the following year.

Since I was very young, I have known there is Chinese blood flowing in my body, the Ip Man star once said, as per South China Morning Post. I need a sense of belonging. I am now 100% Chinese.

Yen is an open supporter of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In January, he was announced as a new member of Beijings top political advisory committee, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

More from NextShark: Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. to star in Crazy Rich Asians spinoff

As a member, Yen has the power to present proposals on projects that shape the nation. Last year, fellow member Jackie Chan  who has reportedly been part of the CPPCC since 2013  called for publicly funded rural cinemas.

The Change.org petitioners said they strongly condemn the Oscars Committees decision to invite Yen as a presenter.

Story continues

They cited the John Wick: Chapter 4 actors comments on the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests of 2019, which he called a riot in an interview with GQ last month.

More from NextShark: Chinese researchers develop AI that can read minds and determine party loyalty, report reveals

Donnie Yen is a supporter of the Chinese Communist regime and has made several remarks in support of the Chinese government's policies, including supporting the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and accusing Hong Kong protesters of being rioters. These remarks not only violate the spirit of freedom of speech but also deny the rights of the people of Hong Kong to fight for their freedom and democracy.

Allowing Yen to present at the event will damage the image and reputation of the film industry and cause serious harm to human rights and moral values, the petitioners added. They urged the Oscars Committee to ultimately cancel his invitation and make the Oscars a truly respectful award.

The petition has amassed 52,256 signatures as of press time. One top comment reads, He doesnt stand up for freedom and democracy, which could violate the values of Oscar prizes.

More from NextShark: Bretman Rock cried when he was told he could wear Aaliyah's 2000 VMA dress for 2021 VMAS

Yen, for his part, attended two recent CPPCC sessions in Beijing. He said he proposed better policies to attract investment for Chinese action films.

"Chinese action movies are becoming fewer. We need to attract investment and boost demand, so that more filmmakers can develop action movies and make more movies that can become the pride of China, he told reporters, as per Global Times.
WEST PALM BEACH  Statewide data released by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office in January offers a glimpse into the final moments of people who died with drugs in their bloodstream.

They're teenagers, drunk and drowning; adults, overdosing on something stronger than they meant to take; poisoned babies and suicidal seniors. It's a grim tally of the community cost of addiction, and one that for years has seemed to outpace all attempts to curb it.

Overdoses in Florida: As fentanyl deaths surge, state leaders and advocates disagree how to fight it

What is fentanyl poisoning? These State of the Union guests lost their son to it

According to the latest data, opioids killed about 6,440 Floridians in 2021  that's a few hundred more than the population of Tequesta, and a 6% increase over the previous year's deaths. Cocktails of alcohol, Ecstasy, anxiety medication, methamphetamine and hallucinogens killed about 1,650 more across the state.

The Palm Beach Post reviewed the data to learn which combinations of drugs harmed the most people locally, and who bears the brunt of the epidemic. Here's what the numbers show:

Despite population growth, Palm Beach County's death count actually dropped  by five people.

Palm Beach County had the second-most fatal opioid overdoses in 2021 with 525 deaths, placing it just behind Broward County. Adjusted for population size, the per-person death rates in 17 of Florida's 67 counties were higher. Escambia, Volusia and Pinellas counties top that list.

Palm Beach County marked a 13% drop in fatal opioid overdoses in 2021 from the year before, making it one of eight districts among the 25 across Florida that bucked state trends in a positive direction. Because of population growth, the county's number of deaths in which any drug was present remained almost the same across both years. About 1,165 people died with drugs in their system in 2021  just five fewer than in 2020.

Where opioids dipped, other drugs jumped. Xylazine, meth and kratom saw the greatest increases in deaths from 2020 to 2021, totaling about 30 each.

Story continues

'American Pain':Former Wellington pill mill kingpins Chris, Jeff George subjects of CNN documentary

Risky alone, lethal together: Knowing which drug combinations killed.

Opioids don't need the addition of another class of drug to be fatal. Medical examiners traced most overdose deaths to just fentanyl, a tasteless and odorless synthetic opioid up to 50 times more potent than heroin.Fentanyl and cocaine together made up the most common deadly drug combination. Fentanyl and alcohol ranked second, followed by a trio of fentanyl, alcohol and cocaine.

The horse sedative 'tranq' has begun to infiltrate Palm Beach County's drug supply.

Xylazine, a drug known for worsening addiction and leaving gruesome wounds on those who use it, made its debut in Palm Beach County in 2021. Veterinarians use the drug to sedate animals, but when mixed with fentanyl, "tranq" can leave humans in a stupor for hours.

Medical examiners found tranq in 34 corpses in Palm Beach County in 2021, beating the body count of meth deaths by two. More than 230 died with xylazine in their system statewide  up from zero in 2020.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a memo to clinicians in November warning about the drug and its propensity to cause painful ulcers and stymie recovery efforts. Because it's a sedative rather than an opioid, xylazine can resist Narcan, thwarting attempts to reverse a person's opioid overdose.

PBSO on board:Sheriff agrees to allow deputies to carry Narcan; cost expected to be $200,000

Drugs appeared in bodies young and old.

Opioids hit men and women in their 30s hardest, but the deaths stretched all the way from infants to the elderly. Three baby girls between a year and 18 months old died in the second half of 2021.

One was murdered with fentanyl and cocaine within a month of her first birthday. Another died after accidentally consuming fentanyl, and a third overdosed on oxycodone  whether by accident or by force, the medical examiner didn't know.

Sixty people ages 60 and older lie at the other end of the spectrum. They'd taken a drug before they died, prescription or otherwise, but only nine overdosed. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds killed the majority.

Suicides happened as frequently as natural deaths among people with drugs in their body in Palm Beach County in 2021: about 150 for both. Homicides, at 86, made up the fewest of the known causes of deaths in which any drug was present.

Accidental deaths happened twice as often as suicides, homicides and natural deaths combined.

State Attorney Dave Aronberg in a portrait at the State Attorney's Office in West Palm Beach, Fla., on February 6, 2023.

Florida can't agree on which addiction efforts to get behind.

Several camps are fighting for a foothold in the war against drugs. One advocates for harm reduction  rehabilitating people with substance-use disorders rather than incarcerating them  and the other for tougher penalties and aggressive prosecution.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg falls somewhere in between. He's prosecuted drug dealers as first-degree murderers and cracked down on patient brokering. He's quick to cite the number of arrests and convictions since his office launched its Sober Home Task Force in 2016.

Drug-induced homicide: First-degree murder charges for drug dealers in Palm Beach aren't sticking. Heres why.

He's also supportive of getting Narcan into the hands of first responders, and of jail-diversion programs like the Addiction Stabilization Unit at HCA Florida JFK North Hospital in West Palm Beach  all of which he credits for the 13% drop in opioid deaths.

The next step, he said, is to legalize fentanyl test strips. They sell for about $1 per stick and can detect the synthetic opioid, but are currently considered illegal drug paraphernalia in Florida.

State Sen. Tina Polsky, a Democrat from Boca Raton, is slated to reintroduce a bill proposing to legalize the test strips this month. Lawmakers struck the provision from a bill last year that would have done it, instead expanding the potential penalties for people who sell fentanyl and meth.

"I think we're going to get it this year," Aronberg said. "We need to."

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Five takeaways from Palm Beach County's latest overdose data drop
An overturned construction truck blocked all lanes on Interstate 485 Inner Loop near Moores Chapel Road Tuesday morning in west Charlotte.

The crash happened just before 10:45 a.m. Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the crash and could see a heavily damaged construction truck. There did not appear to be any other cars involved.

One person was hurt and transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to paramedics.

ALSO READ: MEDIC: 1 hurt, students okay after head-on crash involving CMS bus in south Charlotte

Channel 9 is working to learn what led up to the crash.

The lanes on I-485 were reopened shortly after 1:30 p.m.

Keep updated with real-time traffic conditions at this link.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: 1 killed in multi-vehicle crash on I-485 in west Charlotte)
Two Ukrainian pilots are in the United States to see how well they can fly fighter jets, though U.S. officials still have no current plans to send F-16s to Kyiv, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.

The two are at a base in Tuscon, Ariz., for a familiarization event, during which they will speak with Air Force personnel and observe how the service operates, in addition to flying aircraft simulators, a Defense spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities, they said, stressing that it is a routine activity as part of our military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine.

They also said the pilots will not be flying any actual aircraft during the event, held with other countries in the past under a previous U.S. European Command program.

NBC News on Sunday first reported the pilots were in the country for the U.S. military to evaluate how long it takes Ukrainian pilots to learn to fly modern fighter jets, with the possibility that 10 more pilots could come to the United States as early as this month as part of the effort.

The Defense spokesperson said that there are no immediate plans to increase the number of pilots beyond the two currently in Tucson, but were not closing the door on future opportunities.

CNN reported earlier Monday that the evaluations are being conducted by the Arizona Air National Guard, which flies F-16 fighter jets with its 162nd Fighter Wing, based at Tucson International Airport.

Ukrainian officials have in recent weeks increased calls for the United States to provide Kyiv with F-16s to defend against ramped up Russian missile and drone attacks.

But President Biden late last month said he is ruling out providing the advanced fighter jets to Ukraine for now.

Administration officials have argued that Ukraine does not need F-16s based on the current state of the war and that they require considerable training.

Story continues

Since we havent made the decision to provide F-16s and neither have our allies and partners, it doesnt make sense to start to train them on a system they may never get, top Pentagon policy official Colin Kahl said before the House Armed Services Committee last week.

The Defense spokesperson said the administrations stance has not changed on whether to provide F-16s to Ukraine, referring to Kahls comments.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Jennifer Rigby

LONDON (Reuters) - More than 100 low- and middle-income countries have put in early bids for at least $5.5 billion from a fund that initially has only $300 million to spend to help them better prepare for pandemics.

The demand is a sign that pandemic prevention, preparedness and response needs more money and attention, the head of the fund's secretariat at the World Bank, Priya Basu, told Reuters.

The fund is one of a host of global initiatives being set up to help prevent a COVID-19 rerun, alongside a binding agreement being drafted by World Health Organization (WHO) member states and plans to speed up vaccine manufacturing.

However, almost all of the efforts remain under-funded.

The World Bank's pandemic fund has raised around $1.6 billion in total so far, much less than the $10 billion annual funding gap for pandemic preparedness, as estimated by the WHO and the bank.

The fund has $300 million available for its first round of financing, and in February received 650 early expressions of interest from countries, regional bodies and global health organisations for the money.

Parties now have until May 19 to draft formal proposals for the first phase, which prioritises surveillance, laboratory systems and the health workforce.

"It's clear that countries and regional entities are eager to invest more to strengthen pandemic prevention and preparedness and that much more financing will be needed for this agenda," said Basu.

The bank has said that the aim is for its first round to be a "proof of concept" and it hopes other sources of funding, for example from other global health bodies, can also be made available.

(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Ukrainian paramedic and volunteer Yuliia "Taira" Paievska is to receive an International Women of Courage Award (IWOC), presented by the US Department of State.

Source: US Department of State

Quote: "Yuliia Taira Paievska has demonstrated extraordinary moral and physical courage in defending Ukraine against relentless Russian aggression. She provided medical treatment to Ukraines Revolution of Dignity protestors in 2013, and as head of Tairas Angels, a volunteer unit of paramedics, she provided tactical medical training on the Donbas front lines from 2014 to 2018. Mrs. Paievska is best known for her work secretly filming and smuggling out videos documenting atrocities committed by Russias forces in Mariupol.

Russias forces detained Mrs. Paievska on March 16 as she attempted to evacuate women and children from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, despite her clear non-combatant status. During a three-month imprisonment, Mrs. Paievska lived in a tiny cell with 22 other women, losing 20 pounds and enduring torture and beatings. Moreover, the Kremlins propagandists falsely maligned her internationally as a fascist and war criminal. Yet Mrs. Paievska refused to be silenced, and since her release has compellingly advocated for Ukrainian democracy and independence both at home and abroad."

Details: The award ceremony is to take place on Wednesday, 8 March, in the White House. It will be hosted by Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, and Jill Biden, the first lady of the United States.

Apart from Paievska, female representatives of 10 more countries will receive awards  Afghanistan, Argentina, the Central African Republic, Costa-Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia and Poland.

Background: Now in its 17th year, the Secretary of States IWOC Award recognizes women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity  often at great personal risk and sacrifice.

Story continues

US diplomatic missions overseas nominate one woman of courage from their respective host countries and finalists are selected and approved by senior Department officials.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






A proposal to China's top political advisory body has urged support for the country's struggling physical bookstores, while a political advisor stressed their cultural significance.

Zhang Yiwu, a political advisor and a professor of Chinese studies at Peking University, poses for a photo as he attends the annual meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, March 4, 2023. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

Physical bookstores have faced great difficulties in recent years due to the overwhelming shift to online book purchases, which offer convenience and low prices, according to a proposal from the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy submitted to the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Moreover, physical bookstores are struggling with a lack of income and a weak online presence. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the struggle of physical stores.

According to Zhang Yiwu, a CPPCC National Committee member and a Chinese studies professor at Peking University, who is also a standing committee member of the China Association for Promoting Democracy and a participant as well as researcher for the proposal, while state-backed bookstores and some small special bookstores selling second-hand books or textbooks may find it easier to survive, many more bookstores are still struggling in the current market.

The retail market size for books in China in 2020 was valued at 97.08 billion yuan ($14 billion), according to a China book retail market report released by Beijing OpenBook, a consulting company specializing in the book business. This marked a decline from the previous year and was partially attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, online platforms maintained growth, accounting for 79% of the total book retail market size. Consumers' preference for online book purchases is driven by e-commerce platforms offering low discounts, coupon incentives, and other activities at the expense of profits. Publishers are also increasingly focusing on e-commerce businesses.

Additionally, a national physical bookstore operating conditions survey released by the Books and Periodicals Distribution Association of China revealed that in the first half of 2022, 9.56% of bookstores had no income, while 32.09% of physical bookstores earned less than 100,000 yuan. The cash flow problem is particularly prominent, with 34.71% of bookstores stating that their cash flow has been affected, making it difficult to continue operations.

Zhang stressed the importance of physical bookstores as cultural hubs that provide various cultural services. He noted that they play a critical role in promoting national reading, building a society of book lovers, enhancing the scientific and cultural literacy of the entire nation, and supporting the building of China into a cultural powerhouse.

He further noted that physical bookstores offer an unparalleled cultural experience that cannot be replicated online. For example, they offer a space to interact with books, meet like-minded people, attend book clubs and cultural events, and receive personalized recommendations from well-informed staff.

"Physical bookstores must be protected, and their transformation and upgrading should be supported to enhance the public's cultural consumption experience," he said, adding physical bookstores play an essential role in promoting local culture and literature. They serve as cultural landmarks and tourist attractions that attract visitors to the surrounding areas.

"One value of physical bookstores is that they are a cultural or spiritual symbol of the city's business district or commercial structure. A region's commercial development is incomplete without bookstores," he said.

A visitor looks and scans books on the shelf at a Page One bookstore in Wudaokou, Beijing, Jan. 23, 2023. [Photo/VCG]

Zhang suggests that bookstores could improve cultural quality by diversifying into cultural spaces, cultural product exchange, and activity areas. He pointed to Page One bookstores, a Singapore brand that organizes lectures, sells English books, and even collaborated with the British Museum.

"Page One has a significant impact on the region's cultural landscape," Zhang said, noting China's traditional bookstore managers could learn from their example.

The CPPCC proposal suggests measures to help physical bookstores, such as standardizing book publishing and sales prices, increasing financial and credit support, supporting the development of online businesses for physical bookstores, and guiding the optimization and transformation of the physical bookstore business model through various supportive policies.
Such a deal would give Perry a streaming service. It would allow Allen to expand his cable footprint.

Paramount is considering selling a majority stake in BET, according to two sources, to secure cash that the company would use to fortify Paramount+, its primary streaming service.

The Hollywood Reporter said two unnamed sources told the entertainment outlet that Tyler Perry has expressed interest in purchasing the majority stake. Perry has been in partnership with Paramount for almost 6 years, and a number of his productions, such as Tyler Perrys House of Payne and The Oval, air on the network.

However, Perry is not the only Black media titan interested in BET. Byron Allen is interested in buying BET, and he will be pursuing the acquisition of the network, a spokesperson for the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group said. Allen, who owns theGrio, also owns The Weather Channel, Local Now and dozens of local television stations. Such an acquisition would expand Allens cable and streaming services portfolio.

Byron Allen has expressed interested in purchasing a majority stake in BET, his spokesperson said. (Photo: Courtesy of Allen Media Group)

Both of The Hollywood Reporters sources stated a sale is not definite, and that discussions about selling the controlling stake are in early stages. The BET business includes VH1, BET+ and BET. Perry is one of BET+s investor, according to Hollywood Reporter. Acquiring a majority stake in BET would give Perry a streaming service.

Deadline reports that Perry has a strong relationship with Scott Mills, BETs CEO and Bob Bakish, the CEO of Paramount Global.

Americas first Black billionaires, Robert Johnson, and his former wife Sheila, co-founded BET in 1979 to offer programming specifically for Black people. According to Forbes, they sold the company in 2001 for $3 billion to Viacom, which later changed its name to Paramount.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Paramount mulls selling majority stake in BET. Byron Allen, Tyler Perry express interest in buying appeared first on TheGrio.
Bekki Hockman, who runs a Facebook group for non-gestational parents who wish to breastfeed, experienced a lot of pain and disappointment on her journey to motherhood.

I had tried for over 20 years to get pregnant: miscarriages, failed IUIs, failed IVF, surgeries. Literally the entire  everything, she told HuffPost.

One day my goddaughter came forward and said, When are you going to let me do this for you?

As Hockmans surrogate, her goddaughter got pregnant on the first try. Hockmans daughter, Mira, will be 4 years old this May  and she is still nursing.

I always knew I wanted to breastfeed my kids. Just never thought that I would have a problem carrying, said Hockman.

The story of how she came to breastfeed Mira is one of healing, hope and determination  just like the story of Miras conception.

During the months that Hockman awaited Miras birth, she joined various Facebook groups for parents via surrogacy and discovered the possibility of inducing lactation. She subsequently joined the group that she now moderates, befriending then-moderator Glenis Liz-Decuir, who supported Hockman as she trained her body to produce milk.

I was the first person in the history of my fertility clinic of over 50 years to induce lactation. They didnt even know it could be done, said Hockman.

When Mira was born via C-section, Hockman was there waiting at the hospital. Within a half hour of her birth, the infant was at Hockmans breast.

I had been holding my breath to give it to her. And she grabbed my pinky and latched and started nursing, Hockman remembered, saying that she began weeping.

It was that moment that it really felt real and I felt like a mom.

Bekki Hockman nurses her newborn.

Bekki Hockman nurses her newborn.

Hockman has become something of a sherpa to other parents hoping to do the same. In addition to moderating the Facebook group, Hockmans video calls with new and expectant parents are so frequent that when her husband sees her chatting with someone he simply asks, Boobs? and continues on his way.

Story continues

One of the people Hockman has assisted is Connie Byrnes, who has been nursing her third child, a daughter, for the past seven weeks. Byrnes nursed her first two children, now ages 32 and 23, but subsequently had an emergency hysterectomy after enduring multiple pregnancy losses. Her current partner, who is 15 years younger than Byrnes, always wanted children, and the couple eventually found their own surrogate.

As the pregnancy progressed, Byrnes thought about breastfeeding and how much it had meant to her to nurse her other children.

I felt devastated that I couldnt, but at first I was just like, its not the end of the world. Ill feed my baby a bottle ... Im fine, Byrnes told HuffPost.

Then, one night, I just got thinking about it and I Googled, Can you breastfeed without birthing a baby? and I found this whole world of Yes, its possible.

How does inducing lactation work?

Lactation without childbirth can be achieved via different combinations of pumping, herbal supplements and medications. Hockman and others interviewed for this article all used the Newman-Goldfarb protocol, the most well-known method.

The protocol involves taking birth control pills and an anti-nausea medication called domperidone (which is not available in the U.S. and has to be purchased abroad). Domperidone has the side effect of increasing breast milk production, and is sometimes prescribed off-label for people who have given birth and are struggling with insufficient milk supply. Taken in the combination prescribed by the protocol, starting as early as six months before the babys due date, these medicines mimic the hormonal shifts of pregnancy and  along with a strict pumping regimen  trigger the production of milk.

The goal here is to bond with these miracle babies that were getting no matter how were getting them, whether thats adoption, surrogacy, non-birthing partner.Bekki Hockman

Starting six weeks before the baby is expected to arrive, parents using the protocol begin using a breast pump to stimulate milk production, pumping 5-7 minutes every three hours and at least once overnight  although recommendations differ depending on the circumstances. Slowly, most peoples breasts will begin to produce drops and then sprays of milk.

Some people also use herbal supplements to increase their milk production while adhering to the Newman-Goldfarb protocol.

It is unusual for a parent inducing lactation to produce enough milk to completely meet their babys needs, said Alyssa Schnell, an international board-certified lactation consultant who induced lactation to feed her own adopted daughter and has gone on to support over a thousand parents to do the same.

Why do people induce lactation?

Adoptive and surrogate parents who wish to feed their babies breast milk may decide to induce lactation. If a trans man or nonbinary person who has had top surgery carries a baby, sometimes their partner will induce lactation so the baby can nurse.

Lesbian moms and other queer couples may choose to induce lactation so that they can co-nurse and both feed the baby. When Byrnes went to her own OB-GYN during this process, in fact, she prescribed birth control pills, and then shared with me that she actually did the protocol and is breastfeeding her child that was birthed by her wife.

Even trans women are able to make their bodies produce milk (albeit likely not in large quantities).

It all comes down to having mammary tissue and having a functioning pituitary gland, said Hockman. It doesnt matter if you were assigned male at birth, it doesnt matter if you have had a hysterectomy. She noted that all humans have some mammary tissue, which is why some men get breast cancer.

Among the physical benefits of breastfeeding are a lower chance of gastrointestinal infection (particularly for premature infants) and a reduced risk of breast cancer for the nursing parent.

But the Newman-Goldfarb protocol requires an intensive commitment that most people arent just chasing for a single-digit decrease in cancer risk. The emotional rewards of lactation are more immediate and can be intensely gratifying.

For a person whose body was unable to conceive or carry a pregnancy, being able to make milk and nurse a baby can be particularly meaningful.

Many parents report an additional benefit to inducing lactation is a healing [of] the loss due to infertility, said Schnell.

Nursing is also a unique opportunity to bond with a child.

We were essentially strangers on the day she was born, Byrnes said. I worried about our bonding.

It all went away as soon as she latched on, she remembered. Im like, she thinks Im her mom. I am her mom. It made it real to me.

Connie Byrnes nurses her newborn.

Connie Byrnes nurses her newborn.

Hockman says the emotional benefits continue for the duration of the nursing relationship.

I got to have the bonding I wanted with my child, she said. And comfort her in a way that nobody else could.

What are the challenges of induced lactation?

For U.S.-based parents, acquiring domperidone from abroad can be a major headache. Byrnes, who lives in Massachusetts, recalled that she first put in an order with a New Zealand pharmacy. Her shipment went to Canada and then was supposedly held up in customs in New York. At one point, a pharmacy asked her to pay for the medication using Bitcoin. This all meant she got started later than she had hoped with the protocol.

She is now fully stocked and plans to continue nursing for a full year, or as long as her child desires. Currently, she nurses the baby at her breast while supplementing with donor milk using a supplemental nursing system (SNS), which involves a little tube at the nipple bringing in supplemental milk while the baby nurses. The SNS can be unwieldy and challenging to use in public.

The other big hurdle was mental, said Byrnes, seeing how little milk she was producing when she began pumping.

All day long, every two to three hours. And then at the end of the day, you have six milliliters, eight milliliters in a tiny syringe that Im like looking at, so proud of myself that I have that, but feeling so defeated.

Byrnes relied on the support of her local lactation consultant and Hockman, whom she describes as a godsend.

Shes kind of carried me along this whole process ... reassuring me, success isnt measured in ounces.

This is one of Hockmans common refrains.

I preach this all the time: The milk is secondary. I tell all of these people, Your worth is not measured in ounces. That is not the goal here. The goal here is to bond with these miracle babies that were getting no matter how were getting them, whether thats adoption, surrogacy, non-birthing partner, said Hockman.

While all breastfeeding is work, she wants people inducing lactation to feel pride in all the extra effort they have to put in rather than disappointment in not making as much milk as they hoped for.

We are taking these medications. Were taking the supplements, were hooking ourselves up to a pump every couple of hours. Were getting up in the middle of the night before a baby even gets here. Were doing all of these things. Be proud of what youre doing instead of how much milk youre making, said Hockman.

Related...
Some parents in the United States were dishonest about their children having the coronavirus or did not follow testing and quarantine guidelines, according to a study published Monday.

The parents' behaviors could have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus, said the study's authors, who included researchers from U.S. and British universities.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

The study, though, may not be demographically representative of U.S. parents since people were not chosen through random sampling. Parents were recruited to participate through a panel of volunteer online survey takers. Also, 70 percent of the respondents were women.

More than 1.1 million people have died of the coronavirus in the United States, and more than 103 million cases have been reported, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Globally, there have been more than 6.8 million deaths and 758 million infections because of the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization.

The latest study on pandemic behavior in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed publication, offers some clues about how the virus spread in the United States.

The researchers analyzed answers by 580 parents who had children under the age of 18 living with them during the course of the pandemic. The survey was conducted in December 2021.

Parents chose not to disclose their child's covid status most commonly because they said they wanted "to exercise personal freedom as a parent," the study authors stated. Parents also wanted their children to "resume a normal life."

Some parents were dishonest about their children's vaccination status to allow them to participate in activities; others said they covered up their children's covid status so they would not miss school; and still others said they did not tell the truth as they could not afford to miss work themselves, the researchers found.

Story continues

"The pandemic created tremendous stress for all of us, but especially for parents," said Andrea Gurmankin Levy, a professor of psychology at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut and one of the lead authors of the report.

She said some behaviors by parents were "serious and concerning," and "likely resulted in more Covid-19 cases and more deaths."

This suggests, she added, that "we need to do a better job of providing support mechanisms like paid sick leave for family illness, so that parents don't feel like their only options are to be dishonest about their child having COVID-19 or having their child break quarantine rules."

Researchers said that concerns about missing school were legitimate.

"As a parent of three school-aged kids, I can understand that," Angela Fagerlin, co-lead author of the study and the chair of the department of population health services at the University of Utah, said in a statement. "Yet, at the same time, they're potentially exposing other kids to a serious illness. So, it's tricky because what you might think is best for your child might not be best for other children in the classroom."

The study also found that some parents mischaracterized their children's ages to get them vaccinated before the children were eligible for coronavirus vaccines. The United States began vaccinating the youngest children - 6 months to 5 years of age - in mid-2022, more than a year and a half after they were offered to adults.

A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in December found that 42 percent of children ages 12 to 17 and 61 percent of children ages 5 to 11 were unvaccinated.

A Pew Research Center poll, though, found that concerns about covid risks to students and teachers fell sharply from mid-2020 to early 2021 and even during the omicron peak in January 2022, while concerns about students falling behind and their emotional well-being rose.

An earlier study of pandemic behavior by the same researchers found that many Americans misled others about their covid status or whether they adhered to the public health guidelines.

The researchers in this most recent study said that these findings also offer lessons for future pandemics. The concerns of parents need to be addressed so that "misrepresentation and nonadherence feel less necessary," they said.

Related Content

Talking to children who left Russia about the war in Ukraine

As drug deaths soar, experts urge expanded access to methadone

California was hit with 12 feet of snow. Is it enough to ease the drought?
Enora Lavenir, age 19 months, died from ingesting fentanyl during her family's stay at a Wellington vacation home in August 2021. The family is suing Airbnb and the property's owner, alleging that the home was not properly clean prior to the family's arrival.

WELLINGTON  A couple from the French island of Guadeloupe is suing the Airbnb vacation-home rental company and the owner of a Wellington property after the death of their 19-month-old daughter from a fentanyl overdose during a family vacation in South Florida.

According to a wrongful death complaint filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Lydie and Boris Lavenir were staying at a four-bedroom, two-bath lake house with their five children in August 2021 when their toddler, Enora, was exposed to a lethal dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug that has been produced illegally, often sold and combined with other drugs.

The lawsuit also lists the Wellington property's rental manager and a man who rented the home days before the Lavenir family, alleging that the home was was not properly cleaned after being used to host a party in which fentanyl and other illicit drugs were present.

The home is along The 12th Fairway, a residential area off Forest Hill Boulevard west of the Mall at Wellington Green.

The case is pending before Circuit Judge Maxine Cheesman and has not been scheduled for trial.

For subscribers:19 stolen sharks: How the theft went down, as told by the divers and the angler who lost his catch

How Westlake is growing:Publix, restaurants, warehouses bring 'downtown' look to city

Wellington scooter crash:Rider injured when PBSO patrol vehicle runs stop sign west of mall

Medical examiner: Acute fentanyl toxicity killed 19-month-old in Wellington

According to the lawsuit, Enora Lavenir was napping with her older sister the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2021, when the toddler's mother "went to check on Enora and found her unresponsive and foaming at the mouth."

Enora was rushed to Palms West Hospital in Royal Palm Beach, where she was pronounced dead.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity and listed it as an accident. The injury occurred from the child ingesting the fentanyl, a medical examiner's report said. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office incident report did not indicate how the toddler was exposed to the drug.

Story continues

Overdosed and deadly: Five things to know about opioids in Palm Beach County

Paramedics rushed Enora Lavenir to Palms West Hospital in Royal Palm Beach on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, when her mother found her 'unresponsive and foaming at the mouth,' accoring to a lawsuit the family has filed against Airbnb, which rented them the property.

"I am currently unable to determine how the child Enora Lavenir ingested the fentanyl, therefore I am unable to develop probable cause for abuse or neglect leading to the death of Enora," a PBSO detective wrote in the most recent report.

A walkthrough of the property following the child's death revealed no illicit drugs and the toddler's parents both tested negative for drugs, PBSO said. The agency closed its investigation pending new information, PBSO spokesperson Teri Barbera said Monday.

Fentanyl is also used to treat severe pain from cancer or patients recovering from surgery. Palm Beach County had the second-most number of fatal opioid overdoses in Florida in 2021 with 525 deaths, including three children under the age of 2 who died in the second half of the year, state records show.

In an interview with The Washington Post conducted in French, Boris Lavenir said: "What is certain is, Enora had contact with fentanyl in the Airbnb."

Attorney: Child 'was always inside that Airbnb' during visit to Florida

The child's death occurred just one day after the family traveled to South Florida from their home in Guadeloupe, a French overseas region in the southern Caribbean. Thomas Scolaro, the family's Miami-based attorney, said the toddler remained in the vacation home from the moment the family checked in until she was rushed to the hospital.

"This baby never left the unit," he said, speaking on the family's behalf. "She was always inside that Airbnb. She didn't go outside. They didn't travel with her. So she was exposed inside that Airbnb unit, 100 percent."

'I want him to pay':Husband to spend life in prison for killing man he found with his wife

'I think I hurt my Gracie':Married Salt Life co-founder admits he killed teen girlfriend in beachfront hotel

However, attorneys for the homeowner and the man who previously rented the home argued in written filings that negligent and careless conduct by the toddler's parents was either the sole factor or a contributing cause in the child's death.

In addition, the attorney representing the previous renter argued that his client cannot be liable for acts that occurred after he left the home, including its cleaning or subsequent rental by others.

In an interview with The Washington Post conducted in his native French, Boris Lavenir said this of the August 2021 overdose death of his daughter, Enora (right): 'What is certain is, Enora had contact with fentanyl in the Airbnb.'

The prior renter told PBSO investigators that about 10 to 12 people stayed at the home over the course of three days in late July and early August of 2021. He told investigators that the group used cocaine and marijuana in the home, but denied that there was any fentanyl present, according to a PBSO report.

The lawsuit alleges that Airbnb breached its duty of care by failing to ensure that the home had been properly cleaned, and in failing to notify the Lavenir family that drugs had been used in the home.

"In terms of Airbnb's culpability, it's very simple," Scolaro said. "If you are in the business of renting out homes and you tell people that it's safe and secure and it's sanitary and you end up having a baby killed as a result of (negligence), you should expect to be sued and rightfully so."

Airbnb says it did not book prior guest into Wellington vacation home

Airbnb has not filed a formal response with the court.

However, an Airbnb spokesperson said the company had not done any bookings at the Wellington address prior to the Lavenir family's stay and noted that the previous guest booked a stay through a different vacation travel company.

"Our hearts go out to the Lavenir family and their loved ones for their devastating loss," the company said in a formal statement.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Airbnb sued: Toddler dies from fentanyl at Florida vacation rental
WELLINGTON, Fla.  A couple from the French island of Guadeloupe is suing the Airbnb vacation-home rental company and the owner of a South Florida property after the death of their 19-month-old daughter from a fentanyl overdose during a family vacation.

According to a wrongful death complaint filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, Lydie and Boris Lavenir were staying at a four-bedroom, two-bath lake house with their five children in August 2021 when their toddler, Enora, was exposed to a lethal dose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid drug.

The lawsuit also lists the Wellington property's rental manager and a man who rented the home days before the Lavenir family, alleging that the home was was not properly cleaned after being used to host a party in which fentanyl and other illicit drugs were present.

Oregon: California man dies after falling from rocky bluff, getting swept into ocean

'A gator just bit me': An alligator attacked him on his front porch. Florida man shares his story.

Enora Lavenir, age 19 months, died from ingesting fentanyl during her family's stay at a Wellington vacation home in August 2021. The family is suing a vacation rental home company and the property's owner, alleging that the home was not properly cleaned prior to the family's arrival.

Medical examiner says acute fentanyl toxicity killed 19-month-old

According to the lawsuit, Enora Lavenir was napping with her older sister the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2021, when the toddler's mother "went to check on Enora and found her unresponsive and foaming at the mouth."

Enora was rushed to Palms West Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that the cause of death was acute fentanyl toxicity and listed it as an accident. The injury occurred from the child ingesting the fentanyl, a medical examiner's report said. A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office incident report did not indicate how the toddler was exposed to the drug.

"I am currently unable to determine how the child Enora Lavenir ingested the fentanyl, therefore I am unable to develop probable cause for abuse or neglect leading to the death of Enora," a PBSO detective wrote in the most recent report.

A walkthrough of the property following the child's death revealed no illicit drugs and the toddler's parents both tested negative for drugs, PBSO said. The agency closed its investigation pending new information, PBSO spokesperson Teri Barbera said Monday.

Story continues

Attorney: Child 'was always inside that Airbnb' during visit to Florida

The child's death occurred just one day after the family traveled to South Florida from their home in Guadualoupe, which is located in the southern Caribbean. Thomas Scolaro, the family's Miami-based attorney, said the toddler remained in the vacation home from the moment the family checked in until she was rushed to the hospital.

"This baby never left the unit," he said, speaking on the family's behalf. "She was always inside that Airbnb. She didn't go outside. They didn't travel with her. So she was exposed inside that Airbnb unit, 100 percent."

However, attorneys for the homeowner and the man who previously rented the home argued in written filings that negligent and careless conduct by the toddler's parents was either the sole factor or a contributing cause in the child's death.

In addition, the attorney representing the previous renter argued that his client cannot be liable for acts that occurred after he left the home, including its cleaning or subsequent rental by others.

In an interview with The Washington Post conducted in his native French, Boris Lavenir said this of the August 2021 overdose death of his daughter, Enora (right): 'What is certain is, Enora had contact with fentanyl in the Airbnb.'

The prior renter told investigators that about 10 to 12 people stayed at the home over the course of three days in late July and early August of 2021.

He also told investigators that the group used cocaine and marijuana in the home but denied that there was any fentanyl present.

The lawsuit alleges that Airbnb breached its duty of care by failing to ensure that the home had been properly cleaned, and in failing to notify the Lavenir family that drugs had been used in the home.

"In terms of Airbnb's culpability, it's very simple," Scolaro said. "If you are in the business of renting out homes and you tell people that it's safe and secure and it's sanitary and you end up having a baby killed as a result of (negligence), you should expect to be sued and rightfully so."

An Airbnb spokesperson said the company had not done any bookings at the Wellington address before the Lavenir family's stay and noted that the previous guest booked a stay through a different vacation travel company.

"Our hearts go out to the Lavenir family and their loved ones for their devastating loss," the company said in a formal statement.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Airbnb sued after toddler dies of fentanyl at Florida vacation rental
In her new memoir, Paris Hilton writes how she learned she was pregnant in November 2003 after the first season of The Simple Life wrapped. (REUTERS/Eric Gaillard)

Paris Hilton is opening up about her decision to have an abortion two decades ago. In her new memoir, the entrepreneur writes how she learned she was pregnant in November 2003 after the first season of The Simple Life wrapped.

"I was living my best life," Hilton recalls in Paris: The Memoir. "I was having a wild-child moment, and it was sort of glorious."

"It all came crashing down when I realized I was pregnant at 22. It was like waking up on the ledge outside a 40th-floor window. I was terrified and heartsick," she continues, noting how pregnancy hormones "sent my ADHD symptoms spiraling. Everything I knew about myself was at war with everything I'd been raised to believe about abortion. No one can ever know how hard it is to face this impossible choice unless she's faced it herself."

The heiress had been dating Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw for two years. Although they were in love, she knew she could not make the kind of commitment starting a family entailed.

"It had nothing to do with him or a baby. I just wasn't capable of being honest or loyal or whole. After suffering abuse at Provo Canyon School and three other programs within the 'troubled teen' industry network, I was damaged in ways I couldn't tell him about, and the fact that I never confided in him about my past  that says it all, doesn't it? Secrets are corrosive," she shares. "They destroy anything you try to layer over them."

Hilton says making the choice to have an abortion was an "intensely private agony that's impossible to explain." She's choosing to talk about it now because she knows other women are in similar situations.

"I want them to know that they're not alone, and they don't owe anyone an explanation. When there is no right way  all that's left is what is. What you know you have to do. And you do it, even though it breaks your heart," she says.

Story continues

Although Hilton knows she made the right choice, she still looks "back on all this with sorrow."

"In my loneliest moments, I've romanticized that time in my life and tortured myself with melodramathoughts like, What if I killed my Paris?  but the fact is, there was no happy little family at stake. That was not going to happen. Trying to continue that pregnancy with the physical and emotional issues I was dealing with at the time would have been a train wreck for everyone involved," she continues. "At that moment, I was in no way capable of being a mother. Denying that would have jeopardized the forever family I hoped to have in the future, at a time when I was healthy and healed."

Earlier this year, Hilton welcomed her first child  son Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum  with husband, Carter Reum, via a surrogate.

"He is my everything, the child I was always meant to raise," Hilton says.

"I know I wouldn't have this life if I hadnt made that difficult choice in my early 20s. Women need to control their reproductive destiny," she concludes. "We need to know ourselves, trust ourselves, and know what's right for us  and when  and stay in the driver's seat."

If you or someone you know needs help obtaining an abortion or additional information and resources, visit abortionfunds.org or abortionfinder.org. You can also call or text the All Options hotline at 1-888-493-0092, which offers unconditional, judgment-free support for people in all of their decisions, feelings and experiences with pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption."
By Ben Tavener and David Chkhikvishvili

TBILISI (Reuters) -Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on "foreign agents".

Reuters witnesses in the capital, Tbilisi, saw police with riot shields making arrests along Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare running through the centre of the city.

Hours earlier police had clashed with demonstrators, some of whom threw petrol bombs and stones. The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers intended to keep the public away from the building.

In a statement, the interior ministry said people on both sides had been injured in what it called an extremely violent protest. Police would react to violations of the law, it added.

The ministry said 66 people had been detained over the hours-long clashes.

The protests erupted after legislators gave initial backing to the law, which critics say represents an authoritarian shift and could hurt the country's bid to join the European Union.

Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili reaffirmed his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards".

But European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the draft law was a "very bad development" for the country and could seriously affect its ties with the EU.

Thousands of people, some waving EU and Ukrainian flags, stood outside Parliament and listened as speakers denounced the law, which would require any organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face substantial fines.

Critics say it is reminiscent of a 2012 law in Russia that has since been used to crack down on dissent.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has said she will veto the law it if crosses her desk, said she was on the side of the protesters.

Story continues

"You represent a free Georgia, a Georgia which sees its future in the West, and won't let anyone to take this future away," she said in an address recorded in the United States, where she is on an official visit.

Late on Tuesday night protesters angrily remonstrated with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas and water cannon. At least three petrol bombs, as well as stones, were thrown at police.

Some shouted "No to the Russian law" and "You are Russian" at politicians inside the legislature.

Russia is viewed as an enemy by many Georgians, after Moscow backed separatists in the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the 1990s.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was deeply concerned and troubled about a law that "would strike at some of the very rights that are central to the aspirations of the people of Georgia".

Georgia's opposition parties called for fresh protests on Wednesday, which is a public holiday in Georgia to mark International Women's Day, with crowds expected to gather outside the parliament from 3 p.m. (1100 GMT).

(Reporting by David Chkhikvishvili, Ben Tavener, Felix Light and Jake Cordell in Tbilisi; Writing by David Ljunggren and Jake Cordell; Editing by Grant McCool and Bradley Perrett)
By Engen Tham

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Jack Zhang, one of thousands of people who lost access to their savings last year in a rural bank scandal, recently tried to go to Beijing to lodge a complaint with the national public complaints body, ahead of this week's parliamentary session.

But when he was trying to board a high-speed train from Hunan province in southern China to Beijing at the end of February, 12 people identifying themselves as police and government employees stopped him, he said.

"They created a human wall," Zhang said.

He left the station and managed to board from a different station, hiding in the train's bathroom, before being apprehended by eight people and held in a hotel for two days.

China has long tightened security in Beijing ahead of the National People's Congress and other big events, taking steps to head-off potential agitators or others who might create a disturbance from travelling to the capital.

Three other depositors who lost money when at least $1.5 billion in funds were frozen last April - a fraud that sparked numerous protests - also reported attempts to curtail their movements, from having tracking devices fitted to their cars to being barricaded into their homes.

While many customers with small deposits have been repaid by financial authorities in Henan, others from around China who placed large amounts with the small lenders are still owed significant sums.

They became known to authorities after they travelled to Henan to try to withdraw their funds.

China has a low tolerance for group displays of discontent, even if anger is not directed against the government.

Some of those who spoke with Reuters declined to use their full names due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Ministry of Public Security could not be reached for requests for comment. The Shanghai, Zhejiang and Hunan province foreign affairs departments did not respond to or could not be immediately reached for requests for comment.

Story continues

TRACKED

Last month, a depositor in Shanghai surnamed Dong found what he believed to be a tracking device stuck on his car, and filed a police report. Soon, at least six people started sleeping in their cars outside his building, following him every time he left, Dong told Reuters.

"As soon as they see me getting in the car, they will get in theirs," he said. "They've asked me not to go to Beijing," he said, adding that he had not planned to travel to the capital.

Depositors have reported numerous attempts by authorities to limit their movement since they lost their savings and started drawing attention to their plight.

Last year, authorities used mobile phone health codes to prevent bank depositor protesters from leaving their homes, and a protest in the Henan capital Zhengzhou was violently broken up by security personnel.

A retired depositor in Shaoxing, in Zhejiang province, said while she has not encountered violence, limits to her freedom of movement have been extreme.

"They wont let me leave, (they) use their car to barricade me," she said, adding that she had requested permission to head to Beijing in the middle of February, to file a compliant.

She says she has been under constant surveillance by local authorities since the middle of last year, which is why she has to get approval to leave the city.

"I have no quality of life, Im just alive."

($1 = 6.9185 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
By Idrees Ali and Amina Ismail

BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, making an unannounced trip to Iraq on Tuesday nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, said Washington was committed to keeping its military presence in the country.

The 2003 invasion led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and created instability that eventually paved the way for the rise of Islamic State militants after the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011.

Austin, the most senior official in President Joe Bidens administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion.

"U.S. forces are ready to remain in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq," Austin told reporters after meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani.

"The United States will continue to strengthen and broaden our partnership in support of Iraqi security, stability, and sovereignty," he said.

Sudani later said in a statement that his government's approach is to maintain balanced relations with regional and international governments based on shared interests and respect for sovereignty, and that "the stability of Iraq is the key to the security and stability of the region."

The United States currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq - and an additional 900 in Syria - to help advise and assist local troops in combating Islamic State, who in 2014 seized swathes of territory in both countries.

Islamic State is far from the formidable force it once was, but militant cells have survived across parts of northern Iraq and northeastern Syria.

SYMBOLISM

Austin's trip is also about supporting Sudani's push back against Iranian influence in the country, former officials and experts said.

Iranian-backed militia in Iraq have occasionally targeted U.S. forces and its embassy in Baghdad with rockets. The United States and Iran came close to full-blown conflict in 2020 after U.S. forces killed Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike.

Story continues

"I think that Iraqi leaders share our interest in Iraq not becoming a playground for conflict between the United States and Iran," a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said.

Austin met Sudani and president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, amid a long-running dispute over budget transfers and oil revenue sharing between the national government and Erbil, as well as the lingering acrimony between the two main Kurdish parties running the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

"Erbil and Baghdad must work together for the good of all Iraqis and Kurdish leaders must put aside their divisions and come together to build a secure and prosperous Iraqi Kurdish region," Austin said following his meeting with Barzani.

Austin also condemned Iran's "repeated cross border attacks," on Iraq.

Last year, Tehran fired missiles at bases of Kurdish groups in northern Iraq it accuses of involvement in protests against its restrictions on women, displacing hundreds of Iranian Kurds and killing some.

Former President George W. Bushs administration cited its belief that Iraqi leader Saddam Husseins government held weapons of mass destruction to justify the decision to invade Iraq. U.S. and allied forces later found that such stockpiles did not exist.

Between 185,000 and 208,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the war, according to the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.

Austin, a former head of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, said in 2011 that the United States had achieved its military objectives in Iraq.

But under former President Barack Obama, the United States sent thousands of troops back into Iraq and Syria three years later to bolster the fight against Islamic State.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali in Baghdad, additional reporting by Amina Ismail in Erbil; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Angus MacSwan, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Sharon Singleton)
During the ongoing "two sessions," Yao Jianping, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), brought forward suggestions for accelerating the innovative development of traditional handicrafts and supporting the high-quality development of the arts and crafts industry.

Yao Jianping, an NPC deputy and a renowned Suzhou embroidery artist. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

Suzhou embroidery, named after the city where it originated in China's Jiangsu province, is one of the most celebrated styles of Chinese silk embroidery. With more than 2,000 years of history, this form of handicraft has earned a prestigious global reputation for its use of a variety of stitches, beautiful patterns, elegant colors, and consummate craftsmanship.

Yao Jianping, a renowned Suzhou embroidery artist, is a recipient of the prestigious national-level title of "Chinese master of arts and crafts" in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field.

For more than four decades, Yao has been ardently devoted to the cultural art of Suzhou embroidery. She has been instrumental in spearheading the formation of both the "Embroidery Art of Yao Jianping" and "Yao Silk" art brands, propelling the advancement of the art form and solidifying her reputation as an industry leader.

Yao said that traditional handicrafts had achieved remarkable success in international cultural exchange and storytelling about China, with craft products such as embroidery and ceramics being used as diplomatic gifts on numerous occasions.

A copy of Yao Jianping's embroidery displayed in the "Embroidery Art of Yao Jianping" exhibition in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. The original work is in the official collection of British Queen Elizabeth II. [Photo by Wang Yiming/China.org.cn]

Nevertheless, following extensive research and visits to handicraft artisans, Yao Jianping observed that the current traditional handicraft industry suffers from an incomplete and underdeveloped industrial chain, marked by a small-scale, disorganized operation primarily comprising individual businesses or small workshops.

Yao discovered that in addition to these challenges, there is also a lack of strong branding within the industry, which makes it difficult to develop on a large scale or become fully commercialized. She emphasized that the traditional handicraft industry's growth is hindered by factors such as talent shortage, inadequate funding, and a lack of technological advancements.

"Creating traditional handicraft products requires significant time, ranging from several months to several years," Yao said. "Selling these products at a good price is also a challenging task. Moreover, in the market transaction link, the 13% value-added tax rate also makes it difficult for some traditional handicraft enterprises to expand their profits and scale."

In addition, Suzhou embroidery entails a high level of technical difficulty, with new embroiderers needing to dedicate themselves to a lengthy training period. These factors discourage many young people from pursuing the craft, and there are already challenges with knowledge transfer from older to younger generations.

Yao suggested boosting the traditional handicraft industry by promoting talent cultivation, revising taxation policies, strengthening IP protection, and nurturing leading companies to advance traditional handicrafts in modern times.

She proposed to "establish a tax reform pilot program in regions where the handicraft industry is thriving, with simplified taxation method implementation," so as to foster industry growth.

Suzhou embroidery art needs to embody both social and economic values to attract more young people to inherit the craft, Yao said.

In addition, she also suggested establishing a Cultural Workers' Day in China aimed at inspiring cultural and artistic workers to preserve and perpetuate the country's rich heritage, engage in innovative endeavors, and promote the continued inheritance of China's fine traditional culture.
Brits report they've learnt more about sex from TikTok than school. (Getty Images)

Nearly half of Brits learn more about sex from TikTok than they do in school, a new survey reveals.

Specifically, some 43% feel they have sourced more of their information on sexual health from the user-submitted video platform than from both primary and secondary education.

A further 42% believe TikTok is the most accessible platform for health-related content, according to the new Superdrug Online Doctor survey of 2,000 UK-based social media users.

Overall, as many as 80% of Brits consume their sex and wellbeing advice via social media.

Read more: How to talk to your teens about porn as new study shows children as young as nine have been exposed to it

The hashtag #HealthTok is often used by TikTok users posting about health issues. (Supplied)

For the younger age groups, sex education via TikTok is even more prevalent  55% of 16-24-year-olds agree they've learnt more about sex on TikTok compared to an average of 29% across the older age groups surveyed (25-55+). It's evident that younger generations are increasingly turning to social platforms for 'reliable' health information.

Interestingly, men generally are also twice as likely as women to use social media as their first port of call for health-related insight, but worryingly 38% of them are more inclined to take advice which has then turned out to be inaccurate.

Read more: Why TikTok users are appalled by new Bold Glamour filter

Consuming health and sex advice online can lead to a decline in mental health, confidence, relationships and social life, say experts. (Getty Images)

With more people naturally believing the content they view is accurate (43%) than believing it's inaccurate (23%), over half have taken action for their health as a result of a post they've seen.

This can have a positive impact, like checking in on your sexual health or booking a doctor's appointment, but it could also result in something more damaging.

Overall, 59% of respondents have seen untrue or misleading health information on TikTok, leading to a range of consequences  from people inaccurately self-diagnosing to experiencing needless anxiety due to viral videos spreading like wildfire and a lack of professional knowledge.

Story continues

More specifically, consuming this kind of content was found to have a negative impact on mental health (65%), general confidence (63%), personal relationships (53%) and social life (50%).

Have you been affected by health misinformation online? (Supplied)

For example, one young social media user from London told Superdrug Online Doctor, After noticing some irregularities in my vaginal health, I took to TikTok to see what these symptoms might mean and came away convinced that I had chlamydia.

"As I had not had unprotected sex in ages, I assumed I'd this STI for at least six months (a time period that can negatively impact womens fertility). I was distraught, confused and scared. I was so convinced I went to a GP who informed me I simply had thrush  a really common yeast infection.

"If I had consulted my GP first instead of jumping on social media I could have saved myself a lot of sleepless nights.

Read more: The TikTok trend where women call out #GymCreeps

Watch: 'A band-aid on a serious wound': Critics slam TikTok for rolling out time limits for teens

As many as one in five Brits turn to online 'sources' before looking at official NHS resources for information, the study also revealed. So, to help people stay safe, psychologist Smriti Joshi has shared her five top tips on how to avoid being misled by an incorrect piece of health information on social media.

How to spot a misleading social post and check the facts

Remember social media algorithms are created in a way to keep you hooked. It will feed you more of what you are already engaging with, which can stop you finding other options or seeking credible sources of information Take a critical stance and ask if this is right for you, as an individual and for your lifestyle. Think about the information you receive in context  does it match up with other posts or news youve read? Dont be afraid to go to your GP and ask for their advice. Always check the source of the information you are accessing. It should be from credible brands and sources like the NHS or a qualified, licensed healthcare professional. Going directly to these websites will help you avoid following misleading posts on social media If a piece of information looks too amazing, transformational or weird and makes you wonder, think and judge it as critically as you can. If its too good to be true, it probably is. Dont engage with a piece of information suggesting you take a concoction of herbs or take up a certain challenge leading to a positive physical or mental health outcome just because someone on a social media platform did it. We all have unique bodies and it's best that this advice comes to you from a credible source in an informed way

For any sex and health advice, speak to someone you trust, your local sexual health clinic, or your GP.
stories. Here are some of the wildest ones: We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about a time when they heard someone at work bad-mouthing them behind their back, and people had. Here are some of the wildest ones:

1. "I was the only woman in sales at multiple car dealerships, and I was very good at it. But if I had a dollar for every time I overheard the guys saying that the only reason I was getting better numbers than them was that I was either fucking the customers on test drives, fucking the boss, or both, I'd be enjoying an early retirement."

butthatsnoneofmybusiness

Netflix

2. "I overheard two of my coworkers, one of whom I was friends with, talking about how they opened my paycheck to see how much I got paid and how it 'wasnt fair.' I told the manager, who did nothing. Safe to say, I quit my job shortly after."

Anonymous

3. "When I was working my first job at a skating rink, I overheard a conversation between my male (college-aged) coworker and my male (late 20s) supervisors where my coworker told my supervisors that I gave off 'Fuck-me vibes.' My supervisors laughed in agreement. I was 17. This comment affected how I interacted with men, especially in the workplace, until well after college, for fear that I was the one being inappropriate. Spoiler: I wasnt the inappropriate one."

Anonymous

Netflix

4. "I came out as nonbinary a few years ago, and I use they/them pronouns. Last year, I overheard one of the 'mean girls' (for reference, most of us at this job were in our 30s ) talking about me, saying, 'She uses those fake pronouns because she's too ugly to be considered a girl,' both misgendering me and insulting me in one fell swoop. I couldn't even go to management because this particular coworker was not-so-secretly sleeping with one of the managers. This experience was one of the final nails in the coffin at that job, honestly."

ssketchator1

5. "A dude I worked with accidentally messaged me instead of a coworker, calling me a 'c*nt.' Before I even saw it, he pulled me into the hallway and apologized. It was early startup days, so there was no HR, and it was early in my career, so I just brushed it off. I was also the only woman in leadership in the whole company. In moments of weakness, I sometimes wonder what else he said behind my back.

"But looking at where I am in life and my success, I'm so thankful for the learning experience so I can support other women when similar issues arise. I do not put up with anything close to that."

Story continues

Lmh

Disney-ABC Domestic Television

6. "Im a school counselor, and the walls of everyone's offices are not soundproof at all. I overheard one of my co-counselors complain to my boss about how depressed I was. I had just had a miscarriage, and it wasnt a secret to them. Earlier that day, I had asked my co-counselor to call a parent after a suicide screening we conducted together because I legitimately didnt think I could handle it at that moment. It made her SO ANGRY. My boss basically told her to calm down and have some patience with me, which made her even more irate. She stormed back to her office and SLAMMED the door. The next morning, she came into my office and questioned me about whether I was seeing a therapist and taking antidepressants. She literally told me I 'needed to do something' because she was 'going through a lot too.' Like, girl, this is not how we help each other. It was absolutely awful."

quietppl

7. "When I was working as a critical care nurse, I prided myself in being an advocate for my patients, who were often unconscious and couldnt speak for themselves. One of the doctors I worked with didnt like that because sometimes my actions prevented him from moving out a medically unstable patient when he wanted to move in a new patient. I overheard him talking about me to one of his residents, saying, 'Shes a bitch, but a cunning one.'"

Anonymous

DisneyABC Domestic Television

8. "I didn't hear it myself, but my now-husband did. When we started dating and were still keeping it hush-hush at work, he was having lunch with some coworkers, and some of the men started talking about the women in the office. When my name came up, one of them said, 'Oh yeah, she's really good in bed.' And then he boasted about bogus sexual encounters with me, unaware that the guy sitting right next to him was dating me. My husband didn't say anything, knowing full well that on the days that the guy claimed I was with him doing the nasty, I was actually with my husband.

"My husband told me about it on our way home, and I was livid. That guy's face when HR announced our wedding was a sight to behold. He never talked to us ever again."

nsoeradi

9. "I was working in an office for home health aides. I was visiting another location and asked to use their computers. I found a roster with all the names of the employees on it. Next to my name, it said 'RUDE.' The name under mine said 'WORTHLESS.' I knew then that I wouldn't be there much longer."

savant76

Netflix

10. "A coworker, let's call her Nancy, was showing me something she had written in her journal about a separate coworker, Janice, complaining to her about me (basically, Janice hated me and said I did petty things to make her job harder). But in that SAME PARAGRAPH, I saw Nancy was making fun of my clothes. I don't know if she was being careless or heartless, but either way, it shattered my confidence."

Anonymous

11. "I was a volunteer at an after-school program at a church, and the pastor came in to give someone a tour. I was there with two friends who also spent the year volunteering, and we overheard her say that we were supposed to be running the program but didnt do anything. We were literally working on homework with students at the time. Honestly, that whole place was a shitshow."

francesjoys

Netflix

12. "Im a new college professor, and I was specifically asked in my interview to do a curriculum overhaul if I came on board. While discussing some of the changes with a colleague in another discipline, I mentioned there was one class on the books Id 'never teach' (because Im not qualified). He immediately left my office, pulled out his cellphone to call another one of our colleagues, and proceeded to shit-talk me for 'destroying the program,' 'not respecting [my] discipline,' not being a 'team player,' and, most shocking of all, 'actively trying to undermine the liberal arts.' All because I said I wouldn't teach one class because I dont have the right expertise! And he said all of this right outside my office door. SMH."

Anonymous

13. "I received an email that was forwarded to me asking for help with a project. There were several emails on the chain beforehand. The initial email was actually from one of my partners saying that he wasn't sure I was proactive enough to handle the work. The person who forwarded the email to me hadnt even read far enough down to see the note about me, and they were mortified when I pointed it out."

Anonymous

Amazon Studios

14. "One time, I overheard these other girls at the hospital where I worked say that I didnt deserve to earn a higher level of our role  despite working for it for years  because they thought I was lazy. I would do anything for my patients, and yet they would sit and gossip all day. It felt awful knowing they thought so little of me."

Anonymous

15. "I worked at a fast-food place in a part of town that had a lot of Indian immigrants. We had just received a resume (we were desperately hiring), and as I walked past the manager's office, I heard the assistant manager say, 'I'm not hiring anyone if I can't say their name,' and then she threw out the resume. I literally walked backward and said, 'Excuse me?' She hadn't realized that I, the child of an Indian immigrant, had heard. She tried to brush it off. I quit soon after that."

smolpotaytos

20th Television

16. And finally, "I'm a manager, and one time I accidentally saw someone talking about me on Skype messenger. They said that I, a woman, drunk-dialed an employee, a man, to talk about my personal life. This ABSOLUTELY never happened. They work at a different location now, but I'm still so bothered by this lie and how low it makes me look."

amaree3

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
(Bloomberg) -- The government of Peru, the second-biggest producer of copper and zinc, expects that shipments of the commodities will begin to normalize within days as the nations worst street protests in decades ease.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The issue of protests has been reduced to a minimum at this time, Oscar Vera, newly-appointed energy and mines minister, said in an interview. The mining corridor is now open and in the coming days, mineral will begin to be taken out.

The full resumption of shipments will come as a relief to tight global metal markets, which were roiled by a surge of protests prompted by the impeachment of former President Pedro Castillo. The months of unrest  which constrained the transport of metal to ports and supplies to mines  embroiled operations by companies including Glencore Plc and Freeport-McMoRan Inc., while highlighting risks to commodity output from emerging markets.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Toronto on Monday, Vera said authorities eased tensions by establishing lines of communication with communities and understanding their concerns. In many cases, conflicts related to stalled investments in local water and health projects, he said, adding that the government has stepped up efforts to ensure public works get done.

To be sure, unrest lingers in some areas. In Puno, home to some of the worst protests, roadblocks have continued even after those in other mining regions were lifted. While Minsur SAs giant San Rafael tin mine has restarted operations after a 45-day halt, its still a long way from full capacity.

Minister Vera said direct and ongoing communication and concrete action to address demands were paying off  even at MMG Ltd.s Las Bambas mine, which has endured more than 400 days of roadblocks in its seven-year history.

Story continues

With blockades at a minimum, Las Bambas will probably resume copper transport between today and tomorrow, Vera said. He said hes hoping therell be a lasting solution with a military presence along roads and authorities on the ground to make sure mine commitments are met. There are also proposals to change the route used to transport ore to port.

Perus copper production is likely to have taken a hit from the protests, but Vera said he was very optimistic that in the coming days everything starts to normalize, with output recovering over the rest of the year.

The government has identified a total of $6.9 billion in mining investments this year and next, made up of seven likely projects. Still, there are some projects, such as Southern Copper Corp.s Tia Maria, that while technically sound, require further work to convince local communities of the benefits, he said.

Oil Reentry

Vera defended state-owned Petroleos del Peru SAs plans to resume drilling in the Amazon rainforest at what was once the nations largest and leakiest oil field.

Petroperus move back into the highly profitable oil-producing industry carries little risk because its doing so in a field that only requires reactivation rather than a capital intensive development, he said.

For Lot 192, in a remote area near Ecuador, Petroperu is seeking an operating partner and is negotiating with a company, I understand, the minister said.

(Adds comments on oil in fnal two paragraphs)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
[Source]

Nearly four dozen Chinese warships were spotted near the Philippines Pag-asa Island in the province of Palawan over the weekend, worsening tensions in the disputed region of the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported the sighting, writing that one belongs to the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, one belongs to the China Coast Guard (CCG) and 42 other ships allegedly posed as fishing vessels but were actually part of the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM).

The PLA Navy and CCG ships were spotted at a distance of 8 nautical miles and 4 nautical miles from Pag-asa, respectively. Meanwhile, the suspected militia ships were found within 4 nautical miles.

Those areas are well within the 12-nautical mile range designated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as part of a nations territorial waters.

More from NextShark: Downed Chinese balloon is part of larger surveillance program on 5 continents, US officials say

Pag-asa, a natural island, has been occupied by the Philippines since 1971 and has an estimated population of 400, including 70 children.

The PCG said in a statement:

Story continues

Based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, the observed location of the Chinese vessels fall squarely within Pag-asa Island's 12 NM territorial sea. Their continuing unauthorized presence is clearly inconsistent with the right of innocent passage and a blatant violation of the Philippines' territorial integrity. More from NextShark: Japan PM aide apologizes for 'shameful' act of having hands in pockets on US trip

Last month, a CCG ship targeted a PCG counterpart with what the latter described as a military-grade laser that temporarily blinded crew members.

The incident resulted in Manilas 203rd diplomatic protest against Beijing.

The PCG vowed to unceasingly carry out its patriotic duty in conducting patrols.

More from NextShark: War game simulations find China failing to invade Taiwan at a huge cost to all, including US and Japan

Our gallant men and women of the Philippine Coast Guard will continuously patrol our waters full of courage and determination, PCG Admiral Artemio M. Abu said.
This article originally appeared on Velo News

Lotto-Dstny is calling for evidence in the aftermath of the GP Monsere photo-finish controversy.

The Belgian team wont rest easy until it has the proof that Caleb Ewan lost out in his millimeter sprint with Gerben Thijssen.

"Please note, we are not filing a complaint with the UCI. We just want to see an image of the photo-finish, the photo that was viewed by the competition jury and used to determine the winner," team CEO Stephane Heulot told Het Nieuwsblad.

The low-ranked Belgian race shot to the headlines this weekend when a to-the-wire sprint looked to have gone to Ewan only for the jury to rule otherwise.

Also read: Did the jury get the photo-finish wrong? Caleb Ewan thinks so

Ewan and officials on the ground were so certain the Aussie speedster had won that hed already conducted his winners interview when Thijssen was told to top the podium.

With only sketchy images available and Ewan calling out the race jury, Lotto-Dstny wants the proof it lost out on an early season score and significant stack of UCI points.

[Our team director] didnt get to see an image of a photo of the photo finish. Apparently there was a problem with the computer, Heulot said Tuesday. I simply ask if we can still view that photo finish in question. This way we have proof that our rider was rightly placed second."

The palaver has now been passed to the Belgian Federation and UCI.

We only want proof that the competition management rightly designated Thijssen as the winner, Heulot said. If so, I have no problem with that. We just want clarity."

Here's another one. If anyone's got photo of big G clearly beating me it would actually make me feel a bit better to be honest pic.twitter.com/Zko46pUQI6 -- Caleb Ewan (@CalebEwan) March 5, 2023

For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today.
A composite image shows the main street through Marinka, Ukraine. Left is a satellite image taken in February 2022, just before Russia's full-scale invasion began, when most of the city was still standing. To the right is drone footage from March 2023 showing widespread devastation. (Note: Insider has aligned the two images along the main street, but the different vantage points of the source imagery mean the rest of the overlay is not a perfect match). Maxar Technologies/Presidential Office of Ukraine/Insider

Drone footage showed how a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region was reduced to rubble.

Intense fighting between Russia and Ukraine has left no building in Marinka intact, the photos show.

Marinka has been a flash point of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict since 2014.

Before-and-after photos show how Russia's invasion reduced a Ukrainian city to a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Marinka, located in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, has been the focal point of intense fighting ever since Russian-backed paramilitaries first gained control of parts of the region in April 2014.

It escalated sharply in February 2022, when the main Russian military invaded Ukraine.

Located around 80 miles from Bakhmut, Marinka has recently found itself at the center of renewed battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Marinka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on March 5, 2023. Presidential Office of Ukraine

Photos published by Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the weekend reveal how Marinka has been all but wiped out.

They show scenes akin to a post-apocalyptic world: empty streets, skeletal trees, and bombed-out buildings. There are no signs of any people or cars.

New video footage of Marinka shot from the air with a drone on February 19, 2023. Associated Press

"It used to be home for around 10,000 people. It used to be a peaceful city. It used to beuntil Russia's war criminals razed it to the ground," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs captioned the photos.

At the time of writing, the territory was roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control, the Associated Press reported.

New video footage of Marinka shot from the air with a drone on February 19, 2023. Associated Press

Marinka's police chief Artem Schus said that every building in the city has been damaged, AP reported.

"The city is completely destroyed. Completely," Schus said. "Currently, there are no civilians left in the city because the military administration and police evacuated all residents, all children. Living there is impossible."

An aerial photo of Marinka in October 2022 (left) versus in February 2023. Satellite image 2023 Maxar Technologies.

A satellite picture from February 15, 2022  a few days before Russia launched its attack  shows a city with rows of houses and large administrative buildings.

A video published by a local TV station in 2021 shows a city that is unremarkable in its normalcy. Trees line the streets; people are exercising or walking with their shopping bags, and vehicles are driving the roads.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Pittsburgh City Council is calling on Congress to pass stricter rail safety legislation in the wake of the massive train derailment and fire in East Palestine, Ohio. City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger says if what happened in East Palestine happened in city limits, it would be catastrophic, given the dense population.

It would have impacted many, many more people, Strassburger tells Channel 11. Hundreds of thousands of people here. Its extremely important we get ahead of any future spill.

She and all of city council are now calling on Congress to pass the Railway Safety Act of 2023. Its sponsored by Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman. Council is also calling on Congress the pass the Decreasing Emergency Railroad Accidents Locally Act thats sponsored by Rep. Chris Deluzio.

Those bills would really ratchet up the safety measures when it comes to our railroads, especially rail companies that are carrying hazardous or volatile materials, Strassburger added. Oftentimes, we arent even made aware of what trains are carrying volatile or hazardous materials, so thats one of the things in addition to fixing our infrastructure, we need to know what our trains are carrying.

There is currently no legal requirement to notify cities or municipalities that toxic chemcials are being carried through the area. In East Palestine, Strassburger says the HAZMAT placards on rail cars melted off, so first responders didnt know what toxic chemicals they were walking into. Strassburger says it goes beyond whats being transported.

We also need to improve the quality of our infrastructure, Strassburger added. The tracks themselves, the trains, staff up the number of people on these trains.

The mayors office says its working with a coalition of 10 other mayors in western Pennsylvania to protect public safety.

Trains come in and out of Pittsburgh, they go across Western PA, Maria Montano, the press secretary for the City of Pittsburgh tells Channel 11. It really is important for the mayor to work as a region to care for the regional infrastructure.

Story continues

The city and city council plans to utilize the Fast Act to get a better understanding of the state of our infrastructure.

Public safety  thats been a number one priority for this administration, Montano added. This is part of that. Making sure our infrastructure is safe knowing what we can do to protect folks in case of major accidents like this.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

TRENDING NOW:

Americans kidnapped in Mexico: 2 found dead, 2 alive, reports say At least one injured in explosion in New Castle Allegheny County Police no longer patrolling Pittsburgh, official says VIDEO: Pittsburgh police searching for suspects responsible for vandalizing Shepherds Wellness Center DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A sharp drop in illegal border crossings since December could blunt a Republican point of attack against President Joe Biden as the Democratic leader moves to reshape a broken asylum system that has dogged him and his predecessors.

A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows some support for changing the number of immigrants and asylum-seekers allowed into the country. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say the level of immigration and asylum-seekers should be lowered, while about 2 in 10 say they should be higher, according to the poll. About a third want the numbers to remain the same.

The decrease in border crossings followed Biden's announcement in early January that Mexico would take back Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans under a pandemic-era rule that denies migrants the right to seek asylum as part of an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, the U.S. agreed to admit up to 30,000 a month of those four nationalities on humanitarian parole if they apply online, enter at an airport and find a financial sponsor.

The administration has also proposed generally denying asylum to anyone who travels though another country on their way to the U.S. without seeking protection there  effectively all non-Mexicans who appear at the U.S. southern border.

The new rules put forth by Biden could help the president fight back against critics who complain he hasnt done enough to address border security issues. But the moves have also fueled anger among some of his Democratic allies who are concerned that he is furthering a Trump-era policy they view as anti-immigrant and hurting vulnerable migrants who are trying to escape dangerous conditions in their native countries.

And the new changes  and subsequent drop in illegal border crossings  are unlikely to stop the barrage of attacks from conservatives who see border security as a powerful political weapon.

Story continues

Biden has been on the defensive as Republicans and right-wing media outlets have hammered him over the soaring increase in migrant encounters at the border. The new House GOP leadership has held hearings on what they call the Biden border crisis and talked of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Agents detained migrants more than 2.5 million times at the southern border in 2022, including more than 250,000 in December, the highest on record. According to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, Border Patrol agents stopped migrants about 130,000 times in February, similar to January.

Among Republicans, the poll shows about two-thirds say there should be fewer immigrants and asylum-seekers, while only about 1 in 10 say there should be more.

Democrats are split: About a quarter say the number of immigrants should increase, a quarter say it should decrease, and about 4 in 10 say it should remain the same. They are slightly more supportive of asylum-seekers specifically, with 37% supporting an increase, 26% backing a decrease, and 36% saying the number should remain the same.

Under U.S. law, numbers are not capped on asylum, which was largely a policy afterthought until about a decade ago. Since 2017, the U.S. has been the worlds most popular destination for asylum-seekers, according to U.N. figures. Even those who lose in court can stay for years while their cases wind through a backlogged system.

Omar Reffell, a 38-year-old independent voter in Houston, said that he supports immigration but that news coverage of caravans of people trying to cross the border sends the wrong message to migrants.

People think that they just show up at the border, come across, there is not going to be any repercussions, Reffell said. Im not against immigration. I think immigration is good for the country, but it has to happen in a very orderly manner or it puts a lot of stress, especially on the border states being able to provide resources.

More than 100,000 migrants each month were being released in U.S. border cities late last year with notices to appear in immigration court or report to immigration authorities.

Dan Restrepo, a top White House adviser on Latin America during Barack Obamas presidency, believes the American public will accept high levels of immigration  if a systematic process can be followed.

The challenge in managing migration is the sense of chaos and disorder that can be created by images of overwhelmed processing facilities and the like at the physical border, he said. Its less the numbers and more the imagery that bothers voters.

Republicans cast Bidens expansion of humanitarian parole for four nationalities as a political ploy to divert attention from the border and are not likely to let up on their criticism of the president on immigration. The Federation of American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration group, called Januarys plunge in border numbers a shell game to boost Bidens reelection prospects.

Fox News Channel has hit hard on the story over the last year. Reporter Bill Melguin said in a Battle for the Border special on Nov. 3 that he had spent more than 200 days on the Texas border.

Weve been shooting the video all day long, Melugin said in a typical report from the Texas town of Eagle Pass. We keep getting these massive groups of 150 to 200 crossing every single day.

The networks night-vision drone cameras have showed hundreds of migrants walking across the border, each one appearing as a luminous white stick slowly advancing across a dark screen.

The poll found 39% of U.S. adults approve of how Biden is handling immigration, and 38% approve of him on border security  slightly below his overall approval ratings. About two-thirds of Democrats but only about 1 in 10 Republicans say they approve of his handling of either issue.

The poll was taken Feb. 16-20, just before the administration proposed on Feb. 21 that asylum should generally be denied to migrants who pass through another country without applying for protection there if it is deemed safe. The administration is angling to have the new rule take effect before the pandemic-related limits on asylum are expected to end May 11, though legal challenges appear imminent.

Becky Steelsmith, a 70-year-old independent voter from Zachary, Louisiana, is reluctant to heap blame on Biden because solutions also eluded his predecessors, but she notes that the optics are not great.

The only reason why I disagree with Bidens handling of it is that I think hes a little too soft, said Steelsmith, a retired teacher. "I'm not saying its his fault that its happening. Im saying that as president, he needs to sit down and really focus and come up with some kind of a solution, or the beginning of a solution.

___

The poll of 1,247 adults was conducted using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
Mariusz Baszczak, Polish Defence Minister, has confirmed that 10 of the promised 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks will arrive in Ukraine in the coming days.

Source: Sky News citing Mariusz Baszczak

Quote: "Four [tanks] are already in Ukraine, another 10 will go to Ukraine this week," Baszczak said.

Poland was the first of the Western allies to transfer modern Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Warsaw will also provide 60 PT-91 Twardy tanks.

Background:

Earlier, German authorities have asked Switzerland to approve the sale of 96 decommissioned Leopard 2 tanks to the Rheinmetall concern.

At the end of January, Germany agreed to allow other countries to send German-made tanks to Ukraine.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
European experts question unusual silence over Nord Stream blasts

Xinhua) 08:41, March 07, 2023

This aerial photo released by the Danish Ministry of Defense on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak site. (Danish Defense Ministry/Handout via Xinhua)

Germany, has been particularly affected by the energy crisis due to the end of gas supplies from Russia. However, the country's government, like its allies, has refrained from talking about the explosions in public.

BERLIN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Despite their own heavy losses, European countries -- especially Germany -- have unanimously kept silent over the blasts that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September and subsequent investigations.

Since veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh exposed the U.S. Navy's involvement in the explosions on the U.S. portal Substack last month, more and more experts have questioned Europe's atypical, collective silence.

According to Hersh, a U.S. Pulitzer Prize winner, the U.S. Navy divers last June planted the remotely triggered explosives that destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines months later.

Europe's largest economy, Germany, has been particularly affected by the energy crisis due to the end of gas supplies from Russia. However, the country's government, like its allies, has refrained from talking about the explosions in public.

Picture taken on Oct. 8, 2012 shows Nord Stream pipeline equipments before the opening ceremony of the North Stream second gas link in Portovaya bay, some 60 kilometers from the town of Vyborg in northwestern Russia. (Xinhua)

A German government spokesperson refused to comment on Hersh's article at Xinhua's request at a press conference last month. At the same time, German media have widely moved to discredit Hersh's article.

Once proven that the pipelines were indeed blasted by the United States, it would overturn the European public's recognition of the current narratives by the West, which claimed that European infrastructure was "under the threat of Russia," said Li Xing, professor of development and international relations at Denmark's Aalborg University.

That the U.S. Navy was involved in the Nord Stream pipelines explosions last year, as discovered by Hersh, was an "economic war" against its submissive allies in Europe, Jan Oberg, a Swedish expert, told Xinhua in an interview.

"One must wonder when the Europeans will wake up and finally understand that they no longer share interests with the U.S.," stressed Oberg, director of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research.

Photo taken in Arlington of Virginia, the United States, shows a screen displaying U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) attending a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C. Feb. 7, 2022. Joe Biden told the press conference that if Russian tanks and troops cross the border and enter Ukraine, "there will be no longer Nord Stream 2," referring to the now-finished pipeline delivering natural gas from Russia to Germany through Ukraine. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic told Xinhua that the alleged involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions was "not impossible."

The United States has the most to gain from the destruction of the pipelines, Josep Puigsech, a Spanish political expert at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Xinhua.

"I increasingly believe that the incident that led to the breaking of the gas pipeline was the result of an action by the United States," Puigsech said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
PORT ST. LUCIE  A man accused of fatally shooting a man Monday in Port St. Lucie died Tuesday after he engaged Fort Lauderdale police, Port St. Lucie police stated.

Manuel Sanabria, 41, was wanted in connection with a Monday night fatal shooting of a man in the 6200 block of Northwest Duke Circle, according to Port St. Lucie police. Police went to the address at 7:23 p.m. Monday.

An adult male victim arrived at the house to visit an occupant and was shot inside his vehicle by another male occupant of the residence, police stated. The adult male victim was pronounced deceased on scene.

Police said Sanabria was suspected in the shooting and that he left in a 2016 silver Ram pickup with a Florida license plate. Sanabria was considered "armed and dangerous," police stated.

Police suspension:Officer disciplined after improperly handling domestic case nearly 2 months before woman's death

Port St. Lucie Police said Tuesday morning Sanabria "was located in Fort Lauderdale where a brief pursuit ensued."

"He stopped and engaged Fort Lauderdale police officers," police said. "The suspect was shot and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased."

The area in Port St. Lucie where the fatal shooting happened is south of West Midway Road between Selvitz Road and Northwest St. James Drive.

Fort Lauderdale Police reported learning just before 9 a.m. that a man operating a silver/gray pickup was wanted in connection with a homicide in Port St. Lucie, the agency stated.

Our officers located the subject; a brief pursuit ensued, thereafter the subject stopped and engaged our police officers, Fort Lauderdale police stated. Our officers took the action they felt was necessary to defend themselves.

Gator wary:Nuisance alligator removal permits spike in St. Lucie after 85-year-old woman dies

Fort Lauderdale police did not state how he engaged officers, and did not specify the actions the officers took to defend themselves. Questions from TCPalm regarding that were not immediately answered Tuesday.

Story continues

Port St. Lucie police, however, said Sanabria was shot.

Fort Lauderdale police reported during the pursuit, the man veered his vehicle onto the property of a business where multiple unoccupied cars and a pedestrian were struck. The male pedestrian was in critical condition.

This story will be updated.

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Accused shooter in PSL homicide fatally shot in Fort Lauderdale
Ukraine continues to fight for its country, restraining the occupying forces of the Russian Federation

In an interview published on March 7, Blaszczak said that Russia has stalled in the war against Ukraine, as it did in Chechnya or Afghanistan.

Read also: The war will end with Ukrainian victory, US State Department says

"Based on the scale of forces and means and the way the fighting in Ukraine is going on now, I'm afraid that this is a matter of months rather than weeks," he said.

Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, just as it was in Chechnya and Afghanistan, and at the same time, to withdraw from the war now would mean recognizing the Kremlin's mistake and the need to deal with the consequences of this barbaric attack.

Blaszczak expressed confidence that the war will end in Ukraine's victory and called it "the bloodiest conflict in Europe" since the Second World War.

Read also: At meeting with president, Zaluzhnyi and Syrskyi support continuation of defense operation in Bakhmut

"I believe that the resolute and courageous resistance of Ukrainians fighting for the freedom of their country, combined with the help of the entire free world, will lead to a happy ending to this war: Ukraine's victory, because it is the only just option," the Polish Defense Minister concluded.

Representatives of the Ukrainian government, as well as political and military experts in Ukraine and around the world, predict a range of end dates for the Russian war against Ukraine.

The Latvian security service has stated that the fight against Russian troops will continue at least until the end of 2023. A new Russian offensive against Kyiv is also possible, the service says.

The Pentagon does not rule out that the war could last another three years.

Previously, speaking to the UK Parliament, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was confident that Russia would be defeated in the war.

The commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Serhiy Nayev, said that the war in Ukraine would end with the restoration of the countrys 1991 borders.

Story continues

The head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, predicted that the Armed Forces would liberate Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimea by the end of spring 2023.

Meanwhile, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov previously stated that Ukraine's victory would require "the collapse of Russia, its disappearance as a coherent subject of history and politics."

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Minister of Defense of Poland did not say that the Patriot is already in Ukraine

In an interview with the Spanish daily newspaper La Razon, Baszczak said that the positive decision to transfer Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv had been made thanks to Polands efforts, the agency said.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Mariusz Baszczak just wanted to point out that the decision to transfer the Patriot battery had been made thanks to Polands efforts, the ministry said.

Read also: Poland to transfer 60 PT-91 Twardy tanks to Ukraine, says Polish PM

Read also: Poland transfers first four Leopard tanks to Ukraine, says visiting Polish PM

The Spanish newspaper Razon quoted the Polish minister as follows: I must emphasize that thanks to the efforts made by Poland, the Patriot batteries or the first Leopard battle tanks, among other things, have already reached Ukraine.

On Dec. 21, 2022, the U.S. White House announced a $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine, which for the first time included a Patriot missile defense battery.

According to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, the Armed Forces of Ukraine expect to receive the Patriot and SAMP-T air defense systems only after April 2023.

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
Finding a business that has the potential to grow substantially is not easy, but it is possible if we look at a few key financial metrics. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Having said that, from a first glance at Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) we aren't jumping out of our chairs at how returns are trending, but let's have a deeper look.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for Portland General Electric, this is the formula:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.045 = US$400m  (US$10b - US$1.5b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Thus, Portland General Electric has an ROCE of 4.5%. In absolute terms, that's a low return but it's around the Electric Utilities industry average of 4.7%.

View our latest analysis for Portland General Electric

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Portland General Electric compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you're interested, you can view the analysts predictions in our free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

The Trend Of ROCE

The returns on capital haven't changed much for Portland General Electric in recent years. The company has consistently earned 4.5% for the last five years, and the capital employed within the business has risen 21% in that time. Given the company has increased the amount of capital employed, it appears the investments that have been made simply don't provide a high return on capital.

Story continues

The Key Takeaway

In conclusion, Portland General Electric has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. Since the stock has gained an impressive 44% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. However, unless these underlying trends turn more positive, we wouldn't get our hopes up too high.

One final note, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Portland General Electric (including 1 which doesn't sit too well with us) .

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Ukrainian tank in the Bakhmut direction

Cherevaty said that the Wagnerites are coming to the end of playing an important role in the attempts to storm Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, because they are already physically running out.

Recently, Prigozhin, also known as Putins chef, said that if his soldiers leave Bakhmut, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will break the Russian front and reach Russias borders, and perhaps even further.

According to Cherevaty, this statement indicates an attempt by Prigozhin to intimidate and blackmail Russias leadership.

Read also: Wagner Group has brought in more than 38,000 prison inmates: Podolyak

I think this is just a good marker of the fact that, having lost almost all of his (mercenaries), trying to become some kind of military-political entity, he is actually approaching his (own) collapse, and therefore from all this boasting that he is the only one who can fight, Cherevaty said.

It was also useful for us, because he constantly humiliated the Russian Armed Forces.

Heavy fighting for Bakhmut has been going on for more than half a year. According to Ukrainian Defense Ministry, every day the Russian Federation loses up to 500 soldiers killed and wounded trying to storm the city.

This is five times more than Ukrainian losses, according to assessments by NATO intelligence.

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
Princess Madeleine, Princess Adrienne, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas and Christopher O'Neill attend Prince Julian's baptism outside Drottningholm Castle Chapel

Rune Hellestad/Getty Images

America is losing one of its royal residents.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden will return to her home country after living in Florida since 2018, the Swedish palace announced on Tuesday. "HRH Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill, together with their children, will move to Stockholm in August 2023," they said in a statement, adding that they'll relocate to Sweden "indefinitely." They will reside in an apartment at Stockholm's Royal Stables.

Their two eldest children, 9-year-old Princess Leonore and 7-year-old Prince Nicolas, will begin elementary school in Stockholm in the fall, while 4-year-old Princess Adrienne will start preschool.

Princess Madeleine documented her family's life in America on Instagram, from celebrating Halloween in costume to exploring Florida's beaches.

RELATED: Sweden's Princess Madeleine Reveals the Newest Addition to Her Family  an Adorable 3-Year-Old Dog

Princess Madeleine and her family were familiar with the United States before their permanent move to Florida in 2018. On top of having a summer home in Florida, they previously lived in New York City. Madeleine moved to the Big Apple in 2010, where she began working for mother Queen Silvia's World Childhood Foundation as a projects manager.

The couple lived in New York during the early years of their marriage, even welcoming their first child, Princess Leonore, at a private hospital stateside.

In 2019, King Carl XVI Gustaf announced that the children of Princess Madeleine and Chris as well as the children of Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were no longer official members of the royal house and lost their official HRH (His/Her Royal Highness) titles. However, they retained their titles of Prince and Princess, but these titles became personal and any future spouses or children will not have a right to them.

Story continues

Princess Madeleine responded to the news on Instagram, writing: "This change has been planned for a long time. Chris and I think it's good that our children are now getting a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as private individuals in the future."

Despite her royal status, Madeleine previously insisted that she's just a "normal mom."

"They wake me up and we fix breakfast together and the breakfast flies all over the place!" she exclusively told PEOPLE at the 2016 World Childhood Foundation USA ThankYou Gala in New York City. "And then we go out to the park and we swing, we try to do a lot of activities because my little Leonore, she has lots of energy, so we have to keep her stimulated and busy."

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Although Princess Madeleine is returning to Sweden, America still has some royal residents.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relocated to her home state of California in 2020 after stepping back from their royal roles within the British royal family. They live in Montecito with their children, 3-year-old son Archie Harrison and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet Diana.

Sisters (and Prince Harry's cousins) Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have also lived in the United States for stints.

Japan's former Princess Mako gave up her royal status to marry her college boyfriend. The couple moved to New York City in 2021, and Mako reportedly got a job assisting curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Danish Defence Command

A pro-Ukrainian group was behind the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, per new reports.

But it's still unclear who sent the group to carry out the underwater bombings.

The pipelines were controversial even before Russia launched the war in Ukraine.

A pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the undersea sabotage of the Nord Steam pipelines last September, according to new intelligence reviewed by US officials that was first reported on by the New York Times.

The German newspaper Die Zeit also reported that investigators believe they've located the yacht used in the operation. Investigators found traces of explosives on a table in the vessel, and the yacht was rented from a Poland-based company that is seemingly owned by two Ukrainians, the report said. Echoing the Times report, Die Zeit also said that intelligence indicated a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the sabotage.

But both reports emphasized that it's unclear who ordered the bombings, and neither implicated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his government had no involvement in the attacks. "Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about the Ukrainian government, I have to say: Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about 'pro-Ukraine sabotage groups,'" he tweeted.

Six people took part in the operation, according to Die Zeit, including the vessel's captain, two divers, two diving assistants, and a doctor. Officials who've seen the new intelligence believe the perpetrators were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or a combination of both, the Times said.

NATO and the US have said the pipeline blasts in September were acts of sabotage but did not assign blame. Ukraine accused Russia of being behind the attacks while the Kremlin has blamed the West.

The White House on Tuesday responded to the new reports with caution.

"We need to let these investigations conclude, and only then should we be looking at what follow-on actions might or may not be appropriate," White House spokesperson John Kirby said, per Reuters. Meanwhile, the German government on Tuesday said it had not yet concluded its investigation into the sabotage.

Story continues

In discussions with the Times, US officials refused to detail the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained, or the level of confidence behind it, only offering that the conclusions officials arrived at after reviewing the intelligence are not firm.

The Nord Steam 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to Germany, were controversial even before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last year. Critics of the pipelines, which included Ukraine, felt they gave Russia far too much influence over Europe's energy supply. The Russian state-owned company Gazprom built the pipelines.

Nord Stream 1 was shut down indefinitely last September, and Nord Steam 2 was never operational. Facing immense pressure to end its reliance on energy from Russia, Germany froze the Nord Stream 2 project two days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Gas leakage after accidents at Nord Stream

Read also: Ukraines top security official denies there is Zelenskyy-Zaluzhnyi conflict

The sources emphasized that they have no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or his administration were in any way involved in the operation or that the likely saboteurs acted on instructions from representatives of the Ukrainian authorities.

The new intelligence indicates that the alleged perpetrators are opponents of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, stopping short of revealing their identities or indicating who organized and financed the operation. U.S. officials also declined to say how the intelligence was obtained or how much evidence Washington has to make these assumptions.

According to the NYT, U.S. officials found no evidence that the Russian government were involved in the attack on the gas pipelines. Sources say, the saboteurs could be "saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two," adding no U.S. or UK nationals were involved in the operation.

Read also: Coke and gas plant catches fire after explosion in Russias Moscow Oblast  social media

The report says the explosives were "most likely" planted by experienced divers who have no recent affiliation with military or intelligence services of any nation-state.

In February 2023, U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh published an article on his blog called How America Destroyed the Nord Stream Gas Pipeline. Citing "anonymous sources", he suggested that U.S. President Joe Biden personally gave the order to blow up the gas pipelines, and that explosives were planted by U.S. divers. The White House refuted the report as fictional.

Nord Stream and Nord Stream-2 (NS-1 and NS-2, respectively) were major supply routes of Russian natural gas to northern Europe  chiefly Germany and the Netherlands.

Read also: Gas prices in Europe dip to summer 2021 low

On Sept. 26, 2022, pressure in NS-2 pipes has rapidly declined, with the same happening in NS-1 a day later. Despite being out of operation at the time, both pipelines were filled with technical gas.

Story continues

The incident that damaged the pipelines occurred some 70 kilometers away from Danish Island of Bornholm  in neutral waters, but within Denmarks exclusive economic zone.

Bjorn Lund, Professor of Seismology at Swedens National Seismology Center, said the pipelines were damages by clearly artificial explosions  as opposed to some kind of geological phenomenon.

Read also: Russia to mothball Nord Stream pipelines, Reuters reports

The Kremlin denies any responsibility for the incident. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that Anglo-Saxons were behind the act of sabotage.

The pipelines operator, Nord Stream AG, said its currently impossible to evaluate how long it could take to repair both NS-1 and NS-2.

Read also: Swedish investigation confirms sabotage of Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines

German security services suggested both pipelines could remain inoperable indefinitely, according to a report by German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

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
Progressives and immigration advocates are appalled by President Bidens reported consideration of a border policy that would hold migrant families in detention facilities and break one of his central campaign pledges to voters.

If reinstated, the move would set a hardline tone from Democrats for the 2024 election season on how migrants are treated at the border, blurring the differences over the issue with former President Donald Trump and Republicans.

Locking immigrant families and children into cages along the border is dangerous, ineffective, and wrong, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), a newly-elected House progressive from the states 35th congressional district, said on Tuesday. It is dangerous and wrong to incarcerate refugee children, regardless of political party.

Casar and other Democrats were reacting in part to a report in the The New York Times that said Biden was considering bringing back elements of Trumps detainee policy. Progressives and a host of interest groups argued that Biden promised a different path forward on the issue. Those are now at risk of being unraveled, they say.

We cant go back, said Casar, a Latino and freshman congressman whose campaign was backed by Justice Democrats.

He suggested that Bidens possible embrace of what Republicans used during the Trump years after the temporary Title 42 policy ends in early May would be caving to anti-immigrant fear mongering, and effectively mimicking the GOPs playbook.

Its infuriating, Setareh Ghandehari, who serves as advocacy director at the pro-immigration coalition Detention Watch Network, told The Hill.

Immigration has been an ever-debated, ever-delicate policy focus during both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Trump used a tough stance and strict rhetoric to gin up his base against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and carried it throughout his time in the Oval Office.

Talk of building a wall along the Mexican border became his signature.

Story continues

Biden said he would offer a different position and Democrats embraced much of what he promised. He moved to do away with the Remain in Mexico program  which is now tied up in court  and he later established an immigration parole program.

Now critics are worried Biden is backpedaling his pledges.

He specifically made several statements condemning Trumps use of family detention and family separation and promised to do something different and specifically end family detention, said Ghandehari. And what weve seen is a continual walking back of his promises.

While new reporting shows a potential change in direction has already sparked a debate, recent data indicates the topic is still highly polarizing at the national level.

A recent survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that the country is divided on how to address individuals seeking asylum. According to the poll, 4 out of 10 respondents said that they believe the number of people seeking asylum in the United States should be eased, compared to 2 out of 10 who want it to be increased.

Liberals, particularly in the House, see a clear right and wrong position, and fear Biden is on the wrong side.

It is unacceptable that this administration would even consider going back to the Trump-era policies that caused so much harm and trauma to children and families, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) wrote in a statement.

Last month, the Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new rule that would limit which migrants can apply for asylum at the border, a plan that invoked criticism among liberals.

Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), a prominent progressive, told reporters last week that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which she chairs, is working with the Congressional Tri-Caucus to craft a statement formally opposing the administrations new rule.

Barragan, like other House Democrats, called the latest reported development deeply concerning this week.

A just, safe, and humane immigration system should not place families in detention, she wrote in a statement. We should not return to the failed policies of the past where families are detained in substandard conditions with long-term damage to children.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is scheduled to virtually brief members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Tuesday evening on the administrations border security plans, a Democratic aide confirmed to The Hill. It will likely include questions regarding the potential controversial policy revival.

Democrats are supposed to be the party of families and opportunity, said Natalia Salgado, who leads the Federal Affairs division at the Working Families Party. The president shouldnt even consider reinstating a policy that slams the door of opportunity shut for migrants and refugees in the most dehumanizing ways imaginable.

We didnt turn the page on the Trump Administration just to return to the same cruel policies, Salgado said.

Rafael Bernal contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Yao Jinbo, an NPC deputy and CEO of 58.com. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

As China transitions from high-speed growth to high-quality development, stabilizing employment is crucial, according to Yao Jinbo, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

At this year's "two sessions," Yao, also CEO of China's online marketplace 58.com, submitted a proposal urging efforts to eliminate information asymmetry between supply and demand in the job market.

He also called for equal access to basic public services and leveraging technological innovation to unlock the potential of the gig economy through government-enterprise partnerships.

China aims to create around 12 million urban jobs in 2023 and targets a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%, according to this year's government work report.

However, a record 11.58 million college students are expected to graduate this year, about 820,000 more than last year, according to the Ministry of Education.

To address these challenges and meet the target, Yao suggested reducing or exempting social security contributions from enterprises, especially those that hire many fresh graduates.

He also called on the government to encourage the development of emerging industries and enterprises related to the digital economy and livestreaming through tax exemptions, fee reductions, loan increases, patents, and subsidies.

Yao also emphasized the importance of providing equal access to public services for all migrant workers, calling for efforts to ensure that the children of migrant workers enjoy equal education opportunities and access to government-subsidized vocational training programs.

To further improve the welfare of migrant workers, he suggested integrating rural pensions and medical insurance into the urban social security system. This would provide them with access to the same medical and health services as other urban permanent residents.
The former owner of a group of property companies treated women working under him as objects for his sexual gratification in the workplace, according to federal officials who filed a lawsuit on the womens behalf.

The demeaning behavior  which included sexual remarks about female workers bodies, putting his hand down his pants and touching himself when speaking with them and showing pornography on his cell phone  became so intolerable that multiple women resigned from Kingston Properties in New York, a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says.

The owner also habitually lost his temper on the women, according to an amended complaint filed in court. Hes accused of yelling at them, calling them expletives and throwing objects at them when angry.

Although the women objected and complained about his behavior, the harassment continued, according to the EEOC.

Now, Kingston Properties, which is in charge of five affordable housing complexes in Kingston, is paying $240,000 to five former employees to settle the lawsuit, the EEOC announced in a March 2 news release.

McClatchy News contacted attorneys for the defendants for comment and didnt receive a response.

Employees have a right to work in an environment free of sexual harassment, EEOC New York Regional Attorney Jeffrey Burstein said in a statement. It is well past the day when employers can allow managers to engage in this type of conduct in the workplace.

Over the course of the lawsuit, which was filed in July 2019, a new owner bought Kingston Properties, the EEOC said.

As part of the settlements consent decree, the new owner will not let the former owner manage the companys buildings or work with employees, according to the agency.

More on the case

Among the women who endured the former property owners sexual harassment, at least two worked as bookkeepers and resigned on Dec. 14, 2018, according to the complaint. One other former employee who resigned worked in Kingston Properties accounting department.

Story continues

Some of the comments he directed toward the female employees included how he said he knows how to satisfy a woman and likes the way [women] taste, the complaint says.

In addition, he told one woman her body reminds him of his wife and stated he felt like a kid in a candy store after seeing another woman bend over, according to the EEOC.

One female employee was repeatedly subjected to seeing pornography on his phone, the complaint says.

We are glad that the employees working at these companies no longer need to fear the kind of harassment that led to this lawsuit, EEOC New York Acting District Director Tim Riera said in a statement.

The former property owners behavior toward the female workers violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC said.

Kingston is about 100 miles north of New York City.

Woman gets hired for job  then position is pulled because shes deaf, lawsuit says

Supervisor harassed female auto technician and gave her demeaning jobs, feds say

Employee groped his coworkers and flashed teen customers, feds say. Company to pay
James Powell speaks with his attorney before being escorted by a Volusia County Sheriff's Office bailiff back to a holding cell during a break in his first-degree murder trial, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach.

An Oak Hill man who was shot and left paralyzed in 2019 died three years later of the gunshot wound, which led to a number of health problems, a prosecutor said Tuesday at the accused killer's trial. The prosecutor said that while Joel Tatro had COVID-19 when he died, it wasn't the coronavirus that killed him  it was the gunshot.

James Z. Powell's first-degree murder trial began Tuesday before Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach, exactly one year after Tatro's death at the age of 50.

Powell, 19, was 15 at the time of the shooting.

Previous coverage:Murder trial in Joel Tatro's killing set to begin. Here's what we know.

Related:Oak Hill man dies 3 years after being shot, paralyzed by teen at kids' party

After the shooting:Oak Hill man paralyzed in party shooting needs communitys help

Tatro was hosting a gathering for his children and their friends at his East Church Street home in Oak Hill when Powell and two others showed up uninvited at 1 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2019, according to investigators.

Assistant State Attorney Kevin Sullivan said the youth at the gathering recognized Powell from school and told him and his friends they had to leave  that it was a private party for family and friends. Powell and his group refused to leave, Sullivan said.

Tatro heard the commotion and walked out to see what was going on. Tatro told Powell and the others they had to leave. Sullivan said the confrontation between Tatro and Powell escalated.

Powell then pulled out a 9 mm pistol, racked the slide to load a bullet in the chamber, placed the gun near Tatros head and fired, Sullivan said.

The bullet went through Tatros neck, leaving him paralyzed. Sullivan said the gunshot ruined Tatros health, leading to several bouts of pneumonia and his eventual death.

Powell's defense attorney says Tatro died after contracting COVID

In his opening statement, defense attorney Richard E. Zaleski Jr. said that Tatro died after contracting COVID. And he said that a medical expert would be unable to testify that Tatro would have survived COVID even if he had not been shot. Zaleski said healthy people died of COVID.

Story continues

Joel Tatro

What happened to Mr. Tatro was a tragedy, but it was not murder, Zaleski said.

Powell was initially charged with attempted murder, but after Tatros death he was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. Deputies also charged Powell with a separate attempted murder charge because investigators said he fired at another person, Dylan C. Talbert, who was not hit. Powell is also charged with aggravated battery.

Before the jurors entered the courtroom Tuesday, Zaleski objected that the trial was taking place without a 12-person jury. Zaleski said that an adult charged with first-degree murder would be entitled to a 12-person jury, not a six-person jury.

"If an adult is entitled to a 12-person jury, why wouldn't a juvenile?" Zaleski asked.

Sullivan had argued that Powell was not entitled to a 12-person jury.

Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano cited case law which held that a six-person jury was sufficient in this case. Zambrano said that since Powell was a juvenile at the time of the offense, he was not facing an automatic life sentence if convicted.

Prosecutors cannot seek the death penalty because of Powell's age.

The jury is made up of six men and two women, including two alternates.

'I'll (expletive) kill you' Powell allegedly said

Joel Tatros son, Wyatt Tatro, 20, took the stand and said that night in 2019, there was a small gathering for some of his friends around a fire pit at the home. He said he had seen Powell at school, but was not friends with him.

Wyatt Tatro, the son of shooting victim Joel Tatro, takes the stand during James Powell's first-degree murder trial, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center.

Wyatt Tatro said his father had been stern with Powell, telling him he needed to leave, but Powell was getting louder and irritated. He said Powell went to push Joel Tatro and Joel Tatro shoved Powells hands off of him and pushed Powell.

James said 'You dont know who youre (expletive) with,' Wyatt Tatro said.

Wyatt Tatro said that Powell then pulled a pistol from the front of his pants.

He pulled a gun out, racked the slide and said 'Ill (expletive) kill you' and put it to my dads head, he said.

What happened next? Sullivan asked

Then he shot my dad, Wyatt Tatro said.

Wyatt Tatro said he belly-crawled toward the house, went inside and got a shotgun; he returned outside and fired a couple of shots into the air. According to testimony, Powell and those with him had sped off by then.

During cross examination, Zaleski said there were some people at the party who had not been invited but were not told to leave. Zaleski asked Wyatt Tatro the race of those people. Wyatt Tatro said they were white, except for one whose race he did not know.

Sullivan objected to the question, but Zaleski argued it was an issue in the trial. Zambrano overruled Sullivan's objection.

Wyatt Tatro also testified that his father was grabbing the gun when it fired.

Zaleski asked Wyatt Tatro if it was possible that the gun accidentally discharged as his father pulled on the weapon. Wyatt Tatro said no.

Under questioning by Zaleski, Wyatt Tatro said Powell was having an altercation with Dylan Talbert when his father walked up and tapped Powell on the shoulder.

Talbert, 21, said he was 17 at the time and said he is good friends with Wyatt Tatro. He said when Powell and his friends arrived unexpectedly, Joel Tatro asked him to go check on who was in the car.

Talbert recognized Powell, who went by the nickname Buddha. Talbert had been captain of the wrestling team at New Smyrna Beach High School and Powell had been a member of the team.

Talbert said he told Powell he had to leave because it was just a gathering for friends. He said Powell became angry and started raising his voice.

He said Joel Tatro then walked over and told Powell in a stern voice that it was private property and he would have to leave.

Talbert testified Powell pulled the gun from his waistband, but unlike Wyatt Tatro's testimony, Talbert said Powell didnt have to rack the slide.

He didnt have to cock it or anything; he just pulled the gun out and shot, Talbert said.

Talbert also said Joel Tatro did not grab the gun.

Talbert said he started punching Powell and Powell fired a shot at him but missed. He said the punches gave him enough time to run behind a nearby vehicle.

During cross examination, Zaleski asked Talbert the race of a number of people at the gathering. Talbert answered white. When asked about the people with Powell, Talbert said Black.

But Talbert said race was not the issue. He said it was a gathering for a selected group of friends and Powell and his group were not invited.

Zaleski asked Talbert if it was true that he had used racial slurs toward Powell. Talbert denied it.

No that's is not true, Talbert said.

The trial continues Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Teen accused of killing Oak Hill man at party stands trial for murder
Protesters throw rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Centre in DeKalb County

More than 20 people are facing domestic terrorism charges in the US after police were attacked with fireworks and molotov cocktails in a protest at a new training centre dubbed Cop City.

The Atlanta site has become the flashpoint of ongoing conflict between authorities and protestors for different causes including anti-police groups and environmental campaigners.

On Sunday, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a midnight news conference that pieces of construction equipment were set on fire in what he called a coordinated attack at the site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Centre in DeKalb County.

Surveillance video released by police shows a piece of heavy equipment in flames. It was among several destroyed pieces of construction gear, police said.

Surveillance image shows a piece of heavy equipment in flames - CITY OF ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT/via REUTERS

Protesters also threw rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police, officials said. In addition, demonstrators tried to blind officers by shining green lasers into their eyes, and used tyres and debris to block a road, the Georgia Department of Public Safety added.

Officers used non-lethal enforcement methods to disperse the crowd and make arrests, Mr Schierbaum said, causing some minor discomfort.

Along with classrooms and administrative buildings, the training centre will include a shooting range, a driving course for chase simulations and a burn building for firefighters to practise extinguishing flames. A mock village featuring a fake home, convenience store and nightclub would also be built for rehearsing raids.

Opponents have said that the site would be used to practise urban warfare, and the 85-acre training centre would require cutting so many trees that it would be environmentally damaging.

Protesters can be seen throwing bricks - via REUTERS

Some 21 of the 23 people arrested after the weekends unrest are from states across the US, while one is from Canada and another is from France, police said.

Police have filed domestic terrorism charges against 23 of the protesters, a felony that carries up to 35 years in prison.

In January, 26-year-old environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, or Tortuguita, was shot dead during a raid at a protest camp.

Police have said that Tortuguita attacked them, a version that other activists have questioned.
By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A group of Israeli air force reservists who are protesting the government's proposed judicial reforms by refusing to take part in a training sortie said on Tuesday they would still turn up at base for talks with their commanders.

Wednesday's planned meeting at Hatzerim base suggested all sides of the corps were dialing down a demonstration that has shaken a country used to the military staying clear of politics.

Thirty-seven reserve F-15 pilots and navigators from the 69th Squadron circulated a letter on Sunday saying they would ditch some training flights to "devote our time to dialogue and reflection for the sake of democracy and national unity".

A person involved in the protest said seven members of the group were to have taken part in a training sortie on Wednesday. That would go ahead with regular crews replacing the seven, who would spend their time at the base "in dialogue with commanders," the person told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Asked about those talks, a military spokesperson said only: "Indeed, this situation is being taken care of internally."

Israeli air force reservists are required to fly as often as once a week to maintain operational readiness. They sometimes carry out combat missions. Yet they are designated as volunteers, with no legal obligation to attend training.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who calls his push to curb Supreme Court powers a return to balance between branches of government, says threats by critics to encourage or take part in boycotts of military duties imperil Israel's existence.

The opposition sees in the proposed reforms a menace to judicial independence, and some protest leaders - among them retired generals - argue that a non-democratic turn in government would warrant mass-disobedience within the ranks.

Israel's armed forces are made up mostly of conscripts, and have long served a secondary role as a melting pot for an otherwise ethnically and religiously disparate society.

Story continues

On Sunday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant sounded the alarm over protests by reservists in the air force and other units, saying in a statement: "The situation demands dialogue, fast."

That was widely interpreted as a call on Netanyahu to seek compromise with political opponents - as well as for engagement between commanders and subordinates inside the military.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick to serve as the critical fifth vote on the Federal Communications Commission, is withdrawing from her nomination to the telecom regulator. On Tuesday, Sohn said she recently asked President Biden to appoint someone else to the FCC. The Biden administration originally announced Sohn's nomination in October 2021, only for her to go on to face intense resistance from Republicans and moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Sohn's failure to win her confirmation is a major setback for the Biden administration and its bid to reshape US internet policy after a wave of deregulation under former President Donald Trump. The regulator has been mired in a two-to-two deadlock since the departure of former Chairman Ajit Pai, preventing current Chair Jessica Rosenworcel from moving forward on a host of policy issues, including the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections.

"Unfortunately, the American people are the real losers here," Sohn said in a statement. "The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes."

During her confirmation hearings, Republicans cast Sohn as an extreme partisan. She also faced resistance from industry players, including organizations like the Directors Guild of America. Conservative groups spent large sums of money campaigning against her confirmation. One organization, the Center for a Free Economy, spent $200,000 on Facebook ads opposing the nomination. Sohn pointed to those campaigns in explaining her decision.

"When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies," she said.

It's possible Democrats could have advanced Sohn to the FCC despite opposition, but the likelihood of that happening significantly diminished after Senator Joe Manchin came out against her nomination. Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that, he said in a recent statement. Per The Washington Post, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, as of Tuesday, the Biden administration did not have news to share on a new nominee.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators said on Monday their efforts to tackle foreign technology threats were advancing and they will on Tuesday unveil legislation aimed at granting President Joe Biden's administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other apps that could pose security risks.

A White House spokeswoman told Reuters the administration is "working with Congress" but declined to say if it would endorse the Senate legislation.

TikTok has come under increasing fire over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear before Congress on March 23.

Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, and John Thune, a Republican and others plan on Tuesday to unveil latest in a series of proposals to give the administration new tools to ban the ByteDance-owned app used by more than 100 million Americans.

The bill is titled the "Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act" and it will "comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries, such as TikTok," Warner's office said.

The administration has provided input on the senators' draft legislation, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters. The White House declined to say if it would endorse the Senate bill.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines on a bill sponsored by Representative Michael McCaul to give Biden the power to ban TikTok after then President Donald Trump was stymied by courts in 2020 in his efforts to ban TikTok and WeChat.

Democrats opposed McCaul's bill, saying it was rushed and required due diligence through debate and consultation with experts. Some major bills aimed at China like a chips funding bill took 18 months to win approval. McCaul said he thinks the full U.S. House of Representatives could vote on bill this month.

Story continues

TikTok said last week that a U.S. ban on the app would amount to "a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion people who use our service worldwide."

The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 unanimously recommended ByteDance divest TikTok because of fears that user data could be passed to China's government.

TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating for more than two years on data security requirements. TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying allegations.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David Gregorio)
These organizations were recognized in the 2023 Global Vision Awards for their efforts, which range from coral reefs in the Bahamas to the grasslands of Kenya.

Justin Mott/Courtesy of Ol Pejeta Conservancy The worlds last northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, at Kenyas Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving, they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What's more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.

Marrying wildlife conservation with goal-oriented tourism shows that passionate travelers can see the world  and awe-inspiring animals  while also contributing positively to fragile ecosystems. The dedicated conservationists honored in the 2023 Global Vision Awards take creative, research-backed approaches to their work that simultaneously protect endangered species and help travelers learn about the local environment. For example, one honoree below actively works with local cruise lines and tourism boards to regrow coral reefs at up to 50x the natural speed, while a special conservancy in Africa invites visitors to actively engage in valuable preservation projects.  T+L Editors



Harry Lee/Courtesy of Coral Vita A Coral Vita diver checks coral growth in the Bahamas.

Coral Vita

Understanding the value of coral reefs is key to saving them, according to Coral Vita cofounders Sam Teicher and Gator Halpern. An estimated $2.7 trillion in goods and services is generated annually by coral reefs, while supporting the livelihoods of up to 1 billion people and 25 percent of marine life. But more than 80 percent of Caribbean corals have been lost in the past few decades, Teicher says.

Coral Vita, a company based in Freeport, Bahamas, is working to change that. The team grows native coral species at its farm on the Grand Lucayan Waterway and installs healthy fragments back into wild reefs on the south shore of Grand Bahama.

Story continues

The core part of our business is selling restoration services to customers that depend on tourism, coastal protection, and fisheries, Teicher says. The team is in talks with resorts, cruise lines, and local tourism operators about partnering to plan large-scale coral installations and hopes to one day offer people the ability to buy biodiversity credits to help fund their work.

In the meantime, travelers can tour the farm to gain insight into the scientific process while helping fund the conservation efforts. Tours $20 per person.  Hannah Selinger

Justin Mott/Courtesy of Ol Pejeta Conservancy White rhinos Najin and Fatu, with one of their caretakers at Kenyas Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Kenyas Ol Pejeta Conservancy exemplifies how tourism and wildlife conservation can be mutually beneficial. Located on 110,000 acres of the Laikipia Plateau, with views of Mount Kenya, the sanctuary is home to several upscale camps and safari cottages.

Guests staying on site can see endangered species, such as the black rhinoceros, Grevys zebra  and, most notably, the worlds last northern white rhinoceroses, two females named Najin and Fatu. Visitors can also participate in preservation activities like tracking and monitoring radio-collared lions, meeting the antipoaching K-9 unit, and even shadowing the conservancys armed rangers during exercise drills.

Scientists at Ol Pejeta are currently working with partners across the globe to pull the northern white rhino from the brink of extinction. To date, they have created 22 embryos using assisted reproductive technology, including IVF. The next goal: transferring them to two surrogate females of a closely related rhino subspecies and, ultimately, bringing them to full term.

In addition to this critical project, the conservancy also coordinates with surrounding communities on sustainable water management and land use, from building energy-efficient cooking stoves for local homes to helping to establish nurseries to foster native tree growth.  Tom Vanderbilt

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center

The Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, houses production of the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Credit - DR/SP/Andia/Universal Images GroupGetty Images

A belated global transition to electric vehicles is underway, but though the environmental cost of driving those cars is substantially less than using gasoline, the process of producing themextracting materials like lithium and aluminum and transforming them into auto components in industrial facilities around the worldcan still be enormously costly to the global environment, the atmosphere, and the people who work in those mines, refineries, and factories and live in communities surrounding them.

Climate and Indigenous rights groups are trying to put pressure on global automakers to clean up their act. In the first of an annual series of rankings released today, a coalition of 11 environmental organizations including the Sierra Club and Transport and Environment, and pro-Indigenous groups such as Cultural Survival, scored 18 of the worlds biggest makers of EVsboth legacy carmakers and new entrantsaccording to the environmental footprint and human rights impact of their EV supply chain, based on publicly available information like quarterly shareholder reports.

This transition to electric vehicles really provides an opportunity for automakers to not only bring cleaner options to consumers, but to also clean up their supply chains, says Erika Thi Patterson, the auto supply chain campaign director at Public Citizen, one of the organizations supporting the report. Supply chains, for example, often make up over 90% of a companys greenhouse gas emissions impact alone. We want to drive competition upwards.

The ideal car, according to the rankings methodology, would have a fossil-free supply chain and the lowest possible negative impact on human health, biodiversity and resource depletion, and ecosystem resilience, while also respecting the rights of workers, Indigenous peoples, and local communities.



Story continues

The worlds largest seller of cars, Toyota, ranked low on the list, dragged down in particular by its sustained lobbying campaigns against climate legislation. The car company has lagged behind competitors in committing to phase out gasoline vehicles, though that operational fact is less relevant to this list primarily focused on supply chains.

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, ranked highest based on a combination of its environmental commitments and human rights scores. The German car maker has invested in zero-carbon steel maker H2 Green Steel (steel production, particularly from coal-fired blast furnaces, is responsible for a staggering 8% of all of humanitys emissions). The company is also requiring all its components suppliers to be carbon neutral by 2039.

Ford was the highest ranked American company on the list, coming in second, thanks to a high score in human rights and responsible sourcing. A report linking aluminum Ford uses to a refinery in Brazil thats been alleged to have sickened thousands of people, published by Bloomberg last month, however, wasnt included in this years analysis because the information came after a cutoff date of Aug. 1, 2022, but will be factored into next years report, according to the study authors.

Notable too was the placement of pure-play EV makers like Tesla on the listthe U.S. based automaker ranked 9th. Despite tending to have more helpful lobbying engagement on climate than companies that still make gasoline vehicles, they didnt tend to have better metrics in terms of supply chain ethics and environmental impacts. Tesla, for instance, ranked poorly with respect to environmental impacts from sourcing its materials.

And as a group, Asian automakers, from Chinese EV-maker BYD to Kia in South Korea and Mitsubishi in Japan, tended to score poorly, a fact that may have to do with an insular corporate culture, which gives the public little opportunity to see what they are doing and how they can improve, and consequently offers little public information to go off of in the rankings. Its a business norm, says Conor Constable, a stewardship manager at PIRC, which conducted the research for the rankings. Disclosure tends to be less in Asian companies in particular.
"Real Housewives of Potomac" star Wendy Osefo addressed a disclaimer that aired in season seven.

The disclaimer said Johns Hopkins University, where Osefo teaches, has "no involvement" with "RHOP."

Osefo mentioned the university in a heated argument with Mia Thornton, who threw a drink at her.

"The Real Housewives of Potomac" season seven may be over, but viewers still have many questions.

Among them, why did Johns Hopkins University distance itself from TV star employee, Dr. Wendy Osefo, this season?

Fans will recall that back in episode seven of the latest season, a brief disclaimer aired at the end of the episode saying that the research institution has "no involvement" with the hit Bravo reality show.

The disclaimer just so happened to appear in the same episode that Osefo and costar Mia Thornton were at each other's throats in Miami over their professional merits, and Thornton threw a drink at Osefo, which Osefo has described as assault.

Osefo, who is an assistant professor in the institution's School of Education, is now explaining to Insider all about why the disclaimer appeared on screen, as well as what her superiors at Johns Hopkins made of her heated altercation with Thornton.

"I was not surprised at that disclaimer at the end of the episode. When I joined the show, the agreement that I had with my university was, I can do the show  they're okay with it  but at a point where their name is mentioned they can ask for that disclaimer," Osefo told Insider last week. "It just so happened that in that episode, I had said their name."

Indeed, Osefo namechecked Johns Hopkins during the showdown with Thornton on a cast trip to Miami, which was filmed last May, as she and Thornton engaged in tit-for-tat over their professional accolades.

"I'm the only female  Black female  at the boardroom table," said Thornton, who runs a chain of chiropractic clinics. "I'm the only Black female that's a professor at Johns Hopkins, and I'm the youngest professor at Johns Hopkins," Osefo fired back.

Story continues

According to Osefo, the disclaimer wasn't a specific response to the drink-throwing and verbal threats that ensued but goes back to her agreement with the university when she signed up for "RHOP" in season five.

"They didn't see that episode prior and say, 'Hey let's put a disclaimer,'" Osefo told Insider. "They had already to talked to production and the agreement was, 'Yeah, it's fine. She has academic freedom. If this is what she wants to do, that is fine. However, if our name is mentioned, we ask that at the end this disclaimer is put on.'"

Representatives for Johns Hopkins University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although the argument nearly got physical, Osefo said that the scenes that played out haven't impacted her reputation at work.

Asked if any of her superiors have commented on the episode, Osefo told Insider: "I've actually been told about the amount of restraint I showed in that moment and how proud people are that I was able to, even in the face of adversity, compose myself, and know that that's not the woman I am."

The mother of three added that, in general, at work, she's all business, and her students and colleagues aren't too distracted by her reality TV stardom.

"I have the person I am when I work my 9-to-5, and I have who I am socially. So, what you guys as viewers are seeing is the Wendy that is with her friends," Osefo explained.

"I will actually give kudos to my students, as well as my faculty. They have not said anything," the assistant professor continued.

"I've had one or two faculty members who have said, 'My niece loves you on the show.' But outside of that, I am Dr. Wendy when I am teaching. My students have never brought it up. They've never asked for insider information."

Read the original article on Insider
You are here: China

China's top legislator on Tuesday urged the National People's Congress (NPC) to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, made the remarks while delivering a work report at the first session of the 14th NPC.

The NPC must carry out its political responsibilities as the national legislature, said Li, urging it to step up to the front lines of any legal struggle without the slightest hesitation whenever the country requires.

The ongoing annual session of the NPC, which started on March 5, will run through March 13.
Yevheniia Dudka, Head of the press service of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, who came under Russian fire in April last year, died on Tuesday, 7 March.

Source: SES

Details: The woman had been fighting for her life for 11 months. Her colleagues considered Yevheniia a professional in her field.

Quote from SES: "There are no words in this world to express the sadness and horrible pain of a terrible loss. Yevheniia was a true professional in her field, a patriot," the statement reads.

Yevheniia Dudka

Yevheniia had been undergoing treatment in a Kyiv medical facility. She came back to Ukraine after a long treatment abroad.

"11 months of struggle. Dozens of surgeries. But God needs you in heaven. I love you. I'm sorry I couldn't save you," wrote Ihor Hetalo, Yevheniia's husband.

Screenshot from Yevheniia's husband, Ihor Hetalo's Instagram page

Yevheniia's colleague Olena Perevoznyk also reacted to the sad news:

"I can feel the pain of loss with my whole body, the pain that her mother, husband, family, friends are feeling now..."

On 10 April 2022, Yevheniia Dudka and her fellow emergency workers were dealing with the aftermath of the Russian bombardment of an airport in the city of Dnipro.

Then Russia struck once more, injuring six rescuers.

Yevheniias injury was the most severe.

She was treated in Germany for a long time. On 1 December, Yevheniia wrote on her Facebook page that she had been in Berlin for six months.

Yevheniia recalled her first time abroad as follows:

"When Ihor and I arrived at Charite [one of Europe's largest university hospitals], the intensive care doctors said I would be fine in three months. However, there was more to come: four days of coma, liver bleeding, round-the-clock haemodialysis, bilateral pneumonia, constant pain and nausea, no sleep at all and an abnormal perception of everything that was happening."

Yevheniia and her husband, Ihor

Yevheniia married Ihor, who also works for the State Emergency Service, after her injury while undergoing treatment on 27 May, 2022. Her husband proposed to her in the intensive care unit.

Story continues

"Some people are proposed to with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Some  in the most beautiful cities and countries. And so on. I got mine in the intensive care unit. We got married there as well," the woman said.

On social media, Yevheniia actively shared the details of her recovery with her followers, answering the questions she and her husband were asked most often, particularly about her treatment, current condition, and doctors' prognoses.

"Believe me, the smile in the photo is tough to come by. After each walk, I take another three days to recover. Ten minutes of walking means two hours of ringing in my ears and trembling in my arms and legs," Yevheniia wrote.

On 18 January, the woman celebrated her 32nd birthday. Yevheniia promised herself to dream more and listen to her heart.

Yevheniia celebrating her birthday in the hospital

"I promise to love life, myself, and my body more. I promise to take care of myself and not betray my feelings. And I also promise not to be afraid to be myself," Yevheniia wrote at the time.

Later, she admitted that treatment in Germany was a real challenge for her:

"I have a question... Why not provide Ukrainian hospitals with the medications available abroad, as only our doctors heal and save. You are being tested here!"

Yevheniia's last post was dated 24 February this year. Back then, on the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion, she confessed:

"For me, 24 February ended on 10 April. And to this day, I live on 10 April. The war has changed my life dramatically. It took away my health, my favourite job and did not allow me to enjoy family life," the woman wrote on 24 February 2023.

See also: "Angel of the troops": 29-year-old paramedic killed near Bakhmut during evacuation of wounded

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Photo Illustrations by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes taking this whole culture war thing a little too literally. Shes recently mused about a national divorce, to protect red states from the dangers of woke policies practiced in blue states. Another idea shes offered is a ban on blue staters from being allowed to vote for five years after moving to a red state. Ridiculous, unworkable, unconstitutional stuff, for sure. But also familiar territory.

Greene is merely updating the long-held myth that conservatives would be better off on their ownwithout the heavy hand of the federal government and without blue-staters bringing in new ideas that challenge their customs and culture.

Life in a bubble may sound good, but its a mirage in a country with a rapidly changing economy and demographics that favor cities.

Bidens Biggest 2024 Battle Is to Keep the Blue Wall Intact

The reality is red staters should want blue staters to move to their states. Theyll help improve the economy and theyll attract information workers with college degrees and greater earning potential.

In general, blue-state people are better educated. better equipped for the information age, and better at generating more jobs that raise the tax base and raise the boat for everyone, says Don Kettl, author of The Divided States of America and former dean in the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. But they inevitably increase the tension around red states cultural policies. What is the price theyre willing to pay for a faster growing economy? How much tension are they willing to put up with for the kind of jobs that blue state people would bring?

When I spoke to Kettl, he was in Austin looking out his window at nine different building cranes constructing an 80-story tower that will be filled by information techs who have migrated to Texas, mainly from California. Texas is a blue state magnet, he says, pulling people from Democratic-run states and creating jobs and tax revenue. Its also creating friction because these people are not red-state leaning, and they bolster the liberal community around the University of Texas at Austin.

Story continues

Greene says national divorce, but red states are, economically, takers compared to blue states. On average, low-tax red states receive $1.14 in federal spending for every tax dollar they send to Washington, one of the reasons the federal government has a budget deficit.

According to a 2015 Rockefeller Institute of Government study, Mississippi received $2.13 for every tax dollar sent to Washington, D.C., while West Virginia received $2.07, Kentucky got $1.90, and South Carolina got $1.71.

On the blue side of the ledger, New Jersey received 74 cents in federal spending for every tax dollar sent to Washington, New York got 81 cents, Connecticut 82 cents, and Massachusetts 83 cents.

And yet, many blue staters are moving to blue cities in red states. Why is this happening? The pandemic made people rethink their lives and their priorities, and the ability to work remotely opened up options for young families to seek a calmer life where living is a lot less expensiveas is the case in many red states.

But blue staters tend to favor certain rightslike abortion accessthat many red staters don't want. So how do you convince red staters that incoming blue staters are a good thing?

Its an economic argument, and it involves a trade-off. Getting ahead in todays world means adapting to a new information economy, and its not risk-free. Red staters might be uncomfortable with the idea of blue staters bringing their own values to the state, and thus changing the culturebut its not like radical change could happen overnight.

Ron DeSantis Anti-Free Speech Crusade Would Cancel Fox News

Sometimes, youd end up with something like Greenes home state of Georgiawhich voted for Joe Biden and has two Democratic senators, but which is still very purple overall. What part of Georgia would secede into red country? What would Greene like to do with Atlanta in a national divorce? Are red and blue states even real things?

As the country changes demographically, red states have an opportunity to end their dependency on the federal government and become more productive on their own.

Jake Grumbach, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Washington and a specialist in state politics, says that red states are conflicted about the new economy. Theyre creating hubs to attract young tech workers, and at the same time theyre talking trash about the blue states.

A political realignment sparked by blue staters moving into red states may not be imminent, but strategists in both parties are taking notice of the college/non-college education divide.

It was never a real voting divide until recently, says Jim Kessler, a co-founder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic group. Now, you can make predictions about how a state will trend based on the relative size of its college-educated population and how rapidly it is adding new college degree holders to the state. And roughly nine percent of the country moves to another state every year.

The percentage of college degree holders in Georgia is 36.1 percent, which is slightly higher than the national average of 35.7 percent. Floridas population is booming, but its college educated percentage is slipping in the other direction, with only 32.1 percent of the state college educatedplus the population is older than average. Nevada (26.9 percent) and Arizona (31.9 percent) are the only states Biden won that had college educated populations less than Florida.

Trumps Right On One ThingGOP Is Picking Political Losers

The rising number of college graduates in Georgia is one data point both sides of the red/blue divide should cheer. And its worth reminding ourselves that for all the easy categorization of red versus blue states, There is huge polarization within the states. Even the reddest of states have 40 percent Democrats, says Professor Grumbach, whose new book, Laboratories Against Democracy: How National Parties Transformed State Politics, describes how states went from the laboratories of democracy to working against it.

Blue staters moving to red states can be beneficial for both sides of the divide. The economic dividends are obvious. And blue state reinforcements can be welcomed to challenge the entrenched mainly male politicians in GOP-dominated state legislatures. Their extreme restrictions on reproductive health care and gender issues are as out of touch with many red-state voters, just as they are with the Democrats in their state.

Conservatives say they believe in state control, and in a democracy that means thrashing things out at the local level. E pluribus unum is the nations motto. Its a fairer playing field for everyone when you have different points of view represented, and each side is being heardeven when they dont win.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Florida is a popular spot for Ohioans to head for spring break. But as you prepare to hit the beach, make sure you know where toxic algae is hitting and what risk it poses to you and the environment.

Here's what you need to know:

What is red tide?

Dead fish are washing up on the Southwest Florida coast thanks to the red tide.

The algae, which is known formally as the single-cell Karenia brevis, has concentrated near Tampa Bay and neighboring communities.

Scientists have found the algae at rates ranging from 10,000 cells per liter to more than 1 million cells per liter  levels that result in fish kills and breathing difficulties in exposed humans, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.

Red tides produce a toxin called brevetoxin that can make humans ill if they breathe the toxin in through sea spray or get wet with contaminated water.

What are symptoms in humans after exposure to red tide?

The illness can cause a range of symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including:

Coughing and sneezing

Shortness of breath

Eye, skin, and throat irritation

Asthma attacks

Recent samples have also detected red tide at background levels on the eastern coast of the state.

Red tides are a naturally occurring phenomenon that have been observed in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1800s. They begin to form on the coast beginning in the fall, and typically clear up by Spring.

Heres where you can find red tide in Florida.

Florida red tide map

Go deeper

This article originally appeared on USATNetwork: Florida red tide map 2023: Where is the red tide now?
Credit - Illustration by Pete Reynolds for TIME

It wasnt long after the pandemic began that people around the world started to notice something weird was going on. As the rhythms of daily life changed, some peoples days seemed to run together; others felt theirs stretched on indefinitely. The sense of what an hour felt like was corroding. News outlets filled with attempts to explain what was happening.

Ruth Ogden, an experimental psychologist who studies time perception at Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K., says she had only ever gotten maybe one interview request before the pandemic, and has since received at least a hundred. And while the study of time is certainly not new, she says the volume and pace of academic publication on the topic seem to have increased, too. Studies published since early 2020 have suggested, in no particular order, that dragonflies process the movement of time very quickly while starfish do so slowly; that virtual reality and ADHD are both linked to difficulty judging how much time has passed; that time flies when youre making eye contact and seems to drag when youre guilty of hiding something. (The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is even in the course of redefining the second, though that ones a coincidence.)

Another attempt to get to the bottom of things arrives Tuesday. In Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, the artist Jenny Odell follows the threads she plucked in her best-selling 2019 debut, How to Do Nothingwhich found an eager audience in people looking for ways to shore up their souls against the drain of productivity cultureand arrives at a sweeping yet personal challenge to assumptions Western society makes about the relationships between individuals and the finite hours in a given day. COVID-19 was not the original impetus for the project; she says her interest was sparked when she kept hearing the odd complaint from readers that they wanted to do nothing, but simply couldnt find the time. Still, the pandemic not only provided a jolt to her writing processif youre trying to blow up assumptions about time use, theres nothing like a worldwide shift in the way people spend their days to help the project alongbut also helped create a world particularly eager to join in her reexamination.

Story continues

Lockdowns ravaged the routines by which we used to define our hours; what had once seemed as sure as the ticking of a clock was exposed as mere social construct. And then there was the virus itself. Everyone was faced with deaths, and really had that in their face every day, Odell theorizes. So [the] question of How do I spend my time? or What is my relationship to time? becomes a lot more urgent.

Today, almost exactly three years after the WHO declared a pandemic, with so many of the lifestyle changes of COVID-19 reverting to the status quo, Odells book arrives at what could be a turning point. The pandemic created a window in which almost everything, from office culture to trust in the government, could be up for debate. Time itself was no exception, which for many represented a major shift: the realization that decisions made by mere humans can shape something so fundamental. And once youve realized it, you also know that you have some control over your own experience of it.

Now, in the return to normal, well find out if what we learned will stick, and perhaps give us new models for a happier relationship with time.

To be sure, time in a physics sense, rather than a psychology sense, is a different story. There, it takes something like a black hole, not a lockdown, to mix things up. Perhaps fittingly, then, Carlo Rovelli, the Italian physicist and author behind 2017s The Order of Time, says he doesnt see the last few years as likely to have changed much in this area. And if widespread reflection did have an impact, he doesnt see that lasting once the crisis passes.

But that reversion, others argue, is not a foregone conclusion.

I think people dont quickly forget that there was a one-to-three-year period of their lives where they lived in a very different way than before, says Oliver Burkeman, author of the popular 2021 book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. A 5% difference in how you spend your time as a result of an experience like the pandemic is huge.

Which way does Odell think things will break? Only time will tell, she says, then reconsiders. I do think there are certain thingsonce youve seen them, you cant unsee them.

What Odell cant unsee is the fact that the pre-pandemic mainstream Western way of thinking about time isnt the only way. Her conclusion, after studying how those norms came about and how theyre put to use today, is that time is not so much money but power.

Read an excerpt from Saving Time: The Beauty of What Happens When Nothing Happens

When people say they dont have time, what they mean is they dont have control. That lack of autonomy may come from a demanding boss, an internal voice, or existential-level problems such as climate anxiety. Odell uses the concept of a zeitgeber, German for time giver, to discuss the systems that determine how our experiences of time are structured; the examples she gives range from a childs school schedule to the UX design of a gig-work app.

One way for the powerless to find some control, she posits, is to reject the most basic assumptions of the system that keeps them down. In Indigenous societies, for example, she finds alternatives to the kind of clock-based living that can feel natural but isnt. (In fact, she believes, rigid ways of thinking about the future are holding us back from productive attitudes toward the fate of the planet.) Her own epiphany during the pandemic was that her time was not so much hers as it was created within relationships. One clear example she cites in the book is the siesta, a time-use norm that only exists as long as a culture decides collectively that it should. She pushed herselfwhile acknowledging the privilege of being able to do soto see hours not as a personal resource to expend, but as a material that was molded by the way she and others chose together to use it. It was almost as if a grid had been lifted off the topography of time, she recalls.

Of course, Odell wasnt the only one encountering a new experience of time. Researchers like Ogden, the psychologist, moved their work outside the lab because of COVID-19 and took advantage of the unprecedented moment to conduct studies all over the world asking people how the pandemic affected their impressions of time. The fact that having your life messed with can alter the experience of times passage isnt a new revelation; as Ogden pointed out in one paper that came out of her work during this period, decades of studies, including of families locked in fallout shelters during the 1960s, confirmed that life feels different if you stop being told what time it is. But, she argues, the pandemic was the first significant proof that it doesnt take a nuclear bunker to see that effect: you can be in your home, with your roommate, the clock on your microwave glowing, your inbox filling with emails, and still feel that the hours have come unglued from expectation. And those studies arrived just at a moment when people were inclined to be interested in the results.

Thats because, Ogden suggests, you had this period of time in which life stopped, but time continued. And I think that got us all much more aware of the idea that time is finite, and its valuable. And when its lost, or when you cant control it, it feels weird, and you want to know why it feels weird.

Illustration by Pete Reynolds for TIME

That said, this shift might not have happened were it not for a conference held years before the pandemic. When Marc Wittmann, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg, Germany, was a doctoral student a few decades back, he says, even a major neuroscience or psychology conference might have just one symposium or presentation related to time. Then, about a decade ago, the E.U. supported a networking drive that brought together time and timing scholars across countries and disciplines. It all culminated in 2014, in Corfu, Greece, at the first International Conference on Timing and Time Perception.

Since then, Wittmann says, theres been a snowball effect of interest: more people are getting professorships related to their focus on time perception, and those professors have students, and those students become professors who study new aspects of time.

Argiro Vatakis, an experimental psychologist at Panteion University in Athens and an organizer of that Corfu conference, says that the biggest change in the last decade is an increase in research that focuses on questions relevant to everyday life. The pandemic only furthered that trend. Now the fact that we lose track of time or time seems to pass fast or slow, she says, became on the forefront of what people were talking about.

Case in point: Wittmann and Vatakis are among the 32 contributors to the Blursday database, which compiles survey results from nearly 3,000 people in nine countries who were asked about their experience of time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those studies confirmed, among other findings, that the less isolated individuals felt [during lockdown], the closer in time past and future events seemed to be. In other words, isolation makes time drag. In the absence of commutes, many of us learned something similar to Odells takeaway: that our days can be shaped instead by communityand maybe thats a better way to live.

Of course, knowing that the brains experience of time can be shaped by our relationships doesnt necessarily mean its easy to reset our internal clocks; if you dont feel in control of your time, thats not necessarily your fault. Where Odell concerns herself with the systemic societal and economic structures that constrain us, Ogden cautions that the way trauma alters ones experience of times passage is a biological process that cant be self-helped away.

That said, there are certain things that people who spend all day thinking about time do to seize what control they can over it.

Ogden, for one, finds comfort in using her knowledge of the fallibility of time perception to remind herself that negative periods came to an end faster than it perhaps seemed they did. Wittmann says he is more aware of the way that breaking out of ones emotional routine can keep it from feeling like the fun times are flying by too quickly: looking for additional depth in your feelings, he says, can create the kind of variety that can make a good moment seem to have lasted. Vatakis, for her part, hopes her current research project, meant to figure out how to purposefully modulate our experience of time in order to increase well-being, allows us to use our knowledge of times malleability to live better lives, rather than suffering passively the fickleness of the clock. And with the Blursday data available online, theres hope that this eras trove of studies will inform time-perception research for years to come.

Read more: How Listening to Silence Changes Our Brains

As for Jenny Odell, she has come out of the project of Saving Time preaching a kind of mindfulness marked by a loving, curious, fascinated feeling of interest in time, as she puts it: living in the now without thinking about it so much that it cant be enjoyed; seeing time as a series of moments, each as rich as the meaning we put into it. She finds that balance in nature, in collective action, in friendshipappropriate for someone who now defines time as both the context for and the output of relationships.

Maintaining that perspective is anything but simple, and is sure to only get harder as the gravity of the pre-pandemic status quo gets stronger. But maybe itll be easier if we know were not alone in the quest. Together, it turns out, we can make time for ourselves.
A woman who went missing after she left home Monday morning to walk her dog along a beach in Fairhaven was found alive Tuesday on a rocky jetty that extends well out into New Bedford Harbor, authorities said.

Anapaula Huggins, 43, was tracked down more than 30 hours after she was first reported missing following an extensive search that included a helicopter, K9 teams, drones, and divers, according to Massachusetts State Police.

Huggins had last been seen around 7:30 a.m. Monday when she was spotted on surveillance video walking her dog near Pope Beach on Manhattan Avenue. Her disappearance was reported to police around 11:30 a.m.

Family members told police that Huggins left her Raymond Street home with her dog, which was found around 9:30 a.m. by Fairhaven Animal Control, but there was no sign of Huggins.

State and local officials, with the assistance of the Southeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Search and Rescue Unit, spent hours scouring the shoreline in the area of the Acushnet River just west of Sconticut Neck.

Huggins was found in New Bedford Harbor shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

There was no word on if Huggins had suffered any injuries.

Additional information wasnt immediately available.

An investigation is ongoing.

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
[Source]

Adeline Rudolph has been cast in the upcoming Hellboy reboot The Crooked Man.

The 28-year-old Hong Kong-born actor, who is of German and Korean descent, is best known for her work in TV series such as "Resident Evil," "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" and Riverdale. She has been cast as the character Bobbie Jo Song in "The Crooked Man."

The film features Deadpool 2 star Jack Kesy as Hellboy and Yellowstone actor Jefferson White as Tom Ferrell, a rookie agent working for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

"The Crooked Man" is set in rural Appalachia in the 1950s and features Hellboy and Ferrell investigating a community haunted by witches. The Crooked Man, a devilish entity who has a connection to Hellboy's past, leads the coven.

More from NextShark: Chloe Zhao Becomes the First Woman of Color to Be Nominated for Best Director

Filmmaker Brian Taylor, best known for his work on the 2011 film Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, will direct the reboot, with filming set to begin in Bulgaria in the coming weeks. Chris Golden and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola penned the script.

More from NextShark: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' subtitles panned by Taiwanese viewers for 'over-translating'

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

From Asian Jim to 'Blockbuster' Timmy: Randall Park takes a nostalgic trip as his new Netflix show premieres

Studio Ghibli is Making 2 New Films in 2020
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Tuesday that the United States was driving the war in Ukraine, saying China's foreign minister was joking when he said an "invisible hand" was to blame.

In effusive comments on China's stature in world affairs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Moscow was paying close attention to a 12-point peace plan for Ukraine that Beijing published last month.

He was speaking after Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the Ukraine crisis seemed to be driven by an invisible hand, pushing to extend and escalate the conflict and using it "to serve certain geopolitical agendas".

"Here we can probably disagree with our Chinese comrades. This is of course a joke. You know what the joke is: this is not an invisible hand, this is the hand of the United States of America, this is the hand of Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Washington does not want this war to end. Washington wants and is doing everything to continue this war. This is the visible hand."

Moscow has repeatedly declared that the United States and its allies are using Ukraine to wage war against it. That narrative is rejected by Kyiv and the West, which say Ukraine is fighting for survival against a Russian imperial land grab.

CHINA'S VOICE

Referring to a Chinese ceasefire initiative announced last month, Peskov said Moscow was in constant contact with Beijing.

"A big, giant, powerful and authoritative country like China can't fail to have its own voice on those problems that stand high on the world agenda," Peskov said. "We pay great attention to all the ideas we hear from our colleagues in Beijing."

The deferential tone reflected Moscow's growing reliance on China at a time when the West is trying to isolate Moscow and pounding its economy with sanctions. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping signed a "no limits" partnership less than three weeks before Putin sent his army into Ukraine last February.

Story continues

China has refused to name Russia as the aggressor, while often criticising the United States for bullying other countries with sanctions. At the same time, it has expressed deep concern that the conflict may escalate or "spiral out of control".

In comments likely to hearten Moscow, China's Qin said Beijing must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent.

Trade data published on Tuesday provided further evidence of the growing commercial ties between the two neighbours.

China's exports to Russia jumped 19.8% in the first two months of 2023 compared to the same period last year, while imports soared by 31.3%, resulting in a Chinese trade deficit with Russia of $3.6 billion with Russia in January and February.

China's trade with Russia hit a record high in 2022 as Moscow was cut off from Western markets and Beijing snapped up the opportunity to buy Russian oil at a discount.

(Writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)
For anyone holding on to some latent hope that Idris Elba will be the next James Bond, I have some bad news:  Luther: The Fallen Sun  puts (another) nail in that very firmly sealed coffin. In one of the rare moments of levity in the sinister film, the embattled detective John Luther sits down at a chic bar and tells the bartender its been a long day (an understatement).

I would say a long day calls for a martini, the bartender says.

Luthers response? No. Hell take some water, and, if it makes you happy you can make it fizzy.

This was not an accidental moment, Luther creator Neill Cross has said. Elba even wondered if it was a bit too cheeky. But its worth remembering that Elba doesnt need Bond. Hes already got a moody, tortured bachelor with a talent for hunting bad guys. And Luther belongs exclusively to him.

In this outing, written by Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) John Luther finds himself imprisoned for his unconventional methods at work and haunted by the unsolved missing person case that opens the film and sets its macabre tone. His imprisonment and the missing teen are related  the work of a wealthy villain David Robey (Andy Serkis) who film introduces to the audience as such in the first few moments.

Serkis character is a kind of gentleman psychopath, with his blown out James Spader in Pretty in Pink coif and maniacal smile. Hes one of those villains for whom chaos, misery and gore are the point. David Robey is methodical, patient and unsparing  hell even go so far as to befriend the families of his victims after the fact.

At the start, the film takes on a kind of David Fincher vibe, with echoes of Seven and Zodiac crossed with some of Christopher Nolans The Dark Knight. Unfortunately it takes the conceit to such absurd lengths by the end that the premise takes on an unintentional silliness. Thats not even counting the brawls between Elba and Serkis, whose sizes could not be more mismatched.

Story continues

But the good news is that its a pretty fun, tense ride up until that point with some stunning shots of London at night. Elba slips back into Luther like no time has passed, though he has taken on some superhero-adjacent talents here, evident in his escape from jail  a sequence that is somehow both violent and cartoonish. Its not an easy or straightforward role, but Elba makes it look so. This is a guy who is so devoted to his former job that hell risk death to break out of prison and get right back to work trying to solve the case, knowing well that hes also being hunted by his replacement, DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo, not to be trifled with).

Odette does not want to collaborate with Luther and even enlists his old boss Martin (Dermot Crowley, a comforting presence) to help figure out how to find him. This resistance starts to get a tad redundant and futile, especially since its quite obvious that eventually theyll figure out a way to collaborate and perhaps could have saved some lives had they done so earlier. And at times, you just kind of wish Luther could take a vacation  it can be exhausting watching his relentless pursuit, but there's little room for boredom in a movie that never lets its protagonist take a breath.

And then of course theres the ludicrous theatrics of Robeys ultimate plan, which hinges on the assumption that would be serial killers and snuff-porn fetishists are everywhere just waiting for a twisted mind to live-stream gruesome murders. As if going by some bad guy checkbook, this Saw-like game show also takes place in a hidden lair in the snowy north.

But even though it may go over-the-top at the end, Elba keeps you interested.

You neednt have watched all five seasons of Luther to take a chance on Luther: The Fallen Sun." But theres also a chance that you may find yourself wanting to afterwards.

Luther: The Fallen Sun, a Netflix release streaming Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for disturbing/violent content, language and some sexual material. Running time: 129 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

-

MPA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

-

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman



Prime minister Rishi Sunak and home secretary Suella Braverman.

If the UK or its Conservative government  now led by prime minister Rishi Sunak  hoped Brexit would solve the countrys immigration problems, it was wrong.

While the total number of migrants coming from the EU to the UK has fallen since the UK voted to leave in 2016, migrants from elsewhere are still trying, often through unofficial border crossings.



Read more

In the last five years, for instance, thousands of people have started making the dangerous journey from France across the English Channel in small boats. In 2018, when 300 people attempted the crossing, the government declared it a major incident.



But numbers in the years since have only risen. Some 28,500 people tried to cross in small boats in 2022, and another 46,000 in 2023. More than half of those people had legitimate reasons to seek refugee status, according to a January report from the Refugee Council, a nongovernmental organization in the UK. About 8,700 of them were children. Most of these migrants came from just five countriesAfghanistan, Iran, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan. Most of them now languish in the UK immigration system, housed in detention centers or hotels.

About 160,000 refugees from the Ukraine war have also come to the UK, but under government schemes that allow them to legally enter the country, work, and claim benefits.

In an attempt to stem the flow of migrants entering illegally, Sunaks government outlined its most extreme plan to date, saying that the vast majority of people who make the attempt to enter Britain without first securing permission will be detained, deported, and even forcibly resettled in a third country. That third country would most likely be Rwanda. Former prime minister Boris Johnson brokered a deal in 2022 to outsource much of the UKs processing of asylum claims to the African country.

Story continues

Suella Braverman, the UK home secretary, presented the countrys latest plan to curb immigration on March 7. During her speech she said the UK government intended to set the bar very high when assessing if a migrants life is in danger at home and should be granted asylum or not.

Only those under 18, medically unfit to fly, or at real risk of serious or irreversible harm  an exceedingly high bar  in the country we are removing them to, will be able to delay their removal, she said. Any other claims will be heard remotely, after removal.



Are the UKs plans legal?

During her speech, Braverman admitted that the governments plan pushes the boundaries of international law.

International treaties protect refugees, allowing people to seek asylum in other countries if their safety is threatened in their own. Exporting the problem to a third country has not yet been put to the test as a solution in the UK.



Human rights groups have criticized the Rwandan deal, which hasnt been put into practice yet due to legal challenges. But Braverman doubled down on the idea. She said that the vast majority of people caught entering the country illegally would be first detained, and then deported either to their home country  if the UK government deemed it to be safe  or to a third country.

In response to criticism that the UKs treatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants may violate their human rights, the UK has in the past considered leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. While Braverman didnt threaten that in her speech today, her assertion that the UK is willing to stretch the limits of the law to limit immigration recalls that suggestion, which was first put forward by former prime minister Theresa May, when she had Bravermans job.

Are the deportation threats real?

Opposition from the Labour Party, which vies with the Conservative Party for control of the UK, was swift. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, insisted that the plan announced today was nothing but a rehash of promises the government has been making for years  specifically that it will stop the boats  which have manifestly failed.



Calling the current situation chaos, Cooper noted that thousands of people who cannot be imprisoned but are not being processed simply exist in a legal limbo, often living in UK hotels for months or years on end. Those hotel accommodations costs the UK 7 million ($8.3 million) a day.

More from Quartz

Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
UPDATE, March 15: Rocket Lab is targeting Thursday, March 16, for its next launch attempt of Electron rocket from Wallops Island, with a 6-8 p.m. EDT launch window. Saturday's initial launch attempt was scrubbed because of high winds.

UPDATE, March 13: This article was updated at 5:08 p.m. Monday to include the announcement by Rocket Lab of when it will next try to launch its Electron rocket from Wallops. Saturday's initial launch attempt was scrubbed because of high winds.

Rocket Lab has announced a big upcoming launch from Virginia's Wallops Flight Facility, with the window for its second launch of the Electron rocket now set for Thursday, March 16, between 6 and 8 p.m., with liftoff targeted for 6:38 p.m.

The private company announced its Stronger Together mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 on Wallops Island for American space tech company Capella Space, a provider of commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery.

The first launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, also of an Electron rocket, took place Jan. 24, 2023.

Stronger Together will deploy two 100-kg class satellites to low Earth orbit and expand the existing Capella Space SAR constellation, increasing imaging capacity to meet growing customer demand. Capella Space SAR satellites can gather images of Earth any time of day, in any weather and penetrate conditions including clouds, fog, smog, darkness and smoke.

Rocket Lab's Electron rocket takes off Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, from Wallops Island, Virginia. The "Virginia is for launch lovers" mission is the first of three Electron launches for Hawkeye 360 to deploy satellites to low Earth orbit.

This upcoming launch is one of five missions for Capella Space scheduled to start launching on Electron this year, following the recently announced multi-launch deal securing four rapid succession launches for Capella by Rocket Lab.

More on the company's initial launchRocket Lab's big Electron rocket launch from Wallops a 'flawless success.'

ELECTRON LAUNCH PHOTOS:Liftoff! Rocket Lab's first Electron launch in US from Wallops: PHOTOS

Initially, Capella was slated to use Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. However, there is the option for Capella to move any of these missions to Virginia's Launch Complex 2 should that be needed to meet Capellas requirements.

Members of the public wanting to watch Electrons upcoming launch from Virginia can visit nearby viewing locations in Accomack County, such as Robert Reed Park and Curtis Merrit Harbor on Chincoteague Island. The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Rocket Lab sets new Electron launch window this week, find out when
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania aims to buy Abrams tanks made by General Dynamics, a defence minister official in charge of military public procurement was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

The European Union and NATO state has raised defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product this year from 2%, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The country, which shares a 650-km (400 mile) border with Ukraine, is host to a U.S. ballistic missile defense system and, as of last year, has a permanent alliance battlegroup stationed on its territory.

"We are in the process of sending our (ministry) request for preliminary approval to acquire a batallion of Abrams tanks," lieutenant general Teodor Incicas was quoted saying by defence ministry publication Observatorul Militar. Incicas heads the army's general weapons division.

Incicas said the acquisition, once approved, will be done through a government to government deal. The timeline for the purchase was unclear.

Countries close to Russia like Poland, Finland and Germany are striking deals to build U.S. weapons in Europe, negotiating new deals and looking to speed up existing contracts.

In December, Romania's defence ministry signed a deal to acquire seven Watchkeeper X unmanned aircraft systems from Israeli defence electronics firm Elbit Systems for roughly 1.89 billion lei ($410.19 million).

Romania aims to overhaul its state defence industry by investing in new technologies to boost output and exports in the region, its economy minister said in December.

($1 = 4.6076 lei)

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
SEOUL, South Korea  The influential sister of North Koreas leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take quick, overwhelming action against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strengthen against the North.

Mondays U.S.-South Korean training involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Kim Yo Jong didnt elaborate on any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.



After Mondays training, South Koreas Defense Ministry said the B-52s deployment demonstrated the allies decisive capacities to deter North Korean aggressions. The U.S. deployed a long-range U.S. B-1B bomber or multiple B-1Bs to the peninsula a few times earlier this year. South Korea said those drills demonstrated the allies ability to make a decisive response to potential North Korean aggressions.

Last Friday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they would conduct a computer-simulated command post training from March 13-23 and restore their largest springtime field exercises that were last held in 2018.

The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018 to support now-dormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the Covid-19 pandemic. But theyve been restoring their exercises after North Korea last year conducted a record number of missile tests and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals.

Story continues

In a separate statement Tuesday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry called the flyover of the U.S. B-52 bomber a reckless provocation that pushes the situation on the peninsula deeper into the bottomless quagmire. The statement, attributed to the unnamed head of the ministrys foreign news office, said there is no guarantee that there will be no violent physical conflict if U.S.-South Korean military provocations continue.

North Korea often unleashes fiery rhetoric in times of heightened animosities with the United States and South Korea. Possible steps North Korea could take include a nuclear test or the launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile targeting the mainland U.S., observers say.

Last month, Kim Yo Jong threatened to turn the Pacific into the Norths firing range. In her statement Tuesday, she said North Korea would consider a possible U.S. attempt to intercept a North Korean ICBM a declaration of war. She cited a South Korean media report saying the U.S. military plans to shoot down a North Korean ICBM if its test-launched toward the Pacific.

All known North Korean ICBM tests have been made at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries, and the weapons landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

South Korea on Monday took a step meant to ease a thorny history dispute with Japan in what was seen as an effort to boost the trilateral Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation. The step involves a plan that uses local funds to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyos colonial rule, but without requiring require Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Monday praised the leaders of South Korea and Japan, saying the two came to understand that potential of collaboration into the future is more important and have a greater value and realizing you have to deal with historic issues.
One of the prisoner exchanges

Previously, the agencys response was that if a Ukrainian prisoner of war was held captive in Russia, work could begin on including the prisoner in the exchange lists.

Now such a scheme is impossible as the Russian Defense Ministry ignores such requests.

Read also: Air Force does not confirm Patriot systems already in Ukraine

"Such actions make it impossible for relatives to establish, at least on paper, whether their relative is alive," the lawyer said.

Now, inclusion in the lists is possible only through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or through commissioners.

Read also: Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut continues to degrade forces on both sides, says UK intelligence

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Russian army has suffered more losses in the battle for Bakhmut; during the day, 244 occupiers were killed, 315 more were injured. The Russians are already searching for reserves to replenish the lost units.

Source: Serhii Cherevatyi, the spokesman of the Eastern grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the air of national 24/7 newscast

Details: According to him, 9 more skirmishes took place in Bakhmut in the course of the last 24 hours; the Russians have also carried out 26 strikes on the positions of Ukrainian forces.

Quote: "They [the Russians  ed.] are now searching for reserves, they are already deploying those who were instructors, those who were on the command posts, the ones they valued."

Details: Cherevaty reported that the Wagner Group mercenaries are also helped by the regular army of the Russian Federation, airborne and infantry units, as well as artillery and aviation.

The spokesman of the Eastern grouping said that the current task of the Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut is to "deplete the combat potential of the enemy" and prepare approaches for reinforcements, which are currently undergoing combat training and "mastering new equipment."

Cherevaty is sure that new Ukrainian units will be able to "thwart the enemy back".

Background:

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine have repeatedly emphasised that the Russians do not count with the losses on the Bakhmut front.

In particular, on 6 February, CNN, citing NATO intelligence, reported that the Russian occupiers lost five times more soldiers in the battles for Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast than the Ukrainian defenders did.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut on March 5, 2023. Libkos/AP Photo

Russia has lost at least five soldiers for every Ukrainian soldier killed in Bakhmut.

This is according to an informed estimate by a NATO official who spoke to CNN.

Ukraine has also suffered significant losses while defending the ruined city, the official said.

The Russian effort to take Bakhmut, a former salt-mining city in eastern Ukraine, has become one of the longest and bloodiest battles in the war. And NATO intelligence estimates suggest it has been especially bloody for the Russian side.

Russian forces have lost at least five soldiers for every Ukrainian soldier killed while defending Bakhmut, a military official with NATO told CNN on Monday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the five-to-one ratio was an informed estimate based on Western intelligence.

The official told CNN that although the ratio was favorable to Ukraine, it had also suffered significant losses.

The unnamed official wasn't the only one to highlight Russian casualties around the city.

Over the weekend, Oleksiy Danilev, the secretary of Ukraine's national security council, claimed an even higher ratio. He said that Russia had lost potentially seven times as many soldiers as Ukraine in Bakhmut, per The New York Times.

However, both sides are known to inflate the other country's casualty figures, and no independent and reliable death toll exists.

Battles around Bakhmut have raged for seven months, with thousands dying and the city now lying in ruin. Trench warfare and the intensity of the fighting have led some to compare the battle to fighting in World War I.

Volodymyr Nazarenko, a senior Ukrainian commander, described the situation in the city as "utter hell" in a Telegram on Sunday, per Reuters.

Initially, Russian forces fighting in Bakhmut were largely drawn from the pro-Kremlin Wagner Group mercenary army, many of them convicted criminals who were used as little more than cannon fodder, The Washington Post reported.

But The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a Monday update that Russian forces have now committed higher-quality special forces operators in a bid to take control of the city.

Story continues

Over the weekend, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, complained about "shell hunger" and a lack of support from the regular army, Insider's Mia Jankowicz reported. He added that Russia's entire front line would collapse if Bakhmut wasn't taken.

But according to the ISW assessment, taking Bakhmut is not "intrinsically significant operationally or strategically" for Russia to win the war, nor would the loss of the city be a strategic setback for Ukraine.

That hasn't stopped both sides from throwing equipment and manpower at it, even as the death toll rises.

Read the original article on Business Insider
In the fall of 2022, satellite images of Russian trenches in the north of occupied Crimea began to appear

According to information from open sources, Russian military trucks, mainly from the 126th Coast Guard Brigade of Russias Black Sea Fleet, are being transferred to the north of the occupied peninsula through Simferopol, the report says.

Read also: NATOs Stoltenberg reaffirms support for Ukraine in possible return of Crimea, even by force

The agency noted that Russian invaders were also looking for trench diggers in the town of Krasnoperekopsk, asking them to come with their tools. Krasnoperekopsk sits on the Perekop Isthmus, a strip of land about 8 kilometers wide connecting Crimea to mainland Ukraine.

Ukraines General Staff also reported in the autumn of 2022 that the invaders had started improving the fortification of the defense lines on the left bank of the Dnipro River and the north of the peninsula.

Read also: US supports Ukrainian strikes on Russian military facilities in occupied Crimea  Nuland

Prior to that, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russias war against Ukraine should end with the liberation of Crimea, just as it began with its occupation.

The Financial Times business newspaper reported that three main roads of the land bridge to Crimea with an important supply route for Russian troops would be within the range of Ukrainian artillery after the liberation of the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.

Read also: Ukraine responds to Croatian president after his scandalous statements on Crimea

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
One of the many symbolic illustrations of a Ukrainian prisoner of war who was shot

Yusov stressed that the prisoner of war was unarmed and was under the legal protection of the Geneva Convention.

Here is another illustration of who we are dealing with, said Yusov.

Read also: Ukraine not only holding back Russian offensive, but preparing to turn tide of war says brigadier-general

He was actually killed after (saying) the slogan Glory to Ukraine. This is yet another manifestation of the genocidal war and the aggressor's policy of genocide.

Yusov added that Russians deliberately recorded the apparent crime and deliberately made the footage public. According to him, Russian troops and their commanders are not ashamed of these acts of genocide.

This is done to raise the level of hatred towards Ukrainians inside the country, and to intimidate the Ukrainians themselves, Yusov added.

Read also: Footage of Russian missile strike captured through plane's window

But as in all other cases, with the so-called blitzkrieg, or missile strikes  these things only unite the Ukrainians.

Yusov noted that the search for the perpetrators of this crime is already underway, adding that this is an "matter of honor."

On March 6, a video of the execution of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war after he utters the phrase Glory to Ukraine spread on social media. Its unclear when or where the footage was taken.

Read also: Details of life of Tymofiy Shadura, who was shot by Russians on video, come to light

According to Ukraines Defense Ministry, the dead soldier is Tymofiy Shadura, a member of the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade. He has been considered missing in action since Feb. 3, 2023, after fighting near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast.

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
As a result of the attack of the Russian occupiers, a high-rise building was destroyed

He said that two people had been injured as a result of the attack on the town.

The rockets damaged a school, four high-rise buildings, a private house, garages and cars.

Kyrylenko also posted photos showing serious destruction.

Read also: Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are Ukrainian, not for trade or sale  Danilov

Pavlo Kyrilenko/Telegram

Pavlo Kyrilenko/Telegram

Read also: Ukraines SBU detains collaborator in Donetsk Oblast

The situation in Donetsk Oblast remains extremely difficult. The Ukrainian military is holding back the offensive of the Russian invasion forces near Bakhmut, stopping the enemy's attempts to advance further.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces also remain in control of the strategic road from Bakhmut to Kostiantynivka.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Ukrainians with pet carriers were a frequent sight among the stream of refugees heading west. Ukrainians carried their dogs, cats, rabbits and even fish for hundreds of miles as the scale of Russias attack on their country became clear. The mass exodus of pets was such that bordering nations waived their normally strict quarantine protocols to allow in the displaced with four legs.

Puppies peep out from an enclosure at the Mishan Animal Shelter in Kherson, Ukraine, in February. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

However, many animals did not accompany their owners to safety. Whether owing to the speed of the initial Russian advance or because some creatures ran away in sheer terror at the sounds of explosions and artillery fire, many were left behind to fend for themselves. This tragic reality was particularly noticeable in eastern Ukraine, where many dogs and cats surviving in the bombed-out ruins still wore their collars and name tags.

Animal shelters have since sprung up, staffed by dedicated teams of Ukrainian volunteers looking after all the strays.

Dogs rescued from the frontlines of fighting are seen through the gate at the animal shelter in Kherson. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Yahoo News visited one such shelter run by Maxim and Tanya on the outskirts of Odesa, in southern Ukraine. Situated on an old farm on the outskirts of the port city, the shelter takes care of over 150 dogs, 27 goats and 14 cats. Maxim and Tanya began running it before the full-scale invasion and have continued caring for their animals throughout the war, despite the frequent missile and drone strikes on Odesa. Most of the animals come from the front, Maxim said, explaining that the noise from other farms, even those in the distance, can upset the still traumatized animals.

Animals roam the yard at an Odesa animal shelter. (The refuge is unnamed for security reasons.) (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Theirs is a ramshackle affair; stalls have been built using scrap metal, old doors and shipping pallets. Yet the animals are clearly well fed and cared for.

Mishan, another shelter, established in an old fire station in the recently liberated city of Kherson, takes in animals rescued around the city. Most suffer from physical or psychological trauma from the months of shelling that occurred during the battle for Kherson. Several animals have the distinctive ear tag that marks out a stray that has been spayed or neutered in a state-sponsored program. Others are household pets willingly or unwillingly abandoned by their owners.

Story continues

Many of the dogs at the animal shelter in Kherson suffer from physical and mental problems. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Vova, one of the owners of the shelter, showed Yahoo News a picture of one of the dogs, named Cherneka, who had arrived at the shelter looking emaciated and on the verge of starving to death. After extensive veterinary care, she is now a healthy weight, and while she still has difficulty eating solid food, it doesnt stop her from playing happily with other canine residents of the shelter. We doubted whether she could be saved when she arrived, Vova said. But in the end, thank God, she will be fine.

Vova, one of the owners of the animal shelter in Kherson, shows a photo of Cherneka when she first arrived at the shelter. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Cherneka, center, is now playful and healthy. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Other Ukrainians help in different ways. Newly adopted stray dogs are a common sight in Kyiv. Yahoo News spoke to Volodymyr, who had taken in a young mutt he had found in the woods around the capital, earlier in the war. I never meant to keep her, he said. Id never had a dog before, but I figured she was Ukrainian too, and we have to stick together. And I dont have any children, so I decided to adopt her.

Esbitlana, one of the owners of the Mishan Animal Shelter, which is in an old fire station, tends to the dogs. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

The Ukrainian affection toward animals stands in stark contrast to how Russian soldiers have treated them in the territories under their occupation. In Hostomel, a suburb just outside Kyiv, Russians set fire to a stable containing 32 horses, of which only two managed to survive. Other Russian soldiers have posted pictures of themselves on social media torturing animals left behind. Phone calls made by Russian soldiers and intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence also reveal how some of them began eating dogs in March 2022.

They have branded other animals with the Z or V markings signifying Russian President Vladimir Putins so-called special military operation. In Kamianka, a village in Kharkiv Oblast, which was liberated by Ukraine last fall, Ukrainian investigative journalist Anna Babinets found one black mutt with the Russian V burned into his face. In a village near the city of Izium, a city Ukraine took back in the same period, Ukrainian soldiers found a dog with the Russian Z carved onto the top of his snout. Another dog with a Z carved into his snout was found by Ukrainian writer and activist Victoria Amelina in recently liberated Kherson.

A dog at the animal shelter in Kherson wearing a coat to protect against the freezing temperatures. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Beasts the Russians didnt maim, they stole. When retreating from Kherson in November, the Russian army stole the majority of the exotic animals from the city zoo, including raccoons, wolves, a number of peacocks, a llama and a donkey. They were transported to the Taigan Lion Park, a private zoo in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Footage of a Russian soldier picking up a raccoon by its tail as it hissed in anger prompted Ukrainians to praise the animals fighting spirit, vowing to rescue the creature when they liberate Crimea.

More images from the shelters in Kherson and Odesa

A dog walks by the outdoor kennels at the Mishan Animal Shelter in Kherson. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Goats tend to a newborn at an animal shelter in Odesa in February. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Maxim, one of the owners of an animal shelter on an old farm in Odesa. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A dog in an enclosure at an animal shelter in Odesa. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Dogs in the outdoor kennels at the animal shelter in Odesa. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A volunteer visits one of the rescued dogs at the animal shelter in Odesa in February. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A goat roams the yard at the animal shelter in Odesa. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A resident at the Odesa animal shelter peeks out through his door. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A goat looks on as mother and baby get a helping hand from Olga, a volunteer at an animal shelter in Odesa. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Tanya, one of the owners of the Odesa animal shelter, and a volunteer tend to the goats. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

Olga checks on a newborn goat. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

A shelter volunteer gives a baby goat a hug. (Jose Colon for Yahoo News)

How you can help rescue animals in Ukraine
SBU calls to be vigilant and immediately report suspicious

SBU agents have identified numerous attempts by Russian security services to obtain intelligence posing as foreign media workers, using specialized Internet platforms and forums for reporters working in Ukraine.

Read also: Ukraines SBU detains ex-Donbas terrorist in Odesa

They reportedly used to place information requests claiming they gather information to write "stories" or make "documentaries" about the Russian war against Ukraine, on behalf of international media outlets.

According to the SBU, Moscow was looking to verify the accuracy and impact of its waves of missile strikes on Ukraines power grid and civilian infrastructure, in order to make further adjustments to target selection.

Read also: SBU detains Moscow church priest in Sumy Oblast for spying on Ukrainian army

Authors of these posts promise payments as rewards for providing relevant media files or text messages, the SBU said.

The SBU urges people to remain vigilant and immediately report suspicious "requests" to law enforcement officials.

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
MOSCOW (AP)  Viktor Bout, a former Russian arms dealer who was released from prison in the U.S. in a swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner in December, unveiled an exhibition of his artworks at a Moscow gallery on Tuesday.

Bout, widely known abroad as the Merchant of Death, was convicted in 2011 on terrorism charges with prosecutors saying that he was ready to sell up to $20 million in weapons, including surface-to-air missiles to shoot down U.S. helicopters.

He strongly denied the charges and proclaimed his innocence, describing himself as a legitimate entrepreneur who didnt sell any weapons. Russian officials have cast him as a victim of a nefarious U.S. sting operation and demanded his release for many years.

When Moscow and Washington made a deal to swap him for Griner in December, Bout was held in a medium-security facility in Marion, Illinois and had not been scheduled to be released until 2029.

After his return to Moscow, Bout, 56, quickly became a member of the Kremlin-backed Liberal Democratic Party but has dodged questions about a possible political career.

Bout's art exhibition features a wide gamut of styles and subjects  from portraits of Soviet-era movie stars to warplanes to animals. Most of his drawings and paintings are done in a realistic manner, but there are also some attempts at abstract composition.

The exhibition includes personal objects, photos and a floor plan of his cell in the U.S. prison.

When you are surrounded by absolutely grey walls topped by barbed wire and when you dont see the horizon for a long time, its hard, Bout said Tuesday at his exhibition. The deprivation of such visual stimuli was a challenge for me. Drawing helped me overcome all that."

He added that his experience taught him that life can always change drastically.

You must not give up, you must do everything to the end, and you must remain faithful to your fate despite any difficulties, Bout said.
The cyber experts of the Security Service of Ukraine have recorded numerous intentions of the Russian security services to receive intelligence in Ukraine by disguising themselves as representatives of foreign media.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine on Telegram

Details: According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the Russians use specialised online platforms and professional online forums of Ukrainian journalists in order to collect classified information. On these websites, the Russians post requests seemingly from representatives of renowned Western media channels.

In their requests they address the media workers and other relevant groups in regards to provision of materials for alleged production of "news coverages" or "documentaries" on the war in Ukraine.

Quote: "Above all, the enemy is interested in the results of the Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, in particular the location of the strikes and their repercussions. The authors [of the requests  ed.] promise royalties for provided mediafiles or text."

Details: The Security Service explains that the received information is used by the Russians to adjust their subsequent attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

The intelligence officers call on Ukrainian citizens to report suspicious requests from unidentified sources.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Russian invaders have intended to set up their barracks in a clinic in occupied Luhansk to use the patients as cover from possible attacks.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 7 March

Quote: "The Russian invaders have decided to use a part of the city clinic as a barracks to protect their servicemen in temporarily occupied Luhansk.

Bunk beds for personnel have been delivered to the premises. The management of the medical facility has to resolve a number of issues regarding staff accommodation and admission of patients."

Background: Teenagers born in 2006 are being urgently registered for military service in occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
By Jake Cordell

(Reuters) -Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that the seizure of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine was critical to punching a hole in Ukrainian defences and would allow Moscow's forces to mount further offensive operations deeper inside the country.

Russian forces have been waging an intense campaign for months to seize control of the small city in what would become their first significant territorial advance since last summer.

"The liberation of Artyomovsk continues," Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the old Soviet-era name for Bakhmut.

"The city is an important hub for defending Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be conducted deep into Ukraine's defensive lines," Shoigu said.

The heavily industrialised Donbas region of eastern Ukraine comprises Donetsk and Luhansk, which are both claimed by Russia along with two other Ukrainian regions as its own territory, claims Kyiv and the West reject as illegal.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group which has been spearheading the battle for the city, said last Friday his forces had "practically surrounded" Bakhmut.

But he said on Monday he needed the regular army to supply him with more ammunition, reinforcements and covering support to win.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian troops would keep defending the city, as talk of an imminent Ukrainian retreat continued to swirl.

'SKINNING THE BEAR'

Asked about Shoigu's comments on Tuesday, Prigozhin said he did not know what would happen after the capture of Bakhmut, but called on Russia not to get ahead of itself.

"They say 'don't sell the skin until you've caught the bear,' but nobody talks about the consequences of trying to remove the skin while the bear is still alive," he said in a post on Telegram.

The mercenary boss and defence ministry have been embroiled in a long-running row over Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

Story continues

In his latest criticism, Prigozhin accused Shoigu of hobbling the Bakhmut offensive by not supplying his Wagner forces with enough ammunition. The defence ministry has rejected such allegations in the past.

In his post on Tuesday, Prigozhin made pointed reference to the defence minister, saying he "had not seen him in Bakhmut" and said Wagner forces were coming up against well-equipped Ukrainian forces, who could number up to 20,000 in strength.

"Zelenskiy is not running out of people, thousands more are being thrown into the 'meat grinder'. They have ammunition and weapons," he said.

Prigozhin also appeared to criticise Shoigu for publicly commenting on what Russian forces might do after seizing Bakhmut.

"Why Sergei Kuzhugetovich (Shoigu) commented on that I do not know ... perhaps in order to please the Russian audience. Perhaps to annoy Zelenskiy," he said.

In his own televised remarks, Shoigu said the West was increasing its arms deliveries to Ukraine but said that would not change the course of events on the battlefield saying Russian forces were inflicting heavy losses on Ukrainian troops.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have said they have killed significant numbers of enemy troops in the battle for Bakhmut.

Reuters is unable to verify accounts of battlefield losses. While military analysts treat both sides' claims of fatalities and casualties with scepticism, it is acknowledged that the months-long fight for control of Bakhmut has turned into possible the bloodiest campaign of the year-long war.

(Reporting by Jake CordellEditing by Gareth Jones, Andrew Osborn and Angus MacSwan)
Sacheen Littlefeathers sisters have spoken out against the Oscars, saying that including Littlefeather in its 2023 In Memoriam segment would perpetuate the Academys biggest blunder.

Littlefeather, who died in October 2022, was famously known for rejecting the Best Actor statuette intended for Marlon Brando on live TV at the 1973 Oscars.

At the time, she gave a speech condemning the film industrys poor representation of Native American people, which was met with boos and little audience support.

Nearly 50 years after the incident, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued an apology to Littlefeather.

Shortly after she died from breast cancer at 75, the San Francisco Chronicle published a bombshell report in the outlets opinion section with interviews from Littlefeathers biological sisters, alleging that her claims of Native American ancestry were lies.

Now, in a new interview with the New York Post, her sister Rosaline Cruz has argued that honouring Littlefeather in Sunday (12 March) nights In Memoriam section, would continue the biggest blunder in the history of the Oscars.

At each ceremony, the Oscars remember significant industry figures who have died in the last year.

Sacheen Littlefeater (AP)

They will [include her] because they need to keep covering up for themselves, Cruz predicted. Theyre endorsing a Pretendian and keep pushing the lie and slander of our family and they dont care.

The Academys Los Angeles museum features Littlefeathers Oscars speech in an exhibit dedicated to the award ceremonys most iconic speeches.

In February, Cruz and her sister Trudy Orlandi, sent the Academy a letter requesting it remove any tribute to Littlefeather to protect our family and the public from the continued shame.

We request that the Academy immediately cease and desist from lionising or perpetuating the myth of Sacheen Littlefeather, they wrote in a letter, seen by The Post.
Todd Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley Scott Gries/USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

The Chrisleys were banned from acknowledging Todd and Julie's federal trial on "Chrisley Knows Best."

That is according to Savannah Chrisley on the latest episode of her podcast, "Unlocked."

"We just wanted to talk about it but executives would not allow us to speak about it," she said.

Savannah Chrisley said that her family was banned from acknowledging the bank fraud and tax evasion charges brought against Todd and Julie Chrisley while the cameras were rolling on the latest seasons of their reality show, "Chrisley Knows Best."

In the latest episode of her podcast, "Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley," released Tuesday, the 25-year-old said that since her parents were indicted in 2019, they had been instructed not to mention the trial on the USA Network reality show.

"All throughout the years, everything my parents going through, we were never allowed to speak about it," she told her guest on the episode, SiriusXM presenter Storme Warren.

Savannah said that being unable to address the legal issues made her and her family feel like "liars" and "fakes."

"We just wanted to talk about it but executives would not allow us to speak about it," she continued.

Savannah did not identify who exactly the executives were. Representatives for the USA Network and Maverick TV USA, which produces the show, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"Chrisley Knows Best" was canceled in light of the family's legal troubles. USA Network/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Savannah said that having to hide something so important while shooting a reality show that purportedly follows your day-to-day life, "will literally eat you alive" and left her feeling like she didn't "even know if I know who I am."

In a recent episode of the same podcast, Savannah was joined by her grandmother, Elizabeth "Faye" Chrisley  who is affectionately known by the family and fans as Nanny Faye  and spoke about the family's plans for a new series now that the USA Network show has been canceled.

Savannah said that "tons of production companies have reached out and networks that want to do a show."

Story continues

Faye even suggested a potential title for their comeback series: "Bounce Back Chrisleys."

"I love that actually, that's absolutely amazing because it's so true," Savannah responded. "At the end of the day, we're not going to allow this to stop us from moving forward."

Faye said that a new show would allow the family to "let the world see that we're really who we were."

"Chrisley Knows Best," which followed the large tight-knit family, began airing on the USA Network in 2014 and was abruptly canceled when Todd and Julie were convicted in June 2022 of bank fraud and tax evasion.

However, episodes from the show's 10th season, which were shot prior to the trial, began airing on the channel in February, with little to no fanfare or promotion from the family and the network.

A court sketch shows Todd and Julie Chrisley listen in court as their accountant was sentenced on November 21, 2022 Lauren Lacy

The show spawned a spinoff that followed Savannah and her brother Chase, 26, titled "Growing Up Chrisley," which was also axed in light of the family's legal troubles.

Todd and Julie were convicted of defrauding banks out of more than $30 million by providing fake financial statements to make them appear wealthier than they were.

Their sentences were announced in November. Todd, who prosecutors called the "mastermind" of the couple's years-long tax and bank fraud scheme, was sentenced to 12 years at Federal Prison Camp Pensacola.

Julie, who prosecutors believed played a lesser role, was sentenced to seven years in prison at Federal Correctional Institution Marianna in Jackson County, Florida, but when the couple reported to the Bureau of Prisons on January 17 to begin their combined 19-year sentence, she instead reported to the Kentucky-based medical facility.

Read the original article on Insider
Scout Motors and the S.C. Department of Commerce are closer to receiving the $1.3 billion incentive package planned to help the electric vehicle manufacturer open a $2 billion plant in the Midlands.

A panel of state House budget writers Tuesday approved a spending about $1.3 billion out of existing surplus money and projected surplus cash expected to come in to go toward the planned Blythewood project, which is expected to bring 4,000 jobs to the Midlands.

About $1.2 billion will come from previous budget surpluses, and about $86.2 million will come from surplus money expected to come in this year, under the plan.

This plan will keep the state from needing to borrow the money for the project.

The Department of Commerce promised Scout the state would spend $1.3 billion for a package that includes construction of a railway bridge over Interstate 77 to the Blythewood industrial park site, building a new I-77 interchange to serve the eventual factory, additional road improvements, electrical work, water and sewer infrastructure.

The $1.3 billion package includes $25 million to build a publicly owned Midlands Technical College training center for employment with Scout Motors and $16 million to buy property to connect to a Class I railroad.

Scout Motors, which is a subsidiary of Volkswagen, also is slated to receive a $400 million grant from the state to help with construction of its facility and a $200 million loan for soil stabilization.

Were doing this to really secure jobs for the future, for our children and our grandchildren, said state Commerce Secretary Harry Lightsey.

The incentive package is subject to approval by the Legislature.

Lawmakers started that process Tuesday, as a House Ways and Means panel gave first approval to Commerces plan. They full Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to discuss the plan Wednesday.

Volkswagen has promised to pay back up to $800 million to the state if it doesnt meet certain goals, Lightsey said.

Story continues

Lightsey conceded the amount he requested is a lot of money.

We think the commitment of the largest automobile manufacturer in the world and the seventh-largest company in the world to making this project a success is a commitment that we can take to the bank for our state, Lightsey said.

Lightsey said the average hourly employee at the plant is expected to earn about $58,000. The average salaried worker will earn about $100,000.

Economists estimate the construction of the plant and the operation itself will have a $15 billion economic impact on South Carolinas economy by 2029.

House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, called the Scout project a win for the Midlands, saying BMWs facility has been an economic boon for Spartanburg and nearby counties.

It was awesome, Bannister said. So I know thatll be a great thing for Blythewood and Richland County.
A school bus driver in charge of driving students with disabilities attacked three of the young children while bringing them home in New Hampshire, police said. The attacks were caught on video.

Virene Poliquin, 68, of Hudson, assaulted one child seven times and assaulted two others once on Feb. 17, Hudson Police Chief Tad Dionne said at a March 7 news conference live-streamed by WMUR-TV.

The assaults on the 5- and 6-year-olds included slapping, kicking, grabbing, covering a mouth with her hand, and pouring water on one child, according to Dionne, who described Poliquins actions as disturbing.

Authorities arrested Poliquin on nine counts of simple assault, Dionne said. She posted $500 bail and is due in court for an arraignment of April 6.

Poliquin had worked for Durham School Services, the company that operates the bus she was driving the day of the assaults, since 2017 but is no longer employed there, school district Superintendent of Schools Dan Moulis said at the news conference.

Ive been a police officer a long timethere are not too many events that make me pause when reviewing a case, Dionne said. This incident did so.

The victims in this case are among our most vulnerable.

He said police are now investigating whether Poliquin assaulted students on other dates.

Authorities started their investigation after a parent complained to the Hudson School District on Feb. 20 saying a bus driver threw water on a student, according to Dionne. The district immediately notified police, he said.

Dionne confirmed that audio and video recording captured the assaults on Feb. 17. But he said police werent going to release the recordings.

The students who were assaulted werent injured, according to Dionne.

Hudson is about 45 miles west of Boston.

School bus driver accused of touching 3 girls inappropriately, Louisiana police say

Screaming kids rush out school bus windows after parent slaps driver, GA video shows

Woman poses as child, boards school bus and tries breaking into school, PA cops say

Driver runs away after crashing bus with teens inside, NJ officials say. He faces DUI
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has agreed to testify before a Senate committee after weeks of a standoff between him and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), setting up a showdown over the coffee giants anti-union practices.

Sanders announced Schultzs decision to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday  ahead of a planned vote Wednesday to subpoena the executive after he previously declined an offer to speak to the panel.

Sanders, a progressive lawmaker who has long voiced support for labor unions, has aggressively pursued testimony from the Starbucks head, as the coffee giant has faced federal repercussions for anti-union activity.

Earlier this month a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that Starbucks committed egregious and widespread violations of federal law in its campaign to halt unions.

Lets be clear. In America, workers have the constitutional right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining to improve their wages and working conditions, Sanders said in a statement. Unfortunately Starbucks, under Mr. Schultzs leadership, has done everything possible to prevent that from happening.

(Getty)

A Starbucks spokesperson also confirmed the plans to The Hill. The company said in a letter to the committee that Schultz has agreed to testify on March 29.

Through the agreement reached today, our testimony will seek to foster a better understanding of our partner-first culture and priorities, including our industry leading benefit offerings and our long-standing commitment to support the shared success of all partners, the company said in a statement on its website.

Starbucks leadership has rebuked requests for Schultz to testify, instead offering other executives to speak in his place. Sanders has stood his ground, with the panel gearing up to vote for a subpoena of Schultz on March 8.

Bottom line is we have a billionaire running a multinational corporation breaking federal labor law, Sanders said at a press conference Tuesday. And we intend to put an end to that.

Story continues

More than 280 Starbucks locations have voted to unionize in the U.S. since 2021, but the company has very publicly clashed with organizers in that time, firing 200 of them.

The interest that Sanders has in Schultz goes beyond the companys treatment of organizing activities, however. It likely has more to do with what Sanders argues is Schultzs direct involvement in shaping Starbucks labor practices.

In a letter to the company last week, Sanders pointed to a 2021 meeting in Buffalo where Schultz spoke to all workers in the area.

These workers were forced to attend this meeting while every Buffalo-area store was closed to listen to Mr. Schultz one month prior to union elections that were held in the area, the Vermont independent wrote. This meeting makes clear the enormous power and influence Mr. Schultz has over labor policy at Starbucks.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said hed support a Republican-backed measure to nullify a District of Columbia law on criminal penalties, underscoring Democrats defensive position on crime before an election year.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Im going to vote yes, Schumer said at a news conference on Tuesday. It was a close question, but on balance Im voting yes.

His statement came after President Joe Biden announced last Thursday that he wouldnt veto the GOP-backed resolution. That marked a reversal of his position last month, when the White House said it opposed overturning the DC law.

At least three Democrats are expected to join Senate Republicans on approving the measure, in a vote scheduled for Wednesday. The GOP-led House voted to overturn Washingtons criminal code overhaul on Feb. 9.

Proponents say the overhaul would modernize the citys byzantine criminal code, and that Congress shouldnt interfere in local decisions. The congressional measure would override the changes, which include reduced penalties for some violent criminal offenses at a time when crime in Washington is soaring.

Senate Republicans have used the resolution to attack Democrats for their stance on crime. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that Democrats were trying to jump ship at the 11th hour trying to act like theyve been tough on crime all along.

--With assistance from Laura Litvan.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
It takes an army to relaunch an iconic Americana automotive brand.

An army of about 4,000, as it turns out.

Thats how many employees Scout Motors, which is backed by Volkswagen, says it will hire for its recently announced $2 billion electric vehicle plant in Blythewood. Scout, which essentially introduced the SUV to the U.S. market in the 1960s and was known for two decades for its rugged vehicles geared toward outdoor adventure, plans to make trucks and SUVs at the coming Columbia-area facility.

While Scout is making plans to have the plant operational by 2026  aided in part by more than $1.2 billion in state incentives to get the plant up and running, plus local tax breaks from Richland County  it also will be tasked with procuring a workforce ready to build the high-tech electric vehicles.

Scout President and CEO Scott Keogh said during a Monday roundtable with S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and others that he is confident the Midlands and South Carolina will be able to provide workers to make the technologically advanced vehicles the Volkswagen-affiliated company is planning to roll out.

Keogh said the labor prospects in South Carolina were perhaps the most critical piece of the puzzle in Scout choosing South Carolina and Richland County for its plant. The company evaluated more than 70 other sites for the project, the company president said.

If you look at the talent, from the engineering that comes from the universities, obviously from the University of South Carolina and Clemson and Benedict College, the talent is there, Keogh said. Also, there is a history of automotive (in South Carolina). You have 75,000 automotive employees (across the state), the supply chain, the logistics. So the infrastructure is there, in place.

Among South Carolinas most prominent automakers are BMW, which for more than three decades has had facilities in the Upstate along the Interstate 85 corridor, and Volvo, which has facilities in Berkeley County in the Lowcountry.

Story continues

The announcement that Scout will establish a plant in the Columbia area  and bring 4,000 new jobs with it  comes at a time the labor market remains tight in South Carolina. The statewide unemployment rate is low, at 3.3% according to the latest state Department of Employment and Workforce statistics, and its even lower in Richland County, at 2.9%. Unemployment rates are low in neighboring counties, as well, including 2.5% in Lexington, 2.6% in Newberry, 3% in Kershaw, 4% in Sumter and 4.4% in Fairfield.

Still, McMaster pointed to the talent in area colleges and universities  even touting the states technical college system as the best in the whole world  as being ready to help staff the project, and he insisted there will be labor availability for the EV automaker, particularly in the Midlands.

Theres an untapped labor pool around the Midlands, McMaster said. Its been tapped some around the Upstate and in the Lowcountry with BMW and Volvo and others. But people here are ready to go. I think Scout is going to be inundated with high-quality workers who want to come and work and be happy.

This is the missing ingredient that is going to set a spark of prosperity here in the Midlands, that will of course transmit out statewide, as well.

Opportunity of a lifetime

Midlands Technical College Provost Barrie Kirk said the college has had preliminary conversations with Scout and, while there are details to be worked out, Midlands Tech is looking forward to helping train students to be ready to work at the facility.

We are thrilled to collaborate with Scout and help make sure they have the skilled workforce they need to hit the ground running, Kirk told The State. It is truly game-changing for our region. This is the employment opportunity, really, of a lifetime for thousands of our students and Midlands residents at the same time. And thats what we do: We work to understand the needs of our area employers and match those needs with our students and skilled residents.

According to the S.C. Department of Commerce, the more than $1.2 billion incentive package the state is offering the EV carmaker will include $25 million to build a training center publicly owned by Midlands Technical College to train South Carolinians for employment with Scout Motors.

Kirk noted the Scout electric vehicle project blends the nostalgia piece with ingenuity, a nod to the love many had for the original Scout vehicles that were produced between the 1960s and 1980s and their coming resurrection as cutting-edge electric SUVs and trucks.

What we know is that many of the programs we already teach are so completely transferable to the skills that Scout is going to need, Kirk said.

She also said that the ReadySC program within the states technical college system has long been a pipeline to help provide industry with workers.

Chad Hardaway is the deputy director of the University of South Carolina Office of Economic Engagement. He said that office has been working with key industries across South Carolina for the last several years to help create a more direct pipeline for engineers to get from the halls of USC to offices of specific companies, including IBM, Nephron, Siemens and others. He noted his office already has had discussions with Scout.

Weve actually been engaged with industry partners for the last four to five years doing exactly what we are going to be doing with Scout, Hardaway said. And thats getting industry partners to come and tell us what their needs are. Everyone knows companies need engineers. But the real issue is not delivering them engineers. The real issue is delivering them engineers or students that can come in day one and do the work.

As South Carolina continues to be a hub for automotive manufacturing and, increasingly, the electric vehicle side of that industry, Hardaway said its is imperative for schools to prep students for that workforce.

Because of a number of factors, our state is becoming one of the most attractive places for manufacturing, Hardaway said. We are becoming to place to be. We are starting to land these (huge projects).

The Department of Commerce said in a Monday afternoon statement that it feels strongly the Midlands will be fertile ground for recruiting workers for Scout.

Nearly 51,000 people are enrolled in higher education in Richland County, and that number jumps to 65,600 when you add in surrounding counties such as Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Kershaw, Sumter and Calhoun, the departments statement said. Also in Richland County, more than 3,000 people are enrolled in four-year engineering and two-year engineering tech programs, with 545 engineering degrees completed each year.

The department also pointed to the states Historically Black Colleges and Universities and technical college system as potential talent pools for Scout, and noted Clemson has recently launched the nations first undergraduate bachelor of science program in automotive engineering.

Kirk said she felt confident that Scout would not have a problem filling the 4,000 jobs it is planning in Richland County.

But more importantly, they feel confident, or they wouldnt have located here, the Midlands Tech provost said.

During Mondays roundtable, Keogh nodded toward that confidence, saying the establishment of a $2 billion production plant is a move that is meant to stand the test of time.

A plant is a massively strategic decision, the Scout CEO said. This is not some retail environment where you come and go and move. This is strategic. We have factories across the globe that have been there for 70, 80 years. This is a place you want to call home, a place you want to stay. And you need bedrock stability to deliver that.

Keogh indicated that the bulk of Scouts hiring in the Midlands will come around 2025 or 2026, as the company has said it plans to start producing vehicles at the Blythewood plant by the end of 2026.

Those interested in inquiring about a job at the forthcoming Richland County Scout facility can visit scoutmotors.sctechjobs.com for more information.

EV manufacturing ramps up

Scout will arrive in South Carolina during a period of population growth statewide. The states population swelled by 10.7% between 2010 and 2020, per census figures, with the population topping 5 million for the first time. The population grew another 1.4% between 2020 and 2021, according to a release last year from the State Department of Employment and Workforce.

The Scout announcement also comes at a time when manufacturing in the U.S. seems to be nudging toward a revitalization. For instance, companies have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars toward establishing facilities to make semiconductor chips  the ones needed for smartphones, cars and computers  on U.S. soil, the need for which was highlighted during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the same time, carmakers across the spectrum are ramping up electric vehicle production. For example, Consumer Reports notes that General Motors is looking to have 20 EV models ready by 2025, aided by a partnership with Honda in which the companies are sharing technologies and engineering for the electric cars.

Theres a return to industrialization, Keogh said. Theres a return to doing things and making things and creating things in America.
The search for the identity of the alleged Ukrainian prisoner of war executed in a video that emerged on March 6 appears to be coming to an end.

On March 6, a video was shared by popular Ukrainian bloggers in which an unarmed man in a military uniform with a Ukrainian flag on it appears to be shot dead by multiple rifle bursts from off screen, after saying Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine), a Ukrainian national salute.

The original source of the video remains unknown, as well the time and place where it was filmed.

The video has sparked nationwide outrage, with Ukrainians flooding the social media with their reactions, condemning the execution and saluting the bravery of the man in the video. President Volodymyr Zelensky weighed in, saying that the perpetrators of the murder must be found and punished.

More than a day after the video started circulating, it's still not clear who the man in the video was. The video is of poor quality and the man's face blurry, obstructing the identification process.

Two versions have emerged regarding his identity.

Ukraine's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade has tentatively identified the man as its serviceman who went missing near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on Feb. 3. Shortly after their statement on March 7, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces presented the same version in their own post, but added that final confirmation would come after an investigation.

According to the 30th Brigade, if the man in the video is the soldier in question, then his body is still in the occupied territory, and his identity can be confirmed only when the body is retrieved.

Almost simultaneously, another version emerged.

Ukrainian journalist Yurii Butusov asserted on March 7 that the soldier was, in fact, someone else  serving in the 163rd Battalion of the 119th Territorial Defense Brigade.

According to Butusov, he has spoken to the soldier's comrades. They identified the soldier and said that his mother has also recognized him in the video.

Story continues

In a Facebook post, Butusov said that the soldier in question went missing on Dec. 30, also near Bakhmut, and his body had been retrieved and buried in February.

Butusov added that the man's fatal bullet wounds, as recorded in his autopsy, closely matched those observed during the execution in the video. Another matching detail is the band-aid seen in the video above the POW's right eye  the 163rd Battalion's soldier had a band-aid in the same place when he went missing, according to the testimony of his comrades, cited by Butusov.

While the identity of the man in the video remains to be established, the nationwide condemnation of what appears to be a blatant execution of a Ukrainian POW continues.

Ukraine will not forget the feat of each and everyone whose lives gave freedom to Ukraine forever, Zelensky said on the evening of March 6.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on March 6 appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the alleged execution.

Kuleba called the video horrific, adding that its imperative (the ICC) launches an immediate investigation into this heinous war crime.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin added that an official investigation had been launched to be carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.

Even war has rules," Kostin said.

"There are norms of international law that are systematically neglected by the criminal Russian regime. Sooner or later, the crime will be punished. All those involved will be held accountable.

Since the launch of the full-scale invasion, repeated cases of Russian soldiers mistreating Ukrainian prisoners of war have emerged.

In the most heinous incident, on July 29 last year, 53 Ukrainian POWs held in a prison near Olenivka in occupied Donetsk Oblast were killed, and 75 sustained injuries after their quarters were damaged by an explosion.

In an article for the Guardian, volunteer Anna Vorosheva, who was captured by Russian forces while delivering aid nearby and held for 100 days in the notorious prison, said that she believed it was done to cover up evidence of torture of Ukrainian soldiers.

Im sure some of those killed in the explosion were already corpses. It was a convenient way of accounting for the fact they had been tortured to death, Vorosheva said.

The UN disbanded a fact-finding mission into the massacre on Jan. 5 after they announced that Russia had not provided officials with the opportunity to visit the site.
Two of the four Americans who were shot at by gunmen and kidnapped shortly after they crossed the border into northern Mexico for a medical procedure last week are dead, and the two survivors are back on U.S. soil, Mexican and U.S. officials said Tuesday.

Tamaulipas state Gov. Americo Villarreal said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that a woman and a man had survived the kidnapping. The woman, whom Villarreal identified only as LaTavia, was unharmed. The man, whose first name is Eric, had a gunshot wound to the leg, Villarreal said.

Both were taken to a clinic for medical treatment and returned to the U.S. by an international bridge between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas, before noon Tuesday, he said.

A 24-year-old man from Tamaulipas, identified only as Jose N, "was found guarding the victims" and arrested, Villarreal said. The charges against the man were unclear.

Villarreal announced the casualties by phone at a news conference Tuesday morning.

At a State Department briefing Tuesday, spokesperson Ned Price confirmed the survivors had returned to the U.S., adding, "We are in the process of working to repatriate the remains of the two Americans who were killed in this incident." He said the U.S. is providing assistance to the victims and their families.

What we know about the discovery of the victims

The Americans were found Tuesday morning in a wooden house close to an area called La Lagunona in Matamoros, Villarreal said Tuesday.

Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica tweeted that the Americans were found by joint search actions.

Villarreal said the Americans had been transported to various places, including a clinic, to create confusion and to interrupt the rescue work.

An investigation to catch other suspects continues, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his sympathies to the victims.

We are very sorry that this happened in our country, and we send our condolences to the families of the victims, friends and the United States government, and we will continue doing our work to guarantee peace and tranquility," he said.

Story continues

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland offered his condolences and said the Justice Department is working closely with the State Department.

A trip for medical care gone wrong

The FBI had been offering a $50,000 reward for the safe return of the U.S. citizens, who were kidnapped Friday after having driven into Matamoros, just south of Brownsville.

Dramatic video showing a gunman dragging people into a white pickup captured the kidnapping as it unfolded, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the matter confirmed.

LaTavia Washington McGee. (WMBF)

One of the victims was identified as LaTavia Washington McGee by her cousin, Aliyah McCleod, who is acting as a family spokesperson.

On Tuesday, LaTavia's mother, Barbara Burgess, confirmed her daughter is alive and said she has spoken with her.

McCleod also identified another member of the group as Shaeed Woodard.

Eric Williams' wife said he was kidnapped and shot in the leg before he returned to the U.S. on Tuesday.

Williams' Michelle Williams said she was thankful that her husband and McGee were coming home but added that she was "heartbroken that the other two families can't say the same."

She described the group as childhood friends.

Eric Williams. (Courtesy Michelle Williams)

McCleod said the group is from South Carolina and had been traveling in a rental vehicle with North Carolina license plates when it entered Matamoros. The FBI confirmed the group was traveling in a white minivan with North Carolina plates.

McCleod said the group had traveled to Mexico for a "medical procedure."

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter said a woman in the group had been seeking a cosmetic medical procedure. The official said cartel gunmen targeted the group in a case of mistaken identity.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, told The Associated Press that her younger brother, Zindell, was among the four victims. She said she had been in contact with the FBI and local officials after she learned her sibling had been kidnapped.

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes, at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas, Friday, March 3, 2023. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday. (AP Photo) (AP)

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she told the news agency. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Brown said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, had been on the trip to accompany a friend who was traveling to Mexico for a procedure.

She also said her brother had some reservations about their making the trip because of the potential dangers in Mexico.

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, Brown told the AP.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing Monday in Washington that the Biden administration was "closely following the assault and kidnapping of four U.S. citizens."

"These sorts of attacks are unacceptable," Jean-Pierre said.

"We will continue to coordinate with Mexico and push them to bring those responsible to justice," she said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the four Americans were going to buy medicine and were caught in the crossfire between two armed groups after they had entered Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday. (AP)

Ken Salazar, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said in a statement Monday that an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed in the kidnapping.

Lopez Obrador said at a news conference that the Americans were in Mexico to buy medicine, a common practice for people seeking cheaper medications across the southern border.

A Do Not Travel for Tamaulipas state the State Department issued because of crime and kidnapping" says organized crime activity, including gunbattles, armed robberies and kidnappings, are common along the border and in Ciudad Victoria.

Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments, the warning says.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Georgetown County student has been charged with making student threats.

This is the second Georgetown County student in a week who has been charged with making threats at a school.

Georgetown County Sheriffs Office charged the 12-year-old Waccamaw Middle School student Tuesday with making the threats, and the child was detained at school until his parents arrived, according to a statement.

No weapons were found at the school. The school continued to operate under normal conditions and no students or staff were in danger, the statement said.

On Feb. 28, a 10-year-old Waccamaw Intermediate School student also was charged with making student threats, according to the sheriffs office.

A male student allegedly made threats to three female and one male student at the Pawleys Island school, according to a police report. The report did not say what type of threats were made.
Wall Streets top cop on Tuesday slammed crypto businesses for refusing to get in line even after a crackdown by regulators and said he sees no risk in them pulling up stakes to head overseas.

We lose more if investors get harmed here, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in an interview at the agency's headquarters in Washington. Its a basic bargain in finance: If you want to raise money from the public, disclose certain facts and figures.

Genslers agency has pursued an aggressive enforcement campaign against the $1 trillion crypto market since FTX founder Sam Bankman-Frieds indictment on conspiracy, fraud and campaign finance charges late last year. The SEC has announced lawsuits and forced settlements with banner firms like Genesis Global Capital, Gemini Trust and Kraken for offering unregistered securities products to investors.

Now, as Europe moves ahead with rules for digital assets and U.S. lawmakers remain locked in a stalemate over the need for new regulations, crypto giants are threatening to move their businesses across the Atlantic.

Gensler brushed off concerns about the plight of the U.S. industry as he faces a barrage of criticism from digital asset executives and their allies in Congress over how hes regulating the space. House Republicans are ramping up oversight of his crypto enforcement actions and plan to scrutinize his every move, but hes also under pressure from progressives like Sen. Elizabeth Warren to continue clamping down.

Yet Gensler said the flurry of litigation and enforcement actions hasn't done much to convince firms to follow the law.

He said crypto businesses have eschewed what typically happens when agencies come down on bad behavior in financial markets. Rather than coming into compliance with U.S. securities, this is a field that seems to belie that in some circumstances, he said.

The path to compliance is clear. Its [that] the firms, in some regard, have generally been operating outside of those parameters, he said.

Story continues

Gensler, a Democrat who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration, has long claimed that securities laws already apply to digital asset businesses and that the agency does not need new broad authority from Congress.

Top firms like Coinbase and Ripple have resisted those claims and have lobbied lawmakers and regulators to create new rules for their industry  an effort set to soon pay off in Europe with the Markets in Crypto-Assets law, or MiCA.

Gensler is skeptical of the European laws effectiveness.

Do you know that MiCA doesnt even cover Bitcoin? he said, before adding that while the SEC often consults and talks with its international counterparties, he has to focus on how to best help the American public.

U.S. lawmakers, meanwhile, are still debating how to regulate the markets exchanges and brokerages.

Crypto lobbyists have framed Genslers push to force their industry to comply with 90-year-old securities laws as a war against financial innovation. Whatever changes brought by crypto markets will pale compared to what could come as brokerages and financial data aggregators move to incorporate artificial intelligence into their offerings, Gensler said.

The much more transformative technology right now of our times is predictive data analytics and everything underlying artificial intelligence, he said, adding that he looked forward to working with lawmakers on how those tools could be regulated.

Zachary Warmbrodt contributed to this report.
Selena Gomez said her heart has been heavy and called on people to be kinder as she returned to social media following reported drama with model Hailey Bieber and reality TV star Kylie Jenner last month.

The Rare Beauty founder announced on Feb. 23 that she would be taking a break from social media after fans accused Bieber and Jenner of mocking her. It revolved around an Instagram story in which Gomez joked that shed over-laminated her brows. Shortly afterward, Jenner posted up-close pictures of her brows and Biebers brows, which many fans interpreted as ridiculing Gomez. Im 30 and am too old for this, Gomez said at the time.

Gomez was back on TikTok Sunday with a beauty tutorial. In the comments, she wrote: Please, please be kinder and consider others mental health. My heart has been heavy and I only want good for everyone. All my love.

Selena Gomez attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on Jan. 10, 2023, in Beverly Hills, California.

Selena Gomez attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on Jan. 10, 2023, in Beverly Hills, California.

The Only Murders in the Building star, who used to date Hailey Biebers husband, Justin Bieber, has taken social media breaks routinely throughout her career. In a March 2021 interview with Vogue, she said shed largely been off the internet for three years and would send photos and captions to her assistant to post on Instagram and Twitter. Shes clapped back at critics who make observations about her body on several occasions, including after the recent Golden Globes.

After fans accused Bieber and Jenner of bullying, both Gomez and Jenner said there was no drama. Jenner said she meant no shade towards selena ever and Gomez said she agreed and it was all unnecessary.

However, Gomez later commented I love you in response to a fan who criticized mean girls and nepo babies for attacking her. So, its all very ambiguous, and its not clear if this was real drama or just drama manufactured by online onlookers.

Story continues

According to BuzzFeed, Bieber lost over 1 million followers following the alleged feud, while Jenner lost 500,000 and Gomez reportedly gained 10 million.

Related...
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., "will be back soon," his chief of staff tweeted Monday, posting the first photos of the senator since he was voluntarily hospitalized for clinical depression nearly three weeks ago.

The photos showed Fetterman and his chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, huddled over papers in apparent discussion. Jentleson wrote in a tweet that the two discussed rail safety legislation, the Farm Bill and other Senate business. Last week, Fetterman co-sponsored a rail safety bill while receiving in-patient care.

"John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes," Jentleson wrote, adding that the senator was "laser focused" on Pennsylvania and would "be back soon."

Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last month at the recommendation of Brian Monahan, Congress' attending physician. At the time, a senior aide said Fetterman would most likely remain in inpatient care for "a few weeks" as doctors tried different medications and adjusted the dosage. The senator had struggled to adjust to his new reality post-stroke and had been navigating questions about his self-worth, the aide said at the time.

Fetterman suffered a stroke last year before winning the Pennsylvania Senate race. Depression is common after a stroke, according to the American Stroke Association. It can be caused by chemical changes in the brain that make it difficult to feel positive emotions or by a psychological response to the stress of the event.

The senator's office has so far not released concrete information on when he will return to the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-49 majority. Last week, Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello said in a statement that the lawmaker was "on a path to recovery" and visiting with family and staff members daily.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
At least four Senate Democrats announced on Monday they will follow President Bidens lead and back a Republican-led resolution of disapproval of the District of Columbias crime bill that would lower penalties for violent crime ahead of an expected Wednesday vote.

Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), along with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), all revealed that they will support a resolution to overturn the Districts bill.

The move comes after Biden told the Senate Democratic caucus late last week that he will side with Republicans on the measure, specifically citing the lessening of sentences for crimes such as carjackings that have become more regular occurrences across the District.

The bill is not ready for prime time, Kaine told reporters on Monday, adding that he plans to encourage Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the D.C. City Council that unanimously passed the measure to get on the same page.

Bowser vetoed the bill in early February, citing the updated violent crime penalties included among other items. The council overwhelmingly overrode the veto.

Tester, who is up for reelection in 2024 and is a top target on the map for Republicans, told reporters that he would voting with the president on the measure. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is considered the other prime GOP target, announced early last week that he would be voting to overturn the D.C. crime bill.

Hickenlooper told reporters that he is voting against bill in part because of the altered violent crime penalties.

There are certain crimes that we shouldnt be softening, Hickenlooper said, adding that he would have voted to nix the bill even if Biden hadnt said anything last week.

Other senators had reasons outside of the violent crimes portion of the bill to vote against it. King told The Hill that he was opposed in part because of the provision that allows for more jury trials for misdemeanor offenses.

Story continues

Theres not enough jurors in the world to do that. Theres an infrastructure problem, King said. The mayor had reservations. The police have reservations, and I want to see them rework it.

Earlier on Monday, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) attempted to withdraw the criminal code bill before it could come up for the midweek vote. However, a Senate leadership aide said that the Home Rule Act governing the District does not allow for the withdrawal of legislation and that the vote will go on as planned.

At this point the Senate Republican privileged motion will be acting on the House disapproval resolution, rather than the D.C. Councils transmission to the Senate, the aide said. We still expect the vote to occur.

There are still some Senate Democrats who continue to back the Districts ability to govern itself: Sens. Ben Cardin (Md.) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) both told reporters they will vote against the resolution.

In addition to support for home rule, Murphy told The Hill that specifics of the criminal code update have been greatly overhyped and noted that the carjacking penalty in the bill in question is higher than it is in his home state.

The vote will take place roughly a month after the House advanced the resolution. Thirty-one House Democrats voted with every Republican to block the bill, while 173 Democrats voted against it.

Alexander Bolton contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Top Senate Republicans are taking Tucker Carlson to task for characterizing the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, as mostly peaceful chaos, with Senator Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) going so far as to call the Fox hosts remarks bullsh**.

On his primetime program Monday, Carlson aired never-before-seen surveillance footage of the January 6 attack and argued that the new evidence disproves the predominant narrative about the scale of the violence perpetrated on January 6. Although Carlson admitted a few of the Trump supporters who gathered that day were bad apples, he called most of them sightseers and claimed police were escorting them through the building.

Tillis explained that the depiction was inexcusable in comments reported by NBC News. He also compared Carlsons comments to those who downplayed the devastation caused by the 2020 riots in Kenosha, Wis.

In comments to reporters, Senator Kevin Cramer (R.,Nd.) firmly rejected the portrayal of the attack as some rowdy peaceful protest of Boy Scouts.

I think that breaking through glass windows and doors to get into the United States Capitol against the borders of police is a crime. I think particularly when you come into the chambers, when you start opening the members desks, when you stand up in their balcony  to somehow put that in the same category as, you know, permitted peaceful protest is just a lie, Cramer said.

Senator Mitt Romney (R., Utah) said its really sad to see Tucker Carlson go off the rails like that, adding that hes joined a range of shock jocks that are disappointing America and feeding falsehoods.

The American people saw what happened on Jan. 6, Romney told reporters. Theyve seen the people that got injured, they saw the damage to the building. You cant hide the truth by selectively picking a few minutes out of tapes and saying this is what went on. Its so absurd. Its nonsense.

U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Thomas Manger wrote in a inner memo to his staff that Carlsons show did not reach out to the department for accurate context, instead cherry-picking footage and misleading viewers.

Story continues

The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments, Manger said.

Manger specifically refuted the idea that police officers had acted as tour guides, explaining that the force was terribly outnumbered and used every de-escalation tactic at its disposal.

The chief also honed in on Carlsons disturbing accusation about Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the attack. Carlson argued in his Monday night segment that video footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after clashing outside with rioters proved that he didnt die as a result of those clashes.

Finally, the most disturbing accusation from last night was that our late friend and colleague Brian Sicknicks death had nothing to do with his heroic actions on January 6, wrote Manger. The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) held up the letter from Manger as an exemplary response to Carlson.

MCCONNELL comments on Tucker Carlson, holds up this letter from USCP Chief Manger: With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night, I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on January 6. pic.twitter.com/tHGfoxwUsw  Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) March 7, 2023

With regard to the presentation on Fox News last night, I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on January 6, McConnell told reporters.

The New York Times was forced to retract its initial report on Sicknicks death, which incorrectly claimed he died as a result of blunt-force trauma to the head caused by a fire extinguisher. A medical examiner later found that Sicknick died after suffering a series of strokes. A man caught on camera pepper spraying Sicknick was sentenced to seven years in prison, though the pepper spray was not directly tied to his death.

According to a Justice Department report marking 26 months since the attack, 140 officers were assaulted at the Capitol that day, including 60 Metropolitan Police officers and 80 USCP officers.

More than 999 defendants have been arrested in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

More from National Review
Senators introduced Tuesday a White House-backed bipartisan Senate bill that aims to give the federal government more power to regulateor ultimately bantechnology linked to foreign adversaries such as TikTok.

Unlike bills introduced by Republicans so far this year, the bipartisan RESTRICT Act led by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) does not specifically target TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, but rather takes a broader whole of industry approach.

The proposal would call for the Commerce Department to identify and then mitigate risks posed by technology linked to foreign adversaries, including China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela.

Warner said that while the threat that everyone is talking about is TikTok, other threats have emerged before from tech from foreign adversaries.

We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America, so we arent playing Whac-A-Mole and scrambling to catch up once theyre already ubiquitous, Warner said.

Thune said the bill addresses concerns about TikTok while dealing with attacks made in the past constitutionally about how you approach specific or individual companies.

The bipartisan bill has better odds at getting passed then GOP-led bills targeting TikTok specifically that have come before it. In all the RESTRICT Act is cosponsored by 12 bipartisan senators, and has support from the White House.

This legislation would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans sensitive data and our national security, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

Warner said the bill would give the Commerce Department the tools to mitigate and divest up to and including banning applications. With a popular application, such as TikTok, it is going to be incumbent upon the government to show its cards in terms of how it is a threat, Warner said.

Story continues

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement, We appreciate that some members of Congress remain willing to explore options for addressing national security concerns that dont have the effect of censoring millions of Americans.

TikTok has repeatedly pushed back on allegations that it poses national security risks.

Oberwetter also said that the Biden administration doesnt need additional authority from Congress to address national security concerns about the app because of the ongoing Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review President Biden ordered in June 2021.

Warner said the proposal introduced Tuesday is ancillary to the CFIUS process. The CFIUS process requires a transaction to trigger its tools, he said.

In addition to the bipartisan Senate support and White House support, Warner said he has had positive conversations with his Democratic colleagues in the House.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Elon Musk (left) engaged in a Twitter spat with former employee Haraldur Thorleifsson. Patrick Pleul/POOL/AFP/Haraldur Thorleifsson

A Twitter director said he spent nine days trying to figure out whether or not he'd been laid off.

Haraldur Thorleifsson said he emailed Elon Musk and Twitter HR but got no response.

Amid a Twitter spat with Musk, Thorleifsson said he received confirmation he'd lost his job.

A senior Twitter employee said he spent nine days trying to figure out whether or not he'd been laid off by the social-media company.

Haraldur Thorleifsson, a former Twitter director based in Iceland, engaged in a public spat with Elon Musk on Monday after questioning the Twitter owner about his employment status at the company.

"You have every right to lay me off," Thorleifsson said in a tweet to Musk. "That's totally fair and fine. But usually people are told when that happens. Maybe with a letter or something. Which didn't happen for 9 days despite multiple emails to you and others."

Three minutes after posting the tweet, Thorleifsson said he'd received confirmation that he no longer had a job at Twitter. "Again, that's totally within your rights," he said. "No complaints. But can you make sure I get paid what I'm owed?"

In another tweet, Thorleifsson said Twitter's head of HR had emailed to tell him he'd been laid off.

Twitter and Thorleifsson didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Earlier on Monday, Thorleifsson tagged Musk in a tweet saying he'd lost access to his work laptop nine days ago but was unable to confirm whether or not he'd been laid off. Thorleifsson said Twitter's head of human resources had failed to confirm on two occasions whether he still worked there, and that he'd emailed Musk about the matter but received no response.

Musk later responded to Thorleifsson's tweet and said: "What work have you been doing?" This sparked a fractious back-and-forth between Thorleifsson and Musk.

Thorleifsson founded Ueno, a creative agency that Twitter bought in 2021. According to Thorleifsson's LinkedIn profile, after the acquisition, he worked as a director at Twitter based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Story continues

Platformer reported on February 28 that Thorleifsson was one of four senior managers who'd been put on a "do not fire" list because it would be too costly to pay them off. All four were fired anyway, the report said.

The four were among the roughly 200 Twitter workers who were cut during the latest round of layoffs, according to Platformer. Musk has cut thousands of Twitter staff since completing his $44 billion acquisition of the company in October.

Similar to Thorleifsson, other former Twitter employees who were laid off said they were locked out of their work laptops and emails amid the layoffs.

Read the original article on Business Insider
This file photo shows downtown Laramie, Wyoming.

After more than 37 years, the coldest case in Laramie in now under a national microscope.

The murder of Shelli Wiley  a 22-year-old University of Wyoming student who was found stabbed in her burning Laramie apartment on Oct. 20, 1985  is the subject of a new podcast by Serial Productions and The New York Times.

Aptly named "The Coldest Case in Laramie," the podcast follows New York Times investigative reporter Kim Barker as she revisits the decades-old case. Barker was a sophomore in high school in Laramie at the time of Wiley's murder.

In the podcast's early episodes, Barker interviews police, Wiley's family and friends, witnesses and various other people tied to the case  including two interview subjects who lived in Fort Collins at the time of the podcast's taping.

Barker's interest in revisiting the case was spurred in 2020 when she learned a former police officer had been arrested in 2016 as a suspect in Wiley's murder and the arson of her apartment, she told the podcast's listeners in its first episode.

Are you a podcast fan?:Catch up on "The Way it Was," the Coloradoan's history podcast

Months after the suspect's arrest, the Albany County attorney dropped the charges, citing a need for more time for additional DNA testing of evidence. Charges against the suspect have not been refiled, according to the New York Times.

Laramie's Assistant Police Chief Robert Terry, who spoke with Barker for her podcast, told the Coloradoan the Serial production has so far resulted in a few "words of advice from folks"  including a plea to try increasingly popular genetic genealogy techniques like those used to catch the Golden State Killer in 2018.

More:There are 1,700 cold cases in Colorado. Could genealogy sites be the key to cracking them?

While the Laramie Police Department is familiar with such techniques  they were one of several agencies to use them in recent years to help identify a serial rapist and murderer who sexually assaulted victims across Wyoming and Utah in the 1990s and early 2000s  Terry said there are no unknown DNA profiles in the Wiley case that could benefit from such testing.

Wiley's case remains the oldest open cold case at the Laramie Police Department, Terry said, noting that any next steps will be determined by the Albany County Attorney's office.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Serial, New York Times take on 'Coldest Case in Laramie' in podcast
A 17-year-old is dead after being hit by a car in Miami County Monday night.

Around 7:30 p.m., Troy police and medics were called to reports of someone hit by a car in the 400 block of North Elm Street near Treasure Island Park, according to Miami County dispatchers.

Police arrived on scene and found a 17-year-old male trapped underneath the car, according to a sergeant with Troy Police Department.

>> Springfield train derailment: Clark Co. officials No hazardous materials leaked; NTSB on scene

The 17-year-old was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

A preliminary investigation found that the 17-year-old was holding onto a bike that was being pulled by a car driven by a 16-year-old when he somehow went underneath the car and was injured.

The 16-year-old driver is not facing any charges pending an investigation, according to police.

The crash remains under investigation by Troy Police Department.

We will update this story as new information becomes available.
Brenda Rivera Stearns and Isaiah Stearns are sharing new details about their movie-worthy meet-cute with TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager.

The story begins in 2009, when Brenda was trying to text a new friend an uplifting Bible verse, but accidentally typed in a number belonging to Isaiah.

The message read, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit...

Brenda Rivera Stearns and her husband, Isaiah Stearns, share six children. (Courtesy Brenda Rivera Stearns)

"I get a reply back saying Amen to that. Who is this? Brenda, 36, told Jenna on March 16. "And Im like, 'Oh, its Brenda."

Brenda explained that they had been introduced through her sister.

Isaiah wrote back, "Weve never met, but by the looks of your text, I can see that you love God, thats awesome.

"I viewed it as, this is another person who can help me in my walk with God," Isaiah told Jenna.

Brenda apologized to the stranger for bothering him. But Isaiah wanted to keep the conversation going and asked if he could call her sometime.

"I thought it was a little weird," Brenda told TODAY.com earlier this month. At this point, he didnt know her age or what she looked like.

Brenda Rivera Stearns and her husband, Isaiah Stearns, took a photo on their first date in Dec. 2009. (Courtesy Brenda Rivera Stearns)

The next day, her phone rang. It was Isaiah.

Obviously, I didnt answer. I was a little creeped out. But I was also sort of hoping hed leave a voicemail so I could hear what he sounded like, Brenda recalls.

Isaiah came through and left a voicemail. In the message, he said that the Bible verse Brenda sent had lifted his day and made him smile.

I could just tell he was very genuine. So I decided OK  Im gonna call him back, Brenda says. He answered right away.

During that first chat, Brenda revealed that she lived in Georgia, but her mom and sister resided in Ohio, about 50 minutes from Dayton, where Isaiah was based.

I said maybe we could meet up when I visited my family, she says. We had an immediate connection.

This is the first photo that Brenda Rivera Stearns saw when checked out her future husband's Facebook page. (Courtesy Brenda Rivera Stearns)

After the call, the two added each other on Facebook. At the time, Isaiah had a shaved head.

I thought he was cute, but he wasnt the type of guy I was typically drawn to, Brenda says, noting that she moved to the United States from Mexico when she was 12.

Story continues

I pictured myself with a dark-skinned, curly-haired, Spanish-speaking guy who loved salsa dancing  basically the opposite of him," she says. Isaiah was bald and he didnt...know how to dance.

Brenda says she quickly fell in love with Isaiah, despite them being physically apart. They would talk on the phone for hours.

My mom volunteered to go spy on him. She was like, What gym does he go to? Where does he work? Brenda says.

Instead, she arranged a proper lunch date for her mom and Isaiah.

Isaiah was all for it, Brenda says.

When the meal was over, Brenda asked her mom to rate Isaiah on a scale of 1 to 10. She gave him an 11, which Brenda says was so out of character.

She was like, Youre going to marry this guy, Brenda says.

Brenda Rivera Stearns and Isaiah Stearns, 41, will celebrate their 13-year wedding anniversary in June.

The couple are parents of six children: Victoria, 11, Veronica, 10, Samuel, 9, Vanessa, 7, Benjamin, 4, and Ezra, 1. Brenda regularly shares videos and photos of her family on TikTok and Instagram.

Im either pregnant or breastfeeding, she says. But she adds that there will not be a seventh baby. Their brood is complete.

I love us so much. Sometimes Ill just look at my children and my husband and I wonder what I did to deserve all of this, Brenda says.

I wouldnt have this many kids if my husband wasnt so involved. He makes dinner. He does the laundry. He doesnt ask, Hey, do you need help? He doesnt see it as helping me, because its his house, too, she says. I feel so lucky.

Calling Isaiah the "perfect partner," Brenda adds that while he now has a full head of hair, he still can't dance.

Related video:

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Pixabay/Helixitta

Maggie Cruz always knew she was the product of rape.

Her mother, now 66 and living in a disability care facility in upstate New York, was developmentally delayed from birth, with an IQ that constituted profound mental retardation, according to a suit Cruz just filed. She could not form words or be toilet-trained and needed diapers. The very fact that she had become pregnant and given birth to Cruz indicated that something terrible had happened.

But Cruz did not know how terribleuntil now.

According to the suit Cruz filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court, the man who raped and impregnated her mother was a caretaker at the facility where she lived, who had a direct hand in her care. The suit claims the facility never filed a police report or conducted an internal investigation, leaving Cruz to determine the identity of the attacker on her ownby conducting an Ancestry.com DNA test.

If Maggie hadnt come to us and filed this lawsuit, no one ever would have known this happened, her attorney, Susan Crumiller, told The Daily Beast. Its as in the shadows as you can get.

Cruz first started looking into the circumstances around her birth four years ago, when she was 33, according to the suit. Until then, she knew only what the facility, Monroe Development Center, had told her grandparents: Her mother had been impregnated in 1985, likely by another patient, and was temporarily moved to another facility for her safety and for prenatal care. She returned to MDC shortly after Cruzs birth and remained there another nine years, when she was moved to a private facility in Penfield, New York.

Cruz was raised by her grandparents and went on to marry and have five children of her own. But she often wondered about her fathers identity and struggled with the ambiguity around what had happened to her mother, Crumiller said. In 2019, she made a public records request, asking local law enforcement and the the regional developmental disability office for records related to her mothers rape.

Story continues

Weinsteins Los Angeles Rape Accuser Steps Out of the Shadows

The request yielded numerous records about her mothers care but no indication of an investigation into her mothers attacker, according to the complaint. There were no records of employee interviews, remedial actions, or a police report to the surrounding city or town.

MDCs contemporaneous progress notes indicated no meaningful efforts to identify, let alone punish, the perpetrator(s) of numerous violent physical attacks on I.C. around the time her rapist impregnated her, the complaint states.

What the notes did reveal was several previous injuries her mother sustained at the facility in the year leading up to her rape: a 9-inch abrasion on her back, swelling and deep discoloration in her right hand, and a cross-shaped bruise on her left shoulder in January 1985; a bloody, 1-inch cut on her head, a 2-inch bruise on her hip, and other bruises on her back and shoulder in July, according to the complaint. A caretaker named J.B. wrote in October that the patient likes men of color, strips, sometime [sic] yells, jumps, eats very fast.

In December of that yeararound the same time the woman would have been impregnated, based on Cruzs birth dateanother employee wrote: [I.C.] has still been attacking James.

Horrified by the results of the records request, the complaint says, Cruz ordered an Ancestry.com DNA test to try to identify her mothers attacker. The test identified a few relatives on her fathers side living in Virginia, whom she promptly looked up on social media. She found photos of a girl with eyes that looked strikingly similar to hers, the complaint states, and the name of the girls father: James.

Further internet research revealed that while most of his family lived in Virginia, the man lived in Rochester, New York, miles from MDC. When Cruz brought her findings to the Brighton Police Department, they confirmed he had worked at MDC in 1985, according to the complaint.

Cruz was convinced that the man was J.B., the caretaker who made the lurid notes about her mother, as well as the James that she had apparently attacked in December 1985. But the criminal statute of limitations had expired, meaning the police could take no further action.

Rupert Murdoch, Serial Divorcee, Already Eyeing His Next Marriage

Cruz eventually sought help from Crumiller, a well-known legal advocate for sexual abuse survivors. They worked together to devise a legal strategy that would reopen the statute of limitations and allow them to seek justice. Then, in May of last year, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year lookback window for complaints of sexual abuse that were past the statute of limitationscomplaints just like Cruzs.

Cruz filed her suit against the New York State Office For People With Developmental Disabilities, which allegedly operated her mothers facility, just months after the window opened.

My mother has had a hard life, and I hope this lawsuit will help her get the care that she deserves after OPWDD failed to protect her from her attacker 37 years ago, she said in a statement. I live a blessed life and I thank God for my amazingly supportive husband and five kids, who give me the strength to lead with compassion and grace every day.

The complaint lists several other reported of instances of sexual abuse at MDC. In its first year in operation, seven employees were arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a developmentally delayed boy in its care. A therapist was discovered in a 15-year-old female patients bed a few years later, resulting in a lawsuit and a finding of liability against the state. According to the suit, at least 10 MDC staff members from 1976-1985 were identified as pedophiles and rapists.

Cruzs suit requests compensatory and punitive damages for sexual assault, negligence, and gender discrimination, among other claims.

Shes motivated to help others, Crumiller said of her client. Shes motivated to expose the pattern, and stop the pattern.

We want people to see how common this is, and how institutions closed around abusers, and just how vigilant we need to be about protecting vulnerable people, she added.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced on Tuesday that he will vote for a resolution to effectively overturn the District of Columbias crime bill, joining several other vulnerable Democratic incumbents.

The mayor vetoed it, so she opposed it, Brown told The Hill. This is important to law enforcement, important to my state. I still support home rule. They should have full home rule, but I dont think picking and choosing like this makes sense.

Among other things, the update to the D.C. criminal code would lower penalties for some violent crimes, including carjackings and robberies. It would also increase the number of jury trials for misdemeanor offenses.

The Ohio Democrat, who is seeking reelection in 2024, joins Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in voting for the resolution and against the crime bill. They are considered the three top targets for Republicans to defeat this election cycle given they all hold seats in red-leaning states.

President Biden told the Senate Democratic caucus during lunch on Thursday that he would not veto the resolution, and in the days since a number of Democrats have followed his lead in supporting the bill.

Five senators who caucus with the Democrats announced on Monday they would vote for the resolution.

The resolution vote is expected to take place on Wednesday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
[Source]

A couple in Singapore has been fined $17,000 after a revealing video they uploaded to a private Telegram channel spread online.

Nguyen Thi Anh Thy, 30, and Jeffrey Chue Tze Jeong, 50, were charged with violating Singapores laws on nudity and obscenity for sharing sexually suggestive images and videos of Nguyen, including one where she reveals her breast outside a shopping mall in central Singapore in May 2020.

In the clip, which Chue recorded, Nguyen is seen wearing a spaghetti-strap top and short shorts while walking outside the mall. After checking their surroundings, she removes her top to expose one of her breasts to Chue.

Chue uploaded the clip in the supposedly private Telegram group they created for people who participate in partner swapping and group sex activities.

More from NextShark: This Asian baby is New York City's first baby of 2023

The pair charged $19 a month and $52 for three months for full access to the content on their Telegram channel. After more new members joined the group, the video and other erotic images were eventually spread outside the platform and became widely shared online.

The pair, who were also convicted of providing and abetting false information, shared that they were forced to sell their belongings to settle their fine in full.

During the hearing, Chue admitted that he is to blame for the incident, calling it a stupid mistake.

More from NextShark: Washington Teens to Supply Over 30,000 Masks to Frontline Medical Workers

Chue was fined 14,000 Singapore dollars (approximately $10,400) after pleading guilty to three charges of conspiring to take photos of his nude wife in public, uploading obscene images to Twitter and obstructing justice by claiming he had lost his phone.

Meanwhile, Nguyen was fined 9,000 Singapore dollars (approximately $7,000) after pleading guilty to two charges of appearing nude in public and obstructing the course of justice.

District judge Janet Wang highlighted in her ruling it was irrelevant that the platform caters to consenting parties and that the objection lies in the obscene nature of the materials being disseminated.

Story continues

More from NextShark: Soil from 75 former Japanese American WWII incarceration sites collected for memorial

Feeling they were severely punished, the couple moved to Nguyen's hometown of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam in November, a month after their conviction.

While they are now having difficulties finding work in Vietnam due to their high-profile case, both Chue and Nguyen no longer have plans of returning back to Singapore. The couple lamented that their alternative lifestyle has been negatively viewed as a form of perversion.

A number of Chue and Nguyen's supporters have spoken against the couple's charges online, with many questioning why such activity between two consenting adults is even criminalized in the first place.

More from NextShark: Who is Kim Yo-jong and Why is Twitter Suddenly Obsessed With Her?

We didnt do what we did at the expense of anyone, Chue told The New York Times. Our point is, what theyve done to us  do we deserve this?

The pair said they found it absurd that they were penalized for sharing images while prostitution is allowed in Singapore in a regulated district. Local rights advocates have since urged the Singaporean government to look into using consent to determine what activity constitutes as illegal in cases involving sexual acts.

Singapore is known to impose strict penalties for violations, particularly those that involve public safety and conservative moral views.

In 2022, content creator Titus Low was fined $2,200 for uploading risque content on the platform OnlyFans, a site where subscribers pay a fee to gain access to exclusive content, including sexually explicit photos. Similarly, a man was fined $1,900 in 2009 for being in the nude inside his own apartment while in full view of his neighbors.
Lansing Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin kicks off her campaign for U.S. Senate at the UrbanBeat bar in Lansing on March 6, 2023.

LANSING  Lansing Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin kicked off her U.S. Senate campaign Monday night to a packed crowd at an Old Town bar.

Supporters of Lansing Democrat gathered at UrbanBeat to cheer on the three-term representative who is seeking higher office in the 2024 election.

During the event, Slotkin emphasized what will likely become defining issues for her campaign, including economic support for families, maintaining democracy and civil rights protections and reducing gun violence and opioid abuse.

Really simple things about the United States of America have become really hard, she said. It should be really simple  that you have a job with dignity and benefits where you can afford your life. You can do well and your kids are going to do better.

Slotkin, whose district includes Michigan State Universitys main campus, said that the schools recent mass shooting shows that the country needs to do better protecting children from the things that are truly threatening them.

When I say protect our kids from things that are truly threatening them  like the leading cause of death for children under 21 which is gun violence in our country, but also opioids, the mental health crisis. It does not mean banning books in their library, she said to applause from the crowd.

The truth is right now, we can't take our rights and our democracy for granted, Slotkin said. We must defend them actively. And we need people who will stand up and fight and do that.

There is nothing more American than protecting our rights and our freedoms. It is our birthright and we will demand it and secure it.

Lansing Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin kicks off her campaign for U.S. Senate at the UrbanBeat bar in Lansing on March 6, 2023.

Slotkin also reassured voters that shell be able to perform the duties of her Congressional position while running her campaign and assuring her current 7th District seat remains in Democratic hands.

We have a great crop of folks who are looking at the seat, she said. The minute you sleep on this district, it will go back to being Republican. We're not going to let that happen.

Story continues

Slotkin is running to replace retiring Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, who has represented Michigan since 2001.

Slotkin is leaving a seat that is seen as one of the most competitive of the 2024 cycle. She held off former Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett in the 2022 election with a five-point victory in what became one of the most expensive races in the country. Now, Barrett has expressed his interest to run for the seat again.

I smiled when I saw that, Slotkin said referring to Barretts revived campaign. His voting record doesn't change. His approach to the job doesn't change. His view on women's issues doesn't change. So, he's beatable. We just need someone who will do the work.

Jason Roe, Barrett's campaign strategist, confirmed late last month that Barrett is planning on running again for the 7th District seat.

"Sen. Barrett has received a lot of encouragement from around the state to seek the congressional seat in 2024 and plans to do so," Roe told the State Journal at the time. An official announcement will be made in the coming weeks, he said.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor has formed an committee to explore a run in the district, while Ingham County Clerk and Democrat Barb Byrum, State Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing and State Rep. Julie Brixie, D-Meridian Township have publicly said they are considering running.

Slotkin encouraged prospective candidates to make sure they address voters from all over the 7th District, which includes Ingham, Eaton, Clinton, Shiawassee and and Livingston counties and portions of Oakland and Genesee counties. She also said that she wasnt sure if she would endorse a candidate in the possibly busy primary race.

It's not typically what I've done in the past on these kinds of things, but if there's a real difference between candidates then I'd be willing to consider it, she said.

Contact Sheldon Krause at skrause@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @sheldonjkrause.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin kicks off US Senate campaign in Old Town
A view of Hawaii. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

In September 2021, Elizabeth Webster and Alexander Burckle were finally on the Hawaiian honeymoon they had delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The couple from Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area, both of whom have graduate degrees from Stanford University, booked a snorkeling expedition with the company Sail Maui.

They and 42 other passengers boarded a vessel and headed out to the waters between the islands of Lanai and Maui for the first of two scheduled dives, according to court documents.

After about an hour, Webster and Burckle attempted to swim back to the boat but found that they were not getting any closer.

"They started swimming harder for about another 15 minutes, and it seemed like the boat was going into deeper water," the couple's attorney, Jared Washkowitz, said in an interview with The Times. "They were trying to swim toward it, and the water was getting rougher. At that point, they realized that the boat was actually leaving them."

The couple survived the ordeal with a harrowing swim to shore, according to a complaint filed last month in Hawaii. But they were badly shaken. They are still suffering from PTSD symptoms, including sleeplessness, stress, anxiety and fear of water, Washkowitz said.

The couple are suing Sail Maui and the boat's captain, alleging negligence and infliction of emotional distress.

According to the complaint, the boat's crew miscounted the passengers on the vessel before it departed for the second dive spot, leaving Webster and Burckle behind.

Sail Maui did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

One passenger allegedly told a crew member that the couple were still in the water as the boat prepared for departure. But the individual was reportedly assured that all passengers  44 in total  had been accounted for, according to the complaint. Another crew member reportedly performed two headcounts that came up with 42 passengers, then used a clicker and counted 44.

The boat then departed, leaving the couple about half a mile off the coast in worsening conditions, as waves grew to between 6 and 8 feet in height.

Story continues

"Plaintiffs were beginning to panic and were struggling to swim in the ocean conditions," the complaint says. "They feared that drowning was imminent."

The couple decided to head to the Lanai shoreline, which the boat's captain had said to avoid because of shallow reefs.

Webster and Burckle eventually made it to shore, where they wrote "SOS" and "help" in the sand and attempted to wave down a passing boat, to no avail.

Eventually, two Lanai residents found the couple, gave them water and allowed them to use a phone.

About 45 minutes after the boat left the first dive spot, Webster contacted Sail Maui and said they had been abandoned.

"It was apparent that Sail Maui did not realize at this point anyone was missing from the charter," the complaint states.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Update: The Biden administration approved the Willow project on March 13. Read the latest here. Our earlier story is below.

As the Biden administration comes closer to announcing a decision on an Alaska drilling plan called the Willow project, social media users are calling for the project to be stopped.

The project, pitched by petroleum refinery company ConocoPhillips Alaska, would entail drilling in the Willow oil field, a federal oil reserve in Alaska's petroleum-rich North Slope, according to The Associated Press. According to the company, the project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, or 1.5% of total U.S. oil production.

ConocoPhillips initially asked for five drilling sites, but the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said in February that three sites would be a "preferred alternative." There is bipartisan support for the project in Alaska, AP reported, and some indigenous groups close to the area support the plan because it would provide more revenue and create jobs in the area.

However, the project has come under fire from climate advocates. According to AP, it's estimated that even using the "preferred alternative" of only three drilling sites, the project would produce 278 million tons of greenhouse gases over the course of its proposed 30-year run, about the same amount of emissions that two million passenger cars would create over the same period.

Area locals have also spoken out against the project as well, with the mayor of the nearby city and native village of Nuiqsut writing a ten-page letter expressing concern about the plan and its impact on the environment and wildlife. In February, the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the BLM, said in a statement that it has "substantial concerns" about the project and the preferred alternative presented by the BLM.

The Department's concerns, the statement said, include the effects of "direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence."

Story continues

Students and community members demand President Biden stop the Willow Project by unfurling a banner on the Ellipse outside the White House on December 02, 2022 in Washington, DC. / Credit: Paul Morigi

President Biden, who campaigned on promises of slashing carbon emissions, ending new oil and gas drilling on federal lands and moving away from oil and gas power, is expected to announce a decision on the project in the next week.

Those campaign promises are part of what has galvanized the #StopWillow social media trend, in which people are calling on Mr. Biden to say no to the plan.

Many of the posters are young Gen Z voters. According to 2021 research by the Pew Research Center, Gen Z and millennial voters favored Biden by a margin of about 20 points in the 2020 election. The #StopWillow posts are commonly shared on TikTok in the form of short videos, some of which have gained hundreds of thousands or even millions of views while explaining the project and its potential negative impacts.

Several of the videos provide concrete steps that people opposed to the Willow project can take, including links to petitions or a script to read when contacting local representatives or the White House to express opposition to the proposal.

Protests have also taken place in Washington, D.C., with groups standing outside the White House in December and the Department of the Interior in November.

Climate activists hold a demonstration to urge President Biden to reject the Willow Project at the US Department of Interior on November 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. / Credit: Jemal Countess

Larger advocacy groups have also issued statements, and it's likely the project would face legal challenges even if it were approved by the Biden administration, AP reported.

How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses nationwide

Silicon Valley Bank client speaks about the impact of the collapse on her business

Trump campaigning in Iowa on heels of Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley making trips to state
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript March 2, 2023

Operator: Good morning, and welcome to the SQM Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Irina Axenova of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Irina Axenova: Good morning. Welcome to joining SQM's earnings conference call for the fourth quarter of 2022. This conference call will be recorded and is being webcast live. Our earnings press release and our presentation with a summary of the results have been uploaded to our website where you can also find a link to this webcast. Speaking on the call today will be Ricardo Ramos, Chief Executive Officer; and Gerardo Illanes, Chief Financial Officer; Carlos Diaz, Executive Vice President of Lithium; Felipe Smith, Commercial Vice President of Lithium and Juan Pablo, Bellolio Commercial Vice President of Iodine will be also available to answer any questions. Before we begin, let me remind you that, statements in this conference concerning the company's business outlook, future economic performances, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financial items, anticipated cost synergies and product or service line growth, together with other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined under federal securities laws.

Agriculture, Seeds, Production

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

Any forward-looking statements are estimates, reflecting the best judgment of SQM based on currently available information and involves a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Risks, uncertainties and factors that could affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements are identified in our public filings made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and in our earnings release issued today. And these forward-looking statements should be considered in light of those factors. We assume no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of our new information, future developments or otherwise, except, as required by law.

Story continues

I now leave you with our Chief Executive Officer, Ricardo Ramos.

Ricardo Ramos: Thank you, Irina. Good morning and thank you for joining the call today. We are very pleased with the 2022 results we published last night. Leasing business contributed to almost 80% of our gross profit for the year, driven by significantly higher sales volumes and average prices. Our long-term vision for the lithium market investments in technology, innovation and new capacity along with the risks we took and our operational success enable us to make the most of favorable market conditions since last year. Through the public private alliance with CORFO for our total contribution $2 trillion, including corporate taxes surpassed $5 billion in 2022. We see a strong indicators of demand growth in the lithium market driven by the electric vehicle sales growth worldwide, and the investment in renewable energy that require energy storage systems.

We estimate that the total global lithium demand will reach 1.5 million metric tons by 2025 and deliver at least 20% growth in 2023. After unexpected a slowdown in demand during the Chinese New Year celebrations, electric vehicle sales have increased in recent weeks in China, while the U.S. market electric vehicles sales are doubling when compared to last year. This growth rate should continue for the remainder of the year, with major OEMs showing an increase in their production volumes. Consequently, our sales volume during the second half of the year should be higher than compared to the first half of the year. We will continue to invest in growing our lithium production globally. Our capital expenditure plan for the next three years includes investment in lithium iodine and Nitrates capacity expansion in Chile.

Competition of the Mt. Holland project in Australia and lithium refining capacity in China. We are also active on lithium mining exploration and we will continue looking for attractive assets worldwide. This CapEx plan also includes investment in certain activities and initiatives related to our Salar Futuro project, which technically documentation we expect to submit for evaluation to the Chilean authorities in 2024. I would like to highlight our operations success during last year. We successfully completed a ramp up of our lithium capacity, reaching 180,000 metric tons, and finished the year with record high IRM production volume. So, over those 12,000 metric tons. None of these schools have been possible without the continuous dedication, support and commitment of our team at SQL.

Thank you.

Irina Axenova: Operator, we will now open the line for questions.

See also Ken Griffin's High Dividend Stock Picks and 12 Stocks to Sell According to Motley Fool.

To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here.
RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) -A criminal probe into former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's alleged efforts to illegally bring $3.2 million of jewelry into the country could further delay his return from the United States, sources tied to Bolsonaro told Reuters on Tuesday.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Monday ordered police to investigate the case. Bolsonaro is in self-imposed exile in the United States after losing his re-election bid last year.

Luxury jewelry gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government was seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport in October 2021.

Brazilians are allowed to bring in $1,000 of goods or gifts and pay hefty taxes for anything over that value.

The Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the jewelry multiple times through government officials, according to local media.

The episode is further complicated, the sources said, by a series of letters from officials in Bolsonaro's government asking for the jewelry to be released. One was sent on the eve of his departure for the United States two days before his term ended in December, they said.

Bolsonaro has said he plans to return to Brazil this month to lead the opposition and defend himself against accusations that he instigated the Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, in which his supporters stormed government buildings. He has also indicated plans to run again for president in 2026.

Bolsonaro lost the Oct. 30 election to his leftist rival President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. For months ahead of the vote, he had cast baseless doubts on the electoral system, creating a potent force of election deniers.

Bolsonaro, who began his self-exile in Florida, has been seen greeting supporters, eating at fast food restaurants and addressing conservative meetings. He has been unwilling to put a firm date on his return.

He entered the United States on a visa reserved for heads of state and other government officials, then applied for a six-month tourist visa. Since he no longer holds public office, he is more vulnerable to court-ordered measures such as search and seizure warrants.

Story continues

His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said earlier on Wednesday his father would return on March 15, but quickly deleted the post.

"I'm sorry for the previous post, I might be missing him a lot," he tweeted, adding date was "likely but still unconfirmed."

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)
A Southwest Airlines flight was diverted after turbulence that was so bad it caused passengers to vomit and the plane to shake like crazy.

Southwest flight 3094 had its landing at Raleigh in North Carolina aborted at the last moment at a height of around 1,350ft and was diverted to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina because of the bad weather.

The conditions were so poor on the Friday evening flight that one passenger even reportedly passed out as the plane came in for a landing at around 9pm.

And once diverted to Myrtle Beach, the passengers, who had got on the plane in Baltimore, Maryland, say they were stranded for hours overnight in a closed airport until a replacement plane and crew could be sent for them.

It was quite a horrifying experience. We go to land in Raleigh and the plane starts shaking like crazy. Then they decide to tell us 15 minutes later we are going to Myrtle Beach, Nicholas Reed told WNCN.

Once the full Boeing 737 arrived safely in Myrtle Beach the passengers were held onboard for two hours before being allowed off to sit in a deserted terminal for a further four hours.

We couldnt go anywhere because they wouldnt give us our luggage, Mr Reed said. One group of guys found a bar and went behind it and just started pouring themselves drinks  because there was no security.

And he added: Coming into Raleigh they started landing like normal. We had the window open in our seat so we could actually see the ground.

Two people were vomiting pretty close to us. But everyone was pretty silent. I guess they were just in suspense like this could be it, Mr Reed said.

An empty plane eventually reached the group at around 1am on Saturday and they finally reached Raleigh at 4am.

We made the decision to safely divert Southwest flight 3094 (BWI  RDU) to MYR due to weather conditions at RDU. We brought in another crew and aircraft to transport the passengers to their final destination as soon as we were able to safely do so, Southwest said in a statement.
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain has approved a statute regulating the functions of its recently launched state space agency amid a push by European countries to keep pace with global rivals, Science Minister Diana Morant said on Tuesday.

"Space is considered a space for opportunities, and it is a national priority for us," Morant told reporters. "That is why we're creating this agency."

The Spanish Space Agency (AEE), based in the southern city of Seville, will have a budget of 700 million euros ($746.4 million) in its first year and a staff of 75, the minister said.

In November, European nations agreed to boost spending on space by 17% to stay on the heels of the United States and China.

While the AEE was given a one-year deadline since its official creation in September to kick off, it already started operating last month. "We're six months ahead of schedule," Morant said.

She added that Spain's international position in the aerospace sector had been bolstered not only by increased public spending but by the European Space Agency's recruitment of the first two Spanish astronauts in 30 years, Pablo Alvarez and Sara Garcia.

Morant also highlighted the 45 million-euro open tender for the development of a microsatellite launcher. "The future of space lies in microsatellites, a technology that does not yet exist in Europe," she said.

($1 = 0.9378 euros)

(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Charlie Devereux and Christina Fincher)
The top general in charge of U.S. special operations forces vowed Tuesday to focus on "eradicating" misconduct from his command.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., asked Gen. Bryan Fenton, head of Special Operations Command, to comment on a "series of concerning incidents" among the special operations community at Fort Bragg in the senator's home state, including "suicides, murders, overdoses, drug trafficking."

In response, Fenton said that misconduct is "not behavior that is welcome" in Special Operations Command, or SOCOM.

Read Next: Top Ohio Guard General Keeps Job After Shoving Reporter

"This type of behavior, atypical to the 70,000-plus that are doing the right thing each and every day -- a majority are absolutely doing that -- first and foremost disrespects that type of work that our SOCOM enterprise is known for," Fenton said. "And the command sergeant major and I, first of all, are very angry when we get reports like that, and we're deliberately, laser-like focused on this. In fact, we talk about it as a corrosive. These are corrosives toward the trust and confidence that this committee, the secretary and certainly the nation has in us. And we're laser-focused on eradicating that from SOCOM enterprise."

Fenton's comments come after U.S. Army Special Operations Command revealed in January that at least 13 soldiers at Fort Bragg are under investigation for drug trafficking, though no arrests have been made.

Also in January, a pair of shootings, including one that killed a soldier assigned to Fort Bragg, also rocked the special operations community there.

Meanwhile, statistics the Pentagon disclosed to Congress last month showed that 31 soldiers at the base died of drug overdoses between 2017 and 2021, accounting for more than 10% of the total number of overdose deaths reported by the military.

An officer at the base also told local media in 2021 that the installation had seen an "over 100 percent increase" in drug-related crime over the course of that year.

Story continues

The recent woes at Fort Bragg come after an internal review conducted by SOCOM in 2019 found that a culture of extreme focus on mission accomplishment among special operators often allowed misconduct and unethical behavior to go unchecked.

At Tuesday's hearing, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the recent trouble makes "additional efforts to build upon" the 2019 review "seem necessary."

"A number of high-profile misconduct cases have reflected poorly on the special operations community," Reed said in his opening statement.

Responding to Budd later in the hearing, Fenton said he's working on stamping out misconduct by emphasizing the need for leadership in preventing drug use and other "untoward, illegal, not ethical and not moral behavior," reinforcing existing policies and standards against such behavior, and holding people accountable for any wrongdoing.

Accountability "sends a very big signal back to the enterprise about, this behavior is absolutely not welcome and not part of the SOCOM enterprise," he said.

"You've got my commitment on this," added Fenton, who previously led SOCOM's Joint Special Operations Command before assuming his current role in August. "I've been in about six months. It's been a top priority because of what it does not only to the trust that this committee and others have in the SOCOM team, but to our overall readiness."

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: More Than a Dozen Special Operations Soldiers at Center of Drug Trafficking Probe
By Angelo Amante

STECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy (Reuters) - Five days after leaving Turkey, migrants crammed in darkness aboard a wooden sailboat pleaded with their traffickers to radio for help as they rocked in increasingly stormy seas off Italy.

The people smugglers reassured them they were safe, holding up an iPad to show how close they were to the shore and saying they wanted to land on the southern toe of Italy in the dead of night to avoid police patrols and certain arrest.

Their confidence was misplaced. Hours later, the boat, named "Summer Love", smashed apart on rocks within sight of the village of Steccato di Cutro, killing at least 72 of the estimated 180 migrants aboard.

Unbeknownst to them, a plane from the European Union's Frontex border mission had spotted the vessel around 5-1/2 hours earlier and signalled to Italian authorities that it could be carrying migrants below deck.

However, two police boats sent out to intercept the vessel failed to locate it and turned back because of bad weather. Larger coastguard boats, better suited to search and rescue operations, were not called on.

The disaster has cast a spotlight on ruthless smugglers who are increasingly using Turkey as a launch pad for voyages to Italy. It has also raised questions about why the Italian authorities failed to prevent one of the worst shipwrecks in the country's recent history.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who takes a hard line on immigration, has dismissed suggestions that more could have been done, saying Frontex did not warn that the boat was at risk of sinking.

"No emergency communication from Frontex reached our authorities," she said last week. Frontex said it was up to local officials to decide how to respond to its sightings.

Reuters spoke to relatives of victims and officials involved in the investigation, and reviewed survivors' accounts of the deadly voyage. They revealed the efforts made by the traffickers to avoid detection in a boat not fit for purpose. They also show how authorities on land failed to grasp the danger at hand.

Story continues

SUSPICIONS IGNORED

The migrants, including Afghans, Pakistanis, Iranians and Syrians, set sail from a secluded Turkish bay on Feb. 22, paying 8,000 euros each for safe passage. After barely three hours, their yacht broke down and they eventually transferred onto an old wooden 'caicco'.

"It was dilapidated and didn't have any seats.... there were pools of oil on the floor," one of the migrants told police, according to a transcript seen by Reuters.

Frontex said one of its planes that regularly patrol the Mediterranean spotted the boat 40 miles from the coast of Italy at 10.26 p.m. (2126 GMT) on Saturday as the weather deteriorated.

"There were no signs of distress," the agency said in a statement, adding that it nonetheless raised suspicions because the plane's thermal imaging showed there might be people below deck -- an indication it could be smuggling migrants.

Frontex informed a coordination centre housed in a building used by the Guardia di Finanza (GdF) customs police near Rome. Italian officials sent two GdF patrol boats to investigate rather than order a rescue operation.

An official with knowledge of the mission, who declined to be named, said the GdF boats were unable to reach the 'Summer Love' due to rough seas and rebased at around 3.40 a.m.

Police were not sure if they were dealing with migrants or possible drug or cigarette smugglers, the official said.

Retired coastguard Admiral Vittorio Alessandro told Reuters the authorities were less likely to order a rescue mission for migrant boats than for registered vessels.

"If we are dealing with boats that do not involve migrants then precaution takes precedence," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have reached Italy by boat over the past decade, fleeing conflict and poverty back home. Meloni's government has vowed to crack down on arrivals, but has denied any suggestion it delayed a rescue operation.

"Is there anyone in this country who really believes that the government deliberately let more than 60 people die, including children?" Meloni said at the weekend.

TRAGEDY UNFOLDS

Survivors told investigators the traffickers changed direction in the early hours of Sunday, fearing there were police nearby. They hit the rocks at around 4.00 a.m.

Nobody aboard issued a distress call. Two migrants told police that the traffickers were equipped with a device for jamming telephone calls to prevent communication that could give away their location.

The first indication that a tragedy was unfolding came from three fishermen on the shore, who saw the boat smash apart. The first police car arrived on the scene at 4.30 a.m. and officers immediately looked to save those struggling to reach land.

Many of those aboard could not swim. So far, the bodies of 28 minors and 30 women have been recovered. Seventy-nine people survived and around 30 are still missing, believed dead.

Crotone chief prosecutor Giuseppe Capoccia has launched two investigations  one into the traffickers and another into whether enough was done to avoid the tragedy.

He told Reuters it was vital for the government to bolster security forces in the area to deal with arrivals from Turkey, which last year numbered as many as five a week.

"Rescue and law enforcement structures here are those of a small town. We face a phenomenon that probably overwhelms us even as a nation," he said.

Rome last month passed new tough rules on sea rescues on the back of surging arrivals -- the latest in a string of measures taken over the past seven years to try to deter migrants.

Lawyer and human rights expert Fulvio Vassallo Paleologo told Reuters the cumulative effect of these initiatives was to limit rescues in international waters.

He said the coastguard had to coordinate with the interior ministry, slowing its response time.

However, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told parliament on Tuesday that human smugglers were entirely to blame.

"Claiming that the government conditioned or prevented a rescue is a grievous falsehood," he said.

(Editing by Crispian Balmer and Christina Fincher)
Police say they have identified human skeletal remains that were discovered on Feb. 13.

On that day, Springfield Police were sent to the wooded area north of Rivendale Institute of Learning, northeast of the intersection of Sunshine Street and Kansas Expressway, in reference to a maintenance worker finding the remains. The Greene County Medical Examiner's Office soon confirmed they were human remains.

The Springfield Police Department Homicide Unit investigated the incident and determined the identity of the person through forensics. They also determined there was nothing suspicious regarding the death of the person.

The deceased female was identified as Susan N. McInturff, 40, from Harrison, Arkansas. McInturffs family has been notified.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield police identify found skeletal remains found Feb. 13
By Uditha Jayasinghe and Andrea Shalal

COLOMBO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sri Lanka looks set to get a sign-off on a long-awaited $2.9 billion four-year bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 20 after the crisis-hit country secured new financing support from China.

The IMF and the island nation confirmed on Tuesday that Sri Lanka had received assurances from all its major bilateral creditors, a key step to deploy financing and an important moment for the country engulfed in its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament there were signs the economy was improving, but there was still insufficient foreign currency for all imports, making the IMF deal crucial so other creditors could also start releasing funds.

"Sri Lanka has completed all prior actions that were required by the IMF," Wickremesinghe said, and that he and the central bank governor had sent a letter of intent to the IMF.

"I welcome the progress made by Sri Lankan authorities in taking decisive policy actions & obtaining financing assurances from all their major creditors, incl. China, India & the Paris Club," IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Twitter, adding that she looked forward to presenting the IMF-supported program to the executive board on March 20.

Approval is expected since the board generally will not add items to its agenda unless its members are ready to act.

The country's international debt and currency soared higher on the news, with bonds adding around 3 cents in the dollar, while the Sri Lankan rupee jumped as much as 7.8% to a 10-month high. Stocks closed more than 2% higher.

A new letter by the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) sent on Monday to Sri Lanka resolved the stalemate. Sources close to the talks said EXIM provided "specific and credible" financing assurances for a debt restructuring, with a specific link to the IMF program and clear language on debt sustainability.

Story continues

The first tranche of funding was expected to be released shortly after the board meeting, the sources added.

In a letter in January, EXIM had offered Sri Lanka a two-year debt moratorium, but sources said this was not enough to meet IMF conditions.

"This is a positive development: it might be the first time that China provides textbook financing assurances to the IMF outside of a Common Framework process," said Theo Maret, senior research analyst at Global Sovereign Advisory, in Paris.

By end-2020, Sri Lanka owed EXIM $2.83 billion, or 3.5% of its central government debt, according to IMF data. In total, Sri Lanka owed Chinese lenders $7.4 billion, or nearly a fifth of public external debt, by end-2022, calculations by the China Africa Research Initiative showed.

IMF financing provides an anchor for countries to unlock other funding sources. Sri Lanka was in negotiations with India, its second biggest creditor, to extend a $1 billon credit line due to expire by March 17, two sources said.

Sri Lanka needs to repay about $6 billion on average each year until 2029 and will have to keep engaging with the IMF, Wickremesinghe said.

Countries in debt distress such as Zambia and Sri Lanka have faced unprecedented delays in securing IMF bailouts as China and Western economies have clashed over how to provide debt relief.

Sri Lanka has been waiting for about 187 days to finalise a bailout after reaching a preliminary deal. This compares to a median of 55 days it took low- and middle-income countries over the past decade to go from preliminary deal to board sign-off, according to data compiled by Reuters.

"Debt restructurings both within and outside the Common Framework have been taking longer than usual due to issues with creditor coordination and foot-dragging by China," said Patrick Curran at Tellimer. "The restructurings in Sri Lanka and Zambia are likely to set important precedents for future restructurings."

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that Beijing would continue to participate in the settlement of international debt problems in a constructive manner.

Responding to a question on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting, Qin also said China should be the last to be accused of causing debt traps and called on other parties to share the burden.

(This story has been corrected to say central government debt instead of external debt in paragraph 12)

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru and Uditha Jayasinghe in Colombo; Additional reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario in London; Writing by Krishna N. Das and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Ed Osmond and Shounak Dasgupta)
Ukraines lines are holding against a Russian onslaught in Bakhmut as both Kyiv and Moscow appear unwilling to give up a town that has become symbolic of the wars brutality.

After signaling a potential retreat last week, Ukrainian troops have yet to withdraw and are still holding onto their fortified positions in the center of the city.

And Russian forces, while struggling to encircle the city, are putting tremendous pressure on Ukrainian troops through constant, grinding assaults.

Bakhmut has been reduced to rubble and its once-70,000 inhabitants are nearly all gone. But neither side is ready to give up the Battle of Bakhmut, which has taken on a level of symbolic significance for both sides that far outweighs its strategic value.

The head of the Russian mercenary group leading the fighting in Bakhmut complained over the weekend that ammunition was running short, and said retreat from the city would cause a collapse of Russias front lines.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters at a press conference in Jordan on Monday that both sides are really leaning into this in a major way.

I think its more of a symbolic value than it is a strategic and operational value, Austin said, adding the caveat that he didnt want to discredit Ukrainian soldiers who were fighting for their lives.

For Ukraine, holding Bakhmut has become a rallying cry signifying Kyivs resistance, while its soldiers inflict heavy casualties on Russian forces. The defense of Bakhmut could also pave the way for a future counteroffensive.

And for Russia, taking Bakhmut would serve as an important sign they are making advances in the war after months of setbacks, even if the town only gives them a minor foothold in the Donetsk region for a push further west.

Amid the intense pressure around Bakhmut, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with his top commanders on Monday, agreeing to maintain defensive positions in the town, according to a readout of the meeting.

Story continues

If Ukrainian commanders did decide on a strategic withdrawal, it would likely be conducted at the most opportune and favorable time for its forces, said Hein Goemans, the director of the Peter D. Watson Center for Conflict & Cooperation at the University of Rochester.

He said Ukraine is extremely wily and wants to chew through Russian reserves surrounding Bakhmut.

Its one of those ways to attrite the Russian forces, Goemans said. They would like the Russians to throw as many of their troops as possible.  But at the moment its no longer worth it, they will withdraw without any question.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on Sunday that Russian forces have advanced from the north, east and south of Bakhmut, although it does not appear they have fully encircled Ukrainian defenders in the center of the city.

In the event of a Ukrainian withdrawal, it would likely be a gradual retreat, aimed at complicating Russian advances by putting up heavy fortifications, according to ISW.

Michael Kofman, director of the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, said holding Bakhmut has allowed Ukraine to grind down Russian power, but clinging to the town could be costly.

Strategies can reach points of diminishing returns, Kofman wrote Sunday in a Twitter thread, and given [Ukraine] is trying to husband resources for an offensive, it could impede the success of a more important operation.

Ukraine has killed seven Russian soldiers for every one of its own, according to an estimate from Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

For Russia, those losses of manpower, along with ammunition and equipment, means Moscow will be hard-pressed to continue an offensive operation after taking Bakhmut.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russias private Wagner army, complained over the weekend that ammunition was running low and a representative of his mercenary outfit was denied access to Russias military command in Ukraine.

Prigozhin accused the Kremlin of ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal, adding that if Wagner were to withdraw, the Russian front in Bakhmut would collapse.

I am knocking on all doors, sounding the alarm with ammunition and reinforcements, Prigozhin wrote on Telegram.

The United Kingdoms Ministry of Defense also noted Russia has been forced to deploy 60-year-old battle tanks and even older versions of armored vehicle carriers after large vehicular losses on battlefields across eastern Donetsk.

As both sides jockey for leverage, fighting in the region has become especially brutal and reminiscent of World War I, with troops dug into trenches just a few dozen feet or less from each other.

Russian forces are sending in waves of soldiers toward Ukrainian defenses  often to test where enemy fire is coming from  then sending in more troops to break new ground.

In his remarks on Monday, Austin said if Ukraine does reposition, he would not view it as an operational or a strategic setback, adding he doubted Russia can keep up its pressure campaign for much longer.

What I do see on a daily basis is the Russians continuing to pour in a lot of ill-trained and ill-equipped troops, and those troops are very quickly meeting their demise, the defense secretary said. I think well continue to see that with the Russians going forward.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Kanishka Singh, David Shepardson and Hilary Russ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Starbucks Corp interim Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz has agreed to testify this month before a U.S. Senate committee after earlier resisting requests to appear and answer questions about the company's compliance with labor law.

Schultz will testify on March 29 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the company and panel chairman Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday. Schultz, who is stepping down from his post this month, had earlier declined an invitation from 11 senators to testify before the panel on March 9.

Committee Democrats had scheduled a vote for Wednesday - canceled after Schultz agreed to testify - on issuing a subpoena to compel Schultz's appearance. The company previously offered other executives to speak instead.

Over the years, Schultz helped Starbucks build a reputation as a progressive employer, offering higher salaries and more benefits - including company stock and health insurance - than other restaurant chains.

But the company's response to a growing union campaign, as well some of Schultz's public comments, have been described by some critics, including some shareholders, as overly aggressive.

Democratic lawmakers have accused Starbucks of illegally firing pro-union employees and shuttering freshly unionized stores, which the company denies.

"Despite the fact that over 280 Starbucks coffee shops have successfully voted to form a union over the past year, Starbucks has refused to negotiate in good faith to sign a single first contract with their employees," Sanders said in a statement.

At its March 23 annual shareholder meeting, Starbucks investors will vote on a proposal for an external audit of the chain's labor policies. Two top proxy advisers have recommended 'yes' votes on the proposal, and Starbucks has since said it is conducting its own review.

UNION POLICIES

Story continues

As head of the company, Schultz was not involved in making decisions about labor law, instead delegating them to other executives, Starbucks' Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer AJ Jones II said in an interview.

The company had made 17 requests in the past to meet with Sanders' staff to discuss unions, before finally being granted a meeting on Feb. 17, he said.

Jones said he and other Starbucks representatives met again with Sanders' staff on Monday.

Schultz plans to testify about how Starbucks has led the industry in offering higher wages and better benefits, and will discuss "who we are as a company... and what we stand for," he said.

In a statement, Starbucks Workers United, the Service Employees International Affiliate organizing most of the newly unionized Starbucks cafes, said it looked forward to hearing from Schultz.

"As the architect of Starbucks' unprecedented anti-union campaign, it is high time for him to be held accountable for his actions," the union said.

Employees at more than 280 of Starbucks' roughly 9,000 company-operated U.S. locations have voted to join a labor union since 2021. The union is seeking better pay and benefits, improved health and safety conditions and protections against unfair dismissal and discipline.

Sanders said that the U.S. National Labor Relations Board has issued more than 80 complaints against Starbucks for violating federal labor law. Sanders also noted that an administrative law judge in New York has ruled that the company engaged in "egregious and widespread misconduct" in the union organizing campaign.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and David Shepardson in Washington and Hilary Russ in New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Tim Ahmann and Rosalba O'Brien)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that outgoing Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has agreed to appear before a Senate committee to address allegations of union-busting that workers and regulators have leveled against the coffee chain.

Sanders had threatened to subpoena Schultz to force him to take questions from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sanders had teed up a vote on Wednesday for the committee to determine whether Schultz should be compelled to testify.

Starbucks confirmed Tuesday that Schultz would appear before the committee, sharing a letter the company had sent to Capitol Hill saying the company had reached an agreement with Sanders after constructive discussions with Committee staff. Schultz is serving as CEO in an interim capacity and intends to step down this month.

We look forward to continuing to work with the Committee to foster productive dialogue, Starbucks general counsel, Zabrina Jenkins, wrote in the letter. As part of those efforts, we will endeavor to provide a deeper understanding of our culture and priorities.

Starbucks had originally offered to send a different executive, former Capitol Hill staffer A.J. Jones II, to testify in Schultzs place, and then proposed augmenting Jones testimony with that of two additional executives.

The union alleges that Starbucks has fired union activists, closed stores and made promises to workers all in an effort to stop the organizing campaign from spreading.

But Sanders appeared intent on having Schultz, the public face and co-founder of the company, take questions from lawmakers. Sanders called the celebrity CEO the driving force of labor policy at Starbucks.

In a statement on Tuesday, Sanders noted that the National Labor Relations Boards general counsel has filed roughly 80 complaints against the company alleging violations of labor law.

In America, workers have the constitutional right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining to improve their wages and working conditions, Sanders said. Unfortunately Starbucks, under Mr. Schultzs leadership, has done everything possible to prevent that from happening.

Story continues

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had threatened to subpoena Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and compel him to testify before a Senate committee.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had threatened to subpoena Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and compel him to testify before a Senate committee.

He added: I look forward to hearing from Mr. Schultz as to when he intends to end his illegal anti-union activities and begin signing fair first contracts with the unions.

Since late 2021, the union Workers United has organized nearly 300 of Starbucks roughly 9,000 corporate-owned U.S. stores, pulling off one of the most notable organizing feats in decades.

The union alleges that the company has fired union activists, closed stores and made promises to workers all in an effort to stop the organizing campaign from spreading. The labor boards general counsel has found merit in many of those claims, and brought formal complaints against the company that are now being litigated.

Just last week, an administrative law judge at the agency ruled that Starbucks had committed egregious and widespread misconduct, including illegal firings.

Related...
Howard Schultz has agreed to appear before a U.S. Senate committee that is examining Starbucks actions amid an ongoing unionization campaign.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Tuesday that Schultz has agreed to testify before the committee on March 29.

Sanders had been asking Schultz to testify for several weeks, but Schultz had previously refused, saying the companys chief public affairs officer would be better equipped to discuss the companys labor record. But the committee disagreed and had scheduled a Wednesday vote to subpoena Schultz in an effort to force him to testify.

I look forward to hearing from Mr. Schultz as to when he intends to end his illegal anti-union activities and begin signing fair first contracts with the unions, Sanders said Tuesday in a statement.

In a letter to the committee, Starbucks said it looks forward to productive dialogue with the committee.

We will endeavor to provide a deeper understanding of our culture and priorities, including our industry leading benefits offerings and our long-standing commitment to support the shared success of our more than 450,000 global partners, Starbucks Chief Counsel Zabrina Jenkins wrote.

At least 290 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021. Workers are asking for better pay, more consistent schedules and safer stores, among other things. Starbucks and the union have not yet reached a contract agreement at any of those stores.

The company opposes unionization, saying it already provides industry-leading benefits and its stores function better when it works directly with its employees.

The effort has been contentious. Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing workers, has filed 509 unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the company of firing union organizers, spying on workers and taking other actions to hinder the union campaign. The company has filed 102 charges against the union and says its failing to bargain in good faith.

Last week, a federal labor judge found that the company violated U.S. labor laws hundreds of times during the unionization campaign in Buffalo, New York. The judge ordered Starbucks to reinstate seven fired workers and required Schultz to read or be present at a reading of employee rights and distribute a recording of the reading to all of Starbucks U.S. employees.

Schultz is a longtime Starbucks CEO who built the company from a small Seattle chain into a global coffee giant. He came out of retirement last year to assume the interim CEO job after Starbucks previous CEO retired. Laxman Narasimhan, a former PepsiCo executive, will become Starbucks new CEO on April 1, but Schultz plans to remain on the companys board.
(Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp. Interim Chief Executive Howard Schultz agreed to testify March 29 before a key US Senate panel, averting a planned Wednesday committee vote to compel him to answer questions on alleged labor law violations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Schultzs decision wards off a formal subpoena and follows a months-long battle with Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. The longtime Starbucks leader refused Sanders earlier invitation to testify about complaints filed to the US National Labor Relations Board alleging that the coffee chain used illegal tactics to thwart union organizing efforts.

The March 29 testimony from Schultz, who will appear solo, will allow the company to first get through its annual shareholder meeting this month and also a planned CEO transition, Andrew Trull, a Starbucks spokesperson, said Tuesday.

Laxman Narasimhan will take the reigns from Schultz starting April 1, and will be faced with the union push at some of Starbucks US cafes that first began in 2019.

It is clear to everybody that Mr. Schultz who sets the policy of that company, Sanders said at a news conference. Hes been clear about it, and it is he who has got to defend his actions and not send some subordinate.

Sanders added that he will demand that Starbucks management end stalling tactics in the face of union organizing drives. While workers at more than 280 Starbucks locations have voted to form a union in the last year, the company hasnt signed a single contract, Sanders said.

They understand that it is cheaper to break the law than to follow it, Sanders said.

Story continues

US National Labor Relations Board prosecutors have issued complaints accusing Starbucks of illegal anti-union tactics including threats, store shutdowns, and terminations of about 50 activists. Federal judges have ordered the company to reinstate some of those fired employees. Last week a group of white-collar Starbucks employees and managers released an open letter condemning the alleged union-busting, increasing the pressure on executives.

Starbucks has said repeatedly that all claims of anti-union activity there are categorically false.

--With assistance from Leslie Patton and Josh Eidelson.

(Adds Sanders comments starting in fifth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
For the fifth time in 12 months, Florida lawmakers are back in Tallahassee, this time for the regular session.

With a supermajority in the house and senate, the GOP has a long list of priorities, including a new abortion bill.

Many people see this regular session as a kick-off for Gov. Ron DeSantis expected presidential run.

It is no secret that the governor had been laying the groundwork for a presidential bid. In fact, DeSantis will be heading to Iowa later this week, a key state in the early Republican primary season.

WATCH: Gov. DeSantis delivers State of the State address ahead of Florida legislative session

But before he can announce a presidential campaign, lawmakers need to tend to the business of the state.

Florida is number one, and working together, we will ensure that Florida remains the number one state in the United States, DeSantis said during Tuesdays legislative session.

In his remarks, the governor highlighted the states response to hurricanes Ian and Nicole, while also taking aim at COVID-19 and vaccines.

READ: Floridas 2023 legislative session: Lawmakers plan to tackle these 9 key issues

We defied the experts, we bucked the elites, we ignore the chatter, DeSantis said. We did our way the Florida way

On the issues ahead of the legislature this session, the governor threw his support behind insurance litigation changes and an expansion of school vouchers for K-12, while also renewing his push for overhauling state universities and banning in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants.

READ: Florida blogger registration bill insane, Gingrich tweets

For Florida Democrats who have seen their power diminished to its lowest level in more than a decade, there is little they can do to stop or change the agenda, other than raise concerns.

Banning books, thats not freedom, limiting protest against the government, thats not freedom, Sen. Lauren Book (D  Broward County) said. Claiming to be pro-business yet attacking Floridas businesses, both big and small -- that is not freedom.

READ: FBI investigating womans suspicious death on Carnival cruise ship

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.
John Candys children and wife have paid tribute to the late actor, 29 years on from his death.

The Splash star died from a heart attack in Mexico on 4 March 1994. He was 43 years old.

On Saturday (4 March), his surviving family posted messages of love for their father and husband on the anniversary of his death.

His wife, Rose  who is now 73  posted a picture of her late husband, writing: I was going through photos today and I thought this is a great one to post.

Miss you today. As always with love, she added.

His daughter Jennifer, 43, shared a photo of herself as a toddler with her father.

You will always be around. You will always be missed. You will always be loved, Jennifer wrote next to the photograph.

Meanwhile, Candys son Chris, 38, said he still thinks of his father every day.

Sending love to my father today. 29 years ago you started a new journey, he wrote next to a picture of his dad.

I miss you and think of you often. I still think of you daily. Loss is never easy but I can optimistically say it is one of the great teachers in life.

Candy was best known for his roles in Splash, Home Alone and Uncle Buck, among many others.

It was recently reported that a documentary about Candy has been made by family friend and actor Ryan Reynolds, along with Tom Hanks son, Colin.

Reynolds produced the film, while Colin  whose father starred with Candy in Volunteers  directed the documentary.

The documentary reportedly contains home videos, giving an insight into the actors life outside of work. The film has been made with support from the Candy family, with Amazon in discussions about buying the film, Variety reported in February.
SUMTER COUNTY  A joint law enforcement strike force, including the Sumter County Sheriffs Office, discovered 15 people being brought into the United States and seized more than 4 pounds of fentanyl, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

We know were on one of the main lines, because of the interstate, Sumter Sheriff Bill Farmer told the Daily Commercial on Tuesday, referencing I-75.

We try our best, he said, but added that working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol and Hernando County was especially gratifying.

Lady Lake shooting: Man shot and killed at Applebee's in Lady Lake

Daylight saving time: Sunshine Protection Act gets reintroduced. What it means for Florida, spring forward

FHP is responsible for patrolling I-75 and Floridas Turnpike, which come together in Wildwood, though sometimes the Sheriffs Office is called to assist. There are three other I-75 exits in Sumter south of Wildwood.

The problems sometimes spill over onto Sumter roads, including truck stops and motels. Years ago, a truck stop in Wildwood was notorious for prostitution problems.

Thats not like it used to be, Farmer said. Undercover investigators and marked patrol cars are on the lookout for problems, including a sex crime unit that checks motels.

Farmer said the joint strike force operation came about after his agency, Hernando, Citrus and Pasco counties came together and decided to ask state and federal authorities for help.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Operation Strike Force to be formed.

I-75 has long been a problem area. For example, in 2021, an FHP trooper stopped a 2014 Toyota for illegal window tint and discovered that a Louisiana temporary tag had been altered. The driver presented a Honduras ID card but no drivers license.

The trooper then noticed four nervous passengers.

The trooper, who had previously worked in Texas, recognized obvious signs of human trafficking, according to reports. Two men had been smuggled into the country from Guatemala and two women from Mexico. They said they had paid smugglers to bring them to Florida, according to the reports.

Story continues

Less than a month later, troopers arrested a man and charged him with smuggling four people into the country. That arrest also involved seizure of a large amount of cash.

Human trafficking is a big problem in Florida, with victims forced into prostitution or labor, according to the Childrens Advocacy Center in Leesburg. Often the victims are children brought in through ports in the Miami area.

In a news release issued on March 6, FHP said the weeklong operation also resulted in the seizure of 30 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 30 pounds of marijuana, $22,000 in cash, and cocaine, heroin and Suboxone.

FHP made 114 stops, issued 29 citations, handed out 17 faulty equipment notices, and made 38 misdemeanor and 58 arrests. Law officers also seized vehicles and two guns.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Law enforcement 'strike force' effort results in arrests, drugs seized
[Source]

The Indian police have started filing a case against the college student who allegedly peed on another passenger during an American Airlines flight from New York City to India over the weekend.

The incident reportedly occurred on a 15-hour flight from New York Citys JFK Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, on Saturday when the student, identified as 21-year-old Aryan Vohra, allegedly urinated on a fellow passenger, according to Asian News International (ANI).

Vohra was reportedly flying to India to attend his sisters wedding.

In a statement, American Airlines explained that Vohra, an Indian national studying in the United States, boarded the plane heavily intoxicated and was not following instructions.

More from NextShark: California man charged for driving through Stop Asian Hate rally, yelling racial slurs

The airline said the student also argued with the flight crew and refused to be seated, which endangered the aircraft and other passengers. The incident peaked when Vohra suddenly urinated on the passenger seated on 15G.

American Airlines said it had contacted Delhi Air Traffic Control before landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, where it requested security assistance to handle the unruly passenger.

An airport official said Indias Central Industrial Security Force escorted the student from the plane upon landing, noting that he was also being unruly to the authorities.

More from NextShark: Police: Minnesota woman, 23, killed her 3 children and herself after her husband's suicide

In a statement acknowledging the incident, the Delhi police said Vohra is a resident of Defence Colony, a neighborhood in Delhi.

Vohra was taken into police custody following his flight's arrival in India, but he was released on bail on Sunday Morning as his offense was reportedly under bailable sections, authorities said.

Devesh Kumar Mahla, deputy commissioner of police at Indira Gandhi International Airport, told ANI that the authorities are now taking legal action against Vohra, adding, we will do our best in this case. They have registered a case against the student under Indias Penal Code and the Civil Aviation Act.

Story continues

More from NextShark: These plastic-hungry fungi in China might just be the key to solving the worlds waste

Vohra told us that he went to the washroom, but the door was locked, Mahla said, Times of India reported. We are verifying his testimony, he added, noting that investigators will take statements from other passengers and the flight crew.

Although ANI did not mention the victim's gender, the Times of India, citing sources, noted that Vohra had urinated on a male business-class passenger. Vohra allegedly begged the man not to file a complaint against him, to which he agreed. Vohra, however, was still arrested due to the complaint made by the airline, police said.

"He was in a state of inebriation and urinated while he was asleep. It somehow leaked and fell on a fellow passenger who complained to the crew," a source at the airport told Press Trust of India.

More from NextShark: Man Involved in Past Anti-Asian Incidents Arrested For Spitting at Asian Couple in Canada

Meanwhile, American Airlines announced it would forever ban Vohra from boarding its planes again.

Were grateful to our crew members who are consistently dedicated to the safety and care of our customers and handled the circumstances with the utmost professionalism, the airline said in a statement.
An artists impression of the CatSat and beachball-esque antenna, which features a clear bottom half and a reflective, aluminum-coated top half that will reflect data down to Earth.

In an attempt to optimize communication in space across vast distances, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona will rely on a unique antenna for CatSat, a small satellite that will study the ionosphere. The antenna resembles a space-age beachball that can beam information to Earth at high speeds.



The inflatable antenna is actually the brainchild of Freefall Aerospace, a space startup in Tucson that spun off from the University of Arizonas Tech Launch Arizona. The antenna folds into CatSat until its ready to be deployed, during which reserves of helium and argon gas fill it up. The researchers are planning to pack the antenna onto CatSat, a student-designed cubesat from the University of Arizona. The cubesat is roughly the size of a cereal box and its designed to collect data on how radio waves warp as they encounter the ionosphere.

Read more

This technology could drive down the cost of high-quality scientific measurements in space by enabling the use of lightweight, low-cost antennas with very high data rates, said Aman Chandra, a University of Arizona PhD student studying mechanical engineering, in a press release.

The inflatable sphere features one clear half and an aluminum-coated half thats designed to reflect data back to Earth, including some high resolution images of the planet. The inflatable antenna, which can transmit data almost instantaneously due to its large surface area, is a leap in cubesat communications, since previous cubesats have had to carry small antennas that can take days to transmit data, according to the press release.



CatSat | Student-led CubeSat Project

CatSat will study how radio signals interact with the ionosphere using a smaller, 2-foot-long (0.6-meter-long) antenna on the opposite side of the satellite that will receive transmissions from amateur sources on Earth. The student researchers that built CatSat want to test how the density of the ionosphere fluctuates, since these fluctuations can affect radio transmissions used in GPS, for example. CatSat will listen to radio frequencies using its smaller antenna and researchers on the ground will compare the transmissions heard in space to those heard on the ground to try and identify trends in the ionospheres density.

Story continues

The ionospheres density changes between night and day as radiation from the sun affects the density of its charged particles, Chandra said in the press release. By listening to the strength of radio signals in the high-frequency range, we can estimate how the density of the ionosphere changes over time.

CatSat currently has no set launch date, but the University of Arizona says itll eventually launch from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California aboard a Firefly Alpha rocket from space transport company Firefly Aerospace. Once in space, CatSat will operate in Sun-synchronous orbit and perched 340 miles (547 kilometers) above the planet.

More: Florida Startup Moves Closer to Building Data Centers on the Moon

More from Gizmodo

Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
The Supreme Courts looming decision over the legality of President Bidens student loan forgiveness program is threatening to undermine a key pillar of the presidents outreach to young voters and efforts to tackle racial inequality.

Biden himself acknowledged last week that while he was confident his forgiveness of up to $20,000 in federal student debt is legal, he was less sure the Supreme Court and its 6-3 conservative majority would uphold it.

A Supreme Court reversal would leave millions of Americans scrambling while striking down a key part of Bidens legacy that excited the progressive wing of the Democratic base.

One of the main concerns is, how does the sitting president meet, in this case, his promises that he made to young people? Theres still a lot left to go, said John Paul Mejia, chief national spokesperson at the Sunrise Movement.

When the president is able to tout a message that says, its fine, itll get better, trust me. Thats not enough. Young people are feeling really alienated in an economy that  doesnt really work for us and never has, Mejia said.

Biden said last week that hes not confident that the Supreme Court will clear his plan, but the White House has avoided outlining any kind of Plan B.

Right now, the plan that we have before the Supreme Court is the plan that we have for the American people, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday. We believe that again, we have the legal authority, that the other side does not, it does not have the standing or the merit to really move forward with what theyre trying to do.

She also took a jab at challenges to the program, which have come from six GOP-led states as well as from two individuals, calling it unfortunate that we have certain elected officials across the country that are trying to prevent nurses and doctors and teachers from getting this type of benefit.

Bidens student debt plan was a clear nod to progressives, who wanted to see forgiveness granted through executive action since the beginning of his administration. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and others had pushed the president to forgive up to $50,000 in federal debt before Biden settled on $20,000.

Story continues

The policy was also among the most prominent ways Bidens administration had sought to close the racial inequality gap, something that the president and Vice President Harris speak frequently about as a focus of their administration.

Roughly 70 percent of Black undergraduates with student loans are Pell Grant recipients, and 65 percent of Latino undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients, meaning those minority groups were more likely to benefit from loan forgiveness.

White House officials have maintained confidence that the loan program is on solid legal footing, and they pointed to other ways Biden has sought to address racial inequality, including through funding for historically Black colleges and universities, executive orders to eliminate barriers to jobs and housing for minorities, and initiatives to increase diversity and opportunity in government.

But the student loan forgiveness program is perhaps Bidens most high-profile effort to date, and it is one that resonated with young voters, many of whom were skeptical about Biden during the 2020 Democratic primary but had come around since he took office.

Voters ages 18-29 backed Biden over former President Trump 59 percent to 35 percent in the 2020 election, according to Pew Research data. And young voters helped carry Democrats to a better-than-expected midterm election performance last November, according to a Brookings Institution analysis.

Bidens approval rating among 18 to 29-year-olds sat at 39 percent last November, down from 41 percent last spring, according to a national poll conducted by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.

While a final ruling isnt expected until this summer, a decision to strike down Bidens plan could give the president ample fodder to go on offense against Republicans heading into 2024, and strategists said he should be prepared to do so.

Its only going to further the anger at Republicans through the youth vote, said Michael Starr Hopkins, a progressive strategist. I think that Joe Biden should go after the Republican attorneys general, and therefore the Republican Party, that are attacking the student loan forgiveness. These are kids. There are kids all over the country who have been straddled with six figures in debt.

Biden will struggle to accomplish much legislatively toward his agenda with the Republican-controlled House, and he has started to steer Democrats toward touting accomplishments from the last two years while out on the campaign trail in 2024.

But progressives arent satisfied with just those accomplishments and want to see more through executive action.

Seeing a president who was elected by the majority of people in this country, seeing a president who crossed the finish line in a hard-fought election in 2020 in large part because young people showed up, we want to see a fight in that president and we cant just see a president sit down and lay back and not do anything about that, Meija said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
CAIRO (AP)  A powerful paramilitary commander slammed Sudan's ruling generals Tuesday, saying they oppose stepping down to allow for a democratic transition under a civilian administration.

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, said his conflict with other military leaders, which has become public in recent weeks, is centered on the issue of handing over power to civilians.

We are against anyone who wants to be a dictator," he told RSF troops at a military base in the capital of Khartoum.

Sudan was plunged into chaos after a military coup removed a Western-backed government in October 2021, stalling its short-lived transition to democracy after nearly three decades of autocratic rule under President Omar al-Bashir. The coup came more than two years after a popular uprising forced the removal of al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

Under mounting pressure, the generals and pro-democracy groups reached an initial agreement in December that would allow the formation of a civilian government. Other groups, including rebels, opposed the deal and internationally backed talks were still ongoing to have them join the Framework Agreement, a condition the military has set to hand over power to civilians.

The dispute between Dagalo and other military generals has escalated in recent weeks. The RSF commander, who is backed by the United Arab Emirates, has recently become critical of other military leaders, partly over the issue of handing power to civilians but also over the incorporation of his powerful force into the military as stated in the Framework Agreement.

The rhetoric has fueled concerns of possible clashes between the military and Dagalo's paramilitary force, best known for its scorched-earth campaigns in the Darfur conflict, and its leading role in the June 2019 deadly break-up of a protest camp outside the military's headquarters in Khartoum.

In his speech, Dagalo played down any tensions between his forces and the military as an institution.

Story continues

There is no problem between the military and the Rapid Support (Forces), he told cheering RSF troops. We want to achieve a true democratic transition. We want this country to rise.

Dagalo did not offer evidence to support his claim that the country's military leaders are opposed to handing over power to civilians. But his comments Tuesday were apparently referring to Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, chairman of the ruling sovereign council.

A spokesman for the military did not answer calls seeking comment. Burhan has previously said they were ready to hand over power once civilians settle their disputes.

Both Burhan and Dagalo, who is also the deputy chairman of the sovereign council, led the 2021 coup. However, Dagalo has in recent months sought to reinvent his public image and that of his forces. He portrayed himself as a defender of the restoration of democratic transition, describing the coup as a mistake.

In his speech Tuesday, Dagalo said that foreign countries including wealthy Gulf monarchies and European governments have made restoring the democratic transition a condition for resuming assistance to Sudan.

Many foreign governments and international institutions ceased providing aid to Sudan following the coup and have pressed Burhan and Dagalo to rescind their grip on power.

Any party we ask to support Sudan, it tells us: after the formation of the civilian government, he said.
Jens Stoltenberg

Mr. Putin is launching new offensives and waves of deadly missile attacks, Stoltenberg said.

Read also: Ukrainian defenders hold on in Bakhmut, Putins mobilization fails

He went on to say that NATOs response to Moscows determination to prosecute the war must be unwavering commitment to providing Ukraine with whatever it needs to achieve victory.

Later, he added: We must continue to provide support for as long as it takes.

Read also: Russia losing five times more soldiers in Bakhmut than Ukraine, NATO assesses

According to Ukraines General Staff, as many as 140 Russian attacks were repelled near Kupyansk, Lymansk, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Shakhtarsk in eastern Ukraine in the last 24 hours.

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
A different Tesla being charged. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Two people accused of stealing $8,000 of merchandise used a Tesla as their getaway vehicle.

But they stopped to charge it 15 minutes down the road, where police located them.

An image shared by police on social media shows the Tesla packed full of gaming systems.

Two suspects accused of stealing over $8,000 of merchandise in Buford, Georgia were caught 15 minutes down the road after stopping to charge their Tesla getaway vehicle.

Gwinnett County Police told Insider that the suspects were arrested around 10 miles away while attempting to charge the car near the Gas South Arena venue on February 19.

The police shared details of the theft on social media on Sunday alongside images of the car packed full of boxes of gaming systems and electric toothbrushes. In a statement to Insider, a police spokesperson said the thieves were fleeing a Sam's Club store.

Witnesses told police responding to the 911 call that the pair had fled in the electric vehicle  their description was then broadcast to surrounding officers.

The suspects were found about 15 minutes away. Google

It is unclear whether the shoplifters owned the car themselves or if it was previously stolen.

On a full battery, current Tesla models can travel over 300 miles according to the company's website.

This isn't the first time that criminals have been thwarted by a Tesla battery. In 2019, a woman in Arizona tried to steal a Model S but it ran out of charge as she drove away.

The following year, a 21-year-old attempted to carjack a Model 3 in California, but when the driver got out he remotely locked the would-be thief inside the vehicle, using his iPhone.

In 2014, The Verge reported that the first person to ever die in a Tesla had stolen the vehicle from a service center before crashing it in a nearly 100 miles-per-hour police chase.

Read the original article on Business Insider
UBS CEO Ralph Hamers received a pay hike for 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

UBS gave CEO Ralph Hamers an 11% pay hike in 2022, taking his pay to $13 million.

But the Swiss bank cut the bonus pool for its employees by 10% to $3.3 billion.

UBS' full-year profits rose in 2022 even amid a challenging deal-making environment.

Swiss bank UBS gave its CEO an 11% pay hike in 2022  even as it cut the bonus pool for the rest of the company by 10%.

The Zurich-based lender awarded CEO Ralph Hamers 12.2 million Swiss francs, or $13 million, for 2022, according to UBS' annual report published on Monday. His paycheck includes a base salary of 2.5 million francs and a performance award of 9.7 million francs.

Hamers had made 11 million francs in 2021, after UBS cut executive bonuses over the collapse of Bill Hwang's Archegos Capital Management, a family office. Archegos had borrowed heavily from banks, including UBS, for his risky bets.

"Ralph Hamers successfully led UBS through a challenging year and delivered good financial results despite significant headwinds due to geopolitical and macroeconomic developments," UBS said in its annual report. It added that the company's performance last year was in line with targets.

For the rest of the bank's employees, however, the news wasn't so upbeat as the overall bonus pool shrank by 10% to $3.3 billion in 2022 amid a challenging year for deal-making. UBS employed over 71,000 full-time workers as of December 31, 2021.

UBS reported $7.6 billion in full-year net profit for 2022  beating analysts' expectations of $7.3 billion, per Refinitiv. However, revenues in UBS' global banking division  which advises on mergers and acquisitions and IPOs  nearly halved to $1.6 billion in 2022.

UBS said in its annual report it expects 2023 to be "a year of inflections" with investors navigating the markets and economy against "a complex geopolitical backdrop." The bank highlighted the Ukraine war and US-China tensions as two areas of concern.

UBS shares closed 0.3% higher at 20.74 Swiss francs apiece on Monday. They are up 19% so far this year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Germany to face severe economic losses due to climate change: study

Xinhua) 08:43, March 07, 2023

The bank of the river Rhine is seen flooded in Cologne, western Germany, July 15, 2021. (Photo by Tang Ying/Xinhua)

In addition to financially measurable effects, there will be numerous health impairments, deaths from heat waves and flooding, a strain on ecosystems, a loss of biodiversity and a reduction in quality of life.

BERLIN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany is set to lose up to 900 billion euros (960 billion U.S. dollars) by 2050 due to climate change related damages to its economy, according to a study published Monday.

Even the best-case scenario calculating with only a moderate rise in temperatures forecasts losses of around 280 billion euros in the same period, reveals the study jointly carried out by Germany's Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

In addition to financially measurable effects, there will be "numerous health impairments, deaths from heat waves and flooding, a strain on ecosystems, a loss of biodiversity, and a reduction in quality of life," the ministries said.

This photo taken on Jan. 9, 2023 shows a high-voltage grid facility in Berlin, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

"Climate change is already having severe economic consequences today," parliamentary state secretary Stefan Wenzel said. "Every euro invested in climate protection reduces the economic costs that could arise in the future as a result of extreme events."

Hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters inflicted damages worth 270 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2022, according to recent figures by German reinsurer Munich Re. Although the figure was less than that in 2021, the trends in recent years had shown a steady increase in such damages, the company said.

"Climate change is taking an increasing toll," Thomas Blunck, member of the board of management of Munich Re, said in a statement. According to Blunck, the damages in 2022 were mainly caused by events that were more intense or were occurring more frequently than in earlier years.

Loading equipment operates at a coal yard of a thermal power plant in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

On Monday, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina called on the government to speed up the transformation of the country's energy system to help achieve the Paris climate targets both in Germany and Europe. "It is also important to come up with the technologies that make this possible worldwide," it said.

Germany aims to be climate neutral by 2045, partly by increasing the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption from around 44 percent in 2022 to at least 80 percent by 2030.

The energy transition in Europe's largest economy is "not progressing fast enough," a study published in February by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the consulting firm Ernst and Young (EY) has found. In particular, the roll-out of renewable energy technologies was still proceeding "far too slowly." (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollar)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
 Flash

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two Chinese officials on Monday urged Japan not to arbitrarily start discharging nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.

Liu Jing, deputy director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors that Japan's nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan is not the country's private matter, but concerns the global marine environment and public health.

Liu said the IAEA has neither completed its assessment of Japan's disposal plan nor drawn specific conclusions, and all its three reports published so far pointed out the plan's non-compliance with the agency's safety standards and suggested improvement.

However, Japan has arbitrarily approved its own plan and expedited the construction of discharge facilities, ignoring the authoritative advice from the IAEA and the opposition from both home and abroad, Liu said, calling Japan's move "an extremely irresponsible act that has drawn grave concerns from the international community and relevant countries."

Noting that China supports the IAEA's work on Japan's discharge plan, the Chinese nuclear official said he hopes the agency will continue to perform its duties in an objective and impartial manner, listen to the opinions of stakeholders, strictly implement the agency's safety standards and international good practices, and help the international community ensure absolute safety.

Liu stressed that Japan's plan to dump contaminated water into the ocean is not the only feasible way of disposal, and Japan should not use the assessment from the IAEA technical task force as a free pass on its discharge plan.

He urged Japan not to distort the reports of the IAEA task force to justify its discharge plan, nor ignore the authoritative suggestion from the task force, nor set a deadline for the release of the task force's final assessment report.

Noting that the disposal of the contaminated water will span a long time and involve many uncertainties, he said that Japan should allow effective international supervision on the water disposal, address the legitimate concerns of its neighbors and Pacific island countries, and hold meaningful consultations with stakeholders.

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, also decried Japan's "extremely irresponsible act" of pushing ahead with its discharge plan despite international opposition.

Li urged Japan to respond to the concerns of the international community and refrain from arbitrarily discharging contaminated water into the ocean.

Such water disposal is a highly controversial issue that needs to be seriously and prudently addressed by the international community and IAEA member states, the Chinese envoy said.

Instead of endorsing Japan's discharge plan, the IAEA should maintain its scientific, impartial and transparent approach and lead the establishment of a long-term international monitoring system that involves laboratories and experts from China and other stakeholders, he said.

China will participate in the relevant work of the IAEA with a strong sense of responsibility, Li said.
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen persuaded House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to meet in the US due to security worries, the Financial Times said, a move that appeared aimed at avoiding another crisis with China.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Tsais government shared intelligence with McCarthy about threats posed by Beijing, the newspaper reported, citing a senior Taiwanese official, who added that risks could be limited if Washington and Taipei worked to control them. McCarthy has said he wanted to visit Taipei at some point.

A separate official from Taiwan said McCarthy viewed the concerns as reasonable, the Financial Times said, and that Tsais representatives suggested a meeting in the US while the president stopped over on a trip to Central America.

Taiwans representative office in the US declined to comment on the report. The Foreign Ministry in Taipei said in a statement it didnt have any information to offer on Tsais trip, adding it would brief the public when the details are confirmed.

Read: Xi Woos Taiwan Opposition Ahead of Pivotal Presidential Vote

China responded to then-House speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taipei in August by holding unprecedented military exercises in areas all around Taiwan, which appeared to show it could enforce a blockade of the island that Beijing views as its territory. The Peoples Liberation Army also fired missiles over Taiwan.

The US said that China overreacted to the trip, the first by a sitting House speaker in 25 years.

China has eased up its military pressure on Taiwan of late. The island holds a presidential election next year that Beijings preferred negotiating partner, the opposition Kuomintang, has a chance to win.

Story continues

Tsai will leave office after serving the maximum two, four-year terms.

--With assistance from Nick Wadhams and Cindy Wang.

(Updates with comment from Taiwans Foreign Ministry.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Ben Blanchard and Ryan Woo

TAIPEI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Taiwan will not allow "repeated provocations" from China, the island's defence minister said on Tuesday, as China's foreign minister said Taiwan was the "first red line" that must not be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations.

Tensions over democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, have spiked over the past three years as Beijing ramps up diplomatic and military pressure to get Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.

China staged war games near Taiwan in August to protest the Taipei visit of then U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen plans to meet current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters.

Speaking to reporters at parliament, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said he was not aware of a planned meeting between Tsai and McCarthy.

"The Chinese communists use any reason to send troops," Chiu said. "But we won't just say 'bring it on'. We will take a peaceful and rational approach."

Although it hopes this does not happen, Taiwan's military is prepared to fight, he added.

"If the Chinese communists move again, the armed forces' job is to fight," Chiu said. "We won't allow repeated provocations against us. We can't accept that."

Taiwan's government has not announced a Tsai visit to the United States, which previously she has made as stop-overs on the way to countries which maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Taking lawmakers' questions, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said it was "inappropriate" to talk about foreign travel arrangements for the president "before there are definite plans".

McCarthy has also not confirmed a meeting with Tsai.

'INTERNAL AFFAIR'

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said it was "absurd" for U.S. officials to say that Taiwan is not an internal affair of China's.

Story continues

"The Taiwan question is the core of the core interests of China, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations," he said on the sidelines of China's annual meeting of parliament.

"The United States has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question."

China will keep working for "peaceful reunification", but reserves the right to take all necessary measures, Qin said.

"No one should ever underestimate the firm resolve strong will and great capability of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Taiwan's government strongly disputes China's territorial claims though has repeatedly offered talks with Beijing, and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

One of the sources told Reuters that should the U.S. meeting go forward - likely in April - it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future.

Four other sources - including U.S. officials and people with knowledge of the U.S. and Taiwan administrations' thinking - said both sides were deeply uneasy that a future visit by McCarthy would severely increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait at a time when the island is preparing for its own presidential election early next year.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Ryan Woo; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Tarrant County College settled with a former employee in a discrimination suit which helped set a precedent for protecting LGBTQ employees from discrimination.

In 2019, Amanda Sims filed a lawsuit against Tarrant County College on the allegation that the college discriminated against and eventually fired her because she is a lesbian.

Tarrant County College settled the suit by paying Sims $45,000.

When the Star-Telegram contacted Tarrant County College for comment on the suit Monday, a representative said the staff member who handles requests was out of town and hung up the phone.

The suit said the discrimination started after Sims revealed to her supervisor that she was gay. The supervisor expressed religious views that held gay people in a negative light and once said to Sims: I have to overlook my bias when it comes to you, according to the suit.

I was a good employee who worked my heart out for TCC students, Sims, who worked for TCC for three years as a coordinator with student groups, said in a news release Monday from her attorneys office. When I stood up for who I was and filed my complaint is when they decided to come after me.

After Sims reported to the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission that Tarrant County College was discriminating against her, the college put her on administrative leave and fired her, the suit says.

Sims suit was initially filed under the Texas Constitution and the Texas Whistleblower Act, which protects employees from being retaliated against for good faith reporting.

Tarrant County College filed a motion for a judge to dismiss the suit, but Dallas County 116th Civil District Court Judge Tonya Parker denied the motion. The college appealed Parkers decision, which led to the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas hearing arguments in the case.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the Georgia case of Bostock v. Clayton County and made a ruling that changed the fate of Sims case. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ employees are protected from employment discrimination under federal law.

Story continues

On March 10, 2021, the Fifth District Court of Appeals used Sims case to align Texas state law with the federal decision made in Bostock. The justices ruled the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act must extend its protections to include discrimination based on a persons sexual or gender orientation. Because of the ruling, the justices found Sims lawsuit could be brought under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, which enforces state laws prohibiting employment and housing discrimination.

The Courts message to employers could not be clearer: Texas law makes it illegal to discriminate against gay and lesbian employees, said Sims attorney, Jason Smith.

When the case was sent back to the trial court, Parker rejected Tarrant County Colleges assertion that there was no evidence of sexual orientation discrimination, and the case was set for trial on Jan. 30.

The Friday before the trial date, Sims and Tarrant County College reached a tentative settlement on Jan. 27. On Feb. 21, the Tarrant County College Board of Trustees approved the settlement agreement.

Im glad I stood up for myself and that other gays and lesbians will be protected as a result, Sims said in the release from Smiths law firm.
Late last month, Artifact, a personalized news reader built by Instagrams co-founders, opened to the public. The launch was a surprise to many consumers, who wondered why the team behind one of the world's most iconic social apps would return to startups to focus on one of the toughest areas instead: news. It's an ecosystem where publishers are failing left and right and misinformation is rampant, as the founders surely saw themselves while working at Facebook.

In an interview, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom explains what drew him to this space and how his new app's underlying technology will serve to differentiate it from the competition.

The startup's existence, in some ways, can be credited to the COVID pandemic, as that's what brought the Instagram co-founders, Systrom and Mike Krieger, back together. During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, the co-founders teamed up for the first time since leaving Facebook to create a COVID-19 dashboard called Rt.live that tracked the spread of the virus across the U.S.

But in later months, other COVID trackers emerged and people were no longer as interested in tracking the virus's spread on a state-by-state basis. Invigorated by the experience, the founders began then to think about returning to work on a "real company" instead of a public good side project.

Machine learning is the "future of social"

AI - artificial intelligence CPU concept. Machine learning. CPU on the board with glow tracks. Background scientific concept in blue light, 3D illustration

Image Credits: Usis / Getty Images

Deciding on their next act took time. The founders hacked around on stuff for a year and a half or so after their initial collaboration, Systrom says. The founder, who describes himself as a "very frameworks-driven person," knew he wanted to do something that involved machine learning, having seen its power at Instagram.

"It was super fascinating to me to work on it at Instagram and watch it go from a company without machine learning to a company driven by machine learning," he says. "I also witnessed the rise of TikTok and realized how important machine learning would be for the future of social."

Story continues

He himself observed how social networking's underlying graph had changed a lot over the years, watching as Facebook invented what's now known as the "friend graph" -- a user's personal social network of real-life connections. Later, he saw Twitter pioneer the "follow graph," or a graph of connections based on the user's explicit choices of who they want to follow on a service. Then, at Instagram, Systrom saw firsthand the shift from the "follow graph" to the "inferred graph" or, rather, the "interest graph."

This, he explains, was basically a "follow graph" powered by machine learning, instead of by users clicking a button.

The potential to leverage machine learning and an interest graph within a new product appealed to him, he says.

"We looked for an area that was social in nature, but where we could apply 20% new techniques -- and that would be the machine learning side of what we're doing," Systrom says, describing how the founders narrowed their focus.

Fixing a broken news ecosystem

Image Credits: jayk7 (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

The other consideration that prompted the founders' interest in news, more specifically, was the potential impact if the app succeeded. They wanted to work on a startup they felt the world needed, Systrom says. No doubt, some of that interest may have been fueled by working at Facebook (now Meta), which had changed consumers' news consumption behavior, impacting publishers as well as the spread of misinformation.

"It felt like our consumption of information -- both factual, balanced, entertaining, etc. -- had an existential crisis," Systrom tells TechCrunch. Plus, he adds, "many of the people producing this content are going out of business."

Meanwhile, on the consumer side of the news reading experience, there's so much information swirling around that people don't know what they can trust or which item to read. People are asking themselves if a link shared by a friend is actually legit and they're wondering why they're reading one article over the many others published on the same topic.

"It might be cheesy to say, because I've now said it a bunch of times, but I feel like the worst part about social media is that it's social," Systrom says. "I think the 'social' part of social media -- for a long time, in terms of information consumption -- has been a hack to filter for information that would be interesting to you. But we now don't need that hack, because we can learn what's interesting to you," he continues. "We can quantify it. We can build profiles. And then we can serve you content that is both high-quality, balanced and interesting to you."

This realization led to the creation of Artifact, a social news app powered by machine learning.

Image Credits: Artifact personalization and stats

The app in some ways is very much like others that exist today, which have been founded in other countries, including ByteDance's Toutiao in China, Japan's SmartNews and News Break, another personalized news reader with Chinese roots. Like its rivals, Artifact learns from user behavior, engagement and other factors in order to personalize which headlines are presented and in which order.

Despite this competitive landscape, Systrom believes U.S. news consumers want an option that's actually based in their home market.

"They want a domestic player with a team they trust," Systrom says, speaking to the news aggregation landscape in the U.S.

His comment is a timely one, given how tensions in the U.S. have been growing over China's grip on the social networking market with TikTok. The short video app, which is often used as a source for news by Gen Z, is now banned on government phones and bipartisan legislation to further police it is in the works.

Clearing out the clickbait

In addition to its locale, Systrom believes Artifact will be able to differentiate itself based on its unique combination of technology and taste -- a directive that could also be used to describe Instagram's founding for that matter.

Unlike Facebook -- which became a platform by which any publisher could deliver news, and oftentimes clickbait -- Artifact's news sources are curated up front, the founder explains.

"When I say taste, I mean the top of the funnel in our system -- the publishers we choose to distribute," notes Systrom. "It's not a free-for-all. We don't crawl the entire web and just let everything go in."

Instead, Artifact has selected the top publishers across different categories to fuel the content in the app. Customers can add their own paid subscriptions, as well. At this time, Artifact doesn't sell those for a revenue share or involve itself in publishers' ad sales, though one day that could change, depending on how the app chooses to monetize.

For now, however, the focus is on gaining traction with consumers and ensuring the app's news sources are worth reading.

Screenshot of Artifact app. Image Source: Artifact

"The line, internally...is we want a balanced ideological corpus, subject to integrity and quality," Systrom says. "And the idea is not that we only choose left-wing, or we only choose right-wing. We drew the line at quality and integrity subject to a bunch of the metrics that a lot of these third-party fact-checking services have. The third-party services basically rate the integrity of different publishers based on their research and based on public events -- like how quickly they correct their stories, whether their funding is transparent, all that kind of stuff," he notes.

"You can claim it's editorial," he continues. "But it's more about making sure that the set that we're going to distribute and pour into this powerful machine -- that can distribute content widely -- that we're being responsible by giving it content that isn't going to be misinformation."

Beyond the integrity of reporting, Artifact aims to deliver a news experience that's more fulfilling.

"If you log on to a lot of these other sources, you get pretty clickbaity-stuff," Systrom points out. "I'm not trying to throw shade on folks working in this area, but we wouldn't work on it if we thought that it was solved. We focus a lot in our system on a different objective, which is this idea of value...if we put in the top-quality sources in these categories and we have coverage -- whether it's parenting or mental wellness, or exercise -- that we can create a differentiated content set that feels much different than the front page of a major newspaper but also feels very different than a lot of the other aggregators," he says.

Yet, even as the app personalizes its content selection to the end user, it doesn't leave them in so-called "filter bubbles," necessarily, as Facebook did. Instead, when users click on a headline to read a story, they're shown the entire coverage across sources, allowing them to peruse the story from different vantage points.

Artifact's recommendation system

Artifact displayed on smartphone laid on colored tiles/blocks

Image Credits: Artifact

Systrom credits Toutiao for driving innovation in recommendation systems, noting that Toutiao essentially helped ByteDance give birth to TikTok. The technology developed for its news discovery was brought to its acquisition of Musical.ly, which became the Chinese app Douyin and its international counterpart TikTok.

But Systrom believes some of the machine learning that Artificat is doing is different.

"The machine learning that a lot of what we're doing is based on was invented in 2017 at Google. It's called the transformer...without that, GPT 3, 3.5 etc., wouldn't exist. Without that, you wouldn't have DALL-E. Without that, you wouldn't have ChatGPT," he says. "You're inventing a core technology that can then be applied in many different ways."

The app's algorithms are focused on more than just tracking clicks and engagement. It weighs other factors, too, like dwell time, read time, shares, stories that get shared in DMs (private messages) and more.

"If you let your algorithm focus on clicks, it will end up serving clickbait. If you simply optimize for only what people have clicked on, you end up having tunnel vision," Systrom explains.

The model additionally involves an algorithm called Epsilon-Greedy.

"That's a technical term for you taking some small portion of your time -- like 10% or 20% -- and you explore. You do something different than you would normally do...you go to the outside of the recommendation spectrum rather than the core of it," Systrom says. "It's shown many, many times, especially in reinforcement learning, that having this 'explore' budget we'll call it, actually is optimal for users."

That's the same reason why TikTok has begun testing tools that let users refresh their feeds. Without the added spice of unexpected content, the video app's suggestions had grown stale for some users.

But because the news changes every day, Artifact's use of this Epsilon-Greedy algorithm also has to adapt as users' own interests in topics grow and wane. For example, someone might be very into reading about the upcoming elections up until Election Day has passed. Or a new story may immediately capture their attention when it comes out of nowhere, as the story about the Chinese spy balloon did.

Artifact's editorial consideration, if you can call it that, will also come into how the app's algorithm is programmed, not just its publisher selections.

"Actually, building the algorithm is enormously editorial," Systrom says. "Because what you choose to train your algorithm on -- the objective function, the data you put in, the data you include, the data you don't include -- is all in editorial judgment. The way you weight different objectives."

"All of the edge a company has is in its ability to wrangle the data in such a way that produces an outcome that's optimal," Systrom says.

If anything is Artifact's secret sauce, it's that.

Does Artifact have a future?

Whether all this tech and "taste" is enough for Artifact to succeed remains to be seen. The U.S. news aggregation landscape is not like China's. And here, Artifact will have to fight against the default ways people access news, including through the news apps that come bundled with their smartphones, as well as the large internet portals like Google and Facebook, and some extent, YouTube and TikTok too.

At launch, Artifact added new functionality, including a new feature that allows users to track how they've been engaging with the app and its content in a metrics section, which shows a list of publishers and topics they've been reading. Over time, Artifact plans to let users adjust which topics they want to see more and less of, or even block publishers.

They'll also later be able to socialize through comment threads around the stories themselves, in what could be a stealth competitor to Twitter -- an app that's seen a small exodus in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover. (In fact, Artifact just added a feature similar to Twitter's with its ability to show you articles trending in your network, if you sync your contacts to the service.)

As for Artifact's future, Systrom says he hopes it will eventually become a place where users can go, first and foremost, to discover content around their interests and be able to discuss them with others.

That said, it's still immeasurably hard for a new consumer app to gain traction without fueling customer acquisition costs with buckets of money. But one thing the team learned from building Instagram, is that Facebook can be a useful tool for gaining adoption. Many of its first users found the app by way of Instagram photos posted to Facebook.

"It turns out that Artifact is actually very similar," Systrom says. "People discover articles and they want to share them elsewhere...You can share an article from Artifact and it has our branding and it has our domain and URL. It works fairly well for top-of-mind awareness."

He's not all that worried that this would have him wading into Facebook's territory, which to some represents an unbeatable giant.

"I might be a contrarian here, but I think the window has always been open [for new social experiences]. The question is whether or not people choose to attack it and if the right people choose to attack it. I could have never predicted that Snapchat would have risen during Instagram, which obviously had a stronghold on images and social -- there was no way to predict there was an opening there. There's no way to predict that TikTok would have come about when Snap and Instagram were so big. I think these things are far more random than you think."

These changes tend to be around fundamental changes in technology, like the interest graph, Systrom says.

But, he adds, "I do think we see this wave of machine learning right now that opens up an enormous window to do new things in social."
Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County officials praised the impending signing of a bill Tuesday that would require people charged with violent crimes to serve all or most of their sentence.

The praise came as part of a morning press conference about the city's 2022 crime statistics. The city saw 38.82 property crimes per 1,000 people and 6.21 violent crimes per 1,000 people  both slight increases from the numbers seen in 2021, although violent crimes were still below the 2020 peak of 6.55 per 1,000 people.

Those numbers are growing at a slower rate than the city's population, up to 208,884 in 2022 from 202,600 in 2021. And Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum said while some crime categories had seen increases, the city was also clearing crimes at rates much higher than the national average.

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken speaks at a press conference on the city's crime statistics

Crime is always a topic of conversation, but despite the perception, Sioux Falls is, and continues to be, a safe city," Thum wrote in a press release distributed alongside the press conference.

Still, Thum and Mayor Paul TenHaken said it didn't mean they could relax.

"Crime in a community is not the responsibility solely of the police," TenHaken said, naming off the collaboration required between groups like the state's Unified Judicial System, the Department of Corrections and the city who all need to work together to keep a city safe.

Specifically, he noted, "we can catch the bad guys but, if the UJS and the court system doesn't allow us to put the right sentences in place or the parole system lets people out who shouldn't be out, we have a cyclical recidivism effort."

More:Lawmakers vote to fundamentally change how South Dakota handles parole for violent offenders

And both of them spoke positively about Senate Bill 146, also known as the Truth in Sentencing bill, as something that could improve safety in the city.

TenHaken said the bill was born from discussions during "Safe South Dakota," a group of city, county and state officials representing Minnehaha and Pennington counties who have begun meeting on a monthly basis to discuss public safety topics.

Story continues

The bill would require those convicted of 13 violent crimes including first-degree manslaughter and first-degree human trafficking to serve the full sentence given to them by a judge, without the possibility of receiving credits for a shortened term.

Those convicted of another set of 10 violent crimes could receive such credits after serving at least 85% of their sentence.

House lawmakers approved the bill last week on a 53-17 vote, and it's now headed to the desk of Gov. Kristi Noem, though opposition to the bill came from several Republicans, including Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, a former Corrections Secretary.

More:Parolees speak out about why Sioux Falls has become their landing spot after prison

"The reality is that if this bill passes, even more crimes are likely to occur, because inmates will release from prison without supervision, without having to take random drug tests, and without being required to attend AA or other community based programs," said Reisch. "They'll be unencumbered by that pesky parole agent and for the most part, free to do whatever they want to."

Minnehaha County State's Attorney Daniel Haggar said the bill is focused on violent crimes, and does not take judge's discretion in handing down sentences.

"What this bill primarily does is help restore faith in our criminal justice system with victims," Haggar said, with victims able to be confident that a sentence will be served in or close to full.

Haggar said rehabilitation was also a crucial aspect of the criminal justice system, but that across the board, there needed to be a focus on what was and wasn't working.

Should Noem sign the bill into law, it will go into effect on July 1.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls crime: Mayor, Police Chief praise Truth in Sentencing bill
A Tennessee state representative has apologized after proposing that the state make public hangings a valid form of execution. The comment has drawn significant horror and backlash within the state and across social media, where a video of the lawmakers remarks went viral. The controversy comes as debates over the death penalty and racism in the criminal justice system continue throughout the country.

The post Tennessee Republican Lawmaker Apologizes For Lynching Amendment Suggestion appeared first on Blavity.

Rep. Paul Sherrells remarks came on February 28, as Republican Dennis Powers proposed legislation that would revive the use of firing squads as a form of state-administered execution for death row inmates. I think its a very good idea, Sherrell said of the firing squad proposal before adding, Could I put an amendment on that it would include hanging by a tree, also?

At the time, Sherrells suggestion drew little reaction from the other legislators in the room. However, significant outrage to the remarks grew from several sources.

Tennessee Republican state legislator Paul Sherrell says on the floor of the House he wants to bring back lynching, announced writer Chris Evans in a tweet about the proposal.

NEW: Tennessee Republican state legislator Paul Sherrell says on the floor of the House he wants to bring back lynching. pic.twitter.com/6O2hclTeBI  chris evans (@notcapnamerica) March 1, 2023

This is UNREAL! exclaimed civil rights attorney Ben Crump on Twitter.

This is UNREAL! Republican Rep. Paul Sherrell proposed Tennessee amend their death penalty to include HANGING by tree during a House Criminal Justice Committee meeting! How in 2023 can a government official have such a grotesque suggestion leave his mouth?! : @thetnholler pic.twitter.com/ZaSMotHvcP  Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) March 2, 2023

The Tennessee Holler posted Sherrells remarks and noted he is the same legislator who proposed changing the name of John Lewis Way to Trump Boulevard.

Story continues

WATCH: Rep. Paul Sherrell (R-Sparta) wants to bring HANGING BY A TREE back to Tennessee   as an amendment to @DennisHPowers firing squad bill. (Reminder: SHERRELL also had a bill to change John Lewis Way to Trump Blvd) pic.twitter.com/9aSTinwKAo  The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) March 1, 2023

Faced with the backlash over his comments, Rep. Sherrell apologized for his suggestion while doubling down on his support for the death penalty. I sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been hurt or offended, Sherrell said on Wednesday, according to a report by The Tennessean. Nevertheless, Sherrell claimed that his hanging comments were not to be taken literally, but he supported the death penalty. My exaggerated comments were intended to convey my belief that for the cruelest and most heinous crimes, a just society requires the death penalty in kind, Sherrell explained, adding that he was attempting to advocate for the families of crime victims by supporting the death penalty.

The original proposal to bring back the firing squad in Tennessee replaced the states lethal injection procedure, dismissing objections from groups like the Southern Christian Coalition that reject the death penalty altogether and warn against going back to the dark days of Jim Crow. The Equal Justice Initiative has identified 236 instances of Black people being lynched in Tennessee between 1877 and 1950. These examples of mob violence against Black people in Tennessee were part of a campaign of terror against Black people during this period; the EJI has documented 4,400 instances of lynching across 12 states. Shockingly, lynching was not designated a federal hate crime until 2022 with the passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act.

Even as Congress has belatedly outlawed lynching, various states are debating expansions to the death penalty. In addition to the Tennessee debate, Republicans in Idaho recently voted to add a firing squad as a form of execution in that state. And former President Donald Trump has reportedly indicated that if he wins reelection, he will expand the use of the federal death penalty and increase options to include firing squads, hangings or possibly even guillotines.

These Republican efforts to expand the death penalty appear to be part of a trend toward more extreme proposals and laws from the GOP. Meanwhile, the specific debate over capital punishment feeds into a discussion driven by progressives over the injustices of the criminal justice system. Even with Sherrells partial apology, the topic in Tennessee and across the country is far from over.
[Source]

On Tuesday, the Taling Chan Criminal Court sentenced a man to two years in jail for the distribution of calendars containing cartoon ducks that allegedly mock Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as Rama X.

The 26-year-old, whom the Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) identified as "Ton Mai," sold the Yellow Duck Calendar 2021 through a Facebook page that shared the same name as Thai anti-establishment group Ratsadorn.

While the ducks themselves did not look like the monarch, accompanying phrases and the ducks attire could be interpreted as satirizing the king and his family members, a prosecutor reported.

In one image, a duck can be seen wearing a sash with medallions along with the text No.10, allegedly to represent Rama X. In another, a duck was pictured wearing a black crop top that was similar to one worn by the king in a tabloid photo. In total, the court ruled that six of the calendars photos were made to imitate the king.

More from NextShark: Anti-Asian hate bills unanimously passed in California now await Gov. Newsom's approval

(1/2) BREAKING: Criminal Court on Tues sentenced a man to 2 yrs in jail for defaming king by selling calendars on FB with photos of yellow ducks interpreted as mocking the king. The duck wore a sash with medallians & the word No.10 interpreted as Rama X, said TLHR. #Thailand  Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) March 7, 2023

More from NextShark: Army vet charged for attacking 7 NYC Asian women had mental issues, wanted to learn Japanese, mother says

Ton Mai was charged under Thailands lese-majeste law, which punishes those convicted of insulting or threatening monarchy members with three to 15 years in prison.

Though he was initially sentenced to three years in jail, the court later reduced it to two years without parole for his cooperation with the courts orders.

Story continues

TLHR reported that 233 people have been prosecuted for royal defamation under lese-majeste laws since November 2020.

More from NextShark: Queens man with history of violence charged for attacking 2-year-old sitting in a stroller

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

San Jose robbery crew suspects charged with hate crimes for targeting over 100 Asian American women
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday agreed to waive corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies that issue digital tokens for investment, a government spokeswoman said.

Companies will have access to alternative ways of raising capital through investment tokens in addition to traditional methods like debentures, Rachada Dhnadirek told reporters at a news conference.

The government estimates that there will be 128 billion baht ($3.71 billion) worth of investment token offerings over the next two years, Rachada said, and that the government would lose tax revenue worth 35 billion baht.

Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in Thailand in recent years after the country's Securities Exchange Commission began regulating digital assets.

Last year, the government relaxed tax rules in crypto trading to promote industry development.

The country's central bank and other regulators, however, have banned the use of digital assets as a means of payments, saying it could impact the country's financial stability and overall economy.

Cabinet separately also approved support measures for electricity use and import duty exemption for components of electric vehicles, including batteries.

($1 = 34.5700 baht)

(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat)
Police crime photos of assault rifles and handguns are displayed during a news conference near the site of a mass shooting in San Bernardino in 2015. (Associated Press)

To best understand California's desire to uphold its bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, consider recent history.

In January, a man armed with a 9-millimeter MAC-10 with an extended magazine, a gun prohibited under state laws, massacred 11 people and injured nine others at a Monterey Park dance studio where mostly older patrons were celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Assault-style weapons that are banned in California were also used to slaughter 19 elementary school students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, in May, and five patrons of a queer club in Colorado Springs in November. Over the last decade, the same sort of guns were used in many of the worst mass shootings in the country, mowing down high school students and teachers, concert-goers and church parishioners, nightclub patrons and county employees.

However, in the high-stakes legal battles currently being waged over California's bans in federal court  where decisions are anticipated soon  America's gruesome modern history with the powerful weapons hasn't been the focus. Instead, lawyers for the state and gun rights groups seeking to overturn the bans have been arguing over the relevance of much older laws governing very different weapons.

In the case over the assault weapons ban, recent filings have focused on a New Jersey law enacted in 1771 that prohibited people from setting up "trap guns" to fire at animals or intruders who tripped a rope.

In the case over high-capacity magazines, part of the focus has been on a New York law enacted in 1784 that limited to 28 pounds the amount of gunpowder that could be stored in any one place in New York City.

Such is the nature of recent litigation in a whole host of consequential gun cases  both in California and across the country  in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's monumental pro-gun rights decision last summer in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen.

In the Bruen decision, the high court took an originalist view of the Constitution and ruled that restrictions on firearms violate the 2nd Amendment if they arent deeply rooted in the nation's history, or at least analogous to some historical rule. The high court also rejected another legal precedent, long relied on by states such as California in defending gun laws, that held that firearm restrictions could also be legitimate if they served a compelling state interest  such as preventing mass shootings.

Story continues

While leaving space for restrictions with historical precedent, such as those against particularly "dangerous and unusual" weapons, the ruling nonetheless exploded modern American jurisprudence around gun control. It forced judges to start disregarding current government interests in passing modern gun control measures and had them focus instead on whether the framers of the U.S. Constitution or some other long-dead lawmakers had ever approved similar governmental limits on the right to bear arms.

Gun rights proponents have praised the Supreme Court's reframing of the debate and its focus on the intentions of the Constitution's authors. But others have blasted the high court as out of touch with reality and willfully blind to the tremendous violence such weapons could inflict if they are allowed to proliferate more than they already have.

"This new 'history and tradition' test that the Supreme Court established last June is wreaking havoc on America's gun laws," said Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who focuses on 2nd Amendment law. "Instead of having a reasonable debate over whether a ban on assault weapons is good policy or not, we have to debate whether a ban on assault weapons has historical antecedents."

UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky put it more bluntly: "It's all about the absurdity of originalism."

At stake in California

When the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen came down, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had several legal challenges to California gun laws before it  and promptly sent them back down to the lower courts to be re-litigated there.

Three major cases  those to do with the assault weapons ban and the high-capacity magazine ban, plus a third over ammunition background checks  are all now before U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, who is well known for his past rulings striking down gun laws.

A fourth 2nd Amendment case before Benitez involves a challenge to California's ban on billy clubs. Other district court judges are reconsidering a second challenge to the assault weapons ban and a challenge to California's law barring certain semiautomatic rifle sales to adults younger than 21.

In the four cases before him, Benitez ordered the state to identify historical laws analogous and "relevantly similar to" each of the laws being challenged.

In response, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office conducted an exhaustive review of centuries of weapons law to prove that government restrictions are nothing new, especially when it comes to particularly dangerous weapons.

In the assault weapons case, Bonta's office submitted two spreadsheets to the court outlining 316 different laws it considered relevant, starting with a 1383 English law that banned the possession of launcegays, or medieval throwing spears, and ending with an early 1930s law in Wisconsin that banned the possession of machine guns, hand grenades and other explosives.

The collection of laws, the state argued, showed that "governments have adopted laws like the challenged [assault weapons ban] consistent with the 2nd Amendment  restricting particular weapons and weapons configurations that pose a danger to society and are especially likely to be used by criminals, so long as the restriction leaves available other weapons for constitutionally protected uses."

A page from a pdf document showing a table chart listing gun laws

A page from a pdf document showing a table chart listing gun laws

The state argued that its assault weapons ban, which has stood for three decades, restricts a specific category of weapons that are particularly dangerous, incorporate substantial technological advances from past weaponry, represent a relatively small portion of guns owned in America, are designed more for military-style offensive firing than self-defense and have played an outsize role in the devastating modern phenomenon of mass shootings.

In response, Benitez ordered the state to file another brief, this time limited to five pages and focused on only the most relevant historic law the state's lawyers had found.

The state questioned the appropriateness of that exercise by noting the Supreme Court did not call for governments to find a single "dead ringer" for their modern law among historical statutes, but to show that their current law would have been consistent with historical readings of the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.

"In assessing the constitutionality of a modern firearm regulation  especially in a case implicating 'unprecedented societal concerns or dramatic technological changes,' " the state wrote, "... the historical analysis cannot be limited to the assessment of a single past law."

Still, the state offered its lone analog: the 1771 New Jersey "trap gun" law. The state argued that law banned guns that had certain features attached to them  namely rope or string for tripping the traps. Likewise, it said, California's assault weapons ban does not prohibit the possession of all semiautomatic rifles or pistols, just those equipped with certain accessories  such as a pistol grip or a flash suppressor.

"The burdens are comparably minimal because they restrict only 'the manner in which persons may exercise their 2nd Amendment rights' and do not 'bar firearm possession completely,' " the state argued.

The coalition of gun rights proponents challenging the ban has offered vociferous rebuttals to the state's arguments.

They have argued assault weapons banned by California's law are "incredibly popular and common," are not particularly dangerous and are used for self-defense. And they have said the historical analogs selected by the state were not analogous to the assault weapons ban at all.

The New Jersey ban on "trap guns," for instance, was "far from a sufficient justification for Californias unconstitutional ban on common semiautomatic arms," they wrote, because it "was a ban on conduct (the setting of a trap using a firearm), not a prohibition on the possession of a 'dangerous unusual weapon' or any particular set of characteristics."

They also argued that the state's repeated references to mass shootings were irrelevant to the discussion, given the high court's Bruen decision, and that the notion that the nation's founders couldn't have conceived of mass shootings as they exist today was "simply history reimagined."

"Knowing full well the potential of mass violence and killing, the Founders did not suppose that a greater government would provide an antidote," the challengers wrote. "To the contrary, they enshrined the pre-existing right of the People to defend themselves against such evils into this Nation's constitution and enacted an enduring bulwark against the government's infringement of that sacred right."

Similar back-and-forth debates have played out in the other California gun cases before Benitez.

What happens next

Legal experts who have been following the California gun cases have little doubt Benitez will rule against the state and declare the laws unconstitutional.

Benitez already declared the assault weapons ban unconstitutional when it first came before him in 2021, before the Bruen decision was handed down, in a decision in which he famously compared the AR-15 to a Swiss Army Knife.

In that decision, Benitez rejected the idea that firearms such as the AR-15 are particularly dangerous and unusual  which might justify a ban. He instead called them "average" weapons that are commonplace in American homes.

"The banned 'assault weapons' are not bazookas, howitzers, or machineguns," he wrote. "Those arms are dangerous and solely useful for military purposes."

In the same opinion, Benitez noted that AR-15 platform rifles are "ideal" for use by militias, which he said was another reason the ban ran afoul of the 2nd Amendment.

"Quite apart from its practicality as a peacekeeping arm for home-defense, a modern rifle can also be useful for war," Benitez wrote.

Given that and other past rulings, experts believe Benitez is poised to overturn the California gun laws that are now before him thanks to Bruen  though it's unclear when.

His won't be the last word on the matter, however.

"He's just a step in this process," Chemerinsky said. "Benitez isn't ultimately going to decide."

For example, if Benitez strikes down the assault weapons ban, the state is expected to once again appeal the case to the 9th Circuit. And depending on the decision there, it could be appealed once more to the Supreme Court.

Bonta, in a statement, said the state's gun laws have helped California reach "one of the lowest rates of gun deaths in the country" on a per capita basis, and his office will "continue to push forward" in its efforts to save lives.

"The 2nd Amendment is not a regulatory straitjacket," he said. "States have the power to protect their communities and provide reasonable safeguards to allow citizens to carry out their business and live freely."

Legal experts are skeptical the assault weapons ban will fare well if it does reach the Supreme Court, but they aren't as uniformly convinced about the outcome there as they are with Benitez.

Eugene Volokh is a UCLA law professor who teaches about gun regulations. He has done consulting work in the past for the Firearms Policy Coalition, which is one of the plaintiffs suing to overturn the state's assault weapons ban, but he has not worked for them on that case.

Volokh said assault weapons as defined by California can be dangerous and deadly, just like all guns. But he questioned whether they are any more deadly or dangerous than other guns that are not banned. And that  along with the fact that they aren't particularly unusual in the U.S.  probably negates any argument for upholding the ban that isn't based on a more precisely analogous historical law, he said.

Whether the courts will consider any of the hundreds of historical laws that California has cited as sufficiently analogous to make the ban constitutional under Bruen remains to be seen, Volokh said.

UCLA's Winkler said assessing modern gun laws based only on whether a similar law existed in the distant past may be absurd, but it's how the law works now because of Bruen  and "the path for the assault weapons ban and several other California gun laws is not promising."

Benitez was correct in finding that assault weapons are common in American society, Winkler said, and that undermines any argument that they are both dangerous and unusual.

"Dangerous and unusual are two different things," Winkler said. "It's hard to say these guns are not in common use for lawful purposes. Recreational shooters across the country have bought millions."

Chemerinsky said he believes there is a strong legal argument that assault weapons, as defined by California, are particularly dangerous and subject to regulation, and he hopes the higher courts will see it that way too.

To suggest an AR-15 is like a Swiss Army Knife is not only wrong, he said, but offensive to the families of those murdered by such firearms.

"AR-15s are military weapons to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time," Chemerinsky said. "There was no weapon in 1791 that could kill so many people so quickly."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
 Flash

Nearly three dozen people have been detained after violence broke out at a police training site in Atlanta, the U.S. state of Georgia, on Sunday, police said.

The Atlanta Police Department said in a release that violent agitators conducted "a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers" and that 35 individuals have been detained.

Police said more protests have been planned this week and asked for them to remain peaceful.

Plans to build the police training facility have met with resistance in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, nearly three years ago.

Environmental activists have also protested against the project. Earlier this year, one of the protesters was fatally shot by police officers in the forest where the training center was being built.
[Source]

Theodore "Ted" Shigeru Kanamine, the U.S. Armys first-ever Japanese American general, died on Thursday at 93.

According to Kanamines daughter Linda, the former active duty general died of lung cancer at Linda's home in Naples, Florida.

Kanamine, who spent almost 27 years serving the Army, was born on Aug. 29, 1929, to Japanese immigrants and was sent to an incarceration camp in Jerome, Arkansas, with his parents and younger sister at the age of 12, according to The Washington Post.

Although he was forced to leave his home in California behind, Kanamine joined the Army and became the most patriotic human being you could imagine, Linda told The Post. She also shared that her father never complained and never disparaged his country or the government.

More from NextShark: 'Somebody made a mistake': Details on fatal police shooting of man inside his NJ home are released

Throughout his decades-long career, Kanamine notably received several honors, including two awards of the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal.

Despite his numerous accolades, Kanamine considered commanding soldiers in war to be the highlight of his career, as told to his family. He reflected on being given command of the 716th MP Battalion, which provided security to Saigon, as well as serving as an aide-de-camp to Gen. Creighton W. Abrams during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s.

He notably moved 21 times while in the Army, ultimately becoming a brigadier general in 1976. That year, he made history by becoming the Army's first Japanese American general.

More from NextShark: Ex-CEO fired for alleged LSD use files discrimination suit, says startup sacked him for being Asian

Kanamine's Army career began after he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Military Police Corps (MP) in 1955.

The year prior, he had graduated from the University of Nebraskas law school and married Mary Stuben, a fellow graduate. At the time, Nebraska barred interracial marriage, so the pair got married in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Story continues

Following his time in the Army, Kanamine and Mary retired to Florida in 1981. He joined the American Red Cross in St. Lucie County, serving as its disaster chairperson.

More from NextShark: Rescuer Reunites Lost Baby Goat With Family in Philippines, Makes Internet Cry

In addition to his wife, Kanamine leaves behind their two daughters Linda and Laura; their three sons Ted, Michael, and David; their 12 grandchildren and their 12 great-grandchildren.

Kanamine is currently in the care of Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens.

A viewing will take place at the funeral home from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, while a funeral mass at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church will occur in Naples at 11 a.m. on Monday. Kanamine will be buried with full military honors at Sarasota Veterans National Cemetery on March 14 at 2 p.m.

More from NextShark: Journalist Andy Ngo loses criminal trial against Oregon journalist John Hacker
Some say volatility, rather than debt, is the best way to think about risk as an investor, but Warren Buffett famously said that 'Volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' So it might be obvious that you need to consider debt, when you think about how risky any given stock is, because too much debt can sink a company. We can see that Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

What Risk Does Debt Bring?

Debt and other liabilities become risky for a business when it cannot easily fulfill those obligations, either with free cash flow or by raising capital at an attractive price. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more common (but still painful) scenario is that it has to raise new equity capital at a low price, thus permanently diluting shareholders. By replacing dilution, though, debt can be an extremely good tool for businesses that need capital to invest in growth at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

Check out our latest analysis for Mastercard

What Is Mastercard's Net Debt?

As you can see below, Mastercard had US$14.0b of debt, at December 2022, which is about the same as the year before. You can click the chart for greater detail. However, it also had US$7.41b in cash, and so its net debt is US$6.62b.

A Look At Mastercard's Liabilities

The latest balance sheet data shows that Mastercard had liabilities of US$14.2b due within a year, and liabilities of US$18.2b falling due after that. Offsetting these obligations, it had cash of US$7.41b as well as receivables valued at US$3.43b due within 12 months. So it has liabilities totalling US$21.5b more than its cash and near-term receivables, combined.

Of course, Mastercard has a titanic market capitalization of US$349.8b, so these liabilities are probably manageable. However, we do think it is worth keeping an eye on its balance sheet strength, as it may change over time.

Story continues

We measure a company's debt load relative to its earnings power by looking at its net debt divided by its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and by calculating how easily its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) cover its interest expense (interest cover). The advantage of this approach is that we take into account both the absolute quantum of debt (with net debt to EBITDA) and the actual interest expenses associated with that debt (with its interest cover ratio).

Mastercard's net debt is only 0.49 times its EBITDA. And its EBIT covers its interest expense a whopping 30.8 times over. So you could argue it is no more threatened by its debt than an elephant is by a mouse. Another good sign is that Mastercard has been able to increase its EBIT by 23% in twelve months, making it easier to pay down debt. When analysing debt levels, the balance sheet is the obvious place to start. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Mastercard's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Finally, a company can only pay off debt with cold hard cash, not accounting profits. So we clearly need to look at whether that EBIT is leading to corresponding free cash flow. Over the last three years, Mastercard recorded free cash flow worth a fulsome 81% of its EBIT, which is stronger than we'd usually expect. That puts it in a very strong position to pay down debt.

Our View

The good news is that Mastercard's demonstrated ability to cover its interest expense with its EBIT delights us like a fluffy puppy does a toddler. And the good news does not stop there, as its conversion of EBIT to free cash flow also supports that impression! Considering this range of factors, it seems to us that Mastercard is quite prudent with its debt, and the risks seem well managed. So we're not worried about the use of a little leverage on the balance sheet. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for Mastercard that you should be aware of.

Of course, if you're the type of investor who prefers buying stocks without the burden of debt, then don't hesitate to discover our exclusive list of net cash growth stocks, today.

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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
Three main avenues of investigation for the plane crash in Brovary, in which the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was killed: violation of flight safety rules, technical malfunction and sabotage, remain on the agenda of the Service Security of Ukraine (SSU) investigation.

Source: Ihor Klymenko, Head of Minister of Internal Affairs, in an interview with Ukrinform

Quote: "For now, all three main avenues remain viable."

Details: Klymenko also noted that all helicopters operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs are currently being inspected, primarily Airbus and, in particular, the Airbus 225 model.

As the minister states, this applies to all parts of their use, from repair and maintenance to providing pre-flight tasks and, of course, the work and training of crews.

Previously: Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, stated that the investigation has the data from the black boxes of the helicopter that crashed in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, killing the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Background:

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
TikTok is staring down yet another potential national ban, as Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD) are set to introduce a bipartisan bill seeking to shut the app out of the U.S.

The legislation, called the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information Communications Technology Act, or RESTRICT Act, is just the latest effort by Congress to sideline the short-form video app.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced the Deterring Americas Technological Adversaries, or DATA, Act, which would give President Biden the ability to ban the app. Though theres no word on whether the legislation will move to a full House vote.

Shares of Meta (META) and Snap (SNAP) were up on the news.

TikTok is under ever-increasing scrutiny in Washington, with intelligence agencies saying the app could be used by China to spy on Americans or spread pro-Chinese propaganda. TikTok is owned by China-based parent company ByteDance. Under Chinese law, organizations are required to turn over data to Chinese authorities at their request.

The U.S. government has tried to kill TikTok, which has some 100 million U.S. users, before. Former President Trump attempted to force the app to shut down via executive order, though that was blocked in the courts.

TikTok is facing a potential national ban. (Image: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)

The U.S. government, states, and foreign governments including the E.U. have already banned TikTok from official devices.

While government agencies and politicians have raised concerns about Chinas ability to influence TikTok, theres been little evidence that its actually doing so.

In 2022, TikTok migrated all U.S. user data to Oracle servers from its own located in Virginia and Singapore. At the time, the company also had backups on servers based in Singapore but is deleting those, as well.

Sign up for Yahoo Finance's tech newsletter.

TikTok has denied that it is a threat to U.S. national security, while groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have said an outright ban of the app would violate the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans.

Story continues

Cybersecurity experts say that TikTok collects the same amount and kind of data as other social media platforms. An investigation by Toronto Universitys Citizen Lab found that TikToks program features and code do not pose a threat to national security.

A study by the Georgia Institute of Technologys Internet Governance Project, meanwhile, found that TikTok is a commercially motivated enterprise and not a tool of the Chinese state. The study also found that TikTok is not exporting censorship, either directly by blocking material, or indirectly via its recommendation algorithm.

Experts say that the Chinese government could use other means to collect Americans user data, such as by scraping publicly available data from sites like Facebook and Instagram. Chinas government already uses American social networks to spread its own propaganda.

Whether a ban on TikTok will hold up is an open question. The company is likely to challenge any law that attempts to keep it from operating out of the U.S. And based on its past success, the company could once again come out on top.

Editor's note: Tiktok is working with Oracle to move user data to that company's servers and off of its own in Virginia and Singapore.

Got a tip? Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

Click here for politics news related to business and money

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
The TikTok logo and the Irish tricolor. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images; Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

TikTok executives met with British policy advisers and think tanks on Monday, per the WSJ.

The visit was part of "Project Clover," which aims to convince European lawmakers that user data is safe.

The codename appears to reference Ireland, where TikTok is planning a second data center.

TikTok has reportedly launched a new initiative codenamed "Project Clover" to try to convince European lawmakers that it's safeguarding users' data.

Politicians around the world have grown skeptical of the Chinese company amid fears that it could be forced to hand over users' information to the Chinese government or intelligence services. In the US, federal employees have been banned from using the app on government-issued devices since December 2022, per NBC News.

TikTok has previously said it wouldn't comply with any demand from China, and has rolled out "Project Clover" in Europe, and "Project Texas" for the US in an attempt to assure politicians. The app nonetheless faces a US ban, with Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Sen. John Thune of Dakota set to introduce a Senate bill Thursday to try and rein in national security threats from foreign tech.

In a Monday meeting, TikTok executives told British political advisers and think tanks that they had been speaking with the cybersecurity arm of GCHQ, the UK's intelligence and security organization, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story.

Some attendees told the newspaper that, while they appreciated the transparency efforts, they still remain skeptical that TikTok could refuse an order from the Chinese government.

A spokesperson for TikTok told Insider the discussion on Monday was part of TikTok's regular engagement with European policymakers.

The name "Project Clover" appears to reference one of the national symbols of Ireland  where it currently has one data center and plans for a second, per a company statement.

Several tech companies, including Apple, Twitter, and Google, have their European headquarters in Ireland, which is known for its low corporate tax rate of 12.5%  compared to the US's 21%.

A TikTok spokesperson told Insider: "We have been pursuing a strategy of data sovereignty in Europe for some time now and we will be announcing further details on the industry-leading data security measures we will be implementing in Europe in the coming days."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Toblerone chocolate bar. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

While Toblerone is one of the world's most famous chocolate bars, it was reported Monday that the brand will soon be stripped of its iconic Matterhorn mountain logo due to a controversy over Swiss regulations.

The brand, which has long been manufactured in Bern, Switzerland, uses the mountain, along with the Swiss logo, as part of its distinctive packaging. However, as Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung previously reported, Toblerone's American owners, Mondelez International, are shifting parts of production to Slovakia.

This created a headache for Toblerone based on Switzerland's "Swissness laws." According to marketing guidelines from the Swiss government, national symbols can only be used on chocolate products when the milk it contains comes exclusively from Switzerland. At least 80 percent of all other ingredients in the chocolate must also be Swiss-sourced. With Mondelez moving production to Slovakia, Toblerones will no longer be made under these conditions, and the company began looking into changes for the packaging.

David Starkle, head of the Swissness enforcement team, told The New York Times that it would've been misleading for Toblerone to continue using the Matterhorn on its packaging, adding, "If anyone will use the Matterhorn for whatever, you don't have any value anymore on Swiss products."

Mondelez confirmed in a statement to NPR that it would "remove the Swissness notice on the front of the Toblerone pack" for legal reasons. The company will also change the phrase "of Switzerland" on the box to "founded in Switzerland," though Mondelez reiterated that "Toblerone bars are still and will continue to be produced in Switzerland."

While the Matterhorn logo may be gone, Mondelez said that it would continue to pay homage to Switzerland by using "a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that is consistent with the geometric and triangular aesthetic."

You may also like

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?

Why drivers don't want to let go of the stick shift
Semen Kryvonos, the newly-appointed head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), has previously held jobs associated with anti-corruption reforms.

Kryvonos was appointed as head of the NABU by the Cabinet of Ministers on March 6 after being selected from a shortlist of three people chosen by a commission including foreign experts.

However, he has faced corruption accusations himself, with journalists and activists questioning whether his assets are compatible with his official income.

Moreover, evidence has emerged that he has links to officials of the Presidents Office, which raises questions about Kryvonos political independence. Under the law, the head of the NABU must be politically neutral and independent from the government.

Kryvonos did not respond to a request for comment sent via Facebook.

President Volodymyr Zelenskys spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov told the Kyiv Independent that all questions about Kryvonos should be addressed to the selection commission that chose him. The commission and the Cabinet of Ministers did not respond to requests for comment.




Dmytro Kuleba

Ukraine is calling for the creation of a special tribunal to bring to justice those guilty of the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine. The creation of the tribunal was supported by the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which have both passed resolutions on the matter.

They (the joint investigative group) should make progress on the issue of the form of the tribunal and on the issue of immunities of (Russian President Vladimir) Putins as head of state, and of the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Kuleba said.

Read also: War crimes tribunal to limit geography of Putins trips abroad, says Presidents Office

He said that in international law, all countries have such a trio, who enjoy complete immunity from prosecution.

And our goal is to definitely solve this issue of immunities, Kuleba said.

Legally, its possible, but it is like a delicate neurosurgical operation, to create the legal conditions for the tribunal to operate, he said.

He also added that 30 countries already support the creation of a special tribunal for Russia for the crime of aggression. On March 6, Greece joined. On March 4, there were 29 such countries.

According to him, joining such a group means agreeing to the need to create a separate special tribunal to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression. Its task is to work out legal ways to create a tribunal and resolve legal issues.

Read also: First Latin American country to support creation of Special Tribunal for Russian Federation

On March 3, the United for Justice conference (described as a legal Ramstein) was held in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. It was attended by representatives of European institutions, general prosecutors and ministers of justice of various countries, the president of Latvia, the deputy prime minister of the Netherlands, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, and others. The conference was dedicated to restoring justice for Ukraine.

Story continues

On April 2, 2022, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced the immediate start of the investigation into the situation in Ukraine following the appeal of 39 member states of the ICC.

Kuleba previously said that a special tribunal is, in fact, the only way to prosecute the highest political and military leadership of Russia for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

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
You are here: World

 Flash

Thailand and China jointly launched a training program on Monday at Thailand's Chiang Mai University to sharpen e-commerce skills among vocational school students in the Southeast Asian country.

The "Chinese Language plus Professional Skills" e-commerce training program features Chinese e-commerce experiences combining with Thai characteristics, according to the training program organizers.

The five-day training program, with 65 participating students, provides courses on development of the China-Thailand e-commerce industry, e-commerce platform operations, short video making, e-commerce platforms basics, and network marketing.

"Thai vocational students will improve their e-commerce skills while also learning Chinese through this training program," said Somporn Pandam, deputy secretary general of Vocational Education Commission, Thailand's Ministry of Education.

According to the official, the training program is a cooperation project between multiple partners in Thailand and China.

The training program is part of a series of "Chinese Language plus Professional Skills" projects organized by Chiang Mai University and the Confucius Institute at Chiang Mai University, said Pitipong Yodmongkol, vice president of Chiang Mai University.

It is expected to help cultivate knowledgeable and capable talents and has become an important force in promoting the exchanges on culture, economy and trade between the two countries, he said.

Hao Shumei, vice president of Yunnan Normal University, which provides support for the training program, said the training program will promote the expansion of cultural and economic exchanges between China and Thailand.

Data showed over 2,000 Thai vocational school teachers and students have participated in the e-commerce training programs introduced in 2021.
East Palestine Train Derailed

This video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 3. Credit - NTSBXinhua News Agency/Getty Images

Norfolk Southern, the railway company whose train derailed Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, will face an investigation into its safety measures by the National Transportation Safety Board, officials announced Tuesday.

Federal investigators pointed to five significant accidents since Dec. 2021. In the latest incident on Tuesday, a Norfolk Southern conductor was killed after being struck by a dump truck at a facility in Cleveland, Ohio. The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture, the federal agency said in a statement on Tuesday. Of the five accidents highlighted by federal authorities, two included trains that derailed this month.

Train derailments are quite common in the U.S. The Department of Transportations Federal Railroad Administration has reported an average of 1,475 train derailments per year between 2005-2021. Despite the relatively high number of derailments, they rarely lead to disaster.

The East Palestine derailment was an exception. The derailment included cars carrying vinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic products and can cause cancer at high levels of exposure. In an effort to avoid an explosion, the railroad burned the chemical. The derailment led to the evacuation of the Ohio town, as well as concerns about air and water quality.

Federal, state and local officials are still investigating, but so far have maintained that the drinking water and the air is safeeven as a major grocery chain pulled its water that was bottled from a spring 25 miles away. Some residents reported symptoms of dizziness, headaches and rashes. Experts say its unlikely that toxic chemicals could have spread beyond a one-mile radius from the crash site.

Story continues

The East Palestine derailment, however, has increased attention on railroad safetyand led to questions about whether deregulation has made the railroad industry less safe.

How common are train derailments?

The Department of Transportation has registered more than 12,400 train derailments over the past decade and of these accidents, roughly 6,600 tank cars were carrying hazardous materials and 348 cars released their contents, according to the Associated Press.

Annual fatalities from derailments have been in single digits since 1993; there were no fatalities caused by derailments from 2018-2020 and in 2021 there were three deaths, according to Department of Transportation data. The agency reported 83 injuries related to derailments in 2021, 28 in 2020 and 21 in 2019.

An analysis from the Eno Center for Transportation found that less than 1% of railroad incidents involving fatalities occur because of a derailment; the most common reasons for fatalities are trespassing on railroads and trains colliding with vehicles.

Other recent train derailments

On March 4, Norfolk Southernthe same rail company involved in the East Palestine derailmenthad a train of 212 cars derail in Springfield, Ohio. Kraig Barner, a general manager for Norfolk Southern, said Sunday that 28 of the trains cars had derailed, the New York Times reported.

This time, the consequences were not as severe and the crash entailed no risk to the public, officials noted. Ohio Governor MikeDeWine said no hazardous chemicals were on the train, although residents were temporarily requested to shelter in place.

Another incident occurred in Trinway, Ohio on Jan. 19 when dozens of train cars derailed on the Ohio Central Railroad. Local officials said the cars were empty and no leaks occurred, the Zanesville Times Recorder reported.

At least three derailments occurred in South Carolina this year in Lake City, near Loris and in Enoree. No injuries were reported, although in the Lake City incident, the train hit an unoccupied car that was on the train tracks.

On Feb. 18, a train derailed in Belle Ville, Mich.with six train cars out of 30 crashing off the tracks, Reuters reported.

A train derails in Michigan with several cars veering off track in Van Buren Township, in Michigan, United States on Feb. 18. Nick HagenAnadolu Agency/Getty Images

Calls for greater safety measures

Ohio lawmakers are calling for stricter oversight. The railroads got a lot of questions theyve got to answer and they really havent really done it very well yet, Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, told ABCs This Week on Sunday. Brown and fellow Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a Republican, have introduced a bill that would require increased planning for disasters as well as limits on train size and weight.

Norfolk Southern announced plans for safety upgrades Monday that included using detectors along railroad tracks to anticipate overheating before it leads to a disaster. The company has said that it plans to add about 200 hot bearing detectors to its network.

In the East Palestine derailment, investigators learned that hot bearing sensors had flagged high temperatures before a wheel failed on a train car, it but took too long to alert the train crew, according to a Feb. 23 National Transportation Safety Board report.

The Federal Railroad Administration has highlighted the importance of these detectors in the aftermath of recent derailmentsas well as ensuring they are adequately inspected by employees; the agency has said overheating bearings were to blame for four other derailments since 2021, according to the AP.

However, experts such as Professor Allan Zarembski, who leads the University of Delawares rail engineering and safety program, told the AP that they only cause a handful of the many derailments each year so its important to go beyond a knee-jerk reaction.
Key Insights

The projected fair value for TransDigm Group is US$585 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

TransDigm Group is estimated to be 32% overvalued based on current share price of US$770

Analyst price target for TDG is US$800, which is 37% above our fair value estimate

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE:TDG) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you 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 TransDigm Group

Crunching The Numbers

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$1.28b US$1.59b US$1.81b US$1.93b US$2.02b US$2.09b US$2.15b US$2.21b US$2.26b US$2.32b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x9 Analyst x9 Analyst x9 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.43% Est @ 3.02% Est @ 2.73% Est @ 2.54% Est @ 2.40% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.9% US$1.2k US$1.4k US$1.4k US$1.4k US$1.4k US$1.3k US$1.3k US$1.2k US$1.1k US$1.1k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$13b

Story continues

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.1%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.9%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$2.3b (1 + 2.1%)  (7.9% 2.1%) = US$41b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$41b ( 1 + 7.9%)10= US$19b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$32b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$770, the company appears potentially overvalued at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. 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 TransDigm 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 7.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.977. 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 TransDigm Group

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the American market.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Total liabilities exceed total assets, which raises the risk of financial distress.

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching 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?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Why is the intrinsic value lower than the current share price? For TransDigm Group, there are three additional aspects you should assess:

Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with TransDigm Group (at least 2 which are significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Future Earnings: How does TDG'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 NYSE 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.

Join A Paid User Research Session

Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here
The March 14 trial in the shooting death of a 17-year-old girl in Nelson Township nearly two years ago has been pushed back two months, even as defense attorneys say they have evidence that could exonerate their client.

A new trial date of May 9 was set on Monday for Zachary David Blosser, 20, according to Portage County Court of Common Pleas records. This is the ninth time the rial has been continued and rescheduled for Blosser since a grand jury indicted him in the March 2021 death of Kaylee Freitag.

According to a motion of continuance filed on Friday, the Portage County Prosecutor's Office requested the trial be rescheduled due to primary prosecutor Steve Michniak being scheduled for "major surgery" on Tuesday following an unspecified medical emergency. Michniak is not expected to return to work for four to six weeks.

"The State believes it is necessary for Prosecutor Michniak to be at the trial in this matter," states the motion.

In a motion also filed on Friday, defense attorneys Leonard Hazelett and Abigail Schock, both public defenders, objected to the continuance.

The defense attorneys claim in their motion that past continuances they have requested were due to the Portage County Sheriff's Office lead investigator in the case failing to provide evidence favorable to Blosser to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for examination.

This evidence in question includes Freitag's cell phone and DNA. Continuances were requested by the defense and court orders issued to have the evidence submitted to BCI. The defense motion claims that text messages and photos found on the phone and a comparison of Freitag's DNA to DNA of an "unidentified female" found on the gun that killed her is evidence in Blosser's favor.

The sheriff's office did not respond to a phone call and email requesting comment on the allegation.

More:Man charged in girl's murder declared competent to stand trial; new trial date set

Story continues

Zachary Blosser defense attorneys oppose continuance

In arguing against the continuance, Hazelett and Schock contend that Assistant Prosecutor Sean Scahill has served as "second chair" on the prosecution team and could present the state's case himself and that there are other prosecuting attorneys on staff who could assist Scahill.

The defense motion also states that Schock, who has been working on the case for two years, is leaving the Portage County Public Defender's Office in early April and that she had delayed her departure to see the Blosser trial to its conclusion.

"The effect will be that the proverbial shoe will then be on the other foot in that the continuance will result in the defendant losing an essential party to defendant's defense," the motion states.

The defense also states that issued more than 40 subpoenas to witnesses more than a month ago and all have acknowledged receipt of the subpoenas and were presumably ready to testify at the March trial.

Girl shot at home

Blosser is accused of shooting Freitag once in the mouth in the basement of a Knowlton Road home. Blosser reportedly attempted CPR on Freitag immediately following the shooting.

Court records include a Ravenna address for Blosser, but the sheriff's office said he had been living at the Nelson home, where Freitag also lived, for about six weeks at the time of the shooting. The home is owned by Freitag's uncle.

A grand jury indicted Blosser on two counts each of unclassified felony murder and second-degree felony assault, as well as single counts of third-degree felony tampering with evidence and fourth-degree felony safecracking. The murder and assault charges all include firearms specifications. One of the murder charges alleges that Freitag was killed during an assault and one of the assault charges alleges the assault was committed with a deadly weapon.

The gun was reportedly kept unloaded in a locked safe in the home.

Blosser has been held on a $2 million bond in Portage County Jail since March 2021.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Trial in Nelson Township girl's March 2021 murder delayed again
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yielded to pressure over allegations China interfered in Canadas elections, appointing a special investigator to study the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Upholding confidence in our democratic process in our elections, in our institutions, is of utmost importance, the prime minister told reporters Monday evening in Ottawa. The independent special rapporteur will have a wide mandate and make recommendations on fighting foreign meddling, he added.

The issue will also be studied by a group of lawmakers cleared to see top-secret intelligence, Trudeau said.

A series of media reports in recent weeks said Trudeau received intelligence briefings alleging that China meddled in both the 2019 and 2021 votes that returned him to power. The reports included claims that Chinese officials spread misinformation to hurt certain candidates, including Conservative Party candidates, and funneled money and volunteers toward people it wanted to see elected.

The most serious allegation came in a Feb. 17 Globe and Mail report, citing intelligence that China preferred to see Trudeaus Liberal Party elected over the alternative of a Conservative government.

Last week, a non-partisan group of government officials published a report that found there were attempts at foreign interference in the 2021 vote, but not enough to have met the threshold of impacting electoral integrity.

Recent polling has found that two-thirds of Canadians believe China tried to interfere, and more than half see it as a serious threat to Canadas democracy and want Trudeau to do more in response.

Opposition politicians and independent experts have urged the prime minister to call a judicial inquiry, but he instead opted to name a special investigator and refer the matter to the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians. The investigator may recommend a full judicial review, Trudeau said, and we will abide by their recommendation.

Story continues

The cross-partisan group of lawmakers is cleared to review classified intelligence, but is also sworn to secrecy about it. The committees reports are published in parliament with significant redactions to any secret intelligence.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Trudeaus chief rival, said earlier Monday that any situation in which opposition politicians are bound by secrecy is unacceptable to him.

Were not going to have a situation where Conservatives are told that they have to be quiet about this scandal because theyre sworn to secrecy, Poilievre said. What we need is a public inquiry that is truly independent to get to the bottom of it.

Minority Government

Trudeaus standing as prime minister could also be at risk if his response doesnt satisfy the New Democratic Party, a left-leaning party that signed a power-sharing deal with his government last year. The Liberals dont have a majority in the House of Commons and have leaned on NDP support to pass legislation.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has said the election-meddling issue shouldnt be investigated behind closed doors. But the partys response to Trudeaus Monday announcement was muted, merely repeating an earlier call for an independent, non-partisan public inquiry.

While Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping have clashed in public, the Liberals are seen as more open to doing business with the Asian superpower than the Conservatives, who take a harder line on human rights issues and national security concerns.

China maintains it doesnt interfere with Canadas internal affairs and has warned that the northern nation should stop smearing Beijings government with what it calls unfounded allegations.

(Updates with additional information and political context in second half of the story.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Donald Trumps eldest daughter Ivanka Trump has asked for a delay in bringing the $250m fraud lawsuit filed against her, her brothers, her father and their familys eponymous real estate company to trial.

Her lawyers argue that the fraud complaint filed last year does not contain a single allegation that Ms Trump directly or indirectly created, prepared, reviewed, or certified any of her fathers financial statements.

Other individuals were responsible for those tasks, they added.

In news about Mr Trumps other legal issues, it emerged his former aide Hope Hicks had met with Manhattan prosecutors investigating the former presidents alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The former White House communications director visited the office of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg with her lawyers on Monday. This comes as prosecutors ramp up the long-running investigation into the payments to Daniels leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump is praising Fox News host Tucker Carlson for airing footage of the January 6 Capitol riot falsely depicting it as a peaceful process. He has called for the prosection of the House select committee that investigated the attack on Congress.

Key points

Trump mocked over half full CPAC crowd

Fact check: Trumps lies at CPAC

Trump says criminal charges wont derail his 2024 bid

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News sued for sharing Bidens ads with Trump campaign

Larry Hogan rules himself out of 2024 race

Voices: Why Kevin McCarthy really gave Tucker Carlson the Jan 6 videos

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia writes:

The conservative movement and right-wing media has never really trusted Kevin McCarthy. They often see him as a chameleon devoid of any real ideology who has shifted as his party has changed. Indeed, last year, Mr Carlson said in private Mr McCarthy sounds like an MSNBC contributor and called him a puppet of the Dem Party after The New York Times revealed recordings of his conversations with House GOP leadership after the January 6 riot.

Story continues

Read on:

Why Kevin McCarthy really gave Tucker Carlson the Jan 6 videos

Watch: The five most bizarre lines from CPAC 2023

19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The five most bizarre lines from CPAC 2023

Voices: Trumps Jan 6 song is as bad as youd expect... Its also dangerous

19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Ahmed Baba writes:

On Friday at midnight, Donald Trump dropped a new song with the J6 Prison Choir. No, thats not an Onion headline. That just happened. Who needs SNL when we have reality?

According to Forbes staff writer Zach Everson, Trump, in partnership with former Trump Admin official Kash Patel and former Fox News Host Ed Henry, collaborated with January 6 insurrectionists awaiting trial in a DC jail.

Ill save you time. The song is as bad as youd expect.

Read on:

Trumps new Jan 6 song is as bad as youd expect. Its also dangerous

Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to go free

18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump has used the January 6 insurrection surveillance footage released to Fox News host Tucker Carlson to call for prisoners to go free.

The decision by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to release around 40,000 hours of security footage from the attack on the Capitol has been blasted by critics.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on Tuesday that Monday nights broadcast by Mr Carlson was one of the most shameful hours of television.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Trump uses Tucker Carlson tapes to call for Jan 6 prisoners to go free

Defensive Trump insists CPAC speech was packed after being extensively mocked

18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump went on the defensive bright and early on Monday morning as he chafed over coverage of his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC over the weekend.

He claimed the room was packed. The reality was a little different...

Defensive Trump insists CPAC speech was packed after mockery over empty seats

Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

17:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) concluded on Saturday with a speech from former President Donald Trump, still considered the heavy favourite (especially by this crowd) for the 2024 GOP nomination.

But while Republicans attending the three-day Trumpfest at Marylands National Harbor were certain of who should be at the top of the ticket  even breaking out into chants of Trump! Trump! during a speech by his competitor, Nikki Haley  they were far less certain about who the former president should pick as his running mate should he secure his partys nomination.

John Bowden and Eric Garcia filed this report from the conference.

CPAC veepstakes: Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

Kristol alarmed as Trump all in for the insurrection and Republicans silent

17:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Bill Kristol, Conservative commentator and editor-at-large of The Bulwark, voiced his alarm that the Republican Party seems incapable of denouncing the January 6 insurrection.

Posting Trumps praise of Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy, he wrote on Twitter: Trump is all in for the insurrection. His Republican competitors wont denounce the insurrection. The Republican Party is half insurrectionist and half anti-anti-insurrectionist.

He added: I am alarmed.

Trump is all in for the insurrection.



His Republican competitors won't denounce the insurrection.



The Republican Party is half insurrectionist and half anti-anti-insurrectionist.



I am alarmed. pic.twitter.com/sPUWRdILqt  Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) March 7, 2023

This morning in Trump Truth Social posts

16:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump began his morning on Truth Social with a big ALL-CAPS thank you to Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy for the airing of the US Capitol surveillance tapes reframed to make the attack on Congress look peaceful and raising the ire of Democrats and the family of Brian Sicknick who died soon after.

The former president posted: LET THE JANUARY 6 PRISONERS GO. THEY WERE CONVICTED, OR ARE AWAITING TRIAL, BASED ON A GIANT LIE, A RADICAL LEFT CON JOB. THANK YOU TO TUCKER CARLSON AND SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE KEVIN McCARTHY FOR WHAT YOU BOTH HAVE DONE. NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE IS IRREFUTABLE!!!

More than 1,000 people have now been charged with crimes committed

Turning his attention to Florida Governor Ron De Santis, Mr Trump wrote: FLORIDA WAS DOING GREAT FOR MANY YEARS, LONG BEFORE RON DESANCTUS GOT THERE. THE SUNSHINE AND OCEAN ARE WONDERFUL THINGS TO HAVE!

After a series of reposts concerning debunked 2020 election fraud conspiracy theories, Mr Trump took up the topic of Hunter Biden and his laptop, writing: Everything is exposed on Hunter Bidens Laptop from Hell, including massive crime by Joe and Hunter  But nothing happens, they just keep coming after me. The good news is that AMERICA WONT TAKE IT ANY LONGER!

He then took a moment to praise former aide Steve Bannon for his speech at CPAC: He tells it like it is!!!

Mr Trump rounded off the morning with another post on the topic of the Capitol surveillance footage: Tucker Carlson a MUST WATCH tonight. Releasing more VIDEO which was HIDDEN BY THE CROOKED J 6 UNSELECT COMMITTEE. They should be prosecuted for their lies and, quite frankly, TREASON!

Five takeaways from CPAC

16:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The latest Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington DC proved that former President Donald Trump remains firmly in control of the Republican Party going into the 2024 election.

Eric Garcia presents his key takeaways from the conference.

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

Trump asserts his dominance over GOP in CPAC speech

15:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump delivered the closing speech of the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference, where he targeted his enemies not just in the Democratic Party and the media, but also the Republican Party.

The former president spoke in grave terms before a crowd at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland on the third full day of the gathering of right-wing elected officials and activists.

This is the final battle, Trump told the crowd at CPAC of the 2024 presidential race and the fate of the country itself. This is it.

Eric Garcia filed this report over the weekend.

Trump asserts his dominance over GOP in CPAC speech and calls 2024 final battle

Fact checker spots at least 23 lies in Trumps CPAC speech

15:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Donald Trump made at least 23 false statements during his CPAC speech over the weekend, a fact check has found.

CNNs Daniel Dale noted that this was far from the total, adding that the speech was full of wildly inaccurate claims.

Gustaf Kilander has the details.

Trump sparks outrage as fact checker spots at least 23 lies in CPAC speech

DoJ reaches 1,000 January 6 arrests in just over two years since riot

14:30 , Oliver O'Connell

At least 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the attack on the US Capitol more than two years after a mob fuelled by Donald Trumps false election claims breached the halls of Congress to forcibly disrupt the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Alex Woodward reports.

More than 1,000 people arrested in connection with January 6

Larry Hogan rules himself out of 2024 race

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has ruled himself out of the 2024 race, after saying that he will not go head-to-head with Donald Trump.

The Republican, who has become one of the partys fiercest critics of Mr Trump, wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that he will not challenge the former president.

I would never run for president to sell books or position myself for a Cabinet role, he wrote.

I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party. And that is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.

While he said he appreciated all those around the nation who have for many years encouraged me to run for president, after eight years of pouring my heart and soul into serving the people of Maryland, I have no desire to put my family through another grueling campaign just for the experience.

Hope Hicks meets with Manhattan prosecutors over Stormy Daniels hush money

13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trumps former aide Hope Hicks has met with Manhattan prosecutors investigating the former presidents alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The former White House communications director visited the office of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg with her lawyers on Monday  spending several hours there before they were spotted leaving.

This comses as prosecutors ramp up the long-running investigation into the payments to the adult film star leading up to the 2016 presidential election.

Ms Hicks is only the latest in a growing number of people who were in Mr Trumps inner circle at the time.

Mr Trumps former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and former political adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke to prosecutors about the probe last week.

CPACs sea of empty seats: Trumpworld celebs address half-empty ballroom

13:00 , John Bowden

If the audience of CPAC 2023 was evidence of one thing, it was the increasingly rightward tilt of both the American Conservative Union which hosts the event, as well as the broader GOP activist base.

What could have been a massive big tent gathering of DC Republicans and their nationwide grassroots allies instead appeared to be more of a muted affair held to celebrate the glory of Donald Trump and his dominant but still incomplete segment of the Republican Party.

The split was evident in the crowd sizes at the event on Friday, when many big-name speakers including Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump Jr., and others were slated to speak. All of the above spoke to half-empty ballrooms which struggled to reach the same tenor and excitement of your average Trump rally.

John Bowden has more from the ground at CPAC:

Trumpworld celebs address half-empty CPAC as mainstream Republicans shy away

VOICES: Donald Trumps CPAC speech proves why he is a problem for the GOP

12:31 , John Bowden

In his keynote CPAC speech, Donald Trump once again demonstrated why his leadership of the Republican Party has led to electoral loss after electoral loss. His rambling speech was unlikely to appeal to anyone not already firmly ensconced in the conservative bubble. When he did settle into a coherent statement, it was more often than not a vicious attack on his Republican rivals.

The combination is a looming nightmare for the GOP. Trump has no vision for the future himself and is determined to torch the party if it attempts to move on from him. The media loves Democrats in disarray stories, but Trump makes it clear that there is an almost limitless potential for Republican dysfunction in 2024.

Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:

Donald Trumps CPAC speech proves why he is a problem for the GOP

Larry Hogan rules himself out of 2024 race

11:31 , John Bowden

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has ruled himself out of the 2024 race, after saying that he will not go head-to-head with Donald Trump.

The Republican, who has become one of the partys fiercest critics of Mr Trump, wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that he will not challenge the former president.

I would never run for president to sell books or position myself for a Cabinet role, he wrote.

I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party. And that is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.

While he said he appreciated all those around the nation who have for many years encouraged me to run for president, after eight years of pouring my heart and soul into serving the people of Maryland, I have no desire to put my family through another grueling campaign just for the experience.

CPAC veepstakes: Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

10:31 , John Bowden

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) concluded on Saturday with a speech from former President Donald Trump, still considered the heavy favourite (especially by this crowd) for the 2024 GOP nomination.

But while Republicans attending the three-day Trumpfest at Marylands National Harbor were certain of who should be at the top of the ticket  even breaking out into chants of Trump! Trump! during a speech by his competitor, Nikki Haley  they were far less certain about who the former president should pick as his running mate should he secure his partys nomination.

Its a unique question for the once-president. He obviously cannot run again with his former vice president, Mike Pence, who is mulling his own 2024 bid and has publicly broken with his ex-boss on Mr Trumps most important issue: The certainty of their shared 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. The former president also has far fewer ties with the GOP establishment than he had the last go around or even was able to forge in 2016, meaning that his hypothetical pick for several reasons could likely end up being someone with much stronger ties to the GOPs far-right activist base.

John Bowden and Eric Garcia take a look at the possible choices, and gauge the enthusiasm at CPAC:

CPAC veepstakes: Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News sued for sharing Bidens ads with Trump campaign before they aired

09:31 , John Bowden

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News parent company are being sued over claims that they shared campaign strategy from Joe Bidens 2020 presidential run with Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The suit filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by progressive activist group Media Matters on Friday alleges Fox made an illegal contribution to the Trump campaign when they shared his opponents ads before they had aired on the network.

(Foxs) actions are not only an egregious violation of the (Federal Election Campaign) Act and the Commissions regulations, but also a nefarious attempt by people in power to operate a press entity as a political organisation, in blatant disregard of the rules that govern our elections and democracy, Media Matters CEO and president Angelo Carusone writes in the filing, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Independents Bevan Hurley has the full story:

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News sued for sharing Bidens ads with Trump campaign

SNL cold open slays Fox News over Dominion defamation lawsuit

08:31 , John Bowden

Saturday Night Lives cold open went after Fox News over its conspicuous silence about damning revelations in a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

Internal communications and sworn depositions in the court battle have revealed that Foxs star anchors and executives knew that Donald Trumps false 2020 election fraud claims were bogus.

Since the allegations were made public in unsealed court filings last week, Fox News has barely acknowledged them.

Watch the sketch here:

SNL cold open muddles Rupert Murdoch and Alex Murdaugh

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and husband are divorcing

07:31 , John Bowden

A senior presidential adviser in the Trump White House, Kellyanne Conway, and her husband, attorney George Conway, a prominent critic of the former president, say they are divorcing.

The news marks the end of one of Washingtons strangest power couples.

Read more in The Independent:

Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway and husband are divorcing

Ex-Trump aide Hope Hicks meets Manhattan prosecutors

06:55 , Stuti Mishra

Former senior adviser to Donald Trump, Hope Hicks, was spotted entering the Manhattan district attorneys office yesterday in a signal of a possible escalation of the investigation into the former presidents alleged involvement in hush money payments to a porn star during his presidential campaign.

Prosecutors from district attorney Alvin Braggs office have been presenting evidence to a grand jury since January, with Ms Hicks being the seventh witness to meet with them, the New York Times reported.

It remains unclear whether she was simply answering questions or will be asked to testify before the grand jury.

Mr Trump has labelled the investigation a witch hunt, and it is unknown whether the district attorney will seek an indictment against him.

Hope Hicks served as White House Communications Director under Trump administration (AP)

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

06:31 , John Bowden

The latest Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington DC proved that former President Donald Trump remains firmly in control of the Republican Party going into the 2024 election.

CPAC 2023 was the first in the nations capital since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The gathering has long been a cattle call for potential Republican presidential nominees and other rising stars in the party. And it sets the tone for what conservatives will likely focus on in the next election.

Eric Garcia dives in to what we can learn from the conference:

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

04:31 , John Bowden

The latest Conservative Political Action Conference outside of Washington DC proved that former President Donald Trump remains firmly in control of the Republican Party going into the 2024 election.

The latest CPAC gathering was the first in the nations capital since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The gathering has long been a cattle call for potential Republican presidential nominees and other rising stars in the party. And it sets the tone for what conservatives will likely focus on in the next election.

Eric Garcia breaks down what we can learn from this years Trumpfest:

Five takeaways from CPAC and what it means for the 2024 race

Defensive Trump insists CPAC speech was packed after Chris Christie led mockery over empty seats

03:31 , John Bowden

Donald Trump went on the defensive bright and early on Monday morning as he chafed over coverage of his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington DC over the weekend.

The former president contended that you couldnt get into the building as he insisted that seating for his speech was filled and that his supporters had flocked to CPAC to see him.

In reality, any delays getting in to the massive Gaylord hotel and convention centre were likely caused by the security screenings put in place by the US Secret Service  while the main ballroom notably filled up moreso than it had for smaller-name speakers like Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley, it was far from a standing room only event like the rallies Mr Trump became known for in 2016 and, to a lesser extent, in 2020.

Read more in The Independent for an exclusive on-the-ground look into CPAC 2023:

Defensive Trump insists CPAC speech was packed after mockery over empty seats

Brick suits, lawsuits, insults and pillows: The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC

02:31 , John Bowden

Where else on earth but the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) can you see a pillow salesman treated like royalty, with his own security detatchment? Or see Sebastian Gorka, former White House official, yelling at The Bulwarks Tim Miller that he was f***ing fake news and should go to hell?

Take a trip to National Harbor, Md, and catch up on the rage that infects the right-wing media sphere following Donald Trumps unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

Read more:

The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC as Trump waits in the wings

Russell Brand rails against Rachel Maddow, MSNBC and Fox News propaganda in viral rant

01:31 , John Bowden

Actor Russell Brand ranted against MSNBC and claimed that the left-leaning network is an equal source of propaganda to Fox News, the conservative news network which now faces a massive defamation lawsuit over amplifying Donald Trumps election lies in 2020.

The episode of Real Time with Bill Maher on which Mr Brand made his remarks aired on Saturday evening, after which the clip was spread widely around social media, largely by conservatives celebrating Brands comments.

Read more:

Russell Brand rails against Rachel Maddow and Fox News propaganda in viral rant

Michelle Obama reveals why she was uncontrollably sobbing after Donald Trumps inauguration

00:31 , John Bowden

Michelle Obama has reflected on former US President Donald Trumps Inauguration Day and revealed why she was sobbing after it.

The former first lady discussed her and her husbands, former President Barack Obama, time in the White House during the first and upcoming episode of Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast.

Learn more in The Independent:

Michelle Obama reveals why she was sobbing after Donald Trumps inauguration

Marjorie Taylor Greenes Happy Purim message greeted with reminders of antisemitism scandals

Monday 6 March 2023 23:30 , John Bowden

Marjorie Taylor Greenes Happy Purim message was greeted on Twitter Monday with reminders of her past statements which have drawn accusations of antisemitism.

The Jewish holiday commemorates Jews from Persia being saved from annihilation following a decree put in place by Haman, an Achaemenid Empire official. The story was outlined in the Book of Esther, the third book of the Jewish Tanakh  the Hebrew Bible.

Ms Greene is one of a handful of members of Congress who have met publicly with Nick Fuentes, one of Americas most infamous white nationalists. She has defended her presence at his past events by claiming she did not know who he was.

Read The Independent for more:

Marjorie Taylor Greenes Happy Purim message greeted with scandal reminders

Oversight committee Republicans wont sign Democrats letter denouncing white supremacy

Monday 6 March 2023 22:32 , John Bowden

Democratic members on the House Oversight Committee asked their Republican colleagues to sign a two-sentence statement that plainly rejects white supremacy, white nationalism, and a far-right conspiracy theory that suggests politicians are intentionally seeking to displace white Americans by loosening immigration.

All 26 Republicans on the GOP-led committee have signalled that they will not sign the statement, which a committee spokesperson characterised in a statement to The Independent as a distraction.

Some Republican members of Congress (to varying degrees) have been accused of using rhetoric similar to that espoused by Great Replacment theory advocates in their own anti-immigration messages. The accusation has drawn strong backlash from some of those same Republicans, like House Republican caucus chair Elise Stefanik.

Alex Woodward has more:

Oversight GOP wont sign Democrats statement denouncing white supremacy

Ex-Trump campaign chairman agrees to pay $3.15m to settle case over failure to report foreign bank accounts

Monday 6 March 2023 21:29 , John Bowden

Former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has agreed to pay $3.15m to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice.

The case stems from Mr Manaforts failure to report the ownership of bank accounts in other countries in a timely fashion. Its just the latest legal snafu Mr Manafort since he was pardoned by Donald Trump for crimes uncovered during the Mueller investigation.

The DOJ sued Mr Manafort last year in US District Court in Southern Florida for $2.9m, alleging that he did not report money he made from his consulting work in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014 that was deposited into bank accounts opened on his behalf in Cyprus, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the United Kingdom.

Read more:

Paul Manafort agrees to pay $3.15m to settle case with Department of Justice

Ron DeSantis is engaging in fascism, says Florida Democrat

Monday 6 March 2023 21:00 , John Bowden

Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticised his home state Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, saying the potential Republican presidential candidate is engaging in fascism.

The freshman Democratic congressman, who is currently the youngest member of the House of Representatives, spoke on CNN with Jim Acosta about Mr DeSantiss plan to ban the use of preferred pronouns and gender studies in the state of Florida.

He isnt acting on education, we have to be clear, Mr Frost said. Hes acting on scapegoating vulnerable communities due to his failures.

Eric Garcia has more:

Ron DeSantis is engaging in fascism, says Florida Democrat

Trump launches new 3am Truth Social rant at Rupert Murdoch

Monday 6 March 2023 20:31 , John Bowden

Former President Donald Trump was up late into the night  or perhaps very early in the morning  seething at FoxCorp founder Rupert Murdoch over the continued fallout from the massive lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

Testimony and evidence uncovered by the lawsuit and made public as a result has been astonishingly embarassing for Mr Trump, who continues to insist that the 2020 election was stolen from him even after failing to produce any hard evidence in his multiple legal fights to overturn state results and his own attorney admitting that his team didnt have any to speak of.

Read more:

Trump launches new 3am Truth Social rant at Rupert Murdoch

CPAC veepstakes: Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

Monday 6 March 2023 20:00 , John Bowden

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) concluded on Saturday with a speech from former President Donald Trump, still considered the heavy favourite (especially by this crowd) for the 2024 GOP nomination.

But while Republicans attending the three-day Trumpfest at Marylands National Harbor were certain of who should be at the top of the ticket  even breaking out into chants of Trump! Trump! during a speech by his competitor, Nikki Haley  they were far less certain about who the former president should pick as his running mate should he secure his partys nomination.

Kari Lake, former candidate for governor, won the events veepstakes poll with just 20 per cent of the vote. The Independent spoke with prominent Republicans who attended the conference and heard their thoughts on Donald Trumps selection of a new running mate.

CPAC veepstakes: Who does Trumpworld want to replace Mike Pence?

Trump's deputy national security adviser says he won't support his old boss in 2024

Monday 6 March 2023 19:36 , John Bowden

One of Donald Trumps former top deputies has just revealed that he will not support the former president in 2024.

Matthew Pottinger, former deputy White House national security adviser, revealed his thoughts about his ex-boss running a third time during a Washington Post interview.

"Well, I'm likely to support other candidates this time around," he said.

Trump scorches Larry Hogan after ex-governor says he wont run in 2024

Monday 6 March 2023 19:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump had nothing nice to say about Larry Hogan, the popular former Republican governor of Maryland, on Monday after Mr Hogan released a statement announcing that he would not seek the presidency in 2024. Mr Hogan had been strongly hinting at a run for months.

Too bad Larry Hogan, the RINO Former Governor of Maryland, is dropping out of the Presidential Race. While he didnt stand a chance, he would have been fun to practice on! Mr Trump quipped on Truth Social.

Polls showed Mr Hogan, despite his popularity at home, winning only a few per cent of the vote in a hypothetical 2024 GOP primary matchup against Mr Trump and other candidates.

Donald Trump mocked for half full CPAC event: Its TPAC, Trump PAC

Monday 6 March 2023 18:00 , John Bowden

Donald Trump has been mocked by Chris Christie over the poor turn out at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend.

Mr Christie, the one-time presidents former ally, reacted to the event in an interview on ABCs This Week on Sunday.

You saw the scenes at CPAC, that room was half full, said the former New Jersey governor.

What got him upset on January 6th? The crowd size. What got him upset on January 20th 2017? The crowd size. He measures that as an example of his own power and own authority, and I dont think he has it anymore, Mr Christie added.

Read more:

Donald Trump mocked for half full CPAC event: Its TPAC, Trump PAC

CPAC speaker sparks alarm with call for trans people to be eradicated

Monday 6 March 2023 17:16 , John Bowden

Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire sparked widespread condemnations and disgust on Saturday with his anti-trans rhetoric made during his speech at CPAC.

If [transgenderism] is false, then for the good of society, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely, he said.

John Knefel of Media Matters called it eliminationist, genocidal rhetoric. Adam Vary of Variety urged people to pay attention. This is genocidal. That is not hyperbole or alarmist; this rhetoric is calling for the eradication of a group of people for who they are.

Mr Knowles, through a spokesperson, has since denied that he was speaking about violence against individuals, though he did not explain how eradicating transgenderism could be done without eradicating transgender people.

Read more:

CPAC speaker sparks alarm with call for transgenderism to be eradicated

Brick suits, lawsuits, insults and pillows: The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC

Monday 6 March 2023 16:00 , John Bowden

Where else on earth but the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) can you see a pillow salesman treated like royalty, with his own security detatchment?

Take a trip to National Harbor, Md, and catch up on the rage that infects the right-wing media sphere following Donald Trumps unsuccessful attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

Read more:

The otherworldly atmosphere at CPAC as Trump waits in the wings

CPACs sea of empty seats: Trumpworld celebs address half-empty ballroom

Monday 6 March 2023 15:00 , John Bowden

If the audience of CPAC 2023 was evidence of one thing, it was the increasingly rightward tilt of both the American Conservative Union which hosts the event, as well as the broader GOP activist base.

What could have been a massive big tent gathering of DC Republicans and their nationwide grassroots allies instead appeared to be more of a muted affair held to celebrate the glory of Donald Trump and his dominant but still incomplete segment of the Republican Party.

The split was evident in the crowd sizes at the event on Friday, when many big-name speakers including Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump Jr., and others were slated to speak. All of the above spoke to half-empty ballrooms which struggled to reach the same tenor and excitement of your average Trump rally.

John Bowden has more from the ground at CPAC:

Trumpworld celebs address half-empty CPAC as mainstream Republicans shy away

SNL cold open slays Fox News over Dominion defamation lawsuit

Monday 6 March 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Saturday Night Lives cold open went after Fox News over its conspicuous silence about damning revelations in a $1.6bn defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

Internal communications and sworn depositions in the court battle have revealed that Foxs star anchors and executives knew that Donald Trumps false 2020 election fraud claims were bogus.

Since the allegations were made public in unsealed court filings last week, Fox News has barely acknowledged them.

Read the full story here:

SNL cold open slays Fox News over Dominion defamation lawsuit

Larry Hogan rules himself out of 2024 race

Monday 6 March 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan has ruled himself out of the 2024 race, after saying that he will not go head-to-head with Donald Trump.

The Republican, who has become one of the partys fiercest critics of Mr Trump, wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that he will not challenge the former president.

I would never run for president to sell books or position myself for a Cabinet role, he wrote.

I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party. And that is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.

While he said he appreciated all those around the nation who have for many years encouraged me to run for president, after eight years of pouring my heart and soul into serving the people of Maryland, I have no desire to put my family through another grueling campaign just for the experience.

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News sued for sharing Bidens ads with Trump campaign before they aired

Monday 6 March 2023 13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News parent company are being sued over claims that they shared campaign strategy from Joe Bidens 2020 presidential run with Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The suit filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by progressive activist group Media Matters on Friday alleges Fox made an illegal contribution to the Trump campaign when they shared his opponents ads before they had aired on the network.

(Foxs) actions are not only an egregious violation of the (Federal Election Campaign) Act and the Commissions regulations, but also a nefarious attempt by people in power to operate a press entity as a political organisation, in blatant disregard of the rules that govern our elections and democracy, Media Matters CEO and president Angelo Carusone writes in the filing, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

The Independents Bevan Hurley has the full story:

Rupert Murdoch and Fox News sued for sharing Bidens ads with Trump campaign

WATCH: The five most bizarre lines from CPAC

Monday 6 March 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

VOICES: Donald Trumps CPAC speech proves why he is a problem for the GOP

Monday 6 March 2023 12:00 , Rachel Sharp

In his keynote CPAC speech, Donald Trump once again demonstrated why his leadership of the Republican Party has led to electoral loss after electoral loss. His rambling speech was unlikely to appeal to anyone not already firmly ensconced in the conservative bubble. When he did settle into a coherent statement, it was more often than not a vicious attack on his Republican rivals.

The combination is a looming nightmare for the GOP. Trump has no vision for the future himself and is determined to torch the party if it attempts to move on from him. The media loves Democrats in disarray stories, but Trump makes it clear that there is an almost limitless potential for Republican dysfunction in 2024.

Noah Berlatsky writes for The Independent:

Donald Trumps CPAC speech proves why he is a problem for the GOP

Fact check: Trumps lies in CPAC speech

Monday 6 March 2023 11:50 , Rachel Sharp

During Donald Trumps speech at CPAC over the weekend, he continued to spew a series of lies.

A CNN fact check tallied up at least 23 falsehoods covering topics including crime, the war in Ukraine, the border wall  and of course the 2020 election.

I won the second election, OK, won it by a lot. You know, when they say, when they say Biden won, the smart people know that didnt [happen], he claimed.

Of course, Mr Trump did not win the 2020 election. He lost by more than 7 million votes.

Other lies included his claim that he completed the construction of the border wall between the US and Mexico  something which is irrefutably untrue.

Donald Trump vows retribution and will stay in 2024 race if he faces criminal charges

Monday 6 March 2023 11:40 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump is vowing to stay in the 2024 presidential race even if he is indicted in any of the multiple criminal investigations bearing down on him.

Absolutely, I wouldnt even think about leaving, the former president told reporters ahead of his speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, speculating that being the target of a criminal indictment could even enhance his poll numbers.

During his remarks, Mr Trump vowed to take revenge against Democrats, the media, and even fellow Republicans who opposed him.

In 2016, I declared: I am your voice, he told the crowd. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.

The Independents John Bowden has the story:

Donald Trump vows to stay in 2024 race if he faces criminal charges

Trump wins huge majority in CPAC 2024 straw poll

Monday 6 March 2023 11:35 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump was the overwhelming winner of the CPAC 2024 straw poll on Saturday, taking 62 per cent of the vote at the gathering of his loyalists on the Potomac.

The result was a predictable certain; the three-day Trumpfest was little more than a gathering of Trump campaign and former administration personnel and many attendees were draped in Trump campain attire, official or otherwise.

The former presidents team immediately blasted out the results of the straw poll to their supporters, writing that Mr Trump had dominated the field.

Read the full story here:

Trump wins huge majority in CPAC 2024 straw poll as DeSantis trails in distant second

Trump is mocked over half full CPAC crowd

Monday 6 March 2023 11:27 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump is facing mockery over the half full crowd which showed up to hear him speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday.

Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and onetime close ally of Mr Trump, poked fun at the size of the crowd who attended the former presidents speech at the weekend.

You saw the scenes at CPAC, that room was half-full, Mr Christie said on ABCs This Week. The reason I dont think the rallies are going on I dont think the rallies would be nearly as big as they were before.

He added: There are lots of indicators here, that hes not what he used to be, in most respects, youre talking about and so were going to see how that plays out.

Mr Trump gave a headline speech at CPAC, where he spewed his election lies and vowed to stay in the 2024 race even if he is criminally charged.

Yet, the room was not even close to full capacity.

Mr Christie has become a vocal critic of Mr Trump.

The two men were once close allies with Mr Christie working on the former presidents 2016 and 2020 campaigns before their relationship soured.

Monday 6 March 2023 11:22 , Rachel Sharp

Welcome toThe Independents liveblog where you can find all the latest developments in Trumpworld.

Justice Department notes 1,000 January 6 defendants milestone

Monday 6 March 2023 23:00 , John Bowden

The Department of Justice on Monday marked an important milestone into the investigation into the January 6 attack on Congress. The agency has now charged 1,000 people with crimes stemming from the riot.

Speculation continues to persist about whether Donald Trump or his inner circle will face any charges resulting from the attack as well.
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters

The Trump Organization says it ended a tumultuous 2022 without telling anyone outside the company how business is doinga claim that, if believed, could be an indication of its looming financial difficulties in the face of a tsunami of legal trouble.

In practical terms, however, the claim also keeps New York state investigators from getting a clear picture of whether the real estate firm has continued lying to banks about its property values, even as investigators barrel toward a trial that could kill off the Trump Organization.

The disclosure about how the Trumps haven't made any financial statements to banks or accounting firms was made in a Feb. 3 letter written by a retired judge tasked with babysitting the Trumps real estate empire, in a document that was made public in court filings last week.

The Trumps have not provided a 2022 statement of financial condition to any third parties, and do not intend to do so, Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge now in private practice, wrote to the state judge who appointed her.

Trump Org Pays $1.6 Million Fine for Tax Fraud Conviction

Shes referring to the same type of financial record that has the Trump Organization in hot water now, given that former President Donald Trump issued so many of them based on outrageously phony valuations, as documented by the New York AGs lawsuit against the company last year.

In accounting, a statement of financial condition is a sensitive legal document that serves as a summary of a companys assets and liabilities. But notably, it must also include disclosures describing how the numbers were put together. These are the very documents the Trumps are accused of faking for years, padding the numbers with nonexistent real estate space in Trump Tower and hyperinflated values for undeveloped land.

Jones noted that the lack of information wasnt exactly a surprise, as the court had previously been told the Trumps were keeping mum about last year.

Story continues

That line wouldnt be alarming, were it not for two things: the Trump Organizations financial statements are now the center of the New York attorney generals massive fraud investigation; and any large real estate company would have to regularly make financial condition statements anytime it seeks to borrow money for a project from a reputable lender.

That means that, either the Trump Organization has fallen on hard times, found a bank willing to do business without responsible paperwork, or isnt telling the truth.

One person with knowledge of the AGs investigation noted that the companys explanation only makes sense if it found a sketchy bank willing to do business without relying on official financial statements.

Notably, there was one bank in particular that came to the Trumps rescue last year amid a wave of revelations that the company had engaged in fraud for over a decade: Axos, an internet-only bank based in San Diego.

As the Trump business and political legacy began to crumble, legitimate banking and accounting firms finally started to distance themselves from the Trump Organization. Following Trumps incitement of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, his go-to German lender, Deutsche Bank, dropped him. When New York AG Letitia James revealed how her investigators discovered the companys pattern of lying on financial forms in early 2022, Trumps longtime outside accounting firm of Mazars USA ditched him too.

Axos Bank swooped in and refinanced a $100 million loan to U.S. Bank National Association, according to documents filed with the New York City Department of Finance and signed by Eric Trump as president of Trump Tower Commercial LLC. Axos then gave the Trump Organization a lifeline by paying off its $125 million loan to Deutsche Bank in May 2022, according to the AGs civil fraud lawsuit against the Trumps.

Axos is run by Gregory Garrabrants, a financial executive who has donated $65,000 to GOP candidates since 2012, with the bulk of that during Trumps time in the White House, according to Federal Election Commission records. That spending includes $9,600 on Trumps failed re-election campaign in 2020.

Oddly, the Trumps business deal with Axos appeared to hinge on the ability to keep them from having to make the very disclosures that caused so much trouble in the first place, according to the AGs lawsuit.

Deutsche Bank, Trumps Biggest Lender, Has Reportedly Decided to Stop Doing Business With Him

During the negotiations with Axos Bank in February 2022, the Trump Organization sought to avoid submitting a statement of financial condition or making representations about Mr. Trumps net worth. Instead, the Trump Organization pushed to provide a schedule of material real estate assets and liabilities and leave it to the lender to calculate net worth, the AGs office claimed.

That arrangement essentially shifted the burden over to Axos. In previous deals with other banks, the Trump Organization had put together financial condition statements summing up its valueafter adding massive injections of seemingly nonexistent values based on intangible stuff like brand value, a claim Trump has made several times in public but also in court.

The court-appointed monitors Feb. 3 letter confirms the idea that the Trump Organization went the entire year without making any of the typical disclosures required when borrowing money from a financial institution.

Axos did not reply to a request for comment. The Trump Organization also did not answer questions about its deal with Axos.

Justice Arthur F. Engoron, a New York state judge, took the rare step of appointing Jones as an outside monitor after hearing the AGs concerns that the Trump Organization might restructure itself to become an empty shell and avoid paying hefty fines that could total $1 billion. After her appointment on Nov. 14, Jones began meeting with company representatives and attorneys at the AGs office, according to her first letter to the court. Since then, the Trumps have been turning over information proactively, she said.

In a subsequent letter, Jones told the judge that she has sent the Trump Organization questions more than a dozen times to clarify their corporate structure and various corporate transactions. Shes clearly getting some answers, because Jones noted she had to hire her own accountants to carefully assess issues regarding Trump Organization entities and has spent considerable time reconciling and ensuring the accuracy of the extensive list of entities that fall under the Trump Organization umbrella.

Jones did not respond to a request for comment to expand on the missing 2022 financial statements.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Handed some 41,000 hours of Jan. 6 security footage, Fox News' Tucker Carlson has launched an impassioned new effort to explain away the deadly Capitol attack, linking the Republican Party ever more closely to pro-Trump conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot.

The conservative commentator aired a first installment to millions of viewers on his prime-time show Monday, working to bend perceptions of the violent, grueling siege that played out for the world to see into a narrative favorable to Donald Trump. A small additional bit was shown Tuesday amid calls from critics to stop.

The undertaking by Fox News comes as Trump is again running for president, and executives at the highest levels of the cable news giant have admitted in unrelated court proceedings that it spread the former president's false claims about the 2020 election despite dismissing Trump's assertions privately.

The effort dovetails with the work of Republicans on Capitol Hill, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who turned over the security footage to Fox. The Republicans are trying to claw back the findings of the House Jan. 6 investigation, which painstakingly documented, with testimony and video evidence, how Trump rallied his supporters to head to the Capitol and fight like hell as Congress was certifying his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump on Tuesday contended that Carlson's presentation was irrefutable evidence that rioters have been wrongly accused of crimes and he thanked the host and the speaker for their work. Carlson praised McCarthy as having rectified the official record.

Trump called anew for the release from custody of people who have been convicted or have pleaded guilty to charges from the attack.

At the same time, criticism poured in from Democrats  and some top Republicans, too  over the GOP's attempt to amplify falsehoods about the attack that was seen around the world as Trump supporters laid siege to the seat of U.S. democracy.

Story continues

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the Democrat who chaired the House Jan. 6 Committee investigating the riot, called McCarthy's decision to selectively release the security footage a dereliction of duty."

"The speaker decided it was more important to give in to a Fox host who spews lies and propaganda than to protect the Capitol, Thompson said in a statement. He called Jan. 6 one of the darkest days in the history of our democracy.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Monday night Fox News episode from Carlson one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on television.

The show's portrayal was "an insult to every single police officer, Schumer said, especially the family of Brian Sicknick, who died later after fighting the mob. Nonviolent? Ask his family.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said it was a mistake for Fox News to depict the footage as it did  at odds with the Capitol Police assessment and what he and others witnessed firsthand at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

But McCarthy, who has shifted from blaming Trump for the riot to softening his criticism of the former president, stood by his decision, saying people can watch and "come up with their own conclusion.

In the roughly 30-minute segment, Fox distilled the thousands of hours of footage of the gruesome scenes at the Capitol that day and did show some of the hand-to-hand combat as rioters laid siege to the building, broke windows and kicked down doors to gain entry.

But Carlson also emphasized imagery of the invaders, some in combat gear and wielding flagpoles, merely milling about the gilded halls, taking pictures of the surroundings during pauses in the hours-long attack.

These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers, Carlson said.

The footage he aired focused on one of the highest-profile rioters, Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, garbed in his horned hat and bare chested, as he poked around the building, officers standing by or opening doors. Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Carlson denounced the Jan. 6 committee led by Democrats in the past Congress, and called out Trump's chief Republican critics Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as liars on the panel.

Carlson is reviving the falsehoods launched by Trump and his allies, including Republicans in Congress, that the attackers were peaceful protesters and acted like tourists, despite the well-documented carnage of the day and the deaths of five people in the riot and its aftermath. It's part of an effort to reverse criminal charges for those being prosecuted in the attack, many of whom have pleaded guilty and said they regretted their actions on Jan. 6.

Capitol Police officers who were defending against the mob have testified to their harrowing experiences  one said she was slipping in other people's blood, while another told of being crushed in the mob  as they worked and ultimately failed to block the rioters from storming the Capitol.

The criminal cases stemming from the riot have laid bare the violence. Officers have testified in court about being chased, hit, dragged and scared for their lives as they tried to defend the Capitol. One tweeted images late Monday of his cuts, stitches and swollen bruises from that day.

Among those who died in the riot and its aftermath were Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt who was shot by police and Capitol Police officer Sicknick who died after fighting the mob.

Carlson aired footage of Sicknick inside the Capitol picking up posters and politely ushering protesters out the door, portraying that as evidence the officer was not killed in the crush.

That last was denounced by Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger as the most disturbing accusation from last night."

The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day, Chief Manger said in a memo to his police force.

He said the program cherry-picked from calmer moments of the day, ignoring the chaos and violence that happened before or during.

The Sicknick family said in a statement that the footage simply showed that Brian Sicknick bravely resumed his duties for a time after he had been attacked by a chemical agent.

Ken Sicknick, Brian Sicknicks brother, said in an interview that the family is at a loss about how to fight back against a network with millions of viewers and the speaker of the House who gave access to the footage.

Law enforcement failures on Jan. 6 have been investigated in Congress and acknowledged: Police failed to heed signs of a looming attack and were slow to provide an adequate response, including reinforcement from the National Guard.

More than half of the roughly 1,000 people charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes have pleaded guilty, including more than 130 who pleaded guilty to felony crimes, according to an Associated Press tally.

Members of the extremist Proud Boys and Oath Keepers groups are facing rare charges of sedition for their roles at the front of the assault. Several members of the Oath Keepers have been found guilty of sedition. Hundreds of other rioters were charged only with misdemeanor offenses and many have served no prison time.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are mounting an effort to retell the history of Jan. 6 through the House Administration Committee, which has opened an online portal for submissions from the public.

Some GOP leaders, however, appeared uncomfortable with McCarthy's move and the way the footage was being used.

Senate Republican leader McConnell quickly distanced himself from the endeavor, saying he wanted to associate myself entirely" with the police chief's views.

McConnell said, Clearly the chief of the Capitol Police correctly describes what most of us witnessed firsthand on Jan. 6.

___

AP reporters Michael Balsamo and Alanna Durkin Richer and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this story.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson used surveillance videos from inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to falsely claim on his show Monday that no riot happened that day.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gave Carlson, a well-known Jan. 6 denialist, access to more than 40,000 hours of security camera footage from which Carlson cherry-picked several minutes of Donald Trumps supporters calmly walking through the Capitol.

Taken as a whole, the video record does not support the claim that Jan. 6 was an insurrection, Carlson said. In fact, it demolishes that claim.

Virtually no one in Washington, Republican or Democrat, wanted to see this tape released tonight. pic.twitter.com/YfpvaIZTbn  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 7, 2023

Supporters of then-President Trump fought police officers and smashed windows to gain access to the Capitol, where they ransacked several offices while lawmakers and staff barricaded themselves inside others. Rioters injured about 140 police officers, according to the Justice Department, and of the more than 1,000 people arrested in connection with the attack, 326 have been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or employees.

The former president sent his supporters to the Capitol after riling them up with months of lies about the 2020 election being stolen, which he capped off with a combative speech that day near the White House. The mob stormed the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify the election results in a proceeding that is usually little more than a formality.

At any given moment, of course, there were hallways where not much was going on, so Carlson used footage of quieter scenes to claim they better represent the days events than the videos of rioters attacking police.

The crowd was enormous, Carlson said. A small percentage of them were hooligans. They committed vandalism. Youve seen their pictures again and again. But the overwhelming majority werent. They were peaceful. They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.

Story continues

Most sightseers at the Capitol dont have to step over police barricades or broken glass in order to enter the building, and there usually arent loud explosions and screaming mobs. Several HuffPost reporters were present on Jan. 6, and its hard to claim that day in any way resembled a normal tourist visit.

But Carlson fixated on video of police officers appearing to escort the so-called QAnon Shaman through Senate hallways, suggesting he and others shouldnt have been charged with crimes. The Capitol Police told the New York Post they were trying to de-escalate the situation because they were outnumbered that day.

The Capitol Police declined to comment. But a Hill source told HuffPost on Tuesday that Carlsons show never reached out to the [Capitol Police] department to balance out the commentary, which will fuel more dangerous conspiracy theories.

McCarthys decision to hand the footage to Carlson represents a major escalation of the Republican effort to cast doubt on the insurrection, which McCarthy blamed on Trump in the early days after the attack before he then tried to deflect accountability from the former president. Still, McCarthy said last year that he agreed the attack was a violent insurrection. With McCarthys help, Carlson insisted Monday night that not only was Jan. 6 not an insurrection, it wasnt even a riot.

Carlson claimed on Monday that Democrats suppressed video evidence so they could lie about the riot as a pretext for a federal crackdown on opponents of the uniparty in Washington.

Carlson also claimed that Capitol Police murdered a rioter named Ashli Babbitt as she tried to break into a room next to the chamber of the House of Representatives (McCarthy said recently the officer did his job). And Carlson once again claimed, without credible evidence, that undercover federal agents caused the hooliganism that did occur.

As for the nearly $3 million in damage rioters inflicted that day, Carlson suggested they didnt mean it.

Theyre not destroying the Capitol, he said. They obviously revere the Capitol.

Related...
Fox News host Tucker Carlson whipped up a firestorm Tuesday on Capitol Hill, sparking bipartisan backlash and igniting tensions with Capitol Police by downplaying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on his prime-time program as mostly peaceful chaos.

His show divided Republicans, with a number of GOP senators ripping his portrayal of the incursion at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who rarely offers opinions on political issues, said the Monday night show was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the Jan. 6 attack.

The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments, Manger wrote in a memo to lawmakers.

Those of you who contributed to the effort to allow this countrys legislative process to continue know firsthand what actually happened.

The segment was the first of two installments planned for this week relying on security footage granted to Carlson by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Carlson was expected to air more clips from the footage during his show on Tuesday evening.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a scathing rebuke of Carlson and Fox on Tuesday, holding up a copy of the memo and saying he wanted to associate himself with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on Jan. 6.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) holds up a letter from U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger during a media availability following the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. McConnell supports Mangers view against the released video footage to Fox News Tucker Carlson of the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol. (Greg Nash)

It was a mistake, in my view, [for] Fox News to depict this in a way completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official in the Capitol described, McConnell said.

Story continues

Its an unusual position for the host of one of Foxs most-watched programs, who, while often a magnet for the ire of the left, seldom gets such direct criticism from those on the right.

Carlson, who has previously criticized McCarthy on his show, suggested at the start of the year that the new House Speaker release all Jan. 6 security footage in order to win support from detractors threatening to block his path to the gavel. McCarthy later gave Carlson exclusive first access to the footage, but has denied that release came as a result of negotiations for the Speakership.

McConnell says Fox News made a mistake by underplaying violence of Jan. 6

Though McCarthy and other Republicans said last week that footage released for broadcast would be subject to a Capitol Police security review, and Carlson said as much on his show, Capitol Police said it saw just one of the several clips that Carlson aired on Monday: An interior door that Carlson said was blurred as a result of security concerns.

We repeatedly requested that any clips be shown to us first for a security review, Capitol Police told The Hill on Monday. So far we have only been given the ability to preview a single clip out of the multiple clips that aired.

A senior GOP aide with knowledge of the process of releasing the footage said the Capitol Police provided a list of what would be considered security sensitive, and only one clip that Carlson wanted to air met that standard, which Capitol Police then cleared.

The same camera angle was released without any blur on the door during the 2021 impeachment of former President Trump.

We worked with the Capitol Police to identify any security-sensitive footage and made sure it wasnt released, McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said in a statement.

Capitol Police says it reviewed just one Jan. 6 clip Tucker Carlson showed

A representative for Fox News declined to comment on Tuesday.

A number of lawmakers offered pointed and direct criticism of Carlsons first use of the footage.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), meanwhile, told multiple news outlets said that Carlsons show on the Jan. 6 footage was bullshit.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told CNN: To somehow put that in the same category as a permitted peaceful protest is just a lie.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)

Sen. Kevin Cramer is among the Republicans that have criticized Tucker Carlson airing Jan. 6 footage. (Greg Nash)

Carlson at the same time won plaudits from other Republicans who have similarly criticized and downplayed the attack.

When will judges begin applying justice equally? Doesnt look like thousands of armed insurrectionists to me, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in a tweet after thanking McCarthy and Carlson for showing the footage.

Ive seen enough. Release all J6 political prisoners now, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) said in a tweet as Carlsons show aired.

Trump also weighed in on the footage, praising Carlson and McCarthy over its publication and calling the tapes the Fox host played for his audience irrefutable.

Carlson aired the footage after being granted access to the trove of security tapes by McCarthy, prompting outrage from Democrats and pundits who raised concerns that the tapes could threaten Capitol security procedures and amplify conspiracy theories.

Former President Trump

Former President Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. (Greg Nash)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor on Tuesday called Carlsons show one of the most shameful hours weve seen on cable television, saying he was furious with both Carlson and McCarthy. He called on Fox News and its owner Rupert Murdoch to tell Carlson to not run more footage on Tuesday evening.

Speaker McCarthy has played a treacherous, treacherous game in catering to the far right, Schumer said.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was one of the members on the Jan. 6 committee, is among those who have raised security concerns over the release of the footage, noting it could be used to map the Capitol and the evacuation path of lawmakers.

He called Carlsons show and conspiracies about Jan. 6 pushed through his documentary a central part of the GOP agenda and playbook as they try to get Donald Trump elected to the White House again.

They didnt even apparently honor their agreement with the Capitol Police to provide the clips in advance. So there can be some attempt to contextualize whatever silly potshots theyre taking, he told The Hill.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)

Rep. Jamie Raskin (Annabelle Gordon)

The absurd part is they act like their fragmented and disoriented potshots from Capitol security footage are the only documentary record of what happened. There are thousands and thousands of hours that have already been published  not just security footage  but also [by] media that were present and insurrectionists themselves. The whole world was watching and everyone knows exactly what happened. They are involved in a fraudulent enterprise here, he added.

Among the unfounded theories Carlson floated in his Monday program were suggestions that federal agents helped incite the violence, though he stopped short of providing evidence to prove it. He also cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding the death of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.

It was something Manger deemed the most disturbing accusation from last night in asserting his death had nothing to do with heroic actions on Jan. 6.

The department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day, the chief said.

The top-rated host last year produced and published a multi-part documentary series dubbed Patriot Purge, which purported to tell an alternative story of the attack and features at least one subject who suggests the event may have been a false flag operation.

Pence asks judge to block special counsels Jan. 6 subpoena

The publication of the tapes also comes as Carlson specifically and Fox more generally are taking intense heat from critics over revelations the companys top executives and talent embraced and discussed Trumps false claims about the 2020 election on air but privately cast doubt on them.

They believed the election they had just voted in had been unfairly conducted, Carlson said Monday of the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. They were right. In retrospect, it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy, given the facts that have since emerged about that election, he said. No honest person can deny it. Yet the beneficiaries of that election continue to lie about what is now obvious.

Manger dismissed those conclusions in his Tuesday letter.

TV commentary will not record the truth of our history books, he wrote in his letter. The Justice system will. Truth and justice are on our side.

Alexander Bolton contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
 Flash

This video screenshot released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows the site of a derailed freight train in East Palestine, Ohio, the United States. [Photo/NTSB]

In leaked audio heard by The Guardian, a manager of one of the U.S. largest rail companies once told a former carman to stop tagging railcars for broken wheel-bearings because doing so delays other cargo.

The report on Friday came as federal agencies were investigating the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. A wheel-bearing failure was cited as the cause of the accident in a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to the report, in late 2016, Stephanie Griffin, a former Union Pacific carman, went to her manager with concerns that she was getting pushback for tagging -- or reporting for repair -- railcars, but the manager told her it was OK to skip inspections.

Griffin said the boss wanted to skip the inspection because it increased the dwell time. "It's very obvious that management is not concerned with public safety, and only concerned with making their numbers look good," the report quoted Griffin as saying.

"The regulation at the time stated that a wheel bearing was bad when it had 'visible seepage'. But that was very vague, and the bosses used that vagueness to their advantage," she said.

"Most railroad workers are fighting against an entire system that only exists as a money-making apparatus to the wealthy. Those trains run through our towns, but they do not run next to rich folks' homes, nor next to our politicians' homes. This is a top-down problem," she added.
Editors note: Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) was asked to sit for a voluntary interview by the House select committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The information was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson released the first portion of never-before-seen angles of footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on Monday, describing the scene at one point as mostly peaceful chaos.

 Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie, Carlson said on his widely watched weeknight program. Very little about Jan. 6 was organized or violent. Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.

There have been multiple deaths tied to the attack, and roughly 1,000 arrests have been made in connection with it, while some 500 have pleaded guilty over their roles that day. More than 100 law enforcement officers were injured during the riot.

Carlson showed footage of people who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 roaming the hallways without vandalizing or warring with police officers, including QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley being followed by officers walking behind him and passing a group of several officers without being stopped.

While Carlson said that it was not clear how Chansley got into the Capitol, documents filed relating to a plea agreement from the QAnon Shaman said he admits that he entered the building through a broken door around a minute after it was breached, becoming one of the first 30 rioters in the Capitol. Already-public security footage shows his entrance.

Carlson downplayed other widely circulated footage from Jan. 6 that showed rioters assaulting officers who were met with bear mace and violence, in some cases getting pinned in doorways. Other footage shows rioters breaking windows and vandalizing the building as they roamed through the hallway.

Carlson aired the footage after being granted access to the trove of security tapes by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), prompting outrage from Democrats and pundits in the media who raised concerns that the tapes could threaten Capitol security procedures and amplify conspiracy theories.

Story continues

The influential Fox News host on Monday nights show continued to nod to such a theory circulating on the right that federal agents helped incite the violence, though he stopped short of providing evidence to prove it.

For more than two years we have wondered why some in the crowd that day who seem to be inciting violence were never indicted for it, Carlson said. We assumed these were federal agents of some sort. We still assume that. In fact, there were many examples of behavior we saw in those tapes that didnt seem to make sense  As of tonight, we dont know. Because we dont know, we will not put their faces on the screen and suggest they were federal agents. That would be irresponsible. So there were many mysteries we could not solve.

Carlson said he was grateful to McCarthy, whom he has criticized in the past, for granting his team access to the footage.

As McCarthy faced GOP opposition that threatened to derail his Speakership election at the start of the year, Carlson had suggested that he pledge to release the full Jan. 6 security footage online.

Carlson charged that members of the Jan. 6 select House committee lied about what they saw on the security footage.

Whatever you think of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, he rectified that crime, and were grateful that he did, he said.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.), the former chairman of the Jan. 6 panel and the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a Monday evening statement that it is a dereliction of duty for Kevin McCarthy to give Tucker Carlson carte blanche access to sensitive U.S. Capitol security surveillance footage from one of the darkest days in the history of our democracy.

Despite repeated warnings as to the sensitive nature of this footage, the Speaker decided it was more important to give in to a Fox host who spews lies and propaganda than to protect the Capitol and the police, members, and staff that serve in it, Thompson said.

Carlson said that his producers had unfettered access to the Capitol surveillance video, and that neither the Speakers office nor his bosses at Fox News interfered with their review of the footage. Most of the more than 40,000 hours of tape was irrelevant views of empty rooms, he said.

Capitol Police reviewed the footage shown on air, and Carlson said their reservations were minor and reasonable. His show blurred the details of an interior door in the Capitol due to those concerns.

Theres a limit to the decisions we can make about the footage, Carlson said.

He also revisited the clip of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) fleeing the Capitol, complaining it had been selectively edited, as Hawley was at the tail end of a group of senators who jogged out of the Senate chambers.

When the Jan. 6 committee aired that clip in July, however, the purpose was to demonstrate that Hawley, too, rushed to leave the chamber to avoid a crowd that hours earlier he had greeted with a raised fist of solidarity.

Then-Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) had said Hawley also had to flee the crowd, noting the annoyance of a Capitol Police officer who felt the senator had riled up protesters shortly before they stormed the building while under the protection of a police-manned barriers.

Carlson also offered a selective retelling of the tour Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) gave a crowd of constituents the day before the riot.

The Fox News host rehashed details already known about the episode: that Loudermilk gave the tour to constituents and toured only House office building and hallways while failing to make it into the actual Capitol.

But Carlson failed to mention that two of the men in Loudermilks party did show up at the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6.

Theres no escape Pelosi, Schumer, Nadler. Were coming for you. Were coming in like white on rice, for Pelosi, Nadler, Schumer, even you AOC. Were coming to take you out, and pull you out by your hairs, one of the men Loudermilk gave a tour to said outside the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Loudermilk was asked to sit for a voluntary interview by the Jan. 6 panel alongside four other Republican lawmakers, but he did not meet with their investigators.

McCarthys granting of the tapes to Carlson comes more than a year after the conservative pundit produced and published a multi-part miniseries for Foxs streaming service, dubbed Patriot Purge, which purported to tell an alternative story of the Jan. 6 insurrection and features at least one subject who suggests the event may have been a false flag operation.

Patriot Purge led to two Fox contributors quitting the network and reportedly caused concern within Foxs news ranks, including among top anchors.

As he opened his show Monday, Carlson described the anger among supporters of then-President Trump in the weeks leading to the Capitol riot, noting they believed the election they had just voted in had been unfairly conducted.

They were right. In retrospect, it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy, given the facts that have since emerged about that election, he said. No honest person can deny it. Yet the beneficiaries of that election continue to lie about what is now obvious.

A recent deposition Carlson gave to lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems as part of the companys ongoing $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox shows him throwing cold water on false claims of electoral fraud being spun by Trump and his allies in the weeks following the election.

You keep telling our viewers that millions of votes were changed by the software. I hope you will prove that very soon, Carlson confronted Trump attorney Sidney Powell after the election, according to a recent court filing. Youve convinced them that Trump will win. If you dont have conclusive evidence of fraud at that scale, its a cruel and reckless thing to keep saying.

Carlson said his team plans to show more clips from the Jan. 6 footage McCarthys office granted him during his show on Tuesday.

Updated Tuesday at 11:21 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Orhan Coskun and Daren Butler

ANKARA (Reuters) -A call by Turkey's pro-Kurdish party for talks with an opposition alliance on supporting its joint candidate to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan in a May election has caused unease among some nationalist elements of the diverse union.

Mithat Sancar, co-leader of the left-wing Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), parliament's third biggest, made the appeal late Monday after the six-party opposition bloc announced that Kemal Kilicdaroglu would be its candidate.

Two officials in the alliance told Reuters there were fears that such talks with the HDP, which faces potential closure in a court case over alleged ties to Kurdish militants, could undermine support among nationalist voters hostile to its pro-Kurdish politics.

The HDP is widely seen playing a kingmaker role in the presidential and parliamentary votes expected on May 14. The separate six-party bloc will likely need its support to end Erdogan's two-decade political reign.

Encompassing social democrats, nationalists, secularists and Islamists, the bloc put aside differences on Monday to endorse candidate Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition centrist Republican People's Party (CHP).

Around the same time, Sancar invited the bloc to hold talks that might pave the way for the HDP supporting Kilicdaroglu.

"Our goal is democracy, justice, freedom. Basically, we want to talk about principles," he told broadcaster Haberturk.

A senior alliance party official told Reuters that Sancar's invitation was "a little early," adding the issue of how the HDP provides support was set to be the opposition's biggest problem.

"The open support of the HDP would draw (negative) reactions, notably from the IYI Party and its grassroots," he said of the nationalist party, second biggest in the alliance.

"HDP support is extremely critical," he said, but added that it could undermine backing elsewhere.

Story continues

A senior figure in another alliance party said public HDP endorsement could cut IYI support by 5 percentage points and CHP by 2-3 percentage points.

Some polls put the opposition alliance ahead of the ruling coalition of Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AKP and the nationalist MHP but they generally point to a tight race. The HDP has about 10% support nationwide.

"FINE BALANCE"

Kilicdaroglu in a speech on Tuesday did not reference the HDP and said that the other five parties would help seal victory.

"A very fine balance has to be found here. Otherwise, there may be a price to pay," the second official said. "Votes coming from the HDP may be matched by those lost in the alliance."

Asked about Kilicdaroglu's potential dialogue with the HDP, IYI Party leader Meral Aksener told Haberturk on Tuesday that everyone should respect the relations between other political parties. But she said that the HDP can never join their alliance or be given a ministry if the opposition wins.

Turkey's Constitutional Court is hearing a case aimed at closing the HDP over alleged ties to Kurdish militants, which the party denies. In campaigning, Erdogan will likely play up alleged links and the HDP's opposition role, analysts say.

The timing of a verdict was unclear, but the court rejected an HDP request to delay a ruling until after the elections. It has already frozen the party's bank accounts.

The second official, who was not authorised to speak on the record, said some Kurdish voters would not back the opposition alliance due to IYI's involvement.

Sancar said the HDP played a key role in creating political balances in Turkey and this should take place in the open, not behind closed doors. He added that no progress had been made since it set out its policies in September.

The HDP previously signalled that it would field its own candidate in the absence of talks, but Sancar said the party was reconsidering that after last month's earthquake.

(Additional reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Alexandra Hudson and Mark Porter)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House backed legislation introduced on Tuesday by a dozen senators to give the administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned video app TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats.

The endorsement boosts efforts by a number of lawmakers to ban the popular app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance and used by more than 100 million Americans.

The bill would give the Commerce Department the ability impose restrictions up to and including banning TikTok and other technologies that pose national security risks, said Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who chairs the Intelligence Committee. It would also apply to foreign technologies from China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, he said.

TikTok criticized the measure, saying in a statement that any "U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide."

The bill would require Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to identify and address foreign threats to information and communications technology products and services. Raimondo's office declined to comment.

TikTok has come under increasing fire over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

The senators introducing the legislation, led by Warner and Republican John Thune, also includes Democrats Tammy Baldwin, Joe Manchin, Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand and Martin Heinrich along with Republicans Deb Fischer, Jerry Moran, Dan Sullivan, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney.

Warner said it was important the government do more to make clear what it believes are the national security risks from TikTok. "Its going to be incumbent on the government to show its cards in terms of how this is a threat," Warner said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan praised the bipartisan bill, saying it "would strengthen our ability to address discrete risks posed by individual transactions, and systemic risks posed by certain classes of transactions involving countries of concern in sensitive technology sectors."

Story continues

"We look forward to continue working with both Democrats and Republicans on this bill, and urge Congress to act quickly to send it to the Presidents desk," he said in a statement.

Raimondo, in a separate statement, said she "welcomes this legislative framework for addressing these threats and protecting Americans safety and national security" and vowed to work with senators "to advance this legislation through Congress."

TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear before Congress on March 23.

Senator Marco Rubio told Fox News on Tuesday that Warner's bill doesn't go far enough, saying that it "takes steps" in the direction of barring TikTok in the United States.

"We should pass a bill that bans TikTok," Rubio said. "I have the only bipartisan, bicameral bill that actually does that."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee last week voted along party lines on a bill sponsored by Republican Representative Michael McCaul to give Biden the power to ban TikTok after President Donald Trump was stymied by courts in 2020 in his efforts to ban TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat.

Democrats opposed McCaul's bill, saying it was rushed and required due diligence through debate and consultation with experts. Some major bills aimed at China such as a chips funding bill took 18 months to win approval. McCaul said he thinks the full House could vote on his bill this month.

The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 unanimously recommended ByteDance divest TikTok because of fears that user data could be passed on to China's government.

TikTok and CFIUS have been negotiating for more than two years on data security requirements. TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying allegations.

"The swiftest and most thorough way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for CFIUS to adopt the proposed agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years," TikTok said Tuesday.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter, Anna Driver and Leslie Adler)
Twitch already forbids explicit deepfake images and videos, but it's taking a tougher position against them today. The livestreaming service is updating its policy on adult nudity to include a ban on synthetic NCEI (non-consensual exploitative images), even if it's only shown briefly or to criticize its existence. It's also revising ts sexual violence and exploitation policies to make clear that intentionally making and sharing non-consensual deepfakes can lead to a ban with the first offense.

The policy changes should take effect within the next month. The company hopes the added clarity and modernized language will deter potential offenders. The company is holding a virtual Creator Camp with NCEI expert Zara Ward on March 14th to help spot and deal with malicious deepfakes. We've asked the company if it has any plans to detect deepfakes as they appear, and will let you know if we hear back.

The update comes after an incident in which well-known streamer Atrioc briefly showed a browser tab with a website selling access to deepfakes of female Twitch streamers, including some high-profile creators. Atrioc has since apologized and says he was only "morbidly curious," but that still left broadcasters and viewers angry. None of the women consented to these images.

Women on Twitch are no strangers to harassment, including brigaders who try to get them banned for allegedly violating policies forbidding sexually suggestive content. Twitch has added more tools to discourage harassment and trolling, but critics have also accused it of implementing confusing guidelines that enable abuse and force women to dress conservatively.

Deepfakes can be used for positive purposes, such as clever music videos. However, the non-consensual versions remain a problem and have prompted government crackdowns. Both states and countries like the UK are either enacting or drafting laws that criminialize sharing such deepfakes. In that regard, Twitch is just adding another mechanism to help limit the spread of this content.
By Conor Humphries

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Twitter's lead European Union privacy regulator said on Tuesday she was concerned that the Elon Musk-owned U.S. firm had launched its Twitter Blue subscription service in the region without consulting her office, despite a pledge to do so.

Twitter, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has in recent days launched the service in several EU markets, offering the kind of blue check mark previously free for verified accounts of public figures to anyone prepared to pay. It was launched last year in the United States.

Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon, Twitter's lead EU regulator due to the location of its European headquarters in Dublin, said the service raised privacy issues including around verification of accounts to prevent users posing as public figures.

"We're a little bit more concerned this week now that we see that the blue tick subscription service is rolling out here in EU countries having been reassured that it wasn't going to roll out in the EU and certainly not before there have been discussions with our office," Dixon said in an interview.

While no formal inquiry has been launched "we're at a heightened state of contact with Twitter," she said, describing consultation prior to a product launch as "best practice."

Dixon in November expressed concern about the impact of steep job cuts on Twitter's ability to meet privacy obligations following billionaire Musk's takeover the previous month.

Twitter now has a "very strong" data protection officer, she said.

"But beyond the data protection office, there are clearly other forces at play. And we need to understand a little bit more about those," Dixon added.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Facebook

Two of the four Americans who were kidnapped after driving across the border into Northeastern Mexico were rescued from a rural house on Tuesday after being bound, shot in the leg, and transferred from place to place to create confusion, according to local reports and official accounts.

Latavia Tay McGee, 33, a Myrtle Beach resident and mother of six, reportedly traveled from South Carolina to Matamoros, in Tamaulipas State, for a tummy tuck last week. She and the three others, who accompanied her to split the driving, were close friends, according to her family. They were identified by family members as Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard, and Eric James Williams.

However, they were ambushed in Matamoros by gunman who shot up their minivan before taking them hostage. Brown and Woodard were killed. McGee, who was not seriously injured, and Williams, who was shot in the leg, were rescued on Tuesday morning, Irving Barrios, the attorney general for Tamaulipas. They've since been driven back into Texas to be treated at a hospital.

Its crazy. Its shocking. It feels like a movie or something, McGees cousin Hakquan Burgess told The Daily Beast on Tuesday from his home in Lake City, South Carolina. He said McGee had even visited the same area last year without encountering any trouble. It doesnt even feel real... Im still in shock. Like, I believe it, but its still kind of hard to believe.

All four Americans were found at a house in a rural area of Tamaulipas, Barrios said. The bodies of Woodard and Brown will remain in Mexico for examination before being returned stateside.

The scene where authorities rescued two of the kidnapped Americans and found the bodies of two more. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

Barrios said they had arrested a 24-year-old Mexican national, identified as Jose Guadalupe N, who had been guarding the house. Authorities have not said if he's part of the violent Gulf Cartel that operates in the region. Investigators are looking for other assailants, including those who moved the group around Tamaulipas to evade authorities.

The four people were transferred to different places, including a clinic in order to create confusion and avoid rescue efforts, Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said Tuesday.

Story continues

Photos from the rescue posted online by EnlaceMx Noticias appeared to show officers removing restraints from McGee. In a separate video taken at the scene, Williams can be seen in the back of an ambulance, receiving oxygen but seemingly alert.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=757929902700733https://www.facebook.com/EnlaceMxNoticia/photos/pcb.1733454233756704/1733454023756725

Burgess, 31, is also Woodards cousin, he told The Daily Beast. Right now, Burgess, like everyone else in the family, is waiting for more information about what exactly happened.

I never expected this, he told The Daily Beast. Until I got that video, I was like, Oh lord, its for real now.

The four entered Mexico near Brownsville, Texas, last Friday, crossing into Tamaulipas in a white minivan with North Carolina plates, according to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. Gunmen then opened fire on their car, killing a Mexican womanidentified as an innocent bystanderwho was a block and a half away. A graphic video obtained by Mexican newscast Telediario and verified by Reuters appeared to showed the kidnappers then loading the four friends into the bed of a white pickup truck, in broad daylight. Two of the friends lifeless bodies had to be dragged onto the bed.

A woman could be seen in a video being dragged to the back of a white pickup truck. Reuters

The friends were targeted in a case of mistaken identity, an unnamed U.S. official told CNN, saying the four may have been erroneously IDed by cartel members as Haitian drug smugglers. Barrios confirmed that suspicion on Tuesday but did not mention Haitian drug smugglers.

For his part, Burgess told The Daily Beast he heard the group had been watched from the time they crossed into Mexico and that they became lost while driving to their medical appointmentsomething another close friend told CNN on Tuesday.

When I reached out to the doctors office they told me that Latavia had reached out to them to ask them for directions because she was lost, the unnamed friend told CNN. They sent me a screenshot of the messages and they said they sent her the address and asked her if she was using a GPS.

Burgess described his relationship with Woodard and McGee as more like siblings, as they all grew up together. He is also friendly with Brown and Williams, he told The Daily Beast, calling them all laid-back people who are good-hearted and stay to themselves.

When Burgess first heard about the kidnapping, he couldnt imagine it was actually true. The news came via a phone call from his mom, Burgess said.

They said that the doctor had called and said she never made it to her appointment, he recalled on Tuesday. I was like, Man, she aint missing. I wasnt sweating it. And then I started getting text messages: Hey man, you aint seen what happened? And thats when I got the video, and thats when I believed it.

A distraught friend of McGees, Mariah Roman, said on social media that she was the last person to see McGee before she left town. (Roman declined to comment when reached Monday night by The Daily Beast.)

Zindell Brown was wary about traveling to Mexico, his sister Zalandria told the Associated Press.

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, she said.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=917013719290926&set=pb.100029469201658.-2207520000.&type=3

The U.S. State Department cautions Americans from visiting Tamaulipas state at all, warning, Do not travel due to crime and kidnapping.

Organized crime activityincluding gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion, and sexual assaultis common along the northern border and in Ciudad Victoria, the State Department website reads. Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments.

The area is controlled by the Gulf cartel, a group responsible for countless drug-fueled kidnappings and murders.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, Zalandria Brown told the AP. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

A Matamoros resident interviewed by the AP said she witnessed the abduction, which she said occurred after the groups minivan was hit by another vehicle at an intersection. Shots were then fired as an SUV pulled up and discharged a band of armed men, the woman said.

All of a sudden [the gunmen] were in front of us, she told the news service. I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.

A Matamoros resident interviewed by the AP said she witnessed the abduction, which she said occurred after the groups minivan was hit by another vehicle at an intersection. Shots were then fired as an SUV pulled up and discharged a band of armed men, the woman said.

Those responsible are going to be found, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a press conference on Tuesday. They are going to be punished.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
(AP/Family handout)

Two Americans kidnapped in Mexico last week have been found dead.

Another individual was found wounded while a fourth person was unharmed, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal said, the Associated Press reported.

Ambulances crews were sent to assist the surviving victims, Mr Villareal said on a call with Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador, which was televised.

The group had crossed the US border into Mexico on Friday. They were identified on Monday as Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams, who travelled from South Carolina.

The names of the deceased individuals have not been revealed. McGees mother told the AP that her daughter had travelled to Mexico to get a tummy tuck and her three friends had decided to tag along to help with driving duties.

Not long after entering Matamoros  an area dominated by the Gulf cartel  they came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck.

This is a developing story ... check again for updates.
A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes on Friday. AP Photo

Two of the four American citizens who were kidnapped shortly after crossing the border with Mexico on Friday have been found dead, US and Mexican officials said Tuesday.

Speaking via phone at a news conference held by the Mexican president, Americo Villarreal, the governor of the state of Tamaulipas, said the four Americans were located earlier on Tuesday morning.

Villarreal said the local prosecutors office confirmed that two of the Americans had been killed, a third was wounded, and the fourth was unharmed.

Ambulances are rushing to the area to recover them and offer them medical care, the governor said.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed to reporters at an afternoon briefing that the two Americans had been killed and their bodies had not yet been returned to the US.

"We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased," he said.

The two survivors had been repatriated to the US, Price said, adding that they had endured "what by all accounts must have been a traumatic and harrowing experience."

The Brownsville Herald reported that the pair were accompanied by the FBI to a hospital in Brownsville, Texas, for treatment.

Family members of the four had identified them to US media as Latavia Tay Washington McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, Zalandria Brown, sister of Zindell, told the Associated Press . To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Brown said that one member of the group was scheduled to have a tummy tuck cosmetic procedure in Mexico.

Members of the Mexican National Guard prepare for a search mission for the four on March 6. AP Photo

According to the FBI , the group had crossed from Brownsville into Matamoros, in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.

But soon after they were fired upon by unidentified gunmen before being forced into another vehicle and abducted.

Ken Salazar, the US ambassador to Mexico, said Monday that an innocent Mexican citizen was also killed in the crossfire.

Story continues

Video posted to social media purported to show at least three men  two of whom are wearing bulletproof vests  dragging people across a road and into the bed of a white pickup truck. At least one of the men appeared to be holding a large weapon.

The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward leading to the return of the Americans and the arrest of the perpetrators.

In a statement on Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland offered condolences to the victims' loved ones and pledged that his team would pursue justice on their behalf.

"We will do everything in our power to identify, find, and hold accountable the individuals responsible for this attack on American citizens," Garland said.
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



China on Tuesday pledged its commitment to global peace and development, as well as its readiness to confront "jackals or wolves" head on to defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.

Foreign Minister Qin Gang stated China's commitment to an independent foreign policy of peace and a mutually beneficial strategy of opening-up at a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Qin emphasized China's opposition to decoupling, the severing of industrial and supply chains, and unilateral sanctions, saying the country firmly opposes hegemony and the Cold War mentality.

China champions an open and inclusive world economy and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, offering more Chinese insight and solutions to help meet humanity's common challenges, he said.

New type of int'l relations

Qin said China pursues coordination and sound interactions among major countries and promotes a new type of international relations.



In terms of major-country relations, Qin stated that China-Russia ties are characterized by strategic mutual trust and good neighborliness, and they serve as a model for a new type of international relations.

The China-Russia relationship "is not a threat to any country, nor is it subject to any interference or discord sown by any third party," Qin said.

"The more unstable the world becomes, the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations," he said.

Regarding China's relations with the United States, Qin said China "pursues a sound and stable relationship with the United States."

The China-U.S. relationship should be determined by common interests and shared responsibilities of the two countries, and by friendship between the Chinese and American people, rather than by U.S. domestic politics or hysterical neo-McCarthyism, he said.

"The U.S. claims that it seeks to out-compete China but does not seek conflict. Yet in reality, its so-called competition means to contain and suppress China in all respects, and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game," Qin said.

He said the U.S. rhetoric of "establishing guardrails" and "not seeking conflict" simply means China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked. "That is just impossible."

"If the U.S. does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails could prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation," Qin said.

In response to a question about the Ukraine crisis, Qin said China chooses peace over war, dialogue over sanctions, and cooling down the situation over fueling the flames, calling for calm, reason and dialogue among the parties involved.

China has not provided any weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict and it always makes its judgments independently, based on the merits of the issue, he said.

"There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict," using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agenda, Qin said.

Qin expressed China's hope that Europe will achieve true strategic autonomy as well as lasting security and stability, saying China is willing to work with Europe to uphold "true multilateralism" and deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Concerning the United States' "Indo-Pacific Strategy," Qin said its real purpose is to "encircle China," warning that such an attempt will only disrupt the ASEAN-centered open and inclusive regional cooperation architecture, and undermine the overall and long-term interests of countries in the region.

Qin said that China always treats Japan with goodwill and hopes for friendship and good-neighborliness. "Yet, should some people from the Japanese side choose a beggar-thy-neighbor approach rather than pursue partnership, and even take part in a new Cold War to contain China, bilateral relations would only suffer new wounds when the old ones are yet to be healed," he said.

Also during Tuesday's press conference, Qin noted that developing countries account for more than 80 percent of the global population and more than 70 percent of global economic growth. "People in developing countries are entitled to better lives, and developing countries are entitled to greater representation and a louder voice in international affairs," he said.

Chinese path to modernization

According to Qin, Chinese modernization serves as an important source of inspiration for the rest of the world, particularly for developing countries.



Qin said the Chinese path to modernization fits in well with China's national conditions, and its success "proves that every country has the right and ability to choose its own path and hold its future firmly in its own hands."

Chinese modernization is characterized by peaceful development and "is not pursued through war, colonization or plunder," he said, calling it "a new path different from Western modernization."

Qin said the right of every country to pursue a modernization path tailored to its national reality should be respected.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a high-quality public good initiated by China, has benefited the world.

Over the past decade, the BRI has brought nearly a trillion U.S. dollars of investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created approximately 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

In response to allegations that the BRI can lead to debt traps, Qin said it is never China that should be accused of creating so-called debt traps, and that multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors account for over 80 percent of sovereign debt in developing countries.

Qin expressed his belief that, as China accelerates high-quality development, promotes high-standard opening-up and fosters a new development paradigm, it will surely bring new opportunities to all countries in the world.

Confronting 'jackals, wolves' head on

At the very heart of China's core interests, the Taiwan question is the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and "the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations," Qin said.



Qin urged the United States to cease containing China by exploiting the Taiwan question, and to return to the fundamentals of the one-China principle.

The real threats to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are the separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence," he said, noting that the one-China principle serves as a solid anchor and the three China-U.S. joint communiques serve as genuine guardrails.

"Mishandling of the Taiwan question will shake the very foundation of China-U.S. relations," he warned.

No country has the right to interfere in Taiwan affairs, as resolving the Taiwan question is China's own business, he said, emphasizing that "one should never underestimate the firm resolve, strong will and great capability of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Responding to another question, Qin said that so-called "wolf warrior" diplomacy is just a narrative trap fabricated by those who either know little about China or its diplomacy, or have a hidden agenda that disregards the facts.

"There is no shortage of kindness and goodwill in China's diplomacy, but in the face of 'jackals or wolves,' Chinese diplomats have no choice but to confront them head on to protect the motherland," Qin said.
By Maayan Lubell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right, religious government was sworn in on Dec. 29, a popular chat show host asked whether Israel might be better off dividing into a liberal secular state and a more nationalist theocracy.

The host's whimsical nod to Biblical times when Israelites split into the rival kingdoms of Judea and Israel with dire results encapsulated a sense of alarm about how deep divisions were becoming under Netanyahu's emerging coalition.

And that was a week before it unveiled the sweeping judicial reforms that have triggered nationwide protests and soul-searching about whether two camps with very different views of what it means to be a Jewish democratic state can coexist.

Reuters spoke with coalition and opposition lawmakers, legal experts, economists, former and serving security officials as well as ordinary Israelis on both sides of the divide who voiced concern that Netanyahu's rapid judicial reform drive was pushing the country to the brink.

The changes going through parliament would rein in the power of the independent Supreme Court and give the government decisive sway over picking judges for a bench some conservative politicians have accused of harming national interests.

For a ruling coalition that relies on settlers pushing to tighten Israel's grip on the occupied West Bank and ultra-Orthodox religious parties, the court is an enemy of democracy because it has too often overruled parliament.

The camp opposing the judicial changes is a cross-section of Israeli society, with former army chiefs, scientists, business leaders and economists among the most vocal critics.

For them, weakening the Supreme Court would undermine the bedrock of Israel's democracy and could set the country on the path to becoming a corrupt and religiously coercive state.

And the feelings run deep.

THE GHOST OF GAZA

"I despise them," Elad Ziv, 52, said of the Supreme Court judges who in 2016 ordered the demolition of the Amona settler outpost in the West Bank, where he and his wife had lived for more than a decade and raised seven children.

Story continues

He said the court had been usurping power from lawmakers since the 1990s, intervening in debates it had no mandate to rule on.

In 2020, the Supreme Court struck down a law that had retroactively legalised homes built by settlers on land owned by Palestinians, like Amona. Such rulings could become near impossible if the judicial overhaul goes through because the court's power to overturn laws would be limited by parliament.

Israel has no written constitution and only one house of parliament, which is typically controlled by majority coalitions, so weakening the court could remove one of the only brakes on government's ruling with unbridled power, experts say.

Netanyahu's office declined to comment for this story.

For Moriya Taassan Michaeli, her deep-rooted opposition to the court dates back to 2005, when it allowed the forced eviction of thousands of settlers from Gaza as Israel pulled out of the Palestinian enclave.

Almost 20 years later, it is still an open wound.

"The court has been hostile to the settlers for years," she said in her West Bank settlement, Givat Harel. "The legal reform comes from a just place, from a population discriminated against for years by a court conducting itself as a left-wing bastion."

Settlers driven by ideology see themselves as pioneers redeeming land that was promised by God and many feel betrayed by Supreme Court rulings against settlements.

The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.

In rare remarks about government policy, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut said in January that the changes would crush the justice system, deal a fatal blow to democracy and harm the defence of human rights and civil liberties.

She said rulings against the government and legislature over the years had always been done responsibly and with restraint.

Opinion polls show a majority of Israelis are against the way the government is ploughing ahead with the reforms. Many conservatives and liberals say they want a compromise solution, such as the one being pushed by President Isaac Herzog.

The surveys show a quarter to a third of Israelis stand firmly behind the reform drive.

West Bank settlers account for about 5% of Israelis. They include some parts of the fast-growing Ultra-Orthodox community, which nurses its own grievances against the court and makes up about 13% of the population.

Other supporters of the reforms come from Netanyahu's Likud party, the biggest in parliament.

But for many protesters, the judicial plans have become the front line in a battle for Israel's identity.

'TEARING US APART'

"1973 - Yom Kippur War. 1982 - Lebanon War. 2023 - War to save Democracy."

So read a placard carried by an army veteran marching with other reservists on a cold February morning along a hilltop that straddles the highway from the freewheeling business hub Tel Aviv to the poorer and more religious Jerusalem.

"This country is changing from being democratic, liberal to a very religious country," said former commando Itzhak Aviram. "As we fought once for Israel, we are still fighting for democratic Israel."

A few days after the reservists protested, former heads of Israel's National Security Council, including hawkish Netanyahu appointments, urged political leaders to compromise in a letter to the parliament speaker.

They wrote in the undated letter, which has been seen by Reuters and was circulated around Feb. 10, that the depth of the divisions could weaken Israel's ability to withstand external threats.

"We identify the intensity of the present social and political conflict as a danger to national resilience," read the letter signed by 12 people including former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who is widely seen as a Netanyahu confidant.

There is alarm in the business community too.

Worried central bankers have urged politicians to slow down, some technology firms have said they're moving their money out the country and leading economists foresee disaster as the currency slumped to its weakest in years.

Israel's mainly Muslim Arab minority, which makes up about a fifth of the population, may find the reforms troubling too.

Israel's Arab citizens, who often lament being treated as second-class citizens, are well aware of the dangers posed by the proposed changes, said lawmaker Mansour Abbas, head of the United Arab List faction.

Fellow opposition lawmaker Moshe Torpaz, an observant Jew and member of the centrist There is a Future party, urged parliament's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Feb. 5 to put the brakes on the contentious legislation.

"You are tearing us apart with what you're doing here into two peoples: Judea and Israel."

'A PEOPLE OF TRIBES'

For some in the ultra-Orthodox community, a more divided society might not be a bad thing.

"We are a people of tribes - each should stay in his own," said Yitzhak Pindrus, a lawmaker from the ultra-Orthodox UTJ party. "The Supreme Court has challenged parliament time and again, playing politics, not nicely."

Some ultra-Orthodox politicians, loyal allies of Netanyahu who is on trial for corruption charges he denies, are aggrieved with the court for striking down cabinet appointments because of past criminal convictions.

Others want a law providing blanket exemption to religious seminary students from military conscription.

Past attempts to give religious students the right to skip army service to pursue full-time studies have been thrown out by the Supreme Court for breaching equality.

Ultra-Orthodox leaders say their men must dedicate their time to the study of scripture to ensure the continued survival of the Jewish people.

That's not an argument popular with army veterans setting off to protest from a park named after Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister assassinated in 1995 by a nationalist-religious student trying to stop a land-for-peace deal with the Palestinians.

"We won't let this legal putsch happen," said Ilan Margalit, a 69-year-old former fighter pilot.

(Additional reporting by Emily Rose and Dan Williams; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by James Mackenzie and David Clarke)
An injured suspect is handcuffed after an LAPD pursuit ended in a crash at Washington Boulevard and Western Avenue early Tuesday. (OnScene.TV)

A pair of LAPD street pursuits ended in crashes that left at least six people hospitalized late Monday and early Tuesday, authorities said.

Around 12:35 a.m., officers began chasing a car near Washington Boulevard and Figueroa Street in Historic South-Central that had been involved in a carjacking earlier that night, police told The Times.

Two teenage suspects armed with handguns had stolen the car from its owner, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Soon after police began to chase the vehicle, it crashed into two other cars at Washington and Western Avenue.

Six people were taken to hospitals with injuries, including a 20-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman in critical condition, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. No officers were injured.

Video from the scene showed firefighters trying to pry open the door of one of the cars to free trapped passengers.

Four suspects in the stolen car  three 14-year-olds and one 16-year-old  tried to run away but were all apprehended, police said.

Video showed police arresting a pair of suspects, one of whom was crying and bleeding from the knee and the other who had a bloody face.

About two hours earlier, officers began chasing a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe on East 84th and San Pedro streets in Florence after a license plate check determined it was stolen, according to the LAPD.

The Tahoe crashed into another SUV at 82nd Street and Central Avenue, and the female driver, 29, and a male passenger, 37, fled the area on foot but were arrested shortly after, police said. The woman was booked on suspicion of evading police and the man on suspicion of possession of heroin and other charges.

It was not clear whether anyone was taken to the hospital.

None of the suspects or other motorists were identified.

The late-night crashes follow a string of recent collisions involving vehicles pursued by the LAPD that have killed and seriously injured bystanders.

On. Feb. 16, a woman driving to a concert was struck by two suspects fleeing police, leaving her in a medically induced coma.

Story continues

The crash happened just hours after a 19-year-old Cal State Northridge student was killed when a robbery suspect being pursued by police ran a red light and crashed into his car.

A Jan. 31 high-speed crash in Panorama City left two bystanders dead. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department would examine whether that pursuit followed policy.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Two United Airlines Boeing 737 clipped each Philip Pilosian/Shutterstock

A United Airlines wing clipped the tail of another aircraft during pushback at Boston airport on Monday.

Both aircraft were taken out of service and passengers were accommodated on later flights.

The event is one of several near-accidents and airport collisions in recent months.

Two United Airlines Boeing 737 planes scheduled to depart from Boston Logan International Airport on Monday collided on the ramp, the carrier confirmed to Insider.

United flight 515 heading to Newark, New Jersey, was being pushed back from the gate at around 8:30 a.m. local time when its wing clipped the tail of United flight 267 parked at an adjacent gate and heading to Denver.

The airline told Insider that both aircraft were taken out of service and passengers were rebooked on different planes to their destinations. No injuries were reported, but the Federal Aviation Administration told Insider it is investigating the event.

The news comes after a series of near-misses and airport incidents over the past few months. In early February, two other United planes  a Boeing 787 and a Boeing 757  collided at Newark, with the latter nearly losing its entire winglet.

About a week later, an American Airlines aircraft crashed into a shuttle bus at Los Angeles International Airport, sending four to the hospital.

Some even closer calls have occurred since the beginning of the year, including a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 nearly colliding with an American Boeing 777 on the runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport in January. Then, in February, a FedEx Boeing 767 cargo plane nearly landed on top of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet in Austin.

And, most recently, a JetBlue Airways plane had to take "evasive action" to avoid crashing into a private jet in Boston.

Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said they are investigating the near-accidents.

While these back-to-back events may sound alarming, runway incursions  meaning a plane is incorrectly situated on a runway  are rare, with the FAA reporting 1,732 total in the US last year. That is out of an average of 16 million flights handled by the agency per year.

Story continues

And, the FAA said over 75% of pilot-error incursions involve general aviation pilots  not those who fly commercial airliners.

"The fact that these events are so high profile and garnered so much attention means that eyes are really on it and that exposure is a good thing," Anthony Brickhouse, an air safety investigator and associate professor at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, told Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ty Pennington shares a message for body-shamers. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ty Pennington wants people to stop making comments about others's bodies after being body shamed.

The former Trading Spaces contractor, 58, reflected on hateful comments he received on a video he posted on Instagram in Jan. 2022 of himself dancing in his swim trunks on a beach.

"I didn't even plan it. I just had to move, man. I was like: When Booker T. & the M.G.'s comes on, I'm gonna groove, man. So I had no idea 1) that it would get so many views and 2) it would get so many reactions," he tells Yahoo Life. "The funny part is, [at first, I had my shorts] very low  and then I hiked 'em up to like my nipples. So that's the joke. But even then I got comments."

Pennington shared that he was called "disgusting," "old," "gross" and "fat" in the comments section below the fun video. The reaction was both unexpected and disheartening.

"The main point is you don't have to waste your time making negative comments about anybody's body, about anybody's dance capabilities, about anybody's anything. All you can say is: 'Oh, I like that song.' That would be lovely. Or, you know, 'You may want to get a belt.' That I can handle," he said. "I just find it interesting that even I  who's loved by just about everybody, it's not like I was voted off an island, I've helped people do great things in life  was shamed."

It also made him reflect on people who may be dealing with difficult relationships with their body.

"If you're gonna take the time to shame somebody like me  who's just a regular guy, who's not fat, not skinny, just an average guy  then what are you saying to other people who are worse off in either direction?" he said. "It's important that we all remember how painful it can be  to a male or female  who thinks they posted something funny about themselves, having a good time, and that turns into this absolute shaming, where they feel disgusted about themselves and it goes straight to depression. It's just not OK in my book."

Story continues

Pennington reminded people of the reality of aging in a follow up Instagram post in Feb. 2022, sharing that it had been 22 years since his debut on television. "No, I dont have a six pack anymore or a luscious head of hair (with frosted tips ) but what I do have is wisdom, empathy, life lessons and at 57 years old, I've TRULY never been happier! Anyways, all this to say: Im human and I have feelings," he wrote.

As he returns to TV as the host of HGTV's Rock the Block, which premiered on Monday, Pennington assures fans that he's not letting the shaming change how he shows up.

"I think the female body is a beautiful thing. For some reason, I find the male body hilarious, and I don't know why [laughs]. That being said, it should also not be just like shame because you think, 'Oh, God, you're too old to be dressed like that,' or 'You're not in shape enough to be showing that off,'" he says. "I'm going to continue to post videos of me dancing  in hopefully less clothing and be more offensive  because I find it very funny."

He also hopes to inspire people to make a positive impact on another person rather than a negative one.

"How about you wake up and you decide to make someone's life better not worse?" he says.

- Reporting by Suzy Byrne

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
Tyson Furys promoter Frank Warren has admitted that they are none the wiser about a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, despite recent reports of a 29 April clash.

Fury and Usyk are expected to square off this year to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion  the first since Lennox Lewis in 2000  and it has seemed in recent weeks that the undefeated pair would fight each other next month.

While Saudi Arabia was named as a potential host location for the bout, Londons Wembley Stadium was marked out as the frontrunner. However, Warren has now suggested that the location and potential date of 29 April are still far from confirmed.

Were still none the wiser, Warren told Talksport.

You need the agreement of both boxers to make it happen, and at the moment we havent got that.

I have a pot and can only pay whats in it. If its not enough money, then it wont happen.

Usyk last fought in August, beating Anthony Joshua on points for the second time in 11 months. The Ukrainian, 36, took the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO titles from the Briton in September 2021 and retained the belts in the pairs rematch.

Meanwhile, WBC champion Fury, 34, retained his title in his most recent outing, stopping fellow Briton Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout in December.
Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank acquired Japanese-owned Union Bank in December, and the merged company will now close at least 145 branches that are either U.S. Bank or Union Bank locations all over California, including in San Luis Obispo County.

U.S. Bank, owned by U.S. Bancorp, has three locations in SLO County while Union Bank, owned by Mitsubishi UFG, has two.

The bank says the closures and some branch exchanges will happen by May 26.

After Union Bank branches are integrated to the U.S. Bank brand, current Union Bank customers will have more than double the number of branches available to them in California. At the same time, existing U.S. Bank customers will gain more than 100 new locations in the state.

Official notice of the closures comes from the weekly report from the Comptroller of the Currency released Feb. 25.

What the bank merger means to SLO County

The changes will affect customers of the two banks across the county.

In San Luis Obispo, the U.S. Bank branch at 3991 S. Higuera St. near Trader Joes will close, and the current Union Bank location at 995 Higuera will be rebranded as U.S. Bank.

The Union Bank at 995 Higuera in San Luis Obispo, seen here on March 6, 2023, will be rebranded as U.S. Bank after the two companies merged.

In Los Osos, the U.S. Bank at Ralphs grocery store will go dark, and the space has an uncertain future. The town will be down to two brick-and-mortar banks, Mechanics and Chase.

In Atascadero, the Union Bank will be rebranded U.S. Bank. In recent years, U.S. Bank closed its location at what was then the Albertsons market. The U.S. Bank at the Albertsons in Paso Robles will stay open.

Elsewhere on the Central Coast, closure notices will also come to Santa Maria with the shuttering of the U.S. Bank branch at the Albertsons at 2320 S. Broadway. There is a Union Bank branch nearby that will be rebranded U.S. Bank.

In its statement the bank said, In nearly all cases, customers who are accustomed to going to a branch that will be closed will be able to go to another branch that is very close by. One out of three consolidated branches are less than 0.2 miles away, more than 50 percent are within a half mile and 80 percent are less than a mile away.

Story continues

Besides the 145 California locations detailed in the most recent comptroller report, more than two dozen U.S. Bank branches in other parts of the country have been posted to close since the first of this new year. Union Bank, too, has been closing branches since the merger was announced.

How the two companies compare

U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 70,000 employees and $601 billion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2022, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. U.S. Bank had 2,572 branches nationwide as of 2021, behind No. 1 Wells Fargo. U.S. Bank closed 257 of its branches that year.

As of June 30, 2022, MUFG Union Bank operated 297 branches, consisting primarily of retail banking branches in the West Coast states. Most did business as Union Bank.

A news article from Pacific Coast Business Times in September 2021 noted the that the merger was pending and said that Union Banks 29-branch network in the Tri-Counties will become part of U.S. Bank in an $8 billion deal that will give Union Banks Japanese parent a nearly 3% stake in Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp.

U.S. Bank had 20 locations in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

The acquisition will combine the No. 4 and No. 5 largest banking operations in the region, the article also noted. U.S. Bank will emerge with a branch network that makes it a clear rival to JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, the top two banks in the region with more than 40 branches each.

U.S. Bank CFO Terrance Dolan said in a 2021 statement that U.S. Bancorp will not be exiting any markets or reducing availability to branches or banking services in any low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

The acquisition will add about 190,000 small business customers from Union Bank, which will increase the number of business banking relationships at U.S. Bank by about 18%, a spokesman said at that time.

Market share in SLO County

An annual FDIC report on market share in the the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area as of September 2022 said Union Bank had two branches in the county with $284 million in deposits and a 3% market share.

U.S. Bank had four locations with $172 million in deposits and a 1.8% market share.

If they retain all deposits, the merged company would be the sixth largest bank, based on deposits, in the county. Chase and Mechanics Banks are the largest players, each with above 18% market share. Mechanics Bank has 13 locations vs. Chase with seven.

Union Banks history dates to end of World War II

The demise of all Union Bank locations closes a chapter on some interesting history of a California bank, based in Los Angeles, with ties to Japan. An LA Business Journal story published this year notes the following.

The banks history is closely linked with the Bank of Tokyo of California, which was founded in 1946 and established a branch in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles in 1952. The bank helped Japanese Americans reestablish their homes and businesses after they were released from World War II-era internment camps; many found their homes and businesses gone and had trouble getting loans otherwise.

The parent company of Union Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank  will hold a small stake in the newly merged financial company.

John Lindt is the editor of the news website Sierra2theSea.net.
United Nations  Russia's top diplomat said Thursday that it would be "quite complicated" for Moscow to sign onto a renewal of the deal struck between his country and Ukraine last year that has allowed for the export of grain from both countries, easing a global food crisis. A day after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Kyiv in a bid to shore up support for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov amplified long-standing complaints from Moscow that the deal was being "half fulfilled," claiming Western sanctions were blocking the export of Russian fertilizers covered under the agreement.

"If the package is half fulfilled, then the issue of extension becomes quite complicated," Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow.

The agreement, negotiated and implemented by the U.N. and Turkey, must be renewed by March 18, but there has been mounting concern that Russia may decline to keep it going.

"Our Western colleagues, the United States and the European Union, pathetically declare... that no sanctions apply to food and fertilizers, but this position is dishonest," Lavrov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres meet in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 8, 2023. / Credit: Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

After meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, Guterres thanked Zelenksyy for welcoming him "in such difficult circumstances," and said it was important to "underscore the critical importance of the rollover of the Black Sea Grain Initiative."

Representatives from the U.N. and Turkey have been meeting to try to keep the grain exports flowing. The Grain Initiative was signed in July 2022 in an urgent bid to free up some 20 million tons of grain that were stuck at the time in silos, ships and other storage facilities amid Russia's attack on Ukraine.

With Ukraine's ports blocked and sanctions preventing the export of some Russian grains and fertilizer, global food prices soared, putting humanitarian aid efforts around the world at particular risk. CBS News met starving mothers and aid workers in South Sudan who said Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports was exacerbating one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet.

Story continues

The U.N. has called the deal vital for helping "to cushion the suffering that this global cost-of-living crisis is inflicting on billions of people."

According to the Joint Coordination Center in Turkey, which manages the shipping lanes and cargo inspections under the auspices of the agreement, some 23 million tons of grains have been exported since it came into effect.

The deal also aimed to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizers, but Moscow has long complained that those shipments have been disrupted by U.S. and European sanctions. Russian officials said as recently as November that they would renew the pact, but the intense fighting still raging in Ukraine had put the extension in question, and Lavrov's latest remarks were sure to heighten concerns over its renewal.

Although food exports have not been placed under global sanctions, Moscow claims restrictions on banking and insurance companies have stalled the export of thousands of tons of Russian fertilizer.

The agreement reached in July has been hugely important to Guterres, who personally helped negotiate its terms. In his statement on Wednesday, the U.N. chief said that until a "just peace can be secured" in Ukraine, he and the U.N. would "continue working hard to mitigate the impacts of the conflict which has caused enormous suffering for the Ukrainian people  with profound global implications."

He said the grain deal had "contributed to lowering the global cost of food and has offered critical relief to people, who are also paying a high price for this war, particularly in the developing world."

A crew member prepares a grain analysis for a control made by members of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) onboard the Barbados-flagged ship

The U.N. chief said previously that the four parties to the deal  Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey  were "working hard to remove all the remaining obstacles. to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets."

Both Kyiv and Moscow have reestablished their grain exports under the agreement, easing global food prices. Bloomberg reported last week that Russian grain exports were booming and that shipments of wheat had almost doubled over the past year.

There were early warning signs last week that Russia could decline to renew the agreement when Lavrov, during a G-20 summit in India, accused the U.S. and Europe of "shamelessly burying" the pact.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia at that meeting of "deliberately and systematically" slowing the export of Ukrainian grain shipments.

China poses "most consequential threat" to U.S. national security, intelligence officials say

Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend sues to nullify their non-disclosure agreement

Emails and text messages become public as part of Fox-Dominion lawsuit
By Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - The United Nations called on Tuesday for $876 million in funding for Rohingya Muslims in the worlds largest refugee settlement in Bangladesh as the crisis entered its sixth year.

The call came at a time when the World Food Programme slashed food aid to Rohingya refugees from this month, blaming a funding shortfall.

More than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh that make up the world's largest refugee settlement, with little prospect of returning to Myanmar, which many fled in 2017 to escape an army crackdown.

The United Nations is seeking funding for 1.47 million people, including 495,000 in host communities, to provide food, shelter, health care, access to drinkable water, protection services, education, as well as livelihood opportunities and skills development, its refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a statement.

"With decreased funding, refugees stand to face even more challenges in their daily lives in terms of proper nutrition, shelter materials, sanitation facilities and livelihood opportunities."

The UNHCR said in August that it received $426 million in 2022, less than half of over $881 million it sought.

Refugees said it was crucial the world did not forget the plight of the Rohingya, who are unable to return to Myanmar, but have no future in Bangladesh, where they are not allowed to work.

"The global community should not forget the crisis. They should come forward and help us as much as they can," Mohammed Jafar, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh, told Reuters.

Increasing numbers of refugees embark on perilous and often fatal boat journeys to reach countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia as violent crime adds to longstanding troubles like a lack of educational and work opportunities and bleak prospects of returning to military-ruled Myanmar.

The UNHCR said Bangladesh relocated some 30,000 Rohingya refugees on a voluntary basis from the camps in Coxs Bazar to Bhasan Char island and plans to continue voluntary relocations up to a total of 100,000 refugees by the end of 2023.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
By Suzanne Smalley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone on Tuesday expressed concern during congressional testimony about Chinese-owned video app TikTok's data collection and potential to facilitate broad influence operations.

Asked by Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville about any concerns he has about TikTok's influence on American children, Nakasone told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, "TikTok concerns me for a number of different reasons."

Nakasone said his concerns include "the data that they have."

"Secondly is the algorithm and the control of who has the algorithm," Nakasone added.

Nakasone ended his comments by asserting that the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations. Nakasone said his concern is not only the fact that TikTok can proactively influence users but also its ability to "turn off the message," and noted its large number of users.

The app is used by more than 100 million Americans.

The NSA, part of the Defense Department, is the agency responsible for U.S. cryptographic and communications intelligence and security.

The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 ordered Chinese company ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that user data could be passed onto Chinas government.

"The swiftest and most thorough way to address any national security concerns about TikTok is for CFIUS - of which the Department of Defense and the NSA are a part - to adopt the proposed agreement that we worked with them on for nearly two years," said TikTok representative Brooke Oberwetter, adding that TikTok's "status has been debated in public in a way that is divorced from the facts of that agreement and what we've achieved already."

For three years, TikTok has been seeking to assure the United States that the personal data of American citizens cannot be accessed and its content cannot be manipulated by China's Communist Party or anyone else under Beijing's influence.

Story continues

TikTok, a unit of China's ByteDance, has come under increasing fire over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear before the U.S. Congress on March 23.

A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators is set to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would give Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they are found to pose national security threats.

(Reporting by Suzanne Smalley; Editing by Will Dunham and Mark Porter)
By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, has been released from the hospital after being treated for shingles, she said on Tuesday, though she did not specify when she would be able to return to Washington.

Democrats control the Senate by a narrow 51-49 margin, meaning that even one or two absences can impact whether contentious legislation can pass.

"I continue receiving treatment and look forward to returning to the Senate as soon as possible," Feinstein, 89, said on Twitter.

Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator, recently said she would not seek reelection to the Senate seat she has held since 1992, triggering a race among Californian Democrats to replace her.

With her absence, along with that of Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who is currently being treated for clinical depression, both Democrats and Republicans have 49 votes in the Senate.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price will step down this month after more than two years and take up a new position reporting to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the secretary said on Tuesday.

Price was sworn in as spokesperson on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Joe Biden was inaugurated as president. His service was marked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the chaotic withdrawal of diplomats and other personnel from Afghanistan.

In a statement, Blinken said Price held more than 200 briefings with journalists, acting as a face and voice of U.S. foreign policy.

"Ned has helped the U.S. government defend and promote press freedom around the globe and modeled the transparency and openness we advocate for in other countries. His contributions will benefit the department long after his service," Blinken said.

Shaun Tandon, president of the State Department Correspondents' Association, praised Price for restoring the department's daily press briefings and facing reporters' scrutiny, as in the case of the Afghan pullout.

The department responsible for U.S. diplomacy held briefings only sporadically during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

"Thanks to Ned, the Daily Press Briefing now seems routine and that is how it should be  it offers an opportunity for press from around the world to question the foreign policy of the United States, often critically, and requires the State Department to defend it," Tandon said in a statement. "It is a tribute to the health of American democracy."

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday it approved $185.8 million in American Rescue Plan funds for broadband infrastructure projects in South Carolina expected to connect about 31,650 homes to affordable, high-speed internet.

The Treasury said the funding comes from the $10 billion Capital Projects Fund, a pandemic aid program for states and tribal governments to fund capital projects that enable work, education and health monitoring. It will fund a South Carolina grant program that prioritizes last-mile broadband projects in rural areas that lack adequate internet service.

The Treasury began announcing state awards from the Capital Project Fund in June 2022, and said that to date, 34 states have been approved to invest approximately $5 billion in internet access projects estimated to reach more than 1.4 million locations.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
El Paso, Texas  The Biden administration is considering reinstating the practice of holding migrant families with children in long-term detention facilities as it prepares for the end of pandemic-era border restrictions in early May, three sources familiar with the internal deliberations tell CBS News.

The proposal, the sources said, is one of several policy options being considered at a high level by senior White House and Department of Homeland Security officials in preparation for an expected increase in migration along the U.S.-Mexico border beginning on May 11, when the Title 42 migrant expulsion policy is set to end with the expiration of the national COVID-19 public health emergency.

The move would allow the U.S. government to resume the practice of detaining migrant parents and minor children in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities while asylum officers determine whether they should be allowed to seek U.S. refuge.

That practice, first implemented at scale by the Obama administration and expanded by the Trump administration, was discontinued in 2021 by the Biden administration, which converted the two migrant family detention facilities in Texas into rapid processing hubs and detention sites for single adults.

If approved, the reinstatement of the family detention policy would be a major reversal by President Biden, whose administration has recently sought to stiffen border enforcement amid mass migration in the Western Hemisphere.

A father holds his daughter after they illegally crossed the U.S. southern border with Mexico on Oct. 10, 2022, in Eagle Pass, Texas. / Credit: ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images

As part of multiple promises to replace hardline Trump administration border policies with a "humane" approach to migration, Mr. Biden vowed to end the prolonged detention of migrant families.

In response to the proposal, which was first reported by The New York Times on Monday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Luis Miranda said no final decisions had been made.

"The Administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants," Miranda added in a statement.

Story continues

A Biden administration official said any detention of families with children would comply with a court consent decree known as the Flores agreement that governs the detention of minors in U.S. immigration custody. As part of the litigation surrounding this case, the government generally has to release migrant families within 20 days.

The official said the families would undergo an expedited process under a proposed regulation that will make it harder for non-Mexican migrants to secure U.S. asylum. That rule is slated to be finalized before Title 42's termination.

The asylum restriction proposed last month is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to crack down on illegal crossings along the southern border, which spiked in 2021 and 2022.

In January, the administration announced an expansion of Title 42, after Mexico agreed to accept the return of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who attempted to enter the U.S. Before the expansion, Mexico generally only accepted the return of its citizens and Central American migrants.

The administration has paired the application of Title 42 for those who cross the border illegally with expanded opportunities for certain migrants to enter the U.S. legally.

A sponsorship program is allowing up to 30,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans to fly to the U.S. legally each month if Americans agree to sponsor them. Officials are also allowing roughly 20,000 asylum-seekers to request entry at official ports of entry along the southern border per month through a mobile app.

The strategy has so far led to a sharp drop in unlawful border crossings. But officials predict that numbers could spike again once Title 42 expires.

European Union grapples with ongoing recession concerns despite optimistic outlook

House subcommittee holds first hearing on COVID pandemic origins

Changing the game: Kim Roxie on vegan makeup line, "Lamik Beauty"
Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Screenshot

This reporting is one of several scoops featured in this weeks edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media. Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.

A writer named on The Shitty Men in Media list has settled his lawsuit for a six-figure sum with the woman who created the infamous spreadsheet, Confider has learned.

The Adderall Diaries author Stephen Elliott sued columnist Moira Donegan for defamation after being accused of rape, sexual harassment, and coercion on the Google spreadsheet that was widely shared at the height of the #MeToo movement and accused upwards of 70 men of sexual misconduct.

The lawsuit had gone 4 and a half years and would have gone 4 more years I think before going to trial, Elliott told Confider via email. They were doing everything possible to avoid defending their views in court so when they offered enough money I agreed to settle.

Elliott said Donegan wanted a confidentiality clause which he did not agree to, describing it as a Harvey Weinstein thing to ask for.

And while he wasnt successful in determining who had added him to the list, he suspects it was a woman he fired at the online literary magazine The Rumpus, which he founded.

Like what youre reading? Subscribe to the Confider newsletter here and have The Daily Beast media teams stellar reporting sent straight to your inbox every Monday night.

Whoever put me on that list is deeply disturbed and Moira was taking advantage of people like that. Im certain there is no one out there in this world who thinks that I raped them, and Im certain that I never raped anyone. I dont even like penetrative sex with women, he told Confider.

When reached by Confider on Monday, Donegan said she couldnt comment and referred questions to her attorney, Gabrielle Tenzer, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Elliott said his life has been permanently changed as a result of being on the list. He says he was fired by his agent while his publisher and editor publicly supported the list.

Story continues

Imagine, a non-profit publisher publicly supporting a media blacklist, even while telling me privately they knew I was innocent, and they believed other people on the list were innocent as well, he told Confider.

But theres some closure here. Its enough money that its basically an admission of guilt, and it feels like a victory. And most importantly its helped push back on false accusations and presumptions of guilt. Because believe it or not, ultimately I filed the lawsuit for moral reasons. I felt there was a moral obligation, and I dont regret that at all.

Subscribe to the Confider newsletter here and have The Daily Beast media teams stellar reporting sent straight to your inbox every Monday night.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
A woman pulls a child on a sledge through the snow beside the beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland on Tuesday. (PA via Getty Images)

The UK is bracing for snow for the rest of the entire week.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice from Tuesday until Friday.

It said that temperatures on Tuesday evening could drop to -15C, which would make it the coldest night of the year so far.

Warnings for snow and ice have been issued for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales this week, as cold Arctic air blasts in.

Many parts of the country, particularly in northern areas, including Yorkshire and Northumberland, have already experienced some snow.

Watch: Coldest night of the year expected on Tuesday

The Met Office said temperatures could drop to minus 15C in some sheltered Scottish glens, especially where there is fresh snow cover, on Tuesday night.

The lowest temperature in the UK so far this year is minus 10.4C, which was recorded at Drumnadrochit near Inverness in the Highlands on 19 January.

Temperatures are set to drop almost six degrees below their coldest last March, when they reached minus 9.1C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice across the UK this week. (Met Office)

The Met Office has issued snow warnings for much of the UK on Friday. (Met Office)

Temperatures dipped to minus 7.6C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands on Monday night and the small hamlet was covered in 12cm of snow, more than anywhere else in the UK.

Snow has also settled across Northumberland and North Yorkshire with some spots experiencing 2-3cm of cover.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said people should expect to wake up to snow on Wednesday if they live in the south.

He said: I think over higher grounds such as Exmoor, the Chilterns and the Cotswolds there will be a fair amount of snow.

Read more: How cold does it have to be to snow?

Snow on a street in Aberdeen, Scotland, on Tuesday. (PA)

Goathland train station in North Yorkshire is covered in snow on Tuesday. (PA via Getty Images)

Elsewhere it is going to be quite difficult, especially after todays wet weather, to say how much snow will settle.

He added snow which is expected to fall in the north of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland on Thursday and Friday is likely to be much more impactful.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place in much of northern and eastern Scotland and north-east England until 10am on Wednesday.

Story continues

London, the south of England and South Wales will be covered by a yellow warning for snow all day on Wednesday and until 9am on Thursday and a few centimetres could fall in those areas.

Northern England, North Wales, most of Scotland and Northern Ireland will be covered by a yellow warning for snow between 3am on Thursday and 6pm on Friday.

Laura Tobin, a meteorologist on ITV's Good Morning Britain, tweeted a graphic of the Earth showing how rain moving north will turn to snow when it hits the Arctic air above the UK.

Cold vs warm

Along that line is rain moving north, as this hits the cold air itll turn to #snow pic.twitter.com/7x4HxgtexN  Laura Tobin. (@Lauratobin1) March 7, 2023

Burkill warned people to travel in snowy conditions only if essential and to bring a blanket in case they get stuck overnight.

He said: Through the worst of the weather, keep up to date with warnings, be prepared your journey may take longer than normal and you may end up stranded in your car.

If there is significant snow take water and maybe a blanket just in case, thats if you absolutely need to travel.

St Mary's Church in Goathland, North Yorkshire, is surrounded by snow on Tuesday. (PA via Getty Images)

Treat the weather sensibly and be aware it could be dangerous.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a level-three cold weather alert for the whole of England which is likely to be reviewed in the coming days.

The agencys head of extreme events and health protection, Dr Agostinho Sousa, said people should check on vulnerable relatives and told pensioners and anyone with an underlying health condition to heat their home to at least 18C.

On 14 March 1958, the temperature dropped to a record low for the month of minus 22.8C at Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire.
Grain exports from Ukraine decreased by 26.6%

Read also: Turkey working to renew Black Sea grain deal, Foreign Ministry says

According to a senior source in the Ukrainian government, Ukraine didnt negotiate with Russia, which blockaded Ukrainian Black Sea ports after invading the country in February 2022. Instead, Turkish and UN presentative act as intermediaries between Ukraine and Russia.

The situation with the negotiations is rather complicated, the source told Reuters.

Now, much depends not on us, but on (our) partners.

At the same time, Moscow said it would agree to an extension of the grain deal only if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account.

Read also: Black Sea grain deal set to expire soon, Ukraine warns

While Russia's agricultural exports arent a directly affected by Western sanctions, Russia claims that restrictions on its payments, logistics, and insurance are a "barrier" to its ability to export its own grain and fertilizers.

In the 2022/23 season, grain exports from Ukraine decreased by 26.6%  to 32.9 million tons as of March 6, due to a modest harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion.

Read also: Russia blocks operation of grain corridor and transports military cargo on merchant ships, says Ukraine

In November 2022, the grain deal was extended for another four months. The United Nations and Turkey remained the guarantors of the implementation of the Grain Initiative.

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
(Reuters) - Ukraine has brought 307 children out of Russia-occupied territories, the country's human rights ombudsman said on Monday, including an 8-year-old boy who was recently reunited with his grandmother.

Ukraine's authorities estimate more than 16,000 children have been deported to Russia since the start of the war a year ago. Russia has said it has been evacuating people voluntarily from Ukraine.

"At the end of February, the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights received a request to help bring back a child who was in the territory temporarily occupied by Russia," Dmytro Lubinets, the ombudsman, said on the Telegram messaging platform.

"Within a few days, with the assistance and work of the staff of the ombudsman's office, Sashko met his grandmother."

The ombudsmen did not reveal details on the operation.

Most of the movement of people occurred in the first few months of the war before Ukraine started its major counter offensive to regain occupied territories in the east and south in late August.

Russia's defence ministry said in mid-August that 3.5 million people had been brought to Russia by then, including more than half a million children.

According to Ukraine Prosecutor General's office, 464 children have died so far in the war, now in its 13th month with no end in sight, while the police estimate that 356 are still missing.

Moscow has denied intentionally targeting civilians in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, and has pushed back against previous claims that it had forcibly moved Ukrainians.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Josie Kao)
Ukraines Defence Forces will continue the defence of Bakhmut in order to exhaust the Wagner Group Private Military Companys elite units, according to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Source: ISW

Details: The ISW emphasised that Ukraines fight for Bakhmut has become strategically significant because of the current composition of Russian forces arrayed in the area.

Some Western reports have recently suggested that Ukraine is expanding its own elite manpower and scarce equipment on mainly Wagner Group prison recruits who are "mere cannon fodder". The ISW believes that such an observation is valid in general, although the pool of Russian convict recruits suitable for combat is not limitless, and the permanent elimination of tens of thousands of them in Bakhmut means that they will not be available for more important fights.

At the same time, the ISW noted that Russian forces near Bakhmut have recently changed tactics and committed higher-quality special forces operators and elements of conventional forces to the fight.

"The Wagner Group is still likely using prisoners to support operations in Bakhmut, albeit to a much more limited extent than in previous months due to massive losses suffered by those recruits in attritional frontal assaults. But Wagner has now also committed its very best soldiers to the fight, and it is they who are being attrited along with the conscripts.

The Battle of Bakhmut may, in fact, severely degrade the Wagner Groups best forces. Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently fears that the Russian Defence Ministry is fighting the Battle of Bakhmut to the last Wagner fighter," the ISW said.

The ISW analysts are convinced that the severe degradation or destruction of the elite Wagner fighting force would have positive ramifications beyond the battlefield.

"Badly damaging Prigozhins power and reputation within Russia would be an important accomplishment from the standpoint of the long-term prospects for restoring sanity in Russia. That is an aim in Americas interests as well as in Ukraines, and it raises the stakes in the Battle of Bakhmut," the ISW analysts said.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Read also: Russia losing five times more soldiers in Bakhmut than Ukraine, NATO assesses

The president said that Bakhmut was the main topic at the recent Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief meeting, where he directly asked Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, how they see the defense operation near the city should proceed.

Both generals replied: dont retreat and reinforce, Zelenskyy said.

And this position was unanimously supported by the HQ. There were no other positions. I instructed the Commander-in-Chief (to Zaluzhnyi) find the right forces to aid the guys in Bakhmut.

Read also: At meeting with president, Zaluzhnyi and Syrskyi support continuation of defense operation in Bakhmut

Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, told Ukrainian TV broadcasters that all present at the meeting supported the decision to continue defending Bakhmut.

On March 5, Syrskyi arrived in Bakhmut. This was his third visit to the city in recent weeks.

Read also: ISW says fighting for Bakhmut exhausting Russians, preparing ground for Ukrainian counter-offensive

Ukraines Operational Command East spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty said that as Ukrainian troops defend Bakhmut, they are depleting Russian personnel and equipment reserves, ensuring the success of Kyivs future counteroffensives.

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
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  A man who appeared to be shot dead by Russian-speakers in a short video was tentatively identified Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier while the footage circulated widely on Ukrainian social media and caused an uproar.

The country's chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets argued that it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Senior Ukrainian officials alleged, without providing further evidence, that the man was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers. In the video, the man did not appear to be armed.

The 30th Mechanized Brigade on its Facebook page named the man as Tymofii Shadura. The identification is based on preliminary information and is not final, it said.

Shadura has been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during bitter fighting in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine, the post said. The city has been a combat hot spot as the war extends into its second year.

His identity is to be confirmed once the body is returned from a Russian-occupied area, the post added, though it did not say when that might happen.

The Ukrainian military's general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was according to preliminary information."

In the 12-second video, the man in combat fatigues is seen in a wooded area smoking a cigarette.

Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says Glory to Ukraine and is hit by a volley of gunshots, falling into a hole in the ground, with an off-camera voice saying Die, followed by an expletive.

The Associated Press could not verify the videos authenticity, any details about when it was recorded or anything about the people involved.

Questions sent by the AP to the Russian military about the clip did not immediately receive a reply.

The video circulated widely on social media in Ukraine and unleashed an outcry.

In his nightly video address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: I want us all together, in unity, to respond to (the soldiers) words: Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine! And we will find the killers.

Story continues

Moscow also has expressed suspicion about the treatment of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.

Last November, Ukraine said it would open an investigation into video footage that circulated on Russian social media, which Moscow alleged shows Ukrainian soldiers killing Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire.

In other developments:

 Ukraine and Russia completed another exchange of captives. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak reported that 130 Ukrainian soldiers returned from Russian captivity, most of them with severe injuries. Russia's Defense Ministry said 90 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. Since the beginning of the war, 1,993 people have been returned from captivity, according to Lubinets.

 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was on his way to Ukraine for a meeting Wednesday in Kyiv with Zelenskyy. The two are due to discuss the extension of an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports and permits Russia to export food and fertilizers.

 Ukraines presidential office reported Tuesday that at least one civilian was killed and 11 more were wounded in Ukraine over the previous 24 hours. Fierce battles continued in the region for the key city of Bakhmut, where fewer than 4,000 civilians remain from a prewar population of 70,000, according to Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

 A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday during a visit to Denmark that it supports Swedens NATO membership. Some Hungarian lawmakers had balked at supporting the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, due to what they called blatant lies from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungarys democracy.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukrainian military

Drapatyi said that now that Ukraines forces have gained a strategic advantage in Kherson Oblast, the Ukrainian army will create the prerequisites for a general victory.

Read also: Ukrainian forces conduct counteroffensive near Bakhmut, NYT reports

Bakhmut remains one of the hot spots where the fiercest fighting continues. The Russians are throwing all their forces into attempting a breakthrough and encirclement of the Donetsk Oblast town.

Fighting at Bakhmut has been going on since July 2022. The Ukrainian militarys General Staff reports that the Russian army continues to try to surround and capture the city, but its assaults are unsuccessful. The Russian invaders threw trained units of the Wagner private military company and other regular units of the Russian army into efforts to capture the town.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov estimated the Russian invaders daily losses in the battles for Bakhmut at 500 people killed and wounded.

Read also: Ukraine intends to hold Bakhmut, Zelenskyy says

As the situation in Bakhmut became increasingly challenging for the Ukrainian military, Kyiv dispatched additional reinforcements there, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Malyar, told Ukrainian TV broadcasters on Feb. 28. She said the decision to hold Bakhmut is purely military, and not political.

U.S think tank the Institute for the Study of War also believes that the Russian occupation forces will not be able to force the Ukrainian troops to retreat from Bakhmut in the near future, although they have secured a positional advantage in certain areas of the city.

Earlier, the spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevaty, said that there was no mass withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the city of Bakhmut going on, but a planned rotation of defense units.

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
Ukraine will receive Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems, but it is worth waiting for official information from authorised persons.

Source: Yurii Ihnat, Spokesperson of the Air Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on air of the national 24/7 broadcast; response of the Ministry of National Defence of Poland to the information request of Ukrinform news agency

Quote from Ihnat: "Definitely, the Patriot will be in Ukraine. The decision has been made, and people are learning [how to use these systems  ed.] When you see that the commander of the Air Force is testing at the wheel of a Patriot, it will definitely be in Ukraine. Or we will announce the first Ruscist plane that will be shot down by a Patriot (they can shoot down targets up to 150 kilometres away)."

Details: On 7 March, several media outlets, referring to the Spanish media La Razon, which published an interview with Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Baszczak, wrote that Ukraine had already received the Patriot air defence system.

At the same time, the ministry noted to Ukrinform that the mention in the Spanish edition of the Polish minister's receipt of the Patriot air defence system by Ukraine was apparently due to an error during translation.

In an interview with La Razon, Baszczak did not say that Ukraine had already received the Patriot air defence system, but claimed that the favourable decision to transfer this air defence system to Kyiv was made thanks to the efforts of Poland, the ministry states.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
President's Office Head Andrii Yermak reported that 126 servicemen and four servicewomen were released from Russian captivity during a prisoner exchange on March 7.

Most of the released soldiers were defending the now-occupied port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, according to Yermak. Seventy-one soldiers were reportedly evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant.

The Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that among the freed POWs were also personnel captured by Russian troops near Bakhmut and Soledar in Donetsk Oblast as well as those fighting in Luhansk Oblast.

Forty-five of the freed military POWs belong to Ukraine's Armed Forces, 25 to the National Guard, 23 to the State Border Service, 21 to the Naval Forces, eight to the Territorial Defense Forces, and eight to the State Special Transport Service.

Most of the soldiers who returned to Ukraine have serious injuries or illnesses acquired in battles and during captivity, according to the coordinating headquarters. The youngest released POW is not yet 21 years old, while the oldest will soon turn 64.

On the other side of the swap, 90 Russian soldiers were returned from Ukrainian-controlled territory, Russian state news agency TASS reported on March 7, citing the country's defense ministry.

During the previous prisoner exchange on Feb. 16, Ukraine returned 100 military personnel and one civilian.

1,464 service members and 132 civilians were freed from Russian captivity in 2022, according to the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories.


Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak rise to the surface of the Baltic Sea - DANISH DEFENCE COMMAND/Reuters

New intelligence reviewed by US officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

There was no evidence that President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top lieutenants in Ukraine were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials, the newspaper said, citing US officials.

The attacks on the pipelines fuelled speculation on both sides of the Atlantic over who was responsible, with Russian officials in particular accusing a host of Western powers of being behind the incident.

It came as the battle for Bakhmut continued on Tuesday, with both sides reportedly suffering heavy losses in the fight to control the eastern salt-mining town.

Read the latest updates below

05:25 PM

More than 20 held over attack on Russian plane: Belarus

Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said that more than 20 people had been detained in connection with an attack on a Russian military plane, claimed by regime opponents last month.

"To date, more than 20 accomplices who are in Belarus have been detained. The rest are hiding," said Lukashenko, a key Kremlin ally.

He identified the presumed main culprit as a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen.

Members of Belarus's exiled opposition said partisans had destroyed the Russian plane at an airstrip near the capital Minsk.

The authoritarian leader confirmed today that an A-50 plane had been targeted but claimed it "did not suffer any significant damage".

A Russian Beriev A-50 - REUTERS/File Photo

05:06 PM

Hundreds mourn Ukrainian saboteurs killed in Russia

Hundreds of mourners packed a Kyiv church today for the funeral of volunteers killed on a sabotage mission in Russia, following a spate of attacks along Moscow's frontier.

Mourners, many in camouflage and covering their faces, attended a service in a central church for four men - one still a teenager - killed in December during an incursion into Russia's southern Bryansk region.

Story continues

Ukrainian servicemen carry a coffin with the body of a member of the Brotherhood volunteer's battalion, killed during a raid on Russian territory on December 25 - REUTERS/Alina Yarysh

Russia's FSB security service announced it had killed the men, saying they were armed with rifles and explosives. Russian media reported their bodies were handed over this month.

The men's coffins were draped with the banner of a nationalist battalion called Bratstvo, or Brotherhood, created on the basis of a party of the same name.

Memorial ceremony for members of Ukrainian Brotherhood volunteer's battalion, killed earlier during a raid on Russian territory, in Kyiv - REUTERS/Alina Yarysh

04:43 PM

Ukraine denies involvement in attempted sabotage at Belarus air field

Ukraine's foreign ministry has denied that Kyiv was involved in attempted sabotage at a Belarusian air field last month.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko alleged that Ukrainian and US intelligence services were involved in the drone attack in late February which was claimed by Belarusian anti-government activists.

"It is clear that this is another attempt to create an artificial threat from Ukraine for the sake of justifying (Belarusian) support for Russia's aggression," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement.

03:57 PM

Prisoners of war exchanged

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged scores of prisoners of war, the latest swap in more than a year of fighting.

Russia's defence ministry said 90 Russian prisoners of war had returned from Ukraine in the latest exchange. Kyiv said 130 Ukrainian service personnel had been released from Russian custody.

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential staff, said 87 of the Ukrainians had taken part in the defence of the southeastern city of Mariupol before its capture by Russia.

03:01 PM

Today's top stories

Ukraine has identified the prisoner of war gunned down in a brutal execution

Poland is sending 10 more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week, and will set up a repair hub for the vehicles

Belarus's President admitted that a drone attack damaged a Russian spy plane at an airbase in his country

A Nato official has revealed that Russia is suffering heavy losses in its assault on Bakhmut

Ukraine wants the US to send it cluster bombs so it can take them apart and arm its drones with their bomblets.

02:55 PM

Dangerously low UK ammunition stocks put Ukraines resupply at risk

Britains ammunition stocks are at dangerously low levels amid support for Ukraine, the Defence Select Committee has warned.

Rebuilding the countrys dwindling stockpile of munitions in the wake of the conflict could take at least a decade, putting UK national security at risk, the MPs warned.

The Commons Defence Committee said the process for buying weapons is not fit for purpose and urged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to cut the time needed to restore stockpiles.

Read more from Dominic Nicholls here

02:31 PM

Poland to set up tank repair hub for Ukraine's Leopard 2s

Poland will set up a service hub for the battle tanks being used in Ukraine, Mariusz Blaszczak, the Polish Defence Minister, has said.

"We are ready to launch a service hub in Poland that will repair and service the Leopard tanks delivered to Ukraine," Blaszczak said, adding that he would raise the issue in his talks with the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

"The fundamental issue that we will discuss is the low availability of spare parts for Leopard tanks," Mr Blaszczak said.

Poland spearheaded efforts to send the modern Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, with Germany, which holds the export license for the advanced armoured vehicles, initially resisting the pressure from allies to authorise the move.

But earlier this year Berlin finally agreed to send its own Leopards and opened the door for other countries, including Poland, Sweden, Finland and Portugal, to do the same.

02:07 PM

Thousands in need of help after suffering injuries in Ukraine

Thousands of people in Ukraine have sustained complex injuries linked to the war and need rehabilitation services and equipment to help them, a senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said.

Attacks on healthcare facilities, fewer healthcare workers due to displacement and power shortages were all making it difficult for people to get care, Dr Satish Mishra from the WHO's regional office for Europe, told a media briefing.

Even before the war, in 2019, about half the population in Ukraine could have benefited from rehabilitation services for non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, Dr Cathal Morgan, another WHO official said.

Since then, the Covid pandemic and the war have significantly increased the need for rehab services, he added. "Hence the need for urgency."

01:42 PM

Ukraine identifies prisoner of war who declared glory to Ukraine moments before execution

The Ukrainian military has identified the Ukrainian prisoner of war who was gunned down in cold blood after saying Glory to Ukraine in front of his Russian captors.

The Ukrainian defence ministry on Tuesday identified the man as Timofey Shadura, a 41-year-old soldier from the 30th Mechanised Brigade, who had been missing in fighting around Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine since March 3.

The body of our soldiers is currently on the occupied territory, the ministry said.

Conclusive identification will be held once the body is retrieved and goes through the necessary procedures.

Read more from Nataliya Vasilyeva here

Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, the Ukrainian prisoner whose execution on video sparked outrage in Kyiv

01:08 PM

UN chief en route to Kyiv to meet Zelensky

UN chief Antonio Guterres was travelling to Ukraine on Tuesday to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his third trip since Russia's full-scale invasion, his spokesman said.

"The Secretary-General has just arrived in Poland on his way to Ukraine," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Mr Guterres was due to arrive in Kyiv later on Tuesday before meeting the Ukrainian President on Wednesday morning "to discuss the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in all its aspects, as well as other pertinent issues," the spokesman said.

12:43 PM

Poland says it will send 10 more Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine this week

A further 10 Leopard 2 tanks from Poland will be sent to Ukraine this week, the Polish defence minister has said.

"Four [tanks] are already in Ukraine, another 10 will go to Ukraine this week," Mariusz Blaszczak told a news conference.

Poland had promised to send Ukraine a total of 14 Leopard 2 tanks.

12:28 PM

Watch: Russian Wagner mercenaries reach eastern Bakhmut

12:01 PM

EU sanctions Russian officials for violence against women

The European Union on Tuesday imposed sanctions ahead of International Women's Day against officials from six countries, including Russia and Afghanistan, for violence and rights abuses against women.

According to a document seen by AFP, nine individuals and three official entities have been added to sanctions lists, subject to visa bans and the freezing of any assets held in the EU.

The sanctions target two Moscow police officers, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Fedorinov and his subordinate Ivan Ryabov, who are accused of ordering the arrest and torture of female anti-war protesters.

Also named are Russian special forces commander Major General Nikolai Kuznetsov and tank commander Colonel Ramil Ibatullin, whose units are accused of systematic acts of rape and sexual violence in Ukraine.

11:47 AM

Russian court jails activist who opposes Ukraine war for 8.5 years

A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced the founder of an opposition social media platform to nearly nine years in jail on charges of spreading "false" information about the army, Russian news agencies reported.

Dmitry Ivanov, 23, who ran a protest channel on the Telegram social network for students of Moscow State University, denied any wrongdoing. Ivanov told the court he stood by his original statements which he said were factually accurate.

He reportedly shared posts critical of what Russian President Vladimir Putin describes as Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

The verdict is the latest in a series of rulings under legislation that critics say is designed to criminalise opposition of the Russian intervention.

11:20 AM

Kremlin says it does not recognise Western price cap on its oil

The Kremlin has said it does not recognise the price cap imposed on its oil exports by Western countries, after the United States said that the cap was "working well".

Washington was one of the key architects of the Western price cap on Russian oil, which aims to drive down Moscow's revenues used to fund its invasion of Ukraine.

"We do not and will not recognise any cap. We are working so that this system does not harm our own interests," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Russia's economy has proved remarkably resilient in the face of tough Western sanctions, but the price cap has complicated its efforts to sell oil globally.

US officials argue that the price cap is working, as Russia's Urals blend - a benchmark of Moscow's exports - sells at a steep discount to international marker Brent.

"I think the beauty of the process is that it is working and that Russian oil and Russian products are being traded below the price cap," US Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein said on Monday.

10:54 AM

Belarus detains 'terrorist' behind airbase sabotage attack

Belarus on Tuesday claimed to have detained what it said was a "terrorist" working with Ukrainian and US intelligence services over attempted sabotage at a Belarusian air field, the Belta news agency reported, citing President Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarusian anti-government activists said last month they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military surveillance aircraft in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, a claim disputed by Moscow and Minsk.

"The Security Service of Ukraine, the leadership of the CIA, behind closed doors, are carrying out an operation against the Republic of Belarus. A terrorist was trained," Belta quoted Mr Lukashenko as saying.

The suspect detained over the attack against the Beriev A-50 surveillance plane is a dual Russian-Ukrainian national, Belta also cited the President as saying.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has allowed Moscow to use its territory to launch attacks on Ukraine since the beginning of its military campaign against Kyiv a year ago.

10:29 AM

Lukashenko admits Russian spy plane damaged in drone attack

Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian President, has admitted that an audacious drone attack damaged a Russian spy plane at an airbase in his country.

It is the first time that a senior Russian or Belarusian leader has commented on the attack, which was claimed by Belarusian partisans.

Belarus's Belta news agency on Tuesday quoted the President as saying that the aircraft had sustained light damage in the attack.

Satellite imagery appeared to show damage to the A-50 spy plane - MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/Reuters

10:01 AM

Capture of Bakhmut will allow further offensives in Ukraine, says Russia's Shoigu

The seizure of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine would allow Russian forces to mount further offensive operations, Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defence Minister, has said.

Gen Shoigu also said the West was increasing its arms deliveries to Ukraine, but vowed they would not change the course of events on the battlefield.

09:41 AM

Russian losses far greater than Ukraine's in Bakhmut, says Nato

Approximately five Russian soldiers have died for every Ukrainian soldier killed in the battle for Bakhmut, according to Nato.

Russia's Wagner mercenary group has led a brutal assault on the eastern town that has lasted for months, suffering heavy casualties in its effort to seize Bakhmut.

An unidentified Nato official told CNN late on Monday that the five-to-one death ratio was an estimate based on the bloc's intelligence.

The official noted however that Ukraine was also suffering heavy losses in its defence of the town.

09:10 AM

Ukraine begins talks with partners on grain deal extension

Ukraine has started online talks with partners on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative aimed at ensuring Kyiv can keep shipping grain to global markets, a senior Ukrainian government source has said.

The source said Ukraine had not held discussions with Russia, which blockaded Ukrainian Black Sea ports after its invasion last year, but that it was Kyiv's understanding that its partners were talking to Moscow.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July and was extended in November. It is due to expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed.

08:51 AM

Ukraine accuses Louis Vuitton of endorsing Russian invasion

A top aide to Volodymyr Zelensky has accused French fashion house Louis Vuitton of being drenched in blood for posting an advertisement he claimed featured the colours of the Russia flag and a V symbol.

The Russian military uses "V" as a symbol meaning strength in truth and the letter "Z" meaning for victory, according to the Defence Ministry.

Launched to promote its show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday, the Louis Vuitton advertisement shows the unfurling of a large blue, red and white flag.

Read more from Henry Samuel here

08:31 AM

Prisoner of war hailed a hero for declaring glory to Ukraine moments before execution

A Ukrainian prisoner of war gunned down in cold blood after saying glory to Ukraine in front of his Russian captors has been hailed as a martyr.

In footage shared on social media, the lone man smokes a cigarette in a clearing in a forest while Russian guns are pointed at him.

In his last moments, he defiantly says slava Ukraini - the Ukrainian war motto - before being shot to death in repeated bursts of gunfire.

Read more from Joe Barnes and Verity Bowman here

It is unclear where or for what unit the Ukrainian soldier had been fighting when he was captured.

08:16 AM

Ukraine wants US to send cluster bombs so it can take them apart to drop from drones

Ukraine has broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalise to drop the anti-armor bomblets it contains on Russian forces from drones, according to two US politicians.

Kyiv has urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve sending the weapons but it is by no means certain that the Biden administration will sign off on that.

Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians if they fail to detonate and remain on the ground.

Ukraine is seeking the MK-20, an air-delivered cluster bomb, to release its individual explosives from drones, said US Representatives Jason Crow and Adam Smith, who both serve on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. That is in addition to 155 mm artillery cluster shells that Ukraine already has requested, they said.

07:39 AM

Russian forces resort to makeshift tankenstein vehicles

Russia is welding ageing naval turrets onto old armoured vehicles to make crude tanks as Vladimir Putins forces face worsening arms shortages.

The crudely engineered vehicles are being deployed in a likely attempt to shoot down Ukrainian drones as the armed forces grapple with crippling shortages of armoured vehicles and ammunition.

New footage from an undisclosed location appears to show a 25mm 2M-3 twin-barrelled naval anti-aircraft turret fitted to a Soviet-era MT-LB amphibious fighting vehicle to form a new hybrid weapon.

Read more from Joe Barnes here

07:33 AM

Mud hampers Ukraine's Bakhmut resupply efforts

Muddy conditions around Bakhmut are likely hampering Ukraine's efforts to resupply its troops, according to the Ministry of Defence.

In its daily intelligence briefing, the ministry said: "Muddy conditions are likely hampering Ukrainian resupply efforts as they increasingly resort to using unpaved tracks."

Numerous reports have suggested that Ukrainian troops defending the eastern town are running seriously low on ammunition as they battle to hold back Russia's advance.

"The Ukrainian defence of Bakhmut continues to degrade forces on both sides," the ministry said. "Over the weekend, Ukrainian forces likely stabilised their defensive perimeter following previous Russian advances into the north of the town."

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 7 March 2023



Find out more about Defence Intelligence: https://t.co/5TdU6qsbqH pic.twitter.com/0BPha4pqqO  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) March 7, 2023

07:25 AM

China claims Ukraine crisis driven by 'invisible hand'

The Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict, China's foreign minister Qin Gang has claimed.

The "invisible hand" is "using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas", Mr Qin said on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing, calling for dialogue to begin as soon as possible.
An estimated 60 Ukrainian aircraft have been downed since Russia's invasion began a year ago, but Moscow has lost more than 70, the top U.S. Air Force commander in Europe said.

Gen. James Hecker, speaking at the Air and Space Forces Association's Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, said that Russias larger air force failed to establish air superiority in the early days of the war and that a virtual stalemate now exists in the skies, Air and Space Forces Magazine reports.

Russian, as well as the Ukrainian, success in integrated air and missile defense have made much of those aircraft worthless, Hecker said. "Both of their integrated air and missile defense, especially when youre talking about going against aircraft, theyve been very effective. And thats why theyre not flying over one anothers country.

Russian air defenses are located in Russia, Belarus and parts of occupied Ukraine, he said. That will make it difficult for Ukraine to use air power in a counteroffensive the Ukrainians are planning for spring and summer. Hecker said the U.S. is providing AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, jerry-rigged to work with the countrys Soviet-designed fighters.

Obviously, theyre not as integrated with the airplane as it would be if theyre on the U.S. aircraft, so they do have limitations, Hecker said. But theyre doing a pretty good job.

'WE WILL FIND THE KILLERS': Outrage over video showing Ukrainian soldier's apparent execution; military wants to defend Bakhmut

Developing:

130 Ukrainian prisoners, most of them with serious injuries, were returned by the Russians, Ukraine presidential spokesman Andriy Yermak said. Russia announced that 90 of its soldiers had been released.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak said 10 more German-made Leopard 2 tanks will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days. Four of the first 14 tanks promised by Poland already have been delivered; Poland says it will send 60 more in coming months. More than 300 tanks have been promised to Ukraine from Western allies.

Story continues

Drones have been banned in 28 Russian regions since a spate of what appeared to be Ukrainian drone attacks last month across much of the country  including within 60 miles of Moscow.

Fewer than 4,000 civilians remain in the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Tuesday. The industrial city was home to more than 70,000 before the war.

Ukrainian ambassador says country will 'defend every inch' of its territory

With the Russian military refusing to relent in its assault on Bakhmut, Ukraines ambassador to the United States reiterated Tuesday that the embattled nation is committed to protecting all of its land.

We will defend every inch of our territory because defending our territory and actually liberating it is a priority. Because we need to not only restore the territorial integrity but we need to save lives, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova told USA TODAY.

Markarova said the Ukrainian military has demonstrated it is very capable and effective, and that while it sometimes makes tactical movements on the ground, the goal is to liberate all of Ukraines citizens from occupied areas.

We are in awe of how our brave defenders are defending everything, we are at awe (of) how the fortress Bakhmut, as we call it, stands for such a long time, she said. We trust our military commanders and the president as our supreme commander in this war.

-- Francesca Chambers

Ukrainian military tentatively identifies soldier shot in grisly video

The unarmed man seen apparently getting shot to death by Russian speakers in an unverified video that has sparked outrage was tentatively identified Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier.

The Ukrainian militarys general staff said his name was Tymofii Shadura but added the identification is based on preliminary information. Shadura had been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during fighting in the Bakhmut area of the eastern Donetsk province, the 30th Mechanized Brigade said on a Facebook post.

Ukrainian officials have denounced the killing as a war crime, and the countrys top prosecutor announced a criminal investigation.

In the unauthenticated 12-second clip, which has been circulating widely on social media, the uniformed soldier is seen standing in a wooded area and smoking a cigarette.

Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says, Glory to Ukraine and is hit by gunshots, falling into a shallow hole in the ground. A voice then says, Die and an expletive in Russian.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among those expressing indignation over the video, saying Monday, I want us all together, in unity, to respond to (the soldiers) words: 'Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine!' And we will find the killers.

The Russian military did not immediately reply to questions about the video from The Associated Press.

Russian defense minister: Bakhmut is crucial for control of Donbas

Taking control of Bakhmut  known as Artemovsk in Russia  would allow Russian forces to advance deep inside the Donbas region of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin covets, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday. Shoigu was explaining why Russia was fighting so long and hard for the relatively small city. Russia has lost thousands of soldiers and extensive military hardware trying to seize Bakhmut but has failed to encircle the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday night that his military commanders were unwilling to retreat from the city, adding that he and other top Ukrainian leaders "unanimously supported this position."

Russian protester sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for 'fake news'

A Moscow court sentenced a student activist to 8 years in prison for social media posts criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine as the Kremlin stepped up its crackdown on dissent fueled by the invasion. Dmitry Ivanov, 23, was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army, a criminal offense under a new law.

Prosecutors described as "fake news" Ivanov's posts accusing the military of murdering Ukrainian civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure. Ivanov also refused to use Putin's term  special military operation  instead of "war."

The case drew added interest because the judge approved a defense request to issue summons for Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose words Ivanov contradicted. They never appeared in court, however.

Priests walk to the cemetery during the funeral of Vladyslav Bondarenko 26, in Kozyntsi, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 6, 2023.

US providing Ukraine with bombs that extend strike capability

The U.S. has begun supplying Ukraine with JDAM precision-guided bombs that have extended the Ukrainians strike capability, Hecker said. He said that allows Ukraine to hit targets beyond the range rockets fired by the HIMARS launchers that have drawn rave reviews from military experts. The bombs have a range of nearly 50 miles; the U.S. has declined to provide Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles, which have a range of nearly 200 miles.

Weve just got them some precision munitions that had some extended range and can go a little bit further, Hecker said. Thats a recent capability that we were able to give them probably in the last three weeks.

Ukraine has asked for U.S. fighter jets such as F-16s, but the Biden administration has declined to provide them.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine live updates: Ukraine has shot down 70 Russian jets during war
Training of Ukrainian soldiers in Great Britain

Great Britain. Early morning. Engines roar at a military training ground in the forest. Four heavy military vehicles rush down a country road at full speed. They are AS-90 self-propelled howitzers  British artillery systems which first began serial production in the 1990s. Each weighs 45 tons, armed with a 155 mm gun with a 25 km range. The British military has been the main user of this system, but now Ukrainians are learning how to operate it.

Read also: Ukraine will ultimately join NATO, UK PM Sunak says

In mid-February, at the Munich Security Conference, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that his country would supply Ukraine with long-range ammunition and air defense systems. In addition, Great Britain, one of the leading donors of military equipment to Ukraine, was the first to promise the transfer of modern Western tanks, pledging a company of Challenger 2s. This is in addition to many other types of much-needed weapons that the UK has provided to Ukraine. The other side of the coin of this military support is the training of the Ukrainian military.

According to current plans, 20,000 soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will undergo various kinds of training in the UK over the course of 2023.

NVs correspondent visited the training grounds of Ukrainian tankers, artillerymen, and infantry at UK training grounds, which were green even in February.

***

Every Ukrainian defender who arrives for training in the UK undergoes combined arms training  an analogue of the course for a young fighter in Ukraine, but according to NATO standards. In the process of training, the British, together with Ukrainian officers, do a reselection of the troops who have arrived, determining who will be an artilleryman, tanker, infantry soldier, sapper, and recon scout.

Part of the combined arms training is preparing for the de-occupation of Ukrainian cities. In Britain, there is a special center with low-rise urban buildings, where soldiers practice the skills of storming and clearing the enemy in street battles.

Story continues

According to the scenario of the exercises, several advanced units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces enter Russian-occupied Melitopol and carry out a cleansing of the area. They need to neutralize the enemy firing from the windows of neighboring houses.

Visibility is limited due to smoke grenades and the air thick with the smoke of burning. One unit takes up positions along the wall of a two-story building. The second is near another building, on the flank. The soldiers move in small columns back to back.

The British instructor orders them to open fire on the windows. Here, on the second floor, the enemy appears. He confidently shoots back, then disappears. To neutralize him, the group needs to go up to the second floor.

The Ukrainian soldier feels the perimeter of the door frame for stretch marks. Then he taps his neighbor on the shoulder, upon which he breaks into the building. The most difficult moment of street fighting is entering a building occupied by the enemy.

These urban conditions, the instructor continues, are the most difficult to fight in, since the enemy has many places to hide.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainians hesitated before entering the first house.

Look out the windows, they say to each other along their chain from the beginning to the end of the squad.

A series of blank shots  and the enemy is still neutralized.

Plus one, someone shouts.

Plus two, is heard after a while.

I immediately saw his head!  the soldier excitedly tells his comrade.

Gentlemen, boys, come on, the translator translates the words of the British instructor.

The intensity of communication between Ukrainians and the British is ensured by at least 300 civilian interpreters in all centers and bases of the United Kingdom where training is being held.

Now the Ukrainians are waiting for their debriefing: at the end of each training session, their British instructors lay out their students mistakes.

20-year-old serviceman Andriy (he, like all other Ukrainians undergoing military training in the UK, did not give his last name to NV for security reasons) came to these exercises with combat experience from the liberation of Kyiv Oblast. He had volunteered for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the age of 18.

Andriy explains to NV the mistake his group made: when one soldier eners the building, the other two are supposed to remain outside, with the first aiming at the door, and the second acting as a shield towards the enemy. His troika all tumbled through the door together.

The main problem of urban fighting is that you never know where the enemy is hiding and whether there is someone behind the wall, says Andriy.

You have to be always ready to meet him around the corner.

Ukrainian fighter with the call sign Guf on training in Britain Dmytro Bobrytskyi

In Andrei's group, there is a serviceman with the call sign Guf. He was abroad when the full-scale invasion began.

I tried to get into the French Foreign Legion, but I couldnt gain a foothold there, says Guf.

As soon as I learned that a war had begun in Ukraine, I returned and signed a contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

***

Another part of the exercises concerns military operations in open areas. 25 soldiers attack positions, while another 25 fight back.

An enemy drone hovers over the Ukrainian trenches. A series of rolling booms is heard, imitating artillery. And now a group of enemy troops descends from the hill like a thin ribbon. The British instructor rushes to the left flank at full speed and gives the command to the Ukrainians to suppress the enemy with fire.

The turmoil, the screams, and the clatter of blank rounds firing. The Ukrainians need to arrange evacuation under these conditions  leaving the battle and bringing their wounded to the other side of the hill. Due to the chaos, several soldiers do not hear the order to retreat and remain in the trenches.

Some hundred meters from what is happening, a couple of British civilians are taking a horseback ride. They ride on white and black horses, and neither they nor their horses can understand what is happening here.

Training of Ukrainian infantry at a training ground in Great Britain Sgt Jimmy Wise / UK MOD

A lanky young instructor with an appearance straight out of central casting explains to NV: in the chaos of battle, soldiers do not hear each other, and they even sometimes dont receive orders. Therefore, he recommends shouting louder for better communication.

According to him, Ukrainian soldiers do not receive such assessments during the exercises, but nevertheless, the coherence of actions during the exercises must meet a certain standard.

In addition to British instructors, there are Canadians working here with the Ukrainians. They are considered the tougher trainers, one of the interpreters explains to NV, since they are more involved in training sappers, whose mistakes are more costly than those of infantry.

***

Under the vigilant monitoring of their British instructors, the Ukrainians are in a hurry to drive their self-propelled guns to pre-planted flags and quickly deploy their guns into combat positions. The crew consists of five people. There is also an instructor and an interpreter. After several repetitions, the crew of one of the self-propelled guns is running far behind the rest. However, they will still have time to polish their skills.

This is the first course that the British Army has started to run for the Ukrainians in artillery, Colonel Ed Cotterill, chief self-propelled gun (SPG) instructor, tells NV.

He, along with 70 other Britons, are helping Ukrainians to master this system. The entire course will last several weeks, and some of the Ukrainian soldiers have already completed a related course on spotting targets for artillery.

A Ukrainian artillery battalion commander named Serhiy will soon be given British self-propelled guns into his command in Ukraine. He does not hold back his emotions, because he used to command 1960s-vintage Soviet artillery models like the MT-12 (Rapier) and D-30.

According to him, the instructors respond to any requests that arise during the training. Serhiy is also confident that self-propelled guns will not gather dust in Ukraine due to a lack of shells.

If the British provide equipment, then they supply shells, says Serhiy.

The British have a pretty tight fix on personnel security. We [in the Ukrainian Armed Forces] are a bit simpler.

Overall, Ukrainians are full of praise for their opportunity to study in the UK: not only is the infrastructure better here than in Ukraine, but they can fully focus on the training itself and not waste time taking cover during air raids.

A native of the Sumy Oblast, Oleksander diligently loads the self-propelled guns. He spent a month under occupation, and came into the army in December when a conscription summons was placed in his mailbox. There was a medical examination, and a week later Oleksander was sent to a training center where he underwent basic training. Great Britain is the first country he has been to outside Ukraine.

Oleksander says that in his village, six neighbors were mobilized before him.

When you go outside or to work, you somehow feel uncomfortable, he says.

People are already serving, and you seem to be inferior. This is the rural psychology. Perhaps in cities people live in their buildings and do not see each other for years. We all know each other very well."

He gives the British food an A++, while giving the Ukrainian food which he tried in training a C, though he understands that this is the best he can expect in a country at war.

British self-propelled guns AS-90 Dmytro Bobrytskyi

The training on self-propelled guns is structured like this: there is a theoretical component in the classroom, a driver's component on the training ground where the skill of maneuvers is worked out, and a shooting component on special simulators. There is a similar training program for the Challenger 2 tanks. Target engagement is perfected in a huge hangar with several simulators that precisely replicate the cabin of an SPG or a tank.

It's as noisy as a bowling alley on the weekend. The Ukrainians load shells into the barrel, and then, after their simulated shot, they do not hit the target, but fall onto a special conveyor to be used again.

Live firing takes place only in the last days of the artillery and tank course.

***

Training goes on six days a week for eight to nine hours a day. Combat crews alternate with each other throughout the day  from the training ground to the simulator. They also work through scenarios for manually operating the SPGs guidance and loading in case of a complete or partial failure of the electronics. There is also time for troubleshooting.

"It's first-class!" one Ukrainian says of his training in Britain.

In his hands is a 45-kilogram 155-mm training projectile, which he must hoist into one of the 40 launch cells. However, as soon as this correspondent approached his comrade for an interview, a stout British instructor shouts with displeasure from the training cabin, saying that press must not interfere with the training process.

Training on tanks follows a similar pattern as on the SPGs. The only difference is that Challenger 2 drivers practice their skills on a training tank with a transparent turret so that several people can fit in there at once, including an instructor. After working out the basic elements of tank control on an asphalt section of the road, the next stage begins - practicing skills on a tank training ground, reminiscent of a rally track with a corresponding level of dirt.

I was able to handle the Challenger 2 on the very first day of training, because I had previously driven a T-80, tanker Oleksander says with a smile.

His combat record includes participation in the counter-offensive operation to liberate Izyum and Lyman.

Although in dry numbers the Soviet car is lighter and faster than its British counterpart, Oleksander argues, the Challenger 2 has a far superior suspension, ride, and handling.

He is not yet accustomed to some features of the British tank. For example, the driver is in a prone position in the Challenger while in combat.

The tank is too comfortable  you can fall asleep, and there is also a handbrake, says Oleksander.

He is satisfied with the training: the British provide information about combat vehicles simply and in detail, which allows a warrior of any level of training to master new equipment.

Dmytro Bobrytskyi

If they cannot immediately answer some tricky question from us, then they raise the literature and come with an answer the next day, says Oleksander.

His colleague is no less impressed by the capabilities of the British tank.

The rifled gun shows much better accuracy of fire, he says, comparing the Challenger with the T-80.

90% of the time, the projectile hits the target and can fire from 6 km, while Soviet tanks hit objects the first time only 40% of the time, while having half the effective range or lower.

The Ukrainian soldier does not hide his delight at the reception provided by the British. Everything is excellent here: the attitude of the instructors, the living conditions, and the well-organized educational process.

One of the commanders of the unit, which is returning to Ukraine after the end of the training course, says that the British are too loyal to the Ukrainians and dont particularly drive the exercises. However, he is nearly the only person that NV spoke to who expressed dissatisfaction with the training.

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
Oleksiy Danilov

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, said on Ukrainian national television on March 7 that claims there was a dispute between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi regarding the defense of the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast were false

Read also: Ukrainian army to hold Bakhmut as long as it is reasonable, President Zelenskyy says

I want to say that someone really wants us to have discord here, Danilov said.

Id (also) would like to point out that internal destabilization has always been one of Russias goals.

Read also: Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut continues to degrade forces on both sides, says UK intelligence

Danilov said Russia cannot defeat Ukraine by military means, so it is now trying the tactic of internal destabilization.

Russia is considering the issue of the so-called Minsk-3 (agreements) today, and they (Russians) are doing everything possible and impossible for this, the official added referring to an earlier peace agreement that scaled back the fighting in 2015, but did not halt it.

Earlier, German newspaper Bild, citing its sources in the Ukrainian political leadership, claimed there were disagreements between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi regarding the further actions of the Ukrainian military in the Bakhmut area.

Read also: More than hell. What is going on in Bakhmut and how long will the defense last?

According to Bilds sources, a few weeks ago, Zaluzhnyi recommended that Zelenskyy think about withdrawing the Ukrainian defense forces from Bakhmut for tactical reasons.

In turn, Zelenskyy denied there was a conflict with Zaluzhnyi.

In a video address on March 6, Zelenskyy emphasized that both Zaluzhnyi and the Commander of Ukraines Ground Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, had informed him about the situation in Bakhmut during a meeting of the Ukrainian High Command.

Unfortunately, there are many disinformation messages from those who cant even hear completely closed conversations about defense, but claim about some defense decisions, the president said.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine dismissed accusations of Ukraines participation in the incident on the Machulishchy airfield voiced by Alexander Lukashenko, self-proclaimed President of Belarus, calling it "an act of impotence".

Source: Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Facebook

Quote: "We categorically reject Alexander Lukashenkos insinuations in regards to Ukraines alleged participation in the events on the Machulishchy airfield.

It is evident that it is yet another attempt to create a phoney threat posed by Ukraine in order to justify his [Lukashenkos  ed.] support of Russian aggression

Lukashenko has also allowed himself a gross personal rebuke of the President of Ukraine. We would not leave this act of impotence unanswered."

Details: Nikolenko has called to search for threats in Russia as opposed to Ukraine, as it uses all the means to "try to involve Belarus in the war even more, stripping it of its independence and sovereignty".

Previously: Lukashenko said that Belarus had supposedly detained a "terrorist of the Ukrainian secret services" and his accomplices, who were "involved in an attempted sabotage of an A-50 aircraft at the Machulishchy airfield".

The Belarusian dictator also believes that Ukraine has challenged Belarus with the "sabotage" of the A-50 radar plane at Machulishchy airfield; he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "louse" for this.

According to him, more than 20 people have been detained in Belarus, who are supposedly involved in the explosion of the A-50 plane in Machulishchy.

Background:

On 26 February, explosions occurred at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus in the morning. Later, there was information that a Russian A-50 military aircraft was damaged.

Alexander Azarov, Head of the BYPOL initiative, reported that Belarusian partisans were involved in sabotage at the Machulishchy airbase in Belarus. According to Azarov, the participants of the alleged sabotage in Machulishchy had left Belarus and are now safe.

After the explosion, the entourage of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus claimed that the A-50 was fine and posted allegedly "fresh videos", although the military monitoring media outlet Belaruski Hajun reported that the Russian aircraft flew to Taganrog, Russia, for repairs.

Andrii Yusov, representative of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, said that Russia cannot currently produce A-50 AWACS aircraft, one of which was probably damaged at the Belarusian Machulishchy airbase.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, released a video of an educational conversation with Russian prisoners of war who were returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange on Tuesday.

Source: Dmytro Lubinets, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, on Telegram

Quote from Lubinets:

 I represent the Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. What questions, problems, suggestions, complaints do you have while you stayed illegally in Ukraine? Do you have any?

 No [In Russian  ed.].

 Are they absent? No complaints? Were you treated normally? What about food?

 Yeah.

 I hope we won't see each other again!?

 No.

 Promise, guys?

 Yeah.

 You have the same institution [Commissioner for Human Rights  ed.] in Russia. It is run by Tatyana Moskalkova, if you have heard of her. If they want to send you here again, you have the right to contact her. She is ready to help you. I hope so. Yeah?

 Yeah.

Details: Lubinets called this format of conversation traditional.

Background:

On 7 March, as a result of the negotiation process, another exchange of captured soldiers between Ukraine and Russia took place; Kyiv brought back 130 defenders.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!






Defense forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian aircraft

Over the past day, the Ukrainian Air Force carried out 15 air strikes on concentrations of Russian troops, as well as a strike on an anti-aircraft missile system at its firing position.

Rocket and artillery units struck a command post, eight concentrations of enemy troops, two air defense facilities, an artillery unit at its firing position, an ammunition depot, and an enemy radar station.

Read also: Six Su-34 fighter jets disappear from airfield in Russias Yeysk

The Ukrainian Air Force reported on March 3 that anti-aircraft gunners from the Nikopol Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of Air Command East shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter near Russian-occupied Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast.

Video of the plane, on fire and dropping vertically towards the ground, circulated on social media shortly after reports of the shoot-down started coming in.

Later, photos of the wreckage of the downed plane also appeared.

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
Streets of Bakhmut destroyed by Russian strikes, March 3, 2023

This battle could completely deplete the best forces of Russias Wagner mercenary company and inflict losses on other elite units, depriving Russia of some of its most effective strike forces, ISW analysts said.

Statements by a number of Ukrainian officials about their intention to continue defending Bakhmut are likely at least partly in response to ongoing concerns expressed by some U.S. officials about the cost to Ukraine of continuing to defend Bakhmut, ISW analysts said, commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's latest statements.

The Ukrainian leader on March 6 said he had ordered reinforcements to be sent to Bakhmut and there was unanimity of opinion with Ukrainian Generals Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Oleksandr Syrskyi on the need to continue the defense of the Donbas town.

Read also: Ukrainian army reveals two key tasks of Bakhmut defense

Advisor to the Presidents Office Mykhailo Podolyak also said on March 6 that the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut had "achieved its goals" and was a significant strategic success.

ISW experts note that the town is not inherently significant from an operational or strategic point of view, but the capture of Bakhmut is a necessary (though not sufficient) condition for Russia's further advance in Donetsk Oblast.

However, Russian forces have already suffered such heavy losses in the battle for the settlement that their offensive is likely to culminate after they capture it  if not before, ISW said.

Thus, even the loss of Bakhmut should not pose a serious operational or strategic problem for Ukraine, as previously confirmed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Still, the fight for Bakhmut has become strategically important for Ukraine because of the current composition of Russian forces stationed in the area. Some Western reports have recently suggested that the Ukrainian army is expending manpower and ammunition mainly on Wagner PMC recruits  former prisoners who are common cannon fodder  making such losses unprofitable for Ukraine even if the ratio of Russian to Ukrainian casualties is high.

Story continues

Read also: Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut continues to degrade forces on both sides, says UK intelligence

In general, ISW states that this observation has merit, although the number of combat-ready Russian prisoners is not unlimited, and the final destruction of tens of thousands of them in Bakhmut means that they will not be available for more important battles.

Moreover, the Russian forces fighting in Bakhmut now consist not only of convicts, but also of elite elements of the Wagner PMC and Russian airborne troops (VDV), along with other lower-quality units. The new Ukrainian intelligence data on the involvement of more "high-quality" troops in the Bakhmut battle coincides with ISW's previous observations of an increase in Russian airborne troops in the Bakhmut area since late December.

In fact, the battle for Bakhmut could severely deplete Wagner's best troops, depriving Russia of some of its most effective strike troops, who will be difficult to replace. ISW recalls that Wagner's offensive had already reached a climax once (previously in the Bakhmut area  ed.), forcing the Russian Ministry of Defense to deploy some of its elite airborne troops to the battle.

It is quite possible that the offensive on Bakhmut will again culminate before the town is taken, forcing the Russian army to choose between abandoning further offensive efforts or having to throw even more high-quality troops into the battle. Hence, there is an opportunity for Ukraine to deal a blow to the most elite Russian troops in defensive battles in urban areas, where the enemy's attrition gradient significantly favors the Ukrainian Armed Forces, ISW said.

At the same time, recent statements by Wagner PMC financier Yevgeny Prigozhin indicate that he is probably dissatisfied and has reservations about his forces being wasted in this way.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is returning to its previous (and ineffective) practice of recruiting "volunteers" for the war and covert mobilization, apparently to avoid another large forced conscription of "reservists." ISW analysts have noticed that Russian Telegram channels have started advertising recruitment to "volunteer battalions" again after such calls were stopped in September 2022, at the beginning of the "partial mobilization" in Russia.

Additionally, some local Russian officials are now setting up mobile recruitment centers to promote "voluntary" military service under contract, a phenomenon ISW observed between late May 2022 and September 2022. Russian ultra-nationalist social media also increasingly advertise recruitment for Wagner PMC units in nearly 30 cities across Russia, and Ukrainian officials have documented cases of the Russian military recruiting teenagers born in 2006 in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Such recruitment campaigns may indicate that the Kremlin is running out of combat-ready reserves to continue Russian offensive operations after the Battle of Bakhmut and unsuccessful offensives around Vuhledar and in Luhansk Oblast.

Previously, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched similar campaigns in late May 2022, when the Russian military began to run out of reserves during a grueling offensive on the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk line  more than a month before the Russian offensive reached its climax and was exhausted in Luhansk Oblast. Perhaps the Kremlin is now repeating similar efforts in the hope that the involvement of such irregular forces will be enough to keep the initiative of the Russian army on the front line, ISW analysts said.

However, Russian veterans and "milbloggers" have noted that Russia will not be able to achieve its goals and reach the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast without a large-scale mobilization of personnel, the economy, and industry.

The resumption of volunteer recruitment and covert mobilization campaigns probably also indicates that the Kremlin will launch the next wave of mobilization no earlier than the summer of 2023, as the spring conscription cycle is due to begin on April 1. Earlier, Western officials suggested that since January 2023, Putin had been postponing the announcement of the second wave of mobilization and was leaning toward a "quiet mobilization" due to concerns about the stability of his regime.

Since the fall of 2022, ISW has observed numerous signs that Russia was preparing to conduct a second wave of mobilization, but Putin missed this mobilization window to avoid further escalating tensions in Russian society. Now, the Russian Defense Ministry is unlikely to be able to actively mobilize reservists in the near future, the Institute's analysts predict.

They note that Russian military enlistment offices have the administrative capacity to raise only 130,000 conscripts per six-month cycle.

Other conclusions of ISW analysts over the past day:

regarding the high-profile video of the Russian military shooting a Ukrainian prisoner, ISW stresses that "executing POWs without a prior judgement from a regularly constituted court is a violation of Article III of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War";

A reportedly captured Russian military manual suggests that Russian forces intend to use the newly created assault detachment elements in urban warfare;

Russian forces utilized a new type of guided aerial bomb, the UPAB-1500 B, against Ukrainian targets amid continued precision missile shortages;

Russian forces continued to conduct ground attacks northwest of Svatove and near Kreminna in Luhansk Oblast;

Russian forces secured territorial gains in Bakhmut, but have not yet encircled the city or forced Ukrainian forces to withdraw;

Russian forces continued to conduct ground attacks near Avdiyivka and west of Donetsk City;

Russian forces continue struggling to maintain fire control over the DniproRiver Delta in Kherson Oblast;

Russian military command is failing to properly equip its forces despite forces increasingly conducting close combat in Ukraine.

Battle map: battle for Bakhmut, fighting in Donbas and Zaporizhzhya Oblast, situation in the south and northeast of Ukraine

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia has lost 154,830 soldiers, 3,432 tanks, 6,714 armoured combat vehicles, 2,456 artillery systems and 303 fixed-wing aircraft in its war against Ukraine.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Details: Total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 7 March 2023 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

approximately 154,830 (+1,060) military personnel,

3,432 (+9) tanks,

6,714 (+11) armoured combat vehicles,

2,456 (+23) artillery systems,

488 (+0) multiple-launch rocket systems,

253 (+3) air defence systems,

303 (+1) fixed-wing aircraft,

289 (+0) helicopters,

2,095 (+9) operational-tactical UAVs,

873 (+0) cruise missiles,

18 (+0) ships/boats,

5,323 (+16) vehicles and tankers,

236 (+2) special vehicles and other equipment.

The data is being confirmed.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
British intelligence reported on the situation in Bahmut

UK intelligence said that over the weekend, Ukrainian forces likely stabilized their defensive perimeter following previous Russian advances into the north of the town.

Read also: ISW says fighting for Bakhmut exhausting Russians, preparing ground for Ukrainian counter-offensive

A Russian strike destroyed a bridge over the only paved supply road into Bakhmut still under Ukrainian control around March 2, the ministry said in its daily summary.

Muddy conditions are likely hampering Ukrainian resupply efforts as they increasingly resort to using unpaved tracks.

The agency also notes that public disagreements between the Wagner Group and Russian Ministry of Defense over the allocation of munitions highlights Russias difficulty in sustaining the high levels of personnel and ammunition required to advance with their current tactics.

Read also: Russia losing five times more soldiers in Bakhmut than Ukraine, NATO assesses

Heavy fighting for Bakhmut has been underway for more than six months. According to Ukraines Defense Ministry, Russia loses up to 500 soldiers killed and wounded every day, trying to storm the town. This figure exceeds Ukrainian losses by five times, according to NATO intelligence.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military leadership announced on March 6 that the defense operation would continue in Bakhmut.

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
Ukrainian soldiers in the area of Bakhmut

Read also: Ukraine Air Forces carry out 12 strikes on enemy positions

According to the report, on March 4, Ukrainian assault brigades pushed against Russian positions, carrying out a ground assault and a number of artillery strikes on enemy formations.

Before starting the offensive, Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops away from the last remaining highway to Bakhmut. This allowed Ukraine to maintain a supply line and an escape route  in case the troops need to withdraw from the city.

Vladislav, the commander of an artillery battery located 6-8 kilometers from the outskirts of Bakhmut, told reporters that Ukrainian fighters repel 15 to 20 enemy attacks every day and fire 80 to 120 shells a day on average, adding theres still an ammunition shortage.

The enemy would send 20 guys to attack, six to seven times a day, said Oleksandr, a company commander who participated in assaulting Russian Wagner Group PMC positions south of Bakhmut.

Read also: At meeting with president, Zaluzhnyi and Syrskyi support continuation of defense operation in Bakhmut

Imagine: Twenty guys come; we kill them. In five minutes, 20 more guys come; we kill them. In an hour  20 more. They dont care about people.

On March 5, the Commander of Ukraines Ground Forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, arrived in Bakhmut. This is his third visit to the city in recent weeks.

Read also: Russia losing five times more soldiers in Bakhmut than Ukraine, NATO assesses

On March 6, during a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Ukrainian military leadership spoke in favor of continuing the defensive operation in Bakhmut and further reinforcing Ukrainian positions there.

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
via Telegram

A Ukrainian soldier who was filmed by Russian troops being executed by firing squad had been missing since early February, Ukrainian authorities revealed Tuesday.

Timofei Shadura was seen in a video circulated by Russian propagandists earlier this week. Upon being told he was being filmed, Shadura appeared ready to meet his fatehe stood and faced his executioners, and, taking one last drag from a cigarette, said, Glory to Ukraine!

His killers, who were all out of view of the camera, immediately opened fire with machine guns, before the unknown cameraman bitterly said, Die, bitch.

Ukraines Defense Ministry on Tuesday said Shadura had been among troops fending off a Russian takeover of Bakhmut. He was declared missing on Feb. 3 after intense fighting in the area.

Revenge will be inescapable, the commander of Ukraines 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade said.

At the moment, the body of the serviceman is in temporarily occupied territory. Final confirmation of his identity will occur upon return of the body and examinations, the brigade said.

Prior to the announcement, Shaduras sister, Olga, told a Ukrainian journalist she was 90 percent sure the soldier in the video was her brother.

A video appeared today showing how the invaders brutally killed a soldier who bravely looked in their eyes and said, Glory to Ukraine! I want us all together, in unity, to answer his words: Glory to the hero! Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine! And well find the killers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to the nation late Monday.

Russian officials have not yet commented on the video, but the Kremlins mouthpieces have already begun circulating conspiracy theories about it.

There is reason to believe that they shot our soldier, who was dressed in a Ukrainian uniform for the sake of an international scandal and to accuse our side of war crimes, Daniil Bezsonov, the deputy information minister of the Russias puppet republic in Donetsk wrote on Telegram.

Story continues

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, said on Monday that the global progress on womens rights has been disappointing, adding that worldwide gender equality appears to be centuries away.

During a General Assembly speech, Guterres said that progress in the womens rights movement has been vanishing for decades, noting ongoing issues such as threats to abortion rights and the current state of women and girls in Afghanistan living under Taliban rule.

Gender equality is growing more distant, he said. On the current track, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women puts it 300 years away.

Guterres called on world governments, civil society organizations and private sector groups to launch initiatives on gender equality, including increasing education, income and employment for women and girls and encouraging world leaders to promote womens and girls full participation and leadership in science and technology.

It calls for gender-responsive education and skills training, algorithms that align with human rights and gender equality and investment in bridging the digital gender divide, Guterres said. More than ever, we need collective action by Governments, civil society, the private sector and the technology community.

His comments come after the U.N.s economic and social council voted out Iran from its Commission on the Status of Women in December due to its governments ongoing repression of a women-led social movement, according to the Guardian.

Iranian authorities have cracked down on waves of protests in recent months sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested by authorities for improperly wearing her hijab, which violated Irans strict rules on female dress codes.

Protesters have been calling for an end to violence and discrimination toward women in the country and in some cases for the overthrow of the ruling regime.

Story continues

Women and girls will not be silenced, Guterres said. Their demands for their rights and freedoms echo around the globe.

The Commission on the Status of Women is a dynamo and catalyst for the transformation we need. Together, let us push back against the pushback on womens rights, against misogyny and forward for women, girls, and our world.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday criticised governments, including China and Russia, for restrictions on civil society in a speech that also took some Western states to task for their records on poverty and police violence.

The highly anticipated speech which mentioned dozens of countries was Turk's most comprehensive address to the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council since he took office in October, and was being closely watched by diplomats and rights groups to see what he would prioritise.

Turk, who is Austrian, said his main message to governments was to listen to people, victims and human rights defenders.

"Harsh restriction of the civic space is the Achilles heel - the fatal weakness - of governance," he said, mentioning incidents such as Beijing's "arbitrary detention" of human rights defenders and lawyers and Russia's closure of newspapers.

Turk opened the speech by referring to the "shocking magnitude" of the impact of the war in Ukraine, which would harm the rights of Ukrainians "for generations to come".

He censured Mali's military for "serious violations" and stressed the need for continued independent oversight of the situation in Ethiopia, after Reuters reported Addis Ababa was seeking to end a U.N. probe into alleged Tigray war atrocities.

In rarer criticism of Western democracies, Turk raised the issue of U.S. police violence against Blacks and a possible record drop in living standards in Britain, urging London to talk with striking workers.

He raised China's alleged rights' violations, including the large-scale detention of minority Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Turk said his office had opened up channels of communication to follow up on rights issues in China. Beijing vigorously denies all abuses.

"That's it?!," said Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, said in an email to Reuters on Turk's China comments. "He offers only quiet diplomacy," he added.

Story continues

Power in the 47-member council, which has the authority to launch rights investigations, has tipped towards autocracies in recent years. This has sometimes led to set-backs in Western-led efforts to boost scrutiny of individual countries' rights records, such as in Yemen or China.

Olaf Wientzek, director of the Geneva office of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation think tank, described the speech as a "balancing act" which sought to raise issues that were important to different regional groups, such as China and women's rights for Western countries; racism for African countries; and climate change for small island states.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; editing by Matthias Williams, Alex Richardson and Bernadette Baum)
A police officer on trial for his role in the violent arrest of a tourist who led cops on a chase through South Beach two summers ago won a major victory Tuesday when a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge significantly downgraded the charge against the officer.

Moments after prosecutors concluded their case against Miami Beach Police Officer Kevin Perez, Judge Alberto Milian reduced the charge against the officer from felony battery, to simple battery  meaning that if found guilty, Perez would spend no more than a year in prison, far less than the five-year sentence that could have been imposed with the felony charge.

To prove felony battery, the state had to show that Dalonta Crudup suffered great bodily harm  which includes some type of permanent disfigurement  when Miami Beach police roughed him up during a scrum in the lobby of the Royal Palm Hotel.

But Milian, acting on a request by Perez attorney Robert Buschel to dismiss the case, said he was unable to see a scar on Crudups chin from just a few feet away.

Milian also based his decision, he said, on Mount Sinai physician Ramin Vejdanis testimony that Crudup didnt suffer any serious bodily injury, just some bruising.

The doctor also said the cut on Crudups chin highlighted by the state was three centimeters long. Assistant State Attorney Joshua Novak failed in his attempt to convince the judge that Vejdani was not an expert witness and that great bodily harm should be determined by the six jurors.

The judge also seemed to indicate that even the simple battery charge against Perez may be on thin ice. Crudup has charges pending for fleeing and eluding police, which gives officers the leeway to use force, even deadly if necessary, when taking someone into custody.

People may not like it. But that is the law in Florida, Milian said.

When Buschel argued the case should be dismissed because the law gave officers the right to use force on someone fleeing from police, Novak countered that by the time Crudup was beaten, he was no longer trying to get away. He was on the floor of the hotel lobby face down with some officers on his back and his hands behind him, Novak said.

Story continues

The judge said he would wait until after the jury verdict to decide whether the case should be tossed.

After his ruling, jurors were called back into the chamber and the defense began its case during the fourth day of trial. Jurors were not informed of the change in charge against Perez. Then the defense rested after about two hours of more testimony from police. Closing arguments are Wednesday.

Perez and four other officers were charged with taking part in the beating of Crudup, 26, in July 2021, when crowds of visitors were staying on Miami Beach during the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival, one of the largest in the country. One of the officers, Sgt. Jose Perez, avoided a felony charge by retiring. The other three are facing future court dates.

During trial testimony, Crudup, who was visiting from Maryland, and witnesses described a minor incident that began with Crudup almost falling off his scooter as he started it at a road closure off Collins Avenue and ballooned into an international story. Crudup said when he got up, both friends and the police were laughing at him. He admitted to giving police at the scene the finger, then riding off.

Somewhere along the route to his room at the Royal Palm Hotel, police say Crudup ran his scooter over an officers foot. Police say thats when they began to chase Crudup, radio signaling that a 332 had just occurred. Thats the signal for officer down and a call every cop is required to answer. Prosecutors argued that police began chasing Crudup after he made the lewd gesture toward officers.

Police caught up to Crudup in the hotel lobby, where surveillance video shows almost two dozen officers surrounding him, some drawing their weapons and kicking and punching him. Perez is accused of picking Crudup up after he was handcuffed and slamming his face toward the ground. Prosecutors also say he sat on Crudup as Jose Perez kicked him in the face, and that another officer punched Crudup in the back of the head and kicked him.

Crudup has been charged by state prosecutors with fleeing and eluding police. He pleaded not guilty.
By Clotaire Achi and Stephane Mahe

PARIS (Reuters) -France's nationwide strike against a planned pension reform, which disrupted train services, shut schools and halted fuel deliveries, will spill into Wednesday as unions seek to force a government retreat on the deeply unpopular policy.

Around 1.28 million people took to the streets on Tuesday in demonstrations across the country, the interior ministry said, making turnout for the protest day - the sixth against the reform this year - the highest so far.

This is a critical time for labour and the government since French President Emmanuel Macron hopes parliament will adopt his plan to raise the pension age by two years to 64 before April.

Looking to pile pressure on lawmakers, France's hardline unions said there would be rolling strikes going forward that could go on for days, at least in some sectors including at TotalEnergies' oil refineries.

"The real fight starts now," said Marin Guillotin, FO union representative at the Donges refinery in western France.

"We haven't been heard or listened to. We are using the only means we have left: It's the hard strike ... we are not going to give up."

Trains will experience disruptions again on Wednesday, as will the Paris metro system, though slightly less than on Tuesday, the SNCF and RATP transportation companies said.

The government said 10,000 more protesters turned out nationwide on Tuesday than the previous peak of 1.27 million on Jan. 31, and bigger crowds were reported by media and local officials at rallies in some cities, including Marseille.

The strike also drew in more industrial sectors, extending to truck drivers and garbage collectors. Local media quoted the CGT union as saying 700,000 marched in Paris. Police put the number at 81,000.

Another round of protests will take place on Saturday, France's union leaders announced on Tuesday evening as they again urged Macron to drop the reform, saying the president's rigid stance could lead to an "explosive" situation.

Story continues

'UNFAIR'

Macron's proposal to make people work longer before they are eligible for pensions is deeply unpopular, opinion polls show.

"This reform is unfair," said Aurelie Herkous, who works in public finance in the Normandy town of Pont Audemer. "Macron offers tax gifts to companies ... he's got to stop coming down on the same people time after time."

France's leading trade unions have so far acted with rare unity, but the coming weeks will test that.

The CFDT, France's biggest trade union and generally reform-minded, has not committed to the rolling strikes and has said there could be other forms of protest.

While the government will be looking for divisions among the unions, the CGT and FO, which are powerful within the transport and energy sectors, would still be able to bring significant disruption even without CFDT participation.

The government insists its reform plan is essential to ensure the pension system does not run out of money.

"I can understand that not many people want to work two more years, but it's necessary to ensure the viability of the system," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told France 5 TV.

Macron's centrist alliance does not have an absolute majority in parliament, and his government may use special constitutional powers to enact the legislation by bypassing the lower house - something union leaders have warned him not to do.

"Forcing (the bill) through would spark a crisis," CGT leader Philippe Martinez said.

The Senate was likely to adopt overnight the bill's Article 7, that pushes retirement age to 64.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Forrest Crellin, Benjamin Mallet, Ingrid Melander, Elizabeth Pineau, Alain Acco, Blandine Henault, Marc Leras, Yonathan Van der Voort, Layli Foroudi, Tassilo Hummel, Geert de Clercq, Richard Lough; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Christina Fincher, Aurora Ellis and Cynthia Osterman)
Students showing off their creatively named borgs. Screenshot/TikTok - @kettlebellkel

28 ambulances were reportedly called to off-campus parties at UMass over the weekend.

The school is now warning students about "borgs," which are believed to be the culprit.

The TikTok trend involves people mixing alcohol and water into huge jugs.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is blaming a TikTok drinking fad for 28 ambulances getting called to off-campus parties over the weekend.

According to school officials, students on Saturday were seen carrying large water jugs that contained a mixture of alcohol, electrolytes, and flavoring, believed to be what TikTokers call "borgs," or "blackout rage gallons."

The phenomenon has been fueled by recent viral videos featuring college students on TikTok making and drinking the concoction (though some videos referencing the drink date back to 2020). The viral drink has spawned borg tutorials, borg challenges, and borg skits.

While it's unclear if all 28 instances were related to "borg" drinking, UMass officials said they had never seen so many of these drinks before Saturday's "Blarney Blowout," an annual school celebration that typically comes before St. Patrick's Day, The Associated Press reported.

None of the cases were life-threatening, the Amherst Fire Department said.

The university said it's assessing the weekend's events and warning its student body about the drink recently popularized by TikTok.

Borgs have become particularly attractive to the college-aged population because people claim it keeps you hydrated as you binge-drink. While the electrolytes and water do help with hydration, the large quantity of alcohol is what makes it dangerous, experts say.

"Consuming this much alcohol would be fatal for the vast majority of people, even if spread out over a full day," George F. Koob, the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health, told CBS News. "It is unknown how many students actually follow borg recipes that call for a half gallon of vodka, but doing so could turn deadly depending on how much they end up consuming."

Story continues

Over the weekend, multiple TikTok posts from UMass students drinking borgs went viral. In one video with almost 2 million views, a student interviews other students about punny nicknames they gave their borgs.

"Bad day to be a borg at umass," the video description reads.

The University of Massachusetts and the Amherst Fire Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
Diamonds

The meeting was held by Head of the U.S. Office of Sanctions Coordination James OBrien and the European Commissions Deputy Director General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer Denis Redonnet with the U.S. and European offices of leading diamond retailers, manufacturers, laboratories, and industry trade associations.

Read also: EU prepared to sanction China if it supplies Russia with weapons, Reuters reports

Russia continues to earn billions of dollars from the diamond trade, and the discussion centered on the most effective and impactful ways to disrupt that revenue stream, the report says.

The United States and European Union remain committed to imposing economic consequences on Russia for its unprovoked war in Ukraine.

In September 2022, five of the blocs 27 countries said in a joint proposal that the European Union must stop importing diamonds from Russia.

Read also: Russian oil price halved after Western sanctions

Earlier Belgium, home to the worlds biggest diamond trading hub Antwerp, rejected such a ban.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called for the introduction of sanctions against Russian nuclear and diamond industries.

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
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  A Missouri law banning local police from enforcing federal gun laws is unconstitutional and void, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes ruled the 2021 law is preempted by the federal government under the U.S. Constitutions supremacy clause.

At best, this statute causes confusion among state law enforcement officials who are deputized for federal task force operations, and at worst, is unconstitutional on its face," Wimes wrote.

Missouri's Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey in a statement said he will appeal the ruling.

As Attorney General, I will protect the Constitution, which includes defending Missourians fundamental right to bear arms," Bailey said. "We are prepared to defend this statute to the highest court, and we anticipate a better result at the Eighth Circuit.

The Missouri law had subjected law enforcement agencies with officers who knowingly enforced federal gun laws without equivalent state laws to a fine of $50,000 per violating officer.

Federal laws without similar Missouri laws include statutes covering weapons registration and tracking, and possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders.

Conflict over Missouris law wrecked a crime-fighting partnership with U.S. attorneys that Missouris former Republican attorney general, now-Sen. Eric Schmitt, touted for years. Under Schmitts Safer Streets Initiative, attorneys from his office were deputized as assistant U.S. attorneys to help prosecute violent crimes.

The Justice Department, which last year sued to overturn the Missouri law, said the Missouri state crime lab, operated by the Highway Patrol, refused to process evidence that would help federal firearms prosecutions after the law took effect.

The city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jackson County also filed a separate lawsuit over the gun law, which is pending.

They said in a joint statement that they were encouraged by the ruling and complained about the passage of dangerous bills that make it more difficult to prevent gun violence in our communities.

Story continues

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, meanwhile, described the decision in a tweet as a monumental defense of the safety of our families, our police, and our neighborhoods The city is planning to file a brief in support of the pending lawsuit, detailing its opposition to the law.

Concerns about the law led the Missouri Information and Analysis Center, also under the Highway Patrol, to stop cooperating with federal agencies investigating federal firearms offenses. And the Highway Patrol, along with many other agencies, suspended joint efforts to enforce federal firearms laws.

Wimes said police can now work with federal partners without worrying about breaking the voided law.

State and local law enforcement officials in Missouri may lawfully participate in joint federal task forces, assist in the investigation and enforcement of federal firearm crimes, and fully share information with the Federal Government without fear of H.B. 85s penalties, the judge wrote.

Several Missouri prosecutors had testified against the bill, saying it jeopardized investigations and prosecutions against serious offenders while exposing state and local officers to civil liability.

Given today's ruling, Missouris prosecutors and our state and local law enforcement partners look forward to again utilizing federal assistance when appropriate to apprehend and punish violent offenders who endanger the citizens of our state, the statement said. Police and prosecutors will return to their work without fear of losing their jobs or being held liable personally to criminal offenders simply because they are doing vital work to keep our communities safe.

Republican lawmakers who helped pass the bill said they were motivated by the potential for new gun restrictions under Democratic President Joe Biden, who signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades last year.

The federal legislation toughened background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keeps firearms from more domestic violence offenders and helps states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

___

Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth and Margaret Stafford contributed to this report from Kansas City, Missouri.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said on Tuesday the railroad will hold safety meetings and work to revitalize its safety culture as U.S. officials announced two new wide-ranging reviews in the wake of a spate of accidents.

Norfolk Southern has been under fire after a number of derailments of its trains, particularly one it operated on Feb. 3 in East Palestine, Ohio that caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous chemicals to spill and catch fire.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) both announced new safety probes.

The announcements came after the death of a conductor in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday when a train was struck by a dump truck. The NTSB, Federal Railroad Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration earlier on Tuesday said they were investigating the death.

"Tomorrow we will hold safety stand-down briefings reaching every employee across our network," said Shaw, who will testify Thursday before a Senate Committee hearing into the East Palestine derailment. "Moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in safety. This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue."

Late Tuesday, the FRA said it would conduct a 60-day supplemental safety assessment of Norfolk Southern Railway.

"After a series of derailments and the death of one of its workers, we are initiating this further supplemental safety review of Norfolk Southern, while also calling on Norfolk Southern to act urgently to improve its focus on safety so the company can begin earning back the trust of the public and its employees," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

FRA will use information collected "to push Norfolk Southern to develop measures to mitigate risks while identifying appropriate enforcement actions" and will issue a public report, Buttigieg added.

Story continues

The NTSB said that given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents it is opening what it called a special investigation and "urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices."

Shaw added he "called together every member of our management team this afternoon to emphasize the urgency of finding new solutions."

Following the East Palestine derailment, some of the town's 4,700 residents have reported ailments such as rashes and breathing difficulties and fear long-term health effects but no deaths or injuries were reported after the accident.

Since December 2021, NTSB has launched investigation teams to five significant accidents involving Norfolk Southern including a March 4 derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed near Springfield, Ohio.

"The continued safe operations of Norfolk Southern is vital to the United States. The NTSB is concerned that several organizational factors may be involved in the accidents, including safety culture," the NTSB said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler, Will Dunham and Lincoln Feast.)
Leaders who oversee some of the US militarys most secretive missions are seeking a new, unprecedented kind of weapon: deepfakes, which use machine learning to create life-like phony videos.

US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which contains elite units from the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force, is working to develop a next generation of deep fake or other similar technology to generate messages and influence operations via non-traditional channels, according to a procurement document discovered by The Intercept .

In recent procurement requests, SOCOM is seeking partners to develop capabilities using lasers, holograms, and the hacking of internet-connected devices as part of its covert operations.

When it comes to disinformation, the Pentagon should not be fighting fire with fire, Chris Meserole, head of the Brookings Institutions Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative, told The Intercept. At a time when digital propaganda is on the rise globally, the U.S. should be doing everything it can to strengthen democracy by building support for shared notions of truth and reality. Deepfakes do the opposite. By casting doubt on the credibility of all content and information, whether real or synthetic, they ultimately erode the foundation of democracy itself.

The Independent has contacted SOCOM for comment.

Last year, the so-called Twitter Files document dump revealed that Twitter had knowingly allowed the US military to conduct influence operations on the site using phony news sources with deepfake avatars.

US officials have repeatedly voiced concern around other countries using social media manipulation to target the US, following widespread Russian disinformation campaigns on Facebook and elsewhere during the 2016 election.

In 2018, 13 Russians and three companies were charged with attempting to interfere in the 2016 election. Federal prosecutors said hackers took on American identities and used Facebook groups, social media ads and inflammatory images to boost support for Donald Trump and sow division across the US.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block JetBlue's bid to merge with Spirit Airlines, the opening salvo in a coming antitrust trial as the agency fights to prevent the carriers from combining.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal district court in Boston, said that the deal would end direct competition between JetBlue and Spirit and eliminate Spirit, the nations biggest "ultra-low-cost carrier."

"We allege that if allowed to proceed, this merger will limit choices and drive up ticket prices for passengers across the country," Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference announcing the lawsuit. "By acquiring Spirit, JetBlue will eliminate the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in the United States."

JetBlue CEO: 'We're obviously disappointed' about antitrust lawsuit in Spirit merger

JetBlue has previously made clear that they intend to push regulators to approve their bid and reaffirmed that position just hours before the announcement out of Washington.

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said Tuesday on "CBS Mornings" that he was "disappointed but not surprised" that the DOJ was moving to block the merger.

"We said when we got the offer approved by the Spirit shareholders last year that we didn't think we would close 'til the first half of 2024, you know, expecting a trial," he said.

New flights: JetBlue service to Paris set to begin in June, tickets now on sale for as little as $479

A JetBlue Airlines plane is seen near Spirit Airlines planes at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on May 16, 2022.

How did we get here?

JetBlue successfully bid for Spirit Airlines over the summer, after Spirit's board rejected a merger bid from rival ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier.

JetBlue offered $3.8 billion to buy Spirit, in a deal that would create the fifth-largest airline in the country.

According to William McGee, senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project, the merger would give travelers less choice in airlines and would likely lead to higher fares on many routes.

Story continues

"Spirit is going to go away and when it does, the fares are going to go with it," he said. "You don't have to fly Spirit or Frontier or Allegiant to benefit from their presence."

Tell us your story: Mobility device lost or damaged by an airline? USA TODAY wants to hear about it

However, JetBlue insists merging with Spirit will have little effect on fares, and will actually position the airline to better compete with larger carriers in the U.S.

"A combined JetBlue-Spirit will bring together the best of both airlines to create a customer-centric, low-fare alternative to the dominant 'Big Four' airlines," a statement on the airline's website says.

JetBlue is also waiting on the result of an antitrust trial about its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. A decision in the case, which was heard late last year in Boston, is expected imminently, and which DOJ officials said on Tuesday is harmful to consumers on its own merits, separate from the issues it alleged with the proposed Spirit deal.

"JetBlue's plan would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides  and about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industry  and leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options," DOJ lawyers wrote in the suit.

Family travel: New DOT dashboard makes airline seat selection policies more transparent

What happens next with the JetBlue-Spirit merger?

As the merger moves toward trial, it's likely that JetBlue will continue campaigning for the deal in an effort to sway public opinion. It already has some strong supporters, including the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents Spirit's flight attendants.

"This is the first time in my 26-year career that our union has enthusiastically supported a merger," Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson said during a press conference Tuesday. "This is the anti-merger merger," she added, saying it would position a larger JetBlue to "dilute the power that has accrued to those four mega airlines," namely American, United, Delta and Southwest.

The Transportation Workers Union, which represents JetBlue flight attendants, opposes the deal.

Donna Hitscherich, a member of the finance faculty at Columbia University's business school and a director of the school's private equity program, said that Nelson's position is a common school of thought when it comes to corporate mergers.

"There may be considerations toward making a stronger competitor," she told USA TODAY. "Maybe you are consolidating to making a stronger competitor to the incumbents."

However, the DOJ made clear in announcing the civil suit on Tuesday that it will fight to block the deal, which the agency views as anti-consumer.

"After spending many years criticizing consolidation in the airline industry, JetBlue seems to have changed its tune," Doha Mekki, principal assistant deputy attorney general for the antitrust division said during the press conference. "Rather than compete to win share, JetBlue has chosen to consolidate and cooperate."

The DOJ also said that a potential combination of JetBlue and Spirit would do the most harm to the most cost-conscious travelers, who would likely face higher fares if the deal goes through.

Contributing: David Koenig, Associated Press

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JetBlue-Spirit merger in peril: Justice Department sues to block union
Vanessa Feltz believes it is ok to fake an orgasm on occasion. (Getty Images)

Vanessa Feltz has shared her thoughts on faking orgasms, hinting that she has done it herself as she believes it's not always a negative thing for your sex life.

The broadcaster, 61, has recently announced her break-up with her partner of 16 years, Ben Ofoedu, 50, following allegations of infidelity.

Despite admitting her "shock and sadness" over the end of the relationship, Feltz has been keeping fans updated on life post split, celebrating her birthday with friends and family and travelling to Ireland for a "healing" holiday.

She also recently opened up about intimacy, discussing why she believes being told never to fake an orgasm is the "worst piece of advice" she's been given.

Read more: 9 ways to increase your chances of having an orgasm

Feltz told the Grazia Life Advice podcast, in a chat recorded before her split: "Experts say if you fake an orgasm, you're giving a false impression of what you do and don't like and if you fake an orgasm how will your lover/partner ever really know what you like? So never ever do it.

"I think that is the worst advice because sometimes it is just rude not to fake it."

Feltz went on to explain that there are certain intimate moments when an orgasm might never actually happen and in those situations, in her opinion, it is acceptable to fake it.

"Sometimes your partner is trying every trick in the book," she says. "They have been twiddling and licking and flicking, whispering dirty words in your ear and there's not one flipping thing that they could possibly do that they're not doing. Theyre absolutely 10 out of 10 for effort."

Vanessa Feltz believes being told never to fake an orgasm is bad advice. (Getty Images)

The TV and radio presenter continues: "On those occasions when you've suddenly remembered defrosting the freezer, you've just taken your eye off the ball, you're not concentrating and you're never ever, ever going to get to orgasm.

"I'm not saying do it every time, that's not a good idea either. But sometimes, and you will know the times, the only courteous and polite thing to do is fake an orgasm.

Story continues

"But at least make sure you fake it convincingly," she adds.

"At least it is a way of concluding it satisfactorily," she continues. "It's over, thank God and then you can go do something else, can then go and defrost the freezer, which is what you really wanted to be doing all along."

Read more: 'Find the clitoris' challenge: Sexperts hit the streets to see if public know exact location

Is it ever ok to fake an orgasm?

No doubt Feltz's advice that it is ok to fake an orgasm on occasion will come as welcome news to the 71% of women and 31% of men who have pretended to climax with a partner.

Recent research, of 2,000 people by IllicitEncounters.com, also explored the reasons behind the 'fake off' with over half those surveyed (54%) admitting to pulling a Meg Ryan because the sex was taking too long and they didn't want to hurt their partner's feelings.

Other reasons women gave for pretending include the fact they were finding the sex boring (37%), were not in the mood (36%), felt too tired (35%), had drunk too much alcohol (28%), their partner was new and could not satisfy them (16%) and they struggle to climax through intercourse (15%).

Sparing a partner's feelings was the main reason men fake it, which was the case for 22% of those questioned, followed by consuming too much alcohol (20%).

Watch: Vanessa Feltz wanted for Celebs Go Dating

So should you ever fake an orgasm or is it better to 'fess up to your partner that it's just not quite hitting the spot?

Javay Frye-Nekrasova, certified sex educator and sex expert for Lovehoney, believes there are some misconceptions surrounding orgasms that could help to explain why some people feel so much pressure to fake it, including the fact that you have to orgasm every time you engage in sexual activity.

"When you put the goal of orgasm on the sexual activity you are adding a layer of pressure that inherently detracts from the pleasure aspect of the sexual activity itself," she explains.

It's also worth noting that you shouldn't necessarily worry if you don't achieve an orgasm with your partner.

"The body can experience orgasms from a wide variety of stimulations so if one way does not lead to an orgasm it doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem," Frye-Nekrasova continues. "Another reason you don't need to worry is because it takes some time exploring your body to figure out what actually leads to pleasure that results in an orgasm."

Read more: Eight ways to know youve just had an orgasm

71% of women have faked an orgasm with a partner. (Getty Images)

Whether or not you choose to fake an orgasm, experts agree that communication is a vital aspect to enjoying a healthy sex life.

"If you can comfortably talk about sex you can better talk about what you like with partners, express to them what you would want to be done differently, and how experiences can be improved," Frye-Nekrasova adds.

And even if you believe your other half has your wants and needs sussed, it can't hurt to keep talking about it.

Even an experienced partner needs feedback about what you need to reach orgasmland, Dorian Solot, sex educator and co-author of I  Orgasms: A Guide to More (16.99, Hachette), told Yahoo UK.

You can communicate this with words (yes, it's OK and even recommended to talk during sex), moans, sighs, adjusting their hand or mouth, or classic-for-a-reason phrases like, 'Right there!', 'Don't stop!', or 'Yes, yes! Ohhh, yes!'
REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

The demented prison-recruitment scheme top Russian military brass are using to find fresh cannon fodder for the war against Ukraine apparently isnt going so well: 11 inmates are on the run in Donetsk while their fellow recruits have been tossed into basements for refusing to fight.

Thats according to the independent outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti, which released damning leaked audio on Tuesday that captures the unfolding chaos.

About 70 inmates are being held against their will in a basement in Donetsk after a conflict with their commanders went off the rails, one inmate told the outlet. He said he and 10 others had managed to flee during the mayhem, but now theyre terrified the military will track them down, execute them, and list them as missing so the circumstances of their deaths will be kept under wraps and their families will never receive compensation.

If you refuse to go fight, people from Wagner will come and well shoot you, the inmate recalled being told.

Just before the prisoners escape, a man identified as a Russian Defense Ministry official was caught on tape trying to convince the group of angry inmates that they better follow orders.

A 10-minute clip shared by Ostorozhno, Novosti was reportedly surreptitiously recorded after the group of inmates recruited for the war effort refused to storm Ukrainian positions in the Donbas, and apparently began to catch wind of the fact that they were simply seen as an easily expendable resource to carry out human-wave style attacks.

You were given a task yesterday, and you refused, an unnamed representative of the Defense Ministry says as he scolds them. I havent scared you with anything yet. Why would I need to scare you? I want to ask you, why didnt you go carry out the task?

Those before you went through the exact same thing, there were 75 people the official says, before an inmate cuts him off and yells, Of whom only 11 people remained? I was with them in the hospital!

Story continues

The inmates can be heard protesting that the contracts they were initially shown upon recruitment didnt contain the same terms that they were now being told of.

At that, the military official references Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, and tries to entice the inmates into obeying.

What is Yevgeny Viktorovich always saying everywhere? The only thing you have to do is once you get to the positions, you kill them. Everything the enemy has, we will allow you to take, he says. You can only take the spoils from those you kill.

He tells them that the only way they can leave the war before their six-month term is up is if they are killed or severely injured.

Commanders have the right to use weapons to install discipline in their ranks, or use against inmates if they abandon their positions, he warns, prompting one of the inmates to audibly laugh.

Theres no need to smile! the official immediately shoots back.

Calling the inmates volunteers from a special contingent, the official can be heard telling them they cant carry even one document with them.

Just like you I have not a single document with me since the start of the special military operation. Not even one document. If something happens to me, well, theyll identify me with DNA, he says.

The situation here is this: the task has been assigned, you need to fulfill it. Trust me, he says, informing the men that after their refusal to take part in assault teams, they will now be serving in the police force of Russias proxy republic in Donetsk in accordance with orders from the president.

Backfired: Putins Prison Recruits Spiral Out of Russias Control

The inmates, apparently unswayed, ask what happened to their commander, who one of them notes was taken away somewhere.

What is actually happening? the inmate asks.

After others piped up to argue that with no proper documents, they have no guarantees that the military isnt simply tricking them, another inmate pleads, At least give our families some kind of guarantees, even if were killed.

The official appears unswayed, however, telling the men hes leaving in five minutes and, After I leave here, thats it. After that, I will take this as a straight-out refusal, and I will report it as a straight-out refusal [ to follow orders.]

One of the inmates from the group, who called his enlistment a monstrous mistake, told Ostorozhno, Novosti the military had tried to toss the inmates onto the battlefield with next to no training.

After they protested, he said, a military officer candidly told them all, Youve been screwed.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
As a young military officer at the height of the war on terror, Lt. Ron DeSantis was often seen running on the beach of Guantanamo Bay and along its ridgeline, encircling Camp America. It was a chaotic time at the U.S. military detention facility in Cuba, and as an ambitious Navy lawyer, DeSantis was positioned to witness history up close.

He arrived at Joint Task Force Guantanamo in the spring of 2006 as its leaders were grappling with multiple challenges and global scrutiny. Aggressive tactics were adopted to break a hunger strike. An armed clash erupted between detainees and a riot squad in May. Three men were found dead in their cells in the same hour of a single night in June. And the CIA would transfer some of its highest-value detainees to the camp in the fall of that year.

DeSantis had little authority to address these crises as a 27-year-old lieutenant at a notorious facility micromanaged from Washington. But it was a formative period for a career-minded officer who had enlisted hoping for a deployment to Guantanamo Bay, where he would come face to face with the realities of Americas least conventional war.

It is an experience in the Florida governors life that he rarely discusses publicly and remains largely unexplored, even as he appears poised to mount a campaign for the White House.





This guy has the potential to run for president of the United States, said Yvonne Bradley, who represented Guantanamo detainees as a military lawyer at that time. I think its important for the story to get out.

Interviews with over a dozen former Navy officers and personnel, defense attorneys and former detainees shed light on the access DeSantis would have had to the men held captive on the base, suspended in a legal and ethical gray zone during a turbulent phase in the camps history.

DeSantis team did not respond to requests for comment. But in sparing remarks on his service there since entering public life, he has expressed only admiration for the detention facilitys operations. DeSantis came away from his time at Guantanamo Bay advocating for the camp to remain open, convinced that its inhabitants were terrorists at a time when hundreds of detainees were being released by a Republican president after years of imprisonment and without ever facing charges.

Story continues

He would have had very, very intimate knowledge of the conditions at the camp, Retired Colonel Michael Bumgarner, commander of the Joint Detention Group at Guantanamo during DeSantis service there, told McClatchy and the Miami Herald. He wouldve had face-to-face contact with them  he wouldve known them intimately, their backgrounds and all.

READ MORE: DeSantis meets with Iowa influencer ahead of book release as 2024 hopefuls make moves

CAUSE TO ENLIST

By the time DeSantis joined the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in Guantanamo in 2006, Americans were already well aware of the nature of the facility and deeply divided over the indefinite detention of its prisoners.

President George W. Bush first opened the detention center in 2002, after the Sept. 11 attacks, to hold hundreds of enemy combatants that his administration said were primarily al Qaida and Taliban operatives. In the intervening years, human rights groups protested the detention of suspected combatants without the filing of criminal charges, and reports emerged from released or repatriated Guantanamo inmates alleging torture at the camp, prompting widespread controversy back at home.

In a new book published in February titled The Courage to be Free, DeSantis said the prospect of a deployment to Guantanamo factored into his decision to join the military in 2004.

One recruiter told me that the assumption was that the Iraq campaign would be over relatively quickly, and that there would be a need for military JAGs to lead prosecutions in military commissions of incarcerated terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, DeSantis wrote, using the acronym for a judge advocate general. That turned out not to be what happened, but it seemed plausible at the time and also seemed like a good opportunity to make an impact.

READ MORE: Why the unwritten parts of DeSantis book are among its most interesting tidbits

DeSantis was in his second year at Harvard Law School when he enlisted. After graduating, he was sent to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, as a prosecutor, before being sent to Guantanamo shortly thereafter. Hundreds of individuals were being detained at the facility at that time.

Its clear they liked DeSantis, Charles Swift, a former career Navy lawyer who also came out of Jacksonville, said of DeSantis supervisors. Swift retired from service in 2007 after successfully defending one inmate, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, in a landmark case before the Supreme Court.

He had been in what we call a get-out job  a position you get when you dont want to stay, Swift said. Everyone Ive ever talked to said he was smart. But he had not joined the JAG corps for a career. What I take away as an intelligent observer is that Ron DeSantis was a politically motivated individual who saw a value to military service.

DeSantis wrote in his new book that he was sent on temporary-duty-travel stints to Guantanamo Bay, and has spoken of celebrating Christmas at the camp in 2006. Military records obtained by McClatchy show he spent at least six months in Cuba  between March 2006 and January 2007  where his primary duty was as trial counsel and he served as a JTF-GTMO scheduler/administrative officer.

Ron DeSantis Military Records by dsmileyherald

At the time, he was extremely green in the JAG corps  he had just become a lawyer, said Joseph Hickman, who told McClatchy that he frequently saw DeSantis while serving as a staff sergeant at the camp. He was very inexperienced, very young, and from what Ive seen those guys didnt have a lot of responsibility.

But his superiors saw promise in the new officer. Retired Navy Capt. Patrick McCarthy, who served as the staff judge advocate at Guantanamo in 2006, told McClatchy that DeSantis was among the officers he would send to speak with detainees when there were any complaints to ensure they were lawfully addressed.

DeSantis served honorably and professionally in a very complex mission, McCarthy said.

McCarthys office frequently butted heads with defense attorneys, including Bradley, an Air Force JAG who successfully defended Binyam Mohamed during his prominent military trial. Bradley said she had repeated conversations with McCarthys team in 2006 over allegations of improper contact between JAGs and her clients. She does not remember interacting with DeSantis specifically, but unlike most in the military, servicemen and women at Guantanamo do not wear name tags and do not identify themselves.

Bryan Broyles, former chief defense counsel for military trials at Guantanamo, described the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate where DeSantis worked as a tiny little office with six cubicles, and McCarthys office off to the side.

We would only see them when they were directly dealing with our cases, explained Broyles, who said he would not have been able to pick DeSantis out of a lineup had he not become governor.

That JAG office would have been in much more regular contact with the detainees than the rest of us, Broyles said. They intimately would have known the best of their treatment, and the worst of it.

READ MORE: Better than Trump? DeSantis media strategy floods zone with news

DETAINEE CLAIMS

The war court headquarters at Camp Justice, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, seen through a broken window at an obsolete air hangar at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

DeSantis interactions with detainees would have exposed him to complaints about conditions at the detention center, including accusations of torture and abuse, at a time when tensions at the camp were reaching an inflection point.

The deaths of three detainees and clashes with guards roiled the facility. And restraint chairs had been introduced at the facility in early 2006, during the height of a massive hunger strike, facilitating the forced feeding of prisoners.

Guards would strap detainees into the chairs while medical personnel would conduct the feedings, using tubes they would pass through the nose. Some inmates took the feedings willingly. But others decried the procedure as an act of torture.

Ahmed Abdel Aziz, a former detainee who was released after 13 years without being charged with a crime, told McClatchy in a phone call from Mauritania that he recognized DeSantis after being shown a photo of the Florida governor.

I remember his face very well, Abdel Aziz said. He was coming regularly on the blocks, and sometimes he talked, sometimes he didnt.

Abdel Aziz recalls first seeing DeSantis on what he described as a tour of the facility for the new officer. DeSantis visits on the block became routine, Abdel Aziz said, noting that he paid particularly close attention to the JAGs because their positions as attorneys made them especially valuable to the detainees.

DeSantis witnessed and received complaints about forced feeding sessions, Abdel Aziz said.

He didnt start as a very bad guy, but the course of events, I think, led him to have no choice, Abdel Aziz said. Many of the very big leadership, if they want to be harsh, its hard from the lower people to take a different turn. He aligned with the bad people in the end.

Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni national who was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 and also held without being charged for 14 years, told McClatchy that he realized after seeing Floridas governor on the news that DeSantis was present at one point as he was force-fed in Camp Delta. Adayfi said he remembers DeSantis being there alongside Zak Ghuneim, the camps longtime cultural adviser, and that he vomited on both of them, an account that Ghuneim denied in a phone interview.

McClatchy was unable to verify claims that DeSantis witnessed forced feeding sessions. Multiple former officers and attorneys who worked around the camp in various capacities said it was possible, but not likely, that DeSantis personally observed them. While he would have had access to areas of the camp where they were conducted, it would not have been in his job description to witness them.

Adayfi keeps up with other former inmates on WhatsApp from his home in Serbia. Adayfi shared text messages with McClatchy that he said were between himself and three additional former inmates, all of whom identified DeSantis from their detention there.

Alongside many other former detainees, Abdel Aziz and Adayfi believe the forced feeding of Ensure meal replacements were acts of torture. No U.S. court ever made that determination, and even President Barack Obama, who sought to shut down the facility, defended the practice. But the U.N. Human Rights Commission at the time did describe forced feeding techniques at Guantanamo as a form of torture, and the World Medical Association also condemned the procedure as unethical.

Guantanamo is horrible not only because of the torture and the isolation  they couldnt see anyone, couldnt do anything  but because they had no control, said Thomas Wilner, who represented Kuwaiti detainees at the forefront of the hunger strike in 2006 and visited the facility over a dozen times that year. The hunger strike, in a way, gave them sort of psychological control over something.

The inmates considered the force feeding torture, but it was complicated, Wilner added. Their families didnt want them to starve, of course.

At first, enteral feedings  or tube feedings  were conducted in designated, private settings. But they ultimately were performed in open areas of the cell blocks around central tables surrounded by detainee cells, and on some occasions outside in the block yards, where DeSantis could theoretically have observed them, Bumgarner said.

Was he involved directly? Was he giving orders? I didnt see him giving orders. I didnt see him involved directly doing this himself, honestly, Adayfi said of DeSantis. And Im not here to try to make him look good or bad.

But what makes me talk about it is when he said in 2016 that those in Guantanamo are terrorists, and he was against closing the camp, Adayfi continued. I was honestly shocked, because as a lawyer  as someone who worked at Guantanamo, who watched everything  as a lawyer he should know better than anyone that Guantanamo shouldnt exist in the first place. Its not about prisoners. Its about us as humans. Its about the American Constitution, American law.

READ MORE: DeSantis, GOP lawmakers ready for Culture Wars 2.0 as Florida Legislature convenes

ISLAMISTS ARE ON THE MARCH

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., looks through a packet with a photograph of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on the front as he arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, to testify before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on allegations of misconduct against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

DeSantis went straight into politics after his military service in Cuba and Iraq and, from his new perch as a U.S. congressman, repeatedly advocated to keep the Guantanamo Bay facility open.

In February of 2016, DeSantis wrote on Facebook that, based on his experience there, I know you do NOT want these terrorists released. And in May of that year, he presided over a congressional hearing on the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay as chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security.

To me, the Islamists are on the march, DeSantis told the panel. If we close Guantanamo tomorrow and remove the detainees, either release them to other countries or in the United States, is there anybody here that thinks that that would cause a drop in terrorist activity around the world?

Since the U.S. first opened the detention center, presidents of both parties have released hundreds of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, a number of whom were found to be wrongfully detained.

The CIA transferred 14 high value detainees to the camp from black sites around the world in the fall of 2006, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the chief architect behind the Sept. 11 attacks. But out of roughly 780 individuals that have gone through the detention facility since it opened, only 32 remain indefinitely detained today, according to the Pentagon. Just 11 of those have been charged with a crime.

They werent treated like prisoners of war, said Zachary Katznelson, an attorney who represented over 50 people imprisoned at Guantanamo. They werent getting charged in civilian court, they werent getting tried in military court  it was a completely made-up legal category where people were treated horrifically, with basically no rights, and the vast majority were ultimately found not to pose a threat to the United States.

After the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that detainees had a right to an impartial trial, the U.S. government formed combatant status review tribunals to establish whether individuals held at the camp qualified as enemy combatants.

Work from the tribunals uncovered that, at the time of DeSantis service, a majority of the detainees were not accused of taking action against the United States, according to a 2006 study published by Seton Hall School of Law, whose work on the subject was submitted into the records of the House, Senate, and European Parliament.

In the absence of even an accusation, theres just no basis to say that someone is a terrorist, said Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, who represented Guantanamo detainees pro bono and has at least one client who recognizes DeSantis from his time in detention.

Today, with just a fraction of its detainees left, the facility still costs taxpayers $540 million a year to stay open and running.

Plenty of people have left Guantanamo and said like me, Hey, lets shut it down,  Hickman said. But youre always going to have two sides. Its a controversial issue. I could serve with a guy down there who would have the opposite opinion of me. Its a weird place, man.

READ MORE: This candidate for Florida governor cites serving at Guantanamo. What did he do there?

Recalling his time in Cuba, DeSantis told the House subcommittee hearing in 2016 that the camp was a very professionally run facility that is a very stressful environment for our uniformed personnel who are there.

These guys should not be treated like they are committing civilian crimes. They should be treated like they are violating the laws of war, DeSantis said. And when they are being captured in accordance with that, that should be the prism by which we see this.

I know this will be an issue that will continue to rear its head, DeSantis added.

Miami Herald staffer Monika Leal and reporter Ana Ceballos, Tampa Bay Times reporter Emily L. Mahoney, and Charlotte Observer reporter Michael Gordon contributed to this article.
Walgreens (WBA) is facing significant backlash after responding to a letter from more than 20 Attorneys General, telling them that it does not intend to dispense abortion pills in states via mail order where it is illegal. Meanwhile, in a memo to employees obtained by Yahoo Finance, CEO Roz Brewer tried to assure them that the company would, as it has done all along, consider selling mifepristone in states where it is legal.

In a separate, but similar, controversial letter to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Walgreens said it "does not intend to dispense mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship Mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies. If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you."

But the response, similarly sent to the 20 other AGs in Republican-lead states, according to a report by Politico, has spurred criticism ranging from calls to withdraw its decision from U.S. lawmakers and an all out boycott of the drug chain giant on social media.

Various reports have erroneously said that Walgreens will stop dispensing the drug. In reality, it has not begun that process. Furthermore, it would not be legally allowed to sell the drug in states with abortion bans in place.

"What we're talking about hasn't even happened. This is more about how will this affect access in the future," said Alina Salganicoff, a senior vice president and the director of Women's Health Policy at Kaiser Family Foundation.

The FDA decision in January to allow retail pharmacies to apply for approval to dispense the pill, known generically as mifepristone  a process which could take several months is the reason behind the backlash. During the pandemic, the Biden administration temporarily waived restrictions on mail order for the pill, and in January made the change permanent.

In the internal memo, Brewer expressed an understanding of the sensitive issue.

"I understand that our team members, patients and customers have deeply-held beliefs on this issue, and we must be very respectful of those beliefs," Brewer said, adding that other retailers like CVS (CVS) and Rite Aid (RAD) are also applying to distribute the pill.

Story continues

"I want to be very clear about what our position has been all along: Walgreens plans to dispense mifepristone where it is legal, and not to dispense mifepristone where it is illegal," Brewer, a former executive of Walmart and Starbucks, said.

The FDA decision follows the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Mifepristone is one of two pills used for early-stage abortion, up to 10 weeks, which blocks a hormone that would allow the pregnancy to continue. It is considered an oral contraceptive but has been highly regulated by the FDA, requiring a doctor's consultation to use. The second pill is misoprostol, which is commonly used to prevent stomach ulcers, but also helps relax the uterus, and is already available at any pharmacy.

Legal issues ahead

The exchange with Kansas is a preview of what other pharmacies are set to contend with as a slew of court cases and legislation could impact their potential market share  and whether or not they end up dispensing it all.

This includes a case in Texas that threatens the use of mifepristone. The lawsuit alleges the FDA did not conduct proper testing of its use, and is one KFF and clinics like Planned Parenthood are monitoring closely.

While Kansas does allow the use of mifepristone for abortions, it has strict access rules. The state is currently in the process of banning tele-health abortion visits  which would take mail order off the table.

"At this time, we are working through the certification process, which includes the evaluation of our pharmacy network to determine where we will dispense Mifepristone and training protocols and updates for our pharmacists," the company said in its response to Kansas.

"Walgreens has not made any representations about using our mail order pharmacy business to dispense this drug," it added.

A hasty decision on mifepristone? A Walgreens store in Chicago. REUTERS/Eileen T. Meslar

Of the 20 states which signed on the separate letter, abortion is still legal in a few  but some of those could face legal challenges or are at various stages of restricting access to abortion.

The 20 include Missouri, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

Florida, where abortion is legal, just introduced legislation Tuesday that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. This legislation mimics Texas's prior law, which was the strictest in the country short of a full ban, because it left women with an unreasonably tight window to find out they are pregnant and schedule the abortion. One study, for example, showed at least 33% of women find out they are pregnant after six weeks.

All told the situation remains dynamic, and any pharmacy, whether retail or online, is contending with the same uncertainty.

DiRx, an online pharmacy dealing in generics that is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., is doing the same thing Walgreens intends to do.

"This came up even earlier when the Roe v. Wade overturning was happening. We do ship oral contraceptives to states where it is legally OK to do so, without getting into the politics of it. Wherever there are question marks, we always make sure we check on the compliance aspects," said DiRx CEO Satish Srinivasan.

Walgreens is doing no different.

"Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws. Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate," the company said Monday.

Backlash

Despite the nuance involved, the response from Walgreens to the Attorneys General has caused significant backlash, with top U.S. lawmakers calling for a reversal of the decision as well as a boycott of the pharmacy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to not do business with Walgreens.

California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk.



We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023

California has been working on creating a generic drug manufacturing strategy for its residents, and the clash with Walgreens means it could be cut out of the distribution process if Newsom holds to the threat.

In addition, Walgreens is currently doing business with the state through its Medicaid and other government-run health services. It is not clear if Newsom's threat extends to the Medicaid program.

But the situation has still caught the attention of U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups alike.

This is the exact result anti-abortion actors want from their intimidation tactics. When politicians have the ability to interfere in the patient-provider relationship  in defiance of well-established science and medical evidence  people seeking access to timely, essential health care suffer," said Danika Wynn, vice president of abortion access at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), meanwhile, expressed similar outrage on social media.

"Its outrageous for MAGA extremists to intimidate pharmacies into refusing to dispense a medication that FDA deemed safe & effective over two decades ago," she said in a tweet, adding that all pharmacies should not be intimidated, including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid.

Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
BIZ-SCOTUS-ABORTION-WALGREENS-TB Chicago Tribune / Getty Images

Walgreens says it will sell abortion ills in states where it is "legally permissible to do so."

The drugstore had assured Kansas' attorney general that it wouldn't provide Mifepristone in the state.

The mixed messaging sparked fury from abortion rights groups and calls for boycotts.

Following nationwide calls to boycott Walgreens, the drugstore chain clarified its decision on selling abortion pills, saying it will distribute Mifepristone  the drug approved by the FDA to abort a pregnancy  "in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so."

But the new statement may not be enough to quell outrage as the pharmacy lands square in the middle of the country's contentious abortion debate.

The move comes after over a month of back-and-forth between Walgreens and 20 Attorneys General, who, on February 1, wrote to the chain  and several other pharmacies including CVS, Walmart, and Costco  telling them it would be illegal to distribute abortion pills through the mail.

Later that week, Kansas' Attorney General followed up with the healthcare giant, emphasizing that the state "will not hesitate to enforce the law."

On February 17, Danielle Gray, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Legal Officer at Walgreens' holding company, responded to Kansas AG Kris Kobach. She said Walgreens "does not intend" to sell Mifepristone at any of its locations in the state.

A spokesperson for Walgreens told Insider on Friday that it responded to the initial inquiry from the 20 AGs and assured them that it would not sell Mifepristone in any of their states, though it could not confirm the states in which the medication would be legally sold.

But that group includes Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, and Montana, where the procedure and medications for abortions are largely still legal, Politico first reported.

The spokesperson added that Walgreens still intends to become an FDA-certified seller of the pills, and will distribute the pills "only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible."

Story continues

The move sparked a backlash from abortion rights supporters, specifically in states where abortion is still legal, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom vowing the state will boycott Walgreens.

"California won't be doing business with @walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. We're done," Newsom tweeted on Monday.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sent a message on Thursday to all of the other pharmacy chains in light of this news: "We'll stand with you so you can provide this lifesaving care," adding that Walgreens should "rethink their policy."

Ron Klain, President Joe Biden's former Chief of Staff, also chimed in.

"Their slogan is "Trusted since 1901" -- but if @Walgreens won't fill prescriptions for lawful, needed medicines, where is the "trust" in that?"

By Monday, Walgreens had put out a new statement that assured customers it would sell Mifepristone at locations in states where it was legal.

"We want to be very clear about what our position has always been: Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so," a statement from Walgreens said, reversing its initial messaging that it would sell Mifepristone where it is "legal and operationally feasible."

"Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws. Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate," the statement concluded.

Walgreens still has not released any information on which states it plans to distribute Mifepristone.

Walgreens did not respond to questions asking in which states it would sell Mifepristone. Kansas AG Kris Kobach's office also did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Special operations soldier fires heavy machine gun at mock targets

China Military Online) 09:00, March 07, 2023

Comprehensive supply ship Kekexilihu (Hull 903) and guided-missile frigate Rizhao (Hull 598) attached to the 42nd Chinese naval escort taskforce sail in formation with full speed during a comprehensive training exercise on February 6, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Ma Yubin)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian troops fire at Russian occupiers

"It was very clear from the earliest hours of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that whenever this ended, it would end in a strategic failure for Russia," Price said.

At the same time, he warned that heavy battles still lie ahead.

Read also: Russian tanks were intended for invasion of NATO countries, Estonian FM says

We have been very clear that there are going to be tough days ahead, the official added. Fighting, while it has lowered somewhat during the winter months, it continues to reach, especially in the east, especially in the south.

Read also: War crimes tribunal to limit geography of Putins trips abroad, says Presidents Office

According to Price, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will fail to achieve any of his strategic goals in Ukraine.

Read also: 21,793 civilians became victims of Russias war against Ukraine, UN reports

This will be a strategic failure for Russia; Ukrainians have demonstrated that they are in a position not only to withstand the advancing Russian forces, but to take back territory that has been rested away from them, the spokesman concluded.

That won't change."

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Washington State Senate passed a bill Monday aimed at addressing the states healthcare worker shortage by removing penalties for retired nurses who want to rejoin the workforce.

Currently, retired nurses in Washington state who return to work face a penalty of losing their retirement benefits. Retirees of the Public Employees Retirement System and the Public Safety Employees Retirement System can work up to 867 hours per year while receiving a retirement benefit; anyone who works more than 867 hours loses that benefit.

Senate Bill 5538, introduced by Sen. Annette Cleveland (D-Vancouver), gets rid of that penalty through June 2026 and lets retired nurses work up to 1,040 hours without losing retirement benefits.

It is crucial that we do what we can to address our healthcare workforce shortage, Sen. Cleveland said. Removing this barrier for our retired nurses to return to work is one step we can take to broaden our nursing workforce and better serve patients in our state right now.
It has been a winter of temperature fluctuations. The extremes can cause issues for wildlife and plants but doctors say it can also take a toll on peoples health.

When you look around this winter, so many things seem out of place from people wearing shorts to families sitting on balconies for lunch. One day its cold, the next day it is warm, said one Boston woman.

Remember the scene last month, when there was bitter cold one day and not even 24 hours later there was a complete 180? One day no jacket, the next day you have to have hats and gloves, a South Boston woman said.

Aside from the toll its having on peoples winter wardrobe  doctors say these up and down temps can take a toll on your health. Dr. Eduardo Garcia is a Neurologist at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. In the general population, it can lead to mood disorders or problems where you are more tired the next morning and if you are more tired that can make you anxious, said Dr. Garcia.

The doctor explains how the barometric pressure changes with the weather and that can exacerbate all sorts of health issues  especially for people with underlying health conditions. If you have untreated sleep apnea for example and you have fluctuations in the weather, that can make you more tired, said Dr. Garcia. The doctor says there is a growing number of health questions as we learn more about climate change. Our bodies are very sensitive to those changes, said Dr. Garcia.

Locals admit this winter has been a nice break but adding this pattern has been alarming. Im scared now of global warming, said a woman. Dr. Garcia says they are seeing more patients with complications from the temperature fluctuations.

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
Jenna Ortega in "Wednesday." Netflix

Jenna Ortega said she had to put her "foot down" several times on the set of "Wednesday."

She told the "Armchair Expert" podcast she was "unprofessional" and changed lines amid filming.

Ortega added that her viral dance scene was supposed to be a flash mob but she vetoed it.

The "Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega said she changed several lines while filming the hit Netflix series because she was "very protective" of her character.

Ortega received critical acclaim last year for playing Wednesday Addams in the mystery teen series. In the past, she has spoken about how she disagreed with parts of the script, especially the love triangle between Wednesday, Xavier Thorpe (Percy Hynes White), and Tyler Galpin (Hunter Doohan).

In an interview on the "Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard" podcast released Monday, the Netflix star spoke in more detail about her disagreements with the script.

"I don't think I've ever had to put my foot down on a set in the way that I had to on 'Wednesday' because it's so easy to fall into that category, especially with this type of show," Ortega told Shepard and Monica Padman, his cohost.

"Everything that she does, everything that I had to play, did not make sense for her character at all," she added. "Her being in a love triangle made no sense. There was a line about this dress that she has to wear for a school dance, and she says, 'Oh, my god, I love it! I can't believe I said that. I literally hate myself.' And I had to go, 'No, there's no way.'"

Ortega as Wednesday Addams in "Wednesday." Netflix

Ortega added: "There were times on that set where I even became unprofessional, in a sense, where I just started changing lines.

"The script supervisor thought I was going with something, and then I would have to sit down with the writers, and they'd be like, 'Wait, what happened to the scene?' And I would have to go through and explain why I couldn't do certain things."

Ortega said she had to accept certain story elements she disagreed with so that the show would have an "emotional arc."

Story continues

"I grew very, very protective of her, but you can't lead a story and have no emotional arc because then it's boring and nobody likes you," Ortega said.

"And Wednesday is a teenager," she added. "When you're little and you say morbid, offensive stuff, it's funny and endearing and, 'Aww, you don't know any better.' But then you become a teenager  it's, 'Now you're being nasty and you know it.' There's less excuse."

Ortega also discussed the dance scene in episode four, which went viral and has been replicated by Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and her daughter North West, and Elon Musk's mother, Maye Musk.

The actor said she asked Tim Burton, an executive producer and director of the show, not to hire a choreographer because she was "so overwhelmed," adding that she asked to come up with the dance herself because she "stopped trusting outside opinion" about her character.

Ortega as Wednesday Addams and Christina Ricci as the character. Netflix/Paramount Pictures

"Initially, it was supposed to be a flash mob, and she was supposed to start dancing, and everyone was supposed to pick up on it and start dancing with her. And that, I vetoed because why would she be OK with that?" the "Scream" star said. "I said, 'Either cut it or have Wednesday knock someone out, and then it's done.'"

Despite the success of "Wednesday," Ortega said the show was not the "proudest moment" of her acting career so far.

"I can't watch my work, but I can go home from set and say, 'The scene that we shot today felt good.' On 'Wednesday,' there was not a scene in that show that I went home and was like, 'OK, that should be fine,'" Ortega said.

"Now a lot of people know me from that. It's not my proudest moment internally, which, I think, also adds an extra level of insecurity and stress," Ortega added. "Because it's like, no, I'm finally getting these offers to these places that I want, but I don't want to be known specifically for that."

Speaking about receiving Screen Actors Guild awards and Golden Globe nominations for the role, Ortega said: "My brain completely disregards that: 'Oh, the general public must be so easy to please.' People are shipping out content so fast, and the fact that we actually sat down and spent considerable time on that, I think, naturally would elevate or maybe make a show more appealing to an audience."

The "X" actor added that she had "seen a lot" of the show "against my will" because she had to complete roughly 200 lines of automated dialogue replacement, where actors record lines in the studio to replace what was filmed.

"Wednesday" is available to stream on Netflix.

Read the original article on Insider
(Reuters) -WeWork Inc is in talks with investors to restructure its outstanding debt of more than $3 billion and raise more cash, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Shares of the company rose about 5% in extended trading following the news.

The company, which offers workstations, private offices and customized floors, had enjoyed a pandemic-driven shift to flexible work outside traditional offices, but is now gearing up for a potential fallout from a likely economic downturn.

In February, WeWork forecast weak current-quarter revenue in a sign that its business was feeling the heat of mass layoffs as companies reduce their real estate footprint.

An infusion of cash would most likely give WeWork the hundreds of millions of dollars it needed to keep operating for at least a few years, the NYT report added, citing people with knowledge of the negotiations.

Yardi, a real estate software provider in Santa Barbara, California, is among the investors considering new investment in the company, the people told the newspaper.

WeWork did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The report citing one of the people, said there is no guarantee that the WeWork deal will close, and even if it does, it could be weeks away.

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, which is both WeWork's largest shareholder and its largest debtor, is playing a key role in the negotiations but is not expected to put any additional money into the company, the report said.

In January, the New York-based company also planned to eliminate about 300 roles across countries after announcing last year, it would exit about 40 underperforming U.S. locations due to high expenses and a strong U.S. dollar.

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said that the White House is aware of the situation regarding troubled crypto bank Silvergate, and will continue monitoring the reports.

"It is obviously only the latest company in the cryptocurrency field to experience significant issues," Jean-Pierre said, while declining to comment specifically on the situation at Silvergate.

The Press Secretary pointed to recently-issued guidelines from U.S. banking regulators on how banks can protect themselves from crypto-related risks, noting that President Joe Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to take action to protect everyday Americans from the risk posted by digital assets.

In late February, the U.S. Federal Reserve released a statement on the risks posed to banks by exposure to crypto, cosigned by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Certain sources of funding from crypto-asset-related entities may pose heightened liquidity risks to banking organizations due to the unpredictability of the scale and timing of deposit inflows and outflows, the statement said.

Silvergate bank struggles

The news comes as crypto-friendly bank Silvergate has faced significant financial uncertainty in recent weeks.

Last week, Silvergate Capital Corporation, Silvergate Banks parent company, postponed filing its annual 10-K report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm claimed it needs additional time to allow an independent accounting firm to complete certain audit procedures. In its filing, it referred to, a number of circumstances that will negatively impact the timing and the unaudited results previously reported in the Earnings Release.

Silvergate Stock Plunges 31% as Crypto Bank Delays SEC Financial Report

The turmoil affecting Silvergate has seen many of the largest firms in the crypto world cut their ties with it in some capacity, for example by limiting payments to and from the bank.

Story continues

These firms include, but are not limited, to crypto exchanges such as Crypto.com, Coinbase, Gemini, and Bitstamp.

Growing List of Crypto Companies Cutting Silvergate Ties

Recent events have had a devastating impact on Silvergates share price. The firms stock now trades at $5.41 at the time of writing, a decrease of over 200% since its peak in November 2021, when the firm's stock reached a high of $219.75.
By Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is considering restarting the detention of migrant families caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, four current and former U.S. officials told Reuters, which would reverse a move to end the practice.

The Biden administration also is weighing reviving immigration arrests of migrant families within the United States who have been ordered deported, two of the officials said.

"It's all on the table," said one of the officials, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The Biden administration is exploring options as it prepares for a possible rise in border crossings with COVID-19 restrictions blocking migrants expected to lift on May 11.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat who took office in 2021, pledged to reverse the more restrictive immigration policies of Republican former President Donald Trump but has embraced some of his measures as border arrests soared to record levels.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that no final decisions had been made and that "the administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants."

The New York Times first reported the possible restart of family detention.

The Biden administration has discussed using two Texas detention centers that previously housed families, three of the U.S. officials said.

A separate Biden official, when asked about reviving family detention in those two centers, said that idea was no longer under consideration.

The Biden administration said in a February 2022 memo that it was repurposing family detention centers to hold only adults, a major shift away from Trump's push to expand such detention.

Neha Desai, who represents migrant children in a decades-long lawsuit that governs conditions for their detention, criticized the possible detention restart.

"Even in conditions that actually meet minimum standards of health and safety, there is absolutely no humane way to detain families," she said.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Kristina Cooke, Robert Birsel)
The Biden administration is considering a return to the policy of family detention for migrants who cross the border illegally, according to The New York Times, in what would be a stark reversal by the president, who ended the practice two years ago.

A final decision has not been made, according to the Monday evening report in the Times, which cited officials familiar with the discussions. The family detention policy garnered widespread criticism from Democrats and migrant advocates during President Trumps administration.

But as the Biden administration faces a growing crisis at the southern border, it is considering a pivot to more strict measures than the use of ankle bracelets and other methods of tracking migrants that it has used in the near past.

Reached for comment by The Hill, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson did not deny the Times report, but said that the administration is preparing for when it lifts the Title 42 order, which has given the federal government the ability to turn away asylum seekers.

No decisions have been made as we prepare for the Title 42 Public Health Order to lift, the spokesperson said. The Administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants.

An administration official said that Biden has sought to increase both work visas and pathways for asylum, seeking to build a more humane approach to immigration.

The turn to more restrictive immigration policies by the president, including a policy unveiled last month that could significantly rollback the protections for those seeking asylum, has been met with outrage from advocates. Republicans have made the security of the southern border a rallying cry and have placed intense pressure on Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to deal with the situation more effectively.

The family detention policy was also used by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Trump, who made hardline immigration policies a cornerstone of his administration, has repeatedly ripped Biden for what he describes as opening up the southern border.

Updated at 9:31 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre managed to throw a little shade while answering a question about Democrat Marianne Williamsonsrecent decision to challenge Joe Biden in 2024.

It happened after a reporter asked Jean-Pierre if the president was frustrated that the self-help author was running against him rather than giving him a clear field for his reelection bid.

Jean-Pierre said that the White House is just not tracking that, before making a joke that tweaked Williamsons New Age sentiments.

Were just not tracking that, she said, before cracking up reporters by saying, If I had a, whats it called? A little globe here, a crystal ball, then I can tell you, a Magic 8 Ball, whatever. If I could feel her aura. I just dont have anything to share on that.

White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked if President Biden is annoyed by Marianne Williamson (D) announcing her 2024 presidential bid:



Just not tracking that. I mean, if I had a ... crystal ball, then I can tell you ... If I can feel her aura  pic.twitter.com/zy5NU67UAN  The Recount (@therecount) March 6, 2023

Williamson famously suggested creating a Department of Peace when she ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and argued against focusing on the wonkiness of policy details rather than trying to stop what she called then-President Donald Trumps dark psychic force of the collectivized hatred.

However, she told Yahoo! News in 2019 that her image as a crystal woo woo lady ... has no relation to reality.

She added: Ive never had a crystal, Ive never written about crystals. Ive never talked about crystals. Ive never had a crystal onstage with me.

Some Twitter users found Jean-Pierres comment as funny as the reporters did.

Karine Jean Pierre just finished Marianne Williamson! 



The media correspondents out loud laughter confirms Marianne got cooked! 



pic.twitter.com/LkZrvYNMSn  Barbara Lee 4 Me!  (@JuneSummer1) March 6, 2023

Lmao we have the same energy pic.twitter.com/GURmmXa3NWhttps://t.co/W5E6pK93ka  Madam Vice President Harris is THEE GOAT! (@flywithkamala) March 6, 2023

White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre had time  https://t.co/CwfNIxUidn  The Chanteezy Is Real  (@iamchanteezy) March 6, 2023

Others felt Jean-Pierres remarks verged on insulting Williamsons spiritual beliefs.

Story continues

I would submit that the attitude of smug condescension on display here is part of why the media and this white house have lost the trust of the American people. They are smearing a woman for her religion and cackling at everyone who would like an option other than Biden in 2024. https://t.co/kIvaFdga1t  Krystal Ball (@krystalball) March 6, 2023

A Democrat mocking new age stuff would be like Sarah Huckabee Sanders getting up there and dunking on NASCAR tailgating https://t.co/6UOvk7JIQ5  Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) March 6, 2023

These people are so entitled to your votes they're wiling to openly condescend to everyone left of Biden. And the tragic part is that half of the left sounds exacatly like Biden mouthpiece Karine Jean-Peirre. https://t.co/aBjarkGOri  Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) March 6, 2023

Mariannes positions on universal healthcare, a living wage, student debt forgiveness etc are very practical which is why they need to try and paint her as crazy orb lady https://t.co/sGLycaW7Lo  eve6 (@Eve6) March 6, 2023

HuffPost reached out to Jean-Pierre for her reaction to these comments, but she did not immediately respond.

Related...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday brushed off bellicose rhetoric from China that the United States risked a confrontation with Beijing, saying Washington was not seeking a conflict and saw no change in U.S.-Chinese relations.

John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson, responded to China's foreign minister's warning to Washington to change its "distorted" attitude or risk conflict.

"We seek a strategic competition with China. We do not seek conflict," Kirby told reporters. "We aim to compete and we aim to win that competition with China but we absolutely want to keep it at that level."

Kirby said the United States respected the "one-China policy" and did not want to see a change to the status quo pertaining to Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province.

Kirby also urged China not to provide military assistance to Russia in support of its war with Ukraine. U.S. officials have previously expressed concerns that such aid might be forthcoming.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland)
The White House on Tuesday would not deny that it is considering reinstating a policy of migrant family detention to deter groups from coming to the U.S. border.

Im not going to go weigh in on rumors that are out there or conversations that are happening at this time, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. The Department of Homeland Security is certainly continuing to prepare for the eventual lift of Title 42. No decisions have been made. But weve been very clear with how the president wants to move forward by putting forward a comprehensive immigration reform.

Jean-Pierre was pressed multiple times on whether the administration would rule out using the policy, which was implemented during the Trump administration as part of a broader effort to crack down on the flow of migrants to the southern border.

Im not saying its being considered  Im not saying it is not, Jean-Pierre said.

Jean-Pierre reiterated that President Bidens approach to immigration is focused on expanding legal pathways, increasing border security and making sure the administrations approach is humane.

The New York Times reported late Monday that the Biden administration is considering bringing back the practice of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally, though no final decision has been made.

The discussions come in anticipation of the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that has allowed U.S. officials to quickly expel migrants.

The Trump administration used the policy of family detention as a deterrent and attempted to detain families, including minors, indefinitely. Those attempts were eventually blocked by the court system.

As a candidate, Biden repeatedly condemned his predecessor for his immigration policies.

Reports that migrant family detention is under consideration drew criticism Tuesday from Democrats.

Reports in the New York Times that Administration officials may reinstate family detention as an option to deter migrants are deeply concerning, Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement. A just, safe, and humane immigration system should not place families in detention. We should not return to the failed policies of the past where families are detained in substandard conditions with long term damage to children.

Story continues

Jean-Pierre on Tuesday dismissed comparisons between Bidens immigration policies and those of the Trump administration. She noted the former president tried to deport Dreamers who were brought to the country illegally as children; separated migrant families; and funneled millions of dollars toward a useless wall on the southern border.

That is not what is happening here, Jean-Pierre said. What we saw in this last administration, the administration before us, was a gutting of the administration system.

Updated at 10:59 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Two Americans have been found dead and two alive after they were abducted while traveling to Mexico in an incident that is raising questions about whether people in the U.S. are at risk when they cross the border to access health care.

The four U.S. citizens vanished Friday in an attack carried out by multiple gunmen in the northern Mexico border city of Matamoros, the FBI said. The city in Tamaulipas state is just south of Brownsville, Texas, across the Rio Grande. It's one of many places along the U.S.-Mexico border where Americans flock to save money on medical care.

Details about the four Americans' trip remained sparse Tuesday, but one relative told The Associated Press they had traveled to Mexico for tummy tuck surgery. Travel for medical treatment and even surgery is not uncommon along the border.

"Medical tourism has been a very big part of the border communities for many, many, many years," said Ricardo Ainslie, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and director of research and education at the health care partnership AMPATH Mexico. "It's primarily driven by the fact that it's easy to get appointments and that it's much less expensive."

Why do people in the U.S. cross into Mexico for health care?

About 1.2 million people in the U.S. traveled to Mexico for medical, dental or other health care services each year before the COVID-19 pandemic, said Josef Woodman, CEO of Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Patients Beyond Borders, citing another consultant's estimates.

Woodman estimates U.S. residents getting medical care in Mexico can save 40% to 60% off the cost of similar procedures or operations at U.S. hospitals or clinics.

"People in the United States need access to cost-effective medical care," Woodman said. '"The U.S. has priced itself out of the market."

Pedestrians cross Gateway International Bridge on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas, into Matamoros, Mexico.

People who are not insured can access cheap care in Mexico, said Kathleen Staudt, a professor emeritus at the University of Texas at El Paso. She noted that some people living in the U.S. may already have insurance coverage in Mexico. Meanwhile, some nonprofits in Mexico offer low-cost private insurance, she said.

Story continues

Consumers often travel to Mexico to seek elective care such as weight loss or cosmetic surgery that might not be covered by their health insurance, said Irving Stackpole, a Newport, Rhode Island-based medical tourism consultant.

Others choose services like purchasing eyeglasses or getting prescriptions filled at pharmacies, Stackpole said.

"As soon as you cross the border, there are all kinds of pharmacies on the main streets," Staudt said. Many of those pharmacies have doctors on staff, she said.

Ainslie pointed to the ease of access to prescription drugs, including pain medications and antibiotics.

"You can get things in Mexico just by going into a pharmacy. You don't need a doctor's prescription," said Ainslie, whose friends in California have been getting dental care in Tijuana for years.

Why the American group went to Mexico

Information about the four kidnapped Americans was limited Tuesday. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that the group was in the country for medicine.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, told The Associated Press she was in contact with the FBI after learning her younger brother, Zindell Brown, is one of the four victims. She said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied a third friend who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck.

Brown said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings, the Associated Press reported. "Zindell kept saying, 'We shouldnt go down,'" Brown said.

What U.S. officials say about safety in the region

The State Department advises Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas, citing organized crime activity, including gunbattles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion and sexual assault.

"Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments," the department says.

Woodman said Matamoros is "not on our radar screen as a medical travel destination" but added people might seek less expensive prescription drugs there. "It's a horrible tragedy," Woodman said. "But it's also a cautionary tale."

Do your research before traveling to Mexico for health care

U.S. consumers should do their homework before choosing a doctor or clinic in Mexico, Woodman said. People should ask for a clinic's credentials as well as avoid choosing the lowest-cost provider.

Consumers should also ask clinics or doctors how often they have done particular procedures and ask to speak with patients who have used the clinic before, Stackpole said.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found single pills sold as oxycodone and Adderall at pharmacies in four northern Mexico cities often had illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine or heroin.

Though the researchers declined to name the cities or the pharmacies, they were located in tourist areas with English advertisements for erectile dysfunction medications and painkillers. Researchers tested only single pills, not prescriptions sold in bottles. Researchers said consumers should be aware these single pills might by spiked with drugs that can be harmful.

"The risk is that someone who doesn't have an opioid tolerance is really at risk of having an overdose which can be fatal," said Chelsea Shover, an assistant professor-in-residence at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

Woodman said the tragedy should not discourage others from seeking care in Mexico.

"Everybody is really saddened by it," Woodman said. "It's something that's really, really given us a lot of pause. How do we keep our patients safe? And the answer is, for something like that, it's such a freak (occurrence) that you just can't."

Dig deeper

Motorists pay a bridge toll at Gateway International Bridge on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas, to cross into Matamoros, Mexico.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deadly kidnapping puts focus on Americans using Mexico for health care
A calendar with money and a pound sign (edit) (1).jpg

Savers are often advised to invest for the long-term in order to achieve the best returns, yet a report has revealed that half of all actively-managed funds have failed to make it past their tenth birthday.

Investors choosing a fund today may find it has ceased to exist in a few years time, the investment company Morningstar warned. It found that just 50pc of active managed funds that launched 10 years ago were still around today

Passive funds, which do not have a manager and merely mirror the performance of a country or stock market, had a much higher chance of surviving, at 64pc on average.

Only about 50pc of actively-managed UK "large-cap" funds, covering big British companies, have survived the last 10 years, the firm's analysis showed. However, survivorship rates vary massively depending on the sector. Small-cap and mid-cap sectors have some of the best survival rates overall, with 72pc of actively managed UK mid-cap funds and Eurozone small-cap funds making it to a decade.

James Yardley of investment firm Chelsea Financial Services said: UK large-cap funds have gone nowhere for 20 years, with the FTSE only recently reaching a new high and getting back above where it was in 2000. By contrast, the FTSE 250 is a multiple of what it was in 2000.

Over the past decade, 27 of the 36 funds in the UK smaller companies sector outperformed the widely used benchmark index, Numis smaller companies (excluding investment companies).

Rob Morgan of wealth manager Charles Stanley said this was because relatively little proprietary research is taking place compared to the multitude of analysts poring over US or UK behemoths. Fund managers getting under the bonnet of these businesses are more likely to discover anomalies and opportunities missed by others  and add value accordingly.

He added: Active investors frequently struggle to outperform in large, well-researched markets where it is difficult to gain an edge over other investors.

Story continues

Analysts attributed active managers' higher failure rates to poor stock-picking decisions and the corrosive impact of higher fees compared to their low-cost passive peers.

Some funds have especially dismal survival rates, experts said. Only about one in five active managers invested exclusively in Brazilian or Turkish equities are still around today  a sign of the challenges of investing in more niche markets, where investor sentiment can fluctuate dramatically, Mr Morgan said.

He said: Latin America was an area in particular that has struggled to garner interest before its commodity-orientated markets drew attention last year. So it is more about fund flows and the ongoing viability of funds in specific areas where interest can fluctuate quite substantially  and lead to a cycle of launches and closures.
(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine has been fighting to keep control of the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut for months as Russian troops level the area.

Most Read from Bloomberg

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed to send reinforcements to the hotspot on Monday, signaling that he will continue Bakhmuts defense even at the risk of tying down many of his most able troops.

1. What is this city?

Bakhmut is part of the heavily industrialized eastern area of Ukraine called Donbas. The city, situated near a large natural salt deposit, had a population of 70,000 before the war. That plunged to fewer than 4,000 as civilians fled the fighting, which has reduced much of the city to rubble.

2. Why does it matter?

Bakhmut, especially in its current ruined state, has limited strategic importance, according to military analysts. But a Russian victory there would be a symbolic triumph, marking the first major urban center to fall to Moscows forces since a string of defeats began in the summer. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also said taking the city would allow his forces to penetrate further into Ukrainian defenses. Both sides also argue that continuing the fight allows them to tie down opposing forces that might otherwise be used for offensive operations in other parts of the front.

3. How long has the battle for Bakhmut been going on?

Russian forces have been shelling the area since May of last year and troops kicked off the siege of the city in early August. After months of slow progress, Russian forces renewed a push to surround the city early this year, capturing settlements to the north and south. But those advances have slowed in recent weeks as Ukraine continues to fight back. Neither side releases casualty figures, but each says the other is suffering massive losses.

Story continues

4. What is the role of Russias Wagner military contractor?

Fighters from the Wagner private military contractor, a company run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, have been concentrated on the siege. The battle has become a key test of their ability to deliver for the Kremlin, which has given them a significant role in the conflict. Lately, however, Prigozhin has complained that ammunition shortages have hamstrung his forces and blamed sabotage by the Defense Ministry.

5. Will Ukraine give the city up?

After months of vowing to defend the city and with Russian forces slowly gaining ground, Zelenskiy in February signaled that Kyiv may ultimately have to cede it. But shortly afterward, he met top generals and agreed with their recommendation that the defense should continue, ordering reinforcements to be sent. Senior commanders have visited the besieged city repeatedly in recent weeks.

--With assistance from Olesia Safronova.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The Supreme Court looks increasingly likely to sidestep a clash over an election law that has weighty stakes for gerrymandering and setting election rules.

The justices were headed toward a decision by June in the closely watched appeal from North Carolina Republican lawmakers, who are advancing a sweeping legal theory that would hand near-total authority to state legislatures in regulating federal elections.

But legal experts say a recent move by the justices on the countrys high court to question whether they have the authority to even hear the state case means they may be considering holding off on resolving the matter this term.

Should the majority-conservative U.S. Supreme Court side with the GOP lawmakers, it would allow the theory that claims the U.S. Constitution gives states sweeping authority over how to run federal elections to apply nationwide.

Opponents of the theory contended that adopting it would leave legislators power over elections unchecked, while those who support it argue that state courts shouldnt be able to supercede the authority of state legislators.

The justices agreed to take the case after attorneys for the North Carolina GOP lawmakers argued that resolving how to interpret the U.S. Constitutions Elections Clause was imperative ahead of the next election cycles and shouldnt wait for the remainder of the case to proceed in state court, contending a similar case would otherwise soon come about.

Waiting for that dispute to reach this Court would do nothing but waste time, they wrote. The Elections Clause issues will be the same, but likely in an emergency posture again, without time for this Courts merits review.

The justices on Dec. 7 heard oral argument in Republicans appeal of the North Carolina Supreme Courts decision, which struck down the states GOP-drawn congressional map. Less than four weeks after the argument, however, Republicans regained control of the states top court.

In early February, the newly-installed 5-2 conservative majority in the state court voted to give the Republican lawmakers a second shot in their case. But without being alerted, the U.S. Supreme Court justices in an unsigned order dated March 2 have now asked for an additional briefing on whether they still have jurisdiction to move ahead.

Story continues

David Thompson, who argued on behalf of the Republican lawmakers, in an email wrote that hes confident the jurisdiction remains with the high court.

For the high court to move forward, legal experts suggest the justices would rely on an exception that, despite having thorny requirements, seeks to preserve Supreme Court review of federal questions even when additional state court proceedings remain.

The justices during Decembers oral argument appeared to consider a middle path in the dispute without fully embracing the theory. But the jurisdictional concerns present a genuine legal question.

Jurisdiction is something the court takes very seriously, said Derek Muller, an election law expert and professor at the University of Iowa College of Law. Its not a proxy for the merits. I would say jurisdiction is a hard-and-fast rule that theyre going to be looking at.

The appeal that reached the U.S. Supreme Court arose after the North Carolina Supreme Courts then-Democratic majority struck down the states GOP-designed congressional map as a partisan gerrymander. It ruled the map was a violation of the state constitution.

The ruling split the case into two tracks: state courts began overseeing the drawing of new maps, and meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court justices agreed to consider if the state court had authority for its ruling.

The parties had battled in court filings over whether the North Carolina Supreme Courts decision could be considered as such for purposes of the second track, although court proceedings to design new maps still remained ahead.

The parties had battled in court filings over whether the U.S. Supreme Court could take up the second track as state court proceedings to design the new maps still remained ahead.

Ongoing proceedings in the North Carolina Supreme Court could complicate this Courts review, the North Carolina Department of Justice, which opposes the lawmakers argument, wrote in court filings.

Those debates largely fizzled once the justices agreed to take up the appeal. When the high court appeared headed for a high-stakes ruling on the merits, voting rights groups, more than 30 state attorneys general and various politicians filed amicus briefs on both sides.

The agreement of the North Carolina Supreme Court to rehear the case doesnt change the Supreme Courts jurisdiction, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law.

But if the North Carolina Supreme Court were to overrule the earlier decision, and so that the earlier decision no longer stands, then the Supreme Court could say this controversy is moot and wouldnt have jurisdiction, continued Chemerinsky, who suggested the justices will likely hold the case until the rehearing in North Carolina concludes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A 39-year-old woman was convicted on charges of sexual abuse of her minor child after a two-day jury trial in Wicomico County Circuit Court.

Qwenda Jones was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, rape in the second degree, sexual offense in the second degree, and related offenses, according to a release from the Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office. Sentencing was deferred pending a mandatory pre-sentence Investigation and mental health assessment. She will remain in custody pending sentencing.

From October 2012 through October 2014, Jones, along with her boyfriend at the time, Orlando Hill, sexually abused Jones child who was between 9 and 10 years of age at the time of the offenses, the release said.

Hill was tried and convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, sexual offense in the second degree, and related offenses in connection with these acts in November 2022 and is currently awaiting sentencing.

When a parent sexually abuses their own child, it is an indescribable act of evil. The victim in this case exhibited strength and courage in disclosing the abuse and testifying at trial against the defendant. The jurys considered verdict of guilty as to all charges is a testament to the victims bravery, said States Attorney Jamie L. Dykes.

WICOMICO SHOOTING: Maryland State Police trooper shot during Route 50 traffic stop

More on similar casesTwo arrests made in Salisbury rape, shooting incident

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Wicomico woman convicted of sexual abuse of her minor child
A royal commentator has said that the Prince and Princess of Wales would rather have Prince Andrew as their neighbour over Prince Harry and Meghan.

It comes after reports last week revealed King Charles III evicted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, and reportedly offered the keys to his disgraced brother Prince Andrew.

But reports also suggest that he is set to extend an olive branch and offer a suite in Buckingham Palace to Harry and Meghan Markle.

In response to the news that the Sussexes could be staying in Buckingham Palace, just 10 minutes away from Kensington Palace where the Prince and Princess and Wales live, English journalist and royal commentator Jennie Bond said that William and Kate would prefer Andrew as their neighbour over Harry and Meghan.

They [Prince and Princess of Wales] will be absolutely supportive of Charles decision. They probably dont want Harry and Meghan as their near neighbours, Bond told OK! Magazine.

I think theyd probably have Andrew, she added.

It comes after Prince Harry alleged in his tell-all memoir Spare that his brother had once hit him. Harry also claimed that William and Kate did not like his wife Meghan and repeatedly described them behaving with hostility, while William is alelged to have urged his brother not to marry Markle before their wedding in 2018.

A spokesperson for the couple confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday 1 March that the Sussexes had been asked to vacate the residence.

We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage, the statement said.

Prince Andrew is claimed to be resisting calls for him to move into Frogmore Cottage (Alamy Stock Photo)

It is not known if the request for the couple to vacate will affect their chances of being invited to the Kings coronation this spring.

Prince Andrew will be moving out of his current residences at the Royal Lodge, according to The Sun. A source told the publication that hes resisting being removed from the the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, which he has occupied since 2003.

Story continues

Andrew stepped down as a working royal over his association to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, he reached a multi-million pound settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her while she was underage. Andrew vehemently denies the allegations.

The source also claimed that the Duke and Duchess eviction from the space surely spells the end of Harry and Meghans time in the UK.

The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace and representatives of the Sussexes for comment.
HONG KONG (AP)  A woman accused of assisting a suspect in the gruesome killing and dismemberment of model Abby Choi in Hong Kong has been arrested in mainland China and charged, Hong Kong police said Tuesday.

The arrest of the 29-year-old woman brought the total number of people allegedly involved in the case to seven. Police said they suspect she assisted another suspect and then fled to mainland China. She was handed over to Hong Kong authorities at Shenzhen Bay Port and charged on Tuesday, they said.

The grisly killing of Choi, 28, has gripped many in Hong Kong and in mainland China because the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city has a very low level of violent crime.

Last week, her ex-husband, Alex Kwong, his father, Kwong Kau, and his brother, Anthony Kwong, were charged with murder after police found body remains in a house rented by Kwong Kau in a suburban area of Hong Kong near the border with mainland China. Alex Kwongs mother, Jenny Li, faces one count of perverting the course of justice. All four were detained without bail.

Police also arrested two others accused of assisting other suspects in the case.

Choi, who had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, disappeared Feb. 21, according to a report filed later with police.

She had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (millions of dollars) with her ex-husband and his family, police said earlier, adding that some people were unhappy with how Choi handled her finances.

While violent crime is rare in Hong Kong, the case recalls a handful of other shocking killings. In 2013, a man killed his parents, and their heads were later found in refrigerators. In 1999, a woman was kidnapped and tortured by three members of an organized crime group before her death. Her skull was later found stuffed in a Hello Kitty doll.
Federal prosecutors have charged a 34-year-old woman with transporting over 3,700 grams of fentanyl after she was found hiding at the scene of a Kansas City police standoff where three officers were injured.

Ashley Davis is charged with possession of fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Court documents allege she picked up the drugs in February after taking a trip to Lynwood, California, with 50-year-old Jimmie Lewis, Jr., who also faces charges.

The Jackson County Drug Task Force received word of the trip on Feb. 23 and obtained a search warrant of Lewis phone to access his location data, according to documents filed in federal court. Officers monitored Lewis location for days, until they observed him pulling into a home on the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Boulevard around 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 28.

After watching him pull in, officers with the Kansas City Police Departments Tactical Response Team approached the home to execute a search warrant.

As the door was broken open with a battering ram, an officer was struck by gunfire coming from the area of the door and window, according to court documents. Officers returned fire, and two other officers were also shot, authorities said.

The injured officers were transported with non-life threatening injuries. They have since been released from the hospital.

Police surrounded the home for 18 hours, attempting different tactics to communicate and diffuse the situation.

At one point during the barricade, officers deployed gas in the home. Lewis then exited through the basements rear door, as did another man, who was determined not to be involved in the assault, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors brought charges against Lewis stemming from a November 2021 arrest in which he was accused of possessing 400 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm.

Lewis has been charged with distribution-level drug possession and two gun crimes. In a motion seeking to hold Lewis without bail before trial, federal prosecutors said he is a suspected high-level member of a drug trafficking organization.

Story continues

During a second attempt to enter the home, police found Davis inside, uninjured.

A man identified as Matthew Carrell was discovered dead inside.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman said in a previous statement that MSHP investigators, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office and the Jackson County Medical Examiners Office concluded Carrell died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, though investigators would continue to go through evidence to determine all that occurred inside the house when the police officers fired their service weapons.

After being taken into custody, Lewis agreed to speak with law enforcement. During an interview with police, Lewis admitted he and Davis had driven to California to meet with a supplier.

Lewis said he gave their vehicle to the supplier, and he and Davis slept in a hotel room until they received word that the vehicle had been loaded. The pair drove back to Kansas City, where Carrell was waiting for them.

In a separate interview, Davis told police Lewis had asked her to take a trip with him to California. While they were en route, Davis told police she asked Lewis, What are we doing? Lewis allegedly replied, Going to pick up drugs.

Davis said the two of them arrived at the hotel to meet the supplier. The two of them traded off driving on the way back to Kansas City, she told police.

After they pulled into the garage of the residence on Blue Ridge Boulevard, Davis said she heard a loud noise outside and was told to run inside and hide by Lewis and Carrell.

Tactical officers later found her hiding behind a basement couch.

Upon a search of the vehicle, officers found over 3,700 grams of fentanyl, 155 grams of methamphetamine and 28 grams of powder cocaine hidden inside.

Federal prosecutors filed a motion to hold Davis without bail pending trial, claiming shes a member of a drug trafficking organization.

Davis was aware law enforcement officers were attempting to gain entry into the residence and clear the residence of subjects inside, the motion reads. However, Davis never voluntarily surrendered and instead barricaded herself in the residence until officers forcibly removed her after an eighteen-hour standoff.

Davis is set to appear in court on Wednesday.

The Stars Glenn E. Rice, Luke Nozicka, Bill Lukitsch, Robert A. Cronkleton and Katie Moore contributed to this report.
TriStar Pictures film The Woman King has been given official permission to release in cinemas in mainland China. It is expected to debut on April 14.



The Viola Davis-starring action drama film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September last year and went into U.S. and international commercial release shortly after.



More from Variety

The film has grossed $97.2 million worldwide, with $29.9 million coming from international markets and $67.3 million in North America.



While the China release is significantly later than the rest of the world, potentially opening the film to online piracy, the launch date was communicated by Chinese authorities with some five weeks of advanced notice. That is more than many Hollywood films have received in China and gives the local marketing teams a reasonable chance to promote the films theatrical launch.



Hollywood films have begun to trickle back into mainland Chinese cinemas after a near drought in 2022 and an unofficial ban on Marvel-branded movies that ran from mid-2019 until early 2023.



With the exception of Avatar: The Way of Water, Hollywood films have largely under-performed in their comeback. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the highest-grossing this year with a cumulative of $37 million after three weekends on release.



Others released and upcoming include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (released on Feb. 3 and grossing $15.7 million to date); The Son (Feb. 24, $220,000); M3gan (March 17); Shazam! 2 (March 17); Dungeons & Dragons (March 31); and Super Mario (April 5).



The Woman King is the story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness. Inspired by true events, it follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.



Story continues

It is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood with a story by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens and a screenplay by Dana Stevens. It was produced by Cathy Schulman, Davis, Julius Tennon and Bello. Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin and John Boyega also star.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
[Source]

Hong Kong police have arrested a seventh suspect in the gruesome murder of 28-year-old socialite and influencer Abby Choi, whose dismembered body was found in large pots of soup.

On Tuesday, police arrested a 29-year-old woman surnamed Pun for assisting Lam Shun, an employee of a yacht rental company, and Alex Kwong, Chois ex-husband, to escape the city by sea.

Pun, who is reportedly a friend of Kwong, allegedly helped arrange a boat to aid his escape before fleeing to mainland China.

She was arrested at the Shenzhen Bay Port by Hong Kong authorities and charged with one count of assisting an offender.

More from NextShark: She Volunteered in Women's Prisons at 14, Mentored The World's Youngest Nobel Prize Laureate By 20

Pun is the third person to be arrested for aiding and abetting an offender in relation to Chois murder case.

Last week, Lam was arrested and charged with the same offense for helping Kwong flee Hong Kong by sea for a reward of 300,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $38,000).

On Monday, the Kowloon City Magistrates Court granted Lam a cash bail of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $6,400) after appearing in court.

More from NextShark: Korean Man Wrongfully Jailed 20 Years For Murder Freed After Real Killer Confesses

He is prohibited from leaving Hong Kong and is required to report to the Tsing Yi police station two times a week.

On Feb. 27, Kwong  along with his brother and father, Anthony Kwong and Kwong Kau  was charged with the murder of Choi.

Kwongs mother, Jenny Li, was also charged with perverting the course of justice.

More from NextShark: Chinese American Socialite 'Jumps' to Death While Holding 5-Month-Old Daughter

All four defendants were detained without bail.

Kwong Kaus mistress, Ng, was the fifth suspect arrested on suspicion of hiding Kwong. She was released on bail without charge.

Choi disappeared on Feb. 21 and was last seen via CCTV footage in Tai Po District.

More from NextShark: Racist Plaques Are Being Put on Businesses Around East Atlanta

Parts of her dismembered body were found in two large stainless steel pots of soup and in a freezer at a village house in Lung Mei Tsuen.

Story continues

Chois torso and hands are still missing. The investigation remains ongoing.

The model, who shared a daughter and a son with Kwong, was involved in a financial dispute with his family, which police believe was the motive for her murder.

All suspects involved in the case are expected to return to Kowloon City Court on May 8.
Despite the Running of the Roses still being a couple months away, Kentucky Derby season is in full swing, with special bourbon releases coming out leading up to the main event on May 6.

The latest is two batches of special Woodford Reserve bourbon, which is available exclusively from the Kentucky Derby Museum. But act fast, because you only have till tomorrow at midnight to enter the lottery to secure your bottle before it goes on sale to the public.

More from Robb Report

The Kentucky Derby Museums Secretariat Bourbon Box Set was released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the the worlds most famous horse winning the Triple Crown. The packaging is a Derby lovers dream, with artwork capturing Secretariats run down the Homestretch on the front cover of the box. On the inside of the lid, youll find a short history of the legacy of this horse written by the museums director of curatorial services, Chris Goodlett. But its the whiskey inside thats the real winner here.

Woodford Reserve has its own Secretariat-celebrating Kentucky Derby bottle available now as well, but that one is all about the packaging (its classic Woodford bourbon inside the glass). This, however, is truly a special release whiskey. The team from the museum personally traveled to the distillery to select two different batches of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, an expression that takes the core bourbon and finishes it in a second set of new charred oak barrels to amplify the flavor. There are only 400 box sets available, and while they will go on sale to the public in the coming weeks theres still time to enter the lottery to win a chance to purchase one of two box sets, each numbered #73 to celebrate Secretariats victory year.

Story continues

Bottle 73 of the first batch has a blue tie, and is said to be the lighter of the two with notes of dried apple and pear, cinnamon, citrus oil, cedar and sweet honey glaze. Bottle 73 from the second batch has a white tie, and is richer with notes of baking spice, dried dark fruit, bittersweet chocolate and seasoned oak. The museum staff will select which bottle you get due to high demand, but you can be sure itll come with a few add-ons like a 50th anniversary medal with an image of Secretariat jockey Ron Turcottes signature, a special mint julep cup, tasting notes and a Collector Secretariat Tac Pin.

Each box set costs $750, but dont be surprised if you see these floating around the secondary market for much higher than that at some point down the road. You can register to enter the lottery here, but note that Kentucky law does not allow the museum to ship the booze to you. And of course you can always find a regular Woodford Derby bottle from retailers like ReserveBar if youre not traveling to Kentucky anytime soon.

Best of Robb Report

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
It turns out everybody is feeling the squeezeeven the extremely wealthy.

The worlds richest people collectively lost $10 trillion (8.3 trillion) last year, according to a new wealth report by Knight Frank. It marks the biggest annual decline in the fortunes of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) since the annual study was first published in 2010. For context, UHNWIs have a net worth of $30 million or more, including their primary residence.

More from Robb Report

The worlds 218,000 UHNWIs saw their combined wealth drop by 10 percent from $101.5 trillion in 2021 to $91.4 trillion in 2022, as per the report. Although four in 10 wealthy individuals did see their fortune increase in 2022were looking at you, Elonthe overwhelming trend was negative.

The change in aggregate wealth held by UHNWIs in 2022

The firm cited a triumvirate of shocksenergy, economic and geopoliticalas the cause of the monumental drop. The year has been aptly described as the permacrisis, according to Knight Frank. The wealth shrinking also coincides with a drop in the value of residential property, commercial property, fixed income, investments of passion (like art or whiskey) and other assets. (You can watch the video below to hear experts further explain the findings.)

The fall in wealth is unsurprising given the dramatic pivot in monetary policy that culminated in the worst performance for the traditional blended portfolio since the 1930s, the firm said.

As for who took the biggest hit, Europes ultra-rich saw the largest drop in wealth, with an average decline of 17 percent. Australasia and the Americas followed, falling 11 and 10 percent, respectively. Africa saw the smallest decline with a small drop of 5 percent, while Asia also only fell by 7 percent.

The big question now is: How will 2023 play out? In a sharp reversal, 69 percent of wealthy investors expect growth in their portfolio this year amid an expected economic rebound. Heres hoping thats the case.

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
The Full Worm Moon in March peaks on Tuesday, 7 March, 2023 (Getty Images/ iStock)

Marchs full moon will peak this week, rising in the sky just after sunset on Tuesday.

Traditionally known as the Worm Moon, the full moon in March typically coincides with creatures appearing with the warming spring weather.

The name was given by colonial and Native Americans, with the worm referring to a type of beetle larvae that emerges from the thawing bark of trees.

The full moon in March peaks on 7 March at 12.40pm GMT, when the Moon is not actually visible in the sky. Sky gazers will need to wait until just before 6pm to see the moonrise, which takes place just as the Sun is setting.

This is when the Moon will be at its fullest and brightest, however it will continue to appear full to the casual observer for the following couple of nights.

The best time to see the Moon is when it is closest to the horizon, either just after it rises in the evening, or just before it sets in the early morning.

An effect called the Moon Illusion means it seems bigger when it is near the horizon, though even Nasa scientists are unable to fully explain why.

Despite the fact that people have been observing this illusion for thousands of years, we still dont have a rock-solid scientific explanation for it, the US space agency wrote in a blog post.

Perhaps trees, mountains, and buildings help to trick your brain into thinking the Moon is both closer and bigger than it is.

This theory does not explain why astronauts also claim to have witnessed the Moon Illusion from the International Space Station (ISS), despite having no objects in the foreground to compare it to.

Weather forecasts from the Met Office suggest good viewing conditions across large parts of the UK and Ireland, with partial cloud cover obscuring only southern areas of both countries.

For those whose view is blocked, a live stream of the Full Worm Moon will be broadcast on the official YouTube page of the Virtual Telescope Project.

The next full moon, known as the Pink Moon, will take place on 6 April. The first supermoon of the year is set for 3 July, with two more due at the beginning and end of August.
President Xi Jinping, right, says Western countries have encircled, suppressed and contained China - GREG BAKER/AFP

Xi Jinping issued a rare, direct rebuke against the US, accusing Washington of seeking to "suppress and contain" China in remarks that echoed the Cold War.

Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our countrys development," the Chinese leader said.

Mr Xi's comments directly naming the US are a departure from his often pointed references to certain countries.

The Chinese version of his remarks in state media differ, however, from the English translation published, which neither names the US specifically nor uses the word containment.

China's new foreign minister, Qin Gang, echoed Mr Xis sentiments on Tuesday, saying the US should change its "distorted attitude towards China or conflict and confrontation would follow.

The Cold War-era rhetoric aligns with increasingly shrill messaging from Chinas foreign ministry and state media, both of which have in recent years sought to paint the US as a bad-faith actor and to blame Washington for deteriorating bilateral relations.

China's leaders at the opening session of the National People's Congress - NOEL CELIS/AFP

Tensions between the US and China have worsened, as the two nations continue to clash on human rights, trade, technology, the war in Ukraine and the issue of Taiwan, an island nation with a democratic government that Beijing claims as its territory.

In an apparent effort to diffuse escalating tensions with China, a highly anticipated but sensitive meeting between Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwans president, and Kevin McCarthy, the US House Speaker, is now due to take place in the US, rather than in Taiwan, this spring, the Financial Times reported.

Ms Tsai has been invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library while she travels through California on a planned visit to Central America.

Last year, when Mr McCarthys predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited, China staged unprecedented military drills around the island. Mr Xi himself has made clear his intent to re-unify with Taiwan, even if it means resorting to force.

Story continues

Sudden entry into Taiwan

Taiwan's defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, warned on Tuesday that the island must be on alert this year for a "sudden entry" into areas near its territory by the Chinese military.

The US and its allies are already carrying out contingency planning for the region  one of the worlds most dangerous flashpoints  as Washington and Beijing intensify their military and strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific region.



Mr Xi, who renewed his status as the leader of the ruling Chinese Communist Party last fall, is expected to be elected again as president this month.



Li Qiang, a Xi loyalist, is set to become the next premier, the countrys second most-powerful person, at the end of the annual meeting of Chinas rubber stamp parliament, which kicked off over the weekend and typically lasts two weeks.



A Chinese parliamentary delegate has proposed that China make public a blacklist of people who try to split Taiwan from mainland China, allowing anyone to arrest and shoot them without being held accountable in the event of a special operation in the island nation.

This language that echoes how Russian president Vladimir Putin has described his invasion of Ukraine. Those doing so would even be awarded a medal of honour for promoting unity.



Its unclear whether the proposal has much backing, though it gives a sense of where discourse is within Chinese political circles. Many delegates put forth ideas though usually what will pass has already been decided by the Communist Partys most senior ranks.



Additional reporting by Jenny Pan
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping praised and at the same time raised concern about battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. at a meeting with delegates during annual national meetings in Beijing.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Xi expressed both joy and worry about CATL ranking as the worlds biggest cell maker for six-straight years, Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday, saying the company has a global market share of 37%.

The good news is that our industry has come to the forefront of the world. The worry is that I am afraid of a big boom, first rushing up, and finally dispersing, the news agency cited Xi as saying.

Xi, poised to start a third term as Chinas leader and consolidate his rule, said the growth of emerging industries should be well planned and closely assessed for risk. He said companies must balance development with security.

CATL didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is based in Ningde, Fujian  the province where Xi was once governor.

China has emerged as a dominant force in electric-vehicle battery making, with BYD Co. in second place in terms of global market share, ahead of South Koreas LG Energy Solution Ltd., Panasonic Holdings Corp. and Samsung SDI Co., according to January figures from SNE Research Inc.

Chinese authorities are scrutinizing a CATL agreement with Ford Motor Co. to work together on battery making in the US, concerned that core technology could be accessed by the American automaker, Bloomberg News has reported. The Biden administration is also nearing completion of an order that would restrict US investments in parts of the Chinese economy.

Story continues

CATLs shares slipped 1.5% on Tuesday.

--With assistance from Chunying Zhang and Linda Lew.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- President Xi Jinping sought to rally Chinas private sector to help overcome containment by the US and other countries, in rare direct criticism of the nations biggest trading partner.

Most Read from Bloomberg

China is grappling with comprehensive containment and suppression by western countries led by the US over the past few years, which have brought unprecedented and severe challenges for Chinas development, Xi told the countrys top political advisory body on Monday, according to state broadcaster China National Radio.

He stressed the importance of the private sector to Chinas economy, and urged companies to strengthen innovation and play a bigger role in establishing technology independence.

Xis comments underscore mounting tensions between the US and China, especially over advanced technology, and raise questions about whether the two sides can establish guardrails to reduce the risk of miscalculation. After Xi and President Joe Biden pledged to improve ties during a November meeting, relations took another turn for the worse.

In addition to concerns over an alleged Chinese spy balloon the US shot down last month, the Biden administration has continued to take actions to prevent major Chinese companies from accessing American technology. Earlier this year, the US also rallied Japan and the Netherlands to restrict exports of some advanced chipmaking machinery to China, largely to curb military expansion.

Xis comments come as China holds its annual meeting of its legislature, the National Peoples Congress. Beijing is seeking to restore business and consumer confidence in the economy after growth weakened to just 3% last year, missing the governments target by a wide margin. Authorities are targeting growth of around 5% for this year.

Story continues

While Xi made encouraging comments about supporting private business and entrepreneurs, he said the government will regulate their growth according to the law and reminded them they have a role to play in rewarding the society in order to achieve common prosperity  a reference to his goal of driving down inequality by spreading wealth in the country.

He warned private companies to build a harmonious relationship with workers and make sure that the development of the firms benefit all employees in a fairer way.

Xis campaign to reduce inequality under the common prosperity drive has led to an overhaul of the for-profit education industry, regulatory crackdowns on technology platform companies, and fueled concerns about wealth taxes.

Investors took the speech in their stride on Tuesday. Chinese stocks trading in Hong Kong added 1.6% as of 10:52 a.m. local time with tech shares including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and JD.com Inc. being the biggest point contributors. The mainlands benchmark CSI 300 Index was little changed.

Whole Nation Strategy

In his government work report released at the start of NPC on Sunday, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang reiterated the call for a whole nation strategy to edge out Washington on basic scientific research and advanced technologies ranging from advanced intelligence to space.

China in particular has sought to mobilize national resources to develop its own chip industry. Earlier this month, Vice Premier Liu He told a meeting of executives in Beijing that developing the industry requires China to make good use of both government and market forces.

China has already pledged to invest an extra $1.9 billion in the countrys biggest maker of memory chips, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., a deal that could herald a renewed influx of government capital into the sector.

The capital infusion from the Big Fund, as Beijings signature investment vehicle is commonly known, was slated for completion on Jan. 31, according to Tianyancha, a government website that discloses company registration information.

Chinas senior leaders have grown frustrated by the lack of progress in developing local chip alternatives. Last year they launched a sweeping corruption campaign in 2022 that took down senior officials and several executives linked to the Big Fund.

YMTC is one of only a handful of domestic chipmakers within striking range of the global leaders, competing with South Korean giants Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. to provide memory chips for applications from smartphones to data center servers.

Seen as a national champion, the firm was placed last year on Washingtons lengthening US trade blacklists.

--With assistance from Fran Wang.

(Updates with additional details.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to warn on Tuesday that climate change is already having an economic impact in the U.S., cautioning that it could cause asset value losses in the future, according to Reuters.

Yellen is expected to issue the warning to an advisory board that includes academics and leaders from both the nonprofit and private sector, according to Reuters. The secretary will also argue that a slow transition to a net-zero carbon economy could have deep impacts on the countrys financial system.

As climate change intensifies, natural disasters and warming temperatures can lead to declines in asset values that could cascade through the financial system, she said in remarks prepared for delivery at the advisory boards first meeting. And a delayed and disorderly transition to a net-zero economy can lead to shocks to the financial system as well.

The climate change alert from Yellen comes as weather disasters in the last year have caused billions of dollars in damage across the U.S. A report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concluded that 2022 tied 2017 and 2011 for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters.

The report also found that last year was the third costliest year when it comes to natural disasters, with damages totaling at least $165 billion  trailing only 2017 and 2005.

The advisory board, the Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee, was organized last year to help promote U.S. policies to mitigate the risks that climate change poses to the economy.

The Biden administration has taken executive actions to try to combat climate change risks, including an expected new rule from the Securities and Exchanges Commission that would require companies to disclose more information about their greenhouse gas emissions.

But Republicans in Congress have argued the White House is overextending its authority in its moves to address climate change.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A fresh bout of heavy rainfall could increase flood risk in California later this week, as yet another atmospheric river sweeps through the region.

A strong storm system over the Pacific Ocean will likely approach the Pacific Northwest coast on Thursday night and into Friday, dragging an abundance of subtropical moisture inland over Central California, according to the National Weather Services (NWS) Hanford branch.

Accompanying heavy rains are expected to cause snowmelt in areas below 5,000 feet, with 4 to 6 inches accumulating in the Sierra Nevada foothills by Saturday night, the outlook stated.

It now appears increasingly likely that a potentially significant and very likely warm atmosphere river will probably affect some portion of Northern or Central California, University of California, Los Angeles climate scientist Daniel Swain said during virtual office hours on Monday.

Theres a lot of uncertainty at this point regarding how intense it will be how prolonged it will be in the impacts it will likely have, Swain continued. However, confidence has grown that a warm rain event of some magnitude will occur later this week.

Weather Channel meteorologist Domenica Davis made similar remarks on Tuesday, noting that by Friday, we have this intense moisture flow that is going to be coming in, and this is going to bring widespread heavy rain.

This latest episode of precipitation comes following a series of winter storms, with snow piling up in Sierra Nevada ski resort areas last weekend.

Sugar Bowl received about 60 inches of snow, while the Sierra Snow Lab recorded 48.5 inches and Palisades Tahoe amassed 36 inches, according to the NWS Sacramento office.

Its been another remarkable week of California weather, Swain said during his office hours.

The situation has become particularly noteworthy, he explained, because this accumulation occurred on top of already extremely heavy snowfall from previous weeks.

Story continues

In some cases, its approaching record snowpack accumulation levels for the time of year, Swain said.

So much snow has piled up that some areas are beginning to experience structural issues, with buildings collapsing under the weight of the snow and ski resorts shutting down, according to Swain.

Some of the chairlifts at the highest peaks are no longer that high above the snow itself, he said.

With such enormous amounts of snow, the incoming deluge of rain could lead to what Davis described as a quick melt and creating major concern about flooding.

Persons living near rivers and streams should closely monitor water levels and be ready to move to higher ground if the threat of flooding becomes imminent, the NWS Hanford outlook warned.

Now would be a good time to prepare and have an evacuation plan in place in the event high water becomes a threat to your safety, the forecast added.

While Swain agreed that the storm system is likely going to increase flood risk later this week, he stressed that this is not going to be a widespread catastrophic flood event.

Swain said that he is most concerned about flooding in the Sierra Nevada foothills regions, particularly in urban areas where storm drains have been clogged by snow.

At higher elevations, Swain said that the rain influx could make accumulated snowpack heavier and potentially exacerbate existing structural issues.

If you can, go out and try and remove some snow from structures that might be vulnerable, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The man who killed eight people with a truck on a Manhattan bike path in 2017 should be spared the death penalty and instead be sent to prison for life because execution was "not necessary" to achieve justice, his lawyer told jurors on Tuesday.

Sayfullo Saipov, a 35-year-old Uzbek national who moved to the United States in 2010, was convicted in January by a jury in Manhattan federal court of committing murder with a goal of joining the Islamic State Islamist militant group, also called ISIS.

Jurors heard closing arguments on Tuesday in the trial's penalty phase and are expected to begin deliberations this week on whether to impose the death penalty or a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Saipov has been jailed since mowing down his victims with a rented U-Haul truck alongside the Hudson River on Oct. 31, 2017. More than a dozen other people were severely injured.

Federal public defender David Patton told the jury that Saipov was to blame for his actions and the grief that his victims and their relatives experienced, but it was the "right decision" to let him live.

"Meeting death with more death is not the answer," Patton said. "The decision in front of you isn't about more or less punishment. It is about life or death. It is a deeply moral decision."

The trial marks the first time jurors in any case have been asked to consider the federal death penalty since U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, took office in January 2021 after campaigning to abolish that punishment.

Jurors would have to agree unanimously on the death penalty, otherwise Saipov would get a life sentence.

In her own closing argument, federal prosecutor Amanda Houle displayed photos of Saipov's bloodied victims and called him a "proud terrorist" who deserved the stiffest possible sentence.

"When ISIS called upon him to fight overseas or attack here, he chose here, this city," Houle said. "He chose to ruin so many lives, lives he still does not value. And he chose it all for the fame of being a soldier of the caliphate for ISIS."

Story continues

The United States considers Islamic State a terrorist organization.

Patton said that if Saipov got a life sentence, he would serve it at the Colorado "Supermax" prison, where he would be confined to a tiny cell with a concrete bed for 22 or 23 hours a day, and spend recreation time in a cage by himself.

"The only two options for him," Patton said, "are dying alone in prison, or dying in an execution chair."

"It is not necessary to kill Sayfullo Saipov," Patton said. "It is not necessary to do justice."

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Bill Berkrot)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that shop owners should require customers to enter stores without masks to prevent theft. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

NYC Mayor Eric Adams said face masks obstruct stores from identifying potential shoplifters.

"Do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face masks," he told a local radio station.

Adams' comments come as retailers have sounded the alarms about above-average theft rates.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has a clear message for retailers: If you want to prevent theft, don't allow shoppers to enter with face masks on.

"Do not allow people to enter the store without taking off their face masks," Adams told a local radio station Monday. "When you see these mask-wearing people, it's not about being fearful of a pandemic. (They're) fearful of the police catching (them) for their misdeeds."

Adams said that stores need to be able to use technologies to "identify those shoplifters and those who have committed serious crimes," but that face masks  an item that has become commonplace, albeit decreasingly so, due to the coronavirus pandemic  make it hard to do so. He added that once in the store, shoppers can feel free to wear face masks.

Adams' comments come as retailers have sounded the alarms about above-average theft rates for months. Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in December 2022 that stores would close and prices would rise if theft levels did not drop.

Missing inventory also reduced Target's gross margin by more than $400 million in fall 2022 compared with the year prior, Target CFO Michael Fiddelke said in November 2022 during a company earnings call. He said the company expected those profit losses to grow to $600 million by the end of the fiscal year,

The theft issue has ballooned into a $94.5 billion problem for the retail industry, according to a 2022 study conducted by the National Retail Federation.

Still, other retailers are walking back their messaging around theft. Walgreens CFO James Kehoe said in January the company "cried too much" about theft the year prior, saying it hadn't seen as much shrinkage in recent months.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Charlotte Greenfield

FOLADI VALLEY, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In a small village circled by velvety white snow-topped mountains in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, Aziza Rahimi mourns the baby son she lost last year after a harrowing birth with no medical care.

"It was too hard for me when I lost my baby. As a mother, I nurtured the baby in my womb for nine months but then I lost him, it is too painful," said Rahimi, 35.

The village's rugged and remote beauty in Bamiyan's Foladi Valley comes with deadly barriers for pregnant mothers. A narrow road to the village with few vehicles is sometimes cut off by snow, severing a lifeline to hospitals, clinics and trained health workers.

However, a potentially life-saving improvement is on the way. Rahimi's village is one of several around Bamiyan that have sent 40 young women to train for two years as midwives in the provincial capital, after which they will return home.

Isolation can become a death sentence in any difficult birth, doctors and aid workers say, contributing to Afghanistan's extremely high maternal and infant mortality rates, among the worst in the world.

The United Nations estimates an Afghan woman dies every two hours during pregnancy and childbirth, making Afghanistan's maternal mortality rate the highest in Asia.

The trainee midwife programme has been spearheaded by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) with the Watan Social and Technical Services Association, a local charity. They hope to expand the programme, which also takes place in neighbouring Daikundi province.

Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector and UNHCR says local health authorities are supportive of the project.

DONKEYS

"When the roads are blocked of course there is no means of transportation, people even use donkeys to move patients to the clinic centres, but sometimes there is not even the opportunity for that," said Mohammad Ashraf Niazi, the head of UNHCR's Bamiyan office.

Story continues

Rahimi, who has five other children, said riding a donkey was out of the question when she was jolted by pain while nine months' pregnant in the middle of the night four months ago. Stumbling, bleeding, for two hours to her in-laws' house after her husband was unable to find a car or ambulance to take them to hospital, she gave birth there.

The baby died shortly after. Too late, an ambulance arrived.

Women giving birth experience a very different situation in Bamiyan's main city hospital where the trainee midwives work alongside staff, and with the help of a trainer learn how to assess and guide pregnant women, deliver babies and provide post-partum care.

"We want to learn and serve the people of our village," said one 23-year-old trainee, who walks two hours each day to the hospital. UNHCR asked the trainees not be named for safety.

In one small hospital clinic, with dozens of women waiting outside, a trainee midwife guides a woman with the help of a book of images on what to expect to prepare for birth under the watchful eye of two trained healthworkers.

Any women with risks of complications are admitted to a maternity ward in a nearby building where another trainee midwife takes the blood pressure of a pregnant patient suffering from an infection. She checks regularly on a woman who gave birth six hours earlier, her baby daughter nestled by her side.

Many of the trainee midwives, some with small children of their own, have faced logistical and financial challenges, often having to travel huge distances, or live far from home to attend the programme.

"At first, I didn't want to study nursing or to be a midwife, but after I faced problems and pains during my pregnancy, I got a desire to study midwifery," said a 20-year old trainee, the mother of an 18-month old son who struggled to access care in her village. She said many women and families in remote areas did not have the information and support they needed to prepare for a safe delivery.

"We have to change such kind of thoughts ... I want to go to remote areas to treat women who face problems."

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Bamiyan; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
KYIV (Reuters) - A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Kyiv was "absolutely not involved" in last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines and has no information about what happened.

A New York Times report on Tuesday cited U.S. officials suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the blasts in September 2022, seven months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Without a doubt, Ukraine is absolutely not involved in the excesses on the pipelines," Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement to Reuters. "It does not make the slightest bit of sense."

He added that Ukraine has no information about exactly who was involved but speculated that what he called Russian efforts to destabilise the region might have been to blame.

"Starting from the first day of construction on the pipelines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, Ukraine repeatedly drew the attention of its Western partners to the sharply growing strategic risks for the security of Europe carried by the realisation of this project," Podolyak said.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Mark Heinrich)
President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address on March 6 said that along with Ukraine's top-level commanders, the decision was made not to withdraw from Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast and instead to reinforce the troops currently defending the eastern city from Russia's relentless attacks.

"Today at the General Staff meeting, I directly asked both commander of the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops, (Oleksandr) Syrsky, and Commander-in-Chief (Valeriy) Zaluzhny about their view on the further defense operation in Bakhmut: either withdraw or continue to defend and reinforce the city."

"Both generals replied: do not withdraw and reinforce. The General Staff unanimously backed this opinion. There were no other opinions," he said.

Russia has been attempting to encircle Bakhmut for months as part of its larger objective of capturing the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Russia has occupied nearly all of Luhansk Oblast since it first invaded in 2014 and then later during its full-scale invasion.

The losses on both sides are thought to be extremely high.


Ukrainian forces near Bakhmut Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday that after meeting with Ukraine's top commander and the commander of eastern forces, all three agreed on "continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut," the flattened city in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces have been trying to capture for eight months. The losses have been tremendous, especially on the Russian side. "Do not withdraw," Zelensky said in his nightly address, summarizing the clear directives from the generals. "Reinforce."

Russia's Wagner mercenaries and regular Russian forces have surrounded Bakhmut on three sides, though a Ukrainian counteroffensive over the weekend reinforced the main supply  and escape  route. Ukrainian forces have completely withdrawn "from the roughly one-third of the city's area that sits on the eastern bank of the Bakhmutka River," The Wall Street Journal reports, and "are concentrating on holding the central and western parts of the city, with easily defensible positions." The fighting is so close-quartered that hand-to-hand combat is not uncommon, Ukrainian soldiers say.

"Ukraine has been able to use Bakhmut as a kill box to grind down the vast numbers of newly mobilized Russian soldiers" and Wagner forces, The New York Times reports. Wagner sends waves of untrained recruits to their certain death, and when Ukraine troops are exhausted and their positions exposed, the elite Russian troops try to gain territory. "It's a working tactic," acknowledged Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine's eastern ground forces. "It's based on constant advancement, however slight, and takes absolutely no account of human losses."

Several Western analysts have suggested that Ukraine would be better off withdrawing from Bakhmut to conserve troops and ammunition for a planned spring offensive. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday that Bakhmut "is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," and a potential Ukrainian pullback "won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight."

Story continues

Austin is right that "Bakhmut is not intrinsically significant operationally or strategically," and losing it would not be "of major operational or strategic concern to Ukraine," the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank assessed. "But Ukraine's fight for Bakhmut has become strategically significant," because Ukraine is now grinding down not just Wagner prison recruits but also "elite elements of the Wagner Group and from Russian airborne units."

Wagner may not have enough men and ammunition to capture Bahkmut, ISW added. But either way, degrading Wagner's forces  its best troops and its "cannon fodder"  and elite Russian forces in an arena so favorable to Ukraine means "they will not be available for more important fights" to come.

You may also like

Egyptian archeologists discover Sphinx from 1st century A.D.

Companies are turning to personality tests as remote and hybrid work becomes normal

Can Fox News survive?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed his troops would continue to defend the embattled town of Bakhmut, stressing that holding off Russian forces in the area denies Moscow a symbolic victory and an important foothold.

Zelensky told CNNs Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview airing Wednesday night that taking Bakhmut would give Russia access to an open road for a push further west into the Donetsk region.

This is tactical for us, Zelensky said, according to early remarks published by CNN. We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further.

They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, Zelensky added. It would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction.

Zelensky also said Russia needs at least some victory, and if Moscow were to put their little flag atop Bakhmut, it would mobilize their society in order to create this idea theyre such a powerful army.

The Ukrainian leaders comments offer more detailed insight into the decisionmaking around the defense of Bakhmut, which some analysts have suggested is becoming more and more dangerous for Ukrainian forces to hold.

Russian forces, led by the mercenary Wagner Group, are slowly encircling the Ukrainian defenders in the center of the city after months of brutal fighting.

Although has lost a staggering number of soldiers and armor, and is running low on ammunition, Russian troops are putting tremendous pressure on Kyiv.

Bakhmuts value is considered more symbolic than strategic because Ukraine has fortified defenses toward the industrial hubs of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. But the town has become a major Russian focus for the war effort in recent months.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in a military conference call on Tuesday that Bakhmut is a major defense line for Ukrainian troops in the Donbas, which is made up of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and breaking through would pave the way further west, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.

Story continues

Holding Bakhmut for so long has allowed Ukraine to inflict heavy losses on Russia while Kyiv prepares for a counteroffensive, but there is a risk that Ukrainian troops could get caught in the town if Russia continues to close in.

Zelensky met with his top commanders on Monday and decided that Ukraine would continue to hold the town.

The Ukrainian president explained in an address the choice to defend Bakhmut was unanimous, and the town has yielded and is yielding one of the greatest results during this war.

I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut, Zelensky said in the address. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned. There is no Ukrainian trench in which the resilience and heroism of our warriors would be disregarded.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Multiple incidents of cat killings that came to light in Japans Saitama city over the last month have triggered fear among the residents. One of the bodies of the mangled feline was found near an elementary school, raising concerns about childrens safety

The horrendous killings of cats in Japans Saitama city last month have raised alarm.

In early March, a teenager was arrested at a junior high school near Tokyo for stabbing a teacher. As per The Japan News, the 17-year-old has claimed he was behind the recent brutal murders of cats in Saitama, located near greater Tokyo.

The police are probing his possible role in the cat murders, Japanese media has reported.

Early in February, the severed head and paws of a brown spotted cat were discovered along the banks of the Arakawa River in Saitama, as per CNN.

Days later, the remaining body, of what police believe was the same cat, came up on the grounds of an elementary school.

Till mid-February, two more mutilated cats, one on a park bench, and the other tied with a piece of string and hanging from the climbing frame at a junior school were found. ...continue reading
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
While Europe holds the crown for investment migration programs in 2023, a growing number of African states is joining the fray, looking to attract high-net-worth individuals by offering residence and citizenship through investment programs.

Migration investment programs allow people to purchase citizenship or residency in exchange for an investment in a country. African economies looking to attract fresh investments are turning to innovative programs that offer residence and dual citizenship opportunities to high-net-worth individuals. For example, foreigners seeking Namibian residency must purchase real estate valued at least $316,000 at an exclusive Bay of Whales estate.

Foreign investors in a similar program in Mauritius must purchase luxury real estate valued at a minimum of $75,000 from six eligible real estate projects, while interested investors need to fork out at least $1 million to be eligible for Seychelles citizenship by investment program.

Meanwhile, South Africas residence by investment program grants individuals with a minimum net worth of $820,000 the ability to work, study, or manage their own business in the country.

Egypt looks to attract high-net-worth individuals, offering them a passport by investing a minimum of $250,000 with the option to invest $500,000 or more.

Kenya and Uganda are also at an advanced stage of introducing citizenship by investment, while Rwanda and Zanzibar already have their respective programs with specific terms and conditions in place. Overall, residence by investment programs has the potential to be a game-changer for African economies, providing a much-needed injection of foreign capital and promoting sustainable economic growth.
The majority of the Andean Parliament has reaffirmed unwavering support to Moroccos territorial integrity and autonomy plan offered for a lasting and peaceful solution to the Sahara regional conflict.

In a petition addressed to President of this deliberative body of the Andean Community, 15 MPs out of the 25-member regional organization called for the promotion of peace and stability, stressing the importance of dialogue in building consensus for enduring peace in the region.

They recalled the meeting held by the Andean Parliament in the Moroccan Saharan city of Laayoune in July 2022, with the participation of the Moroccan Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, a meeting which contributed to enhancing further dialogue and parliamentary cooperation between Moroccan lawmakers and their Andean peers.

This petition deals a hard blow to Speaker of the Andean Parliament, Colombian Senator Gloria Florez, a supporter of Algeria and its Polisario puppet.

Few weeks ago, Foreign Affairs Committee of the Andean Parliament rebuked Gloria for siding with Algeria and its Polisario armed militia, fuelling tension in the region and threatening its stability.

Morocco is an observer member of the Andean Parliament formed of 25 elected MPs, five from each of the five member countries: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

This regional body seeks to harmonize legislations among member countries, enhance regional cooperation and speed up integration of the Andean community for shared prosperity and progress.
Iranian drones have made their way to North Africa through Algeria, posing a threat to the stability of the region, at a time Morocco has been calling the international communitys attention to this threat and warning against the acquisition of drones by terrorist and separatist groups.

At the end of 2022, Moroccan Senior Officials highlighted Iran and Algerias new alliance along with statements made by Iranian officials about the sale of drones to Algeria as part of a significant arms deal. Senior officials from the Kingdom have also highlighted statements made by Polisario Front about the receipt of drones and other weapons from Algeria, along with training and the development of infrastructure to operate them, reports the Egyptian Military Africa magazine.

Late last year, the separatist Polisario Front threatened to use military drones against Moroccos Royal Armed Forces stationed along the Western Sahara defence wall. The announcement came as the Polisarios leader Brahim Ghali was preparing to launch a military movement from Tindouf for the fronts war of attrition against Morocco, the magazine recalls.

Omar Mansour, the Polisarios envoy to Mauritanias President revealed the news at a press conference in Nouakchott at the time. The Sahrawi army will soon use armed drones in the war of attrition in Western Sahara, Mansour threatened.

The magazine warned that Iranian drones on Moroccos borders pose a serious concern for the country, as unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and even military operations. The drones are capable of surveying vast areas of Moroccan territory, allowing the Iranian government to gain insight into the Kingdoms activity and movements. Furthermore, the drones could be used to provide intelligence on the Moroccan military on the Polisarios positions, making them vulnerable to airstrikes and other forms of aggression.

For the publication, as the Iranian drones become increasingly prevalent in the region, Morocco is likely to face a heightened risk of attack, making this an urgent matter that must be addressed.

Accordingly, the Moroccan Armed Forces enforced a land and air exclusion zone east of the defensive wall and started operating a variety of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Turkish-designed Bayraktar TB2 drones. Less than twenty-four hours after the Polisario threatened to use unmanned aircraft against Morocco, Moroccos Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita warned against the acquisition of armed drones by terrorist and separatist groups.

Iran, after undermining the stability of Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon, is in the process of destabilizing our region, declared Omar Hilal, Moroccos ambassador to the United Nations.

With the Wests eye firmly on the role Iranian drones are playing in Ukraine, concerns are rising in Africa that Iran is playing a major destabilizing role in the region through the support of terrorist proxies. Having supported Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Fatimiyoun in Afghanistan, its well known that Iran is playing a significant role in West Africa. It is typical of Irans approach to foreign intervention to identify proxy wars and then offer support to the non-state actors requiring weapons.

Iran is also using both its soft power through education and marriage to build up its presence in North Africa. At the same time, it is providing weapons, training, and other types of support with the engagement of a range of other countries to militias in the region.

Iran is playing an active role in the Sahel across North Africa with various groups while Morocco, one of the U.S.s most long-standing allies in the region raised concerns as early as 2006 that the region was becoming a breeding ground and exporter of a new generation of terrorists.

In Africa, there is rising concern that the support and materiel being provided to individuals by Iran and other malign actors in North Africa would result in increased attacks and instability. Attacks are taking place against local populations and Western forces in the region with French and U.S. special forces having already experienced casualties.

The provision of drones to Polisario by Iran and Algeria, and their likely spread to other groups is a major escalation in their offensive capabilities. Morocco, which has experienced devastating terrorist attacks in the past, because of its pro-Western role as a firewall against Islamic extremism, is once more on the front lines.

As is being seen in Ukraine, armed drones provide the ability to attack targets from a distance  not too long ago only an option for countries with air forces or ballistic missiles. Having weaponized drones on the border of Morocco controlled by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front is the equivalent of Russian missiles in Cuba.

In the same way that this had major geopolitical consequences, independent observers and Moroccan officials are raising concerns that this very real threat is being lost in the fog of Russias invasion of Ukraine, the focus on China spy balloons, and the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

Irans growing military-industrial complex is producing and shipping drones, and weapons including missiles and cluster bombs, to stoke conflicts and instability around the world. While the world focused on Ukraine, its weapon sales and ability to work around sanctions to generate revenue at home should be a major cause for concern for the West. The Algeria and Iran axis as it relates to Morocco and Polisario needs far more attention from the U.S. and others who tend to look at this through the lens of a dispute between neighbours, rather than as is increasingly the case Polisario as a proxy for Iran and Algeria, building up capabilities to attack a U.S. ally.

Similarly, Russias invasion of Ukraine is part of a broader strategy to reform the Soviet Bloc, Irans engagement with Algeria needs to be seen as part of its objective of an arc of influence stretching from the Middle East through North Africa and into the West Africa. Morocco is a key buffer between these regions and of critical importance.

The magazine warned that in this broader context, theres a real danger that, just as in the past, as Morocco sounds the alarm about drones on its borders that the warnings will not be heard, and the Iran-Algeria axis will grow stronger and more dangerous for the region.
The International Monetary Fund intends to approve Moroccos request for a 5 billion-dollar Flexible Credit Line (FCL) during a meeting of its executive board meeting.

Considering Moroccos very strong policy frameworks and track record, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva intends to recommend approval of the FCL arrangement for Morocco when the IMF Executive Board meets again to take a decision in the following weeks, the IMF said in a statement.

The IMF stands ready to continue to support Morocco face the risks from the highly uncertain global environment, it said.

The Moroccan government plans to treat the line as precautionary to safeguard against external shocks as was the case with the 3-billion-dollar precautionary liquidity line that the IMF offered Morocco in 2016.

Morocco raised 2.5 billion dollars in a dual tranche bond last week after it was removed from the FATF list of countries under scrutiny, a decision that the Moroccan government expects to help improve its sovereign rating.
The World Bank said it halted cooperation with Tunisia after a surge in racism in the country triggered by anti-migrant speech by its president.

President Kais Saied stoked racism in the country, triggering a spate of state-condoned violent acts that affected many Sub-Saharans living in the country.

News agencies, including Reuters, said the World Bank paused its partnership with Tunisia, which mapped out future programs from 2023-2025, and had postponed it until further notice.

The safety and inclusion of migrants and minorities is part of our institutions core values of inclusion, respect, and anti-racism in all shapes and forms, World Bank President David Malpass told staff in a note.

Public commentary that stokes discrimination, aggression, and racist violence is completely unacceptable, he wrote.

As President Kais Saied continues his power grab and control over the judiciary, economic conditions worsen with shortages of basic goods leading Tunisians to stand in long queues.

Picking Sub-Saharan migrants as a scapegoat to distract from the erosion of financial, political, and economic stability in the country has backfired as the noose tightens on the government to halt its crackdown on migrants.

As you heard from the World Bank, we too are deeply concerned by President Saieds remarks regarding migration from sub-Saharan Africa to Tunisia and reports of arbitrary arrests of migrants in recent weeks, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

We urge Tunisian authorities to meet their obligations under international law to protect the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, he added.

Social media was awash with videos showing Tunisians acting to the Presidents racist comments tormenting and terrorizing Sub-Saharan migrants in the country. The situation has led many African countries to ask their nationals to leave the country.
A 42-year-old Lincoln man is facing decades in prison after he allegedly sexually abused at least one child for eight years and subjected three other children to some form of abuse.

Prosecutors with the Nebraska Attorney General's Office on Tuesday charged Jesse J. Widick with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, four counts of felony child abuse and two additional felony sex crimes for the alleged abuse, first reported to police in November 2021, according to court records.

"My God," Widick said at his initial court appearance Friday, after Judge Laurie Yardley read aloud the charges levied against him and the possible penalties the charges carry, which could include a life sentence.

"This is just  wow," he said.

A judge signed a warrant for Widick's arrest Wednesday and ordered the affidavit for his arrest and the criminal complaint against him sealed.

In an affidavit for a search warrant filed in November 2021, Lincoln Police Investigator Lynette Russell said that a high school-aged girl told a friend in Texas that Widick had been sexually abusing her for eight years.

The friend relayed the report to Texas authorities, who contacted police in Lincoln, Russell said in the affidavit.

The girl later told investigators that Widick had sexually assaulted her about 2,000 times starting in 2013 in a string of assaults that lasted until about a week before her interview with police, Russell said in the affidavit for a search warrant for Widick's computers and hard drives.

Widick at times would bribe the girl for sex, she told police, paying her money after assaulting her.

He also threatened to kill her if she reported the abuse, Russell said in the affidavit.

It's unclear what led to the child abuse charges, which describe the teenage girl and three other children as victims. Documents relating to those charges were sealed from public view.

At his court appearance Friday, which Widick attended via Zoom from a Lancaster County Jail cell, he said he had been in counseling at the direction of authorities for nearly 18 months and seemed to be surprised by his arrest.

"Now all of a sudden they pulled me out of the cab (of a truck)," he said, describing his Thursday arrest.

"What's all this?" he asked.

Yardley set his percentage bond at $500,000. He must pay $50,000 to be released.

Biggest exports from Nebraska Biggest exports from Nebraska #30. Special classification provisions not elsewhere specified or included #29. Furniture; bedding, mattresses, and stuffed furnishings; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, name-plates and the like; prefabricated buildings #28. Railway or tramway stock etc.; traffic signal equipment #27. Rubber and articles thereof #26. Organic chemicals #25. Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers #24. Ships, boats and floating structures #23. Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof #22. Prepared cereal, flour, starch or milk; bakers wares #21. Sugars and sugar confectionary #20. Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof #19. Articles of iron or steel #18. Albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes #17. Iron and steel #16. Animal or vegetable fats, oils etc. and waxes #15. Plastics and articles thereof #14. Other products of animal origin #13. Essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations #12. Miscellaneous chemical products #11. Electrical machinery and equipment and parts; sound and TV recorders and reproducers, parts and accessories #10. Raw hides and skins (no furskins) and leather #9. Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and accessories #8. Pharmaceutical products #7. Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof #6. Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes #5. Cereals #4. Oil seeds; miscellaneous grain, seed, fruit, plants, etc. #3. Food industry residues and waste; prepared animal feed #2. Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery etc.; parts #1. Meat and edible meat offal
I better sit right here.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Dead @ Julia hungrily trying to woo DDL, lol. Her loss re: Ralph

Reply

Thread

Link

Ralph is a dreamboat! Lol at her saying he wasn't funny when he was HILARIOUS and PERFECT in movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Menu!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link









He has a great sense of humor in interviews too. It's funny she was all over DDL but not into Ralph, when I feel like they have similar vibes [though Ralph's never cared that much about method acting, lol] He sure wasHe has a great sense of humor in interviews too. It's funny she was all over DDL but not into Ralph, when I feel like they have similar vibes [though Ralph's never cared that much about method acting, lol]

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Not that I follow these people like that but The Menu as an example, is almost 30 years after this story.



He could have learned to be funny in that time

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

MTE on Ralph. He was such a dreamboat in the 90s, and he's still hot now that he's older

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Her loss re: Ralph



For real. His kiss with Angela Bassett in Strange Days is one of the best ever put to screen. And lemme tell you it made young me feel some strange thangs 





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

the way i know so much about the drama behind this movie but i've never actually sat down and watched it lol. it doesn't really seem like anyone has sat down and watched it since 1998.

Reply

Thread

Link

I haven't seen it in YEARS but I remember liking it. But lol it's BP win is forever overshadowed by the drama and how much everyone knows it shouldn't have won.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yeah i just think it's funny in 2023 no one ever talks about the actual movie, just the drama behind the movie! now i'll have to watch it to find out what the fuss is about.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

My mom rewatched it sometime in the 2000s to show it to me, but she may be the only one!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

my lit teacher in high school let the whole class borrow her VHS copy of the movie to watch it as homework before we tackled shakespeare, it was 2003 i think XD

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I know I watched it but not in the last 2 decades

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I watched it a few years back while recovering from having my wisdom teeth out, and it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours but that was about it lol. It absolutely should not have won Best Picture, especially considering the competition that year.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It was terrible

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I've never seen it either.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

once was enough

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I remember it was cute enough but how it won best picture is beyond me lol.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I watched it during quarantine since I hadn't seen it since I was like 10 and I thought it held up? But I also like goop as an actress so

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I loved it when I was in high school and rewatched it so many times. I liked it even more than Romeo+Juliet, lol. Haven't seen it again in ages but I rewatched R+J recently and gained a newfound appreciation for it; I still think it has pacing issues but the art direction for the entire film has so much personality, and that gas station scene is camp perfection.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I remember renting it from Blockbuster and falling asleep twice (two separate attempts that weekend) lol

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i hated it when i saw it as a kid when it came out, and i hated it when i did my oscars bp watch 3 years ago. i dreaded when i was getting up to it during my bp watch lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

"wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to be her male lead (she was in London for the following chaos). He turned it down due to commitments to film In the Name of the Father



He was also offered the role of Lestat in Interview with the Vampire too but dropped out cause he was pre-occupied with in In the Name of the Father too.



I could never imagine Julia in that role.

Reply

Thread

Link

ddl wouldve been amazing! pitt would go, though  he dragged things down enough in the movie we got.



if river phoenix lived to be the journalist.something wouldve shifted.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol i wonder if she was so set on ddl that she deliberately tanked things when he declined bit of an overreaction but tbh i get it

Reply

Thread

Link

Thats actually alluded in the article so you interpreted correctly

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

What an asshole if thats true

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She IS an asshole, so...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Are there any actresses today that can make co-star demands like this? I know actors have always had a huge say when it comes to final casting but this is the first time I've heard an actress having that type of pull.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

That's what I was thinking, too!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

LOL my mom would love this. I'm sorry, but I can't read stuff like this about Julia Roberts without thinking about my mom. She hated Julia so much. Of course, she also hated Gwynnie. Honestly she hated every actress, except Natalie Wood. But she hated Julia most of all! "America's Sweetheart my ass!"

Reply

Thread

Link

And she was right. Julia's built this wholesome America's sweetheart image, when irl she seems like such an asshole. Now we know whose genes run through Emma 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

My partners grandma hates gwenyth lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I mean, your mom wasn't exactly wrong in her assessment of Julia lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Im always going to be bitter about this particular Best Actress Oscar, but I dont think the movie itself is as bad as everyone always makes it to be. Its entertaining, has some great cameos/smaller roles and some funny bits.





Reply

Thread

Link

I dont mind the movie at all lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm with you on that Best Actress win. There was pure magic there in the competition.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i watch it every time it's on 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Im watching it right now for the first time in, er, decades. I completely forgot Ben Affleck was in it lol.



Ladies upstage gentlemen downstage ARE YOU A LADY MISTER KENT?



He dies?



Also watching Colin Firth single handedly destroy his Mr Darcy persona. You may show your pleasure lmao.



Hope those coals under Geoffrey Rushs feet were real, though.



Edited at 2023-03-07 01:14 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really dislike Ben Affleck but that line is the first thing I think of when I think of this movie for some reason

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

It's a solid 6. Not terrible but it didn't deserve any award

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I actually think the fact that it won Best Picture and Best Actress hurt its reputation in the long run, because it's a perfectly entertaining movie but should not have won those awards.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I love the movie unironically. It's a love letter to English majors and theater kids!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

And it's all wrapped up in a Harvey Weinstein shit infested sandwich 

Reply

Thread

Link

my main takeaway is that now I want to rewatch In the Name of the Father.

Reply

Thread

Link

I haven't seen it. I also haven't seen My Left Foot and The Last of the Mohicans either.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Im very meh on Last of the Mohicans but it does have a banger score and at some point DDL tells some dudes to go north then turn to the left when they ask him to guide them west lol.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

my left foot is good. last of the mohicans has an awesome soundtrack and eric schweig at his peak.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I really liked The Last of the Mohicans and In The Name of the Father but theyre both heavy films.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Just coming in to add TLOTM has an iconic soundtrack. And I love that movie because my sister loves that movie so I watched it a lot as a kid lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I was obsessed with Last of the Mohicans when I was 14. The score is absolute magic.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

In the Name of the Father is simply sublime. It's a perfect movie. The scenes with DDL and Pete Postlethwaite (playing DDL character's father) are riveting. Bonus points for an awesome soundtrack!



I think I have to rewatch it tonight.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm so old that I vaguely remember this.

Reply

Thread

Link

I have never liked the story of Romeo and Juliet. Having to read, write and watch about it in school AND keep hearing about it as the most romantic story EVER about 2 teenagers are enough for me. After highschool, I have never watched any version of this story. This movie was even on TV at one point and I just switched channel when I saw it.





Reply

Thread

Link

Also, growing up as East Asian, there's already an abundance of the romanticization of suicide in our media.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The fact that its viewed as some great romance instead of the tragedy if teenage hormones and stupidity it is kills me. The poetry is beautiful but romes especially is a dud.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It's honestly the reason I don't like Zeffirelli's version of the story (other than the fact that both minor actors were forced into doing nudity), like it's romanticizing it all a little too much for me.



Whereas I liked that Baz Luhrman focused on the spectacle of it all + the rashness of all the youth (and the pettiness of the adults) in their actions/interactions that just created all that endless chaos

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Joseph Fiennes was so fucking hot in that movie.



WHEW!!! It was saying, "Ichabod- look over here now!", tugging at my crotch.

Reply

Thread

Link

i know shakespeare in love has a lot of bullshit surrounding it thanks to harvey and miramax but it's actually a great movie with a brilliant script and goopy was perfectly cast

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah I know everyone hates her now but she was so damn good in that movie lbr

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She was good when she was an actress, and not a 'wellness promoter' ...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

my problematic opinion is that i think goop is great in every movie 

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I dont think it deserved Best Picture over Life is Beautiful and I think Blanchett was better that year but Goop was fun and Tom Stoppard definitely deserved that screenplay win.



It was an innovative take on Shakespeare and the ending is fire.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

stephen warbeck's score is amazing and i still put it on when i'm vibing at home

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really gotta rewatch it. I remember liking it more than Elizabeth, which had a great mood but wasnt quite great.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I love it! I rewatch it once a year probably lol

Joseph Fiennes is perfect in the role.

Yes, the Oscar for Goop was undeserved, but she was good in the role. The whole cast is great (even Ben despite his accent)

And the score is so good.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I liked it a lot, a top-tier prestige Miramax tbh. Goop didn't work great in Emma, but here she's very good.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i rewatched it for the first time since 8th grade literally like two weeks ago and i agree! i remembered loving it as a kid and expected to enjoy myself but i was surprised by how much i fell in love with it. the script is very smart and knowing and self-indulgent in a fun, cheeky way  its constantly winking but also totally earnest in its big dramatic emotions, and its above all clearly written by people who love shakespeare for real, not for some idealized vision of him as a Great Poet but for the things that actually make him pleasurable, his earthiness and horniness (romeo and juliet is SUCH a horny play) and, yes, silliness, and the way he includes silliness even in some of his saddest plays.



i also just appreciated that it was a big budget lavish movie with sumptuous period costuming and a lovely score and a smart script that was also concerned above all with being FUN. like yeah its a period piece that won an oscar but its not an oscar-bait movie the way we think of them at all.



i would vote blanchett over gwyneth for that year bc elizabeth was a tour de force but in general i think how annoying gwyneth is makes people forget that while shes not on the level of a blanchett or a streep (IMO) she really is quite good at acting and is delightful in this movie

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

goopy winning an oscar for that role is just laughable.

Reply

Thread

Link

i wonder who would have won all those oscars if harvey hadn't gotten so heavily involved in campaigning

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The second best campaigner, unfortunately.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Imma say Scott Rudin, who is also a POS

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
5 OEHS Professionals Die in Plane Crash

The professionals, all employed by the same environmental consulting firm, were departing from Little Rock, Arkansas, when the incident occurred.

Five occupational and environmental health and safety professionals died after a plane crashed late last month, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) reported.

Aboard a small aircraft, Gunter Beaty, Kyle Bennett, Micah Kendrick, Glenmarkus Walker and pilot Sean Sweeney were flying from Little Rock, Arkansas, on February 22 when the plane crashed just a few miles outside of the airport they departed from, Arkansas station KATV reported.

They were headed toward Columbus, Ohio, where a previous metal plant explosion resulted in worker injuries and one death.

All five of the professionals were employees of CTEH, an environmental consulting firm.

"We are incredibly saddened to report the loss of our Little Rock colleagues," Dr. Paul Nony, senior vice president of CTEH told KATV. "We ask everyone to keep the families of those lost and the entire CTEH team in their thoughts and prayers."

One of the professionals, Kendrick, was also a former member of AIHA.

We are heartbroken by the untimely passing of our OEHS colleague Micah and his coworkers, Gunter Beaty, Kyle Bennett, Sean Sweeney, and Glenmarkus Walker, said Lawrence Sloan, CEO of AIHA in a news release. This tragedy is close to the hearts and minds of AIHA members and the OEHS community. All of us at AIHA extend our heartfelt condolences to the victims families, friends, and colleagues.

KATV reported that the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash and its cause, respectively.
India last week stepped up its negotiations with the U.S. aimed at continuing to import as much oil from Russia as it requires, regardless of current and future sanctions against Moscow. This runs in tandem with Indias ongoing refusal to vote in favour of United Nations resolutions that condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. As recently as December, on a visit to Moscow, Indias Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, stated: For us, Russia has been a steady and time-tested partner and, as I said, any objective evaluation of our relationship over many decades would confirm that it has served both our countries very, very well. Last week also saw Jaishankar meet with his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, at which both countries agreed to promote the improvement of relations between them. Back in 2020, when the U.S. was rolling out its relationship normalisation deals with Middle Eastern states as a counterbalance to ever-increasing Russian and Chinese influence in the region and wanted to use India as an alternative to Chinas backstop bid for oil, it was not how Washington thought things would play out. Back then in 2020, it had been around two years since the U.S. had unilaterally withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or colloquially, the nuclear deal) with Iran, which had allowed Russia and China to pick up the pace of expanding their influence across the Middle East even more than before. The U.S.s key ally in the Middle East, Israel, was becoming increasingly certain that Iran was no longer years away from being able to create a nuclear weapon but rather just weeks away  around three weeks away, in fact. In several conversations with former President Donald Trump it was made very clear by Israel that if the U.S. did not do something to halt this progress then Israel would take matters into its own hands. Israel had already undertaken several covert missions  under the bar that denoted outright war  to delay Irans progress towards being nuclear weapon ready. The U.S. knew that any escalation by Israel against Iran over and above what it had been doing could well be a catalyst for a broadening and deepening of the conflict across the entire Middle East, which could eventually draw China and Russia into the conflict, in direct opposition to the US. This was, and remains, a conflict scenario in war planning on all sides that almost inevitably leads to global nuclear war. Those around Trump had forged a plan to counterbalance the U.S.s loss of direct influence in the key countries in the region and would also appease Israel, as analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets. This plan became clear on 13 August 2020 when it was announced that Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would normalise relations in a deal that had been brokered by the U.S. The plan coincided with then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus announcing that he was suspending plans to annex more areas of the West Bank that Israel seized during the 1967 Six Day War.

Related: Russia Remains Indias Top Oil Supplier For Fifth Month In A Row

In the scheme of the broader strategy at play in these relationship normalisation deals, the U.S. and the Middle Eastern countries it was targeting with them required an alternative country to China to be the big backstop bid for oil and other hydrocarbons purchases. Chinas massive disparity between its enormous economy-driven energy needs and its minimal level of domestic oil and gas reserves had almost alone created the 2000-2014 commodities supercycle of rising commodities prices, including for oil. As late as 2017, Chinas high rate of economic growth allowed it to overtake the U.S. as the largest annual gross crude oil importer in the world, having become the worlds largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels in 2013. It was largely through leveraging this financial buying power initially that China had laid the groundwork in the Middle East for its multi-generational power-grab programme, One Belt, One Road (OBOR) in the Middle East. Beijing had augmented these efforts militarily where necessary through its geopolitical partner, Russia, and their key regional ally, Iran.

India had been identified by the U.S. as the ideal candidate to take over this vital role in its new strategy based around the relationship normalisation deals for two key reasons, as also analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets. First, India had a long-running regional rivalry with China, which had just seen another bloody eruption back then in 2020. On 15 June that year, in the disputed territory of the Galwan Valley in the Himalayas, troops of China and India had clashed in what the U.S. thought marked a new push back strategy from India against Chinas policy of seeking to increase its economic and military alliances through the OBOR project. The U.S. believed that this military push back might also be echoed in Indias economic desire to finally make substantive progress on its Neighbourhood First policy as an alternative to Chinas OBOR initiative. Second, Indias role as the U.S. counterpoint to China in the Asia-Pacific region, led by its economic development and the corollary development of its demand for oil and gas, was further underlined by data released in the first quarter of 2021 by the IEA. This showed that India would make up the biggest share of energy demand growth at 25 percent over the next two decades, as it overtook the European Union as the worlds third-biggest energy consumer by 2030. Several major new deals between India and the UAE  for which the U.S. also had high hopes at the time in its relationship normalisation process - followed shortly afterwards.

All was seemingly going well with the U.S. plan until just before Christmas 2021, when three very bad things happened all at once. The first was that U.S. intelligence sources identified that China had been building a secret military facility in and around the big UAE port of Khalifa. Based on classified satellite imagery and human intelligence data, U.S. officials stated that China had been working for several months to establish a military foothold in the UAE. The second bad thing was that that Saudi Arabia was manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China. The third, as also analysed in depth in my last book on the global oil markets, was that Russian President Vladimir Putin had secretly orchestrated the signing of 28 investment deals between Russia and India during his visit to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. These deals included Russia, via state oil giant Rosneft, supplying almost 2 million tons of crude oil to Indian Oil, by the end of 2022, and several other oil, oil products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deals.

The two countries also released a statement that: [We have] reiterated their intention to strengthen defence cooperation, including in the joint development of production of military equipment. Specifically, India stated that it would produce at least 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles  the weapon of choice for terrorists and militias across the Middle East and elsewhere  and that a 2018 contract for Russias S-400 air defence missile systems was being implemented. Quite what the reaction of CIA Director, William Burns, was to this trio of titbits has not been officially documented but one can assume that his enjoyment of his Christmas lunch was not as it otherwise might have been. It would also not have been helped by Indian Prime Minister Modi adding that: We have set a target of US$30 billion in trade [with Russia] and US$50 billion in investment by 2025.

Aside from the abysmal goings-on from India in the past week or so, India had already been busy cementing its relationship with Russia since its invasion in February 2022 at a time when the key aim of the U.S. and its allies was to isolate Putin through increasing sanctions to cause financial repercussions for his actions. According to industry figures, the end of 2022 had seen a sevenfold year-on-year increase in Indias imports of crude oil from Russia  up to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), from 100,000 bpd in 2021. Additionally, just over a month ago, Russian LNG giant Novatek stated that it is open to accepting payments in Indian rupees for any LNG term deal it signs with Indian gas entities. Novateks chairman, Leonid Mikhelson, added that his company was in talks with Indias state-owned gas utility GAIL and other Indian companies for LNG term deals in this context.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Offshore oil and gas drilling is a complex process that involves drilling into the seabed to extract oil and natural gas reserves. The process has been used for decades, with many countries relying on it as a source of energy.

In this article, well take a closer look at how offshore oil and gas drilling works, where the best places to drill are, why we need to keep drilling offshore, its environmental impact, and ways to reduce its impact while still producing oil.

How Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Works

Offshore drilling begins with surveying the seabed to determine the best location for drilling. Once a suitable site is found, a platform is erected in the water, which serves as a base for the drilling rig. The platform can be either fixed or floating depending on the water depth.

Next, a drill bit is lowered into the seabed to create a hole in the earth's crust. The drill bit can penetrate thousands of feet below sea level until it reaches the reservoir containing oil or natural gas.

To prevent the hole from collapsing, steel casing is inserted into it. The casing also helps control any pressure build-up during production activities.

Finally, pipes are inserted into the hole to extract the oil or gas. These pipes are connected to tanks on board the platform where they are stored before being transported to shore.

Advanced Technologies Used in Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling

Over time, new technology has been developed to improve offshore drilling operations' efficiency and safety. Some of these technologies include:

Directional Drilling: Directional drilling allows operators to drill at an angle instead of straight down, making it easier to reach reservoirs located far away from the platform.

Directional drilling allows operators to drill at an angle instead of straight down, making it easier to reach reservoirs located far away from the platform. Blowout Preventers (BOPs) : BOPs are critical safety devices that prevent uncontrolled release of oil or gas from wells by sealing them off during emergencies.

: BOPs are critical safety devices that prevent uncontrolled release of oil or gas from wells by sealing them off during emergencies. Subsea Production Systems: These systems allow production activities like processing and storage of extracted fluids to occur underwater without requiring platforms on top of them.

The Best Places for Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling

Offshore oil and gas drilling is a crucial part of the global energy industry. It provides a significant portion of the world's crude oil and natural gas supply, making it an essential component of modern life. However, not all offshore locations are created equal when it comes to oil and gas production. In this article, we'll explore some of the best places for offshore oil and gas drilling.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest producer of crude oil, with over 266 billion barrels in reserves. It has been producing oil for more than 80 years and has extensive experience in offshore drilling. The country has several major offshore fields, including Safaniya, which is the world's largest offshore field.

Brazil

Brazil has emerged as one of the world's leading producers of offshore oil and gas in recent years. Its pre-salt reserves, located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, are estimated to contain up to 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent. This represents one of the largest discoveries in decades.

Mexico

Mexico has vast reserves of offshore oil and gas, particularly in its Gulf of Mexico waters. The country is home to several large fields such as Ku-Maloob-Zaap (KMZ) - Cantarell Complex that have contributed significantly to its overall production levels.

Norway

Norway is one of Europe's top producers of oil and gas from its North Sea waters. The country has a long history of offshore exploration dating back to the 1960s when it discovered its first significant field at Ekofisk.

United States

The United States is a significant player in global offshore drilling with extensive operations along its Gulf of Mexico region. The Gulf of Mexico region alone accounts for over 15% of domestic crude oil production.

In addition to these countries listed above, there are several other notable locations for offshore drilling such as Russia, China, Australia, Qatar among others.

While these locations offer promising opportunities for offshore drilling ventures, it is important to note that they come with environmental risks that must be carefully managed through proper safety measures and regulations that ensure sustainable development practices are put into place.

Why We Need to Keep Drilling Offshore

Oil remains an essential part of our daily lives; it powers our cars, heats our homes, and fuels our industries. While renewable energy sources like solar and wind power have shown tremendous growth over recent years, they still cannot meet all our energy needs alone. Therefore, we need to continue drilling offshore until cleaner alternatives become more widely available.

Meeting Energy Demands

The worlds demand for oil and gas continues to grow, and offshore drilling plays a crucial role in meeting this demand. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global energy consumption will increase by 50% by 2050. Without offshore drilling, we would struggle to meet this demand.

Alternative energy sources such as wind and solar are becoming more popular, but they cannot replace oil and gas entirely. These sources of energy are unpredictable and intermittent, meaning they cant provide a constant supply of energy like fossil fuels can.

Job Creation

Offshore oil and gas drilling creates jobs in many different sectors, from engineers who design rigs to the workers who operate them. Companies like ExxonMobil and Shell employ thousands of people around the world in their offshore operations.

These jobs not only provide employment opportunities but also contribute significantly to local economies. In some areas where there are few other job prospects, offshore drilling can be a lifeline for communities.

Economic Growth

Offshore drilling also contributes significantly to national economies. The oil and gas industry generates billions of dollars in revenue every year, which helps fund infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and schools.

In addition, countries with significant oil reserves can use their resources as leverage in international trade negotiations. The United States has become less dependent on foreign oil thanks to increased domestic production from fracking and offshore drilling.

Advancements in Technology

Technology has made significant advances in recent years that have made offshore drilling safer than ever before. Modern rigs are designed with safety features that prevent spills from occurring or quickly contain them if they do happen.

Furthermore, companies have developed new techniques for extracting oil without harming marine life or disrupting ecosystems. For example, directional drilling allows companies to access reserves without disturbing the ocean floor or disrupting fish habitats.

ADVERTISEMENT

Environmental Impact of Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling

Offshore oil and gas drilling has become a major source of energy production in recent years. However, it also poses significant environmental risks. Here are some of the ways offshore drilling can impact the environment:

Oil spills: Accidents can happen during drilling or transportation, leading to oil spills that harm marine life and damage coastal communities.

Accidents can happen during drilling or transportation, leading to oil spills that harm marine life and damage coastal communities. Noise pollution: The loud sounds produced by offshore drilling equipment can disrupt the communication and behavior of marine animals.

The loud sounds produced by offshore drilling equipment can disrupt the communication and behavior of marine animals. Air pollution: Drilling rigs emit pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter into the air, which can contribute to respiratory problems in nearby communities.

Drilling rigs emit pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter into the air, which can contribute to respiratory problems in nearby communities. Habitat destruction: Building and operating offshore drilling facilities can harm sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs and wetlands.

Despite these risks, there are steps that can be taken to make offshore drilling safer for the environment.

Reducing Environmental Impacts

While it may seem challenging to produce oil while minimizing environmental impact, some strategies can help achieve this goal:

Investing in technology: Developing new technologies for detecting leaks, preventing accidents, and cleaning up spills can reduce the impact of offshore drilling on the environment.

Developing new technologies for detecting leaks, preventing accidents, and cleaning up spills can reduce the impact of offshore drilling on the environment. Regulating operations: Governments can impose regulations on offshore drilling companies to ensure they follow best practices for safety and environmental protection.

Governments can impose regulations on offshore drilling companies to ensure they follow best practices for safety and environmental protection. Using alternative energy sources: Investing in renewable energy sources like wind and solar power can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels altogether.

By taking these steps, we can minimize the impact of offshore oil and gas drilling on our planet while still meeting our energy needs.

Conclusion

Offshore oil and gas drilling is essential in meeting global energy demands today but must be done responsibly with minimal environmental impact.

By utilizing improved technology designs that prioritize safety measures while reducing risk factors like spills through regular maintenance checks or employing quieter seismic survey techniques during exploration activities before any production begins, we can ensure responsible production without compromising environmental health concerns associated with this industry's operations.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The offshore oil and gas (O&G) sector is set for the highest growth in a decade in the next two years, with $214 billion of new project investments lined up. Rystad Energy research shows that annual greenfield capital expenditure (capex) will break the $100 billion threshold in 2023 and in 2024  the first breach for two straight years since 2012 and 2013.

As global fossil fuel demand remains strong and countries look for carbon-friendly production sources, offshore is back in the spotlight. Offshore activity is expected to account for 68% of all sanctioned conventional hydrocarbons in 2023 and 2024, up from 40% between 2015-2018. Comparisons against this period are prudent as it predates the Covid-19 pandemic and related oil price crash. In terms of total project count, offshore developments will make up almost half of all sanctioned projects in the next two years, up from just 29% from 2015-2018.

These new investments will be a boon for the offshore services market, with supply chain spending to grow 16% in 2023 and 2024 , a decade-high year-on-year increase of $21 billion. Offshore rigs, vessels, subsea and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) activity are all set to flourish.

One of the leading global drivers is the sizable expansion of offshore activities in the Middle East. For the first time, offshore upstream spending in the region will surpass all others, lifted by mammoth projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. The areas offshore spending growth looks set to continue at least for the next three years, growing from $33 billion this year to $41 billion in 2025. These countries are tapping into their vast offshore resources to meet rising global oil demand, backed by the necessary capital and infrastructure to outpace other producers. Related: The Kremlin Will Not Recognize Any Price Cap On Russias Oil

Offshore oil and gas production isnt going anywhere, and the sector matters now possibly more than ever. As one of the lower carbon-intensive methods of extracting hydrocarbons, offshore operators and service companies should expect a windfall in the coming years as global superpowers try to reduce their carbon footprint while advancing the energy transition, says Audun Martinsen, head of supply chain research with Rystad Energy.

Although the Middle East is leading the way, South America, the UK and Brazil are just slightly behind. Investments in the North Sea from the UK and Norway will rise in the next two years. UK offshore spending is set to jump 30% this year to $7 billion, while Norwegian investments will hit $21.4 billion, an increase of 22% over 2022. Brazilian upstream spending is projected to approach $23 billion this year, with Guyana investments totaling $7 billion. In North America, spending on offshore in the US will top $17.5 billion and $7.3 billion in Mexico.

Brazil state giant Petrobras plans to deploy 16 FPSOs across six fields before the end of this decade, while growth in the Guyanese Stabroek Block will also contribute to regional expansion. In long-term forecasts, Middle Eastern growth is set to continue, if not accelerate, while South American spending will slow in 2025.

By Rystad Energy

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The United States wants to see the world producing more crude oil, including OPEC members. This is what a State Department official said on the sidelines of CERAWeek, noting that the global economy is recovering and more supply is necessary to meet demand.

"As world economies recover, we'll see more consumption. And therefore we'd like to see supply meet demand," Jose Fernandez, Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs, Energy and the Environment, said, as quoted by the AFP.

He then went on to add that this included output from OPEC+, which last year agreed to slash production by around 1 million bpd and has signaled it has no immediate plans to reconsider that agreement.

The AFP report notes that although oil prices have retreated from highs reached last year in the first months after Russias invasion of Ukraine, they are still quite a bit higher than they were before the pandemic.

The Biden administration released close to 200 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve to counter the price rally, which caused a spike in retail fuel prices - a move that prompted various reactions from experts.

Now, the SPR is at 40-year lows and needs to be replenished but prices are too high for the U.S. federal government. The bigger and more global problem, however, is spare production capacity.

This capacity was among the issues that U.S. energy executives and OPEC delegates discussed on the first day of CERAWeek. According to a Reuters report quoting one attendee, both executives and OPEC officials were concerned about spare oil production capacity and its sufficiency to meet growing oil demand.

Some analysts have forecast that the global oil market will swing into a deficit in the second half of the year, driven by Chinas recovery, which will push global demand higher while supply lags behind.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

ADVERTISEMENT

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Global interest in oil and natural gas related assets is still high, maybe even higher than ever before. In a statement made by Abu Dhabis national oil company ADNOC, the company stated that it had raised $2.5 billion from the initial public offering of its gas business. Until now, this is the biggest listing of 2023, showing that the Middle East, especially the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are in the spotlights of international finance. ADNOC also reiterated that the IPO has been 50X oversubscribed, as more than $124 billion worth of orders by investors have been received for the 5% stake in ADNOC Gas. The national oil company, which is the parent of ADNOC Gas, has priced the shares at 2.37 dirhams ($0.65) each after offering a range from 2.25 to 2.43 dirhams. With this price range, the value of ADNOC Gas is set at around $50 billion, the same value as U.S. oil and gas company Occidental Petroleum. The main driver behind the extremely high interest in ADNOC Gas is the global energy crunch, a big part of which is the gas market related. The impact of Russias war in Ukraine, combined with Western sanctions on Moscow, and the debilitating effects of renewables not being able to fill the gap left by Russia in Europe are the main drivers behind the gas crisis. For ADNOC Gas, the gas supply crunch is reflected in its financial figures for FY2021-2022, which show record earnings of $8.7 billion in the 12 months through October. Even at lower prices, global gas demand is expected to be strong, and prices are expected to remain elevated for at least until 2026. ADNOC Gas and others have been investing billions of dollars to keep up with expected demand in the future. The ADNOC Gas shares are expected to start trading on March 13.

Related: Russia Plans To Mothball Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipelines



The last week, due to the large interest of investors, ADNOC increased its offering size by 25%. High energy prices and a very positive outlook for the next years are expected to generate high cash flow, and new gas-related IPOs can be expected in the region in the next few years. The ADNOC Gas IPO is the most successful of the Abu Dhabi giant until now. Retail investors put orders in for $23 billion (58X oversubscribed). But the main investors are institutional investors, including Abu Dhabi state-linked firms, which committed to buy $850 million of stock in the IPO, such as Alpha Dhabi and International Holding. Just before the IPO, 5% of ADNOC Gas was transferred to TAQA, the state-owned power company of Abu Dhabi.

ADNOC Gas will be focusing on reaping the rewards of Abu Dhabis gas reserves, which are the worlds 7th largest, as it targets to triple its LNG exports to 15 million tons per year.

More IPO-related news can be expected in the next few months as other parties in the region will have been looking at the results and appetite of investors for hydrocarbon-related assets. Without any question, Qatar will be reassessing its options, as the worlds largest gas exporter is looking to retain its dominant role. Any additional share sales of its LNG-related companies would be a major boost for the country. North African gas producer Egypt may also consider public offerings. In order to reinvigorate its economy, Cairo could be assessing the option of publicly offering a stake in its fast-growing LNG industry to reap some additional cash without needing to ask Arab producers for a new tranche of financial support.

The most surprising offering then could come from Aramco. As Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been playing with the idea to offer more shares to the public, and the success of the ADNOC Gas IPO will not go unseen in Riyadh. A possible sale of another 2.5-5% of Aramco could be a very attractive proposition for the Saudis. The current high valuation of hydrocarbon assets and the need to finance megaprojects such as NEOM and Oxagon could be a great incentive for the decision-makers in Riyadh.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Russia started exporting diesel to Saudi Arabiaits ally in the OPEC+ groupin February, after Moscows key fuel export outlet, the EU, enacted an embargo on seaborne imports of Russian oil products on February 5, Reuters reported on Tuesday, quoting traders and ship-tracking data.

Ahead of the EU ban on Russian petroleum products, Russia began to divert its oil product cargoes to North Africa and Asia, while Europe is ramping up imports of diesel from the Middle East and Asia to offset the loss of Russian barrels, of which it imported around 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) before the February 5 embargo took effect.

Now, according to Refnitiv data cited by Reuters, at least three cargoes carrying 190,000 tons of diesel loaded in the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk in February and were headed to deliver the fuel to Saudi Arabia.

According to traders who spoke to Reuters, the Saudis could export part of the Russian diesel to other countries after some refining.

In February, Europe was on track to import the highest volumes of diesel from the Middle East and Asia in seven years as the EU turned to alternative supply after the ban on Russian imports. Just before the fuel embargo, Europe was buying more diesel from the United States and Saudi Arabia, yet Europe still remained the biggest buyer of Russian diesel in January.

Estimates by S&P Global cited by BNE IntelliNews showed last week that Russias oil product exports dipped by 20% in February, hitting the lowest level since May last year.

Russia has said it would reduce its oil production by 500,000 bpd this month in response to the Western sanctions, a move that may affect the level of its oil and fuel exports.

According to JP Morgan, Russian fuel exports could slip by 300,000 bpd as a result of the EU embargo, but the bank added Russia could maintain production of crude oil at pre-war levels. It would be harder, however, to return to pre-pandemic levels of production, JP Morgan also said.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The European Union will make its first move as a buyers group on the international gas market next month as it launches the first tender for suppliers.

The tender follows months of discussions on how best to secure natural gas supplies for the 27-member bloc in such a way as to avoid some member states outbid other member states because of their deeper pockets.

The solution was found in what would effectively be a buyers cartel, shopping for gas as one. According to Bloomberg, the first offers, from gas suppliers in the United States, the Middle East, and Africa are to be signed in June.

Price will be the sticking point in that joint buying exercise. One of the purposes of the whole endeavor was to keep gas prices low by buying in larger volumes. Besides, natural gas prices are currently a lot lower than they were a year ago. Yet the EU needs to buy a lot of gas and such bulk buying may very well push prices higher.

The total gas needs of the EU plus four neighboring countries amount to 24 billion cubic meters over the next three years, according to European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic. This is a lot of gas to be sourced on the global spot market.

We clearly need to turn the economic tide in Europe, Sefcovic told Bloomberg in an interview.

I believe were creating a new system that will increase competition and bring in new suppliers and push energy prices down. Since we started this exercise, theres enormous interest from international suppliers.

According to him, some 50 gas suppliers have expressed interest in participating in the EUs joint gas buying. There is also interest in joint buying from large industrial gas consumers in the EU, Sefcovic also said.

Price, however, remains of crucial importance. Europe has been paying a lot more for its gas than the U.S., for instance, and China, according to Sefcovic. This needs to change if the bloc is to remain competitive on the world stage.

What is increasingly important is that we have to deal with prices. We cant power our economy at such a huge price differential compared with the US or China, the official told Bloomberg.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Kremlin does not and will not recognize any price cap on its oil, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday after the U.S. said the Western price cap was working well.

We do not and will not recognize any cap, Peskov told reporters in Moscow as carried by Russian news agency Interfax.

Russia has taken its own measures in response to the price cap and is working to ensure that the mechanism doesnt harm its interests, Putins spokesman said.

On Monday, U.S. Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein said that the price cap on Russias crude oil and oil products was working well.

I think the beauty of the process is that it is working and that Russian oil and Russian products are being traded below the price cap, Hochstein said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, as carried by Reuters.

Russian crude is still flowing to the global markets, but buyers are paying much lower prices for it, which shrinks Putins revenues from oil exports, the mainstay of his budget. Thats essentially the dual purpose of the price cap on crude as intended by the U.S. Administrationkeep the oil market well supplied and reduce revenues for Russia.

Russias oil production and exports have been resilient so far, defying early expectations of a plunge in supply after the West agreed to impose sanctions on Russian oil to cut Putins revenues from energy sales. But Russias budget revenues are sinking due to the low prices of its flagship Urals blend, whose discount to Brent Crude has widened to $30 per barrel.

Due to the low price of Urals in January, Russias budget was $24.7 billion (1.76 trillion rubles) into deficit in January, compared to a surplus for January 2022, as state revenues from oil and gas plunged by 46.4% due to the low price of Urals and lower natural gas exports, the Russian Finance Ministry said in preliminary estimates earlier this month. Budget revenues from energy sales  including taxes and customs revenues  plummeted last month to the lowest level since August 2020.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Matthew Ray is officially the interim superintendent for the Omaha Public Schools and will receive a $325,000 salary for the job.

During a Monday meeting, the school board approved Rays employment contract, which begins July 1 and will end one day before a permanent superintendent starts.

Rays total compensation package will be worth $462,575, which includes a $12,000 travel stipend.

Cheryl Logan, the current superintendent, has a similar salary of $329,113, with a total compensation package of $516,618.

This is a critical time for OPS. Our work for students and staff cannot be paused through a transition, said board member Ricky Smith. We must get this transition and larger superintendent search right.

Ray was selected by the school board to serve in an interim role at a Feb. 22 meeting. He began his career in the district teaching at Ashland Park-Robbins Elementary.

Because Ray will still be the deputy superintendent and board secretary until Logan leaves at the end of June, the district also will be paying him for transition services.

According to the contract, Ray will provide services beyond the scope of his current roles to facilitate the transition from the current superintendent from April 1 to June 30. This is work that will be assigned by the school board or Logan to help with a seamless transition.

Ray will receive $250 for each day he provides services, with a maximum payout of $15,500 for 62 days of work. He will also receive a $3,000 travel stipend.

Ray isnt the only interim superintendent to be hired in the state recently.

Besides a few rural districts around Nebraska, the Grand Island Public Schools hired an interim superintendent in early January for a 17-month contract.

OPS is still in the early stages of its superintendent search process, so there is no solid timeline of when Rays tenure as interim will end. OPS board members have said they have a goal of selecting finalists for the superintendent job by January 2024.

Ray wont be involved in the superintendent search because he is also allowed to apply for the permanent job.

The school board is scheduled to select a search firm to manage the superintendent search at its March 20 meeting. The board received proposals from six companies.

Matt Ray has dedicated his entire career to the Omaha Public Schools, Smith said. He is uniquely qualified to lead us through this time.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
FURNAS COUNTY, Neb.  The Furnas County Sheriffs Office has opened an investigation into an incident in which a communications tower south of Oxford was intentionally destroyed.

The Sheriffs Office said preliminary findings indicated intentional damage to a guide wire anchor that resulted in complete structural failure of the tower, owned by Strayer Communications, causing the tower to topple and fall to the east. Authorities were alerted to the damage Saturday.

The suspect or suspects caused an estimated $575,000 in damage to the tower.

Also, the Oxford Fire and EMS, Southern Valley Schools, Verizon Wireless and the Sheriffs Office all had equipment on the tower that was destroyed, the office said.

The Sheriffs Office requested a forensic evidence team from the Nebraska State Patrol to collect evidence. Deputies have also filed for and received a preservation of cellular data from the tower in hopes of identifying a suspect or suspects. Several items of evidence were seized and will be examined at the Nebraska State Patrol crime lab.

Local authorities contacted the FBI, which is considering investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism.

Verizon was able to erect a temporary tower to provide limited cellphone coverage for the area. Furnas County was able to relocate the Oxford Fire and EMS channels to a temporary location. Southern Valley Schools and the Sheriffs Office are still trying to find a suitable location for their equipment.

Oxford is about 53 miles southwest of Kearney.

The Sheriffs Office requested that anyone with information on the incident contact authorities. The office can be reached at 308-268-2245.
LINCOLN  In spring 2015, Jeff Cooley was the conductor on a coal trail headed west out of North Platte. The train had just hit 50 miles an hour when he saw something on the track ahead.

The engineer thought it might be a dead animal or maybe a turkey. After a few more seconds, Cooley noticed hair blowing in the wind and started the emergency braking process.

The obstruction turned out to be a 4-year-old girl, sitting on the tracks, crying because her parents were fighting at home, Cooley said. The girl, fortunately, was unharmed. But the experience left the North Platte railroader even more convinced that trains need two-person crews to operate safely.

Four eyes and two minds, they equate to a lot better decision making, he told members of the Nebraska Legislatures Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on Monday.

Cooley joined numerous railroad workers, local officials and supporters testifying in support of a bill that would mandate two-person crews at a minimum on trains in Nebraska.

Legislative Bill 31 was introduced by State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, home to the Union Pacific Railroads Bailey Yard, the largest railroad classification yard in the world.

Jacobson said last months derailment of a Norfolk Southern train near East Palestine, Ohio, underlined the reasons for the proposal. The derailment on Feb. 3 spewed vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals into the air, killing fish in nearby streams and prompting an evacuation.

Initial reports have alleged problems with railroad safety technology that was supposed to alert the crew to the failure of a wheel bearing.

This is a public safety issue as well as a worker safety issue, Jacobson said.

But representatives of Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the two major railroads in Nebraska, opposed the measure. Both said the issue should be handled through collective bargaining between the companies and employee unions.

Rod Doerr, representing Union Pacific, acknowledged that contracts currently require two-person crews. But he said the railroad industry needs the flexibility to go with one person on a train as technology improves.

He said U.P. is working on plans to redeploy conductors so that they no longer ride on trains but are stationed at key locations and able to respond to emergencies with trucks. Meanwhile, safety technology would ensure that engineers are alert and able to operate trains alone.

Jeff Davis, with BNSF, made similar arguments, while assuring lawmakers that the railroad would stick with two-person crews until employees agree to change.

We want to be free to work this out with our union to use the technology we have invested in, he said.

Although the East Palestine derailment has brought increased attention to railroad safety, the issue of two-person crews is not new. The Federal Railroad Administration proposed a regulation last July that would require at least two crew members. More recently, the proposed Railway Safety Act of 2023 would include a national mandate for two-person crews.

Measures similar to LB 31 have been introduced at least six times previously in the Legislature. A 2017 proposal was killed in committee. None of the others got out of committee.

Nebraska lawmakers approved a legislative resolution in 2015 urging the federal agency to adopt a rule on appropriate train crew sizes that ensures public safety and promotes the efficient movement of freight, while supporting interstate commerce.

The resolution, introduced by then-Sen. Al Davis of Hyannis, said the volume of freight transported by rail is particularly heavy through Nebraska, and these freight shipments include hazardous materials such as ethanol, chlorine, and Bakken crude oil. It said safety risks could be reduced by requiring train crews of at least two people.

The hearing on LB 31 came as Gov. Jim Pillen urged the Nebraska Public Service Commission to refocus attention on railroad safety. He cited reports that the commission has left a railroad track safety inspector position vacant for two decades.

Recently, there have been multiple railroad derailments in Nebraska while key railroad inspector positions have remained unfilled at the PSC for years, the governor said. I call on the PSC to refocus on its core duties and remain diligent in bettering rail safety.

However, Commissioner Tim Schram said the Legislature has not approved funding for the position since 2011, despite numerous requests.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
LINCOLN  Nebraskas public schools would be required to display the words In God We Trust in areas where every student can see it under a bill proposed in the State Legislature.

Legislative Bill 178, introduced by State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, would require Nebraska schools to display the national motto in every classroom or in another prominent place in each school building where each student is able to see and read it each day.

The bill was the subject of a public hearing in the Legislatures Education Committee on Monday. Erdman has brought similar measures before, without success.

Colby Coash, who spoke against the bill representing the Nebraska Association of School Boards, said Nebraska school boards already have the option of voting to display the motto in their schools. However, Erdman said he believes some boards are scared to do so.

LB 178 is one of several bills this session that raised questions about the role religion should play in education. Several bills would indirectly aid faith-based parochial schools, and another bill would provide guidance for schools wishing to have a moment of silence during the school day, which critics have argued is a veiled attempt to allow schools to require prayer.

Erdman argued that LB 178 had nothing to do with the establishment of religion, and was more about commemorating an important part of U.S. history.

The national motto is not being taught and displayed in Nebraskas public schools, yet it plays an important role in our history and in our heritage, Erdman said.

Still, many people who testified in favor of the bill did express support for teaching students about religion and prayer, along with promoting a positive outlook on the country and its future. Supporter Ward Greisen said faith has played a role in many notable points of the nations history.

We know God is there, and to deny that I think would be wrong, Greisen said.

Others, however, said requiring a prominent display in schools would violate students freedom of religion. Opponent Ron Cunningham argued that the United States was not based on a single religion, and that every individual should have the right to choose what religion they want to follow, if any.

LB 178 does nothing to educate our youth, Cunningham said. But it does enable power.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of March 2023
The Nebraska State Patrol on Monday identified a 31-year-old Michigan man as the victim of last week's fatal shooting near Hartington.

The investigation began after the Cedar County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call regarding a shooting Wednesday morning. They responded to a tower construction site 2 miles north of Hartington and found Israel Matos-Colon of Fowlerville, Michigan, with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a press release from the Nebraska State Patrol.

Several crew members working on the tower were present at the time of the shooting and were attempting lifesaving measures when law enforcement arrived.

Matos-Colon was transported to a hospital in Yankton, South Dakota, where he later died of his injuries.

Investigators said they believe the shooting occurred during a workplace argument between Matos-Colon and David Phillips, 20, of Kenner, Louisiana.

Phillips was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. He was lodged in the Cedar County Jail.

The Sheriffs Office requested that the State Patrol conduct the homicide investigation.
NORMAL  Two men shot in a Normal apartment complex remained in critical condition Tuesday, police said, as an investigation into the shooting continues.

Officers responded at 6:09 p.m. Monday to a report of shots fired at Orlando Northbrook Estates in the 700 block of West Orlando Avenue, according to a statement from the Normal Police Department.

Police said the initial investigation determined that gunfire came from a vehicle that drove through the parking lot.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

On Monday night, residents at the scene reported hearing several shots in rapid succession but not any disturbance leading up to the gunfire.

Sgt. Landon Richmond of the Normal police said evidence indicated the men were shot in the street in front of Building 4, which is at the north end the complex.

One man went into that building and another headed south on the street to the area of Building 8, Richmond said. The buildings' entrances are about 200 feet apart.

Police placed several orange traffic cones in the street and yard in front of Building 4, marking where evidence such as shell casings was found. They used yellow tape to cordon off the street from Building 4 to Building 8.

Police cars also blocked the two entrances into the complex from Orlando Avenue.

Members of the Normal Fire Department, Illinois State University Police Department, McLean County Sheriff's Office and Illinois State Police all assisted.

TO HELP REPORT INFORMATION: Anyone with information is asked to contact Normal police at 309-454-9535. ANONYMOUS TIPS: You can provide information anonymously through the Normal PD app or by texting NORMALPD to 847411, leaving a space and then entering your tip.

Today in history: Mar. 6 1933: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1964: Cassius Clay 1973: Pearl S. Buck 1981: Walter Cronkite 2002: Monica Lewinsky 2012: R. Allen Stanford 2016: Nancy Reagan 2017: Donald Trump 2021: Carla Wallenda
How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region. 100 years ago

March 7, 1923: A petition to erect a large billboard along the south side of a lot at the northwest corner of Washington and East streets, which has been vacant for a number of years, met with disapproval of three members of Bloomington City Council and was deferred until a future meeting. The petition was presented by the Rue Motor company, which obtained rights from property owner Fred Wolkau Jr. Mayor Jones said the billboard would make Bloomington look like a hick town, and two others expressed disapproval.

75 years ago

March 7, 1948: Henry Carlson, a resident of Sweden, felt like a man without a country during World War II. They wouldnt let him join the Swedish army because he was born in America, and he couldnt join the U.S. army because he was living in Sweden. He was eventually able to sign up for the U.S. army and started corresponding with a girl he had never seen, Miss Jeanne Shaffer of Bloomington. When he was discharged, he headed for the city, married the girl last year and started clerking at the Lang-Fuller Printing Co.

50 years agoMarch 7, 1973: The village board of Astoria, pondering for months whether to build an all-weather landing strip at Astorias small airfield, has decided to do so at once  or have only limited service from a flying doctor. Dr. Rudolf Urban of Pekin, 56 miles away, has had difficulty landing his single-engine plane on the soggy grass strip, He is the only doctor for the Fulton County village with a population of 1,200, making noon-time visits twice a week.

25 years ago

March 7, 1998: Illinois State University philosophy professor Thomas Simon will be part of history as he helps with the writing of the constitution of Albania. Simon, an attorney, is among legal scholars who have been invited to Washington, D.C., to help a delegation from Albania draft their constitution. Nothing brings out the hopes and fears of a nation more than trying to create a long-lasting constitution, said Simon, who has special expertise in human rights and judicial systems.

101 years ago: See vintage Pantagraph ads from 1922 Gerthart's Union Gas and Electric Co. Hoover Dr. J.A. Moore Dentists Moberly & Klenner W.P. Garretson W.H. Roland Pease's Candy Thor 32 Electric Washing Machine The Kaiser's Story of the War Ike Livingston & Sons Gossard Corsets Cat'n Fiddle 'Stolen Moments' Case Model X The Johnson Transfer & Fuel Co. The Pantagraph want ads Franklin Motor Car Co. 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' Calumet Baking Powder Mayer Livingston & Co. Newsmarket 'The Emperor Jones' 'California Fig Syrup'
The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaru Sissoco Embalo, has commended Ghana for playing a leading role in the independence struggle on the African continent.



He said the exceptional leadership demonstrated by Ghanas first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, gave hope to many African countries in the independence struggle.



At the 66th Independence Day celebration at Adaklu Tsrefe, near Ho in the Volta Region yesterday, Mr Embalo, who is also the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said Ghana remained a strong force Africa looked up to for democratic governance.



Nkrumahs legacy is still valid for the whole of Africa, President Embalo, the special guest at the event said.



He added that the people of Guinea-Bissau remained grateful to Ghana for supporting that country's democratic journey.



Bilateral cooperation



President Embalo said his country looked forward to greater bilateral corporation with Ghana towards improving the welfare of their people and social development in both countries.



The celebration was on the theme: Our unity, our strength, our purpose.



The special guest said he was highly honoured to take part in the Independence Day celebration as Ghana still stood tall with gallantry for the liberation of the African continent.



The celebration took part on a carnival note with a large number of people from all works of life turning up at the venue long before sunrise.



When President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo turned up at the venue soon after 10 a.m., the crowd burst into a state of euphoria with loud applause as he lit the perpetual flame.



The day also featured thrilling cultural displays, with chiefs from more than 50 paramountcies in the region and others present.



Among them were the Chairman of the Council of State and Omanhene of the Juaben Traditional Area, Nana Otuo Siriboe II; the President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of Anfoega, Togbe Tepre Hodo IV; the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, the Awomefia of Anlo, Torgbui Sri II; the Paramount Chief of Adaklu, Togbe Gbogbi Atsa V; the Paramount Chief of Ziavi, Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, and the Paramount Chief of Klefe, Togbe Kwaku Dzaga.



Activities on the ground



The Youth Resource Centre at Adaklu Tsrefe, near Ho, the Volta regional capital, was a sight to behold as the security agencies treated members of the public who converged there for Ghanas 66th Independence anniversary to artistic display of skills and drills.



The 20 contingents drawn from the various security agencies, namely the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ghana Prisons Service, the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), as well as the National Ambulance Service (NAS) engaged in a quick match past, after performing various drills.



The GAF, in particular, performed more drills and displayed essential skills, including risky rescue operations and gymnastic displays to the admiration of spectators.



Besides the security services, 14 selected senior high and basic schools also took part in the march past at the centre.



Displays



The displays by the security commenced with soldiers from the physical training school of the GAF, based at the El-Wak Barracks.



They engaged in physical fitness displays and rescue exercises.



Led by Lt Paa Kwesi Owusu of the 66 Regiment, the officers engaged in a series of ground operations, including forehead springs, dive and roll in pairs, running handsprings in pairs, staggered dive and roll, front somersault in pairs as well as individual skills.



The breathtaking moment of the gathering was when the soldiers took a dive and somersaulted through the loop with flames of fire around it.



The team also engaged in gymnastic displays including the pyramid formation.



As if that was not enough, the Special Force Unit of the GAF took the display to another level with deployments of ground troops to support an air assault team on a mock risky mission to rescue a government appointee from terrorists who are demanding hefty ransom.



About 10 rescuers, with a Belgian-trained dog, Hazy, rappelled down a helicopter that hung about 70 metres from the ground to conduct the rescue exercise.



Equipment



Aside from the gymnastics, the security agencies also demonstrated their capacity to execute their mandate with the showcasing of sophisticated weapons, armored vehicles, fire-fighting equipment, helicopters, motorbikes for improved visibility and other resources.



The Ghana Police Service also showcased some equipment and new units such as the Canine Unit and the Formed Police Unit, alongside crowd control vehicles and three helicopters.



A 21-gun salute by the GAF was flooded by flypasts by a fighter jet, heralding the end of the parade and an invitation to the President to deliver the anniversary speech.



With patriotic songs in a background, the gun salute was sounded amid cheers from the crowd.



Cars and human beings competed for space at the venue, giving security personnel a hectic time controlling the crowd at the celebration which witnessed no untoward incident.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has urged Ghanaians to become an integral part of fighting corruption in the country.



In a message to mark Ghana's 66th Independence Day Anniversary celebration which took place on Monday, 6 March 2023, the OSP said "corruption continues to undermine Ghanas democracy, development and independence" and that Ghanaians need to support to fight the canker.



When you suspect corruption, say something to us. Together, we will make corruption a costly venture in Ghana, the office said.



Yesterday marked exactly 66 years since Ghana attained independence from British colonial rule.



The Independence Day Parade to mark the occasion was held in the Volta regional capital, at the Volta Regional Youth Resource Centre, located at Adaklu-Tsrefe - Ho.



This year's celebration is on the theme: Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghanaians in New York City in the United State of America also joined their counterparts in Ghana in the celebration of Independence Day Celebration on the 6th, of March by hoisting a flag in a short ceremony in New York.



The occasion saw New York City Mayor Eric Adams happily joining Consul General, Ghana Permanent Mission UN, New York, Hon Daniel Kingsley Atta Boafo hoisting the Ghana flag to commemorate the day.



Hon Atta Boafo underscored the need to cherish and uphold the values of Ghana to sell the country to the world reiterating the respect the Mayor of New York City has for Ghana hence his visit to the country after winning an election.



Ghana attained its independence in 1957 after being colonized by the British Empire. Since then Ghanaians have been commemorating this day every year by marching past Security Services, School Children, organizations, associations and market women.



This year's own was held in the Volta Region of Ghana with the President of Guinea Bissau who doubles as the Chairman of the ECOWAS, H.E Umaro Sissoco Embalo Umaro as the Special Guest of Honor.



Since time immemorial, Accra has been hosting the occasion every year but from 2019 to update, the event has been rotating from one region to another every year allowing Ghanaians in another part of the country to have a feel of the occasion.



New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the Independence Anniversary is a very historic day in the history of Ghana as they trace their road to sovereignty 66 years ago.



He said many people have lost their loved ones through slavery saying many people have left the shores

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
African Students Union in Ohio University has announced Former President of Ghanaian Students in Hungary Gabriel Asante as Winner of the 2023 African Heros Award.



His award according to the organizers was based on his hard work, advocacy initiatives and passion in fighting for cost -elimination in upper secondary level in Sub Saharan Africa as well as his contribution to the achievement of Goal 4 of Agenda 2030 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations which according to them speaks volumes of his Pan Africanism.



Mr. Gabriel Asante giving his Key note address at event under the theme The Rebirth of African Heroism  revealed that about 60% of youth of upper secondary school age, that is, level 3 of educational level classifications, are not in school in Africa.



He said these statistics are unacceptable and expect to achieve about 90 to 100% enrollment rate to meet Sustainable Development Goal 4.1 in 2030 adding that in the United States, for example, when we are talking about access to Education, we are talking about the tertiary level, not the high school.



What is Africa doing, and what can Africa do to change this? We all have a role to play to change things, to solve this problem, and uniting for a common purpose is an essential component he quizzes.



He recounted how through hardworking and zeal way back at his Hometown, Behenase, a community in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region, he formed CONCERNED YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF BEHENASE in 2011 aimed at prioritizing education within the community.



Our impact is that today, many youths in my Behenase Village have completed and attending Senior High School, thanks also to the free Senior High School policy in Ghana he added.



He believed the youth can do much better with or without support to help with the growth of the education sector when they join forces.



Garbriel Asante recalled that during the Ukrain Russian War with teamwork and unity, they managed to recue some Ghnaiam students who were affected by the war

I realized my teamwork spirit was activated. UNITY. My mobile number was released out there by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that all those fleeing to Hungary can call for assistance. The first batch of students fleeing the War, numbering 26, were arriving on February 27, and about 200 more were on their way coming, per the information we had from them. In fact, it was a difficult moment he hinted.



Ending his speech he implored African students all over the world, to start exploring and look at the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) describing it as a great vision from forebearers. Lets look at how we can utilize that great idea and the potential of AfCFTA in our respective small ways, in our communities and our countries. Lets trade among ourselves; lets do things in common. Thats the surest way to prosper and become a hero.



To our traditional and political leaders, let us continue to prioritize Education. We should aim to educate the younger generations, at least to the upper secondary level. Primary and lower secondary school as the terminal point for compulsory schooling in many African countries must be re-looked at. We need to redefine compulsory basic Education to capture the upper secondary level. As Prof Putnam of Harvard University said, America is America today because of the provision of access to Education through free public senior high school to everyone as far back as the 1900s he said.



AFRICAN HEROS AWARD



The African Heros Award was created to mark and celebrate the release of the former and the late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, from prison. As such, President Mandela became the first award recipient in 1991. Since then, the African Community at Ohio University has been nominating, voting, and giving the award every spring semester to an African or Africanist who is contributing to the development and advancement of the African continent and people of African descent on the continent or in the diaspora.



Previous winners of this award included Her Excellency Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, former Permanent Representative of the African Union Mission to the USA and Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of African Diaspora Development Initiative; Dr. Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, former Director of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission and current Director of The Kenya School of Law; Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Ghanaian undercover investigative journalist; Dr. Ibrahim Soce Faal, Regional Emergencies

Director of the Health Emergencies Program of the World Health Organization; Physician Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the founder of National Cardiothoracic Center and the Ghana Heart Foundation among others.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
At least 30 school children and security officers collapsed during the Independence Day parade in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, on Monday, 6 March 2023.



Six of them, the Regional Coordinator for Non-Communicable Diseases, Mrs Lydia Owusu Ansah, told Class News Elisha Adarkwah, were rushed to the hospital for medical treatment.



The situation, she said, was a result of dehydration and loss of glucose, while others were hungry.



The number of persons who collapsed, Mrs Ansah said, reduced this year due to advice given to the schools and the security officers earlier.



The parade was held at the jubilee park in the Kumasi Metropolis of the region on the theme:" Our unity. Our strength. Our purpose".



Six school cadets, six non-cadet, 13 basic schools, four volunteer organisations, and 11 state security contingents participated in the parade.



Speaking at the ceremony, the Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah called on Ghanaians to unite and forge together to help the nation progress.

Source: classfmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
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.
The Bono East Regional Minister, Kwasi Adu-Gyan, is proposing the introduction of mandatory stopovers for drivers to curb the frequent road accidents on the Kintampo-Tamale highway.



If implemented, the measure will require drivers to take breaks or stop at specific intervals while traveling on the stretch to help reduce driver fatigue and improve road safety.



The move to implement mandatory stopovers for drivers comes after a fatal accident involving a Yendi-Kumasi bound bus and a trailer truck on Sunday, March 5, 2023, in between Babatokuma and Kintampo claimed twenty-one lives on the spot with one later dying at the hospital.



Speaking at the accident scene, Kwasi Adu-Gyan, indicated that the plan is one of the many interventions that his outfit will be implementing to reduce the carnage on that stretch.



He disclosed that most of the gory accidents involve vehicles traveling long distances so they are going to implement some measures which will be aimed at saving lives.



One thing in the pipeline is the introduction of a mandatory stop because this driver was from Yendi and got involved in an accident here so it could be that the driver was exhausted or tired, it could be any of these things.



He added that government will also be stepping up the upgrading of the Kintampo Government Hospital due to its strategic location to be able to attend to critical accident cases that occur on the stretch.



Another thing we plan to do as a government is to facilitate the upgrading of the Kintampo Hospital to handle critical accident cases.



Accidents on Kintampo-Tamale highway



The Kintampo-Tamale highway has gained a reputation for being one of the deadliest roads in the country.



According to statistics, the highway has been responsible for claiming the lives of over 150 individuals since 2016.



In February 2016, a head-on collision between a Metro Mass bus and a truck resulted in 53 fatalities and 23 injuries.



Similarly, fatal accidents in March 2019 and March 2020 claimed 57 and 27 lives respectively.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Automobile Assemblers Association of Ghana will host its maiden Automotive Summit on the 20th of March 2023, at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) Grand Arena.



The theme for the summit; Creating A New Economic Backbone for Ghana and The Sub-Region, will present the opportunity for leading experts and industry professionals in the sector to discuss the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the automobile industry.



The summit will concurrently run along an exhibition of over 20 vehicle models locally assembled in Ghana by the members of the AAAG.



We are delighted to host this maiden summit, which will explore the future of the automobile industry and the technologies and innovations that will shape it. This will provide us the opportunity as a country to discuss the issues and opportunities impacting businesses and the automobile industry as a whole, the AAAG President, Mr Jeffrey Oppong Peprah emphasised.



The AAAG membership include Volkswagen Ghana, Japan Motors, Rana Motors, Kantanka Automobile, Silverstar Ghana, Stallion Group Toyota-Tsusho Company. Associate members are Toyota Ghana and CFAO Motors Ghana.

The event will attract an audience of hundreds of senior-level representatives from across the breadth of the industry, including vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers, engineers, government, the financial sector, insurance, global organisations, and the media.



The panel discussions will address the key areas of focus for the automotive industry including sustainability, competitiveness, standards, the creation of a local used car market, component manufacturing, retail, auto financing, and insurance, amongst others.



Speakers include senior executives from vehicle manufacturers, policymakers, and a host of content experts from automotive and aligned industries.



This summit is proudly supported by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariate, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.



This event which is strictly by invitation is also believed to provide attendees with valuable insights and opportunities to connect with other industry players.



For more information, please contact the project team by email: [email protected]

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former President John Dramani Mahama has explained why he was absent from Ghana's 66th Independence Day celebration at Ho in the Volta Region.



According to Mahama, I just came from the Volta Region, and just when I was leaving they were preparing to celebrate the Independence Day. I have stopped going to Independence day because it has become a party jamboree. I went to Tamale and they told GBC to take the camera off me, they bussed their supporters in and filled the whole stadium.



Speaking at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Professional Forum Dinner and Awards Night held in Accra on Sunday, March 5, continued I said I dont want to be part of this party jamboree. Independence is a solemn national celebration that is celebrated at Independence Square and everybody could come. Today, they bus their supporters in, they have party flags, and they are wearing party T-Shrts, I dont want to be part of the party jamboree.



Nkrumah got us independence, I am a Nkrumahist, I will attend an Independence Day anniversary any day if it is not hijacked by one party, it is a national day for all of us, so I am not going to be there because I dont want to be part of an NPP Jamboree. You watch what will happen, they will bus their people there and occupy the whole place 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.

Featured Video
Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has met with the leadership of Ghanas Apostolic Movement over controversies surrounding the National Cathedral.



In a post on his Facebook page, he wrote:



Earlier today I honoured an invitation from the leadership of Ghanas Apostolic Movement to offer a comprehensive briefing on matters relating to the National Cathedral Scandal.



The deliberations were extensive, transparent and frank in the best interest of our dear nation and our Lords Kingdom.

I also received special prayers asking for the Lords fortification in the pursuit of what they described as my exemplary parliamentary oversight.



I am profoundly grateful to these revered ministers of the gospel.

Always, for God and Country 





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former president John Dramani Mahama has asked president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to take governance serious and to take control and command of the government.



Mahama is particularly concerned about the state of the economy and the fact that government refuses to take any cuts despite begging for debt restructuring from external creditors.



He lamented how the presidency reportedly spent over 15 million cedis on tyres and batteries of cars according to an official expense list submitted to Parliament.



Portions of the list were released by North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa months back.



Its just a comedy. This government is jaguar jokers and until the president wakes up and takes control, he must take control and command, Mahama said whiles addressing party faithful during his campaign to win the National Democratic Congress flagbearership contest.



There are 1000s of presidential staffers and personal assistantsall over the place writing stupid things on social media, he jabbed.





This Akufo-Addo led administration are bunch of jaguar jokers - J.D Mahama#MetroNews pic.twitter.com/mWuqkhDAwM  Metropolitan Television (@metrotvgh) March 6, 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.

Featured Video
Former President John Dramani Mahama on March 5, 2023 disclosed that he would not be attending Ghanas 66th Independence Day celebration in the Volta Region.



According to the aspiring presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Independence Day celebration is a national event in the country but has unfortunately been turned into a political jamboree by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), hence his decision not to associate himself with political events.



"I am not going to be in Ho because I don't want to be part of an NPP jamboree," the former President said, whilst speaking with the media concerning the celebration.



The decision by John Dramani Mahama was met with mixed reactions from internet users. A section of them described the former presidents decision as apt and a bold statement, while others believe his absence does not show statesmanship.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, the Parliament of Ghana hosted representatives of the Electoral Commission, National Identification Authority and Ministry of Finance to debate on the proposed Constitutional Instrument (C.I) for voters ID registration.



The electoral commissioner, Madam Jean Mensah during her presentation mentioned the laid out requirement for the exercise which is yet to take place.



The ECOWAS Identity Card otherwise known as Ghana card appeared to be the basic and the sole required document for the voter ID registration.



The proposed C.I also recommends registration centers will be cited at the commissions office at the various districts instead of the polling stations as in previous C.Is.



This means that, every citizen of the age 18 years or more would have to move to the electoral commission office in his district with his Ghana card to register for the voters ID.



Meanwhile, article 42 of the 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana guarantee citizens the right to vote.



It states that every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.



However, under regulation 1(3) of the proposed C.I by the electoral commission states that a person who applies for registration as a voter shall provide as evidence of identification the national identification card issued by the National Identification Authority.



This means that, the regulation by the EC seeks to restrain many Ghanaians from exercising their voting rights.



According to the National Identification Authority (NIA) statistics, over 3.5 million cards have been locked up due to financial constraints from the government and other millions of citizens have not started the process yet.



This means that, all persons at eighteen or more who are a victim of this would have their voting right seized by the EC only because they do not have the Ghana card.



There have been so many factors to be looked at as far as the 1992 constitution is concerned. This proposed C.I is flawed. It has no credibility and it poses a threat in the coming elections.



Many Ghanaians would have to travel miles to get to their district capitals where the EC offices are mostly located.



This will make it very difficult for people who have the district offices at such distances to get registered thereby disenfranchising them. Coupling the distances with current economic state where almost everything is expensive will keep many eligible voters unregistered.



In view of this, the leader of the 18Plus4NDC group, Miss Bridget Bonnie, has vehemently opposed the new proposal tabled before parliament by the EC and is asking members to disallow its passage.



She argues that the new C.I will disenfranchise many young but qualified voters in so many ways.



Miss Bonnie said that, the National Identification Authority (NIA) do not have offices in every district.



This means that, to register for the card, one may have to move from one district to another district access NIA offices before they can register for their Ghana Cards.



She believes will be challenging to young people who may not have the economic power to make such trips just register to obtain their cards, which the EC is proposing as the sole requirement for voter registration in the coming elections.



Young eligible voters will be denied their mandate to vote with the new C.I she said, adding this will frustrate young people turning 18 but without the financial capacity to travel to available offices to obtain their cards.



Moreover, Miss Bonnie has argued that, although there are NIA premium centers facilitating the process of obtaining the Ghana Card, it is quite expensive for many young people to obtain the services of such centers.



It is therefore going to be pandemonic to insist on the national ID card for registering new voters.



There are regions without NIA premium service centers and to access a premium center for a card, one must pay Ghc250.00, she said.



If this is not properly done, it may lead to chaos come 2024.



The E.C chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa, in parliament, has argued that, the Ghana card will be the sole document to register all new eligible voters that want to register for the voters ID card.



She explained that, the position of the EC is to do away with the guarantor system because the guarantor system allows non- Ghanaians and under-age persons to register for voting. She also claimed passports and birth certificates are not prove of age and nationality, which is quite debatable.

Another case of interest to the 18Plus4NDC is that, the current C.I makes it easier for registered persons to identify their polling stations just on the day of registration since the process is coordinated at the polling centers.



This makes it easier on the voting day as new voters to be familiar with where to vote.



In view of the above, the 18Plus4NDC insists that the EC is employing tactics to favor the current government by entrenching their mandate.



The leadership of the group insists that, many youth will find it easier registering at known polling centers where they will cast their votes come 2024.



It will be, therefore, frustrating to new voters who may register to vote at EC determined offices, far away from polling centers, to identify their polling stations on the day of elections.



Ghanaians will be displeased in their members of parliament if they allow this C.I to hold. It is the fervent call of all Ghanaians and a constitutional mandate to vote when eligible and there should not be any law that will deter citizens from enjoying their rights.



The members of parliament should not allow the EC to lay proposed C.I as it lacks credibility and put the safety of the country in danger. Our long existed peace and unity cannot be taken for granted.

Source: Akudugu Haruna Ibrahim/student









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Nana Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM 1, the CEO of Zylofon media has stated that Ghanaian actress cum socialite, Efia Odo behaves just like the popular American television host, Oprah Winfrey.



He made this statement after seeing how the actress composed herself when she appeared as a guest on United Showbiz on March 4, 2023, and is of the view that, she suits a corporate brand for ambassadorial deals.



Being amazed by Efia Odos composure, he took to his Twitter page to applaud the actress.



On his twitter page, he wrote, Who else have noticed how @Efiaodo1 seems very Oprah Winfrey  like, on United Showbiz now on UtV based on her views and composure. Seems a perfect fit for a corporate brand ambassadorial endeavor. Kudos.



Efia Odos attention was drawn to the tweet and upon seeing the message, she replied the businessman by asking if he is willing to sign her or not.



You coming to sign this bad bitch or nah, her reply to NAM 1s comment about her.



Nana Appiah Mensah 9(NAM 1) didnt hesitate to also reply her.



According to him, he is ever ready to sign her because she has the voice and the qualities thus if he is given the opportunity, he wouldnt think twice to do so.



He wrote, With a given opportunity why not?!. Sounds smart. Youre clearly a good Ghanian arts material, fits as a global business export, especially for the American market in all honestly. I would gladly welcome a synergy. Youre good. PLEASE DONT STOP.



Check out NAM 1 and Efia Odo's posts below:



Who else have noticed how @Efiaodo1 seems very Oprah Winfrey-like, on United Showbiz now on Utv based on her views and composure. Seems a perfect fit for a corporate brand ambassadorial endeavor. Kudos.  Nana Appiah Mensah (@nam_the_patriot) March 5, 2023







You coming to sign this bad bitch or nah  https://t.co/w1UW9LdA23  EFIAODO (@Efiaodo1) March 5, 2023







With a given opportunity why not?!. Sounds smart. Youre clearly a good Ghanaian arts material, fit as a global business export, especially for the American market in all honestly. I would gladly welcome a synergy. Youre good. PLEASE DONT STOP. https://t.co/22FsJqIE5B  Nana Appiah Mensah (@nam_the_patriot) March 5, 2023









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
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:

Artist's rendering of the accretion disk in ULAS J1120+0641, a very distant quasar powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass two billion times that of the Sun. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Astrophysicists in Australia have shed new light on the state of the universe 13 billion years ago by measuring the density of carbon in the gases surrounding ancient galaxies.

The study, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, adds another piece to the puzzle of the history of the universe.

"We found that the fraction of carbon in warm gas increased rapidly about 13 billion years ago, which may be linked to large-scale heating of gas associated with the phenomenon known as the Epoch of Reionization," says Dr. Rebecca Davies, ASTRO 3D Postdoctoral Research Associate at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia and lead author of the paper describing the discovery.

The study shows the amount of warm carbon suddenly increased by a factor of five over a period of only 300 million yearsthe blink of an eye in astronomical timescales.

While previous studies have suggested a rise in warm carbon, much larger samplesthe basis of the new studywere needed to provide statistics to accurately measure the rate of this growth.

"That's what we've done here. And so, we present two potential interpretations of this rapid evolution," says Dr. Davies.

The first is that there is an initial increase in carbon around galaxies simply because there is more carbon in the universe.

"During the period when the first stars and galaxies are forming, a lot of heavy elements are forming because we never had carbon before we had stars," Dr. Davies says. "And so one possible reason for this rapid rise is just that we're seeing the products of the first generations of stars."

However, the study also found evidence that the amount of cool carbon decreased over the same period. This suggests that there might be two different phases in the evolution of the carbona rapid rise while reionization occurs, followed by a flattening out.

The Epoch of Reionization, which took place when the universe was "only" one billion years old, was when the lights came back on after the cosmic Dark Ages following the Big Bang.

Before this the universe was a dark, dense fog of gas. But as the first massive stars formed, their light began to shine through space and reionize the cosmos. This light may have led to rapid heating of the surrounding gas, causing the rise in warm carbon observed in this study.

Studies of reionization are vital to understand when and how the first stars formed and began producing the elements that exist today. But measurements have been notoriously difficult.

"The research led by Dr. Davies was built on an exceptional sample of data obtained during 250 hours of observations on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory in Chile," says Dr. Valentina D'Odorico from the Italian Institute for Astrophysics, the Principal Investigator of the observational program. "This is the largest amount of observing time assigned to a single project carried out with the X-shooter spectrograph.

"Thanks to the 8m VLT we could observe some of the most distant quasars, which act as flashlights, illuminating galaxies along the path from the early universe to the Earth."

Rebecca Davies,. Credit: ASTRO 3D

As the quasar light passes through galaxies in its 13-billion-year journey across the universe, some photons are absorbed, creating distinctive barcode-like patterns in the light, which can be analyzed to determine the chemical composition and temperature of gas in the galaxies.

This gives an historical picture of the development of the universe.

"These 'barcodes' are captured by detectors at the VLT's X-Shooter spectrograph," Dr. Davies explains. "This instrument splits the galaxy light into different wavelengths, like putting light through a prism, allowing us to read the barcodes and measure the properties of each galaxy."

The study led by Dr. Davies captured more barcodes of ancient galaxies than ever before.

"We increased from 12 to 42 the number of quasars for which we had high quality data, finally allowing a detailed and accurate measurement of the evolution of the carbon density," says Dr. D'Odorico.

This major advance was enabled by the ESO VLT, one of the most advanced telescopes on Earth, and a strategic partner of Australia.

"The study provides a legacy data set which will not be significantly improved until 30m-class telescopes comes online towards the end of this decade," says Professor Emma Ryan-Weber, a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) and second author of the study. "High quality data from even earlier in the universe will require access to telescopes like the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) now under construction in Chile."

Astronomers are using many different types of data to build a history of the universe.

"Our results are consistent with recent studies showing that the amount of neutral hydrogen in intergalactic space decreases rapidly around the same time," says Dr. Davies.

"This research also paves the way for future investigations with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which aims to directly detect emission from neutral hydrogen during this key phase of the universe's history."

Professor Ryan-Weber says the research goes to the heart of ASTRO 3D's mission to understand the evolution of elements, from the Big Bang to present day: "It addresses this key goal: How did the building blocks of lifein this case carbonproliferate across the universe?

"As humans we strive to understand 'Where did we come from?' It's incredible to think that the barcode of those 13-billion-year-old carbon atoms were imprinted on photons at a time when [...] Earth didn't even exist. Those photons traveled across the universe, into the VLT, and then were used to develop a picture of the evolution of the universe."

More information: Rebecca Davies et al, Examining the Decline in the C~IV Content of the Universe over 4.3 = z = 6.3 using the E-XQR-30 Sample, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2023). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stad294 Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Provided by ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D)
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:

Creative destruction. Top: Creative destruction as a mechanism of circular permutation; genes fuse, an ancestral fold is destroyed, and a daughter fold is created. This figure shows, in three-dimensions, (A) an ancestral fold (PDB: 5YYA), (B) the notional ancestral folds of the fused polypeptide (PDB: 5YYA), (C) the immature daughter fold of the fused polypeptide in which parts of the ancestral folds and some secondary elements have been destroyed and an immature daughter fold has been created (PDB: 7D4A, edited), and (D) the mature daughter fold (PDB: 7D4A), which has inherited some but not all supersecondary elements of the ancestors. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2207897119

Proteins have been around a lot longer than we haveas building blocks of biological evolution, our existence depends on them. And now, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are applying a 20th-century theoretical concept to study how proteins evolve, and it might lead to the answer of one of humanity's oldest questions: How did we become us?

Inside a typical human cell are tens of thousands of proteins. We need so many because proteins are the skilled laborers of the cell with each one performing a specific job. Some lend firmness to muscle cells or neurons. Others bind to specific, targeted molecules, ferrying them to new locations. And there are others that activate the process of cell division and growth.

A protein's specific function depends on its shape, and to achieve its functional shapeit's native statea protein folds. A protein begins its life as a long chain of amino acids, called a polypeptide. The sequence of amino acids determines how the protein chain will fold and form a complex, 3D structure that allow the protein to perform an intended task.

In the lab of Loren Williams, researchers are using "creative destruction" as a model for protein fold evolution and innovation. The term, coined by Austrian economist and political scientist Joseph Schumpeter in the 1940s, describes the deliberate dismantling of an established thing, like the wired telephone, to develop a new thing, like the smart phone.

"We have protein structures that have evolved over almost four billion years, and we don't really understand where they came from or how they came to be what they are," said Claudia Alvarez-Carreno, a postdoctoral researcher in the Williams lab, which is called the Center for the Origin of Life, or COOL. "It's a very complex process forming these structures, and there are many hypotheses on how they could have emerged in early evolution."

Out with the old, in with the new

Alvarez-Carreno is the lead author of the paper, "Creative Destruction: New Protein Folds from Old," published recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS. She and her co-authors (Williams, Rohan Gupta, and Anton Petrov) excavated the deepest evolutionary history found within the translation machinerywhich resides within all cells in the ribosome and is the birthplace of all proteins.

The researchers provide evidence supporting the common origins of some of the simplest, oldest, and most common protein folds. It suggests a form of creative destruction at work, explaining how simple protein folds spawn more complex folds.

They discovered that once a protein can fold and achieve its 3D structure, when it is combined with another protein which has folded into a different 3D structure, that combination can easily become a new structure. "So maybe it's not as difficult as we thought to go from one structure to another," said Williams, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "And maybe this can explain the diversity of protein structures that we see today."

In Schumpter's creative destruction model, developing "daughter products" involves the destruction of ancestral products. "Daughter products can inherit features of ancestors but can in essence be different from them," they write in the paper. In the smart phone example ancestral wired phones, computers, cameras, global positioning, and other technologies that are merged to create a daughter, i.e. the smart phone.

The daughter inherits many features of the ancestors. These features, which interact in specific ways in the daughter, create new functional niches that were not accessible, or even possible, in the ancestors.

"So, the creative destruction of protein folds might account for a lot of the diversity we see," Williams said.

Molecular mergers

Ever since the simplest and most ancient protein folds emerged on Earth billions of years ago, the number of folds has expanded to form the universe of protein function we see in modern biology.

But the origins of protein folds and the evolutionary mechanisms at play pose central questions in biology that Williams and his team considered. For instance, how did protein folds arise, and what led to the diverse set of protein folds in contemporary biological systems, and why did nearly four billion years of fold evolution produce fewer than 2,000 distinct folds?

The researchers believe that creative destruction can be generalized to explain a lot of this.

In creative destruction, they explain, one open reading framethe span of DNA sequence that encodes a protein merges with another to produce a fused polypeptide. The merger forces these two ancestors into a new structure. The resulting polypeptide can achieve a form that was inaccessible to either of the independent ancestors, before the merger. But these new folds are not totally independent of the old. That is, a daughter fold inherits some things from the ancestral fold.

This, broadly speaking, is what Williams and his team observed, and they think their creative destruction model has some application in studying diseaseproteins that fold improperly can impact the health of the cells and the human comprised of those cells.

"For example, we think this process is important in the biology of cancerthere are many, many proteins that have fused and, we believe have refolded, in cancers," said Williams. "And there's the world of protein aggregation diseases, like Parkinson's or Alzheimers, and proteins that have not folded correctly, or have refolded."

But right now, Williams and his team are most interested in how their creative destruction model helps them understand some of the deepest questions of our evolution.

"Like, where did we come from," Williams said. "Creative destruction could help us understand where the proteins in our body came and how we came to be what we are."
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:

Illustration of 2 image acquisition types. (A) Ground-level acquisition. (B) UAV acquisition. Credit: Plant Phenomics (2023). DOI: 10.34133/plantphenomics.0017

The selective breeding of grain crops is one of the main reasons why domesticated plants produce such excellent yields. Selecting the best candidates for breeding is, however, a remarkably complex task. On one hand, it requires a skilled breeder with trained eyes to assess plant resistance to disease and pests, crop growth, and other factors. On the other hand, it also requires precise tool-assisted measurements such as grain size, mass, and quality.

Although all these standard measures are useful, none of them takes into account the number of panicles or 'heads' per plant. Head density is closely related to crop yield in most cases, and it could easily be a staple characteristic to measure in breeding programs. However, estimating the number of heads per plant and per unit area is very time consuming and requires tedious manual work.

To address this issue, many researchers have developed machine learning models that can automatically detect individual heads on grain crops in images taken either at ground level or by drones.

While these models are aimed at simplifying the otherwise manual counting process in the field, the reality is that they are usually trained in limited testing conditions and focus exclusively on head detection without providing more metrics. In other words, using these models outside of the context in which they were developed and trained can be difficult, tedious, and even yield poor results.

Against this backdrop, a research team including Professor Scott Chapman from The University of Queensland, Australia, sought to promote deep-learning models for head counting by providing a detailed pipeline outlining their use. As explained in their paper, which was recently published in Plant Phenomics, this pipeline covers most of the quirks and challenges that one could find when using these models.

"We took various real-world variables into consideration, including data preparation, model validation, inference, and how to derive yield-specific metrics," explains Chapman, "We aimed to outline a practical and end-to-end pipeline for head detection in sorghum."

There are two variants to the proposed pipeline, which are demonstrated by way of two independent illustrative experiments. In the first one, the researchers show how one should proceed if one needed to prepare training, testing, and validation datasets for a given machine learning model from scratch. This is usually the case when publicly available datasets are not suitable for the target field, which can happen, for example, when one is dealing with a different stage in plant development than the available datasets.

In the second experiment, the team showcases the steps required to use various pre-trained deep-learning models for sorghum head detection and/or counting. They demonstrate how the detection results (that is, the output of models that only outline sorghum heads on a set of given images) can be 'stitched together' into larger mosaic images. This enables one to observe and analyze large areas more easily and calculate important metrics, such as head density per tilling row or per square meter.

"Our pipeline produces a high-resolution head density map that can be used for the diagnosis of agronomic variability within a field without relying on commercial software," highlights Chapman.

Overall, this study will be useful to researchers and people involved in the agricultural industry alike. Not only it explains how deep learning models can be leveraged to assess grain crops more efficiently, but it also helps unlock new functionalities for camera-equipped drones in agriculture.

Worth noting, the proposed pipeline could be adapted to other plants besides sorghum, as Chapman remarks: "Although we demonstrated our pipeline in a sorghum field, it can be generalized to other grain species. In future works, we intend to test our pipeline on tasks involving other grain types, such as wheat and maize yield estimation."

More information: Chrisbin James et al, From Prototype to Inference: A Pipeline to Apply Deep Learning in Sorghum Panicle Detection, Plant Phenomics (2023). DOI: 10.34133/plantphenomics.0017
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Proxy dataindirect records of the Earth's climate found in unlikely places like coral, pollen, trees and sedimentsshow interesting oscillations approximately every 100,000 years starting about one million years ago. Strong changes in global ice volume, sea level, carbon dioxide concentration, and surface temperature indicate cycles of a long, slow transition to a glacial period and an abrupt switch to a warm and short interglacial period.

Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized that the timing of these cycles was controlled by the orbital parameters of the Earth, including the shape of its path around the sun and the tilt of the planet. A slightly closer orbit or more tilted planet could create a small increase in solar radiation and a feedback loop that leads to massive changes in climate. This idea suggests that there may be some predictability in the climate, a notoriously complex system.

In the journal Chaos, Stefano Pierini of Parthenope University of Naples proposed a new paradigm to simplify the verification of the Milankovitch hypothesis.

"The main motivation behind this study was the wish to characterize and illustrate the Milankovitch hypothesis in a simple, elegant, and intuitive way," Pierini said.

Many models suggest that Milankovitch is correct; however, such methods are often detailed and study specific. They incorporate climate feedback loopsfor example, increased ice cover reflects more radiation back into space, leading to further cooling and more ice coveras threshold crossing rules. This means that an abrupt jump in climate only occurs once a parameter reaches a given tipping point.

Pierini's "deterministic excitation paradigm" combines the physics concepts of relaxation oscillation and excitability to link Earth's orbital parameters and the glacial cycles in a more generic way. The relaxation oscillation component describes how the climate slowly returns to its original glacier state after it is disturbed. At that point, the excitability piece of the model captures the external orbital changes and triggers the next glacial cycle.

By using his own threshold crossing rules and adopting a classical energy-balance model, Pierini obtained correct and robust timing of the most recent glacial cycles.

"The application of the deterministic excitation paradigm in the present basic formulation can explain the timing of the last four glacial terminations," he said. "Extending the same analysis to the whole Pleistocene will be the subject of a future investigation."

Pierini believes similar methods could be used in other fields of nonlinear science and in connection with other climate phenomena.

The article "The deterministic excitation paradigm and the late Pleistocene glacial terminations" is authored by Stefano Pierini. It is published in Chaos on March 7, 2023.

More information: The deterministic excitation paradigm and the late Pleistocene glacial terminations, Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0127715 Journal information: Chaos
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The injection of bubbles from waves breaking in turbulent and cold high-latitude regions of the high seas is an underappreciated way in which atmospheric gases are transported into the interior ocean. An improved mechanistic understanding of gas exchange in high latitudes is important for several reasons, including to better constrain climate models that are used to predict changes in the ocean inventory of key gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide.

A new WHOI-led study, "Dissolved gases in the deep North Atlantic track ocean ventilation processes", published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, combines new geochemical tracers and ocean circulation models to investigate the physics by which atmospheric gases get into the deep ocean.

The study uses a new technique to precisely measure noble gas isotopes dissolved in samples of seawater collected from as deep as 4.5 kilometers in the North Atlantic. Noble gasesthe elements on the far right-hand side of the periodic tableare unreactive and unused by biology, making them useful tracers of physics.

Noble gases are neither added nor removed from water after the exchange with the atmosphere at the sea-surface. As a result, measuring dissolved noble gases in the deep North Atlantic off the coast of Bermuda tells scientists about the physics of gas exchange that happened in special regions like the Irminger Sea, where the surface ocean becomes dense enough under stormy wintertime conditions to sink and form deep water that slowly flows south.

Alan Seltzer, lead author of the paper, said these new findings suggest that the dissolution of bubbles in the high-latitude ocean "may be the dominant pathway by which all of the noble gases, oxygen, and nitrogen get into the deep ocean." This study is a step forward toward understanding the basic physics by which gases get into the ocean, said Seltzer, an assistant scientist in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

"Anything we can do to improve the accuracy of the way models represent our world is helpful, especially when it has to do with gases," he said. "We care about oxygen for global ecosystems, and we care about CO 2 because the ocean is a huge player in taking up our emissions. So if we can improve the way models represent physical processes such as gas exchange, we can have more confidence in future simulations with models as a way of predicting how things will change in a warmer world with more CO 2 ."

"Understanding how the ocean takes up and releases gases to the atmosphere is a challenging but critically important step toward predicting their response to climate change. Being chemically and biologically inert, noble gases are powerful tools for probing the physical processes involved," said journal article co-author William Jenkins, an emeritus research scholar in WHOI's Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department.

"The Seltzer et al. paper is an important step forward in this journey in that it combines new high-precision noble gas concentration and isotope ratio measurements that are key to unlocking an understanding of these vital processes. Their results also shed light on the oceanic nitrogen cycle, which is both important for climate change issues, but also our fundamental understanding of how ocean food web is supported."

Measurements for the study come from the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS) site (3140 N, 6410 W), where repeat cruises have surveyed the ocean from top to bottom nearly monthly since 1988. The BATS site is an ideal place to collect samples, because it is located downstream of deep-water formation regions.

Deep-ocean noble gas concentrations at the BATS site allow scientists to study gas exchange during wintertime events where the deep ocean is formed as surface waters cool and become more dense. Under these harsh conditions, direct observations are challenging and scarce, which is why measurements from the deep ocean in warmer, more southern locations are so valuable.

Seltzer said a way to understand why bubbles play such a huge role in transporting noble gases, oxygen, and nitrogen into the deep ocean is to realize that "every time a wave breaks, that massively increases the available surface area for the exchange of gases between the atmosphere and the ocean."

"The exchange of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases between the deep oceanapproximately 75% of the total ocean volumeand the atmosphere occurs at high latitudes during winter, particularly during storm events. Measurements of inert noble gas concentrations in the deep North Atlantic Ocean documented the importance of large bubbles that form during windy storm events, significantly increasing our understanding of the gas exchange rate for the deep water," said co-author William Smethie, special research scientist and retired research professor at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

"This improves our ability to quantify the exchange of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases between the ocean and atmosphere and predict how their atmospheric concentrations will impact the earth's climate, which is critical for developing policies to mitigate global warming."

More information: Alan M. Seltzer et al, Dissolved gases in the deep North Atlantic track ocean ventilation processes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2217946120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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:

Map of the Phlegraean volcanic fields (left), with details of carbon dioxide emissions from Solfatara crater (right). Source: G. Buono et al., 2023. Credit: Source: G. Buono et al., 2023.

The Phlegraean volcanic fields just west of Naples, Italy, are among the top eight emitters of volcanic carbon dioxide in the world. Since 2005, the Solfatara craterone of many circular depressions in the landscape left by a long history of eruptionshas been emitting increased volumes of gas.

Today it emits 4,000-5,000 tons of carbon dioxide each day, equivalent to the emissions from burning approximately 500,000 gallons of gasoline. In a new paper published ahead of print in Geology, researchers estimate that as much as 20%40% of the current carbon dioxide emissions are from the dissolution of calcite in the rocks, while 60%80% is from underground magma.

"Estimating the source of the carbon dioxide is important to properly reconstruct what is happening in the magmatic system and the hydrothermal system," says Gianmarco Buono, a volcanologist at Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and lead author of the study. "Our aim is to provide a tool to better discriminate the contribution of magmatic and non-magmatic carbon dioxide that can also be applied to other systems."

When magma moves toward Earth's surface, the decreasing pressure on the magma results in degassingthe release of gases that were previously trapped inside the magmaincluding water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. Scientists monitor volcanoes for unrest and possible eruptions using a variety of observationsdetecting earthquakes and tremors related to magma movement, taking detailed measurements of ground deformation, and assessing the types and volumes of gases released at the surface from fumaroles, which are openings in the earth that emit steam and other gases.

Eruptions are often preceded by increased fluxes of gas, but that does not mean that every increase in gas emissions will be followed by an eruption. It is also possible for carbon dioxide to come from sources besides magma. Interaction between hot underground fluids and host rocks can also release carbon dioxide.

Fumaroles at Solfatara crater. Source: Lucia Pappalardo (INGV). Credit: Source: Lucia Pappalardo (Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology).

The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has been monitoring gas emissions from Solfatara crater since 1983, providing a long record of the changes in volume and composition of the gases released there. By comparing ratios of nitrogen, helium, and carbon dioxide in the emissions, researchers had previously established that the gases were coming from deep sources of magma.

"We focused mainly on geochemical variation, especially for carbon dioxide, helium, and nitrogen, because they are non-reactive species. They contain information about what is happening in the magma," explains Buono.

But when the region started experiencing increased unrest in 2005, the data began to deviate from the chemical fingerprints of the magmas, a trend that continued to increase over time alongside rising temperatures in the shallow hydrothermal system. The unrest continued, and in 2012 the alert level was raised from green to yellow, indicating that there is heightened activity but not an imminent threat of eruption.

In addition to small earthquakes and higher gas emissions, the region also experienced deformation of the ground surface. Circulation of hot fluids underground could explain the rising temperatures, ground deformation, and increased gas emissionsinteraction of hot acidic fluids with calcite in the rocks also releases carbon dioxide.

Drill cores of the rocks from previous studies reveal that calcite in the rocks has similar composition to the gas emissions. The researchers estimate that 20%40% of the carbon dioxide at the Solfatara crater site was from removal of the calcite in the host rock.

The Phlegraean Fields have hosted volcanic activity since first erupting approximately 40,000 years ago, with the most recent eruption in 1538. There have been several unrest phases since the 1950s. The current research is part of a strategic project by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, LOVE-CF: Linking surface Observables to sub-Volcanic plumbing-system: a multidisciplinary approach for Eruption forecasting at Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy).

More information: Gianmarco Buono et al, Discriminating carbon dioxide sources during volcanic unrest: The case of Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy), Geology (2023). DOI: 10.1130/G50624.1 Journal information: Geology
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The fossil extinct giant ant Titanomyrma from Wyoming that was discovered over a decade ago by SFU paleontologist Bruce Archibald and collaborators at the Denver Museum. The fossil queen ant is next to a hummingbird, showing the huge size of this titanic insect. Credit: Bruce Archibald

Simon Fraser University scientists say their research on the latest fossil find near Princeton, B.C. is raising questions about how the dispersal of animals and plants occurred across the Northern Hemisphere some 50 million years ago, including whether brief intervals of global warming were at play.

The fossil was discovered by Princeton resident Beverly Burlingame and made available to the researchers through the town's museum. Researchers say it is the first Canadian specimen of the extinct ant Titanomyrma, whose biggest species was surprisingly gigantic, with the body mass of a wren and a wingspan of half a foot.

SFU paleontologists Bruce Archibald and Rolf Mathewes, together with Arvid Aase of Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming, have published their research on the fossil in the current edition of The Canadian Entomologist.

A decade earlier, Archibald and collaborators discovered a gigantic Titanomyrma fossil from Wyoming in a museum drawer in Denver. "This ant and the new fossil from British Columbia are close in age to other Titanomyrma fossils that have been long known in Germany and England," says Archibald. "This raises the questions of how these ancient insects traveled between continents to appear on both sides of the Atlantic at nearly the same time."

Europe and North America were connected by land across the Arctic then, as the North Atlantic had not yet opened enough by continental drift to fully separate them. But was the ancient far-northern climate suitable for their passage?

The scientists found that the ancient climates were hot where these ants lived in Wyoming and Europe. They further found that modern ants with the biggest queens also inhabit hot climates, leading them to associate large size in queen ants with high temperatures. This creates a problem, however, as although the ancient Arctic had a milder climate than today, it still wouldn't have been hot enough to allow Titanomyrma to pass.

The giant fossil queen ant Titanomyrma, recently discovered in the Allenby Formation near Princeton, British Columbia, the first of its kind in Canada. Credit: Bruce Archibald

New findings build on earlier research

The researchers suggested in 2011 that this might be explained by geologically brief intervals of global warming around the time of Titanomyrma called "hyperthermals" creating short-term intervals of friendly conditions for them to cross.

They then predicted that Titanomyrma wouldn't be found in the ancient temperate Canadian uplands, as it would have been cooler than Titanomyrma appears to have required. But now one has been discovered there.

The story becomes more complicated and interesting, as the new Canadian fossil was distorted by geological pressure during fossilization, so its true life size can't be established. It might have been gigantic like some of the largest Titanomyrma queens, but it could equally be reconstructed as smaller.

"If it was a smaller species, was it adapted to this region of cooler climate by reduction in size and gigantic species were excluded as we predicted back in 2011?" says Archibald. "Or were they huge, and our idea of the climatic tolerance of gigantic ants, and so how they crossed the Arctic, was wrong?"

Archibald says the research is helping scientists better understand how B.C.'s community of animals and plants were forming when climate was much different. "Understanding how life dispersed among the northern continents in a very different climate 50 million years ago in part explains patterns of animal and plant distribution that we see today," says Archibald.

"Titanomyrma may also help us better understand how global warming could affect how the distribution of life may change. To prepare for the future, it helps to understand the past."

He adds, "We'll need to find more fossils. Do our ideas of Titanomyrma's ecology, and so of this ancient dispersal of life, need revision? For now, it remains a mystery."

More information: S. Bruce Archibald et al, Eocene giant ants, Arctic intercontinental dispersal, and hyperthermals revisited: discovery of fossil Titanomyrma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formiciinae) in the cool uplands of British Columbia, Canada, The Canadian Entomologist (2023). DOI: 10.4039/tce.2022.49
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:

Tissue chambers loaded into a plate habitat designed for research aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Deok-Ho Kim and Devin Mair, Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers are collaborating with NASA to send human heart "tissue-on-a-chip" specimens into space as early as March. The project is designed to monitor the tissue for changes in heart muscle cells' mitochondria (their power supply) and ability to contract in low-gravity conditions.

The tissue samples will be launched into space aboard SpaceX CRS-27, a resupply mission to the International Space Station, slated for liftoff no earlier than Tuesday, March 14, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Astronauts on board during the mission will also introduce three FDA-approved medicines to the samples in efforts to prevent heart cell changes known or suspected to occur in those undertaking long-duration spaceflights.

"It's possible that what we learn from these experiments in space could also inform how we treat age-related cardiac problems," says Deok-Ho Kim, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, because many heart cellular changes already detected in space explorers mimic changes linked to heart muscle aging in general.

To develop the micro-engineered human heart tissue-on-a-chip, researchers begin with human induced pluripotent stem cells grown in the laboratory. Such cells are able to develop into nearly any type of cell, and are coaxed biologically to develop into beating human cardiomyocytes, the muscle cells that make hearts contract.

Groups of cardiomyocytes form tissue that can be strung between two posts, one flexible and one stiff. The flexible post has an embedded magnet and, when placed over sensors, allows for collection of information on tissue contraction. The chamber enclosing the tissue is sealed so that liquid media feeding the tissue doesn't float away in space. These tissue chambers are then loaded into so-called plate habitats with the magnetic sensors located beneath the tissue. The experimental payload consists of two of these plate habitats, which measure about 7 inches long, 5 inches tall and 4 inches wide.

Kim, his previous postdoctoral researcher Jonathan Tsui, and his doctoral student Devin Mair previously sent heart tissue into space in March 2020. Those experiments, presented at the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society-Americas 2022 Annual Meeting, showed that microgravity in space changed the cells' mitochondria and the tissues' ability to contract.

In the new experiments with their micro-engineered human heart tissues-on-a-chip, the scientists will focus on the proteins activated during tissue inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction.

The astronauts aboard the space station will also test whether any of three medicines can stave off the problems anticipated in space-bound heart cells.
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:

This map shows mean net emissions and removals of carbon dioxide from 2015 to 2020 using estimates informed by NASAs OCO-2 satellite measurements. Countries where more carbon dioxide was removed than emitted appear as green depressions, while countries with higher emissions are tan or red and appear to pop off the page. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio

A pilot project has estimated emissions and removals of carbon dioxide in individual nations using satellite measurements.

A NASA Earth-observing satellite has helped researchers track carbon dioxide emissions for more than 100 countries around the world. The pilot project offers a powerful new look at the carbon dioxide being emitted in these countries and how much of it is removed from the atmosphere by forests and other carbon-absorbing "sinks" within their borders. The findings demonstrate how space-based tools can support insights on Earth as nations work to achieve climate goals.

The international study, published in Earth System Science Data and conducted by more than 60 researchers, used measurements made by NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission, as well as a network of surface-based observations, to quantify increases and decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from 2015 to 2020. Using this measurement-based (or "top-down") approach, the researchers were then able to infer the balance of how much carbon dioxide was emitted and removed.

Although the OCO-2 mission was not specifically designed to estimate emissions from individual nations, the findings from the 100-plus countries come at an opportune time. The first Global Stocktakea process to assess the world's collective progress toward limiting global warming, as specified in the 2015 Paris Agreementtakes place in 2023. This animation shows yearly fossil fuel emissions by more than 100 countries from 2015 to 2020. Countries with high emissions, including the U.S. and China (seen here in dark red), appear to pop from the page, compared to those with lower emissions. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio

"NASA is focused on delivering Earth science data that addresses real world climate challengeslike helping governments around the world measure the impact of their carbon mitigation efforts," said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This is one example of how NASA is developing and enhancing efforts to measure carbon emissions in a way that meets user needs."

Traditional activity-based (or "bottom-up") approaches to carbon measurement rely on tallying and estimating how much carbon dioxide is being emitted across all sectors of an economy, such as transportation and agriculture. Bottom-up carbon inventories are critical for assessing progress toward emission-reduction efforts, but compiling them requires considerable resources, expertise, and knowledge of the extent of the relevant activities. This map illustrates changes in the amount of carbon stored in organic matter on land, called terrestrial carbon stock changes, from 2015 to 2020. Activities such as improved land stewardship and deforestation, which is more extensive in the tropics than other regions, affect these stock changes. Credit: NASAs Scientific Visualization Studio

This is why developing a database of emissions and removals via a top-down approach could be especially helpful for nations that lack traditional resources for inventory development, the study authors assert. In fact, the scientists' findings include data for more than 50 countries that have not reported emissions for at least the past 10 years.

The study provides a new perspective by tracking both fossil fuel emissions and the total carbon "stock" changes in ecosystems, including trees, shrubs, and soils. The data is particularly useful for tracking carbon dioxide fluctuations related to land cover change. Emissions from deforestation alone make up a disproportionate amount of total carbon output in the Global South, which encompasses regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. In other parts of the world, the findings indicate some reductions in atmospheric carbon concentrations via improved land stewardship and reforestation.

The authors said that bottom-up methods for estimating carbon dioxide emissions and removals from ecosystems are essential. However, those methods are vulnerable to uncertainty when data is lacking or the net effects of specific activities, such as logging, aren't fully known.

"Our top-down estimates provide an independent estimate of these emissions and removals, so although they cannot replace the detailed process understanding of traditional bottom-up methods, we can check both approaches for consistency," said Philippe Ciais, a study author and research director at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement in France.

Tracking carbon

The study offers a complex picture of carbon moving through Earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere.

In addition to direct human impacts accounted for by national inventories, unmanaged ecosystems like some tropical and boreal forestswhere humans have a minimal footprintcan sequester carbon from the atmosphere, thus reducing potential global warming.

"National inventories are intended to track how management policies impact emissions and removals of CO 2 ," said study author Noel Cressie, a professor at the University of Wollongong in Australia. "However, the atmosphere doesn't care whether CO 2 is being emitted from deforestation in the Amazon or wildfires in the Canadian Arctic. Both processes will increase the concentration of atmospheric CO 2 and drive climate change. Therefore, it is critical to monitor the carbon balance of unmanaged ecosystems and identify any changes in carbon uptake."

Looking forward, the researchers said their pilot project can be further refined to understand how emissions from individual nations are changing.

"Sustained, high-quality observations are critical for these top-down estimates," said lead author Brendan Byrne, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. "Continued observations from OCO-2 and surface sites will allow us to track how these emissions and removals change as the Paris Agreement is implemented. Future international missions that provide expanded mapping of CO 2 concentrations across the globe will allow us to refine these top-down estimates and give more precise estimates of countries' emissions and removals."

Launched in 2014, the OCO-2 satellite maps natural and human-made carbon dioxide concentrations with the help of three camera-like spectrometers. These devices are tuned to detect the unique spectra, or light signature, of carbon dioxide. They measure the gas indirectly by how much reflected sunlight it absorbs in a given column of air.

More information: Brendan Byrne et al, National CO2 budgets (20152020) inferred from atmospheric CO2 observations in support of the global stocktake, Earth System Science Data (2023). DOI: 10.5194/essd-15-963-2023
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The vertical axis is the temperature divided by the Fermi temperature, and the horizontal axis is the attractive interaction strength. The red solid curve shows the superfluid critical temperature. The blue dashed line shows characteristic temperatures between normal and pseudogap phases. The green dotted line shows the characteristic temperatures between pseudogap and bound dimer phases. (b) Schematics for the tunneling transport process in the normal phase, the pseudogap phase, and the bound dimer phases. The Fano factor, the ratio between the current noise and the current, helps us distinguish pair-current and single-particle current. Credit: Tajima et. al. 2023

If you cool down low-density atomic gas to ultralow temperatures (273C), you get a new state of matter called the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). A BEC has strongly coupled two-atom molecules behaving like a collective wave following quantum mechanics. If you reduce the pairing strength between themfor example, by increasing the magnetic fieldthe atoms form Cooper pairs according to Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory (which won a Nobel Prize).

The process is called BCS-BEC crossover. And the theory forms the basis of superfluids and superconductors, materials that do not display viscosity or electrical resistance. Hiroyuki Tajima and his team from the University of Tokyo proposed a new method to distinguish current carriers in the BCS-BEC crossover. The key is in the fluctuations of current.

Electronic devices display images thanks to electrons moving in a conductoraka single-particle current. Your device may heat up due to the resistance caused by collisions of electrons in the conductor that dissipate electric energy as heat. But superconductors show zero resistance to current flow, saving lots of energy. This is possible because of paired electrons, which would have otherwise repelled each other due to their negative charge. In other words, the current in superconductors is mainly due to the pair-tunneling transport involving moving paired-current carriers rather than a single-particle current carrier.

Tajima and his team investigated the quantum transport phenomena using an ultracold Fermi atomic gas. It is an artificial quantum matter mimicking an electron or fermion system with adjustable interaction strength. "To understand non-trivial transport, we need to distinguish whether single-particle tunneling or pair tunneling is dominant in strongly interacting gas," said Tajima. "The identification of single-particle tunneling and pair tunneling is vital for understanding quantum transport not only in cold atomic systems but also in high-temperature superconductors."

Because the researchers could control the interactions between particles, the atomic gas allowed them to systematically study quantum many-body physics. The gas shows a normal phase when the interaction strength between atoms is weak. In this phase, it behaves like a relatively good conductor such as a metal showing electrical resistance. So, one can expect a single-particle current (electron tunneling transport) under a chemical potential bias (voltage).

If you increase the interaction strength, the gas crosses over to the bound dimer phase via an in-between pseudogap phase. The pseudogap phase is where the BCS-BEC crossover happens at low temperatures. At a critical temperature for a given interaction strength, the atomic gas becomes superfluid with no viscosity. Below the phase transition temperature, Cooper pairs form and lead to pair current. In the pseudogap phase, non-superfluid Cooper pairs form due to attractive interactions, which leads to anomalous current in this region. But in the bound dimer phase, pair current is predominant. Tajima's team found a way to distinguish the current carriers in each phase by measuring an observable macroscopic property.

The team showed that the fluctuations of currents, quantified as the Fano factor, can distinguish single-particle- and pair-currents in a tunneling transport of strongly interacting Fermi gases. The Fano factor value is 1 for single-particle current and 2 for pair current. In the future, their approach can be applied to other unconventional superconductors and different many-body phenomena realized in cold atoms.

Fano factor (the ratio between the current noise and the current) in ultracold Fermi gases with controllable attractive interaction strength. Credit: Tajima et. al. 2023

"Our results show that it is possible to identify the microscopic transport carriers from the macroscopic observables (i.e., current and noise) even in strongly correlated quantum matter," added Tajima.

"This collaboration happened completely through online discussions, which surprisingly enabled us to exchange interdisciplinary knowledge, resulting in this research."

The study is published in the journal PNAS Nexus.

More information: Hiroyuki Tajima et al, Nonequilibrium noise as a probe of pair-tunneling transport in the BCSBEC crossover, PNAS Nexus (2023). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad045 Journal information: PNAS Nexus
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A commonly used scientific method to analyze a tiny amount of DNA in early human embryos fails to accurately reflect gene edits, according to new research led by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University.

The study, published today in the journal Nature Communications, involved sequencing the genomes of early human embryos that had undergone genome editing using the gene-editing tool CRISPR. The work calls into question the accuracy of a DNA-reading procedure that relies on amplifying a small amount of DNA for purposes of genetic testing.

In addition, the study reveals that gene editing to correct disease-causing mutations in early human embryos can also lead to unintended and potentially harmful changes in the genome.

Together, the findings raise a new scientific basis for caution for any scientist who may be poised to use genetically edited embryos to establish pregnancies. Although gene editing technologies hold promise in preventing and treating debilitating inherited diseases, the new study reveals limitations that must be overcome before gene-editing to establish a pregnancy can be deemed safe or effective.

"It tells you how little we know about editing the genome, and particularly how cells respond to the DNA damage that CRISPR induces," said senior author Shoukhrat Mitalipov, Ph.D., director of the OHSU Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy; and, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, molecular and cellular biosciences, OHSU School of Medicine, OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center. "Gene repair has great potential, but these new results show that we have a lot of work to do."

The findings come during the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing in London. On the eve of the last international summit, held in Hong Kong in November 2018, a Chinese scientist revealed the birth of the world's first babies resulting from gene-edited embryos through an experiment that generated global condemnation.

Misdiagnosing embryos

Before an edited embryo can be transferred to establish a pregnancy, it is important to make sure the procedure worked as intended.

Because early human embryos consist of just a few cells, it's not possible to collect enough genetic material to effectively analyze them. Instead, scientists interpret data from a small sample of DNA taken from a few or even a single cell, which then must be multiplied millions of times during a process known as whole genome amplification.

The same processknown as preimplantation genetic testing, or PGTis often used to screen human embryos for various genetic conditions in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Whole genome amplification has limitations that reduce the accuracy of genetic testing, said senior co-author Paula Amato, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

"The concern is that we might be misdiagnosing embryos," Amato said.

Amato, who uses in vitro fertilization to treat patients struggling with infertility as well as to prevent the transmission of inherited diseases, said PGT using more advanced technology is still clinically useful for detecting chromosomal abnormalities and genetic disorders caused by a single gene mutation transmitted from parent to child.

The study highlights the challenges of establishing the safety of gene-editing techniques.

"We may not be able to reliably predict that this embryo will result in a healthy baby," Mitalipov said. "That's a major problem."

To overcome these issues, OHSU researchers, along with collaborators with research institutions in South Korea and China, established embryonic stem cell lines from gene-edited embryos. Embryonic stem cells grow indefinitely and provide ample DNA material that does not require whole genome amplification to analyze.

Researchers say the discovery highlights the error-prone nature of whole genome amplification and the need to verify edits in embryos by establishing embryonic stem cell lines.

Study verifies gene repair

Using embryonic stem cells, the new study verifies the process of gene repair that Mitalipov's lab developed; the findings were published in the journal Nature in 2017 and verified in 2018.

In that study, scientists cut a specific target sequence on a mutant gene known to be carried by a sperm donor.

Researchers found that human embryos repair these breaks, using the normal copy of the gene from the other parent as a template. Mitalipov and co-authors confirmed that this process, known as gene conversion, occurs regularly in early human embryos following a double-strand break in their DNA. Such a repair, if used to establish a pregnancy through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, could theoretically prevent a known familial disease from being passed on to the child, as well as all future generations of the family.

In the study published in 2017, the OHSU researchers targeted a gene known to cause a deadly heart disease.

In this new publication, researchers targeted other discrete mutations using donated sperm and eggs, including one mutation known to cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, and a different one associated with high cholesterol. In each case an enzyme known as Cas9, used in tandem with CRISPR, induced a double-strand break in DNA at the precise site of the mutation.

Creating problems

In addition to replicating and confirming the gene-repair mechanism reported in 2017, the new study examines what happens in the genome beyond the specific site where the mutant gene is repaired. And that's where a problem can occur.

"In this paper we asked, 'how extensive is that gene conversion repair mechanism?'" Amato said. "It turns out that it can be very lengthy."

Extensive copying of the genome, from one parent to the other, creates a scenario known as loss of heterozygosity.

Every human being shares two versions, or alleles, of every gene on the human genomeone contributed from each parent. Most of the time, the alleles are identical, given 99.9% of any individual's DNA sequence is shared with the rest of humanity. In some cases, however, one parent will carry a recessive disease-causing mutation that's normally canceled out by the other parent's dominant healthy version of the same gene.

These polymorphisms in the genetic code can be critically important. For example, a gene may encode a protein that protects against specific types of cancer.

"If you have one abnormal copy of a recessive mutation, that may pose no risk," Amato said. "But if you have loss of heterozygosity leading to two mutant copies of the same tumor suppressor gene, now you're at significantly increased risk for cancer."

The more genetic code that's copied, the greater the risk of dangerous genetic changes. In the new study, scientists measured gene conversion tracts ranging from a relatively small segment to as large as 18,600 base pairs of DNA.

In effect, the repair of one known mutation may create more problems than it solves.

"If you're cutting in the middle of a chromosome, there could be 2,000 genes there," Mitalipov said. "You're fixing one tiny spot, but all these thousands of genes upstream and downstream may be affected."

The finding suggests that much more research is needed to understand the mechanism at work in gene-editing before using it clinically to establish a pregnancy.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

When it comes to lung-damaging smog, Chicago and the rest of Cook County are the nation's worst neighbors.

Newly released data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show air pollution from the city and 120 of its suburbs contributes more to smog violations in other states than any other county.

Wisconsin suffers the brunt of Cook County's dirty air during hot summer days, when smog is formed by a reaction between sunlight and pollution from car and truck exhaust, power plants and factories, fumes from volatile solvents and gasoline vapors.

Based on an analysis of air quality monitoring during the past several years, the EPA projects Chicago and the Cook County suburbs will account for more than a fourth of this summer's smog problems in Kenosha and about a fifth of the noxious air Wisconsinites breathe in Racine and Sheboygan.

Only New York comes close to being that bad of a neighbor. The EPA determined the state is responsible for 16% of the dirty air in nearby Fairfield County, Connecticut, which also gets hit by pollution drifting east from Chicago.

But smog, technically known as ground-level ozone, doesn't travel in just one direction.

Pollution from Wisconsin is responsible for more than 3% of the smog in Cook County, the EPA concluded, enough to violate the federal Clean Air Act.

Indiana polluters also send worrisome concentrations of dirty air to Illinois' largest county and to Wisconsin, the EPA data shows. So do states as far away as Texas.

With scientists concluding smog is more dangerous than previously thought, the Biden EPA is moving to clamp down on large polluters.

The agency's Good Neighbor Plan, expected to take effect by May, will impose more stringent limits on nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and 22 other states. A handful of other industries will be required to reduce their smog contributions for the first time.

"Air pollution doesn't stop at the state line," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said last year after releasing a draft of the regulations. "This step will help our state partners meet air quality health standards, saving lives and improving public health in smog-affected communities across the United States."

Breathing even low levels of smog can inflame the lining of the lungs and aggravate asthma and other respiratory diseases; long-term exposure can permanently scar lung tissue.

In 2026, when the Good Neighbor Plan is fully implemented, the EPA estimates it will prevent roughly 1,000 premature deaths and avoid more than 2,000 hospital and emergency room visits, 1.3 million asthma attacks and 470,000 missed school days.

"The good news is the air is getting cleaner," said Tracey Holloway, an air quality researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "But the bad news is researchers are finding there are health effects at lower levels of exposure."

Power plants, in particular coal burners, have been subject to interstate smog standards since the late 1990s. The EPA is adding other industries in part because scores of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants have closed during the past decade and others are equipped with modern pollution-control equipment, yet in large swaths of the U.S. the air still isn't clean enough to protect public health.

"This illustrates the need for a strong Good Neighbor rule," said Kathleen Riley, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit legal organization.

To say the newly affected industries aren't happy about joining the bad neighbor list is an understatement.

Some have sued the EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where in September two of the three judges reviewing the case expressed skepticism about complaints the agency cut corners while drafting the new rules.

The federal regulatory docket is packed with opposition from cement makers, steel companies, chemical manufacturers, oil refiners, glass makers, gas pipeline operators and paper mills, all of whom question the methodology, legality and practicality of the EPA's regulations.

Opponents also are invoking many of the same arguments from past battles about clean air regulations, which have generally been held up in court.

What the EPA is proposing to do "threatens to hamstring the economy and national security with extended downtime or closures and resultant shortages of domestic iron and steel supply," U.S. Steel wrote in its response to the Good Neighbor Plan.

"Multiple boilers at Dow sites in several different covered states would be subject to costly emissions control measures on an unrealistic time frame," the Michigan-based chemical giant said.

State-level business groups denied their industries are responsible for smog problems elsewhere and pleaded for exemptions.

"EPA has proposed extremely burdensome regulations that will unnecessarily hurt Wisconsin manufacturers," the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce group wrote, urging the agency to crack down more aggressively on industries in Illinois and other upwind states.

Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, noted the nation's industries have dramatically reduced air pollution during the past three decades. Moving the goal posts, Denzler said, could jeopardize new investment.

There is no question the targeted industries contribute to smog problems. The EPA estimates the Good Neighbor Plan will cost industry $1.1 billion but result in health benefits worth at least $9.3 billion and as much as $18 billion.

It remains to be seen if the EPA will allow states to enforce the new regulations as it has done with earlier versions. On Feb. 13, the agency rejected compliance plans submitted by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and 17 other states. But lawyers familiar with the process said most, if not all of the states likely will respond with amended plans.

"This is a tried and trued game where the states exploit the maximum time available to them under the statute and then, as belatedly as possible, develop their own plans after the EPA has effectively told them what they need to do," said John Walke, an attorney at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council who works on air quality issues.

States have been fighting about air pollution for decades.

The Northeast still blames coal plants in the Ohio River Valley for chronically dirty air in cities and acid rain that despoils remote forests and lakesproblems that led Congress to approve a bipartisan overhaul of the Clean Air Act in 1990. Wisconsin contends some of its counties can't meet federal standards because pollution from Cook County drifts over Lake Michigan during summer afternoons and is baked into smog by the sun before drifting back inland.

"It's not a good look for us," said Mayor Ryan Sorenson of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, population 49,931, where average smog levels last year were higher than the average in Cook County. "These problems demonstrate the importance of the federal government providing some assistance and direction because there are multiple states, not just Illinois, that impact our air quality."

2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Whether people invest in stocks depends on what they think about stockholders. This is what a team led by Luca Henkel, a member of the ECONtribute Cluster of Excellence: Markets & Public Policy at the University of Bonn, found out. The study has been published as an ECONtribute Discussion Paper.

The study found that 80% of respondents consider people who invest in stocks to be selfish and greedy "gamblers." "Which opinion people have of stockholders plays an important role in whether someone invests in stocks themselves," says Luca Henkel, who conducted the study with Christian Zimpelmann.

The researchers asked about 4,700 study participants from the Netherlands and the U.S. what they thought about people who are active or inactive on the stock market. On a scale of one to ten, participants could indicate how strongly they assigned character traits such as selfishness and greed to the respective group. The result: More than 80% of participants rated the group of stock owners as significantly more selfish and greedy than non-stock owners.

In a second step, the researchers use experiments to show that these views causally influence investment decisions: the more negatively participants view stockholders, the less they invested in stocks.

According to the researchers, only two reasons are more important for the decision whether to invest in the stock market than people's opinion about stockholders: their income or wealth and the belief whether shares yield positive returns.

Equity investments are part of people's identity

"The negative picture contributes to the low participation in the stock market," says Luca Henkel. In Germany, less than 30% of people invest in shares.

The study reveals that respondents have a stereotype of stockholders in their minds, which in reality only applies to a small group. People overestimate character traits such as egoism and greed in relation to the total group of all shareholders. This may lead to the decision not to invest in stocks to become an important part of people's identity. For instance, 40% said they were proud not to own stock.

"We should talk about who is investing in the stock market in the first place," says Luca Henkel. "In reality, this is not a homogenous group, but consists of individuals having a wide variety of characteristics." Education, for example in the form of school lessons on finance or public information campaigns, could encourage more people to engage with the stock market.

More information: Proud to Not Own Stocks: How Identity Shapes Financial Decisions. ECONtribute Discussion Paper; www.econtribute.de/RePEc/ajk/a  tribute_206_2022.pdf
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:

This graph shows a teachers Quality Teaching score (the mean of 18 elements), compared to their experience. Credit: Jenny Gore

The past four decades have seen an endless stream of reviews into teacher education. Australia has clocked up more than 100 since 1979. This comes amid constant concerns teachers are not adequately prepared for the classroom.

Our latest research, published in the Australian Education Researcher, provides a powerful counternarrative to concerns about teacher education and early-career teachers.

We analyzed data from two major studies over the past decade and found it did not matter if teachers had less than one year of teaching experience or had spent 25 years in the classroomthey delivered the same quality of teaching.

These results indicate teaching degrees are preparing new teachers to deliver quality teaching and have a positive impact in their classrooms right away.

Recent reviews into teacher education

The most recent review into teacher education was finalized in February 2022. Led by former federal education department secretary Lisa Paul, the review found an "ambitious reform agenda" was needed to attract "high quality" students and make sure teacher education was "evidence-based and practical."

Sydney University vice-chancellor Mark Scott (who also chairs The Conversation's board) is now leading another expert panel, partly in response to Paul's review and partly due to concerns about teacher shortages. It is looking at how to "strengthen" teacher education. It is also looking at developing a "quality measure" for teaching degrees and whether funding for universities should be tied to quality.

In among this, we have already seen an emphasis on attracting the "best and brightest" into teaching degrees and increasing requirements to graduate. To enter a classroom, teachers now need to have passed extra literacy and numeracy tests on top of their degrees.

The underlying assumption in all this government messaging and accompanying media commentary is that failings in education are those of teachers and teacher educators (the academics who teach teachers).

Our research

Our research used direct observation of 990 entire lessons to investigate the relationship between years of teaching experience and the quality of teaching.

We analyzed the teaching of 512 Year 3 and 4 teachers from 260 New South Wales public schools in separate studies conducted over 201415 and 201921.

The schools involved in the study were representative of schools across Australia, and the lessons observed included a range of subjects, with the majority in English and mathematics. Most of the teachers observed had between one and 15 years of experience, although almost a quarter of the observations were of lessons taught by teachers with 16 years' experience or more.

How we assess quality teaching

We used the Quality Teaching Model as the basis for the observations. The model was developed by education academic James Ladwig and me for the NSW Department of Education in 2003. It has been the department's framework for high-quality teaching since.

It is based on research into the types of teaching practice that make a difference to student learning and centers on three dimensions:

"intellectual quality"developing deep understanding of important knowledge "a quality learning environment"ensuring positive classrooms that boost student learning, and "significance"connecting learning to students' lives and the wider world.

Under these three dimensions are 18 elements of teaching practice that enable detailed analysis of lesson quality. Researchers coded the lessons they observed, with more than one researcher coding many of the lessons to ensure a high level of reliability.

Our findings

We found no statistically significant differences in average teaching quality across the years of experience categories.

Even when we broke down the experience categories in different ways to test for accuracy, we continued to find that years of experience did not equate to differences in the quality of teaching delivered.

On the graph below, each dot represents the average Quality Teaching score of an observed lesson. These have been grouped in a line based on how experienced a teacher is.

The average lesson quality in each experience category is represented by the large black dot and the horizontal lines represent the margin of error. The average Quality Teaching score across all the experience categories falls within the same margin of error range illustrating no statistically significant difference.

Why does experience appear to make no difference?

Teaching quality is consistently described as the most important in-school factor affecting student outcomes.

Our finding that newly graduated teachers deliver teaching of a similar quality to that of their more experienced peers is surprising and somewhat counterintuitive. There are at least two possible explanations for this result.

First, the result suggests graduate teachers are entering the profession "classroom ready" because initial teacher education programs are performing far better than is typically assumed in policy and the media.

That is not to say improvements in teaching degrees aren't possible or warranted, or that graduate teachers don't face difficulties. We know attrition among teachers in their first five years is high and is a major contributor to teacher shortages.

Second, on-the-job experience is insufficient on its own to raise teaching quality. While experienced teachers make many valuable contributions through leadership and mentoring, it could be that much of the professional development they do over the course of their careers makes little difference to the quality of their teaching practice.

Teachers need professional development that builds knowledge, motivates them, develops their teaching techniques and helps them make ongoing changes in their classroom practice. It should be backed by rigorous evidence of a positive impact on teaching quality and student outcomes.

Teachers and teaching

Part of the problem in debates about schools and education is the relentless use of "teacher quality" as a proxy for understanding "teaching quality." This focuses on the person rather than the practice.

This discourse sees teachers blamed for student performance on NAPLAN and PISA tests, rather than taking into account the systems and conditions in which they work.

While teaching quality might be the greatest in school factor affecting student outcomes, it's hardly the greatest factor overall. As Education Minister Jason Clare said last month: "I don't want us to be a country where your chances in life depend on who your parents are or where you live or the color of your skin."

We know disadvantage plays a significant role in educational outcomes. University education departments are an easy target for both governments and media.

Blaming them means governments do not have to try and rectify the larger societal and systemic problems at play.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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:

A Saguaro, from the iNaturalist app and used under the Creative Commons license. Credit: Marianne Skov Jensen

See an interesting plant while out hiking in Arizona and want to learn more about it while also contributing to the knowledge of our unique ecosystem?

There's an app for that.

The iNaturalist app allows usersalso called community scientists or iNaturaliststo snap a picture of the plant while also collecting GPS data about where the plant is located. The application then uses an algorithm to provide a likely species identification to the community scientist and then crowdsources final confirmation of species identification to expert naturalists.

Sara Souther, an assistant professor in NAU's School of Earth and Sustainability, is a member of the Tribal Nations Botanical Research Collaborative, which uses the app to better track species diversity among plants that have traditional uses with cultural, medicinal or economic values important to tribal communities. It takes the smartphone, which 96 percent of Americans have with them all the time and puts it to use, capturing high-quality ecological data on species diversity at an unprecedented rate and scale.

Suddenly everyone is looking out for the health of plants that play a significant role in tribal traditions, and that's just what the creators want.

"Culturally important species are critical for the continuation of traditional lifeways," Souther said. "While these plants are not endangered, the traditions connected to these species are threatened by myriad factors including globalization, cultural and linguistic erosion and land access issues. Since the land held by Native American tribal nations represents only a fraction of the ancestral lands of Indigenous people, it is important to conserve these species on public lands and welcome traditional harvest practices."

A banana yucca plant, from the iNaturalist app and used under the Creative Commons license. Credit: Matt Berger

The project started because two U.S. Forest Service tribal liaisons, Nanebah and Mike Lyndon, received frequent requests from tribal community partners for harvest location information. They also asked what the USFS was doing to ensure the continued viability of these culturally important plant species, and the idea for the iNaturalist app was born. From there, the researchers compared lists of culturally significant plant species generated by representatives from seven tribal nations in Arizona.

They removed sensitive species from the list to ensure they were safeguarding cultural knowledge. The 34 plant species often get overlooked, since they are neither invasive nor endangered. Collecting information on these species will help fill a critical knowledge gap to ensure the persistence of culturally important species for future generations, Souther said.

The plants include some familiar species, like the saguaro, sunflower, yucca and juniper, and others that may be less recognizablecoyote tobacco, broom snakeweed, Goodding's willow and curled dock. The saguaro and banana yucca are the most observed.

"I think that all of the plants are beautiful and unique," Souther said. "I really like the yucca species because they are easy to identify, possess a substance that can be used as a natural shampoo and also produce fruits that can be cooked and eaten."

The data are being used in several ways. Tribal partners can request information on harvest locations while the researchers are using the data to generate habitat suitability models, which can be used to identify new population locations and understand what environmental factors contribute to these species' growth. The data also provide an early warning systema steep drop in observations will trigger a field visit to determine if something is threatening the plants and then address it.

To become an iNaturalist, download the app and search for the Tribal Nations Botanical Research Collaborative. Join the project, then start taking pictures.
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 from Pusan National University report that the interaction between soil moisture and temperature was the major driving force behind the increase in compound droughts and heatwaves in the region, since the late 1990s. Credit: Kyung-Ja Ha from Pusan National University, Korea

With global warming on the rise, the severity and frequency of extreme weather events are also rising dramatically; this includes an increase in the number of compound extreme events. The latter term describes scenarios in which bad weather and climate events combine together, making the event more devastating than a separate weather and climate event.

Compound drought and heatwaves (DHWs), for example, can cause massive damage to society through agricultural losses, wildfires, and deaths. Thus, there has been a lot of research into the mechanisms of these DHWs based on the interaction between land and the atmosphere. However, most previous studies have primarily focused on Europe, with little research looking at DHW mechanisms in northern East Asia, a region that has been experiencing an increased occurrence of DHWs since the late 1990s.

Fortunately, a team of researchers led by Professor Kyung-Ja Ha from Pusan National University in South Korea, has stepped in to bridge this gap. In their paper published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, the team looked at the occurrence of DHWs in northern East Asia by exploring the soil moisturetemperature coupling.

According to Prof Ha, "Regional differences in temperature and precipitation can have a large impact on compound extreme events. By looking at the connection between soil moisture and air temperature, we were able to find the land-atmosphere interaction that serves as the mechanism for the occurrence of DHWs in this specific region."

The team studied the aforementioned data, along with the occurrence of DHWs for regions in northern East Asia, like parts of northern China and eastern Mongolia, from 1980 to the present day. They found that, since the late 1990s, the continuous lack of moisture in the soil from spring to summer led to reduced evaporation and transpiration of water from the soil, which increased evaporative stress and amplified heatwaves, triggering a compound DHW that led to a further reduction in soil moisture.

This increased moisturetemperature coupling enhances landatmosphere interactions, leading to compound DHWs in the region.

"Compound DHWs can cause damage, often times more than either droughts or heatwaves alone, thus understanding them is important for society to better handle the risks associated with these events. As global temperatures keep increasing, soil moisture deficits are bound to increase, causing more DHWs in the region. Understanding and predicting them is going to be of utmost importance. Our study shows that soil moisture may be used to predict the occurrence of DHWs in the region," concluded Prof Ha.

Understanding the complicated dynamics of compound extreme events is crucial for societal safety, and this study takes us one step closer towards this goal. We can then learn to combat the increasing risks associated with extreme events, especially in the face of global climate change.

More information: Ye-Won Seo et al, Changes in land-atmosphere coupling increase compound drought and heatwaves over northern East Asia, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41612-022-00325-8

Provided by Pusan National University
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Science academies of the G7 have called for urgent action from governments to meet commitments to protect the environment and human health. The academies have highlighted three key areas for action: the need to address systemic risks in a world vulnerable to climate change, conflict, and global health crises; the protection and restoration of the ocean; and improvement to health and well-being in an aging society.

Three statements, published ahead of the G7 Summit in Japan, call for long term, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and increased investment in education to build awareness around these topics. They also call for open and data-driven science that uses the latest technological approaches and increases data accessibility, enabling countries to develop evidence-based road maps to reach climate and sustainability goals and provide lasting solutions to the challenges of aging.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said, "The invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate-related flooding, droughts and wildfires have all had an impact on global well-being, economies, and ecosystems. Added to that, our oceans are under threat and aging populations are facing many health and social care challenges. Those already most vulnerable to these dangers are now even more so.

The G7 governments therefore have a responsibility to support scientists and provide countries around the world with access to the latest science and data to mitigate the impacts of these interconnected global crises."

The statements were jointly developed ahead of the G7 Summit, under the leadership of the Science Council of Japan. They were submitted at the G-Science Academy (S7) 2023 International Symposium held in Tokyo on 7 March 2023.

The topics are summarized as:

Addressing systemic risks in a changing climate: Science and technology in support of cross-sectoral decision-making

Three recent major challengesthe Russian invasion of Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and increased occurrence of climate disastershave intensified the complex and systemic risks already present within societies, economies, and the environment. The cumulative impact of these challenges threatens human lives and prosperity beyond national boundaries.

To realize a sustainable and resilient society in which no one is left behind, the academies call for G7 governments to support national roadmaps to net zero and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration on local and global scales. This includes combining scientific and indigenous knowledge through expert advisers; promoting globally coordinated activities to increase data accessibility; and enhancing financial support by repurposing funds, especially for the most vulnerable countries with a large resource deficit.

Restoration and recovery of the ocean and its biodiversity

The ocean is the largest living space on Earth, but more than 90% of marine life has not yet been described. Meanwhile human-induced climate change is leading to rising water temperatures and sea levels, ocean acidification and more frequent and intense extreme weather events.

To manage human impacts on the ocean, the academies call on G7 governments to develop a roadmap for decarbonization and the sustainable management and protection of the ocean and its biodiversity. This includes raising awareness of climate change and biodiversity in society and increasing scientific knowledge of the ocean and marine life; increasing funding for field surveys and research while championing students and early career scientists; strengthening fishery regulations; and establishing further protected marine conservation areas.

Delivering better health and well-being of older people through wisdom sharing and innovation

Recent and complex changes in human demography are fundamentally transforming the planet and thereby represent a global challenge for our future. To achieve a society in which people can enjoy health, well-being, and independence to the fullest extent throughout their lives, the academies call on G7 countries with an advanced aging population and long history of implementing various health care measures for older people to share knowledge and solutions with the world.

This includes improving understanding of aging biology, promoting the construction of comprehensive healthcare systems and increasing the efficiency and quality of care through technological innovation and adequate support systems.

Provided by Royal Society
State and county officials are investigating complaints filed against Warren Countys longtime information technology director.

North Country Gazettes June Maxam filed a complaint against Michael Colvin, the countys IT director, with the Warren County Board of Supervisors and Board of Ethics on Dec. 12. Maxams accusations against Colvin were followed up and supported by a formal complaint to the state Office of Inspector General filed on Dec. 20 by StoredTech CEO Mark Shaw.

The complaint with the county states Colvin is allegedly using his county position for personal gain and egregious conflicts of interest, piggybacking off his county position to further his own personal financial interests with his outside personal business.

In addition to holding his title at the county, Colvin owns Colvin Technology, which contracts with some of the towns in the county to provide IT and security services.

Shaws complaints to New York state claim Colvin is performing his personal business while he is on the clock as a county employee. He also provided emails with timestamps to back up his claims.

Colvin did not respond to requests for comment, but County Administrator John Taflan shared with The Post-Star in January his thoughts about the complaints.

Warren County has not been contacted by any New York State agency involving allegations raised by StoredTech regarding any Warren County employee. In addition, StoredTech has not filed any complaint with Warren County regarding any concerns about Warren County employees, including the allegations raised in a letter dated Dec. 20, 2022, Taflan wrote in an email. Warren County always cooperates fully with any New York state investigation and would do the same in this matter.

He did also address Shaws claims of Colvin performing personal business on county time.

As occurs in many workplaces, some of our employees have secondary employment outside of their Warren County employment, during hours when they are not on the clock for Warren County, he said.

Colvins salary in 2022 was $94,362, according to seethroughny.net, a private website that compiles government spending data.

Maxams complaint outlines which sections of the General Municipal Law, Article 18 and Warren County Ethics and Disclosure Law she believes Colvin has violated including:

SECTION 5: Prohibition on use of municipal position for personal or private gain

SECTION 6: Disclosure of interest in legislation and other matters

SECTION 11: Private employment in conflict with official duties

SECTION 14: Use of Warren County resources

SECTION 18: Confidential information

Maxams claims state that Colvin, along with former county employees and Warren County supervisors, was allowing unauthorized access to employee emails, including allegedly allowing former Warren County Administrator Ryan Moore to view former County Attorney Mary Kissanes emails.

The complaint also alleges Colvin of illegally installing and maintaining security systems, alarms and surveillance systems within the county for hire without the required licensing by the NYS Department of State.

In addition to installing the Warren County surveillance system, Colvin also installed a video surveillance system for the town of Lake Luzerne.

Though Shaw is the CEO of his own IT company, he has stated he is taking action as a concerned taxpaying citizen. He said in an email that as someone familiar with IT and liabilities surrounding technology, he is concerned about Warren County providing IT services to local towns and the Warren County IT director having a private business that services local towns with county resources allegedly during working hours.

Shaw also believes that Colvins private for-profit business appears to be exposing the taxpayers to unnecessary risks.

I believe there are questions to be answered in terms of ethics, legality and licensing, Shaw said in an email.

The Warren County Board of Ethics has not acted on the complaint yet.

Shaws complaint was forwarded to the attorney general from the Office of Inspector General. Shaw says both agencies are actively investigating the claims.
Lucy Lang wanted a new direction for the state Offices of the Inspector General.

In the past, there were doubts about the inspector generals independence. Langs predecessor, Letizia Tagliafierro, was an ally of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. She resigned after Cuomos successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, took office.

Lang told The Citizen that when she was asked to serve as inspector general, she wanted to ensure the office would be wholly independent.

I was very clear that that was the only way that I would take the position, she said.

In October 2021, Lang was named the states 11th inspector general. She is a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorneys office and served as executive director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution. Before being appointed inspector general, she ran for Manhattan district attorney. She lost to eventual winner Alvin Bragg in the Democratic primary.

Under Lang, the inspector generals office has examined a myriad of issues, from faulty drug tests in state prisons to how state agencies complied with domestic violence policies. An important part of that work, though, is making that New Yorkers are aware of whats happening in state government.

Transparency is a top priority for Lang. Her office has bolstered its social media presence, released monthly data, including the creation of a complaint dashboard, and published historical letters that were sent to state agencies. In many cases, the letters were sent several years ago but were never disclosed to the public.

We are just trying to do everything we can to show what happens inside this office, Lang said. I would say in the same vein, part of our commitment is to helping other agencies and government entities to do the same.

As an example, she highlighted her offices investigation that found racial disparities in discipline at New York state prisons. The report, which recommended anti-bias training for Department of Corrections and Community Supervision staff, included data from every prison.

It is one of the devastating truths of prison is that we sort of put often the saddest problems we have to deal with as a society and the hardest problems we have to deal with as a society out of sight, Lang said. The ability to improve any systems functioning does require the administration of some sunlight.

Prisons will keep Lang and her staff busy. More than half of the complaints that the state Offices of the Inspector General receives are from the corrections system. The complaints are filed by incarcerated individuals and staff.

As inspector general, Lang oversees a few offices and holds multiple titles  she is the gaming inspector general, welfare inspector general and workers compensation inspector general. She also provides oversight of major infrastructure projects. Regarding the Interstate 81 project in Syracuse, which will take years to complete, she said that we will be watching.

Entering her second full year on the job, Lang is proud of what her team achieved in 2022. They diversified the office, she said, and strengthened internal policies. The independence she sought when she took the job has been granted.

In a break from past practice, Lang does not serve in the governors cabinet. She does not have regular communications with Hochuls staff and does not take direction on cases from the governors office.

We really do operate as an independent agency, she said.
Chinese technologies contribute to world's sustainable development

09:04, March 07, 2023 By Yan Huan, Xu Hailin ( People's Daily

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) kicked off on Feb. 27 in Barcelona, Spain.

The four-day event, focusing on the new impetus of 5G development, digitalization and financial technology, called for enhanced international cooperation to narrow the technological gap and strive for a sustainable future.

As one of the grand events in mobile communication industry, the MWC was joined by over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 200 countries and regions.

Chinese tech firm ZTE exhibits a tablet with a naked eye 3D display at the Mobile World Congress 2023. (People's Daily/Yan Huan)

At the event, Chinese communication and tech firms displayed their latest results in frontier communication and electronics technology, attracting high attention.

GSMA CEO John Hoffman told People's Daily that China has built the world's largest and technologically leading 5G infrastructure and has the largest number of 5G users in the world. He believes that Chinese enterprises would share more stories and experiences of technological development with the world via this year's MWC.

Thanks to the in-depth application of 5G technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse and other futuristic application scenarios based on the technology are bringing profound changes to people's life and work.

The upgrading of 5G technology and infrastructure is constantly accelerating Africa's development, said John Omo, Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union.

He said China's Huawei has provided technologies and equipment for the digitalization of South Africa's mining industry, helping the latter improve its management, productivity and safety.

In a plant producing cardboard boxes in east China's Zhejiang province, an intelligent industrial cloud base station has been built by China Mobile, one of the largest mobile communication carriers in China and Chinese communication giant ZTE. The base station covers the entire plant with 5G network and connects every production device. The plant employs 5G-guided robots with machine vision to accurately achieve pick-up, delivery and coordination. Images and videos in the plant are sent back to the control end in real time for analysis and management.

China Mobile and ZTE have won the 2023 GSMA 5G Smart Production Challenge Award for their exploration and innovation in the application of 5G in manufacturing.

"Today, the role of people working in the communication industry is changing rapidly," said Wang Xiyu, executive vice president and chief technology officer of ZTE, adding that the evolution of the industry is making the impossible possible and becoming an important driving force for social transformation.

Photo shows an intelligent workshop of a cardboard box manufacturer in east China's Zhejiang province. (Photo from the official account of China Mobile on WeChat)

The MWC 2023 was joined by about 150 Chinese communication and tech firms, such as China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi. Their digital technologies exhibited at the event are empowering the global development, especially the sustainable development of developing countries.

Huawei had a 9,000-square meter exhibition booth at the MWC 2023, which, according to CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona Francesc Fajula, is the largest in history of the MWC.

"Chinese companies keep close cooperation with international organizations and communication carriers in many countries, which has not only improved their capability in 5G application, but also created opportunities for these countries in training young talents in digital technology," Fajula said.

As the world pays more and more attention to carbon emission reduction, Chinese enterprises are joining hands with domestic and foreign partners to contribute to carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality in the communication field.

In Chile, China's Lenovo is cooperating with a non-profit organization Island Conservation and has launched Work for Humankind initiative in the Robinson Crusoe Island. Volunteers with different backgrounds and knowledge came to the island to work with local communities to promote technology upgrades, update education and digital approaches and help with ecological protection as well as cultural preservation.

Lenovo has set up a cutting-edge technology center for the initiative, equipped volunteers and staff members on the island with laptops, augmented reality goggles and smart home appliances. The center also offers online education software for local schools. So far, the center has benefited around 30 percent of residents on the island.

During the 2023 MWC, Huawei announced it has joined the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) and will work with relevant parties to raise literacy with technology.

Only by enhancing education on digital technology and ensuring no country or individual is left behind can true sustainable development be achieved, said David Atchoarena, director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, adding that Chinese enterprises are offering richer educational resources for young people through cooperation and investment.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
Its a multiple parade weekend, and you know what that means  the shenanigans shall be epic. Between the spectacular and unexpected resurrection of the Atlantic City St. Patricks Day Parade, the first annual Shake the Shamrock Weekend in Brigantine, and the always-festive parades in North Wildwood and Sea Isle City, there will be parties and after-parties all over the area. Here are a few of our favorites:

Atlantic CityThe Orange Loop  Orange  its not just a stripe on the Irish flag. Its also the name of the Atlantic City neighborhood  The Orange Loop  with plenty of parade day celebrations. At Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, parade weekend specials include $3 Miller Lites, $5 Guinness draughts, $7 Jameson shots, $3 Homemade Irish Cream Shots, $10 Car Bombs, $12 Shamrock Shakes as well as Irish culinary delights like Shepherds Pie, a Corned Beef Sandwich and Corned Beef and Cabbage plus a Glenn Roberts will perform at the St. Patricks party 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, and after the parade from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday. At Rhythm & Spirits, celebrate with DJ Skyline on Saturday with $5 Guinness and $7 Jameson Shots, while at Bar 32, Saturday specials include $5 Guinness, $7 Jameson shots $5 House Made Irish Cream and $5 lucky charm bars. Located on Tennessee Avenue. TennAveAC.com

The Yard at Ballys  Consider The Yard at Ballys Atlantic City your parade-day headquarters with pre- and post-parade parties. Party starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday with beers starting at $5, breakfast sandwiches, corned beef specials and more. Located at 1900 Pacific Ave. BallysAC.com

St. Paddys Downbeach Bar Crawl  Its a bar crawl, St. Paddys celebration and Ryfes three-year anniversary party, all rolled into one sweet event on Saturday. Kicking off at 9 a.m. with a Kegs and Eggs at Ryfe, the bar crawl stops at Nuckys Kitchen & Speakeasy, Santuccis and Bocca Bistro on complimentary shuttle service, with live music from Mike and Laura as well as Dan Kee at Ryfe and a Ryfe anniversary dance party at 8 p.m. Registration is $15 in advance, $25 day of event, and includes complimentary welcome drink, complimentary drink cup, exclusive access to drink and food specials, VIP access to bar seating and dinner reservations at Ryfe for the After Crawl Party, complimentary transportation to bars on the crawl and participation in giveaways. Ryfe is located at 4101 Atlantic Ave. RyfeAC.com

BrigantineThe Cellar 32  Whether its Irish food, Irish drink specials or just celebrating all things green, The Cellar 32 in Brigantine is your place to be. Head over there 1:30 to 4 p.m. Saturday for live music from Tom Pacitti and The Side Story Girls. Located at 3119 Revere Blvd. Cellar32Brigantine.com

The Pirates Den  Got yourself a lucky dog? Then get to The Pirates Den for a traditional Irish menu all weekend plus  and this is the best part  a dog costume contest 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, where all dogs get treats, and the best dressed pup gets a prize. Located at 1417 W. Brigantine Ave. ThePiratesDen.net

North WildwoodKeenans Irish Pub  One of the best Irish pubs in North Wildwood re-opens just in time for a weekend of Irish festivities, including food and drink specials and live music from Animal House Band on Saturday. Its all Irish, all the time. Located at 113 Olde New Jersey Ave. KeenansIrishNW.com

The Anglesea Pub  Another cant-miss Irish pub in North Wildwood, The Anglesea Pub has great Irish and American food, great beer and a great crowd of merry revelers. Get there pre-parade for happy hour with Jamie Ratchford 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and a Guinness Pint Engraving event 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Located at 116 W. 1st Ave. TheAngleseaPub.com

Sea Isle CityKix  With six bars under one roof, Kix is the place to be both before and after the 32nd Annual Sea Isle City St. Patricks Day Parade. After a 1 p.m. Jameson warmup and costume contest at Kix, the parade takes off from the venue before returning for the after-party. Located at 120 63rd St., Sea Isle. KixSeaIsle.com
PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP  Two higher education leaders are joining the National Aerospace Research & Technology Parks Board of Directors, the park said Tuesday.

Atlantic Cape Community College President Barbara Gaba and Rutgers University interim Dean of the School of Engineering Alberto Cuitino will sit on the board at least until their terms expire Feb. 21, 2026.

Gaba, who is both Atlantic Capes first woman and Black president, said she is looking forward to helping support the park as a means of broadening the economic scope in South Jersey.

This is a tremendous opportunity to help advance economic development in Atlantic County while ensuring there are affordable educational pathways for our students, especially our underserved and underrepresented students, to take advantage of exciting careers in aeronautics, Gaba said in a statement.

Cuitino, who also is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

A 2022 Faculty of the Year honoree for Rutgers Engineering, his work has been published extensively in academic journals, and he is often invited to speak at conferences.

By proudly accepting the invitation to join the NARTP board, I ensure that Rutgers University has a seat at the table as this aerospace innovation ecosystem is being developed in southern New Jersey, Cuitino said in a statement. Both our students and faculty look forward to shaping the future of aviation at the NARTP.
BRIGANTINE  The city is working with Volunteers of America Delaware Valley to bring affordable housing to the island by turning the site of the former civic center into housing for veterans.

While we can never fully repay the debt we owe our veterans for their brave service, we certainly can take steps like this to show our appreciation and respect for all they have done to make our country one of the greatest places to live on Earth, Mayor Vince Sera said.

There are 357 veterans living in Brigantine, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Five apartments will be made available to preferably low- or moderate-income veterans at the site. The units, which include one- to two-bedroom apartments, are expected to be ready by July 2025.

The city entered a memorandum of understanding with Volunteers of America Delaware Valley to do a veterans preference project in the city. And we were having difficulty finding a site for this project, but we had the former civic center, a site that has been abandoned and is currently a vacant lot, Sera said.

Solicitor Linda Galella said Volunteers of America came up with a concept plan for the site that led to an agreement. The group will buy the 31st Street South property from the city for $350,000.

Atlantic City Boat Show reels in a crowd ATLANTIC CITY  New Jersey has a massive boating scene, whether it be commercial or recreati

The proposed facility would help the city meet its affordable housing obligations.

The plan includes a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for the project to ensure its long-term affordability, said Sera. Under the PILOT, Volunteers of America will have property taxes phased in over a period of time.

Every municipality in the state has a legal responsibility to provide affordable housing, and what better way to meet this obligation than to provide affordable housing for our veterans? Sera said.

As part of the agreement, the city will contribute $850,000 from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund to the project. The money will go toward construction, engineering and other soft costs associated with the project. Volunteers of America is also going to seek funding from the state Department of Community Affairs.

Galella said the city will give Volunteers of America access to the site so it can perform a review before finalizing the purchase.
Vineland City Council is considering imposing fines over abandoned shopping carts.

A city ordinance says shopping carts removed from stores for private use beyond the confines of the premises have become a nuisance for pedestrians and litter the streetscape.

City Council introduced the ordinance last month. A public hearing and final vote will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 14 in City Council Chambers, second floor of City Hall, 640 E. Wood St.

If adopted, the ordinance would fine any person or legal entity convicted of violating it $50 per shopping cart per event.

Millville supports cannabis project

The City Commission issued a letter of support last month for Community Growth Partners New Jersey LLC to lease property at 1401 Wheaton Ave. for use as either a licensed cannabis cultivator or a licensed cannabis manufacturing facility.

Vineland approves spending $5 million more to build new firehouse VINELAND  City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a bond ordinance providing a supplem

Commissioners Lisa M. Orndorf, Benjamin J. Romanik, Joseph Sooy and C. Kirk Hewitt voted for the resolution. Commissioner Stephen E. Watson Jr. voted against it.

Community Growth Partners has sought a letter of local support to apply for a state license to operate a licensed cannabis cultivation facility within the designated Cannabis Business Zoning District.

The city has imposed a limit on the number of licensed cannabis businesses within its jurisdiction.







Bridgeton to decide March 7 on cannabis project

City Council members will decide Tuesday whether to execute a redevelopment and purchase and sale agreement with CI Bridgeton LLC to construct a cannabis business incubator containing up to 15 cannabis businesses in accordance with the citys development plan.

The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Police and Municipal Court Complex at 339 Fayette St.

Alan Truzuskoski, principal of CI Bridgeton LLC, is seeking designation as the exclusive redeveloper of the property, which takes up two lots within the Southeast Industrial Redevelopment Area.

Cannabis cultivation business approved

The Vineland Planning Board unanimously gave final major site plan approval last month for Veterans for Alternative Medicine to construct a 42,000-square-foot building for medical cannabis cultivation on the south side of Park Avenue between Delsea Drive and West Avenue.

The site consists of about 293,906 square feet of land and contains an existing parking lot.

Vineland fire, EMS crews honored for summer rescue VINELAND  City officials honored members of the Fire Department and EMS division during Thu

The proposed fence will be 8 feet high and surround the building between the pavement and grass area.

There were no proposed signs with the application. If Veterans for Alternative Medicine intends to provide signage, the proposed signage must conform to ordinance standards. Otherwise, additional variances will be required.
What's Happening in the Region



Blinken Visits Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan



Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the largest countries in Central Asia, with the biggest populations and biggest economies.



For these reasons, many regard the two as the most important countries in Central Asia. So, it was perhaps no coincidence that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited those two countries before heading to India for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers.



Blinken noted during his visit that the Central Asian countries have been more affected than others in the region by Russias war in Ukraine. Traditional trade routes to and through Russia have become less reliable due to international sanctions.



While none of the five Central Asian governments have openly criticized Russia for the war, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan stand apart as officials from those governments have voiced support for Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty.



There were no surprises during Blinkens visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, but the timing was good, coming after the leaders of Russia and China already made their visits.



Russian President Vladimir Putin visited all five Central Asian countries in 2022 as the Kremlin was losing partners due to its war in Ukraine and needed to shore up relations with allies.



Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September 2022.



Blinkens visit came as Russias international image has been shattered by the military failures in Ukraine.



China has cultivated strong ties with all the Central Asian governments, but Beijing has not tried to increase its influence in Central Asia at Russias expense.



So, Blinkens first visit was likely a welcome reminder to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan of their foreign policy options.



On March 3, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev went to the southern Kazakh city of Shymkent for an informal meeting with Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.



Again, nothing significant came from the meeting, but the timing was interesting after both leaders met with Blinken. It was also significant as Uzbekistan rarely cooperated with Kazakhstan when Islam Karimov was Uzbekistans president.



The new Kazakh-Uzbek partnership opens many economic and security possibilities for the two countries and for countries outside Central Asia.



Why Its Important: Blinken's visit, then the meeting of the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents in Shymkent, are the latest indications of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan emerging as the major players in Central Asia.



Blinken did meet in Kazakhstan with the foreign ministers of all five Central Asian countries, but the choice of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan demonstrates the trend of many countries to focus diplomatic efforts on those two countries.



Its a new division in Central Asia with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the dominant countries in the region and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan garnering secondary interest.



Is Kyrgyzstan Closing in on Realizing Old Hydropower Projects?



For years, Kyrgyz authorities have been trying to develop the countrys hydropower potential, but it has been difficult for the cash-strapped country to find investors for costly hydropower plant (HPP) projects that have sat on the drawing board for decades.



Recent reports indicate Kyrgyzstan has found potential foreign partners for two key Soviet-era HPP projects, although one partner seems questionable.



The Kambar-Ata-1 project aims to construct a HPP on the Naryn River that would be the biggest HPP in Kyrgyzstan, generating 1,860 megawatts (MW) of electricity annually.In June 2022, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov attended a ceremony for the start, or rather restart, of construction of Kambar-Ata-1. He called for foreign investors to participate in the project.



On March 4, there was a report that representatives of Frances EDF Energy, a company that has already built HPPs in the United States, Europe, and Asia, met with Kyrgyz officials to discuss financing for Kambar-Ata-1.



Less promising are developments with the Upper Naryn Cascade HPP project, a series of four smaller HPPs with a combined output of 238 MW.



A March 3 report said Kyrgyzstans cabinet of ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with British company Minddock Limited DBA Enterprise Energy Investments to build the project.



The report noted the British company does not seem to have any experience building HPPs and as of September 30, 2021, shares in the company totaled 8,779 ($10,430).



The estimated cost of constructing the Upper Naryn Cascade project is more than $800 million.



Why Its Important: In 2017 it appeared Kyrgyzstan had found Czech company Liglass to build the project.



But it turned out Liglass also had no experience building HPPs and Czech media reported Liglass sales in 2014 amounted to $15,000.



The news about Kambar-Ata-1 is encouraging, but the report about the Upper Naryn Cascade shows the current government may not have learned from the mistakes of previous governments.

The Latest Majlis Podcast

This weeks Majlis podcast revisits the topic of gender-based violence in Central Asia.



The views of society can work against victims of violence. Even when there are laws meant to protect against abuse, these laws are often not enforced.



What is and is not being done, and what what work remains to end violence against women and girls?



This weeks guests are Najla Ayoubi, chief of coalition and global programs at the Every Woman Coalition; Gulbakhor Makhkamova, head of the Gulrukhsor Crisis and Womens Shelter Center (@Sgulrukhsor on Twitter) located in Khujand, Tajikistan; and Leila Nazgul Seitbek, chairwoman of the NGO Freedom for Eurasia and member of the working group for the global treaty to end all forms of violence women and girls.

What I'm Following

The Cost of Gender Inequality in the Workplace



The World Bank released a report on March 2 that linked economic growth in Central Asia to greater participation of women in the workforce.



The report said if womens role in the labor market was equal to mens, national income would be anywhere from 27% higher in Kazakhstan to 63% higher in Tajikistan.



The report said removing legal barriers to equality is a critical first step, and noted some Central Asian countries have started addressing the problem.

Fact of the Week

Kazakhstans government said cargo transit time across the Caspian Sea has been reduced from 12 to six days, and by the end of the year it should be five days. Delivery of cargo from China to Georgias Black Sea port at Batumi has been reduced from 38-53 days to 19-23 days.

Thanks for Reading

Thanks for reading our Central Asia in Focus newsletter! I appreciate you sharing it with other readers who you think may be interested.



Feel free to contact me on Twitter or by responding to this email, especially if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or just want to connect with me about topics concerning Central Asia.



Please consider filling out this brief survey so that I can better understand how this newsletter can be useful for you.



See you next week for more on whats happening in Central Asia.

Until next time,

Bruce
Sherrard schools will host a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the district's $6.7 million addition to the grade school.

The groundbreaking site is located north of Sherrard Elementary School, and guests are encouraged to enter via the parking lot for the 5 p.m. event.

School district leaders are scheduled to speak at the ceremony, including superintendent Dr. Carl Johnson, school board president Rhys Fullerlove and Sherrard Elementary principal Casey Wyant, along with representatives from Hodge Construction and Richard L. Johnson Associates.

The roughly $6.7 million expansion marks the first major project to the school in more than 20 years and will add 14,750 square feet to the building, including two classrooms, two conference rooms and a gymnasium.

This is truly a project for the whole community to be proud of and admire for years to come, Johnson said in a news release. Not only does it increase instructional space, but the new gym will allow the district a space where all elementary students can gather in a single space.

When explaining the funding, Johnson previously said, In planning, our School Board and former superintendent, Alan Boucher, utilized federal funds and greatly reduced bond rates last year to implement this phenomenal project at a significant cost benefit for our families.

By investing in the elementary addition, the school district also is investing "heavily" in the future of Sherrard students, staff and community, Wyant said in the release.

...I could not be more proud to be a part of the Sherrard School District, especially during this time, as we are building and making plans to support our current and future generations in ways we can only imagine, he said.

Hodge Construction of Moline and Richard L. Johnson Associates, an architecture firm out of Rockford, Ill., are planning and coordinating the expansion project. Construction is set to begin on Monday, March 20, and is slated for completion by December 2023.

Photos: Sherrard girls basketball Class 2A regional champs with 51-31 win over Mercer County
A bill giving Iowans more control over their personal data online is one step closer to law after passing in the Senate on Monday.

The Iowa Senate passed Senate File 262 unanimously on Monday. If signed into law, Iowa would be the sixth state in the United States to establish data privacy rights.

Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire, who chairs the Senate Technology Committee, said the bill is designed to increase protections for Iowa consumers in the absence of a federal law that regulates how companies can collect data.

While I expect this may eventually be preempted by federal legislation, I would also expect that what we pass here will influence what Congress does in the future and used as a potential model, Cournoyer said.

The bill requires companies that control the personal data of at least 100,000 Iowans  or 25,000 when half of their revenue comes from selling data  to notify consumers of their data collection practices and provide them with the data upon request.

Under the bill, consumers would be able to request a company to provide a copy of their personal data or delete the data collected on them.

Companies would also need to notify users about the type of personal data they collect, what they use the data for and whether they share the data with third parties. If a company sells data or uses targeted advertising, it would be required to disclose that and allow users to opt out.

It includes a raft of exemptions, including data related to health records and information collected for research.

The bill is modeled after laws passed in states like Virginia and Utah that impose similar requirements on companies collecting consumer data. California, Colorado and Connecticut have similar data protection laws.

The bill was supported by the Technology Association of Iowa, which represents technology-based companies in the state. Mollie Ross, the groups vice president of operations, said the measure would give Iowans control over their data and provide consistency for companies that operate in the state.

This is a big step forward in granting (Iowans) some rights for their data, she said. And also from an industry perspective, it lays some guidelines, sets up groundwork so that everybody is playing within the same boundaries.

As the bill has made its way through the legislative process, lawmakers and representatives for technology companies said they would prefer to see data privacy measures enacted at the federal level, but the bill is an attempt to set out parameters until a nationwide law is passed.

This may be used as a format the federal government could take on, but at least getting it passed here in the state would be a good first step, Ross said.

The attorney general would have exclusive jurisdiction over enforcing the provisions of the bill. The requirements would take effect in 2025, which Ross said would give companies enough time to adjust to the requirements.

A companion bill in the House, House File 346, advanced out of a committee last month but has yet to be passed by the chamber.
A special Silvis City Council meeting is being requested by aldermen who seek to disqualify a Chicago-based law firm from representing the city.

Aldermen say they want to fire Ancel Glink and hire a labor attorney.

The issue stems from council members' claims that Ancel Glink was hired by Mayor Matt Carter to represent him during a no-confidence vote by the council. Carter has maintained that Ancel Glink was hired to represent the city, and his attorney is Mark Daniel, of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.

Council members have said that Ancel Glink cannot represent the city due to a conflict of interest, which they say resulted when Carter hired the firm to represent him, then appointed the firm to represent the city.

Aldermen have accused Carter of violating Illinois whistleblower statute by retaliating against a person or persons who filed harassment complaints against a longtime city employee who then was fired. Specific allegations have not been discussed in public.

Rock Island County States Attorney Dora Villarreal is investigating to see if any laws have been broken.

They cant dismiss Ancel Glink, Carter said. That power has been granted to the mayor.

The city has a culture problem and getting in Ancel Glink is an opportunity to get us square," the mayor said."Weve lost our definition of the roles, and there is miscommunication when that happens and anger and so on.

Carter described Ancel Glink as a world-class law firm, adding that, right now they are perfect for Silvis. I was asked to fix a problem, and Im going to fix that problem."

The city has been racking up legal bills due to the council/mayor dispute, Carter said.

"In two months we have spent $16,000 on attorney fees because of this fiasco they tried that has solved absolutely nothing," he said. "That would have paid for lunches for our kids on the summer park program twice over.

I just want to see whats best for Silvis, Carter said.

Alderman Joshua Dyer, 4th Ward, however, said that the council does have the authority to dismiss Ancel Glink and hire legal counsel aldermen trust. The mayor lacked the authority to fire the city's previous attorney, he said.

On Feb. 8, a letter signed by all eight aldermen was given to Carter, asking for his resignation.

A no-confidence vote was taken at the February 21 council meeting, passing 4 to 3 with one council member, Ian Pavelonis, 2nd Ward, absent. The vote had no impact and is regarded ceremonial.

Carter said he has done nothing wrong, has violated no law and will not resign.

In the meantime, an attorney with Ancel Glink and Daniel on Feb. 22 filed in Rock Island County Circuit Court an injunction and temporary restraining order against a former city attorney, fired by Carter. The complaint alleges that she no longer represents the city and has failed to return city records, including the citys labor grievance, collective bargaining and arbitration files.

The former labor attorney the city used, Allison Wright, said the mayor/council strife should be taken seriously.

Ive heard suggestions that what is going on is just small-town politics and I could not disagree more with that statement, she said. Its not politics. Its the law. Theres a clear difference that must be acknowledged.
A Pleasant Valley student is among those to receive the University of Iowas Grant Wood Art Colony (GWAC) Legacy Prize for outstanding visual arts.

The Grant Wood Legacy Prize enables the University of Iowa to discover young Iowa artists to encourage their talent, GWAC director Maura Pilcher said in a statement.

The Grant Wood Legacy Prize is part an annual GWAC contest aiming to identify and uplift the work of young artists, in collaboration with the university's Belin-Blank Center, the Iowa and Midwest Region-at-Large Scholastic Art & Writing Awards affiliate.

This year's winners were selected by current GWAC fellows for their demonstration of a "Regional voice and skill." PV sophomore Tanya Rastogi, of Riverdale, was among the three winners for her illustration titled "Homemade Samosas." This also earned a 2023 Gold Key Award in the contest.

Judges selected recipients from over 400 visual arts entries in a range of categories, including: jewelry, painting, drawing and illustration, printmaking, design, ceramics and glass and mixed media.

Samantha Bassanmas, a junior at Norwalk High School, and Charlotte Littlemoon, a senior at Iowa City High School, were the other two winners alongside Rastogi.

Prize winners and their educators were recognized during the Midwest region's Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Celebration on March 5.

GWAC established the Grant Wood Legacy Prize in 2016 to honor and continue the legacy of Iowa's most famous artist, Grant Wood, and his passion for education and developing young artists.

Photos: Sudlow students create collaborative mural entitled, Courage & Identity
Scott County Sheriff's deputies responded Monday morning to a crash in Davenport between a school bus and a semitrailer.

Scott County Sheriff's deputies were called to the intersection of 130th Street  also known as Chapel Hill Road  and 110th Avenue at 8:41 a.m. Monday, where a Davenport Schools bus carrying nine students collided with a semitrailer.

All nine students were able to exit the bus through the rear emergency door. The driver of the semi also was able to exit his vehicle.

The driver the the bus, the driver of the semitrailer, and one student were transported by MEDIC Ambulance for injuries not considered life-threatening. All students were released to parents or family members who arrived on scene.

An investigation determined the bus was driven by Kimberly Skipper and stopped for the stop sign on 130th Street at 110th Avenue. The school bus proceeded west on 130th Street, failing to yield the right of way to a semitrailer traveling southbound on 110th Avenue.

The school bus struck the semitrailer in the southbound lanes. The semitrailer was driven by Patrick Irons from Blue Grass and investigators noted in a news release that he was " ... able to take evasive action to avoid a much worse collision."

The semitrailer continued a short distance before overturning on its passenger side in the west ditch of 110th Avenue.

Skipper was cited for failure to yield.
Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender had to cast a tie-breaking vote Monday in favor of the City Council's resolution to oppose South Dakota's proposed social studies standards after the council split 5-5 on the non-binding measure.

The city will add their voice to a growing list of local entities that oppose the state Board of Education Standards' proposed guidance on social studies  including the Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education, the Rapid City Youth City Council and Elevate Rapid City. Of the comments received by the state so far, approximately 85% have been against the controversial standards.

Ward 1 Alderman Pat Jones brought the council's resolution forward for discussion. He is a former teacher and school administrator.

Jones said while it is unusual for a city council to weigh in on a matter of education, the proposed standards are out of line with the city's vision of economic and community development. He said the social studies standards are not really standards, but more like a "doctrine that removes critical thinking and exploration from teaching itself."

He said the city should join the school district in opposing the standards, even though their roles in government are usually separate. Because the city and school district are the two largest taxing entities, Jones said, it is appropriate for the two to come together on the issue.

"At a moment like this when something that's going to impact so many people of our community  kids, parents, grandparents, teachers, aunts, uncles, everyone who cares about the success of kids, when those things are on the table  it takes a village to raise a child," he said. "It's times like this where we all have to come together and say that this is wrong."

Fellow council members Bill Evans, Ritchie Nordstrom and Laura Armstrong also voiced support for the resolution as a way of continuing to grow Rapid City.

Jones' fellow Ward 1 Alderman Jesse Ham expressed reservations on approving the resolution in its presented form.

"I think we should mirror the school board's decision  and that is to propose a resolution in favor of consolidation of the social studies standards. That was their dialogue and I think that we should support that notion," Ham said. "So it may change the wording of what we say here. But I think we'd be in favor of consolidation of the social studies standards."

Prior to calling for a vote on the resolution, Allender provided comments on the nature of how the proposed social studies standards were developed. He said the standards were about "politics, not education." Allender pointed out that the standards were developed by an out-of-state entity  specifically the conservative, Christian-based Hillsdale College in Michigan. He said the way the standards were developed is causing division in the community and the state. That division, he said, is not good for the city or the city's residents.

"It's about the kind of division that politics brings into communities. I think this is a solution to the perceived  whether real or imagined  problem of teachers filling our kids' brains full of liberal ideas," Allender said. "And the reaction of the far-right, in this case, is to overcompensate with a bunch of standards taken from a Christian conservative university and try to counter all of these beliefs.

"All of this being done without coming into our classrooms and our communities to see what's being taught, without asking the thousands of professionals across the state what [it is] the students need."

This impacts the community and the city in a negative way, Allender said. He called the exclusion of South Dakota's teachers and education professionals in the discussion of the standards as "inappropriate and offensive."

When Allender called for the vote, the council split 5-5 on supporting the resolution. In the event of a tie, the mayor must cast the deciding vote. Allender voted to approve the resolution.

Jones, Evans, Nordstrom, Armstrong and Pat Roseland voted yes. Ham, Lance Lehmann, John Roberts, Jason Salamun and Greg Strommen voted no.

Ham was the only opposing council member who provided comment on why he voted no on the resolution.
Bystanders intervened multiple times in a February Rapid City convenience store hostage situation that resulted in police shooting and killing the hostage-taker, according to a summary report by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

The report, released Tuesday, also cleared the Rapid City Police officer of any wrongdoing. The chaotic scene unfolded on the afternoon of Feb. 3 at the Loaf 'N Jug at 1601 Haines Avenue in north Rapid City.

According to the report, footage shows 40-year-old Eric James Wright in the convenience store at 12:20 p.m. He walked behind the counter holding a knife. Employees and bystanders tried to intervene as he grabbed the clerk and held her at knife-point, but they were unsuccessful.

Wright took the clerk outside the store and stood there, holding the knife to her neck, until police arrived. According to witnesses, he asked employees to call 911 and told them he did not intend to hurt anyone. He also said he "needed this."

The officer responded to a call for a robbery in progress. He parked near the gas pumps and saw several people standing outside the store near the front door. When he got out of his vehicle, he saw Wright standing with the hostage in a headlock and holding a knife to her neck with his right hand, the officer told investigators.

The officer pulled his gun and a bystander came out of the store to intervene. Regardless of the officer telling the bystander to stay back, Wright let go of the clerk during the confrontation.

The clerk ran south and Wright moved north along the building. The officer moved parallel to Wright, who stopped by a vehicle. The officer said he was afraid that Wright might take the driver hostage or get in the vehicle to flee.

While Wright was near the driver's side door and the officer was at the back of the vehicle telling him to drop the knife, the same intervening bystander returned and threw an object at Wright.

"The officer again told the bystander to move back," the report states.

Wright then "jumped up and down and then sprinted toward" the officer with a knife in each hand. The officer than shot at Wright twice, who fell to the ground and dropped one knife.

A bystander  it's unclear if it was the same bystander  "was observed running in and kicking Wright near the head" before grabbing one of the knives and tossing it away.

Other officers arrived and approached Wright, who picked up the knife and made a stabbing motion. After yelling at him to drop the knife, one of the officers used a taser on Wright, who dropped the knife.

He was arrested and then taken to Monument Health in Rapid City, where he died the same day.

Rapid City Police Chief Don Hedrick made a statement following DCI releasing the report thanking the agency, the Pennington County Sheriffs Office, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol for "their diligence and thorough independent investigation into this incident."

He said the situation demonstrates "the dangers the men and women of the RCPD face every day as they work to keep our residents safe, and I am proud of their bravery and dedication to our community."

"The... report paints a clear picture of a recently paroled armed individual who was willing to do whatever it took to force a confrontation with police. Mr. Wright decided to do so by taking an innocent clerk hostage at knife-point. I am extremely thankful the clerk, or any one of the many bystanders, was not injured by the actions of Mr. Wright, and that our officer was not harmed as they were being charged by a violent suspect with a knife," Hedrick said.
An employee of Hart Ranch testified in court Monday that a Rapid City man accused of shooting at construction workers complained to him about road construction and people driving too fast on Spring Creek Road before firing a gun.

Carl Relf, 53, appeared in Pennington County court Monday for the first day of his trial. He faces seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in June 2022. He pleaded not guilty to all charges on July 21.

If convicted, Relf could face a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine for each count. If the state also proves that Relf has three prior felonies, the maximum penalty will increase to 50 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for each count.

At a September 2022 hearing, the state referenced that Relf has a failure to appear conviction from 2016, a receiving a stolen vehicle conviction from 2015 and a felony DUI from 2008.

The employee of Hart Ranch, located near the shooting site, said he spoke with Relf at the camping resorts gas station and he seemed agitated that he had to present identification at the gate. Relf allegedly complained about the construction going on at the intersection of Highway 79 and Spring Creek Road. He also told the man about people driving "too fast" on Spring Creek Road.

In the states opening statement on Monday afternoon, Deputy Pennington County States Attorney Aaron Hellbusch said the seven victims  one who was four-months pregnant at the time  will testify to what happened.

Hellbusch said the first victim will testify that, as he was pulling out of Hart Ranch, Relf asked if he had a body in his vehicle. He told Relf that he didnt, and he just had a sleeping bag. Both Relf and the man drove away, but Relf allegedly started chasing him in his vehicle before getting out and shooting at him.

The man, terrified, drove back to the police station in Rapid City without stopping, the prosecutor alleged. Relf reportedly went to the construction site at the intersection of Highway 79 and Spring Creek Road on June 6, 2022.

The prosecutor said witnesses will testify when Relf arrived at the construction site, two workers sitting in a truck would hear him say you guys, before allegedly pointing a gun at them and then walking away.

Hellbusch said the two men fled in their vehicle to the staging area of the construction site to warn the other workers, Hellbusch told the 10-women, four-man jury.

Relf allegedly followed the men to the site after firing the gun again. Hellbusch said witnesses will testify that one man hid behind a vehicle to avoid the gunshot. Hellbusch said a woman will also testify that she crouched down inside a vehicle as far as a woman who is four-months pregnant can.

Hellbusch said another one of the victims will testify that he saw Relf drive by the site earlier in the day and yell that someone had a body in their vehicle.

None of them knew the defendant, Hellbusch said.

The owner of the construction company reportedly followed Relf before he was arrested. Hellbusch said law enforcement will testify that when they arrested Relf, he was intoxicated and had an open container of alcohol, a black handgun and a spent shell casing. Hellbusch also said that Relfs DNA was reportedly found on the gun.

This is not Relfs first run-in with the law. Journal archives show Relf barricaded himself in a camper when Pennington County Sheriffs deputies tried to arrest him on multiple warrants for failure to comply, driving under the influence, possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest.

The incident was a week after police used a taser on Relf when they found him in the drivers seat of a stolen pickup with numerous beer cans and he refused to obey officer commands.

Relfs trial is set to resume on Tuesday, if inclement weather does not affect the court's schedule.
A 51-year-old Manderson man was sentenced Feb. 27 to three years and five months in federal prison for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in March 2021.

John Joseph White Plume Sr. pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor on July 11, 2022. In October 2021, a federal grand jury indicted him for sexual abuse of a minor and sexual abuse.

A superseding indictment added tampering with a witness to his charges for attempting to "intimidate, threaten and corruptly persuade" a witness to the crime to withhold her testimony. Those charges were dropped by the government after White Plume pleaded guilty.

According to a factual basis statement by White Plume and the government describing the crime, on March 1, 2021, White Plume was at a house party in Manderson where people were using methamphetamine and alcohol.

The 14-year-old victim joined the party during the evening. Two witnesses then discovered White Plume having sex with the girl that night.

White Plume admitted to knowing the victim was not over the age of 16, the age of consent in South Dakota.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken also ordered White Plume to serve five years of supervised release once he's completed his prison sentence. He will also have to pay a routine $100 assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

The Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety and the FBI investigated the case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Poppen prosecuted White Plume and Angela Colbath represented him.
A vehicle crash in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 has left Richmond area traffic backed up as many as five miles Tuesday morning.

The crash, which was reported by the Virginia Department of Transportation around 7 a.m. Tuesday, closed the center and right lanes and right shoulder of I-95 North just past the I-195 exit.

VDOT initially reported a two-mile backup, but by 8:00 a.m., the affected area had ballooned to five miles.

The center lane reopened shortly after 8:00, but the right lane remains closed, so the agency is still cautioning drivers to seek alternate routes if possible and expect significant delays.This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.

The Times-Dispatch's 'Photo of the Day'  Jan. 1, 2023 Jan. 2, 2023 Jan. 3, 2023 Jan. 4, 2023 Jan. 5, 2023 Jan. 6, 2023 Jan. 7, 2023 Jan. 8, 2023 Jan. 10, 2023 Jan. 11, 2023 Jan. 12, 2023 Jan. 13, 2023 Jan. 14, 2023 Jan. 15, 2023 Jan. 16, 2023 Jan. 17, 2023 Jan. 18, 2023 Jan. 19, 2023 Jan. 20, 2023 Jan. 21, 2023 Jan. 22, 2023 Jan. 23, 2023 Jan. 24, 2023 Jan. 25, 2023 Jan. 26, 2023 Jan. 27, 2023 Jan. 28, 2023 Jan. 29, 2023 Jan. 30, 2023 Jan. 31, 2023 Feb. 1, 2023 Feb. 2, 2023 Feb. 3, 2023 Feb. 4, 2023 Feb. 5, 2023 Feb. 6, 2023 Feb. 7, 2023 Feb. 8, 2023 Feb. 9, 2023 Feb. 10, 2023 Feb 11, 2023 Feb. 12, 2023 Feb. 13, 2023 Feb. 14, 2023 Feb. 15, 2023 Feb. 16, 2023 Feb. 17, 2023 Feb. 18, 2023 Feb. 19, 2023 Feb. 20, 2023 Feb. 21, 2023 Feb. 22, 2023 Feb. 23, 2023 Feb. 24, 2023 Feb. 25, 2023 Feb. 26, 2023 Feb. 27, 2023 Feb. 28, 2023 March 1, 2023 March 2, 2023 March 3, 2023 March 4, 2023 March 5, 2023 March 6, 2023 March 7, 2023 March 8, 2023 March 9, 2023 March 10, 2023 March 11, 2023 March 12, 2023 March 13, 2023 March 14, 2023 March 15, 2023 March 16, 2023 March 17, 2023 March 18, 2023 March 19, 2023 March 20, 2023 March 21, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 23, 2023 March 24, 2023 March 25, 2023 March 26, 2023 March 27, 2023 March 28, 2023 March 29, 2023 March 30, 2023 March 31, 2023 April 1, 2023 April 2, 2023 April 3, 2023 April 4, 2023 April 5, 2023 April 6, 2023 April 7, 2023 April 8, 2023 April 9, 2023 April 10, 2023 April 11, 2023 April 13, 2023 April 14, 2023
Richmond police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man who was found in the drive-thru lane of a fast-food restaurant.

Police said Monday that 22-year-old Davonte Straus of Richmond was killed in the incident.

Officers responded to the 4100 block of Hull Street at 7:39 p.m. Sunday for the report of a person shot. They found Straus unresponsive in the lane at Southside Plaza. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical examiners office will determine Straus cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information is asked to call Richmond police at (804) 814-7123 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

State spending analysis: Which states spend the most on policing and corrections? State spending analysis: Which states spend the most on policing and corrections? Which states spend the most on policing and corrections? Democratic and Republican state policing and corrections spending
Police are investigating a Manchester shooting that left one adult male dead Monday night.

The Department of Emergency Communications received a call just after 8:30 p.m. Monday reporting gunfire in the 1600 block of Bainbridge Street, according to a police statement.

Officers arriving at the scene were notified by a citizen that a man was down a few blocks away, in the 00 block of East 16th Street, with an apparent gunshot wound.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have asked anyone with information about this incident to call Detective Tovar of the Major Crimes unit at (804) 467-4433 or Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

This is a developing story that will be updated when more information is available.

The Times-Dispatch's 'Photo of the Day'  Jan. 1, 2023 Jan. 2, 2023 Jan. 3, 2023 Jan. 4, 2023 Jan. 5, 2023 Jan. 6, 2023 Jan. 7, 2023 Jan. 8, 2023 Jan. 10, 2023 Jan. 11, 2023 Jan. 12, 2023 Jan. 13, 2023 Jan. 14, 2023 Jan. 15, 2023 Jan. 16, 2023 Jan. 17, 2023 Jan. 18, 2023 Jan. 19, 2023 Jan. 20, 2023 Jan. 21, 2023 Jan. 22, 2023 Jan. 23, 2023 Jan. 24, 2023 Jan. 25, 2023 Jan. 26, 2023 Jan. 27, 2023 Jan. 28, 2023 Jan. 29, 2023 Jan. 30, 2023 Jan. 31, 2023 Feb. 1, 2023 Feb. 2, 2023 Feb. 3, 2023 Feb. 4, 2023 Feb. 5, 2023 Feb. 6, 2023 Feb. 7, 2023 Feb. 8, 2023 Feb. 9, 2023 Feb. 10, 2023 Feb 11, 2023 Feb. 12, 2023 Feb. 13, 2023 Feb. 14, 2023 Feb. 15, 2023 Feb. 16, 2023 Feb. 17, 2023 Feb. 18, 2023 Feb. 19, 2023 Feb. 20, 2023 Feb. 21, 2023 Feb. 22, 2023 Feb. 23, 2023 Feb. 24, 2023 Feb. 25, 2023 Feb. 26, 2023 Feb. 27, 2023 Feb. 28, 2023 March 1, 2023 March 2, 2023 March 3, 2023 March 4, 2023 March 5, 2023 March 6, 2023 March 7, 2023 March 8, 2023 March 9, 2023 March 10, 2023 March 11, 2023 March 12, 2023 March 13, 2023 March 14, 2023 March 15, 2023 March 16, 2023 March 17, 2023 March 18, 2023 March 19, 2023 March 20, 2023 March 21, 2023 March 22, 2023 March 23, 2023 March 24, 2023 March 25, 2023 March 26, 2023 March 27, 2023 March 28, 2023 March 29, 2023 March 30, 2023 March 31, 2023 April 1, 2023 April 2, 2023 April 3, 2023 April 4, 2023 April 5, 2023 April 6, 2023 April 7, 2023 April 8, 2023 April 9, 2023 April 10, 2023 April 11, 2023 April 13, 2023 April 14, 2023
Richmond consumers could see utility rates increase up to nearly 9% under Mayor Levar Stoneys proposed $3 billion fiscal year 2023-24 budget.

The proposed budget, introduced to the City Council Monday afternoon, calls for increasing the citys general funds to roughly $950 million, a 13% increase from the previous year.

Additionally, the budget calls for an 8% pay increase to all city employees with an $18 minimum wage and an additional $21.2 million in funding for Richmond Public Schools.

The operating and $1.6 billion five year capital improvement plan budgets allow us to continue to make critical investments in our shared priorities, Stoney said.

1 found dead in Richmond drive-thru lane Richmond police are investigating a deadly shooting that occurred off Hull Street in Southside Plaza, after discovering a downed person in the drive-thru lane of a fast food restaurant Sunday.

Stoney said these shared priorities include schools, public safety, affordable housing, economic development and efficient city government.

While the proposed budget is a $300 million increase from last year, there are no proposed changes to real estate or personal property tax rates, which will remain at $1.20 per $100 of the assessed real estate value and $3.70 per $100 assessed personal property value.

The city is anticipating a 7.7% increase in real estate tax collection as a result of higher property assessments.

However, if approved, there would be an anticipated increases of 3.75% for natural gas, 4% increase for water, 6.5% for wastewater and 8.75% for storm water in terms of public utility rates, depending on what residents need to pay. From some, the rates may increase approximately 9%. The city estimates this will result in an average $8.86 per month increase.

In late-February, the Richmond School Board approved its proposed $228 million. Stoney has proposed to allocate $221 million, a 10.5% increase from the previous year. The bulk of these funds will go toward teacher raises.

Im very proud of our work together to prioritize and invest in our schools and students, Stoney said.

Additionally, the city plans to set aside $200 million for school modernization efforts, $15 million for Fox Elementary and $2.5 million to address general school maintenance needs.

Overall, the proposed budget will result in a 3% increase, $112.4 million, to the Richmond Police Department; a 7% increase, $66.1 million, the Fire Department; a 9% increase, 48.9 million; and a 16.5% increase, $1.5, million to the Mayors office.

Stoney said access to affordable housing in the city is crucial. In order to help address the need, the proposed budget accounts for a $10 million a year commitment for affordable housing projects.

Together, we will prioritize and be intentional about how we spend the limited time, limited money and resources at our disposal, Stoney said. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks to advance this budget across the goal line, at the benefit of our entire city.

While the mayor met before the City Council, council did not comment on the presentation. Over the next couple weeks, the City Council will hold public work sessions to dive into the proposal. The next meeting will be held 12:30 p.m., Monday, March, 13 at City Hall.

In April, the City Council will hear from the public before introducing amendments before making a final decision in May.

Close In May 1953, students at the York County Training School for Negroes had to attend class in school buses after a fire that week destroyed the schools 11-room main building near Yorktown. Five classes were held on buses and three in small buildings that were saved from the flames. In November 1982, a crowd filled Regency Square mall for the first day of Sunday store openings in Henrico County. Before the Sunday closing law, or so-called blue law, was formally repealed by the Board of Supervisors, Henrico residents  who in a referendum that month voted in favor of repeal  had to travel to surrounding localities to shop on a Sunday. In March 1959, visitors at the Richmond Boat Show inspected a new cruiser, a sort of floating camper, during the five-day event at the State Fairgrounds in Henrico County. It was considered to be the first strictly marine show to be held in Richmond. In August 1971, members of Camp Willow Run gathered outside their dormitories, which were former train boxcars. The railroad-themed camp, on a Lake Gaston peninsula in Littleton, N.C., is still run by Youth Camps for Christ Inc. The dining hall, modeled after an 1890 train depot and built from plans furnished by the Southern Railway Co., was the focal point of activities. In July 1963, John Adam, director of talking books for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London, visited Richmond and showed Virginia Library for the Blind employee Mrs. Richard V. Carter a new cassette system for recording and reproducing audio tapes of books. Using a federal grant and tapping into British expertise, the Virginia library was testing the system, whose cassettes offered more capacity and lasted longer than old discs used by blind patrons. This September 1953 image shows the canal locks in downtown Richmond between 14th and Pear streets. After their installation and later refurbishment in the mid-19th century, the locks increased boat traffic and allowed for easier transport of goods to and from the city. In September 1935, a small group of men, part of a larger army of workers and 70 trucks, reinforced dikes with sandbags to protect the 5-mile area controlled by Richmonds Shockoe Creek Pumping Station from flooding caused by a severe storm. In July 1977, Christine Bunce, a student at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County, worked in the Chippenham Hospital gift shop in Richmond as a volunteer. The nickname candy striper came from the red-and-white striped aprons worn traditionally by volunteers. In April 1976, men tended to the roasting planks at the 28th annualshad planking in Wakefield, an event in Sussex County that lured politicians, reporters, campaign workers and others to kick off the electoral season. Sponsored by the Wakefield Ruritan Club, the event historically was a function of the states Democrats, but it evolved into a bipartisan tradition. In October 1941, babies slept in the nursery at Brookfield, located on West Broad Street in Henrico County. The home for unwed mothers was the successor to Spring Street Home in Richmonds Oregon Hill area, which was established in 1874 by the Magdalen Association to help single women and their children. In April 1979, the St. Marys Hospital Orchestra rehearsed in the hospital auditorium in Henrico County. The orchestra, which formed in 1966 and initially consisted of staff doctors and hospital employees, performed several public concerts a year at the hospital. In May 1950, motorcyclists raced in the 10-Mile National Motorcycle Championship at the Atlantic Rural Exposition grounds in Henrico County. The winner was Little Joe Weatherly of Norfolk, who later turned to stock car racing and won NASCAR titles in the 1960s before being killed in a race accident in Riverside, Calif., in 1964. In July 1954, Kitty Liles performed with her band. Liles had played the drums for years, starting when she was a student at Varina High School in the 1940s. In 1954, Liles was using money from her gigs around Richmond to pay for her pursuit of a social work degree at Richmond Professional Institute. In September 1948, Richmond actress, singer and national radio show host Patsy Garrett greeted a friend downtown during her visit here. Garrett was known for her time on Fred Warings Pleasure Time radio show in the 1940s and for her recurring film and television roles in Nanny and the Professor, Room 222 and the Benji movie series. In September 1985, NASCAR Cup driver Kyle Petty inspected his wrecked Ford Thunderbird after a practice session at the half-mile Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway during the Wrangler 400. Pettys car hit Dale Earnhardts, with Petty getting the worst of it. In March 1969, balmy weather drew a large crowd to Monroe Park in downtown Richmond. A small band joined the gathering, serenading visitors as spring arrived. In April 1968, David Long manned the bar at an exhibit at a Virginia Restaurant Association convention, and Barbara Ann Brigel took a spot along the brass rail. That year, the General Assembly allowed liquor by the drink to become a local option in Virginia. In June 1941, Patrick Henrys Give me liberty or give me death speech was re-enacted at St. Johns Episcopal Church on Church Hill in Richmond as part of its bicentennial celebration. Construction of the church, built on land donated by city founder William Byrd II, was completed in June 1741. In July 1979, two boys walked along the rocks in the James River near the Lee Bridge in Richmond. In May 1942, actress-singers Dorothy Lamour (center), Patsy Garrett (at left) and actor Bert Lytell (at right) visited Richmond as part of a rally to stimulate sales of war bonds and stamps. They stood under a Welcome to Richmond sign and were flanked by Malcolm Bridges (left), the executive secretary of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and Ship Ahoy Girls Jetsy Parker and Dorothy Schoemer. The rally drew more than 5,000 people. This 1966 image of a quiet night on Franklin Street in downtown Richmond was captured by Times-Dispatch photographer David Harvey, who became renowned for his National Geographic magazine work and has received national awards. His photographs have been exhibited nationwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts locally. In June 1977, John Stevens and his long-eared assistant performed a magic trick. Known as Nabis the Magician, Stevens was among the Richmonders in the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The local chapter had 25 members who met regularly to discuss their craft. In January 1970, Virginia Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. received his final salute from state police as he and his wife, Katherine, left the Executive Mansion in Richmond en route to the inauguration of A. Linwood Holton Jr. Godwin, then a Democrat, returned as governor four years later as a Republican. In July 1961, two men fished for bluegills in Chickahominy Lake, a large water-supply reservoir along the New Kent-Charles City county line. In June 1968, Toru Yanagida (left) and Ken Seguchi posed at Hillcrest Dairy in Crewe, in Nottoway County. They were learning American farming techniques from the dairy farms owners, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Johnson, who were their sponsors. Seguchi was a dairy farmer from Gifu, Japan, and Yanagida was a student in a college horticulture program in Hokkaido. In May 1973, local Scouts assembled their tents amid exhibits at the daylong Scout-O-Rama at the State Fairgrounds in Henrico County. In addition to traditional skills of woodcraft, wilderness survival, camping and cooking, the event highlighted Scoutings growing attention to archaeology, seamanship, aviation, metal detection, TV and space technology, among other topics. More than 2,000 Cub and Boy Scouts attended the event that year. In June 1977, a crowd lined up for drinks and barbecue chicken at the Virginia Chicken Festival in Crewe, a town in Nottoway County southwest of Richmond. Held on the pavilion grounds of the Southside Electric Cooperative, the annual affair was sponsored by the Burkeville Ruritan Club and the Crewe Kiwanis Club. It attracted state and local politicians  including gubernatorial nominees John Dalton and Henry Howell  among the more than 3,500 attendees that year. In February 1973, prisoners at the Virginia State Penitentiary made and stacked license plates. The pen was along Spring Street at Second Street in downtown Richmond. A print shop, metal shop, textile plant, leather shop and woodworking area offered vocational training to prisoners. Today the site is largely occupied by Afton Chemical Corp., a unit of NewMarket Corp. In November 1951, workers constructed a new lane on Monument Avenue in Henrico County. The truck was occupying what used to be the front yard of a house in the 6500 block. The road was being widened for divided lane traffic in the block between Bevridge Road and Roxbury Road. 29 photos from the Times-Dispatch archives In May 1953, students at the York County Training School for Negroes had to attend class in school buses after a fire that week destroyed the schools 11-room main building near Yorktown. Five classes were held on buses and three in small buildings that were saved from the flames. In November 1982, a crowd filled Regency Square mall for the first day of Sunday store openings in Henrico County. Before the Sunday closing law, or so-called blue law, was formally repealed by the Board of Supervisors, Henrico residents  who in a referendum that month voted in favor of repeal  had to travel to surrounding localities to shop on a Sunday. In March 1959, visitors at the Richmond Boat Show inspected a new cruiser, a sort of floating camper, during the five-day event at the State Fairgrounds in Henrico County. It was considered to be the first strictly marine show to be held in Richmond. In August 1971, members of Camp Willow Run gathered outside their dormitories, which were former train boxcars. The railroad-themed camp, on a Lake Gaston peninsula in Littleton, N.C., is still run by Youth Camps for Christ Inc. The dining hall, modeled after an 1890 train depot and built from plans furnished by the Southern Railway Co., was the focal point of activities. In July 1963, John Adam, director of talking books for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London, visited Richmond and showed Virginia Library for the Blind employee Mrs. Richard V. Carter a new cassette system for recording and reproducing audio tapes of books. Using a federal grant and tapping into British expertise, the Virginia library was testing the system, whose cassettes offered more capacity and lasted longer than old discs used by blind patrons. This September 1953 image shows the canal locks in downtown Richmond between 14th and Pear streets. After their installation and later refurbishment in the mid-19th century, the locks increased boat traffic and allowed for easier transport of goods to and from the city. In September 1935, a small group of men, part of a larger army of workers and 70 trucks, reinforced dikes with sandbags to protect the 5-mile area controlled by Richmonds Shockoe Creek Pumping Station from flooding caused by a severe storm. In July 1977, Christine Bunce, a student at Manchester High School in Chesterfield County, worked in the Chippenham Hospital gift shop in Richmond as a volunteer. The nickname candy striper came from the red-and-white striped aprons worn traditionally by volunteers. In April 1976, men tended to the roasting planks at the 28th annualshad planking in Wakefield, an event in Sussex County that lured politicians, reporters, campaign workers and others to kick off the electoral season. Sponsored by the Wakefield Ruritan Club, the event historically was a function of the states Democrats, but it evolved into a bipartisan tradition. In October 1941, babies slept in the nursery at Brookfield, located on West Broad Street in Henrico County. The home for unwed mothers was the successor to Spring Street Home in Richmonds Oregon Hill area, which was established in 1874 by the Magdalen Association to help single women and their children. In April 1979, the St. Marys Hospital Orchestra rehearsed in the hospital auditorium in Henrico County. The orchestra, which formed in 1966 and initially consisted of staff doctors and hospital employees, performed several public concerts a year at the hospital. In May 1950, motorcyclists raced in the 10-Mile National Motorcycle Championship at the Atlantic Rural Exposition grounds in Henrico County. The winner was Little Joe Weatherly of Norfolk, who later turned to stock car racing and won NASCAR titles in the 1960s before being killed in a race accident in Riverside, Calif., in 1964. In July 1954, Kitty Liles performed with her band. Liles had played the drums for years, starting when she was a student at Varina High School in the 1940s. In 1954, Liles was using money from her gigs around Richmond to pay for her pursuit of a social work degree at Richmond Professional Institute. In September 1948, Richmond actress, singer and national radio show host Patsy Garrett greeted a friend downtown during her visit here. Garrett was known for her time on Fred Warings Pleasure Time radio show in the 1940s and for her recurring film and television roles in Nanny and the Professor, Room 222 and the Benji movie series. In September 1985, NASCAR Cup driver Kyle Petty inspected his wrecked Ford Thunderbird after a practice session at the half-mile Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway during the Wrangler 400. Pettys car hit Dale Earnhardts, with Petty getting the worst of it. In March 1969, balmy weather drew a large crowd to Monroe Park in downtown Richmond. A small band joined the gathering, serenading visitors as spring arrived. In April 1968, David Long manned the bar at an exhibit at a Virginia Restaurant Association convention, and Barbara Ann Brigel took a spot along the brass rail. That year, the General Assembly allowed liquor by the drink to become a local option in Virginia. In June 1941, Patrick Henrys Give me liberty or give me death speech was re-enacted at St. Johns Episcopal Church on Church Hill in Richmond as part of its bicentennial celebration. Construction of the church, built on land donated by city founder William Byrd II, was completed in June 1741. In July 1979, two boys walked along the rocks in the James River near the Lee Bridge in Richmond. In May 1942, actress-singers Dorothy Lamour (center), Patsy Garrett (at left) and actor Bert Lytell (at right) visited Richmond as part of a rally to stimulate sales of war bonds and stamps. They stood under a Welcome to Richmond sign and were flanked by Malcolm Bridges (left), the executive secretary of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, and Ship Ahoy Girls Jetsy Parker and Dorothy Schoemer. The rally drew more than 5,000 people. This 1966 image of a quiet night on Franklin Street in downtown Richmond was captured by Times-Dispatch photographer David Harvey, who became renowned for his National Geographic magazine work and has received national awards. His photographs have been exhibited nationwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts locally. In June 1977, John Stevens and his long-eared assistant performed a magic trick. Known as Nabis the Magician, Stevens was among the Richmonders in the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The local chapter had 25 members who met regularly to discuss their craft. In January 1970, Virginia Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr. received his final salute from state police as he and his wife, Katherine, left the Executive Mansion in Richmond en route to the inauguration of A. Linwood Holton Jr. Godwin, then a Democrat, returned as governor four years later as a Republican. In July 1961, two men fished for bluegills in Chickahominy Lake, a large water-supply reservoir along the New Kent-Charles City county line. In June 1968, Toru Yanagida (left) and Ken Seguchi posed at Hillcrest Dairy in Crewe, in Nottoway County. They were learning American farming techniques from the dairy farms owners, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Johnson, who were their sponsors. Seguchi was a dairy farmer from Gifu, Japan, and Yanagida was a student in a college horticulture program in Hokkaido. In May 1973, local Scouts assembled their tents amid exhibits at the daylong Scout-O-Rama at the State Fairgrounds in Henrico County. In addition to traditional skills of woodcraft, wilderness survival, camping and cooking, the event highlighted Scoutings growing attention to archaeology, seamanship, aviation, metal detection, TV and space technology, among other topics. More than 2,000 Cub and Boy Scouts attended the event that year. In June 1977, a crowd lined up for drinks and barbecue chicken at the Virginia Chicken Festival in Crewe, a town in Nottoway County southwest of Richmond. Held on the pavilion grounds of the Southside Electric Cooperative, the annual affair was sponsored by the Burkeville Ruritan Club and the Crewe Kiwanis Club. It attracted state and local politicians  including gubernatorial nominees John Dalton and Henry Howell  among the more than 3,500 attendees that year. In February 1973, prisoners at the Virginia State Penitentiary made and stacked license plates. The pen was along Spring Street at Second Street in downtown Richmond. A print shop, metal shop, textile plant, leather shop and woodworking area offered vocational training to prisoners. Today the site is largely occupied by Afton Chemical Corp., a unit of NewMarket Corp. In November 1951, workers constructed a new lane on Monument Avenue in Henrico County. The truck was occupying what used to be the front yard of a house in the 6500 block. The road was being widened for divided lane traffic in the block between Bevridge Road and Roxbury Road.
Eileen Filler-Corn, the first woman to serve as Virginias speaker of the House, said Tuesday that she will not run for re-election, continuing an exodus of senior leaders from the General Assembly.

Filler-Corn told The Washington Post that she is seriously considering a run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2025.

The legislative departures continued Tuesday morning as Sen. Lynwood Lewis, D-Accomack, a senator since 2014, announced that he will not seek re-election in a new district in which he is paired with Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach.

Filler-Corn, a member of the House since 2010, served as House speaker from 2020-22, breaking a gender barrier that had stood for more than 400 years. But House Democrats ousted her as leader of their caucus in April 2022 after Republicans regained control of the chamber.

She became speaker following a 2019 blue wave election that gave Democrats control of the House of Delegates as well as the Senate and the governorship. Filler-Corn helped usher through landmark Democratic measures, including efforts to ban the death penalty and to legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults.

I am proud of the transformative actions we took during my tenure, Filler-Corn said in a statement. We invested in public education and transportation, made our communities safer from gun violence, supported working families, expanded reproductive freedom, rooted out discrimination, secured voting rights, protected our environment, and kept Virginia the top state for business in the nation. In just two years, we brought historic change to the Commonwealth that followed the will of the people and remains popular today. More importantly, we did this by including diverse voices from across Virginia.

She added: We have made significant progress in Virginia and I will continue this work for our communities and our Commonwealth outside the confines of the House of Delegates. As for my next chapter, there are many exciting options ahead and I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks and months.

I am eager and energized for the next challenge!

Republicans regained the House majority and the governorship in the November 2021 elections, and Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, became House speaker.

In April 2022, House Democrats voted out Filler-Corn as head of their caucus and subsequently picked Del. Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, as their leader in the chamber.

Scott said in a statement Tuesday: Our House Caucus and the entire Commonwealth is forever indebted to former Speaker and Leader Eileen Filler-Corn.

I am proud to have served with her during her time in Richmond and look forward to all she will continue to do to move Virginia forward.

In December 2021, the state Supreme Court imposed new legislative boundaries without regard to protecting incumbents. The new map paired dozens of legislators in districts with other incumbents and has prompted a cascading wave of retirements ahead of this years contests in which all 40 Senate seats and all 100 House seats are up for election.

In addition to Filler-Corn, who was paired in a district with Del. Kathy Tran, D-Fairfax, key retirees include Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax; Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City; Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, co-chair of the Finance & Appropriations Committee; and Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Notable retirees in the House include Del. Ken Plum, D-Fairfax, the chambers currently most senior member, as well as a host of committee chairs, including Dels. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford; Rob Bell, R-Albemarle; Margaret Ransone, R-Westmoreland and Roxann Robinson, R-Chesterfield.

So far, seven of the 40 senators are not running for reelection, not including Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, who will be sworn in Tuesday evening as a member of Congress. Two redrawn Senate districts still feature two incumbents each, which means at least two more senators will leave the chamber.

In the House, 15 of the 100 delegates have announced they are not seeking reelection. An additional 13 are running for state Senate seats. Four other House districts feature paired incumbents.

This means the Senate is assured at least a 25% turnover, and the House is set to upend nearly a third of its membership, before the first votes are cast in summer primaries and fall elections.

Filler-Corn likely would face competition in seeking the Democrats nomination for governor in 2025. Others that pundits mention as potential candidates include some members of the states congressional delegation  such as McClellan and Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th  as well as Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.
More than three months after his death, Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, will be present in more than one way when Congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan takes the oath of office on Tuesday evening to succeed him in the U.S. House of Representatives.

McClellan will feel his presence as a longtime friend and political mentor, and will also feel it in her new office. Most of the late congressman's congressional staff will go to work for his successor as she enters the 118th Congress almost two months after it convened in January.

"Knowing that I was coming in in the middle of the session, I want to be able to hit the ground running," she said Monday.

Out of 16 staff in McClellan's congressional office, 11 worked for McEachin, including his chief of staff, Tara Rountree, whom the congresswoman-elect has chosen for the same role.

Rountree, who announced McEachin's sudden death on Nov. 28, acknowledged, "Obviously, it's been a trying time for the staff and the family, but we're doing our best."

She had first worked for McEachin on his first congressional campaign, when he defeated Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade in 2016. A native of Chesapeake, which was part of the previous 4th District, she worked for nearly seven years in his congressional office, including two as chief of staff.

Rountree said she is confident that McClellan will make the transition to Congress with ease because of her experience, work ethic and intellect after serving for 18 years in the Virginia General Assembly.

"She's going to have the exact right qualities it takes to get things done for the district, even in a [politically] divided Congress," Rountree said.

Among the other holdovers from McEachin's office are communications director Shahid Ahmed; senior policy adviser Melody Tan; legislative assistant Rahmon Ross; district director Charity Howell; constituent services director Sylvia Copeland; district representative Elizabeth Hardin; press and digital assistant Lena Jacobson; and staff assistant Sarah Houle, a former intern for McEachin; Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd; and state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax.

Abbi Easter, a longtime adviser to McEachin, will serve as senior adviser to McClellan. John Montgomery, a former Henrico School Board member and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, will remain as coordinator of service academy appointments.

Two members of McClellan's Senate staff will join her congressional office  former Chief of Staff Maryn Campbell as director of outreach, and former legislative assistant Bianca Casper as senior constituent services liaison. Both roles are important to the communication between McClellan's office on Capitol Hill and offices in the 4th District, with information flowing in both directions.

The district covers all or part of 15 localities, including Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield counties and the Petersburg area. It extends to the North Carolina line.

McClellan also is adding Capitol Hill experience from the staffs of other members of Congress, including Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. Donald Pollard III, previously a policy adviser to Kaine, will serve as legislative director for the new congresswoman. Jazmine Bonner, a former assistant to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., will be director of operations. Jannie Kamara, a former assistant to Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., will serve as legislative correspondent and aide.

"We're bringing in not only a lot of experience, in the 4th District and Virginia, but also on the Hill," McClellan said.

"We're making sure that they bring the same passion for public service," she added. "The overarching goal of the office should be, 'How can we help people?'"

Pulling together a staff has been a challenge for McClellan, who cleaned out her Senate office on Monday. Her last assembly session adjourned on Feb. 25, four days after she won a special election to fill McEachin's congressional seat. She will resign her Senate seat on Tuesday.

"The hardest part was the last day of session," she said. "It felt a little bittersweet."

McClellan expects to carry on much of McEachin's legacy because they shared common backgrounds and priorities. Both were successful lawyers before entering politics. They served together in the House of Delegates for one term before McEachin moved to the Senate in 2008 and she succeeded him there after his first election to Congress.

"I'm going to have a lot of the same priorities he did," she said, citing health policy and environmental justice as two of them. "At the same time, I want people to realize, hey, I'm a different person. I have a different style and approach."

Richmond spring festivals: Arts in the Park, Dominion Riverrock & Richmond Greek Festival Swine & Brine Something in the Water Blues & Brews in the Bottom Arts in the Park Que Pasa? Festival Dominion Energy Riverrock Lebanese Food Festival Richmond Greek Festival
Commentators from the left and right believe our democracy is at risk. But few look to the 50 states to find solutions to our present polarization, preferring instead to focus on the divisive jousting in Washington, D.C. We would all benefit from by looking more closely at the states.

Buttressing the political guardrails of democracy takes work, and strong institutional traditions are key to the process. Sometimes, little things can help make a difference. In Virginia, there is an unwritten procedure that builds respect across party lines and occurs at the conclusion of each legislative session when it becomes known that legislators are retiring or leaving the General Assembly to pursue other opportunities. Even with the crunch of bills to be passed at the last minute, the bodies always find time to honor their service. And it is done in a bipartisan way, where members of each party take turns commemorating their colleagues and celebrating the institution of the legislature.

This year, the legislative losses are substantial in both number and quality. It is impossible to replace Dick Saslaw, Janet Howell and Tommy Norment in the Senate or Ken Plum in the House, who together brought 150 years of distinguished service to the commonwealth and whose institutional memory is unparalleled.

The General Assembly also loses Sen. Jennifer McClellan, as her incredible talents move to Congress, and Del. Rob Bell, whose knowledge of criminal law is unsurpassed and whose commitment to mental health reform approaches that of Charlottesville Sen. Creigh Deeds. Bells speech to the House and McClellans to the Senate provide great insights into the nature of the General Assembly and the role of the citizen legislator. There will be time to discuss the political implications of these developments (the Senate Republican caucus keeps moving to the right and the Democratic caucus loses its most business-friendly legislator). But retirements provide an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the hard work, commitment to public service, and respect for those with whom you disagree that are the bedrock of democratic governance.

The word celebration may seem odd for the process of saying goodbye. But it is the appropriate term, for in singing the praises of those whose public service in the body has ended, legislators are reaffirming a commitment to the institution and the principle of democracy itself. In doing so, they reinforce the normative guardrails of our republic, and strengthen the power of selfless public service.

These moments are especially important when one considers the tremendous legislative turnover occurring both in Virginia and throughout the nation. Only 11 of 100 House members remain from the day I entered the body in 2006. And when the new House is sworn in next January, almost 50% of the legislators will have less than four years experience, even if all incumbents are reelected.

Virginia is not alone in facing challenges of institutional memory; high turnover rates are affecting other state legislatures as well. About one-quarter of the 6,279 state legislators elected in 2022 are new to their respective bodies. The states that reported the highest turnovers rates included chambers under Republican control, such as Arizona (54%), Idaho (47%) and Nebraska (54%); and places like Michigan (47%) and Minnesota (35.3%), where Democrats now control both the House and Senate. While some turnover is productive in bringing new energy and perspectives to legislative bodies, it increases the risks that partisan infighting could further weaken the democratic norms upon which so much of our public legitimacy is built.

During my 14 years in the Virginia House of Delegates, I saw ideological disagreements increase in intensity, and witnessed a widening chasm between the parties that threatens the ability of the commonwealth to accomplish good things for its citizens. The causes of this were myriad, from hyperpartisan redistricting that occurred in 2011 to the nationalization of politics. The threat or actuality of a primary challenge from the right has hardened the views of some GOP legislators while encouraging others to retire. And similar though not yet as effective forces are having a similar impact on Democratic officeholders.

These developments are increasing polarization in the commonwealth. But hopeful signs remain. Virginia has its share of stop the steal zealots, but there was little appetite in 2021 for the fielding of an alternate slate of electors to keep Trump in power, and seemingly little enthusiasm for returning the former president to office. More significantly, and despite the occasional rhetorical flourish suggesting fraud is rampant in our electoral process, most Virginia legislators believe that our elections are fair and continue to profess allegiance to our governmental institutions and democratic traditions.

In this polarized age, it is important to reinforce democratic traditions at every opportunity. They can only help the process.

Close 09-09-1962 (cutline): Beth Askew, Westhampton Sophomore, shows freshman sister, Ann, around campus. She points to Keller Hall, Westhampton College Gymnasium. 05-01-1980 (cutline): Co. Sophomore Cara Westin studies in her dorm room--one of 130 rooms. 02-20-1974 (cutline): New glass encloses North Court Corridor to dining hall. Open archways once admitted wintry winds to waiting students. 12-31-1961 (cutline): Dormitories are quiet, deserted at Westhampton College 10-01-1989 (cutline): Diamond Anniversary Celebrated- Elizabeth Ellyson Wiley, of the class 1918, is escorted to her seat in Henry Mansfield Cannon Memorial Chapel by Andrea Beltran (left) and Elizabeth Salley before yesterday's convocation celebrating the 75th anniversary of Westhampton College. The college was founded in 1914 by Virginia Baptists to be a complementary women's institution to the men's Richmond College. 04-24-1961 (cutline): Westhampton Senior puts geography in style. Miss Adrienne Price rates best dressed title. From the Archives: Westhampton College Westhampton College was founded in the early 20th century by Virginia Baptists to be a complementary womens institution to the mens, Richmond College, established in the 1800s. Today, some photos of Westhampton College from our archive. Interested in a print of any of these photos? Click here. 09-09-1962 (cutline): Beth Askew, Westhampton Sophomore, shows freshman sister, Ann, around campus. She points to Keller Hall, Westhampton College Gymnasium. 05-01-1980 (cutline): Co. Sophomore Cara Westin studies in her dorm room--one of 130 rooms. 02-20-1974 (cutline): New glass encloses North Court Corridor to dining hall. Open archways once admitted wintry winds to waiting students. 12-31-1961 (cutline): Dormitories are quiet, deserted at Westhampton College 10-01-1989 (cutline): Diamond Anniversary Celebrated- Elizabeth Ellyson Wiley, of the class 1918, is escorted to her seat in Henry Mansfield Cannon Memorial Chapel by Andrea Beltran (left) and Elizabeth Salley before yesterday's convocation celebrating the 75th anniversary of Westhampton College. The college was founded in 1914 by Virginia Baptists to be a complementary women's institution to the men's Richmond College. 04-24-1961 (cutline): Westhampton Senior puts geography in style. Miss Adrienne Price rates best dressed title.
Mexican and U.S. authorities continue search for four kidnapped Americans

Matamoros, Tamaulipas  The FBI office in San Antonio has issued an alert regarding the kidnapping of four American citizens. The alert was issued Sunday after the four Americans were forcefully removed from their white minivan on March 3.

The four had driven over the border from Texas to the city of Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas for medical purposes when they became part of a criminal gang clash.

Oliver Rich, special agent in charge of the San Antonio Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced a reward of $50,000 USD for information leading to the return of the victims alive.

He added that, according to initial investigations, the Americans crossed from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.

Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen shot at them and then removed them from their vehicle into the bed of a pickup truck. They have not been heard from since. One innocent bystander, a Mexican citizen, was killed by gunfire during the clash.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that his entire government is working to help locate the four American citizens who were captured in Matamoros March 3 by members of organized crime.

The white minivan happened to stumble into the middle of a confrontation between two criminal groups. Some of those criminals involved in the confrontation have been arrested.

Lopez Obrador confirmed that They are people from the United States who crossed the border to buy medicine in Mexico and there was a confrontation between groups and some of them were arrested. The entire government is working on it, he said adding that Mexicos Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Rosa Icela Rodriguez Velazquez, is in command of the rescue operation of the Americans.

U.S. media has identified the four American citizens as Zindell B, Latavia M, Shaeed W and Eric W. According to Zalandria B, the sister of Zindell B, the four traveled to Matamoros for a cosmetic procedure, specifically so one of them could get a tummy tuck.

United States media has associated the Gulf Cartel with the kidnapping of the four Americans. According to an unnamed US official quoted by CNN, the Americans were likely confused with Haitian drug traffickers because they are African Americans.

One of the arms of the Gulf Cartel known as Escorpiones, is believed related to the kidnapping. Guzman said that it was likely a dispute between an arm of the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel who are fighting over territory.

The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, has issued a statement regarding the kidnapping.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar. Photo: Ken Salazar March 5, 2023.

On Friday, March 3rd, unknown assailants in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, violently kidnapped at gunpoint four US citizens in an incident in which an innocent Mexican citizen was tragically killed.

We have no greater priority than the safety of our citizens  this is the U.S. governments most fundamental role. US law enforcement officials from numerous agencies are working with Mexican authorities at all levels of government to secure the safe return of our compatriots.

The Mexican state of Tamaulipas is one of six that the U.S. State Department advises travelers not to visit because of known crime and kidnapping incidences between the drug cartels.
Mexico will have new innovative and effective cell therapy treatments against cancer

Mexico City, Mexico  Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard says Mexico will have a new leukemia cancer treatment that will be able to save thousands of lives. Ebrard made the announcement Monday from India.

He reported that scientists anticipate clinical tests of cell therapy will begin in Mexico this year, and is one of the most innovative and effective treatments against cancer.

A new cell therapy against cancer, potentially more effective than current treatments, will arrive in Mexico from India, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon announced.

The Foreign Secretary led a delegation of Mexican scientists and diplomats that visited the laboratories of ImmunoACT, an Indian company based in Mumbai.

ImmunoACT developed the so-called CAR T cell therapy, which uses the modified cells of cancer patients themselves to fight cancer.

The foreign minister said that today, this therapy costs half a million dollars in the United States, so we are going to make it accessible to the people, that is, that we can have it in the public system and Mexicans can access that technology.

Thats what our job is, thats what the president asked us to look at, this particular technology and the Indian and Iraqi governments and ImmunoACT are helping us to do that, he said in a statement.

This type of cell therapy has demonstrated safety and efficacy and has regulatory approval in the United States as well as in several European countries.

Secretary Ebrard emphasized that with the technology, We will be able to save thousands of lives of people who have leukemia and that we cannot save now.

Ebrard meets with scientists to being new cancer treatment to Mexico. Photo: SRE March 6, 2023.

Mondays visit follows up on an agreement signed on November 8, 2022 between the Salvador Zubiran National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition (INCMNSZ), the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and ImmunoACT for technology transfer to Mexico of therapies CAR T cell phones to care for cancer patients.

As a result of this visit, a technology transfer plan is being initiated so that the therapy benefits Mexican patients in the short and medium term.

With financing from the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid), the first clinical trial of CAR T therapies will be carried out with Mexican patients, after complying with due regulatory process, and consequently they will receive this therapy during the course of the present year.

The process has been accompanied by the health and regulatory authorities, with face-to-face and virtual meetings between Amexcid, scientists and the Federal Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris).
MIA work started for construction of secondary Puerto Morelos road

Puerto Morelos, Q.R.  A request for the provisional Environmental Impact Statement for a secondary road in Puerto Morelos has been submitted. The secondary road will be built and used to transport the stone material arriving from Cuba.

Armando Lara De Nigris, head of the Secretariat for Sustainable Urban Territorial Development (Sedetus) in Quintana Roo, said work is being done with the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) on the provisional Environmental Impact Statement (MIA) for the alternate road.

He explained that the road will be constructed next to the existing Jose Maria Morelos highway and used by the industrial dump trucks to transport the more than 2.2 million tons of stone expected to arrive between March and December.

On March 3 they submitted the request for the provisional MIA. I helped them with the draft to start the work on an alternate road, he said.

The stone will be unloaded in Puerto Morelos and transported by land to Leona Vicario. Until the alternate road is built, they will use the main roads in and out of the Old Town.

Once the alternate road is built, it will be used to transport the stone material until December. After that, it will be converted for public use.

What is sought, in addition to having a road for the transfer of material that does not affect citizens, is to improve the wetland areas on both sides of the road.

It will be a nuisance for 10 months for citizens, but it will turn out to be something good with a boulevard, an avenue, with twice the capacity of what currently exists with bike paths, bus stops, Lara De Nigris said.

With the adaptations, the main access to Puerto Morelos will be able to double its width, but with the hydrological steps for a lower impact on the environment, it will guarantee hydrological flows and improve the quality of vegetation.

Maybe a week or two we can start doing studies, have the project and start working on the definitive MIAs, he added.
Security cameras to be installed after ongoing disruption in Cancun suburb

Cancun, Q.R.  After a night of destruction in a Cancun suburb, authorities say security cameras will be installed. On Sunday night, Cancun firemen were sent to deal with two vehicle fires while police were sent to the same area to deal with reports of gunfire.

Cancun firemen located two industrial trucks on fire in the Alfredo V. Bonfil area of Cancun after responding to an emergency 911 report around 8:15 p.m. The two dump truck fires are believed to have been intentionally set.

Cancun firemen extinguished two burning trucks believed intentionally set. Photo: March 5, 2023.

The trucks are believed to have been burned in retaliation for the non-payment of extortion floor rights. According to local reports, the owner of the trucks had received extortion threats earlier that same day, extortion money he refused to pay.

Cancun officers were also on scene a few hours later in the same neighborhood after residents reported hearing gunfire. Police searched the public streets where residents reported hearing shots, but did not report injured people or arrests.

A few hours later, Cancun police arrive in the same area after residents report hearing gun fire in the streets. Photo: March 5, 2023.

Cancun Police posted a late night notice on social media warning the public of the report of gun fire in Alfredo V. Bonfil.

Since the disruptive night, Ruben Oyarvide, State Secretary for Public Security said security cameras will be installed. He said the cameras will be connected to the citys C5 system.

Years ago, city police officers were not even able to enter that area of Cancun, he said, but that has gradually changed.

Before you could not enter, now yes, there is a police presence so that citizens are not affected, he noted.

On Monday afternoon, Cancun police were reportedly shot at by armed men traveling in a truck in the Alfredo V. Bonfil area of Cancun. The gunfire lead to a chase between the armed men and Cancun police.

Nearly a dozen police units responded to the highway chase after officers were shot at by criminals from Alfredo V. Bonfil. Photo: March 6, 2023.

Their afternoon chase came to an abrupt end along Guayacan Avenue in the suburbs after the driver of the truck crashed into a large mound of dirt. Those inside fled the vehicle and were chased by officers on foot.

It was around 2:00 p.m. when Cancun Police posted an emergency notice on social media warning of a red code in Alfredo V. Bonfil. Nearly a dozen municipal police units were on scene of the foot chase. At the time of publishing, Cancun police had not provided an update on the pursuit.
Two of four Americans kidnapped in Tamaulipas Mexico found dead

Matamoros, Tamaulipas  The governor of Tamaulipas has confirmed the death of two of the four kidnapped Americans. The four American citizens who had crossed the border from Texas into Tamaulipas March 3, were kidnapped after being caught in a criminal gang crossfire.

On March 7, authorities reported finding the four American citizens. Two were found dead. One was found injured and the fourth, unharmed. The governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal, confirmed the deaths.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador received the news live from the Tamaulipas Governor during his Tuesday morning press conference.

We are very sorry that this is happening in our country and we send our condolences to the families of the victims, to friends, to the people of the United States, to the government of the United States, Lopez Obrador said after the phone call.

The four Americans became caught up in criminal gang crossfire. Photo: March 3, 2023.

One person was reported detained during the rescue of the U.S. citizens. That person has been identified as 24-year-old Jose Guadalupe N. He was arrested after being found left in charge of the Americans.

On Monday, the Tamaulipas Prosecutors Office announced that at least eight Mexican, state and federal security agencies were searching for four Americans.

The two surviving Americans identified as Latavia and Eric, have been turned over to U.S. authorities.
The He Gets Us ad campaign that drew so much attention during the Super Bowl is sleek Christianity for a secular audience, but what does success really look like?

With perhaps the exception of the recent Asbury revival, its rare to see Christianity referenced in popular culture in a positive way. Be it debates over Christian nationalism or the tragically unending list of church abuse scandals, Christianitys portrayal within modern media often swings on a doom-and-gloom pendulum, between the cheery endpoints of authoritarianism and abuse.

Enter He Gets Us, an ad campaign trying to change the way Christianity is perceived in popular culture. The brand gained tremendous popularity following a $100 million gambit that put two ads in the 2023 Super Bowl. The first, a 30-second ad, exhorts viewers to be childlike over images of children at play. The second, a 60-second spot, told viewers to love your enemies over images of violence and division. The Super Bowl strategy isnt the only messaging employed by He Gets Usthe brands been making appearances on billboards and social media since its launch late last year, fueled by a group of donors that includes David Green of Hobby Lobby.

Whatever you are facing, Jesus faced it too, says He Gets Us, be it an appeal to the archetype of the rebel, the refugee, or the unwed single mother. For an inside look at the production and reception of these ads, I talked to two individuals connected with the campaign: He Gets Us spokesperson Jason Vanderground and Bill McKendry, chief creative officer at HAVEN, a creative hub associated with the HGU ads.

Whats the denominational background of the production crew behind the He Gets Us campaign?

JV: He Gets Us is not associated with any specific group or denomination, and the team behind it includes a variety of denominations and viewpoints.

Whos the main audience for this ad campaign?

JV: He Gets Us has two primary audiences and goals: first, to reintroduce spiritually open skeptics to the Jesus of the Bible and his confounding love and forgiveness. Second, we want to call up Christians to reflect the authentic Jesus in how they treat others.

Think about your ideal consumers for this ad. What do you want them to walk away from the ad thinking and feeling?

JV: The ultimate goal of He Gets Us is to raise respect and relevance for the Jesus of the Bible. The goal was that the two commercials would not only inspire those who may be skeptical of Christianity to ask questions and learn more about Jesus, but also to encourage Christians to live out their faith even better and exhibit the same confounding love and forgiveness Jesus modeled.

Whats been the most common bit of feedback youve been getting on this ad campaign?

BM: The most common feedback we get are questions regarding our agenda and the sources of funding for the campaign. Maybe we shouldnt be surprised, but audiences on all sides (Christian and non-Christian, conservative and progressive, etc.) seem to be skeptical about our motives and desired outcomes. Understandably, in these divisive times, it is hard to believe that our goals are simple and free from political leanings. Weve been surprised to see that, since the Super Bowl, the media have been fair and balanced in their analysis of our work and stated goals. It is not that they havent been critical, but theyve also been complimentary and objective about what it is we are attempting to accomplish and communicate.

Whats been the most useful bit of feedback youve gotten on this campaign?

BM: Our campaign over the last year has created significant buzz, but that was brought to a new level with our Super Bowl efforts. Many were discussing Jesus and the ads in national and regional media, as well as on social media. But perhaps the best feedback weve received is to see that Google searches for the term Jesus went up 3,800% in January as we began promoting our ad presence in the Super Bowl. The key to understanding the significance of this is that Jesus is already a top search term, so to see numbers swell as they have is a very encouraging outcome from our presence in the market.

How do you balance the corporate responsibility of creating an ad campaign to create business and generate traffic and the evangelical responsibility to actually reach people with the Gospel?

BM: Weve established KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the campaign which both measure standard responses (e.g., web traffic, shares, likes, views, chats, texts, etc.,) and shifts on attitudes and behavior, so were measuring both the return and impact of the campaign at a level of sophistication expected for an effort of this scale.

Looking at other people whove sought to create broad-based Christian advertisement, what lessons did you learn in the production of these ads that Christians should take to heart?

JV: He Gets Us is about the radical forgiveness, compassion, and love that Jesus embodied and nothing else. We learned through extensive research what to focus on and what to avoid to be successful. Most other broad-based Christian campaigns weve observed were not driven by developing strong insights through extensive market research and message testing. No other effort we are aware of has spent the time and resources we have to prepare their effort at the level and scale we have.

He Gets Us has presented a well-funded, sleek Christian product for a secular audience. To a point, its workedboth of the He Gets Us spots ranked in the top 20 Super Bowl ads via consumer ratings. But is the emphasis on relatability really humanizing Jesus and making Christianity appealing to a younger generation? Or is it actually undercutting the transformative power of the Gospel? Is it the motives behind the campaign that are suspect, as McKendry implies, or is the campaigns efficacy that should be questioned?

To hear a conservative critique of He Gets Us, I spoke with Douglas Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. Wilson has written for decades on subjects from classical education to Christian engagement with culture, and garnered a legacy as one of Reformed Christianitys most outspoken and controversial advocates. Wilson sat down to explain the conundrums inherent in modern Christian marketing, but began by giving credit where he believes its due. Im grateful for people who are out there sharing the Gospel, and Im sure there are people who will be helped, says Wilson, before giving a pastoral analogy, albeit one that puts He Gets Us in a less-than-amazing light. The reason Im not completely hostile is, if I went through my congregation, When you first came to Christ, how much of your initial discipleship was dumb and stupid, a lot of people came into the church in a big-box evangelical church and then outgrew it.

In Wilsons words, the content created by He Gets Us is nobly intentioned but falls into the category of what he deems ad-copy Gospelmarketers trying to preach the Gospel. Its calculated to offend no one. Jesus and the apostles and the prophets just didnt talk that way.

To him, the offense-free evangelism strategy has traded authority for relatability: One of the things that people require is a sense of authority, that brings security, he asserts. We dont want to present Christ as the sky-buddy, and neither do we want to portray him as how-do-you-do-fellow-kids.

Yet whats the difference between the kind of relatability created by a He Gets Us ad and the kind of relatability that a pastor seeks to create when preaching? For Wilson, once again, the problem arises from the marketing-first approach. Every preachers task is to connect that word with where the people are. You have to connect that word with the temporal word and where the people are. You have to understand cultures and mores, he admits. But what is it that Im trying to relate to? Im talking about a Savior thats there to save them from their sin. Im trying to relate the Gospel to their sense of sinfulness, rather than their felt needs.

At the end of the day, though, Wilson maintains that the He Gets Us strategy has merit, even if more conservative Christians differ strongly with the tone of the messaging. Lets say my critique is correct and that its too ad-copy-gospel and its too relatable. Its odd for me to say that God cant use that.
The Botetourt County Sheriffs Office is looking for an armed man who was involved in a domestic dispute.

The sheriffs office had warrants Monday to arrest Lucas Taylor Moseley, 36, of Buchanan on four charges: assault and battery, interfering with the property rights of another, brandishing a firearm and possessing of a firearm as a convicted felon.

Sheriff Matt Ward said on Facebook at about 7:30 p.m. Monday that someone reported a possible sighting of Moseley in the Little Timber Ridge Road area.

He may have been sighted. He may not have been sighted, Ward said in a video message. Reports were that they had seen a white male with a long gun leaving an area and was seen spotted in the Little Timber Ridge area.

The sheriff said Mosely, a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, about 5 feet and 8 inches tall and weighing about 165 pounds, had made no threats to the general public.

The sheriffs office actively searched for Moseley in the Little Timber Ridge area Monday evening. Ward said a drone with thermal capabilities was deployed. But no heat signatures were located in the area.

A canine was deployed earlier with no success, Ward added, but he assured residents that deputies would be monitoring the area.

Deputy David Moyer said Tuesday morning that the sheriffs office had no updates to share. He added that an active search would not continue Tuesday unless another sighting was reported.

According to Virginias online court case information system, Moseley has a criminal record in Botetourt County that dates from 2012 and includes drug possession and traffic charges.
Following a Virginia State Police investigation, a Roanoke grand jury has indicted a Roanoke Sheriffs Office deputy on felony drug delivery charges.

Jonathan Hildalgo, 33, of Roanoke, whose last name also appears as Hidalgo in court records, faces four charges: delivering narcotics to a prisoner, attempting to deliver narcotics to a prisoner and two counts of bribery in a correctional facility.

The Virginia State Police announced its investigation of the sheriffs office in January, when the city sheriffs office said the investigation was related to a deputys alleged misconduct.

The sheriffs office said in a press release Tuesday that it had identified potential misconduct by one of our deputies, and upon discovery, Virginia State Police were immediately contacted to ensure no bias for or against the deputy in question.

After collaboration among state police, the city sheriffs office and the Roanoke Commonwealths Attorney Office, a grand jury was presented with evidence, and a direct indictment was brought against Hildalgo on Monday, the release said.

Hildalgo joined the sheriffs office in July 2019, but he has been suspended without pay since Jan. 13, the department said. He was terminated on Tuesday after warrants for his arrest were served.

Hildalgo was listed as a fugitive in Virginias online court case information system Tuesday afternoon. But Tameka Paige, a sheriffs office spokesperson, said state police arrested him Tuesday and he was taken to another agency.

Tuesdays press release said Sheriff Antonio Hash and those within this department have worked hard to gain and increase the communities trust.

He has and will continue to be transparent with the citizens and there will be no tolerance for those that do not hold true to the moral standards and rules of conduct which guide those employed with the Roanoke City Sheriffs Office, the press release read.

The department released no additional information Tuesday about the state polices investigation or the pending charges.
PEARISBURG  Two former employees of the Kollmorgen plant in Radford are suspected of taking more than $411,784 from the company, according to a search warrant.

Virginia State Police began an investigation in September 2021 after the company reported the two men collected on fake bills for repairs and calibration of equipment, according to the warrant, filed this month in Giles County, where one of the employees lives.

Company representatives interviewed one of the men in 2021 and he apologized  then killed himself the next day, according to the warrant.

Because no criminal charges have been filed in the case to date, The Roanoke Times is not yet naming the men. State police recently collected a laptop, cellphone and financial documents from the Giles County home of the surviving former employee.

On Tuesday, state police Sgt. Rick Garletts described the situation as an active and ongoing investigation and said no information will be released for now.

Giles Countys commonwealths attorney wrote in an email Monday that he had not received a report about the two former employees. At Kollmorgen, questions were referred to an official named in the search warrant as involved in the companys own look at the payments, but she did not reply to a message.

According to the search warrant, the two men, while working at Kollmorgen, set up a supposed outside company and billed Kollmorgen for work on equipment. But there was no evidence that work actually was done, and state police suspected the company existed only as a name and billing mechanism, according to the search warrant.

The mens company was not an approved vendor for Kollmorgen. But in 2008, Kollmorgen began making payments to it that eventually totaled more than $411,784, according to the warrant.

Records for a bank account set up in the names of the mens company and of the former employee who died showed that money from the account was used for personal transactions at restaurants, shopping, checks to family members, home repairs and other non-business expenses, according to the warrant.

There also were cash withdrawals from the bank account that totaled hundreds of dollars every month, according to the warrant.

The Kollmorgen representatives told state police that when they confronted the men with suspicious invoices, each man said that the other had been responsible for repairs, according to the warrant.

Kollmorgens interview with the second man occurred after the first had died, the search warrant noted.

When Kollmorgen officials interviewed the first employee, he told them that he just took care of the business side of the mens company and that he billed Kollmorgen whatever the other man told him to, according to the warrant. He said that he charged the amounts to a Kollmorgen credit card assigned to the other man, and that he kept whatever was needed to operate the business, and gave the rest to a third man, according to the warrant.

At the end of the interview, the man apologized and stated he never intended for it to get like this, according to the warrant. The man told the Kollmorgen officials that he realized that he probably would be fired.

The next day, the man committed suicide, according to the warrant.

The state medical examiners office determined that the cause of death was a self-inflicted shotgun wound.

An obituary said that the man had worked for Kollmorgen for more than 30 years.
CHRISTIANSBURG  The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors decided Monday night to advertise a real estate tax rate of 73 centswhich represents a 16-cent reduction.

In deciding to advertise that rate, the board did not deviate from what the county administration is recommending for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The advertised figure, which must be publicized for a certain period of time, is the highest the board can approve when it decides to formally adopt the tax rate later this year. That means the board this spring can adopt a rate lower than 73 cents, but not higher.

Although a tax rate of 73 cents is 16 cents less than the current rate, Montgomery County officials said the figure still amounts to an increase of 4.3% over the revenue-neutral rate because of the latest reassessment increase. The 73 cents included in the proposed budget last week would amount to one of the biggest tax rate cuts for the county over the past two decades.

The advertised rate, which passed on a 5-2 vote, was accepted after the board voted down a call to advertise a 75-cent rate. Democrats Sara Bohn and Mary Biggs cast the no votes on the 73-cent rate.

The advertising of the 75-cent rate, which was supported by each of the three Democrats on the board, failed on a 4-3 vote along partisan lines, with Democrat April DeMotts joining Bohn and Biggs.

Bohn, who initially pushed for the 75 cents, said she proposed the measure to allow for some extra cushion in the event that the Montgomery County schools dont receive sufficient funding needed to cover proposed raises.

That will buy us time until we approve the budget, said Bohn, who added that she really hoped they wouldnt need to pass a rate higher than 73 cents.

Bohn received pushback from the other supervisors.

I understand why you want to see it higher, but I think 73 cents is where Im at, said Republican Supervisor Steve Fijalkowski.

The other board Republicans are Sherri Blevins, Todd King and Darrell Sheppard.

The proposed budget of approximately $239.9 millionwhich the board agreed to advertise on a separate 7-0 voteincludes $136.1 million for Montgomery County Public Schools, the countys single-largest expense. The county is recommending $4 million in additional funds to the schools, an amount that falls short of the districts request for an additional $6.1 million.

The school districts proposed budget earlier this year included funding for 5% raises, but measures discussed at the state level would boost the raises to 7%. Supervisors on Monday, pointed out that there remains a great deal of uncertainty over the funding for the extra raises brought up by state lawmakers.

Additionally, both county and school officials are still waiting for answers on how the state plans to address the Virginia Department of Education calculation error that led to funding cuts for MCPSand other districts across the state.

The tax rate is half the equation the county uses to determine a homeowners annual real estate tax billthe other half of the formula is the property assessment.

Montgomery County this past fall completed its four-year reassessment, which saw property values go up by an average of approximately 30%. That means many tax bills would have gone up substantially even if the county ended up keeping its current rate of 89 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The dialogue about making Roanoke a safer place for its youth continues.

The city council is asking community members to participate in two community meetings this month to talk about just that.

The first meeting is slated for 6 p.m. March 14 inside the cafeteria of William Fleming High School. The second meeting will take place at 6 p.m. March 30 in the Patrick Henry High School cafeteria.

We want to engage as many of our citizens as we can. ... We want citizens to come out and share their thoughts with us as they relate to juvenile curfew and ... other interests they may have [about] gun violence, Mayor Sherman Lea said Monday.

All community members  including youth  are welcome to participate.

I think that they [the youth] will be able to provide solutions and perspectives that we might not see, council member Luke Priddy said.

Ancillary to the youth safety conversation is an ongoing dialogue about Roanokes Gun Violence Prevention Commission. At Mondays city council meeting, Kathy Cohen  a member of the nine-person citizen commission  responded to recent criticisms of the commission.

A WSLS story published online Feb. 23 quoted Stephanie Moon Reynolds saying that if the commissions role is unclear, it should be abolished.

On Monday, Moon Reynolds offered some clarification of her comment. If the commission has been or will be spending funds without proper permission or not according to established policy and procedures, she said, it may be necessary to revisit the ordinance establishing the commissions purview. To that end, the results of an ongoing process audit of the commission should provide more information.

Cohen said she was speaking Monday on her own behalf and that of four other commission members, but not the entire commission, she said. She declined to disclose which members she was speaking on behalf of, saying she did not ask their permission to do so.

Every member of the Gun Violence Prevention Commission was publicly undermined, actively, by one member of this council, and tacitly by most of you, Cohen said, addressing the city council and mayor.

Cohen said she was disappointed Moon Reynolds did not reach out to members of the commission before speaking to the media.

This is extremely difficult and emotional work. Your loud and enduring support is crucial to our efforts, Cohen said.

Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, the commissions chairman, spoke to The Roanoke Times two weeks ago for a previous interview about the groups work and purpose. He commented on the sometimes experimental nature of the commissions work. Cobb said the commission is new and not all of the things it tries will work as intended the first time around, but that its members are open to constructive criticism and new ideas.

Above all, he said, the commission members are passionate about the work they do.

When he spoke with The Roanoke Times Monday, Cobb added that it may be years before Roanoke is able to realize the full impact of the commissions work  real, long-lasting change takes time.

He acknowledged comments made by Peacemakers President Shawn Hunter about the importance of groups such as the Peacemakers, which tries to meet the root causes of gun violence head on, in the streets. Cobb agreed that Hunter and his colleagues are integral to the success of the citys gun violence prevention and reduction efforts, and that they are the only ones capable of the work they do.

At the same time, Cobb said, the city must keep an eye on a comprehensive strategy, incorporating many different approaches, programs and policies.
Three years after the deadly pandemics onset, COVID-19 is becoming less of a concern for Roanoke health officials.

Since the most recent peak in infections in early January, both infections and hospitalizations have dropped considerably for the region.

In the most recent weekly report from the Roanoke City and Alleghany Regional Health Districts, there were 149 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region between March 1 and March 7, resulting in 17 hospitalizations.

During another seven-day period that ended on January 10  the height of the most recent, post-holiday infection peak  there were 792 infections resulting in 68 hospitalizations.

Hospitals and other medical entities in Roanoke have begun to shift focus following several weeks of steadily declining infections. Carilion Clinic closed its two community drive-thru COVID-19 testing facilities last week, citing the drop in infections as one of the reasons for the closure.

Dr. Cynthia Morrow, director of the local health district, said that area hospitalizations are near their lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic.

Our hospitalizations are at their lowest level since last May, Morrow said.

In March 2000, when the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Virginia, there were significant concerns over the upcoming St. Patricks Day holiday, with many bars and restaurants refusing to close before their annual celebrations.

The first early surges in infections followed, starting a trend of infection peaks following holidays.

The most recent dominant strain of COVID-19, Omicron XBB 1.5, had just begun to spread last December, and contributed to the post-holiday spike in infections. Morrow said that she doesnt anticipate another large spike following this years St. Patricks Day celebrations.

I dont think well see significant increases, Morrow said. And the reason I say that is that there isnt anything on the very near horizon that we see as a new dominant strain.

Morrow stressed that while she didnt see any threat of infection spikes in the near future, that didnt mean that future spikes were out of the question, though she said she was hopeful that the worst of the pandemic is behind us.

COVID is unpredictable, Morrow said. We dont know if and when the next strain is going to appear.

With pandemic concerns abated for the time being, Morrow said that the Virginia Department of Health was beginning to shift focus back to pre-pandemic concerns, such as sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment, outreach for substance use disorder, and immunizations, as well as public hygiene.

However, Morrow said that, with the pandemic exacerbating community health concerns that existed well before the first COVID-19 infections, her focus has permanently changed.

Were a different department than we were, Morrow said.
Reporting on the anniversary of the war in Ukraine saturated media recently, and I watched, listened to and read a lot of it. One item was about a demonstration in downtown Roanoke led by city council members who, standing in front of blue and yellow flags, appeared proud to be ditching our Russian Sister City. But are Pskovs citizens any more responsible for the war than Roanoke people are responsible for our illegal war in Iraq? Council members didnt cite any evidence either way.

One voice that was heard this Feb. 24 was that of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Asked in an interview on CBS about the billions in aid the U.S. has given to Ukraine, he replied that most Americans dont like to see a big country bullying another, and they just feel its wrong and want to do something about it. He claimed that after World War II, everyone agreed on some basic rules, some basic principles, like one country just cant attack its neighbor, it cant try to seize its land by force, cant try to erase it from the map, cant bully it, accusing Russia of doing just that in Ukraine, which, regrettably, Russia did.

In response, in an interview on Telegram, Russias foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, asked, Was it not the U.S. that attacked Iraq? Zakharova then mentioned nine other wars of aggression started by the U.S., starting with the 1846 invasion of Mexico, which ended with us annexing a third of its territory. The Vietnam War made her list, plus our 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia and occupation of Serbias Kosovo province. She noted our ongoing illegal occupation of a third of Syria (part of our War on Terror) and that the U.S. now controls Guam and Puerto Rico since the 1898 Spanish-American War. She also commented on our several regime change interventions in Latin America. My mother would have said that Blinkens speech was the pot calling the kettle black.

Media reports repeated the claim that Russias invasion was unprovoked. Dont those reporters remember the CIAs 2014 involvement in the far-right coup of Ukraines pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych? That regime change prompted the outbreak of the ongoing civil war in east Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and U.S.-backed Ukrainian military. The West ignored the 2014 Minsk II peace agreement and began arming and training Ukraines army. Germanys Prime Minister Angela Merkel admitted that Minsk II was just a way to allow time for Ukraines militarization.

Last March, Turkish President Erdogan appeared to have brokered a peace deal, but the West said no way. Now China has offered to mediate a solution and has put on the table a reasonable basis for settling, but Blinken rejected Chinas plan out-of-hand. Why does the West still refuse diplomacy? And now Chinas been threatened for considering aid to Russia. As journalist Caitlin Johnstone noted, Washington is warning Beijing with a red line against doing something that Washington does constantly, and is currently doing to an unprecedented extent in Ukraine. The U.S. sends weapons to proxy forces all over the world, including to Saudi Arabia in facilitation of its mass atrocities in Yemen, to Al Qaeda and its aligned forces in facilitation of the western dirty war on Syria, and to Israel in facilitation of its apartheid regime and its nonstop attacks on its neighbors.

Prominent voices, including Noam Chomsky, fear creeping escalation toward a nuclear war. Economist Jeffrey Sachs puts it: Neither Russia nor Ukraine is likely to achieve a decisive military victory in their ongoing war: both sides have considerable room for deadly escalation. Ukraine and its Western allies have little chance of ousting Russia from Crimea and the Donbas region, while Russia has little chance of forcing Ukraine to surrender. More weapons and munitions to Ukraine escalates violence and could lead to unintended consequences. More effective would be for the U.S. to use its influence to encourage negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

During the Iraq and Afghan wars, our governments war hawks were supported by our media, and now that is the case in the Ukraine war. Press scrutiny is light and few hard questions are asked. Rarely reported is the wars context, at least a decade of history. The U.S. and NATO assure Ukraine that winning the war is possible, rejecting the judgement of many experienced military leaders including Gen. Mark Milley who told the Financial Times last month that the war will end at a negotiating table, adding that it will be very, very difficult for Ukraine to expel all Russian forces from occupied territory.

Newspapers and other media could wage peace by calling out the unwillingness of our leaders to push for mediation or negotiations. Diplomacy, not war, is the only way to achieve lasting peace. Martin Luther King Jr. knew: The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
I often think about Ukraine  about Putins evil attack, Russias inhumane and criminal assault on Ukrainian civilians, the heroic stand of the Ukrainian people, led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the support given Ukraine by the U.S., NATO allies and others.

The war is in the news daily. Even in my leisure reading of unrelated books, I am often reminded of Ukraine.

In Pat Conroys "My Reading Life," I recently found the authors fascinating analysis of Tolstoys "War and Peace," including this on the 1812 Battle of Borodino:

Tolstoy is completely convincing when he states that this bloody and unnecessary battle marked the beginning of the dissolution of the Napoleonic era. It is Tolstoys strongly held conviction that no man knows the forces that may be set loose when an army enters the homeland of a proud enemy whose people speak a different language, dance to a different music, worship a sterner god, and do not take well to an invasion of the motherland by an arrogant enemy. If I have one certainty in the world, it is that Adolf Hitler did not read 'War and Peace' before he sent armies of the Third Reich into the heart of Russia.

I wonder if Putin ever read "War and Peace" before he launched his forces against Ukraine. Will the war against Ukraine lead to the end of the Putin era in Russia?

Reading Winston Churchills history and memoir of World War II, I am often reminded of Ukraine. Like Churchill, Zelenskyy is a strong leader, standing firmly against evil and the odds, and seeking help from others.

Churchill in the 1930s argued for a strong stand against Hitlers rearming of Germany and aggression against neighbors and later wrote that West European leaders at that time had the ability and power but not the foresight and willpower to confront Hitler and contain Germany  how the malice of the wicked was reinforced by the weakness of the virtuous.

Zelenskyy has said, The world is too connected and interdependent  to allow someone to stay aside  to feel safe when such a battle continues. To their credit, democracies have stepped forward to help.

In late June 1940, as Great Britain stood nearly alone against Hitler, Churchill said,  we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end  we shall defend our island  we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender "

Similarly, Zelenskyy has said, Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender.

Even some specific instances mentioned by Churchill remind me of Ukraine. For example, in March 1938, when Hitler launched German forces into Austria, German tanks broke down and motorized artillery had problems, resulting in a logjam on the route to Vienna. Hitler was convulsed with anger at the obvious shortcomings of his military machine, which had tarnished his unopposed grand entry into Austria. Who now can forget a year ago when Russian columns, headed to seize Kyiv and replace Ukrainian leaders, became logjammed and the Ukrainian military beat them into retreat. Putin, like Hitler, must not have been pleased.

Like Churchill, Zelenskyy has appealed for outside help. Churchill, speaking in early 1941 of Lend-Lease assistance from the U.S., then a non-belligerent, said, Give us the tools and we will finish the job. Zelenskyy has expressed appreciation to the U.S. and other democracies for their sanctions on Russia, humanitarian support of the Ukrainian population, and military armaments and other assistance. He has said, Your money is not charity. Its an investment in the global security and democracy, and  defeating the Russian invasion is in the strategic interest of other countries and preserving a world structure of principles of international security.

I close with three thought-provoking quotations:

"Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities, it went on a brutal offensive against our values, against our right to live freely in our own country, against our national dreams. Just like the same dreams you Americans have. (Zelenskyy)

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing. (I would add, or not do enough.) (quote often attributed to Edmund Burke)

all the great struggles of history have been won by superior willpower wrestling victory in the teeth of odds or upon the narrowest of margins. (Churchill)

America and others should continue their strategic support of Ukraine.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers.
TEHRAN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday strongly condemned an Israeli attack on Syria's Aleppo International Airport as a "crime against humanity."

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks in a statement published on the ministry's website, reacting to an air raid by Israel on the civil airport on Tuesday morning.

Israel targeted the city's airport, the main route for the delivery of international humanitarian aid to the Syrian city, when the quake-stricken people in Aleppo are still under tough circumstances, he said.

Slamming the attack as a flagrant case of "crimes against humanity," Kanaani regretted that some countries as well as Western and human rights organizations have remained silent in the face of continued "brutal and inhumane" Israeli attacks on Syria.

The Tuesday attack has damaged the Aleppo airport's runway and taken it out of service, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

Already heavily destructed as a result of the years-long war in Syria, Aleppo has also suffered considerable damage in the deadly earthquakes that hit southern Turkiye and northwestern Syria on Feb. 6. 
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Mavericks will bring an eclectic mix of country and rock to the FMUPAC Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as they entertain with a night of high-energy music during their first trip to the Pee Dee.

Founded in Miami in 1989, The Mavericks have celebrated much success over the years. Despite taking a nine-year hiatus from 2003 to 2012, the group reunited with the same chemistry and charisma as beforeonly this time with more experience.

The Mavericks are ushering in their newest era with the release of their first all-Spanish album, titled En Espanol.

Some of their top hits include All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down and Dance the Night Away.

The band is led by lead vocalist Raul Malo, and backed by drummer Paul Deakin, keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden and lead guitarist Eddie Perez.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 13 and may be purchased for $52/45/35. Reserve tickets at www.fmupac.org, (843) 661-4444 or at the FMUPAC Ticket Office located at 201 South Dargan Street from 12pm to 5pm Monday  Friday.
 "Recommended but Rarely Followed: Downward Departures of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines Among Child Pornography Offenders" | Main | Texas completes its fourth execution of 2023 

March 7, 2023

The Sentencing Project launches a "Second Look Network"

Regular readers should know that I am a big fan of second-look sentencing mechanisms, so I am also now a fan of a new "network" that I learned about via email today. Here is a portion of the email (with links from the original):

The Sentencing Project is excited to announce the launch of the Second Look Network! The Second Look Network is a coalition of attorneys and post-sentence advocates across the country working on behalf of incarcerated individuals seeking relief from lengthy or unfair sentences. The Network will facilitate the exchange of ideas and information between its members, and provide various opportunities for collaboration on effective litigation and mitigation strategies, host training sessions, and provide connections to experts and local policy efforts. The Network will also provide communications and media support to its members. With support from Arnold Ventures, we are proud to create such a space to fill this need for the litigation community. To help build and maintain this Network, The Sentencing Project has welcomed a Director and Program Manager to our team. Becky Feldman, Second Look Network Director Becky is a post-conviction defense attorney and came to The Sentencing Project with 17 years of litigation and reentry experience on behalf of incarcerated people serving life sentences in Maryland prisons. Leyda Pereyra, Program Manager Leyda is a social justice, equity and human rights advocate. Previously, Leyda served as an operational strategist and consultant to various campaigns that centered on health equity, economic empowerment, research and public policy through culturally responsive social justice frameworks. We welcome you to learn more about the Network here. We also invite you to review the membership criteria, and, if applicable, apply to join us as we build this community.

I have written a whole lot about a broad array of second-look ideas and related issues in a a number of article through the years. Here is a sampling of some of my major second-look related writings:

March 7, 2023 at 02:50 PM | Permalink

Comments

Obviously, the first step in any second look project a has to be to examine the laws in a given state to see what avenues ae available. My state has a very limited ability of the trial court to reduce sentences (limited to non-violent offenses in which drugs or alcohol played a role and defendant has completed treatment) and the main tool for reviewing sentences are applications for commutations (which are handled by the governor with all of the problems that would be expected as a result).

The second step is defining what should be the proper scope of any such review -- what does it take to trigger a review, who are the parties, when should it be granted. I think that many people can agree that there are some cases in which the passions of the moment lead to courts and prosecutors being stricter than, in hindsight, they should have been. But, if the remedy appears to cover too many cases (or cases which the public thinks the sentences are generally right or even too light, it will be difficult to get any such proposals adopted.

It is only once the tools are in place that individual cases can be examined. The cynic in me expects this new group to be more concerned about being "right" than the difficult task of building the political consensus needed to create potential solutions to what they perceive to be the problem.

Posted by: tmm | Mar 7, 2023 3:46:52 PM

Post a comment
HARTINGTON, Neb.  Authorities have released the identity of a man who was fatally shot last week at a work site near Hartington.

Israel Matos-Colon, 31, of Fowlerville, Michigan, died Wednesday after being shot at a tower work site near the intersection of Nebraska Highway 57 and 885 Road, approximately two miles north of Hartington.

David Phillips, 20, of Kenner, Louisiana, was arrested at the scene and faces charges of second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.

The Cedar County Sheriff's Office was called to the shooting scene, where crew members were attempted life-saving measures on Matos-Colon. He was transported to Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, South Dakota, where he died.

Investigators believe the shooting occurred during an argument between the two men.

The State Patrol continues to investigate the incident.
SIOUX CITY  Vicki Hulse doesn't remember ever receiving a certified letter from a pipeline company informing her it planned to survey her land, much less denying acceptance of it.

Had she received those letters, Hulse testified Tuesday, she still wouldn't have let survey crews onto the land she and her husband, William, own north of Moville, Iowa, and in the route of Navigator Heartland Greenway's proposed liquid carbon dioxide pipeline.

"I just feel that against my property rights as an owner they can just come on my property whenever they want against my will. ... I don't think that's right," Hulse said.

After being twice denied entry to the land, which lies in the pipeline's proposed route, last summer, Navigator sued the Hulses in August to get a temporary injunction allowing survey crews to enter the property.

The couple responded with a counterclaim that Iowa's laws giving pipeline companies the right of entry to private land to survey and examine it are unconstitutional.

Navigator pipeline lawsuit Ann Welshans, upper right, Director of Right of Way for Navigator Heartland Greenway, listens as Navigator attorney James Pray asks her a ques

District Judge Roger Sailer in October denied Navigator's request for the temporary injunction. After a quick one-day trial Tuesday in Woodbury County District Court, he'll now decide whether to grant the company's request for a permanent injunction and also rule on the constitutionality of the pipeline laws.

Navigator has applied for a state permit to build a pipeline through five states, including Iowa, that would collect carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer processors in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois, convert it to liquid form and transport it under high pressure to an Illinois site, where it would be pumped thousands of feet beneath the surface. Many Iowa landowners have refused to grant surveyors access to their land or sign easements.

Navigator depends on Iowa's law allowing surveyors the right to complete surveys if landowners don't voluntarily agree to them.

"We fall back on Iowa code that we have a right to enter the property," Ann Welshans, Navigator's director of right of way, testified. "In order to review the route and determine the feasibility of the route we need to be on the property."

Vicki Hulse Navigator pipeline Vicki Hulse stands at the gate to 151 acres of land she and her husband, Bill, own north of Moville, Iowa, near the Woodbury/Plymouth county l

Navigator agents had earlier entered the land without Hulse's knowledge and performed a civil survey, a walkthrough over the land, Welshans said.

But when a friend of the Hulse family who saw surveyors entering the field to perform biological/environmental surveys told them to leave, Vicki Hulse received a phone call from Daniel Rogers, who works for a subcontractor that facilitates the survey process with landowners.

"I told her per the letter that we have the right. She said, 'you do not, I rejected all those letters,'" Rogers testified.

Hulse's attorney, Brian Jorde, challenged Rogers' recollection of the conversation in light of Hulse's testimony that she'd never received notification about the surveys.

"How can someone reject a letter that they never received?" Jorde asked.

Navigator pipeline lawsuit Landowner Vicki Hulse, upper right, listens to a question from Navigator Heartland Greenway attorney James Pray Tuesday in Woodbury District C

Navigator attorney James Pray had showed Welshans a certified letter addressed to the Hulses and marked by postal workers that acceptance was refused. Jorde challenged the letter, stating it did not comply with a state law requiring restricted certified mail to contain the wording "deliver to addressee only" on the envelope.

Two days after Rogers called Hulse, he met her at her land with a sheriff's deputy and a survey crew. Hulse presented the deputy with a letter from her attorney stating they needed an injunction to enter the property. Rather than risk being arrested, the survey crew left, Rogers said.

Her husband in the Iowa Veterans Home with dementia and Parkinson's Disease, Hulse said she has guardianship and power of attorney to make decisions on his behalf. She said she doesn't want the pipeline running under their land, and she was upset to know surveyors had previously been there. A portion of it is farmed, but the rest is in the federal Conservation Reserve Program and is home to pheasant and pollinator habitat.

"I don't want them out there trampling on my land," Hulse said.

Navigator pipeline lawsuit Moville, Iowa, landowner Vicki Hulse flips through court exhibits Tuesday while answering questions during a trial in Woodbury District Court.

Both sides have previously filed briefs outlining their many arguments in the case. After concluding evidence Tuesday, Sailer gave Navigator five days to file additional post-trial briefs and Hulses five additional days after Navigator's deadline. He'll review the case and issue a ruling as quickly as possible after that, he said.

Navigator has filed similar lawsuits in Clay and Butler counties against other landowners who have denied access to their property. Those landowners also have filed constitutional challenges similar to the Hulses'. The Clay County case is scheduled for trial in April. The Butler County cases are scheduled to go to trial in May.

Navigator pipeline lawsuit Moville, Iowa, landowner Vicki Hulse answers a question Tuesday during a trial in Woodbury District Court. She and her husband, William, were 

The pipeline would run approximately 900 miles through 36 Iowa counties, including Woodbury, Clay and Butler counties. Other Siouxland counties include Plymouth, Lyon, Osceola, O'Brien, Cherokee, Dickinson and Buena Vista in Iowa and Dakota, Dixon and Wayne counties in Nebraska.

It's one of two carbon pipelines proposed to run through the area.

Navigator pipeline lawsuit Daniel Rogers, a subcontractor for Navigator Heartland Greenway, testifies Tuesday in Woodbury District Court. Navigator is suing Moville land
SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Council, by voting in favor of its consent agenda Monday, approved a resolution to amend the citys bike facility study to include a trail on the Gordon Drive Viaduct.

The council approved the bike facility study on Aug. 8. However, city staff prefers the single multi-use trail facility over sidewalk on the viaduct, which is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists.

The Iowa DOT wants to see an updated bike/pedestrian plan from the city to determine the appropriate accommodation, as both the city and the DOT have been working together on the planned reconstruction of the viaduct. The 3,970-foot-long viaduct, built in 1937 and improved in 1963 and 1966, is deteriorating.

Gordon Drive viaduct trail proposal Vehicles travel on the Gordon Drive Viaduct along the sidewalk on the viaduct's north side Monday. The Sioux City City Council approved amendi

Before the vote, Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore asked Senior Planner Chris Madsen to clarify the amendment.

Madsen told Moore the original proposal from the Iowa DOT is two five-foot sidewalks on either side of the viaduct.

This proposal and the citys recommendation would be one trail, ideally on the south side, that would be around 15 feet wide, Madsen said.

City staff and the Active Transportation Advisory Committee created the amendment to the bike facility study to include a trail on the Gordon Drive Viaduct. A trail connection on Cunningham Drive would connect to the Riverfront and Chautauqua trails. Last month, the citys Active Transportation Advisory Committee voted to recommend approval of the amendment.

The trail will allow also for ease of access for winter maintenance and accommodate a better bicycle connection along Gordon Drive.
SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Police Department received City Council approval Monday to submit an application for a $240,000 homeland security grant, which would fund the purchase of an armored rescue vehicle for SWAT.

Police Chief Rex Mueller told the council the Lenco G3 Bearcat Armored Rescue Vehicle would replace the surplus military truck the department currently has. He said the Lenco G3 Bearcat is "purpose-built" by a company for law enforcement use.

"Nothing that we have is bulletproof. We don't have armored doors on our squad cars. We have nothing that can stop bullets," Mueller said. "So, in the instances of barricaded gunmen, or, god forbid, we ever have an active shooter in this town, we would need a resource that would allow us to get folks out of harm's way."

Councilman Alex Watters expressed concerns over how the use and purchase of such vehicles, as well as the discussions surrounding them, are "very militaristic."

"I'm hearing rumors and discussions about that," he said. "Obviously, in that type of situation, you want a vehicle that can withstand fire, which is exactly why it would be built with militaristic capability."

Mueller said the department's current vehicle, a 6x6 MRAP (mine-resistant ambush-protected) vehicle, has only been deployed once or twice a year. He said the armored rescue vehicle would not be a military vehicle.

"That's part of the reason for seeking this. What we have is a military vehicle. It's simply a convoy truck. But, it is not well-suited. It's extremely heavy. It wasn't built for what we're using it for," Mueller said of the MRAP, which the department got free from the federal government and has been using for eight years.

Watters asked if there would be ongoing costs associated with the armored rescue vehicle. Mueller said it would require preventative maintenance.

"Most of these vehicles have a commercial-grade chassis and the manufacturer, then, converts that to what they need for it," Mueller said. "It wouldn't be anymore, probably, troublesome or costly than the vehicle that we do have serving that function."

As the biggest law enforcement agency in the area, Mueller said the department sees "a lot of benefit" to loaning such a vehicle, when available, to other agencies. But he cautioned that there is no guarantee the department will receive the grant.

"Part of any piece of equipment that we have is that we loan that to nearby agencies in the event of things happening," he said. "When South Sioux was dealing with the grain bin that was about to fall over, we loaned them equipment. We loaned them our mobile command. What the biggest agency in the area should do is support our fellow law enforcement agencies in the area."

If Sioux City were to receive the grant, Mueller said the Lenco G3 Bearcat would be the only vehicle in the department's fleet that would be armored. He said the MRAP would be released to the federal government or another agency via an agreement through the federal government.

"Were we able to get it, we would switch one for the other," he said.

In addition to the $240,000 grant, $50,000 in state asset forfeiture funds would be used to complete the purchase of the armored rescue vehicle.

$1 for 13 weeks Need a gift for the holidays? $1 gets 13 weeks of unlimited access to our E-edition as well as unlimited articles on siouxcityjournal.com, wit
SIOUX CITY  A 57-year-old Sioux City man was sentenced Monday to 56 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute meth while illegally possessing firearms.

Alden Hendrickson pled guilty in October 2022 to the meth and gun charges, according to the U.S. District Court in Sioux City. According to the court, from January 2021 through March 2022, Hendrickson and others "conspired to distribute over 6 pounds of methamphetamine in the Sioux City, Iowa area."

On March 23, 2022, the Court said that law enforcement officers purchased 42.5 grams of pure methamphetamine from Hendrickson and executed a search warrant the same day which turned up: 394.8 grams of pure methamphetamine, marijuana, $5,975, and five guns. The Court said Hendrickson admitted to meth distribution and use, which bars a person from owning guns or ammo.

Following the prison sentence, Hendrickson has to serve three years of supervised release.
Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed a bill allowing Chicago school principals to unionize and possibly go on strike. But Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, also a Democrat and in an equally liberal state, said just the other day she opposes legislation that would explicitly permit teachers to strike.

Across the country, teachers and other employees in public schools continue to struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as pressure from parents and politicians ramps up on divisive matters such as LGBTQ-themed library books and classroom discussions of racism and gender identity.

Add perennially poor pay to the mix, and the result is deep dissatisfaction among educators  and threats of work stoppages that are splitting even union-supporting Democrats.

In about a dozen states, teacher strikes are specifically legal. In the remaining states, strikes are illegal, whether by statute singling them out or in a general law aimed at public sector unions. In some of those places, illegal strikes happen with a wink and a nod to the law and a tacit agreement to use union funds to pay whatever fines are levied as punishment.

Whether such strikes are legal is contested in South Carolina and Wyoming, according to a breakdown from the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

States and cities are charged with providing essential services to the public, a free K-12 education among them. But governments recognize that if most teachers refuse to work, its impossible to keep schools running, said Jon Shelton, a democracy and justice studies professor at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, and an education unions and strikes expert.

Teacher unions can be punished for going on strike illegally, but you really cant stop them because its hard to find and replace (them), Shelton said.

The pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on teachers and other educators. During the pandemics first year or two, many educators had to teach online as well as in person, sometimes at the same time. Teachers were deputized to enforce social distancing, masking and cleanliness rules. Meanwhile, many worried about their own safety.

As a result, according to Shelton, embattled teachers have begun to feel they deserve more attention, deference and compensation. And surveys show that teachers have the respect of both students and parents, emboldening educators to ask for more.

Thats led to teachers feeling like they need more control over the workplace, he said.

Even after a series of teacher strikes across the country in 2018, a USA Today/Ipsos poll showed two-thirds of Americans supported allowing teachers to strike for higher pay, more funding for schools and better benefits. And during the height of the pandemic, other polls revealed support for walkouts because of safety concerns.

Teachers unions like to draw a connection between educator welfare and student performance, Shelton pointed out. Its bargaining for the common good.

In Illinois, that led to a drive to bring administrators  principals and assistant principals  into the collective bargaining.

A strike that ended in February in Woburn, Massachusetts, is typical of technically illegal walkouts. Teachers and other educators went on strike when they could not agree on a new contract to raise salaries. After five days of no classes, the city administration advanced a better offer, and the union approved it.

The contract increased teacher salaries by 13.5% over four years. Paraprofessionals (formerly known as teachers aides), whose salaries start at $22,621, will get a 40% raise. Because teacher strikes are technically illegal in Massachusetts, the union was slapped with $85,000 in state fines and $225,000 in city fines. Similar work stoppages occurred last year in the Massachusetts cities of Haverhill, Malden and Brookline.

A bill in the Massachusetts legislature would explicitly permit teachers and other educators to strike. State Sen. Rebecca Rausch, a Democrat, is among a group of lawmakers who introduced the legislation, which would allow public teachers and other educators to strike after six months of unsuccessful negotiations.

A similar bill garnered little attention last year, Rausch said in a phone interview, but in the wake of the Woburn strike and several others in the state, the landscape is notably different.

Were seeing a lot of change in the landscape and a lot of parent and family support in particular, she said.

But that support does not extend to Democratic Gov. Healey.

Healeys spokesperson, Karissa Hand, wrote by email that Healey  the daughter of union educators  is focused on keeping kids in school, making sure they receive a high-quality education and supporting our hardworking educators. She does not believe right to strike legislation is the solution to move forward on those goals.

Rausch said the governors stance illustrates that Democrats are not a monolith. This is a conversation starter. Its the start of a term  her first term as governor. Its a healthy debate.

Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page is optimistic that Healey can be persuaded to support educators right to strike.

She understands concerns educators have, Page said. If she meets with some of our members, I think she may see that this bill would make strikes less likely. He also noted the backing of parents in Woburn and other places as a powerful tool for teachers.

In Illinois, Pritzker appeared to need no persuading. He signed the law allowing school administrators to collectively bargain, and possibly strike under certain circumstances, without comment.

How teachers unions have changed since the 1980s How teachers unions have changed since the 1980s 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
This photo taken on March 7, 2023 shows medical equipment and other supplies donated to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) by the 23rd Chinese medical team in Lusaka, Zambia. The 23rd Chinese medical team in Zambia on Tuesday donated medical equipment and other supplies to the UTH, the biggest public hospital in the country, to help improve healthcare delivery.(Xinhua/Peng Lijun)

LUSAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd Chinese medical team in Zambia on Tuesday donated medical equipment and other supplies to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the biggest public hospital in the country, to help improve healthcare delivery.

Charles Mutemba, senior medical superintendent at the UTH, expressed his gratitude to the medical team not only for the donation but also for the training of local medical personnel, who are now able to conduct brain surgery.

"We are willing to share China's medical experience and work with Zambian doctors to help improve Zambia's medical technology," said Liu Guoyu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, noting that more extensive cooperation with the UTH is expected.

The 23rd Chinese medical team has been in Zambia for the past year and will leave this month. The 28-member team was scattered in four hospitals in Zambia's three cities. 

Charles Mutemba (L), senior medical superintendent at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), and Liu Guoyu, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, sign the handover certificate of medical equipment and other supplies donated to the UTH by the 23rd Chinese medical team in Lusaka, Zambia, March 7, 2023. The 23rd Chinese medical team in Zambia on Tuesday donated medical equipment and other supplies to the UTH, the biggest public hospital in the country, to help improve healthcare delivery.(Xinhua/Peng Lijun)
An Iowa man turned himself in to Lincoln authorities Monday morning after he allegedly stole more than $340,000 from a Lincoln trucking company as an employee there from 2019 to 2022, according to police.

Bradley Brown, 43, was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony theft by unlawful taking and felony theft by deception, Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer said.

Brown's arrest comes months after the owners of M & D Trucking told police in September that they discovered irregularities in the company's payroll and fuel purchases.

The suspected fraudulent transactions totaled $340,825.58, Vollmer said.

Brown, of Ackworth, Iowa, turned himself in at the Lancaster County Jail at about 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Ethan Zavitz Burroughs, 20, of Schleswig, was fatally injured in a single-vehicle accident March 4.

The Crawford County Sheriffs Office says that Burroughs was driving a blue 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe east on County Road E-16. His vehicle crossed the centerline, left the road and entered the north ditch. From there the vehicle traveled six to eight car lengths and struck a large tree in the ditch.

The report says that the vehicle and the man's body were found at the time of the call, but it is believed that the wreck happened much earlier in the morning. The report lists 6:33 a.m. as the time the sheriffs office was notified of the accident.

Burroughs was not wearing his seat belt, but the front airbags deployed. There was no sign of over-correcting on the highway. Two visible sets of tracks were on the north shoulder leading down into the grassy area of the north ditch.

Crawford County Medical Examiner Dr. Dennis Crabb went to the scene and ordered that Burroughss body be sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiners Office in Ankeny for an autopsy.
Dear Prudence is Slates advice column. For this edition, Rebecca Onion, a Slate senior editor, will be filling in as Prudie. Submit questions here.

Dear Prudence,

I recently went through a rough breakup with my on-and-off-again ex. Recently, my ex experienced a traumatic accident at work that left him paralyzed from the waist down. I would often travel two hours away, where he lived and was seeking recovery in the hospital, to support him. This sometimes consisted of staying at his rental home which he shares with his twin brother. His twin brother and I had established a routine of living together when I would stay over the weekends. Often sharing responsibilities at the house and even visiting his brother, my ex, in the hospital together. We even shared past experiences with our own mental health struggles with one another.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

When my ex broke it off again, I was not only devastated because I lost a boyfriend but because I felt like I lost the friendship with his brother. After some discussion, his twin brother and I decided to stay friends. To my knowledge, my ex does not know that I have remained friends with his twin brother. The twin brother and I will message each other occasionally, make plans to hang out, and I have even spent nights at the house again. In fact, we plan on getting matching tattoos. At times, I feel guilty for continuing this friendship, but I do believe that I have a right to continue it and be happy. I am worried in regards to the twin brother filling a void that his brother, my ex, left when he ended the relationship. But I do recognize that even though they are twins they are very different people.

Advertisement

Recently, I have been confused about the feelings that I have for the twin brother, do I like him as a friend or more? I am not sure. What do I do Prudence? Am I wrong to be friends with my exs twin brother? How do I know if I have feelings for the twin brother or just missing my ex?

Advertisement

Confused

Dear Confused,

I dont think you have to stop being friends with the twin brother for your exs sake. But I do wonder about the circumstances that led to this friendships formation, and whether you can perceive the nature of the friendship clearly at this point in time. It sounds like you had a long-term, volatile relationship with your ex. When you add in a serious life event like him becoming paraplegic, theres more stress, more strain, more high-key emotions. Your exs twin was the one who went through that time with you, and while that doesnt mean that the bond you feel now isnt real, it does mean that it was forged under duress. Id vote to give both twins a bit of breathing space, to see what the truth of your feelings might be, and get your feet underneath you after a stretch of time that has to have been very destabilizing.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Help! I Need a Great New Podcast in My Headphones!

The Dear Prudence podcast is back. Listen every Friday on Slate or your podcast player of choice.

Dear Prudence,

My husband and I recently had friends round for dinner, along with their 3-year-old son. Frequently, they told him not to do things (like hitting our wall, running around the house, and walking around with his food) but he still did these things. We felt so awkward because if we had been looking after him without his parents being around, we would have sat him down, explained our house rules, and outlined the consequences (like no dessert). But because his parents were in front of us, it felt out of place for us to essentially discipline him. How do we deal with this awkward situation without simply not inviting them back inside the house?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Please Dont Break Our Home

Dear Please Dont Break Our Home,

You need to disentangle what seem like some strong feelings of judgment toward these parents from your actual fear for your belongings and your home. How much of the former was there in your response, and how much of the latter? Either way, it certainly would have been out of place for you to try to discipline him. This sounds like the dinner from hell for these parents, and you stepping in to lay down the law would have only made it worse.

Then theres the fact that discipline means different things to different people. I would not, for example, use sweets as a carrot or withdrawal of sweets as a stick, because I dont want to elevate treats onto an even higher pedestal than they already occupy, and thats an increasingly common position among parents. I mention this to make the point that this is really not ground upon which you want to tread.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Also, I am not sure whether you are parents, or whether youve recently parented a 3-year-old, but for many such younger children, I cant see explaining house rules as an obvious answer to this problem. They can certainly follow rules and respond to contextually appropriate expectations. We have medium-fancy, much-beloved stereo equipment, for example, and never had to put it under lock and key while raising a small child, because we reinforced dont touchand stay way back extremely consistently. But thats in our house, an environment where our (relatively sedate and cooperative) child was every single day. Your mileage in stating new rules to a random toddler, and expecting them to follow them for one night only, will very much vary.

Advertisement

Advertisement

If you really were afraid that your walls would get marked up and your rugs would have pizza ground into them, you should not invite this family back to your house for dinner unless you have a way to make sure they wont have the child with them. It would be kinder not to put any of you (you, your friends, and the kid themselves) back in the position of having to worry about this during dinner, a time thats supposed to be relaxing. If they cant get a babysitter, maybe you could eat outdoors together at a child-friendly restaurant, or get takeout and eat it at a playground that has picnic tables, in the glorious oncoming spring. Then, the kid can wander and maraud to his hearts content!

Advertisement

Need Pet Advice?

We want to hear about your pet problems! For a special feature, let our writers give you advice for handling the unruly critters in your life. Dogs, cats, rodents, reptiles, birds, horses, exotic fishwe welcome them all. Submit your questions anonymously here. (Questions may be edited for publication.)

Advertisement

Dear Prudence,

My kids school district and daycare closed due to snow. I had to call off to my employer because I had no childcare. I dont typically call out. Maybe less than seven times in a five-year tenure. My husband makes more than double what I do and cannot miss work. He is a one-man band so missing work for him is not possible as he is the breadwinner.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

My manager shamed me for calling out. She started grilling me with questions and giving me parenting advice that I do not need. She questioned me like I was in an interrogation, mostly to make sure there were no holes in my story, asking why I dont have a backup plan. Everyone is snowed in so all sitters are unavailable. Im pretty sure she sent someone to check our driveway to see if my story adds up. I cant prove it. The company has about 75 employees. I get it, having someone call out is inconvenient. But the stress and fear that it puts on me are far worse. Can she do that? What do I do to cope with this guilt? I get paid well and looking for a new job is tedious. Telling her how I feel is not an option if I want to keep my career.

Advertisement

Snowed In Stress

Dear Snowed In Stress,

Im furious at this boss on your behalf. You are an adult and (I assume) a good employee, when the gods of weather dont throw obstacles in your path. She is not showing you that she trusts you to do whats best, and besides being annoying and uncomradely, this attitude is bad for employee retention!

Advertisement

Legally speaking, she doesnt need to cut you slack for childcare outages. If she were to, say, cut fathers more slack than mothers, or white employees more slack than Black ones, when employees find themselves in equivalent situations, that would be illegal, and could form the basis for an EEOC complaint. But if thats not the case, your recourse is only to keep an eye out for new jobs in your field, and consider applying. I know applying for a new job as a parent, when your resources are thin, is not an easy thing. But even just taking one or two steps toward investigating whats out therea search or two on LinkedIn, saymight help you feel a little better about your ability to find something new in the future.

Advertisement

Advertisement

In the meantime, absolutely, feel no guilt. Banish that guilt to a cave in the woods. This situation was not your fault.

Get Dear Prudence in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Dear Prudence,

I need some advice on how to help my mom while also not helping my mom. She has recently become very vocal with me, particularly online, about some marital troubles shes having with my dad after 30-plus years of marriage. Mostly, I think she isnt feeling seen by my dad, feels neglected and distant from him, related to some arguments about big decisions concerning retirement, etc. I dont think they would ever divorce at this point (immigrant family and they dont have much of a support system in the U.S.my mom relies on my dad entirely financially) The way my mom has been expressing these problems to me makes me uncomfortableshell send quotes via social media (think empowering woman quotes about a woman not chasing a man who doesnt love her Pinterest-style).

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I dont really feel like I can be the person to hear about my parents marital problems. I dont know how to help, and honestly dont want to be the person TO help, and I REALLY would like to stop receiving canned quotes related to how my parents dont love each other anymore. Im an adult; I wish I could be there for my mom in this regard, but I just cant. I love my dad. I know he is oblivious and my moms problems with him are rooted in reality, but I have a lot of trouble providing advice or even just LISTENING to her feelings about him. It makes me very anxious and upset. How can I help my mom, while also not being her main soundboard for these types of feelings?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Not Taking Sides

Dear Not Taking Sides,

It sounds like youve got two issues here. One: A privacy concern. Is your mom sending you these messages directly, or posting them publicly? If the latter, its uncomfortable that shes sending you these where anyone could see and figure out that shes unhappy. If you think shes unaware that her online complaints are visible to others (maybe she doesnt really have a deep, intimate knowledge of privacy settings or the way her activity shows up on public feeds), that might be worth bringing up.

Two: An interpersonal concern. Its just flat-out not your place to be her sounding board. Thats going to take a moment of boundary-setting: Mom, I dont think Im the right one to talk with you about your feelings about Dad. It makes me very uncomfortable. I dont feel like I should have to take a side. I hope she has a friend, a sibling, or a therapist to speak withsomeone whos not you. Suggest this to her, and then respond the same way, every time, when she brings this up.

Advertisement

Dear Prudence,

I moved to a new city a year ago and made what I thought were two good friends. I hadnt known them long but still sent them wedding save the dates. But then our friendship dynamic started to feel off (passive-aggressive remarks, mean girl cliquey behavior, etc.) I recently broke my leg and theyve both been completely absent. Theyll text and say what can I do to help, Ill say Id love visitors (I cant get around much with just one leg) and then they ghost. They both live 10 minutes away but havent come around once. Some other acquaintances have been really lovely, and I think Id rather stop investing in these friendships.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

But what do I do about the wedding invite? They dont have all the details yet and Id rather just not mention it. Im only having a wedding celebration so my partner and I can celebrate with friends were truly close to, and I think Id feel really used if they came and it would sour the event. But what should I do if they ask about the wedding?

Mean Girl Phobia

Dear Mean Girl Phobia,

Woof! Those girls arent it! I dont know how often you see them now, how vocal you are, or plan to be, about your wedding on social media, and whether you all follow one another online. In other words: Could there be a ghosting approach here, where the friendship fades away and you dont ever say anything about the wedding and the saved date passes under the bridge and you sail off into the sunset, getting closer and closer with these other new friends, who sound way better?

Advertisement

If thats not possible (maybe you want to be able to share about the wedding online, whichfair enough!), I fear you might need to invite them to the wedding and chalk it up to one of those things. As a wise man once wrote, there will be at least one friend at your wedding you never see again. Your wedding wont be perfectly curated, in terms of personnel. Most weddings arent.

These women are not your people. But they didnt do something super serious, like if they were longtime friends who stole money from you or revealed a big secret you begged them to keep quiet. They just turned out to be a passing fancy. Id invite them, see if they even come (they might not!), and if they do, try to downplay the significance of their presence in your mind. When it comes time to make the guest list for your next big event, they wont be on it. Oh well! It happens.

More Advice From Slate

Ive been with my fiance for five years. The first six months of our relationship were an affairI was 24 and he was 31and I found out early on that he was married, kept telling myself to break things off, but was never was able to do it. His (now ex-)wife learned about the relationship and was willing to try to work things out, but he ultimately chose to divorce her. During the initial months following the revelation of the affair, I put up with a lot of abuse from her. I knew I was in the wrong, and I did what I could not to add to her pain. But after all this time, she still hates me, and to this day I have never met the kid they had together, though my fiance sees his daughter at least once a week.
One of the few reliable truths in electoral politics is that voters like tall presidents.

The average U.S. president is about two inches taller than the average U.S. man, who is 59. Recent presidents have skewed even larger: Every president since Jimmy Carter (59.5) has been 511.5 or taller. We havent elected a president smaller than the average man in nearly 130 years, when short king William McKinley won his election.

We are a species that equates larger size with maturity, leadership and sex appeal, wrote Jay Mathews in the Washington Post in 1999. If we were like some insects, where adults are smaller than larvae, we might not think this way. But we do.

Advertisement

So it stands to reason that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is thirstily gunning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, would want to, lets say, amplify his stature. Rumor has it that the governor is around 59. His expected closest competitor in the GOP primary, Donald Trump, was, at 63, our third-tallest president, a fact he repeats to himself five times in the mirror every morning before taking a deep, restorative breath and going on to face the day.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

And the man DeSantis would have to face in the general election, Joe Biden, clocked in at 6-foot-even at his 2023 physical. (Biden measured just 5 feet, 11.65 inches in 2021, an enduring mystery that suggests either some kind of supernatural yoga practice or a White House physician with poor attention to detail.)

Advertisement

Any height is a great height to betheres no wrong way to have a body, et cetera. But Republican primary voters are not exactly known for their body positivity. Knowing this, DeSantis has adopted a signature wardrobe trick to juice his stats: cowboy boots.

Though Florida is not closely associated with rancher culture in our national mythologyand out of respect for Floridians, I will not attempt to name the things it is associated withDeSantis has paired his suits with black cowboy boots for years. At Vanity Fair, Gabriel Sherman reports that DeSantis wife, Casey, bears responsibility for the accessory, which she recommended as part of a broader glow-up after he won a seat in Congress. She bought him these dumbass cowboy boots, a former staffer told Sherman, because she thought it was part of the image.

Advertisement

The image, one imagines, is that of a man 2 or so inches taller than DeSantis.

Now, as DeSantis travels the country in preparation for his presidential bid and wages war on books and Disney in Florida, his leg-lengthening footwear is drawing greater scrutiny. The Lincoln Project recently tweeted a quip about the boots. Ron Filipkowski, a never-Trump Republican and former DeSantis appointee who resigned in protest after a state data scientist was allegedly fired for refusing to distort Floridas COVID numbers, pointed out that DeSantis mustve had a growth spurt to wind up looking the same size as 61 Tiger Woods in a February photo.

Advertisement

Wow, Ron Desantis is taller than Tiger Woods now. Mustve had a growth spurt. pic.twitter.com/AcGdcY1a38  Ron Filipkowski  (@RonFilipkowski) February 23, 2023

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Last week, a viral tweet wondered whether DeSantis shoes qualified as high heels. And a few weeks before that, the president of a Democratic Partyaffiliated PAC that produces opposition research on Republicans tweeted a series of photos of DeSantis, writing that he consistently wears high-heeled boots in order to appear taller. Republican commentators mocked the tweet, accusing the Democrat of being out of touch with everyday American working-class footwear.

Tell me youve never seen cowboy boots without telling me, read one such response.

This line of argument establishes a false binary, with high-heeled boots on one side and cowboy boots on the other, when they are actually overlapping categories. The height of a cowboy boot heel can vary from shoe to shoe, but the existence of a heel is non-negotiable: Its the thing that would hold ones foot in the stirrup of the saddle, the raison detre of the boot. (A cowboy boot would never cop to having a French-kissy raison detre, so lets call it a big-boy purpose.)

Advertisement

Of course, not every cowboy boot is as high-heeled as the ones DeSantis wears. There are plenty of options with lower, squared-off heels, but DeSantis prefers a higher, slanted heelthe kind thats better suited to riding horses. Since DeSantis was not riding a horse at any of the political events at which he was photographed wearing these boots, there is only one reason why he would choose them: because he likes the way it makes him look. The main thing it makes him look is taller.

Advertisement

Advertisement

But conservatives are unwilling to admit that DeSantis shoes are both cowboy boots and high-heeled boots. Why? Because to do so would concede the blurred boundaries of gender presentation within this genre of footwear. For people invested in the militant regulation of gender norms, heels are a fraught territory. If a 2-inch heel is attached to a cowboy boot, its Big Mac, Super Bowl, troops. If its attached to any other kind of boot, its green juice, chick lit, drag queen. DeSantis would rather sign the Green New Deal in the front row of a Dixie Chicks concert than admit that the blocky thing on the bottom of his shoe is a heel, and hell hyperventilate into his bag of decommissioned MAGA hats if you try to convince him otherwise.

Advertisement

Two presidential cycles ago, another conservative Floridian, Sen. Marco Rubio, stepped onto the wrong side of this divide. While campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination in January 2016, the senator, whom the Washington Posts well-informed Florida sources peg at 58, wore a pair of shiny heeled boots on a visit to New Hampshire. His GOP primary competitors ridiculed the femininity of the look and all had a good laugh at his expense.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Rubios heels were no higher than a cowboy boots, and they even had a similarly slanted heel. (His were technically Cuban heels, but to the untrained eye, theyre cowboy heels.) But because they lacked the stitching and shape of cowboy boots, they were cupcakes, Kesha, body glitter. Got it?

Advertisement

DeSantis and his supporters are determined to inoculate him from such associations. To admit that he cares enough about his appearance to deliberately alter it would reveal a side of him that is insecure, and thus vulnerable. There are not many socially acceptable ways for men devoted to classic American machismo to enhance their appearance (think: makeup) without compromising on their gender expression. The cowboy boot is one of them, nestled in the slender Venn diagram center of masculinizing footwear and height-augmenting footwear.

But the recent focus among DeSantis critics on his heeled footwear may do more to boost his image than to make him look desperate and vain. The more people talk about DeSantis cowboy boots, the less likely a Google search for DeSantis boots will turn up that photo of him wearing white, knee-high rubber boots in the aftermath of Hurricane Ianone of the least flattering images of a politician in recent history. In contemporary politics, its not just the shoes that make the man. Its the SEO.
Picture yourself in a dark grand ballroom of a Marriott conference center on a late-winter Saturday in business-casual dress. Youre finishing watching your 16th consecutive speech of the day, since 8:30 a.m., about the need to fight against the RINOs. You get a break and go to the atrium market, pick up a soggy chicken Caesar salad wrap, and eat by yourself on a bench. You wander around the vendor area to look at Trump apparel and investment opportunities for gold or cryptocurrency, and then take the escalator back up. Through the high-paned glass windows, you look, vacantly, at the brownish-grey Potomac River and an empty Ferris wheel. Its an uninteresting temperature outside, 47 degrees. You go back to the grand ballroom and sit for four more hours.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

You paid hundreds of dollars for this.

Youre an attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference. And this year there are a lot fewer of you.

CPAC, the regular gathering of the conservative movement, returned to the D.C. area this year after a couple of years in Florida during the pandemic. Previews of the confab focused on how CPACs star had diminished in stature on the right. In past presidential election cycles, any candidate, of any ideological leaning, would attend the gathering to prove themselves before the partys conservative base and right-wing media gatekeepers. It was at CPAC in 2012, for example, that GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney went before the judges and awkwardly described himself as severely conservative.

Advertisement

But CPAC was skippable this year for potential presidential candidatesand attendees. Major contenders, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, didnt show. (Former Vice President Mike Pence also didnt attend CPAC.) Part of the lighter attendance was the fact that the guy who runs CPAC, lobbyist and operative Matt Schlapp, is under scrutiny for a sexual misconduct allegation. But CPAC had also turned into a show for Trump, and those in the right-wing universe that make money off of him, than anything else.

Advertisement

Its a content machine for the right-wing media ecosystem, a former Romney advisor told the New York Times.

The most notable images of CPAC, then, were the ones showing what appeared to be a consistently half-empty ballroom. And what were they listening to? Well, the hard sells of investment opportunities werent just limited to shady operators in the vendors room anymore. Kimberly Guilfoyle, the conservative media personality and girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., was doing it herself off of a teleprompter.

Advertisement

But even with limited attendance from presidential hopefuls and, you know, attendees in general, did this scammier-than-usual CPAC offer any traditional news, in terms of advancing presidential-cycle plotlines? A bit.

Advertisement

DeSantis and other presidential hopefuls didnt want to show up for what was, essentially, a Trump rally. Trump certainly showed up, though, giving a 90-minute speech on Saturday. In the speech, the former president laid out themes for his 2024 run, which he dubbed the final battle.

The themesas you might expect for a battle of such finalityare pretty grim!

This was not the relaxed, riffing Trump regaling attendees about his NBC ratings or how he saw a famous persons boob in 1988. This was more of the dystopian, resentful Trump of his American Carnage inauguration speech in 2017, or his marching over to the Capitol speech before the mob invasion of Jan. 6, 2021.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

He spoke about his influence reshaping the party. We had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open borders zealots and fools, but we are never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove, and Jeb Bush, he said. We will expel the warmongers, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists, we will throw off the political class that hates our country. The country, he said, is in an epic battle against sinister forces as the nation was becoming a crime-ridden, filthy communist nightmare.

In 2016, I declared: I am your voice, Trump said. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.

Advertisement

Yeah, so not exactly a sunny, shining city on a hill view of things. Trumps campaign vision is more about, say, razing the communist city on the hill and its heathenistic cultural mores. Hes a lot more fun when hes talking about how toilets dont work anymore.

Advertisement

Trump won the CPAC presidential straw poll with 62 percent of the vote. DeSantis got 20 percent.

Speaking of DeSantis, the Florida governor now has enough hype and recognition that he can afford to miss CPAC, especially as it aint what it used to be. Those polling in single-digitswhich is to say, everyone elsecant. A half-crowd of people is still a crowd of people for them, and they needed to seize the half-opportunity.

Advertisement

Advertisement

The only other well-known candidate to have formally launched a presidential campaign, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, did put up a double-digit performance in the CPAC straw poll. Unfortunately for her, it was the CPAC vice presidential straw poll, in which she earned 10 percent. (Kari Lake, a person from Arizona who may believe shes the current governor of Arizona, won with 20 percent.)

In her speech, Haley delivered the usual fare about how the socialist Democrats just dont want to spend our money, they want to take our freedom and reiterated her call for mandatory brain testing of politicians over 75 years old. The response was reportedly tepid.

Tepid, however, seems generous, given that Haley was heckled in the hallways with chants of we love Trump! after finishing her speech.

Advertisement

Nikki Haley is getting a very warm welcome from CPAC.



Oh wait theyre yelling Trump at her  pic.twitter.com/6PuJ6606Ph  Ada Lluch  (@ada_lluch) March 3, 2023

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Not that you need to say anything about Trump for his mercenaries to shout at you while youre living your life, but what potshots may Haley have taken at Trump? One of her arguments for generational change is that Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, a line she reiterated at CPAC. This at least points to the question of Trumps electability. (Trumpand his many CPAC supporterswould likely inform you those are fraudulent numbers and he actually won the popular vote both times.)

Advertisement

Another likely presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, was a little more direct. Not only had they lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections, he said, but weve lost three elections in a row. This acknowledged that Trump lost the 2020 election.

We cant become the left, following celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics, those with fragile egos who refuse to acknowledge reality, Pompeo said.

Pompeo earned one percent in the CPAC straw poll.

In his speech, Pompeo noted that previous administrations, Republican and Democrat alike, had mismanaged the national debt. That is deeply unconservative, he said. Its a point he would reiterate on Fox News later in the weekend, implying that Trump was not a true conservative.

Its all a little odd. Why did he, or anyone else walking into Trumps lions den this weekend, think the Conservative Political Action Conference had anything to do with conservatism?
Welcome to State of Mind, a section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter.

Ive always had a soft spot for Tommy. When we met in a support group, I found it endearing that, at 26, he hadnt decided to go by Tom or Thomas instead. During his first share, I was charmed by the matter-of-fact way he stated, Welp, I dont have any friends.

A few months after we met, I made him cry when I shared something with the group: A person in the schizophrenia space who doesnt have the condition themselves had told me that there could never be a schizophrenia pride movement. They claimed that a pride movement would be counter to the goals of their advocacy. A pride movement, they seemed to suggest, might encourage us to stop engaging with treatmentas though shame is tolerable if it keeps us taking our meds.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

That was when Tommy, the only other participant with schizophrenia, started to cry. The idea that we couldnt have pride in our condition reminded him of how people reacted when he first started to experience the symptoms of schizophrenia: It was like I was dead, he said.

Tommy and I both take our medication daily, and neither of us has plans to stop anytime soon. But we both still yearn for a pride movement. It doesnt matter how effective our treatment is or how many people tell us, I never would have guessed you have schizophrenia! As though were not already aware of that fact. As though its a compliment.

We can lead normal lives, we can hold down full-time work, we can get married and have children, but every time we see a schizophrenic villain in a crime show or read a headline about a politician scapegoating schizophrenics for mass shootings, we are reminded of exactly what we are to others. Its a lifelong challenge for people like Tommy and me to separate that judgment from our views of ourselves.

Advertisement

When doctors pin the scarlet letter of a schizophrenia diagnosis on us, they tend to advise us not to get hung up on labels, saying things like I dont see you as schizophrenic and Your schizophrenia does not define you. But people like Tommy and me cant avoid getting hung up on labels when the label in question changes everything.

Advertisement

Schizophrenia is not just a disease I live withits also an inextricable part of my identity. Like many of my peers, I tried to run from the label at first, only to learn that denying it amplifies the shame and difficulty of living with one of the most stigmatized mental health conditions.

Advertisement

While there are pride days, weeks, and months for other stigmatized and misunderstood diagnoses, there has yet to be any such celebratory occasion for people with schizophrenia. Instead, we have World Schizophrenia Day, which is focused on raising awareness and reducing stigma. But World Schizophrenia Day and other events like it focus on external perceptions of our community, while a pride movement would focus on our perceptions of ourselves. Some advocates, like the person I mentioned in my support group, think a pride movement could drive people away from proven treatments. But I think it might actually inspire members of our community to overcome the denial that prevents so many from accepting their diagnosis and subsequent treatment. With any illness, the first step to recovery is recognizing you have something you need to treat. But tragically, the most common reason that 50 percent of people with schizophrenia dont take their prescribed medication is that they dont understand they have schizophrenia to begin with.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Doctors label this state of not believing ones diagnosis anosognosia, a symptom of schizophrenia in which an individual is unable to understand that they are ill. Many well-meaning doctors and caregivers give great weight to the distinction between anosognosia and denial. They argue that people with schizophrenia who dont believe theyre ill should not be blamed for this lack of understanding because its strictly a symptom of the illness and not a deficit of emotional maturity or an intentional refusal to accept the facts of ones existence.

The widely accepted, traditional approach to combating this phenomenon is to pump schizophrenic bodies full of medication with or without the individuals consent. Involuntary treatment saves lives by reducing or eliminating symptoms including anosognosia, but it can also be weaponized in illegal and traumatic ways. And its typically not a permanent solutionno matter how you feel about the ethics of long-term involuntary treatment, our legal system rarely permits its use.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Though it has its place, involuntary treatment in its current manifestation is often not enough for recovery. It does nothing to address the complex emotional state of denial, which Ive found can also be detrimental to recovery. As a result, people who have been treated involuntarily often abandon their medications as soon as theyve stabilized to the point that theyre legally allowed to do so.

Advertisement

Though medication reduced my symptoms during my onset, it still took me many months to accept my diagnosis. At several points during my 10-month-long psychotic episode, the logic of my delusions broke down, and I considered the possibility that I was experiencing psychosis. When I found myself in a psych ward five weeks after my first psychotic break, I distinctly remember contemplating that much of what I had experienced might have been delusions.

Advertisement

But I had been subjected to 23 years of societal conditioning that schizophrenics are dangerous, irredeemable leeches on society. Before my own onset, when I told others about my relative with schizophrenia, I found that they had more sympathy for me than for my loved one. Some went as far as to tell me that caregivers and family members of people with schizophrenia suffer the most.

I was not a dangerous, irredeemable leech on society, but I had internalized this understanding of people with schizophrenia, and it was much easier to fall back into my delusions than to accept my new identity. Though medication reduced my symptoms, I didnt stop believing my life was a hyperreality psychological experiment until I was finally ready to admit I have schizophrenia. Perhaps I might have come out of psychosis sooner had there been a schizophrenia pride movement to teach me not to deny but to love and accept this aspect of myself.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Theres this idea in traditional mental health advocacy that someone like me is an innocent victim of a diabolical illness. Many in this space seek to eradicate the use of language like Sally is schizophrenic or Sally is a schizophreniclanguage that equates my entire being to my schizophreniain favor of language that puts as much space between my schizophrenia and me as possible. To some, Sally has schizophrenia still doesnt go far enough, and they prefer Sally lives with schizophrenia because they find comfort in the additional distance the extra word creates between person and disease.

Though it usually strikes me as pejorative when able-minded people call me schizophrenic or a schizophrenic, it also bothers me when the many schizophrenia advocates without direct lived experiencecaregivers, family members, and doctorscorrect me when I refer to myself that way. Its ingroup language, and while its problematic to use these phrases if you havent been there, it can feel accurate if your identity has been fundamentally transformed by this diagnosis.

Advertisement

To advocates of person-first language, loving ones schizophrenic self might seem pretty radical. But there is no line between an individual and their schizophrenia.

Advertisement

My symptoms feel more like an extension of myself than elements of an alien disease. Ive described my hallucinations and delusions as Sally Littlefield fanfiction because their content is personalizedthey reflect and expand upon my greatest fears, desires, strengths, and insecurities. Psychosis is often a deeply introspective state during which Ive done the self-examination and critical thinking behind major life decisionsdecisions I havent regretted.

Forcing an artificial divide between an individual and their condition creates a slippery slope from You are not your schizophrenia to In psychosis, youre not you. If Im not me in psychosis, then what do I become? Less than a person?

Advertisement

Advertisement

During my nearly yearlong psychotic episode, that was how strangers reactions made me feel as I talked to myself on the street, shoplifted cans of wine, and smoked other peoples used cigarette butts. Perhaps this attitude is why were so often taken advantage of in psychosis: Despite stereotypes that were violent and dangerous, we are actually 14 times more likely to be the victims of violence than to be arrested as the perpetrator. Many people have implied my psychosis was so prolonged because I was too irrational, stubborn, selfish, and immature to accept helpand I wonder if they would think it was my own fault if Id been robbed or assaulted.

To put another false assumption to rest, having pride in my diagnosis doesnt mean I wont do everything in my power to avoid falling into psychosis again. Though much of my psychosis was whimsical and beautiful, I also experienced delusions so terrifying I almost took my own life just to make them stop. In addition, the more time your brain spends in psychosis, the greater the chance you will have longer and more frequent episodes. I will take medication daily for the rest of my life to prevent this gradual erosion of my sanity. But given that my schizophrenia will be with me forever, I also treasure the awe-inspiring moments of that life-defining experience.

In a world that actively disowns people like meto the point that we feel like were already dead, as Tommy tearfully put itcelebrating our schizophrenic identity can save lives in a way medication never will.

My schizophrenia is and will always be a fundamental part of who I am. Loving myself means loving my schizophrenia. Its time the healthcare system acknowledges the need for a movement to convince people with this condition of their worth, schizophrenia and all.

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.
We know for sure that his widow remarried in present-day Bratislava.

The palace with the plaque indicating that Wolfgang Amadeu Mozart gave a concert in this palace. (Source: Jana Liptakova)

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Stroll through the streets of Bratislavas historical centre and you will come across a white marble plaque, attached to the wall of the Palffy palace on Venturska Street, declaring that the six-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert here in 1762. Although the inscription presents the event as an unambiguous fact, the circumstances surrounding the musical prodigys purported appearance in Bratislava  or Pressburg, as it was then known  are rather less certain. There are some strong hints that Mozart (who was born on January 27, 1756, and died aged just 35 on December 5, 1791) did visit the present-day capital of Slovakia more than 260 years ago  but direct evidence of either his stay or his concert remains to be found.

The marble plaque (Source: Courtesy of Zuzana Godarova)

The primary source for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts only visit to Pressburg, and at the same time his only visit to the Hungarian Kingdom, are the letters of his father Leopold Mozart to his friend Lorenz Hagenauer in Salzburg and to the publisher Johann Jakob Lotter in Augsburg. Another letter was later written by 17-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself to his sister Maria Anna Mozart, where he mentions a certain Mr. Greibich, whom the learned to know in Pressburg, said Zuzana Godarova, a tourist guide in Bratislava and Vienna who specialises in music and is co-author of the very first musical guide to Bratislava.

She added that the one newspaper that might have written about the event, the Pressburger Zeitung, only began publishing two years later, in 1764.

But both Wolfgang, and Maria Anna remembered to be in Pressburg, and I can see no reason why they would invent it later, said Godarova.

But while, for some, mentions in correspondence are adequate evidence (i. e. Otto Biba, Austrian musicologist and Archive Director of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, Pavol Polak, leading Slovak musicologist and others), for others they are not enough. Historian Stefan Holcik considers the hints in these letters to be insufficient proof that the child prodigy even visited Pressburg, much less that he ever gave a concert in the city.

Above all, there is no historical document or mention in the archives of noble families that a concert was held here in which the little Mozart played, said Holcik, as quoted by the Sme daily, adding that such families recorded all kinds of everyday events and they would hardly have missed such an extraordinary event as the appearance of a prodigy.

First tour by the child prodigy
Four foreigners discuss the successes and failures of healthcare in Slovakia.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

The Na Slovensku Aj Po Anglicky podcast, with the support of Fjuzn, is continuing its series on the migrant experience with a new episode. This time we are talking about foreigners experiences with getting health insurance, visiting doctors, and how to improve the system.

For most foreigners, their very first experience with the Slovak healthcare system is gaining health insurance (a residency requirement). This first act reveals just how different the experience of seeking basic care can be for foreigners. Health insurance for foreigners from outside the EU is often more expensive and offers less coverage than that of the major state-run health insurance that other residents receive. This leaves those newly arrived in the country with difficult and costly decisions to make.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/47OBpJ4o1o51EtEG0DmWb6?utm_source=generator

As they take these important decisions on, third country migrants must also submit to a thorough physical exam. This is often a foreigners first exposure to doctors and hospitals in Slovakia. The experience can be bewildering and frightening, especially for those who do not speak Slovak. This was true for Robert from Boston, who lamented, Those nurses had no time for someone not speaking Slovak. [They] basically dragged and pushed me from one bench to another piece of equipment. It was like an alien autopsy.

Susan relies on her husband

Once a foreigner is established in the system, he or she can then begin their search for a local general practitioner. Naturally, they want to find doctors who can speak a common language, but even for those living in Bratislava, this is a tall order. Most are forced to select a doctor nearest to them, and rely on spouses or friends to serve as translators. This has prompted Sarah from the UK, who depends on her husband to attend each doctors visit, to improve her Slovak so that she may maintain some dignity and some privacy.

Unfortunately, eventually, most foreigners will need to use the services of specialists, or they may find themselves in a medical emergency. Again, speaking Slovak well can lessen the complications that arise from a lack of understanding of the system. Foreigners can be overwhelmed with the referrals process or lost in a complex of buildings full of signs in Slovak and nurses who do not have the patience to guide them.

However, once foreigners have a chance to see the doctors face to face, they discover that, despite the sometimes ramshackle appearance of the buildings, their care is mostly on par with that of other more developed systems around the world. Doctors are often well-trained and professional. Foreign patients receive the same quality of care as their Slovak neighbours, at a fraction of the cost of some western European countries. Some even prefer the care they receive here as compared with that of their rich home countries.

How to improve Slovak health care

Not that the Slovak healthcare system is without problems. Foreigners often comment on the same issues that plague Slovak patients. There is a lack of young doctors with up-to-date knowledge, and many other highly skilled doctors have left the country due to low pay and structural challenges. The system must modernise to provide optimal care, and soap in the restrooms is a good place to start.

Our guests in this episode had many other observations and recommendations that come from a variety of experiences, both personal and professional. Looking at Slovak healthcare from their eyes can offer a path to improvement that both benefits Slovaks and foreigners alike.

Guests: Navid, Robert, Sarah, and Suzanne Taylor
Experts' disagreement over Mozart's performance in Bratislava, Dutch royal couple visiting Slovakia, and the world marks International Women's Day on March 8.

Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled

Good evening. Here is the Tuesday, March 7 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

At night and on Facebook, Heger leaves OLaNO

Interim PM Eduard Heger. (Source: TASR)

Interim Slovak PM Eduard Heger announced on late Monday night that he was leaving the ruling OLaNO party. He did so in a very Matovic way: via Facebook.

On Tuesday, Heger revealed that his party is called Demokrati, or Democrats, and that several ministers have joined the party. It is not a new party.

While some observers are surprised by his decision to join a small party, others say Demokrati could win some parliamentary seats if other democratic parties join Heger's project.

Related: Former PM Mikulas Dzurinda has not given up on his ambition to create a more European Slovakia, as Michaela Terenzani explains in her weekly column.

MORE NEWS FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR

Business: EV charging stations will be produced in Martin by a US firm.

EV charging stations will be produced in Martin by a US firm. Music: Experts cannot agree on whether Mozart performed in Bratislava.

Experts cannot agree on whether Mozart performed in Bratislava. Travel: Trencin plans to turn an old bridge into an "Eiffel Tower".

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.

PODCAST FOR TUESDAY

Some doctors draw pictures, others frustrated when talking to foreigners in Slovakia

Foreigners share their experience with Slovak health care. (Source: SME - Marko Erd)

American Jeremy Hill is talking about foreigners' experiences with obtaining health insurance, visiting doctors, and how to improve the health care system in Slovakia.

Listen to his Na Slovensku Aj Po Anglicky podcast episode.

SONG OF THE DAY

Piargy

Since its release last September, Ivo Trajkov's Slovak film "The Ballad of Piargy" has won 56 awards and impressed juries at festivals in Brussels, Paris, London, Rome, New York, Milan, Hollywood, Amsterdam, Florence, and beyond.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/l4NAC4Owmrw

Listen to "Piargy", the title track to this successful Slovak film based on a story written by Slovak novelist Frantisek Svantner.

The song is sung by Veronika Rabada.

In a few lines:

Women in Slovakia earn an average of 25 percent less than men . While men's gross earnings reach an average of 1,896, women's average earnings stand at 1,407, an analysis by the Platy.sk website shows.

. While men's gross earnings reach an average of 1,896, women's average earnings stand at 1,407, an analysis by the Platy.sk website shows. Senior posts in companies in Slovakia are overwhelmingly held by men. The situation has improved marginally over the past five years, a study by the Dun & Bradstreet firm shows.

The situation has improved marginally over the past five years, a study by the Dun & Bradstreet firm shows. The Smer-Slovak Social Democracy party, led by ex-PM Robert Fico, has filed three criminal complaints with the Prosecutor General's Office against commentators Marian Lesko, Michal Havran, and Tomas Hudak.

WEATHER FOR WEDNESDAY: Overcast weather. The highest daytime temperature will range from 6C to 14C. Light wind. Scattered showers in the evening. (SHMU)

Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us.

P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Or you can complain about our work. It can help us get better, too.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/chancellor-scholz-meets-biden-trump-cpac-speech-sudan-oil-expansion-1108132735.html

Chancellor Scholz Meets Biden; Trump CPAC Speech; Sudan Oil Expansion

Chancellor Scholz Meets Biden; Trump CPAC Speech; Sudan Oil Expansion

Former President Donald Trump vows to crush Biden, purge neocons, and punish China for COVID. 07.03.2023, Sputnik International

2023-03-07T11:43+0000

2023-03-07T11:43+0000

2023-03-07T11:43+0000

the critical hour

radio

ukraine

taiwan

donald trump

cpac

tunisia

sudan

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108132588_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_4bc4f032940ec3ef8505c0bf50ed0562.png

Chancellor Scholz Meets Biden; Trump CPAC Speech; Sudan Oil Expansion Former President Donald Trump vows to crush Biden, purge neocons, and punish China for Covid.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The US claims to be considering Ukrainian pilots to train for US aircraft. Also, Germany accepts the US attack on its infrastructure and Artemovsk (Bakhmut) is falling as Zelensky holds on.Ted Rall, political cartoonist, and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss Olaf Scholz in DC and the 2024 presidential race. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz seems to have completely dismissed the allegations that President Biden spearheaded a military attack on his nation. Also, former President Donald Trump vows to crush Biden, purge neocons, and punish China for COVID. And RFK Jr is looking into challenging President Biden in the Democratic primaries.Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. The African nation is struggling to recover from an international incident in which the leader allegedly made disparaging comments about Sub-Saharan African migrants. Also, Sudan is looking to boost its ties with Moscow and increase its presence in the world's energy market.KJ Noh, writer, teacher, and activist, joins us to discuss China. A GOP senator threatened the leadership of Japan and his Twitter account was temporarily suspended. Also, the US Ambassador lectures China and claims that the US is the leader in the Pacific zone of influence.Laith Marouf, broadcaster, and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel will continue demolishing Palestinian homes. Also, the UN says that any attack on Iran would be illegal and an Israeli leader claims that Palestinian protesters planned his murder.Camila Escalante, Editor at Kawsachun News, and Latin American Correspondent at PressTV, joins us to discuss Brazil. Brazilian President Lula De Silva has intensified his push to mediate the Ukraine crisis as he conveyed that message to the President of Ukraine.Caleb Maupin, journalist, and political analyst, joins us to discuss domestic politics. Another Norfolk Southern train has derailed in Ohio. Also, we discuss the Valdai meeting and the US renewing sanctions against Venezuela.Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, joins us to discuss the Supreme Court of the United States. The court seems poised to put a halt to President Biden's plan for a limited student loan forgiveness plan.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

ukraine

tunisia

sudan

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg

Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg

radio, ukraine, taiwan, donald trump, cpac, tunisia, sudan, 
NAIROBI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya Airways on Monday launched its trafficking in persons (TIP) policy and public awareness campaign in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Hellen Mwariri Mathuka, the chief financial officer of Kenya Airways, told journalists in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the policy outlines the airline's stand and actions against human trafficking that are geared toward the elimination of the exploitation of human beings and modern slavery.

"We have invested in capacity building programs to give our employees the tools to identify and report suspected cases of human trafficking because we recognize that our employees at the airport and on flights are uniquely positioned to look out for this type of crime," Mathuka said.

She noted that Kenya Airways connects Kenya to the rest of Africa and the world through its vast network, which should only be used for good and to advance the development of Africa.

Maria Temesvari, deputy regional representative for eastern Africa at UNODC, said it provided technical support for the development of the policy that will further enhance Kenya's capacity in combating human trafficking as well as increasing the number of detections and investigations related to the vice.

Temesvari said the policy identifies the correct procedures for airline cabin crew to follow when faced with potential trafficking victims on their flights.

Kipchumba Murkomen, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Roads and Transport, said the Kenya Airways policy provides action points that have protected its systems from being misused to facilitate the transportation of human trafficking victims. 
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/enough-is-enough-braverman-launches-illegal-migration-bill-with-blast-at-labour-1108147601.html

'Enough is Enough': Braverman Launches Illegal Migration Bill With Blast at Labour

'Enough is Enough': Braverman Launches Illegal Migration Bill With Blast at Labour

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said three-quarters of those claiming political asylum after crossing the English Channel in small boats were men under 40 with enough money to pay people-traffickers

2023-03-07T13:37+0000

2023-03-07T13:37+0000

2023-03-13T11:59+0000

english channel

suella braverman

world

illegal immigration

people trafficking

yvette cooper

uk

britain

great britain

asylum seekers

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/15/1097662415_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_51fa63e921e2d2c1e8acaf7df980ffbb.jpg

Britain's home secretary has unveiled new legislation to deport illegal immigrants trafficked across the English channel with no right of appeal.Suella Braverman told Parliament the Illegal Migration Bill would honor Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge of "no half measures" in dealing with illegal immigration and people-trafficking.To jeers from the opposition benches, she said the system had to be humane but stressed that "people are dying in the channel" on overloaded traffickers' boats.Many of those immigrants were from the peaceful European nation of Albania or had come through through France, and the "vast majority"  74 percent in 2021  were adult males under 40, "rich enough to pay criminal gangs thousands of pounds for passage.""In the face of todays global migration crisis, yesterdays laws are simply not fit for purpose," Braverman insisted.Braverman said the deadly trade in human misery would not end "until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed."She confirmed that those arriving illegally would be deported to their homeland or a "third country," including Rwanda. However, those under 18, medically unfit to fly or at risk of serious harm if deported would be allowed to stay.In addition, the government would put an annual limit on the number of refugees and asylum-seekers the UK will accept through "safe and legal routes."She said illegal immigrants were abusing human rights legislation to stay in the UK after being caught, adding: "That's why this bill disqualifies illegal entrants from using modern slavery rules to prevent removal."Responding to earlier reports that the legislation would "push the boundaries" of existing treaty commitments, Braverman insisted she was "confident that this bill is compatible with international law" as "Some of the nations finest legal minds have been  and continue to be - involved in its development."Labour Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the Conservative government's plans were "Groundhog Day," repeating pledges by previous home secretaries. She accused the Tories of allowing trafficking gangs to flourish along the coast and pledged her party would act decisively to stop the stream of small boat arrivals.Braverman responded that "after five minutes of hysteria, histrionics and criticism... I've got no idea what Labour's plan is," accusing the strident opponent of Brexit of wanting unlimited immigration "by the back door." She pointed out that many Labour MPs had opposed deportations of illegal immigrants and foreign residents convicted of crimes.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/uk-plan-to-stop-people-trafficking-pushes-boundaries-of-international-law-1108142465.html

english channel

britain

great britain

rwanda

albania

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

uk, parliament, suella braverman, illegal immigration, people trafficking, asylum-seekers
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/f-16-fighters-us-and-nato-getting-bogged-down-in-ukraine-conflict-1108156881.html

F-16 Fighters: US and NATO Getting Bogged Down in Ukraine Conflict

F-16 Fighters: US and NATO Getting Bogged Down in Ukraine Conflict

Two Ukrainian pilots are reportedly undergoing simulator assessments for operating attack aircraft including F-16s at an air force base in Arizona after top... 07.03.2023, Sputnik International

2023-03-07T18:31+0000

2023-03-07T18:31+0000

2023-03-07T18:31+0000

analysis

us

opinion

joe biden

ukraine

f-16

us military aid

pilots

nato

nato expansion

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/09/14/1100999118_0:90:1024:666_1920x0_80_0_0_93b3246a50653191db458dcdaf09ef6c.jpg

If Washington decides to train Ukrainian military personnel, it will take a lot of time and effort, according to retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a former analyst for the US Department of Defense.Needless to say, two pilots would not be enough. According to the air force veteran, the USAF estimates that they would need 50-80 fourth Generation F-16s, over time, and that it would take several years to get them incorporated into a Ukrainian Air Force."By that time, I would expect there would be no active battlefield, only a smaller western oriented Ukraine responding to Russian or other airborne surveillance activities, much as we see off the coast of Alaska and Japan, for example," she remarked.In addition, the F-16 is by no means a low cost. Kwiatkowski explained that the price depends on the model and what it is equipped for, older, possibly 4th Generation, F-16s are $30 to $40 million each.According to Rasmussen, sending F-16 to the Ukrainian military in order to tip the balance of the unfolding conflict does not seem viable, unless NATO dispatches its own pilots to operate the combat aircraft.Foreign F-16 Pilots Would Lead to West's Deeper Involvement"Potential pilots could come from Poland, Norway, Romania, the US, or Morocco perhaps," suggested Kwiatkowski.Sputnik's interlocutors highlighted that the involvement of foreign pilots is fraught with geopolitical risks for the countries those military specialists originate from.Likewise, there will be a certain risk of escalation if Ukraine uses NATO airfields for launching F-16 attack missions, according to the observers."And I would think, especially if you're using, let's say, Polish air bases to take off from, that then opens up fair game for counterattacks into NATO's space," said Rasmussen. "And it's not necessarily an attack against NATO, really. Basically, NATO has thrown themselves directly into it aside just from providing arms and that just creates a very, very dangerous situation."Furthermore, "beyond risk of direct engagement in a war with Russia  that NATO members, and NATO itself, is unprepared and unequipped for  is the political and economic uncertainty of Ukraine itself, and thinking about what will be left of Ukraine to rebuild  and for the West, to invest in," highlighted Kwiatkowski.Still, she does not rule out Washington going ahead with its military adventurism. The US Air Force veteran suggested that the US may use contract pilots or artificial intelligence in order to hide traces.Biden is Ambiguous About Sending F-16 to KievUS President Joe Biden had repeatedly ruled out sending F-16 fighter jets to Kiev. Speaking to an American broadcaster on February 24, Biden said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't need F-16s now," adding that "there is no basis upon which there is a rationale" for doing this. At the same time, however, the US president made it clear that it does not mean "never."In the aftermath of Berlin and Washington's pledge to provide the Ukrainian military with Leopard and Abrams main battle tanks in January 2023, some top Kiev officials started to call upon the Biden administration to go even further and send F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine.Some US lawmakers, from both parties, joined those calls insisting that the American-made fighters could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year" in a letter which they sent to Biden on February 16.Earlier, Washington's NATO allies dropped the hint that they could supply Kiev with the US-made fighters, as per Zelenskiys most senior adviser Andriy Yermak. He particularly referred to Poland, which, however, was careful to emphasize that it would act in full coordination with its NATO allies. French President Emmanuel Macron said that "nothing is excluded in principle" while referring to potential deliveries of fighter planes to Ukraine, but warned against further escalating the conflict.Russia has repeatedly warned NATO countries against getting involved in the Ukraine conflict via the supply of weapons to the Kiev regime. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has recently reiterated that any cargo that contains weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. The Kremlin also pointed out that flooding Ukraine with weapons is prolonging the conflict, increasing the number of civilian casualties and disrupting the prospects of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. Lavrov particularly stated that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, "including not only through the supply of weapons, but also through the training of personnel (...) on the territory of the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries."In the wake of the reports that two Ukrainian pilots are being evaluated for skills with attack aircraft in the US, the White House specified that it still does not plan to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/shoigu-natos-increased-arms-supplies-to-kiev-regime-dont-lead-to-ukraines-success-on-battlefield-1108142710.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230306/live-updates-air-defense-triggered-in-russias-belgorod-region-one-person-wounded-says-governor-1108078232.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230228/top-democrat-says-f-16s-for-ukraine-not-wise-use-of-resources-1107881067.html

ukraine

russia

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Ekaterina Blinova

Ekaterina Blinova

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Ekaterina Blinova

ukrainian pilots evaluated for us attack aircraft, f-16 fighters, biden ruled out sending f-16s to ukraine, how long does it take to train an f-16 pilot, us military aid to ukraine, nato military support to ukraine, nato direct involvement in ukraine conflict, russia warns nato against direct involvement in ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/four-kidnapped-americans-found-two-dead-one-wounded-mexican-authorities-say-1108153686.html

Two Out of Four Kidnapped Americans Found Dead, One Wounded, Mexican Authorities Say

Two Out of Four Kidnapped Americans Found Dead, One Wounded, Mexican Authorities Say

Mexican authorities said on Tuesday that two of the four US citizens who had been kidnapped by armed men in the border city of Matamoros on Friday had been found dead.

2023-03-07T15:47+0000

2023-03-07T15:47+0000

2023-03-07T15:48+0000

americas

mexico

kidnapping

us citizens

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108135051_0:146:3125:1903_1920x0_80_0_0_f9069a3110515b4a8f5ab16b29f5d81e.jpg

"Two of them are dead, one person is injured and the other is alive," Americo Villarreal Anaya, the governor of Mexicos Tamaulipas state, told reporters. He did not say which were alive or dead, or give any other details about finding them.Latavia Tay Washington McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas, on Friday, and quickly came under weapons fire. The four were a tight-knit group of friends who drove from South Carolina so McGee could receive a medical procedure.The US State Department has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for US citizens thinking of going to Tamaulipas, warning of the dangers posed by crime and kidnapping.

americas

mexico

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Fantine Gardinier

Fantine Gardinier

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Fantine Gardinier

americans kidnapped in mexico, four americans kidnapped in mexico
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/french-unions-protest-against-macrons-pension-reform-1108136039.html

French Unions Protest Against Macron's Pension Reform

French Unions Protest Against Macron's Pension Reform

Nationwide strikes and protests will likely paralyze French infrastructure. Transport minister Clement Beaune claims that Tuesday will be "one of the most difficult days we have seen."

2023-03-07T13:03+0000

2023-03-07T13:03+0000

2023-03-07T13:03+0000

world

france

protests

mass protests

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/15/1106553194_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_664a6b0b502f4b96806ad554a92fcbe2.jpg

Sputnik is live from Paris, where French trade unions demonstrate against controversial pension reforms again.The draft for the reform was unveiled in January by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, as the government planned to adopt it in 2023. Under the initiative, French authorities intend to gradually rise the retirement age in the country by three months a year from September 1, 2023. By 2030, the retirement age will reach 64.The reform has caused a wave of protests in French society. Since Borne's announcement, five nationwide demonstrations against the reform have already taken place. The most remarkable, which were held on January 19 and 31, gathered over a million people across the country. The reform plan was also criticized by prominent French politicians, including former president Francois Hollande, who dubbed it "unfair and brutal."Follow Sputnik's live feed to find out more!

france

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

French trade unions protest against pension reforms French trade unions protest against pension reforms 2023-03-07T13:03+0000 true PT297M11S

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

macron pension reform, protests erupt in france, unfair pension reform, france strikes, france against macron
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/from-tiktok-to-chinese-sranes-what-else-is-there-that-us-is-not-afraid-of-1108146710.html

From TikTok to Chinese ranes, What Else is There That US is Not Afraid of?

From TikTok to Chinese ranes, What Else is There That US is Not Afraid of?

Recently, some American politicians have one more concern. They worried that giant Chinese-made cranes operating at American ports could become hidden spying tools for China.

2023-03-07T12:30+0000

2023-03-07T12:30+0000

2023-03-07T12:30+0000

americas

us

us-china relations

paranoia

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108146501_0:23:1200:698_1920x0_80_0_0_d64cd9c2e4e6b3356b4e519e967aeca9.jpg

This absurd claim, which fits the narrative style of American science fiction movies, is not only baseless but also typical of paranoid thinking. It's unbelievable that the US, as a superpower, could be scared by cranes at ports and imagine them as spying tools.From Huawei to TikTok, from balloons to cranes, American politicians' hysteria over so-called national security is becoming increasingly perverse. Observers suggest that if American politicians are really so afraid of "Made in China," they should take off all their clothes and run naked together. After all, the clothes that many Americans wear, even if not made in China, are made of fabrics provided by China or manufactured with equipment from China. How can US politicians dare to wear clothes made in China when they are afraid of a crane at a distant port? Is the next step, in the minds of these politicians, to spread rumors that Chinese clothes have gene-level surveillance that will threaten national security? It is precisely because of their excellent performance and reliable quality that Chinese products, including giant cranes, are widely used around the world. US government officials and media outlets, in fact, know this well, yet they are deliberately downplaying it to suit their own interests.The intention behind such absurd, pathological and irrational hype is very clear - to hijack domestic and foreign public opinion with the collaboration of media and politicians, thus creating an unfriendly, extreme and confrontational environment toward China. This is to ensure that when US politicians implement tough policies against China, they can sustain long-term support and recognition both domestically and internationally. In fact, the emergence of such remarks also exposes the anxiety of US politicians about the decline of their own national strength. Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told the Global Times that a country can have legitimate national security concerns and maintain reasonable sensitivity to national security. However, the US today blames all its backwardness and shortcomings on others, thereby failing to reflect on itself but carrying out malicious attacks against others hysterically. This is a manifestation of the decline of US hegemony. Washington has sensed its declining hegemony and thus taken preventive action against challengers.Washington's hyper-vigilance makes Chinese people wonder how the US has come to such a state. This is not just anxiety; it is a kind of persecution delusion, a form of excessive paranoia.Perhaps what the US needs now is some kind of collective calming therapy.Ironically, from Huawei to cranes, Washington has been enjoying the benefits of affordable and quality Chinese manufacturing but has never stopped seizing any opportunity to play the "China threat card." Not only does it hype up security threats from China, it also continuously pressures its allies to stop using Chinese equipment.The US has always been like this: enjoying the benefits while letting others bear the cost or consequences. The situation with the Nord Stream pipelines makes it clear that other countries suffer while Washington benefits. The US' strategy of sacrificing other countries to meet its own needs is a selfish approach. One must remain vigilant and avoid being used or treated as Washington's pawn.In addition, American politicians's unwarranted concerns about Chinese cranes are clearly lacking in actual basis.He noted that if all normal market competition is viewed by Washington as a security threat, then it will ultimately suppress the US' own innovation and progress.This article originally appeared on Global Times.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230305/not-by-balloons-alone-us-officials-worry-chinese-port-cranes-could-spy-on-american-cargo-1108074200.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230301/buildup-for-war-us-spins-covid-lab-leak-narrative-to-pin-blame-on-china-1107899842.html

americas

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

us bloating chinese threat, us exploits alleged chinese threat, us anti-china bias, american anti-choina paranoia
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/global-study-reveals-theres-no-place-on-earth-you-can-be-fully-safe-from-deadly-air-pollutants-1108134506.html

Global Study Reveals There's No Place on Earth You Can Be Fully Safe From Deadly Air Pollutants

Global Study Reveals There's No Place on Earth You Can Be Fully Safe From Deadly Air Pollutants

A team of scientists conducted a meta-study of daily levels of PM2.5 in different parts of the world over the 2000-2019. Only 0.001% of the global population live at levels, considered safe by WHO standards, study reports.

2023-03-07T03:58+0000

2023-03-07T03:58+0000

2023-03-07T03:57+0000

science & tech

earth

pm2.5

pollution

world health organization (who)

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108133413_45:0:1263:685_1920x0_80_0_0_061f5d099a496ab119b1cebbfd7e844d.png

A team of scientists led by professor Yuming Guo, from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, conducted a meta-study of daily levels of particulate matter in different parts of the world over the 2000-2019 period. It found that only 0.001% of the global population live at PM2.5 levels, which is considered safe by WHO standards.In order to conduct the study properly the research team used data from a wide range of sources, such as:Researchers have identified patterns of PM2.5 change that are specific to the respective periods of different macro-regions:New 2021 WHO guidelines limit state that in 2019 only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population had concentrations lower than the annual limit.The professor noted the importance of the study, since "it provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impacts on human health. With this information, policymakers... and researchers can better assess the... health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies."The study, named "Global estimates of daily ambient fine particulate matter concentrations and unequal spatiotemporal distribution of population exposure: a machine learning modelling study," was published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

earth

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Egor Shapovalov

Egor Shapovalov

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Egor Shapovalov

pm2.5, pm2.5 levels, air pollution in different earth regions, how polluted is the air in different regions, latest air pollution studies
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/greek-railroad-workers-extend-strike-by-48-hours-after-deadly-train-crash-1108136850.html

Greek Railroad Workers Extend Strike by 48 Hours After Deadly Train Crash

Greek Railroad Workers Extend Strike by 48 Hours After Deadly Train Crash

Greek railroad unions have extended by 48 hours the strike launched on March 2 because of the recent train accident that killed at least 57 people, the Greek Federation of Railway Employees (POS) said.

2023-03-07T07:22+0000

2023-03-07T07:22+0000

2023-03-07T07:22+0000

world

greece

train collision

strike

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/01/1107886623_0:257:2731:1793_1920x0_80_0_0_7d435c63ec9248f102daa7a92907f8da.jpg

Last week, a passenger train collided with a freight train near the city of Larissa. The passenger train had switched to the freight train's lane before the accident, which brought them both on the same track and resulted in a head-on collision. POS stated that it held a meeting with newly appointed Greek Infrastructure Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on Monday reaffirmed its demands that railways in the country be safe and reliable. In response, the minister pledged to announce appropriate measures in coming two-three days. The representatives of the union are expected to meet with the minister once again on Friday, according to POS. Initially, the strike was launched on March 2 and expected to last 24 hours, but have been repeatedly extended since then.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230306/new-audio-reveals-greek-station-manager-told-driver-to-pass-red-signal-moments-before-crash-1108128262.html

greece

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

deadly train crash in greece, protests in greece, train accident in greece, train derailment in greece, unions strike in greece
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/gunmen-kidnap-four-us-citizens-in-mexico-by-mistake-1108135374.html

Gunmen Kidnap Four US Citizens in Mexico by Mistake, Report Says

Gunmen Kidnap Four US Citizens in Mexico by Mistake, Report Says

Investigators believe that members of a Mexican cartel abducted the Americans after they arrived in the city of Matamoros allegedly to buy medicine.

2023-03-07T05:39+0000

2023-03-07T05:39+0000

2023-03-07T05:45+0000

us

mexico

gunmen

citizens

police

investigation

americas

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108135051_0:146:3125:1903_1920x0_80_0_0_f9069a3110515b4a8f5ab16b29f5d81e.jpg

US and Mexican authorities have launched probes into "a case of mistaken identity" after four American citizens were assaulted and kidnapped in north-eastern Mexico late last week.Mexican President Lopez Obrador said on Monday that his "whole government is working on spotting the four, who have yet to be identified.The statement came after a US media outlet cited an unnamed source as saying that the missing Americans are believed to have been targeted by mistake and were not the intended victims.According to investigators, a Mexican cartel apparently mistook the four for Haitian drug smugglers after the Americans arrived in the border city of Matamoros for purported medical procedures last Friday.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has meanwhile said that President Joe Biden had been informed of the situation, and that that the White House was "closely following" the developments.The US State Department earlier issued a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory for those American citizens who plan to visit the Mexican state of Tamaulipas where Matamoros is located, citing crime and kidnapping. According to US government estimates, hundreds of thousands of Americans cross the border into Mexico annually to receive healthcare services, including prescription drugs. Most of them cite cheaper costs as the most common reason to get treatment in Mexico.

mexico

americas

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg

Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Oleg Burunov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/09/0b/1080424846_0:0:2048:2048_100x100_80_0_0_3d7b461f8a98586fa3fe739930816aea.jpg

a police probe into abduction of four us citizens in mexico, a case of mistaken identity, an assault on four us citizens in mexico
UN Stands Ready to Mediate in Potential Talks to Demilitarize Area Around ZNPP - Guterres

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday offered the world body's mediation services in potential talks to demilitarize the area around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.

"Safety and security around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is also vital. I believe that a possible mediation to seek the full demilitarization of the area, while ensuring that the plant can return to normal operations, would also be important," Guterres told reporters.

Guterres also emphasized the importance of continuing exporting grain and fertilizer from Ukraine and Russia to ensure food security as well as affordable food prices around the world.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/no-one-size-fits-solution-to-replace-russian-gas-in-european-markets-says-petronas-executive-1108132894.html

'No One Size Fits Solution' to Replace Russian Gas in European Markets, Says Petronas Executive

'No One Size Fits Solution' to Replace Russian Gas in European Markets, Says Petronas Executive

There is no single solution to replace Russian gas on the European market, Petronas Chief Operating Officer Adnan Zainal Abidin told Sputnik, on the margins of the CERAWeek conference.

2023-03-07T01:23+0000

2023-03-07T01:23+0000

2023-03-07T01:23+0000

economy

russia

europe

gas market

petronas

ceraweek conference

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/03/1106007427_0:8:3617:2042_1920x0_80_0_0_7303bcbbaf0cf87ffbff2094e4c669ab.jpg

The Petronas COO added that he is unsure how high oil and gas prices will rise to by the end of the year amid the Ukraine conflict, but added that high prices are not sustainable.After Russia began its special military operation in Ukraine, the West actively searched for ways to limit Moscows energy-related income, notably from oil and gas. The effort culminated with a $60 price-cap imposed by G7 member states and Australia on December 5.In response to the price cap, Moscow banned the supply of Russian oil and petroleum products if contracts directly or indirectly provide for a price cap, in a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin in late December.Moreover, the Ukraine conflict also stopped the flow of Russian gas to Europe, which led to a spike in gas prices for the energy and shortages that the United States is trying to help alleviate through liquefied natural gas exports.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230303/lavrov-russia-will-not-allow-west-to-blow-up-any-more-gas-pipelines-1107973280.html

russia

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

russian gas, europe gas market, ceraweek conference, petronas chief operating officer adnan zainal abidin
HARARE, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government will begin a 20-day physical mapping exercise on March 12 to identify locals who wish to be helped in relocating from neighboring South Africa before their special work permits expire on June 30.

About 180,000 holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP), which allowed them to work in South Africa under a special dispensation, will have to return home at the expiry of the permits unless they acquire special skills visas that qualify them to stay on.

These are part of an estimated 800,000 Zimbabweans staying in South Africa, most of them illegally and surviving on menial jobs where they are often taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers.

A public notice, issued on Monday by Zimbabwean Ambassador to South Africa David Hamadziripi, said the government would help repatriate its nationals who wanted to voluntarily leave the country, as had been previously announced.

"The Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe in South Africa wishes to recall its announcement on 2 February, 2023, that the Government of Zimbabwe has taken a decision to assist and facilitate the repatriation of its nationals, holders of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits, who voluntarily wish to return home before the expiry of their permits on 30 June, 2023," the notice said.

"In that regard, an in-person/physical mapping exercise will be undertaken across all the provinces of South Africa from 12 to 31 March, 2023, to identify and register ZEP holders and their dependents who may require assistance or facilitation to return to Zimbabwe," the notice said, giving locations where the exercise would be done.

Initially, the permits were to expire on Dec. 31, 2022, but the South African government extended them to the end of June to allow holders to apply for mainstream work permits.

However, there have been reports that the number of applicants has remained low because the Zimbabweans are not sure that they can convince the authorities to keep them in the country.

One of the affected Zimbabweans said he would definitely be returning home in June because he did not possess a special skill that would qualify him for a work visa.

"Also, employers must show proof that they are paying you a salary that is in line with the standard one, for example, for a teacher. To avoid this, companies have to apply for waivers for employees. It is a complicated process," said the Zimbabwean who declined to be named.

Zimbabweans and other foreigners have often come under attack from xenophobic South Africans who allege that they are stealing their jobs. 
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/norfolk-southern-unveils-safety-plan-after-another-train-derails-in-ohio-1108133837.html

Norfolk Southern Unveils Safety Plan After Another Train Derails in Ohio

Norfolk Southern Unveils Safety Plan After Another Train Derails in Ohio

US rail giant Norfolk Southern announced a series of safety measures on Monday after a train derailed in Ohio over the weekend, the second such incident in the state within a month.

2023-03-07T02:58+0000

2023-03-07T02:58+0000

2023-03-07T02:57+0000

americas

norfolk southern railroad

east palestine

us

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/19/1107790172_0:150:2881:1770_1920x0_80_0_0_a0c174d804f531697315320590a64513.jpg

Earlier in the day, the US National Transportation Safety Board said it is deploying a team of federal investigators to probe Saturday's 20-car derailment of a Norfolk Southern freight train near Springfield, Ohio. The incident comes about a month after a catastrophic derailment leaked toxic chemicals into the air and water in East Palestine, Ohio. The new safety plan is largely focused on enhancing its network of hot bearing detectors. Overheated bearings were identified by investigators as one of the root causes of the East Palestine crash. The Senate plans to convene a hearing on Thursday to grill Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, top US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, as well as local heads of sanitation and emergency services departments. On Sunday, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director Anne Vogel said there was no release of chemical or hazardous material to the soil, air or water after the crash in Springfield. The NTSB said it has not determined the cause of the crash. 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. Despite repeated assurances that the air and water are safe, residents in the area 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 in mid-February that approximately 3,500 fish had died in waterways near the train derailment site.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230303/report-railcar-that-overheated-in-east-palestine-crash-was-owned-by-lessor-not-railroad-1107997550.html

americas

east palestine

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

norfolk southern, ohio, east palestine, train derailment
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/report-us-special-forces-looking-to-tap-deepfake-tech-to-influence-foreign-populations-1108160392.html

Report: US Special Forces Looking to Tap Deepfake Tech to Influence Foreign Populations

Report: US Special Forces Looking to Tap Deepfake Tech to Influence Foreign Populations

Deepfakes were popularized in 2017. They use machine learning to paste the face of an individual onto another person's body in a realistic way. It is typically used for entertainment purposes and pornography.

2023-03-07T22:49+0000

2023-03-07T22:49+0000

2023-03-07T22:48+0000

military

deepfakes

mass surveillance

propaganda

misinformation

us special operations command (socom)

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107920/50/1079205059_134:0:1786:929_1920x0_80_0_0_477bb3f320e2d883f8e0db4c5c2e9b00.jpg

The US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is asking companies to develop technologies that will allow them to create realistic deepfakes and hack internet-connected devices allowing them to spy on foreign populations to determine what kinds of propaganda are the most effective.This comes as US politicians and officials clutch their pearls over alleged Chinese spying through social media apps like TikTok and warnings that deepfake technologies pose an existential threat to democracy.The requests for bids from private companies come from a procurement document published by the Intercept. It includes a wishlist of what the outlet describes as next-generation toys for special forces commandos. In addition to hacking and deepfake technologies, the document also requests bids for technologies including robots, holograms, lasers, directed energy and electromagnetic warfare and other technologies that would not be out of place in a Sci-Fi action film.It is standard procedure for the US government and military to award contracts to private businesses for development. What makes this disclosure unique is that it represents the first time a government openly requested that deepfake technologies be created for offensive purposes.Meanwhile, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Pentagon have been spending tens of millions of dollars to detect deepfake technology. At a 2018 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) called deepfake technologies the next wave of attacks against America and Western democracies.The National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2021 also mentioned deepfake technologies as a threat, directing the Pentagon to perform an intelligence assessment of the threat posed by foreign government and non-state actors creating or using machine-manipulated media (commonly referred to as deepfakes). And in 2020, it was reported that SOCOM itself was developing deepfake technologies.But in October the Pentagon procurement document was updated to include a new section: Advanced Technologies for Use in Military Information Support Operations (MISO). Military Information Support Operations is a term used by the Pentagon to describe propaganda.It requests technologies be created for influence operations, digital deception, communication disruption, and disinformation campaigns at the tactical edge and operational levels, including the ability to provide a next-generation of deepfake or other similar technology to generate messages and influence operations via non-traditional channels in relevant peer/near peer environments.In plain language, SOCOM wants to spread disinformation using deepfakes, presumably of military or political leaders, to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt among foreign populations.Using deepfake videos to influence global events has been attempted before. Shortly after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine, a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordering his troops to surrender appeared online. Although the video was not very advanced and was quickly debunked, its creation created a stir about the dangers of such technology.Essentially, SOCOM is asking for the ability to listen to a foreign populations everyday conversations to create targeted advertising or propaganda, including deepfake technology, to get the population to believe and think what SOCOM wants them to believe.If created, it would be a data gathering operation that would make the likes of Google and Amazon blush.This is while the US and Canadian governments are accusing China of using TikTok to spy on and influence their citizens. But while TikTok is an app limited to the phones of those who choose to install it, SOCOM wants the ability to listen in on conversations from any internet-connected device. The document also requests technologies that will help it enable MISO to craft and direct influence operations and messages in relevant peer/near peer environments, e.g. spread their propaganda online in a clandestine way.However, that is something SOCOM has already been doing. In December, it was reported by the Intercept that SOCOM convinced Twitter to allow it to set up a network of sham accounts designed to spread misinformation, including that the Iranian government was harvesting the organs of Afghan civilians.Rules for thee, not for me it seems, is the US governments policy surrounding deepfake technologies, online misinformation campaigns and mass surveillance.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220115/people-cant-distinguish-deepfake-from-real-videos-even-if-warned-in-advance-study-says-1092275613.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/us-senate-to-consider-new-bipartisan-bill-to-empower-biden-to-act-against-tiktok-media-reports-1108132267.html

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Ian DeMartino

Ian DeMartino

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Ian DeMartino

socom uses deepfakes, us government deepfakes, deepfakes to spread fake news, misinformation, propaganda
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/riddle-me-this-egyptian-archeologists-unearth-smiling-sphinx-with-roman-emperors-face-1108140410.html

Riddle Me This: Egyptian Archeologists Unearth Smiling Sphinx With Roman Emperor's Face

Riddle Me This: Egyptian Archeologists Unearth Smiling Sphinx With Roman Emperor's Face

The finding is much smaller than the famous Sphinx near the Pyramids of Giza, which is roughly 20m.

2023-03-07T11:39+0000

2023-03-07T11:39+0000

2023-03-07T11:39+0000

science & tech

egypt

history

ancient rome

ancient egypt

sphinx

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107580/31/1075803179_0:14:1601:914_1920x0_80_0_0_3c9af409d55b5d95fd613ed2942453d7.jpg

A team of archeologists in Egypt has discovered a statue of a smiling sphinx with the face of Roman Emperor Claudius, who expanded Pax Romana to Northern Africa during his rule from AD 41 to 54. Researchers from Ain Shams University lead by Mamduh al-Damati - former Egyptian minister of antiquities  described the statue as "beautifully and accurately carved." They also unearthed a Roman-era stone slab with demotic and hieroglyphic inscriptions.These artifacts were discovered during archaeological excavations east of the temple complex of Dendera. The nearest of the excavated temples was consecrated to the Goddess Hathor  the patron of the sky and a consort of major Egyptian deity Horus.While historians believe that the sphinx has the face of Emperor Claudius, this fact must be double-checked during further research.A sphinx - a mythic creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle - is one of the most ancient symbols of Egypt, alongside the pyramids. It is notorious for its riddles, being the epitome of wisdom.Emperor Claudius was a Roman ruler who conquered several new regions and carried out major economic and administrative reforms in Rome.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220123/archeologists-uncover-two-giant-sphinxes-built-3300-years-ago-1092457837.html

egypt

ancient rome

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sergey Lebedev

Sergey Lebedev

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sergey Lebedev

sphinx, ancient egypt, archeology, emperor claudius, smiling sphinx
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/swedish-foreign-ministry-vows-not-to-host-nuclear-weapons-in-country-after-joining-nato-1108161708.html

Swedish Foreign Ministry Vows Not to Host Nuclear Weapons in Country After Joining NATO

Swedish Foreign Ministry Vows Not to Host Nuclear Weapons in Country After Joining NATO

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom on Tuesday pledged not to deploy nuclear weapons in the country after Sweden joins NATO, following the example of other Scandinavian states.

2023-03-07T22:56+0000

2023-03-07T22:56+0000

2023-03-09T19:18+0000

world

sweden

nato

nato expansion

nuclear weapons

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108161560_0:161:3067:1886_1920x0_80_0_0_79f992ba2342d125276fda32f8a13b31.jpg

"No, it will not," Billstrom said, responding to a related question from the Swedish newspaper.The Swedish government will "follow what the other Nordic countries have said," the minister noted, referring to Norway and Denmark, which, as an exception, also do not host nuclear weapons of any third power, according to the report.On February 11, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said that Stockholm was going to pursue a policy aimed at a deeper military integration with NATO amid the country's problematic accession into the alliance.All NATO allies but Turkiye and Hungary have approved and ratified the accession of Sweden and Finland to the bloc. Turkiye has accused Stockholm and Helsinki of supporting "terrorists", referring to supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. After a controversial Quran-burning incident in Sweden earlier this year, Turkiye asked NATO allies if Finland's application can be approved separately.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230211/finnish-president-believes-helsinki-stockholm-will-join-nato-by-july-1107338974.html

sweden

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

sweden, nato expansion in sweden, will sweden deploy nato nuclear weapon, nuclear weapon in europe, what are the swedish concerns about nato
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/uk-plan-to-stop-people-trafficking-pushes-boundaries-of-international-law-1108142465.html

UK Plan to Stop People-Trafficking 'Pushes Boundaries of International Law'

UK Plan to Stop People-Trafficking 'Pushes Boundaries of International Law'

More than 45,000 people reached the UK illegally in overloaded small boats across the English Channel in 2022. Another 3,000 have already been trafficked this year despite harsh weather conditions.

2023-03-07T11:47+0000

2023-03-07T11:47+0000

2023-03-07T11:49+0000

uk

world

britain

great britain

suella braverman

people trafficking

illegal immigration

english channel

europe

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/12/1097429843_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_7683009d06e78b684b8b923a77b91578.jpg

The British home secretary has said the plan to crack down on the deadly cross-channel trade in human misery "pushes the boundaries of international law."Suella Braverman will unveil proposed new legislation to human trafficking and the ongoing migrant crisis later on Tuesday.It will include changing immigration laws to prevent those taking illegal routes to British shores from claiming political asylum or from appealing against deportation orders using human rights law.Those caught making illegal crossings would be deported to a third country and forbidden from returning to the UK or applying for citizenship.Braverman will reportedly ask for the new rules to apply immediately to prevent traffickers using the remaining window of opportunity to rush as many victims across the English channel in dangerously overloaded small boats  where many will end up in below-minimum wage jobs, organized crime or even prostitution.But former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland said the new policy would not step outside current international agreements.Abandoning those conventions would create "a bit of a free for all for everybody to try and do their own thing"  as other European countries are also struggling to halt people-trafficking.However, the government is also planning to take advantage of the UK's formal exit from the European Union to overhaul and slim down human rights laws.Buckland said he would examine the new legislation to make sure it contained exemptions for anyone "who clearly is coming for the right reasons to be able to seek asylum here in the UK"  giving examples of those fleeing war, among others.The former minister admitted there had been "a lot of over-promising and under-delivering" on the issue from a string of Conservative governments, but that new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was right in taking things "one step at a time" and focus on initiatives like the recent deal with France "to avert the problem from reaching the Channel in the first place."Nearly 3,000 people have already made the perilous crossing of the freezing, treacherous waters since the start of this year. At least 45,728 are estimated to have arrived by the same route in 2022, a large proportion of them from the peaceful European country of Albania. Many are being housed in hotels, while others are in reception centres described as overcrowded and squalid.At least 27 people drowned in November 2021 when a traffickers' boat capsized in the channel. Another 59 died in a similar incident off the Italian coast in February this year.Opposition parties and refugee NGOs have already condemned the government's plan as both inhumane and impractical before the legislation has been launched."There has got to be action that goes after the criminal gangs and overhauls the asylum system and also gets a new agreement with France," she added. "We need a serious plan, not just more headlines."Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, accused the government of shattering "the UK's long-standing commitment under the UN Convention to give people a fair hearing regardless of the path they have taken to reach our shores," adding that the plan was "unworkable, costly and won't stop the boats."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230305/sunak-promises-no-more-migrant-boats-as-new-law-set-to-be-announced-next-week---1108031269.html

britain

great britain

english channel

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png

uk, people trafficking, illegal immigration, english channel, suella braverman, human rights
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/us-china-trade-shrinks-by-174-in-january-february-barely-surpassing-100-bln-1108136286.html

US-China Trade Shrinks by 17.4% in January-February, Barely Surpassing $100 bln

US-China Trade Shrinks by 17.4% in January-February, Barely Surpassing $100 bln

Trade between the United States and China decreased 17.4% to $101.847 billion in the first two months of 2023, the data provided by the Chinese General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday.

2023-03-07T07:56+0000

2023-03-07T07:56+0000

2023-03-07T08:03+0000

asia

trade

us

china

russia

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/03/07/1108136688_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_6fc03c9d0f3291223f9af105456a6329.jpg

Despite the downturn in trade, the United States remained in the top three of China's leading trading partners, along with ASEAN and the European Union.Based on the information provided, US-bound exports from China in January-February sank 21.8% year-on-year and amounted to $71.56 billion, while the United States exported goods to China to the tune of $30.27 billion, which is 5% less than in the same period last year.In contrast, trade between Russia and China saw a 25.9% surge to $33.685 billion in the first two months of 2023.During the said period, China exported $15.03 billion worth of goods to Russia, which turned out to be 19.8% higher than for the same period in 2022. China-bound exports from Russia jumped 31.3% to $18.6 billion. In 2022, trade between both countries climbed 29.3% to a record $190.27 billion.Trade between China and Russia has soared over the past year as Moscow embarked on its economic policy of pivoting to the East. In January 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian economy proved to be far more resilient than Western governments believed. He stressed that Moscow expects a record foreign trade surplus "not only due to changes in commodity prices, but also Russia's trade reorientation with the countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America."In the meanwhile, US-China trade is being impacted by global economic rivalry between both nations. The White Houses national security strategy adopted in Fall 2022 views China as the most consequential geopolitical challenge to the United States.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230302/russias-external-debt-in-2022-sees-3-year-record-drop-debt-to-gdp-ratio-lowest-in-g20-1107947951.html

china

russia

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

us-china trade, russia-china trade, russian turn to east, trade balance
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/us-only-nation-that-could-have-bombed-nord-stream-ex-senator-says-1108156681.html

US Only Nation That Could Have Bombed Nord Stream, Ex-Senator Says

US Only Nation That Could Have Bombed Nord Stream, Ex-Senator Says

Former Virginia State Senator Richard Black told Sputnik that the United States is the only country that could have blown up the Nord Stream pipelines last year, as he commented on the latest report by the New York Times.

2023-03-07T18:02+0000

2023-03-07T18:02+0000

2023-03-07T18:02+0000

nord stream sabotage

us

nord stream pipeline

nord stream 2

nord stream 1

explosions

seymour hersh

richard black

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/08/1097116390_0:130:2501:1536_1920x0_80_0_0_ebd8c7b47b157e7bff7f2d0ee239f4e2.jpg

The day after the blasts, I commented publicly that the U.S. was the only nation that could have carried this out, Black said when asked to comment on the report. Even a child could see it wasn't Russia and no NATO country would dare act without U.S. approval, since the U.S. leads and dominates NATO. Earlier on Tuesday, the New York Times reported that US officials said intelligence indicated a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines last year. The saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, the report also said, adding that no US or UK nationals were involved. The New York Times' report comes on the heels of a report by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh detailing the USs alleged involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, which provided a substantial amount of gas to Germany. The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, have been inoperable since they were hit by explosions last September. Nord Stream's operator, Nord Stream AG, said that the damage was unprecedented and it was impossible to estimate the time repairs might take. Russia considers the explosions of the two pipelines an act of international terrorism. There are no official results of the investigation yet, but Hersh wrote that the explosions were organized by the United States with the support of Norway. Following Hersh's report, Moscow has reiterated its calls for an impartial and thorough investigation. The US denies its involvement in the incident.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/blame-game-us-intel-tells-nyt-pro-ukrainian-group-behind-nord-stream-bombing-1108155572.html

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

nord stream sabotage, nord stream pipelines, former virginia state senator richard black, us only nation that could have bombed nord stream, us bombed nord stream, us blew up nord stream
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230307/us-sees-eus-von-der-leyen-as-main-candidate-for-nato-head-position-media-reports-1108149133.html

US Sees EU's von der Leyen as Main Candidate for NATO Head Position, Media Reports

US Sees EU's von der Leyen as Main Candidate for NATO Head Position, Media Reports

Washington considers European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen its candidate of choice for the post of NATO Secretary General, Italian newspaper reported.

2023-03-07T13:16+0000

2023-03-07T13:16+0000

2023-03-10T12:13+0000

military

nato

ursula von der leyen

jens stoltenberg

joe biden

/html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content

https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/05/13/1095638815_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_442c4787086a0aaef384a5cfcfaf66e6.jpg

Von der Leyen is not opposed to being re-elected as the European Commission's president, but she is also considering heading NATO, with this opportunity becoming increasingly realistic due to the United States' position, the newspaper said. US President Joe Biden has long ago made it clear that the time has come for the alliance to get its first female secretary-general, and, being Germany's former defense minister, von der Leyen has all the competences and traits this post requires, Italian news outlet reported, adding that her visit to Canada and the US should be considered from this perspective. The newspaper added that the EU top executive's election as NATO's head would be ideal for Washington, as she has to first finish her five-year term at the head of the European Commission in the summer of 2024. In this regard, the US is increasing the pressure in order to persuade NATO's incumbent secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, to further extend his mandate, which has already been extended for one year due to the situation in Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230213/election-of-new-nato-secretary-general-least-transparent-procedure-reports-say-1107379069.html

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

2023

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

News

en_EN

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

1920 1080 true

1920 1440 true

1920 1920 true

Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60

Sputnik International

ursula von der leyen, nato leadership, nato secretary general, nato and us, nato proxy us
ADDIS ABABA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR on Tuesday said it is scaling up assistance in Ethiopia's Somali region to support and assist recently arrived refugees fleeing clashes in Somalia.

Some 100,000 Somalis have arrived in Ethiopia's Doolo zone in the Somali region in the past four weeks to escape clashes and insecurity in the city of Las Anod of Sool region, a statement issued Tuesday quoted UNHCR Representative in Ethiopia Mamadou Dian Balde as saying.

Noting that most of them are women, children -- many arriving unaccompanied -- and elderly, UNHCR said its teams together with partners are rushing to provide assistance to the newly arrived Somali refugees in the hard-to-reach area of Ethiopia.

"Many arrive in shock, telling stories of loved ones lost during flight or killed in the conflict. Some have arrived injured. Newly arrived families are sheltering in schools and other public buildings while others have no choice but to sleep outside," Balde said.

As the refugees are arriving in a remote area, heavily affected by the ongoing drought, the UNHCR said its teams and partners are taking two days of driving on dry, sandy roads to reach those newly arrived from Las Anod.

Since the refugees started arriving in early February, the Ethiopian Government's Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) together with the UNHCR and other partners have worked around the clock to provide these families with life-saving assistance.

Noting that some 30,000 people have already been registered so far, the UN refugee agency said protection desks have been set up to rapidly identify vulnerable individuals and refer them to services. Family tracing and reunification support programs have been put in place.

Critical relief items, such as sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets and high-energy biscuits are being provided. While food distribution is expected to take place soon, the provision of water and shelter remain key challenges.

The UNHCR said Ethiopia, a long-standing refugee host country, is facing a worsening humanitarian situation with conflict and drought triggering large-scale internal displacement over the past years.

It, however, said despite the increased needs, the UNHCR's operation in Ethiopia was among the least funded last year. As the new emergency unfolds, the UNHCR called for additional financial support to meet the urgent needs of these newly arrived Somali refugees. 
Management at Rideau Carleton Raceway has shared an update regarding the start of the 2023 harness racing season following a fire that destroyed the racing paddock last month.

Pending regulatory approval, the start of the 2023 season will be pushed back two weeks from March 19 to April 2 despite the best efforts of the track and community to clean up and rebuild following the Feb. 15 fire at the Ottawa oval.

Since Februarys fire, we have been forging an alternative to race as quickly as possible while our gutted paddock is rebuilt, said Peter Andrusek, Racing Manager at Rideau Carleton Raceway. After extensive consultation, it has been determined that we require three more weeks of time to perform the work followed by an additional week for approvals and inspections in order to retrofit barn D to a standard that would accommodate horsepeoples needs as well as satisfying both provincial and federal regulators. Unfortunately, this will delay the start of our race season until Sunday, April 2.

"However, to mitigate damages to horsepeople, Rideau Carleton will immediately apply to move those two lost March programs to the first two weeks of April. Racing two days a week immediately upon opening should help to get everyone raced and perhaps some horses could occasionally race twice a week in April."

Rideau's proposal, pending regulatory approval, includes adding Wednesday evening cards through the month of April (April 5, 12, 19, 26) and dropping the following race dates: Sunday, March 19, Sunday, March 26, Thursday, April 20 and Thursday, April 27. The track plans to return to its original schedule of Thursdays and Sundays in May.

The primary reason for evening races on Wednesdays would be in case the track is soft in the afternoons in April. Andrusek explained that, based on experience, the track tends to tighten up as the sun sets.

Andrusek also noted that the track is now financially and physically limited to 10 races per program and management feels that, if accepted by regulators, it would quickly replace the lost money for the two cancelled March programs and it will also decrease the probability of any horse not drawing in at least weekly in April.

Qualifying races will continue Wednesdays at 10 a.m. for the month of March.

The live racing schedule will be confirmed when it has received regulatory approval.

(With files from NCHHRA/Rideau Carleton Raceway)
A talented cast of performers clashed in the opening leg of the New Holland Trotting Series during Mondays 10-race card at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and it was upset city in leg one.

Itstimetogohome erupted for a 34-1 upset in his $30,000 division for the tandem of driver James MacDonald and trainer Carmen Auciello.

The five-year-old son of Creatine-Wake Up Susie got away sixth from Post 9 while Toccoa Falls (:28) and Shadrack Hanover (:56 and 1:24.4) took turns on the lead. Toccoa Falls came on to reclaim the lead in the late stages of the contest, but Itstimetogohome found late real estate to work with at the pylons and his closing quarter of :28 was enough to earn him the neck decision over Toccoa Falls in 1:53.4. Third prize went to longshot Franks Angel.

Dan Sarafian of Unionville , Ont. , who recently purchased the gelding privately, watched the 15-time winner win for the first time this season from six attempts. Hes banked over $20,000 this season and more than $160,000 to date.

Ritson went to the front and didnt look back en route to posting a 1:53.3 triumph in the $30,000 second division for the duo of driver Scott Young and trainer Shawn Steacy.

The five-year-old son of Cantab Hall-Sheenas Shadow powered to the top from Post 3 and successfully sliced out splits of :27.4, :56.4 and 1:25.4 before sprinting home in :27.4 to win by 2-1/4 lengths over Dealin With Dewey. Taking home the show dough was El Toro Loco, who was fourth-placed-third.

Sent off at odds of 7-1, Ritson won for the first time this season from nine attempts for owners Mark Steacy, Hudson Standrdbrd Stb Inc, Dale Larson and Stephen Downey. The 10-time winner pushed his lifetime earnings to $286,404 with the win.
Due to impending storms, Cal Expo has moved its Friday, March 10 program to Saturday, March 11, and will now race Saturday and Sunday night this week.

Saturdays card will get underway at 6:15 p.m. (PST).

This weekends highlight will be a pair of $20,000 California Sire Stakes for the four-year-old pacers, with Cenalta Hawk and JP Jetty heading the race for males and Give Me This Dance and Divine Art renewing their rivalry in the distaff division.

(Cal Expo)
Current and past Nebraska railroad engineers and conductors gave North Platte state Sen. Mike Jacobson plenty of backing at Mondays State Capitol public hearing on his bill to keep at least two crew members aboard trains.

Twenty people urged the Legislatures Transportation and Telecommunications Committee to advance Legislative Bill 31, the latest in a series of two-person crew bills that have repeatedly failed to make it to floor debate.

Jacobson, in his first full session representing District 42, made LB 31 the first bill he personally introduced as a state lawmaker.

Looming over Mondays three-hour hearing was the Feb. 3 derailment of 38 Norfolk Southern cars carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, and the ensuing nationwide debate over major railroads recent cost-cutting practices and their impact on safety.

Jacobson said the disaster makes the case for LB 31, because the presence of a conductor on board that train  the position Union Pacific and other Class I railroads hope to eliminate or move to motor vehicles  kept the disaster from being even worse.

Conductors are the first responder, he said. In East Palestine, the conductor literally got off the train, had the manifest, shared the manifest to know what was in those cars with first responders and helped remove first responders who were hurt.

Because engineers typically cannot leave their engines, Jacobson and railroaders said, its up to the conductor to know the order and contents of each rail car; get out to inspect, fix or decouple problem cars; and warn of people, vehicles or objects on the track.

Most vitally, the engineer and conductor can give immediate medical aid if either has a medical emergency in the cab. That can save lives in remote areas where first responders need time to arrive, they said.

If you think about going to the Powder River Basin (in Wyoming), youre going to go across a huge section of area. There are no roads. Its the railroad. Theyre out there in the middle of nowhere, he said.

Executives for U.P., the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and the short-line Nebraska Central Railroad renewed their historic opposition to the Legislature intruding in what they deem a collective bargaining matter.

Rod Doerr, the Union Pacifics vice president of crew management and interline operations, said his railroad wants to move conductors into pickup trucks driving on parallel highways.

They would be able to get to damaged or overheating cars and wheels faster that way, he said. If we maintain the status quo, we have very limited ability in this industry to make changes  changes for the good, he said.

Nebraska Central representatives Mitch Harris and Nichole Bogen said they already have conductors driving alongside trains with little to no loss in safety. LB 31 would preclude them from doing that, they said.

Jeff Davis, BNSFs executive director of state government affairs, said railroads have spent many millions of dollars investing in safety technology.

We want to be able to work this out with our unions and with the FRA and use the technology that we have invested in, he said.

North Platte area supporters of Jacobsons bill included Lincoln County Commissioner Chris Bruns and Bailey Yard-based conductors Jeff Cooley of Lemoyne and Amanda Snide of Hershey.

Bruns, referring to a County Board resolution passed 5-0 Feb. 27, said commissioners strongly disagree that two-person crews should be left to collective bargaining.

Employment, wages and benefits are collective bargaining issues, he said. Public safety is not.

Jeff Cooley, a 17-year U.P. conductor, said his most profound and alarming incident on the job took place in spring 2015. Thats when he saw something on the opposite track as he and his engineer hauled an empty coal train at 50 mph from North Platte to South Morrill.

His engineer thought it was a dead animal, said Cooley, president of the Midwest Nebraska Central Labor Council and Local 200 of the SMART-TD union.

But after Cooley eyed the object for five to 10 seconds, it was a little 4-year-old girl who was sitting on the rail who was crying because her parents were arguing at her house, he said.

He put the train in emergency mode, called authorities on the radio and blocked other train traffic. I ran to the girl, picked her up and took her to the sheriff, Cooley said.

Snide, Local 200s legislative representative, said she once spotted two vehicles on the U.P. right-of-way waving her engine down and pointing to a pickup truck stuck on the track. It took two minutes of braking before the train halted just 9 feet from the pickup.

Pat Pfiefer of Gothenburg, Nebraska state legislative chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, noted that Union Pacific has had two derailments in nine months  the most recent one Feb. 21  near the same milepost in his hometown.

Pfiefer denounced the job-slashing, train-lengthening precision scheduled railroading model that U.P. adopted in fall 2018 and almost all Class I railroads now follow.

Technology does not replace a human being, said Pfiefer, who works a local U.P. train from Lexington. They try. See how technology worked at East Palestine.

Doerr, U.P.s vice president of labor relations until last April, said U.P. leaders realize some areas are too remote and difficult for ambulances or first responders to reach for engineer-only trains to be feasible throughout the railroads 32,000-mile system.

If it makes better sense to leave the conductor aboard, then clearly thats what were going to do, he said.

But he and Davis contended that one of the contracts binding both sides is evergreen and cannot be canceled or unilaterally changed by either side.

Because of that, they added, any regulations added by the Legislature would preclude both rail labor and management from implementing improved technologies that could give conductors more predictable hours and drive home after their shifts.

Railroads need the ability to change how we do work, Doerr said. Putting large numbers of people on call is not acceptable. We need to morph to a schedule so people can schedule their rest and their life.

Jacobson disputed rail leaders assumption about leverage. My constituents and your constituents are the ones sitting in this room saying LB 31 is needed, he said.

Doerr, Davis and their Nebraska Central counterparts said the Federal Railroad Administration is expected to issue a final rule on train-crew sizes within a year. Whatever decision it makes would override LB 31 even if it passed, they said.

Jacobson replied that eight other states have adopted two-person crew minimums. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled they could in February 2021, overturning a 2019 FRA decision that not only reversed course on requiring two-person crews but also denied states powers to mandate them inside their own borders.

I would like to see the FRA and the federal government rule, Jacobson said. But until that time, this is pushing in the right direction.
The City of Mitchell will be looking for a new city administrator.

Mitchell City Administrator Perry Mader told the Star-Herald Tuesday that he has submitted his resignation. According to his resignation letter, Mader's last day will be Friday, April 7.

Mader said that he has accepted a new position at Nebraska City, pending final details being worked out.

"I will help with the transition the best that I can," he said, saying he had told Mayor Paul Murrell that he would help with the city's search for an administrator as needed or desired. "It will be business as usual for the next month."

Mader has served as Mitchell's city administrator for just over four years. Prior to that, he worked for 11 years as the City of Scottsbluff's parks and recreation director.

Murrell said that the City of Mitchell has already begun advertising to fill the city administrator position. The number of applicants will impact the timeline for a search, he said, but "the sooner the better. We will see what comes in as far as applications and resumes."

During past searches by the city, Murrell said, there have been quite a number of applicants and representatives of other cities have expressed they have garnered a lot of interest in recent city manager searches. With that, Murrell said, he doesn't anticipate any issues in filling the Mitchell's city administrator position.

In his resignation letter, Mader said, "I want to thank the public, staff, mayors and council members that supported me during my tenure."

Also on Tuesday, the Mitchell City Council is set to consider the appointment of Matt Holcomb as its next police chief, according to its agenda.

The action by the council is "just a formality," Murrell told the Star-Herald. Holcomb has accepted the job and will start immediately.

Holcomb has been a longtime Scotts Bluff County Sheriff's deputy, serving as an investigator and on the WING (Western Nebraska Intelligence Group) task force, a multi-agency task force that investigates drug and violent crimes throughout the Panhandle.

Murrell terminated Mitchell's previous police chief, Kevin Krzyzanowski, Jan. 4. Krzyzanowski, a former Nebraska State Patrol lieutenant, had served in the position for nearly two years.

The council will also consider the hiring of two full-time and one part-time officer during Tuesday's meeting. With the recent hires, Murrell said, the Mitchell Police Department will have four full-time positions, including the chief, and one part-time officer. In January, he said, the department had three full-time positions, including the chief.
The Scotts Bluff County Board of Commissioners voiced approval and support of increased cooperation with the Kimball County Transit Service at its regular meeting on Monday evening.

Kimball County Transit Administrator Christy Warner attended the meeting in order to provide the commissioners with background information on the recent developments regarding KCTS, including its significant growth in recent years.

We started with one bus and one driver in 2017, and we are currently at 13 vehicles, and I have 30 employees as of today, Warner said. I wanted to give you a little bit of a heads up on what were doing and speak to you about building some partnerships between Kimball County and Scotts Bluff County.

Kimball County already provides 27,000 one-way trips annually via its transit system in a network that stretches from Scottsbluff to Denver International Airport and from Sidney to Cheyenne. Plans for additional services were discussed, some of which were contingent on formalizing cooperation between the Kimball County and Scotts Bluff County transit services.

In addition to providing standard services for residents of both counties, Warners presentation included some insight on the effects of upcoming development in the Kimball area, particularly the military contract and Clean Harbors expansion project, which are expected to bring a multitude of temporary and permanent residents to the region.

We wont see all those people all at once, and we dont know how theyll spend their money, Warner said in reference to the military contract. What we do know is that there are 3,000 living units and only 650 parking spots, so theyre not intended to have vehicles. So, were working to make sure that were ready for that on top of the normal growth that were seeing.

Warner pointed out the fact that Kimball alone cannot support the influx of workers from both sources, meaning they would look to the surrounding communities in search of housing. With workers spread across the area, demand for transportation is expected to increase greatly as well.

Scotts Bluff County Public Transit Manager Curt Richter voiced his support of increased cooperation between the two county transit services and recognized the trend toward a more unified transit system across the state of Nebraska.

We all need support from everybody. I think its very beneficial to show that were partnering and working together, said Richter. In the state of Nebraska, all the transit agencies are working together, and transit is quite honestly blowing up in the state of Nebraska right now. Any way we can support Christy in getting her funds is only going to help us in the long run.

The commissioners expressed verbal approval of several supportive measures, including a letter of support to assist KCTS in its pursuit of 5311 and 5311(f) grants as well as pursuing memorandums of understanding allowing KCTS to park vehicles at the Tri-City Roadrunner facility and develop joint emergency response transportation protocols. Action on those items is expected to take place at future meetings.

The board also approved a resolution allowing Richter to apply for the same 5311 and 5311(f) grants for the operation of Tri-City Roadrunner to provide public transportation within Scotts Bluff County through 2025.

<&rule>
Scottsbluff city council considered the purchase of property from Scotts Bluff County during the Monday, March 6 meeting. The property in question is Scotts Bluff Assessor Parcels 010304193 and 010304185, excluding 0010304207.

City manager Kevin Spencer addressed the council during a public hearing set for 6 p.m. The nearly 17-acre property is located due west of the citys wastewater plant. At the center of the property of interest is a 0.6-acre parcel of land owned by Nebraska Public Power District. The 10.5-acre property is where the city would like to place its transfer station, Spencer told the council. There is also a strip to the west that is roughly 7 acres, which stretches to 21st Avenue.

We like the property because of the access to Highway 26, Spencer told the Star-Herald. It will be used as a transfer station within our sanitation department for garbage.

The two entities agreed to the price of $20,000 to be paid at closing within 30 days of all conditions being met. The conditions to closing are conditional upon the Scottsbluff council, represented as the buyer, to authorize the purchase and giving public notice as required by Nebraska Revised Statute 18-1755. The city must also receive a title commitment insurance binder showing marketable title can be conveyed by the county, represented as seller. The county must also complete the statutory requirement outlined under revised statute 23-107.01.

Following the closure of the public hearing, the council discussed and took action for Mayor Jeanne McKerrigan to sign the purchase agreement. The board moved to accept the agreement unanimously.

Once the city takes ownership of the property, they will also assume the duty to repair and maintain South Beltline Highway from 9th Avenue in Scottsbluff and east until it ends at Highway 26. The section of roadway is included in the real estate boundaries.

Officer Tyler Weber and K-9 Officer Duke also met with the council, with Spencer noting this is Webers second dog and he is one of the best handlers he has worked with. Weber has worked alongside Duke since 2021. Duke, a then 3  year-old Belgian Malinois, had his first day at the Scottsbluff Police Department with Weber as his partner and handler on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.

The Scottsbluff Police Department purchased Duke from the Grand Island Police Department, where Weber said he had worked until the department experienced staffing issues. Duke went through the training academy for several months and since Weber had a background in narcotics, he immediately began training Duke. The K-9 officer is able to do narcotic detection as well as patrol work that includes apprehension, tracking and evidence recovery.

Most K-9 dogs complete 6 weeks of narcotics training and 8 weeks of patrol training. Dukes background allowed them to streamline the training to only 8 weeks of patrol; however, the training continues.

Last night, we were working on bite work with the sheriffs office handler, he said. The night before that, we did some narcotics (training).

Shortly after patrol camp, they were dispatched to a residence of a possible breaking and entering because of a broken window. Upon arrival someone was found inside.

We got access to the building, and we got Duke about 25 feet from the front door. Duke could see the guy inside sleeping on the couch, Weber told the council. The guy stood up and there was a language barrier. Duke stabilized in that position, and we got the guy detained.

In that instance, the man had a legitimate reason to be in the home, so use of force, where Duke would have bit him, would not have been appropriate. So, Weber said they always assess the situation to determine if a bark and hold is solicited and the potential liability of that action.

Weber said they can have one to two deployments a week or one to two deployments a day, but they remain focused on obedience.

We introduce food into training areas and different toys and what not, Weber said. We train a lot with Deputy (Anthony) Osborne and state patrol and Gering just took over its next K-9.

Dukes narcotics detection skills have also improved throughout his time with the Scottsbluff Police Department. The duo recently completed state narcotics certification in North Platte, which was probably one the best rated narcotics rating aspects to it that Ive seen on a canine for a long time, he told the council.

Duke is 4 years old now and Weber said he is in his prime with a lot of the work done by the handler to understand the dog and his behavior. When he is working, Duke is a passive indicator, which means he will sit or lie down or stand when he locates the source of the scent. That helps the dog not get into the drugs or cause damage to property to access the desired item, Weber said.

When Duke isnt on duty, he stays outdoors in a kennel, except for when there is inclement weather. Although there were issues that Weber had to correct with Dukes obedience when he first got him from Grand Island, the two officers continue to work together to develop a relationship to best perform their duties.
OMAHA  A Catholic Charities employee has sued the Omaha nonprofit, alleging leaders intentionally caused her to fear for her life by staging an active shooter drill without telling her and others it was fake.

Employees panicked May 19 when they heard gunshots and saw a masked man brandishing a semiautomatic handgun at the organizations office at 9223 Bedford Ave. At least one person lay on the ground smeared with fake blood as others ran for safety.

Executives were aware the scenario was only training but continued to play along, an Omaha police officer has said, while subordinates had no knowledge that the terrifying shooting was not real. Local authorities also were not told about the drill.

The lawsuit alleges that Denise Bartels, the executive director of Catholic Charities of Omaha, first said nothing to assuage employee Sandra Lopezs fears, then directly told her: It is a shooting.

Lopez, a bilingual loan officer who still works at the organization, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and still gets treatment for a back injury from jumping off a retaining wall while fleeing the gunman.

She has and continues to suffer debilitating fear, depression, unwanted and intrusive memories of that day and other symptoms, according to the lawsuit.

Bartels declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.

We continue to take all matters surrounding the training seriously, she said in a statement. Nothing is more important to us than our staff, volunteers, and members of the community we serve.

The pretend gunman, John Channels, was arrested on five charges of terroristic threats and one count of weapon use in connection with acting out the shooting and firing blanks.

Channels, then 27, was hired by Catholic Charities staff for $2,500 to plan the training. The nonprofit has said Channels insisted that leadership not tell employees it was a drill in order to make it as lifelike as possible. Channels denied that through his attorney and said the organization wanted it to be realistic.

The allegations in Lopezs lawsuit closely follow her recollection of that day to Omaha Police Detective Derek Mois when she was interviewed by him a few weeks later.

Catholic Charities attorney Heather Veik has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the matter belongs in workers compensation court. Veik declined to comment on the lawsuit but plans to file a written argument ahead of a March 14 hearing.

Tom White, Lopezs attorney, said that while the training occurred at the workplace, he is alleging that Catholic Charities intentionally assaulted Lopez and intended her to be emotionally distressed  a narrow, unique scenario that White said could change implications of workers rights in Nebraska.

He pointed to a 2013 Nebraska Supreme Court decision that ruled the estate of an 18-year-old worker who fatally suffocated in a grain bin couldnt sue his western Nebraska grain elevator employer and had to settle the matter in workers compensation court.

In that case, the company was willfully negligent in ordering a worker to go into a grain bin without the protection of several safety measures, but the company did not intend for the worker to die. White believes the high courts ruling did not determine the civil liabilities of an employer whose actions intended to cause harm.

White argued that in holding an active shooter training and not telling certain employees in order to see how theyd react, Catholic Charities intentionally wanted to cause workers harm.
BANGKOK, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's export value is expected to shrink 8 percent in the first quarter of 2023 from a year earlier, weighed down by slowing global demand, the country's shippers' council said on Tuesday.

The forecast, downgraded from a projected 3.7-percent decline the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) made a month ago, came after a more-than-expected drop in Thailand's exports in January.

The Southeast Asian country's exports, a key driver of growth, fell for a fourth straight month in January, down 4.5 percent year on year to 20.24 billion U.S. dollars, as global demand slowed. The reading was worse than a market expectation of a 1-percent fall.

The global economy remained highly uncertain, leading to a potential slowdown in the country's manufacturing sector, while the service and tourism sectors are expected to help drive the economic recovery, TNSC said in a written statement on Tuesday.

It urged the government to regulate electricity tariffs in the next revision, as it is one of the main production costs that impact Thai businesses' competitiveness. 
Three Iredell County farmers have been named winners in a grant program aimed at supporting family farms. Harrison Jenkins of Stony Point, Larry Galliher of Harmony and Lucas Beaver of Statesville are among 62 individual growers earning grants of between $1,000 and $8,000 from NC AgVentures.

The competitive grants  administered by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, with funding provided through the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission  are awarded to innovative projects aimed at diversifying, expanding or implementing new entrepreneurial plans for farm operations.

Lucas Beaver grew up farming. The farm was mainly a grain and dairy operation. In 2018, Beaver decided to take advantage of the farms proximity to Statesville and the interstate traffic that splits the land by adding strawberries. He has continued to add more produce each year. He received funds to purchase an air cannon sprayer to better manage and expand his crops.

Harrison Jenkins comes from a long line of farmers in Iredell County. The family farm operation includes poultry, row crops and specialty animals such as alpacas and rabbits. They also sell bagged corn. Jenkins was awarded funding to purchase equipment that would increase efficiency and production of bagged corn and other products.

Larry Galliher and his son Charlie produced 8.9 million pounds of milk in 2022 and they are working toward doubling that number. Larry received a grant to expand the milk-house and transition from bulk tank storage to an in-line direct load system that will keep sanitation and food safety regulation in check.

The North Carolina General Assembly created the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission in 2000 to lessen the financial impact to farmers and tobacco-related businesses caused by the sharp decline of tobacco in the agricultural economy.

Cooperative Extension is an educational partnership of the states two land-grant universities, North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T State University, county governments and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its mission is to deliver education and technology that enrich the lives, land and economy of North Carolina.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Two of four Americans were killed in Mexico when their van was caught in the crossfire of rival cartel groups last week, a top Mexican official said Tuesday. The two others are alive, with one wounded.

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal confirmed the deaths by phone during a morning news conference by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, saying details about the four abducted Americans had been confirmed by prosecutors.

The FBI had reported Sunday that it was searching with Mexican authorities for the missing Americans, who were kidnapped Friday. A relative of one of them said Monday that they had traveled together from South Carolina so one of them could get a tummy tuck from a Matamoros doctor.

Shortly after entering Mexico on Friday they were in the crossfire of rival cartel groups. A video showed them being loaded into the back of a pickup truck by gunmen.

Of the four, two of them are dead, one person is wounded and the other is alive and right now the ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are going for them for give the corresponding support," Villarreal said

The governor did not share any additional details about where or how they were found. He was expected to share more information at his own daily news conference scheduled for later Tuesday morning.

The U.S. citizens were found in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreno on the way to the local beach known as Playa Baghdad, according to a state authority who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the case. Word of their location came to authorities before dawn Tuesday.

Mexican officials said a Mexican woman also had died in Fridays' crossfire.

The incident illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Read the latest updates:
Del. Matt Fariss, R-Campbell, faces three charges after state police said he was the driver in a hit-and-run incident that injured a woman in Campbell County.

Fariss, 54, turned himself in on Friday and was charged with one count each of malicious wounding, hit and run, and reckless driving, according to Virginia State Police. The malicious wounding and hit-and-run charges are felonies.

In an email Tuesday to The News & Advance, Fariss said, "While I may have made some mistakes in my life, these charges are false. I look forward to clearing them in a court of law."

Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert said in a statement he is aware of the charges against Fariss.

I am certain that Virginia's legal system will ascertain all the facts and adjudicate the matter in a timely and just fashion," Gilbert said.

Fariss, a Republican, was first elected in 2011 to represent the Virginia House of Delegates' 59th District, which covers Appomattox and Buckingham counties, plus parts of Albemarle, Campbell and Nelson counties.

The malicious wounding charge, a Class 3 felony in Virginia, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, according to court records.

Fariss is scheduled for arraignment at 11 a.m. March 17 in Campbell General District Court.

According to state police, on Thursday afternoon a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling south on U.S. 501 when it crossed the center line and hit a pedestrian. The Tahoe left the scene, and the adult female pedestrian suffered minor injuries.

An investigation led state police to identify Fariss as the Tahoe's driver.

According to court documents, Fariss was released on a $7,500 secured bond.

According to a written complaint attached to court documents filed Friday, a woman wrote she was riding in the car with Fariss on Thursday, heading to Halifax from Evington.

The woman said Fariss was "tailgating someone" and she "told him to cut it out," leading Fariss to pass the car at an "excessive speed," causing a tire to "blow out."

The written complaint said Fariss then pulled into a church parking lot, where he called his son in search of a jack for the vehicle.

After an argument over the jack with his son, Fariss called him a "liar" and made "several more calls to his son," according to the woman's complaint.

After the woman told Fariss' son not to come, Fariss became "angry" with her, to the point where the woman told him, "I don't have to listen to this, I am not doing this with you," according to the complaint.

The woman wrote she grabbed her belongings to "walk up 501 to my cousin's home in Winfall," which she said was maybe about half a mile away.

It was then, she said, Fariss began yelling at her, and as she continued to walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic, Fariss was in the right lane yelling at her to "get in the truck."

The woman wrote she said a "firm no" and kept walking.

At this point, according to the complaint, Fariss turned the vehicle "to the left at a 90-degree turn and hit me [with] the Tahoe" from her left, spinning her to the ground.

"This could have easily killed, paralyzed, maimed me," the woman wrote.

According to the complaint, Fariss told the woman, "You should have gotten in the 'g-- d----- car,'" as she was "scampering away on the ground fearing at this point he may shoot me."

The complaint goes on to say a man "saw all of this" from across the street and came out yelling. Once Fariss saw this man, the complaint said, "he got in his car and fled the scene."

Fariss is married with three children. He has operated a country store, managed real estate and farms and raised cattle, among other businesses, according to his website. He currently co-owns and is vice president of the Lynchburg Livestock Market.

In 2016, Fariss pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge in Campbell County in connection with a July 2015 incident that damaged fencing, a highway sign and a mailbox.

According to facts agreed to in court in 2016, Fariss was driving a Dodge Ram pickup on Red House Red on July 29 when the vehicle struck a tree, went in and out of a ditch and went airborne. The truck stopped but left the scene before police arrived. No one was injured in the crash.

Fariss' attorney said he had reached down to retrieve a soda that had fallen into the floorboard when the crash occurred.
KALAMA  Cowlitz County deputies rescued a Vancouver man and his dog in a remote area of the Kalama River Sunday afternoon.

The Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office reports deputies were dispatched at 12:52 p.m. to a ledge above the Kalama River near Fallert Road after receiving a report of a man stranded while looking for his missing dog.

Deputies James Doyle and Landen Jones located Nathan J. Mueller, 44, of Vancouver, in an area described as heavily timbered above a cliff over the Kalama River.

Mueller and his dog were situated on a ridge with nearly a 100-to-150-foot drop to the ground below. Brightbill said the landscape made the rescue efforts more difficult as the two deputies had to navigate through steep terrain and slick mud.

With military and rappelling backgrounds, the two deputies gathered medical supplies and prepared themselves to assist Mueller and his dog.

Doyle rappelled down to Mueller and his dog. At the same time, Jones belayed, a common technique for mountain climbers to provide security to the climber as they rappel.

After meeting up with Mueller, Doyle created a makeshift harness for Muellers dog.

Sometime after repelling down, a Clark County Fire Rope Rescue Team member and Cowlitz County Fire District 5 arrived at the scene and provided further assistance.

Cowlitz County Fire District 5 Fire Chief Sammy Brown told The Daily News his personnel helped the stranded man walk back up the hill to safer ground.

The first responders were able to retrieve Mueller and his uncooperative dog, despite some near falls, according to the sheriffs office.
The Ryderwood man accused of shooting his wife three times in January is set to review whether he is competent to stand trial.

Lawrence Daniel Montero, 55, is scheduled March 16 to appear in Cowlitz County Court for a competency review. He is charged with first-degree premeditated attempted murder after allegedly shooting his wife, Jessica A. Cuppy, 41, of Ryderwood, on the night of Jan. 20, with a semi-automatic handgun.

Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Hann set Monteros bail at $1 million with conditions, and he was in Cowlitz County Jail as of Monday afternoon.

A no-contact order against Montero was issued, and he has to maintain at least a 100-yard distance from Cuppy.

Cuppy told The Daily News she is still healing from her wounds and that the shooting came out of left field.

The shooting

On Jan. 20, deputies were dispatched to the 400 block of Monroe Street at roughly 10:58 p.m. after the victims mother told authorities her daughter said Montero attacked her and was armed, according to a police report.

At 11:02 p.m., authorities received an update that the husband had since shot Cuppy and she was laying on the ground, police report. The man was allegedly screaming that he shot a person breaking into his home.

According to court documents, when deputies arrived at the scene, they saw Cuppy laying in the corner of the yard wrapped in blankets. She sustained two gunshot wounds to the abdomen and another in the arm, police report.

While providing medical aid to Cuppy, she said, he did it on purpose. I know he did it on purpose. He knew I was coming home. He locked me out, a police report states.

First responders sent the woman to the hospital for medical attention, and Montero, who was on the phone with dispatch, was handcuffed at the scene and placed in a patrol car.

Montero allegedly told dispatch that he shot his wife because she was trying to climb in [the] window and thought she was breaking in [the] front door and that [he] shot her center mass.

The report mentions there was no blood on Montero and that it didnt appear that he attempted to render aid to Cuppy after the shooting.

After being read his Miranda rights, Montero told authorities that after hearing noises, he ran upstairs to grab a gun and then unloaded two magazines through a closed door. Investigators would later find 19 bullet holes in the door and wall.

The probable cause statement notes that investigators found two empty magazines, a Glock, and a 50-count box of .40 caliber ammunition with 21 rounds missing.
Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, is returning to Longview this weekend for a town hall about what the Washington State Legislature is doing in Olympia.

Wilson is holding a town hall at Kelle Hall on 11th Avenue in Longview at 10 a.m. Saturday where he will talk through the recent legislation and debates that have been part of the 2023 legislative session.

Wednesday is the last day for bills to pass the house they were first proposed in, making it a major cutoff point for which state legislation has a chance of passing this year. Several of Wilsons narrowly-focused bills have passed the Senate over the last two weeks.

Wilson will hold another town hall at the Aberdeen Senior Center on March 25.
One of Julie and Tom Crites favorite things to do is to give back to their community.

As the months leading her to retirement peeled off the calendar, Julie Crites looked forward to spending her days volunteering, on medical mission trips, or baking bread for local food banks.

But a substantial rent increase has put a pin in some of her plans.

In 2019, the Criteses purchased their manufactured home with cash in a community park designated for senior living in Woodland. The space rent was $685, which the couple considered reasonable. She said that when they signed the paperwork for the home, the property manager said their space rent would stay the same within the first year. But the Criteses received their first of three rent increases eight months later.

They now pay $1,000 for the land their bought home sits on  a 45 percent increase.

It is just outrageous, Julie Crites said.

There are about 9,000 mobile and manufactured homes across Clark County, according to the U.S. Census.

Like Crites, many see mobile home ownership as an affordable option, especially seniors gearing up for retirement. However, even though they own their manufactured homes, they rent the land that their homes sit on.

There is no legislation to protect mobile home owners from intense rent increases. Advocates of rent controls, including the Washington Low Income Alliance, say high rent increases can lead people to displacement, homelessness or tough financial decisions, especially by large out-of-state companies that purchase the parks.

Crites said the impact of high rent is evident in her park.

Weve gradually seen the places (around my home) start to look more and more unkempt because people who dont have that kind of income to keep paying continually rising rent are not able to keep up their own places themselves, she said.

According to a 2020 study by U.S Government Accountability Office researchers, a $100 increase in rent was associated with a 9 percent increase in homelessness.

(A high rent increase) doesnt just affect the renters. It carries over when people are forced out of their housing because the rents have gone up too much, Crites said. We have an increase in homelessness, increase in crime, hospitals, medical care  they become higher users of the system because they arent able to take care of themselves.

The Criteses are on a fixed income; although Julie works as a nurse, her husband retired last year. As they experienced their third round of rent hikes, they initially considered pushing back her retirement and adjusting to change their budgeting. Now the couple have decided to pack their bags and try to sell the home.

Its hard to even consider moving since who will want to move in here with such high rent prices? she said. Other homes (in the neighborhood) are sitting for sale for a long time, and they cant get them sold. One of them was just abandoned because somebody couldnt afford it. Apparently the place has been abandoned for about a year.

Possible solution up for review

What the Criteses and their neighbors are experiencing isnt a one-off situation but rather a statewide issue that has caught Olympias attention.

Washington legislators are keeping their eyes on several bills that could alleviate rent increases for owners of mobile and manufactured homes. Some have been killed during review; others, like HB 1129, are moving along.

If passed, the House bill would give manufactured and mobile home owners and residents more opportunities to purchase their community. Landlords would give a two-week heads up when they intend to sell the community park. The House bill is awaiting approval by the Rules Committee to move to the next step.

Another legislation garnering speed and support is House Bill 1389, introduced by Alex Ramal, D-Bellingham. The bill aims to install a cap on how much landlords can raise the rent in 12 months and rewrite the manufactured and mobile home landlord-tenant act to prevent high rent increases for owners.

Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, is one of the secondary sponsors of HB 1389. She said she supported the bill because the community of Vancouver has taken the responsibility to address the housing crisis. She referenced the recent voter approval of Proposition 3 in Vancouver and said the community saw the issue and wanted to make a change.

People not having affordable housing has contributed to our housing crisis in the region, she said to The Columbian. While in the absence of a crisis I probably would not support a bill like this, I truly believe that we have to do everything we can to get people housed, and to keep people from losing their homes by exorbitant rent increases.

HB 1389 has been approved by the Rules Committee and is awaiting the next steps.

This is not just about policy. This is about a crisis impacting peoples ability to survive in Vancouver, and the stakes are higher, said Stonier. Our efforts need to be bigger.

Impacts beyond rent

Although Crites said what she and her husband are experiencing is manageable, she has concerns for the impacts it could have on others  especially lower-income seniors. As a medical professional, Crites said that when rent is high, other needs are unmet.

When people are financially burdened, they cant take their medications because its expensive  diabetics cant take their insulin. I used to see people come into the hospital with heart problems that got worse because they couldnt afford their blood pressure medication and were trying not to get evicted, she said. Those are things that have major impacts. If housing isnt affordable for low-income (people) and seniors, everybody is going to suffer.

Crites said the issue is overarching and affects all aspects of society.

Rent increases impact everybody. Its not just the (renters) themselves that are hurt  it impacts society in general, she said. People that put too much out in rent cant do the other things that are necessary in their lives.
COLOMBO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Election Commission announced on Tuesday that April 25 is the suitable date to hold local council elections.

The commission also informed regional election officials that the local elections cannot be held on March 9 as scheduled due to unexpected and unavoidable reasons.

The regional election officials were told that they are to gazette April 25 as the election day.

Regional election officials published gazettes earlier this year, announcing that local elections would be held on March 9. However, the elections were delayed after the government said there were inadequate funds.

Sri Lanka holds elections for local government bodies once every four years, and the postponed local elections were originally scheduled to be held in 2022. 
The Rotary Club of Kelso is in the mood to Spell-ebrate on March 23. The event will be hosted at Grants at the Monticello, and feature a taco bar and raffles. The top teams will also go home with cash prizes of up to $500. The event is open to everyone age 21 and over.

Tickets are $25 a person, with proceeds going to Dolly Partons Imagination Library, which provides free books to kids across the United States on a monthly basis.

Spellebration is played as part of a five-person team. Smaller groups will be matched up to make sure everyone is on an equal playing field, and maybe to make some new friends. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the contest begins an hour later.

Tickets are on sale at kelsorotary.org/page/spell. You can also buy a ticket at the door, but people who bought a ticket in advance will get one free do-over to give them an edge in the contest.
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:

These are the devices for computer architectures 'beyond CMOS' created by Job van Rijn (upper panel) and Anouk Goossens (lower panel). Credit: Banerjee group, University of Groningen

As the evolution of standard microchips is coming to an end, scientists are looking for a revolution. The big challenges are to design chips that are more energy efficient and to design devices that combine memory and logic (memristors). Materials scientists from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, describe in two papers how complex oxides can be used to create very energy-efficient magneto-electric spin-orbit (MESO) devices and memristive devices with reduced dimensions.

The development of classic silicon-based computers is approaching its limits. To achieve further miniaturization and to reduce energy consumption, different types of materials and architectures are required.

Tamalika Banerjee, Professor of Spintronics of Functional Materials at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, is looking at a range of quantum materials to create these new devices. "Our approach is to study these materials and their interfaces, but always with an eye on applications, such as memory or the combination of memory and logic."

More efficient

The Banerjee group previously demonstrated how doped strontium titanate can be used to create memristors, which combine memory and logic. They have recently published two papers on devices 'beyond CMOS,' the complementary metal oxide semiconductors which are the building blocks of present-day computer chips.

One candidate to replace CMOS is the magneto-electric spin-orbit (MESO) device, which could be 10 to 30 times more efficient. Several materials have been investigated for their suitability in creating such a device. Job van Rijn, a Ph.D. student in the Banerjee group, is the first author of a paper in Physical Review B published in December 2022, describing how strontium manganate (SrMnO 3 or SMO for short) might be a good candidate for MESO devices.

"It is a multiferroic material that couples spintronics and charge-based effects," explains van Rijn. Spintronics is based on the spin (the magnetic moment) of electrons.

Banerjee says, "The magnetic and charge orderings are coupled in this material, so we can switch magnetism with an electric field and polarization with a magnetic field." And, importantly, these effects are present at temperatures close to room temperature. Van Rijn is investigating the strong coupling between the two effects. "We know that ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity are tunable by straining a thin SMO film. This straining was done by growing the films on different substrates."

Strain

Van Rijn studies how strain induces ferroelectricity in the material and how it impacts the magnetic order. He analyzed the domains in the strained films and noticed that magnetic interactions are greatly dependent on the crystal structure and, in particular, on oxygen vacancies, which modify the preferred direction of the magnetic order.

"Spin transport experiments lead us to the conclusion that the magnetic domains play an active role in the devices that are made of this material. Therefore, this study is the first step in establishing the potential use of strontium manganate for novel computing architectures."

On 14 February, the Banerjee group published a second paper on devices 'beyond CMOS,' in the journal Advanced Electronic Materials. Ph.D. student Anouk Goossens is the first author of this paper on the miniaturization of memristors based on niobium-doped strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 or STO). "The number of devices per unit surface area is important," says Goossens. "But some memristor types are difficult to downscale."

Goossens previously showed that it was possible to create 'logic-in-memory' devices using STO. Her latest paper shows that it is possible to downscale these devices. A common problem with memristors is that their performance is negatively impacted by miniaturization. Surprisingly, making smaller memristors from STO increases the difference between the high and the low resistance ratio.

"We studied the material using scanning transmission electron microscopy and noticed the presence of a large number of oxygen vacancies at the interface between the substrate and the device's electrode," says Goossens. "After we applied an electric voltage, we noticed oxygen vacancy movement, which is a key factor in controlling the resistance states."

New design

The conclusion is that the enhanced performance results from edge effects, which can be bad for normal memory. But in STO, the increased electric field at the edges actually supports the function of the memristor. "In our case, the edge is the device," concludes Goossens. "In addition, the exact properties depend on the amount of niobium doping, so the material is tunable for different purposes."

In conclusion, both papers published by the group show the way towards novel computing architectures. Indeed, the STO memristors have inspired colleagues of Goossens and Banerjee at the University of Groningen Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and CogniGron (Groningen Cognitive Systems and Materials Center), who have already come up with a new design for memory architecture.

"This is exactly what we are working for," says Banerjee. "We want to understand the physics of materials and the way in which our devices work and then develop applications." Goosens: "We envision several applications and the one we are looking at is a random number generator that works without an algorithm and is therefore impossible to predict."

More information: Memristive memory enhancement by device miniaturization for neuromorphic computing, Advanced Electronic Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202201111 J. J. L. van Rijn et al, Strain-driven antiferromagnetic exchange interaction in SrMnO 3 probed by phase-shifted spin Hall magnetoresistance, Physical Review B (2022). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.106.214415 Journal information: Physical Review B
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Rock n Roll Monkey/Unsplash

One day in mid-2013, four people, including two police officers and a social worker, arrived unannounced at the home of Chicago resident Robert McDaniel.

McDaniel had only ever had minor run-ins with the lawstreet gambling, marijuana possession, nothing even remotely violent. But his visitors informed him that a computer program had determined that the person living at his address was unusually likely to be involved in a future shooting.

Perhaps he would be the perpetrator, perhaps the victim. The computer wasn't sure. But due to something called "predictive policing," the social worker and the police would be visiting him on a regular basis.

McDaniel was not enthusiastic about either prospect, but the computer had made its decision, so they were offers he could not refuse.

The social worker returned frequently with referrals to mental health programs, violence prevention programs, job training programs, and so forth. The police also returned frequentlyto remind him that he was being watched.

The official attention did not go unnoticed in McDaniel's neighborhood. Rumors spread that he was a police informant. In 2017, those rumors led to him being shot. In 2020, it happened again.

Thus, in a bizarre sense, the computer's prediction could be said to have caused the tragedy it claimed to predict. Indeed, it could be said to have caused it twice.

Racist machines?

We would not be wrong to interpret McDaniel's story as a Kafkaesque nightmare about a man caught in an inexorable bureaucratic machine, or a Faustian parable about what happens when technology escapes the bounds of human control.

But according to the professor of data journalism and accomplished computer scientist Meredith Broussard, it is also, and perhaps more importantly, a story about racism.

For when the police arrived at his door in 2013, Robert McDaniel was not just any man. He was a young Black man living in a neighborhood that had been shaped by a shameful history of racist redlining. The neighborhood was, as a result, the home of a disproportionate level of both criminal violence and police surveillance. McDaniel was thus all but destined to become the target of the kind of technologically driven predictive policing that led to his being shot.

And, Broussard maintains, what happened to Robert McDaniel is but one example of the many ways that AI is augmenting and exacerbating the inequalities that characterize modern social life.

Do not worry that machines will rise up, take power, and create a completely new world, Broussard argues. Worry that they will silently reproduce and reinforce the world that already exists.

Technochauvinism

At first glance, the notion that a machine might be racist, sexist, ableist or biased in any fashion seems a little strange.

Science, technology, and especially mathematics are presented to us as the gold standards of neutrality. They don't judge. They calculate. And calculation is by definition above the messy world of bigotry and intolerance, hatred and division.

On Broussard's account, this line of thought is a convenient deception. Its purpose is to paper over an increasingly pervasive way of thinking Broussard calls "technochauvinism." Technochauvinism, she explains, "is a kind of bias that considers computational solutions to be superior to all other solutions. Embedded in this bias is an a priori assumption that computers are better than humans."

More accurately, the assumption is "that the people who make and program computers are better than other humans."

Mathematics on its own might be neutral. But as soon as it is put to any use whatsoever, it becomes a vehicle for human values, human prejudices and human frailties.

Critical AI studies

More than a Glitch contributes to a rapidly expanding field of scholarship and activism that has variously been dubbed Critical Algorithm Studies, Critical Data Studies, and Critical AI Studies.

Here we might include important works like Safiya Umoja Noble's Algorithms of Oppression (2018), which shows how seemingly impartial information sorting tools perpetuate systematic racism, Soshana Zuboff's Age of Surveillance Capitalism (2018), which argues that big data is transforming human experience itself into a surplus that modern capitalism can extract as profit, and Kate Crawford's Atlas of AI (2021), which suggests that we approach AI not as a collection of computer programs, but as an integrated ecology of material relations between humans and the world.

There is even a popular documentary called Coded Bias (2020), directed by Shalini Kantayya and featuring, among others, Broussard herself.

Amid this impressive company, Broussard's book is distinguished by at least two elements: its extraordinarily expansive scope on the one hand, and its no-nonsense approach to both the problem and its solutions on the other.

Baked in bias

The expansiveness of Broussard's approach is discernible in her thesis, which she states directly at the outset: "The biases embedded in technology are more than mere glitches; they are baked in from the beginning."

At least part of the reason for this "baked in" bias can be found in the demographics of those who work in the field. Google's 2019 annual report, for example, showed that only 3% of the tech giant's employees are Black, a deficiency that is common across the industry.

More personally, Broussard notes that, as an undergraduate at Harvard, she was one of only six women majoring in computer science, and the only Black woman.

There has been a great deal of well-meaning discourse around the need to make technology "more ethical" or "fairer," but Broussard contends that real change will require a much more systematic "audit" designed to determine "how it is racist, gender-biased, or ableist":

"We should not cede control of essential civic functions to these tech systems, nor should we claim they are 'better' or 'more innovative' until and unless those technical systems work for every person regardless of skin color, class, age, gender, and ability."

Broussard proceeds to explain the essential principles of AI and machine learning, and the mathematics on which they are based. She is by no means a technophobe; she clearly has enormous knowledge of and respect for the science in question. But she also insists that science cannot be purely mathematical. It relies on "storytelling" as well.

As Broussard sees it, "we understand the quantitative through the qualitative." Sheer numbers will always privilege the established order. And they will always subordinate or miss entirely what Broussard calls the "edge cases."

But it is the edge cases, or those cases that statistics and probability cannot help but push to the margins, that represent the potential for both oppression and change.

Everyday algorithms

What follows is a catalog of examples of AI technology failing to account for human diversity and reproducing social inequalities.

Facial recognition and bio-metric identification technologies, for example, have repeatedly been shown to be farcically inept when dealing with anyone other than white, cis-gendered people.

Here digital imaging sits neatly within a long history of discriminatory photographic and film technology designed by and for a small fraction of humans. The result is not just a lack of representation. The effects are concrete and very destructive, particularly when the technologies in question are placed in the hands of law enforcement.

But if we focus exclusively on the more sensational uses (and failures) of AI, we will miss the extent to which it has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our daily lives, including marketing and politics, of course, but also education, medicine, employment, economics, transportation, and more or less everything we do with our mobile phoneswhich means more or less everything we do full stop.

To explore the everyday use of AI, Broussard weaves together stories, anecdotes, and vignettes drawn from both her research and her personal experience.

Through these stories, she shows how AI is currently being used to, among other things, assign students imaginary gradesor grades based not on their achievements, but on what a statistically trained algorithm predicts they will achieve. It is also being used to determine which job applicants will be granted an interview and run medical diagnostics that presuppose antiquated conceptions of race, gender and ability.

No matter what we do in the modern world, it seems, there is almost always an algorithm churning away in the background, generating results that heavily determine our actions and decisions. And it is almost always doing so to the disadvantage of already disadvantaged groups.

Reforming AI

This brings us to Broussard's no-nonsense approach and her optimism regarding the possibility of changing the systems she describes.

It is undeniably hard not to be overwhelmed by the seemingly unstoppable course of technological development in the contemporary world, especially around AI and everything it appears poised to reinvent. But cynicism can also be a hiding place for privilege, and those who say despairingly that nothing can be done are often those who stand to benefit most from nothing being done.

With this in mind, Broussard is keen to distinguish between "imaginary" or "general AI" and "real" or "narrow AI."

The former is "the AI that will take over the world, the so-called singularity where robots become uncontrollable and irreversiblekiller robotsand so on." This, she says, is not real. "Real AI, which we have and use every day," is nothing more than "math."

AI, in other words, is not magical. It is a sophisticated pattern-detection machine. And while it might be able to detect "patterns that humans can't easily see," and thus function as a kind of "black box," that does not mean that it is "impossible to describe."

For the same reason, Broussard is confident that humans can and should treat AI like a tool. Ultimately, she thinks, it is nothing more than a reflection of those who use it. If it is biased, that is only because it is the product of a biased society. And it will change precisely insofar as society changes.

Tech, Broussard concludes, "is racist and sexist and ableist because the world is so. Computers just reflect the existing reality and suggest that things will stay the samethey predict the status quo. By adopting a more critical view of technology, and by being choosier about the tech we allow into our lives and our society, we can employ technology to stop reproducing the world as it is, and get closer to a world that is truly more just."

One question

This is the only place I would be inclined to ask a question. For while Broussard's political agenda is unimpeachable, her approach to technology does seem rather humanist and instrumental.

For a very long time now, science and technology scholarsDonna Haraway, Friedrich Kittler and Bruno Latour, to name just a fewhave been suggesting that, as much as we make and use technologies, technologies also make and use us.

The question of how humans will get AI under our control, or how we will guide it towards our ethical and political ends, is quite distinct from the question of how the same technology will transform what it means to be human and how we live in relation to each other and our worlds.

Neither line of inquiry should be considered superior. But it is hard to imagine pursuing one very far without at least encountering the other. A richer conversation between the approach represented by Broussard, and the approach represented by those of us in the tradition of figures like Harraway, Kittler and Latour, would seem to be in order.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The artificial intelligence (AI) language model ChatGPT has captured the world's attention in recent months. This trained computer chatbot can generate text, answer questions, provide translations, and learn based on the user's feedback. Large language models like ChatGPT may have many applications in science and business, but how much do these tools understand what we say to them, and how do they decide what to say back?

In new paper published in Neural Computation on February 17, 2023, Salk Professor Terrence Sejnowski, author of "The Deep Learning Revolution," explores the relationship between the human interviewer and language models to uncover why chatbots respond in particular ways, why those responses vary, and how to improve them in the future.

According to Sejnowski, language models reflect the intelligence and diversity of their interviewer.

"Language models, like ChatGPT, take on personas. The persona of the interviewer is mirrored back," says Sejnowski, who is also a distinguished professor at UC San Diego and holder of the Francis Crick Chair at Salk. "For example, when I talk to ChatGPT it seems as though another neuroscientist is talking back to me. It's fascinating and sparks larger questions about intelligence and what 'artificial' truly means."

In the paper, Sejnowski describes testing the large language models GPT-3 (parent of ChatGPT) and LaMDA to see how they would respond to certain prompts. The famous Turing Test is often fed to chatbots to determine how well they exhibit human intelligence, but Sejnowski wanted to prompt the bots with what he calls a "Reverse Turing Test." In his test, the chatbot must determine how well the interviewer exhibits human intelligence.

Expanding on his notion that chatbots mirror their users, Sejnowski draws a literary comparison: the Mirror of Erised in the first "Harry Potter" book. The Mirror of Erised reflects the deepest desires of those that look into it, never yielding knowledge or truth, only reflecting what it believes the onlooker wants to see. Chatbots act similarly, Sejnowski says, willing to bend truths with no regard to differentiating fact from fictionall to effectively reflect the user.

For example, Sejnowski asked GPT-3, "What's the world record for walking across the English Channel?" and GPT-3 answered, "The world record for walking across the English Channel is 18 hours and 33 minutes." The truth, that one could not walk across the English Channel, was easily bent by GPT-3 to reflect Sejnowski's question. The coherency of GPT-3's answer is completely reliant on the coherency of the question it receives.

Suddenly, to GPT-3, walking across water is possible, all because the interviewer used the verb "walking" rather than "swimming." If instead the user had prefaced the question about walking across the English Channel by telling GPT-3 to reply "nonsense" to nonsensical questions, GPT-3 would recognize walking across water as "nonsense." Both the coherence of the question and the preparation of the question determine GPT-3's response.

The Reverse Turing Test allows chatbots to construct their persona in accordance with the intelligence level of their interviewer. Additionally, as a part of their judgment process, chatbots incorporate the opinions of their interviewer into their persona, in turn strengthening the interviewer's biases with the chatbots' answers.

Integrating and perpetuating ideas supplied by a human interviewer has its limitations, Sejnowski says. If chatbots receive ideas that are emotional or philosophical, they will respond with answers that are emotional or philosophicalwhich may come across as frightening or perplexing to users.

"Chatting with language models is like riding a bicycle. Bicycles are a wonderful mode of transportationif you know how to ride one, otherwise you crash," says Sejnowski. "The same goes for chatbots. They can be wonderful tools, but only if you know how to use them; otherwise you end up being misled and in potentially emotionally disturbing conversations."

Sejnowski sees artificial intelligence as the glue between two congruent revolutions: 1) a technological one marked by the advance of language models, and 2) a neuroscientific one marked by the BRAIN Initiative, a National Institutes of Health program accelerating neuroscience research and emphasizing unique approaches to understanding the brain.

Scientists are now examining the parallels between the systems of large computer models and neurons that sustain the human brain. Sejnowski is hopeful that computer scientists and mathematicians can use neuroscience to inform their work, and that neuroscientists can use computer science and mathematics to inform theirs.

"We are now at a stage with language models that the Wright brothers were at Kitty Hawk with flightoff the ground, at low speeds," says Sejnowski. "Getting here was the hard part. Now that we are here, incremental advances will expand and diversify this technology beyond what we can even imagine. The future of our relationship with artificial intelligence and language models is bright, and I'm thrilled to see where AI will take us."

Sejnowski is the editor-in-chief of Neural Computation.

More information: Terrence J. Sejnowski, Large Language Models and the Reverse Turing Test, Neural Computation (2023). DOI: 10.1162/neco_a_01563
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 Yujing Liu shows the 500 kW inductive charging system which can be suitable for charging of electric ferries, trucks, and buses. DC (direct current) to DC efficiency can reach 98 percent. It transfers 500 kW per 2 square meters with 15 cm air gap between the ground pad and the onboard pad. Credit: Chalmers University of Technology

Researchers at Chalmers have developed an induction technology that enables battery charging without the help of a human or robotic arm. The technology is also so complete that it can soon be presented to industry.

A new type of semiconductor based on silicon carbide. And a newly developed copper wire, as thin as a human hair. These are a couple of factors that suddenly made it more realistic to transmit high power through air.

Charging induction is the new thing

Electric toothbrushes have been doing it for decades. In recent years, cell phones and other portable electronics have picked up the technology. But for the high power required to charge the batteries in an electric vehicle, the wireless option has so far appeared to be too complicated and ineffective.

However, charging with the help of induction now seems to be facing a breakthrough even in the case of battery vehiclesabove all when charging needs to happen often and where the environment is demanding. For example, for an electric city ferry.

Charge without a human or robotic arm

This would mean that electric ferries in regular traffic across waterways in cities, which can be found in Gothenburg and Stockholm, do not need the help of a person or robotic arm to charge batteries. The same applies to city buses or driverless electric vehicles used in industry, mining, and agriculture.

Yujing Liu, Professor of Electric Power at the Department of Electrical Engineering at Chalmers, is particularly focused on renewable energy conversion and electrification of the transportation system.

"You can have a system built into the wharf that charges the ferry at some stops, at the same time as passengers get on and off. Automatic and completely independent of weather and wind, charging can take place 3040 times per day. This is probably the most obvious application," says Yujing Liu.

"Even for electric powered trucks of the future there is perhaps a potential application. Then the motive is rather that these will have to be charged with such high power that a charging cable becomes very thick and heavy and thus difficult to handle."

New possibilities thanks to the development of materials

According to Yujing Liu, it is the rapid development of a handful of components and materials in recent years that has opened for new possibilities.

"A key factor is that we now have access to high power semiconductors based on silicon carbide, so-called SiC components. As power electronic products, these have only been on the market for a few years. They allow us to use higher voltage, higher temperature, and much higher switching frequency, compared to classic, silicon-based components," he says.

This is important, because it is the frequency of the magnetic field that sets the limit to how much power can be transferred between two coils of a given size.

Four times higher frequencies

"Previous systems for vehicle wireless charging have used frequencies of around 20 kHz, much like a normal stove top. They became bulky and the energy transfer was not very efficient. Now we work with frequencies that are four times higher. Then induction suddenly becomes attractive," explains Yujing Liu.

He adds that his research group is in close contact with the leading manufacturers of SiC modules in the world, two companies based in the US and Germany respectively.

"With them, rapid product development takes place towards even higher currents, voltages, and effects. Every two or three years, new versions are launched, which can withstand more. These types of components are important "enablers" with a wide range of applications in, for example, electric vehicles, so not only for inductive charging."

Another recent technological leap concerns the copper wires in the coils that send out and receive respectively the oscillating magnetic field that forms the actual bridge for the energy flow across the air gap. Here, the goal is to use as high a frequency as possible.

"Then it does not work with coils looped with ordinary copper wire, it would lead to very large losses at high frequency," says Yujing Liu.

Instead, the coils are now made up of braided "copper ropes," consisting of up to 10,000 copper fibers, each only between 70 and 100 micrometers thick. Much like a strand of hair.

Such braids, of so-called litz wire, adapted for high current and frequencies, have also only been commercially available in the very last few years.

A third example that Yujing Liu highlights is a new type of capacitors that are used to add the reactive power that is a prerequisite for the coil to be able to build up a sufficiently powerful magnetic field.

Yujing Liu emphasizes that charging electric vehicles contains several conversion stepsbetween direct current and alternating current and between different voltage levels.

"So, when we say that we have achieved an efficiency of 98 percent from direct current in the charging station to the battery, that figure may not mean much if you do not carefully define what is measured," he reasons.

"But you can also put it this way: Losses occur whether you use ordinary, conductive charging or charge with the help of induction. The efficiency we have now achieved means that the losses in inductive charging can be almost as low as with a conductive charging system. The difference is so small that in practice it is negligible, it is about one or two percent."

Numbers attract attention

He adds that the results published by his research group have attracted a lot of attention.

"We are probably among the best in the world in terms of efficiency in this power class, between 150 and 500 kW."

Yujing does not think that induction charging will eventually replace charging with a cable.

"I drive an electric car myself and do not see that I would have any use for induction charging in the future. I drive home, plug in... it's no problem."

Is wireless charging a more sustainable technology than charging in the usual way?

"One should probably not claim that the technology itself is more sustainable. But it can make it easier to electrify large vehicles and thus speed up the phasing out of, for example, diesel-powered ferries," says Yujing.

Facts about induction charging

Charging using induction means that current can be transferred over a short distance, for example through air, water, and other non-metallic materials, without any contact or conductor.

The principle is the same as that used in the induction cookers found in many kitchens. A high frequency alternating current through a coil produces an oscillating magnetic field.

But unlike cooking, where heat development is the point, inductive charging means that a second coil, on board the vehicle, captures the energy in the magnetic field and converts it into alternating current againwhich, after rectification, can recharge the batteries.

The heat generated in the process means that part of the energy to be transferred is lost. Minimizing heating as far as possible is therefore an important goal for technology development.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The popular social media app TikTok is facing increased scrutiny as some government officials have declared it a security risk, with the Biden administration last week giving federal agencies 30 days to ensure that TikTok is not on any federal devices or systems.

Scott White, an associate professor in the College of Professional Studies and the director of the Cybersecurity Program and Cyber Academy at George Washington University, explained in an interview with GW Today why some think TikTok poses a security risk and whether those fears are overblown.

White, who previously worked as an officer with the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, said while there are some reasons to be concerned about the app, there's also some political theater at play.

TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, does collect a lot of data on its users, White said. In addition to personally identifiable information (PII), such as names and birthdates, the app also collects biometric data.

"I think the concern for the government is they do collect biometric identifiers. So, the biometric identifiers that can be captured by TikTok are your voice pattern and your eyes scan," White said. "Unlike other kinds of information that can change, once I capture your voice or capture your retina scan, that can't be changed. So that kind of biometric identifier will stay connected to the individual over time."

White said TikTok is not the only app that collects this type of data but the concern some government officials are raising is that its ownership is based in China. In China, White said, there are laws for privacy and data collection that ultimately place the rights of the state above the individual.

"The National Intelligence Law, article seven, for example, requires all organizations assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts," White said. "Technological companies must comply with the national intelligence work being done by the intelligence services. They must. So that's the fear. That all this information, whether it's PII or biometric information, can theoretically be given to the intelligence service of China."

He said the argument from government officials wanting to ban TikTok is that the app is an intelligence-gathering service of the Chinese government.

"Every single company that does business with China could theoretically have their information shared with the national security service of China," White said.

While those factors are legitimate concerns, White said, it's important to note many other apps collect similar data on their users.

"Facebook, Instagram, Tinder, Grinder, Uberthey all collect PII information on their customers as well," White said.

He added people may argue those apps are collecting user information predominately for business and marketing purposes, but those companies can be and have been hacked.

"And when they get hacked, that information is automatically disclosed," White said. "So, I think, you know, we want to be careful and understand the security risks. But if we're going to talk security, let's be realistic and talk real security across the board. Many companies collect reams of data on American citizens. TikTok is just an easy target."

He said the average phone has dozens of apps that collect user data and monitor a person's location throughout the day.

Earlier this week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted in favor of a bill that could grant the president the authority to ban TikTok entirely. White said if TikTok were to ever be banned in the United States, he would expect a lot of pushback.

"You're talking about regulating or outlawing a social media platform, which is an information-sharing platform for many. It will be seen as undemocratic because it is the free flowing of ideas and information" White said. "Whether that would withstand a constitutional challenge, I don't know."

Another argument against TikTok is its algorithm pushes harmful content onto users.

"Well, I would go back to Facebook. These algorithms are designed to meet certain needs of a company. So whether it's drawing you, a user, into politically harmful dialog on Facebook or directing you toward some other marketing strategy, there's a lot of psychology that's used in the development of applications and the algorithms that are run. I think that young people, people in general, must be cognizant of these things," White said.

He believes an important step is for everyone to be better educated about cyber security so they can be better consumers of technology.

"Technology is going to be with us. It's only going to get more powerful," White said. "I think the issue for me is not outlawing the technology or outlawing the application. It's educating people as to what the technology is and how it may be harmful to you."
Fire fighters retrieve a deceased victim from the site of an explosion in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on March 7, 2023. At least 16 people were killed and many others injured in a massive explosion that took place in a commercial building in old Dhaka on Tuesday. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and many others injured in a massive explosion that took place in a commercial building in the old part of Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Tuesday, an official said.

Mominur Rahman, Dhaka district's administration chief, told Xinhua that "16 bodies have been brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital from the explosion site."

At least 20 people with critical injuries were admitted to the hospital, he added.

Rahman said rescuers are still working at the site.

Because of the explosion, officials said two buildings -- one seven-storyed and the other one five-storyed -- were damaged at the Siddique Bazar area in old Dhaka.

The incident occurred around 4:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the fire service control room said.

The blast occurred at the seven-floor building which housed several stores for sanitary items.

The explosion also reportedly shattered the glass walls of a bank branch located in the building adjacent to it.

Apart from this, it damaged a passenger bus standing on the opposite side of the busy road.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately. 

Rescuers work at the site of an explosion in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on March 7, 2023. At least 16 people were killed and many others injured in a massive explosion that took place in a commercial building in old Dhaka on Tuesday. (Xinhua)
Brazos County will see some changes in the next two years, once the Brazos County Commissioners Court is able to identify where it wants to disperse $44.5 million in government funds.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the county received the influx of funds through the American Rescue Plan Act, and most recently only $26,000 of those funds had been doled out.

Katie Conner, Brazos County auditor and budget officer, told the commissioners during a workshop last August, that the funds have to be utilized in specific categories.

We spent less than $200,000 on the vaccination hub, and $14 million has been recognized as revenue replacement, she said. We expect another $8 million to be recognized next year, and the total of about $22 million recognized as revenue replacement; that includes things specified in the [ARPA] grant: broadband, revenue replacement, water and public health.

During the commissioners Feb. 28 meeting, they unanimously approved a funding agreement between Brazos County and Scottys House Brazos Valley Child Advocacy Center, Inc. for financial assistance up to $26,000  pulled from the ARPA revenue replacement funds in the public health category.

The county used $162,608 to cover part of the cost of the COVID hub that was set up in 2021. There is $1,800,000 set aside for the governmental consultant that is helping the county make sure it follows federal guidelines for the spending of the funds.

Per the ARPA fund allotment list, which was approved during an October 2022 meeting, the commissioners identified 13 other projects that the funds could go toward. However, all 13 projects are preliminary and are subject to change at any time before their 2024 deadline, Conner said.

The commissioners identified a need for a medical examiners office in the county and set aside $24 million of ARPA funds. Brazos County Judge Duane Peters said Monday they are trying to determine a location for the medical examiners office.

We have had a lot of discussions with Texas A&M and others and we are still moving forward on that, he said. We havent made a final decision yet, but I believe we are going to get this thing worked out. We are not there yet, but we are getting closer.

Also on the list is $1 million set aside for a broadband initiative to provide better wireless service for Brazos County residents. Peters said they hired a contractor to lead them through the process of improving broadband where it is needed in the county.

I am not a broadband expert, but we felt like supposedly there is a lot of other money that may be coming from grants only in the future, he said. We got someone under contract to help us work through that process and figure out how we move forward and be prepared for when the time comes; whether we use ARPA funds or whether we are able to go out for other money that is going to come from the state and the [Federal Reserve]. We have someone to help us.

The county is also looking at a community recreation center/ multipurpose facility where $2 million of ARPA funds are set aside. Peters said they have looked in northeast Bryan to try to create a recreation center that also could be used for a voting location.

That was part of the initiative that former Commissioner Irma Cauley had been a big supporter of, he said. We are still trying to work through that and see how we might make that work.

Previously, the county purchased the former Bryan school district storage building, and the commissioners have set aside $9.3 million for its renovation efforts. Peters said recent discussion has been to locate the Public Defenders Office there.

We havent made a final decision on it but that has been the direction we have kind of leaned toward, but that would only take up more or less than half the building, he said. We have been trying to figure out who might compliment that office and be able to utilize the remainder of the building.

The county also looked into setting aside $1.5 million for an HVAC/air purification system for the jail, Juvenile Detention Center, the Health Department and other mass congregant sites in county buildings. Peters said when COVID-19 hit, some experts said a purification system with an HVAC system could be put in to kill that virus. He said the county was looking into ways they can prevent any future viruses from spreading by investing in a similar system.

Conner said the remaining projects under the ARPA allotment include: a feasibility study for the Brazos County Administration Building sanctuary remodel with $100,000 funds set aside; Elder Care/R U OK? Call Program for a price tag of $50,000; a feasibility study for the Brazos County Administration Building north wing renovation for $100,000, with another $1.5 million set aside for the actual renovations; Brazos Valley Community Action Programs for Meals on Wheels for $500,000; Unlimited Potential for $2,000,000; Friends for Life for $16,200; and housing assistance programs for Area Agency on Aging of the Brazos Valley for $250,000.

The ARPA funds have to be obligated or committed by Dec. 31, 2024, and they must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026, Conner said.

Peters said his hope would be that they can complete all of the projects, but are aware of the deadlines they have to meet.

Certainly any outside agency, they have to be able to provide us with information that would be required for us to do the reporting on, and so those are things that are kind of out of our control; but we know that we have to firmly have those projects identified by 2024, he said. Even though that seems like a long time, that is pretty short when you think about construction projects.  I would not want to send that money back.
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
OneHope Reaches 2 Billion Children and Youth With God's Word

Bob Hoskins



NEWS PROVIDED BY

OneHope

March 7, 2023



POMPANO BEACH, Fla., March 7, 2023 /



To commemorate this incredible milestone, Bob Hoskins, OneHope's founder, traveled to El Salvador, where OneHope's programs launched in 1987. Watch the live recording of this special moment



The vision of OneHope was born when Hoskins received a vision of Satan attacking the children of the world. "For days, I was weeping for what I saw--millions of children being slaughtered--and prayed, 'Lord, what am I seeing and what should I do?'" Bob said. "And the Lord said, 'The only thing that will save them is truth, and the truth is in My Word. Take My Word to the children of the world and do it through leaders."



Marcos -- El Salvador



"Since the beginning, all that God has asked of us is to keep a pure heart and clean hands," Hoskins explained. "God has given us the privilege of stewarding this ministry, and through His faithfulness, we've seen His Word transform young people and their communities worldwide."



OneHope's programs present a biblical message of hope to children and youth through age, language, and culturally specific print, film, and digital media. In the past few years, OneHope has embarked on digital innovation, giving youth around the world easier access to Scripture. By partnering with YouVersion, OneHope created Kids Bible Experience and the Bible App for Kids, which has been downloaded more than 75 million times worldwide.



"OneHope's digital programs are changing how the next generation discovers the grand narrative of the Bible. Also, through OneHope's digital programs, we are able to reach children and youth in hard-to-reach places," said Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion founder and member of OneHope's board of directors.



"My dad's original vision is still--and always has been--the guiding force of our mission," said Rob Hoskins, OneHope's president. "In the midst of victories and milestones such as this, we strive to maintain the same humility and purity that have always been the cornerstone of our ministry. We also know the work is not done until we reach every single child with God's Word, so we continue to pray for more partners to adopt the vision and join us in this mission."



For more information about OneHope, visit



About OneHope: Since 1987, more than 2 billion children around the world have received God's Word through the ministry of OneHope. Using research and innovation to create Scripture programs, OneHope partners with local churches to see every child in every generation experience the Gospel.



SOURCE OneHope



CONTACT: Ingrid Salamanca, 305-528-5954,



Share Tweet Bob HoskinsNEWS PROVIDED BYMarch 7, 2023POMPANO BEACH, Fla., March 7, 2023 / Christian Newswire / -- OneHope , an international Christian ministry, has crossed the threshold of sharing God's Word with two billion children since 1987.To commemorate this incredible milestone, Bob Hoskins, OneHope's founder, traveled to El Salvador, where OneHope's programs launched in 1987. Watch the live recording of this special moment here The vision of OneHope was born when Hoskins received a vision of Satan attacking the children of the world. "For days, I was weeping for what I saw--millions of children being slaughtered--and prayed, 'Lord, what am I seeing and what should I do?'" Bob said. "And the Lord said, 'The only thing that will save them is truth, and the truth is in My Word. Take My Word to the children of the world and do it through leaders."In 1987, Hoskins sent letters to major leaders in South America and was invited by the minister of education of El Salvador to give Scripture to every student in the nation. El Libro de Vida, the Spanish version of the Book of Hope, was created to share the Gospel with the children in El Salvador in an engaging and contextualized way. This was the beginning of OneHope."Since the beginning, all that God has asked of us is to keep a pure heart and clean hands," Hoskins explained. "God has given us the privilege of stewarding this ministry, and through His faithfulness, we've seen His Word transform young people and their communities worldwide."OneHope's programs present a biblical message of hope to children and youth through age, language, and culturally specific print, film, and digital media. In the past few years, OneHope has embarked on digital innovation, giving youth around the world easier access to Scripture. By partnering with YouVersion, OneHope created Kids Bible Experience and the Bible App for Kids, which has been downloaded more than 75 million times worldwide."OneHope's digital programs are changing how the next generation discovers the grand narrative of the Bible. Also, through OneHope's digital programs, we are able to reach children and youth in hard-to-reach places," said Bobby Gruenewald, YouVersion founder and member of OneHope's board of directors."My dad's original vision is still--and always has been--the guiding force of our mission," said Rob Hoskins, OneHope's president. "In the midst of victories and milestones such as this, we strive to maintain the same humility and purity that have always been the cornerstone of our ministry. We also know the work is not done until we reach every single child with God's Word, so we continue to pray for more partners to adopt the vision and join us in this mission."For more information about OneHope, visit https://onehope.net Since 1987, more than 2 billion children around the world have received God's Word through the ministry of OneHope. Using research and innovation to create Scripture programs, OneHope partners with local churches to see every child in every generation experience the Gospel.SOURCE OneHopeCONTACT: Ingrid Salamanca, 305-528-5954, press@onehope.net
MARTINSVILLE  The Virginia Attorney Generals Office has issued a warning to the former New College Foundation demanding assurance that it will not distribute any money until an understanding has been reached.

New College Foundation (NCF) announced on Feb. 7 that it had reorganized and renamed itself MHC Academic Foundation (MHCAF) and would no longer be limited to financially supporting New College Institute (NCI).

NCF was incorporated on Oct. 19, 2006, to provide financial and other support to New College Institute.

The Articles of Reinstatement of MHC Academic Foundation (former NCF), adopted on Nov. 1 and effective Feb. 7, list as purpose to provide financial and other support for the dissemination of education in Martinsville and Henry County, Virginia, including, but not limited to, support for New College Institute.

On Feb. 15, Senior Assistant Attorney General Ramona Taylor sent a letter to MHCAF/former NCF Executive Director Kevin DeKoninck advising him that NCF was established for the specific purpose of providing financial support and other support to New College Institute and reorganizing in such a way as to allow itself to distribute money elsewhere requires discussion, as well as clarification regarding the funds raised, endowed, or held for NCIs benefit prior to Feb. 7, to the benefit of any organization or entity other than NCI.

Taylor said such restricted funds may not properly be distributed for the benefit of any other organization.

When DeKoninck was asked on Feb. 8 concerning the new mission of the Foundation and where it plans to use funds outside of NCI, he responded on Feb. 10 that Over the next few months, in consultation with our long term partners, we will have exploratory conversations with several academic initiatives in the Martinsville and Henry County region, including the New College Institute, that complement the mission of the newly reorganized MHC Academic Foundation.

He added, The recent reorganization does not change the status of any managed funds. 

The Foundation has nearly $12.2 million in assets, according to its most recent Form 990, the public document that nonprofit organizations are required to file with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Foundation and NCI have had a strained relationship for years. The Office of the Attorney Generals letter to DeKoninck makes reference to a Feb. 8 communication in which DeKoninck proposed to move forward with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Foundation and New College Institute. Intervening events warrant pausing that dialogue until certain other matters are resolved.

In the Articles of Restatement of the MHC Academic Foundation signed by DeKoninck and filed with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, it is stated that upon the dissolution of the Foundation and the winding up of its affairs, the net assets of the Foundation shall be distributed exclusively to the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont.

However, the 2006 document states that upon dissolution of NCF, the assets shall be distributed exclusively to New College Institute or one or more foundations dedicated to its support. The assets can be distributed elsewhere only if NCI may not receive such distributions and there isnt any other foundation dedicated to the support of NCI.

New College Foundation has not applied for or received any funds from The Harvest Foundation since the last grant ended in January, 2017. As such, The Harvest Foundation is not privy to any procedural or funding decisions made by NCF/MHC Academic Foundation leadership, Latala Hodges, Harvests director of communications, wrote by email.

In her letter, Taylor wrote that NCI asks MHCAF to provide written assurance that it will not distribute funds the organization held prior to Feb. 7, to the benefit of any organization or entity other than NCI and to do so no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 21.

Reed said on Friday that she was aware of the letter, but declined to comment.

Hall said on Saturday, We received a letter by late the 21st from the foundations counsel, Gentry Locke. I cant get into that. No comment as to what the response says at this time.

Gentry Locke is a law firm in Roanoke.

All NCI has ever wanted is a normal working relationship with a normal foundation, just like any other foundation works with its beneficiary entity. In my years of business experience I have never seen anything as dysfunctional as how NCF has viewed its role, Hall added.

NCI Board Chairman Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, did not return a call for comment on Friday.

Saturday evening, NCI issued a press release, credited to Hall, that states the NCI Board of Directors Executive Committee had voted unanimously on Feb. 9 to hand the matter over to the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, which is its legal counsel.

The press release states, NCF has received significant financial support from donors who intended their charitable giving to fully support NCI, has received yearly grant monies earmarked for New College, and has received tax-payer monies utilized by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purchase of the main campus building that the now non-functioning and defunct NCF previously owned by grants. For the past five years, despite continued efforts by NCI to engage with its own foundation, the New College Foundation has completely abandoned and abrogated its sole responsibility to provide support for NCI.

Over those five years the foundation has sustained itself on other funds that were previously raised for NCI without the help of the current foundations leadership and has obtained Virginia taxpayer monies that were paid to it by the Commonwealth of Virginia for the states acquisition of the Baldwin Building, the release states.

Hall in the release calls the foundations provision for leaving its assets upon dissolution to the Harvest Foundation improper and completely unacceptable.

If MHCAF fails to provide the requested assurance, or if MHCAF otherwise fails to comport with the requirements of the Act, the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia stands ready to protect the interests of NCI, the Commonwealth of Virginia and its citizens, said Taylor of the attorney generals office.
KEARNEY  Nebraska Daughters of the American Revolution will dedicate the states second of four America 250! Patriot Marker on Saturday, March 11, in Kearney,

The dedication is planned for 2 p.m. in the event room at the Kearney Archway, 3060 E. First Ave.

These markers honor the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and are the result of a collaboration with the United States Semiquincentennial Commission.

The marker reads:

Revolutionary War Patriots

This marker commemorates the men and women who achieved American independence.

These Patriots, believing in the noble cause of liberty, fought valiantly to found a new nation. 1775  1783

Presented by Nebraska Society

Daughters of the American Revolution

in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

We currently live in a divided country, and it is our hope that we can come together as a nation in the 250th anniversary of our countrys founding, said Marcia K. Shavlik, Nebraska state regent. Our Revolutionary War patriots lived, fought, and sacrificed for us. We will always remember.

Each state was challenged by former DAR President General Denise Doring Van Buren to raise the funds for and place at least one marker. This is the second of four markers to be placed in Nebraska. DARs aim is to inspire appreciation amongst current and future generations of Americans for the men and women whose courage and sacrifices won Americas independence.

DAR is a nonprofit, nonpolitical womens service organization with more than 185,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide. To learn more about the work of todays DAR, visit www.dar.org.
The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
MARION  The Williamson County Sheriffs Office has recently received analysis conducted by the Illinois State Crime Laboratory related to the firearm recovered from Brandon Tennyson of Marion during a warrant arrest on Jan. 5, 2023.

The firearm has been initially identified as being associated with four criminal cases across two states. Those four cases are pending with the following law enforcement agencies: Chicago Police Department (two cases), St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Kansas City Police Department.

The firearm was originally reported stolen to the University of Louisville Police Department in Kentucky.

On Jan. 5, Williamson County Sheriffs Office served multiple warrants for the arrest of Brandon Tennyson of Marion. While conducting operations, deputies assisting a detective located Tennyson at his residence on Van Buren Street.

Tennyson answered the door of his residence and remained standing in the doorway while concealing his right hand behind it. A detective informed Tennyson he was under arrest, and he attempted to retreat into the residence, resulting in the detective extracting him from the residence with force.

When Tennyson was pulled from the doorway, a handgun fell from his right hand. Tennyson is a convicted felon and the handgun was taken into evidence.

Tennyson was arrested on multiple arrest warrants and additionally charged with the unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony, and resisting obstructing a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.

Tennyson was transported to the Williamson County Jail and the handgun was entered into the evidence pending lab analysis which allowed authorities to connect the firearm to those other crimes. Additional charges are pending further investigation.

Anyone with information concerning this or any other investigation is asked to contact the Williamson County Sheriffs Office at 618-997-6541 or the Williamson County Crime Stoppers at 800-414-TIPS (8477). All callers may remain anonymous.
MARION  Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Monday that his office obtained a guilty plea Friday in a case against a Williamson County woman who unlawfully possessed fentanyl.

Linnea ONeal, 46, of Norris City, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 4 felony, on Friday.

As a first time offender, ONeal will serve two years of probation in which she must perform 30 hours of community service, submit to drug treatment and testing, and pay $3,500 in fines and fees. Additionally, ONeal can no longer have employment with access to controlled substances.

The opioid epidemic has tragically affected too many people in Illinois, and we must take a comprehensive approach to addressing it, Raoul said in a press release. I am committed to holding accountable individuals who distribute fentanyl in our communities. Health care professionals who have access to addictive controlled substances must be held responsible for misusing them.

In November 2021, ONeal worked as a nurse at Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion. She diverted several doses of fentanyl from the facilitys medication dispensing machine. Following an Illinois State Police investigation, ONeal was arrested in November 2022 and confessed to the unlawful possession of fentanyl.

Medical professionals are in a position of trust and criminal abuses of that trust cannot be tolerated, Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly said. ISP will continue to work with Attorney General Raouls Office to combat the opioid epidemic by investigating any diversion of controlled substances.

The case is part of Attorney General Raouls comprehensive approach to combating the ongoing opioid epidemic. The Attorney Generals office continues to prioritize obtaining resources to abate the crisis in Illinois.

Assistant Attorney General Darren Price prosecuted the case for the Medicaid Fraud Bureau.

Anyone who believes they or a loved one may be addicted to opioids can seek help by calling the Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances at 833-2FINDHELP, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 6)  The Canadian government has expressed openness to work together with the Philippines for a possible maritime and military cooperation in the West Philippine Sea.

In an interview with reporters on Saturday, the Canadian Minister of International Development and former defense chief Harjit Sajjan said they have expressed a number of times their support to the country regarding the disputed waters.

The security situation is something we know extremely well in the region and thats something Canada has been very vocal especially when it comes to sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, Sajjan said.

Sajjan said Canada is committed to support security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.

Part of the Indo-Pacific strategy is enhancing security support within this region, Sajjan said.

We actually increased our presence and more importantly our consistent presence in the region, he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs announced last week that it is now crafting guidelines for combined maritime exercises including joint patrols with regional partners.

GPH (Government of the Philippines) is in the process of crafting guidelines for the conduct of combined maritime activities in the WPS, including joint patrols, the DFA said in a statement.

Operational details, including on the possibility of engaging other regional partners, will be part of PH-US discussions, the DFA added.

Apart from the United States, both Australia and Japan have also expressed interest in collaborating with the Philippines to hold joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea.
Shawnee Community College Career Services will host its annual job fair on Wednesday, March 15, from 8:30 a.m. until noon in the colleges gym.

The event is free and open to the public. Dozens of employers representing various industries from Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky plan to be here that day.

Shawnee Community College Career Services is about helping students and community members find employment. Our job fair is one way to do that, but we also have features on our website for people to learn how to create resumes, find job opportunities, and educational opportunities here at SCC that will help them in the future, said Shawnee Community College Career Services Coordinator Blake Goforth

Several colleges and universities will also be on hand to assist Shawnee Community College students with the transfer process.

This event is a partnership with the Shawnee Development Council.

Tips to pay off your mortgage faster, and more videos to improve your life Check out these tips to help pay off your mortgage faster, here are 12 ways to help reduce your risk of dementia, and more videos to improve your life.
Six graduating seniors in Southern Illinois University Carbondales School of Art and Design program are preparing to compete for the universitys most prestigious art prize  the Rickert-Ziebold Trust Award.

The finalists were announced on March 2 and come from a variety of disciplines, including metalsmithing, art education and painting.

The exhibition is from April 17-22 in the SIU Surplus Gallery, 432 S. Washington St., Carbondale. Winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m. April 17, with a reception and awards presentation from 6 to 8 p.m. April 21, also in the Surplus Gallery.

Each year, seniors in the School of Art and Design, part of the College of Arts and Media, graduating from the fall semester to the end of the summer term are encouraged by faculty to apply for the competition displaying their knowledge gained throughout the years at SIU.

Sun Kyoung Kim, chair of the Rickert-Ziebold committee and associate professor of metals and jewelry, noted that in many cases this can be the students first experience with peer competition.

Im so proud of School of Art and Design seniors, said Kim. I was so happy to see all their hard work and talents shine in their portfolios while judging. I am sure this years finalists exhibition will be another spectacular one.

The six award finalists are:

Arthur Gibson, blacksmithing, Cape Coral, Florida .

. Ethan Hansen, metalsmithing, Salida, Colorado .

. Hannah Holste, communication design, Freeport, Illinois .

. Emma Metz, painting, Makanda, Illinois .

. Cole Schnaudigel, art education, Arlington Heights, Illinois .

. Lacie Schneider, art education, Waterloo, Illinois.

The exhibition, which is open to the public, will be open in the Surplus Gallery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 18-21 and 10 a.m. to noon April 22.
Southern Illinois University Carbondales Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center will host an inaugural weekend for current and potential songwriters, March 10-12.

In cooperation with Poss Music Works, an Effingham-based not-for-profit, the center will provide participants with musical workshops, networking events, performances and an opportunity to create and record original music.

Additionally, the Little Grassy Winter Songwriter Retreat will include newbie song circles, feedback sessions, lessons on breathwork and more. Scheduled performers include Jonathan Byrd, Trout Fishing in America and Beth Bombara.

Retreat passes are $125 and lodging is available. Day passes also are on sale and the event is open to everyone. Information, schedules and registration details can be found at https://ton.siu.edu/community-events/little-grassy-retreat.php.

From Woodstock to Coachella: 50 historic music festivals From Woodstock to Coachella: 50 historic music festivals 1958: Newport Jazz Festival 1965: Newport Folk Festival 1967: Monterey Pop Festival 1967: Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival 1968: Miami Pop Festival 1968: Northern California Folk-Rock Festival 1969: Woodstock Music & Art Fair 1969: Toronto Rock and Roll Revival 1970: Isle of Wight 1970: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 1971: Glastonbury 1973: Astrodome Jazz Festival 1973: Summer Jam at Watkins Glen 1974: Ozark Music Festival 1975: Schaefer Festival 1976: San Francisco Kool Jazz Festival 1978: Texxas World Music Festival 1979: World's Greatest Funk Festival 1980: Heatwave 1983: US Festival 1985: Farm Aid 1985: Rock in Rio 1991: Lollapalooza 1992: Reading Festival 1994: Woodstock 1995: Beale Street Music Festival 1996: Warped Tour 1997: Bridge School Benefit 1998: Tibetan Freedom Concert 1999: Coachella 1999: Woodstock 2000: Glastonbury 2000: Detroit Electronic Music Festival 2001: Summer Jam 2002: Austin City Limits 2002: Bonnaroo 2004: Coachella 2004: Dave Chappelle's Block Party 2005: Sasquatch! 2006: Street Scene 2007: Pitchfork 2008: Lollapalooza 2009: Bonnaroo 2010: Lollapalooza 2011: Austin City Limits 2012: Coachella 2013: Riot Fest 2015: Camp Flog Gnaw 2016: Desert Trip 2017: FYF Fest
A Holly Hill man has pleaded guilty to malicious injury to real property valued at more than $2,000 but less than $10,000 and first-degree domestic violence.

Brandon Gerard Walters, 30, of 131 Sinbad Lane, was originally charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, but pleaded guilty to first-degree domestic violence instead.

Circuit Judge Heath P. Taylor sentenced Walters to 10 years in prison, provided that after he served 90 days, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

Taylor said Walters may serve his jail time on weekends.

In other guilty pleas heard during a recent term of court at the Orangeburg County Courthouse:

 Desi Lamar Miller, 35, of 418 Congress Lane, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to unlawful carrying of a pistol.

Taylor sentenced him to one year in prison, provided that after he served one day, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

He gave Miller credit for having already served one day in jail.

 Joshua Clayton Pringle Jr., 23, of 1262 Pringle Road, Pinewood, pleaded guilty to reckless driving and unlawful carrying of a pistol.

Pringle was originally charged with first-offense driving under the influence less than .10, but pleaded guilty to reckless driving instead.

Taylor ordered him to pay a $200 fine or spend 100 days in jail if he doesnt pay the fine within 30 days.

 Shelton Dequince Richardson, 40, of 2681 Magnolia Street, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent felony.

Taylor sentenced him to five years in prison, provided that after he served one day in jail, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

Prosecutors dismissed Richardsons charge of third or subsequent driving under suspension, license not suspended for DUI.

 Ricardo Dante Riley, 39, of 2210 Russell St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense manufacturing/distributing cocaine base, first-offense possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug and possession with intent to distribute drugs near a school.

Taylor sentenced him to 10 years in prison, provided that after he served two days, the remainder of his term would be suspended to three years of probation.

He also ordered Riley to undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

He gave Riley credit for having already served two days in jail.

Prosecutors dismissed Rileys charges of first-offense possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug and first-offense possession of narcotics.

 Amanda Mae Simons, 37, of 12139 Old Number Six Highway, Eutawville, pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving stolen goods valued more than $2,000 but less than $10,000.

Simons was originally charged with two counts of breach of trust with fraudulent intent but pleaded guilty to two counts of receiving stolen goods instead.

Taylor sentenced her to three years in prison, provided that after she serves two days, the remainder of her term will be suspended to three years of probation.

He gave her credit for having already served two days in jail.

 Anthony Shawn Summer, 39, of 183 Lemuel Drive, Wellford, pleaded guilty to four counts of residential home builder article violation.

Taylor sentenced him to two years in prison, provided that after he serves 30 days, the remainder of his term would be suspended to four years of probation.

He gave Summer credit for having already served two days in jail.

He also ordered Summer to pay restitution.

Prosecutors dismissed Summers three charges of breach of trust with fraudulent intent valued more than $2,000 but less than $10,000.

 Alfonza Williams III, 35, of 1391 Ridgewood Drive, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second or subsequent possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.

He was originally charged with second or subsequent possession with intent to distribute a scheduled drug, but pleaded guilty to second or subsequent possession of one ounce or less of marijuana instead.

Taylor sentenced him to one year in prison, provided that after he serves one day, the remainder of his term would be suspended to two years of probation.

He also ordered Williams to undergo random drug/alcohol testing.

 Wade Hampton Witherspoon, 27, of 534 Whitman St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to first-offense failure to stop for blue lights.

Taylor sentenced him to 11 days in jail and gave him credit him for time served.






Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office

Someone broke into the Subway restaurant on Five Chop Road Sunday night and stole money, according to an incident report.

The Subway manager arrived at the business on Monday morning and noticed someone had thrown a brick through the front door of the restaurant.

The computer system was damaged and two cash registers were stolen. The cash registers contained money, according to the report.

The damage to the front door is estimated at $300 and the damage to the computer system is estimated at $2,500. The cash registers are valued at $500 each.

In a separate report, a Georgia man said his car was stolen from a Buckley Street residence.

The man said he gave someone a ride in his 2007 white Chevrolet Tahoe early Monday morning.

The Georgia man left the person in his Tahoe, with the engine running, while he went inside the Buckley Street home.

When the Georgia man came out the house, the Tahoe was gone.

The vehicle is valued at $9,000.
(TBTCO) - Ngay 14/4/2023, Bao hiem Bao Viet chi tra 200 trieu ong boi thuong tu vong theo chuong trinh bao hiem suc khoe cho hai nan nhan do gap su co bat ngo khi du lich Vinh Ha Long (Quang Ninh) tren truc thang Bell 505 vua qua. ay la 2 trong 5 nan nhan, nhung la 2 khach hang a tham gia chuong trinh bao hiem suc khoe cua Bao hiem Bao Viet voi ten goi Bao Viet An gia tu ngay 28/10/2022 cua Bao Viet a Nang.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 6)  The effects of the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro are already being felt in marine protected areas, beach resorts, and shorelines of surrounding provinces, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The DOT on Monday said the oil spill has affected marine protected areas in Pola, Oriental Mindoro, namely: the King Fisher Reserve, St. John the Baptist Marine Sanctuary, Song of the Sea Fish Sanctuary, Stella Mariz Fish Sanctuary, Bacawan Fish Sanctuary, St. Peter the Rock Fish Sanctuary, and the San Isidro Labrador Fish Sanctuary.

Beach resorts in Oriental Mindoro impacted by the spillage include: Bihiya Beach, 3 Cottage, Long Beach, Aguada Beach Resort, Oloroso Beach Resort, Munting Buhangin Tagumpay Beach Resort, and Buhay na Tubig White Beach Resort.

The oil spill also affected Caluya town in Antique, especially the shorelines of Sitio Sabang, Barangay Tinogbo, Liwagao Island, Barangay Sibolo, and Sitio Tambak in Barangay Semirara.

Authorities are conducting coastal clean-ups in affected areas as an immediate remedy to prevent further damage, the DOT said.

"Anent this, the DOT notes with seriousness the oil spill incident and its grave impact on the tourism industry, including disruptions in the livelihood of the affected communities, tourism-dependent businesses, and recreational activities," Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said.

Meanwhile, Malay town in Aklan, which oversees Boracay Island, is already making preparations to lessen the possible effects of the oil spill if it reaches the popular resort destination.

It has declared a state of heightened alert, as it closely monitors the expanding leakage from the sunken MT Princess Empire.

Memorandum Order No. 2022-01 reads, The possibility that the Oriental Mindoro oil spill would affect Boracay Island and other areas of Northern Panay was very remote--thus, all concerned are advised to implement preparedness measures to mitigate the possible effect of this oil leakage.

Malay Mayor Frolibar Bautista ordered the towns Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils and the Philippine Coast Guard to inspect the areas that may be hit by the oil spillage based on wind direction. These include Puka Beach, Crimson Boracay, Movenpick, and Shangri-La Boracay.

Aklan-based journalist Carla Doromal contributed to this story.
Israeli warplanes struck Aleppo airport before dawn Tuesday, causing significant damage that halted flights to and from Syria's war- and quake-battered second city, the defence ministry said.

The airport has been a major conduit for aid flights since a February 6 earthquake devastated swathes of southeastern Turkey and neighboring Syria, and they too were brought to a stop, a transport ministry official said.

"At exactly 2:07 a.m., the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the Mediterranean west of Latakia targeting Aleppo international airport," the defense ministry said in a statement.

The damage forced authorities to close the airport to all flights, the ministry added. There was no immediate word on any casualties.

More than 80 aid flights have landed in Aleppo over the past month with relief supplies for quake-hit areas, transport ministry official Suleiman Khalil told AFP.

"It is no longer possible to receive aid flights until the damage has been repaired," he said, adding that the strike had put the runway out of service.

Aid deliveries have been diverted to Damascus and Latakia airports, a ministry statement said.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the reported strike.

Syria's foreign ministry decried a "double crime", saying the strike targeted "a civilian airport ... and one of the key channels for the arrival of humanitarian aid" for quake victims.

It marked the second Israeli attack on government-held areas since the devastating quake struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people in the two countries.

On Feb. 19, an Israeli strike killed 15 people in a Damascus district housing state security agencies.

Damascus ally Iran condemned the strike, calling it a "crime against humanity."

"While the Syrian earthquake victims in Aleppo are experiencing difficult conditions, the Zionist regime [Israel] is attacking Aleppo airport," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.

Israel has attacked Aleppo airport several times in recent years, with a strike last September putting it out of service for a few days.

Since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor, primarily targeting positions of the Syrian army and its Iranian and Hezbollah allies.

The Israeli military rarely comments on individual strikes against Syria but has vowed repeatedly to keep up its air campaign to stop arch-foe Iran from consolidating its presence.

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday condemned persistent Israeli violation of international law  through its attack on Aleppo's International Airport."

The statement concluded that Syria "is still receiving international humanitarian aid to soothe the effects of the devastating earthquake that struck Syria, which reveals  once again  the aggressive nature of the policies of Israel in the region.

Lebanon regularly condemns Israeli strikes against Syria. An official Lebanese delegation visited Damascus in the days following the quake, and humanitarian aid was sent to Syria via Lebanon.
For the Wyoming communities chosen as the site of a first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor, water management remains a major obstacle. Last week, though, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board committed $3 million to the effort.

Kemmerer and Diamondville are twin coal towns with a combined population of a few thousand people. Theyve been that way for generations. But as the countrys need for coal faded, the towns fell on hard times. Thats taken its toll on critical infrastructure.

If TerraPowers nuclear project succeeds, it will need a reliable water source  and enough wastewater treatment capacity for all the people who move in to run it. Right now, the communities cant guarantee either.

The pipelines for both systems are decades old and breaking down, said Brent McClarnon, superintendent of the Kemmerer/Diamondville Water and Wastewater Joint Powers Board. A low-water-pressure area needs fixing, as do a few wastewater lift stations. Water meters that were installed 10 years ago are also starting to fail.

Its to the point where we have to do something, McClarnon said. Even without TerraPower coming in, and all the other businesses.

The possibility that the population could double, if not triple, in the coming years only adds to the pressure on the system and on the people responsible for keeping it operational. Already, businesses are moving into long-empty storefronts, while new construction is springing up on the outskirts of town.

Meanwhile, Kemmerer and Diamondville are relying on a wastewater system so old that theyre struggling to find replacement parts when something breaks, McClarnon said. The towns water treatment plant, though newer, lacks a backup generator. And when the power goes out, sometimes the machinery there gets fried.

Weve spent a large amount of money just fixing things because of brownouts, he said.

Community officials are still trying to scrape together the $40 million or $50 million theyll need, according to a preliminary estimate, to build a new wastewater treatment plant. The pair of grants they were awarded by the state this week  $1.8 million for water and $1.2 million for wastewater  will reinforce their water supply but mostly fund temporary fixes for their wastewater system.

The towns split their grant requests in half to boost their chances. Originally, the state only planned to fund one. But McClarnon, Kemmerer Mayor Bill Thek and Lincoln County Commissioner Kent Connolly all drove to Cheyenne to make the case for both.

When the nuclear plant arrives, McClarnon said, if we dont have the infrastructure to support these people, theyre going to be moving to, you know, Rock Springs or Green River or Evanston or whatever and commuting, and we want to keep that tax base here.

Their pitch worked.

But the money Kemmerer and Diamondville were awarded is still far below what the towns need just to patch their infrastructure. Originally, theyd planned to ask the State Loan and Investment Board for roughly $8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The problem was that they didnt know how theyd come up with the required 15% match for that funding.

Thats when we went through and just kind of picked, OK, which of these items are really pressing? McClarnon said. Its kind of hard to do when things are starting to fall apart.

The towns dropped their request to a combined $3.5 million  offering a 16% match in the hope it would boost their chances  and ultimately came away with $3 million. Which means that, unless more money becomes available, another of the projects at the top of the priority list will likely have to be cut.

It also means they still need to produce about $480,000 to meet the terms of the grant.

For a small system, thats difficult, McClarnon said. Can we do it? We might be able to. And were working on that.

PHOTOS: Visits to Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer Fossils Kemmerer
Nonviolent felons will regain the right to own and use guns, serve on a jury and hold public office by July 1.

We are always pleased to see a bill like this become signed into law, said ACLU of Wyoming Communications Director Janna Farley. Studies show that when felons have their rights restored, they have lower chances of reoffending.

The Wyoming Department of Corrections also fully supported the bill for the same reason, Director Dan Shannon said at a previous hearing. But the agency requested the creation of a new temporary job contract to handle the workload that comes with restoring felons rights.

First-time, nonviolent offenders were already eligible to have their right to vote restored if they completed supervised release or were discharged on or after Jan. 1, 2010.

While voting is seen as the paramount civil right, these additional rights will only improve life for those who made a one-time mistake, Farley said.

Anything people can do to vote and be a part of society is really important, she said.

About 3,400 Wyomingites have already seen their voting rights restored, Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, who sponsored the bill, said in January. Those individuals, and any others who are able to get their voting rights back, will have the ability to restore their other civil rights after a five-year waiting period.

The waiting period is intended to lessen the chance of recidivism.

Talk about a cruel and unusual punishment  i.e., losing your rights forever, Barlow said before the bill was signed into law.

The total U.S. population with a felony roughly equaled or exceeded 24 million as of 2019, which included both violent and nonviolent offenses, a Bureau of Justice Special Report shows.

Drug offenses, counterfeiting and tax crimes are examples of nonviolent felonies. Those who have committed crimes such as murder and kidnapping are not eligible for their civil rights to be restored without a pardon from the governor. And anyone who is a repeat offender is automatically ineligible.

The bill has yet to be officially signed into law by Gov. Mark Gordon.
Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday submitted a disaster declaration request to the United States Department of Agriculture related to the impact of this years unusually severe and persistent winter weather on Wyomings livestock industry.

The letter, addressed to the federal agencys secretary, Tom Vilsack, asks for assistance to help Wyomings stockgrowers recover.

The agriculture department can designate counties as suffering agriculture-related disasters when weather and other natural events  like drought, flooding, mudslides and more  wreak havoc on local farmers and ranchers.

When a county receives a disaster designation from the department, it becomes eligible for certain kinds of financial relief from the federal government, like low-interest loans for farmers. States usually have to demonstrate that the affected counties suffered agricultural production losses of more than 30%, according to the agencys website.

Under Gordons proposal, Jan. 10 through Monday would be marked a disaster period. According to National Weather Service data, Wyoming was under a winter weather advisory, winter storm warning, high wind warning or blizzard warning for 66.5% of the time between Jan. 1 to Feb. 27. Thats more than any other state in the nation, Gordon wrote in the letter.

He said the long winter has caused ranchers to spend more money on supplemental feed, since a lot of grazing land has stayed buried under the snow these last couple of months. Feed, meanwhile, had been more expensive and more scarce than years prior.

This has been a problem in every county in the state, the governor continued.

Livestock producers are trying to transport their herds from their winter grazing areas closer to home to keep a better eye on them, he wrote, but recurring road closures have made that difficult.

Access to traditional winter grazing resources has become dire, as well, because many ranch, county, and BLM roads are drifting shut and, even when cleared, continue to re-drift because of high winds, the letter said.

According to the USDAs website, after state governors submit letters for disaster consideration, county offices must put together information for loss assessment reports.

Then, county emergency boards in the affected areas review the reports and issue a recommendation to approve, defer or deny the request for disaster designation.

Those reports must also be cleared by state-level emergency boards before they go to the USDAs Farm Service Agency. The Farm Service agency then looks at the reports and ultimately decides whether the counties in question qualify for the designation.

PHOTOS: Blizzard batters Casper Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard
Wyoming prides itself on having one of the only citizen legislatures in the country  a legislature made up of people who live and work in the communities they govern.

But the expectations for Wyoming lawmakers now are very different than the ones they experienced in the states early days. Issues tend to be more complicated. Workloads have increased. Attending to obligations like full-time work outside of legislative duties isnt easy, leading some to worry that Wyomingites who might otherwise run for the Legislature dont end up doing so simply because they cant afford to.

For many years, lawmakers have proposed tackling this predicament through two main avenues: cutting back lawmakers workload and increasing their compensation.

The former approach hasnt made headway; the number of meeting days for lawmakers has steadily increased from 90 days in 2002 to 155 days last year, data from the Wyoming Legislative Service Office show.

With the number of days that the Legislature can spend in session limited by the Wyoming Constitution, a lot of lawmakers work is pushed to the interim  the time in between session when lawmakers meet to draft legislation.

Cheyenne Republican Rep. Landon Brown, who was on the subcommittee that looked at legislator compensation for this years session, estimated he had about 30 days of interim meetings last year. Brown, who has been in the Legislature since 2017, has a job that gives him the flexibility to spend that time on legislative work. But not everyone is as lucky.

This continues to make it harder for those who want to serve to be able to serve without having severe professional repercussions in their daily lives, Brown said.

The Joint Management Council sponsored three bills this year to increase lawmaker compensation. Only one of them  which increases lawmakers daily allowance  ended up surviving the Legislature. (The governor hasnt taken action on the bill yet.)

That bill will adjust lawmakers per diem compensation every July from $109 a day to the rate established by the United States general service administration for places in Wyoming.

Brown, the Cheyenne lawmaker, described the boost as a catch up; lawmaker per diem compensation rates havent increased since 2008, according to the Legislative Service Office.

The Senate resoundingly killed the other two bills that came out of the Management Council  one to boost lawmaker constituent service allowances from $750 to $1,000 a quarter, and another that would have allowed lawmakers to enroll in the state employees and officials group health insurance plan. Prior to the session, the Management Council voted down another that would have increased lawmakers salaries from $150 to $230 a day during the session and for all days worked in the interim.

Some lawmakers believed the health insurance bill would go farthest in lowering the barrier for people to run for a seat in the Legislature. Wyoming is one of three states that doesnt provide health insurance benefits to lawmakers, according to the Legislative Service Office.

But concerns about that particular bill centered on its potential to erode Wyomings citizen legislature.

This bill is a major step in the efforts that some are making to turn this into a full-time, professional Legislature, Casper Republican Sen. Charles Scott said on the Senate floor in January  the same day lawmakers in that chamber shot down the health care bill in a resounding 22-9 vote.

PHOTOS: Opening day of the 67th Wyoming Legislative Session 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins Rep. Jeanette Ward 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins 67th Wyoming Legislative Session begins
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.
T&T rap legend Make It Hapn (Rayon Bernando) is back in the lab creating new music.

Anybody and their mama that followed the local hip hop scene in the early 2000s knows Make It Hapn is rap royalty.

The Diego Martin-born MC had a ubiquitous flow that earned him snaps and standing ovations everywhere he went, from the quad at The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus to spoken word exposes and open mic nights across the island.
The regional symposium on crime to be held tomorrow and Tuesday is an important step toward addressing the problem facing Caricom countries.

So said Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne yesterday.

Trinidad and Tobago will host the two-day symposium at the Hyatt Regency (Trinidad) hotel in Port of Spain.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  The plan to relocate the Bureau of Corrections' (BuCor) headquarters to the Masungi Georeserve is placed on hold, according to Acting Director-General Gregorio Catapang.

During a Senate hearing on Monday, Catapang bared that the plan to build its headquarters in 270 of the 300 hectares of the georeserve is "held in abeyance pending further studies to be undertaken, taking into consideration the impact on the environment with the construction of BuCor facilities in the area."

The Masungi Georeserve Foundation welcomed this, while still holding out hope that the project will be scrapped entirely.

"Knowing the potential environmental impacts of the plan, we are hopeful that the project will be scrapped altogether," it said in a statement Thursday.

The organization also urged Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga to convene the Masungi Geopark Project's Oversight Committee to resolve conflicts within the project site and prevent future ones.

The BuCor earlier claimed control over 270 hectares of land within Masungi Georeserve through a proclamation signed by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2006, which reserved the majority of the ecotourism spot in Tanay, Rizal for the new site of the New Bilibid Prison.

The georeserve's management argued that the Supplementary Agreement with Blue Star Construction and Development, which was signed in 2002 to expand the Masungi Georeserve project, cannot be terminated.

READ: BuCor claims to own majority of Masungi Georeserve, relocates headquarters

Environmental groups previously urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to intervene against the construction of BuCor facilities that could endanger the Upper Marikina Watershed's biodiversity and natural resources.

While the Upper Marikina Watershed Coalition said it recognizes BuCor's need to address the overcrowding in the New Bilibid Prison, it opposes the agency's plans to build its facilities in Masungi as they "firmly believe that this should not come at the expense of the environment."

Catapang, meanwhile, expressed hope that an urban or environmental planner would help BuCor in evaluating the environmental impact of constructing its facilities within Masungi.

"If it's not worth it, we will not pursue," the corrections chief said. "What I will do now, if this is really not available or it's not for us, we'll just put also our forest rangers, we have also our agroforest team that can help reserve and strengthen the ecosystem in the area."

Catapang said the study may last from six months to a year as he promised to inform senators of its findings.

Despite BuCor's decision, the Upper Marikina Watershed Coalition maintained that the agency should abolish the plan altogether.
During an Easter Sunday break from my column, I was forcibly struck by the disconnect between the official messages about Easter from those clothed with high constitutional authority and the grim reality on the ground.

Many persons would have been engaged in pleasurable activities over the Easter weekend. However, the country remains gripped by fear of violent crime, in respect of which the official messages have long ceased to be comforting or inspiring. How can it be otherwise when, in addition to rampant murder, we are frequently confronted with the results of brutal home invasions?
Beware strange men in dark suits and red ties.

Such a man dropped into a gathering of old buddies in Conor McPhersons brilliant The Seafarer, now on stage at the Rogue Theatre.

Just in case the red tie isnt a giveaway, that stranger (an impeccable Joseph McGrath) is the devil himself, coming to collect on a long-ago deal.

The story takes place on Christmas Eve in a shabby house in a rural town outside Dublin. It is the home of Richard (Matt Walley), blind after he fell into a trash container a few months before. His brother, Sharky (Aaron Shand), has just come home to help him  and because he lost his job as a chauffeur. Their friend, Ivan (Ryan Parker Knox), is there, too, too drunk to have gone home the night before. Sharky is trying to stay away from alcohol, but the other two have no such desire. They drink and drink and drink. When old friend Nicky (Robert Anthony Peters) shows up with the red-tied stranger (they drink, too, of course) a friendly game of poker ensues. Turns out, that stranger, who goes by the name of Mr. Lockhart, intends to claim what was promised to him so many years before  Sharkys soul. He gave it to the devil in exchange for getting out of prison after killing a man. He declares he is going to beat Sharky in the poker game, and when he wins, he will take possession of what is his.

Christopher Johnson directed this production with an obvious reference for the material, and rightfully so  McPherson is one of Irelands greatest living playwrights, and The Seafarer is among his best works.

With great humor and terrifying moments, McPherson gives us a story about forgiveness of oneself as well as others, despair and hope. And this cast embraced the story and all its nuances with fervor.

As Richard, Walley, in a full beard and stumbling around thanks to booze and blindness, is mean, really mean, to his brother Sharky. But there is a moment toward the end when his love and concern for him bursts through. Walley was seamless.

Richards internal despair and ultimate glimpse of redemption glistened in Shands hands. Knox made Ivans sadness, loneliness and fear palpable.

The whole cast committed deeply to this powerful play, a piece of work that pulls you in, at times repels you, oftentimes makes you laugh, and always fascinates.

The Rogue Theatres production of The Seafarer runs through March 19 at 300 E. University Blvd.
Linda Ronstadt, 11-time Grammy-winner and Tucson native, talked about her new memoir "Feels Like Home" with co-author Lawrence Downes at the festival on March 5.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  Four people tagged in the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo are facing murder and frustrated murder charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the DOJ said "sets of information for three counts of murder and frustrated murder" were filed at the Regional Trial Court in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental against the four arrested suspects and 12 John Does.

Separate sets of information for three counts of violating laws on the illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives were also filed against three respondents.

"Upon the instruction of the Justice Secretary (Boying) Remulla and DILG Secretary (Benhur) Abalos, the two respondents who previously expressed their intent to cooperate were immediately turned over to the NBI's custody for protective custody and further investigation," said the DOJ.

It added that the remaining two respondents later said they wanted to cooperate as well, and were likewise turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation.

In an earlier briefing, the Philippine National Police said the four suspects were detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City while the investigation was ongoing as well as for their own protection.

The DOJ said the respondents' statements are now being verified, though the motive behind the killing was still being confirmed.

"The specific motive of the murder has yet to be confirmed as the DILG and the DOJ will exert every effort to see all the factors at play in this incident," the DOJ added.

It said the two agencies are closely coordinating for any future cases that may be filed in relation to Degamo's killing.

During Tuesday's briefing, PNP spokesperson PCol Jean Fajardo said some personnel from the police station in the area where Degamo was killed would be reassigned to other stations.

"In the coming days we expect yung ilang pulis ng Oriental ay malilipat pansamantala at papalitan ng ibang pulis to make sure na yung ongoing operation and investigation ay hindi maha-hamper because of the possible familiarity ng ibang pulis sa area na 'yan," said Fajardo.

[Translation: In the coming days, we expect some policemen will be transferred temporarily and replaced to make sure the ongoing operation and investigation will not be hampered because of the possible familiarity of some personnel in that area.]
A man was shot and killed early Sunday during a fight outside a house in midtown, Tucson police said.

About 3:30 a.m. a 911 caller reported that his roommate had shot a man in the 900 block of East Elm Street, near North Euclid Avenue.

Jacob Lera, 23, was found in the street critically wounded. He died later that a hospital.

Police say Lera was causing a disturbance at the caller's house then got into a fight with the caller and his roommate, who had a gun.

Lera was shot during the fight.

The investigation remains ongoing, and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call 88-CRIME, the anonymous tipster line.
An ad-hoc faculty committee has stopped its investigation of the University of Arizonas campus safety protocols, saying university officials were unsupportive and dismissive of its preliminary findings.

The investigation came in response to the Oct. 5 death of Thomas Meixner, a professor who was shot and killed on campus.

The committee has determined that certain recent statements and actions of the university leadership have materially impacted our ability to complete our inquiry, says a letter the General Faculty Committee on General Safety For All sent to the Faculty Senate on March 3.

Additionally, the university leaderships public statement about the legitimacy and integrity of the committee created concerns that committee members might experience negative consequences for serving on the committee, the letter continues. We asked the university leadership to diffuse the concerns. We have not received any direct response to this request. The university leaderships disregard for such concerns has naturally exacerbated the concerns.

As a result of the UAs chilling response, the letter says, the committee unanimously agreed to conclude our inquiry at this point.

In response to the committees announcement, Jon Dudas, the UAs senior vice president and chief of staff, said in an email: We appreciate the work the committee put into their report and that the committees entire record has been made available to the Pax Group  the third party safety and security experts conducting an independent review of the events leading up to the tragic killing of our colleague Thomas Meixner and campus security in general.

The UA, Dudas added, will continue to implement actions to advance campus safety and security and looks forward to reviewing and responding to the Pax Groups findings and recommendations.

The UA did not respond to questions about when PAXs report would be complete and available to the public.

The premature end to the faculty committees campus safety investigation comes about a month after the panel released its interim report, which concluded the UAs approach to violence risks, established an administrative culture that consciously and consistently disregards employee and students safety concerns.

The committee was investigating campus safety as a whole, but its formation late last year was in direct response to the killing of Meixner in the UA hydrology building. Murad Dervish, a former graduate student in the hydrology and atmospheric sciences department who had been expelled and barred from campus by early 2022, was arrested and is being held in jail on a first-degree murder charge. He pleaded not guilty.

University officials had been aware of Dervish as a potential threat long before the shooting. Dervish, who had a violent criminal past, had been sending Meixner and others disturbing messages for months. All of those targeted individuals made several attempts to report Dervishs behavior to various university departments, including the Office of General Counsel, UA Police Department, Office of Institutional Equity and the Dean of Students.

Campus safety probes

After Meixners death, the UA vowed to examine its campus safety protocols and announced it had hired Chicago-based consulting firm PAX Group, LLC to complete that investigation. The university has yet to release any results from that report.

At the same time, the group of faculty members created the separate committee to investigate campus safety, which released its interim findings on Feb. 1.

The faculty-led investigation relied on numerous interviews with people who had been aware of Dervishs behavior before the killing. Committee members also combed through public records and gathered feedback from numerous listening sessions with relevant stakeholder groups, including members of the hydrology department.

Those preliminary findings identified four systemic failures within the UAs campus safety operation: A chronic trust problem, lack of a comprehensive risk management system, excessive bureaucratization and barriers to accessing services, and insufficient units to address safety concerns.

Interim UA faculty safety report The General Faculty Committee on General Safety For All, which was created after the on-campus shooting death of Tom Meixner last fall, releas

In response to the faculty reports criticisms, UA spokeswoman Pam Scott raised questions about its credibility. The report represents the work of a subset of faculty that has reached sweeping conclusions based in large part on misleading characterizations and the selective use of facts and quotations, Scott said on Feb. 1.

That response didnt sit well with many in the UA community, and received condemnation from Meixners family, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona and the full UA Faculty Senate, which unanimously passed a resolution in support of the interim reports findings.

At that meeting, UA President Robert C. Robbins told the Faculty Senate that despite not being aware of Dervish as a potential threat, I am the sole person you can hold accountable for this. He also said he hoped the UA could merge the faculty report and the PAX report because we all have the same objectives, and that is to provide safety for faculty, staff and students.

Withdrawal of cooperation

But, according to the letter the faculty-led safety committee wrote explaining its decision to stop investigating, communication between its members and the UA and PAX hasnt been productive over the past month. Until the release of the (faculty) report, university offices charged with safety-related responsibilities communicated with the committee and answered questions, the letter reads.

It also details how, after the UA characterized the interim report as misleading, the committee made an attempt to address the allegedly incorrect pieces of the report by reaching out to UA administrators. They were deferred, however, to Phil Andrew, principal of PAX, who, according to the report, has not responded to the committees request to collaborate.

Together, the university leaderships dismissive approach to the committee and withdrawal of cooperation with the committee have undermined the committees ability to complete its inquiry, the committee said.

Moreover, the committee wrote, it sent a strong message to the entire community that only external experts selected by the university leadership and who report to the university leadership are positioned to engage in scrutiny and criticism.

The chilling effect of the universitys response, according to the committee, will likely affect the willingness of other individuals to serve on committees and willingness to share valuable information and concerns.

As for the last word before it closes its investigation, the committee said UA leaderships dismissive reaction to the interim report is consistent with the reports conclusions: They raise meaningful concerns regarding the university leaderships attitudes toward safety, organizational culture, stakeholders, and accountability.
Two groups, including a Virginia organization founded by conservative Republicans, have filed suit to overturn the process now used by Arizona counties to verify signatures on early ballot envelopes.

The lawsuit filed in Yavapai County Superior Court said state law requires election officials to match the signatures on the envelopes only with each voters registration record. But attorney Kory Langhofer, representing the challengers, said counties are following the instructions in a manual prepared by the Secretary of States Office that permits comparison with other signatures the county may have.

The problem is that manual directly conflicts with state law, Langhofer said.

He said it creates a situation where there could be multiple signatures on file for any given voter. That makes it more likely someone else could submit a ballot in that voters name and have it declared valid and counted, he said, though the lawsuit has no examples of early ballots that were improperly counted.

Failed Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake has unsuccessfully raised the same objections about signature verification on early ballots as she tried to convince courts to throw out the results of the election she lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs. A trial judge ruled she raised the claim too late, saying she should have known about the conflict between the Election Procedures Manual and state law long before the 2022 election. Lakes case is now on appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court.

Lawsuit seeks a court order

By contrast, this new lawsuit does not seek to overturn any results of last years election. Instead, it seeks a court order against Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes invalidating the current process, voiding the provisions in the election manual, and requiring recorders in the states 15 counties to use the narrower standards in future elections.

That, in turn, could result in more early ballots being tossed out due to what appear to be unmatched signatures, unless county election workers can track down individual voters and personally verify that they were, in fact, the people who signed the envelopes.

An aide to Fontes said he would not comment until he has been served with a copy of the lawsuit.

But Republican Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said there is a good reason his office uses every signature it has on file to verify a signature on an early ballot.

This allows us more comparison points, he told Capitol Media Services. Richer said it also allows for evolution of the voters signature, which can change over time.

He also pointed out that those who register to vote while getting a drivers license submit a signature electronically on a touchpad at the Motor Vehicle Division. That is often the worst exemplar, he said.

Richer said if a court rules that using additional signature comparisons is not allowed, we will follow the statute as it is interpreted.

The challengers position

A section of law requires the county recorder, on receiving early ballots, to compare the signatures thereon with the signature of the elector on the electors registration record.

Langhofer, in his court filing, acknowledged there is nothing in state law that explicitly defines a registration record.

But he argued that it most naturally means the state or federal documents by which someone signs up to vote and provides certain other information.

The most recent version of the Election Procedures Manual says county recorders should also consult additional known signatures from other official election documents in the voters registration record.

Those include rosters signed by voters and early ballot request forms. Langhofer said state election officials also interpret this to include signatures on early ballot envelopes submitted in prior elections.

That manual was approved in 2019 by not just Democrat Katie Hobbs, who was secretary of state at the time, but also by then-governor Doug Ducey and then-attorney general Mark Brnovich, who are Republicans.

Langhofer said the problem goes beyond what he contends state law allows.

The likelihood of a reviewer mistakenly determining that an affidavit signature corresponds to a signature in the registration record increases with each additional signature added, he wrote. He said that is true even if all the additional signatures are known with certainty to have come from the voter.

This problem grows even worse, however, when there is some chance  even a small chance  that an added signature might not have come from the registrant, he said.

The lawsuit is being pursued by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. It has backed various measures to impose new identification requirements on voters while opposing efforts to restore the states permanent early voting list.

Also suing is an organization called Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections.

It bills itself as opposing changes in election laws that seek to give one group a partisan advantage and enforcing constitutional standards against voting laws and procedures that threaten or dilute the right of qualified citizens to vote. Founders include former U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Karl Rove, who was a top adviser to former President George W. Bush.

Also named as plaintiff is Dwight Kadar of Sedona, who has long contributed to Republican candidates for state and federal office.
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs has tapped a former Democratic lawmaker who has advocated for higher taxes and against Republican-proposed tax cuts to head the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

But David Lujan told Capitol Media Services on Monday he hopes that doesnt become an issue when he is screened by a special Senate panel for the job.

Hobbs chose Lujan, who is executive director of the Childrens Action Alliance, after she withdrew the nomination last month of Matthew Stewart to be DCS director. That occurred even before he went in front of the Senate Committee on Director Nominations.

The governor said it was a decision that was made for the best interests of all parties involved. But Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, who chairs that panel, said there were troubling events involving Stewart that suggested Hobbs wasnt properly vetting her nominees.

Whether her new pick has better luck remains to be seen.

Were concerned with making sure that we have qualified candidates that are thoroughly, accurately and honestly vetted for these positions, Hoffman said Monday.

And he called DCS one of the most important agencies that we have.

It takes care of vulnerable children in our state, Hoffman said. So were going to be looking at qualifications that are relevant to doing that job.

In naming Lujan, Hobbs cited his experience as president and CEO of Childrens Action Alliance, describing it as a nonpartisan voice for children at the state Capitol. She also mentioned his time as a state senator and representative and that he was an attorney for a nonprofit organization that provided legal services for abused and neglected children and was the chief administrator of the Arizona State University Preparatory Academy, a public charter school.

What is not in the governors news release is Lujans role as executive director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, a separate arm of Childrens Action Alliance.

That organization was at the forefront of a 2020 initiative to impose a 3.5% surcharge on income taxes owed by individuals making more than $250,000 a year. Voters approved the measure, only to have the levy and the $800 million a year it would have raised declared it was not collectable after a court challenge by Republican lawmakers.

And Lujan has stayed active in the tax arena. Just last month he opposed a GOP-backed measure to cut the corporate income tax rate nearly in half that legislative budget analysts said eventually could cut state revenues by nearly $670 million a year.

Lujan said he hopes his role in opposing Republican efforts to cut taxes does not affect his nomination.

Protecting children should be a nonpartisan issue, he said.

Hoffman, at least for the time being, appears to agree that the screening process should focus on the nominee and not his political background.

We need to make sure that we have folks who understand the job, that can do the job, that can collaborate and communicate not only inside the agency but also outside providers, he said, noting that DCS has contracts with many private entities who provide direct services to children, including group homes.

We have lots of vulnerable children in this state, Hoffman continued. We need to make sure they get taken care of.

Prior to this year, gubernatorial nominees were screened by existing Senate panels who have expertise in that area. So a pick for the health chief would go to the Health Committee; the Public Safety Committee would review someone named to head the Department of Public Safety.

All that changed this year when Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, formed the nominations panel and tapped Hoffman to chair the committee, with three Republicans and two Democrats. Hobbs has made it clear she is not happy with the process.

Her frustration came out after the committee voted against her pick of Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen to head the Department of Health Services. The governor withdrew Cullens nomination, though the full Senate went ahead anyway and voted to reject her.

The committee has made it very clear that theyre not interested in seriously vetting my nominations, the governor said last week of Hoffmans panel.

Theyre interested in carrying out the personal vendetta against me and using my name as proxy to do that, she said, accusing Hoffman of creating a stage for his political theater.

Hoffman on Monday said he would not respond to the governors statements.

Im just not going to get into the weeds and name-call and whatnot like Katie Hobbs has done, he said. Were focused on doing the work of the people and thats what were going to keep doing.
PHOENIX  Republican state senators voted Monday to let voters across Arizona decide how Tucson residents get to elect their city council.

SCR 1027, approved on a party-line vote, seeks to put a provision into the state constitution that says there are only two methods by which councils can be elected: either on an at-large basis or on a district basis. That second method could be used only if the voting is limited to those people who live in each individual district, or in Tucsons case, an individual ward.

And its no secret whose practices Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson, has in her sites.

Only her home city has a modified ward system where council members are nominated by district but have to survive a city-wide general election. And Wadsack acknowledged during debate that only Tucson would be affected.

All that goes to objections, largely by Republicans, to Tucsons unique modified ward system, something approved by city voters as part of their power being a charter city entitled to make decisions on matters of strictly local concern.

Under that system, candidates are nominated in each of the citys six wards by each political party. But in the general election, the nominees are elected on a city-wide basis.

Proponents say this ensures that each ward has a local representative but that they also be responsive to city-wide needs.

Wadsack said the system is unfair.

We dont have fair elections, she said during earlier debate on the measure. Our council members are being voted for by voters that are far outside of their area of interest.

But theres a political component to all this.

Democrats outnumber Republicans on a city-wide basis by a margin of two to one. And that has made it difficult for a Republican nominated from any district to survive a general election.

In fact, there currently are no Republicans on the city council.

On Monday, Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan, also of Tucson, said lawmakers should butt out.

The city of Tucson should govern as the city of Tucson does, she said. If the voters of the city of Tucson want to amend the method by which they conduct elections, they have that opportunity.

But Sundareshan said the problems with SCR 1027 go beyond lawmakers seeking to interfere with Tucsons method of electing council members.

The Arizona Supreme Court has repeatedly slapped down multiple efforts by the Republican-controlled legislature to tell Tucson how to run its elections. The justices said thats because of its constitutional status as a charter city.

SCR 1027 seeks to get around that by amending the Arizona Constitution to say that, regardless of everything else, no city  charter of otherwise  can have a modified ward system.

But heres the thing.

While lawmakers can propose constitutional amendments, changes can be made only if approved by a majority of voters at a statewide general election.

Sundareshan said that would allow voters of the entire state to opine on and prohibit how one particular city does its elections. And that, she said, is unfair.

The measure that now goes to the full House actually would have an impact on not just Tucson, but on the states more than 90 other cities and towns.

An amendment added to the proposal would preclude any community from having ranked choice voting, a system by which voters rate which candidates they support first, second, third and beyond. Then, if a voters first choice is not among the top vote-getters to qualify for a runoff, the voters second choice gets the vote. And it goes on and on until only one candidate remains.

No Arizona community currently uses that system.

But it is being pushed by those who say that the current method of forcing voters to choose between only the contenders nominated by each party tends to result in polarized choices. Ranked choice voting, they contend, tends to result in the election of more moderate candidates.

Mondays Senate action comes after Wadsack could not round up the votes for SCR 1023, a broader proposal which would have abolished the right of cities to form their own charters.

But her original plan ran into trouble when GOP lawmakers who represent Prescott and Casa Grande, both cities with their own charters, refused to undermine their own voters interests simply to help get more Republicans elected in Tucson.

Still, SCR 1023 may not yet be dead.
WASHINGTON  Archaeologists found the earliest direct evidence for horseback riding  an innovation that would transform history  in 5,000-year-old human skeletons in central Europe.

When you get on a horse and ride it fast, its a thrill  Im sure ancient humans felt the same way, said David Anthony, a co-author of the study and Hartwick College archaeologist. Horseback riding was the fastest a human could go before the railroads.

Researchers analyzed more than 200 Bronze Age skeletal remains in museum collections in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic to look for signs of what co-author and University of Helsinki anthropologist Martin Trautmann calls horse rider syndrome  six tell-tale markers that indicate a person was likely riding an animal, including characteristic wear marks on the hip sockets, thigh bone and pelvis.

You can read bones like biographies, said Trautmann, who previously studied similar wear patterns in skeletons from later periods when horseback riding is well-established in the historical record.

The researchers focused on human skeletons  which are more readily preserved than horse bones in burial sites and museums  and identified five likely riders who lived about 4,500 to 5,000 years ago and belonged to a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya.

There is earlier evidence for harnessing and milking of horses, but this is the earliest direct evidence so far for horseback riding, said University of Exeter archaeologist Alan Outram, who was not involved in the research, but praised the approach.

The study was published Friday in the journal Science Advances.

Domesticating wild horses on the plains of Eurasia was a process, not a single event, the researchers say.

Archaeologists previously found evidence of people consuming horse milk in dental remains and indications of horses controlled by harnesses and bits dating back more than 5,000 years, but that does not necessarily indicate the horses were ridden.

The Yamnaya culture, known for its characteristic burial mounds, originated in whats now part of Ukraine and western Russia, an area called the Pontic Caspian steppe. The horses they kept were distinct from modern horses  likely more easily startled and less tolerant of humans  though they may have been the immediate genetic ancestors of modern horses, which emerged a few centuries later, the researchers say.

The Yamnaya are most significant because of their dramatic expansion across Eurasia in only a few generations  moving westward to Hungary and eastward to Mongolia, said University of Helsinki archaeologist and co-author Volker Heyd.

The spread of Indo European languages is linked to their movement, and they reshaped the genetic make-up of Europe, he said.

Their relationship with horses may have partly enabled this stunning movement, the researchers suggest.

Horses expand the concept of distance  you begin to think about places previously out of reach as being reachable, said co-author Anthony, the Hartwick College archaeologist.

That does not mean the Yamnaya people were warriors on horseback, as the horses they rode were likely too skittish for stressful battlefield situations, he said. But horses may have allowed the Yamnaya to more effectively send communications, build alliances and manage the herds of cattle that were central to their economy.

Because only a small percentage of the skeletons studied clearly showed all six markers of riding horseback, it seems that a minority of the people at that time were riders  that does not suggest that a whole society was built on horseback riding, said molecular archaeologist Ludovic Orlando, who is based at the Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse in France and was not involved in the research.

Still, he praised the work for helping to better pinpoint the potential genesis of horseback riding.

This is about the origins of something that impacted human history like only a few other things have, Orlando said.

Breakthrough discoveries in the evolutionary biology and behavior of pets Breakthrough discoveries in the evolutionary biology and behavior of pets Dog eyebrows evolved to communicate with humans Some cat meows sound like baby cries to get you to do their bidding The guilty look is in response to owner cues, not actual guilt Domesticating cats likely caused them to keep 'making biscuits' into adulthood Canine and human genomes evolved together Dogs evolved to understand our hand signals When a baby cries, dogs react similarly to humans Dogs may have domesticated themselves For cats, boxes are their safe space Animals may have been domesticated as living tools
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

It seems like our Republican-led state Legislature has set its sights on city charters as a means of shutting down Tucsons City Charter. This is a time-honored tactic of our states GOP, as they always seem to need an enemy and Tucson seems to be a pleasurable whipping boy.

For example, in the early 2000s Tucsons TUSD became a target simply because we had the odd idea that Hispanic students might be better served by history and literature taught from a Hispanic perspective. Scandalous, they charged, as they postulated that we were training our students to overthrow the United States government.

If this sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the oft-used dog whistle woke and the inclusion of Critical Race Theory as a consistent talking point used by our friends on the right. Within TUSD, we offered classes as an elective, thus forcing it on no one, but that didnt matter. The Arizona GOP was there to save our children.

Cutting to the chase, the strategy worked, and Arizona public education suffered.

Enter Tucsons election system.

We elect our city council with an at-large system. This means primaries are held within a ward, and general elections are held citywide. Simply put, this allows the majority to select representation for the minority. This practice was implemented in Tucson in 1929 and can easily be considered a Jim Crow law of the time. It effectively removed Hispanic representation from our city council until 1960.

In the 1965 Voting Rights Act, at-large systems were eliminated throughout the Southeast. Tucson got a bye because the federal government needed to show cause and Tucson had conveniently elected two council members of color. But the issue of our elections had shifted here from one of ethnicity to one of partisanship, which was not covered by the Voting Rights Act.

Proponents charge that our at-large system requires council members to serve the whole city. The consequences are that Republican areas of our map are consistently represented by Democratic council members, though population densities could challenge that in Wards 2 and 4. If we dont see that as a problem, as the Pima County Democratic Party has not, then we dont seem to have a problem with disenfranchisement. We, therefore, hold true to the cause of our 1929 former selves.

We can do better, or we can at least try. Multi-seat elections would add a fair chance at a seat on the council and preserve that citywide idea. Ranked Choice Voting would enhance minority input while it ensured a majority outcome, something not required currently. There are a host of better ideas to consider if we have the courage to make the attempt. Perhaps a task force with the ability to put a proposal before the electorate in the next mayoral election would be prudent.

The most difficult thing within the human experience is the need to cede power. Our American Experiment requires it, though. We Tucson Democrats must make the difficult choice to change at the expense of permanent power. Otherwise, we must remove ourselves from any discussion of election integrity and fair governance.

Make no mistake. The Republican Party would never have such a dilemma. Nationally, they have proven to be more interested in power than fairness. The state party and its American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) regulators are little different. What-about-isms prevail there and shouldnt in Tucson.

A wise man once said that Democrats are defined by what we wont do. That is meant as a compliment. Our election system here is unfair. For proof of that, simply check the math.

We can do better, and we should. Lest we get whats coming to us.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  A transport group on Tuesday dared the government to cancel the franchise of jeepney drivers and operators who joined the first day of the strike on Monday.

Manibela Chairman Mar Valbuena made the statement after Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said they plan to file administrative cases against those who joined the protest and abandoned their routes.

Subukan nila kung bawiin nila (ang prangkisa) ngayon at 'wag ng pumasada yung mga sumama sa transport strike, ano pong mangyayari? Mas maraming Libreng Sakay ilalabas nila at wala pong masasakyan ang taong bayan, Valbuena told CNN Philippines The Source.

[Translation: If they cancel our franchise now and not let those who joined the strike ply the roads, what will happen? They will need to provide more Libreng Sakay units and people will have no rides.]

Several groups started their planned week-long strike on Monday to protest the phaseout of traditional jeepneys and the mandatory consolidation of franchises, which are part of the governments public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

Valbuena downplayed LTFRBs alleged scare tactics. He also pointed out that participants ply the roads early in the morning and join the strike in the afternoon.

Matatakot pa po ba kami kung babawiin na nga po yung prangkisa namin at ipe-phase out kami. Kaya nga po inagahan na namin ito na iparating sa kanila kung ano yung mangyayari pag dumating 'yung deadline, he said, referring to the Dec. 31 franchise consolidation deadline.

[Translation: Should we still be scared if they cancel our franchise and phase out our jeepneys. We did this now to show them what will happen when the deadline comes.]

He also questioned the statement made by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, who described their protest action as communist-inspired.

"Kung kami ay nire-red-tag, sige, karapatan ho din nila yan na i-voice out pero dapat may kongkreto (ebidensya).]

[Translation: It is their right to red-tag us, to voice out their opinion, but they should have concrete evidence.]

Valbuena said the government has yet to reach out to them for a dialogue. But for now, he said they are determined to continue the strike following its success on Monday.
A Tulsa man was arrested Saturday afternoon after the car he was driving hit and killed a pedestrian on a sidewalk before he drove away, the Tulsa Police Department alleges.

Marlon Evans was driving near 61st Street and Lewis Avenue around 2:30 p.m. when his car went onto the sidewalk, hit 53-year-old Michael Cobb and then sped away, a TPD social media post states.

Cobb died shortly after the collision, the post continues.

Officers arrived moments later, and witnesses gave them a description of the car that hit the man, the post says.

Police found Evans in a car that matched the description a short time later in the 6700 block of South Zunis Avenue, where he was taken into custody, the post states. Police believe Evans to be the driver.

Evans was booked into the Tulsa County jail on felony and misdemeanor complaints of first-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an injury or fatal accident  both after a felony conviction, driving on a sidewalk, driving without a license and driving without insurance, according to online booking records.

He remained held Monday in lieu of $200,000 bond.
An Oklahoma corporation commissioner asked Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Monday to investigate possible market manipulation and violation of the federal Commodity Exchange Act by natural gas marketers during Winter Storm Uri, a prolonged bitter-cold spell in February 2021 that left Oklahomans on the hook for billions of dollars in electric and natural gas utility hikes.

The letter was sent to the attorney general by Commissioner Kim David on Monday.

The (Oklahoma Corporation Commission) lacks the legal authority to conduct this type of investigation into these companies; however, as the chief law enforcement officer for the State of Oklahoma, your office can do so, David wrote.

The Kansas Attorney General recently opened its own investigation into similar companies and their actions surrounding Winter Storm Uri. I believe that you should conduct a similar investigation. Should you determine that wrongdoing occurred, it is my hope that any over payments can be returned to Oklahoma ratepayers in compliance with the February 2021 Regulated Utility Consumer Protection Act.

The recent state of Kansas lawsuit accused Macquarie Energy LLC of purchasing next-day gas at a key midcontinent hub at irrational prices during Uri, which, according to the lawsuit, resulted in artificially inflating prices by hundreds of dollars per million British thermal units.

Corporation Commission Vice Chairman Bob Anthony repeatedly has called for the commission to investigate utilities practices during the extreme weather event. Chairman Todd Hiett said Monday in a statement that he is pleased that Drummond could be looking into the matter.

I have always said that any examination into the largely unregulated gas markets must come from the federal level and/or the states attorney general, he wrote in a statement. That is a position also taken by the Kansas Corporation Commission, which also held that it (has) no legal power to investigate the gas market.

In fact, both Commissions handled the high fuel costs from Uri in almost identical ways. Both conducted audits of the utilities gas costs to ensure they adhered to state law, both decided to securitize the costs in order to keep the monthly charge to ratepayers as low as possible, and both referred the question of investigations into the actual gas market to the Attorney General and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

May 2022 video: AARP Oklahoma fights proposed $164 million utility rate hike
One of the worlds most iconic toy brands is coming to Woodland Hills Mall.

A Lego store is expected to locate in the mall this summer, the shopping center announced Tuesday. The 2,153-square-foot outlet will be the second Lego shop in the state, joining one in Oklahoma City.

The Tulsa store, which will be on the malls lower level across from the Apple store, will feature a pick-and-build wall, brick specialists and hands-on play opportunities. It will also offer a offer a wide range of new products available only from Lego stores and lego.com.

The Denmark-based, privately held company was established in 1932 by carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen and remains a family company owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, one of the founders grandchildren.

The Lego name is an abbreviation of two Danish words  leg godt  which means play well. The business first produced wooden toys but by 1949 began producing plastic bricks under the name Automatic Binding Bricks.

The Lego Group patented the Lego brick with the familiar tubes inside and studs on top on Jan. 28, 1958, and the blocks made then still fit perfectly with the ones made today, according to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

On average, every person on Earth owns 86 Lego bricks, according to the museum.

Featured video:
OKLAHOMA CITY  Oklahoma voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana Tuesday in a statewide special election.

State Question 820 will be the only item on the ballot for most voters, although a few cities and counties will have local propositions up for a vote.

When a state question to legalize medical marijuana was on the ballot in 2018, Oklahomans turned out in droves during the primary election to support the measure.

Voter turnout is expected to be lower on Tuesday, but how many people cast ballots could be the deciding factor in whether SQ 820 passes or fails.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters are required to present a valid form of identification in order to cast a ballot. Early in-person voting has already occurred.

Weve known that a majority of Oklahomans support this, said Michelle Tilley, head of the Yes on 820 campaign. Weve known that all through this process. But with this March special election, it really is just going to depend on who shows up.

SQ 820 would legalize recreational marijuana for people age 21 or older. If approved, Oklahoma would be the 22nd state to implement an adult-use cannabis program open to Oklahomans and visitors to the state alike. The recreational marijuana program would operate alongside the states medical cannabis program.

Recreational marijuana purchases would be taxed at 15%, compared to the 7% tax levied on medical cannabis purchases.

About 10% of Oklahomans have obtained a medical marijuana card after getting a doctors recommendation and paying a fee. Recreational users could buy cannabis at a dispensary without a medical marijuana card.

Tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales would help fund the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, which would oversee implementation of SQ 820. Additional tax dollars would be divided among localities, schools, drug-addiction treatment programs, the states general revenue fund and the courts.

SQ 820 would also implement criminal justice reforms for nonviolent drug offenders that would set up a process for some people convicted of cannabis crimes to have their convictions reversed and their criminal records expunged.

Supporters and opponents of the state question made their closing arguments on the steps of the state Capitol on Monday.

A coalition of mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, district attorneys and educators gathered to warn that SQ 820 could make it easier for kids to get marijuana despite the age restrictions on sales.

The last thing I want to see is a stoned society, said former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, who leads the No on 820 campaign. It makes no sense to me to open the floodgates and permit a substance as destructive to health, wealth and welfare as the legalization of recreational marijuana would be.

Ryan Kiesel, a senior adviser to the Yes on 820 campaign, said thousands of campaign volunteers were out knocking on doors and making phone calls on Monday to remind people to go to the polls.

He said the opposition campaign is using scare tactics to try to to influence voters.

Twenty-one other states have done exactly what were asking Oklahoma to do tomorrow, Kiesel said. Not a single one of them have ever gone back and said that was a bad idea.

More than 34,000 Oklahomans cast early ballots leading up to the election. Just over 20,000 were Republicans, 11,000 were Democrats and close to 3,000 were independents, according to the State Election Board.

If passed, SQ 820 would take effect on June 5, which would give the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority time to prepare for its implementation and give lawmakers a few months to pass any laws necessary to create guardrails for the states recreational marijuana program.

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday signed legislation for the state to make an $850,000 appropriation to the State Election Board to help cover the costs of Tuesdays election. The Election Board will pair the new funds with more than $300,000 in unspent cash to pay for the statewide election.

The last statewide initiative to pass in Oklahoma was the Medicaid expansion question in 2020.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said there is still room for improvement for the Philippines' military capabilities as he underscored the need to "effectively cover" the country's territory.

Marcos made the comment during the turnover event of the Philippine Air Force's (PAF) newly-acquired aircraft in Pampanga.

"While these equipment will boost the readiness of our air force to respond to any contingency, there is still a need to further improve our capabilities to effectively cover our territory," Marcos said in his speech.

"Equally important is to ensure the airworthiness of air force assets and the corresponding training of crew and personnel to guarantee the safety of all," he added.

The new C-295 medium lift aircraft units  purchased as part of the Armed Forces' modernization program  are seen to boost the government's defense system as well as response to emergency, humanitarian, and disaster operations, Marcos said.

The chief executive also stressed how the country needs to become more "agile" amid maritime issues.

"Our country's archipelagic nature and geostrategic location is both a blessing and a challenge," Marcos noted. "As much as our maritime environment provides us with much needed resources, it also requires us to be constantly adapt to become more mobile and agile."

The president likewise reiterated that his administration will continue to support the military's modernization  a 15-year program which enjoys hundreds of billions in funding.
Actor Richard Dreyfuss had a good message to a Tulsa Town Hall crowd on Friday about the importance of teaching civics to youth. He also has no idea what hes talking about.

The actor famous for such hits as Jaws and Mr. Hollands Opus contends that America is on the brink of collapse and that its the fault of schools for removing civics.

It takes a 20-second Google search to find the Oklahoma Department of Education standards for public high school graduation. Students must complete a year of U.S. history and a semester each of Oklahoma history and U.S. government. They also must pass a 100-question citizenship test.

It takes another 15-second search to find the Oklahoma civics curriculum standards. A person can see how each grade level has civics.

A snapshot of standards before high school: Pre-K students learn about the American flag and concept of being a citizen; second graders are introduced to the U.S. Constitution and the First Amendment; fifth graders analyze the Declaration of Independence and describe the roles of the federal branches; seventh graders compare representative and authoritative governments and identify a citizens role in selecting government leaders; and eighth graders get more in-depth about the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, Constitution and responsibilities of citizenship.

High school graduates must meet the minimum requirements, but thousands take Advanced Placement courses in government and U.S. history and participate in civics-related extracurriculars like student government and speech and debate.

Public school students say the Pledge of Allegiance every day and sing The Star Spangled Banner at events. Schools have robust Junior ROTC programs that regularly perform a presentation of colors at events.

Civics is integrated throughout the educational experience, from pre-K to senior year. Civics is being taught, though it may not be the brand that Dreyfuss and others like.

Over the weekend, social media posts showed the Tulsa Town Hall crowd largely embracing his message. I met a couple of students in a group who met with the actor before the speech. They had a less enthusiastic take on his view of their generation.

Public school educators, who were teaching at the time of his speech, reacted wearily. They are already fighting anti-public school activists, and this adds to it.

Dreyfuss didnt have a beef with public schools; if anything, he sounded supportive. But his criticisms mirror some right-wing talking points.

At the student meeting with Dreyfuss, a few pushed back on his claim that they learn no civics. He reportedly dismissed their class descriptions, harkening to his 1965 high school days.

One student asked what he meant by civics. He responded that it meant to fight for your country and recognize the miracle that is the U.S. government. Thats not civics; thats blind patriotism.

One girl told me he said they needed to read his book to learn more. This A student who is enrolled in AP government at a top Tulsa high school rolled her eyes as she recounted the meeting.

As I listened to their thoughts about the encounter, it occurred to me how few adults ask teenagers about their views and experiences. The teens arent invited into the conversations.

Dreyfuss, and all of us, ought to consider what todays youth have seen in their role models for the American government system.

Political divisions in the past decade have ruined family Thanksgiving dinners and led to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Adults think nothing of offending others on social media, and propaganda disguised as news on cable networks stokes outrage steeped in stereotyping.

At our state Capitol, some top lawmakers are targeting teens transgender classmates, think their libraries are filled with porn, mock their teachers and disparage their academic results. These lawmakers take no responsibility for underfunding their schools.

Even at the Tulsa Public Schools board, three members are using pettiness and personal grudges to create chaos. Last month, those three stopped the district from entering into an agreement with Generation Citizen, a nonprofit that provides civics curriculum and teacher professional development.

No wonder kids are jaded about American government. They have witnessed adults tearing it apart.

Schools did not cause the problems Dreyfuss references  that comes from the attitudes and behaviors of adults. Students bring that to schools, which are educating the most diverse population in U.S. history.

An American tradition has been older generations complaining about the younger generations. Dreyfuss certainly plays to type.

Good thing Oklahoma has educators spending their lives, every day, teaching students how to navigate our government to make it better once they are in charge.

Tulsa World Opinion podcast
Oklahoma does not need to waste its money and time challenging the U.S. Constitution to allow tax dollars to fund religious education. The state has higher priorities when it comes to public schools.

Thats just one reason the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board ought to vote down a request from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa to create an online religious charter school.

The church asked the board to approve a sponsorship of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, saying it wants to serve Catholic students in rural areas who cannot attend a private Catholic school and to boost course offerings at existing Catholic schools through online options.

However, nothing is stopping Catholic leaders from doing either of those using their private funds.

Oklahomas current and former attorneys general disagree about the requests legality.

Gov. Kevin Stitts appointee, John OConnor, issued an opinion arguing that sending public money to religious schools is constitutional. Current Attorney General Gentner Drummond, elected in November, reversed that opinion, outlining several reasons, including that OConnors opinion misuses the concept of religious liberty by employing it as a means to justify state-funded religion.

We are swayed by Drummonds position, especially because the application is overtly religious in its teachings and operation. It would open the door to funding schools of all faiths and pseudo-faiths.

The Oklahoma Constitution is clear in stating that the Legislature must establish and maintain a system of free public schools.

Even more, Oklahoma is being used as a test case, meaning the proposals authors know this is unprecedented. The church and its attorneys from the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic intended the application to be bound for courts to push the limits of the U.S. Constitution.

This is part of a conservative national agenda, not something a groundswell of Oklahoma families are seeking.

Oklahoma doesnt need to take on the battles of out-of-state interests. Our state has better use for its legal resources.

In Oklahoma, more than 90% of students attend public schools. There are options in traditional, charter, virtual and alternative public schools. Many districts offer hybrid models.

Private schools operate without government mandates of curriculum standards, academic testing or financial reporting. Families wishing to explore those choices are free to do so.

A better use of tax dollars for education is bolstering the public schools already in place. Pay teachers more, invest in classroom resources, encourage more people to enter the teaching profession and become allies with public schools.

Faith institutions have traditionally been critical partners with their communitys public schools, even providing volunteers to help with fundraisers. Bringing together students, parents and residents of different faiths is mission work in action.

We encourage Oklahomas Catholic leaders to explore how the church can be more collaborative and supportive of public schools, which also educate Catholic youth. It would be time well-spent that doesnt force a courtroom showdown.
Despite the potential for growth, a law on industrial development has yet to be formulated, while planning management, development strategies, and regional connectivity for industries remain limited in Vietnam. At a seminar themed 'Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Joining Global Supply Chains' held by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in association with the Industry Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade at Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday last week, experts agreed that it is necessary to build the law on industrial development to foster the development of industries and serve as a foundation to boost industrialization and modernization. Tran Anh Hao, head of the industrial management division under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre Early introduction of law on industrial development proposed Regarding Ho Chi Minh Citys assistance for supporting industries, Tran Anh Hao, head of the industrial management division under the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said that the city has drawn up a plan to spur supporting industry development since 2015. To date, the plan has attracted many enterprises, which has helped the localization rate in the city exceed 50 percent. Nevertheless, the state management of industry remains inefficient. Enterprises in the sector are mainly small and medium ones, so they face limitations on personnel, financial resources, and product development research. To beef up industrial development, it is key to focus on expanding the industrial land bank, developing human resources and priority industries, and enhancing trade promotion, market expansion, and supply-demand connection. A legal framework should be completed early, specifically introducing the law on industrial development and establishing a national steering committee for such development. Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, former vice-president of the Central Institute for Economic Management, says that appropriate support policies should be worked out for industry in Vietnam. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre Supporting leading enterprises Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, former vice-president of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said that during the process of getting involved in global supply chains, Vietnam has many advantages as it is located in the center of Asia-Pacific, which is the most dynamic region for development and has participated in many free trade agreements. However, there is no specific answer to the question whether Vietnams industrialization and modernization will be a success. Global supply chains, in the context of the Russia - Ukraine military conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, are uncertain, but enterprises opportunities for development are obvious. Supply chain development is often associated with comparative advantages in transport costs and automation, so it is related to not only efficiency and technology but also confidence among partners and increasing protection tendency. The partnership between Vietnam and its partners is comprehensive and strategic, which will open up opportunities for cooperation," Thanh noted. Once Vietnam determines industry as a potential sector, support policies, especially those for leading enterprises, should be issued. The leading enterprises are pioneers in establishing the connection with relevant companies and institutions. However, it is a great pity that the CIEM had earlier proposed these policies but they were later scrapped, Thanh said. Phil Kyun Choi, an expert from South Korea, detailed processes that helped his company get the support from the South Korean government in its initial stage of taking part in global supply chains, saying, The most remarkable support is developing an online export platform where export enterprises can introduce their products and services to foreign importers. We also expect to build a similar platform for Vietnamese enterprises to access importers easily." Phil Kyun Choi, director of South Korea-based Korean Business Services. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre Challenges of Vietnamese enterprises Vietnamese firms do not have advantages in capital and technology and are holding low positions in supply chains. In particular, the Southeast Asian country fails to develop supporting industries for value chains of autos and electronic products, which are ruled by manufacturers. Meanwhile, as for value chains ruled over by purchasers, such as those of textiles-garments and footwear, Vietnam faces pressure from high human resource and service costs. Amid the fourth industrial revolution, its participation in free trade agreements, financial connection, and the flexibility of partners have forced Vietnam to engage in higher added value chains. Therefore, the apparel, footwear, and electronics sectors, which are labor-intensive, reliant on imports, and ruled over by purchasers as well as have a large proportion of foreign investment, should review and improve their capacity and come up with appropriate support policies. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Despite the potential for growth, a law on industrial development has yet to be formulated, while planning management, development strategies, and regional connectivity for industries remain limited in Vietnam.

At a seminar themed 'Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Joining Global Supply Chains' held by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in association with the Industry Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade at Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday last week, experts agreed that it is necessary to build the law on industrial development to foster the development of industries and serve as a foundation to boost industrialization and modernization.

Tran Anh Hao, head of the industrial management division under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre

Early introduction of law on industrial development proposed

Regarding Ho Chi Minh Citys assistance for supporting industries, Tran Anh Hao, head of the industrial management division under the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said that the city has drawn up a plan to spur supporting industry development since 2015.

To date, the plan has attracted many enterprises, which has helped the localization rate in the city exceed 50 percent.

Nevertheless, the state management of industry remains inefficient. Enterprises in the sector are mainly small and medium ones, so they face limitations on personnel, financial resources, and product development research.

To beef up industrial development, it is key to focus on expanding the industrial land bank, developing human resources and priority industries, and enhancing trade promotion, market expansion, and supply-demand connection.

A legal framework should be completed early, specifically introducing the law on industrial development and establishing a national steering committee for such development.

Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, former vice-president of the Central Institute for Economic Management, says that appropriate support policies should be worked out for industry in Vietnam. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre

Supporting leading enterprises

Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, former vice-president of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said that during the process of getting involved in global supply chains, Vietnam has many advantages as it is located in the center of Asia-Pacific, which is the most dynamic region for development and has participated in many free trade agreements.

However, there is no specific answer to the question whether Vietnams industrialization and modernization will be a success.

Global supply chains, in the context of the Russia - Ukraine military conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, are uncertain, but enterprises opportunities for development are obvious.

Supply chain development is often associated with comparative advantages in transport costs and automation, so it is related to not only efficiency and technology but also confidence among partners and increasing protection tendency.

The partnership between Vietnam and its partners is comprehensive and strategic, which will open up opportunities for cooperation," Thanh noted.

Once Vietnam determines industry as a potential sector, support policies, especially those for leading enterprises, should be issued. The leading enterprises are pioneers in establishing the connection with relevant companies and institutions.

However, it is a great pity that the CIEM had earlier proposed these policies but they were later scrapped, Thanh said.

Phil Kyun Choi, an expert from South Korea, detailed processes that helped his company get the support from the South Korean government in its initial stage of taking part in global supply chains, saying, The most remarkable support is developing an online export platform where export enterprises can introduce their products and services to foreign importers.

We also expect to build a similar platform for Vietnamese enterprises to access importers easily."

Phil Kyun Choi, director of South Korea-based Korean Business Services. Photo: Huu Hanh / Tuoi Tre

Challenges of Vietnamese enterprises

Vietnamese firms do not have advantages in capital and technology and are holding low positions in supply chains.

In particular, the Southeast Asian country fails to develop supporting industries for value chains of autos and electronic products, which are ruled by manufacturers.

Meanwhile, as for value chains ruled over by purchasers, such as those of textiles-garments and footwear, Vietnam faces pressure from high human resource and service costs.

Amid the fourth industrial revolution, its participation in free trade agreements, financial connection, and the flexibility of partners have forced Vietnam to engage in higher added value chains.

Therefore, the apparel, footwear, and electronics sectors, which are labor-intensive, reliant on imports, and ruled over by purchasers as well as have a large proportion of foreign investment, should review and improve their capacity and come up with appropriate support policies.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnams largest private conglomerate Vingroup, has established Green and Smart Mobility Joint Stock Company (GSM), which offers VinFast electric cars and motorbikes for rental and taxi services. This is the first green transport service model in the world aiming to popularize the experience of electrified mobility and encourage a green lifestyle, the company said. GSM has a charter capital of VND3 trillion (US$126.8 million), to which Vuong contributed 95 percent. The company will offer electric car and motorbike rental services to conventional taxi and ride-hailing firms as well as their rideshare partners. It will also provide taxi services itself using its own electric cars. The services will be made available in Hanoi next month and spread nationwide this year. VinFast electric motorbikes. Photo: D.H. / Tuoi Tre All vehicles provided and used by GSM are produced by VinFast, including 10,000 cars and 100,000 motorbikes. Nguyen Van Thanh, CEO of GSM, said the company aims to further improve the green and smart mobility ecosystem in Vietnam and provide more options to use electric vehicles at reasonable costs. Customers will have opportunities to experience electric vehicles, thus accelerating the green revolution in Vietnam, Thanh added. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnams largest private conglomerate Vingroup, has established Green and Smart Mobility Joint Stock Company (GSM), which offers VinFast electric cars and motorbikes for rental and taxi services.

This is the first green transport service model in the world aiming to popularize the experience of electrified mobility and encourage a green lifestyle, the company said.

GSM has a charter capital of VND3 trillion (US$126.8 million), to which Vuong contributed 95 percent.

The company will offer electric car and motorbike rental services to conventional taxi and ride-hailing firms as well as their rideshare partners.

It will also provide taxi services itself using its own electric cars. The services will be made available in Hanoi next month and spread nationwide this year.

VinFast electric motorbikes. Photo: D.H. / Tuoi Tre

All vehicles provided and used by GSM are produced by VinFast, including 10,000 cars and 100,000 motorbikes.

Nguyen Van Thanh, CEO of GSM, said the company aims to further improve the green and smart mobility ecosystem in Vietnam and provide more options to use electric vehicles at reasonable costs.

Customers will have opportunities to experience electric vehicles, thus accelerating the green revolution in Vietnam, Thanh added.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The governor of a region of Colombia where a herd of some 150 hippos -- descendants of animals once owned by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar -- are breeding out of control said Monday he hopes for the greenlight to send half of them to sanctuaries in India and Mexico. "We hope that the permits required by the national institutions can be approved in the first half of this year, so that we can make arrangements for the air shipment," Anibal Gaviria, governor of Antioquia in the northwest, told AFP. A small herd of hippos arrived in Colombia in the late 1980s, brought in by the fabulously wealthy cocaine lord Escobar. After his death in 1993, the animals were left to roam freely and populated the region of Magdalena Medio, a hot savanna criss-crossed by rivers, marshes and swamps where food for hippos is abundant. Gaviria wants to transfer 70 of the herd -- declared invasive by the government a year ago -- to sanctuaries in India and Mexico. The growth of the hippopotamus population "is a complex situation for the inhabitants" of Magdalena Medio, some of whom have been threatened by the animals, which can weigh two to three tons, he said. The local environmental agency recorded two assaults on residents in 2021. In 2022, after unsuccessful attempts at a sterilization program, the government declared the hippos an invasive species, opening the door to hunting. Experts and the environmental agency agreed it was a necessary solution, given the threat to local people and wildlife.

The governor of a region of Colombia where a herd of some 150 hippos -- descendants of animals once owned by drug kingpin Pablo Escobar -- are breeding out of control said Monday he hopes for the greenlight to send half of them to sanctuaries in India and Mexico.

"We hope that the permits required by the national institutions can be approved in the first half of this year, so that we can make arrangements for the air shipment," Anibal Gaviria, governor of Antioquia in the northwest, told AFP.

A small herd of hippos arrived in Colombia in the late 1980s, brought in by the fabulously wealthy cocaine lord Escobar. After his death in 1993, the animals were left to roam freely and populated the region of Magdalena Medio, a hot savanna criss-crossed by rivers, marshes and swamps where food for hippos is abundant.

Gaviria wants to transfer 70 of the herd -- declared invasive by the government a year ago -- to sanctuaries in India and Mexico.

The growth of the hippopotamus population "is a complex situation for the inhabitants" of Magdalena Medio, some of whom have been threatened by the animals, which can weigh two to three tons, he said.

The local environmental agency recorded two assaults on residents in 2021.

In 2022, after unsuccessful attempts at a sterilization program, the government declared the hippos an invasive species, opening the door to hunting. Experts and the environmental agency agreed it was a necessary solution, given the threat to local people and wildlife.
Japan said it had destroyed a new medium-lift rocket it launched into space on Tuesday after the vehicle's second-stage engine failed to ignite, in a blow to its efforts to expand access to space and remain competitive in a launch market roiled by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket had lifted off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month. JAXA said it sent a self-destruct signal to the rocket after the engine failure. The H3 was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite that is also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches. Shares in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI), the H3's builder, fell 1.8% in morning trade, while the broader Japanese benchmark index was up 0.4%. Powered by a new simpler, lower-cost engine that includes 3D-printed parts, the H3 is designed to lift government and commercial satellites into Earth orbit. It also meant to ferry supplies to the International Space Station. As part of Japan's deepening cooperation with the United States in space, it will eventually carry cargo to the Gateway lunar space station that NASA plans to build as part of its programme to return people to the moon, including Japanese astronauts. MHI has estimated that the H3's cost per launch will be half of its predecessor, the H-II, helping it win business in a global launch market increasingly dominated by SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket. In a report published in September, the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the cost of a Falcon 9 launch to low Earth orbit at $2,600 per kilogramme. The equivalent price tag for the H-II is $10,500.

Japan said it had destroyed a new medium-lift rocket it launched into space on Tuesday after the vehicle's second-stage engine failed to ignite, in a blow to its efforts to expand access to space and remain competitive in a launch market roiled by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The 57-metre (187 ft) tall H3 rocket had lifted off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Tanegashima space port, following an aborted launch last month. JAXA said it sent a self-destruct signal to the rocket after the engine failure.

The H3 was carrying the ALOS-3, a disaster management land observation satellite that is also equipped with an experimental infrared sensor designed to detect North Korean ballistic missile launches.

Shares in Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI), the H3's builder, fell 1.8% in morning trade, while the broader Japanese benchmark index was up 0.4%.

Powered by a new simpler, lower-cost engine that includes 3D-printed parts, the H3 is designed to lift government and commercial satellites into Earth orbit.

It also meant to ferry supplies to the International Space Station.

As part of Japan's deepening cooperation with the United States in space, it will eventually carry cargo to the Gateway lunar space station that NASA plans to build as part of its programme to return people to the moon, including Japanese astronauts.

MHI has estimated that the H3's cost per launch will be half of its predecessor, the H-II, helping it win business in a global launch market increasingly dominated by SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

In a report published in September, the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the cost of a Falcon 9 launch to low Earth orbit at $2,600 per kilogramme. The equivalent price tag for the H-II is $10,500.
The military command in Tra Vinh Province, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta, said on Monday they had removed a 150-kilogram wartime bomb that was found by local residents.

The bomb was discovered at a construction site in Truong Long Hoa Commune, Duyen Hai Town.

After receiving a report from local residents, the provincial military command dispatched a specialized unit to assess the situation and set up warning signs.

Military officers handle a 150-kilogram wartime bomb in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam, March 6, 2023. Photo: Huu Hiep / Tuoi Tre

The bomb was identified as a Mark 81 bomb weighing 150 kilograms.

It was buried deep in the soil for a long time and still has a detonator.

The bomb was later transported to the shooting range in Tieu Can District, awaiting detonation in accordance with regulations.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Vietnam considers Japan as a long-term and trustworthy strategic partner, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Secretary-General of Japan's National Security Secretariat Akiba Takeo during a meeting in Hanoi on Monday, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Society -- It will remain dry and sunny across Vietnam on Tuesday, with a slight chance of showers in some areas, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported. -- Fire engulfed two houses in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Monday afternoon, killing a 58-year-old man who suffered from a stroke and was unable to walk. -- Police in the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang confirmed on Monday they had initiated legal proceedings against a kindergarten teacher on suspicion of beating a four-year-old boy. -- The military command in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh said on Monday they had handled a 150-kilogram wartime bomb that was previously found by local residents. -- Officers in north-central Nghe An Province have arrested a truck driver after his vehicle crashed into a motorbike and killed a woman and her two children on Monday morning. -- Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday inspected the headquarters and multiple branches of pawnshop chain F88, which specializes in lending money in the form of mortgages of cars, motorbikes, phones, and laptops. -- The Peoples Court in Hanoi on Monday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for causing a house fire that killed his girlfriend in late 2020. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Here are todays leading news stories:

Politics

-- Vietnam considers Japan as a long-term and trustworthy strategic partner, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Secretary-General of Japan's National Security Secretariat Akiba Takeo during a meeting in Hanoi on Monday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Society

-- It will remain dry and sunny across Vietnam on Tuesday, with a slight chance of showers in some areas, the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting reported.

-- Fire engulfed two houses in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on Monday afternoon, killing a 58-year-old man who suffered from a stroke and was unable to walk.

-- Police in the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang confirmed on Monday they had initiated legal proceedings against a kindergarten teacher on suspicion of beating a four-year-old boy.

-- The military command in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh said on Monday they had handled a 150-kilogram wartime bomb that was previously found by local residents.

-- Officers in north-central Nghe An Province have arrested a truck driver after his vehicle crashed into a motorbike and killed a woman and her two children on Monday morning.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday inspected the headquarters and multiple branches of pawnshop chain F88, which specializes in lending money in the form of mortgages of cars, motorbikes, phones, and laptops.

-- The Peoples Court in Hanoi on Monday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for causing a house fire that killed his girlfriend in late 2020.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Ho Chi Minh City launched an investigation into Tran Uyen Phuong, deputy CEO of local drink producer Tan Hiep Phat Group, for allegedly evading taxes and assisting others in dodging them. Phuong and some other individuals were found to have incorrectly declared the sale price of multiple land lots, indicating tax evasion. As a result, the local tax authority incorrectly calculated the taxes they had to pay for the transfer of the use rights of land lots in Hiep Binh Chanh, Long Truong, and Binh Khanh Wards in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, causing losses of over VND5.48 billion (US$233,057) to the state budget. Municipal investigators asked the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department to verify the land values, taxes imposed on the land lots at the transfer time, and any taxes evaded. Phuong, who is a daughter of Tran Qui Thanh, founder and CEO of Tan Hiep Phat Group, is in charge of "marketing, public relations, and CSR programs nationally and across Vietnams 63 provinces," according to the company's website. She is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization and was an honorary consul of Sudan in Ho Chi Minh City for the tenure between August 2018 and July 2019. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Police in Ho Chi Minh City launched an investigation into Tran Uyen Phuong, deputy CEO of local drink producer Tan Hiep Phat Group, for allegedly evading taxes and assisting others in dodging them.

Phuong and some other individuals were found to have incorrectly declared the sale price of multiple land lots, indicating tax evasion.

As a result, the local tax authority incorrectly calculated the taxes they had to pay for the transfer of the use rights of land lots in Hiep Binh Chanh, Long Truong, and Binh Khanh Wards in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, causing losses of over VND5.48 billion (US$233,057) to the state budget.

Municipal investigators asked the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department to verify the land values, taxes imposed on the land lots at the transfer time, and any taxes evaded.

Phuong, who is a daughter of Tran Qui Thanh, founder and CEO of Tan Hiep Phat Group, is in charge of "marketing, public relations, and CSR programs nationally and across Vietnams 63 provinces," according to the company's website.

She is also a member of the Young Presidents Organization and was an honorary consul of Sudan in Ho Chi Minh City for the tenure between August 2018 and July 2019.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Police in Ho Chi Minh City raided the headquarters of pawnshop chain F88 on Nguyen Oanh Street in Go Vap District and its branches across the city on Monday. The area surrounding the headquarters was put under strict surveillance. Residents were prevented from taking photos and recording videos. Besides the headquarters in Go Vap District, F88s branches on Tran Quang Khai Street in District 1, Do Xuan Hop and Kha Van Can Streets in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Van Qua Street in District 12, and Le Trong Tan Street in Tan Phu District faced the same fate. Swarms of policemen searched the headquarters and offices, which was supposedly the result of the companys alleged extortion of debtors. F88 was suspected of appropriating assets through lending. The search of the companys headquarters and offices is aimed at serving an investigation into the firm. Ho Chi Minh City police officers search an F88 office on Tran Quang Khai Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre F88, established in 2013, offers loans with customers autos, motorcycles, mobile phones, and laptops used as collateral. F88 has reported fast growth in Vietnam. It currently has 830 offices nationwide. The company successfully mobilized a series C investment totaling US$50 million last Thursday from the Vietnam-Oman Investment Fund and the Mekong Enterprise Fund IV. The fresh capital was to be invested in technology, data science, brand building, new customer attraction, and human resource development, it said. F88 chairman and general director Phung Anh Tuan said the company provides personal financial services to unbanked and underbanked customers and micro, small, and medium enterprises failing to meet banks requirements. Police officers raid an F88 office on Do Xuan Hop Street in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre In 2017-18, F88 successfully mobilized a series A investment from the Mekong Enterprise Fund III and a series B investment from Granite Oak, a UK-based investment holding company. Last year, it raised $70 million from Hong Kongs CLSA Capital Partners Limited and the UKs Lendable. The Ministry of Public Security and police in many localities have recently busted many debt collection rings that appropriated assets of debtors. Hundreds of thousands of people have been threatened and terrorized for their late debt payments. The Ho Chi Minh City police department has also initiated legal proceedings against 26 suspects who are employees of Mirae Asset Finance Company (Vietnam) Limited and Power Law Company Limited on charges of calumny. In addition, 13 others who are employees of P&L International Trading Services Co. Ltd. and TVX Group Co. Ltd. were prosecuted for allegedly using the Internet, telecom networks, and electronic devices to appropriate assets. Police search an F88 office on Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Police in Ho Chi Minh City raided the headquarters of pawnshop chain F88 on Nguyen Oanh Street in Go Vap District and its branches across the city on Monday.

The area surrounding the headquarters was put under strict surveillance. Residents were prevented from taking photos and recording videos.

Besides the headquarters in Go Vap District, F88s branches on Tran Quang Khai Street in District 1, Do Xuan Hop and Kha Van Can Streets in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Van Qua Street in District 12, and Le Trong Tan Street in Tan Phu District faced the same fate.

Swarms of policemen searched the headquarters and offices, which was supposedly the result of the companys alleged extortion of debtors.

F88 was suspected of appropriating assets through lending.

The search of the companys headquarters and offices is aimed at serving an investigation into the firm.

Ho Chi Minh City police officers search an F88 office on Tran Quang Khai Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

F88, established in 2013, offers loans with customers autos, motorcycles, mobile phones, and laptops used as collateral.

F88 has reported fast growth in Vietnam. It currently has 830 offices nationwide.

The company successfully mobilized a series C investment totaling US$50 million last Thursday from the Vietnam-Oman Investment Fund and the Mekong Enterprise Fund IV.

The fresh capital was to be invested in technology, data science, brand building, new customer attraction, and human resource development, it said.

F88 chairman and general director Phung Anh Tuan said the company provides personal financial services to unbanked and underbanked customers and micro, small, and medium enterprises failing to meet banks requirements.

Police officers raid an F88 office on Do Xuan Hop Street in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

In 2017-18, F88 successfully mobilized a series A investment from the Mekong Enterprise Fund III and a series B investment from Granite Oak, a UK-based investment holding company.

Last year, it raised $70 million from Hong Kongs CLSA Capital Partners Limited and the UKs Lendable.

The Ministry of Public Security and police in many localities have recently busted many debt collection rings that appropriated assets of debtors.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been threatened and terrorized for their late debt payments.

The Ho Chi Minh City police department has also initiated legal proceedings against 26 suspects who are employees of Mirae Asset Finance Company (Vietnam) Limited and Power Law Company Limited on charges of calumny.

In addition, 13 others who are employees of P&L International Trading Services Co. Ltd. and TVX Group Co. Ltd. were prosecuted for allegedly using the Internet, telecom networks, and electronic devices to appropriate assets.

Police search an F88 office on Kha Van Can Street in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has filed multiple murder complaints against Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves in relation to killings of at least four individuals in 2019.

The complaint  lodged before the Department of Justice on Tuesday  also named five other respondents.

Lawyer Levi Baligod, who represents the family of one of the victims, said the witnesses were part of the "assassination team" and they executed an affidavit.

"But ito, apat pa lang ang nai-file namin (We have only filed four as of now) but I think there will be more because in my record based on the complainants, there were 12 murders committed between the period 2018 and 2019," Baligod told reporters after the filing.

As to Teves' participation, Baligod alleged that the congressman summoned the witnesses and gave them instructions to assassinate the victims.

"So nung tinanong ko nga kung ano 'yung ginamit na baril, anong oras, ano ang damit nung victim, nasasagot nila," Baligod added. "So I was convinced of the credibility of these witnesses. That's why I helped the families file the complaint with the CIDG."

[Translation: So when I asked what kind of gun they used, what time, what the victims wore - they were able to answer them. So I was convinced of the credibility of these witnesses. That's why I helped the families file the complaint with the CIDG.]

Baligod also claimed that politics was the motive.

"Especially si dating board member Miguel Dumog. Sinasabi nila na nagkaroon kasi ng survey doon kung sino yung pwedeng lumaban kay Mr. Teves at lumabas ang pangalan ni Miguel Dumog na popular siya doon. 'Yun ang kwento ng mga ito."

[Translation: Especially former board member Miguel Dumog. They said there was a survey on who can go up against Mr. Teves, and Miguel Dumog's name popped up. That's what they've been saying.]

Teves has yet to release a statement in response to the complaints.

RELATED: Negros Oriental solon denies involvement in Degamo murder
A woman and two of her children were killed while her other son was injured after they were hit by a truck in the north-central Vietnamese province of Nghe An on Monday. According to the Peoples Committee of Hung Trung Commune in Hung Nguyen District, Nghe An Province, the woman, N.T.H., a 26-year-old resident of Hung Trung Commune, was riding a motorbike to take her children to school at about 6:45 am. The motorcycle then collided with the truck and the mother and her three children fell off the vehicle. The mother and two of her children died on the spot. Her youngest son, a preschool student, was injured and is receiving treatment at a local hospital. Local residents are stunned by the serious accident. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre After the accident, police officers rushed to the scene to investigate its cause. Trucker Nguyen Duy Quan, a 37-year-old resident of Nghe An Province, was taken into custody for further investigation, investigators from the Nghe An Police said on Monday. Quan tested zero for blood alcohol concentration and negative for drugs. According to investigators, Quan was driving the truck carrying stones from Nghi Loc District to Vinh City in Nghe An. He declared that when reaching Hung Trung Commune, he saw another truck traveling in the opposite direction and a motorcycle in the same direction. As he focused on avoiding the truck, he slammed his vehicle into the motorcycle. A delegation of the National Traffic Safety Committee visits and offers condolences to the family of the victims. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre On Monday afternoon, a delegation of the National Traffic Safety Committee visited and offered condolences to the family of the victims. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

A woman and two of her children were killed while her other son was injured after they were hit by a truck in the north-central Vietnamese province of Nghe An on Monday.

According to the Peoples Committee of Hung Trung Commune in Hung Nguyen District, Nghe An Province, the woman, N.T.H., a 26-year-old resident of Hung Trung Commune, was riding a motorbike to take her children to school at about 6:45 am.

The motorcycle then collided with the truck and the mother and her three children fell off the vehicle.

The mother and two of her children died on the spot. Her youngest son, a preschool student, was injured and is receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Local residents are stunned by the serious accident. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre

After the accident, police officers rushed to the scene to investigate its cause.

Trucker Nguyen Duy Quan, a 37-year-old resident of Nghe An Province, was taken into custody for further investigation, investigators from the Nghe An Police said on Monday.

Quan tested zero for blood alcohol concentration and negative for drugs.

According to investigators, Quan was driving the truck carrying stones from Nghi Loc District to Vinh City in Nghe An.

He declared that when reaching Hung Trung Commune, he saw another truck traveling in the opposite direction and a motorcycle in the same direction.

As he focused on avoiding the truck, he slammed his vehicle into the motorcycle.

A delegation of the National Traffic Safety Committee visits and offers condolences to the family of the victims. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre

On Monday afternoon, a delegation of the National Traffic Safety Committee visited and offered condolences to the family of the victims.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
ABC has issued a statement following media queries in which they were asked to comment on social media bullying of presenter Lisa Millar.

According to ABC, both news.com.au and Daily Mail sought comment on abusive comments around the News Breakfast presenter, in relation to her wardrobe on Monday.

The ABC regularly receives queries concerning abusive comments being made on social media about presenters and journalists, particularly female ones, ABC said in a statement.

Under the guise of concern, these stories are republishing abuse.

Queries asked how Lisa was doing following online criticism.

The ABC is not going to dignify any vile comments being made about a presenters clothes by responding to them, said the broadcaster.

If Daily Mail Australia and news.com.au were genuine in their concern about such behaviour they wouldnt amplify it by republishing the comments they describe as vile and sickening, accompanied by a screenshot.

Giving anonymous social media bullies publicity on a national platform is participating in perpetuating antisocial behaviour and the very serious issue of online abuse of women.

Especially on the eve of International Womens Day, we ask for a more responsible approach to reporting on these issues.

Director, News Justin Stevens added: The relentless and vile bullying Lisa Millar is subjected to on social media, particularly Twitter, is unacceptable. She is an outstanding broadcaster and journalist and does an incredible job.

Media outlets that amplify this disgusting anonymous trolling need to take a good hard look at themselves and their standards.

Lisa Millar quit Twitter in late 2021 citing a level of animosity directed at her which went well beyond criticism of her work.
SBS has set an April premiere for its upcoming consent documentary Asking for It, presented by Jess Hill (See What You Made Me Do).

The 3 part series hopes to prompt a national conversation about sexual violence in Australian society and asks how can we shift a rape culture into a consent culture?

Presenter and Consultant Producer Jess Hill said: The last sexual revolution liberated us from abstinence culture  thankfully  but it turns out that true sexual freedom is still only for some. As #MeToo has shown, sexual freedom can be expressed at great cost to those whove had sex they didnt want. The consent revolution is the next evolutionary step towards a truly liberated sexuality where everyone involved can expect to feel pleasure. I hope this series really gets people thinking about their own life experiences, and pumps new energy into the national movement to end rape culture.

SBS Head of Unscripted Joseph Maxwell said: See What You Made Me Do was one of SBSs most successful factual programs in 2021 and were proud to partner again with Jess Hill and the team at Northern Pictures. The series exemplifies SBSs role in supporting ground-breaking documentaries that tackle the big issues of our time.

Director Tosca Looby said: Theres nothing simple about consent  but weve worked hard to take the audience on a carefully crafted journey through the wilds of this issue thats so fundamental and so misunderstood. We travel with survivors, all the way through our justice system and out the other side  deeply disturbed by what we find. We meet the best educators in the consent game  the people determined to get it right. And the audience, from teenage boys to the elderly, who want to speak openly and frankly about sex, in the pursuit of healthy, consent rich relationships!

Over three episodes, Jess joins advocates who are forcefully driving change in Australia and learns why they are insisting on quality consent education, embedded across our national curriculum, from kindergarten onwards. Jess meets the prominent victim survivors spearheading Australias consent revolution including Saxon Mullins, Grace Tame, Noelle Martin and Adele (delsi) Moleta who shed light on their experiences navigating the legal system, fighting for law reform and dealing with trauma.

Throughout the series Jess interviews a range of experts, community groups and consent educators from across Australia and beyond our shores: from the incredible work being done to educate male youth by sex and consent educator Richie Hardcore, to Reset Australia, leading the charge in tackling emerging digital threats. Jess experiences the joy of a consent friendly LGBTQIA+ dance party and reveals the pioneering work in South Africa thats testing bespoke care centres and courts to create a cocoon of care and justice for victim survivors.

SBS current affairs program Insight, hosted by Kumi Taguchi, will air an episode exploring the topic of consent at 8:30pm AEDT on 25 April as an accompaniment to Asking For It.

SBS Learn will deliver teaching resources based on selected clips from Asking For It, exploring respect, consent and power through age-appropriate materials for school students. Developed in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner and Body Safety Australia, these resources aim to equip students with the skills to navigate the complexity of healthy and respectful relationships.

Asking For It will be subtitled in five languages, streaming on SBS On Demand in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

The series will also be available with audio description for blind or vision-impaired audiences.

A Northern Pictures Production. Principal production funding from Screen Australia. Developed and produced in association with SBS Australia. Post-produced in Sydney, NSW with the assistance of the NSW Government.

8:30pm Thursday 20 April on SBS and continues weekly.

1800 Respect: 1800 737 732

Adult themes.
MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd.

Chicago, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive is projected to reach USD 22.2 billion by 2030 from an estimated USD 2.9 billion in 2021, at a CAGR of 25.4% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.

Browse and in-depth TOC on "Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive"

184  Tables

59  Figures

246  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id= 260287840

Report Attributes Details Market size value in 2021: USD 2.9 billion Projected to reach 2030: USD 22.2 billion CAGR: 25.4% Base Year Considered: 2020 Forecast Period: 2021-2030 Largest Market: Asia Pacific Region Covered: Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and RoW Segments Covered: By technology, data fusion type, data fusion level, vehicle type, EV type, autonomous vehicle, sensor type, application, sensor fusion environment, and region Companies Covered: Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Germany), Continental AG (Germany), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands), Infineon Technologies (Germany), Denso Corporation (Japan), Aptiv (Ireland), ST Microelectronics (Japan), and Allergo Microsystems (US), Elmos Semiconductor SE (Germany).

A total of 27 major players covered

The growth of the Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive is influenced by a major factor such as the stringency in safety standards in countries such as China, India, Brazil, European Union, US, Canada, etc. In addition, the anticipated increase in demand for premium and luxury cars is expected to boost the demand for sensor fusion technology. Also, the growing adoption of advanced ADAS features in automobiles due to enhanced safety and comfort is expected to drive adoption of sensors such as cameras, radars and LiDARs. Therefore, the Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years.

Story continues

LiDAR is expected to be the fastest market during the forecast period

LiDAR offers precise and accurate 3D measurement data from short to long ranges in challenging weather and lighting conditions. This technology can be combined with any other sensory data to provide a reliable representation of both, still as well as moving objects in the vehicles environment. Thus, LiDAR technology has become a suitable accessible solution to avoid collisions and enable obstacle detection and safe navigation in various environments in different vehicle types. LiDAR is used in critical automotive and mobility applications such as ADAS and autonomous driving. Europe and North America are likely to witness early adoption of LiDAR in their vehicle models. It is expected to be used in passenger cars post 2023 and in heavy commercial vehicles post 2024.

Increased production and developments are expected to drive the adoption of LiDAR in automobiles. For instance, according to AUTOCAR PROFESSIONAL (Indias premier B2B automotive magazine), in July 2021, US-based Lidar solutions provider Cepton Technologies Inc secured an ADAS LiDAR Series Production Award at a leading, Detroit-based global automotive OEM. This marked the industry-first mass-market adoption of LiDAR for automotive ADAS.

Heavy Commercial Vehicle is expected to be the largest growing market

Currently, heavy commercial vehicles witness no penetration of sensor fusion. They do, however, require more cameras and radar for sensor fusion mainly because of the vehicle height, longer range, and distance. Trucks are expected to adopt sensor fusion before buses due to increasing requests by fleet managers to migrate to advanced safety technology. According to Aptiv, the European Union has mandated automotive manufacturers to fit ADAS, such as lane departure warning systems (LDWS) and autonomous emergency braking systems (AEB) in all heavy commercial vehicles weighing more than 7,000 kilograms. According to MarketsandMarkets analysis, penetration of ADAS features in trucks and buses in countries such as Germany and the US is around ~16% and 8%, respectively.

Penetration in countries such as China, India, and Brazil is very low; the adoption of safety features in heavy commercial vehicles is likely to pick up only after 2025. The actual growth in HCVs is expected to gain momentum post 2024, mainly in developed countries. This growth is likely to be relatively slower than PCs and LCVs, but with more stringent safety standards.

Request Free Sample Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id= 260287840

Asia Pacific is expected to lead the market during the forecast period

In Asia Pacific, China and Japan account for the largest share of Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive. The growth of the market in this region can be attributed to the high vehicle production and increased use of advanced electronics in Japan, South Korea, and China. The governments of these countries have recognized the growth potential of the automotive industry and have consequently taken various initiatives to encourage major OEMs to enter their domestic markets. Several European and American automobile manufacturers such as Volkswagen (Germany), Mercedes Benz (Germany), and General Motors (US) have shifted their production plants to developing countries in the region. Major ADAS solution providers such as Robert Bosch (Germany), Continental (Germany), and Denso (Japan) have production facilities across Asia Pacific, which has accelerated development in sensor fusion technologies. Implementation of safety standards is also expected to be one of the major drivers of the Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive in the region. For instance, in Japan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLITT) announced plans to mandate AEB for all new passenger cars by November 2021. Existing models will have this feature by December 2025, while all imported vehicles will have AEB by June 2024. This change in regulation will be the key driving factor for the growth of the Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive during the forecast period.

Key Market Players

The Sensor Fusion Market for Automotive is dominated by globally established players such as Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Germany), Continental AG (Germany), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands), Infineon Technologies (Germany), and Denso Corporation (Japan), Aptiv (Ireland), ST Microelectronics (Japan).

Make an Inquiry: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id= 260287840

Browse Adjacent Market: Automotive and Transportation Market Research Reports & Consulting

Browse Related Reports:

Air Suspension Market - Global Forecast to 2027

Automotive Camera Market - Global Forecast to 2026

ADAS Market - Global Forecast to 2030

Automotive Software Market - Global Forecast to 2027

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




The UK government said on Tuesday it was ready for legal challenges against a new law intended to stop migrants from reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed the government had pushed the boundaries of international law with its bill barring asylum claims by anyone who reaches the UK by unauthorised means.

But the UN refugee agency is profoundly concerned by UKs illegal migration bill, saying it amounts to an asylum ban.

The controversial plans could mean the government detained asylum seekers entering the country across illegal routes and then deporting them to their home country or a safe third country.

Critics have blasted the plans as unworkable, inhumane, and not legally feasible, pointing out they could only succeed if the UK withdrew from several international treaties.

They also claimed there is a lack of safe and legal routes, which forces asylum seekers to cross the channel in this way.

If you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed," Braverman told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday, as she introduced the government's "Illegal Migration Bill."

The UK government says the new law, once approved by Parliament, will deter migrants and hamstring smuggling gangs who send desperate people on hazardous journeys across the busy waterway.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the law will take back control of UK borders  a central pledge of the successful but divisive campaign to take Britain out of the European Union.

Braverman said those arriving by boat would be detained for up to 28 days and then deported, with exceptions only for children.

Those medically unfit to fly and people at risk of serious harm will have limited grounds for appeal.

She said there is a chance the robust and novel legislation breaches UK human rights laws, though added she was confident it is compatible with Britain's "international obligations" under refugee and human rights conventions.

Story continues

Critics say the plan cannot work since people fleeing war and persecution cant be sent home, claiming it is likely to be the latest in a series of unfulfilled immigration pledges by successive UK governments.

The bill will not stop small boats crossing the Channel. It will only add to the trauma of the people in these boats, while further damaging Britains global reputation for fairness and compassion, said Laura Kyrke-Smith, executive director of the humanitarian group the International Rescue Committee.

Labour Party immigration spokeswoman Yvette Cooper accused the government of ramping up the rhetoric on refugees without solving the deeply damaging chaos in Britain's asylum system.

This bill isnt a solution, she said. It is a con that risks making the chaos even worse.

The UK government says that once its new law is in place it will establish more legal paths to asylum, adding to those set up for people from Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Ukraine.

But it hasn't said how many people will be accepted, or when the programme will start.

Cooperation with France on stopping the boats stalled amid Britains acrimonious split from the European Union, though relations have improved since Sunak took office in October.

The UK and France signed an agreement in November to increase police patrols on beaches in northern France, and Sunak hopes to cement further cooperation when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron at a UK-France summit on Friday.
(Reuters) -Belarus detained on Tuesday what it said was a "terrorist" and more than 20 accomplices working with Ukrainian and U.S. intelligence services over attempted sabotage at a Belarusian air field, President Alexander Lukashenko was cited as saying.

Belarusian anti-government activists said last month they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military surveillance aircraft in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, a claim disputed by Moscow and Minsk.

"The Security Service of Ukraine, the leadership of the CIA, behind closed doors, are carrying out an operation against the Republic of Belarus. A terrorist was trained," the Belta news agency quoted Lukashenko as saying.

Lukashenko said the aircraft had suffered only superficial damage in the attack, which was carried out using a "small drone", Belta reported.

The suspect detained over the attack against the Beriev A-50 surveillance plane is a dual Russian-Ukrainian national, Belta also quoted Lukashenko as saying. More than 20 people involved in the incident have been arrested so far, while other suspects are still hiding abroad, he added.

He said he had ordered a nationwide "sweep" to round up other saboteurs involved in attacks inside the country.

Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and allowed Putin to use Belarus as a launchpad to invade Ukraine last February, repeated his position that Belarus would not be "dragged into" the conflict.

"If you think that by throwing down this challenge, you will drag us into a war tomorrow, which is already raging across over Europe today, you are mistaken," Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying in comments directed at Kyiv and Washington.

He has previously said Belarus would only enter the war directly if its territory came under attack from Ukraine.

Kyiv has long been concerned about a new invasion from Belarusian territory, a risk that forces it to keep protecting its northern border at a time when its troops are at full stretch fighting Russia in its south and east.

(Reporting by Reuters. Writing by Felix Light and Jake Cordell; Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Trevelyan)
Theres uproar in the cheese community after a ruling that gruyere can legally be used to describe the popular fromage, regardless of where its made.

The beloved cheese is traditionally from the Gruyere region of Switzerland and France where it originated, but a US appeals court has said the name gruyere can be used for any delicacy of its type.

In a victory for American dairy groups, the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), rejecting bids from cheese producers from Switzerland and France for a mark that would restrict the use of gruyere to cheese from Gruyere itself.

The Swiss and French groups released a statement, saying they were disappointed by the courts choice but would continue to "pursue vigorously" their efforts to protect the gruyere name.

The US dairy community is celebrating though, with the US Dairy Export Council president Krysta Harden saying the decision was an "outstanding result for manufacturers and farmers here in the United States.

Gruyere is widely considered to be one of the most popular cheeses worldwide and is extremely well-established, having been first made in the Swiss district of La Gruyere in 1115.

While the US Food and Drug Administration does have standards in place to certify gruyere cheese, they are said to be far less stringent than in France and Switzerland and, crucially, dont include geographic restrictions.

The battle over gruyere has been raging for several years now and, in 2015, Switzerland's Interprofession du Gruyere and France's Syndicat Interprofessionnel du Gruyere asked the USPTO to certify that gruyere cheese only comes from the Gruyere region. The organisation refused, saying gruyere is a generic, unprotectable word for a type of cheese.

The Swiss and French groups appealed after a Virginia federal court upheld that ruling in 2021.

The courts decision has added to what has been an exceptionally bad week for gruyere makers from Gruyere. Last Friday (3 March), a fire broke out inside a Swiss cheese depot in the Swiss canton of Freiburg - destroying the 12,000 wheels of the divisive cheese.
Chinese martial arts training program launched in Myanmar's Yangon

Xinhua) 09:32, March 07, 2023

A martial artist performs during the launching ceremony of a Chinese martial arts, or Wushu, training program at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, March 6, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)

YANGON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese martial arts or Wushu training program was launched here on Monday in efforts to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges between China and Myanmar.

China Cultural Center in Yangon and FSSL (Myanmar) Services Limited jointly organized the three-month summer program to deepen cultural exchanges between the two countries and broaden the cultural knowledge of Myanmar students.

A total of 33 students aged 10-50 will attend the courses from March 7 to May 30 at the China Cultural Center.

Speaking at the launching of the training program, Xu Ling, who is in charge of the China Cultural Center in Yangon, said that it is the first training program of Wushu and Tai Chi since the opening of the center.

Xu said that she hopes the training courses will help the participating students develop a healthy and disciplined lifestyle after they come to understand the traditional Chinese culture.

Participants pose for a group photo during the launching ceremony of a Chinese martial arts, or Wushu, training program at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, March 6, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  Cleaning up the oil spill from the motor tanker that sank in the waters off Oriental Mindoro would likely take more than a month, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Tuesday.

PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu cited the lack of manpower and equipment as the main challenges in cleanup operations.

Let us be honest and candid about it. One month time? Hindi ganun kadali yan [Its not that easy], Abu told reporters.

This is the reason why we are promoting everybodys involvementmost especially the LGUs (local government units) and the community. We are not sure or certain yet when oil from the vessel will be completely released," he added.

The PCG official said the embassies of Japan and the United States in Manila expressed their intent to assist the country in responding to the oil spill. Asked how other nations could help, Abu said they can send people to help in the cleanup.

Authorities are rushing to contain the oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress, as they warn of its impact on the environment and on the health of residents in Oriental Mindoro and nearby areas.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier said toxic chemicals from the spill can cause skin and lung complications, aside from nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach.

In a briefing also on Tuesday, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the agency received reports of some residents along the shoreline experiencing headache and nausea.

She noted these are short-term symptoms, which disappear a few hours after the patients receive medical help.

Isa lang ang na-admit, yun ngang nagkaroon ng aggravation ng kanyang hika. Other than that, wala pa naman tayong naitatala na na-admit sa ospital, Vergeire said.

[Translation: Only one has been admitted to the hospital  a resident whose asthma worsened. Other than that, we have so far not recorded any more hospital admissions.]

MT Princess Empress was transporting 800,000 liters of industrial oil when it capsized and sank last Feb. 28 near Naujan town.

On Monday, authorities said they detected the possible site of the vessel northeast of Pola town. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the tanker is believed to have moved southeast from its last known position where it completely submerged.

The DENR said officials will still have to verify the exact location of the vessel through the deployment of a remotely operated vehicle.

RELATED: Oriental Mindoro oil spill reaches tourist spots  DOT
An H3 rocket carrying a land observation satellite rises into the air after blasting off from Tanegashima Space Centre on the island of Tanegashima in southwestern Japan, on March 7 (via REUTERS)

Japans space agency was forced to destroy a new H3 rocket moments after it launched on Tuesday, after the ignition for its second stage failed.

The H3 rocket - carrying a satellite and experimental sensor designed to monitor military activity - blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan, soaring into the sky as fans and local residents cheered.

The H3 rocket carrying a land observation satellite lifts off from the launching pad at Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Tanegashima (via REUTERS)

The projectile followed its planned trajectory and the second stage separated as planned before the ignition failed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

JAXA said it sent a command to destroy the rocket, as the ignition failure meant there was no hope of the mission being completed.

Debris from the rocket was expected to land in waters east of the Philippines.

The rocket had been carrying an Advanced Land Observation Satellite, tasked primarily with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and map making, and an experimental infrared sensor developed by the Defence Ministry that can monitor military activity including missile launches.

The H3 rockets failure - which came three weeks after an aborted launch due to a separate glitch - marked a fresh setback for Japans space programme, and sparked disappointment for space fans who were rooting for Tuesdays retrial.

Officials are investigating the cause of Tuesdays incident, and expected to give early findings at a news conference later on Tuesday.

Spectators watch the launch of Japan's next generation rocket (AFP via Getty Images)

The failure is the second in six months since a smaller Epsilon-series solid-fuelled rocket designed to launch scientific satellites failed in October.

The H3 launch had also been delayed for more than two years because of an engine development delay.

During a launch attempt last month, an electrical glitch after the main engine ignition aborted the launch just before lift-off and narrowly saved the rocket.

The H3 rocket - Japans first new series in more than 22 years - was developed at a cost of 200 billion yen (1.23bn) by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a successor to Japans H-2A rocket, which is due to retire after its upcoming 50th launch.

Story continues

The H3, which is about 60m long, can carry larger payloads than the 53m H-2A.

But its launch cost has been slashed approximately in half to about 50 million yen (306m) by simplifying its design, manufacturing and operation in an effort to win more commercial launch customers. The hydrogen-fuelled main engine is newly developed and uses fewer parts by altering the combustion method.

The space launch business has become increasing competitive, with major players including Elon Musks SpaceX, and French firm Arianespace.
(Reuters) - Slovak caretaker Prime Minister Eduard Heger launched a new pro-Western, liberal centrist party named the Democrats on Tuesday to run in a September election called after his coalition fell from power last year.

Heger, 46, is splitting from the OLANO movement set up by his predecessor Igor Matovic, whose rifts with coalition partners led to the fall of the centre-right administration.

The election outcome is highly uncertain in Slovakia's fragmented political scene, with the main dividing line running between pro-Western forces including the current government and a more pro-Russian stance by extreme right and the Smer party of former prime mister Robert Fico who wants to end support for Ukraine.

Heger said pro-Western democratic values and aid to neighbouring Ukraine were the cornerstones of his agenda.

"We want Slovakia to be a clear and reliable part of the democratic and free world, self-confident and responsible ally," Heger told a news conference.

"We want to help Ukraine on the path to its desired victory and peace," he said. "We do not want Putin's army on our borders."

Setting himself apart from conservative rivals, Heger said he wanted a country where "every citizen feels safe regardless of race, gender, faith, nationality or sexual orientation."

Heger said he would not cooperate with far-right nationalists, like Fico's Smer (Direction) nor the Hlas (Voice) party, which itself split from Smer on a more pro-Western platform and now leads opinion polls.

Smer has been second in recent polls, raising the possibility it could in some form return to power which it held in 2006-2010 and 2012-2020. Fico was forced to resign in favour of Pellegrini after the murder of an investigative journalist in 2018 sparked mass protests against public graft and clientelism.

The refusal to work with Hlas, which Heger said had too much legacy of Smer, indicates it may be very difficult to form a western-leaning government after the September polls.

Story continues

Four ministers from the current government, including Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad, have joined Heger's new outfit.

Under Heger's leadership, Slovakia shipped military equipment to Ukraine including the S-300 air defence system, and allowed hundreds of thousands refugees across the border after Russia's invasion of Ukraine started in February 2024.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Driving womens rights is harder and stronger for positive changes in gender equality and inclusiveness. Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become core values that businesses and organisations are pursuing.

According to a Euromonitor International survey, womens rights are among the top 10 global consumer trends in 2023. Looking healthy, hygiene/cleanliness, inner confidence, good oral health/care, etc. are the top female perceptions of beauty globally in this survey.

Therefore, female empowerment has become impossible to ignore and is opening opportunities for businesses both as employers and market players. This requires businesses to build a gender-equal and inclusive culture and working environment while developing, innovating and delivering products  especially beauty, hygiene and health products  to fulfil the needs of consumers.

In Viet Nam, Unilever Vietnam's brands cannot stand outside and have conducted a range of programmes for women. Sunsilk has also cooperated with Song An Career to organise an online event Reaching career dreams to guide young girls to find out their real interests and abilities to become more confident.

The program Women do business from Sunlight aims to accompany Vietnamese women to pursue their dream of business start-ups by providing courses to equip them with business knowledge and initial capital support.

Unilever has strived to promote a culture of diversity, equity and inclusiveness for all employees through equal opportunities of learning, working, promotion, and policies on welfare and equality rights. The business has achieved a gender balance at the management and director levels.

For upscaling and influence expansion, besides building a gender-equity workplace and driving brands purposeful programmes, Unilever Vietnam has closely partnered with the Vietnam Womens Union for the past 17 years.

This partnership will continue to make efforts and commit to facilitating one million Vietnamese women to develop and improve their quality of life through education and training in health, hygiene, nutrition, livelihood development, and access to business capital from 2022-2027.

Recently, Unilever Vietnam, Sunlight, and the Womens Union have completed a direct training programme for more than 2,000 women in 10 provinces across the country, including Bac Lieu, Ninh Thuan, Lang Son, Kon Tum, Tay Ninh, Nam Dinh, Ca Mau, Quang Binh, Bac Kan and Phu Yen.

Women participating in the programme can propose business ideas directly to the organisers and have the opportunity to receive prizes and initial financial support to confidently start a business at the Wrap-up and awarding ceremony of Women do business programme, which is going to take place this June.

In addition, on March 30, to celebrate International Women's month, Unilever Vietnam coordinates with the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD Vietnam) to organise a campaign and seminar bearing the theme Positive beauty, positive you with the participation of social organisations, experts and activists.

The programme aims to inspire and encourage womens confidence in their positive and diverse beauty, as well as their own unique values without being influenced by social stereotypes or prejudices. This aims to contribute to removing gender prejudice barriers, support building womens capacity, help them confidently unlock their full potential, pursue good values and make positive contributions to society.

With all those efforts, Unilever Vietnam has been honoured at the prestigious UN Womens WEPs Awards for three consecutive years.

In 2022, the business won the category Community engagement and partnership in Viet Nam and the Asia Pacific region. Previously, the enterprise also won in the category Gender-inclusive marketplace in 2021; and two categories Leadership commitment and "Gender-inclusive workplace" in 2020.
HA NOI  Total import-export revenue is estimated at US$96.06 billion in the first two months of this year, down 13.2 per cent year on year, with a trade surplus of $2.82 billion, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

According to the office, the country has exported $49.44 billion worth of goods so far this year, down 10.4 per cent over the same period last year, with $37.92 billion coming from the foreign-invested sector, accounting for 76.7 per cent.

In February alone, total export revenue is estimated at $25.88 billion, up 9 per cent over January and 11 per cent year on year.

In the first two months of this year, eight kinds of products recorded exports of over $1 billion, accounting for more than 69.9 per cent of the total. Particularly, three enjoyed revenue of over $5 billion.

The manufacturing-processing sector contributed $44.38 billion to the countrys total two-month export revenue, accounting for 89.8 per cent, while agro-forestry sector made up 6.9 per cent, fisheries 2 per cent and fuel and minerals 1.3 per cent.

In January and February, the country spent $46.62 billion on importing goods, down 16 per cent year on year, mostly on production materials.

In February, the figure dropped 6.7 per cent over the same period last year to $23.58 billion.

In the first two months of this year, imports of 13 groups of goods exceeded $1 billion, with two recording imports worth more than $5 billion.

So far this year, the US has remained the largest import market of Viet Nam with a revenue of $13.1 billion, while China has been the country's biggest exporter with a value of about $14.6 billion.

In the January-February period, Viet Nams trade surplus with the EU is estimated at $4.8 billion, up 1.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the country has suffered a trade deficit of $6.4 billion with China, $4.7 billion with the Republic of Korea, $1.5 billion with ASEAN countries, and $237.2 million with Japan.

To meet the target of about 6 per cent growth in export revenue this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has asked businesses to actively improve the competitiveness of their products, while expanding their export markets.

The ministry will strengthen the exploitation of potential markets, while switching to official export channels in association with the building of trademarks. The ministry will also renovate its trade promotion activities and develop digital infrastructure to increase distribution though e-commerce platforms.

Besides, the ministry will organise training courses for businesses and support them to make full use of free trade agreements.

Agro-forestry-aquatic exports up 5.7 per cent in February

Viet Nam earned over $3.4 billion from agro-forestry-aquatic product exports last month, a year-on-year increase of 5.7 per cent, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

The sectors import-export value in the first two months of this year was estimated at $11.99 billion, down 16.8 per cent from the same period last year. Its exports accounted for around $6.28 billion, a drop of 22.5 per cent.

After falling to second position among Viet Nams agro-forestry-aquatic importers, China returned to the top spot in the first two months of the year with $1.27 billion or 20.2 per cent of the market share. It was followed by the US with some $1.19 billion; Japan, $563 million; and the Republic of Korea, $302 million.

Items that saw hikes in export revenues included tea, up 5.1 per cent; fruits and vegetables, 17.8 per cent; cassava and cassava products, 32.7 per cent; milk and dairy products, 10.2 per cent; and meat and by-products, 14.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, staples such as coffee, rubber, rice, cashew nuts, pepper, tra fish (pangasius), shrimp, wood and wooden products, and rattan and bamboo products experienced decreases.

To promote the consumption of farm produce, the ministry said it will step up market development, remove barriers and facilitate domestic sales and exports, while utilising free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The sector will also continue its coordination to support the protection of trademarks and geographical indications for Viet Nams potential export items abroad. It proposed the Government build a decree on the management of Viet Nam's national agricultural product brands.

Representatives from the ministry will hold working sessions with Chinas Nanning and Yunnan customs forces to seek ways to promote trade and remove obstacles to agro-forestry-aquatic exports.  VNS
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 7)  The United States and Malaysia are now helping the Philippines search for the medical evacuation helicopter that went missing while on its way to a hospital in Palawan, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Monday.

According to the CAAP-Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center (PARCC), the operations were conducted in cooperation with the Palawan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) and the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS).

The agencies handled aerial searches over Kota Kinabalu with two Cessna 192 planes and a US Department of Defense CL60 aircraft.

The CAAP earlier reported that a helicopter with registry number N45VX and operated by PAMAS went missing while on its way to the Southern Palawan Provincial Hospital. On board were the pilot, a nurse, the patient, and two companions.

A day after the chopper went missing, the Philippine Coast Guard reported retrieving a pillow owned by the patient on board the missing air ambulance.

The PARCC also said the agency has coordinated with the Philippine Navy, informing them of search and rescue (SAR) operations over Malaysian territory on Tuesday.

Kota Kinabalu ARCC also informed the PARCC that their Coast Guard vessel conducted SAR operations south of Pulau Banggi, Sabah Malaysia around 4:00 PM today (Monday), the agency said.

They also advised that the Malaysian Police Airwing Department and Malaysian Air Force will conduct SAR operations tomorrow (Tuesday) at the boundary of Pulau Banggi and Balabac, it added.

The Philippine Air Force also deployed another rescue helicopter to transport the communications team of Task Force iCare from Puerto Princesa City to the PAMAS headquarters.
HA NOI  The export prices of Vietnamese rice in the first two months of 2023 rose by 9.8 per cent year-on-year to US$528.5 per tonne, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Viet Nam exported 789,000 tonnes of the grain in the reviewed period, earning $417 million, down 18.8 per cent in volume and 10.8 per cent in value compared to the same period last year.

The Philippines is the largest importer in January with over 129,000 tonnes worth $64.55 million, accounting for 34.6 per cent of Viet Nams total export.

Viet Nam recorded the highest increase in price for rice exported to Taiwan (China) in January, with a surge of 54.6 per cent year-on-year.

Favourable conditions are forecast for rice exports in 2023 as many countries such as the US and China, and those in Europe, are being affected by climate change and drought, which cause a shortage of rice supply.

Moreover, India  one of the largest rice exporters in the world  imposes a ban on broken rice exports and a 20-per cent tax rate on white rice varieties.

Viet Nam aims to export between 6.5-7 million tonnes of rice in 2023.

Its exports are predicted to increase again as the demand in traditional markets such as Indonesia and Bangladesh has risen, and China  one of the largest importers of Vietnamese farm produce, has opened its market after the COVID-19 pandemic.  VNS
HA NOI  Chairman of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup Pham Nhat Vuong on March 6 announced the establishment of GSM (Green - Smart - Mobility) Joint Stock Company, offering VinFast electric car and motorbike rental and taxi services.

GSM is the world's first multi-platform green transport rental and taxi service aiming to promote electrified mobility while advocating a green lifestyle.

The company is expected to provide the market with 10,000 cars and 100,000 motorbikes made by the VinFast Trading Service Limited Liability Company, a subsidiary automaker of Vingroup.

With charter capital of VN3 trillion (US$126.77 million), GSM, founded by Vuong, who owns a 95 per cent stake, is expected to begin operation in Ha Noi next month and then nationwide this year. The company will offer rental services to transport companies, while operating its own electric taxi service.

Specifically, GSM will offer electric car rental services for traditional and online taxi service providers and their employees. At the same time, GSM will operate its own electric car taxi service.

Nguyen Van Thanh, CEO of GSM JSC, said: "GSM was established to further the development of the green and smart mobility ecosystem in Viet Nam, providing people with more options to use electric vehicles at reasonable prices.

"Whether it is just a few dozen minutes in a taxi or a few weeks or months of renting, customers will have the opportunity to experience the smart features and convenience of electric vehicles. In this way, we can accelerate the smart electric vehicle revolution in Viet Nam."

GSM aims to promote the usage of electric vehicles by raising awareness about the convenience, intelligence, and sustainability of electric vehicles. By offering direct driving experiences (with test drive customers) and opportunities to enjoy smart technology features and amenities in vehicles (rental customers, electric taxi passengers), GSM will introduce VinFast electric cars to the broader public and gradually establish the habit of using smart and environmentally friendly transport in the daily lives of Vietnamese people. -- VNS
QUANG NINH  Malta-flagged cruise ship Mein Schiff 5 docked in Quang Ninh Province on Monday, carrying nearly 2,000 European visitors to the famous tourist destination in the north of Viet Nam.

The visitors explored a number of tourist attractions in the locality, including the UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay, as well as the local culture and cuisine in Ha Long City before leaving the province for Hong Kong (China) in the evening of the same day.

This is the second and the biggest cruise ship having arrived in Quang Ninh since the beginning of this year.

Earlier on January 22, or the first day of the Year of the Cat, the Silver Spirit cruise ship also carried 500 tourists to Ha Long. The city is about to welcome at least four other foreign ships with thousands of visitors in March.

In the first two months of 2023, Quang Ninh received 3.35 million visitors, doubling the number recorded in the same time last year, including 157,000 foreigners. The province earned over VN6.5 trillion (US$274.66 million) from tourism in the period.

This year, the province aims for 15 million visitors, including 2 million foreigners, and a tourism revenue of VN32.4 trillion ($1.36 billion).  VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue met with female officers of the public security force in Ha Noi on Monday on the occasion of the 113th anniversary of International Womens Day and the 40th founding anniversary of the Ministry of Public Securitys Women Union (March 8).

Speaking at the event, Hue hailed the female officers for maintaining the heroic tradition of Vietnamese heroic women, affirming the comprehensive position and role of women in the sector, making important contributions to the overall achievements of the public security force while promoting the development of women's movements nationwide, meeting the requirements of the industrialisation and modernisation cause of the country.

The NA and NA Standing Committee will continue reviewing and issuing legal documents to facilitate both women and mens contributions to every aspect of the society, thus fostering the rapid and sustainable development of the nation, he said.

The Central Public Security Party Committee, leaders of the Ministry of Public Security and the Viet Nam Womens Union must play a crucial role in advising the Party and State on policies and strategies for the advancement of the Vietnamese women, including those in the armed forces for the cause of national construction and defence at present and in the future, Hue said.

The leader expressed his belief that the Ministry of Public Securitys Women Union and its members will continue fulfilling their assigned tasks and reaping new achievements.  VNS
HA NOI  Experts discussed the implementation of policies and laws on energy development in the 2016-21 period at a conference co-organised by the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) and the National Assembly (NA)'s Committee on Science, Technology and Environment (CSTE) in Ha Noi on Monday.

Chairman of the NA committee Le Quang Huy said that in the 2016-21 period, the energy industry had developed rapidly in all sectors and fields, achieving many remarkable results.

The energy industrys achievements are an important premise to conducting the Politburos Resolution 55, issued on February 11, 2020, on Viet Nams energy orientations and development strategies to 2030.

However, Huy warned the energy industry still has some shortcomings, such as domestic energy supplies not meeting demand, the sector still lacking infrastructure, and technology levels in some areas needing improvement.

Huy suggested experts focus on discussing the current situation, completing policies and laws on energy development, and proposing specific solutions.

From there, the proposals can be submitted to the NA Standing Committee to solve the present difficulties and problems, and improve policies on energy development towards ensuring a fair energy transition and national energy security.

Chairman of the VUSTA Phan Xuan Dung said that to achieve green, sustainable economic development and climate change adaptation, Viet Nam was promoting energy transformation with cooperation and support from partners.

The country has gradually reduced fossil fuels, prioritising renewable, new and clean energy.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) that Viet Nam would achieve the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Assessing the actual implementation of policies and laws in energy planning in Viet Nam, associate professor Truong Duy Nghia, chairman of the Viet Nam Thermal Science and Technology Association said that the inter-sector relationship was not clear enough.

He said it is not clear that the development planning of one sector is influenced or affected by the others and vice versa.

Nghia suggested that it was necessary to confirm the works starting and completion time in the planning.

In the vision stage, it is also necessary to have specific plans and avoid too much change.

With the same point of view, professor Tran inh Long from the Viet Nam Electricity Association suggested that the power plan No 8 should be approved soon. Otherwise, it would affect the technology and financial supply chain.

The power plan No 8 should take into account clean and green energy transition.  VNS
American actress Corrin Carlson enjoys Vietnamese street food. (Photo: What about Viet Nam)

Hanoi  A passion for street food has inspired American actress Corrin Carlson to become a food blogger giving reviews about food, restaurants, travel, and daily life during her three-year stay in Vietnam.

In a recent interview with BBC, Carlson recalled that she first arrived in Hanoi in 2019 at the invitation of some of her new friends who teach English in Vietnam.

At that time, she was traveling around Asia and just intended to spend a few months exploring and experiencing the life and culture of the S-shaped country.

However, her love for Vietnamese food and visits to places across the country made her decide to stay in Vietnam instead of returning to the US, particularly during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through her blog on TikTok and Instagram named Plates of Hanoi (now changed to The Fat Passport), Carlson creates content in English to show foreigners and tourists her food-relating experiences in Vietnam.

When spending three years in Vietnam, Carlson and her friend traveled to the corners of Hanoi to find the best food in town.

One of Corrin's first videos that went viral on social media during Hanois social distancing was about pho.

In the video, Carlson wears a facial mask like a local and talks about how vendors put pho in bags to take home, bringing a new perspective on pho that is already familiar to foreigners when served on the street in beautiful bowls and plates.

Thanks to her charming and humorous way of talking, the American actress received 5 million views and a lot of comments from all over the world. She said the video not only gives a new perspective on pho but also gives viewers a look at COVID-19 in Vietnam and how people are living.

She said that besides famous Vietnamese dishes such as banh mi, bun cha, and coffee, many other dishes should be known more and her choice is banh cuon (a steamed rolled pancake).

Now, when she is no longer in Hanoi, Carlson still misses Hanoi and banh cuon, she told BBC.

She said that street food in Vietnam offers a lot of choices. It is fresh, takes no time to prepare, and is healthy.

Street food is a great thing about Vietnam that people don't find in many parts of the world, she said, adding that she ate street food at least twice, even three times a day while in Vietnam.

Vietnam brings her great experiences with its cuisine, thus the food blogger would like to spread her love for food to everyone and encourage them to try Vietnamese dishes.

The American actress also shared her plan to return to Vietnam in the future, and make more content about Vietnam. She said she will eat her favorite dishes again and try some new dishes.

Vietnam among top five in the world for street food (infographics) Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam ranks fourth among the world's 50 best cities for street food, according to a new survey by US business magazine CEOWorld.

French newspaper introduces Hanois must-eat street food French daily Le Figaro recently ran an article introducing Hanois most renowned street food.

Street food vendors required to wear face masks Street food vendors will have to wear face masks from now on while preparing food and drinks for customers and maintain a distance of at least one metre from customers, Ha Nois Department of Health has said.
The scene of the landslide. (Photo: cnnindonesia)

Hanoi  At least 10 people have been killed and several others went missing in a landslide that occurred in Indonesias western province of Riau Islands on March 6, the National Disaster Management Agency said.

Abdul Muhari, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, blamed heavy downpours and unstable soil conditions for the disaster.

The agency said survivors were being evacuated from the Searasan region and the number of casualties may rise.

Responding to the disaster, the search and rescue office in Natuna has deployed a joint rescue team to the scene but poor weather conditions and telecommunication access have hampered the rescue operation.

The affected area was on a remote island that was a five-hour boat ride from the capital of Natuna, the agency said.

Indonesia readies roadmap for Timor Leste's full ASEAN membership Indonesia, as the chair of ASEAN this year, is preparing a roadmap to support the full membership of Timor Leste in the regional association.

UK supports Indonesia to improve investment ecosystem Indonesias Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has set a target of attracting 1,250 -1,400 trillion rupiah (82-92 billion USD) in investment in 2023 through passing policies to promote business licensing reform.
Workers assemble electronic parts at a FDI company in Bac Giang province. Experts are concerned that the enactment of GMTR would neutralise the tax incentives offered by developing countries. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - As many countries plan to adopt the Global Minimum Tax Rate (GMTR) in 2024, experts are concerned that the entry into force of the rate would discourage foreign companies from locating their operations in low-tax countries.

Under GMTR rules, corporations with more than 750 million EUR in annual revenue would be subject to an effective tax rate of at least 15 per cent, not including deductions for depreciation and certain tax credits. The introduction of GMTR is aimed to increase compliance costs and create a level playing field between developed and developing countries.

The European Union has unanimously agreed to implement the rate on January 1, 2024. Japan followed suit with the enactment date being April 1, 2024. Other countries are preparing their legislation for the adoption of GMTR in the short term, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Experts worried that the introduction of GMTR in other countries would cancel out the tax incentives that Vietnam has laid down for years and result in tax revenues being effectively exported to those countries.

They took RoK companies operating in Vietnam for example. These companies are subject to a preferential tax rate of 7 per cent. Once GMTR comes into force in the RoK, the companies would have to pay an additional rate of 8% to RoK tax authorities, which is the difference between the Vietnamese rate and GMTR.

Dang Ngoc Minh, Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation, estimated that 1,015 FDI companies operating in Vietnam would be unfavourably affected by the broad-based tax rules.

He said global corporate heavyweights in the country are enjoying tax rates of between 2.75 per cent to 5.95 per cent, far lower than the GMTR of 15 per cent. As such, the implementation of GMTR abroad would cost Vietnam a couple of billions of dollars in tax loss every year.

Thomas McClelland, country tax leader at the Deloitte Vietnam Company Ltd, urged Vietnam to act quickly and decisively to adopt GMTR. Otherwise, the country would lose out to others on the differential tax revenues.

Some other experts shared this view, saying that Vietnam must be quick to bring GMTR into force to boost its tax revenues from FDI companies. But they also warned that the bandwagon would pose some new challenges for policymakers, who would have to find non-tax ways to attract FDI.

Can Van Luc, chief economist at BIDV, believed that the implementation of GMRT would put developing countries at a competitive disadvantage, especially those using fiscal incentives as a magnet for FDI.

He urged Vietnam to improve its business environment and investment climate to make up for the tax incentives that would diminish in the next few years.

"A sound business environment and investment climate are more beneficial to investors than the financial incentives offered in the form of tax cuts," said Luc.

It is also worth noting that GMRT can only be officially put in place next year under the circumstance that the Government proposes amendments to Corporate Law, Investment Law, and Tax Law to the National Assembly before October 2023.

Global fuel concerns force tax action The government is expected to apply a scheme to pare down taxes and fees for fuel products, as well as provide sufficient fuel for the economy, in a bid to offer support and ensure desired growth.

Preparing MNCs for a global tax rate The introduction of a global minimum corporate tax on the foreign profits of multinational corporations will affect Vietnams own tax plans. Annett Perschmann-Taubert, tax partner at PwC Vietnam, discussed with VIRs Luu Huong the current tax landscape and how policies should be reformed in order to maintain momentum.
Effective cost and treasury management is one of the key concerns these days and has received great attention from corporates. This is especially true at this time when corporations are severely impacted by disruptions and constant volatility in the market, resulting in several challenges for CFOs.

During the workshops, KPMG experts shared their knowledge on how to manage cost and treasury efficiently, tailoring their input to businesses needs, objectives, and situations. Senior-level guests from FIS Global also provided the guests with useful automated solutions for treasury management that follow global best practices.

Luu Bao Lien, partner and head of Financial Management Consulting, providing helpful approaches for businesses to manage cost and treasury effectively

Lien said, In the current context, cash flow and cost management have drawn attention from many businesses. Given that, KPMG has captured and designed methodologies and supporting tools to improve effective cash and cost management. Planning and budgeting, monitoring tools, and cost controlling processes with cost optimisation initiatives are three integral components that need to be implemented consistently across the business, bringing an average of 5-15 per cent in quick-win savings.

Tim Kramer, director and head of the Special Situations Group at KPMG in Vietnam and Cambodia, pointing out important points when managing cost and treasury in Vietnam

"Vietnamese businesses have a significant untapped opportunity to release 10-20 per cent cash from working capital whilst enhancing operational processes and business partner relationships. This is the most efficient source of funding to deploy in a challenging economic context where both the need for cash and the cost of cash are increasing," Kramer noted.

Vu Quyen, director at FIS Global, presenting useful automated solutions for treasury management with global best practices

Once they have the know-how on how to do this, businesses can then reduce unnecessary steps in treasury management, thus making it easier to fulfil the ultimate goal of maximising profits.

Global sustainability reporting by KPMG shows improvement in Asia-Pacific Despite positive signals in the region, the findings of the KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting show that there is still more to be done to balance addressing climate change and social equality with business performance.

KPMG expands legal services in Asia Pacific More than 275 lawyers across Southeast Asia are set to join KPMG legal firms, giving the global organisation an extensive legal footprint in Asia Pacific, bringing coverage globally to 84 jurisdictions.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong

At the Vietnam-Japan High-Level Economic Conference on March 7 in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong affirmed that the Vietnam-Japan relationship was one of the most successful bilateral development cooperation relationships in recent years.

To promote the development cooperation relationship between the two countries, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) proposed the two sides further promote official development assistance (ODA) cooperation.

Secondly, the two sides will continue to closely coordinate to handle obstacles on a number of projects using Japanese ODA in Vietnam.

Thirdly, the deputy minister suggested the Japanese side provide large loans with high incentives, and simple and flexible procedures for Vietnam's large-scale projects of inter-regional nature, focusing on areas such as transport infrastructure, climate change response, digital transformation, and health.

According to the MPI, since 1992, with over 2.7 trillion yen in ODA loans, nearly 100 billion yen in non-refundable aid and approximately 180 billion yen in support for technical cooperation, Japan's ODA accounts for over 30 per cent of bilateral development aid to Vietnam.

"Japan's ODA plays an important role in Vietnam's socioeconomic development, including implementing large-scale infrastructure development projects, a driving force to promote sustainable socioeconomic development," Phuong said.

A number of outstanding large-scale infrastructure construction projects that have been built with Japanese assistance include international airports (Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat), seaports (Cai Lan, Lach Huyen, Danang, and Cai Mep-Thi Vai), bridges (Thanh Tri, Nhat Tan, Can Tho), and national highways.

Japanese ODA also contributes to advanced technology transferring like satellite assembly, bridge and road construction techniques, and human resource training for Vietnam.

The ODA indirectly or directly creates favourable conditions to attract foreign investment, especially from Japan, by developing large-scale infrastructure construction projects in important fields such as electricity generation, water supply and drainage, and transportation.

Such ODA also contributes to poverty reduction. Infrastructural and FDI projects of Japan have created numerous jobs in rural areas.

Vietnam-Japan High-Level Economic Conference on March 7

To successfully implement the country's socioeconomic development strategy, especially the implementation of three strategic breakthroughs, ODA and foreign concessional loans continue to be necessary and important resources in the new development of Vietnam.

However, Phuong said that in addition to the achieved results, there were still difficulties and obstacles in some programmes and projects, which require more efforts on both sides.

"Based on the deep strategic partnership, and the common perceptions of the two countries' senior leaders, Vietnam-Japan development cooperative relationship will continue developing, contributing to enhancing relationship of the two countries," he said.

Vietnam supports Japans initiatives towards net zero emissions: diplomat Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Has participation in the coming Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo will affirm Vietnams resolve to realise its committements on greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change response, as well as support for the Japanese Governments initiatives towards net zero emissions.

Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative plays role in raising Vietnams FDI attractiveness: meeting The Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative (VJJI) has significantly contributed to improving the domestic business environment and raising Vietnams competitiveness in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, an official from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has said.
Dong Nai province attracts 281 million USD in FDI, with eight new projects being licensed and 14 projects receiving additional capital in the first two months of this year. (Photo: VNA)

Dong Nai  The southern province of Dong Nai has seen positive changes in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first two months of this year as its newly-licensed projects use advanced technology, are less labour intensive and more environmentally friendly.

According to the Dong Nai Industrial Zone Authority (DIZA), the province attracted 281 million USD in FDI, with eight new projects being licensed and 14 projects receiving additional capital, in the time under review.

Head of DIZA Pham Manh Cuong said that new FDI projects in the province do not have too much capital but all use advanced technologies in the logistics industry, which meets the provinces requirements and orientations which will limit labour intensive projects using outdated technologies.

The province has been speeding up projects on new industrial zones and infrastructure works including Long Thanh International airport, Bien Hoa  Vung Tau express, and Ho Chi Minh Citys Ring Road 3 and Ring Road 4.

Such improved infrastructure is expected to make the province more attractive to investors, Cuong said.

For the last two years, FDI to Dong Nai reduced and for the first time in the last 30 years, Dong Nai was out of the top five leading FDI recipients in Vietnam, Cuong said, adding that a lack of land funds is one of its difficulties in attracting investors.

Enterprises from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), and Europe are eyeing to implement projects in the province but there is no land available to meet their demand, Cuong said, noting that the provinces industrial zones projects are just at land clearance phase.

Once the bottleneck in infrastructure is removed, FDI flows into Dong Nai will be much stronger, which helps the province regain its position, Cuong said.

Dong Nai authorities hold dialogue with FDI firms Authorities of Dong Nai on September 18 held a dialogue with associations and foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses in the southern province to grasp and remove their difficulties amidst complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dong Nai attracts over $1 billion in FDI capital despite the latest Delta wave In spite of the prolonged pandemic, Dong Nai has lured nearly $1.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the first 11 months of 2021.

Shinhan Bank Vietnam opens new locations in Bac Ninh and Dong Nai Shinhan Bank Vietnam has opened the Que Vo branch in Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province, and the Thong Nhat transaction office in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai province in early 2022.

Investors seek husbandry opportunities in Dong Nai Vice Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Dong Nai province Vo Van Phi received executives from the Netherlands De Heus Group and Vietnams Hung Nhon Group on May 9 to discuss opportunities in agriculture in the southern province.

Dong Nai powering up transmission grid development Concerted efforts are gearing towards clearing the hurdles facing power transmission projects in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Westlake Compounds Vietnam broke ground on new compounds plant in Dong Nai On August 17, Westlake Compounds Vietnam celebrated the groundbreaking of a new compounds plant at the company site in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai Province.
By participating in Lazadas Super Brand Day for four continuous years since the campaign was introduced, skincare brand Kiehls has achieved outstanding results with its e-commerce business strategy. According to a representative from Kiehl's, it has managed to optimise brand recognition, increase sales, and attract new customers.

Kiehls case is not unique, according to Lazada, the average sales of other brands on Super Brand Days is 164 times higher than on regular days. They also saw a 90 per cent increase in the number of new customers.

This success did not come overnight. It was the result of continuous testing, operating, and optimising the initiatives on the Lazada e-commerce platform with built-in solutions. Brands have worked closely with Lazada to achieve their shared goal of improving the consumer experience.

To seize the 24-hour growth opportunity that Super Brand Day provides, brands must meet rigorous criteria. While there are thousands of authentic brands on LazMall, not every one will secure the opportunity to advertise and showcase their products during this special event.

The selection criteria make Super Brand Day unique from other campaigns. Speaking about the touchpoint of Super Brand Day, Pham Bao Khanh Quynh, brand representative of Kiehls said, "Only reputable brands can participate in Lazada's Super Brand Day. Kiehl's has positioned itself as a luxury cosmetics brand, and Super Brand Day helps it maintain this position."

In 2022, Colgate chose Lazada as its exclusive partner to introduce a set of teeth whitening devices in Vietnam through a Super Brand Day campaign named Level Up Whitening Experience.

"Colgate recorded the biggest sales and the highest number of buyers in a single day thanks to Super Brand Day. It helped us reach new customers," said Arisa Ruchirawat, Colgate's representative.

Samsung, one of the first brands that participated in the Super Brand Day campaign, considers it as a golden chance to promote and introduce its new flagship products to consumers.

Samsung's representative Nguyen Ha Long said the campaign is full of added value.

"Through the event, brands can offer 24-hour super deals such as exclusive discounts, vouchers, and gifts, which help drive customer behaviour and retention," explained Long.

The flexibility when working and approaching the market has enabled Samsung and Lazada to continue working together to reach new milestones in terms of revenue and customer visits.

Having served as a great boost for brands in previous years, Super Brand Day is still considered a key business activity for many in 2023.

"Super Brand Day has helped us to not only increase sales, it also represents an opportunity to promote our name, approach new customers, and introduce new products to the market," said Bui Ngoc Khanh, sales manager at Philips Domestics Appliances Vietnam.

Like Philips, Colgate will continue to promote its main product line on the platform in the future as it looks to launch new products such as electric toothbrushes and teeth whitening toothpastes.

According to Long from Samsung, the Super Brand Day campaign on Lazada will continue to be an essential business strategy over the first six months of 2023. "With a win-win spirit of collaborating with the e-commerce platform, Super Brand Day serves as a rehearsal for us to measure and fix shortcomings and ultimately provide customers with a better experience," he said.

In addition to promoting and supporting domestic and international retail businesses, Super Brand Day on Lazada also represents a commitment to sustainable cooperation and mutual support between the platform and its partners. Close relationships will create an increasingly holistic e-commerce ecosystem, allowing both the platform and its brands to bring consumers many exciting experiences in 2023.

Lazada consumer study shows overwhelming majority of Southeast Asia consumers now shop online Southeast Asias leading e-commerce platform, Lazada, on March 25 announced the results of a regional consumer study in collaboration with Milieu Insight.

Lazada officially announced the launch of Lazada One Lazada, Southeast Asias leading e-commerce platform, today announced the official launch of Lazada One, the groups regional headquarters and Singapore office. With a strong Southeast Asian presence, Lazada is looking to further grow the regions digital commerce ecosystem, bolstering livelihoods that are already thriving in the booming sector.
Representatives of countries at the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 6. (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Jakarta  Ambassador Vu Ho has affirmed Vietnams support for and readiness to realise the cooperation priorities for 2023 set by Chair Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Ho, who is acting head of the ASEAN Senior Official Meetings (SOM) delegation of Vietnam, made the remarks while attending the SOM and the 15th meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group (ACCWG) on Timor-Lestes application for ASEAN membership (ACCWG-TL) held in Jakarta on March 6.

The events, held by ASEAN Chair in 2023 Indonesia, aimed to prepare for the 42nd ASEAN Summit and the foreign ministers meetings in May.

At the SOM, participants discussed and basically agreed on orientations for implementing the blocs priorities this year, including promoting growth and recovery; improving institutional capacity and effectiveness of ASEAN; and responding to non-traditional security challenges, especially those related to food security, energy security, cyber security, transnational crimes, healthcare system resilience, and financial and economic stability.

Talking about ASEANs external relations, they reviewed and discussed measures for enhancing result-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation between ASEAN and dialogue partners on the basis of upholding the bocs centrality and the ASEAN-led mechanisms values, particularly promoting the culture of consultation and dialogue and the evolution of an open, transparent, inclusive, and rules-based regional architecture.

They also considered approaches to some partners and regional organisations new proposals for cooperation with ASEAN.

Regarding international and regional issues, the member countries underlined the need to maintain the blocs solidarity and unity and promote its role and responsible voice, especially amid fast, complex, and unpredictable developments in the region and the world.

They agreed to continue bringing into play ASEANs role in assisting Myanmar to seek a feasible and durable solution to the current crisis through stepping up the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus; uphold the blocs principled stance on the East Sea issue, and show the determination to turn the East Sea into a sea of peace, cooperation, and development.

Also on March 6, the 15th ACCWG-TL meeting took place with the attendance of senior officials in charge of the three pillars of the ASEAN Community.

The participating countries concurred in continuing to help Timor-Leste improve its capacity to gradually meet the ASEAN membership criteria, and encouraging Timor-Leste to actively engage in the blocs existing capacity building programmes and activities.

Addressing the meetings, Ambassador Ho proposed ASEAN maintain an objective and balanced approach as well as strategic self-reliance to harmoniously and effectively deal with issues in its relations with partners, along with complex international and regional issues that may affect the blocs cooperation process and common development as well as regional peace, security, and stability.

He also called on ASEAN to build a practical and appropriate roadmap to assist Timor-Leste to thoroughly prepare for its admission into the bloc, adding that Vietnam is ready to work with other countries to help Timor-Leste improve the capacity of fulfilling the duties of an ASEAN member.

In terms of the East Sea issue, he reaffirmed ASEANs principled stance and particularly stressed the importance of complying with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). He highlighted Vietnams support of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and for the promotion of negotiations to build an effective and substantive Code of Conduct (COC) that matches international law and the 1982 UNCLOS.

The diplomat also pointed out the need for countries to devise a new approach suitable for the current situation during the COC drafting process.

On March 7 and 8, ASEAN senior officials will attend meetings with partners, including the ASEAN+3 SOM, the East Asia Summit SOM, the 35th ASEAN - US Dialogue, and the 25th ASEAN - India SOM.

ASEAN, RoK to discuss measures to enhance partnership The 15th annual council meeting of the ASEAN-Korea Centre (AKC) will take place in Seoul on February 16-17, marking the first in-person gathering after three years between the two sides high-level officials to discuss measures to boost bilateral partnership.
Solar electricity panels in Truong Sa (Spratly) (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - Experts discussed the implementation of policies and laws on energy development in the 2016-2021 period at a conference co-organised by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) and the National Assembly (NA)'s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment (CSTE) in Hanoi on March 5.

Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)'s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy said that in the 2016-2021 period, the energy industry had developed rapidly in all sectors and fields, achieving many remarkable results.

The energy industrys achievements are an important premise to conducting the Politburos Resolution 55, issued on February 11, 2020, on Vietnams energy orientations and development strategies to 2030.

However, Huy warned the energy industry still has some shortcomings, such as domestic energy supplies not meeting demand, the sector still lacking infrastructure, and technology levels in some areas needing improvement.

Huy suggested experts focus on discussing the current situation, completing policies and laws on energy development, and proposing specific solutions.

From there, the proposals can be submitted to the NA Standing Committee to solve the present difficulties and problems, and improve policies on energy development towards ensuring a fair energy transition and national energy security.

VUSTA Chairman Phan Xuan Dung said that to achieve green, sustainable economic development and climate change adaptation, Vietnam was promoting energy transformation with cooperation and support from partners.

The country has gradually reduced fossil fuels, prioritising renewable, new and clean energy.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) that Vietnam would achieve the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Assessing the actual implementation of policies and laws in energy planning in Vietnam, Associate Professor Truong Duy Nghia, Chairman of the Vietnam Thermal Science and Technology Association, said that the inter-sector relationship was not clear enough.

He said it is not clear that the development planning of one sector is influenced or affected by the others and vice versa.

Nghia suggested that it was necessary to confirm the works starting and completion time in the planning.

In the vision stage, it is also necessary to have specific plans and avoid too much change.

With the same point of view, professor Tran Dinh Long from the Vietnam Electricity Association suggested that the power plan No 8 should be approved soon. Otherwise, it would affect the technology and financial supply chain.

The power plan No 8 should take into account clean and green energy transition.

Just energy transition: a green pathway for sustainable development Vietnam is striving to realise the countrys strong commitment to decarbonisation through a just and sustainable energy transition.
Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hanoi  The Vietnamese real estate market has remained attractive to foreign investors and investment funds despite difficulties countering domestic firms, according to insiders.

The 2023 Asia-Pacific Investor Intentions Survey released recently by CBRE Vietnam showed that Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are among top 10 most attractive destinations for trans-border investment. Particularly, for the first time, Ho Chi Minh City ranked third in the list, even above Australia.

Vietnam drew greatest attention from investors from Asian countries and territories, including Hong Kong, Singapore, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

With a forecast urbanisation rate of 42 per cent in 2025, Vietnam has high potential in real estate market development. With more people rising to the middle class, the country has become a magnet for real estate investment.

At the beginning of 2023, Singaporean firms conducted a number of large-scale deals in Vietnam.

Keppel Land, a real estate developer that is running more than 20 projects worth 3.5 billion USD in Vietnam, signed a memorandum of understanding with Khang Dien Group of Vietnam to cooperate in residential area building and sustainable urban development projects in Ho Chi Minh City in February.

Keppel Land CEO Louis Lim said that the firm is keen on strengthening its presence in Vietnam, one of its major markets with great long-term potential.

Meanwhile, Sembcorp Development has also reached a deal with Becamex IDC on partnership in developing five green, smart and sustainable industrial parks in Vietnam in the next three years with total investment of about 1 billion USD. These industrial parks will be built to meet green, smart and sustainable criteria, using high technologies in management.

The report Vietnam Real Estate: Perspectives from China and Southeast Asian Countries by PropertyGuru Group said Vietnams open economic policy and integration into global supply chains have made growth possible. Therefore, a resilient supply chain is key to Vietnams economic strength and increasing the attractiveness of real estate to foreign investors.

If Vietnams transport infrastructure of seaports, highways, high-speed railways and airports is expanded and completed, real estate in Vietnam will be a more attractive destination for foreign capital, both direct and indirect investment, the report said.

According to the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the real estate sector drew the second largest amount of foreign direct investment among all sectors in 2022, attracting more than 4.45 billion USD, accounting for 16.1 per cent of the countrys total.

Hunting for real estate investment opportunities after Tet Although the market faced a standstill at the end of 2022, wealthy investors are still hunting for potential business opportunities after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Following the success of the 2022 incarnation, and with the cooperation of hundreds of local and foreign businesses, VIFA EXPO is in its 14th year and will feature many practical activities to help exhibitors expand export markets and connect with new partners at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre (SECC) in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

The SECC will feature almost 2,500 booths over a total area of 40,000 square metres, and will play host to major enterprises such as Kettle Interiors Asia, Woodnet, Livax Vietnam, Eurofar International B.V, Eurowood Vietnam, Casarredo, Santana Furniture, MFC Group, and hundreds of other Vietnamese and foreign enterprises.

Exhibitors from Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the UK, the US, and many more, have registered to take part.

New products in a variety of designs will be showcased, from wooden and outdoor furniture to interior decor and handicrafts, gifts, and accessories, among others, in a grand and well-organised display space that will appeal to international buyers.

Lien Minh has received registrations from more than 4,000 potential international buyers and has been actively promoting VIFA EXPO worldwide since October, focusing on potential new markets.

Activities at the exhibition aim to not only bring practical benefits to participating businesses, but also create opportunities for international buyers to quickly and easily find potential partners.

Lien Minh has received registrations from more than 4,000 potential international buyers and has been actively promoting VIFA EXPO worldwide since October, focusing on potential new markets.

High on the agenda will be seminars touching on global shifts such as import-export trends in the world market, e-commerce, and sustainability. There will also be opportunities to help firms approach other exhibitors and international buyers directly to organise factory visits.

Lien Minh has recently launched the official VIFA EXPO Online Platform, with a host of integrated utilities. The platform enables users to quickly search for information about exhibitors, their products, the schedule of events, and will feature photos and videos from the seminars. The platform aims to offer an exciting and unique experience to exhibitors and customers alike.

By hosting the exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnams economic hub, VIFA EXPO 2023 aims to be a gathering point for producers of wooden furniture, handicrafts, interior decor, and support services that meet the needs of buyers from all over the world.

As a measure of the success of VIFA EXPO over the past 14 years, and the trust secured from Vietnamese and foreign businesses, Lien Minh will also host VIFA ASEAN 2023 in August. This will be a new fair held exclusively for businesses in Southeast Asia and will bring together furniture and handicrafts typical of the region.

LIEN MINH COMPANY LIMITED

Address: 2/13 Bau Cat 2, Ward 14, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tel: 028 7306 7887; Hotline: 079 999 7657

Email: info@hawacorp.com.vn; Website: www.vifafair.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corp.hawa

Linkedin: https://vn.linkedin.com/in/hawacorp

Five trends driving small business success in 2023 As digitalisation has become a new norm for business development, Jeni Mundy, global head of Merchant Sales & Acquiring at Visa, has pointed out five trends driving small business success in 2023.

Hanoi connects commercial banks with local businesses More than 100 businesses and 43 investors of industrial clusters and nearly 20 commercial banks participated in a conference on August 15 to connect local firms of Hanoi with commercial banks and the Hanoi Development Investment Fund (HANIF).
Since the end of the Cold War, while art historians around the world have been reassessing the legacy of Socialist Realism in Eastern Bloc countries, the contributions of Vietnamese artists who spent time in the Soviet Union from the 1960s to the 1980s have been somewhat overlooked.

Within Vietnam, historical texts recognise the great influence that the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de lIndochine has had on the first generation of Vietnamese modern painters, but there is little discussion of the impact of a Soviet education on a group of Vietnamese painters during the period following independence and reunification.

This tribute to Vu Duy Nghia is an eye-opener for anyone who might think that the so-called Soviet era did not produce great art. Beginning with his paper cuts, through to his lacquer paintings and works on paper, Nghia was a prolific artist whose work cannot be reduced to one style or movement.

Traces of Soviet and European realism can be found in his prints of factory workers and farmers, but mostly his oeuvre is poetic, expressive, beautiful, and complex. His work is also deeply patriotic and direct.

Professor Nora A. Taylor from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago said, "It is rare to find artists with his skills in paper cutting. This art form requires the ability to envision in both an abstract and a realistic manner, to see both light and dark simultaneously, and outline and content together."

"Through this medium, he created some dramatic landscapes with large black shapes that accentuate the darkness of the sky, for example, the sharp thorns of a cactus, or the wrinkles of an elders face. He translated some of these same images into colourful prints, gouaches, and lacquers, but with colour, the theatricality turned to poetry. The same boats became light floating vessels, and the cactus turned into a flower," he added.

His talent for line emerges, especially in the prints that he made during the war. The bodies of soldiers and labourers appear strong and tenacious. In the post-Doi Moi era, art historians have been understandably focused on the future of Vietnamese contemporary art and the new generation of artists. But, it is important to recognise the talent and contributions of Nghias generation to the development of modern and contemporary art history. Nghia, and others who studied in Socialist bloc countries, did so out of necessity, patriotism, and a desire to learn.

During the Cold War, there were few opportunities for artists in Vietnam to travel outside the Soviet Bloc. These stays infused Vietnamese art with a cosmopolitan flavour that strengthened the artists' ongoing commitment to modernism.

"Nghia is an example of how looking outward towards international art movements enhanced Vietnamese art rather than diminished it. The vivid, expressive faces on the figures in Nghias portraits might remind one of Soviet portraits, but under Nghias touch, they are undeniably Vietnamese," Taylor noted.

Painting by Vietnamese hearing-impaired artist on display in Italy Mother and child painting by hearing-impaired artist Duong Phuong Linh is being displayed at the RealEYES art gallery at Vinicio hotel, Ansedonia town, Italys Tuscany region from July 26 and August 5.

Exhibition of works from contemporary Vietnamese artists opens in Hanoi An exhibition displaying artworks from leading contemporary Vietnamese artists opened at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on August 6.
Some local property owners are crying foul, claiming they paid their taxes by the Jan. 31 deadline but still face interest and penalties.

Frigid weather prompted closings throughout McLennan County during the days leading up to the deadline. County offices, including the tax office, went dark from the afternoon of Jan. 30 to the morning of Feb. 2. But online tax paying remained available, as did a drop-box located just outside the tax office at Fifth Street and Washington Avenue. So the blame may rest with the U.S. Postal Service, the tax office, icy conditions or taxpayers themselves.

McLennan County Commissioner Jim Smith said Monday hes received multiple calls about the situation, surmising that the tax office is referring customers with complaints to their commissioners.

Several people tell us they dropped their taxes off at the post office a day or two before the deadline, as they always had, but they werent postmarked until Feb. 2, said Smith. We recognized that a situation was developing, and we started looking into the statute with our attorney. What could we do legally? A long list of taxpayers are on our (commissioners court) agenda tomorrow, asking that penalties and interest be waived.

Speaking for himself, Smith said he will vote to cancel the debt.

They dont need to be penalized, he said. People have been understanding. No one has been overly upset, no more than you or I would be.

Penalties and interest begin surging once the Jan. 31 deadline passes. Literally the next day, on Feb. 1, a 6% penalty and 1% in interest attaches to the unpaid balance. The levy for each goes up another 1% monthly, said Kathy Hollomon, chief deputy at the county tax office.

Martin Lower, 69, who lives on Glenwood Circle in Waco, said he faced penalties and interest totaling $206, in addition to the tax payment he thought he mailed on time. He said he already has paid the extra charges, but feels disillusioned about the process and his treatment.

I went to the post office on Wooded Acres Drive about 5 oclock on Jan. 30. I thought, If I miss the pickup today, they will get it tomorrow. A couple of weeks later, I received a delinquent tax notice. My mail was postmarked Feb. 2. I called the tax office, and a gentleman there told me he was sorry, but they had to go by the postmarked date. Thats how the law is written.

Lower was told he could take up the matter with county commissioners. He added he believes the problem lies with the U.S. Postal Service, considering his payment carried a postmark three days later than when he mailed it.

Carol Hunt, a Dallas-based spokesperson for the USPS, said records show no weather-related disruptions in mail service during the period in question.

County Commissioner Pat Miller applauded the work of Tax Assessor-Collector Randy Riggs and his staff. She expressed confidence that anyone receiving a delinquent tax notice after meeting the Jan. 31 deadline would see the matter resolved if they submitted satisfactory proof to the tax office.

She said commissioners are mindful of weather conditions in late January, and the ongoing waiver process should help individuals and companies who were unable to access the tax office during the closure.

But securing waivers from every taxing entity could prove complicated and time-consuming. Smith said commissioners may approve waivers, but their action applies only to county taxes. He said a taxpayer would have to pursue similar relief from other taxing entities: a city council, school board or the McLennan Community College board. The McLennan County Tax Office mails out tax notices for these entities, but each entertains waiver requests.

MCC board chairman K. Paul Holt, responding to a question about requests for waivers, said the board only became aware of this virtually unknown item in the law this year after the county shut down the tax office, probably without recognizing all the unintended ramifications. He said the U.S. Postal Service appears to have abandoned its unofficial creed, one that guarantees swift completion of their appointed rounds in all kinds of weather.

There was a time that dropping a letter in the post office box earned a postmark for that day, he said. The latest in town today is 6 p.m. on Highway 6. Many of the others are only guaranteed a same-day postmark at 5 p.m. Most of us pay our taxes in January, rather than when we first get our tax statement, but if one pushes the edge of the envelope too often, they are bound to get a paper cut. This is what this seems to be.

Jud Griffis, a local real estate investor, said he owns rental property countywide, and faces asking 16 taxing entities for waivers.

What Im frustrated about is the lack of coordination, said Griffis. Did someone see this coming? When the tax assessor opened the first 25 pieces of mail, did he notice a problem, maybe get on the phone with all the taxing entities and come up with a plan of action? This is a logistical nightmare, and we need to come up with a plan of action. I called someone on the WISD board, not naming names, but they were not made aware.

Nobody knew this was coming, which is frustrating.
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has been sentenced to jail for attacking a man who used his wifes casino loyalty card to play slot machines in 2021.

Prosecutors had sought a year in jail for Damond Jahmar Williams Sr., 46. The defense asked for time served  68 days.

But judge Melissa Anderson-Seeber on Monday handed down a year in jail suspended to 120 days behind bars to be followed by two years of probation. Williams was also given credit for the 68 days he served.

I find the facts of that assault are very egregious, she said.

Authorities said Williams attacked Montana Gunhus after staff at the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo determined Gunhus had been using a player card belonging to Williams wife that had been left in a slot machine.

Williams knocked Gunhus to the floor and continued to punch and kick him for 25 seconds before breaking off the attack, said Assistant County Attorney Brad Walz. Gunhus suffered broken facial bones and he lost sight in one eye following the assault.

During Mondays hearing, Williams said he was sorry.

I truly do apologize. This was an isolated incident. Im not a violent individual, said Williams, who had worked with people with disabilities before the incident. That was outside my character.

He said he was frustrated because he thought casino staff werent listening to him when he reported the loyalty club card had disappeared.

Anderson-Seeber suggested Williams use his time in jail and on probation to determine why he lost it that night.

Williams had been charged with willful injury causing serious injury, a felony. During a January criminal trial, a jury found him guilty on the lesser charge of assault causing bodily injury, essentially finding the state didnt prove the blindness was a result of the beating.

Gunhus appeared for Mondays sentencing hearing but had to leave for an appointment after it was delayed.

He won a $1.7 million judgment against the casino during a civil trial in 2022.

Photos: Casino Assault, Jan. 3, 2021 010321ho-casino-still-1 010321ho-casino-still-2 010321ho-casino-still-3 010321ho-casino-still-4
WATERLOO  Kirkwood Community College will soon be sending its Class A commercial drivers license students to Hawkeye Community Colleges Regional Transportation Training Center.

While there, theyll receive behind-the-wheel instruction as part of a decision to phase out the training on the Kirkwood campus in Cedar Rapids.

Kirkwood students will still attend the colleges lectures online. But part of its cost-cutting measures led to a decision to end the behind-the-wheel portion of the training at the conclusion of classes in May.

While these changes will provide a necessary reduction in costs for Kirkwood, they will also have other major benefits for both colleges, Jasmine Almoayyed, vice president of continuing education and training at Kirkwood, said in a news release. First, the move will allow us to devote more resources to our CDL-B program, which is an area of great need in our region. At the same time, we will be sending our CDL-A students to Hawkeye to take advantage of their top-notch facilities and equipment, rather than both colleges competing for a shrinking pool of students.

Its a great example of two public institutions working together to be more efficient, while ensuring the future solvency of a program that provides a crucial service to our communities. Its good for Kirkwood, Hawkeye, and perhaps most of all, Iowa taxpayers.

Class A and B commericial drivers licenses differ based on the weight and type of vehicle driven. Class A licenses are always needed for trucks like semis towing trailers with gross vehicle weight ratings of 26,001 pounds or more, including trailers weighing more than 10,000 pounds.

Class B licenses are for single vehicles and those towing a trailer of less than 10,000 pounds. These could include school buses, dump tricks and straight trucks.

Hawkeyes CDL-A program is competency-based, allowing students to progress through training as they master the content.

Students will be taught on Hawkeyes virtual driving simulators, allowing them to learn controls, gauges, and vehicle systems in a way that takes the pressure off making a mistake in a real truck. Once students are ready to get behind the wheel, they utilize new state-of-the-art, full-size, automatic and 10-speed manual transmission semis on the driving range.

Its the second time Hawkeye has reached an agreement with another college relative to sharing its CDL training facility. The first was with Northeast Iowa Community College.

We have the infrastructure and ability to serve additional students from Kirkwood, said Srdjan Golub, director of community education and workforce solutions at Hawkeye. Our current operations at RTTC allows us the economies of scale to serve additional students at no extra cost. We look forward to this new partnership and serving the students across Northeast Iowa.
WAVERLY  Darrel Wenzel, the longtime chief executive officer of Waverly Utilities, is set to retire this summer, the municipal utility announced Monday.

His last day will be Aug. 3. He moved to the Cedar Valley in 1992 and has been in charge of Waverly Utilities since 2014.

The board will use the coming months to determine its next steps related to finding his replacement, but Wenzel does not expect an interim CEO being named.

The Waverly resident declined to provide his exact age, but said hes old enough to retire per Iowa Public Employees Retirement System standards, and noted that there was no driving factor for his reason to step away this year.

I take a lot of pride in our team environment, said Wenzel in a telephone interview. We have a lot of the same responsibilities as the large utilities, and we pull it all off with our small staff.

He feels if comparing Waverly Utilities to Century Link, Mediacom or any investor-owned utility company, hes looks back on his tenure and feels his team was able to provide the same superior service to its customers.

Darrel has helped Waverly Utilities in many ways including establishing a highly successful communications utility, said Bob Buckingham, board chair, in a statement. Waverly can be proud of its state-of-the-art fiber network that provides highly reliable, high-speed internet.

Wenzel estimates Waverly Utilities manages an approximately $25 million budget, between the electric and telecommunications utilities, and that it has a customer base made up of 5,000 electric meters.

He was paid $185,797 and $25,719 to lead the electric and telecommunications utilities, respectively, in 2022, according to Jen Bloker, director of marketing and public information.

Wenzel led the agencys transition from Waverly Light and Power to Waverly Utilities when the utility added the telecommunication services of internet, cable TV and phone, according to a news release. He also served as a board member with Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, from whom Waverly purchases its power, and was its secretary/treasurer.

Darrel has also led the utility to a tremendous safety record without a single lost hour due to work related injury over the last 1,500 workdays, said Buckingham. He made sure the utility and its employees were one of the safest in Iowa.

Prior to taking the reins at Waverly Utilities, Wenzel was the CEO at Harlan Municipal Utilities and the general manager of Independence Light & Power, Telecommunications.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
Water Works closes early on Tuesday

WATERLOO  The Water Works office will close at 2:30 p.m. today due to staff training. They will open regularly scheduled business hours Wednesday.

For those who need to make a payment, the afterhours depository box will be available as well as drop-off payment locations at the Crossroads and Logan Avenue Hy-Vee.

Payments can also be made by phone or online. Call (855) 282-7625 to pay by phone or visit waterloowater.org to pay through the website.

Fish Fry is Friday at CF AMVETS

CEDAR FALLS  AMVETS Riders Chapter 49 will host a fish fry Friday, beginning at 5:30 p.m. until gone at AMVETS Post 49, 1934 Irving St.

Cost is $13 per person. The all-you-can-eat menu includes fries or baked potato, coleslaw and dessert. Dine-in and carry-out is offered.

Fish fries also are planned at at 5:30 p.m. March 24 and April 7.

Volunteers sought at Fontana center

HAZLETON  Buchanan County Conservation Board will host a volunteer workshop at 9 a.m. March 18 at the Fontana Interpretive Nature Center. The one-hour workshop is for anyone interested in serving as a conservation volunteer.

Volunteers can be animal ambassadors, campground hosts, nature center hosts and track native bluebird nesting boxes.

The workshop is for newcomers and seasoned volunteers who want a refresher.

To register, call the nature center at (319) 636-2617, email bccbscheduling@gmail.com, or visit Buchanancountyparks.com.

Community meal set for March 21

WATERLOO  Impact Church of Hope, 710 Broadway St., will host its monthly Community Meal on March 21.

Serving is from 4:30 to 6 p.m. It is free to the public. For more information, call (319) 233-7664.

Dementia Friends session planned

WATERLOO  A free Dementia Friends session will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. March 23 at the Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial St.

The session will increase knowledge about dementia, learn what its like to live with the disease and teach helpful tips for communicating with someone with dementia.

Dementia Friends is a global movement changing how people think, act and talk about dementia. Developed and proven successful by the Alzheimers Society in the United Kingdom, the Dementia Friends initiative is now underway in Iowa and across the United States.

No registration is required. For more information, email Nora Klemesrud at nklemesrud@nei3a.org or call (319) 239-2902.

Beef and Noodle dinner Saturday

WATERLOO  A beef and noodle dinner is from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Pauls United Methodist Church, 207 W. Louise St.

Cost is $11 for adults; $5 for children under 12. The meal includes beef and noodles, potatoes, coleslaw, beverages and choice of dessert.

The church is located one block south of UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital.

K of C fish fry in Waverly Friday

WAVERLY  Knights of Columbus will host a fish fry from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at St. Marys Church, 2700 Horton Road, in Waverly.

Carry-outs will be available from 5 to 5:30 p.m. using the north church entrance. Cost is $12 for adults; $6 for children 6-12; and free for 5 and under.

The menu includes fish (fried and baked), mac and cheese, and sides. Please order meals ahead of time on the church website or on Facebook, or call (319)-352-2493.

Funds raised will help Knights of Columbus activities and the annual scholarship fund.
DES MOINES  Nominations are now open for the 2023 Iowa Conservation Farmer of the Year. This prestigious annual honor is given to an Iowa farmer who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to environmental stewardship and leadership.

The statewide award and nine regional awards are co-sponsored by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

The grand prize winner will receive the use of a new John Deere 6E utility tractor for one year.

One nominee will be selected by each of Iowas 100 Soil and Water Conservation District offices. These individuals will be considered for regional conservation awards. Nine regional award winners will compete for the title of Iowa Conservation Farmer of the Year.

Iowans can nominate a deserving farmer by writing a 100-word letter describing the individuals long-term commitment to soil conservation and water quality. Nominations are due to the local SWCD by May 12.

The state winner will be announced at the Iowa State Fair. The winner will receive the keys to their tractor during the Conservation Districts of Iowas annual meeting scheduled for Aug. 28 and 29 in Ames at the Gateway Hotel.

The 2023 Conservation Farmer of the Year winner will receive the use of a John Deere 6E utility tractor for up to 12 months or 200 hours of use. The prize is donated by the Van Wall Equipment of Perry and John Deere.

Dave Lubben, of Monticello, was named the 2022 Conservation Farmer of the Year.
CEDAR FALLS  UNI students won a prestigious Gold ADDY award at the AAF-Cedar Valley American Advertising Awards dinner Feb. 24, adding an additional accolade earned by their Quest With Me creative campaign, developed last spring for Meta as part of the National Student Advertising Competition.

The award was in the student category of Cross Platform Integrated Consumer Campaigns and included samples of the video ads, TikTok ads, programmatic display ads, experiential activations and campus brand ambassador swag that the students produced.

The campaigns creative strategy was based on primary research findings on purchase behaviors and attitudes toward virtual reality (VR) and the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Students also developed a media plan and schedule, strategically allocating Metas campaign budget to appropriate channels to reach and engage with their target audience.

The cohesion of the campaign and all the intricate ideas played a big part in winning the ADDY, said marketing major Madison TenHulzen, who served as director of accounts and strategy for the team. Everything in the campaign had meaning and purpose that was all backed up by in-depth research. Winning again with this campaign was very validating in how well the campaign was actually executed.

The award brought together UNI alumni who graduated last spring with current students still involved with AAF at UNI to celebrate the hard work they put into their award-winning NSAC campaign  which placed 14th in the nation after winning the district competition last April.

Members of the UNI NSAC team responsible for developing this campaign include TenHulzen, Cayla Fulcher, Tara Linden, Allyson Davis, Owen Gach, Madison Naeve, Emma Hergenreter, Olivia Johnson, Brady Bock, Jimmie Steffens, CJ Pedelty, Yanghuan Tan, Tate Hookham, Lynn Schweer, Brook Vry, Will Polansky, Claire Schettler, Lauren McClatchey, Megan Rausch, Mitchell Neuzil, Sadie Hilton, Kaleb Haner, Madi Anderson, Katelyn DeKoster, Yijing Chen, Beini Jin, Leah Little, Megan Kramer and Rayanna Schaefer.

Also winning awards, University of Northern Iowa student Megan Duvick won a Silver ADDY for her website The Living Room.

In addition to these students, professionals at the University of Northern Iowa also took home the following awards:

The College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences won Silver ADDYs for a direct mail piece and special event material as well as a Bronze ADDY for a direct mail piece.

The College of Business won the Silver ADDY for an internet commercial.

The Alumni Magazine won bronze for publication design.

The American Advertising Awards is the advertising industrys largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries every year in local AAF Ad Club competitions.

Photos: UNI women's basketball closes regular season with win against Missouri State WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 1 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 2 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 3 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 4 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 5 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 6 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 7 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 8 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 9 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 10 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 11 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 12 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 13
CEDAR FALLS  The University of Northern Iowa is now accepting candidates for a new individualized alternative for graduate study: One of three new program additions at UNI recently approved by the Iowa Board of Regents, the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) offers a flexible and personalized plan of study to a selective and multidisciplinary group of graduate students.

The MAIS is planned as a standalone 30-hour masters degree program that allows students to choose between two to three concentration areas. Unlike most MA programs, the MAIS gives students the freedom to take graduate courses from all departments and professional schools at UNI.

This degree has flexibility that no other degree allows for, said Wendy Marie Hoofnagle, MAIS coordinator in UNIs Graduate College. The MAIS allows students to create a unique, individualized course of study that can be tailored to their specific career and personal goals. Best of all, we provide close academic mentorship and support to chart your path from the time you first arrive on campus through the completion of your final MA project.

The program is also positioned to serve as a degree completion program for non-traditional students who have graduate credit and are looking for an opportunity to finish a graduate credential.

There is a clear need for more interdisciplinary programs and alternative credentialing options to address the changing expectations of students, and to be nimble and responsive to the varying demands of the workforce, said Gabriela Olivares, interim dean of the Graduate College. This program will equip students with the knowledge to expand leadership, communication, critical thinking and research skills in more than one discipline.

University of Northern Iowas Graduate College is now accepting MAIS applications for Fall 2023. More information about admission requirements can be found on UNIs website.

The University of Northern Iowa supports graduate learners with rigorous, individualized opportunities in a student-centered environment with engaged faculty who excel in teaching and scholarship. Over 40 graduate programs are available through on-campus and online learning.

Photos: UNI women's basketball closes regular season with win against Missouri State WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 1 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 2 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 3 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 4 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 5 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 6 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 7 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 8 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 9 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 10 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 11 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 12 WBBall UNI vs. Missouri 13
Ukraine asked the US for cluster bombs  Reuters.

According to the agency, we are talking about the MK-20 bomb. The request is in addition to the request for 155 mm artillery cluster munitions.

Recall that cluster bombs have been banned since 2008.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-seeks-us-cluster-bombs-adapt-drone-use-lawmakers-2023-03-06/

https://www.un.org/disarmament/convarms/clustermunitions/

The USA refuses to stop with cluster bombs

https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2022-09/cluster-bombs-kill-indiscriminately-us-must-end-their-use

When is enough is enough?

~~ The USA will most likely gladly supply cluster bombs to Ukraine, all in the name of clean up the USA supply. ~~

Dont look at me, Reuters is the one talking about it!

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. &&


First Lithium Concentrate Produced at NAL

Brisbane, Mar 8, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emerging lithium producer Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( DML:FRA ) ( SYAXF:OTCMKTS ) has successfully produced the first spodumene (lithium) concentrate at its flagship North American Lithium (NAL) operation in Quebec, Canada, marking another milestone in NAL's restart.



Approximately 70 tonnes of lithium concentrate was produced. Commissioning is proceeding as per plan, with the first saleable concentrate to be produced shortly. NAL's restart is proceeding on schedule and within budget, amid intensifying demand for the key battery metal from North America's fast-growing EV and battery industry.



The NAL operation will represent the most significant source of hard rock lithium production in North America, boosting Quebec's plans for the development of a local battery sector, from mining to manufacturing.



Sayona's Managing Director, Brett Lynch congratulated the NAL team on its latest milestone.



"This is another great achievement for the team at NAL. I extend my thanks to everyone concerned for progressing the NAL restart on time and on budget - something few others have achieved in recent times amid escalating cost and supply chain pressures," Mr Lynch said.



"These are exciting times with the first saleable lithium concentrate to be produced soon, marking the next step in Sayona's evolution towards becoming a leading hard rock lithium producer."



Sayona expects the first shipment of spodumene (lithium) concentrate from NAL will occur in July 2023, with four shipments targeted for the first half of fiscal 2024. The Company is targeting total production between 85,000 tonnes and 115,000t during this period (refer ASX release 17 February 2023).



This announcement continues Sayona's regular, twice monthly updates on the NAL restart.



Extensive drilling program for NAL, Jourdan's Vallee Lithium Project



NAL and Jourdan Resources Inc. have agreed to embark on an aggressive exploration and development program with the aim of expanding and defining sufficient mineral resources to supply increased tonnages to the NAL concentrator.



More than 50,000 metres of drilling are planned in 2023 - likely one of Quebec's largest drilling programs this year - at NAL and Jourdan's adjacent Vallee Lithium Project, comprising the 28 claims subject to the earn-in and joint venture agreement entered into between NAL and Jourdan in November 2022 (refer ASX release 14 November 2022).



More than 24,000m of drilling is planned at the Vallee project (earn-in claims), with the program expected to commence in May 2023.



Jourdan CEO and President, Rene Bharti commented: "This is an historic moment which truly showcases the strong partnership between Jourdan, NAL and Sayona. With Jourdan having over 13,000 hectares of land surrounding Sayona's NAL project, the opportunity to partner with NAL and Sayona to accelerate Jourdan towards production is clear.



"Given that the Sayona NAL concentrator has commenced operations, Jourdan is in a very rare position to benefit from having access to what we expect will become Canada's leading lithium producing mine and concentrator. We are truly proud and honoured at what we see as significant upside potential for both companies, in such a strong lithium environment."



Sayona's Mr Lynch added: "Sayona is excited to be partnering with Jourdan Resources as we undertake a large scale and extensive drill program at NAL and the earn-in claims at the Vallee Project. The combined drilling program will be undertaken in consultation with our local community stakeholders, to pursue a bigger mineral resource base and better grades in the Abitibi Hub capable of delivering increased ore tonnages to the NAL concentrator and a longer mine life."

The Vallee project comprises 48 claims covering around 1,997 ha, closely neighbouring the NAL mine tenure, with 20 leases located within 500m of the mine boundary. In comparison, NAL's leases cover some 582 ha. In November 2022, Sayona announced a strategic acquisition and earn-in by NAL at the project, with NAL acquiring 20 claims outright and with the right to earn up to a 51% stake in the remaining 28 claims (refer ASX release 14 November 2022).



*To view tables and figures, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/47R5Q02R





About Sayona Mining Limited





Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia.

Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au
Tommy Wilson wants justice  but hed settle for $50,000.

Even better, $542,000, which is the amount of money the 74-year-old man from Las Cruces says he won on a slot machine at San Felipe Pueblos Black Mesa Casino on Feb. 25.

The casino, he said, maintained there was a problem with the machine and refused to pay the winnings.

The gaming machine, which Wilson recalled was adorned with images of buffaloes, indicated he had won the large payout. Bells sounded and then the machine shut down and went silent even as a half dozen other casino gamblers gathered around him to extend congratulations on the win, he said.

It was a windfall for Wilson, and it couldnt have come at a better time for the unemployed craftsman who specializes in making dental prosthetics and who had undergone recent triple bypass heart surgery, he said.

He never got a chance to count his money. A person from the casinos management informed him that a glitch in the machine had nullified his winnings.

They did their diagnostics, whatever that is, and said this is not a legitimate win, that there was some kind of digital or electronic glitch, so they didnt pay anything. Zero! said Wilson.

Repeated phone messages seeking comment from Black Mesa management and the San Felipe Gaming Commission were not returned.

The former Air Force veteran had been driving from Las Cruces, where he was staying with friends, to Denver, where he planned to visit relatives and go on a job interview. At about 5:30 p.m. he pulled over for a brief rest detour at Black Mesa Casino, located off Interstate 25 north of Albuquerque.

He had been playing the machine for only five or six minutes and had fed more than $100 into it when he hit upon the winning payout, he said.

He was subsequently informed by Black Mesa management that he could file a complaint with an on-site representative of the casinos gaming commission, which Wilson said he mistakenly believed was attached to the state agency that oversees gambling  the New Mexico Gaming Control Board.

I didnt file anything at that time because I was so perturbed, Wilson said. Neither did he take photos of the winning machine nor get names and phone numbers of the others who witnessed it. Instead, he left and continued on his journey to Denver.

The circumstances of the event continued to bother him, so several days later during the return drive from Denver to Las Cruces, he once again stopped at the Black Mesa Casino to file a complaint with the gaming officials.

They told me theyll be in touch and they got my phone number and my email address, Wilson said.

While there, he decided to try his hand at another slot-type machine.

I think it was called Kings of Africa and had pictures of lions on it, he said. I won two payouts  one was for $1,226 and the other was for $1,446  and that was with a 30- or 35-minute interval between, Wilson said.

This time, there was no interaction with casino management and he claimed his winnings without incident.

While he was happy about the two rapid-succession payouts, being shut out of that initial and far larger jackpot remains a sore spot.

You know, if they said, Mr. Wilson, were sorry that this happened and we would like to offer you $50,000 as an apology, that would have been fine. Instead, they offered me nothing, and thats not fine, thats not OK, he said.

What I want is justice, and justice will come in the form of karma. Im a believer in that.
SANTA FE  A plan backed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration to ease New Mexicos back-to-work law by allowing retired public sector workers to be rehired while still collecting pension benefits  but only for a maximum of three years  is headed to the Senate floor.

Despite opposition from labor unions, the Senate Finance Committee voted 9-2 on Monday to approve the measure, which is aimed at bolstering depleted staffing levels for many New Mexico state agencies, cities and counties.

Backers said the bill, Senate Bill 124, would impose strict guardrails on individuals who go back to work, including a requirement they retire for at least 12 months, work for no more than three years and do not accrue additional pension benefits after being rehired.

The program would also expire in July 2029, giving it a six-year lifespan if not extended.

John Ramon Vigil, the mayor of Espanola, said his northern New Mexico community has struggled to find enough employees to fully staff city departments.

I could possibly have a fully-staffed police department to secure my community if the bill is approved, Vigil told senators during Mondays hearing.

But critics argued there are better and more creative ways to bolster depleted staffing levels.

Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Shaun Willoughby said issues like low law enforcement officer morale would not be improved by allowing retired police chiefs to come back on board while still collecting retirement benefits.

This is failed public policy, Willoughby said. The public does not like double-dipping.

This years proposal marks the latest chapter in a longstanding Roundhouse debate over return to work laws.

In 2010, lawmakers banned return-to-work for state employees, law enforcement officers and local government workers after the practice  which is also known as double dipping  came under fire from labor unions and other critics for straining a state retirement fund and stifling internal promotions.

Previously, such employees had been allowed to retire and then return-to-work while still collecting both a pension and a salary.

While attempts in recent years to ease the ban on double dipping have been rebuffed at the Roundhouse, this years bill is sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, and drew support Monday from several Lujan Grisham administration officials  including Public Safety Secretary Jason Bowie.

But two Democratic senators cast the lone dissenting votes against the measure  committee chairman George Munoz of Gallup and Siah Correa Hemphill of Silver City.
Eleven more days. Thats how long lawmakers have to salvage an important piece of legislation that would help retain much-needed doctors in New Mexico: medical malpractice reform.

A 2021 legislative overhaul of the states malpractice law, signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, will have disastrous effects come Jan. 1. Independent physicians and doctors at independently owned outpatient clinics say they will be forced to close their practices and leave because the cap on all medical malpractice claims will increase substantially, prompting costs for malpractice insurance to soar or the coverage to be unavailable.

New Mexico was already below national provider-to-population benchmarks, having lost 700 primary care physicians between 2017 and 2021. Were experiencing shortages in all fields and especially in rural areas. Senate Bill 296 is an attempt to stop the bleeding. It would pause for two more years a change in the Medical Malpractice Act that lumped low-risk outpatient clinics in with hospitals, raising the clinics cap on legal damages from $750,000 to $5 million beginning next year.

The bipartisan bill sponsored by Albuquerque-based Sens. Mark Moores, a Republican, and retired Dr. Martin Hickey, a Democrat, would also create a task force to craft a durable solution.

But SB 296 was tabled by the Senate Tax, Business and Transportation Committee last week on a party-line vote. Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth and Sens. Carrie Hamblen, Leo Jaramillo, Bill Tallman and Benny Shendo Jr. voted against keeping doctors in our state. SB 296 wont heal the states health care woes, but its an essential stopgap measure that needs to be revived and put on the governors desk.

 Another bill meriting swift resuscitation and approval is Senate Bill 24, which would provide transparency in spending $1 billion of remaining federal education stimulus funds intended to address the impacts of COVID-19.

SB 24 would ensure Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds are monitored and spent to improve student outcomes. The bill was passed by the Senate on Feb. 27 on a strong 36-2 bipartisan vote but ran aground Friday in the House Education Committee, which tabled it on a 7-6 vote after the Superintendents Association, School Boards Association and the Public Education Department essentially said accountability to taxpayers is too hard.

Lawmakers need to assert their oversight authority over the remaining $1 billion-plus or relinquish any credibility when weighing in on New Mexicos last-in-the-nation education standing.

 A measure meriting defeat is Tallmans perennial anti-transparency measure. Senate Bill 63 would shield the names of all but a few finalists for appointive executive positions from public view. It passed the Senate by a 31-9 vote last month. The House must stop SB 63 to ensure women and people of color are being seriously considered for top public-sector jobs.

 Senate Joint Resolution 1 also needs to die. It would ask New Mexico voters to establish a statewide school board and remove the Public Education Department from the governors control. PED needs leadership stability, not unaccountable politics from a 15-member board.

 Tweaking the Cannabis Regulation Act of 2021 isnt turning out to be as easy as supporters had promised. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee last week blocked HB 157 on a tie vote. The Cannabis Product Safety Bill is common-sense clarification on packaging requirements to protect children. It was drafted in response to reports of children accidentally consuming cannabis gummies that mimic candy.

HB 157 is an easy fix to a problem created by hurried lawmakers and lax enforcement from the Cannabis Control Division.

 Banning bestiality is long overdue. New Mexico is one of two states where sexual abuse of animals is not a crime. An amended version of SB 215 passed the Senate 40-0 Monday. Enough said. House members need to do the right thing and get the bill 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.
Prosecutors said Victor Kearney hired a tax attorney with a history of tax evasion, drug use and soliciting prostitutes as part of a scheme to help Kearney avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars of income from trust accounts he inherited.

Kearneys attorney said his client naively put his faith in his lawyer and got duped.

Albuquerque might be the home of a real Saul Goodman, Paul Linnenburger, Kearneys attorney, said during his opening statement  a reference to the unscrupulous lawyer in the Albuquerque-based television shows Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Kearney is accused of making and subscribing false tax returns and a conspiracy charge for allegedly not reporting income from a trust account he inherited after the unexpected death of his wife.

The trial against Kearney got underway in federal court in Albuquerque on Monday. A jury was seated and attorneys made opening statements in the trial, which is expected to run throughout the week before U.S. District Judge James Browning.

The criminal case is the latest courtroom saga for Kearney, who spent years in court unsuccessfully suing his Abruzzo family in-laws, including Benjamin and Louis Abruzzo, and Alvarado Realty Co., or ARCO, the Abruzzo family company that developed Sandia Peak Tramway and the ski areas in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Kearney was married to Mary Pat Abruzzo Kearney, who died unexpectedly in 1997 at age 31. Kearney was the beneficiary of two trusts set up by his wife, which paid Kearney about $16 million from 1998 to 2018, according to court records.

As the relationship between Kearney and the Abruzzos soured, Kearney accused the Abruzzo family in court of breaching their fiduciary duties, which reduced Kearneys trust account income.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Brawley said after the ARCO company restructured in 2006, it created an opportunity for Kearney not to report the trust income.

This presented an opportunity for the defendant, an opportunity he could not resist, she said.

Brawley said in the years that followed, Kearney collaborated with attorney Robert Fiser in a simple and straightforward plot to hide his hefty income to avoid taxes. He even received a $30,000 tax refund one year, she said.

She said Kearney is a self-proclaimed gambler and investor, and judges in other cases involving him have said that he lost most of the money he inherited from the trust accounts.

Fiser previously pleaded guilty in the case and is listed as a witness for the prosecution, according to court filings. Browning earlier this year sentenced Fiser to 15 months in prison.

Kearney was indicted in August 2019. Brawley said in court that prosecutors will show Kearney didnt pay taxes for years beginning in 2007.

As part of a civil case between Kearney and the Abruzzo family, District Judge Alan Malott in July 2017 notified the IRS and the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department that evidence arose during a trial showing Kearney has not properly reported income he has received, did not file required tax returns in multiple years, and unilaterally altered income tax reporting forms issued to him by third parties.
A New Mexico 10-year-olds push to raise funds for the state Department of Game & Fishs youth programs is picking up steam as it moves through the Roundhouse.

Braden McIntosh proposed his idea during a Santa Fe event hosted last month by TeenPact New Mexico, an organization that introduces students to their local governments through hands-on activities.

My homework for TeenPact New Mexico was to write a bill, serious or fun, that I would be willing to discuss at the event, McIntosh said in a news release. I had no clue I would have a chance to share my idea with our state leaders.

After meeting with McIntosh, Sens. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, and Joshua Sanchez, R-Veguita, filed Senate Bill 392, which allows individuals who make a purchase from the Department of Game and Fish to donate money to the youth programs, either by rounding up their purchase amount or customizing a donation.

The bill passed two Senate committees last month and was approved on a 35-0 vote by the full Senate last week.

With less than two weeks left in this years 60-day session, the bill still must clear the House of Representatives in order to make it to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams desk for final approval.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinas foreign minister has warned Washington of conflict and confrontation if it fails to change course in relations with Beijing, striking a combative tone amid conflicts over Taiwan, COVID-19 and Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Qin Gangs language appeared to defy hopes Chinas might abandon confrontational wolf warrior rhetoric. It followed an accusation by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Western governments led by the United States were trying to encircle and suppress China.

Washingtons China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track, Qin said at a news conference Tuesday during annual meeting of Chinas ceremonial legislature.

Chinas relations with Washington and Japan, India and other Asian neighbors have soured as Xis government has pursued assertive policies abroad.

If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation, Qin said in his first news conference since taking up his post last year. Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.

On Monday, Xi accused Washington of hurting Chinas development.

Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nations development, Xi was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

In the face of that, China must remain calm, maintain concentration, strive for progress while maintaining stability, take active actions, unite as one and dare to fight, he said.

A State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said Washington wants to coexist responsibly in a global trade and political system and denied the U.S. government wants to suppress China.

This is not about containing China. This is not about suppressing China. This is not about holding China back, Price said in Washington. We want to have that constructive competition that is fair and doesnt veer into that conflict.

U.S. officials are increasingly worried about Chinas goals and the possibility of war over Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. Many in Washington have called for the U.S. government to make a bigger effort to counter Chinese influence abroad.

Concerns about Chinese spying on the U.S. and Beijings influence campaigns there have drawn particular concern.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing after Washington shot down a Chinese balloon suspected of being used for spying on U.S. territory. Its electronics and optical equipment are being analyzed by the FBI.

Then last week, Beijing reacted with indignation when U.S. officials raised the issue again of whether the COVID-19 outbreak that first was detected in southern China in late 2019 began with a leak from a Chinese laboratory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the U.S. of politicizing the issue in an attempt to discredit China.

The two countries have traded angry words over Taiwan as Xis government tried to intimidate the island by firing missiles into the sea and flying fighter planes nearby.

Qin was ambassador to Washington until last year and in a previous stint as Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman was known for cutting condemnation of foreign critics.

On Tuesday, he criticized Washington for shooting down the balloon. He repeated claims that its appearance in U.S. skies was an accident.

In this case the United States perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge, Qin said. This is like the first button in a shirt being put wrong and the result is that the U.S.-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track.

Qin called Taiwan the first red line that must not be crossed.

China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war. The mainlands Communist Party says the island is obliged to unite with China, by force if necessary.

Washington doesnt public support either unification or formal independence for Taiwan but is obligated by federal law to see that the island has the means to defend itself.

The U.S. has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question, Qin said.

He accused the U.S. government of disrespecting Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, by offering the island political backing and furnishing it with weapons in response to Beijings threat to use force to bring it under Chinese control.

Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan? Qin asked.

In Taipei, Taiwans defense minister said the armed forces werent seeking outright conflict with Chinas military, but nor would they back away in the event of Chinese aircraft or ships entering Taiwanese coastal seas or airspace.

It is the nations armed forces duty to mount an appropriate response, Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators.

Beijing has also accused the West of fanning the flames by providing Ukraine with weaponry to fend off the Russian invasion. China says it is neutral but said before the invasion that it had a )no-limits friendship with Russia. It has refused to criticize Moscows attack or to call it an invasion.

A Chinese call for a cease-fire in Ukraine that has drawn praise from Russia but dismissals from the West has done nothing to lessen tensions. U.S. officials accuse China of considering providing weapons to Moscow for use in the war.

Efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda, Qin said.

The annual meeting of the National Peoples Congress is due to endorse the appointment of a new premier and government chosen by the Communist Party in a once-a-decade change.

The meeting also is expected to name Xi to a third term in the ceremonial post of Chinese president after he broke with tradition and awarded himself a third five-year term as ruling party leader in October, possibly preparing to make himself leader for life.

___

Associated Press Aamer Madhani contributed to this report from Washington.

___

Find more of APs Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
SANTA FE  Legislation requiring more instructional time for New Mexico students sailed through the state House without opposition Tuesday as lawmakers zero in on strategies intended to boost academic achievement.

The proposal would require 1,140 hours of instructional time a year  a 15% increase in the minimum now mandated for elementary schools.

It would be a 60-hour bump in the high school minimum, though the bill also allows for up to 60 hours of teacher training, collaboration or parent-teacher conferences to count toward the requirement.

State Rep. Joy Garratt, an Albuquerque Democrat and retired teacher who co-sponsored the legislation, said the measure was thoroughly vetted before the session and backed by groups representing superintendents, teachers and school boards.

Its received support from around the state, she said.

The proposal, House Bill 130, won approval 62-0 and now heads to the Senate.

For some districts, the measure wont necessarily mean a dramatic change. But 66 of the states 89 school districts will have to increase their base instructional hours for elementary or high schools, according to analysis by the Legislative Education Study Committee.

Albuquerque Public Schools now averages about 1,006 hours for elementary schools and 1,132 for high schools  a bit below the new requirements, though the potential impact isnt clear given the bills flexibility for what counts as instructional hours.

The proposal also allows districts and charter schools to determine whether to add hours with extra school days or by restructuring existing school days.

Districts really can customize this to fit the needs of their students, said Rep. Tanya Mirabal Moya, a Los Lunas Republican and high school teacher.

Action on the bill comes as New Mexico lawmakers evaluate how to respond to a drop in math and reading scores during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state also faces litigation connected to a 2018 court decision that found New Mexico was violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide a sufficient education.

Math and reading scores in New Mexico fell significantly in the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the state ranked last in the country.

Nonpartisan analysts working the Legislature say increased instructional time can make a difference.

Analysis of 2022 test results by the Legislative Education Study Committee, for example, suggested increased hours had a modest but significant impact on student achievement, even when controlling for students economic disadvantages.

A 2016 report by analysts for the Legislative Finance Committee found that the number of hours matters but that the quality of those hours tends to matter more.

Rep. Brian Baca, a Los Lunas Republican and deputy superintendent, said the legislation adopted Tuesday acknowledges the importance of teacher collaboration by allowing 60 hours to count toward the instructional time requirement.

A broad group of stakeholders, he said, shaped the bill.

I think it really provides us a good framework, Baca said.

A budget proposal under consideration in the Senate includes about $370 million to carry out the instructional-hour legislation. The cost, however, will depend on how schools add the extra time.
Instagram Celebrity

Amid 'nepo baby' controversy, the 'America's Got Talent' judge is proud of her oldest child Leni Klum as the teenage girl is juggling her career and college.

Mar 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Heidi Klum praises her daughter for balancing her career and her studies. The 49-year-old supermodel is mother to Leni, 18, with ex-partner Flavio Briatore as well as Henry, 17  Johan, 16, and 13-year-old Lou with former husband Seal and is amazed that her eldest - who is currently studying interior design whilst also following in her mother's footsteps - is managing to carve out a career and study at the same time.

"I'm very proud of my daughter and her modelling. And she's studying at the same time, she's juggling already!" she told PEOPLE.

Before allowing her to pursue a modelling career at the age of 16, Heidi previously explained that Leni - who has now starred in campaigns for brands such as Dolce and Gabanna and graced the cover of Vogue - had been approached for fashion work since childhood but held off until she felt comfortable putting her in the public eye.

She said, "She's old enough now. I always thought she was too young. We always also decided to keep the children out of the public eye. But she's driving a car now, she's 16, so I figured if you can do that, you can also model now if this is what you wish to do."

"Obviously, as a mother, [I want my] child to do what she wants to do. The industry is great and I love it and I've been in it for over 20 years but it's also, it's a lot of traveling, it's different. You have to be a strong person, especially as a woman you have to be very strong."

You can share this post!
Cover Images/ROGER WONG Celebrity

The former 'Good Morning America' co-anchors look like a 'hot couple,' but there's nothing 'inappropriate' as they attend a memorial service for late PR guru Howard Bragman in Los Angeles.

Mar 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes are not hiding their romance these days. The duo has reportedly attended the first event together as a couple in Los Angeles following their romantic getaway to Mexico.

On Sunday, March 5, Amy and T.J. stepped out for the late PR guru Howard Bragman's memorial service at a private park in North Hollywood, California. Fellow attendees were reportedly left astonished by the pair's appearance.

"I couldn't believe it was them! I didn't even know they were in L.A.," one source who attended the service tells Page Six. Still, the eyewitness has nothing but good things to say about the couple, who looked "in love" at the event.

"They looked like... they weren't inappropriate, but she was in this wrap dress that was very short, and they just looked like this hot couple. There was no shame in their game," the source dishes on the lovebirds.

The dress code for Howard's star-studded send off was "fabulous, business casual." T.J. wore a navy suit as he and Amy both donned sunglasses during the outdoor ceremony. They reportedly "arrived maybe 10 to 15 minutes" before the service started.

Further sharing about the couple's interaction with other guests, the source says, "They seemed extremely happy and greeted everyone with warm smiles. They were extremely friendly with everyone."

"There were a lot of people whispering. There was something electric," the source adds. "They seemed like a couple, who're obviously in love. They were definitely attentive and aware of each other."

Amy and T.J. recently enjoyed a romantic vacation in Mexico, during which they were spotted packing on the PDA. At one point during the getaway, T.J. was spotted playfully squeezing his girlfriend's behind as they strolled along the sand at Puerto Vallarta. They also enjoyed a romantic dinner at a kitschy local joint where they drank and kissed under the wide-eyed stare of a plastic pink flamingo.

You can share this post!
Instagram Music

The 'Tomorrow 2' performer previously tweeted, 'praying everybody is ok,' after learning that her concert in Rochester, New York on Sunday left one person dead and nine others injured.

Mar 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Another person died following a crowd stampede at GloRilla's recent concert. Authorities have confirmed that the death toll rose to two on Monday, March 6 following a crowd surge that may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire at the raptress' show over the weekend in New York.

During a news briefing on Monday, Police Chief David M. Smith said that GloRilla and Finesse2tymes had finished performing Sunday night at Rochester's Main Street Armory when people exiting the venue just after 11 P.M. began to surge dangerously. "We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene," Smith told the press, as quoted by AP.

Concertgoer Ikea Hayes, who returned to the venue on Monday to retrieve belongings she left behind, told Rochester television station WHEC, "I was watching my life flash before my eyes, and I still didn't even know what was going on." She recalled being "on the ground, just scared, praying, like, you got to get up, you got to move. If you stay here, they're going to keep running you over. So, you got to get up. You got to move."

Police found three badly injured women in the auditorium. One of them was Rhondesia Belton of Buffalo, who died at a hospital. Belton, 33, worked for Buffalo's Traffic Violations Agency. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted Monday evening, "Her family, friends, and colleagues are devastated and left to mourn this tragic loss. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers."

The name of the second victim, a 35-year-old woman, has not been released by police. Another woman remains in critical condition in the hospital, while seven others were treated at area hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening.

GloRilla has spoken up following earlier reports that her Sunday concert left one person dead and nine others injured. "I'm just now hearing about what happened wtf," she tweeted on Monday morning, "praying everybody is ok."

You can share this post!
Instagram Celebrity

The Microsoft co-founder has become a first-time grandfather after his daughter and her husband, Egyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar, welcomed their little one.

Mar 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Bill Gates has become a grandfather after his daughter gave birth to her first child. Jennifer Gates, 26, took to Instagram to reveal she and her husband, Egyptian equestrian Nayel Nassar, had welcomed a little one into the world. She wrote, "sending love from our healthy little family."

Bill, 67, wrote, "Congratulations Jenn and Nayel. I'm so proud." Melinda Gates, whom the Microsoft billionaire was married to for 27 years, before they finalized their divorce in August 2021, commented, "Welcome to the world. My heart overflows."

Bill and Melinda's 20-year-old daughter Phoebe shared three heart emojis. Jennifer wrote, "Thank you everyone for your well wishes they mean the world to us!!!!"

In December, Bill admitted hearing he was to be a grandfather gave him a "new dimension" to his work. He wrote in a blog post at the time, "I started looking at the world through a new lens recently - when my older daughter gave me the incredible news that I'll become a grandfather next year. Simply typing that phrase, 'I'll become a grandfather next year,' makes me emotional. And the thought gives a new dimension to my work. When I think about the world my grandchild will be born into, I'm more inspired than ever to help everyone's children and grandchildren have a chance to survive and thrive."

Bill was recently romantically linked to Paula Hurd, the widow of late tech company CEO Mark Hurd. A friend of the rumored couple said in February, "They've been together over a year, and she's always described as a 'mystery woman,' but it's no mystery to their inner circle that theyre in a romantic relationship."

Bill and Melinda were granted a divorce in August 2021 after she filed for the separation in May that year after 27 years of marriage. Reflecting on their breakup, Bill said last year, "Everyone in the world has experienced loss during this time - of loved ones, financial security, or a way of life. Because of my position, I'm insulated from many of these hardships. But I too have hit some personal low points over the past few years, including the death of my father and the end of my marriage. As I reflect on the past and look ahead to next year, I'm feeling grateful for the people in my life who support me in difficult moments. They remind me of what's important, and they inspire me to be a better father and friend. Being wealthy makes my life much more comfortable, but not more fulfilling. For that, I need family, friends, and a job where I work on things that matter. I'm grateful to have all three."

You can share this post!
Avinash Pandey, President, News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), has addressed a letter dated March 06, 2023 to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take immediate action against the individuals and officials who attacked and/or searched the premises of the office of Malayalam news channel Asianet in Kochi and Kozhikode, Kerala.

In his letter, Pandey referred to the attack by Student Federation of India (SFI) activists at the premises of Asianet News Network (a member of the NBDA) in Kochi and the subsequent police search conducted at its office in Kozhikode, Kerala.

Pandey wrote, NBDA maintains that while no individual or institution is above the law, however, it condemns any attempt to muzzle the media and thereby cause any interference with the free functioning of news operations. Such attacks and searches are not only unacceptable, but they also undermine the basic tenets of freedom of speech and expression enshrined in the Constitution of India.

We sincerely urge you and the State administration to take immediate action against the individuals and officials who attacked and/or searched the office premises of Asianet and ensure that journalists and media persons are allowed to perform their duties in a free and fearless manner, he added.

Earlier, NBDA had issued an official statement wherein it slammed the attack as well as the subsequent police action on Asianets offices.

Also read:

NBDA condemns attack by SFI activists & police search of offices of Asianet

https://www.adgully.com/nbda-condemns-attack-by-sfi-activists-police-search-of-offices-of-asianet-129258.html

Continuing further, Pandey wrote, As an Association, we believe in promoting excellence in broadcasting standards and all Members are governed by the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards. As a result, we have constituted an independent Self-Regulatory Adjudicatory Body, namely the News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA), which is headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge Justice AK Sikri. NBDSA considers and adjudicates upon complaints with respect to broadcasts/ publications, including all content which violates the Code of Ethics & Broadcasting Standards and the Guidelines issued by it. All such complaints can be made to News Broadcasting & Digital Standards Authority.

He emphasised that it would be in the larger interest of freedom of speech and expression of the media, if in future any complaint with regard to any broadcaster/ digital news media entity is decided by NBDSA.
Taking ahead its Badlaav Humse Hai commitment, AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB), Indias largest small finance bank, today announced its association with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub to extend digital lending to women street vendors across India under the PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme. The initiative was launched today by Mr. Rajesh Bansal, CEO, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and Mr. Uttam Tibrewal, Executive Director, AU Small Finance Bank at a special Womens Day program organized at Bengaluru.

PM SVANidhi scheme was launched by Government of India during the pandemic to empower Street Vendors by not only extending collateral free working capital loans to them, but also for their holistic development and economic upliftment.

Since the introduction of the PM SVANidhi scheme in June20, AU Small Finance Bank has been working towards extending it by providing small working capital loans to street vendors. Over the years, it was realized that the manual application verification and assessment, multiple physical bank visits of customers and time-taking loan disbursement, made the process very tedious for the beneficiaries.

Therefore, with technical partnership of Reserve Bank Innovation Hubs incubated start-up- MAKSPAY, AU SFB will now be able to fast track the loans disbursement from days to hours. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub helped the bank enable a more efficient customer onboarding and loan disbursement gateway. Besides, the Bank is offering to deploy free of cost UPI QR codes at each street vendors cart which will make its vendor-customers digitally available to accept convenient online payments.

Speaking on the launch event, Mr. Uttam Tibrewal, Executive Director, AU Small Finance Bank, commented, "Our partnership with Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and MAKSPAY for digitizing loan disbursements for women street vendors is another humble effort to empower entrepreneurs and promote holistic financial inclusion. I am immensely grateful to RBI Innovation Hub and MAKSPAY for extending their technical expertise to make the PM SVANidhi scheme more accessible through the end-to-end digital process. We are also delighted to provide these customers our savings product and various value-added services like UPI QR codes that can help them achieve their financial goals faster. At AU Small Finance Bank, we are committed to promoting financial inclusion and bridging the digital payments divide, particularly among the under-banked segments of society. Through these efforts, we hope to create a more inclusive and equitable financial system for all."

Mr. Rajesh Bansal, CEO, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, said, "We are happy to have AU Small Finance Bank as a partner in for the pilot on digitisation of loan disbursements under the PM SVANidhi Scheme. This is a great example of how we can achieve the objective of financial inclusion through digital solutions. With this initiative, the benefits of PM SVANidhi loans meant to empower street vendors will further reach to more women borrowers. We are delighted at the prospects of the positive impact of this partnership in promoting financial inclusion and supporting the growth of small businesses. We look forward to more such collaborations that will drive financial inclusion through innovation on the ground level."

Over the last 27+ years, AU has focused its resources on empowering the unbanked and underbanked population in the rural and semi-urban India. AU SFB targets promising borrowers and meticulously studies their backgrounds through intensive field investigation before initiating loans. Additionally, it lends based on a comprehensive gap analysis of the industry and business of the customer and their future potential. AU Bank's commitment to promoting financial inclusion and empowering underserved communities is a testament to its vision of building a society where every individual is financially included in a way that enhances their livelihoods and drives sustainable development.
Keeping in line with the theme of IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity, DCM Shriram Ltd, a leading business conglomerate, celebrated the women in office with a oneofitskind initiative #TheChairSwap.

With a firm belief that true inclusion and belonging require equitable action, the company has planned a series of programs for women at work.

The day will begin with Mr. Sandeep Girotra, CHRO, DCM Shriram Ltd. inviting Ms. Neha Sharma, a Management Trainee (Batch of 2021) to become the CHRO for the day and take his responsibilities on this special day.

This initiative aims to encourage young women in the organization to aspire to become the leaders of the future. The true objective of the campaign is to showcase the continuous effort in empowering women. DCM Shriram Ltd. is proud to be at the forefront of this initiative and hopes to inspire other companies to take similar steps toward promoting gender equality and empowering women at workplace.

Neha Sharma, a bright and ambitious management trainee who has been with the company since 2021, is a part of the HR team and works in the capacity of Asst. Manager- HR Corporate. Sandeep Girotra, CHRO, DCM Shriram, believes that this initiative will help break down the stereotypes associated with gender roles in the workplace and pave the way for a more inclusive and diverse corporate culture.
British communication regulator Ofcom has found the Mark Steyn programme, which aired on GB News on 21 April 2022, in breach of its broadcasting rules.

The regulator has been consistently clear that, under its rules, broadcasters are free to transmit programmes which may be considered controversial and challenging, or which question statistics or other evidence produced by governments or other official sources. It can clearly be in the public interest to do so. However, with this editorial freedom comes an obligation to ensure that, when portraying factual matters, audiences are not materially misled.

In this case, Ofcom investigation found that an episode of the Mark Steyn programme fell short of these standards  not because it exercised its editorial freedom to challenge mainstream narratives around Covid-19 vaccination  but because, in doing so, it presented a materially misleading interpretation of official data without sufficient challenge or counterweight, risking harm to viewers, said the regulator.

Specifically, the programme incorrectly claimed that official UKHSA data provided definitive evidence of a causal link between receiving a third Covid-19 vaccine and higher infection, hospitalisation and death rates.

This was materially misleading because the way the data was presented to viewers during the programme did not take account of the significant differences in age or health of people in the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups studied. We also took into account the definitive way in which the misleading interpretation of the data was presented, and the absence of adequate counterweight or genuine challenge. The programme also failed to reflect that the UKHSA reports made clear that the raw data contained within them should not be used to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Given these misleading claims were broadcast as part of a factual programme on a news and current affairs service and may have resulted in viewers making important decisions about their own health, Ofcom concluded that the programme was potentially harmful and materially misleading, in breach of Rule 2.2 of the Broadcasting Code.

Since March 2020, Ofcom has received over 26,000 complaints about TV and radio coverage relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. Reflecting the weight it places on the right to freedom of expression, the vast majority of these complaints did not raise issues under its rules.

The regulator has opened 11 formal investigations where the content raised serious concerns. Of these cases, it has found eight programmes in breach of its rules, one was found not in breach, while two investigations remain ongoing.

This is the first breach of our broadcasting rules recorded against GB News since it launched in June 2021. Complaints received about the channel to date total 3,432, representing 3% of all broadcast complaints made to us during this period. Of these 1,665 related to the Covid-19 pandemic. After careful assessment, the vast majority of complaints made against GB News have not been pursued. Aside from todays decision, our earlier investigation into Talking Pints with Nigel Farage (23 August 2021)  relating to offensive language  concluded that the programme was not in breach of our rules. An additional investigation into an episode of Mark Steyn, which aired on 4 October 2022, remains ongoing, said the regulator.
Under the MOU, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) will leverage ITCs Agro & Rural Networks viz. Choupal Saagar and e-Choupal to enhance brand recall for Hyundai products.

HMIL, by engaging farmer communities aims to promote its products through various means such as Car Display, Canopy, Leaflet, AV Display & Test Drive Activities.

This association will also leverage HMILs flagship Sambandh Scheme with an emphasis on customers in rural markets.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) has announced a unique corporate partnership with ITC Agro Business Division (ABD) to strengthen Hyundais brand presence in rural markets. In line with Hyundais global vision of Progress for Humanity, HMIL will promote their model line-up on ITCs extensive and vibrant Agro and rural platforms to enhance brand recall in rural pockets. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a step towards highlighting HMILs vision of progress and will collaborate with Choupal Saagar and the e-Choupal platforms in rural hinterlands. The collaboration will progressively be extended for ITCMAARS Rural services for wider reach.

Commenting on the association, Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said, India is a diverse market and our customers are spread across regions with different cultures, practices and buying behaviour. When we look at the Indian market, our SUVs have won the hearts and minds of customers across major metros. The trend is similar in rural markets as well; Rural India demonstrates an inclination towards the SUV segment with a contribution of over 47% to HMILs overall sales with the Hyundai VENUE topping the charts with a contribution of 24% and the Hyundai CRETAs contribution standing at a healthy 23%. We recently achieved a milestone of 1 lakh rural sales in CY 2022. By undertaking an MoU with ITC, we have partnered with their Agro Business Division, leveraging the Companys transformative initiatives like Choupal Saagar, e-Choupal and ITCMAARS, thereby fortifying our commitment to support the dreams of over 4 million farmers across 35 000 villages who are an integral part of the e-Choupal eco-system. This association is aimed at strengthening HMILs brand resonance and association with potential customers across the hinterland of India.

Under this agreement, Hyundai Motor India will drive various event and activities at Choupal Saagar  ITCs integrated rural services hubin the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The e-Choupal facilities available across 10 states will be leveragedto strengthen brand association and engagement focusingon rural customers. HMIL will establish an accessible link with ITCs rural communities and farmer network through innovative campaigns. This association between ITC ABD and HMIL will progressively embark on a digital connect with customers by leveraging the ITCMAARS Platform.

Rajnikant Rai, Divisional Chief Executive, Agri Business Division, ITC Ltd, added here, We are indeed happy to embark on a partnership with Hyundai Motor India Limited to support the aspirations of our farmers by leveraging the ITC e-Choupal and ITCMAARS eco-system. This initiative is anchored on the holistic engagement that the ITC e-Choupal initiative drives in partnership with other institutions aimed at empowering farmers and rural communities. Further, the ITCMAARS platform, a full stack Agro Tech application for farmers, will facilitate in expanding reach to last mile consumers, leveraging its phygital connect.

As a part of HMILs Customer First philosophy, HMIL has established a strong network of 600+ touchpoints in rural markets, out of which more than 97% are available with service facilities, covering 420 districts. These touchpoints are a One-Stop-Shop solution for our esteemed customers and delivering highest level of customer satisfaction, strengthening customer confidence in brand Hyundai.

Going forward, HMIL will further tap the potential of niche markets through BTL activations and digital campaigns. Some initiatives are already being undertaken in areas that cover tea estates, farming fields and refineries to enhance brand promotion and increase customer base.
Fashion business leaders, who led the sessions at the 22nd edition of India Fashion Forum, forecast that AI and Augmented Reality will usher in a tech-driven consumer experience.

India Fashion Forum (IFF), touted as Indias biggest fashion intelligence event, witnessed leaders, key stakeholders, experts and delegates from across the fashion ecosystem gathered to discuss emerging trends like AI, metaverse, Augmented Reality and AI, seamless shopping experiences and the prospects of as many as 100 Indian cities in generating new business opportunities in the post-pandemic fashion landscape.

This years theme is Decoding the DNA of Profitability: Growth defined by Value Creation.

Shailesh Chaturvedi, 22nd IFF Chairman, Industry Thought Leader, MD & CEO, Arvind Fashions welcomed the attendees along with outgoing IFF Chairman Akhilesh Prasad, President and CEO, Fashion & Lifestyle Business, Reliance Retail.

Akhilesh Prasad remarked about the formidable position of India in the global market given her 5000-years of uninterrupted civilization. Over the next five to seven years, the Indian market will be dominated by innovative Indian wear unlike China whose civilization got interrupted after their cultural revolution.

While the delegates deliberated on the importance of profitability in comparison with growth, the concept of tech-driven consumer experiences got everyones attention. Top representatives from brands like Tasva, Bhima Jewels, Bestseller India, Lifestyle International, Celio, Ayesha Fashion, Kompanero and Being Human Clothing discussed various aspects of marketing and innovation with profitability at its core.

Speaking about what would work in the future, Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak, said, Smart trial rooms, grab and go self checkouts, ChatGPT, Augmented Reality driven consumer/ employee experience and 5G driving digitisation will be key factors in redefining customer experiences.

Six years ago at IFF, we spoke about omnichannel format, a trend that was still in its nascent stage. We said that it had to be a part of our life. Today, I think Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Metaverse will be a part of our daily lives. Though a Metaverse store may not have a Return on Investment now, we have to invest. This is without dismissing the relevance of brick and mortar stores, said Sanjeev Rao, CEO, Being Human Clothing.

Earlier in the day, in his inaugural speech, Shailesh Chaturvedi underscored the need for brands to shift their focus on building their capabilities so as to be prepared to tackle short or medium term headwinds. He further added, When we move from the known to unknown markets there is always a lot of value to create.

In the other sessions, panelists also discussed about the huge opportunity in smaller markets, digital marketing, micro influencers and globally relevant topics such as waste reduction by brands, retailers and manufacturers as well as personalisation and innovation vs consumer experience.

In the inaugural session where brand custodians presented their profitability strategy in 60 seconds, Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India, revealed five pillars behind the success of his brand. Top line, bottom line, expansion/growth, talent development and customer delight are key. Everything else is coincidental.

Preeti Gupta, Business Head, Nykd, Nykaa and Gloot, gave a synopsis of how the market is entrenched in consumer truth.

Jaydeep Shetty, Consulting Partner, Greenhonchos, spoke about Customer and Brand Love. Advising his counterparts that they see online stores as a separate channel and not as a subset, he added, In retail and fashion, we began adjusting our minds to allot certain percentages to online and physical store presences. People shop whether they are happy, sad or are celebrating something special. Brands are no longer holding customers captive. They are in the customers home/ mobile phones.

On the whole, technology and consumer data stood out as the most important factors driving business growth among the speakers in these sessions.

With over 50+ conferences and 200+ speakers sharing their insights over the two days, IFF 2023 also welcomed UK delegates on their first-of-its-kind fashion and beauty trade mission to India. Brands like Lush, Benny Hancock, Jennifer Young and Lilly and Sid to name a few will showcase their offerings and innovation to potential distributors here.

Some of the sessions over the two days include unified commerce as the future of retail, omnichannel in fashion, social media, personalization, sustainability, profitability, mall strategy, global green initiatives in fashion and artificial intelligence.
The News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has strongly condemned the attack by Student Federation of India (SFI) activists into the office of Malayalam news channel and an NBDA member Asianet in Kochi and the subsequent police search of its office in Kozhikode, Kerala.

The attack by SFI activists and the subsequent police search of the broadcasters office comes in the backdrop of the reporting by Asianet news channel on the issue of drug and sexual abuse of a young girl in Kerala. These actions are not only unacceptable, but are also a direct impingement on the medias freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, maintained NBDA in a statement issued.

The news broadcasters body unequivocally stated that there can be no possible justification for attacking and/or searching the broadcasters premises as such attacks and searches are an obvious attempt to muzzle the media. Media is widely regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy and its function of disseminating news of public interest to the people is indispensable to the functioning of a democracy. Therefore, it is reiterated that any action which prevents the media from performing their duties is violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

NBDA urged the Chief Minister of Kerala to take immediate action against the individuals and officials who attacked and/or searched the broadcasters office premises, clearly sending a message that no individuals or officials are beyond the purview of the law.
Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan (LKS), a premier full-service Indian law firm specializing in taxation, has in a comprehensive white paper analyzed the proposed TDS changes announced for the Online Gaming Industry in the Union Budget 2023. The white paper welcomes the Governments initiative to provide clarity on direct taxation of online gaming and highlights the potential challenges, their impact on users and industry and proposes solutions to address the same.

The online gaming industry till now was deducting TDS on winnings under section 194B, which had a threshold of Rs 10,000 per game post which the tax was deducted at the rate of 30%. In the Union Budget 2023, the Finance Minister announced a separate new section 194BA for TDS on online gaming. Under the new section, the Online gaming platforms are expected to deduct 30% TDS on net winnings. The computation of net winnings shall be prescribed separately.

While this has been a welcome move for the industry, it has posed a conundrum as well. This is because the current section 194B is being amended and while the amendments in the section 194B come into effect starting April 01, 2023 the new section 194BA comes into effect only on July 01, 2023.

This essentially means that for a period of 3 months between April 01 and June 30, 2023, the online gaming industry will have to comply with the amended 194B and undergo two different compliance framework changes within three months. This can cause a lot of confusion for the users and pose a huge compliance challenge for the industry.

REGIME TIMELINE Current - Has a threshold of Rs 10,000 on per game basis for tax deduction on winnings Ends March 31, 2023 New - The threshold is removed and TDS calculations to be done on net winnings in the financial year Effective from July 1, 2023 Interim - Has the threshold of Rs 10,000 on financial year basis for tax deduction on winnings Effective from April 1, 2023-June 30, 2023

Commenting on the report, L Badri Narayanan, Executive Partner, LKS, said, "While the new proposed TDS changes bring in the much needed recognition for online gaming, the compliance complexities do pose a challenge. The application of two different tax deduction changes within the same financial year may result in massive confusion for players who may inadvertently not be able to comply or end up losing money. It may also lead to a mismatch between the winnings reported by OGIs and actual taxable net winnings of the users. Additionally, it would require significant education of the 20+ crore online gaming players, which would be an arduous task.

He added, Historically, when such changes are carried out, only one regime change is prescribed to allow for sufficient time to implement. The Government should ideally conduct industry consultations to understand their concerns and notify the rules accordingly.

According to the whitepaper, the proposed solution to these probable issues would be that threshold amendments to Section 194B should be brought into effect from July 01, 2023 for a smooth transition as has been the practice for earlier amendments. It is also crucial that the tax return filing process for users at the end of the financial year remains seamless. The report also proposes certain principles that may be adopted for calculation of net winnings, reflecting upon the intent of bringing these amendments.

The government and the industry can reap the benefits of this sunrise sector, provided all the concerns are addressed in a holistic manner. India has emerged as a pioneer in the online gaming industry, contributing over Rs 22,000 crore in revenue to the exchequer. With a projected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 38%, the industry has the potential to empower the Make in India and Brand India vision.
In 2002, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira published a book entitled The Emerging Democratic Majority. Judis and Teixeira posited that historic voting patterns, urbanization, and growing minority populations could lead to Democrat party electoral dominance. However, the Democrats misinterpreted could to mean would and missed the point of the book. It wasnt telling them what would happen. It was suggesting what could happen, if they played big tent politics.

Due to that misinterpretation, their book became the holy grail of the Left -- and a big justification for keeping our borders open. All the Democrats had to do was flood the country with enough people of the preferred demographic, and theyd never lose another election -- so they thought. And since electoral dominance was destiny, the Dems decided to charge ahead and indulge all of their leftist fantasies. What could possibly go wrong? After all, Judis and Teixeira promised them that they had it in the bag.

It turns out plenty could go wrong. Teixeira has been sounding the alarm for some time now. In 2021 when he wrote Will Census Trends Save the Democrats? he noted that voting patterns, especially among Hispanics, were shifting towards Republicans. He explained, and Im paraphrasing: When he and his pal John said the Dems were on the right path in 2002, it wasnt meant as advice to make a hard Left turn onto another path leading to something America is not.

He argued that the Democrat partys embrace of radicalism isnt a winning argument with the emerging demographics who wanted things like health, freedom, and prosperity. Those are the things that make America great -- but are anathema to the left.

Teixeira recently wrote a three-part series of articles in which he recommends a political strategy to the Dems (here, here, and here). He gets into several specifics, but the thumbnail version is to distance themselves from the radicals and cozy up to the normies. The normies are what Teixeira calls common working-class Americans -- i.e., mainstream Americans. Isnt it interesting that what the Democrats call right-wing extremists (or even semi-fascist) is what Teixeira considers the normal people? Theres a message for the party in that.

Teixeira offers up three points of strategic advance:

Move to the center on cultural issues

Promote an abundance agenda

Embrace patriotism and liberal nationalism

Culture

On point 1, Teixeira argues that the no compromise radicalism of the Left is losing the cultural debate. He says:

Culture matters and the issues to which they are connected matter. They are a hugely important part of how voters assess who is on their side and who is not; whose philosophy they can identify with and whose they cant.

Teixeira notes that supporting violent criminals, rioters, illegal aliens, DEI initiatives, and gender-affirming care is not aligned with normie values. He argues that the Democrats have embraced radical positions, because leftists have oversized influence on the party. That influence is driving the Democrat party to lose touch with the normies, who are still the vast majority of American voters.

Teixeira recommends that the Democrats remake themselves into the normie party -- the party that represents mainstream American values. He puts the issue succinctly:

Democrats need to convince them (the normies) that they are not looked down on, that their concerns are taken seriously and that their views on culturally freighted issues will not be summarily dismissed as unenlightened.

In other words: listen to them, dont cancel them.

Abundance

On point two Teixeira says that the Democrats have an abundance problem. He explains:

Abundance means just what you think it means: more stuff, more growth, more opportunity, being able to easily afford lifes necessities with a lot left over. In short, nicer, genuinely comfortable lives for all.

Hes getting really close to what should be an epiphany for Democrats. Voters want to be prosperous -- surprise! However, his research shows that voters are not happy about their current state. They are increasingly concerned about their ability to buy a home, start a business, or care for their family.

Teixeira notes that the Democrat agenda seems at odds with promoting business growth -- which is required for economic prosperity. As an example, he points out Senator Joe Manchins permitting reform legislation. It would have streamlined permitting for many new business ventures, but it was killed by Manchins fellow Democrats. To the normies, when the Democrats take such positions, they dont appear to care about economic prosperity.

Relative to the issue of economic prosperity, Teixeira gives the Democrats credit for messaging. Theyre talking about the right things. But he notes that conditions on the ground dont match the messaging -- and the voters know it. He doesnt say it, but I will: The gaslighting isnt working.

Patriotism

On the third point of his strategy, Teixeira claims that the Democrats have lost their patriotism bona fides. He says:

Its kind of hard to strike up the band on patriotism when youve been endorsing the view that America was born in slavery, marinated in racism and remains a white supremacist society, shot through with multiple, intersecting levels of injustice that make everybody either oppressed or oppressor on a daily basis.

He recognizes that America is not perfect, but suggests that inspiring patriotism is a sounder electoral strategy than condemning the country that most voters still love.

Teixeira claims that the Democrat party should promote:

nonsectarian, quasi-religious faith based around national symbols, founding documents and ideals, holidays, heroes, epic events, rituals and stories that has bound -- and can bind -- Americans together across social and regional divisions.

Imagine that. A winning American electoral strategy should include:

A return to founding principles rather than pursuing socialism

Honoring those who created our country rather than tearing their statues down

Celebrating our past accomplishments rather than dwelling on our mistakes

Working to make America better

Ruy Teixeira is a really smart guy and hes done a great deal of research to support his recommendations. He is recommending a right turn for the party of the left -- to return to a path of electoral viability. The Democrats would be well advised to pay close attention to him -- as would the Republicans too. The short version of his advice is to:

Moderate culturally

Embrace that which creates prosperity

Celebrate America unabashedly

That sounds a bit like MAGA, no?

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He has written for American Thinker, and American Free News Network. He can be followed on Facebook or reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: Center for Americna Progress
No, not crazy at all. Let me explain.

A year ago, I wrote about taking the road less traveled and joining my adventure traveling son on a trip to Iraq. This year the destination was next door in Iran. For my son, it is his 154th country and for me a chance for some father-son time off the beaten track.

The author in front of the Imam Mosque in Isfahan, Iran

There is nothing wrong with a ski or beach vacation, but what an opportunity it is to visit a country that has been prominent in American news since the revolution and hostage crisis in 1979 during the reign of the hapless President Jimmy Carter.

Similar to Iraq, the US State Department issues this warning, Do not travel to Iran due to the risk of kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens. Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions.

Canada says the same, Avoid all travel to Iran due to the volatile security situation, the regional threat of terrorism and the possibility of arbitrary detention. You should consider leaving by commercial means if you can do so safely.

Also like for last years trip, friends and family thought I was crazy and would possibly die. I was advised to have my affairs in order. At the time of this writing, I am back home, very much alive and well.

We flew to Istanbul, as we did last year, for some sightseeing and time for my son to work remotely using reliable internet access. The internet is trickier in Iran due to sanctions and many websites are not reachable without a VPN. We flew to Iran in the wee hours of the morning. After clearing immigration, we were met by an official man in a suit escorting us to his office. Oh, oh, the warnings were coming true.

But rather than being arrested or interrogated, he offered us chocolates and wanted the name of our guide, who was waiting for us at the airport. For Americans visiting Iran, a guide is required, one certified by the government. Americans cannot visit and galivant on their own, instead only with a guide, which is something we would have done anyway.

Our guide was my sons age and a walking textbook about Iranian history, culture, and anything else we wanted to know. After a short sleep our adventure began.

A visa is also required, and an e-visa takes about 5-6 months to obtain, so plan early. We had no trouble here and our guiding company assisted with the process.

Our first stop in Iran was Shiraz. Then to Persepolis, the palace home to Kings Darius and Xerxes in around 500 BC. Xerxes is the Persian villain in the movie 300. The palace was mostly burned to the ground by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Talk about history! Walking the same ground as Xerxes and Alexander once did.

American history is 2-3 hundred years old, and in many places far shorter. In the Middle East, history is 2-3 thousand years old.

Next was to Yazd, the city of wind catchers, an ancient means of air conditioning. This is well needed in the hot dessert climate of Iran. Then on to Isfahan, home to the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the second largest plaza in the world, surrounded by beautiful mosques (see photo) and palaces. Finally, to Tehran, a bustling city of 9 million, the second largest city in the Middle East behind Cairo. Anyone that complains about traffic in American cities should spend a day in Tehran to see what traffic is really like.

The food was delicious - kebabs, saffron rice, and a variety of stews and soups. Shopping included a Persian rug, turquoise and other Iranian jewelry, saffron, and delicious baklava. Just as in Iraq, I needed and got a local haircut, a fun and interesting experience. Visiting a local barbershop is a unique way to experience local culture.

Lastly was a visit to the former US embassy in Tehran, seized and abandoned during the 1979 revolution, now a museum with a variety of colorful anti-American murals adorning the walls of the embassy grounds.

The death to America chants are political talk, we were told, a standard ending to political speeches, similar to how our politicians end their speeches with God bless America. Separating people from politics, the people dont take such rhetoric seriously and love America and its people but are not enamored with their or our political leaders. Neither am I.

President Obama is no favorite of Iranians, his sanctions throwing cold water on a prosperous economy, made worse by COVID lockdowns which closed Iran to visitors for close to two years.

Regarding nuclear weapons, the sense I got was that Iranians realize they are living in a dangerous neighborhood including some countries that have their own nuclear weapons. They also observe US interventionalist policies and what that could mean in the future given what the US did to Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine with either direct military intervention or proxy wars.

Perhaps not unreasonably, Iran wants the deterrent self-protection of having their own nukes in case a present or future US president decides democracy or regime change is necessary for a country 10 times older than America. I can appreciate their perspective and concern. If I lived in a dangerous neighborhood, self-defense would be a priority.

We felt completely safe during our entire time in Iran. Politics and governments aside, the Iranian people we met love Americans and were both surprised and appreciative of our visit. They asked that we tell our fellow countrymen to visit Iran.

The womens protests are long over and while most women still wear a hijab of some sort, many do not and dress as westerners. The morality or religious police have been shut down as a concession after last Septembers protests.

But there is no doubt who is in charge, with ubiquitous posters around town of the two Supreme Leaders, Ayatollahs Khomeini, and Khamenei. We walked past the madras where Khomeini was educated. Unlike America where we have separation of church and state, in Iran, the church is the state.

All in all, it was a great trip, experiencing the culture, history, food, and most of all the welcoming Iranian people. Safety was never an issue and I felt far safer in Iran than I would in downtown Denver. For any adventure travelers looking for a unique trip off the beaten path, skip the beach and venture to Iran. Carpe diem!

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a physician and writer.

Photos and videos of my travels are on Instagram bjoons_adventures

Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor

Truth Social @BrianJoondeph

LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph
Most of the world is focused on the war in Ukraine, which has created political unrest in most western countries. Although it feels as though Russia is under a microscope, there is a lot of Russian politics that the media has not discussed. One of these things is that there are rivals to Putin, one of whom is Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The Munich Security Conference took place two weeks ago. Although Russian officials are usually invited, this year that changed.

Due to Russias invasion of Ukraine, organizers decided to invite Russian politicians pushing to replace Putin. Those guests included multiple Russian exiles, including the ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov; Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of the slain Russian politician Boris Nemtsov; and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the lapsed oligarch who towers over the rest, primarily due to his being singled out as one of the potential new leaders of Russia should Putin fall.

Once Russias richest man and the head of the now-defunct oil giant Yukos, Khodorkovsky has become one of Russias biggest political whistleblowers. In 2003, he was arrested for alleged financial fraud after funding opposition leaders and independent media in Russia and spent a decade in prison before Putin finally pardoned him. (He was also formally accused of murdering the mayor of the city where Yuko, was headquartered, although that charge went nowhere.)

After Putins pardon saw him released from prison, Khodorkovsky initially vowed to stay out of politics. However, he has since publicly criticized Putin.

Image: Mikhail Khodorkovsky. YouTube screen grab.

A couple of years before the 2018 elections, when Vladimir Putin was once again voted in as the President of Russia, Mikhail Khodorkovsky launched the online project Instead of Putin, which received significant media coverage. However, he failed to attract a significant audience within Russia and, in the end, offered no real alternative to the ubiquitous image of a topless Russian president riding a horse.

When the site put up a list of potential candidatesa list that did not include KhodorkovskyAlexei Navalny won. Putin then quickly barred him from running as a candidate. Navalny later ended up in prison after being found guilty of large-scale fraud (do you see the pattern here yet?). Some believe that Navalnys challenge to Putins political power cost him his freedom.

Currently, the Instead of Putin site provides free and anonymous legal advice. Unfortunately, its not a very popular service, considering that, over the last nine years, lawyers have won only around ten million rubles, or $130,000, for their clients.

Former Yukos partner Leonid Nevzlin calls Khodorkovsky his friend but, on his personal Russian-language Telegram channel, out of 740 messages, only 14 mention Khodorkovsky. Such meager support for a friend with political ambitions indicates that even Nevzlin is distancing himself from Khodorkovskys activities. Russian Telegram groups distribute independent media, and Russian authorities have tried to block them. However, these efforts have mostly failed.

Despite losing most of his $15 billion fortune while in prison, Khodorkovsky, working with his ex-partners and managers, has managed to make many profitable investments to finance his activities against Putin. Because he uses his wealth to fight against Putin, the West sees his activities as a form of atonement for the former business oligarch.

Unlike his former Yukos associates, Khodorkovsky is the only one who uses his wealth to undermine Putins power in Russia. Indeed, he funds most free-speech media and investigative projects in Russia today. Its dangerous for those working on these projects. A trio of Russian journalists was assassinated in the Central African Republic while investigating Wagner, a Russian paramilitary organization.

Khodorkovsky is said to be a tough businessman, willing to push to get those media projects a good audience and to ensure that they are well funded. This is why these are so effective in Russia.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Khodorkovsky has been unwavering in his support for Ukraine, urging the West to supply Ukraine with more weapons in its fight against Russia. If and when Ukraine prevails in the war against Russia, observers expect a power struggle in Moscow. Many consider Khodorkovsky to be a likely successor to Putin.

Khodorkovsky continues to promise stability and democracy for Russia. It helps that he has support from many other exiled politicians who work with him to support Ukraine.

The people within Russia are very aware of him. Although they might not openly support his efforts to become president, he has already positioned himself as a frontrunner. He is already building a network within Russia, ready to strike when the iron is hot for the seat of power.

What helps is that Khodorkovsky has something that no other Russian oppositionist has: the ability to attract the best people and manage large structures. He has a proven talent for business leadership. He continues to show that he is a good strategist and tactician as he navigates these political waters.

Still, despite his abilities, he must enlist the support of a significant part of the national elite if he is to win. So far, though, it seems that the charismatic Khodorkovsky has more supporters in Washington, London, and Brussels than in Moscow. Putin has effectively cut off most of Khodorkovskys contacts within Russia.

Some of whats standing in Khodorkovskys way is that his close circle, made up of former Yukos founders, has almost no political capital in Moscow. Leonid Nevzlin, who lives in Israel, manages litigation and watches the investments. Alexey Golubovich, who lives between Italy and Great Britain, has earned an indulgence in Russia thanks to his controversial testimony against Yukos. He only occasionally visits Russia to ensure a direct connection between Khodorkovsky and current officials, a silent network that even includes some generals.

The only people around Khodorkovsky who have political capital are human rights defenders in Russia, and the politicians the former oligarch once funded. However, new Russian laws are censoring these people, which once again puts Khodorkovskys effective support outside Russian borders. Its hard to build a political team under these circumstances.

However, even with the odds stacked against him, Khodorkovsky has proven his ability to navigate politics. His business skills and network make him a person of value in reintegrating the Russian economy into the greater world economy.

Putin cannot last forever. Once his rule ends, Khodorkovsky will undoubtedly occupy one of the political positions, whether president or prime minister.
A few weeks back I went online to RSBN to tune into the solemn and yet very enlightening funeral for Lynette Diamond Hardaway of Diamond and Silk fame. The funeral expenses were paid for entirely by Donald J. Trump, and the former President also attended the funeral, sitting alongside the Hardaway family.

I discovered that Silk possessed a very commanding presence of her own. While being somewhat eclipsed by the presence of her more animated Irish-twin, Diamond, it was evident that she could handily proceed with the Diamond and Silk brand in Diamonds absence. I also learned a great deal more about the rich history of the Hardaway clan.

The closing speaker was of course, Donald J. Trump. He spoke about getting to know the Hardaway family, the Silk that he realized he didnt know, and his commitment to addressing Black concerns. What was deemed most interesting in the Presidents speech was when he humbly revealed that he didnt know how to address us. Black people.

At around the 3 hour and 50 minute mark the President reveals to the attendees that he always felt ignorant with regard to how to address the Black community.

I always used to ask -- what do you like better -- African American?... Black? You know there are many different terms. They said We like Black -- because I was always saying African American.

Upon hearing this revelation, I could not help but admire his willingness to admit that he didnt know, as well as having the humility to ask. Id never heard a politician ask before. This is what sets Donald Trump apart from politicians. He is not a politician. He has offered himself to Americans as a man of the people, and in keeping with that persona, he admitted that he just didnt know. And how could he know? After all, in over a rather condensed period of time, wed gone from Colored to Negro to Black to African American. Id be confused too if I werent Black.

The truth of the matter is that as a Black woman in her sixties, I have never in my life -- not once -- heard a Black person refer to another Black person as African American. It simply isnt a part of our common, day-to-day vernacular. If a Black person is telling a story about the guy at the outdoor produce stand, the Black person on the listening end might ask Which one... the Black guy?

He is not going to ask, Which one, the African American guy?

Moreover, when engaging Black people, Ive never heard any other ethnic group refer to us as anything other than Black. Its quite acceptable, and Ive never heard anyone protest being referred to as such, as it relates to ethnicity.

So again, the White friend on the listening end is likely to respond in kind

Which one the Black guy?

The question now becomes, where did this come from? Who ushered in the misnomer that African American was what the masses of Blacks preferred to be addressed as?

The answer to that question would be the Reverend Jesse Jackson.

I remember this quite clearly in the 1980s, but to validate my memory Ill cite a 1989 article from the New York Times. This article reports on Jesse Jacksons movement to refer to Blacks as African Americans. The article effectually reports that:

Some say they do not identify with Africa and resent prominent Blacks telling them what to be called.

Therein lies a truth that has become evident in the age of the 2023. I am personally not averse to identifying with the continent of Africa, however, I found myself vexed by Jacksons misguided, if not high-minded and authoritative, attempt to speak for us. I dont even recall Jackson ever asking us what we wanted. In his highness, he simply ran with and projected his own desires.

What ultimately ensued was a journalistic colloquialism that was never in sync with grassroot Blacks. This vernacular ushered in by Jackson, has become the standard by which to refer to us on television, in print media, and in academia. It was not something that we asked for, and subsequently, we never adopted it. To be quite frank, I think its high time that it went away. As easily as the term Negro, and Colored vanished from our reading materials, the same can be accomplished with the dated and ultimately rejected byword, African American. Most of us prefer to be called Black. I personally adore the word. I consider it abbreviatedly powerful. In the end, the people have already proven that Jesse Jackson was incorrect in his assertions.

I applaud President Trump for admitting that he needed to ask because he wasnt sure. It was refreshing. He also admitted to pondering if he should shed tears at the funeral if he felt it welling up in his spirit. But he concluded that the media would have a field day with it. What this tells me was that crying may have indeed been in his spirit after the death of Diamond, and perhaps he may have done so in private.

The more I see of President Trump, the more evident it becomes that he is not a manufactured automaton telling the people what they want to hear, and doing otherwise. He has profound moments of humility. He is listening to us. He seeks to execute change. He seeks to understand, and not render himself foolish or self-absorbed.

Thank you for asking, Mr. President. We prefer Black.

Image: White House
Self-deprecating humor can be charming when the person making the joke is being modest  dimming the brightness of his own shining light for the purpose of being humble. But in a person whose stature is already questionable, self-deprecating humor only serves to emphasize the speaker's limitations. And when the humor is clumsily delivered, it actually makes the audience uncomfortable, feeding a mixture of pity and disgust.

While speaking to, and buttering up, an audience of firefighters yesterday, the president of the United States came close to making a Kinsley gaffe  accidentally telling the truth about his damaged mental state. Making it worse, he got lost in midsentence, paused awkwardly, and went on to deliver the joke that doctors wanted to see if he had a brain.

And I had these terrible headaches, was diagnosed with having a  anyway  they had to take the top of my head off a couple of times to see if I had a brain.

See for yourself:

So damaging to Biden was this close brush with the awful truth of his mental decline that Twitter users questioned whether or not it was a deep fake:

A website called Misbar, which claims that it has debunked several deep fakes of Biden videos, checked it out and determined that the segment was genuine

Misbars Analysis Misbar investigated the viral video and found the claim to be true.

Every intelligence service of every government in the world now knows what the American mass media still deny to the public here: that a sitting president is in severe mental decline, cannot speak a string of coherent sentences on his own, and is likely not in charge of his presidency.
After the Supreme Court correctly held that the question of abortion belongs to the states, rather than being a constitutional right, thirteen states made abortion illegal. In addition to the total ban states, there are states in which abortion becomes illegal at a set number of weeks or upon viability. Therefore, Walgreens announced that it would not ship the abortion drug to 20 states that ban or severely limit abortion. An outraged Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California would never do business with Walgreens again. If only hed spoken with his staff first because he now looks like a fool.

Walgreens, which was founded in Chicago in 1901, became very popular during Prohibition when it sold prescribed medicinal whisky, which was a legal thing to do at the time. By the 1930s, it had expanded to 30 of Americas 48 states. It is a fixture across the American landscape, even though its now a subsidiary of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, a British, American, and Swiss holding company.

Image: Early Walgreens sign in San Antonio, Texas, by Theopolisme. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Last week, Walgreens lost its street cred on the woke side of things when it was reported that Walgreens will not violate the law in those 20 states in which there are total bans or stringent limitations on abortion:

Walgreens on Friday said it will not distribute abortion medication in 20 states, bowing to pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers and lawsuits targeting the legality of medication abortion. The company said it will not dispense mifepristone, the first of two drugs in the medication abortion process, in 20 states following a February 1 letter from GOP attorneys general in those states.

That makes perfect sense. Walgreens does not intend to violate the law as to a matter that the Supreme Court has declared belongs solely to the discretion of the individual states.

However, for Californias boy governor, Gavin Newsom, Walgreens decision to abide by the law was a body blow, and he struck back. No more Walgreens for California, he announced via a tweet:

California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk.



We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023

What Newsom is announcing is coming perilously close to violating the Commerce Clause, because he's financially penalizing a private corporation for following the law. But theres a more immediate problem for Newsom than that: he forgot to talk to his staff before making his bold, woke point on behalf of the unlimited abortion his party so loves.

It turns out that his staff has absolutely no idea how the bosss ban is supposed to work:

When asked what tangible actions would result from Newsom's online proclamation, a spokesperson for the governor's office told SFGATE: "California is reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state. We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls." When pressed for more details about what relationships currently exist between California and Walgreens, Newsom's office did not reply. The same is true for other media outlets that contacted Newsom's office about his tweet.

Newsoms unforced error is amusing, of course, but it is a useful reflection of the homogeneity Democrats demand for America. The concept of the states as laboratories of democracy is anathema to the left, and its easy to see why.

Leftists cannot take the risk that people will do well in those states that reject leftism. It is unacceptable to them that Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and other states that (mostly) refuse to embrace leftist ideology are thriving, even as the hard-left states (California, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, etc.) are becoming basket cases of poverty, drugs, crime, and despair. People like Newsom are terrified that the truth might set free those Americans trapped in Democrats micromanaged hellholesso Walgreens, which is complying with its obligations in a federal system, must go.
When the Washington, D.C. City Council overrode the veto of Mayor Muriel Bowser and made into law a "criminal justice reform" bill that would have reduced mandatory minimum sentences, made serious felonies into misdemeanors, and overwhelmed the courts by allowing jury trials for many misdemeanors, they unconsciously laid a no-win trap for President Biden and the Senate Democrats.

Because Congress and the president have the ability to override D.C. laws, and because House Republicans quickly "pounced"(as the prog cliche inevitably has it) and passed a bill to override it, Biden and Senate Dems would either have to concur and override it  thereby enraging the pro-criminal SJW bullies  or be seen as endorsing a lunatic bill that would quickly escalate the already intolerable level of crime in the nation's capital. So toxic was the bill that 31 House Democrats voted with the GOP, flouting party discipline and dealing a blow to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who lives in the long shadow of iron-willed Nancy Pelosi.

Characteristically, Biden dithered. At first, Biden told Senate Democrats last Thursday that he wouldn't veto the bill. That put Senate Dems, who control the majority, in the hot seat. Senators Manchin, Casey, and Fetterman had all announced support, but if it came down to an override vote following Biden's veto, every Dem up for re-election in 2024  all 20 of them  would be caught having to take responsibility for the bill if they voted no. That would label them "soft on crime." And if they voted yes, that would alienate the noisiest and most aggressive portion of their base.

Politico:

Biden's lack of a veto threat might open the floodgates on the D.C. crime vote. Several Democrats predicted an overwhelming margin of support to roll back some of D.C.'s recent progressive crime measures. "I think that's where most of the caucus is. Most of the caucus sees the mayor in a reasonable position as saying: 95 percent of this is really good, some of this is problematic. And we need to keep working on it," Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said after the meeting.

Somebody among the puppeteers running the Biden presidency must have told him that if he really is running for re-election, he would lose a lot of undecided and even some Democrat voters over his soft-on-crime position at a time when people are worried about their personal safety, so he abruptly reversed himself. The New York Times:

President Biden said on Thursday that he would not stand in the way of a Republican-led proposal to block a new criminal code for the District of Columbia, steering clear of a veto fight over a measure he had opposed in a move that underscored the rising political potency of public alarm about violent crime.

So now Biden risks alienating the Squad, the felon vote, and the pro-crime SJWs. And Senate Dems still have to take a position on the D.C. crime bill that will alienate voters no matter which way they vote.

Having created this problem, the dimwits on the D.C. City Council are attempting to undo the damage they have inflicted on their party.

DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Monday wrote a letter to the Senate attempting to withdraw the district's criminal reform legislation from congressional review after it became clear the Senate intended to nix the legislation. "This morning, I delivered a letter to the Senate withdrawing the criminal code reform commission legislation," Mendelson said during a news conference on Monday. "It's clear that Congress is intending to override that legislation and so my letter, just as I transmit bills for their review, withdraws from consideration the review."

But there is a big problem. The federal law granting limited home rule to D.C. does not allow for the D.C. government to withdraw a bill already up for review by Congress and already disapproved by one house of Congress:

A senior Republican aide said the GOP still expects a Senate vote this week to halt the local legislation. Another leadership aide added: "Not only does the statute not allow for a withdrawal of a transmission, but at this point the Senate Republican privileged motion will be acting on the House disapproval resolution, rather than the DC Council's transmission to the Senate. We still expect the vote to occur."

The ridiculous bill was so toxic that D.C.'s progressive mayor saw the problems and vetoed it. But the City Council was so in thrall to the pro-crime faction of its party that it blew its chance to self-correct. Now all that's left is a protracted futile struggle to undo the damage, which can only add more publicity to the issue.
China's limited defense spending aims to safeguard sovereignty, security and devt interests: spokesperson

09:45, March 07, 2023 By Liu Xuanzun ( Global Times

An anti-submarine patrol aircraft attached to a naval aviation regiment under the PLA Southern Theater Command takes off for a recent training exercise, which aims to hone the skills and combat capabilities of the troops. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Qin Qianjiang)

China's limited national defense spending is completely set to safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, a military delegation spokesperson said at the ongoing two sessions on Monday, after the country announced its plan to raise the defense budget by 7.2 percent in 2023.

Foreign media should look at their own countries' military expansions before hyping the "China threat" theory, analysts said.

Tan Kefei, a spokesperson of the People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police delegation to the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, made the remarks when asked by a journalist about this year's defense budget arrangement amid a changing world, in which instability and uncertainty are significantly increasing and countries including the US have greatly hiked their military budgets.

The Chinese government adheres to the policy of coordinated development of national defense development and economic development, and it reasonably sets the scale of defense expenditure based on the needs of national defense and the development level of the national economy, Tan said.

In recent years, China has maintained moderate increases of its defense spending as its economy kept a healthy development, promoting the simultaneous improvement of national defense and economic strength, the spokesperson said.

The increased defense spending will be used to comprehensively enhance military training and combat preparedness, consolidate the integrated national strategic system and capabilities, Tan said.

It will also be allocated to speed up the development of modern logistics, carry out major projects in national defense technology and weaponry, as well as accelerate the conversion of technology toward combat capability, he said.

In addition to consolidating and expanding the results of national defense and military reform, the defense expenditure will also improve the work, training and living conditions of the troops, adapting to the level of the country's economic and social development, Tan said.

China adheres to a path of peaceful development, pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and participates in the UN's military expenditure transparency system by submitting annual reports for the previous fiscal year since 2008, the spokesperson said.

Foreign media like the Financial Times on Sunday claimed that China's military budget outpaces other spending in shift to security.

Compared with major military powers like the US, China's defense expenditure is relatively low in terms of the proportion of GDP, proportion of national fiscal expenditure, per capita and per military personnel, Tan said.

Observers said that China's defense budget has been kept less than 1.5 percent in recent years despite the world's average being 2 percent, not to mention the US' figure that nears 4 percent.

Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times that China kept a low defense spending and focused on economic development before the start of the 21st Century.

To ensure China has a national defense that can safeguard the fruits of its economic development, it is reasonable to increase military budget now and make up for what was lost, Fu said.

China still has a lot of room to increase its military expenditure, but it chose not to because it is a responsible major country, analysts said.

Foreign media should not hype the "China threat" theory with the excuse of the country's defense budget, instead they should look at their own countries' growing military expenditures as well as aggressive military expansions, observers said.

(Web editor: Liang Jun, Hongyu)
Last month, one of many Super Bowl ads called on Americans to say "Thank You" to Canada for all it has contributed to our world.

Unfortunately, one of those contributions is a disturbing devotion to euthanasia.

Euthanasia is defined as the intentional killing of a patient suffering from an "incurable and painful disease" or in an irreversible coma. The practice is still illegal in most countries; Canada is an exception.

Once termed "physician assisted suicide," our northern neighbors legalized this procedure in 2016 for informed and consenting adults who have a "grievous and irremediable condition." There were safeguards that required that the request be made in writing before two witnesses, the ability to withdraw the request, and a ten-day reflection period before the procedure could take place.

According to the government's recent report, 31,666 people have been put to death since legalized physician-assisted suicide was passed. It now makes up 3.3% of all the deaths in the country. Of note in the report is that physician-assisted deaths in 2021 represented a "growth rate of 32.4% over 2020."

Everyone knows what happened in 2021: the COVID-19 lockdowns and shutdowns, the uncertainty, the loss of friends, of social activity, of daily routines, and ultimate control over one's own life. No doubt the fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and disruption, combined with social isolation, have affected the mental health of millions. And not just for the elderly.

A just released report from the Centers for Disease Control indicates, according to The New York Times, that "[n]early three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, double the rate of boys, and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide." In fact, more than one in five of these students reported attempting suicide.

Depression, sadness, suicidal thoughts, and so many other troubling psychological problems seem to be affecting more of society.

In Canada, young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness and/or substance use disorders than any other age group according to The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital. Their research indicates in any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness. By the time Canadians reach 40 years of age, 1 in 2 have  or have had  a mental illness.

Amid this disturbing increase in mental illness, especially among young people, Canada expanded its physician-assisted suicide, now termed Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). In 2021, the height of the COVID social upheaval, the Legislature expanded the eligibility of MAID to the following ailments:

have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability (excluding a mental illness until March 17, 2023)

be in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability

have enduring and intolerable physical or psychological suffering that cannot be alleviated under conditions the person considers acceptable

Physical or psychological suffering? What is the difference between psychological suffering and mental illness? This could describe millions, especially since COVID.

One of the most disturbing of all aspects of the MAID report is that in 2021, 2.2% of the total number receiving assistance in dying were individuals "whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable." In other words, their deaths were not imminent.

The expansion to the mentally ill was to go into effect on March 17, 2023, but thankfully, Canadians received a reprieve from the government until next year. The one-year extension, according to the government, would "provide additional time to prepare for the safe and consistent assessment and provision of MAID where the person's sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness."

Mental illness is not a comorbidity and should not be a death warrant.

In fact, the opposite should be true. These are the most vulnerable in our society, the most susceptible to coercion. And, according to these reports, the people suffering from these issues can be helped in any number of ways.

Ten states in the U.S., including Vermont, have implemented physician-assisted suicide, and some are considering the expansion of their programs to follow the way of our northern neighbors. California governor Gavin Newsom revised his state's law in 2021 to limit the previous 15-day waiting period to just two days. No doubt, he and others look to Canada to see how far they can push the envelope.

Who will speak for these vulnerable individuals who, in a state of depression, indecision, or desperation, will ask the state to help them end the pain? Euthanasia is not the answer.

The chilling words of German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller who criticized and shamed his fellow countryman for not speaking out against Adolf Hitler when he was murdering millions, should be remembered.

In addition to the plan to rid the world of Jews, the Nazis had a euthanasia program that began much earlier and included killing people with mental and physical disabilities considered to be genetically defective and a financial burden on society.

How could we possibly consider allowing these policies to go unopposed? No, thank you, Canada  we cherish the lives of all human beings and must preserve their dignity and right to life at all stages.

Lenore Broughton is the vice president of the Vermont Institute for Human Flourishing.

Image: Hernan Fednan via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Hours ago, Tucker Carlson aired perhaps one of the most important shows in his broadcasting career.

The episode was based on 40,000 hours of security camera footage from Capitol Building from January 6, 2021, provided to Carlson by Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy deserves to be commended for this; his tenure as speaker is looking promising so far.

So what was the key takeaway?

We see Trump-supporters peaceably touring the building like "sightseers," as Carlson called them. We see these people amble around, take photos and selfies, and even pick up pamphlets as you would do in a museum. They were not armed. A vast majority of them did not engage in any kind of property destruction.

Most importantly the police are seen guiding and escorting them around as if they were tourists visiting the location.

Virtually no one in Washington, Republican or Democrat, wanted to see this tape released tonight. pic.twitter.com/YfpvaIZTbn  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 7, 2023

We see Capitol Police officers escorting and giving a guided tour to Jacob Chansley, a Navy veteran who has been consistently portrayed by the mainstream media as the "QAnon Shaman" and the ringleader of the armed insurrection.

We see around nine police officers in close proximity to Chansley and officers opening locked doors for Chansley.

There were no attempts to restrain him, rightly causing him to have the impression that he wasn't breaking any laws. Most citizens look to law enforcement officers as reliable guides in matters of law.

At one point, Chansley even led a prayer of gratitude toward the Capitol Police.

Yet Chansley was eventually arrested and federally charged for "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds" and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.

We also see footage of Officer Brian Sicknick, who the media claimed was bludgeoned by violent Trump-supporters with a fire extinguisher that caused his death.

The death of Sicknick was used by the Democrats and the media to push the "violent insurrection" claim.

Democrats allowed Sicknick's coffin to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda, claiming that it was to honor his memory as a victim. But in reality, Sicknick's corpse was disgracefully used as a platform to amplify their hoax. It was eventually revealed that Sicknick had died of a medical condition and not an injury.

In the footage, we see Sicknick guiding Trump-supporters out of the building. He was walking normally, and he wore a helmet, which contradicts the media narrative that he died of a head injury.

Carlson noted that the footage of Sicknick had an electronic bookmark in the Capitol archives, which he said proves that the Jan. 6 House Select Committee had reviewed that section of the footage.

Yet they purposefully excluded the exculpatory footage during their widely publicized Stalinist hearings and the final report.

The Democrats also claimed that Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) was leading a "reconnaissance mission" through the Capitol building on January 5, 2021, and even showed footage of it. Carlson revealed that Loudermilk was actually giving his constituents a tour of a congressional building.

The media and the Democrats also pushed the hoax of Sen. Josh Hawley fleeing the building in fear of the mob. The clip was shown by the House Select Committee and circulated by the media to make Hawley look like a cowardly weasel. Carlson revealed that Hawley was among several lawmakers who were escorted out of the Capitol by police and that he was the last among the group.

Not all mysteries were solved.

Next, Carlson referred to Ray Epps, the man who was seen inciting Trump-supporters to go into the Capitol the night before the Jan. 6 protests.

Last year, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the FBI's national security branch head, Jill Sanborn, refused to answer a question from Senator Ted Cruz as to whether Epps was Fed.

Sanborn also refused to answer if any FBI agents or confidential informants actively participated in or incited riots or committed crimes.

This was very suspicious.

Had the FBI been innocent, Sanborn would have forcefully rejected Cruz's accusations.

Instead, she applied the standard ploy of concealment without perjuring herself. Dodging such grave allegations reasonably can be regarded as an implicit admission of guilt.

Ray Epps sent a text to his nephew claiming he "orchestrated it." When he was interviewed by the House Select Committee regarding the text, Epps claimed he was already heading back to his hotel when he sent it. But footage that Tucker screened shows that Epps remained at the Capitol for at least a half an hour after dispatching the text. As Carlson noted, lying to congressional investigators is a crime.

Yet unlike the others, Epps wasn't criminally charged or subjected to solitary confinement and other serious punishments.

Also unresolved were the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Ashli Babbitt by a Capitol Police officer called Michael Byrd, which continue to remain unclear because there were no security cameras near the speaker's lobby, where the murder occurred.

Babbitt wasn't armed or physically imposing enough to be perceived as a threat, yet she was murdered.

The media demonized Babbitt as a violent insurrectionist to provide justification for her murder.

Tucker has promised to reveal much more in subsequent days.

Clearly, the "insurrection" was another hoax peddled by the Democrats' D.C. Establishment to give them an excuse to criminalize, intimidate, and eventually destroy their political opposition.

So how will the media react to these revelations?

They will brand Carlson as a conspiracy theorist and will continue to feed their audiences with lies provided by their Democrat masters.

The "insurrection" was one of the many sequels to the Russian Collusion hoax, where the Democrats tried to delegitimize the democratically elected President Trump. The hoax caused the appointment of a special counsel that hung like a sword over the Trump presidency for 674 days and cost taxpayers nearly $32 million. It caused instability and retarded the speed of implementation of the MAGA agenda.

It probably contributed to the Democrats taking back the House in 2018, which led to myriad other hoaxes such as Trump's first baseless impeachment over a call with Ukrainian president Zelensky, where there was no proof of any violations, and the second for "incitement of insurrection."

This January 6 insurrection hoax probably contributed to the Republicans' underwhelming performance during the 2022 midterms.

The "insurrection" being compared to 9-11 and the Pearl Harbor attacks is not merely insensitive to the victims and a vile trivialization. It gives conspiracy theorists reason to claim that the U.S. government orchestrated false flag operations.

None of the propagators of these hoaxes is likely to be punished; they will not even offer a perfunctory apology. In fact, they are thriving.

The persecution of political opponents using hoaxes commonly occurs in third-world totalitarian countries; it is not how one of the world's largest democracies should function.

It has been six years since Donald Trump was sworn in as president, and since then, the nation has been subjected to myriad hoaxes.

Facts are no longer indisputable and shared by everyone. The Democrats have developed echo chambers where their followers are fed with relentless hoaxes, causing them to despise and fear their opponents.

A nation simply cannot survive for long with so many deep divisions.

Photo credit: Twitter video screen grab.
As COVID-19 fades as a public health emergency into a more manageable nuisance like seasonal flu, lingering questions about the disease's origin and our health officials' response have come into play. Questions about the role of the Wuhan Lab, effectiveness of vaccines, lockdowns and masks, and the role of politics in our COVID response need to be explored. The recent revelation that both the FBI and the Department of Energy have now publicly stated that the theory that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan is the most likely explanation for the disease's origin provides a good background for the beginning of House hearings on the origin of the pandemic.

Here are some questions that deserve exploration.

The role of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Did the virus result from a leak in the lab? Did the virus arise in nature, or was it engineered by scientists working in the lab? What is the role of the Chinese military in the work in the lab? Were they using the lab to conduct bio-weapons development? Why was the U.S. government funding research at the Wuhan Lab? What was the role of the U.S. Intelligence Community, if any, in the decision to fund the research? Were we trying to keep track of a Chinese bio-weapons program? Why did the Chinese allow the American scientists access to the lab? What did the Chinese get from this decision? IT CLEARLY WASN'T FOR THE MONEY. China is a wealthy country, and the amounts the Chinese got from the Eco Alliance grants was a pittance for them. The Chinese have been notorious for stealing American intellectual property. Was the real reason they allowed Eco Alliance into the lab that they felt that they needed American expertise to conduct gain of function research?

Public Health Policies: What we have learned.

After three years, what percentage of the U.S. population was exposed to COVID? This figure should include both those who were infected and those who were exposed but never got sick. This asks the most basic question of the mitigation strategies. In the end, did they actually prevent exposure to the disease? What were the risks for differing groups of people categorized by age and co-morbidities? Were healthy people under the age of fifty more at risk from COVID than any other flu-like illnesses, for which we impose no mitigation rules? Why did we shut down in-person learning in schools? Did the costs of this policy outweigh the benefits? Would we have closed the schools if Deborah Birx's grandmother had not contracted the Spanish flu at school when she was eleven years old and transmitted it to her mother, who died from the disease? Dr. Birx said on several occasions that her concern for the nation's children was that some would similarly catch COVID and bring it home to an older relative and live with the guilt for the rest of their lives. She said her mother never got over her guilt, and Dr. Birx, who was the architect of much of the public policy, suggested that keeping children out of schools was not to prevent them from getting sick, but to prevent them from transmitting the disease to the adults in their home and potentially subjecting them to a lifetime of guilt. What has been the impact of natural immunity? What percentage of people were essentially immune to Covid because of previous exposure to corona viruses such as the common cold. Were people with previous infection from covid largely protected against serious illness from future exposures to Covid? Is public health policy simply a matter of science, or is it the process of decision making, balancing costs vs. benefits and risks vs. rewards? What were the medical costs of the mitigation strategies in terms of putting off concern for other medical problems such as cancer screening and other important preventative measures? What were the psychological costs from the lockdowns, including increases in drug abuse, depression, impeded social development of children, and domestic violence? How important is joy in ensuring people's psychological health? What were the costs to children of confining them to their homes with little contact with their friends? How were people affected by preventing them from communal religious activities such as weekly church services? What was the cost of eliminating youth sports? How do you measure the cost of denying people traditional family gatherings such as at Christmas and Thanksgiving? And what of eliminating the simple pleasure of sitting down for a meal at the local diner or having a beer with friends at a local bar?

Vaccines

How effective have the vaccines been? Have they limited the spread of the disease? If so, how much? Have they mitigated the severity of the disease for those who have been vaccinated? Boosted? What have been the side-effects? How are risk/reward calculations affected by age and other conditions of health such as obesity and diabetes? Should healthy children be getting vaccinated considering the potential risk of myocarditis? Should vaccines be mandated? What do we know about the long-term effects of the vaccine? There is a reason that vaccines take years of testing before they are approved. COVID was an emergency situation. It was an economic and social emergency as well as a health crisis. While we know that myocarditis is a short-term effect for a small percentage of vaccination recipients, are there less dramatic effects for other recipients? Will we see higher rates for coronary disease fifteen years from now among those who have been vaccinated?

This is far from a comprehensive list, but it seems like a good place to start. It will be interesting to follow the hearings on COVID, scheduled to start on Wednesday.
Harvard University recently co-hosted a Department of Education event with over 100 of the nation's law school administrators in attendance, to discuss how law schools must be more open and equal, not only in admissions criteria, but in the nature of how law is perceived and applied.

There are over 200 ABA (American Bar Association) law schools in the nation, so about half of the schools were in attendance. They all tended to be the law schools that are especially left of center politically (and eager to follow Yale and Harvard), and otherwise fully aligned with the federal government's agenda concerning new law school ranking criteria and admissions: it promotes a more liberal interpretation of applicant qualifications and encourages students to go into government careers. This is a subject that has generated much debate and opinion (including mine), as it raises a number of issues in higher education.

But the key theme and take-away from this particular event that Harvard and Yale hosted made it clear where all the sudden posturing over equity is coming from concerning law schools: the U.S. Government. And the law schools are quickly and eagerly complying with the current administration's ideology out of self-interest and, to some extent, institutional survival.

What was especially fascinating about this get-together by federal government and law school deans was the Department of Education's mission to make law schools "share data" on all student applicants, in an effort to create an even, homogenous applicant pool that is not segmented by test scores, grades, essay strength or experience but is filtered by race, ethnicity, wealth, and legacy status.

To some extent, I share the sentiment that law schools are not attracting a wide pool of applicants, and they have a limited set of criteria to determine applicant quality, and to predict their success. Many fine lawyers have skills and productive behaviors that are not always captured by test scores and class grades. What is missing on this overall new government initiative, however, is structural, institutional changes that can be made, in order to actually improve the economics of law school graduates  namely, time, cost, and debt. (As Ronald Reagan said, government doesn't solve problems; it merely rearranges them.)

Out of all the grandstanding and idealism that poured forth from the Harvard and Yale event, not one word was mentioned about the law schools themselves as direct causes of student economic burdens. Not one dean stood up and brought to everyone's attention the fact that the rest of the world efficiently trains its lawyers as undergraduates, and often in three years. Britain, Europe, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, and most of Asia and the Middle East all operate an undergraduate (LL.B) law degree program. Israel for example, hosts an outstanding 3.5-year dual-language law degree (English and Hebrew) that also qualifies students to take the N.Y. Bar exam, while also qualifying them to enter practice in many foreign jurisdictions. It cuts time and cost in half, while doubling one's legal qualification in two or more geographic domains and languages.

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., it takes twice the time and twice the cost to get through law school (four years of undergrad plus three years of a graduate school). Do Yale, Harvard, and all the other 200 law schools care? Not only do they not care, but they are fighting to maintain the status quo: rather than make law school more efficient, and saving underprivileged students years of time and six figures of additional debt, they are instead simply relaxing entry standards, and creating a public sector legal mill in order to keep all the law schools busy and professors employed; maintain tuition prices, and feed the federal and state governments with thousands of eager, ideologically indoctrinated young adults fed into a runaway government administrative bureaucracy, guided directly by government standards, government rules, government priorities, and government loyalty. It's truly Uncle Sam, Esq.

Our nation's elite law schools otherwise want to stay elite, and equity is the new elitism. Government administrative bureaucracy is the new symbol of law school prestige, because government will accommodate the redefinition of law in personalized terms, and by personal, rather than objective values. When that happens, there is no law, and when there is no law, the current political left can realize its fantasy of replacing law with absolute control.

Matthew G. Andersson is the author of the upcoming book Legally Blind, concerning ideological effects on law, and is the author of What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Law School. He has testified to the U.S. Senate, and the Connecticut General Assembly concerning higher education. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Image via Pixnio.
On Monday, Tucker Carlson began to release his teams findings about what was in the January 6 footage, challenging the Democrats talking points. He exposed several lies, which may explain why Democrats are panicking and doing everything they can to say that Tucker is the liar. Of course, they dont want the public to see any footage to expose these alleged lies. Instead, they want a return to the status quo of Democrat politicians and media figures controlling the narrative.

Rajan Laad has summarized the many leftist lies Tucker exposed on Monday (with more revelations to come). Chief among them were lies about Jacob Chansley (the so-called QAnon Shaman), who wasnt rampaging madly but had a compliant Capitol police escort through the building; Sen. Josh Hawley, who wasnt a lone figure fleeing the mob but was the last in a line of running congresscritters hustled along by the Capitol Police; Brian Sicknick, who was vigorously walking around, helmet on head, long after Democrats claimed Trump supporters beat him to death; and Ray Epps, whose testimony to the Pelosi J6 Committee does not align with video footage.

Image: Chuck Schumer. C-SPAN screen grab.

Tucker promises more revelations of information that the Democrats and RINOs have kept secret for over two years. With luck, the still-untried J6 detainees, the currently named defendants, and those already convicted for J6 activities will have the chance to review the footage and (if they're shown merely to have walked around in the Peoples house after others -- including the police -- opened the doors for them) be cleared of all charges. (Thats what Trump is demanding.) Remember when America was young, it was understood that government buildings belong to the people, not the politicians.

Democrats and RINOs are terrified of a counternarrative. Although the New York Times disdained even to report on Tucker Carlson, other leftist media outlets and politicians were not above the fray. Chief among them was the Washington Post, which published four articles attacking Tuckers report, three of which I havent read because theyre behind a paywall.

CNN also went into overdrive to counter its having lost control of the narrative:

Tucker Carlson, with help from Kevin McCarthy, tries to sanitize the very real violence of the January 6 attackThe reliable establishment flunky, Oliver Darcy, took umbrage that Tucker exposed the lies about Jacob Chansley, Brian Sicknick, Josh Hawley, and Ray Epps, contending that exposing the lies was itself a lie. From there, he just bashes McCarthy for ceasing to be a good GOP foot soldier.

What to know about the Tucker Carlson January 6 footageHeres the short version of the article: (a) Tucker Carlson didnt run everything by the Capitol Police; (b) Jacob Chansley ignored a request to leave the building; (c) just because Brian Sicknick looked vigorous didnt mean that it wasnt unpleasant earlier to be sprayed with pepper spray; and (d) Democrats and RINOs on the hill are mad at Tucker.

US Capitol Police chief rips into Tucker Carlson over offensive use of January 6 footageas the headline says, US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger claims that Tucker, who had 30 minutes in which to present a distillation of over 41,000 hours of video, cherry-picked. Heres what I can say: Whether its Democrats or Tucker Carlson cherry-picking that video, both the video and Capitol Police testimony revealed a sorry bunch of sniveling, useless peoplealthough, in their defense, as Tucker points out, Pelosi and McConnell made sure the police were understaffed on January 6, which seemed to have driven many either to ineffectiveness or panicked brutality.

The shrillest and most dangerous attack on Tucker, though, comes from Sen. Chuck Schumer, who was absolutely beside himself that the American people got the chance to see something other than the official Democrat narrative about January 6:

Schumers hysteria boils down to this: How dare Tucker respond to the official Democrat cherry-picking with a counternarrative? Schumer wrapped up by insisting that Fox News silence Tuckerin other words, hes trying to get around the First Amendment prohibition on government censorship by insisting that a third party do so on his behalf.

As for me, I remain committed to the idea that all the January 6 footage should be put online for crowdsourcing. Only in that way can we be assured that we know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Its telling that the American public (almost 80% of it) likes that idea, while everyone in the establishmentmedia, Democrats, GOP Republicansfinds the idea abhorrent.
The ability to delete Google Chrome autofill data will soon be rolling out to users globally. This information was made available in a recent post from 9To5Google. Also, a screen recording of this coming ability in action has been made available to the public.

These facts prove that Google is certainly working on a delete feature for autofill data. But it is already possible to delete autofill data from your Chrome browser. So which other delete feature do these recent updates say Google is working on?

This coming feature will give users the ability to delete autofill data at its point of entry. It will be more convenient to use than the already existing Google Chrome autofill data delete feature. Lets take a look at what to expect with this coming autofill data delete feature.

The Google Chrome autofill data delete feature will roll out in the coming weeks

Googles autofill feature is popular among Chrome users globally. This feature helps users quickly fill up passwords or forms online with a simple tap. To make this possible, Google requires the data to be entered once and then saved by the user for future purposes.

Advertisement

Whenever the user needs to fill out the password or details online, Google pulls up his saved data. The user then selects the saved data applicable to the action being carried out. This is a very convenient way for users to input their data while using the Google Chrome platform.

But, there is a need to delete these saved data whenever they are no longer needed. Currently, users need to head over to the Autofill section on the Google Chrome settings page. Here they will find all saved autofill data and then select the ones they wish to delete.

This process is long and hectic, but Google is working on an easier way to delete your Google Chrome autofill data. From available reports, it is clear that a delete button will be provided beside every saved autofill data. When users want to autofill information into a website, all saved data pulled up by Google will come with a delete button.

Certainly, this is a more convenient way of deleting any unnecessary saved autofill data. Some users already have access to test out this coming autofill data delete feature. Over the coming months, this feature will roll out to users around the world via an update.
Samsung ended official support for the Galaxy Note 9 in September last year. That wasnt surprising since the device completed four years in the market in August. Whats surprising or unexpected is that the company is pushing a new software update to the 2018 Note model. Yes, the discontinued Galaxy smartphone is picking up an update six months after Samsung ended official support for it.

Spotted by SamMobile, the Galaxy Note 9 is currently receiving its latest update in the UK and Ireland. Rolling out with the firmware build number N960FXXSAFWB3, the new release brings a fairly recent security patch. The device is getting the February 2023 SMR (Security Maintenance Release).

As of this writing, Samsung hasnt released the March SMR for Galaxy devices, though it is already available. So the Galaxy Note 9 is technically receiving the latest security patch.

The February SMR contains more than 50 vulnerability fixes. Seven of those are Galaxy-specific patches that come directly from Samsung. The rest of the patches come from Google and other Android OS partners.

Advertisement

At least five of those were labeled critical vulnerabilities by the Android maker. They could potentially lead to remote code execution if a threat actor exploited them in the wild. The almost obsolete Galaxy Note 9 is protected against all of those vulnerabilities with the latest update.

Samsung is pushing a surprise update to the Galaxy Note 9 in some markets

This update for the Galaxy Note 9 started rolling out in the UK and Ireland about a week ago but hasnt expanded to any other market yet. Considering that Samsung isnt bound to provide official support to the phone, it may not push the latest update in all markets.

The company has pushed updates to discontinued phones globally in the past, but in most of those cases, the update fixed some critical bugs. That doesnt appear to be the case this time around. Rest assured, we will let you know if Samsung brings this release to the US.

As usual, your Galaxy Note 9 will notify you when a new update is available. You can also manually check for updates from the Settings app. Since this device isnt guaranteed updates in the future, you should upgrade to a newer model.

Advertisement

If the S Pen is a necessity for you, Samsungs new Galaxy S23 Ultra has it as well. It will get official support at least until February 2028  four major Android OS updates and five years of security updates. No other Android smartphone tops that at the moment.
Samsung has started seeding the March 2023 Android security patch to its Galaxy devices. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 series are receiving the latest security update first. This months SMR (Security Maintenance Release) patches more than 60 vulnerabilities.

The February SMR for the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 phones is currently rolling out in Europe. According to the Dutch publication GalaxyClub, the update for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with the firmware build number S91*BXXS1AWBM. That, for the Galaxy S22 trio, is S90*BXXU3CWBE. The rollout should reach other markets, including the US, in the coming days. As usual, the firmware versions may vary according to the market and carrier. The content will remain unchanged, though.

Samsungs official changelogs for these updates only mention the latest security patch. However, the firmware versions as well as the size of the OTA (over-the-air) package suggest theres more. The update for the Galaxy S23 Ultra weighs over 350MB while that for the Galaxy S22+ weighs just shy of 340MB. Other models should also be getting updates of similar sizes. The publication speculates that Samsung is pushing fixes for some bugs that may have snuck onto the devices with the One UI 5.1 update. Galaxy S22 users complained about unnatural battery drain following the update last month.

March security update for Galaxy devices patches more than 60 vulnerabilities

While its unclear if Samsung is pushing any bug fixes with the latest update for the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S23 series, we know the content of the March SMR. The companys official security bulletin reveals that this months security release patches five critical Android OS vulnerabilities, some of which could lead to remote code execution. On top of that, the new SMR also contains fixes for more than 30 high-severity Android OS vulnerabilities.

Advertisement

Lastly, Samsung has patched 23 Galaxy-specific vulnerabilities this month. Called Samsung Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE), these are privacy and security flaws only affecting Galaxy devices. These issues dont exist in Android products from other brands. The Korean firm has patched issues of varying severity across various system apps, services, and components.

These include a high-severity flaw in Galaxy Themes Service that allowed an attacker to access arbitrary files. Another high-severity flaw in SoftSim TA allowed local attackers access to protected data. Other SVEs patches this month affected Settings, Bluetooth, Exynos baseband, Samsung Keyboard, Call application, and more. Samsung will push these fixes to more Galaxy devices in the coming days. We will keep you posted with those updates.
The Huawei P60 series and Mate X3 foldable could launch on March 23. Huawei still didnt officially confirm the launch date, but several sources point that way.

The Huawei P60 series & Mate X3 could launch on March 23

The allegedly-official Huawei P60 promo image surfaced, confirming that date. In addition to that, the Huawei Mate X3 promo image appeared, teasing the March launch. Both of these got shared by a Chinese tipster on Weibo, and are shown below.

Another tipster also said that the event will happen on March 23. He also added that the company will launch new phones, watches, headphones, and so on. So, it will be a big event for Huawei.

Just to be clear, this wont be a global event, though. Huawei will drop these products in China first, and then we may see them launch globally later on. Thats how things have been working for quite some time now.

Advertisement

So, what else, except the Huawei P60 series and Mate X3 could we see? Well, if I had to guess, Id say that the Huawei Watch 4 will arrive, along with possibly the Huawei FreeBuds 5 truly wireless earbuds. Who knows, we may even see the Huawei Band 7.

The Huawei P60 Pro specs appeared a while back

The Huawei P60 Pro specs did surface a while back, though it remains to be seen how accurate that info is. The tip suggested that the phone will use a 6.6-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate.

A 5,000mAh battery was also mentioned, and so was 100W wired charging. The phone will allegedly also offer 50W wireless charging. Now, in regards to the SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was mentioned.

It remains to be seen how true that info is. Do note, though, that even if the phone ends up utilizing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, it wont support 5G connectivity. Another thing to note is that Google services wont be supported, of course. On either the P60 or Mate X3. Huawei will include its own services, though.
Getting a job is never easy, thats just a fact. If youre having difficulties, you may try finding a job using one of the online services available. Thats why weve hand-picked the very best job finding apps for you. Do note that the apps on this list are only our favorites, your opinion may differ, of course.

Having said that, there are nine applications listed down below. Youll also find descriptions for those apps, along with various additional details. There are quite a few useful apps for job finding that are available, and basically all of them are free to use. Finding a job, or the right job, may be difficult, but these apps can surely help you reach your goal. You may be prevented from doing in-person interviews, at least in some cases, so this may be the perfect way to proceed.

Best Job Finding Android apps 2023

Below is a quick overview of the best job finding Android apps for 2023, including any download and in-app purchase costs.

Download Cost In-app cost (per item) ZipRecruiter   Glassdoor   Snagajob   LinkedIn  $29.99-$323.88 JobStreet   CareerBuilder   Indeed   JOB TODAY  $0.99-$399.99 SEEK   Jobandtalent  

Best Job Finding Android apps 2023 Downloads

Below is a little more information on each app, and a direct link for easy downloading.

Advertisement

All download links go to the apps Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.

ZipRecruiter

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

ZipRecruiter is easily one of the best, and most popular job finding applications. Applying for a specific job with this app is incredibly easy, but something worth noting is that this app is region-locked. So, if its not available in your region, youre out of luck, if it is, you have a great way of finding a new job. You can apply in several easy steps. The first thing you need to do is, upload your resume, of course.

Once you do that, you will be able to search for jobs. ZipRecruiter even offers an option to notify you of whats on offer in terms of jobs, on a daily basis. It will also keep you updated on various jobs youve decided to track. The app holds an extremely high rating in the Play Store because its really good at what it does. It will help you find a new job in no time, and the app UI also looks nice, and its highly-functional.

Advertisement

Download ZipRecruiter

Glassdoor

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Glassdoor is, much like ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn, very popular in the world of job finding apps. Its a bit different than both of those services, though. How? Well, for one thing, it provides a ton of information on potential employees and jobs, and the best part, you can actually read company reviews before you apply. Those reviews are issued by former and current employees. That way, you can avoid potentially toxic work environments.

This app acts as a powerful search tool as well. You can search for the newest job listings, and also learn more about the salary and benefits for a job youre interested in. Youll also find expert interview tips and guidance inside this application, just to help you get the job you want. These are only some features that Glassdoor offers, youll find much more on the inside. The design of this is also quite modern, which is worth noting.

Advertisement

Download Glassdoor

Snagajob

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

If, for some reason, you dont need a full-time job, this is the app for you. Snagajob is an excellent app for tracking down part-time jobs. If you already have a main job, and have time for a second one, this is a great option. That is just an example, though. This app will give you access to a jobs database, listing the newest jobs first. It will also do its best to automatically match you with jobs that fit your expertise.

Before you get started, youll need to share some information about you, of course, that is a given. Snagajob also offers a one-click apply feature. There is also a personality quiz included in the equation here, so that you can present yourself in the best light possible. Resumes say a lot, but do not give out the full story. In fact, if you think your personality will come through in a video format, you can even apply that way. On top of that, you can get daily job matches to your inbox.

Download Snagajob

Advertisement

LinkedIn

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $29.99-$323.88

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

LinkedIn is a great tool for both finding a job, and finding employees. This is essentially a social media network for business, and its great at what it does. According to TopResume, 77-percent of recruiters rely on LinkedIn when theyre trying to find prospective job candidates. Thats a really high percentage, considering how many other ways of doing the same thing there are. Recruiters really seem to put their trust in LinkedIn, for a good reason.

Before you can properly look for a job, youll need to set up your profile on LinkedIn. That process is a bit longer than it is on ZipRecruiter, though, as LinkedIn asks for quite a bit of information in the process. From that point on, you can start looking for jobs, and also adding connections to your list. The more connections you have, the better, as it will make things easier, of course. This app also got redesigned recently, and it looks really good now, though the dark mode is still not available.

Download LinkedIn

Advertisement

JobStreet

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

For all those of you who live in Asia, JobStreet is probably the best option. This app / service focuses on the Asian market, and the company has been around for over 20 years. Theyre quite reliable, which is exactly what you need when looking for a job. JobStreet actually claims to work with most companies in the region. It also says that it doesnt really matter if youre a fresh graduate, or an experienced professional, it can help anyone.

This app is great for finding various job types and opportunities. It can help you find an internship, a part time job, or some sort of a management position youre aiming for. The application process is also really. All you need to do is complete a simple profile, and from there, you simply track down and apply. The UI of the app is also really nice, while several menus are laid out at the bottom, so theyre easily reachable.

Download JobStreet

Advertisement

CareerBuilder

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

CareerBuilder website has been quite popular over the years, and the companys app is a great option for mobile phones. CareerBuilder offers excellent filtering options, so that you can pinpoint just the right job for you. There are millions of job postings included here, and you can easily apply to any of them using the companys app. You can filter those jobs by salary, education, qualifications, and experience.

CareerBuilder will also notify you once an employer checks out your application. 1-tap apply is available via the app, while the app itself has a really nice UI. Its very functional, and its pleasing to the eye as well. Do note that this app is region-locked, though, so you may not be able to use it, depending on where you live. If its available in your region, you may want to try it out.

Download CareerBuilder

Indeed

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

Indeed is yet another great tool for finding a job. This app allows you to personalize your searches quite a bit, and gives you access to millions of job postings. You can search for a job in various different ways via this app. You can search it based on the desired job titles even, if thats what you want. If the right salary is what gets you going, and is your priority, search based on that.

You can also select a specific company, and see whats on offer. If youre not willing to relocate, and want a job thats local to you, you can select that as an option as well. Indeed also offers you a chance to follow specific companies, and get updates regarding them that way. You can also create custom alerts for specific jobs, and so on. The app is packed with features, so try it out if youre interested.

Download Indeed

JOB TODAY

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $0.99-$399.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

JOB TODAY is another great option on offer. This app is not only good for possible employees, but also for employers. It gives employers a chance to interview possible employees. The same applies to the reverted scenario, as employees can find out a lot about their employers as well. The apps main feature, though, are job alerts. You can set up job alerts for specific jobs, and you have quite a few options in that regard.

You can look for a retail job, part-time work, or whatever else comes to mind. A short profile is needed, though, but the app does not require you to submit your CV. This app is all about the communication between possible employees and employers, to find the best possible fit. The apps UI is more than decent, its modern, looks nice, and its actually functional as well. That seems to be the case with all the apps on this list, basically.

Download JOB TODAY

SEEK

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

SEEK is another great app to find a job, though this one is specific to Australia and New Zealand. This app can send you notifications daily, with jobs tailored for you. Do note that youll need to share more information about yourself and your expertise, of course. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs available on the platform, and all you need to do is find the right one.

The app will ask you for the role youd like to have in a company, the industry youre looking to get into, and the location youd like to work in (so, Sydney, for example). Based on that, it will share with you jobs that are on offer. You can further refine your results by work time or salary, of course. The process of applying is really simple, and the fact this app is really good-looking only helps things.

Download SEEK

Jobandtalent

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Jobandtalent is a great-looking app. Its really simple to navigate, thanks to the menu at the bottom. Jobandtalent wants to focus on providing long-term job security to its clients. Even if you get fired from a job, or quit, the app will keep you updated on other available jobs, that are in the same domain. Jobandtalent also says that theyre responsible for your employment contract.

The app will also provide you with the support, if needed. You can really simply find a job via this app, and apply for it. The app also allows you to sign a contract digitally, without much fuss. You can book job interviews via the app, and so much more. This app doesnt only help you find a job, but your relationship with the employer goes through it, in a way, which is why youre getting all the extra support.

Download Jobandtalent
SMS may not be nearly as popular as it used to be, but many people still use it. Its still quite essential in a number of ways, and theres a reason why it survived for so long. In some regions, its used more than in others, but many people still use it. If youre using SMS often, chances are you want a really good app to provide you with everything you need. Well, thats why were here.

Down below, youll find a list of 10 apps, 10 best SMS apps, to be exact. Do note that these are only our pics, as there are tons of great SMS apps available in the Play Store (do note that theyre not all replacement for your SMS app, though). If youre one to use SMS more than an instant messaging app, then youre in the right place. Well, Google Messages serves as both, thanks to RCS, but thats a whole different story. In any case, youll find quite a bit of information about each of the apps weve listed, so read on if youre interested.

Best SMS Android apps 2023

Below is a quick overview of the best SMS Android apps for 2023, including any download and in-app purchase costs.

Download Cost In-app cost (per item) Google Messages   Textra SMS  $6.49 chomp SMS  $6.49 Pulse SMS  $0.99-$99.99 Handcent Next SMS  $5.99-$39.99 GO SMS Pro  $0.99-$200 Mood Messenger  $0.99-$14.99 YAATA  $1-$100 Do It Later  $1.99-$41.99 Super Backup & Restore  $1.99

Best SMS Android apps 2023 downloads

Below is a little more information on each app, and a direct link for easy downloading.

Advertisement

All download links go to the apps Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.

Messages by Google

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: No

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

As many of you know, Google has its own SMS app, and its called Messages by Google. This is probably the best choice for all users for one simple reason, its quite straightforward and easy to use. Its not packed with unnecessary features or anything of the sort. On top of that, it looks really nice as well, in line with other Google-made products. That being said, Messages by Google is much more than a simple SMS app.

This application also serves as your RCS tool. RCS is expected to completely replace SMS at some point, and you can get a taste of it thanks to this app. It enables this app to functions similarly to iMessage, in a way. Once you enable RCS, the app will let you know if its sending a message in form of an SMS message, or an instant message via the web. Thats basically what RCS enables. If the contact youre sending a message to has RCS enabled as well, hes going to be able to receive images, videos, GIFs, etc, all via the Internet.

Advertisement

Download Messages by Google



Textra SMS

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $6.49

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Textra is one of the best-looking SMS apps for Android, and one of the most feature-rich ones. This app also performs really well, and it offers tons of customization options for you. You can choose from various different themes, and fine-tune them as well. You can, for example, choose different bubble styles and colors, which is not something many SMS applications enable you to do.

If you want, you can also stop SMS messages as the app is sending them, while the slide-to-delete option is also included, and the same goes for the slide-to-call option. The quick reply SMS popup is also an option here, while there are 21 text sizes you can choose from. Various font options are at your disposal, and the same goes for the message blocker. You can pin your conversations to the top of the list, and much more.

Advertisement

Download Textra SMS

chomp SMS

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $6.49

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

chomp SMS has been an extremely popular app for Android for quite some time now. The best of all, the app did not deteriorate with time, it only got better. Its now one of the best-looking SMS apps for Android, mainly due to its simplicity. The apps design is quite simple, and yet it seems refined. Delicious, the developer behind the app, did not complicate things unnecessarily here.

It does look quite simple, and yet it offers you a lot of customizability options. You can customize the screen color, font style, text size, and even the background wallpaper. The app allows you to pin your favorite conversations to the top, while you can also backup your SMS messages from within the app. The SMS blocker option is included, and the app even allows you to use signatures. Weve only scratched the surface here.

Advertisement

Download chomp SMS

Pulse SMS

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $0.99-$99.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

If you send a lot of SMS messages while youre sitting at your desk, working, why not do it from your desktop computer? Well, Pulse SMS is not the only app that enables this, but it does offer a great experience while you do it. Thats not the only feature this app offers, not even close. Theres quite a long list of them, and well mention some. First and foremost, this is one of the best-looking SMS apps out there.

The animations are extremely fluid, and its just an enjoyable experience overall. There are some customization options here, while you can password-protect private conversations. Automatic message backup and restore is possible with a Pulse account, while you can blacklist spammers with ease. The app does come with dual SIM support, while it also supports delayed sending.

Advertisement

Download Pulse SMS

Handcent Next SMS

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $5.99-$39.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Handcent has been around for a long, long time. The apps latest big iteration brought some much-needed design changes, and it actually looks really sleek now. This app is excellent for theming, as it offers tons of options. You can change the colors, bubble styles, fonts, and much more. Its possible to can change the look of this app to the extreme, and thats not an exaggeration at all.

You can set ringtones for specific notifications, while the app allows you to change LED colors, and vibration patterns as well. There are tons of stickers and emojis at your disposal, while the app comes with full Wear OS support. Handcent also allows you to text from your desktop computer, if thats a feature that you need Free cloud backup is included, and much much more.

Advertisement

Download Handcent Next SMS

GO SMS Pro

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $0.99-$200

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Go SMS Pro is yet another app which allows for extreme customization options. This is also one of the most popular third-party SMS apps. In fact, GO SMS Pro can be a bit overwhelming if youre not interested in fine-tuning your experience, thats how many features it has. You can alter the look of your conversations to the max, as shown in an image above. The app does support dual SIM devices as well.

You can sticky conversations, which essentially means you can pin them. Theres a private box for encrypting messages, while delayed sending is also supported SMS blocker feature is supported for pesky spammers, and the app also has a pop up menu for new messages, and you can customize it. These are only some features this app offers. The app is free to use, but there are tons of in-app purchases you can access.

Download GO SMS Pro

Mood Messenger

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $0.99-$14.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

If you love using emojis, Mood Messenger is an app you should try. There are tons of animated emojis available here, iOS, Android or Emoji One style emojis. That is not this apps main feature, though, of course. This app also offers that simple, clean design that people seem to love. It does come with a dark mode as well, as does pretty much every app on this list well, the vast majority of them.

Mood Messenger does offer you an option of changing fonts and text size, while you can choose between 100 different themes. Changing backgrounds is also an option here, while you can alter bubble shapes and colors too. If you love having full control over notification options, youre in luck. Mood Messenger allows for customizing LED colors, sounds, vibration, and much more.

Download Mood Messenger

YAATA

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $1-$100

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

If youre looking for a really simple, and yet reliable app, that wont bother with tons of features you wont use well, YAATA is a good option. This app may not be as popular as other options on the list, but it sure is good. Also, it does offer quite a few features, but it doesnt go overboard. You can choose between three quick reply styles here, and set custom vibrations as well.

Notification-related customization options are also available, such as ringtones, LED notification light controls, and so on. You can also change swipe actions in the notification shade, if the default ones dont work for you. The apps layout is really nice as well, and you can choose between light and dark variants. A Premium subscription does bring quite a few additional features to the table, if thats something you need.

Download YAATA

Auto Text

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $1.99-$41.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Auto Text is not exactly a replacement for your default SMS app. This is an app that enriches your SMS experience, though, an app that you can use in addition to your general SMS application. So, what does this app do, exactly? Well, it allows you to schedule your SMS messages. You can schedule it to go at a specific time, so that you dont have to do it manually. This is a very useful feature for some, and very few apps offer it.

In addition to that, the app can auto-reply to a call, SMS, WhatsApp message, and more. You can even set recurring SMS options, if you want. One message can even be scheduled to go out to multiple recipients. All in all, it has proven to be a very useful app to me, at times, and if you need features such as these, the app works really well. The design is also really simple, by the way, which is a good thing.

Download Auto Text

Super Backup & Restore

Price: Free to download

In-app purchases: $1.99

Size: Varies with device

Google Play rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

Many of us have tons of SMS messages on our phones, and dont want to lose them. Well, theres a way to avoid that, as the Super Backup & Restore app will make sure of it. This is a very powerful app for backing up and restoring your SMS messages, but not only that. It can backup and restore your contacts, apps, call logs, calendars, and pictures. It can be especially useful when youre switching phones.

This app has been available in the Play Store for quite some time. It has been quite reliable for me personally, I never had any issues with it. I only use it when Im switching phones, which is quite often, granted, but it never failed, not once. The apps design is also really simple, which is something many of you will appreciate.

Download Super Backup & Restore
Angus Robertson has given Humza Yousaf his backing in the race to be next SNP leader and first minister after turning down the role himself.

After Nicola Sturgeons resignation, Mr Robertson  who is the constitution, external affairs and culture secretary  was widely tipped as her successor.

He said he was flattered by the suggestion but the time was not right for him to take on the job of first minister as he has two young children.

STATEMENT: SNP Leadership Election pic.twitter.com/IpRpnw5Nyq  Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) February 20, 2023

Mr Yousaf has so far come out top in terms of SNP parliamentary endorsements, with Mr Robertson joining Education Secretary Shirley Anne-Somerville and public health minister Maree Todd.

Fellow candidate Kate Forbes has received the backing of business secretary Ivan McKee.

No current Scottish Government ministers have backed Ash Regans bid to become the next SNP leader.

Mr Robertson will join Mr Yousaf and Glasgow Kelvin MSP Kaukab Stewart at Glasgow University on Tuesday to meet students and local activists.

He said: Having taken the time to listen to all the candidates in the race to become the next SNP leader and first minister of Scotland, I am in no doubt that it has to be Humza.

The ballot in the contest will open on Monday March 13 and the result will be announced on March 27.
Arnold Schwarzenegger says that hate is the path of the weak and urged people to choose strength to overcome their prejudices.

The former body-builder and actor said those who succumbed to hateful ideology were losers but that no matter how far you have gone there was still opportunity to change.

In a 12-minute video posted online Schwarzenegger, known for films including the Terminator franchise, recalled his fathers experience of World War II and a recent visit to the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz.

I want to talk to the people out there who might have already stumbled in the wrong direction into the wrong path, he said.

I want to talk to you if youve heard some conspiracies about Jewish people, or people of any race or gender orientation, and thought that makes sense to me.

I want to talk to you if youve found yourself thinking about anyone that is inferior and out to get you because of their religion or the colour of their skin or their gender.

I dont know the road that has brought you here but Ive seen enough people throw away the futures for hateful beliefs. So I want to speak to you before you find your regrets in the end of the path.

The former body-builder and actor urged people to choose strength to overcome their prejudices (PA)

The former California governor noted there had never been a successful movement based on hate, branding the Nazi, Confederate and Apartheid movements as losers.

I dont want you to be a loser. I dont want you to be weak. Ive spent most of my life helping people find their strength, he said.

I care about you.

He continued: Your mind and your character are no different than your body and your muscles.

If you want to grow as a person, you really have to make friends with pain. Embrace the discomfort. Enjoy the struggle.

No matter how far youve gone, you still have a chance to choose a life of strength you have to fight the war against yourselfThe other path is easier.

I dont care how many hateful things you may have written online. I dont care how often you have marched carrying that hateful flag, or what hateful things you may have said in anger.

Theres still hope. Theres still time for you. Choose strength. Choose life. Conquer your mind. You can do it.
Author Joanne Harris has urged the Government to invest more money in libraries and the arts, declaring: We have a literacy problem in this country.

Ms Harris, author of Chocolat, spoke out after receiving an OBE for services to literature from the Prince of Wales at a Windsor Castle investiture on Tuesday.

After the ceremony, she praised William and the Queen Consort for championing causes that promote literacy in the UK, but called on the Government to do more.

Reflecting on her investiture, Ms Harris told the PA news agency: Its great. Its so nice to see the arts honoured because the arts need all the attention they can get at the moment.

Its really good to see a focus on literacy and the world of literature.

On meeting William, she added: Hes very engaged, hes very engaging.

Hes interested in literacy and child literacy particularly.

He was speaking to me about the Queens Reading Room, for which I did an episode.

Joanne Harris receives her OBE from the Prince of Wales (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Literature lover Camilla set up her own Reading Room online book club and is a passionate advocate of encouraging children to read.

Ms Harris added: But it is very good to see a focus on literacy from people with influence because we have a literacy problem in this country.

One in 10 people are functionally illiterate and theres less and less funding going to the arts and to libraries and to education and childrens librarians are disappearing from schools.

Its nice to see the royal family taking an interest in this, an active interest, and trying to effect change.

Its very good to see that enthusiasm.

In a plea to the Government, she said: It would be good to see money put into libraries, libraries reinstated, school libraries given the kind of attention that they need.

It would be nice to see a general investment in culture and the arts.

It would be good to see engagement there from the Government, unfortunately we dont have a great deal of it at the moment, but the arts are a tremendous force for good in all kinds of ways, not just personally in terms of personal enrichment but also actually they make millions of pounds for the country.

Ms Harris also called for a democratisation of things such as theatre and opera, adding: This drift away from culture, this belief that culture is for the elite, is completely nonsensical but its a narrative which has been driven by the current Government. It would be nice to see some people speaking out against that.

It comes after novelist Anthony Horowitz, who has written more than 40 books including the Alex Rider teenage spy series, called for a library in every school after he picked up a CBE in November.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: We want all children to have the opportunity to read widely both in and out of school.

The curriculum places a great focus on reading and requires pupils to study a range of books, poems and plays, helping to improve literacy standards and encourage children to read for pleasure.

We are investing an extra 2 billion into our schools next year and the year after.

This funding can be used by schools on resources such as library provision and means that school funding will be the highest real-terms spending on schools in history, totalling 58.8 billion by 2024/25.
A nine-year-old boy has written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak telling him his parents feel failed and forgotten as he pleaded for better support for disabled children and their families.

Nate Courtney, who is autistic, told the countrys leader he feels sad due to his parents having to fight for everything for him and his disabled sister.

The letter comes as a survey suggested just one in five parents of disabled children felt their family received the support needed to enable their child to fulfil their potential.

The results, based on 2,200 responses from parent carers, showed that only one in seven said their disabled child had the correct level of support from social care, one fifth from health services and a third from their education setting.

The Disabled Childrens Partnership (DCP), which ran the survey between October and November last year, said parents are being left to fill gaps left by underfunding of official provision and families are facing relentless stress.

The organisation  a coalition of more than 100 organisations campaigning for improved health and social care for disabled children, young people and their families  has previously reported that parents of disabled children have had to give up employment or have lost their careers entirely.

It has also already warned that the Governments plan, announced last week, aimed at ensuring children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) can get the help that they need earlier falls short of the urgent reforms needed to address the crisis in support for children and their families.

Nate, from south-west London, has written to the Prime Minister to tell him of his own familys struggle for support, as his parents care for him and his sister, who is also autistic and has a muscle disease which means she needs a wheelchair.

He wrote: I feel sad. My Mummy and Daddy are tired because they always have to fight for me and my sister.

Nate said his parents are always going to lots of meetings, talking on the phone and write letters on the computer, adding: They have to fight for everything, even a wheelchair for my sister.

Asking for help, the child added: My parents feel failed and forgotten. Let our parents just be our parents so we can enjoy ourselves.

In its report, published on Tuesday, the DCP said: Once again, as we reported during the pandemic, it is disabled children and their families that will be disproportionately affected by the current social climate.

Disabled children are not immune from the record-breaking waiting times, backlogs and workforce issues across health and social care.

NHS data shows that the proportion of disabled children waiting for treatment is equivalent to adults, and disabled children waiting for equipment, such as wheelchairs, are likely to wait longer than adults.

The organisation said as many as a quarter of parents have been told that their disabled child does not meet the threshold in order for a social care assessment, and those who do get an assessment still face delays in receiving the support they were assessed to be needing.

Stephen Kingdom, campaign manager for the Disabled Childrens Partnership, said: Nates story brings to life the shocking statistics in our Failed and Forgotten Report. Both show that parents are filling the gaps left by underfunding of official provision. The stress on families is relentless.

We welcome some elements of the Department for Educations Improvement Plan but it doesnt go far enough to ensure children receive the support to which they are legally entitled.
A British scientist has been honoured with a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her likeness in celebration of both International Womens Day and British Science Week.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, best known for presenting BBC Ones The Sky At Night, has been made a Barbie Role Model in recognition of her achievements in making space and science accessible to girls.

Her doll, created by toy company Mattel, wears a starry dress and has a telescope accessory  a nod to Dr Aderin-Pococks work with the James Webb Space Telescope.

The black 54-year-old said: Since falling in love with the idea of space travel as a young girl, I have spent my career trying to show girls how fascinating space science can be.

I want to inspire the next generation of scientists, and especially girls, and let them know that Stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is for them.

These subjects are just too important to be left to the guys because, through science, you can literally change the world.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pococks Barbie doll has its own telescope, a nod to her work with the James Webb Space Telescope (Mattel/PA)

I hope my doll will remind girls that, when you reach for the stars, anything is possible.

Barbie is also donating Dr Aderin-Pococks book Am I Made Of Stardust? to schools across the UK through partner charity Inspiring Girls.

Mattel will expand its Barbie Career range with a marine biologist doll this spring, joining Stem figures including a doctor, a vet, a scientist, and an astronaut.

The Barbie doll wears a starry dress (Mattel/PA)

Dr Aderin-Pocock added: As a black woman, Ive found that I dont always fit some peoples perception of a scientist.

We do often have these stereotypical images of what people do, and I like to smash those stereotypes whenever I get the opportunity.

As a child growing up I played with Barbies, and I still do now with my daughter.

When I was little, Barbie didnt look like me, so to have one created in my likeness is mind-boggling.

Its such an honour to receive this doll that is celebrating my achievements My daughter and I danced around the living room when we heard!

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock said she and her daughter danced around the living room when they heard she was being honoured with a Barbie doll (Mattel/PA)

Marketing director at Mattel UK Kelly Philp said: We know that, globally, Stem is a field widely recognised as under-representing women, so, as a brand, Barbie is committed to showing girls more Stem careers.

In celebration of the occasions, Barbie has also recognised seven other women who are trailblazers in their field, including Susan Wojcicki, long-time chief executive of YouTube, and Professor Dr Antje Boetius, a German marine researcher and microbiologist.

Dr Aderin-Pococks doll will not be on sale to the public, but is a one-off that has been given to her by Mattel.
A brother of Irish teacher Enoch Burke has appeared before a judge charged with threatening and abusive behaviour following disturbances at a Court of Appeal hearing.

Simeon Burke was arrested after chaotic scenes broke out at the Four Courts in Dublin, as a judgment was delivered dismissing Enoch Burkes appeal against injunctions barring him from attending a Co Westmeath school.

Simeon Burke, 24, with an address at Cloonsunna, Castlebar, Co Mayo, appeared before the District Court of the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday charged under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.

It comes after several members of the Burke family were forcibly removed from a courtroom by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out at the Court of Appeal.

Enoch Burke was suspended from work on full pay last year pending the outcome of a disciplinary process with Wilsons Hospital School, which arose from incidents concerning a row over a request to address a student by a new name and the pronoun they.

German and history teacher Enoch Burke, who has represented himself during the Court of Appeal hearings, was accompanied in court by his parents Martina and Sean Burke, his sister Ammi, and his brothers Isaac and Simeon.

He had previously argued that he could not accept transgenderism due to his Christian beliefs, and that the orders issued by the High Court were manifestly unconstitutional and unlawful.

Although the Court of Appeal agreed to hear his case, the President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, said it would have great difficulty with someone who may pick and choose what orders of the court he abides by.

Despite the court orders, Enoch Burke has been seen on the grounds of the secondary school several times.

As Mr Justice Birmingham delivered his judgment on Tuesday, Enoch Burkes sister Ammi Burke, and mother Martina Burke, interrupted, prompting a Garda member to approach them as the three judges left the courtroom.

Enoch Burke (right) accompanied by his brother Isaac arriving at the Court of Appeal in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

Martina Burke accused the court of bowing before the altar of transgenderism.

Both women accused the court of not addressing Enoch Burkes constitutional rights, and Enoch Burke spoke to the empty courtroom while the judges were absent.

The judges returned minutes later and warned that if there were any further interruptions by members of the public, they would rise and the judgment would be delivered electronically.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that the judgment was being delivered physically as justice should be seen to be administered in public.

When Mr Justice Birmingham continued to read the judgment, and commented that it was not certain this is not an exercise in creating soundbites, further interruptions from several members of the Burke family took place.

The three judges left the courtroom again. Several gardai entered the courtroom and forcibly removed Ammi Burke.

Ammi Burke is removed by gardai (Niall Carson/PA)

Scuffles between up to 10 Garda officers and a number of members of the Burke family ensued as they were removed from the court.

Enoch Burke was seen clinging to a bench in the courtroom before being removed by four members of An Garda Siochana.

Isaac Burke was the last to be removed; two gardai were seen lifting him out of the courtroom dragging his legs behind him.

Simeon Burke was subsequently arrested and brought before the court charged with a public order offence.

He has been remanded in prison, with consent to bail, until March 14.

In the three judgments from each of the Court of Appeal judges issued after the court had adjourned, they unanimously ruled to dismiss Enoch Burkes appeal against the High Courts orders.

Mr Justice Birmingham said if it was not possible to meet simultaneously the desires of the child and the parents on the one hand, and the appellants concerns on the other, then the child must be prioritised.

If that is the choice, and I am afraid that by reason of the appellants actions it may well have in fact come to that, I would be of the view that the wishes of the child and parents must prevail.

He added: In all of the circumstances, I would dismiss the appeal.

Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Maire Whelan concurred with Mr Justice Birmingham in dismissing the appeal.
A campaign to reverse a ban on disabled drivers parking in the historic centre of York has been boosted by an intervention from Dame Judi Dench.

The Oscar-winning York-born star said her experience with sight loss means she knows only too well about access problems.

Dame Judi sent her support to the Reverse The Ban campaign, which is fighting to get York Council to reconsider a 2021 measure which stopped the exception for blue badge holders to park in the pedestrianised parts of the citys famous, ancient centre.

She said: York city centre is a rare jewel that should be free for all to enjoy, including those with a disability and for whom accessible parking is essential.

As someone living with sight loss, I know only too well how gaining access to places can be exceptionally difficult.

York city centre should be fully accessible through these types of schemes.

I should like to offer my wholehearted support to people in the city of York who are asking the local council to reconsider any ban to the blue badge scheme in the city centre.

Dame Judi, 88, who has talked publicly about her age-related macular degeneration, is the patron of The Wilberforce Trust, which supports people with visual and hearing impairments.

She was born in York in 1934 and lived in the city until she went to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, in London.

York Council removed the right of blue badge holders to park in the pedestrianised areas of the city centre in November 2021, citing the need to install anti-terrorism measures.

Dr Marilyn Crawshaw, of campaign group Reverse the Ban, said: Its a great boost to get the support of Dame Judi Dench, someone who was born and raised in York and who understands all too well what banning disabled people from using their Blue Badge to access the city centre means.

We hope this encourages the Lib Dem-Green coalition that brought this in to stop and think again.

A spokeswoman from City of York Council said: We want our historic city to be accessible and inclusive for all.

Yorks cobbles and narrow, medieval streets present challenges to those with mobility issues, whilst large visitor numbers create security risks, which we are working to address to protect all residents and visitors.

In working to meet our ambitions to deliver a more accessible city for all, we recognise that listening to feedback and the lived experience of disabled residents is very important.

We will continue to listen and learn, with an ongoing commitment to keep operation of security measures under review.
Thousands of UK travellers were hit by disruption caused by the start of a general strike in France on Tuesday.

Dozens of flights and trains were cancelled and ferries were delayed due to French workers taking industrial action in protest at President Emmanuel Macrons plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.

Air traffic controllers and rail staff were among those who walked out.

EasyJet cancelled at least 18 flights between the UK and France on Tuesday (Gareth Fuller/PA)

EasyJet and British Airways cancelled at least 18 and 13 flights respectively between the UK and France, affecting passengers flying to and from Bristol, Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton Airports.

Air France axed four flights between Heathrow and Paris.

Under consumer law, affected passengers were entitled to be re-booked on to alternative flights or offered a refund, but will not be eligible for compensation because the cause of the disruption is outside the airlines control.

A easyJet spokeswoman said: Impacted customers are being notified in advance and offered the option to change their flight for free or receive a refund.

While this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may experience as a result of the strike action.

Eurostar cancelled 16 of the 26 trains scheduled between London St Pancras and Paris.

There are no cross-Channel trains from St Pancras after a 2.31pm departure to the French capital.

A further six trains due to run between St Pancras and Brussels were also cancelled.

Eurostar warned passengers that the general strike in France could extend beyond Tuesday.

It will involve disruption across multiple sectors, including national rail services and it will have an impact on the availability of some of our crew, the company added.

Our next departures from #PODOVER are as follows: 09:15  ETD 10:2011:15  ETD 12:0012:35  ETD 12:4514:00  ETD 15:00Boarding commences approx. 30mins prior to departure, please return to your vehicle in due course.  P&O Ferries Updates (@POferriesupdate) March 7, 2023

Ferry passengers travelling between Dover and Calais were told to expect disruption on Tuesday.

P&O Ferries sailings were delayed by up to 65 minutes.

A spokeswoman for the company said: Due to national action in France today we are experiencing disruption to our services.

We are recommending that customers reschedule all non-essential travel.

P&O customers due to travel today have been notified and can contact our help centre to amend their booking.
A new general practice contract will lead to more GPs leaving the profession and more patients waiting longer for care, the acting chairman of the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) England has said.

NHS England sent a letter to GPs on Monday imposing a new contract.

GPC England, a British Medical Association (BMA) committee, rejected in February what it called insulting proposed changes to the GP contract.

The committee met Health Secretary Steve Barclay on Thursday to negotiate changes, but the BMA said Mr Barclay flatly refused to supply additional help to practices in the tick-box exercise meeting.

Dr Kieran Sharrock, acting chairman of GPC England, said in a statement on Monday that ministers have focused on eking out more from practices without providing the necessary resources.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

He said: Without investment to do more, practices have to free up resources from elsewhere. This hasnt been properly considered, ramping up GP workload, and without the support needed, will lead to more GPs leaving the profession.

Ultimately, its our patients who suffer most, and this means more of them will be left waiting longer for the care they desperately need.

He also said: Its extremely frustrating to see a second GP contract imposition forced on the profession, especially one that does absolutely nothing to improve what is fast-becoming an irreparable situation for practices and their patients up and down the country.

Dr Sharrock continued: This contract is the result of a failure to listen to what GPs actually need, and totally ignores the calls for any extra support to help practices meet the rising costs of keeping their doors open.

Despite warnings from GPC England, it also introduces more bureaucracy and arbitrary targets that only set practices up to fail and take GPs away from direct patient care.

He added that staff will be incredibly worried about how their practices can survive.

The Government must surely understand the link between ignoring the profession and the fact that weve now lost the equivalent of more than 2,000 full-time, fully qualified GPs in England, the doctor said.

General practice can no longer be expected to take whatever is thrown at it, and the Committees recent rejection of the contract offer still stands. We will now look to enter serious discussions with our membership and the wider profession on what action we take next.

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chairman of the GPC, called the contract shockingly bad in a post on Twitter and said that it has led to huge anger.

According to the letter from NHS England, the updated GP contract says that patients should be offered an assessment of need, or signposted to an appropriate service, during their first contact with the practice.

This means practices will no longer be able to request that patients contact the practice at a later time.

New personal health information is also to be made available online to all patients by the end of October this year.

Goodness me @NHSEngland @DHSCgovuk  your action on imposing this shockingly bad contract has led to huge anger & my inbox is overflowing asking how GPs can now fight back against this injustice  we are drowning & you throw bricks at us https://t.co/YVk6CAV8YR  Dr David Wrigley (@DavidGWrigley) March 6, 2023

The majority of the Investment and Impact Fund  an NHS scheme to support primary care networks  246 million, will now concentrate on improving patient experience of contacting their practice and receiving a response or being seen within the appropriate period depending on urgency.

There will also be changes to payments for childhood vaccinations.

According to the BMA, practices in England delivered 329 million appointments last year, 17 million more than in 2019, and 85% took place within two weeks of booking.

The association also said England has lost more than 400 practices since 2019.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: Were committed to supporting GPs and are incredibly grateful for the work they do.

The updated terms of the contract first agreed with the BMA in 2019 will ensure patients receive better care and get to see their GP quicker  allowing practices to employ more highly skilled and experienced nurses and mental health practitioners.

There are 400 more doctors in general practice compared to a year ago, we are delivering almost 120,000 extra appointments every day and will shortly be setting out our plans to help primary care recover further and faster with more support for staff and for patients.

NHS England did not provide any comment regarding the imposed contract.
The granddaughter of a German businessman who was killed by the IRA has spoken of the impact of generational trauma on her family almost 50 years on from his death.

Tanya Williams-Powells grandfather Thomas Niedermayer, the manager of the Grundig factory in Belfast and the West German honorary consul for Northern Ireland, was kidnapped by the provisional IRA on December 27 1973.

His body was not found until seven years later in 1980, when he was discovered in a shallow grave in Colin Glen, Belfast.

The shockwaves of grief continued to affect the family for generations following Mr Niedermayers murder.

Ms William-Powell said her grandmother Inge Niedermayer was the first of four family members to take their own life in the years following her husbands death.

After that unfortunately his wife Inge took her own life, Ms Williams-Powell explained.

Subsequent to that their two daughters  Renate and my mother Gabrielle  both also took their lives, as did my father.

Intergenerational trauma is the term used for the observation that trauma experienced directly by one generation can have an impact on the mental health of their children.

A study from Queens University on inter-generational trauma flagged that those affected by atrocities during the Troubles have not received sufficient support leading to very poor psychological health, frequent nightmares, anxiety, fear, flashbacks, high suicide rates, and a reluctance to talk about traumatic events for fear of causing distress.

Tanya Williams-Powell, granddaughter of Thomas Niedermayer, who was abducted and murdered by the IRA in 1973 (Liam McBurney/PA)

Ms Williams-Powell said of her grandfather: But his murder obviously affected Inge and their daughters so profoundly that they never got over it.

And I recall seeing Inge when I was young, and all I saw of her was a very small, sad person who hadnt got over what had happened, and it seemed to just weigh her down all the time.

Renate and Gabrielle (Gabi) were teenagers at the time of their fathers kidnapping and witnessed him being taken into a car by two men.

Renate and Gabi seemed quite estranged as well, possibly, because they were teenagers at the time of his death, Ms Williams-Powell said.

The guilt that they felt and they couldnt really talk to each other.

That seemed, particularly with my mum, to overshadow her entire life. I think mental health issues particularly back then was even more taboo than it still is now. It was all swept under the carpet.

This is to highlight the legacy of victims of the Troubles that it doesnt only affect that one person but it can have a long-lasting detrimental effect to the families who were left behind.

The impact of Thomas Niedermayers murder was shattering for the family of Tanya Williams-Powell (Liam McBurney/PA)

The Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy and Reconciliation Bill is currently being discussed in the House of Lords.

The Bill seeks to introduce an independent commission that will publish a historical record of all Troubles-related deaths.

To achieve this, individuals who agree to co-operate with the new truth recovery body will secure immunity from prosecution.

This aspect of the Bill has been condemned by Amnesty International UK for protecting perpetrators if they give an honest account of crimes they committed during the Troubles.

Tanya Williams-Powell, who spoke at Stormont on Tuesday about the impact the Troubles has had on three generations of her family (Liam McBurney/PA)

In 1981, two men were charged in connection with Mr Niedermayers murder.

One man pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming he had killed Mr Niedermayer unintentionally when he tried to escape, and was later sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

In a way were lucky that we did have those criminal trials and people were found guilty, Ms William-Powell said about her familys case.

I can understand where theyre coming from with an amnesty in order to get the truth and honest accounts of what has happened.

My feelings would be for that of the victims. That truth is all well and good. But where are the consequences?

I would say that truth and justice should actually go hand in hand and there must be a better way of getting both of those for the victims and for everyone to be able to move on. But I do think that the perpetrators of violent acts should receive some sort of punishment.

Im not sure if the people who will say violence was our only option really understand the effects it has on the family and the friends and the wider community that it involves.

Saturday March 11 is European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, with a victims event being held in Stormont on Tuesday to advocate for more support for victims and survivors.

Tanya Williams-Powell speaking in the Senate Chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly during a Victims Day event (Liam McBurney/PA)

European victims day aims to show solidarity with victims of terrorism across the world. Ms Williams-Powell spoke at Stormont on Tuesday about the importance of opening up to alleviate the trauma and grief that can engulf victims of terrorism.

I just hope that me attending this European victims event will help other people to realise that youre not alone, that everybodys experiences are different.

As someone who has vast experience with familial grief, Ms Williams-Powell offered her advice for those who may be struggling with events of the past.

It doesnt have to be everything that you are, and you can actually move on from that and break the cycle of grief and guilt and depression.

Learn from it. Educate our youngsters that violence isnt always the right way to go about things.

And the way that we teach children now about communication and empathy and understanding is a much better way to get your point of view across, as far as Im concerned.

There are people out there who can help. And if me speaking about our situation helps anyone, that makes this trip so worthwhile.

The aim of the day is to pay tribute to all European victims and survivors of terrorism, regardless of the extremist ideology that inspired the attack, as well as a show of unity and resilience against terror and violent extremism.
Matt Hancock discussed withholding funding for a learning disability centre to pressure an MP not to rebel against coronavirus restrictions, leaked messages suggest.

The former health secretary and an aide spoke about warning Bury North MP James Daly that a new centre for disabled children and adults would be off the table if he voted against the Government, according to the Telegraphs investigation.

Senior Conservative Jake Berry described the disclosure as an absolute disgrace and called for Mr Hancock to be hauled before the Commons for questioning.

But Mr Hancocks team said whats being accused here never happened as they disputed the entirely partial account based on a trove of leaked WhatsApp messages.

The Telegraph said the discussion between Mr Hancock and political aide Allan Nixon came ahead of a vote on December 1 2020 on the introduction of new Covid restrictions in England.

Mr Nixon said they need to dangle our top asks over some of the newest MPs who entered Parliament in 2019 through Boris Johnsons general election victory.

Mr Nixon suggested, for example, James wants his Learning Disability Hub in Bury  whips call him up and say Health team want to work with him to deliver this but thatll be off the table if he rebels.

These guys re-election hinges on us in a lot of instances, and we know what they want. We should seriously consider using it IMO, he wrote.

Mr Hancocks response was yes 100%.

Mr Daly, a Conservative MP, told the paper he was appalled and disgusted that the disability hub was discussed as a way to coerce him into voting with ministers.

But he said the threat was never made to him.

Mr Hancocks spokesman said: As weve repeatedly seen this last week, it is completely wrong to take this entirely partial account and write it up as fact.

Whats being accused here never happened, demonstrating the story is wrong, and showing why such a biased, partial approach to the evidence is a bad mistake, driven by those with a vested interest and an axe to grind.

The right place to consider everything about the pandemic objectively is in the public inquiry.

But Mr Berry, a former Tory party chairman, said: This is an absolute disgrace.

Hancock should be dragged to the bar of the House of Commons first thing tomorrow morning to be questioned on this.
The Irish weather agency has warned of icy stretches and some lying snow in parts of the country.

An ice warning had been in place for the entire island overnight but that expired at 10am on Tuesday.

Irish forecaster Met Eireann had issued a Status Yellow ice warning while the UK Met Office had issued a yellow snow and ice warning for Northern Ireland.

The warning was due to the risk of hazardous conditions during freezing temperatures including icy stretches on roads and paths.

Snow blankets the townland of Ardateggle in County Laois in the Republic of Ireland, as a cold front passes over the UK and Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)

Falls of sleet and snow in the south and south-west of Ireland are expected to clear away for a cold, mostly sunny and dry day, according to Met Eireann.

Temperatures are not expected to exceed 6C before a very cold and frosty night.

Overnight, there will be lowest temperatures of -4C to 0C, falling as low as -5C or -6C degrees in Ulster and the north west.

A Met Eireann meteorologist attributed the cold weather to northerly airflow moving over the country, introducing sharp frosts at night.

A cold bright day on Tuesday will be followed by a very cold night on Tuesday night with widespread frost and some icy stretches. Outbreaks of sleet or snow may develop late in the night in Cork and Kerry, forecaster Gerry Murphy said.
The King and Queen Consort will celebrate Colchesters recently awarded city status before having afternoon tea in the library with people from Age UK.

Camilla will be joined in the library by broadcaster and childrens author Dermot OLeary, and author Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who are both local to the area.

Colchester officially became a city in November 2022, having been awarded the status during the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Broadcaster Dermot OLeary (Ian West/PA)

Charles and Camilla will visit Colchester Castle to celebrate with local organisations which represent the citys heritage and communities.

They will meet those who took part in Colchesters city status procession last year, including charities, volunteers and refugees who have settled in Colchester.

The couple will also meet the animal care team from Colchester Zoo to hear about their conservation work before revealing the chosen name for the Zoos newest addition, a baby white rhino.

Later at Colchester Library, Charles and Camilla will join Age UK for an afternoon tea with local volunteers, service users and The Silver Line staff to hear about the support provided by the charity across the region.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce (Ian West/PA)

Charles become patron of Age UK in in 2010 when he was Prince of Wales, while Camilla became patron of The Silver Line in 2017 when she was Duchess of Cornwall.

At the library, Camilla will join a gathering of local authors, children, supporters and volunteers to celebrate the Essex Year of Reading.

The countywide campaign was established to help children and young people discover a lifelong love of reading, and help to ensure every Essex child is able to read at their age level or above.

Camilla will be welcomed by characters Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter, played by actors from the local Mercury Theatre.

She will also be joined by OLeary, who is a keen supporter of the Essex Year of Reading, as well as Cottrell-Boyce.
King and Queen Consort greeted by protesters on visit to Colchester

The King and Queen Consort were met by shouts and boos from protesters with a yellow not my King banner as they visited Colchester to celebrate its city status.

As Charles and Camilla got out of a car, a protester said through a megaphone: Answer your critics Charles.

Come over and talk to your critics.

The protester also said why are you wasting our money?, and dont you believe in democracy Charles?.

The King waved to gathered crowds before going through a gate into Colchester Castles grounds, but did not appear to acknowledge the protesters who were stood on the far side of the road behind a police presence.

Piers Corbyn, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was part of the protests and later held a banner objecting to what he claimed was Charless support of the World Economic Forum.

King Charles and the Queen Consort during a visit to Colchester Castle (Chris Radburn/PA)

Colchester was awarded city status during the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations last year, and officially became a city in November.

Charles and Camilla travelled there on Tuesday and, after entering the castles grounds, were met by a guard of honour and schoolchildren waving Union flags.

One schoolgirl handed the King a drawing of him, with the words best King written above the image.

Inside the castle Charles met local organisations which represent the citys heritage and communities, was shown a historic vase, and an artefact trolley by youngsters.

Charles and Camilla speak to schoolchildren at Colchester Castle (Aaron Chown/PA)

The mayor of Colchester, Tim Young, told the King during a reception: Words cannot describe how much it means to us that you are here.

He said that he was pleased that the Letters Patent which officially recognise Colchester as a city have been placed in the chapel of the castle, especially as this is the very room where the mayoress and I had our wedding just 10 days ago  in this very room, in this very suit.

This will always certainly be a very special place for us, said Mr Young.

Outside the castle, Charles revealed the name of Colchester Zoos newest addition, baby white rhino Dara, by pulling a cord to draw back material which had covered the name on an easel.

Charles unveils the name of the new rhino at Colchester Zoo (Chris Radburn/PA)

A town crier then rang a bell and boomed, as Charles chuckled: Oyez, oyez, oyez! I officially proclaim Colchester Zoos newest addition as baby Dara.

The King told zoo staff: I do hope it grows into a substantial animal.

He then departed by car as a band played God Save The King.

Andy Moore, conservation education manager at Colchester Zoo, said the name Dara means beautiful one in Swahili.

Charles and Camilla speak to people during their visit to Colchester (Chris Radburn/PA)

It was all a secret and a surprise so his majesty revealed it for us, he said.

And then the town crier obviously then  probably people in Wivenhoe and further away could hear.

It was really great.

Later, Camilla was presented with a membership card for Essex libraries during a tour of the Colchester branch with the King, as she celebrated the Essex Year of Reading with broadcaster and childrens author Dermot OLeary and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

Charles takes afternoon tea with Age UK volunteers and service users (Ben Stansall/PA)

The Queen Consort, who supports a number of literacy charities, joked: I shall have to come back and see what I can find, following the presentation.

She enjoyed a reading from Alice In Wonderland by actors from the local Mercury Theatre in costume as Alice, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.

Meanwhile, Charles went upstairs, ahead of his wife, to chat to volunteers and clients of Age UK enjoying afternoon tea but he left the debate about whether it was jam or cream first on scones to others.

Volunteer Atique Akhtar, who has weekly chats with an elderly person as part of Age UKs Silver Line project, said: He was very diplomatic and didnt take sides, he just chaired the debate.

As the couple left the protesters, who numbered around 20, booed but they were equalled by spectators chanting God save the King.
What we know about Bravermans new stop the boats Bill

Rishi Sunak made stopping the boats one of his five priorities for a reason: he believes tackling the problem to be crucial to the Conservatives electoral chances.

The Prime Minister hopes Home Secretary Suella Bravermans new Illegal Migration Bill will go some way to address the issue that governments have struggled to tackle for years.

Here is a look at what is known of the plan so far:

 What has been announced?

Anyone arriving in Britain by crossing the Channel in a small boat  or any other unauthorised means  would no longer be able to claim asylum in the UK.

This toughening of existing rules means instead they would only be eligible for asylum in a safe third country, such as Rwanda.

Furthermore, they would receive a lifetime ban on citizenship or re-entry to the UK.

Powers would be granted to detain migrants for 28 days without recourse for bail or judicial review, and then indefinitely for as long as there is a reasonable prospect of removal.

 Enough is enough. We must stop the boats.@SuellaBraverman, The Home Secretary. pic.twitter.com/Ni4nhuh44b  Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 7, 2023

Challenges based on modern slavery laws would be barred, and any other legal attempt to stay would be heard overseas  after they are removed.

An annual quota on the number of refugees that can be settled through the limited number of safe and legal routes to asylum would be set.

 How do the proposals differ from the Nationality and Borders Act?

The Illegal Migration Bill is being introduced less than a year after laws which the Government said would be the most comprehensive reform in decades to fix the broken asylum system came into force.

Mr Sunak speaks with staff as he views a rubber dinghy and life vests during a visit to the Home Office joint control centre in Dover, Kent (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)

The Nationality and Borders Acts three objectives were to support those in genuine need for asylum, to deter illegal entry into the UK, and to remove more easily those with no right to be in the country.

The laws made it a criminal offence for knowingly arriving in the UK without permission and meant that, for the first time, how someone entered the UK  legally or illegally  affected how their asylum claim progresses and their status in the UK if the claim was successful.

Critics have questioned why the latest legal intervention is needed so soon after the recent overhaul of the system and suggests those measures have failed to deter crossings as intended.

But Mr Sunaks administration argues the new Bill is a vital further step to stopping the crossings altogether by essentially banning migrants from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive by unauthorised means and toughening up rules on detentions and removals.

Suella Braverman arrives at Downing Street (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

 Will the plans be gummed up in the courts?

Ms Braverman is fully prepared for her legislation to face similar snags to the stalled Rwanda policy.

She even wrote to MPs to admit her robust and novel approach has a more than 50% chance of being incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the letter seen by the PA news agency, she said she is confident the Bill is compatible with international law and said she expects the courts to take into consideration any endorsement by Parliament.

Right to a family life, freedom from torture and the right to a fair trial were all issues being considered as potential challenges to the legislation. So too was the right to liberty, with concerns over the powers for indefinite detention.

 What about leaving the convention?

Like many Brexiteers on the Tory right, Ms Braverman deep down wants the UK to withdraw from the convention itself. Rishi Sunak was not taking that drastic step right now.

Conservative hardliners including former minister Mark Francois warned the Home Secretary the UK will remain tied up in legal knots unless they take on judges that interpret the convention in Strasbourg.

Some in Westminster saw it as a long-game move to pick a fight with European judges and then use withdrawal as a battleground at the next general election.

Thats the whole point of this, isnt it? SNP MP Joanna Cherry asked Ms Braverman.

(PA Graphics)

 Hows the Rwanda scheme going?

Despite at least 140 million of taxpayers money being paid to Rwanda, not a single flight forcibly removing asylum seekers has taken off for the capital of Kigali.

The entire policy has been stalled as the Court of Appeal prepares to hear challenges to the Governments plan next month.

Success here is crucial for Ms Bravermans latest plans, with a central point being that anyone who arrives through unauthorised means would be removed to Rwanda.

Migrants could be deported to other third countries deemed safe if their home nation is not, but the UK has so far not convinced anywhere else to partner up on such a scheme.

 How will the Government speed up removals?

Ms Braverman told MPs the Bill will see migrants arriving in Britain illegally detained and swiftly removed.

But how this will be achieved remains unclear.

The UK may seek to establish more returns agreements with other countries, although how effective any such deals will be is uncertain.

Before Brexit, the UK was part of an EU returns deal known as the Dublin agreement. Former immigration minister Tom Pursglove previously admitted there had been difficulties securing returns as there was not a subsequent returns agreement with the European Union in place.

According to Home Office figures in the year to September 2022, there were 3,531 enforced returns. This is 51% fewer than in 2019 prior to the coronavirus pandemic (7,198).

The vast majority of removals were for foreign criminals and around half (49%) were EU nationals.

 What next?

The legislation is likely to get a rough ride in the Lords, as the upper chamber considers whether to amend the legislation. If the Government does not accept the changes, then a lengthy back and forth could delay the implementation.

Mr Sunak will visit France on Friday for a summit with president Emmanuel Macron. He will hope he can strengthen cross-Channel efforts to reduce the wave of boats without a legal battle.
Isabella Turner says she battled selective mutism between the ages of two and 16. (SWNS)

A teenager who spent years battling selective mutism, a disorder which meant she could only talk to members of her own family, has revealed how she managed to overcome her fear of speaking to strangers.

Isabella Turner from West Thurrock, Essex, battled the condition between the ages of two and 16.

The condition, which is recognised by the NHS, sees people struggling to speak in certain scenarios.

Turner, a part-time model, who is now 18, says she used to only talk to her parents and siblings, but the isolation of lockdown shifted her mindset, showing her how important social interactions are.

She says her selective mutism is now a thing of her past and she wants to help others in learning to live with or overcome the disorder.

"Lockdown made me realise that talking to people was a luxury that I'd previously been taking for granted," she explains.

"It showed me anything can happen, and by succumbing to my social anxiety, I was wasting my life."

Read more: How to spot anxiety in your child  and how to help them

Isabella Turner as a child. She says lockdown helped her overcome the condition. (SWNS)

Turner believes her condition started when she accidentally held a stranger's hand when she was just a toddler.

She says the experience knocked her confidence at a crucial stage in her early life.

"I was on holiday at Butlins and instead of reaching out and holding my parent's hand, I grabbed a stranger's," she explains.

"When I realised, I freaked out, and the disorder came about shortly after that."

Growing up Turner, who's one of nine children, recalls only ever speaking to her mum and dad and occasionally her siblings.

Originally, people labelled her shy, but in primary school, after refusing to speak with her teachers or classmates, she was officially diagnosed.

"I began constantly freezing up when I went to say something, and despite teachers' best efforts to get me talking when I started school, I was still more or less mute," she explains.

"In secondary school I came out of my shell a bit more. But I was very quiet so I didn't make any friends."

Turner says that when she was in year 10, just before the COVID pandemic, the disorder really started to affect her studies. So when news broke that the country was going into lockdown, it came as a relief to her.

Read more: What to do if your child has a panic attack, as Rod Stewart discusses sons health scare

Selective mutism - recognised by the NHS - sees people struggling to speak in certain scenarios. Turner pictured as a child. (SWNS)

However, she actually found that the reality of the lockdown at the start of the pandemic, left her feeling isolated.

As the youngest child in her family by a decade and with most of her brothers and sisters having moved out, apart from contact with her parents, Turner says she spoke to no one.

With the pressures of school and socialising taken away for a period she was left alone with her thoughts, and, after a while, to her surprise, she started missing contact with people on the outside world.

"The difference between choosing not to socialise with people because of anxiety and being told you can't by a higher authority was what really resonated with me," she explains.

"Lockdown allowed me time to think, reflect on my life and get a grip of my social anxiety. It was a chance to reset."

Watch: Could mindfulness be as effective as medication for anxiety?

When she changed schools in year 11, for a fresh start, Turner says she tried to hang onto those feelings and this finally helped her overcome her disorder.

"Since then, I've never looked back," she adds.

Read more: The most common mental health conditions - and where to get help

Turner, now 18 and a part-time model, says she used to only talk to her parents and siblings. (SWNS)

What is selective mutism?

The NHS says selective mutism is an anxiety disorder where a person is unable to speak in certain social situations, such as with classmates at school or to relatives they do not see very often.

While it usually starts during childhood, if left untreated the disorder can persist into adulthood.

A child or adult with selective mutism does not refuse or choose not to speak at certain times - they're literally unable to speak.

The expectation to talk to certain people triggers a freeze response with feelings of anxiety and panic, and talking is impossible.

Selective mutism affects about 1 in 140 young children. It's more common in girls and children who have recently migrated from their country of birth, according to the NHS.

Though selective mutism can start at any age, it typically starts in early childhood, between the age of two and four.

The main sign is an obvious contrast in the child's ability to engage with different people, characterised by a sudden stillness and frozen facial expression when they're expected to talk to someone who's outside their comfort zone.

They may avoid eye contact and appear:

- nervous, uneasy or socially awkward

- rude, disinterested or sulky and clingy

- being shy and withdrawn

- stiff, tense or poorly co-ordinated

- stubborn or aggressive, having temper tantrums when they get home from school, or getting angry when questioned by parents.

Read more: Eating disorder manifesto and toolkit for schools launched to tackle surge in cases

Experts regard selective mutism as a fear or phobia of talking to certain people. The cause is not always clear, but it's known to be associated with anxiety.

If left untreated, selective mutism can lead to isolation, low self-esteem and social anxiety disorder. It can continue into adolescence and adulthood if not managed.

With appropriate handling and treatment, the NHS says most children are able to overcome selective mutism.

But the older they are when the condition is diagnosed, the longer it will take.

There are many factors which might impact the effectiveness of treatment including how long the person has had selective mutism and whether or not they have additional communication or learning difficulties or anxieties.

Treatment focuses on reducing the anxiety associated with speaking, including trying to remove the pressure on the person to speak.

Further help and support

Teenagers and adults with selective mutism can find information and support at iSpeak and the Facebook group SM SpaceCafe.

The Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (SMiRA) is another good resource for people affected by selective mutism.

There's also a SMiRA Facebook page.

Additional reporting SWNS.
A father and son who have built a watch collection worth 46,000 were among collectors who queued overnight for a limited edition release in central London.

Seb Easton, 51, hailed his son Taz, 19, as a real businessman as they waited to get their hands on Swatch and Omegas new Mission to Moonshine Gold timepiece on Tuesday.

The watch, part of the two companies Moonswatch range and priced at 245, went on sale at 6pm on Tuesday at the Royal Exchange in London and also in Tokyo, Japan, Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy.

The Eastons told the PA news agency they had been sitting outside on camping chairs since 9pm on Monday and had not slept.

Customers wait in line for the launch of the MoonSwatch at the Swatch store in the Royal Exchange, central London, where the queue began to form at 6pm on Monday evening (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Taz, a stylist who started collecting watches when he was 13, said his and his fathers joint collection was worth 46k  but that his interest in the new Moonswatch release was more about its exclusivity than its value.

He said: This one is not going to add any value on top. Its cheap plastic rubbish, its made out of plastic. But its just because its exclusive, you feel me?

Father Seb, an airbrush artist, said they were both opportunists whose main interest was making money.

Ive had a trainer collection since way back, from New York, but I never wore them and just kept them in the wardrobe, he said.

I used to pull them out to show him and I think over the years he has taken it on in his own way  hes a real businessman.

He came down and started doing this and started getting me involved.

Its not as much of a passion for me but I dont want to hear someone has done well and I havent, so I thought Id come down.

Im an opportunist. If theres money involved, Im in it.

The Moonswatch range proved massively popular in 2022 after 11 different high-colour watches made from plastic-esque bioceramic material were released at 207 each.

The watches currently retail on resale websites for as much as 1,400.

The queue was patrolled by security guards in high-visibility clothing who took photographs of everyone waiting in line to make sure no one jumped in.

A 19-year-old sneaker reseller who gave his name as Connor said money, literally money as he explained why he had chosen to queue since 10.30pm on Monday.

He said: Its just chance really. You never know how many people are going to be here so you just have to come as early as possible.

The whole thing is really just a chance.

I slept a little bit but it is quite difficult when there are so many security guys around.

Its not as bad as people think. Its a lot different to what you probably think it has been like.
The deputy leader of Australias Liberal Party turned heads and raised money in parliament by attending dressed as musical icon Tina Turner.

Donning a striking wig and a black dress, Sussan Ley, MP for the New South Wales seat of Farrer, was welcomed to the House of Representatives with some nervousness by the Speaker on Tuesday.

I know at least one of the questions youre asking, Mr Speaker, and yes this is for a dare, a dare for a very worthwhile cause, Ms Ley began.

First, let me introduce my alter ego, Tina Leyna Turner. This is worth a fair bit of cash.

At a cancer support fundraiser held in Griffith last Friday my song partner, Glenn Starr, from the local Triple M Breakfast, challenged the 700-strong crowd to reach a 100,000 dollar target, but only if I took Tina to Parliament House.

Ms Ley continued to speak on the difficulty of a cancer diagnosis in remote locations, and said that the 100,000 Australian dollars (55,582) raised had been doubled by the chair of the Cancer Care Foundation, Dr Tony Noun, and his family.

The deputy leader of Australias Liberal Party turned heads in parliament by attending dressed as Tina Turner (Parlview/PA)

She also thanked the communities who raised the money, as well as the Speaker.

I want to thank the incredible generosity of the Griffith and Leeton communities who made this night such an awesome success, she said.

When things need doing out in the Riverina we just get it done.

A special thanks also to you, Mr Speaker, for allowing me to use parliament to support this worthwhile cause and for your generosity in also supporting the cause. I thank the House.
MPs have rejected attempts to allow silent prayer outside abortion clinics in England and Wales, amid warnings new buffer zone measures risk making thoughtcrime a reality.

The Public Order Bill contains powers to make it an offence to interfere with, intimidate or harass women accessing, or people providing, abortion services.

Protesters found guilty of breaching the safe access zone, which would extend 150 metres from clinics, could be fined.

But a group of Tory and DUP MPs tabled an amendment aimed at ensuring no offence is committed if a person is engaged in consensual communication or in silent prayer outside the clinics or hospitals offering abortion services.

Buffer zones protected from the sabotage amendment 299 to 116  thats despite the Home Secretary, the minister and the attorney general all voting to try to stop women being able able to access an abortion in peace on amendment that their department negotiated pic.twitter.com/4fONMWnHce  stellacreasy (@stellacreasy) March 7, 2023

In a free vote, the proposal was rejected by 116 votes to 299, majority 183.

The division list showed Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Attorney General Victoria Prentis were among the 109 Conservative MPs, two of whom were tellers, who supported the amendment while 109 Tory MPs voted against.

Labour MP Stella Creasy (Walthamstow), writing on Twitter, said buffer zones had been protected from the sabotage amendment and it would enable women to access an abortion in peace.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), added on Twitter: Anti-choice activists who stand outside our clinics talk about a lifetime of abortion regret.

Women generally dont regret abortions, but what stays with them  even decades on  is the invasion of their privacy by these people when they sought our help.

Alithea William, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Childrens (SPUC) public policy manager, said in a statement: It is very disappointing that MPs have rejected even this modest amendment, which was trying to ensure that thoughtcrime was not enshrined in UK law.

Conservative MP Andrew Lewer (Northampton South), moving the amendment, earlier told the Commons: This section of the Public Order Bill is leading us into the territory of thoughtcrimes and creates unprecedented interference with the rights to freedom of speech and thought in the UK.

Conservative former minister Sir John Hayes added: We now have people arrested for praying, interrogated by the police, asked what theyre praying about, what theyre thinking.

This is dystopian. Its like a mix of Huxley, Philip Dick and all that.

It is unthinkable that we should be living in a society where what people think has become a matter of police interest.

But Labour MP Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton), who has long campaigned for safe access zones at abortion clinics, criticised the attempts to amend the Bill further.

She said: Any person using medical services should be able to do so without navigating an obstacle course of people trying to impose their view of what is right into the process to dissuade and deter.

Even in the reviled regime of Iran they got rid of their morality police. Why do we allow them here?

Ms Huq added that people can have their say but move them away from the clinic door.

For Labour, shadow Home Office minister Sarah Jones also said: I am a person of faith. Ive also walked into an abortion clinic.

I pray, but I also know how intimidating it is to walk past people silently standing there with signs trying to communicate, trying to pray, trying to persuade women to change their mind.

The Bill as a whole aims to curb the guerrilla protest tactics used by groups such as Just Stop Oil, Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion.
A music manager was stabbed to death for a designer watch worth up to 300,000 after celebrating his birthday, a court has heard.

Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was set upon by three robbers after leaving Haz restaurant near St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London on May 1 last year, the Old Bailey heard.

They had allegedly been tipped off by security operator Kavindu Hettiarachchi that Mr Odunlami was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch which, if real, was worth between 90,000 and 300,000.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said Hettiarachchi was an integral member of the security team who had been hired by the events organiser Playhxuse for the private ticketed brunch and afterparty with DJ.

He told jurors: It was part of his role to protect the safety of those, like Mr Odunlami, who were attending the event. In fact he did the opposite.

Jurors were told the victim, known to friends as Jay, worked in the music industry managing a number of performing artists.

On the day of his death, he had driven to the City in his grey hatchback Mercedes to celebrate his birthday with friends, having organised tickets for a 1,400 table.

Mr Atkinson told jurors: Sadly, as it was to turn out, he liked expensive brand watches. At the time when he was fatally attacked, he was wearing an Patek Philippe Nautilus watch.

If real, such a watch could be worth anything in a range from 90,000 to 300,000.

It is believed the deceaseds watch may not have been genuine, but was treated as genuine by those who sought to take it.

Mr Odunlami was attacked after leaving a restaurant near St Pauls Cathedral, the court was told (Ian West/PA)

As the event drew to a close at around 11pm, Hettiarachchi was caught on camera filming outside the venue and calling Louis Vandrose, the court was told.

Vandrose and Jordell Menzies were then driven by Quincy Ffrench in a white Mercedes with altered number plates from north-west London, the court heard.

Mr Atkinson said: The evidence shows that Ffrench, Vandrose and Menzies were setting off in car with a disguised registration in order to carry out a robbery, and that their target for that robbery was at the Haz restaurant where Hettiarachchi was working, and to which by phone he had summoned them.

Jurors were told the security operator had filmed the victim and his high-value watch and then appeared to type something into his phone.

Mr Atkinson said: The prosecution case is that he was making those other defendants aware of Mr Odunlami and his watch, in order that they could rob him of that apparently very valuable item.

In common sense, those planning the robbery of Mr Odunlami of what appeared to be a very valuable watch would not have expected him just to surrender.

Rather, he needed to be compelled to do so, and to that end one of those travelling in Mr Ffenchs Mercedes was armed with a knife.

Mr Odunlami was attacked by the group after he left the restaurant with a friend, the court heard.

Mr Atkinson said: When they were ready, the defendants Ffrench, Vandrose and Menzies got out of the car and ran towards Mr Odunlami.

On seeing the robbers closing in on him, Mr Odunlami tried to run, but he was caught by Menzies and then taken to the ground by the combination of Menzies and by Vandrose.

Once Mr Odunlami was on the ground, all three defendants attacked him, shod feet were used as weapons to kick the defenceless man on the ground.

During the course of that attack, one of the robbers, identifiable as Ffrench, bent down and took the object of this exercise, Mr Odunlamis Patek Phillippe Nautilus watch.

As he did so he was heard to say got it.

The defendants then ran off, leaving the victim on the ground with a fatal stab wound to the chest.

Mr Atkinson said: It appears from the CCTV that he was stabbed before any demand was made of him, or any other form of attempt to take his watch from him.

A flick knife was recovered nearby and linked by scientific analysis to the victim and Menzies, who had used it to kill him, jurors heard.

Afterwards, the three robbers travelled to Bloomsbury where they changed their clothes before parting company, the court was told.

The court heard that Ffrench, 27, from Tottenham, Vandrose, 27, of Thornton Heath, and Menzies, 26, from Kilburn, admitted robbery and Menzies had also pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Mr Atkinson said: The prosecution case is that Menzies was physically responsible for the use of that knife to stab an unarmed man.

It was a blow delivered with at least a moderate level of force, in the estimation of the pathologist, that penetrated 8cm through Mr Odunlamis chest into the right ventricle of his heart.

The trial was being heard at the Old Bailey (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

Menzies is charged with murder along with Ffrench and Vandrose who allegedly acted together to encourage and facilitate the fatal stabbing.

Hettiarachchi, of Harrow, who was employed as security operator for Supreme Security, is charged with being involved in the robbery and manslaughter.

Jurors were told Hettiarachchi had fake versions of high-value watches at his home, suggesting an interest in and knowledge of expensive timepieces.

He allegedly called on the help of his friend and colleague Antonios Kfoury, 21, from Ealing, who is charged with perverting the course of justice.

It is alleged Kfoury tried to obscure the role of Hettiarachchi in the security arrangement for the event at Haz and made a false statement to the police.

The defendants have denied the charges against them and the Old Bailey trial continues.
A senior Nigerian politician accused of plotting to arrange an illegal kidney transplant for his sick daughter in the UK has told jurors he thought he was being scammed.

Ike Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, daughter Sonia, 25, and medical middleman Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, are accused of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of a young man to Britain to exploit him for his body part.

It is alleged the 21-year-old street trader from Lagos was to be paid up to 7,000 with the promise of opportunities in the UK in exchange for donating a kidney to Sonia Ekweremadu.

Sonia Ekweremadu with her alleged prospective donor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons (Met Police/PA)

He was falsely presented as Sonias cousin in a failed bid to persuade medics at the Royal Free Hospital in London to carry out the 80,000 private procedure, the Old Bailey has heard.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ike Ekweremadu was asked about an invoice for 8,000 he received via his brother Diwe on February 8 2022.

In his message, Diwe wrote that he had received a huge invoice from a consultant doctor for his service, saying: It looks like theyre all out to exploit peoples unfortunate situation.

The defendant told jurors that his view was that he was being scammed.

Defence barrister Martin Hicks KC asked: Why not at this stage say we are being scammed Dr Obeta, end of, stop.

Ike Ekweremadu replied: My daughters life was on the line so if we stop we will be putting my daughters life in danger. So we just keep moving.

Everybody was obviously taking advantage of my daughters ill health.

The defendant was also asked about an unsigned affidavit dated January 19 2022 recovered from Obetas home which falsely stated that the proposed donor was Sonias cousin.

He told jurors: I felt embarrassed because thats not true and I told my daughter to ignore the document.

Mr Hicks said: Was it your impression she was being asked to sign it?

Ike Ekweremadus wife Beatrice, pictured, is also accused of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of a man to exploit him for his body part (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Ike Ekweremadu replied: Yes, I told her not to sign it because it was bad enough she had been made to create the impression she was related to (the donor).

It was more complicated to do an affidavit. If you sign an affidavit you have to tell the truth.

Asked who created the document, the defendant said: I have no idea.

He added: When they were exchanging papers in the trial, my family and I wrote to the court in Abuja (the capital of Nigeria) to find the origin but no such document exists in the records.

Mr Hicks asserted: Its a forgery.

Ike Ekweremadu replied: Of course it is.

The Ekweremadus, who have an address in Willesden Green, north-west London, and Obeta, from Southwark, south London, deny the charge against them and the Old Bailey trial continues.
People in the north of England and Scotland have woken up to snow as a cold snap begins to hit the UK.

More than 10cm of snow fell in parts of northern Scotland on Monday and 20cm of snow could fall later in the week as a cold snap brings snow, ice, wind and rain.

Temperatures dipped to minus 7.6C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands on Monday night and the small hamlet was covered in 12cm of snow, more than anywhere else in the UK.

Snow has also settled across Northumberland and North Yorkshire with some spots experiencing 2-3cm of cover.

(PA Graphics)

Tuesday could be the coldest night of the year so far with the mercury plunging to minus 15C in some isolated Scottish glens.

People in southern England and South Wales can expect to wake up to snow on Wednesday but it is unclear whether it will settle, the Met Office has said.

Snow is more likely to settle when it moves across much of northern England, Northern Ireland and much of Scotland on Thursday.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said people should expect to wake up to snow on Wednesday if they live in the South.

He said: I think over higher grounds such as Exmoor, the Chilterns and the Cotswolds there will be a fair amount of snow.

Elsewhere it is going to be quite difficult, especially after todays wet weather, to say how much snow will settle.

He added snow which is expected to fall in the north of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland on Thursday and Friday is likely to be much more impactful.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place in much of northern and eastern Scotland and north-east England until 10am on Wednesday.

People walk their dogs through the snow beside the beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA)

London, the south of England and South Wales will be covered by a yellow warning for snow all day on Wednesday and until 9am on Thursday and a few centimetres could fall in those areas.

Northern England, North Wales, most of Scotland and Northern Ireland will be covered by a yellow warning for snow between 3am on Thursday and 6pm on Friday.

Mr Burkill warned people to travel in snowy conditions only if essential and to bring a blanket in case they get stuck overnight.

He said: Through the worst of the weather, keep up to date with warnings, be prepared your journey may take longer than normal and you may end up stranded in your car.

If there is significant snow take water and maybe a blanket just in case, thats if you absolutely need to travel.

Treat the weather sensibly and be aware it could be dangerous.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a level-three cold weather alert for the whole of England which is likely to be reviewed in the coming days.

The agencys head of extreme events and health protection Dr Agostinho Sousa said people should check on vulnerable relatives and told pensioners and anyone with an underlying health condition to heat their home to at least 18C.
Rishi Sunak has declined to express confidence in Sue Grays partygate report, amid the former senior civil servants plans to join Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers office.

The Prime Minister on Tuesday dodged a question on whether her investigation into lockdown breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall retained its integrity.

He told a press conference: As you know, the Cabinet Office is reviewing the circumstances of her departure.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declined to express confidence in Sue Grays partygate report (Leon Neal/PA)

Im not going to pre-empt their findings so Im not going to comment further on that situation.

When Ms Gray published her report detailing alcohol-fuelled partying during the pandemic in No 10 in May last year, Mr Sunak said he was grateful to her.

The Cabinet Office is looking into the circumstances surrounding her resignation as second permanent secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Labour has insisted no conversations about the chief of staff position took place with Ms Gray before she had completed her investigation.

The discussions didnt start until we were looking for a chief of staff, which was after Sue Gray did her report into what happened at Downing Street during the pandemic with the parties, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said.

Meanwhile, a former top civil servant said Ms Gray faced a cooling-off period of up to six months before she could take up her new post.

Her decision to quit to accept a job in the office of the Leader of the Opposition has sparked a political row about civil service impartiality, amid outrage among Tories in Westminster.

But former permanent secretary to the Treasury Lord Macpherson of Earls Court told peers there was nothing wrong with the appointment, as long as Ms Gray follows rules set by the anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), such as the cooling-off period.

The independent crossbench peer told the House of Lords: I remember a number of examples of people moving from the civil service to a political position, in particular my old friend Lord Sassoon, who was a very successful director general at the Treasury, moved to be Gordon Browns ambassador to the City, then resigned and turned up the next day as advisor to George Osborne.

But the issue, surely, is the Acoba rules, all too often not observed by members of the Government.

So long as Ms Gray follows the recommendations, which I would assume would be somewhere between three and six months for an adequate cooling-off period, surely she is pursuing the right and honourable course.

Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: Ms Gray does indeed need to apply to Acoba, which she has not yet done.

And this is a very senior post of a political kind and Im sure they will look extremely carefully at the move and lay down appropriate rules and guidance for her departure from the civil service.

Lady Neville-Rolfe urged Sir Keir to be more forthcoming about the details of the discussions between his team and Ms Gray over her appointment.

Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords, Baroness Smith of Basildon, said she was appalled that some now impugn (Ms Grays) integrity for the time she served successive governments.

The Labour frontbencher then suggested that those kicking up a fuss just fear the appointment.
The Santa Fe District Attorney has pushed back on efforts by Alec Baldwin to have the special prosecutor in his US court case dismissed.

Mary Carmack-Altwies said the motion, filed last month by Baldwins lawyers, was based on a novel theory that has no support in New Mexico statutes or case law.

Representatives for the Hollywood actor previously said that special prosecutor Andrea Reebs involvement in the case was unconstitutional, due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Santa Fe DA pushes back on Baldwins motion to have special prosecutor dismissed (PA)

Lawyers argued that Ms Reebs position was a violation of the New Mexico constitutions separation of powers provision and that she could make prosecutorial decisions that serve her legislative interests.

In a response to the motion to have Ms Reeb dismissed, the DA said the state constitution provided a variety of safeguards against legislators interfering with the outcome of ongoing court cases.

Any attempt by Ms Reeb as a legislator to influence the outcome of this trial would be completely ineffective, the filing stated.

Disqualification of a special prosecutor on constitutional grounds is a severe remedy and cannot be supported by the imaginative but unsupported theories set out by the Defendants motion.

It comes ahead of a status hearing in the case, which is due to take place on Thursday March 9.

Baldwin faces two charges of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
An independent Scotland could be better off within a decade of leaving the UK, Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has said.

Ms Forbes was speaking as hustings continued in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon  with fellow leadership hopeful Humza Yousaf saying he would be not just Scotlands first minister but first activist for independence.

Meanwhile Ash Regan, the former community safety minister who is the third candidate standing to be SNP leader, said if she is voted into the job she would seek to heal the rifts within the party.

She also pledged to relight the fires of the cross-party Yes campaign that operated in the run up to the 2014 referendum and would reach out to the wider movement.

Ms Regan told the hustings event in Dumfries that she had felt a sense of grief after Scots had voted to stay in the UK in 2014.

The SNP backbencher said: I dont want us to be thinking about that past referendum and thinking weve missed the boat, and that we have got to keep waiting. I want to get us there as fast as possible.

But to achieve that she said the party needs to change direction and to act differently.

Ms Regan said: I dont think we can keep going the way we have been over the last few years, we need a different plan and we need to put that into action.

She said under her leadership the first line on any SNP manifesto would state that a vote for the party would mean Scotland would be voting for Edinburgh and Westminster in a room to begin independence negotiations.

She told party members: The referendum is not the gold standard here, the ballot box is the gold standard, and that is what we need to progress towards.

Ms Regan said other nations would recognise this, saying: International law is pragmatic and there is no question of the UK not recognising this and coming to the table.

Her comments came as Ms Forbes, who returned from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter last summer to run to be Scotlands next first minister, stressed the need to use each and every opportunity to make the case for independence.

She told the hustings: We need to set out in the first 10 years of an independent Scotland how we will be wealthier, greener, fairer. People need to see it.

Independence is not an abstract constitutional term we use in arguments, its about real people, real lives and how we ensure Scotland is just as wealthy, just as green just as fair as our comparator countries.

She said: We have got all that it takes in Scotland to be incredibly successful.

We would be one of the richest countries ever to be independent, we have got all that it takes.

SNP leadership candidates Kate Forbes, (left) Ash Regan (centre) and Humza Yousaf (right) spoke to party members at a hustings in Dumfries (Jeff J Mitchell/PA)

She told the hustings: Scotland cant afford not to be independent. We will get there with the right leader, the right competent focus on track record of delivery and ultimately ensuring we are persuading people.

As part of that, in what could be seen a swipe at Mr Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, she stressed the need to make sure the NHS is on a stable footing for the next decade.

Mr Yousaf, meanwhile, said that independence is inevitable, adding that the days of the unequal union between Scotland and the rest of the UK are numbered.

He said the leadership contest was about who is going to deliver independence, saying: I believe I have what it takes.

I believe I have the experience, I believe I am able to unite our movement, I believe I am able to inspire people to the vision of independence.

Our success in recent decades is down to the hard work of our activists. Independence will be won on the doorsteps. I'll give activists the tools they need: 1 Kickstart a new Yes campaign.2 Create Instant Rebuttal Unit.3 Campaign workshops across #HumzaForScotland pic.twitter.com/FUFgps73aw  Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) March 5, 2023

While he said the SNP had governed well in its nearly 16 years in power in Scotland, he said: We must build on that progressive agenda that has won us so much support so far.

He told the hustings if he was to become the next SNP leader every single election we fight, including the next general election will be based on a demand for Holyrood to have the powers to hold a second independence ballot.

I am not just looking to be the leader of the party of first minister of the country, I want to be our first activist.

I want to come with community to community, town to town, village to village, doorstep to doorstep, persuading the people of this country that our best future is as an independent nation.
A seriously ill pensioner at the centre of litigation in a specialist court has been granted a wish to spend his remaining time at home with a pet bird.

The man, who has a number of significant physical health difficulties and learning disabilities, had been in hospital for several months, a judge heard.

He had objected to further treatment and did not want to go into a care home, Mr Justice Peel was told.

The judge on Tuesday approved a care package which would allow the pensioner to return home and be reunited with his pet.

Mr Justice Peel praised medics, council care staff and lawyers for putting together the care package.

He considered the case at an online hearing in the Court of Protection, where judges deal with issues relating to people who may lack the mental capacity to make decisions.

A barrister representing NHS hospital bosses responsible for the pensioners treatment told Mr Justice Peel that he may only live for a few more months  and said he wanted to go home.

Nicola Kohn added: The plan is that he will be discharged home with a suitable package of care in order that he will be able to spend his remaining time in the company of his pet bird.

The NHS has been responsible for the pensioners treatment (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Mr Justice Peel, who is based in London and also oversees hearings in the Family Division of the High Court, praised medics, care staff and lawyers involved in the case.

The judge said everyone involved had treated the pensioner with great sensitivity, kindness and respect so that he could enjoy himself watching television in the company of his pet bird.

He said the pensioner could not be identified in media reports of the case.

The judge barred reporting of the names of the authorities involved, the mans address and exact age, and the type and name of the bird, in case the revelation of such information led to creation of an identity jigsaw.
People who arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel on small boats accounted for nearly half of the total number claiming asylum last year, figures show.

There were 74,751 asylum applications in the UK in 2022, relating to 89,398 people.

This is the highest total for a calendar year since 2002.

It is also up 49% compared with the number of applications in 2021 (50,042) and is more than double the total for the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (35,737).

(PA Graphics)

The jump in applications mirrors a substantial increase in small boat arrivals to the UK, according to the Home Office.

Arrivals rose from 28,526 in 2021 to 45,755 in 2022  an increase of 60%.

People who arrived in the UK on small boats accounted for 45% of the total number of people claiming asylum last year.

Some 90% of arrivals on small boats in 2022 claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application.

The increase in small boat arrivals has had an impact on the most common nationality of people claiming asylum.

(PA Graphics)

From 2016 to 2021, Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK.

But in 2022 Albania was the most common nationality, driven partly by a sharp rise in small boat arrivals by Albanian nationals during the summer and early autumn.

In July to September, Albanians accounted for nearly half (45%) of all detected crossings of the English Channel, though in October to December this proportion fell to just 9%.

A total of 14,223 asylum applications from Albanian nationals were made in the UK last year, around two-thirds of which (9,573) originated from small boat arrivals, Government figures show.

Overall, Albanians accounted for 19% of all asylum applications in the UK in 2022, followed by Afghans (13%), Iranians (10%), Iraqis (5%) and Syrians (5%).

By contrast, in 2021 the figure for Albania was 10%, behind both Iran (20%) and Iraq (12%), while Afghanistan was just 5%.

There were 388 asylum applications from Ukrainian nationals in 2022, accounting for 1% of the total.

However, most Ukrainians coming to the UK since the Russian invasion will not have applied for asylum, arriving instead under one of the new visa routes.

Although the total number of asylum applications in the UK is at a 20-year high, the figure is still 11% below the previous peak of 84,132 in 2002, which was partly caused by conflict and political unrest in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia.
Sir Keir Starmer and Belaruss exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya have discussed the need for western allies to confront the Kremlin-backed Belarusian regime.

The Labour leader expressed his admiration for her bravery in the face of violence and oppression and stressed his partys strong commitment to a free and democratic Belarus, according to a readout of the meeting in London.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya ran against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko  an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin  in Belaruss 2020 disputed election before being pressured to leave the country.

Great to meet  Ministers @JamesCleverly & @LeoDochertyUK. We discussed the recent sentencing of Ales Bialiatski & my own fake trial. I suggested expanding individual sanctions against Lukashenkas judges, prosecutors & propagandists, as well as synchronizing sanctions with . pic.twitter.com/sCFCTV2gG8  Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) March 7, 2023

A court in Belarus on Monday sentenced her to 15 years in prison after a trial in absentia on charges including conspiring to overthrow the government.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya asked the UK during her visit not to forget about Belarus as the Government focuses on Ukraine.

The fate of Ukraine and fate of Belarus are interconnected, she told BBC Newsnight.

Belarus was used as a launch point for the invasion of its southern neighbour by Mr Putins forces.

Labours readout of the meeting said: The two leaders discussed the need for our allies to remain united in confronting the Putin-backed Belarusian regime and the need to increase support for the pro-democracy movements in Belarus and elsewhere.

They agreed there can be no lasting peace in Europe without a free Belarus, and that defeating Putin must also mean bringing democracy to the Belarusian people.

They will also work to keep up the global pressure on Belarus and Russia through a co-ordinated, robust and effective sanctions regime.

In an article in the Guardian, Ms Tsikhanouskaya said sanctions must go further to target Putins war machine.

She wrote that most Belarusians want Russian troops to be withdrawn from Ukraine and from Belarus immediately.

The Belarus politician also met Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Europe minister Leo Docherty, as well as Boris Johnson.

The former prime minister tweeted that it was a real honour to reaffirm my support for a free and independent Belarus, and also to recognise the heroic contribution of Belarusian volunteers to the fight for freedom in Ukraine.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya told Newsnight that Mr Johnsons brave decisions on Ukraine showed he can advocate for Belarus as well.
Former MP Mike Gapes has rejoined Labour after quitting under Jeremy Corbyn to form a rival party.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was delighted to welcome Mr Gapes back.

Mr Gapes quit the party in 2019 and unsuccessfully stood against it in Ilford South at the election that year for the Independent Group for Change, which he founded alongside breakaway MPs from Labour and the Tories.

Writing in the Times, Mr Gapes said Sir Keir had tackled antisemitism in Labour and relentlessly focused on making it once again a patriotic, serious party of mainstream Britain.

That Mike has rejoined our party shows how much we've changed our party to face the public, root out antisemitism, support business, be proud of our NATO membership. I know there is more to do so we can change our country and deliver our missions for a better Britain. https://t.co/ymZeCamE4h  Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) March 7, 2023

Sir Keir said: Like many others, Mike turned away from the party in recent years because it no longer represented traditional Labour values. But weve changed and theres no going back.

That Mike has chosen to rejoin is a tribute to the hard work already done to change our party: to face the electorate, to root out antisemitism, support business, to celebrate patriotism and our Nato membership, not chastise it.

I know there is more to do, and Im really pleased that Mike will be with us in this ongoing work to change our party so that we can change our country and deliver our missions for a better Britain.

The return of Mr Gapes to the Labour fold follows Luciana Bergers decision to rejoin last month.
Suella Braverman said it would betray British voters not to tackle the waves of illegal migrants breaching our border as she unveiled plans for new laws to curb Channel crossings.

The Home Secretary said legislation would be introduced which means asylum seekers will be detained and swiftly removed if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means.

People crossing the Channel will not be able to claim asylum in the UK and will face a lifetime ban on returning after they are removed and they will never be allowed to settle in the country or gain citizenship.

She told MPs on Tuesday: For a Government not to respond to waves of illegal migrants breaching our borders would be to betray the will of the people we were elected to serve.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Braverman added: They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.

Removed back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. And that is precisely what this Bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is visiting Dover and will set out the plans during a press conference later.

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper branded the Bill a con and described the plans as Groundhog Day less than a year after reforms were brought into force under the Nationality and Borders Act.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke in the Commons (House of Commons/PA)

The comments came in the wake of criticism from campaigners who said the proposed policy would be unworkable.

But Ms Braverman said the need for reform is obvious and urgent as the asylum system now costs the British taxpayer more than 3 billion a year and amid a record number of cases awaiting a decision.

She insisted the Government has not sat on its hands but added: Were procuring accommodation, including on military land, to end the farce of accommodating migrants in hotels.

Lets be honest, its still not enough. In the face of todays global migration crisis, yesterdays laws are simply not fit for purpose.

(PA Graphics)

The Bill allows the detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed, Ms Braverman said.

It also places a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrants and it will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.

Only children under the age of 18, and those who are unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm  an exceedingly high bar  in the country we are removing them to will be able to delay their removal, she said.

Any other claims will be heard remotely after removal.

The Bill will also introduce an annual cap, to be decided by Parliament, on the number of refugees the UK will offer sanctuary to through safe and legal routes, Ms Braverman said.

In a letter seen by the PA news agency, Ms Braverman told MPs the Government was testing the limits and remain confident that this Bill is compatible with international law but there is a more (than) 50% chance it may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Sunak vowed to stop the boats and grip illegal migration as one of his five priorities for his premiership while facing pressure to tackle the issue amid dire polling figures for the Tories.

Changing the law was the most important part of the plan, he argued, as he promised it would see the UK take back control of our borders, once and for all.

In 2022 a record 45,755 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.

More than 3,000 have already made the journey so far this year. Home Office figures show 197 made the crossing on Monday  the first arrivals since February 24  taking the total to date to 3,150.
Sunak up for the fight against legal challenges to his small boats plan

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is up for the fight against any legal challenges to his plans to tackle small boat crossings, as ministers admitted they may fall foul of human rights laws.

Mr Sunak said on Tuesday there was absolutely nothing improper about his new legislation and said he is confident the Government would win any court action.

But Home Secretary Suella Braverman conceded it is likely the Illegal Migration Bill may be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Mr Sunak did not rule out withdrawing the UK from the convention if legal challenges stall his latest plan to stop the boats, as with the Rwanda policy.

The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference they were prepared to challenge any legal action.

Of course were up for the fight, I wouldnt be standing here if we werent, he said, standing in front of a stop the boats branded podium. But were confident that well win.

On the front page of the Bill, Ms Braverman acknowledges she cannot assure Parliament that the legislation is compatible with the convention but adds that the Government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the Bill.

(PA Graphics)

Mr Sunak said there is absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented about the warning.

We believe we are acting in compliance with international law, in compliance with the ECHR, and if challenged, as you may well be right, weve seen in these matters we do get challenged, we will fight that hard because we believe were doing the right thing and it is compliant with our obligations, he added.

Ministers were facing pressure from the Conservative right to pull the UK out of the ECHR if legal challenges block the plans.

Mr Sunak said we dont believe it is necessary to leave the ECHR but did not rule out the move when asked at his press conference.

In a letter to MPs and peers seen by the PA news agency, Ms Braverman conceded it was more than likely the Bill does not meet ECHR obligations.

This does not mean that the provisions in the Bill are incompatible with the convention rights, only that there is a more (than) 50% chance that they may not be, she wrote.

 Enough is enough. We must stop the boats.@SuellaBraverman, The Home Secretary. pic.twitter.com/Ni4nhuh44b  Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) March 7, 2023

Both Houses will have an opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the Bill and, once approved, the measures in the Bill will have been expressly endorsed by Parliament and we would expect the courts to take that into account.

The right to a family life, freedom from torture and the right to a fair trial were all issues being considered as potential challenges to the legislation. So too was the right to liberty, with concerns over the powers for indefinite detention.

The UN Refugee Agency said it was profoundly concerned by the Bill which it said would amount to an asylum ban and clearly breach the refugee convention.

We urge the Government, and all MPs and peers, to reconsider the Bill and instead pursue more humane and practical policy solutions, the UNHCR said.

The Law Society of England and Wales, which represents solicitors, said it would carefully analyse whether the plans impinge on access to justice as it issued a warning.

President Lubna Shuja said: The rule of law is undermined if the UK Government takes the view that laws, international or domestic, can be broken.

(PA Graphics)

If a government breaks laws, it breaks trust with its own citizens and with international partners.

We will be carefully combing the detail of this Bill to determine whether it will lead to the Home Office delivering a fair and workable process, and seeking clarity from the Government on whether it is compatible with the UKs international obligations.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: Its an admission by the Government that its in effect behaving like those countries that show disregard to international human rights conventions, the likes of Myanmar, Russia, Belarus.

Ms Braverman alluded to the Bills legal complexities while announcing the plans in the House of Commons.

Some of the nations finest legal minds have been, and continue to be involved in, its development, she said.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis outlined some of the legal measures relating to the Bill to ministers during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

Ms Braverman has previously called for the UK to leave the ECHR.
Rishi Sunak has pushed the boundaries of international law with legislation to tackle small boat crossings of the Channel, the Home Secretary has said.

Suella Braverman and the Prime Minister will on Tuesday unveil their plans to remove and ban asylum seekers from re-entry if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means.

Mr Sunak argued that his new Bill, which is key to one of his five priorities for his premiership, will take back control of our borders, once and for all.

But critics have warned the proposals are unworkable and will leave thousands of migrants in limbo by banning them from ever claiming British citizenship again.

(PA Graphics)

Despite plans such as forcibly removing asylum seekers to Rwanda being mired in legal challenges, ministers were expected to approach the limits of the European Convention on Human Rights with the new legislation.

Writing in the Telegraph, Ms Braverman said: We must stop the boats and thats what our bill will do. No more sticking plasters or shying away from the difficult decisions.

Myself and the Prime Minister have been working tirelessly to ensure we have a bill that works  weve pushed the boundaries of international law to solve this crisis.

If you come here illegally it must be that you cannot stay.

A duty will be placed on the Home Secretary to remove as soon as reasonably practicable anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or a safe third country.

And arrivals will be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK, with plans also to ban them from returning once removed.

Mr Sunak spoke to Rwandas president Paul Kagame before unveiling his plans, and pledged to continue working with him to ensure their stalled project works.

(PA Graphics)

The Government has paid more than 140 million to Rwanda but no flights forcibly carrying migrants to the capital of Kigali have taken off because of legal challenges.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: The leaders committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully.

The Prime Minister will meet Frances President Emmanuel Macron on Friday to discuss further cooperation that will be required to reduce boat crossings.

Mr Sunak admitted voters have heard promises before without seeing results, but insisted his legislation will mean that those who come here on small boats cant claim asylum here.

He wrote in the Sun: This new law will send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed.

The PM said it was a plan to do whats fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum  a plan to take back control of our borders once and for all.

The Immigration Services Union representing border staff said the plans are quite confusing and do not seem possible without the Rwanda policy functioning.

Lucy Moreton, the unions professional officer, also suggested on BBC Radio 4s Today programme that smuggling gangs will tell people quick, cross now before anything changes, risking an increase in the number of crossings.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer raised doubts about the legality and feasibility of the plans after the last plan failed to get us very far.

Now weve got the next bit of legislation with almost the same billing, I dont think that putting forward unworkable proposals is going to get us very far, he told LBC radio.

Asked if the plan was legally feasible, the Labour leader said: I dont know that it is and I think weve got to be very careful with international law here.

The Prime Minister has made stopping the boats one of his five priorities and has been under pressure to tackle the issue amid dire polling figures for the Tories.

Almost 3,000 migrants have made unauthorised crossings of the English Channel already this year.

Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said the plans shatter the UKs long-standing commitment under the UN Convention to give people a fair hearing regardless of the path they have taken to reach our shores.

The Governments flawed legislation will not stop the boats but result in tens of thousands locked up in detention at huge cost, permanently in limbo and being treated as criminals simply for seeking refuge, he added.

Its unworkable, costly and wont stop the boats.
Rishi Sunak said migrants arriving in the UK illegally will be removed within weeks as the Government unveiled plans for fresh laws to curb Channel crossings.

The Prime Minister also confirmed the Illegal Migration Bill  to stop people claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means  will apply retrospectively if passed.

Unveiling the plans in the Commons earlier, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said asylum seekers arriving illegally will be detained and face a lifetime ban on returning after they are removed.

They will never be allowed to settle in the country or gain citizenship.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Sunak said: People must know that if they come here illegally, it will result in their detention and swift removal.

Once this happens, and they know it will happen, they will not come and the boats will stop.

Mr Sunak, who visited Dover in Kent earlier in the day to mark the announcement, said the laws will make it clear that if you come here illegally, you cant claim asylum, adding: You cant benefit from our modern slavery protection, you cant make serious human rights claims and you cant stay.

We will detain those who come here illegally and then remove them in weeks, either to their own country if it is safe to do so or to a safe third country like Rwanda.

And once you are removed, you will be banned  as you are in America and Australia  from ever re-entering our country.

(PA Graphics)

Describing the move as tough but necessary and fair, he said: And this legislation will be retrospective. If you come on a small boat today, the measures in this Bill will apply to you.

But he conceded the UK will be constrained in its ability to take in genuine refugees in the future if it fails in its efforts to stop the boats.

Full control of our borders will allow us to decide who to help and to provide safe and legal routes to those most in need, he said.

I understand there will be debate about the toughness of these measures. All I can say is weve tried it every other way and it has not worked.

Asked if he will have failed if he has not stopped the boats by the next general election, Mr Sunak said: I wouldnt be standing here if I didnt think that I could deliver on this promise.

Ms Braverman told MPs it would betray British voters not to tackle the waves of illegal migrants breaching our border.

But Labours shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, branded the Bill a con and described the plans as Groundhog Day less than a year after reforms were brought into force under the Nationality and Borders Act.

The comments came in the wake of criticism from campaigners who said the proposed policy would be unworkable. The UNs refugee agency, the UNHCR, said it is profoundly concerned by the Bill and that, if passed, it will amount to an asylum ban, making it a clear breach of the Refugee Convention.

Ms Braverman said the need for reform is obvious and urgent  the asylum system now costs the British taxpayer more than 3 billion a year and there are a record number of cases awaiting a decision.

In an email to Tory members, the Home Secretary blamed an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour Party for blocking previous attempts to halt small boat crossings.

The Bill allows migrants to be detained without bail or judicial review for 28 days, with the intention that they will be removed within that time.

It places a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrants and will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.

Only children and those unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm in the country they are due to be sent to will be able to delay their removal.

Any other claims will be heard remotely once they have been deported.

(PA Graphics)

The Bill will also introduce an annual cap, to be decided by Parliament, on the number of refugees the UK will offer sanctuary to through safe and legal routes.

Officials indicated hopes of the Bill being passed by the end of the year, which could see it in force ahead of any anticipated 2024 election.

In a letter seen by the PA news agency, Ms Braverman told MPs the Government is testing the limits and remains confident that this Bill is compatible with international law  but there is a more (than) 50% chance it may not be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Mr Sunak said were up for the fight against any legal challenges to the plans, adding: But were confident that well win.

He said there is absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented about pursuing Bills with a warning they may not be compatible with the ECHR.

Mr Sunak has staked his premiership on curbing Channel crossings, among four other priorities, in the face of pressure to tackle the issue amid dire polling figures for the Tories and has insisted changing the law is crucial.

In 2022, a record 45,755 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel.

More than 3,000 have made the journey so far this year.

Home Office figures show 197 made the crossing on Monday  the first arrivals since February 24  taking the total to date to 3,150.
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has called on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to review the eligibility of Top Gun: Maverick for this years Oscars, due to the films alleged ties with a Russian oligarch.

In an open letter published online on Tuesday, the UWC urged the organisation to be vigilant against any attempts to influence Hollywood and American society.

It comes less than a week before the 95th Academy Awards, which are due to take place on March 12.

Among this years nominees is Tom Cruises blockbuster sequel, which has earned six Oscar nods, including one for best picture.

A recent report by the Los Angeles Times detailed the films alleged funding ties to Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch who has been sanctioned by Ukraine.

According to the UWC, Mr Rybolovlevs involvement with the film was not publicly disclosed.

There is good reason to believe that his involvement may have led to censorship on behalf of the Kremlin, the organisation said, noting that unlike the first Top Gun film, no direct or indirect reference to Russia is made.

In a letter addressed to Academy president Janet Yang and members of the board of governors, the UWC called for appropriate action against films with Russian involvement.

Tom Cruises blockbuster sequel is up for six Academy Awards (Ian West/PA)

Ukrainians and friends of Ukraine around the world are grateful to the Academy for its long-standing support of Ukraine, the letter said.

We were moved by the moment of silence showing solidarity with Ukraine at last years Academy Awards and by the various tributes made by Academy members.

As they enter the second year of defending the families against Russias full-scale invasion, Ukrainians are grateful to receive this important support from such a high-profile and influential institution.

The letter went on to detail the UWCs serious concerns over Russian influence in Hollywood.

Rybolovlevs funding of Top Gun: Maverick was not publicly disclosed and there is good reason to believe that his involvement may have led to censorship on behalf of the Kremlin, the letter said.

UWC published an open letter to @TheAcademy raising concern over 6 Oscar nominations for #TopGunMaverick, a  funded by @AS_Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev, a  oligarch sanctioned by UA.Contrary to the original film, Top Gun: Maverick makes no direct or indirect reference to RU pic.twitter.com/VCJ9JseeeG  Ukrainian World Congress  (@UWCongress) March 7, 2023

Contrary to the original film, Top Gun: Maverick makes no direct or indirect reference to Russia. This is hardly a coincidence.

Hollywood must be vigilant and transparent of Russian money being used to further pro-Kremlin censorship.

The UWC called for the Academy to explicitly reject films with any direct or indirect investments by Russian oligarchs or other enablers of Russias genocidal war on Ukraine.

It also said the eligibility of Top Gun: Maverick should be reviewed and a strong statement should be issued by the Academy at the ceremony condemning the war.

Together we can make a difference to stop Russias war crimes against the Ukrainian people, said the letter, signed by UWC president Paul Grod.

The Academy has been contacted for comment.

The 95th Academy Awards are due to take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The United Nations refugee agency has urged MPs and peers to block Rishi Sunaks profoundly concerning plan to tackle small boat crossings.

The UNHCR said the Illegal Migration Bill amounted to an asylum ban which would prevent people fleeing war and persecution from seeking refuge in the UK.

We urge the Government, and all MPs and peers, to reconsider the Bill and instead pursue more humane and practical policy solutions, the agency said.

The legislation would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a longstanding, humanitarian tradition of which the British people are rightly proud, the UN agency said.

The Governments approach, outlined by Home Secretary Suella Braverman in Parliament on Tuesday, has been widely condemned by charities and human rights organisations.

The equalities watchdog questioned the approach being adopted, saying it risks undermining the core principle of the universality of human rights.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission added: We welcome the Governments intention to remain within the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

We are nonetheless concerned that the legislation risks breaching the UKs legal obligations under the Refugee Convention and ECHR.

The plan is simply not the British way of doing things, the Refugee Council said.

Its chief executive Enver Solomon suggested the plans were more akin to authoritarian nations such as Russia and insisted the proposals would not stop desperate people crossing in small boats but would instead leave traumatised people locked up in a state of misery being treated as criminals and suspected terrorists without a fair hearing on our soil.

He said the new legislation ignores the fundamental point that most of the people in small boats are men, women and children escaping terror and bloodshed from countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Syria.

He added: It is an approach more akin to authoritarian nations that walk away from international human rights treaties, such as Russia and Belarus, and is no way to treat those who have lost everything through no fault of their own.

We need an approach that replaces the chaos and cost of what we have now and focuses on compassion and competence, creating safe and orderly routes for refugees to reach the UK, such as refugee visas, and always give people a fair hearing so their rights are respected.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled plans for new laws to curb Channel crossings on Tuesday (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Amnesty International UK decried the plan  which it described as an attempt to disqualify peoples asylum claims en masse regardless of the strength of their case  as containing nothing fair, humane or even practical and described it as a shocking new low.

Steve Valdez-Symonds, Amnesty International UKs refugee and migrant rights director, said: Its frankly chilling to see ministers trying to remove human rights protections for groups of people whom theyve chosen to scapegoat for their own failures.

People fleeing persecution and conflict will be irreparably harmed by these proposals, while the UK is setting an utterly terrible example to other countries around the world.

Comparing it to the Governments efforts to send migrants to Rwanda, it branded the plan a cynical attempt to dodge basic moral and legal responsibilities and accused the Government of callously using vulnerable people for its own political ends.

Controversial new measures aimed at stopping illegal migration could also undermine attempts to curb human trafficking, in an unintended consequence, CARE has said.https://t.co/2ycNEgUaIs  Christian Action Research and Education (@careorguk) March 7, 2023

Amnesty echoed the Refugee Council in a call for accessible schemes so people seeking asylum do not have to rely on people smugglers and dangerous journeys.

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) warned that it had serious concerns the proposals will do nothing to help victims of human trafficking being brought to our shores, or those already here who are currently being exploited.

The organisations trafficking policy expert Rebecca Stevenson said: In fact, the approach signalled by the Government could undermine efforts to identify victims and ensure that justice is served.

This legislation could create a closed loop that fuels human trafficking. People being exploited already face huge barriers to coming forward. They will find it even more difficult to do so when seeking help could see them immediately deported. Many will conclude its better not to speak out at all.

It seems the government now agrees with us. pic.twitter.com/CnXZj47eEf  Migration Watch (@MigrationWatch) March 7, 2023

But the think tank Migration Watch UK, which has long argued the UKs level of immigration is neither sustainable nor well managed, welcomed the Bill and urged MPs and peers not to neuter the legislation as it came before Parliament.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of the campaign group, said: As it stands, the small boats Bill has many of the right ingredients to solve the Channel crisis.

However, it is vital that it is not neutered as it makes its way through Parliament. Enshrining in statute a requirement to detain and remove illegal arrivals is a vital first step.

Furthermore, establishing the precedent that illegal entrants will be unable to claim asylum or other forms of refuge will serve as a powerful deterrent.

It is equally important, of course, to plug the huge gaps created by the Human Rights and Modern Slavery Acts. These are all essential elements if the tide of illegal boat arrivals is to be stemmed.
Hollywood actresses Zendaya, Sophie Turner, Kerry Condon and Alicia Vikander joined music star Pharrell Williams on the front row of the latest Louis Vuitton fashion show at Paris Fashion Week.

Euphoria star Zendaya, 26, wore an abstract print short suit with matching knee-high boots, and carried a mini bag with the trademark LV print.

Zendaya (Christophe Ena/AP)

Turner, 27, who is married to pop star Joe Jonas and has previously modelled for the French fashion label, wore a co-ordinating outfit printed with musical score and carried a cream handbag.

Sophie Turner (Christophe Ena/AP)

Irish actress Condon, 40, who is nominated for an Oscar for her role in The Banshees Of Inisherin, kept things chic and simple in patterned trousers, a red sweater and a navy overcoat.

Kerry Condon (Scott Garfitt/AP)

Swedish-born Vikander, 34, has previously starred in Louis Vuitton campaigns.

She wore a printed blouse and white A-line mini skirt with brown knee-high boots and peach bag with the LV logo.

Alicia Vikander (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

Chloe Grace Moretz, 26, chose a monochrome look for the Paris Fashion Week event.

She teamed a black and white leather blazer with black knee-length shorts and boots.

Chloe Grace Moretz (Vianney Le Caer/AP)

Rapper and producer Williams, 49, who was recently announced as the new creative director for Louis Vuittons menswear line, opted for a more colourful outfit.

He teamed a green velvet jacket, embroidered with little gold LV logos, with jeans, lime green trainers, a flat cap and jewelled sunglasses.

Pharrell Williams (Christophe Ena/AP)

Emma Stone, who has fronted fashion and beauty campaigns for Vuitton, also chose a brightly coloured outfit.

The La La Land actress wore a blue and red pinstripe trouser suit.

Emma Stone (Scott Garfitt/AP)

The brands autumn/winter collection was unveiled at the Musee dOrsay in Paris.

The set was designed by French artist Philippe Parreno to create an immersive sensory experience.

Models walked the runway to the sound of a thunderstorm, echoing footsteps and the roar of engine jets.

Creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere played with shapes and proportions for his autumn/winter offering.

He unveiled a range of new handbags in padded leather with gold detailing.

The clothing focused mainly on outerwear and tailoring with oversized, round-shouldered coats, boxy blazers and pantaloon-style shorts.

A handful of models wore futuristic-looking lit-up face masks with eye slits.
FILE - GloRilla performs at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. A crowd pushed toward the exits of a concert in Rochester, N.Y., amid apparent fears that shots had been fired, killing one person and injuring eight others, police said. Police found no evidence to support a shooting having occurred" inside the concert late Sunday, March 5, featuring rappers GloRilla and Finesse2tymes at the Main Street Armory, Rochester police Lt. Nicholas Adams said in a statement to ABC News. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The death toll rose to two on Monday following a stampede at a rap concert in Rochester, New York, that authorities said may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire.

The Memphis rap stars GloRilla and Finesse2tymes had finished performing Sunday night at Rochester's Main Street Armory when people exiting just after 11 p.m. began to surge dangerously, Police Chief David M. Smith said at a news briefing Monday.

We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene, Smith said.

Concertgoer Ikea Hayes returned to the venue Monday to retrieve belongings she left behind.

I was watching my life flash before my eyes, and I still didn't even know what was going on, she told Rochester television station WHEC. She described being on the ground, just scared, praying, like, you got to get up, you got to move.

Police found three badly injured women in the auditorium. One, identified as Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo, died at a hospital. Police announced the death of a 35-year-old woman late Monday. Her name was not released. Another woman remained in critical condition, police said. Seven additional people were treated at area hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening.

What began last night as a night of live music and fun for the performer GloRilla ended in tragedy with one person dead and two more fighting for their lives, the chief said.

While there is no evidence of gunfire, Smith said, police are investigating several possible causes of the fatal surge, including possibly crowd size, shots fired, pepper spray and other contributing factors.

Mayor Malik Evans called the fatal stampede totally unacceptable" and promised a through investigation into whether venue operators had the necessary safety measures in place for a large crowd.

We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period, Evans said, though he cautioned that it was too early in the investigation to assign blame. I intend to get to the bottom of this.

There was no immediate response to emails requesting comment sent Monday to the Main Street Armory.

GloRilla, whose 2022 song F.N.F. (Lets Go) with Hitkidd was nominated for a Grammy for best rap performance, tweeted that she was praying everybody is ok.

Fatal crowd surges have been a recurring disaster at concerts and other large events in the U.S. and around the world, including one at a 2021 concert by rapper Travis Scott in which 10 people died.

Built from 1905 to 1907 and initially used by the U.S. Army, the armory hosted sporting events throughout the 20th century before being shut down for several years starting in the late 1990s, partly because it lacked a fire suppression system at the time.

It reopened after extensive renovations and began hosting concerts and other events in 2005. Smith said its main arena is meant to have a capacity of about 5,000 people, and the city fire marshal will work with police to determine whether that capacity was exceeded Sunday.

City officials said the facility underwent a physical fire safety inspection in December and was compliant with fire codes.

The venue's next scheduled show, a Saturday performance by the rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, has been canceled.

If you go to a concert, you do not expect to be trampled," Evans said. Your loved ones expect you to be able to come home and talk about the experience that you had at that great concert.
Ben Savage, former star of Boy Meets World, is running for Congress.

Savage, 42, confirmed on Instagram that he is running to represent District 30 in the Los Angeles area, which is currently held by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schiff is running for the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, who last month announced plans to retire.

I am a proud Californian, union member and longtime resident of District 30 who comes from a family of unwavering service to our country and community, Savage wrote in an Instagram post announcing his candidacy on March 6.

I firmly believe in standing up for what is right, ensuring equality and expanding opportunities for all, his post also read. Im running for Congress because its time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our countrys most pressing issues.

District 30 includes areas such as Hollywood, Burbank and Glendale.

Ben Savage and Betsy Randle in

Savages Instagram announcement came after he filed paperwork for his campaign with the Federal Election Commission in January.

On his campaign website, the actor referenced his past as a child actor, though without referring to Boy Meets World, in which he starred from 1993 to 2000.

He also reprised his role as Cory Matthews in the Girl Meets World reboot from 2014 to 2017.

Savage noted on his campaign website that thanks to his acting past, he learned the value of a hard days work by age 5 and the importance of union membership.

Fans couldnt resist references to Savages Boy Meets World legacy in comments about his campaign announcement on Instagram, with one person chiming in, Boy meets congress!

Mr. Feeny would be soo proud, another fan wrote.

Ben savage. Honest. Loyal. Decent, another person commented, referring to Corys campaign slogan when he runs for eighth grade president in Boy Meets World.

According to his campaign website, Savage graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science and currently lives in West Hollywood.

Outlining his priorities on his campaign website, Savage said he was focused on issues including reforms and improvements to police-citizen interactions, homelessness, affordable housing, protecting unions and affordable health care, among other areas.

Savage was unsuccessful in a bid for a West Hollywood City Council seat last year.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
FILE - In this image from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin stands in costume and speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M. In a motion filed Tuesday, Feb. 07, 2023, in Santa Fe-based district court, defense attorneys for Baldwin are seeking to disqualify the special prosecutor in the case against him stemming from the shooting of a cinematographer on the film set. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  A district attorney in Santa Fe fought back Monday against efforts to disqualify the special prosecutor pursuing manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.

Baldwin's legal team in February sought to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican state Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis based on constitutional provisions that safeguard the separation of powers between distinct branches of government.

Defense attorneys argued that Reeb's role as a state lawmaker and prosecutor are incompatible and could distort legislative and judicial actions, including state spending on the prosecution of Baldwin over the 2021 shooting on the set of the Western movie Rust.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies on Monday called the objection a novel theory that has no support in new Mexico statutes or case law.

She said the state constitution provides a variety of safeguards against legislators interfering with the outcome of ongoing court cases.

Any attempt by Ms. Reeb as a legislator to influence the outcome of this trial would be completely ineffective, Carmack-Altwies said in a court filing.

Since joining the legislature in January, Reeb has steered clear of voting on public spending to prosecute Baldwin and film-set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She was excused from a House floor vote in February on a proposed state budget that includes $360,000 for special prosecution expenses in the fatal film-set shooting.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 18-months in prison and fines.

Hutchins died shortly after being wounded Oct. 21, 2021, during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza. A likely preliminary hearing is still months away to decide whether evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial.

Prosecutors say assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on set, has signed an agreement to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon. A judge is scheduled to consider approval of the plea agreement later this month.

Prosecution in the death of Hutchins is currently underwritten by an emergency state grant, approved in September 2022 by the State Board of Finance that is led by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Reeb is listed as a sponsor or cosponsor on several criminal justice initiatives, including enhanced punishments for firearms violations, as legislators explore ways to rein in surging violent crime. She previously served as district attorney for a judicial district on the eastern plains of New Mexico.
Dilbert creator and cartoonist Scott Adams, pictured in 2001, says he won't apologize for racially incendiary comments. (Photo: Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)

In his first network TV interview since being kicked off the pages of hundreds of newspapers for comments widely perceived as racist, the creator and writer of the Dilbert comic strip declined to apologize.

"No, because I did it intentionally," Scott Adams told Chris Cuomo on Monday night's edition of NewsNation's Cuomo, after Cuomo asked whether he felt he owed people who were offended an apology. "I offended people so that they'd be drawn to the solution."

Adams repeated again and again that he'd meant to rile people up when he said on the Feb. 22 edition of the YouTube show Real Coffee With Scott Adams, while discussing a Rasmussen poll, that white people should "get the hell away from Black people" and called Black people a "hate group."

Within days, Adams's cartoon, which riffed on office culture before The Office or even the movie Office Space, was pulled. Dilbert had, at its peak, run in an estimated 2,000 newspapers worldwide, and the comic was spun off into books and other merch, a video game and even a TV series followed.

Adams told the Washington Post in a story published Monday that he'd lost 80 percent of his income as a result. He insisted then that he's against racism.

The latter is the same message that he brought to Cuomo's show.

Adams said only white people, specifically white liberals, are mad at him, and that Black people have been inviting him over for barbecues. They told him, he claimed, that they understood what he was doing.

During the time when viewers could call in, a woman who identified herself as a Black teacher and a longtime fan of Adams's comic strip called in to say that she had been hurt by his comments. She asked how she should explain this kind of rhetoric to her students.

"So here's the quick summary: I was concerned that there was a lot of anti-whiteness. I used some hyperbole, but my purpose was to teach them and anybody else who wants to listen the tools for success," advised Adams, whose books include Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter and Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America. He wanted her to urge her students to stop looking backwards and look forward.

"Tell your students that they have a perfect path to success as long as they get good grades," he said. "I'm assuming you're a good teacher and you have a good enough school that they can get a good education, and if they employ a strategy, and don't look backwards as a strategy, they'll do great. Now they'll still be way too much systemic racism, but you'll be able to just slice through it like it didn't exist."

Later, the interviewee asked that, if a Black man or woman had said what he said exactly or in reverse, did people think that person would be canceled.

"Everybody knows the answer is rhetorical," Adams said, laughing. "There's not a chance in the world they'd have been canceled. So I wanted as much free speech as Black America. I'm the only one who has it. I'm the only one in the whole  I wanna swear, but I won't  in the whole country who can say what I mean and have a productive conversation."

At the end of the interview, Cuomo asked Adams if he would do it again.

"Would I do it again to get to this place?" he answered. "I have to tell you I feel like I'm supposed to be here. It's a weird feeling. Like I never felt bad about being canceled, and I can't explain that, except that I feel like I was supposed to be here. I feel like the race relations in the country are so broken that you just have to stir up some crap to get anybody's attention and maybe convince them to look forward and maybe work together with people who have exactly the same goals."

He's announced that his most famous character's adventures will continue in Dilbert Reborn, on his subscription website beginning March 13.
Netflix

Netflix's latest true crime docuseries is Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, the story of the Murdaughs, a wealthy South Carolina family. Murdaugh Murders explores the multiple incidents that the family of litigators have been linked to, including a boating accident in which somebody died, and the events that preceded the deaths of matriarch Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh and her son Paul in the summer of 2021.

The series also partially covers the ongoing trial of Alex Murdaugh, Maggie's husband and Paul's father, who was charged with their murders but has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty. A fourth member of the Murdaugh family, Maggie and Alex's other son Buster, is also included in the documentary.

Richard Alex Murdaugh, nicknamed Buster, was previously working at his father's legal practice and attending law school at the University of South Carolinasomething of a family traditionbefore the murder of his mother and brother. However, he was eventually kicked out over an incident involving plagiarism.

According to local paper The Post and Courier, Buster's family paid $60,000 in order to ensure that he would be readmitted to the college in order to complete his law degree. However, he has yet to recommence his studies. "He has put his desire to go to law school on hold for now," the Murdaugh's lawyer, Butch Bowers, said. "There is no plan for him to start school in the fall or in the spring."

Where is Buster Murdaugh now?

Buster currently lives with his girlfriend, lawyer Brooklynn White, in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It is not clear what he does for a living. In February of this year, he testified in his father's trial as a first witness for the defensein other words, he testified on his father's behalf, and said that Alex was "heartbroken" by the deaths of Maggie and Paul.

Buster has attended the entirety of his father's trial, and according to Law & Crime, Buster has been shaken and put his head in his hands throughout the trial as the attorneys go through the grisly details of the double murder. On March 2nd, Buster's father was found guilty for both murders, and on March 3rd, the judge sentenced his father to two consecutive life terms in prison.

Where was Buster during the murders?

On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh claims that he arrived home to find Maggie and Paul had both been shot dead near the dog kennels on their property. He called 911, and also called Buster.

"He sounded odd, and then he told me that my mom and my brother had been shot," Buster said during the trial. According to his testimony, Buster was over 200 miles away when the murders took place, at his girlfriend's house in Rock Hill, South Carolina. After hearing what had happened, he immediately made the journey to the Murdaugh home.

What was Buster's reaction to the verdict?

On Friday March 3, 2023, a judge sentenced Alex Murdaugh to two consecutive life terms for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

A source who was present at the Colleton County Courthouse during the sentencing told the New York Post: "Buster held up pretty well until the cameras were off him, but then he collapsed... He was crying uncontrollably. The uncles finally got him into a car."

Buster has been linked to two other deaths

One of the incidents documented in Murdaugh Murders was the boating accident that resulted in the death of Mallory Beach. The Beach family have claimed that Paul Murdaugh was drunk at the time, but have since agreed to a settlement that removes Buster's name from the case, along with that of his mother.

The documentary also includes mention of the hit-and-run death of Stephen Smith, a former friend and classmate of Buster's, which remains unsolved.

You Might Also Like
A woman describes her experience with a 20-pound ovarian cyst. (Photo: Getty Images)

Kenya Smith thought her postpartum recovery was "normal"  until it wasn't.

"The first symptom was that it was hard to lay on my stomach," the Utah-based content creator and mom of three recalls, of the moment she knew something wasn't right with her body. "I wasn't having a lot of other symptoms. And then, after a couple of months, I was having trouble using the restroom. My stomach was always bloated  it felt constantly bloated, and it never shrank back down."

Smith, 27, wasn't just bloated. Months after giving birth to her third child in March 2022, she looked pregnant. But it wasn't a baby: It was a 20-pound ovarian cyst. At the time, however, Smith had no idea what was going on with her health, and she struggled to find doctors who could give her a straight answer.

No real answers

Smith, who chronicled her scary experience on TikTok, tells Yahoo Life that she initially went to her ob-gyn to get answers. Doctors told her she was "inflamed" following her pregnancy, and she was sent home with laxatives.

Yet while the laxatives helped relieve some of the "pressure" she felt, her body had not returned to anywhere close to its shape before she gave birth. Smith looked for answers elsewhere, and found a clue as to what might be going on with her after seeing a post on social media about a woman with fibroids. The woman, Smith says, had a stomach that looked a lot like hers  and so, Smith called her ob-gyn to ask if something of the kind could be causing her issues.

Yet despite only having a baby a few months earlier with the doctor, Smith was told she was no longer a priority  she would have to wait two and a half months for a visit.

Rather than waiting, Smith took her health care into her own hands. She went to an allergist to see if food allergies could be causing the problem. She saw a naturalist for a hair test. She even took a pregnancy test to make sure she wasn't pregnant again. No test provided tangible results, and with a stomach that kept expanding, Smith knew time was of the essence. At this point, she wasn't sleeping from the intense pressure and pain, and eating was a challenge, she said, because she "didn't have room for food."

After much back-and-forth with insurance and doctors' offices, Smith was able to persuade a different physician to do a stomach ultrasound.

"That's not a baby," a distressed Smith remembers telling the ultrasound technician. "What do you think that is, if not a baby?"

Scary possibilities

When the ultrasound technician did take a look at Smith's stomach, Smith says "her face dropped." There was a huge mass in her ovary.

The technician (who, Smith believes, was trying to help) told Smith that "things that grow this fast are [often] cancer." As someone with a history of cancer in her family, that potential news led Smith to call her husband, "sobbing."

Kenya Smith in November 2022, before her cyst was removed. (Photo: Kenya Smith)

The next step was to get a CT scan to provide further details about the mass. Following a scan  which included plenty of discussion with doctors about referrals and insurance company questions  Smith was connected to Dr. Jessica Hunn, a board-certified ob-gyn and gynecologic oncologist. That's when she finally received some useful answers.

A solution

Hunn came highly recommended, not just for her skills as a doctor, but also for her passion for advocating for women's health. Smith knew she had found the right doctor after she was able to schedule an appointment quickly, finally making her situation feel as urgent as Smith knew it was.

Hunn tells Yahoo Life she was "so impressed" that Smith actively pursued her own care, especially after so many professionals had dismissed her pain.

"I think there is a shortage of physicians taking care of nonpregnant women patients," Hunn explains. "Ob-gyns are quite busy with pregnant women who have acute needs, and there are a lot of pregnant women in Utah and in the U.S. Gynecologists who only take care of women's nonpregnant needs are much harder to get in to see. Some women have to wait six months to see a gynecologist for a biopsy or an ultrasound, for a basic work-up."

She continues: "Getting in for surgery with a skilled and trained gynecologist can be equally as difficult. I don't think that is acceptable, and women need to have better access to care. This is a problem in Utah, but I see it across the country as well."

Smith's CT scan, revealing an ovarian cyst. (Photo: Kenya Smith)

Hunn recommended surgery. So she first drained the cyst  almost 10 liters of liquid  and then removed it, along with Smith's ovary and Fallopian tube.

No cancer was found in the mass  "not even pre-cancer, which was a miracle," says Smith, who was left with just a few "small scars." Hunn told Smith that her fertility would probably not be affected by the surgery, because her other working ovary was healthy.

"Going from a pregnancy into that, I didn't even know my body. A lot of people are like, 'How did you let it go that long?' But being postpartum, your body is so hard to predict anyway. I just didn't know what was going on," Smith explains. "I shared it on TikTok because I wanted to spread awareness. I saw the fibroid thing, with a girl sharing her experience, and I'm so glad she shared that, because I needed an ultrasound  I wanted to repay that experience."

How common is Smith's story?

Dr. Jennifer Wider, an expert on women's health, explains that ovarian cysts are "fluid-filled sacs, found inside the ovary or on its surface."

"Each egg that forms inside the ovary is contained inside a follicle," she tells Yahoo Life. "The follicle is filled with fluid, as a way to protect the egg as it grows. During ovulation, the follicle releases the egg, the fluid gets discharged, and the follicle shrinks. If the follicle does not release an egg or dispel the fluid, it can become swollen, forming a cyst. This is known as a functional cyst and is related to the menstrual cycle. Another type of cyst that is not related to menstruation is called a pathologic cyst and is formed by abnormal cell growth  most pathologic cysts are benign, but in rare cases, they can be cancerous."

Exactly why Smith's cyst grew so large is not known. Wider says that there are "no real predictor factors" to explain why a cyst may become massive. One possibility is PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), as it can lead to multiple ovarian cysts, with some increasing in size. Another potential risk factor is endometriosis, a disorder in which tissue similar to the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus grows outside your uterus.

In general, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a Yale Medicine ob-gyn and the founder of a women's health website, Madame Ovary, says that ovarian cysts are "very common." Small cysts often resolve on their own and do not need removal. Larger ones, like Smiths cyst, are much more rare.

"Most of the time women will feel some discomfort; a sense of fullness in the abdomen, or some pain, which would prompt a visit to her health care provider," Minkin explains. "Some women really don't feel a lot of pressure or discomfort. The best way to evaluate for an ovarian cyst is usually an ultrasound of the pelvis."

Dr. Staci Tanouye, a board-certified ob-gyn, agrees, saying that most ovarian cysts don't cause symptoms. Cysts that grow abnormally large, as Smith's did, can cause "pressure or pain"  and can lead to other complications, because they can bleed or rupture, exacerbating the pain.

"These cysts can also increase the risk of the ovary twisting on itself and cutting off its blood supply, called an ovarian torsion," she explains. "Ovarian torsion can cause severe pain and require emergency surgery."

If you feel this kind of pain and suspect a cyst, Tanouye says, "It's always a good idea to talk with your doctor. If someone ever has acute or severe pain, a visit to the ER may be necessary."

Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life's newsletter. Sign up here.
BEIJING (AP)  In his first news conference since taking office, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang lashed out Tuesday at the United States over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washingtons support for Taiwan. He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit.

Washington's China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track, Qin told journalists on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Chinas rubber-stamp legislature, in his only formal scheduled news conference for the year, although he is also prone to taking questions during foreign visits.

Washington means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game, he said.

It's so-called establishing guardrails and not seeking conflict simply means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked," Qin said. "That is just impossible.

If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation.Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang

If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation, he said. Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.

Qin's harsh and borderline apocalyptic language appeared to defy predictions that China was abandoning its aggressive wolf warrior diplomacy in favor of a more moderate presentation as bilateral relations have hit a historical low over trade and technology, Taiwan, human rights and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

China last week responded with indignation to U.S. suggestions that COVID-19, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, originated from a leak of the virus from a Chinese lab. The Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of politicizing the issue" in an attempt to discredit China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang looks on during a press conference held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

After serving briefly as ambassador to Washington, Qin was appointed foreign minister at the end of December, in which role he is junior to the Communist Partys senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi. Earlier in his career, he served as Foreign Ministry spokesperson, gaining a reputation for his tartly worded condemnations of China's critics.

On Tuesday, Qin repeated criticisms of Washingtons recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the U.S. east coast, saying that was entirely an unexpected accident caused by force majuere.

However, in violation of the spirit of international law, international customary practices, the United States acted with the presumption of guilt, Qin said. It overreacted, abused force and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided."

In this case the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge," Qin said. This is like the first button in a shirt being put wrong and the result is that the U.S.-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing in the wake of the balloon incident, frustrating hopes for improved ties after meetings between top leaders at multilateral gatherings in late 2022. The massive balloon and its payload, including electronics and optics, have been recovered from the ocean floor and are being analyzed by the FBI.

Turning to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory, Qin called the issue the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.

The U.S. has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question, he said, accusing the U.S. of disrespecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, by offering the island political backing and furnishing it with defensive weapons in response to Beijing's threat to use force to bring it under Chinese control.

Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan. Mishandling of the Taiwan question will shake the very foundation of China-U.S. relations.Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang

"Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?" Qin said. Mishandling of the Taiwan question will shake the very foundation of China-U.S. relations.

China has stepped up its diplomatic isolation and military harassment of Taiwan, prompting a string of visits from U.S. and European politicians to show their support, along with new arms sales and a push by Taiwanese authorities to boost domestic defense capabilities.

Beijing has also accused the West of fanning the flames by providing Ukraine with weaponry to fend off the Russian invasion. China says it has a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a no-limits friendship with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscows invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion.

A Chinese peace proposal for Ukraine that has drawn praise from Russia but dismissals from the West has done nothing to lessen tensions as U.S. officials have repeatedly accused China of considering the provision of weapons to Russia for use in the war.

Efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda, Qin said.

Conflicts, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem. What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue, he said.

Conflicts, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem. What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue.Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang

The minister also attacked U.S. actions in the Indo-Pacific, where Washington and its allies have been alarmed over China's moves to woo a number island nations. That includes signing a pact with the Solomon Islands that would allow port visits by Chinese warships for logistical replenishment and for China to send police, military personnel and other armed forces to the Solomons to assist in maintaining social order.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, while purportedly aimed at upholding freedom and openness, maintaining security and promoting prosperity in the region is, in fact, an attempt to gang up to form exclusive blocs to provoke confrontation by plotting an Asian-Pacific version of NATO, Qin said.

Qin's news conference came two days after the opening of the yearly meeting of the National People's Congress, a mostly ceremonial body assembled to approve government reports and, this year, a new slate of top-level appointments. That is expected to include a norm-breaking third five-year term as president for Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, who has eliminated all term limits to allow him to rule indefinitely.

At Sunday's opening session, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang announced plans for a consumer-led revival of the struggling economy, setting this years growth target at around 5%.

Separately, the Ministry of Finance announced a 7.2% budget increase for the ruling partys military wing, the Peoples Liberation Army, to 1.55 trillion yuan ($224 billion), marking a slight increase over 2022. Chinas military spending is the worlds second highest after the United States.

A spokesperson for the congress said such spending was needed to meet complex security challenges.
Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez, Eunisses Hernandez and Nithya Raman outside City Hall on Tuesday announcing a measure aimed at designating Los Angeles a "sanctuary city." (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Soon after President Trump took office, Los Angeles immigration groups demanded that City Hall label L.A. a haven for immigrants in the face of his promised crackdown.

The Los Angeles City Council ultimately passed a resolution that declared L.A. a "city of sanctuary"  a symbolic gesture that offered no legal protections.

Now, Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman want to strengthen L.A.'s laws around immigration. They announced Tuesday they would seek passage of an ordinance declaring L.A. a "sanctuary city" and barring city personnel or resources from being used in federal immigration enforcement.

If adopted, the law would be largely similar to one in San Francisco. It prohibits city employees from using city funds or resources to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the enforcement of federal immigration laws unless such assistance is required by federal or state law.

Raman said her office worked with immigration advocates and others on the proposed law. Some of the leaders of those groups told The Times they are looking to next year's presidential election.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presumed Republican candidate, has made cracking down on people in the country without authorization a focus.

"We want to make sure that L.A. is ready for a worst-case scenario," said Shiu-Ming Cheer, deputy director of programs and campaigns at the California Immigrant Policy Center.

The law sought by the three council members would codify existing policies, including a 2017 executive directive issued by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti that prohibits all city employees from using public facilities or resources to assist or cooperate with federal civil immigration enforcement.

The proposed law would also bar federal immigration authorities or other entities connected to immigration enforcement from accessing city databases or anyone's personal data.

The proposal follows moves by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, which in 2020 voted to ban the transfer of inmates to ICE custody unless the authorities have a judicial warrant.

The council members' motion asks the city attorney to prepare a draft ordinance within 60 days that would prohibit, to the extent permissible by law, the use of city resources, property or personnel for any federal immigration enforcement.

Nearly 10% of the nations 11.1 million immigrants who are in the country without legal authorization reside in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center report.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Hernandez said it's time that L.A. lives "up to its promise to our immigrant communities."

"Symbolic gestures are not enough," Hernandez said. "Internal policies that can be changed from one day to the next are not enough."

Hernandez's office said in a news release that the "city and internal LAPD policies still allow for ICE officers to access city jails to interrogate people in LAPD custody, and, under certain circumstances, LAPD officers are permitted to transfer individuals to ICE custody, even when judicial warrants are not issued." The proposed ordinance seeks to limit those interactions.

The Los Angeles Police Department declined to answer questions about its policies.

The Times also sent multiple questions to ICE about its practices. In response, the agency said its operations are "focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that protects the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws."

Following Trump's election and promise to deport migrants, mayors in Boston, Chicago and elsewhere reaffirmed their cities as sanctuaries, and the California Legislature passed a law that aims to protect immigrants.

L.A.'s efforts around establishing itself as a sanctuary have come in fits and starts. The city in 2017 set aside $2 million for a legal defense fund to pay for attorneys for individuals and families who are detained or at risk for deportation.

City leaders also introduced a resolution that year to declare L.A. a city of sanctuary, calling it a direct response to Trumps efforts to unwind a program that protects immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

However, it took the city two years to vote on the resolution, and by then, immigrant advocates said, its declaration had lost significance.

President Biden has reversed some immigration policies but also faced criticism for proposals that immigration groups say would mirror Trump's tough crackdown.

At the same time, ICE's surveillance capabilities have expanded. The agency has worked with third-party vendors to collect data from utility companies and private databases, according to findings from a two-year investigation published last year by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology.

For example, the report found that ICE has drivers license data for 3 in 4 adults living in the U.S. and can track the movement of vehicles in cities that are home to nearly 75% of adults.

Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said declarations of sanctuary city labels are empty rhetoric unless cities and counties also ensure that ICE cant access troves of data collected by those municipalities.

The group has filed a lawsuit against a third-party vendor in a federal case in California.

We encourage cities to analyze city data and how its being stored and whether its susceptible to warrants, Cahn said.

In Los Angeles, mobility data are collected by the city, for example, Cahn said.

Los Angeles Department of Transportation spokesperson Colin Sweeney said the city receives route or drop-off and pickup information from companies that offer scooters, bicycles and some taxis in L.A. to ensure operators are following city rules. The city doesnt gather information about riders, Sweeney said.

The department is prohibited from sharing its mobility data with law enforcement unless required by a subpoena or warrant, Sweeney said. No federal agency has ever accessed or sought access to this data, he added.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, predicted that the proposal, if passed, would strain L.A.s education and healthcare system.

People tend to flock to areas where they know that there isnt cooperation with federal immigration authorities, said Mehlman, calling the proposal "costly" for taxpayers.

The phrase "sanctuary city" dates to the 1980s, when U.S. immigration policies allowed some Central American immigrants entry but not others. In response, Berkeley and a few other municipalities declared themselves sanctuary cities to accept those migrants.

A divided L.A. City Council adopted a resolution in 1985 declaring Los Angeles a city of sanctuary for immigrants fleeing political persecution and violence, particularly refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.

After one council member threatened a ballot measure to overturn the resolution, the council watered it down and dropped the phrase city of sanctuary."

Instead, the council voted to reaffirm a policy that banned city employees from considering a persons "refugee or residence status" before providing city services.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Five women are suing the state of Texas over its strict abortion laws, saying they were denied the procedure even though their lives were in danger.

The lawsuit  filed in state court Monday by the Center for Reproductive Rights  marks the first time that women, rather than doctors on behalf of their patients or advocacy groups, have taken legal action since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

According to the lawsuit, the women were "denied necessary and potentially life-saving obstetrical care because medical professionals throughout the state fear liability under Texas's abortion bans."

MORE: How some providers are working around abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned

"It is now dangerous to be pregnant in Texas," Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said during a press conference outside the Texas Capitol. "Doctors and hospitals are turning patients away, even those in medical emergencies. Patients are being denied life-saving obstetrical care."

Texas does not allow abortions after six weeks of pregnancy except for "medical emergencies," which is not defined. The suit asks that physicians be allowed to determine what qualifies under the exception.

The five women  Ashley Brandt, Lauren Hall, Lauren Miller, Anna Zargarian and Amanda Zurawski  said they were all excited about their pregnancies but were denied care when their lives were in danger, the lawsuit states.

PHOTO: Lauren Miller, who had to travel to Colorado to have an abortion for one of her twins, at home in Dallas, March 5, 2023. (Nitashia Johnson/The New York Times via Redux)

Zurawski, 35, from Austin, was diagnosed with an "incomplete cervix"  which occurs when cervical tissue weakens and prematurely dilates the cervix  at 17 weeks and was told her baby would not survive, according to the lawsuit.

Under Texas's abortion law, doctors said there wasn't much they could do for Zurawski because cardiac activity still could be detected.

After she developed sepsis, Zurawski said she was induced so she could deliver the fetus. She developed sepsis again and had so much scar tissue from the infections that one of her fallopian tubes is permanently closed, the lawsuit states.

Hall, 28, from outside Dallas, was told her baby would not survive after a scan revealed the fetus had anencephaly, a condition in which a baby does not develop a skull and had a severely underdeveloped brain.

A maternal-fetal medicine specialist told her continuing the pregnancy could result in hemorrhage or pre-term birth but that she couldn't have an abortion due to Texas' laws. Hall was forced to travel to Seattle for the procedure.

MORE: Why doctors say the 'save the mother's life' exception of abortion bans is medically risky

Miller, 35, from Dallas, learned she was carrying twins but a scan at 12 weeks showed one of them had trisomy 18, which is a chromosomal condition that results in severe abnormalities and developmental delays.

According to the lawsuit, she traveled to Colorado to receive a selective fetal reduction, which aborted the fetus with the chromosomal condition. Miller continued her pregnancy with the other twin, who has shown no signs of abnormalities, and she is due the end of the month.

"It shouldn't be controversial for an individual to make health care decisions for themselves in consultation with their doctor, but you cant get that in Texas anymore," she said during the press conference.

Brandt, 31, from Dallas, Texas, also learned she was pregnant in May 2022 with twins. A scan, however, revealed that one had a condition known as acrania, which is when the fetus does not develop a skull, the lawsuit states.

The condition progressed to exencephaly, in which brain tissue is freely floating in amniotic fluid. Continuing the pregnancy could have increased her risk of miscarriage or premature labor. She, too, traveled to Colorado after being unable to obtain an abortion, according to the lawsuit.

The final plaintiff, Zargarian, 33, from Austin, was 19 weeks pregnant when she said she was diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of membranes, which occurs when the membranes break before a woman goes into labor.

PHOTO: Elizabeth Hernandez, a medical assistant at Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, N.M., prepares mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion for a patient, Jan. 13, 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

She was at high risk of sepsis or hemorrhaging if she continued the pregnancy but could not obtain an abortion. Zargarian also went to Colorado to obtain an abortion, legal filings show.

"You never know when you or someone you know will need [an abortion]," Zargarian said during the press conference.

In September 2021, the state passed the so-called Texas Heartbeat Act  better known as SB 8  which bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which typically occurs around six weeks, before most women know they're pregnant.

The law does not include exceptions for rape or incest or if the fetus has a fatal or untreatable condition. The only exception is for "medical emergencies," but it is undefined, making it unclear what qualifies.

SB 8 also allows private citizens to sue anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion.

MORE: If an abortion drug is banned, could misoprostol be used as a safe alternative?

Additionally, after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, Texas passed a trigger law making abortion a second-degree felony "for a person who knowingly performs, induces, or attempts an abortion."

If the pregnancy is successfully aborted, the offense becomes a first-degree felony, according to the law.

According to the Texas Penal Code, the punishment for a first-degree penalty could be up to life in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The penalty for a second-degree felony is up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support fro the lawsuit.

"The lawsuit includes devastating, first-hand accounts of women's lives almost lost after they were denied the health care they needed, because of extreme efforts by Republican officials to control women's bodies," she said.

The statement continued, "Like the overwhelming majority of Americans, the President and I believe women  in consultation with their doctors  should be in charge of their reproductive health care, not politicians."

ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.

5 women sue Texas over abortion bans, saying their lives were put at risk originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Tomas Ovalle)

Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a powerful, 12-minute address urging antisemites to abandon their hateful ideologies and choose strength.

On Monday, the former action movie star and former governor of California shared the impassioned speech via Facebook in a video produced by ATTN, a Los Angeles-based "issues-driven" media company.

I dont care how many hateful things you may have written online. I dont care how often youve marched carrying that hateful flag or what hateful things you may have said in anger. There is still hope for you," he said in the video.

Schwarzenegger, who was Californias most recent Republican governor, began his address by describing the horrors he encountered when touring the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He also referenced his father, who was a member of the Nazi party, and his upbringing in Austria post-World War II.

When you walk through a place like Auschwitz, you feel a tremendous weight, he said. There are reminders everywhere of the horrors that happened there: The suitcases never claimed by the prisoners . . . The logbooks with thousands of names crossed out, as if a cruel accountant only measured death. The gas chambers with scratches in the walls from the fingernails of people who tried to hold onto life. The crematorium where the Nazis tried to erase all of their atrocities.

Schwarzenegger said his remarks weren't aimed at people who have been the target of antisemitism, but rather, he wanted to address people who are fueled by hate, the ones perpetrating the antisemitism.

I want to talk to you if youve heard some conspiracy theories about Jewish people, or people of any race or gender or orientation, and thought, That makes sense to me. I want to talk to you if youve found yourself thinking about anyone as inferior and out to get you because of their religion or the color of their skin, or their gender, he added.

I dont know the road that has brought you here, but Ive seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs, so I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path.

The Terminator star discussed growing up surrounded by the men who lost the Second World War. He described the way their bodies were riddled with injuries and shrapnel . . . and that their hearts and their minds were equally riddled with guilt. He said he witnessed the men drinking to numb their pain and the way they felt like losers who not only lost the war, but had fallen for a horrible, loser ideology.

Teddy Von Nukem, left, and Peter Cvjetanovic attend a far-right rally in 2017. (Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)

At one point in Schwarzeneggers address, the infamous photo of Charlottesville, Va., protesters Teddy Von Nukem and Peter Cvjetanovic was shown. The men became two of the most prominent faces of the 2017 far-right rally. Earlier this year, on the day he was due in court for a drug-trafficking charge, Von Nukem died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Missouri.

Throughout history, hate has always been the easy path, the path of least resistance. . . Its easier to find a scapegoat for a problem than to try to make things better ourselves...," Schwarzenegger said. "You will not find success on the end of that road... there has never been a successful movement based on hate.

I can understand how people can fall into the trap of prejudice and hate. Whether you grew up surrounded by hate or get sucked in by some of Big Techs algorithms that push you to the extreme.

When you spend your life looking for scapegoats, you take away your own responsibility, you remove your own power, you steal your own strength.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, in 2021 there was a 34% increase in antisemitic incidents than the year before. That was the highest number on record since the Anti-Defamation League began tracking antisemitic incidents in 1979.

There has also been a staggering increase in antisemitism on Twitter according to combatantisemitism.org, which said that Kanye Ye Wests antisemitic comments triggered an increase of 136% in toxic comments, threats and identity attacks toward Jewish people on the social platform.

Late last year, related to Wests tirade against Jewish people, a well-known hate group flocked to a busy 405 freeway overpass in Los Angeles. Demonstrators gave Nazi salutes and displayed a banner that read Kanye is right about the Jews.

In the following weeks, L.A. residents found fliers at their homes and on their cars, advertising conspiracy theories about Jewish people.

And last month, Jaime Tran, 28, was charged with federal hate crimes after he shot two Jewish men as they left religious services in Los Angeles. After his arrest, Tran admitted to police that he had searched for a kosher market on Yelp prior to the attacks and knew the men were Jewish because of their head gear.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Adults aboard a migrant sailboat threatened to harm several young Haitian children as the vessel was approached by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter in Bahamian waters Sunday morning, according to the agency.

Crew members from the Cutter Tampa backed off and then shadowed the sailboat for several hours and employed a variety of techniques to deescalate the situation before finally being able to get all the people on board to cooperate, the Coast Guard said in a statement released on Twitter Tuesday.

All 145 people from Haiti on board were transferred to Bahamian authorities and will eventually undergo Bahamian immigration processing, the statement continued.

A Coast Guard spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked if anyone on the boat will be arrested because of the threats made to the children.

In the Florida Keys

While the influx in maritime migration from Cuba and Haiti to South Florida has slowed since both U.S. and Florida officials have reinforced the Keys with more personnel, aircraft and boats, people are still trying to get through, some successfully.

A red homemade migrant boat sits on the shore of Long Key in the Florida Keys Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The U.S. Border Patrol says 17 men from Cuba arrived on the vessel.

On Tuesday morning, 17 men from Cuba arrived in a red rustic boat on Long Key in the Upper Florida Keys, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Another arrival over the weekend showed its not just people from Haiti and Cuba trying to get to the United States by sea.

A single-engine center console boat is parked on a trailer near Haulover Beach on Sunday, March 5, 2023. The U.S. Border Patrol said three people from the Republic of Georgia were on the vessel.

In Miami-Dade

Federal agents stopped a small center console boat Sunday night near Haulover Beach in Northeast Miami-Dade with three people from the Republic of Georgia on board.

The vessel will be seized, Walter Slosar, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrols Miami operations, said in a statement on Twitter. Investigation is ongoing.
"Just one of the many apartment homes that are coming in for plenty of fresh air," someone wrote on the back of this vintage postcard from Patt Morrison's collection.

A whole lot more than a big piece of Southern California landscape got shaken up in the space of 10 seconds on that March evening 90 years ago.

One month to the day after the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, Californias Legislature and governor, acting with a speed born of panic and voters fury, put into law the Field Act, which ordered rigid construction codes as well as inspections for public schools.

Why the rush?

Some 120 people died from the March 10 quake  the deadliest ever in Southern California, its fatalities second only to 1906 San Francisco quake.

Yet this quake has been called a lucky one. Luckily, it struck at 5.54 p.m. on a Friday, when most people were home for dinner, or heading there. Three hours earlier, and thousands of students would have been killed or injured within the walls of the 230 schools that collapsed, were damaged or rendered too dangerous to enter.

Thousands more public buildings  city halls, hospitals, theaters, libraries  and 20,000 houses from Newport Beach and Santa Ana to most of south Los Angeles County were leveled or seriously banged around.

In short order, Caltechs president, Robert A. Millikan, was tapped to head up a technical committee to look into construction failures. He wrote in its summary three months later that in cities where the earthquake was most intense, damage to schools was severe and widespread: Auditoriums collapsed, walls were thrown down, and the very exits to safety were piled high with debris which, a few moments before, had been heavy parts of towers and ornamental entrances. It is sufficient to suggest the terrible consequences, had the same earthquake occurred a few hours earlier.

The Field Act was a striking new kind of law in a laissez-faire state. In time it was joined by more laws such as the Garrison and Greene acts  the first extending rigid codes to existing schools, not just new ones, and the other saying we really, really mean it  and by local regulations to keep public and private buildings from becoming deathtraps. Compliance was still lackadaisical into the 1960s, but in the 1971 Sylmar quake, schools that were built strictly to the Field Act codes had virtually no damage apart from banged-up light fixtures and knocked-over furniture.

Far and away, most of the buildings that tumbled down in 1933 were of brick. The piles of tumbledown bricks on Long Beach streets took laborious weeks to clear away. Into the 1980s, many California cities were still having to require that their existing brick buildings be seismically retrofitted  and in some cases not following their own rules.

In 1933, most of the 120 dead, including a Long Beach fireman, were killed by these falling bricks and by unreinforced masonry.

A vintage postcard from Patt Morrison's collection shows film crews capturing the destruction from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.

All over Long Beach, walls fell away and left the buildings as open and exposed as dollhouses. At one Long Beach hospital, patients were carted onto the lawn after the hospitals front wall collapsed. Five firemen were trapped when their main buildings front facade caved in.

The U.S. Navy, with a formidable presence off Long Beach, sent 2,000 uniformed men ashore to patrol the streets and stop looters. The Pope sent his condolences. The Times-Universal Newsreel shot thousands of feet of film of the destruction.

Tens of thousands of people abandoned their homes. They slept on their own lawns or in parks, and in the cold March air, some wound up as pneumonia cases in the already overfull hospitals. Scores of Long Beach families drove into the hills south of Monterey Park to sleep in the open. A circus tent was set up to shelter them, and the American Legion began cooking meals for them. Rumors of a tidal wave sent people scrambling to higher ground. March Field, the military base in Riverside County, sent a rolling field kitchen with six cooks. The Los Angeles Milk Arbitration Board donated 11,200 quarts of milk to families left homeless in Compton, Long Beach, and Huntington Park.

Seconds before the ground began heaving, a 15-year-old Long Beach girl named Bea Criswell was getting dressed in her upstairs bedroom, sulking at having to go out to dinner with her parents, and saying to herself, Please, Lord, do something so that I dont have to go out to dinner! For years thereafter, she felt that the quake was somehow her fault.

The magnitude is now calculated at 6.4, but the Richter scale had yet to be created. Instead, seismologists relied on a Roman-numeral-based Mercalli scale that depended on subjective assessments like how much objects were damaged and how people reacted.

About a year before the Long Beach quake, the Carnegie seismological lab in Pasadena had gotten money for a first-ever catalogue of Southern California quakes. In the hours and days after the quake, the labs head seismologist, Harry O. Wood, and an up-and-comer named Charles Richter headed out to Long Beach to check the seismic data. I packed my portable instruments and gathered a team to monitor the shocks. Some of them went on for quite a while, Richter told The Times on the quakes 50th anniversary.

Rubble from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, seen on a vintage postcard from Patt Morrison's collection.

The 1925 Santa Barbara quake got people to start talking about building codes, said seismologist Lucy Jones, founder and chief scientist for the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, but it was the 1933 quake that got us there. The 1933 quake engendered the first rules requiring that buildings be bolted to foundations  something not adopted by every jurisdiction until 1960, she said.

Then, what emerged after the Long Beach quake was the whole philosophy that theres a role for government to keep you from building a building that will kill people  that really came out of that quake.

The first map of the San Andreas fault came after the 1906 San Francisco quake. The Long Beach quake made people realize earthquakes arent one-offs, she explained. Theyre a feature of California. The 1933 quake, centered offshore from Huntington Beach, brought to light the existence of the Newport-Inglewood strike-slip fault, and a new awareness that theres more than one fault here, that there wasnt just a San Andreas fault but a seismic system  that expanded our image of what we had to worry about, Jones said.

In 2016, a pair of U.S. Geological Survey seismologists who had studied old oil-drilling records suggested in a publication that four earthquakes in Southern Californias coastal oil region in the first third of the 20th century  including Long Beachs  might have been triggered by incessant oil extraction. I asked Jones about that.

Its not general consensus at this point yet. Its almost impossible to sit here in the 21st century and look back and see what impact the drilling had, Jones said.

It was really clear that the oil extraction all around Long Beach was doing a lot of damage. Long Beach was sinking by meters, she pointed out. And some time in the 1940s, in Signal Hill, there was the collapse of the roof of an oil reservoir [where] theyd pulled so much out. Thereafter, she pointed out, California required that if you took fluid out you had to put fluid back in  a net-zero fluid extraction process. Moreover, theres ample proof of the Newport-Inglewood fault before people were here.

A building and an automobile on Beacon Street in San Pedro were damaged by the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. (Los Angeles Times)

Two years after the Long Beach earthquake, Richter published his and colleague and mentor Beno Gutenbergs research and the idea of a numerical scale to assess earthquake magnitude. The scales objective, base-10 logarithmic system caught on, and although its been superseded, people still attach his name to the scale. In years past, people sometimes showed up at Caltech asking to see this famous scale of his.

Richter was quite the character. His family moved here when he was 7 years old, and he felt his first quake tremor at age 10. He kept a seismograph in the living room of his Altadena house and answered reporters calls at any hour of the night. He did not drive, and was a devoted backpacker and a vegetarian. He was also a nudist  the genteel synonym back then was naturist.

His scientific files he left to Caltech, but his personal journals, books, home movies, notes, stamp collection, and letters filled floor-to-ceiling bookcases bolted in place in his nephews house in Granada Hills.

In 1994, eight years after Richter died, the whole collection became nothing more than ashes and mud after a fire at the house next door jumped to the nephews house.

The fire was triggered by the Northridge earthquake.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell on Fox News. (Photo illustration: Kelli R. Grant/Yahoo News; photos: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx via AP, Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images, Ben Margot/AP)

A jury is to hear Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in April. But in the court of public opinion, Dominion has already presented a damning case that has damaged the cable networks reputation, according to experts.

Yahoo News spoke to professors who specialize in journalism ethics, as well as to experts in First Amendment law, who said that the case against Fox News is unusual in that it appears to show how those in charge at the network made a deliberate decision to broadcast information that they knew at the time was false. Whether or not Fox will be found legally liable for defaming Dominion, experts said, its conduct seems to have clearly violated the core principles of journalistic ethics.

In a pair of sensational court filings made public over the last few weeks, Dominion has laid out a trove of evidence obtained during the discovery process  including deposition transcripts, email and text records  revealing that, in the days and weeks after the 2020 election, high-ranking Fox executives and on-air stars did not believe the allegations of voter fraud being made by then-President Donald Trump and his allies.

Fox News nevertheless proceeded to promote those unfounded claims to its primetime audience  the largest of any cable news network  repeatedly giving airtime to Trump's attorneys Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who, according to the filings, were privately believed by many Fox staffers to be unreliable.

Giuliani, with Powell behind him, speaks to the press about lawsuits related to the 2020 election, at Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 19, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Dominion alleges that Fox's decision to promote these false claims was part of a cynical strategy to recover viewers loyal to Trump, who had abandoned the network for other conservative outlets like Newsmax after Fox reported, accurately, that Joe Biden had taken Arizona. That effectively meant the election was over and Trump had lost. Dominion points to a variety of evidence, including internal communications at the time, indicating concern within the network over the backlash after the Arizona call  and its impact on the companys stock price. It also notes depositions given by Fox News reporters who later said they were reprimanded for fact-checking false claims made by Trump surrogates on air.

Fox, in its own filings, has accused Dominion of cherry-picking soundbites, omitting key context, and mischaracterizing the record.

Dominions lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, Fox said in a statement last week. Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear FOX for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

President Donald Trump at an election night event at the White House early in the morning of Nov. 4, 2020. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Legal experts told Yahoo News that the breadth of evidence presented by Dominion is unusual for libel cases brought against media organizations, which require public figures to prove that defamatory statements were made with actual malice, meaning that the defendant knew they were false at the time or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

It's just so rare to have such contemporaneous evidence of a defamation defendants state of mind when the statements are being made, Enrique Armijo, a First Amendment scholar and professor at Elon University School of Law, told Yahoo News. It's pretty bad when you have someone in the news department saying, 'This person is crazy,' and then interviewing that person on the air.

The evidence against Fox is also singular in another respect.

It's really rare, to my knowledge, to have a major news organization, or what claims to be a news organization, willingly broadcast what it knew to be lies, said Samuel Freedman, a professor at Columbia Journalism School. It's an egregious violation of journalism ethics.

Freedman told Yahoo News that if news organizations publish or broadcast factually inaccurate material, it is typically the result of an honest mistake, not a deliberate decision.

Maybe there was sloppy reporting, maybe the verification wasn't done carefully enough. Maybe even some self-interested actor successfully planted information with a news organization, he said. But none of those apply here.

A truck displays a message during a protest at News Corp headquarters in New York City on Feb. 21. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Christopher Hanson, an associate professor at the University of Marylands Merrill College of Journalism, pointed to the Society of Professional Journalists four key principles of ethical journalism, which it encourages all people in all media to practice.

Fox appears to have violated every one of these, big time, he said.

A spokesperson for Fox News declined to provide an on-the-record response to the accusations of unethical conduct, directing Yahoo News to the statement included above.

'Seek truth and report it'

The first of these principles is Seek truth and report it, under which the SPJ offers a number of guidelines, including Verify information before releasing it and Gather, update and correct information throughout the life of a news story.

Fox News, said Hanson, obviously [was] doing the opposite in the days and weeks after the 2020 election. He cited text and email records in the Dominion filings. In one from the host Tucker Carlson to fellow host Laura Ingraham on Nov. 18, 2020, Carlson wrote: Sidney Powell is lying. I caught her. Its insane.

Sidney is a complete nut, Ingraham responded. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.

Likewise, a Nov. 19 email from News Corp's chairman, Rupert Murdoch, described claims that Giuliani was making at a press conference aired live on Fox News as Really crazy stuff. And damaging.

Giuliani at the RNC news conference on Nov. 19, 2020. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Dominion has accused Fox News of broadcasting approximately 115 defamatory statements about Dominions voting machines, many of which, it says, were made after Dominion began sending at least a dozen separate and widely-circulated fact check emails each pointing to verifiable third-party information debunking the claims.

According to the SPJ, part of seeking truth and reporting it is to provide context, and to Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing.

In its court filings, Fox notes that on Nov. 22, 2020, anchor Eric Shawn conducted an interview with Dominion spokesperson Michael Steel. But it contends that Dominion declined other invitations from Fox to tell its side of the story.

'Minimize harm'

According to the SPJ, Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect, and journalists should balance the publics need for information against potential harm or discomfort.

Ethics experts who spoke to Yahoo News said the decision by Fox to air false claims of voter fraud was exacerbated by the potential that they could erode viewers faith in the legitimacy of the 2020 election and in democracy more broadly.

As Carlson put it during his show on Nov. 19, 2020, what Powell and Giuliani were alleging would amount to the single greatest crime in American history.

According to one of the Dominion filings, on Jan. 5, 2021  the day before a mob of Trump supporters, fueled by false claims of a stolen election, violently stormed the U.S. Capitol  Murdoch emailed Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, writing: It's been suggested our prime time three should independently or together say something like the election is over and Joe Biden won, and that such a statement would go along [sic] way to stop the Trump myth that the election [was] stolen.

No such statement was ever made by the primetime hosts on air.

Because there's so much going on, you cannot prove that this coverage directly caused Jan. 6, but it looks very, very likely that it contributed to it, Hanson said.

Trump supporters take over the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress meets to certify the Electoral College votes. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Freedman argued that there is a straight line between Foxs decision to give credibility to the fraud claims and the events of Jan. 6.

And that, just as we've seen, has so done much lasting damage to our democracy, he said.

'Act independently'

The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public, says the Society of Professional Journalists.

Journalists are encouraged to resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.

Internal communications obtained by Dominion reveal that executives and anchors at Fox News were concerned about the financial impact of the backlash over their decision to call Arizona for Biden and that they set out to lure back viewers whod defected to outlets like Newsmax.

"Viewers going through the 5 stages of grief, Scott wrote to Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO and executive chairman of Fox Corporation, on Nov. 9, 2020. It's a question of trust the AZ [call] was damaging but we will highlight our stars and plant flags letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them.

After that, according to Dominion, Fox executives also began to criticize Fox hosts for truthful reporting.

Examples of this included in the filings include a Nov. 12 text chain between hosts Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, in which Carlson complained that one Fox reporter, Jacqui Heinrich, should be fired for fact-checking a tweet from Trump, which referred to Fox's coverage of supposedly rigged voting machines.

A protester holds a sign at Fox headquarters on June 14, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Please get her fired, Carlson wrote to his fellow hosts. It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. Its measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.

A few days later, according to Dominion, Rupert Murdoch sent an email with the subject line Watching Giuliani! This apparently referred to a press conference being broadcast live on Fox News at which Giuliani and Powell rattled off a series of unsubstantiated charges about Dominion voting machines. In the body of the email read: Really crazy stuff. And damaging.

Fox aired the press conference in its entirety.

According to the filing, then-White House correspondent Kristen Fisher said in a deposition that she had been reprimanded for attempting to fact-check some of the outlandish claims made by Giuliani during the press conference that Murdoch called really crazy stuff.

If you have your eye on the bottom line, and [are] losing money because your audience is going away, so you  put out stuff that you know is false in order to appease your audience, then you're not independent of your audience, you're a slave to your audience, said Hanson.

Freedman emphasized that there is nothing untoward about being a for-profit news organization, noting that there are plenty of responsible, ethical news organizations that worry about their stock price. If you're in a capitalist economy, that's a reasonable worry.

However, he said, the idea that you would promulgate known falsehoods, conspiracy theories, not just kind of innocent errors, but an attack on the integrity of the election system, purely to keep your audience numbers high so your stock price holds its value, that's a total dereliction of journalistic duty.

'Be accountable and transparent'

The SPJs final principle of ethical journalism includes acknowledging and correcting mistakes, and exposing unethical conduct in journalism, including within [ones] own organization.

Fox News' Manhattan headquarters on Jan. 20, 2021. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Again, Fox appears to have done the opposite, according to Dominion, which notes in its filing that Despite the internal recognition that the election was over, Fox did not retract its claims about Dominion. Instead, it kept defaming Dominion. To this day, Fox has never retracted the false statements it broadcast about Dominion.

Foxs primary argument is that allegations of voter fraud by a sitting president are newsworthy, and that the First Amendment should protect the right of the press to report on newsworthy allegations without fear of being sued for defamation.

Under Dominions approach, if the President falsely accused the Vice President of plotting to assassinate him, the press would be liable for reporting the newsworthy allegation so long as someone in the newsroom thought it was ludicrous, Fox writes in its own motion for a summary judgment. Such a rule would stop the media in its tracks.

Fox's position is ... news outlets have to be able to talk about what the president and his representatives are saying, even if that turns out to be false, said Armijo, the First Amendment scholar from Elon University. He said that courts in some states have accepted this argument as a limited defense against libel suits, under whats known as the neutral reportage privilege.

Neutral reportage privilege says if youre reporting neutrally on something, you're privileged. You're not going to be held liable for your reporting if it turns out to be defamatory, Armijo explained. The operative word in this defense, though, is neutrally, as it almost always requires the reporting in question to be unbiased and in the public interest.

Armijo said the best evidence Dominion has that Foxs reporting was not, in fact, neutral was the fact that Fox had Dominion's responses to these allegations, and it was not giving them the same level of attention, [or] endorsement in its reporting, that it was giving the false claims by Powell, Giuliani, [MyPillow CEO Mike] Lindell and others about Dominion.
BOSTON (AP)  A Florida woman  who authorities say chartered a private jet to fly her cross-country with some of the more than $1 million in federal coronavirus relief funds that she fraudulently obtained by using stolen identities  pleaded guilty Monday, federal prosecutors said.

Danielle Miller, 32, of Miami, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.

Miller used the identities of more than 10 people and used fake business names to apply for and receive more than $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds as well as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and related unemployment benefits from July 2020 to May 2021, prosecutors said.

Miller possessed counterfeit drivers licenses in the victims names but bearing her photograph. In one case, she accessed a victims online Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles records and used the personal identifying information to open a bank account in that persons name, prosecutors said.

Miller used a counterfeit drivers license in August 2020 to arrange a Gulfstream private jet charter flight from Florida to California, where she stayed at a luxury hotel under the same victims name, prosecutors said.

In another case, prosecutors said she used someone else's identity to rent a luxury apartment in Florida.

Miller boasted about her extravagant lifestyle on her Instagram account, where she had more than 34,000 followers, authorities said, posting about her purchases of luxury items and her stays at opulent hotels in California, which she paid for using the bank account of one of her victims.

Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27. She was arrested in May 2021.
Fort Worth police found a bag of drugs in a department locker room, prompting an investigation that the Police Officers Association said violated an officers due process rights.

In August, a bag filled with a crystal-like substance was found in the locker room at the Fort Worth Police Departments South Division facility, according to a search warrant. Fort Worth police started to investigate where the bag of drugs might have come from.

Police first brought a dog to the locker room, which alerted police to possible drugs near two lockers and a backpack that belonged to a specific police officer. The Star-Telegram is not naming the officer because he was not charged with a crime.

The police department obtained a search warrant to search both the backpack and lockers. The Police Officers Association protested the use of a search warrant, saying that the police department did not need to obtain a warrant to search its own property. Because search warrants become public record, the officers name would become public regardless of whether the officer was found to be connected to the drugs, the association argued.

No drugs were found in the officers locker or backpack, and the officer did not face any criminal or administrative actions. The officer is still employed with the Fort Worth Police Department, said Sgt. Amelia Heise, chief of staff for the police department.

According to a statement from the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, the association filed a personnel complaint on behalf of the involved officer to internally investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the search warrant.

Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez, who was the Fort Worth Police Officers Association president at the time the search warrant was issued, said the association was concerned about the officers due process rights.

The only thing that Ill say is that the police officers in Fort Worth work incredibly hard, he said. They deserve to be treated with respect and deserve to have their due process followed.

In the statement, the Fort Worth Police Officers Association said it has serious concerns about why and more importantly how the search warrant was conducted by the FWPD Professional Standards Unit and the FWPD Special Investigations Unit.

When asked about whether the police department needed a search warrant to search the locker room, Heise said investigators believed that a search warrant was the appropriate step to take due to the concern for possible criminal misconduct.

In violation of Texas code, the search warrant was issued on Aug. 31, but was not returned until six months later on Feb. 22. When a search warrant is returned, it becomes public record. According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a search warrant should be returned no later than three days after the search warrant is executed.

The reason for the delayed warrant return is currently under investigation, Heise said.

Current Police Officers Association President Lloyd Cook declined to comment directly on the unusual timeline of the search warrants return.

In regards to the drugs, investigators did not find any link between the substance and any Fort Worth Police Department employee, Heise said. The locker room is accessed by officers, other employees and people who are part of investigations that are escorted through the building, she said.
FILE - This photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, delivers a speech during a national meeting against the coronavirus, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Aug. 10, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  The influential sister of North Koreas leader warned Tuesday that her country is ready to take quick, overwhelming action against the United States and South Korea, a day after the U.S. flew a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber in a demonstration of strength against the North.

The U.S.-South Korean training on Monday involving the B-52 bomber over the Korean Peninsula was the latest in a series of drills between the allies in recent months. Their militaries are also preparing to revive their largest field exercises later this month.

Kim Yo Jong didnt describe any planned actions in her statement, but North Korea has often test-launched missiles in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills because it views them as an invasion rehearsal.

We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, Kim Yo Jong said in the statement carried by state media.

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.

Hours after Kims statement, the General Staff of North Koreas Korean Peoples Army said it put its front-line artillery units on alert and heightened surveillance activities after it detected a live-fire artillery drill by the enemy in the South Korean border town of Paju on Tuesday morning.

The General Staff said about 30 rounds were fired during the South Korean exercise, which it described as a very grave military provocation that aggravated tensions, and urged its rival to immediately stop such activities near the border.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff described the North Korean claim as absurd and denied that the South's military had fired any artillery at the shooting range the North was referring to.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said after Mondays training that the B-52s deployment demonstrated the allies capability to deter North Korean aggression. The U.S. deployed B-1B bombers to the peninsula a few times earlier this year. Last month, the U.S. and South Korea also held a simulation in Washington aimed at sharpening their response to North Korean nuclear threats.

Last Friday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries announced they would conduct a computer-simulated command post training from March 13-23 and restore their largest springtime field exercises that were last held in 2018.

The allies had canceled or scaled back some of their regular drills since 2018 to support now-dormant diplomacy with North Korea and guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. But they have been restoring their exercises after North Korea last year conducted a record number of missile tests and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with its rivals.

In a separate statement Tuesday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry called the flyover of the U.S. B-52 bomber a reckless provocation that pushed the situation on the peninsula deeper into the bottomless quagmire. The statement said there is no guarantee that there will be no violent physical conflict if U.S.-South Korean military provocations continue.

North Korea often uses fiery rhetoric in times of heightened animosity with the United States and South Korea. Possible steps North Korea could take include a nuclear test or the launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of targeting the mainland U.S., observers say.

Last month, Kim Yo Jong threatened to turn the Pacific into the Norths firing range. In her statement Tuesday, she said North Korea would consider a possible U.S. attempt to intercept a North Korean ICBM a declaration of war. She cited a South Korean media report saying the U.S. military plans to shoot down a North Korean ICBM if it is test-launched toward the Pacific.

All known North Korean ICBM tests have been made at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries, and the weapons landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

South Korea on Monday took a step meant to ease a thorny history dispute with Japan in what was seen as an effort to boost Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation. The step involves a plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyos colonial rule, but without requiring Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Monday praised the leaders of South Korea and Japan, saying the two came to understand that the potential of collaboration into the future is more important.

___

Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP)  A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery ended with two Americans dead  and two others found alive in a rural area near the Gulf coast  after a violent shootout and abduction that was captured on video, officials said Tuesday.

The surviving Americans were back on U.S. soil after being sped to the border near Brownsville, the southernmost tip of Texas, in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted machine guns.

A relative of one of the victims said Monday that the four had traveled together from the Carolinas so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where Fridays abduction took place.

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said the four were found in a wooden shack, where they were being guarded by a man who was arrested. Villarreal said the captive Americans had been moved around by their captors, and at one point were taken to a medical clinic to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them.

The two dead will be turned over to U.S. authorities following forensic work at the Matamoros morgue in the coming hours, the governor said.

Villareal said the wounded American, Eric Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the wound was not life threatening. The survivors were taken to Valley Regional Medical Center with an FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Its quite a relief," said Robert Williams, Eric's brother, reached by phone in North Carolina. "I look forward to seeing him again and actually being able to talk to him.

The U.S. citizens were found in a shack in rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Tecolote on the way to the Gulf coast known as Bagdad Beach, according to Tamaulipas state chief prosecutor Irving Barrios.

Shortly after entering Mexico Friday, the four were caught amid fighting between rival cartel groups in the city. Barrios said the hypothesis is that it was confusion, not a direct attack.

Video and photographs taken during and immediately after the abduction show the Americans white minivan sitting beside another vehicle, with at least one bullet hole in the driver's side window. A witness said the two vehicles had collided. Almost immediately, several men in tactical vests and toting assault rifles arrived in another vehicle to surround the scene.

The gunmen walked one of the Americans into the bed of a white pickup, then dragged and loaded the three others. Terrified civilian motorists sat silently in their cars, hoping not to draw their attention. Two of the victims appeared to be motionless.

Officials said a Mexican woman a block and a half away from the scene also died in Fridays crossfire.

The shootings illustrate the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the people responsible would be punished. He referenced arrests made in the 2019 killings of nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens in Sonora near the U.S. border.

He complained about the U.S. medias coverage of the missing Americans, accusing them of sensationalism. Its not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they (the media) go quiet like mummies.

Its very unfortunate, they (the U.S. government) have the right to protest like they have, Lopez Obrador said. We really regret that this happens in our country.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, said The cartels are responsible for the deaths of Americans. The DEA and the FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks that they depend on.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is working with Mexican officials to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the killings.

The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for the victims return and the arrest of the abductors.

Robert Williams said in a telephone interview that he and his brother, 38-year-old Eric Williams, are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina.

Williams described his brother as easygoing and fun-spirited.

He didnt know his brother was traveling to Mexico until after the abduction hit the news. But from looking at his brothers Facebook posts, he thinks his brother did not consider the trip dangerous.

He thought it would be fun, Williams said. He hadnt heard anything about his brothers whereabouts, he said.

Told that his brother was among the survivors Tuesday, Robert Williams said that when they meet, Ill just tell him how happy I am to see him, and how glad I am that he made it through, and that I love him.

___

AP writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington and Travis Loller in Nashville contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP)  House Republicans issued another series of subpoenas Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into what they contend is the mistreatment of parents who protested woke school board policies.

Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, demanded documents and testimony from three individuals, including the former heads of the National School Boards Association, for requesting federal law enforcement assistance to target parents voicing concerns at local school board meetings.

The Ohio Republican is flexing his newly appointed subpoena power to probe a September 2021 letter that the nonprofit representing U.S. school boards sent to the Biden administration. The letter warned of rising threats against school board members over coronavirus restrictions and teaching around race.

The letter to the Justice Department, signed by Chip Slaven, then the interim executive director of the NSBA, and Viola Garcia, then the president of the NSBA, outlined more than 20 instances of threats, harassment, disruption and acts of intimidation in California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and other states.

Jordan, who also chairs a new subcommittee dedicated to what Republicans assert is the weaponization" of government, has said that as a result of the letter, the Justice Department designated a specific threat tag for school board-related threats and opened investigations into parents simply for speaking out on behalf of their children. Those allegation are outlined in a GOP report released in November.

The NSBA has repeatedly stated that the letter's focus was on the issue of violence and threats, not protests from parents.

Last month, Jordan issued his first subpoenas as chairman to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, accusing them of withholding information about whether the government overreached in scrutinizing parents.

The Justice Department has denied targeting parents and has already begun to turn over documents to the committee. The subpoenas come days after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy helped introduce legislation that would give parents more of a say in school curriculum.

It is all part of the Republican Party's larger effort to turn the issue of parents rights into a rallying cry, harnessing the frustration with schools that reached a boiling point during the pandemic when educators grappled with masking requirements, closures and remote learning for children.

Also subpoenaed Monday was Nina Jankowicz, the former director of the Department of Homeland Security's now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board. Jankowicz stepped down from the role in May after being caught in a political firestorm over the creation of the board, which was meant to coordinate the U.S. governments efforts to treat disinformation as a national security threat.

But the board, which disbanded shortly after she stepped down, was hampered from the start by questions about its purpose, funding and work that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas struggled to answer even as he appeared in front of lawmakers last spring.

In the subpoena letter, Jordan said the committee is seeking testimony from Jankowicz regarding how the board planned to approach countering misinformation and how it proposed to protect First Amendment rights.

In response, Jankowicz said that she will happily testify about her time on the board but criticized the subpoena, saying Jordan's abuse of congressional oversight powers is about to get wildly out of control.

His weaponization committee is the entity that is actually weaponizing our government, and the American people deserve better, Jankowicz said in a statement to The Associated Press. I am ready to continue to stand up for the truth, as I have done my entire career, and I will not be cowed by conspiracy theories or intimidation.

___ Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report.
People kneel as servicemen carry the coffins of four Ukrainian soldiers, who were part of a reconnaissance group and were killed on Dec. 25 in Russia as they performed a special task, during a commemoration ceremony in Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The servicemen names are Bohdan Legov, 19, Maksym Mykhailov, 32, Yuri Horobets, 34, Taras Karpiuk, 36. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  A man who appeared to be shot dead by Russian-speakers in a short video was tentatively identified Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier while the footage circulated widely on Ukrainian social media and caused an uproar.

The country's chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets argued that it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Senior Ukrainian officials alleged, without providing further evidence, that the man was an unarmed prisoner of war killed by Russian soldiers. In the video, the man did not appear to be armed.

The 30th Mechanized Brigade on its Facebook page named the man as Tymofii Shadura. The identification is based on preliminary information and is not final, it said.

Shadura has been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during bitter fighting in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine, the post said. The city has been a combat hot spot as the war extends into its second year.

His identity is to be confirmed once the body is returned from a Russian-occupied area, the post added, though it did not say when that might happen.

The Ukrainian military's general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was according to preliminary information."

In the 12-second video, the man in combat fatigues is seen in a wooded area smoking a cigarette.

Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says Glory to Ukraine and is hit by a volley of gunshots, falling into a hole in the ground, with an off-camera voice saying Die, followed by an expletive.

The Associated Press could not verify the videos authenticity, any details about when it was recorded or anything about the people involved.

Questions sent by the AP to the Russian military about the clip did not immediately receive a reply.

The video circulated widely on social media in Ukraine and unleashed an outcry.

In his nightly video address Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: I want us all together, in unity, to respond to (the soldiers) words: Glory to the hero! Glory to heroes! Glory to Ukraine! And we will find the killers.

Moscow also has expressed suspicion about the treatment of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.

Last November, Ukraine said it would open an investigation into video footage that circulated on Russian social media, which Moscow alleged shows Ukrainian soldiers killing Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire.

In other developments:

 Ukraine and Russia completed another exchange of captives. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak reported that 130 Ukrainian soldiers returned from Russian captivity, most of them with severe injuries. Russia's Defense Ministry said 90 Russian servicemen were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. Since the beginning of the war, 1,993 people have been returned from captivity, according to Lubinets.

 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was on his way to Ukraine for a meeting Wednesday in Kyiv with Zelenskyy. The two are due to discuss the extension of an agreement that allows Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports and permits Russia to export food and fertilizers.

 Ukraines presidential office reported Tuesday that at least one civilian was killed and 11 more were wounded in Ukraine over the previous 24 hours. Fierce battles continued in the region for the key city of Bakhmut, where fewer than 4,000 civilians remain from a prewar population of 70,000, according to Ukraines Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

 A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday during a visit to Denmark that it supports Swedens NATO membership. Some Hungarian lawmakers had balked at supporting the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, due to what they called blatant lies from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungarys democracy.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A global Ukrainian group is protesting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' nomination of Top Gun: Maverick for multiple Oscars, including best picture, citing its concerns over the films alleged ties to a Russian oligarch sanctioned by Ukraine.

While acknowledging the academys longstanding support of Ukraine, the Ukrainian World Congress, a nongovernmental organization, sent a letter to academy President Janet Yang and AMPAS' board of governors on Monday, asking them to explicitly reject films funded by Russian oligarchs or other enablers of Russias genocidal war on Ukraine and to "review eligibility" of Top Gun:Maverick,starring Tom Cruise, for participation in this years Academy Awards.

The Toronto-based group, established in 1967 and representing Ukrainian communities around the world, also asked the academy to condemn Russias war against Ukraine and any attempts to influence Hollywood and American society during the Oscars ceremony to be held on Sunday.

Representatives for the academy were not immediately available for comment.

The letter comes two months after The Times reported on a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Bradley Fischer, former president of New Republic Pictures. That lawsuit alleged that Monaco-based Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev played a major role in funding Top Gun: Maverick, the Mission: Impossible sequels and a slate of other major Paramount films through his role as a silent partner in New Republic.

In 2020, Los Angeles-based New Republic signed a $200-million-plus deal with Paramount Pictures to fund up to a quarter of the budgets on 10 movies in exchange for a share in any profits or losses from the movies.

Rybolovlev and his representatives were not immediately available for comment.

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) expresses its serious concerns over Russias influence on the Hollywood film industry. Specifically, as it relates to the nomination of Top Gun: Maverick for six prizes at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the letter signed by Paul Grod, the organization's president, said.

Rybolovlevs funding of Top Gun: Maverickwas not publicly disclosed and there is good reason to believe that his involvement may have led to censorship on behalf of the Kremlin, the letter goes on to say. Unlike the original film, Top Gun: Maverickmakes no direct or indirect reference to Russia. This is hardly a coincidence."

In an interview with The Times, Grod called on the academy to investigate Russian influence in Hollywood.

Think about how the Russians have attempted to influence public policy and elections," Grod said. "I think it is quite logical to see they will try to do the same thing in Hollywood. That is why we are upset by this revelation."

William Browder, a financier and fierce critic of Russian corruption who once ran one of the largest hedge funds in that country, also questioned the Oscar nominations for "Top Gun: Maverick."

The U.S. government is doing everything possible to limit Russian influence in the political process, the banking system and elsewhere," Browder said in an interview. "Hollywood is one of the places that has more influence than anything and to allow and promote a Russian-funded film for an Academy Award seems counter to everything else in the political sphere.

Fischers lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last December, alleges that Rybolovlevs money has been pivotal to New Republics activities. According to the suit, Rybolovlev, who is not a defendant in the suit, moved his assets out of the venture after Russia invaded Ukraine and Western governments began imposing sanctions on wealthy Russians.

Last October, Rybolovlev was included on a list of sanctioned Russian businessmen and their families and allies issued by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Rybolovlev, however, is not among more than a dozen Russian oligarchs and their families who've been sanctioned by the United States.

The businessman, whose net worth Bloomberg has estimated at $10.1 billion, is based in Monaco. He built his fortune in the Uralkali company, Russias major producer of potassium fertilizers, during the 1990s privatization era of the former Soviet Union. In 2010 and 2011, he sold his stake in Uralkali and another fertilizer company for $7 billion.

The billionaire mining magnate owns a vast portfolio of real estate and yachts and a stake in the Bank of Cyprus. He is the majority owner of the professional football club AS Monaco.

One of the worlds top art collectors, Rybolovlev owns a number of great works including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Mark Rothko.

For years, Rybolovlev was involved in a protracted legal battle with Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier. Rybolovlev accused Bouvier, who over a dozen years purchased some 38 artworks for $2 billion on the oligarch's behalf, of defrauding him.

In 2020, the charges against Bouvier were dismissed when a Monaco court upheld a lower courts ruling that the investigations had been conducted in a biased and unfair manner under conditions which seriously and lastingly compromised the balance between the parties, according to the New York Times.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.


remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. On Wednesday, Feminist Mobilisations will hold a procession for womens rights mottoed "Not One More" in Sofia. The event, which will mark March 8 as International Women's Day, will take place for a seventh year running. It will start at the National Palace of Culture at 7 p.m.

Feminist Mobilisations describe themselves as an all-volunteer feminist collective struggling for social, economic and political gender equality by organizing protest actions and awareness campaigns about womens rights and gender-based violence.

The organizers noted in a Facebook post that since the beginning of 2023, one woman has been losing her life every week in this country due to domestic and gender-based violence by her close one or partner. They resent politicians' "ugly and cheap propaganda against women and LGBTI+ people in Bulgaria" and Parliament's failure to pass effective legislation addressing the issue.

Feminist Mobilisations see a "disproportionately adverse impact" of the current crises on women, and especially on women with an ethnic and minority background, migrants and refugees, socially disadvantaged and disabled women, and LGBTI+.

The street action will insist on political empowerment of women and more opportunities to achieve equal representation and participation in governance and decision-making at local, national and international level.

In 2023, the procession will voice "intransigence with inequalities" and will protest against "war, tyranny and violence ruining the lives of hundreds of thousands of people", the organizers said on Facebook.

The participants will demand adequate and free care of pregnant women, attention to maternal health, and a national programme for sex and reproductive health. They want to see measures ending all forms of violence against women who have recently given birth and female patients. Other grievances include free and safe access to reproductive health institutions and services and contraceptives, a guaranteed right and access to abortion on demand, and a focus on identifying and rejecting social gender stereotypes curtailing childrens potential and opportunities.

The protesters will also demonstrate their solidarity with women in Iran and Kurdistan under the slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom".
World Bank brokered the IWT between India and Pak after many years of intense negotiations to allocate the waters of the Indus river basin

The Narendra Modi government has decided to start talks with Pakistan on the Indus Waters Treaty, and rightly so. After the Uri incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that blood and water cannot flow together. The reality, however, is that while flow of blood can be stopped, the water will continue to flow. The geography makes it next to impossible for the waters from the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. Yet there is reason to revisit this treaty, because of Pakistans persistent misuse of the provisions of the IWT that enable it to adopt a dog in the manger attitude to prevent or delay any development of hydel projects on the three rivers that is permitted by the treaty. This must stop.

The Indus rivers system has a total drainage area exceeding 11,165,000 sq. km. Its estimated annual flow stands at around 207 km3, making it the twenty-first largest river in the world in terms of annual flow. It is also Pakistans sole means of sustenance. The British had constructed a complex canal system to irrigate the Punjab region of Pakistan. Partition had left a large part of this infrastructure within Pakistan.

The World Bank brokered the IWT between India and Pakistan after many years of intense negotiations to allocate the waters of the Indus river basin. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan signed the treaty in Karachi on September 19, 1960. According to the IWT, control over the three eastern rivers -- the Beas, the Ravi and the Sutlej -- was given to India, while control over the three western rivers -- the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum -- to Pakistan.

On the face of it, the pact is seen as generous to Pakistan as it gives the lower riparian state 80 per cent of the waters of the western rivers. But the reality is that IWT makes a virtue of a necessity, as it is the geography of the region that decides this, rather than any altruism.

The main Kashmir Valley is just 100 km wide at its maximum and 15,520.30 km2 in area. While the Himalayas divide the Kashmir Valley from Ladakh, the Pir Panjal range, which encloses the valley from the west and the south, separates it from the great plains of northern India. This picturesque and densely settled valley has an average height of 1,850 meters above sea level, but the surrounding Pir Panjal range has an average elevation of 5,000 meters. Thus, the Pir Panjal range stands between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country and is an insurmountable barrier that precludes the transfer of water anywhere else. And neither do the contours of the Kashmir Valley allow for more waters to be stored in any part of it. Since the waters cannot be stored or used by diversion elsewhere, it has to keep flowing into Pakistan.

Of the three western rivers given to Pakistan, the Indus, that originates from Indian territory near Kargil, then flows entirely in Pakistan- controlled territory. The Jhelum originates near Verinag near Anantnag and meanders for over 200 km in the Kashmir Valley before it enters Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. After flowing through Srinagar, it fills up the Wullar Lake and then traverses past Baramulla and Uri into PoK. The run of the river hydel projects constructed on it supplies most of the electricity to the Valley.

The Chenab, also known as the Chandrabhaga, originates in Lahaul Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and flows through the Jammu region into the plains of Pakistans Punjab. The Chenabs catchment area is elongated and narrow. The catchment area of the Chenab is mostly in India. But the Chenab runs through deep valleys and the river drops by as much as 24 metres per km, imposing physical constraints and huge economic costs over harnessing it.

The three eastern rivers allocated to India under the IWT are the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej. These waters sustain agriculture in Punjab and to some extent Haryana, and are substantially used. What enters Pakistan is usually just enough to keep the stream flushed. Despite that, Pakistan has from time to time blamed India for its floods, claiming it is due to the sudden and deliberate release of storage gates.

The question that still remains is about the Jhelum waters. Dr Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, head of earth sciences at the geology and geophysics department of the University of Kashmir, recently said: Let us assume we stop the water supply for the sake of argument. Where would the water go? We do not have infrastructure to store this water. We have not built dams in J&K where we can store the water. Being a mountainous state, unlike Tamil Nadu or Karnataka, you cant move water to another state. So, you cannot stop the water technically.

But even if it can be done, climate change is upon us with severe implicit consequences for both nations, but mostly for Pakistan. The Indus river basin is fed mostly by glacier melt, unlike the Ganga and Brahmaputra basins, which are fed mostly by the monsoons. Since climate change is now affecting Himalayan glaciers, the water patterns in the Indus river basin are already showing changes. Hence Pakistan constantly keeps up a drumbeat of false charges about non-adherence to the IWT by India.

But will there be enough water for very long?

Widely referenced estimates indicate a troubling long-term trend for the flow of the Indus river basin. The river water provides 80 per cent of all irrigation water for Pakistans critical agriculture sector. These water sources are already near their limits, with most of the water diverted to northern Pakistans agricultural regions at the expense of the south. In fact, so much water is diverted from the Indus before it reaches the ocean that seawater has invaded the river channel miles inland.

Based on current projections, the Indus river system is expected to fall below the 2000 flow levels between 2030 and 2050. The drop-off is estimated to be most serious between 2030 and 2040, with a new equilibrium flow of 20 per cent below that of 2000 reached after 2060. Not only is Pakistan running out of water, it seems to be soon running out of time.
by Sumon Corraya

Incident at an oxygen production plant, devastated an area within a kilometre radius. Just nine months ago, another fire at a warehouse not far away. Poor safety measures are blamed. Sr. Zita Rema: 'Factory owners should be concerned first and foremost for the lives of the workers.'

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Seven people died and 30 others were injured in an explosion that once again devastated a factory in Bangladesh. The incident occurred on Saturday, 4 March at an oxygen production plant in Sitakunda, Chattogram district, Bangladesh.

There were two Catholics among the dead, Salem Richel and Raton Nokrek; other plant workers, Ripon Banory and Paulinis Rema, are seriously injured; they all come from the Mymensingh diocese. All the injured are in the Chattogram Hospital, some in critical condition.

The explosion involved an area of about one square kilometre around the plant, causing pieces of metal to scatter, which also affected buildings in the vicinity. Three factories caught fire in the area of the plant. One injured person said about 40 workers were working at the site at the time of the explosion.

Nine fire brigade units from Agrabad, Kumira and Sitakunda had to be deployed, and they doused the flames within two hours; the police and army were also involved. The causes of the explosion are still uncertain, but Chittagong district investigators speak of negligence with regard to the safety of the plant.

The mayor of the city, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, also said that accidents happen repeatedly due to neglect on the part of company owners: another incident had occurred only nine months ago with a fire in a container depot that caused around 50 deaths; another tragedy occurred just half a kilometre away from the Sitakunda site where the new explosion took place.

The mayor explains that such accidents cannot be prevented if the working environment is not made safe. The Ministry of Labour and Employment will pay 25 thousand taka (about 220 euro) for the burial of the deceased and 200 thousand taka (about 1800 euro) will be given to the families.

Each injured person will get 50 thousand taka (about 440 euro) compensation. The Chittagong District Commissioner said that drugs and medicines have also been purchased to treat the injured.

Sr. Zita Rema, an ethnic Garo religious of the Salesian Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate, in the diocese of Chattogram carries out her ministry among workers, many of whom are internal migrants. She has visited the injured in hospitals and tells AsiaNews: "Every year this kind of accident happens. The safety of the lives of our workers is not guaranteed; factory owners should worry about this first of all."
At two o'clock in the morning, an air strike from the Mediterranean, west of Latakia, hit Syria's second airport. A key centre for the delivery of basic necessities to the populations hit by the earthquake on 6 February, which caused 6,000 deaths and over 500,000 homeless. Damascus speaks of "enemy missiles", no comment from Israel.

Aleppo (AsiaNews) - An Israeli air attack in the early hours of today has hit and knocked out the international airport of Aleppo, one of the centres devastated by the earthquake on February 6 in Turkey and Syria, further hampering aid and relief operations for the population.

According to the official Sana news agency, which reports a military source in Damascus, the airport's runway is damaged "by enemy missiles" and is currently unusable. No comment, however, comes from the Israeli army that carried out the attack.

The Syrian air defence system reportedly intercepted some missiles coming from the Mediterranean, which left west of the coastal city of Latakia at 2am local time. Since last year, Israel has intensified its attacks on Syrian airports to prevent Tehran, an ally of Damascus, from supplying Syria and the pro-Iranian Lebanese movement Hezbollah with weapons and vehicles.

However, today's air raid comes against a very different backdrop than in the past, with Syria committed - like neighbouring Turkey - to bringing aid to a population battered by the earthquake and still struggling with war, Covid-19, poverty and health emergencies.

The Syrian Ministry of Defence says that 'it is no longer possible to receive planes with aid, at least until the damage [especially to the runway] is repaired'; the only positive note, the official statement concludes, is that there are no further casualties or injuries.

Aleppo airport has been used in the weeks following the earthquake as a reference point for the delivery of humanitarian aid, along with the reopening of border crossings with Turkey, including in the rebel- and jihadist-controlled northwestern province of Idlib.

Souleiman Khalil, an official at the Syrian Ministry of Transport, points out that the earthquake has killed almost 6,000 people in the country and that more than 80 aircraft loaded with aid have landed at Aleppo International Airport this month. "The main damage," he concludes, "is to the runway, which must be repaired" before the airport can be reopened to arrivals and departures.

Aleppo airport, the second largest in the country, was targeted by an Israeli attack last September, following which it was closed for three days. In recent years, Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes in Syria, targeting positions and targets of the Damascus government, its Iranian ally, and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement present in the territory.

While not commenting on today's operation, the Jewish State has in the past claimed the legitimacy of these operations, stressing that they are aimed at preventing the establishment of Iranian installations - enemy number one in the region - near the border.

In the meantime, the estimation of the damage, also on a human level, caused by the earthquake continues: Unicef estimates state that more than 500,000 people have had to abandon their homes, many families are homeless and children are afraid to return for fear of new tremors.

The earthquake adds to an endless series of crises, so much so that Syria already had the largest number of internally displaced people in the world before 6 February (6.8 million people) and, among them, almost three million children. In total, 3.7 million children are affected by the earthquake in various ways.
Today's headlines: for the UN, the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women is tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'; the Philippine Catholic Educators Association condemns the practice of 'hazing' after a suspicious death at a university. Tehran confirms its hard line on transgressions of the Islamic 'dress code'; in 2022, new births in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time.

TURKEY

The leader of the Chp, Turkey's main opposition party, 74-year-old Kemal Kilicdaroglu will challenge Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential elections on 14 May. After a weekend of tensions, the 'Table of Six' reached a consensus around the 'Turkish Gandhi'. The coalition accepted the IYI Party's proposal to appoint the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara as vice-presidents in case of victory.

AFGHANISTAN

The treatment of women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan is tantamount to 'crimes against humanity'. This is what emerges from a UN report presented yesterday in Geneva, which accuses the Koranic students in power since August 2021 of also carrying out 'gender persecution'. A "deliberate policy" of repudiation of rights and "erasure" of women "from public life".

PHILIPPINES

The Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (Ceap) condemns 'hazing' and 'bullying' in institutions, stressing that 'these acts have no place' and 'do not represent the values of the Gospel'. The note follows the death of 24-year-old John Matthew Salilig, a student at Adamson University in Manila, the victim of probable acts of bullying that led to his death.

IRAN

Tehran confirmed the hard line on the Muslim 'dress code', including the compulsory veil (hijab) symbolising the protest after the death of Mahsa Amini. Head of the judiciary Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said violations will be punished according to sharia, Islamic law. The security forces will be allowed "all means" to repress those who disturb public order.

JAPAN

In 2022, the number of new births in Japan fell below 800,000 for the first time, a substantial drop from the 1.5 million in the early 1980s. The figure includes children born to non-Japanese parents living in the Rising Sun and those born to Japanese parents living abroad. This represents a drop of 44,000 births from the previous year, or 5.3%.

RUSSIA

The Russian censorship agency Roskomnadzor has blocked the 'Mediazona Belarus' site, which will no longer be accessible in Russia, as will the 'Central Asia' section. According to calculations by Setevye Svobody ('Freedom on the Net'), in 2022 there were 637 thousand cases of blocking Internet pages in Russia, an absolute record for the last 15 years, due to censorship for war.

KAZAKHSTAN - UZBEKISTAN

The presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Tokaev and Mirziyoyev, met "in the east" in the Kazakh city of Symkent for informal talks in which they discussed the recent visit of US Secretary Blinken and the position to be taken with Russia. The two leaders also discussed cooperation projects in industry, energy, agriculture and infrastructure.
by Dario Salvi

The United Nations has made another appeal to donor countries for US$ 4.3 billion in aid. Last year, a similar appeal raised only half of what was requested. Meanwhile, fighting continues and last years truce, a distant memory. As the economy gets worse, child soldiers, a halved GDP and shortages remain.

Milan (AsiaNews)  The United Nations is seeking US$ 4.3 billion from donor countries to fund its aid plan for Yemen, a country plunged into extreme poverty by years of war.

Amid the indifference of the international community, UN efforts to find an agreement to end Yemens crisis have failed so far. Largely forgotten, civilians continue to die while children are still recruited despite campaigns to raise awareness about child soldiers.

The Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran, are still pitted against the forces of the internationally recognised government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, accused in the past of targeting schools and hospitals and killing civilians, including children.

Mediation efforts, which produced a short-lived truce last year, continue; but even if they should bear fruit, the population will still suffer for years to come from the consequences of the conflict and humanitarian disaster.

Crisis without a solution

Some hope was raised in April 2022 when the UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg, appointed in September 2021, was able to get the parties to agree to a renewable two-month truce and engage in negotiations for a long-term agreement.

That same month, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) were able to get President Abdu Rabbu Mansur Hadi to cede power after ten years in office to an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council (PLC).

Nevertheless, the truce finally expired on 2 October and has not been renewed since, while the parties have continued to fight, blaming each other for the failure of negotiations.

The war, which broke out in 2014, has killed nearly 400,000 people, including 11,000 children, causing what the UN describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had "devastating" effects.

Children will suffer the consequences of these multiple crises for decades. But in the meantime, most of the more than three million internally displaced live in abject poverty, on the brink of starvation and vulnerable to disease, not the least cholera.

Over the past eight years, the military situation has been a stalemate. The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), control one third of the countrys territory but that is home to two thirds of the population.

Currently, the Governorate of Marib is the main battleground where government forces are putting up stiff resistance to the Iranian-backed rebels after the latter went on the offensive.

To stay in power, the Houthis have used harsh measures, violated human rights, and cracked down on any form of dissent through show trials, imprisonment, and executions, including children. They also continue to recruit child soldiers, a practice also used by their adversaries.

In Houthi-held areas, there is no freedom of expression, journalists are arrested and punished, women have few rights and freedoms, and require a male guardian and must submit to a compulsory dress code.

Divergent interests in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

On the government side, the situation is not much better. The Saudi-led Arab coalition fractured in recent years as the interests of its two main partners, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, began to diverge, especially over the separatist movement in southern Yemen.

This has had serious consequences on the ground, especially after the United States, first under Republican Donald Trump, then his successor Democrat Joe Biden, began to progressively disengage from the conflict.

This shift is best exemplified by the Houthi attack against Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, in January 2022, a blow that pushed the Saudis and the Emiratis to realise that they could no longer count on Washington's protection.

Multiple missile and drone attacks by the pro-Iranian rebels against Saudi Arabia, including strategically important oil installations, brought this further home.

Meanwhile, the creation of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), which was designed to better coordinate Saudi and Emirati action against the Houthis, proved unequal to its task as the new body became mired in factional in-fighting, a situation that has not helped the process of dialogue and mediation.

The consequences of war

Years of violence and tensions have inflicted unspeakable suffering on a country that is now socially and economically crushed with its population pushed to the brink of what can be humanly tolerated.

Making matters worse, its main ports  Hodeida for example  are unusable from heavy fighting, making trade, imports, and aid distribution nearly impossible.

China seems to be one of the few players to have benefitted, boosting its presence and promoted its interests, especially in Aden and its surroundings as part of its new Silk Road project.

Since the war started, Yemens GDP has been halved, leaving its people with a per capita income of about US$ 600  less than half of what it was before the war. Amid this disaster, some 1.2 million public servants have not been paid or received only half a months salary every few months.

Last but least, the countrys environment has suffered as much as its economy with a series of natural disasters that have had a serious impact, in particular large-scale floods that swamped entire regions. Experts warn that this trend is likely to get worse.

Most Yemenis are at the end of their tether, desperate and gloomy. Even if a peace deal were struck in the near future, they would still be caught between socio-economic devastation and a hostile environment.

In recent months, UN special envoy Hans Grundberg has multiplied his efforts to bring the parties closer together with regular trips to Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, and even Russia.

Direct talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia could be a first step, marking the recognition and legitimacy the pro-Iranian movement has been seeking after past secret contacts. Yet none of this can be done bypassing the PLC, which represents Yemens internationally recognised government,

The United Nations' call for more than US$ 4 billion in aid is a sign that the humanitarian crisis is getting worse at a time when resources are getting scarcer, especially following other global crises such as the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. An appeal for a similar amount in 2022 reached only 52 per cent of its target.

Meanwhile, Yemenis continue to suffer while their leaders seem increasingly remote, less interested in reaching a compromise.

GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO MIDDLE EAST. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY VIA E-MAIL? SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER HERE.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
The city of Aspen with Aspen Mountain looming above, as viewed from Red Mountain. Former Aspen journalist Paul Andersen has launched an effort to bolster community at a time when divisiveness is rampant.
Cambodia urges companies, enterprises to join Hainan Expo 2023 next month

Xinhua) 10:09, March 07, 2023

PHNOM PENH, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has urged local companies and enterprises to take part in the third China International Consumer Products Expo (Hainan Expo), to be held next month in south China's Hainan Province, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Commerce on Monday.

The expo, to be held on April 11-15 in Haikou City, provincial capital of Hainan, will be a good opportunity "to strengthen cooperation in the fields of economic, trade and investment between China and Cambodia as well as with international participants", the statement said.

Conferences and forums will supplement the annual trade show, creating space for dialogue and information sharing, it said, adding that trade and cultural exchanges will be organized to boost new business opportunities and market expansion.

The statement said those included in the program are the Global Consumption Forum, the Business and Investment Forum and the Promotional Conference, which will add diversity and knowledge to the expo.

The Hainan Expo was one of the biggest trade events in China, which gathered high-quality consumer products from more than 2,800 companies and enterprises, the statement said, adding that exhibitors from over 60 countries and regions from around the world had participated in the expo during previous years.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Lamborghini was eventually sold to the Volkswagen Group in 1998. The German automaker decided on producing a ten-cylinder replacement for the V8-engined Jalpa, introduced in 2003 in the form of the Gallardo.Soon joined by a technically similar model from Audi, the Gallardo would be upgraded from 5.0 to 5.2 liters. The odd-firing V10 would carry over to the Huracan, which is due to be replaced in late 2024 for MY2025.Chief executive officer Stefan Winkelmann confirmed the successor during a recent presentation. The big kahuna didnt share any in-depth information on the yet-to-be-named successor, which is likely to enter production after the Huracan Sterrato finishes its run.The all-road supercar will number 1,499 units. Lamborghini Ad Personam offers a whopping 350 exterior colors and more than 60 colors for the interior upholstery. The starting price of the jacked-up Huracan is 263,000 in Europe, which converts to $277,570.In regard to whats going to replace the highly successful Huracan, the peeps at Road & Track cite a Motor Trend report on a hybridized twin-turbo V8 powertrain. We first heard that hybridization is a given back in 2017, when Stefano Domenicali was running Lamborghini Last year, Stephan Winkelmann refused to confirm the number of cylinders hiding under the hood. On the upside, Winkelmann did mention that its a brand-new engine that has nothing in common with the twin-turbo V8 in the Urus and naturally-aspirated V12 in the Aventador The Urus will soon receive a plug-in hybrid V8 option, whereas the now-discontinued Aventador will pass the torch to a 1,001-horsepower flagship later this month. The newcomer combines a V12 of the naturally aspirated variety with no fewer than three electric drive units, with one of them integrated into the new dual-clutch tranny.Chief technical officer Rouven Mohr confirmed plug-in hybrid assistance for the Huracans replacement as well, aligning the baby Lambo with the Aventadors replacement. He also let it slip that its packing between six and twelve cylinders, leaving the door open for the naturally-aspirated V10 introduced so many years ago.The V10 isnt likely to survive past 2024, though. Audi will soon pull the plug on the R8, with its heir apparent reportedly going electric. The naturally-aspirated V10 is expected to be replaced by a twin-turbo V8 whose turbochargers reportedly kick in at 7,000 revolutions per minute. Its also rumored to redline at 10,000 revolutions per minute, which is astounding for a twin-turbo lump.In combination with plug-in hybrid assistance, the Huracans long-awaited successor will be more than capable of showing the Ferrari 296 series a thing or two in a straight line. As a brief refresher, the V6-powered 296 produces a simply insane 819 ponies on full song.
The 84-foot (26 meters) Aurora was built in the Netherlands in 2004, but traveled to Australia ten years later. Since then, Australia has been its home, where it became one of the most popular luxury charter yachts under 100 feet (30.4 meters). It also changed ownership a few times during this time. Most recently, it was sold once again this week, through an in-house deal at Alexander Marine Australia.Auroras new owner will be the lucky one to enjoy the fresh look and updated amenities of this Dutch yacht. The 2021/2022 refit was a complex project, carried out by a property veteran (Michael Grant from the Cornerstone Property Group) and an interior designer who is famous in both Australia and the U.S. (Iain Halliday).Unsurprisingly, Grant was inspired by travel and some of the most unusual hospitality destinations in the world. This vision was reflected in the yachts new furniture, rich color palette, and personalized upholstery. Aurora got a new bar on the aft deck, a day bed on the flybridge, fresh timber flooring, a new hydraulic swim platform, and stainless steel biminis.Most importantly, all of the modern additions did not take away from the original style. Designed by one of the Netherlands' award-winning naval architects, Rene van der Velden, Aurora proudly displays its Dutch pedigree, and the recent refurbishment only enhances it.Able to accommodate up to eight guests, Aurora is entirely modern in terms of amenities. The air-conditioned main salon combines bespoke, glossy cherrywood furniture with a premium satellite TV and a surround-sound system. The fresh swim platform is perfect for launching water toys during the day, but can become the best spot for a romantic dinner in the evening.A similar blend of classic style with modern comfort is noticeable in the master suite. Large enough to include a king-size bed, an en-suite bathroom, a walk-in wardrobe, and a lounge, the suite also features beautiful artwork by John Olsen, on the walls, and precious Jane Churchill upholstery for the headboards. At the same time, LCD TV screens and high-speed Wi-Fi are available in all cabins.Most likely, Auroras new owner will continue to share it with charter guests  after all, the vessel has established a solid reputation for more than a decade, operating in Australia. And perhaps this ownership will last longer than the previous one (two years, after having been sold in 2021).
The most recent version of the application comes with a huge changelog, as the dev team introduced new features aimed at both iPhone and CarPlay.MAPS.ME is getting several new navigation enhancements. The application is now capable of moving along the lanes, therefore providing users with more accuracy while navigating. Lane information is already available in most navigation apps, but MAPS.ME wants to make the information it shows on the map more accurate.As such, you should now see precisely what lane you use while driving, therefore approaching an intersection properly according to the next turn.The latest update also includes a refined alternative route engine. These come in handy, particularly when you dont want to use the main suggested route or when you come across accidents or traffic jams that increase the trip time.MAPS.ME now offers sharing of a recorded route as well. The application lets users record the route right within its interface, with the latest update also adding options to share the content with a contact.CarPlay users are getting a new feature that makes it easier to give up on Google Maps or Waze . Beginning with this update, MAPS.ME can be selected as the primary app for CarPlay, so itll handle all navigation needs in the car.The new update also adds several more welcome features. MAPS.ME now displays the weather in your current location right on the map. Its not hard to figure out where the parent company is aiming with this update. Google Maps and Apple Maps already offer such capabilities, so MAPS.ME is slowly evolving to become a more solid alternative to these navigation solutions.The dev team has also tried to make using MAPS.ME a bit more convenient, so now it comes with bigger pins on the map and a new elevation layer. Changing the language is also possible from settings, and so is customizing the appearance of maps. You can choose between a classic theme and a regular visual style. The first one is specifically focused on map details, while the latter is centered around surfaces and buildings.The search experience received an overhaul with the integration of bookmarks. Searching for a destination is therefore more straightforward because the app now displays your favorite as well.If you needed an incentive to create an account, this update brings one. MAPS.ME now allows users with multiple accounts to merge them all, so all the data, including the bookmarks, are brought under the same roof.Some of these improvements started rolling out in late February, but they are all available for iPhone and CarPlay users in version 14.4.0.
Photo: Google

How Android Auto starts in cars

Photo: Google

The best settings

Photo: Google

How to configure Android Auto startup settings

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

According to the existing settings, Android Auto can also load the navigation app , most often Google Maps, without any user input.This means that whenever you get behind the wheel and the connection between the mobile device and the head unit is established, Google Maps on Android Auto should load on the screen.Users have been asking for a way to disable the navigation from loading automatically for a long time. Google itself revealed this is the intended behavior, as the whole idea is to make the experience more straightforward for the driver.Googles design makes sense for some users, but it does not when it comes to drivers who dont need navigation. Many Android Auto users rely on the app for listening to music or podcasts or handling their phone calls and messages with voice commands while driving.As such, Google would have to provide settings to disable the navigation from automatically loading in vehicles when Android Auto fires up.Android Auto instructs Google Maps to start when the app launches . But on the other hand, the way the app runs depends on the car configuration.Carmakers themselves can configure how they want the Android Auto and CarPlay implementation in their vehicles to work. In my car, for instance, Android Auto does not launch automatically when I connect the phone to the head unit. Neither does CarPlay, as the parent companys default settings force the media receiver to stay on the default home screen even when Android Auto is detected.Other carmakers chose a different approach. If the mobile device is plugged in, Android Auto and CarPlay fire up automatically regardless of what you do on the screen.This model makes more sense in the case of vehicles where built-in navigation and embedded music services do not exist. As such, carmakers rely heavily on Android Auto and CarPlay for such capabilities, therefore this automatic behavior is the preferred configuration.Choosing the best settings comes down to how you want to run the app. By default, Android Auto aligns with the vehicle settings If the media receiver does not allow it to load automatically, then Android Auto just displays its icon on the home screen. Users then need to manually launch the app.If you dont want to use Android Auto every time you drive, especially if youd rather stick with the pre-loaded navigation, this configuration is the right way to go.Needless to say, if youd rather use Waze or Google Maps on the screen in the cabin, having Android Auto load automatically is the preferred behavior.Android Auto now comes with dedicated settings to let you decide the startup mode when you connect an Android smartphone to the cars head unit.The default setting is the one that makes perfect sense. Android Auto uses the startup instructions provided by the car. If the vehicle doesnt allow it to launch automatically, Android Auto aligns with these settings.On the other hand, it can also overwrite the default profile and start automatically regardless of the vehicle configuration. This is possible with two different options.The first option you get is to enable Android Auto to always start automatically. This means the application fires up as soon as you plug in the Android device, no matter if you used it before or not. This is the right setting for users who want Android Auto on the cars screen every time they drive. If Google Maps and Waze are a must-have for you, this is the right way to go. The same thing for people who want to listen to Spotify through Android Auto and those interested in handling voice calls and messages with Google Assistant.Second of all, Google implemented an option that allows Android Auto to launch only if it was used on the previous drive. This provides users with more control over the app starts, as Android Auto loads only if the app was running when you previously turned off the engine.In theory, this is another way of disabling its automatic startup behavior. Googles intention is to provide a little bit more consistency, as Android Auto can run or not based on your previous configuration. You should use this option especially if you dont want to use Android Auto on every drive. More often than not, however, youll have to start the app manually by tapping its icon on the home screen.All these settings are available in the Android Auto settings screen right on the head unit. You can find them in the Start Android Auto automatically section if youre running an up-to-date version of the app. The most recent build at the time of writing is Android Auto 9.0
Photo: Nine Hills

But having more defunct models than ones on sale is only natural for old companies, and Harley this year is celebrating its 120th anniversary. As a company, it is also positioned in such a way that the bikes that are no longer in production (some for decades) are still around, thanks to the custom industry and passionate Harley owners.Take the Harley-Davidson Dyna , for instance. You cant find a new one for purchase over at Harley, but there are plenty to be had on the used market. So you can easily take one from there and have it transformed to look and behave like a brand new American two-wheeler in an instant, and even with a touch of uniqueness.This is what we have here, in the form of a custom ride called Puncher. The bike is originally a 2016 Dyna of the unassuming variety we all know, only its been converted into something that's likely to knock you off your feet by Polish garage Nine Hills The stated goal of the transformation was to give the bike a bit more character, and at first glance, thats exactly what the end result looks like. With different dimensions from stock, a clearly more vivid color choice, and enough upgrades to keep it relevant for years to come, the Puncher can come as a bit of a visual shock to Dyna lovers.The longer line of the two-wheeler is owed to the more generous angle of the front fork, and the wheel at its end. Its no longer the stock 19-inch piece, but a 21-inch one, also in wire design as before, and wrapped in slimmer rubber.The thing also sits closer to the ground, especially at the rear, and thats because of the shortening of the rear shock absorbers. Pairing that with the medium-height handlebar at the opposite end creates the raised-front look a good custom ride requires.The frame of the Dyna has been left alone to cradle the stock 103ci engine in its embrace, but the powerplant does come with a few tweaks. They are mostly there to help the engine breathe in and out better: a Roland Sands Design filter and a 2-in-1 Bassani exhaust system at the other.When all the custom parts were fitted in their right place, the bike was given a paint job in various shapes of blue and black, with what to me look like Minecraft 3D patterns displayed on the fuel tank.The current whereabouts of the Harley-Davidson Puncher are not known, and theres no info on the cost of the build either.
Enrolment of students in government schools has come down to one lakh.(DC Representational image)

HYDERABAD: Even as the government claims that students are switching over to state-run schools from private institutions, the stark reality is that 1,366 government schools had zero enrolment for 2022-23. This figure includes many high schools, according to the latest data with the state education department.

Contrary to the projected figures, enrolment of students in government schools, which was at three lakh in the 2021-22 academic year, has come down to one lakh.

An official from the department blamed this trend to the "ineptness" of teachers in handling English medium classes. The personal involvement of teachers and interaction with students hardly exists, said an official requesting anonymity.

"I am not saying that the quality of education is better in private schools. But there are a significant number of teachers in private schools and they are assured of basic facilities, proper infrastructure and teachers, who converse in English and encourage children as well. In government schools, teachers do not talk nor explain lessons in English," said the official.

However, if teaching in English was mandated in primary classes, students would learn how to speak, read and write in English at least by the time they enter high school, added the official.

Dearth of teachers, poor safety standards, lack of sympathy from teachers and the government were other major reasons.

Education Secretary V. Karuna said the zero enrolment depended on the size of the school and added that private schools were mushrooming, all over. Taking exception to the data, Karuna said that the overall enrolment in government schools had increased by 1.5 lakh.

"We have been moving staff from zero enrolment schools to those with high student strength. If a small school in a village is shut down, it does not impact students because there are bigger government schools in the vicinity. From the upcoming academic year, we will track the attendance of students across government schools. This will help us keep an eye on each school and we will then be able to decide about zero enrolment schools," she said.

She exuded confidence that students will return to government schools.

C.H. Ravi, general secretary of Telangana State United Teachers Federation (TSUTF) said that shortage of teachers was leading to zero enrolment. Secondly, schools that were earlier built in slum areas were likely to have zero enrolment as people in the surroundings were earning better and wanting to shift their wards to private schools, he said.
Photo: YouTube/Drag Times

Photo: YouTube/Drag Times

Photo: YouTube/Drag Times

Photo: YouTube/Drag Times

Recently, we've witnessed an Artura smacking the living drag strip out of a Z06 hillbilly. Brooks Weisblat from Drag Times YouTube channel accepted the honor of launching the Michigander and lost three out of three sprints against the imperturbable Brit.Another post from the same speed-avid YouTuber demonstrates that the McLaren is not bowing its air-carving front spoiler to anyone, be they riding a prancing horse of the V12 European lineage. A Ferrari F12 is a stronger opponent than the C8 Corvette from two weeks ago, but is it up to the challenge?This time, the YouTubing vlogger with a heavy right foot took the wheel of the McLaren. The paper says the hybrid supercar is somewhat on the downside compared to the pretentious clockwork mechanical magic of the Berlinetta. On the other hand, McLaren has always left scandalmongers speechless with piston witchcraft (remember the F1 from three decades ago).On the other hand, Ferrari made its name on the track  not necessarily winning every time (thank you, Mr. Shelby )  and it came to represent the absolute unit of measurement for the supercar universe.Over the years, an ardent rivalry flamed the race circuits when the two names clashed in a perpetual quest for supremacy. However, in the era of instantaneity and sunk patience of 2023, complicated jousts over many laps and tracks are only a tiny part of the guerilla war between the two makes.Practicality and simplicity are the preferred means for piston-preaching apostles to convert gearheads to one of the many wheel-spinning gods of horsepower and torque. Americans, in particular, excel at solving complicated equations involving camshaft variables and clutch logarithms with first-grade arithmetic.For residents from the Land of the V and the Home of the 8, anything above or below the V8-gold-standard rule of combustion is a waste of cylinders. They devised a straightforward tool to prove a car's worth."Straight" and "forward" are the keywords here because the simplistic separator has quickly gained worldwide acceptance. It's the drag race , the preferred scale to measure the exact differences between all things automobiles.Right  a McLaren Artura parrs with a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Half as many pistons, less than 50% in displacement, but 287 lb (130 kg) lighter  thanks to the carbon fiber extravaganza  the British supercar is a wolf in wolf's clothing. After all, a twin-turbocharged hybrid powertrain putting down 680 hp (689 PS) to the rear has zero chances of being mistaken for a lost sheep.The Ferrari  being born a decade before the rival of this event  is a venerable naturally-aspirated V12. 6.3 liters spinning the wheels at a rate of 740 hp (750 PS) per full-throttle session. This particular machine received an engine tune and an exhaust upgrade, thus explaining the ten extra hp over its factory rating. A regular Ferrari F12 "only" produces 730 hp (740 PS).The list could go on for countless megabytes of internet traffic, but cars are made to be driven in the real world (or so we like them most). Hence, the 1,320-foot-long leg-stretching session. The tune for this showdown is played by Ferrari, but conducted by McLaren.The least expensive of the two rockets (that would be the Artura) follows the lead of the F12 on the start line, but it takes over mid-way and pushes ahead for the win. While it may look like the Z06 scenario is reinterpreted in this event, with the McLaren slower to get going, keep in mind that the two racers agree to have the F12 launch first, with the other car hot on its tail.Hot indeed, as the McLaren Artura blasts over the trap at 135.47 mph (217.99 kph) in 10.487 seconds, just under six-tenths of a second quicker than the F12 (11.087, at 128.86 mph / 207.36 kph). The Italian Stallion settles for the Best Score Academy Award  that V12 is nothing short of mythological.If Vulcan and Apollo were to play a duet, this is what it would sound like. An Italian masterpiece in "Prestissimo" tempo, played by hell-forge hammers and Olympian lyres. (Prestissimo is the fastest rhythm in music, indicating a playing speed of three beats per second or more).
South Korea is about to roll out the first phase of a large-scale program called the K-UAM Grand Challenge. It was announced at the beginning of last year, as an initiative for setting up a domestic UAM (Urban Air Mobility) industry, and the first phase is planned to unfold during the second half of this year.No less than 124 companies are participating in the Challenge (including Hyundai) as well as the prestigious Korea Aerospace Research Institute, and various foreign players, such as the eVTOL maker Joby Aviation and the infrastructure expert Skyport.One of the aircraft manufacturers thats ready to contribute to this major project is Plana Aero. Planas proposal is not the typical eVTOL, but a HeVTOL, meaning that its powered by a hybrid propulsion system. Whats interesting is that the aircraft is also meant to run on SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) which will help reduce its carbon footprint even more.Like most VTOLs built with hybrid-electric powertrains, the main goal is an extended range. This air taxi would be able to carry between four to six passengers over 500 km (310 miles) while cruising at 300 kph (186 mph). At the same time, it will be able to cut carbon emissions drastically, compared to conventional helicopters, through the use of SAF.Last month, Plana displayed a scaled-down prototype of its HeVTOL at the 2023 Drone Show Korea, the largest event in Asia thats specifically designed for drones. And it looks like that was just the beginning of a very important year. Thats because the first demonstration flight of the battery-electric version is scheduled to take place towards the end of 2023.After having secured a hefty sum at the end of a pre-series A funding round in 2022, the South Korean startup has now joined forces with an important partner, air carrier Jeju Air. The result of their collaboration will be part of the upcoming K-UAM Challenge.But thats not all for Plana. It also plans to open a branch office in the U.S. by the end of this year. Thats because its looking to get its future air taxi certified by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) as well, which means that the two need to work closely together.Not as ambitious as other manufacturers when it comes to deadlines, Plana hopes to start selling its SAF-powered hybrid eVTOL in the U.S. by 2028.
Scream

Photo: Miramax

Scream 2

Photo: Miramax

Scream 3

Photo: Miramax

Patrick Dempsey

SUV

Scream 4

Photo: The Weinstein Company

Scream (2022) aka Scream 5

Photo: Paramount Pictures

When Wes Craven's Scream hit theaters for the first time in 1996, no one could've guessed that an entire franchise would follow, becoming one of the most popular series of movies from our times.So much so, after the original trilogy created between 1996 and 2000, a new Scream followed 11 years later, in 2011, also under Craven's helm. Another 11 years later, Scream (marking the fifth movie of the franchise) was back in theaters, with new directors, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox would return, as well.A year later, a new movie is set to premiere, minus Neve Campbell and David Arquette. That gives us an opportunity to dive in and check the cars of the Scream franchise so far.The first movie in the series premiered in late 1996, introducing Sidney Prescott (Campbell), Dewey (Arquette), Gale Weathers (Cox), and, of course, Ghostface. It also increased the use of caller ID threefold after its release.Moving on to the cars of the first movie, there are a few of them, with two taking the spotlight, and the first is the 1989 Ford Econoline The van is used as the news van and it's a key vehicle in several scenes and killings. Sure, it's not exactly a Hollywood-looking vehicle. But it wasn't supposed to be. Its main job was a functional one and it also allowed Gale to escape Ghostface in it.Even more iconic than the Ford Econoline is Dewey Riley's 1980s Jeep Cherokee XJ , which serves as a law enforcement vehicle. Painted beige with a police light bar on the roof and additional warning lights on the radiator grille, the two-door model gets a lot of screen time in the first movie.There are more vehicles in the background, including a Buick Century Wagon, a 1994 Ford Mustang, a Ford Thunderbird, or a Volkswagen Beetle (Type 1).One year after the first movie, a second installment hit theaters. Craven returned at the helm, with Kevin Williamson as a screenwriter. The motion picture included several actors from the main cast and several additions. Sidney Prescott remained the main character.If we look at the cars in the second movie, they are less interesting, since most of the action takes place on a college campus instead of all over the city.But we still get a few cars to talk about. There is a red 1987 Chevrolet Caprice 9CI in a scene when Sidney and her friend Hallie go into protective custody. The same Caprice is also involved in a car chase, resulting in a crash.Another Mustang makes a brief appearance, a 1987 Ford Mustang GT, which Ghostface hits while the detective was hanging onto the Chevy's hood.Another Ford Econoline appears as well, also used as a news van. This time, it seems to be part of the model's fourth generation, introduced in 1992.In the background, we also note another Chevrolet Caprice and Ford Econoline, plus a Mercury Grand Marquis.The third installment of the Scream franchise, which was initially thought as a trilogy, arrived a couple of years later, in 2000. That means we got to see a change in cars, as well.The most important car of the third movie is a 1991 Ford Explorer XLT , which Dewey drives, moving on from the first Jeep Cherokee he drove in the first film.A 1999 Ford Crown Victoria appears as a detective car, with a silver paint job andMark Kincaid behind the wheel.At the beginning of the movie, we see Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) stuck in traffic behind the wheel of a 1999 GMC Suburban . The car also gets quite a lot of screentime, as Weary drives thehome after receiving a call from Ghostface threatening to kill his girlfriend, testing its every limit.Set in Hollywood in 2000, the movie changes its tone and includes a BMW z3 and a Mercedes-Benz SL 500. In the background, we also note a Ford Econoline, another 1980s Ford Mustang, a Lincoln Navigator, a Honda Civic, and more.Scream 4 arrived in theaters 11 years after the third installment, taking place ten years after the previous film. Some of the original cast return, including Sidney Prescott, again as lead character.Scream has always been a movie that tried to give a realistic feel, and you can note that in the cars it uses, too. We get a glimpse of the Ford Econoline van again, which seems to be a staple of the entire franchise.But it also switches to a couple of Dodge cars, including a 2006 Charger and a Durango, both used as law enforcement cars.A few Toyotas are featured as well, including a Camry and a RAV4, and the list of less important cars include a Cadillac CTS, a Chevrolet Express, a Ford E-350, a Mini Cooper, and a Volvo XC60.In 2022, 11 years after the fourth movie, Scream was back in theaters. It did include the main trio, with new writers, directors, and newcomers.Police cars were still the most important vehicles we see in the movie, with the most important one being a Ford Police Interceptor Utility. Moving on to a different time, a 2004 Toyota Prius broke into the scene, as well as a 1971 Dodge Charger and a Ford F-Series.As you might have expected, we also get a glimpse of a Ford Econoline as a news van again, used for different outlets, but also as an ambulance.Vans are a staple of the franchise, following some of the most popular American cars at the moment of their release and that remains true throughout the series. The trailer for the upcoming Scream VI, set to premiere on March 10, doesnt show many cars, but, if we were to guess, a Ford Econoline is almost guaranteed to make a comeback. Unlike Neve Campbell.
EV

Photo: Nickolas Catherine

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

NHTSA

Photo: Dana Brems/edited by autoevolution

SUV

If you are not familiar with Catherines story, he took delivery of a brand-new Tesla Model 3 RWD on February 27. The car stopped working on March 1 after running only 126 miles. The Tesla customer had to wait two hours for histo be towed back to a service center. When he learned that his Model 3 had faced a failed rear motor inverter, he searched for it and discovered my articles about the problem. After that, he found me on LinkedIn and allowed me to write his story.Far from being just another case emerging from the same issue, it marked how difficult it seems to be for Tesla to repair something that it certainly know is wrong for more than a year. On April 7, Tesla started a recall in China due to the very problem that turned Catherines Model 3 into an expensive paperweight on a New Jersey avenue. The company told the Chinese government that the issue involved 127,785 units of the electric sedan produced from January 11, 2019, until January 25, 2022.Those trying to argue that the Chinese Model 3 is different from the American one certainly missed the recall notice. Of the 127,785 EVs , 34,207 units were made in the U.S. Curiously, Tesla did not propose to fix any Model 3 on American soil due to the inverter defect. It just informed the) about it. I still wonder how Tesla managed to convince the American safety regulator that the rear motor inverter flaw had nothing to do with American cars when some of these vehicles needed repairs in China. The fact is that NHTSA never demanded Tesla do the same in the U.S.Another strong evidence that this should have been the case was an article from ConsumerAffairs published on April 5, two days before the Chinese recall. It reported chronic problems with the Tesla Model Y, a vehicle that shares its underpinnings with the Model 3 . Guess which the issue was? Exactly: the rear drive unit. The story mentioned TMC forum threads, and the oldest complaint I found happened on November 19, 2020. Remember: Tesla itself told the Chinese authorities cars made since January 2019 could have the issue.When ConsumerAffairs published its story, there was no information on what was causing the failure. Ironically, Tesla provided the answer, even if not for the press: there is no way to talk to the company, which should be the first and most representative red flag involving the EV maker. Anyone refusing to speak to the media is not dodging reporters: it is avoiding you. Even Tesla advocates have urged the company to be more transparent  to no avail.New cases did not take long to emerge. In June 2022, Tesla halted deliveries of the Model Y Performance made in Germany because of rear motor failures. Some owners experienced them right after delivery, like Catherine. In October 2022, Dana Brems was driving from Los Angeles to San Diego when her Model 3 got stuck in the left lane of the I-5 freeway after a blind corner. Luckily, nothing more serious happened to her or her car. It was only the third time she drove her EV. She also wanted to get her money back but eventually kept the vehicle. Catherine said he would not back down on getting his money back: he does not trust the Model 3 anymore. Tesla has now threatened to charge him storage fees if he does not pick it up. Why would he if he just wants his money back?On the other side of the pond, Thomas George Exton was driving his Model Y on December 8 in freezing-cold conditions when his car stopped. His experience was a true nightmare. Tesla eventually told him the Power Conversion System (PCS) in his electrichad failed. Thats another name for an inverter. And now we have Catherines case. You can bet there are several more people affected that just did not go public.Lets recap: there have been rear motor inverters failure events since November 2020. Tesla recalled vehicles made even earlier than that: starting in January 2019. Despite that, I have written about many more cases, the latest one involving a 2023 Model 3 with 126 miles on the clock. How come? Shouldnt the Chinese recall have indicated that Tesla would make sure no other vehicles would present this issue ever again? Why do they still fail?It is pretty tricky to figure out what may be going on at the company with these faulty inverters. Are they part of a massive production batch that Tesla is still putting in new vehicles regardless of whether they have a known defect? Is it something the EV maker cannot change for whatever reason, so it keeps on making inverters that break down? Is it something Tesla has no idea how to fix, which means even the recalled Chinese vehicles may present the problem again? Only the EV maker can answer those questions. However, at this point, who would honestly believe it? Ignore shareholders and fans: they have financial and emotional investments to protect.The undeniable reality that Nickolas Catherines Model 3 and several other EVs before it showcased is that the defect persists. NHTSA may feel relieved it did not demand Tesla to perform the Chinese recall in the U.S.: all evidence suggests it would make no difference. Joking aside, that leaves Model Y and Model 3 owners with an excruciating question: when and why may they be in Catherines shoes? Many were before him, and there is no sign that he will be the last to complain about that. Ill let you know who the next one will be.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
A car passes Facebook's new Meta logo on a sign at the company headquarters. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

Meta Platforms Inc., the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is planning a fresh round of layoffs and will cut thousands of employees as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The worlds largest social networking company is eliminating more jobs, on top of a 13% reduction in November, in a bid to become a more efficient organization. In its earlier round of cuts, Meta slashed 11,000 workers in what was its first-ever major layoff. The company has also been working to flatten its organization, giving buyout packages to managers and cutting whole teams it deems nonessential, Bloomberg News reported in February, a move that is still being finalized and could affect thousands of staffers.

The imminent round of cuts is being driven by financial targets and is separate from the "flattening," said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Meta, which has seen a slowdown in advertising revenue and has shifted focus to a virtual-reality platform called the metaverse, has been asking directors and vice presidents to make lists of employees that can be let go, the people said. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the plans on Monday.

This phase of layoffs could be finalized in the next week, according to the people. Those working on the plan are hoping to have it ready before Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg goes on parental leave for his third child, which may be imminent, one person said.

The November cuts were a surprise, but another round of firings has been widely anticipated by the Meta workforce. Zuckerberg has dubbed 2023 Metas "year of efficiency," and the company has been communicating that theme to employees during performance reviews, which were completed last week, the people said.

Workers at the Menlo Park, California-based company described heightened anxiety and low morale among colleagues lately. Some employees expressed worry about whether theyd receive their bonuses, which are set to be distributed this month, if they lose their jobs beforehand, the people said.
The Sirpurkar Report faulted the police and concluded that the acts committed by the policemen were done in furtherance of a common intention to kill the suspects. (File Photo: PTI)

HYDERABAD: Senior counsel Desai Prakash Reddy, who is the amicus curiae in the case of wrongful encounter of suspects in the Disha rape and murder case, on Monday suggested the Telangana High Court register an FIR of murder against the 10 police officers who took part in the encounter.

Following the encounter on December 6, 2019, in which Mohammed Arif, Jollu Shiva, Jollu Naveen and Chintakunta Chennakesavul were killed, the High Court was flooded with petitions seeking a probe into the killings and levy of the murder charge on the cops.

When the issue went to the Supreme Court, it constituted the Justice V.S. Sirpurkar Commission for an inquiry, which submitted a report, following which the top court remanded the case back to the Telangana High Court on May 20, 2022, for further action.

The Sirpurkar Report faulted the police and concluded that the acts committed by the policemen were done in furtherance of a common intention to kill the suspects.

Prakash Reddy submitted to the court that the report posed suspicions over the polices contention that they opened fire to save themselves from a sudden attack by the accused.

He submitted as per the Supreme Court guidelines, registration of an FIR on charges of murder, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), was a must in the encounter killing cases. Hence, the case has to be filed against the police officers, he said, suggesting a probe by an independent agency, such as the CBI.

M. Venkanna, the counsel for one of the petitioners, argued that Section 176(1)(a) of the CrPC necessitates a judicial inquiry in an encounter or rape case, besides a police inquiry. But, the Telangana Police failed to follow the rule, he said.

Senior counsels S. Niranjan Reddy, appearing for the police officers association, and Kondam Vivek Reddy, representing Dishas father, requested the court to allow them to hear their submissions also. The court said it will consider their implead petitions, stating that the law does not prescribe eye for eye concepts.

The matter was adjourned to March 29, on the request of the state government, which submitted that senior counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul from Delhi will appear on behalf of it.
The British Business Bank is launch a 70m investment fund in Northern Ireland later this year, aimed at pushing the growth of smaller businesses.

The Investment Fund, part of a 1.6bn series for nations and regions, will offer loans from 25,000 to 2m and equity investment up to 5m.

It said the funds would increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for small businesses here.

Ken Cooper, managing director venture solutions at the British Business Bank, said: The new Investment Fund for Northern Ireland builds on the success of the banks existing regional funds and is designed to increase the supply and diversity of finance available to smaller businesses in Northern Ireland.

The overall levels of equity investment and also private debt lending remain much lower than Northern Irelands share of the UKs small business population. Hence well be working closely with the local small business finance ecosystem to ensure the fund provides support to innovative, ambitious business owners across the country.

Given the geographical spread of Northern Irelands smaller business population, connecting with entrepreneurs in some of the more rural and hard-to-reach areas will be an important focus of the fund.

The Investment Fund for Northern Ireland will operate across two tiers, debt, with loans of 25,000 to 2m and equity of up to 5m.

The British Business Bank is now inviting proposals via its website from potential fund managers to operate the new Investment Fund for Northern Ireland.
Derry Girls has received two nominations at the Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for its special hour-long final episode.

Titled The Agreement it charted the girls journey leading up to the signing of the peace accord and shone a spotlight on the complex emotions for people in Northern Ireland at that time.

It has been nominated for best drama at the IFTAs, while the shows creator Lisa McGee was nominated for best script in drama.

In typical Derry Girls style, the episode was equally funny and emotive. It was viewed by many as the perfect way to close McGees love letter to her home city.

The gang bows out in the extended episode which returns to Derry one year on, as the friends are preparing for their final year of school.

It's the week of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement but the timing could not be any worse as the highlight of the year, Erin and Orla's joint 18th birthday, threatens to be overshadowed.

While the family try to get their heads around the possible outcome of the vote, the friends realise they may not be ready for what the future holds.

The series has already received awards recognition. Most recently, Saoirse-Monica Jackson scooped the Best Actress accolade at Channel 4s National Comedy Awards.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

An Irish Goodbye, a dark comedy set on a farm in Northern Ireland, is also nominated for best Live Action Short Film.

The short film tells a story of two estranged brothers  one with Downs syndrome, played by James Martin  who come together after their mothers death to try to fulfil their mothers bucket list with her ashes before they sell off the family farm.

An Irish Goodbye has already won Best British Short Film at the Baftas, and could scoop the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film this weekend.

Meanwhile, Ballymena man Liam Neeson is nominated for the lead actor award for his performance in Marlowe.

Marlowe is a neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Neil Jordan and written by William Monahan.

Based on the 2014 novel, The Black-Eyed Blonde by John Banville, writing under the pen name Benjamin Black, the film stars Neeson as brooding private detective Philip Marlowe.

The upcoming 20th anniversary IFTAs ceremony, hosted by Deirdre OKane, will take place on Sunday, May 7, at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.
Sir David Attenborough's landmark series Wild Isles will feature Co Antrims Giants Causeway when it debuts next Sunday, the BBC has confirmed.

Filmed over the course of three years, the five-part series aims to shine a light on the challenges affecting the British Isles and celebrate nature that exists on our doorsteps.

Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David (96) will appear on Old Harry Rocks in Dorset to introduce the first episode  titled Our Precious Isles  and will explain why Britain and Ireland are critical for the survival of species across the globe.

The episode will feature new behaviour from killer whales hunting seals, golden eagles scavenging in mountains, puffins chased by greedy gulls and sinister plants holding unsuspecting insects hostage.

It will also show the biggest colony of northern gannets in the world migrating to the east coast of Scotland, and barnacle geese travelling to the west coast attempting to avoid the white-tailed eagle.

Capturing the first ever complete sequence of hunting white-tailed eagles, formerly extinct in the British Isles, took more than 70 days and saw wildlife cameraman and 2022 Strictly Come Dancing champion Hamza Yassin on the job.

The introductory episode will also highlight Britain and Ireland's diverse geology from the chalk formations of southern England to the limestone pavements of Yorkshire, as well as the rugged granite of Northumberland and the volcanic basalt of the Giant's Causeway, the World Heritage Site near Bushmills.

Wild Isles trailer: David Attenborough explores Ireland and UK in latest BBC show

Despite Britain and Ireland's rich and varied habitats, Sir David will highlight that it is among the most-depleted in the world and asks how we can restore our wild isles for future generations.

Series producer and bafta award-winning filmmaker Hilary Jeffkins said: "I hope that after watching this series our audience will be wowed by the wildlife and spectacular places in Britain and Ireland but also that they get a strong sense of how fragmented and fragile they are.

"I want the audience to come away with a sense of pride and hope for the future too. I think that people will be surprised by the wildlife on their own doorsteps and amazed by the behaviour.

"It is quite shocking to think that we have pods of killer whales, top predators, hunting seals in our seas and a large blue butterfly that tricks ants into caring for its caterpillars, by using deceptive sounds and smells.

"The wildlife that we think we know well still has some extraordinary hidden stories."

The remaining four hour-long episodes of Wild Isles will celebrate the isles' four key habitats - woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.

Sir David will appear in Richmond Park to introduce the Woodland episode; a hay meadow in Dorset for Grassland; a chalk stream in Wiltshire for Freshwater and a green bridge on the Pembrokeshire Coast to introduce Ocean.

He will sign off from Skomer Island at the end of the Ocean episode.

Across the five episodes, the Wild Isles crew filmed in 145 locations and 96 species which took 1,631 days to film.

Series producer Alastair Fothergill said: "Ever since I worked on the original Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet series, I have always wanted to cover the British Isles and our natural history with a similarly ambitious and epic approach.

"I knew that nobody had ever had the opportunity before to really do justice to the spectacular scenery and rich and varied wildlife found at home. I also have a personal passion for our natural history.

"I hope the audience will be genuinely surprised by the richness of our natural history. At the same time, I hope they will recognise how fragile and precious it is."

Episode One: Our Precious Isles will air on BBC One and iPlayer on March 12 at 7pm
Arnold Schwarzenegger says hate and prejudice is the path of the weak (Ian West/PA)   Ian West

Arnold Schwarzenegger says that hate is the path of the weak and urged people to choose strength to overcome their prejudices.

The former body-builder and actor said those who succumbed to hateful ideology were losers but that no matter how far you have gone there was still opportunity to change.

In a 12-minute video posted online Schwarzenegger, known for films including the Terminator franchise, recalled his fathers experience of World War II and a recent visit to the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz.

I want to talk to the people out there who might have already stumbled in the wrong direction into the wrong path, he said.

I want to talk to you if youve heard some conspiracies about Jewish people, or people of any race or gender orientation, and thought that makes sense to me.

I want to talk to you if youve found yourself thinking about anyone that is inferior and out to get you because of their religion or the colour of their skin or their gender.

I dont know the road that has brought you here but Ive seen enough people throw away the futures for hateful beliefs. So I want to speak to you before you find your regrets in the end of the path.

The former body-builder and actor urged people to choose strength to overcome their prejudices (PA)   Isabel Infantes

The former California governor noted there had never been a successful movement based on hate, branding the Nazi, Confederate and Apartheid movements as losers.

I dont want you to be a loser. I dont want you to be weak. Ive spent most of my life helping people find their strength, he said.

I care about you.

He continued: Your mind and your character are no different than your body and your muscles.

If you want to grow as a person, you really have to make friends with pain. Embrace the discomfort. Enjoy the struggle.

No matter how far youve gone, you still have a chance to choose a life of strength you have to fight the war against yourselfThe other path is easier.

I dont care how many hateful things you may have written online. I dont care how often you have marched carrying that hateful flag, or what hateful things you may have said in anger.

Theres still hope. Theres still time for you. Choose strength. Choose life. Conquer your mind. You can do it.
Peter Irvine hopes to build skills on popular BBC styling show

A Belfast man is among the contestants hoping to impress on Interior Design Masters which returns to our TV screens this week.

Peter Irvine (34) is hoping to build on the skills he learned revamping his semi-detached property into a perfectly imperfect home using the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi.

I applied for the last season, but didnt make the cut, he explained. Getting so close gave me even more determination.

I was in the middle of renovating my own home at the time and made my audition video sitting in amongst the rubble.

It was good to be able to go back and say remember, this is what I said I was going to do and I did it  that was a nice portfolio for me and I think it helped me finally get on the show.

The visual stylist for Marks & Spencer spent five years transforming the home he shares with electrician partner Damian Curran (38) on a shoe-string budget.

The couple shared every step of the journey on their popular social media blog, The White Home, which documented the removal of walls, installation of their bathroom, knocking through a fireplace to make it double-sided, pouring concrete floors and the construction of their impressive kitchen.

However, Peter has had to up his game to maximise his time on the popular BBC show presented by Alan Carr as he vies for a chance to land a contract to transform a top cocktail bar.

Interior Design Masters contestant Peter Irvine from Belfast   BBC/Darlow Smithson Productions/Ben Cross

Head judge Michelle Ogundehin wastes no time making it clear what she expects to see from those hoping to win the career defining contract which she sums up as ideas, invention, energy and excitement in the first episode of the new series.

The first task sees minimalist Peter team up with foster mum Joanne Hardcastle who has racked up tens of thousands of followers online as result of her maximalist design skills.

The pair have to transform one of five new showroom apartments which make up a regeneration project in London with sustainability at the core of their design.

Peter gets off to a flying start after telling the presenter he is looking beautiful prompting Carr to declare: Flattery will get you everywhere  youve won!

However the aspiring designer soon finds himself in hot water after failing to impress the judges with his attempt to create a Spanish oasis soaked in his trademark chill vibe.

Theres a time and a place for signature style, Ms Ogundehin tells him. This wasnt it.

The former editor-in-chief of Elle Decoration is critical of Peter and Joannes lack of cohesiveness and remarks on the absence of any evidence of collaboration.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph Peter admitted it has been hard to hear the constructive feedback, but insists he has taken it all on board.

My partner and I know how to respect our house, but these are commercial spaces on the show  so it really encourages you to bring your creativity, Peter explained.

Its also about logistics, time keeping and being able to step outside my comfort zone. I quickly learned I dont know everything at all.

Peter Irvine

Peter, who believes his preferred simplistic and minimalist style is good for mental health, said he was forced to confront his inner demons on the show.

I kept having these arguments in my head guessing what the judges were going to criticise, he explained.

What I thought would be negative, was positive and what I thought was positive would be negative. I learned not to put my thoughts into other peoples heads. So I pushed myself, but without compromising my individuality.

Each week the contestants will visit different destinations around the UK to demonstrate their creative flair through the perfect mix of crafting, DIY and interior design.

Theyll be asked to revamp venues from shops to luxury holiday cottages to test the limits of their imagination  and also their communication skills.

Peters rivals include assistant interior designer Ry, architect and interior designer Buse, architectural designer Karl and furniture artist Monika.

However, not everyone has industry experience which means the amateur isnt feeling too much out of his depth.

Criminal defence lawyer Temi, lawyer Charlotte, furniture shop manager Jack and waiter Tom are also competing for the prestigious prize.

Comedian and TV presenter Carr kicks off the fourth series of the hit show on Brighton Beach where he offers some valuable advice to all ten contestants.

If you really want to stand out from the crowd, youve got to think bigger and better than the rest, he says while licking an ice cream.

Despite a bumpy start, Peter remains confident that he has what it takes.

Interior Design Masters starts on BBC One at 9pm tonight and will be available on iPlayer.
Bindi Irwin has shared her experience of suffering endometriosis for the past decade to help tackle the stigma around the condition.

The TV star, 24, the daughter of late wildlife expert Steve Irwin, said she has undergone surgery, which found 37 lesions and a cyst, after suffering from insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea for 10 years.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes, according to the NHS website.

Posting a photo of herself in a hospital bed, she said she was not sure if she wanted to discuss her health publicly, but ultimately felt a responsibility to share her story for other women who needed help.

She wrote: For 10yrs Ive struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain and nausea. Trying to remain a positive person and hide the pain has been a very long road.

These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc. A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman and I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain.

I didnt find answers until a friend @lesliemosier helped set me on a path of regaining my life. I decided to undergo surgery for endometriosis.

She continued: Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldnt live like I was. Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain.

To cut a long story short, they found 37 lesions, some very deep and difficult to remove, and a chocolate cyst.

@seckinmds first words to me when I was in recovery were How did you live with this much pain? Validation for years of pain is indescribable.

The mother-of-one thanked her family and friends for encouraging her to find answers as well as praising the doctors and nurses who believed in her pain.

She said she is now on the road to recovery for which she is grateful.

Irwin, who has a daughter with her husband Chandler Powell, also told those who had questioned why she had cancelled plans or been absent that she had been pouring every ounce of the energy she had into her child and family.

Things may look fine on the outside looking in through the window of someones life, however, that is not always the case, she said.

Please be gentle and pause before asking me (or any woman) when well be having more children. After all that my body has gone through, I feel tremendously grateful that we have our gorgeous daughter. She feels like our familys miracle.

Im aware of millions of women struggling with a similar story. Theres stigma around this awful disease. Im sharing my story for anyone who reads this and is quietly dealing with pain and no answers.

Let this be your validation that your pain is real & you deserve help. Keep searching for answers. www.endofound.org.

Irwin tied the knot with Powell, a former professional wakeboarder, at her familys Australia Zoo in Queensland on March 25 2020, hours before the country banned weddings attended by more than five people due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Their daughter, Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, was born on their first wedding anniversary.

They also said the names Warrior Irwin were in tribute to Irwins late conservationist father, known as the Crocodile Hunter, who died aged 44 in 2006 after being attacked by a stingray while filming for a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland.
Emily Maitlis found herself in the hot seat as she was grilled by Sir Keir Starmer as part of a charity event on Monday.

The 52-year-old journalist and former BBC newsreader was interviewed by the leader of the Labour Party for Cancer Research UKs annual Turn The Tables event.

Maitlis and Sir Keir were joined by journalist and Sir Tony Blairs former director of communications Alastair Campbell, who also took part in the role-reversal event as he was questioned by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan.

Gillian Keegan and Alastair Campbell at Cancer Research UKs Turn The Tables (Simon Way/PA)

Speaking about the experience of being on the other end of tough questioning, Maitlis said: Well, Ive had the chance to grill many politicians over the years, and I have to admit that finding myself in the hot seat for once was an interesting experience.

It was a lot of fun though, Cancer Research UKs life-saving work is hugely important and it was brilliant to be able to raise so much money towards the cause.

However, I think Ill stick to asking the questions from now on!

Sir Keir said: What a nice change it has been to take on the role of interviewer today.

Ive really enjoyed taking part and most importantly, weve been able to raise money for a brilliant cause.

Gillian Anderson will portray Emily Maitlis in a new film exploring the Newsnight interview with the Duke of York (Simon Way/PA)

One in two of us will get cancer within our lifetime and Cancer Research UKs pioneering work is helping more people live longer, and thats why fundraising events like Turn The Tables are so crucial.

Thank you to the organisers for inviting me to take part- Im pleased to have been able to support such a fantastic event.

The event, which took place in front of a live audience at Bafta Piccadilly, was hosted by broadcaster Tania Bryer.

Guests included actresses Gillian Anderson and Donna Air, broadcaster Eamonn Holmes, and TV personalities Robert Rinder and Georgia Toffolo.

Tania Bryer, Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster at Cancer Research UKs Turn The Tables event (Simon Way/PA)

The X-Files actress Anderson, 54, is set to portray Maitlis in an upcoming film exploring the now-notorious Newsnight interview Maitlis conducted with the Duke of York in 2019.

During the evening, journalist Jeremy Bowen also took to the stage to speak about his personal experience with bowel cancer and a silent auction was held to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
Louise Minchin has said the longlist for the 2023 Womens Prize for Fiction deals with hard truths and difficult subjects (Ian West/PA)   Ian West

Louise Minchin has said the longlist for the 2023 Womens Prize for Fiction deals with hard truths and difficult subjects.

The TV presenter is the chair of the judges for the prize  which celebrates original fiction written in English by women from anywhere in the world  as it was announced on Tuesday who was being spotlighted this year.

The 2023 longlist features two former winners, Northern Ireland novelist Maggie OFarrell and American author Barbara Kingsolver, and three other writers  Natalie Haynes, Laline Paull and Elizabeth McKenzie  who appeared on previous shortlists.

Maggie OFarrell, who won the Womens Prize for Fiction award in 2020 (Ian West/PA)   Ian West

While talking about the longlist, Minchin, 54, told the PA news agency: I think what books give you is a bit of respite from the world.

Some of these books deal with hard truths and difficult subjects but they deal with them in a different way and they just give you a little bit of timeout.

Away from the constant news information or social media, whatever it is, I just think they give you the space to yourself, to be in a world thats not your own.

On the list is Trespasses by Irish author Louise Kennedy, about the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and Parini Shroffs first novel, The Bandit Queens, which tells the story of a woman accused of murdering her husband in India.

The former BBC Breakfast presenter said she feels there is still a huge appetite for reading and she is encouraged that her daughter is doing so despite the bombardment of social media.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

Minchin added: TikTok is a massive encourager of reading. So I just think there is a huge appetite out there, and I am really excited about it.

Youve only got to travel on the bus or the Tube and, a lot of people are on their phones, but often you do see people reading and I think the thing about reading is it gives you a fresh perspective on things.

Its not being sold to you by an algorithm, its your choice.

Minchin also described the list as ambitious and brilliantly original after nine of the 2023 longlist was announced as coming from debut authors.

She added: Theyre all outstanding, in different ways. And I think different is kind of the key to the list.

Theres just an enormous variety of voices, of stories, of places where theyre set, a wild and brilliant imagination.

And I think theres something for everyone, but also, for me, certainly it opened doors to perspectives that I had not read before.

Barbara Kingsolver is another author who has previously won the Womens Prize for Fiction (Yui Mok/PA)   Yui Mok

Three books are retellings of popular tales  Demon Copperhead by Kingsolver is inspired by Dickens David Copperfield, Stone Blind by Haynes explores the Greek myth of Medusa, and The Marriage Portrait by OFarrell is a historical depiction of Lucrezia Medici, of the wealthy Italian banking family in the 1560s.

Two novels are told from the perspective of animals, with a spinner dolphin in Pod by Paull and a chorus of animals in Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo.

Out of the 16 authors, there are seven Britons, five Americans, one Irish, one Canadian, one Zimbabwean/American and one French.

Also on the judging panel this year is novelist Rachel Joyce, writer Bella Mackie  who wrote the bestseller How To Kill Your Family  novelist and short story writer Irenosen Okojie, and Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.

The shortlist for the Womens Prize for Fiction will be announced on April 26 and the winner will be revealed on June 14 at an evening ceremony in central London.

The winner will receive a cheque for 30,000 and a limited-edition bronze figurine known as a Bessie.

Last year, American-Canadian author Ruth Ozeki took home the prize for The Book Of Form And Emptiness.
A former Belfast City councillor has launched legal action against a watchdog body that banned her from standing for election for three years .

Jolene Bunting is seeking to judicially review the Local Government Commissioner for Standards over a tribunal process which resulted in her disqualification.

A High Court judge confirmed today the challenge will be heard before Northern Irelands next council polls are held in May.

Last month Ms Bunting, a former independent unionist councillor, was found to have breached the code of conduct by doctoring a payslip in a bid to obtain cash from a far-right group.

The adjudication followed a complaint from Britain First leader Paul Golding.

He claimed the party sent her money to cover an alleged fine from Belfast City Council for a publicity stunt in 2018 involving its deputy leader at the time, Jayda Fransen.

Ms Fransen had been filmed making a statement while wearing robes and sitting in the lord mayors chair at City Hall.

But the tribunal was told that a 545 deduction in Ms Buntings council pay was actually because she had exceeded the data allowance on her mobile phone.

The local government watchdog ruled that she had improperly used her position to secure financial advantage.

She had amended her payslip in order to gain from Mr Golding and Britain First, the tribunal found, and brought her position as a councillor into disrepute.

Ms Bunting denied the allegations throughout the adjudication and also made a last-ditch attempt to halt the proceedings.

She has now applied for leave to seek a judicial review of the watchdogs alleged refusal to grant her an adjournment because of issues with legal representation.

Her lawyers want the three-year disqualification order quashed and the case remitted for a fresh adjudication process.

At a preliminary hearing today, Mr Justice Scoffield said: I know the applicant claims there is a degree of urgency because of the forthcoming elections.

With the next local government polls due to be held on May 18, Ms Buntings barrister told the court that candidates must submit nomination papers by April 24.

A decision in advance of that date is obviously required on behalf of the applicant, he stressed.

Her main goal is to be clear to apply for nomination.

Counsel for the Local Government Commissioner indicated there is legislative scope for an appeal against its determination.

But the judge responded that any alternative legal options available to Ms Bunting would probably involve hearing the same arguments.

Provisionally listing the challenge for a hearing after the Easter recess, Mr Justice Scoffield advised the parties: We should try and find a date to work towards.
(Representational image)

Hyderabad: The citys water authority decided to draw an additional 50 million gallons a day (MGD) of water from the Godavari to meet the rising demand, over repeated complaints of water shortage across the city.

The state government instructed the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to ensure sufficient water supply, including for consumption, during the summer. Sources said that the government wants to ensure there is no water crisis, because of the Assembly elections set to be held this year-end.

"Since this is the election year, the government wants to ensure the uninterrupted water supply to citizens in the city. Government has asked to draw an additional 50 MGD to the city and conduct a study on water deficient areas in this regard. Additional 50 MGD water would be drawn from the Manjira and Singur water sources," a senior water board official said.

Asked why HMWSSB was drawing only 387 MGD, when normal demand was 516 MGD, and where the additional water meant for the city was supplied, the official refused to comment.

While water board officials claim they have been drawing water from Sripada Yellampally (86 MGD), Singur (75 MGD) and Manjira (45 MGD), the HMWSSB website states that 30 MGD is drawn from Manjira, 56 MGD from Sripada Yellampally and 75 MGD from the Singur reservoir.

Highly placed sources in the water board said that the remaining water, over the years, was diverted through Mission Bhagiratha pipelines to other areas, especially where by-polls were held, resulting in the acute water crisis in various parts of the city even before peak summer.

With numerous complaints pouring in, the state government recently asked the HMWSSB to study and shortlist areas facing a drinking water crisis.

Areas of Karkhana, Trimulgherry, Bolarum, Vasavi Nagar and West Marredpally under the Secunderabad Cantonment and Hafeezpet, Madinaguda, Deeptisrinagar and Manikonda under the IT corridors have been among the worst hit. Residents said they have been hiring tankers since November 2022 to meet their water demands.

A few pockets in Nallagandla, Chandannagar and other municipalities in the city outskirts, especially Jalpally, are also facing water shortages.
A forensic psychiatrist has been questioned on five recognised triggers for women killing their child or children.

A Co Antrim drug dealer caught at a police checkpoint with a stash of cocaine has been jailed.

Ross Wilkinson, who is currently serving a 14-month sentence for other drug dealing offences, appeared via video link from Magilligan prison in Co Derry today (Tuesday).

The 25-year-old, formerly of Forthill Park, Newtownabbey, had earlier pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply and possessing cannabis and Class C drugs.

Prosecutor Kate McKay said that at 11.30pm on August 15, 2018 police stopped Wilkinson driving his Vauxhall Corsa car at a vehicle checkpoint on Church Road, Newtownabbey.

"Police detected a smell of cannabis from inside the car and decided to search it. They found 30 packets of cocaine, a bag of herbal cannabis and five blue tablets under the leather cover of the gear stick. Three deal bags were found at his home,'' said Ms McKay.

A forensic report said there was 46.46 grams of cocaine with a purity level of around nine per cent. There was 22.09 grams of herbal cannabis.

"An examination of his phone showed a small amount of drug messages and a deal list.''

During police interviews, Wilkinson accepted the cocaine belonged to him and he intended to sell it on to support his drug habit. He said the other drugs were for his own personal use.

Ms McKay added that Wilkinson has a "propensity'' towards drug dealing and of his 24 previous convictions, 11 were for drug offences.

A defence barrister said Wilkinson was "performing well'' in prison and had passed a drug test last December.

"There are no concerns about any drug taking on his behalf within the prison setting''.

The lawyer told the court that Wilkinson's drug addiction peaked in 2018 and "his drug debt got worse and worse and he became more involved in drug dealing''.

The court heard the father-of-one had a "traumatic childhood'' and at the age of seven witnessed his father being dragged from his home and shot.

Jailing Wilkinson, Judge Philip Gilpin said: "Our courts have made it clear for many years that any involvement in unlawful drug offending is heinous criminal activity.

"All drugs, of whatever class, have the capacity to cause great harm. Class A drugs have the capacity to cause the most harm.''
An employee who swindled a north Belfast filling station out of thousands of pounds in a prepaid card scam has avoided immediate imprisonment.

Josh Keys received a four-month suspended sentence for the racket, which involved a series of bogus customer refunds.

The 20-year-old, of Melrose Street in the city, was also ordered to repay the full value of the vouchers he took.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard Keys launched the fraud after he obtained a job at the Fortwilliam Service Station last year.

The scam centred on the garages sale of Paysafecards, a prepaid method for making online purchases.

Refunds for several hundred pounds at a time were spotted in a series of unusual transactions attributed to Keys between April 11-19.

He initially claimed customers had bought Paysafecard vouchers which did not print out properly.

However, when CCTV footage was examined no customers were present for any of the transactions.

Keys was instead putting the vouchers in his own pocket, the court heard.

A prosecution lawyer disclosed: In total, 2,424 was taken.

Keys pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Michael Boyd, defending, described him as a complete stranger to the criminal justice system.

Hes learnt a harsh lesson, realises that hes staring down the barrel of custody, and hes ashamed of himself, the barrister said.

This is hopefully going to be his first and last foray into a criminal court.

District Judge Steven Keown was told Keys had gathered more than 1,000 to help cover his ex-employers losses.

But imposing four months custody, suspended for two years, Mr Keown directed: There will be 2,424 compensation, with 26 weeks to pay.
A spring Covid-19 booster jab is being offered to almost 200,000 people in Northern Ireland who are most at risk of developing severe symptoms of the infection.

High risk groups include those aged 75 and over and residents in care homes.

Anyone over the age of five who is immunosuppressed are also vulnerable and will be among the cohort to be offered a further booster in line with advice by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The Department of Health confirmed the roll out of the latest booster campaign will commence in the middle of April and will run until the end of June.

Chief medical officer Professor Sir Michael McBride said its intended to cover a population of almost 190,000 individuals.

The programme will include those who turn 75 years old by 30th June 2023 who will be eligible for a vaccination at any point during the spring campaign, he said.

"Those who are admitted to an older adult care home or become immunosuppressed by 30 June 2023 will be considered eligible as well.

All care homes will be paired with a community pharmacy to ensue all residents are immunised.

GPs will be asked to invite eligible patients aged 75 plus and those who are immunocompromised to attend vaccination appointments.

However patients will be given the option to receive the vaccine via a participating community pharmacy.

Health trusts will play a reduced role in the spring programme and will focus on vaccinating eligible housebound patients from lists supplied by GPs.

Trusts will also administer jabs to immunocompromised children between the ages of five and 18-years-old on the advice of doctors.

Almost 4.5 million vaccines have been administered in Northern Ireland since the programme was rolled out in December 2020.

Meanwhile the Public Health Agency and health trust vaccination teams have launched a student immunisation catch-up programme in colleges and universities across NI.

Its aimed at giving students who missed out on vaccines in school during the pandemic the opportunity to receive them now.

Teenage immunisations include the three in one booster which protects against tetanus,diphtheria and polio.

Young people will also have a chance to get a MenACWY jab which offers protection against four strains of meningococcal bacteria that causes meningitis and blood poisoning (septicaemia) and the HPV vaccine (human papilloma virus) which protects against cervical, head and neck cancers.

Deidre Ward, Nurse Consultant at the PHA said: The teenage immunisation vaccines are normally offered as part of the school-based vaccination programme, however due to the disruption caused during the COVID-19 pandemic some children may have missed getting the vaccines.

Getting immunisations as a teenager is every bit as important as the vaccinations that you receive as a baby or toddler.

"The three in one booster vaccine offered helps protect against three serious diseases: tetanus, diphtheria, and polio.

"There is a tendency to think of these as diseases of the past, but we must remember that before vaccines existed, these diseases killed thousands of children in the UK every year. However, thankfully they are now preventable, but only through vaccination.

Five doses of the tetanus, diphtheria and polio vaccines are required throughout childhood to build up and maintain the bodys own immunity against those infections and help protect against the preventable diseases. Y

Three of doses are administered to most people when they are still babies with the fourth dose offered three-year-olds as a pre-school booster.

The fifth and final dose is received in teenage years.

The MenACWY vaccine will help protect against four different causes of meningitis and septicaemia  meningococcal A,C,W and Y diseases, Ms Ward said.

"Older teenagers are at higher risk of getting Meningococcal W disease (MenW), due to them mixing with larger groups of people, making them more exposed to various infections and diseases, so you need to get vaccinated to help protect yourself.

"It will also reduce the risk of you carrying the bacteria, therefore offering better protection to those around you. MenW was generally rare in the UK, but there has been an increase in cases in recent years.

The HPV vaccine will help protect you against HPV infection and associated cancers, including over 70% of cervical cancers in women, and cancers of the mouth, throat, anus and genitals in men and women.

"For the vaccine to work fully, two injections will be needed within a 12 month period. It is important to have both vaccinations to get maximum protection. HPV is very common and is easily spread through sexual activity.

Experts estimate that the level of protection offered by the vaccine will last for at least 10 years.

Trust vaccination teams will be visiting colleges and universities across the region in the week commencing March 13.

Students are urged to check details of clinics happening in or near their place of study and to check their vaccination status.

Vaccination teams will be able to check records and answer any questions.
A fire engine was sent out three times to an east Belfast street to extinguish burning bonfire materials on Tuesday.

Calls were made about burning materials on Lismore street at 4.44pm, 5.45pm and 8.09pm. Firefighters used two hoses and one jet to quell the blaze from the final incident, but only a hose was needed for the two previous fires.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service has said it believed the fires were deliberate.

The PSNI has confirmed calls from the NIFRS regarding rubbish set alight at waste-ground at Lismore Street in east Belfast at 16.57 and 18.24 on Monday. A number of people were spoken to at the scene.
Christopher Morelli was charged with the murder of Hollie Thomson

A man charged with the murder of a Belfast mother-of-one has died suddenly while out on bail.

Hollie Thomson's body was discovered at her home in the Greenan area of Shaw's Road in the city last September.

Ms Thomson's partner, Christopher Morelli (31), appeared in court charged with the killing later the same month and was released on bail in November.

Mr Morelli - who had tried to take his own life in the aftermath of Ms Thomson's death - died suddenly while out on bail at an address in Hillsborough, the Irish News reported.

Christopher Morelli

At his bail hearing in November, the High Court heard a prosecution claim that Mr Morelli inflicted fatal injuries on his 28-year-old partner after taking cocaine, before he drove to visit a transvestite escort for an arranged meeting for sexual services.

Preliminary medical examinations identified suffocation and fractured neck as a possible cause of Ms Thomson's death, but defence lawyers challenged a claim that the evidence would sustain a murder charge, instead predicting that toxicology reports will instead support their case that it had been a drug overdose.

The court was told that Ms Thomson had been out at a social club with Mr Morelli on the night before her death.

The victim's sister went to Mr Morelli's home the following morning to ask what had happened and he was covered in blood from self-inflicted wounds, according to the prosecution's case, and he initially refused to answer questions.

Crown lawyer Natalie Pinkerton claimed the defendant then said the couple argued and had consensual sex before he left her house.

Christopher Morelli appears in court accused of murdering 28-year-old Hollie Thomson in west Belfast

Mr Morelli allegedly said Ms Thomson was shaking when he left, likening it to a fit, adding that he didn't know what to do.

Bail was subsequently granted under strict conditions, including a ban on alcohol and non-prescription drugs.

Mr Justice Fowler also imposed an exclusion zone order, adding: There is to be no contact with any members of the deceaseds family.

The funeral for Ms Thomson, who worked as a classroom assistant, was held at St Michael the Archangels Church on Finaghy Road.

Fr Brendan Mulhall told mourners that while the funeral was to mark an "immensely sad and painful" passing, they were also celebrating Ms Thomson's short life that had touched so many people.

"She had a beautiful and unforgettable smile that radiated so much kindness and warmth," he said.

"She was respectful and kind - always there (for) advice and support or a shoulder to cry on."

Fr Mulhall said that "above all" Ms Thomson loved her family.

"Her mum and dad meant the absolute world to her as did Katie, her wee sister and best friend," he said.

Regarding her daughter Ayla, Fr Mulhall said: "Hollie was an absolutely devoted mother and she and Hollie shared an unbreakable and very special bond.

"There was an enormous amount of joy and happiness in the relationship."

Following her death, friends of the Belfast woman set up an online fundraiser to support her daughter which raised more than 10,000.
Stock Image: Police at the scene of an incident in Belfast (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)   Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph

Police have launched a murder investigation following the death of a man who was attacked in south Belfast on January 29.

The victim, who was aged in his 40s, was assaulted in the early hours of the morning while waiting for a lift.

Detectives are awaiting the results of his post mortem and will consider the findings as part of their investigation.

Three men who were arrested in connection with the incident remain on police bail.

Detective Inspector Michelle Griffin said: Sadly the victim of the assault has now passed away in hospital. I am appealing for witnesses to come forward.

The assault occurred between 3.00am and 3.30am on Sunday, January 29th when the victim was waiting for a lift in the car park beside licensed premises.

It has been reported that three men approached the victim and his friend before an altercation occurred which spilled out onto the Malone Road, at the junction of Eglantine Avenue.

We know that this area would have been relatively busy with vehicles at the time, particularly taxi drivers, and would appeal to anyone who may have been in the vicinity to check their dash cam for relevant footage.

The assault was only reported to police on February 16, more than a fortnight after it happened. It is not clear why at this stage.

In their initial appeal, the PSNI had said the victim had been helping a friend to load a van parked in the car park outside licensed premises before he was approached by three men.

Botanic SDLP councillor Gary McKeown sent his condolences to the dead mans family.

"I am very sorry to learn that the man who was assaulted on the Malone Road has died. My thoughts are with those close to him, he said.

"An incident like this will cause great concern for people living nearby, as this is an area heavily populated with students and long-term residents, and would be very busy at weekends.

"Police investigations are ongoing, so I would urge anyone with any information to please come forward."

Police have asked anyone with information to contact them via 101.
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill (left), party leader Mary Lou McDonald (right) and former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams (back right) carry the coffin of former general secretary Rita O'Hare at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. Pic Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Sinn Fein leaders have carried the coffin of republican Rita O'Hare at a cemetery in Dublin where her funeral has taken place.

A cremation service for the former party strategist, who died at the age of 80 following a long illness, was held at Glasnevin Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill and party leader Mary Lou McDonald appeared visibly upset as they carried the remains of the Belfast-born activist who was a key player in the early civil rights movement in Northern Ireland.

Former party leader Gerry Adams also carried the coffin of one of the most high-profile on-the-run republicans during the Troubles.

Ms McDonald pledged to move heaven and earth to achieve a united Ireland in a tribute to the memory of the veteran republican who she described as an unstoppable force for Irish freedom.

Sinn Fein leaders carry coffin of former fugitive Rita OHare as funeral takes place in Dublin

The Sinn Fein president delivered the main address at the funeral service and hailed the former editor of republican newspaper An Phoblacht as arguably the leading female republican of her generation.

You knew that your place was to never know your place, she told mourners.

An inheritor of that great tradition of unmanageable revolutionaries, an exemplar of that stubborn, relentless courage, who would in turn pass the torch to the next generation.

Ms McDonald said she will not let down the woman who had a central role in building Sinn Fein.

"Rita OHare and her generation have made it possible for us to achieve the Republic in our time. That is her gift. Their gift to us, she said.

And she would give anything to be here on the day that we get our referendum on Irish unity, she would give anything to see the day that we end partition and now she relies on us to carry on, to grasp the moment, to seize the purpose of our generation and to make it happen.

Well, we will move heaven, we will move earth to finish that noble journey.

So, I want you to know that weve got this Rita, we will not let you down and, until we meet again, sleep well our leader, our comrade, our dearest, dearest friend.

Former party president Gerry Adams delivered an oration in memory of the former fugitive who was wanted in Northern Ireland for her alleged involvement in the 1971 attempted murder of an Army warrant officer.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams attends the funeral of former Sinn Fein general secretary Rita O'Hare at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin. Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

The suspect fled to the Republic of Ireland where she later served a three-year jail sentence for trying to smuggle explosives into Limerick prison while on a visit.

An attempt to extradite her to Northern Ireland failed after the High Court in Dublin in 1978 ruled that her alleged offences were political.

Ms OHare spent two decades in the United States as Sinn Feins senior representative across the Atlantic.

In later years, the Andersonstown native lived in Dublin.

A death notice states the deceased will be sadly missed by her husband Brendan, daughters Terry and Frances, sons Rory and Ciara as well as her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, friends and neighbours.
Dog fouling in Belfast carries a penalty of 80, reduced to 45 if paid within 14 days

A total of 3,843 dog control offences have been recorded in Belfast in almost five years, it has emerged.

Figures show that, since the beginning of the 2017/18 financial year, a total of 276 fines have been issued for dog fouling, although the most prevalent offence is straying, with 1,352 fines handed out over the same period.

Local councils are required to provide Stormont's Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to provide information on dog control offences each quarter.

Figures compiled by Belfast City Council officials for its People and Communities committee detail the scale of the problem in the city.

In addition to the fines for strays and dog fouling, since 2017/18, 38 court summons have been issued for fouling and 357 for straying.

Looking at dog licences, BCC's dog warden service has handed out 1,286 fines to dog owners who had no licence for their pet since 2017/18, in addition to 534 court summons for this reason.

Current fines for not having a dog licence and for dog fouling are set at 80, reduced to 50 if paid within 14 days. If fines are not paid the council can take the offender to court.

In an attempt to tackle these problems, BCC has undertaken an extensive advertising campaign on responsible dog ownership, erecting more signage in areas where there has been an increase in dog fouling, while also carrying out patrols.

BCC's dog warden service operates seven days a week  except for bank holidays  from 8am to 8pm. The service has 12 dog wardens who operate in four teams, as well as two supervisors and a dog warden and animal welfare manager.

Over the course of the 2021/22 financial year there were 2,821 requests from ratepayers for dog wardens. Between April 1 and December 31 this figure was 2,239, working out at an average of 249 per month.

"Dog fouling and irresponsible dog ownership go hand in hand and can impact the quality and amenity of our neighbourhoods," council officers said.

"Clearly, whilst the majority of dog owners exercise responsible dog management, there are a small number of owners who have less regard for this and this can have an impact on areas in the city.

"This requires ongoing re-direction of our resources to address in terms of its removal from the streets, as well as providing a wide range of education and awareness programmes together with the use of fines where infringements are detected.

"The dog warden service as part of their role deploy routine monitoring patrols, to detect dog fouling incidents. However, it is widely recognised that the problem of dog fouling cannot be addressed solely by enforcement intervention.

"To encourage a change in behaviour, a wider programme supporting responsible dog ownership is an essential element of the Councils approach to reducing levels of dog fouling throughout the city."

Earlier this month, Ards and North Down Borough took advantage of new powers to increase fines for dog control offences.

Fines were increased from 80 to 200, with the reduced rate if paid within 14 days rising from 45 to 150.

And dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets in Antrim and Newtownabbeys streets will face a fine of 200 from next month.

Councillors agreed at a meeting of the borough councils Operations Committee on Monday evening to more than than double the fine for dog fouling and littering.
EXCLUSIVE | Scappaticci couldnt drive a Ferrari in west Belfast: Stakeknife paid equivalent of 250,000 a year by his handlers in 1980s, according to nemesis who outed him
Sources said the CID, as part of the investigation, wrote to Siemens which sent its representatives to convey that it was never associated with the project. Photo by Arrangement

Vijayawada: In a major embarrassment to the principal opposition Telugu Desam, multinational industrial giant Siemens informed the state government that it was never associated with the controversial skill development project launched with great fanfare by then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh who was the IT minister in the previous regime.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) which has already been probing into the financial irregularities in implementing the project is said to have traced the hawala route through which at least 240 crore was allegedly siphoned off.

According to official sources, Arja Srikanth, a senior railway official who was handling the project on deputation to the state, is likely to face serious action in the next few days along with other key people who the CID found to have been involved in the hawala transactions.

The TD government announced that Siemens had agreed to provide 90 per cent of the 3,300-crore project as grant-in-aid and released 370 crore (including taxes) towards the 10 per cent contribution from the state. However, while issuing the GO for release of the states contribution, the Naidu government, it is alleged, deliberately avoided mentioning the grant-in-aid of Siemens.

Sources said the CID, as part of the investigation, wrote to Siemens which sent its representatives to convey that it was never associated with the project. It also informed the state that one of its top employees in the Indian subsidiary Suman Bose indulged in activities that were taken up without the knowledge of the parent company. The CID found that Bose and Vikas Kanvikar of Digital Tech, another private company involved in the project, diverted the funds released by the state government to shell companies like Elite Computers, Skiller India Pvt Ltd, Knowledge Podium, ETA Greens and Kedans Partner.

"Interestingly, the ACB received a detailed complaint from a whistleblower in 2016 about the project but officials responsible for the irregularities erased all traces including files," sources pointed out.

Another interesting factor is that it was the Goods and Services Tax (GST) intelligence wing that first detected irregularities before the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government took up investigation. "The shell companies received funds along with GST but did not remit the same to the taxmen," sources said adding that the funds were routed out through hawala channels.
The use of the phrase legitimate targets to describe officers families has been branded obscene

Police and ATO deal with a suspect car carrying a device outside Waterside Police Station in Derry on November 21, 2022 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Sunday Life)

A dissident republican threat to families of PSNI officers in Northern Ireland demonises and dehumanises both officers and their families, a former senior officer has said.

In a code-worded statement given to The Irish News, Arm na Poblachta (ANP) said they are looking at the families of PSNI officers as legitimate targets.

It is believed to be the first time an armed republican group has directly threatened civilian families of serving police officers.

Former PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White said the obscene threat revealed dissident republicans viewed officers families as less than human.

Former Assistant Chief Constable Stephen White OBE

Terrorism is the same all over the world; young men in particular are radicalised or recruited into organisations who then try to dehumanise and demonise police officers, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

That, to me, is where this whole thing comes about. In their ideology, it is somehow acceptable to kill police officers because they are seen as less than human. Thats the way extremists work.

This is taking it a step further by somehow dehumanising the families of police officers using that obscene description of legitimate target.

There is nothing legitimate about murder, about terrorising people, but I suspect that most law-abiding folk will continue to support the PSNI and their families at this time.

Read more Sickening threat against PSNI families condemned by Stormont parties

Mr White said the police were correct to take the threat seriously, despite the relatively small stature of the dissident republican group.

There is still a substantial threat, and its now brought more severely into light, he said.

My hope is that it will not dissuade any police officer or member of a police officers family from continuing to do their duty.

Sadly, this is what terrorism is all about; cowardly acts of creating fear and terror in the most soft of targets.

As we know, it only takes one fanatical, radicalised terrorist to commit atrocities, so all threats should be paid attention to.

One can only hope people will be sensible and proportionate in terms of their personal security, but that they will continue to do their duty with courage and professionalism.

Alan McQuillan said the PSNI's resources had been eroded in recent years

Alan McQuillan, also a former Assistant Chief Constable, condemned the ANP threat as totally deplorable.

There are no legitimate targets anywhere and these people have no legitimacy themselves, he said.

They dont have any electoral base, they dont represent anybody, they have virtually no support in the community, let alone the republican community.

Arm na Poblachta is a nom de guerre that they are using. It sprang out of people who tended to be on the Continuity IRA side of things.

They havent been involved in very much, they are a splinter of a splinter of a splinter and tend to be more personality-driven.

That doesnt mean they are not dangerous, but the extent to which they are a threat is debatable and they are probably vying for position in the run-up to Easter.

Mr McQuillan said dissident republican groupings may have been emboldened as the PSNI is hit with cut after cut.

The PSNI now stands 2,000 officers below where Patten said they should be for a population the size we have, he said.

We are not just hundreds of officers short, its about 25% short from where Patten thought it should be.

That is having a really bad effect on its ability to deliver a service. People arent stupid, they see this and know the chances of getting caught are getting ever smaller.

Police Federation NI (PFNI) chairman Liam Kelly said threatening police officers and their families was despicable.

Officers families make big sacrifices so that officers can continue to safeguard communities and counter the reckless and profit-inspired gangsters who deliver misery, he said.

We must work together to rid Northern Ireland of the scourge of paramilitarism and gangsterism, and I would appeal for an all-out community effort to do just that.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the threat highlighted the resourcing need within the PSNI.

It underscores the need to support the PSNI, both vocally and by pressing the Government to tackle the budget shortfall within policing, he added.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly branded the threat absolutely despicable and said the group should disband.

They should pack up and go. There is no place for these groups in our communities, he said.

Alliances Nuala McAllister said the despicable threat should be removed immediately, while the SDLPs Mark H Durkan condemned the statement as absolutely reprehensible.

The Policing Board condemned the threat as sinister.

No one should have to live under a threat because of a career choice, and neither should any member of their family, said a spokesperson.

This is a sinister threat, designed to cause fear. It is condemned by the Board and must be condemned right across the community.

The threat, which was accompanied by claims of responsibility for recent attempted attacks in the Corrody Road and Lettershandoney areas of Derry, is being taken seriously by the PSNI.

We have reminded all officers and staff of their personal safety and security both on and off duty, said the Assistant Chief Constable for the PSNIs Crime Department, Mark McEwan.

This is a sickening attempt to terrorise our officers and staff. The Police Service of Northern Ireland will not be deterred from delivering a visible and impartial policing service to all communities.
Party have called on former leaders Dame Arlene Foster and Peter Robinson as it weighs up whether to accept the Framework

The Government says it will give the DUP time to examine Rishi Sunaks new deal with the EU after Sir Jeffrey Donaldson announced a consultative panel to review the Windsor Framework.

He said the panel would report to him by the end of March.

Downing Street would not be drawn on when it will stage a Commons vote on the Prime Minister new deal with the EU on arrangements for Northern Ireland.

The DUP is setting up the the panel  including former party leaders Dame Arlene Foster and Peter Robinson  before deciding whether or not to re-enter power-sharing at Stormont. However, unionist critics have criticised the make-up of the panel. The group will also include Carla Lockhart MP, Ross Reed OBE, Brian Kingston MLA, John McBurney and Deborah Erskine MLA.

He said their findings will inform the partys decision-making process and denied the move is intended as a delay tactic.

The DUP is now engaged in a detailed study of what has been published as well as examining the detail of the legal texts published to date, Sir Jeffrey said in a statement. Clearly further legal text remains to be published to give effect to some of the changes already secured.

We have already commenced discussions with the UK Government on a range of issues where we require further clarity and where we believe more work will be needed.

During our Assembly election campaign we indicated that the protocol must be replaced with new arrangements that are able to command broad support in Northern Ireland and which respect Northern Irelands place within the United Kingdom.

Today I have established a group to commence and undertake a wide consultation process within Northern Ireland, listening and taking views on the Framework document. This work will be undertaken in parallel with our on-going engagement with the UK Government.

The group of party members and independent thinkers has been tasked with engaging with a broad section of the unionist and loyalist community, the business sector, civic society and others who want to see Northern Ireland prosper within the Union.

History teaches us that it is always better to get the right outcome for Northern Ireland rather than a rushed one, Sir Jeffrey added.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said later: We do want to give individual groups, including the DUP, the time to look at this. We are not simply waiting just for one group to report back.

We need to strike the right balance between giving people the time and ensuring we give the people of Northern Ireland the certainty that they require.

We do want to keep talking to the DUP and other groups and stand ready to answer any questions they have.

It comes after a former DUP MLA and Stormont minister claimed Sir Jeffrey is keen to do a deal and accept the deal despite opposition from within the party.

Jim Wells, who quit the DUP after being deselected ahead of the 2022 Assembly election, said he has been speaking to folk in the party who are extremely underwhelmed by the nature of the panel.

Mr Wells, who was a DUP MLA for 24 years, said it was right for Sir Jeffrey to form a panel but questioned the balance.

Knowing the people on it as well as I do, I mean, theyre hardly going to be critical, to the extent I would like, of the (Windsor) Framework.

I think it needs balance. Indeed, there are plenty as they would call them, the doves, on the panel. What there isnt are those who have deep concerns about the Framework. It could be somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that I dont believe that many people will be surprised if that panel has a reasonably favourable approach to the Framework.

He said obvious names had been left out such as Lord Morrow, Sammy Wilson and Ian Paisley. Not only are the panel like-minded individuals but theyre extremely loyal to Jeffrey. Theres nothing wrong with that. But there has to be the view that, if Jeffrey skews the panel in a certain way, there wont be much resistance to it, Mr Wells said.

The public and private pronouncements of those on the panel, he said, have not been critical to date.

The former DUP MLA also believes that former special adviser Richard Bullick should have been included in the group because he is an incredibly able legal adviser.

TUV leader Jim Allister said: The public might be surprised at the absence of people who have expressed a sceptical view, in that this may be a group to give a soft landing to a departure from a previous anti-Protocol stance.
Ammi Burke, a relative of Enoch Burke is forcibly removed from the Court of Appeal by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out in the courtroom in Dublin. (Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   PA

Ammi Burke is forcibly removed from the Court of Appeal by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out in the courtroom in Dublin. (Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   PA

Simeon Burke is accused of causing a breach of the peace at the Four Courts in Dublin.(Irish Independent).

A younger brother of Enoch Burke has been charged with threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour following chaotic scenes at a Court of Appeal hearing today.

Simeon Burke (24) was arrested and brought before Dublin District Court this evening accused of causing a breach of the peace at the Four Courts earlier today.

The disturbance is alleged to have happened as appeal judges rejected Enoch Burke's appeal against High Court injunctions directing him not to trespass at a Co Westmeath school.

Simeon Burke had been among family members at that hearing to support his brother.

The accused, of Cloonsoona, Castlebar, Co Mayo, is charged with using threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour at the Four Courts today. The charge is under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.

Judge Paula Murphy granted him bail and adjourned the case to Cloverhill District Court next Tuesday. Mr Burke told the court he would not sign the bail bond and was remanded in custody with consent to bail.

The accused told the court he had been assaulted by gardai and treated in a brutal fashion by them because his family objected to having transgenderism forced down the throats of the people of this country".

Ammi Burke is forcibly removed from the Court of Appeal by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out in the courtroom in Dublin. (Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   PA

He told Judge Murphy to stop this process now and said Im not signing anything, Im not a criminal here and I wont be treated as such.

Garda Conor Dwyer told Judge Murphy he was called to the Four Courts at 3.23pm where a man was allegedly shouting and provoking a breach of the peace, with several members of the public around.

They escorted the accused outside and he was shouting in an aggressive manner, he said.

I tried to reason with him and he did not comply, he said.

He was later charged, made no reply after caution and refused garda station bail.

The judge asked Simeon Burke if he had a solicitor.

I can speak for myself, he replied. This process needs to be stopped, I was unlawfully arrested and I have been treated shamefully and disgracefully by the gardai. I am shocked and shaken to the core by what happened. Its nothing short of disgraceful.

He said he had gone to the Court of Appeal today, as every citizen had a right to do, and during his time there the president of the court made statements, they were horrific statements, about transgenderism, justifying why it should be shoved down the throats of people in this country.

This was not only in schools but universities and was contrary to the Constitution, he said. He said citizens had religious rights and rights to express themselves freely.

Judge Murphy said that was a matter for the hearing of the case.

The family raised objections to what the judge said, Mr Burke continued.

A mob of gardai invaded the courtroom and assaulted my sister Ammi Burke, a solicitor, he claimed.

He said the gardai also assaulted his brother Enoch who had spent 108 days in prison because he "would not be forced to accept transgenderism in the school where he works.

He was assaulted by a mob of gardai and left bleeding by a mob of gardai, Mr Burke continued. What happened next is the gardai were making their way towards my mother after assaulting my sister and my brother, and I was in the pathway of the gardai as they moved to continue their violence against my mother.

He was then targeted and attacked by gardai who manhandled him and pushed him out of the courtroom", he claimed.

He alleged the gardai swore at him and one said eff him out of the courtroom, with another swearing at him as he was driven to court.

When he raised this with the gardai, he claimed, the reply was yes, I am swearing at you.

I am shocked, I am shaken to my core, Mr Burke told the court. I am not a criminal. Transgenderism shouldnt be forced down the throats of people. For the judge to have made that comment was wrong.

My shirt was ripped open, I have been left bleeding, my clothes have been taken from me, I have been brought in like a criminal. You have a responsibility to stop this process right now.

He told the judge she had a duty before God and she had sworn before God to uphold the Constitution and the law.

Its shameful how I have been treated, I have been treated in a brutal fashion as have been my family, he said, and this was because they raised objections to having transgenderism forced down the throats of the people of this country.

The court heard there was no garda objection to bail subject to conditions and the judge set bail in his own bond of 200, with no cash lodgement required.

Under conditions, he is to stay away from the Four Courts and sign on three times weekly at his local garda station.

Im not signing anything, Im not a criminal here and I wont be treated as such, Mr Burke said.

The judge asked if he would not be taking up bail.

I will not be treated like a criminal, judge, he said.

Several Burke family members in the public gallery were heard to say shameful while the accuseds mother Martina asked: Where are his shoes? and Why were his clothes ripped off him?

Shame on all of you, Enoch Burke said as his brother was led away by prison guards. Absolutely disgraceful.

At the earlier Court of Appeal hearing, Enoch Burke lost an appeal aimed at overturning court orders preventing him from teaching or attending Wilsons Hospital School in Multyfarnham in Co Westmeath.

The three-judge court, in three separate judgments, dismissed the appeal. The delivery of the judgments was interrupted several times with gardai eventually intervening to remove members of the family.

Officers moved in and requested that the Burkes leave the courtroom after the three-judge court abandoned the delivery of its judgment because of repeated interruptions.

There were tense scenes as at least 10 gardai arrived in the court to escort the Burkes out, only for members of the family to angrily refuse to comply with requests to leave.

The first to be physically removed was Mr Burkes sister Ammi, a solicitor, following by his Simeon, who is studying to be a barrister at Kings Inns.

One by one the family members were removed despite strongly resisting, holding onto benches and each other as gardai sought to get them out.

Enoch Burke appeared to cut his hand while grabbing hold of a table as a garda tried to pull him away.

Throughout the incident, which went on for around ten minutes, angry comments were directed at gardai by the Burkes.

The confrontation broke out after the Burkes got to their feet and loudly objected to comments by the president of the court, Mr Justice George Birmingham.

The judge said offensive terms used by Enoch Burke during his appeal caused him to wonder whether this is not an exercise in creating soundbites.

At this point, all hell broke loose in the courtroom.

Enoch Burke got to his feet, shouting: Thats a disgrace judge.

Amid a cacophony from the benches where his family stood, he could be heard shouting: How dare you strip me of my constitutional rights.

His mother Martina repeatedly shouted: You are bowed prostrate at the altar of transgenderism.

Gardai moved in and Ammi Burke was the first to be physically removed.

Ammi Burke, a relative of Enoch Burke is forcibly removed from the Court of Appeal by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out in the courtroom in Dublin. (Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   PA

As she was being forcibly taken from the court, her father Sean shouted: You have no right to take her out. Shame on you. It is a cover up.

Sean and Martina Burke were also bundled out of the court after a stand-off.

Then four gardai were required to drag Enoch Burke out a back door.

As a garda wrestled with him, Mr Burke repeatedly shouted: Dont you dare touch me. He accused the gardai of being a disgrace.

The last of the family to be removed was Isaac Burke, who was dragged out with his feet trailing on the ground.

Members of the family insisted gardai had no right to remove them from the court.

They were taken from the courtroom after judges had to twice rise from the bench due to interruptions.

Mr Burke was appealing against High Court orders restraining him from turning up at Wilsons Hospital School.

Mr Justice Birmingham, sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Maire Whelan, had only managed to read out one part of the courts decision before the hearing descended into chaos.

The judge said the court had no hesitation in dismissing an appeal Mr Burke had against a temporary injunction granted by Ms Justice Siobhan Stack last August restraining him from attending for work at the Co Westmeath school

At this point, Ammi Burke, stood up and interrupted the judge, making comments about her brothers constitutional rights.

She refused to stop talking or sit down when Mr Justice Birmingham instructed her to do so.

Several other members of the Burke family stood and began shouting up at the bench.

The loudest was Mr Burkes mother Martina, who shouted: You are bowing before the altar of transgenderism, every single one of you.

She went on to make loud comments about judicial salaries.

The judges left the bench and remained in their chambers for around five minutes.

When they came back into the courtroom, Mr Justice Birmingham said he would continue reading out the judgement, but that if there were any further interruptions the court would rise again and the judgment would be issued electronically.

He was in the middle of dealing with a second part of the appeal, in relation to an order granted by Mr Justice Max Barrett last September, when he was interrupted by members of the family again.

The judges rose from the bench again and this time they did not come back.

Several gardai were in the court at the time and more flooded in after the Burkes refused to comply with a request to leave.

Mr Burke had claimed the orders he was appealing were invalid, unconstitutional, had no legal effect and should be set aside.

However, the three-judge court disagreed and dismissed his grounds of appeal.

Despite the orders, Mr Burke continued to go to its premises in Multyfarnham each school day despite first being suspended and later dismissed from his job there as a teacher of history and German.

He spent 108 days in prison last year for contempt of court orders and is currently being fined 700 for each day he remains in contempt.

His suspension last August came after Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, refused to comply with a request from the then principal to call a transgender pupil by a new name and by their preferred pronouns.

A number of incidents, in which Mr Burke expressed opposition on religious grounds to the request, prompted the schools board of management to put him on paid administrative leave.

He was sacked by the board of management in January, a decision he is appealing to a tribunal.

During the appeal hearing, the teacher claimed the request, was an unlawful demand that he participate in transgenderism, and was in breach of his constitutional rights to the freedom of religious expression.

Transgenderism, he said, was contrary to all major religions, and his own Christian beliefs. He told the court that scriptures state that there is only the male and the female.

But Mr Justice Birmingham said the communication from the principal fell well short of a demand.

The judge said he had no hesitation in dismissing the appeal against the order of Ms Justice Stack, as on the evidence presented to her there was a case for an interim injunction.

He did not get to read out the part of the ruling dismissing the appeal against Mr Justice Barretts order, but an electronic version of the judgment issued later confirmed this too had been dismissed.

The Court of Appeal decided not to hear appeals against two other High Court decisions, made by Mr Justice Conor Dignam and Ms Justice Eileen Roberts. These included the dismissal of an application brought by Mr Burke aimed at setting aside his suspension.

Before delivering the courts ruling, Mr Justice Birmingham said a letter was received by the courts registrar from a firm of solicitors in the midlands.

Although not stated by the judge, it appears the firm that sent the letter is representing the transgender child or their family.

The judge said the letter indicated the desire of the law firm that nothing be said in the course of the judgment that would identify the child.

There is also a stated concern the judgement should not contain anything that is inaccurate, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

The judge said the correspondence seemed to be designed to influence the contents of the judgment and, on one view, was an attempt to put evidence before the court through correspondence, which he said could not be done.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the court had been careful at all stages not to identify the child.

The hearing of the full cases between the school and Mr Burke remains pending before the High Court, and is expected to be heard later this year.
MP Wilson demands transparency in partygate investigator row

Ms Gray  a former Stormont permanent secretary who previously owned a pub near Newry may have breached civil service rules, ministers have said.

Paymaster General Jeremy Quin raised in the Commons four areas where the senior civil servant may have fallen foul during the exceptional situation.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner accused Conservative MPs of pursuing conspiracy theories spread by former prime minister Boris Johnson and his allies.

Labour confirmed last week that Ms Gray plans to become Sir Keirs chief of staff, after the move was first reported by Sky News.

Mr Johnson and his allies have since seized on it to allege the investigation into the law-breaking parties in Downing Street under his leadership was an attempt to smear him.

Speaking in the Commons, the DUPs Sammy Wilson also raised questions about Ms Grays involvement in Brexit decisions after Conservative MP Marcus Fysh suggested she had participated in discussions promoting the Northern Ireland Protocol, which unionists say created a trade border in the Irish Sea.

East Antrim MP Mr Wilson said: I suppose the question for this House is what sensitive political issues was she involved in during those negotiations, and will the minister agree with me that no amount of bluster from the (Labour) front bench will ever hide the double standards of lecturing about accountability and transparency, while at the same time not being prepared to answer a straightforward question as to when they started talking to Sue Gray.

Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin replied: I think (he) puts it rather well. It would be very simple just to help put minds at rest by publishing the data, just setting out when the meetings took place, who met who, when and where and that will help reassure the House.

Mr Fysh had said just previously: The House and the country should know that on September 7 2019 I witnessed Sue Gray, who was then permanent secretary for the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland, discuss with the special adviser to the UK Cabinet Office how to exclude solutions other than high alignment with EU law and regulation from consideration by the Government in respect of Northern Ireland as under the Withdrawal Agreement.

A month later the Government proposed the Northern Ireland Protocol, which subjected Northern Ireland to EU law and regulation. Since then Sue Gray has been the civil servant specifically responsible for advising on the Union considerations in Government.

It was reported this week that Sue Gray was present in the briefing of Cabinet ministers on the PMs Windsor Framework which, among other things, appears to confirm and embed the application of EU law and regulation in Northern Ireland.

Mr Fysh was ordered to sit down by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle who advised him to ask a question rather than go on and on.
Would-be first minister Kate Forbes wants to see an increase in the number of Scots studying medicine at universities north of the border. (Andrew Milligan/PA)   PA

Would-be first minister Kate Forbes has pledged to increase the number of university places north of the border for Scots to study medicine, if she is chosen to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.

The current Scottish Finance Secretary said she would seek to have a conversation with the countrys five medical schools with the aim of increasing the number of spaces for Scottish-based medical students at our universities.

The SNP leadership candidate insisted: Bluntly we will have an ongoing crisis in the NHS if we dont recruit many more doctors.

Ms Forbes faces Scottish Health Secretary Huzma Yousaf and former Scottish Government minister Ash Regan in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.

Kate Forbes is running against Ash Regan and Humza Yousaf to be the next SNP leader and Scottish first minister (Jane Barlow/Andrew Milligan/PA)   PA

Speaking about the plan, Ms Forbes said: Theres clear evidence that Scottish medical students who qualify from a Scottish university are much more likely to stay in Scotland when they graduate.

From my initial conversations with frontline medics, there is a strong rationale for growing more of our own talent here.

Noting the competition for places to study medicine at university is already very high, Ms Forbes said that this demonstrated there are plenty of well-qualified Scottish pupils keen to pursue a career in medicine.

She continued: If I am elected first minister I would like to have significant discussions with medical schools and their universities regarding actual numbers and the speed at which things can be scaled up.

This would form part of a wider conversation  other health professionals from nurses to psychologists to speech therapists are all part of the picture, and we mustnt forget about them either.
Attendees of a Victims Day event in the Senate Chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly watch a pre-recorded message from Paul Wilson, son of Irish nationalist politician and member of the Senate of Northern Ireland Paddy Wilson, who was killed by the loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters in 1973 (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Respect for the survivors and victims of the Troubles has been washed away, according to the son of a victim of a loyalist attack.

Paul Wilson is the son of SDLP senator Paddy Wilson, who was murdered by the loyalist group the Ulster Freedom Fighters 50 years ago.

Mr Wilson was speaking at an event in Stormont to mark the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism.

Speaking of his father, he said: Years later I was asked to contribute to a commemoration plaque in Stormont. I came up with three words I thought he stood for. Equality, tolerance and respect.

Paul Wilson, son of Irish nationalist politician and member of the Senate of Northern Ireland Paddy Wilson, who was killed by the loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Mr Wilson then built on his understanding of respect in Northern Ireland today.

Sadly, the respect for survivors and victims of the Troubles has been washed away, he said.

We see paintings and murals depicting cold-blooded murderers. Where is the respect for each other? For your neighbour? Where is the respect for those who died and the families who are left?

At the event, family members were able to share how the death of their loved ones as a result of terrorist attacks had affected them and their families.

Mary Hornsey is the mother of Paul Maxwell, who was 15 when he was killed alongside Lord Mountbatten in an IRA attack in Sligo.

Ms Hornsey spoke of Pauls love of sailing and read a selection of poems that she had written to help express her grief surrounding her sons death.

I was devastated and overcome by grief. I miss him so much, she said.

Mary Hornsey, the mother of Troubles victim Paul Maxwell, speaks in the Senate Chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly during a Victims Day event (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

Ms Hornseys final poem concluded: I hope my child youll find grace to forgive, this torment with which I must always live.

Also contributing was Tanya Williams-Powell, the granddaughter of Thomas Niedermayer, who was kidnapped and later killed by the IRA in 1973.

In the years following his death Miss Williams-Powells grandmother, aunt, mother and father would all go on to take their own lives.

That is the legacy, the multi-generational trauma thats been caused by the decision to kidnap Thomas, Miss Williams-Powell said.

Tanya Williams-Powell, granddaughter of Thomas Niedermayer, who was killed by the IRA in 1973 (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

For me that is absolutely atrocious. Those who say that violence and terrorism is the only way they can deal with things. They need to explain that to the family and victims who are left.

So many of my family died by their own hand, mental health is so much more open now but it is still stigmatised.

TUV leader Jim Allister, who also spoke at the event, alluded to the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill which is currently being debated in the House of Lords and would provide protection from prosecution for those who co-operated with an independent truth commission.

When you have a government that says we want to give amnesty to murderers, then respect for the victims of terrorism has well and truly been washed away, he said.

Mr Allister added: The victims do matter. The scars that have been left cannot be ignored. Victims do deserve to be front and centre of any arrangements dealing with the past.

TUV leader Jim Allister speaking in the Senate Chamber of the Northern Ireland Assembly during a Victims Day event (Liam McBurney/PA)   Liam McBurney

To mark European Victims Day, civic council buildings will light up red in acknowledgement of victims and survivors of the Troubles.

South East Fermanagh Foundation (SEFF) made the request of all 11 councils as well as Dail Eireann, Dublin, and the Palace of Westminster, London.

SEFFs director of services Kenny Donaldson spoke on the importance of victims perspective as the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement approaches.

It is important particularly at this time that victims/survivors are acknowledged, almost 25 years on since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, victims/survivors remain a constituency whose needs have not been delivered upon, he said.

Mr Donaldson added at Stormont on Tuesday: Today is about the recognition of a constituency of people that we would argue have borne the price of compromise, for others to enjoy the level of peace we have here today, imperfect as it is.

Today is very much about the unity of values. Its about the opposition of violence wherever that violence comes from. Were very clear that whether it was carried out by republicans or loyalists or members of the forces that committed a criminal act, it was all wrong.

Today we have representation from victims of both loyalist and republican violence and its very important to hear those individuals joining together.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is up for the fight against any legal challenges to his plans to tackle small boat crossings, as ministers admitted they may fall foul of human rights laws.

Mr Sunak said on Tuesday there was absolutely nothing improper about his new legislation and said he is confident the Government would win any court action.

But Home Secretary Suella Braverman conceded it is likely the Illegal Migration Bill may be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Mr Sunak did not rule out withdrawing the UK from the convention if legal challenges stall his latest plan to stop the boats, as with the Rwanda policy.

The Prime Minister told a Downing Street press conference they were prepared to challenge any legal action.

Of course were up for the fight, I wouldnt be standing here if we werent, he said, standing in front of a stop the boats branded podium. But were confident that well win.

On the front page of the Bill, Ms Braverman acknowledges she cannot assure Parliament that the legislation is compatible with the convention but adds that the Government nevertheless wishes the House to proceed with the Bill.

(PA Graphics)   PA Graphics

Mr Sunak said there is absolutely nothing improper or unprecedented about the warning.

We believe we are acting in compliance with international law, in compliance with the ECHR, and if challenged, as you may well be right, weve seen in these matters we do get challenged, we will fight that hard because we believe were doing the right thing and it is compliant with our obligations, he added.

Ministers were facing pressure from the Conservative right to pull the UK out of the ECHR if legal challenges block the plans.

Mr Sunak said we dont believe it is necessary to leave the ECHR but did not rule out the move when asked at his press conference.

In a letter to MPs and peers seen by the PA news agency, Ms Braverman conceded it was more than likely the Bill does not meet ECHR obligations.

This does not mean that the provisions in the Bill are incompatible with the convention rights, only that there is a more (than) 50% chance that they may not be, she wrote.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

Both Houses will have an opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the Bill and, once approved, the measures in the Bill will have been expressly endorsed by Parliament and we would expect the courts to take that into account.

The right to a family life, freedom from torture and the right to a fair trial were all issues being considered as potential challenges to the legislation. So too was the right to liberty, with concerns over the powers for indefinite detention.

The UN Refugee Agency said it was profoundly concerned by the Bill which it said would amount to an asylum ban and clearly breach the refugee convention.

We urge the Government, and all MPs and peers, to reconsider the Bill and instead pursue more humane and practical policy solutions, the UNHCR said.

The Law Society of England and Wales, which represents solicitors, said it would carefully analyse whether the plans impinge on access to justice as it issued a warning.

President Lubna Shuja said: The rule of law is undermined if the UK Government takes the view that laws, international or domestic, can be broken.

(PA Graphics)

If a government breaks laws, it breaks trust with its own citizens and with international partners.

We will be carefully combing the detail of this Bill to determine whether it will lead to the Home Office delivering a fair and workable process, and seeking clarity from the Government on whether it is compatible with the UKs international obligations.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: Its an admission by the Government that its in effect behaving like those countries that show disregard to international human rights conventions, the likes of Myanmar, Russia, Belarus.

Ms Braverman alluded to the Bills legal complexities while announcing the plans in the House of Commons.

Some of the nations finest legal minds have been, and continue to be involved in, its development, she said.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis outlined some of the legal measures relating to the Bill to ministers during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

Ms Braverman has previously called for the UK to leave the ECHR.
The marble head of a young man, a tiny fragment from the 2,500-year-old decoration of the Parthenon Temple on the ancient Acropolis, is displayed at the Acropolis Museum in Athens,(Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)   Thanassis Stavrakis

The Vatican and Greece have finalised a deal for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries.

The Vatican has termed the return an ecumenical donation to the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, not necessarily a state-to-state transfer.

But it nevertheless puts pressure on the British Museum to conclude a deal with Greece over the fate of its much bigger collection of Parthenon sculptures.

The Parthenon temple stands on a hill above Athens (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)   Thanassis Stavrakis

The head of the Vatican city-state, Cardinal Fernando Vergez, signed an agreement to implement the donation during a private Vatican Museums ceremony with Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni and a representative of the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II.

The envoy, Father Emmanuel Papamikroulis, told The Associated Press that the Greek Orthodox Church and archbishop were grateful to Pope Francis for the deal.

It has taken place at a difficult time for our country, and it will hopefully provide some sense of pride and happiness. I hope this initiative is followed by others, he said in a phone interview from the Vatican, where he was touring the gardens after the signing ceremony.

This initiative does help heal wounds of the past and it demonstrates that when Christian leaders work together, they can resolve issues in a practical way, Mr Papamikroulis added.

The fragments are expected to arrive in Athens later this month, with a March 24 ceremony planned to receive them.

The British Museums has refused decades of appeals from Greece to return its much larger collection of Parthenon sculptures, which have been a centrepiece of the museum since 1816.

Earlier this month, however, the chair of the British Museum said the UK and Greece were working on a deal that would see his institutions Parthenon Marbles displayed in both London and Athens.

The 5th century BC sculptures are mostly remnants of a 160m frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Much of the frieze and the temples other sculptural decoration were lost in a 17th-century bombardment, and about half the remaining works were removed in the early 19th century by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin.
Mourners gather for the funeral of 29 year old Yana Rikhlitska, a Ukrainian army medic killed in the Bakhmut area of Ukraine (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

A volunteer medic has been buried in Ukraine after being killed by Russian shelling.

Yana Rikhlitska, 29, died alongside another medic as they shuttled between a field hospital and the frontline.

She was really friendly and kind, said Viktor Fateyev, 39, a colleague from the IT company where she worked in the HR department.

She was like a mother to everyone. She was the focus point everyone gathered around.

Ms Rikhlitska was filmed by journalists just over a week ago as she helped treat wounded soldiers in the field hospital outside Bakhmut, which Russia forces have pulverised during a three-sided assault to seize the city in eastern Ukraine.

Mourners hug each other during the funeral of Yana Rikhlitska, a Ukrainian army medic killed in the Bakhmut area of Ukraine (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

At her funeral on Tuesday, her mothers cries of anguish pierced the cold morning air as mourners  who had fought back tears  held them no longer.

Oh, Yana. Oh, my daughter, Olena Rikhlitska cried.

My baby. My little one.

Those gathered for the service, in Ms Rikhlitskas home city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine, remembered a person full of vitality and spurred on by a lifelong drive to help others.

Ms Rikhlitska was in Brazil just before Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24 2022.

She spent a few months in the South American country practicing capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art, Mr Fateyev said, clutching a bunch of yellow tulips as he waited to pay his respects at the funeral.

She flew home after the invasion, he said, and straight away began fundraising and working as a volunteer for troops to help the Ukrainian defence effort.

Mourners gather next to the body of Ms Rikhlitska (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

It was not long before she decided to become a frontline medic.

Mr Fateyev saw Ms Rikhlitska featured in the Associated Presss video report when it aired and posted it in a group chat of her co-workers.

Everyone was so excited, he said.

And then, the next day

Tetiana Obraztsova, 30, a member of a volunteer combat medic group who met Ms Rikhlitska in September, said Ms Rikhlitska ferried humanitarian aid to Bakhmut even before she became a medic.

Russia has been trying to capture the city for six months.

She did all that she could, right from the start of the full-scale war, Ms Obraztsova said.

Fellow volunteer Anastasia Muzyka, 29, recalled Ms Rikhlitska as bright, kind and indefatigable.

She was fiery, in a good way. She was so dedicated. It was like she was never tired, Ms Muzyka said.

In combat, eventually even soldiers need to rest, she added. But not Yara. She was always there, helping everyone.

Olena Rikhlitska, second right, mother of Yana Rikhlitska cries during the funeral (Thibault Camus/AP)   Thibault Camus

It was during her volunteer work in August that she met her future husband, Oleksandr, who was in the Ukrainian army.

Amid the noise of war, their love blossomed and the couple married on December 31.

She was fire, the fire that cannot be extinguished. said Oleksandr, who would only give his first name.

Childhood friend Snizhana Zaliubivska, 28, remembered Ms Rikhlitska showing a desire to help even as a little girl.

The two had lost touch in recent years, but Ms Zaliubivska was devastated to hear of her friends death.

It wasnt a surprise that she was volunteering. She was a true patriot of the country, she said.

She would never refuse anyone. She was always helping everyone who would ask.

Draped with the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, Ms Rikhlitskas coffin was taken to the military section of the local cemetery and opened.

Ashen-faced, her mother gently stroked her daughters cheek and kissed her one last time.

No, no, she cried as the coffin was carried to the grave and lowered to the sound of a gun salute.

Only the support of her husband, Mykola, and another relative prevented her from falling to the ground.

Behind them, row upon row of Ukrainian flags fluttered above the graves of the war dead, snapping in the breeze.
A woman accused of assisting a suspect in the gruesome killing and dismemberment of model Abby Choi in Hong Kong has been arrested in mainland China.

The arrest of the 29-year-old woman brought the total number of people allegedly involved in the case to seven.

Police said they suspect she assisted another suspect and then fled to mainland China. She was handed over to Hong Kong authorities at Shenzhen Bay Port and charged on Tuesday, they said.

Model Abby Choi was murdered (Pao Jo-yee via AP)   Pao Jo-yee

The grisly killing of Ms Choi, 28, has gripped many in Hong Kong and in mainland China because the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city has a very low level of violent crime.

Last week, her ex-husband, Alex Kwong, his father, Kwong Kau, and his brother, Anthony Kwong, were charged with murder after police found body remains in a house rented by Kwong Kau in a suburban area of Hong Kong near the border with mainland China.

Alex Kwongs mother, Jenny Li, faces one count of perverting the course of justice. All four were detained without bail.

Police also arrested two others accused of assisting other suspects in the case.

Ms Choi, who had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, disappeared on February 21, according to a report filed later with police.

She had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars with her ex-husband and his family, police said earlier, adding that some people were unhappy with how Ms Choi handled her finances.
The Belum Caves are the second largest in the Indian sub-continent after the Meghalaya caves.(DC File Photo)

VISHAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh will make waves if the unique and innovative projects proposed at the recently held Global Investors Summit 2023 have become a reality.

One such project that drew the attention of many at the summit was cave stay.

An entrepreneur, Ranjesh Krishna Murthy from Bengaluru, proposed the project at Belum Caves located in Nandyal district, about 300 km from Bengaluru, which would cost around Rs 300 crore. The project will have a swimming pool, 40 room resorts and a restaurant  all of them set inside the caves.

"We are exploring all the technicalities to make the project unique. Holiday-makers will be living in a cave though they may be treated to high-class food, swimming in blue waters and stay in luxury rooms, Krishna Murthy told Deccan Chronicle on Monday.

The Belum Caves are the second largest in the Indian sub-continent after the Meghalaya caves.

Another entrepreneur proposed a space observatory cum planetarium to educate the school-going children about Space and related technology. Once inside, the children will be able to see through deep Space through a giant telescope.

"This can be part of educational tourism, which will instill a scientific temperament among the young children, said the entrepreneur linked to the Gautam Business Group.

He is also proposing tree houses, hot-air balloon tours and acquatic corridor where people can eat in a restaurant set under fresh water. This will be the one-of- its-kind in India and the second in Asia. Japan has one such, under sea water, he said.

Another unique project is caravan tours promoted by the Tours and Travelers Association of Andhra Pradesh represented by K. Vijay Mohan of Visakhapatnam. Raising funds from travel operators, Vijay Kumar proposes caravan tours for tourists ready to travel anywhere by a caravan, which is well-equipped with bedrooms, kitchen and sitting place.

Paying Rs 6,000 per day, four members can travel anywhere, driving a maximum of 300 km per day as is restricted by RTA.

The other part of the project is that people can hop in and hop out of open-top buses that will ply in different directions in the city, taking people to various tourist destinations. People can join it anywhere and get off anywhere.

The other projects are ocean swimming pools to be located all along the AP coast, divine destination for spiritual tourism, hi-tech devotional theme park, sky restaurant and jungle houses.
Twenty20

A value or ethic is a principle or standard about what is important in ones life. Therefore, Christian values are the principles that a follower of Jesus Christ holds as necessary, the principles of life that Jesus taught.

Christian values dont change over time. They are consistent from generation to generation since their foundation is found in Gods Word, the Bible.

Worldly values include wealth, power, pleasure, revenge, fame, vanity, and status. These are the most important things to people who perceive no power or purpose beyond themselves

Worldly values promote jealousies, resentments, and conflicts among people following the objectives of Satan.

The Christian values taught in the Bible are often the opposite of worldly values: kindness and respect for all people instead of power; humility instead of status; honesty and generosity instead of wealth; self-control instead of self-indulgence; forgiveness instead of revenge.

Christian values promote peace and goodwill among people following the purposes of God. We will never achieve perfection in this life, but those who strive to obey God often find a sense of joy and peace that no worldly rewards can match. Heres a list of Christian values emphasized in the Bible.

Worship God.

One day, a religious leader asked Jesus which commandments were most important. Jesus replied in Mark 12:28-30 by saying, The most important one is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The Hebrews of Old Testament times tended to lapse into worship of pagan deities and statues of animals or other objects. Still, anything that takes the place of our devotion to God becomes an idol or false god.

That idolatry is forbidden by the first of the Ten Commandments. Jesus particularly singled out the love of wealth as a false god, and other Bible passages mention greed, covetousness, arrogance, gluttony, and pride as equivalent to idolatry.

In todays world, many things compete against God for our devotion. These are some things that are not necessarily bad in moderation but can become modern-day idolatry if we let them become too important to us, like attention to material possessions, the pursuit of wealth, and excessive devotion to self.

If you need ideas on how to worship God, here are 18 ways to worship God.

Be kind to everyone.

After saying Love the Lord your God is the most important of the commandments, Jesus continued, The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these, as seen in Mark 12:31.

The English word love has many different meanings, but the Greek word agape, used in the New Testament, is commonly known as Christian love. It means respect, affection, benevolence, goodwill, and concern for the welfare of the one loved.

Jesus Golden Rule is, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

We should not say or do anything unless we can answer Yes to the question, Would I want that said or done to me? Neither should we fail to do the good things we would expect of others.

Be humble.

Humility or being humble is a quality of being courteously respectful of others. It is the opposite of aggressiveness, arrogance, boastfulness, and vanity.

Acting with humility does not in any way deny our self-worth. Instead, it affirms the inherent worth of all persons.

Humility is needed to live in peace and harmony with all persons. It dissipates anger and heals old wounds, and allows us to see the dignity and worth of all Gods people. Humility distinguishes the wise leader from the arrogant power-seeker.

Be honest.

Honesty and integrity are held as fundamental values throughout the Bible. Any deception to gain an advantage or harm someone else is prohibited by the Ten Commandments and other Bible passages.

Deception may be by lies, cheating, innuendo, or failing to tell the whole truth. It is all too common in advertising, business, politics, and everyday life.

We must strongly resist the temptation to engage in any form of theft, cheating, deception, innuendo, slander, or gossip.

Rationalization is a form of self-deception. We convince ourselves that sinful actions are justified to achieve a good result, but this is another form of dishonesty.

Holiness is living by the commandments, not reaching an outcome. In Biblical teaching, the ends do not justify the means.

Live a moral life.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Jesus gave a list of actions that constitute immoral uses of the body: evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance, and foolishness.

The apostle Paul gave similar lists. We often think of morality in terms of sexual sins, but according to Jesus, slander, greed, covetousness, deceit, and arrogance are equally immoral.

Be generous with time and money.

The Bible tells us to share generously with those in need, and good things will come to us in turn. Each of us has something to offer to someone in need.

We can give our money and our time to charity, be a friend to someone sick or lonely, do volunteer work or choose a service-oriented occupation. We may give unselfishly of our time to our spouse, children, or parents.

This idea doesnt mean we are obligated to share our time or money with people who are not in need but want to use or abuse us, as described in 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.

Dont be a hypocrite.

If there was any group of people that Jesus couldnt stand, it was hypocrites.

The Pharisees of Jesus time were a religious and political party that insisted on the rigorous observance of Biblical laws on tithing, ritual purity, and other matters. At the same time, many of the Pharisees forgot the true spirit and intent of the law and became self-indulgent, self-righteous, snobbish, and greedy.

That led Jesus to tell the Pharisees that they appeared righteous on the outside, but they were full of hypocrisy.

It is not the things we say that truly matter. It is the things that we do. If we claim to be Christians but do not let Jesus teachings guide our lives, we are nothing but hypocrites.

Dont be self-righteous.

No one is perfect; we are all sinners in one way.

Living a moral life means taking responsibility for controlling our behavior. If we say or even think we are better than people we consider to be sinners, we are guilty of the sin of self-righteousness.

It is not our right to look down on, criticize, judge, condemn, or try to control other people. Judgment is to be left to God.

In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus said, Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make, you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.

This value does not deny the right of governments to maintain law and order and collect taxes. Jesus and other New Testament leaders supported the authority of civil governments.

Dont retaliate.

Jesus said there is no place for hatred, holding a grudge, revenge, retaliation, or getting even in the life of a Christian, described in Matthew 5:38-40 and Matthew 5:43-45.

Holding grudges and seeking revenge are never appropriate responses to a perceived wrong. Resentment destroys the grudge-holder with bitterness, and revenge only escalates hostilities.

Jesus told us we must reconcile with our adversaries, forgive their transgressions, and let go of the anger that may tempt us to commit an act of revenge.

Forgive others.

Matthew 6:14-15 tells us, If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

God is merciful and forgives our sins and failings. In the same way, we must be compassionate and forgive other people who sin against us or do us harm.

Romans 12:9-10 tells us, Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

God is evident in His Word how to apply each of the Christian values He holds dear. Christians can tell if they hold to the values God holds dear by how they treat others.

As we read Gods Word, we know God better and understand His purpose for us in the world. We learn the values He holds dear, and we also grow to love those values. The Holy Spirit works through us to spread Gods love through good works, leading others to eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Shutterstock.com

It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of everything going on in todays world. Headlines swirl, nations rage, marriages strain, children stray, storm clouds loom.

We buckle under the weight of it all and try to prop each other up with the words of Psalm 46:10, Be still, and know that I am God. Its one of the most famous verses in the Bible. We put it on posters, write it in encouragement cards, and say it during times of turmoil. We long to feel this deep and lasting harmony, to rest in Gods peace and power.

Yet if were honest with ourselves, we have trouble living it. We are rarely still, tossing and turning in our sleep, and we hardly ever live like God is God, and we are not. So, what are we to do? How can we cease striving as some translate be still? How are we to accomplish such peace and trust? The clues are back in verses eight and nine of Psalm 46.

Verse eight tells us to Behold the works of the Lord, and it is intriguing to think about what those works might have been. Psalm 46 was likely written after defeating one of Judahs enemies, when God did the defeating. For example, in 2 Chronicles 32:20-21, an angel of God destroyed the Assyrians in their camp. So verse eight is a personal invitation to the people of Jerusalem to come and look at the destruction of their enemies and witness Gods complete deliverance: He saved His people once again. It isnt until verse 10 that God Himself tells us to Be still, and know that I am God.

5 Ways to Live Psalm 46:10

So how are we to be still or cease striving? We are to behold the works of the Lord. When we behold the works of the Lord, we notice Gods deliverance, and this assures us that we can be still and know that He is God and rest in His power and security.

Turn off the news.

This psalm shows us that people have been concerned about world events throughout time. Although the world situation as it comes to us through 24-hour news seems negative and out of control, this psalm reminds us that God is in charge of it all. In the midst of all of the turmoil, God is with us and will deliver His people. Yes, conflicts still erupt, and injustice requires voice and action. Still, when we get anxious, it is helpful to remind ourselves what God has doneto behold the works of the Lord.

As part of this strategy, you should unfollow the caustic friend on Facebook and turn off the news for one day or one week. Do you remember what was happening in the news broadcast one year ago today? Probably not. Why? That news has passed. Whatever was breaking that day didnt turn the world upside down. So when you find yourself feeling anxious while watching the news, take a step back and recognize that God is always in control. Rest in the power and security of God, and know that He will make things right.

Look outdoors.

One of the best ways to behold the works of the Lord, which, in turn, help you to be still and know that He is God, is to look around while exploring the outdoors. You can notice the colors of the sky in the early morning, midday, and sunset. Try to count the shades of green in a maple tree. Ponder the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly and all that the process involves. Take in the fresh air, supplied in perfect amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water. Taking some time outdoors can also help keep you grounded in Gods power and peace because it enables you to realize that He created everything around you.

Look at the people around you.

When we behold the works of the Lord and notice the deliverance He has accomplished, it helps us to be still, to cease striving, to rest in knowing that God is God. Another way to live Psalm 46:10 is to look at the people around you. Consider how God has worked in the lives of your friends and family. Has He healed a broken heart, turned a wayward soul, or changed an expression? These are wondrous works of the Lord. Behold them, and be still: Let yourself be in awe of what God has done. While youre looking at the people around you, thank God for all that He has done. Remaining grateful can help you rest in Gods peace and power.

Stop fighting.

Psalm 46:10 essentially says, Stop your fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth. Stop your fighting is somewhat unique among translations of this verse. Many Bible translations render the imperative as Be still. Then, most people interpret the scripture as we need to come aside from the hustle and bustle of daily life and get alone with God. Indeed, that is true, but theres more going on in this verse. Notice how verses eight, nine, and 11 references some aspect of war and fighting. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we may not only be fighting the Lords battles, but we may be fighting against the Lord Himself. There comes a time when we need to lay down our arms and know that He is God. He will do as He wills.

Look inside yourself.

Now, it gets personal: What works has God done inside you? How has He delivered you? What peace has He brought to you? Take some quiet time to consider the works of God in your own life, how He has redeemed you and called you by name. Has He changed your heart or an attitude? Has He lifted your chin to see His face more clearly? Has He helped you to forgive yourself or others? These are some of Gods most phenomenal works, works to behold, works that enable us to be still and know that He is God.

It can be easy to get caught in the whirlwind of modern times. However, we must take time to be still and allow God to have His way. He has the ultimate control and knows what Hes doing. The power and security of God can get us through anything, so we must rest in Gods peace and power.
Indian children smile while waiting for their bus at a Tamil language primary school in Batang Berjuntai, west of Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 18, 2008.

Updated at 4:58 p.m. ET on 2023-03-06

The chief of a Malay-centric party has sparked debate in Malaysia by criticizing schools that teach children in Tamil and Mandarin, saying they fuel divisions in society.

The comments by Mukhriz Mahathir opened an unusually frank public discussion of inter-ethnic tensions in Malaysia, where Malays enjoy a range of public benefits not available to minorities.



Mukhriz  president of Pejuang, a party founded by veteran politician and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad  was responding to a blog post last week by a senior ethnic-Chinese politician who lamented that non-Malay citizens were unlikely to become prime minister for generations, even though the constitution does not bar it.

Mukhriz said the country had first to eliminate factors that divide people, before that could happen.



The existence of vernacular schools, in particular, creates a separate stream of teaching that can cause divisions between our children, he said in a Facebook post on Monday.

We need to allow our children to learn, play and mingle with each other until the differences between them become celebrated and not divisive. Only then can we hope to see a non-Malay as nothing other than a Malaysian, not colored by their ethnic background.

Mukhriz said it did not matter that non-Malays identified as Malaysian first and their ethnic background second.

Its also about how others perceive him based on his words, actions, way of life and demeanor, he said.

Unlike Thai Chinese, who seamlessly blend in with other ethnic Thais, Chinese Malaysians often insist on maintaining their language, culture and way of thinking separate from the majority Malays. This only reinforces the emphasis on ethnicity and creates further divisions in society.

Mukhriz was responding to a blog post Friday by veteran politician Lim Kit Siang, a co-founder of the Democratic Action Party, or DAP, which is a member of the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Lim referred to a news story in the Daily Express that quoted former PM Mahathir as saying Malays were being left behind in the country, so he would work for his race.

In this context, Lim wrote that after more than six decades of independence, leaders should be talking about the problems in Malaysia and not Malay problems or non-Malay problems.

Lim went on to say: I do not expect to see a non-Malay become a Prime Minister in my lifetime or even my childrens lifetime.

Eliminate race-based political parties

Mukhrizs comments did not go down well with many on social media.

Ethnic Malays comprise close to 70 percent of Malaysias population, with ethnic Chinese making up 22.8 percent, and ethnic Indians 6.6 percent.

There are other factors that contribute to the division of the people, such as race and religion-based political parties that keep instigating religious and racial rhetorical sentiments. Can we get rid of those first too? said Twitter user @rakyat_Malaysia.

Eliminate your fathers way of thinking first,  then eliminate race-based political parties. Vernacular schools dont discriminate [by] race, political parties do! said @Eddie LFC 19X on Twitter.

Analysts, too, said what the Pejuang president was suggesting could inflame tensions in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious country.

Jeniri Amir, adjunct professor at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, said it would be impossible and inadvisable to change something that has been integrated into the system for so many decades.

To expect the Chinese approving the abolishment of vernacular schools is equivalent to hoping for Malays to surrender the prime ministers post to the Chinese or Indians. There will be racial tension, he told BenarNews.

Realistically, it is good idealism to see the country under one mainstream for the sake of unity. However, this is a country based on a social contract with its own history.

Another analyst, Siti Norayu Mohd Basir, senior lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Perlis, said having Chinese and Tamil schools was an issue of identity.

The vernacular school issues are interconnected to unity, self-identity and enforcement of Malay language as national language.  For non-Malays such as Indian and Chinese, they are protecting their racial identity through their mother tongues preservation at vernacular schools, she said.

With no doubt, the issue of abolishing these schools would cause dissatisfaction among many, thus it is crucial to focus on finding solutions so that the vernacular schools could instill the spirit of unity while celebrating the diversity.

For academic Awang Azman bin Awang Pawi of the University of Malaya, Mukhrizs comment was attention-seeking and intended to please the opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional, which Pejuang wants to join.

Mukhriz has applied to join Perikatan Nasional, which means that he has to adjust himself in terms of statements, point of views and attitude in accordance with Perikatan Nasionals stance, he told BenarNews.

In this context, PN is more conservative and traditional, hence Mukhriz has no choice but to assimilate himself in order to be accepted by Perikatan Nasional. As such, this [statement by Mukhriz] is a political move to gain attention, besides showing that he is very suitable.

Analysts noted after the November general election that Perikatan fought a race-based campaign, which featured allegedly divisive campaign speeches, to win over a large swathe of ethnic Malay votes amid a proliferation of anonymous hate videos.

Awang said no ruling party in Malaysia would ever abolish the Chinese and Tamil schools.

If Perikatan Nasional wanted to do it, they could have done so when they were in power, he said, referring to the blocs leader and former PM Muhyiddin Yassins tenure from March 2020 to August 2021.

It [such schools] has been agreed upon since Malaysia gained independence and it could disrupt the unity among the multiracial nation if the schools were abolished.
Chinas special envoy for Pacific Island countries affairs, Qian Bo (right), speaks to students at the Chinese-built Butuka Academy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, March 7, 2023.

Updated at 3:25 p.m. ET on March 9, 2023

Beijings newly appointed special envoy to the Pacific has underlined Chinas investment in infrastructure during his first official trip to the region, as Australia and the United States step up efforts to keep island nations in their orbit.

Qian Bo, the envoy, met with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko on Tuesday after visiting the Federated States of Micronesia last week.

Studying and learning the Chinese language is very important because China represents the future of the world, Qian said in a speech to students at the Beijing-built Butuka Academy in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

As part of his visit, reporters from local news organizations were given a tour of the school, including observing a Mandarin lesson. The school, which opened in 2018, has about 2,700 students from kindergarten to high school age.

Chinas statement following Qians visit to Micronesia said he had cordial conversations with President David Panuelo and talks with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Kandhi Elieisar. Micronesias statement did not mention a meeting between Panuelo and Qian. A spokesman for Panuelo told BenarNews that the president didnt meet with Qian.

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.

Beijing also hopes to establish a military presence in the Pacific in a challenge to American dominance, some analysts say. 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 remain dominant powers in the region.

Qian and Tkatchenko had a private 50-minute meeting at the school. Their scheduled press conference, which was part of Papua New Guineas official program for the visit, did not take place.

Qian met with Marape later in the day and invited him to address a government event in China later this month, according to a statement from Marapes office. Chinas Foreign Ministry hasnt said if Qian is visiting other Pacific island countries after Papua New Guinea.

This is the best school in the Pacific in terms of quality infrastructure and lots of smiling faces, Qian told the students.

A teacher of Mandarin gestures while instructing students during a class at the Butuka Academy in Port Moresby, March 7, 2023. [Harlyne Joku/BenarNews]

Chinas government had announced plans for the special envoy role in mid-2022, when then-Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the region in a failed effort to get 10 island nations to sign up to a trade and security deal.

Beijing revealed the appointment of Qian, who was Chinas ambassador to Fiji, in mid-February in response to a question from Chinese state media during a regular press conference at the foreign ministry.

Marapes statement said he had yet to officially accept the speaking invitation delivered by Qian. He praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and welcomed the recent endorsement of a third term for Xi under Chinas one-party authoritarian system.

Chinese stability ensures [the] global world economy has a stable outlook. That is the contribution his re-election has given to the world, Marape said.

No new Chinese initiatives were announced during Qians visit to Papua New Guinea or from his visit to the Federated States of Micronesia, which has close relations with the United States. Chinas statement said Micronesia had reiterated commitment to the One China principle. Micronesias statement didnt mention the One China policy.

Four of the 14 states that recognize Taiwan instead of Beijing are in the Pacific. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in 2109.

Joseph Cella, the American ambassador to Fiji from 2019 to 2021, said Qians appointment as special envoy was an odd decision because his abrasive style had alienated officials in Fiji when he served as ambassador there.

Rather than the patient work of building relationships and rapport, Mr. Qian specialized in splashy giveaways, from rugby balls to fancy buses, Cella said in a March 1 opinion piece for the Washington Times.

Mr. Qian was also known for his aggressive stunts, which angered and embarrassed his hosts, Cella said.

This story has been updated to reflect that China and Micronesia gave different accounts of what happened during Qian Bos visit. An earlier version also incorrectly attributed statements about the One China policy to the Federated States of Micronesia.
A cluster of Chinese ships and boats can be seen on the left side of this satellite photo of waters around Pag-asa (Thitu) island in the South China Sea, March 5, 2023.

Scores of Chinese boats have ignored repeated radio challenges to leave waters near a Manila-occupied island in the South China Sea after being spotted there in recent days, the Philippine Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The Chinese fleet, which includes a Peoples Liberation Army Navy ship, a China Coast Guard ship with bow number 5203, and 42 maritime militia boats, have been repeatedly asked to move away from Pag-asa (Thitu) island since first being seen there on March 4, said the Filipino coast guards adviser for maritime security.

The PLA navy vessel, the China Coast Guard vessel and the Chinese maritime militia are still currently there, Commodore Jay Tarriela told a press briefing.

Our coast guard station in Pag-asa is continuing to challenge them over the radio and are telling them they are within the Philippines 12-nautical mile territorial sea. But they have ignored the calls of our coast guard personnel.

Tarriela said the Chinese action was a clear violation of the Philippines sovereignty and inconsistent with the right of innocent passage.

In short, they do not respect the territorial integrity of this area, he said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond on Tuesday to a BenarNews request for comment.

Pag-asa is the largest island in the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan Island Group, a chain in the contested Spratly Islands. There are an estimated 400 residents on Pag-asa, 70 of them children mostly of coast guard and navy personnel stationed there.

It lies just around 300 miles (483 kms) from Puerto Princesa in Palawan, a province in the western Philippines. In recent years, more and more Chinese vessels have frequented the waters around Pag-asa.

On Tuesday, Tarriela promised that the coast guard would stay true to its responsibility in carrying out patrols and challenging illegal Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines term for its area in the South China Sea.

At least we are exposing their bullying activities and we let the public know about their bullying activities, he said. At the same time, through this exposure, we can get international support wherein these activities [by the Chinese] are condemned by the United States, Japan, Australia and other like-minded states.

This image shows the past track of Chinese coast guard ship No. 5203 as it moved at different speeds in waters between Subi Reef and Pag-asa (Thitu) island in the South China Sea from Feb. 19 through March 7, 2023. [Marine Traffic]

In 2020, more than 100 Chinese vessels, which appeared to be fishing boats, were seen near the island. And last year, a civilian boat manned by Philippine Navy personnel sailed near a sandbar off Pag-Asa in a bid to retrieve debris from a Chinese rocket. A Chinese coast guard ship blocked their path and used a rubber boat to collect the debris.

The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam each have territorial claims in the South China Sea.

A 2016 ruling by a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague affirmed Manilas sovereign rights to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and an extended continental shelf, and declared Beijings sweeping claim to virtually the entire sea invalid under international law.

Beijing continues to ignore the ruling, however, and has regularly been sending flotillas of supposed fishing vessels backed by its maritime militia in defiance of international calls to respect the ruling.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently summoned Chinas envoy to Manila to protest their continued occupation of Philippine areas, although his action came shortly after a visit to Beijing where was promised a raft of investments and economic help.

He has not made any comment about this new report.
Police deployed to avoid untoward incident at Chaitanya Junior Kalasala, Narsingi (DC)

HYDERABAD: Cyberabad police, probing the death by suicide of a 16-year-old Intermediate student on the Narsingi campus of Sri Chaitanya Residential Junior College, on Monday confirmed that a suicide note found on the victims body was written by him.

However, they are awaiting an authentication from the Forensic Science Laboratory.

On the note being circulated on social media platforms, the police said that the victims friends had found it in one of his pockets and that it was not immediately handed over to the police.

The police compared the handwriting in the note with the handwriting in the victims books to conclude that he had written it. The note detailed the harassment he had been facing.

"Once the FSL also confirms its authenticity, that would become a strong evidence in the case to fix the accused, who are already arrested and in judicial remand," an investigator said.

On Monday, reports, quoting the remand report of the arrested accused, claimed that the victim was beaten not only a day before the death, but also in the intervening hours of his meeting with his father around 8 pm and end of study hour at 10 pm.

Investigators, however, said that the reports were not true and the case was still under investigation.
A highly anticipated but also highly sensitive meeting between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen will reportedly take place in California instead of Taiwan after Tsai convinced the American side of Chinas possible angry response.

Britains Financial Times was first to report on the relocation of the meeting, which was initially expected to take place during a planned visit by McCarthy to the democratic island.

The Pentagon was preparing for the House Speaker to visit Taipei later this year, Punchbowl News, a Washington-based political portal, reported in January. The news outlet added that the preparation was at an early stage and it would be a herculean effort for the Pentagon and another diplomatic showdown between the U.S. and China.

Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and repeatedly protests against involvement by external forces in cross-Strait politics.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen meets with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei, Aug. 3, 2022. [Taiwan Presidential Office]

McCarthys predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, made a historic visit to Taiwan last August, the first by a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 25 years. China responded by staging a week-long multi-branch military exercise around the island.

According to latest media reports, President Tsai is to make a visit to the Americas in early April. The tour will include stopovers in Guatemala, Belize and the United States, in both New York and California.

Republican Kevin McCarthy represents Californias 20th district.

The Taiwanese president also reportedly accepted an invitation to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, southern California.

Reducing tension

Some analysts see the change of venue as a tension-reducing measure.

If the arrangements have been coordinated as we saw it, then all three sides can declare victory and lower the tension in the Taiwan Strait, said Alexander Huang, a professor at Tamkang University in Taipei and former deputy minister at Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council.

The key remains what Tsai will say during the meetings and speech, he said.

Huang, who in the dual capacity of head of the Kuomintang Partys Department of International Affairs made a visit to the U.S. in February, earlier said that from talks with McCarthys aides, and aides to other Republicans on Capitol Hill, he had the impression that McCarthy would definitely visit Taiwan at some point.

Beijing has already shown discontent, with new Foreign Minister Qin Gang telling reporters at the National Peoples Congress (NPC) meeting in Beijing that Taiwan is inseparable from the motherland China and if the Taiwan issue is not handled well, China-U.S. relations will be shaken.

Whether the U.S. House Speaker visits Taiwan or not, China will show displeasure either way, said Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist from the Taiwan Studies Program at the Australian National University.

To prevent the impression of weakness, Taiwan and the U.S. may frame this meeting in California not as a replacement of an actual Kevin McCarthy visit to Taiwan, but an addition to it, Sung suggested.

That is, its an appetizer. A Taiwan visit will be the main course, he said, Presence of an appetizer now does not exclude presence of the main course down the road.

No information

Replying to questions about the Tsai-McCarthy meeting, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Monday said its up to members of Congress to decide the nature of the meetings they are going to make.

Price however denied that he was aware of any confirmed travel on the part of President Tsai to the United States.

On Tuesday, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu also declined to comment, saying he was not in the position to make any announcement but if required, his ministry would arrange the best possible visit.

Meanwhile the Taiwanese Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng denied that any visit by the U.S. House Speaker to Taiwan would be canceled in the face of threats from China.

Chiu told the Legislative Yuan (Taiwans legislature) on Tuesday that Taipei wishes to have more friends who care about the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and if international friends want to show their support we can only welcome it.

The minister said that China had been looking for reasons to attack Taiwan, such as military purchases, visits to Taiwan by senior officials of other countries, or military exchanges between Taiwan and other countries.

Last August, when Pelosi visited Taipei, Chinese warships approached the islands contiguous waters, the area that extends 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers) from the shores.

This year, they are likely to make closer incursions, even into Taiwans 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, Chiu said.

Taiwan will not allow repeated provocations, the minister said but insisted that his forces will exercise restraint and wont launch the first strike.

Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news service affiliated with BenarNews, produced this report.
"At that time that the BJP was following in the footsteps of the Congress by using the Central agencies to threaten political adversaries." said SP supreme Akhilesh Yadav(File Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The Congress appears to be watching from the fence as other Opposition parties are closing ranks due to increasing raids by Central investigative agencies on several of these parties. While the Congress selectively issues statements over such raids, it is yet to come out in support of the other Opposition parties, who are slowly firming up an alliance without the Grand Old Party.

On Sunday, nine leaders from eight Opposition parties had issued a joint statement alleging "political witch-hunting" by the BJP-led government at Centre. All these eight parties Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Trinamul Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Jammu Kashmir National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party -- have many of their leaders facing the heat due to raids by the ED, CBI and the income-tax department.

The Congress has been reacting selectively on such raids which the Opposition parties term as "tools for political harassment" before the 2024 general election. For instance, it did react to the crackdown on RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, but was silent when AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain were picked up and packed off to jail or when there were I-T raids on SP leaders just before the UP Assembly polls.

SP supreme Akhilesh Yadav had said at that time that the BJP was following in the footsteps of the Congress by using the Central agencies to threaten political adversaries. AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj was quick to point out recently that the Congress never stands by the rest of the Opposition and engages in a war of words with the BJP merely to "fool" the country.

The Congress, at its recent plenary in Raipur, had made it clear it wants to lead an Opposition alliance to counter the BJP juggernaut. But state differences in Telangana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh forced the party to take a step backwards and not go in for an all-out united Oppositon movement to target the Central government. Interestingly, the Congress also feels it and its leaders have been "unfairly targeted by the agencies at the behest of the BJP". Former Congress chiefly Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were extensively questioned by the ED last year. Besides some allies of the NDA, no significant regional outfit came to their support.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is about a year away but there is no sign of Opposition unity as of now. Though every Opposition party is speaking about it, they are yet to find a leader who can stitch the alliance together. The Congress believes there can be no alliance without its leadership.

Incidentally, several Opposition parties have backed former Congress leader Kapil Sibals "Insaaf ka Sipahi" platform for social, economical and political justice. Whether this platform can help the Opposition parties reach a common ground remains to be seen.
Today

A mix of clouds and sun this morning then becoming windy with rain developing this afternoon. High 69F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph, becoming WNW and increasing to 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 41F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Tomorrow

Rain showers early with mostly cloudy conditions later in the day. High 54F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Tonight's rundown:

 Talking Points Memo: Joe Biden continues to decline with the world watching and remains out of the press reach

 Presidential Historian Larry Cook weighs in on how Bidens relationship with the press compares to past presidents

 US Special Forces have been confirmed to be in Ukraine

 OReilly describes Democrats hosting the DNC in Chicago as Crazy Arrogant

 The trial of Fox News gets underway

 58% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation begins to cool off

 Smart Life: Utilizing Kelly Blue Book when searching for a new car

 This Day in History: FDR dies in office

 Final Thought: what to do when someone is disrespectful to you

In Case You Missed It:

 Read Bill's latest column, "Reason to Believe"

 Join 'Team Normal!' Order your gear now at BillOReilly.com!

 Pre-order Bills next bestseller Killing the Witches NOW

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Pharmacy Council of India inks MoU to reduce gap of industry and academia

Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), the statutory body under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, recently organised Pharma Anveshan 2023 to promote research & innovation, enhancing industry & academia.

It is the need of the hour to change our gears and adopt a focused approach to impart the best pharmacy education keeping our curriculum in line with the latest developments in the field and also provide extensive education of specialised drugs so as to benefit the reach of pharmacists in the country. This was stated by Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar as she inaugurated Pharma Anveshan 2023 on the occasion of National Pharmacy Education Day on 6th March.

She also launched a 'One Stop-Non Stop' digital job portal of Pharmacy Council of India, which will be useful for pharma professionals as well as recruiters from the industry. This will prove to be a game changer for the students coming from small towns and villages.

At the event, PCI also signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association (KDPMA), Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (LSSSDC), Indian Pharma Alliance (IPA) and Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs (FOPE) to reduce the gap of industry and academia, strengthen faculty and student training and promote entrepreneurship and infrastructure development.

Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Drug Controller General of India elaborated on the need to promote interdisciplinary research and innovation through industry-academia strengthening. He said that the core of pharma business is quality and India has grown leaps and bounds in last 25 years in this area. He elaborated on the need to create fear free environment and risk-taking environment in order to promote innovation.
To treat all neurological conditions such as stroke/paralysis, Parkinsons etc.

People Tree Hospitals, Yeshwantapur in Bengaluru has launched its state of art facility People Tree Institute of Neurosciences (PTINS). The new facility was inaugurated by renowned philanthropist, co-founder of Infosys, Kris Gopalakrishnan, along with guests of honour, Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) & Dr M. K. Ramesh, Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

PTINS aims to deliver holistic treatment for neurological conditions and disorders that impact the nervous system of all age groups. The state of art facility treats all neurological conditions such as stroke/paralysis, Parkinsons etc., and is equipped with high tech Neuro OT and Neuro ICU to carry out Brain & Spine Surgeries, Interventional Procedures, Functional Neurosurgeries and Neuro Oncology including but not limited to tumour surgeries, craniotomies; the Paediatric neurologists attend to developmental disorders in early stages, epilepsies and other rare conditions in younger patients.

The Centre of Excellence focuses on clinical excellence, academics and research which become key in delivering comprehensive care. A team of 14 neurosurgeons, neurologists, paediatric neurologists, neuro anaesthetists and neuro rehab physiotherapists are now part of People Tree Institute of Neurosciences to offer a spectrum of services in neuro and trauma care and recovery.
At a meeting with the officials at the state secretariat on Tuesday, the deputy chief minister Peedika Rajanna Dora reviewed several issues and directives issued to the officials. (File Photo: Facebook)

Vijayawada: Deputy chief minister and tribal welfare minister Peedika Rajanna Dora has warned that strict action will be taken against officials who neglect the health of children studying in tribal educational institutions.

He said 590 ANMs would be appointed in the 378 tribal ashram schools and 162 post matric hostels in the state, based on student ratio and needs. The tribal students should be mapped first with the ANMs in the secretariats of these schools and regular health check-up should be done on the students in coordination with the PHCs near the schools.

At a meeting with the officials at the state secretariat on Tuesday, the deputy chief minister reviewed several issues and directives issued to the officials.

The deputy CM said steps must be taken to restore the services of ANMs in tribal ashram schools to protect the health of the students. He issued orders for appointment of 590 ANMs in the tribal ashram schools as also for further mapping of the tribal students with the ANMs in the secretariats of the respective schools.

The tribal welfare minister ordered that in emergency situations, the authorities at all levels should respond immediately and take the affected students to hospitals for treatment. Dora made it clear that negligence by any officials in these respects would not be tolerated and strict action against such persons would follow.

As part of increasing security in tribal educational institutions, the deputy CM asked officials to repair the existing CCTV cameras and install new ones wherever necessary. He asked DTWOs, DDs and other officials to strengthen the supervision of schools to ensure that tribal students achieve good results in the Class X examinations.

Rajanna Dora asked the officials to provide the necessary facilities to the ST Degree College in Chintapalli and take steps to construct buildings for the GMR Polytechnic College in Seethampeta. Steps should also be taken to pay the honorarium of Mathrubhasha (mother tongue) volunteers.

He asked the officials to speed up the process of promotions and compassionate appointments of junior assistants and senior assistants, which have been pending for a long time in GCC.

GGC officials must take steps to pay the dues of the coffee farmers expeditiously and provide them reasonable prices. "Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will take up the issue of salary hike for 1,633 teachers and junior lecturers working in the tribal welfare department under the outsourcing system," he said.

The deputy CM said that the matter of CRT teachers demanding 12 months salary has also been brought to the attention of the CM.

Reviewing the utilisation of the ST sub-plan funds, Rajanna Dora asked the engineering department to construct more roads in the tribal areas with the sub-plan funds. Ensure that tribal welfare schemes are available to all the targeted people and speed up development works, he said.

Tribal welfare secretary Kantilal Dande, additional director Ravindra Babu, GCC MD Suresh Kumar, ENC Srinivasulu, Trip-Co MD Prabhakar and others participated in the meeting.
The financial assistance will improve access to critical care services in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh

The SAMRIDH Healthcare Blended Financing Facility has committed Rs 3.2 crore to Critical Care Hope to help expand its tech-enabled hub-and-spoke Tele-ICU platform that enables healthcare providers in tier 2 and 3 cities to deliver critical care services.

SAMRIDH is a multi-stakeholder innovation and financing platform supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by IPE Global.

The Tele-ICU platform is an innovative model, which allows an intensivist (a certified critical care physician) to actively manage the needs of 60-80 ICU patients across multiple locations, monitoring from a remote command centre. In a normal hospital scenario, an intensivist is required at the patients bedside, and thus can only manage 10-12 patients.

With this collaboration, Critical Care Hope aims to onboard 12 partner hospitals in tier-2 and 3 towns in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to deliver critical care services.

Critical Care Hope - Guardian Angels of ICU, is taking tertiary-level medical expertise to remote locations by making a network of partner hospitals to provide the Right Care to the Right Patient at the Right Time. The proposed hub and spoke model will create dedicated command centres called HOPES (Health Outcomes Focused Preventions and Evaluation System)  each of which will act as a centralised management (hub) for patients in need of critical care in remote sites (spokes).

The HOPES hubs will bring together ICU specialists, advanced medical technologies, expertise and local hospitals on one platform, and offer 24x7 of monitoring patients, collecting and analysing data, and offering protocolled care and treatment interventions. The clinical tools and automated alerts provide real-time patient data and actionable insights that help in quick decision-making.
Warc Creative 100 has released a list of the most awarded campaigns and companies in the world with Ogilvy being the most awarded network in the world.

Screenshot from Lost Class.

Compiled by Warc, the international marketing insights company, the annual Creative 100 Ranking is produced by combining the results of the industrys most important global and regional creative award shows of 2022. The awards tracked are determined by a global industry panel survey and consultation with the Warc Rankings Advisory Board.

Amy Rodgers, head of Warc Creative, said: In an industry that sometimes struggles to defend its place in the C-suite, the rankings offer an opportunity for marketers to reflect on the best campaigns in the business and to review the impact their own work has on their brands.

The benchmarks and insights garnered from the Warc Rankings are at the core of our brand promise: to bring confidence to marketing decisions through evidence-based insight and inspiration.

Campaign for creativity: The Lost Class for Change The Ref by Leo Burnett Chicago

The most creatively celebrated campaign of 2022 is The Lost Class for Change The Ref created by Leo Burnett Chicago to raise awareness about mass shootings. A ceremony was held for the 3,044 high school students in the US who didn't graduate in 2021 due to tragically losing their lives to gun violence.

Britt Nolan, president and chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Chicago, said: The Lost Class was an incredibly brave idea and Im very proud of Leo Burnett for having the courage to produce it. But we have a long way to go to change the way America thinks about gun laws. I can only hope this recognition inspires someone else to do something even better and even more effective.

In second place is The Unfiltered History Tour for Vice World News by Dentsu Creative Bangalore, featuring a secret tour of the British Museums stolen artefacts via augmented reality. In third, Pinatex for Dole Sunshine Company/Ananas Anam by L&C New York, to promote a vegan, cruelty-free and sustainable alternative leather made from pineapple leaves.

Agency for creativity: Publicis Milan

Publicis Milan tops the table for the second year in a row with four campaigns for Heineken and one for Bottega Veneta placed in the top 100 campaigns.

Bruno Bertelli, global chief creative officer, Publicis Worldwide, said: What makes me, and all of us, most proud and deeply honoured to be ranked #1 most creative agency in the world for the second year in a row is one great team delivering work for multiple clients across many forms and platforms, striving to put brands at the centre of culturally relevant conversations and leave a mark.

Topping the Warc Creative 100 represents a recognition speaking to the borderless creativity that testifies how Publicis Milans commitment and constant endeavour expand in terms of relevance, and what's possible when creative thinking extends across resources, geographies, and cultures to become a shared mission.

Area 23, New York, jumped from 32nd last year to claim second place with four campaigns in the top 100 for a variety of brands covering different product categories. BETC Paris is in third place with three campaigns in the top 50.

Network for creativity: Ogilvy

Ogilvy was the most awarded network for the third year in a row, with 40 different agencies contributing to its total including five agencies in the top 50. Furthermore, it was responsible for ten of the top 100 campaigns.

Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer, Ogilvy, said: It fills us with immense pride to see Ogilvy named the most creative network in the world by Warc for the third consecutive year. Our teams earned this recognition by doing work that had an impact on our clients brands and businesses, but also for impacting policies that have helped create a more equitable and just world. Our sincerest thanks to every person who works at Ogilvy for their passion and ingenuity, and to our brave clients for their partnership, trust, and shared belief that creativity is the ultimate differentiator.

DDB Worldwide moves up one place to claim second position with four agencies in the top 50 and seven campaigns in the top 100. FCB, is in third, up from sixth also with four agencies and nine campaigns ranked.

Holding Company for creativity: WPP

Up from second position last year, WPP returned to the top of the holding company table with seven networks in the top 50 and two networks in the top 10: Ogilvy and VMLY&R.

Rob Reilly, chief creative officer, WPP, said: I believe that creativity is the worlds most valuable asset and when we apply it to a massive problem or opportunity, it can drive business and change culture. This ranking reflects the brilliant work our agencies have produced this year with our brave clients and talented production partners.

Brand for creativity: Burger King

For the fifth year in a row, Burger King tops the brand table. It has four campaigns ranked in the top 100 by three different agencies; the joint highest of any brand alongside Heineken, in second place, which also had four campaigns ranked. Google climbs up from 31st last year to claim third place.

Advertiser for creativity: AB InBev

After topping the advertiser table for the first-time last year, Anheuser-Busch InBev remains in first position. The brewing giant has three brands in the top 50: Corona, Michelob Ultra and Budweiser and four campaigns in the top 100.

Marcel Marcondes, global chief marketing officer, AB InBev, said: We are very excited to see ABI ranked number one for the second year in a row. We use creativity and innovation to solve consumer problems that drive organic growth for our company.

Unilever and Restaurant Brands International swap places this year with the multinational consumer goods company moving up to second place and the fast food company moving down to third place.

Country for creativity: US

The top five ranking countries remain the same as last year, with the US and UK maintaining their positions for the past nine years. India is the most improved country, climbing from 23rd to seventh.

The top ten most highly ranked campaigns and companies in the 2022 Warc Creative 100 are:

Top ten world's most awarded campaigns for creativity

Rank Campaign Title Brand Agencies Points #1 The Lost Class Change The Ref Leo Burnett Chicago 491.6 #2 The Unfiltered History Tour VICE Dentsu Creative Bangalore 431.8 #3 Pinatex Dole Sunshine Company / Ananas Anam L&C New York 343.4 #4 The Elections Edition An-Nahar Impact BBDO Dubai / Impact BBDO Beirut 331.2 #5 Vienna Strips on OnlyFans Vienna Tourist Board Jung von Matt Donau Vienna 275.1 #6 Better with Pepsi Pepsi Alma Miami 255.8 #7 Beyond the Surface - Liquid Billboard adidas Havas Dubai 237 #8 Data Tienda WeCapital DDB Mexico City 224.1 #9 Reverse Selfie Dove Ogilvy London 207.1 #10 The Bread Exam Spinneys/ Lebanese Breast Cancer Foundation/ American University of Beirut Medical Center McCann Paris / McCann Health London / McCann Dusseldorf / FP7 McCann Dubai / McCann Frankfurt 202.9

Top ten world's most awarded agencies for creativity

Rank Agency Points #1 Publicis Milan 792.8 #2 Area 23 New York 682.1 #3 BETC Paris 587.7 #4 Le Pub Amsterdam 474.3 #5 GUT Miami 471.3 #6 Ogilvy London 451.6 #7 FCB Chicago 422.1 #8 We Believers New York 419.5 #9 Impact BBDO Dubai 395.1 #10 DAVID Madrid 383.8

Top ten world's most awarded networks for creativity

Rank Network Points #1 Ogilvy 2895 #2 DDB Worldwide 2001.5 #3 FCB 1949.8 #4 BBDO Worldwide 1802.1 #5 Publicis Worldwide 1758.6 #6 Havas Creative Group 1349.8 #7 VMLY&R 1217 #8 McCann Worldgroup 992 #9 TBWA Worldwide 973.4 #10 Leo Burnett 935.3

Top ten world's most awarded holding companies for creativity

Rank Holding Company Points #1 WPP 5844 #2 Omnicom Group 4948.7 #3 Interpublic Group 4012.2 #4 Publicis Groupe 3392.4 #5 Havas Group 1385.1 #6 Dentsu 623.8 #7 Accenture 440.1 #8 Stagwell 275.4 #9 Hakuhodo DY Group 190.3 #10 Deloitte 126.7

Top ten world's most awarded brands for creativity

Rank Brand Points #1 Burger King 728.2 #2 Heineken 668.8 #3 Google 439.1 #4 Corona 415.7 #5 Heinz 408.1 #6 Samsung 393.2 #7 IKEA 384.3 #8 Dove 356.4 #9 Apple 338 #10 Cadbury 282.7

Top ten world's most awarded advertisers for creativity

Rank Advertiser Location Points #1 Anheuser-Busch InBev Belgium 1334.6 #2 Unilever UK 788.3 #3 Restaurant Brands International Canada 748.2 #4 Heineken Netherlands 668.8 #5 Samsung South Korea 518.6 #6 Alphabet USA 497.1 #7 Mondelez International USA 450.9 #8 Kraft Heinz Company USA 417.2 #9 IKEA Sweden 384.3 #10 Procter & Gamble USA 380.6

Top ten world's most awarded countries for creativity

Rank Country Points #1 USA 7968.2 #2 United Kingdom 2547.8 #3 France 1811.8 #4 Brazil 1629.5 #5 Australia 1456.2 #6 Germany 1436.4 #7 India 1169.5 #8 Canada 1071 #9 Spain 971.3 #10 Italy 863.9

Summing up, Amy Rodgers, head of Warc Creative, said: Across the top 10 campaigns there is a strong theme of promoting societal concerns through creativity. From womens issues such as Data Tienda which drew attention to women gaining access to credit and financial services, and The Bread Exam supporting womens health, while Beyond the Surface and Reverse Selfie both centred on body image. Other societal issues covered included The Lost Class on US gun violence, Pinatex on environmentalism and The Elections Edition on political corruption.
African creatives make up only 1.1% of regional GDP*, lagging severely behind the rest of the world when viewed in monetary and jobs terms.

Source  Bowie15 123rf A panel at the recent inaugural AWAfrica examined the need for Africans to claim their share of the global creative economy

The global creative economy generates revenues on $2.25tn annually, sustaining close to 30 million jobs worldwide. Africa, when measured together with the Middle East, only generates $58bn in revenue, sustaining 2,4m jobs, making it clear that Africa is sitting on huge creative capital, but is struggling to unlock is monetary benefits.

At the Build the Future event, held within AWAfrica, a panel of African creative thought leaders explored the intersection of the rise of the creative economy, emerging fintech stakeholders and how these technologies impact creators' lives and their creative freedom.

The creative economy touches every part of the value chain: from economics, technology, society and culture to politics and environment.

From aid to trade

Creatives dont just make fun stuff, were part of the entire economy, says Karl Carter, founder & CEO of Snake Nation, and convenor of the Snake Nation track The Global Economy + African Diaspora Youth: Building the Future we Want to Live In

Among the thought leaders invited to explore the subject were Senisha Moonsammy, head of department Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) who also heads up the United Nations Industrial Development Program that focuses on the green economy.

How do we move from aid to trade and commercialise the creative economy? she asks, urging the continents creatives to begin unlocking the commercial aspects around their content. For me, its about products and services, and we need to ask ourselves how we can commercialise those.

For many years resources have been sucked out of Africa to make the rest of the world better, and we have not really benefited from that. The perception of Africa today is completely different, it is our music, film, TV and art that is changing perceptions of Africa, says Colin Gayle, founder of Africa Creative Agency (ACA).

If you change that perception, investment and jobs will come. It is important that we do not allow this to become another extraction of resources, but rather that we bring the world to Africa on our terms, adds Gayle.

Looking beyond the traditional paradigm

Stephen A. Newton, founder Illuminate Africa Group urged the continent to begin looking beyond the traditional paradigm of employment. Not everyone can be a doctor and thats okay! There is a lot of opportunity in creativity and African talent is a resource, why are we not monetising our vast resource?

In exploring the opportunities around the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the free trade area encompassing most of Africa that is the largest in terms of member-states behind the World Trade Organisation (WHO) and spans 1.3 billion people across the worlds second-largest continent, Carter and the panelists explored the numerous opportunities inherent in opening up the continent to creatives where another billion new consumers located right in their own backyards on the continent.

The Build the Future event was convened by snakenation.io , a technopreneurial, next-gen mobile media network for creative Multicultural Millennials that helps diverse creators build their audience, create value for their work and monetise it via crypto.

*(Source: Unesco)
The fifth national strategic plan (NSP) for HIV, TB and STIs for the period 2023 to 2028 has received final approval by Cabinet.

Source: Twitter @PaulMashatile

Following this final stage of approval, the plan will be launched to the public by the new deputy president, Paul Mashatile in his capacity as the chairperson of the South African National Aids Council (Sanac), during the official commemoration of World TB Day on 24 March in Rustenburg, North West.

The NSP provides a strategic framework for a multi-sectoral approach that is people-centred to eliminate HIV, TB and STIs as public health threats by 2030.

The drafting of the NSP was co-ordinated by the South African National Aids Council (Sanac) which brings together government, civil society, the private sector, and development partners to build consensus and drive a well-coordinated, unified response to the three epidemics over a five-year period.

It emphasises the need to break down barriers and maximise equitable and equal access to services through resilient and integrated health systems to guarantee the health and social protection of all South Africans.

Lessons from Covid-19

The new plan was drafted to be pandemic-ready as a result of lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Disruptions caused by Covid-19 severely compromised the current NSP, resulting in a strong need to ensure that the new NSP does not suffer the same fate.

A game-changer is the inclusion of mental health services and social support based on the strong association between HIV, TB, and STIs with other social challenges such as gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), human-rights violations and inequalities.

The new NSP also features an expanded scope for the management of STIs, including viral hepatitis and human papilloma virus which are deemed as common coinfections in people living with HIV.

Dubbed the peoples NSP, the drafting of the plan followed a bottom-up approach through extensive public consultations across the nine provinces of South Africa.

This was supplemented by a strong mass media campaign to solicit public inputs from ordinary South Africans from all walks of life  all inputs were carefully considered and integrated into the final, revised draft that was tabled before Cabinet.
They came, they shared their best email campaign and they conquered. Discovery Vitality has taken the crown in Everlytic's inaugural 'You Mailed It' Email Marketing Awards ; a first-of-its-kind initiative geared to give South African marketers the opportunity to showcase their email marketing genius and stand a chance to win great prizes.

Celeste Williams, Discovery Vitalitys head of marketing says, Im so proud of our Vitality Travel team for winning the first-ever You Mailed It Awards for our first-ever Vitality Traveller newsletter! Its been an incredible learning experience for the team and Im so happy that Everlytic loved our newsletter as much as we did.

Honourable mentions also go to Discovery Bank, Kudough Credit Solutions, and King James Group for their commendable email campaigns.

What earned Vitality the crown

Each entry was judged against criteria like creativity, innovation, design, content, relevance, functionality, and how its email engagement measured against local industry benchmarks. What the judges liked most about Discovery Vitalitys entry was its:

Beginning-to-end storyline



Fun, creative & easy-to-read copy



Clever, integrated calls to action



Calming, aspirational imagery



Enjoyable pace & simple message delivery



Biteable content that made it easy to consume



Relevant use of personalisation

Discovery Vitalitys email also achieved above-average engagement rates for their industry, which proves that it was well received by their audience.

The You Mailed It panel of judges

In this inaugural round of the awards, Everlytic compiled a panel of industry experts to ensure that entrants hard work was judged fairly and professionally. These judges included:

Discovery Vitalitys winning prize

In addition to bragging rights, Discovery Vitality has won:

A voucher for the GIBS Masterclass, The Future of Communication: Behavioural Marketing



A team experience voucher valued at R2500 per person

Because Everlytic aims to help clients improve their email campaigns (in addition to creating and managing them), all entrants are also receiving customised feedback on how to optimise their email messaging moving forward. This initiative will elevate their email marketing performance in the months and years to come.

About the You Mailed It Awards

As thought leaders in email marketing, Everlytic aims to recognise and enhance the creative genius behind every campaign. So, theyve given marketers a stage on which to showcase their most epic and best-performing email campaigns, for the chance to walk away with the You Mailed It title.

The competition will run annually and is open to South African companies involved in creating successful email marketing campaigns. Marketers can submit either an email message campaign or an online newsletter campaign.

Watch Everlytics social media pages for updates on when the next round of entries for the next awards will begin.
The IAB South Africa Bookmark Awards 2023 has announced this year's jury chairs, with MakeReign's head of product design, Genie Botha selected as the jury chair for the Builders Panel - leading the judging across the Platform, UX and UI categories.

Botha is a heavyweight UX/UI designer with over 16 years of interactive design experience, adapting to the ever evolving industry, embracing new methodologies, tools, and technologies along the way.

As head of product design at MakeReign, Botha plays a role in overseeing digital product design related work across platforms, e-commerce and applications that are delivered by the teams product squad. This includes work for Santam, Mweb, Finchoice, Flash Group and Cape Union Mart.

Now in its 15th year, the IAB SA Bookmark Awards continues to set the benchmark for tech, digital and leading-edge innovation in South Africa.

Botha will offer her insight, expert knowledge and leadership during the judging process, with the help of a diverse panel of jurors nominated by their industry peers. The full panel will be announced at the end of March.

Speaking on how she feels about chairing the panel this year, Botha says, I aspire to serve as a custodian for our industry, ensuring that exceptional work is acknowledged and applauded. I consider it a great privilege to be entrusted with the responsibility of judging the Bookmarks.

She added on what shes looking for in the Platform and UX categories, As the cornerstone of exceptional digital projects, I anticipate a stronger emphasis on UX research in the entries. I also expect a lot of digital innovation, with technologies being utilised and manipulated in unexpected and imaginative ways.

Remote judging for the Bookmarks runs from 2-13 June 2023, with onsite judging on 29-30 June 2023. The awards will be hosted on Thursday, 27 July 2023.

About MakeReign

MakeReign designs digital interfaces that transform companies. We empower organisations to deliver experiences that move them forward  building for what is now and next.

Through research, user-centered design and testing with real customers, the interfaces we design enhance users lives and drive value across the whole customer journey.

A South African based agency, were operating and connected globally. Weve launched hundreds of successful features and products for our clients from around the world; ranging from newly founded startups and tomorrows category leaders to iconic brands.
How long can your business operate without Eskom grid electricity? Two hours? Two days? Two weeks? More importantly, how long should it be able to operate without electricity? This is one of the most important questions businesses in South Africa should be asking right now, advises Jason Griessel, head of Cushman & Wakefield | BROLL Strategic Risk Services.

Load shedding is implemented to lower the possibility of grid failure by balancing supply and demand to keep it stable. Grid failure is a sudden loss in electricity generation that happens too quickly for any manual intervention to stabilise the grid. Every time we reach a higher level of load shedding, it signals a greater imbalance. When load shedding escalates to higher levels with little to no notice from Eskom, it signifies a sudden and unexpected loss of generation. In 2023, we have seen more load shedding implemented in a way that points towards the possibility of grid failure.

Many organisations have contingencies in place for load shedding. However, grid shutdown is a scenario that has not been previously contemplated to any great extent by many businesses - until now. Several recent announcements have brought this possibility to the fore. Among them, the US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) advised its stakeholders in South Africa to have contingency plans for power outages. Also, some in the insurance industry advised clients that they will not provide support for losses in the event of a collapse of the electricity grid, whether this is municipal, provincial or national.

We have been reassured that a total collapse of the power grid remains improbable. Nevertheless, it is a possibility, and businesses should prepare if they can, especially with all signs pointing to any grid failure and reinstatement ultimately being an uninsurable event, urges Griessel. At Cushman & Wakefield | BROLL, we have updated our own business continuity contingencies, having already undertaken scenario planning for this possible risk.

Business continuity planning for load shedding and grid failure are very different. The first can usually be managed within the business premises, with on-site power, water and other backups for a few hours. In a large-scale outage, the same is required but for a greatly extended period in addition to backups for critical resources beyond this, from telecoms to logistics.

He adds, There are significant advantages to including grid failure scenarios in business continuity planning. Ultimately for businesses, it costs less money to get prepared now. These contingencies will inevitably prove useful in other emergency situations too. Importantly, companies have a duty of care to their employees to support them during times of crisis, and it should be the policy of every company to be able to manage functionally through a crisis.

The Cushman & Wakefield | BROLL Strategic Risk Services team has studied events that follow grid failures, including recent incidents in the US and India. They found that restoring an electricity grid elsewhere has taken from three to eight days.

It takes more than simply flicking a switch to restore an electricity grid. Considering the time it takes emergency services to respond in overwhelming crisis, criminal sabotage during power outages, and the crumbling electricity grid that isnt designed to be repeatedly stalled and jumpstarted, there is consensus that restoring a failed Eskom grid could take longer  two weeks or more, cautions Griessel.

Cushman & Wakefield | BROLL Strategic Risk Services has specifically dealt with crises of this scale before and created modelling to better understand milestones during these types of events to ensure clients are informed and ready to take action.

Shedding light on what South Africas businesses could face while the grid is being restored, he notes that consequences could include the disruption of telecommunications, logistics and food, water, medical and fuel supplies.

From experience, when faced with an extreme scenario, we know that the most important capabilities are the ability to communicate and coordinate, which make it easier to manage a crisis calmly and constructively, advises Griessel.

As a pan-African strategic risk consultancy with a diverse understanding of security, health and safety in multiple sectors, Griessel and his team have helped their clients to navigate the recent challenges of #EndSars mass protests in Nigeria in 2020 and the KwaZulu-Natal civil unrest in South Africa in 2021, among others.

Looking at solutions for a communication blackout, Griessel notes its helpful to keep in mind that cellular and fibre networks require electricity, but satellite networks dont. With logistics and supply chains becoming unstable in a crisis increasing the potential for fuel shortages, generators requiring diesel could become less reliable backup solutions than solar-powered systems. Of course, regular data backups are always a must for any business but are now more important than ever.

He also believes retail property owners and retailers would do well to plan for the operation of grocery, pharmacy and other essential retail and services, because shopping centres are hubs of sustenance and communication in their communities, and this role would be amplified during a prolonged period of grid restoration.

You cannot implement a crisis plan if you dont have one in place, says Griessel. A little planning goes a long way.
Source: Skitterphoto via Pixabay

The major export crops continued to be maize, wine, grapes, citrus, berries, nuts, apples and pears, sugar, avocados, and wool.

These products have been the drivers of exports over the past couple of decades. In particular, fruit and wine have increasingly become the leading export products. These have driven a rise in the value of agriculture (and agro-processing) exports, which have averaged 11% of the South Africas overall exports, up from 9% in the decade before.

South Africa now exports roughly half of its agricultural produce in value terms. Citrus, table grapes, wine and a range of deciduous fruits dominate the export list. Increasingly, we are seeing the encouraging uptick in beef exports.

These robust exports have enabled South Africa to retain its position as a net exporter of agricultural products over time. In 2022, South Africas agricultural exports reached US$12.8bn, up 4% from the previous year.

Imports, nevertheless, remain significant, averaging US$6.6bn over the past five years. In 2022, the top imported products were rice, palm oil, wheat, poultry and whiskies. These originated primarily from Asia, the European Union, the UK and the Americas.

Based on my calculations, using Trade Map 2022 data, South Africas agricultural imports amounted to US$7.3 billion, up 6% from the previous year. Considering this import value against the export value of US$12.8 billion, South Africas agriculture realised a record trade surplus of US$5.5bn.

In view of this, focus should now be on expansion of South Africas agricultural exports beyond its typical markets in the African continent, EU and parts of Asia, to new growth frontiers. There is growth in domestic production, and South Africa will require new markets for the expanding harvest.

The priority countries for expanding agricultural exports should be China, South Korea, Japan, the US, Vietnam, Taiwan, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Philippines and Bangladesh. All have sizeable populations and large imports of agricultural products.

Who is buying South African?

My calculations using Trademap data show that the African continent remains a leading market, accounting for 37% of South Africas agricultural exports in 2022.

These exports are concentrated within the Southern African Development Community region. But my recent research shows that South Africas agriculture export opportunities within the African continent will be limited due to structural challenges, preventing the agricultural sector from expanding its exports into untapped markets. This is despite the hope thats been placed on the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Asia was the second-largest agricultural market, accounting for 27% of exports, followed by the EU, accounting for 19%. The Americas region was the fourth largest, accounting for 7%, and the remaining 10% went to the rest of the world.

Within the rest of the world category, the UK, historically South Africas major market for agricultural produce, was one of the leading markets.

The products of exports to these markets were primarily the same, with the African continent and Asia importing over two-thirds of maize harvests. Meanwhile, exports to other regions were mainly fruit and wine.

Asia has seen much faster growth in exports over the past six years, while the African continent and the EU have remained fairly stable.

Challenges

South Africas robust export earnings were achieved in the face of various challenges in ports and key export markets.

For example, at the start of 2022, logistical challenges in the port of Cape Town disrupted the exports of table grapes and other deciduous fruits. Thankfully, cooperation between Transnet and organised agriculture helped minimise the constraints, and opened up channels of communication that were critical for managing the flow of exports and attending to pressing problems.

The Durban port, which handles about 60% of the countrys exports and imports, faced fewer challenges than the previous year. As a result, citrus exporters faced a relatively better export season from a logistics perspective. The smoother flow of agricultural exports through Durban was also brought about by increased cooperation between organised agriculture and Transnet.

Credit should go to organised agriculture groupings, the government, Transnet and various logistical groups that worked tirelessly to ensure a flow of products to export destinations. While there are still many challenges within logistics, Transnets willingness to cooperate closely with the agricultural community has helped improve product flow.

South African exports also faced non-tariff barriers in some key export markets, such as China for wool and the EU for citrus.

China temporarily blocked South African wool in response to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa.

This was a misstep on Chinas part as there is already a framework for dealing with an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease to ensure the safety of wool exports to China. Notably, the outbreak was on cattle, not sheep, which should have provided further comfort about the safety of wool exports.

China lifted the ban after about four months. However, it had already had a notable financial impact on South African wool farmers and exporting businesses. China accounts for just over 70% of South Africas wool exports.

For its part, the EU imposed protectionist measures on South Africas agriculture by changing its regulation on plant safety for citrus without notifying its trading partners in reasonable time.

The new regulation purports to protect the EU from a quarantine organism, false codling moth, by introducing stringent new cold treatment requirements, particularly on citrus imports from Africa, mainly affecting South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini. This was a contentious issue, especially as South Africa had already put rigorous measures to control the moth, which the EU used as a pretext to restrict citrus imports from Africa.

Focus areas

Given that South Africas agriculture is export-orientated, the focus should be on maintaining smooth relations with existing critical export markets while searching for additional new markets.

This is particularly important in the context of growing tensions between the east and the west, specifically the US and China.

South Africa has to maintain open and friendlier relations with both groupings as the exports of agriculture are evenly spread across these regions.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Theodore Roosevelt once said: "The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must, and we will." To do just that, 3 March 2023 was proclaimed as World Wildlife Day. This year's global event will be the 10th anniversary of this initiative, launched by the United Nations General Assembly, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's plants and animals.

Each year since 2015 World Wildlife Day has adopted a theme to focus the energies of organisations around the world working to protect the biodiversity of our planet. Among these themes over the past decade have been The future of Wildlife is in our hands, Big cats  predators under threat, and Forests and Livelihoods: sustaining people and planet.

This years World Wildlife Day theme is Partnerships in Wildlife Conservation and in this spirit of co-operation, the United Nations invited a number of its signatory organisations to address the importance of this day on 3 March, 2023.

One of the most powerful of these messages was delivered by Monique Eloit, the director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health. In her address, Eloit imparted some shocking figures to underline the urgency of preserving plant and animal life for the benefit of all.

We use bamboo in all three of our decking ranges,

as well as our cladding products,

and bamboo is far less impactful on the environment than timber.

She states: Over the last 50 years the population size of vertebrate species has decreased by 68%. Whats more, close to 40% of amphibians, 25% of mammals and 14% of birds are in danger of extinction.

The director general went on to emphasise the importance of recognising that biodiversity plays a vital role in maintaining healthy and functioning eco-systems. These eco-systems, which greatly benefit humans, provide supply services, cultural services and regulatory services which are vital to us all, explains Eloit.

World Wildlife Day can trace its roots back half a century ago when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973. This declaration aimed to raise awareness of destructive practises threatening our planets sustainability. Since then, CITES has undertaken to forge partnerships with organisations and communities around the world to encourage green practices.

Achim Steiner, an administrator for the United Nations Development Programme, said in his World Wildlife Day 2023 message that transformational change can only be achieved through partnerships with governments, key partners like CITES, indigenous peoples and local communities, civil society, young people and the private sector. He adds: At UNDP we know the major inroads that can be made to protect and restore wildlife through cooperation. For example, consider Argentina, where wild jaguars are returning to habitats where they had been absent for 70 years, in part as a result of the efforts by local communities, the Global Environment Facility, as well as UNDP.

Looking to Ghana, Steiner explains: The UNDP is now working with various partners, including the government, the Green Climate Fund and the Global Share Alliance, to restore 500,000 hectares of savanna forests and share parkland.

Eva-Last, a global manufacturer and supplier of bamboo-composite building materials, has a distinct environmental culture and focus in all that it does. Dedicated to helping conserve nature, Eva-Last not only sources more sustainable and recyclable materials to produce its composite products, but employs green manufacturing practices with its zero waste policy and use of solar power in the production facilities. Amongst Eva-Lasts many satisfied clients, are some of the most acclaimed game lodges on the planet. Contributing to guests enjoyment and personal enrichment, as they immerse themselves in nature, is a huge factor in the satisfaction that Eva-Last garners in its pursuit of excellence in the field of sustainable building materials.

A key factor in choosing Eva-Lasts composite materials, for many clients, is that it is making a significant contribution to the global problem of de-forestation.

When we formed Eva-Last back in 2006, we realised that by using bamboo for a core structure for our decking, we would be able to make a big contribution to the environment, says Nathan Chapman, co-founder of Eva-Last.

We use bamboo in all three of our decking ranges, as well as our cladding products, and bamboo is far less impactful on the environment than timber. A typical tree that yields wood for construction purposes requires 20 years to reach maturation after harvesting while bamboo only takes a quarter of the time, says Chapman.

He adds, The polymer that we use in our composites is also all obtained from recycled plastic, and regrind product, that would otherwise end up in waste dumps, so once again our impact on the environment with these products is extremely positive.

Eva-Last can point to various projects where its products are used in game lodge locations, or in similar wilderness experience venues, where wild animals have been known to enjoy Eva-Last materials such as walkways and deck areas. We have even had cases where elephants have been recorded treading on our walkways and consider these scenarios as a sort of post-production accelerated-durability testing, notes Marc Minne, CEO and co-founder of Eva-Last.

The fact that our products are tough enough to withstand the weight of an elephant is evidence of the performance quality and structural integrity of our products, which far outweighs that of timber, says Minne.

One of the pleasures of producing our composite range is knowing that we are playing an important part in bringing more and more people to experience the wonders of nature. A significant portion of our decking production is used to provide views of some of the most spectacular natural environments in the world, thanks to the many projects we have undertaken at some of the most acclaimed game lodges, says Minne.

He concludes: This years theme of Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation ties in perfectly with our companys sustainability ethos because we see our company as partners in the quest to appreciate nature in all its function and form, doing our part to ensure its sustainability. For many reasons, we applaud and support the initiative of World Wildlife Day on 3 March 3 2023 and hope that many others find cause in building a greener future for all.




The Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL) is proud to announce another achievement in its safety training and development journey, as the institute is now a member of the Independent Examinations Board (IEB). Christopher Morsner, head of training and consulting at Dekra IOL, says this further strengthens their offering of quality assessment options and training for adult learners.

The IEBs vision is to advance quality teaching and learning in South Africa through a reputable assessment process. Additionally, the organisation aims to contribute to human resource development through its wide range of assessment services for all sectors. This includes offerings within the arena of adult education and training, as well as foundational learning at the school level.

Morsner explains: The Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL) supports growth and development, through learning at various occupational levels; while the IEB promotes quality education and assessment tools for every South African as a fundamental right, through which cultural diversity is also embraced. The alignment between the two organisations in support of education, training and development is therefore very clear.

In line with our own passion for high-quality training and accessible service delivery and consulting, we are proud to be a new IEB member. This allows us to offer additional services, strengthening our vision of offering excellent assessment options, training and venues nationwide.

As a division of Dekra Industrial South Africa, Dekra IOL provides quality solutions through training, development and consulting which speak to many of the human rights that form part of the South African Constitution.

Morsner notes: Dekra IOLs offerings reflect the right to safety and education: including the provision of a safer working environment, flexible online and distance learning opportunities, accessible assessment and examination venues, learnerships and bursary opportunities, and placement services which provide its learners with the necessary experience to ensure they are workplace-ready.

As part of the IEB, Dekra IOLs training options have expanded even further, he clarifies. For example, reading, writing and foundational mathematical understanding empower learners to function optimally in the workplace. The focus of this offering is the development of reading, writing and foundational mathematical components - allowing learners to engage meaningfully within the workplace - as well as enabling them to engage in further learning with confidence and dignity.

Furthermore, Dekra IOL is now able to offer assessment services focused on adult learning, through our collaboration with the IEB.

Morsner adds that Dekra IOL is extremely excited to leverage its membership of the IEB by offering these additional services under the Dekra IOL banner.

The Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL) is proud to be a new member of the IEB - our membership allows us to strengthen our training and assessment offering and make a lasting difference to learners in the workplace who require reading, writing and foundational mathematical components training nationwide, he concludes.
Chinese foreign minister meets press on foreign policy, relations

Xinhua) 10:25, March 07, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference Tuesday on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.

Qin is expected to answer questions of journalists from home and abroad on China's foreign policy and foreign relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (2nd L, rear) attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A journalist asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

A journalist with Xinhua News Agency asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists raise hands to ask questions during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ministers Gudivada Amarnath, Buggana Rajendranath and others felicitate Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for the success of Global Investors Summit, at the camp office on Tuesday. (Photo by arrangement)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the ministers and officers to speed up the processing of the MoUs signed at the Global Investors Summit-2023 in Vizag.

Jagan Mohan Reddy congratulated the ministers and officials of the industries department on the successful conduct of the GIS in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4. He stressed that these MoUs promised to provide employment to six lakh people in the state.

Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath, along with industries minister and officials of the industries department called on the CM at his camp office here on Tuesday. The Chief Minister recalled that the meet has attracted investments of Rs 13.41 lakh crore, involving 378 proposals and promising employment to six lakh people. The government has already taken steps for execution of the MoUs by formulating a committee chaired by the Chief Secretary, he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the committee should meet twice a week and take matters forward. The monitoring committee would clear the applications for investments in the state without giving scope for red tape. Officials must create an industry and investment friendly atmosphere.

The CM also discussed with the officials the arrangements for the Assembly session from March 14 and the welfare programmes to be implemented during the rest of March and April. The schedules for these were finalised at the meet. The meeting decided to serve Ragi Malt to schoolchildren in the mid-day meal from March 10. The MLC election code doesnt apply to this, the CM noted.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the dates for some of the programmes have been finalised keeping in view the MLC election code.

It has also been decided to release funds to eligible students under total fee reimbursement scheme on March 18, announce the names of Best Volunteers on March 22 on the occasion of Ugadi festival, launch the Jaganannaku Chebudam on March 23, conduct YSR Asara from March 25 to April 5, implement Jagananna Vasati Deevena on March 31, launch the Family Doctor Concept on April 6, felicitate the Best Volunteers on April 10 and launch EBC Nestham on April 18.

Special chief secretary (industries) Karikal Valaven, director of industries G. Srijana and AP High Grade Steels Ltd MD S Shanmohan were also present.
Curro eSports, a provider of competitive gaming opportunities for young learners, will be launching their first Curro Clash LAN on 24 and 25 March 2023.

Image supplied

The event will take place at Curro Krugersdorp High School in Gauteng and will give approximately 200 young gamers from schools across Gauteng the chance to develop their skills and compete against other learners to win some fantastic prizes.

Over the two days, gamers can participate in teams in the following titles, Minecraft Education Capture the Flag, Dota 2, Overwatch 2 and Rocket League. Each team will play the same number of games over the two days and their scores ranked to find the winners who will be taking home prizes, sponsored by Acer for Education. Schools can either enter their school teams or individuals can register a team of friends.

Ever since the launch of the first internal league for Curro schools during the pandemic, Curro eSports has been leading the way in crafting a solid school-level eSports community for its learners and developing a new level of digital learning. Through its partnership with Acer for Education, the independent school group has integrated eSports into their extra-curricular programmes and launched a secure eSports gaming platform so learners can remain safe whilst online. Curro even claimed victory at an International Minecraft friendly with a Californian school in June 2021.

Curro has held several inter-Curro eSports tournaments over the last few years. We want to share our phenomenal experience with fellow schools in the community, as only then will we be able to collectively build a unified eSports in Education offering. With the partnership between Curro eSports and Acer, we aim to bring eSports to a new level for all schools in South Africa, says Magdeleen de Kock, Digital Transformation Facilitator: eSports project lead.

This exciting clash is not just a great opportunity for young gamers to show off their skills, but it is also a fantastic way to showcase a schools strengthened commitment to developing future generations for a digital world. We encourage all schools in Gauteng and wider to join us for this event.

This eSports tournament is for all learners from 13 to 18 years of age. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun!

Interested schools are urged to sign up as soon as possible to secure a spot via the registration link here.
South Africa's telecommunications industry at the moment is in a condition of change. On the one hand, 5G network rollouts are gathering pace, with the latest news that Nokia has won a major deal to expand MTN's 5G network to more than 2,800 additional sites around the country. On the other hand, there seems to be no end in sight to the country's power crisis, with storm clouds gathering around the key stakeholders following the explosive allegations levelled at Eskom and the governing ANC by ousted CEO Andre De Ruyter.

While 5G promises to bring many benefits to consumers, including faster download speeds, lower latency, and better network capacity, it also comes with some challenges, one of the most significant being increased power consumption.

One of the selling points of 5G is that its more eco-friendly than LTE, but even though 5G consumes less power per bit of data, because it transmits significantly more data than LTE, the net result is also significantly higher power consumption.

While 5G in South Africa wont be using mmBand ranges because the spectrum has not been made available to local operators, it will still be using more power to transmit signals in the available sub 6GHz spectrum.

This is why power  or rather the lack of it  can ultimately be a 5G killer.

As with fibre and LTE, the 5G rollout started in the wealthier areas, because it entails a big upfront investment and needs measurable ROI to make it viable. So, the first stage of the 5G rollout will naturally take place in high-LSM-income, high-density urban areas. Out in rural areas, where communities are poorer and less densely populated, not too many customers even have the phones to use them, and the investment required will be exponentially more because of the power issues I mentioned above.

So not only is the power crisis causing service disruptions across the board, its changing the dynamics and threatening the future plans for the vendors currently committing to the 5G rollout in the first place. After all, there are many smart people that for years have been working on the strategy of rolling out national 5G networks, and almost overnight all those calculations are invalidated because they never took into account that wed have power issues like this.

The bottom line, this affects the cost of deployment, which affects ROI, and if ROI isnt right, deployment cant happen from a business perspective.

I believe that the longer the power crisis continues, the more it will change the way we thought things would happen, development-wise, on expanding and improving 5G network coverage, and getting people connected. Everyone is talking about bridging the digital divide. The problem has never been the lack of internet access, but rather the lack of affordable internet access.

The perfect storm of a power-crippled 5G rollout will only make things worse and widen rather than narrow that divide.

The silver lining, if there is one, is the strong Wireless Internet Service Provider (Wisp) community that has already accounted for and mitigated many of the power issues were experiencing today, and as such has a head-start on any 5G deployment in South Africas rural and remote areas.

Wisps have several advantages over 5G mobile networks when it comes to coverage, speed, cost, reliability, and flexibility of internet access delivery. Ultimately, the choice between WISPs and 5G mobile networks will depend on the specific needs and requirements of the customer or organisation. But with the power crisis potentially putting a spoke in the 5G wheel, the obvious choice for many South Africans may ultimately be made for them.
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is to take on the newly established position of minister of electricity, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday evening, 6 March.

Ramaphosa said Ramokgopas primary goal will be to drive a significant reduction in the severity and frequency of load shedding as a matter of urgency and to expedite work to ensure the full implementation of the Energy Action Plan.

To effectively oversee the electricity crisis response, the appointed minister will have political responsibility, authority and control over all critical aspects of the Energy Action Plan. This will help to deal with the challenge of fragmentation of responsibility across various departments and ministers which, while appropriate under normal circumstances, is not conducive to a crisis response.

The minister will be expected to facilitate the coordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity, he said.

At the time of his appointment, Ramokgopa held the position of head of the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency - a position he held since 2019.

Empowered to carry out urgent actions

The new minister of electricity in the Presidency will be empowered to carry out his duties through the transfer of certain powers and functions from the president in terms of the Constitution.

Ramaphosa explained that the minister will also be empowered to carry out urgent actions needed to resolve the energy crisis through the recently gazetted National State of Disaster related to electricity regulations.

The recently published disaster regulations empower the minister of electricity to issue directions to, among others, exclude critical facilities from load shedding where technically feasible; expedite various regulatory processes for energy projects; and enable Eskom to undertake critical maintenance more quickly and efficiently."

Ramaphosa added that the new minister will stay in office for as long as it is necessary to resolve the electricity crisis.

New portfolio for Ramokgopa

Ramokgopa previously worked as the member of executive committee (MEC) for economic development, agriculture and environment in Gauteng. He served as the mayor of the Tshwane municipality from 2010 for five years.

Ramokgopa was also the CEO of both the Metropolitan Trading Company and the Johannesburg Market and was deputy chairperson of the board of Trade and Investment in Limpopo.

He holds a Doctorate (PhD) in Public Affairs, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, a Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Business Leadership.
Fire Weather Index prior to 2021 UCT fire was highest ever recorded during autumn in Cape Town.

A fire above Lakeside, Cape Town, was swiftly extinguished on 16 January after the City dispatched several helicopters and numerous firefighters. The quick response ensured the fire didnt cause major damage. | GroundUp

A study has found that climate change played a role in the UCT fire of 2021 and has significantly increased the chances of such devastating fires occurring in Cape Town.



The Fire Weather Index prior to the 2021 UCT fire was the highest ever recorded in that area during autumn.



The risk is set to keep increasing as global temperatures continues to rise.

The ferocity of the fire on Devils Peak that gutted UCTs Jagger Library in April 2021, causing an estimated R1bn in damages to UCT alone, can be directly linked to climate change, state scientists from UCT and Coventry University in the UK.

Although arson is believed to have been the direct cause of the fire, it was the exceptionally hot and dry conditions, unusual for April, that led to the devastation. Embers carried by the wind lit dry vegetation ahead of the advancing fire line, with the combustible nature of alien vegetation in the area also being a contributing factor.

The likelihood of the 2021-type event increased by a factor of 1.9 [nearly double] between 1880 and 2021 as a result of rising global temperatures, the scientists say in their paper, The April 2021 Cape Town wildfire: has anthropogenic climate change altered the likelihood of extreme fire weather? published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society on 1 January 2023. Zhongwei Liu, Jonathan M. Eden, Bastien Dieppois, and Matthew Blackett from Coventry University, along with W. Stefaan Conradie from UCT, noted in their study the exceptional nature of the meteorological conditions that coincided with the April 2021 event.

Using data for the specific area of the fire dating back to 1880, they ran it through six established models. The multi-model synthesis result suggests that the weighted average of the likelihood of the 2021-type event increased by a factor of 1.9 between 1880 and 2021 as a result of rising global temperatures.

The data also showed that the Fire Weather Index, which combines temperature, wind speed, humidity, and precipitation to obtain a value, was 67.77 on 18 April 2021, the highest recorded during autumn in Cape Town.

According to the study, the humidity level was below 20%, the temperature rose to 33C, and although the day started off calm, the wind speed (a dry berg wind) rose to more than 40km per hour.

The Fire Weather Index was also generally above average during the 2020/21 summer period prior to the fire of 18 April.

The authors state the results complement other efforts to determine the link between climate change and extreme climatic events such as droughts, floods, and fires around Cape Town, such as a study of the 201517 drought that found climate change had more than doubled the likelihood of a prolonged drought to occur.

Acting head of the Stellenbosch University School for Climate Studies Professor Guy Midgley said the study was an interesting analysis and a careful attribution.

Midgley said the authors of the study make the point that an increasing population, which means there are more people on and around the mountain, increases the likelihood of fires being started, but we are also seeing more big fires  out of control fires.

He said there was a 30/30/30 rule, which related to temperatures of 30C or higher, humidity of 30% or lower, and wind speeds of 30km per hour or higher. These factors, particularly in combination, led to runaway wildfires which were very difficult, if not impossible, to bring under control.

As the study noted, all these factors were in play on 18 April, and Midgley said the study showed that climate change had almost doubled the chances of such uncontrollable fires occurring.

With global temperatures continuing to rise due to human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels, the likelihood of uncontrollable fires in and around Cape Town would only increase, he said.

He said Mediterranean climate zones, such as Cape Town and surrounds, were the rarest in the world, and the most threatened by the climate crisis.

He said the most consistently predicted outcome of a global increase in temperature was that the frontal systems that bring the winter rains that define the Capes Mediterranean climate, would shift southwards, leading to significantly lower rainfall over the Western Cape.

The drier and hotter conditions increased the risk and frequency of wildfires, as well as a risk to water supply.

Paradoxically, severe flooding was also a risk, as occasional cut-off low pressure systems would result in heavy rainfall over a short period at odd times of the year (as has been occuring in California).

City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said ten years ago, in 2013, 7,784 bush, grass, and rubbish fires had been recorded. The figure for 2022 was 9,879, a 27% increase.

Disaster Risk Management Centre spokesperson Charlotte Powell said the City has a Climate Change Action Plan which identifies wildfires as a hazard.

Powell did not say how the plan intends to mitigate the occurrence and effect of such fires, saying only that the plan includes actions to be taken by various City departments and directorates.

On 16 January a fire broke out on Boyes Drive above Lakeside. The City swiftly dispatched several helicopters and numerous firefighters to the scene. The fire, which had the potential to burn a large swathe of the mountain range in Cape Towns south peninsula, was swiftly put out with only a small area damaged. This may be the Citys strategy for preventing the kind of fire disaster that occurred in April 2021.

Published originally on GroundUp.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched the Hotel Sustainability Basics (Basics). Announced at ITB Berlin, which takes place from 7 March to 9 March 2023, Basics will enable tourist accommodation providers from around the world, regardless of their size, to begin their sustainability journey.

Source: davidlee770924 via Pixabay

Basics, an industry-backed scheme, is a globally recognised set of criteria that all hotels should implement as a minimum to drive responsible and sustainable travel and tourism.

Basics emerged as a result of a clear demand from a group of influential global hotel brands and whilst there a great number of sustainability initiatives, Basics focuses on an achievable starting point.

It will encourage all accommodation providers to begin their sustainability journeys and meet the fundamental standards required of our sector.

Made up of 12 key criteria, the Basics is accessible to all hotels to implement. It serves as a stepping-stone to more complex sustainability schemes and achieves greater sustainability across the industry.

Basics have also been recognised by the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance as the starting point for a net-positive industry, which announced the latest version of the Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality.

Verification scheme

In order to ensure the validity of the programme, WTTC partnered with Green Key and SGS to develop a simple online verification system to allow hotels to provide evidence and ensure they are following the Basics.

The verification scheme enables hotels and other tourist accommodations to be officially verified for meeting eight of the 12 criteria in the first year and demonstrate their commitment to working toward all 12 of the criteria by year three.

Together, the criteria ensure the sector is eco-resilient and adaptive to the changing needs of the planet.

Hotel partners

Six major international hotel groups, collectively representing tens of thousands of sites from around the world have now joined Basics as inaugural partners. The first hotel groups include well-known brands such as Accor, Jin Jiang International, Louvre Hotels Group, Melia Hotels International, Meininger, and Radisson Hotel Group.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, says: "We are incredibly proud to launch our Hotel Sustainability Basics and its verification scheme. The initiative is a response to the sectors need for a baseline for hotels and other tourist lodgings to introduce the exacting sustainability standards.

"Our research shows that most business owners are aware of their responsibility to the environment but need a step-by-step guide that is scientifically verifiable.

"It is a testament to the need for such a scheme that already thousands of hotel properties from around the world have committed to implement Basics, and from today can begin the verification process."

Inge Huijbrechts, global senior vice president of sustainability, security and corporate communications at Radisson Hotel Group says: "Hotel Sustainability Basics is filling a new and unanswered demand in the hotel industry: to provide a solid, trusted, and clear label for essential hotel sustainability. Its important we define responsible travel to preserve the planet and protect communities.

"With Hotel Sustainability Basics we offer the traveller a clear sustainable stay option for all types of hotels around the world.

"Radisson Hotel Group commits to implement Hotel Sustainability Basics in all its 1,100 hotels by 2025. We do this together with our shareholder Jin Jiang International, their affiliate Louvre Hotel Group and other major hotel groups and destinations around the world."

Green Lodgings Trend Report

WTTC carried out an extensive international benchmarking exercise through the Green Lodgings Trends Report, learning from 27,000 accommodation providers on how they are currently fairing against the 12 criteria.

Crucially, this benchmark will allow WTTC to track the progress of Basics over time.

Almost 100% of accommodation providers implement at least one initiative to reduce inequality and 96% have adopted linen reuse programmes.

The report also showed many hoteliers are establishing sustainable practices but there is still a way to go for these to become common across the sector.

Two-thirds of those surveyed have already begun to eliminate the use of certain single-use plastics such as straws and implement other waste reduction initiatives.

Emerging practices were also highlighted in the report.

Almost half of the respondents have replaced small plastic toiletry bottles with bulk dispensers and a third now provide vegetarian options for every course in their food and beverage provision.

Sector partners

In addition to the Alliance, WTTC collaborated with other key leading sector figures including representatives from Greenview, WTTCs hotel members, Expedia, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Sustainable Hospitality Alliance and Trip.com Group, as well as the certification bodies SGS and Green Key.

Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance says: "We are incredibly proud to work alongside the World Travel & Tourism Council to launch the Hotel Sustainability Basics. Basics is a key part of the Alliances Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality which sets ambitious targets to create a prosperous and responsible global hospitality sector that gives back to the destination more than it takes.

"Net Positive Hospitality is a tremendous objective for us to achieve. Going beyond net zero and actually being contributory to the worlds future is a bold ambition but one I believe that the sector can achieve."

Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) says: "Hotels throughout the world need to march towards sustainability quickly but the first step can be the hardest.

"The WTTC Hotel Sustainability Basics provide an excellent way to understand and take the first steps. With 12 clear actions that map to the eight of the GTSC Industry Criteria, the Basics are indeed an essential part of the journey."

Jane Sun, Group CEO of Trip.com Group says: "Sustainability is a collective goal. As demand for sustainable options increases, Trip.com Group will deepen cooperation with our partners, including WTTC, and empower hotels globally to adopt the best sustainability practices."

Destination partners

A number of global tourism destinations have already recognised the strength of Hotel Sustainability Basics and demonstrated their commitment to ensuring their hotels implement the Basics.

Azerbaijan was the first destination partner to support the Basics, followed by other supporters such as Belize, Colombia, and Mauritius.

Florian Sengstschmid, CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board says: "The Basics are an important add-on to Azerbaijans sustainable tourism development strategy. We are committed to prioritising sustainability throughout the entire value chain and customer journey.

"We take pride in being a country partner of this initiative and pledge to continue our efforts in promoting responsible tourism practices. Our mission is to care for the country's intangible and tangible resources for future generations to enjoy, and a tourism industry, that benefits both visitors and hosts alike."
On Monday night, (6 March, 2023) President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his Cabinet reshuffle, a move political analysts say was pre-empted by the recent swearing in of finance minister, Enoch Godongwana as a member of parliament. The result was the appointment of Paul Mashatile as SA's new deputy president.

Source: Reuters. Paul Mashatile is President Cyril Ramaphosa's second in command.

The country too got long-awaited confirmation that Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is the new minister in the presidency responsible for electricity while Maropene Ramokgopa is the new minister in the presidency responsible for planning, monitoring and evaluation - two new ministries established by Ramaphosa to attend to the country's current challenges.

Two new ministries

"The Minister for Electricity will deal with the immediate crisis of load shedding.and the second will focus greater attention on the performance of government and the full and urgent implementation of the Energy Action Plan," Ramaphosa said.

This, he said, will help to deal with the challenge of fragmentation of responsibility across various departments and ministers.

Congratulations on your new responsibility as COGTA Minister cde Nkadimeng. #cabinetreshuffle pic.twitter.com/d8IviAG4M1  Goodman Pilusa (@Ke_GeeMan) March 6, 2023

The minister will be expected to facilitate the co-ordination of the numerous departments and entities involved in the crisis response, work with the Eskom leadership to turn around the performance of existing power stations, and accelerate the procurement of new generation capacity.

To enable the minister to do this work, Ramaphosa said he will, in terms of section 97 of the Constitution, transfer to them certain powers and functions contained in relevant legislation.

"In the State of the Nation Address, I announced that a national state of disaster had been declared to respond to the electricity crisis and its social and economic impact."

Minister of Electricity's mandate

"The recently published disaster regulations empower the Minister of Electricity to issue directions to, among others, exclude critical facilities from load shedding where technically feasible; expedite various regulatory processes for energy projects; and enable Eskom to undertake critical maintenance more quickly and efficiently.

"The minister in the presidency for electricity will liaise with other relevant Ministers to ensure coherence in the issuing of other directions during the national state of disaster."

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, Mining and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, all seen as key Ramaphosa allies, retained their posts, as did the Minister of Police Bheki Cele. In contrast, after 22 years and leading eight government departments, Lindiwe Sisulu's tenure as a Cabinet member came to an end along with ministers Nathi Mthethwa and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

And just like that, Fikile Mbalula gets to walk away from the mess he left in the transport ministry. #cabinetreshuffle pic.twitter.com/4pbuJg9P7u  Moqhaso (@qhasi2) March 6, 2023

Eleven new ministers and nine new deputy ministers were appointed to the national executive. These included Khumbudzo Ntshavheni as the minister in the presidency; Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma as the minister in the presidency responsible for women, youth and persons with disabilities; Sindisiwe Chikunga as the minister of transport and Patricia de Lille as minister of tourism - a move which some political analysts have applauded given the greater representation of women at executive level.

Addressing his new Cabinet on Monday night, Ramaphosa said: "I expect them to fulfil their tasks with rigour and dedication, to adopt a zero tolerance approach to corruption wherever it exists, and to place the interests of the people of South Africa foremost in the work that they do."

All in all, the cabinet changes were not a surprise, critics have said, given the elections next year and Ramaphosa's intent to run for a second term in 2024.

But the downside has been the sheer size of the new Cabinet.

A recipe for more conflict?

"I get the feeling that the president is juggling many balls in this 27-plus-two cabinet and then additional deputy ministers. The executive arm of government is larger that it's been in the last 10 years or so. In addition, people have been shifted around but I'm not convinced that we will necessarily see a radical change," says Angelo Fick, the director of research at the Auwal Socio-economic Research Institute.

"This is because the more people you have involved in government the less likely you are to get the services that the government is supposed to deliver."

No matter how much Cyril Ramaphosa tries to change their positions from one department to another, but in our eyes they'll remain losers who waste taxpayers money.



#cabinetreshuffle. Patricia De Lille. Pravin. Fikile. Paul Mashatile. pic.twitter.com/Yulff4JICm  Africa is Black   (@AfricaisBlack) March 6, 2023

"These additional people might make it look like there are more people responsible, but doesn't that just split the responsibility among more people who might have to come to some sort of agreement? One imagines there's going to be conflict between the various ministries that are responsible for Eskom as a public enterprise, and energy production distribution [facility].

"It remains part of the minerals project because mining is so central to South Africa, but presumably the trading industry will have some kind of interest in this as will the minister of health who may want to have some input on this given our hospitals are affected by load shedding."

Stakeholder engagement at stake

"In order to have the delivery of stable electricity Transnet has to be on board as part of this acquisition of interdepartmental co-operation because coal has to be moved. There's going to be quite a bit of negotiating with a range of stakeholders."

President Cyril Ramaphosa , by keeping Bheki Cele as Minister of Police, you make it more evident that you don't give a damn about the women and children in your country. #cabinetreshuffle #EndViolenceAgainstWomen  Women For Change (@womenforchange5) March 6, 2023

And while Ramaphosa said that the Minister in the Presidency for Electricity will remain in office only for as long as it is necessary to resolve the electricity crisis, Fick countered this saying: "Unless the person does really well, he might be the minister of electricity in perpetuity as would the new additional members of the expanded cabinet.

"Once you have bloated the cabinet to 29 members it will more than likely stay that way."
With more than 20 thought leaders converging in person at this year's hybrid Nedbank Integrated Marketing Council (IMC) conference taking place on 15 September, it's going to be personal. From walking the sometimes lonely journey of an entrepreneur to guiding a team or leading a company, the 2023 cohort of speakers will each provide their unique insight into what it means to get up close and personal in the business of marketing.

Every year the Nedbank IMCs curation of thought leaders is an intentional reflection of the conference theme. This year the Up close and personal theme will be conveyed effortlessly by speakers such as Roanna Williams, chief creative officer at Net#work BBDO and chairperson of the Creative Circle; Brian Mtongana, the executive creative director: Woolworths South Africa, and Khensani Nobanda, group executive for group marketing and corporate affairs at Nedbank.

This trio of thought leaders play a key role in guiding three of South Africas leading brands from within the advertising, retail and banking sectors. Each of these brands have a lived experience of getting up close and personal with their clients. This has had a positive, material effect on their companies.

For Net#work BBDO, its Africa-centric DNA has produced compelling and successful narratives for their clients. Woolworths has been a long-standing symbol of excellence and an intuitive listener to its clients. Nedbank, one of the big five banking institutions, undertook a fearless brand identity pivot in its recent history, based exclusively on understanding who its clients really are.

Each of these speakers are thought leader heavyweights, with immense knowledge to share. Roanna Williams, named top female CD of 2018/19 as ranked by the Loeries, has been a judge of nearly every creative award out there, ranging from Cannes Lions and the Loeries, to the forthcoming One Show in Puerto Rico.

Brian Mtongana, although recently appointed executive creative director: Woolworths South Africa, has been a custodian of the Woolworths brand for the past 14 years.

Multi-award-winning Khensani Nobanda, will take to the stage to share her insights in a fascinating speed-share entitled, Up Close and Personal with Khensani. 10 minutes. 10 insights.

Dale Hefer, CEO of the Nedbank IMC, says that the conference likes to include major brands, agency innovators, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders to provide nuance as well as diverse perspectives of the business of marketing in a hard-hitting agenda.

The Nedbank IMC will be held as an in-person event at Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg, and live-streamed, 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.

Limited seats available

Virtual tickets priced at R1,499.

For more information visit: www.imcconference.com.
BRS party sources said that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has picked a few ministers, BRS MLAs, MLCs and MPs for campaigning in Karnataka Assembly polls soon after EC issues notification. However, there is no clarity if KCR will campaign in Karnataka. (By Arrangement)

Hyderabad: Leaders of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will campaign for the JDS in the Karnataka Assembly elections only after the Election Commission of India (ECI) issues the poll notification, although the three major political parties in Karnataka have already ramped up their campaign even before the EC announced the poll schedule for the April/May elections.

The upcoming elections in Karnataka, a three-cornered contest between the BJP, Congress, and JDS, will provide the BRS with an opportunity to establish itself as a national party. However, the BRS, which announced its support for the JDS, has been missing in action, even as JDS leader and former Karnataka CM H.D.Kumaraswamy has been on a whirlwind campaign trail covering all Assembly constituencies by undertaking Pancharatna Rath Yatra since December last year.

Soon after the EC issues the poll notification, Chandrashekar Rao is expected to deploy a team of 50 BRS leaders to Karnataka, including ministers, MLAs, MPs, and MLCs. Yet, there is no clarity regarding the CM's Karnataka campaign.

Rao stated during a meeting in the BRS office in December last year that he wants to see Kumaraswamy as the "future CM of Karnataka" and that the BRS will work with the JDS to achieve this goal. According to party insiders, Rao intends to maintain his cordial relations with Kumaraswamy by campaigning for the JDS, as promised, and by contesting a few Lok Seats in Karnataka in alliance with the JDS in 2024.

It may be noted that Kumaraswamy was present at all significant events during the TRS-to-BRS transition. He flew to Hyderabad to attend the party's state executive meeting on October 5, last year, at which a resolution rebranding TRS as BRS was passed and sent to the EC for approval.

Kumaraswamy was present for the formal launch of the BRS on December 9 last year in Hyderabad, following the EC's approval of the name change on December 8, as well as the inauguration ceremony of the BRS national office in New Delhi on December 14.
IT minister K.T.Rama Rao speaks at the annual Confederation of Indian Industry event on Tuesday. (Photo: Twitter/@MinisterKTR)

HYDERABAD: IT minister K.T.Rama Rao charged the BJP-led government at the Centre with penalising Telangana, despite being a performing state, by not sanctioning funds and projects to the state.

Speaking at the annual Confederation of Indian Industry event here on Tuesday, Rama Rao said political affiliations should not define support from the Centre. He said the Centre should empower and incentivise performing states like Telangana.

He urged the captains of the industry to take this issue to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rama Rao urged the industry to vote the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) back to power in Telangana so that it can continue its good work done over the last eight years.

"Since Im addressing the last CII annual meeting before the general elections, let me ask you to vote me (BRS) back to power so that we can come back as a government," he appealed. When the industry leaders responded with applause, Rama Rao remarked, "Im guessing by the kind of applause that I will come back. Im hopeful."

He said that India would have achieved the targeted $5 trillion economy by 2022 if all states had grown at the same pace as Telangana, highlighting the 150 per cent growth in per capita income and GSDP in the last eight years.

Rama Rao said the Hyderabad Pharma City would be the largest pharma manufacturing cluster in the world but did not receive support from the Centre.

"The Centre also denied a bulk drugs manufacturing cluster, other manufacturing clusters, industrial corridors. Even though special industrial incentive was promised to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in the AP Reorganisation Act, nothing has been given to the Telugu states. What is the sanctity of the Act passed in Parliament," he asked.

He said each state was diverse and that diversity should be respected. "Who are we to tell people what to eat, what to wear," he said.

Rama Rao said the Centre's initiatives like Make in India were good, but they

have not progressed much beyond slogans. He asked why many still felt that importing from China works out cheaper rather than making locally despite the import costs, distance and other factors.
Laura Bonner is well overdue for a night on the couch with the telly. The Irishwoman has been hard at work promoting her drinks brand Muff Liquor  named after the village of Muff in County Donegal, so behave  and schmoozing some of her high-profile investors, most notably our very own Oscar winner and CBD regular Russell Crowe.

But it turns out that Crowe is not the only famous figure sinking their hard-earned into the brand.

Ed Sheeran  a co-investor in Muff Liquor Men  performing at the MCG last Thursday. Credit: Rick Clifford

The Hollywood heavyweight is the lead investor in an outfit called Muff Liquor Men (MLM)  along with MCG-filler Ed Sheeran, Irish songster Ronan Keating, UK comedian Jimmy Carr, a regular on ABC-screened panel shows and Dublin talent agent Noel Kelly  which owns 35 per cent of the company.

And the Muff Liquor crew have been having quite the time these past few days. On Thursday, they were out on the lash together after catching Carrs Melbourne International Comedy Festival Show and were partying again on Friday night after Sheerans record-breaking performance in front of 106,000 fans at the MCG.
Demands that National Australia Bank employees work long overtime hours without pay to meet targets or be considered for promotions will be examined in a union test case.

The Finance Sector Union of Australia has filed Federal Court proceedings against NAB and subsidiary MLC on behalf of four managers allegedly required to work up to 16 hours a day to meet excessive workload demands.

Some managers had to work weekends without pay and sometimes without meal breaks to avoid being fired, or complete tasks assigned to them, said FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano.

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano. Credit:

These relentless long work days are affecting the health of the managers, leading to them suffering stress, anxiety, fatigue and exhaustion, she said.

The excessive hours are having a profound impact on the lives of our members, affecting their health, their relationships, the time available to spend with their families and their overall quality of life.

The FSU is asking for court-ordered compensation payable to the four managers plus penalties paid directly to the union.

If the union wins, it will ask NAB to repay up to 10,000 staff who also worked for similarly excessive hours, Ms Angrisano says.

This case is just the start. We know the culture of the big banks exploits workers, and we will be going after them as well.

AAP
One of the pilots of two Sea World helicopters that crashed at the Gold Coast, killing four people, might not have made a taxiing call before taking off, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau says.

The ATSB has handed down a preliminary report into the crash, which killed pilot Ash Jenkinson, British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros at the Broadwater on January 2, after the two helicopters collided near the resort and theme park.

The Sea World helicopters after one crashed to the ground and the other landed. Credit: AAP

Other passengers, including Tadros son, Nicholas, 10, were rushed to hospital. Nicholas was initially in a critical condition but survived after his lungs were flooded with aviation fuel.

Nine-year-old Leon de Silva and his mother Winnie, from Melbourne, were seriously injured and remained in hospital, but also slowly recovered.
Loading We need a full royal commission to get to the bottom of whats been going on  not only around those Austrac allegations, because that is an inquiry which is ongoing, but as we saw last night, the allegations around the gold doping is of particular concern, and the reputational risk that that exposes for Western Australias Perth Mint, he said. Four Corners claimed the mint failed to register more than 5000 international movements of money over a nine-month period. Each failure to register these could result in a fine of up to $21 million. Love said the report had uncovered serious issues in the mint that could see WA taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in fines. In the past, Austrac has not been afraid to lump enormous fines on organisations that breached anti-money laundering laws.

In 2018, Commonwealth Bank was hit with a then-record fine of $700 million for repeated breaches while in 2020 Westpac copped a $1.3 billion penalty for its own breaches. The difference here is that the mints gold is backed by the WA government  it is the only mint in the world to offer such a guarantee  which means taxpayers will have to foot the bill for any fines. Doping bungle On top of potential fines, the gold doping may also come back to haunt taxpayers. The mint began doping its gold in 2018 to improve margins on the product while keeping its bullion at a globally accepted 99.99 per cent purity.

However, in 2021 the purity of the mints bullion was noticed by one of its biggest customers and the exchange with even tougher purity standards than accepted across the rest of the world, the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Perth Mint chief executive Jason Waters. Credit: Hamish Hastie Four Corners claims when the mint received a complaint about two bullion sent to SGE it conducted an internal investigation which found about 100 tonnes of gold sent to the exchange could be below their purity standards  about $8.7 billion worth at todays prices. During its investigation, the mint went back and found one of the gold bars had been red flagged by its own refinery but did not share that information with the Shanghai Gold Exchange. The mint recognised the reputational damage this could cause if it was made public. This doping practice could leave taxpayers exposed in that the mint may have to purchase the gold back and recast it to acceptable purity, which would mean transport and refinery cost on top of the purchase back.

This may prove tricky, however, given the Chinese governments ban on exporting gold from the country. Shanghai Gold Exchange was contacted for comment. Financial regulation expert Nathan Lynch said in addition to that gold the mint might also be currently holding customer gold that did not meet global purity specifications. The Shanghai gold was only picked up because the bullion was shipped. How much doped gold is inside? How much of that has been altered with silver? he said. Gold Corp chief executive Jason Waters played down the purity issue, saying it did not actually affect the overall value of the gold and the issue actually lay with the silver component of the gold, which was above SGEs specifications of 50 parts per million.

However, he conceded that the breach was serious and damaged the mints reputation. Needless to say people are concerned, he said. Personally, its a serious issue. It shouldnt have happened, but it did. It was fixed. My job is to ensure we have procedures in place [to ensure] this sort of stuff doesnt happen again. Waters said the gold was not actually sold to SGE directly but through an intermediary, who he declined to name, but said the mint was working with them. He said when he started at the mint in April 2022 he was made aware of the issue and revealed he had discussed it with Johnston.

He deflected questions about whether the government could be forced to buy back the gold and refine it but said that was an issue that had been raised internally at the end of 2021. Loading Ritas hospital pass With the premier nowhere to be seen in Perth on Tuesday, Transport Minister Rita Saffioti faced a barrage of questions about the issues facing the mint and Gold Corp, but could not answer any. She said the gold doping questions were about operational matters for Gold Corp and the mint, and said she expected McGowan would speak on the issue later this week.

Saffioti also rubbished the oppositions call for a royal commission. I think theyve asked for a royal commission every week since theyve been in opposition, she said. The most shocking case study in the Four Corners expose was the revelation that former Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Dayne Brajkovich was able to purchase $27,000 worth of gold from the mint in the middle of last year by simply producing his drivers licence. Waters said he would not comment on individual customers but spoke generally about the mints failures in the anti-money laundering space. We accept that we have matters as there, but we need to improve our processes need to improve our systems need to improve our culture, he said.

This report from Austrac will be handed down this year. Well hear the results then and, frankly, I look forward to it because thats how we want to be. We own up to it. Well be held to account for it and were going to get better. Lynch backed a call for a royal commission. Morally and ethically and legally, its no different to what the banks and casinos were doing, which is underspending on risk and compliance controls and delivering that as a quasi-profit to shareholders, he said. The 120-year-old Perth Mint is the only government-owned and guaranteed precious metals enterprise and refines more than 90 per cent of newly mined gold in the country.
A former Melbourne councillor accused of stealing and forging votes in a local election has been committed to stand trial.

Milad El-Halabi, 59, was elected to the north-west ward of the Moreland City Council  now Merri-bek City Council  in October 2020.

Milad El-Halabi outside court on Monday Credit: Jason South

But police allege El-Halabi, his wife Dianna, 52, and daughter Tania, 26, stole, forged and interfered with postal ballots in the lead up to the election.

After a two-day committal hearing, Magistrate Stephen Ballek on Tuesday determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to go to trial.
Id received such a Baz battering they had to bring in the jaws of life to pry me out of my seat.

Pleasingly old-fashioned: Alinta Chidzey as Satine (left of Eiffel Tower) and Des Flanagan as Christian (right of Eiffel Tower) in Moulin Rouge! The Musical Credit: Michelle Grace Hunder

The breakneck storytelling, the frenetic editing, the sensory assault, the cartoonish and in-your-face acting made it feel less like watching a movie, more like Id been in a car crash.

So you can imagine my trepidation while walking into Crown Theatre for the stage version of Luhrmanns movie.

Easy, big fella, said my wife as I stumbled toward my seat, the looming set so bright that I kicked myself for not slapping on sunscreen, threatening and send me back to 2001 and that traumatic moment. Everything Everywhere All At Once-style.

For a few moments, it felt like Luhrmann was hiding in the wings calling the shots on Moulin Rouge! The Musical even though he promised to have nothing to do with the stage production, which has been written by leading playwright and Oscar-winning screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator) and directed by Tony Award-winner Alex Timbers.

The chorus launched into Lady Marmalade, the movies signature tune, and we were back turn-of-the-century Paris and charging toward the head-spinning pop culture mashup, in which songs associated with Montmartre (Offenbachs Can-Can, Edith Piafs Milord) collide  quite literally  with mid-century classics (Cab Calloways Hi-Di-Ho Man, The Sound of Music, Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend) and boomer favourites (Your Song, Roxanne).

Thankfully, Timbers and Logan havent attempted to emulate Luhrmanns trauma-inducing visual assault (they simply couldnt), opting instead to set the story entirely inside the Moulin Rouge and shifting the emphasis to the music, boosting the number of songs to 70 and adding a whole new dimension to the term jukebox musical (I would classify this one as a Spotify musical).
Former attorney-general Christian Porter will represent a Russian oligarch identified by several western governments as an ally of Vladimir Putin who has filed a legal challenge against federal government sanctions imposed on him after the invasion of Ukraine.

Oleg Deripaska  who was once believed to be Russias richest man  was hit by targeted financial sanctions and banned from travelling to Australia under an announcement by then-foreign minister Marise Payne last year.

Former attorney-general Christian Porter has returned to private legal practice after leaving politics. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The billionaires extensive portfolio of assets includes a stake in a Queensland alumina refinery.

Porter, who returned to private legal practice after retiring at the last election, will represent Deripaska in hearings expected to be held in Perth.
Voters show their identification cards as they wait in queues to cast their votes at a polling booth during the Tripura Assembly elections, in Rajnagar, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. (Representational Image/PTI)

The chief ministers of three northeastern states are in the process of embarking on another five-year term after getting a fresh mandate from the people. Manik Saha enters his second term after successfully warding off fears of anti-incumbency. Mr Saha did not disappoint his party, the BJP, which replaced the dyed-in-the-wool saffron leader Biplab Deb with him, a Congressman for most of his political life. He won for his a party a second term in the state that had never before showed a leaning towards the partys ideology.

National Peoples Party head Conrad K. Sangma, too, has got a second consecutive mandate to run the state though his party has no absolute majority in the 60-member state Assembly. He, however, has the support of 45 members in the House, including that of the BJP and other smaller regional parties.

The case in Nagaland is slightly different. The four-time CM, Neiphiu Rio, of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, is starting his fifth, and the first consecutive stint with virtually no opposition as every party is now part of the ruling alliance.

A common single thread that binds all three governments is the BJP  it runs the government in Tripura and will either be part of or supporting the government in the other two. The North Eastern Democratic Alliance, the platform the party floated for the region, has now a say in all the seven states in the region.

It is a fact that the northeastern states have been kept off the national mainstream for long for a litany of reasons. The region has suffered in terms of development in infrastructure and medical and educational facilities. Not one state figures in the top layer of the Human Development Index yet. The social integration with the rest of India is still a work in progress. Militancy and insurgency have gripped the region for quite a long time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasising that his government has broken the stereotypical approach the Union governments have for the region and that the Centre is working hard to make the region part of the development project that is being rolled out in the rest of the country. The government cites Mr Modis own travel history to the region  he has travelled close to 50 times to the region in the last five years  to buttress the argument on its new focus. With Assam chief minister Himanta Sharma as the pointman, the BJP has been pushing for settling the border disputes lingering for decades among the northeastern states.

The peace process in Nagaland is also an unfinished agenda. The Union government and the militant organisations have been blowing hot and cold over it for some time now. The clamour for the formation of a greater Nagaland, one of the key demands of the major militant unit, is met with stiff resistance from other states.

While each one of the seven states has its own unique features, together they offer great opportunities for themselves and for the nation. A futuristic vision and imaginative steps are needed to realise them. The question is whether the governments in the states and at the Centre can rise to the challenge.
The Liberals and sections of the media are wailing in anguish about the tiny tax increases proposed for the 80,000 Australians with superannuation accounts worth more than $3 million. But their sympathy would be more appropriately directed at another similar-sized group: the 87,279 single mothers forced by the government to subsist on JobSeeker and try to raise their kids on $784.50 a fortnight.

Unemployed single mothers lose the Parenting Payment ($961.30 a fortnight) and must go onto the dole (JobSeeker) when their youngest child turns eight. Credit: Greg Newington

These women are victims of the policy-induced poverty initiated by John Howard in 2006 and accelerated by Julia Gillard in 2013 that requires single mothers be dumped from the Parenting Payment ($961.30 a fortnight) and onto the dole (JobSeeker) when their youngest child turns eight. They are currently paid $176.50 a fortnight less than they would receive if still on the Parenting Payment. This policy was intended to encourage single mothers off welfare and into employment, but a decade on there is no evidence this has succeeded.

Instead, these women and their children have sunk deeper into poverty every six months because not only is the rate of payment lower, it is indexed differently. For instance, those on the Parenting Payment received an extra $33.90 from the March indexation increase while the more than 80,000 women on the dole got just $26.60.

As a result of the policy changes, these women are no longer seen as single mothers once their youngest turns eight. Despite having as many as ten years of parenthood ahead of them, they are deemed to be unemployed economic units and are punished if they cant find employment.
About a year later, Paterson murdered Devlin, shooting him with a revolver outside his home in rural Numurkah. Paterson pleaded guilty to the murder and in December last year was jailed for 26 years with a 21-year non-parole period. A Supreme Court judgment found Paterson held an unshakeable belief that Devlin had orchestrated his removal from the workplace, despite Devlin not being Patersons direct manager. Problems identified at Moira Shire Council by the commission of inquiry Council can no longer effectively carry out its responsibilities because its governance has deteriorated;

Council does not manage the performance of its CEO, who the commission also found has failed to fulfil four key duties;

The organisation has failed to ensure the health and safety of employees in its depots and other outdoor locations;

The shire council transferred asbestos waste to stations not licensed to receive it, putting staff, contractors and residents at risk;

The organisation left the town of Numurkah and its residents at serious risk of floods by delaying approved flood mitigation measures;

Two major capital projects were mismanaged, and

The council does not work in the best interests of the whole shire under its current model for representation. The inquiry report, tabled in the Victorian parliament on Tuesday, found the depot environment was fundamentally unsafe. It said the councils senior executive should have been aware of the risks since at least September 2017 when an external investigator reported on the high level of dysfunction and distrust amongst the workforce and the extremely toxic atmosphere.

The report found the depot workplace broke some men, who went on long-term WorkCover or resigned. It added that little was done to protect the few women employed at the depot, who suffered harassment and abuse. Nathalia works depot was the epicentre of a bitterly divided workforce riven by victimisation, threats, bullying, harassment, accusation and counter-accusation, the report said. Nathalia works depot was the epicentre of a bitterly divided workforce riven by victimisation, threats, bullying, harassment, accusation and counter-accusation. Commission of inquiry report It alleged the councils human resources management team should have tried to restore health and safety at the depots but instead pursued flimsy and unfounded actions against accused employees including Mr Paterson. The commissioners took aim at council chief executive Clare Keenan, describing her as ill-equipped and displaying antipathy to one of the councillors, affecting her ability to play a conciliatory role.

However, they said she could not be held responsible for the failure of previous administrations to ensure a safe working environment in council depots. While governance of the council had been steadily eroding over the past decade, the commission said the appointment of the inexperienced Keenan exacerbated the issues at Moira Shire Council that had become increasingly unstable. The commission found it difficult to comprehend that such an inexperienced CEO was first appointed to the role, and then given an increase in salary and a contract extension within the probationary period. In a statement, Keenan said the council would review the reports findings and seek advice before making further comment. We understand that the findings of the report may be confronting for our staff and their families and concerning for our community, she said. Our priority continues to be the wellbeing of staff and we have implemented measures to ensure they have support.

The inquiry laid bare the dysfunction at Moira Shire Council that spanned years and crossed council operations, leading to infrastructure delays and cost blowouts. There has also been a steep decline in the communitys confidence in the council over this period of time. The councils facilities maintenance coordinator has been referred to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission after he directed more than $500,000 of work without a tender process to an Albury-based company that employed his son, and then later to a company part-owned by his son. The commission was also scathing of the councils dumping of toxic soil at waste transfer stations that were not licensed to receive asbestos and referred the matter to IBAC, describing it as a serious misconduct that put council staff, contractors and residents at potential risk. The council also allegedly mismanaged two major infrastructure projects despite receiving substantial funding from the federal and state governments, and failed to build its promised levee bank at Numurkah more than 10 years after the devastating 2012 floods.

The shire now faces mounting workers compensation claims, which have grown from $130,000 in 2020-21 to $2.25 million in 2023-24. The report found the council was dominated by former mayor Libro Mustica for five terms and, while he was motivated to improve community and infrastructure, he was often conflicted in council decision-making and obliged to withdraw from discussion. Mustica, who resigned from the council last year, declined to comment. The state government has long been aware of problems at Moira Shire, appointing a monitor to advise on governance issues last April. The monitors confidential report triggered the commission of inquiry that ultimately recommended sacking the council.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Hong Kong: A woman accused of assisting a suspect in the gruesome killing and dismemberment of model Abby Choi in Hong Kong has been arrested in mainland China and charged, Hong Kong police said.

The arrest of the 29-year-old woman brought the total number of people allegedly involved in the case to seven. Police said they suspect she assisted another suspect and then fled to mainland China. She was handed over to Hong Kong authorities at Shenzhen Bay Port and charged on Tuesday (Hong Kong time), they said.

Model Abby Choi, 28, was found dismembered in a Hong Kong apartment. Credit: Instagram

The grisly killing of Choi, 28, has gripped many in Hong Kong and in mainland China because the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city has a very low level of violent crime.
Latest News New product could end 'defective' reverse mortgage market Pre-retirement property owners among the beneficiaries, says company

CBA lifts variable rates again, cuts select three-year fixed rates It's the second time in two weeks that the bank has hiked its variable rates for new customers

The broking industry faces challenges with diversity and womens participation, but the incredible achievements of others set it up for a more sustainable future, according to three industry leaders.

MFAA CEO Anja Pannek (pictured above left), NextGen head of broker partnerships Renee Blethyn (pictured above centre) and MoneyPlace CEO Kylie Waldock have all said there is huge potential to benefit from more women in the industry.

However the MFAAs Opportunities for Women survey has found the number of female brokers dropped to 25.5% in the six months to March 2022, the lowest since the research began.

This is despite 65.1% of respondents in the survey agreeing businesses that support greater diversity will have a business advantage in regard to customers, employee engagements and referral partners.

The MFAAs research has shown its members  male and female  believe that unconscious bias is the biggest barrier for women entering our industry  and staying in our industry, Pannek said.

Weve made tools available on our MFAA website to help people understand what unconscious bias is and how they can more aware of their own biases. We need to keep the conversation alive. The more women share their stories, the more well learn about how we can do better as an industry.

Blethyn said the research conducted by the MFAA indicated there was a variety of reasons why the industry was not seeing participation increase in the way that many would hope for. However, she said that over the long-term trailblazers were changing the industry for women.

Im grateful for the women who have paved the way for the industry as it is today, said Blethyn. When I first entered the industry it was definitely a different place, and you didnt see as many women in leadership roles. There is a variety of people who have paved that path.

Thereve been some incredible advocates  who are not always women. Im inspired by those with solid values around truth, honesty, integrity, courage and bravery and a strong work ethic, who have not been afraid to stand alone and have a voice when they want to see and inspire change.

Women proving broking a great industry in which to lead

March 8 is International Womens Day, a day designed to celebrate womens achievements and drive change towards a world that is more diverse, equitable and inclusive, including for women.

Pannek said the mortgage and finance broking industry already contains so many examples of outstanding female leadership, with amazing women leading from the front in their businesses.

What inspires me most is their customer centricity, their tenacity and entrepreneurial drive, Pannek said. Im also inspired by the community I see so many of these great women creating - how they work together to provide support to each other.

Thereve been some fantastic leaders in our industry, Blethyn said. Im really excited about some of the young leaders coming through, some of whom are not just building incredible businesses helping customers navigate financial complexity but giving back to the community as well.

Waldock said there was so many women in the industry who know and believe in themselves.

What inspires me is when I see women staying true to themselves without feeling the need to conform or fit in, said Waldock. Being proud of being a woman. I think we should be past feeling that we must prove ourselves, it has already been done. So, lets keep going!

The industry offers a range of choices for women in terms of the type of career and job roles, as well as a great amount of flexibility in the way they can structure their work, Blethyn said.

For brokers, once you get past the first couple of years you can set your hours of work and structure a business so you have a team that supports you, she said. That enables women to do the array of things women tend to do like run a family and a whole range of other things.

Blethyn added a unique advantage for the industry was less of an issue with a gender pay gap.

A good thing about broking for women is that, depending on the business model, there is not a gender pay gap when it comes to commissions paid for lending  its all the same for a lender.

I really hope that as an industry we can become a business community that does attract really good people, women or any gender, because it is just a fantastic industry to work in.

Pannek said there was there so much opportunity in broking for all people, including women. She said broking was an incredibly rewarding career, and that people in the industry were usually satisfied by helping their clients reach their goals.

I also see the satisfaction women get being able to run their own business and lead their teams. You can do this on your own terms and what we see from great businesses across Australia  do this very successfully, she said.

Many of our female members also go above and beyond and are able to combine an issue they are deeply passionate about in their community  if thats financial literacy, or a charity  with their business value proposition as well.

The future of the industry contains great opportunities for women

Pannek said more Australians than ever were choosing a broker for important decisions like financing a house or funding a business, and what was important over the long-term would be sustainability.

Sustainability is about attracting great diverse talent into the industry and importantly ensuring diversity is front and centre. We need a diverse industry  in particular greater female participation to service and support the needs of the Australian community, she said.

Women who want to forge a future for themselves in mortgage broking or finance have been advised to be themselves first, but also to reach out and connect with the industry community.

In my opinion, it comes down to believing and backing yourself. Instead of looking for or seeing the obstacles, look for the opportunities it presents and where you can add value, Waldock said. Do it but be yourself. Trying to please others by being someone you're not can be both exhausting and limiting. However, its important to remember youre not in this alone.

Find the people that resonate with you in terms of values, and if what they have achieved is something you are aspiring to, seek them out and ask them your burning questions, Blethyn said.

The thing about this industry is everybody is so willing to share and wanting to help each other, because it only helps all of us if we all have great businesses. Dont be shy about asking for help, a lot of women want to give back and make it easier for the person who comes after them.

Pannek said women should stay connected and get involved with a close and supportive community, including other brokers and business owners, and focus on getting the right team around them.

After that, it was about focusing on the value proposition that only they can bring to their business. And of course  make sure you take care of yourself, so you can be the best you can, said Pannek.
Latest News New product could end 'defective' reverse mortgage market Pre-retirement property owners among the beneficiaries, says company

CBA lifts variable rates again, cuts select three-year fixed rates It's the second time in two weeks that the bank has hiked its variable rates for new customers

New research has revealed the best cities for the 195,000 permanent migrants moving to Australia this year.

The survey results come as the Australian governments Permanent Migration Program is increasing its intake to 195,000 placements in the 2023 financial year, up from 160,000 in the previous financial year.

The arrangement will see up to 142,400 skilled visa placements being approved to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skills shortages in the labour market, while up to 52,500 Partner visas are being approved to reunite people in Australia with family members from overseas.

Immigration to Australia, an immigration assistance and advice platform, commissioned an independent survey, to ask Australian residents to identify the best cities for immigrants moving to Australia permanently, based on eight factors of habitability: welcoming to residents, potential for business success, family-friendly, value, lifestyle, well-paying jobs, climate, and safety.

Melbourne, which according to ABS received the highest intake of immigrants from 2019-20 (56,100 immigrants), ranked first as the most welcoming city for immigrants, attracting 36% of votes. The city was also chosen as top family-friendly city, with 23% of votes.

Melbourne and Sydney, which received the second-highest intake of immigrants (50,100 immigrants), tied for first place as the best cities to start a business, garnering 31% of votes. Sydney also took the honours as the top city for well-paying jobs, chosen by 40% of respondents.

Hobart placed first as the safest city (37%), despite receiving the second-lowest intake of immigrants of Australian capital cities from 2019-20; while Brisbane was deemed the best both for lifestyle (24%) and for climate (37%), despite only receiving 16,191 international immigrants in the same period.

Neither Darwin nor Perth ranked first for any key factor of habitability for immigrants.

Click here to view the full results, including age and state breakdowns.

Have a thought about the story? Include it in the comments below.


Dominos 20-minute delivery is available at 170 stores across Bengaluru. However, there are some initial teething issues the firm may have to overcome. Jubilant FoodWorks, the operator of Dominos Pizza, has unveiled an ambitious plan to launch 20-minute-delivery services in metro cities across India - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad - in the next 12 months. To begin with, Jubilant on Monday said it now guarantees fresh pizza within 20 minutes of ordering in Bengaluru.



One of the delivery riders said there is pressure to deliver the orders in 20 minutes, but sometimes there are challenges that they need to rise above, such as traffic gridlock, finding the correct address, and running out of fuel. To test out the service in Bengaluru, a customer downloaded the Dominos Pizza application (app). He placed an order for a double cheese margherita. It got accepted at 2.51 pm as soon as the payment was done. The dashboard of the app showed a 20-minute delivery guarantee. However, for 28 minutes, the pizza was still in the process of getting baked. It got despatched and took another 26 minutes to be delivered to the customer.



The company has now set a new benchmark of 20 minutes by enhancing in-store process improvements, upgrading technology (tech), including rider tracking and route optimisation, and expanding its store network. Dominos said it has made efforts that have resulted in a more efficient overall delivery process without compromising on the quality of food or the safety of its delivery riders. The firm said it has a proven track record of delivery prowess, having pioneered the 30-minute delivery and established itself as a market leader in the quick service restaurant sector.

Also Read Domino's launches 20-minute deliveries across as many zones in India Jubilant FoodWorks net rises 10% in July-Sept quarter on high demand Domino's Pizza launches 20-min delivery in Bengaluru, will expand service Jubilant still upper crust even as near-term margins slice up stock Jubilant Foodworks plans to invest Rs 900 crore in India in 12-18 months Torrent moves SC against NCLAT order on auction of Reliance Capital assets Swiggy accused of Hinduphobia as bashing of Holi ad trends on Twitter CRISIL reaffirms ratings for Adani Group's solar, wind power units FMCG demand goes up in February, as stores stock up for summer Homebuyers call NCLT order on Jaypee Infratech case 'real Holi gift'



Khetarpal said the company is also committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its delivery personnel by providing them with the necessary training and sensitisation. The firm has been working for the past three years to set a new benchmark. Every year, we shave off four/five seconds in the pizza-making process without changing the procedure, said Sameer Khetarpal, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director, Jubilant FoodWorks, in an interview, adding, For example, if it takes five seconds to put the pizza in a box, can we do it in just four seconds. If it takes 15 seconds to cut a pizza, can we do it in 12.



Jubilant holds the exclusive master franchise rights from Dominos Pizza, Inc. to develop and operate the Dominos Pizza brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. By using analytics, insights, and tech, we can give our customers hotter, fresher, and tastier pizzas than ever before, said Khetarpal.



In Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the company operates through its 100 per cent-owned subsidiary, which currently has 47 and 13 restaurants, respectively. In India, it has a strong and extensive network of 1,760 Dominos restaurants across 387 cities.



The company plans to invest Rs 900 crore and open 250 stores for Dominos in India in the next 12-18 months. This is part of the plan to set open 3,000 Dominos stores globally. It also operates Dunkin restaurants in India and Popeyes in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan.



Khetarpal said that the company also has plans to tap into tier II and III locations, based on the growth of disposable incomes. For instance, it is setting up stores in places like Raipur, Tumkur, and Coimbatore. In India, Jubilant is playing in a market which is worth $45 billion.



Apps such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and others are already competing to deliver essential groceries in 10 minutes to half an hour. Dominos is not the only firm betting big on quick commerce.



Launched in August 2020, Instamart is now present in over 25 cities. It uses Swiggys tech and dedicated delivery fleet to bring groceries and other daily essentials to the doorstep of Indians within minutes. The aim is to deliver groceries in 10-15 minutes through a network of seller-owned dark stores. Swiggy recently said couples across India are using Instamart to purchase and deliver gifts to their loved ones. Instamart itself, which sold over 250,000 red roses last Valentines Day, has been boosting the procurement of red roses. It sold over 1 million roses this years Valentine week.



Zepto recently said it would stick to the promise of 10-minute deliveries. Although many quick commerce businesses are shifting from shorter deliveries to handle losses, Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO, Zepto, recently said that although challenging, the model can be profitable. He said many of the companys dark stores are on their way to profitability and the business focus is on improving unit economics and increasing scale. He said that quick commerce is the fastest-growing consumer tech industry in India. Tech plays a key role in ensuring only the freshest produce reaches consumers. For instance, artificial intelligence-based quality measurement tools that use image recognition help check the quality and grade of the produce. The seller-run dark stores have temperature sensors to ensure that the correct ambient temperature is maintained to keep the produce fresh.

We are doubling down and working hard to get more deliveries done in 10 minutes, Palicha had said in an interview, adding, Our core objective is to stick to that brand promise.
GQG Partners Inc founder Rajiv Jain will meet clients and investors in Australia this week, the company said in a statement on Tuesday, and will explain its investment into embattled Indian Adani group.

GQG Partners bought shares worth $1.87 billion in four Adani group companies, marking the first major investment in the Indian conglomerate since a short-seller's critical report sparked a stock rout.

A January report by U.S based Hindenburg Research alleged stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens by Adani, and flagged concerns over debt levels.

Adani has rejected the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

The stake purchase has raised queries from an Australian pension fund client of GQG, at a time when major investors, including Norway's sovereign wealth fund, were selling the stock.

Jain is meeting some of GQG's clients in person while doing conference calls with others, sources told Reuters who could not be named discussion private information.

Also Read Rupert Murdoch wants to put his media empire back together after 2013 split Index provider MSCI cuts 4 Adani group securities free-float designations Adani Ports to prepay Rs 1,000 cr on commercial papers due in March India's Enron Moment? Gautam Adani slips to No 30 among the top rich Hindenburg bet against India's Adani puzzles rival US short sellers PM asks India Inc to step up investment, take advantage of opportunities India housing market to remain resilient despite higher rates: Poll Top headlines: Foxconn eyes second plant, Son invites start-up founders Dealmakers in India should expect another strong year for M&As: JPMorgan Foxconn Technology eyes second chip plant in India, sans govt incentive

"Rajiv Jain is visiting Australia this week to meet with investors. The trip was planned well in advance of the Adani purchase," the statement to Reuters said.

"It's also an opportunity to respond to any questions they have about the business including the Adani investment."

It is Jain's first visit to Australia since the company listed on the ASX in 2021, the statement said.

GQG bought 3.4% of Adani Enterprises Ltd for about $662 million, 4.1% of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd for $640 million, 2.5% of Adani Transmission Ltd for $230 million and 3.5% of Adani Green Energy Ltd for $340 million.

It purchased the stock from the Adani family trust, according to the Indian firm's filings.
People carrying only their carry-on luggage may receive a special discount from airlines. People familiar with the development said that airlines are considering discounted fares for such passengers, according to a report by Mint.

The new policy may benefit 2 in 5 domestic travellers. Small businessmen and corporate executives travelling for short trips may benefit the most. The report said the latest move might pivot frequent travellers from staying in hotels to flying even more.

A senior executive at an online travel operator said that Indian airlines are analysing the market and trying to zero in on routes where such offers would make the most sense. He added that this service would primarily benefit those running micro, small, and medium enterprises, as published in the report.

Also Read Akasa Air grounds B737 Max aircraft after noticing engine fuel leak Very tough path ahead for new entrants like Akasa, Jet 2.0: GMR official IndiGo Q3: Focus on international destinations lifts outlook, say analysts Akasa Air to fly with 15 fewer seats due to supply chain woes How did Air India beat Indigo? Free travel in roadways buses for women in Rajasthan from midnight today US Commerce secy Gina Raimondo to arrive in India today on 4-day visit NCLT clears Suraksha Realty takeover of Jaypee Infratech nearly six yrs on Silicon, gold, copper, electric fields could help fight Covid-19: Study Govt developing platform to update DigiLocker documents using Aadhaar

Currently, the lowest airfares on domestic routes allow a cabin bag weighing up to 8 kg and check-in luggage weighing 1525 kg. So far, no Indian carrier offers cabin luggage-only fares.

On the other hand, several foreign carriers follow this practice. The report added that Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, already offers zero baggage fares from India.

Speaking on the matter, India's largest domestic airline, Indigo, said that it is considering fares along similar lines. The report quoted an Indigo spokesperson saying, "We will continue to evaluate our service offerings to offer options and flexibility to meet the evolving needs of our customers."

In earlier attempts to attract more customers, airlines have tried to roll out special fares for their passengers. However, the national aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, rejected an attempt in 2017.

It is important to note that hand baggage-only fares are standard practice for several European and American airlines that offer the service for short-haul flights. Indian airlines are also planning to incorporate a similar arrangement as it helps save fuel and vacate cargo space, which can be used to generate additional revenue, the report said.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday stressed the need for all 37 CSIR labs in the country to work in coordination with each other, discuss their research ideas as this could lead to quality output and limit overlap of research effort making it more cost-effective.

Speaking after inaugurating the week-long 'One Week One Lab' event at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology here, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, also emphasised for integration amongst labs, public and private R&D labs and Industry for effective utilisation of resources.

"Here is the time when we have certain important ideas to move forward. Among our 37 CSIR (Council of Scientific & Industrial Research) institutes can we supplement each other's resources, experiences as well as our inputs. Is inter-coordination with other institutes, similar kind of research work, R&D happening in both public as well as private. Could we do that? And then extended integration with industry with start-ups, with potential entrepreneurs," Singh said.

He said the founders of CSIR realised the importance of industry at that point of time which is now being realised much more than before that industry has to be an important component of research and our scientific initiatives.

"May be because of the different priorities of different dispensations at the helm it did not evolve in the manner it could have or in the manner it was being envisaged. But, luckily now we have Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If you look at PM Modi's nine Independence Day addresses since 2014 each of his nine Independence Day addresses carries one or the other scientific things," Singh said.

PM Modi spoke about 'Cleanliness Drive' and then 'Start-up India, Stand-up India' initiative. Many people kept asking what does it mean. The results are now there for everybody to see with the number of start-ups jumping to more than 90,000 in the country and there are more than 100 unicorns, the Union Minister pointed out.

Also Read RSS coordination to start in Chhattisgarh tomorrow; BJP's Nadda to attend PM Modi chairs Council of Scientific and Industrial Research meeting PM chairs Council of Scientific and Industrial Research society meeting Clinical trials of new BCG vaccine for TB to start soon: Former CSIR chief CSIR proposes disaster-resilient town for people displaced from Joshimath Matters pertaining to J&K internal affair, don't see role for OHCHR: India Traffic advisory issued on Chirag Delhi flyover closure due to repair work Noida Police warns against spreading rumours on social media ahead of Holi Bihar Police cancel leaves of personnel to beef up security ahead of Holi Global commercial aviation industry sees more accidents in 2022: IATA

Industrial entrepreneurship has awakened and there is a rise of aspirational levels in the last few years, Singh said, adding the Prime Minister in his Independence Day address also referred to the Deep Sea Mission and now Green Hydrogen Mission.

"The Prime Minister speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort is actually meant to be a declaration of the intent of the government which means now it is time for us. The Prime Minister is ready...are we ready. Whether it is energy or chemicalsare finding references in one way or the other in the Prime Minister's addresses...which means we have all the intention, all the patronage, all the support available from the political dispensation from the political leadership," he said.

Singh further said when the government is forthcoming and the Prime Minister is holding meetings with industry leaders, it is important for us to set up an institutionalised mechanism.

"This government is ready to walk the extra mile. So let's change our mindset and be ready to avail all that is in an atmosphere of mutual co-existence and mutual benefit. To move things forward, we have to integrate at different levels; we cannot be integrating in parts and bits," he said.

"Unfortunately, what has happened in the last 40-50 years our minds got conditioned that nothing would happen. But, here we have a dispensation today that's what I have come to say on behalf of the government which is ready to take up measures and it has walked the talk. It is this government which moved the Department of Space...made it open for private participation. Today we have more than 130 start-ups there," Singh said.

CSIR-IICT has all the potential and capacities to take the lead and it can set a model for the other labs to follow, Singh added.

IICT Director D Srinivasa Reddy was among those who spoke.
A Delhi court on Monday granted four days' interim bail to Olympian wrestler Sushil Kumar, the main accused in the murder case of junior national wrestling champion Sagar Dhankar, for performing the last rites of his father.

Sushil Kumar, along with others, is accused of allegedly assaulting former junior national wrestling champion Dhankar, a resident of Haryana's Rohtak, and his friends in the parking lot of the city's Chhatrasal stadium, on May 4, 2021 over an alleged property dispute.

He has been in judicial custody since June 2, 2021.

In October last year, the court had framed charges against Sushil Kumar and 17 others, setting the stage for their trial.

During the hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand said: "Keeping in view the fact that the father of the accused expired yesterday and his last rites are to be carried out today itself, on humanitarian grounds, the applicant or accused be released on interim bail from March 6 to March 9 only on furnishing personal bonds of the sum of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of the like amount."

"The entire expenditure of deployment of security persons or policemen for keeping surveillance and security of the applicant shall be borne by his family members," the judge added.

Also Read Delhi court grants wrestler Sushil Kumar interim bail in murder case Chhatrasal murder case: Court frames charges against wrestler Sushil Kumar VP Dhankhar meets Indian community in Doha, lauds role played by them RS Chairman Dhankar demands breach of privilege notice against 12 Oppn MPs LIVE: Wrestler Sushil Kumar gets interim bail till Nov 12 in murder case Peak power demand in Delhi likely to reach 8,000 MW in late June-July Indian Railways to run 491 trips of 196 special trains during Holi Delhi international airport among cleanest in Asia-Pacific, says ACI Migrants leaving TN for festivals in north, not due to attacks: Industry Uttar Pradesh govt looks to double millet area to 2.5 mn hectares

According to prison regulations, the court stated, the money must be lodged in advance with the jail superintendent concerned.

The judge directed that Kumar should surrender before the Jail Superintendent concerned on March 10, on expiry of his release.

The court imposed several conditions on interim bail like not threatening the prosecution witnesses, not tampering with evidence or indulging in any crime and sharing his phone's live location as and when required by the investigating officer (IO).

The judge said: "In case it is prima facie brought to the notice of the court that the applicant is violating the said conditions, the interim bail granted to him shall be liable to be cancelled."

Dhankar, who was murdered, had succumbed to injuries and according to the post-mortem report, he died due to cerebral damage resulting from blunt object impact.

Anand framed charges against Kumar and other accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy.
Delhi Fire Services will procure modern equipment and technology to improve response times in traffic situations, officials said on Tuesday.

Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot chaired a review meeting to discuss the fire services' preparedness ahead of the the summer season, according to an official statement.

The majority of fire incidents occur during peak summer, it added.

Instructing the officials to be ready for any untoward situation, Gahlot said, "None of us would want to face a fire situation at home or any place but we need to always be prepared for any such situation. In February 2023, our fire department worked on 29,400 minor and major incidents in the city, saving thousands of lives.

"They have a very tough task on their hands and I am happy they have been able to deliver it well all these years. I would also like to urge all building owners, for all eligible constructions, to get fire safety certificates."



The maximum fire incidents during peak summer occur in Delhi's congested slum areas and pose a challenge for fire services to reach the affected areas.

It has been decided that, besides the establishment or construction of a new fire station at Geethanjali, modern technology, equipment or appliances will be procured to improve response times in the present traffic scenario. Rs 252.50 crore has been allotted in the current financial year for the purpose, the statement said.

Also Read Delhi govt sanctions Rs 104 cr for hospitals to procure general medicines Don't throw your onions away, AAP govts in Punjab, Delhi will procure: Mann Govt not to procure fresh Covid vaccines; surrenders Rs 4k cr from budget Power Min launches schemes to procure 4,500 MW electricity supply for 5 yrs Govt gives nod to procure Pralay ballistic missiles for armed forces All 37 CSIR labs should work in coordination: Union Minister Jitendra Singh Matters pertaining to J&K internal affair, don't see role for OHCHR: India Traffic advisory issued on Chirag Delhi flyover closure due to repair work Noida Police warns against spreading rumours on social media ahead of Holi Bihar Police cancel leaves of personnel to beef up security ahead of Holi

During the meeting, the Delhi Fire Services director informed Gahlot that procurement of modern safety equipment such as hydraulic platform, rapid responder, robot and turntable ladder is in process.
The standing committee on energy has got time up to the Monsoon Session of the Parliament to present its report before the House.

The Lok Sabha Bulletin Part 2 states, "Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, has granted extension of time to the standing committee on energy (2022-23) for presentation of report on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 up to the Monsoon Session, 2023 of the Parliament (Bulletin Part-II dated March 3, 2023)."

The Parliamentary standing committee on energy had already sought stakeholders' comments on the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022.

The bill had been referred to the panel, headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on November 21, 2022.

The committee has been given three months to finalise a report on the bill.

The bill has received a lot of opposition from farmers and political parties, which have alleged that well-off consumers would opt for private distributors at the expense of state-owned distribution companies, as per its provisions.

Also Read Karnataka, Gujarat make most progress in clean energy transition: Report SC/ST Reservation Bill to be tabled in Karnataka legislature session: CM Chhattisgarh govt clear 2 amendment bills on quota; to be tabled on Dec 1-2 Sri Lanka to seek India or China's credit line for solar panel imports: Min Electricity Bill will pave the path for privatisation: AIPEF chairman Dubey Govt inks Rs 6,800-cr contract with HAL to procure 70 trainer aircraft Three women pilot global aircraft engine maker Pratt and Whitney in India Guj govt announces Rs 330 crore to transport and store potatoes, onions Red meat, refined sugar, spicy food linked with colorectal cancer: Experts Malnutrition rises in pregnant women in 12 at-risk countries: UN report

The bill seeks to facilitate usage of distribution networks by any entity which gets a distribution licence. This would allow consumers to choose services of any power supplier from among several players operating in a particular region, just like customers have the choice to select mobile networks.

When Power Minister R.K. Singh had introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2022, it had received a lot of protests from opposition parties led by the Congress.

--IANS

miz/arm
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday questioned and recorded the statement of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the excise policy matter, official sources said.

The federal probe agency also made a fresh arrest in this case as it took into custody Hyderabad-based liquor businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai on Monday evening, they said.

The ED investigators reached the Tihar Jail to record the statement of Sisodia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The CBI had arrested Sisodia on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021-22.

He is lodged in judicial custody till March 20.

The ED obtained the court's permission to question the 51-year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, who till recently was the deputy CM of Delhi, in the cell number 1 of the jail for three days.

Also Read Delhi excise policy case: ED makes arrest in money laundering investigation Enforcement Directorate can only probe money laundering cases: Delhi HC Excise case: ED to question Manish Sisodia in Tihar Jail, says report Manish Sisodia to be produced in court today: All you need to know Delhi Excise policy case: ED raids 25 new locations in national capital CBI arrests Pearls Group director Harchand Gill in multi-crore ponzi scam Why the Dakota DC-3 is important to aviation history in India and the world PM believes women are not just homemakers but nation-builders: Indian Envoy Moosewala's parents sit outside Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex, seek justice NPP's Conrad Sangma takes oath as Meghalaya CM, cabinet sworn-in

The agency is expected to question him about the alleged change and destruction of cellphones that were in his possession and the policy decisions and the timeline followed by him as the excise minister of Delhi. These charges were made by it in its supplementary complaints filed before the court.

The ED may invoke section 19 of the PMLA, that allows it to arrest people involved or accused in the case, if the investigation officer has "reasons to believe" that the person is "guilty" of the offence of money laundering.

The CBI, during its custody of Sisodia, had confronted him with his former secretary C Arvind and then Excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna in connection with alleged manipulation of the excise policy.

Sisodia was not mentioned as accused in the charge sheet of the CBI filed in the case on November 25 last year.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped and the Delhi LG recommended a CBI probe following which the ED booked a case against the same accused under the PMLA.

The ED has informed the court through its charge sheet that its probe found that at least 36 accused, including Sisodia "destroyed, used or changed" 170 phones to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam.

It had also named Sisodia's boss and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the second charge sheet filed in the case early this year, claiming that C Arvind, a DANICS officer who was earlier secretary to Sisodia, recorded his statement under the PMLA saying he was given the GoM report on the excise policy in the middle of March, 2021 when he was called by his boss (Sisodia) to the residence of Kejriwal.

In a linked development, Arun Pillai was taken into custody under the criminal sections of the PMLA on Monday evening following a long session of questioning.

Pillai is a partner in a company called Robin Distilleries LLP whom the ED had said represented the 'south group' alleged liquor cartel linked to Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao's MLC daughter K Kavitha and others. He is also linked to arrested liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru, his wife Geetika Mahandru and their company Indospirit Group.

He will be produced before a local court where the ED will seek his further custody for interrogation, they said.
The defence ministry on Tuesday sealed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore for the Indian Air Force.

The ministry also finalised a contract with the Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) for acquisition of three cadet training ships worth over Rs 3,100 crore.

Both the procurement proposals were cleared by the prime minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on March 1.

"The ministry of defence on March 7 signed contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for procurement of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft and three cadet training ships respectively in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh," the ministry said.

While the HAL will provide 70 HTT-40 aircraft over a period of six years, the delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, along with other senior civil and military officials of the ministry, and representatives of the HAL and L&T were present at the contract signing ceremony.

Also Read Stock of this PSU defence company has zoomed 113% thus far in 2022 CCS approves procurement of 70 basic trainer aircraft for Rs 6,828 cr Aero India 2023: HAL's 'Next Gen Supersonic Trainer' on display HAL hands over advanced light helicopter to Mauritius ahead of schedule Cabinet okays buying 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL for Rs 6,800 crore Three women pilot global aircraft engine maker Pratt and Whitney in India Guj govt announces Rs 330 crore to transport and store potatoes, onions Red meat, refined sugar, spicy food linked with colorectal cancer: Experts Malnutrition rises in pregnant women in 12 at-risk countries: UN report Over 9,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras opened; health a priority: Bhupender Yadav

The HTT-40 is a turbo prop aircraft possessing good low speed handling qualities and provides better training effectiveness, according to the ministry.

The HTT-40 contains approximately 56 per cent indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60 per cent through indigenisation of major components and subsystems, officials said.

"The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force for training of newly-inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators," the ministry said in a statement.

"Being an indigenous solution, the aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years," it said.

It said the HAL would engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain.

"The procurement has the potential to provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs," the ministry said.

On the cadet training ships, the ministry said they will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy.

"The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations," it said.

"The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026," the ministry said.

The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed at L&T shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai.

"The project will generate an employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years. This will encourage active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs," the ministry said.


US President Joe Biden nominated Eric Garcetti for the post of ambassador to India in July 2021. But sexual harassment allegations levelled against Garcetti's former municipal aide Rick Jacobsand suggestions that they were brought to his notice and he ignored themhave held up the Senate hearing and confirmation. He packed his bags and was ready to go more than 600 days ago. But at last, he might actually be leaving on a jet plane. On 8 March, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is slated to vote to advance the nomination of former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as US Ambassador to India. Garcetti's nomination is expected to garner enough Democratic support to advance through the Committee. Some Senators who had reservations about him have indicated they might have changed their minds.



On 3 January this year, Biden announced that he was resubmitting Garcetti's name to the Senate, which now has one more Democrat since the US midterm elections. A US Senate report published in May 2022 suggested that it was "extremely unlikely" that Garcetti was unaware of sexual harassment and racist behaviour by Jacobs. A separate report by an outside law firm commissioned by the City of Los Angeles, published before the Senate report, cleared Garcetti and Jacobs of wrongdoing.



He was not the only one who was anxious to start work. "I am committed to making the US-India partnership among the closest we have," President Biden declared during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2022. Just before India assumed the presidency of the G20, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed the US relationship with India as "one of the most consequential in the world." Obstructions to Garcetti's appointment were bipartisan. He conceded as much when he told CNN in December 2022: "I've stopped doing the guessing game of the when, but I feel quite optimisticI have good support from Republicans and Democrats who recognise this is a critical position.  I can't wait to get to work."

Also Read Crisis in multilateralism affecting developing nations most: PM at G20 meet G20 foreign ministers' meeting today: Schedule, agenda, other details here LIVE: Blinken asks for 'contact' with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen G20: India asks IMF, FSB to draft new technical paper on crypto assets Excise case: ED questions Sisodia in Tihar Jail; another bizman arrested CBI arrests Pearls Group director Harchand Gill in multi-crore ponzi scam Why the Dakota DC-3 is important to aviation history in India and the world PM believes women are not just homemakers but nation-builders: Indian Envoy Moosewala's parents sit outside Punjab Vidhan Sabha complex, seek justice



Congress MP Shashi Tharoor says: "While White House officials shrug and privately blame the Senate confirmation process for the absence of a permanent ambassador, the question remains: If India matters as much as the US says it does, why has the administration not acted more forcefully to get its nominee confirmed?" New Delhi has had no US Ambassador since 2021, when Ken Juster stepped down at the end of the Trump administration.



But some have had a rethink. "I'm ready to move on," Mazie Hirono (Democrat Senator from Hawaii, who will back Garcetti, told local media last month. Tammy Duckworth (Democrat Senator from Illinois) has also indicated she will support Garcetti. Not all hurdles have been crossed. "One of these nominees has ignored credible sexual assault accusations in his prior office", said Senator Marco Rubio, Republican Senator from Florida, in a statement last month announcing his intention to oppose six ambassadorial nominations proposed by the Biden administration, including Garcetti's. "I will not turn a blind eye to these absurd nominations, which will hasten America's decline."

Apart from everything else, Washington is running out of time. The G20 summit, due in September, will see a New Delhi visit by President Biden. Without an ambassador in place before that, it could be embarrassing. "In India, where we have no ambassador, we are struggling to gain New Delhi's support for pressure on Russia to end its aggression in Ukraine and working to develop greater ties to the second-most populous country on earth (on track to become the most populous soon)" says Eric Rubin, President of the American Foreign Service Association whose members include serving and retired members of the foreign service.




During an event organised by Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party member of Parliament Virendra Sharma in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons, Gandhi also shared experiences from the "Bharat Jodo Yatra", which he described as a "deeply political exercise in mass mobilisation". The Opposition in India is being stifled, and the Parliament is no longer a place for debates on important issues, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi told British parliamentarians in the Houses of Parliament complex in London on Monday. He added that functioning microphones in the Lok Sabha are often silenced.



"Demonetisation, which was a disastrous financial decision, we were not allowed to discuss. The GST we were not allowed to discuss. Chinese troops entering Indian territory we were not allowed to discuss. I remember a Parliament where there were vibrant discussions, heated debates, arguments, disagreements but we had a conversation. And, that's frankly what we miss in Parliament. We have to use debates to fit in other debates. There is a stifling that is going on," he added. "Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can't switch them on. That's happened to me a number of times while I am speaking," Gandhi said in response to a question about sharing his experience of being a politician in India with his counterparts in Britain.



"Democracy in India is a global public good. India is big enough, where if democracy is weakened in India, it is weakened on the planet. India's democracy is three times the size of the US and Europe and if this democracy crumbles, it will be a huge setback for democracy on the planet," he said. Gandhi took questions from the group of MPs and peers from the House of Lords to also highlight the importance of India-UK relations to create greater employment opportunities and also to protect Indian democracy.

Also Read SC issues notice to Centre over blocking of BBC documentary on PM Modi LIVE: Terrorists attack Karachi police chief's office, TTP responsible 'Misconceived, no merit': SC dismisses Hindu Sena plea to ban BBC BJP wants to better its past record ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha election From BBC documentary to Hindenburg, the political fallout remains unclear TMS Ep383: G20, FDI in India, mutual funds, Hindu rate of growth British rule ruined India's education system: RSS chief Bhagwat Flushing of pipeline from seaside smooth: CPCL on Nagapattinam oil leak Twitter did not appear before Review Committee over takedown orders: Centre India, US to hold commercial dialogue on March 10 after gap of 3 years

'Media under attack'

At another event organised by the Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) on Monday, Gandhi said that important structures of democracy are under "brutal attack" in India. He also said that the action against the news agency BBC was an example of "suppression of voice across the country".



"The BBC has found out about it now, but it has been going on in India for the last nine years non-stop. Everybody knows that journalists are intimidated, they are attacked and threatened. The journalists who toe the line of the government are rewarded. So, it's part of a pattern and I wouldn't expect anything different. If the BBC stops writing against the government, everything will go back to normal. All the cases will disappear," he added. "The media, the institutional frameworks, judiciary, Parliament is all under attack and we were finding it very difficult to put the voice of the people through the normal channels," Gandhi said.

'Denial mode' on Chinese incursions

At the IJA event, Gandhi added that the Prime Minister (PM) is in "denial mode" over Chinese incursions into Indian territory.



Claiming that 2,000 sq km of Indian territory is being controlled by China's PLA, Gandhi said the PM himself has stated that not a single inch of Indian land has been taken and "this has destroyed our position to negotiate with Beijing". "We do not accept anybody entering our territory and bullying us. The Chinese have entered our territory and killed our soldiers but the PM is in denial. That's the problem," he said.

BJP's counter-attack

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil while praising China.



"Don't betray India, Rahul Gandhi ji. The objections to India's foreign policy is an evidence of your scant understanding of the issue. No one will believe the lies you spread about India from foreign soil," Thakur told reporters in New Delhi. Union minister Anurag Thakur on Monday hit out at Gandhi for his remarks and asked the Congress leader not to betray the nation.



"Rahul Gandhi has become a storm of controversies. Be it foreign agencies, foreign channels or be it foreign soil. He does not lose a single opportunity to malign India," Thakur said. Thakur said Gandhi had resorted to "maligning India" from foreign soil as part of a conspiracy to hide his failures.

(With agency inputs)
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday said his government is implementing a slew of welfare schemes and development programmes aiming to uplift women, empower them and enhance their dignity.

The Chief Minister, who extended greetings to all women for 'International Women's Day,' said Telangana is emerging as the women welfare state through the implementation of welfare and development programmes aiming for the advancement and empowerment of women during the nine-year regime, according to a release from the CMO.

The women community is honoured suitably by announcing a special holiday for women employees in the government on women's day, he said.

Rao, also known as KCR, said the state government is safeguarding the girl child from the stage of growing in the mother's womb by implementing significant schemes from their birth, health, protection, welfare, education, marriage, development and empowerment of the child.

The Chief Minister said the effective action plan which has been implemented by the Telangana government for the all-round development of women has set an example for the country.

Under the "KCR Kit" scheme for the welfare of pregnant women and infants, the beneficiaries receive a sum of Rs 12,000. As an incentive for giving birth to a girl child, the state government is providing Rs 13,000 to the mother. So far, 13,90,639 beneficiaries received the scheme benefit and the expenditure incurred on the scheme is Rs 1,261.67 crore, the release said.

Also Read KCR's daughter, K. Kavitha claims BJP approached her with 'Shinde model' KCR eyes electoral pie beyond Telangana, to launch national party TRS supremo KCR may announce name of his national party on Oct 5: Report JD(S)' Kumaraswamy airdashes to Telangana to join forces with KCR Divisions in TRS? Kavitha's absence from KCR's BRS launch raises questions Power Min mandates 40% renewable purchase obligation for thermal plants Untimely rains ahead of harvest worry farmers in central, western India Around 350 modern health infrastructure projects coming up in J&K: LG CBI questions Lalu Prasad in land for jobs scam case for nearly 5 hours Paragliding turns nightmare as glider gets entangled in high-mast pole

Under the "KCR Nutrition Kit" scheme, which has been launched with the aim of providing nutrition and prevention of anemia in pregnant women, nutritional kits are provided to pregnant women in installments.

The state government is implementing Arogya Lakshmi Scheme through 35,700 Anganwadi centres with the aim of providing complete nutrition to pregnant women, infants and children under six years of age.

Till date, the government has paid Rs 1,430 crore as pension to 1,52,050 single women in the state through Aasara Pension Scheme.

For women and children, who lost hope in their life and were facing problems, the state government is providing assistance and rehabilitation through police, health department, government legal services, counselling, through Bharosa centers, the release said and also referred on the establishment of the "She Team."



He also mentioned the Kalyanalakshmi/Shadi Mubarak scheme, and further said the government is distributing "Bathukamma" sarees to women from below poverty line families every year for Bathukamma festival.

Aspiring women entrepreneurs are being mentored through "We Hub" for financial capital assistance, strategy and development, the release said, adding houses are being allotted in the name of poor women in the double bedroom house (2BHK) project.

On the occasion of Women's Day, the government is providing interest-free loans of more than Rs 750 crore to women self-help groups in villages and urban areas, the release added.


Pollution in Kochi on Tuesday was worse than in New Delhi, as the authorities struggled to control fumes from the municipal corporations plant in Brahmapuram. The Kerala High Court said "the city is trapped in a gas chamber" and helicopters of the Indian Air Force were deployed for spraying water over areas near the plant on Tuesday. Business leaders in the city expressed concern about the air quality, but said that it has not affected their work. Authorities said that the fire is under control. Kochi, the coastal Kerala city known for its air quality, has had a thick haze for the last six days after a solid waste treatment plant caught fire Thursday.



We are not yet impacted by the pollution. There is no dip in footfall too at our amusement park . However, I am staying in the Palarivattom area, where we are experiencing foul smell and other issues related to pollution, said Kochouseph Chittilappilly, founder of V-Guard Industries and a chain of amusement parks called Wonderla. According to Kochis air quality index dashboard, the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particulate matter was 2.7 times above the WHOs recommended limit. PM2.5 and PM10 are minute particles present in the air, the exposure to which is harmful to health. Kochi had a PM2.5 of 41 and PM10 of 91 on Tuesday: much higher than 31 and 81 respectively in New Delhi, often ranked the world's most polluted capital.



Some of the shops and business units were closed only on Sunday. We will have to leave with this and cannot afford another shutdown as the industry is slowly coming back to normalcy after being hit badly by the pandemic, said Raja Sethunath, chairman of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Indias (Assocham) Kerala state development council. Sethunath said the government should come out with a fresh tender to award waste treatment to a known corporate. The High Court remarks came after it filed a suo motu case based on a letter by Justice Devan Ramachandran. The court demanded strict action against the people responsible for the fire. The government had announced a holiday for schools in the city for the last two days.

Also Read How did India waste over 100 million Covid vaccines? TGBL joins hands with PMC to extract clean, green hydrogen from waste TMS Ep277: Ambani's family office, Vaccine waste, IT's Q2 earnings, GRAP Dumping ground TMS Ep344: Foreign universities, foreign waste, gold, cloud computing Few women in India hold CFA charter, held back by financial pressures In Eric Garcetti, the Biden admin may finally get an ambassador to India Excise case: ED questions Sisodia in Tihar Jail; another bizman arrested CBI arrests Pearls Group director Harchand Gill in multi-crore ponzi scam Why the Dakota DC-3 is important to aviation history in India and the world
Texas mom stabs her five children, killing three, while Child Protective Services (CPS) were conducting a visit. The CPS called in the cops, where they discovered their mother had assaulted the children.

Texas Mom Stabs 5 Kids, Kills 3

The Ellis County Sheriff's Office stated on Facebook last Friday regarding a visit by state CPS in Italy, Texas, to take the children from the mother's custody. A call by a social worker on the case to the Italy PD coming from the county 911 dispatch was received. They found that 25-year-old Shamaiya Deyonshana Hall had killed her three children.

Texas CPS told ABC 8 WFAA that all five were the suspect's children. Those killed are a boy, 6, and a twin boy and girl, 5, seen lifeless by authorities on the scene. But hope came with the survival of a boy, 4, and a 13-month-old girl sent to the hospital for treatment.

Hall was immediately taken into custody by the police and was charged with triple counts of capital murders and a bond of $2 million set for her.

Initially, the Ellis County Sheriff's office had not mentioned any connection to the suspect and her victims. An aggrieved relative of the victims, Shamelia Anderson, commented they are angels now. An outlet covering the case stated the five children were taken from the mother by the CPS and placed in a relative's care prior to the knife attack.

A statement from Texas CPS to the media says the tragedy is shocking and unthinkable how it happened. Indicated that it would cooperate with police to investigate the crime.

Read Also: Oklahoma Couple Starves Daughter; Missing Son Might Be Dead

Texas Child Protective Services Was Too Late to Save Victims

An ongoing investigation of the murders is underway, said authorities asking for Italy's local community and first responders' prayers after the shocking murder.

Deputy Jerry Cozby remarked last Friday to Fox 4 KDFW that the sheriff's office was sad to report the tragic deaths. He told the press after giving specifics related to the case for the first time in public. Made it clear nothing is dangerous to the local community and asked to pray for all those involved. Ellis County Judge Todd Little supports everyone in Italy, reported People.

The murders done by Shamaiya D. Hall were far-reaching, and even Rachel L. Kistner of the Italy Independent School District (ISD) posted two statements on the FB of the school. She wrote that the Italy ISD was affected by the tragedy that happened in the local community. Added that grief at the deaths of the children is felt by everyone, not believing it such a regretful incident.

This incident involving the Texas CPS has been felt in Italy all over the community that is in grief. The deaths of the three children at the hands of their mother took everyone aback. Texas Mom stabbed her five children, killed three, and injured two when child protective services were about to take them away during the visit.

Related Article: Lindsay Clancy's Friend Claims Drugs Influenced Her To Kill Own Children

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday signalled closer ties with Russia, including dropping the US dollar and Euro in bilateral trade while asserting that America's attempts to "contain" China's rejuvenation will not succeed.

Addressing his first annual press conference here on the sidelines of China's Parliament session, he said China will defend its core interests and oppose hegemony, bloc politics and unilateral sanctions.

Qin said China and Russia are setting a good example for international relations and it was incorrect to see their close bilateral ties through a Cold War perspective.

He defined China's relationship with Moscow as no alliance, no confrontation and not targeted at any third party.

Asked about dropping the use of the US dollar and the Euro in China-Russia trade, Qin said China will use whatever currency is efficient, safe and credible.

Currency should not be used as a trump card for unilateral sanctions, he said. Russian media reports said the Chinese yuan overtook the US dollar as the most traded currency in the Russian market for the first time last month.

Also Read China appoints US envoy Qin Gang as new foreign minister to succeed Wang Yi US must stop suppressing China or risk 'conflict': Chinese FM Qin Gang Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets Chinese counterpart Qin Gang Put issues related to border in proper place: China's FM Qin to Jaishankar 3 sharpshooters of Bishnoi-Goldy Brar gang nabbed in northwest Delhi Will remain in 2024 presidential race even if criminally indicted: Trump Ridiculous: Jill on Haley's mental competency test proposal for politicians US must stop suppressing China or risk 'conflict': Chinese FM Qin Gang Ex-Pak Prez Zardari rules out possibility of contesting elections with PDM India playing significant leadership role with G20 Presidency: Argentina

The yuan's share in trading volume is around 40 per cent, while the US dollar's share is just over 38 per cent.

On the Ukraine war, Qin said that the Ukraine crisis is in essence an eruption of problems in European security governance.

There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the traction and escalation of the crisis, he said.

The Ukraine crisis is at a critical juncture, and calmness, reason and dialogue are needed, Qin said.

The peace talks process should be opened immediately and the concerns of all parties should be respected," he said.

Qin who in December succeeded the long-standing Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said China will safeguard its security and development interests.

He also says China will maintain and strengthen ties with old friends.

As China's domestic COVID-19 situation turns for the better, China has steadily resumed exchanges with foreign countries, and China's diplomacy has pressed the "acceleration button.

He sharply criticised the US saying that Washington's attempts to contain China's progress will not succeed.

Referring to the recent incident in which a US fighter plane shot down an unmanned Chinese balloon flying over American airspace, he accused the US of violating international law, overreacting and abusing force in shooting it down.

The US perception and views toward China are seriously distorted. Containing and suppressing China won't make the US great, and it will not stop the rejuvenation of China.

On Taiwan, he said resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people, and no other country should interfere.

The US speaks of the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, why not honour China's sovereignty, he said asserting that Taiwan is an integral part of China.

Addressing the question of Taiwan he said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family which is called China.

The people on both sides are brothers and sisters," he added.

On China's diplomacy, he said China stands firmly against any form of hegemonism and power politics, against the Cold War mentality and camp-based confrontation, and against containment and suppression.

On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping too weighed in to say that western countries led by the US have carried out all-around containment and suppression, which brought unprecedented and severe challenges to China's development.

Noting that the last five years have been "extremely unusual and extraordinary", he told the delegates of the NPC that China's external environment for development is changing rapidly, and there is an increase in uncertain and unpredictable factors and asked them to view China's development in the last two years in that background, the official media reported.

Attacking the US, Qin said "the US claims that it seeks to out-compete China but does not seek conflict. Yet in reality, its so-called 'competition' means to contain and suppress China in all respects, and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game."



Comparing China and the US to two athletes competing in an Olympic race, Qin said if one of the athletes, instead of focusing on giving one's best, always tries to trip or even injure the other, that is not a fair competition but malicious confrontation and a foul.

"If the US does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation," Qin said.

China is firmly opposed to such competition, which is a reckless gamble with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity, he said.

He also defended China's wolf warrior diplomacy, saying that there is no shortage of kindness and goodwill in China's diplomacy, but in face of "jackals or wolves," Chinese diplomats would have no choice but to confront them head-on to protect the motherland.


The US had been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than engaging in fair, rule-based competition, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing. The United States (US) should change its distorted attitude towards China or conflict and confrontation will follow, China's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while defending its stance on the war in Ukraine and defending its close ties with Russia.



"If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?" US officials often speak of establishing guardrails in the bilateral relationship to prevent tensions from escalating into crises. "The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," said Qin, a trusted aide to President Xi Jinping and until recently China's ambassador in Washington.



Germany to ban Huawei, ZTE for 5G network parts He also attacked the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, saying that it aims to encircle China with a regional version of Nato by forming exclusive blocs and is bound to fail. The country granted a key ministry new powers and created a bureau to oversee increasingly valuable data, shaking up oversight of its vast technology arena as Xi Jinpings administration battles the US in areas from AI to semiconductors. Also, the government plans to cut five per cent of its staff. China also plans to strengthen oversight of its $60 trillion financial system by setting up an enlarged national regulator while taking some duties away from the central bank.

Also Read Beijing under Covid-19 alert after a school, university report fresh cases Multiple factors behind rise of severe Covid cases in Beijing: Experts Beijing parks see 56% rise in visitors to 3.18 mn during festival holiday Indian embassy in China celebrates Gandhi Jayanti at Beijing's art museum China values relationship with UN despite human rights criticism UN rights chief cites 'communication' about human rights issues in China Writ petition against Nepal PM for 5,000 killings in Maoist insurgency Chinese FM hints closer ties with Russia; says US attempts won't succeed Will remain in 2024 presidential race even if criminally indicted: Trump Ridiculous: Jill on Haley's mental competency test proposal for politicians



The German ban could include components already built into the networks, requiring operators to remove and replace them, German media had reported on Monday, citing sources. Germany plans to ban telecoms operators from using certain components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in 5G networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.
A parliamentary delegation from Hungary said Tuesday that it supports Sweden's NATO membership bid after meeting the speaker of the Swedish parliament to iron out what Hungary's governing party has called political disputes.

Some Hungarian lawmakers have raised doubts about whether to support the NATO membership applications by Sweden and Finland, citing what they call blatant lies from Stockholm and Helsinki on the state of Hungary's democracy.

But the Hungarian delegation indicated Tuesday that the parliament in Budapest would ultimately ratify Sweden's NATO bid. We support Sweden's NATO membership, Hungary's deputy parliamentary speaker, Csaba Hende, told Swedish news agency TT.

We made it clear that the Hungarian government, the Hungarian president, the prime minister and most of the Hungarian parliamentarians clearly support Swedish NATO membership, Hende said, according to TT.

He added that it was necessary to improve bilateral relations between Budapest and Stockholm.

Hungarian officials have been saying that Swedish and Finnish politicians have been telling blatant lies about Hungary.

Also Read Hungarian govt announces extension of fuel, food price caps until year-end Western sanctions turned Ukraine conflict into global war: Hungarian PM Finland's defence minister says his country could join NATO ahead of Sweden Sweden braces for anti-Turkey demonstrations amid NATO accession bid Turkey rejects links between Sweden, Finland NATO accession and F-16 deal China's trade contracts again in Jan, Feb as Western demand weakens NASA's Curiosity rover spots first-ever 'Sun rays' on Mars on Feb 2 In Eric Garcetti, the Biden admin may finally get an ambassador to India US to start premium processing of work permits for certain intl students Operations to defend Bakhmut will continue: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy

It would be appropriate that Swedish politicians, government representatives and members of the EU Parliament, based on completely untrue facts, do not indicate or imply that there is a lack of rule of law in a country, Hende told TT.

Earlier, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that it's not right for them to ask us to take them on board while they're spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about our democracy and about life here.

The delegation, which met with Sweden's assembly speaker, Andreas Norlen, in Stockholm, will also visit Finland to seek to clarify their positions.

The trip to the two Nordic countries delayed plans to ratify the applications, pushing a vote back by two weeks.

Hungary's parliament is now set to vote on the measure during a session beginning on March 20. Hungary is the only NATO member country besides Turkey that hasn't yet approved the bids by Sweden and Finland.

The northern European neighbours dropped their long-standing military neutrality and sought NATO membership in May in response to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The visit takes place while an informal two-day meeting of EU defence ministers takes place in Stockholm, and as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg meets with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the capital. Sweden currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.
Hugo Javier Gobbi, Argentina's Ambassador to India, has said that India with its G20 Presidency has been playing a significant leadership role in putting forward the Global South agenda.

He made the remarks as he took part in the Holi Mahotsav 2023 hosted by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi in Delhi on Monday.

Diplomats from Greece and Argentina took part in the Holi Mahotsav 2023 hosted by Lekhi in Delhi.

Speaking to ANI, Hugo Javier Gobbi, Argentina's Ambassador to India, called it a beautiful event and expressed happiness to celebrate the festival. He further said that Argentina supports India's G20 Presidency.

"It is a beautiful event and we are very happy to celebrate it with you. On the G20, India is playing a very significant leadership role, putting forward the Global South agenda. Argentina supports Indian presidency very much," Hugo Javier Gobbi said.

Dimitrios Ioannou, Ambassador of Greece to India, said that it was his first experience of celebrating Holi and called it a wonderful celebration.

Also Read What does the G-20 presidency mean for India? France captain Hugo Lloris ends int'l career, to focus on Tottenham club 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen Crisis in multilateralism affecting developing nations most: PM at G20 meet G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Guests welcomed with dance performance Six-party alliance picks main opposition leader to run against Erdogan Estonia's pro-Ukraine prime minister Kaja Kallas scores win in re-election Joe Biden's reelection bid now faces resistance from some Democrats Toshakhana case: What's behind the arrest drama at Imran Khan's residence UN should demand end to South Korea-US military drills: North Korea

Speaking to ANI, Dimitrios Ioannou said, "This is my first year in India and this is my first experience for the celebration of Holi. I find to be it a wonderful celebration. I wish Indian people to have joy in their lives."

Responding to a question regarding India's G20 Presidency, he said, "It's a very ambitious presidency. I am sure that they will achieve their goals."

The video of foreign delegates playing Holi has gone viral on social media. Delegates from many countries took part in Holi Mahotsav 2023 organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. Foreign diplomats were seen dancing to Bollywood songs in the programme.

At the event, Meenakashi Lekhi said that the G20 is on and everybody is looking upto India for solutions to some tough problems. She further said, "Holi is the victory of good over evil and that is the message for today as well." Notably, India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.

Lekhi took to her Twitter handle to share pictures of the celebration. "Happy to celebrate the festival of colours with the Diplomatic Corps today at Holi Mahotsav 2023 in New Delhi. The cultural programme showcased the festivities and cultural heritage of India & gave an insight into the diverse holi celebrations from around the country," she wrote in the tweet.

Brendan Ward, Ireland's Ambassador to India said, " Holi is one of the most famous of many festivals of India. It is celebrated around the world. It is a popular festival now in Ireland, especially among the Indian students at the university. In the context of India's G20 Presidency, it is an opportunity for India to showcase its culture in the wider world."

Diana Mickeviceine, Lithuania's Ambassador to India said, "I think it is going to be a very loud celebration and this year with G20 Presidency it becomes even louder because the whole world is following India. We certainly wish for it to be a successful Presidency."

"The times are difficult we are affected by the developments in Europe and by Russia's war. So, we look forward to India's wisdom and India's traditional way of saying truth and addressing the issue at its core. We stand with India, we support India," she added.

Freddy Svane, Denmark's Ambassador to India said, "It is the most colourful and joyful of all festivals in India. It's about colour, and joy, it's about overcoming evil."

Svane further stated, "The Indian G20 Presidency is the first of its kind for India and India is taking the G20 Presidency, some steps ahead because it is also about showing what India culturally and as a nation can offer to this world. So, it's not just about Make in India but about Make India and G20 is a fantastic opportunity for India. India is a game-changer and a pacesetter for other nations."

Adam Burakowski, Poland's Ambassador to India said, "We always celebrate with our family. It is a festival of colours, joy and all the positive things. We follow the works of India's G20 Presidency. We see India is growing all over the world and G20 is one of the signs about India's growth."

Eliska Zigova, Czech Ambassador to India said that it was her first Holi and that it is a very colourful and joyful festival. Zigova added, "It is important to keep culture and tradition alive. Regarding G20 Presidency I congratulate India and for the events that happened.


The reason? For four years beginning in 2014, Tiffany Palliser worked at Panera Bread in South Florida, making salads and operating the register for shifts that began at 5 am. Palliser estimates that she worked at least 50 hours a week on average. But she says she did not receive overtime pay.



Federal law requires employers to pay time-and-a-half overtime to hourly workers after 40 hours, and to most salaried workers whose salary is below a certain amount, currently about $35,500 a year. Companies need not pay overtime to salaried employees who make above that amount if they are bona fide managers. Panera officially considered her a manager and paid her an annual salary rather than on an hourly basis. Palliser said she was often told that this is what you signed up for by becoming an assistant manager.



But according to a recent paper, many companies provide salaries just above the federal cut-off to frontline workers and mislabel them as managers to deny them overtime. Many employers say managers who earn relatively modest salaries have genuine responsibility and opportunities to advance. The National Retail Federation has written that such management positions are key steps on the ladder of professional success, especially for many individuals who do not have college degrees.

Also Read Over 7 in 10 employers keen to hire in services sector in India: Report US jobs top forecasts, wages pick up in labor market despite Fed aggression COP27 climate deal hurtle towards overtime, countries mull EU offer of fund UN climate summit: Parties scramble for consensus on key issues in overtime Won't cooperate if issues are not resolved, say Air India pilots S&P Global Ratings cuts Nissan's credit rating by a notch to junk status Meta Platforms planning to lay off thousands more as early as this week Ex-Twitter Blue project head breaks silence, days after Musk fired her 'We can't pay you more', small tech firms tell laid-off Big tech employees Foxconn committed to set up plant in Telangana, CEO Liu tells CM KCR



The paper found that from 2010 to 2018, manager titles in a large database of job postings were nearly 5x as common among workers who were at the federal salary cut-off for mandatory overtime or just above it as they were among workers just below the cut-off. Because the legal definition of a manager is vague and little known  the employees primary job must be management, and the employee must have real authority  the mislabelled managers find it hard to push back, even if they mostly do grunt work.



Federal data appear to underscore the trend, showing that the number of managers in the labour force increased more than 25 per cent from 2010 to 2019, while the overall number of workers grew roughly half that percentage. The practice of mislabelling workers as managers to deny them overtime, which often relies on dubious-sounding titles like lead reservationist and food cart manager, cost the workers about $4 billion per year, or more than $3,000 per mislabelled employee.



Experts say the denial of overtime pay is part of a broader strategy to drive down labour costs in recent decades by staffing stores with as few workers as possible. If a worker calls in sick, or more customers turn up than expected, the misclassified manager is often asked to perform the duties of a rank-and-file worker without additional cost to the employer. From 2019 to 2021, the workforce shrank by millions while the number of managers did not budge. Lawyers representing workers said they suspected that businesses mislabelled employees as managers even more often during the pandemic to save on overtime while they were short-handed.



Companies that are financially strapped are more likely to misclassify regular workers as managers, and this tactic is especially common in low-wage industries like retail, dining, and janitorial services. Workers and their lawyers said employers exploited their desire to move up the ranks in order to hold down labour costs.



Thats why companies fought it so hard under Obama, said Aaron, a partner at Winebrake & Santillo, alluding to a 2016 Labor Department rule raising the overtime limit to about $47,500 from about $23,500. The practice appears to have become more difficult to root out in recent years, as more employers have required workers to sign contracts with mandatory arbitration clauses that preclude lawsuits.



The Trump administration later adopted the current cut-off of about $35,500, and the Biden administration has indicated that it will propose raising the cut-off substantially this year. Business groups say such a change will not help many workers because employers are likely to lower base wages to offset overtime pay. A federal judge suspended the rule, arguing that the Obama administration lacked the authority to raise the salary limit by such a large amount.

WHEN COMPANIES ARE ESCAPE ARTISTS

Employers exploited workers desire to move up the ranks in order to hold down labour costs



Under federal law, employers are required to pay time-and-a-half overtime to salaried workers after 40 hours if they make about $35,500 or less The practice of mislabelling workers as managers to deny them overtime cost the workers about $4 billion per year, or more than $3,000 per mislabelled employee

When companies are financially strapped or in low-wage industries like retail and fast food, they are more likely to misclassify regular workers as managers
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the operations to defend Bakhmut will continue, and the army have been instrusted to find forces to bolster the defence of the embattled city.

"I told the Chief of Staff to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned," Zelenskyy said on Monday during his evening address to the nation.

Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut for months, as both sides suffer heavy losses in a grinding war of attrition, the BBC reported. However, Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Marchenko has said that Russia had not yet gained control of the city.

Meanwhile Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army involved in the Russian campaign, has complained of a lack of ammunition amid apparent friction between his fighters and regular Russian forces, the British news broadcaster reported. He also said that his representative had been barred from a Russian military headquarters.

Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value but has become a focal point for Russian commanders who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin, the media outlet reported.

Capture of the city would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine it annexed last September after referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham, it added.
By Uditha Jayasinghe and Devjyot Ghoshal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka is negotiating with India to extend a $1 billon credit line by a few months, two sources told Reuters, as the island nation tries to line up funds for the rest of the year while the IMF looks set to approve a $2.9 billion loan for it soon.

The credit line is to due to expire on March 17 with Sri Lanka having used only about two-thirds of it, mainly for medicines and food, said the sources and another person familiar with the matter.

The extension talks come as the economy improves and forex reserves rise for Sri Lanka, where huge protests took place last year amid widespread shortages of essentials after the COVID-19 pandemic hurt tourism and remittances while exposing low tax revenues.

A source at the Sri Lankan Finance Ministry said the government wanted to extend the credit line by 6-12 months because there was about $300 million of it left unused. No agreement had been reached, said the source.

All the sources declined to be named ahead of an announcement.

Also Read Sri Lanka concludes debt restructuring talks with Japan: Wickremesinghe Lankan govt designates high-security zones for ensuring stability: Official EAM likely to visit Lanka on Jan 19; talks on debt restructuring expected Sri Lanka's GDP likely plunged amid debt crisis, political turmoil India plans no more funding for Sri Lanka as IMF talks progress: Report Powell sees higher peak for rates, says Fed prepared to speed up if needed Sri Lanka secures China assurances to clear way for $2.9 bn IMF bailout Higher defence spending is purely to safeguard nation's sovereignty: China Will take forceful measures to ensure high-end manufacturing: Xi Jinping Asia's very complicated interest-rate pause and sticky inflation

Sri Lanka's finance ministry and India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sri Lanka's central bank said on Tuesday the country's official reserves had risen 4.5% to $2.22 billion in February from a month earlier.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament there were signs the economy was improving but there was still insufficient foreign currency for all imports, making the IMF deal crucial so other creditors could also start releasing funds.

He said China, Sri Lanka's biggest lender, extended support for the IMF programme on Monday, clearing the way for the loan.

The IMF said its board would meet on March 20 to review a preliminary staff-level agreement first signed with Sri Lanka in September. It said Sri Lanka had secured financing assurances from all major bilateral creditors.

China and India are Sri Lanka's biggest lenders and both seek influence on the island located on a busy shipping route on the Indian Ocean.

(Writing by Krishna N. Das, editing by Ed Osmond)
China has given assurances that it will support Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, clearing the biggest hurdle for the debt-ridden country to secure a much-needed USD 2.9-billion bailout package from the IMF, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday.

In January, India strongly backed the island nation's efforts to secure a loan from the global lender to recover from its worst-ever economic crisis.

Last night we received a new letter from the EXIM Bank of China. I and the governor of the Central Bank signed our letter of intent and sent it to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last night itself," Wickremesinghe, who is also the minister of finance, told Parliament.

Wickremesinghe said, our part of obligations are now complete and we hope the IMF will do their duty by the third or fourth week of this month, this will enable us to receive funding from the world bank and the ADB, he added.

The IMF bailout process made slow progress due to the need to restructure Sri Lanka's nearly 50 billion dollar external debt.

A previous Chinese letter giving a two-year moratorium on debt repayment had been deemed inadequate by the IMF.

Also Read Sri Lanka concludes debt restructuring talks with Japan: Wickremesinghe Wickremesinghe hopeful of resolving problems faced by ethnic Tamils Lankan govt designates high-security zones for ensuring stability: Official EAM discuss cooperation in infra, connectivity with Lankan counterpart Ahead of Jaishankar's visit, Sri Lanka Prez assures to fully implement 13A Higher defence spending is purely to safeguard nation's sovereignty: China Will take forceful measures to ensure high-end manufacturing: Xi Jinping Asia's very complicated interest-rate pause and sticky inflation Thailand targets 2 million Indian tourists in 2023, same as pre-Covid Biden administration prepares new rules for US investment in China: Report

Wickremesinghe said the IMF programme which will be there for over the next four years would be different from all of the previous 16 programmes with the Washington-based global lender.

He said the government has to take many hard economic decisions in order to stabilise the economy and work towards growth.

The government measures to order tax hikes, raise utility tariffs and end fuel subsidies had triggered political protests. I would like to apologise to the people for the hardships, he said.

The IMF in September last year approved Sri Lanka a 2.9 billion dollar bailout package over 4 years pending Sri Lanka's ability to restructure its debt with creditors -- both bilateral and sovereign bondholders.

By the end of June 2022, Sri Lanka owed nearly USD 40 billion to bilateral, multilateral and commercial loans, according to the figures released by the Treasury.

Chinese loans amounted to 20 per cent of the total debt owed and 43 per cent of the bilateral loans.

Sri Lanka in April declared its first-ever debt default in its history as the economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 triggered by forex shortages sparked public protests.

Months-long street protests led to the ouster of the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in mid-July. Rajapaksa had started the IMF negotiations after refusing to tap the global lender for support.

Sri Lanka has introduced painful economic measures such as tax hikes and utility rate hikes. Trade unions and opposition groups have organised protests against such measures.
Even as the Republican Party predicts its a 'Ron vs Don' for nomination for 2024, former US President Donald Trump feels he has not been done yet and has vowed to remain in the 2024 presidential race even if he ends up being criminally indicted by various congress committees and the courts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is no longer the dark horse for 2024 as a vast majority of the party backs him against Trump.

Trump in his characteristic flamboyant style said: "Oh, absolutely, I won't even think about leaving. Probably, it'll enhance my numbers, but it's a very bad thing for America. It's very bad for the country."

Trump made the remakrs while being asked at a gaggle before his conservative political action conference address, media reports said.

Trump is up against a barrage of investigations or legal challenges, including a civil lawsuit over alleged business fraud from the New York Attorney General Letitia James; a sprawling criminal inquiry from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office; an investigation from Fulton County; and special counsel Jack Smith's two-pronged Justice Department investigation into the Georgia poll interferences by him and his supporters in 2020.

Trump drew an enthusiastic crowd at the CPAC where he decried the litany of investigations against him, contending "they've weaponised justice in our country", the Washington Examiner reported.

He declined to commit to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel's call for 2024 candidates to make a pledge to back the eventual nominee. This was evidence he saw no one but himself being in the race for 2024.

Also Read Donald Trump seeks $475 million in defamation lawsuit against CNN Ahead of midterm elections, Trump coins India-US friendship slogan in Hindi Trump lawsuit claims Woodward audiobook violates copyright, seeks $50 mn Trump announces 2024 presidential run, promises to defeat radical Democrats Donald Trump again hints at running for office in 2024 presidential polls Ridiculous: Jill on Haley's mental competency test proposal for politicians US must stop suppressing China or risk 'conflict': Chinese FM Qin Gang Ex-Pak Prez Zardari rules out possibility of contesting elections with PDM India playing significant leadership role with G20 Presidency: Argentina Six-party alliance picks main opposition leader to run against Erdogan

"There are probably people that I wouldn't be very happy about endorsing that are running, so we'll see. I think some of them, I won't use names, I don't want to insult anybody, but some of them, I would not be very happy about," Trump told reporters.

McDaniel had sought to corner all Republican 2024 contestants to back the eventual nominee in exchange for access to the debating platform.

However, not just Trump, candidates or potential 2024 hopefuls, such as former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, have been noncommittal, reports said.

Trump presented himself as "retribution" for his loyal followers. He had won the CPAC straw poll at the confab, which appeared to have lower attendance levels than in the past.

"In 2016, I declared: I am your voice," Trump said. "Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution."
Scientific investigation using cosmic rays on Egypt's Great Pyramid finds a hidden corridor about 30 feet long hidden until now. A device called an endoscope revealed the secret passage on the North Side of the Giza Pyramid just about its known entrance.

Study on Egypt's Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid was erected during Pharoah Khufu on the Giza plateau, which rises to 456 feet. Called a wonder of the ancient world as the tallest structure until 1311, England's Lincoln Cathedral's 525 feet height made it second, reported by Live Science.

Evidence that it lies over the ancient entrance reveals a horizontal chamber that is 30 feet long and 6.6 feet by 6.6 feet in height and width. Found at the back of the chevron shape seen on the exterior of the pyramid post in March, noted Nature Communications.

Researchers investigated the void via an endoscope slipped in the corridor to take a peek on February 24. No artifacts were seen in the space. The study's chief author Sebastien Procureur, a physicist linked to the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, verified the find, as mentioned in Research Gate.

Rumors that they would find the burial chamber of Khufu anytime soon were discounted.

Hidden Corridor Discovered Using Cosmic Rays

A device scanning with muons which are elementary particles that are negatively charged, is preset if X-rays bump into atmosphere atoms. Such energy particle is absorbed by the pyramid's stone so that the muon detector sees only a few centimeters. Another is using ground radar to get more input about the secret passage.

Read Also: Archaeologists Discover Pyramid of Unknown Egyptian Queen

In 2016, a void on the north side was announced, and scholars have verified the passageway. In 2017, a larger space of about 98 feet was detected over the grand gallery. Zahi Hawass stated on March 2 that a 30-foot passage lessens the stress from the weight of stones. The purpose of the chevron structure is to spread out weight, cited Ahram Online.

Procureur agrees with the chevron's function in the pyramid structure by saying it's the initial test of the chevron part of the construction. It was applied in the portion of the pyramid, he said.

Swansea University Egyptologist Reg Clark, who is not part of the study, said the small gabled roofed corridor prevented stress over the pyramid's original descending entrance passage. Additionally, it might not hold any relics.

He stated that passage is part of the way pyramids were built, deemed practical innovations. Any fanciful dreams there will be mysteries is unfounded and speculative only. These pyramids have been subject to wistful thinking by many, and the discovery adds to that.

Use of powerful muon detectors to there are artifacts in the secret corridor and the void over the grand gallery.

Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza has a 30-foot hidden corridor discovered using cosmic rays absorbed by the stone. A large void in the grand gallery found earlier could also hold something inside.

Related Article: Ancient Egyptians Build Mysterious Pyramids, Taking Advantage of the River Nile

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Now, all eyes are now on Li Qiang, who is the favourite to replace Keqiang as Premier. Li is a crony of Xis from his days in provincial government, having served as Xi's de facto chief of staff in Zhejiang province.

Xi Jinping has consolidated his power since the resignation of Premier Li Keqiang, who had served the maximum two terms allowed. Li had been sidelined in recent years by Xi, who elevated military and security services in support of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) likes to believe it will be in power in India eternally but that is not the case, and to say the Congress is "gone" is a ridiculous idea, Opposition MP Rahul Gandhi said in London on Monday.

Addressing an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank on Monday evening to round off his week-long UK tour, Gandhi also pinpointed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's lack of focus on a shifting nature of the political discourse in India as the key factor behind its failure.

"To put it in perspective, if you look at the time from independence to now, the Congress party has been in power for the majority of the time," he said.

"Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that they have come to power in India and they are going to be in power eternally, that is not the case," the Congress leader added.

The BJP-led government came to power in India in 2014.

Gandhi, the MP from Kerala's Wayanad, pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and the UPA government off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.

Also Read BJP came to power by defaming UPA, polarising people, says Raj CM Gehlot J'khand: UPA to stage protest on Nov 5 against attempts to destablise govt Manmohan Singh extraordinary but Indian economy stalled under UPA: Murthy Gandhi family, its NGOs not above law: BJP on cancellation of FCRA licences Union Budget a silent strike on poor by Modi govt, says Sonia Gandhi PM defamed country abroad: Congress defends Rahul Gandhi's speeches in UK Congress has lost opportunity by not supporting Oppn over Adani issue: AAP Cannot give DA on par with Centre even if protestors behead me: Mamata Manik Saha gets second term as Tripura CM, swearing-in on March 8 No person involved in looting public money will be spared: Punjab CM

"We were focusing a lot on the rural space and we missed the ball in the beginning on the urban space, that is a fact. Those things are there. But to say that the BJP is in power and the Congress gone, that is actually a ridiculous idea," he said.

The BJP has accused Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil while praising China.

Union minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress leader on Monday for his remarks and asked him not to betray the nation.

"Don't betray India, Rahul Gandhiji. The objections to India's foreign policy are evidence of your scant understanding of the issue. No one will believe the lies you spread about India from foreign soil," Thakur told reporters in New Delhi.

He alleged that Gandhi has resorted to "maligning India" from foreign soil as part of a conspiracy to hide his failures.
Senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Tuesday alleged that Delhi University has not yet approved the nomination of candidates recommended by the city dispensation for governing bodies in government-funded colleges.

No immediate reaction on the matter was available from the Delhi University administration.

Bharti alleged that the varsity administration did not abide by the laws and the Delhi government's recommendation has been "ignored on purpose to enable saffronisation" of the campus.

"The Delhi University administration has not approved the nominations of candidates our government recommended for forming governing bodies in 28 government-funded colleges.

"Our recommendations were ignored on purpose to enable saffronisation of the university campus," he alleged.

On February 21, then-deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh over the delay in formation of governing bodies in 28 government-funded colleges.

Also Read PM Modi to visit Somnath temple in Gujarat today ahead of assembly polls Bihar by-polls 2022: Eighteen candidates file nomination papers Ex-Guj min Solanki, Rivaba Jadeja among candidates in 1st phase of polls AAP protests outside BJP office over Dhaula Kuan slum-demolition order AAP ends BJP's 15 year-rule in MCD, wins civic body poll with majority Delhi mayor meets A&C dept officials, reviews property tax schemes BJP says Rahul Gandhi insulted India abroad; twisting statement: Congress Excise case: ED questions Sisodia for 5 hrs; another businessman arrested Dispel perception that Sisodia was arrested for political reasons: Vijayan Worried about country's sorry state of affairs, not Sisodia: Kejriwal

He had requested Singh to expedite the formation of fully-functional governing bodies at all the colleges.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday chaired a meeting with officials of the assessment and collection (A&C) department of the municipal corporation, and reviewed schemes related to property tax, her office said.

During the meeting, senior officials apprised her about the status of revenue collection, tax policies and challenges faced by the department over the years, they said.

The mayor discussed and reviewed various initiatives of the A&C department to optimise revenue generation through property tax and ongoing schemes like amnesty scheme and Samriddhi scheme of the department, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by MCD's Assessor and Collector Kunal Kashyap and other senior officials of the department.

She was also briefed about the citizen-centric measures undertaken by the department to facilitate smooth property tax collection through its online portal.

The mayor emphasised on the need to give wide publicity to the people friendly property tax schemes like Samriddhi scheme, amnesty scheme, it said.

Also Read After much delay, stage set to elect new MCD mayor following SC order BJP fields Shalimar Bagh councillor Rekha Gupta for Delhi Mayor polls Municipal House to elect national capital's mayor, deputy mayor today Why have fake reviews on e-commerce sites become rampant? Heavy security deployment at MCD headquarters for Delhi mayoral poll BJP says Rahul Gandhi insulted India abroad; twisting statement: Congress Excise case: ED questions Sisodia for 5 hrs; another businessman arrested Dispel perception that Sisodia was arrested for political reasons: Vijayan Worried about country's sorry state of affairs, not Sisodia: Kejriwal Bulk of over Rs 12,000 cr electoral bonds sold donated to BJP: Chidambaram

On Tuesday, the mayor also inspected Mata Gujri Hospital, Tilak Nagar, in MCD's West Zone.

The mayor took stock of medical facilities and services being provided at the hospital, her office said in a statement.

Along with MLA Tilak Nagar Jarnail Singh, zonal DC Sandeep Kumar, DC (Health) Pradeep Kumar, local councillor Ashok Maanu, senior officials of the hospital administration were also present on the occasion.
Protesting against the alleged excise scam, the Delhi BJP burnt effigies of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in all 70 Assembly constituencies.

Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri along with Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva burnt the effigies outside the ancient Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place.

Sachdeva said, "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal takes blessings from the Hanuman temple whenever elections are announced, so it is a clear message to Kejriwal from here that we will end his politics from where he started."

"We will not wait for 2025, Kejriwal will have to resign in this liquor scam. This is also the demand of the people of Delhi," he added.

The Delhi BJP chief further said, "Today, 'Holika Dahan' is happening because it is a symbol of victory of good over evil, so today we have gathered to burn the effigies of AAP leaders who are symbols of liquor scam and corruption."

Former Delhi BJP President Harsh Vardhan, while participating in the programme at Shastri Nagar, said that the BJP has always been saying that Kejriwal and his ministers are "running a government mired in corruption."

Also Read AAP burns Ravana effigies across Delhi to protest MCD's failure under BJP AAP used excise scam to generate illegal funds, caused Rs 2,873 cr loss: ED Sisodia, other accused destroyed excise-scam evidence, alleges BJP Delhi excise policy scam: CBI issues notice to KCR's daughter K Kavitha CBI files first charge sheet in Delhi excise scam case; Sisodia not named Leader or the ideology: What should Congress party members abandon? BJP likes to believe it will be in power eternally: Rahul Gandhi in London PM defamed country abroad: Congress defends Rahul Gandhi's speeches in UK Congress has lost opportunity by not supporting Oppn over Adani issue: AAP Cannot give DA on par with Centre even if protestors behead me: Mamata

"Today, the two ministers whom he (Kejriwal) praised the most, both of them turned out to be the biggest corrupt and the result is in front of everyone that both of them are inside the jail," Harsh Vardhan asserted.
Caretaker Chief Minister Manik Saha, who on Monday evening was elected the BJP's legislature party leader by the newly elected saffron party MLAs, met Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya in the Raj Bhavan late Monday evening and staked claim to form a BJP-led government for its second term in Tripura.

"After being elected as the Leader of the Legislature Party, called on Governor to stake claim to form the government in the state. My sincere gratitude to all for electing me as the leader of the legislature party. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we shall work together to build 'Unnata Tripura, Shrestha Tripura' and ensure the welfare of all sections of people," Saha wrote on Twitter.

Many central BJP leaders and Chief Ministers have congratulated Saha, who was the party's Chief Ministerial face in the February 16 assembly elections.

Earlier on Monday evening, Assam's Transport Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who was the BJP's central observer in the legislature party meeting, announced Saha's name as the legislature party leader.

Saha's name was proposed by Union Minister of State Pratima Bhowmik, who for the first time was elected to the state assembly from Dhanpur assembly constituency.

The swearing-in-ceremony of the Chief Minister and the new council of ministers would be held here at Vivekananda stadium here on Wednesday.

Also Read Exit of 5 MLAs jolt for Tripura BJP ahead of assembly polls: Manik Sarkar Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath to address election rallies in Tripura today Tripura govt plans setting up medical college, hospital in tribal area BJP's bid to loot votes in 2023 polls will be resisted: Manik Sarkar Tripura polls 2023: BJP to talk about good governance, says CM Manik Saha PM to attend swearing-in ceremony of MDA 2.0 govt in Meghalaya on Tuesday Nagaland heading for oppositionless govt as parties support NDPP-BJP Ask PM Modi why 60% voters did not vote for BJP: Ex-Tripura CM Manik Sarkar Meghalaya: Conrad K Sangma submits letter of support of 32 MLAs PM congratulates Sangma on his party's impressive performance in Meghalaya

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda, several central leaders and Chief Ministers would attend the event.

In the February 16 Assembly polls, the BJP won 32 seats, one more than the magic figure of 31 in the 60-member Assembly, while its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura got one.

Saha was re-elected from the Town Bordowali seat for the second time after defeating his nearest Congress opponent Ashish Kumar Saha by a margin of 1,257 votes.

Manik Saha was first elected to the state Assembly in the by-poll held in June last year by defeating Ashish Kumar Saha by a margin of 6,104 votes.

The 70-year-old BJP leader, who was also the state unit chief of the BJP and Rajya Sabha member for a brief period, took oath as the chief minister last year on May 15, a day after former chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb resigned from the top post.

The BJP retained power in Tripura for the second straight term.

The tribal-based Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which for the first time contested 42 seats on its own, emerged as the second largest party by securing 13 seats.

The CPI-M won 11 seats while the Congress bagged three.

The CPI-M-led Left Front, which contested the elections in a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress, had fielded 47 candidates while 13 seats were allotted to the Congress.

BJP ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) won the Jolaibari seat in southern Tripura.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 36 seats, its ally IPTF bagged eight seats while the CPI-M had secured 16 seats.

--IANS

sc/pgh
In wake of the BJP attacking Rahul Gandhi on his speech in London, the Congress on Monday mounted a strong defence of its leader, alleging that it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been saying things abroad about the country and the opposition.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: "When the Prime Minister said that nothing has been done in past 70 years, he is demeaning the country and its people."

She also slammed Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur for his comments on Gandhi.

Gandhi, in London, said that Indian political leaders can give a talk in Cambridge or Harvard Universities but he can't give a talk in an Indian university.

"The reason is that our government simply does not allow any idea of the Opposition, any concept of the Opposition to be discussed. Same happens in the Parliament house. When there are important things that we need to speak about demonetisation, GST, the fact that the Chinese are sitting inside our territory... when we try to raise these questions, we are not allowed to raise them in the House. It is a fact. It is shameful but it is true, and this is not the India that all of us are used to."

The BJP has attacked this and said he is undermining the Parliamentary democracy

Also Read Campsites have 'basic' facilities, BJP trying to 'defame' Yatra: Congress Rahul means Bharat, Bharat means Rahul, says UP Congress chief Khabri Indian embassy in China celebrates Gandhi Jayanti at Beijing's art museum PM rattled, involving in defame to inflame politics: Congress hits back Some people conspiring against Bengal, trying to defame us: Mamata Banerjee Congress has lost opportunity by not supporting Oppn over Adani issue: AAP Cannot give DA on par with Centre even if protestors behead me: Mamata Manik Saha gets second term as Tripura CM, swearing-in on March 8 No person involved in looting public money will be spared: Punjab CM Don't betray India, says Anurag Thakur to Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders

Gandhi, addressing the Indian diaspora, said that the biggest issues in India today are unemployment, price rise and the violence that Indian women face.

"We have an ideology of hatred and violence, a disrespectful ideology that attacks people because of their ideas, and you must have noticed one thing and this is in the nature of the BJP and the RSS," he said.

He slammed Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, noting that he had said that China is stronger than us, so we can't fight with them, adding that at the heart of the ideology is cowardice.

"The British were stronger than us, so then we should have not fought with them. How would we ever get Independence? If we had followed the BJP's principle and the RSS' principle that if they are stronger than us, we don't fight with them, then we would still be ruled by the British," he contended.
Microsoft has introduced its new "Canary Channel" for Windows Insiders to support preview builds of platform changes.

"The new Canary Channel is going to be the place to preview platform changes that require longer-lead time before getting released to customers," the tech giant said in a blogpost on Monday.

Similar to the Dev Channel, some of the changes the company will try out in the Canary Channel might never ship, and others could roll out to future Windows releases "when they're ready".

"The builds released to the Canary Channel will have higher build numbers than the Dev, Beta, and Release Preview Channels -- starting with 25000 series builds," it added.

Insiders previously in the Dev Channel were already receiving these builds and to make sure that they continue to receive new updates, the company is moving these Insiders to the Canary Channel.

Insiders moved to the Canary Channel will receive notifications of the migration in the operating system (OS) and via email.

Also Read Apple releases Music, TV, Devices apps for Windows 11 on Microsoft Store Microsoft ends support for WebView2, Edge web browser on Windows 7, 8.1 Asus ROG Phone 6 series phones arrive in India, available at Vijay Sales Microsoft releases new Windows 11 preview build for Insiders in Dev Channel Joe Belfiore, face of Windows phone, to leave Microsoft after 32 years WhatsApp may soon let users set expiration date for groups on iOS beta WhatsApp to clearly outline how its privacy updates will affect EU users Tech giant Microsoft introduces AI-powered 'Dynamics 365 Copilot' Twitter breaks for millions as only one engineer left handling crucial APIs Microsoft's latest AI assistant takes on Oracle, Salesforce in applications

"The builds that will be flighted to the Canary Channel will be 'hot off the presses', flighting very soon after they are built, which means very little validation and documentation will be done before they are offered to Insiders," the company said.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is holding an event on March 16, where it will demonstrate "how artificial intelligence (AI) will power a whole new way of working for every person and organisation."
Unsubscribe to continue

This is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsApp
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered reinforcements to be deployed to Bakhmut amid rumors that Kyiv's forces were withdrawing from the region amid Russian aggression.

Zelensky vowed to defend the city against Moscow's troops and added that they would find the people responsible for the death of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier in Russian captivity. The incident was caught on video, prompting Ukrainian officials to call it a war crime.

Ukrainian Withdrawal from Bakhmut?

Furthermore, the Ukrainian military said that it successfully destroyed a surveillance tower located in the Russian border region of Bryansk with the help of a drone. On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed bilateral cooperation, which includes "joint infrastructure projects" alongside Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Zelensky noted that the reinforcements were sent to Bakhmut because they would not abandon any part of Ukraine alone to defend against Russia's forces. As per CNN, he added that the decision was finalized after he consulted with the military staff.

The Ukrainian president also seemed to address rumors that Ukrainian troops were withdrawing from the city, which he called "disinformation messages." He said that they came from those who did not have access to the confidential decision-making briefings where such decisions would be made and discussed.

The official noted that they were defending and will continue to defend every part of the country and, in time, will liberate every city and village from Russian control. Zelensky also warned that they would make Russia answer for every shot taken against Ukraine and for every evil act against the Ukrainian people.

On the other hand, the unarmed Ukrainian soldier killed on video was wearing combat fatigues and smoking a cigarette near what appeared to be a fighting position. The man could be seen pulling the cigarette from his mouth and said, "Slava Ukraini," which means "Glory to Ukraine," before shots came from outside of the camera's view and hit him.

Read Also: Violent Greece Protests Update

Russia's Continued Aggression

Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War think tank on Sunday said that Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut seemed to have been conducting what they called a "limited tactical withdrawal." However, they noted that it was still too early to determine the intention of Kyiv's troops in the region, according to CNBC.

Furthermore, the ISW said that Ukrainian forces were not expected to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once, adding that they could pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces by continuing urban warfare.

Based on released data, the United Nations noted that there had been a confirmed 8,173 civilian death toll while 13,620 others were injured amid the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights argued that the number is higher because of the delay in fatality reports.

On the other hand, the head of Russia's Wagner private army said that they could not get the required ammunition from Moscow to take control of Bakhmut. The region has been under constant fighting for several months, said BBC.

Related Article: Wagner's Claims on Russia's Ammunition Supply

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
IQM is a member of the consortium led by Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech and GMV

IQM will deliver a first quantum processing unit by the second quarter of 2023

The quantum computer will be installed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and integrated into the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer



IQM Quantum Computers (IQM), the European leader in quantum computers, announced today it has been selected to deliver quantum processing units for the first Spanish quantum computer to be installed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and integrated into the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer, the most powerful in Spain.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005345/en/

IQM Quantum Computer opened (Photo: Business Wire)

IQM is a member of the consortium led by Spanish companies Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech and GMV that was selected by Quantum Spain, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA) in December 2022, to build the first quantum computer for public use in Southern Europe.

Dr. Jan Goetz, CEO and Co-founder of IQM Quantum Computers, said, This is a significant announcement for IQM. We have the right background and experience in developing quantum processors, computers, and national quantum ecosystems. We are looking forward to working with Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech and are delighted to be part of such a strong consortium and play an important role by providing quantum processing units for this notable project.

The integration of the quantum computer into MareNostrum 5 will have the potential to significantly increase the impact of research and innovation by enabling solutions that complement the capabilities of existing supercomputers, which will be available to the research community, companies, and public organisations, and by strengthening technological and industrial development in Spain and the creation of highly qualified jobs.

We are delighted to include the expertise of a great player such as IQM to support us developing this innovative system, that will be purely based on Spanish and European technology. We are sure that this will be a very fruitful collaboration and we are looking forward to be partnering with IQM, said Victor Canivell, Co-founder and CEO of Qilimanjaro.

Jani Heikkinen, Head of Business Development and Country Manager for Spain, said, This is another example of our European leadership, demonstrating our commitment to advancing the Spanish quantum ecosystem in collaboration with both public and private institutions. Through our office in Madrid, we are also able to provide the necessary support for this project.

About IQM Quantum Computers

IQM is the pan-European leader in building quantum computers. IQM provides on-premises quantum computers for supercomputing centres and research labs and offers full access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers a quantum advantage through a unique application-specific, co-design approach. IQM is building Finlands first commercial 54-qubit quantum computer with VTT, and an IQM-led consortium (Q-Exa) is also building a quantum computer in Germany. This computer will be integrated into an HPC supercomputer to create a quantum accelerator for future scientific research. IQM has over 240 employees with offices in Singapore, Paris, Madrid, Munich, and Espoo.

About Qilimanjaro

Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech is a deep-tech startup that brings practical applications of quantum computing to the market in a shorter timeframe than digital quantum computers, by using a different but complementary model of quantum computation: the analog model.

Qilimanjaro creates a coherent quantum annealer accessible via our cloud to run real-world applications such as optimisation tasks in the logistics, finance, and energy sector, among others, and quantum simulation of chemical and physical processes, very present in the materials and pharmaceutical research industries. Qilimanjaro aims at providing its clients with a faster, more accurate and sustainable solution to their computing problems.

It has closed significant customer contracts since its first year of operation and has become a key contributor to the European Commissions AVaQus H2020 project on coherent quantum annealing. Qilimanjaro is a spin-off from the Barcelona Supercomputer Center (BSC), the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute of High-Energy Physics (IFAE).

About GMV

GMVis a privately owned technology business group founded in 1984 and trading on a worldwide scale in the following sectors: Space, Aeronautics, Defense and Security, Cybersecurity, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Automotive, Healthcare, Telecommunications and IT for government authorities and major corporations. In 2021, it had revenues of nearly 260 million euros. Working with a staff of over 3,000, the company now runs subsidiaries in Spain, USA, Germany, France, Poland, Portugal, Romania, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Malaysia, and Colombia. Seventy five percent of its turnover comes from international projects on all five continents. The company's growth strategy is based on continuous innovation, and it plows back 5% of its turnover into inhouse R&D. GMV has reached CMMI level 5, the world's most prestigious model in terms of enhancing an organizations process capability, and it has numerous international patents.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005345/en/
LambdaTest, the leading digital experience testing cloud platform, has partnered with LinkedIn to offer the LambdaTest Test Automation Professional Certificate exclusively available on LinkedIn Learning, as part of its mission to support the testing and QA community.

Through this Professional Certificate course, learners will acquire fundamental knowledge of test automation, including various tools and best practices, in a highly engaging manner from Meaghan Lewis, Technical Program Manager at Microsoft.

More importantly, learners will be able to implement and optimize test automation in their jobs after this course. To earn their LambdaTest Test Automation Professional Certificate, learners will have to complete all courses and content in the learning path and pass the final exam. Learners can access their certificates immediately after they pass the final exam and seamlessly showcase their certificate on LinkedIn.

"We are excited to partner with LambdaTest to provide our customers and learners additional, credible paths to upskilling as well as broaden the audience for the LambdaTest Test Automation Professional Certificate to the worlds largest talent marketplace," said Dan Brodnitz, Sr. Director of Global Content Strategy at LinkedIn Learning.

As LinkedIn Learning students for the LambdaTest Test Automation Professional Certificate, learners can get free trial access to the LambdaTest platform. This enables learners to get hands-on experience and implement the concepts.

Enterprises, all over the world, are automating their testing to ensure a better digital experience for their users. Learning test automation will open up various career avenues for learners. We are also happy to offer free access to the LambdaTest platform to enable students to get hands-on experience. We are excited to play our role in enabling thousands of learners to achieve their career goals, said Maneesh Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, LambdaTest.

LambdaTest recently announced the launch of digital experience testing cloud for enterprises. The offering will enable enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation by providing a best-in-class, 360-degree test execution and orchestration platform coupled with insightful test analytics and customizable deployment options.

Also, Satya Nadella, Chairman & CEO of Microsoft, delivered the keynote address at the Microsoft Future Ready Technology Summit 2023, Bengaluru, where he said that LambdaTest is doing for test automation what Kubernetes did for container orchestration - creating that next level of efficiency around test automation so that people can actually focus on testing versus test orchestration.

To know more, visit: https://www.lambdatest.com/certifications/linkedin-learning

Notes to the editor

For further information please contact the LambdaTest press office: [email protected].

About LambdaTest

LambdaTest is a leading digital experience testing cloud that helps developers and testers ship code faster. Over 10,000+ enterprise customers and 2+ million users across 130+ countries rely on LambdaTest for their testing needs.

LambdaTest platform provides secure, scalable, and insightful test orchestration for customers at different points in their DevOps (CI/CD) lifecycle:

LambdaTest test execution platform allows users to run both manual and automated tests across 3000+ different browsers, real devices, and operating system environments. It enables developers to test their websites, web applications, and native apps without requiring to install or maintain an internal lab of virtual machines, real devices, emulators, or simulators.

With LambdaTests Real Devices Testing Cloud, you can now test unhandled errors, UI/UX, performance, and functionality of your native, web, and hybrid apps before they get released into production. Test on the widest range of mobile and OTT devices (iOS, Android, iPad, Amazon Fire TV, Roku TV & Apple TV). With seamless cross-functional team collaboration across the mobile app development lifecycle, you can release quality mobile apps in shorter development cycles which enables you to innovate and scale rapidly.

An IP-led next-gen cloud test execution and orchestration platform that helps enterprises run end-to-end automation tests at the fastest speed possible, thereby enabling them to achieve quicker time-to-market, and deliver a quality digital experience. Achieve 70% faster test execution times and zero flakiness with HyperExecute.

Perform Regression Testing in just one click using LambdaTest. Compare the screenshots of your applications webpages taken from two different browsers to view/detect any visual deviations. Increase browser coverage by running automation scripts on a cloud of 3000+ different desktop and mobile environments.

Test execution insights are critical for digital transformation as they provide enterprises with more profound insight into the quality of releases and trends. By analyzing the test execution data, LambdaTest's Integrated Test Intelligence delivers enterprises with insights into patterns and trends that can lead to informed decisions about future development and improve application quality.

For more information, please visit: https://lambdatest.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005067/en/
Partner with us for Press release distribution and get best in class service, guaranteed postings on tier 1 media and maximum reach
This year will see the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the 10th anniversary of the launch of the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). As one of the key enterprises participating in the construction of the CPEC, POWERCHINA has been active in various fields such as energy, electricity, water management, and infrastructure investment in Pakistan since it entered the Pakistani market as early as 1987.

Over the past 36 years, POWERCHINA has completed the 103 projects in Pakistan, including the first roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam in Pakistan  the Gomal Zam Dam multipurpose project, and the first mainstream hydropower station on the Indus River  the Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project, the largest installed hydropower station  the Tarbela 4th & 5th Extension Hydropower Project, and the largest wind farm  the Tricon Boston 150 MW Wind Power Project.

In the past ten years, among the first 20 energy and infrastructure projects of the CPEC, POWERCHINA has participated in the investment and construction of 11 projects. POWERCHINA has consolidated the traditional power business, and continued to contribute to the development of new energy and other fields. Pakistan's largest hydropower hub project currently being constructed by POWERCHINA, the Diamer Basha Dam Project, will become the tallest and largest RCC dam in the world, and is expected to provide Pakistan with 18.1 billion KWh of clean electricity every year. As the project progresses, it is expected to provide more than 20,000 job opportunities, which is considered as one of the many positive effects of the project by Nadeem Ilyas, a Pakistani engineer of the project.

As one of the leading enterprises in China, POWERCHINA has carried out high-quality clean energy project construction and operation in accordance with international standards, and is committed to improving Pakistan's infrastructure conditions and alleviating local power shortages. It has not only made important contributions to the sustainable development of Pakistan, but also played a key role in the development of CPEC.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005420/en/
In implementation of the directives from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, KSA Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Board of Directors, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, signed an agreement with the Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, Sahap Kavcoglu, to make a significant $5 billion deposit into the Central Bank of Turkey.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005482/en/

H.E. Mr. Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb, KSA Minister of Tourism and SFD Chairman, signs a $5 billion deposit agreement with the Central Bank of Turkey, alongside Governor Sahap Kavcoglu, further enhancing economic cooperation between the two nations (Photo: AETOSWire)

This deposit is not only a testament to the close cooperation and historical ties that exist between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkey and their peoples, but it is also a demonstration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's commitment to supporting Turkey's efforts to strengthen its economy and to promote social growth and sustainable development.

The deposit will contribute to bolstering the Turkish economy by addressing economic aspects across various sectors. By making this deposit, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expressing its strong support for the Turkish people and its confidence in the future of the Turkish economy.

*Source: AETOSWire

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005482/en/
Sintavia, LLC, a designer and additive manufacturer of complex mechanical systems and components for the Aerospace & Defense industry, announced today that it had been awarded a contract from Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI) to develop a dedicated additive manufacturing facility in support of the United States Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The new, vertically integrated facility will develop and additively manufacture advanced nuclear propulsion systems for both in-production and in-development submarine programs of the United States Navy, including the next generation nuclear-powered attack submarine.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005046/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Additive technologyboth with respect to design and manufacturingis well-known to be a superior method for supplying complex systems across the Aerospace & Defense industry, said Brian Neff, Sintavia's Founder and CEO. But a full adoption of the technology is not possible without investments in the materials, processes, and quality systems needed to additively produce these difficult systems successfully and repeatedlyinvestments that Sintavia has been making over the past seven years. As the U.S. Navy looks to develop advanced submarine platforms, it is imperative that additive technology plays a central role in that development. We are committed to the success of these Navy programs, and look forward to continuing to build our relationship with BPMI and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program in the coming years.

The new facility, located in Hollywood, Florida, is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2023.

About Sintavia

Sintavia designs and additively manufactures a new generation of propulsion and thermodynamic systems for the Aerospace & Defense industry. A founding member of the Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association, Sintavia is committed to the highest quality standards in the industry and holds multiple Nadcap and other aerospace accreditations. For more information visit http://www.sintavia.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005046/en/
Atlanta Police detained at least 35 protesters after a violent clash in what authorities said was a "coordinated attack" on a training center.

The incident came as hundreds of people attended a concert at the site, and police officials said that a group then began throwing rocks and firebombs at officers. Images of the demonstrations were uploaded to social media platforms and showed several fires at the scenes.

Atlanta Police Clash With Protesters

The training center is the planned Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as "Cop City," and is under construction on land owned by the city in South River Forest. After officers clashed with protesters, they locked the area down and were supported by a Swat team nearby.

Police officials noted that the group of demonstrators used the peaceful demonstrations as a disguise to "conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers." An official statement said that several pieces of construction equipment were destroyed due to the clash, as per BBC.

The statement added that the illegal actions of the violent protesters could have easily resulted in bodily harm to law enforcement personnel and civilians. It noted that officers exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct the arrests of the perpetrators. Opponents argued that the site is a vital green space for the city and described it as the "lungs of Atlanta."

The Defend The Atlanta Forest website called on all people of good conscience to support the movement to stop the construction of Cop City and defend the Weelaunee Forest. The latest incident comes as more protests are set in the following days to oppose the structure of the training center.

Atlanta police noted that they have already prepared a "multi-layered strategy that would include reaction and arrest of perpetrators. There was a protest in January at the site after police officers killed a 26-year-old activist during a raid to clear people from the site.

Read Also: Alex Murdaugh's Latest Financial Scams

Violent Demonstrations

During a midnight news conference, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said several pieces of construction equipment at the site were set on fire on Sunday. Police also showed surveillance video where a piece of heavy equipment is seen burning at the facility, according to CBS News.

Among the arrests, police have charged 23 people with domestic terrorism in connection with the violent protests, the Atlanta Police Department said. The individuals charged, whose identities were revealed by police through their online website, came from various states across the country, as well as from Canada and France.

The ages of the people charged by police ranged from 18 years to almost 50 years. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was the one that filed all of the charges against the demonstrators.

Authorities said that the group of violent attackers changed into black clothing after leaving a nearby music festival before they marched towards the construction site. In a Monday statement, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said that what happened was simple violence and not a peaceful protest, said Fox News.

Related Article: Texas Mom Stabs 5 Children During Protective Service Visit

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"Facelift" project in E China mirrors whole-process people's democracy

11:18, March 07, 2023 By You Yi ( People's Daily

After three months of work, the renovation of Shucheng Road in Xiaoyaojin sub-district, Luyang district, Hefei, east China's Anhui province, was completed.

The renovation unified the appearance of the facades of dozens of stores along the road. However, the sign of a storefront there was nearly 1/3 smaller than its neighboring ones.

Though the sign is smaller, the shop that owns it still sees booming business, which has placed shop owner Wang Xingqi on a busy schedule.

Photo shows Shucheng road after renovation. (Photo from the official WeChat account of Xiaoyaojin sub-district)

Why is Wang's storefront sign different? The story starts with a phone call received by Zhang Xugui, a member of a supervision committee for resident affairs of the Sipailou neighborhood that administers Shucheng Road.

Shucheng Road is an old road that stretches less than 500 meters, where the sands of time have left deep marks on storefronts and walls, and communication cables were hanging messily above the road. This not only looked bad, but also created potential safety hazards.

Therefore, at the requests of residents, the Xiaoyaojin sub-district included Shucheng Road in an urban renovation program and decided to give it a "facelift."

After soliciting opinions from residents, social workers of the sub-district finalized renovation plans, and soon the renovation commenced.

Zhang, a resident representative of the supervision committee for resident affairs, is a warmhearted woman. During the renovation, she often visited the job site for supervision and better communication between residents and constructors.

One day, when Zhang just arrived home from the job site, she received a phone call from resident Li Changbi, a septuagenarian who lives on the floor just above Wang's store.

Li told Zhang that Wang's storefront sign was close to his window and it would be noisy once raindrops fell on it. Besides, he and his wife also considered it dangerous, as thieves could probably climb upstairs from the sign.

Opening Li's window, Zhang found what he said was true. Therefore, she told Li's opinions to the neighborhood committee, and on the second day, she went to Li's home again with Qu Yantao, who works for the urban management office of the Xiaoyaojin sub-district and was in charge at the job site.

Photo shows Shucheng road after renovation. (Photo from the official WeChat account of Xiaoyaojin sub-district)

After a close look, Zhang found that Wang's storefront sign covered nearly half of Li's window, though it was lined up with its neighboring ones.

She suggested that Wang change the sign, explaining that the noise that might be generated on rainy days would bother Li and his wife. Besides, it was indeed unsafe as thieves could probably climb upstairs from it, Zhang added.

Qu assured Wang that it would only take a couple of days to make a new sign, which would only vary in size, but not in color, material, or style.

Finally, Wang accepted the suggestion and decided to have the sign changed.

Today, all storefronts along Shucheng road have gained a new look. Though Wang's sign is smaller, his store is still busy.

The supervision committee for resident affairs of the Sipailou neighborhood was established in December 2021. It consists of the secretary of the discipline inspection committee of the neighborhood and two resident representatives.

"As a member of the supervision committee, I am the liaison between the neighborhood committee and residents. I must inform the neighborhood committee of residents' opinions, well handle their demands and help them solve problems," Zhang told People's Daily.

According to her, a dozen benches and some fitness equipment were recently installed in the residential complex where she lives under the joint efforts of residents and the supervision committee, so that senior residents don't have to take a stool with them when taking a walk outside.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
A Mexican cartel allegedly kidnapped innocent Americans by mistake after the victims traveled to the border city of Matamoros for medical purposes.

The incident was brought to light by an unidentified United States official who said on Monday that the Americans were not the cartel's intended targets. Photographs showed that the group's white minivan collided with another vehicle before they were spirited away from the scene at gunpoint by armed individuals.

Americans Mistakenly Kidnapped

The images also showed a female seated next to three bodies outside the van. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have requested help from the public in searching for the whereabouts of the victims, offering a $50,000 reward for their return and the arrest of the people responsible for their kidnapping.

Currently, Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is found, is under a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory from the US State Department. Authorities said that there had been an uptick in crime in the region since the Mexican government started its war on the nation's powerful drug cartels in 2006, as per the Daily Beast.

Investigators said the Mexican cartel may have mistaken the four Americans for Haitian drug smugglers crossing the border. The victims were found to have no concerning criminal history on their records.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered a similar explanation to the public in a statement. He noted that the information they currently have is that the Americans were trying to buy medicines in Mexico but were confronted and detained by unknown groups.

The kidnapping underscores the violence seen in some Mexican cities, which have suffered from organized crime since the Mexican Drug War began. Furthermore, the growing business of what is known as "medical tourism" is partly to blame.

The victims, who were not identified, traveled to Matamoros on Friday using their white minivan with North Carolina plates, said the FBI. Upon arriving in the city, they were fired upon and were swiftly taken away by the suspects, according to CNN.

Read Also: Massive Hong Kong Blaze Engulfs High-Rise Construction Building

Locating the Missing Victims

In a statement, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said an innocent Mexican citizen was fatally shot during the encounter. He noted that their highest priority right now is the safety of their citizens, which is the most fundamental role of the American government.

Salazar noted that various US law enforcement agencies were working with Mexican officials at all levels of government in an attempt to bring back the victims safely. Mexican officials in Tamaulipas said federal and local resources were activated to help locate the missing Americans.

During a news conference, Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said they quickly established communication between state and federal authorities following the kidnapping. Authorities added that an investigation was conducted immediately, and officials were processing vehicles, obtaining ballistics and fingerprint data, taking biological samples, and gathering surveillance camera footage.

Obrador said on Monday that he had already contacted the Matamoros governor and expressed optimism about locating and returning the four Americans to their families, according to Fox News.

Related Article: Violent Greece Protests Update

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the latest CPAC over the weekend to speak about their campaigns moving forward.

Former United States President Donald Trump said that change only happens if we "plow fearlessly ahead" against an era of wokeness and weaponized government that he said is plaguing the country.

Republican Primary Candidates

The Republican businessman's remarks were made in front of an audience that attended the CPAC at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland. It came three months after he officially announced his bid for the 2024 presidential elections.

Trump spoke for over an hour and a half, talking about a list of pledges for his potential second term in office. He also discussed various points he repeatedly made since leaving the White House, including his debunked claims of a fraudulent 2020 election.

The Republican also took a shot at some of Joe Biden's administration policies, where he vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and cut down on US foreign aid, as per NPR.

Trump then criticized Republicans that led the GOP in the early and mid-2010s, calling them out for the change in party ideals since he became a prominent political figure. The former president claimed that before, the US had a Republican Party ruled by what he called "freaks, neocons, globalists, open borders zealots, and fools."

The former president's speech marked the CPAC's third and final candidate address for this year. He followed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who spoke on Friday.

The Republican conference has long been seen as one of, if not the most, significant annual event for GOP leaders. It allows them to lay their preliminary groundwork for potential presidential campaigns.

Read Also: Eric Adam's Take on Lori Lightfoot's Election Loss

Challenging Trump's Influence

The event comes as five GOP lawmakers are included in polls that check their popularity for a potential 2024 presidency. These include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, all of whom have not officially confirmed a run for the elections, according to the Washington Post.

Some polls included Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Tim Scott. Others considered are New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The situation comes as a two-day confab was conducted at the luxury Conrad Hotel, known as the Principles First Summit. It was seen as a lower-profile gathering of the remnants of a former GOP era who attempted to make a name for themselves by battling Trump's influence within the party.

Former congressional candidate Clinth Smith, who became an Independent, described his state's GOP as a forest of trees destroyed by an invasive species of beetles. On the other hand, former Rep. Barbara Comstock said that Trump is cancer that has now metastasized, remarks she made after wrapping the "Can the GOP survive?" panel, according to Politico.

Related Article: Jill Biden's Take on Mental Competency Test Proposal

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Donald Trump stated over the weekend that he will continue to run for president in 2024 if he is charged. That is a plausible but hypothetical scenario that would be completely legal.

The Constitution specifies three prerequisites for presidential candidates, none of which pertain to criminal convictions.

Donald Trump Presidential Bid

Article II, Section 1 states: No Person other than a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible for the Office of President; nor shall any person be eligible for that office who shall not have attained the age of 35 and been a resident of the United States for fourteen years.

Even historical precedent exists for a more serious criminal offense than indictment. In 1920, Eugene Debs unsuccessfully ran for president while accused, convicted, and incarcerated.

Debs was indicted under the Espionage Act and sentenced to time in Georgia. This may have been too close to home for Trump. Unprecedented complications might occur if and when Trump is prosecuted while seeking to retake government control, he attempted to subvert by claiming the 2020 election was stolen.

And Trump's actions leading up to and during January 6, 2021, insurrection raise questions about whether he could take office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. And a potential conviction in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation could prompt arguments about disqualification from office under federal law. However, these three constitutional requirements - natural-born citizenship, residency, and age - may continue to be the only requirements for running for president.

As ludicrous as it seems, the answer to whether criminal charges alone would bar Trump or anybody else from running for president is now no, as per MSNBC.

During his remarks, Trump pledged revenge on his opponents, including Democrats, the media, and other Republicans. Trump declared his presidential campaign late last year, following the midterm elections in which some of his preferred congressional candidates were defeated.

Donors to the Republican Party hope to move on from the former president and his style of conservatism, but no viable candidate has yet declared their candidacy. Surveys indicate that Trump is the top in the 2024 Republican race, followed closely by the rising Florida governor and erstwhile ally Ron DeSantis.

A Georgia investigation into the Trump campaign's efforts to affect election tallies during the 2020 presidential fight, including a notorious phone discussion between Trump and the Georgia secretary of state in early 2021, is anticipated to produce indictments at any time.

On this call, Trump infamously challenged Republican Brad Raffensperger to "find" the approximately 12,000 votes he needed to capture the state from Joe Biden.

In January, a grand jury investigating suspected election irregularities in the state completed its investigation. The jury forewoman Emily Kohrs has intimated that the former president may be on the chopping block.

The Department of Justice also investigates Trump's team's plans to reverse the 2020 election, particularly January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. Per The Independent, the House select committee investigating the attack proposed that Trump be prosecuted, among other things, for supporting an uprising.

Trump has long argued that any judicial investigation of him by any judicial entity is a "witch hunt" orchestrated by his Democratic opponents to prevent him from gaining the presidency.

Last year, the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago estate as part of a third, entirely separate investigation into his handling of presidential records, including classified documents. Since then, President Joe Biden and former vice president Mike Pence have been implicated in similarly embarrassing discoveries of classified materials at their residences.

Read Also: Xi Jinping To Secure Third Term

Donald Trump vs. Ron DeSantis

This weekend, Trump and his most formidable prospective opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, revealed with unprecedented clarity how their drastically divergent personalities and methods would define the 2024 GOP primary fight.

Trump served up his usual mixture of rage, falsehoods, and dishonest bravado, billing himself as the only man capable of preventing World War III, rallying his adoring supporters for their "final battle" against communists, globalists, and the "Deep State," and declaring, "I am your vengeance."

DeSantis, who has not officially declared his candidacy, used a Sunday visit to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California to tap into the current Republican Party's driving ideological drive.

Yet, he provided a far more detailed plan than Trump for a disruption of government as Americans know it, clearly hinting that after adopting extreme conservatism in Florida, he would be able to achieve the policy objectives that frequently evaded Trump throughout his turbulent presidency.

The remarks, which featured two Republicans who would be the early frontrunners if DeSantis entered the GOP nomination campaign, included an ironic twist. The split screen depicted their party's unresolved ideological divide, which Trump caused in 2016 by defeating establishment candidates.

CPAC, where Trump spoke, has for decades kept alive the torch of two-term president Reagan, who reshaped the conservative movement and left a legacy that dominated the Republican Party until the arrival of Trump.

CPAC, once a rite of passage for possible Republican presidential contenders, has become a forum for Trump's personality cult. According to CBS News, DeSantis did not speak there, instead speaking the week prior at a competing donor gathering for the Club for Growth to which Trump was not invited.

Related Article: Jill Biden Blasts 'Ridiculous' Idea of Testing Joe's Mental Capacity

@YouTube

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
News at 4Cs

Cape Cod Community College to host WaterWORKS 2023.

We are thrilled to host WaterWORKS 2023 at Cape Cod Community College!



This hands-on career showcase connects high school students to Blue Economy and STEM career opportunities in our region. At WaterWORKS, students will experience first-hand the many jobs and career paths available to them through interactive displays, demonstrations, and hands-on activities.



We are proud to invest in our future workforce by connecting high school students in Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket, and Southeastern Plymouth Counties with the water-reliant economy that surrounds them. Over 50 regional businesses and organizations will be participating in this exciting event.



WaterWORKS 2023 will be held on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 (Snow April 11, 2023) from 9:30am-1:00pm, and lunch will be provided.
Kremlin leaders have ordered the rewriting Russian textbooks to indoctrinate students into idolizing President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The textbooks are being revised to offer a positive perspective on the full-scale invasion, portraying many soldiers as patriotic heroes.

Russia Modifies Textbooks, Builds Beach Barricades

They are being modified by Russian presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky, who has devised a new history curriculum for schools. The publications will focus on the fight in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, to avoid mentioning the disastrous mistakes made by the Russian military during that war.

War crime investigators are investigating thousands of atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces, including rape, kidnapping, torture, and murder. Now in its second year, the conflict has reportedly claimed the lives of nearly 150,000 Russian soldiers, and 3,423 of Moscow's tanks have been destroyed. In addition, British military intelligence officials have also disclosed that Putin's army relied on T-62 tanks and BTR-50 armored personnel carriers from the 1950s.

Massive barriers have been erected on tourist beaches due to rising Russian apprehensions that Ukraine may invade occupied Crimea. Before, the peninsula would be filled with sunbathers throughout the summer, but trenches have been constructed to dissuade attacks.

The action clearly indicates that Vladimir Putin's commanders fear they may have to battle to maintain their 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. On a beach in Yevpatoria, a local citizen noticed the defense structures on the shore, as per Mirror.

The likelihood of a "vacation season in Crimea" this year was derided by him. A year ago, the locals ridiculed Putin's plan to take Kyiv in three days. A report cautioned that youngsters and tourists might be enlisted to construct seawalls.

At the beaches east of Yevpatoria, trenches have been built using aerial reconnaissance. Moreover, the footage depicts beach defenses at another resort, Chernomorskoye, located further west.

At the peninsula's western shore, reports indicate a defensive line consisting of trenches, anti-tank pyramids, and minefields is being constructed.

Read Also: Xi Jinping To Secure Third Term

Russia-Ukraine War Update

Under Vladimir Putin's Russian soldiers, a Ukrainian city has been transformed into a dystopian wasteland, as evidenced by shocking photographs. The overhead footage displays the remains of Donetsk's Maryinka, where the front line cuts through the remnants of the city.

Per Daily Mail, Grey ruins surrounded by rubble mountains create the image of a dystopian scene in which all life has been eradicated. Maryinka was a battleground even before the war began last year; the town was already under Russian bombardment when Russia invaded Ukraine for the first time in 2014.

The heavy combat since the assault on February 24 of last year has destroyed every structure in the town, which formerly housed 10,000 people. Several are scarcely recognizable as structures. Shellfire has also reduced the town's trees to matchsticks, with many torn apart at the trunk.

The town, located around 600 kilometers south-southeast of Kyiv, has been a primary focus of Moscow's grinding eastern assault in the war for months, with Russian soldiers and the mercenary Wagner Group encircling Ukrainian battalions.

Top Ukrainian commander Volodymyr Nazarenko described the situation as "hell" because Russian soldiers now hold the city's east, north, and south sides, leaving just one path out.

Putin's soldiers have been aggressively bombarding the little mining town to secure their first significant win in over six months. The Sunday Times adds that both sides have sustained heavy losses throughout the combat. Kyiv officials report that seven Russian soldiers have been killed for every Ukrainian soldier killed in the area.

As a result of continuous bombardment, a large portion of the town has been reduced to rubble, with an estimated 4,000 inhabitants still residing in the region. Oleksandr Marchenko, the deputy mayor of Bakhmut, has accused Russian forces of transforming the city into a new Mariupol.

Mariupol is now entirely under the control of Russian soldiers, having been shut off from the rest of Ukraine early in the conflict and subjected to a horrific siege. The civil population was left without heat, food, or water for weeks, and they melted snow for water before drinking from radiators when the snow ran out.

Up to 600 people were killed when a Russian airplane attacked a theater with the word "children" scribbled on the pavement outside, making it the site of maybe the bloodiest single strike of the war.

Hundreds are said to have perished during the siege, with their remains being buried in mass graves beside highways. Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, observed that Russia was attempting to encircle the city with the finest forces of the Wagner Group. At the same time, Zelensky accused Moscow of sending waves of men into Bakhmut without concern for their lives.

The demolition of the bridges prevents Soviet forces from capturing them and therefore gaining access to a crucial supply route. Several sources even mentioned preparations for reinforcements, despite President Zelensky's statement last week that the situation in the city was becoming "increasingly challenging."

On Wednesday, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, a shady tycoon with decades-long ties to Putin, stated that he had seen no indications of a Ukrainian departure from the city. He asserted that Kyiv had been strengthening its positions there.

Related Article: Volodymyr Zelensky Reacts To Video of Soldier's Brutal Killing

@YouTube

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market...
The Japanese space agency announced on Tuesday that the first launch of the country's new flagship space rocket had failed after 15 minutes of flight.

According to a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA announcement, "a destruct command has been transmitted to H3 about 10:52 a.m. (Japan Standard Time)," indicating that the Japan H3 rocket was destroyed at that time since the mission could not be completed, CNN reported.

Japanese broadcasting company NHK reported that the Japan H3 rocket second stage failed to ignite.

The Japan H3 rocket , which launched from southern Japan's Tanegashima Space Center, carried the Advance Land Observation Satellite-3 (ALOS-3), a ground-mapping and imaging satellite that the space agency stated will improve disaster management.

WATCH: "Destruct command has been transmitted to H3 because there was no possibility of achieving the mission."



Japan aborts its next-generation rocket launch in a blow to hopes of rivaling SpaceX https://t.co/lwLdPQaEx0 pic.twitter.com/4DZESCkfy7  Bloomberg (@business) March 7, 2023

According to the report, "all land regions of not just Japan but throughout the entire planet" will be surveyed by ALOS-3.

Since 2015, Elon Musk's SpaceX has been successfully launching and landing its Falcon orbital rockets from afar. On the other hand, the Japan H3 rocket from JAXA is cheaper and makes use of huge, recyclable components. The rocket, however, is not capable of being recovered and reused.

Read Also: VIZIO Launches First DIY/Crafting Channel

An Investigation Will Be Launched

After the failed launch, Mitsubishi Heavy stock dropped as much as 3.2%, its worst intraday drop in a month.

The launch on Tuesday followed an unsuccessful attempt in February when the rocket's boosters malfunctioned and prevented it from leaving the launch pad, per Mint.

Hirotaka Watanabe, professor of space policy at Osaka University, remarked that the latest Japan Rocket launch "was a complete failure," in contrast to prior cancellations and delays.

The future of Japan's space policy, space business, and technical competitiveness would be negatively affected, he said.

Keiko Nagaoka, Japan's Minister of Education and Science, has said that an investigation would be conducted to determine what caused the engine to malfunction, per BBC.

She issued an apology for "failing to meet the expectations of the public and related parties" and defined the Japan Rocket Launch Failure as "extremely regrettable."

Related Article: Iran Threatens Israeli Military

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Heracles Group set to acquire Larsinos SA

07 March 2023

Heracles Group (Holcim group), announces the agreement to acquire 100 per cent of Larsinos SA. This acquisition is part of Heracles Groups growth strategy. The agreement is subject to the approval by the Greek Competition Commission.

Larsinos SA is a fast-growing ready-mix concrete company with assets that include commercial plants, on-site/jobsite ready-mix concrete, aggregates and quarrying.

With this acquisition, in the ready-mix concrete sector, Heracles Group expands its commercial network mainly in the Peloponnese and strengthens its ability to serve any construction project all over Greece with mobile/jobsite ready-mix plants. In the aggregates business, the agreement is expanding the company's geographical footprint in the prefectures of Corinthia, Messinia and Fthiotida.

Dimitris Chanis, CEO of Heacles Group, stated: We proceed today to another very important investment for Heracles Group, which is part of our strategy for diverse growth, both organic and through partnerships and acquisitions. It also reaffirms Holcim's long-term commitment to the Greek market and confidence in its growth prospects.



Published under
Argentina's cement consumption down 5% in February

ICR Newsroom By 07 March 2023

The cement market in Argentina contracted by 4.5 per cent YoY and 6.5 per cent MoM to 895,938t in February 2023, according to the countrys cement association, AFCP. In February 2022 demand reached 938,072t while in January 2023 it stood at 958,230t.



All domestic demand was supplied by local cement producers, who produced 900,150t, down 5.1 per cent YoY from 948,858t and -6.8 per cent MoM from 965,633t. Of total output, 4212t was exported, representing a 60.9 per cent YoY drop from 10,786t and a MoM 43.1 per cent decline from 7404t.



January-February 2023

In the first two months of 2023 cement demand picked up by 2.1 per cent YoY to 1,854,168t from 1,815,437t in the 2M22.



Cement production from Argentine plants increased by 1.7 per cent YoY to 1,865,784t in the 2M23 from 1,835,015t in the corresponding period of the previous year.



In terms of external trade in the 2M23, there were no imports, but the countrys cement producers exported 11,616t of cement, down 40.7 per cent from 19,579t in the year-ago period.







Published under
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned Tuesday that China and the US are headed for "conflict and confrontation" if Washington doesn't alter its direction.

Qin's tough words at his first press conference since entering office late last year seemed to contradict forecasts that China may forsake its muscular "wolf warrior" approach in favor of more mild rhetoric as the two countries clash over trade, technology, Taiwan, human rights, and the Russia Ukraine war.

On the sidelines of Beijing's rubber-stamp legislature's annual conference, Qin told journalists that Washington's China policy had "entirely deviated" from a reasonable and "sound" path, AP News reported.

Qin, whose new role is junior to the leading foreign policy official of the Chinese Communist Party, Wang Yi, warned that "If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation,"

He also underscored that the US-China conflict is a "reckless gamble" that puts the basic interests of the two nations and potentially the "future of humanity" on the line.

Read Also: Volodymyr Zelensky Reacts To Brutal Video

Tensions Keep Rising

Recently, the US-China conflict has risen to new heights.

China's autocratic leader Xi Jinping has also encouraged a more aggressive foreign policy as the country seeks to expand its influence and compete with the West.

Washington has strongly responded.The Biden administration has strengthened connections with allies and partners to counter Beijing's growing influence, especially in its backyard, CNN reported.

The US has also worked to break China's stranglehold on innovation by restricting the export of high-tech semiconductors, which has enraged Beijing.

Qin criticized the United States for its Indo-Pacific policy, saying that the United States is trying to build exclusive blocks in order to trigger conflict, that it supports decoupling, and that it is planning an "Asia-Pacific version of NATO."

Beijing, though, has strongly denied Washington's claims that it is contemplating supplying Russia with weaponry and artillery to assist in its war against Ukraine, as per a report from NBC News.

The Chinese official also renewed his calls for a diplomatic solution to the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Beijing's 12-point peace plan last month was rejected by Western diplomats as too advantageous to Moscow.

Related Article: China Sets Historically Lowest Growth Target

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have reportedly gone back to the drawing board in their search for their dream home after reportedly pulling out of plans to buy a $34.5 million home in California's Pacific Palisades
This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions
There's more to the story behind business leaders Tevfik Arif and Donald Trump. This article explains the truth behind their relationship and how the Trump SoHo venture in New York City proved successful for the partners. While they conversed about other projects beyond the luxury hotel, no other developments occurred between the two businessmen.

Arif's company Bayrock Group succeeded in Turkey and the United States. After several accomplishments in real estate ventures, including Loehmann's Seaport Plaza shopping center in Brooklyn, Bayrock moved its offices into the Trump Tower of Midtown Manhattan. Due to the physical office space closeness of Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization, the companies decided to move forward with an expansive business opportunity in the center of the bustling SoHo neighborhood.

Early life in Kazakhstan - how it started

Tevfik Arif was raised in a Turkish family based in Soviet Kazakhstan. Later in life, he took on prestigious roles in government, an honorable career path among peers in his community. As the Soviet Union disbanded, Arif decided to use his knowledge from his studies in International Relations and his role as deputy head at the Soviet Ministry of Commerce and Trade to jumpstart his career internationally through the Ministry's Hotel Management Department.

Arif was always passionate about business, real estate, and economics. So when the Soviet Union dissolved, the perfect starting point arose for Arif to venture into the private business sector. He quit his role in government after 17 years of diligent work and opened several businesses in the automobile industry, imports and exports, and high-end real estate around the world.

One of the most notable qualities of Arif's positioning as a business owner was to incorporate the highest standards into all his projects. In the Trump SoHo project, for example, he decided to partner with The Sapir Organization, Handel Architects, the Rockwell Group, and The Trump Organization to initiate a holistic, luxurious effect on the building. No matter the structure or business pursuit, Arif believes in the importance of diversification and a robust construction strategy for the best company and customer results.

New York City real estate project connects Arif and Trump

After moving to Turkey from Kazakhstan, Arif established the all-inclusive hotel called the Labada Hotel in Antalya, which made way for his future success in international real estate. Once the hotel was running, he moved to the American city of dreams to develop further projects.

In 2001, Arif started focusing on larger deals, moving the Bayrock headquarters into the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. This physical distance resulted in partnering with The Trump Organization to build the luxury hotel Trump SoHo, along with The Sapir Organization.

The Bayrock Group and The Sapir Organization were already developing the real estate project together and strategically planned for a more prominent hotel brand recognition by utilizing the Trump name. In turn, The Trump Organization received 18% equity from the building while the two other organizations completed the construction and hands-on development.

Arif and Trump were business partners in that both their teams collaborated to build an entity that stimulated the economy of SoHo and benefitted all three groups and customers involved in the project. Although stories run among news sources and chatter, Arif and Trump had clear and innocent intentions of partnering - it was for the sake of mutual agreements and formally moving forward with successful endeavors.

Considering the Trump name was used to highlight the hotel's brand, it is apparent that the relationship between Arif and Trump was strictly business in exchange for equity. While the teams worked well together and had high compatibility, there was no collaboration or talk outside the hotel's development.

Projects continued after Trump SoHo

Though the high-end hotel development was the only project built between Arif's group and Trump's organization, the success of the Trump SoHo flourished over the years. Because of this, Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization explored more joint business ventures. The discussions included ideas for buildings in Florida and Arizona.

Because of the financial crisis in 2008, the work between the companies ceased as the American real estate market took a hit. Due to the stark change in the market, Arif left the United States and continued his work in Europe and Central Asia.

Tevfik Arif has since retired from his business, though he remains a highly regarded advisor to the Bayrock Group. The Trump SoHo changed its name to The Dominick and is now owned by the CIM Group since 2014.

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, Medical Foundation of Chattanooga and Project Access are recognizing local physicians by inviting community members to nominate outstanding physicians for Doctors Day Recognition in March.



All nominated physicians will be honored at a special Doctors Day reception on Thursday, March 30, at Mac Avenue Event Space.

Local residents can nominate physicians by sharing what makes them special. Submissions can be submitted at wdef.com/doctorsday or emailed to kevin@chattmd.org. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 17.



Nominations should include the physicians name and the reasons you feel he or she should be recognized. Reasons may include a commitment to his profession, dedication to his patients, staff and family and/or involvement in the community.



Be sure to include what makes this individual worthy of this recognition, and please feel free to share brief personal stories about the doctor you are nominating," officials said.



National Doctors Day provides a time for people to show appreciation to the doctors who care for them or their loved ones. The first Doctors Day observance was March 30, 1933, in Winder, Ga., on the anniversary of the first use of general anesthetic in surgery. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a resolution commemorating Doctors Day on March 30, 1958. In 1990, Congress established May 30 each year as the National Doctors Day.



This years observance also salutes the over 1,150 physicians who have volunteered to care for low-income uninsured residents of our community through Southeast Tennessee Project Access.

Doctors Day is sponsored by WDEF News 12.
Southern Adventist Universitys School of Education and Psychology recently hosted two distinguished delegates from Ukraine. The campus welcomed Valeriia Palii, PhD, president of the National Psychological Association of Ukraine, and Olena Vladovska, chief operating officer of Angelia Medical Center, a Ukrainian Seventh-day Adventist clinic dedicated to providing support for youth and families affected by the devastation in their country. The two women spoke with students about serving their nation on the frontlines of war.Dr.Palii and Ms. Vladovska were invited to the area by the City of Chattanooga and visited several local institutions. Southern alum Angelika Riano, 00, helped coordinate their visit and translated during Ms. Vladovskas presentation at the university.Ms. Vladovska explained how the Angelia Medical Center uses a holistic, person-oriented approach to medical treatment that helps individuals physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. She explained that Russian forces have destroyed more than 1,100 clinics and hospitals, but Angelia has remained operational. The center provides humanitarian aid by sending mobile field clinics to refugee camps.What helps us to do this work? Ms. Vladovska asked. Its understanding, its faith in God and its our unity. United, we can help others.Dr. Palii shared about her organizations mental health work, including developing a psychological support hotline already available in 19 different European countries, including Ukraine.I enjoyed hearing the speakers share their personal experiences of how life and the practice of medicine have changed since the invasion of Ukraine, said Maddie Chant, senior psychology major. I was moved by their passion for using their careers to make a positive impact on their people, even amid war.Ms. Vladovska praised Southern for the strong Adventist roots she witnessed on campus.Observing the students, you can tell what is taught at Southern, Ms. Vladovska said. I do what I do in Ukraine because of my Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, and here at Southern, it feels as if one can almost touch the history of Adventist ministry.
A man who shot two women in Ooltewah, including his pregnant former girlfriend, has been returned to Hamilton County.

After the Jan. 30 shooting, 28-year-old Brian Alex Stone and another man carjacked a DCS van that had been transporting a convicted juvenile to a facility in West Tennessee. Stone was later captured in Marion County.

The Sheriff's Office said the two women were at a residence at 6405 Ooltewah-Georgetown Road when Stone walked in past one of the men and headed back to where the women were in a bedroom.

Detectives were told that Stone was angry about the fact that the women had gotten police involved in an earlier incident.

He began firing, hitting one woman in the leg and the other woman in the hip. The injury to the hip was a "through and through" shot.

The woman who was shot in the leg was carrying Stone's child.

Both women were taken to the hospital by ambulance.

The men at the scene said when the shooting started, they went out a garage door and jumped a fence. They said Stone fired multiple shots at them as they ran.

Stone jumped another part of the fence and fled.

One of the men said he knew Stone only as "G-Way."

Stone was on probation on an aggravated assault charge.

He faces four counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Lee Universitys Department of Language and Literature will host the Interdisciplinary Conference on Latin American and Iberian Studies on Saturday, March 18, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. In Lees Science & Math Complex.

The conference will highlight presentations on the languages, literatures, and cultures of Latin America and Spain, along with other related topics such as service learning, cross-cultural experiences, foreign language methodology, and education.

For 10 years, our foreign language and interdisciplinary conference has been successful, said Dr. Alexander Steffanell, professor of Spanish and director of the Latin American Studies Program at Lee. We host college students and faculty from the United States and overseas to share their projects, research, and cross-cultural experiences.

The conference will feature The Conversatorio, a talk-show-style guest panel with Ana George, King University; Kelly Jackson, Sara Ortega-Higgs, and Tiffany Robayna of Samford University; and Oleski Miranda, Emory and Henry College. The Conversatorio will take place at 10:40 a.m. in the SMC Lecture Hall.

There will also be a Culture and Literature Showcase held during the conference. This showcase will be a smaller, walk-through poster session, featuring presentations by students from multiple universities and local high schools.

Our main goal is to give the undergraduate students a chance to explore research and their passion for other cultures. Every year, I receive emails from faculty from other colleges asking about the conference and thanking us for organizing such a unique event in the south, said Dr. Steffanell.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Registration is $45 per person, $25 for students. The fee covers the event and two meals. For more information or to pre-register, please contact Dr. Steffanell at asteffanell@leeuniversity.edu or 614-8216. Walk-ins are welcome and can register on site the day of the event. or by showing up the day of the event.

For more information about Lees Department of Language and Literature, call 614-8210.
Previous Next

The hardest part of planning dinner for friends is being sure we dont run head long into mucho allergies. Currently the allergy du jour is gluten intolerance. I am always amazed when I hear from friends they have been diagnosed with this unfortunate but lifelong disease.

Consequently that means no flour and a gazillion other things. However there are so many substitutes and products now available, as well as little asterisks or stars by items on the menu at restaurants that lets you know this dish is gluten less. That is what we call no worries cooking/planning.

Regarding our invited dinner guests, I should point out that the last time we had dinner at their home the food was swoonable, i.e. to die for. No, not the one from the 1900s where a fainting couch was provided. Nope, this was going to be, as they say, a hard act to follow.

But we did after several consultations with the chef that, of course, would be me! We wanted to have seafood, so we chose grilled fresh salmon garnished with shrimp scampi.

But wait, theres more like they say on those early morning ads on television. We also had sliced tenderloin with a cranberry-honey mustard sauce. So there, you had two entrees that while opposite were compatible which is not always the case in certain relationships.

My wife was in charge of all table decor. I, of course, handled the food. I am always impressed by my wifes very thoughtful way she wants her table to look.

Well, not exactly as she has this blow up turkey balloon that mysteriously appears each Thanksgiving. It amazes me how this giant bird can hide out all year and then pop up like the bird the president always pardons every Thanksgiving. Frankly I wish hed let this sucker get wacked. Nevertheless I am reminded that my domain is the kitchen.

Prior to knowing we would be having guests, I did pick up a package of green split peas. Nothing is better on a chilled winter night than a hearty cream of split pea soup. However this particular February night the temp was 65 degrees. We do live in Florida, you know!

So what started out as a simple weeknight supper turned into a 5-course feast beginning with some hors doeuvres first before we sat down to eat. Next, once seated, my wife ladled out bowls of creamy split pea soup from our hand painted tureen we brought from Portugal 40 + years ago. Please be aware that I had never to my recollection known the tureen to have been used. Lets pause and have a shout out for a tureen that had been gathering dust forever.

Next came the entrees. There was the salmon and shrimp and also sliced tenderloin, along with English cucumbers and carrots marinated in honey, brown sugar and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Also I should add that the guests brought several loaves of fresh baked bread so good it made you cancel you calorie count for the occasion.

Finally, my wifes soon to be famous Flan with fresh berries and whipped cream. All the while we polished off several bottles of white and red wine which the guests so graciously brought to wash down this simple little meal.

Funny how food and wine brings on non-stop conversation. In this case it was the two of us catching up on friends and family back in Chattanooga or as my wifes T-shirt says, back in Nooga.

As our guest departed we promised the next time we meet up will be in Nooga.

* * *

Marinated Carrots

1 package (16 oz) Baby Carrots split

 cup packed brown sugar (less if you dont want too sweet)

2 tablespoons honey

 cup fresh lemon juice or substitute red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon cinnamon or several cinnamon sticks



Place carrots in pot of bowling water and cook until carrots are soften but still firm enough to split in halves or quarters

Drain carrots and split

Place brown sugar, honey and lemon juice in sauce pan and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer

Add carrots and continue to cook tossing carrots in until well coated.

Turn off heat and let carrots cool in marinade

Use carrots as a side dish warm or cold in a salad or sometimes I add to cole slaw or pasta salad.








The Wally's Restaurant in East Ridge is closing after 34 years.

Owners Glen and Sharon Meadows said the property near the I-75 Exit 1 is under contract.

The Wally's on McCallie Avenue will remain open.

The couple said:

To our loyal customers - this is a message from Glen and Sharon Meadows. After 34 years in the day to day operation as Wallys Restaurant in East Ridge  Saturday March 18th will be our last day of operation. We are retiring from the restaurant business.

Words cannot express our appreciation for many many years of support from the East Ridge and North Georgia communities. We also want to thank our hundreds of employees throughout the 34 years who worked side by side with us serving our community. Thank you to the ones that remained with us in coming back after the pandemic. A very special thanks to those who will walk out the door with me on our last day.



Thank you to my adult children that literally grew up in the restaurant. David was 2 when we started in 1989. He put in many hours in all areas of the business. He has since made a career in the logistics business. Allison was born in 1997, 8 years after opening in East Ridge. She worked several years with us and now lives in another state supporting her husband in his pursuit of becoming a physician. Special thanks to my wife of 40 years that has listened to all of my restaurant stories. She retired from Southern Champion Tray almost 23 years ago to help with office administration.



Several years back I began learning residential development and home building. As a result, I worked to achieve a residential and commercial construction licenses in both Tennessee and Georgia. I will now focus full time on my building and development projects.



What will happen on my corner is to be determined, the property is under contact. Several development options are being considered. Rumors have been going around since 2019 about what is happening with the property. It has been a great place to raise a family and run a business. But it is time for something new, bright and shiny at corner of I-75 and Ringgold Road.



My original partner in the business was the late Tony Kennedy. He bought Wallys on McCallie Avenue in 1975. He was close friends with my mom and dad. He taught me so much and gave me the opportunity to grow in both the restaurant and the real estate business. I started my restaurant career at age 12 working at Wallys on McCallie Avenue. I worked there until age 25 working through college to earn my BS degree in finance. I thought briefly about going into the banking world and was offered a job at American National Bank but through some twist and turns, I ended up becoming a partner with Mr. Kennedy at our East Ridge location. My youngest brother Gary owns and operates Wallys on McCallie Avenue. It will continue to operate as normal.



After working 45 plus years in the restaurant business, I am ready to retire from that and move onto my next venture.



I am blessed and it has been a pleasure working alongside many great people and serving our community.

Thank you all,

Glen and Sharon Meadows

Mr. Meadows said when Wally's East Ridge first started in 1989 it had about 60-65 employees.

It stayed around 60 until dropping to around 50-55 at the time of the 2008 recession.

Wally's East Ridge in 2013 went from seven days a week to six days dropping to 45-50 workers.

The restaurant in March of 2020 at the time of the pandemic shut down until June when it reopened with l imited hours and no more buffet. Employment then was about 25.

With labor shortage issues last Nov 22 the restaurant adjusted hours again to lunch only .

It is currently at about 15 employees.

Mr. Meadows said several will continue their careers at Wallys on McCallie Avenue. Several are ready for retirement. He said he is working with several in helping place them.






Students between the ages of 12 and 20 seeking opportunities to learn, teach and make a lifelong difference in the lives of youth are encouraged to register for the Christian Youth in Action Summer Missions Program.

This four-week program hosted by Child Evangelism Fellowship will train students so that they can teach Bible Lessons to children enrolled in Good News Five-Day Clubs in communities in six counties throughout the summer. Five-Day Clubs begin in early June.



Summer missionaries are encouraged to raise at least enough support to cover their training costs of $250.

Students are required to attend pre-training sessions, a two-hour service project held at Christian Music Festival, J-Fest and a week-long training camp held on May 28  June 2 at Camp Rain in Deckard, Tn.For more information about Christian Youth in Action Summer Missions Program or to complete an application, visit www.cefchattanooga.org or call 423-803-4559.
The Sip TN Chattanooga wine festival, presented by Tennessee Farm Winegrowers Alliance and the Chattanooga Market, will be held on Saturday, April 1, from 12-4 p.m. at First Horizon Pavilion.

Wineries and vineyards will be traveling from across the state of Tennessee to showcase their best wines, as well as other products. Festival-goers will be able to taste various wines, meads and ciders as well as enjoy local eats, artisans and live music.

General admission tickets are $45 and designated driver tickets are $10. Sip TN is a 21 and over only event, and a valid photo I.D. and ticket will be required for entry. This event is rain or shine, and parking will be available. As vendors will be onsite selling food and beverages, no outside food or drink is allowed.

Find more information and buy tickets at siptn.com/chattanooga. The event address is 1801 Reggie White Blvd.
At the start of May, Netflix premiered the chilling crime docuseries In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. The series dives heavily into four self-proclaimed prophets and their cults in an eight-episode season. The first messiah is Jeong Myeong-seok, the leader of Providence Church, also known as JMS. The still active JMS church filed a suit against Netflixs In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal to stop its premiere.

JMS leader Jeong Myeong-seok and victim for In the Name of God A Holy Betrayal | via Netflix

In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal uses upsetting evidence about JMSs misuse of power and assault

As planned, Netflix premiered the docuseries on March 3. Within three episodes, audiences learned the brutal and vile truth of JMS cult leader Jeong. He rose to prominence in the 80s and roped in the interest of college students throughout South Korea, posing as a worthwhile club. His use of vulgar language, his perception of the Bible, and his supposed healing abilities had everyone believe he was a messiah.

JMS grew exponentially and had churches throughout the country and devoted followers. But In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal tells the truth behind the holy figure and his sadistic ways. The docuseries explores how Jeongs grand control of his followers allowed him to brainwash young women into becoming his brides. JMS representatives would bring him young women who fit his standards in a one-on-one meeting.

Already seeing Jeong as a messiah, the women were eager to meet with him. But they never expected to be assaulted under the ruse that it was part of a greater plan and that Jeong was ensuring their health and prosperity. Despite knowing it was wrong, the representatives encouraged the victims that it was a great honor.

Over several years, Jeong assaulted hundreds of young women. In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal uses hard-to-watch real evidence of his female followers nude in videos and photos to appease him. The docuseries explores how Jeong fled to Taiwan after the first few cases of assault came to light, his crimes in Taiwan and Hong Kong. To the audiences surprise, Jeong served his time and now faces new assault charges with new victims.

JMS church failed to stop the docuseries premiere to Netflixs surmounting evidence

According to Koreaboo, JMS filed a suit to Seouls Western Circuit Court to stop Netflix from premiering In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal. Audiences can only imagine why after watching the docuseries for themselves. The three episodes look into every nook and cranny and detail about Jeong and JMSs crime against its female members. But JMS is still active and has devoted followers who do not believe the victims testimonies about their leader.

JMS filed the suit accusing the docuseries of defamation. But their efforts were futile when, on March 2, Seouls Western Circuit Court dismissed their request. They commented that JMSs evidence did not disprove the events in the docuseries.

Netflix and its affiliates seem to have collected a considerable amount of objective data and created a program around this. It is difficult to disprove the data as false solely based on the evidence submitted by JMS, said Seouls Western Circuit Court judge.

In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal went above and beyond to catalog the truth behind JMS and the other cult leaders. Audiences also see first-hand testimony from Maple, one of the churchs former higher-up members, and a bride. In recent years, she had spoken out publically to prove JMSs mistreatment. One of the harrowing pieces of evidence is Maples first-hand voice recording of the last assault she endured by Jeong. But according to the creator, there is even more evidence.

In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal only shows part of how horrible JMS really is

It is hard to imagine that what audiences saw in In The Name of God: A Holy Betrayal is only part of the truth. According to Koreaboo, director Cho Sung-hyun revealed there is a lot more evidence to prove JMSs inhuman acts. What audiences saw was only roughly 10%.

I am aware there is controversy regarding the sexual content, but the important thing is that everything said is true. It was tough for us to listen to the content while gathering testimonies because the stories were so traumatizing. Nevertheless, we had to tell the truth, and we only told what needed to be told which lowered the level to one-tenth of reality, explained Cho.

While knowing the first 10 minutes of the docuseries is hard to stomach, Cho knew JMS would end up watching the docuseries. He wanted to put the truth of their leader and JMSs crimes at the forefront.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
A high-speed line from Las Vegas to Los Angeles will be completed by the end of 2027, according to a $10-billion deal Brightline made with train unions.

The system will run on electric energy at a speed of 200 mph, covering an estimated 218 miles (350 kilometers) in total, as per Business Insider.

The High-Speed Train Will Reduce Travel Time Between The Two Cities Significantly

The $10-billion project will move on, according to an agreement between a group of different rail worker unions and Brightline, the rail company in charge of it.

The High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition, a group of 13 unions, and Brighline signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

It is notable that more than 160,000 freight, regional, commuter, and passenger railroad workers in the US are represented by the High-Speed Rail Labor Coalition.

Aside from the fact that it reduces the travel time between two cities, the investment in the project is anticipated to give the economy a much-needed boost.

It is expected to lead to the creation of close to 35,000 jobs during the building phase and close to 10,000 permanent jobs, which will be good news to the residents of the surrounding area.

According to Brightline, the entirely electric, zero-emission system will be one of the most environmentally friendly ways to travel in the United States, displacing 3 million cars and 400,000 tons of CO2 annually.

The project could potentially draw 12 million of the 50 million one-way trips made between Las Vegas and Los Angeles each year, 85% of which are made by bus or automobile, according to the company's projections.

Additionally, the project will be the first high-speed rail system that is run and maintained by employees of several train unions, Interesting Engineering claims.

"As the most shovel-ready high-speed rail project in the United States, we are one step closer to leveling the playing field against transit and infrastructure projects around the world," says Mike Reininger, CEO of Brightline Holdings.

Read More: Auto, Delivery, and Transport Jobs with a Future

Operations Are Expected To Start By 2027

The business anticipates starting construction on the project this year and completing all required work within the following four years.

According to a Brightline CEO, the company anticipates breaking ground this year and wants to complete construction in 2027, and start operating by then.

It is also notable that the bullet train will also stop at Rancho Cucamonga, Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Victorville in addition to its final stop on the Las Vegas Strip.

In America, the company is the sole privately owned supplier of an advanced, environmentally friendly intercity passenger rail service.

Currently, Brightline runs a train service with a number of stations around Florida, and this year, it also plans to open an extension linking Disney World in Orlando with its current stations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, among other places.

It currently provides service to West Palm Beach, Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton in Florida, Interesting Engineering details.

Related Article: Republic Airways Tops the List of Airlines With Most Canceled Flights in the First Half of 2022
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal: The Heartbreaking Audio Taken Moments Before and After the Boat Crash That Killed Mallory Beach

Netflixs three-part documentary, The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, investigates Alex Murdaughs problematic behaviors and alleged charges, most notably the deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, Alexs son and wife.

Alexs trial of the disgraced lawyer was long and difficult, with several twists and turns. It has also brought to light several alleged crimes committed by the family over the years, which have been conveniently overlooked by authorities due to the high-profile status of the wealthy family.

Lets look at one particular incident involving the Murdaughs and how the family used their influence to cover it up.

The deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh during his trial | Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

On June 7, 2021, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents responded to a late-night 911 call reporting two people dead at the Murdaugh hunting estate in Islandton, S.C. Margaret Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and her son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were discovered dead on the 1,770-acre property, which also houses the familys hunting kennels.

Mother and son are survived by Maggies husband, Alex Murdaugh, then 53, and son Richard, aka Buster. The Murdaugh family comprises generation after generation of district attorneys who handled criminal cases in the states 14th circuit district, dubbed Murdaugh Country. The family has held these positions for more than 86 years.

In July 2022, Alex was charged with two counts of the first-degree murders of his son and wife and two counts of possessing a weapon while committing a violent crime. He pleaded not guilty. After the six-week trial, the jury found Alex guilty of killing his son and wife. He was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, as The New York Times reports.

Paul Murdaughs problematic past

The Murdaughs abused their wealth and privilege. Alex and Maggies youngest son, Paul, learned early on that he could get away with extreme behavior. Morgan Doughty, Alexs ex-girlfriend, recalled Alex buying alcohol for Paul and his underage friends. When Paul was severely intoxicated, he would often put himself, as well as others, in danger.

Paul once drove his pickup truck, full of beer cans and guns, into a ditch while under the influence on his way home from a Christmas party. Family members arrived on the scene to gather the incriminating evidence, allowing Paul to escape the incidents repercussions.

Doughty spoke out for the first time in the Netflix documentary about her turbulent relationship with Alex Murdaughs younger son, Paul. She described him as an abusive partner who frequently drank, claiming that one night he began kicking her and then grabbed her by the throat and punched her.

Paul Murdaughs boating incident and the death of Mallory Beach

The Netflix documentary focuses on several major cases, including a tragic boat accident. Using the family speedboat, Paul, Doughty, and their friends attended a party in February 2019. The boat collided with a nearby bridge, causing everyone to fall into the water.

Audio and video from moments before and after the crash are deeply upsetting, as you can hear screams and tearful outbursts from these teenagers, shocked at what theyve just experienced.

While the others were rescued, one partygoer named Mallory Beach was not. A missing persons case was opened, but she was discovered dead seven days later. Doughty claims in the documentary that Paul was driving and thus responsible. He denied this, claiming their friend, Connor, was driving.

However, forensic evidence presented in the documentary by a boating engineer demonstrated Connor could not have been in the drivers seat due to injuries sustained by both he and Paul during the crash.

The Murdaugh family took advantage of their power and influence, underscoring that absolute power corrupts absolutely. You can check out The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal for the full story.
Prince Harry sat down for a conversation with trauma expert Gabor Mate. A royal expert gave his opinion on Harrys discussion. According to him, Prince Harry likely wont return to the UK. He says the Duke of Sussex seems at peace now that he has a new life with Meghan Markle in California.

Prince Harry has a fresh start with Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Chris Jackson  Pool/Getty Images

Royal expert Darren Stanton analyzed Prince Harrys discussion with Mate. Stanton says Harry revealed his vulnerable side. He became emotional when talking about the love of his life, Meghan.

Prince Harrys interview with Dr. Gabor Mate was very revealing and added a whole new level of vulnerability for him, says Stanton on behalf of Betfair Casino. Its clear he sees Meghan as a fresh start and his savior from being a full-time member of the royal family, entrenched in protocol, tradition, and orders.

Stanton says Prince Harry appears happy whenever he discusses Meghan. According to him, its clear the duchess is a positive force in his life.

While speaking about his wife during the interview, his emotions changed from sadness to elation, says Stanton. He is obviously incredibly proud of Meghans achievements, which almost made him well up with tears.

Will Prince Harry ever come back to the UK? Not anytime soon, says expert

One question some people have is whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will return to the United Kingdom. Stanton doesnt believe the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will come back.

I think Prince Harry was incredibly honest in this interview, says Stanton. He has most definitely embraced the culture while living in America. Having the session televised demonstrates that Harry has no shame in being open about his emotions.

Stanton continues, Based on his body language and general demeanor since moving to America, I do not think we will see Harry returning to the UK on a full-time basis or in the foreseeable future. He has obviously found his feet in America, where he feels genuinely happy and content to express himself. His confidence levels have definitely grown since breaking away from the royal family.

Prince Harry seems at ease in the United States

Stanton says the Duke of Sussex appears to be relaxed and happy when he is in the United States. That makes it less likely that Prince Harry will return to the UK. The royals expert points out that Harry tends to put his guard up when attending royal engagements in the United Kingdom. However, he seems at ease when attending events in the United States.

He also seems to be a very different person while attending events in America, says Stanton. He is a lot more light-hearted and open, whereas he tended to be guarded and displayed distrust in the UK. I guess the way things have gone with his family has left Harry with a tinge of sadness. However, he is clearly very happy with Meghan and the family unit they have in America.

Follow Sheiresa Ngo on Twitter.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly face a coronation dilemma, says a royal commentator. After receiving an official invite from King Charles III, the couple must choose whether to attend the storied event. However, the commentator claims the former senior royals are faced with two choices: duty versus an obsession with controlling the narrative.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Andrew Milligan  WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not yet responded to King Charles IIIs coronation invite

Per CNN, Prince Harrys spokesperson confirmed he and Meghan Markle had received a coronation invite from King Charles III. However, they have yet to respond.

I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majestys office regarding the coronation, the spokesperson said. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.

Harry has previously declined to answer whether his family would return to the United Kingdom for his fathers coronation. The event, where Charles will be crowned alongside Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, takes place May 6, 2023.

The door is always open, he said in a January interview with Britains ITV to publicize his book, Spare. The ball is in their court. Theres a lot to be discussed, and I really hope that theyre willing to sit down and talk about it.

However, a royal commentator claims that due to Spares publication and interviews where Prince Harry continued to spill royal family secrets, there is more at stake than just a sit-down with senior royals.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle face a choice of duty versus obsession with controlling the narrative says a Royal Commentator

Why Harry and Meghan may avoid King Charles IIIs coronation https://t.co/eot9c649d2 via @MailOnline will they, wont they? do we greatly care? The idea of them overshadowing it is a farce but whether to go or not presents them with problems.  Richard Fitzwilliams (@RFitzwilliams) March 5, 2023

The Daily Mail Online asked royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams his opinion regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markles participation in King Charles IIIs coronation. Fitzwilliams said the couple is facing a twofold dilemma.

Fitzwilliams explained his take on the couples potential situation. The courtiers are aware of their obsession with controlling the narrative and getting publicity. They will be strictly controlled as they were during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Discussions with other royals will focus on the weather.

The royal commentator continued, So the dilemma is theirs. They wont be missed if they dont come by much of the British public. However, if they dont, they risk appearing irrelevant, and polls in America have shown a seismic drop in their support.

There are also emotional and generational ties to the event for Harry. Whether or not he is at odds with his family, his father is being crowned king of the United Kingdom, an event that is too important to miss.

On the other hand, Charles appears to have bitten back at the couples continued discussions about the royal family. He evicted them from their Frogmore Cottage home. Therefore, Meghan and Harry face another personal dilemma if they attend the coronation: a secure place to stay.

A basic need could keep Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from attending King Charles IIIs coronation

Frogmore Cottage | Steve Parsons/Getty Images

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left their jobs as senior royals in 2020, they also left behind the official security detail that follows the family. This lack of security is a problem for the couple if they dont have a secure space to stay when visiting the U.K.

The couples former Frogmore Cottage home is on the grounds of the Windsor estate, watched over by police. Yahoo! Royal Executive Editor Omid Scobie explained why not having a properly secured space could stop the couple from attending the coronation.

Scobie revealed that before being evicted, Harry and Meghans British home offered protection to the couple and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. He says the Mets Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit covers theirs and the residence of other senior royals.

I think the King [Charles III] is just fed up with the entire situation, said a royal source to Scobie. A Buckingham Palace spokesman refused to comment, reported Yahoo!

Currently, Harry and Meghan reside in the United States. They live in the state of California, in the town of Montecito.
During The Bachelor Season 27 Week 7, Charity Lawson brought up experiencing infidelity in her past relationships. The 27-year-old child and family therapist has had quite a rocky road on her journey to find love. Heres everything Charity has said about her experiences.

[Spoiler alert: The Bachelor Season 27 spoilers ahead regarding Charity Lawson.]

Charity Lawson and Zach Shallcross | ABC/Craig Sjodin

Charity discussed her past relationships during a 1-on-1 with Zach

Charity Lawson was supposed to go on a 1-on-1 date with Zach Shallcross in London. However, their date was postponed when Zach got coronavirus (Covid-19). The pair made up for lost time by exploring Tallinn, Estonia, together. Later they sat down for a more serious talk.

The relationship prior to being here  it was an emotionally abusive relationship for me. I never honestly felt what it feels like to be seen as a partner, Charity told Zach during their date. It was just a relationship that had several occurrences of infidelity. Way more than probably anyone could imagine.

It was with someone that I knew and also the person that I loved at the time who did this awful thing to me. It just became this really vicious cycle of manipulation, Charity continued, adding that she hid these details of her relationship with those closest to her.

Infidelity came up during The Bachelor Season 27, Week 7

During The Bachelor Season 27 Week 7, Charity and the other women on the group date visited a mentalist with Zach. He told Charity to think of the one reason why her previous relationship didnt work. Charity answered, infidelity, and the mentalist wrote the same word on the board.

Infidelity is the act of cheating on a spouse or partner, and experiencing this has clearly affected Charity. While appearing on an episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, she talked more about her past relationships.

Charity shared that she dated someone for around six years on and off. She said that they were high school sweethearts, and the pair later went off to college, where they had some turmoil there on and off but then kind of came back together a little bit right before Charity started grad school.

Charity explained, It obviously didnt work out. It was just a really unhealthy relationship, and I think in that moment, I was the one that kind of had to pull the plug on it and decide for myself, which was something that was really hard for me to do because Im typically the type of person that likes to see the good in everyone.

Charity continues on to hometowns

Despite the difficult conversations about infidelity Charity had to have with Zach, the Bachelor gave her a rose during week 7. Charity will continue on to hometowns with Zach, and he will meet her family in Columbus, GA. The teaser shows Charitys dad and brother meeting Zach and asking some tough questions. Tune in next week to see how it all goes down.

The Bachelor Season 27 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel.
ABCs The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 brings Zach Shallcrosss final seven contestants to Budapest, Hungary. While in Estonia, Kat Izzo caused a scene after kissing Zach before Charity Lawsons one-on-one date. Brooklyn Willie called out Kat for her behavior. And Kaity Biggar said the whole ordeal was uncomfortable for everyone.

[Spoiler alert: The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 spoilers ahead.]

Kat Izzo and Zach Shallcross in The Bachelor Season 27 | ABC/Craig Sjodin

Brooklyn Willie and Kat Izzo got into a verbal altercation after Kat kissed Zach Shallcross

The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 will show the aftermath of Brooklyn Willie and Kat Izzos altercation. While in Estonia, Zach came to pick Charity Lawson up for her one-on-one date, and Kat quickly pulled Zach aside. During their brief alone time, Kat kissed Zach, which rubbed the other women the wrong way. Brooklyn was particularly outspoken regarding Kats behavior, as she felt Kat took Charitys moment away from her.

With Brooklyn, the aggression has continued, Kat tells the camera in episode 6. Now its like, youre just being aggressive for no reason. Youre being aggressive to be mean. I have been nothing but supportive and pleasant to everyone throughout this. So, to be treated that way. Its like, no. Im not going to apologize for that.

Kat and Brooklyn received roses in episode 6 despite the drama potentially impacting their relationships with Zach.

Kaity Biggar said Brooklyn Willie and Kat Izzos fighting was uncomfortable

Kaity Biggar spoke to the Click Bait With Bachelor Nation podcast about Brooklyn Willie and Kat Izzos fight that started in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 6. She explained that the whole situation felt tense and uncomfortable.

For me, that was Charitys day, that was Charitys moment, and I respect all the girls, and Im not saying Kat doesnt, but I think there was a better time to do that, more appropriate, Kaity said of Kats big move on Zach. I understand that were all vying for his time, we all need to take that initiative, but that wasnt the time for it, in my perspective. I think the kiss, too, it was not a good feeling to be there.

And then when Brooklyn said her piece on it, it was a very uncomfortable situation, it was a very hostile environment, and I wanted to leave so bad, Kaity continues. Any time theres negativity in the room, I wanna hit the ground running. It was just a very awkward moment.

Who goes home in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7?

Hometowns are right around the corner and for some, that could change everything. Don't miss a new #TheBachelor Monday on ABC. pic.twitter.com/4ioo9acv3T  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 3, 2023

Kat Izzo and Brooklyn Willies feud will likely continue in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7. But viewers wont hear of it after that, as both women head home, according to The Bachelor spoilers from Reality Steve.

The spoilers note Brooklyn is given a one-on-one date with Zach, but Zach eliminates her during the date. A preview for the date shows Zach uncertain about how he fits in with Brooklyns family. It seems he allows these doubts to get the best of him, and he sends her home during the dinner portion of their evening.

As for Kat, Zach likely doesnt give her a rose during the rose ceremony. He also eliminates Greer Blitzer in episode 7.

The Bachelor Season 27 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel.
ABCs The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 brings the final seven women to Budapest, Hungary. Zach Shallcross got coronavirus (COVID-19) in London but bounced back quickly for his two one-on-one dates and group date in Estonia. So, whos headed home in Budapest? Here are The Bachelor spoilers.

[Spoiler alert: The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 spoilers ahead.]

The Bachelor Season 27 | ABC/Craig Sjodin

Previews for The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7 show Zach Shallcross giving a difficult goodbye

Zach Shallcross told fans that he wouldnt tolerate unnecessary drama during his season, but that doesnt mean he doesnt have difficult goodbyes ahead of him. The Bachelor spoilers indicated that Zach and some of his contestants would shed tears. And it looks like tears will come in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7.

A preview for the episode shows Zach kissing several women, but relationships may take a turn on the group date. The women on the group date  Gabi Elnicki, Ariel Frenkel, Greer Blitzer, Charity Lawson, and Kat Izzo  go to a mind reader. Do you think you are the right person for Zach? the mind reader asks one of the women in the preview.

The clip then shows Zach on a one-on-one date breaking up with one of his contestants. You deserve love I cant give you, Zach tells her. The clip then shows the women huddling together and crying, and Zach hugs Jesse. This is not the last goodbye, Zach continues. I know its gonna get worse.

The Bachelor Season 27 spoilers: Whos eliminated on night 7?

Hometowns are right around the corner and for some, that could change everything. Don't miss a new #TheBachelor Monday on ABC. pic.twitter.com/4ioo9acv3T  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 3, 2023

Whos eliminated in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7? According to The Bachelor spoilers from Reality Steve, three women head home. Those three women are Greer Blitzer, Kat Izzo, and Brooklyn Willie.

Greer Blitzer had coronavirus the week prior and she had to miss the group date in Estonia. Many fans dont expect to see her return, but she comes back into the mix for the group date in Budapest. Sadly, her journey ends in episode 7. While she received the First Impression Rose, she failed to connect with Zach Shallcross further.

Kat Izzo also reportedly heads home. Kat and Zach had a strong connection, but her pulling Zach aside before Charity Lawsons one-on-one may have put a target on her back. Zach sends her home in episode 7.

Finally, Brookly Willie heads home. Zach gives Brooklyn another one-on-one date in Budapest, but he sends her home during the dinner portion of the date. A clip from their date shows Zach having doubts about where he fits in her family.

Hometown visits happen next week

The truth always comes out. Watch #TheBachelor Monday at 8/7c on ABC and Stream on Hulu! pic.twitter.com/Usa8Xmh8JF  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 2, 2023

With three women eliminated in The Bachelor Season 27 Episode 7, just four remain. Gabi Elnicki, Ariel Frenkel, Charity Lawson, and Kaity Biggar move on to hometown dates. Zach Shallcross will meet the families next week.

According to The Bachelor spoilers, Zach heads to Vermont to meet Gabis family, New York City for Ariels, Georgia for Charitys, and Texas for Kaitys. He sends one woman home during hometowns, leaving his final three for the finale.

The Bachelor Season 27 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel.
Auguste Willems (64), member of the Executive Board of Wacker Chemie AG, will leave the company on April 30, 2023, at his own request. The Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Christian Kirsten (51) as his successor. Kirsten will join the Executive Board on May 1 on a three year contract.

A graduate in business administration with a doctorate in chemistry, he will join the Munich-based chemicals group from consumer goods and adhesives manufacturer Henkel. At Henkel, Kirsten was most recently Corporate Senior Vice President with global responsibility for the companys adhesives business with the automotive and metal industries, as well as for all adhesives operations in Europe.

Dr. Peter-Alexander Wacker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, thanked Willems for his many years of service to the company: In his more than 17 years on the Executive Board, Auguste Willems has helped shape the development of the WACKER Group across a variety of areas of responsibility. With his strong customer and market orientation, he has made a key contribution to the companys operational growth and significantly strengthened its customer focus. It is an achievement that deserves our utmost respect.

Auguste Willems

August Willems studied bioscience at the University of Leuven (Belgium). After graduating, he joined Henkel, holding various sales and marketing positions. He then spent several years in Indonesia and the USA, with overall operations responsibility. After Henkel split off its specialty-chemicals business, he transferred to Cognis as Group Vice President of Functional Products and member of the Corporate Executive Committee in 2002. In January 2006, Willems was appointed to the Executive Board of Wacker Chemie AG.

Dr. Christian Kirsten

Dr. Christian Kirsten studied in Dusseldorf, where he received his doctorate in chemistry in 1997. He began his career in Central Research at Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. After holding positions in management consulting and in the automotive industry between 2000 and 2006, he returned to Henkel as Head of Global Raw Materials Procurement. Starting in 2013, he was responsible for Henkels global adhesives business for the automotive and metal industries, which he managed from Shanghai, China, between 2015 and 2017. In 2018, he assumed additional responsibility for the entire European adhesives business and became president for Henkel in Europe.
IFF announced it has entered into an agreement to sell its Flavor Specialty Ingredients (FSI) business to Exponent, a leading UK-based private equity firm, for $220 million in cash proceeds. FSI reports through IFFs Scent division and is a leading manufacturer of synthetic and natural base aroma chemicals used in the flavor market. Cash proceeds from the transaction, net of taxes and expenses, will be used to reduce outstanding debt.

Aligned with our strategy, were continuously evaluating our portfolio to identify opportunities to strengthen our financial profile, said IFF CEO Frank Clyburn. The sale of FSI will improve our capital structure while allowing us to focus on our core businesses to enhance growth and returns. We appreciate the contributions of our FSI colleagues, who have shared our commitment to quality and customer service. We will work closely with Exponent to have a successful transition and look forward to FSIs bright future.

IFFs FSI is a leading manufacturer of specialty base aromas with a broad range of more than 1,000 aroma chemicals and natural extracts, which provide inputs primarily to the flavor market. FSI includes four dedicated manufacturing and distribution facilities at Teesside and Hartlepool, United Kingdom; Cincinnati, United States; and Pucheng, China, with additional points of distribution in Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong. With approximately 340 employees, IFFs FSI business serves more than 970 customers and generated more than $100 million in revenue over the last 12 months.

IFF and Exponent expect to close the transaction by the end of Q3 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Centerview Partners LLC acted as financial advisor to IFF, and Cravath, Swain & Moore LLP provided legal support.
Cherokee Nation citizen Joseph Tali Byrd attends an Election Commission hearing on Feb. 27 with his legal adviser, Raquel Anakalea. Byrds eligibility to run for the District 3 Tribal Council seat was questioned by fellow candidate Brandon Girty, but the EC sided with Byrd. Girty has appealed to the CN Supreme Court.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
An official with the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that Google parent Alphabet should be recognized as the "joint employer" of a group of YouTube Music contract workers.

According to a regional director of the NLRB, Alphabet has authority over the contract workers' pay, benefits, and working conditions, converting them into actual employees.

The Ruling Also Constitutes That YouTube Music Contractors Be Allowed To Join Unions

Over 60 workers in Austin, Texas are currently vying to join the Alphabet Worker Union (AWU), according to Gizmodo.

If successful, they will be able to bargain with Google's parent corporation for the same benefits and salary as full-time workers.

Additionally, it could mark a turning point for the countless other low-wage contract workers who keep other major internet corporations operating.

Google, which plans to appeal the decision, contends that the worker's only employer should be Cognizant, a subcontractor.

Director of the NLRB's regional office in Fort Worth Timothy Watson stated in his 15-page decision that Google has immediate and direct control over the compensation, working conditions, supervision, and direction of the YouTube contractors.

The director claimed that Google, to a lesser extent, exerts influence over the workers' pay by "setting minimum standards."

"We are proud to win a precedent-setting victory not just for ourselves, but also for workers across the country, where technology companies in particular have innovated new ways to deny responsibility for their workers' livelihoods," YouTube Music contract worker Sam Regan says.

This is done through the process of subcontracting, gig work, and other poor employment practices, Regan adds.

The YouTube Music employees are a potential bargaining unit and should be given the chance to vote to formally join the union, according to NLRB regional director Timothy Watson as well.

The employees reportedly already paid AWU dues, but they did not have formal negotiating rights.

One of the first of its sort for a major global tech business like Alphabet, the union claims to have over 1,300 members, including full-time Google engineers as well as contract workers and vendors.

Read More: YouTube Music Officially Welcomes Podcasts On The Platform

The Contractors At YouTube Music Fight Back

The decision was made about six months after a supermajority of Austin-based YouTube contract workers signed union cards and applied for union recognition with the board, Gizmodo says.

Almost 40 employees went on strike last month in protest of the company's return-to-office policy, which they allege jeopardizes their ability to support themselves.

Even though supposedly about a quarter of them were working remotely from outside the state on February 6, Cognizant, the YouTube subcontractor, insisted that employees report to work that day.

"Workers are paid around $19 an hour and thus, cannot afford the relocation, travel or childcare costs associated with in person work," the YouTube music workers claim.

The NLRB's decision regarding Alphabet's employment status, if upheld, would be the tech giant's army of independent contractors' second important triumph in less than a week.

Following protests, some 5,000 Google contract workers who evaluated the effectiveness of the company's search and advertising technologies had their compensation increased to $15 per hour.

Furthermore, the AWU filed a petition asking Google to ensure that its salary and benefit standards apply to all of its employees.

Related Article: YouTube Music Now Comes With Custom Radio Stations - How Can You Make One?
Researchers from University College London and the University of Ghana were able to successfully predict if children have anemia using just a set of images captured by a smartphone.

This finding came as the result of a study recently published in PLOS ONE, in which the team experimented with a novel non-invasive diagnostic approach using smartphone pictures of the face and eye.

This technique may make screening for anemia much more accessible for children in low and middle-income countries such as Ghana where iron deficiency causes high rates of anemia.

This would be possible since the screening tool is significantly cheaper than existing diagnostic options, and it also allows results to be delivered in the same sitting.

According to the Mayo Clinic, anemia is a condition that causes a lack of healthy red blood cells. Also referred to as low hemoglobin, anemia results in a reduced concentration of hemoglobin levels in the blood meaning that oxygen is not efficiently transported throughout the body.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 2 billion people worldwide are anemic. And the condition can have drastic impacts on child development by impairing cognitive development and increasing infectious disease susceptibility.

Around the world, the most common cause is iron deficiency. However, other conditions can also contribute to the development of anemia including malaria, sickle-cell disease, and blood loss.

Diagnosing anemia traditionally required blood samples to be drawn which is expensive for both patients and healthcare providers.

Traveling to the hospital can also create cost-related inequalities since families are often required to make two trips.

Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
Last week, my students and I were looking at ways to interpret difficult texts in Paul in class when a storm broke out online around the theology of the marriage metaphor.

In Twitter threads and Substack posts, Christian voices offered their discerning views around pastor Joshua Ryan Butlers metaphorical reading of Ephesians 5 published on The Gospel Coalition website. Butlers piece, an excerpt from an upcoming book on sex, generated enough critical feedback that the article was removed.

The recent discussion, though, underscores a perpetual question for us as Christians: How can we discern the Bible and Christian tradition faithfully? What should be our key?

As Christians, we point to the triune God as the fount of all love, and one way that Scripture invites us to consider God and love is through the metaphorical language of marriage. In Ephesians 5, Paul describes marriage, a union both social and physical, as a great mystery (v. 32), and he draws out practical lessons of self-sacrifice for wives (vv. 2124, 33) and husbands (vv. 21, 25, 2829, 33). Woven throughout these teachings on marriage are beautiful statements about Christ and the church.

Our interpretation of these statements must be anchored in the biblical text itself. Before describing him as a husband, Paul uses imagery in Ephesians 5 to reveal the Lords sovereignty. Although he has just given his incarnate name, Jesus, Paul refers to the Son of God as Christ and Lord. Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the one who reigns over Gods kingdom, and the Lord, the sovereign over the universe. He is also the Savior of the body (v. 23).

Christ exercises his sovereign lordship through acts of self-giving service and love, as in John 13 and Philippians 2. Christ the Sovereign loved the church and gave himself for her, in order that he might sanctify the church. Christ dealt with the problem of sin by washing, which was the job of a servant (Eph. 5:2627). All the members of the body, individually and collectively as the church (v. 30), needed the salvation only Christ the Lord could bring.

Paul compares husbands to Christ in this passage, but this does not mean that husbands are like Christ in every respect. It is freeing for men to know the ways they should not (because they cannot) be Lord to their wives. They can neither save nor sanctify their wives, for they too are in need of a Savior and contaminated by sin.

Not like other males

Paul does provide the relationship of wives to their husbands as an example of all Christians submitting to one another and all the members of the church submitting to Christ, but he never tells husbands to lead their wives, only to lovea directive he repeats in Ephesians 5:25, twice in verse 28, and again in verse 33.

Article continues below

We see husbands are not Jesus, and Jesus is not in all ways like a husband. While Paul teaches husbands to love self-sacrificially by following the example of Jesus self-sacrificial death for the church, he goes beyond the bounds of the marriage metaphor when he speaks of Christs love for the church. Paul makes it clear that Christs self-sacrificial love is not only a one-time atoning event. Christ engages in long-term, ongoing care for the church.

In Ephesians 5:29, he nourishes the church, a term used for fathers care of children (Eph. 6:4) and related to the term for mothers nursing (Luke 23:29). Christ also cares for the church, a term used for keeping warm (Deut. 22:6) or nursing (1 Thess. 2:7). Paul is not limiting the metaphor to husband and wife but is introducing into the marriage metaphor parental imagery for Christeven parental imagery associated with female bodies.

The church is feminized in Pauls metaphor, but the church is made up of male and female members who are all called to love Christ as a bride. Christ is primarily cast as the husband in this metaphorand he is certainly embodied as malebut Christ is not like other males, not only because he is God, but also because his male body came from the flesh of a female body (Mary) and not also a male body (Joseph).

This reality is simply the statement of the doctrine of the virginal conception of Jesus. In short, Pauls depiction of Christs singular sovereignty and saving work, in addition to the mixed parental and marriage metaphors, preserves the boundary upheld by all Christian teaching: the boundary between Creator and creation.

And this means that this text also preserves the boundary between Christ and males, freeing husbands from a standard they could never achieve. The only way they are called to be like Jesus is to love their wives self-sacrificially, the precise call Paul issues to all believers (Eph. 5:12). It is the biblical text itself that closes the door to privilege of proximity between men and Jesus/God, a concept that has been used to justify abuse of women by men, dressed up in spiritual garb.

Article continues below

A deeply inclusive mystery

As is apparent from Ephesians 5, marriage is not the only metaphor for Gods relation to the church in Scripture. Another prominent arena of biblical language is that of the family. God is sometimes the husband, but more often, God is named as the Father. Even Ephesians 5, known for the marriage metaphor, starts this way: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children (ESV, emphasis added).

One of the dangers of overemphasizing the marriage metaphor is that it can contribute to an idolization of marriage and privilege the experience of those who can righteously engage in sexual intercourse. On the other hand, the family metaphor is more universal. Whether or not the experience is a good one, everyone knows what it is to be a son or daughter, but not everyone knows what it is to be married. The pervasiveness of familial language for God takes the marriage metaphor off any inappropriate pedestal.

Moreover, familial terminology does not lend itself to unsuitable comparisons between sex and relationship with God as the marriage metaphor has. Granted, a man does not become a biological father save through sex, but the same doesnt apply to God the Father. God is Creator. God is Spirit. God is eternally three persons in dynamic loving relationship as unbegotten, begotten, and proceeding.

When the triune God was revealed preeminently in the incarnation of the divine Son, that revelation took place through a nonsexual act. Gods Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary but did not have intercourse with her (Luke 1:35).

When rightly understood, both metaphors in ScriptureGod as our husband and God as our Fatherwork against a fundamental problem that must be avoided: a crude male sexualization of God and its corollary, a divinization of male sexuality. This is the mistake that Butler made in his interpretation, which parallels how Christ penetrates his church with the generative seed of his Word with the sexual intimacy of a bride waiting in the honeymoon suite.

In the Incarnation, the eternal God chose to reveal Gods own self as the Father who is not an embodied male and an eternal Son who became one. And in Gods eternal wisdom, this revelation took place through and with the active agency and body of a woman. There is a profound and deeply inclusive mystery in the body of our Lord, a male virginally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit when Mary said yes. His body evokes the image of God (Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4) as proclaimed in Genesis 1:2627, the image of God in male and female.

Article continues below

It is this revelation of God in Jesus Christ that should control our interpretation of the marriage metaphor in Ephesians 5. Jesus is the key to our discernment. If the Father of Jesus Christ is revealed preeminently in the Incarnation, which does not happen through sex; and the Son who is male from the body of a female also never engaged in sex; and if that God is metaphorically the husband of the church, then the creaturely category of male sexual activity cannot be projected onto our God.

When understood through the Incarnation, our metaphorical relationship with the triune God as husband offers something beautiful and good for all people, married and single, men and women, without privilege for some but lack for others.

If anything, this controversy shows that different schools of interpretation need to be in communication with one another and not ensconced in self-contained silos. It is unity, even and especially, unity across difference, that Jesus said would communicate Gods love to a world so desperately in need of it (John 13:35).

We are not all married to one another, but we are all a part of the same family.

Amy Peeler is associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and associate rector at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Geneva, Illinois. She is the author of a book on Mary titled Women and the Gender of God.

[ This article is also available in Portugues, , and . ]
Jews should leave Russia if they can.

The stark warning was issued by Pinchas Goldschmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow, as 2022 came to a close. After 30 years in office, he left two weeks after the invasion of Ukraine and later revealed the Kremlin pressured him to support the waror else.

A student of history, he fears Jews will again become scapegoats as the government tries to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses.

The resulting question: Where does God want them to go?

Goldschmidt, currently in Israel, has been joined by 41,813 Russian Jewish immigrants since the war began a year ago, according to recent data released by the Knesset. [Editors note: On March 15, Goldschmidt updated this figure to 50,000 during a webinar hosted by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. An additional 30,000 Russian Jews have fled to other nations in Europe or the Middle East.] Another 90,000 arrived in Israel without immigrant status. Israels immigration minister stated 600,000 Russians are currently eligible.

But according to its 2010 census, Russia has only 156,000 Jews.

The discrepancy comes from the concept of aliyahthe Hebrew word for ascentin which Israel grants automatic citizenship to anyone who has at least one Jewish grandparent and has not converted to another religion. A controversial coalition deal in the new government includes revising the Law of Return to ensure these olim (immigrants) qualify under religious lawand thus reduce intermarriage. Over 70 percent of last years war-induced immigrants are not considered Jewish per Orthodox law, stated the Aliyah and Integration minister.

In many cases, Messianic Jews have been disqualified, and their status is disputed. But last September, the seventh World Conference of Russian-Speaking Messianic Leaders overwhelmingly declared the return to Zion to be a blessing.

The only dispute was whether it is also a commandment.

Russian Jews are not the only aspirants. The Knesset stated 13,490 Ukrainian Jews have also immigrated to Israel, as Operation Homecoming opened 18 aid centers in Ukraine and neighboring countries. An additional 1,990 Jews immigrated from Belarus.

A 2020 study identified 43,000 Jews in Ukrainemaking it one of Europes largest Jewish communitiesthough those eligible to make aliyah could be as high as 200,000.

An estimated 5,000 worship Jesus as Messiah.

Of these, about 1,000 have gone to Germany, where they doubled the local community.

Aliyah is a certain type of coming hometo the land that belongs to us, said Vladimir Pikman, executive director of Beit Sar Shalom. But I dont see a direct commandment to go to Israel.

Centered in Berlin, his is the largest Messianic Jewish organization in Europe. Its Hebrew name translates to House of the Prince of Peace, and has been a refuge to Ukrainian Jew and Gentile alike, providing translation, logistical help, and trauma care counseling.

They prioritized the special needs of displaced Jews, believers in Jesus included.

He and other Messianic Jewish leaders caution about numbers, as many members are non-Jews who resonate with their worship style and theology. But Kyiv had been a regional center, boasting Europes largest congregation with up to 2,000 believers.

These and most other Jews in Ukraine traditionally spoke Russian, with half citing it as their native language. Today only 20 percent say so as, like Ukraines Jewish president Volodymyr Zelensky, they are switching in protest to Ukrainian.

Russian-speaking Messianic Jewish congregations are prevalent around the world, however. Chosen People Ministries (CPM) counts at least 75 in the nations of the former Soviet Union, 100 in the rest of the diaspora, and at least 60 in Israel.

The war has split the community, Pikman said. Many fellowships have agreed not to discuss it, and the conference resolved not to let the conflict back home cause conflict abroad. Many delegates were from Ukraine, while most Russians were unable to obtain visas. But the majority of congregations in Russia are not opposed to the war, he said, and the rift with Ukrainians is severe.

German Messianic Jews, though divided themselves, have welcomed all, he said.

Being deliberately provocative at the conference, Pikman cited his country as a counterweight to the idea of Israel being the necessary refuge for suffering Jewry. The modern nation-state is certainly a sign, and he is optimistic the end times are near. But there is no guarantee that the state of Israel will survive or that the children of Abraham will not be scattered once again.

Pikman traveled to Israel 14 years ago to explore the idea of making aliyah. He says God quickly answered no. He sees it as a personal decision and rejoices with those who do emigrate. But just as Paul was not called to stay in Jerusalem, Jews in generaland Messianic Jews in particularhave a mission to the nations.

Israel needs their geopolitical support, he said. And everyone needs the gospel.

It is always a blessing to be where God wants you to be, Pikman said. But doing aliyah, apart from Gods will, is wrong.

Yet the burden of proof, said one leader, falls on those outside Israel.

Leon Mazin, founder and director of Shavei Zion Ministry in Haifa, said he would very timidly tell Jews in the US, Canada, or Europe to think and direct your eyes and paths to Zion. But he is absolutely not shy about giving such advice to Ukrainians.

Those already expelled from one diaspora should go to the Promised Land, he said. There is no need to go to another diaspora.

Sixty percent of his congregationincluding Mazin himselfcame to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Others said the same ratio applies to the entire Messianic Jewish community in Israel, which has received 1 million Russian-speaking Jews since 1990. The legacy of Soviet atheism, he has found, has stunted the biblical knowledge of many Jews, especially secular ones.

His organizations nameReturn to Zion, in Englishexpresses its belief in the importance of aliyah, based on the biblical dynamic making clear it is Gods intention for his people to go to Israel. Mazin cites the original command of Genesis 12: The words that God said to AbrahamLech lecha, go to the land of your forefathershave not been canceled.

He understands that some individuals have a certain vocation to stay in the diaspora. But the majority should come home.

In the days of the apostles, up to 30 percent of Israel followed the teachings of the man from Nazareth, he said. But today, less than 0.2 percent do.

We do not so much have to evangelize as rehabilitate the name of Yeshua, Mazin said, using the Hebrew name for Jesus. He is grateful that the persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel has decreased, and it is much easier to be a Messianic believer in Israel now than in prior decades.

In the days of the Babylonian captivity, only 42,000 people went home, he noted. This indicates that for many it is easier and better in the diaspora. But Gods Word says, Come out of Egypt.

Boris Goldin is trying, in obedience to what he views as a divine commandment.

Sooner or later, we should all go back, whether we want to or not, said the president of the US-based Association of Russian-Speaking Messianic Jewish Congregations. But I want to do it truthfully.

Born in Kyiv to a communist father, the then-secular Jew immigrated to the US in 1989, finding faith two years later. But as a youth he was beaten and cursed for his ethnicityan antisemitism Ukraine has not yet fully excised, he said, as the 71-year-old continues to see it firsthand.

Today Goldin leads a fellowship in Florida but also spends four to six months every year in Ukraine as country director for CPM. The organization helped a handful of Messianic Jewish women make aliyah since the war, providing financial aid and connections in eastern Europe. But the processing is done individually with Israel, and to avoid complications, one said she was a secular Jew.

Goldin said it is too early to know how the new coalition government will treat aliyah applications by Messianic Jews, and much depends on the local officials. But he has studied the process for the last six years, keen not to deny Yeshua.

He agrees that those leaving Russia and Ukraine should go to Israel, if possible. But those in the diaspora are not necessarily in sin. There is a long tradition of rabbis who knew well the commandment of God to return to the Promised Land yet served faithfully their spiritually displaced people.

Messianic Jews must do the same today, wherever they are, Goldin said.

Another leader, born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States. He disagrees strongly that Jews must return home.

Israel is the Jewish homeland, a place where all Jewish people should feel welcome and free, said Dan Sered, chief operating officer of Jews for Jesus (JFJ). But the answer to this question depends on the individual, deciding how to follow Gods leading.

Leaving Israel as a teenager, he found Jesus in America and returned in 2000 as a JFJ missionary, later heading the organizations office in Tel Aviv. Now supervising the global ministry, he resides in New Jersey. But he agrees that in welcoming Russians and Ukrainians, Zion fulfills its purpose as a safe haven for diaspora Jews.

For some, it will be increasingly necessary.

They wont have a choice, said Ariel Rudolph, director of operations for Jerusalem Seminary. Worldwide persecution, either as believers or as Jews, will force them to go.

Emigrating from South Africa in 1993, he considers making aliyah to be a blessingthough it is not for everyone, and some cannot make it work. But for the nation, it is the fulfillment of Ezekiels valley of dry bones brought back to life.

Michael Zinn, a descendent of Holocaust survivors from Ukraine, referred to the weeping prophet.

This is the hunter stage of Jewish emigration, said the CPM national director, drawing on Jeremiah 16:16. There is no doubt that God ultimately wants his people back in the land.

The disputed interpretation sees a contrast between the fishermen who will win Jews to their Messiah and the hunters who will force them home. Some say both groups are malign actors. But while the preceding verse speaks of God returning Jews to the land, the following verses put it in the context of punishment for their disobedience.

The leaders interviewed by CT hold varying views on eschatology, but all anticipate the final ingathering of Gods chosen people. It will happen, they say; the question is when. Residing in the diaspora, said Pikman, is akin to life abroad.

Restoration is attached to our national repentance as Jewish people at the return of Jesus, he said. It is nice to be on a business trip, but it is nicer to come home.

Additional reporting by Jeremy Weber

[ This article is also available in  and . ]
When conservative Anglicans from around the world gather next month in Rwanda, they could begin to explore a new framework of leadership in response to the Church of Englands recent move to let its clergy bless same-sex marriages.

The decision around the blessings, a compromise made at the Church of Englands General Synod in February, provoked bishops representing a majority of the worlds Anglicans to threaten a break with the mother church of their communion.

The Church of England has departed from the historic faith passed down from the Apostles and disqualified herself from leading the [worldwide Anglican] Communion as the historic Mother Church, according to a statement endorsed by 12 archbishops aligned with the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA).

The bishops represent Anglicans in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. One member of the group, archbishop Foley Beach, represents conservative Anglicans in North America who have broken with the more liberal Episcopal Church.

As much as the GSFA Primates also want to keep the unity of the visible Church and the fabric of the Anglican Communion, our calling to be a holy remnant does not allow us [to] be in communion with those provinces that have departed from the historic faith and taken the path of false teaching, the GSFA stated, a reference to endorsement of same-sex marriage, among other issues.

The Church of England still wont perform same-sex ceremonies and maintains that marriage is a lifelong union between one man and one woman, but it has now opted to allow clergy to offer prayers and liturgies at civil marriages. At last months synod, the Church of England also said it repents of its failure to welcome LGBTQI+ people and for the harm that LGBTQI+ people have experiencedand continue to experiencein churches.

The move could widen the already significant rift among the Anglican Communion, which includes about 85 million adherents across 165 countries.

The GSFA was not alone in denouncing the Church of Englands action. Also opposing the move were Anglican primates in Nigeria and Asia, along with conservatives in North America and England. Though battles over theology and ethics in the Anglican Communion extend back to the 1970s, Anglican observers say the present controversy could represent a decisive shift south in the communions center of gravitywhere Anglicans are more numerous and more conservative.

A hundred years ago, more than three quarters of the worlds Anglicans resided in Britain, according to the Pew Research Center, but today most Anglicans are in Africa.

The Anglican Communion includes more than 40 self-governing provinces and churches across the world, each with its own ruling bishop. Being in communion with one another includes mutual agreement on key doctrines and welcoming Anglicans from other churches and provinces to participate in the sacraments. The Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, is regarded as the first among equals amid Anglican bishops.

The GSFA says that could change. The Global South bishops are no longer able to recognise Welby as first among equals, they said, because he led his churchs General Synod to make decisions that run contrary to the faith and order of the orthodox provinces in the Communion whose people constitute the majority in the global flock.

GAFCON, a movement of worldwide conservative Anglicans, agreed with the sentiment. Its time for the Primate of All England to step down from his role as first among equals in leading the Anglican Communion, GAFCON said in a February 9 statement written by Beach, chair of the GAFCON Primates Council. It is now time for the Primates of the Anglican Communion to choose for themselves their first among equals.

For its April 1721 meeting in Rwanda, GAFCON has adopted the theme To Whom Shall We Go? The movement was already at odds with other Anglican churches to recognize civil marriages of same-sex couples, including the Episcopal Church in America, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The worlds largest Anglican Church, the Church of Nigeria, appears to welcome any leadership change afoot in the communion.

The Anglican Church is at the threshold of yet another reformation, Nigerian archbishop Henry Ndukuba said in a February 12 statement, which must sweep out the ungodly leadership currently endorsing sin, misleading the lives of faithful Anglicans worldwide and endangering their prospects for eternity.

Some Anglican congregations in England are among those disenchanted with the Church of England. In late February, Church of England bishops met with between 150 and 200 clergy members, many of whom were concerned about the General Synods approval of blessing same-sex marriages, the Church Times reported.

The Anglican Church in South East Asia also objected to the Church of Englands latest move on gay marriages but will remain in communion with the historic mother church for now.

Despite our grave reservations regarding the Church of Englands decision, we believe that the unity of the Anglican communion should not be lightly abandoned, said the bishops of Singapore, West Malaysia, Sabah, and Kuching in a February 18 pastoral letter. Hence, we will remain in communion with the Church of England while praying fervently for her and speaking boldly for Gods truth.

For Welbys part, he seemed open to a change in the Anglican power structure at a February 12 address in Ghana.

I will not cling to place or position as an Instrument of Communion, he said, a reference to the leadership structures that hold together the worldwide Anglican Communion. The role of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the See of Canterbury, is an historic one. The Instruments must change with the times.

David Roach is a freelance reporter for CT and pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Saraland, Alabama.

[ This article is also available in Francais. ]
41 more Texas churches leave United Methodist Church amid schism over homosexuality

Another 41 congregations in Texas have officially left The United Methodist Church in response to the mainline Protestant denomination's ongoing debate over its stance on homosexuality.

The UMC North Texas Annual Conference held a special called session on Saturday in which clergy and lay members voted to approve the disaffiliation votes of 41 congregations that formerly belonged to the regional body.

According to a statement emailed to The Christian Post by a conference spokesperson, the regional body "releases these churches with its full blessing," adding that no churches seeking to leave the UMC were denied dismissal.

"Following the day's vote, more than 230 churches in the North Texas Conference remain committed to the mission and values of The United Methodist Church and will continue to help people grow in their love for God; proclaim new life in Christ; serve others  especially the poor; and pursue mercy and justice so people can live whole lives," the statement reads.

According to the UMC Book of Discipline, the denomination considers homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching" and prohibits the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of noncelibate homosexual clergy.

Over the past several years, the UMC has been embroiled in a divisive debate over whether to change this official stance, with many progressive leaders in the church outright refusing to enforce the rules.

In January 2020, a theologically diverse group of United Methodists came together to propose a compromise in which the UMC would allocate funds to create a new denomination that congregations who supported the current standards could join while the remaining member congregations would be free to change the Book of Discipline.

A proposal to implement this compromise was originally slated to take place at the UMC General Conference in May 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the event to be postponed.

After the UMC announced the postponement of the General Conference to 2024 in response to ongoing pandemic concerns in March 2022, conservatives within the UMC launched the Global Methodist Church in May.

"It is anticipated that some theologically conservative local churches will find annual conferences willing to negotiate fair and just exit provisions, while others will, unfortunately, face obstacles placed in their paths," the GMC said in a statement at the time.

"The Transitional Leadership Council decided it was time to launch the Global Methodist Church, so those who can leave early will have a place to land, to begin building and growing, and making room for others to join later."

More than 1,800 churches successfully disaffiliated from the UMC last year, according to a report by UM News, with hundreds of those departing congregations being located in the Lone State State.

For example, the Texas Conference lost 294 congregations via special session vote, while the Northwest Texas Conference lost 145 congregations and the Central Texas Conference lost 81.

Some congregations have faced hurdles. Last November, the UMC Arkansas Conference rejected the disaffiliation votes of three churches while approving the disaffiliation of 35 others.

Several churches, including dozens in North Carolina and Florida, filed lawsuits against their regional bodies. Thirty-eight churches have accused the United Methodist Church's Western North Carolina Conference of "holding their church buildings and property hostage" by enforcing a trust on their properties that they consider "a financial ransom."

Bishop Ken Carter issued a letter contending that the litigation was unnecessary, saying 41 other churches have followed the disaffiliation process.

Last June, over 100 congregations filed a lawsuit against the UMC Florida Annual Conference for requiring them to pay a "sum of money" to retain control of their properties. The total, the lawsuit claims, "is determined in the discretion of the aforementioned parties, and is always substantial and often prohibitive, yet nonnegotiable and unappealable."

Bishop Carter, who also served as bishop of the Florida Conference from 2012-2022, wrote in an open letter that he was grieved by the lawsuit and claimed that the conference tried to "engage those churches in that process but they have refused to follow that process choosing to file this lawsuit instead." He warned that abrupt separation could "damage benefits and pensions for retired pastors and their spouses who devoted their lives to service."
Mother stabs her 5 children killing 3 less than 2 years after twin sister kills own daughter

Less than two years after her mentally troubled twin sister stabbed her 7-year-old daughter to death, a 25-year-old mother from Italy, Texas, allegedly stabbed her five young children, killing three of them last Friday.

The mother, Shamaiya Deyonshana Hall, has since been arrested and charged with three counts of capital murder and is in custody with bail set at a collective $6 million.

A press release from the Ellis County Sheriffs Office said an investigator with Texas Child Protective Services visited Halls home last Friday and decided to remove the children.

The Ellis County Sheriffs office was contacted at approximately 4 p.m. but five minutes later, at 4:05 p.m., officers with the Italy Police Department were shocked by what they found when they arrived on the scene.

They discovered a 6-year-old boy and his 5-year-old twin siblings  a boy and a girl  dead. Two other children, a 4-year-old boy and his 13-month-old sister, are still alive and were transported to Childrens Hospital Dallas in critical condition.

We ask for you to keep the family, the community of Italy, and first responders in your thoughts and prayers during this tragic time, the Ellis County Sheriffs Office said.

The Italy Police Department also offered prayers for the family and friends of the victims in a statement on Facebook Saturday night.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, family, and friends of those who were touched by the tragic events that unfolded yesterday afternoon, as well as all the first responders, and investigators who worked the scene, the department said.

In June 2021, Halls twin sister, Troyshaye Hall, confessed to stabbing a 16-year-old family friend and killing her 7-year-old daughter, who she claimed was being sexually molested, Fox 4 reported. She was later found incompetent to stand trial and is in custody at the North Texas State Hospital.

Authorities say her daughter, Madison Petry, was stabbed more than 30 times.

An off-duty officer who lived next door to the family tried saving Petrys life by driving her to a nearby fire station but she succumbed to her wounds.

"Hes the one who took it upon himself to cover her up and put her in the car because he had to get her to somewhere," eyewitness Frank Turner told Fox 4. "He was trying to save her life."

Neighbors said at the time of Troyshaye Halls stabbing attack that she had just returned home from a psychiatric facility. She told officers after her arrest that her daughter was being sexually abused but it was unclear if those claims were eventually verified.

"Its just shocking because I know they say the devil is alive," Turner noted at the time. "I think he is."

Police have not yet publicly identified Shamaiya Halls children but Rachel L. Kistner, superintendent of the Italy Independent School District in which her oldest child was a student, said the school community was deeply affected by the murders.

Italy ISD is deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred off-campus this evening. Words cannot express the overwhelming grief felt by the district and the community hearing of such a tragedy, she said in a statement Friday. We are a tight-knit, small community and as such many students will be impacted by this incident.

Kistner further noted that as they worked to support students and staff through the tragedy they would provide additional school counselors as well as support at the main campus of Central Baptist Church.
Pro-life activist arrested again for silently praying near abortion clinic after legal victory

A pro-life activist was arrested again for silently praying outside an abortion clinic just weeks after a court cleared her of all wrongdoing related to a previous arrest for engaging in silent prayer outside the facility.

ADF UK announced in a statement Tuesday that March for Life UK Director Isabel Vaughn-Spruce was arrested for violating a Public Space Protection Order by silently praying outside an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England.

Video footage of the arrest, shared on the law firm's Twitter account Monday, shows police officers asking Vaughn-Spruce to "step away from here and step outside the exclusion zone," referring to the area covered by the Public Space Protection Order.

????BREAKING: Isabel has been arrested, AGAIN, for THINKING.



MPs vote TOMORROW on banning silent prayer near all abortion facilities in????????????????????????????&????????????????????????????



"You've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offense."

"Silent prayer."

"You were still engaging in prayer, which is the offense." pic.twitter.com/AId3OguiXz  ADF UK (@ADF_UK) March 6, 2023

The Public Space Protection Order prohibits people from "protesting, namely engaging in any act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval, with respect to issues related to abortion services, by any means" within a certain radius of the abortion clinic. As documented in the video footage, the pro-life activist assured the officers that "I'm not protesting, I'm not engaging in any of the activities prohibited."

"You've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offense," one of the officers responded. When she clarified that she was merely engaging in "silent prayer," the officer indicated that it did not matter: "You're still engaging in prayer. It is an offense."

The officer cited Vaughn-Spruce's disagreement with his analysis as evidence that she would "rather be arrested and taken away than stand outside the exclusion zone." The video concluded with Vaughn-Spruce contending that she was "not intimidating or harassing" anyone and "not protesting."

In a second video clip, Vaughn-Spruce reiterated her assertion to law enforcement officials that she was not violating the Public Space Protection Order because she was not "protesting." They maintained that it did not matter that she was not verbally protesting because "people know who you are and they know why you're here" and that according to "people's perception," she was protesting. They informed Vaughn-Spruce of their intention to issue her a ticket and told her, "if you don't leave the area, you will then be arrested."

Vaughn-Spruce's latest arrest comes less than three weeks after the Birmingham Magistrates' Court sided with the pro-life activist in her bid to determine whether or not "it's still lawful to pray silently in our own heads." The court ruling followed the dropping of all charges related to her previous arrest for engaging in silent prayer outside the abortion clinic and came in response to her efforts to seek binding precedent on the matter.

"Only three weeks ago, it was made clear by the court that my silent prayers were not a crime," Vaughn-Spruce said of her latest arrest. She lamented that she had once again been "arrested and treated as a criminal for having the exact same thoughts in my head, in the same location."

"The ambiguity of laws that limit free expression and thought  even in peaceful, consensual conversation or in silent, internal prayer  leads to abject confusion, to the detriment of important fundamental rights," she added. "Nobody should be criminalized for their thoughts."

Shortly after Vaughn-Spruce's latest arrest, lawmakers in the United Kingdom rejected an amendment to Clause 10 of the Public Order Bill in a 116-299 vote Tuesday. Clause 10 prohibits people from "influencing any person's decision to access, provide or facilitate the provision of abortion services" within about 400 feet of abortion clinics. In other words, it would extend buffer zones, like the one imposed by the local government in Birmingham, to apply to all abortion clinics nationwide.

The amendment, as described by ADF UK, "would exempt silent prayer and consensual conversations from the ban." ADF UK Legal Counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole reacted to Tuesday's vote in the House of Commons in a statement.

"Today's vote marks a watershed moment for fundamental rights and freedoms in our country. Parliament had an opportunity to reject the criminalization of free thought, which is an absolute right, and embrace individual liberty for all. Instead, Parliament chose to endorse censorship and criminalize peaceful activities such as silent prayer and consensual conversation," he said.

As Igunnubole expressed disappointment with the rejection of the amendment, he saw a small silver lining with the developments in the House of Commons Tuesday.

"Thankfully, where the clause initially called for a prison sentence for those convicted of engaging in these peaceful activities near abortion facilities, the penalty now has been reduced to a fine," he said.

"Today it's abortion. Tomorrow it could be another contested matter of political debate. The principle remains that the government should never be able to punish anyone for prayer, let alone silent prayer, and peaceful and consensual conversation," Igunnubole warned. "It is extremely regrettable that Parliament, which exists to protect and champion the rights of the electorate, has taken a clear stance against fundamental freedoms, opening the door for nationwide thought-crime prosecution."
Activist Shane Claiborne challenges Christians to expand view of what constitutes 'pro-life' issues

Shane Claiborne thinks its time for a fresh conversation about the value of life.

In an interview with The Christian Post, the activist and author lamented what he sees as a glaring issue in many Christian circles: Concern for life seems to often begin and end with the issue of abortion.

But he wants Christians to expand their view of what constitutes a pro-life issue, namely, gun violence, poverty, the death penalty, Christian anti-Semitism and more  all topics he addresses in his new book, Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person.

Jesus talks a lot about not just going up when we die, but bringing the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven and engaging with the injustices and the pain of this world, he said.

I saw on some of these issues, Christians not only were silent but were actually a part of the problem, were obstacles when it came to things that I think can save lives, gun violence or the death penalty and militarism and war, some of these other issues.

I think particularly at the time that we're living in where we've had one mass shooting after another, the murder of Tyre Nichols and escalating war in Ukraine, executions in three different states last month  it's a really right time for a fresh conversation about the value of life.

Below is a lightly edited transcript of CPs interview with Claiborne, where he addresses his views on the current state of being pro-life, his positions on hot-button issues like gun control and the death penalty and why he believes Christianity should transcend partisan politics.

CP: In your book, you talk about your own journey of getting to where you are now and how you are mutt, theologically. Share your journey of how you came to the conclusions that you share in this book.

Claiborne: I've found God in lots of different spaces, especially within the Church world. I grew up Methodist, got Pentecostal and got rebaptized, and leaned into the Catholic tradition, worked with Mother Teresa. All of that really shaped and formed me.

Everywhere I went, there were also a few bones I felt like I needed to spit out, but there was so much that was shaping me. You can see that in me and in my writing; even in our life here in Philly, there's still a charismatic side of that, there's a liturgical side of that, there's a little bit of all of that in there.

But when it comes to some of these bigger social issues, a lot of my spiritual life was really divorced from that, because it was much more concerned about going to Heaven when we die. And while I think that's important, I also think that Jesus talks a lot about not just going up when we die, but bringing the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in Heaven, and engaging the injustices and the pain of this world.

Thats the holy work of God, too, is challenging the things that are crushing people's lives.

I wrote Executing Grace several years ago to address the issue of the death penalty and gun violence, and I found the language of a consistent ethic of life or a comprehensive ethic of life to be really helpful for me, and to think outside of the silos or the isolated issues of, "this is the most important issue," and just to build a broader framework of, "every person is made in the image God."

CP: What is your observation about the current state of being pro-life?

Claiborne: The Church has been impacted by the culture wars between the Left and the Right, and some of these conversations get framed where the minority voices on the far Left or far Right really hold progress hostage from seeing some real changes. I think that's true on almost every issue.

I do talk about abortion in the book and the fact that a lot of us would like to see a reduction in the number of abortions that happen. One of the biggest things that are listed as a reason for having an abortion is financial stability and the ability of families able to raise a new child. What would help with that? Things like having access to childcare and affordable healthcare. Some of those that would say they are for life have blocked some of those policies.

There are a lot of folks that talk about common-sense gun laws. Even though I'm not a gun owner, I believe other folks have the right to own guns, but I think that there should, even as the writers of the Second Amendment said, be some reasonable restrictions and regulations around that; the limit that a gun can shoot without reloading, the number of handguns one person can purchase in a year.

And I think we can have a better conversation on abortion too. Because a lot of times people act like there are just people randomly in the last trimester of their pregnancy that decided to abort a kid for no reason. And I've yet to find that person. I know people that have had abortions late in their pregnancy, and for everyone that I've talked to, it's because either their child, or the mother's life was at stake, and it was a wrenching decision. So there's not always compassion and even reality.

CP: Some pastors have courted controversy by saying that there are biblical reasons to vote Democrat and biblical reasons to vote Republican. Do you think either party upholds a more biblical worldview than the other in the policies that they present?

Claiborne: I believe that Christians should transcend partisan politics. Our fidelity is not to the donkey of the Democrats or the elephant to the GOP, but to the Lamb of God. The irony is that I think that some of the teachings of Jesus are much more radical than what I hear on the Left or the Right: The idea of loving our enemies. What does that mean?

Our military spending is unprecedented, but that's not a partisan thing. Obama raised Bush's budget, Trump raised Obama's budget, Biden raised Trump's budget, so we just keep spending. We have weapons that have the capacity of 50,000 Hiroshima bombs. And we're the only country that's ever dropped those kinds of nuclear weapons on civilians, and we did it twice in one week. So, what does it mean to champion life on all fronts?

On the issue of immigration, I think it's so clear in Scripture and from Jesus' teaching, Matthew 25, when you welcome to the stranger, you welcome me. As the New Testament says, we welcome the foreigner, we might be entertaining angels unawares.

The Old Testament says we are to welcome the foreigner as if they were our own flesh and blood. So this is a constant thread in Scripture, and yet we've got some really terrible policies on immigration. This is not partisan. A lot of this is not about Left or Right, but it's about right and wrong. What does it look like to be a Christian? It looks like welcoming the stranger. That's not a Republican or Democrat thing, that's a Jesus thing.

CP: You write that being close to some of these issues changed your perspective. Talk about your time spent with some of these intentional communities and what you learned from them.

Claiborne: We're very good at having opinions about people we don't know. Were very good at having sound bites and bumper stickers and T-shirts. And yet, those really don't come with much responsibility. But what does love require of us when it comes to abortion? What does love require of us when it comes to gun violence when that's the number one cause of death of American children? What does love look like on the death penalty? How do we love the victims of horrific, evil, violent crimes, without mirroring that violence through capital punishment and calling it justice?

Proximity is where all of this started, I grew up with guns and hunting, and yet, living in North Philadelphia, and now seeing gun violence all over our country, the toll that it's taking on human life, that became personal. It became personal when a 19-year-old was killed on my front steps. It also became personal as I got to know heroes of mine like Sharon Risher, whose family was killed in Emanuel AME church during their Wednesday night prayer meeting.

She's convinced that killing is the problem, not the solution. It's why she's concerned about gun violence, but it's also why she's concerned about the death penalty, and police brutality and violence. All of these issues intersect, and they're very connected, especially for those of us that operate under the understanding that every person is equally created in the image of God, and their life is equally sacred.

CP: You're very critical of the death penalty in your book. What do you think is a good alternative to the death penalty that would effectively reduce crime?

I argued for the death penalty for a lot of my life and very passionately in high school; I had all the verses I thought defended it. And a couple of things happened. I got to know folks on death row, and I also got to know murder victims and family members that really feel like the violence is the problem, not the solution. It's not going to heal the wounds to kill the person who may have killed their loved one.

So what do the alternatives look like? I think most of the world has figured this out. When I was born, most of the world was using the death penalty. Forty-seven years later, most of the world has abolished the death penalty or is not actively executing people. And there's only a handful of countries that are, the United States is always in the top 10 executing countries in the world. It's not a list that we should be proud of.

I think that we can keep society safe from people that are eminently dangerous, but the death penalty takes away that chance. I think that someone can change, and I've seen it from people that I've visited on death row, sometimes over a course of 10 or 20 years. They're a different person. Some of them it's because of what Jesus has done in their life. I believe that's why Jesus interrupted an execution in the Gospels, and said, Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone. And my goodness, if that doesn't make it clear, that none of us are above reproach, that none of us are beyond redemption, either. I think that are really two powerful truths at the heart of the Gospel.

We can do better than mirroring the harm, and that's exactly what the death penalty does. We don't rape people who rape to show them that rape is wrong. And yet in the most extreme case of murder, we still do hold to that logic, that we are going to kill to try to show that killing is wrong. And I actually think it does something to us as a society, when we continue to hold on to that logic that is such a contradiction to the Gospel of Jesus.

CP: What do you make of the push for medically assisted suicide in countries like Canada, where some people are choosing to end their lives because of issues like depression or anxiety?

Claiborne: The question I would always be asking is, What does love require of us? And what is God's most perfect will? If those are the framing questions, we might not all make the exact same decisions in the same context, but we've got some guiding principles. I tend to believe on every single issue, we should try to advocate for their life and for their dignity, and to extend that life, to make that life viable, which is why I write about Down syndrome and some of the other issues where we've seen life a little bit more expendable.

I have a lot of friends who do hospice care. And in one sense, that's what work that I did in India was in the home for the destitute and dying, and I held people's hands as they died. That was Mother Teresa's passion; no one should die without someone holding their hand. And when you go into the morgue, it says, I'm on my way to Heaven. And when you leave it, it says, Thanks for helping me get here. We're helping people transition from this world to the next and we get to whisper God's love to them, massage their muscles, and make that the least scary, and the holiest experience that it can be.

I think thats the work that I think is before us. The love that were talking about is not just a sentimental, anemic love, but it's a daring, costly kind of love that can keep us up at night. That's the love I see in Jesus. Its a love thats willing to die, but not willing to kill.
This April 24, 2018 file photo shows Yoo Ah-in at the press conference of a film Burning in Seoul. Yonhap



Police on Tuesday raided the home of actor Yoo Ah-in as part of their investigation into allegations of illegal drug use.



The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) sent investigators to Yoo's home and another location.



The 37-year-old actor, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, has been under investigation after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said that his prescription purchases for propofol for nonmedical purposes, have been too frequent since 2021. It is a powerful sleep-inducing drug commonly used in surgeries.



Police sent his hair and urine samples to the National Forensic Service for tests, and Yoo additionally tested positive for marijuana, cocaine and ketamine.



Yoo, who has been banned from leaving the country, is expected to be summoned for questioning sometime soon, the SMPA said. (Yonhap)


Austin ISD promotes LGBT pride week events with intersex rainbow flag, 'pronoun buttons'

Why are grown adults encouraging kids to celebrate sexuality with them?

Thats the question one Texas pro-family group is asking after school officials in Austin, Texas, announced an LGBT pride week to be held later this month.

Scheduled for March 20-25, Austin ISD is planning to hand out pronoun buttons, rainbow flags, LGBT stickers and other trinkets to students and staff for the event, according to the districts website.

The website page for the event  which is timed to coincide with National LGBT Health Awareness Week  features a massive, multicolored flag known as the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag, which advocates for trans and intersex inclusion.

The flag is also featured on one of the stickers for the event.

While the annual pride parade will occur in August, the weeklong celebration in March will include five LGBT-themed days, culminating with a Pride Yall! Connect and Celebrate event at the AISD Performing Arts Center on March 25.

There are approximately 75,000 students enrolled in the district's 13 high schools, 18 middle schools and 79 elementary schools.

The school district began hosting pride events in 2014. While the so-called pride curriculum is not mandatory, students as young as elementary school age are invited to participate.

On Feb. 23, Texas Family Project issued a Pride Alert notifying parents of the districts plans and asked three questions: Why are grown adults encouraging kids to celebrate sexuality with them? When did schools become more about gender ideology than learning ABCs and 123s? Why are taxpayers being forced to fund the indoctrination of our most impressionable and vulnerable Texans?

The groups statement added: Parents: It is up to us to protect our children from the Anti-Family Left, the evil forces that align with it, and the indoctrination school administrators are pushing on our kids.

Austin ISD chief of staff Toni Cordova and interim chief equity officer Stephanie did not respond to requests for comment from The Christian Post.

Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Austin ISD officials notifying them that, in his view, such events can be categorized as human sexuality instruction and said parents must have a say in such events.

The Texas Legislature has made it clear that when it comes to sex education, parents  not school districts  are in charge, Paxton wrote.

With its progressive education policies, Austin has long stood in contrast to the states culturally conservative roots.

In 2019, the school board voted in favor of a new sex curriculum that teaches students about LGBT and gender identities, among other topics, a vote which one conservative group said sends a clear message that people of faith and traditional moral values are not welcome in Austin ISD.

On its website, AISD defines LGBT terms for its district staff and students and references various aspects of sexuality, including LGBT-affirming language such as "cisgender" and "queer," which, according to the page, was "originally used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires but, beginning in the late-1980s, queer scholars and activists began to reclaim the word."

The page also includes links to the CDC, GLAAD, and the Trevor Project, which features research briefs such as this one that correlates religious beliefs with higher rates of suicide among LGBT-identified people, a claim that has frequently been disputed.

Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, director of the Center for Family Studies for the Family Research Council, a nonprofit research and educational group which looks at social issues from a biblical worldview, told CP that researchers of the study cited by the Trevor Project neglected to cover a number of factors that are omitted from this particular study.

From 2011 on, weve seen a rise in mental health issues amongst this population  in this study, how is that accounted for? she said. If these things are already rising in this cohort, then how have you accounted for that rise in this study? We dont know.

Bauwens also said its difficult to measure a highly complex idea  such as correlating religion with suicide rate  with the kinds of questions seen in this study, which was released in April 2020.

If this is the primary focus of your study, to understand the effect that religion has on suicide, and you ask those ideas  in research we call them constructs  with one question, thats very problematic," she explained.

To make just a simple correlation between these two ideas that we dont even know if theyre really connected, thats fine if youre just doing a research study to initially understand whats going on, but to take that and use that to make policy or practice decisions is very irresponsible.
Christian charity sues Washington state for right to hire only people who follow biblical beliefs

A Christian homeless shelter filed a federal lawsuit against Washington state officials alleging that its First Amendment rights to hire "likeminded" individuals who share their biblical mission about only hiring those who practice sexual purity in marriage has been violated.

From serving meals to providing shelter to those in need and medical and recovery resources, Yakima Union Gospel Mission aims to serve anyone with its Christian-based services. However, the organization only hires people who share and live out its religious beliefs.

Specifically, the organization hires only those who support its biblical mission of "spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ through its homeless shelter, addiction-recovery programs, outreach efforts, meal services, and health clinics for the Yakima community."

Represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, the YUGM filed a civil rights lawsuit last Thursday against Washington Attorney General Robert Ferguson, Washington State Human Rights Commission Executive Director Andreta Armstrong and two commissioners of the Human Rights Commission.

The lawsuit objects to the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in employment and argues that the defendants "view the Mission's Christian behavior requirement on marriage and sexuality as unlawful sexual orientation discrimination under the WLAD."

The organization only hires employees who "abstain from any sexual conduct outside of biblical marriage between one man and one woman  in order to properly live out and represent a Christian lifestyle and to not undermine the Mission's religious message."

ADF, which has won several U.S. Supreme Court cases in recent years, argues that the Washington Supreme Court "reinterpreted state law to prohibit religious organizations, like the mission, from only hiring individuals who share its religious beliefs."

"The WLAD used to protect the Mission by exempting religious nonprofit organizations from its provisions, but the Washington Supreme Court recently gutted the religious employer exemption, reducing it to the 'ministerial exception,'" the filing reads.

"Although the United States Supreme Court did not review the case [of a Seattle-based Christian charity] because of its interlocutory posture, Justices Alito and Thomas noted that the 'Washington Supreme Court's decision may warrant [the U.S. Supreme Court's] review in the future' because the 'Washington Supreme Court's decision to narrowly construe [Washington's] religious exemption' may 'have created a conflict with the Federal Constitution.'"

State officials have allegedly "[threatened] the mission with significant penalties for using its religiously based hiring practices."

"Courts have consistently recognized that the government will undermine a religious organization's purpose if it forces the organization to hire those who do not subscribe to the group's beliefs," ADF Legal Counsel Jake Reed said in a statement.

"The Yakima Union Gospel Mission is doing important ministry outreach in Washington state and we urge the court to uphold its freedom to carry out its calling through its staff of likeminded people of faith."

ADF Senior Counsel Ryan Tucker, the director of the ADF Center for Christian Ministries, said that "the First Amendment allows religious organizations the freedom to hire those who share and live out their beliefs without being punished by the government."

"Yakima Union Gospel Mission now faces substantial penalties under Washington state law for simply engaging in its constitutionally protected freedom to hire fellow believers who share the mission's calling to spread the gospel and care for vulnerable people in the Yakima community," he added in a statement.

"YUGM provided a total of 30,167 nights of shelter to 881 different adults and 3,592 nights of shelter to children from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022," according to the lawsuit.

The charity's Good News Cafe, which provides three free meals daily to the public and shelter guests, served 141,629 free meals in that same timeframe.

YUGM's New Life Program also helps those recovering from drug and alcohol addictions and homelessness through its faith-based residential community.

In 2021, Seattle's Union Gospel Mission petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case after the Washington Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in its favor in regard to its refusal to hire a man in a same-sex relationship. The court voted last May not to hear the case.

Last November, ADF helped secure a legal settlement in favor of a Wyoming Christian shelter so that it can continue to hire only Christians who share its religious beliefs.
Eastview Christian Church hires law firm to conduct investigation after pastor resigns

Eastview Christian Church in Illinois announced Sunday that they have hired an attorney from the law firm Wagenmaker & Oberly to conduct an investigation after Mike Baker, the churchs longtime senior pastor, recently resigned over allegations that he covered up sexual misconduct by his son, Caleb Baker, while he was an employee at the church.

We as a church have retained Kelly Fabian Story with Wagenmaker & Oberly as the lead of a trauma-informed third-party investigative team, Jim Karch, an elder at Eastview Christian Church announced at the end of a service at the church on Sunday morning.

In addition to the investigation, though, she also helps develop restorative justice and reconciliation plans for churches that have experienced trauma to aid in rebuilding trust, and caring for victims, he said. She expects the process, this investigation process, to take three months. That's important for you to hear as well.

The allegations that Mike Baker covered up his sons sexual misconduct erupted last month after Central Christian Church announced that they fired Caleb Baker after he was caught in an extramarital affair with another church staffer.

While Mike Baker disputes allegations that he covered up his sons sexual misconduct while he was a pastor at Eastview Christian Church, Brook Yarbrough, a former colleague of Caleb Baker at Eastview Christian Church, alleged in a Feb. 22 statement on Facebook that Caleb Baker was let go as an employee of the church in 2016 after it was disclosed that he was involved sexually with multiple women at the church.

Eastview Christian Church elders said in an earlier statement, they only became aware of allegations of abuse against Caleb Baker after he left the church in 2016.

In 2016, after Caleb Baker left ECC, the Elders first became aware of specific allegations of possible abuse through letters that purported to be written by victims of abuse. The Elders at the time acted. However, the purported authors of those letters denied that they wrote the letters and stated they had not been victims of abuse, the statement said.

It was not until July 2022 that they got a complaint from a former employee alleging an abusive culture in 2016. Since receiving that letter, the elders said they started an independent investigation that will continue in light of the revelations about Caleb Bakers affair at Central Christian Church.

When the Eastview Christian Church attempted to have Mike Baker questioned as part of the investigation, elders alleged that he chose to resign instead and independently insisted he was not involved in a coverup of his sons indiscretions.

When people say Mike Baker is covering things up, I didn't know. What I do know is that at Christmas time, we resolved  one of the most trusted members of our staff ever  resolved that there's no conclusion here. Can't prove or disprove these allegations and I thought it was done, Mike Baker said about an attempt to investigate initial rumors of the allegations against his son while he was working at Eastview in 2015.

And then early in January (2016), there was another allegation that came and I went down immediately to my son, and I said, you need to resign. I can't deal with this anymore. This is breaking my heart, and we just can't let it destroy me, he recalled.

The former megachurch pastor said after he told his son he needed to resign, he had a job offer from Central Christian Church within two or three days in a crazy turn of events.

I'm just gonna be straight up true, whatever allegations were in this second time. I said I don't want to know.  I will tell you the honest truth, [I] was completely in the dark. I didn't mislead anyone because I didn't know anything, he continued. Should I have dug a little deeper? Maybe. But anyway, so Caleb goes off and he starts a new career, and he does really, really, well until two weeks ago when he confesses to having an affair. Devastation. Blows my socks off.

Karch said Eastview Christian Church wants to provide a clear and safe path for victims, we wanted to communicate that we want them to be able to communicate directly and without the involvement, Eastviews, leadership or elders.

He added that anyone who wants to report an instance of abuse or concerns related to abuse to the investigative team can send that report to info@wagenmakerlaw.com.

Now that we have a third-party investigator in place, we plan to secure a victim advocate and solidify a pathway for outside counseling services for victims related to the investigation. And I just also want to establish a rhythm with you, Karch said.

To ensure that the church remained transparent, Karch said different members of the elder team will provide weekly updates on the investigation over the course of the next few weeks.

While we have consistently tried to take this posture of humility, we want to ask, I want to ask today for you to join us. God has something to teach each of us in this moment to speak individually, with each of us. And in that posture of humility, may we sit and listen and not rush past this time, Karch said.

This is going to feel like a long process. This is going to feel like a longer process, and we are praying that on the other side of this, we, as a church, will be deeper, more mature, more authentic in our walk with Jesus than ever before, and that is where I'm putting my hope, Karch said. We have that to look forward to as a church. Praise God for where He will take us, and that's what matters.
Federal court recognizes pro-life pregnancy care network's right not to hire abortion supporters

A federal court determined that a network of New York-based pregnancy centers can proceed with challenging a law that the organization said forces pro-life or religious groups to hire employees who have had abortions or hold views contrary to their mission.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City reversed a lower court's decision to dismiss a January 2020 civil suit brought by the Evergreen Association. Evergreen operates a network of pregnancy centers called the Expectant Mother Care (EMC Frontline).

Circuit Judge Steven Menashi stated in the ruling that the group's beliefs about the "morality of abortion are its defining values" and that "forcing it to accept as members those who engage in or approve of that conduct would cause the group as it currently identifies itself to cease to exist."

"Accordingly, the balancing of interests favors the expressive association that opposes the conduct the state would protect against discrimination," Menashi, a Trump appointee, wrote.

Timothy Belz, special counsel for the Thomas More Society, who represented the organization, wrote in a statement that they hope the ruling will "discourage any state legislature from enacting legislation that would violate an organization's First Amendment rights, including the right to work with those who share their values."

The founder and CEO of the pregnancy center network, Christopher Slattery, had argued that New York's Boss Bill of 2019 impeded the organization's First Amendment rights by creating a "protected class based on reproductive health decision making."

The lawsuit further outlined how the law forbids employers from making decisions about employees based on their "reproductive health choices," including their participation in abortion, advocacy for abortion or premarital sex.

As part of his employment policy, one that the lawsuit notes is shared by numerous pro-life organizations, Slattery requires his employees to maintain a consistent pro-life view and abstain from sex before marriage. The plaintiff contends that expecting employees to uphold certain lifestyle standards is necessary to its overall mission of encouraging women to continue their pregnancies.

The district court initially dismissed the case, determining that the law imposed only "incidental limitations" on Evergreen's associational rights but did not impact the group's ability to advocate against abortion or contraception. While the latest decision affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's free speech and religious freedom claims, the appeals court reversed the judgment on the association claim.

"We are thrilled that a Federal Court in New York affirmed what we knew from the beginning, the need to shield pregnancy resource centers from unconstitutional laws that try to thwart their mission. We are grateful to the Thomas More Society for defending our free speech rights," Slattery said of the decision.

In an interview with CP, Belz said the Boss Bill "chilled" its client's right to ask prospective employees whether they opposed abortion. He also noted that the law contained no exemptions for churches or religious organizations.

Belz told CP that the case is significant for groups promoting a message that encourages women to carry their pregnancies to term.

"That is, the state cannot come in and require you to do something that is contrary to that message," the attorney said. "And that applies to churches, religious institutions of all sorts; it applies to anybody who is promoting a message, even in a secular context."

For example, Belz said a weight loss clinic, a company whose message is to encourage people to lose unhealthy body weight, should not be compelled by the state to hire obese people that don't support the clinic's mission. Nor should a group that advocates for smoking cessation be forced to hire a counselor whose supposed to counsel people not to smoke but smells like smoke.

The attorney clarified that Thomas More Society and the client it represents are not opposed to pro-life organizations hiring post-abortive women, noting that women who have had abortions are some of the strongest advocates against the practice.

"We're not saying that we would never hire someone who had an abortion," Belz said. "It's just that our client needs to be the judge of who it hires or who it doesn't hire."

"Our client may hire a woman who has had an abortion because she may be the most powerful witness in favor of pro-life ideas, so that's not the issue," he said. "The issue is who gets to make this decision, and we're saying, obviously, that the pregnancy resource center gets to make its own hiring decisions when it comes to who it chooses to promote its message."

As CP reported, a study published in January 2023 in the journal Contraception found that pro-life pregnancy centers typically serve clients faster than abortion facilities and are less likely to charge them for pregnancy tests or ultrasound services.

The study surveyed 445 pregnancy centers and 445 geographically paired abortion facilities. According to the research, 68.5% of pregnancy centers participating in the study offered clients same-day appointments, compared to 37.2% of abortion facilities.

The median cost for a pregnancy test at an abortion facility was $24, and the median cost for an ultrasound at an abortion facility was $162.50. In contrast, pro-life pregnancy centers rarely charge for either service.
Man arrested for throwing smoke bombs at New Jersey church's anti-racism event

A man was arrested for allegedly throwing smoke bombs into a crowd and attempting to pepper spray church attendees during an anti-racism event.

Trinity Episcopal Parish of Asbury Park hosted an anti-racism concert in January that was disrupted when an individual attacked attendees and vandalized the church's property.

Nicholas G. Mucci, a 28-year-old resident of Toms River, was arrested Saturday and charged with aggravated assault, arson, causing or risking widespread injury or damage, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, terroristic threats and possession of a destructive device.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a press statement Monday that his state is, and always will be, a state that values the rich diversity of all cultures, religions, and ideals.

This attack targeted people exercising their freedom of expression as they left a house of worship, stated Platkin. Our perseverance in investigating and bringing to justice the person responsible for this attack demonstrates our commitment to protecting the rights of all New Jerseyans to live free from the threat of violence and fear.

Laurie Doran, director of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, was quoted in the press release as saying that the investigation was a great example of outstanding teamwork and collaboration among all levels of government.

I am proud of the men and women of NJOHSP and all of our partner agencies who protected the residents of New Jersey by successfully mitigating this serious threat, Doran stated.

On Jan. 27, Trinity Episcopal held a concert organized by a social justice advocacy group known as the One Peoples Project and was centered on anti-racist activism.

As the concert was ending, an individual wearing a mask threw smoke bombs at the crowd, shouted White lives matter too, and drove off before returning later on and trying to pepper spray some concert attendees who were still at the church.

Additionally, according to a statement released by the church and the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey on Jan. 30, an unknown party damaged an LGBT pride flag next to the church's sign. The flag had been vandalized a couple of times before.

The Rev. Chase Danford, rector at Trinity Episcopal, was quoted in the church statement as saying that he was thankful that no one was harmed in the concert attacks.

We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from the Asbury Park Police Department, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, state Senator Vin Gopal, and Governor Phil Murphy, Danford said at the time.
Pastor shares how Pauls teaching on sex, intimacy is relevant in modern culture

Pastor Ben Stuart of Passion City Church in Washington, D.C., reflected on the agency a Christian has when it comes to controlling their sexuality and why Paul's New Testament teachings on sex are still relevant today.

In his Feb. 12 sermon as part of a series on "Rise The New Sexual Revolution," Stuart referenced 1 Thessalonians 4 as a guide for understanding God's design for sexuality and its implications for modern culture.

In this passage, the Apostle Paul instructs members of the Church in Thessalonica, both male and female, to treat their bodies and the bodies of others with respect and maintain intimacy with the Lord. By following these commands, individuals will become more like Jesus Christ through sanctification.

Stuart, who has been married for 19 years, emphasized that Paul's instructions are relevant today and should guide the lives of single and married followers of Jesus. To remain sexually pure in marriage, he advised keeping the marriage bed undefiled, abstaining from sex in singleness and controlling one's sexuality. Stuart noted that this is possible by developing an intimate relationship with the Lord to guide sexual decisions.

A relationship with God is free, by grace through faith.  Once you're in it, now we begin to move in a different way. We're a family with a trajectory. Whats the goal?  You ought to walk to please God, Stuart said in his sermon.

Stuart contended that single or married Christians who obediently surrender their bodies to the Lord in matters of sexuality will become more like Christ.

He emphasized that the ultimate goal of any spiritual journey with Jesus is to please God. Husbands and wives, he said, should prioritize pleasing each other sexually, while singles should show respect for their own bodies and the bodies of others by refraining from sexual activity outside of marriage as defined by the Bible.

It's not just conformity to a standard. It's my goal to please God. And that's not oppressive. If you came to me as a husband and said, Hey, Ben, your goal as a husband is to please your wife. I'm not like, Darn. That's not oppression. That's freedom.  It's a progressive act. What does God want?  Your sanctification, Stuart said.

Stuart cited 1 Thessalonians 4:4, which reads: Each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable.

The key points made in the verse, Stuart said, can be found in the words holy and honor, which stand as two reasons why humans can control their own sexuality while possessing their own vessels.

"The first one ... is honor.  The way I handle my sexuality has implications in the way I relate to other people. And if I say that, I honor you. What does honor mean? Stuart said.

It means I respect your well-being. It means I want to communicate to you that I value you. I think you matter. I think your thoughts matter. I think how you feel matters, and I think your body matters. That's what it means to honor somebody.

Individuals in society often prioritize their own desires in romantic relationships which might lead to sexual activity outside of a marriage covenant. Stuart said that this behavior is due to a lack of respect for their own bodies and the bodies of their partners.

It's so popular in our culture now to say, I feel seen. What does that mean? You're not talking about being physically viewed. You're talking about how someone has seen or acknowledged and valued what you think and how you feel.  We instinctively want that. And here, [Paul] says we need to possess our sexuality in a way that communicates honor, value, respect to those around us, Stuart said.

[Oftentimes, people say], I don't care what you think. I don't care how you feel. I just want to use you; whether you're on a screen or whether you're just in my room for the night. To say that to somebody is to not honor them. It's to dishonor them.

Stuart said that just as Jesus exercised self-control and demonstrated holiness through His actions, Christians have the power to control their sexuality and become more like Jesus.

We control our sexuality because it reflects in holiness, like those who know God. Paul [told] the Ephesians that marriage is a picture of Jesus' love for the Church. How did Jesus love us? Full commitment before intimacy, Stuart said.

Jesus had to commit Himself to His ultimate sacrifice before fully reconciling with humanity. Stuart further emphasized that this level of commitment is what God intends for marriage, which includes the enjoyment of intimacy between males and females.

That's how Jesus loves us. He says, I'm coming for you. And what did He do? I want you in a relationship with me. So what am I going to do? I'm going to bring all of [myself].  I will give every drop of my blood to purchase you. I will bring all the commitment first. And then, when you covenant with Me, I promise to love you and never let you go, Stuart said.
Southern Poverty Law Center defends attorney charged with domestic terrorism, claims he was legal observer

The Southern Poverty Law Center has come to the defense of an employee arrested for allegedly committing domestic terrorism alongside a group of violent protesters who threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks and bricks at police outside a police training facility in Atlanta, Georgia.

On Sunday, violent elements joined a peaceful demonstration outside the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, throwing Molotov cocktails, fireworks, bricks and rocks at police.

One of the individuals arrested and charged with domestic terrorism over the attack was Tom Jurgens, a staff attorney with SPLC, a far-left advocacy group based in Montgomery, Alabama, known for placing individuals and organizations it disagrees with on its "hate map" or "extremists" list, like women's rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

The SPLC and the National Lawyers Guild issued statements on Monday in response to the arrest of Jurgens, with the SPLC arguing that Jurgens was a legal observer acting on behalf of the NLG, and denied that he engaged in any wrongdoing.

The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters, stated SPLC.

This is part of a months-long escalation of policing tactics against protesters and observers who oppose the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest to build a police training facility.

The SPLC said it will continue to urge de-escalation of violence and police use of force against black, brown and indigenous communities  working in partnership with these communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people.

Ariel View - Atlanta Public Safety Training Centerhttps://t.co/69v7LnaGP2pic.twitter.com/dcocG0mybH  Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) March 6, 2023

The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that the Sunday incident involved a group of violent agitators who used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers.

They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers, stated Atlanta authorities.

The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism. Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity. Thirty-five agitators have been detained so far.

Atlanta authorities explained that the illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm and that police exercised restraint and used non-lethal enforcement to conduct arrests.

In recent years, the SPLC has garnered controversy for its decision to label several conservative Christian organizations as hate groups over their opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBT ideology.

One of the organizations that the SPLC deemed a hate group was the Family Research Council. The organization was violently attacked in 2012 when a man attempted to shoot up their headquarters because he was inspired by the SPLC's Hate Map.

This is not the first time the Southern Poverty Law Center has been connected to domestic terrorism, tweeted FRC President Tony Perkins on Monday.

SPLC was connected to a 2012 domestic terrorist shooting at @FRCdc, but this one will be hard for them to dodge. An SPLC attorney was among the 23 Antifa terrorists arrested.
What Nigeria's presidential election means for beleaguered Christians

For years, Nigeria has earned the dubious honor of being the most deadly country on planet earth for Christians. While they comprise 49% of the population, Nigerian Christians are at great risk of violence, discrimination, and social ostracization by the countrys many extremist Muslims. In 2022, more than 4,000 Christians were killed by terrorists in Nigeria.

In the lead-up to the countrys presidential election, held on Feb. 25, many hoped new leadership would open the door for Nigerias transformation into a place marked by religious freedom and protection. When the ballots were finally tallied, Bola Tinubu, a Muslim candidate from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner.

While some religious freedom advocates worried that a Tinubu victory would serve to perpetuate the status quo, there are many reasons to maintain hope that he can usher in a freer Nigeria. While he admittedly has his work cut out for him, Tinubu can turn the tide of Islamist extremism and make Nigeria safe for Christians again.

After eight years, outgoing President Buhari and his administration have left parts of Nigeria on the verge of collapse. Under his watch, the northern part of the country has become a frontier for Islamic extremist groups, warlords, and violence. What began as a crisis of human rights and religious freedom, has now tipped the country into a position where many experts believe Nigeria is already a failed state.

More Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than in all other countries combined. The tragedy at St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo State is just one example of the senseless attacks that have recently taken place in the country. In June 2022, terrorists armed with explosives stormed into the church during a service, shooting those who tried to escape and killing dozens. Global Christian Relief, the organization I lead, is helping the Christian community in Nigeria with trauma care and other aid. I have heard firsthand the shock and fear that the community is experiencing, and trust me, its harrowing.

Leading up to this election, many religious freedom advocates hoped that third-party candidate Peter Obi, a self-avowed Christian, would be swept into office. In the end, Obi only earned about 25% of the vote. While President Tinubu is a Muslim himself, his faith tradition does not necessarily compromise his ability to lead the country toward a more just future. He made assurances along the campaign trail that he will not run his administration on the basis of religion. Its also notable that Tinubus wife is a Christian and an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Civil society must protect churches, synagogues, and mosques. Tinubu needs to focus like a laser on the key issue: dealing with extremists head-on to protect religious freedom and faith communities in Nigeria while restoring order and stopping the literal bleeding.

In many ways, the situation in Nigeria represents what is taking place across the greater African continent. Nigerias northern states are largely Muslim, while southern states are predominantly Christian. The rising violence in the country began more than a decade ago when extremist groups, funded largely by ISIS sources, began attacking Christian minorities in the northern states. Twelve states in northern Nigeria now impose Sharia law and the violence has caused over two million people to flee to the south. Sadly, more than 10 Christians have been killed on average every day for the last several years.

The Buhari administration proved to be incompetent, perhaps willfully so, when it came to dealing with extremism. He claimed Boko Haram had been defeated while continuing attacks by the group proved that was not the case. Well-equipped and technologically advanced, terrorist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province follow sophisticated patterns. They cut off a communitys communications by sending jamming signals and then move in to burn and attack known Christian homes, businesses, and churches. When people try to escape, the terrorists have already set up roadblocks to trap and inflict further injury.

The Biden administration has been tip-toeing around the issues concerning Nigeria, failing to do everything it can to help strengthen the country. Despite evidence of egregious human rights violations against Christians and religious minorities, the U.S. State Department inexplicably removed Nigeria from its Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) list in 2021 and refused to add it back in 2022 despite much public confusion and outcry.



Nigeria immediately needs to be added back to the CPC list. Not having that designation in place prevents the U.S. from publicly recognizing the full scope of the problem and imposing targeted sanctions on bad actors there. The State Department and Biden can play an important role in helping Tinubu create Nigeria so many hope for.

The U.S. also needs to appoint a special envoy. In 2001, President Bush appointed John Danforth as a special envoy to Sudan when that area spun into chaos. A special envoy can coordinate responses across borders and bring together regional governments to coordinate more effectively to stop terrorism. Our embassy in Nigeria has fought this, and thus far the State Department has followed their lead, but the current crisis now demands a wider lens. Neighboring countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Cameroon are all facing escalating violence from Boko Haram, ISIS West Africa, and others.



As Africas largest nation with 220 million people, and abundant natural resources including oil, natural gas, and minerals, Nigeria is primed to be the continents economic leader. It could also become Africas religious rights leader. For this to happen, President Tinubu must work to regain the peoples trust and President Biden must leverage every tool available to make sure that Nigeria and the Sahel region do not become the next caliphate of murder. Only time will tell if both leaders are up for the challenge.
Why Alex Murdaughs courtroom sentencing should alarm you

Have you seen the video of Alex Murdaugh being sentenced for murdering his wife and son? The jury convicted the South Carolina lawyer in less than 3 hours. And if you are not yet prepared for your appointment in Gods courtroom, then Alex Murdaughs sentencing should definitely alarm you.



Just as the heavens declare the glory of God, (Psalm 19:1) the courtrooms of this world remind us that everyone will ultimately appear before the Judge of the living and the dead. It is essential to enter God's courtroom having already been acquitted of all the charges against you. Otherwise, the Judge will have no other option than to throw the book at you so to speak.



Alex Murdaugh assumed he was above the law. That is, until the jury handed down the guilty verdict and the judge handed down the sentence of life in prison. And if a South Carolina judge and jury will hold a man accountable for murdering his wife and son, how much more certain is it that God will hold you accountable for your misdeeds? When you enter God's courtroom on Judgment Day, you will be entering it either completely forgiven, or already under condemnation.

You see, It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). So when Gods Word declares that God will bring every deed into judgment, (Ecclesiastes 12:14) you can be certain that it will happen! It is appointed for man once to die, and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).



God commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).



The Lord comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth (Psalm 96:13). Do you seriously think you will be the only person on the planet to avoid being judged according to Gods righteousness and truth? Everyone will face their Creator and be held accountable to God, just like Alex Murdaugh was held accountable for murder.

When was the last time you were alarmed over your sins? Perhaps you say, To be honest with you Dan, I cant say I have ever really been alarmed over my sins. It is critical that you experience godly sorrow. Without it, you will never repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15).

The Apostle Paul wrote: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Corinthians 7:10). Worldly sorrow is simply being sorry that you got caught. Alex Murdaugh expressed sorrow over getting caught. Godly sorrow, on the other hand, is sorrow that you have sinned against God and broken His commandments.



Paul defined godly sorrow this way: See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done (2 Corinthians 7:11). Godly sorrow is something the Holy Spirit produces in your heart as you become aware that your sins have greatly offended the Lord.



In his natural state, man never becomes alarmed over his sins against God. The only time man becomes sorry is when he gets caught, as evidenced by the life of Alex Murdaugh. And you see where that got him. The tragic reality is that multitudes of people will enter Gods courtroom having lived on Earth without godly sorrow, faith in Christ, and the free gift of everlasting life in Heaven.



The fact of the matter is that Jesus endured the punishment you and I deserve to pay for our sins. And the good news of the Gospel informs us that we are forgiven when we turn to God in repentance and receive a free pardon for our sins on account of Christ. (Luke 23:39-43) By placing our faith in Jesus' death for our sins, we are washed clean and we escape the eternal penalty that each one of us deserves to pay.



God covers us with the righteousness of Christ when we trust Jesus to forgive us (Romans 3:21-26). God then sees us as holy in his sight on account of Christ. We are justified before God and instantly declared, Not guilty. But this acquittal must take place during your life on Earth. Otherwise, it will be too late for you to trust Christ to grant you a pardon. And Alex Murdaugh is a classic example of someone who chose not to do anything about his duplicitous conduct. He will now pay for the crimes he willingly chose to commit.

You can run from the law, but it eventually catches up with you. And you can run from God, but you will eventually be brought into the Lords courtroom. Paul wrote, This will take place when God will judge mens secrets through Jesus Christ, as my Gospel declares (Romans 2:16).



The Apostle John had a spectacular vision of future events. He wrote: Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on itAnd I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the booksIf anyones name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).



Perhaps you assume that you will never be held accountable for your sins. If so, I implore you to reconsider your misguided notion. Humble yourself before the Lord. Repent and turn to God while you still have time to do so. And then rely on Christs sacrifice on the cross as the payment for your sins. Your name will be written in the book of life as the Holy Spirit brings you to faith in Christ. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart (Hebrews 4:7).
China, Russia working together to ensure global strategic balance, stability: FM

Xinhua) 11:28, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- With China and Russia working together, the world will have the driving force toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and global strategic balance and stability will be better ensured, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Actors Son Suk-ku, left, and Kim Sung-cheol / Courtesy of Acemaker Movieworks



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Actors Son Suk-ku and Kim Sung-cheol have been confirmed to star in "The Comments Army" (working title), a film based on a popular novel of the same name by Chang Kang-myoung.



The crime drama film is loosely based on the National Intelligence Service's reputed involvement in the 2012 presidential election by publishing thousands of pro-Park Geun-hye posts and comments online. The election saw Park defeat Moon Jae-in.



In the film, Son will play the role of a journalist named Sang-jin, an investigative journalist who was suspended after exposing wrongdoings by a conglomerate. With the aim of returning to the newsroom, he investigates the "army of internet trolls" accused of meddling in the election.



Son's career took off when he played the enigmatic Mr. Gu with a troubled past in the JTBC series, "My Liberation Notes," in 2022. He played a vicious killer in crime action film, "The Roundup," which became one of the 2022's top-grossing films in Korea. He is currently starring in Disney+ drama, "Big Bet."



"I'm really happy to be working with the people I'm working with right now," Son said.



"The Comments Army" is directed by Ahn Gooc-jin, who is best known for his black comedy film, "Alice in Earnestland" (2015).



Kim will star as the head of a troll farm that makes money from online activities. Following his critically acclaimed role in "The Night Owl" (2022), the actor has been performing in the play, "Shakespeare in Love." Starting in April, he will be appearing in "Death Note: The Musical." He was also cast for the cult leader role in the second season of Netflix's "Hellbound," which will begin filming in June.



"When I read the script, I knew it was special. It was just a really fun and fast-paced script," Kim said.



Rising Kim Dong-hwi, who rose to fame through the film, "In Our Prime" (2022) and tvN series "Stranger 2," will play the role of the whistleblower, while actor Hong Kyung, known for his role in Wavve series, "Weak Hero Class 1" (2022), will star as the character who engages in online trolling activities.



The shooting of the film began on March 6, according to production company Acemaker Movieworks.



Chang, the novelist, received the Jeju 4.3 Peace Prize and Today's Writer Award for "The Comments Army" in 2015 and 2016, respectively.




We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
This undated file photo shows cans of Japanese beer on display at a NH Nonghyup Hanaro Mart in Seoul. Korea Times file



Korea's imports of Japanese beer hit the highest level in more than three years in January amid a waning anti-Japan campaign here, data showed Tuesday.



The country brought in slightly over $2 million worth of Japanese beer in January, up a whopping 315 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and the liquor industry.



It marks the largest monthly figure since July 2019, a month before Koreans launched a boycott of Japanese goods in protest of Tokyo's export restrictions of some materials for chips and displays to Seoul.



Japan made the move as Korea's top court ordered two Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor in 2018. Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.



Imports of Japanese beer were just above $4 million in July 2019, but tumbled to $223,000 a month later before bottoming out at $6,000 in September that year.



But imports of Japanese beer have been growing amid a weakening anti-Japan sentiment in Asia's fourth-largest economy.



Japanese beer imports reached $1.5 million in March 2022, topping the $1 million mark for the first time since July 2019. Imports of Japanese beer hovered above the $1 million mark for eight months running since May last year.



Japanese beer imports more than doubled to over $14 million last year from $6.9 million a year earlier.



Yet, Japanese beer accounted for a mere 7.4 percent of Korea's total beer imports last year, which paled to the 25.3 percent in 2018, a year before Japan's export curbs. (Yonhap)


Since the onset of the pandemic, IT has risen in prominence as an engine for business sustainability and growth across all industries. The subsequent demand for enterprise IT talent has led to a sharp spike in salaries CIOs must pay to staff their teams.

Demand for tech talent was up by 50% to 60% in the last two years, mainly attributable to industry-spanning hyper digitalization. Companies across verticals were ramping up digital functions with the increasing demand for innovation in products and service offerings, especially since the onset of the pandemic, says Sachin Alug, CEO of talent solutions company NLB Services. As companies strive to transform their business models specifically in manufacturing, supply chain, project management, and sales, the uptick in hiring IT talent was seen as a natural progression.

While the rise in salaries for technology roles has bode well for IT professionals, it has posed challenges for CIOs in effectively managing their budgets with the increased demand on their IT departments.

In response to the demands from business, the strength of our IT department has gone up from 20 to 50 in the last two years, says Ranganathan Iyer, CIO at auto components manufacturer JBM Group. The new resources have come at a 30% to 40% additional cost but there has only been an incremental y-o-y increase of 10% to 12% in our budgets.

Iyer was expecting the massive layoffs taking place in the US to reflect in India too, which could have eased salaries. But while Big Tech in the US has retrenched thousands of workers since the pandemic as recession looms large over its economy, that hasnt happened in India.

Describing India as a bright spot in the global economy, Kristalina Georgieva, MD of International Monetary Fund, has said the country will contribute 15% of the global growth in 2023. According to recruitment and staffing services company Randstad, Indian technology firms are expected to buck the global trend and start hiring in 2023. It is this Indian growth story that is causing high salaries to hold up, at least for the time being.
Australian investment firm Subco is offering an alternative route for internet connectivity between Australia, Middle East and Europe through the Oman Australia Cable (OAC) by avoiding the earthquake prone route that currently goes through Malacca Strait.

Subco OAC is already 9,800 km long, with landing points in Perth, West Island, and Cocos Islands in Australia, and Muscat. The company is now extending the undersea cable by 1,200 km to set up a new branch at Salalah in Oman.

With a number of other major subsea cable systems interconnecting, or planning to interconnect, at Salalah, we hope to provide our customers with an express gateway for onward capacity from Australia to EMEA, and enable enhanced network performance, connectivity and resiliency for all of Australia, Bevan Slattery, founder and CEO of Subco said in a statement.

The extension to the OAC will offer an alternative secure option through OAC for moving traffic from Australia to the Middle East and Europe, the company said.

OAC will be secure and resilient, as it will traverse the deep waters of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, will be geographically diverse from all systems west of Australia, and will avoid shallow, congested and earthquake-prone passages, the company said.

High volumes of network traffic in Asia are concentrated through the Java Sea and Malacca Strait  (marred by) shallow, earthquake-prone waters that are frequented by local fishers and used as heavy shipping passages, Subco noted on its website. Subco avoids these congested pathways and leverages true geographical diversity by positioning OAC in the deep and largely untapped waters of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in this undated photo/ Korea Times file



Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned Tuesday the North is ready to take "overwhelming" actions against military activities by the United States and South Korea, as its rivals are staging joint military drills involving American strategic assets.



Kim also said the North will regard any U.S. attempt to intercept a missile that it will fire as a "clear declaration of war" against the reclusive nation, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



"We are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the state-run media, adding that the North is keeping close tabs on "restless military moves" by Seoul and Washington.



South Korea and the U.S. conducted combined air drills Monday, involving at least one U.S. nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber, in the wake of Friday's similar drills mobilizing a U.S. B-1B bomber.






Primeste notificari pe email Nota bene: Adresele email cu extensia .ru nu sunt acceptate.

Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele
Carlos Dada cant go home to El Salvador. The editor of the groundbreaking digital website El Faro, which he cofounded in 1998, has been living in exile for years because of the threat of violence and legal persecution. But his news organization is confronting another existential challenge: competing for visibility and relevance with El Salvadors charismatic and increasingly authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele. Its a battle that Dada says he is losing.

El Faro was the first Salvadoran media outlet born in democracy, Dada noted in a speech last September at Columbia University, where he accepted an award from the International Press Institute. Now democracy is almost completely gone, and yet, thanks to an innovative, modern, and greased propaganda machine, Mr. Bukele is the Latin American president with the highest popular support, which raises a paradox: the communities we serve dont support us.

Around the worldincluding in the United Statesmedia organizations are facing threats that go far beyond the usual press freedom concerns. The threats come from national political leaders like Bukele who are using social media to outcompete outlets in the information space and simultaneously undermine trust and credibility. The threats come from government influence operations that combine traditional propaganda with orchestrated harassment campaigns. They come from the tech platforms whose content moderation policies, engineered for engagement, reward outrage, not news. They come from lawfare, systematic legal harassment perpetrated by governments and private actors, often working together. They come from new business models that even when successful are difficult to scale.

During my quarter century at the Committee to Protect Journalists, I struggled to find ways to address these threats within the existing human rights model, grounded in international law and based on the defense of individual rights. As I argued in a recent white paper published by the Tow Center on Digital Journalism, the best way to meet the array of challenges independent media face in the US and around the world is to combine press freedom and public interest, developing new arguments and strategies linked to the social value of independent journalism. Journalism protection represents an overarching new framework for defending both journalists and journalism as an institution.

Censorship, repression, and legal persecution of media outlets are all violations of international law, and traditional name-and-shame strategies often remain the best response. But when political leaders like Bukele use social media support to rally the public against a publication and undermine trust, the calculus is more complex. After all, presidents have expressive rights, even when they lie. Supporting independent media against malicious spin may require investments in public education and media literacy campaigns, support for fact-checking organizations, and engagement with the platforms on content moderation policies.

I saw the need for new thinking and new approaches as I traveled to conferences and met with journalists in my first few weeks in my new role, as the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Newmark Journalism School. On February 15, I attended the Black Twitter Summit at the Newmark School, in which a group of scholars, activists, and journalists explored the ways in which Black social media users were facing not only trolling and harassment but a kind of racial bias baked into the algorithms.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

I saw it again when I attended the Knight Media Forum in Miami, where editors from the nonprofit media outlets that have led the national revitalization of local news described the challenge of gaining access to local city officials who had gone a generation without having to answer a tough question from a journalist. They do not like suddenly being held accountable, and are often hostile and unavailable, several editors told me.

I saw this a third time when I attended a conference on the journalist-fixer relationship at the University of British Columbia. Journalists and editors flew in from around the world to discuss a huge challenge at the heart of global newsgatheringthe local journalists and producers who support international correspondents in the field say they are often marginalized, underpaid, and at risk, according to a study carried out by the Global Reporting Centre.

None of these issuesso central to the future of journalismcan be resolved through rights-based advocacy alone. Instead, they must be addressed through changes in policy, within the industry, from the tech platforms, via education, and through reforms to laws and regulations. The arguments in favor of such changes should be grounded in the social value and contribution of journalism, particularly public interest journalism, as well as individual rights. This is the essence of journalism protection.

Journalism protection also encompasses the challenges that individual journalists face in covering the news in an increasingly hostile environmentsuch as combating online harassment and confronting trauma. The scale and complexity of these problems makes clear that there are no easy solutions. But journalism protection represents a different way of talking and thinking about the challenges, building coalitions, and identifying the strategies that will improve the environment for both individual journalists and journalism as an institution in the United States and around the world.

As for Carlos Dada and El Faro, when I met with him recently during a visit to New York he told me he and his team are digging in for a long fight. He is fortunate to have the support of the Knight First Amendment Institute, which is suing the NSO group, the makers of Pegasus, for allegedly implanting spyware on the phones of El Faro journalists. But even if they prevail in the courts, Dada acknowledges the ultimate battle that he and El Faro must win is for the hearts and minds of the Salvadoran public.

El Faros struggle is the struggle of every media organization, for both safety and relevance. It requires combining traditional press freedom defense strategies with new approaches grounded in journalisms public interest role. Journalism protection is the banner that unites these aims.

Joel Simon is the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
MUMMYS LOST. WHERE THE HELL IS OUR NICOLA? NICOLA: RIDDLE OF LOST DOG BALL. NICOLA: RIDDLE OF TWO MEN. NICOLA COPS SEARCH SEA. Someone local knows something. NICOLA: STAINED GLOVE FOUND. DONT BE AFRAID NIKKI COME HOME. NICOLA: ITS HEARTBREAK.

These were all recent front-page headlines in one British tabloid, The Sun, about Nicola Bulley, a forty-five-year-old woman who went missing while walking her dog by a river near her home in the north of England in late January. Within a few days, police had said publicly that they didnt have any evidence of foul play in the case, but by that point, the story was already on its way to becoming a national obsession. In the weeks that followed, the coverage grew even louder. It reached a fever pitchthough by no means culminatedlate last month, when Bulleys body was recovered from the river. The massive interest in the case was the result of a perfect storm of factors, Karen Shalev Greene, the director of the Centre for the Study of Missing Persons at the University of Portsmouth, saidincluding the terrifying relatability of Bulleys story, and broader recent fears in the UK about womens safety in public places. Two London police officers have recently been jailed for rape and murder, respectively.

The latter conversation is vitally important, but in many ways, the coverage of Bulleys disappearance offered a guided tour through the most ghoulish instincts of Britains media industry, with its powerful tabloids and even more widespread tabloid sensibility: at least one journalist paid at least one source for an interview; TV anchors traced Bulleys last steps live on air; pundits offered commentary on the clothes of a female police officer. (Skin tight navy dress, stilettos, poker straightened hairwhatever happened to a cop uniform! a Daily Mail columnist tweeted. Show some respect for a missing mother!) The story also shined a light on dynamicsnot least the dark side of our collective obsession with true crime and with whose disappearances get covered, and whythat will sound very familiar to followers of missing-persons coverage in the US. And it pointed, once again, to the blurred lines between journalists and influencers in our increasingly messy global information environment.

The Bulley case blew up among amateur sleuths, some of whom, including people from the US, showed up at the scene of the disappearancescouting for supposed clues, poking around in adjacent buildings, and in one case crashing a sensitive press conference to record content for TikTok. At one point, local police issued dispersal orders so that they could forcibly move on people who were filming for social media. Meanwhile, on the internet, conspiracy theories about Bulleys disappearancethat her friends were crisis actors, that her husband was complicit in her disappearance, and so onabounded. There, too, police urged people to stop and threatened to take tougher action. Ive covered a few missing-persons cases before, Robyn Vinter, a journalist who was sent wild tips by a psychic and other readers as she covered the case for The Guardian, said recently, and Ive never had anything like this.

Newsquest, a large British newspaper chain owned by Gannett, emailed editorial staff urging them to use a televised press conference in the Bulley case to steer eyeballs to the chains true-crime YouTube channel, according to a leaked email first reported by Conquest of the Useless, a Substack devoted to media criticism. The problem is, these cases of real pain and suffering, grief and damage get trivialized, said Jean Murley, the author of The Rise of True Crime: 20th Century Murder and American Popular Culture. They become just another story that generates fascination, interest, followers, and almost, in a way, fans.

The Bulley case, Murley added, was perfectly poised to generate a high level of interest because it took place in a picturesque English village (one appeal of true crime is how it trades off the dichotomy between safety and fear) and featured a middle-class white mother as its central subject. In the US, the true-crime boom has often been linked to that of Missing White Woman Syndrome, a phrase coined by the late TV anchor Gwen Ifill, in 2004, to refer to the idea that attractive young white women are more likely to attract significant media attention than, for example, people of color and trans people who go missing. We wrote about the phenomenon in the context of the Gabby Petito case in the US in 2021, which itself attracted an army of social media sleuths; last year, CJR debuted a tool allowing users to see how much news coverage they are worth based on their demographic characteristics.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Missing White Woman Syndrome has sometimes been characterized as an outgrowth of the US historical imaginary: a legacy of racist mythmaking and news coverage of the abuse of white women at the frontier and in the postCivil War South, among other settings. But this phenomenon, too, also has more widespread underpinningsnot least a lack of diversity in newsroom staff and readershipand is thus, unsurprisingly, international in scope. Shalev Greene has seen evidence of it in coverage of missing persons in Australia and Canada as well as in the UK, where the Bulley story added to a number of other recent examples. Loved ones of disappeared people of color in the UK have spoken out repeatedly about a lack of media attention to their cases compared with those of high-profile white victims. Why wasnt my Black Rastafarian face on the TV doing a press conference sitting with police officers on either side? Carol Morgan, the mother of Joy Morgan, a student who went missing in 2018 and was later found murdered, said. Its because I was Black and I wasnt newsworthy.

The families of missing persons often want to keep a media spotlight on their loved one, to help with the search. According to Vinter, of The Guardian, this seemed initially to be the case with Bulleys family, who gave interviews and had been open to answering the queries of various journalists. In the end, though, the sheer volume of coverage in the case proved difficult for the family to handle. On the day that Bulleys death was confirmed, the family put out a statement excoriating the media for, among other things, having misquoted and vilified her friends and family, running stories about us to sell papers and increase their own profits, and failing to respect the familys explicit request for privacy after a body was found. On the latter charge, the family called out two TV networks, ITV and Sky, by name for directly contacting grieving family members. (Sky had interviewed the family previously.)

Following the statement, Ofcom, the body that regulates Britains broadcast media, said that it was extremely concerned, and asked ITV and Sky to explain themselves. Both networks have said that they are working to answer Ofcoms questions. Ofcom did not respond to our request for comment; nor did the Independent Press Standards Organisation, or ipso, which regulates Britains print media. Its not clear if either body has received a formal complaint from Bulleys family. But Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, has said that she was planning to file complaints with both regulatorsand to write to the British governmentabout the distasteful coverage not only of Bulley, but in recent stories about the killings of Brianna Ghey, a trans teenager who was misgendered in some coverage of her death, and Emma Pattison, a British teacher who was recently shot, alongside her seven-year-old daughter. The Mail asked in a headline whether living in the shadow of this high-achieving wife had driven Pattisons husband to murder her.

In the wake of Bulleys killing, Shalev Greene says that she would like to see British lawmakers debate ways to strengthen the privacy rights of missing people and their families. Britain has had similar debates before. ipso grew out of the inquiry that followed the closure of Rupert Murdochs News of the World newspaper, in 2011, in the wake of a massive phone-hacking scandal. The US has privacy laws, but, with its strong First Amendment, does not have a UK-style national press regulator that can respond, at least rhetorically, to violations of privacy.

Press-watchers can debate whether or not this is a good thing, and how effective regulation has been even in the British context. And other thorny questions raised by the coverage of Bulleys disappearanceand similar stories in the USwould seem to defy easy outside regulation, on both sides of the Atlantic. Ultimately, the press must itself take primary responsibility for a difficult balance here.

Social media sleuths also defy easy regulation. They are not, after all, members of a single profession or engaged in a precisely defined activity, and they doand shouldenjoy broad free-speech rights. Ultimately, journalists cant control the ways in which obsessive news consumers spin our coverage. But the line between their behavior and that of certain members of the media can also be hard to draw; how different, after all, is a TikTok influencer tramping through a field searching for incriminating clues in the Bulley case from a TV anchor doing roughly the same thing with a bigger camera? Theres little you can accuse these citizen journalists of which doesnt hold true for many of their counterparts in traditional media, James Greig wrote recently for Dazed, of the coverage of the Bulley case. Indeed, when Bulleys family slammed the behavior of the media, it mentioned members of the public in the same breath.



Other notable stories:

Last night, on his Fox News show, Tucker Carlson started broadcasting surveillance footage from the January 6 insurrection that Kevin McCarthy, the Republican US House Speaker, recently handed to him, using it to spin a false narrative of exoneration. After continuing to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential electionCarlson used the footage to portray those who broke into the US Capitol as mostly peaceful patriots who simply felt wronged by the system, CNNs Oliver Darcy writes. McCarthy, of course, knew precisely what he was doing when he handed over the footage to Carlson while denying it to actual news organizations. Carlson has been one of the loudest, most obnoxious media figures denying the reality of January 6.

In 2017, at the height of the #MeToo movement, the journalist Moira Donegan created a Google spreadsheet, called Shitty Media Men, that subsequently was used to crowdsource anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct against men working within the media industry. Donegan quickly took down the original spreadsheet, but its content had already spread online, and a year later, Stephen Elliott, an author, sued Donegan and the spreadsheets unnamed cocreators for defamation. A financial settlement has now been reached in the case; Jessica Testa has more details for the New York Times.

The New Yorkers Masha Gessen spoke with journalists from TV Rain, an independent outlet that was ousted from Russia following that countrys invasion of Ukraine and set up shop in exile in Latvia, only to have its license revoked in the latter country after a host used language that sounded pro-Russian. Independent Russian journalists in Latvia have had to grapple with public distrust and strict regulations, Gessen reports.

Last year, police in the UK detained four journalists who were covering a climate protest. Now, following pressure from the countrys House of Lords, the government has pledged to amend a public-order bill to protect journalists against arrest while covering protests in the future. Officials initially said that an amendment was unnecessary because the police officers in the climate-protest case had admitted that their actions were unlawful.

And The Intercepts Nick Turse recounts how US diplomats in Niger gave him the runaround after he showed up at the US embassy for a scheduled briefing that officials tried to cancel at the last minute. A State Department security official stationed at the embassy denied Turse entry, then threatened to call local law enforcement on himeven though Niger, as Turse notes, has a bad record on press freedom.

ICYMI: 2024 coverage is shaping up to be the same as always

Jon Allsop and Jem Bartholomew are the authors of this article. Jon Allsop writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Jem Bartholomew is a Reporting Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), speaks to journalists after the IAEA's Board of Governors' meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 6. Reuters-Yonhap



The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Tuesday "deeply troubling" signs of activity are continuously being detected at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear testing site.



Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks amid speculation that the North appears to be preparing for what would be its first nuclear test since 2017.



"The Nuclear Test Site at Punggye-ri remains prepared to support a nuclear test, and we continue to see indications of activity near Adit 3 of the Test Site," he said in a statement to the board of governors. "The reopening of the nuclear test site is deeply troubling."



He noted that the road to the former Adit 4 entrance has been rebuilt, though the agency has not observed any indications of excavation.



The secretive North also appears to be operating the 5-megawatt reactor and the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at the Yongbyon nuclear site, Grossi said.



"There were indications of possible tests of the light water reactor (LWR) cooling system in late September and early October, and changes to the LWR's cooling water outlet channel in October," he added. (Yonhap)


This photo, taken from an observatory in the South Korean border city of Paju, Tuesday, shows a village in the North Korean town of Kaepung. Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



The North Korean leader's powerful sister warned, Tuesday, that the country is prepared to overwhelmingly respond to military activities by South Korea and the United States.



"The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide the DPRK with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them," Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



"As already clarified, we keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment."



She also added that the U.S. and South Korea should refrain from any further behaviors that aggravate the situation.



Her remarks came after Seoul and Washington carried out a combined air drill, Monday, involving a U.S. nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber. The U.S. also sent a B-1B strategic bomber for another drill, Friday.



Less than a week from now, the allies plan to hold the Freedom Shield exercise from March 13 to 23, during which they will also stage several combined field training exercises around the Korean Peninsula.



Pyongyang has responded strongly to the annual military exercise, denouncing it as a rehearsal for invasion.



Also referring to U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. John Aquilino, who was quoted in media recently saying that if North Korea launches an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Pacific, the U.S. will intercept it immediately, she describes the possible response as a "clear declaration of war" against her country.



"I don't know if he really made such improper words to speak for the stand of the U.S. military or if it was nothing but the puppet media's trite wordplay, but I clearly warn in advance irrespective of any reason whether it is true or not," she said, adding that the Pacific Ocean is not under the dominion of the U.S. or Japan.



North Korea recently threatened that it could use the Pacific as its "firing range" in response to joint military drills by the U.S. and the South.



She also delivered a message to the U.S. "It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons that are conducted without being detrimental to the security of neighboring countries in the open waters and air which do not belong to the U.S. jurisdiction," she said. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.



Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said at a regular board meeting in Vienna, Austria, Monday (local time), that North Korea's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri shows "deeply troubling" signs of activity.



As of May last year, North Korea is believed to have made full preparations for a possible seventh nuclear test, according to South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities.


A self-propelled artillery K-55A1 of the 17th Army Division is firing shells at the Mugun-ri Training Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on March 3. Yonhap



The South Korean military on Tuesday denied as "groundless" North Korea's claims that it fired more than 30 artillery shells at a shooting range near the inter-Korean border.



A spokesperson for the General Staff of the North's Korean People's Army (KPA) claimed the firing took place at the range in Paju, northwest of Seoul, earlier in the day, calling it a "very grave military provocation."



"There was no artillery firing by our military in the region where the North claims (the firing occurred)," Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.



"The announcement by the North Korean military's General Staff is not true and a groundless claim."



The KPA General Staff's spokesperson said that after the alleged firing, it ordered artillery units under the Second Army Corps to "get on the firepower alert posture for attack," and took a "step to intensify the overall front guard and the anti-aircraft combat duty." (Yonhap)


South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose for a photo prior to their talks in New York, in this file photo taken Sept. 21, 2022, as they meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol could visit Japan this month for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida following Seoul's decision to compensate wartime forced labor victims without Japanese firms' involvement, the presidential office said Tuesday.



The visit is under strong consideration, the office said, making it the first time in four years detailed discussions are taking place over a South Korean president's visit to Japan.



Kyodo News and other Japanese media outlets have reported Yoon could visit the neighboring country on March 16-17.



The trip would come on the heels of Seoul's decision to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a foundation supported by donations from South Korean businesses, not the Japanese firms accused of forced labor.






Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday.
Would you like to receive our news updates? Signup today!

Sign up to receive notifications when a new Columbia Gorge News e-Edition is published.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Gorge Social

Information from the News and our advertisers (Want to add your business to this to this feed?)
Are you a current print subscriber to Columbia Gorge News? If so, you qualify for free access to all content on columbiagorgenews.com. Simply verify with your subscriber id to receive free access. Your subscriber id may be found on your bill or mailing label.
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
From front, South Korea's destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great, U.S. destroyer USS Barry and Japan's destroyer JS Atago participate in a joint missile defense drill in the East Sea, Feb. 22. Courtesy of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff



By Nam Hyun-woo



South Korea's resolution on compensating victims of Japan's wartime forced labor is raising hopes of a rosy outlook on trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.



Experts say the diplomatic fray between South Korea and Japan has been the "weak link" in trilateral security cooperation and the resolution will play a pivotal role in improving Seoul-Tokyo relations. This, at the same time, is also expected to help South Korea send a signal to the world that it is siding with the United States, without ruffling China's feathers.



"The diplomatic friction between South Korea and Japan has been the weak link in the trilateral security cooperation scheme," Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told The Korea Times.



"After Seoul-Tokyo relations turned sour, China and Russia began to conduct joint military exercises. This clearly shows the strategic meaning of the resolution that it is seeking to stabilize geopolitical issues in the East Sea by improving ties with Japan," Go added.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled a plan, Monday, to compensate 15 wartime victims through a public foundation which will be primarily funded by Korean companies, instead of responsible Japanese firms. In response, the Japanese government welcomed the settlement, expressing hopes to "restore healthy ties."



During a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the resolution is an outcome of the government's efforts to find a measure "that serves the two countries' mutual benefits and future progress."



"Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us and cooperate in global agendas including security, economy and science technology," Yoon said. "The future-oriented cooperation between South Korea and Japan will protect the freedom, peace and prosperity of not only the two countries but also the entire world."



As Yoon said, the resolution is aimed at helping Seoul and Tokyo to improve their relations and strengthen the trilateral security cooperation involving the U.S., in order to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. At the same time, this signals that Seoul is taking a clear stance of leaning toward Washington in the U.S.-China rivalry.



In September last year, the Chinese Navy participated in the Russia-led Vostok-2022 multinational military drill in the East Sea, immediately after South Korea and the U.S. jointly conducted the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.



In this regard, the improved relations between Seoul and Tokyo are in line with the interests of the U.S., which aims to use the trilateral bloc to contain assertions from China and Russia. Hours after Seoul announced the resolution, U.S. President Joe Biden released a statement and hailed it as "a groundbreaking new chapter" and a step in advancing "our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific."





President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose for photo during their trilateral summit in Madrid, Spain, June 29, 2022. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
Apple-focused device management and security vendor Jamf today published its Security 360: Annual Trends report, which reveals the five security tends impacting organizations running hybrid work environments. As it is every year, the report is interesting, so I spoke to Michael Covington, vice president of portfolio strategy, for more details about what the company found this year.

First, here's a brief rundown of some of the salient points in the report:

In 2022, 21% of employees were using devices that were misconfigured, exposing the device and the employee to risk.

31% of organizations had at least one user fall victim to a phishing attack.

7% of Android devices accessed third-party app stores, which often provide versions of legitimate apps that have been tampered with to include malicious code that infects user devices, compared to 0.002% of iOS devices.

New malware infections dropped from just over 150 million to about 100 million, with malicious network traffic continuing to be more prevalent.

The report confirms that some of the most well-known bad security habits continue. For example, 16% of users are regularly exposing confidential or sensitive data by sharing it via unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots.

Security 360 also gives a good set of insights into how important privacy is to overall enterprise security.

The report points to a range of ways in which privacy, once broken, creates security instability, including nation states that subvert device security to watch, photograph, and record what people do in order to blackmail or otherwise exploit victims.

Another threat is poor data lifecycle management, when companies that do gather private information dont protect that data well enough. The company continues to invest in approaches to challenge all of these. Theres a host of additional information available in the report, which you can explore here.

An interview with Michael Covington

Covington has extensive experience in tech. A published computer science researcher and IT pro, he has held leadership roles at Intel, Cisco Security, and Juniper Networks.

Jamf Michael Covington, vice president of portfolio strategy.

At Jamf, he oversees the blending of the companys security and management solutions into a cohesive platform and has a self-described passion for working on products that sit at the intersection of security, privacy and usability.

Heres what he had to say:

Why typically do business employees have misconfigured devices? What can a business do to manage these, particularly when using employee-owned devices? "Misconfigurations occur when organizations choose not to manage, or under-manage, the devices their employees use for work. This could be a result of limited IT staffing, poorly defined standards, or a desire to operate an unrestricted IT program. Regardless of the reasons, these misconfigurations significantly increase the risk organizations face.

"Many organizations look at security in the context of an incident;' they want to stop bad things from happening, so they focus on threat events like malware detection and phishing blocks. What they fail to realize, however, is that the best risk management begins by practicing good security hygiene. Organizations need to do more to ensure that every device meets the companys baseline standards  regardless of whether it is company-owned, contractor-operated, or a personal device used under a BYOD program  before it is allowed to access sensitive business data.

"Beyond basic management controls, organizations must also look to their users to maintain proper device configurations over time. Users should be part of the security solution, and that includes actioning updates to the operating system or applications in a timely fashion, when prompted."

What is the consequence of a phishing attack? Do they typically lead to further breaches? What is the average consequence to a user? "Successful phishing attacks inevitably lead to consequences down the road. A worst-case scenario occurs when work credentials are stolen by an attacker who uses them to subsequently steal valuable business data, to blackmail the organization, or pivot to the next system or social engineering exploit. Other side effects can include misinformation campaigns launched against the business or its partners, personal data loss, and financial exploitation."

How can you tell a legitimate software store from an illegitimate one? What can be done to protect users? "The best software stores have well-documented processes in place to vet incoming applications and monitor for abuses over time. The iOS AppStore and the Google Play store are great examples of where a defined process helps eliminate a lot of the risk up-front, before users download the apps.

"But there are plenty of examples of where this isnt always possible or desirable. As organizations adopt more applications that are distributed by third parties outside of the app stores  a scenario that is quite common with macOS, for example  they also need to have processes in place to manage the lifecycle around those applications.

"Best practices include assessing the permissions each app requests to ensure the developers respect end user privacy, maintaining regular checks to ensure the most stable and secure version is distributed to devices, and monitoring known vulnerabilities for each application to understand the organizations risk exposure."

What is the difference between malicious network traffic and malware? Are they seeking different things? "All malware is built with an intended purpose. Some malware was designed to deliver advertisements. Some malware encrypts data so the attacker can demand a ransom. And some malware steals intellectual property. Most modern malware is connected to infrastructure that is used to facilitate distribution, implement command & control, and receive exfiltrated content.

"Malicious network traffic refers to the network-based infrastructure that supports malware campaigns and data theft. Network-based indicators of compromise can serve as a strong indicator of malicious activity on a device, even when a specific malware has not yet been identified on the device.

"Jamf Threat Labs recently discovered a malicious cryptomining campaign that was targeting macOS devices through compromised pirated software; the software used network communication to send mined cryptocurrency to the attacker."

Isn't using a virus checker enough? (No is the answer, but why?) "No, a virus checker is not enough. Organizations should be thinking holistically about their endpoint security solutions. Good security on the device begins with secure baselines that are established and maintained over time. Best practices include regular checks on OS patch levels and application versions.

"And when it comes to malware detection, organizations must be using solutions that go beyond signature detection. Data-driven heuristics and machine learning have reached a level of maturity that result in more accurate detections and far fewer false positives. Its time to embrace these technologies.

"Finally, device security should include tools to help prevent user-introduced risk. This includes protections against sophisticated phishing attacks and social engineering exploits that trick users into installing malicious code on the device.

"Organizations should avoid thinking in security silos. Malware detection, for example, is only minimally useful in isolation. IT and security teams should start looking for an overall assessment of endpoint health that can be communicated to other tools and infrastructure so that intelligence can help provide better protections for the organizations most sensitive applications.

How can employers/employees better protect themselves against social engineering-based attacks? "Organizations invest in tools and employee training that protect corporate data. To take this a step further, organizations can and should help employees improve security and privacy in their personal life, as when workers are educated on personal security risks, they are more likely to help improve their habits when dealing with those same risks at work.

"Employers should have a multi-pronged approach.

First, start with education. Some ways organizations can help employees is by implementing a regular data privacy hygiene day, offering workshops and training on improving their personal data privacy and providing bite-sized tutorials and warnings on a regular cadence through already-utilized tools.

Second, invest in tools that prevent users from making mistakes. Organizations need to do more to ensure that every device meets the companys baseline standards  regardless of whether it is company-owned, contractor-operated, or a personal device used under a BYOD program  before it is allowed to access sensitive business data. Beyond basic management controls, organizations must also look to their users to maintain proper device configurations over time. Users should be part of the security solution, and that includes actioning updates to the operating system or applications in a timely fashion, when prompted.

Third, go back again to educate! Dont shame mistakes, instead share learnings to encourage best practice and sharing of phishing attempts so users know what to look for. Employee training must go beyond the annual classroom requirements and include a cultural element that places security at the top of every employees job responsibility list."

What should employers look for when sourcing employee security training? "Most critically, employers should ensure that their employee security training has been modernized. Content should cover on-premises use cases, remote/anywhere work scenarios, a combination of desktop, laptop, and mobile form-factors, plus include references to cloud applications. Users should feel like they are the first line of defense and not be ashamed to report incidents they have observed."

What can an enterprise do to protect against the weak links in their security chain (human or otherwise)?

"Implement a comprehensive security program with transparency.

Do not blame/shame users who fall victim to social engineering.

Share details (within reason) on where mistakes have been made.

Encourage sharing.

Talk about the wins and the attacks that were successfully thwarted so users feel bought into the solutions.

Dont compromise personal privacy.

Dont implement draconian policies.

Focus on productivity, not blocking users."

Please follow me on Mastodon, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
U.S. President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk Yeol look at each other during their joint press conference at South Korea's presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, May 21, 2022. Yonhap



Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the United States next month for a summit with President Joe Biden, the White House said Tuesday.



"President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee of the Republic of Korea (ROK) for a State Visit to the United States, which will include a state dinner, on April 26, 2023," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a released statement, referring to South Korea by its official name.



She noted Yoon's upcoming trip will mark the second state visit by a foreign leader to the U.S. since Biden took office in January 2021.



"The upcoming visit celebrates the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance, which is critical to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity for our two countries, the Indo-Pacific, and around the world," the released statement said.



"President Biden and President Yoon will highlight the importance and enduring strength of the ironclad U.S.-ROK alliance as well as the United States' unwavering commitment to the ROK," it added.



Korea and the U.S. signed their Mutual Defense Treaty 70 years ago in October 1953.




Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, center, meets troops participating in the Exercise Teak Knife on Feb. 27, in this photo released by his office. Yonhap



Korean and U.S. military authorities are in consultations on a possible visit to Seoul by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley later this month, an informed source said Tuesday.



If agreed, he is likely to visit the country after the allies conclude their combined Freedom Shield exercise set to take place from next Monday through March 23, according to the source. The general previously visited Seoul in December 2021.






Security leaders are embracing zero trust, with the vast majority of organizations either implementing or planning to adopt the strategy. The 2022 State of Zero-Trust Security report found that 97% of those surveyed either have or plan to have a zero-trust initiative in place within 18 months.

In fact, the percentage of organizations with zero trust already in place more than doubled in just one year, jumping from 24% in 2021 to 55% in the 2022 survey issued by identity and access management technology provider Okta.

And that 55% is more than three times the figure it was four years ago; when Okta first asked security leaders whether they had a zero-trust initiative in place or were planning one within the following 18 months for its 2018 report, only 16% answered yes.

The growing use of zero trust mirrors the increasing security challenges faced by enterprise leaders. Organizations have seen their attack surfaces grow, especially as they have enabled widescale remote work policies and extended the number of endpoint devices residing outside corporate walls. At the same time, the volume and velocity of cyberattacks have skyrocketed.

The technology landscape is evolving, and as organizations adopted cloud and with more mobile devices and more bring-your-own devices, remote and hybrid work, and adversaries becoming more sophisticated, it all led to changes in the threat landscape. As a result, the old security model is no longer scalable, says Imran Umar, who as a senior cyber solution architect at Booz Allen Hamilton spearheads zero-trust initiatives in support of the US Department of Defense, federal civilian agencies, and the intelligence community.

The old perimeter security model is dead

That old security model focused on perimeter defenses, an approach that earned comparisons to creating a moat around the castle, working to keep out dangers while allowing everyone and everything within the castle walls to move around with few, if any, impediments.

That model, though, falsely assumed users and devices within the corporate environment could be trusted. It discounted insider threats and the potential for bad actors to successfully penetrate the perimeter and disguise themselves as trusted entities that belonged within the environment.

Moreover, that model became incompatible with a 21st-centuryst century IT architecture that, with cloud computing and an explosion of endpoint devices requiring access to enterprise systems from outside the corporate IT environment, obliterated the perimeter. Security leaders started shifting their security strategies in response to those changes. They moved away from relying mostly or solely on perimeter defenses and instead began implementing controls such as data-level authentication and encryption to secure enterprise assets at a more granular level.

In 2010, John Kindervag, then a Forrester Research analyst (and now senior vice president of cybersecurity strategy and group fellow at ON2IT Cybersecurity), promoted the idea that an organization should not extend trust to anything inside or outside its perimeters. In that process, he created the concept of zero trust. Interest in and adoption of zero trust principles have grown steadily since.

The White House gave zero trust an additional boost in May 2021, when in an executive order it declared that the federal government must adopt security best practices and advance toward zero-trust architecture.

What is zero trust?

At its core, zero trust is a way to think about and structure a security strategy based on the idea of trust no one and nothing, verify everything.

Zero trust is saying: dont assume anything. Allow agents and users the least privilege and the least access they need to get their jobs done. And dont assume any privilege without verifying, says Steve Wilson, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

Often called the zero-trust security model or the zero-trust framework, it is an approach to designing and implementing a security program based on the notion that no user or device or agent should have implicit trust. Instead, anyone or anything  a device or system  that seeks access to corporate assets must prove it should be trusted.

Its a philosophy. Its a mindset. Its an evolution of defense-in-depth, says Ismael Valenzuela, senior instructor at the SANS Institute, which provides security training, certifications, and research. He notes that this approach when properly implemented, not only helps prevent bad actors from gaining access to networks, systems, and data but also shortens detection and reaction times if anything nefarious gets through.

This security model calls for implementing controls that remove implicit trust and instead require verification across multiple pillars. The number of pillars varies among the different frameworks, with most identifying either five or seven.

The pillars of zero trust

The five-pillar framework typically lists the individual pillars as:

Identity, Device, Network, Application workload and Data.

The US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, better known as CISA, uses five pillars in its maturity model.

Others list seven pillars. Forrester, for one, introduced its Zero Trust eXtended Ecosystem concept in 2018, identifying the seven core pillars of zero trust as:

Workforce security, Device security, Workload security, Network security, Data security, Visibility and analytics, and Automation and orchestration.

Others, including security technology vendors, offer additional variations on these pillars, some listing six and others giving alternative names such as monitor and remediate and endpoint protection.

Some also describe various areas as specifically zero trust, as in zero-trust architecture (ZTA) and zero-trust network access (ZTNA)  terms that indicate that zero-trust principles have been applied to those parts of the IT infrastructure. Regardless of such differences, experts stress that the objective remains the same: to remove implicit trust throughout the environment and instead use processes, policies, and technologies to continuously authenticate and authorize entities as trustworthy before actually granting access.

The zero-trust journey

Removing that implicit trust takes time, according to experts, and most organizations are far from accomplishing that objective. Its a journey of change, says Chalan Aras, a member of the Cyber & Strategic Risk practice at Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory.

Zero trust is also a collection of policies, procedures, and technologies. Organizations that want to implement an effective zero-trust strategy must have an accurate inventory of assets, including data. They must have an accurate inventory of users and devices as well as a robust data classification program with privileged access management in place, Valenzuela says.

Other components include comprehensive identity management, application-level access control, and micro-segmentation (which helps control access and limit movement within the IT environment).

Another important element is user and entity behavior analytics, which uses automation and intelligence to learn normal (and therefore accepted and trusted) user and entity behaviors from anomalous behaviors that shouldnt be trusted and therefore denied access.

Other technologies for zero trust include network detection and response (NDR) tools, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, and multifactor authentication capabilities.

Challenges to implementing zero trust

This plethora of policies, procedures and technologies required to enable a zero-trust strategy can be an obstacle for many organizations, Valenzuela says. Another challenge to success: legacy technology, as older systems often cant work with or support the elements of a zero-trust security model.

Financial constraints and resistance to change are additional barriers. Organizations generally cant afford to replace existing security technologies and modernize legacy tech all at once, nor can they successfully manage to move workers to new policies and procedures in one fell swoop. There are a lot of investments that have been made over the years that you cannot just throw away, Valenzuela says.

Yet another challenge is the user pushback that zero trust will inevitably bring into the environment, Wilson says, adding that zero trust raises friction, and friction is the enemy of the user experience.

Wilson cites one more challenge to overcome: the additional complexity that zero trust brings. Most organizations are in the earlier stages of implementing the controls required to enable this approach and few have reached full maturity. The 2022 Okta report, for example, indicates that only 2% of all companies worldwide have implemented passwordless access indicating that their zero-trust maturity is evolved, or the highest maturity level of the five levels listed by Okta.

Implement zero trust in stages

Given the scope of work that zero trust involves, and the challenges that come with it, experts advise moving forward in steps. The goal should be: What can I do today, this week, this month to implement less implicit trust? Valenzuela says.

Similarly, Aras says he advises enterprise leaders to break down their zero-trust journeys into three buckets: do now, do next, and do later. He puts, for example, identity initiatives into the do now category as well as ZTNA, where depending on how old the tech stack is, it could be a minor change or it could be a major change.

He says network segmentation and application segmentation could be do now or do next activities, depending on an organizations existing security and tech maturity. Its important to start with where am I now? The better that [analysis] is performed, the more likely the do now, do next and do later recommendations will be accurate.
Chinese FM urges Japan not to choose beggar-thy-neighbor approach

Xinhua) 12:19, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Should some people from the Japanese side choose the beggar-thy-neighbor approach rather than pursue a friendly partnership, and take part in a new Cold War to contain China, the bilateral relations would only suffer new wounds when the old ones are yet to be healed, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)




The defense chiefs of South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed Tuesday to install a regular ministerial-level dialogue on arms industry cooperation during their talks in Seoul, the defense ministry here said.







Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Saudi counterpart, Khalid bin Salman, held the talks as a follow-up to the two countries' summit in November last year, where their leaders voiced hope for stronger cooperation in defense, energy and other sectors.







Lee and Khalid agreed to institute the dialogue, and hold it annually to conduct "systematic and practical" discussions on bilateral defense and arms industry cooperation, according to the ministry.







"The two ministers agreed to work together to develop defense and arms industry cooperation between the two nations in a future-oriented manner based on the two countries' solid trust and cooperative relationship," it said in a press release.







Lee expressed expectations that ongoing negotiations on South Korea's defense exports to Saudi Arabia will be concluded successfully, while explaining progress that the country's arms industry has made.







The ministry did not elaborate on the negotiations. Saudi Arabia is known to be considering the introduction of the South Korean-made Cheongung II midrange surface-to-air missile system.







Khalid reiterated his country's intent to cooperate closely with South Korea, according to the ministry.







It marks the first visit by a Saudi defense minister to Seoul's defense ministry. (Yonhap)


By Microsoft Security

Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks represent a significant threat for enterprise businesses. They start when an individual device (bot) or network of devices (botnet) is infected with malware. From there, the bot or botnet will flood websites or services with high volumes of traffic in an attack that can last anywhere from hours to days.

In recent years, weve even seen politically motivated attackers, also known as hacktivists, use DDoS attacks to extort site owners for financial, competitive advantage, or political reasons. We saw this in February 2022 when anti-Ukraine hacktivist attackers launched what has been described as the largest DDoS attack in history against Ukrainian banking and government websites as a prelude to Russias invasion.

And while its impossible to avoid being a target of a DDoS attack entirely, proactive planning and preparation can help you more effectively defend against an attack. You just need to understand how they work.

What are DDoS attacks?

A DDoS attack starts by flooding a site or server with errant traffic to disrupt service or knock it offline. Thanks to the cybercrime as a service business model, these attacks can be ordered from a DDoS subscription service for as little as $500. There are new DDoS attack vectors emerging every day as cybercriminals leverage more advanced techniques, such as AI-based attacks, to disrupt everyday operations.

In general, DDoS attacks fall under three primary categories, with various cyberattacks within each. The categories are as follows:

Volumetric attacks: Primarily focused on bandwidth, volumetric attacks are designed to overwhelm the network layer with traffic. One common example is domain name server (DNS) amplification attack, which uses open DNS servers to flood a target with DNS response traffic. Protocol attacks: This attack targets resources by exploiting weaknesses in the layer 3 and layer 4 protocol stack. One example of a protocol attack is synchronization packet flood (SYN), which consumes all available server resourcesthus making a server unavailable. Resource layer attacks: As the final category of DDoS, resource layer attacks are designed to disrupt data transmission between hosts by targeting web application packets. This can be seen in SQL injection attacks, which insert malicious code into strings that are later passed to an instance of SQL Server for parsing and execution.

Its important to realize that threat actors can use multiple attack types, including ones from different categories, against a network. Luckily, there are strategies that you can implement to strengthen your protection.

How to help protect against and respond to DDoS attacks

Any website or server downtime can result in lost sales and customers, high recovery costs, or damage to your reputation. The impact is even more significant for smaller organizations as it can be harder for them to recover after an attack. Here are six tips when it comes to dealing with DDoS attacks:

Evaluate your risks and vulnerabilities: Start by identifying the applications within your organization that are exposed to the public internet. Also, be sure to note the normal behavior of your application so you can respond quickly if it begins behaving differently than expected. Make sure youre protected: DDoS attacks tend to spike during peak business seasons, such as the holidays. Thats why we recommend choosing a DDoS protection service with advanced mitigation capabilities that can handle attacks at any scale. Look for service features such as traffic monitoring; adaptive real-time tuning; DDoS protection telemetry, monitoring, and alerting; and access to a rapid response team. Create a DDoS response strategy: Having a response strategy is critical to help you identify, mitigate, and quickly recover from DDoS attacks. Your DDoS rapid response team should understand how to identify, mitigate, and monitor an attack and be able to coordinate with internal stakeholders and customers. Identify potential weaknesses: We recommend running attack simulations to test how your services will respond to an attack. During testing, validate that your services or applications continue to function as expected and there's no disruption to the user experience. Identify gaps from both a technology and process standpoint and incorporate them in the DDoS response strategy. We recommend that you perform such tests in staging environments or during non-peak hours to minimize the impact on the production environment. Reach out for help during an attack: If you think you are experiencing an attack, reach out to the appropriate technical professionals, such as an established DDoS response team, for help with attack investigation during an attack, as well as post-attack analysis. Learn and adapt after an attack: While youll likely want to move on as quickly as possible if youve experienced an attack, its important to continue to monitor your resources and conduct a retrospective analysis. Make sure you consider whether there was any disruption to the service or user experience due to a lack of scalable architecture. We also recommend evaluating which applications or services suffered the most and how effective your DDoS response strategy was. Finally, identify where there is room for improvement.

Of course, DDoS attacks are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to emerging cyber threats. For more information on ongoing cybersecurity developments and best practices, check out Microsoft Security Insider.
President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hand with Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman at the presidential office building in Yongsan, Seoul on Tuesday. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, and discussed ways to strengthen arms industry and defense cooperation between the two countries, his office said Tuesday.



During the meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, Yoon called on the two countries to boost cooperation for peace as economic and security partners, presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said in a written briefing.



"As very important partners in economy and security, let's strengthen cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and the world," Yoon said.



He mentioned Saudi Arabia's push for defense reform and said the two countries could create bigger "synergy" if they share their experience and visions for the mission.



Promising to actively push for cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the arms industry, Yoon asked Khalid to deliver his greetings to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.



In response, Khalid said cooperation between the two countries has become more elaborate since the crown prince's visit to Seoul in November last year. He said the two countries have built an unprecedented tie in areas like the economy and defense based on deep mutual understanding. (Yonhap)


The British people have had enough. I have had enough. Tens of thousands of illegal migrants pouring across the Channel every year, and in ever greater numbers. We cannot sustain it. Moreover, it makes us less safe. We all know that strong border security underpins our national security.

It is not racist to say we have too many illegal migrants abusing our asylum system. Nor is it bigoted to say that the financial and social costs of uncontrolled migration are unsustainable. These are hard truths. Hard truths that Keir Starmer, his Labour Party and the wider establishment dismiss as nationalist intolerance.

Thats why stopping the boats is my top priority. Its why the Prime Minister made stopping the boats one of his five pledges to the British people. Its why yesterday we introduced the Illegal Migration Bill  to solve this problem once and for all.

The United Kingdom must always support the worlds most vulnerable. And this Government has gone further than any previous one to do so. Weve given sanctuary to 150,000 Hong Kongers, provided refuge to 160,000 Ukrainians fleeing Putins illegal war, and provided a home for more than 20,000 Afghans escaping the Taliban.

The small boats problem is part of a larger global migration crisis. In the coming years, countries similar to ours will face unprecedented pressures from ever greater numbers of people leaving the developing world, trying to come to places like the UK. Unless we act today, the problem will be even worse tomorrow.

The British people have had enough. I have had enough

ens of thousands of illegal migrants pouring across the Channel every year, and in ever greater numbers. We cannot sustain it

The volume of people illegally entering this country has overwhelmed our system. The asylum backlog has ballooned to over 160,000 people. It is costing taxpayers 3billion a year and rising.

Some 85,000 people have arrived illegally by small boat since 2018, 45,000 of them last year alone. Many came from safe countries, like Albania. All travelled through safe countries where they could and should have claimed asylum.

The vast majority  74 per cent in 2021  were adult males under the age of 40, rich enough to pay criminal gangs thousands to break into the UK. Upon arrival, some simply disappear  we dont know where they go or what they do.

But most are accommodated in hotels, costing the taxpayer around 6million a day. And when we try to remove them, they weaponise our generous asylum laws against us. The completely unacceptable scenes starting to play out on our streets grimly foreshadow the sorts of community tensions we will see if we dont get a grip. In the face of todays global migration crisis, yesterdays laws are simply not fit for purpose. There are 100 million people displaced around the world, and likely billions more eager to come here if possible.

They are already coming here in their tens of thousands. And they will not stop until weve made it crystal clear: Arrive illegally and you will be liable for detention and swiftly removed  to your home country or to a safe third country like Rwanda.

That is precisely what the Illegal Migration Bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats. Among a range of tough measures the Bill will, for the first time, give a much-needed legal duty for me to arrange the removal of illegal migrants. It will give us the power to detain illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they are removed.

It is not racist to say we have too many illegal migrants abusing our asylum system. Nor is it bigoted to say that the financial and social costs of uncontrolled migration are unsustainable. These are hard truths

It will end the abuse of our modern slavery regime, stopping illegal arrivals from using these laws to avoid their removal.

Only those medically unfit to fly, unaccompanied children and those at real risk of serious and irreversible harm in the safe third country may have their removal delayed. Any other human rights claims or challenges will be accessible only after theyve been removed.

Our ability to control our borders cannot be a hostage to secretive hearings in foreign courts where we have no opportunity to make our case or even appeal those decisions. Thats why weve initiated discussions with the Strasbourg court, to ensure the sorts of blocking orders that prevented our flights to Rwanda last year are reformed. And its why the Bill will set out the conditions for the UKs future compliance with any similar orders.

The Bill will also introduce an annual quota, to be determined by Parliament, on the number of refugees the UK will accept through safe and legal routes. This will allow us to plan with local authorities for an orderly system that takes into consideration local capacity.

The British people are fair and generous. But their patience has run out. Time after time, theyve been promised a fix for this problem. But the establishment forces allied against these solutions have been powerful. Meanwhile, Labour has opposed every measure to halt illegal migration, and doesnt even see it as one of its top priorities to solve. This is a betrayal of hard-working British people.

Until now, the most difficult decisions have not been taken. But the time for half measures is over. We must stop the boats. Our Illegal Migration Bill will do exactly that.

Unless we act today, the problem will be even worse tomorrow
All those Tory pledges to embrace the freedoms given to us by Brexit and transform Britain into the next Silicon Valley appear to be crashing to Earth with a deafening thud.

Even though the City is the second largest financial centre in the world, we are in grave danger of losing the battle to keep the best and the brightest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Last week, the Exchange received a body blow when Japans huge investment fund SoftBank announced it was planning to float its 33 billion Cambridge-based microchip company Arm not in London, but New York.

No matter that Arm is the jewel of Britains high-tech sector, or that ministers including Rishi Sunak had spent a huge amount of time wooing SoftBanks multi-billionaire boss Masayoshi Son in an effort to persuade him to give London a share of the action.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should surely be focusing above all on getting the City, the lifeblood of our economy, firing on all cylinders

Arm was proof that we are world beaters at developing high-tech. It was sold to SoftBank in 2016, and the Japanese firm now thinks it will command a higher valuation in New York. It cites regulatory obstacles in the London market as one reason it is heading overseas.

The decision is devastating to Britains high-tech ambitions and a snub to the Prime Minister. Worse, it raises concerns that a flood of quoted firms based here could follow suit.

Lifeblood

Indeed, both tech companies and more traditional firms which earn large slices of their income in the United States are threatening to take their stock market quotations and much of their headquarters staff across the Atlantic.

Those of us who supported Brexit, hoping for freedom from the kind of sclerotic red tape we associate with Brussels and yearning for a low-tax Britain, are bitterly disappointed.

Far from the high-productivity, fast-growing economy we envisaged, the Square Mile seems bound up in pettifogging regulation, concerns about high taxes and a lack of economic ambition.

Perversely, output and entrepreneurship are actually being hindered by the Treasury and the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt who should surely be focusing above all on getting the City, the lifeblood of our economy, firing on all cylinders.

Instead of building on Britain's excellence, the finger of the state is hovering over the self-destruct button.

For fear of upsetting the market for government bonds following last years failed experiment in Trussonomics, Hunt & Co are taking a deeply cautious approach, and fiscal orthodoxy  which means high taxes  rules the day.

So far, the Chancellor is refusing to rescind next months rise in corporation tax from a competitive 19 per cent to a whopping 26 per cent.

This is in spite of the fact that leading think-tanks, including the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation, estimate that the Chancellor has up to 30 billion of headroom for extra spending and tax changes in next Wednesdays Budget.

It is economic vandalism, pure and simple. At the weekend, the head of tax policy at the consultancy KPMG blamed high taxes for the fact at least a dozen . . . probably dozens of its U.S. clients have decided not to invest in the UK.

What we cant get away from is that the UK is now no longer trying to be a low-tax location, he said. It is now just somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Billionaire entrepreneur James Dyson, who is among Britains greatest inventors and employers, is even more blunt, describing Tory tax policies as stupid and short-sighted.

The evidence of this destruction is all too apparent. AstraZeneca, the nations 168 billion life sciences champion, decided to locate its next major manufacturing plant in Ireland, taking advantage of a corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent, rather than Macclesfield where it could have been a levelling-up triumph.

Shell, another of the biggest beasts on the London Stock Exchange, recently considered (but thankfully decided against) shifting its headquarters out of Britain because of high taxation rates.

Hammered

The UKs largest investor in offshore North Sea oil and gas exploration, Harbour Energy, cut jobs and expansion plans when the Chancellor hammered the energy sector with a windfall tax which raised the rate on its earnings to 75 per cent.

There is no escaping the fact all this could put the UK in the slow lane in spite of its glorious technological, science and aerospace innovation. The need for Britain to lift its vision and attract new investment has become all the more critical following recent initiatives in the U.S.

President Joe Biden has unsheathed a huge programme of investment designed to lure companies to America.

Applications are open for up to $39 billion (32.5 billion) of funding to companies  such as Arm  which are prepared to invest in advanced semi-conductor research and production in the U.S.

Last week, a delegation of British microchip makers travelled to Washington where they met White House and congressional staff intent on persuading them to move to the U.S., to reduce Americas dependence on semi-conductor makers in Taiwan.

As Scott White, chief executive of Cambridge-based Pragmatic Semiconductor said: If we can go anywhere else in the world and get support for the capital investment of installing manufacturing facilities, then its relatively speaking far less attractive to do it in the UK.

To be fair, Sunak yesterday launched a 360 million plan to turn Britain into a science superpower by the end of the decade, promising to use post-Brexit freedoms to develop a pro-innovation culture. But how does that square with the policies business leaders say are making Britain a less attractive place?

Equally alarming is the $370 billion (308 billion) offered by the U.S. for firms wishing to invest in carbon reduction.

Dangers

Shell has already indicated it may move some green projects to the US. Brussels is so rattled by the prospect of America acting as a vacuum cleaner for green projects that it is considering lifting strict rules on industrial subsidies in an effort to remain competitive.

Instead of London becoming a magnet for tech, green industries or for flotations of companies, it is in danger of losing out on an enormous scale. The Irish-based building materials group CRH, at the heart of which sits the heritage firm Tarmac, is also off to New York.

It follows UK plumbing giant Ferguson, which headed in the same direction last year.

Reversing the tide of great UK companies heading for the exit is a gargantuan task. It is made infinitely harder by City bureaucracy, a government seemingly impervious to the dangers of overseas takeovers and one determined to raise business taxes in the eye of a global slowdown.

Britains economy is far from moribund and has world-leading positions in finance, technology, the creative industries and much else. Instead of building on this excellence, the finger of the state is hovering over the self-destruct button.

The Chancellor has the chance to set a new course in the Budget by cutting taxes without undermining longer term plans to lower government borrowing and debt.

It is a golden opportunity for Sunaks Tories to offer a radically different approach to Keir Starmers statism and reap the rich harvest of a low tax, deregulated economy.
Harry's eviction from Frogmore Cottage copperfastens his demotion as a Counsellor of State. While King Charles's tinkering with the list of Counsellors  promoting Anne and Edward and downgrading Harry and Andrew  was sufficient, the absence of a UK abode confirms Harry's relegation. His US residency is no bar to his place in the succession. Perhaps the King and William should stick to the rule of monarch and heir travelling separately. Should anything befall them both before George is 18, Harry would become Prince Regent. And if he declined, the honour falls to Andrew.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Harry's eviction from Frogmore Cottage copperfastens his demotion as a Counsellor of State

What is Sarah Fergsuon playing at? Asked for her opinion of the Duchess of Sussex, Fergie replies: 'I don't really know Meghan. I haven't really met her.' According to Harry, when he and Meghan visited Fergie en route to Meghan's first meeting with the Queen she asked: 'Do you know how to curtsy?' Harry writes: 'Fergie demonstrated once. Meg imitated her... As we walked towards the door Fergie and I both leaned into Meg, whispering quick reminders.' Curious how recollections vary.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: What are the chances of Jessica Fellowes (pictured left), niece of Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes, scattering herbs in front of the King at his coronation?

What are the chances of Jessica Fellowes, niece of Downton Abbey's Julian Fellowes, scattering herbs in front of the King at his coronation? Charles was apparently impressed with the nosegay of flowers, herbs and spices he carried when he distributed the Royal Maundy last year.

And last month he enjoyed rose petals being cast before him on a Brick Lane walkabout. But don't place any bets with Paddy Power just yet. Writer Jessica, pictured, who has applied to revive the role of royal herb strewer, may hit the herbal buffers with the Westminster Abbey ban on confetti and rice. It clogs every nook and cranny, causing havoc for the vergers.

Former Daily Mail cartoonist Trog, aka Wally Fawkes, who has died aged 98 recently sought a flu jab, explaining: 'I was in the doctor's waiting room with a lot of slightly apprehensive, elderly people in various stages of decay when over the speakers came a sound of music. It was Frank Sinatra singing, "And now the end is near..." We all looked at each other and exploded with mirth.'

Gyles Brandreth, 75 tomorrow, recalls his presidency of the Oxford Union when visiting speaker Jeremy Thorpe had the hots for him. 'He bounded across the debating chamber, literally jumping over the benches, in his apparent eagerness to greet me,' Gyles tells the Oldie. You had a narrow escape Gyles. Amorous Jeremy might have had your dog shot.

EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Gyles Brandreth, 75 tomorrow, recalls his presidency of the Oxford Union when visiting speaker Jeremy Thorpe had the hots for him

Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis, confirming his 'spectacularly unsuccessful' early attempts at romance, tells Radio Times: 'I remember being at a wedding. There was a girl. We had a dance. I thought, "This is heaven." She said, "Where are you staying tonight?" And instead of saying, "Wherever you're staying" I said, "I'm going back with my friend John and we're going to play Boggle." I never saw her again.'
The Home Secretary put it best herself. Britain has been 'taken for a ride' by illegal migration. For too long, our woeful asylum system has been cynically exploited  and the public has had enough.

As Suella Braverman presented the Government's new Illegal Immigration Bill to the Commons yesterday, and as Rishi Sunak briefed its details to the press last night, I finally sensed a turning point.

Braverman rightly told MPs our asylum system is not 'fit for purpose'. Thousands of migrants are committing 'flagrant' breaches of the law as they land on our shores in small boats.

For years, politicians have promised to sort this out  but the problem has only worsened.

The new Bill, however, contains many of the ingredients that, as head of the think-tank Migration Watch UK, I believe are essential to solving the Channel crisis.

The Home Secretary (pictured) put it best herself. Britain has been 'taken for a ride' by illegal migration

As Suella Braverman presented the Government's new Illegal Immigration Bill to the Commons yesterday, and as Rishi Sunak (pictured) briefed its details to the press last night, I finally sensed a turning point

I have long argued that enshrining in law a duty on the Home Secretary to detain illegal arrivals until they can be removed to their home country, or to another country from which they can claim asylum, is vital.

Why? Because it places a statutory requirement on the minister to deal with the problem, rather than relying on the migrants not to break the rules.

New longer time-limits for detention, with cases fast-tracked so that illegal immigrants can be processed for removal while they are being detained, is also vital. Many illegal migrants simply vanish into the black economy and are seldom heard from again.

And since some 98 per cent of those arriving in boats have no passport, authorities often have no way of knowing who they are.

British families and children must be protected from the potential criminals who arrive on our shores and who cannot be vetted.

I also applaud the proposal to bar those arriving in small boats or by any other illegal means from claiming asylum  intended to cut off the boat-traffickers' business model. And the Government's aim of restricting the use of appeals and judicial review by those attempting to avoid removal is also entirely sensible.

Incredibly, those rejected for asylum have at least five different avenues to challenge the result  and if that fails, they can simply lodge a fresh application. The reality is the system is far too complex, with people often bringing multiple claims and subsequent appeals or judicially reviewing decisions at the last minute. It is a lawyers' paradise  and an insult to the taxpayer.

Alp Mehmet is the Chairman of Migration Watch UK

This Bill, then, is a genuine chance for the Government at last to begin to put an end to the illegal-migration crisis  an issue that has been stoked for so long by the Left, the luvvies, the liberals and the 'open borders' fanatics.

The number of people climbing into illegal dinghies has skyrocketed from fewer than 300 in 2018 to nearly 50,000 last year and the boats have turned into an armada. In 2018 the average number of occupants per craft was seven; it has risen six-fold to 41 people per dinghy.

Asylum applications for main applicants and their dependants hit 90,000 in the past year  higher than at any point in the past two decades.

This unholy mess is costing taxpayers 3billion per year. And the demographic of mostly young men  70 per cent of illegal Channel-crossers are between the ages of 18 and 39  is stoking resentment and tensions in towns in which they are placed.

And remember: many of those who enter the UK by boat are coming not from a place of persecution but from safe countries like Belgium or Albania via France. By the time they reach the pebbled shores of Calais, they are not refugees fleeing persecution  they are economic migrants who see the UK as their Eldorado. We are seen as being ripe for exploitation because our asylum system and enforcement regime have been so appallingly lax.

So I welcome the new Bill  but only as a starting point. There are several further measures that must be enacted to make sure it works to its full potential.

First, ministers must ensure that the new Bill closes loopholes in the Human Rights Act and the Modern Slavery Act that traffickers and activist lawyers have long exploited.

I am particularly dubious about the intention to accept anyone under 18, even if they are to be removed when they reach maturity. Asylum-age fraud is already rife  with nearly half of resolved age disputes revealing that those claiming to be children are actually adults, including a number of people who were in their thirties.

Lawangeen Abdulrahimzai murdered Tom Roberts in Bournemouth last year. He told the Home Office that he was 14 but was later found to be at least 19 years old when he arrived in 2019.

Second, the practicalities of mass detention of illegal migrants remain unclear. How can we commit to this new policy when we don't yet have the capacity?

There are just 2,500 beds in Britain's immigration detention centres  yet tens of thousands of arrivals land on the south coast each year. Prisons cannot be used.

The Government has already announced plans to create an additional 1,000 places by reopening disused centres Campsfield House, near Oxford, and Haslar, at Gosport, Hampshire  but contracts are costly to the taxpayer at 450million each.

So a comprehensive returns agreement with the French and other countries is essential.

I have long argued that enshrining in law a duty on the Home Secretary to detain illegal arrivals until they can be removed to their home country, or to another country from which they can claim asylum, is vital. Pictured: A group of migrants is brought ashore in Dungeness last year

And these measures must be supported by strict policing within the UK, especially for drugs gangs. Of the over 45,000 migrants who made the cross-Channel journey in 2022, 27 per cent came from Albania  while the National Crime Agency warned that organised crime groups from the country are smuggling workers into Britain to work in the drugs trade, such as cannabis farms. If we can stamp out these industries, these criminals may be less inclined to use Britain as a base.

So yes, the new Bill has shortcomings. But for the most part, this is a tough and unambiguous proposal that, for the first time, will stand a chance of succeeding in dissuading people from risking their lives by jumping into flimsy boats and heading for Britain in the blithe expectation that once here they will be able to stay and enjoy all the benefits of life on these islands.

Of course, the danger now is that as this Bill wends its way through Parliament, it will be watered down (especially by the House of Lords) so that what eventually makes it on to the statute book bears almost no resemblance to what Sunak and Braverman laid out yesterday.

The shackles of the European Court of Human Rights loom large, too  which could prove fatal. If Strasbourg intervenes, the Prime Minister may feel he has to make compromises to appease Euro judges.

But in that case, I predict a public outcry. The ECHR cannot remain an obstacle to our post-Brexit Government enforcing our laws  and what is in our best interests.

If the Government fails yet again to keep its promise to solve this crisis, more migrants will descend on our shores, more lives will be lost, the cost to the taxpayer will only increase  and the country will make its views known at the ballot box.

Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman must hold their nerve. On the evidence I saw yesterday, I believe they will.
School bullying in Korea has never disappeared. Although there are local school violence prevention committees run by education offices, victims and bullies do not trust the organizations and often take their decisions to court. While legal disputes rage on for months, the bullying continues. Gettyimagesbank



Bullying prevention committees need major overhaul to root out violence



By Ko Dong-hwan



In the Korean Netflix series, "The Glory," an elementary school teacher seeks vengeance against her former bullies who had targeted her when she was young. The thriller, which achieved phenomenal ratings thanks to its vengeful heroine played by hallyu star Song Hye-kyo, is expected to release its second season in March.



Part of its popularity is derived from the catharsis Song brings by getting revenge for what she had to endure, such as having her bare skin seared by a hair straightener and being scratched in the chest with a safety pin.



The sadistic torture portrayed in the series is based on a true story from a girls' middle school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in 2006. Bullies in the third grade at the school had also messed up the victim's hair and scratched her hands so badly they later became swollen. The school put the bullies on a watch list to prevent future offenses and took no further action. The victim, even after 17 years, still remains traumatized.



The Special Act on School Violence Prevention was introduced in Korea in 2004, which led to the launch of committees in grade schools across the country to monitor bullying. Since then, such acts of violence have been managed, at least nominally, by school authorities.



But the problem remains rampant.



Some victims continue to take their own lives and assailants keep getting away, without receiving punishment that matches their cruelty. Victims say school violence prevention committees, responsible for assessing the degree of seriousness in each case and meting out punishment to perpetrators, cannot be trusted.



The apparent ineptitude of the prevention committees has recently stirred the public once again. Chung Sun-sin, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer who was recommended as the new chief of the National Office of Investigation in charge of commanding police investigation teams nationwide, stepped down only a day after being appointed on Feb. 24 following news reports that his son used to bully his dormitory roommate in 2017 while attending a private high school.



The bigger problem was that after his son had been charged by the school's bullying prevention committee and ordered to be transferred to a different school, Chung, 57, refused to admit the boy's misconduct and appealed to a Gangwon provincial school mitigation commission. He then dragged the case all the way up to the Supreme Court, where he lost the following year.





Song Hye-kyo, right, as Moon Dong-eun in Netflix series "The Glory," recounts her past when she was bullied in school and seeks vengeance on her former assailants. Courtesy of Netflix



Chung's repeated appeals, challenging the school committee's decision that took into account his son's consistent verbal abuse, reflect his intention to undermine the committee's decision. National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun, who had recommended him to the Ministry of Justice, and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, said they were unaware of Chung's controversial past.



After Chung stepped down, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the education ministry to resolve school violence immediately. "School bullying should be rooted out from all schools," he said. The education ministry said it will come up with a plan to do so within this month.



But the order came only after the prosecutor general-turned-president was lambasted for his administration's failure to vet key figures appointed across the central government which is dominated by former prosecutors.



Failing system



One of the biggest problems making the school violence prevention committees in Korea ineffective is that most of the constituting members of the groups have no legal expertise.



Almost half of the committees' members are students' parents. Teachers and government officials from local offices of education are also on the committees. In each committee usually with around 10 members, only two or three are legal experts like lawyers.



"Many of the legal professionals don't even attend the committee meetings often because it is an unpaid position," Park Keun-byeong, president of Seoul School Teachers' Union, told The Korea Times. "They are usually busy with their day jobs. Not to mention there are so few of them in each committee."





Then-prosecutor Chung Sun-sin speaks during a press conference at Incheon District Prosecutors' Office to say he is joining the investigation into the Sewol ferry disaster, in this April 2014 photo. Chung, who was appointed on Feb. 24 to lead the National Office of Investigation in charge of commanding police investigation forces, resigned after just one day. It has been found he had helped his son avoid punishment for bullying his dorm-mate in high school. Yonhap



All Seoul schools used to have bullying prevention committees. But there were growing concerns that the committees were too unprofessional due to a lack of legal experts.



The committees also took many teachers away from their teaching duties by involving them in resolving reported cases of school bullying. In 2021, the Ministry of Education moved all the committees to different local branches of education offices in each metropolitan city. In the capital, there are 11 committees under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Throughout the country, there are 176 committees. As of 2021, the total members of those committees stood at 5,800.



Since the committees' relocation, victims of school bullying are supposed to report such acts to their school, which handles the matter internally. If the case proves too big to handle, the school reports it to one of the prevention committees.



Another problem with the committees is that their decisions lack legal authority, a weakness that bullies and their guardians often take advantage of by objecting to the decisions and taking the matter to court.



Their strategy: prolong the dispute long enough to prevent their history of bullying from being added in their school records, so it will not interfere with their college entrance process. It is not even difficult nowadays to find online ads for lawyers supporting bullies in legal disputes and helping them receive the minimum level of punishment  or get away with it.



"Bullies are extremely sensitive over their bullying showing up in their school records," Park said. "They drag the case out until it's time for them to graduate and go to a post-secondary school, which means kissing their wrongdoings goodbye. I have seen an increasing number of bullies abusing the judicial system like that recently."




SHOPPING  Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this Mail Best article are selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, Dailymail.co.uk will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information.

Pizza lovers can now get home-cooked authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas, whatever the weather, thanks to the latest launch from Ooni.

The brand new Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven can be used both indoors and outdoors, meaning you won't have to wait until summer to reap the rewards of homecooked pizza. Able to reach an impressive 450C in just 20 minutes, you can enjoy stone-baked pizza in under 90 seconds.

Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven The new Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven allows you to cook authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas either indoors or outdoors. Reaching an impressive 450C in just 20 minutes  thats twice the temperature most domestic ovens can reach  you can enjoy a stone-baked, crispy crust pizza from the comfort of your kitchen or garden in just 90 seconds. Shop

The new Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven fits on your countertop, so you can use it both in the kitchen and outside, so you don't have to wait for the warmer weather to enjoy the results

With spring just a stones-throw away, many of us will already be thinking about dusting off our outdoor pizza ovens.

Ooni's award-winning and incredibly popular pizza ovens already have a cult following thanks to their incredibly fast cooking time and authentic results, but their latest product launch is set to be the best yet. Enter the Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven.

The new pizza oven can now be used both indoors and outdoors, so you can have authentic pizza whatever the weather. And thanks to its built-in time, temperature, and balance controls, it's never been easier.

While it can be all too tempting to order pizza, there's nothing like the satisfaction and taste of cooking authentic Neapolitan-style pizza yourself from home.

And that's exactly what you can do all year round, thanks to the new Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven. Measuring 61.5 x 53 x 28cm it fits neatly on your countertop, so you don't have to wait for warmer weather to enjoy it.

Reaching a whopping 450C (thats twice the temperature most domestic ovens can reach) in just 20 minutes, the oven allows you to bake pizza in as little as 90 seconds.

The award-winning outdoor pizza ovens from Ooni, which cook pizza in 90 seconds, have gained a cult following from shoppers looking to make authentic pizzas from home with minimal fuss

Other standout features include built-in time, temperature and balance controls that help to take the guesswork out of the cooking; theres even a boost function to reheat the cooking stone in just 45 seconds.

The countertop pizza oven has also cleverly been designed with a clear glass window and an internal light, so it's easy to keep an eye on your pizzas progress without having to open the insulated door to sneak a peek.

The Ooni Volt 12 Pizza Oven is 799, available from Lakeland.
The man who was branded a 'sicko' for dating a 23-year-old woman who is trapped in the body of an eight-year-old has given an update on their relationship, explaining that the pair are 'still good friends' and are continuing 'to get to know each other.'

Dan Swygart, 26, came under fire back in December, after he went on a series of dates with Shauna Rae Lesick, whose growth was stunted as a side effect of brain cancer treatment that she received as an infant.

Shauna - who measures three-feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds, the average size of a third grader - first started talking to Dan, from Wales, on social media, and after chatting for awhile, he decided to jet off to her hometown in Long Island, New York, so that they could meet in person.

Their meet-up was documented in an episode of her TLC reality series, I Am Shauna Rae, but after Dan appeared in the show, he was bombarded by a slew of backlash from people who questioned his motives and called the pairing 'weird' and 'disturbing' due to her 'childlike appearance.'

The man who was branded a 'sicko' for dating a 23-year-old woman who is trapped in the body of an eight-year-old has given an update on their relationship

Dan Swygart, 26, came under fire back in December , after he went on a series of dates with Shauna Rae Lesick, whose growth was stunted as a side effect of brain cancer treatment

Dan explained on his Instagram Stories that the pair are 'still good friends' and are continuing 'to get to know each other'

Soon after, Dan announced that the two had decided they were better off as pals rather than romantic partners.

Now, he has revealed where he and Shauna stand - three months after the episode premiered.

Shauna (seen with a friend) measures three-feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds, the average size of a third grader

While sharing a news article about himself to his Instagram Stories, Dan wrote, 'Literally every single time I go on Facebook or YouTube all I see are videos of me and Shauna.'

He added: 'Me and Shauna are still good friends, getting to know each other.'

Dan previously explained that he reached out to Shauna after watching the first season of her show and becoming 'inspired by her emotional strength.'

He sent her some flowers and a card saying: 'Go live your best life. Wishing you all the happiness you deserve.'

They then started messaging online, before he flew to New York to see her, where they went on a series of dates - all of which, were showcased in the show.

During the episode, Shauna gushed about how 'similar' she and Dan - who has a knack for traveling and is often jetting off on various vacations - were, explaining that it was his adventures that 'piqued her interest.'

The pair spent their first day together at an aquarium and escape room, and were joined by her 18-year-old half-sister, Rylee.

Shauna first started talking to Dan, from Wales, on social media, and after chatting for awhile, he decided to jet off to her hometown in New York, so that they could meet in person

Their meet-up was documented in an episode of her TLC reality series , I Am Shauna Rae, but after Dan appeared in the show, he was bombarded by a slew of backlash

In another part of the show, Dan came over to her house to make sushi rolls.

'I haven't actually really thought about if Dan and I were in a relationship and how that would look,' Shauna said in her confessional during the show.

'I assume that we would probably try long distance, but I've been in a long-distance relationship and it's not my cup of tea.'

Dan's visit to the States ended with him hanging out with her while she bartended a charity event. They shared an awkward slow dance before he left.

'I'm sure that I'll see Dan again,' she told the camera. 'He's coming back.'

Shauna was six months old when she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor.

She had surgery and underwent three years of chemotherapy - and while the treatment was successful, it made her pituitary gland - which monitors and regulates many bodily functions by producing hormones - almost dormant, stunting her growth.

She was able to grow another eight inches with the help of synthetic hormone injections, but when she was 16, her doctor told her that her bones had fused and she wasn't going to grow anymore.

After the episode came out, many people flooded the comment section on YouTube with their thoughts about Dan and Shauna's relationship, with some people calling it 'concerning,' 'uncomfortable,' 'creepy,' and 'not right.'

'Sorry but the fact that he spotted her online and contacted her on purpose makes me feel uncomfortable since looks are usually the first and most important impression you get online,' one person wrote.

Many people questioned his motives and called the pairing 'weird' and 'disturbing' due to her 'childlike appearance'

Shauna was six months old when she was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. She is seen as a baby

'It would be totally different if they got to know each other by coincidence in real life and he got to love her for her character and was sort of seeing past her childlike appearance.

'Dan almost seems especially attracted to her BECAUSE she is tiny which is concerning. I am sorry.'

'I'm sorry, but any man that wants to date her - there is definitely something not right with him,' another added.

'Yes, she is 23, but she looks and talks like an eight-year-old. She also does not act like a mature woman. She is childlike.

'If any man or woman can honestly say that they can see her as a "sexual woman," they are either lying or sick. PERIOD.'

'Yeah this is super strange and the parents should watch out ... Why would he go out of his way to be with someone who still at the most looks 11 years old?' asked someone else.

'Im a guy and Shauna seems very naive about the world and there are men who are very charismatic or good looking that can use people.

'I hope hes legit and if he is she is very very lucky since predatory men are more likely to be into her.'

'Guy 100 per cent has a fetish. Despite how nice of a young woman she may be, she STILL looks like a child,' a different user said.

She had surgery and underwent three years of chemotherapy - and while the treatment was successful, it made her pituitary gland almost dormant, stunting her growth

She was able to grow a little with the help of synthetic hormone injections, but when she was 16, her doctor told her that her bones had fused and she wasn't going to grow anymore

Following the negative response, Dan shared a video to Instagram clapping back at the haters, and he called their accusations 'absolutely disgusting'

'I dont know about this guy I still think its creepy,' agreed another viewer, while a sixth message said, 'He looks at her a bit weird. I think he's got a weird kink. Idk.'

'Oh yeah, hes a creep who just wanted to be on TV,' someone else wrote.

'Yes, she is an adult, but she looks like a kid. Her body looks like a kid. It's sad that this is probably what most guys that want to date her are like, but it's the truth,' another person said.

'How dare you take away her right to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else?' Dan scathed. 'Who are you to say that she can't have that? I am absolutely disgusted by some people's attitudes towards her and my friendship with her'

Following the negative response, Dan shared a video to Instagram clapping back at the haters, and he called their accusations 'absolutely disgusting.'

'Me and Shauna are just good friends, we're getting to know each other,' he said at the time.

'She survived cancer as a child, she's always felt different and was treated different by society.

'How dare you take away her right to have a connection, a friendship, a relationship with someone else?

'Who are you to say that she can't have that? I am absolutely disgusted by some people's attitudes towards her and my friendship with her.'

He also admitted that 'despite all the hate,' some 'amazing things' have come out of his appearance in the series.

He added that he hoped others who may be suffering from a disability could watch it and feel hopeful that they too could form a 'connection with someone.'

'I'm so proud to have had that positive impact on the world,' Dan continued.

'So many people who have disabilities or they have friends and family who have disabilities have reached out and said, "Thank you for showcasing that."

'It's OK to build a connection of friendship with someone who's different by society standards.

'It's given so many people hope that despite them being different, they too can find an amazing friendship and connection with someone.'
The fashionista said her ruse soon shuts up those rowdy flyers next to herREAD MORE: Pilot reveals his ultimate list of do's and don'ts for airplane travel

Sam Dean, from New York, advised her followers to 'scam' loud passengers

A frequent traveler has revealed how you can get the loud passenger next to you to quiet down with a 'deadly' phrase.

Sam Dean, from New York, has revealed she lies to those sitting to next to her on planes and tells them she is going to 'a funeral' to get them to shut up.

The fashionista brought airplane etiquette back to the forefront of the conversation with her advice that comes just one day after a pilot revealed the ultimate list of do's and don'ts while flying.

In a viral video, which has amassed over 1.9 million views, Sam advised her followers to let those rowdy travelers know that you were mourning the death of a loved one in an effort to get them to hold their tongue.

Frequent traveler Sam Dean, from New York, revealed she lies to those sitting next to her on planes and tells them she is going to 'a funeral' to get them to shut up

In a viral video, which has amassed over 1.9 million views, Sam advised her followers to let those rowdy travelers know that you were mourning the death of a loved one

Sam brought the conversation of airplane etiquette to the forefront of the conversation with her advice just one day after a pilot revealed the ultimate list of do's and don'ts while flying

Captioning the clip, 'Here's a scam for the girls and guys,' the TikToker offered up her savage advice.

She also revealed you could even use her tip while at a hotel.

'If youre ever at a hotel, or Ive used this on planes as well, where people are next to you and being really loud and rude, and you want to ask them to be quiet, but dont want to be a d*** about it.

'If you say to them, "Hey, Im sorry, could you please quiet down? I have to wake up early for a funeral tomorrow,"' every time they immediately feel so bad.

'They will quiet down instantly,' Sam revealed.

Her 30-second clip surely caught the attention of other flyers, who turned the video into a viral success.

And although her advice may seem slightly morbid, many social media users branded her a 'genius.'

They were quick to express their gratitude for the traveler, noting they were going to use it next time they took a trip.

And although her advice may seem slightly morbid, many social media users branded her a 'genius'

'Immediate vibe killer, I love you for this,' one user said.

One person wrote: 'This is so smart.'

'Lol I love this,' added another person.

'You're a genius.' commented one user.

Many social media users even chimed in to give their own examples of they do when dealing with loud passengers.

One user said: 'Or make sure they know theyre too loud by joining the conversation. "Sorry why couldnt Barbara make it to the wedding?".'

'My mom did this once and then she proceeded to sob her eyes out for the rest of the flight like her lie was too good,' one person commented.

Another person said: 'I just do a pretend call and say "sorry this person is being super loud I cant hear you".'

Many social media users even chimed in to give their own examples of they do when dealing with loud passengers

However, others warned her about joking about such serious matters.

One user wrote: 'Okay but tell me thats not bad juju.'

'I'm superstitious. I could never lie about a funeral,' said one person.

Another person added: 'I dont believe in lying about death because Im afraid of karma and this feels like playing with fire.'

'I'm way too superstitious to utter those words on an airplane,' commented another user.

However, others warned her about joking about such serious matters because it could come back to haunt her

Her 30-second clip has garnered viral success and comes just one day after a pilot told DailyMail.com all there is to know about airplane etiquette - including how to distract any toddlers on board and how to store your bags.

It also comes a week after an influencer reignited the debate about airplane etiquette as she revealed she refused to switch sweats for a family.

Audrey Peters, 25, took to TikTok to share her dismay at being asked to move to a middle seat in order for a family to sit together.

The social media star, who is from Miami but currently lives in New York City, laughed the request off and said that they should have booked their flight earlier.

Her reaction sent the web spinning as seat switching continues to divide the internet.

In the past, DailyMail.com's Jaci Stephen even offered up her view, and confessed that she 'absolutely refuses' to swap seats, no matter how angry the passenger requesting to switch may get.
The Duchess of York has been on a publicity blitz to promote her new novel, A Most Intriguing Lady and the latest stop is an appearance at the 92nd Street Y

Sarah Ferguson made a bold style statement in New York City this evening as she prepared to make the latest in a lengthy line of public appearances to promote her new novel.

The 63-year-old Duchess of York was pictured arriving at the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side on Monday just moments before she was due to sit down for a 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry to discuss her upcoming romance book, A Most Intriguing Lady.

Fergie opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves.

She paired the statement piece with a black knee-length skirt and over-the-knee black boots, and she was seen carrying a pair of green reading glasses in her hands as she made her way inside the famed venue.

Sarah Ferguson made a bold style statement in New York City this evening as she prepared to make the latest in a lengthy line of public appearances to promote her new novel

Fergie, 63, opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves

Sarah was chauffeured to the venue at about 6pm and gave a cheery wave as she stepped out of a black SUV, while flanked by several security guards. .

Royal megafan John Hoatson, 49, was first in line outside 92NY after taking a four-hour bus journey from Baltimore to New York for the talk.

Hoatson, who has a 13,000-piece collection of Royal memorabilia, told DailyMail.com that he fell in love with the royals aged eight and described Fergie as an 'unsung hero' of the monarchy and 'similar to Diana'.

'I'm excited to see what she has to say, her perspective since the Queen passed away,' he said. 'I'm here to support her. She's a wonderful person, very caring, she gives so much to so many.'

He said recent scandals and controversies in the Royal family hadn't dampened his support, adding that he was looking forward to hearing Fergie' s thoughts on 'the future with her and with Prince Andrew'.

About 250 people, mostly women, were seated in the auditorium - which was half-full - for the talk. Pre-signed copies of the Duchess's book, A Most Intriguing Lady, were also on sale for $30.

Fergie's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel, which 'draws upon historical characters and biographical elements from the Duchess life and family lineage'.

Thus far the mother-of-two has done a number of wide-ranging interviews during which she has addressed her ongoing role within the royal family - as well as her relationship with her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, whom she split from in 1996.

The mother-of-two's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel

She paired her statement jacket with a black knee-length skirt and over-the-knee black boots, and she was seen carrying a pair of green reading glasses in her hands

Fergie's latest public interview comes just hours after she revealed that she is financially supporting her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew

In an interview published earlier today, Fergie revealed to Hello magazine that she is financially supporting Prince Andrew, who she says has not accepted any taxpayer money since he was removed as a working senior royal.

'Since he stepped back [from royal duties] he doesn't actually take taxpayers' money,' she told the publication. 'And I'm in a position where I can support him and the rest of the family through my work. And Im really pleased and proud to do that.'

She added: 'All I will say is that for many years now  it started with Budgie the Little Helicopter  I've really pushed to look after my girls and to contribute to the York family life.'

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, the Duchess of York vowed that she will 'always be there' for her former spouse - because of her ongoing devotion to her late mother-in-law the Queen.

'During the last three years, her poor son has been going through such a tumultuous time,' she revealed.

'And I think HM was very relieved I could help her with him, so we became even closer, then.'

The royal vouched that Her Majesty 'knew' Sarah wouldn't abandon her youngest son, who fell from grace due to his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and paid a multi-million-pound settlement to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre.

She was 'sad' to see what the dishonored royal has been through, revealing that it was tough to see him hurting.

The Duchess spoke with great fondness of the Queen, who entrusted Sarah with her beloved corgis after she passed away.

The mother of Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice went so far as to say she was 'more of a mother' to her than her own family.

Last week, the Duchess of York attended a glitzy film festival event in Los Angeles

Sarah admitted she now feels the need to be stronger for others 'at the moment' because of the monarch's passing.

'When Andrew went through a hard time, I used to be able to throw it to The Boss,' she wistfully told the outlet.

The Duchess was also full of praise for her ex-husband, admiring him as a grandfather and taking a slice of his favorite cake back home.

In the same interview, she opened up about her past struggles with body issues, being compared to Princess Diana, and feeling a sense of 'duty' to the Royal Family.

While speaking to People, Fergie opened up about the Sussexes' controversial departure from the Monarchy, insisting that she has 'no judgement' on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family - despite the couple's scathing attacks on 'The Firm'.

'I don't believe that any single person has the right to judge another person. I'm not in a position myself to make any judgments,' she said.

The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Sussex, 41, launched scathing attacks on the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary series and Harry's memoir Spare - including publicly criticizing Sarah's ex-husband Prince Andrew, labelling the Jeffrey Epstein affair 'a shameful scandal'.

However, Sarah said: 'I have been judged all my life, and I have no judgment on the Sussexes.'

The Duchess of York has also opened up about what it has been like to care for the late Queen's beloved corgis in the wake of her passing.

Her Majesty received the two dogs, Muick and Sandy, as gifts from Andrew and they have now been taken on by her son and his ex-wife.

She told Hello magazine: 'The corgis are very nice and very polite and well trained.

'I am their favorite but everybody always says it's just because I feed them gravy bones. I love everything about them and I spoil them the most.'
She played very coy when asked about her ex-husband, simply saying that: 'In 1986 I married a very good man'

Sarah Ferguson has once again jumped to the support of her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, describing him as a 'good man' while opening up about her close bond with her late mother-in-law the Queen.

The 63-year-old - who has been candid in her support of Andrew over the past few years - was unusually coy about their relationship when grilled about it during an event to promote her new romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady.

During a 60-mintue 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry, Fergie covered all manner of topics - but shied away from sharing any in-depth details about her former spouse, whom she divorced in 1996.

'I feel that he's... I did... in 1986 I married a very good man. Zip,' she said when asked about her close connection with Andrew, 63, who has - as Samantha noted - 'had a difficult few years', having fallen from grace as a result of his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and a multi-million-pound settlement he paid to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Sarah Ferguson has once again jumped to the support of her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, describing him as a 'good man' while taking part in an event to promote her new book

The 63-year-old was unusually coy about her relationship with Andrew, 63, when grilled about it during a conversation with Glamour editor Samantha Barry at the 92nd Street Y

Fergie's latest public interview comes just hours after she revealed that she is financially supporting Andrew after he was cut out as a working senior royal

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was much more verbose when it came to praising her late mother-in-law, the Queen, describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'.

'The Queen was like a hand of support behind your back without being there,' she said.

'For the whole nation, for the world. Steadfast, consistent, iconic. [She had an] extraordinary ability to put someone at ease. I still now think it was such an honor [to have known her].'

The Duchess of York's close relationship with the Queen was cemented when it was revealed that Her Majesty had left her beloved corgis to Sarah after her death.

'They're very good boys, they're very gentle,' Fergie said of the pups. 'I think they knew that they weren't to jump up and be naughty. They used to sit and watch the racing with her. And when you give them a biscuit, they don't snatch. They're very special, they're national treasures.'

However, taking on the care of two 'national treasures' has - the Duchess joked - been somewhat 'terrifying' because she admits she constantly panics that they're going to get injured on her watch.

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was much more verbose when it came to praising her late mother-in-law, the Queen, describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to the coronation - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance

The royal sat down for a 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry to discuss her upcoming romance book, A Most Intriguing Lady

But Fergie's close bond with the Queen and her ongoing role within the peripheries of the Monarchy have not managed to secure her an invitation to what will likely be the biggest royal event of the year: King Charles' coronation.

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to the event - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance.

'The invitations haven't gone out yet. Have they?' she asked when questioned whether she plans to go.

She insisted that a lack of invitation does not bother her however, adding: 'Well I've decided the best thing about being British around a coronation - although I've never been to one - I think we should, I should set up a tea room at the bottom of the drive with bunting and cakes.'

Fergie was also asked about another hot-button topic during the on-stage talk: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit from the royal family, another issue that she attempted to dodge.

The Duchess of York donned a white jacket with a black pleated midi dress and knee high boots for the occasion

Fergie opted for a glamorous evening look for the evening, sweeping a touch of bronze eyeshadow across her lids and a touch of blush

The royal mother-of-two posed for snaps alongside her interviewer Samantha Barry at The 92nd Street in New York

She did however note that Harry's late mother Princess Diana would be 'so proud' of her children and grandchildren - adding that she believes King Charles feels the same way - and noting that 'forgiveness is key' when it comes to preserving 'family unity'.

'Diana and I, we played a lot and had a great time and I feel really strongly - and so would the King - [that she would] be so proud of the grandchildren. And of the family. And I do believe in family unity,' she said, adding: 'I think forgiveness is key.'

Fergie was also very open in her praise of her two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, describing them both as 'exceptional' while discussing the very close bond that the three of them share - particularly now that they have become mothers themselves.

'I'm a brilliant mother. The best mother. I love my girlies, I'm so proud of them. They are exceptional children,' she said.

'I love seeing my girls, who are exceptional. And then on top of that these two little baby Eugenies, baby Beatrices. They look like my girls.'

She admitted that there was a time when her daughters were particularly worried about her, specifically when she was receiving a great deal of negative coverage in the press, because they knew that it was causing her 'extraordinary pain'.

Fergie explained that the girls would be incredibly excited to see their mother on stage at the venue because it means that 'mum's back and mum's OK', adding: 'If mum's OK then they're OK.'

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was quick to praise the late Queen (seen together in 1986), describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'

The Queen left Fergie her beloved corgis after she died and the Duchess of York said of the two dogs (pictured): 'They're very good boys, they're very gentle'

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to King Charles' coronation (seen together in 1986) - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance

Sarah was full of praise of her two daughters, Princess Beatrice (right) and Princess Eugenie (left) (seen together in 2016), describing them both as 'exceptional'

The Duchess of York made a bold style statement as she arrived at the venue this evening ahead of her talk, which marks the latest in a lengthy line of public appearances to promote her new novel.

She was pictured arriving at the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side on Monday just moments before she was due to sit down for a 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry to discuss her upcoming romance book, A Most Intriguing Lady.

Fergie opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves.

She paired the statement piece with a black knee-length skirt and over-the-knee black boots, and she was seen carrying a pair of green reading glasses in her hands as she made her way inside the famed venue.

Fergie's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel, which 'draws upon historical characters and biographical elements from the Duchess life and family lineage'.

Thus far the mother-of-two has done a number of wide-ranging interviews during which she has addressed her ongoing role within the royal family - as well as her relationship with her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, whom she split from in 1996.

In an interview published earlier today, Fergie revealed to Hello magazine that she is financially supporting Prince Andrew, who she says has not accepted any taxpayer money since he was removed as a working senior royal.

'Since he stepped back [from royal duties] he doesn't actually take taxpayers' money,' she told the publication. 'And I'm in a position where I can support him and the rest of the family through my work. And Im really pleased and proud to do that.'

She added: 'All I will say is that for many years now  it started with Budgie the Little Helicopter  I've really pushed to look after my girls and to contribute to the York family life.'

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, the Duchess of York vowed that she will 'always be there' for her former spouse - because of her ongoing devotion to her late mother-in-law the Queen.

'During the last three years, her poor son has been going through such a tumultuous time,' she revealed. 'And I think HM was very relieved I could help her with him, so we became even closer, then.'

Sarah made a bold style statement in New York this evening as she arrived at the 92nd Street Y

Fergie, 63, opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves

The mother-of-two's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel

The royal vouched that Her Majesty 'knew' Sarah wouldn't abandon her youngest son.

She was 'sad' to see what the dishonored royal has been through, revealing that it was tough to see him hurting.

Sarah admitted she now feels the need to be stronger for others 'at the moment' because of the monarch's passing.

'When Andrew went through a hard time, I used to be able to throw it to The Boss,' she wistfully told the outlet.

The Duchess was also full of praise for her ex-husband, admiring him as a grandfather and taking a slice of his favorite cake back home.

In the same interview, she opened up about her past struggles with body issues, being compared to Princess Diana, and feeling a sense of 'duty' to the Royal Family.

While speaking to People, Fergie opened up about the Sussexes' controversial departure from the Monarchy, insisting that she has 'no judgement' on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family - despite the couple's scathing attacks on 'The Firm'.

'I don't believe that any single person has the right to judge another person. I'm not in a position myself to make any judgments,' she said.

The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Sussex, 41, launched scathing attacks on the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary series and Harry's memoir Spare - including publicly criticizing Sarah's ex-husband Prince Andrew, labelling the Jeffrey Epstein affair 'a shameful scandal'.

However, Sarah said: 'I have been judged all my life, and I have no judgment on the Sussexes.'
Sarah Ferguson appeared to distance herself from Meghan Markle in a recent interview, saying she 'hasn't really met' her - after the Sussexes claimed it was Fergie who 'taught her to curtsey' to the Queen.

The Duchess of York, 63, the mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, told The Telegraph she 'doesn't know' Meghan, who is currently living in her $14 million California mansion having stepped back from royal duty.

The mother-of-two said: 'I dont really know Meghan. I havent really met her.'

However the claim comes in direct contradiction of the Sussexes, who have both claimed Fergie has been one of the friendlier members of the royal family - even recalling having drinks with Sarah at her home in The Royal Lodge.

In both the explosive Oprah Winfrey interview and Harry's book Spare, the Sussexes said it was Sarah who taught Meghan how to curtsey ahead of her first meeting with the late Queen.

Sarah Ferguson appeared to distance herself from Meghan Markle in a recent interview, saying she 'hasn't really met' her - after the Sussexes claimed it was Fergie who 'taught her to curtsey' to the Queen

The Sussexes have both claimed Fergie has been one of the friendlier members of the royal family - even recalling having drinks with Sarah at her home in The Royal Lodge

Elsewhere, Fergie said she did speak to Meghan at the Queen's funeral in September, adding: 'She looked absolutely beautiful. I think she is beautiful.

In the Oprah interview, which was broadcast in early 2021, the Duchess of Sussex said Fergie was the person who taught her to curtsey.

She claimed when she went to meet the Queen for the first time at The Royal Lodge in Windsor, she 'didn't even know how to curtsey' and was shocked when Harry explained it was expected of her.

Meghan said: 'I went into it naively because I didn't grow up knowing much about the royal family. I didn't fully understand what the job was.'

The mother-to-be said that was the moment 'the penny dropped' that her perception about the Firm was 'very different' to the reality, and she had to learn how to perform the royal custom 'very quickly'.

She said: 'I didn't know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car and we were going to the Royal Lodge for lunch, and he [Harry] was like, "Oh, my grandmother is here, she's gonna be there after church.".

'Right in front of the house we practiced and ran in. Fergie ran out and said, "Do you know how to curtsy?",' she recalled.

'Apparently I did a very deep curtsy, I don't remember it, and then we sat there and we chatted.

Meanwhile Harry also recounted a similar story in his book Spare, writing that he had actually hoped Fergie would be the first member of the family Meghan would meet as his girlfriend.

Elsewhere, Fergie said she did speak to Meghan at the Queen's funeral in September, adding she felt she 'looked beautiful' (pictured far left, Meghan, and far right, Sarah)

While it is not known how often the two may have crossed paths over the years, Sarah was invited to Prince Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding

He wrote it was October 2016, explaining: 'First stop, Royal Lodge. To meet Fergie, because Meg already knew Fergies daughter Euge, and Jack, so this seemed a logical baby step.'

He added: 'Fergie came outside, somewhat aflutter, and said: "Do you know how to curtsy?" Meg shook her head. Fergie demonstrated once. Meg imitated her.

'As we walked towards the door Fergie and I both leaned into Meg, whispering quick reminders. When you first meet the Queen its Your Majesty. Thereafter its just Maam. Rhymes with ham. Just, whatever you do, dont talk over her, we both said, talking over each other.'

After Meghan met the Queen, Harry writes that they stayed at Royal Lodge for drinks.

It is unknown on what other occasions the two women might have crossed paths - with Meghan only serving as a working member of the royal family for a few years before moving to the US.

Fergie was invited to Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, while it's likely the Duchess' also crossed paths at Eugenie's wedding that October.

Sarah's daughter Eugenie is a close friend of the Sussexes, and has visited them a number of times in the US

The two also both attended the Queen's funeral in September, and Fergie called speaking to Meghan at the event.

Despite the two appearing to disagree on how much they have come into contact, Sarah has been complimentary of Meghan on multiple occasions.

In the same Telegraph interview, she praised the Duchess for 'making Harry happy', saying: 'She has made Harry very happy, and that is so nice. Honestly, hes so happy with her. She really loves him. And I think thats beautiful.'

Sarah's daughter Eugenie is a close friend of the Sussexes, and has visited them a number of times in the US.

However Harry has also been highly critical of Sarah's ex-husband Prince Andrew, with whom Fergie still enjoys a close relationship.

He became the first royal to publicly criticise Prince Andrew, 63, labelling the Jeffrey Epstein affair a shameful scandal.

No one in The Firm had spoken about claims the Duke of York twice sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked by Epstein.

Andrew settled her lawsuit last year, accepting no liability, and has always denied any wrongdoing. But Harry brings up the affair in his book Spare.
A range of Easter-themed marshmallows on sale in Aldi have left social media users tittering - because they look like something very different.

Twitter user @missviaborsi, who lives in Manchester, shared a photo from her shopping trolley while she was in the budget supermarket last week, showing the 1.19 yellow packet of treats - which appeared to look nothing like the bunnies and chicks they were supposed to.

She tweeted: 'Sorry Aldi, but that aint a bunny', sharing a snap of the yellow and pink sweets looking much more like a part of the male anatomy.

@missviaborsi's post has now been viewed more than 42,000 times.

A flurry of other tweets followed, until eventually Aldi waded it with a response too, admitting that the candy did look rather rude.

Twitter user @missviaborsi, who lives in Manchester, shared a photo of Aldi's marshmallow chicks and bunnies, currently on sale in the store for 1.19, suggesting the candy looked like something else

An employee wrote on the German supermarket brand's Twitter account 'We can't even defend this one'.

Jokes galore were also unleashed; @techsnap82 wrote: 'Does rhyme with "chick" though'.

@LHayneTweets added: 'I'd love to think that everyone noticed this apart from the person in charge, and they all mutually agreed not to say anything.'

Another user, @tired1967, didn't see the funny side, suggesting that the packet, which is clearly targeting a younger audience with its colour scheme, was 'obscene'.

It's not the first time Easter-themed snacks have caused a stir this week. On Sunday, it was revealed that Greggs wouldn't be bringing back its hot cross buns this year.

The popular bakery chain has axed Easter confection from its menu, meaning you won't be able to get your Good Friday treat with your steak bake or sausage roll this year.

The treats, part of the Dominion range, come in 150 gram packets and are supposed to be marshmallows shaped like bunnies and chicks

Although, Greggs has said that there will be other seasonal products available, outrage and debate has still ensued on Twitter.

A Greggs spokesperson said: 'While Hot Cross Buns won't be returning to our menu this Easter, keep an eye out for other Easter favourites that will be arriving in our shops soon.'

However, they didn't reveal the specific products that would be available this Easter, previous ranges have included spring-time chocolate cornflake nests and iced bunny biscuits.

Popular bakery chain Greggs has announced that it won't be selling hot cross buns this year for Easter

This is the second year that Greggs has decided to axe hot cross buns from its Easter menu. However, it promises that there will still be seasonal treats available

The decision to abandon the humble hot cross bun marks the second year of its absence on Greggs' shelves, where you could previously get a pack of four for as little as 1.

Customers have taken to Twitter to share their upset about the decision from the bakery chain.

Last year one user posted: '@GreggsOfficial no Hot Cross Buns this year! Are you crazy?! Not happy! Please change your minds! #Greggs #hotcrossbuns'

This year one annoyed customer said: 'No Hot Cross Buns? No Greggs. Simples'

While another suggested: 'Waitrose has plenty of hot cross buns. Who owns Greggs?
Lauren Mahon and Steve Bland have recorded an emotional final You, Me and the Big C podcast for the BBC - five years to the day after it first began, they've revealed on Instagram.

Paying tribute to her original co-hosts Rachael Bland, who died two years after being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2018, and Dame Deborah James, who died in June 2022 from bowel cancer, Mahon is seen in the social media clip wiping away tears as she presents the final installment of the hit Radio 5 Live podcast, which began five years ago.

Presenting alongside Steve Bland, who was married to Welsh journalist Rachael, Mahon, 37, who was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer at the age of 30, told listeners 'Always, always have rebellious hope'.

The pair, who've just finished a live touring show of the podcast, told ITV's Lorraine recently that it was time 'for a new chapter' in their lives.

Scroll down for video

'Always, always have rebellious hope': Lauren Mahon pictured wiping away a tear as she presented the final You, Me and the Big C podcast for BBC Radio 5 this week - the show will air on Wednesday

In the Instagram clip, Mahon also urges listeners to share the podcast's archive with anyone else who it might help. She added to the caption: 'Youll be able to hear the full episode on Wednesday 8th march. Until then, its a wholehearted full-bodied thank you, thank you all.'

In an Instagram reel, Bland said he felt like 'we've given everything' to the show, saying 'it's been emotional, gang.'

The hosts told Lorraine Kelly they're looking forward to a 'new chapter', as they prepared to say goodbye to the award-winning cancer podcast.

Steve Bland said while it was 'tough' to leave the BBC podcast behind, they no longer felt their lives were relevant to sufferers of the disease.

He explained that life has changed for him and co-host Mahon since the podcast started five years ago, with Lauren now clear of cancer and Steve remarried and set to welcome twins with his new wife.

Mahon presented alongside Steve Bland, who was married to original co-host Rachael Bland, who died in 2018 after being diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2016

The duo recorded the episode five years to the day after it first began, they've revealed on Instagram

Signing off: Both of the co-hosts shared reels of their final episode recording. Right: Mahon pictured at the microphone recording the last installment of the award-winning podcast

The dad-of-one married nurse Amy, and last month the couple announced they are expecting twins.

'It feels like it might be time,' he said. 'The girls were all going through active treatment at the time and when I joined I was going through the grief of losing Rachel.

'We were very much in the trenches with the people that were listening.'

He appeared on Lorraine this morning alongside his co-host to discuss recording the penultimate episode in front of a live audience, including Deborah's family, last night.

'When you're with them you feel that closeness to Debs. I almost want to move into Debs' parents house because I can just be close to them and her!' said Lauren.

The podcast discussed what it's like to live with cancer, with the original co-hosts Lauren Mahon (centre), Dame Deborah James (left) and Rachael Bland (right) often injecting humour into the programmes

New beginnings: Steve got married to nurse Amy in August 2022 and announced this year that they are expecting twins

Reflecting on Deborah's funeral in July last year, Lauren said it was the last time before last night's recording that the podcasters were together with Deborah's family.

Lorraine, who also attended the service, reflected that despite the tragic cirumstances, it had been a poignant and joyful event.

Line of Duty star Vicky Mclure has been tipped to star as Lauren in the show, with Lorraine pointing out how similar the two brunettes look

'People obviously were crying but they were laughing, it was such a celebration of an amazing woman.'

Breast cancer survivor Lauren, who has been clear of the disease for five years, opened up about her grief for her friend Deborah but told ITV's Lorraine that she feels it is time to move on with her career.

'I feel good, I feel like this is a new chapter for me now. Deb dying last year was so painful and we're so proud of everything she did. But I do feel like now it's time to close that chapter and figure out who Lozza is. I'm not "cancer face" you know, I've got more to me!'

Lauren went on to hint at building her career in media after the BBC podcast comes to an end, and told Lorraine Kelly she was grateful for the start the show gave her in broadcasting.

Dame Deborah James regularly shared posts showing her enduring gruelling treatment for bowel cancer, she died of the disease in June 2022

BBC newsreader Rachael Bland died aged 40 in 2018 from terminal breast cancer, pictured with her son Freddie

Late journalist Bland, pictured with her husband Steve and son Freddie, built up a collection of handwritten notebooks and perfume so Freddie 'would remember me in some way'

'I'm really lucky that this whole process has allowed me to get into broadcast and things like that so I just want to explore that more and have some fun, you know talk about other things I don't just need to talk about cancer!'

The cancer campaigner is also set to have a dramatised documentary-style series brought out about her journey after it was commissioned before Covid.

She said the programme will focus on her experience with cancer and how she went on to found her charity, GIRLvsCancer.

Line of Duty star Vicky Mclure has been tipped to star as Lauren in the show, with Lorraine pointing out how similar the two brunettes look.

The presenter expressed her excitement at what is to come for Lauren, who seemed equally excited for the future.

'They haven't seen anything yet Lorraine, I've only just started!' she teased.
The Queen Consort looked elegant in cream today as she arrived in Colchester with King Charles to celebrate it becoming a city.

Camilla, 75, walked alongside the King at Colchester castle where she will celebrate with local communities and organisations which represent the city's heritage.

Colchester became a city officially in November last year, and was awarded the status during the Queen Platinum Jubilee.

Camilla looked radiant as she wore a collared cream longline coat, which she paired with a brown wide-brimmed fluffy hat and a beige animal print scarf, which was tucked into her coat.

She contrasted her ivory look with black leather gloves and a classic black clutch bag. She donned pearl stud earrings and also wore a pair of onyx timeless suede heeled boots.

Camilla, 75, walked alongside the King at Colchester castle where she will celebrate with local communities and organisations which represent the city's heritage

The royal couple also met those who care for the animals at Colchester Zoo to unveil which name they have chosen for their newest addition, a baby white rhino.

Outside the castle, Charles revealed the name of the rhino which is Dara, by pulling a cord to draw back material which had covered the name on an easel.

A town crier then rang a bell and boomed, as Charles chuckled: 'Oyez, oyez, oyez! I officially proclaim Colchester Zoo's newest addition as baby Dara.'

The King told zoo staff: 'I do hope it grows into a substantial animal.'

Camilla looked radiant as she wore a collared cream longline coat, which she paired with a brown wide-brimmed fluffy hat and a beige animal print scarf, which was tucked into her coat

Charles and Camilla greeted children who were awaiting their arrival as they waved their Union Jack flags

Charles and Camilla revealed the name of the new white baby rhino at Colchester zoo, Dara

The Queen Consort smiles as she greets people in Colchester in her elegant pearl earrings and fur hat

The Queen Consort received flowers as she arrived at Colchester to celebrate its city status

One schoolgirl handed the King a drawing of him, with the words 'best King' written above the image.

Andy Moore, conservation education manager at Colchester Zoo, said the name Dara means beautiful one in Swahili.

'It was all a secret and a surprise so his majesty revealed it for us,' he said.

'And then the town crier obviously then - probably people in Wivenhoe and further away could hear.

'It was really great.'

Rebecca Moore, zoo director, said the team at the zoo chose the name which was revealed by the King.

'It's a fitting birthday present for the zoo - it's the 60th anniversary this year,' she said.

Camilla recieved a lovely bouquet of flowers from a wellwisher

One of the placard-waving protesters was climate change denier and anti-vaccines activist Piers Corbyn (pictured), brother of ex-Labour leader Jeremy

Not everyone gave the royal couple a warm welcome. Upon arrival, protesters shouted and held a yellow banner that said 'not my King'

Inside the castle, Charles met local organisations which represent the city's heritage and communities, was shown a historic vase, and an artefact trolley by youngsters.

The mayor of Colchester, Tim Young, told the King during a reception: 'Words cannot describe how much it means to us that you are here.'

He said that he was pleased that the Letters Patent which officially recognise Colchester as a city have been placed in the chapel of the castle, 'especially as this is the very room where the mayoress and I had our wedding just 10 days ago - in this very room, in this very suit'.

'This will always certainly be a very special place for us,' said Mr Young.

Anti-monarchy campaigners staged a protest outside Colchester Castle for the arrival of the King and Queen Consort

A protester holds a sign which says 'Charles must serve the UK not WEF (World Economic Forum) tyranny'

But despite the royal couple receiving flowers and gifts, not everyone gave them a warm welcome.

Upon arrival, protesters shouted and held a yellow banner that said 'not my King'.

One of the protesters, speaking through a megaphone, said as Charles and Camilla got out of a car: 'Answer your critics Charles, come and talk to your critics.'

The protester added: 'Why are you wasting our money?'

The King waved to the gathered crowds before going through a gate into Colchester Castle's grounds, but did not appear to acknowledge the protesters who were stood on the far side of the road behind a police presence.

One of the placard-waving protesters was climate change denier and anti-vaccines activist Piers Corbyn, brother of ex-Labour leader Jeremy.

He said he wanted to protest against the 'Terra Carta' - a 'charter' of green initiatives devised by Charles when he was Prince of Wales.

Camilla smiled as she greeted people outside Colchester Castle, shaking their hands

Charles and Camilla are accompanied as they walk through the historic castle

Charles and Camilla will also meet those who care for the animals at Colchester Zoo to hear which name they have chosen for their newest addition, a baby white rhino

Linda Cameron, 45, from Colchester said: 'There were only a few of them but they had a megaphone and were trying to make as much noise as possible.

'They came to try and make a point but people were doing everything they could to drown them out. It was lovely to catch a glimpse of the royals.'

Asked whether she thought the King was doing a good job, she said: 'It's early days but I think so and he has a very good role model in the late Queen.'

Wendy Connelly, 70, added: 'I think he has done a wonderful job of going out and meeting so many people. It was fantastic that they made the effort to come here. We were very pleased to see them and just tried to ignore those guys over there.'

Charles grins as he greets smiley wellwishers who waited for him to arrive in Colchester

Camilla became patron of The Silver Line in 2017 when she was Duchess of Cornwall

Charles and Camilla are pictured viewing a Roman vase during their visit to the castle

Camilla receives another bouquet of yellow and orange flowers as she greets people

Charles and Camilla sign a visitors' book during a visit to Colchester Castle

The King and Queen Consort at Colchester castle after it was recently awarded their city status

Charles and Camilla look happy as they speak to the crowd

Later at Colchester Library, Charles and Camilla joined Age UK for an afternoon tea with local volunteers, service users and The Silver Line staff to hear about the support provided by the charity across the region.

Charles become patron of Age UK in in 2010 when he was Prince of Wales, while Camilla became patron of The Silver Line in 2017 when she was Duchess of Cornwall.

As His Majesty went upstairs to chat to charity staff, Camilla, wearing a cream silk Fiona Clare dress and matching coat, was greeted by television presenter and author Dermot O'Leary, along with fellow children's writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

'Very nice to see you,' she said as she shook their hands.

The Queen Consort signed the visitor book at Colchester Castle during her visit

Camilla looked stylish as she donned black heeled boots, leather gloves and a clutch bag

The Queen Consort posed with members of 'Next Chapter' a domestic abuse charity

Camilla looks at exhibits inside the castle as they are shown around

Camilla and Charles get shown around the inside of Colchester castle

She was also introduced to three local actors dresses as characters from Alice in Wonderland, who treated local schoolchildren from Braiswick Primary School to a reading, helped by schoolgirl Fatima Jallow.

Maddie Earl, the schoolgirl winner of the Esssex Year of reading writing competition, also read out her winning entry and was congratulated by the royal.

She told the children that 'reading was the greatest gift you can give'.

Before joining her husband upstairs she was given her own library card. 'Oh thank you very much indeed. I shall have to come back and see what I can find. Next time!'

A woman explains the exhibit to Camilla and Charles as they get shown around the castle

The Queen Consort smiles as she greets children who are waving Union Jack flags

Charles and Camilla had afternoon tea with with local volunteers and service users

The pair cut smiled at each other lovingly as they cut into a cake together at the afternoon tea

In a room upstairs her husband, King Charles, was moving from table to table to chatting to clients helped by Age UK and The Silver Line, a 24-hour helpline especially for older people.

He described the work of the volunteers as being 'inspirational'. 'What you do is so marvellous,' he said. 'Thank you so much for everything you do. It is fantastic.'

At one table he asked a group of volunteers: 'Are you all involved in this befriending initiative [where volunteers offer to call an elderly person each week to check in and chat].

'It can get quite busy then? Can you fit this in with everything else you do? Do you have to pass a test to be qualified? And get refresher courses?'

He added: 'Are they grateful? ' When he was an enthusiastic yes, he chucked and declared: 'I'm so glad!'

The King beamed as he was given a gift during the afternoon tea

Charles sits with volunteers and service users at the gather at Colchester library

Charles greets people at the library. He become patron of Age UK in in 2010 when he was Prince of Wales

Camilla was also introduced to three local actors dresses as characters from Alice in Wonderland, who treated local schoolchildren from Braiswick Primary School to a reading

The King spoke to people to learn about the library's impact in the community through the Essex Year of Reading

Camilla is pictured proudly with her library card as she poses with children at the library

Camilla smiles as she holds up her library card and poses for a picture with children at the library

He then eagerly eyed-up their scones, jam and cream and teased them about the right way to eat them - tactfully refusing to say whether he thought it should be jam or cream first.

'These things are fatal!' he said.

He was then joined by his wife who asked another volunteer: 'How did they get you involved then? What you do is absolutely so important. You become their friend. That's what you do. '

The royal visitors then cut a cake to mark their visit holding the knife together and giggling.

The King said to volunteers: 'Thank you so much for everything you do. It is fantastic'

The King held up the knife after cutting the cake at the Age UK afternoon tea at the library

Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for an afternoon tea with volunteers and service users of the charity organisation Age UK at the Colchester Library

The King described the work of the volunteers as being 'inspirational'. 'What you do is so marvellous'

The Queen Consort was given a library card to which she said: 'Oh thank you very much indeed. I shall have to come back and see what I can find. Next time!'

Children are pictured listening at the library as the Queen Consort sits behind them
Sarah Ferguson has said she believes 'forgiveness is key' when it comes to 'family unity' with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a new interview.

During a 60-mintue 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry, the 63-year-old was asked about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in California.

She noted that Harry's late mother Princess Diana would be 'so proud' of her children and grandchildren - adding that she believes King Charles feels the same way.

She said: 'Diana and I, we played a lot and had a great time and I feel really strongly - and so would the King - [that she would] be so proud of the grandchildren. And of the family.

'And I do believe in family unity. I think forgiveness is key.'

Sarah Ferguson has said she believes 'forgiveness is key' when it comes to 'family unity' with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a new interview

During a 60-mintue 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry, the 63-year-old was asked about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in California (pictured, with Charles and Camilla)

The relationship between the Duke of Sussex and other members of the royal family has been fraught with tension after Megxit, when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle quit as working royals, made a number of sometimes spurious claims about the Firm and moved to a $14million mansion in California.

Since then, they have released a number of explosive interviews, as well as a bombshell Netflix series and Harry's memoir, Spare.

In January, Prince Harry demanded the Royal Family apologise to Meghan after he claimed his family were treating him as if he were 'delusional and paranoid'.

The prince said: 'You know what you did, and I now know why you did it. And you've been caught out, so just come clean.'

In an interview with The Telegraph before the official launch of his book earlier this week, Harry appeared to blame his family for the feud.

He said: 'It was all so avoidable. But they just couldn't help themselves.'

But while Fergie might suggest forgiveness is key to family unity, royal experts have previously suggested others feel Harry should apologise to them.

Vanity Fair's Katie Nicholl has said the 40-year-old heir to the throne Prince William 'can't forgive Harry' because Megxit 'moved Kate Middleton and their young family onto world stage earlier than expected'.

During the interview, she noted that Harry's late mother Princess Diana would be 'so proud' of her children and grandchildren - adding that she believes King Charles feels the same way

Royal expert Nicholl told US Weekly: 'It had a huge impact on him, on Catherine, on their young family.

'It put them in that prime sort of centre. It moved them centre-stage far sooner than they would otherwise have been.'

She added: 'A lot of it was how he chose to do that and what William saw as great disrespect to the institution and to his, to his family, to his grandmother.'

Elsewhere, Fergie - who has been candid in her support of Andrew over the past few years - was unusually coy about their relationship when grilled about it during an event to promote her new romance novel, A Most Intriguing Lady.

Fergie covered all manner of topics - but shied away from sharing any in-depth details about her former spouse, whom she divorced in 1996.

'I feel that he's... I did... in 1986 I married a very good man. Zip,' she said when asked about her close connection with Andrew, 63, who has - as Samantha noted - 'had a difficult few years', having fallen from grace as a result of his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and a multi-million-pound settlement he paid to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Sarah has once again jumped to the support of her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, describing him as a 'good man' while taking part in an event to promote her new book

The 63-year-old was unusually coy about her relationship with Andrew, 63, when grilled about it during a conversation with Glamour editor Samantha Barry at the 92nd Street Y

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was much more verbose when it came to praising her late mother-in-law, the Queen, describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'.

'The Queen was like a hand of support behind your back without being there,' she said.

'For the whole nation, for the world. Steadfast, consistent, iconic. [She had an] extraordinary ability to put someone at ease. I still now think it was such an honor [to have known her].'

The Duchess of York's close relationship with the Queen was cemented when it was revealed that Her Majesty had left her beloved corgis to Sarah after her death.

'They're very good boys, they're very gentle,' Fergie said of the pups. 'I think they knew that they weren't to jump up and be naughty. They used to sit and watch the racing with her. And when you give them a biscuit, they don't snatch. They're very special, they're national treasures.'

However, taking on the care of two 'national treasures' has - the Duchess joked - been somewhat 'terrifying' because she admits she constantly panics that they're going to get injured on her watch.

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was much more verbose when it came to praising her late mother-in-law, the Queen, describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to the coronation - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance

The royal sat down for a 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry to discuss her upcoming romance book, A Most Intriguing Lady

But Fergie's close bond with the Queen and her ongoing role within the peripheries of the Monarchy have not managed to secure her an invitation to what will likely be the biggest royal event of the year: King Charles' coronation.

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to the event - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance.

'The invitations haven't gone out yet. Have they?' she asked when questioned whether she plans to go.

She insisted that a lack of invitation does not bother her however, adding: 'Well I've decided the best thing about being British around a coronation - although I've never been to one - I think we should, I should set up a tea room at the bottom of the drive with bunting and cakes.'

The Duchess of York donned a white jacket with a black pleated midi dress and knee high boots for the occasion

Fergie opted for a glamorous evening look for the evening, sweeping a touch of bronze eyeshadow across her lids and a touch of blush

The royal mother-of-two posed for snaps alongside her interviewer Samantha Barry at The 92nd Street in New York

Fergie was also very open in her praise of her two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, describing them both as 'exceptional' while discussing the very close bond that the three of them share - particularly now that they have become mothers themselves.

'I'm a brilliant mother. The best mother. I love my girlies, I'm so proud of them. They are exceptional children,' she said.

'I love seeing my girls, who are exceptional. And then on top of that these two little baby Eugenies, baby Beatrices. They look like my girls.'

She admitted that there was a time when her daughters were particularly worried about her, specifically when she was receiving a great deal of negative coverage in the press, because they knew that it was causing her 'extraordinary pain'.

Fergie explained that the girls would be incredibly excited to see their mother on stage at the venue because it means that 'mum's back and mum's OK', adding: 'If mum's OK then they're OK.'

Although Fergie was reluctant to discuss Andrew, she was quick to praise the late Queen (seen together in 1986), describing her as being 'more my mother than my mother'

The Queen left Fergie her beloved corgis after she died and the Duchess of York said of the two dogs (pictured): 'They're very good boys, they're very gentle'

The Duchess revealed that she hasn't yet received an invitation to King Charles' coronation (seen together in 1986) - joking that it's 'TBD' whether she will end up being in attendance

Sarah was full of praise of her two daughters, Princess Beatrice (right) and Princess Eugenie (left) (seen together in 2016), describing them both as 'exceptional'

The Duchess of York made a bold style statement as she arrived at the venue this evening ahead of her talk, which marks the latest in a lengthy line of public appearances to promote her new novel.

She was pictured arriving at the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side on Monday just moments before she was due to sit down for a 'conversation' with Glamour editor Samantha Barry to discuss her upcoming romance book, A Most Intriguing Lady.

Fergie opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves.

She paired the statement piece with a black knee-length skirt and over-the-knee black boots, and she was seen carrying a pair of green reading glasses in her hands as she made her way inside the famed venue.

Fergie's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel, which 'draws upon historical characters and biographical elements from the Duchess life and family lineage'.

Thus far the mother-of-two has done a number of wide-ranging interviews during which she has addressed her ongoing role within the royal family - as well as her relationship with her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew, whom she split from in 1996.

In an interview published earlier today, Fergie revealed to Hello magazine that she is financially supporting Prince Andrew, who she says has not accepted any taxpayer money since he was removed as a working senior royal.

'Since he stepped back [from royal duties] he doesn't actually take taxpayers' money,' she told the publication. 'And I'm in a position where I can support him and the rest of the family through my work. And Im really pleased and proud to do that.'

She added: 'All I will say is that for many years now  it started with Budgie the Little Helicopter  I've really pushed to look after my girls and to contribute to the York family life.'

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, the Duchess of York vowed that she will 'always be there' for her former spouse - because of her ongoing devotion to her late mother-in-law the Queen.

'During the last three years, her poor son has been going through such a tumultuous time,' she revealed. 'And I think HM was very relieved I could help her with him, so we became even closer, then.'

Sarah made a bold style statement in New York this evening as she arrived at the 92nd Street Y

Fergie, 63, opted for a funky ensemble for the evening's event, donning a white studded jacket, which featured lace-up detailing along both sleeves

The mother-of-two's appearance at the 9nd Street Y comes as part of a lengthy publicity blitz to promote her new novel

The royal vouched that Her Majesty 'knew' Sarah wouldn't abandon her youngest son.

She was 'sad' to see what the dishonored royal has been through, revealing that it was tough to see him hurting.

Sarah admitted she now feels the need to be stronger for others 'at the moment' because of the monarch's passing.

'When Andrew went through a hard time, I used to be able to throw it to The Boss,' she wistfully told the outlet.

The Duchess was also full of praise for her ex-husband, admiring him as a grandfather and taking a slice of his favorite cake back home.

In the same interview, she opened up about her past struggles with body issues, being compared to Princess Diana, and feeling a sense of 'duty' to the Royal Family.

While speaking to People, Fergie opened up about the Sussexes' controversial departure from the Monarchy, insisting that she has 'no judgement' on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family - despite the couple's scathing attacks on 'The Firm'.

'I don't believe that any single person has the right to judge another person. I'm not in a position myself to make any judgments,' she said.

The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Sussex, 41, launched scathing attacks on the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary series and Harry's memoir Spare - including publicly criticizing Sarah's ex-husband Prince Andrew, labelling the Jeffrey Epstein affair 'a shameful scandal'.

However, Sarah said: 'I have been judged all my life, and I have no judgment on the Sussexes.'




The Korean government has eased travel advisories for six countries, including Spain and Tunisia, to the lowest level in line with its latest COVID-19 guidelines, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.







The level 2 alert, which also affected Mauritius, Andorra, Jordan and Namibia, was lowered one notch to level 1, according to the ministry. It also eased travel advisories for Peru, Papua New Guinea and four other countries down a notch to level 2.







The ministry said it decided to keep in place the current special travel advisories for 11 other nations, including Russia, South Africa and Mexico. (Yonhap)


Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was elegant in a navy ensemble as she began a three-day royal visit to Slovakia today.

The Dutch royal, 51, was beaming as she arrived at M. R. Stefanik Airport in Bratislava alongside King Willem-Alexander this morning.

The mother-of-three opted for a chic vibrant blue coat with a matching midi dress and fascinator, ensuring all her accessories were the perfect tone.

After their red carpet arrival in the country, Maxima and her husband King Willem travelled to a Welcome Ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

There, they were greeted by President Zuzana Caputova and her partner Juraj Rizman, before the foursome posed for a number of snaps.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was elegant in a navy ensemble as she began a three-day royal visit to Slovakia alongside her husband King Willem-Alexander today

They were greeted by President Zuzana Caputova and her partner Juraj Rizman, before the foursome posed for a number of snaps

The queen accessorised her look with a pair of dazzling blue earrings and a matching brooch.

Her blonde hair was swept into an up-do and she completed her look with navy heeled shoes, a clutch bag and touch of pink lipstick and eye liner.

Maxima and Willem-Alexander also signed the guest book during the meeting at the palace.

It comes amid a busy period for the couple. Last month, Queen Maxima visited a customer contact center helping those struggling with energy bills.

She seemed in high spirits but also eager to learn as she met with staff at the Temporary Emergency Energy Fund, in The Hague.

The mother of three was attentive throughout her visit, where she learnt about the help being given to families struggling with bills.

The fund supports vulnerable households that run into financial difficulties due to high energy prices.

Meanwhile she also attended the NUL ZES workspace in Eindhoven, which houses designers of all backgrounds.

After chatting with the President in the palace, Maxima and King Willem-Alexander both signed the guestbook

The couple appeared in high spirits as they chatted with President Zuzana Caputova and her partner Juraj Rizman at the palace

The mother-of-three opted for a blue coat with a matching midi dress and fascinator, ensuring even her accessories were the perfect tone

The royal mother-of-three subtly coordinated with her husband for the visit, who opted for a baby blue tie

The royal couple were beaming as they were greeted by the President and her partner in Slovak Republic

While there, she met illustrators and architects and also sculptors and artists from Home of Design.

It's the second royal tour for Maxima and Willem-Alexander in recent weeks, after their trip to the Caribbean.

The Queen has seen relaxed since her recent family tour of the Caribbean, which she went on with her husband King Willem-Alexander, 54, and their daughter Amalia.

While there Maxima was seen cutting leaves of an Aloe plant with her daughter Amalia.

The three also visited Bonaire, Curacao and St Maarten before travelling to St Eustatius and Saba.

As the royals undertook their tour, they were frequently greeted by onlookers who waved Dutch flags and applauded as they passed by.

The royal mother-of-three donned a perfectly coordinated outfit as she arrived in Slovakia earlier this morning
The most impressive, well-groomed and obedient dogs are ready to strut their stuff as they prepare to compete in the 2023 Crufts competition.

As the pampered pooches arrived in Birmingham ahead of this year's canine contest, they showed off their skills and checked out the competition.

And the introductions may have seen the birth of a few unlikely friendships, with breeds of all shapes and sizes cosying up to each other.

One particular unlikely pairing was a Harlequin Great Dane called H who took an interest in a chihuahua named Boo - although it's not clear if Boo was quite so impressed.

This year's competition, organised by The Kennel Club, begins on Thursday, 9 March and will run until Sunday, 12 March.

Dog owners are preparing their canines for glory as they arrive at the Birmingham NEC ahead of the 2023 Crufts competition. Unlikely friendships already appear to be forming, although little Boo the chihuahua seems a little unsure about H the harlequin great dane

From beagles to Bavarian mountain hounds, the pooches ran around the pen outside the NEC and jumped over hurdles to get in some important practise before the big events. Here, FEMAIL takes a look at some of the best photos from the pre-contest event.

Boo looks somewhat bewildered as H approaches him for a sniff and a little greeting, looking at the much larger canine with wide eyes and an open mouth

Best of friends! After an uncertain start, Boo seems taken by H and the pair are captured frolicking together

Trainer Lucy Creek arrives at the NEC in Birmingham for the photo-call with her several pooches in tow

What a fur-bulous bunch! These canines look picture-perfect as they pose for a photo by the paw stand, with one pooch putting his arm around his beagle friend

A Bavarian mountain hound looks up lovingly at its owner while on the lead as it arrives at the NEC for the photo-call

Diligent dogs including a beagle and a corgi arrive with their owners, who are carrying their leads, at the event

A Bergamesco shepherd named Alfie shows off his skills as he jumps over the fence while his owner struggles to keep up with him

Lightning fast! The pooch zooms around the field after jumping over the fence as he prepares to showcase his skills in the real thing

Irish wolfhound Ragnar jumps over the fence as he practises for the Crufts competition as his owner looks on
Queen Rania of Jordan has shared a stunning new photograph of her daughter Princess Iman wearing her tiara ahead of her wedding next week.

Princess Iman, 25, is the second-born child of Queen Rania, 51, and King Abdullah II, 60, and is due to marry her partner Jameel Alexander Thermiotis on March 12.

It was announced last July that Princess Iman was engaged to Venezuela-born Jameel, who is around two years older than the princess and works as a Managing Partner for a Venture Capital fund based in New York.

Queen Rania shared a video on Instagram yesterday in tribute to her daughter, with a number of pictures appearing in the montage - including a photograph of the 25-year-old in her glittering diamond tiara.

The 51-year-old wrote: 'After a week, God willing, I will see you as a bride... I put you in the name of God, Iman, the basil of the house... May God help you and enlighten your path.'

Queen Rania of Jordan has shared a stunning new photograph of her daughter Princess Iman wearing her tiara ahead of her wedding next week

'The first time I held my baby girl, I knew my life would never be the same. In a week, she will be a bride.'

Queen Rania continued: 'My precious Iman, I am so happy for you and so proud of everything that you are.'

Meanwhile she added: 'Thanks to the creative artist Elissa for the dedication and to the great artist Marwan Khoury for lyrics and melodies... Heart touching voice and expressive words.

'Thank you to the very talented @elissazkh and to the brilliant @imarwankhoury for this wonderful gift and for your amazing ability to capture sentiments so beautifully.'

Queen Rania first wore her Diamond Tiara for a spectacular State Banquet hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor Castle in 2001. She wore it again for a portrait that same year.

It is possible the snap was a hint at the tiara which Iman will wear on her wedding day.

The engagement announcement last year was a delightful surprise for royal fans, since the couple have kept their relationship under wraps , and it was not clear how long they have been dating.

In personal statement shared on her Instagram account, Queen Rania said: 'Congratulations my dearest Iman; your smile has always been a gift of love that Ive cherished since the day you were born. I wish you and Jameel a life filled with love and laughter!'

It was announced last July that Princess Iman was engaged to Venezuela-born Jameel, who is around two years older than the princess and works as a Managing Partner for a Venture Capital fund based in New York

Queen Rania first wore her Diamond Tiara for a spectacular State Banquet hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor Castle in 2001. She wore it again for a portrait that same year

She also shared an official engagement photo of the couple, which showed the couple embracing.

Princess Iman wore a high-necked white dress matched with polished make up and sleek hair in a down 'do.

She has her hand placed on her fiance's chest, showing her square cut engagement ring.

Meanwhile beaming Jameel looks dapper in a navy, two-piece suit, and crisp white shirt.

And the whole family shared their well wishes in a statement shared by the Royal Hashemite Court announcing the betrothal.

Queen Rania (pictured, left) took to Instagram to share a heartwarming message to her daughter Princess Iman (pictured, right)

It read: 'The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce the engagement of Her Royal Highness Princess Iman bint Abdullah II to Mr. Jameel Alexander Thermiotis, on Tuesday, 5 July 2022, in the presence of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, as well as Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Hashem bin Abdullah II, and Princess Salma bint Abdullah II, in addition to members of Mr. Thermiotis family.

'The Royal Hashemite Court extends its sincere congratulations to Her Royal Highness Princess Iman and Mr. Thermiotis on this occasion and wishes them a lifetime of happiness.'

Sporty Iman royal graduated from International Academy Amman in 2014 and was awarded top female athlete in her class.

She went on to study at Georgetown University in Washington where her older brother Crown Prince Hussein is majored in international history.
Former mummy blogger Clemmie Hooper has been handed a caution order for a period of one-year following a midwifery misconduct hearing - four years after she engaged in trolling other influencers on a gossip forum.

The mother-of-four, 38, from Kent, once boasted 700,000 followers on Instagram and had partnered with brands such as Mothercare and Boden on sponsored posts.

But in 2019, Clemmie - who worked part-time as a midwife - came off social media after her account on Tattle Life, a website devoted to discussing influencers, was exposed.

Among the posts made under the Alice in Wanderlust psuedonym, was one accusing Black mummy blogger Candice Brathwaite of social climbing, being 'aggressive' and using her 'race as a weapon'.

Just two months before, Clemmie had invited Candice onto her podcast to discuss her traumatic birth experience and how she developed life-threatening sepsis following an emergency C-section.

Clemmie (centre) pictured with her daughters Anya Rose (right), Marnie (left), Ottilie and Delilah (middle)

Following the Fitness To Practise Committee Substantive Hearing with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which started on February 28, the panel's decision was announced today (March 7).

Earlier in the hearing, Clemmie had admitted to three of the charges facing her - that she made the comments in question, and that they had been intended to 'undermine or humiliate' their target.

She also accepted that elements of the posts were 'racially offensive and/or discriminatory', but maintains that she was unaware of this offence at the time.

The panel took into account some mitigating factors, including Clemmie's health at the time of making the posts, which was said to have clouded her objectivity.

It also considered positive testimonials with regards to her midwifery practice, her public apology, her reflection and insight into her conduct, and her 'evident remorse', as well as how she had been affected by reading a very large volume of negative comments about herself online.

Her self-removal from social media, and what the panel considered to be her negligible risk of repetition, were also considered mitigating factors.

In addition, the panel said it accepts that Clemmie was unaware that describing a Black woman as aggressive was a racial trope when writing the posts, and that she has since engaged in self-directed training and reading around equality and diversity.

Speaking to Grazia in 2021, Candice Brathwaite, said it had been 'painful' reading the posts on Tattle.

Mummy blogger and author Candice Braithwaite, who was described as 'aggressive' in one post, has described the posts as 'painful'

Describing how it was a 'knock to her confidence', the mother-of-two explained: 'I step into this arena as a minority, you know. I wasnt called chubby, I wasnt called ugly, I was spoken about based on something I cannot change. That was a bitter pill to swallow.'

In November 2019, Clemmie wrote on her Instagram Stories that she had made an account on the forum in an attempt to defend herself from criticism.

She wrote: 'Earlier this year, I became aware of a website that had thousands of comments about my family and I.

'Reading them made me feel extremely paranoid and affected me much more than I knew at the time.

'I decided without telling anyone else that I would make an anonymous account so that this group of people would believe I was one of them, so that I could maybe change their opinions from the inside to defend my family and I.'

Clemmie continued: It became all consuming and it grew bigger than I knew how to handle.

'When the users started to suspect it was me, I made the mistake of commenting about others. I regret it all and am deeply sorry - I know this has caused a lot of pain.'

Clemmie Hooper, 38, from Kent, once boasted 700,000 followers on Instagram and appeared on This Morning to dish out pregnancy and labour advice at the height of her fame

Clemmie quit social media following the backlash over her Tattle life account but occasionally appears on her husband's Instagram account. Pictured with Simon in September 2022

A post by the user Alice in Wanderlust shows her claiming that she is not 'MOD' (mother of daughters/ Clemmie) where she also causes Clemmie's husband a 'class A tw**t'

Though Clemmie never publicly confirmed her username, other members of the gossip site Tattle became suspicious when the profile 'Alice in Wanderlust' began posting from the same location as Clemmie, including Mauritius, and defending Clemmie.

Meanwhile, another post written by Alice in Wanderlust questioned the state of mummy blogger Bethie Hungerford's marriage - prompting the social media star to demand an apology from her former friend.

What's more, another post branded Clemmie's husband Simon - who has remained on Instagram and now boasts 850,000 followers - a 't**t', before denying the profile was set up by Clemmie.

Posting a statement online, Clemmie revealed the trolling she had experienced led her to set up the account, initially to defend herself, but in an effort to cover up her identity when other users began suspecting who she really was, she began posting negative comments about others

'Undoubtedly I got lost in this online world and the more I became engrossed in the negative commentary, the more situation escalated. Engaging in this was a huge mistake, she added. I take full responsibility for whats happened and I am just so sorry for the hurt I have caused to everyone involved including my friends and family.

Following Clemmie's confession, her influencer husband said he was 'angry and sad' to learn about his wife's anonymous profile and said he had 'no idea' that she had secretly been writing about her peers online.

Describing himself as in a 'cr** position', Simon said he wished she had spoken to him first, and while he made it clear that he was not defending her, but that he has 'seen what three years of being attacked online can do to someone'.

Former blogger Clemmie sky-rocketed to fame when she began documenting her life as a midwife and mother to daughters Anya Rose, Marnie, Ottilie and Delilah on blog Gas & Air, before releasing two books.

During the height of her fame, Clemmie also appeared on This Morning where she shared her pregnancy and labour advice with viewers.

MailOnline has contacted Clemmie for comment.
A woman has sparked furious debate online after revealing where she believes the North-South divide truly falls on a map.

Michelle Bayly, from Northumberland, posted a Tweet with a screengrab of a map divided into three sections, indicating her perception of the North, the Midlands and the South.

She posted: 'Can we all agree that North is Leeds and above..? Its really annoying seeing The North such and such company or something artsy North and for it to be in Birmingham etc.

'Theres also a middlethe midlands. Be the midlands. North of London doesnt mean North.'

However many other Twitter users disagreed with her, with one writing: 'Liverpool and Sheffield will definitely have words on that one.'

Michelle Bayly, from Northumberland, sparked furious debate online after revealing where she believes the North-South divide truly falls on a map

Sharing the image of the grab online, she said it was 'annoying' to see Birmingham classified as the North

Meanwhile another wrote: 'Is this a joke? How do you not think Sheffield and Manchester are in the north?'

A third added: 'Yorkshire, Lancashire and Liverpool are definitely North. It's really called North West.'

A fourth commented: 'No, you are SO wrong. South Yorkshire IS the north of England.'

Another said: 'I'd say Nottingham and above is north, but I'd agree to this compromise.'

'Birmingham is the start of the north,' one person commented.

One person wrote: 'I think the idea that Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Hull aren't in the North is slightly mad.'

Another wrote: 'Anything further than Bristol is 'The North' to me.'

'The North starts at Watford,' another person weighed in.

The Tweet quickly went viral online, with many people confessing they were outraged by her division of the country

After the Tweet went viral on Twitter, with 1,257 likes, Michelle was forced to concede on her beliefs about the divide.

She commented: 'After deep thought and consultation, I have decided to scrap my map of North, Middle and South and instead go with popular opinion that if you have gravy on chips or scraps and mushy peas with fish and chips then you are Northern and if not, then not (no matter the geography.'

There is no official definition of a North-South border in the UK.

The idea is generally conceived as economic, cultural and political differences between areas in the North or South of the country.

And it's not the first time the debate about the divisions in the country has been sparked.

In 2018, a BBC Radio 4 show provoked bemused and angry responses on Twitter by suggesting cities Manchester and Sheffield are part of the UK's South.

Michelle later shared a second Tweet, conceding that 'if you have gravy on chips' than you are Northern

They shared a controversial map as part of a discussion between writers and academics over where the North-South border lies.

The unusual suggestion was put forward by Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones of Newcastle University.

BBC Radio 4's Today current affairs show opened up the question of where a North-South boundary would exist as part of the Great Exhibition of the North in Gateshead.

In anticipation of a broadcast from the summer-long event, they tweeted out Tewdwr-Jones' lopsided proposal of where the 'North' divides the 'South'.

The marker started at the lowest tip of Wales in the Vale of Glamorgan stretching up and around the Midlands up as far as York before looping back down, encompassing Lincolnshire and ending near Norfolk and East Anglia.
Princess Madeleine will move back to Sweden 'indefinitely' with her husband Christopher O'Neill and their three children this year, it has been announced.

The Swedish royal, who has been living in Florida with her husband, financier Chris, after they married in 2013, will return to the capital city of Stockholm in her native country in August.

The couple share three children, Leonore, nine, Nicolas, seven and Adrienne, four. The children lost their Royal Highness titles after King Carl XVI Gustaf removed the title and membership in the Royal House in 2019, to allow the grandchildren more freedom as they grow up.

After the family's announcement today, they will be enjoying such freedoms in their mother's home country, with the move taking place just in time for little Adrienne to start school.

While for many years she has lived a much quieter royal life, Princess Madeleine, 40, is still patron of many charities in her home country.

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, her husband Christopher O'Neill and their children Leonore, Adrienne and Nicolas will be moving from Miami, Florida to Stockholm, Sweden as of August 2023, it has been announced. Pictured: The family at Adrienne's christening in 2018

Just a couple of weeks ago the mother-of-three shared a snap of eldest daughter Leonore as she celebrated her ninth birthday.

She posted a photo of the young royal on Instagram with her blonde hair pulled back, showing off a dainty pair of stud earrings.

She wore lilac shorts paired with a white shirt, with ruffle collar and pink and green floral print.

Underneath the photo, Princess Madeleine wrote: '9 years old today! A very happy birthday to our sweet Leonore who shines everyday!'

Royal fans went wild for the snap, which quickly rounded up over 13k likes and over 300 comments.

The Swedish royal and her family have been living in Florida since the mother-of-three, 40, married US financier Chris in 2013

Despite the family currently living in Miami, Florida, until August, Leonore was born in New York and holds dual American and Swedish citizenship.

Princess Madeleine, Christopher O'Neill and the children also adopted a rescue dog Oreo into the family last year, who will likely be making the move to Stockholm too.

Sharing photos of Oreo on Instagram last year, the Princess said Oreo 'was not treated well and was tied up outside, under the Florida elements, for most of the day and night'.

She added: 'But today, he gets to make us laugh and show us what a tender and loving soul he has.'
Made the controversial comments on We Need To Talk About Bill Cosby on BBC2

Sonalee Rashatwar said there was a 'consensual way' to 'get their kink out'

A BBC documentary has sparked outrage after a sex therapist suggested men who have a fetish about sex with unconscious partners should be able to pay women to be drugged.

The offensive remarks were made by American therapist Sonalee Rashatwar during a four-part documentary series about disgraced US star Bill Cosby.

Ms Rashatwar, appearing on the programme We Need To Talk About Bill Cosby, claimed there was a consensual way for these men to get their kink out.

One viewer branded the comments beyond atrocious while another said the remarks amounted to rape apologism.

US sitcom star Cosby, 85, has been the subject of numerous sexual assault allegations, which became public in 2014. BBC2 showed the opening episode of the documentary series, first aired in America, on Sunday.

The remarks by the sex therapist are in the fourth episode which is available on iPlayer.

Ms Rashatwar told the programme: If we actually grappled with the fact that sex negativity is what causes this type of behaviour, then we could create a world, where in an idyllically sex positive world, someone is able to pay conscious women to come and be drugged so that I can get my kink out, my fetish on having sex with unconscious people. Theres a consensual way to do that.

But the remarks from Ms Rashatwar, who brands herself the Fat Sex Therapist, sparked huge anger from viewers.

Sex therapist Sonalee Rashatwar has sparked outrage after claiming men who fantasise about having sex with unconscious women should be able to 'get out their kink' by paying them to be drugged in an appearance on BBC documentary We Need To Talk About Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby, 85, was convicted of the aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand in 2018. The judgment was overturned in 2021

Co-founder of Thoughtful Therapists, James Esses, posted the clip on social media, saying: I feel sick. This is beyond atrocious.

Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies wrote on Twitter: How is the BBC (or any credible tv station) giving airtime to this.

Director of Big Brother Watch UK, Silkie Carlo, added: Sex negativity causes this behaviour?!?. This is rape apologism quickly followed by rape advocacy. How the hell did it end up on the BBC?!

Bill Cosby shot to international fame playing the part of Cliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show, which launched in 1984. In 2018 he was convicted of the aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand. But this judgement was subsequently overturned in 2021.

Last year the star was found liable for sexual assault in 1975 in a civil case.

The four-part documentary series first aired in the US last year on Showtime.

On her website, Ms Rashatwar describes herself as a clinical social worker, sex therapist, public speaker, community organiser and donut lover.
Hoda Kotb has opened up about the touching moment her three-year-old daughter, Hope, gave her confetti star after spending several days in the intensive care unit battling a health issue.

The Today co-anchor missed two weeks of the morning show while caring for her youngest child, who was hospitalized for over a week. When she returned to work on Monday, she reflected on her daughter's health scare and how it has given her a newfound perspective.

'I feel like, life is one way on a Monday  and we all have our Mondays and we complain about them. We're like, "Oh, what a crummy Monday," and then Tuesday rolls around and something really hits hard, and you realize that Monday was actually pretty awesome,' Kotb, 58, told her fourth-hour co-host Jenna Bush Hager.

'So for us, it was little Hope had to go to the hospital, and she was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for another week and it was really scary. And she's vibrant and brilliant.'

Hoda Kotb, 58, opened up about a touching moment she had with her three-year-old daughter, Hope, after she returned home from the hospital

Kotb (pictured with her daughters Hope and Haley) said her youngest child 'wasn't feeling great' the other day when she gave her a confetti star she had found

'I thought to myself, "This child, even when she's not feeling good, she still giving everything away,"' Kotb said

Kotb shared how she was blown away that her youngest daughter has remained selfless and generous during her illness.

'The other day, she just got up from bed, and she was so sweet and cute, and she wasn't feeling great,' the mom explained. 'She had in her hand two little confetti stars.

'And I looked at her, 'cause I had just gotten out of the shower, and I turned, and she was sitting there. And she said, "I got two, Mom."

'And I said, "Oh my gosh." She goes, "One for me and one for you." And I thought to myself, "This child, even when she's not feeling good, she [is] still giving everything away."'

Kotb, who also has a six-year-old daughter, Haley, told Bush Hager that she is 'over the moon' to have Hope back home while reflecting on her gratitude for all of the support they have received during this difficult time.

'I can't believe how amazing people are. That's the thing I learned through all this,' she said. 'The nurses who stood by her all the way. The nurses who checked on her constantly, the doctors who came in, the people who took care of us. I felt like we were held.

'I always talk about gratitude, gratitude, but I found myself not living in that lane because I was scared,' she admitted. 'Then I decided, you know what? Let me think about this for a minute.

Kotb told her co-host Jenna Bush Hager that she is 'over the moon' to have Hope back home while reflecting on her gratitude for all of the support they have received

The mother of two pulled out a gold necklace that says, 'God's got this,' explaining that her friend sent it to her when Hope was in the hospital

Kotb, who had not appeared on air since February 17, first opened up about Hope's hospital stay with her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie earlier on in Monday's show

'I'm grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I'm grateful to my family and I'm grateful to friends like you who were there every single day,' she told Guthrie

'I have a family who loves me. I have a little girl who's home. I have a wonderful support system. I have doctors who would have done anything to make everything better and they did. So sometimes you talk about gratitude, and then when you're pushed to the limit, you're like, "Do I feel it?"'

The mother of two then pulled out a gold necklace that was given to her during Hope's hospital stay.

'I'm wearing this little thing that a friend of mine sent to me, and she said, "I'm going to take it off my neck and I'm going to send it to you. It's worn down because I rub it all the time, and it says, 'God's got this.'" So she said, "If I ever see you not wearing it, I'm coming to get you,'" Kotb told Bush Hager with a laugh.

'I feel blessed and grateful, really, really, really grateful,' she added. 'And also anyone who's ever gone through an illness with a child, boy I thought I understood you. But I didn't. You don't until you're sitting in that position. So for every single person going through some stuff, I get it.'

Kotb, who had not appeared on air since February 17, first opened up about Hope's hospital stay with her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie earlier on in Monday's show.

'My youngest Hope was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for a little more than a week,' she explained. 'I'm so grateful she is home, she is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I'm just so happy.

'And you know what I realized too, Savannah? When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who have helped you out,' she continued.

It was revealed on Tuesday that Kotb is covering the new issue of Southern Living. The shoot took place in New Orleans, where she used to live while working at WWL-TV in the '90s

Kotb's close friend Karen Swensen (pictured), penned the accompanying story, which touched upon how they lived in the lower French Quarter together

'It's the closest to a hometown Ive ever felt,' Kotb said of New Orleans

'I'm grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I'm grateful to my family and I'm grateful to friends like you who were there every single day.

'I want to say thank you for that. I love you.'

Following Kotb's return to the Today show, it was revealed on Tuesday that she is covering the new issue of Southern Living.

The cover shoot took place in New Orleans, where she used to live after being hired as the main anchor for WWL-TV in 1992.

Kotb's close friend Karen Swensen, whom she met at WWL-TV, penned the accompanying story, which touched upon how they lived in the lower French Quarter together in the '90s.

'It's the closest to a hometown Ive ever felt,' the broadcast journalist said.

The Today star loves New Orleans and has made a point to make the city an important part of her daughters' lives as well.

The Today star has made a point to make New Orleans an important part of her daughters' lives as well. Whenever they visit, she takes them to the parks and treats them to the local cuisine

Kotb recalled how they were in The Big Easy on St. Patrick's Day last year and someone threw a pair of green satin underwear at her oldest daughter, Haley, who asked what they were

'New Orleans celebrates the individual. Its full of characters, and I want my kids to meet them,' the mother of two said

'I want them to know New Orleansto love the city and for this to be part of their lives because its such an important part of mine,' she explained. 'I want them to see what its like to be front and center at the parade.'

Kotb took Haley and Hope to visit The Big Easy last March on St. Patrick's Day, and Swensen recalled how they watched a parade go down St. Charles Avenue.

'Throw me somethin', mister!' the girls yelled as the floats went by.

Someone tossed Hope a string of beads, but Haley was confused by the large pair of green satin underwear that was flung her way.

'Mom! Look at this! What is it?' Haley asked.

'My children caught underwear. Underwear!' Kotb said with a laugh.

Whenever they visit the city, the mom takes her daughters to the parks to play on the oak trees with Spanish moss and treats them to the local cuisine, including gumbo, barbecue shrimp, beignets, and frozen sno-balls.

'Everything is light in New Orleans. "Normal" is being free, and dressing the way you want, dancing in the street even if youre the only one,' Kotb said. 'New Orleans celebrates the individual. Its full of characters, and I want my kids to meet them.'

The April issue of Southern Living is on newsstands Friday, March 17, and the 2023 South's Best Awards are out now on SouthernLiving.com
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.

The 1955 letter to the Queen Mother was found alongside a copy of Queen Elizabeth II's 1956 Christmas speech, Royal menus, an invitation to a Balmoral Castle dance and gift tags signed by Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

A sweet letter written by a six-year-old King Charles to his 'ill Granny' has been found in a loft has been sold at auction for 7,000 (pictured)

The collection of letters were expected to fetch between 2,000 and 3,000 when they were sold at Hansons Auctioneers in London.

But a bidding war sent the price soaring until they were finally sold for 7,000.

'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'.

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 was at 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 was expected to make in the region of 4,000 at auction, but has sold for 7,000.
WHILE most of Britain had wedding fever ahead of Prince Charless marriage to Lady Diana Spencer, one close relation refused to be caught up in the excitement.

Dianas aunt, Mary Roche, who died last Friday aged 88, had a dreadful sense of foreboding.

She caught her niece looking unhappy at a pre-wedding reception in 1981 at Buckingham Palace, where others had reported the bride-to-be in good form.

Having shared a close bond with Diana while she was growing up, Mary knew her to be very natural and prone to giggles, a lot of fun.

She could tell when Diana was being herself. I just remember her being unhappy at that reception, she later revealed.

Princess Diana's aunt Mary Roche passed away last Friday at the age of 88. Pictured: Diana in 1991 with Mary Roche (centre) and her mother Ruth Lady Fermoy (right)

Mary, daughter of the 4th Lord Fermoy, was the elder sister of Dianas mother, Frances Shand Kydd. Their father was a friend of George VI and the elder son of American heiress Frances Ellen Work. Their mother, Ruth, was a confidante and lady-in-waiting to the Queen Mother.

Mary later admitted that she had thought her 20-year-old niece ill-matched with the future King Charles, then 33.

They were at very different stages of development, she explained. Diana was young and had limited life experience, and Prince Charles was already a great thinker. He read a great deal. They were, perhaps, different people.

Could Mary Roche's death be the thing that finally unites Princes William and Harry as the rift between the brothers grows ever deeper?

Dianas death wasnt the only tragedy Mary suffered. Her first ex-husband, the Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry, was murdered by the IRA in the Brighton hotel bombing in 1984. He was the son of The Daily Telegraphs former co-owner, Gomer Berry, the 1st Viscount Kemsley.

Mary went on to marry, and divorce, twice more. Her sister, Frances, died in 2004 aged 68.

Could the warring Princes William and Harry be reunited for the funeral of their mothers aunt?

Royal fans are speculating over whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will travel to the UK to be reunited with the family for King Charles's coronation in May.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed they had received an invitation to the coronation but have not elaborated on whether they will attend.

The coronation, which is set to be seen by millions of people in the UK and potentially billions around the world, will take place on May 6 - the same day as the fourth birthday of Archie, Harry's son.

The news comes days after Charles kicked his son and daughter-in-law out of their British home, Frogmore Cottage, a move that is thought to complicate any future visits to the UK from the California-based couple.
Choi Kyung-sun, left, the APAC product engineering leader at 3M Innovation Center's personal safety division and Ewha Womans University student Lee Ye-reen, who met each other through 3M's mentoring program, speak during an interview with The Korea Times at 3M Korea's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Feb. 23. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Lee Hae-rin



Choi Kyung-sun, 46, the APAC product engineering leader at 3M Innovation Center's personal safety division, said that she believed she was lucky for never experiencing serious gender discrimination during her life so far, from studying chemistry at Chung-Ang University to developing her career at the U.S.-based multinational company.



However, upon looking back on the male-dominated field, she is now questioning her assessment. In those days, her class had only one woman professor and one-third of the students were women. Most of the decision-makers and those in top positions she worked with were men, but she didn't find it strange at the time.



"Maybe I was well-accustomed to gender discrimination, which may have made me blind to it," Choi said. "However, being unable to recognize a problem as a problem is a bigger problem."



On the other hand, Lee Ye-reen, a 24-year-old student majoring in environmental science and engineering at Ewha Womans University, comprises the new generation of women in the field of Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) who is used to seeing women among her peers, where men used to be a dominant force. She is also more conscious of gender discrimination.



"All my peers, seniors and professors are women, so I was able to become more aware of the male dominance in the field," Lee said. She said she chose the women's university in search of a stronger female career network and often discusses gender discrimination within and outside the field with her friends.



Choi and Lee first met each other last July at the second edition of the annual global mentoring program organized by 3M Korea and the Korea Foundation for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (WISET), a public institution under the Ministry of Science and ICT. The program aims to support and celebrate women's presence and engagement in STEM and build a network of women scientists and university students.



Throughout the program, Choi and a couple of 3M's senior female engineers shared insights from their professional journey and education as female scientists and engineers with Lee and 14 other university student mentees. The mentor's 5-month guidance broadened Lee's perspective and helped her better understand her aptitude, encouraging her to dig into the fields of environment, health and safety management.



Choi said she thought it was her turn in the virtuous cycle of mutual support in STEM's female community and would give back what she had received from her seniors to the next generation of women scientists.



From over a decade of experience in the area of STEM, Choi said she has witnessed how women scientists  especially Korean ones  can contribute to academic and industrial advancement and help solve the world's problems with their expertise, resilience, communication and social skills.



However, statistics show that the entry barrier for women into the field of science and technology still remains high.



According to the latest WISET annual report on the representation of women and men in STEM published in October 2022, women accounted for only 21.17 percent of total students majoring in science and engineering in higher education. The figure has grown from 2011's 16.9 percent, but only about six out of 10 of them find jobs in STEM fields.



Also, Korea ranked lower in gender equality  102 among 156 countries worldwide and 36th among 38 OECD nations  according to the World Economic Forum's global gender gap report in 2021.



The country's ratio of female STEM researchers was also not impressive compared to the top developed nations. Korea ranked 10th among 20 countries with the highest GDP in 2018, with only 20.4 percent of women researchers. France had 44 percent, Spain 40 percent and Norway 38 percent.



The mentor and mentee both expressed hopes and possibilities to see more women peers in their field.



The latest corporate trend to hire more women in the STEM field is not only a humanitarian initiative, but a reflection of the companies' recognition of the "economic values that women scientists offer," because their distinct qualities are no longer perceived as obstacles to expertise and contribute to the companies' profits, the senior researcher said.



"It's a shame that few women think that they can make it in the field of STEM. I wish more women in Korea and around the world will sees it (STEM) as their playground and realize their potential (as scientists and engineers)," Choi said.


Prince Edward looked particularly smart when attending a fundraising gala in London on Tuesday - as reports emerge he may be meeting one of the world's biggest popstars this week.

The Earl of Wessex, who turns 59 this Friday, joined guests at the National Youth Theatre's annual fundraising gala at The Londoner Hotel, which raises funds for the the charity to continue its work.

Dressed in a dapper black suit with a crisp white shirt and a bow tie, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son appeared to be in high spirits.

And his chipper disposition may be explained by rumours he is set to visit the set of the film adaptation of the musical Wicked next week, which stars pop sensation Ariana Grande.

The Sun reported the father-of-two is due to visit the set in his capacity as patron of many arts charities and organisations.

Prince Edward, 58, (pictured) looked dapper in a black suit and bow tie as he attended the National Youth Theatre Annual Fundraiser Gala

The Sun has reported Prince Edward is due to meet international pop sensation Ariana Grande (pictured) on set of the film adaptation of the musical Wicked later this week

The royal (middle) was joined by Dawn Airey, NYT board member (left) and artistic director Paul Roseby OBE (right)

A film insider told the paper that Edward has been invited on set to meet some of the stars including Ariana.

They said: 'Edwards visit has been kept under wraps.

'Hed been invited as a guest of honour, and now he is going to actually meet some of the stars, including Ariana.'

The reports come amid rumours Buckingham Palace is struggling to find performers to play at the coronation in May.

Dawn Airey, HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Paul Roseby and Krishnan Guru-Murthy attend the National Youth Theatre Annual Fundraising Gala at The Londoner Hotel

This evening Edward, who is patron of the National Youth Theatre, was joined by guests from the showbiz industry including NYT board member Dawn Airey and artistic director Paul Roseby OBE.

The National Youth Theatre is a youth arts charity that has been dedicated to inspiring the lives of young people and audiences for over 60 years.

It's charitable remit gives accesible opportunities both onstage and backstage to young people aged between 14 and 25 from all corners of the UK and diverse backgrounds.

It hopes to give young people unique, life-changing experiences working with some of the UK's leading professional directors, writers, producers and stage managers.

Tuesday's event 'Make A Splash' held a silent auction of over 120 items, ranging from luxury holidays to once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences.

The Earl of Wessex has been quiet so far throughout March but in February was seen attending the Radio Times' annual covers party.

The Earl of Wessex, 58, was the guest of honour at the party, held at Claridge's Ballroom in London, which celebrates those who have featured on the magazine's front cover in the previous 12 months.

Dressed in a smart grey suit, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son appeared in great spirits.

The Earl of Wessex, 58, joined guests for the National Youth Theatre's annual fundraising gala at The Londoner Hotel, which raises funds for the the charity to continue its work

The royal donned a bright green polka dot tie and a matching pocket square with a white shirt for the star-studded event.

Inside the venue he was joined by famous faces including Sir Lenny Henry, Sir Michael Palin, and Sue Barker.

This September marks the Radio Times' 100th anniversary, with the event also welcoming cover stars from across the decades including Sir Tony Robinson, and newsreader Angela Rippon.

At the event Edward received two commemorative Radio Times covers featuring the the Queen; the first ever to feature the then Princess Elizabeth in October 1940 and Radio Times' Platinum Jubilee cover from May 2022.
Queen Letizia looked elegant as ever as she stepped out in a respectful, modest black dress alongside her husband King Felipe this evening as they attended a memorial concert.

The Spanish Queen, 50, showed off her enviable silhouette in a long-sleeved black dress with a metallic look, which was clinched at the waist with tie detail.

Mother-of-two Letizia accessorised with a black leather clutch bag and black pumps as she attended a memorial concert to commemorate terror victims in Madrid.

She wore her dark brunette locks in a sleep black ponytail and wore delicate teardrop earrings with pink stones.

In keeping with her sophisticated evening look, Letizia opted for a smokey eye and defined eyebrows, with a touch of blush on her cheeks and nude lip gloss.

Queen Letizia, 50, looked chic in a black dress with tie detail on the waist to clinch her tight figure as she arrived at the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid to attend the XXI Concert in memory of terror victims with King Felipe

The Queen stepped out with her husband King Felipe, 55, who was dressed in a smart black pinstripe suit and a blue tie.

The royal couple were pictured shaking hands with other attendees at the venue on arrival.

Letizia's more conservative outfit to attend the memorial event comes a week after she stepped out in bright fuchsia to visit an awards ceremony in Alicante, on the Costa Blanca.

She and King Felipe attended the Investigation National Awards at the Casa Mediterraneo.

Letizia, 50, attended the concert with King Felipe VI, 55, who was dressed in a black pinstripe suit

The Spanish royal kept her look elegant, respectful and modest as she attended the somber event

Letizia paired her black dress, which was clinched at the waist, and paired it with black patent pumps

King Felipe leads the way as the royal couple walk through the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid

The King and Queen stopped to shake hands with attendees at the concert

The Queen looked elegant as she arrived at the National Auditorium in Madrid this evening ahead of the concert

The Spanish royals presented the prizes, which are worth 30,000 euros, to researchers in Spain who have performed outstanding professional work of international relevance in the fields of research and science.

A few days after attending the awards ceremony, Letizia made another public appearance in a bright scarlet outfit as she attended a UNICEF meeting.

As Honorary President of UNICEF Spain, the wife of King Felipe VI has been informed of all the details of work that the organisation is taking.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the leading international organisation working to promote children's rights and achieve real change in the lives of millions of children.

Its work is based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most ratified human rights treaty in the world, and currently develops its work in 190 countries.

UNICEF Spain is one of the 36 National Committees that contribute to the work of the United Nations Children's Fund.

Its aim is to ensure that children's rights to health, education and protection are fulfilled throughout the world, something which the Spanish Queen is deeply invested in.
Fashionistas can't seem to get enough of the budget-friendly option

The Big W shorts retail for $15 while the Shona Joy shorts retail for $240

Big W is selling a 'dupe' of a pair of Shona Joy shorts

Fashionistas are racing to Big W to purchase $15 shorts deemed to be a 'dupe' of a similar Shona Joy buy worth sixteen times the price.

Stylist Genevieve spotted the Big W '&me Women's Tailored Short' in stores and couldn't pass up buying a pair in two different colours.

She paired the shorts with the $12 '&me Boxy Tee' and black sandals with a matching bag for the perfect weekend look.

To compare, the popular shorts look striking similar to the Shona Joy Sara tailored wide leg shorts in melon - which cost $240.

Scroll down for video

Stylist Genevieve (pictured) spotted the Big W '&me Women's Tailored Short' in stores and needed to buy a pair

The Big W shorts look striking similar to the Shona Joy Sara tailored wide leg shorts in melon - which retail for $240 (pictured)

The Big W shorts feature a tailored cut, two pockets, and a belt loops for accessorising, and are available from size XS to XL.

The shorts are perfect for styling up or down to be worn to brunch on weekends or in the office on weekdays.

And the Shona Joy wide leg shorts are also designed with coin pockets, wide leg design, wide belt loops and high waistband.

There seems to be few differences between the two product descriptions on the Big W and Shona Joy website, besides the material in which the product is made from.

It comes after Sydney TikToker Chelsea boasted about an $8 pair of slides from the retail giant.

'If you love a high-ticket item you bet I'll track down a dupe version of it and today Big W has the Yeezy slides for $8 in four colour ways!' she wrote on Instagram.

'Better run for these ones before they sell out!'

Sydney TikToker Chelsea spotted a pair of shoes from Big W (pictured) that look near-identical to Kanye West's 'Yeezy' slides

While the Yeezy slides, which were originally designed by Kanye West, aren't available in Australia, Adidas sell a near-identical version for $350.

But the affordable Big W 'Wave Zone' women's slides are perfect for those on a budget.

The 'no fuss' moulded design is ideal for summer and features textures soles to make it easy to slip the shoes on and off.

The product is available in store and online in brown, black, khaki and grey.
The new Victoria Bitter Xtra, or VX, contains 6 per cent alcohol strength

Victoria Bitter will release a new beer this week

One of the most popular beers in Australia is set to launch a new product later this week.

Victoria Bitter will release a 'bolder and more intense' beverage with a staggering high strength of six per cent alcohol.

Victoria Bitter Xtra, or VX, will hit the shelves in four-packs of 250mL cans each containing 1.2 standard drinks, while the original VB 375mL stubbie is worth 1.4 standard drinks.

Customers can expect the same taste of a VB as the same ingredients are used, but with an extra punch in each can.

The VX features a brand new red, white and black logo as well as the new slogan 'For a Hard Earned Night'.

Victoria Bitter will launch a new beer this week with a 'bolder and more intense' flavour

The latest product can be found at all major bottle shops for $16 per four-pack and $60 for a slab of stubbies.

The company revealed the latest offering came about after Australians started turning to trusted brands during the pandemic.

Shoppers now have more options than ever when shopping for VB, as VX is designed to compliment the original rather than replace it.

Victoria Bitter Xtra, or VX, will hit the shelves in four-packs of 250mL cans each containing 1.2 standard drinks, while the original VB 375mL stubbie is worth 1.4 standard drinks

Victoria Bitter brand director, Sarah Wilcox, said: 'We've launched VX to give beer lovers a slightly bolder and more intense version of the great VB taste they've enjoyed for generations.

'It is brewed to be enjoyed with mates and to offer more choices of great-tasting beer for various occasions.'

'We think there's a market among traditional beer lovers who also want bolder and more intense flavours. It's all about choice.'

It follows after the Melbourne-based lager producer teamed up with alcohol-delivery service Jimmy Brings to launch a button drinkers can install in their home that will deliver a case of beer as soon as it's pressed.

Dubbed 'The Big Green Button' the device can be magnetically attached to any fridge door.

It follows after VB launched a button that will add a six pack of beers to Jimmy Brings cart

To ensure against any accidental ordering, the device needs to be tapped twice.

The first tap will play an 'iconic VB tune' while the second will and a case of 375ml stubbies to a customer's Jimmy Brings cart.

Luke Calavassy, Head of Jimmy Brings says the device will make ordering your favourite drinks easier than eve

'Just when you thought ordering via Jimmy Brings couldn't get any easier, we have proudly teamed up with VB to bring the Big Green Button to life' he said in a statement.

The first tap will play an 'iconic VB tune' while the second will and a case of 375ml stubbies to a customer's Jimmy Brings cart

'Now VB lovers can get a case of stubbies delivered to their door in minutes, with the tap of a button.'

Sarah Wilcox, Head of Classic Brands at CUB, the parent company of VB, said the new device reflects VB's comment to innovation.

'As one of Australia's favourite beers, we are always looking for new ways to deliver to our loyal customers in easy and exciting ways,' Wilcox comments.

'We're so excited to partner with Jimmy Brings to deliver Victoria Bitters thanks to the Big Green Button.'

Jimmy Brings currently delivers to Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong ,Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast , Perth, Wollongong and Tasmania

A pack of six is currently listed on Jimmy Brings website of $24, plus a delivery fee of $6.95.

Jimmy Brings currently delivers to Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast , Perth, Wollongong and Tasmania.

Customers order via its website or app, with alcohol delivered in around 30 minutes depending on the exact delivery location.

The button comes for free with every case of VB ordered on Jimmy Brings - or is for sale for $10.
Her husband refused to go halves as she got an epidural

The couple were left with an $8,000 hospital birth bill

A new mum was left outraged after her husband of seven years refused to pay for half of the hospital bills for the birth of their baby.

The dad, Carl*, said he would not pay any of the $8,000 bill because Rachel*, 'jacked it up' by getting an epidural and other 'extras'.

The 32-year-old mum says she is considering 'ending her marriage' over the reaction - which hundreds agree she should do.

Rachel said the couple had been living in a 'newborn bubble of bliss' until the hospital bill came and interrupted it.

She explained that her and Carl both work and have always 'split everything 50/50', so she did not expect his reaction.

A new mum was left outraged after her husband of seven years refused to pay for half of the hospital bills for the birth of their baby (stock image)

Poll Should Carl have paid for half of the hospital bill? Definitely! No way! Should Carl have paid for half of the hospital bill? Definitely! 371 votes

No way! 22 votes Now share your opinion





'Throughout my pregnancy, I planned to go for an unmedicated natural birth with as little intervention as possible,' she explained.

However, after 24 hours of labour she 'caved' and got the epidural, something Carl encouraged at the time.

When the bill arrived, Carl hit the roof and demanded Rachel pay for it using her personal savings, as he shouldn't be expected to pay for her 'extra requests'.

'You're the one that couldn't hold out for a few more hours and jacked up the bill with all your meds and an extra nights stay,' he said.

The 'luxuries' that were on the bill included an epidural, lactation consultant, the nursery fee, extra stay overnight, post-partum supplies, hospital food and blood tests.

Carl said he would not pay any of the $8,000 bill because Rachel, 'jacked up the bill' by getting an epidural and other 'extras' (stock image)

Rachel 'flipped out' at him, but he refused to budge and called her a 'princess' for demanding so many 'extra add-ons' in the hospital.

Rachel gave in and paid the bill but says she now feels 'disrespected' and didn't expect this treatment so soon after her 36-hour labour and the birth of their child.

'This is by far the biggest issue so far in our 14-year relationship and I'm so lost on where to go from here,' she said.

She can't decide if she 'has the right' to feel how she does, or if the hormones are impacting her emotions.

Hundreds of people advised her that she has done nothing wrong, and said Carl owes her 'far more' than $8000.

Several pointed out that Rachel will have a loss of earnings due to maternity leave for the foreseeable future, and just spent the last nine months carrying Carl's child, something he should pay for if wants to be 'equal'.

'Even at minimum wage 24 hour a day, 40 weeks.. he's looking at just shy of $50,000, $25,000 if they split it. $4,000 would have been a bargain!' one woman said.

'I'd be absolutely DONE if my husband pulled this shit. His kid too, his cost too,' another said.

'Holy sh*t. Throw the whole man out,' another advised.

* Names have been changed
Experts today said the appointment of Dr Jeremy Farrar, a top infectious diseases doctor who was knighted in 2019, was a 'major unforced error'

Experts have called for the World Health Organization's incoming chief scientist to be axed after more evidence showed he censored the Covid lab leak theory.

Dr Jeremy Farrar will take up his new six-figure role at the global health agency in the second quarter of this year after stepping down as director of the Wellcome Trust nonprofit in London.

But new emails uncovered by House Republicans put the British infectious diseases doctor at the center of the lab leak cover-up, fueling fresh criticism about the WHO's appointment.

They show he made direct edits to a scientific paper written in February 2020 specifically to squash the theory that Covid may have escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

On the day that paper, titled 'Proximal Origin', was first published, emails also show Dr Farrar pushed through a crucial change that poured even more doubt over the theory - despite privately expressing concerns the virus was man-made.

'Sorry to micromanage/micro edit! But would you be willing to change one sentence?', Dr Farrar asked in the email chain. He asked for the word 'unlikely' to be swapped with 'improbable' in a statement talking about the lab leak.

The tweaked sentence then read: 'It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of an existing SARS-related coronavirus.'

Experts have today warned against Jeremy Farrar being appointed as chief scientist to the World Health Organization. He has dismissed the lab leak hypothesis on Covid origins as a 'conspiracy theory' previously. (Pictured: The Wuhan Institute of Virology where Covid may have escaped from)

The above email extract shows Dr Farrar made at least one direct edit to the paper in Nature Medicine that he was not credited for. It was revealed yesterday by House Republicans

Several experts have called for Dr Farrar's appointment at the WHO to be axed in light of the new revelations.

Dr Richard Ebright, a microbiologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, told DailyMail.com: 'In this context, the appointment of Dr Farrar as a chief scientist at the WHO is a major unforced error.

'The WHO would do well to review and revoke the appointment.'

The US has long been one of the largest funding sources for the World Health Organization, providing between $200 million and $600 million annually over the past 10 years. In 2020 to 2021, it was the third largest funder behind Germany and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, having invested approximately $693 million.

Dr David Livermore, a microbiologist at the University of East Anglia in the UK, also said the agency might want to rethink the move.

He told this website: 'There has to be concern about Dr Farrar's appointment.

'He first privately speculated on a lab leak origin for Covid. Yet, he then added his signature to a notorious Lancet letter seeking to debunk the lab leak theory.

'If he is to lead the WHO, it would be wise for Dr Farrar to commission investigations of Covid's origins entirely independent of the Organization's hierarchy, himself included.'

Robert Moffit, an expert on Covid origins who has written on the subject for the right-wing Heritage Foundation thinktank, said that in light of the new emails, Dr Farrar should not take up the role at the WHO.

'I don't think he should take the job,' he told DailyMail.com. 'He should refrain from taking any position like that until these matters are cleared up and published.

'We don't want someone to take over the WHO who may... refrain from taking a position until all these issues [on Covid origins] are cleared up.'

Rand Paul, a physician and Republican senator for Kentucky, told DailyMail.com that he also opposed Dr Farrar's appointment.

He said: 'Jeremy Farrar, the guy who then publicly disdained the lab leak theory despite privately admitting he was still 50:50 on the lab leak should not be in charge of the WHO or any investigations into the origins of Covid.'

Emails leaked last year show that Dr Farrar privately expressed concern that Covid could have leaked from a lab in February 2020.

He famously told Dr Anthony Fauci and colleagues that he was 50:50 between a lab leak and natural origin.

But in the following weeks, Dr Farrar seemed to have a dramatic change of heart and put his name to a letter in the Lancet denouncing the lab leak hypothesis as a 'conspiracy theory'.

The statement, signed along with 26 other scientists, said: 'We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid does not have a natural origin.

'Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors, and prejudice that jeopardise our global collaboration in the fight against this virus.'

Dr Livermore also raised concerns about Dr Farrar's links to Dr Peter Daszak, the zoologist who has been criticized for directing millions in US taxpayer money to the Wuhan lab to fund controversial bat coronavirus research.

Dr Daszak was then accused of leaning on colleagues to direct blame away from the facility when Covid started to spread. He also spearheaded the letter in the Lancet.

Dr Richard Ebright (left) and Dr David Livermore, both microbiologists, have raised concerns over Dr Farrar's appointment to the World Health Organization

Farrar's lab leak meddling and flip-flopping: February 4, 2020: After setting up a conference call about the origin of Covid, Dr Farrar famously told colleagues that he was 50:50 between the virus having a natural origin and being released from a lab. On the same day, while sending emails discussing the origin of Covid he also described the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) as a 'wild west', in an apparent reference to its lack of infection control and oversight. February 8, 2020: Dr Kristian Andersen, a scientist on the call, sends an email saying they are working to disprove the lab leak hypothesis. He said: 'Our main work over the last couple of weeks has been focused on trying to disprove any type of lab theory.' This was surprising, given that in January he told Dr Fauci in an email that some aspects of the virus made him wonder whether it had been engineered. February 12, 2020: Scientists on the call request the publication of the Proximal Origins paper in Nature Medicine, which dismisses the lab leak theory. An email sent by its lead author Dr Kristian Andersen, suggests it was prompted by Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Farrar. He wrote: 'Prompted by Jeremy Farrah [sic], Tony Fauci, and Francis Collins... [we] have been working through much of the (primarily) genetic data to provide agnostic and scientifically informed hypothesis around the origins of the virus.' February 17, 2020: After oversight of the Proximal Origins paper, Dr Farrar requests an edit to the text. He was not credited on the paper despite making this request. Asking for language to be changed, he said: 'Sorry to micro-manage/microedit! But would you be willing to change one sentence? 'From: It is unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of an existing SARS-related coronavirus. 'To: It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of an existing SARS-related coronavirus.' February 19, 2020: Farrar signs a letter in the Lancet with 26 other scientists that dismisses the lab leak theory as a conspiracy. It reads: 'We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid does not have a natural origin. 'Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumors and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against this virus.' The letter was spearheaded by Dr Peter Daszak, who was accused of bullying colleagues into directing blame away from the WIV. March 17, 2020: The Proximal Origins of Covid paper appears in Nature Medicine, which also aims to dismiss the lab leak theory. Dr Farrar was not credited on the paper. June 9, 2020: Farrar promotes an article written by Dr Daszak in the Guardian, with the title: 'Ignore the conspiracy theories: Scientists know Covid wasn't created in a lab - as always worth reading @peterdaszak' June 21, 2021: The Lancet is forced to publish an addendum to its paper dismissing the lab leak hypothesis as a conspiracy theory. It had previously stated that its authors had no conflicting interests. But, in the addendum, it admits Dr Daszak's relationship with the WIV. July 17, 2021: Farrar is credited on another paper in the Lancet dismissing the lab leak theory. A passage reads: 'We believe the strongest clue from new, credible, and peer-reviewed evidence in the scientific literature is that the virus evolved in nature, while suggestions of a laboratory-leak source of the pandemic remain without scientifically validated evidence that directly supports it in peer-reviewed scientific journals.' July 22, 2021: Dr Farrar's book 'Spike' is published. He wrestles with the lab leak hypothesis in the book and concludes that it will never be possible to rule it out completely. He adds, however: 'But the simplest explanation remains the likeliest: Nature plus bad luck.' Advertisement

The journal had to admit a conflict of interest on the paper in June, 2021, almost a year after it was published, disclosing Dr Daszak's relationship with the WIV.

Beforehand, it had stated that there were 'no competing interests'.

In June 2020, Dr Farrar also shared an article Daszak wrote for the Guardian saying: 'Ignore the conspiracy theories: Scientists know Covid-19 wasn't created in a lab - as always worth reading @peterdaszak.'

He also quietly assisted scientists writing the Proximal Origin commentary in Nature Medicine, published in March 2020, in which the authors stated they did 'not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible'.

Dr Farrar was never credited on the paper, but this week's report by House Republicans found that he made direct edits to the paper.

In one email sent by Dr Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, he thanked Dr Farrar for his involvement.

'Thanks for shepherding this paper,' he wrote. 'Rumors of bioweaponeering are now circulating in China.'

Dr Farrar replied: 'Yes I know and in US  why so keen to get out ASAP. I will push Nature.'

At the WHO, Dr Farrar will be the chief scientist with responsibility over the entire Science Division and as a spokesman for science at the agency.

Created in 2019, the Science Division compiles evidence to improve health for people in all 194 WHO member countries.

During the Covid pandemic, it worked to bring together information on the virus, its treatment and prevention. The Science Division says online that it is also involved in 'countering the infodemic of misinformation'.

Two major US agencies  the FBI and the US Energy Department  now say Covid escaped from a lab in Wuhan, although they do so with 'low confidence'.

The director of the FBI also said last week that the theory was credible, saying that the 'origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab accident in Wuhan'.

And a bombshell Senate report concluded in October that Covid 'most likely' leaked from a lab in Wuhan.

There is no direct evidence yet that Covid leaked from the Wuhan lab.

But the research facility - world-famous for its work on bat coronaviruses - is less than 10 miles from an animal slaughter market where the first human case series was clustered.

Some experts also claim that Covid's unique spike protein, which it uses to infect people, shows hallmarks of human engineering.

China has deleted databases and records from the lab and repeatedly refused access to scientists investigating the origin of the Covid pandemic.

The US was funneling millions into the Wuhan lab through the EcoHealth Alliance organization, a New York-based group that funds global research into viruses. It is headed by Dr Daszak.

A report by the US Office of Inspector General in January found that the National Institutes of Health - which awarded these funds to EcoHealth - did not properly monitor how they were used.

One particular worry is that the WIV could have been performing 'gain-of-function' research without receiving proper approval.

The highly controversial and potentially dangerous research is heavily regulated in the US, only allowed to be performed in labs with top security protocols in place.

The WIV had previously suffered issues with following proper protocols when doing this type of research.

A US Senate report in October pointed out multiple instances of biosafety and

Nonetheless, many scientists do still back the zoonotic origin argument as being the most likely emergence of Covid.

Dr Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia in the UK, said he felt the evidence still pointed much more strongly to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

'Most of my career I have been involved in investigating the causes of outbreaks of infectious diseases and the nature of such investigations rarely gives absolute proof of cause,' he said. 'Most of the time it is the balance of probabilities.'

'As regards the Covid outbreak the balance of probabilities is very much against this being a lab leak and in favor of this being linked to the Huanan seafood market.'

The World Health Organization and the Wellcome Trust have been contacted for comment.
Shining a red light on to the genitals for just 60 seconds could boost a mans libido.

The treatment involves beaming the light from a special torch through the skin of the penis after a compound is injected into the area.

The compound, known as NORD-1, reacts to the light by releasing nitric oxide, a gas that helps blood vessels to dilate  boosting blood flow to the penis and improving erections.

A new study shows the technique is effective in animals  and the Japanese scientists behind it believe it could work just as well in men who fail to respond to drug treatments. They hope to begin human trials in the next couple of years.

An estimated one in ten men experiences erectile dysfunction at some point. Causes range from diabetes and hormonal problems to stress and depression.

Shining a red light on to the genitals for just 60 seconds could boost a mans libido

An estimated one in ten men experiences erectile dysfunction at some point. Causes range from diabetes and hormonal problems to stress and depression

Medications  such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra  help some men by dilating the tiny blood vessels in the pelvic area, allowing more blood to reach the penis. But around a third of men who take these pills experience no improvement.

In these cases, the only other options are to inject drugs straight into the penis  which can be painful and difficult to self-administer  or use a pump that manually increases blood supply to the organ.

DID YOU KNOW? Just two hours of exposure to traffic fumes can hinder brain function, according to a recent study in the journal Environmental Health. Researchers in Canada exposed 25 adults to diesel exhaust and filtered air  and measured brain activity before and after. Scans revealed decreased functional connectivity in brain regions that play important roles in memory and other processes after diesel exhaust exposure. Advertisement

Red light therapy could potentially be another option, according to the results of a study published recently in the World Journal of Mens Health.

In tests it involved injecting the compound NORD-1, a synthetic chemical that only releases nitric oxide (through a chemical reaction) when it is exposed to red light, into the genitals of rats with erectile dysfunction.

Simply injecting nitric oxide itself into the body to dilate blood vessels is not a solution as it can cause unwanted side-effects, such as low blood pressure.

But this way, nitric oxide is released only when the light is shone on to genitals, making it safer. (And unlike other injection treatments for erectile dysfunction, this would be given now and then, rather than every time a man had sex.)

Researchers at Nagoya City University in Japan monitored changes in rodents after injecting NORD-1 into the penis and flashing red light for just 60 seconds.

After four weeks, the results showed a significant improvement in the frequency and duration of erections after red light therapy.

Tests also showed erections improved even after nerve damage similar to that seen in men who undergo surgical removal of the prostate due to cancer.

Researchers said this raises hopes that men whose sex lives have been affected by prostate cancer surgery could, in future, revive their libidos using red light therapy. Professor Paul Chazot, a scientist at Durham University, who is researching the red light therapy in dementia (to improve blood flow to the brain), said: Nitric oxide release can be beneficial in several clinical situations  including erectile dysfunction. So this could potentially be useful. But these findings are in rats and may not extrapolate well to humans.
A controversial 'miracle cream' used to treat vitiligo could soon be offered on the NHS.

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin condition caused by a lack of melanin and results in white patches on areas such as the face and fingers.

Ruxolitinib has been hailed as a wonder drug by some patients because it can return the skin to its natural colour.

Drug regulators at the MHRA are now weighing up whether it should be approved or not in Britain. One sufferer said the drug could be 'the light at the end of the tunnel'.

But ruxolitinib, branded as Opzelura, is controversial due to its serious potential side effects, such as cancer and blood clots.

A clinical trial of the drug yielded strong results in some people, pictured here is one woman at day one (left), week 24 (middle) and week 52 of treatment (right)

Ruxolitinib has been hailed a miracle cream by some as it can return the skin to its natural colour and could be 'the light at the end of the tunnel' for sufferers

Opzelura, which costs $2,000 (1,600) for a single tube, was approved in the US last year.

The drug has an FDA black box warning on its packaging, saying that it can also cause serious infections, immune system problems, low blood cell counts, and increases in cholesterol.

Opzelura must be prescribed by doctors, rather than sold over the counter, as the treatment requires monitoring by medics.

The National Institute for Care and Health Excellence (NICE) is planning assess the risks and benefits of the drug to determine whether the cost of it being provided to patients on the NHS can be justified.

European regulators could also be set to recommend it to people aged 12 and over.

Teacher Joti Gata-Aura, who is Indian, has lived with the condition for 20 years.

She told the BBC that due to her vitiligo, her 'identity was stripped' and that she was constantly searching for treatments.

'People are going through what I went through 20 years ago,' she said.

'This could be light at the end of the tunnel for many people.'

The cream is to be applied to un-pigmented spots of the skin twice a day. It is not to be used on more than ten percent of the bodies surface area.

It may take around 24 weeks for the drug to show its effectiveness in many patients. For some it could take up to a year to reach its maximum potential.

The drug showed promise in recently completed Phase 3 clinical trials, which included 600 participants.

Those that used the cream showed visible improvement in the colour of their skin, with half reaching the threshold of successful re-pigmentation after a year.

Vitiligo is caused by the person's own body attacking melanin-producing cells in the skin, mistaking them for foreign invaders.

The condition affects around one in 100 people in the UK and roughly one in 200 in the US.

About 50 per cent develop their first symptoms before the age of 20, though it's not clear why.

Model Winnie Harlow, who started developing vitiligo when she was around four years old, told Cosmopolitan last year that it was 'incredibly isolating as a child'

However, 'stressful' events, such as childbirth, exposure to certain chemicals or even cuts to the skin, may trigger it, according to the NHS - there is also a genetic risk.

There is no cure, but some treatments can reverse pigment loss if used early enough.

Model Winnie Harlow, who started developing vitiligo when she was around four years old, told Cosmopolitan last year that it was 'incredibly isolating as a child.'

'I vividly recall being in third grade and trying to befriend two girls who would run away from me because their mothers didn't want them to 'catch' what I had, as if I were contagious,' she said.

However she said she credits her loving family for her confidence and feels her skin has been one of her 'greatest gifts'.
The NHS won't meet a key cancer target for another year, bosses expect.

Government plans set out that the number of cancer patients starting treatment within two months of an urgent GP referral should return to pre-Covid levels by March 2023.

Knock-on effects of Covid saw the backlog of patients waiting beyond 62 days spiral to a record high of 34,000 last summer  more than double levels seen before the pandemic struck.

Health bosses today admitted that despite orders to bring the figure back down to pre-pandemic levels by this month, they won't meet the target for another year.

Leading oncologists told MailOnline that the move is 'absolutely unacceptable' and 'deeply concerning' for cancer patients.

NHS cancer data for December shows that just six in 10 started treatment within two months from an urgent GP cancer referral (red line), leaving 5,381 (blue line) patients waiting more than 62 days for cancer care

Dame Cally Palmer, NHS England's national cancer director, was quizzed by MPs on when the 62-day target would come down

Dame Cally Palmer, NHS England's national cancer director, was quizzed by MPs on when the 62-day backlog would come down.

She said the health service is discussing a target of March 2024 with Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

This is 12 months later than the March 2023 target set out by former Health Secretary Sajid Javid in the Elective Recovery Plan in February 2022, when he also declared a national 'war on cancer'.

Dame Cally said the NHS has made 'very significant progress', bringing the backlog down from a record high of 34,000 last summer to 31,000 in November and 23,500 last week.

She said: 'We have dropped by around 10,000 but there is still further to go.'

The cancer boss blamed the record levels of urgent cancer referrals since March 2021 for the spike in the number of people on the cancer backlog.

Between 200,000 and 250,000 people  which is record levels  are now referred for suspected cancer every month, MPs were told.

Less than 3% of NHS England trusts hit cancer waiting-time targets - as campaigners warning of 'shocking gap in care' Of 125 hospital trusts in England analysed, only three (2.4%) hit the target of treating 85 per cent of patients within 62 days of an urgent referral Advertisement

The increase has been linked to patients who put off seeking care during the pandemic now coming forward, growth in cancer rates and public awareness campaigns or high profile cases.

MPs were told there was a 'big surge' in suspected bowel cancer cases after the death of Dame Deborah James.

While only around six per cent of those in the backlog will actually have cancer, Dame Cally admitted it's an 'obviously very anxious' time and medics are working through the queue 'as quickly as possible'.

Latest NHS data for December shows that just six in 10 patients (61.8 per cent) start treatment within two months following a urgent GP referral.

It means 5,381 patents were forced to wait longer than 62 days to receive vital surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Professor Pat Price, a leading oncologist and co-founder of the #CatchUpWithCancer campaign, told MailOnline that the missed deadline proves 'cancer has slipped down the agenda'.

She said: 'It is absolutely unacceptable that, once again, there is no plan for bringing the cancer backlog down.

'As we know, this cancer crisis is the deadliest and most time-pressing of all health backlogs.

'Even more heartbreakingly, the targets to reduce these numbers have been pushed back  yet again  proving that cancer has slipped down the agenda.

'This is deeply concerning for cancer patients.

'We urge the NHS and the Government to release a specific cancer plan, which prioritises cost-effective and immediate solutions, such as radiotherapy.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, told MPs: 'I don't think anybody is comfortable with the fact that we have a large number of people who are waiting too long to get their diagnosis and start their treatment'

This is 12 months later than the March 2023 target set out by former Health Secretary Sajid Javid in the Elective Recovery Plan in February 2022, when he also declared a national 'war on cancer'

'But we are worried that, as today's committee session proves, cancer care in this country will continue to decline.'

Professor Karol Sikora, a world-renowned oncologist, told MailOnline: 'This is utterly disgraceful and shows the poor quality and bureaucratic style of NHS managers

'A similar approach to that used for Covid vaccination could easily applied to clear the backlog within month.'

He suggested paying staff overtime to keep scanners open around-the-clock and getting volunteers in. 'It's time for action,' Professor Sikora added.

Cancer remains the biggest cause of death from disease in the UK, with survival rates lagging behind those of many other developed nations.

Every four-week delay to cancer treatment increases the risk of death by 10 per cent, experts say.

The Covid pandemic had a devastating impact on cancer care, with treatment disrupted and tens of thousands fewer people coming forward for checks.

Dame Cally also told MPs that another target won't be met until March 2024  despite the NHS itself saying it should be met from winter 2021.

End of the hated 8am scramble for a GP appointment: Patients must now get a slot or be referred elsewhere the FIRST time they call While the number of fully qualified GPs in England has overall fallen, the patient population has risen to 62million, meaning more Brits are competing for fewer doctors Advertisement

This target, introduced in 2021, sets out that three-quarters of patients should be told they have cancer, or have cancer ruled out, within 28 days of an urgent referral.

However, the NHS has fallen short of this since it was introduced.

Latest NHS data from December shows 70.7 per cent received a cancer diagnosis within the four-week timeframe. The figure peaked at 74.3 per cent in May 2021.

Dame Cally said: 'We are confident with all the measures we're putting in place that we will meet that [by March 2024].

'We hope to do it much earlier than March 2024 but that's backstop. And that's really important for survival.'

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England's national clinical director for cancer, told MPs: 'I don't think anybody is comfortable with the fact that we have a large number of people who are waiting too long to get their diagnosis and start their treatment.

'What we need to do is contend with a very large number of referrals.'

He added: 'About a quarter of all GP referrals into secondary care are for suspected cancer.

'We have driven down the numbers waiting longer, and the numbers are falling really quite rapidly at the moment as a result of all the work that's gone in.'

Dame Cally also warned that she is 'concerned' about the disruption to cancer appointments due to the 72-hour junior doctors' strikes  which starts on March 13.

She said: 'In the initial industrial action, people worked incredibly hard in the NHS to reschedule patients quickly, and we had a national derogation for chemotherapy and the most urgent cancer surgery.

'I'm concerned about the junior doctors industrial action, and think that will create even further impact for patients.

'Sometimes it's quite hard to reschedule cancer care because it's multiple teams.

'I hugely value the work that NHS staff do to deliver the very best for patients, so I hope it's resolved as quickly as possible.'
The White House is contemplating a mass bird flu vaccine rollout for America's chickens amid a record outbreak, according to reports.

Around 60million birds in the US and 200million globally have been culled to prevent the spread of the H5N1 strain in the past year, driving up the prices of chickens and eggs since early 2022.

There are fears the virus could jump to humans if it acquires dangerous mutations while infection rates are sky-high, with the virus already detected in other mammals such as minks, sea lions and foxes.

White House officials told the New York Times that President Joe Biden is open to the idea of an avian flu vaccine rollout for the nation's birds. It's unclear how many birds would be targeted - with around 10billion chickens alone produced in America each year solely for meat.

The White House is considering a vaccine rollout for the nation's chicken population, hoping to jab the billions of birds produced in the US every year in order to curb the spread of the H5N1 bird flu

Last month, a young girl in Prey Veng, Cambodia, died of the bird flu. Her infection was not from the same strain circulating around much of the world but it did raise alarms for many global health officials+

Fears about the bird flu outbreak reached an apex last month, when an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died from the avian flu and her father also tested positive.

Both were found to have an older clade of H5N1 which was not responsible for the current global outbreak and they were both believed to have been infected by a bird.

But the cases highlight the danger of a zoonotic spillover.

Vaccinating the tens of millions of domesticated poultry in the US could take years, though, and opens other concerns.

The rollout could impact trade and even make it harder to determine which birds have been infected, experts fear.

The USDA did not disclose details about the shots it would use in testing, though there are a few in development.

At the Pirbright Institute in the UK, scientists are developing an improved shot that involves tagging flu virus proteins with a marker that makes them easier for antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to capture.

This generates faster and stronger immune responses to the bird flu strain compared to the inactivated virus vaccine that is the current standard.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin's School of Veterinary Medicine are working on an avian flu vaccine that uses tiny particles even smaller than the width of a human hair to deliver immunity by sending pathogen-like signals to cells.

If an updated shot proves effective, that would open the door to USDA approval followed by a thorough vaccination campaign that seeks to reach the affected commercial poultry industry.

While shots for the purpose of fending off avian flu have been used in the past, the USDA has not approved one for what is considered highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The avian flu of the low pathogenicity category is not uncommon in wild birds and typically causes few or no signs of infection.

There is already an existing shot for fowlpox, a viral infection that leads to lesions on the skin of birds, that many domesticated fowl already receive.

Influenza vaccines are also already given to birds in China, Egypt, Mongolia and Vietnam - areas where strains of the virus are endemic in the poultry population.

But, it is unclear whether those shots would be effective against the circulation H5N1 strain.

Even if it is, vaccinating domesticated birds in the US is an endeavor that could take years. Nearly 10billion chickens are produced in America each year just for meat.

This figure does not include turkeys and other domesticate birds and chickens produced for other purposes.

Dr Carol Cardona, an expert on avian health at the University of Minnesota, told the Times that single facilities with upwards of 5million birds would need over two years to get the job done.

Some industry leaders also oppose a vaccine rollout for the birds.

While it may save the lives of some animals, it opens the door to potential problems too.

If the vaccine only prevents birds from experiencing infection symptoms but not transmission of the virus itself, it could become even harder for farmers to identify affected flocks.

This allows the virus to spread even more, now undetected by humans, and cause more harm to both the poultry population but also increase the likelihood the virus jumps to humans.

The vaccine rollout also opens to door to restrictions on the import and export of birds based on their jab status.

'Although initially appealing as a simple solution to a widespread and troublesome problem, vaccination is neither a solution nor simple,' said Tom Super, a spokesperson for the National Chicken Council, told the Times.

While controlling chicken and egg prices is important to officials, their main concern is the fear the virus will jump to humans.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency still deems the risk of bird flu to humans as low. 'But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo,' he said earlier this month.

Less than 900 cases have ever been recorded of the H5N1 virus in humans and almost all have been a result of animal-to-human transmission.

This occurs when the virus, usually from bird droppings, saliva or another fluid, gets into a person's mouth, nose, eyes or an open wound.

Experts warn that zoonotic transmission of viruses from animals to humans is only becoming more common because of a variety of factors, including deforestation, urbanization, illegal wildlife trade, animal farming and the continued use of wet food markets

In rare cases, like during a small Hong Kong outbreak in 1997, the virus has spread from person-to-person.

While the virus is believed to be constantly circulating among wild birds, the massive swell of cases among domesticated birds has alarmed experts.

Because domesticated birds often interact with humans, the risks of a spillover event are greatly increased.

Experts warn that the virus is adapting in ways that allow it to cause outbreaks in other mammals - increasing the risk it could spread among people.

In October, an outbreak of the bird flu ravaged a population of 52,000 mink at a farm in Spain.

Some of the critters were initially infected by eating meat from birds that died while infected.

There were also signs of mink-to-mink spread of the flu, which is unusual for a mammal population and signals a change to the virus.

In Peru, 716 sea lions were found to have died from the bird flu in recent weeks. Local officials worry that the virus has also spread between the animals - which are also mammals.

There are no treatments designed specifically for humans infected with bird flu, let alone H5N1. Those who fall ill are treated with regular antiviral drugs such as Zanamivir and Peramivir.

In case of an outbreak, the US does have a stockpile of vaccines designed to prevent infection from H5N1.

It is sold under the name Audenz and was approved in 2021 by the Food and Drug Administration for people six months and older. It is a two-dose vaccine.
Yang Geum-deok, 94, left, and Kim Sung-joo, 93, surviving victims of Japan's forced labor during World War II, attend a press conference denouncing the government's proposal to settle the compensation issue, at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



Surviving victims of wartime forced labor by Japanese firms strongly condemned on Tuesday the Korean government's proposal to settle the compensation issue without the direct involvement of the Japanese companies.



Yang Geum-deok, 94, one of the victims, said she will not accept the money if it is not coming directly from the responsible firm, even if she "starves to death."



On the previous day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed a plan to compensate the victims through a public foundation that will be funded primarily by Korean companies that benefited from reparations Japan provided under a 1965 treaty, instead of the responsible Japanese firms.



The arrangement, which aims to resolve a years-long diplomatic tussle between Seoul and Tokyo, immediately drew criticisms from victims and liberal lawmakers for completely ignoring the victims' calls for a fresh apology and direct payment from Japan.









"I will not accept the money even if I starve to death," Yang said during a press conference held at the National Assembly, denouncing the absence of the Japanese firms in the proposed compensation process.



She also called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down, saying that his administration's arrangement with Japan is unacceptable.



The 94-year-old was forced to work at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factory in Nagoya in 1944. She returned home to Naju, South Jeolla Province, in August 1945 after Korea's liberation that year.



Kim Sung-joo, 93, another surviving victim, said, "It was Japan that took us (for forced labor), so who should we demand an apology from?"





Civic groups advocating for victims of forced labor hold a rally at the National Assembly, Tuesday, criticizing the government's proposal to settle the compensation issue without the direct involvement of the responsible Japanese firms. Yonhap
A Canadian brother and sister born at just 22 weeks have been named the world's most premature twins.

Adiah and Adrial Nadarajah were born 126 days or 18 weeks prematurely at Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto, Ontario. They had a combined weight of 1.6lbs (750grams).

Doctors said that if they had been born just an hour earlier then they would not have attempted to save the infants.

The children, who are now a year old and back at home in Ontario, were named the world's most premature twins by Guinness World Records. The parents said that Adrial tends to be thoughtful, while Adiah is babbly and loves to be carried when she is taken on walks.

They overtake the previous record holders, twins born in Iowa back in 2015 who were 125 days early. A full-term pregnancy is usually 40 weeks.

A Canadian brother and sister born at just 22 weeks have been named the world's most premature twins. Pictured above is Adrial (left), sitting on his father Kevin's lap, and Adriah (right), sitting on mother Shakina's lap. The two were born in Toronto, Canada

Pictured above is one of the babies shortly after being born in hospital. Doctors said that if they were born just a few hours earlier life-saving measures would not have been attempted

Happy birthday to twins Adiah and Adrial, new record holders for being the most premature twins  pic.twitter.com/X2h5G5EQrZ  Guinness World Records (@GWR) March 4, 2023

Mother Shakina Rajendram said that she went into labor at just 21 weeks and five days experiencing contractions, bleeding and extreme pain.

She was rushed to hospital where doctors saw her in minutes but said the babies 'were not viable' and had a 'zero percent chance of survival'.

But after an ultrasound revealed the twins were still 'very much alive', had strong heartbeats and were not distressed, the parents pleaded with doctors for help.

They were transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, which could handle babies born at just 22 weeks.

Doctors told Mrs Rajendram to 'hold them in' until they reached the 22-week threshold  even as she had contractions every few minutes  saying they could not help if they were born earlier.

Shortly after midnight on March 4, 2022, Mrs Rajendram said she felt like her waters had broken.

Adiah was born at 1.22am that day, and weighed 0.72lbs (330grams).

Her brother Adrial followed at 1.45am with a weight of 0.93lbs (420grams).

Babies born at 22 weeks old have an about 28 percent chance of survival, studies show.

Among those born just a week later, this rises to 55 percent.

The youngest baby ever to survive was Curtis Means from Alabama, who was born at 21 weeks and one day.

Immediately after birth, the two were diagnosed with brain bleeds. Adrial's was more severe at a grade three. Adrial also suffered lung problems, kidney problems and sepsis.

They then spent the next six months in hospital under the watchful eye of doctors before being discharged.

Speaking about the births, Mrs Rajendram said: 'Amidst all that scenario of being told that the chance of survival is pretty much zero percent, the chance of disability and that to significant disability is really high, we were just clinging to our hope and faith, trusting in God.'

She added: 'We watched the babies almost die before our eyes many times.

It was also her second pregnancy, after she lost her first child a few months earlier.

Immediately after birth, the two infants were diagnosed with brain bleeds. Adrial (left) also suffered from lung problems, kidney problems and sepsis

The two infants are pictured above at home. They were allowed home after spending about six months in hospital

But now the siblings are 'doing great'.

Describing their babies, they said Adiah is a cheerful, fun girl, who likes to laugh and babble and be held while on walks.

Adrial is more thoughtful, they said, and likes to look at things and stare intently at people as though he is trying to learn who they are.
A new study has found that 77,406 learner drivers have already got points on their provisional licences.

Amongst those holding the top spots for the UK's most dangerous learner drivers is a 43-year-old man who has a staggering 63 points, and a 20-year-old who already has 30.

Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to the DVLA from Select Car Leasing, 81 per cent of the motorists with tainted licences are male, with just 19 per cent being female.

The independent car and van leasing specialists also found that 449 drivers over the age of 70 have penalty points on their provisional licence.

A hapless 20-year-old with thirty points already on his provisional has been identified as the youngest driver in the UK to rack-up such a tally.

He's not the worst offender overall, however, with another 43-year-old male having a staggering 63 points on his provisional licence.

A new study has found that 77,406 learner drivers have already got points on their provisional licences. Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to the DVLA from Select Car Leasing, 81 per cent of the motorists with tainted licences are male, and just 19 per cent female

Learner drivers aged between 20 and 29 years old were the most likely to have fallen foul of the law, with almost 30,000 provisional licence holders falling into this category.

Meanwhile, London and the Home Counties were the regions most blighted by learner drivers with points on their provisional - with Northampton and Perth, Scotland, also appearing in a list of top ten hotspots.

A provisional driving licence gives you the permission to drive on UK roads while under the supervision of your driving instructor or another driver over the age of 21 who has held a full driving licence for a minimum of three years.

People can apply for a provisional driving licence when you're 15 years and 9 months old, and can start driving a car on one when reaching the age of 17.

Penalty points can be received on a provisional licence before passing a driving test for all the usual road offences, such as speeding, careless driving or using a mobile phone while at the wheel.

It can take three years for penalty points to expire from a provisional licence, however, any penalty points on your provisional that have not expired will be carried over to your full licence when you pass your test.

If you receive any more penalty points that take you up to a total of six or more, within two years of passing your practical test, you will have your licence taken away until you've passed both your theory and practical tests again.

In general, penalty points, or endorsements must stay on a driving record for 4 or 11 years, depending on the offence.

Drivers can be disqualified from driving if they build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of 3 years, and the ban can last between 6 months and 2 years, depending whether or not they get a subsequent second, or third disqualification.

It is for this reason why some motorists can amass huge numbers of points on their licences.

There are also exemptions and discretions when it comes to people losing their licences, and a court can show leniency if someone can prove 'exceptional hardship' if they have their licence taken away.

Penalty points can be received on a provisional licence before passing a driving test for all the usual road offences, such as speeding, careless driving or using a mobile phone while at the wheel - and it can take three years for penalty points to expire from a provisional licence

Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing, said: 'It's shocking to see so many learner drivers with penalty points on their provisional licences - the stage before someone has even passed their full practical test.

'To see one 20-year-old, at such an early point in his driving journey, having already amassed 30 points on his provisional licence is particularly unsettling.

'We'd urge all motorists, whether they're carrying L plates or not, to keep road safety at the forefront of minds.'

Some of those who feature in the FOI data will be motorists who've been forced to become 'learner drivers' again having had their licences cancelled.

Provisional driving licences held by those identifying as males and aged between 20-29 accounted for almost a third of the total provisional driving licences with penalty points - collecting a total of 170,044 points between them.

This may shed some light on the fact that it's younger drivers who typically pay the highest insurance premiums, with 20-year-olds paying on average 851 per year - around 400 more than the UK average of 436.

While it's illegal for insurance providers to discriminate based on gender, on average women find cheaper premiums than men, with male drivers paying around 17 percent more than their female counterparts.

When it comes to motorists who identify as female, there were two individuals on provisional licences with 23 points - who were aged 46 and 63 years old.

Female motorists aged between 30-39 have the highest number of penalty points on provisionals, with 4,353 motorists in total.

The oldest learner drivers with points on their licences are a 92-year-old female with three points and a 91-year-old male motorist with nine points.

Graham Conway added: 'This study serves as a reminder that all drivers, regardless of age or gender, and whether they're provisional or full licence holders, must follow traffic rules and regulations in order to keep all road users safe.'

Select also recognises that there's currently a backlog for driving tests - where students can face waiting times of up to six months.

He added: 'Long lead times for tests could result in learner drivers relying on family and friends to guide them, rather than regularly paying for expensive driving lessons.

'But this could in turn lead to them picking-up poor habits from 'instructors' who don't have the professional skills to be able to point-out errors.'
The London Metal Exchange (LME) is being sued by a group of hedge funds for 80million after cancelling billions of dollars worth of nickel trades.

LME, the worlds biggest metal exchange, suspended nickel trading after a dramatic price spike last March, outraging investors.

AQR Capital Management, DRW Commodities, Flow Traders, Capstone Investment Advisors and Winton Capital Management are seeking damages for their alleged losses.

Legal fight: LME, the world's biggest metal exchange, suspended nickel trading after a dramatic price spike last March, outraging investors

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which owns the LME, insisted the claim is without merit.

The LME is also facing a lawsuit from New York hedge fund Elliott Associates, which is seeking damages worth 379million, while Jane Street Global Trading is pressing for 12.7million.

Nickel trading was suspended after prices doubled to more than $100,000 a tonne in just a few hours  a surge that industry insiders have blamed on short-covering by a producer.

The UKs financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, has launched a probe into the LME for possible misconduct.
A leading software company has become the latest London-listed firm to set its sights on a move to New York.

In a fresh blow to the City, Wandisco is exploring an additional listing in the US.

The 875million cloud computing specialist, whose technology helps businesses move and analyse data, said it will hold on to its listing on Londons junior Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

In a fresh blow to the City, cloud computing specialist, Wandisco is exploring an additional listing in the US

But the move by Wandisco, which was set up in Silicon Valley in 2005 and has headquarters in Sheffield and California, has raised further questions about the attractiveness of being listed in London.

Its plans to explore a US listing  despite its shares rising more than sixfold on AIM in less than a year  follow high-profile snubs for the Square Mile.

British microchip designer Arm last week said it will float its shares solely on Wall Street, dashing hopes of a dual listing. Its Japanese owner SoftBank was said to have been put off by City rules around disclosing third-party transitions.

Meanwhile, the 30billion building materials giant CRH plans to move its shares to the US.

Its a move that seems to make sense for a company that does so much business State-side, but it hints at further dissatisfaction with Londons ability to cut it as a global financial superpower, said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

London-listed Paddy Power owner Flutter and education group Pearson are also considering an additional listing in America, and oil giant Shell explored moving to the US before eventually deciding against.

Analysts said companies are tempted across the Atlantic by better access to capital and higher valuations, raising fears the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is losing its appeal.

Iain McDonald, founder of investment advisory firm Belerion Capital, said: There is zero surprise that Arm has chosen New York, and many other businesses, particularly where the majority of their operations are in the US, will follow.

He said if firms like Arm do not list in the US they will simply be acquired by better capitalised, higher-rated US competitors.

Tweaks to UK stock market rules and proposed reforms aimed at unleashing vast sums of cash held by the pension industry have failed to stem the flow of British firms going abroad.

LSE chief executive David Schwimmer last week said: Theres no one silver bullet in terms of dramatically changing the market environment.

And Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said that Wandiscos planned New York listing showed how much allure Wall Street holds.

She added: The sentiment remains strong that investors in the States have more appetite for high growth firms which helps push up valuations, despite the resilience of the London market over recent months.

The City has been pedalling hard to attract new IPOs with help from the Governments listing rules shake-up, but its an uphill struggle.

Streeter added that as worries mount about the global economy, firms are more likely to take a chance in New York for their public futures.

Wandisco said it has long stated its plans to consider an additional listing in America.

The company adding that it remains committed to keeping its London listing.
One of Credit Suisses biggest shareholders has sold its entire stake in the scandal-hit bank.

US investment manager Harris Associates at one stage owned 10 per cent of Credit Suisse  but deputy chairman David Herro said it started to cut its exposure in October after Credit Suisse raised 3.6billion from investors and when Saudi National Bank supplanted it as the top investor.

There is a question about the future of the franchise. There have been large outflows from wealth management, Herro told the Financial Times.

Selling up: US investment manager Harris Associates at one stage owned 10% of Credit Suisse  but deputy chairman David Herro said it started to cut its exposure in October

We have lots of other options to invest, he added. Why go for something that is burning capital when the rest of the sector is now generating it?

Credit Suisse said: We are ahead of our plan and have clear strategic objectives.

The bank, Switzerlands second biggest, has also begun a major overhaul of its business, cutting costs and jobs to revive its fortunes, including creating a separate business for its investment bank under the CS First Boston brand.

Credit Suisse last month reported its biggest annual loss since the 2008 global financial crisis after rattled clients pulled billions from the bank.

It has warned of a further substantial loss this year.
The boss of Swiss banking giant UBS enjoyed an 11 per cent boost in his total pay package to nearly 11million last year, despite reducing its bonus pool to share among staff.

Ralph Hamers, the chief executive, took home 12.2m Swiss francs (10.9million) as net profit rose 2 per cent year-on-year, it revealed in its annual report.

That was 11 per cent higher than the 9.8million he pocketed in 2021. The bank, which operates globally, raked in a net profit of 6.8billion in 2022, up 2 per cent on 2021, after finishing the year with a record volume of loans and deposits across its customers.

Pay rise: UBS boss Ralph Hamers (pictured), took home 12.2m Swiss francs (10.9m) as net profit rose 2% year-on-year

However, colleagues bonus pot hit 2.9billion, down 10 per cent from the 3.25billion awarded over 2021.

Bonuses generally reflect the groups financial performance, as well as the performance of certain divisions, teams and individuals, the bank said.

It came despite the bonus pool for UBSs group executive board increasing by 2 per cent in Swiss franc terms. UBS said it was making progress towards goals of increasing female and ethnic minority representation.

Women had 28 per cent of director and above roles globally, and ethnic minority staff held 23 per cent of director and above roles in the UK.

Geopolitical events look likely to remain a concern for investors, it cautioned, given Russias war in Ukraine and tensions between China and the US.
Estate agency Foxtons has said falling mortgage rates could result in a more robust housing sales market during the latter half of this year.

UK property demand began to fall back from recent highs last September following then-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-Budget, which sent mortgage rates spiralling and damaged consumer confidence.

This led to a decline in Foxton's under-offer sales pipeline, with a typical home sale taking over four months to finalise.

Optimistic forecast: Estate agency Foxtons has said falling mortgage rates could result in a more robust housing sales market during the latter half of this year

The group's sales revenue rose by just 1 per cent to 43.2million last year even as its average selling price increased by 13,000 to 590,000.

But Foxtons said on Tuesday that falling mortgage rates in recent weeks have led to a rise in buyer enquiries and may produce a more advantageous sales market towards the end of 2023.

The London-focused group also expects the UK rental sector to be kept buoyed by high prices resulting from demand outstripping supply levels over the short term.

Most of Foxtons' turnover growth last year derived from its lettings business, thanks mostly to a 25 per cent jump in revenue per rental transaction offsetting a drop in volume sales.

Private rental prices grew by about a fifth in 2022, according to Foxtons, as rising borrowing costs put many Britons off buying houses and loosening Covid-19 restrictions brought a return of workers and students to the capital.

Rents have also been pushed up by a housebuilding shortage, soaring energy bills, and landlords exiting the rental market.

Foxtons' revenues were further lifted by the acquisitions of the Douglas & Gordon lettings portfolio, bought in mid-2021, and the Gordon & Co and Stones Residential estate agencies acquired last May.

Combined with the disposal of its loss-making D&G sales division, this helped the company return to a 9.6million profit, having made a 1.3million loss in the previous 12 months.

Investors are set to collect a 0.7p per share final dividend, representing a doubling of the group's full-year dividend payments on the previous year.

Chief executive Guy Gittins said the firm had made 'good financial progress,' adding that it had 'strong' underlying foundations from which to achieve additional growth.

After taking over at Foxtons six months ago from rival Chestertons, Gittins launched a now-completed review that he said had already led to enhancements in its front-end operations.

He added: 'Core operational failings have throttled historical performance and prevented significant unfilled potential from being realised.

'Operational improvements are being made at pace to rebuild our competitive advantages, including embedding a more confident articulation of our brand, investing in revenue-generating headcount and improving our data platform to fully harness the power of our industry-leading database.'

Foxtons shares were 4.4 per cent up at 43p on Tuesday lunchtime, meaning their value has grown by approximately 42 per cent so far this year.
Premier Foods shares jumped on Tuesday after the Mr Kipling owner raised its earnings guidance, thanks to continued strong trading since the start of the year.

The group, which also owns Angel Delight and Bisto gravy, forecasts fourth-quarter turnover to grow by at least 10 per cent due to strong grocery demand, as well as high overseas sales and improving confectionery revenues.

This follows a bumper trading performance in the previous three months when price hikes offset rising costs whilst failing to dent consumer spending over Christmas.

Angel Delight and Bisto gravy owner Premier Foods forecasts fourth-quarter turnover to grow by at least 10 per cent due to another strong result from its grocery business

As a result, the company now anticipates a trading profit of around 155million for the financial year running to the start of April, equivalent to a 10 per cent rise on the 141.2million made last year.

Premier Foods shares had risen by 11.65 per cent to 128.4p just before close on Tuesday, making them the second-best performer on the FTSE 350 Index behind Scottish engineering specialist Wood Group.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the St. Albans-based firm's shares have more than tripled in value as the temporary closure of hospitality venues for much of 2020 and 2021 encouraged more people to cook meals at home.

Products like Sharwood's cooking sauces, instant noodle brand Nissin, and Mr Kipling cakes have become particularly popular with customers during that time.

Chief executive Alex Whitehouse also claimed in November that Premier Foods's affordable ranges have seen their sales boosted by cost-of-living pressures spurring more consumers to forego pubs and restaurants.

Though loosened trading restrictions have slowed the company's growth, its profits and revenues remain significantly above pre-coronavirus levels.

Higher revenues have enabled the business to continue slashing its once-high net debt pile, which stood at 337.7million as of early October, having been about 470million four years ago and 1.2billion at the start of the last decade.

On Tuesday, Premier Foods forecasted its net debts to be 'broadly in line' with the board's expectations and prior year levels of 285million.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, observed that the business was experiencing 'an exceedingly good time with trading.'

He added: 'The company has shown recent success wasn't simply down to people being stuck indoors during the pandemic and feasting on sweet treats.

'Instead, the company is enjoying the benefits of sorting out its debt problems and being able to reinvest spare cash back into the business to make it more competitive and innovative.'

Founded as Hillsdown Holdings in 1975, Premier Foods's portfolio also includes Loyd Grossman sauces, dried soups producer Batchelors, instant mash potato brand Smash and custard maker Ambrosia.
Giant online money firm Revolut is at the centre of a huge spike in fraud cases. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting customers and using its accounts to carry out sophisticated scams, industry insiders say.

Revolut provides current account-style banking, where users can make payments online and in shops using a debit card.

It now has six million customers, many of whom have been lured by the offer of fee-free spending on its card overseas.

Services: Revolut provides current account-style banking where users can make payments online and in shops using a debit card

The British-based tech firm is believed to be on the cusp of receiving a full banking licence, which will enable it to offer financial products such as loans, mortgages and credit cards.

But a Money Mail probe found that the firm  lauded as one of the UKs biggest fintech successes  is being swamped by scams.

The number of crime reports made to scam reporting body Action Fraud ballooned to 7,198 last year, up 81 per cent from 3,975 in 2021.

That was the fourth highest figure for any firm offering current account-style services, trailing only Barclays, Lloyds and Santander.

This year, the trend has sped up, with 573 crime reports in January alone  making Revolut the most complained-about banking firm other than Barclays, even though it has far fewer customers than mainstream banks.

The Action Fraud data also covers those who have had stolen money funnelled through a crooks Revolut account or had a bogus one set up in their name.

Industry insiders told Money Mail they have seen Revolut customers targeted by convincing phishing links in text messages, which ask them to verify details or face having their accounts frozen.

When victims click on the link and input details on a fake sign-in page, scammers access their account.

In other cases, scam victims have received phone calls from fraudsters posing as banks or telecoms firms, warning them that their account has been hacked. The crooks ask for personal details such as debit card numbers and a copy of an ID, and set up a Revolut account fraudulently in that name.

Other cases involve victims being lured in by fake cryptocurrency brokers online. The criminals advise that they open a Revolut account, as cryptocurrency trading is allowed in its app.

Victims are asked to pay an upfront deposit before they can begin investing, but fraudsters then steal this fee.

Leading the way in digital banking: Nikolay Storonsky, a British businessman who grew up in Russia, set up Revolut

By contrast, TSB and challenger bank Starling have banned cryptocurrencies entirely because of fraud risks. Santander has restricted the amount that customers can pay to cryptocurrency exchanges.

Fraud investigators say that criminals are taking advantage of the simplicity of moving money in and out of Revolut and the speed of setting up an account. Its website boasts how you can set up an account within minutes on your phone. You do not have to visit a branch or fill out extensive paperwork.

Founded by Nikolay Storonsky, 38, a British businessman who grew up in Russia, Revolut offers current account-style banking without Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection or overdraft facilities. The FSCS protects users up to 85,000 if an authorised bank goes bust.

The company has also faced a surge in cases sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the last port of call if a complaint is rejected by a financial firm.

In the first two months of this year, the FOS received 486 new complaints about fraud and scams at Revolut  second only to Barclays and ahead of major banks such as HSBC, Lloyds and Santander. In the same period last year, it received 132 complaints.

Phishy business: Revolut customers are reportedly being targeted by convincing phishing links in text messages, which ask them to verify details or face having their accounts frozen

Revolut had 56 per cent of complaints upheld in favour of customers last year, the joint highest of the ten banking firms in the list.

Just over half of the complaints this year were authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where a victim is tricked into sending money to a fraudster.

In 2018, many major banks pledged to reimburse victims of APP fraud under a voluntary code designed by the Payment Systems Regulator. Revolut has not signed up to the code as it is not currently a licensed bank.

Revolut customers have also complained about difficulties in contacting its customer services team, who can only be reached through the smartphone app.

Last week, auditor BDO highlighted problems with Revoluts accounts. BDO said 477 million of revenue streams  three quarters of its 636 million turnover  could not be verified.

Revolut says its customer numbers have increased significantly since 2019 and complaints have grown proportionately.

It says the rate at which customers approach the FOS is comparable to existing banks.

It says it has made investments in its systems, processes and people to ensure it protects customers as it grows and has several controls in place to prevent scams.

Revolut says it would never call a customer without first contacting them via its in-app chat service.

A spokesman adds: While we are not signed up [to the banks reimbursement scheme], we apply similar standards when deciding to reimburse customers.

t.armstrong@dailymail.co.uk
We have all seen the Aboriginal man whose face has featured on Australia's $2 coin for almost three decades.

But very few of us would know his name or tragic story, despite once being hailed as the 'most publicised Aborigine in Australia'.

An image inspired by Gwoya Jungarai has been on the $2 coin since they replaced banknotes and came into circulation in 1988.

According to the Royal Australian Mint, the design brief for the $2 coin called for 'a representation of the head and shoulders of a traditional Australian Aboriginal, a representation of the Southern Cross and a representation of Australian flora.'

Although the design was not intended to depict any particular person, the face on the coin was designed by Horst Hahne based on a drawing of Jungarai by artist Ainslie Roberts.

Other features were derived from Roberts' imagination and visual memory developed after drawing thousands of images of Indigenous people.

Jungarai was one of the only survivors of one of the last recognised massacres of Aboriginal people, the 1928 Coniston Massacre in Central Australia.

The massacre was led by Northern Territory Police constable William George Murray and held between August and November, in response to the murder of hunter Frederick Brooks, killed by Aboriginal people earlier that year.

An image inspired by Gwoya Jungarai has been on the $2 coin since they replaced banknotes and came into circulation in 1988

Jungarai was one of the only survivors of one of the last recognised massacres of Aboriginal people, the 1928 Coniston Massacre in Central Australia

Gwoya Jungarai caught the world's attention after Roy Dunstan's photograph featured on the cover of Walkabout Magazine in 1936 and again 1950 (pictured)

While official records show 31 people were killed, historians believe the number of men, women and children slaughtered could be up to 200.

Accounts of Jungarai's survival differ.

One described him 'worm[ing] his way out from among the demad and dying' at Yurrkuru to 'narrowly escape death from a hail of rifle fire poured at him by men'.

Another claimed his father was taken prisoner by Constable Murray, escaped and fled with his family to the Arltunga region east of Alice Springs.

However his stepson's oral account of his stepfather's capture and evasion records that a mounted policeman arrested and chained him up before 'carry him 'round to show'm every soakage.

'They leave him... tied up on a tree, big chain... they put leg chain too... Then everybody go out and shoot all the people... They come back and see him  nothing! This chain he broke'm with a big rock and he take off... to mine ...'

Also known as Gwoya Tjungurrayi and Gwoya Djungaraim, the married father-of-three trapped dingoes and made and sold boomerangs.

It has been claimed that when asked how much he charged for handcrafts or odd jobs, Jungarai would answer, 'One pound, boss'.

A Warlpiri-Anmatyerre elder, he became best known outside his people as 'One Pound Jimmy'.

In 1935, photographer Roy Dunstan captured Jungarai in an extraordinary image that millions worldwide would soon see.

Melbourne tourism executive Charles H Holmes described his and Dunstan's encounter with Jungarai: 'During a visit to the Spotted Tiger mica mine out east of Alice Springs, I once met as fine a specimen of aboriginal manhood as you would wish to see,' Holmes wrote.

'Tall and lithe, with a particularly well-developed torso, broad forehead, strong features and the superb carriage of the unspoiled primitive native, he rejoiced under the name of 'One Pound Jimmy'.

The following year, the striking image appeared on the cover of Walkabout, an Australian magazine featuring stories about travel, culture and geography, attracting attention worldwide.

Tourists flocked to Central Australia seeking Jungarai's autograph.

Newspaper reports claim the publicity-shy Jungarai once shaved off his beard to be less recognisable.

His photo graced the cover of Walkabout for the second time in 1950, the same year Jungarai became the first Aboriginal person to be featured on an Australian postage stamp.

In March 1952, the Centralian Advocate stated 'One Pound Jimmy' was possibly the 'most publicised Aborigine in Australia'.

An estimated 99 million stamps with Jungarai's portrait were sold between 1950 and 1966.

Jungarai died in 1965 aged 70.

Aussies were stunned to learn about the role Jungarai played in Australia's history after his story was shared on Facebook.

'Almost every Australian has seen his face. Next time you hold a $2 dollar coin in your hand, take a minute to reflect on Gwoya Jungarai,' the post read.

Gwoya Jungarai was the first Aboriginal to feature on an Australian postage stamp (pictured)

Many admitted they previously had no idea about Jungarai.

'How many would know the history on the $2 dollar coin thanks for the history/meaning behind this indigenous gentleman,' one wrote.

Another added: 'Makes me ashamed of my culture and history. It's sometimes embarrassing learning Australia's history that was very quickly rewritten, covered up and concreted over.'

A third wrote: 'Should be recognised on all Australian coins, rather than members of a royal dynasty that banished their own citizens to a foreign land.'

Others called for Jungarai's story to be taught in schools so his legacy is passed onto future generations.

'These stories should be taught at school this is our history,' one wrote.

'The truth hurts,' another said.
Rep. Sim Sang-jeung of Justice Party speaks during a rally hosted by a civic group in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, June 16, 2021, against the central government's plan to introduce a second airport on Jeju Island. The placard below Rep. Sim reads "Cancel the plan for a new airport on Jeju!!" Korea Times file



With environment ministry's approval, local division intensifies



By Ko Dong-hwan



Despite the environment ministry's conditional approval of a plan to build a second airport on Jeju Island, the already long-delayed project still seems to have a long way to go before construction begins due to unceasing protests from those accusing the ministry of giving up on its primary role of preserving the country's natural environment.



Ever since the plan was first proposed in 1990, opening another international airport for the global tourism hotspot has been a hot-button issue.



One of the conditions set by the ministry is that local residents' complaints and requests should be taken fully into account in planning the project. Other conditions included resolving the issues of preserving natural habitats for birds and narrow-mouth frogs on the island and conducting thorough studies on the possibility of noise pollution and damaging the island's unique groundwater with high mineral concentrations.





Environment Minister Han Wha-jin talks to officials at the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Environment



"We cannot agree on the environment ministry's decision that lacks scientific explanations and was politically motivated," a group of Jeju residents said in a statement issued Monday. "Nothing on the island has changed since 2021 when the environment ministry rejected the airport proposal by the land ministry. The reason for the rejection was simple: environmental damage from the new airport will not be restored by human efforts no matter how advanced the technologies are. We haven't seen any efforts by the government to prevent that expected degradation."



The group said the project's fate should be decided by the island's residents. They demanded that Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon hold a local poll and let the result speak for itself.



Another civic group protesting the project said the new airport will push ahead a series of excessive urban development projects across the island, causing land prices to spike and deplete groundwater resources.



"Since the new airport will put many local islanders' lives at stake, they should be the ones deciding whether to OK the project or not," the group said. "And that right should be demanded and protected by the island's governor and lawmakers."



Rep. Lee Eun-joo of the minor progressive Justice Party said Tuesday the strategic environmental impact assessment report by the land ministry, according to the National Institute of Ecology, proved the project should be modified to preserve the natural habitat for narrow-mouth frogs, while the environment ministry ignored that finding. The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements demanded Tuesday that Han step down from her seat.



Proponents of the project, meanwhile, said the environment ministry's latest decision should be the turning point for the island to stop fighting and start working together.





Jeju International Airport is bustling with passengers waiting for their flights, Jan. 27, after heavy snowfall canceled many of the scheduled flights. Newsis
A tiny bronze Buddha statue found in Western Australia will be auctioned for $100,000 after experts confirm the Chinese relic dates back some 600 years.

Asian art expert Lee Young, owner and managing director of Dore and Reese auctioneers in the UK, examined the infant Buddha during a recent episode of the UK's Antiques Roadshow TV program.

Mr Young determined the small figurine hailed from China's 15th-century Ming Dynasty, making it a rare 'world treasure'.

Its finders, film makers Shayne Thompson and Leon Deschamps from Shark Bay on Australia's north-west coast, will auction the relic with a reserve price of $100,000.

'Occasionally, an item comes our way that has an amazing story that makes it almost a world treasure,' Mr Young told co-finder Deschamps.

Experts have confirmed a infant Buddha statue found in Western Australia is from China's 15th-century Ming Dynasty (pictured)

'Let's clear this up straight away. Yes, it is Ming... and yes, it is the infant Buddha.'

'There is an example of one of the infant Buddhas in the Imperial collection, the palace collection... this would have [belonged to] somebody of some standing.'

Mr Young explained that without historical significance, the piece would fetch a pre-sale price of up to $9,000.

However, its value drastically jumps to $175,00 if linked to the 15-century Chinese dynasty.

'All of us collectors are history hunters. And I can see people getting sort of scooped up in this,' Mr Young said.

'Even if it made 100,000 [$175,000] I don't think I'd be that surprised. Because there is only one of these with that story.

'I mean... I'm actually honoured to have been as close to this as I am... it's history-making.'

Deschamps and Thompson discovered the statue in 2018 in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia while filming a documentary retracing the steps of early 1800s' French explorers.

The pair, who together run Finn Films, were looking for objects left behind during a Napoleonic-era voyage when their metal detector pinged.

They gradually unearthed the Buddha's bronzed buttocks and gently removed the relic - which weighs 1kg despite its small size - from the red sand.

Asian art expert Lee Young examined the relic - which weighs 1kg despite its small size - in an episode of UK's Antiques Roadshow and labelled it 'a world treasure' (pictured)

Deschamps and Thompson believe the statue is evidence suggesting Chinese fleets arrived in Australia earlier than previously thought.

It's argued the Buddha was left behind by the 1421 Ming treasure voyage, in the fleet of admiral Zheng He - a Chinese explorer who made several epic voyages during the 15th century.

If confirmed, the Buddha's origin suggests the Chinese visited the region almost 200 years before European traveller Dutchman Dirk Hartog landed in 1616.

Deschamps and Thompson told The Age more than $50,000 was spent on determining the statue's origins, with the pair conducting laboratory research and traveling to interview scientists and academics.

'In the last four years, it has cost us significant personal capital and time to be able to investigate and protect the Buddha appropriately,' they said.

'The Buddha is currently offshore in an expensive high security private commercial location. We want it to find a home with a culturally appropriate owner who will hopefully publicly display the Buddha in either Australia or China.

'If we had not continued with our self-funded research then this discovery would never have been confirmed as a priceless antiquity and an incredible and proud part of Australia and China's shared regional history.'

Retired WA Museum fellow and corrosion expert Dr Ian McLeod said he believed the statue had been buried for more than 100 years.

Western Australian film makers Shayne Thompson and Leon Deschamps discovered the Buddha using a metal detector and gently unearthed it from the red sand (pictured)

Thompson and Deschamps (pictured), who together run FINN Films, will auction the relic with a reserve price of $100,000. The pair believe the statue has historic importance and suggests Chinese fleets arrived in Australia almost 200 years before European travellers

After testing the corrosion found on the statue, Mr McLeod said the figurine had remained in the exact location for decades and was not 'planted'.

'It can be reasonably estimated that the object has been in that environment for very many decades,' Mr McLeod said.

'That is, it has not been planted on the site in an attempt to lure metal detector operators into the belief that they have found some ancient object.'

Since the discovery, the site where the Buddha was unearthed has not been further disturbed and is under surveillance.

The pair hope to find the Buddha's missing index fingers and would like to be involved in providing replicas, research catalogues and funding for future museum exhibits and archaeological digs.
The four Americans who were kidnapped at gunpoint during a trip to Mexico have been identified, as authorities in both countries work to locate them and bring them home safely.

Latavia 'Tay' McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure, friends and family say. She was joined by her cousin Shaeed Woodard, and friends Zindell Brown and Eric James Williams.

McGee and Woodard are the only two kidnapping victims who've so-far been pictured.

The missing friends apparently thought they could split up the driving responsibilities as they traveled from their homes in South Carolina to the country for McGee's surgery.

But when they crossed into the border city of Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas on Friday  the day of the operation  they were attacked by a group of gunmen who apparently confused the tourists with Haitian smugglers.

The cartel then kidnapped the Americans, with video showing the heavily armed Mexican cartel throwing them in the back of a pickup truck.

The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for the victims' return and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Latavia 'Tay' McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure before she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a drug cartel on Friday

McGee was joined by her cousin, Shaeed Woodard, as well as two friends for the trip

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said on Monday she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell, is one of the four victims.

'This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,' she said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. 'To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.'

Zalandria said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied McGee who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery.

She said the group was extremely close and that they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties.

They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, Zalandria noted, and her brother had even expressed some misgivings before the trip.

'Zindell kept saying, "We shouldn't go down,"' she said. It is unclear why he changed his mind.

Her sister, Zalayna, had earlier posted on Facebook: 'I haven't hard from my brother since Thursday March 2, 2023!!

'Last I heard he was riding to Mexico with Tay, Shaeed and Wise!! Now when I talked to him they were in Mississippi, but last anyone has that I know talked to them, they were in Armstrong, TX!! Which is about an hour and twenty minutes from Mexico border!! NOTHING since!!'

Zalayna and her mother, Christina Hickson, also spoke to ABC 15 WPDE about the kidnapping and Hickson said she 'knew immediately' it was Zindell in the shocking video clip.

'I knew that he was a third one that was placed on the truck, at that point, my heart was low.. Because of how they were treating him,' she said.

'They were just slamming them on the truck like they were dead dogs and that was the most heartfelt moment so far.'

McGee's mother said she warned her daughter not to go, to which McGee simply replied, 'Ma, I'll be OK'

Zalayna Grant posted about her fear for her brother's safety on Sunday after not hearing from Zindell Brown for several days

Zindell Brown's mom, Christina Hickson (left) and sister, Zalayna Grant (right) spoke to ABC 15 WPDE about the kidnapping

Meanwhile, Barbara Burgess, McGee's mother, told ABC News that she warned her daughter not to go to which McGee simply replied, 'Ma, I'll be OK.'

Burgess said that on Friday, the day of the scheduled appointment, McGee called her to say she was just 15 minutes away from the doctor.

But when Burgess called McGee later that day, she never heard back.

'Her phone just started going to voicemail,' Burgess recounted.

Now, McGee's Facebook profile  listed as Southerndiva Tay  is filled with messages expressing concern for her safety.

Rachel Evans wrote, 'I pray you come home. This brought me to tears.

'I love you Southerndiva Tay. I have faith you will make it home to see your children again.'

Angel Lay also wrote that when he heard the news, he immediately recognized the victims.

'Southerndiva Tay I'm praying! Guys, I'm praying.' he wrote.

And Quay Gaudrum posted: '[My] brain [is] in many places. I'm going dumb right now worried about you Tay.

'We just talked, man no way, bring my sister and my boys home.'

McGee is seen sitting on the ground after the vehicle she and three other U.S. citizens were traveling on was shot at by kidnappers moments after they drove into the Mexican border city of Matamoros

A gunman acted as a lookout for his cohorts moments after they attacked a mini van with four American occupants and kidnapped them in the northeastern Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday

A video posted to social media on Friday showed men with assault rifles and tan body armor loading the four people into the bed of a white pickup truck in broad daylight.

A woman, now believed to be McGee, could be seen getting led into the pickup truck at gunpoint as another cartel member dragged a man across the pavement.

Two other male victims were then dumped inside the vehicle.

It was unclear from the video whether they were dead or wounded, but at least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck.

A woman driving in Matamoros who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal told the Associated Press she witnessed what appeared to be the shooting and abduction.

She said the white minivan the four Americans were traveling in with North Carolina plates was hit by another vehicle near an intersection, before gunfire rang out, the woman said.

At that point, another SUV rolled up, and several armed men hopped out.

'All of a sudden they [the gunmen] were in front of us,' she said. 'I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, "If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us."

She said the gunmen forced a woman, who was able to walk, into the back of a pickup. Another person was carried to the truck but could still move his head.

'The other two they dragged across the pavement, we don't know if they were alive or dead,' she said.

Mexican authorities arrived on the scene just minutes later.

Updating the public about the situation on Monday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said 'there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained,' without offering details. He originally said the four Americans came to Mexico to buy medications.

Tamaulipas' chief prosecutor, Irving Barrios, also told reporters that a Mexican woman died in Friday's shootings but did not specify whether she was killed in the same gunfight where the kidnapping took place.

Zindell Brown's family is now asking people to share any relevant information with local authorities. O'dell William Brown, his father, said the family is still searching for answers.

'I don't know which way to go right now,' he said. 'We don't know what's what.'

Mexican authorities are seen here investigating the white SUV McGee and her friends drove to the country in

A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe 'do not travel' category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists

The scene illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Shootouts in the city became so bad on Friday that the U.S. Consulate issued an alert about the danger and local authorities warned people to shelter in place. It was not immediately clear how the abductions may have been connected to that violence.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement Monday the Americans were kidnapped at gunpoint and an 'innocent' Mexican citizen died in the attack. He said various U.S. justice agencies were working with their Mexican counterparts to recover the missing persons.

Authorities have provided no other details about the victims.

Mexican National Guard prepared for a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros on Monday

Mexican army soldiers drove through the streets of Matamoros to search for the victims

President Joe Biden had been informed of the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.

Victims of violence in Matamoros and other large border cities of Tamaulipas often go uncounted because the cartels have a history taking bodies of their own with them.

Local media often avoid reporting on such episodes out of safety concerns, creating an information vacuum.

The US State Department has warned citizens not to travel to Tamaulipas. But U.S. citizens who live in the border city of Brownsville or elsewhere in Texas frequently cross to visit family, attend medical appointments or shop.

It's also a crossing point for people traveling deeper into Mexico.
Putin has sent in wave upon wave of expendable troops resulting in fighting reminiscent of the First World War

Advertisement

Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in sodden trenches to repel Vladimir Putin's endless waves of expendable troops in the 'hellish' Battle of Bakhmut  in scenes reminiscent of the First World War.

For months, Kyiv's armed forces have been bravely holding back an onslaught from Russia's military and Wagner mercenaries. Moscow has sent thousands into the maw of Ukrainian machine guns, with troops charging across a muddy hell-scape strewn with the corpses of their own comrades and into Kyiv's trenches.

But the pressure is starting to take its toll, with reports on the ground saying Bakhmut is now encircled from the north, east and south, leaving just one escape route  a treacherous quagmire to the west.

As analysts warn that is it only a matter of time until the city falls, the British Ministry of Defence said today that Ukrainian forces are 'likely to have stabilised' their defensive perimeter as they prepare to make a final stand, with trenches dug and bunkers built.

The fighting is hauntingly reminiscent of the First World War's most brutal battles, when the Allies and German Empire sent wave after wave of soldiers against each other's trenches and machine guns, losing thousands of troops for each marginal gain. Both sides were forced to fight in mud  sometimes chest deep  and slog across open fields under withering fire for months.

Ukrainian soldiers are fighting in sodden trenches to repel First World War-style human waves of Vladimir Putin's expendable troops in the 'hellish' Battle of Bakhmut, in scenes recalling of the horrors of the First World War. Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier wades through knee-high water in a trench close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Sunday

1916: A French soldier wades through the thick mud at the bottom of a trench during the Verdun campaign

2023: Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut on Sunday

1916: A German artillery gun fires towards French positions at Verdun, France. As was the case then, artillery has played a huge part in Vladimir Putin's on-going invasion of Ukraine and the fight for Bakhmut. Bakhmut has been all-but destroyed in the months-long battle, which has seen Russia pound the city into the ground

Pictured: A map showing rough troop position around the besieged city of Bakhmut. Russian forces are closing in from the north, east and south leaving Ukraine's defenders with just one route (west) to escape  across a muddy quagmire. As Russian forces move in, the window to retreat is closing, but Ukraine is determined to continue its defence of the symbolic city

As was the case then, pictures from Bakhmut and the surrounding region in recent days show Ukraine's soldiers crouching down as they engage in trench warfare, sometimes running through knee-high water.

Snipers and heavy gunners peer down their scopes through barren forests, aiming in the direction of Russia's advancing positions, looking for any signs of movement.

Meanwhile, the noise of thumping artillery permeates the region, with images showing Ukrainian troops covering their ears as they fire off round after round. The injured are carried off the battlefield on stretchers to army ambulances, which then must be driven west over treacherously muddy fields.

Such scenes recall the brutal fighting in the First World War, which in its early years saw waves of German soldiers crashed against the defences of the Allies. These roles were later reversed, as the German Empire defended against the Allied advance, desperately clinging on to the territory its armies had captured.

The fighting for Bakhmut recalls the Battle of Verdun in particular. A vast German army moved against a smaller French force to seize the city in what would become the longest campaign of the war, lasting for 302 days. Each side suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties and territory changed hands several times.

Like Bakhmut, the value of Verdun from a tactical point of view was not viewed as being high enough to justify the vast losses suffered by the attacking Germans. Estimates say both sides suffered as many as 400,000 casualties, as each side fought to wear the enemy's resources down so they could not mount assaults elsewhere.

Both sides eventually redirected forces from the region to fight in the Battle of the Somme, and ultimately the French were victorious in defending the city. It remains to be seen if Ukraine can hold on to Bakhmut.

Pictures from around the besieged city also recall the Battle of Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres.

As momentum shifted in the war the Allied forces went on the attack, mounting the campaign in July 1917.

As is the case around Bakhmut, the conditions were brutal, and the battle symbolised the mud, chaos and senseless slaughter on a mass scale on the Western Front. Britain, France and Belgium won the battle, but at the cost of an estimated 300,000 casualties, only to cede back the territory the following year without firing a shot.

2022: A destroyed Russian tank is seen in February near the town of Maryinka, south of Bakhmut, as Ukraine continues to inflict heavy losses on Putin's invading forces and their military vehicles

1917: A destroyed British Mark IV tank is seen stuck in the mud amidst the on-going battle of Passchendaele

2022: Military medics carry a soldier wounded in a battle to an evacuation vehicle near Bakhmut on February 22

1917: Medics wade through the mud deep carrying a wounded soldier on a stretcher in the battle of Passchendaele in Flanders

2023: Ukrainian servicemen rest after leaving Bakhmut, in Chasiv Yar, on March 3. Chasiv Yar is the next town directly West of Bakhmut, and currently offers Ukraine's forces their best route of escape from the besieged city

1917: Three British soldiers take a rest on the battlefield at Passchendaele, in the middle of a mud-soaked plain

2023: Soldiers of the Ukrainian 3rd Army Assault Brigade of the Special Operations Forces (SSO) pose for a photo in a trench near the city of Bakhmut on February 11

1917: British troops at the Menin Road, near Ypres, are seen on October 30 taking a breather in a trench. The British trenches in the area were subjected to particularly heavy German artillery bombardment during the Third Battle of Ypres

2023: An apartment building destroyed by Russian forces is seen in Bakhmut on February 23

1900s: Several destroyed buildings in Verdun on the bank of the Maas river are seen during the First World War

In what has been likened to a First World War 'meat grinder', Russia's generals and Wagner PMC have sent wave after wave of soldiers crashing against Ukrainian defences, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.

After ten months of fighting for the city during which the frontlines barely shifted, Moscow has finally started to make gains in recent weeks. Analysts say it is only a matter of time before Putin takes control of Bakhmut, which may say would offers a more symbolic victory than a tactical one.

While Ukraine has said it is determined to defend 'fortress Bakhmut,' reports and some videos suggest Kyiv's forces there are making a steady retreat from the city, as the cost of their own forces becomes too great.

With Russian now controlling the flanks, analysts fear Ukraine's losses have started to rise, with their losses already high for a city deemed tactically insignificant.

Some suggest that Kyiv is fighting to wear Russia's numbers down  as in the Battle of Verdun  so that they cannot continue their assault, but there are fears Ukraine may also hinder its own future counterattacks.

This has coincided with the winter thaw across the country, where frozen ground gives way to mud, making already treacherous ground  covered in mines, shell holes, wrecks and corpses  increasingly difficult to traverse.

With the city surrounded on three sides, reports on the ground suggest Russian forces have control of almost all paved roads leading West away from the besieged city. Bridges have been destroyed at key crossing points by Ukraine on other routes west to slow Russian advances and protect their retreat.

The last remaining escape route west open to Ukraine's forces will take them down a bombed-out road littered with debris and vehicle wrecks, and through mud-caked fields and dirt tracks that risk turning any retreating vehicle into a sitting duck for Moscow's relentless artillery.

Ukraine's soldiers are now forced to drive tanks, armoured vehicles and medic trucks through these conditions as Putin closes in on his first victory in months.

Footage on the ground has shown the challenging conditions. In one video (pictured), a military truck filled with soldiers is tipped half on its side in a muddy crevice

Pictured: Two armoured personal vehicles are seen somewhere West of Bakhmut trying to traverse a muddy field, as some of Ukraine's forces in the city make a steady retreat

Another clip shows an army ambulance that has also become stuck. The medics are seen transferring a wounded soldier into a different vehicle so that he can be driven away from the brutal battleground. The ambulance is left abandoned in the field

Pictured: A Ukrainian military truck is seen half in a muddy ditch somewhere near Bakhmut

Kyiv insisted on Monday that its troops were still holding out in a 'hellish' fight for Bakhmut, and pledge to bolster its defences in Bakhmut, after reports of withdrawals from the city.

Ukrainian forces fighting to retain control of the salt-mining town told AFP news agency its capture by Russia was inevitable and that some units had already begun to pull back.

Kyiv says the fighting is becoming increasingly difficult and analysts say its forces may have initiated a strategic retreat. But President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top commanders Monday and his office said they favoured 'continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.'

Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat.

However, thanks to the muddy conditions, there is only one viable route out of the city for Ukraine's heavy machinery, which will lead its troops to safety. This route involves limited paved roads, and will require Ukraine's troops to take diversions through muddy fields and along dirt roads to find alternative points to cross rivers.

The bridges that would normally be used have been destroyed either by Ukraine to cover their retreat, or the Russian invaders to trap Kyiv's forces.

Those that get stuck along on the way leave themselves exposed to aerial attacks from Russian forces who are closing in a matter of miles away to the north, east and south.

In order to reach relative safety in the town of Chasiv Yar - seven miles West of Bakhmut - Kyiv's troops must cross fields dissected by rivers and streams, minefields, open ground and territory reported to have a Russian presence.

Upon reaching Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian forces would be able to regroup for another defence, or make a safer retreat further west.

Reports have said one of Ukraine's key supply and escape routes to and from Bakhmut through the nearby town of Ivanivske has come under serious threat by Russian presence. Some reports say it has been lost.

Footage on the ground has shown the challenging conditions. In one video, a military truck filled with soldiers is tipped half on its side in a muddy crevice. An armoured personal vehicle can be seen bringing up the rear, sliding about in the mud, as several soldiers cling to the top.

Another clip shows an army ambulance that has also become stuck. The medics are seen transferring a wounded soldier into a different vehicle so that he can be driven away from the brutal battleground. The ambulance is left abandoned in the field.

Russia was caught out by the muddy conditions this time last year when a 40-mile column of tanks and armoured vehicles failed in its objective to reach Ukraine's capital of Kyiv and, as Putin had hoped, overthrow the government. Many factors were attributed to the Russian disaster that resulted in its forces in northern Ukraine from pulling back entirely, but the weather was key.

2022: Ukrainian soldiers hold the frontline in a partially-flooded trench near the town of Bakhmut, in the east of the country, amid splintered pieces of tree that have been destroyed by Russian artillery fire

1917: British soldiers bearing a wounded man on a stretcher make their way through sucking mud during the Battle of Passchendaele, more than 100 years before similar scenes would return to Europe

2022: A Ukrainian solider wounded by shell fire is treated in a hospital near the frontlines in Bakhmut. Some of the heaviest losses on both sides are being sustained around Bakhmut, many of them from artillery guns as both sides bombard the other heavily an an attritional battle for control of the area

1915: A wounded German soldier is seen during the First World War, which pioneered the use of massed artillery barrages as a means to weaken and break enemy defensive lines before an attack - and left soldiers living with the horrifying wounds that pieces of shrapnel can cause

2022: Bakhmut has seen heavy fighting since the summer, when it became the frontline of defence against Russian forces that had recently captured the nearby cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk - now soil churned up by months of artillery fire, tank tracks and soldiers' boots has turned to a slurry

1917: The Battle of Passchendaele was the third major battle fought near the Belgian city of Ypres, with the preceding years of warfare having churned up soil which then turned to a quagmire with the arrival of late summer and early autumn rains

2022: What was once a forest in Bakhmut is pictured as little more than a collection of sticks after months of heavy bombardment shredded the trees - leaving attacking and defending soldiers with precious little natural cover - and making movement outside of trenches and shell-holes particularly deadly

1917: As Passchendaele began, Allied forces used some 3,000 guns to hurl 4.5million shells at German defences - aiming to learn the lessons of the Somme when the preliminary barrage proved too soft to break the enemy lines. The result was scenes like this, which are now being echoed in Ukraine more than a century later

2022: Ukrainian soldiers load a wounded comrade on to a stretcher near Bakhmut. While exact losses in the battle are not being disclosed by either side, both acknowledge they have been 'heavy'

1917: Passchendaele was not the First World War's bloodiest battle - that distinction goes to The Somme  but it still involved a huge amount of casualties: Roughly 270,000 for the Allies and 225,000 for the Germans, which ultimately proved in vain when all ground gained during the offensive was given up the following year without a shot being fired

2022: Troops from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic  a Russian proxy in Ukraine's east - load a self-propelled howitzer somewhere near the frontlines in Bakhmut, the main focus of the fighting. America estimates that Russia is firing some 20,000 artillery shells per day at the moment  faster than it can produce its standard 152mm rounds

1917: Howitzer gun stuck in the mud near Passchendaele: Passchendaele saw heavy use of artillery by both sides, with British success eventually coming when generals changed tactics to have troops advance entirely under cover of the guns  in much the same way that Russia advanced across Donbas in the summer to reach Bakhmut

2022: New graves are seen at a cemetery near Bakhmut: Experts and analysts believe the battle for this city has become totemic for Russia - the propaganda value of capturing it far outweighs the already-considerable human cost the Kremlin's commanders have expended in the effort

1917: Graves on Passchendaele ridge, Belgium: The battle came to epitomise the futility of the First World War. It took four months of arduous fighting and almost half a million lives to take the ridge, but the following year it was ceded back to Germany without a fight to shorten the defensive line

2022: Volodymyr Zelensky visits Ukrainian troops fighting close to the frontlines in Bakhmut to award medals for bravery, and has said the battle for the city is among the most-intense fighting of the war

1917: King George V awards a Victoria Cross - the Empire's highest award for bravery - to Private Wilfred Edwards for his actions during the Battle of Passchendaele. More Victoria Crosses were awarded for actions on the opening day of the Battle of Passchendaele than for actions on any other single day of combat in World War I

Passchendaele was ruined in the Allied assault, as British and French troops aimed to capture the ridge on which it sat and paid scant attention to the village itself (left). Meanwhile Bakhmut - which had a pre-war population of about 70,000 - is today down to around 7,000 and has been left largely a ruin (right)

A US-based think tank yesterday said defending the city remained 'strategically sound' for Ukraine so long as its on-going defence was consuming Russian manpower and equipment without suffering high casualties of its own.

'Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare,' the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its daily update on the war.

'Russian forces are unlikely to quickly secure significant territorial gains when conducting urban warfare, which usually favours the defender and can allow Ukrainian forces to inflict high casualties on advancing Russian unitseven as Ukrainian forces are actively withdrawing,' the update added.

It noted that the city centre is located on the western bank of the Bakhmutka River, also giving Ukraine an advantage in its defence of the city that has been all-but levelled by artillery during the months-long battle.

The update added: 'Such urban conditions and river features may benefit Ukrainian forces if Ukrainian forces are able to hold the line from Khromove (a settlement on Bakhmut's northwestern outskirts) south to the Bakhmut-Kostyantynivka highway.'

Meanwhile, Washington said that even if the eastern Ukrainian city should fall to a Russian offensive, it would not necessarily give Moscow momentum in the war.

Speaking to reporters in the Middle East, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would not predict when or if Ukrainian troops might leave the city, but that its fall 'won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight'.

'I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value,' Austin said.

Moscow says capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region. Kyiv says Russia's losses in trying to seize a city reduced to rubble could determine the future course of the war by destroying combat power ahead of decisive battles later this year.

Volodymyr Nazarenko, a Ukrainian commander in Bakhmut, said there had been no order to retreat and 'the defence is holding', albeit in grim conditions.

'The situation in Bakhmut and around it is utter hell, as it is on the entire eastern front,' Mr Nazarenko said in a video posted on Telegram.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's office said he had yesterday discussed the operation with his chief of the general staff and commander of ground forces, who both 'spoke in favour of continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening positions in Bakhmut'.

In the latest sign of a feud between Russia's military and the Wagner private army leading its Bakhmut assault, Wagner's boss demanded more ammunition and said his aide had been barred from the military's operational headquarters.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who sent tens of thousands of convicts recruited from Russian prisons into battle around Bakhmut, issued the latest in a barrage of statements that have deepened his rift with Russia's top brass.

Prigozhin said he had written a letter on Sunday to the commander of the Ukraine campaign 'about the urgent need to allocate ammunition'. Yesterday morning he said his representative at operational headquarters had had his pass cancelled and been denied access.

There was no immediate response from the Russian Ministry of Defence. Since the start of this year, the Ukraine campaign has been commanded personally by Russia's top general, chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov.

Prigozhin claimed last week that his men had practically surrounded Bakhmut. But on Saturday he appeared in a video with a gloomier assessment, warning that the front would collapse should Wagner be forced to retreat  although it was not clear when the video was recorded.

He has accused ministry officials of 'treason' for failing to supply adequate ammunition to his forces, something the ministry has denied.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who has kept a low profile for most of the war, has been on a rare visit to his forces in Ukraine in recent days, awarding medals and meeting commanders. Yesterday he visited the eastern city of Mariupol, largely destroyed by Russian forces last year after a months-long siege.

After losing ground throughout the second half of 2022, Russia launched a winter offensive of intense trench warfare, making use of hundreds of thousands of reservists called up late last year.

Ukraine's forces in the city of Bakhmut continued to repel Russia's human wave attacks today knowing they have a difficult escape route from the battleground. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers ride an infantry fighting vehicle along a road not far from Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on March 5

Pictured: A view of the road in Minkivka, Ukraine amid Russia-Ukraine war on March 5 2023. North of Bakhmut. Muddy conditions have set in making moving around the region difficult

Ukrainian Armed Forces helicopters fly over a field outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 5

A Ukrainian APC drives towards frontline positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on March 4

Ukrainian servicemen drive a tank in the village of Chasiv Yar, near the city of Bakhmut in the region of Donbas on March 5

A Ukrainian sniper with the 28th Brigade looks towards a Russian position from a frontline trench on March 5

A Ukrainian infantryman with the 28th Brigade takes cover in a partially dug trench along the frontline facing Russian troops that were 250 meters away on March 5

A Ukrainian serviceman flies a drone to spot Russian positions near the city of Bakhmut, in the region of Donbas, on March 5

Ukrainian medic 'Doc' with the 28th Brigade runs through a partially dug trench along the frontline on March 5

Ukrainian servicemen light a fire with gun powder to get warm near the city of Bakhmut in the region of Donbas on March 5

Apart from Bakhmut, Russia's offensive has produced no notable gains, failing to seize ground in Luhansk province further north and taking heavy losses in particular around Vuhledar to the south.

Kyiv, for its part, has focused mainly on defence for the last three months, trying to inflict high casualties while preparing for a counter-offensive when new weapons arrive and the muddy ground dries out.

The ISW said it was still not clear whether Ukraine would pull out of Bakhmut or stay on to continue wearing down the Russian force. Either way, Moscow's offensive appeared to be reaching its high-water mark.

'The likely imminent culmination of the Russian offensive around Bakhmut before or after its fall, the already culminated Russian offensive around Vuhledar, and the stalling Russian offensive in Luhansk Oblast are likely setting robust conditions for a future Ukrainian counteroffensive,' its researchers wrote.
Anthony Albanese has been accused of breaking yet another election promise as his government pushes new franking credit tax laws that will affect Australian shareholders.

The Prime Minister has already copped political heat over his contentious new superannuation tax policy and now he's facing a new political battle over franking credits - a policy that arguably cost Labor the 2019 election.

The government introduced a bill last month that seeks to restrict the ability of companies to distribute franking credits to shareholders as part of a share buyback or capital raising.

Debate on the bill is resuming on Tuesday, with shadow treasurer Angus Taylor accusing Labor of breaking yet another election promise.

Franking credits are tax credits that prevent shareholders from being taxed twice.

The scheme gives tax credits to shareholders on their dividends, taking into account how a corporation they have invested in has already paid the 30 per cent company tax.

Mr Albanese had previously ruled out major changes to both superannuation and franking credits.

But Labor's proposals would affected those aged over 75 and superannuation funds.

Anthony Albanese's (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) government has been accused of breaking another election promise with major changes to franking credits set to be announced

WHAT ARE FRANKING CREDITS? Franking credits are tax credits that stop 'double taxation'. Companies have already paid tax on their profits when they hand them out to shareholders as dividends. Dividends, which are typically funded by profits, are then distributed to shareholders 'fully franked', with a 'franking credit' applying. At tax time, shareholders get the value of the franking credit as a tax refund. That means they don't pay tax on profits, because a company has already paid tax. This stops double taxation. Advertisement

One major change the government is making would stop dividends from capital raisings being eligible for franking credits.

They would also give off-market share buy-backs the same treatment as on-market buy-backs.

On-market buybacks are when a company buys its shares through an exchange, such as the ASX, whereas off-market buybacks are when a company will offer to buy shares back directly from the shareholder.

The changes set to be announced on Tuesday would result in almost $600million in budget savings over the next five years.

Australians aged over 75, Australian super funds and companies, and charities have been found to benefit the most from franking credits, according to data released by the government last week.

Mr Taylor criticised the changes, arguing they would hurt those who lived off their dividends during a cost of living crisis.

'The Prime Minister and the Treasurer went to the election promising Australians that they 'wouldn't touch' franking credits and yet in 10 months they've added two tax grabs on Australian shareholders,' he said.

'This is just another tax on super. Another tax on Australians' retirement savings. And another broken promise on tax.

'Whether it is franking credits or superannuation, Labor can't control its spending and so it's going after the hard-earned dollars of Australians to pay for its pet projects.

'You can't trust Labor to keep promises and you can't trust Labor to run the economy.'

Bill Shorten brought a policy changing franking credit laws to the 2019 federal election, and later admitted that the plan contributed to his loss.

The Prime Minister promised weeks before the May 2022 election there would no changes to superannuation.

But late last month, he announced his Labor government would stop Australians with more than $3million in super from being able to make contributions and pay a concessional rate of just 15 per cent, from July 1, 2025.
Police denied the claims on Tuesday saying the case was closed

The child had reportedly witnessed the rape of a teen girl

Claims six-old-year child in Alice Springs 'tried to kill himself'

Police have addressed a horrifying claim made by a well-respected Alice Springs businessman after he suggested a young boy tried to take his own life because he'd witnessed the rape of his older sister.

Businessman Darren Clarke, who often calls for greater action on crime in the outback town and has seen his bakery robbed dozens of times, made the claim on Monday in a call to Ben Fordham's 2GB morning radio show.

'A 15-year-old girl was raped in her house. It was witnessed by her six-year-old brother - a pretty traumatic experience for both,' he claimed.

Mr Clarke claimed the six-year-old boy, reportedly so traumatised by what he had just witnessed, then tried to take his own life.

However Northern Territory Police were quick to dismiss Mr Clarke's claim in a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday and said the businessman had 'unnecessarily increased' the family's trauma.

A horrifying claim emerged from the town of Alice Springs (stock image pictured), where a teenage girl was reportedly raped in front of her six-year-old brother

'The Northern Territory Police Force are aware of the comments regarding an alleged sexual assault and self-harm incident,' NT Police Assistant Commissioner Michael White said.

'In November, 2022, police investigated a complex case involving numerous allegations. After speaking with the family members, the allegations were denied and police finalised this matter in February, 2023.'

In making the allegation on Monday, Mr Clarke said he had a 'source' who told him what occurred and the person who informed him was 'so solid, it's not funny'.

'These kids are being left behind Ben and they're just being left behind all the time,' Mr Clarke claimed.

Fordham referred to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's pledge to provide $250million in extra funding for communities throughout the Northern Territory after visiting Alice Springs.

The radio host explained to Mr Clarke that there was 'nothing' in the support package for 'law and order'.

'Obviously when you've got someone being attacked in their own home then there is a lack of law and order. Where did the $250million go exactly?' he asked the businessman.

'We're still looking for it Ben. We don't know mate,' Mr Clarke responded.

'I'm putting a lot of pressure on them now and saw a lot of Indigenous people in the bush. They're putting out, "Where is this money? Where's it going to?" No one knows.'

Businessman Darren Clarke (pictured) made the claim in an interview with Ben Fordham on his 2GB radio show and said the town was yet to receive support from the commonwealth

Mr Clarke said Northern Territory's Chief Minister Natasha Fyles would not disclose where the money would be going.

'The people in the bush, in the remote communities of central Australia, are going to be left behind again,' he said.

Alcohol bans were reinstated in Alice Springs and a number of remote communities across the Northern Territory in early February in an attempt to curb a devastating crime wave gripping the region.

The bakery businessman took a final swipe at the government's proposal to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, saying First Nations people needed urgent help now.

'How long do these young kids in remote communities have to wait for help?' he said.

'You're carrying on about a voice for Indigenous people but you're not listening to them now. You're not helping them now.

'How long do they have to wait? How many more young girls need to be raped?'

If you or anyone you know needs help, please contact LifeLine on 13 11 14
Australia is still waiting to meet its mystery millionaire, with the Perth-based winner of the $40m Powerball yet to collect their earnings.

Four days on from the winning ticket's reveal, all that is known is that the sole division one-winning entry for draw 1398 was purchased in Perth.

The ticket was sold to a single ticket holder rather than a syndicate who is yet to make contact with officials.

Gaming officials are hoping the West Australian long weekend is behind the delay, with the latest uncollected jackpot bringing the total number of unclaimed Perth Lottery HQ tickets worth more than $1m to five.

The winning numbers were 18, 14, 13, 16, 21, 19 and 29 - the Powerball was 18.

Four days on from the winning ticket's reveal the sole winner of the $40m Powerball is still unknown

The winning numbers were 18, 14, 13, 16, 21, 19 and 29 - the Powerball was 18

The ticket is not registered on the Lotterywest player's registration service and was purchased in Perth's metropolitan area on Thursday.

'Lotterywest is waiting to hear from WA's $40m Powerball winner,' the organisation said in a statement on Friday.

'Over the past four weeks of Powerball's jackpot roll, more than $6.4 million has been raised for the WA community thanks to local players buying tickets.'

Lotterywest is the only state government owned and operated lottery in Australia where all profits are given back to the community.

The newly minted multimillionaire has 12 months to collect their winnings before the cash is forfeited and put into a grants program run by Lotterywest.

Australia is still waiting to meet its mystery millionaire, with the Perth-based winner of the $40m Powerball yet to collect their earnings
A social media influencer and self-proclaimed con artist pleaded guilty on Monday to fraudulently obtaining $1.5mn in Covid-related government loans which she used to fund a lavish lifestyle flaunted over Instagram and TikTok.

Danielle Miller stole the identities of more than ten people to set up bank accounts and obtain loans, which she used to travel and for lavish purchases including a Rolex, a Louis Vuitton bag and Dior shoes.

Danielle, the daughter of lawyer and former New York State Bar Association president Michael Miller, appeared before a federal judge in Boston by video from a jail cell to plead guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identify theft charges.

The 33-year-old, who has more than 34,000 followers on Instagram, agreed to give up $1.3mn and serve six years in prison, 16 months of which may overlap with an already ongoing five-year sentence received last year.

The sentencing has been set for 27 June.

Danielle Miller, whose father is a lawyer and former president of the New York bar association

Miller documented her lavish lifestyle on social media before police caught up with her

Miller documented her luxury lifestyle on Instagram through Covid, sharing tours of luxury hotels in California where she used a bank account in the name of one of her victims.

'Honestly, I more so consider myself a con artist than anything,' Miller was quoted as saying in a 2022 New York Magazine article.

The US Attorney's Office said in a news release: 'Miller posted her extravagant use of the fraud proceeds and stolen identities, publicizing her purchasing of luxury goods and renting of luxury accommodations.'

Prosecutors said the stolen money was part of a government scheme to offer loans intended for small businesses.

Originally from New York, Miller is the daughter of a former New York State Bar Association president and a graduate of the prestigious Horace Mann School.

Attorney Michael Miller was also the former president of the New York County Lawyers Association.

He chaired both the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates and the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders.

His daughter was already facing charges in the separate Florida state court fraud case when she was arrested in May 2021 at a luxury apartment in Miami.

During the pandemic, she had allegedly accessed somebody else's online Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) account and used the information obtained to set up a bank account.

She then applied for an Economic Injury Disaster loan, collecting more than $102,000 in August 2020.

This reportedly helped her to pay for $2,390 private flight from Florida to California using a fake passport.

She was eventually arrested again after trying to withdraw $8,000 with a fake passport.

Police reported finding three different driver's licenses with different names using Miller's photo, plus credit cards, six cell phones, and $25,000 in cash.

She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case is an example of fraud that became rampant as the federal government rushed to distribute more than $5 trillion in relief funds to help people, businesses and local governments affected by the pandemic.

More than 1,000 people have been convicted of defrauding COVID-19 relief programs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office said last month.

The White House last week said President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress to provide $1.6 billion in new funding to crack down on fraud tied to the programs.

Miller was previously arrested after trying to withdraw $8,000 with a fake passport

Access to government money set aside during the pandemic encouraged a number of criminal opportunists to try to exploit the system.

In the three years since the pandemic started, 1,000 people have been convicted of defrauding Covid relief programs, according to the US Government Accountability Office.

Last week, the White House said Biden will ask Congress for $1.6bn in funding to clamp down on such cases.

In December, Florida pastor Evan Edwards was arrested, accused of fraudulently obtaining $8.4mn in Covid loans.

Edwards allegedly took advantage of the pandemic CARES ACT to apply for the loans through the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020. His family planned to use the money to purchase a $3.7 million Disney World Resort home.

He was later accused of faking an illness to avoid prison time.
California's governor pledged not to do business with Walgreens after the nations second-largest retail pharmacy barred selling abortion pills in 20 states that prohibit the procedure and the necessary medication for it.

Gavin Newson announced the decision on Monday in a tweet that read, 'We're done,' following the company's decision last week.

The move comes after Walgreens received pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers not to carry the drug, Mifepristone, which makes up half of the combination used to induce an abortion.

'California won't be doing business with @walgreens - or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk,' Newsom tweeted.

Gavin Newson announced the decision on Monday in a tweet that read, 'We're done,' following the company's decision last week

The move comes after Walgreens received pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers not to carry the drug Mifepristone, which makes up half of the combination used to induce an abortion

A spokesperson for Newsom added that the state is re-evaluating its relationship with the retail pharmacy.

'We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls,' Brandon Richards told CNBC.

Newsom didn't offer further details of what his punishment for Walgreens would be. In some areas of the Golden State - including San Francisco - the drug store has already shut many of its branches and blamed soaring shoplifting as the cause.

The move comes just a couple of months after the Biden Administration updated a regulation to allow Mifepristone, part of a two-drug cocktail to induce miscarriage, to be stocked and dispensed at pharmacies to pregnant women with a prescription.

GOP attorneys from these states sent letters to CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Walmart.

In a response, Danielle Gray on Walgreens legal team said: As you know, to become certified by the FDA, participating pharmacies must satisfy a range of safety and risk mitigation requirements to dispense this drug.

At this time, we are working through the certification process, which includes the evaluation of our pharmacy network to determine where we will dispense Mifepristone and training protocols and updates for our pharmacists.

Mifepristones future is tenuous at best. A February lawsuit filed by anti-abortion activists in Texas is challenging the Food and Drug Administration's two-decade-old approval of the drug.

The appointed judge for the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, is a devout conservative and Donald Trump appointee. He is expected to side with the pro-life activists.

Siding with the plaintiffs would significantly disrupt abortion access nationwide. It would affect access to an abortion even in states with no restrictions on the procedure.

It is likely that pro-choice advocates would appeal Kacsmaryk's ruling.

The FDA has loosened restrictions on abortion-inducing medication in recent years.

Medication-induced abortion has been a lifeline for women in blue states and even red states since the Supreme Court eliminated the federal guarantee to an abortion

The combination of drugs, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, became available at local pharmacies at the start of 2023.

Women can also be prescribed the pills via telemedicine and have it mailed to them by an out-of-state provider.

Per the Justice Department, the U.S. Postal Service can legally deliver abortion pills to people in states where the procedure is banned or restricted, saying that federal law allows the mailing of the pills because there is no way for the sender to know for certain whether the recipient would use them illegally.

Medication abortion has become the most commonly used method for terminating a pregnancy.

In 2020, the two-drug method accounted for 54 percent of all abortions in the US, up from roughly 44 percent in 2019.

This is in part due to the rise of telemedicine and a general preference to stay away from doctors offices during the pandemic.

The legal landscape for abortion has been in near-constant flux since the Supreme Court issued a fatal blow to legal access to abortion in the June 2022 decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Abortion-rights advocates in blue states as well as states with restrictions of abortion have been able to take solace in the fact that Mifepristone, a medication that has been proven safer than carrying a pregnancy to term, will always be available with the input of a doctor.

But the lawsuit in Texas, in addition to growing pressure from GOP attorneys - as displayed in this case - severely imperils access to the drug.

For many women, the medication is their only option to terminate a pregnancy.
The former chief on-air medical correspondent for NBC was sentenced to two years probation Monday on charges that he asked a nine-year-old for 'sexually suggestive' photos.

Dr. Bruce Hensel, 71, was arrested in 2019 after accusations surfaced that he texted the daughter of a friend and asked her for nude pictures.

On Monday, the doctor pleaded no contest to the charges which included solicitation of nude photos from a minor.

Transcripts of the text messages included in the filing submitted to the state Medical Board in 2022 found that Hensel asked for pictures that were 'sexy and private.'

'Dr. Bruce, you crossed the line and violated the vow of your profession, which is to cause no harm,' the father of the victim said in court on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The former chief on-air medical correspondent for NBC was sentenced to two years probation Monday on charges that he asked a nine-year-old for 'sexually suggestive' photos

Dr. Bruce Hensel, 71, was arrested in 2019 after accusations surfaced that he texted the daughter of a friend and asked her for nude pictures

The doctor pleaded no contest to charges including solicitation of nude photos from a minor

Hensel apologized and spoke about his faith in court while asking for forgiveness.

'I'm terribly sorry for what happened. I've done everything I can to understand this isolated thing,' Hensel said.

The doctor has repeated his claims that the incident was a one-time thing.

The victim's father at one point said Hensel had betrayed his calling in the medical profession but that the family overall forgives him.

The dad acknowledged the work Hensel has done to improve and recover and expressed his hope the doctor will one day be able to help people again the way he did 'as a physician.'

Hensel ultimately hugged the father after giving his apology.

In their presentation to the Medical Board, officials said Hensel had texted the child repeatedly between March and August 2019.

The doctor knew the young girl through her mother and was discussing financing a movie that would star the nine-year-old.

'I have always been good special friends and you feel safe with me so I will protect you and get you something,' Hensel wrote in 2019. 'They could maybe make you a star if you are willing to take some risks.'

The doctor has repeated his claims that the incident was a one-time thing

'I'm terribly sorry for what happened. I've done everything I can to understand this isolated thing,' Hensel said Monday in court

'I have always been good special friends and you feel safe with me so I will protect you and get you something,' Hensel wrote in 2019, according to records

The judge ultimately sentenced Hensel to two years of probation

In 2022, an NBC spokesperson referred to Hensel as a 'former employee' but declined to say whether he had been fired or if he had resigned.

Hensel worked with the network for more than 30 years and won several Emmys.

Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley had been brought on as a consultant on the case for the doctor.

Cooley told The Times he was retained simply as an expert on policy.

At the time, the ex-District Attorney was leading an effort to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon for being 'soft on crime.'
Australia must be ready for war with China within the next three years as concerned experts warn the Communist superpower is gearing up to invade Taiwan.

A panel of five leading national security analysts warned fear China is setting its sights on invading Taiwan sooner rather than later and Australia will be dragged into a conflict for which it is woefully unready, the experts told Nine newspapers.

'The need to dramatically strengthen our military and national security capabilities is urgent, but Australia is unprepared,' the panel said in a joint statement.

'Most important of all is a psychological shift. Urgency must replace complacency. The recent decades of tranquility were not the norm in human affairs, but an aberration.

'Australia's holiday from history is over.'

Australia must be ready to fight China within three years, a panel of security experts has warned (pictured Chinese special forces conduct training in February)

The statement's signatories are former senior Defence official Peter Jennings, Macquarie University Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies Lavina Lee, former Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, National Institute of Strategic Resilience chair Lesley Seebeck and retired Army major general Mick Ryan.

Australia's apparent complacency in the face of the looming threat of a war between China and the US over Taiwan, which all five agreed would involve Australia as America's ally, could cost the nation dearly.

Professor Finkel warned Chinese military technology should not be underestimated, which he said the US had done at times.

'You might think if the Chinese were going to attack this region, you'd see the troop build-up, the missile build-up,' he said.

'But what if it was a bio-attack, a virus? You'd see nothing.

'We have to invest in our biosecurity, our cybersecurity, our military hardware as if it might happen tomorrow.'

The five panelists agreed China was serious about its threats to 're-unify' with Taiwan, which the mainland's ruling Communist party regards as a renegade province.

China's President Xi Jinping (pictured) could be prompted to carry out his threat of 're-unifying' with Taiwan sooner rather than later, the experts say

They based this on Chinese President Xi Jinping's 'aggressive stance and rapid military build-up', which has given China a 'growing capability and sense of entitlement'.

Ominously, the panel also warned the balance of power was moving rapidly in China's favour compared with the US and its allies.

Russia's invasion of the Ukraine demonstrated that all-out war is a very real threat to international order, the panelists agreed.

'We've just seen [what happens] in Ukraine where authoritarian leaders want to establish their legacy,' Professor Seebeck said.

'This is the tipping point that we're looking at. And this is what really concerns me about the urgency over the next three to five years.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) is set to receive a major defence review and his government have already announced a number of significant Defence weapons purchases

Although the stalled invasion of Ukraine might give China second thoughts about invading a neighbour, the experts paradoxically reasoned it might encourage an earlier move by China, who might see the debacle as providing valuable lessons.

Another reason it could prompt China to move sooner is because the Ukraine conflict is draining potential foes of ammunition and weapons that are being sent to Ukrainian forces.

The panelists also agreed China, which was crippled by its Covid shutdowns and is experiencing economic turmoil, being in a weakened state could also make the Asian giant more immediately dangerous.

'My view is that a weak China is much more dangerous from a national security perspective than a strong China,' Mr Jennings said.

'A weak China thinks, "I might have one shot at this."'

The panel thought that the Defence department had been too timid in alerting Australians to the urgent danger of regional conflict.

If China were to attack Taiwan, Australia would almost automatically go to war in alliance with the US, the panel agreed.

Australia would be an important regional base of operations and could see 200,000 American troops pouring in.

This raises the threat of Chinese missile attacks on Australia's military and other infrastructure, a dire scenario which was highlighted by the late Senator Jim Molan in February.

Senator Molan said Australia could be rendered near defenceless by a sneak Chinese missile attack on the US ahead of an invasion of Taiwan.

Senator Jim Molan (pictured) warned Australia was at risk of an attack

Molan, who was an army major general before entering politics, told Sky News Australia must be ready for such an attack or end up under China's thumb as he gave his last interview before dying from cancer in January.

Federal Labor frontbencher Bill Shorten told Channel Nine on Tuesday national security was the government's top priority but they sought good relations with China.

'We have to work with China, we've always had to maintain our own national security and our own defence interests,' he said.

'People want to hear this morning is the government is doing everything we can in defence and national security.

'Are we also trying to maintain constructive bilateral relations with China? Yes. We'll engage where we can, but disagree where we must.'

The Albanese government is set to release a major defence review and in the lead-up has announced major upgrades in land and sea-based missiles and naval mines.

Although the Albanese government has thawed relations with China the 2021 AUKUS agreement, which commits Australia to a defence pact with the US and Britain and the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines, remains a source of Beijing's criticism.


Seoul plan is also setback from 2015 agreement



Some things are too difficult to accept, no matter how prepared you are.



One such thing is the government's plan announced Monday to resolve the issue of Korean victims of wartime forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 occupation.



Its content had nothing new. Seoul will compensate the claimants first with money donated by Korean companies that benefited from Japan's grants and loans according to the 1965 Basic Agreement.



That was all, however. It contained no follow-up moves from Japan, such as an expression of remorse by Tokyo or consequent participation by the two Japanese wartime employers, Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.



"I hope that the Japanese government will offer a comprehensive apology and the Japanese firms will make voluntary contributions to the fund," Foreign Minister Park Jin said. However, Tokyo said it would inherit previous governments' expressions of regrets (without renewing them) and let the two firms decide on their own (instead of forcing anything).



It was a one-sided diplomatic defeat for Seoul. As recently as January, Korean diplomats said they could not finish the bargaining because Tokyo would not promise corresponding steps. Monday's announcement showed they couldn't move an inch forward for two months. Still, Minister Park said, "the solution was made under our initiative," adding that "the cup has now been more than half-filled."



It was little more than the Orwellian twisting of "losing is winning." The cup is undoubtedly half-empty and will likely remain so if Tokyo's attitude does not change. Park said, unlike previous governments, the incumbent administration could no longer ignore the aged victims' situation. But all three surviving plaintiffs rejected the plan, calling it a "beggarly solution." Previous governments could not do it. We can't help but wonder for whom  and what  does this government struggle so hard.



President Yoon Suk Yeol answered, "It was a decision from a broad viewpoint for the future-oriented relationship." But Yang Geum-deok, one of the three surviving victims, responded by epitomizing the sentiment shared by most Koreans. "Is President Yoon Suk Yeol Korean or Japanese? Does he live for Japan or us Korean people?" she asked. Korea needs to cooperate with Japan  and the United States  for national security and the economy and the future may be more important than the past. But the ignorance of history to this extent is not good for the future relationship.



Even a Japanese civic group said the plan without Tokyo's apology or wartime employers' participation could not be a solution. That shows this issue is also between the conscionable and the unconscionable. Besides, in a rare swift comment on other countries' matters, U.S. President Joe Biden said it "marked a groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States' closest allies." There seems to have been some communication, or connivance, beforehand  as Washington did eight years ago (a hasty accord on wartime sex slavery) or 113 years ago (Japan's annexation of Korea).



The latest plan is a setback even from the 2015 agreement on former sex slaves. At the time, the Japanese government showed some regrets and chipped in for the joint fund. Technically, the plan has also made two critical mistakes concerning future progress. First, by allowing the Japanese companies to get away without direct payment, it agreed with Tokyo's claims that the 1965 normalization treaty solved all problems. Second, Minister Park said this is the last chance to solve bilateral issues, shutting the door for future discussion even if new problems arise regarding Japan's misdeeds during its colonial occupation. Contrary to President Yoon's wish, Korea cannot escape its history.



Minister Park said this is not the end but a new beginning, hoping for Japan's change of mind. However, there is nothing Korea can do to make Tokyo change.



The plan will only sow the seeds for more trouble. The Yoon administration must drop it and negotiate anew.



The best place for that may not be Seoul or Tokyo but Washington.




A popular ocean pool was the scene of a 'Vegas-style' party after pop star Harry Styles paid a visit and heatwave conditions struck.

Residents swarmed to Bronte Beach in the city's eastern suburbs on Monday night as temperatures soared to between 38 and 41 degrees.

It was the first time the Harbour City had eclipsed 38 degrees since November 29, 2020, and the hottest day recorded since late-2018.

Those escaping the heat were surprised by party-style scenes at the baths- with locals on their way for routine laps shocked by the wild scenes.

Bronte Baths, a pool secluded from the beach, was described as a 'full blown pool Vegas style pool party'

Multiple videos were uploaded to TikTok showing young people taking to the water in the black of the night - drawing comparisons to an American-style pool party.

Bronte's baths usually have a couple of late-night swimmers as the town's only ocean pool with lighting but last night huge numbers descending in large groups, coming to relax after a hot day.

'I've only seen it like this on public holidays,' the original poster of the clip said.

'We went there at 9 and it was too busy to swim!' another person noted.

Crowds had finally cleared off by 2am, having burnt through whatever energy was left after the sky-high temperatures of the day.

Part of the popularity may be because of pop superstar Harry Styles quietly making a last-minute appearance at the beach before leaving the country for New Zealand.

Pop superstar Harry Styles made a last-minute appearance at the Bronte baths before leaving the country

Sydnersiders flocked to the beaches of the city's eastern suburbs on Monday

Before the clock hit 12pm, Western Sydney was already facing 34 degree heat with the average temperature towards the CBD ranging in the low 30's. Above, the scene at Bondi

Most of the city sweated through oven-like temperatures. By 4pm AEDT, Penrith in the outer-west hit a high of 40 and the mercury at Sydney Airport his 39.

Temperatures were still uncomfortable, stuck in the high 20s, when everyone was hitting the beach last night. The heat is expected to last until at least Wednesday.

NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Rob Rogers predicted that recent green-growth from the epic downpours could leave the state's countryside in a perilous state.

But along with the perfect beach weather conditions, the risk of bushfires also skyrocketed to their most perilous since Black Summer, Weatherzone reported.

By 4pm yesterday, numerous bushfires has broken out in central NSW, with two reaching emergency levels.

One near Tambaroora, located about 50km north of Bathurst, and another near Cranbrook, roughly 20 km south of Dubbo sparked concerns.

'Before the 2019-to-20 fires, it was a drought and just dust,' he said.

'Now there is grass more than a metre tall and ready to burn and these fires move incredibly quickly.'
The mother of a baby who was stranded in Bali with a bacterial infection before she was flown to Australia for specialist treatment has choked back tears as she thanked the public for helping her family during their darkest days.

Baby Lucky captured the hearts of the world last month when her mother, Honey Ahimsa, launched a desperate bid to get her then-seven-week-old daughter back to Australia for lifesaving treatment that was not available in Indonesia.

Lucky's mother Honey grew up Melbourne but had recently relocated to Indonesia with her young family after Lucky was born in Thailand just before Christmas.

Lucky was diagnosed with sepsis, severe pneumonia, lung failure and RSV-bronchiolitis after she was rushed to a Bali hospital on February 8.

She was medically evacuated to Brisbane five days later, on February 13, with a 50 per cent chance of survival, with her family racking up more than $100,000 in bills to keep her alive.

The medical retrieval flight to Brisbane from Bali cost $106,000, while the family racked up between $5,000 to $8,000 a day on the baby's medical care in Bali.

Lucky's story made international headlines as people from around the globe donated money and sent the family well wishes as they fought to get her home.

An online fundraiser for the cause raised over $190,000 within a few days of being launched.

Lucky was finally discharged from hospital Sunday and made her live television debut in the arms of her relieved mum this morning on Sunrise.

Honey Ahimsa has given a heartwarming update on baby Lucky (pictured on Tuesday)

'There's really just no words, just complete gratitude and disbelief,' Ms Ahisma told Sunrise from the Gold Coast.

She admitted the last month had taken on heavy toll on her and her partner Pan, not knowing whether their precious baby would survive.

Ms Ahimsa got emotional while looking back on the harrowing ordeal.

'I really know how to put it into words, but I can say that I feel like I've been given a second chance at life,' she said.

'I just honestly don't think I would have been able to make it because it was that painful.

'I don't know how people do have the strength to get through something if it doesn't turn out this way.'

Honey and her partner Pan have spent the last month by their baby's hospital bed, not knowing whether she'd survive

Miracle baby Lucky wants to be in her mum's arms all the time following her fight for life

Little Lucky is doing well following her desperate fight for life.

'She just wants to be in my arms,' Ms Ahimsa said.

'If I put down just for a moment, she really freaks out so she is feeling a little bit traumatised from the whole ordeal.'

'She just wants to know that she is loved and held and safe at the moment, more than anything.

Honey Ahimsa choked back tears as she recalled how close she came to losing Lucky

Ms Ahimsa said the money raised saved her baby's life and choked back tears again as she thanked Australia for their overwhelming support.

'Thank you so much from the depths of our hearts.

'You saved our daughter's life. I don't think a thank you would ever really been enough.

'You saved this beautiful little girl and she is here because of you.'

It comes after Ms Ahimsa gave a heartwarming update about her daughter's condition on Sunday.

'Best news  Lucky Love is home,' she posted.

'Lucky has been discharged from hospital. She is not fully recovered though doctors have said that she is well enough to continue her recovery at home.

'It's also more dangerous for her to stay in hospital as the chances of her getting another infection is high in that environment.

'We are overwhelmed by how blessed we have been to have our baby girl survive when the odds were against her.

'She is a true miracle baby and a pillar of love (and) hope for everyone to witness.'
A career criminal with 14 previous arrests was once again nabbed over the weekend for allegedly raping a woman and threatening to kill her.

Jamel McIver, 30, is accused of following a 21-year-old woman into her building, located near West 65th Street and West End Avenue in the Upper West Side at around 1am Saturday.

Once inside, cops say, he forced the woman into a stairwell where he carried out the rape and threatened her life before fleeing on foot.

He was turned in by his own family members on Sunday, the New York Post reports, and was arraigned on Monday on charges of rape, sexually motivated burglary and criminal sex act.

McIver was ordered to remain in prison as the trial against him continues.

Jamel McIver, 30, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly following a 21-year-old woman into her building and raping her the day before

The suspect is pictured being perp walked into Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday where he was arraigned on charges of rape, sexually motivated burglary and criminal sex act

Authorities allege that McIver followed the 21-year-old victim into a building at around 1.20am, and entered an elevator with her.

He then allegedly 'forced her out of the elevator and into a stairwell where he raped her,' before pushing the woman back outside and fleeing the area on foot.

McIver is pictured in Bronx Criminal Court in 2019 for an arraignment on charges that he snuck into a teenage girl's room and forced her to touch his genitals

'He basically made threats to her that he was going to kill her if she didn't comply,' a police spokesman told the Post.

In the aftermath, the unidentified woman was brought to a local hospital in stable condition.

Surveillance video captured outside the woman's residence  as well as inside the stairwell itself  showed the suspected attacker directly after the attack.

It showed the suspect ditching his jacket at one point despite teeming rain, tossing it over a fence before walking away.

Another still released by cops, snapped in the stairwell where the woman underwent her ordeal, showed the alleged attacker's face, shrouded with his hood as he presumably made his escape.

McIver has previously been arrested 14 times, including one in Delaware in 2013 for allegedly beating his own 2-month-old son, and another in New York City in 2019 in which he is accused of sneaking into a sleeping teenager's bedroom and forcing her to touch his groin.

In that case, authorities say, McIver pulled his vehicle to the front of the 16-year-old girl's building in the Bronx and slipped into her apartment through a fire escape.

The victim, who told cops she did not know her attacker, said she woke up to find McIver standing over her bed.

He then told the teen: 'I want you to touch me. Don't scream, I have a gun.'

On Saturday, cops released still photos and videos of the suspect at the scene

He was ultimately turned over to authorities on Sunday by his own family members

At that point, McIver grabbed the teenager's hand and placed it on his pants over his genitals.

The teenager was eventually able to free herself from his grasp, according to the Post, prompting her attacker to flee from her room through the fire escape window.

McIver was arrested just two days later, and was held on a $250,000 bail during his initial court appearance.

It remains unclear whether he was able to pay, but at a trial in March 2020, he was ordered held without bail  only to be released on his own recognizance weeks later with an order of protection issued for the teenage girl.

He ultimately pleaded guilty in the case in August, but was scheduled to return to court for the case on March 29.

In the Delaware case, meanwhile, McIver was charged on December 8, 2013 with first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child after police were called to the Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover where his two-month-old baby was found with 'multiple contusions and swelling' to his face.

McIver was arraigned and ordered held on a $51,000 bail, but the outcome of that case is unclear.
A passenger narrowly missed getting struck when a large ceiling panel came crashing down onto the platform at a Boston-area subway station.

Surveillance video shows the passenger stopping short as the panel came down from the roof in front of them at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Harvard Station in Cambridge.

An alternative angle then shows commuter looking up at the ceiling in shock as they try to understand what happened and how lucky they came to being seriously hurt.

Video sees the panel come down inches from the startled passenger who stops in their tracks. The commuter pauses, then walks around it and toward a staircase.

Fellow passengers either didn't see what had happened or hear anything as they could be seen continuing to go about their business including boarding a waiting subway train.

A large ceiling panel fell onto the platform at Harvard subway station near Boston, narrowly missing a passenger

The panel crashed down in between a couple walking up the stairs and another commuter

Footage sees the passenger stopping suddenly as the panel fell inches in front of them, leaving them shrouded in a cloud of black dust

The commuter is walking along the platform when the panel suddenly came lose, right

The incident occurred shortly before 4pm last Wednesday, sending up a cloud of dust.

The aluminum panels normally weight about 5 pounds, but this one had become waterlogged causing it to weigh as much as 25 pounds.

The panel fell about 10 feet, MBTA interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said at a news conference.

'I am extremely thankful and relieved that there were no injuries as a result of this accident,' he said.

The MBTA removed about 10 other panels at the station, which has 400 to 500 of them in total.

The commuter looked up in a state of shock after what had occurred directly in front of them

The MBTA quickly closed the area while engineers inspected panels and removed any that posed an immediate safety concern

The aluminum panels normally weight about 5 pounds, but the one that fell had become waterlogged causing to weigh as much as 25 pounds

Over time water had accumulated in the panel insulation and corroded the metal rivets holding it in place

'Our initial findings show that over time water had accumulated in the panel insulation & corroded the metal rivets holding it in place. We're removing the remaining non-structural panels as a precaution & so we can thoroughly investigate the ceiling & source of water intrusion,' the MBTA wrote in a tweet.

The panels date back to 1978 and the one that fell was wet and showed signs of corrosion, Gonneville explained. The suspended panels do not affect the structural integrity of the station and are used for aesthetics and soundproofing.

The agency is also inspecting other stations in the system with drop ceilings, although he noted that the design at Harvard is unique.

The panels were installed in 1978. The non-structural panels are suspended from the ceiling and used for aesthetics & soundproofing

The remaining non-structural panels were removed as a precaution in order for the source of the water to be determined

'We are utilizing all our resources to look into this issue, discover its cause, and implementing whatever solutions necessary to ensure that it doesn't happen again,' he said.

A 2021 safety inspection by outside engineers at the station found no visible defects with the panels, the General Manager said.

The incident remains under investigation.
Spy plane images obtained by DailyMail.com show a UFO flying near Baghdad last year.

The six images appear to show a skinny cylindrical-shaped object over North Eastern Iraq, close to Baghdad, moving across the screen from left to right.

The images were taken from a video filmed by a thermal camera in a United States Air Force (USAF) Reaper drone in May 2022  and have been dubbed the 'Baghdad Phantom'.

A source with knowledge of the incident said the object was flagged in an Air Force repository as an 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena', the government's preferred term for UFOs, last year, because of its strange characteristics.

Fast-moving craft are powered by propulsion systems like rockets or engines that create heat, but the thermal camera that filmed the object showed it was colder than its surroundings.

Six images appear to show a skinny cylindrical-shaped object over North Eastern Iraq, close to Baghdad, moving across the screen from left to right

The cylindrical object can be seen to the left of the screen

The images were leaked to journalist and documentary filmmaker Jeremy Corbell (left) and investigative journalist George Knapp (right), and released shortly after midnight on Weaponized, their new podcast

The object also didn't have any visible wings or fins, likely ruling it out as a glider.

A USAF source said the UFO had no visible propulsion and appeared to be under 'intelligent control'.

The images were leaked to journalist and documentary filmmaker Jeremy Corbell and investigative journalist George Knapp, and released shortly after midnight on Weaponized, their new podcast.

'What George and I have uncovered is Reaper drone footage over an active war zone,' Corbell told DailyMail.com.

'It shows an anomalous object which has been designated as UAP by our own air force.

'Like our government, we as journalists are curious about what can be seen in these images. The object appears to have no flight control surfaces, no traditional reactionary propulsion and is cooler than its surrounding environment.

'This isn't your grandma's rocket that we're looking at.'

The six intriguing images show the elongated object at the bottom of the screen moving from left to right. It appeared darker than its background on the thermal camera, indicating it was colder than its surroundings.

The images appear to show some kind of trail or stream left in the 'Baghdad Phantom's wake, though it could be an artifact from the video from which they were taken.

Military coordinates on the bottom right of the images give the location of the Reaper Drone video as North Eastern Iraq, near Baghdad.

DailyMail.com understands the UFO was not shot at by the USAF, because it had no payload  for example a potential bomb  and did not get close to ground troops.

The object was designated as 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena', an official term which has since been replaced with 'Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena' (UAP).

Military coordinates on the bottom right of the images give the location of the Reaper Drone video as North Eastern Iraq, near Baghdad. The cylindrical object is seen right

The cylindrical object is seen above, to the left of the center

The images appear to show some kind of trail or stream left in the objects wake, though it could be an artifact from the thermal camera video from which they were taken

The images were taken in May 2022

It is still unclear whether the object was innocuous, a foreign military's craft, or something other-worldly.

Corbell told DailyMail.com that the images were leaked by frustrated USAF members who claim that significant numbers of UFO incidents are being 'buried' by the Air Force.

DailyMail.com understands that many of these incidents, including the May 2022 UFO video, were not shared with intelligence agencies or the government's UFO Office, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

Normally data from an incident like this near Baghdad would be sent to United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations against ISIS in Iraq. But it is unclear whether the Command received the video or any other information on the incident.

US legislation requires that AARO collects information on UAP incidents from the Department of Defense and the intelligence community.

But Christopher Mellon, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, recently called out the Air Force for allegedly failing to embrace reporting of strange objects.

'The Navy was notably helpful while the Air Force remained notably unhelpful, if not hostile, to inquiries on the subject,' he wrote in a February 14 blog post.

'The preliminary assessment provided to Congress [about UFOs in 2021] was almost completely devoid of information from the U.S. Air Force despite the fact that the Air Force (as a department which also oversees U.S. Space Force) has far more aircraft and sensor systems than the Navy as well as the responsibility for supporting NORAD.'

Corbell warned the alleged failure to share information is putting servicemen and women at risk.

'This case represents other UAPs filmed by our Air Force, which have been kept hidden from American taxpayers and our intelligence community,' he told DailyMail.com.

'The brave men and women who serve in our nation's Air Force are directly at risk if we cannot identify, process and share this type of UAP imagery in an effective and actionable way.

'Air Force personnel have told me that they are highly concerned that this phenomenon maintains a regretful stigma that inhibits proper reporting and response within the chain of command. The air force is an exemplary branch of our armed services. We should encourage greater UAP transparency, for the good of the country and our participating services.

'As journalists, George and I feel a duty to inform the public in situations like this, where our representatives have failed to provide transparency and have in fact obstructed it.'

Following the shooting of one Chinese balloon and three unidentified objects over North American airspace last month, the topic of UFOs threatening American interests and air traffic has become a hot topic within Congress.

After the 'shoot downs', vice chair of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Marco Rubio, said: 'The last 72 hours revealed to the public what was happening for years, unidentified aircraft routinely operating over restricted US airspace.'

An image obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com of what appears to be a metallic-looking orb flying over Mosul, Iraq in April 2016, was included in a classified briefing video on UFOs shown to multiple US government agencies

An image obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com from Corbell and Knapp in January of what appears to be a metallic-looking orb flying over Mosul, Iraq in April 2016, was included in a classified briefing video on UFOs shown to multiple US government agencies.

In January, AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick gave a presentation at an aviation safety conference warning of 'threats to the immediate safety of US citizens and Government facilities' posed by UAP.

His presentation slides, reported in a DailyMail.com story last month, said that the military is finding unidentified anomalous phenomena 'most often in the vicinity of US military facilities and operating areas'  which would include conflict zones like Iraq.

The Air Force began a 'six-month pilot program' in November 2020 to collect data on UFOs, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman, but ended it the following Spring.

'Lessons learned from the pilot were used to improve support provided to the UAPTF and will be used to contribute to the efforts of AARO. If applicable, data gathered in the pilot was provided through command channels to the UAPTF,' Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Gough said in a statement.

In August 2021, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Politico: 'I've given a great deal of thought to defending American airspace but not against UFOs. If asked to do that then we will do it. This is a thing that's been around for a great many years.'

The leaked May 2022 images follow the release of the 'Mosul Orb' image, also obtained by Corbell and Knapp, showing a sphere-shaped UFO filmed by a US spy plane over the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul in 2016.

The Pentagon has yet to confirm the authenticity of the Mosul image.

Gough said: 'I'm not going to comment on whether something is or is not part of a classified briefing.'

Corbell called on the public to help analyze and identify the new images he and Knapp obtained.

'It is my hope that by obtaining and releasing imagery like this, the public can help solve this collective mystery and inspire greater transparency by our Department of Defense,' he said. 'This is a solvable problem- so let's do it together.

'The Pentagon's over-classification is corrosive like an acid and has been weaponized against the American public's right and need to know about UFOs.

'It's time that they earn the people's trust back.'
She was finally identified as Patricia Ann Tucker, who was 28 when she vanished

The 'Granby Girl' was found decomposed with a bullet hole in the temple in 1978

A Massachusetts woman found murdered 45 years ago has been identified after investigators matched her DNA with her living son's.

During a news conference Monday, First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne identified the woman long-known as the 'Granby Girl' to be Patricia Ann Tucker, who was 28 years old when she was murdered some time in 1978.

Tucker's body was discovered on November 15 of that year covered in leaves on a logging trail in Granby, Massachusetts, just north of the city of Springfield. Her skeletal remains had a bullet wound to in the temple, and investigators suspected she died about three months before her death.

Gagne said Tucker's husband at the time of her disappearance, Gerald Coleman, was a strong suspect in the case. He did not report her missing when she disappeared, and he died in prison in 1995 while serving time for a rape conviction.

Investigators were able to find a relative of Tucker's using DNA technology, and from there found a perfect genealogical match with her son, Matthew Dale, who was five-years-old when she vanished.

Patricia Ann Tucker, who was 28 years old when she was murdered some time in 1978

Gerald Coleman was named as a prime suspect in the killing. He died in prison in 1995

Tucker's body was found by a group of kids playing on the logging road in Granby. In addition to being buried beneath a pile of leaves, it was also hidden beneath a log.

Though her husband never reported her missing - and had prior convictions for kidnapping, assault, and firearms - investigators were never able to identify the 'skeletonized and clothed' body.

Medical examiners were only able to determine was that she would have been between 19 and 27 years old, and that she was female.

Twenty years after her death, a stone was placed in a local cemetery with 'Unknown, Nov. 15, 1978. In God's care.'

Gagne said investigators finally had a breakthrough in the case last March after they sent a piece Tucker's remains to a private genealogical lab in Texas called Othram. The lab was able to identify a relative in Maryland.

Investigators contacted that relative who said her aunt vanished in the '70s. That aunt was later identified as Tucker.

They then found their way to Dale, who confirmed his mother had gone missing in 1978.

A sample of Dale's DNA proved to be a perfect match with the victim, proving her identify as Patricia.

A tombstone laid for the Granby Girl and labeled 'Unknown'

Gerald Coleman never reported his wife missing. He had convictions for assault and kidnapping

Tucker's son, Matthew Dale (center), who was five years old when she vanished

Gagne said Dale told investigators he remembered being dropped off at home by his mother and Coleman - who was not his father - and that he never saw either of them again.

Department of Children and Families records showed Dale had been dropped with a woman from nearby Chicopee, who told investigators Coleman asked her to watch the boy for several hours while he and Tucker were taking care of personal business, Gagne said.

When Coleman and Tucker never returned to pick up Dale, the woman reached out to authorities who brought the boy to his biological father.

'While it's satisfying to finally know who [the] 'Granby Girl' actually was, the investigation won't stop until we identify her killer and bring the family an additional measure of closure and justice,' Gagne said, according to the Boston Globe.

Though Gagne did not name Coleman the killer, he said he was 'certainly, at a minimum, a person of strong interest in Patricia's disappearance and death.'

Dale attended the press conference, and Gagne read a statement on his behalf.

'I would like to say thank you to everyone [for] trying to identify my mother and wrapping your arms around her, especially the community of Granby,' he said. 'Thank you for never giving up on her. At least I have some answers now after 44 years. It's a lot to process, but hopefully the closure can begin now.'
The White House on Monday said there are still no plans for President Joe Biden to visit East Palestine, Ohio - even though he promised he would visit the site of the train derailment.

'I don't have anything to share on a planned visit by the president,' press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about it at her press briefing.

Biden said last week he would visit the area, which suffered from a toxic chemical spill after the railway accident and is facing a long cleanup, at 'some point.'

'I have spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuing basis,' Biden told reporters after meeting with Senate Democrats, asked whether he would visit. 'We will be out there at some point.'

But no trip has been announced.

Biden's administration, particularly Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, was heavily criticized for a slow response to the accident.

It has been 31 days since 5,000 people were forcded to evacuate and tens of thousands of animals died after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water around the small Ohio community.

In the weeks since, authorities have undertaken a massive clean up operation.

More than 700 tons of contaminated soil and nearly two million gallons of liquid have been collected from the derailment site, Ohio officials said, with much more left to clean up under the order of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, needled Biden to visit East Palestine.

'He should come, there's no doubt about it,' DeWine said in an interview with Fox News. 'The president needs to come. The people want to see the president. He should be there.'

The cleanup continues in East Palestine, Ohio, after a train derailment spilled hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, soil and water

'I don't have anything to share on a planned visit by the president,' press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about it at her press briefing

Buttigieg has become the scapegoat for the administration and has gone on the defensive about the response of his agency.

He visited East Palestine on February 23 - 20 days after the accident.

Former President Donald Trump had visited one day earlier, where he accused the Biden administration of 'indifference and betrayal' to the community.

Buttigieg admitted to CNN on Monday he should have visited sooner. But he claimed that his conservative critics were feigning outrage for the 4,700-person town where median household income is $46,000.

He called Trump's visit 'somewhat maddening  to see someone who did a lot try to gut not just rail safety regulations, but the EPA, which is the number one thing standing between that community and a total loss of accountability for Norfolk Southern and then show up giving out bottled water and campaign swag?'

The Feb. 3 derailment sent dozens of cars  including some carrying a total of 1.6 million pounds of hazardous chemicals  off the tracks in the town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

Five tank cars held close to 900,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic industrial chemical that has been linked to liver damage in cases of high levels of exposure.

The derailment caused a fire that lasted for days. Firefighters used more than a million gallons of water to fight the flames, which also contributed to the soil contamination.

A giant plume of smoke from the aftermath of the incident could be seen from miles away

The chemicals on the board the train were vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, benzene residue, glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate and isobutylene

Last week, Biden ordered officials to go door-to-door in East Palestine asking residents to fill out surveys amid fears of an emerging public health crisis.

The EPA gave the all clear for residents to return their homes and independent testing backed those findings.

But residents expressed their frustrations at state and federal officials and a Norfolk Southern representative at a townhall meeting last week.

Homeowners have been complaining of many medical problems, including eye and skin irritation, nausea and headaches.

The decision to do a controlled burn to help the cleanup led to fears among residents that they were exposed to high levels of vinyl chloride, a colorless gas that burns easily and is associated with an increased risk of several cancers including brain, liver and lung cancers.
Irresponsible Prince Harry is not the only one who seems to think illegal drugs are an unalloyed joy.

I can disclose that BBC star Evan Davis has found himself at the centre of another impartiality row after his Radio 4 show failed to 'remind listeners' about 'opposing opinions' on the issue of legalising cannabis.

The Corporation has 'partially upheld' a complaint over an interview Davis conducted with a professor who was in favour of legalising cannabis, on Radio 4's PM show.

This comes after Prince Harry spoke about his recreational use of illegal drugs during a intimate chat with a toxic trauma expert on Saturday.

After Evan's programme aired in October, a listener complained about 'the absence of an alternative view' and a 'lack of impartiality on the part of the presenter'.

BBC star Evan Davis has found himself at the centre of another impartiality row after his Radio 4 show failed to 'remind listeners' about 'opposing opinions' on the issue of legalising cannabis

Prince Harry spoke about his recreational use of illegal drugs during a intimate chat with a toxic trauma expert on Saturday

Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, of Toronto University, had been asked by Davis whether Canada's move to decriminalise cannabis had 'worked'.

The academic had replied, 'Do it now, those are my three words', which prompted laughter from Davis, who's nicknamed Tinsel T**s on account of his piercings.

The BBC's executive complaints unit looked at whether the programme met 'BBC standards for due impartiality'.

Complaints bosses said while the overall piece reflected the negatives as well as positives of changing the law, it added that in the final exchange 'there was a need to remind listeners of the existence of opposing opinions'.

The ECU said: 'But in posing his final question, he invited an opinion on a matter of controversy. Professor Owusu-Bempah having expressed unqualified support for immediate legislation, in the ECU's view there was a need to remind listeners of the existence of opposing opinions.'

Last month, the BBC apologised after Davis was accused of making 'perfunctory efforts' to challenge a trans guest who accused JK Rowling of transphobia.

During the Duke of Sussex's live streamed discussion with therapist Dr Gabor Mate on Saturday, the trauma expert spoke of the way people used drugs to deal with problems in their lives before asking Harry about his reasons for using drugs including cocaine, cannabis and psychedelics.

The Duke of Sussex told how using cannabis  a Class B drug  'really helped' him to deal with mental health issues following the death of his mother.

Prince Harry has admitted using psychedelics - magic mushrooms, psilocybin (the active component of magic mushrooms) and ayahuasca, a plant-based psychedelic from the leaves of a shrub - in an attempt to help him heal from 'grief'

He also talked about his 'positive' experience of psychedelic drug ayahuasca, saying it 'brought me a sense of relaxation, release, comfort, a lightness that I managed to hold on to for a period of time'.

The prince said alcohol was also 'more of a social thing' and complained about peer pressure around drinking.

Prince Harry admitted taking cocaine as a teenager, smoking weed and trying magic mushrooms in the home of actor Courtney Cox in his explosive memoir Spare.

But campaigners criticised Harry for talking about his drug use, saying he is sending a worrying message to young people.
She failed on Tuesday in her first step to return to work

is suing her boss in the Federal Court over her work conditions

Sally Rugg has failed in her bid to return to work as the chief of staff for Kooyong MP Monique Ryan.

Federal Court judge Debbie Mortimer on Tuesday dismissed Ms Rugg's application to return to work while she awaited trial.

The activist claims she was sacked by Dr Ryan for raising concerns about unreasonable work.

Sally Rugg had the opportunity to turn down an additional $30,205 in her position as the chief of staff for Kooyong MP Monique Ryan if she could not commit to the overtime requirement

Dr Ryan said: 'Ms Rugg never said to me that would like to choose not to receive the Parliamentary Staff Allowance, and to the best of my knowledge she did in fact receive it'

She had sought an interim injunction to stop the Commonwealth from terminating her employment until a trial.

In handing down her ruling, Justice Mortimer told the parties to continue to work together to resolve the matter in the hope of avoiding a costly trial.

Dr Ryan tuned into the brief hearing via videolink where she was seen to annoyingly fidget about before turning off her camera.

I am far from persuaded Ms Rugg really wants to go back to work supporting and assisting Dr Ryan

In a 30-page document outlining the reasons for her decision, Justice Mortimer said Ms Rugg's arguments at trial about contraventions of the Fair Work Act may well succeed.

'If that is the case, then on the evidence as it will be at trial, she will be able to apply for an order for reinstatement,' she stated.

'The circumstances may well be quite different then, and the court would be proceeding on the basis that she has been wholly or largely successful in her allegations.'

'I do not consider the refusal of interlocutory relief occasions any prejudice to Ms Rugg in the final relief she seeks.'

Ms Rugg has foreshadowed an intention to add penalty claims against the Commonwealth, which are wider in scope and relate to allegations of a systematic tolerance for unreasonable working hours by all parliamentary staff.

The salary Ms Rugg accepted was $136,607. There was an additional Parliamentary Staff Allowance of $30,205 to account for the reasonable expectation of overtime, particularly during sitting weeks

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Principal Josh Bornstein, who is acting for Ms Rugg, said his client was disappointed with the decision.

'Nevertheless, the case is at an early stage. As Justice Mortimer observed in her judgment, Ms Ruggs arguments at trial about contraventions of the FWA may well succeed,' he said via a statement.

In her decision, Justice Mortimer suggested the foreshadowed trial could revolutionise the way companies deal with overtime.

'Ms Rugg has foreshadowed an intention to add penalty claims against the Commonwealth, which are wider in scope and relate to allegations of a systematic tolerance (I infer, by the Commonwealth and those acting on its behalf) for unreasonable working hours by all parliamentary staff,' she stated.

'That claim may add another five to 10 days, as counsel for Ms Rugg accepted this was a much broader claim, involving more witnesses ... It is a trial which, on counsels statements to the court, is being broadened to include systematic allegations against the Commonwealth, of which, as I understand it, what Ms Rugg alleges happened to her is but one example.'

Ms Rugg had accepted $136,607 to perform the role of Dr Ryan's chief of staff, with an additional Parliamentary Staff Allowance of $30,205 to account for the reasonable expectation of overtime, particularly during sitting weeks.

She' is suing her employer in the Federal Court over what she claims to be unreasonable work expectations and a 'hostile' workplace.

According to the job description Dr Ryan advertised, the role would require 12-hour days during parliamentary sitting weeks and a level of flexibility and versatility.

But in an affidavit filed to the court, Dr Ryan revealed there was a clause of the agreement which stated 'a personal employee may choose not to receive a Parliamentary Staff Allowance where the employee is unable to, or does not expect to work significant additional hours of work'.

The clause clarifies employees that often opt out of additional hours of work due to personal or family commitments have the option to reject the sum.

Dr Ryan said: 'Ms Rugg never said to me that would like to choose not to receive the Parliamentary Staff Allowance, and to the best of my knowledge she did in fact receive it.'

The job description Dr Ryan advertised after her monumental win as part of the 'teal landslide' during the federal election said applicants would be responsible for the planning and execution of an annual budget, implementing a media strategy, running various social media channels and drafting speeches.

Ms Rugg (pictured) was offered the role on the back of her inspiring cover letter, in which she guaranteed she could deliver all that Dr Ryan expected and more

Teal MP Monique Ryan (pictured last month) acknowledged it was a significant workload but does not agree Ms Rugg was expected to do the work of four people

Sally Rugg (pictured with her lawyers) launched an unfair dismissal claim against Dr Monique Ryan and the Commonwealth in January

Justice Mortimer had previously expressed her frustration over Ms Rugg's application to return to work.

She said she had struggled to grapple with the idea of Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan returning to work in close proximity with each other, pending any trial, after hearing evidence of their volatile relationship in a full-day hearing last week.

'I don't think I have seen a case like this,' she said.

'The material is pretty stark about a breakdown in the work relationship. How are they to be compelled to continue to work together?'

Dr Ryan maintained it would be 'impractical, if not impossible' to have Ms Rugg return to work in her office.

On Tuesday, Justice Mortimer questioned Ms Rugg's actual dedication to the 'teal movement'.

'She has given a lot of evidence about her own ambitions, her own desires to be in Canberra.

Sally Rugg (centre) is now set to take her former boss on in a multi-million dollar trial

'On this interlocutory application, the evidence about her personal objectives is relevant because it persuades me there is no prospect whatsoever of a cooperative working relationship being restored because  even for the purposes of her own application  Ms Rugg cannot bring herself to express her dedication to assisting Dr Ryan,' Justice Mortimer stated.

'She instead focuses on her own career objectives. Which, as I say, are perfectly understandable and not to be criticised in themselves. On this application, they weigh against the grant of the relief Ms Rugg seeks. I am far from persuaded Ms Rugg really wants to go back to work supporting and assisting Dr Ryan.'

Justice Mortimer claimed one of Ms Rugg's sworn affidavit's was done so with malice.

'It demonstrates in my opinion a conscious attempt by Ms Rugg to criticise Dr Ryan,' sher stated.

'Again, on Ms Ruggs account of what has occurred to her in 2022, such an attitude, and behaviour, might be understandable. Nevertheless, it is highly probative against the proposition that the two can continue to work together in any constructive way.'

Earlier, the hearing was told how Ms Rugg was issued a formal warning after she flew home from Canberra while knowingly infected with Covid.

Dr Ryan claimed she offered Ms Rugg a six-week severance pay should she choose to resign, adding she could 'spin it' and 'say that her employment ''just wasn't a good fit''.'

But Ms Rugg recalls the conversation differently. She told the hearing Dr Ryan approached her while no other staff were present and said: 'Im going to terminate your employment. I have made up my mind to terminate you in January'.

Ms Rugg claimed in her affidavit that Dr Ryan said this was an 'off book' option which would be 'mutually beneficial, but it has to be done off the record'.

She said the alleged altercation left her 'distraught'.
A Texas family is hoping for a miracle after twin 13-year-old boys vanished on Sunday in chest-deep water at the beach, where they were wading despite being unable to swim.

Josue and Jefferson Perez had travelled from their Houston home for a day at the beach in Galveston.

The boys were last seen around 4:30pm on Sunday playing in the water near the Pleasure Pier, around 20 yards from the shore.

Rip currents around the pier can be strong, officials said, and the sea temperature was a chilly 67F.

No one in the family saw them go underwater, but after they went missing the relatives raised the alarm.

Twin brothers Josue and Jefferson Perez, 13, were last seen at around 4:30pm on Sunday near the Pleasure Pier in Galveston, wading in chest-deep water 20 yards from the shore

Police are seen assisting the search after dark on Sunday evening. The boys are yet to be found, 24 hours after they went missing

Galveston search and rescue teams scoured the area with helicopters and jet skis, but they boys are yet to be found.

'Nobody confirms seeing them go underwater,' said Lt. Austin Kirwin with Galveston Beach Patrol.

'So essentially what happened is they were out in the water, the parents briefly lost sight of them, and they looked back up into that area, and they did not see them any longer.'

The Galveston County Community Emergency Response Team, Beach Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, and volunteers have been out searching for the twins since 5.30pm on Sunday night. Divers are also assisting the teams.

Kirwin said weather conditions are hampering the search.

'The real limiting factor for us right now is this fog rolling in,' he said at a press conference on Monday.

Lt. Austin Kirwin, with Galveston Beach Patrol, said the waters were cold and rip currents were common in the area

Rescuers are still hoping to find the boys alive in the waters or on the shore

The Pleasure Pier in Galveston is a popular tourist site, and from March 11 there will be lifeguards on the beach

'That's going to inhibit us from being able to search as well as we want to.

'Also, the water is still relatively cold. It's about 67F this morning, so without a wetsuit, the length of time you can be in that water is diminished.'

He noted that the waters swirling around objects jetting into the sea - such as jetties and the Pleasure Pier - were dangerous, because strong currents can create rips.

'In the event that you do get caught in a rip current, the key point is, do not panic,' he said.

'If you just relax and try to keep your calm, the current will eventually bring you back to shore.

'The main killer in drownings is that panic mode.'

Lifeguards will be on the beach from March 11, when the main swimming season begins.


By Jason Lim



It's no longer big news that Korea suffers from the lowest birth rate in the world at just 0.78 children per woman in 2022  down from 0.81 the previous year. In the absence of a population inflow through immigration, a country needs an average of 2.1 children per woman to maintain the population at the existing level. This isn't an exclusively Korean problem. Other advanced countries, especially in Asia, are suffering from decreasing birth rates. However, as with many other phenomena, Korea tends to experience the macro trend in a more acute fashion.



It seems to be getting worse. In a recent survey conducted by Park Jeong-min, a professor of social welfare at Seoul National University, a mere 4 percent of unmarried Korean women in their 20s and 30s said that marriage and childbearing are essential in their lives. Money has been thrown at this problem but to no avail. As usual, the government is urged to enact policies to change housing, education, and inequality issues in order to reverse this trend.



However, President Yoon Suk Yeol recently admitted that the government had spent over $200 billion in the past 16 years to address the issue, only to see the birthrate decrease year after year. It reads like a long list of failed policies. Subsidize housing so as to make it easier for women to have babies. Subsidize education to make it easier for women to have babies. Subsidize companies to hire more women so that they can have more babies. Nothing is working.



Lacking from these policy debates is the admission that motherhood is hard. Very hard. And very unequal for women.



Men don't have to carry a foreign being in their bodies for nine months, suffering all the indignities that a fetus will impose on the mother-to-be, including a grossly expanded belly and the ambulatory awkwardness that comes with an extra 40 pounds inside you, only to end with several painful hours of child labor, if you're lucky. With the average first-time Korean mother's age now at 33.5 years, you have a higher chance of a C-section or, at least, an epidural, which is a huge, long needle injected straight into your spine. Yeah. It freaked me out when I saw my wife getting one. Imagine being the person that has to suffer through it.



Of course, birth is only the beginning. I didn't realize how difficult and painful breastfeeding was until my wife was going through it with my child. Every two hours in the beginning. Then the fevers. Then school. Then extracurricular lessons. Then the sullenness of growing up. Then, then, then all punctuated by the resources in money, time and effort to raise that human being.



No wonder studies have found that happiness actually decreases when a couple has a child. Per the Atlantic's article titled, "What Becoming a Parent Really Does to Your Happiness." It states, "Other studies find that when a child is born, parents experience a decrease in happiness that doesn't go away for a long time, in addition to a drop in marital satisfaction that doesn't usually recover until the children leave the house." It goes on to say that those parents who say that children increased their sense of happiness are actually undergoing a memory distortion whereby "we tend to remember the peaks and forget the mundane awfulness in between." That's pretty damning.



However, keep in mind that parenthood is inherently and overwhelmingly more burdensome on the mother than it is on the father. Motherhood is not only hard; it's horrible. I know that engaged fathers can help, greatly in some societies. However, parenthood is inherently unequal and unfair toward the mothers both biologically and societally. It imposes a cost on the woman's autonomy and independence in a way that's comprehensive and obstinate.



When discussing the persistent gender wage gap, Pew's findings say that "A good share of the increase in the gender pay gap takes place when women are between the ages of 35 and 44. In 2022, women ages 25 to 34 earned about 92 percent as much as men of the same ages, but women ages 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 earned 83 percent as much. The ratio dropped to 79 percent among those ages 55 to 64. This general pattern has not changed in at least four decades."



What's amazing about this finding is that the underlying cause of the gap is due to the fathers working more: "Fathers aged 25 to 54 not only earn more than mothers the same age, but they also earn more than men with no children at home." Being a father frees men to work harder and longer, thereby earning more, while being a mother imposes the opposite effect as a mother and wife.



What all these findings say to me is that it's not the socioeconomic safety net that's at the root of Korean women not wanting to have babies. It's the inherent power dynamic that is triggered by motherhood. So, not having a baby is really the only logical choice when you're an educated and capable woman who wants to remain independent to follow your ambition and achieve autonomy: no matter how many subsidies the government promises you. In fact, mothers also need a wife.





Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.


he technology sector has been affected by a downturn

Aussie tech giant Atlassian has announced it is cutting hundreds of jobs less than six months after one of its CEOs travelled the nation in a motorhome on a massive recruitment drive to recruit 1,000 workers.

The software company announced on Tuesday that 500 full-time employees - or 5 per cent of its workforce - would be made redundant amidst an economic downtown that has significantly affected the industry.

Billionaire co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar - who own more than $500million worth of property - sent an internal letter to staff to explain the 'difficult decision' by the company to lay off workers.

'We have made the difficult decision to rebalance our team to better position Atlassian for the long term,' the pair wrote.

'We came to this decision as an executive team and with our board, but ultimately the final call is on us as co-founders. To those who are leaving us: we are deeply sorry.'

Tech giant Atlassian will cut 500 jobs just months after co-founder Scott Farquhar (pictured) travelled around Australia to recruit 1000 people

Atlassian's HR, program management and research and insights teams will be worst impacted.

'To be clear, this decision is not a reflection of Atlassian's own financial performance, as we will be reinvesting in roles that better support our priorities,' the co-founders said.

'This is going to be hard news for every Atlassian to digest. Please take the time you need to process it.

'As we've said before, the calls we make in challenging times need to reflect a future Atlassian we are all building towards. Atlassian's future remains incredibly bright, with a huge amount of opportunity and possibility ahead of us.'

Mr Cannon-Brookes and Mr Farquhar thanked the outgoing staff for their contribution to Atlassian.

'We are incredibly sorry for the impact this will have on you and your family,' they wrote.

Employees who are made redundant will be offered a number of benefits including 15 weeks of severance, plus one week's pay for each year of employment.

A number of major tech companies have already announced massive job cuts including including Google, Amazon and Meta.

Twitter also laid off hundreds of staff following its takeover by Elon Musk.

The company's co-founders, Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured with wife Annie) and Scott Farquhar, sent an internal letter to staff to explain the 'difficult decision'

The announcement by Atlassian comes six months after the company went on a nationwide recruitment drive to hire new staff, promising them they could work from 'anywhere'.

Co-founder Scott Farquhar hit the road, driving an Atlassian-branded campervan in a bid to find 1,032 staff to join the company in research and development roles.

'Atlassian's work from anywhere policy (Team Anywhere) means many Aussies can realise a dream in tech without having to move,' a statement from the company said.

Atlassian offers extremely competitive salaries with packages ranging from $100,000 and $150,000, depending on roles and experience.

The company's recruitment drive began at Sydney's Martin Place before turning into a road trip.

The so-called 'AtlassiVan' visited Canberra, Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.

The software giant came third in the 2022 Australia's Best Workplaces list for large companies, with a major perk being it offers financial support to staff to set up their ideal workspace.

Staff are allowed to work from home anywhere and only have to come together to collaborate face to face four times a year.

If they come into the office by bicycle, the company reimburses bike repairs, accessories, and rentals up to an agreed amount.
A little girl was told to leave a San Diego area beach after she was seen throwing sand and rocks at a resting sea lion in a shocking video.

The young child was caught trying to disturb the animal near La Jolla Cove last week in a TikTok clip which has now racked up more than two million views.

After observing her trying to rouse the sea lion several times in front of other beach-goers - including a woman thought to be her mom - the lifeguard clearly had enough of the girl's behavior and kicked her off the site.

'Little girl in the purple, you can leave now, thanks,' the lifeguard can be heard saying over the loudspeakers.

The beach was crowded with others checking out the animal, all of whom were able to keep their distance and their composure.

Commenters on the video clip have applauded the lifeguard for calling the girl out.

A little girl was told to leave a San Diego area beach after she was seen throwing sand and rocks at a resting sea lion

Video shows the child chucking items at the animal near La Jolla Cove last week

The eight-second video was posted to the app on February 27 and immediately caught the attention of animal lovers everywhere.

'The little girl had thrown rocks/sand like two more times before this announcement,' said the video's poster.

Before the lifeguard uses a speaker to quite literally put the girl on blast, she appears to chuckle and jump back after the animal moves its head, clearly disturbed by her.

Shockingly, the girl's guardian is spotted at the end of the video standing idly by and not attempting to stop her.

'WHY ARE THE PARENTS JUST STANDING THERE!?' wrote one frustrated commenter.

'Thank you for the person in the loud speaker,' another said.

'Lifeguard was like not today on my shift,' wrote another.

Others hoped the video's poster had taken additional video of the incident so they could watch the little girl have to leave after her actions.

'Is there more footage so I can see them leaving with little girl in purple in tears?' joked one person.

The video was posted to the app on February 27 and immediately caught the attention of animal lovers everywhere

The little girl and her guardian look up to the lifeguard after being told to leave the beach

'Is there more footage so I can see them leaving with little girl in purple in tears?' joked one person who said they wanted to see the girl upset

Tourists who visit La Jolla beach get too close to take photos with the sea lion

This is La Jolla Cove in northern San Diego where the incident happened last week

According to Robyn Davidoff, chair of the Sierra Club Seal Society, no one should be that close to a wild animal because they can be unpredictable

Sea lions and seals are very common at the La Jolla Cove where the video was filmed

According to Robyn Davidoff, chair of the Sierra Club Seal Society, no one should be that close to an animal like that because wild animals can be unpredictable.

'They don't realize they should keep a distance from them. They are wild animals. They are a little bit used to us, but they still are wild, and this time of the year, when they're talking about mating, thinking about mating, they get a little frisky; people have to get out of the way,' said Davidoff told CBS 8 San Diego.

The chair also said if bothered, the animals can bite.

Lifeguards told the local outlet they will not hesitate to make announcements calling people out and reminding them to back up if they need to.
Women are being priced out of work by the soaring cost of childcare in a motherhood penalty, a report has warned.

Mothers are losing out financially because of the price of nurseries and childminders, forcing them to work part time or quit their jobs, analysis by PwC found.

UK childcare is among the most expensive in the world, with full-time fees for under-twos setting parents back an average 14,000 a year.

Campaigners at the Womens Budget Group said 1.7million women were prevented from taking on more hours of paid work due to unaffordable childcare costs last year.

Some figures suggest that British workers spend as much as a third of their salary on childcare. These huge costs are also a major cause of the gender pay gap, which widened from 12 per cent in 2020 to 14.4 per cent in 2021, according to PwC. This means that women on average earn 86p for every 1 a man makes.

Mothers are losing out financially because of the price of nurseries and childminders, forcing them to work part time or quit their jobs, analysis by PwC found

UK childcare is among the most expensive in the world, with full-time fees for under-twos setting parents back an average 14,000 a year

Larice Stielow, a senior economist at PwC, said: The motherhood penalty is now the most significant driver of the gender pay gap and, in the UK, women are being hit even harder by the rising cost of living and increasing cost of childcare.

The situation appears to be getting worse. In one year, the UK has dropped five places from 9th to 14th in the PwC global index for gender equality, which includes factors such as pay gaps and full-time employment levels.

Slow progress is disastrous

Britain sits behind the likes of Luxembourg, New Zealand and Slovenia, the top three on the index. Anna Ritchie Allan, executive director at equality charity Close the Gap, said: Covid has rolled back progress on gender equality at work, and the economic recovery has left women behind as they struggle with a devastating cost of living crisis thats hitting their pockets hardest.

She said the UK needs more affordable and flexible childcare  and men doing their fair share of looking after their children. Jemima Olchawski, the boss of the Fawcett Society, said the slow progress in closing the gender pay gap is nothing short of disastrous.

There will be no meaningful progress to close the gender pay gap until we reckon with the fact that the extortionate cost of childcare and a lack of genuinely flexible work options lock women out of the workforce, she said.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has come under pressure to deliver more support to parents in his Budget next week. But it is understood that he is set to reject a proposal from the Department for Education to provide 30 hours a week of free childcare for parents of children aged between nine months and three years.

Currently, working parents who meet certain conditions can get up to 30 hours of free childcare a week in England  but only when their child is aged three to four.

A report released last month showed that women effectively work without pay for the equivalent of almost two months a year because they earn so much less than men. February 23 was dubbed Womens Pay Day because it marks how many days fewer a year they get paid in real terms compared to men.

The gender pay gap gets worse after a woman has children and again when she turns 50, according to the analysis by the Trades Union Congress.
Dick Smith has labelled Australian billionaires as 'some of the greediest people out' - as he called on the nation's wealthy to pay more tax.

The self-made millionaire took aim at the nation's wealthiest while arguing the top one per cent of earners (himself included) should be contributing more to help the country balance its budget.

'I can tell you, wealthy people like me can easily pay more tax,' he told 2GB's Ben Fordham.

'We have one hundred billionaires in this country. They are some of the greediest people out.

'Only 15 per cent are known as philanthropists, and a lot of these billionaires would do everything they can ... in fact they just complain constantly about the tax they have to pay when they can easily afford it.

Mr Smith made the comments while discussing proposed superannuation changes to double the tax on superannuation accounts of more than $3 million.

The entrepreneur took aims at Australia's 100 billionaires (above the top ten) who he said could easily afford to pay more tax thus helping the nation pay off its debt

Millionaire entrepreneur Dick Smith has made an extraordinary attack on Australia's billionaires - saying that there are a hundred of them and they are 'some of the greediest people out'

'The country needs money. It's a fantastic country, it's got incredible education, roads, military, it needs money to pay for that and we're into great debt and we should be paying the debt off and not letting our kids have to do that in the future.

'If you have a billion dollars you are really wealthy.'

Mr Smith did not name any of the billionaires except the late Kerry Packer, who once famously told a federal tax inquiry back in 1991: 'I don't know anybody that doesn't minimise their tax.

'I'm not evading tax in any way shape or form,' Packer told the inquiry in 1991. 'Of course I'm minimising my tax. If anybody in this country doesn't minimise their tax they want their head read.'

Mr Smith said the current Federal Government's superannuation shakeup had the approval of 64 per cent of Australians.

Dick Smith said Australia's 100 billionaires, of which Gina Rinehart is the nation's richest, could 'easily' pay more tax and should do so that Australia could reduce debt for future generations

Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest is Australia's second richest person, among the 100 billionaires Dick Smith called on to pay more tax so that the country could pay off its national debt

'We need the money to run this fantastic country and all I'm saying is not all people are like Kerry Packer who said ... he got no enjoyment out of paying tax and he would do everything he could to minimise it.

'There are plenty of people around ... wage earners who pay their tax and they have to pay their tax and we do incredible things with it, it's a fantastic country.'

He quoted businessman Mark Carnegie, saying: 'I agree with him ... the wealthy can pay more tax and pay some of our debt back and our kids and grandkids don't have to pay.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted five billionaires among the list of Australia's top 100 wealthiest people and asked about their response to Mr Smith's comments and what philanthropic works they did.

A spokesperson on behalf of Atlassian founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar responded saying the Atlassian Foundation was the philanthropic arm of the software business had donated $US54m to education and tackling disadvantage.

Atlassian founders Scott Farquhar and Mike Cannon-Brookes are among Australia's top ten richest people and point out the philanthropic arm of their software business contributed 1pc or $US54m to education and other causes

'We contribute 1% of our equity, profit, employee time and products to the Foundation,' Atlassian said.

Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Metals, runs with his wife Nicola the Minderoo Foundation, which invests $2.6 billion into causes including child cancer research, childhood education and reducing global warming and overfishing, and plastic pollution.

Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting sponsors women in sport, a girls' sponsorship program in Cambodia, funds the National Breast Cancer Foundation and programs for at-risk youth and domestic violence victims.

Other billionaires have listed philanthropic programs they fund with profits, usually via a charity such as Meriton mogul Harry Triguboff's Foundation for youth and chronic illness.

Last week, Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart denied she was the mystery billionaire with a superannuation balance of $544million, which the Australian Tax Office listed as its top super balance.

''That's a ridiculous amount of money,' Mr Smith said, 'You don't actually need five hundred million dollars to retire.

'It wasn't me, I have nothing like that.'

But he said that 'wealthy people like me ... I've always said we can pay a bit more tax.

'I'm in the one per cent group that has the same amount of money as the 17 million Australians who are typical wage earners.

'Mark Carnegie said a few years ago "my proposal is the richest 15 per cent of the community pay 15 per cent more tax in order to set ourselves up optimistically and positively for the next generation and the generation after that'.

'I don't believe we should be targeting mums and dads, I think there's a chance for the typical wage earner to pay less tax.'
The view is finally clear once and for all after the ABC daytime television show gave its audience the go-ahead to remove their face masks as the three year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic approaches.

Hosts, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, and Sunny Hostin all acknowledged the crowd's smiling faces during Monday's episode from the desk with audience members before them no longer wearing masks.

The audience had been required to wear face coverings since the show returned to the studio in 2021 with Friday's episode being the final day.

'Look at y'all sitting up here with no masks on,' exclaimed co-host Whoopi Goldberg as the audience applauded. 'Wait a minute now. So I'm talking, and in my mind, I'm going, what is different about this audience? And then it hits me. No masks. Because I saw your smile and I saw your teeth. It's like great. Well, yeah, we're getting back to where we were.'

Hostin also noted it was the 'first day' without the mask mandate, while co-host Sara Haines added it was 'nice to see their faces.'

The audience mandate for masks on ABC's The View has finally been lifted with the hosts acknowledging the change on Monday's show

'Look at y'all sitting up here with no masks on,' exclaimed co-host Whoopi Goldberg as the audience applauded on Monday's show

On Friday's show, the audience still appeared to be wearing their facemasks

It's not clear why The View chose Monday to lift their masking mandate, although this month, the state of emergency in New York, where the show is filmed, finally expires.

Also on Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wanted to ban face masks in stores completely after criminals appeared to be using the coverings to avoid being identified when they commit crimes.

Back on The View, actor Brendan Fraser joined the hosts to discuss his movie, The Whale, and also noticed the masking change.

'It was a film made in the time of COVID. I'm hoping in years to come, if we look back at the movies ever made between 2019 and 2022, there's kind of a secret ingredient to them all. And I have a theory, I think it was because we cared about one other even more while we were at work. Because by rights, we should have been at home.

'We can't live like that. And it's nice to see your beautiful faces again. I've been sitting in many houses and crowds at least recently, and it's not lost on me we can get together and do this again,' Fraser said.

Members of the audience, pictured during Friday's show, were all fully masked

Audience members to The View had been fully masked since returning to the studio in June 2021

Show had required audience members to wear masks since returning to the studio in 2021, but on Monday, the hosts noticed the audience was maskless

Audience members appeared extremely happy now that they are no longer wearing masks

The View had taken an alarmist approach during the pandemic whether it be on mask-wearing or over-hyping the virus' seriousness to children.

In one instance, the hosts, led by Goldberg defended Broadway performer Patti LuPone in May 2022 after she stopped a performance to yell at an audience member at one of her shows for not wearing a mask.

'You don't want to infect the people on stage who are not wearing masks,' Goldberg said, defending LuPone. 'Just do it right.'

In 2021, two co-hosts, Hostin and co-host Ana Navarro, were forced to leave the set after testing positive for COVID-19 mid-show, just before an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Their results ended up being false positives.

One of the younger hosts, Sara Haines, stated how she would rather see her kid in a mask than on a 'ventilator,' while co-host Sunny Hostin also massively overestimated the death toll for children when she suggested last year that '1 percent' of youngsters who got the virus died from it. At the time, the death rate for children aged under 18 was 0.008 percent.

Behar was snapped dining out with her friends without a mask and reportedly left the restaurant without her mask as well

The Post Millennial's editor-in-chief Libby Emmons posted the pics on Twitter on Friday and called out the liberal commentator for her hypocrisy on masks

Last month, co-host Joy Behar was hit by another hypocrisy storm after being photographed unmasked inside a New York City restaurant hours after crowing of her plans to wear one indefinitely on national television.

Behar, 79, declared that she would remain masked up despite constantly changing guidelines.

'Personally, I listen to the little voice in my head that doesn't really follow 100 percent what they tell me because they keep changing it,' Behar said in February.

But her flakiness was exposed by The Post Millennial just hours later, after Behar was snapped chin-wagging with friends in a banquette at a New York restaurant.

And a source even claimed to reporter Libby Emmons that Behar had strutted through the restaurant unmasked when her party left - despite her friends happily covering-up to do so.

After seeing the photos of Behar unmasked, Emmons said: 'Joy Behar said she was going to mask in public places 'indefinitely' because it's just not safe. Except for last night out at this restaurant, apparently.'

She added: 'I hear that she also walked out of the restaurant unmasked, though her companions dutifully donned theirs.'

Behar didn't break any rules, with New York having recently dropped a strict mandate which required patrons to show proof of vaccination before being allowed to eat inside restaurants, or visit other indoor leisure facilities.

But the comedienne had acted as if she was planning to go above-and-beyond such requirements.

'So if I go on the subway, if I go in a bus, if I go into the theater . a crowded place, I would wear a mask, and I might do that indefinitely. Why do I need the flu or a cold even? And so I'm listening to myself right now. I don't think it's 100% safe yet,' she said.
Ms Hay was a Labor MP for Bass in northern Tasmania

A former state politician and winner of Miss Australia is accused of punching her husband in the face and verbally abusing him for more than a decade.

Kathryn Isobel Hay was a Labor MP for Bass in northern Tasmania between 2002 and 2006 and was also crowned Miss Tasmania and Miss Australia 1999.

The ex-politician and beauty pageant winner faced Launceston Magistrates Court on March 2 charged with one count of emotional abuse or intimidation and did not enter a plea.

Ms Hay's alleged victim is her husband, Troy Shane Richardson, however the pair's current relationship status is unknown.

The charges include 46 particulars relating to physical violence, manipulation and control against Mr Richardson between October 22, 2011 and February 13, 2022.

Former Tasmanian Labor member for Bass and winner of Miss Australia in 1999 Kathryn Hay (pictured) is charged with one count of emotional abuse or intimidation against her husband

Court documents include 46 particulars relating to physical violence, manipulation and control against her partner, Troy Shane Richardson, between October 22, 2011 to February 13, 2022 (pictured, Kathryn Hay rafter the Miss Australian Quest award ceremony)

Ms Hay allegedly assaulted her partner on numerous occasions by throwing a bowl of cereal at him, pushing him, punching and slapping his face and punching his upper body, according to documents filed with the court by the prosecution.

The prosecution alleges Ms Hay verbally abused Mr Richardson calling him 'worthless and useless', a 'c***', a 'piece of s***', 'lazy', 'pathetic', 'dumb' and 'unfit to be a husband or a father.'

In 2002, Ms Hay became the first woman of Aboriginal descent to be elected in Tasmania

Ms Hay allegedly made a throat-slitting gesture at her husband, accused him of cheating and even told him to kill himself because 'the world would be better off without him'.

Documents also show Ms Hay allegedly told people she wanted her husband to commit suicide because she would 'get everything'.

The 47-year-old is also accused of controlling her husband's actions and discouraged him from attending therapy or counselling.

She allegedly prevented Mr Richardson from seeing his parents, drafted correspondence to the Director of Public Prosecutions and arranged doctor's appointments for him without his consent.

Ms Hay became the first woman of Aboriginal descent to be elected to the state division of Bass in 2002 alongside Jim Cox.

She did not recontest her seat in 2006 and retired from politics due to 'personal reasons'.

However, in 2009 and 2012 Ms Hay made prospective runs for re-election but withdrew prior to the ballot.

Ms Hay is due to face court on May 29.
Critics said Weingarten, the head of America's Federation of Teachers, should not comment on everything and ridiculed her spelling and grammar errors

It comes as the Florida legislature is set to vote on a half-dozen new education bills that would ban preferred pronouns in schools and eliminate gender studies

Randi Weingarten, 65, tried to slam Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a misspelled tweet on Sunday

Woke teachers' union boss Randi Weingarten tried to slam Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a misspelled tweet over the weekend.

Just days after she had a complete meltdown on the student loan crisis in front of the Supreme Court, Weingarten  the head of America's Federation of Teachers  took to Twitter on Sunday to disparage the Florida governor.

'DeSantis should be fixated on the cost of living issues in Fla  housing is unaffordable, home insurance even worse, but instead he is exanding [sic] gun access, defunding, [sic] public schools, & banning everything he dislikes  teachers, journalists and the vulnerable,' Weingarten tweeted.

It came as the Florida legislature, which has a Republican supermajority, comes back into session for two months. During that time, GOP lawmakers plan to pass a multitude of bills focusing on education that would, among other things, ban preferred pronouns in schools and eliminate gender studies at universities.

But critics said Weingarten, 65, should not 'comment on everything,' with one-time Superman actor Dean Cain likening her to a Mafia boss as others ridiculed her misspellings and bad grammar.

Randi Weingarten, 65, tried to attack Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a tweet over the weekend. The head of America's Federation of Teachers, the second largest teachers' union in the country, is pictured here in 2017

In her tweet on Sunday she misspelled the word 'expanding' and used errant commas

In his tweet, Cain asked why Weingarten is 'always commenting on everything.'

'I thought she was the head of the Mafia  I mean teacher's union,' he joked.

Alexander Diaz, a student at Catholic University of America, also noted that the only reason the cost of living is increasing in Florida is due to an influx of people moving from other states, and DeSantis' Deputy Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern suggested Weingarten should be 'fixated' on why so many parents left New York for Florida.

'Maybe it's because they wanted to be as far away as possible from schools where Randi has influence.'

Meanwhile, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, the first Hispanic lieutenant governor of Florida, ridiculed Weingarten, who heads the country's second largest teachers' union, for her spelling and grammar mistakes.

'My teachers always called me out for not proof reading my spelling and grammar, and they were right in doing so,' he tweeted. 'Below is from the president of the national teacher's union.'

And Dr. Mark Young, an author and podcast host, noted how Weingarten does not let people reply to her tweets.

'Notice how this brave public servant disables the ability to replay [sic] to her tweets?' he asked, rhetorically. 'She knows it is all lies and doesn't want to be challenged.'

Still, Weingarten doubled down on her criticism of the Florida governor Monday, tweeting: 'Rather than focusing on policies that could help families and communities thrive, DeSantis is using culture wars to target what he doesn't like and further divide us.

'This is shameful and does nothing to improve the lives of Floridians.'

DeSantis, pictured in November, is expected to sign a slew of new education bills into law in the coming months

Many online attacked Weingarten for her tweet, ridiculing her for her spelling and grammar mistakes and comparing her to a Mafia boss

In the coming months, DeSantis is expected to sign into law a half-dozen new education laws.

Among those bills are one that states that 'It shall be the policy of every K-12 educational institution that a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex.'

Similarly. another proposed law would require that students in grades six through 12 be taught that 'sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth.' It also grants parents greater power to read over and object to public school instructional materials.

It is now being dubbed the 'Don't Say They' bill by opponents.

Others would outlaw spending on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities and eliminate college majors and minors in 'Critical Race Theory, Gender Studies or Intersectionality.'

That bill says that colleges should only offer general education courses that 'promote the philosophical underpinnings of Western civilization and include studies of this nation's historical documents' like the Constitution and the Federalist Papers.

And yet another proposal would expand the ban on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to 7th and 8th graders when a previous version of the law topped out at 6th grade. Critics call the 'Parental Rights in Education' law the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

DeSantis is also expected to sign bills during this two-month legislative session that includes: ending requirements for needing a permit to carry a firearm, making it easier to impose the death penalty on criminals and mandating companies to use E-Verify, a web-based system run by the Department of Homeland Security, to confirm a worker has legal status in the U.S. before hired.

Famously, the session could also see an increase in spending for a program transporting illegal migrants out of Florida to Democratic enclave states and sanctuary cities.

The governor is also expected to cut taxes by $2billion in the state.

All of these bills are widely expected to pass, as the Florida state legislature is controlled by a Republican supermajority in both the House and Senate side.

In the State House, there are 84 Republicans and 35 Democrats; in the Senate, there are 28 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

Weingarten doubled down on Monday saying 'DeSantis is using culture wars to target what he doesn't like and further divide us'

Weingarten has been critical of DeSantis in the past, sharing a video just last week of DeSantis' speech defending the Florida Department of Education's decision to pull explicit LGBTQ material from school libraries.

In that speech, DeSantis cited Florida's 'standards' that grant the Department of Education the authority to remove books, and suggested that '99 percent of parents' would agree with removing the books if the media weren't misleading them.

He noted that many in the mainstream media characterized the removal of these books as 'book banning,' which he said was a 'book ban hoax.'

DeSantis also mentioned how MSNBC claimed that the Florida Department of Education compelling a public school to drop woke aspects of its African Studies class amounted to his administration outlawing the study of slavery.

Weingarten commented on that video claiming that DeSantis is lying.

'[Question]: Did Fla teachers complain of book banning before DeSantis started his "anti-woke" crusade? Did we see pictures of tarps over classroom libraries? Were teachers threatened with felonies if they used the "wrong" book?

'[Answer}: No. Now that has been exposed. Now it's a hoax.'

And in early February, Weingarten accused DeSantis of 'race-baiting' over his decision to ban College Board's proposed AP African American Studies course from schools in the state.

'As an educator who taught AP, I'm disappointed with the omissions and changes to the AP African American Studies course,' she tweeted at the time.

'This is a college-level elective course 4 high school students, and people like #APhilipRandolph and #bellhooks should not be given shrift,' she said, referring to a labor unionist and a feminist author.
Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks met Monday with Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating the hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal on former President Donald Trump's behalf.

Hicks and her lawyer, Robert Trout, spent several hours inside the Manhattan district attorney's office and, afterward, were seen walking to a waiting SUV.

They didn't say anything to reporters as they got into the vehicle. Trout declined comment.

The district attorney's office also declined comment and would not confirm prosecutors interviewed Hicks, who served as Trump's 2016 campaign press secretary and held various roles in his White House, including communications director.

Last week, prosecutors questioned Trump's long-estranged former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, and Trump's former political adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks (right) met Monday with Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating the hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal on former President Donald Trump's (left) behalf

The Manhattan district attorney's office is investigating whether any state laws were broken when hush-money payments were made on behalf of Trump to porn star Stormy Daniels (left) and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal (right)

After his session last Friday, Cohen told reporters that the probe of payments to two women alleging affairs with Trump is 'really progressing' and that he expects to be called soon to testify before the grand jury that's been hearing evidence since January.

'The level of specificity to which they are attacking the various issues is extraordinary,' said Cohen, adding that he's met with prosecutors 18 times through several iterations of the probe.

Monday's meeting with Manhattan prosecutors wasn't the first time that Hicks has been questioned by prosecutors investigating the president.

In 2018, federal prosecutors interviewed Hicks as part of their investigation in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with Trump.

Cohen, the only person charged in the federal probe, pleaded guilty in 2018 to various charges, including that he violated campaign finance law by arranging the payouts to Daniels and McDougal to keep them from going public.

Trump has denied the affairs.

Last year, Hicks was interviewed by the House Jan. 6 committee, telling the panel that Trump told her that no one would care about his legacy if he lost the 2020 election.

Last week, prosecutors questioned Trump's long-estranged former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, and Trump's former political adviser Kellyanne Conway (left)

Last year, Hicks was interviewed by the House Jan. 6 committee , telling the panel that Trump told her that no one would care about his legacy if he lost the 2020 election

She told the committee that Trump told her, 'The only thing that matters is winning.'

Hicks was also a key witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, delivering important information to the special counsels office about Trumps attempts to obstruct that investigation.

As for the hush-money probe, the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan decided not to prosecute Trump personally over the payments.

The Manhattan district attorney's office then began investigating the payments to see if any state laws were broken.

Conway's lawyer didn't respond to multiple messages about her meeting last week with prosecutors, which was first reported by The New York Times.

Trump's lawyers have said that the payments to the two women broke no laws. Trump says the investigation is politically motivated.
We have long had a reputation for being far less broad-minded than our European neighbours.

But todays Britons are actually as liberal as Scandinavians when it comes to matters such as divorce and casual sex.

And we are more permissive than the supposedly hot-blooded French, a major survey reveals.

While Norwegians and Swedes are traditionally seen as less uptight, they are more likely than we are to frown upon one-night stands and are only slightly less disapproving of divorce.

Britons even appear more accepting on sensitive issues such as euthanasia and prostitution.

How the UK compares when considering divorce, homosexuality, casual sex and abortion acceptable

Spectators wave rainbow flags at a Pride march in London

The results come from the World Values Survey. Almost two-thirds of Britons  64 per cent  now believe divorce is justifiable, up from 18 per cent when the survey began in 1981. For Norwegians, the figure is 66 per cent.

Britain has the third most liberal views on divorce among the 24 countries surveyed, which make up almost half the worlds population. Sweden is the most liberal, as 79 per cent surveyed there agreed that people are justified in ending their marriages.

In Britain, 42 per cent believe casual sex is acceptable, more than in Sweden (39 per cent) and Norway (33 per cent).

All generations have changed views

Among Generation Z  those born from 1996 onwards  around two-thirds see nothing wrong in casual sex, but only 12 per cent of the pre-war generation agree. Some 45 per cent of men believe it is justifiable, compared with 37 per cent of women.

Britain is the fourth most accepting country surveyed, even coming above the passionate French, of whom only 26 per cent think casual sex is acceptable.

People kiss at a Pride march in London last year

Thousands gather in central London for a Pride parade in June 2022

In both Sweden and Norway, just 6 per cent said they believed prostitution was justifiable, compared with 17 per cent in Britain.

The British also have more liberal views on euthanasia than people in Sweden and Norway, with 47 per cent believing it is a justifiable way to end life.

Britain has seen an acceleration in its liberal views over the past decade, according to researchers at Kings College London, who compiled the analysis.

In 2018, only nine per cent said prostitution was justifiable.

However, just over half of us still support the death penalty in some circumstances  21 per cent of people in Britain believe it is justifiable, while a further 35 per cent think it is potentially justifiable in some cases.

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at Kings, said: Its easy to lose sight of just how much more liberal the UK has become over a relatively short period of time, and how liberal we are relative to many other nations.

While Norwegians and Swedes are traditionally seen as less uptight, they are more likely than we are to frown upon one-night stands and are only slightly less disapproving of divorce

Britain has the third most liberal views on divorce among the 24 countries surveyed, which make up almost half the worlds population. Sweden is the most liberal, as 79 per cent surveyed there agreed that people are justified in ending their marriages

What were once pressing moral concerns  things like homosexuality, divorce and casual sex  have become simple facts of life for much of the public. This mostly isnt just driven by younger generations replacing older generations.

All generations have changed their views significantly, although the oldest pre-war cohort now often stand out as quite different, and on some issues, like casual sex, there is a clear generational hierarchy, with the youngest much more accepting.

The death penalty is one issue where we rank as comparatively less liberal, even if UK attitudes have softened in recent years.

Religion still matters, with only 53 per cent of believers accepting of divorce, compared with 72 per cent of non-believers. But since 1981, acceptance of abortion has risen from 14 to 48 per cent, while two-thirds now accept homosexuality  up from 12 per cent.
Brittany Higgins has moved into a lavish Gold Coast home after receiving a large, confidential settlement payout from the taxpayer stemming from her claims she was raped in Parliament House.

The former political staffer uploaded a series of photos to Instagram on Tuesday to show off the rental property she now shares with her fiance David Sharaz and their dog, Kingston.

'Home sweet home,' she captioned the post, which features a selfie and multiple images of a nearby beach and a now-deleted photo of a shiny Jeep parked out the front.

Ms Higgins also included a picture of her new living room, which is adorned with designer furniture - including a $500 white velvet mirror and a $330 decorative side table.

Her mother Kelly Higgins, who is a real estate agent, commented: 'It's a exactly what you deserve my angel.'

'A beautiful home in a beautiful location. Lots of happy memories to be shared and made. Miss you already xx.'

Mr Sharaz, who left his job with Southern Cross Austereo in mid-February, posted his own photo of a beach near their new home with the caption: 'No, I don't miss the 9-5.'

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz (pictured together) have moved from Brisbane to the Gold Coast

David Sharaz, who recently quit his job in Brisbane, posted a photo of a beach near their new home - with the caption 'No, I don't miss the 9-5'

Ms Sharaz worked for Southern Cross Austereo for two years - first as a breakfast news reader, and then as part of Queensland news operations - before he suddenly left last month.

He later uploaded photos with colleagues at his farewell party. One tagged him in an Instagram post, with the caption: 'Goodbye, my fav gossiper.'

While his LinkedIn profile still states that he works at the company's Brisbane office, his Twitter bio has been edited to say 'AWAY'.

After news of his sudden departure from the company was revealed, Ms Higgins urged her audience to 'read between the lines', adding: 'No one walks away from employment without a job to walk into.

Ms Higgins announced in February that she would leave her home in Brisbane to finish her law degree at Bond University on the Gold Coast.

In December, she reached a compensation settlement with the Commonwealth for an undisclosed amount, after she tried to sue for damages for sexual harassment, discrimination and negligence.

The month-long trial in the ACT Supreme Court against her alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann collapsed last October.

She had alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House after a night out in March 2019. He had pleaded not guilty and has continually denied the allegations.

Brittany Higgins posted a photo of her new living room, which features a $500 velvet mirror (pictured)

She also posted a photo of her fiance David Sharaz standing at their new home on the Gold Coast

The trial was aborted due to misconduct by a jury member.

In December, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC dropped the case altogether, citing concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health.

Last month, she refuted claims that her payout was worth $3million - insisting she received 'far less', and threatening legal action if the figure was repeated.

Mr Lehrmann has launched a defamation case against Channel 10, Lisa Wilkinson and news.com.au in the Federal Court for publishing stories about Ms Higgins' allegations in February 2021.

He was not identified in the TV interview or online article, but he claims his family and former colleagues were able to identify him as the alleged rapist.

Mr Lehrmann will be cross-examined in court for the first time later in March.

Ms Higgins announced on Twitter that she is willing to give evidence at the trial.
Ham Kee-ho, country managing director of AWS Korea, speaks during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul



By Baek Byung-yeul



Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud business arm of U.S. tech giant Amazon, is offering free cloud computing education for job seekers in Korea at a time when many companies here are struggling to hire skilled cloud computing engineers, the head of its Korean unit said Tuesday.



"AWS announced its initiative to provide cloud skills to 29 million people from 2021 to 2025 and so far we have trained about 13 million people. In Korea, we have been offering education programs since 2017 and trained over 200,000 people," Ham Kee-ho, the country managing director of AWS Korea, said at a press conference in Seoul.



"To help the unemployed and job seekers, we are now offering a 12-week entry-level cloud education program course for free," Ham added, introducing the company's AWS re/Start cloud computing education program.



AWS re/Start is a program that operates in more than 180 cities in 60 countries around the world. Participants receive free education and job training to prepare for their careers in the cloud computing business.



"This is not just a program that we can solely do. There should be a delivery partner and recruitment partner," Ham said adding the company has been cooperating with Megazone Cloud, a local cloud service provider, to offer the education program, and Shinhan DS, an IT service unit of Shinhan Financial Group, to help program participants find jobs.



Participants can join the education program at Megazone Cloud's education center. The local cloud service provider also connects job seekers with companies seeking cloud engineers. Shinhan DS and other companies will provide job interview opportunities and plan to hire some of them as interns.



"As a partner of AWS, we provide training through professional instructors and help them get jobs at other companies," Lee Joo-wan, CEO of Megazone Cloud, said.





Cho Kyoung-sun, CEO of Shinhan DS, speaks during a press conference at AWS Korea's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul
Under proposal, tech giants will be required to hand over all relevant content

Amendment understood to have now got backing of Secretary of State

Social media bosses could face up to a year in prison if they fail to hand over data to bereaved parents under the Online Safety Bill.

The amendment is understood to have now got the backing of Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State responsible for the legislation.

Under the proposal, tech giants will be required to hand over all relevant content within 'a timeframe that is fair to all parties'.

This would include content that the victim had viewed, the algorithms that might have driven harmful material to them, and how they engaged with it.

It was put forward to prevent families suffering the same trauma as the parents of Molly Russell, who were denied access to their daughter's online accounts for nearly five years.

It was put forward to prevent families suffering the same trauma as the parents of Molly Russell (pictured), who were denied access to their daughter's online accounts for nearly five years

The 14-year-old schoolgirl was bombarded by depression, self-harm and suicide content online in the months leading up to taking her own life in 2017.

On Sunday, the lawyer who helped the Russell family's fight for access to the material wrote to Ms Donelan and Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, backing the campaign.

Merry Varney said the social media firms involved had provided only a 'tiny fraction' of the material requested despite being asked to do so by the coroner.

The amendment  which was drafted by Baroness Kidron, founder of charity 5Rights  is also backed by four former culture secretaries.

Under it, failure to provide or preserve the content 'without reasonable excuse' will be punished with fines of up to 10 per cent of the firms' global turnover or a maximum one year's jail sentence.

The Online Safety Bill now comes under the responsibility of the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Anthony Albanese may have ruled out 'major' changes to the country's superannuation system before the last election, but his partner Jodie Haydon penned a dossier detailing the five changes the government should make just three years before Labor came to power.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Ms Haydon participated in a campaign to reform the superannuation system in 2019, where she wrote an article calling on the federal Government to make a raft of changes to super rules in order to protect women and low-income earners.

The 'First Lady' of Australian politics worked in the industry for 20 years and has spoken in the past about learning 'very quickly the power of superannuation' in Australians' lives.

At the time the article was released, Ms Haydon was working as a strategic partnership manager for First State Super - one of the nation's biggest super funds.

The dossier revelation comes as Mr Albanese faces accusations of breaking a campaign promise after announcing his Labor government would double the tax on superannuation accounts of more than $3million.

Anthony Albanese may have ruled out 'major' changes to the country's superannuation system before the last election, but his partner Jodie Haydon penned a dossier explaining five key tweaks the government should make

The couple began dating in late 2019 after bonding over a mutual love of the South Sydney Rabbitohs

In her article - written for the Public Service Association of NSW magazine - Ms Haydon called on Scott Morrison's Coalition government to overhaul the super system.

Jodie Haydon's five-point super plan 1. Additional annual $1,000 government super contribution for low income earners 2. Remove delays to super guarantee increases 3. Pay super guarantee on government paid parental leave 4. Remove $450 monthly income threshold 5. Gender impact statement for changes to retirement income policy and the aged pension Advertisement

Ms Haydon - a signatory for the Women in Super campaign 'Make Super Fair' - called for an additional annual government contribution of $1,000 to be put into the super accounts of low income earners in order 'to better support those with inadequate retirement savings'.

She also called for 'no further delay to scheduled superannuation guarantee increases', and a commitment to 'pay super guarantee on government paid parental leave'.

Ms Haydon also urged the government to remove the $450 monthly income threshold and to also publish a gender impact statement for any changes to age pension or retirement income policy.

The monthly income threshold - the minimum amount an employee must earn before an employer is required to pay super - was lifted on July 1, 2022.

Now, an employer must pay superannuation on all earnings.

The 'First Lady' of Australian politics worked in the industry for 20 years and has spoken freely in the past about learning 'very quickly the power of superannuation' in Australians' lives

A closer look at the Make Super Fair campaign also reveals it is aligned with Mr Albanese's latest decision to double the super contribution tax rate from 15 per cent to 30 per cent for the richest 0.5 per cent of Australians

A mission statement from the campaign said modelling determined the additional contributions Ms Haydon proposed would cost approximately $2.7billion each year and would specifically target low income earners.

'Most of [the targeted group] are women and need government help to achieve economic security in retirement,' the campaign stated.

'It is estimated that the Government spends $30billion on super tax concessions annually and the majority of current super tax concessions are paid to high income earners, who do not need government help to achieve a comfortable retirement.'

Ms Haydon was particularly passionate in the article about the inequality women face in the workforce and through to retirement.

She noted the super gap between men and women was 42 per cent at the time - more recently it has closed to approximately 28 per cent - adding that 40 per cent of retired women live in poverty or experience economic insecurity.

'The superannuation guarantee system is based on a 20th-century male worker and changes to recognise the modern workforce will improve outcomes for women, she wrote.

'First State Super acknowledges that positive discrimination is necessary to fix the system,' she said at the time.

Pictured: Ms Haydon with Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron

Ms Haydon left the super industry in early 2022 when she became the woman's officer for the NSW Public Service Association.

But it appears her time in superannuation left a profound mark on her from the very beginning of her career in the industry.

'It was a member services role and I'll never forget it,' she said in May 2022. 'I felt very young at the time to be dealing with such serious issues from members.

'People would call me and disclose they'd just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, ''how do I access my super?''

'People would call in financial distress, ''I've lost my job, can I access my super?''

'People would call saying ''I've had a workplace injury, I can't work, can I access my super?'' People would call and say my ''partner's deceased, how do I claim on their super?''

'So on any given day you were acutely aware of how traumatic some people's lives and their circumstances were, and I never expected to find that insight working in financial services.'

Mr Albanese's decision to double the concessional tax rate on high net worth super customers sparked a public outcry that he'd broken an election promise.

Mr Albanese has come under criticism from the Opposition for telling a Sky News reporter during the election campaign that he would not meddle with retirement savings if Labor was elected.

'We've said we have no intention of making any super changes,' he said.

Mr Albanese has received some backlash over the policy amid allegations he 'broke an election promise'

Mr Albanese stressed the 15 per cent concessional tax rate would continue to apply for the 99.5 per cent of Australians with less than $3million in retirement savings, and will only come into effect from July 1, 2025.

The 80,000 Australians who will pay more tax on their super were particularly wealthy, Mr Albanese said.

'It's hard to argue that those levels is about actual retirement incomes, which is what superannuation is for,' he said.

The Prime Minister pointed to figures showing 17 Australians had more than $100million in their retirement savings accounts - including one mystery person who had more than $400million in super.

Despite the controversy, the policy has also attracted significant support, with many pointing out the small number of people actually impacted by the changes.

Daily Mail Australia approached the Prime Minister's office for comment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed not to retreat from Bakhmut as Russian forces encroached on the devastated eastern city they have sought to capture for six months at the cost of thousands of lives.

Less than a week ago, an adviser to Mr Zelensky said the defenders might retreat from Bakhmut and fall back to nearby positions.

But Mr Zelensky on Monday chaired a meeting in which top military brass 'spoke in favour of continuing the defence operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut', his office said.

Later, in his nightly video address, the president said his advisers unanimously agreed to press on with the fight, 'not to retreat' and to bolster Ukrainian defences.

Mr Zelensky's top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said no decision has been made to retreat because of 'a consensus among the military about the need to continue defending the city' and grinding down enemy forces 'while building new lines of defence'.

A Ukrainian serviceman sits in a tank at the frontline near Bakhmut

A Ukrainian serviceman carries a shell for a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer before firing towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut

Fighting around Bakhmut for six months with both sides taking significant losses

By pressing the defence, Ukraine has exhausted Russia's main combat-ready groups and trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive, he said.

Intense Russian shelling targeted the city in the Donetsk region and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault to try to finish off Bakhmut's resistance.

The nearby towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka came under heavy shelling, damaging cars and homes and sparking a fire. No casualties were immediately reported.

Police and volunteers evacuated people from Chasiv Yar and other frontline towns in an operation made difficult by the loss of bridges and constant artillery fire which has left barely a house standing.

Russian forces have been unable to deliver a knockout blow that would allow them to seize Bakhmut. Analysts say it does not hold major strategic value and its capture would be unlikely to serve as a turning point in the conflict.

The Russian push for Bakhmut reflects the Kremlin's broader struggle to achieve battlefield momentum. Moscow's full-scale invasion on February 24 2022 soon stalled and Ukraine launched a largely successful counteroffensive.

Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked.

The city's importance has become mostly symbolic.

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, prevailing there would finally deliver some good news from the front.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to surrender the city

For Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance reinforces a message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks, justifying continued support from its western allies.

US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin endorsed that view on Monday, saying during a visit to Jordan that Bakhmut has 'more of a symbolic value than ... strategic and operational value'.

Moscow, he added, continues 'to pour in a lot of ill-trained and ill-equipped troops' into Bakhmut, while Ukraine patiently builds 'combat power' elsewhere with western military support ahead of a possible spring offensive.

Even so, some analysts question the wisdom of ordering Ukrainian defenders to hold out much longer. Others suggest a tactical withdrawal may already be underway.

Michael Kofman, the director of Russia studies at the Can think tank in Arlington, Virginia, said Ukraine's defence of Bakhmut has been effective because it has drained the Russian war effort, but that Kyiv should now look ahead.

'The tenacious defence of Bakhmut achieved a great deal, expending Russian manpower and ammunition,' Mr Kofman tweeted late on Sunday. 'But strategies can reach points of diminishing returns, and given Ukraine is trying to husband resources for an offensive, it could impede the success of a more important operation.'

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, said Kyiv's smartest option now may be to withdraw to positions that are easier to defend.

'Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare,' the ISW said in an assessment published late on Sunday.

The Bakhmut battle has exposed Russian military shortcomings and bitter divisions.

evgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner Group military company, addresses to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to withdraw the remaining Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut

A Ukrainian soldier sits in a trench near Russian positions near Bakhmut

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the millionaire owner of the Wagner Group military company which has spearheaded the Bakhmut offensive, has been at loggerheads with the Russian defence ministry and repeatedly accused it of failing to provide his forces with ammunition.

On Sunday, he again criticised top military brass for moving slowly to deliver the promised ammunition and questioned whether the delay was caused 'by red tape or treason'.

On Monday, Mr Prigozhin said in a Russian social media post that the situation in Bakhmut 'will turn out to be a 'pie': The filling is the parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surrounded by us (in the case, of course, if there is a complete encirclement of Bakhmut), and the shell is, in fact, the Wagner' Group.

Bakhmut has taken on almost mythic importance. It has become like Mariupol - the port city in the same province that Russia captured last year after an 82-day siege which eventually came down to a mammoth steel mill where determined Ukrainian fighters held out along with civilians.

Moscow looked to cement its rule in Mariupol. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu toured some of the city's rebuilt infrastructure - a newly built hospital, a rescue centre and residential buildings - the defence ministry said.

Ukraine's top military commanders have vowed to keep defending the besieged city of Bakhmut, where Russia is hoping to make its first major wartime gain in more than half a year, and will strengthen their defences, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

Amidst some of the bloodiest fighting of the more than one-year long invasion, Moscow says capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces late on Monday reported that the city and surrounding areas were under 'constant attacks' as 'the enemy takes no account of losses.'

After Russian gains in recent weeks, at the culmination of a winter offensive, Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat.

However, late on Monday, Zelensky said that at a meeting of top military officials he had asked the commander of the regional grouping and Ukraine's commander in chief how they proposed to proceed.

'Both generals responded not to withdraw but to strengthen (our defences),' he said in his nightly address.

'I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut.'

A Ukrainian sniper looks towards a Russian position from a frontline trench in Bakhmut

A Ukrainian serviceman flies a drone to spot Russian positions near the city of Bakhmut

A Ukrainian APC drives towards frontline positions near Bakhmut

The intense battle has depleted both sides' artillery reserves, with thousands of shells fired daily along the eastern and southern fronts. Kyiv's European allies are working on a deal to procure more ammunition for the fight.

The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, which is leading the Bakhmut assault, said on Monday he needed the regular army to supply him with more ammunition, reinforcements and covering support if he was to win the battle.

The appeal from Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin came amid signs of a deepening rift between him and the Russian defence ministry whom he has bitterly criticised for months and accused of deliberately starving his men of ammunition, an allegation it has rejected.

'I'm knocking on all doors and sounding the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks,' he said in a statement released by his press service.

'If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. If not, then everyone will be screwed.'

There was no immediate response from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection transferred 25 extra agents to the northern border on Monday as the number of migrants crossing in from Canada continues to rise.

Some of those agents had previously been assigned to the southern border, NBC News reported.

While illegal crossings at the southern border remain a larger overall problem, the number of crossings at the north has risen nearly 850% and is causing concern.

It is a problem that works both ways - some migrants are actually sneaking into Canada from the U.S., causing a spike in immigration numbers for America's neighbor to the north. Leaders there are demanding to speak to President Joe Biden about the problem.

Migrant families at the Roxham Road border crossing in Quebec

A CBP spokesperson told NBC their agency began temporarily deploying Border Patrol agents from sectors 'not experiencing an influx' to the Swanton Sector of the U.S.-Canadian border 'due to migration fluctuations along the Northern Border.'

'While the apprehension numbers are small compared to other areas with irregular migration flows, Swanton Sector apprehensions constitute a large change in this area,' the spokesperson said.

'The deployed team will serve as a force multiplier in the region and assist to deter and disrupt human smuggling activities being conducted in the Swanton Sector area of responsibility.'

The Swanton Sector, which includes sections of Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, experienced an 846% increase in apprehensions from October 2022 through this January, compared to the year prior.

Agents apprehended 367 people in January, which they say is more than they encountered since 2011 combined.

The average annual number of encounters in the Swanton Sector over the last dozen years is just 28.

The Swanton Sector is a a 2,200 square mile area with USCBP agents based in Swanton, Vermont.

There is no fencing along the crossing. Much of the area is woods and dirt paths. There is heavy snowfall and wetlands across the region this time of year.

Nearly two-thirds of the southbound migrants arrested by U.S. border agents in the Swanton Sector are from Mexico, according to CBP numbers.

The border problem works both ways as Canada is also getting a flux in migrants - above migrants exit a bus in Plattsburgh, New York where taxi drivers are waiting to take them to the Canadian border

Migrants are crossing the U.S./Canada border in snowy, freezing conditions

Crossings on the northern border are up almost 850%

Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose New York district is on the border with Canada, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last month to complain about the problem.

She said CBP agents reported 2,238 migrant encounters for all of fiscal year 2022 but, in the first four months of this fiscal year, migrant encounters have risen to 2,227, which is nearly surpassing last years total.

Migrants who make it to Mexico and can afford the $350 one-way plane ticket from Mexico City or Cancun to Montreal or Toronto then cross into the U.S. at the northern border, where they are less likely to be turned away than at the Southern border.

It's an option many migrants are taking due to crackdowns at the southern border.

But hypothermia and freezing to death are risks, particularly this time of year, as families are making the journey on foot in the cold and snow.

In December, U.S. border agents found themselves giving life-saving aid to migrants they found in the cold and snow.

The problem works both ways as migrants also walking across the border from the United States and into Canada.

More than 39,000 refugees entered Canada last year via unofficial crossings, the vast majority via Roxham Road linking Quebec and New York State.

It is the highest number since 2017 - when there was a spike because of then-President Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants.

Migrants from Mexico, Venezuela and other countries at the Canada border

Agents apprehended 367 people in January at the Northern border, which they say is more than they encountered since 2011 combined

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this month he plans on discussing the border problems with Joe Biden when the president visits Ottawa in March.

Trudeau wants to rewrite the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), which allows for anyone trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border in either direction to be sent back to the first of the two countries they arrived in, with few exceptions.

But the agreement does not cover unofficial border crossings like the Roxham Road route, a dirt path that is seeing a growth in migrant traffic.

'That will certainly be a conversation that we will continue to have with the U.S. administration, including at the visit of the president,' Trudeau said.

He noted 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.'

Border agents have rescued migrants who are freezing in the cold
High-profile Teal MP Monique Ryan's former chief of staff Sally Rugg claims their relationship was so fractured she felt uncomfortable dealing with basic women's hygiene in the office.

Federal Court judge Debbie Mortimer on Tuesday dismissed Ms Rugg's application to return to work with Dr Ryan while she awaited trial.

The activist claims she was sacked by Dr Ryan for raising concerns about unreasonable work.

Sally Rugg leaves court in Melbourne last month. She claims she was too frightened of her boss to go out and purchase tampons

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan has been accused by Ms Rugg of having dramatic mood swings that made her fearful to even step outside to buy a basic women's hygiene product

Daily Mail Australia can now reveal Ms Rugg had told the court she was so worried about Dr Ryan's temper she felt taking personal time to purchase tampons would bring on the ire of her boss.

In an affidavit provided to the Federal Court, Ms Rugg outlined the circumstances of her alleged ordeal on November 9 last year.

The court heard Ms Rugg had attended a press conference in which Dr Ryan spoke about endometriosis and menstrual pain.

'During the conference, I realised that my period had started. After the press conference I walked to Aussies cafe to buy tampons, but they didnt have any,' Ms Rugg stated in her 161 page affidavit.

'I started getting cramps and an upset stomach so I went to the bathroom for 5 or 10 minutes. When I returned to the parliamentary suite about 9.15 or 9.20, Dr Ryan was visibly angry at me and did not speak to me about the plan for the day, which is what we would normally do at that time of the morning.'

Ms Rugg claimed the pair would normally walk together to meetings they were both attending, but noted Dr Ryan ditched that routine following the menstrual pain press conference.

'This time, Dr Ryan walked ahead of me, instead of with me, to the 9.30am meeting (which I also attended),' she stated.

'Again, I saw this as hostile conduct in the workplace. Given her repeated hostility to me, I felt uncomfortable to tell Ms Ryan that I had my period and that I needed to go and buy tampons, or ask staff in other offices for them.'

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Principal Josh Bornstein is acting for Ms Rugg (pictured leaving court on Tuesday). He said his client is disappointed with her Federal Court loss

Member for Kooyong Monique Ryan (far right) posed for photographs at Parliament House in Canberra on November 8 last year - a day after the alleged 'tampon incident'

Sally Rugg during on appearance on the ABC's Q+A

Dr Ryan failed to address the accusations in either of the two affidavits she submitted to the Federal Court.

Ms Rugg claimed her boss told her she wanted her gone just six days later.

I dont think its working out,' Dr Ryan allegedly told her during a meeting between the pair.

At time, Ms Rugg has just served out her three-month probation period.

Just moments earlier, Ms Rugg claimed to have discussed Dr Ryan's alleged behaviour following the endometriosis and menstrual pain press conference.

'I have to really care about you and want you to succeed, so Im really affected by your moods, and I can tell youve been really angry at me the last week, and thats difficult because in another role, if the boss is angry at you, you can manage it,' Ms Rugg claimed to have told her boss.

'But here, so much of the performance of my role is about wanting you to succeed, and I feel your anger towards me really deeply.

Despite Ms Rugg's many gripes about her boss, she had sought an interim injunction in the Federal Court to stop the Commonwealth from terminating her employment with Dr Ryan until trial.

It was a move that puzzled Federal Court Judge Debbie Mortimer, who had previously expressed her frustration over Ms Rugg's application to return to work.

Justice Mortimer said she had struggled to grapple with the idea of Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan returning to work in close proximity with each other, pending any trial, after hearing evidence of their volatile relationship in a full-day hearing last week.

'I don't think I have seen a case like this,' she said.

'The material is pretty stark about a breakdown in the work relationship. How are they to be compelled to continue to work together?'

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan (pictured) will not be forced to work with Sally Rugg while awaiting trial

Sally Rugg had previously taken to Twitter to declare her love for working with Kooyong MP Monique Ryan

Dr Ryan maintained it would be 'impractical, if not impossible' to have Ms Rugg return to work in her office.

On Tuesday, Justice Mortimer questioned Ms Rugg's actual dedication to the 'teal movement' and took aim at her for hitting Instagram while the parties were supposed to be trying to sort out their differences in mediation.

In her ruling on Tuesday, Justice Mortimer agreed with Dr Ryan's assessment that Ms Rugg's social media post on February 10 had suggested she was subject to poor treatment while working for her.

'Dr Ryans characterisation of the post is in my opinion an accurate one. I do not see how this is the conduct of a person who wishes to return to work closely and professionally with Dr Ryan,' Justice Mortimer stated.

Sally Rugg worked at the forefront of Australia's campaign for marriage equality and continues to work in grassroots LGTBIQ activism.

'It is the conduct of a person who accepts their employment is at an end, and accepts they are embarking on a process to establish unlawful behaviour by Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth.'

In handing down her ruling, Justice Mortimer told the parties to continue to work together to resolve the matter in the hope of avoiding a costly trial.
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame watched on as the teacher who abused her when she was 15 pleaded not guilty to accusations he menaced, harassed or offended her online.

Nicolaas Ockert Bester, 70, is alleged to have made public posts on social media platform Twitter in relation to and directed at Ms Tame.

He appeared in Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.

Grace Tame appeared at court on Tuesday accompanied by supporters

It is alleged the posts were made April, July and August last year.

The matter was adjourned for contest mention on April 27 and his bail was continued.

Ms Tame was in the courtroom with her partner Max Heerey and several other supporters.

Bester is seen outside court in Hobart. He entered a not guilty plea to menacing or harassing Ms Tame via Twitter posts

Tame smiles as she speaks to supporters following the court mention

Bester, who did not speak to media outside the court, was charged by police in October and first appeared in court in December.

Former teacher Bester was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to two years and 10 months jail for abusing Ms Tame when she was a student at his school, as well as for possessing child exploitation material.

Ms Tame was the 2021 Australian of the Year and has advocated for survivors of abuse and their ability to speak out.
Advertisement

A pilot 'did not recall' his fellow pilot making a standard taxiing call to say he was taking off before their helicopters collided and crashed, killing four people and injuring nine others on the Gold Coast.

Air crash investigators say pilot Michael James told them he saw five passengers boarding the second helicopter at a helipad near Sea World as he was coming in to land his aircraft with six passengers at another helipad nearby on January 2.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says the pilot thought the second helicopter would pass behind his aircraft and he doesn't remember the other pilot radioing him to say he was taking off.

Pilot Ashley Jenkinson (pictured), 40, and his passengers including British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, were among the dead

Three pilots don't recall a colleague radioing to say he was taking off before his aircraft collided with another helicopter, killing four people

'They did not recall the pilot of XKQ making a standard 'taxiing' call announcing their intention to depart,' the ATSB's preliminary report into the crash said.

A third helicopter pilot in the area at the time recalled hearing Mr James' inbound call, but did not recall hearing a taxi call from the other pilot taking off.

A fourth helicopter pilot could not recall hearing calls from either of the two pilots involved in the crash before their aircraft collided.

However, ATSB commissioner Angus Mitchell said that evidence 'did not necessarily mean that a taxiing call was not made' by the pilot taking off and investigators would probe the radio calls in the lead-up to the crash.

The report said Mr James also told the ATSB he didn't see the second helicopter take off from the helipad.

'While video footage taken by passengers in both helicopters on mobile phones contained images of the other helicopter, this does not mean that the other helicopter was visible to either pilot,' Mr Mitchell said.

'The investigation will look closely at the issues both pilots faced in seeing the other helicopter.'

The finds are part of a preliminary report into the disaster led by Mr Mitchell.

'We're looking at everything that may have contributed, whether that be equipment, whether that be procedures whether that be individual actions  they will all be part (of the investigation),' he said.

Sea World pilot Michael James managed to land his aircraft safely following the collision

The report found the operator 'was aware that there was a problem with (Mr James') aircraft's transponder'.

'The transponder (on the chopper piloted by Mr James) was not transmitting secondary surveillance radar responses that were detected by radar surveillance equipment for the accident flight or previous flights,' the report said.

'Efforts to diagnose and address the transponder problem were ongoing.'

Both choppers had been fitted with a traffic collision avoidance system but it was not fully integrated into either aircraft, according to the report.

It found it only provided auditory alerts, and not visual information, to pilots.

Four people died and nine people were injured, including three critically, when the two aircraft collided mid-air and crashed into the sandbar.

Pilot Ashley Jenkinson, 40, and his passengers including British couple Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36, were among the dead.

Ms Tadros' son Nicholas, 10, has been undergoing procedures in hospital since the accident, and last week had his leg amputated from the knee down.

Victorian mother Winnie de Silva, 33, and her nine-year-old son Leon are recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.

The pilot of the second chopper, Mr James, managed to land his aircraft safely, but he and two of his passengers were injured by flying glass when its windshield shattered.

The injured were New Zealand women Elmarie Steenberg and Marle Swart, who had been on holiday with their husbands Riaan Steenberg and Edward Swart.

The full ATSB report into the collision by the Air Transport Safety Bureau is not expected until at least September 2024.
Former Project star David 'Hughesy' Hughes has revealed he was accosted by two large men on a busy Sydney beach over a joke told on the current affairs show that sparked widespread outrage.

Hughesy told Sydney's 2DayFM listeners on Tuesday he was heading home from a dip at Bondi Beach on Monday when he heard a 'big, muscly bloke' yell out his name.

The radio host said the man asked him: 'You on The Project?'

'You against Jesus? If you are, I'm gonna bash you.'

Hughesy (pictured centre) has revealed he was accosted by two large men on Bondi beach over a controversial joke told on The Project

Hughesy hans't worked on The Project for a decade

Hughes, who left The Project a decade ago, said he told the men he was no longer part of the show.

The Network Ten show hosted comedian Reuben Kaye as a guest on the program last Tuesday.

'I love Jesus, I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more,' Kaye joked during his time on the panel.

The controversial quip sparked widespread outrage among groups of devout Christians, who have organised rallies and protests in response.

Police responding to group of men chanting the Lords Prayer in Newtown and protesting(?)



Pretty creepy pic.twitter.com/veKB5Rxjby  Tim Collis (@tymme95) March 3, 2023

On Friday evening, 30 furious men march up a busy street in Newtown, Sydney, all chanting the Lord's Prayer.

The group, reportedly associated with the anti-LGBTQI Christian Lives Matter group were filmed and photographed walking up King Street, protesting the joke made by Kaye, who is proudly queer.

Hughesy went on to tell radio listeners about the great lengths he went to to convince his 'fans' he was in fact a Christian man.

'I told him I was a Catholic,' he said.

'I said I went to a CBC, which is a Christian Brothers college. I said I've taken the Eucharist.'

Hughesy said the man then proceeded to ask him for his phone number.

'I gave him my number, yeah,' Hughesy said.

'I thought I'd better give him the right number because he'll ring it straight away.

'Now he has my number, that guy.'

On Friday evening, 30 angered men march up a busy street in Newtown, Sydney

Reuben Kaye (pictured) said the controversial quip last Tuesday, sparking outrage

Hughesy's co-host Erin Molan asked if he was 'that scared' he felt the need to hand out his private details.

'I did!' he said.

'I don't think threatening to bash anyone at any stage is ever okay, despite the loyalty,' Molan said.

'I don't think Jesus ever did.'

Hughesy was heading home from a dip at Bondi beach on Monday when he heard a 'big, muscly bloke' yell out his name
After watching her dad stab her mum, a brave 10-year-old Melbourne girl tried to check on her younger sister.

Covered in blood, her mum had run from the back of the house toward a neighbour's home to get help.

She followed but headed back toward the front to try and sneak in to check on her six-year-old sister.

Before she could do anything her dad came after her, waving a knife and screaming 'I need to kill you'.

He chased her down the driveway but tripped on the pavement, giving her a chance to cross the street away from him. She ran to a nearby home and called emergency services.

Both her mum and sister died at the hands of her dad.

A man who murdered his wife and young daughter while in a drug-induced psychosis has been jailed (stock image)

'There is nothing more she could have done to help her mother or little sister,' Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said on Tuesday, acknowledging how brave she was in the face of terrifying events.

She jailed the man, now 41, for 27 years on Tuesday. He must serve at least 19 before he's eligible for parole.

He was in a drug-induced psychosis, triggered by the use of ice. He later revealed he believed he had reacted in anger when his wife tried to stop him harming himself.

After the older daughter fled, the father turned his attention back on his 38-year-old wife of 13 years.

After watching her dad stab her mum, a brave 10-year-old Melbourne girl tried to check on her younger sister (stock image)

He attacked her for a second time, returned to his own front yard, then attacked her for a third time on the porch yelling over and over 'I kill you and I love you'.

Police arrived and disarmed the man. Attempts were made to save his wife but she died at the scene.

Officers discovered their six-year-old daughter inside the house with three stab wounds. She was rushed to hospital and into surgery but died the following day.

The man pleaded guilty to two charges of murder after admitting what he had done to police.

His wife had called police earlier in the day about her husband's drug use. He was paranoid and kept talking about his family being kidnapped.

Justice Hollingworth said the man was not motivated by ill will toward his family.

'On the contrary - you loved them and wanted to protect them from what you believed, in your irrational psychotic state, to be a threat of kidnapping or murder by someone else,' she said.

He had a history of drug use and in April 2021 was hospitalised for increasingly erratic behaviour in the context of methamphetamine use.

Justice Hollingworth said the man was clearly distressed when speaking to police and psychiatrists about what had happened and said in a letter to the court he was ready to be punished.

He also apologised to his wife's parents, his parents and his surviving daughter.

'I have done wrong to you and your mum and sister. Please forgive me,' he wrote.

'Your dad is still a good man and loves you loads. Be always a good girl, the way you always were.'

His lawyer said the man's greatest punishment was his own, self-inflicted loss of his cherished family.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
President Joe Biden is said to be considering a major U-turn in his immigration policy as administration officials weigh reviving a Trump-era policy detaining families who cross the southern border illegally.

The president eliminated the practice when he took office, and actively campaigned against it saying 'families belong together.'

But with Title 42 - a pandemic-era measure that allows authorities to promptly deport migrants - expiring in May, senior White House and Homeland Security officials are discussing the possibility of reinstating the program, the New York Times reports.

It would be just the president's latest crackdown on illegal immigration as the number of migrants crossing the southern border reaches historic levels.

He is now being sued for a proposed rule that would make migrants ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they did not first attempt to claim asylum in a country they passed through.

And critics say the president may lose even more favor amongst Democrats if he approves a new family detention policy ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

President Joe Biden is said to be considering reinstating a family detention program for migrants that cross the southern border illegally. He is pictured here on Sunday in Alabama

In 2020, Biden tweeted against the policy as he ran for office saying 'Families belong together'

Biden campaigned against his predecessor's use of family detention, which was also used under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president.

He even tweeted in June 2020, when a federal judge ordered the release of migrant children from detention centers due to the global pandemic: 'Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately.

'This is pretty simple, and I can't believe I have to say it: Families belong together.'

Almost immediately after taking office, he shut down all of the family detention centers in the United States as he sought a more humane approach to immigration.

Instead, the Biden administration implemented a practice of releasing families into the country temporarily and using ankle bracelets, traceable cellphones and other methods to keep track of them.

Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas has since considered ending family detention one of his key accomplishments.

And the Biden administration touted the end of the program in its 2023 fiscal year funding request, writing: 'To ensure a more humane treatment of families, the administration is de-emphasizing family detention practices.'

But the number of illegal crossings surged in the years since Biden took office.

In 2021, the U.S. saw 1.7 million immigrants come into the country. In 2022, that number rose to more than 2 million.

The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the southern border has now reportedly hit on million in less than four years into the fiscal year. And with the end of Title 42 in sight, federal officials fear the situation may only get worse.

Now, the Times reports, the Biden administration is considering re-implementing the family detention program, with Department of Homeland Security officials already outlining what would need to be done to restart family detention by May 11, the date Title 42 expires.

A migrant caravan is pictured in the city of Tapachula in Mexico on March 4 as they prepared to enter the United States

Cesar Galeano, a Venezuelan migrant, is pictured walking into Mexico across the Paso del Norte international bridge after he failed to get asylum in the United States on February 3

A man kisses his family goodbye before they enter the United States on February 3

Angeldry Galeno, a Venezuelan migrant trying to apply for asylum in the United States using the CBP ONE application and whose husband travelled to another point of entry to the U.S. to attend his immigration appointment, changes her daughter's clothes at a shelter near the border between Mexico and the United States on February 3

Under the proposal, current and former officials said, the Biden administration would follow a law that sets a 20-day limit for detaining families, rather than holding them for weeks or months on end like his predecessor did.

But the Biden administration would face a slew of logistical obstacles if it were to reinstate the family detention program, the Times reports.

Among those issues would be finding spaces to hold families with educational programs and playgrounds, as the former detention cites are now being used for single adults.

And Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention centers, is already facing a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The plan also assumes that the government would be able to screen families for asylum quickly, either admitting or deporting them within a 20-day window when the average stay in an ICE detention center is 37 days.

Additionally, three of the officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity described concerns that family detention would encourage parents to send their children across the border alone instead of risking family detention.

Under current United States policy children who arrive in the country without a parent or legal guardian are not expelled, but rather placed in government custody and eventually released to live with a family member or another sponsor.

Critics say putting the families in a position of sending their children to the US without them is de facto family separation, a controversial measure used by the Trump administration under which 5,500 children were separated from their parents at the southern border.

And Leecia Welch, the lead lawyer in the case that led to the 1997 Flores settlement  which limited the amount of time children can spend in detention and established minimum standards for holding facilities  said: 'Ending the inhumane practice of family detention has been one of the only positive immigration policy decisions of the Biden administration.

'It's heartbreaking to hear there could be a return to the Trump-era use of this practice.'

But administration officials rejected any comparison to Trump, telling the Times that Biden's policies are focused on finding ways to decrease the number of illegal crossings and encourage migrants to seek legal pathways to citizenship.

The Department of Homeland Security also emphasized that no decision has been made.

'The administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly and humane processing of migrants,' it claimed.

Migrants from Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala sit on the ground after they were rescued from a locked tractor trailer that was left stranded on a highway in Veracruz, Mexico, on Sunday night

The proposal comes as at least 343 migrants, including 103 unaccompanied minors, bound for the United States were rescued from an abandoned tractor trailer in southeastern Mexican state of Veracruz.

The group was being smuggled on a freight container that was found on the side of the Cosamaloapan-La Tinaja highway Sunday night, the National Institute of Migration said in a statement.

Footage released by the agency showed the migrants being assisted from the back of the cargo truck.

Each migrant was wearing a colored bracelet as a form of identification system utilized by the smugglers.

The group consisted of 212 adults from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador. There were also 28 people who formed part of Guatemalan and El Salvador.

The National Institute of Migration said most of the unaccompanied migrant children are Guatemalan nationals.

The children were placed in the custody of the Veracruz state family services system while the rest of the migrants were expected to be processed per Mexicos immigration guidelines.

More than 70 percent of Americans now say they are satisfied with the United States' immigration policy.

A Gallup poll in February found that the satisfaction rate has fallen six percent in a year, going from 34 percent in 2022 to 28 percent in 2023.

The data represents the lowest number for the U.S. in over a decade.

Of the more than 60 percent of people who said they are dissatisfied with immigration, overall, 40 percent said they want immigration to decrease.

And while the results vary greatly by party, the poll found the percentage of Democrats and Republicans who want to see immigration curbed has risen on both sides.

Seventy-one percent of Republicans say immigration levels are too high, the highest number that has ever been recorded. That number is up two percent from 2022.

Among Democrats, 19 percent say immigration levels are too high. The newest data shows a steep eight percent jump.

Still, the Biden administration is being threatened with lawsuits from advocacy groups upset with a proposed new rule that would make migrants crossing the southern border ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they did not first attempt to claim asylum in a country they passed through, such as Mexico.

The Biden administration argues their policy is different from the one under former President Trump because it allows migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba to apply to come to the U.S. directly if they have a U.S.-based sponsor.

'This is not a Trump era-policy,' Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on MSNBC on January 31. 'This is not a transit ban. We have provided a lawful path for individuals to try to seek entry.'

But the ACLU slammed the tweaks in policy proposed by Biden as 'mere window dressing.'

'It would leave many of the most vulnerable asylum seekers in the same position as Trump's bans did  unfairly denied critical, permanent protection for reasons that have nothing to do with their need for refuge,' the civil rights group said in a statement.

And Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, told NBC News that her group and others will work together again to fight any such rule.

She predicted that it would not survive their legal challenge.

'If the proposed asylum ban rule does what we expect it to do  unlawfully deprive access to asylum based on manner of entry and/or transit route,' Zwick said.

'It would be invalid like the similar Trump administration rules that were found unlawful by federal courts.'
Chinese diplomats must confront "jackals, wolves" head on to protect motherland: FM

Xinhua) 12:33, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- There is no shortage of kindness and goodwill in China's diplomacy, but in face of "jackals or wolves," Chinese diplomats would have no choice but to confront them head on to protect the motherland, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday, when refuting the claim that the country adopted the so-called "wolf warrior" diplomacy.

"The so-called 'wolf warrior' diplomacy is just a narrative trap," Qin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of China's national legislature.

Those who made up the term and set the trap either know little about China and the country's diplomacy or have a hidden agenda in disregard of facts, Qin added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A driver delivers food by scooter in Seoul in this 2022 file photo. Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



A 32-year-old office worker surnamed Han orders food from online delivery platforms three times a week. Restaurant reviews used to be her first consideration when placing online food orders, but now, she checks the delivery fee first.



"It's crazy how much you have to pay for delivery when ordering from certain restaurants these days. I've seen some stores charge up to 7,000 won ($5.40). I will never pay that amount, even if I want to order from my favorite restaurant," Han said.



A 27-year-old barista surnamed Lee recently fixed his settings on an online food delivery platform to list restaurants with the cheapest delivery fees on top.



"I am not going to order food from stores that charge a maximum delivery fee on the platform. Sometimes delivery fees are nearly half the price of the food I order. I don't understand it," Lee said.



According to the "2022-2023 Domestic and Foreign Restaurant Trend" report released by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on Monday, 21.1 percent of survey participants consisting of 1,267 consumers and 582 restaurant workers said food price is the biggest factor when choosing a restaurant.



Delivery fee followed with 15.1 percent in second, reviews with 14.7 percent in third and menu variety with 12.4 percent in fourth place.



It is a significant change considering that 23.7 percent of survey participants last year chose reviews as the most important factor.



The survey showed that rising dining costs and delivery fees have changed consumer habits.



Also, 57.8 percent of the survey participants said delivery fees have been too expensive lately and 34.6 percent said they are slightly too expensive. Only 6.8 percent said prices are satisfactory. In most of the cases, people paid 3,000 won per delivery last year when ordering food online.


Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley has arrived in Parliament wearing an 80s style wig and dressed as her 'alter ego' Tina Ley-na Turner to raise money for charity.

Ms Ley appeared in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in front of a tentative crowd in a black camisole, pearls and the frizzy blonde mullet wig.

Speaker Milton Dick introduced Ms Ley 'with some nervousness' and she confirmed her costume was a 'dare' from her community, 'for a very worthwhile cause'.

'I am here today as my alter ego, Tina (Ley-na) Turner,' she said.

'At a cancer support fundraiser in Griffith last Friday, my song partner challenged the 700 strong crowd to reach a $100,000 target - but only if I took Tina to Parliament House.'

She described cancer as a 'tougher curse in the country with the tyranny of distance' and revealed the total sum of $100,000 was later doubled after accepting the conditions of the dare.

'I want to thank the generosity of the community in Griffith. In the Riverina, we just get things done.

'Two years ago, I announced around five million dollars from the Coalition Government for a new Cancer Centre in Griffith.

'Now that money gets you the bricks and mortar but there is always more needed for patient care, medical costs and equipment.'

Last week, Ms Ley performed at an event to raise money for the care centre, which is due to open in May.

Video footage of the performance shows Ms Ley dancing and singing alongside radio DJ Starry for Triple M Riverina.

Ms Ley appeared in the House of Representatives on Tuesday in front of a 'tentative' crowd in a black camisole, pearls and the frizzy blonde wig as part of a 'dare' from her community

Sussan Ley described the costume as her 'alter ego'

Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Ley appeared on 2GB Radio to slam Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over his super announcement.

'This is a dishonest prime minister. Hes deceived the Australian people,' she said.

'Now hes breaking promises, in fact he is breaking promises he made hundreds of times before the last election, and hes ramming policies through the parliament that he didnt even mention once.

'This is a perfect example if youre 37 years old, and youre looking at investing more in your super, in 30 years time youve basically been told that what is described as $3m dollars today has shrunk to about $1m. Now, we have enough trouble convincing young people to invest in super and now they see this changing of the goalposts.'
Grieving friends have performed burnouts and wheelies in a suburban street where their mate tragically lost his life.

Jai Anderson, 17, was riding his dirt bike with a pillion passenger on board in the Logan suburb of Waterford West south of Brisbane on Saturday night when the pair were allegedly struck by a Toyota Hilux.

Jai died at the scene while his friend, 19, was rushed to hospital to undergo emergency surgery for serious leg injuries.

The ute driver allegedly fled the scene without rendering assistance to the pair and has since been charged with manslaughter.

As Tobias Alexander Fine, 21, prepares to apply for bail, Jai's friends returned to the street where the teen's life ended. There were wild scenes as cars performed burnouts and motorcyclists did wheelies as a mark of 'respect' to Jai.

Tributes continue to flow for Jai Anderson following his tragic death on Saturday

A makeshift memorial has been set up at the scene in honour of the teen described as loyal and 'a really good kid.'

'(There's) no words to explain it,' Joaquin De La Cruz told Seven News.

'He was just one of those people who would always put a smile on your face, brighten your day anytime you'd see him.'

'We'll try to keep positive, stay together and keep our heads.'

Ashley Turner added: 'He loved his dirt bikes. He had his future ahead of him. He didn't deserve this.'

Jai's shattered family have also paid tribute.

'He was the nicest, kindest person,' his mum Jackie Cardwell told Nine News.

'Our lives are never going to be the same.'

Jai's friends performed burnouts on Monday as a mark of 'respect' for their late mate

Other friends performed wheelies on their motorcycles (pictured) in Jai's honour

Jai's older brother Beau added: 'He was the most loyal and genuine person you could ask for. He was always with his family or small group of friends.'

'All his brothers will miss him.'

Jai was lucky to be alive after he suffered critical injuries during a shooting six months earlier.

It's understood the alleged driver in this latest alleged incident was looking for a stolen bike at the time.

Polair later tracked down the ute allegedly involved in the fatal hit and run in nearby Loganholme, where Fine was taken into custody and charged with manslaughter.

He was also charged with grievous bodily harm and failing to remain at the scene.

Fine currently remains behind bars and in his watch house cell when his matter was mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

His lawyer told the court Fine will apply for bail at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Inquiries into the alleged hit and run continue.

Queensland Police urge witnesses or anyone with dashcam or CCTV to come forward.
The former attorney-general returned to his job as a lawyer

Christian Porter will represent a well-known Russian oligarch in court after he was slapped with sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

The former attorney-general is leading the legal fight brought by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who a number of Western governments have identified as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Deripaska made his fortune by owning the world's largest aluminium producer and was once believed to be the richest man in Russia.

Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union imposed sanctions on him shortly after Russian soldiers marched across Ukraine's borders in February last year.

He was hit with targeted financial sanctions that restricted his ability to hold or move his assets and was banned from travelling to Australia by then-foreign minister Marise Payne.

Former attorney-general Christian Porter (pictured) will represent Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska who has challenged government sanctions imposed against him

Mr Deripaska currently has a stake in a Queensland alumina refinery.

He has challenged the sanctions, saying he's 'not an individual who has been or is engaging in an activity or performing a function that is of economic or strategic significance to Russia', The West Australian reported.

The government said in legal filings that the oligarch held a Russian diplomatic passport and had previously claimed to represent the Russian government.

The filings also noted that he was 'involved in obtaining benefit from or supporting' Russia's government by 'owning or controlling businesses in the Russian extractives and energy sectors, sectors of strategic significance to the government of Russia'.

Mr Deripaska has vehemently denied assertions he supported or benefited from the government of Russia.

He blasted the claims as being 'not factually correct' and that the sanctions imposed against him by the former government were 'legally unreasonable', 'irrational', illogical' and 'involved an improper exercise of the power'.

Pragma Lawyers principal Aaron McDonald confirmed that Mr Porter would be acting for Mr Deripaska.

Mr Deripaska (pictured), who reportedly has close ties with Vladimir Putin, was slapped with sanctions by the former government after Russia stormed Ukraine's borders

Mr Porter (pictured left with wife Karen Espiner) returned to his legal practice following his resignation from politics in September 2021

Mr Porter returned to the legal profession following his retirement in September. 2021.

The move came nine months after he revealed in a press conference he was the anonymous man referred to in media reports about a 16-year-old girl allegedly being raped in 1988.

Mr Porter denied the allegation and sued the ABC for defamation with the case eventually being dropped and no damages awarded to the former attorney-general.

The former politician acted as social services minister between September 2015 to December 2017 before he was promoted to attorney-general.

No date has been set for Mr Deripaska's case but it is expected to be held in Perth.
Tucker Carlson unveiled new footage from the January 6 riots which he claims casts a fresh perspective on the 2021 unrest at the US Capitol.

Poll Do YOU think January 6 rioters were just 'sightseers'? Yes No Do YOU think January 6 rioters were just 'sightseers'? Yes 388 votes

No 153 votes Now share your opinion





In footage screened on his show Monday night, so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was apparently seen being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.

Carlson challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley - jailed for four years over the incident - aggressively barged into the chamber.

Also broadcast was footage of Capitol cop Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot.

It was originally suggested Sicknick's death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher and pepper spray by rioters.

But a medical examiner later ruled he'd died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack.

He appeared in good health, which the Fox News host said poured cold water on liberal outlets' insistence that the Capitol rioters had Sicknick's blood on their hands.

Tucker Carlson on Monday night released footage from inside the Capitol on January 6, including clips showing the 'QAnon Shaman', Jacob Chansley (above), being apparently 'escorted' through the building

Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer

Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol

He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol, yet was never charged - giving rise to suspicion that Epps was in fact an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.

On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.

'They were orderly and meek,' said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol. 'These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.'

Carlson said they 'obviously revere the Capitol', noting they took selfies and 'queue up in neat little lines'.

'Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie,' he said.

'Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.

'Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.'

Carlson pointed to footage showing the 'QAnon Shaman' - a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley - inside the Capitol.

Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.

He has been jailed for almost four years for 'obstructing an official proceeding.'

In the footage, Chansley appears to be guided by an official as he wanders the Capitol.

He passes a line of riot police, who make no move to stop him.

Then they escort him to various entrances of the chamber which appear to be locked, and eventually find him an open door through which he vanishes.

'Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,' said Carlson.

'The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.'

Carlson also showed the moments after Officer Brian Sicknick was confronted by the rioters.

Sicknick, 42, died on January 7 - the day after the riot.

Brian Sicknick is seen shortly after the Capitol was breached. Carlson said he appeared 'healthy and vigorous'

Sicknick, who died of a stroke on January 7, is seen during the riot carrying out his duties

Capitol rioter Julian Khater (pictured left) was sentenced to 80 months in prison for his role in the pepper-spray assault of police officer Brian Sicknick (pictured right), who died the day after the January 6, 2021 riot

In April 2021, the DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.

'To this day, media accounts describe Sicknick as someone who was, quote, "slain" on January 6,' Carlson said.

'The video we reviewed proves that is a lie.'

Carlson said the officer was 'healthy and vigorous,' and noted he was wearing a helmet.

'So it's hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury,' he said.

'Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.

'This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.'

There have been multiple deaths linked to the riot, including four Trump supporters - one of whom, Ashli Babbitt, was shot dead by Capitol Police.

Trump supporters are seen walking through the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Carlson described them as 'sightseers'

Carlson further suggested alleged Capitol Rioter Ray Epps - pictured in red Trump cap - was actually an FBI agent send to stoke violence. Epps denies his claims

Four officers died by suicide in the days and weeks after the riot.

There have also been roughly 1,000 arrests.

The footage comes as Fox News continues to contest a $1.6 billion lawsuit taken out against the broadcasting giant by Dominion, who manufactured voting machines for the 2020 election.

Fox is being sued over claims the network endorsed theories the firm's voting machines were rigged to deliver a Biden win.

The broadcaster's owner Rupert Murdoch was recently deposed over the lawsuit, and said he'd 'liked (Fox) to have been stronger denouncing' the stolen election claims.

Fox news denies the claims made against it by Dominion.
Bali officials have launched a public campaign designed to crackdown on inappropriately dressed tourists and travellers who flout local rules and customs.

The Indonesian island known for its clear waters, blue skies and cheap beer, has long been a favourite destination of Australian holidaymakers, with over 91,000 travellers flocking to the island in January, 2023.

But increasingly, Aussies have become notorious amongst locals for causing havoc on the island with their wild behaviour, reflected in the nickname 'Bali bogans'.

Bali Tourism Board Chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana announced plans on Tuesday to use billboards to build awareness amongst visitors and educate tourists on how to behave in cultural settings.

Mr Adnyana said the proposal is in its 'socialisation' phase, while officials awaiting public feedback and gauging support.

Bali officials have announced a plan to build 10 billboards around the island to instruct tourists on how to properly dress and behave (stock image)

The campaign aims to educate tourists on etiquette so that travellers respect Balinese cultural customs (stock image)

'We are assigned by the government, in this case, the Bali Tourism Office, to prepare socialisation in the form of writing and visuals,' Mr Adnyana said, as reported by The Bali Sun.

'However, we have to start with some kind of appeal at several points.

'The point is that tourists respect Balinese cultural customs by dressing well and neatly, following in an orderly manner, carrying out traffic activities and not doing things that are outside the provisions.'

Authorities have confirmed a minimum of 10 large billboards will be installed where violations occur the most, including Kuta, Seminyak, Legian, Canggu, Ubud, Sanur, Nusa Dua, and Uluwatu.

Bali Tourism Board Chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana (pictured) said 'guests are king' but warned them not to abuse local ways

The billboards will have instructions and advice written in English, with billboards in foreign languages likely to follow.

Adnyana explained the campaign will help develop Bali into a country that is not considered a destination for tourists to do whatever they want.

'Indeed, we are 'welcoming' and accept everything. Guests are king but don't abuse,' Mr Adnyana said.

He also confirmed the Tourism Board will enlist social media influencers, tourism stakeholders and e-commerce businesses to help publicise the campaign.

It comes just days after Bali officials launched a specialised taskforce to find foreign tourists working in the country illegally.
An entire local council have lost their jobs less than two years after a senior manager was gunned down by a disgruntled employee.

Events after the murder, governance concerns, flood mitigation efforts, construction of major infrastructure, the transportation of asbestos and other issues such as health and safety were also examined by a commission of inquiry into Moira Shire Council in northern Victoria.

On Tuesday, the state government introduced legislation to dismiss the council and appoint an administrator as recommended by the commission.

It is expected an election to replace the councillors will not take place until 2028.

Local Government Minister Melissa Horne described the report as 'deeply concerning'.

Local Government Minister Melissa Horne (pictured) said she was dismissing the entire Moira Shire Council based on the recommendations of an inquiry

'Councils must properly represent the communities they serve, and Moira residents deserve to have a council that puts their interests first,' Ms Horne said in a statement.

'An ongoing panel of administrators will follow this interim appointment and will be charged with addressing the serious issues identified in the report so that elections can be held at Moira Shire in 2028.

'I am confident that administrators will restore good governance to Moira Shire Council and provide a foundation for building effective leadership, project delivery, community engagement and a positive culture within Council.'

The commission has referred evidence to the coroner about events related to the death of council operations manager Rick Devlin.

Former council worker Andrew Robert Paterson is serving a minimum 21-year sentence after pleading guilty to the murder of Mr Devlin in August 2021.

The court heard in October, 2022 Paterson shot Mr Devlin as he stood in the driveway of his rural Victoria home - once in the chest and once in the head.

In August 2021, Moira Shire Council manager of operations Rick Devlin (pictured) was shot to death by his colleague in a 'revenge' attack at his home in Victoria's north

He wrongly believed Mr Devlin was involved in a harassment campaign against him at work, although the men did not have day-to-day contact.

Shepparton Supreme Court previously heard Devlin was not Paterson's direct supervisor but he held the manager responsible for the problems he was having at work.

The commission report said there was good reason to think Mr Devlin's death may have been preventable and the environment of the Nathalia depot Mr Paterson worked at was fundamentally unsafe.

'These events and their tragic outcomes represent, at many levels, a catastrophic governance failure,' the report stated.

It said the council's senior executives should have been aware of risks at the depot since 2017, when an external investigator found evidence of a dysfunctional and a toxic culture.

The entire Moira Shire Council was dismissed after an inquiry found the council had 'serious issues'. The inquiry was launched following the murder of a council manager

The commission has also contacted the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission about two instances of alleged corrupt conduct.

The report found the governance of Moira Shire Council had deteriorated to such a level that it could no longer carry out its responsibilities under the Local Government Act.

An interim administrator will be appointed for three months, before a longer-term panel of administrators is found.

It is the fourth council sacked by the Andrews Government since 2019, following the dismissal of the Whittlesea, South Gippsland Shire and Casey councils.

Moira Shire Council and Mayor Peter Lawless have been contacted for comment.
Melbourne drug kingpin Tony Mokbel will spend less time behind bars, partly because of injuries he sustained during a prison attack.

Mokbel put forward a bid for re-sentencing in Victoria's Court of Appeal after one of his previous drug convictions was quashed due to the Lawyer X scandal.

Justice Karin Emerton on Tuesday varied the 30-year jail term handed to Mokbel in 2012 and he was instead sentenced to 26 years.

A non-parole period of 20 years was reduced from an initial 22 years.

Ongoing injuries from a serious prison assault formed part of the reason Mokbel's sentence was reduced, Justice Emerton said

Melbourne drug kingpin Tony Mokbel will spend less time behind bars, partly because of injuries he sustained during a prison attack

Ongoing injuries from a serious prison assault formed part of the reason Mokbel's sentence was reduced

The 57-year-old was in a coma for 24 days after two 21-year-old prisoners assaulted him in Barwon in 2019.

Mokbel continues to suffer the effects of a traumatic brain injury stemming from the attack, his barrister Julie Condon KC told the court last month.

He also suffered two heart attacks in March and April last year and then underwent stent surgery.

Mokbel was rushed to hospital last week but appeared in court via video link on Tuesday.

The 57-year-old, dressed in a dark suit and tie, remained quiet as Justice Emerton delivered her judgment.

Mokbel was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 2012 after pleading guilty to three counts of drug trafficking.

Six years earlier, he had been convicted and sentenced to 12 years jail for importing a commercial quantity of cocaine from Mexico.

Mokbel did not appear in court for that sentence, instead he hid in rural Victoria for eight months before fleeing to Greece in a yacht from Western Australia.

Justice Karin Emerton on Tuesday varied the original 30-year jail term handed to Mokbel in 2012 and he was instead sentenced to 26 years

The drug kingpin hid in rural Victoria for eight months before fleeing to Athens, Greece (pictured) in a yacht from Western Australia

He was eventually arrested in a cafe in Athens in June 2007 and was extradited back to Melbourne almost a year later.

Mokbel tried to appeal his convictions, arguing it was illegal for him to be extradited to Australia before his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was finalised.

Those bids were unsuccessful but his 2006 conviction was ultimately quashed by the appeal court in December 2020 after his former lawyer Nicola Gobbo was revealed to be a police informer.

Mokbel was arrested in a cafe in Athens in June 2007 and was extradited back to Melbourne almost a year later
An Illinois wife found the mummified corpse of her husband buried in a closet at their home - eight months after she reported him missing.

Richard Maedge, 53, was first reported missing on April 27 2022 and police searched the home he shared with his wife, Jennifer, in Troy at least twice to try and find him.

Both times cops reported smelling a 'sewer-like' smell inside the house, which they described as a 'hoarder home'.

It wasn't until December 11, eight months after Richard's disappearance, that Jennifer stumbled upon his body while looking for Christmas decorations, hanging in a rarely-visited, concealed storage area inside a closet in the bedroom.

Coroners released a report on Thursday indicating Richard had died by suicide, and that his body had passed the stage of decomposition and become mummified by the time he was discovered.

The police coroner told KTVI mummified bodies don't give off odors, which may have helped Richard go undiscovered for so long.

Jennifer and Richard Maedge. Richard killed himself in a closet in April and Jennifer found him in December

The home where Richard Maedge was found in December after going missing in April

Jennifer told Troy police Richard vanished on April 27, 2022, after he called her to say he was leaving work early.

When she got home she found Richard's car parked out front, and his keys and wallet in the house, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Police began searching for the father of three, initially doing a pass through the crowded house.

They reported the foul smell inside, but decided Richard wasn't there.

Some time later Jennifer called police to report that the odor remained, and police returned to search the home a second time but turned up nothing.

Finally Jennifer contacted a plumber about the smell, who visited the house and said it smelled like sewer gas, according to KTVI.

The plumber capped one of the sewer pipes at the house, and Jennifer reported the odor subsided.

A missing poster for Richard Maedge. He was reported missing in April 2022

Richard was a father of three. Police said he killed himself in a closet in his him in Troy, Illinois

Jennifer Maedge thanked police for their efforts in trying to locate her husband, who was in her closet

Jennifer finally discovered Richard on December 11, and told police she found his body while looking for a bag of Christmas decorations.

Police said the closet Richard was ultimately found in was in a concealed location in the house.

'I decided to put the Christmas tree up, and I was looking for a tote of Christmas ornaments, and that's when I discovered him,' Jennifer told the Belleville News-Democrat.

Richard's sister, Marilyn Toliver, spoke out against the police department and said they could have done more to find him.

In response, the Troy police released an exhaustive list of they measures they took to find Richard, which included extensive searches of the property surrounding area.

Jennifer, however, thanked the police for their work.

'Even though we didn't want the outcome that we had, it's still an outcome that we can put him to rest,' she told Fox 2.

She added that she felt as if her husband's 'presence' was close to her while he was missing.

Police said they suspect no foul play in Richard's death.

'There were no other injuries found during the autopsy examination or evidence found that would indicate anything nefarious regarding Mr. Maedge's death,' the coroner said.
Terrifying footage has been released of the moment a passenger on a United Airlines flight from LA to Boston went berserk and threatened to 'kill every man on this plane'.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, from Leominster, Massachusetts was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members using a dangerous weapon after he stabbed a flight attendant with a broken spoon.

In video shot by a fellow passenger sitting only feet away, Torres can be heard threatening to commit mass murder while goading others to try and stop him.

The man could be seen standing up in his seat while shouting at those seated around him. Then, he got up and made a threatening gesture with his arms while wielding the broken spoon and heading towards the front of the aircraft, where the attendant was hit three times in the neck.

The video starts after Torres had allegedly already disarmed the emergency exit and tried to open it, having asked a fellow passenger where on the safety card he could find the door handle during the safety briefing.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, from Leominster, Massachusetts, could be seen ranting and raving while in his emergency exit seat during a United flight from Los Angeles to Boston

Torres could be seen ranting and raving as he stood up in his seat and threatened to kill everyone

A photo taken by another person on board shows six people in the galley of the plane attempting to restrain Torres as the aircraft came into land

United Airlines Flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston landed safely on Sunday, and Torres was detained

'So where's Homeland Security with a gun? Because I am waiting for them to point the gun at me so I can show everybody that I will die when I take every bullet in that clip - and I will kill every man on this plane,' the suspect threatens.

'So where are they? Where's Homeland Security? Pull the gun! Pull the gun! You're not going to try and stop me?

'Where are they diverting us? Because wherever they do, there's going to be a bloodbath everywhere. You can run away if you want. I won't kill you. I'm Balthazar. Or put up your hands, because I'm Balthazar since I'm taking over this plane.'

Balthazar was one of the three wise men in the Bible who visited the infant Jesus.

Passengers watching him could be heard exclaiming 'oh God' as they witnessed Torres' antics which saw him dart into the aisle and announce that he was heading for the cockpit.

As he made his way down the aisle he approached two flight attendants standing in his way and used the spoon to make stabbing motions.

He was restrained by other passengers who rush forward from the rear of the plane along with other flight attendants.

A photo taken by another person on board shows six people in the galley of the plane attempting to restrain Torres as the aircraft descended.

'Torres told investigators he went into the bathroom on the plane and broke a spoon in half to make a weapon. When he came out of the bathroom Torres went into the galley, disarmed the door, and tried to open it unsuccessfully  Torres admitted to knowing that if he opened the door many people would die,' according to a criminal complaint as seen by WCVB.

A United Airlines plane is seen taking off in this file photo from earlier this year

While the nightmare drama was unfolding in the cabin, upfront on the flightdeck, the captain of the flight radioed air traffic control to tell them Torres had been detained by passengers but was 'not going quietly', and had six people restraining him as the plane came down to land.

Conversations between the flight crew and air traffic control reveal how the pilots declared an emergency.

'United 2609 ... We are now an emergency aircraft,' the pilot said.

'United 2609, roger. Cockpit secure and did they try to breach?' air traffic control inquired.

'Cockpit is secure. No attempted breach of the cockpit,' the pilot confirmed.

'United 2609, roger. And you're declaring an emergency?' air traffic control asked.

'Affirmative,' responded the pilot.

'United 2609, what happened on board and is the person detained?' air traffic control questioned.

'Person is detained, attempted opening of external door, emergency door. That person was subdued and is being detained, however not going quietly he's just laying there with six able bodies on top of him,' the pilot said to air traffic control.

Torres had boarded United Airlines Flight 2609 on Sunday in Los Angeles, bound for Boston.

He had remained quiet for the majority of the flight when just 45 minutes before landing, a member of the cabin crew noticed how an emergency exit had been tampered with.

The flight crew also received an alarm in the cockpit that a starboard side door located between the first class and coach sections of the aircraft had been disarmed.

A flight attendant also confirmed that the door's locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position about a quarter of the way toward the unlocked position.

The emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the disarmed position, authorities said. The crew secured the door and slide.

Another flight attendant had noticed that Torres was seen near the door and believed he had tampered with it. When confronted about the door, Torres asked if any cameras showed him tampering with it.

Torres was also sitting in an emergency exit seat and it remains unclear if he went to open an actual aircraft door, or if he had been tampering with one of the windows that also serves as an emergency exit.

Other passengers said Torres has asked another passenger where on the safety card it showed where the door handle was located during the safety briefing prior to takeoff.

Torres had also been seen pacing in a galley area before attacking the flight attendant, according to court documents.

The crew told the captain that he was a threat and the plane should land as soon as possible.

United praised the quick-thinking of the crew and passengers.

'Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston,' United said in a statement.

'The flight landed safely and was met by law enforcement. No serious injuries were reported.'

The airline said that Torres was immediately banned from flying on their flights.

'We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation. We are cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.'

One passenger told investigators that Torres had asked where on the safety card it showed where the door handle was located during the flight attendants' pre-takeoff safety briefing.

Another said Torres was seen pacing the plane before attacking the attendant.

The charge of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Said it was no wonder NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet stayed away from him

Anthony Albanese has deflected questions about superannuation by mocking Peter Dutton's 'angry ranting' and telling him to campaign with Dominic Perrottet instead.

The prime minister was asked in Question Time if he stood by his 'we have no intention to make any super changes' statement on May 2 last year.

The opposition has relentlessly attacked Mr Albanese's plan to cut tax concessions for Australians with super funds of more than $3 million.

A poll showed two-thirds of voters support the changes, which would tax super contributions at 30 per cent for about 80,000 Australians instead of 15 per cent.

Mr Albanese barely began answering when Mr Dutton angrily interjected that he was not addressing the question.

'Once again, more angry ranting. What happened to the smile? You were gonna smile more, Peter! You were gonna smile more!' the PM responded.

'What happened to Happy Peter?! Where's it gone?! Where's it gone? So much anger, so much vitriol.'

The House of Representatives devolved into a rowdy mess as Speaker Milton Dick tried to get the chamber under control.

Mr Albanese insisted he was just responding to the interjections, complaining it was 'hard to respond when someone is just yelling nonstop from go to woe'.

Once he was able to continue, the PM sarcastically challenged Mr Dutton to sink NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's reelection chances by campaigning against the superannuation changes.

'We're a government for all Australians. They are a government for one half of one per cent of Australians. And I encourage them to go to the wall for that one half of one per cent,' he said, in reference to the 80,000 richest Australians.

'I encourage the leader of the opposition to go to the Liberal Party launch on Sunday and to stand up and introduce Dominic Perrottet as the premier of NSW, and say that this is the hill they're going to die on.'

Mr Albanese ended Question Time with another dig at Mr Dutton over the NSW election on March 25.

'It's no wonder that the leader of the opposition has not appeared with the NSW premier since last October,' he said.

'There's a forcefield around the NSW premier, he's very happy to appear with me, as is the Tasmania Liberal premier, about getting constructive measures done.'

Anthony Albanese deflected questions about superannuation by mocking Peter Dutton's 'angry ranting' in parliament and suggesting he 'smile more'

Mr Albanese ended Question Time with another dig at Mr Dutton over the NSW election on March 25

The PM took glee in pointing out that the last time Mr Dutton skipped a campaign launch was when the Victorian Liberals were easily beaten by Daniel Andrews on November 26.

'I say this to the leader of the opposition, don't miss out this Sunday. He missed out on the Victorian Liberal Party campaign and look where that got them,' he said.

'Don't make the same mistake twice, get out there and back him. I'll miss [the launch] but I encourage to attend on Sunday, introduce Premier Perrottet and I'm sure that will be a very successful thing.'

Mr Dutton's earlier interjections began when Mr Albanese used the question from deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley to spruik his government's achievements.

'The member would be aware that the super changes that we have announced do not take effect until 2025. That is after - after the next election,' he said.

'But I do thank the deputy leader for the opportunity to speak about the promises that we made at the election and what we've delivered.'
Aramco Chairman and Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan / Courtesy of Aramco

By Park Jae-hyuk



All eyes are on whether the heads of major Korean conglomerates will be able to meet Aramco Chairman and Public Investment Fund (PIF) Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan at Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony for S-Oil's 9 trillion won ($6.7 billion) "Shaheen" project in southern Korea.



Shaheen, which means falcon in Arabic, involves the construction of Korea's largest petrochemical plant in Ulsan by 2026.



The Aramco-owned oil refiner said Tuesday that construction will start on March 9 after the project was approved by its board of directors last November, when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, one of the major shareholders of Aramco, visited Korea. The plant is Aramco's largest investment in Korea.



The groundbreaking ceremony was initially planned for Monday, but was delayed for three days due to an undisclosed reason.



Although S-Oil declined to confirm the list of participants in the ceremony, Aramco's chairman and board members are expected to visit Ulsan, along with Korean politicians and government officials. Aramco will also reportedly hold its board meeting in Korea for the first time since 2015.



The Aramco chairman, who supervises Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, is known to be a close aide of the Saudi crown prince. He visited Korea last May to attend President Yoon Suk Yeol's inauguration ceremony.



In January, he also met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, who visited Saudi Arabia to boost cooperation between the Middle Eastern country and Korean builders for Neom, a $500 billion project aimed at developing eco-friendly and smart cities covering a total of 26,500 square kilometers in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province near the Red Sea.



During his forthcoming visit to Korea, the Aramco chief is scheduled to meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to industry officials. They are expected to discuss cooperation in various infrastructure investments.





From left are Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Courtesy of each company
Scott Morrison has walked out of Question Time early as speculation mounts that he will soon quit politics for the private sector.

The former prime minister was censured by the House of Representatives on November 30 over the 'minister for everything' scandal.

Parliament condemned him on a vote of 86 to 50 for secretly swearing himself in to five extra ministries in 2020 and 2021.

Other than a defiant speech defending himself against the censure, Mr Morrison has not spoken in parliament since losing the May 22 election.

The Member for Cook left the chamber on Tuesday a little before 3pm, well before Question Time concluded at 3.21pm.

Scott Morrison poses in his office after Question Time on Tuesday as speculation mounted that he would soon quit politics

The Member for Cook left the chamber on Tuesday a little before 3pm, well before Question Time concluded at 3.21pm

Mr Morrison is believed to have left to prepare for an interview with the Australian Associated Press, which did not begin until after Question Time was completed.

He receives $217,060 a year, the basic backbencher salary, while in parliament.

Sky News reported that 'informed sources' believed he would quit politics by the end of the year for a lucrative overseas consulting job.

Mr Morrison in response said if he had anything to say about his political future, he would make it.

For now, he insisted he was 'dutifully doing his job as a local MP and had returned home to The [Sutherland] Shire seeking to live quietly with his family', Sky reported.

The Liberal Party stalwart in another interview on the weekend said he was enjoying his time as a backbencher.

'It's quite liberating,' he said when asked what it was like to be a backbencher, pointing out that holding ministries and then being PM for a decade was 'exhausting'.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she had been friends with Mr Morrison for 'many years' but hadn't heard anything about his retirement plans.

'He will make a decision in the best interests of himself and family and the people of Cook,' she said.

Reports emerged on Tuesday that that 'informed sources' believed he would quit politics by the end of the year for a potential overseas consulting job

Mr Morrison stood in the chamber to vigorously defend his actions as he became the first former prime minister to face a censure motion by the House of Representatives

Speculation over Mr Morrison's job started almost immediately after his crushing defeat by Anthony Albanese, and intensified when the ministries scandal broke.

He had himself secretly sworn in as treasurer and minister for home affairs; finance; health; and industry, science, energy and resources.

None of the ministers for these portfolios, other than Greg Hunt for health, were aware he had secretly doubled up on their jobs.

Labor claimed his actions undermined, rejected, attacked, and abused the standards expected of parliamentarians, and struck at the heart of Australia's democracy.

Other than acknowledging some (but not all) of the appointments were unnecessary, Mr Morrison gave a spirited defence of his actions during the censure motion, and offered no apology.

'For those who wish to add their judgement today on my actions in supporting this censure motion, I simply suggest that they stop and consider the following - have you ever had to deal with a crisis where the outlook was completely unknown?' he said.

Mr Morrison looked completely unbothered as he sat in parliament on November 30 listening to himself being censured by his colleagues

'In such circumstances, were you able to get all the decisions perfectly right? And where you may have made errors, were you fortunate enough for them to have had no material impact on the result and the result itself proved to be world-leading?

'Once you have considered your own experience, or what happens when you have had more in government, then you may wish to cast the first stone in this place.'

Mr Morrison's speech had such an air of finality that Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek predicted he wouldn't even see out 2022.

'Scott Morrison says sorry not sorry. My prediction - he pulls the pin over Christmas. This is his last week,' she wrote on Twitter.

However, the man once mocked as 'Squat Morrison' for taking 13 days to move out of Kirribilli House after losing the election has so far stuck around.
A judge in Delaware has ordered a businessman hand over a $125,000 parcel of land to his neighbor after she kept her goats on the land for over 20 years and claimed squatter's rights.

Burton Banks, an Atlanta-based financial advisor, inherited the uninhabited plot of land in Ocean View, Delaware, from his father Ralph.

In 2021 Banks and his husband David Barrett decided they wanted to sell the plot of land, which sits empty and undeveloped.

But he discovered that around two thirds of an acre was being used by his neighbor Melissa Schrock, who had erected a pen for her goats on the land.

'It's just always been my backyard since I was a little kid,' Schrock said.

Burton Banks (left) wanted to sell the land, but discovered that his neighbor Melissa Schrock was claiming squatter's rights - thanks to a goat pen she erected on the plot

The home of Schrock, who grazed her goats on her neighbor's land and won squatter's rights

Schrock's home in Ocean View, Delaware

Banks took her to court to try and reclaim the land, but Schrock claimed squatter's rights.

Explaining her counter-claim, Schrock said: 'It's just always been my backyard since i was a kid.'

Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz ruled in February in Schrock's favor, noting that Banks lived primarily in Atlanta and 'only occasionally' came to the Delaware site.

Karsnitz felt Schrock met the threshold in proving her 20-year occupation, Delaware Online reported.

If a resident can prove they've occupied a plot for 20 years, they can claim ownership, which Schrock did successfully.

Another neighbor's plot also encroached on Banks' property. That unnamed resident agreed to move animal enclosures they'd set up - but because Schrock refused, Banks was ultimately unable to regain control of his family's property.

Because Banks and his husband live in Atlanta and visit Delaware only occasionally, it made it harder for them to prove that Schrock hadn't been openly using their land for the last 20 years.

Banks said he was speaking out in order to warn others to take action and make sure their property was not squatted on.

'I can't afford the appeal,' said Banks. 'But (I'm) hoping I can at least warn others.'

Banks submitted a map of the property, showing his claim

Serena Williams, a law professor at Widener University in Delaware, who specializes in housing law, said property owners needed to be vigilant.

'Inspect it regularly,' Williams said.

'If you see something you haven't permitted - a tree you haven't planted, objects you haven't placed there  make sure to remove it, because that's the beginning of adverse possession.'
Fox News star Sean Hannity lead Monday's show by interviewing GOP golden boy Ron DeSantis - and relegated a chat with Donald Trump to a much later slot.

At the start of Sean Hannity's 9pm show on the once Trump-leaning network, Hannity looked ahead to what was coming up in his hour-long broadcast including an 'exclusive' interview with the former president.

However, less than 20 minutes into the broadcast, there was no sign of Trump.

But Republican golden boy DeSantis - who's currently Governor Florida - was given free reign to discuss his crackdown on wokeness to Fox's millions of conservative viewers.

The incident will likely rile Trump, who's taken to openly insulting DeSantis ahead of a likely race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Fox News seemed to distance itself from former President Trump by giving Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a decent amount of airtime ahead of Trump's interview on Monday

Trump declared his intention to run the day after the midterms, in which GOP candidates he backed performed badly.

DeSantis is yet to declare, but appears highly-likely to do so in the coming months, with a primetime appearance on Hannity providing invaluable free publicity.

During Monday's interview, the Florida Governor would not be drawn on whether he might run for president in 2024, instead insisting he is 'laser focused' on the state of Florida. But he refused to deny he has plans to do so.

'Give us a few months and we will be in a better position to make a decision about the future.

'I think it is fair to say that I have people coming up to me and asking me to do it all the time. I am very good about putting one step in front of the other and focusing on the task at hand. I don't get too down the far the field with anything. I have to execute the mission here. As we get beyond that we will take a look.'

Fox, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch and boosted Trump's ascension from real estate developer and reality television star to the White House, is now regularly bypassing him in favor of showcasing other Republicans.

Monday's Hannity show was a case in point with the network having effectively displaced him from his favorite spot: the center of the news cycle.

Ultimately the network, while teasing an exclusive interview with Trump, only repeated a broadcast of his earlier phone call to Sean Hannity's radio show

Ultimately, the 'exclusive' interview with Trump turned out to be a repeat from earlier in the day when the former president phoned in to Sean Hannity's radio show broadcast on Monday afternoon.

The skepticism toward the former president extends to the highest levels of the company. The Murdochs' discomfort with Trump stems from him still refusing to accept his election loss.

Fox News is currently battling a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from Dominion, which manufactures voting machines used in the 2020 election.

Dominion say Fox defamed their firm by allowing key Trump aides Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani to suggest their machines were rigged to ensure a Biden win.

Fox News, once Trump-leaning, now regularly features other Republicans such as DeSantis

Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend in Maryland

Rupert Murdoch was recently deposed over the suit, and admitted 'with hindsight' that the network's stars should have pushed back harder against election fraud claims.

But Fox says the law allows it to air such claims if they are newsworthy, and denies all claims made in the suit.

It also accuses Dominion of vastly overinflating the firm's value in the amount its seeking in damages from Fox News.

In depositions released last week, Murdoch argued that Fox as a network did not endorse the claims, but that some of its commentators - Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Jeanine Pirro and Sean Hannity - at times did.

Murdoch was among several at Fox to say privately they didn't believe the claims made by Trump and his allies that widespread fraud cost him reelection.

Fox News now appears to have displaced Trump from the center of the news cycle. He is pictured here during a Fox News Channel town hall in March 2020 in Scranton, Pennsylvania

During Monday's interview, the Florida Governor would not be drawn on whether he might run for president in 2024, instead insisting he is 'laser focused' on the state of Florida
By BEN TALINTYRE and DANYAL HUSSAIN FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

A man attacked by a crocodile and dragged by his leg into the water before it mauled his dog to death says he's learned his lesson about messing around in croc-infested waters.

Alister MacPhee, 37, was bitten on the leg by the croc, which suddenly lurched out of the water to attack him on Wednesday at a remote boat ramp in Cooktown, north Queensland.

Mr MacPhee is now recovering from his injuries in Cairns Hospital and says he has learnt his lesson the hard way by losing his dog in the crocodile attack.

'I want to thank emergency services and staff at Cairns Hospital for looking after me,' he said in a statement shared by 7News.

'Especially Magic Molly (my dog) who was always by my side.

It's understood Mr MacPhee was travelling around Queensland and had taken his dog to the boat ramp for a drink of water

'I have, unfortunately, learned the hard way... Everyone needs to be croc-wise in croc territory.'

Footage of the incident shows MacPhee had been entering the knee-deep water with his dog close by when he was attacked by the croc without warning.

Mr MacPhee's dog appeared to make a brave attempt to save him, only for the crocodile to turn its attention to the pooch and grab it in its jaws.

Incredibly, Mr MacPhee then tried to rescue his dog, with footage showing him raining punches down on the massive reptile.

However, the croc won the battle and went back underwater with the dog, leaving Mr MacPhee to walk up the boat ramp, clutching his leg in shock after suffering several bites.

A nearby ranger rushed to Mr MacPhee's aid and he was treated at the Wujal Wujal clinic before a rescue helicopter airlifted him to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition.

He is understood to have undergone surgery.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife has been advised of the incident and has sent a local team to the scene to investigate.

It's understood the man was travelling around Queensland and had taken his dog to the boat ramp for a drink of water.

Mr MacPhee and his dog 'Magic Molly' were attacked at a boat ramp on Bloomfield River in far north Queensland

Mr MacPhee is now recovering from his injuries to his leg in Cairns Hospital and says he has learnt his lesson the hard way by losing his dog in the crocodile attack

The ranger who rushed to the man's aid and helped saved his life has been left shaken by the harrowing scenes.

It's understood she was awarded ranger of the month in January and is likely to retain the title for a second consecutive month.

'She could see there was someone in distress at the river and it was really lucky cause we had just finished our first aid training,' Mr Paterson said.

'She is obviously pretty shook up about the whole thing.

'I hear the man was devastated at the loss of his dog and it's thought the dog came to his aid.'

The terrifying incident happened just weeks after a local issued a warning by sharing footage of a large crocodile lurking in the water near the boat ramp.

'See that croc everyone,' the man who filmed the video says.

'Beware of your children ... because he is hanging around here.'

The footage prompted authorities to issue a similar warning.

'Be careful near the boat ramp and surrounds. There is a crocodile there!' the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council posted at the time.

Mr Paterson is unsure whether the crocodile in the footage is the same one that attacked the man on Wednesday.

Local man Billy Dunn said the croc responsible for the attack was a newcomer to the area.

'There is a big new croc in the river and he is a big nasty bugger,' he said.

Mr MacPhee was suddenly attacked by the crocodile, before his dog Molly tried to rescue him

'He has just been watching everybody and there has been a lot of roadworks, so there have been a lot of people around. I see him all the time because I am on the river a lot.'

'Once you come up to Far North Queensland you are in a lot of natural environments... there's a lot of natural wildlife around and you just have to be aware when you come up here there are crocs in the Bloomfield area.'

The Department of Environment and Science said wildlife officers will attempt to locate the croc and remove it from the river.

'This incident is a timely reminder for people to be Crocwise in croc country and not to be complacent with their own safety or the safety of their family or pets when they are in or near the water,' a DES spokeswoman said.
The devastated family of a 10-month-old boy claim he lost half of his leg after hospital staff punctured his artery while trying to treat a chest infection.

Little Zayn Seguna has spent a total of 73 days in hospital after he was diagnosed with influenza bronchiolitis during a family holiday in November.

The family had flown 17 hours from Melbourne to Msida, a city in Malta, to attend a relative's funeral when Zayn fell ill a few days into the trip.

They claim his condition worsened after staff at the Mater Dei Hospital punctured his artery while trying to insert a catheter, causing serious tissue and muscle damage.

His mother Joanne said her little boy's leg 'changed straight away' and went 'white and cold' after blood flow to the area became restricted.

'They hit an artery which they realised straight away because his leg went pale, cold, changed colour straight away,' she told 7NEWS.

'They pulled the line out and gave him Heparin which is a blood thinner...because a blood clot formed.'

Little Zayn Seguna has spent a total of 73 days in hospital since last year after falling ill with influenza during a family holiday in Msida, a city in Malta

Ms Seguna claims staff only told the family they would have to fly to London for treatment four days later, as his condition continued to deteriorate.

The very next day, the family embarked on the three-hour journey to the UK via air ambulance to make it in time for Zayn's emergency surgery.

However, on arrival at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, the couple were heartbroken to find the damage to his leg was too severe.

They say doctors were forced to amputate one of Zayn's leg from below the knee.

On January 16, the little boy was given the green light to fly home to Australia but suffered complications during the flight.

After landing in Melbourne, he was rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital where he spent 10 days battling another round of influenza in the ICU.

The family had flown 17 hours from Melbourne to Msida, a city in Malta, to attend a relative's funeral and were only a few days into the rip when Zayn fell ill

On February 5, after a total of 73 days in hospital, his family were finally able to take Zayn home after he went two days without requiring any oxygen.

However, this is just the start of a long journey ahead. The little boy will likely need prosthetics and mobility aids for the rest of his life.

As of Tuesday, a GoFundMe page has raised $90,385 of its $100,000 goal.

The money will go to the Seguna family, with Joanne currently on maternity leave and her husband, Saviour, having already used up all his annual leave.

Organiser Karina Ruscigno said the family was 'ecstatic' to have Zayn home.

'Although they are concerned for Zayn's leg and the lifelong complications he may have, they are so very grateful to have their little boy awake and smiling,' she said.

Ms Seguna says little Zayn is already learning to crawl and that she is hopeful for his future

The family is considering taking action against the Mater Dei Hospital, having already written a complaint about Zayn's treatment.

They say staff failed to report the little boy needed to be taken to another hospital to receive surgery for his damaged artery.

Ms Seguna said the hospital is yet to respond to the complaint.

However, she says Zayn is learning to crawl and remains hopeful for his future.

'I used to take photos of his feet, and I'll treasure those photos forever. I'm just grateful he's here. I want him to grow up doing anything he wants,' she said.
A 'rabbi' who gained fame on social media for adopting nine boys as a single father was arrested after one of his sons accused him of years of sexual abuse.

Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, was charged in February with sexual assault and continuous sex abuse of a child under 17, after one of his sons called into a podcast to report the alleged crimes.

The 17-year old boy claimed Cohen had abused a number of his brothers and threatened to kill them if they ever revealed the assault. Six of Cohen's children have since been removed from the home and placed in protective care.

It was not the first time Cohen had been accused. He was out on bond over a 2019 case in which he was accused of sexual contact by a student, now 20, who was staying with Cohen during an exchange program from Spain.

Cohen has also been accused of faking his Orthodox Jewish heritage and his alleged disabilities, having claimed he was raised in the Hasidic community in New York City.

But records showed Cohen, who lives in Houston, was in fact from Odessa, Texas, and that his real name was Jeffrey Lujan Vejil, according to Reduxx.

He regularly posed for photos while hooked up to an oxygen tank and in a wheelchair but his adopted sons claimed even this was faked.

Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, with his adopted sons. One of them said he'd sexually abused him and multiple other siblings. Cohen is also accused of faking his Judaism and chronic illnesses

Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, was charged in February with sexual assault and continuous sex abuse of a child under 17 years old

The unnamed boy called in to a podcast recording on February 1 and accused Cohen of sexual misconduct, and used the word 'rape' to describe the abuse he said he had experienced since he was adopted at 11.

He said he used a burner phone to avoid detection from Cohen, and that he was planning to wait until he was 18 to report the assault to police. He said he wanted to remain anonymous until then out of his fear of Cohen.

The podcasters later called police, who were able to trace the phone and then went to see the boy. Initially he denied he had made the accusations, but later 'became visibly scared, shaking, and held his head down' when police played him a recording of the call.

He eventually admitted he was the one who made the call, and told police he was 'not brave enough to say anything' about the abuse, according to ABC 7.

Chief prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney's Crimes Against Children Division, Janna Oswald, detailed some of the allegations against Cohen to the Houston Chronicle, saying he would allegedly lock the boys in a room for long stretches of the day, then force them to engage in sexual acts when he released them.

One 16-year-old victim said Cohen would pepper spray them if they refused to comply.

Oswald alleged Cohen intentionally used the guise of religion and a facade on social media to try to hide his true nature and crimes.

Hayim Nissim Cohen, 38, has also been accused of fabricating his Jewish heritage and past

The Houston home where Hayim Nissim Cohen lived with his nine adopted sons

Hayim Nissim Cohen with his adoptive sons. He has been accused of faking disabilities, too

That social media presence included a TikTok page with over 200,000 followers, along with widely viewed YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram profiles.

On those accounts, Cohen and his family would showcase their religious lifestyle, and the adoptive patriarch advocated for single men to adopt children.

'Our mission is to help provide support and understanding from a Jewish perspective. Our goal is to reach out to other homeschooling families in order to create a network,' Cohen wrote on his website.

'We are open to all levels of observance. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or suggestions!'

But some accused Cohen of fabricating that religious lifestyle and background.

Hayim Nissim Cohen with his nine adopted sons. His 17-year-old first accused him of abuse

Hayim Nissim Cohen has been an outspoken advocate of single men adopting sons

Hayim Nissim Cohen in a social media post with his adoptive sons

On social media and in public, Cohen often appeared in a wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask. His own adoptive sons said even that was a fabrication, with one boy telling KTRK 'everything [Cohen] does is fake.'

'The (teen) stated that (Cohen) only uses his wheelchair when people come over or when he is in public,' Cohen's charging document read. 'The (teen) stated that (Cohen) has six oxygen tanks and does not use them and that (Cohen) only coughs uncontrollably when he is in court.'

The attorney representing the exchange student Cohen was accused of molesting in 2019 told ABC13 the charges against him were no surprise.

'There were so many red flags,' said the attorney, Sherry Chandler.

'We all suspected (Cohen) is a pedophile. You don't just start one day. We all suspected the other kids were getting abused.'

In that case, the student complained to the Sharpstown High School about Cohen's behavior.

The student is suing Cohen and the group that placed him at his house, according to ABC 13.
The death of a newborn baby whose 'abnormal' heart rate went undetected for 26 minutes was found to be 'potentially preventable'.

Bodhi Leo Searle tragically passed on August 31, 2021, just one day after he was delivered at Flinders Medical Centre in south Adelaide.

An inquiry, overseen by coroner Naomi Kereru, is investigating the circumstances of Bodhi's death - including an incident where his mother Diana Searle's heart rate was mistakenly monitored instead of his.

Counsel assisting the coroner Sally Giles told the inquest it will later hear evidence from an expert witness that Bodhi's death was 'potentially preventable' if his heart rate was monitored correctly, the Adelaide Advertiser reports.

Bodhi's mother Mrs Searle had a normal pregnancy and went into labour on August 29, 2021 - her 30th birthday - and checked into the hospital at about 5.30pm.

She was put under the care of midwife Stephanie Geyer and first-year student midwife Thea Koke after her usual midwife informed Mrs Searle she was sick.

Ms Giles told the inquiry Ms Geyer first noticed something was wrong with Bodhi's heart rate at 11.26pm.

Mrs Searle was taken to the medical ward and hooked up for CTG monitoring at about 11.44pm.

'However, at approximately 12.15am, it was identified that for around 30 minutes the CTG trace had been recording the maternal heart rate and not the foetal,' she said.

'Corrections were made to identify the foetal heart rate, which by that time was severely abnormal.'

The registrar and only obstetrician on the ward said they were 'not feeling confident' to perform a 'complex instrumental delivery on her own'.

However, Bodhi was delivered shortly before 1am without instrumental intervention.

Ms Giles said Bodhi's failing health was 'immediately apparent'. He was blue, pale and scored zero points on his Apgar score - used measure a baby's colour, heart rate, reflexes, muscle tone and breathing.

'There was no evidence of any respiratory effort and there was no identifiable heart rate or pulse present,' Ms Giles said.

First-year student midwife Thea Koke (pictured outside the Coroner's Court) said Bodhi's appearance after birth was concerning

It was a full 18 minutes before Bodhi took his first breath.

He was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where doctors found signs of abnormal brain activity.

Bodhi Searle passed at 1.18pm on August 31, 2021.

His autopsy found he suffered hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy - a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen.

Ms Giles said witness Associate Professor Stefan Kane found Bodhi's death was 'potentially preventable'.

'It was probable that earlier application of the CTG and earlier confirmation of foetal rather than maternal heart rate tracing would have permitted earlier identification of foetal compromise which in turn would have prompted earlier efforts to expedite the birth,' Ms Giles said.

Student midwife Thea Koke was the inquest's first witness.

Mother Diana Searle went to Flinders Medical Centre (above) on August 29, 2021, where her heart rate was mistakenly monitored instead of Bodhi's

She said she attached the CTG monitor to Mrs Searle, adding Ms Geyer later adjusted the monitor.

Ms Koke said there had been 'no extreme urgency' in the delivery room and that she'd placed Bodhi on Mrs Searle's chest before resuscitation efforts began.

'I think everybody saw what Bodhi looked like and straight away was concerned,' she said.

Lauren Gavranich on behalf of Southern Adelaide Local Health Network - which includes the Flinders Medical Centre - apologised for the 'tragic circumstances surrounding' Bodhi's death.

The inquest continues.
The last thing Melbourne mum Annie O'Brien did before she died was miscarry her second child.

The 37-year-old died from multi-organ failure caused by a sepsis infection within hours of delivering her baby at 18 weeks, and less than 24 hours after falling ill in August 2017.

An inquest into her death has examined potential hospital system failings which might have contributed to the death of Ms O'Brien, the mother of a 14-month-old son and a partner in a law firm.

State Coroner John Cain didn't make any findings about the nursing or medical management she received at either Holmesglen Private Hospital or St Vincent's hospital.

But he found there were deficiencies in the care she received and there were several issues which warranted comment.

Annie O'Brien (pictured) died from multi-organ failure caused by a sepsis infection within hours of delivering her baby at 18 weeks, and less than 24 hours after falling ill in August 2017

State Coroner John Cain didn't make any findings about the nursing or medical management she received at either Holmesglen Private Hospital or St Vincent's hospital (pictured)

Medical experts gave varying opinions on whether Ms O'Brien could have survived with antibiotics at any stage of her treatment.

'The expert evidence ... could only be described as unsettled,' he said.

Ms O'Brien's greatest chance of survival would have been if antibiotics were administered by 8.30pm on August 14, he found.

By 10.15pm there was no nursing or medical management, including the administration of intravenous antibiotics, that could have prevented her death, he said.

The day she fell ill, Ms O'Brien left work early with gastroenteritis symptoms. An obstetrician prescribed rest and paracetamol.

She hadn't improved by the evening so went to the nearby Holmesglen Private Hospital in Moorabbin.

Hui Li Shi was the sole doctor responsible for the 10-bed emergency department that night and took more than an hour to see Ms O'Brien.

At 9.30pm she was feeling much better, but 45 minutes later Ms O'Brien was writhing in pain.

At that point Dr Shi should have reconsidered her initial diagnosis and looked at sepsis as a diagnosis to exclude, Judge Cain said.

'Dr Shi did not do this,' Judge Cain found, pointing to confirmation bias in symptoms supporting her initial diagnosis.

When Ms O'Brien's membranes spontaneously ruptured at 11.30pm, Dr Shi believed her 40.3C temperature was causing a miscarriage.

Dr Shi should have known gastro was not the likely cause and should have prescribed intravenous antibiotics, Judge Cain said.

Regardless of Dr Shi not being aware of sepsis guidelines at the hospital, an emergency physician should be expected to be aware of the signs and symptoms, he said.

Ms O'Brien was taken to St Vincent's Private Hospital, where her obstetrician Dr Vicki Nott was supposed to meet her.

Dr Shi said she told Dr Nott about the urgency of Ms O'Brien's transfer.

But Dr Nott said she didn't know it was a medical emergency and didn't arrive until an hour after Ms O'Brien. She sat in her car for 10 minutes researching antibiotics.

After raising a sepsis diagnosis at 1.45am, Dr Nott then disappeared for 20 minutes and could not be contacted by midwives while searching for sepsis guidelines.

While a prescription for antibiotics was written at 2am, Ms O'Brien didn't receive her first dose until 2.46am.

She only received them after midwife Raechel Miller spotted the medication sitting on a bedside table.

Nearly an hour after that first dose Ms Miller found a second dose in the hospital room, but Ms O'Brien had already been transferred to theatre.

Dr Nott should have prescribed the antibiotics at 12.40pm and they should have been administered within 15 to 30 minutes of being prescribed, Judge Cain said.

The day she fell ill, Ms O'Brien left work early with gastroenteritis symptoms. An obstetrician prescribed rest and paracetamol. She hadn't improved by the evening so went to the nearby Holmesglen Private Hospital in Moorabbin (pictured)

Ms O'Brien's greatest chance of survival would have been if antibiotics were administered by 8.30pm on August 14, State Coroner Cain found (pictured, Ms O'Brien)

An inquest into her death has examined potential hospital system failings which might have contributed to the death of Ms O'Brien, the mother of a 14-month-old son and a partner in a law firm

She should have known which antibiotics to give, he said.

Ms Miller and the midwife in charge, Gillian Codd, should be commended for their care of Ms O'Brien, Judge Cain said.

Traumatised by her patient's death, Ms Miller has since changed careers.

Ms O'Brien underwent surgery and received plasma and platelet transfusions but went into cardiac arrest. She was resuscitated but continued to deteriorate.

At 12.30pm her family was told her condition was not survivable. Life support was switched off and she died at 1.55pm.
The Met Office has extended its yellow weather warning for snow and ice to cover the South West  as wintry showers will hit most of the UK today amid temperatures plummeting to -15C.

Icy weather conditions have affected central and southern areas of England and Wales today and tomorrow after snowfall swept in from Scotland overnight.

Tonight could be Britain's coldest night of the year thus far with temperatures expected to fall to -10C in rural areas of the North, and as low as -3C or -4C in the South. Highland areas of Scotland could also fall as low as -15C.

The forecaster has also warned that up to 15in of snow could hit the UK this week as blizzards are forecast in northern areas on Thursday and Friday, with fears of red and amber weather warnings in some areas.

Meanwhile, four of five coal plants that had been kept on standby overnight will be warmed 'for potential use' today.

TUESDAY: A yellow warning was in place for London, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, parts of the Midlands and South Wales until 10am today. An identical alert was in place in Northern Ireland

WEDNESDAY: A greater area of the South West is covered by the Met Office's snow and ice warning tomorrow, with much of the East and North of England and Scotland also expected to be hit by wintry showers again

THURSDAY: A yellow weather warning for snow and ice will remain in place for the South East, South West and London, while snow is also expected across Wales and the entire North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

FRIDAY: Warnings for snow are no longer in place for the South, but wintry showers are expected to hit parts of northern Wales, England, Northern Ireland and the southern half of Scotland

The National Grid said: 'The ESO has issued an additional notification that we will warm four of our five winter contingency coal units for potential use on Tuesday 7 March.

'This notification is not confirmation that the unit will be used on Tuesday, but that it will be available to the ESO, if required.

'The ESO as a prudent system operator has developed these tools for additional contingency to operate the network as normal. This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk.'

National Grid made a unit at West Burton available last night, while a second in the same area and two plants at Drax, North Yorkshire, have now been made available for use if needed.

The extra power will be available between 4.30pm and 8.30pm today.

They are covered by 'winter contingency' contracts with the Government following fears over a shortage of power supplies this winter.

It comes after temperatures dipped to -7.6C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands on last night, with the small hamlet covered in 12cm of snow  more than anywhere else in the UK.

A number of schools have also been closed in Aberdeenshire today due to heavy snow making roads undriveable for many.

Met Office spokesman told Sky News that parts of the UK could be issued with red and amber weather warnings due to increasingly strong winds.

Meteorologist Alex Burkill added that it is not 'out of the question' for the wintry conditions to escalate into a named storm.

He added: 'Where we have lying snow and clear skies tonight we're going to see temperatures dropping as low as -15C tonight.'

Sheep stand with lambs in a snow dusted field in Ardenteggle, County Laois, Ireland, earlier today

People walk their dogs through the snow beside a row of beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland

Heavy snowfall in Aberdeen today, where a number of schools have been forced to close due to the wintry conditions

A dog walker on the snow covered sand dunes at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland this morning

People walk their dogs through the snow beside the beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland this morning

Weather warnings for snow and ice are currently in place across much of Britain due to an Arctic blast

Goathland train station in North Yorkshire as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across the UK

TYNEMOUTH: Snow fell on Front Street just after midnight this morning. Much of Britain is waking up to snow after a heavy Arctic Blast swept across the nation overnight

TYNESIDE: Arctic conditions arrived in the early hours of the morning today in Cullercoats, North Tyneside. Forecaster say icy weather is expected in central and southern areas of England and Wales today and tomorrow

BEDFORDSHIRE: Snowfall in Toddington, Bedfordshire, this morning. Up to 15in of snow could hit the UK this week as blizzards and heavy snow are forecast on Thursday and Friday

The Met Office said most of the UK would see sunny spells overhead this afternoon, but snow and hail showers are expected to continue in northern areas.

The heaviest and most frequent of the wintry conditions are in northern Scotland, where a 'bitterly cold northerly wind' is blowing.

It comes as a yellow weather warning was in place for London, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, parts of the Midlands and South Wales until 10am today. An identical warning was in place in Northern Ireland.

The Met Office said 'very cold Arctic air' began to move southwards yesterday, with snow showers developing across northern Scotland.

People in southern England and South Wales can expect to wake up to snow tomorrow, but it is as yet unclear whether it will settle, the Met Office has said.

Snow is more likely to settle when it moves across much of northern England, Northern Ireland and much of Scotland on Thursday.

The conditions follow a combination of weather phenomena which have occurred for the first time since the 'Beast from the East' brought days of freezing weather in late February and March 2018.

A police car drives down the A93 in Scotland following heavy snowfall overnight, with more expected over the coming days

STOKENCHURCH: A man walks his dog through a snow-covered field in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire, as temperatures dip in the South. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place for large parts of the UK

NORTH YORKSHIRE: Wintery scenes in the village of Goathland this morning as snow showers and freezing temperatures hit the region overnight

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through a snow covered field near Alnwick Castle as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK

LOCKTON: Snowy conditions in Locton this morning off the A169 in the North York Moors National Park. More weather warnings are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country

STOKENCHURCH: Snowfall in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire this morning. Further heavy snow, accompanied by strong winds, is forecast from the early hours of Thursday until Friday evening

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through a snow covered field at Alnwick Castle. Milder and unsettled weather is due to spread across England and Wales next week

Snow in the west end of Aberdeen, Scotland, as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across much of the UK this week

Met Office spokesman Alex Deakin said: 'The weather early on Tuesday will mostly be rain but some places could wake up to a dusting of snow.

'On Wednesday, we could see snow across southern England and South Wales in the morning  and again in the evening in the South West and South Wales.'

Further heavy snow, accompanied by strong winds, is forecast in the North from the early hours of Thursday until Friday evening.

The Met Office said roads could become blocked, leaving vehicles stranded, while some communities could be 'cut off for several days'.

The forecaster's outlook adds: 'Mostly dry and cold in the North Thursday, but widespread snow, rain and strong winds spreading north-east.

'Clearing Friday, but further rain and snow gradually moving north on Saturday.'

Milder and unsettled weather is due to spread across England and Wales next week.

Weather warnings are in place across the country for ice and snow until Friday. The South is more likely to see snowfall today and tomorrow.

The forecaster has warned of travel delays, with 'some vehicles and passengers stranded', along with power cuts and an increased risk of injury due to slippery footpaths and pavements.

NORTHUMBERLAND: Cars travel along a snow covered A1 motorway at Alnwick this morning. Weather warnings are in place across the country for ice and snow until Friday

NORTH YORKSHIRE: Binmen work in snowy conditions in Briggswath

NORTHUMBERLAND: Snow-covered fields surround Alnwick Castle this morning

NORTH YORKSHIRE: A car with a partially cleared windscreen drives through icy conditions in Briggswath this morning

NORTHUMBERLAND: Cars travel along a snow covered A1 motorway at Alnwick this morning

Up to 4 inches of snow will fall across northern England and Scotland. It will bring the threat of sleet and snow in the Midlands and southern England later in the week.

A warning for snow and ice is already in place in much of northern and eastern Scotland and north-east England. The area covered by it is set to extend as far south as Hull from tomorrow before it lifts at 10am tomorrow.

From Thursday into Friday, as much as 12-16in could be dumped on higher parts of the Central Belt, the Southern Uplands and southern Highlands. This could affect roads including the A1, the M74 and the M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Rail journeys are also likely to be affected and airports may find it impossible to keep runways clear of snow.

The Met Office warned travel disruption is likely and journey times by car, train and bus may take longer than usual.

Highways England has issued a severe weather alert for the South East and South West between 12pm today and 3am tomorrow.

A spokesman said: 'There is a severe weather alert for snow affecting the South East and South West of England. Road users are advised to check ahead and plan for disruption to their journeys.

'Snow is forecast to move north into the South West and the South East tonight. Snow amounts are expected to be small but could be widespread away from immediate coastal areas, with 1-2cm for many and up to 2-5cm on any modest hills (Haldon hill in particular).

Dog walkers on a snow covered beach at Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, with their pets earlier today

An overturned delivery van off the road on the A988 near Alford, Aberdeenshire, amid dangerous driving conditions

A train travels through the snow covered trees as it passed through Egton Station this morning in North Yorkshire

Holy Trinity Church and its surrounding fields in Bilboa, County Carlow, in Ireland

Flowers dusted with snow in Bilboa as a cold front passes over the UK and Ireland

'The snow is expected to ease during the morning but will be followed by a more significant second wave during Wednesday afternoon and through the evening.

'The snow will most likely lose ground in Devon but elsewhere it will be prolonged and occasionally heavy, particularly during the evening rush and to the east of the M5, leading to potential slow traffic and loss of traction on steep inclines (including the A417).

'Current estimations are for accumulations of 2-5cm widely with a chance of 8-10cm on any modest hills (North Wessex Downs, Surrey Hills, North Downs). Any snow will gradually ease after midnight, followed by a cold night with lying snow and icy stretches leading to residual impacts during the morning travel period.'

Gatwick Express has also warned it was expecting the wintry conditions to impact services.

A statement said: 'Snow and ice are expected on the Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern networks.

'Snow is expected to fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, although not all areas of the network will be equally affected. Ice may cause an additional hazard, especially overnight.

'Staff are working hard to minimise any disruption, but there could be some changes to trains.'

Early morning walkers make their way along the snow-covered coastline of Tynemouth in North Tyneside

TYNE & WEAR: Storm clouds rolled in over St Mary's Lighthouse, just north of Whitley Bay, as the sun was setting yesterday. Forecasters say temperatures are likely to stay far below average for early spring for much of the week

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through snow near Alnwick Castle this morning as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK and more are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country

Even colder overnight conditions are set to hit cities later in the week with the mercury plunging to -4C in London and -6C in Birmingham and Belfast.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has activated the capital's Severe Weather Emergency Protocol  opening additional emergency accommodation for people sleeping rough in the freezing conditions.

He said: 'With freezing conditions expected in London through this week, Ive activated my severe weather emergency protocol which will ensure anyone seen sleeping rough across the capital is offered a place in emergency accommodation.'

Forecasters say temperatures are likely to stay far below average for early spring for much of the week. Below freezing temperatures are predicted to continue until March 11 at least amid a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also placed North East England, North West England and Yorkshire under a level three cold weather alert, with the rest of England at level two, until midnight on Thursday.

A level three alert means there is a 90 per cent chance of severely cold weather, icy conditions or heavy snow, which could increase the health risk to vulnerable people.

They are at risk of slipping and falling on icy patches of untreated roads, pavements and paths while some rural communities could become cut off from the power grid.

The UKHSA has urged people to look out for those most at risk from cold weather such as those with medical conditions or aged over 65.

BRAEMAR: Snow fell on the A93 yesterday as parts of Scotland were under a yellow weather warning for snow and ice. The Met Office warned that travel disruption is likely and journey times by car, train and bus may take longer than usual

SHETLAND: A view of the snowfall in Shetland yesterday morning. Forecasters say high ground areas of northern Scotland can expect the most snowfall this week

BALLATER: Skiers and snowboarders take advantage of the snowfall at Glenshee Ski Centre yesterday as parts of Scotland are under a yellow met warning for snow and ice

CORGARFF: Cars got stuck in drifting snow along the A939 yesterday near Corgarff, Scotland

Experts also advise avoiding exposure to cold or icy outdoor conditions if you are at a higher risk of cold-related illness or falls.

The plunging temperatures are the latest cold snap to hit the UK as it battles with soaring energy bills during the cost of living crisis.

The UKHSA said for those struggling, it provides free advice on energy efficiency and national grants to help warm homes.

It advised that wearing several layers of thinner clothing will keep people warmer than wearing one thick layer, and that consuming hot food and drinks is also effective.
First Lady Jill Biden insisted in a rare one-on-one interview that she loves her under-fire stepson Hunter unconditionally.

President Biden's wife was asked in a sit-down interview with CNN's Arlette Saenz about an ongoing probe into Hunter Biden's taxes and whether he submitted a fraudulent form when trying to purchase a gun.

She suggested she does not believe the ongoing probe will have any affect on her husband's decision to run for re-election in 2024, noting: 'We deal with it, I guess by just having a different perspective.

'I mean I love Hunter,' Jill said. 'I'll support him any way I can and that's how I look at things.'

But the interview came as Republican lawmakers claim that more than a dozen 'whistleblowers' have provided 'potentially criminal' information about Hunter Biden to the FBI.

First Lady Jill Biden was asked in a one-on-one interview what she thought about Republican probes into Hunter Biden's taxes

She replied that she loved her under-fire stepson unconditionally and will support him. They are pictured with the president and Hunter's son Beau in November

On Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, told Attorney General Merrick Garland that the Justice Department must review the president's son, who was subject to a federal probe involving tax matters and a potentially false statement on a form for a gun purchase.

'Recent lawfully-protected whistleblower disclosures to my office indicate that the Justice Department and FBI had at one time over a dozen sources that provided potentially criminal information relating to Hunter Biden,' said Grassley, who has a long record of dealing with whistleblowers in the Senate.

He and Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, previously suggested that the Justice Department investigate public corruption.

They wrote a letter including 220 pages of bank records just days before the November 2020 elections.

Garland, though, said he has 'promised to leave the matter of Hunter Biden in the hands of the US Attorney for Delaware.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz also brought up the Hunter Biden investigation, in an angry question period where he accused Garland and the Justice Department of bias in the review of Trump over January 6 and classified documents.

'I believe you very much want to indict Donald J. Trump,' he told Garland, despite his repeated statements of trying to stand back and avoid interference. He has appointed special counsels in both matters.

Cruz accused the DOJ of leaking information about the Hunter Biden probe as a 'predicate' for indicting Trump, demonstrating impartiality, and proving the department is 'even-handed.'

Then he asked that the Hunter probe not focus on the president's son's battles with addiction, and focus instead on 'connections to his father and potential public corruption. That is the matter of public concern.'

He asked Garland to commit to examining the 'public corruption aspect' and 'not simply scapegoat Hunter Biden as an individual.'

Hunter Biden has struggled with addiction and has served on the board of allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma, worked with Russian oligarchs, and had a multi-million-dollar deal with a Chinese government-linked oil company.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said at a Senate hearing on Wednesday more than a dozen 'whistleblowers' brought forward information about Hunter Biden

Hunter served on the board of allegedly corrupt Ukrainian gas company Burisma, worked with Russian oligarchs, and had a multi-million-dollar deal with a Chinese government-linked oil company.

Republicans have accused his father, the president, of knowingly profiting off of his son's business ventures, and in turn claim Hunter previously leveraged his father's influential stature as then-vice president to further his foreign deals.

Such ventures include a handful of big payout deals with members of the Chinese communist party, as well as Hunter's infamous deal with Burisma holdings, which paid the then-vice president's son a whopping $1 million annually, allegedly in exchange for exposure to Biden.

The accusations were spurred by emails recovered in 2020 from a laptop hard drive likely belonging to Hunter Biden, which appear to show him offering meetings with his father to foreign and domestic partners among other deal-making discussion.

The gun investigation, meanwhile, relates to Hunter Biden's attestation on a 2018 handgun purchase form not to be 'an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.'
Volvo C40 electric vehicle / Courtesy of Volvo Korea



By Kim Hyun-bin



Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan is scheduled to visit Korea next week, and the trip is drawing attention to see if the automaker intends to increase cooperation with major domestic battery companies LG Energy Solution (LGES), Samsung SDI and SK On, according to industry officials, Tuesday.



Rowan is scheduled to visit Korea from March 12 through 14, on what will be his first trip here since he took office in March last year.



"The purpose of the CEO's visit is to inspect major markets after taking office," a Volvo Korea official said.



Rowan is one of the people leading Volvo's transition to electric vehicles (EV). During his visit to Korea, he will be able to discuss ways to cooperate with domestic battery makers. Volvo is pushing for a complete EV transition by 2030. As part of that plan, the automaker plans to release a new EV each year.





Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan
A Ukrainian schoolgirl who died after being found unconscious on a beach in Devon was a refugee fleeing from Putin's war, it has emerged - as tributes were paid to the 'kind and caring' 14-year-old.

Police were called to reports that the teenager - who is believed to have been staying with a local family alongside her mother - had gone missing from the seaside town of Dawlish on Saturday evening.

Searches by a police helicopter and coastguard tracked the teenager to a beach in the town and she was airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, where she later died.

Formal identification has taken place and next of kin have been informed, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

Police were called to reports of the teenage girl missing from Dawlish on Saturday evening (image taken on Monday)

The youngster has been described as a 'kind and caring person' by pupils at a local school that she was attending, The Sun reported.

One said: 'She went to my school. It's so sad, she was a lovely girl.'

Another pupil added: 'We just got the news at the school I go to because she was a student here and we all think it's horrible. She was such a kind and caring person and it is so sad to see her go.'

Her death is currently being treated as unexplained, with officers appealing for anyone with CCTV or doorbell camera footage to come forward.

The tragic incident has upset many local people in the area who are desperate for answers.

Carol Evans, a 72-year-old who volunteers at The Children's Society shop in Dawlish, said: 'I'm absolutely horrified, I think it's dreadful. I hope it wasn't somebody else that caused it.

'I think people will be really upset about it. I 've worked here for over 10 years. You get to know everybody here - I know 99 per cent of Dawlish.

'We made friends with a lot of Ukrainian families - a lot of the ones we got on really friendly with have gone back.'

Searches by a police helicopter and coastguard tracked down the teenager to a beach in the town and she was airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital

Bike shop owner Radyk Modrzynsk said: 'I'm in shock because my daughter is also 14. I will definitely be talking to her about the situation when she gets home from school. It makes me worried for her safety too.'

The owner of a local farm shop expressed concern for the girl's family and described himself as 'in shock' when he heard the news. He added: 'I've got teenage children as well and I'm just in shock by it. Our concern is for the poor girl's family.'

Meanwhile, a post office worker said: 'After everything those poor Ukrainian families have gone through back home. It's really awful to hear.'

Jim Kernaghan, a 60-year-old senior kitchen assistant at the Brunswick Arms, said: 'On Saturday evening the helicopter was coming over from the beach.

'It was there hovering around and circling for a while, so we assumed something was happening. I thought somebody might have got drunk and fallen in the water.

'Nothing like this has ever happened in Dawlish.'

Mark Barber, who is 38 and works as a chef at the pub, said: 'I'd just like a bit more information really because there's nothing out there. I've got my own children I'm worried about.

The local community in Dawlish have said they are looking for answers about what happened

'I found out on the news. I'm concerned it's something I need to be worried about. We often see Ukrainian families come through the pub for meals. It's really sad news.'

A male customer at the pub, who drove out to the Polish/Ukrainian border in a van at the beginning of the war to deliver hundreds of pounds worth of aid to Ukrainians, said: 'What I saw over there broke my heart. I remember giving out teddies to a little kid who'd lost everything. What I saw there broke my heart.

'For that young girl, she's seen a lot in Ukraine and she's come here for a better life, and that's happened to her - it's heart-breaking.'

Mayor of Dawlish, Councillor Lisa Mayne said: 'Our thoughts and profound condolences go out to the family, friends, and wider Ukrainian community in Dawlish at this heart-breaking time.'

Detective Inspector Becky Davies said: 'We were called on the evening of Saturday 4 March with reports of a 14-year-old girl missing from the Dawlish area.

'Localised searches took place with support from the police helicopter and coastguard and an unconscious person was found on Dawlish Beach.

'She was subsequently airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where she later sadly died.'

Police are continuing to conduct their investigation along the Dawlish coastline

DI Davies added: 'The deceased girl was a Ukrainian national who was living in the Dawlish area; contact has been made with the Ukrainian Embassy and the Home Office are also aware of this incident.

'This death is currently being treated as unexplained and enquiries continue as to the circumstances surrounding this death.

'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the teenage girl at this tragic time.'

A post-mortem is due to take place on Thursday.

Anyone with any information or who may have CCTV/doorbell footage that can assist officers with the investigation is asked to contact 101@dc.police.uk quoting case reference 50230052081.

MailOnline has contacted the Home Office and the Ukrainian Embassy for comment.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison says Australia's push to acquire nuclear submarines has always been about one thing: preventing war in the Pacific.

Mr Morrison said the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact with the US and UK would ensure any adversary preparing to attack Australia thought twice.

'AUKUS and the Quad were the two most significant checks on Chinese assertion in our region we had seen in 20 years,' he told AAP.

Mr Morrison, who orchestrated the AUKUS agreement before it was publicly announced in September 2021, said AUKUS and the Quad - which includes the US, Japan and India - would be integral in counterbalancing Chinese aggression.

'I knew it would have a major impact on Australia's capability for generations,' he said.

Scott Morrison poses in his office after Question Time on Tuesday as speculation mounted that he would soon quit politics

'All of these interlocking relationships and alliances and agreements... are designed to do one thing - to ensure that no one thinks going to that next level is a good idea.'

As speculation mounts over what submarine option the Albanese Government will choose, the former prime minister said the original plan was to have the three nations put more nuclear submarines in the water.

'This wasn't about having one of these countries build our boats. This was about all three countries having more boats,' he said.

'So we needed to look at something that would enhance that overall capability.'

Defence Minister Richard Marles has echoed the language used by his US and UK counterparts that the new submarines will be 'a genuine collaboration between all three countries'.

Some reports suggest a British Astute class submarine with an American weapons system could be used.

An awkward handshake between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (centre right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (centre left)

Mr Morrison said while that option 'doesn't make it a trilateral boat', an increase in interoperability should be welcomed.

'That may well mean that there are more US weapons on more British boats,' he said.

'So that's good for the Americans. That's good for the British. The whole point of AUKUS was to boost everybody, not to drain any one for the benefit of the others.'

Signing up to the AUKUS pact included tearing up a contract with France to build conventional submarines, costing Australian taxpayers $584 million.

A decision on the submarine project - the largest Australian defence purchase in history - is expected this month.

Speculation mounts that Scott Morrison will finally quit politics for a cushy consulting job as the ex-PM bails on Question Time early

By Nic White for Daily Mail Australia

Scott Morrison has walked out of Question Time early as speculation mounts that he will soon quit politics for the private sector.

The former prime minister was censured by the House of Representatives on November 30 over the 'minister for everything' scandal.

Parliament condemned him on a vote of 86 to 50 for secretly swearing himself in to five extra ministries in 2020 and 2021.

Other than a defiant speech defending himself against the censure, Mr Morrison has not spoken in parliament since losing the May 22 election.

The Member for Cook left the chamber on Tuesday a little before 3pm, well before Question Time concluded at 3.21pm.

The Member for Cook left the chamber on Tuesday a little before 3pm, well before Question Time concluded at 3.21pm

Mr Morrison is believed to have left to prepare for an interview with the Australian Associated Press, which did not begin until after Question Time was completed.

He receives $217,060 a year, the basic backbencher salary, while in parliament.

Sky News reported that 'informed sources' believed he would quit politics by the end of the year for a lucrative overseas consulting job.

Mr Morrison in response said if he had anything to say about his political future, he would make it.

For now, he insisted he was 'dutifully doing his job as a local MP and had returned home to The [Sutherland] Shire seeking to live quietly with his family', Sky reported.

The Liberal Party stalwart in another interview on the weekend said he was enjoying his time as a backbencher.

'It's quite liberating,' he said when asked what it was like to be a backbencher, pointing out that holding ministries and then being PM for a decade was 'exhausting'.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she had been friends with Mr Morrison for 'many years' but hadn't heard anything about his retirement plans.

'He will make a decision in the best interests of himself and family and the people of Cook,' she said.
China and 'reckless' America are heading for a 'catastrophic' conflict if Washington 'continues to speed down the wrong path,' a Beijing foreign minister warned on Tuesday in his first new conference since taking office.

Qin Gang lashed out at the US over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan, while praising Beijing's growing ties to Moscow which he said 'set an example for global foreign relations'.

He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit, amid reports that China is considering sending arms to Russia to help with Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion.

In his wide-ranging press conference, he dismissed warnings from Western countries that China may supply Russia with arms, saying it would not accept 'blame-shifting, sanctions, suppression and threats' targeting Beijing.

His comments came as President Xi Jinping condemned what he branded an American-led 'suppression of China', as he urged the country's private sector to boost innovation and become more self-reliant.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (pictured) lashed out Tuesday at the US over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan. He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit

China's technology ambitions have been hit with a raft of restrictions by the United States and its Western allies, and Beijing has doubled down on the need to shift away from imports for sectors perceived as vital to national security, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The US has tightened sanctions on Chinese chipmakers, citing national security concerns and the risk of the technology being used by China's military.

In his Tuesday press conference, Qin Gang went on to say the relationship between China and the US needed to be based on mutual interests and friendship, rather than 'US domestic politics and hysterical neo-McCarthyism'.

Washington's China policy has 'entirely deviated from the rational and sound track,' Qin told journalists on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp legislature, in his only formal scheduled news conference for the year, although he is also prone to taking questions during foreign visits.

READ MORE: China could invade Taiwan by 2026 sparking a war that would drag in Australia and see missile attacks on the country, experts say Advertisement

Washington 'means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game,' he said.

'It's so-called establishing guardrails and not seeking conflict simply means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked,' Qin said. 'That is just impossible.'

'If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation,' he said. 'Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.'

Qin's harsh and borderline apocalyptic language appeared to defy predictions that China was abandoning its aggressive 'wolf warrior' diplomacy in favour of a more moderate presentation as bilateral relations have hit a historical low over trade and technology, Taiwan, human rights and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

China last week responded with indignation to US suggestions that COVID-19, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, originated from a leak of the virus from a Chinese lab.

The Foreign Ministry accused the US of 'politicising the issue' in an attempt to discredit China.

After serving briefly as ambassador to Washington, Qin was appointed foreign minister at the end of December, in which role he is junior to the Communist Party's senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi.

Earlier in his career, he served as Foreign Ministry spokesperson, gaining a reputation for his tartly worded condemnations of China's critics.

On Tuesday, Qin repeated criticisms of Washington's recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the US east coast, saying that was entirely an unexpected accident caused by force majuere.

'However, in violation of the spirit of international law, international customary practices, the United States acted with the presumption of guilt,' Qin said.

'It overreacted, abused force and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.'

'In this case the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge,' Qin said.

'This is like the first button in a shirt being put wrong and the result is that the US-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track.'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a planned visit to Beijing in the wake of the balloon incident, frustrating hopes for improved ties after meetings between top leaders at multilateral gatherings in late 2022.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Tuesday, March 7

The massive balloon and its payload, including electronics and optics, have been recovered from the ocean floor and are being analysed by the FBI.

Turning to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory, Qin called the issue the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.

'The US has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question,' he said, accusing the US of 'disrespecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity,' by offering the island political backing and furnishing it with defensive weapons in response to Beijing's threat to use force to bring it under Chinese control.

'Why does the US ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?' Qin said. 'Mishandling of the Taiwan question will shake the very foundation of China-US relations.'

China has stepped up its diplomatic isolation and military harassment of Taiwan, prompting a string of visits from US and European politicians to show their support, along with new arms sales and a push by Taiwanese authorities to boost domestic defense capabilities.

Beijing has also accused the West of 'fanning the flames' by providing Ukraine with weaponry to fend off the Russian invasion.

China says it has a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a 'no-limits friendship' with Russia and has refused to criticise Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion.

Qin defended China's close relationship with Russia, saying the ties between Beijing and Moscow 'set an example for global foreign relations'.

'With China and Russia working together, the world will have a driving force,' he said. 'The more unstable the world becomes the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations.'

He told the news conference that the leadership of the two countries were in 'close contact' with the 'head of state' friendship forming the key foundation of this.

'The strategic partnership  will surely grow from strength to strength,' he said.

A Chinese peace proposal for Ukraine that has drawn praise from Russia but dismissals from the West has done nothing to lessen tensions as US officials have repeatedly accused China of considering the provision of weapons to Russia.

Russia has already turned to Iran to prop up its dwindling supply of missiles and ammunition in its war against Ukraine.

China has dismissed the suggestion that it could send arms to Russia, while the US has said it has credible intelligence that it is under consideration.

'Efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda,' Qin said.

'Conflicts, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem. What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue,' he said.

The minister also attacked US actions in the Indo-Pacific, where Washington and its allies have been alarmed over China's moves to woo a number island nations.

That includes signing a pact with the Solomon Islands that would allow port visits by Chinese warships for 'logistical replenishment' and for China to send police, military personnel and other forces to the Solomons 'to assist in maintaining social order.'

'The US Indo-Pacific strategy, while purportedly aimed at upholding freedom and openness, maintaining security and promoting prosperity in the region is, in fact, an attempt to gang up to form exclusive blocs to provoke confrontation by plotting an Asian-Pacific version of NATO,' Qin said.

Qin's news conference came two days after the opening of the yearly meeting of the National People's Congress, a mostly ceremonial body assembled to approve government reports and, this year, a new slate of top-level appointments.

That is expected to include a norm-breaking third five-year term as president for Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, who has eliminated all term limits to allow him to rule indefinitely.

At Sunday's opening session, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang announced plans for a consumer-led revival of the struggling economy, setting this year's growth target at 'around 5%.'

Separately, the Ministry of Finance announced a 7.2% budget increase for the ruling party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, to 1.55 trillion yuan ($224 billion), marking a slight increase over 2022.

China's military spending is the world's second highest after the United States.

A spokesperson for the congress said such spending was needed to meet 'complex security challenges.'

Meanwhile, in a rare direct criticism of the US, Xi told industry leaders that 'Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country's development'.

Xi, who will be granted a third consecutive presidential term in the coming days at the highly choreographed National Party Congress (NPC), said the past five years have been riddled with a new set of hurdles that threaten to weigh down China's economic rise.

China says it has a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a 'no-limits friendship' with Russia and has refused to criticise Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion. Pictured: President Xi Jinping meets Vladimir Putin in 2022

According to state-run Xinhua news agency, Xi said China must 'have the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape', in the address to delegates at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which runs alongside the NPC.

The 69-year-old said private firms 'should take the initiative to pursue high-quality development', Xinhua reported late Monday.

Earlier this week Xi vowed to bolster China's manufacturing capacity and said the country should be able to fend for itself.

'I've always said there are two critical areas for China: one is to safeguard our rice bowl, and the other is to build up a strong manufacturing sector,' he said.

'As a great nation of 1.4 billion people, we must rely on ourselves... We can't depend on international markets to save us.'
A brave mother and her teenage daughters have confronted the man who changed the course of their lives forever after ploughing into their car while driving drunk.

Leanne Tyrrell-Raddatz and her daughters Lola and Phoebe, aged 15 and 18, were left traumatised after a horror car crash on February 6, 2021.

The trio had been driving in Buccan, in Logan, Queensland, when Bryce Print crossed into the wrong lane and collided with their vehicle head-on.

The tradesman, 35, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.190 when he was tested by police who found empty beer bottles on the floor of his car.

Print last week pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death or grievous bodily harm while affected by an intoxicating substance and one count of driving while under the influence of liquor.

On Tuesday, Print received a jail sentence of five years, suspended after 18 months, while his licence was disqualified for five months.

Leanne Tyrrell-Raddatz and her daughters Lola and Phoebe, aged 15 and 18, were left traumatised after a horror car crash on February 6, 2021

The trio had been driving in Buccan, in Logan, Queensland, when Bryce Print crossed into the wrong lane and collided with their vehicle head-on (pictured is Leanne's car after the crash)

Ms Tyrell-Raddatz and her daughters were given the opportunity to speak directly to the pool finisher in Beenleigh District Court.

The women each read an emotional victim impact statements, each saying they would carry the trauma of the crash for the rest of their lives.

Lola, who had been just 13-years-old, said she was still recovering from the moment she looked at the drivers seat and thought her mother was dead, the Courier Mail reported.

'My mum was pinned under the steering wheel, completely crushed. I believed my mum was dead,' she said.

'I lost my mum that day. How do I unsee that?'

The teenager said after hearing her sister cry out in pain and blood 'pour' out of her nose and mouth, she had been forced to grow up too quickly.

Her older sister Phoebe, who was 15-years-old at the time, told the court she feared her injuries could see her miss out on joining the military.

Phoebe, aged 18, fractured her femur and her wrist in the collision, undergoing four surgeries

Ms Tyrell-Raddatz endured more than triple the amount of operations her daughters did, undergoing 15 surgeries in total and spending four months in hospital

Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz (pictured) said after the moment of impact she 'started floating to the white light on four occasions' and heard the jaws of life beside her head

She fractured her femur and her wrist in the collision, undergoing four surgeries.

Their mother endured more than triple the amount of operations they did, undergoing 15 surgeries in total and spending four months in hospital.

Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz said after the moment of impact she 'started floating to the white light on four occasions' and heard the jaws of life beside her head.

'I was slumped over the steering wheel with blood coming from my nose and mouth, I couldn't breathe,' she said in her statement.

'In that exact moment I thought I was going to die. I thought this was it for me and I thought I was leaving this world and I'd never get to see my daughters grow up.

'From that day forward my life has been hell.'

The mother-of-two said because of the pandemic, she had been alone in hospital and had suffered suicidal thoughts and 'just wanted to die'.

Pictured is Phoebe and her mother before they went to pick up Lola from a birthday party, with the devastating crash occurring as they drove home on February 6, 2021

The mother-of-two said because of the pandemic, she had been alone in hospital and had suffered suicidal thoughts and 'just wanted to die'

Two years on, She still feels the effects of the crash both physically and emotionally.

'I can't bend my knee completely, my arms are filled with metal, I have a broken pelvis, it affects my intimate life, my personal life, my working life,' she said.

Ms Tyrrell-Raddatz said despite her family's pain, she feels sorry for Price.

'He is obviously suffering depression himself and has been struggling with alcoholism for a long time.'

'But he chose to drink and drive that day and changed our lives forever.'
Australia Post said it will no longer deliver to a large part of Alice Springs after a postman of 38 years was pelted with rocks and threatened with a knife.

All letter and parcel services have been suspended in five Alice Springs streets after the frightening series of violent attacks which left the veteran postie traumatised.

The Post sent a letter to residents in Sadadeen, in the town's east, to inform them their service has been indefinitely suspended.

Their mail will instead be available for collection at the local post office.

'Australia Post delivery personnel have a reasonable expectation to work and operate in a safe environment,' the letter reads, the ABC reported on Tuesday evening.

Letter and parcel delivery services have been indefinitely suspended in five Alice Springs (above) streets

A veteran postie of 38 years took stress leave last year after he was threatened with a knife and pelted with rocks

Country Liberal Member for Braitling, Josh Burgoyne, said the postie went on stress leave last year.

But upon their return they were threatened with a knife while delivering the mail.

Northern Territory Police are investigating these claims.

Mr Burgoyne told the ABC's Lee Robinson that Australia Post's concerns 'need to be taken very seriously'.

'When you've been in the job for 38 years, this is not something that you expect to happen,' he said.

'I just want to give my thanks to all posties that go out there and do a good job, but especially to this specific individual because they do a bloody good job.'

He also called on the NT government agency Territory Families to investigate the postie's complaints.

Country Liberal Member for Braitling Josh Burgoyne (above) called on the NT government agency Territory Families to investigate the postie's claims

'If there are people that are acting and behaving extraordinarily badly and committing alleged offences towards our posties, there (must be) things put in place to ensure that this stops,' he said.

In a statement, Australia Post apologised for the 'inconvenience' caused by the service suspension and said it is working with authorities 'to create a safe working environment'.

The news follows several months of intense scrutiny on the NT Government due to increased violent crime in Alice Springs.

The community has faced a high number of break-ins and assaults and called on authorities to find a solution, particularly regarding the high level of youth crime.
New law will be 'applied retrospectively' for all channel crossings

Migrants entering UK illegally from today will be banned from claiming asylum

Channel migrants will be banned from claiming asylum in the UK from today, under Rishi Sunak's bold plans.

Landmark legislation will bar illegal arrivals from staying and applying on refugee, modern slavery or human rights grounds. Only children and the gravely ill will be allowed to remain in Britain while cases are considered.

To avoid creating a dash to reach Britain, the rules will be effective from now even though it could be months before they are on the statute book.

The new Bill is also expected to give Parliament the power to set an annual cap on the number of refugees accepted into the country - with local authorities being consulted on how many they can take.

The PM is set to visit the South East as he trumpets the blueprint, part of his vow to 'stop the boats' after 45,000 people made the perilous crossing last year.

However, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has conceded the initiative 'pushes the boundaries' of international law and the government faces challenges in the courts and in Parliament.

Critics have also warned that the proposals are 'unworkable' because the UK does not have anywhere safe it can send the numbers who cross the Channel.

Cabinet was being briefed on the measures this morning before the formal announcement.

More migrants were brought ashore in Kent yesterday ahead of the new laws being unveiled

Tough measures to tackle small boat arrivals will be rushed through Parliament  and could be in place by summer. Pictured, a group is brought ashore in Dungeness yesterday

Rishi Sunak said 'enough is enough' as Home Secretary Suella Braverman vowed that ministers would tackle the Channel crisis 'no ifs, no buts'

Mr Sunak admitted voters 'have heard promises before' without seeing results, but insisted his legislation 'will mean that those who come here on small boats can't claim asylum here'.

He wrote in the Sun: 'This new law will send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed.'

The PM said it was a plan 'to do what's fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum  a plan to take back control of our borders once and for all'.

Mr Sunak spoke to Rwanda's president Paul Kagame before unveiling his plans, and pledged to continue working with him to ensure their stalled project works.

The Government has paid more than 140million to Rwanda but no flights forcibly carrying migrants to the capital of Kigali have taken off because of legal challenges.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The leaders committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully.'

The PM will meet Emmanuel Macron on Friday to discuss further cooperation that will be required to reduce boat crossings.

Writing in the Telegraph, Ms Braverman - who is due to make a Commons statement at lunchtime - said: 'We must stop the boats and that's what our bill will do. No more sticking plasters or shying away from the difficult decisions.

'Myself and the Prime Minister have been working tirelessly to ensure we have a bill that works  we've pushed the boundaries of international law to solve this crisis.

'If you come here illegally it must be that you cannot stay.'

A duty will be placed on the Home Secretary to remove 'as soon as reasonably practicable' anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or a 'safe third country'.

And arrivals will be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK, with plans also to ban them from returning once removed.

In the new bill, small boat migrants will be barred from lodging asylum claims and stripped of the ability to launch human rights appeals.

Nearly all those who arrive by illegal routes will be able to appeal only once they have been deported.

It is understood that migrants will be kept in student accommodation, cruise ships or holiday parks - in a change from hotels - until they are either sent back to their country of origin or to a third location such as Rwanda.

It has been reported that the Home Office is planning to purchase two RAF bases in Lincolnshire and Essex to house migrants waiting for deportation.

Asylum and human rights claims are expected to be 'radically curtailed' under the package.

New legislation will mean claims of human trafficking will need to rely on significant proof to be claimed.

Sources close to Mrs Braverman said: 'The British people have had enough. This Government is determined to stop the boats and ensure we have all the powers available to remove illegal migrants from the country.

'The Prime Minister and Home Secretary are resolved to this course of action, no ifs, no buts.'

Another insider said: 'This new duty to remove will ensure that the Home Secretary's power to remove migrants takes precedence in law and ensures asylum, human rights and modern slavery claims are blocked.'

In a separate development, ministers have not given up on sending the first plane-load of migrants to Rwanda this year. They have been encouraged by December's court ruling that the deal with the African country is lawful.

Although the policy is still facing legal challenges ministers believe it could even be possible for an asylum flight to take off by the summer.

The full package of immigration measures is due to be unveiled by Mr Sunak and Mrs Braverman later today.

Immigration laws brought into force under Boris Johnson set out how the Home Secretary can declare a migrant's claim inadmissible if they passed through a safe third country such as France.

Today's strengthened package will see this applied almost across the board to all migrants.

The move will expand powers introduced by Labour in 2003  'non-suspensive appeals'  that allow asylum seekers to be removed after their initial claim is rejected.

However use of the powers has slumped. There were 1,285 asylum cases earmarked for the process in 2018, but in the first six months of last year only 171 were deemed eligible.

The Illegal Migration Bill will also see Channel migrants banned for life from coming back to Britain.

Ministers have insisted that they can ignore last-minute interventions by Strasbourg judges.

A new Bill of Rights, published last June but currently on hold, states unequivocally that 'no account is to be taken of any interim measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights'.

But it is not yet known whether today's legislation will include the measures.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman

James Cleverly and Dominic Raab were in Downing Street for Cabinet today

Rolled- up inflatable dinghies and outboard engines stored at a yard in Dover

A rarely-used measure under the Human Rights Act  known as a Section 19.1.B statement  will be deployed to get the legislation through Parliament

Ministers are braced for opposition from the Whitehall establishment  dubbed the 'Blob'  over their plan to tackle the Channel crisis.

Critics include former Home Office mandarin Sir David Normington who said it was 'highly doubtful' the proposals would lead to a fall in crossings.

Refugee charities and a trade union that represents immigration officers were also among those who questioned early details of the scheme.

Sir David told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'At the heart of the policy is a gamble that if you say it's illegal to come in a small boat people will stop coming. I think that is highly doubtful.'

He predicted the Government's plan would face 'very great' problems.

Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union also cast doubt on the plans, describing them as 'quite confusing'.

Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council described the legislation as flawed, adding: 'It's unworkable, costly and won't stop the boats.'

Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK condemned the proposed measures as 'disgraceful posturing and scaremongering'.

Asked whether the plan was legally feasible, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer replied: 'I don't know that it is and I think we've got to be very careful with international law here.'

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'We've seen too many lives lost attempting this dangerous and unnecessary journey, and the number of people entering the country is simply unsustainable. As we've always said, we recognise there will likely be challenges in many forms to this sort of legislation.'

A No 10 spokesman said the Government would stop all small boats but declined to put a timescale on the plans.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's brother was finally tracked down on Tuesday morning after failing to show up for a corruption hearing at the state parliament.

After being missing for a month while summons servers looked for him, Jean-Claude Perrottet was ambushed by a TV crew on a quiet suburban Sydney street.

Mr Perrottet managed to avoid appearing at the inquiry into the Hills Shire Council in Sydney's north, which was sparked by claims made under parliamentary privilege by state Liberal MP Ray Williams of deals between party operatives and developers.

Dressed in a green polo shirt, khaki shorts and brown sand shoes, he seemed shocked to be approached by a 9News reporter asking 'Where have you been?'

'I've been overseas,' Mr Perrottet replied, though he is now reported to be staying with relatives.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet's brother Jean-Claude (pictured) has finally been tracked down after failing to show up for a corruption hearing at the state parliament

He had a simple answer for why he didn't appear at the inquiry, saying 'As I put it in my statement, I was overseas.'

He had no reply, though, when asked 'Why did you try and dodge it?'

The inquiry, which ended last week without managing to summons Mr Perrottet, heard claims of attempted Liberal Party branch stacking and an alleged $50,000 bid to unseat federal Liberal MP Alex Hawke from his Mitchell electorate in 2019.

Mr Williams alleged Liberal Party members had been paid to install new councillors on the council to benefit a development company called Toplace.

Liberal powerbroker Christian Ellis was also called to appear but also could not be tracked down to be served with a summons. He is still missing.

The committee said it was the most committed, serious and coordinated avoidance it had ever seen.

Its final report recommended a new inquiry be established after the election, and that it should call on Jean-Claude Perrottet, Charles Perrottet, Christian Ellis and Toplace director Jean Nassif to give evidence.

Mr Nassif is currently in Lebanon. His glamorous lawyer daughter Ashlyn Nassif, 27, faced Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court last Wednesday charged with fraud after four family properties, including her father's home and office, were raided.

Ashlyn Nassif, 27, faced Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court last Wednesday charged with fraud after four family properties, including her father Jean's home and office, were raided

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (centre) is pictured with his wife Helen campaigning ahead of the March 25 election (holding baby Celeste)

One of Dominic Perrottet's other brothers, Charles, was also called but sent a letter to the inquiry saying as he no longer lived in NSW he was not required to give evidence.

'I decline your invitation. I am a resident of Victoria. I have resided in Victoria since January 2021,' he wrote.

After initially warning the media to 'leave my family out of it' and refusing to answer questions, Premier Perrottet eventually announced an internal Liberal Party investigation into the claims.

'The state director from the organisation is looking into those matters,' he said.

'And as I've said, if anyone has done anything wrong, appropriate action should be taken, the book should be thrown at them.'

Jean-Claude Perrottet (pictured left), who was the subject of a state-wide search to serve him with a summons to appear before an inquiry, is now holed up at his in-laws' home

Out campaigning on Tuesday, Mr Perrottet was asked yet again if he did not know where his brother had been.

He simply replied, 'That's correct.'

The Premier had previously blamed Labor and the Greens for orchestrating the inquiry to embarrass him in the lead up to the March 25 state election.

On Tuesday morning, an unidentified man going into the same house Jean-Claude Perrottet had entered was asked if this was all just a 'Labor smear campaign?'

He shrugged his shoulders and said 'Probably.'
The sister of Kim Jong Un warned Tuesday that it would be a 'clear declaration of war' if North Korean missiles were shot down during their test launches over the Pacific Ocean.

The United States and South Korea have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed Pyongyang, which has conducted a wave of weapons tests in recent months.

North Korea has said its nuclear weapons and missile programmes are for self-defence, and has bristled over US-South Korea military exercises, describing them as rehearsals for an invasion.

'It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons,' Kim Yo Jong said in a statement, using North Korea's official name.

'The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the U.S. or Japan.'

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows the test-firing of what it says a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile

Image published by KCNA shows a strategic cruise missile launching drill staged at dawn in Kim Chaek City, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, 23 February 2023

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, warned any attempts to intercept missile testing by US or South Korea will be considered an act of war

North Korea is 'always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time', she added in her statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

This month, the US and South Korean militaries will hold their largest joint drills in five years.

Ahead of those exercises, named Freedom Shield and scheduled for at least 10 days starting March 13, the allies held air drills this week featuring a nuclear-capable US B-52 heavy bomber.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, North Korea's foreign ministry accused the United States of 'intentionally' ramping up tensions.

'The recent joint air drill... clearly shows that the US scheme to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK is being carried forward at the level of an actual war,' it said in a statement published by KCNA.

'We express deep regret over the irresponsible and worrying muscle-flexing of the US and South Korea.'

Last year, Pyongyang declared itself an 'irreversible' nuclear power and fired a record-breaking number of missiles.

Kim Jong Un recently called for an 'exponential' increase in weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a party meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023

An RC-12X Guardrail surveillance aircraft lands at U.S. Army base Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 06 March 2023, as South Korea and the United States began a four-day crisis management exercise

Colonel Isaac Taylor (L) of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK), stands alongside Colonel Lee Sung-jun of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff during a press briefing about the 2023 Freedom Shield Exercises

North Korea has framed its missile tests and military drills as justified countermeasures following US-South Korea drills.

Last week, it called on the United Nations to urge a halt to these exercises, and reiterated that its nuclear weapons ensured the balance of power in the region.

South Korea is eager to reassure its increasingly nervous public about the US commitment to so-called extended deterrence, where US military assets, including nuclear weapons, serve to prevent attacks on allies.

Last month, a tabletop US-South Korea exercise at the Pentagon focused on responses to a nuclear attack by North Korea.

Pyongyang responded to that exercise by firing cruise missiles, and claimed that ramped-up US-South Korea drills 'can be regarded as a declaration of war'.
'I had no relationship with that person'

Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe says she was mauled by the media and forced to admit she had a relationship with a former bikie when the pair only shared one kiss.

The former Greens senator, now an independent, was referred to the Senate's privileges committee over allegations she failed to disclose a relationship with a former bikie despite sitting on a parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Senator Thorpe said she actually had no relationship with the ex-president of the Rebels bikie gang in Victoria, Dean Martin but was told by Greens legal advisers to say they dated.

She previously said it was a mistake to not have disclosed the relationship but changed her tune on Tuesday.

'I had no relationship with that person. I was given legal advice by the Greens lawyer to say that I had dated this person,' she told the Senate.

Victorian Senator Thorpe (pictured) said she actually had no relationship with the ex-bikie but was told by Greens legal advisers to say they dated

'We kissed once at a rally on the 26th of January. I had no idea who this person was or his background' (pictured, Senator Thorpe with the ex-president of the Rebels bikie gang in Victoria, Dean Martin)

'I got a call from that person that said, 'Ah, did we date?'.

'We kissed once at a rally on the 26th of January. I had no idea who this person was or his background.'

The privileges committee examined whether Senator Thorpe's alleged non-disclosure obstructed the work of the committee or if she had received confidential briefings related to bikies.

It found that while Senator Thorpe should have disclosed her relationship, she didn't receive any relevant sensitive information and therefore shouldn't be held in contempt.

A teary Senator Thorpe said the committee's recommendation that she not be held in contempt vindicated her.

'All you people thought that I had been running off with some biker gang,' she said.

'What kind of person do you think I am? I deserve an apology, from the leader of the Greens for one, because I lost my position.'

AAP has contacted Greens leader Adam Bandt for comment.

Senator Thorpe resigned from her leadership role with the party after the story broke in the media.

Former Rebels bikie club president Dean Martin (pictured) kissed the Senator at an Invasion Day protest

Senator Thorpe (pictured) resigned from her leadership role with the party after the story broke in the media

Senator Thorpe (pictured with friends) said she referred herself to the committee because she knew she had done nothing wrong

'For what? For a kiss on invasion day with some black man at a rally who happened to be an ex-biker,' she said.

'I didn't ask for his resume.'

Senator Thorpe said she referred herself to the committee because she knew she had done nothing wrong.

'But my family and my community were hurting from the racism,' she said.

'I got mauled by the media, I got mauled by all of you in (the Senate) for something I did not do.'

The privileges committee has recommended declarations of any conflicts of interest should be handled consistently when committees meet to avoid any future issues.
Britons have been sharing their own 'leaked' WhatsApp messages with loved ones who died during the coronavirus pandemic after thousands of Matt Hancock's texts from 2020 were published.

Families have shared their heartbreaking last messages on Twitter after 100,000 of the ex-Health Secretary's WhatsApps were leaked to the Press by his memoir ghostwriter, journalist Isabel Oakeshott.

Among them was a student nurse who had to comfort dying strangers in hospital - but was unable to hold the hand of her father as he died from Covid.

One man shared the tragic final conversation he had with his mother before she was placed on a ventilator and later died.

Families have shared their grief online by 'leaking' their own final text messages to their loved ones who died during the Covid pandemic

Sharing a screenshot on Twitter of his tragic last text to his dying mother, Paul Quinn wrote: 'My "leaked" messages from 2020. My Mam worked in a care home all through the pandemic, the same day I sent her that last message she was put on a ventilator and died on 18th December #whatsapp #matthanock #leaked.'

In an exchange seen almost 150,000 times, Mr Quinn's mother described the horrifying conditions her care home was going through on May 27, saying: 'Bloody hell another three residents died xxx'

In a later message, she reveals how she has contracted Covid and pleaded to find out about whether or not her son's father was okay.

She said: 'Is dad alright? I've got covid pneumonia. Bleach everywhere.'

Also among those sharing their experience was Helene Bacca. She was a student nurse during the pandemic who was unable to comfort her father, who died on November 18, 2020.

She tweeted: 'My dad died of Covid. I was on placement as a student nurse in the community. I could hold other patients' hands but not his. He died alone in a hospital bed.'

Another user shared a similar story, revealing how their parent died just two hours after their uncle - and that only 15 people were able to make it to their funerals due to the lockdown restrictions in place.

'My dad was 3 months in hospital, 2 of those in a coma,' they wrote on Twitter. 'He was so poorly. I was allowed to see him then. Not his partner, not his grandchildren. He came round and we hoped. He didn't make it. He died 48 hours after my uncle.'

Grieving Britons took to social media to share their messages after former Health Secretary Matt Hancock had about 100,000 private texts he sent during 2020 leaked last week

The comments come as Mr Hancock was accused of 'despicable' behaviour after leaked messages suggested he discussed withholding funding for a learning disability centre to pressure an MP not to rebel against coronavirus restrictions.

The ex-Health Secretary and an aide spoke about warning Bury North MP James Daly that a new centre for disabled children and adults would be 'off the table' if he voted against the Government, according to leaked WhatsApp messages.

Senior Conservative Jake Berry described the disclosure as an 'absolute disgrace' and called for Mr Hancock to be hauled before the Commons for questioning.

Sir Jake, whose son has disabilities, said: 'Once you get to the point that you are weaponising the provision of care to disabled children, I think you have crossed the line.'

Mr Hancock's team said 'what's being accused here never happened' as they disputed the 'entirely partial account' based on a trove of his WhatsApp messages handed to the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper said the discussion between Mr Hancock and political aide Allan Nixon came ahead of a vote on December 1, 2020 on the introduction of new Covid-19 restrictions in England.

It came at a time when Whitehall was scrambling to put measures in place because tens of thousands of lives were at stake over the winter, with all options being considered to ensure the vote was won.

Matt Hancock has come under fire for some of his leaked texts, which included messages discussing withholding funding for a learning disability centre to pressure an MP not to rebel against coronavirus restrictions

Mr Nixon said they needed to 'dangle our top asks' over some of the newest MPs who entered Parliament in 2019 through Boris Johnson's general election victory.

Mr Nixon suggested, for example, 'James wants his Learning Disability Hub in Bury - whips call him up and say Health team want to work with him to deliver this but that'll be off the table if he rebels'.

'These guys' re-election hinges on us in a lot of instances, and we know what they want. We should seriously consider using it IMO,' he wrote.

Mr Hancock's response was 'yes 100%'.

Mr Nixon said they needed to 'dangle our top asks' over some of the newest MPs who entered Parliament in 2019 through Boris Johnson's general election victory

MP Mr Daly told the paper he was 'appalled' and 'disgusted' that the disability hub was discussed as a way to coerce him into voting with ministers.

But he said the threat was never made to him.

Mr Hancock's spokesman said: 'As we've repeatedly seen this last week, it is completely wrong to take this entirely partial account and write it up as fact.

'What's being accused here never happened, demonstrating the story is wrong, and showing why such a biased, partial approach to the evidence is a bad mistake, driven by those with a vested interest and an axe to grind.

'The right place to consider everything about the pandemic objectively is in the public inquiry.'

Rossendale and Darwen MP Sir Jake, a former Conservative Party chairman, said: 'This is an absolute disgrace.

'Hancock should be dragged to the bar of the House of Commons first thing tomorrow morning to be questioned on this.'
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, back row center, poses with students at Gumi Electronics Technical High School located in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday. Lee observe classes and discussed industrial fields of interest with students. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Kim Hyun-bin



Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Gumi Electronics Technical High School located in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province to encourage students, according to the company, Tuesday.



Lee observed a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design class, followed by a meeting with students to discuss interest in the industrial fields and technical talents.



Gumi Electronics Technical High School nurtures professional technical personnel in electronics and mechatronics.



About 2,000 graduates of Gumi Electronics Technical High School are active as skilled technical talents in major Samsung affiliates, including Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Samsung SDI, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDS, and Samsung Heavy Industries.



"Young technical talents are the driving force of manufacturing competitiveness, and we will always support technical talent who are responsible for field innovation," Lee said.



After becoming chairman, Lee has been busy visiting Samsung's local business sites, such as Samsung Electronics Green City in Gwangju, local partner companies, and Samsung Youth SW Academy (SSAFY) Gwangju Campus, aiming to nurture local industries and talent and revitalize the economy.



SSAFY, which is operated in five regions nationwide Seoul, Gumi, Daejeon, Gwangju, and Busan enhances the employment competitiveness of local youth and provides software talent to local companies.



C-Lab Outside for fostering startups opened its Daegu campus last month following Seoul to vitalize the local startup ecosystem. In March, the company decided to open a campus in Gwangju. The smart factory construction support project contributes to regional job creation and economic revitalization by strengthening the manufacturing competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises scattered across the country and supporting market development and personnel training.



Earlier in the day, the chairman visited Samsung Electronics' Smart City in Gumi and inspected the manufacturing site of the Galaxy S23, which was launched worldwide in February. In addition, Lee also held a meeting with executives and staff in charge of smartphone manufacturing, development, and quality.


A 29-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender

Legs and skull did belong to Abby Choi, 28, insider reveals of DNA test results

Human remains including a skull and ribs found in a cooking pot and legs found in a fridge in Hong Kong did belong to model Abby Choi, it has been confirmed.

DNA tests have confirmed that the grim discovery at a house in the suburban area of Lung Mei Tsuen was of Ms Choi's body parts, an insider has told the South China Morning Post.

Officials also believe that a hole in the back of her skull shows where she was struck in the fatal attack.

Investigators are still urgently searching a number of locations for Ms Choi's torso and hands, as the investigation into the grisly killing continues.

It comes as a seventh person has been arrested in connection with the murder, on suspicion of assisting an offender.

DNA tests have confirmed that the legs and skull found in fridge and soup pot in a suburban home belong to Hong Kong model Abby Choi (pictured)

The 29-year-old woman, from Hong Kong, was arrested in Shenzhen, mainland China on Tuesday, and was reportedly handed over to the police at a border control point.

The suspect is accused of organising a boat to help to help murder suspect Alex Kwong, to flee the city.

Kwong, 28, who is Choi's ex-husband, was charged along with his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong for Ms Choi's murder.

They were charged after police found her remains in a house rented by Kwong Kau in the suburban area of Hong Kong, which is near the border with China.

Alex Kwong's mother, Jenny Li, faces one count of perverting the course of justice. All four were detained without bail.

They have not yet entered their pleas, and it does not appear that their lawyers have commented on the case to the media. The hearing was adjourned until May.

On Thursday, police also arrested a 41-year-old man on suspicion of aiding and abetting an offender, according to local media.

Another woman who had been arrested for allegedly assisting other suspects in the case was released on bail pending further investigation, police said.

Ms Choi's ex-husband Alex Kwong, his father Kwong Kau and his brother Anthony Kwong were charged with murdering the model. Alex Kwong's mother Jenny Li faces one count of perverting the course of justice. Pictured: One of the suspects is seen being led by police officers to court late on Sunday

A suspect in the murder of model Abby Choi was pictured today at a police station in Hong Kong after being transferred from mainland China

She was believed to have been in an affair with the ex-husband's father, the force said earlier.

Ms Choi, 28, who had more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, disappeared on February 21, according to a report filed later with the Hong Kong Police.

Her last post was on February 19, featuring a photo shoot she had done with fashion magazine L'Officiel Monaco.

Ms Choi had financial disputes involving tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars (millions of pounds) with her ex-husband and his family, police said, adding that 'some people' were unhappy with how Ms Choi handled her finances.

The socialite's mother has sought an injunction to bar her daughter's former father-in-law from selling a HK$73 million (US$9.4 million) luxury flat Ms Choi allegedly bought under his name

And today it has emerged that the socialite's mother has sought an injunction to bar her daughter's former father-in-law from selling a HK$73 million (US$9.4 million) luxury flat Ms Choi allegedly bought under his name.

Cheung Yin-fa filed a writ to the High Court to forbid Kwong Kau, 65, from selling the luxurious flat in the exclusive neighbourhood of Kadoorie Hill in Ho Man Tin.

Ms Choi was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photoshoots and fashion shows. She had just attended a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week when she went missing, and posted an image of herself dressed in a tulle floor-length gown.

The legs of Abby Choi were found by police officers in a household fridge on Friday after she went missing. Her ex-husband and three of his relatives have been charged

Ms Choi had been missing for several days when police found her dismembered body, including her legs in a refrigerator, at the house in Lung Mei Tsuen, a suburban part of Hong Kong about a 30-minute drive from the border with mainland China

Ms Choi had been missing for several days when police found her dismembered body, including her legs in a refrigerator, at the house in Lung Mei Tsuen, a suburban part of Hong Kong about a 30-minute drive from the border with mainland China.

Ms Choi's friend Bernard Cheng earlier said he initially thought she had been kidnapped.

Mr Cheng said Ms Choi had very good relationships with her family members and would travel with the families of her current and former husbands together.

Ms Choi's current father-in-law is a founder of one of the city's famous noodle chains, local newspaper The Standard reported.

Ms Choi had been missing for several days when police found her dismembered body, including her legs in a refrigerator, at the house which is about a 30-minute drive from the border with mainland China.

Ms Choi, 28, was a model and influencer who shared her glamorous life of photoshoots and fashion shows with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. Dressed in a tulle floor-length gown, she had just attended a Dior show at Paris Fashion Week (pictured)

Her former partner was arrested on suspicion of murder after he was found on Tung Chung pier on Lantau Island.

Superintendent Alan Chung said at the time that the dismemberment was carried out by 'cold-blooded killers'.

'Police also have found that the flat was arranged by cold-blooded killers meticulously,' he said.

'Tools that are used to dismember human bodies were found in the flat, including meat grinders, chainsaws, long raincoats, gloves, and masks.'

The gruesome killing has transfixed many in Hong Kong, across the border in mainland China and around the world.
Randy said his younger brother, who claims he is innocent, is a serial liar

Randy Murdaugh has broken his silence for the first time since his younger brother was jailed for killing his wife and son, saying that Alex is not 'telling the truth' about their brutal murders.

Randy, 56, has spent the last 20 months trying to understand what exactly happened on the night of June 7, 2021, when Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22, were shot dead.

He struggles to picture Murdaugh pulling the trigger and murdering his wife and child but he said his younger brother, who has claimed he did not carry out the killings, is a serial liar.

'He knows more than what he's saying,' Randy told The New York Times about the murders. 'He's not telling the truth, in my opinion, about everything there.'

Randy, who did not testify in his brother's trial, said after Maggie and Paul were found dead, he found it strange that Murdaugh was not calling people to ask them if they knew why the mother and son might have been targeted.

Randy, 56, has spent the last 20 months trying to understand what exactly happened on the night of June 7, 2021, when Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22, were shot dead. Pictured: From left to right, Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh

Randy (pictured at his brother's trial in February) struggles to picture Murdaugh pulling the trigger and murdering his wife and child but he said his younger brother, who has claimed he did not carry out the killings, is a serial liar

'I spent considerable time, day after day for weeks on end, calling people,' Randy said, adding that Murdaugh never did.

Despite Murdaugh being been sentenced to life in prison for the double murder, Randy says he still doesn't know if he thinks his little brother carried out the killings. He said he still thinks about what happened that night.

'I hoped that after the trial, because there's nothing more that can be presented, that I'd stop thinking about this,' Randy, who has not spoken to his brother for a year, said. 'But so far, that has not been the case.'

Randy has been forced to question whether he knows his brother - ever since Maggie and Paul were murdered and since he found out that he was stealing from their law firm.

In October 2021, Randy filed a lawsuit against his disgraced brother, claiming that he owed him tens of thousands of dollars.

The suit revealed that just days before Murdaugh attempted to stage his own murder in a bizarre roadside shooting so that his son Buster would get life insurance, he came to Randy and asked for a loan of $75,000.

Murdaugh asked for money to be deposited into his checking account. He did not reveal his 'poor financial condition' but promised that he would repay the money within 30 days.

Within days of that loan being made Murdaugh attempted to have himself shot so that his surviving son, Buster, could claim his $10million life insurance policy.

The attempt was a fiasco and his story quickly imploded as it transpired that he was suspected of embezzling millions from Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, the family law firm of which he was a partner.

Murdaugh issued an apology of sorts in which he confessed to years of opioid addiction and said that he had checked himself into rehab.

During his six-week trial, Murdaugh admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit.

Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.

After sentencing, Murdaugh returned to the Colleton County jail to gather his possessions.

The outdoor dog kennels where Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were brutally gunned down

Murdaugh after being convicted for double murder

He will spend the next few weeks at the R&E facility where he faces rigorous testing before he will be assigned to a permanent state prison. As he is a double murderer, he will be housed with the state's most brutal and violent inmates.

The life he faces is a far cry from the privileged world of multi-million dollar homes from the coast to the hunting lands of the Lowcountry to which he has grown accustomed in his 54 years.

Through more than 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence, jurors heard about betrayed friends and clients and Murdaughs failed attempt to stage his own death in an insurance fraud scheme.

Other scandals discussed in the trial include a 2019 boat crash involving his late son Paul which killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.

Paul was facing criminal charges after being accused of driving the boat while drunk before he was shot dead. The girl's family were suing Murdaugh for a reported $30m at the time of Paul and Maggie's murders.

The death of his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield - who the Murdaugh family claimed tripped over the dogs and fell down the stairs while working at their hunting lodge - was also raised during the case. Her son Tony called to give testimony on the stand about the $4 million wrongful death payout Murdaugh allegedly stole.

Meanwhile, prosecutors didnt have the weapons used to kill Paul and Maggie or other direct evidence like confessions or blood spatter.

But they had a mountain of circumstantial evidence, including the video putting Murdaugh at the scene of the killings five minutes before his wife and son stopped using their cellphones forever.
The first has been named as Rhondesia Belton, 33, of Buffalo

A 35-year-old woman has been announced as the second to die at the stampede

'Heartbroken' rapper GloRilla said she is praying for the families of those affected by a stampede at a rap concert in Rochester, New York, when the crowd thought they heard gunfire after she and Finesse2Tymes had finished performing.

Her comments come after a 35-year-old woman, who has not yet been identified, was on Monday announced as the second to die following the incident at the Main Street Armory arena on Sunday night.

Police found three badly injured women in the auditorium. One of these, a 33-year-old who died from her injuries, has been named as Rhondesia Belton, of Buffalo.

Police officers arrived following a report of shots fired inside the music venue and found several injured victims on the floor.

Witnesses reported they were struggling to breathe and saw others around them fall to the floor. Police have since said that there is no evidence of any gunshots being fired.

The 33-year-old who it was previously announced had died following the event at the Main Street Armory arena on Sunday night has been named as Rhondesia Belton (pictured left), of Buffalo. GloRilla (pictured right) and Finesse2Tymes had just finished playing

Emergency crews rushed Belton and two other victims to Strong Memorial Hospital in an ambulance.

Another 35-year-old woman is being treated for life-threatening injuries at the hospital, according to police.

At least seven additional people were treated at area hospitals for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Today, GloRilla tweeted: 'I am devastated & heartbroken over the tragic deaths that happened after Sundays show. My fans mean the world to me.

'Praying for their families & for a speedy recovery of everyone affected'.

GloRilla and Finesse2tymes had finished performing Sunday night when thousands of concertgoers surged towards the exits of the venue at around 11.05pm. Authorities said the stampede may have been triggered by unfounded fears of gunfire.

Rochester Police said that while they had attended the scene following a report of a shooting, detectives have determined that none of the injuries that the victims sustained were consistent with a person being shot.

'We do not have any evidence of gunshots being fired or of anyone being shot or stabbed at the scene,' Police Chief David M. Smith said at a news briefing Monday.

Lt Nicholas Adams of Rochester Police said: 'The injuries appear to be as a result of a large crowd pushing towards the exits following accounts of individuals hearing what they believed to be gunshots.'

One female witness said: 'I could feel my breath leaving my body'.

'All I know, it was a lot of running. A lot of people got hurt. I see people on the ground, like hurt badly,' another witness told News10NBC.

'It was deathly packed. So I knew I had to get up out of there,' he added.

GloRilla tweeted messages of hope to her fans after the incident

A 35-year-old woman has been announced as the second to die at a stampede at a rap concert in Rochester, New York. Pictured: Police rush to the scene

Pictured: Concertgoers leave the Main Street Armory venue in Rochester on Sunday night following the stampede

Police officers arrived at the venue (pictured), which can accommodate up to 5,000 people, following a report of shots fired inside the music venue and found several injured victims on the floor

Footage from inside the venue showed security officers and concertgoers trying to help people who had collapsed on the ground

Concert Sunday at Main Street Armory ends in chaos. Police, firefighters, and ambulances respond; Unknown number taken to hospital.



(Video: Al Fulton/WHEC) https://t.co/jgRKUAfUgb pic.twitter.com/vnnKE7hfOK  news10nbc (@news10nbc) March 6, 2023

Belton worked for Buffalo's Traffic Violations Agency, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown tweeted Monday evening.

'Her family, friends, and colleagues are devastated and left to mourn this tragic loss,' Brown said. 'Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.'

Smith said that Rochester Police (RPD) is investigating the incident to not only determine what happened but to bring accountability for those responsible.

RPD is trying to ascertain whether the crowd size exceeded the capacity of the armory and whether the proper safety measures were taken. Smith said its main arena is meant to have a capacity of around 5,000 people.

RPD is working with multiple agencies, including the city's Division of Code Enforcement, Law Department, and the New York State Liquor Authority. They are also interviewing people at the concert and security.

'We are hearing many reports of potential causes, including crowd size, shots fired, [and] pepper spray,' Smith said.

Smith is asking anyone with pictures or videos that could help with the investigation to get in touch with the police.

The female victim and eight others were crushed in the stampede after GloRilla and Finesse2Tymes (pictured) performed at the Main Street Armory theatre in Rochester on Sunday night at around 11.05pm

Concertgoer Ikea Hayes returned to the venue Monday to retrieve belongings she left behind.

'I was watching my life flash before my eyes, and I still didn't even know what was going on,' she told Rochester television station WHEC.

She described being 'on the ground, just scared, praying, like, you got to get up, you got to move'.

She added: 'If you stay here, they're going to keep running you over. So, you got to get up. You got to move.'

Security guard Anthony Rouse told WHEC he signed up to work when he learned his daughter was going to the concert.

He said she was hurt in the rush to the exits and spent part of Monday in the hospital.

'The whole reason I signed on was to protect her,' he said. 'And I failed.'

Rouse said he was near the stage when his daughter went down near the entrance of the crowded hall.

'What began last night as a night of live music and fun for the performer GloRilla ended in tragedy,' said Smith, the police chief.

Mayor Malik Evans called the fatal stampede 'totally unacceptable' and promised a thorough investigation into whether venue operators had the necessary safety measures in place for a large crowd.

'We are going to hold people accountable for what happened last night, period,' Evans said, though he cautioned that it was too early in the investigation to assign blame.

'If you go to a concert, you do not expect to be trampled,' Evans said. 'Your loved ones expect you to be able to come home and talk about the experience that you had at that great concert.'

GloRilla, whose 2022 song 'F.N.F. (Let's Go)' with Hitkidd was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance, tweeted yesterday that she was 'praying everybody is ok'.

Police believe the stampede was caused by crowd members hearing what they thought were gunshots. Pictured: Police officers and medics responding to the incident

Pictured: The Main Street Armory (file image). Detectives have determined that none of the injuries that the victims' sustained were consistent with a person being shot

Fatal crowd surges have been a recurring disaster at concerts and other large events in the U.S. and around the world, including one at a 2021 performance by rapper Travis Scott in which 10 people died.

Built from 1905 to 1907 and initially used by the U.S. Army, the armory hosted sporting events throughout the 20th century before being shut down for several years starting in the late 1990s, partly because it lacked a fire suppression system.

It reopened after extensive renovations and began hosting concerts and other events in 2005.

City officials said the facility underwent a physical fire safety inspection in December and was compliant with fire codes.

The venue's next scheduled show, a Saturday performance by the rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, has been canceled.
Britain's ambassador to Moscow today demanded Vladimir Putin end his war against Ukraine as she was heckled by onlookers amid her arrival in far east Russia.

Envoy Dame Deborah Bronnert ran a gauntlet of loud-mouthed propagandists who followed her down the street as she arrived for a visit to the Kremlin's Pacific capital Vladivostok.

One told her repeatedly: 'You are not welcome here,' while another loudly declared: 'Britain is a sponsor of terrorism.'

The ambassador told the small stage-managed protest: 'We want peace,' and tried to continue speaking but was quickly cut off and told time and again that Britain was 'a sponsor of terrorism'.

But she hit back: 'We want peace. Russia must stop the war.'

British Ambassador Dame Deborah Bronnert demands Russian stops the war in Ukraine as she arrives in Vladivostok on March 7, 2023

Bronnert was met with hecklers and protestors holding placards

Previous diplomatic visits also saw protestors turn out to greet Bronnert with placards labelling Britain a terrorist state

British Ambassador Dame Deborah Bronnert (L) pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin (R)

Bronnert came to Vladivostok - seven time zones east of her permanent residence in Moscow - to visit the city and a war cemetery.

Reports said she had no official meetings with the pro-war authorities in the city.

The envoy has encountered several similar protests in recent months amid Russia's war in Ukraine condemned by the UK, particularly in Yekaterinburg and in the Russian capital.

In November, she ran afoul of pro-Putin protestors in Moscow when she was summoned by Russian authorities amid claims that Britain helped plan attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines and its Black Sea Fleet.

Bronnert was hauled into the foreign ministry and forced to push through what appeared to be stage-managed protesters holding placards that said 'Britain is a terrorist state' and 'Britain will answer for the Nord Stream'.

Moscow said it had delivered a 'strong protest' to the envoy, adding that 'such confrontational actions of the English carry a threat of escalation and could lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences.'

Deborah Bronnert, the British ambassador to Russia, was summoned to the foreign ministry in November to see 'evidence' the UK helped attack the Nord Stream pipes and Black Sea Fleet

Protesters - who appeared to be stage-managed - carried banners reading 'Britain is a terrorist state' and 'Britain will answer for the Nord Stream'

Russia has ramped up the rhetoric against the UK as its invasion in Ukraine has faltered, with Western officials saying the wild claims are a distraction tactic

Demonstrations in central Moscow are rare and usually quickly crushed by police - suggesting Thursday's action was carried out with tacit support from authorities

Britain is likely being targeted because it is leading support for Ukraine - having given more than any other country bar the US

Bronnert lives in Moscow with her husband Alf Torrents, who is the leader of a business forum designed to boost trade with Russian firms  despite sanctions against Putin's regime.

Torrents, 57, is executive director of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, leaving his wife facing questions over whether her role representing Britain's interests in Russia is conflicted by his job.

There was an outcry last month after the Daily Mail revealed that British luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce were still trading in Russia.

In peacetime, Torrents's organisation lobbied to smooth trade with the Putin regime. In 2016  two years after the Kremlin annexed Crimea  it urged Parliament to 'reinstate Russia as a worldwide trade and investment priority' and 're-evaluate sanctions'.

Although it scaled back its operations after the invasion of Ukraine, it remains active, and recently advertised for a new treasurer.

Last week, Torrents hosted an event to 'update' members on the political, trade and consular situation. Held at the British embassy, it was addressed by Bronnert.

Alf Torrents, 57, is executive director of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, leaving Bronnert facing questions over whether her role representing Britain's interests in Russia is conflicted by his job

Torrents, who lives with his wife at the official British residence, a 19th-century merchant's house opposite the Kremlin, told in 2020 how his chamber of commerce held 'regular consultations' with the Foreign Office, whose diplomats had 'never been anything but supportive'.

In another interview he said he worked 'closely' with the British embassy to 'represent the interests of our members'.

When Bronnert, 55, was announced in 2019 as ambassador to Russia, the official notice did not mention Torrents or his job, in contrast to her previous appointment as ambassador to Zimbabwe, when he was named.

Since Ukraine was invaded, the UK has tried to isolate Russia on the international stage and enforce strict sanctions. Trading there is all-but banned, and most British firms quit their Russian operations.

One informed source said of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce: 'The question is whether a lobbying group  especially one that has argued vociferously against sanctions  should have such personal access to HM Ambassador to Moscow.'
A leading SNP politician vying to become Scotland's First Minister has suggested people in the Borders vote Tory because they are forced to watch English television.

Ash Regan, an outsider in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon, told a party hustings last night that the very south of Scotland receives Carlisle-based ITV Border instead of STV.

She suggested that this might have had an impact on voting patterns in the area. All three Scottish constituencies bordering England - Dumfries and Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, and Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, return Conservative MPs to the Commons.

ITV hit back, saying its reporting was 'fair and balanced'.

Ms Regan's remarks came ahead of the first live televised three-way debate on STV tonight in which she will face Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf.

Speaking in Dumfries Ms Regan, who is an MSP in Edinburgh, said: 'I think in the rest of Scotland they don't realise that we don't actually have STV. I think when I say that to people, they're like ''oh don't you why now?'' And actually I'm not sure how that came about.

'But I'm going to look into that because I do wonder if there's a correlation here between the media that we're getting in this part of the world and the voting pattern.

Ash Regan, an outsider in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon, told a party hustings last night that the very south of Scotland receives Carlisle-based ITV Border instead of STV.

Ms Forbes suggested that it could take Scotland a decade after independence to become better off than if it stayed in the UK.

Mr Yousaf told the hustings he would be not just Scotland's first minister but 'first activist' for independence.

'So I'm going to look into that and see how we got to that stage. Now we have to remember the media are doing their job and I think we maybe as Scottish nationalists feel there's a malicious intent behind some of it and I think there sometimes is but not always.'

But an ITV spokeswoman said: 'ITV Border Scotland broadcasts a balanced and impartial news and current affairs service which includes three weekly programmes dedicated to coverage of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish politics. ITV Border Scotland is committed to fair and balanced reporting.'

The STV debate will take place in Glasgow at 9pm this evening, and marks the first time the trio of candidates has done-head-to-head on live television.

Ahead of it, Ms Forbes suggested that it could take Scotland a decade after independence to become better off than if it stayed in the UK.

SNP's former London leader backs Yousaf Scotland's Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson has given his backing to Humza Yousaf in the contest to become the country's next first minister. Mr Robertson, a former SNP Westminster leader and former party depute leader, is one of the most senior members of the party to publicly declare who they are backing in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon. And he cited Mr Yousaf's willingness to 'take on the Tories and protect Holyrood from their dirty tricks' as a key reason for giving him his support. Mr Robertson had been considered by some in the SNP as a successor to Ms Sturgeon when she last month announced she is stepping down as both party leader and Scottish First Minister. But he ruled himself out of the race, saying while he was 'flattered' by the suggestion, having two young children meant the time was 'not right' for him to take on the top job. Advertisement

Mr Yousaf told the hustings he would be not just Scotland's first minister but 'first activist' for independence.

Ms Reagan pledged to 'relight the fires' of the cross-party Yes campaign that operated in the run up to the 2014 referendum and would 'reach out to the wider movement'.

She told the hustings that she had felt a 'sense of grief' after Scots had voted to stay in the UK in 2014.

'I don't want us to be thinking about that past referendum and thinking we've missed the boat, and that we have got to keep waiting. I want to get us there as fast as possible,' she added.

But to achieve that she said the party needs to 'change direction' and to 'act differently'.

Ms Regan said: 'I don't think we can keep going the way we have been over the last few years, we need a different plan and we need to put that into action.'

She said under her leadership the first line on any SNP manifesto would state that a vote for the party would mean 'Scotland would be voting for Edinburgh and Westminster in a room' to begin independence negotiations.

She told party members: 'The referendum is not the gold standard here, the ballot box is the gold standard, and that is what we need to progress towards.'

Ms Regan said other nations would recognise this, saying: 'International law is pragmatic and there is no question of the UK not recognising this and coming to the table.'

Her comments came as Ms Forbes, who returned from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter last summer to run to be Scotland's next first minister, stressed the need to use 'each and every opportunity to make the case for independence'.

The STV debate will take place in Glasgow at 9pm this evening, and marks the first time the trio of candidates has done-head-to-head on live television.

She told the hustings: 'We need to set out in the first 10 years of an independent Scotland how we will be wealthier, greener, fairer. People need to see it.

'Independence is not an abstract constitutional term we use in arguments, its about real people, real lives and how we ensure Scotland is just as wealthy, just as green just as fair as our comparator countries.'

She said: 'We have got all that it takes in Scotland to be incredibly successful.

'We would be one of the richest countries ever to be independent, we have got all that it takes.'

She told the hustings: 'Scotland can't afford not to be independent. We will get there with the right leader, the right competent focus on track record of delivery and ultimately ensuring we are persuading people.'

As part of that, in what could be seen a swipe at Mr Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, she stressed the need to 'make sure the NHS is on a stable footing for the next decade'.

Mr Yousaf, meanwhile, said that independence is 'inevitable', adding that the days of the 'unequal union' between Scotland and the rest of the UK 'are numbered'.

He said the leadership contest was about 'who is going to deliver independence', saying: 'I believe I have what it takes.

'I believe I have the experience, I believe I am able to unite our movement, I believe I am able to inspire people to the vision of independence.'

While he said the SNP had 'governed well' in its nearly 16 years in power in Scotland, he said: 'We must build on that progressive agenda that has won us so much support so far.'

He told the hustings if he was to become the next SNP leader 'every single election we fight, including the next general election' will be based on a demand for Holyrood to have the powers to hold a second independence ballot.

'I am not just looking to be the leader of the party of first minister of the country, I want to be our first activist.

'I want to come with community to community, town to town, village to village, doorstep to doorstep, persuading the people of this country that our best future is as an independent nation.'
Elon Musk has gone head-to-head with a top product designer left wondering if he still had a job after he was frozen out of his work accounts without notification.

Halli Thorleifsson, 45, believed he was one of the 200 employees laid off at the end of February, having sold his company in 2021 to join Twitter, prompted by the worsening of a degenerative muscle condition.

The esteemed designer claimed in a tweet last night that, nine days on, Twitter's head of human resources still had 'not been able to confirm if [he] is an employee or not' and that Musk had not answered his emails.

Thorleifsson chose to engage Musk in his own forum in an exchange that saw the Twitter CEO reference memes as the designer sought clarity on his future and was asked to explain in front of 16.8mn people what he had been working on at Twitter.

Musk ended the exchange with two laughing emojis and the designer confirmed he had since been told he no longer worked at Twitter.

Musk later wrote: 'The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm. Can't say I have a lot of respect for that.

'But was he fired?' he added. 'No, you can't be fired if you weren't working in the first place.'

Elon Musk responds to the Twitter designer who he said 'wasn't working in the first place'

Haraldur Thorleifsson led innovation team that among others spearheaded Communities on the platform

A Twitter insider claimed Musk is escorted around Twitter HQ by two bodyguards

Thorleifsson told the BBC that he had joined Twitter in 2021 after selling his company, Ueno, to the site.

He said: 'I decided to sell for a few reasons but one of them is that I have muscular dystrophy and my body is slowly but surely failing me.

Elon Musk has bodyguards at Twitter HQ who even escort him to the bathroom Twitter staff claimed yesterday that Elon Musk is accompanied everywhere by two bodyguards when at work. An engineer said that he thought Musk's use of 'tall' and 'bulky' bodyguards suggested a lack of trust. The anonymous lead told the BBC that 'for someone on the inside, it's like a building where all the pieces are on fire.' They said the office was underequipped to perform its responsibilities. Thousands in other roles have been laid off since October in a drive to cut costs. According to his father, Musk has a team of '100' security guards for his protection. Advertisement

'I have a few good work years left in me so this was a way to wrap up my company, and set up myself and my family for years when I won't be able to do as much.'

The Iceland-based designer urged in his Twitter thread that he was most concerned about whether Musk would uphold the commitment to his contract and 'paying him what they owe him per his contract'.

The back and forth started when Thorleifsson tweeted at Musk to say he had been without access to his work computer for nine days, and that Twitter's HR department had not been able to confirm whether or not he still worked for the company.

He also looked for support from former CEO Jack Dorsey and two Twitter investors.

Musk replied a few hours later to say: 'What work have you been doing?'

Thorleifsson said he would have to break confidentiality to answer, which Musk waived.

The designer explained how he had worked on saving and closing down different Twitter contracts, prioritized design products to adapt to the company's downsizing, level up design, acted as the hiring manager for design roles, and helped steer the company towards younger users.

Musk replied: 'Level up from what design to what? Pics or it didn't happen. We haven't hired design roles in four months. What changes did you make to help with the youths?'

Thorleifsson replied that he did not have access to docs as he had been locked out of his computer.

Musk also pulled the designer up on the specifics of a contract and design prioritization. When Thorleifsson gave an example, Musk sent back laughing emojis.

Halli sought permission to explain what he had been working on, which Musk granted

With permission, the designer gave a list of some of the things he had been working on and expressed concerns about getting paid

Musk quizzed Thorleifsson about what exactly he had been working on at Twitter

The designer gave examples of things he was working on before Musk ended the exchange

Haraldur Thorleifsson took to Twitter to find out if he still had a job

Musk ended the exchange by sharing a clip from Office Space, where Bob Slydell asks: 'What would you say you do here?'

Soon after, Halli confirmed on his own Twitter page that he had been laid off.

He said that after the exchange, 'Twitter's head of HR (who had previously twice been unable to tell me if I had a job or not) emailed and said I was no longer employed.

'Which is totally ok and it happens all the time. Companies let people go, that's within their rights.

'They usually tell people about it but that's seemingly the optional part at Twitter now.

'But ok, fair enough, I've been laid off and I'm ok with that.

'Next up though is finding out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me per my contract.'

Thorleifsson spoke to the BBC about his experience losing his job at Twitter.

He said that he suffers from muscular dystrophy and that he was concerned over whether the company would pay him the money he claims he is owed.

'This is my retirement fund, a way to take care of myself and my family as my disease progresses. Having the richest man in the world on the other end of this, potentially refusing to stand by contracts is not easy for me to accept,' he said.

He confirmed after the engagement that he had been laid off by the company he joined in 2021

In a alter exchange, Musk shared his thoughts on how much work his colleague had done

Musk earlier today replied to Alex Cohen, the director of a healthcare provider, who had written about the thread: 'I'm not going to lie, this is the most entertaining exit interview I've ever witnessed.'

Musk said: 'The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealth) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm.

'Can't say I have a lot of respect for that.'

He concluded the exchange: 'But was he fired? No, you can't be fired if you weren't working in the first place!'
A gang of vicious thugs who tortured a man with a flamethrower, knives and boiling salt water for six hours have been jailed.

'Dangerous' Charlie Saunter, William O'Brien, and Kai Haruna attacked their victim in a drugs-related row.

Saunter, 23, along with his younger accomplices O'Brien and Haruna, both 20, also subjected the man to burns, dog bites and genital mutilation in a flat in Gravesend, Kent on July 5, 2020.

Haruna repeatedly jumped on the victim's chest until he'd passed out, while O'Brien used his dog to stop the man from escaping, police said.

Footage of the sickening abuse was shared online - before being uncovered by detectives days later. Now, the trio of violent thugs have been jailed for a combined total of 35 years.

Charlie Saunter, 23, poses with a stack of cash. The violent thug, along with his younger accomplices William O'Brien and Kai Haruna, has now been jailed for his part in the prolonged torture of a man in a drugs-related row

Kai Haruna (pictured left and then, right, holding a dog) repeatedly jumped on the victim's chest until he'd passed out. During the six-hour assault, the male victim was burnt with a home-made flamethrower, scalded with boiling water and attacked with knives and a dog

Detective Constable John Carless, of Kent Police's County Line and Gangs Team said: 'These men are violent and dangerous criminals with zero regard for the law.

'Haruna, O'Brien, and Saunter planned and launched a lengthy attack on their victim, subjecting him to vicious torture techniques over a period of six hours.'

A sentencing hearing at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, heard the trio had tortured their victim in a dispute over money or the supply of drugs in July 2020.

Two days after the attack, Kent Police received video evidence of the incident which had been shared on social media and arrested the trio that same day.

While arresting the attackers, officers seized two knives as well as quantities of heroin and cocaine.

One of the officers was also injured after being bitten by a dog during the arrests.

'Dangerous' Charlie Saunter, 23, was the oldest of the three thugs who tortured a man using boiling water, knives, a dog and a home-made flamethrower. He was jailed for 13 years and six months

Kai Haruna (left), 20, of Grove Park, London, was jailed for eight years for his part in the assault while accomplice William O'Brien (right), 20, from Greenwich was jailed for 11 years

All three young men were charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which Saunter and Haruna both admitted.

O'Brien had initially denied this charge but later also changed his plea to guilty.

Saunter admitted another charge of possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Their sentences additionally dealt with two separate cases, involving thefts and further acts of violence.

Saunter, of Pevensey in East Sussex, was jailed for 13 years and six months, whilst O'Brien, of Greenwich, was given 11 years and Haruna, of Grove Park, London, was given eight years and three months.

All three will serve at least two-thirds of their jail time before they are even able to apply for parole, and all will be subject to an extended licence period of four years upon their release.

Commenting on the brutal attack, DC Carless added: 'This case is a stark reminder of the wider range of violent crimes involved in the supply of drugs.'
Russia's armed forces facing severe arms shortages are resorting to welding together old armoured vehicles and naval turrets to create improvised tanks, new video footage appears to show.

A clip shared on social media showed a series of crude machines waiting to be loaded for transportation in an undisclosed location, but based on the words of the narrator it is presumed to be somewhere near the Ukrainian border.

'This is the first time I've seen something like this. Even in the army I never came across anti-aircraft guns in this way,' the narrator says in disbelief.

'You can see they're being prepared, sent somewhere.'

Another image shared on social media clearly shows the abomination - a Soviet-era MT-LB armoured personnel carrier sporting a pair of 25mm 2M-3 anti-aircraft guns taken from a battleship.

It comes as Ukraine's armed forces claimed to have killed more than 1000 Russian troops in the past 24 hours as both sides suffer heavy losses amid bitter fighting along the frontline, particularly in Donetsk.

A Soviet-era MT-LB armoured personnel carrier is seen sporting a pair of 25mm 2M-3 anti-aircraft guns taken from a battleship

A clip shared on social media showed a series of the crude machines waiting to be loaded for transportation in an undisclosed location

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 5, 2023

A Ukrainian serviceman puts out a fire on a burning tank in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, March 6, 2023

The Land Forces of Ukraine claim more than 3400 Russian tanks have been disabled or destroyed since Russian troops launched their invasion on February 24 last year.

Military databases put Russia's tank reserves somewhere around 10,000 prior to the war, but many of these were aged and out of service due to lack of maintenance and corruption.

A large portion of Moscow's operational tank fleet has been put out of commission, and the armed forces have been forced to dust off Soviet-era vehicles or create such makeshift hybrid 'tanks' in a desperate attempt to compensate for the losses.

A British Ministry of Defence intelligence update claimed last week that Russia is now deploying 60-year-old armoured vehicles to the frontlines.

'The Russian military has continued to respond to heavy armoured vehicle losses by deploying 60-year-old T-62 main battle tanks (MBT)... In recent days, Russian BTR-50 armoured personnel carriers, first fielded in 1954, have also been identified deployed in Ukraine for the first time,' the update read.

It added that despite the upgrades, the vehicles will be sorely outmatched and outgunned.

'Since summer 2022, approximately 800 T-62s have been taken from storage and some have received upgraded sighting systems which will highly likely improve their effectiveness at night.

'However, both these vintage vehicle types will present many vulnerabilities on the modern battlefield, including the absence of modern explosive reactive armour.'

The armoured hybrids were seen being loaded for transport, presumably to the frontlines

A destroyed tank in the village of Tsupivka, Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

A resident walks past a damaged church and a destroyed Russian tank in the town of Svyatohirsk, Donetsk region, last week

Picture shows destroyed Russian tank in Maryinka, Donetsk region, Ukraine in undated footage

Though the conflict's frontline stretches for many hundreds of miles, the most bitter fighting continues to rage in the Donetsk region, particularly in the city of Bakhmut and nearby towns.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday the capture of Bakhmut was key to launching a further offensive in the wider region, despite many analysts doubting its wider strategic importance.

'This city is an important defensive hub for Ukrainian troops in Donbas,' Shoigu said of the industrial east of the country.

'Capturing it will allow for further offensive operations deep into the defence lines of the Ukrainian armed forces,' he told a televised meeting of military officials.

The battle for Bakhmut is now the longest-running and bloodiest of Russia's year-long military intervention in Ukraine, and both sides have doubled down in the fight for its control.

A Ukrainian soldier sits in a trench near Russian positions near Bakhmut, March 5, 2023

The fighting around Bakhmut has seen First world War-style trench warfare unfold as both sides batter one another with artillery while sheltering in ditches

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 5, 2023

Bakhmut, an industrial town once known for its sparkling wine production and salt mines, had an estimated pre-war population of some 80,000 people.

But Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told regional media on Tuesday that fewer than 4,000 civilians now remain.

'Approximately 38 children, as far as we know, remain in Bakhmut today,' Vereshchuk said.

Both Moscow and Kyiv said on Tuesday that the fight was exacting a huge cost in military personnel on the opposing side.

The Ukrainian military said Moscow's forces were launching attacks on Bakhmut and its outskirts 'despite significant losses'.

Shoigu meanwhile said there was a 'significant increase in losses' among Ukrainian forces during recent fighting for Bakhmut.

Neither side has published official tolls from fighting in the Donetsk region, which Moscow claimed to have annexed into Russia last year.
Passengers were left stranded when a Qantas flight was delayed for hours on Tuesday after it was stuck behind a broken down truck in Perth Airport.

Flight QF938 to Brisbane was supposed to leave just after 1pm (WA time) but the plane couldn't move due to the catering truck blocking its path.

It took until 1.20pm for the crew to realise that the truck was inoperable and not about to me moved any time soon, a Perth Airport spokesperson said.

The passengers were taken off the plane for a time while arrangements were made by catering company Dnata for their truck to be towed.

Passenger Nick McRae said they were allowed to board the plane again at around 3pm.

Passengers were left stranded when a Qantas flight was delayed for hours on Tuesday after it was stuck behind a broken down truck in Perth Airport. Pictured is a Qantas plane in Perth

'Apparently nobody can find a tow chain or a strap,' he said.

The flight finally left for Brisbane just after 3pm, more than two hours after its scheduled departure, Perth Now reported.

It was scheduled to arrive at 9.16pm Queensland time.

Two weeks ago Qantas posted an interim underlying pre-tax profit of $1.43billion in its first return to profitability since the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a grinding halt in 2020.

The statutory net profit for the six months to June 30 was $1billion, compared to a $456million net loss a year earlier.

Flight QF938 to Brisbane was supposed to leave just after 1pm (WA time) but the place couldn't move due to the catering truck blocking its path. Perth Airport is pictured

The profit turnaround was delivered despite a 65 per cent increase in fuel costs during the half.

Qantas said domestic flying levels had averaged 94 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while international capacity also doubled to 60 per cent.

A dnata Catering & Retail spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that one of its catering trucks 'needed to undergo maintenance due to a technical issue at Perth Airport on 7 March.

'Subsequently, an airline customer's flight was delayed. We apologise to our airline customer and its passengers for any inconvenience caused.

'We will conduct an investigation in cooperation with the authorities and our customer.'
Violence erupted across France today as thousands took to the streets to protest against pension reforms.

Riot police fought running battles with demonstrators in Paris on a so-called Black Tuesday of industrial action across the country.

The worst trouble was close to the Port Royal metro station, where hundreds of riot police used tear gas and baton charges. As projectiles rained down on them, bins were set on fire and bus stops destroyed by so-called Black Bloc anarchists.

Big crowds also took to the streets in Marseille, Nice and other cities, and trouble was also reported in other major cities including Lyon, Nantes, and Rennes.

A Parisian police spokesperson said 'radical agitators' had joined the crowds and accused them of 'attacking police whenever they can'. 'A protest march is being heavily policed, and everything is being done to restore law and order,' he added.

Violence erupted on the streets of Paris today as thousands took to the streets across France to protest against pension reforms. Pictured: Riot police run down a road as bottles rain down on top of them in Paris amid the demonstrations

A man shouts at a police water truck driver during clashes with policemen during a demonstration in Lyon

A protester throws a flare at riot police during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nantes, western France, on Tuesday

People stand behind makeshift barricades as they confront with police forces on the sidelines of a demonstration in Paris on March 7 over president Macron's pension reform

Bus drivers of State-owned RATP, which operates the greater Paris transport system, burn flares behind a banner reading in French 'on March 7 let's block everything until withdrawal'

Millions are furious at President Emmanuel Macron's attempt to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64, bringing France more into line with many of its EU neighbours and the UK, where the state pension age is 66.

As a result, Macron is is facing his biggest standoff with France's trade unions since coming to power in 2017, as his flagship proposal hangs in the balance.

Today marks the sixth day of nationwide strikes since mid-January, and could surpass the largest protests so far, with more than 1.27 million gathering on January 31.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said some 11,000 police were mobilised across the country, including some 5000 in Paris alone.

French unions promised the biggest protests yet with trains coming to a halt, fuel deliveries being disrupted and schools shut in response to government plans to raise the pension age. Strikes led to numerous public services and businesses being shut down on Tuesday, including oil refineries.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-Left politician who came third in last years presidential election, was among those out on the Paris march.

He called for all Left Wing parties to unite, and stand up to the reforms.

Authorities were bracing themselves with at least 260 demonstrations expected across the country, with police anticipating as many as 1.4 million taking part.

'The strike has begun everywhere... with deliveries blocked from all the refineries this morning,' said Eric Sellini, branch coordinator for national trade union body CGT.

The group launched a similar blockade last autumn that eventually saw petrol stations running out of fuel.

Transport workers are also striking. A fifth of flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and about a third of flights at Orly Airport, it was reported today.

Thousands of UK travellers have been hit by the disruption, with dozens of flights and trains cancelled and ferries were delayed.

The government is hoping to rush through the reforms, which it hopes could be adopted by parliament by the end of March, with the changes slated to come into force in September.

The law also stiffens the requirements for a full pension and would abolish privileges enjoyed by some public-sector employees, such as those at the Paris Metro.

After initially claiming it was intended to make the system fairer, Macron's government has now conceded the move is designed to increase savings.

Police stand in formation as a petrol bomb explodes during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration in Paris on March 7

Protestors throw objects at police officers and set fire to food in trolleys during a demonstration in Lyon, central France, on Tuesday

Protesters march during a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday against Macron's plans to increase the retirement age

Protesters use umbrellas as protection among launches of tear gas during clashes with police on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nantes, western France, on Tuesday

A protestor kicks in a tear gas during a demonstration in Lyon on Tuesday

Gendarmerie members hold their positions during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris, as part of the sixth day of national strike and protests, in France, March 7

Riot police detain a protester on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nantes, western France, on Tuesday

Riot police charge at protesters during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration in Nantes, western France, on Tuesday

Firefighters demonstrate during a demonstration in Lille, northern France, on Tuesday

A man tries to ignite a stick during a demonstration in Lyon on Tuesday during the demonstrations

Youths kick tear gas during a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday

Protesters participate in a demonstration in Caen, northwestern France, on Tuesday, with some lighting flares in the middle of streets

Riot police officers take position during clashes as part of a demonstration, Tuesday, March 7

Gendarmerie members hold their positions during a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris, as part of the sixth day of national strike and protests, in France, March 7

A demonstrator walks by a line of riot police officers during protests in Paris on Thursday

French police of a anti-violent action force (BRAV) stand in formation during clashes with protesters on the sidelines of a demonstration in Paris on Tuesday

Protesters attend a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Paris, as part of the sixth day of national strike and protests, in France, March 7

Trains to Germany and Spain are also expected to come to a halt, and those to and from Britain will be reduced by a third, according to the state-owned railroad system SNCF.

More than 60 per cent of teachers in primary schools are expected to be on strike, as well as public sector workers elsewhere.

The reform would raise the official pension age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work to earn a full pension, as France's population ages and life expectancy lengthens.

Opinion polls suggest most French voters oppose the bill. Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.

Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union, said the protest movement is 'entering a new phase'.

'The goal is that the government withdraw its draft reform. Full stop,' he said.

'We are going into a higher gear,' he told weekly JDD. 'The ball is now in [the] president's court. It is up to him to withdraw this reform.'

Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities.

Workers in each sector will decide locally in the evening about whether to prolong the action, Mr Martinez said.

Opinion polls suggest most French voters oppose the bill. Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.

Meanwhile, 56 per cent of people support rolling strikes and 59 per cent back the call to bring the country to a standstill, according to a poll by French survey group Elabe.

Two-thirds of people in the country support the protest movement in general, the poll also suggests.

Some travellers affected by the strike said they backed it even if it made going to work tricky, with only in five high-speed trains running, almost all regular Intercity trains cancelled, and the Paris metro seriously disrupted.

'Of course it has an impact on me because I need to go to work like everyone else,' security guard Alex Cristea said at the Paris Saint-Lazare train station.

'But I support them for what they do... it's of utmost importance.'

Despite pressure piling on Macron's government, it insists it is essential to ensure the pension system does not go bust.

French Force Ouvriere (FO) workers' union members stand on the road to block traffic on the northern motorway entering the city on the sidelines of a demonstration Marseille on Tuesday

People throw objects at police on during protests in Paris on Tuesday

Protesters gather in huge crowds at a demonstration today at the Vieux Port in Marseille. At least 260 demonstrations are expected across the country, with police anticipating as many as 1.4 million taking part

Protesters hold a banner representing different unions as the participate in a demonstration near the Place Royal in Reims, northeastern France

Pictured: A huge crowd is seen marching down the streets of Paris in Tuesday

Unionists stand by a fire during a road blockade near Le Havre, northwestern France

French energy workers of French oil giant TotalEnergies attend a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Saint-Nazaire

People hold banners blocking the highway leading to the Roland Garros Airport, in Sainte-Marie on the French Indian island of La Reunion

Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) union member protest as they burn flares at the Place d'Armes in Calais

Police stand by a man hold a CGT union flag along the highway leading to the Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie on the French Indian island of La Reunion

Protesters holding placards that read, 'minimalist retirement - riposte feminist' participate in a demonstration in Reims, northeastern France

A protester attends a demonstration against French government's pension reform plan in Saint-Nazaire

Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities

Protesters participate in a demonstration in Reims, northeastern France, with placards criticising President Macron

'I can understand that not many people want to work two more years, but it's necessary to ensure the viability of the system,' Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told France 5 TV.

While Macron's camp does not have an absolute majority in parliament, it can count on the support of at least part of the conservative Les Republicains (LR).

'I'm telling Emmanuel Macron to hang in there,' LR senator Bruno Retailleau has said. 'If he gives in, he won't be able to carry out more reforms, it would be the end of his (second) term.'

Still, it is unclear whether the changes will be approved by parliament by the end of the month or if the government will have to ram them through using special constitutional powers.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center, speaks next to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, right, and American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk during a meeting at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan Aug. 3, 2022. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Reuters-Yonhap



U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to meet Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in the U.S. in coming weeks, two sources told Reuters on Monday, a move that could replace the Republican Speaker's anticipated but sensitive trip to the democratically governed island claimed by China.



The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Tsai had been invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library during a transit through California on a planned visit to Central America, and that McCarthy was likely to meet her in the United States.



One of the sources said should the U.S. meeting go forward  likely in April  it did not necessarily rule out McCarthy visiting Taiwan in the future.



McCarthy's office did not respond immediately to Reuters' questions on the matter, including whether the planned meeting was an effort to avoid raising tensions with China, which was angered by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August.



The Financial Times first reported the plans to meet in California.



During a CNBC interview earlier on Monday, McCarthy declined to answer whether he would visit Taiwan, saying he would announce any travel plans when he had them.



Four other sources  including U.S. officials and people with knowledge of the U.S. and Taiwan administrations' thinking  said both sides were deeply uneasy that a future visit by McCarthy would severely increase tensions across the Taiwan Strait at a time when the island is preparing for its own presidential election early next year.



The Reagan Library and China's Embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comment.



Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington said it had "no information to share" when asked about the meeting.



"In general terms, arrangements for President Tsai's visits to Taiwan's diplomatic allies and transits through the United States are carried out in line with the usual practice," it told Reuters.



China views engagements between U.S. and Taiwanese officials as a breach of its sovereignty, a perceived slight sharpened by the fact that the Speaker of the House is second in line to the U.S. presidency.





Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy wields the speaker's gavel as members of Congress gather on the House floor to attend U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., Feb. 7. Reuters-Yonhap
Britain's top civil servant is reportedly considering quitting after embarrassing WhatsApp messages he sent during the Covid crisis were leaked.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is mulling stepping down from the post before the next election, expected late in 2024.

It comes after messages he sent were released by the Daily Telegraph's probe into conversations involving Matt Hancock when he was health secretary.

In one message, Mr Case suggested that the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was 'nationally distrusted'.

In another the former aide to Prince William mocked international travellers having to quarantine in Premier Inn 'shoe boxes' after arriving in the UK.

And one revealed Mr Case said that opposition to Covid-19 restrictions was 'pure Conservative ideology', leading to calls from MPs for him to be sacked.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is mulling stepping down from the post before the next election, expected late in 2024.

In one message, Mr Case suggested that the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was 'nationally distrusted'.

Mr case is said to be 'genuinely undecided' whether to depart his role early, according to the Financial Times.

Downing Street said it had confidence in the Cabinet Secretary despite a string of fiascos which has raised questions about his abilities.

One senior official said: 'The charge sheet is now so long against him, the only interpretation can be that the PM probably doesn't want to get rid of him.'

Mr Case also warned Mr Hancock at one point that Mr Sunak was 'going bonkers' over lockdown rules imposed on business.

And he appeared to take delight in the inconvenience caused by some lockdown rules, saying at one point that the prospect of first class travellers being forced to occupy small rooms in quarantine hotels was 'hilarious'.

His leaked comments have triggered a backlash among some Tory MPs. Yeovil's Marcus Fysh said: 'Simon Case is clearly not fit to be Cabinet Secretary and should resign.'

One minister described his interventions as 'extraordinary', adding: 'He's supposed to sit above the fray, but he seems to have embraced it with a sort of juvenile glee. It is just embarrassing.'

The former cabinet minister Esther McVey singled out Mr Case's criticism of Mr Sharma  and suggested it showed he had not complied with the civil service duty of impartiality.

'If Mr Case thinks Alok Sharma was pursuing such a hard-line Conservative ideology it can only mean that he is yet another senior civil servant on the left wing of British politics,' she said.

A friend of Mr Case told The Times that although the messages would 'embarrass' him, they did not reflect his approach.

'I'm sure he will be embarrassed by these remarks, but they were made in the heat of the moment in the middle of a national crisis responding to a cabinet minister,' the source said.

'They do not represent the full policymaking process. We are talking about casual language being used in a casual setting here.'

Mr Case's comments are among 100,000 messages involving Mr Hancock that have been leaked to the Daily Telegraph by the former health secretary's biographer Isobel Oakeshott.

During an exchange on Covid isolation, mr Case wrote: 'We are losing this war because of behaviour  this is the thing we have to turn around (which probably also relies on people hearing about isolation from trusted local figures, not nationally distrusted figures like the PM, sadly).'

In a separate exchange, Mr Sharma and Mr Sunak, who was chancellor at the time, appear to have raised concerns about a requirement on hospitality firms to collect contact tracing details from customers.

Mr Case said Mr Sharma would be 'mad' to oppose the rules and suggested he was guilty of 'pure Conservative ideology'.

Jacob Rees-Mogg said the messages suggested Mr Case and Mr Hancock had teamed up to 'marginalise' those in government who opposed stricter lockdown rules.

But Downing Street said the Prime Minister continued to have confidence in Mr Case.

Asked about the controversial messages, the PM's spokesman said: 'These are potentially areas that the independent inquiry will look at.

'You heard the Prime Minister last week say that we won't be getting into piecemeal bits of information, we think the inquiry is the right place to have this all set out.'

He added: 'What we are seeing are piecemeal bits of information being put in the public domain, we don't have the context that sits behind them or indeed significant Government work and process which the Cabinet Secretary and others would have been involved in.'
A family from India who have been living in Australia for seven years have been told to pack up and leave, with the Immigration Department declaring their son with Down Syndrome is a 'burden' on the health system.

Aneesh Kollikkara and Krishna Aneesh, who made a home in south Perth with their two children are devastated to be facing deportation next Wednesday after their permanent residency application was denied.

Both Mrs and Mr Aneesh work in critical industries which are facing staff shortages - Mrs Aneesh in cybersecurity and Mr Aneesh in critical telecommunications.

But pen-pushers at the Immigration Department ruled Aaryan, 10, could potentially pose too great of a cost to the taxpayer-funded healthcare system.

The devastated family said they found the government's finding 'sickening and ableist'.

Aneesh Kollikkara (left), Krishna Aneesh (right) and their children Aaryan (centre right) and Aaryasree (centre left) are facing deportation next Wednesday

The immigration turned down the Aneesh family's permanent residency because of Aaryan's (above) 'high cost' disability

However, the family found new hope on Tuesday after hearing their case is being assessed by Federal Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

An online petition for the family to stay in Australia has gained more than 26,000 signatures since it was created last week.

Mrs Aneesh said her family has never accessed any of the taxpayer-funded resources available in Australia to assist Aaryan.

'We are eligible for NDIS and Medicare but we haven't accessed anything for Aaryan via NDIS,' she told ABC.

'(The government) have clearly stated that it is a financial burden to the community and all the taxpayers here in Australia if we are given a permanent residency.

'We can say that we are paying more than that in our own tax and we are contributing to society.'

The government estimated Aaryan's disability could cost $664,000 over a 10-year period.

Mrs Aneesh added it would be very difficult for Aaryan and his eight-year-old sister Aaryasree to adjust to life in India.

The immigration department turned down the Aneesh family's (above) application for permanent residency, saying their son Aaryan's disability would be a 'burden' to taxpayers

The family (above) said they have never access taxpayer-funded resources for 10-year-old Aaryan's down syndrome

'The culture, society, everything here is very different from India and also it will be very hard for Aaryan to survive there because of (his disability),' she said.

The family explained their situation further in their online petition.

'Even though Aaryam currently accesses no services, and is unlikely ever to do so, he's been assessed as "high cost" which seems unfair,' they said.

'By working in critical industries and paying significant amounts of tax, any taxpayer-funded services that Aaryan may require would be well and truly covered by our contributions.

'We are now facing the prospect of leaving our home country and returning to India, which would have a detrimental effect on our children's development.

'We have no family or support network in India and we fear for Aaryans future. The quality of medical care Aaryan will receive, the stigma he will face and the opportunities he will miss out on worry us.'

Federal Immigration Minister Andrew Giles (above) is the Aneesh family's last hope of staying in Australia

The family concluded the petition with a final call for help: 'Help us provide Aaryan with the best possible future. It is not fair that our family is being punished simply because of Aaryans condition.'

Thousands of Aussie taxpayers in the comments said they had 'no problem' with paying for the hardworking family to stay in Australia.

Hundreds more called for the government to act with 'compassion' and said its reason for denying the family's application bordered on 'discrimination'.

Minister Andrew Giles is the family's last hope before they are deported.
Girl, 16, was home alone and reading a book when Davidson crashed into home

Davidson lost control of Mercedes, which jumped curb and smashed into house

A 16-year-old girl was home alone and reading a book when Pete Davidson spun his Mercedes off the road 'at high speed' and smashed into the teenager's family home, it has emerged.

The teenager, who has not been named, thought that there was an earthquake in the area because the sound and impact of the crash was so intense, her father told TMZ.

Davidson, 29, was driving his Mercedes through the Flats neighborhood of Beverley Hills at around 11pm on Saturday night at 'high speed' when he lost control of the car and smashed into the family's home - all while his girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders was in the vehicle.

The homeowner said Davidson's Mercedes hit their house just outside the living room and the impact of the crash was so intense that a window was knocked from its frame.

He said that his 16-year-old daughter was 'a bit' traumatized by the crash, but was not physically injured and was able to meet the celebrity afterward. The homeowner added that he would not be suing Davidson over the damage to his house.

Davidson, 29, was driving his Mercedes through the Flats neighborhood of Beverley Hills at around 11pm on Saturday night at 'high speed' when he lost control of the car and smashed into the family's home. Pictured: Davidson in a blue puffer North Face jacket (centre) and Sui Wonders by his side following the crash

Pete Davidson and his girlfriend, Chase Sui Wonders, were involved in a car accident in Los Angeles on Saturday night with saw their vehicle plow into the side of a home. Pictured: Davidson's smashed car

A 16-year-old girl was home alone and reading a book when Pete Davidson spun his Mercedes off the road 'at high speed' and smashed into the teenager's family home, it has emerged

The crash occurred hours after Davidson had presented the Kids' Choice Awards in LA on Saturday night. Earlier that day, the couple had lounged on a beach in Hawaii (pictured) before flying back to the mainland for the ceremony

Davidson had been driving his Mercedes when he lost control of the car and jumped the curb and hit a fire hydrant before it crashed into house. Police say drugs and alcohol were not a factor in the crash.

Photographs show Davidson's damaged Mercedes following the crash, with its hood, windscreen and bumper smashed in due to the force of the collision.

The crash occurred hours after Davidson had presented the Kids' Choice Awards in LA on Saturday night. Earlier that day, the couple had lounged on a beach in Hawaii before flying back to the mainland for the ceremony.

Video taken from the aftermath of the crash also showed firefighters dealing with the extent of the damage in the late evening hours as well as Davidson and Sui speaking with police.

Videos and photos of the crash site also show that although the car did not manage to enter the property, Davidson's Mercedes managed to cause significant damage to the side of the house, narrowly missing a tree as it careened off the road.

At one point, at least four Beverly Hills Fire Department firefighters were working to clear the roadway.

Incredibly, no one was injured either inside or outside of the home, but the police were called to the scene and an investigation is now ongoing.

So far, neither Davidson nor 26-year-old Sui Wonders have been cited or arrested.

This is the area where Davidson and Sui Wonders were before they crashed late Saturday

Video captured by OnScene.TV saw investigators checking out the extent of the damage. Pete Davidson is seen in a puffy jacket while girlfriend Chase Sui wonders is off to the left

Davidson and Sui Wonders were seen just hours before the crash in Hawaii

The video, first shared by OnScene.TV, shows the 'SNL' alum in a blue puffer North Face jacket and Sui Wonders by his side.

The pair appeared calm while speaking to investigators afterwards.

Photos taken the next morning show tire tracks can be seen furrowed deep into the front lawn of the home, while wooden paneling appears to have come away, with guttering also looking to have come loose.

The crash occurred after a tiring day for the pair. Earlier Davidson and Sui Wonders had been photographed enjoying the beach in Hawaii on Saturday, returning to Los Angeles shortly afterwards.

Following a five hour flight from Hawaii back to LA, Davidson later presented at the Kids' Choice Awards that night.

Firefighters attempt to stop the spewing water at the scene late Saturday evening

Police officers were spotted on the scene late Saturday evening after Davidson's car jumped the curb in the upscale neighborhood

The airbags in Davidson's car are seen following the crash on Saturday night

Davidson, 29, was in a Mercedes which was driving through the Flats neighborhood of Beverly Hills at high speed when the car suddenly lost control, jumped a curb, hit a fire hydrant, and crashed into the side of a nearby house, law enforcement reported. Pictured: The car's smashed windscreen

The home appeared to have suffered some damage to its exterior together with the front lawn

Pictured: Davidson's damaged car following the crash on Saturday night

The pair are pictured in Hawaii earlier this month where they had been enjoying a winter break

Pete Davidson and his girlfriend, Chase Sui Wonders, were involved in a car accident in Los Angeles on Saturday night with saw their vehicle plow into the side of a home. Pictured: Davidson's car following the crash

Former Saturday Night Live cast member, Davidson, has dated several women, including supermodel Emily Ratajkowski, since breaking up with Kim Kardashian, 42, in August after nine months together.

Davidson and Sui Wonders met when they worked as love interests on the horror/comedy film 'Bodies Bodies Bodies' in 2021.

The well-received whodunit about a group of wealthy 20-somethings planning a hurricane party at a mansion that turns deadly, received an 85-percent score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

The audience score, 69-percent, was not quite as generous.

The love birds may have exhibited chemistry on the big screen, but they did not start dating until December 2022.

Acting may have brought them together again as the two also worked together on Pete's series 'Bupkis.'

Fun in the sun: The two stars were spotted enjoying the sunshine in Hawaii

The couple were seen in each other's arms as they enjoyed the morning in Hawaii before jetting back to LA

Couple goals: The couple stopped for a coffee before Chase hit the beach

Deep tire tracks can be seen in the lawn of this Beverly Hills home following a car accident in which Pete Davidson and Chase Sui Wonders were both traveling

Deep tire tracks could be seen furrowed into the grass verge on the side walk, narrowly missing a tree

Wide tire tracks could be seen marking the sidewalk as Davidson's vehicle left the road

Some of the home's exterior walls appeared to come loose while a gutter also appeared loose

The comedy is described on IMDB.com as a heightened, fictionalized version of Pete's real life.

The actor not only stars in the Peacock series set to debut later this year, but also serves as a writer and executive producer.

Chase, meanwhile, has been broadening her horizons professionally modeling for MiuMiu, and Chanel.

The Detroit native can be seen next in City on Fire.

She stars as a crime victim in the thriller about a series of fires in 2003 New York City. is scheduled to debut on Apple TV+ May 12.
Disturbing videos have circulated online which appear to show young girls gasping for air as they desperately try to force their way out of schools in Iran, amid a shocking spate of poisonings of children in the country.

In one chilling clip, shared by a BBC Persian journalist, dozens of schoolgirls are seen on the floor after running out of their classrooms, coughing and wailing in pain.

The horrifying footage comes as officials in the country put the number of schoolchildren affected by poisonings at more than 5,000.

The attacks have targeted mainly female pupils since they were first seen in late November, with many rushed to hospital and unverified videos showing packed emergency rooms.

The mystery poisonings have gripped Iran, triggering a wave of angry protests involving distressed parents and teachers and allegations of government complicity from human rights and opposition groups.

Theories around who is behind the series of horrifying attacks include that the authorities may be taking revenge on the girls for their role in the protests which have been ongoing for months.

The first cases were reported soon after the start of nationwide protests sparked by the death of Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly breaching Iran's strict dress code for women.

There have also been suggestions that extremist religious groups are staging the attacks in an effort to get women and girls out of the classroom.

In the clip shared by the BBC's Parham Ghobadi of an unknown location, girls are seen rushing out of a building before sitting on the floor, where they cling on to one another as they struggle to breathe.

Another horrifying video appears to show girls fighting their way out of a school in the Western city of Hamadan.

Shared by anti-government activist group 1500 Tanvir, the post says that the girls, from the Fatemieh Art School, are shouting 'We don't want to die' as they push their way past people trying to stop them leaving.

They also shared a video of a little girl collapsing as she is lifted into an ambulance, claiming that 'many students fainted' and that protesting families were taken away by police.

Further videos seemingly show a packed emergency room in a hospital with distressed family members desperately seeking help for their daughters.

Another clip, shared by human rights activists, was filmed by a woman who alleges that security forces in the northern city of Rasht had fired tear gas at mothers protesting at the local education department there.

Videos shared by anti-government activist group 1500 Tanvir appears to show girls fighting their way out of a school, which they say is in the Western city of Hamadan.

Schoolgirls hold onto one another in a horrifying clip which appears to show them gasping for breath

A person is lifted to an ambulance outside a girls' school after reports of poisoning in Ardabil, Iran

The poisonings have sparked international condemnation, as well as calls from the West for an independent investigation.

Yesterday, the White House said that investigating the poisonings could fall under the mandate of the United Nations.

'If these poisonings are related to participation in protest then it is well within the mandate of the UN independent international fact finding mission on Iran to investigate,' said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

She further called for a 'credible independent investigation' into the poisonings.

March 5, 2023. Fatemieh Art School in Hamedan.

Schoolgirls shout: We don't want to die!pic.twitter.com/ssF6a0YYUt  1500tasvir_en (@1500tasvir_en) March 5, 2023

Scores of schools have been hit by the suspicious attacks, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting 'unpleasant' odours on school premises.

But there has not yet been any official explanation of what could be causing these symptoms, or who could be behind them.

Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee currently looking into the poisonings, told the ISNA news agency yesterday: 'Twenty-five provinces and approximately 230 schools have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned.

The number of schoolchildren affected by poisonings in Iran has climbed to more than 5,000, according to an investigator. Pictured: people gather around an ambulance outside a girls school after reports of poisoning in Fardis, Alborz province

'Various tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific information has been obtained regarding the type of poison used.'

Calling the poisonings an 'unforgivable crime', Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave orders Monday for the perpetrators to be tracked down 'without mercy'.

             #                     .# # #_ #__ pic.twitter.com/MlyZYop1wt    (@hra_news) March 5, 2023

According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Khamenei said: 'If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them.'

It was the first time the country's Supreme Leader, who has the final say on all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the suspected poisonings,

Last week, President Ebrahim Raisi tasked the interior ministry with providing continuous updates on the investigation.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) has declared that those behind the poisoning of over 1,000 schoolgirls should be sentenced to death if it is proven that attacks were deliberate

A young woman lies in hospital after reports of poisoning at an unspecified location in Iran

The ministry has announced no arrests so far, even as new cases continue to be reported.

'In less than five percent of the students transferred to hospital, irritant materials were found which led to their ill-health,' the ministry said in its latest update Monday.

'Fortunately, so far, no toxic or dangerous substances have been found in any of the students transferred to medical centres.'

The latest case - reported by the ISNA news agency - involved 40 pupils, all of them female, in the restive southeastern city of Zahedan.



March 6, 2023, Babol, Mazandaran.

The Islamic Republics chemical attack on Farideh Miri School.

Many students fainted. The police took away all protesting families. They brought IRIBs photographer to pretend everything is normal. pic.twitter.com/LBj9svgKky  1500tasvir_en (@1500tasvir_en) March 6, 2023

The first cases were reported in Iran's Shiite clerical capital of Qom in late November, a month after the Amini protests that later spread to universities and schools.

On Tuesday, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi warned 'those who spread lies and rumours' about the poisonings that 'they will be dealt with decisively and legally,' the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

Officials have only acknowledged the incidents in recent weeks and have provided no details on who may be behind the attacks, or what chemicals - if any - have been used.

In a briefing yesterday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called for a 'credible independent investigation' into the poisonings

Protests were sparked across the country and the world following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in September. Pictured: Protesters hold a sign depicting Amini at a rally in Brussels, Belgium

People in Rome, Italy take part in the 'Freedom Rally for Iran demonstration against the Iranian regime last month

Unlike neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women's education.

But the suspected attacks have been seen by some commentators as part of an extremist response to the protests led by women and girls that have swept Iran in recent months.

Protests were sparked across the country and the world following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died under suspicious circumstances in police custody in September.

Over the weekend, fresh protests against the suspected poisonings were seen in Iran and around the world.

Worried parents protested in Irans capital Tehran and other cities on Saturday, with a number gathering outside an Education Ministry building in western Tehran according to Reuters.

Further protests were held in Tehran and other cities including Isfahan and Rasht, unverified videos suggest.
A senior NHS scientist has won a race claim after her user name was changed to 'Paininarse' on a work spreadsheet.

Ubah Jama was considered a 'troublemaker' after complaining about a fellow biochemist throwing a test tube in her direction, an employment tribunal heard.

Her alleged ill-treatment culminated in the 'offensive' insertion of the phrase 'paininarse' on a shared Microsoft Excel document which could be seen by colleagues across two hospitals, the tribunal heard.

And when she complained about it, her boss failed to have it removed, the panel concluded.

Ms Jama, who is of Somalian origin, claimed that over a two year period she was a victim of numerous acts of racial discrimination while working for Barking Havering & Redbridge University Hospital NHS Trust in East London.

She is now in line for compensation after the tribunal judge ruled she had been 'increasingly marginalised and excluded because of her race and then penalised for complaining about that treatment.'

The tribunal was heard at the East London Hearing Centre (stock image)

The tribunal, held in East London, heard Ms Jama had been one of four senior biochemists within the Clinical Biochemistry department at Queen's Hospital, Romford, London since February 2019.

In February the following year Ms Jama was left 'upset' when colleague Tatyana Zadorozny lost her temper and threw a plastic tube containing a fluid sample at the bench she and two black colleagues were sitting on.

Ms Zadorozny, who is white Canadian, had become exasperated at a lack of help she received from a black junior locum and 'tossed' it towards them, the tribunal heard, prompting Ms Jama to make a health and safety complaint.

She also complained that her scientist colleague Claire Beck had been put forward for a three-day admin training course and she was not and that - unlike her white counterparts - she had been told to work while off sick with suspected Covid.

The tribunal heard that in January 2021, Ms Jama checked a work file to find 'paininarse' written in place of her name - something visible to colleagues at both Queen's Hospital and King George Hospital.

The panel heard she complained, attaching screenshots which showed that if a cursor was run over certain cells in the spreadsheet the rude username popped up.

In a meeting the following day, Ms Beck admitted she had been responsible but explained the tag had automatically transferred into the document from her home computer.

She claimed it was a 'personal in-joke about the performance of the computer'.

Giving evidence, Ms Beck accepted her conduct had been 'unprofessional', hence why she removed the phrase from her own documents.

However, she failed to remove it from Ms Jama's. Her explanation she had 'forgotten' in an 'oversight' was ruled 'implausible' by the tribunal.

Concluding that Ms Beck had victimised her colleague, Employment Judge David Massarella said: 'We are satisfied that the original insertion of the term 'paininarse' into the documents was innocent.

'However, we considered that the position was different in relation to the failure to remove it from Ms Jama's documents.

'We have concluded that this crossed the threshold into harassment: it had the effect of creating an offensive, indeed humiliating, environment for Ms Jama, given these documents were visible to colleagues.

'There was differential treatment: (Ms Beck) removed the tag from all her own documents but not from Ms Jama's.

'Her apology was half-hearted.'

Regarding her justification, the judge continued: 'Ms Beck must have realised it would cause offence, given the history of tensions within the department.

'We disbelieve her explanation and conclude that she left it in deliberately.'

Ms Jama's boss, Iris Valera-Larios, was also found to have racially harassed her by failing to take steps to remove the 'paininarse' tag.

Many of Ms Jama's other claims of discrimination were dismissed by the tribunal.

However, she won her claims of discrimination, harassment, victimisation and unfair treatment of whistleblowing regarding the 'sample tossing' incident, the denial of training and the Covid working complaint.

She had received 'less favourable treatment' than her white counterparts, the tribunal found.

The panel suggested Ms Jama's treatment was because she was considered a 'troublemaker' by bosses, given her previous health and safety disclosures.

On several occasions, the tribunal said, her boss's behaviour towards had been 'materially influenced by race'.

Judge Massarella said: 'The Trust, through the conduct of [Ms Jama's bosses] created an environment in which Ms Jama was increasingly marginalised and excluded because of her race and then penalised for complaining about that treatment.'

Another hearing will now take place to decide how much compensation she will be paid.
He waited several hours before placing call to coastguard reporting her missing

Ryan Bane, 44, reported his girlfriend missing but coastguard did not tape call

Bungling Coast Guard officers did not record Sarm Heslop's boyfriend's phone call reporting her missing in a 'troubling' error in the investigation, MailOnline can reveal ahead of the second anniversary of her disappearance tomorrow.

It has emerged that the US Coast Guard didn't tape Ryan Bane calling 911 when she vanished as they should have done.

The agency blamed a 'fault in the system' which deprived Ms Heslop's family of a vital piece of evidence.

Ms Heslop, 42, was last seen with Bane on March 8th 2021 in the US Virgin Islands.

Her mother Brenda Street said in a statement that the 'inconsistencies in this investigation have troubled me from the start. Something doesn't add up'.

Southampton-born Ms Heslop, a former flight attendant, vanished without trace on the island of St John.

She was last seen with Bane, 44, at a restaurant near to where his catamaran, the Siren Song, was docked.

Sarm Heslop, from Southampton, who went missing from the Siren Song, a catamaran owned and operated by her American boyfriend, Ryan Bane

Ryan Bane's luxury 47-foot catamaran, named Siren Song, sits in Frank Bay on St. John in the US Virgin Islands. Bane, 44, is boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop

Ryan Bane, the US boat captain boyfriend of missing British woman Sarm Heslop, is seen here in a police mugshot in 2011 after attacking his ex-wife

Heslop (right) is pictured with her friend Kate Owen. The pair moved to the Caribbean together. Kate has now called for British detectives to investigate the disappearance of her friend

Bane has said he was asleep on the boat when Sarm disappeared and was woken at 2am by the boat's anchor alarm, which sounds when the vessel has drifted too far.

But he waited nine hours before calling the US Coast Guard, despite being told by police to do so.

MailOnline requested the 911 recording by Bane made at 11.46am on March 8th last year under the US Freedom of Information law.

The Coast Guard initially said that the recording had accidentally been deleted.

But in a letter J.L. Suarez, a lawyer with the agency said: 'Said telephone call was never recorded due to a fault in the system.

'Therefore, the information pertaining to the erasure of the audio recording contained in my (previous) letter was incorrect'.

Police in the US Virgin Islands have failed to respond to requests from MailOnline for more information about the case, including public records requests under which they are legally obliged to respond.

That includes the phone call that Bane made to police on the islands in the early hours of March 8th - a critical piece of evidence Ms Heslop's family desperately want to be public.

After promising an interview with one of the detectives, their media relations officer stopped responding to emails and phone calls.

Ms Heslop's parents have said they are 'absolutely gutted' at the lack of progress in the investigation.

In a statement to MailOnline Ms Street said: 'We have been told that the CCTV wasn't working in the local area due to a power outage on the island.

'We were shown some CCTV footage allegedly showing Sarm and Ryan walking back to their dinghy but it was turned off before I could see them step onto the boat and this footage has never been publicly released. And now we discover that the 911 call Ryan made to the coast guard was never recorded! Something doesn't add up'.

Ryan Bane had been dating Ms Heslop for eight months  sitting aboard Siren Song, his yacht - and was on holiday with her when she went missing in March 2021

Bane (above) is the only person of interest in the case but has not surfaced since detectives admitted losing track of him in early July 2021. Pictured: Bane on his boat in March 2021

The text message sent to Brenda Street arrived one morning around 11am was succinct and stripped of emotion. 'This is Ryan Bane, Sarm's boyfriend,' it read. 'Please ring me'

She added: 'It's becoming increasingly frustrating and more upsetting to find that the VIPD 'ongoing investigation' isn't going anywhere. The lack of updates and correspondence from the VIPD leads me to believe they are not caring Police Officers or indeed human'.

Bane - who is not a suspect - was allowed to sail away from St Thomas and has now reportedly renamed the Siren Song and is trying to sell the vessel for 170,000.

In March last year Ms Heslop's desperate parents travelled to the US Virgin Islands to demand answers to why Bane was never even interviewed by police.

They have called on British police to investigate and forensically examine her belongings.

Ms Heslop's best friend Kate Owen has said that the family wanted 'more than anything else in the world' for the UK police to get involved.

She has said: 'There's been no investigation this side, and the one over there hasn't given us any answers.

'We're no clearer as to what happened that night than at the start. We need them to get involved.'

Adding to the familys alarm has been that Banes ex-wife Cori Stevenson, alleged he had a history of violence and controlling behaviour.

Bane's whereabouts are currently unknown and a lawyer representing him did not return a request for comment.

He had hired celebrity lawyer David Cattie - who represented Ghislaine Maxwell - within days of Ms Heslop's disappearance.

Cattie said previously that coastguards had conducted an 'on-site inspection of the vessel' and an 'interview without limitation', and that Bane, 'devastated' and 'heartbroken' at Sarm's disappearance, had handed over her personal belongings including her phone, iPad and passport to the police.

He has denied that Bane had a hand in any wrongdoing and said he was 'heartbroken' over Ms Heslop's disappearance.
Explosive new documents have revealed Victorian Premier Dan Andrews used secret taxpayer-funded polling to decide on whether to stick with brutal Covid lockdowns.

He did so while claiming to be following 'health advice' to guide the state's response to the coronavirus, including one of the world's longest lockdowns of 112 days in 2021.

Mr Andrews' critics have previously said such research misused taxpayer funds, and that the government has form using public money for political gain.

The polling was done QDOS, which is owned by Labor strategist John Armitage. It has been paid more than $2million in taxpayer money since 2016 to carry out community polling for the Andrews government.

The bombshell findings were unearthed in almost 200 pages of documents released under Freedom of Information regulations after a long battle to keep them secret.

Explosive new documents have revealed Victorian Premier Dan Andrews (pictured right with his wife Catherine) used secret taxpayer-funded polling to decide on whether to stick with brutal Covid lockdowns

The Andrews government kept its appeal against releasing the documents going until November's state election came and went without them being made public.

The documents obtained by The Australian reveal that focus groups in regional and city areas in July and August 2020 were questioned on Mr Andrews' performance.

People's responses to health messages and the 5km travel restriction were also gauged in the research done QDOS.

Company owner John Armitage reportedly boasts of his company's skill in 'changing public opinion' and its ability to 'squeeze, pump and stir' public view points.

A QDOS briefing from a focus group held in Colac, 150km south-west of Melbourne, on August 5, 2020 found support for Mr Andrews.

A lone person is seen crossing Bourke Street Mall on October 2, 2021 in Melbourne during a lockdown

'Sentiment in these groups was similar to earlier rounds and these people were considerably more likely to jump to the defence of the government and Dan Andrews,' it found.

The problems with hotel quarantine leaks, which triggered a deadly second wave of the virus in Victoria, was found to have taken some 'gloss' off the government, but only up to a point.

'People have become less likely to freely offer support for Dan Andrews but if he is criticised by one person a bigger number stridently come to his defence,' QDOS found.

'We can reasonably conclude that the government and the primary spokesperson, Dan Andrews, still have credibility and ... confidence.'

Dan Andrews claimed to be following 'health advice' to guide the state's response to the coronavirus, including one of the world's longest lockdowns at 112 days. Pictured is a protestor at an anti-vaccination rally in Melbourne in November 2021

QDOS told the cabinet and the Department of Premier and Cabinet that Mr Andrews was still 'highly regarded' by the public despite the hotel quarantine disaster.

'Actions taken now reinforce the competence brand already well established, even with the knowledge of poor hotel quarantine,' it found.

Despite all the money spent on the polling, the findings have mostly stayed secret until now due to strict confidentiality clauses - generally only those closest to Mr Andrews were briefed on the results.

An Andrews government spokesperson told The Australian that 'This community feedback helped us understand the most effective health message carriers in our efforts to keep the community safe, support our health workers, and encourage people to get vaccinated and save lives during a one in a 100-year pandemic.'
Eddie Izzard has insisted opposing Nicola Sturgeon's gender law is not transphobic - as she revealed a new name of 'Suzy'.

The comedian and would-be MP said she had wanted the name since she was 10, but people could decide which to use - joking that she often gets her own pronouns muddled.

In an interview on Matt Forde's Political Party podcast last night, Izzard said it is not bigoted to oppose Nicola Sturgeon's effort to loosen gender rules in Scotland.

She suggested it was a 'tricky' question how long people should wait before formally transitioning. 'I don't have the perfect answer,' she said.

Izzard also disclosed an ambition to be in the Cabinet, making clear she will not give up on efforts to get elected to Parliament.

Finding herself: Eddie Izzard has introduced the new feminine name she has wanted to use since the age of 10 - but said people can choose which one they want to address her by

Izzard has expressed a preference for female pronouns since 2020, but 'doesn't mind' if people use male pronouns.

She said: 'I'm Eddie. There's another name I'm going to add in as well, which is Suzy, which I wanted to be since I was 10. I'm going to be Suzy Eddie Izzard.'

Izzard added: 'I've wanted to be S, U, Z, Y since I was ten.

'That's how I'm gonna roll so people can choose what they want, they can't make a mistake, they can't go wrong.'

Izzard joked that 'I make mistakes with my own pronouns'.

The comedian has run for selection as a Labour candidate for London Mayor and Parliament, but so far been unsuccessful.

Asked about political ambitions, Izzard vowed 'I will keep going until I get in.'

Pressed by Forde on whether she would be happy to give up comedy for the backbenches, she joked: 'do I have to be backbench?'

However, Izzard refused to 'do dates' on when she would reach Cabinet and insisted she 'doesn't mind' who becomes PM.

'After failing to be selected as Labour's candidate in Sheffield, Izzard said: I'd still love to be an MP for Sheffield, anywhere up North... if there is a North/South divide - I wanna fight for the North.'

Izzard calls herself 'somewhat boy-ish and somewhat girl-ish'. She uses the word 'transgender' as an umbrella term.

She became famous as a comedian who cross-dressed, but now identifies as a gender-fluid trans woman.

Izzard announced two years ago that she would prefer female pronouns and intends to be 'based in girl mode from now on'.

She said: 'I'm Eddie. There's another name I'm going to add in as well, which is Suzy, which I wanted to be since I was 10. I'm going to be Suzy Eddie Izzard' (stock image)

'Don't get het up about it': Eddie who has used she/her pronouns since 2020, but 'doesn't mind' if people use him/her pronouns to address her

:: Matt Forde's fortnightly West End residency continues with upcoming guests including Krishnan Guru-Murthy on March 20 and Ruth Davidson on April 3
An Aboriginal artist has asked an Australian of British descent to donate their 'dead body' for a gruesome artwork that will 'atone' for the sins of colonialism.

Nathan Maynard, a well-known artist and playwright, posted an advertisement for a dead body in the Saturday edition of The Age newspaper last week.

Mr Maynard signed the bizarre request as a 'palawa' artist - one of the terms Tasmanian Aboriginal people use when referring to themselves.

'Palawa artist wanting to find an Australian of British descent who is willing to donate their future deceased body to an art installation,' the notice read.

'The work will speak to sacrifice for past sins perpetrated against the palawa. Potential applicants should see this opportunity as an honour.

'The body and memory of the successful applicant will be treated with the utmost respect at all stages of the project.'

Mr Maynard told Daily Mail Australia that about half a dozen people had already applied for their body to be used in the installation in November.

Nathan Maynard, an Indigenous artist and playwright, has requested the dead body of an Australian of British descent for an artwork that aims to 'atone' for the sins of colonialism

The artist said white people who were upset by the request should ask themselves why they didn't have the same reaction to the mass murder of Aboriginal people.

Thousands of First Nations people were killed by coloniser, with their remains sent overseas to be displayed in institutions and museums without a proper ceremony.

'So many Aboriginal people's remains are still overseas. People are trying to bring their ancestors home and they are being denied that right,' Mr Maynard said.

While most wouldn't be prepared to donate their bodies, Mr Maynard wants Australians to think about how else they can physically show their support.

He said white tokenism is rife across Australia and that it had become 'trendy' to pretend to support Aboriginal Australians and their causes.

Part of the work, titled 'Relic Act', would involve 'very personal and intimate' conversations with the final candidate, the artist said.

Potential applicants were told the opportunity to apply should be seen as an honour (pictured is the advertisement that ran in the Saturday edition of The Age last week)

Unlike the artist's ancestors, who suffered immensely after the European colonisation, the applicant's remains would be treated with the utmost respect.

'Human bodies are very sacred and they should be treated with respect,' he said.

'Whitefellas obviously don't know how to handle remains with respect, so I'm going to show them how.'

The artwork has already received support from the state-funded Tasmanian Museum and Gallery and the Hobart City Council, which has donated $15,000.

The piece has been commissioned to appear as part of an exhibition for the popular Hobart Current biennial exhibition in November, 2023.
This is the moment police told a Catholic woman that 'praying is an offence' as she was arrested a second time outside an abortion clinic just weeks after being acquitted for the same offence.

Video shared online shows Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK, being arrested outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham.

Officers ask Ms Vaughan-Spruce to 'step outside the exclusion zone' that exists around the clinic. However, she tells officers that she is 'not protesting' and 'not engaging in any of the activities prohibited'.

Police respond: 'But you've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offence', to which she replies: 'Silent prayer.'

Video shared online shows Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, director of anti-abortion group March for Life UK, being arrested outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham

Officers ask Ms Vaughan-Spruce to 'step outside the exclusion zone' that exists around the clinic. However, she tells officers that she is 'not protesting' and 'not engaging in any of the activities prohibited'

The officer then says, 'No, but you were still engaging in prayer. It is an offence', to which Ms Vaughan-Spruce answered: 'I disagree.'

She was then arrested by six officers.

In a statement through her legal representatives, ADF UK, Ms Vaughan-Spruce said: 'Only three weeks ago, it was made clear by the court that my silent prayers were not a crime.

'And yet, again, I have been arrested and treated as a criminal for having the exact same thoughts in my head, in the same location.

'The ambiguity of laws that limit free expression and thought - even in peaceful, consensual conversation or in silent, internal prayer - leads to abject confusion, to the detriment of important fundamental rights. Nobody should be criminalised for their thoughts.'

Map showing the boundary of the exclusion zone (highlighted red) around the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham

General view of the BPAS Robert Clinic in King Norton, Birmingham

Ms Vaughan-Spruce was confronted by police when she was standing on the street outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, on December 6

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce (right) pictured outside Birmingham Magistrates' Court with Father Sean Gough last month

According to ADF UK, a charity committed to protecting freedom of expression that has campaigned against the buffer zones - areas around clinics cordoned off from anti-abortion campaigners - Ms Vaughan-Spruce has been subject to bail conditions prohibiting her from going near the abortion facility.

What are PSPOs and how do they stop protests around abortion centres? Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are designed to allow local councils to prevent anti-social behaviour. Councils were given the power to enforce them in 2014 through section 59 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. The authority lists the activity that is banned within a particular geographical area, with a 100 initial fine rising to 1,000 if it goes to court. MPs have also introduced buffer zones around abortion clinics following an amendment to the Public Order Bill. This makes it an offence to intimidate or harass anyone within 150 metres of the buildings. Anyone found guilty of breaching the zone to intimidate, threaten or persuade women will face a fine or six months' imprisonment, increasing to two years for repeat offences. The law change came out over concerns about councils being sued by anti-abortion campaigners challenging PSPOs. Advertisement

West Midlands Police confirmed a 45-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of breaching a public space protection order (PSPO) yesterday, following complaints from members of the public.

They said: 'The woman was advised to leave the area, and refused, before being issued with a fixed penalty notice. When she refused to leave again, she was arrested.

'She has now been bailed while statements are taken from residents and people working in the area.'

The force added: 'This order was put in place by a court, following a joint application from West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council, to protect women from harassment by any means if they are seeking a medical procedure or advice at an abortion clinic.

'It is our role to enforce the PSPO and reassure those it was designed to protect.'

The arrest comes just weeks after she was found not guilty by Birmingham Magistrates Court for silently praying outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, on December 6.

Her arrest sparked a fierce debate, with supporters saying she was effectively arrested for 'thoughtcrime', a term which ADF UK used - but she was cleared of all charges.

Following her not guilty verdict, Ms Vaughan-Spruce said in a statement outside court: 'I'm glad I've been vindicated of any wrongdoing. But I should never have been arrested for my thoughts and treated like a criminal simply for silently praying on a public street.'

Buffer zones make it an offence to intimidate or harass anyone within 150 metres of an abortion clinic and were introduced as an amendment to the Public Order Bill last year.

The exclusion zones are areas around clinics where abortion-specific harassment such a displaying graphic signs, following and filming women and repeatedly approaching women and doctors is not allowed.

The UK's first buffer zone was introduced around an abortion clinic in Ealing, west London, in 2018.

Buffer zones have been hailed by pro-choice campaigners as an important step towards de-stigmatising abortion and preventing the harassment of those who attend abortion clinics.

However, critics see them as an attack on freedom of expression.

MPs are set to debate today on the rollout of buffer zones across England and Wales.
A Ukrainian serviceman sits in a tank at the frontline near Bakhmut, Ukraine, Monday, March 6. AP-Yonhap





Ukraine's top military commanders have vowed to keep defending the besieged city of Bakhmut, where Russia is hoping to make its first major wartime gain in more than half a year, and will strengthen their defenses, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.







Amidst some of the bloodiest fighting of the more than one-year long invasion, Moscow says capturing the city would be a step towards its major objective of seizing the full territory of the surrounding Donbas region.







The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces late on Monday reported that the city and surrounding areas were under "constant attacks" as "the enemy takes no account of losses."







After Russian gains in recent weeks, at the culmination of a winter offensive, Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of Bakhmut in apparent preparation for a possible retreat.







However, late on Monday, Zelenskiy said that at a meeting of top military officials he had asked the commander of the regional grouping and Ukraine's commander in chief how they proposed to proceed.







"Both generals responded not to withdraw but to strengthen (our defenses)," he said in his nightly address.







"I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut."







The intense battle has depleted both sides' artillery reserves, with thousands of shells fired daily along the eastern and southern fronts. Kyiv's European allies are working on a deal to procure more ammunition for the fight.







The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, which is leading the Bakhmut assault, said on Monday he needed the regular army to supply him with more ammunition, reinforcements and covering support if he was to win the battle.







The appeal from Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin came amid signs of a deepening rift between him and the Russian defense ministry whom he has bitterly criticized for months and accused of deliberately starving his men of ammunition, an allegation it has rejected.







Andrii Bondarenko, 45, puts his hands on the head of his brother Vladyslav Bondarenko 26, during his funeral in Kozyntsi, near Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, March 6. Bondarenko, a paratrooper of airmobile brigade, died near Bakhmut on Feb 26. AP-Yonhap





"I'm knocking on all doors and sounding the alarm about ammunition and reinforcements, as well as the need to cover our flanks," he said in a statement released by his press service.







"If everyone is coordinated, without ambition, screw-ups and tantrums, and carries out this work, then we will block the armed forces of Ukraine. If not, then everyone will be screwed."







There was no immediate response from the Russian Ministry of Defense.







Separately, Reuters reported Kyiv has broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalize to drop the anti-armor bomblets it contains on Russian forces from drones, according to two U.S. lawmakers.







A National Security Council spokesperson said that while Ukraine and the White House "closely coordinate" on military aid, she had no "new capabilities to announce."











After losing ground during the second half of 2022, Russia launched a winter offensive of intense trench warfare, making use of hundreds of thousands of reservists called up late last year.







Russia's offensive has produced no notable gains, failing to seize ground in Luhansk province further north and taking heavy losses in particular around Vuhledar to the south.







Ukraine has focused mainly on defense for the last three months, trying to inflict high casualties while preparing for a counter-offensive when new weapons arrive and the muddy ground dries out.







Speaking to reporters in the Middle East on Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he would not predict when or if Ukrainian troops might leave Bakhmut, but that should it fall that "won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight".







"I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," Austin said.







Kyiv says Russia's losses in trying to seize a city already reduced to rubble could determine the future course of the war by destroying combat power ahead of decisive battles later this year.







Russia refers to the campaign as a "special military operation" but has increasingly reframed initial denunciation of "Nazis" in Ukraine to describe it as a fight against the "collective West" which threatens its very existence.







Ukraine and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked war of aggression aimed at expanding territory.







On Monday, Russia's FSB security service said it had thwarted a Ukraine-backed car bomb attack against a prominent nationalist businessman who has been a cheerleader for Moscow's war. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. (Reuters)






The man took a final drag of his cigarette before saying 'Glory to Ukraine'

Footage purported to show a Ukrainian POW being gunned down by Russians

Ukraine says it has identified a soldier filmed being shot dead in a viral video that sparking outrage and spurring officials to demand a probe, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowing to find the 'murderers'.

The footage - circulated widely on social media - shows what appears to be a detained Ukrainian combatant standing in a shallow trench, smoking. Moments after saying 'Glory to Ukraine,' he is gunned down and slumps to the ground.

The phrase spoken by the alleged detained Ukrainian soldier was trending on social media on Monday. Officials in Kyiv blamed Russian forces and called for justice.

'According to preliminary information, the deceased is a serviceman of the 30th separate mechanized brigade, Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura,' the brigade's Facebook post said. He was a father of five, reports say.

'The command of the 30th separate mechanized brigade and the Hero's brothers express their sincere condolences to his relatives and friends. Revenge for our Hero will be inevitable. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!' it said.

Ukraine says it has identified a soldier filmed being shot dead in a viral video (right) that sparking outrage and spurring officials to demand a probe. Kyiv said the man was Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, a 41-year-old thought to be from Mala Derevychka village

The footage - circulated widely on social media - shows what appears to be a detained Ukrainian combatant standing in a shallow trench, smoking. Moments after saying 'Glory to Ukraine,' he is gunned down and slumps to the ground

Shadura had been missing since February 3 amid fighting near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, it said. 'The final confirmation of his identity can be established after the body is returned,' it added.

The 41-year-old is thought to be from Mala Derevychka village, Zhytomyr region.

Kyiv said the killed soldier's remains were located in territory currently controlled by Russian forces. Bakhmut is in Ukraine's eastern

AFP could not independently verify where or when the footage was filmed or whether it showed - as Ukrainian officials and social media users suggested - a Ukrainian prisoner of war.

In an address to the nation on Monday, Zelensky said the video showed Russian forces 'brutally killing' a Ukrainian serviceman.

'We will find the murderers,' he vowed.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called earlier for the International Criminal Court to probe the footage.

Journalist Vasily Krutchak wrote on Facebook that the man's sister strongly believes that her brother was the man machined gunned in the genocidal execution.

'I just talked on the phone with Timofey's sister, Olga,' he said.

'She said that she was 90 per cent sure that the man who was shot is her brother.'

Later the sister told the BBC Ukrainian service she was 100 per cent certain.

'This is my brother. It's his eyes, his voice and the way he smoked a cigarette,' she said, according to producer Sofia Kochmar-Tymoshenko.

'My brother would certainly be capable of standing up to the Russians like that,' she told the British broadcaster. 'He never hid the truth in his life and certainly wouldn't do so in front of the enemy.'

Subsequently she posted on social media: 'Six family members are sure it's their brother and son.'

No final identity can be established until Russia allows the bullet-riddled corpse to be repatriated - if it ever does.

The 'Glory to Ukraine' phrase and the response 'Heroyam Slava', or 'Glory to the Heroes', has been a hallmark of post-Soviet Ukraine, but it has taken on special significance as a common greeting in public life since the start of the war.

MailOnline was not immediately able to verify the authenticity, date or location of the video. Russia's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a query about it when contacted by Reuters news agency.

The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces called the shooting of an unarmed prisoner 'a cynical and brazen disregard for the norms of international humanitarian law and the customs of war. This is what worthless murderers do, not warriors.

'The Russian occupiers have once again shown that their main goal in Ukraine is the brutal extermination of Ukrainians.'

A lawyer who was wounded in battle last year said he was collecting money for a reward to anyone who identified those responsible. He personally pledged $1,000.

Ukrainian authorities did not say where or when the shooting occurred.

Within hours, #GloryToUkraine became one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter.

Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said Ukraine's security service had registered the shooting as a criminal case under a part of the criminal code that covers violations of war laws and customs.

In the horrifying footage, the lone man is seen on video smoking and saying 'Glory to Uklraine' before he is shot dead. He has been hailed a martyr in his homeland.

A voice is heard off camera saying 'You're a b***. Die, b***' - and then he is riddled with bullets. His body slups to the ground in a blink of an eye.

Andriy Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, insisted: 'There will be retribution for every such war crime. No-one can hide. We will find everyone.'

Moscow and Kyiv have on several occasions accused each other of killing prisoners in the year since Russia invaded Ukraine.

There is also video footage of the Russian Wagner Private Military Company killing deserters in brutal ways, and reports of them executing their own troops.

Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence for thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities or attacked civilians.

Speaking in November last year, a senior US official said that actions by Russian soldiers could even implicate top officials in war crimes.

Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence for thousands of war crimes committed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, 2022. Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities or attacked civilians. Pictured: Volunteers lower into a grave a coffin with one of fifteen unidentified people killed by Russian troops in Bucha

US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice Beth Van Schaack told reporters that there was strong evidence that Russian abuses in Ukraine were not random.

There is mounting evidence that Russia's invasion of Ukraine 'has been accompanied by systemic war crimes committed in every region where Russian forces have been deployed,' she said.

Evidence from liberated areas indicates 'deliberate, indiscriminate and disproportionate' attacks against civilian populations, custodial abuses of civilians and POWs, forceful removal, or filtration, of Ukrainian citizens  including children  to Russia, and execution-like murders and sexual violence,' she told reporters.

'When we're seeing such systemic acts, including the creation of a vast filtration network, it's very hard to imagine how these crimes could be committed without responsibility going all the way up the chain of command,' she said.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said controversial new law to 'stop the boats'

Migrants entering UK illegally from today will be banned from claiming asylum

Suella Braverman sounded defiance against European judges today as she unveiled a law banning Channel migrants from claiming asylum.

The Home Secretary insisted the UK can no longer tolerate a situation where many arrivals come from 'safe' countries, pass through France, and are 'rich' enough to pay traffickers large sums in a bid to game the system.

Dismissing 'naive' Labour jeers in the Commons, she said the need for reform was 'obvious and urgent' after 45,000 made the perilous Channel crossing last year.

Ms Braverman said the asylum system is 'overwhelmed' and 'waves of illegal migrants breaching our border' will only end when they know the UK will deport them 'swiftly'.

She also gave a stark figure that 100million could be entitled to asylum under current rules, adding grimly that they are 'coming here'.

'To anyone proposing de facto open borders through unlimited safe and legal routes as the alternative, let's be honest, there are 100 million people around the world who could qualify for protection under our current laws,' she said.

'Let's be clear, they are coming here. We've seen a 500 per cent increase in small boats crossing in two years.

'This is the crucial point of this Bill. They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.

'Removed back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. And that is precisely what this Bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.'

The landmark Bill will bar illegal arrivals from staying and applying on refugee, modern slavery or human rights grounds. They will also not be allowed to bring judicial reviews or get bail for at least 28 days.

Only children and the gravely ill will be allowed to remain in Britain while cases are considered.

To avoid creating a dash to reach Britain, the rules will be effective from now even though it could be months before they are on the statute book. They explicitly trump human rights laws and judges in Strasbourg.

The new Bill will also give Parliament the power to set an annual cap on the number of refugees accepted into the country - with local authorities being consulted on how many they can take.

The PM visited the South East this afternoon as he trumpets the blueprint, before holding a press conference in Downing Street.

Ms Braverman conceded the initiative 'pushes the boundaries' of international law and the government faces challenges in the courts and in Parliament. She said she is 'confident this Bill is compatible with international obligations'.

But a letter she circulated to MPs and peers says that there is a 'more than 50 per cent chance' it will breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Critics have also warned that the proposals are 'unworkable' because the UK does not have anywhere safe it can send the numbers who cross the Channel.

Suella Braverman today warned that 100million people could be entitled to asylum in the UK under current rules as she unveiled a radical overhaul

More migrants were brought ashore in Kent yesterday ahead of the new laws being unveiled

Home Office figures lay bare how the number of illegal immigration attempts detected have risen - dominated by Channel boats arrivals

The number of arrivals in small boats peaked at nearly 9,000 a month in the summer

The number of asylum applications spiked last year to 74,751, relating to 89,398 individuals - the highest since 2002

Home Office figures released last week showed the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claim in the UK has topped 160,000, with almost 75,00 applications made in the last year alone - a 20-year high.

Albanian was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK last year, with 14,223 applicants from the Balkan state - 9,573 of which came from people arriving in boats after crossing the Channel.

A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December. That was up 60 per cent from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77 per cent year-on-year from 61,864.

The Home Office has launched a plan to fast-track some asylum claims in a bid to cut the soaring backlog. Thousands of applicants sent a questionnaire, rather than automatically facing an interview.

Ms Braverman said the asylum system now costs the taxpayer 3billion a year, but was being 'overwhelmed'.

She told MPs: 'The small boats problem is part of a larger global migration crisis. In the coming years, developed countries will face unprecedented levels with pressures from ever greater numbers of people leaving the developing world for places like the United Kingdom.

What is in the Illegal Immigration Bill? Suella Braverman updated MPs on the proposed Illegal Immigration Bill today as she vowed the Government would get a handle on the small boats crossing the Channel. The main points from the Home Secretary's statement: New powers to detain asylum seekers for up to 28 dats after their arrival, before deporting them.

Government looking at holding them on former military sites around the UK.

Those caught will be 'removed back to their county of origin if it is safe, 'or to a safer third country like Rwanda'.

Exception made only for children, those medically unfit to fly or 'at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm' elsewhere.

Asylum seekers will be banned from re-entering Britain again if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means.

While the Home Secretary is 'confident' the bill is compatible with the UK's international obligations. she warned that she could not be certain that it was legal under human rights legislation.

Asylum seekers would not be able to claim they were victims of human trafficking under under modern slavery legislation in order to avoid deportation.

Ms Braverman claimed 100 million people around the world qualify for protection under current UK laws and 'they are coming here'. Advertisement

'Unless we act today, the problem will be worse tomorrow and the problem is already unsustainable. People are dying in the Channel.

'The volume of illegal arrivals has overwhelmed our asylum system. The backlog has ballooned to over 160,000.

'The asylum system now costs the British taxpayer 3billion a year. Since 2018, some 85,000 people illegally entered the United Kingdom by small boat, 45,000 of them in 2022 alone, all travelled through multiple safe countries in which they could and should have claimed asylum.'

Ms Braverman said slavery laws 'are being abused to block removals'.

She said: 'Last year, 17,000 referrals took on average 543 days to consider. Modern slavery laws are being abused to block removals, that's why we granted more than 50 per cent of asylum requests from citizens of a safe European country and Nato ally Albania.

'That's why this Bill disqualifies illegal entrants from using modern slavery rules to prevent removal.'

She said: 'I won't address the Bill's full legal complexities today, some of the nation's finest legal minds have been and continue to be involved in its development, but I must say this. Rule 39 and the process that enabled the Strasbourg court to block at the last minute flights to Rwanda after our courts had refused injunctions was deeply flawed.'

Ms Braverman suggested that the ban on bail or judicial review for illegal arrivals would only apply if they are deported within 28 days.

'This Bill enables detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed,' she said.

'It puts a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrance. And will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.

'Only those under 18, medically unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm  an exceedingly high bar  in the country we are removing them to will be able to delay their removal.

'Any other claims will be heard remotely after removal.'

Ms Braverman said many Channel migrants came 'from safe countries like Albania', and that 'almost all passed through France', with 'the vast majority' being adult males under 40 'rich enough to pay criminal gangs thousands of pounds for passage'.

She said: 'Upon arrival, most are accommodated in hotels across the country, costing the British tax payer around 6million a day. The risk remains that these individuals just disappear. And when we try to remove them, they turn our generous asylum laws against us to prevent removal.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper complained that decisions on asylum cases have 'collapsed', adding: 'This is deeply damaging chaos and there's no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it. They have been in power for 13 years. The asylum system is broken and they broke it.'

She insisted that even if the Rwanda policy gets up and running it will only account for 'hundreds' of asylum seekers.

But Ms Braverman shot back that the Left 'naively' believed everyone on a Channel boat is a genuine refugee and was in favour of 'open borders'.

Tories lined up to back the government in the chamber, with Don Valley MP Nick Flechter saying the country is 'full'.

Many also demanded that the government presses ahead with leaving the ECHR - which is separate to the EU - if the action is blocked by judges.

Earlier, Mr Sunak admitted voters 'have heard promises before' without seeing results, but insisted his legislation 'will mean that those who come here on small boats can't claim asylum here'.

He wrote in the Sun: 'This new law will send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed.'

How many people are seeking asylum in the UK? People who arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel on small boats accounted for nearly half of the total number claiming asylum last year, figures show. There were 74,751 asylum applications in the UK in 2022, relating to 89,398 people. This is the highest total for a calendar year since 2002. It is also up 49% compared with the number of applications in 2021 (50,042) and is more than double the total for the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (35,737). The jump in applications 'mirrors a substantial increase in small boat arrivals to the UK,' according to the Home Office. Arrivals rose from 28,526 in 2021 to 45,755 in 2022 - an increase of 60%. People who arrived in the UK on small boats accounted for 45% of the total number of people claiming asylum last year. Some 90% of arrivals on small boats in 2022 claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. The increase in small boat arrivals has had an impact on the most common nationality of people claiming asylum. From 2016 to 2021, Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK. But in 2022 Albania was the most common nationality, driven partly by a sharp rise in small boat arrivals by Albanian nationals during the summer and early autumn. In July to September, Albanians accounted for nearly half (45%) of all detected crossings of the English Channel, though in October to December this proportion fell to just 9%. A total of 14,223 asylum applications from Albanian nationals were made in the UK last year, around two-thirds of which (9,573) originated from small boat arrivals, Government figures show. Overall, Albanians accounted for 19% of all asylum applications in the UK in 2022, followed by Afghans (13%), Iranians (10%), Iraqis (5%) and Syrians (5%). By contrast, in 2021 the figure for Albania was 10%, behind both Iran (20%) and Iraq (12%), while Afghanistan was just 5%. There were 388 asylum applications from Ukrainian nationals in 2022, accounting for 1% of the total. However, most Ukrainians coming to the UK since the Russian invasion will not have applied for asylum, arriving instead under one of the new visa routes. Although the total number of asylum applications in the UK is at a 20-year high, the figure is still 11% below the previous peak of 84,132 in 2002, which was partly caused by conflict and political unrest in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia. Advertisement

The PM said it was a plan 'to do what's fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum  a plan to take back control of our borders once and for all'.

Mr Sunak told Cabinet this morning that his plans to stop small boat crossings of the Channel will fall within international law.

In their meeting on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the more than 45,000 migrants who made unauthorised crossings in small boats last year cost the taxpayer around 3 billion in hotel accommodation.

Giving an account of Mr Sunak's discussion at Cabinet, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'He said it (the Bill) would take tough, fair and necessary action, acting within international law, that would enable UK to have control of our borders so we can continue to be a compassionate and generous country providing refuge to the most vulnerable.'

Asked about the legality of the legislation, the spokesman said: 'Certainly from the Government's perspective, we believe the legislation to be compatible with the refugee convention.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Cabinet detailed work had taken place to ensure the plans can be delivered 'as soon as possible'.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis 'outlined some of the legal measures relating to the bill', No 10 said.

Mr Sunak spoke to Rwanda's president Paul Kagame before unveiling his plans, and pledged to continue working with him to ensure their stalled project works.

The Government has paid more than 140million to Rwanda but no flights forcibly carrying migrants to the capital of Kigali have taken off because of legal challenges.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The leaders committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully.'

The PM will meet Emmanuel Macron on Friday to discuss further cooperation that will be required to reduce boat crossings.

A duty will be placed on the Home Secretary to remove 'as soon as reasonably practicable' anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or a 'safe third country'.

And arrivals will be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK, with plans also to ban them from returning once removed.

In the new bill, small boat migrants will be barred from lodging asylum claims and stripped of the ability to launch human rights appeals.

Nearly all those who arrive by illegal routes will be able to appeal only once they have been deported.

It is understood that migrants will be kept in student accommodation, cruise ships or holiday parks - in a change from hotels - until they are either sent back to their country of origin or to a third location such as Rwanda.

It has been reported that the Home Office is planning to purchase two RAF bases in Lincolnshire and Essex to house migrants waiting for deportation.

Asylum and human rights claims are expected to be 'radically curtailed' under the package.

New legislation will mean claims of human trafficking will need to rely on significant proof to be claimed.

In a separate development, ministers have not given up on sending the first plane-load of migrants to Rwanda this year. They have been encouraged by December's court ruling that the deal with the African country is lawful.

Although the policy is still facing legal challenges ministers believe it could even be possible for an asylum flight to take off by the summer.

The full package of immigration measures is due to be unveiled by Mr Sunak and Mrs Braverman later today.

Immigration laws brought into force under Boris Johnson set out how the Home Secretary can declare a migrant's claim inadmissible if they passed through a safe third country such as France.

Today's strengthened package will see this applied almost across the board to all migrants.

The move will expand powers introduced by Labour in 2003  'non-suspensive appeals'  that allow asylum seekers to be removed after their initial claim is rejected.

However use of the powers has slumped. There were 1,285 asylum cases earmarked for the process in 2018, but in the first six months of last year only 171 were deemed eligible.

The Illegal Migration Bill will also see Channel migrants banned for life from coming back to Britain.

Ministers have insisted that they can ignore last-minute interventions by Strasbourg judges.

A new Bill of Rights, published last June but currently on hold, states unequivocally that 'no account is to be taken of any interim measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights'.

But it is not yet known whether today's legislation will include the measures.

Tough measures to tackle small boat arrivals will be rushed through Parliament  and could be in place by summer. Pictured, a group is brought ashore in Dungeness yesterday

Rishi Sunak said 'enough is enough' as Home Secretary Suella Braverman vowed that ministers would tackle the Channel crisis 'no ifs, no buts'

James Cleverly and Dominic Raab were in Downing Street for Cabinet today

Rolled- up inflatable dinghies and outboard engines stored at a yard in Dover

A rarely-used measure under the Human Rights Act  known as a Section 19.1.B statement  will be deployed to get the legislation through Parliament

Ministers are braced for opposition from the Whitehall establishment  dubbed the 'Blob'  over their plan to tackle the Channel crisis.

Critics include former Home Office mandarin Sir David Normington who said it was 'highly doubtful' the proposals would lead to a fall in crossings.

Refugee charities and a trade union that represents immigration officers were also among those who questioned early details of the scheme.

Sir David told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'At the heart of the policy is a gamble that if you say it's illegal to come in a small boat people will stop coming. I think that is highly doubtful.'

He predicted the Government's plan would face 'very great' problems.

Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union also cast doubt on the plans, describing them as 'quite confusing'.

Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council described the legislation as flawed, adding: 'It's unworkable, costly and won't stop the boats.'

Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK condemned the proposed measures as 'disgraceful posturing and scaremongering'.

Asked whether the plan was legally feasible, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer replied: 'I don't know that it is and I think we've got to be very careful with international law here.'

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'We've seen too many lives lost attempting this dangerous and unnecessary journey, and the number of people entering the country is simply unsustainable. As we've always said, we recognise there will likely be challenges in many forms to this sort of legislation.'

A No 10 spokesman said the Government would stop all small boats but declined to put a timescale on the plans.
The four Americans kidnapped in Mexico after traveling over the border so that one could get a cut-price tummy tuck may have been kidnapped by members of the Gulf Cartel, a notoriously violent gang run by a feared leader known as La Kena.

Mexican newspaper Milenio cites law enforcement officials who say they are actively investigating whether La Kena was involved in the capture of Latavia 'Tay' McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard and their friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams.

They had traveled from Lake City, South Carolina to the border town of Matamoros for McGee to undergo a discounted tummy tuck, according to a sister of one of the kidnapped, when they got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight on Friday.

Video shows the group being thrown in the back of a van. Their whereabouts is now unknown.

Matamoros is in the state of Tamaupilas, which is among six states that are currently under travel warnings.

Latavia 'Tay' McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure before she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a drug cartel on Friday

McGee was joined by her cousin, Shaeed Woodard, (left), Eric Williams (right) and Zindell Brown

They were taken on Friday, after becoming caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two gangs.

La Kena or Ciclon 19, the leader of the Gulf Cartel

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the US authorities ought to treat the gangs the same way they do ISIS when negotiating for Americans' release.

'They are terrorists,' he said during an appearance on Fox News last night.

'The Mexican government is being held hostage by tens of thousands of paramilitary members of terrorist organizations that effectively control Mexico.

'It's pretty close at this stage to a failed narco-state.

'They can use violence and oceans of cash to corrupt the government. The government has no will, and it doesn't have the ability to deal with the cartels,' he said.

Le Kena leads the Gulf Cartel and is also known as Ciclon 19. His real name is Alberto Garcia Vilano.

Mexican authorities have been hunting him for months and are offering a reward of 2.5million pesos for any information that could lead to his arrest.

A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe 'do not travel' category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists

A gunman acted as a lookout for his cohorts moments after they attacked a mini van with four American occupants and kidnapped them in the northeastern Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said on Monday she has been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell, is one of the four victims.

'This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,' she said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. 'To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.'

Zalandria said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied McGee who was going to Mexico for a tummy tuck surgery.

She said the group was extremely close and that they all made the trip in part to help split up the driving duties.

They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, Zalandria noted, and her brother had even expressed some misgivings before the trip.

The FBI is now offering a $50,000 reward for the victims' return and the arrest of the kidnappers.
A Christian street preacher was reported to counter terrorism police squad after publicly calling a trans woman a man and criticising homosexuality landed him with a criminal offence.

David McConnell, 42, who is regularly abused in the street for expressing his controversial views on sexuality, will this week launch an appeal over his 2021 conviction.

The Probation Service carried out a pre-sentence report on McConnell to assist the sentencing magistrates, commenting in it that his faith had turned him away from a 'troubled, aimless past' to become a 'hard-working family man.'

It can now be revealed the probation officer stated that as McConnell 'is viewed to be persistently and illegally espousing an extreme point of view,' the officer 'routinely liaised with my colleagues in the Joint Counter Terrorism Team'.

The probation report added: 'They [CTT] have no further information on Mr McConnell that would suggest their intervention would be likely or helpful.'

Street preacher David McConnell, 42, was reported to counter-terror police for statements he made referring to a trans person

Campaigners backing his case spoke of their alarm that people were being labelled potential terrorists for not agreeing with 'LGBTQ ideology.'

McConnell was addressing a crowd in Leeds city centre in June 2021 when he was filmed saying that 'adulterers, drunkards and homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.'

The letting agent, from Wakefield, was asked politely by a trans woman who was filming him whether he thought LGBTQ people were accepted by God.

The preacher replied that homosexuality was an 'abomination in the eyes of God' and that lesbianism was 'unnatural'.

Reports of the incident say McConnell loudly and repeatedly referred to the trans woman as 'this gentleman' and 'a man in woman's clothing' during his response, and that the victim found this distressing as she had been outed in front of a crowd of strangers.

He continued to preach and was reportedly verbally abused by members of the public, assaulted, and at one point had possessions stolen, including an amplifier.

When a police officer turned up McConnell refused to accept he was doing anything illegal, but was arrested and held in custody for 14 hours.

The preacher has been criticised for comments he has made about trans and gay people, including saying that homosexuality was an 'abomination'

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said yesterday: 'What state are we in as a society when police fail to protect a street preacher who is assaulted, abused, and has his belongings stolen simply for stating biological reality? The abuse against David McConnell didn't stop there - he was arrested, convicted and reported to counter-terrorism.

'This case represents a disturbing trend in our society which is seeing members of the public and professionals being prosecuted and reported as potential terrorists for refusing to celebrate and approve LGBTQ ideology.'

She added that police had acted in a 'deeply illiberal' manner by arresting McConnell and added: 'The Bible teaches clearly that we are born male and female; this belief and the freedom to express it in public without fear of being arrested or reported as a terrorist to Prevent must be protected.'

McConnell said: 'George Orwell said: "Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows." By that he meant that if we cannot speak truthfully, society will fall apart.

'That is what is happening at the moment. When I was told I had been reported to counter-terrorism I just thought: "What has happened to this country?"'

'How I have been treated has been totally unreasonable and should concern anyone who cares about Christian freedoms and free speech in this country.'

McConnell has been street preaching across northern England for more than 15 years to 'share the Bible's message.'

He was ordered to do 80 hours unpaid work after being convicted at Leeds Magistrates Court of an offence under the Public Order Act of causing harassment, alarm or distress.

Commenting on the case last year, Elizabeth Wright, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'People have the right to hold opinions and express their views. But when words cross the line between a legitimate expression of religious views, and become distressing and threatening, the CPS will prosecute offenders if our legal test is met.'
Dilbert creator Scott Adams has claimed 'black America' was 'completely fine' with his racist tirade and blamed 'white people that canceled me' after his comic was dropped by 77 newspapers.

Adams last month urged viewers of his YouTube channel to 'get the hell away from black people' and said he had moved to a neighborhood with 'a very low black population.'

The 65-year-old, who has made millions thanks to his internationally-syndicated comic strip, is not backing down from the comments despite being dropped by 77 papers including The Washington Post and LA Times.

'Black America is completely fine if they see the context,' Adams claimed last night as he argued his statements were hyperbolic and 'meant to get people riled up.'

'So far every black person I've talked to has said, "I get what you're saying,"' he told Chris Cuomo on News Nation.

'It's almost entirely white people that canceled me. It might be entirely because they're the ones that own the publishing companies and the newspapers.'

'So far every black person I've talked to has said, "I get what you're saying,"' Scott Adams (right) told Chris Cuomo on News Nation. 'It's almost entirely white people that canceled me'

Dilbert has been in circulation since 1989 and frequently pokes fun at office culture

Attempting to explain his remarks, Adams stated: 'What I want your audience to know is that when I complained about black people having a bad attitude about white people, that was me saying nothing about black people. It was saying, "I don't want to be around people who have a bad feeling about me."'

As well as a host of newspapers around the world dropping Adams, he has also lost the backing of his publisher Penguin Random House.

Dilbert has been in circulation since 1989 and is renowned for poking fun at office culture. Adams has amassed a $75m fortune through his work.

The backlash began following last Monday's episode of his show Real Coffee.

Among other topics, Adams referenced a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement, 'It's OK to be white.'

Most agreed, but Adams noted that 26 per cent of black respondents disagreed and others were not sure.

The Anti-Defamation League says the phrase was popularized in 2017 as a trolling campaign by members of the discussion forum 4chan but then began being used by some white supremacists.

Adams, who is white, repeatedly referred to people who are black as members of a 'hate group' or a 'racist hate group' and said he would no longer 'help black Americans.'

The backlash began following last Monday's episode of his show Real Coffee (pictured). Among other topics, Adams referenced a Rasmussen Reports survey that had asked whether people agreed with the statement, 'It's OK to be white'

Adams is worth an estimated $75 million from his works with the 'Dilbert' comic strip

Adams, pictured in 2001, has come under fire for the 'racist' remarks posted to his YouTube channel Real Coffee with Scott Adams

He urged white people to 'just get the f**k away. Wherever you have to go, just get away.'

Adams added: 'There's no fixing this. This can't be fixed... You just have to escape. So that's what I did, I went to a neighborhood where I have a very low black population.'

Adams has long been active on Twitter, whose CEO, Elon Musk, was among the few to publicly back him. He also blogs regularly and puts out a regular podcast on YouTube.

He's attracted attention for comments he's made in the past, including saying in 2011 that women are treated differently by society for the same reason as children and the mentally disabled - 'it's just easier this way for everyone.'

He also said 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina had an 'angry wife face.'

Adams became a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, saying Trump had a hypnotist's skill in attracting followers. He said that stance cost him money in lost speaker's fees.

He said he lost the prime-time animated 'Dilbert' series - that ran on UPN for two seasons - for 'being white' when the network decided to target a black audience, and that he lost two other corporate jobs because of his race.

In announcing that 'Dilbert' would be cut from the Kansas City Star, the newspaper's community engagement editor, Derek Donovan, said Adams' 'antagonistic, childishly macho persona' has been a constant for years.

'It's not cancel culture,' editor Richard Green of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat in California said. 'It's doing the right thing.'

Scott Adams, cartoonist and author and creator of 'Dilbert', poses for a portrait in his home office on January 6, 2014 in Pleasanton, California

The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro, Massachusetts, left a blank space Monday where 'Dilbert' would normally run and said it would keep it that way through March 'as a reminder of the racism that pervades our society.'

The San Francisco Chronicle stopped publishing 'Dilbert' last October - a move that drew only a handful of complaints. Editor-in-Chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz said in the newspaper that he had objected to a strip that said, in an effort to diversify workplaces, straight men should pretend to be gay.

In a September 2 Dilbert strip, a boss said that traditional performance reviews would be replaced by a 'wokeness' score.

When an employee complained that could be subjective, the boss said: 'That'll cost you two points off your wokeness score, bigot.'

In an August strip, the boss said the company was getting into the 'pandemic prevention market' and creating demand by unleashing a deadly virus.

A black employee featured in an October 20 strip noted that his boss ignored his actual accomplishments to recommend him for a job for which he was not qualified. The employee backed down when told it would be a big jump in pay.

Peterson said there are other examples of how Adams' attitudes had replaced the biting humor that Peterson and a legion of middle managers loved. Adams seemed to run out of jokes.

'The strip jumped the shark,' he said.
A Metropolitan Police officer who shoved a woman to the ground has been jailed for 16 months.

PC Thomas Andrews was arrested after patrolling officers were called by a member of the public to Forest Hill, south-east London in July last year.

The woman claimed she had been assaulted by Andrews and had her phone damaged.

PC Thomas Andrews was arrested after patrolling officers were called by a member of the public to Forest Hill, south-east London in July last year

PC Andrews, attached to the Central South Command Unit, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at Woolwich Crown Court.

The woman reportedly suffered grazing after she was pushed to the ground.

PC Andrews was sentenced to 16 months and received a restraining order. He has suspended from duty and now faces a misconduct hearing where he could be kicked out of the force.

PC Andrews, attached to the Central South Command Unit, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at Woolwich Crown Court

Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, who leads the Central South Command Unit, said: 'I am saddened by this incident and grateful to members of the public who raised the alarm, resulting in PC Andrews' prompt arrest.

'Under the leadership of Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, everyone in the Met is clear that we must root out those who corrupt the integrity of our organisation.

'This will take time, but we are absolutely committed to achieving high standards.'
This is the horrifying moment two children were inches from being hit by a speeding car while they crossed the road to catch the school bus in Statesville, North Carolina.

The video, captured by the bus' onboard camera on Old Mountain Road on March 2, shows the children cross the road before breaking into a run as a car speeds towards them before swerving around the pair with a split second to spare.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol arrested Joseph Graham Padgett Jr., 35, of Statesville, at 2:10 am on Saturday morning, according to WSOC-TV.

Padgett Jr.'s car passed the bus at around 6:15 am, according to the Iredell-Statesville School District.

The school bus came to a halt and activated its stop sign as the two children approached the street.

The video, captured by the bus' onboard camera, shows the children cross the road before breaking into a run as a car speeds towards them before swerving around the pair

A light-colored Kia Soul passed the bus on the left side and came within inches of striking one of the children. The bus was stopped on a two-lane road in a no-passing zone, according to WSOC-TV.

State troopers said Friday afternoon that there were five cases last year in Iredell County where people had illegally passed a stopped school bus.

According to the school district, drivers must stop their cars and wait until the red lights on a school bus stop are flashing and the extended stop arm is withdrawn. Cars are permitted to start driving again when the bus starts moving.

The incident occurred on Old Mountain Road, in Statesville, North Carolina, on March 2

Padgett Jr., is scheduled to appear in court on March 16. He is at the Iredell County Detention Center under a $20,000 bond, state troopers said.

Iredell County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook: 'Clearly, this call could have been beyond tragic, and thankfully we are praising this child's quick thinking instead of what the alternative could have been.'

The video was released by Iredell-Statesville Schools.
A frenzied 150-strong mob of Antifa 'terrorists' descend on Atlanta's 'Cop City' construction site before hurling Molotov cocktails and destroying machinery in newly-released aerial footage of Sunday's riots.

The group, filmed by a police chopper's heat-sensitive cameras, march through scrub and woodland around the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center before unleashing havoc and setting fire to a power line.

Police officers protecting the site are forced to stand off as the mask-clad attackers overrun the site, which has been a hotbed for Antifa violence since last spring, and target machinery. The officers are then pelted with rocks and fireworks by the thugs, many of whom travelled from outside of Georgie to take part in the violence.

Atlanta Police Department released the shocking footage on Monday - hours after revealing 23 people have been charged with domestic terrorism over the riots.

Among those charged are an attorney for the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center and several serial protesters, some who've been arrested previously. Astonishingly, the SPLC has now claimed the arrests which follow the outrageous violence were a 'heavy-handed' intervention after a 'months-long escalation of policing tactics'.

Newly-released aerial footage of riots in Atlanta on Sunday show the shocking moment around 150 Antifa thugs marched on the site of the city's Public Safety Training Center, dubbed 'Cop City' by activists

The frenzied thugs torched a power line after gaining access to the site which they've dubbed 'Cop City'

Atlanta PD said: '[The activists] changed into black clothing, entered the construction area, and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers. The agitators destroyed multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism.

'Multiple law enforcement agencies deployed to the area and detained several people committing illegal activity.

'The illegal actions of the agitators could have resulted in bodily harm, and clearly do not reflect a peaceful demonstration. Thankfully, officers exercised sound judgment and restraint while conducting non-lethal enforcement and arrests.'

Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Thomas Webb Jurgens, 28, is one of 23 people who were detained after the violent clashes. Other activists from as far away as France and Canada were also charged with domestic terrorism after the riots.

Jurgens joined the SPLC in September 2021 and worked on its Economic Justice Project, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also worked as an assistant public defender and a legal intern at a US attorney's office in Florida. The Florida Bar's website lists him as a current SPLC lawyer.

The LinkedIn page includes a professional photo of Jurgens with neatly-styled hair and a suit and tie. The picture is a marked contrast to the mugshot released by police on Monday that shows him sullen-faced in a green sweater with long, unkempt hair and stubble.

Jurgens was present as a 'legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild', the SPLC said.

Despite the violence that's laid bare in the footage, the NLG made the brazen assertion that the arrests were 'part of ongoing state repression and violence against racial and environmental justice protesters'.

'Each of these instances, including the many protesters charged with domestic terrorism, make clear that law enforcement views movement activists as enemies of the state,' the NLG said.

The SPLC added: 'The SPLC has and will continue to urge de-escalation of violence and police use of force against Black, Brown and Indigenous communities - working in partnership with these communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people.'

Thomas Webb Jurgens, 28, an attorney for the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center, is one of 23 people who were detained after violent clashes between police and protesters at the construction site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Left: his professional LinkedIn picture, right: Jurgens' police muhshot

The 23 Antifa 'terrorists' who were arrested after violent clashes at the construction site for a police training facility in Atlanta dubbed 'Cop City'

Timothy Bilodeau is a former teacher at Acera, the Massachusetts Schools Science, Creativity and Leadership. He describes himself as 'an aficionado of learning in all forms'. Bilodeau is charged with domestic terrorism

Republican activists claim the SPLC is a 'radical' left-wing and 'anti-Christian' organization.

Another protester who was charged, Timothy Bilodeau, is a former teacher at Acera, the Massachusetts Schools Science, Creativity and Leadership. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a teacher of engineering, although a spokesman for the school told DailyMail.com he left his position before the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

In a gushing biography of himself, Bilodeau, 25, writes: 'I'm not just a musician or an engineer. I'm an aficionado of learning in all forms.'

'Leveraging the power of humor, joy, curiosity, and collaboration, I seek to build self-confidence so students can more effectively express themselves and solve problems in any area of their lives,' he writes.

Bilodeau also has a degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University.

Ehret Nottingham, 22, is a serial activist who has also taken a central role in pro-abortion and fair wage rallies.

In a interview in June 2020, while studying political science at Colorado State University, Nottingham said he 'became an activist' in 2018.

He described himself as a climate activist who was also involved in Black Lives Matter protests. He said he has a 'whole lot of privilege and a whole lot of ability to affect the world'.

'The role in my future that I hope to achieve is to be an advocate and the platform I have to make change,' said Nottingham. He said he met 'most of my activist friends' through Instagram.

James Mariscano, 29, whose surname also appears as Mariscana in police statements, is a known Antifa activist who has been arrested previously.

In June 2020, Mariscano was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, for assaulting a law enforcement officer. He was also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting a public offer after initially fleeing arrest.

Ehret Nottingham, 22, is a serial activist who has also taken a central role in pro-abortion and fair wage rallies. He says he 'became an activist' in 2018

James Mariscano, 29, is a known Antifa activist who has previously been arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer

Emma Bogush, who also uses the name Bo, was a keen dancer who performed regularly before she turned to activism.

Emma Bogush, who also uses the name Bo, was a keen dancer who performed regularly before she turned to activism.

The 24-year-old's Facebook page includes many photos with her dance teams, and lists vacations to London and Stonehenge in the UK.

The dramatic confrontation between police and protesters comes as individuals and activist organizations descend on the proposed site for a 'week of action' to protest its development.

'This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,' Marlon Kautz, an organizer with Atlanta Solidarity Fund told The Guardian, referring to the police-involved killing of Manuel Paez Teran in January.

The dramatic confrontation between police and protesters comes as individuals and activist organizations descend on the proposed site for a 'week of action' to protest its development.

'This is the first week of action since the state killed someone,' Marlon Kautz, an organizer with Atlanta Solidarity Fund told The Guardian, referring to the police-involved killing of Manuel Paez Teran in January.

Atlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson surveys the damage
University of Chicago students are organizing a 'black graduation' this summer for students of color to attend - though organizers are now saying the event is not exclusionary.

Billed as a ceremony 'for all University of Chicago black graduate students', the event will be held two days before the school's traditional commencement in June, and is being hosted by a group at one of the university's professional schools.

A professional school is another term for a grad school that prepares students who hold bachelor's degrees for careers in particular fields - with this one prepping students for jobs involving housing, community development, and human rights.

Affiliated with its private-owned parent university, the graduate school is called the Harris School of Public Policy, which, according to the school website, has more than 30 organizations designed 'specifically for students of color, women, and international students.'

Among this assortment of inclusion-geared groups is the Black Action in Public Policy Studies, which is reportedly organizing the June 1 event - and is advertising it as 'an important capstone in the Black experience at the university.'

The Black Action in Public Policy Studies studies student group is organizing the June 1 event, billed in a leaked email as a ceremony 'for all University of Chicago black graduate students'

The University of Chicago's 'black graduation' this summer is reportedly for students of color to attend - though organizers are now saying the event is not exclusionary

A leaked email obtained by University of Chicago Law School student Benjamin Ogilvie unmasked the previously under-wraps event, with Ogilvie penning a piece for The College Fix to share the email's contents.

'Black Action in Public Policy Studiesis hosting a graduation ceremony for all University of Chicago Black graduate students' on June 1, the email stated, according to Ogilvie.

Leaked on Tuesday, the email reportedly touted the event as the culmination of the 'black student experience' at the Illinois school, and is already sparking heated discourse as to whether or not the event serves as segregation.

When contacted by The Fix, two Harris students listed as contacts for the planned event, identified as Christian Johns and Semeredin Kundin, refused to comment on the ceremony and its potential implications.

The conservative news website focused on higher education reportedly asked the grad students who is funding the ceremony and how it will coincide in with other graduation events, Johns, a graduate assistant at the school's Institute of Politics, said: 'Unfortunately, we will not be able to comment on your inquiry at this time.'

Neither would respond to criticism that the graduation is exclusionary - though a school spokesperson, when contacted, insisted that is not the case, The Fix reported.

Organizers Christian Johns and Semeredin Kundin refused to comment on the ceremony, but a school spokesperson said it was not exclusionary

A leaked email obtained by University of Chicago Law School student Benjamin Ogilvie unmasked the previously under-wraps event, with Ogilvie penning a piece for The College Fix to share the email's contents

After being asked by the Fix whether there were any other race- or identity-specific graduation ceremonies being held in addition to the 'black-only graduation ceremony at UChicago,' school spokesperson Gerald McSwiggan slammed the outlet's phrasing of the question.

'Your description of the event as 'black-only' is inaccurate and is not part of the event description,' the University of Chicago public affairs official said via email.

'The group's online materials make it clear that its events and activities are open to all who are interested.'

A description on the university's website advertises the Black Action in Public Policy Studies as a school-sponsored group that 'dedicates itself to centering the experiences and needs of Black people through policy from a Black feminist lens.'

It is not immediately clear from other materials provided on the site what the ceremony will actually entail and consist of.

Jason Hill, a professor and commentator on racial issues at nearby DePaul University, slammed the event, saying the school is 'painting white students as persons from whom blacks need to be separated' with the planned event

Despite its existence only being unmasked Tuesday, the event is already drawing criticism from academics in the Windy City, with Jason Hill, a professor and commentator on racial issues at nearby DePaul University, saying the school is 'painting white students as persons from whom blacks need to be separated.'

'The universities are creating racists out of students because, in effect, it is painting white students as persons from whom blacks need to be separated; that whites are an intimidating presence,' Hill told The Fix of the planned event.

The seasoned professor proceeded to decry the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda being pushed by the school.

'The whole all-black-graduation ceremony phenomenon is predicated on the DEI axis, with an emphasis on inclusion,' Hill said, referencing similar campaigns that have become commonplace amongst American universities in recent years.

'It is a variation on the idea that blacks need to be included in a specific way into an all black black space on campus because the USA and its institutions remain systemically racist,' said Hill, who has an array published works involving racial justice and slavery.

The group - which 'dedicates itself to centering the experiences and needs of Black people through policy from a Black feminist lens' according to the school's website - is being accused of pushing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda with the planned ceremony

'These attitudes and policies are totally contrary to the goals of the Civil Rights Movements, and the moral meaning of the 1964 Civil Rights Act,' the professor declared.

'The role of the university is not to cultivate balkanized racial factions on campus, nor is it to foster any experience (other than a scholastic one) such as the 'Black Experience.

'Universities ought not be sites for social engineering nor yielding to demands for identity expression rooted in feelings, desires and wishes which are forged in the crucibles of identity politics.

'The ultimate goal of the university,' he continued, 'is to equip each student to become a rational, autonomous and sovereign agent who can navigate the world as an independent entity.'

After being asked by the Fix whether there were any other race- or identity-specific graduation ceremonies being held in addition to the 'black-only graduation ceremony at UChicago,' the school insisted the event is not 'black-only; and slammed the outlet's phrasing of the question

Pointing to similar woke rumblings currently occurring now not only in privately owned universities, but in elementary and middle schools across the country, Hill, told The Fix the US is 'drifting apart.'

'Black people are developing more and more into a separate and distinct culture and identity with their own political destiny,' the DePaul instructor said.

'This cannot be good for our republic, especially at a time when our nation is the most hospitable to and encouraging of the interests and well-being of black people.'

Moreover, it is not the first time the University of Chicago for imparting radical progressive messages to its thousands of undergrad and graduate students.

Last year, the school came under fire for a pro-DEI course titled the Problem of Whiteness,' which is currently still available for undergrad students.

A course description shows that the class teaches Critical Race Theory,a relatively recent intellectual and social movement which examines systemic racism in American society, and preaches that race is not a natural construct, but one invented by humans to subjugate others.
A Texas inmate who stabbed his estranged wife to death and drowned her six-year-old daughter in the bathtub more than a decade ago is set to be executed tonight.

Gary Green, 51, is set to receive a lethal injection for the September 2009 deaths of Lovetta Armstead, 32, and her daughter, Jazzman Montgomery, who were killed at their home in Dallas.

In prior appeals, Green's attorneys had claimed he was intellectually disabled and has had a lifelong history of psychiatric disorders.

As of late Monday, there had been no appeals filed seeking to stop his execution, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.

Gary Green is facing execution for fatally stabbing his estranged wife and drowning her 7-year-old daughter in a bathtub in September 2009

'These impairments likely rendered (Green) unable to form the requisite intent to commit capital murder,' Green's attorneys wrote in 2018.

Those appeals were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower appeals courts.

The high court has prohibited the death penalty for the intellectually disabled, but not for people with serious mental illness.

The girl's father, Ray Montgomery, said he is not cheering for Green's execution but sees it as the justice system at work.

'It's justice for the way my daughter was tortured. It's justice for the way that Lovetta was murdered,' Montgomery said.

Authorities said Green killed the two after Armstead sought to annul their marriage.

On the day of the killings, Armstead had written two letters to Green, telling him that although she loved him, she had 'to do whats best for me.'

In his own letter, which was angry and rambling, Green expressed the belief that Armstead and her children were involved in a plot against him.

'You asked to see the monster so here he is the monster you made me ... They will be 5 lives taken today me being the 5th,' Green wrote.

Armstead was stabbed more than two dozen times while Green drowned Jazzman in the home's bathtub.

Authorities said Green also intended to kill Armstead's two other children, then 9 and 12. Green stabbed the younger boy but both survived.

'Told (Green) because we're too little to die and we won't tell anybody about it,' the 9-year-old told jurors in testimony about how he convinced Green to spare their lives.

Josh Healy, one of the prosecutors with the Dallas County District Attorney's Office that convicted Green, said the boys were incredibly brave.

Lovetta Armstead, 32, (left) was stabbed to death, and her daughter, Jazzman Montgomery, (right) was drowned in the bathtub at their home in Dallas in 2009

Green 'was an evil guy. It was one of the worst cases I've ever been a part of,' said Healy, who is now a defense attorney in Dallas.

Montgomery said he still has a close relationship with Armstead's two sons. He said both lead productive lives and one has a daughter who looks like Jazzman.

'They still suffer a lot I think,' said Montgomery, who is a special education English teacher.

Montgomery, who is a deacon at his church in Dallas, said he's continued to live his life like his daughter is still here, including throwing her a party every birthday. He also had a high school graduation party for her, including a parade at her gravesite and a backyard barbecue with family.

'That was my way of dealing with it, to make it feel like she's still here. I prayed over her grave one day and I told her I would never let her name die down,' Montgomery said.

Green's execution is the first of two scheduled in Texas this week. Another inmate, Arthur Brown Jr., is set to be executed Thursday.

He would be the fourth inmate in Texas and the eighth in the U.S. put to death this year.

Green is one of six Texas death row inmates who are part of a lawsuit seeking to stop the state's prison system from using what they allege are expired and unsafe execution drugs.

Despite a civil court judge in Austin preliminarily agreeing with the claims, three of the inmates have been executed this year.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the opening of the 67th session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women at the UN headquarters in New York, March 6. Xinhua-Yonhap



Global progress on women's rights is "vanishing before our eyes," U.N. boss Antonio Guterres warned Monday, saying the increasingly distant goal of gender equality will take another three centuries to achieve.



"Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, U.N. Women puts it 300 years away," the United Nations secretary-general said in a General Assembly speech ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, as he launched two weeks of discussions led by the Commission on the Status of Women.



"Women's rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world," he added, as he ticked off a litany of crises: maternal mortality, girls ousted from school, caregivers denied work and children forced into early marriage.



"Progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes," Guterres said.



He highlighted the particularly dire conditions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where "women and girls have been erased from public life."



He did not name other specific countries, but Guterres stressed that "in many places, women's sexual and reproductive rights are being rolled back (and) in some countries, girls going to school risk kidnapping and assault."



Also left unmentioned was Iran, which was expelled late last year from the Commission on the Status of Women due to the country's repression of a female-led revolt since last September.



The Islamic Republic was ousted from the commission on Dec. 14 by a U.S.-led vote of the U.N. Economic and Social Council, or ECOSOC.





A member of Women of the Wall, left, is heckled by Jewish teens during Rosh Hodesh prayers marking the new month at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wednesday, Feb. 22. AP-Yonhap
Five women are suing the state of Texas after being denied abortions despite risks to their lives and their unborn children, as doctors claim they fear repercussions even in the rare circumstances they are legally allowed to terminate pregnancies.

Texas, like most states since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allows exceptions when a physician determines there is a risk of 'substantial' harm to the mother or in cases of rape, incest or if the fetus has a fatal diagnosis

Two of the women recently impacted plan to tell their stories on the steps of the Texas Capitol hoping their harrowing experiences will strengthen the 'catastrophic harms' they faced, the New York Times reported.

Of the women bringing the suit, some are married, already with children, and all made the difficult choice to terminate because of risks to their lives.

The suit claims that the women risked hemorrhage or life-threatening infection and some doctors refused to suggest options or forward medical records to other providers.

Five women have sued the state of Texas after being denied abortions despite risks to their lives and their unborn children. Amanda Zurawski is one plaintiff (pictured)

The suit does not intend to overturn the abortion laws but instead confirm that Texas law allows physicians to offer abortions when necessary and 'where the pregnancy is unlikely to result in the birth of a living child with sustained life'

Amanda Zurawski was told she was not 'sick enough' to receive an abortion, became septic twice, and was left with one fallopian tube that has permanently closed when denied medical intervention.

'You don't think you're somebody who's going to need an abortion, let alone an abortion to save my life,' Zurawski, 35, said to the outlet.

'If anybody reads my story, I don't care where they are on the political spectrum, very few people would agree there is anything pro-life about this.'

Zurawski became pregnant in early 2022 after 18 months of fertility treatments.

In her 17th week of pregnancy a scan found that her cervical membranes had begun to prolapse, with specialists telling her that her fetus would not survive.

Doctors said they could only perform an abortion if she became 'acutely ill' or the heartbeat of her unborn child stopped.

Zurawski's waters broke but she did not go into labor. Without amniotic fluid, the fetus would die but it still had a heartbeat, so she was sent home.

She and her husband considered driving to Mexico but were told to stay within 20-minutes of the hospital in case she went into labor, and she feared prosecution.

Zurawski's health quickly deteriorated but it wasn't until she had to be rushed to emergency room with a blood infection that doctors finally induced delivery.

She developed a secondary infection and was given a blood transfusion to stabilize her.

'Every ultrasound is going to be terrifying, not just scary, but traumatic,' she said.

'Last time I heard a heartbeat inside of me, I was wishing for it to stop.'

Lauren Miller, 35, another plaintiff, had to sneak out of the state to Colorado for an abortion.

Miller was taken to hospital with severe nausea and vomiting and discovered she'd been carrying twins at six weeks.

At 12 weeks the expecting mother found out that one of her unborn children had a genetic defect called Trisomy 18 including a malformed brain and incomplete abdominal wall and heart.

A specialist told her that she needed to seek an abortion out of state to save her own life and the life of the other twin.

Zurawski became pregnant in early 2022 after 18 months of fertility treatments. Her health quickly deteriorated but it wasn't until she had to be rushed to emergency room with a blood infection that doctors finally induced delivery

Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, is a defendant in the lawsuit along with the state medical board and its director  last year they sued the Biden administration over guidance to provide abortions if necessary

'The feeling of packing was almost like we were fleeing Texas, which was such a strange feeling,' she said.

'I'm from Texas, I have generations of Texans, here we're fleeing Texas.'

Laruen Hall was 18 weeks pregnant when it was revealed her fetus had no skull and an undeveloped brain. She was also urged to leave the state to seek an abortion.

Hall, 28, said many of her relatives and neighbors considered themselves 'pro-life' and that if a fetus had a fatal condition, it was a 'loophole' for people seeking an abortion.

'A lot of them are in support of this ban, but they don't understand the scale of it,' she said.

'They had this very narrow idea of what somebody who seeks an abortion looks like. They think it's somebody who's loose, who doesn't want to take birth control.'

Anti-abortion groups have argued that restrictions on abortions should not harm women's health and the laws prevent only what these groups call 'elective' abortions which are intended to end unwanted pregnancy.

Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, is a defendant in the lawsuit along with the state medical board and its director  last year they sued the Biden administration over guidance to provide abortions if necessary.

'We're not going to allow left-wing bureaucrats in Washington to transform our hospitals and emergency rooms into walk-in abortion clinics,' Paxton said at the time.

A memo sent to the outlet from Paxton's office said that abortions will not be performed unless there is a 'life threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy.'

'Now that the Supreme Court has finally overturned Roe, I will do everything in my power to protect mothers, families, and unborn children, and to uphold the state laws duly enacted by the Texas Legislature.'

The suit does not intend to overturn the abortion laws but instead confirm that Texas law allows physicians to offer abortions when necessary and 'where the pregnancy is unlikely to result in the birth of a living child with sustained life.'

The women have not sued the medical practitioners that denied them medical intervention as they say many were doing the best they could under the circumstances.

Medication-induced abortion has been a lifeline for women in blue states and even red states since the Supreme Court eliminated the federal guarantee to an abortion

The Texas Medical Association has also asked for more clarity and the lawsuit claims that the five women 'represent only the tip of the iceberg' and 'millions' from across the country have been denied 'dignified treatment as equal human beings.'

Most abortions are now banned in 13 states as laws restricting the procedure take effect following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Georgia also bans abortion at about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

In many states, the fight over abortion access is still taking place in courtrooms, where advocates have sued to block enforcement of laws that restrict the procedure. Other states have moved to expand access to abortion by adding legal protections.

The nation's second-largest retail pharmacy just last week will not sell the abortion-inducing medication mifepristone - even in states where abortion is still legal.

It comes amid growing pressure from anti-abortion policy-makers and activists not to carry the drug. Mifepristone makes up half of the combination used to induce a medication abortion.

Walgreens responded to a letter sent last month by nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general threatening legal action against the company if it stocked the medications.

The chain said it would not dispense abortion pills either by mail or at brick-and-mortar stores in those states. In some of the affected states, such as Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana, using the pills for abortion is still legal.
The Philippines has accused China of 'harassment' after a Chinese navy ship and dozens of militia vessels surrounded a contested Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea, as territorial tensions mount in the area.

The Coast Guard said 42 vessels, believed to be crewed by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen 'loitering' in the vicinity of Thitu island on Saturday, while a Chinese navy vessel and coast guard ship were observed 'slowly loitering' in the surrounding waters.

Thitu in the Spratly island chain is Manila's biggest and most strategically important outpost in the South China Sea, a body of water largely claimed by Beijing where several countries have conflicting territorial claims.

Tensions between the Philippines and China over claims to the South China Sea have intensified in recent weeks after Washington and Manila announced plans to expand America's military presence in the Southeast Asian nation.

And China has now responded by sending 42 Chinese militia vessels, including a Navy ship and a Coast Guard vessel, to Thitu island in a move that the Philippines has slammed as 'harassment'. Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, said the vessels were still in the area on Monday, adding 'this is a form of harassment'.

The Philippines has accused China of 'harassment' after a Chinese navy ship and dozens of Chinese maritime militia vessels (CMMVs) (pictured) surrounded a contested Philippine-occupied in the South China Sea, as territorial tensions mount in the area

The Philippines Coast Guard said a Chinese navy vessel and a coast guard ship (pictured) were observed 'slowly loitering' in the surrounding waters

The Coast Guard said 42 vessels, believed to be crewed by Chinese maritime militia personnel, were seen 'loitering' in the vicinity of Thitu island (pictured)

China claims nearly all the oil and resource-rich waters of the South China Sea and has ignored counter-claims from the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia

Experts say China's fishing fleet and coast guard are central to its strategic ambitions in the South China Sea, maintaining a constant presence that complicates fishing and offshore energy activities by other coastal states.

'Their continuing unauthorised presence is clearly inconsistent with the right of innocent passage and a blatant violation of the Philippines' territorial integrity,' the coast guard said in a statement.

Locally known as Pag-asa, Thitu lies about 300 miles west of the western Philippine province of Palawan. Home to over 400 people, including military and law enforcement personnel, the island is used by Manila to maintain its territorial claim.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said two weeks ago the Philippines 'will not lose an inch' of territory as the Southeast Asian protested China's 'aggressive activities' in the sea.

Marcos last month summoned the Chinese ambassador to complain about the intensity and frequency of China's actions in the South China Sea.

Indeed, the Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser.

Manila said the laser temporarily blinded some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea, calling it a 'blatant' violation of Manila's sovereign rights.

The Chinese ship also manoeuvred dangerously close, about 450 feet, to block the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that has been occupied by Philippine forces, on Feb. 6, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.

The Philippines has filed 77 complaints against China's activities in the sea, including a claim that a Chinese coast guard ship on Feb. 6 directed a "military-grade laser" at one a Philippine coast guard ship on a supply mission.

China claims sovereignty over the Spratlys, while Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have competing claims for some or all of the islands.

The Philippines has accused China of 'harassment' after a Chinese navy ship and dozens of militia vessels surrounded a contested Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea. Pictured: A file image of a Chinese navy ship

A file image of a Chinese coast guard vessel in the South China sea

Locally known as Pag-asa, Thitu island (pictured) lies about 300 miles west of the western Philippine province of Palawan

Thitu in the Spratly island chain is Manila's biggest and most strategically important outpost in the South China Sea, a body of water largely claimed by Beijing where several countries have conflicting territorial claims

The Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser on February 6. Pictured: An image released by the Philippine coast guard showing a green light light coming from the Chinese vessel

And much to China's fury, the US and the Philippines announced that rotating batches of American forces would be granted access to four more Philippine military camps aside from five other local bases.

READ MORE: China could invade Taiwan by 2026 sparking a war that would drag in Australia and see missile attacks on the country, experts say Advertisement

Manila-based political scientist Andrea Chloe Wong said the location of the Philippine camps would give the U.S. military the presence it would need to be a strong deterrent against Chinese aggression in the South China Sea.

Tensions have also been growing in recent months and years over China's plans to launch an invasion of Taiwan - which it sees as its own - in the coming years. The US has said its forced would defend the island in the event of an invasion.

China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang today warned that China and America are heading for a 'catastrophic' conflict if Washington 'continues to speed down the wrong path'.

Qin Gang lashed out at the US over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan, while praising Beijing's growing ties to Moscow which he said 'set an example for global foreign relations'.

He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit, amid reports that China is considering sending arms to Russia to help with Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion.

In his wide-ranging press conference, he dismissed warnings from Western countries that China may supply Russia with arms, saying it would not accept 'blame-shifting, sanctions, suppression and threats' targeting Beijing.

His comments came as President Xi Jinping condemned what he branded an American-led 'suppression of China', as he urged the country's private sector to boost innovation and become more self-reliant.

'Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, blockade and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation's development,' Xi was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency.

In the face of that, China must 'remain calm, maintain concentration, strive for progress while maintaining stability, take active actions, unite as one, and dare to fight,' he said.

U.S. officials have grown increasingly worried about China's expansive political and economic goals and the possibility of war over Taiwan - and many officials in Washington have called for the U.S. to make a bigger effort to counter Chinese influence abroad.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (pictured) lashed out Tuesday at the US over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan. He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit

In recent weeks, concerns about Chinese spying on the U.S. and Beijing's influence campaigns there have drawn particular concern, and officials from the two countries have frequently traded accusations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing after Washington shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over American territory. The massive balloon and its payload, including electronics and optics, have been recovered from the ocean floor and are being analyzed by the FBI.

Then last week, China responded with indignation when U.S. officials raised the issue again of whether the COVID-19 pandemic began with a lab leak. The Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of 'politicizing the issue' in an attempt to discredit China.

And the two countries have traded angry words over Taiwan as China has stepped up its diplomatic isolation and military harassment of the self-governing island democracy that it claims as its own territory.

Qin - who briefly served as ambassador to Washington and gained a reputation for his cutting condemnations of China's critics when he was Foreign Ministry spokesman - touched on all these topics on Tuesday.

He criticized Washington for shooting down the balloon, repeating claims that its appearance in U.S. skies was an accident.

'In this case the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge,' Qin said. 'This is like the first button in a shirt being put wrong and the result is that the U.S.-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track.'

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Tuesday, March 7

On Taiwan, Qin called the issue the first red line that must not be crossed. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. While the U.S. does not advocate for either unification or Taiwan's formal independence, Washington is obligated by federal law to see that the island has the means to defend itself if attacked.

'The U.S. has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question,' he said, accusing the U.S. of 'disrespecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity,' by offering the island political backing and furnishing it with defensive weapons in response to Beijing's threat to use force to bring it under Chinese control.

'Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?' Qin asked.

In Taipei, Taiwan's Defense Minister said the armed forces weren't seeking outright conflict with China's military, but nor would they back away in the event of Chinese aircraft or ships entering Taiwanese coastal seas or airspace.

'It is the nation's armed forces' duty to mount an appropriate response,' Chiu Kuo-cheng told legislators.

Beijing has also accused the West of 'fanning the flames' by providing Ukraine with weaponry to fend off the Russian invasion. China says it has a neutral stance in the war, but has also said it has a 'no-limits friendship' with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow's invasion - or even refer to it as an invasion.

A Chinese call for a cease-fire in Ukraine that has drawn praise from Russia but dismissals from the West has done nothing to lessen tensions as U.S. officials have repeatedly accused China of considering providing weapons to Moscow for use in the war.

'Efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda,' Qin said.

Qin's news conference came two days after the opening of the yearly meeting of the National People's Congress, a mostly ceremonial body assembled to approve government reports and, this year, a new slate of top-level appointments. That is expected to include a norm-breaking third five-year term as president for Xi, who has eliminated all term limits to allow him to rule indefinitely.
A teacher who feared for his life after showing pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed during an RE lesson has been given a new identity but still remains in hiding almost two years later, MailOnline can reveal.

The teacher, who is in his late 20s, showed the controversial image to children at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire in March 2021, sparking days of heated protests by parents and activists at the school gates.

He was immediately forced to flee his housing association home in Batley with his partner and four young children and since then has been living in a secret location outside the Yorkshire area. He has also been provided with a new identity.

A teacher who feared for his life after showing pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed during an RE lesson has been given a new identity but still remains in hiding almost two years later. Pictured: Protesters outside Batley Grammar School in March 2021

The teacher, who is in his late 20s, showed the controversial image to children at Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire in March 2021. Protesters are pictured outside the school

A family source told MailOnline: Hes living far away from the Batley area and has been given a new identity. Hes slowly trying to rebuild his life, but its not been easy.

The whole family has gone through a very difficult time. He got into a lot of trouble for what happened, and it could have cost him his life. Its better that hes out of this area and the less people know, the better.

The family source refused to reveal if the teacher, who was head of RE at Batley Grammar, remains in the teaching profession.

Yunus Lunat, a prominent local lawyer who acted as spokesman for Muslim parents at the time of the incident, said: The teacher is leading a new life under another identity somewhere far from here. But even if he was to come back to Batley, I can assure you that his life would not be in danger.

Weve all moved on, everything is calm and has been settled after the initial furore. Its a shame that the teacher concerned did not have the confidence to allow a mediated return to work. That is what the community wanted to achieve but that got drowned out by the media and political frenzy.

Showing images of the Prophet Mohammed is strictly forbidden in Islam.

What further incensed many Muslim parents and pupils was that the image shown in the class was taken from the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which was targeted in a 2015 deadly mass shooting after publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

A former neighbour of the teacher in Batley said: He was a wonderful, caring man and they were a lovely family. We miss them a lot because they were a big part of this community.

He used to send all of his Muslim neighbours Eid cards and would celebrate the festival with us. Thats what makes this so said because he was very considerate towards our culture and faith. There is no way he would have deliberately wanted to offend Muslims.

The neighbour revealed that since the incident she has been unable to speak to the teacher or his partner because their mobile numbers have changed and they are no longer on social media.

He was immediately forced to flee his housing association home in Batley with his partner and four young children and since then has been living in a secret location outside the Yorkshire area and provided with a new identity. Pictured: Batley Grammar School

The family source refused to reveal if the teacher, who was head of RE at Batley Grammar, remains in the teaching profession. Pictured: People gather outside the gates of Batley Grammar School in March 2021

After initially showing the cartoon in class, the teacher was suspended from his job. But in May 2021 he was cleared following an independent external investigation into whether he caused deliberate offence. He was told he could have his job back.

Dr Yasmin Zia, a governor at Batley Grammar School said: He didnt want to come back and is no longer at the school. We dont have any contact with him, dont know where he is but from our understanding, he is living under another name somewhere in the UK.

Representatives of the Muslim community in Batley insisted that the matter had been resolved but they could understand the teachers motives for leaving the area and acquiring a new identity.

Akooji Baadat, an official from Batleys Snowdon Street Mosque, said: Both sides have learnt lessons from this painful incident. The community has forgiven this teacher, weve got nothing against him, and he has nothing to worry about if he was to return to Batley.

But when something like this happens theres always a danger of retaliation. Things have cooled down, weve all moved on and the teacher does not need to live in fear, but you can never tell.

Memories of the Batley incident have been revived recently in the area after it emerged last week that four boys at a school in nearby Wakefield were suspended for accidentally dropping a copy of the Quran.

West Yorkshire police recorded a 'hate incident' at Kettlethorpe High School after pupils caused 'slight damage' to a copy of the Quran when it fell on the floor.

A boy, who is 14 and autistic, was told by friends to bring in a copy of the holy book as a forfeit for losing at the video game Call Of Duty.

Officers investigating the incident found there had been only 'minor damage' to the Quran during the prank and that no crime had been committed. It was recorded as a 'non-crime hate incident', a designation the police use to record incidents that dont meet the criminal threshold.

False rumours that the Quran had been burnt or destroyed prompted concern among Muslim parents and community leaders, who discussed the incident with police and the headmaster at a hastily arranged meeting at the local mosque.

In a video shared widely on social media, the mother of the 14-year-old was filmed apologising to members of the local community for the damage as she revealed he has been left 'petrified' by death threats.

She said: 'He didn't have any malicious intent, but he's a very, very silly 14-year-old boy.'
More than half of Americans now say Covid-19 was created in a lab, making it by far the most widely accepted account of how the deadly pathogen came about in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

A Tipp Insights poll provided exclusively to DailyMail.com shows that 52 percent of US adults subscribe to the 'lab leak' theory, while only small shares of respondents said the virus came about naturally or from animals.

The popularity of the lab leak theory rose from about 44 percent last year, and crossed the half-way mark in recent days after the FBI and the Energy Department released bombshell conclusions that a lab was the most likely origin.

Of those who tout the lab leak theory, most of them  54 percent  say Covid-19 was released into the population deliberately, while only 31 percent say the pathogen escaped by accident.

The survey of 1,370 US adults this month found that respondents were split along party lines. Republican voters (68 percent) were more likely than Democrats (40 percent) to support the lab leak theory.

A Tipp Insights poll provided exclusively to DailyMail.com shows that 52 percent of US adults subscribe to the 'lab leak' theory, while only small shares of the population say the virus came about naturally or from animals

Growing numbers of Americans now say the pandemic leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, claims fiercely rejected by Beijing

The shift shows a remarkable turnaround for an account that was once the preserve of conspiracy theorists, who raised questions about US funding flows to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Former president Donald Trump famously said he was confident that the 'Wuhan virus' originated in a Chinese lab, even though some naysayers at the time dismissed his claims as racist.

The theory gained greater respectability earlier this month, when FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed the agency's conclusion that the Covid-19 pandemic was probably the result of a lab leak in Wuhan, China.

Wray reiterated his agency's initial findings from 2021, that it had 'moderate confidence' that the pandemic was a result of an accidental leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

China denounced Wray's comments as having 'no credibility whatsoever.' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters that the US should 'respect science and facts.'

Wray's comments and the new polling come as the White House continues to struggle to reach a 'consensus' on the origin of the virus despite an Energy Department probe reaching the same conclusion as the FBI.

The department, which maintains a group of national labs, late last month joined the FBI in touting the possible lab leak theory  saying it reached that conclusion with 'low confidence' as other agencies disagreed.

The Energy Department's report revealed it reversed its previous position and has used new research to conclude that the Covid-19 virus most likely leaked from a Chinese research lab.

The new conclusion was issued in an update to a 2021 document prepared by the director of National Intelligence and was recently provided to White House lawmakers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

While the Energy Department joined the FBI in saying the virus likely spread from a lab in Wuhan, four other agencies are still said to favor the 'natural spillover' theory that the virus escaped via an animal at a nearby meat market.

Two agencies, one of which is the CIA, are yet to declare a definitive position.

The popularity of the lab leak theory rose from about 44 percent last year, and crossed the half-way mark in recent days after the FBI and the Energy Department released bombshell conclusions that a lab was the most likely origin

Of those who tout the lab leak theory, most of them  54 percent  say Covid-19 was released into the population deliberately, while only 31 percent say the pathogen escaped by accident

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning blasted what she termed 'politicization' of theories on the origins of COVID-19, after an Energy Department analysis that pointed to possibility of a leak from the Wuhan lab

Virologist Shi Zheng-li - nicknamed the 'Bat Lady' - is pictured in the lab. She hunted down dozens of deadly COVID-like viruses in bat caves and studied them at the WIV

One of the competing narratives is that the disease spread through contact between humans and animals at a wet market, like this one in Wuhan, Hubei province, China

The Energy Department's change of tune is important because the agency is known for its expertise as it oversees various US laboratories, some of which carry out biological research.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, who had publicly rejected the lab leak theory, following the turnaround in the Energy Department.

With the mixed conclusions coming from US agencies, the White House on Monday was forced to acknowledge the lack of a consensus.

'There is not a consensus right now in the US government about exactly how it started. There's just not an intelligence community consensus,' said national security spokesman Adm. John Kirby.

Kirby got hit with a series of questions about the report, which pointed to the lab leak as a likely source  even as other agencies attributed the pandemic to a virus that mutated in the environment.

Kirby pointed to that lack of agreement, even as the White House defended infectious disease expert Dr. Fauci 's blasts against conspiracy theories and refused to say how the US might act against China if the lab leak theory was proven.
Talks between Sir Keir Starmer and top civil servant Sue Gray about becoming Labour's chief of staff took place over 'several months', shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged today.

The senior Cabinet Office official, who authored the Partygate report on Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, has caused a political storm with her plan to quit Whitehall and join Sir Keir's team.

Labour has come under pressure to publish all its communications with Ms Gray ahead of her appointment to the top party role, with Sir Keir having repeatedly refused to reveal when he first approached her to work for him.

But while Ms Reeves today admitted the recruitment process for a new chief of staff took place over a prolonged period, she insisted no conversations were held between Sir Keir and Ms Gray while she was completing her Partygate inquiry.

Ex-prime minister Boris Johnson and his allies have seized on Ms Gray's appointment by Labour to allege the probe into pandemic rule breaches during his time in No10 was an attempt to smear him.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves admitted the recruitment process for Labour's new chief of staff took place over 'several months'

Sue Gray, who authored the Partygate report on Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, has caused a political storm with her plan to quit Whitehall and join Sir Keir Starmer's team

The Labour leader has repeatedly refused to reveal when he first approached Ms Gray to work for him

Other Tory MPs have also expressed fears about Ms Gray's impartiality - and civil service independence - now that she has appeared to make her political leanings known.

Ministers have suggested Ms Gray could even have breached civil service rules with her 'unprecedented' move.

Taking questions after giving a speech at the Make UK conference in Westminster, Ms Reeves defended Labour's appointment of Ms Gray.

'First of all, I'm not going to make any apologies for Keir wanting to get the best possible person for the job,' the shadow chancellor said.

'Keir wanted a senior civil servant to help us as we hope to transition to government,' she said.

'There is no-one better to do that, with all of her experience, than Sue Gray.

'The crucial thing is that there were no conversations between Keir Starmer and Sue Gray while she was doing her inquiry into all the parties that happened at Downing Street during the pandemic.

'That is really important. We have been looking now for a chief of staff for several months and Keir has been having conversations with a number of people, including Sue Gray, during that time period.'

Ms Reeves added there had been conversations between Labour and the Cabinet Office before Ms Gray was appointed.

'Of course there are conversations between the Opposition party and the Cabinet Office as part of our day-to-day work as an Opposition party,' she said.

'But the discussions about chief of staff didn't start until we were looking for a chief of staff, which was after Sue Gray did her report into what happened at Downing Street during the pandemic with the parties.'

Former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, an arch-loyalist of Mr Johnson, yesterday told the House of Commons that Ms Gray's plans to join Labour 'smash to pieces the idea of an independent civil service'.

He accused the senior civil servant of 'conniving in secret meetings' with Sir Keir's party and questioned whether this would 'devalue' her years of work in Whitehall and her Partygate probe into Mr Johnson.
The King and Queen Consort were met with a mix of boos and cheers as they visited Colchester today and were accosted by anti-monarch protesters including conspiracy theorist Piers Corbyn.

Crowds of well-wishers had gathered to greet the monarch, who had travelled to Colchester, Essex, to mark its newly awarded city status.

But among them were anti-monarch protesters who waved 'Not My King' banners and shouted at the Royal to 'come over and talk to your critics'.

The protest is the latest to be organised by anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, who have vowed to hold a series of protests in the run up to and on the Coronation.

Last month, there were similar protesters in Milton Keynes as King Charles visited, with around 20 protesters waving signs and booing.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at Colchester Castle to mark its recently awarded city status

Piers Corbyn was among anti-monarchy protesters who had gathered to greet the King in Colchester, Essex

Videos show enthusiastic crowds cheering the King as he arrived at the city's Church of Christ the Cornerstone, with a few boos and jeers from the activists.

Speaking for Republic, Graham Smith, said that the group is 'determined to get the message across that it's ok to protest against the royals.'

'Increasingly people are either losing interest in the royals or turning against them. Instead of a pointless, expensive, coronation we need a serious public debate."

'We believe the British public should be asked, do you want Charles or a choice? The tide is starting to turn against the monarchy and we need a serious debate about its future.'

Republic is planning on protesting the King's visit to York on April 6 and at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey later this month.

The King and Queen Consort ignored jeers as they arrived at Colchester library to a small group of demonstrators who brandished anti-World Economic Forum placards and a megaphone, which royal fans attempted to drown out with cheers.

They were at the library to take afternoon tea with Age UK volunteers and service users and to learn about the Essex Year of Reading.

As His Majesty went upstairs to chat to charity staff, Camilla, wearing a cream silk Fiona Clare dress and matching coat with a fur-trimmed hat, was greeted by television presenter and author Dermot OLeary, along with fellow childrens writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

Very nice to see you, she said as she shook their hands.

She was also introduced to three local actors dresses as characters from Alice in Wonderland, who treated local schoolchildren from Braiswick Primary School to a reading, helped by schoolgirl Fatima Jallow.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla greeting some schoolchildren outside Colchester Castle

Anti-monarchy protesters were also part of the crowds that had gathered to greet the King in Colchester, Essex

Maddie Earl, the schoolgirl winner of the Esssex Year of reading writing competition, also read out her winning entry and was congratulated by the royal.

She told the children that reading was the greatest gift you can give.

Before joining her husband upstairs she was given her own library card. Oh thank you very much indeed. I shall have to come back and see what I can find. Next time!

In a room upstairs her husband, King Charles, was moving from table to table to chatting to clients helped by Age UK and The Silver Line, a 24-hour helpline especially for older people. The King became patron of Age UK in 2010 and his wife patron of The Silver Line in 2017.

King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla cut a cake during an afternoon tea with volunteers at Age UK at Colchester Library

Some anti-monarchy protesters held 'Not My King' signs as crowds gathered to welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla

He described the work of the volunteers as being inspirational. What you do is so marvellous, he said. Thank you so much for everything you do. It is fantastic.

At one table he asked a group of volunteers: Are you all involved in this befriending initiative [where volunteers offer to call an elderly person each week to check in and chat]. It can get quite busy then? Can you fit this in with everything else you do? Do you have to pass a test to be qualified? And get refresher courses? 

He added: Are they grateful? 

When he was an enthusiastic yes, he chucked and declared: Im so glad!

He then eagerly eyed-up their scones, jam and cream and teased them about the right way to eat them - tactfully refusing to say whether he thought it should be jam or cream first.

These things are fatal! he said.

He was then joined by his wife who asked another volunteer: How did they get you involved then? What you do is absolutely so important. You become their friend. Thats what you do. 

The royal visitors then cut a cake to mark their visit holding the knife together and giggling.

Outside there was a vocal battle between the small but loud group of protestors and many of the well-wishers who had waited patiently for a glimpse of the monarch and his wife.

Linda Cameron, 45, from Colchester said: There were only a few of them but they had a megaphone and were trying to make as much noise as possible. They came to try and make a point but people were doing everything they could to drown them out. It was lovely to catch a glimpse of the royals. 

Asked whether she thought the King was doing a good job, she said: Its early days but I think so and he has a very good role model in the late Queen.

King Charles III speaking to members of the public in Colchester, Essex, today

A group of anti-monarchy protesters were among the members of the public who had turned out to greet the royal couple in Colchester, Essex

Wendy Connelly, 70, added: I think he has done a wonderful job of going out and meeting so many people. It was fantastic that they made the effort to come here. We were very pleased to see them and just tried to ignore those guys over there.

One of the placard-waving protestors was climate change denier and anti-vaccines activist Piers Cobys, brother of ex-Labour leader Jeremy.

He said he wanted to protest against the Terra Carta - a charter of green initiatives devised by Charles when he was Prince of Wales.

'He signed this document called the Terra Carta which comes from the World Economic Forum. Its green gobbledygook. It negate the independence of every country, particularly Britain. He should be adhering to the Magna Carta

Queen Consort Camilla spoke to a child as she and King Charles visited Colchester, Essex

An anti-monarchy campaigner held up a yellow sign with the words 'Not my King' emblazoned on it

'I am against all the green nonsense he spouts. Im here against all the green nonsense he spouts.

'Im here about the political stance he has taken. I am not really a monarchist, no, but thats not the issue here. Its against his political stance, his connections with the World Economic Forum and the crazy green agenda coming out of it.

Hes going along with the World Economic Forum policies which have brought us the injection programmes and all those other things happening now.

I did meet the Queen when I was student president of Imperial College London a long time ago. She was very well informed and communicative. It was good to talk to her actually, I had to entertain her for tea. But I dont think Prince Charles is communicative.
The rabbi accused of raping his adoptive sons was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of attacking another boy but was released on bond and allowed to return home where 'the abuse continued' for four years until his arrest last month.

Hayim Nissim Cohen - whose real name is Jeffrey Lujan Vejil - is now in custody on suspicion of raping at least six of his nine adoptive sons. The obese 38-year-old is also accused of faking his Jewish heritage and chronic illness.

Cohen was taken into custody after one of his adoptive sons, 18, called a podcast begging for help. Since then, two other boys have told police that he abused them.

Six of his children who are still minors have now been taken into foster care. They are nine, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

It remains unclear which adoption agency he used, how he was vetted, or why he was able to adopt so many boys.

Cohen, 38, is now being held in custody. He is yet to formally respond to the allegations

Cohen with eight of his nine sons. He is accused of sexually abusing at least eight of them

Court records obtained by DailyMail.com detail what the Spanish exchange student told police about Cohen in 2019

It is not the first time he has been arrested for attacking a child; in 2019, a Spanish exchange student who was living in his home told police that he attacked him too.

He was charged with sexual indecency but was granted bond and was allowed home to the nine boys who now say he abused them.

Court records obtained by DailyMail.com detail what the boy told police.

'When in trouble, [Cohen] would tell the [boy] that he need to make him happy. He would touch Cohen's chest and stomach area and noticed him to get aroused while making noises.

Prosecutor Jana Oswald from the Harris County District Attorney's Office admitted last week after his arrest on the new charges: 'All of us knew there was something going on, but we weren't able to prove it'

'He explained that [Cohen] wanted him to get an erection, but he would not be turned on. He would ask him for a hug so he could put his hands on him.

'He stated it happened in Cohen's bedroom and they were both in bed.

'He stated he would touch him and would ask him if he liked it.

'[Cohen] grabbed his hand and placed it on his penis.

'He explained that he began to masturbate the defendant, and that it happened while everyone was asleep,' a charging document from April 2019 reads.

Cohen was arrested and charged but was released from bond and allowed to return home on bond, where he then allegedly continued to abuse his sons.

Prosecutor Jana Oswald from the Harris County District Attorney's Office admitted last week after his arrest on the new charges: 'All of us knew there was something going on, but we weren't able to prove it.'

When questioned on why he was released, a spokesman for the DA's office told DailyMail.com: 'Theres generally a pretty high bar for a defendant to be held without bond, which is a constitutionally protected right in most circumstances.

'While prosecutors may make recommendations regarding bail, judges set it.'

Child Protective Services declined to give details on how many times it had been called to Cohen's home, citing ongoing police investigations.

'Rabbi' Hayim Nissm Cohen, 38, is accused of sexually abusing six of his nine adoptive sons. He was on bond for a 2019 allegation involving another boy when he was arrested last month

The boys also told police he is faking an illness that he claims requires a wheelchair and oxygen tank

The family home in Houston, Texas. It's unclear why Cohen was allowed to return home in 2019

It's unclear why the children were not removed from Cohen's care after the 2019 incident was first reported.

CPS in Texas also investigated him, but the boys say they were instructed by Cohen to lie. Cohen turned the family's life into a money-making, social media phenomenon.

He set up a Cash App account where strangers could donate to their family, and also advertised Amazon wish lists.

In disturbing videos, he talked of being misjudged and discriminated against by strangers.

'There isn't a week that goes by that our family doesn't receive some kind of discrimination. So many have a disregard or simply a misunderstanding of others' beliefs are.

'We must remember the importance of having empathy for all humanity irregardless (sic) of beliefs.

'Wishing you peace and blessings,' he said.

It remains unclear how he was able to adopt the children.

The case unraveled on January 30, when one of the children called into the Blind Skinned Beauty to report being abused.

The podcaster called police, who in turn contacted CPS, and the boy was tracked down.

The 18-year-old told police the abuse began three weeks after Cohen adopted him in 2016.

It began with Cohen forcing the children to massage his feet, he said, then he claims they were forced to perform sex acts on him and on each other. He told police he was raped for the first time at aged 14.

The children also claimed that he is faking an illness that requires an oxygen tank and wheelchair.

In court, prosecutors said there was evidence to prove as much.

Cohen is said to have fabricated his Jewish heritage too, claiming to have grown up as a Hasidic Jew in New York, when records show he was born in Odessa, Texas.

Court records say he routinely used 'different names'.
The pilot behind the Miracle on the Hudson has warned that six close calls on runways this year are because of a lack of flying time during the pandemic.

Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger, who now works as an aviation safety expert, said the close calls at US airports 'are the canaries in the coal mine.'

'We've lost a lot of our flying and the recovery from Covid has been more rapid than many expected - so we've been caught short in many important ways and in staffing,' Sullenberger told the Today Show.

'The staffing issue would benefit from secure, multi-year funding so that we could anticipate ... we could recruit, hire and train air traffic controllers and maintenance technicians and others and get them in place before we need them and not be playing catch up.'

It comes after two United Airlines planes clipped wings on the runaway at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday - just one week after air traffic controllers were forced to intervene at the same airport when a JetBlue plane threatened to hit a departing private jet. Near misses are also under federal investigation at Austin, Burbank, JFK and Honolulu.

Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who now works as an aviation safety expert, said the close calls at US airports 'are the canaries in the coal mine'

BOSTON, MARCH 1: On Monday morning an airliner was being pushed backwards out of its bay when its right wing collided with the horizontal stabilizer at the rear of an adjacent plane. Pictured are the two aircraft in contact

AUSTIN, FEBRUARY 5: A FedEx cargo plane nearly crashed into a departing Southwest flight on February 4 at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas

Sullenberger said that the safety failings were a sign of complacency.

'We've become the victims of our own success, we must keep reminding ourselves on a literally daily basis that - even though air travel has become ultra safe and routine - what we're really doing is pushing a tube filled with people through the upper atmosphere seven or eight miles above the Earth at 80 percent of the speed of sound in a hostile environment with outside air temperatures to -70 and air pressure one quarter of that at the surface and we must return it safely every time,' he said.

He called on Congress to provide more funding to the FAA and for America's airport infrastructure so that 'we're not doing Band-Aids.'

He also said the FAA needed administrators who 'are confirmed and not a series of acting administrators.'

The FAA has been under acting leadership since April as the nation's aviation system has faced not just dangerous close calls, but severe travel delays and a meltdown of a pilot-alert system in January that brought the nation's airspace to a grinding halt.

Joe Biden tapped Phillip Washington, the chief executive of Denver International Airport, to lead the federal agency but critics say he is unqualified.

Washington has not been a commercial pilot, unlike predecessors including Steve Dickson, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in 2019, and current FAA acting administrator Billy Nolen.

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas last week slammed Washington during a meeting of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, claiming he was treating the FAA administrator's position as a 'patronage job'.

'He does not have any experience in aviation safety,' Cruz said. 'This is quite simply a position he is not qualified for.'

The committee is due to vote in the coming weeks.

JFK, JANUARY 13: There was panic at JFK in New York when a Delta jet was forced to abort its takeoff after a near miss with an American Airlines plane. An air traffic controller was heard exclaiming 'S**t!' as he spotted the American jet had crossed from an adjacent taxiway, ordering the other plane: 'Delta 1943 cancel takeoff clearance!'

It comes amid a spate of ongoing probes by the FAA into runway mishaps that are concerning passengers across the country.

Air traffic controllers were forced to halt a descending JetBlue flight that was threatening to smash into a departing private jet on February 27. The two aircraft came within 188 yards of each other, according to Flightradar24 data.

The week before that at Burbank airport in California a landing Mesa Airlines CRJ900 aborted landing because a SkyWest Embraer E175 was taking off from the same runway. It is not clear how close they came to a collision.

A Southwest plane and FedEx cargo jet came as close as 100 feet from a collision on February 5 at Austin airport. In shocking cockpit audio the FedEx pilot was heard radioing the other crew, telling them: 'Southwest abort, FedEx is on the go.'

On January 23, there was an incident at Hawaii's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport involving a United Airlines 777 jet and a smaller cargo jet. The United jet crossed the runway while the other plane was landing, separated by less than 400 yards.

On January 13, there was panic at JFK in New York when a Delta jet was forced to abort its takeoff after a near miss with an American Airlines plane.

An air traffic controller was heard exclaiming 'S**t!' as he spotted the American jet had crossed from an adjacent taxiway, ordering the other plane: 'Delta 1943 cancel takeoff clearance!'

Air traffic controllers 'noticed another aircraft crossing the runway in front of the departing jetliner,' the FAA said in a statement. 'According to a preliminary analysis, Delta Air Lines Flight 1943 stopped its takeoff roll approximately 1,000 feet before reaching the point where American Airlines Flight 106, a Boeing 777, had crossed from an adjacent taxiway.'
He rarely went anywhere without his camera, taking photos of the exotic scenes

William Leach arrived in the Far East in 1902 and stayed there for about 24 years

A remarkable collection of over 2,000 photos taken by a British traveller in early 20th century China have come to light.

Engineer William Leach, who was also a lay preacher, arrived in the Far East in 1902 and stayed there for 24 years, working in Shanghai where he used the city as a base to explore the vast country and neighbouring Korea, Japan and Mongolia.

William rarely went anywhere without his camera, taking photos of the exotic scenes and people going about their everyday lives.

His group were treated like celebrities, possibly as the locals had not encountered Westerners before, and one of them was asked to hold a Mongolian baby.

Photos of China show bustling street scenes and farmers working the land, as well as candid shots of the native population.

A remarkable collection of over 2,000 photos taken by British traveller William Leach in early 20th century China have come to light

The engineer and lay preacher he arrived in the Far East in 1902 and stayed there for 24 years, working in Shanghai where he used the city as a base to explore the vast country and neighbouring Korea, Japan and Mongolia

Another image shows one of the group looking onwards at cattle while they make their way along the busy road, while another shows bustling street scenes and locals working the land.

William returned to Britain in 1926 with a fascinating array of images, which he kept hold of until he died in 1962.

The archive has remained in his family for six decades and is now being sold by a descendant with Lay's Auctioneers, of Penzance, Cornwall.

They had been gathering dust in several boxes in an attic and had not been touched for decades.

The archive's breadth and quality has been described as 'astonishing' and the images could sell for tens of thousands of pounds.

Another image shows one of the group looking onwards at cattle while they make their way along the busy road, while another shows bustling street scenes and locals working the land.

Snapshots of early 1900s architecture in China showcases the traditional roofing on top of a large building at the centre of what looks like an alleyway.

An amusing sequence of photos shows his car stuck in a grassy ditch during his travels with a group of Western friends in remote Mongolia.

His vehicle was pulled free by bullocks and one of his friends raises his hands in celebration.

Snapshots of early 1900s architecture in China showcases the traditional roofing on top of a large building at the centre of what looks like an alleyway

An amusing sequence of photos shows his car stuck in a grassy ditch during his travels with a group of Western friends in remote Mongolia

William rarely went anywhere without his camera, taking photos of the exotic scenes and people going about their everyday lives

Photos of China show bustling street scenes and farmers working the land, as well as candid shots of the native population

The archive has remained in his family for six decades and is now being sold by a descendant with Lay's Auctioneers, of Penzance, Cornwall, taking place on March 9

Leach was born in Norwich, Norfolk, but spent his later life in Northampton, where he was a councillor and lay preacher

Darren Ashley, Lay's Asian expert, said: 'The quantity and quality of the images, the breadth of content, is quite astonishing.

'I've never handled anything like it.

'Every packet of photos that I've looked at is wonderful and then you open another, and another, and they're all marvellous, fascinating images.'

Leach was born in Norwich, Norfolk, but spent his later life in Northampton, where he was a councillor and lay preacher.

The sale takes place on March 9.
Kari Lake says she is '100 percent' dedicated to serving as governor of Arizona  after her name topped a list of potential running mates former President Donald Trump was reportedly considering.

'I am 100% dedicated to serving as Arizona Governor. I will also work to make sure President Trump gets back in the White House ASAP,' she told DailyMail.com in a statement following a report Trump considered her a 'model' VP among a quartet of female contenders.

'Anything outside of those two goals is nothing but a distraction,' Lake said.

Lake topped a straw poll at the CPAC gathering where Trump loyalists were out in force, drawing 20 per cent support on the question of who would be a favored vice presidential candidate. She lit up the crowd at the annual gathering of conservative activists, and even appeared to kiss a Trump portrait on stage.

'My goal is to be in the Arizona Governors office,' she continued in her statement. 'I won the election and everyone in Arizona knows it. We The People deserve to have the leaders we elect hold the office we elect them to.'

Kari Lake says she is '100% dedicated to serving as Arizona Governor, following a report that former President Donald Trump considers her a 'model' vice presidential running mate in part due to her loyalty

'Our best days are ahead of us and it all starts with electing America-First candidates all across this country,' she added.

An Appeals Court last month rejected her election challenge to Democrat Katie Hobbs, after she was defeated by 17,117 votes and sought to appeal an earlier Maricopa County Superior Court ruling.

Lake traveled to the presidential proving ground of Iowa last month, where she told the Des Moines Register she would help Trump 'in any way I can.' She also said at that time she was 'not running for VP' and 'not running for president.'

Trump is still planning his own return to Iowa, and faces a competitive contest where he will need to overcome potential rivals like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis before he gets to vet a running mate.

Lake's comments come after Axios reported Trump is already thinking about Lake as a potential vice presidential pick, and that she is among several female potential candidates. The report says Trump considers the telegenic Lake to be a 'model' vice presidential pic, and cites people who have discussed the matter with the former president. It stresses her loyalty to Trump, having taken up many of his election fraud claims.

The respect is mutual. Lake, who traveled to Mar-a-Lago immediately days after the polls closed in November and she had refused to concede defeat.

She said in her remarks at CPACs Ronald Reagan dinner where she kissed the Trump portrait: 'We stand with JFK, Ronald Reagan, Steve Bannon. We stand with Donald J. Trump.'

Bannon is Trump's former chief White House strategist who got a presidential pardon as one of Trump's last acts in office.

There have been reports for months that Trump is keen to consider a female running mate.

That comes amid election analysis, like one from the Brookings Institution, that showed suburban women providing a critical lift to Joe Biden in battleground states, with Biden picking up a 613,000 vote advantage over Trump, compared to Trump's $1.2 million vote advantage over Hillary Clinton in 2016  a swing of 2 million votes.

Also on his list is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who holds another political event in her home state in mid-March.

Haley was well received at the conservative gathering (which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential Trump rival, skipped). She was heckled with cheers of 'Trump!' while walking the hallways of the annual gathering of conservatives.

The nearest she came to poking Trump was when she told a crowd: 'Our cause is right, but we have failed to win the confidence of a majority of Americans.'

Trump, who is just ramping up his presidential campaign, could benefit from a female running mate after suburban women swung to Joe Biden in 2020

Nikki Haley, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, spoke at CPAC, and again pointed to recent GOP losses in the popular vote for president

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders served as press secretary in the Trump White House. Trump reportedly asked for her endorsement, but she has held off

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem wrote in her memoir that Trump became 'fixated' on restoring fireworks at Mount Rushmore in her home state. She is also on the potential list

Kari Lake, former candidate for Governor of Arizona, kisses a portrait of former President Donald Trump after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, DC

She added: 'That ends now. If you're tired of losing, put your trust in a new generation.'

Another option is new Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a former Trump White House press secretary who delivered the GOP response to Biden's State of the Union speech, and warned against woke-ism.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung tried to knock down the early speculation  which comes after Trump has held just a few events since launching his campaign for the White House, with early positioning still underway. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced days ago he would stay out, seeking to avoid a pileup that might help Trump.

The New York Times reported last week that on a call last week, Trump asked his former flack to endorse him, and that she told him she was not ready to do so. The report characterized Trump as ''disappointed but not angry' about it.

The quartet aren't the only women in the mix. Bannon last month publicly floated Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has become a fundraising powerhouse, and who has become a prominent backer of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

'This is no shrinking violet. She's ambitious  she's not shy about that, nor should she be,' Bannon said on his 'War Room Pandemic' podcast.

'She sees herself on the short list for Trump's VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back,' he told NBC.

Also mentioned is Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who endorsed Trump in November, and became the highest-ranked leader in Congress to back him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang waves as he arrives for a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, China, March 7. Reuters-Yonhap



In his first news conference since taking office, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang lashed out Tuesday at the United States over deteriorating bilateral relations and Washington's support for Taiwan. He also insinuated that America was undermining efforts for peace in Ukraine in order to extend the conflict for its own benefit.



Washington's China policy has "entirely deviated from the rational and sound track," Qin told journalists on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp legislature, in his only formal scheduled news conference for the year, although he is also prone to taking questions during foreign visits.



Washington "means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game," he said.



"It's so-called establishing guardrails and not seeking conflict simply means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked," Qin said. "That is just impossible."



"If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation," he said. "Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity."



Qin's harsh and borderline apocalyptic language appeared to defy predictions that China was abandoning its aggressive "wolf warrior" diplomacy in favor of a more moderate presentation as bilateral relations have hit a historical low over trade and technology, Taiwan, human rights and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.



China last week responded with indignation to U.S. suggestions that COVID-19, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, originated from a leak of the virus from a Chinese lab.



The Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of "politicizing the issue" in an attempt to discredit China.



After serving briefly as ambassador to Washington, Qin was appointed foreign minister at the end of December, in which role he is junior to the Communist Party's senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi. Earlier in his career, he served as Foreign Ministry spokesperson, gaining a reputation for his tartly worded condemnations of China's critics.





A U.S. Air Force U-2 pilot photographs a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the Central Continental United States, Feb. 3. UPI-Yonhap



On Tuesday, Qin repeated criticisms of Washington's recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the U.S. east coast, saying that was entirely an unexpected accident caused by force majuere.



"However, in violation of the spirit of international law, international customary practices, the United States acted with the presumption of guilt," Qin said. "It overreacted, abused force and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided."



"In this case the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge," Qin said. "This is like the first button in a shirt being put wrong and the result is that the U.S.-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track."



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned visit to Beijing in the wake of the balloon incident, frustrating hopes for improved ties after meetings between top leaders at multilateral gatherings in late 2022. The massive balloon and its payload, including electronics and optics, have been recovered from the ocean floor and are being analyzed by the FBI.



Turning to Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy China claims as its own territory, Qin called the issue the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.



"The U.S. has unshakable responsibility for causing the Taiwan question," he said, accusing the U.S. of "disrespecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," by offering the island political backing and furnishing it with defensive weapons in response to Beijing's threat to use force to bring it under Chinese control.



"Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?" Qin said. "Mishandling of the Taiwan question will shake the very foundation of China-U.S. relations."



China has stepped up its diplomatic isolation and military harassment of Taiwan, prompting a string of visits from U.S. and European politicians to show their support, along with new arms sales and a push by Taiwanese authorities to boost domestic defense capabilities.



Beijing has also accused the West of "fanning the flames" by providing Ukraine with weaponry to fend off the Russian invasion. China says it has a neutral stance in the war that began one year ago, but has also said it has a "no-limits friendship" with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, or even refer to it as an invasion.



A Chinese peace proposal for Ukraine that has drawn praise from Russia but dismissals from the West has done nothing to lessen tensions as U.S. officials have repeatedly accused China of considering the provision of weapons to Russia for use in the war.



"Efforts for peace talks have been repeatedly undermined. There seems to be an invisible hand pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict and using the Ukraine crisis to serve a certain geopolitical agenda," Qin said.



"Conflicts, sanctions and pressure will not solve the problem. What is needed is calmness, reason and dialogue," he said.





Journalists prepare for a press conference by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Tuesday, March 7. AP-Yonhap
Two Italian Air Force pilots were killed today in a mid-air collision with one of the planes crashing down onto the town below before exploding in a fireball.

The two pilots were on board U-208 training aircraft and were participating in a training mission near Guidonia, according to an Air Force press release.

The cause of the collision around 20 miles northwest of Rome was not immediately known, but investigations have been launched by Italian authorities.

One of the two aircraft fell onto a street below onto a parked car infront of what appeared in footage of the aftermath of the crash to be a residential building.

La Repubblica reported that the pilot was still alive after the plane crashed and started yelling for help. Bystanders were going to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher, but the engine exploded before they could, the newspaper reported.

Two Italian Air Force planes collided in mid-air on Tuesday, killing both pilots during training exercises northwest of Rome, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. Pictured: A flaming car and one of the plane wrecks is seen in the town of Guidonia

The two pilots were on board U-208 training aircraft and were participating in a training mission near Guidonia, according to an Air Force press release. Pictured: The second of the two wrecks is seen in the middle of a field near to the town

The second landed in an open field, photographs from the crash site showed.

Two buildings were evacuated as a result of the crash, and the two areas were blocked off by rescue workers who checked whether there were any other passers-by on the street or field at the time of the two crashes.

Photographs and video emerged from both crash sites. Footage from the first crash site on the street showed a burning car, and firefighters working to extinguish it.

In a second clip, white foam - used by firefighters to extinguish flames - covered the road and pavements. The car still burned and smoke billowed into the sky.

Images from the field where the second plane crashed showed a wreckage lying in the middle of a grassy space. The tail of the plane was still distinguishable, but the rest of the aircraft was a mangled wreckage on the ground.

'We are devastated to hear about the deaths of two Air Force pilots during a training accident near Guidonia,' Meloni said. The prime minister sent her condolences to the families of the pilots and to members of the Air Force.

'I express my deepest condolences and my closeness to the families, colleagues of the 60th Wing and the entire of the Air Force. Our prayers go out to them,' she said.

The two pilots were named as Lieutenant Colonel Giuseppe Cipriano, 47, and Major Marco Meneghello, 46. Both were stationed at the Guidonia air base.

Police at the scene where one of the planes crashed onto a street told local reporters that Tivoli prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the crash.

The Air Force Inspectorate have also ordered an investigation.

One of the two aircraft fell onto a street below onto a parked car infront of what appeared to be a residential building from footage of the aftermath (pictured). Onlookers heard him screaming for help before the plane's engine exploded, killing him

Photographs and video emerged from both crash sites. Footage from the first crash site on the street showed a burning car, and firefighters working to extinguish it

Images from the field where the second plane crashed showed a wreckage lying in the middle of a grassy space. The tail of the plane was still distinguishable, but the rest of the aircraft was a mangled wreckage on the ground. Pictured: Firefighters work at the scene on Tuesday

Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera said four propeller-driven aircraft had taken off from the Guidonia military airport for a training flight in the nearby countryside.

It remains to be clarified why they were over the town.

The two pilots from the other two aircraft will be questioned later today.

The U-208 is a lightweight, single-engine aircraft that can carry up to four passengers, plus the pilot, and has a top speed of 177mph.
Snow is falling over a large area of southern Britain this morning, with commuters warned to brace for a rush-hour from hell.

A band of rain is turning to snow as it moves north from France. One or two inches is expected to settle quite widely, forecasters said.

Before the snow hit, temperatures were plummeting with the coldest night of the year potentially on the cards.

As the snow pushes further north, 30cm-40cm could fall across the Central Belt of Scotland and Highlands on Thursday and Friday.

Northern England, including its major cities, could see 15cm-20cm of snow cover even in lower-lying areas as the cold snap gets even chillier.

A yellow weather warning is in force for much of the UK until Friday.

The Met Office earlier said 'very cold Arctic air' is moving southwards, with regions south of the M4 said to be 'most at risk of disruption' this week. The majority of snow on Wednesday is expected to hit southern areas.

Youngsters keep their hats dry with plastic bags during a snow shower in Stamford Hill, north London

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said snow should fall where cold Arctic air moving south towards the UK meets warmer air moving up from the South West.

He added: 'As we move into the weekend as that low pressure has moved out from the East, there is a further band of rain likely to move from the South West, which could knock against cooler air and create sleet showers.

'Next week there will be a gradual warming back to something a little bit more typical for the time of year.'

The forecaster has also warned that up to 15in of snow could hit the UK this week as blizzards are forecast in northern areas tomorrow and on Friday, with fears of red and amber weather warnings in some areas.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Helen Caughey added: 'The impactful weather will continue through the latter part of the week as mild air pushing in from the southwest meets colder air in situ with further snow and ice for many areas.

'Through Thursday and Friday the snow risk spreads, to central and northern areas of the UK, with the potential of some significant accumulations even to low levels, which have the potential to cause impacts.

TODAY: A greater area of the South West is covered by the Met Office's snow and ice warning, with much of the East and North of England and Scotland also expected to be hit by wintry showers again

THURSDAY: A yellow weather warning for snow and ice will remain in place for the South East, South West and London, while snow is also expected across Wales and the entire North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

FRIDAY: Warnings for snow are no longer in place for the South, but wintry showers are expected to hit parts of northern Wales, England, Northern Ireland and the southern half of Scotland

Sheep stand with lambs in a snow dusted field in Ardenteggle, County Laois, Ireland

People walk their dogs through the snow beside a row of beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland

Heavy snowfall in Aberdeen, where a number of schools have been forced to close due to the wintry conditions

A dog walker on the snow covered sand dunes at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland this morning

People walk their dogs through the snow beside the beach huts at Blyth in Northumberland yesterday morning

Weather warnings for snow and ice are currently in place across much of Britain due to an Arctic blast

'Parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England are expected to see the worst of the conditions develop from early on Thursday, with parts of Scotland and northern England then seeing snow arrive through Thursday afternoon.

'Snow across the northern half of the UK will persist through much of Friday, while further south, any snow will turn back to rain through Thursday afternoon and evening. Strong winds are also expected to develop through Thursday and Friday which may create drifting snow and blizzard conditions in places.'

Further snow is expected to impact northern areas of Scotland into Friday, with temperatures remaining 'well below average'.

Rain and sleet is forecast to arrive over the weekend, before further snow hits the south west.

Meanwhile, two of five coal plants that had been kept on standby started supplying electricity to British homes for the first time this winter.

The West Burton generation sites that are run by French energy giant EDF started producing electricity on Tuesday afternoon.

It came as strikes in France reduced the amount of electricity the country could supply to Britain through undersea cables. Wind electricity production is also unusually low.

The Government approached several coal-fired power stations last year that were set to close down, asking them to be on standby this winter amid an energy supply crunch.

The plants have been warmed up a few times so far this winter on cold, overcast and still days. But Tuesday is the first time they have started to produce electricity.

It is the job of the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) to ensure there is always more electricity generation available than it expects households to use.

It tries to keep a comfortable margin between the two - and that is why the coal plants were activated on Tuesday. It is highly unlikely to lead to blackouts in any parts of the UK.

The ESO had also issued a so-called electricity margin notice, but cancelled it at around 3.30pm as it realised that it had enough power on the grid to meet demand.

This is designed to let generators know that the margins are tighter than normal and to ask them if they can supply extra electricity.

'An electricity margin notice (EMN) has been issued to the market,' ESO said earlier in the day

'This is a routine tool that we use most winters, and means we are asking generators to make available any additional generation capacity they may have. The EMN does not mean electricity supply is at risk.'

Despite the West Burton coal plants coming online, coal was only producing around 3.2% of Britain's electricity on Tuesday afternoon.

The grid had earlier said that it might trigger the demand flexibility service which pays households to reduce their energy usage for Wednesday evening. However, this was cancelled later on Tuesday.

It comes after temperatures dipped to -7.6C at Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands on last night, with the small hamlet covered in 12cm of snow  more than anywhere else in the UK.

Goathland train station in North Yorkshire as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across the UK

TYNEMOUTH: Snow fell on Front Street in Tynemouth. Much of Britain is waking up to snow after a heavy Arctic Blast swept across the nation overnight

TYNESIDE: Arctic conditions arrived in the early hours of Tuesday in Cullercoats North Tyneside. Forecaster say icy weather is expected in central and southern areas of England

BEDFORDSHIRE: Snowfall in Toddington, Bedfordshire on Tuesday. Up to 15in of snow could hit the UK this week as blizzards and heavy snow are forecast on Thursday and Friday

A number of schools have also been closed in Aberdeenshire today due to heavy snow making roads undriveable for many.

Met Office spokesman told Sky News that parts of the UK could be issued with red and amber weather warnings due to increasingly strong winds.

Meteorologist Alex Burkill added that it is not 'out of the question' for the wintry conditions to escalate into a named storm.

He added: 'Where we have lying snow and clear skies tonight we're going to see temperatures dropping as low as -15C [overnight into Wednesday].'

The Met Office said most of the UK would see sunny spells overhead this afternoon, but snow and hail showers are expected to continue in northern areas.

The heaviest and most frequent of the wintry conditions are in northern Scotland, where a 'bitterly cold northerly wind' is blowing.

The conditions follow a combination of weather phenomena which have occurred for the first time since the 'Beast from the East' brought days of freezing weather in late February and March 2018.

A police car drives down the A93 in Scotland following heavy snowfall overnight, with more expected over the coming days

STOKENCHURCH: A man walks his dog through a snow covered field following snowfall in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire

NORTH YORKSHIRE: Wintery snowy scenes in the North Yorkshire village of Goathland as snow showers and freezing temperatures hit the region over night

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through a snow covered field near Alnwick Castle in Northumberland as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK and more are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country

LOCKTON: Snowy conditions in Locton this morning off the A169 in the North York Moors National Park. Weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK and more are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country

STOKENCHURCH: Snowfall in Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire. Further heavy snow, accompanied by strong winds, is forecast from the early hours of Thursday until Friday evening

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through a snow covered field at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. Milder and unsettled weather is due to spread across England and Wales next week

Snow in the west end of Aberdeen, Scotland, as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across much of the UK this week

The Met Office said roads could become blocked, leaving vehicles stranded, while some communities could be 'cut off for several days'.

The forecaster's outlook adds: 'Mostly dry and cold in the north Thursday, but widespread snow, rain and strong winds spreading northeast.

'Clearing Friday, but further rain and snow gradually moving north on Saturday.'

Milder and unsettled weather is due to spread across England and Wales next week.

The forecaster has warned of travel delays, with 'some vehicles and passengers stranded', along with power cuts and an increased risk of injury due to slippery footpaths and pavements.

NORTHUMBERLAND: Cars travel along a snow covered A1 motorway at Alnwick in Northumberland this morning. Weather warnings are in place across the country for ice and snow until Friday

NORTH YORKSHIRE: Refuse collectors clears the bin in snowy conditions in Briggswath, North Yorkshire

NORTHUMBERLAND: Snow covered fields surround Alnwick Castle in Northumberland

NORTH YORKSHIRE: A car with a partially cleared windscreen drives through snowy conditions in Briggswath

NORTHUMBERLAND: Cars travel along a snow covered A1 motorway at Alnwick in Northumberland

Rail journeys are also likely to be affected and airports may find it impossible to keep runways clear of snow.

The Met Office warned travel disruption is likely and journey times by car, train and bus may take longer than usual.

Dog walkers on a snow covered beach at Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, with their pets

An overturned delivery van off the road on the A988 near Alford, Aberdeenshire, amid dangerous driving conditions

A train travels through the snow covered trees as it passed through Egton Station in North Yorkshire

Holy Trinity Church and its surrounding fields in Bilboa, County Carlow in the Republic of Ireland

Flowers dusted with snow in Bilboa, County Carlow, in the Republic of Ireland, as a cold front passes over the UK

Early morning walkers make their way along the snow covered coastline of Tynemouth in North Tyneside

TYNE & WEAR: Storm clouds rolled in over St Mary's Lighthouse, just north of Whitley Bay, as the sun was setting yesterday. Forecasters say temperatures are likely to stay far below average for early spring for much of the week

NORTHUMBERLAND: A man walks his dog through snow near Alnwick Castle this morning as weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK and more are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country

Even colder overnight conditions are set to hit cities later in the week with the mercury plunging to -4C in London and -6C in Birmingham and Belfast.

Gatwick Express has also warned it was expecting the wintry conditions to impact services.

A statement said: 'Snow and ice are expected on the Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern networks.

'Snow is expected to fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, although not all areas of the network will be equally affected. Ice may cause an additional hazard, especially overnight.

'Staff are working hard to minimise any disruption, but there could be some changes to trains.'
Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, fell on Saturday while hiking in the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Oregon

A hiker from who plummeted from a rocky bluff on the Oregon coastline and was swept out into the ocean has been found dead.

Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, was hiking Saturday beyond a safety fence in the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area when he slipped and fell 20 feet, Oregon State Police said.

His body was recovered from the shoreline at the bottom of a nearby cliff on Sunday.

Hoang's death marks the eighth fatal accident in the popular area known to locals as 'the punch bowl' since 2009, the Salem Statesman Journal reported.

Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, was hiking on Saturday in the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area on the Oregon coast when he slipped and fell 20 feet to the water's edge

Hoang's death marks the eighth fatal accident in the popular area known to locals as 'the punch bowl' since 2009, the Salem Statesman Journal reported

The Oregon State Police responded to the area about 5 p.m. Saturday to help search for Hoang after witnesses lost sight of him in the waves.

'The victim was reportedly knocked unconscious from the fall and was swept into the ocean by the waves,' state police said.

'Witnesses lost sight of the victim and the rescue operation later transitioned into a likely recovery operation.'

Rescue teams returned Sunday morning 'when searchers could safely resume their efforts,' state police said, and it became a recovery mission.

Tillamook County Sheriffs Office, Nestucca Fire and the United States Coast Guard responded to assist the Oregon State Police.

Hoang's body was found about 4:30 p.m. Sunday on the shoreline at the bottom of a nearby cliff, police said. He was taken to a local funeral home. Additional details about the hiker were not immediately known.

The Oregon State Police responded to the area around 5 p.m. on Saturday to help search for Hoang after witnesses lost sight of him in the waves

Hoang's body was found around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon on the shoreline at the bottom of a nearby cliff, police said. He was taken to a local funeral home

Cape Kiwanda has been reported as being one of the deadliest spots on the Oregon Coast because the massive sandstone cliffs can crumble without warning

Cape Kiwanda has been reported as being one of the deadliest spots on the Oregon Coast. The massive sandstone cliffs can crumble without warning and multiple people have died from falling after passing safety fences.

Seven people died after falling or being trapped on the parks sandstone cliffs between 2009 and 2016, the Statesman Journal reported. The outlet also reported that 11 people died at the cape from 1960 to 1972, and there were countless fatalities in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.

There have been attempts by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department to keep people from the most dangerous areas of the popular site, including a safety fence.
Both attacks occurred within a third of a mile of each other on the same beach

A 15-year-old girl had her arm torn off in a shark attack at Piedade Beach in Brazil.

Horror footage shows the moment her bystanders pull Kaylane Timoteo Freitas onto the beach and set her down on the ground with a bloodied rag covering what remains of her arm.

The teenager had her arm amputated at a nearby hospital and is reported to be in a stable condition.

The attack came only a day after a 14-year-old boy was savaged by a shark on the same beach, requiring the amputation of his leg.

Both attacks took place within 1640ft (500m) of each other at Piedade Beach, Jaboatao dos Guararapes, Pernambuco State, Brazil.

The 15-year-old girl is found in the water and lifted to safety by a group of men

People on the beach rushed to get the girl out of the sea and further up the beach to set down

According to the authorities, a medical team attended the teenage girl at around 1.20pm on Monday.

She was carried off the beach by first responders and taken to hospital by helicopter.

After undergoing amputation, Kaylane is said to be in a stable condition in hospital where she is awake and able to answer questions.

Andrea Caribe, who lives in a building opposite the beach, said: 'When I saw her, she was already covered in blankets and being taken away.

'Even after that, some people remained in the water. They [lifeguards] were pulling people out.'

Psychologist Andrea Caribe, who lives in a building overlooking the beach, said she was baffled to see people remain in the water after the attack.

She told local media: "They [the lifeguards] are pulling people out."

Swimming has been banned at Piedade Beach since 2021 due to the high number of shark attacks.

The Greater Recife area is believed to be the most deadly shark attack spot in the world.

The attack on Kaylane was the third off the coast of Pernambuco in two weeks.

On Sunday 5 March, a 14-year-old boy was left with his femur exposed after a shark attacked.

On 20 February, a surfer was bitten by a shark at Praia Del Chifre in Olinda.

The authorities pointed out that the beach has been a restricted area for swimming since 2021 due to the frequency of shark attacks.

There are 150 signs in the region warning of the risk of shark attacks and a state decree has been in effect since 1999.

The City Hall said they will schedule a meeting with the State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents to decide if new measures should be implemented in the area.

The girl is set down on the ground by helpers, before water washes away a pool of blood

As a rule, most sharks are not dangerous to humans. Of more than 300 species, only about a dozen have been involved in attacks on humans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The majority of unprovoked attacks are by great white, tiger and bull sharks.

The apparent increase in attacks is linked to rising human populations around the coast and the destruction of habitat.

In 2022, there were 57 confirmed unprovoked cases worldwide, 41 of which were in the United States and only five of which were fatal.
A Kansas City fire department medic terminated for hitting a patient over the head several times with a laptop was allowed to return to work weeks later after his union intervened.

In surveillance footage captured in April 2021 and obtained by the Kansas City Star, the medical technician and unidentified patient were seen entering an emergency room when a verbal dispute escalated.

The patient was struck on the head and body multiple times, floored, and eventually restrained by hospital security - it is not clear if he suffered any injuries.

In September 2021 the paramedic, Peter Hansen, was terminated by the Kansas City Fire Department for his conduct but within weeks his union intervened and he was given his job back as part of a 'federal arbitration process', the fire department said.

Since resuming his work for the fire department Hansen became a firefighter.

Kansas City fire department medic Peter Hansen was caught on surveillance cameras hitting a patient over the head several times with a laptop

The unidentified patient was struck multiple times on the head and body as he was forced backwards and to the ground by the medic

The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 42 argued that other KCFD employees had been involved in similar incidents and that Hansen had been singled out by the department. It also said he had been acting in self defense.

It was later ruled by an arbitrator hired by the union that Hansen would be reinstated because he hadn't received de-escalation and anger management training.

'Despite our best efforts, the federal arbitration process initiated by IAFF Local 42 resulted in the reinstatement of the employee involved,' a spokesperson for the fire department told the Kansas City Star.

'While we accepted this decision to maintain a positive working relationship with our union, our commitment to accountability and fairness remains unchanged.' they added.

The altercation was captured on three different surveillance cameras at the entrance to the the University Health Truman Medical Center in Kansas City.

It showed the ambulance driving up to the entrance bay of the hospital before Hansen got out with the laptop/tablet in hand.

He was wearing a dark blue KCFD t-shirt with the words 'Win Some Lose Some' on the back and was accompanied by another fire department medic who had also been in the ambulance.

Moments before Hansen led the patient to the sliding doors of the emergency center the two could be seen having a conversation. A second medic was also present

After the fight Hansen was seen in surveillance footage obtained by the Kansas City Star pacing around in circles and inspecting his elbow for injuries

The incident happened in April 2021 after Hansen arrived with the patient and a colleague at University Health Truman Medical Center in Kansas City (pictured)

He and the patient appeared to have a brief conversation before Hansen led him towards the sliding doors of the building. As he pressed a button to open the doors the fight broke out and the two pushed each other at least once.

Hansen then swung the tablet, which he was holding via its handle in his right hand, into the patient's head.

The patient raised his arms to protect his face but as he did so he was forcefully driven backwards by Hansen, causing him stumble out of view of the cameras. As he was pushed back Hanses continued swinging the tablet.

The second medic watched and followed the pair out of the camera's view.

Moments later three security guards charged outside and the patient was placed in handcuffs as he lay face down on the ground. As the security guards restrained the patient, Hansen paced around in circles and examined his elbow to see if he had been injured.

Once armed hospital security guards responded the patient was placed in handcuffs as he lay face down on the ground

The KCFD said that on September 29, 2021 after reviewing the evidence and a recommendation by the fire chief at the time, Donna Lake, Hansen was fired.

It claimed he had violated the department's zero tolerance 'Act of Violence' policy because he intentionally hit the patient several times with the tablet.

'At KCFD, we are dedicated to upholding the trust and confidence of our community. When an incident arose that violated city policies, we took swift action by launching an internal investigation to determine the facts,' the KCFD spokesperson told the Kansas City Star.

In its grievance, filed by Local 42 on Hansen's behalf, union leaders said that the city did not have just cause to terminate Hansen as he wasn't given due process.

They also said the city violated rights owed to Hansen as a tenured KCFD employee.

'In addition, the union believes that, for reasons unknown, Hansen has been singled out and treated differently than other similarly situated employees,' it said.
Donald Trump has called for releasing all January 6 prisoners after Tucker Carlson unveiled new footage, which he claims casts a fresh perspective on the 2021 unrest at the US Capitol.

'Congratulations to Tucker Carlson on one of the biggest scoops as a reporter in U.S. history,' wrote Trump on social media,

'The New Surveillance Footage of the January 6th Events sheds an entirely different light on what actually happened. The Unselect Committee was a giant SCAM, and has now unequivocally been stamped as CRIMINAL FABRICATORS OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT DAY... LET THEM GO FREE, NOW!'

Former President Donald Trump demands all prisoners convicted of crimes on January 6, 2021 released based on footage made avail by Speaker McCarthy and shown by Tucker Carlson

Former President Donald Trump claims then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are to blame for security lapses on January 6, 2021.

In footage screened on his show Monday night, so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was apparently seen being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.

Carlson suggested that challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley - jailed for four years over the incident - aggressively barged into the chamber.

On Tuesday morning, the former president claimed on Truth Social that Capitol rioters behind bars were 'convicted, or are awaiting trial, based on a giant lie.'

Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer

Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol

'A radical left con job. Thank you to Tucker Carlson and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy for what you have both done,' Trump continued.

'New video footage is irrefutable.'

After Carlson's showed air, Trump also called for the 'Unselect' January 6 committee to be prosecuted for being 'criminal fabricators' and said Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell 'failed on security."

Also broadcast was footage of Capitol cop Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot.

It was initially suggested Sicknick's death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher and pepper spray by rioters.

But a medical examiner later ruled he'd died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack.

He appeared in good health, which the Fox News host said poured cold water on liberal outlets' insistence that the Capitol rioters had Sicknick's blood on their hands.

He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol, yet was never charged - giving rise to the suspicion that Epps was an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.

On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.

'They were orderly and meek,' said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol. 'These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.'

Carlson said they 'obviously revere the Capitol,' noting they took selfies and 'queued up in neat little lines.'

'Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie,' he said. 'Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.'

'Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.'

Carlson pointed to footage showing the 'QAnon Shaman' - a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley - inside the Capitol.

Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.

He's been jailed almost four years for 'obstructing an official proceeding.'

In the footage, Chansley appears to be guided by an official as he wanders the Capitol.

He passes a line of riot police, who make no move to stop him.

Then they escort him to various entrances of the chamber, which appear to be locked, and eventually find him an open door through which he vanishes.

'Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,' said Carlson.

'The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.'

Carlson also showed the moments after Officer Brian Sicknick was confronted by the rioters.

Sicknick, 42, died on January 7 - the day after the riot.

Brian Sicknick is seen shortly after the Capitol was breached. Carlson said he appeared 'healthy and vigorous'

Sicknick, who died of a stroke on January 7, is seen during the riot carrying out his duties

Capitol rioter Julian Khater (pictured left) was sentenced to 80 months in prison for his role in the pepper-spray assault of police officer Brian Sicknick (pictured right), who died the day after the January 6, 2021 riot. Tucker Carlson has now shared footage showing Sicknick looking healthy after the attack he suffered

In April 2021, the DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.

'To this day, media accounts describe Sicknick as someone who was, quote, 'slain' on January 6,' Carlson said.

'The video we reviewed proves that is a lie.'

Carlson said the officer was 'healthy and vigorous,' and noted he was wearing a helmet.

'So it's hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury,' he said.

'Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.

'This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.'

There have been multiple deaths linked to the riot, including four Trump supporters - one of whom, Ashli Babbitt, was shot dead by Capitol Police.

Trump supporters are seen walking through the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Carlson described them as 'sightseers'

Carlson further suggested that alleged Capitol Rioter Ray Epps - pictured in red Trump cap - was actually an FBI agent sent to stoke violence. Epps denies claims

Four officers died by suicide in the days and weeks after the riot.

There have also been roughly 1,000 arrests.

The footage comes as Fox News continues to contest a $1.6 billion lawsuit taken out against the broadcasting giant by Dominion, who manufactured voting machines for the 2020 election.

Fox is being sued over claims the network endorsed theories the firm's voting machines were rigged to deliver a Biden win.

The broadcaster's owner Rupert Murdoch was recently deposed over the lawsuit, and said he'd 'liked (Fox) to have been stronger denouncing' the stolen election claims.

Fox News denies the claims made against it by Dominion.
Shocking video footage has captured the moment a father attacked a passenger unprovoked in front of his children during a Southwest Airlines flight.

The violent confrontation saw the man put another in a headlock as others on board were forced to intervene yelling: 'Do not hit him again.'

It comes after a spate of fights and disasters on board American planes, with a 33-year-old recently charged for trying to open a window mid-flight and threatening to 'kill every man' on a United Airlines journey.

The latest clip documents a journey from Dallas to Phoenix on Monday and has since gone viral on social media.

A father in a beige blazer is seen grabbing a heavily tattooed man and placing him in a headlock as he repeatedly shouts: 'You a p***y.'

The violent confrontation saw the man put another in a headlock as others on board were forced to intervene, yelling: 'Do not hit him again'

Several passengers attempted to intervene and diffuse the situation. Onlookers insist the victim did 'nothing wrong'

The attacker, who was with his wife and children, accused the tattooed man of 'aggressively' confronting his family - though witnesses insist the victim did nothing wrong.

Several passengers are filmed attempting to step in and dissolve the confrontation.

But just as the scene starts to calm, the man in the blazer suddenly swings a punch at the tattooed man.

A voice can be heard shouting: 'Do not hit him again, do not hit him again. Stay back.'

Later clips show the man in the blazer attempt to defend his actions as he says: 'Tell them what happened! He approached me with my family.

'Don't play with my family.

'I will down in jail for you approach my family. I would die for my family.

'I will beat your a**.'

Dallas police confirmed they responded to the incident but no arrests were made.

Witnesses told Dailymail.com that the attack was unprovoked.

Caitlin Johnson, who uploaded the video to her Instagram and TikTok pages, said: 'He walked up and accidentally bumped into the man's wife.

'The man started mouthing off to him and he just ignored it.

'After they both got on the plane, the man walked back with his wife and two kids and came back up and started yelling to the man with tattoos, asking, "What's your address?" and he actually gave it to him.

'Then he started punching the man probably 4-5 times before we even started recording.'

She added: 'The man with tattoos literally did nothing wrong. It was nuts.'

A spokesman for the airline refused to elaborate on the incident.

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, from Leominster, Massachusetts, could be seen ranting while in his emergency exit seat during a United flight from Los Angeles to Boston

A photo taken by another person on board shows six people in the galley of the plane attempting to restrain Torres as the aircraft came into land

'Nothing to share other than to say our Flight Crews are well trained in de-escalation and we commend them for managing the situation and ensuring the Safety and Comfort of the other Passengers in the cabin, while also allowing that Flight 117 from DAL to PHX to arrive on-time,' a statement said.

Dallas Police told Dailymail.com: 'On March 6, the Dallas Police Department responded after an incident occurred on a flight from Love Field Airport.

'No arrest was made.'

It is the third time the low-budget airline has garnered headlines in the last week.

On Sunday passengers travelling from Havana, Cuba, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were forced to evacuate after a bird collided with the engine and nose of the plane.

Clips posted to social media show plumes of smoke filling the cabin while passengers were on-board.

And on Friday a 75-minute flight from Baltimore to Raleigh turned into a nine-hour nightmare after the plane began to 'shake like crazy' resulting in several passengers vomiting and one passing out.

Other airlines have also experienced a spate of disasters this week.

On Monday two United Airlines planes were involved in a slow-speed collision at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday.

On-board footage shows panicked passengers engulfed in smoke with oxygen masks lowered and parents attempting to help their children. It was reported not all masks were properly released, and some had bloodied knuckles from banging on the roof in desperation.

Meanwhile a flight from LA to Boston this week made headlines after a passenger threatened to 'kill every man on this plane.'

Francisco Severo Torres, 33, from Leominster, Massachusetts was charged with one count of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members using a dangerous weapon after he stabbed a flight attendant with a broken spoon.

In video shot by a fellow passenger sitting only feet away, Torres can be heard threatening to commit mass murder while goading others to try and stop him.
Brian Laundrie's mother has claimed that the 'burn after reading' letter she wrote to her son was a 'quirky' reference to books they loved in an attempt to repair their 'strained' relationship, and that it had nothing to do with Gabby Petito's murder.

Roberta Laundrie spoke out for the first time about the controversial letter in which she allegedly offered to bring a shovel to help 'bury the body' around the time of Petito's disappearance.

The letter was found in Laundrie's backpack when his body was located in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida in October 2021, just weeks after he strangled Petito while on a cross-country summer road trip.

The letter has not been publicly released, but the Petito family attorneys have petitioned to have it included as evidence in their civil suit against the Laundries.

In support of a motion filed on Monday against the letter becoming public, Roberta Laundrie wrote a note, obtained by WFLA, to the court claiming that it was written months before Brian and Gabby even set off on their trip.

Roberta Laundrie (pictured here in June 2022) spoke out for the first time about her letter to son Brian in which she allegedly offers to bring a shovel to help 'bury the body' around the time of Gabby Petito 's disappearance

The letter was found in Brian Laundrie's backpack when his body was located in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October 2021 just weeks after he strangled Petito while on a cross-country road trip

A motion was filed in Sarasota County Circuit Court on Monday by Roberta Laundrie's attorneys that seeks to block the attempts by Petito's parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, to make the 'burn after reading' letter admissible as evidence in court.

The civil trial between the two families is set to begin in August.

'Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter, I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021,' Roberta said.

Roberta's lengthy explanation claimed that her letter to Brian was an attempt to repair their strained relationship and that some of the language in the letter was using similar phrases from books they both loved to describe the depth of a mother's love.

She added that the two books that came to her mind were The Runaway Bunny and Little Bear.

Roberta then claimed that one book 'Burn After Writing,' which she said Gabby had given Brian, was often the subject a joke between her and the couple.

She said that book is the reason she wrote 'burn after reading' on the envelope that contained the letter to her son.

A motion was filed in Sarasota County Circuit Court on Monday by Roberta Laundrie's attorneys that seeks to block the attempts by Petito's parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt (pictured), to make the 'burn after reading' letter admissible as evidence in court

Gabby's parents are suing the Laundries for emotional distress as they claim they knew Brian had killed her. The civil trial between the two families is set to begin in August

She goes on to explain that this particular book contains questions that the reader can respond to in writing and the back of the book instructs the reader to create a secret book and then destroy by 'burn after writing.'

'Brian, Gabby and I often joked about this book and the importance of being able to express yourself,' she said. 'If you were embarrassed or simply did not want anyone to know your thoughts or feelings then the book offered the perfect solution by telling you to burn it.'

Roberta continued: 'This is where my message to Brian came from and I wrote on the cover of the letter for Brian to "Burn After Reading." In short, I was trying to connect with Brian and repair our relationship as he was planning to leave home  and I had hoped this letter would remind him how much I loved him.'

In her statement to the court, Roberta does admit that her letter did contain references that some would think could be about her son and Petito, but she claims there is 'no connection' between her letter and the tragic deaths.

'While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian's actions and his taking of Gabby's life, I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter.

'The words in the letter could never have been a comment on that tragic situation as they were written so many months before.

'My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation we would soon be faced with.'

Roberta Laundrie reportedly wrote an undated letter to her son that she would 'bring a shovel and bury a body,' Patrick Reilly, the attorney representing Gabby Petito's family, said in court on Tuesday. It was marked 'burn after reading'

Petito, 22, was strangled on a road trip with Laundrie in Wyoming in the summer of 2021

Police and FBI officials retrieved items belonging to Brian Laundrie, including a notebook, near where his body was found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park

Patrick Reilly, the attorney representing Gabby Petito's family, claimed the letter was in the FBI's regional office and also detailed that Roberta was willing to help get Brian 'out of prison.'

The defense has argued that the letter, while penned by Roberta Laundrie, was undated, and therefore not relevant to the case.

Roberta says claims that the letter was found on Brian's body were false and that the FBI gathered the letter as evidence before his remains were found and investigators had questioned her and her husband, Chris Laundrie, about it before October 20, 2021.

The case has captivated the nation for nearly two years now as cops scoured the country for a still-at-large Laundrie, who would commit suicide before officers were able to track him down.

When officials finally found the body of Petito's killer, in a Florida swamp roughly six weeks after the search began, all that was left were 'skeletal human remains that were scattered on top of the dirt ground in plain sight.'

A notebook later obtained by authorities from Laundrie's backpack revealed the 23-year-old - who along with Petito had been chronicling the cross-country excursion on social media - took his own life out of guilt.

Petito's parents promptly filed a civil suit against Laundrie's parents, and late last year were awarded $3million.
Tanner Horner entered a not guilty plea in Wise County, Texas on Monday morning - he is accused of killing of 7-year-old Athena Strand in November.

Horner, 31, appeared in court but did not speak, having his attorney enter the plea on his behalf.

Also in the courtroom was Strand's mother, Maitlyn Gandy, who faced the man accused of killing her daughter.

Gandy's hair remained a bright pink color, her daughter's favorite color.

Though Gandy did not speak during court or make comments following the appearance, her civil attorney Benson Varghese said the ordeal was 'Probably one of the most difficult moments of her life to see the person who killed her daughter, and its a moment shes thought about for a long time.

'I suppose its surreal in some sense, but it was of just grave importance for her to be there,' he added.

Athena Strand, 7, was kidnapped and strangled on November 30, 2022 by a contracted FedEx worker delivering gifts to her family home in North Texas

Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in the death of Athena Strand. Horner is currently being held in the Wise County Jail on a $1.5 million bond

Horner was arrested December 2, 2022 the same day Athena's body was found.

He confessed to police that he accidentally hit Strand with his delivery van as he delivered Christmas presents to the house. He then panicked and put the little girl inside his vehicle and strangled her to death.

According to an autopsy, Strand had blunt-force injuries to her head and neck and evidence of smothering and strangulation. Her death was ruled a homicide.

On February 17, a jury in Wise County formally charged Horner with kidnapping and murdering the young girl.

Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin said prosecutors are planning to seek the death penalty against Horner.

Horner has been charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013, in Fort Worth. He is being held in jail on a $1.5 million bail.

Athena's father, Jacob Strand, has launched legal action against FedEx, claiming they did not carry out sufficient background checks before hiring Horner.

'I support the death penalty. In any sentencing that may come,' Gandy told WFAA.

'Every breath he takes is one my daughter doesn't.

Gandy previously said she wished he had simply driven away and let her daughter walk.

'We are very forgiving people,' she said.

'If Athena was not injured or even if she had a few bumps and scrapes, he could have just driven away. We could have forgiven him.

'Accidents do happen, but he chose to do more - and what he did was unforgivable.

'I have a hard time believing Athena couldn't have walked away. Athena could have just walked away, and I wish he would have let her.'

According to the arrest affidavit, Horner said Strand was not seriously injured when he hit her with his van.

The mother of seven-year-old Athena Strand, Maitlyn Gandy (right, Athena is center) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit

Maitlyn Gandy posted photos of her daughter Athena's pink coffin on her Facebook page

Horner has been charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013, in Fort Worth

Gandy says she is still grieving for her daughter while trying to care for her other young child, Rilyn.

'I triple-check my doors every night, and I hold my three-year-old tighter. I'm scared to let her go. Everything is just very, very scary and very, very sad,' Gandy said through tears.

'It's been rough for our family. For my other three-year-old. She doesn't understand why she can't call 'sissy' or why she hasn't come home yet. It's a long time for her to go without seeing her sister', she explains.

'We're coping. We're trying to function. It's been long. Hard but very chaotic at the same time.

'I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm confused. I am doing my best.

'I've been very scared, and I don't sleep very often or for an extended period of time. Noises at night scare me.'
A career criminal who murdered a policeman and successfully sued the Ministry of Justice has failed for a second time to be released from jail.

Gang boss Nicholas Walters, then 22, chased and rammed PC Malcolm Walker, 45, in 2001 after the motorcycle officer spotted him driving dangerously in a stolen car.

He got life with a minimum 18 years in 2002 for the prolonged attack in Perry Barr, Birmingham, in which PC Walker was thrown from his motorcycle and impaled on a concrete post.

Walters, now 42, had his second parole hearing last month (Feb), and was told in the last few days that his latest bid had been refused.

The three-panel Parole Board also rejected his application to be moved to an open jail.

A career criminal who murdered policeman Malcolm Walker, 45, (pictured) in 2001 after the motorcycle officer spotted him driving dangerously in a stolen car has failed for a second time to be released from jail

Gang boss Nicholas Walters (pictured), then 22, now 42, chased and rammed PC Walker and got life with a minimum 18 years in 2002 for the prolonged attack in Perry Barr, Birmingham, in which Walker was thrown from his motorcycle and impaled on a concrete post

The criminal - a high ranking member of Midland's violent street gang the Burger Bar Boys - can apply for parole again in 2025.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Nicholas Walters following an oral hearing in February 2023. The panel also refused to recommend a move to open prison.

'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 such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.

'It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be 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.

'Under current legislation he will be eligible for a further review in due course. The date of the next review will be set by the Ministry of Justice.'

After rejecting his first parole bid in 2020, the Board wrote: 'His behaviour had been problematic and concerns still remained. He himself recognised he was not ready for progression or release.'

The gangster sparked controversy after he launched a legal bid against the Ministry of Justice demanding 40,000 under Articles 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights  the right to life and the right not to be exposed to inhumane treatment.

His claim said he was 'not listened to' in a 2018 incident and did not get the right attention, treatment and support'  causing 'stress, distress, pain and discomfort'.

PC Walker's widow Helen, then 63, said at the time to the Mirror newspaper: 'It's an absolute joke. He took my husband's life, so what rights has he got?'

'He's supposed to have got a life sentence, I was annoyed he didn't even get the maximum 25 years. It's his problem he's staying in prison. The longer he stays in, the better.'

The lawsuit even admitted that he had a history of assaulting prison officers and posed 'management challenges' for jails.

He spat at staff five times in April and May 2020 in HMP Wakefield and got two-and-a-half years more in August 2020 for attacking a guard in HMP Frankland, Co Durham, in September 2019.

The legal bid was settled by the Ministry of Justice without admitting liability. A financial payment was made to the prisoner.

The MoJ declined to comment on Walter's legal challenge and the decision to settle out-of-court.

At this trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Walters was jailed for life after being found guilty of deliberately ramming father-of-four PC Walker off the road in a stolen car.

The horrifying incident happened in front of dozens of people in, Perry Barr, Birmingham, in October 2001.

The court heard that Walters was later caught on a covert police recording talking about the incident and threatening to kill a love rival.

In addition to being found guilty of murder, Walters admitted theft of a car, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and charges of possessing a firearm.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Hunt told Walters: 'You deliberately went after him, you were determined to get him.

PC Walker's widow Helen (pictured then), then 63, said at the time to the Mirror newspaper: 'It's an absolute joke. He took my husband's life, so what rights has he got?'

'Using that stolen car as a weapon, you deliberately drove into the rear of his motorcycle and knocked him onto a bollard, where he met his death.'

The court was told by prosecutor Stephen Linehan that Walters had stolen a Peugeot 406 from a petrol station in Birmingham.

Mr Linehan said when Walters realised PC Walker was in pursuit, he stopped the vehicle, waited until the officer drew up alongside him and then deliberately drove straight into him.

The court heard while Walters was in custody, police were granted permission to carry out covert surveillance of him and tape his conversations with visitors.

In one chat with his girlfriend, Walters was heard bragging about the incident.

Speaking about her affections for a rival, Walters said: 'I'm going to shoot him, I'm going to kill him like I killed that copper.'

The court was also told Walters had been released on licence from prison in connection with driving matters just weeks before killing the police officer.

Walters, who is also known as 'China', was a high ranking member of the Burger Bar Boys.

When police arrested him, they found a 12-bore self-loading shotgun that Walters -who called it his Pump Up -had bought for 500 and was preparing to have sawn down.

PC Walker's widow, Helen, said after the guilty verdict she hoped in Walters' case, life meant life.

'What makes me really angry is he is going to get fed and watered while in prison,' she added.

'He has showed absolutely no remorse at all. There were things the jury didn't see when he came out. He would stare at us and at one point he poked his tongue out at us.

'He had only been out of prison four weeks for a previous offence and within four weeks he could commit murder. He should have still been behind bars.'
A Spanish court has ordered a businessman to pay his ex-wife 180,000 for 25 years of unpaid domestic labour, based on the minimum wage throughout their marriage.

Ivana Moral's husband was ordered to pay her 204,624.86 euros - just over 182,000 - in a record divorce settlement which was made public today.

Judge Laura Ruiz Alaminos, sitting at a court in Velez-Malaga in southern Spain, calculated the figure based on the annual minimum wage throughout the couple's marriage, the i news website reports.

The separated couple share two daughters and the ruling states that Ivana had spent almost all of her time looking after their family and working as a housewife during their marriage.

Ivana's husband must also pay her a pension equivalent to 444 per month as well as 356 and 533 to his two daughters, who are now aged 20 and 14.

Ivana Moral's husband was ordered to pay her 204,624.86 euros - just over 182,000 - in a record divorce settlement which was made public today.

The mother-of-two, who wed her ex in 1995 before asking for a divorce in 2020, has said she is happy with the payout after years of hard work.

'Clearly this was a case of abuse to be completely excluded financially (by my ex-husband) with nothing left after my marriage ended, so me and my daughters were left with nothing after all these years of putting all my time, energy and love in the family,' she told i.

'I was supporting my husband in his work and in the family as a mother and a father. I was never allowed access to his financial affairs; everything was in his name.'

Since marrying, Ivana had dedicated herself 'to essentially working in the home, which meant looking after the home and the family and all that involves,' the ruling said.

The couple's marriage was governed by a separation of property regime, which Ms Moral's husband had asked her to sign at the start of their marriage.

It specified that whatever each party earned was theirs alone, with them only sharing possessions.

The arrangement would have left Ms Moral with no access to any of the wealth acquired through years of partnership.

She told i that she has now spoken out about her case as she wants women to know what they are entitled to.

Ms Moral has said that she has now spoken out about her case as she wants women to know what they are entitled to

Judge Laura Ruiz Alaminos, sitting at a court in Velez-Malaga in southern Spain (pictured), ordered Ivana Moral's husband to pay her 204,624.86 euros

Legal papers showed a breakdown of what she would have earned annually for the years between June 1995 and December 2020.

Speaking to Cadena Ser radio, Ivana said her husband did not 'want her to work' outside the home.

He would only let her work at the gyms he owned, where she handled 'public relations and acted as a monitor'.

Otherwise, she said, 'I have dedicated myself exclusively to housework, looking after my husband and the house,' she said.

'He made me take on the specific role' of doing domestic chores, to the extent that 'I was in a place where I couldn't really do much else,' she said.

The sentence had made her 'very happy' because it was 'very well deserved', she said.

Ms Moral's ex-husband, who only wanted to split their home and possessions following the divorce , is expected to appeal the decision.
A boyfriend accused of torturing and murdering a 15-month-old baby pinned down and assaulted his partner as their relationship deteriorated, a court heard.

Jacob Lennon is alleged to have suffered horrendous long-term abuse at his family home in Putney, southwest London, before he was taken to hospital with fatal head injuries on 27 August 2019.

The boy's mother, Louise Lennon, 32, and Jake Drummond, 33, her partner, both face charges arising from Jacob's death.

Drummond denies murdering Jacob and a further charge of wounding the baby with intent in relation to earlier injuries, which include one caused to the genitals with a sharp object.

Lennon denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child.

Jake Drummond, 33, denies murdering Jacob and a further charge of wounding the baby with intent in relation to earlier injuries

Jacob Lennon is alleged to have suffered horrendous long-term abuse at his family home in Putney, southwest London, before he was taken to hospital with fatal head injuries on 27 August 2019

Louise Lennon, 32, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child

Today Lennon told jurors at the Old Bailey that she met Drummond when she was 15 and he was 16.

She reconnected with him via Facebook after moving to the Putney area in June 2019.

Jane Bickerstaff, defending Lennon, said: 'The police, in the course of their investigation have looked to get as much information as they could from your telephone, so it rather looks as if it was beginning of June when communications between the two of you began?'

Lennon replied: 'Yeah, I think I was asking him to bring me a joint.'

'Why would you be asking him about that?' said Ms Bickerstaff.

'I knew he would be dealing [drugs]' replied Lennon.

'So, you contacted him for that purpose?' continued Ms Bickerstaff.

'Yep,' said Lennon.

'What did you think about him when he came back into your life?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

Lennon replied: 'He was really nice, always talking about his girls. He told me he had worked in a nursery.'

Ms Bickerstaff asked: 'How did he treat you?'

'Very nice,' replied Lennon.

Father-of-two Drummond was still seeing Julie Sanders when his relationship with Lennon began in late June 2019, the court heard.

'Did you know that he was in a relationship with Julie Sanders?' asked Ms Bickerstaff

Lennon replied: 'Not at all, no.

'He just told me he had split up from her in previous months and he wasn't with her [anymore]' Lennon replied.

'So, it's not just that you didn't know he was in a relationship with her, you actually thought he wasn't from what he had told you?' said Ms Bickerstaff.

'Yes,' replied Lennon

The relationship between Drummond and Lennon began to change after her birthday at the beginning of August 2019, the court heard.

'In general he would ask me if I was seeing anyone else or accuse me of doing things,' she said.

'Had that not happened before this?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'No,' replied Lennon.

'Did you know why he had started asking you if you were seeing anyone else?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'After my birthday I thought it was just because I told him I had gone out..... he might have thought I was with someone else,' said Lennon

'Were you being unfaithful to your relationship with Jake Drummond by having other relationships at the same time as him?' Ms Bickerstaff asked.

Lennon replied: 'No'.

'Did he ever say anything to you which indicated he thought you were?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.'

'He said he saw messages on my phone,' replied Lennon.

She told the court she believed Drummond gained access to her telephone during the night and blocked numbers from her contact list, including the number of her ex-boyfriends.

'Did you ever do it on reverse and spy on his phone?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'I've never been on his phone once,' replied Lennon.

'You said he had started asking you these questions around your birthday... did his behaviour change generally in relation to you?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'Yes,' replied Lennon.

'In what way?' asked Ms Bickerstaff

Lennon replied: 'He seemed more agitated and aggressive... he was taking more drugs, he wasn't sleeping.'

She told jurors how Drummond began to abuse her, saying: 'It turned more physically abusive, he used to basically always have an opinion on my parenting and stuff like that.

'He hit me, he pinned me down.'

Ms Bickerstaff said: 'We can see from the schedule that although it may have lessened in volume there are still, across this entire time, messages from you to Mr Drummond telling him you love him, complimenting him, calling him 'baby' and other terms of endearment, why?'

Lennon said: 'That was my way of keeping him sweet, keeping him happy I didn't want him to get aggressive,' Lennon replied

'Why didn't you just end it?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'I was very intimidated by him I was just scared, I had never felt like that before... when I was with him I don't know, it was hard. I didn't know how to get away,' Lennon replied.

Lennon said she awoke to find Jacob with a large bruise on his forehead on the morning of August 16, 2019.

She walked into her son's bedroom to find Drummond already there, claiming Jacob had fallen out of bed.

Lennon said the bruising covering his 'whole forehead'.

'Presumably you said something when you saw this?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'I said, 'what happened to his head?'

She said Drummond continued to claim Jacob had fallen out of bed.

'Did you believe and accept Mr Drummond's explanation?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'I did, yes,' replied Lennon

'Were there any other surrounding circumstances that led you to be concerned?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

Lennon replied: 'No'

Four days later Lennon said she again found Drummond in her son's bedroom and he claimed he had woken up to find Jacob banging his head on the floor.

'Had you ever seen Jacob banging his own head on anything?' asked Ms Bickerstaff.

'No,' replied Lennon.

'Did you accept this explanation?' said Ms Bickerstaff.

'Yes, I didn't think anyone would hurt him' replied Lennon.

'Did you think in fact Mr Drummond was lying to you and he was responsible for doing this to your son?' Ms Bickerstaff continued.

'Not at the time, no,' replied Lennon.

Lennon said on the night before Jacob's death she went to bed at 1am.

She claimed she had no idea why Snapchat messages were sent between her and Drummond's phone between 2.12 and 2.24am.

'I don't know why I'd be messaging him when he's just sitting at the end of my bed,' she said.

Crying as she gave her evidence, Lennon said she awoke to Drummond running into the room holding Jacob.

'He brought Jacob into the room in his arms, telling me to call an ambulance because his lips were turning blue.

'He was holding him like he was serving him to me, not holding his head,' she said, holding out two flat hands to demonstrate.

'He was saying 'babe, babe, call an ambulance.'

She said Jacob looked floppy and unconscious.

Lennon then phoned an ambulance and Drummond gave Jacob CPR. Lennon said Jacob began to be sick as Drummond pressed down on his chest.

She accepted she made untrue statements to police and ambulance following the incident by suggesting that Jacob had fallen from his bed, saying that she just repeated what Drummond said to her as she was in a state of shock.

She said she felt heartbroken when she found out that Jacob was dead, an hour after he arrived at St George's Hospital in Tooting.

She said she returned to the police station two days later to tell them what really happened.

'I'd been in a state of shock. But then two days later I realised what had happened, that my son had been murdered. I had to go back and tell them. I had to do it for Jacob.'

She said she has since found out that Drummond had strangled his former partner Julie Sanders.

'Mr Drummond has told this jury that you killed your own child, what do you want to say about that?' Ms Bickerstaff asked.

'I wouldn't even dream of doing that,' Lennon replied.

'He said you were a bad mother,' Ms Bickerstaff said.

'It's all BS (sic). That's just not me. He's taken everything away from me, there is nothing more he can take away from me.

'I was always making sure Jacob was okay, I was always trying to keep an eye on him.

She said she always believed what he told her and she never feared he would cause harm to her child.

Drummond, of no fixed address, denies murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Lennon, of Ingrave Street, Wandsworth, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty.

The trial, at the Old Bailey, continues.
Utah has filed a lawsuit against the National Association of Attorneys General over its share of around $280 million that is allegedly used to invest in 'political schemes like ESG'.

The state lodged a suit on Tuesday that accuses the NAAG, the national membership group for state attorneys general, of putting taxpayers' money at risk. Utah estimates it's entitled to about $2m to $4m of NAAG assets and could try to recover the money if the lawsuit is successful.

The case comes amid growing controversy around the NAAG's use of public money. Montana's attorney general alleged in February that the organization lost $37 million last year, including a chunk of money lost to 'ESG-linked investments'.

ESG is short for environmental, social and governance. ESG investments are typically linked to green energy and 'woke causes'. Many Republicans are skeptical of these investments, which they claim underperform, and argue that they aren't a good use of taxpayers' money.

States pay a fee for membership of the NAAG, which has an annual budget of around $5.1 million. The organization also has assets worth around $280 million, much of which is held in 'restricted accounts'.

Utah has filed a lawsuit against the National Association of Attorneys General over its share of around $280 million that is allegedly used to invest in 'political schemes like ESG'. Pictured: Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes

The suit claims the NAAG and its Chief Financial Officer, Theresia Heller (pictured), should each be declared a 'public treasurer or custodian of public funds', which would mean the organization must use public funds in accordance with Utah state law

The NAAG also makes money by providing funds to its members to pursue lawsuits. If the suits are successful, the NAAG recoups the money, plus extra.

Utah's law suit, filed by Attorney General Sean D. Reyes, says much of the NAAG's assets belong to taxpayers. It alleges that the NAAG does not comply with Utah state laws about how public money is invested.

The lawsuit, which is understood to be the first step towards recouping Utah's share, demands that the NAAG and its chief financial officer, Theresia Heller, each be declared a 'public treasurer or custodian of public funds'.

This would then mean the NAAG was subject to Utah law about how public funds spent - and the state could demand the money back if the law isn't followed.

Will Hild, Executive Director of the Consumers' Research, said: 'I applaud Attorney General Reyes for taking legal action against NAAG who continues to put politics over consumers by investing in ESG.

'Utah is practicing good governance by standing up for consumers and not letting the ESG elites dictate American policy. Leaders like Reyes are on the front lines of the battle against the progressive's political investment charade and Consumers' Research will continue to offer our full support in the fight to end woke capitalism.'

Sources said the amount Utah is entitled to could be between $2 million and $4 million. The suits says NAAG assets should be audited to determine Utah's share.

Utah filed the suit weeks after Montana's Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, threatened legal action against the NAAG over ESG investments that it's claimed have lost tens of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit in Utah was filed weeks after Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, pictured being sworn in, told the NAAG: 'I have come to the conclusion that NAAG can no longer be trusted to hold assets on behalf of Montana, assets that are meant to benefit the people of Montana, or any other Montana-linked money'

Knudsen wrote to NAAG executive director Brian Kane and alleged it lost '$37 million or more last year on a coterie of esoteric investments in private equity and foreign stocks'.

He also accuses the organization of spending cash on 'trips to Europe for member AGs and their families' and says it is 'acting like an unaccountable slush fund'.

Knudsen, who pulled out of the NAAG last year, said in the letter: 'I have come to the conclusion that NAAG can no longer be trusted to hold assets on behalf of Montana, assets that are meant to benefit the people of Montana, or any other Montana-linked money.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is the president of the NAAG

'There is no doubt in my mind now that NAAG is an unreliable and improper financial steward, and that Montana's share of the money at NAAG needs to come home.

'Return the money in your accounts that belongs to Montana within 90 days or I will go to court and sue to ensure that the money is safely and legally brought back within the four corners of Montana law.'

The ESG movement has recently become a rallying cry for Republicans on Capitol Hill, who are pushing for legislation to protect retirement and investment accounts from asset managers who prioritize ESG values.

Kansas AG Kris Kobach has also asked the NAAG to disclose its investments to 'combat the corrosive 'ESG' practices of investment firms and other players in the financial industry'.

Republicans have also attempted to curb the growing use of ESG principles by federal agencies as they spend taxpayers' money.

Earlier in March, the Senate voted 50 to 46 to block a Biden administration rule allowing retirement fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decisions for nearly half the country.

Several moderate Democrat senators sided with Republics on the resolution.
Harris and other parents are now calling out the Santa Ana Unified School District for their response while Harris is pushing for the boy to be expelled

Jasmine Harris says her child was whipped at by a classmate using a jump rope who told her 10-year-old to 'get back to work, you slave'

A California mother held a protest outside her daughter's school after she claims her child was racially abused

A Southern California mother is leading the charge to expel a student who she claims snapped a jump rope at her black daughter and referred to her as a 'slave.'

Jasmine Harris' says her 10-year-old daughter recently became the target of an offensive, racially charged comment while she was at lunch with her friends.

According to Harris, a young white boy at her child's school whipped a jump rope toward her daughter - Paris Barnes - and told her to 'get back to work, you slave.'

The mom is now demonstrating outside of Santiago Elementary School in Santa Ana to bring awareness and attempt to have school officials take action.

'They're sweeping it underneath the rug,' said Harris, who spoke with ABC 7 Los Angeles about the disturbing incident.

Jasmine Harris' says her 10-year-old daughter recently became the target of an offensive, racially charged comment while she was at lunch with her friends

According to Harris, a young white boy at her child's school whipped a jump rope toward her daughter - Paris Barnes - and told her to 'get back to work, you slave'

Harris told the Southern California TV station she is all but ready to pull her daughter from the district but is hoping to see repercussions for the boy involved.

'I want the little boy to get expelled. I want them to do something about this,' Harris said.

She said she has yet to find out if the child has been disciplined at all for the incident, which she claims happened on March 1.

The mom and a group of other parents held a protest outside Monday, demanding answers from Santiago Elementary and Santa Ana Unified School District officials.

Jessica Garcia and Maria Gomez - both parents of students in the district - expressed their dissatisfaction with how the school has handled bullying of any kind.

'I don't think it's fair that so many parents are going through the same thing,' said Garcia.

'They see that it's so many kids involved and there's nothing being done about it,' she continued.

Gomez agreed with Garcia and Harris, telling the TV station: 'There's clearly a [systemic] issue that no one is paying attention to.'

Barnes also spoke with ABC 7 and said she is still reeling from the incident.

'It was very disrespectful and I just felt really hurt inside,' the young girl said.

Harris says because of the inadequate response from the district and school administrators, she has now gone to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

She is hoping the young boy is charged with a hate crime and attempted assault on a minor, she said.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Orange County District Attorney's Office for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The mom and a group of other parents held a protest outside Monday, demanding answers from Santiago Elementary and Santa Ana Unified School District officials.

Jessica Garcia and Maria Gomez - both parents of students in the district - expressed their dissatisfaction with how the school has handled bullying of any kind.

'I want the little boy to get expelled. I want them to do something about this,' Harris said

'There's clearly a [systemic] issue that no one is paying attention to,' said Maria Gomez

'My heart goes out to Paris, to the young lady, and I just want to make sure that she gets the support that the student needs,' said superintendent Jerry Almendarez

This is Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. Harris said she went to the district attorney's office and is hoping charges are brought against the young boy

In a statement to ABC 7, Santa Ana Unified School District superintendent Jerry Almendarez said he and his staff are working on a solution and have a formal investigation underway.

'My heart goes out to Paris, to the young lady, and I just want to make sure that she gets the support that the student needs, but also making sure that we also provide the support so this doesn't happen again,' Almendarez said.

DailyMail.com reached out to Almendarez for additional comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Now, Barnes says she still feels uncomfortable going back to school.

'I'm not really comfortable going back to school because I don't know if he'll do it again because no one really, like, said if he was going to be in that much trouble,' Barnes said.
A pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, U.S. intelligence agencies determined, according to a bombshell report on Tuesday.

U.S. officials told The New York Times there no evidence Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or his top officials were involved in September 2022 bombing, or that the group was acting at the direction of the Ukrainian government.

The Nord Stream natural gas pipelines link Russia to Western Europe, giving Moscow a direct route for its profitable natural gas business. The surprise attack damaged two of the pipelines - Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 - in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea.

In the outrage that followed, nearly every government found itself getting blamed: Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Britain, and the United States.

A satellite image shows gas from the Nord Stream pipeline bubbling up in the water following the bombing in Baltic Sea

Western allies blamed Russia, Moscow blamed the US and Britain. U.S. officials said no American or British nationals were involved.

White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the report, saying Germany, Denmark and Sweden were still investigating the explosion, which he called 'sabotage.'

'There are three investigations going on right now. And they aren't done. As far as I know, not none of none of those three countries have put out publicly what they're what they're finding,' he told reporters in a briefing call on Tuesday.

Last month the White House denied a report that U.S. Navy divers planted remote-controlled explosives that destroyed parts of the pipeline.

Moscow had pointed the finger at the U.S. because of a comment President Biden made in early February 2022 - before Russia invaded Ukraine - that would bring Nord Stream to an end should Russian troops and tanks enter its neighboring country.

Now U.S. intelligence officials say they believe the actual perpetrators were opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But the officials did not say what group was behind the attack, who directed it or who paid for it.

Officials also stressed their conclusions are not at 100%, leaving open the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services, The Times reported.

All of the four leaks are in the Baltic Sea off the Danish island of Bornholm. Two of the leaks were located in the Swedish exclusive economic zone, and the two others in the Danish one

This handout picture released on September 30, 2022 by the Danish Defence Command and taken on September 29, 2022 shows one of four gas leaks at one of the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea

The pipeline goes from Russia, into the ocean, and then to Germany

The facility at Lumbin, Germany, where the Nord Stream pipeline makes land again

Ukraine has long opposed the pipeline, which would easily bring Russian gas to European customers. Russia is one of the top three oil producers in the world. Moscow relies heavily on revenues from oil and natural gas, which in 2021 made up 45% of Russia's federal budget.

At the time of the attack, the U.S. said called it sabotage.

The sophisticated attack took place under water, near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, as the two pipelines are called, stretch 760 miles from the northwest coast of Russia to Lubmin in northeast Germany.

The first cost more than $12 billion to build and was completed in 2011. It took 15 years to construct.

U.S. Officials said they don't believe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy's government was involved

Both Swedish and Danish authorities investigated the four holes punctured in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from underwater attacks.

While the leaks were in international waters, two of them were in the Danish exclusive economic zone and two of them in the Swedish.

The pipelines have been at the center of geopolitical tensions as Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Although the pipelines were not in operation, they contained gas before falling victim to the apparent sabotage.
A Labour council was accused of hypocrisy after backing Sadiq Khan's controversial expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) - then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles.

Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline.

The council is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor's plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets.

But failing to meet the compliance rules - which include facing a daily charge of 12.50 if driving within the specified area without meeting the emissions standards - would place further pressure on the authority's budgets, Miss Dunne argued.

She said in the letter, obtained by The Daily Telegraph: 'We have already invested in their replacement, yet supply chain challenges mean the earliest likely date for vehicle delivery is 2023-24.

A Labour council was accused of hypocrisy after backing Sadiq Khan's controversial expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) - then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles

Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor (pictured) last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline

Hounslow council (pictured) is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor's plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets

'If there are any further delays in the market and supply, there will be insufficient time to make the fleet compliant before the proposed August 2023 rollout.'

Miss Dunne added: 'If no dispensation is provided, we will be subject to ULEZ penalties, putting further pressure on councils budgets.'

READ MORE: No 10 slaps down Sadiq Khan after London Mayor begged PM for yet more money to prop up hated ULEZ expansion Advertisement

It also called on the mayor to extend exemptions for school transport vehicles, and to give additional time to upgrade their fleets.

Conservative councillor Jack Emsley, who made the letter public, said: 'It's complete hypocrisy for Hounslow Council to back the ULEZ expansion for hard working families and businesses whilst simultaneously asking for an exemption for themselves.

'It cannot be one rule for the Hounslow Labour party and another rule for the rest of us.'

In a statement to the Telegraph, Miss Dunne said the council was committed to its vehicles being compliant and was currently going through procurement to refresh its vehicle fleet.

She added: 'During this period of transition alternative vehicle hires are being sourced until the delivery of the new vehicles.'

It follows Mr Khan facing staunch criticism recently over branding some ULEZ opponents as 'far-right' and 'Covid deniers'.

During a heated People's Question Time in Ealing, west London last week, he said: 'Let's be frank, let's call a spade a spade... some of those outside are part of the far-Right, some are Covid deniers, some are vaccine deniers and some are Tories.'

It also emerged that the mayor has asked Transport for London to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge car users in a 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme in the capital.
Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has denounced comments by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre as 'low' and 'derisive'  as well as anti-woman  after she appeared to mock President Biden's declared primary rival.

The self-help author unloaded on Biden's spokeswoman in a Twitter post online, a day after Jean-Pierre departed from her usual standards for abstaining from politics from the White House podium  apparently mocking Williamson when asked to comment on her candidacy, with a response that mentioned a crystal ball an an 'aura.'

She went after Jean-Pierre by name, and defended her right to run a primary against Biden as a woman  even recalling Biden's own vow to fire anyone on his team who spoke disrespectfully about others.

'I was so sad to see the commentary of the President's press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about me about crystal balls  which I've never spoken or written about, and auras  which I've never spoken or written about  and just speaking so derisively and in such marking terms about someone who is running for President of the United States,' she said. 'And as a woman, and this is the Democratic Party?'

The clash came days after Williamson announced her decision to challenge Biden. Williamson, who appeared to be speaking from her home, continued: 'I have a constitutional right to run, and my candidacy is about substantive issues and policies. I have made it clear and interview after interview that the President is a nice man, and that I have no interest in taking personal potshots.'

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson hit back at White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for 'low' and 'derisive' comments about her and her campaign

'But apparently the White House, or at least as expressed by Karine, doesn't share my commitment to the high ground,' she said.

'The hypocrisy here is something that all of us can see.'

Then she brought up Biden's pledge, which came on the heels of a former President Trump regularly ridiculing his opponents and attacking the media as 'fake news.'

'Because the President has said on his first day in office, that anyone in his administration who spoke disrespectfully about anyone would be fired on the spot. Now, I'm not hoping that Karine Jean-Pierre loses their job over this. But I do hope that from now on this low, derisive, this narrative about me it just obviously meant to get me out of the conversation. I hope that this path has not pursued. It's not good for any of us. It's not good for America. It's not good. For the Democratic Party,' she said.

Then, she raised the possibility that the digs could be an attack on people of faith or on women who speak 'out of turn.'

'People are watching and I hope that everyone who is watching realizes this is not just about me. They're not just telling me to  psh, get away like flip her off like a mosquito. It's about you. It's about anyone who, first of all, I think, what has faith and takes faith seriously, or is it just about any woman who speaks out of turn? I don't know. That's for you to decide. But whichever it is, I hope that we will stop that kind of nonsense. It's not good for any of us,' she concluded.

Her pushback came about 24 hours after Jean-Pierre took a dig at President Joe Biden's first and  for now  only Democratic challenger Monday by saying she didn't have a 'crystal ball' to consult about the matter.

It is a phrase Jean-Pierre has used before in other contexts, but it took some added heft when used regarding Williamson, a self-help author and spiritual counselor who has attracted notice for the emotive language she brings to the political scene.

Then Jean-Pierre joked about being able to 'feel her aura'  suggesting her comments about the primary rival were no accident.

Williamson, who launched her campaign on Saturday in Washington with a call to 'disrupt the system' and battle hatred and injustice with love, has repeatedly denied ever speaking or writing about 'crystals' or crystal-worshipping, even though the idea has somehow become attached to her reputation.

Jean-Pierre, a former advisor to Biden's campaign, was asked if the president was annoyed or frustrated that she jumped in before he announced his own intentions. She brushed off the matter. 'Just not tracking that. I mean if I had a  what is it called, a little globe here, a crystal ball, that I can tell you. But I  a magic eight-ball, whatever,' she said.

'If I can feel her aura  I just don't have anything to share on that,' she said, drawing some audible cackles inside the White House briefing room.

The sparring came days after Williamson launched her primary challenge to Biden Saturday

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at first dodged a question about President Biden's reaction to primary challenger Marianne Williamson  then said she didn't have a 'magic eight ball' in a likely dig at the self-help author

The comment came a day after Williamson vowed to take on a political system she called out of touch with ordinary Americans and an economic system she called 'sociopathic.'

She took on the so-called 'adults in the room' in the national system whom she said wanted others to 'sit down and let them run things'  a reference to her own non-traditional resume for high political office.

Jean-Pierre frequently exhibits great caution on political questions, frequently invoking the Hatch Act  as she did Monday on a question about former President Donald Trump.

Not long after Jean-Pierre's comment, Williamson's campaign announced a six-day tour of New Hampshire that will take her from Portsmouth to Londonderry, Manchester, and beyond.

Jean-Pierre's comment drew laughs in the press room (reporters are pictured at the White House last week)

Williamson did not directly attack Biden in her remarks.

A new poll by Morning Consult showed Biden getting 77 per cent support among Democrats  but Williamson getting 4 per cent backing.

Another 9 per cent favored 'someone else,' in a poll taken after Williamson's announcement, which drew modest press coverage.

Biden has yet to announce his own campaign, but first lady Jill Biden gave the impression he was running in a recent interview, and he has said repeatedly he intends to do so.

On Friday environmental activist and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a crowd in New Hampshire he was considering a run.

'I am thinking about it yes. I have passed the biggest hurdle, that my wife has green-lighted it,' said the son of the slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who as a presidential candidate.

Biden has done much to court his party's left to avoid a potential primary challenge. But the DNC's decision to put the South Carolina primary ahead of New Hampshire provides a potential venue for opponents to get political oxygen. That could happen if New Hampshire decides to hold its primary first anyway, as required by state law, and Biden were to decline to take part.
Wetherspoons has shut two pubs for good - while dozens more boozers remain in the firing line.

Hove's The Cliftonville, in East Sussex, Southport's The Willow Grove, in Merseyside, were the latest sites to be axed, closing on Sunday.

The closures come ahead of the shutdown of The Sir John Stirling Maxwell in Glasgow, which is pour its final pint on March 26.

Meanwhile, dozens of other Wetherspoons sites remain at risked of being axed nationwide, in a fresh blow to Britain's pub trade.

The sites are risk are currently on sale. But if no buyer is found, they will be permanently wrapped up.

Wetherspoons pubs that are closing or being sold in 2023

Southport's The Willow Grove, in Merseyside, was one of the latest sites to be axed, closing on Sunday

The Cliftonville, in Hove, East Sussex was also closed over the weekend - as the fate of dozens of other boozers remains uncertain

A total of 13 are currently under offer, reports the Mirror, which means an offer has been received by no sale has been made.

This is the full list of pubs set to be axed by Wetherspoons:

The Butlers Bell, Stafford

Worlds Inn, Romford

Silkstone Inn, Barnsley

Wrong Un, Bexleyheath

The Percy Shaw, Halifax

Jolly Sailor, Hanham

The Alfred Herring, Palmers Green

The Moon & Bell, Loughborough

The Widow Frost, Mansfield

Resolution, Middlesbrough

Foxley Hatch, Purley

The Rising Sun, Redditch

Sennockian, Sevenoaks

Admiral Sir Lucius Curtis, Southampton

The Colombia Press, Watford

The Malthouse, Willenhall

The John Masefield, New Ferry

The Crosse Keys, Peebles

Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham

The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh

General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton

Plough & Harrow, Hammersmith

Thomas Leaper, Derby

Tollgate, Turnpike Lane

Asparagus, Battersea

Millers Well, East Ham

Hudson Bay, Forest Gate

Angel, Islington

The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich

Capitol, Forest Hill

The Bankers Draft, Eltham

Moon on the Hill, Harrow

The Bank House, Cheltenham

Last Post, Loughton

The Postal Order in Worcester is one of 10 Wetherspoons pubs which have been sold

The news comes just weeks after Wetherspoons has confirmed that 10 of its pubs will be closing for good after being sold  with another 35 branches up for sale.

Among those purchased are the Harvest Moon in Orpington, Moon on the Square in Basildon and the Postal Order in Worcester.

Chapel an Gansblydhen, in Bodmin, and Bootle's Wild Rose will also close their doors for ever.

The full list of pubs that are under offer - but remain in the firing line Here is the full list of pubs currently under offer The Butlers Bell, Stafford The Percy Shaw, Halifax Foxley Hatch, Purley Tollgate, Turnpike Lane Asparagus, Battersea Millers Well, East Ham Hudson Bay, Forest Gate Angel, Islington The Billiard Hall, West Bromwich Capitol, Forest Hill The Bankers Draft, Eltham Moon on the Hill, Harrow Last Post, Loughton Advertisement

In January, the pub chain said sales jumped at the end of 2022 but it is still struggling to keep up with its pre-pandemic performance.

Like-for-like sales rose 18 per cent in the last quarter of 2022 at the firm's 844 pubs, but are still 2 per cent behind 2019 levels.

Wetherspoons also noted that costs were far higher than three years ago, especially for labour, food, energy and maintenance.

Its chairman Tim Martin said: 'The aftermath of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions have been far more difficult than anyone thought. That is the picture for the whole pub and restaurant industry.

'People thought that after lockdown there would be a boom in people suffering from cabin fever but, instead, it has almost been the opposite situation as people have got in the habit of staying in.

'That's the big thing that means sales are down on 2019. Things are improving now but it's slow.'

But Wetherspoons added that it it trumped the wider pub and restaurant sector in December, with sales jumping by a fifth compared with the national average of 15 per cent in the month, according to the Coffer CGA Business Tracker.

North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham, is another branch which has been confirmed as sold.

Mr Martin said he feels the biggest threat to the hospitality industry is that pubs and restaurants are taxed unfairly, while supermarkets pay no VAT on food sales.

North and South Wales Bank, Wrexham, is another branch which has been confirmed as sold

He said: 'This issue has been exacerbated in recent years because supermarkets now trade next to pubs on every high street, and with a huge tax benefit which means they can lower the price of beer.

'By and large, I think the non-executive directors of the largest pub and restaurant companies prefer to dig their heads in the sand, and not get involved.'

But the chairman says he is 'cautiously optimistic' about the company's prospects for the financial year.

Wetherspoons is one of the most popular pub chains in the UK, employing about 43,000 across its 800 sites in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Ukrainian schoolgirl who died after being found unconscious on a beach in Devon had 'local friends', had started to speak English and was loving life in Britain, a family friend has revealed.

Albina Yevko, 14, had been living with a host family and her mother in Dawlish after fleeing their home city of Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine following Russia's invasion a year ago.

But the teenager, who attended a local school, was found on a beach on Saturday evening after she was reported missing. Albina was airlifted to hospital in Exeter but later died. Her death is being treated as unexplained.

A family friend in Ukraine said: 'Albina and her mother Inna fled to the UK almost as soon as the war began. We are all so shocked about the news from the UK.

'Everything was good with them in Britain. I know Albina had started to speak English, not too confident but she understood it well after a year or so.

Inna Yevko with her daughter Albina as a child in Ukraine. She spoke of her heartbreak today

Albina Yevko, 14, had been living in Dawlish after fleeing Ukraine with her mother following Russia's invasion

'She was going to a local school.'

Speaking from Albina's home city Kryvyi Rih, the friend said: 'I know they had both got used to their life in Britain, and loved it.

'Albina gained some local friends. I saw one girl in a picture with the family which hosted them in the UK..so I was happy for Albina.'

The teenager, who attended a local school, was found on a beach on Saturday evening after she was reported missing

The community have expressed their shock at her discovery. Viktoriia Zviholska, 38, a cleaner said she arrived in Dawlish from Ukraine in May last year and became close friends with the family

Police were seen nearby today after the tragic death of schoolgirl Albina Yevko

Albina Yevko, 14, had been living with a host family and her mother in Dawlish after fleeing their home city of Kryvyi Rih in Ukraine following Russia 's invasion a year ago. Pictured: Debris of an apartment building damaged in a Russian rocket attack in Kryvyi Rih on December 16, 2022

In Ukraine before the war, the tragic girl had done well at school.

'She attended a music school and played the piano. I cannot say if she graduated but she definitely played the piano. She was so kind and always smiling,' the friend added.

Earlier her mother Inna Yevko said in a statement issued by Devon and Cornwall Police: 'Myself and my family are devastated to have lost our beautiful Albina. Nothing can ever replace her in our hearts. We ask that our privacy is respected at this incredibly painful time.'

Police were called to reports of a teenage girl missing from Dawlish on Saturday evening

Police close to the beach where Albina was found on Saturday

Police were called when the 'kind and caring' teenager was reported missing on Saturday evening.

Searches by a police helicopter and coastguard tracked Albina to a beach in the town where she was found unconscious. She later died at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

Officers said they are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death but it was not being treated as suspicious.

Sam Banks, headteacher at Dawlish College, where Albina was a year 9 student, paid tribute to the teen.

He said: 'Everyone in our school community has been devastated to learn of the tragic death of Albina.

'Our thoughts are currently with Albina's family and loved ones and we have extended our deepest condolences and offers of support to them.

'Albina will be sorely missed by all who knew her, and we have set up ongoing emotional support and signposting for staff and students affected by this terrible news.

'We would like to respect and echo the family's request that their privacy be respected at this incredibly painful time.'

Ms Yevko and her daughter Albina moved to Dawlish after war with Russia broke out a year ago

Searches by a police helicopter and coastguard tracked down the teenager to a beach in the town and she was airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital

The community have expressed their shock at her discovery.

Viktoriia Zviholska, 38, a cleaner said she arrived in Dawlish from Ukraine in May last year and became close friends with the family.

She said: 'I want to honor the memory of my friend's daughter from Ukraine.

'She was not only young, but also very bright, smart, interesting, she loved to draw.

'She was a good person. I can't believe this could happen to her. We are all a society and we know about stereotypes. That this person is more likely to get into such a story. This is the law of regularity. But what happened to Albina is complete nonsense.

'Albina always discussed with her mother what she would do and where she would go.

'Thanks to all the services of England for responding so quickly to the search request.

'It is unfortunate that medicine did not have time to help. Please help us find out what happened so that we can warn everyone that there were no such mistakes, not only among Ukrainian children, but also among English children.

'I have known this family since May last year. We met here. They were lucky to live with their family host.

'They liked England. Inna is a specialist in the IT industry. She had a job.

'Albina rejoiced at the new school. Maybe I found new friends. We met for lunch together. We celebrated the new year together.

Inna Yevko (R) mother of Albina Yevko pictured with her friend Viktoriia Zviholska (L), who revealed they had come to Dawlish last May

'I found good people in them. I have only good memories of our time together.'

Other members of the local community in Dawlish have also continued to pay tribute.

One local, a Red Cross worker, said: 'It breaks your heart given all that her family had been through.

'How much does one person have to go through.

'As a community, we are all incredibly sad'

A local tea room worker added: 'It is desperately sad. She has come so far from Ukraine and this has happened now.

'We welcome Ukrainians in Dawlish and our hearts go out to the family. It's awful news and hard to get your head around.'

A parent whose son went to Dawlish College alongside Albina said all pupils were sent a letter about the tragedy.

She said: 'My son's two years younger than the girl but goes to the school. I read the top of the letter from the school and burst into tears. As a mum, you put yourself in the same position.

'Having fled Ukraine to come here, the whole story is just tragic.'
A music manager was stabbed to death for a designer watch worth up to 300,000 after celebrating his birthday, a court has heard.

Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, was set upon by three robbers after leaving Haz restaurant near St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London on May 1, last year, the Old Bailey heard.

They had allegedly been tipped off by security operator Kavindu Hettiarachchi that Mr Odunlami was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch which, if real, was worth between 90,000 and 300,000.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said Hettiarachchi was 'an integral member of the security team' who had been hired by the events organiser Playhxuse for the private ticketed brunch and afterparty with DJ.

He told jurors: 'It was part of his role to protect the safety of those, like Mr Odunlami, who were attending the event. In fact he did the opposite.'

Emmanuel Odunlami, 32, (pictured) was set upon by three robbers after leaving Haz restaurant near St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London on May 1, last year, the Old Bailey heard.

They had allegedly been tipped off by security operator Kavindu Hettiarachchi that Mr Odunlami was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch (pictured) which, if real, was worth between 90,000 and 300,000 (File image)

Pictured: Haz restaurant near St Paul's Cathedral im London, where Mr Odunlami had been dining

Jurors were told the victim, known to friends as Jay, worked in the music industry managing a number of performing artists.

On the day of his death, he had driven to the City in his grey hatchback Mercedes to celebrate his birthday with friends, having organised tickets for a 1,400 table.

Mr Atkinson told jurors: 'Sadly, as it was to turn out, he liked expensive brand watches. At the time when he was fatally attacked, he was wearing a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch.

'If real, such a watch could be worth anything in a range from 90,000 to 300,000.

'It is believed the deceased's watch may not have been genuine, but was treated as genuine by those who sought to take it.'

As the event drew to a close at around 11pm, Hettiarachchi was caught on camera filming outside the venue and calling Louis Vandrose, the court was told.

Vandrose and Jordell Menzies were then driven by Quincy Ffrench in a white Mercedes with altered number plates from north-west London, the court heard.

Mr Atkinson said: 'The evidence shows that Ffrench, Vandrose and Menzies were setting off in car with a disguised registration in order to carry out a robbery, and that their target for that robbery was at the Haz restaurant where Hettiarachchi was working, and to which by phone he had summoned them.'

Jurors were told the security operator had filmed the victim and his 'high-value' watch and then appeared to type something into his phone.

Mr Atkinson said: 'The prosecution case is that he was making those other defendants aware of Mr Odunlami and his watch, in order that they could rob him of that apparently very valuable item.

'In common sense, those planning the robbery of Mr Odunlami of what appeared to be a very valuable watch would not have expected him just to surrender.

'Rather, he needed to be compelled to do so, and to that end one of those travelling in Mr Ffench's Mercedes was armed with a knife.'

Mr Odunlami was attacked by the group after he left the restaurant with a friend, the court heard.

As the event drew to a close at around 11pm, Hettiarachchi was caught on camera filming outside the venue and calling Louis Vandrose, the Old Bailey (pictured) was told

Mr Atkinson said: 'When they were ready, the defendants Ffrench, Vandrose and Menzies got out of the car and ran towards Mr Odunlami.

'On seeing the robbers closing in on him, Mr Odunlami tried to run, but he was caught by Menzies and then taken to the ground by the combination of Menzies and by Vandrose.

'Once Mr Odunlami was on the ground, all three defendants attacked him, shod feet were used as weapons to kick the defenceless man on the ground.

'During the course of that attack, one of the robbers, identifiable as Ffrench, bent down and took the object of this exercise, Mr Odunlami's Patek Phillippe Nautilus watch.

'As he did so he was heard to say 'got it'.'

The defendants then ran off, leaving the victim on the ground with a fatal stab wound to the chest.

Mr Atkinson said: 'It appears from the CCTV that he was stabbed before any demand was made of him, or any other form of attempt to take his watch from him.'

A flick knife was recovered nearby and linked by scientific analysis to the victim and Menzies, who had used it to kill him, jurors heard.

Afterwards, the three robbers travelled to Bloomsbury where they changed their clothes before parting company, the court was told.

The court heard that Ffrench, 27, from Tottenham, Vandrose, 27, of Thornton Heath, and Menzies, 26, from Kilburn, admitted robbery and Menzies had also pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Mr Atkinson said: 'The prosecution case is that Menzies was physically responsible for the use of that knife to stab an unarmed man.

'It was a blow delivered with at least a moderate level of force, in the estimation of the pathologist, that penetrated 8cm through Mr Odunlami's chest into the right ventricle of his heart.'

Menzies is charged with murder along with Ffrench and Vandrose who allegedly acted together to encourage and facilitate the fatal stabbing.

Hettiarachchi, of Harrow, who was employed as security operator for Supreme Security, is charged with being involved in the robbery and manslaughter.

Jurors were told Hettiarachchi had fake versions of high-value watches at his home, suggesting an interest in and knowledge of expensive timepieces.

He allegedly called on the help of his friend and colleague Antonios Kfoury, 21, from Ealing, who is charged with perverting the course of justice.

It is alleged Kfoury tried to obscure the role of Hettiarachchi in the security arrangement for the event at Haz and made a false statement to the police.

The defendants have denied the charges against them and the Old Bailey trial continues.
One of the protesters described the mast as a 'horrific rocket launcher'

Hundreds of angry homeowners waved banners and placards in protest over a 'horrific rocket launcher' just outside their homes.

Fed up residents say the 50ft (15m) metal pole erected by telecoms firm IX Wireless is blighting their lives and demanded its removal.

The company insists the mast will offer locals in Bolton, Greater Manchester, far better access to 'gigabit-capable broadband services' as part of a rollout of high-speed internet.

But households say they have been angered that planning laws allow poles to go up without their consultation or permission.

Organiser Martin Henderson, said people across the country should oppose their 'diabolical needless installation'.

Hundreds of angry residents protested after the installation of a 'horrific rocket launcher' style mast in Bolton

The 'residents against IX Wireless' group met after the telecoms company installed a metal mast 'without consultation'

He said: 'I'm gobsmacked at how many people showed up here today, there looks to be around 150.

'The numbers show how real the concern is for residents who feel that this is not of any benefit to the community.

'It isn't even people from Bolton who have come here today, there are people here who are facing similar situations where they live and want to talk about what we can do to stop this.'

Julie Eaton, 59, travelled to the protest from nearby Middleton after discovering poles are being installed in her area - and said she had disrupted their installation.

She said: 'We are about two months behind the residents of Bolton in terms of installing the masts but we expect that they will be installing those rocket launchers very soon.

'One of the selling points of my street was that everything was underground, we didn't have any hanging wires at all but that is about to change.

'My neighbours and I have been parking our cars on the pavements to stop poles being put up but I wanted to come here today to see what is happening in Bolton and learn some more about what can be done.'

A spokesperson for IX Wireless said their industry was 'heavily regulated' and the council had been informed of where the poles would be placed.

Residents met at Morrisons Petrol Station before heading to the mast for a community meeting

They said: 'The network delivers gigabit capable broadband services at a fraction of the cost of other broadband providers.

'The roll out enables us to provide cheaper broadband to communities across the region.

'The industry is heavily regulated and all structures go through stringent tests and conform to industry standards.

'This also goes for the placement of the poles and the local council is aware of any work being undertaken.

'Of course we are keen to improve our communications where we can, and in many towns and cities we have weekly meetings with council executives and elected officials to help resolve and communication issues.

'It is our intention to look at sites within the vicinity that are being highlighted and see how we can improve our service to local residents.

'Our intention is also to provide high speed internet access to communities and residents who may not be able to access it.'
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said controversial new law to 'stop the boats'

Migrants entering UK illegally from today will be banned from claiming asylum

Rishi Sunak tonight insisted the UK would 'take back control' of its borders on his watch as he vowed to halt the flow of small boats carrying migrants across the Channel.

The Prime Minister faced the cameras tonight after unveiling a new law designed to dissuade the thousands of people making the perilous journey every year.

The landmark Illegal Immigration Bill will bar arrivals from staying and applying on refugee, modern slavery or human rights grounds. They will also not be allowed to bring judicial reviews or get bail for at least 28 days.

Only children and the gravely ill will be allowed to remain in Britain while cases are considered.

To avoid creating a dash to reach Britain, the rules will be effective from now even though it could be months before they are on the statute book. They explicitly trump human rights laws and judges in Strasbourg.

Facing the press in Downing Street tonight from behind a lectern printed with the slogan 'stop the boats', Mr Sunak attacked migrants from 'safe' countries like Albania for paying thousands to people smugglers to travel illegally.

'I understand there will be debate about the toughness of these measures. All I can say is we've tried it every other way and it has not worked,' the Prime Minister said.

'It's this country and your Government who should decide who comes here, not criminal gangs.'

Asked about the possibility of legal challenges from human rights lawyers he said: 'I am up for the fight.'

The Prime Minister faced the cameras tonight after unveiling a new law designed to dissuade the thousands of people making the perilous journey every year.

The PM visited the South East this afternoon as he trumpets the blueprint, before holding the press conference.

Suella Braverman today warned that 100million people could be entitled to asylum in the UK under current rules as she unveiled a radical overhaul

More migrants were brought ashore in Kent yesterday ahead of the new laws being unveiled

Home Office figures lay bare how the number of illegal immigration attempts detected have risen - dominated by Channel boats arrivals

The number of arrivals in small boats peaked at nearly 9,000 a month in the summer

The number of asylum applications spiked last year to 74,751, relating to 89,398 individuals - the highest since 2002

The new Bill will also give Parliament the power to set an annual cap on the number of refugees accepted into the country - with local authorities being consulted on how many they can take.

The PM visited the South East this afternoon as he trumpets the blueprint, before holding the press conference.

Earlier Suella Braverman sounded defiance against European judges today as she unveiled a law banning Channel migrants from claiming asylum.

The Home Secretary insisted the UK can no longer tolerate a situation where many arrivals come from 'safe' countries, pass through France, and are 'rich' enough to pay traffickers large sums in a bid to game the system.

Dismissing 'naive' Labour jeers in the Commons, she said the need for reform was 'obvious and urgent' after 45,000 made the perilous Channel crossing last year.

Ms Braverman said the asylum system is 'overwhelmed' and 'waves of illegal migrants breaching our border' will only end when they know the UK will deport them 'swiftly'.

She also gave a stark figure that 100million could be entitled to asylum under current rules, adding grimly that they are 'coming here'.

'To anyone proposing de facto open borders through unlimited safe and legal routes as the alternative, let's be honest, there are 100 million people around the world who could qualify for protection under our current laws,' she said.

'Let's be clear, they are coming here. We've seen a 500 per cent increase in small boats crossing in two years.

'This is the crucial point of this Bill. They will not stop coming here until the world knows that if you enter Britain illegally you will be detained and swiftly removed.

'Removed back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. And that is precisely what this Bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.'

Ms Braverman conceded the initiative 'pushes the boundaries' of international law and the government faces challenges in the courts and in Parliament. She said she is 'confident this Bill is compatible with international obligations'.

But a letter she circulated to MPs and peers says that there is a 'more than 50 per cent chance' it will breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

Critics have also warned that the proposals are 'unworkable' because the UK does not have anywhere safe it can send the numbers who cross the Channel.

Home Office figures released last week showed the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claim in the UK has topped 160,000, with almost 75,00 applications made in the last year alone - a 20-year high.

Albanian was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK last year, with 14,223 applicants from the Balkan state - 9,573 of which came from people arriving in boats after crossing the Channel.

A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December. That was up 60 per cent from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010.

The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77 per cent year-on-year from 61,864.

The Home Office has launched a plan to fast-track some asylum claims in a bid to cut the soaring backlog. Thousands of applicants sent a questionnaire, rather than automatically facing an interview.

Ms Braverman said the asylum system now costs the taxpayer 3billion a year, but was being 'overwhelmed'.

She told MPs: 'The small boats problem is part of a larger global migration crisis. In the coming years, developed countries will face unprecedented levels with pressures from ever greater numbers of people leaving the developing world for places like the United Kingdom.

What is in the Illegal Immigration Bill? Suella Braverman updated MPs on the proposed Illegal Immigration Bill today as she vowed the Government would get a handle on the small boats crossing the Channel. The main points from the Home Secretary's statement: New powers to detain asylum seekers for up to 28 dats after their arrival, before deporting them.

Government looking at holding them on former military sites around the UK.

Those caught will be 'removed back to their county of origin if it is safe, 'or to a safer third country like Rwanda'.

Exception made only for children, those medically unfit to fly or 'at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm' elsewhere.

Asylum seekers will be banned from re-entering Britain again if they arrive in the UK through unauthorised means.

While the Home Secretary is 'confident' the bill is compatible with the UK's international obligations. she warned that she could not be certain that it was legal under human rights legislation.

Asylum seekers would not be able to claim they were victims of human trafficking under under modern slavery legislation in order to avoid deportation.

Ms Braverman claimed 100 million people around the world qualify for protection under current UK laws and 'they are coming here'. Advertisement

'Unless we act today, the problem will be worse tomorrow and the problem is already unsustainable. People are dying in the Channel.

'The volume of illegal arrivals has overwhelmed our asylum system. The backlog has ballooned to over 160,000.

'The asylum system now costs the British taxpayer 3billion a year. Since 2018, some 85,000 people illegally entered the United Kingdom by small boat, 45,000 of them in 2022 alone, all travelled through multiple safe countries in which they could and should have claimed asylum.'

Ms Braverman said slavery laws 'are being abused to block removals'.

She said: 'Last year, 17,000 referrals took on average 543 days to consider. Modern slavery laws are being abused to block removals, that's why we granted more than 50 per cent of asylum requests from citizens of a safe European country and Nato ally Albania.

'That's why this Bill disqualifies illegal entrants from using modern slavery rules to prevent removal.'

She said: 'I won't address the Bill's full legal complexities today, some of the nation's finest legal minds have been and continue to be involved in its development, but I must say this. Rule 39 and the process that enabled the Strasbourg court to block at the last minute flights to Rwanda after our courts had refused injunctions was deeply flawed.'

Ms Braverman suggested that the ban on bail or judicial review for illegal arrivals would only apply if they are deported within 28 days.

'This Bill enables detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed,' she said.

'It puts a duty on the Home Secretary to remove illegal entrance. And will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.

'Only those under 18, medically unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harm  an exceedingly high bar  in the country we are removing them to will be able to delay their removal.

'Any other claims will be heard remotely after removal.'

Ms Braverman said many Channel migrants came 'from safe countries like Albania', and that 'almost all passed through France', with 'the vast majority' being adult males under 40 'rich enough to pay criminal gangs thousands of pounds for passage'.

She said: 'Upon arrival, most are accommodated in hotels across the country, costing the British tax payer around 6million a day. The risk remains that these individuals just disappear. And when we try to remove them, they turn our generous asylum laws against us to prevent removal.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper complained that decisions on asylum cases have 'collapsed', adding: 'This is deeply damaging chaos and there's no point in ministers trying to blame anyone else for it. They have been in power for 13 years. The asylum system is broken and they broke it.'

She insisted that even if the Rwanda policy gets up and running it will only account for 'hundreds' of asylum seekers.

But Ms Braverman shot back that the Left 'naively' believed everyone on a Channel boat is a genuine refugee and was in favour of 'open borders'.

Tories lined up to back the government in the chamber, with Don Valley MP Nick Flechter saying the country is 'full'.

Many also demanded that the government presses ahead with leaving the ECHR - which is separate to the EU - if the action is blocked by judges.

Earlier, Mr Sunak admitted voters 'have heard promises before' without seeing results, but insisted his legislation 'will mean that those who come here on small boats can't claim asylum here'.

He wrote in the Sun: 'This new law will send a clear signal that if you come to this country illegally, you will be swiftly removed.'

How many people are seeking asylum in the UK? People who arrive in the UK after crossing the English Channel on small boats accounted for nearly half of the total number claiming asylum last year, figures show. There were 74,751 asylum applications in the UK in 2022, relating to 89,398 people. This is the highest total for a calendar year since 2002. It is also up 49% compared with the number of applications in 2021 (50,042) and is more than double the total for the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (35,737). The jump in applications 'mirrors a substantial increase in small boat arrivals to the UK,' according to the Home Office. Arrivals rose from 28,526 in 2021 to 45,755 in 2022 - an increase of 60%. People who arrived in the UK on small boats accounted for 45% of the total number of people claiming asylum last year. Some 90% of arrivals on small boats in 2022 claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. The increase in small boat arrivals has had an impact on the most common nationality of people claiming asylum. From 2016 to 2021, Iran was the top nationality claiming asylum in the UK. But in 2022 Albania was the most common nationality, driven partly by a sharp rise in small boat arrivals by Albanian nationals during the summer and early autumn. In July to September, Albanians accounted for nearly half (45%) of all detected crossings of the English Channel, though in October to December this proportion fell to just 9%. A total of 14,223 asylum applications from Albanian nationals were made in the UK last year, around two-thirds of which (9,573) originated from small boat arrivals, Government figures show. Overall, Albanians accounted for 19% of all asylum applications in the UK in 2022, followed by Afghans (13%), Iranians (10%), Iraqis (5%) and Syrians (5%). By contrast, in 2021 the figure for Albania was 10%, behind both Iran (20%) and Iraq (12%), while Afghanistan was just 5%. There were 388 asylum applications from Ukrainian nationals in 2022, accounting for 1% of the total. However, most Ukrainians coming to the UK since the Russian invasion will not have applied for asylum, arriving instead under one of the new visa routes. Although the total number of asylum applications in the UK is at a 20-year high, the figure is still 11% below the previous peak of 84,132 in 2002, which was partly caused by conflict and political unrest in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Somalia. Advertisement

The PM said it was a plan 'to do what's fair for those at home and those who have a legitimate claim to asylum  a plan to take back control of our borders once and for all'.

Mr Sunak told Cabinet this morning that his plans to stop small boat crossings of the Channel will fall within international law.

In their meeting on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the more than 45,000 migrants who made unauthorised crossings in small boats last year cost the taxpayer around 3 billion in hotel accommodation.

Giving an account of Mr Sunak's discussion at Cabinet, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'He said it (the Bill) would take tough, fair and necessary action, acting within international law, that would enable UK to have control of our borders so we can continue to be a compassionate and generous country providing refuge to the most vulnerable.'

Asked about the legality of the legislation, the spokesman said: 'Certainly from the Government's perspective, we believe the legislation to be compatible with the refugee convention.'

Home Secretary Suella Braverman told Cabinet detailed work had taken place to ensure the plans can be delivered 'as soon as possible'.

Attorney General Victoria Prentis 'outlined some of the legal measures relating to the bill', No 10 said.

Mr Sunak spoke to Rwanda's president Paul Kagame before unveiling his plans, and pledged to continue working with him to ensure their stalled project works.

The Government has paid more than 140million to Rwanda but no flights forcibly carrying migrants to the capital of Kigali have taken off because of legal challenges.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The leaders committed to continue working together to ensure this important partnership is delivered successfully.'

The PM will meet Emmanuel Macron on Friday to discuss further cooperation that will be required to reduce boat crossings.

A duty will be placed on the Home Secretary to remove 'as soon as reasonably practicable' anyone who arrives on a small boat, either to Rwanda or a 'safe third country'.

And arrivals will be prevented from claiming asylum while in the UK, with plans also to ban them from returning once removed.

In the new bill, small boat migrants will be barred from lodging asylum claims and stripped of the ability to launch human rights appeals.

Nearly all those who arrive by illegal routes will be able to appeal only once they have been deported.

It is understood that migrants will be kept in student accommodation, cruise ships or holiday parks - in a change from hotels - until they are either sent back to their country of origin or to a third location such as Rwanda.

It has been reported that the Home Office is planning to purchase two RAF bases in Lincolnshire and Essex to house migrants waiting for deportation.

Asylum and human rights claims are expected to be 'radically curtailed' under the package.

New legislation will mean claims of human trafficking will need to rely on significant proof to be claimed.

In a separate development, ministers have not given up on sending the first plane-load of migrants to Rwanda this year. They have been encouraged by December's court ruling that the deal with the African country is lawful.

Although the policy is still facing legal challenges ministers believe it could even be possible for an asylum flight to take off by the summer.

The full package of immigration measures is due to be unveiled by Mr Sunak and Mrs Braverman later today.

Immigration laws brought into force under Boris Johnson set out how the Home Secretary can declare a migrant's claim inadmissible if they passed through a safe third country such as France.

Today's strengthened package will see this applied almost across the board to all migrants.

The move will expand powers introduced by Labour in 2003  'non-suspensive appeals'  that allow asylum seekers to be removed after their initial claim is rejected.

However use of the powers has slumped. There were 1,285 asylum cases earmarked for the process in 2018, but in the first six months of last year only 171 were deemed eligible.

The Illegal Migration Bill will also see Channel migrants banned for life from coming back to Britain.

Ministers have insisted that they can ignore last-minute interventions by Strasbourg judges.

A new Bill of Rights, published last June but currently on hold, states unequivocally that 'no account is to be taken of any interim measure issued by the European Court of Human Rights'.

But it is not yet known whether today's legislation will include the measures.

Tough measures to tackle small boat arrivals will be rushed through Parliament  and could be in place by summer. Pictured, a group is brought ashore in Dungeness yesterday

Rishi Sunak said 'enough is enough' as Home Secretary Suella Braverman vowed that ministers would tackle the Channel crisis 'no ifs, no buts'

James Cleverly and Dominic Raab were in Downing Street for Cabinet today

Rolled- up inflatable dinghies and outboard engines stored at a yard in Dover

A rarely-used measure under the Human Rights Act  known as a Section 19.1.B statement  will be deployed to get the legislation through Parliament

Ministers are braced for opposition from the Whitehall establishment  dubbed the 'Blob'  over their plan to tackle the Channel crisis.

Critics include former Home Office mandarin Sir David Normington who said it was 'highly doubtful' the proposals would lead to a fall in crossings.

Refugee charities and a trade union that represents immigration officers were also among those who questioned early details of the scheme.

Sir David told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'At the heart of the policy is a gamble that if you say it's illegal to come in a small boat people will stop coming. I think that is highly doubtful.'

He predicted the Government's plan would face 'very great' problems.

Lucy Moreton of the Immigration Services Union also cast doubt on the plans, describing them as 'quite confusing'.

Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council described the legislation as flawed, adding: 'It's unworkable, costly and won't stop the boats.'

Steve Valdez-Symonds of Amnesty International UK condemned the proposed measures as 'disgraceful posturing and scaremongering'.

Asked whether the plan was legally feasible, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer replied: 'I don't know that it is and I think we've got to be very careful with international law here.'

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'We've seen too many lives lost attempting this dangerous and unnecessary journey, and the number of people entering the country is simply unsustainable. As we've always said, we recognise there will likely be challenges in many forms to this sort of legislation.'

A No 10 spokesman said the Government would stop all small boats but declined to put a timescale on the plans.
A mother and son were found drowned seven hours after their car came off a sharp bend on a country road and plunged into a pond, an inquest heard today.

Vivien Radocz, 28 and her son Milan Radocz, were recovered from the wreckage near an RAF base in Wittering, Cambridgeshire, after a fisherman discovered their car upside down in the water seven hours after the crash.

The inquest heard Mrs Radocz 'failed to negotiate a sharp left-hand bend' and crashed through a chain-link fence into the pond while driving her blue Ford Focus in September last year.

It was only when fisherman and RAF officer John Smith discovered the car upside down seven hours later that RAF guards and emergency services were alerted.

But the pair from Stamford, Lincolnshire, were pronounced dead that day after they were recovered from the wreckage.

Vivien Radocz, 28, and her young son Milan Radocz of Stamford, Lincolnshire, were found in a blue Ford Focus seven hours after crashing into the water near RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire, last September

Mrs Radocz died at the scene, while her son was rushed to Peterborough Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Pictured: the cordoned off pond

The 2010 blue Ford Focus spun off the road at around 10.35am crashing through a chain-link fence.

The car then plunged into a pond where it stayed for seven hours before being discovered by fisherman and RAF officer John Smith at 5.30pm who did not realise anyone was still in the vehicle.

He spotted that the fence was pushed over and then saw a vehicle upside down in the water, the back two wheels sticking out of the surface.

He called the guards of the RAF Wittering air force base which the pond belonged to who arrived 20 minutes after. The guards then called emergency services at 18.20.

Mr Smith said: 'I didn't call the emergency services because I thought the car had been there for a while due to it being on military premises.'

It was only after police, paramedics and the fire service arrived did officers realise Mrs Radocz and Milan were in the vehicle.

A fire officer smashed through the window of the passenger side and found what they believed to be a child's foot.

Paramedics rushed Milan to Peterborough Hospital, Cambridgeshire, where he was pronounced dead at 7.44pm that day.

The pond is sat on a sharp bend, meaning fast moving vehicles that lost control while travelling out of Wiittering westwards may end up in the water

The pair were found inside the blue Ford Focus that was recovered from a pond near to the boundary with RAF Wittering (above), Cambridgeshire, last September

PC Rutter attended the scene at 6.22pm and stated: 'At the time it hadn't been identified if there were any occupants in the vehicle.

'Officers rushed into the water a few minutes later and smashed the window. They carried a child out of the water who was unresponsive.

'Paramedics scooped the child from the officer's arms and rushed off the scene in an ambulance. Shortly later the officers recovered a body of a female from the vehicle.'

Mrs Radocz was found without her seatbelt on and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coroner Simon Milburn, hearing evidence at Peterborough Town Hall, recorded Milan's death as drowning after the car came off the 40mph Old Oundle Road near Wittering.

He said: 'The vehicle left the single carriageway on the left side and entered a pond, becoming submerged in water.

'Milan was unable to escape from the vehicle and was not discovered until 17.30 that day.'

CCTV footage documented the last sighting of the pair leaving Wittering at 10.31am in the car.

The forensic collision investigation found Mrs Radocz had steered an 'incorrect course' around the sharp bend in the country road, but the reason why she did so was unclear.

She had no pre-existing medical conditions and there was no evidence of speeding or any vehicle defects that would have caused the crash.

A toxicology report showed there was no alcohol or drugs in her system at the time of the crash.

PC Sean Redman's report stated: 'Why she steered an incorrect course is unknown.

'Her unfamiliarity with the road, a distraction or inattention or a combination appears to me to be the most likely factors in the course of this collision.'

Mrs Radocz's family told a liaison officer she would avoid unknown roads and use a Sat Nav to get around but there was no evidence of her using a phone at the time of the crash.

Their family have since repatriated to Hungary and have not issued a statement.

Mr Milburn said: 'I would like to pass on my condolences for the family's loss. It is difficult to imagine the extent of their grief of the loss of such a young child.'

A previous crash at the site in 2019 also saw a silver vehicle plunge into the pond after a traffic collision, though thankfully in that incident nobody was injured.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) denounced the FOX host's portrayal of the Capitol attack as 'dangerous and disgusting'

In a scathing response to the never-before aired footage from January 6th security cameras at the Capitol - provided by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to Tucker Carlson - the U.S. Capitol Police chief denounced the FOX host in an internal memo to his team on Tuesday.

'Last night an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack. The opinion program never reached out to the Department to provide accurate context,' wrote Tom Manger, chief of the U.S. Capitol Police.

'One false allegation is that our officers helped the rioters and acted as 'tour guides. This is outrageous and false,' fumed the chief in the memo.

US Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger denounced Tucker Carlson's show on Monday evening that aired clips of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021 during more subdued moments.

Fox host Tucker Carlson unveiled never-before-aired Jan. 6 clips, which the Capitol Police Chief slams as "cherry-picked' and not an accurate portrayal of events

The Capitol Police chief denounced Carlson's assessment that law enforcement officers inside the Capitol were somehow complicit with the rioters.

'I don't have to remind you how outnumbered our officers were on January 6. Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk to rioters into getting each other to leave the building,' wrote Manger.

'Finally, the most disturbing accusation from last night was that our late friend and colleague Brian Sicknick's death had nothing to do with his heroic actions on January 6. The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day.'

'As some people selection from 41,000 hours of video clips that seemingly support the narrative they want to push, those of you who were here on January 6, those of you who were in the fight, those of you who ensured that no Member of Congress was hurt, those of your who contributed to the effort to allow the country's Legislative process to continue firsthand what actually happened.'

'You fought like hell on January 6 and risked your lives to protect the Constitution and everything this country stands for. You, along with our law enforcement partners, saved every Member of Congress and their staff.'

'TV commentary will not record the truth for our history books. The justice system will. The truth and justice are on our side.'

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah compared Tucker Carlson to Alex Jones' false portrayal of the Sandy Hook shooting in an interview with CNN.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah told CNN that McCarthy made a mistake in giving the footage to Carlson and the FOX host's portrayal of the Capitol attack was 'dangerous and disgusting.'

Romney added: 'Any attempt to normalize what was a violent attack on the United States Capitol only makes it more intriguing for people to do such a thing in the future,' he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Donald Trump called for releasing all January 6 prisoners after Tucker Carlson's show on Monday unveiled new footage, which he claims casts a fresh perspective on the 2021 unrest at the US Capitol.

'Congratulations to Tucker Carlson on one of the biggest 'scoops' as a reporter in U.S. history,' wrote Trump on social media.

Former President Donald Trump demands all prisoners convicted of crimes on January 6, 2021 released based on footage made avail by Speaker McCarthy and shown by Tucker Carlson

Former President Donald Trump claims then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are to blame for security lapses on January 6, 2021.

In footage screened on his show Monday night, so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was apparently seen being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.

Carlson suggested that challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley - jailed for four years over the incident - aggressively barged into the chamber.

On Tuesday morning, the former president claimed on Truth Social that Capitol rioters behind bars were 'convicted, or are awaiting trial, based on a giant lie.'

'A radical left con job. Thank you to Tucker Carlson and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy for what you have both done,' Trump continued.

'New video footage is irrefutable.'

After Carlson's showed air, Trump also called for the 'Unselect' January 6 committee to be prosecuted for being 'criminal fabricators' and said Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell 'failed on security.'

Also broadcast was footage of Capitol cop Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot.

It was initially suggested Sicknick's death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher and pepper spray by rioters.

But a medical examiner later ruled he'd died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack.

He appeared in good health, which the Fox News host said poured cold water on liberal outlets' insistence that the Capitol rioters had Sicknick's blood on their hands.

'Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.

'This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.'

Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer

Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol

Brian Sicknick is seen shortly after the Capitol was breached. Carlson said he appeared 'healthy and vigorous'

Sicknick, who died of a stroke on January 7, is seen during the riot carrying out his duties

He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol, yet was never charged - giving rise to the suspicion that Epps was an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.

On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.

'They were orderly and meek,' said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol. 'These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.'

Carlson said they 'obviously revere the Capitol,' noting they took selfies and 'queued up in neat little lines.'

'Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie,' he said. 'Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.'

'Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.'

Carlson pointed to footage showing the 'QAnon Shaman' - a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley - inside the Capitol.

Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.

He's been jailed almost four years for 'obstructing an official proceeding.'

'The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley,' said Carlson. 'They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.'

Trump supporters are seen walking through the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Carlson described them as 'sightseers'

Carlson further suggested that alleged Capitol Rioter Ray Epps - pictured in red Trump cap - was actually an FBI agent sent to stoke violence. Epps denies claims

The footage comes as Fox News continues to contest a $1.6 billion lawsuit taken out against the broadcasting giant by Dominion, who manufactured voting machines for the 2020 election.

Fox is being sued over claims the network endorsed theories the firm's voting machines were rigged to deliver a Biden win.

The broadcaster's owner Rupert Murdoch was recently deposed over the lawsuit, and said he'd 'liked (Fox) to have been stronger denouncing' the stolen election claims.

Fox News denies the claims made against it by Dominion.
As spring breakers pack their bikinis and sunglasses to hit the beach in Mexico, the US government is urging citizens to avoid cartel hotspots amid a spike in violence.

Four Americans were kidnapped and two butchered Friday in the border town of Matamoros in the latest stark reminder that a bloody drug war rages behind the glamorous facade of the country's sun-drenched resorts.

But despite the spiraling cartel violence, travel agents are reporting a post-pandemic boom with bookings trebling on pre-2020 numbers.

US citizens headed for Cabo, Cancun and Tulum are warned to exercise 'increased caution' over crime and kidnapping, while those destined for Puerto Vallarta are urged to 'reconsider travel' as 'violent crime and gang activity are common.'

Robert Almonte, a former US Marshal for the Western District of Texas and retired deputy chief with the El Paso Police Department, told DailyMail.com the State Department warnings do not go far enough because 'the cartels are everywhere and anywhere in Mexico.'

A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe 'do not travel' category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists. Cancun and Tulum, both hugely popular with US tourists and particularly students, are located in the far eastern state of Quintana Roo where 'increased caution' is required over crime and kidnapping.

Spring breakers dance at a pool party at a hotel in Cancun. In Quintana Roo, home to the tourist areas Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya, the government advice says US citizens should 'exercise increased situational awareness after dark in downtown areas.'

Tourists stand in long lines to enter the popular Coco Bongo nightclub in Cancun at the start of Spring Break, February 2017

In Quintana Roo, home to the tourist areas Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and the Riviera Maya, the government advice says US citizens should 'exercise increased situational awareness after dark in downtown areas.'

It warns that violence can 'occur in any location, at any time, including in popular tourist destinations.'

Kidnappings have occurred, the guidance states, and shootings between rival gangs have caught innocent victims in the crossfire.

Despite the advice for the region, 'travel is back and better than ever,' according to the owner of Winner Circle Travel Agency, Angel Taylor.

'I feel like people are traveling more now post-pandemic than pre-pandemic,' she told CBS.

Following the attack on US citizens in Matamoros, Taylor said some of her customers were concerned. However, she believes the country is largely safe.

'I did have some clients reach out to me in a panic,' Taylor said. 'I reassured them, that the tourist areas like Cancun, Riviera Maya, those areas are safe for tourists. They're staying at resorts, they're not close to the border.'

Almonte told DailyMail.com that he was not not at all surprised that tourists were continuing to head to Mexico.

'It does not surprise me. I am disappointed that they're doing that in spite of all the recent incidents. I do a lot of training. I train police officers throughout the United States and a lot of them continue to go to the resorts in Mexico despite my warnings not to do so,' the security expert said.

'The bottom line is when someone makes the decision to go to Mexico for any reason, you're basically risking your life. It's just a dangerous place to be. I tell people don't go to Mexico. I am advocating a boycott of Mexico. I am telling people do not go to Mexico. Do not go to the resorts. Let's send a message to the Mexican government that they need to get a handle on this situation.

'Right now they don't care because it's business as usual. It seems like we don't care, we're ignoring the situation.'

He said that the warnings from the State Department were welcome but do not go far enough because the entire country is dangerous.

Woman and children at beach in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico

Two US students on spring break kiss each other in a contest for a bottle of rum at Cancun beach, Mexico

A DJ performs during Spring Break at The Grand Oasis Cancun in 2022

A cargo vehicle in flames after clashes between federal forces and armed groups in the city of Culiacan, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, January 5, 2023

'The cartels are everywhere and anywhere in Mexico; they have checkpoints set up where you'll get stopped and you need to pay a tax to get through and even with that you may still be abducted and held for ransom. So, people should not go to Mexico,' he said.

'Regarding the issue of spring break, yeah, I have been saying for a long time spring breakers should not go to Mexico for spring break. They're risking their life.'

The ritzier destinations of Cabo and Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast, are also under strict warnings.

In the case of Cabo, located in California Sur, the State Department says people should exercise increased caution because of crime.

In Jalisco state, home to the popular destination, Puerto Vallarta, the government says that 'violent crime and gang activity are common.'

'In Guadalajara, territorial battles between criminal groups take place in tourist areas,' the State Department says. 'Shooting incidents between criminal groups have injured or killed innocent bystanders. US citizens have been victims of kidnapping.'

There are three highways in the state which are off limits for US government employees over security fears.

A total of six states are under the most severe 'do not travel' warning: Guerrero, Colima, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.

Tamaulipas is where two US citizens were found dead on Wednesday after two others were kidnapped with the pair.

Two Americans who survived being kidnapped at gunpoint at the US-Mexico border by 'Gulf Cartel' have been pictured in the back of an ambulance before being transported to Texas

The woman, believed to be Latavia McGee can be seen wiping her eyes with a tissue as another survivor is treated in the back of an ambulance

Latavia 'Tay' McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure before she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a drug cartel on Friday

McGee was joined by her cousin, Shaeed Woodard, (left) and friends Eric Williams (right) and Zindell Brown

Latavia 'Tay' McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard and their friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams were said to be traveling south so McGee, a mother-of-five, could get a budget tummy tuck when they got caught in gunfire between two gangs.

Mexican officials confirmed they were all found in a stash house in the rural town of El Tecolote, six and half miles from Matamoros. At least one person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The surviving Americans were taken to the border near Brownsville, Texas, in a convoy of Mexican ambulances and SUVs Tuesday.

The White House denounced the kidnappings as 'unacceptable' and offered condolences to families of the victims.

'We're going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case,' White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

He told reporters that Washington was still learning about details of the incident from Mexican officials.

'Right now our focus is very squarely on these four Americans and the families that have been affected by the attack,' Kirby added.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that the victims were believed to have entered the country to buy medicines and got caught up in a confrontation between criminal groups.

'We're very sorry that this is happening in our country,' Lopez Obrador told reporters after the confirmation of the deaths.
Hunter Biden will have to face his baby mama in court if he wants to slash paternity support for his four-year-old lovechild, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The First Son, 53, petitioned an Arkansas judge last year to recalculate the money he pays each month to Lunden Roberts, the mother of Navy Joan Roberts, the little girl he barely acknowledges is his.

But Hunter's feisty former flame refused to re-negotiate and instead the pair will settle their differences in open court when the case goes to a two-day bench trial in July.

If the recovering drug addict wants to win, he has until May 22 to produce detailed financial records to demonstrate why he's suffered a 'substantial' loss of earnings  all of which will enter the public record.

The President's son will also have to submit to a deposition in June in which lawyers for Roberts, 32, will have the chance to grill him over his various businesses and shady overseas ventures.

Hunter Biden will have to face his baby mama Lunden Roberts in court for a two-day trial to lower his child support payments, DailyMail.com can reveal

Hunter petitioned an Arkansas judge last year to lower child support payments to Lunden Roberts for their daughter Navy Joan

They'll also want to know how it's possible that Hunter's finances have cratered while he's selling paintings for up to $500,000 apiece under his new guise as an abstract artist.

Roberts won a reported $2.5 million settlement from Hunter after taking him to court in 2019 and forcing him to take a DNA test to prove he fathered Navy Joan during their 2017 fling.

The adorable, blonde-haired girl is the fourth of his five children but neither he, nor his parents Joe and Jill Biden, have ever met the child or publicly acknowledged her existence.

Hunter claimed during the bitter, 10-month case that he was 'unemployed and had no monthly income' despite living in a $12,000-per-month Hollywood rental and driving a Porsche.

But when an Independence County judge ordered him to produce financial records he repeatedly failed to do so and instead settled out of court, the two sides announcing a 'global, final settlement of all issues'.

In September last year Hunter reopened the case, pleading poverty, writing: 'Since the entry of the existing child support order there has been a substantial material change in the Movant's financial circumstances, including but not limited to his income.'

Roberts refused to buckle and raised the stakes by petitioning the court to officially rename her daughter Navy Joan Biden  to 'benefit from carrying the Biden Family name.'

Her attorney Clinton Lancaster also fired off a fresh discovery request running into hundreds of questions covering Hunter's assets, earnings, overseas business dealings in Ukraine and China, plus any payouts to attorneys and agents.

Sources say the list also honed in on Hunter's recent income, asking him to itemize any artworks he's sold in the past couple of years, the names of the buyers and any paperwork related to the purchases.

If Hunter moves forward, he has until May 22 to produce detailed financial records to demonstrate why he's suffered a 'substantial' loss of earnings

So far, Hunter is yet to comply, complaining that the lengthy interrogatories are 'vague and ambitious' and asking the court to strike down some of the queries.

He's also opposing the name change on the grounds that it's 'political warfare' against the Biden family and the new moniker will rob the child of her 'peaceful existence.'

In a case schedule obtained by DailyMail.com, Circuit Judge Holly Meyer insists both parties must comply fully with discovery requests by May 22, a day before a pre-trial hearing.

The trial is listed for July 24-25 with Meyer warning the pair against any frivolous delays, writing: 'No continuance will be granted unless for good cause shown.'

Navy Joan was born in August 2018 but she remained a secret until Roberts sued Hunter for child support in her native Arkansas.

Her ex-lover claimed in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, that he went on such a 'rampage' in the wake of his 2017 divorce from Kathleen Buhle that he couldn't remember the names of the women he bedded.

'It's why I would later challenge in court the woman from Arkansas who had a baby in 2018 and claimed the child was mine  I had no recollection of our encounter. That's how little connection I had with anyone,' Hunter wrote.

It was initially reported that Hunter met Roberts while she worked as a stripper at a DC club which Hunter frequented.

But texts retrieved from his notorious abandoned laptop proved that she was in fact on the payroll at Rosemont Seneca, Hunter's investment firm.

Neither Joe Biden nor Hunter have ever met Navy Joan. Joe is seen holding his grandson Beau at the White House

Roberts and Hunter conceived Navy Joan around December 2017 while he was still in a relationship with his brother Beau's widow, Hallie

Navy Joan gets none of the perks of having a president for a grandfather, nor the round-the-clock Secret Service protection enjoyed by the rest of the Biden brood

She and Hunter conceived Navy Joan around December 2017 while he was still in a relationship with his brother Beau's widow, Hallie.

The pair remained in communication throughout her pregnancy until he abruptly cut her off.

Hunter has never seen Navy Joan and could not pick her out of a photo lineup, according to court filings.

She's never met her grandpa Joe, 80, despite the President fawning over his six other grandkids and frequently bringing them along for events and speeches.

Navy Joan gets none of the perks, nor the round-the-clock Secret Service protection enjoyed by the rest of the Biden brood.

However, family friends say the youngster is 'adorable, loved, safe and very happy' as she grows up in rural Arkansas blissfully unaware of her proximity to the caustic world of US politics.

In February 2022 Roberts gave evidence to a Delaware grand jury investigating Hunter for alleged tax crimes, joining a growing list of former business partners and associates who have been drawn into the Department of Justice's secretive three-year probe into his overseas dealings.

Federal prosecutors were particularly interested in what she learned about Hunter's finances, according to her attorney.
The family of police officer Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who died the day after the January 6, 2021 Capitol breach, slammed Fox News and Tucker Carlson as 'unscrupulous and outright sleazy' as the latter continues to review footage of the incident.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has handed 40,000 hours of January 6 footage to Carlson, who has been reviewing it and airing his findings for his millions-strong audience.

He has repeatedly claimed that President Joe Biden and his administration are 'lying' to the American people about what happened that day.

On Monday evening, Carlson showed his viewers footage that showed a much calmer version of January 6 unfolding and said: 'The footage does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress.'

'The video record does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection. In fact, it demolishes that claim. And that's exactly why the Democratic Party and its allies in the media prevented you from seeing it.'

In response, Sicknick's family released a condemnatory statement making it clear that they are 'outraged at the ongoing attack on our family by the unscrupulous and outright sleazy so-called 'news' network of Fox News who will do the bidding of Trump or any of his sycophant followers, no matter what damage is done to the families of the fallen.'

This undated image provided by the United States Capitol Police shows U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. In April 2021, the DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes

Brian Sicknick's parents Charles and Gladys Sicknick after President Joe Biden presented them with a posthumous medal for their son

It was originally suggested Sicknick's death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher and pepper spray by rioters.

But a medical examiner later ruled he'd died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack.

He appeared in good health, which the Fox News host said poured cold water on liberal outlets' insistence that the Capitol rioters had Sicknick's blood on their hands.

In April 2021, the DC medical examiner ruled that Sicknick, who was injured while confronting rioters, suffered a stroke and died from natural causes.

'To this day, media accounts describe Sicknick as someone who was, quote, 'slain' on January 6,' Carlson said on Monday night.

'The video we reviewed proves that is a lie.'

Carlson said the officer was 'healthy and vigorous,' and noted he was wearing a helmet.

'So it's hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury,' he said.

'Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol.

'This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.'

In response, Sicknick's family released a condemnatory statement making it clear that they are 'outraged at the ongoing attack on our family by the unscrupulous and outright sleazy so-called 'news' network of Fox News who will do the bidding of Trump or any of his sycophant followers, no matter what damage is done to the families of the fallen.'

In response, the family wrote: 'Carlson's 'truth' is to pick and choose footage that supports his delusional views that the Jan 6th insurrection was peaceful and that Ashley Babbit was some kind of martyr.

'Whilst making a criminal out to be a martyr, he is also downplaying the horrid situation faced by the USCP (United States Capitol Police) and DC Metro Police who were incredibly outnumbered and were literally fighting for their very lives,' the statement continued.

Ashley Babbit was a 36-year-old Air Force veteran Trump supporter who was shot dead by a police officer on January 6 inside the Capitol Hill complex. An internal Capitol Police inquiry ultimately found the shooting to be lawful.

'The Sicknick Family would love nothing more than to have Brian back with us and to resume our normal lives. Fictitious news outlets like Fox and its rabid followers will not allow that.

'Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again and we are frankly sick of it,' the family concluded.

Former President Donald Trump previously praised Speaker McCarthy for releasing the footage to Carlson and his producers.

'The New Surveillance Footage of the January 6th Events sheds an entirely different light on what actually happened. The Unselect Committee was a giant SCAM, and has now unequivocally been stamped as CRIMINAL FABRICATORS OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT DAY,' wrote Trump on Truth Social.

On Monday night, Carlson unveiled the new footage, which also showed so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley apparently being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.

Carlson suggestion challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley - jailed for four years over the incident - aggressively barged into the chamber.

He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol yet was never charged - giving rise to suspicion that Epps was in fact an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.

On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.

'They were orderly and meek,' said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol. 'These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.'

Carlson said they 'obviously revere the Capitol', noting they took selfies and 'queue up in neat little lines'.

'Deadly insurrection. Everything about that phrase is a lie,' he said.

'Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.

'Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.'

Brian Sicknick is seen shortly after the Capitol was breached. Carlson said he appeared 'healthy and vigorous'

Capitol rioter Julian Khater (pictured left) was sentenced to 80 months in prison for his role in the pepper-spray assault of police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the January 6, 2021 riot

Chansley, with his bullhorn, is seen on January 6, 2021 inside the Capitol

Carlson pointed to footage showing the 'QAnon Shaman' - a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley - inside the Capitol.

Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.

He has been sentenced to almost four years for 'obstructing an official proceeding.'

In the footage, Chansley appears to be guided by an official as he wanders the Capitol.

He passes a line of riot police, who make no move to stop him.

Then they escort him to various entrances of the chamber which appear to be locked, and eventually find him an open door through which he vanishes.

'Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,' said Carlson.

'The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.'
Ron DeSantis showered praises on his wife Casey, who successfully battled breast cancer, as he laid out his manifesto for Florida and offered another glimpse into his likely 2024 presidential campaign at his State of the State address.

The Florida Governor promised to ensure his state remains the 'No. 1' in the U.S. and attacked President Joe Biden in his speech to the Florida legislature as its lawmakers prepare for a behemoth two-month session to pass a slew of DeSantis' agenda.

He was speaking as Republicans filed a bill to ban abortion after six weeks.

The Republican touted economic growth, low unemployment and a budget surplus and pushed pledges to have parents more involved in education and a clamp down on illegal immigration.

Ron DeSantis laid out his manifesto for Florida and a glimpse into his likely 2024 presidential campaign at his State of the State address on Tuesday

During his speech, DeSantis showered praise on wife Casey DeSantis, who is a breast cancer survivor. The Florida first lady is pictured holding the couple's middle child, Mason, 4, at the State of the State address at the Capitol building in Tallahassee on Tuesday

'Florida is No. 1, and working together, we will ensure that Florida remains the No. 1 state in these United States,' he told lawmakers on Tuesday.

'Working together, we have met big challenges, and we led the nation on many big issues. We don't make excuses. We don't complain. We just produce results.'

He slammed Biden for his 'catch and release policies' at the border and vowed to 'put Floridians first'.

'We believe that borders matter, and we have fought against illegal immigration in the state of Florida  from banning sanctuary cities, to suing the Biden administration over its catch and release policies, to transporting illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions,' DeSantis said.

This comes as the legislature plans to consider increasing the budget for a controversial program DeSantis started last year sending migrants out of the Sunshine State to Democratic enclaves.

Casey DeSantis was the one who drew the biggest ovation when her husband celebrated her work in 'Florida's battle against cancer' - after she battled breast cancer and following his announcement last week that his wife is now cancer free.

'I can tell you  she is cancer free and she is doing better than ever,' DeSantis repeated during his speech on Tuesday.

The Florida first lady was in attendance at the speech with the couple's middle child and only son, Mason, 4. Their two daughters Madison, 6, and Mamie, who turns 3 later this month.

'Mason and I are excited to watch Gov. Ron DeSantis's state of the state address this morning,' Casey posted to her Twitter with an image of her and Mason in front of the Florida State flag and the American flag.

Keeping with her Jackie O inspired look, Casey donned a pink tea-length dress with white elbow-length gloves, white point-toe heels and pearl earrings.

The Florida governor announced in October 2021 that his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer  about a year-and-a-half after the birth of their third child Mamie.

In January 2022, DeSantis' office announced that Casey completed her chemotherapy treatment for cancer and this month they were able to say that she was declared cancer free.

Casey DeSantis posted an image of her and the couple's son Mason, 4, ahead of the remarks. Their two daughters Madison, 6, and Mamie, 2, did not attend the remarks

Casey DeSantis continues to pull her fashion influence from Jackie Kennedy Onassis  a fashion icon  by donning a pink A-line, tea-length dress with white elbow-length gloves to her husband's State of the State. Pictured: President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy at the White House in May 1962. Jackie was wearing a pink Christian Dior A-line dress with white gloves

Jackie O also wore a pink A-line, tea-length dress with white gloves, white heels and pearls during a tour of Jag Mandir in India March 17, 1962

Concluding his remarks on Tuesday, DeSantis urged Florida's Republican supermajority legislature to 'ignore all the background noise' as they come into session and remember their mission.

'We will stand strong. We will hold the line. We won't back down. And I can promise you this: You ain't seen nothing yet,' DeSantis said.

DeSantis continued to lay out his plans for Florida as speculation swirls that he could announce a presidential run in the near future.

He visited Texas and California over the weekend and this week will make a stop in Alabama before heading to Iowa for his first trip to the first-in-the-nation primary contest state since emerging as a frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination.

The Florida governor will also go to key swing states of Nevada over the weekend before going later this month to New Hampshire, another early primary contest state.

DeSantis' State of the State address came just a few days after the release of his new memoir The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival, which many see as the platform in which he plans to run a presidential bid in 2024.

Part of his national tour includes his book tour  like his remarks to 1,300 people at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Sunday where he signed copies of his book.

DeSantis was speaking to the Florida legislature, which has a Republican supermajority, as it begins a consequential two-month session where lawmakers plan to pass a series of laws in line with the governor's agenda

He told legislatures gathered for his remarks on Tuesday to 'ignore all the background noise' as they come into session and remember their mission

DeSantis spent the first part of his speech detailing why Florida is the 'No. 1' state in the country  mostly listing his agenda wins that have led to economic growth in the Sunshine State.

The first nearly five minutes of DeSantis' remarks saw him listing the way Florida has emerged as a front runner state in terms of quality of life, economy, jobs, crime rates and education.

Florida, under the leadership of Ron DeSantis, has quickly become the standard in which other Republican leaders are using as a blueprint to shape their states. This includes education, economy, COVID rules and abortion, among many other areas important to the GOP.

'Working together, we have met big challenges and we've led the nation on many big issues. We don't make excuses, we don't complain, we just produce results,' DeSantis lauded.

While speaking with reporters during a post-State of the State press conference, DeSantis vowed to sign legislation proposed by the Florida legislature that would ban abortion at six weeks, which is a timeline in which some women do not yet know they are pregnant.

'We're for pro-life,' DeSantis told reporters. 'I urged the legislature to work, produce good stuff and we will sign.'

Speaking for roughly 20 minutes on Tuesday, DeSantis was caught on the microphone telling the Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo that he intentionally wanted to keep the remarks short and sweet.

'I tried to make that shorter than the others  I think I did,' DeSantis was heard saying as he waved to the cheering legislature at the conclusion of his remarks. 'It was short. Yeah, I just wanted it to be short.'
Democrats are fighting mad about a report the Biden administration is considering bringing back family detention of migrants - calling to mind the so-called 'kids in cages' frenzy of the Trump administration.

The president eliminated the practice when he took office, and actively campaigned against it saying 'families belong together.'

But with Title 42 - a pandemic-era measure that allows authorities to promptly deport migrants - expiring in May, senior White House and Homeland Security officials are discussing the possibility of reinstating the program, the New York Times reports.

'These reports are deeply concerningreinstating family detention would be a grave mistake,' Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., member of the Homeland Security Committee tweeted of the news.

'Instead of relying on costly failed policies that traumatize migrants and cruelly encourage more families to separate, we must focus on building a safe and humane immigration system.'

The Trump administration had detained children with their families upon crossing the border. The Biden administration opted to release families into the U.S. temporarily before their hearings, believing the policy 'more humane.'

President Joe Biden is said to be considering reinstating a family detention program for migrants that cross the southern border illegally. He is pictured here on Sunday in Alabama

Angeldry Galeno, a Venezuelan migrant trying to apply for asylum in the United States using the CBP ONE application and whose husband travelled to another point of entry to the U.S. to attend his immigration appointment, changes her daughter's clothes at a shelter near the border between Mexico and the United States on February 3

Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragan called the report 'deeply concerning.' 'A just, safe, and humane immigration system should not place families in detention,' she added.

House and Senate Democrats were caught completely off-guard by the report and felt blindsided by the White House's policy decisions for the second time in two weeks.

Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas is set to address the Hispanic Caucus virtually at 4 p.m. to explain the surprise u-turn. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment on the report.

'I'm not going to speak to rumors,' she told reporters. 'Clearly the Department of Homeland Security is working through ways on how to move forward once Title 42 is lifted.'

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said in a statement he was 'alarmed' by the report' and urged the Biden administration to change course 'if true.'

'I think it may have been internally floated for discussion, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., told reporters on the policy. 'But this administration ended that form of detention, I can't understand for the life of me why they would bring it back.'

While some immediately voiced their opposition, others declined to show any daylight between themselves and the Biden administration.

Homeland Security chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., told DailyMail.com he had not read the report yet.

Sen. Tom Carper, D-De., a member of Homeland Security who recently led a delegation to Central America, declined to comment on family separation but talked about the need to address root causes of migration.

But moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would not be opposed to bringing back the controversial policy.

'Whatever it takes to secure the border. The border is a messIt's a disaster. So, I'm supporting anything we can to get control of that border and secure it,' he told reporters.

Arizona Democrat Rep. Raul Grivalja called family detention a 'failed policy' that is 'callous and inhumane.'

'Family detention serves two purposes: lining the pockets of private prison companies and acting as a useless deterrent to prevent migrants from seeking their legal right to asylum,' he said.

Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas briefed angry Congressional Hispanic Caucus members over the Times report on Tuesday afternoon

Cesar Galeano, a Venezuelan migrant, is pictured walking into Mexico across the Paso del Norte international bridge after he failed to get asylum in the United States on February 3

A migrant caravan is pictured in the city of Tapachula in Mexico on March 4 as they prepared to enter the United States

Newly elected Texas progressive Rep. Greg Casar wrote on Twitter: 'Locking immigrant families and children into cages along the border is dangerous, ineffective, and wrong.'

It would be just the president's latest crackdown on illegal immigration as the number of migrants crossing the southern border reaches historic levels.

He is now being sued for a proposed rule that would make migrants ineligible for asylum in the U.S. if they did not first attempt to claim asylum in a country they passed through.

And critics say the president may lose even more favor amongst Democrats if he approves a new family detention policy ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Biden campaigned against his predecessor's use of family detention, which was also used under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, for whom Biden served as vice president.

He even tweeted in June 2020, when a federal judge ordered the release of migrant children from detention centers due to the global pandemic: 'Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately.

'This is pretty simple, and I can't believe I have to say it: Families belong together.'

Almost immediately after taking office, he shut down all of the family detention centers in the United States as he sought a more humane approach to immigration.

Instead, the Biden administration implemented a practice of releasing families into the country temporarily and using ankle bracelets, traceable cellphones and other methods to keep track of them.

But now the U.S.-Mexico border is faced with all-time record border crossings since Biden took office that fail to ease with each passing month.

In 2021, the U.S. saw 1.7 million immigrants come into the country. In 2022, that number rose to more than 2 million.

The number of migrants caught illegally crossing the southern border has now reportedly hit one million less than four months into the fiscal year. And with the end of Title 42 in sight, federal officials fear the situation may only get worse.

Department of Homeland Security officials are reportedly already outlining what would need to be done to restart family detention by May 11, the date Title 42 expires.

Under the proposal, current and former officials said, the Biden administration would follow a law that sets a 20-day limit for detaining families, rather than holding them for weeks or months on end like his predecessor did.

But the Biden administration would face a slew of logistical obstacles if it were to reinstate the family detention program, the Times reports.

Among those issues would be finding spaces to hold families with educational programs and playgrounds, as the former detention cites are now being used for single adults.

And Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention centers, is already facing a budget shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The plan also assumes that the government would be able to screen families for asylum quickly, either admitting or deporting them within a 20-day window when the average stay in an ICE detention center is 37 days.

Additionally, three of the officials who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity described concerns that family detention would encourage parents to send their children across the border alone instead of risking family detention.

Under current policy children who arrive in the country without a parent or legal guardian are not expelled, but rather placed in government custody and eventually released to live with a family member or another sponsor.

Critics say putting the families in a position of sending their children to the US without them is de facto family separation, a controversial measure used by the Trump administration under which 5,500 children were separated from their parents at the southern border.
A man who calls himself 'Dolphin Dave' has been cited by police in Hawaii for allegedly harassing a humpback whale and dolphin pod during a snorkeling trip.

David Jimenez, 65, posted video of himself on social media last week showing the moments he pursued a humpback whale in the waters of the island state.

According to Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources, one conservation agency received 'numerous calls reporting alleged wildlife harassment' in regards to the video.

Hawaii officials said in a post Jimenez was 'actively pursuing an adolescent humpback whale and dolphins inside Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park' and has since been charged with two violations of state law.

In response to the allegations, the Hawaii resident reportedly told officials he will not stop swimming with the sea animals because 'it's magical and others do much worse things.'

A man who calls himself 'Dolphin Dave' has been cited by police in Hawaii for allegedly harassing a humpback whale and dolphin pod during a snorkeling trip

David Jimenez. 65, posted video of himself on social media last week showing the moments he pursued a humpback whale in the waters of the island state

Jimenez first posted video of himself swimming with the whales and dolphins Sunday on Facebook, calling his swim 'life changing.'

'Well my morning swims are sometimes life changing! Thats what friends can do,' he wrote in a post, still active on the social media website.

In the nearly four-minute video, the man talks to the camera above water before spotting a whale and going back below the surface.

'Oh, I've got a whale friend,' the man says. 'Let's go say hi.'

That's when the man puts his snorkel on and starts heading toward the whale.

At one point, Jimenez comes close to the whale and even reaches out in an attempt to 'high five' the whale, whose fin looks to be within an arms reach.

Another person is seen swimming nearby, as well, also with a video camera in tow.

Jimenez continues recording while repeatedly getting up close and personal with the whale, which on average are 39 to 52 feet, according to Britannica.

At one point, Jimenez comes within mere inches of the whale and even reaches out in an attempt to 'high five' the whale, whose fin is nearby

Jimenez first posted video of himself swimming with the whales and dolphins Sunday on Facebook, calling his swim 'life changing'

Jimenez continues recording while repeatedly getting up close and personal with the whale

The video prompted immediate outrage and backlash on social media, with many calling in to local and state officials to report the incident.

The Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) were sent the video and are currently investigating.

'DOCARE officers received a video recording of a man snorkeling close enough to the adolescent humpback whale to almost touch the whale's fin,' authorities said.

'When a DOCARE officer arrived on shore early [Sunday], they recorded Jimenez actively pursuing a pod of spinner dolphins. They recorded a video, in which they say Jimenez  was leading a group chasing the dolphins.'

Jimenez has now been cited by officials for breaking federal and state laws that protect whales and dolphins from humans.

The man is facing charges of prohibited acts in regard to endangered whale species and harassing wildlife in a state park.

While the exact punishment for the citations against Jimenez, however, a violation of the Endangered Species Act can be fined up to $ 25,000 or imprisoned for not more than six months.

On average, humpback whales can be 39 to 52 feet, according to Britannica

Jimenez told officials he will continue to swim with dolphins and whales in violation of the law because 'it's magical and others do much worse things'

Despite the citations, he insists he did nothing wrong, according to the agency

Jimenez is slated to appear in the Kona District court on May 11

Despite the citations, he insists he did nothing wrong, according to the agency.

In a post on Monday, officials said Jimenez told them he will continue to swim with dolphins and whales in violation of the law because 'it's magical and others do much worse things.'

Jimenez will appear in the Kona District court on May 11.

Officials ask that anyone suspected of abusing wildlife or animals call the Department of Land and Natural Resources tip line at 808-643-DLNR.
A Czech Book on the Assyrian, Greek and Armenian Genocide

(AINA) --A scholarly book on the Turkish genocide of Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians was published in the Czech language in 2017. The book is titled Catastrophe of the Christians: the Liquidation of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire in the years 1914--1923 (Katastrofa krestanu. Likvidace Armenu, Asyranu a Reku v Osmanske risi v letech 1914--1923). The authors have comprehensively treated the historcal events that took place during the late Ottoman Empire, in a first of its kind Czech academic publication.

In 2017 the Czech Parliament passed a resolution recognizing the Armenian massacres and deportations that occured in the late Ottoman Empire as genocide. In a review of this book, Bohuslav Litera correctly argues that "this is not the whole truth," As the pages of this book "show that the Ottoman genocide of the Assyrians and the Greeks, which until recently remained in the shadow of the main attack on the Armenians."

The authors successfully approached the systematic mass killings and deportations from a holistic perspective, which are widely recognized as a "Christian Genocide" today, both within and outside scholarly circles.

The book is structured into four main sections, each divided in chapters. After a short introduction, section one (pp. 19-114) analyses the situation of the Christian minorities, Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in the 19th century, up to 1914. The authors argue that "on the eve of World War I, the multi-ethnic and religiously diverse Ottoman Empire had a Christian population of 3.5 to 5 million." Within the sectarian structured Ottoman millet system, which included Armenians and Assyrians.

The historical phase and its impact on the non-muslim population based on the Tanzimat reforms, the developments during the reign of Abdulhamid II, and the Young Turk's revolution of 1908, which was followed by the restoration of the Ottoman Constitution.

With respect to Assyrians, the authors shed light on the denominational mosaic of the Assyrians in Anatolia and Persia. This takes account the western missions impact among Assyrians and the beginnings of an ethno-religious identity discourse. Persecution, expulsion and massacres of Assyrians, which the authors cover until 1914, illustrate the continuity of Assyrian suffering and long trail of the great catastrophe.

The core of the book is focused on the systematic liquidation of the Christian population between 1914-1923. A comprehensive history of the Armenian Genocide is given, starting with the establishment of the Special Organization, which managed and organized the deportations during the genocide, followed by a chronological treatment of the key events associated with the history of the Armenian genocide --e.g., Van uprising April-May 1915, liquidation of the Armenian male population, deportations -- and the Law on the Deportation. The events are outlined with specific treatment vilayet by vilayet and regions even outside eastern Anatolia, such as Ankara and Aleppo. The authors address the suffering of women and children during the deportations and discuss the situation of orphans, orphanages, and humanitarian organizations coping with the survivors. This chapter concludes with contemporary world public opinion on the Armenian Genocide.

A chapter is devoted to the Assyrian genocide. The authors describe what they call "a geography of horror", massacres conducted on the Assyrian population stretching from northern Mesopotamia (Diyarbekir, Mardin, Siirt, Tur Abdin) to the Hakkari Mountains and Persian Azerbaijan (Urmia, Salmas and surroundings). The book delves into key centers of successful resistance in Midyat, Ajn Wardo and Azak. The chapter closes with an outline of the assassination of the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Shimun Benjamin, and the situation in 1918.

The authors state in their introduction that they consider the issue of the liquidation of Christians at the end of the Ottoman Empire "as a cognitive rather than a political one." They argue that the current desperate situation of Christians in the Middle East, which can be seen to some extent as a continuation of the destruction of these ancient communities in the places where they have lived for centuries, adds relevance to the issue.

In his review, Bohuslav Litera states "It is a brilliant example of how informal collaboration of knowledgeable authors from several different fields can lead to positive results: religious scholar/ethnographer (Mgr. M. Rutil), ethnographer/historian (Dr. P. Kostalova, Ph.D.) and historian/political scientist ( Dr. P. Novak, Ph.D.). I believe that it would be good to propose the mentioned work for an award and to translate it into a foreign language. It would greatly deserve not to remain limited only to the Czech-Slovak language area."
Bryan Kohberger was standing in the kitchen, wearing latex gloves and putting his personal trash into separate Ziploc bags on the morning police raided his parents' Pennsylvania home and arrested him in connection to the murders of four University of Idaho students.

The new details about the 28-year-old's behavior on December 30 were revealed by Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso following the release of a search warrant last week with a lengthy list of items seized by the Pennsylvania police.

Police seized multiple knives, a handgun with ammunition and a black mask from his parents' house, and they took a shovel, multiple Ziploc bags, hiking boots and a wrench from the accused killer's white Hyundai Elantra.

The assistant DA said Kohberger's use of gloves to separate trash is possibly why investigators only recovered DNA from his family members, and not from the suspect, after taking trash from the home to be tested.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20. They were found stabbed to death at an off-campus house in Moscow on November 13.

Scroll for video

Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger, 28, was wearing latex gloves and putting his personal trash into Ziploc bags at his parents' home on the morning of his arrest

University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves (second from left, bottom) and Madison Mogen (second from left, top), Ethan Chapin (center) and Xana Kernodle (second from right) were stabbed to death on November 13 in Moscow, Idaho

Police descended on Kohberger's family home at the Indian Mountain Lake Estates in Chestnuthill Township of Albrightsville just before 1:30 a.m. on December 30.

'Mr. Kohberger was found awake in the kitchen area dressed in shorts and a shirt, wearing latex medical type gloves and apparently was taking his personal trash and putting it into a separate zip lock baggies,' Mancuso told BRCTV13.

Mancuso said Kohberger's actions and behavior in those early morning hours could shed light on his mental state and play an important role in court.

'It could very explain some of the other aspects of the case from Idaho, some of the lengths that a person would go to to avoid having their DNA left behind when they know or should've known that there was an investigation underway,' he said.

Two other key items would be his shoes and the cheek swab.

'I would be keen on the shoes, the size of the shoes, comparison to any shoe impressions that might have been recovered at the scene - that sort of thing,' he said.

Mancuso added that the cheek swab would also play a crucial role.

'Something that they could compare to the DNA of, I believe, the snap button for the sheath of the knife,' he explained.

Monroe County First Assistant Michael Mancuso gave new details about Kohberger's behavior on the morning he was arrested at his parents' home in connection to the Idaho murders

Police descended on Kohberger's family home at the Indian Mountain Lake Estates in Chestnuthill Township of Albrightsville just before 1:30 a.m. on December 30

Police also seized a shovel from the accused murderer 's white Hyundai Elantra, along with multiple zip lock bags, hiking boots and a wrench

The Monroe County District Attorney's office shared the new details after a search warrant was released that revealed a full list of items seized by Pennsylvania police from his parents' house, including multiple knives, a handgun with ammunition and a black mask.

Police also seized a shovel from the accused murderer's white Hyundai Elantra, along with multiple zip lock bags, hiking boots and a wrench. They removed the car seats, a door panel and the brake and gas pedals from the vehicle for testing too.

Cops tied him to the gruesome quadruple murder of four college kids after tracking his white Hyundai to the scene. They also matched his DNA to a sample that was left on a knife sheath found at the scene. The murder weapon was not recovered at the house.

But the newly unsealed warrant reveals cops seized three knives from Kohberger's parents' property, including one in another sheath.

Police also seized a 'black mask', which is not dissimilar to the black ski mask described by the surviving roommate who saw the murderer leave the scene on November 13.

Bryan Kohberger will return to court in June. He is shown in custody in January

All together 63 items were seized from Kohberger's parents' house, including multiple items of clothing, books, documents, bills and prescriptions.

Police had been watching Kohberger for days before they raided the house in the early hours of December 30.

The former criminal psychology student is due back in court in June. He is yet to enter a plea.

The off-campus house where the killings took place is soon to be demolished.

Another search warrant that was unsealed earlier this week revealed cops also took a flashlight, medical gloves and Kohberger's underwear.
Over the course of two years, hundreds of witness interviews, and 10 highly choreographed public hearings, Democrats in Congress sought to create a carefully constructed story of the January 6th Capitol Hill riots.

How fitting that such an extravagant outlay of government resources would be thrown on the trash heap by a single cable news segment.

On Monday night, Fox News' Tucker Carlson played never-before-seen footage of the Capitol riot. The closed-circuit security tape appears to show the notorious, so-called QAnon Shaman (a.k.a. Jacob Chansley) being led through the halls of Congress by police.

The video has no audio, so we can't hear what the police told Chansley. But we can see with our own eyes - Chansley didn't overpower anyone.

In fact, it looks like Capitol Police willingly guided him, shirtless and adorned in horns, into the Senate chamber for his infamous photo-op.

So, for all the effort and expense poured into the January 6th committee, why is America only seeing this footage now?

The answer is obvious. It didn't fit the Democrats' narrative, so it was left out.

Democrats, aided by two virulently anti-Trump Republicans, sought to portray January 6th as an insurrection  inspired, led, and directed by Donald Trump.

They recruited a former top news executive to build the drama. Democrat-allied media compelled millions of Americans to watch. And it all cost the U.S. taxpayer more than $3.3 million dollars.

But it was easily undermined because it was all so obviously, blatantly disingenuous.

Democrats, aided by two virulently anti-Trump Republicans, sought to portray January 6th as an insurrection  inspired, led, and directed by Donald Trump.

The closed-circuit security tape appears to show the notorious, so-called QAnon Shaman (a.k.a. Jacob Chansley) being lead through the halls of Congress by police.

They couldn't release video of the QAnon Shaman wandering through the Capitol building, taking selfies and walking past police because it muddies the narrative. And as a result, in all their maneuvering and selective editing and faux outrage, the January 6th committee failed.

Every sane, patriotic Republican looks at the January 6th riots with disgust. Those who committed violence and criminal acts should be prosecuted. And they have been. But conservatives and free-thinking Americans alike also recognize what happened here.

Trump's detractors in Congress and in the media wanted to point at him, scream bogeyman, excise him from American political life and return to business as usual. That's convenient for them, but insufficient for the rest of us.

Rage in the United States is not just a Trump problem  it's an American problem. And it's about time the partisan media and political establishment recognizes it as such.

This week 23 members of Antifa were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism for a violent attack on a police training facility in Atlanta.

Predictably, the New York Times reported it like this: 'Protesters Damage Property at Site of Planned Police Center in Atlanta?'

'Protesters'? 'Damage property'?

Nearly two dozen people have been charged with domestic terrorism for attacking police with rocks, bricks and Molotov cocktails.

Police called the incident 'a coordinated attack.' Atlanta's mayor called it 'domestic terrorism.' And the New York Times calls them 'protesters.'

This week 23 members of Antifa were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism for a violent attack on a police training facility in Atlanta.

Nearly two dozen people have been charged with domestic terrorism for attacking police with rocks, bricks and Molotov cocktails.

How else to explain this glaring media double-standard then to conclude that despite the left's handwringing over the January 6th riots, they accept some violence.

For years Antifa, which absurdly fancies themselves 'anti-fascists,' have burned police stations, attacked journalists, and built squalid, crime-ridden autonomous encampments in our cities. But unlike the Capitol rioters, the media and political class have made excuses for them.

Remember when Chris Cuomo, then of CNN, compared Antifa to the troops that stormed Normandy on D-Day? 'I argue to you tonight all punches are not equal, morally,' he said in 2018, as Americans clashed in the streets. 'When someone comes to call out bigots and it gets hot, even physical, are they equally wrong as the bigot they're fighting? I argue no.'

Remember when Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler, no less than the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, dismissed Antifa violence in Portland as a 'myth' even after they firebombed federal officers and buildings in 2020?

The American left has a troubling history of looking the other way when there are acts of violence that they deem righteous.

Murderous members of the Weather Underground are celebrated professors today. Cop killers like Mumia Abu Jamal and criminals like Angela Davis are quasi heroes.

In January, one Antifa member was revealed to be the transgender son of Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark. The younger Clark was arrested for graffitiing anti-police slogans on public property. One cop was left bleeding as an Antifa gang tried to stop the arrest.

In fact, it looks like Capitol Police willingly guided him, shirtless and adorned in horns, into to the Senate chamber for his infamous photo-op.

In Atlanta, one of the Antifa terrorist agitators arrested was Thomas Webb Jurgens, who is an attorney for the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center. The irony would be delicious if it wasn't so dangerous. The SPLC claims its primary mission is to fight against domestic terrorism, and here one of its own is allegedly assaulting hard-working police.

The sad fact of the matter is that Antifa on the left and the Proud Boys on the right are cut from the same cloth. Both groups are disaffected, mostly white, young people, disenchanted by America, who are seeking to burn its current iteration down to the ground.

No political committee can heal this gaping wound in the American soul.

Democrats thought they could tie a pretty bow around the Capitol riots and blame it on their political opponents  but the reality is far more difficult to confront.

I thank Speaker McCarthy and Tucker Carlson for exposing the shallow, self-serving purpose of the January 6th committee.

And I suggest a new starting point in the fight against extremism  treat all political violence the same and address it. But please spare us the Congressional theatrics  you're not fooling anyone.
President Joe Biden's choice to serve on the Federal Communications Commission Gigi Sohn announced Tuesday she was pulling back from consideration from her nomination, while blasting 'unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks' by her political opponents.

The move keeps in place a deadlocked status at the powerful regulatory agency, after a prolonged lobbying campaign against her.

It comes weeks after it was revealed she sits on the board of a nonprofit group that advocates for free speech online and that wanted to uphold the legality of online sex work. (The group opposed Trump-era law known as SESTA that carved out an exception to Section 230 'safe harbor' protections for internet providers for content by third parties on their sites).

It also follows the announcement by powerful West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin that he will vote against her nomination, likely making her nomination untenable in the narrowly divided Senate.

'It is a sad day for our country and our democracy when dominant industries, with assistance from unlimited dark money, get to choose their regulators,' Sohn complained to the Washington Post.'

Gigi Sohn withdrew herself from consideration to join the Federal Communications Commission

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lamented the news Tuesday. 'We appreciate Gigi Sohn's candidacy for this important role,' Jean-Pierre said. 'She would have brought tremendous intellect and experience, which is why the president nominated her in the first place.'

She said the White House 'believed she would be a great, a great candidate and would have been an excellent political official,' she added. 'It is clearly unfortunate. We are sad to see this happen,' she added.

Sohn argued before her third confirmation hearing that industry shouldn't get to choose its own regulator, amid fierce opposition from industry.

Leading the charge was Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who called the agency a dangerous place for a 'radical who has suggested the government should censor Americans who hold views contrary to her own.'

The setback for President Biden keeps a deadlocked FCC in place, and comes despite Democrats holding a 51-vote majority in the Senate

Sohn pushed back in her own testimony, complaining of '15 months of false and misleading attacks on my record and my character. My industry opponents have hidden behind dark money groups and surrogates because they fear a pragmatic, pro-competition, pro-consumer policymaker who will support policies that will bring more, faster, and lower-priced broadband,' she said.

Manchin said on Tuesday he will vote against confirming Sohn as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), potentially imperiling her nomination by President Joe Biden.

Democrats since January 2021 have been unable to command a majority of the five-member U.S. telecom regulator, stalling the party's efforts to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules revoked under Republican President Donald Trump.

The open internet laws seek to bar internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic or offering paid fast lanes.

Manchin said in a statement that the FCC needed a leader who would 'remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that.'

Democrats hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate.

Sohn who was first nominated in October 2021, had her third hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee in February, telling lawmakers that industry opponents 'fear a pragmatic, pro-competition, pro-consumer policymaker who will support policies that will bring more, faster, and lower-priced broadband.'

Republicans in February offered a sweeping denunciation of Sohn, a former senior aide to then FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, on a number of grounds and accused her of misleading Congress, which she rejected.

Allies of Sohn, who is gay, argued that industry opponents were organizing a smear against her.

Many Democrats said Republicans were doing the bidding of powerful telecom companies who did not want to face regulation from the FCC, which remains divided 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans.

In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the open internet net neutrality rules.

At least two Democrats were undecided including Senator Jacky Rosen (Nev.), who cited serious concerns raised by some law enforcement groups that she said gave 'her pause' about Sohn's nomination.
Tesco is facing 'thousands' of furious customer queries tonight after a large number of deliveries and collections were cancelled due to a 'technical issue'.

The supermarket giant revealed it had been forced to axe 'a large number of orders today' and instead offered customers an alternative slot, due to the system glitch.

But shoppers have complained it could be days before they can access another delivery slot, with many elderly and vulnerable customers left hungry as Britain endures a week of freezing weather.

And those seeking refunds for their failed purchases have also been told they face up to five working days to be reimbursed.

Paul Coombs wrote online: 'Would Tesco like to explain why my 85-year-old vulnerable mother has just had her delivery cancelled? What backup plan do you have for customers like this?'

Jason Linham posted: 'Tesco, why did you cancel our click-and-collect order two minutes before collection! #fail'

Tesco is facing 'thousands' of furious customer queries tonight after a large number of deliveries and collections were cancelled due to a 'technical issue'

Andrew Jordan wrote on Twitter: 'Not impressed. Order cancelled today. No call or text. Arrived home and sat around waiting for the delivery

Jayne Stephenson tweeted: '... It's disgusting! I work and will now struggle to fit it in especially when all slots for collection/delivery have been taken for the next few days. I have kids to feed!!'

Jules G71 stated: 'With no advance warning & refund "within 3 to 5 days", many people will be completely stuck without food & the funds to buy elsewhere.'

NATIONAL GRID FIRES UP COAL STATIONS AMID ARCTIC BLAST Advertisement

Andrew Jordan added: 'Not impressed. Order cancelled today. No call or text. Arrived home and sat around waiting for the delivery. No slots available until the weekend for another delivery. Off to Sainsbury's, cheers.'

Benny Brown tweeted: 'Tesco, no explanation, no apology, no comp - just a not to say delivery cancelled. Awful service. Just awful.'

In various response to customers, Tesco described the 'technical error' which was 'nationwide' and urged them to message for details on how to resolve their complaints.

A Tesco spokesman said: 'Due to an intermittent technical issue, we've had to cancel some orders today. We're really sorry about this and are working hard to notify customers who are affected.'

In January of this year, Tesco - the UKs biggest grocer - stunned shoppers with its price hikes after it was announced it charges 1.70 for a 400g tin of the nation-favourite. A week prior the cost stood at 1.40, but in a blow to consumers a tin now costs a fifth, or 30p, more.

The cancelled home deliveries from Tesco have occurred on what could be the coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures set to plunge to -15C in some areas (Pictured: Snow in the west end of Aberdeen earlier today)

Jules G71 posted: 'With no advance warning & refund "within 3 to 5 days", many people will be completely stuck without food & the funds to buy elsewhere.'

Those seeking refunds for their failed purchases have also been told they face up to five working days to be reimbursed

Paul Coombs wrote online: 'Would Tesco like to explain why my 85-year-old vulnerable mother has just had her delivery cancelled? What backup plan do you have for customers like this?'

The supermarket giant revealed it had been forced to axe 'a large number of orders today' and instead offered customers an alternative slot, due to the system gitch.

Shoppers complained it could be days before they can access another delivery slot, with many elderly and vulnerable customers left hungry

HAS YOUR CANCELLED TESCO DELIVERY CAUSED PROBLEMS? Email: stewart.carr@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

Cash-strapped shoppers, already grappling with soaring energy and mortgage bills, were hit with the further 21 per cent increase this week, according to industry data.

Figures from Assosia, seen by the Mail, reveal the price of a tin of the American giants Cream Of Tomato Soup at Tesco has risen 79 per cent, from just 95p, since June.

It comes just six months after Tesco pledged to stand by squeezed consumers and not pass on unjustifiable price increases, leading to a bitter dispute with Heinz. Tesco was praised for standing firm against the giant, with Heinz cutting off supply to the supermarket during the dispute.

Responding to the price hikes, a senior industry source said: To raise prices after shouting about holding Heinz to account stinks of double standards.

With money tight for so many right now what customers really value is consistency and transparency.

The cost of a 400g tin of Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup has ballooned by 79 per cent at Tesco since June 2022

The news comes just six months after Tesco pledged to not pass on 'unjustifiable' cost hikes to customers

The increases come as the UK faces its biggest drop in living standards on record as the surging cost of living eats into peoples wages.

Official forecaster the Office for Budget Responsibility said household incomes will dive by 7 per cent by 2024.

The price of a weekly shop is 14.4 per cent higher than a year ago and households are hunting for bargains, with a growing shift to own label products and discount grocers Aldi and Lidl.

Meanwhile, MailOnline uncovered last week that supermarkets have been quietly increasing prices of ready meals and microwave dishes by up to 50 per cent over the last year.

And in January, the Mail revealed how fresh food prices had rocketed by 15 per cent - as retailers warned there was no sign the boom was going to slow down any time soon.

Tesco, which controls more than a quarter of the UKs grocery market, has now been accused of turning its back on the pledge it made in June to not pass on unjustifiable price increases to shoppers.

The business promised a laser-focus on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check and won praise for standing firm against Heinz, a 43billion US conglomerate.
Brittany Higgins has teamed up with a close ally to start up a new company named 'Power Blazers Pty Ltd' - as she reveals she is planning to dedicate her life to helping Australians navigate the justice system.

It was revealed on Wednesday that Ms Higgins, her close friend Emma Webster and her father Matthew registered the new business last month, with few details provided about the exact purpose of the venture.

Ms Webster, a lobbyist at Hawker Britton, was by Ms Higgins' side on every day of Bruce Lehrmann's trial, which ended with the jury being disbanded due to a juror's misconduct.

Ms Higgins further announced in an International Women's Day piece for Marie Claire magazine that she will dedicate her life to navigating the country's 'fraught' and 'imperfect' legal system.

Brittany Higgins (right) has teamed up with lobbyist friend Emma Webster (left) to form Power Blazers Pty Ltd.

Lobbyist and former government staffer Emma Webster (right) embraces friend Brittany Higgins after her powerful speech at the National Press Club

Brittany Higgins' friendship with Emma Webster When the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions announced it was dropping the case amid fears a retrial would pose a 'significant and unacceptable risk' to Ms Higgins' mental health, it was Ms Webster who immediately released a statement revealing her friend had been admitted to a Queensland hospital. Ms Webster is also a longtime friend of Mr Sharaz who previously revealed the lobbyist inspired him him to pluck up the courage to ask Ms Higgins out. 'She's (Webster) been our go-to person ever since: from helping me draft an email, to hemming Brittany's pants. She's not a friend, she's basically part of our relationship,' Mr Sharaz wrote on Instagram at the time. Webster was also in attendance at the National Press Club in Canberra when Ms Higgins delivered a powerful speech with former Australian of the Year Grace Tame a year ago. She previously worked for former prime minister Julia Gillard, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr. Advertisement

In the article, Ms Higgins described her harrowing ordeal and the emotional hole she fell in following the high profile aborted trial, which she described as six weeks of hell.

She was admitted to a Queensland hospital weeks later where she spent her 28th birthday

'During this period, I couldnt go online or pick up a newspaper without seeing the most intimate details of the worst time in my life being scrutinised and questioned by strangers,' Ms Higgins wrote for the magazine.

'Ultimately, I had to reach out for professional help because it had all become too much.'

By Christmas, dozens of boxes filled with letters had been delivered to her home after the Global Institute for Womens Leadership put a call out online asking women if they wished to send a message of support to Ms Higgins.

'Letters penned by women and men from across the country, all sharing their stories and sending solidarity. These letters saved me. It was a turning point and the catalyst for deciding the path I need to take next,' she wrote.

The heartwarming gesture inspired Ms Higgins to finish her law degree by enrolling to study for her Juris Doctor.

'Throughout the past few years Ive been the beneficiary of the legal expertise of so many incredible people. Its my intention to spend a lifetime paying it forward,' she said.

The article prompted Mr Sharaz to pay a heartfelt tribute to his fiancee for calling out inequality and injustice she faced in the workplace which came at a significant cost.

'Entering your third year since speaking publicly about your assault you remain without a job; youre attacked online, and youre written about seemingly daily,' Mr Sharaz posted on Wednesday

'I know there are days when you feel its not worth leaving the house. But, in a few years time this will all be over, and youll be left with the feeling of pride, knowing youve done more for womens equality than you ever could have in politics.

'Im so proud of you and today I celebrate you my darling.'

David Sharaz paid a glowing tribute to fiancee Brittany Higgins (pictured) on International Women's Day on Wednesday

It comes after Ms Higgins uploaded a series of photos to Instagram on Tuesday to show off her lavish new rental home on the Gold Coast.

Ms Higgins recently moved into the beachside property with her fiance David Sharaz and their dog Kingston after receiving a large, confidential settlement payout from taxpayers stemming from her claims that she was raped at Parliament House in 2019. Lehrmann has always denied the claims.

Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz recently moved from Brisbane to the Gold Coast two months after he proposed to her on New Year's Eve in Byron Bay.

'Home sweet home,' Ms Higgins captioned the post, which features a selfie and multiple images of a nearby beach and a now-deleted photo of a shiny Jeep parked out the front.

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz are loving their new life on the Gold Coast

Ms Higgins also included a picture of her new living room adorned with designer furniture - including a $500 white velvet mirror and a $330 decorative side table.

Her mother Kelly Higgins, who is a real estate agent, commented: 'It's exactly what you deserve my angel.'

'A beautiful home in a beautiful location. Lots of happy memories to be shared and made. Miss you already xx.'

Mr Sharaz, who left his job with Southern Cross Austereo in mid-February, posted his own photo of a beach near their new home with the caption: 'No, I don't miss the 9-5.

Mr Sharaz worked for Southern Cross Austereo for two years - first as a breakfast news reader, and then as part of Queensland news operations - before he suddenly left last month.

He later uploaded photos with colleagues at his farewell party. One tagged him in an Instagram post, with the caption: 'Goodbye, my fav gossiper.'

While his LinkedIn profile still states that he works at the company's Brisbane office, his Twitter bio has been edited to say 'AWAY'.

After news of his sudden departure from the company was revealed, Ms Higgins urged her audience to 'read between the lines', adding: 'No one walks away from employment without a job to walk into.'
The three SNP leadership candidates clashed in a bad-tempered TV debate tonight as they took personal digs at each other in the contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon.

Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan traded a series of blows in what turned into an hour-long mauling of each other's positions on various issues.

Amid ugly exchanges on Scottish independence and gender identity reforms, Mr Yousaf was disparagingly branded the 'continuity candidate' and the 'no change candidate'.

He is widely viewed as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Ms Sturgeon as First Minister and has been backed by a number of SNP big hitters.

But Ms Forbes tonight tore into Mr Yousaf's ministerial record from his time as a transport minister, justice secretary and now as Scotland's Health Secretary.

He hit back at Ms Forbes - whose leadership campaign has faltered amid a series of carcrash TV grillings about her socially conservative views - by suggesting her election as party leader would see the SNP 'lurching to the right'.

Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan traded a series of blows in what turned into an hour-long mauling of each other's positions on various issues

The three SNP leadership candidates clashed over their plans for Scottish independence and gender identity reforms

Mr Yousaf also attacked both Ms Forbes and Ms Regan for failing to commit to challenging Westminster's block on the Scottish Government's controversial gender identity legislation.

Meanwhile, Ms Regan - the only leadership candidate not currently serving in the Scottish Cabinet - claimed the SNP had 'lost its way' and admitted there had been 'no progress' on independence in recent years.

Tonight's head-to-head was the first live televised debate in the SNP leadership contest and was hosted by STV at the broadcaster's headquarters in Glasgow.

Ms Regan claimed that an SNP majority at each election held in future would represent a 'democratic mandate' for Scottish independence.

In a swipe at Ms Sturgeon's record as First Minister, she said: 'There's been no progress on independence in the last few years, despite the worst UK governments of all time.

'We used to grow support for independence by governing wisely, and it worked.

'At every election going forward, we will make it crystal clear that a majority of votes for the SNP will be a democratic mandate for independence.'

Mr Yousaf, the Scottish Health Secretary, was disparagingly branded the 'continuity candidate' and the 'no change candidate'

It was suggested that Ms Forbes election as party leader would see the SNP 'lurching to the right'

Ms Regan claimed the SNP had 'lost its way' and admitted there had been 'no progress' on independence in recent years

Mr Yousaf pledged to grow support for Scottish independence 'to new heights'.

He also boasted he was the 'only candidate' ready to challenge Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's use of a Section 35 order to stop the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from becoming law.

Mr Yousaf is a close ally of Ms Sturgeon and Ms Forbes, Scotland's Finance Secretary, took a dig at the pair when she insisted that 'more of the same' in the SNP 'is an acceptance of mediocrity'.

'It's time for change, continuity won't cut it  tonight, I offer a new start for Scotland,' she said, as she promised to lead a 'new generation'.

Who are the SNP leadership candidates? Humza Yousaf The 37-year-old is the current Scottish Health Secretary and previously held the justice brief. He has faced criticism over the NHS crisis in his current role, with rising treatment times and delayed discharges. Kate Forbes The 32-year-old is the current Scottish Finance Secretary. She returned from maternity leave early to enter the SNP leadership race. Ms Forbes impressed her party when she delivered the Scottish Government's budget just hours after taking on the job in early 2020. But her social conservative views on same-sex marriage, abortion and gender reform has led to scrutiny and criticism. She is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, sometimes known as the 'Wee Frees'. Ash Regan The 48-year-old is a former community safety minister in the Scottish Government. She is best known for resigning from that role over her opposition to Nicola Sturgeon's controversial gender identity reforms. Advertisement

She also attacked Mr Yousaf over his ministerial record, telling him: 'You were a transport minister and the trains were never on time, when you were justice secretary the police were stretched to breaking point, and now as health minister we've got record high waiting times  what makes you think you can do a better job as first minister?'

And, when asked later whether she would keep Mr Yousaf in the Scottish Cabinet if she became first minister, Ms Forbes sniped: 'Maybe not in health.'

Mr Yousaf hit back at Ms Forbes by claiming her own personal opposition to the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was 'clouding her judgement' in declining to challenge Westminster's block on the legislation.

He also noted how 'many people, particularly from our LGBTQ community, say they wouldn't vote for independence' if Ms Forbes was leader, after she last month set out her personal stance on issues such as same-sex marriage.

But Ms Forbes suggested Mr Yousaf was 'spoiling for a fight regardless of the legal advice' on the constitutional wrangle between Edinburgh and London over Scotland's gender identity reforms.

When all three candidates were asked if they would keep the monarchy in an independent Scotland, Ms Regan said in the 'new circumstances' after the Queen's death it might be time for the SNP to debate if retaining the monarchy was still the right policy.

Ms Forbes said there were 'bigger issues facing Scotland', while Mr Yousaf said he would 'keep the monarchy for a period of time' but added: 'I would hope an independent Scotland would be a republic in the future'.

Last month, all three of Ms Forbes, Ms Regan and Mr Yousaf were confirmed to have met the threshold to formally enter the leadership race.

About 100,000 SNP members will be able to begin voting for their preferred candidate on March 13.

Voting will then close at noon on March 27 and the result is expected later that day.

The first contested SNP leadership election in almost 20 years was triggered when Ms Sturgeon dramatically announced her intention to resign last month.

Mr Yousaf is the bookies' favourite to be chosen as Ms Sturgeon's successor as SNP leader and First Minister.

The Scottish Health Secretary received a huge boost earlier when Angus Robertson, the SNP's former Westminster leader, gave him his backing.

'I am in no doubt that it has to be Humza,' said Mr Robertson, the Scottish Government's Constitution Secretary.

Mr Robertson had been widely tipped to succeed Ms Sturgeon himself but later ruled out a leadership bid as he has two young children.

The decision by top SNP figures to support Mr Yousaf has led to attacks by rivals about him having the SNP's 'party machine' behind him.

Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry, who is backing Ms Regan, claimed her candidate was 'making progress' and warned it would be 'very wrong to write her off'.

'It's no secret that the party machine is behind Humza and not behind Kate and Ash,' she added.

Ms Forbes had begun the leadership contest as the apparent frontrunner but her campaign soon ran into difficulty when she faced questions about her socially conservative views.

In a series of carcrash interviews, the Finance Secretary admitted she would have voted against both gay marriage and Ms Sturgeon's gender identity reforms.

The 32-year-old, a member of the Free Church of Scotland, also branded pre-marital sex 'wrong'.

Early polling of SNP members had put Ms Forbes ahead of Mr Yousaf, but she now appears to have slipped behind her rival - with Ms Regan trailing in third place.
The White House on Tuesday called the deaths of two Americans in Mexico 'unacceptable' and vowed to see justice given in the case.

'Attacks on US citizens are unacceptable - no matter where or under what circumstance circumstances they happen,' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing.

'We will continue to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure justice is done in this case.'

She said President Joe Biden's administration was working to bring the remaining two Americans home. The survivors of an attack and kidnapping last week in the border state of Tamaulipas are now in American custody.

'Our immediate concerns are for the safety return of our citizens, the health and well being of those who who survived this attack and the support which must be rendered to the families of those who now want to move on,' Jean-Pierre said.

'Attacks on US citizens are unacceptable - no matter where or under what circumstance circumstances they happen,' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said

One of the four Americans died at the scene of the attack on Friday, in which gunmen shot at their car. The two survivors were pictured in the back of an ambulance before being transported to Texas.

Jean-Pierre, when pressed, wouldn't say if Biden would designate the Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations but noted there was a travel advisory for that area.

'When it comes to the travel advisory for this particular area in Mexico, it that remains at number four: do not travel due to crime and kidnapping. We've been very clear about that. The State Department again, has put that out. We urge Americans to read these reports before traveling,' she said.

Latavia 'Tay' McGee, her cousin Shaeed Woodard and their friends Zindell Brown and Eric Williams were said to be traveling south so McGee, a mother-of-five, could get a budget tummy tuck when they got caught in gunfire between two gangs March 3.

Mexican officials confirmed they were all found in a stash house in the rural town of El Tecolote, six and half miles from Matamoros. At least one person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The surviving Americans were taken to the border near Brownsville, Texas, in a convoy of Mexican ambulances and SUVs Tuesday, according to AP officials and delivered to U.S. consulate officials.

Two Americans who survived being kidnapped at gunpoint at the US-Mexico border by 'Gulf Cartel' have been pictured in the back of an ambulance before being transported to Texas

The woman, believed to be Latavia McGee can be seen wiping her eyes with a tissue as another survivor is treated in the back of an ambulance

Latavia 'Tay' McGee had traveled down to Mexico on Wednesday for a tummy tuck procedure before she was kidnapped at gunpoint by a drug cartel on Friday

McGee was joined by her cousin, Shaeed Woodard, (left) and friends Eric Williams (right) and Zindell Brown

The Governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal Anaya, confirmed the condition of the four Americans over a phone call during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's press conference on Tuesday.

Governor Americo Villarreal said that there has been close attention on the incident and medical support is being provided to surviving victims while the president vowed those responsible will be 'punished.'

'There is no impunity, there is someone under arrest' President Lopez Obrador said.

'Those responsible are going to be found, they are going to be punished, as was done when they murdered women and children, in Bavispe, from the LeBaron, Miller, Langford family. All involved were arrested.'

The Tamaulipas State Attorney General's Office said that the four American citizens 'deprived of their liberty last Friday' were found at about 7.30 am Tuesday.

'Unfortunately two are dead. Investigation and intelligence work continues to capture those responsible. Details will be given later.'

'Following your joint work instructions, we have not stopped paying attention to this problem since Friday and approximately an hour ago today we were notified that there were indications of having seen the four American citizens and 35 minutes ago it was fully confirmed by the prosecutor.

'Of the four, two of them are deceased, one person injured and the other is alive.

'The ambulances and the rest of the security personnel are on their way to give corresponding support for [their] transfer and [any] medical support that can be [given].'

Republican representatives Dan Crenshaw, of Texas, and Michael Waltz, of Florida, recently introduced a bill that would give Biden 'authority to use the U.S. military against these cartels in Mexico.'

In response, Ricardo Monreal tweeted the following yesterday: 'My response to the representative from Texas @DanCrenshawTX is direct and clear: I reject all foreign interference in the internal affairs of Mexico, and also the claim to apply United States laws in our country. It's called 'Sovereignty.' Even if Crenshaw doesn't get it.'

McGee is seen sitting on the ground after the vehicle she and three other U.S. citizens were traveling on was shot at by kidnappers moments after they drove into the Mexican border city of Matamoros

A gunman acted as a lookout for his cohorts moments after they attacked a mini van with four American occupants and kidnapped them in the northeastern Mexican border city of Matamoros on Friday

Pictures from the moment of their capture have started to circulate online showing the group at the back of a vehicle

Mexican newspaper Milenio cites law enforcement officials said they were investigating whether the group was kidnapped by members of the Gulf Cartel, a notoriously violent gang run by a feared leader known as La Kena.

The four had traveled from Lake City, South Carolina to the border town of Matamoros for McGee to undergo a discounted tummy tuck, according to a sister of one of the kidnapped, when they got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight on Friday.

It remains unclear who out of the four were murdered - although pictures from an ambulance show McGee and a man together. Details of the murders also remain unclear at this time.

Video from the kidnapping incident show the group being thrown in the back of a van.

Matamoros is in the state of Tamaupilas, which is among six states that are currently under travel warnings.

They were taken on Friday, after becoming caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two gangs.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said the US authorities should treat the gangs the same way they do ISIS when negotiating for Americans' release.

'They are terrorists,' he said during an appearance on Fox News last night.

'The Mexican government is being held hostage by tens of thousands of paramilitary members of terrorist organizations that effectively control Mexico.

La Kena or Ciclon 19, the leader of the Gulf Cartel

'It's pretty close at this stage to a failed narco-state.

'They can use violence and oceans of cash to corrupt the government. The government has no will, and it doesn't have the ability to deal with the cartels,' he said.

Le Kena leads the Gulf Cartel and is also known as Ciclon 19. His real name is Alberto Garcia Vilano.

Mexican authorities have been hunting him for months and are offering a reward of 2.5million pesos for any information that could lead to his arrest.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, said on Monday she had been in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell, was one of the four victims.

'This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from,' she said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.

'To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.'

Zalandria said her brother, who lives in Myrtle Beach, and two friends had accompanied McGee and that the group was extremely close - making the trip in part to help split up the driving duties.

They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, Zalandria noted, and her brother had even expressed some misgivings before the trip.

'Zindell kept saying, 'We shouldn't go down,' Brown said.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday during a news briefing that the Biden administration had been 'closely following the assault and kidnapping of four U.S. citizens.'

'These sorts of attacks are unacceptable,' she said, adding that U.S. law enforcement was in touch with Mexican authorities, as were the departments of State and Homeland Security.

The Governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal Anaya, confirmed the condition of four kidnapped Americans over a phone call during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's press conference on Tuesday. Two are dead, two alive - one wounded

Mexican authorities are seen here investigating the white SUV McGee and her friends drove to the country in

A map highlighting the six of 32 Mexican states that the US State Department currently has listed under its most severe 'do not travel' category, due to local cartels that may rob and/or kidnap American tourists

The FBI and Mexican law enforcement are investigating, with the bureau asking the public for information leading to arrests.

The State Department has a 'Do Not Travel' warning in place for Tamaulipas state due to 'crime and kidnapping.'

It said organized crime activity, including gun battles, armed robberies and kidnappings, are common along the border and in Ciudad Victoria.

'Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments,' the warning states.
Budget airline JetBlue is launching direct flights between New York and Paris this summer starting at $479.

Roundtrips from New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) are set to start on June 29.

The move comes years after the sixth-largest airline launched flights to London in August 2021 and offered 'Mint Suites' which features seats that recline similarly to a bed.

'We are excited to continue disrupting the transatlantic market and offer business and leisure customers traveling to and from Paris an opportunity to experience our highly acclaimed Mint and core products in a market that has suffered from high fares by legacy carriers for far too long,' CEO Robin Hayes wrote in a statement.

The aircrafts heading to New York and Paris will feature 24 Mint Suite seats starting at $1,899 round trip, according to the airline.

Budget airline JetBlue is launching direct flights between New York and Paris this summer starting at $479

The roundtrips from New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) are set to start on June 29. Pictured: JFK

Daily flights will be offered from JFK to CDG at 5.09 pm with a planned arrival scheduled for the following day at 6.55 am.

For those heading from Paris to the Big Apple, flights will depart 8.55am and arrive at 11.51am.

Each seat on the aircraft will feature a small tv screen, free WiFi, snacks and drinks.

JetBlue's announcement comes as the US Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block the airline company from purchasing budget competitor Spirit Airlines for $3.8 million.

The Justice Department claimed the move would increase air prices and harm consumers.

The aircrafts heading to New York and Paris will feature 24 Mint Suite seats starting at $1,899 round trip, according to the airline. Pictured: CDG

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes announced the launch of flights from New York to Paris starting in summer

The lawsuit alleges the buyout would 'eliminate the unique competition that Spirit provides' and leave few options for inexpensive fares.

'The impact of this merger will be particularly harmful for travelers who rely on what are known as ultra-low-cost carriers in order to fly,' said Attorney General Merrick Garland at a press conference.

The government's complaint said that JetBlue planned to remove 10 to 15 percent of seats from every Spirit plane and jack up ticket prices on the remaining seats.

In an interview with CBS Mornings, JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes argued that the merger would help consumers, by positioning the airline to better compete with the four major carriers that together control 80% of the US market for air travel.

'This is not Pepsi buying Coke, together we're going to be eight to nine percent of the market,' said Hayes. 'Every time JetBlue flies in a market, fares go down, it's actually called the JetBlue effect.
A university warned a free speech advocate whose surname is Trump to take out liability insurance before giving a talk - in case woke activists tried to cancel her.

Trinity University in Texas said there was potential students would think Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First, was 'related to Donald Trump, which may attract opposing groups'.

Cherise is no relation to the 45th President of the US - and only took the surname after marrying her husband in 2017.

She's previously been asked whether she's related to Donald since then. But she's never been a victim of mistaken identity, or harassed or targeted at any of the talks she gives on university campuses across the last two years.

Trinity University in Texas said there was potential students would think Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First, was 'related to Donald Trump, which may attract opposing groups'

Cherise was asked to speak at Trinity University by the Young Conservatives of Texas. She regularly gives talks to colleges in her role as head of an organization that works to defend the First Amendment rights of students.

Despite a simple Google search revealing there is no relation, Jennifer Adamo, Trinity's director of risk management, wrote to student organizers on February 20 and said the event carried an 'elevated risk'.

The email added: 'When there is a chance for disruption or disturbance, the [Event Review Committee] recommends that a [certificate of insurance] is requested.

Cherise is actually no relation to the 45th President of the United States - and only took the surname after marrying her husband in 2017

'The ERC does not focus solely on topic when making recommendations. In this case, there is potential for others to mistakenly believe that Cherise Trump is related to Donald Trump which may attach opposing groups so it was recommended to request a COI from her organization, Speech First'.

Cherise Trump, who paid $76 for an insurance plan, told Free Beacon: 'Trinity should be fostering a campus environment that encourages its students to hear differing ideas without turning to mob violence.

'Not only does this show that the university has little faith in its students' ability to use the internet [to Google her], it also coddles and shields students from opposing viewpoints.'

Despite a simple Google search revealing there is no relation, Jennifer Adamo, Trinity's director of risk management, wrote to student organizers on February 20 and said the event carried an 'elevated risk'

She added on Twitter: 'Universities continue to fear their students' reactions and then enable negative behavior by coddling them. This is in place of fostering campus environments that embrace the exchange of ideas, even ones you may disagree with.'

Cherise asked whether the university would have issued a similar message if her surname was 'Biden, Clinton or Bush'.

Young Conservatives of Texas president Ellis Jacoby said it was the first time one of their speakers had been asked to seek insurance. Previous talks about critical race theory and immigration - described by Jacoby as 'more controversial than free speech' - did not draw similar concerns.
Bateman is currently awaiting trial on a litany of disturbing charges

Samuel Bateman reportedly spoke to his underage ex-'wife' while in custody

The pervert Mormon cult leader Samuel Bateman is accused of using a jailhouse phone to have explicit conversations with children while being held on child trafficking charges.

Bateman allegedly called a 13-year-old girl his 'sexy darling' as he 'brazenly' used the jailhouse phone system while in custody in November, according to federal filings.

The 46-year-old cult leader also asked the girl, dubbed Jane Doe 4 in the documents, about 'all the sacred times' they shared, despite being barred from contacting her as she is a named victim in the child abuse case against him.

Bateman reportedly made similarly vulgar remarks to two other 16-year-olds during the same call which included his adult wives.

Samuel Bateman (pictured) allegedly used a jailhouse phone to have explicit conversations with children while being held on child trafficking charges

Bateman was the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of Mormonism that practices polygamy

The self-proclaimed prophet led the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of Mormonism that practices polygamy, until he left to start his own religion.

He was arrested last year by the FBI, which said he had more than 20 wives, many of whom were younger than 15, during his reign of terror.

On the same day as his alleged depraved conversations from inside the jailhouse, Bateman instructed his wives to send 'intimidating messages to a government witness from outside the community,' according to authorities.

'Tell her that she picked the wrong religion to hate. K? Bateman reportedly ordered the women.

Bateman is facing numerous charges, including destroying records and obstructing justice in an investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.

His arrest came after authorities found three underage girls locked inside a trailer he was towing near Flagstaff, Arizona.

Cops opened the squalid trailer to find underage girls inside, which was furnished with a couch and a bucket for a toilet.

The trooper that pulled him over saw 'children's small fingers moving in the gap of the rear trailer door' as he pulled up behind the trailer, according to a police statement.

And the religious leader was snared after a subsequent raid of his two properties found evidence of child sex trafficking, incest, and group sex with both adults and minors.

The cult-fanatic claimed it was God's will for him to engage in depraved sexual acts with his 'wives', the FBI said.

Following the raid of his properties, several of Bateman's underage 'wives' were taken in by the Arizona Department of Child Services, while others were saved after they were found being an AirBnB in Washington state in December.

He is currently facing a litany of disturbing charges, which also includes kidnapping. He has pleaded not guilty, and is awaiting trial in March 2024.

Since his arrest, shocking details have been unearthed about his behavior as the leader of the FLDS, including attempting to bribe his own 14-year-old daughter into marrying him with potato chips, $50 and airplane tickets.

According to an FBI affidavit, Bateman would give his daughter 'slobbery' kisses which she referred to as 'nasty.' He then discussed in graphic detail having a child with her.

Bateman later disclosed to his wife that he wanted to marry their daughter, which prompted his wife to leave with the child.

Bateman is facing a litany of criminal charges related to his depraved reign of terror. Pictured: Three girls embrace before they are removed from the home of Samuel Bateman, following his arrest in Colorado City, Ariz., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022

Underage girls were found being driven around by Bateman inside a trailer, with just a bucket for a toilet

Warren Jeffs during an extradition hearing at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in August, 2006

Bateman was previously a follower of infamous FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, whose crimes were detailed in Netflix docuseries 'Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey'.

He allegedly told followers that the convicted child-rapist was dead, and that he 'spoke through' Bateman as the new prophet.

Former followers of the FLDS told the Salt Lake City Tribune in December that following Warren Jeffs' conviction in 2011, Bateman seized upon the power vacuum and became the group's leader.

He convinced them that Jeffs was dead, 'or translated,' a Mormon phrase for God transitioning a person's body from mortal to immortal.

Bateman said that Jeffs could only speak through him and that members should reward him with money and new wives.

Under his control, his arrest affidavit states that he gathered 'approximately 50 followers and more than 20 wives, many of whom are minors, mostly under the age of 15.'

In one example noted in the court filing, Bateman told an Arizona couple filming a documentary that the 'Heavenly Father' had instructed him in early November 2021 to 'give the most precious thing he has, his girls' virtue,' to three of his adult male followers.

Bateman then allegedly watched as three men had sex with his daughters, one of whom was just 12, according to the affidavit.

He allegedly commented that the girls had 'sacrificed their virtue for the Lord,' and went on to say: 'God will fix their bodies and put the membrane back in their body. I've never had more confidence in doing his will. It's all out of love.'

It is claimed in the documents that Bateman introduced the couple to his wives after he drove the group to their property in a large SUV - the youngest of whom was born in 2011, making her nine at the oldest.

While he hauled his 'wives' around in locked, squalid trailers, the affidavit against him also notes that he owned two Bentleys.

Following his arrest, U.S. Magistrate Judge Camille Bibles ordered that Bateman remain behind bars while the case winds through the courts.
Desperate Asian postmasters who called a helpline about the disastrous Horizon accounting system were labelled 'another Patel scamming', a public inquiry heard yesterday.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 3,000 postmasters lost their jobs, went bankrupt or were prosecuted after money went 'missing', when in fact it was a glitch with the Post Office's computer system.

Horizon caused huge problems as soon as it was introduced in 2001. The helplines were run by IT company Fujitsu as part of a 1billion contract to manage it. Yesterday a whistleblower claimed there was a toxic culture of racism at the call centre which saw staff 'mistrust every Asian postmaster' and suggest they were either 'incompetent or fraudsters'.

Amandeep Singh, who worked in the call centre during his university studies, said staff mocked postmasters while they were on mute, behaviour that was left unchallenged by bosses.

In a damning three-page statement he told the inquiry: 'The floor on these days was most toxic with vocal characters unchallenged by managers who looked away as all Asians were called Patels.

Between 1999 and 2015, more than 3,000 postmasters lost their jobs , went bankrupt or were prosecuted after money went 'missing' , when in fact it was a glitch with the Post Office's computer system

PICTURED: Seema Misra, mother wrongly jailed for 15 months while she was pregnant claimed the racism at the helpline call centre prolonged the Post Office IT scanda

The postmistress at West Byfleet in Surrey, said: They had a picture of Asian postmasters in their mind. Most of the Post Office stores are run by Asian people. It makes me angry and upset

'Shouts across the floor could be heard, saying 'I have another Patel scamming again'. They mistrusted every Asian postmaster.

This makes my blood boil

'They mocked Scottish and Welsh postmasters and pretended they could not understand them. They created a picture of postmasters that suggested they were incompetent or fraudsters.'

For years the postmasters have claimed the helplines repeatedly failed them. They said they were kept on hold for hours, instructed to pay in their own cash to balance the books, and told 'you're the only one' experiencing shortfalls. Mr Singh said the calls for help were 'relentless', putting staff under enormous pressure, and that Horizon caused problems as soon as it was rolled out. His statement read: 'Postmasters right from week one would be upset, crying frustrated as they struggled to reach equilibrium on the transactions.'

Racism was prolonging the scandal A mother wrongly jailed for 15 months while she was pregnant claimed the racism at the helpline call centre prolonged the Post Office IT scandal. Seema Misra, 47, postmistress at West Byfleet in Surrey, said: They had a picture of Asian postmasters in their mind. Most of the Post Office stores are run by Asian people. It makes me angry and upset. She estimates she called the Horizon IT helpline at least three times a week for three years. Eventually the Post Office accused her of stealing 74,600 and she was jailed in 2010. Her theft and false accounting conviction was quashed in 2021. More than a decade on, she has not yet received full compensation. Advertisement

He added in oral evidence: 'Postmasters would say, 'I've got a 2,000 or 5,000 discrepancy'. There were even wild figures like 50,000... more than their annual salary.'

The testimony led to a wave of anger from postmaster victims.

Bal Singh Gill, whose mother was given a criminal record for false accounting over 58,000 of 'missing' money, said: 'This makes my blood boil but I can feel there's a lot of truth in it.

'The call centre staff were quite arrogant  they always assumed I was hiding something.' Postmaster Vipin Patel, who is battling for compensation. said: 'This is the ultimate insult on a grand scale, for nearly a lifetime of good, honest and dedicated public service.'The Post Office is owned by the Government, through the Business Department. It is preparing to sue Fujitsu for some of the projected 700million cost of the scandal.

Two former Fujitsu staff are at the centre of a perjury investigation over claims they misled criminal trials. A spokesman said: 'Fujitsu does not tolerate racism in any form.'

The Post Office said that Mr Singh's evidence was 'extremely shocking' and the behaviour described was 'unacceptable'.

'This makes my blood boil'

Helpline staff mocked desperate callers, inquiry told
For help and support, contact the Samaritans for free, anonymously, on 116 123

He took his own life in October 2020 after being told to 'try Sudoku' puzzle game

A pensioner who killed himself after developing severe anxiety and depression had been told by NHS staff to 'try sudoku' to lift his mood, an inquest has heard.

Alan Hunter, 72, was advised to try playing the puzzle as there were no psychiatrists available for people his age, his daughter claimed.

His family were left feeling 'hopeless' as his mental health deteriorated before he took his own life in October 2020. Mr Hunter's daughter, Claire Parker, told the hearing in Norwich of her frustration at the treatment the retired glazier received from Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.

'They offered no solutions and everything just felt hopeless. He was offered no advice or support and nothing was investigated,' she said. 'One thing that has really stuck with me is that during one particular moment of depression it was suggested that he try sudoku.'

Struggle: Alan Hunter, 72, killed himself after developing severe anxiety and depression had been told by NHS staff to 'try sudoku' to lift his mood, an inquest heard

In the period before his death, Mr Hunter was referred for treatment and became an in-patient at Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth (pictured) and Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich

Mr Hunter's wife died in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease but his daughter said his mental health didn't deteriorate until 2019, when he was put on anti-depressants.

The father of two made two suicide attempts before he was found dead at his home in October 2020. In the period before his death, Mr Hunter was referred for treatment and became an in-patient at Northgate Hospital in Great Yarmouth and Hellesdon Hospital in Norwich.

During one meeting, the family was told there were no psychiatric experts who could help someone his age. Ms Parker added: 'I felt like I was the one to manage my dad's mental health crisis.'

Sue Jones, the former manager of the mental health team that dealt with Mr Hunter, said he had a consultation with a doctor who specialised in care for the over-70s.

She said the family had expressed concern and asked for a second opinion but there was no one else with 'the skills to engage with older persons'.

Senior mental health nurse Kathryn Wyer said she spoke to Ms Parker in October 2020 after her father's suicide attempt. Ms Parker revealed she and her sister were struggling to care for him.

Ms Wyer told the hearing she was aware Mr Hunter was on medication and it 'possibly wasn't working', adding: 'I believed that Mr Hunter was safe with his daughter and there was no immediate risk.'

The inquest continues.
Republicans up to Mitch McConnell slammed Fox News and Tucker Carlson for downplaying the January 6 attack after obtaining 44,000 hours of footage from that day.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave Carlson and his team exclusive access to the security tapes, which they aired on Monday night.

'They were orderly and meek,' said Carlson of those who stormed the Capitol.

'These were not insurrectionists; they were sightseers.'

McConnell opened his weekly news conference by saying he fully aligned himself with U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger, who called Carlson's conclusions 'offensive and misleading.' He held up a paper copy of Manger's statement, titled 'Truth & Justice.'

'It was a mistake, in my view, for Fox News to depict this in a way that's completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks,' McConnell told reporters.

Republicans up to Mitch McConnell slammed Fox News and Tucker Carlson for downplaying the January 6 attack after obtaining 44,000 hours of footage from that day

Sen. Thom Tillis called Carlson's portrayal of the day 'bulls***' and Sen. Mitt Romney said Carlson had gone 'off the rails'

Manger said that Carlson had 'cherry-picked from the calmer moments' of the siege.

But pressed repeatedly by reporters McConnell refused to criticize McCarthy for handing over the tapes to the conservative news network.

'Now, you all know I have many faults, but one of them is not answering the question in a way that I don't want to answer it,' he quipped, adding that his qualms were with Fox News' portrayal of the incident.

Sen. Josh Hawley, however, pushed back on McConnell's assertion, tweeting in response: 'Sunshine is always the right answer.' The Missouri Republican famously held his fist up to January 6 protesters before they stormed the building during the certification of President Biden's election.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., called Carlson's portrayal of the events 'inexcusable.'

'I think it's bulls***,' he told reporters.

'I was here. I was down there and I saw maybe a few tourists, a few people who got caught up in things,' he added. 'But when you see police barricades breached, when you see police officers assaulted, all of that ... if you were just a tourist you should've probably lined up at the visitors' center and came in on an orderly basis.'

Sen. Mitt Romney directly criticized McCarthy for giving Fox exclusive access to the footage.

'If you're gonna give footage, give it to all the networks, not just one,' the Utah Republican told reporters. 'Placating the base of my party is not the right way forward for the Republican Party or for the country.'

He tore into Carlson: 'It's really sad to see Tucker Carlson go off the rails...it's so absurd.'

GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer, S.D., said Carlson's portrayal of the event as 'some rowdy, peaceful protest of Boy Scouts' is 'just a lie.'

'I think it doesn't do any good for the narrative,' he added.

GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Texas, told Politico: 'I don't really have a problem with making it all public. But if your message is then to try and convince people that nothing bad happened, then it's just gonna make us look silly.'

'It's definitely stupid to keep talking about this. So what is the purpose of continuing to bring it up unless you're trying to feed Democrat narratives even further?' he added.

Tucker Carlson on Monday night released footage from inside the Capitol on January 6, including clips showing the 'QAnon Shaman', Jacob Chansley (above), being apparently 'escorted' through the building

In footage screened on Carlson's show Monday night, so-called QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was apparently seen being escorted into the Senate by Capitol police officers.

Carlson suggested that challenged the prevailing narrative that Chansley - jailed for four years over the incident - aggressively barged into the chamber.

Also broadcast was footage of Captiol cop Brian Sicknick, who died shortly after the riot.

It was originally suggested Sicknick's death came as the result of being attacked with a fire extinguisher and pepper spray by rioters.

But a medical examiner later ruled he'd died of natural causes. And Carlson shared footage of Sicknick walking around the Capitol after the attack. Sicknick died the following day.

He also referenced Ray Epps, who was seen among the rioters urging them to storm the Capitol, yet was never charged - giving rise to suspicion that Epps was in fact an informant. Epps has denied working for the government.

On Monday, Carlson suggested Epps was lying.

'Very little about January 6 was organized or violent.

'Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.'

Carlson pointed to footage showing the 'QAnon Shaman' - a bare-chested, Viking helmet-wearing Jacob Chansley - inside the Capitol.

Chansley, a 33-year-old naval veteran from Arizona, was one of the most high-profile figures to enter the Capitol on January 6.

He has been jailed for almost four years for 'obstructing an official proceeding.'

In the footage, Chansley appears to be guided by an official as he wanders the Capitol.

He passes a line of riot police, who make no move to stop him.

Then they escort him to various entrances of the chamber which appear to be locked, and eventually find him an open door through which he vanishes.

'Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape,' said Carlson.

'The tapes show the Capitol police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.'

Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer

Carlson further suggested alleged Capitol Rioter Ray Epps - pictured in red Trump cap - was actually an FBI agent send to stoke violence. Epps denies his claims

Carlson also showed the moments after Officer Brian Sicknick was confronted by the rioters.

Four officers died by suicide in the days and weeks after the riot.

There have also been roughly 1,000 arrests.

The footage comes as Fox News continues to contest a $1.6 billion lawsuit taken out against the broadcasting giant by Dominion, who manufactured voting machines for the 2020 election.

Fox is being sued over claims the network endorsed theories the firm's voting machines were rigged to deliver a Biden win.

The broadcaster's owner Rupert Murdoch was recently deposed over the lawsuit, and said he'd 'liked (Fox) to have been stronger denouncing' the stolen election claims.

Fox news denies the claims made against it by Dominion.
What does Illegal Immigration Bill set out to do? Will measures fall foul of 'Blob'

Previous attempts to solve the Channel crisis have been blocked by 'Establishment forces', Home Secretary Suella Braverman says today.

And her Illegal Migration Bill is likely to face similar opposition from 'the Blob'.

Ministers have long blamed the Blob  comprised of obstructive civil servants, trade unions and pressure groups  of undermining solutions set out by the Government.

So what does the new Bill set out to achieve  and how likely is it to be controversial with the Blob?

Previous attempts to solve the Channel crisis have been blocked by 'Establishment forces', Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) says today

Disqualify asylum claims

All migrants who arrive by 'irregular routes'  such as by small boats  will have asylum claims instantly declared inadmissible.

This will allow the Home Office to rapidly remove them to their home country, Rwanda or another safe country.

Pro-migrant campaigners have already condemned the move, saying it breaches international refugee treaties and risks putting genuine asylum seekers at risk.

Controversy factor: 5/5

Detain all Channel migrants

The Home Secretary said illegal entrants will be detained 'without bail or judicial review'.

The Bill sets out that a decision to detain someone 'is final and is not liable to be questioned or set aside in any court' except in very limited circumstances.

Introducing across-the-board detention is likely to be opposed by human rights groups, as will the plan to restrict opportunities for legal challenges.

Controversy factor: 4/5

More migrants were brought ashore in Kent on Monday ahead of the new laws being unveiled

Migrants including women and children are removed from a Border Force vessel after being picked up in the Channel on Monday

Deport Channel migrants

The Home Secretary will be under a new duty to remove migrants from the UK.

It will apply to those who come here illegally at any point after yesterday  and who have 'not come directly from a territory where their life and freedom was threatened'. Migrants' opportunities to appeal against deportation will be severely restricted. In limited cases their challenge can be heard by an immigration tribunal.

Controversy factor: 5/5

Block Strasbourg judges

The Home Secretary announced that the Government will square up to the European Court of Human Rights.

They will ask Strasbourg to restrict the way it uses temporary injunctions  known as Rule 39 orders  to block UK legislation. A Rule 39 order issued by Strasbourg last June barred the first attempt to send migrants to Rwanda.

Controversy factor: 5/5

Human rights compatibility

MRS Braverman said yesterday's package of measures is so 'robust and novel' she was not able to make a statement of compatibility with the Human Rights Act, which is normally done.

Instead, ministers ask Parliament to pass the new laws even though there's a risk it breaches human rights legislation  a process known as a 'Section 19(1)(b) statement'. The move is sure to attract howls of protest from human rights groups  and will be scrutinised by peers in the House of Lords.

Controversy factor: 4/5

Limit modern slavery claims

The Bill will disqualify irregular migrants from claiming they are victims of exploitation under the Modern Slavery Act. Currently they are able to lodge a claim with little or no evidence.

Controversy factor: 2/5
Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer wants new White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients to hand over all communications about a National Archives statement that was drafted  but not released  the day of an explosive report about documents marked classified at a former office for President Biden.

Comer put forward the demand in a new letter to Zients, which follows other attempts to try to claw potentially damaging information from the White House.

This time, he is armed with information gleaned from chief counsel for the Archives Gary Stern.

The push comes amid escalating tensions with the White House, who last week blasted Comer for 'despicable' claims that Biden's late son Hunter should have been indicted.

Representative James Comer (R-KY) has fired off a letter to the White House, this time seeking to learn about a National Archives statement that was written but not released when the discovery of documents marked 'classified' at the Penn Biden center was first made public

Comer cites the testimony, where Stern was asked in an appearance before the Oversight and Accountability committee whether he drafted a statement the day CBS News reported on January 9 that documents stored at the Penn Biden Center contained classified material.

On January 9th of 2023, CBS broke the story that President Biden stored documents at Penn Biden Center that were subject to the Presidential Records Act and also contained classified material. Did you draft a statement in response to that CBS report?

'NARA did draft a statement,' he responded.

'Did it go public?' Stern was asked, responding in the negative. When asked who prevented a statement from going public, he responded, 'According to the DOJ guidance, I'm not supposed to talk about the, you know, content of our communications with other parties.'

Comer addressed the letter to new White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients

The letter follows the discovery of documents with classified markings at Biden's Wilmington home and other developments

The slew of reports about Biden has brought a second special counsel probe into being

There was another search in February at the University of Delaware, where Biden's Senate documents are housed

The search for classified material continues

Comer references previous letters that got no substantive response

He quotes testimony by an Archives lawyer

Stern was then told the Archives did publish a statement after the Washington Post reported that documents marked classified were uncovered at former President Donald Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago.

'The Committee is concerned about President Biden's lack of transparency given the serious national security implications of his conduct,' Comer wrote.

White House spokesman Ian Sams pointed to a February tweet where he is quoted saying the White House did not ask Archives to withhold a statement.

The Comer letter that the Republican-led panel had fired off previous letters January 10, 13, and 15, without any document production or 'substantive response.'

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the committee, released his own letter denying the administration 'improperly suppressed information,' and calling on Comer to release the transcript in its entirety.

'Committee Republicans continue to make unfounded accusations of disparate treatment by the National Archives and the Department of Justice in their efforts to preserve presidential records and secure classified records,' said Raskin.

'Today, Committee Democrats are releasing a previously undisclosed letter received last Congress from the Justice Department demonstrating the agency's longstanding policy to not disclose information that could interfere with the integrity of ongoing investigations. Committee Republicans have failed to identify any evidence to support their irresponsible claims that the National Archives and the Department of Justice are politically biased and have been uncooperative with their investigation.'

He called on Comer to release the transcript of Stern's interview 'so that the American public can evaluate the facts free from partisan spin.'

The fight over White House information is the latest venue in the sprawling document saga.

Last month, the FBI searched the University of Delaware, Biden's alma matter where many of his Senate records are held.

That followed searches of his Penn Biden office, his Wilmington home, and his Rehoboth, Delaware Beach House in search of additional material.

Separate special counsels named by Attorney General Merrick Garland are probing Biden's documents issues as well as the government's long-running effort to get back government material including documents marked 'classified' from former President Donald Trump.

Comer's letter states that the matter raises 'more questions regarding the Biden Administration's involvement in suppressing information related to President Biden's mishandling of classified documents.'

The White House has publicly argued the opposite: that the administration was complying voluntarily and being 'transparent' about information that comes in. It continues to face questions about why the information was not released immediately when Biden's team first discovered material marked classified days before the November elections.

Biden said in January as the story was still unfolding he had 'no regrets' and has been 'following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do.'
Network Ten has revealed the email one of its staff members sent to Bruce Lehrmann ahead of a bombshell interview with Brittany Higgins where she alleged she had been raped by him in Parliament House.

The email, referred to as part of Ten's defence to defamation proceedings launched by Mr Lehrmann in the Federal Court, included 16 questions sent to an email address believed to be controlled by him.

The email included the question 'Did you rape Brittany Higgins as alleged?' and offered him a chance to tell his side of the story on The Project, where Ms Higgins' interview was slated to air.

The network discloses that the email address was supplied to Ten by Ms Higgins' boyfriend, David Sharaz.

Ten has argued in its defence that staff made 'reasonable attempts' to get Mr Lehrmann's side of the story before it broadcast Lisa Wilkinson's interview with Ms Higgins, a former Liberal Party staffer.

In the document, it says a producer called, texted and emailed Mr Lehrmann on five occasions from February 12 to February 15, 2021.

Network Ten has revealed the email its staff sent Bruce Lehrmann ahead of airing a bombshell interview with former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins where she alleged she had been raped in Parliament House

THE 16 QUESTIONS NETWORK TEN ASKED BRUCE LEHRMANN Did you attend a drinks function with Ms Higgins and colleagues on 22nd March 2019? Did you buy Ms Higgins drinks? Did you become intoxicated at the drinks? Did Ms Higgins become intoxicated at the drinks? Did you share a taxi with Ms Higgins after the drinks? Did you take Ms Higgins to Australian Parliament House after the drinks? Did you use your pass to enter Parliament House? Did you use your pass to enter the Ministerial Wing? Did you rape Brittany Higgins as alleged? Did you leave Parliament House without Ms Higgins after the alleged rape? Were you sacked or given an opportunity to resign over the alleged rape? Have you ever had contact with the AFP Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team (SACAT)? Have you ever been interviewed by the AFP or the AFP SACAT? Have you ever been interviewed by the APH police regarding events on the evening of 22nd March 2019 and the morning of 23rd March 2019? Have you seen the CCTV footage showing you and Ms Higgins in Parliament House on the evening of 22nd March 2019 and/or the morning of 23rd March 2019? Are you available for an interview with The Project? Advertisement

The email to Mr Lehrmann, sent on the afternoon of Friday, February 12, from producer Angus Llewellyn said: 'I'm producing a story for Network Ten's The Project.

'The Project has been informed of an alleged rape of Brittany Higgins perpetrated by you within a minister's office in Australian Parliament House on the evening of 22 March 2019/morning of 23rd March 2019.'

It asked Mr Lehrmann to respond by 10am the following Monday.

After pleading not guilty to sexually assaulting Ms Higgins, Mr Lehrmann stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court before it was aborted due to juror misconduct.

The charges were subsequently dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr Lehrmann has continually denied any allegation he sexually assaulted Ms Higgins, a former colleague, at Parliament House in March 2019, and filed a defamation claim shortly afterwards.

Mr Lehrmann is suing Wilkinson and Network 10, as well as journalist Samantha Maiden and News Corp Australia's News Life Media over their coverage of the allegations made by Ms Higgins.

Ten said it would rely on a defence of truth and qualified privilege.

The broadcaster also argues that as its interview with Ms Higgins was broadcast on February 15, 2021 and is therefore more than two years old, Mr Lehrmann's lawsuit is not maintainable as it was filed beyond the one-year limitation period.

Wilkinson has retained her own legal team led by high-profile defamation barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC and has previously filed her defence.

She arrived at Sydney Airport on Wednesday after returning from a trip to the UK for a week.

Ten has argued in its defence that staff made 'reasonable attempts' to get Mr Lehrmann's side of the story before it broadcast Lisa Wilkinson's (pictured) interview with Ms Higgins

Wilkinson is seen arriving in Sydney on Wednesday after travelling to the UK for a week

Wilkinson is seen at Sydney Airport on Wednesday

Mr Lehrmann has claimed the segment on The Project carried four false and defamatory meanings including that he raped Ms Higgins inside Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office and that he left her on the couch in a state of undress.

He was not named in any broadcast or articles, but his statement of claim argues his identity would have been known in political circles and was further ascertainable when he was charged and publicly named in August 2021.

Ten said the broadcast had an average national audience of approximately 726,728, including 129,000 viewers in Sydney and 193,000 in Melbourne.

Ten said in its defence: 'Had Lehrmann responded to Ten's attempts to contact him, Ten would have included Lehrmann's side of the story, by including his response or the substance of his response, in the matters complained of.

Ms Higgins' partner David Sharaz (pictured together) had provided Network 10 with Mr Lehrmann's email address

'Depending on the nature of any response from Lehrmann, Ten may have considered offering him the opportunity to participate in an on-camera interview, which could have been included in the matters complained of or considered delaying publication of the matters complained of to give him an opportunity to respond.'

Ten said Wilkinson and six producers were involved in putting together the story.

Ten said its production team communicated with Ms Higgins, starting with an email exchange between Wilkinson and Mr Sharaz on January 18, 2021.

While Ms Wilkinson's defence, which was filed last week, does not mention Mr Sharaz, Ten's defence says that he on several occasions exchanged phone calls, texts and emails with Wilkinson over January 18-20.

He was also involved in later face-to-face meetings and texts with producers, the broadcaster said.

The interview was recorded in Sydney on February 2, 2021 in the presence of the network's senior legal counsel.

Ten says it did not pay Ms Higgins for the interview, outside of covering the cost of her flights and accommodation in Sydney.

Ten claims it conducted extensive checks on claims made by Ms Higgins, including speaking to her former flatmate.

It says it did not name Mr Lehrmann in the broadcast and referred to him as a 'senior male advisor' and 'senior staffer'.

It also says before airing the story, the small group working on the story did its best to maintain confidentiality by giving its story the codename 'ENVIRO' and kept all documents and scripts off the shared server.

Ten argues it was careful to distinguish between claims and facts and that the story made numerous references to 'allegations' and an 'alleged rape'.

On February 10, Ten also obtained a signed statement from Ms Higgins in which she said: 'To the very best of my knowledge and recollection' the interview was a truthful account of the alleged sexual assault.'

Wilkinson is also relying on defences of truth and qualified privilege.

While Wilkinson does not deny the central defamatory claim of rape was conveyed, she said she cannot admit that Mr Lehrmann 'was reasonably identified by any viewer' when her broadcast aired.

Mr Lehrmann has not yet responded to the allegations contained in the defences filed by Ten and Wilkinson.
Huge swathes of Britain's coastline are at risk of being plunged underwater by 2100 amid sea level rises fuelled by climate change, a new study has warned.

Researchers say parts of the south east and north west of England, south Wales and central Scotland, are most at risk.

They also warned that in these regions even densely populated cities such as London, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh are not safe.

In these areas, flood damage is expected to increase by more than 25 per cent if action is not taken to counter climate change and rising sea levels, according to the study led by the University of Bristol.

It claims that the annual damage caused by flooding in the UK could increase by more than a fifth over the next century unless all international pledges to reduce carbon emissions are met.

Warning: Huge swathes of Britain's coastline are at risk of being plunged underwater by 2100 amid sea level rises fuelled by climate change, a new study has warned. This graphic shows the areas where the current annual cost of flooding damage (left) is expected to increase over the next 80 years (right)

The study is the first to assess the risk of flooding using the most recent Met Office climate projections, which factor in the likely impact of climate change.

It reveals that the forecasted increase in yearly flooding damage to properties and businesses could be avoided if all countries fulfil the ambitious pledges they signed up to at COP26, although Britain would also need to achieve its Net Zero commitments on time and in full.

WHICH PARTS OF THE ENGLISH COASTLINE WILL BE THE WORST HIT BY EROSION? Figures published in 2019, based on data collected by the Environmental Agency's National Coastal Erosion Risk Mapping project, suggest the following areas of England's coastline will be the worst hit by erosion: COASTAL EROSION: THE AREAS MOST AT RISK BY 2040 COASTAL AREA: LAND ERODED AFTER 20 YEARS: 1. Happisburgh, Norfolk 318 feet (97m) 2. Kessingland, Suffolk 230 feet (70m) 3. Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire 223 feet (68m) 4. Withernsea, East Riding of Yorkshire 200 feet (61m) 5. Sunderland, Tyne & Wear 131 feet (40m) 6. Filey, North Yorkshire 131 feet (40m) 7. Camber, East Sussex 131 feet (40m) Advertisement

If these things do not happen, the study shows that the annual cost of flooding in the UK over the next century could grow by between 13 per cent and 23 per cent, depending on different levels of climate extreme projections.

The study's lead author Paul Bates, professor of hydrology, said: 'For the first time this flood model gives us a more accurate and detailed picture of the impact of climate change on the risk of flooding in the future across the UK.

'The results are a timely warning to the country's political leaders and business sector that global commitments to significantly reduce carbon emissions must be taken very seriously, and ultimately take effect, in order to mitigate increased losses due to flooding.'

The data has also highlighted the places in the UK where flooding risks will increase most rapidly, even under the best-case scenario where global warming is limited to 3.24F (1.8C).

These include the south east and north west of England, south Wales and central Scotland.

The new model also suggests that the risk of flooding in north east and central England, as well as eastern and northern Scotland, will change very little over the next 80 years.

'Although the most optimistic climate scenarios see only modest increases in flood losses at a national level, these new data demonstrate how this conceals dramatic variations across the country, with some places seeing large changes and others very little,' said Professor Bates.

'This is a result of changing patterns of future rainfall, river flow and sea level rise, and this leads to the regional differences we predict.'

The model predicted 1-in-250-year flood water depth for Carlisle, showing maximum levels of water elevation

This graph shows how the cost of flooding to Britain has increased as global warming has risen

He added: 'We found that flooding increases most in places where risk is already high now, so the best thing we can do to prepare for the impact of climate change is to strengthen flood management in currently at-risk areas, and this will bring immediate economic and social benefits as well.'

The new model takes into account historical flood risk and future climate projections, while researchers used flood losses from the Association of British Insurers to shed new light on the financial toll of flooding.

The team of experts now plan to produce analysis for other countries across the world in an attempt to further understand of how climate change is likely to affect the risk of flooding globally.

Co-author Dr Oliver Wing, also of the University of Bristol, said: 'This study, which harnesses new data and the very latest modelling techniques... has given a new level of insight into the impact of climate change on flooding in future.

'The modelling provides clear evidence that flood risk needs to be a bigger international priority and that current governance doesn't go far enough.

'While the majority of the nation's future flood risk already exists today, it is strongly in the UK's interest to exercise leadership in global carbon emission reduction efforts, both by example and as part of global diplomatic initiatives.'

The study has been published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Science.
Advertisement

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are certainly impressive at their ability to perform complicated tasks once thought only capable to humans.

The revolutionary ChatGPT has been used to pass exams, deliver a sermon, write software and give relationship advice  to name just a handful of its functions.

But, for some people, these technologies have raised a scary question  could they take my job?

A study from Princeton University in New Jersey, US has revealed the 20 occupations most at risk of being made redundant thanks to AI.

Taking the top spot is call centre operator, but the following eight are all teachers of different disciplines, including languages, history, law and religion.

A study from Princeton University in New Jersey, USA has revealed the 20 occupations most at risk of being made redundant thanks to AI

The authors wrote: 'The effect of AI on work will likely be multi-faceted. In some cases, AI may substitute for work previously done by humans, and in other cases, AI may complement work done by humans.

TOP 20 OCCUPATIONS MOST LIKELY TO BE REPLACED BY AI Rank Job 1 Call centre operators 2 English language and literature teachers (higher education) 3 Foreign language and literature teachers (higher education) 4 History teachers (higher education) 5 Law teachers (higher education) 6 Philosophy and religion teachers (higher education) 7 Sociology teachers (higher education) 8 Political science teachers (higher education) 9 Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers (higher education) 10 Sociologists 11 Social work teachers (higher education) 12 Psychology teachers (higher education) 13 Communications teachers (higher education) 14 Political scientists 15 Area, ethnic and cultural studies teachers (higher education) 16 Arbitrators, mediators and concilliators 17 Judges, magistrate judges and magistrates 18 Geography teachers (higher education) 19 Library science teachers (higher education) 20 Clinical, counselling and school psychologists

'A prominent example of how AI capabilities continue to advance are the recent improvements in AI language modeling.

'In particular, ChatGPT, a language modeler released by OpenAI in late 2022, has garnered a huge amount of attention and controversy.'

For their study, published on arXiv, the researchers first constructed an algorithm which measures the extent a 800 occupations could be automated by AI.

They did this by linking 10 AI-powered applications, like translation, language modelling and image generation, to 52 human abilities, like oral comprehension and arm-hand steadiness.

The results revealed the top 20 jobs that could have the largest proportion of their workload taken over by AI technology.

Many of these jobs are high-paying roles that require a significant level of education, including actuaries, budget analysts, accountants and judges.

But when the study authors adjusted the algorithm to account for significant advances in language modelling we have seen over the past few months, it gave a different list of at-risk jobs.

Call centre workers were ranked as the most at risk, which may not be a surprise as many companies currently use AI-powered chatbots for this position.

Lyft, Spotify and Mastercard are just several in the large group that prompt users to ask questions to a chatbot to direct their queries better.

The researchers wrote: 'One might imagine that human telemarketers could benefit from language modeling being used to augment their work.

'For example, customer responses can be fed into a language modeling engine in real time and relevant, customer-specific prompts quickly fed to the telemarketer.

'Or, one might imagine that human telemarketers are substituted with language modeling enabled bots.'

However, 14 out of the 20 occupations were higher education teachers in different disciplines, including History, Geography, Religion, Sociology and English.

The authors note 'occupations in the field of education are likely to be relatively more impacted by advances in language modeling than other occupations' (stock image)

Call centre workers were ranked as the most at risk, which may not be a surprise as many companies currently use AI-powered chatbots for this position (stock image)

The team notes that 'occupations in the field of education are likely to be relatively more impacted by advances in language modeling than other occupations.'

The study comes shortly after researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne revealed which jobs they thought were the most and least likely to be taken by robots.

Their findings suggest that meat packers, cleaners and builders face the highest risk of being replaced by machines, while teachers, lawyers and physicists are safe.

'The key challenge for society today is how to become resilient against automation,' explained Professor Rafael Lalive, who co-led the study.

'Our work provides detailed career advice for workers who face high risks of automation, which allows them to take on more secure jobs while re-using many of the skills acquired on the old job.'

Based on the findings, the researchers developed a tool that revealed the automation risk of your job, and how you could reuse your abilities.
Advertisement

An archaeological dig has uncovered what is believed to be a Roman shrine beneath a graveyard.

Excavations at the site of an old song school in the grounds of Leicester Cathedral began in October 2021 and have since produced a 'remarkable' amount of information, dig directors have said.

The cellar of a Roman building and a 1,800-year-old altar stone have been discovered during the excavation, led by University of Leicester Archaeological Services, suggesting the presence of a shrine or cult room.

The cellar  now nearly 10ft (three metres) below the ground  is believed to have had a concrete floor and stone walls, with decorative paintwork.

Mathew Morris, Project Officer, said: 'It could be really significant. It's an area of Leicester that we don't get to excavate very often. It's the historic quarter of the town, so it's one of those big blank areas on the map of the city.

Excavations at the site of an old song school in the grounds of Leicester Cathedral began in October 2021 and have since produced a 'remarkable' amount of information, dig directors have said

The cellar of a Roman building and a 1,800-year-old altar stone (pictured) have been discovered during the excavation, led by University of Leicester Archaeological Services, suggesting the presence of a shrine or cult room

As well as evidence of Roman activity, 1,100 burials dating from the 11th century to the mid-19th century have also been discovered, which will be analysed and then reinterred at a later date by the cathedral.

'But it's also quite fundamental in understanding the history of Leicester Cathedral.

'Whilst it's an iconic building in the cityscape, we don't actually know too much about its early history and most of what you see above ground today was rebuilt in the Victorian period.

'So an excavation next to it was really the only way we were going to get to grips with key questions, like when was it first founded, and what was underneath it before?

'There's always been this folk tale that there was a Roman temple underneath the cathedral.

'Until now, there's been no way of being able to say whether there was or not, but we're certainly looking at, with this excavation and the discovery of this cellar and the fragment of a Roman altar stone out of it, that there is definitely a Roman place of worship underneath the cathedral.'

It is believed the cellar was built in the second century and then deliberately filled in a century or two later, with Mr Morris saying it is believed the room was used to worship God or gods.

Several pieces of Roman pottery and coins were also found.

The dig was part of the planning conditions of the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project, a 12.7 million restoration of the Grade II* listed building, believed to have first been built in the 11th century, which will see a new heritage learning centre built on the site.

An artist's impression of Roman Leicester (Ratae Corieltavorum) from the north-west, as it may have looked during the late 3rd century AD

'Until now, there's been no way of being able to say whether there was or not, but we're certainly looking at, with this excavation and the discovery of this cellar and the fragment of a Roman altar stone out of it, that there is definitely a Roman place of worship underneath the cathedral,' Mr Morris said

The dig was part of the planning conditions of the Leicester Cathedral Revealed project, a 12.7 million restoration of the Grade II* listed building, believed to have first been built in the 11th century, which will see a new heritage learning centre built on the site

The area of land that was excavated, in the middle of the medieval town, was just 150 square feet (14 square metres), but Mr Morris said 'if you dig any hole in Leicester, you're going to find something'.

As well as evidence of Roman activity, 1,100 burials dating from the 11th century to the mid-19th century have also been discovered, which will be analysed and then reinterred at a later date by the cathedral.

Mr Morris, 42, added: 'It's going to give us a really good insight into this area of Leicester.'

The dig has also uncovered rare evidence from the Anglo-Saxon period, including the first coin from the period to be found in the city in 20 years and potentially the first proof of a building from the era in that part of the city.

John Thomas, deputy director at Ulas, said: 'This excavation has produced a remarkable amount of archaeological evidence from a modestly sized area.

Personal adornments lost by the residents of Roman Leicester, found during the recent excavations at Leicester Cathedral. Left: A copper alloy head stud brooch dating to the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. It is intact except for the pin which has broken off. Right: Two hair pins crafted from animal bone. Their globular heads suggest that they date to the 3rd or 4th century AD

Several pieces of Roman pottery and coins were also found, including a shard of Roman decorated samian ware pottery (left) and Roman coins (right)

'The project allowed us to venture into an area of Leicester that we rarely have the opportunity to investigate, and it certainly did not disappoint.

'When we began the project, we had several key research questions, but we were not sure how much of an impact the song school foundations would have had.

'Fortunately, the archaeology was very well-preserved and, whilst there is still a lot of analysis work still to do, we are confident that we'll be able to address all of our questions and more.

'We'll have a much clearer idea of what was happening on the site in the Roman period, when the parish church of St Martin's was founded, and a unique insight into the story of Leicester through its residents who were buried here for over 800 years.'

The cellar  now nearly 10ft (three metres) below the ground  is believed to have had a concrete floor and stone walls, with decorative paintwork

'The project allowed us to venture into an area of Leicester that we rarely have the opportunity to investigate, and it certainly did not disappoint,' Mr Thomas said
Advertisement

Ever wondered what it would be like to watch the sun set on another planet?

Well, this dazzling image below captures the stunning spectacle on Mars and is the first time sun rays have been viewed so clearly on the Red Planet.

It was snapped by NASA's veteran rover Curiosity, which landed on our neighbouring planet back in 2012.

Martian sunsets tend to be rather moodier than those on Earth, but this one is particularly eye-catching because it shows rays of light illuminating a bank of clouds as the sun falls over the horizon.

The sun rays, which are also known as crepuscular rays from the Latin word for 'twilight', were captured on February 2 while Curiosity was carrying out its newest twilight cloud survey.

Ever wondered what it would be like to watch the sun set on another planet? Well, this dazzling image captures the stunning spectacle on Mars and is the first time sun rays have been viewed so clearly on the Red Planet

Eye-catching: The Martian sun rays is not the only spectacle Curiosity has captured recently. It also snapped a set of colourful clouds shaped like a feather (pictured). The image shows them take on an almost rainbow-like appearance because they have been illuminated by sunlight in a process known as iridescence

The clouds in the image are special because they are at a much higher altitude than usual and where it is extremely cold, meaning they are likely made of carbon dioxide or dry ice.

MARS: THE BASICS Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, with a 'near-dead' dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Mars is also a dynamic planet with seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, extinct volcanoes, and evidence that it was even more active in the past. It is one of the most explored planets in the solar system and the only planet humans have sent rovers to explore. One day on Mars takes a little over 24 hours and a year is 687 Earth days. Facts and Figures Orbital period: 687 days Surface area: 55.91 million mi Distance from Sun: 145 million miles Gravity: 3.721 m/s Radius: 2,106 miles Moons: Phobos, Deimos Advertisement

Most clouds on Mars hover no more than 37 miles (60 kilometres) above the ground and consist of water ice.

Curiosity's latest survey builds on its 2021 observations of noctilucent, or night-shining, clouds.

It is doing this because, in much the same way as on Earth, clouds provide vital information for scientists hoping to understand more about the planet's weather.

Experts can learn a lot about the Martian atmosphere, including wind speeds and current temperatures, based on when and where clouds form.

While Curiosity's 2021 cloud survey involved the use of its black-and-white navigation cameras, this new one is relying more on the rover's colour Mast Camera, or Mastcam.

The difference is that the black-and-white cameras offered scientists a chance to study a cloud's structure as it moves, whereas the colour one enables them to see how cloud particles are growing over time.

This new cloud survey began in January and will end in mid-March.

The Martian sun rays is not the only spectacle Curiosity has captured recently, however.

It also snapped a set of colourful clouds shaped like a feather on January 27.

The image shows them taking on an almost rainbow-like appearance because they have been illuminated by sunlight in a process known as iridescence.

'Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud's particle sizes are identical to their neighbours in each part of the cloud,' said Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

'By looking at colour transitions, we're seeing particle size changing across the cloud.

'That tells us about the way the cloud is evolving and how its particles are changing size over time.'

Both the sun rays and rainbow clouds were captured as panoramas by Curiosity and stitched together from 28 images that were sent back to NASA engineers on Earth.

In 2015, Curiosity recorded a sequence of views of the sun setting at the close of its 956th Martian day, or sol (pictured)

Milestone moment: Last August marked 10 years since NASA's Curiosity rover (pictured) touched down on the Red Planet

It comes eight years after Curiosity recorded a sequence of amazing views of the sun setting at the close of its 956th Martian day, or sol.

Those images, which were put together into an animation, were taken by the rover's Mastcam and can be seen above.

Last August marked 10 years on the Red Planet for the rover.

The one-tonne vehicle launched from Earth in November 2011 and  after an arduous nine-month journey which included the 'seven minutes of terror' down to the Martian surface  it set out to look for evidence that Mars may once have supported life.

Since then, the rover has driven more than 18 miles (29 kilometres) and ascended over 2,000 feet (625 metres) as it explores Gale Crater and the foothills of Mount Sharp within it.

The rover has analysed some 40 rock and soil samples, relying on a suite of science instruments to learn what they reveal about Earth's rocky sibling.

Such has been its success, what was originally intended to be a two-year mission was later extended indefinitely, leading to a rather busy decade.

Curiosity has studied the Red Planet's skies  capturing images of shining clouds and drifting moons  while the rover's radiation sensor has allowed scientists to measure the amount future astronauts would be exposed to on the Martian surface, helping NASA figure out how to keep them safe.

But most importantly, the rover has determined that liquid water as well as the chemical building blocks and nutrients needed for supporting life were present for at least tens of millions of years in Gale Crater.

Although it has been joined by a new NASA rover in Perseverance in February 2021, Curiosity continues to strut its stuff while being led by the US space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.
Since the evening of 28 February, Greek society has been rocked by the deadliest railway accident in the history of the country, and one of the worst in European and world history. This terrible event, resulting from the negligence of the government and private rail operators, has provoked a huge outpouring of anger and protest, as well as strike action by railway workers and other sectors. A 24-hour general public sector strike has been announced for tomorrow (8 March). The tragedy has further ratcheted up the class struggle in Greece, which was already roaring back to life.

The bloody collision between a commercial and a passenger train in Tempi (near the city of Larisa in central Greece) led to 57 dead and 72 injured, as of the time of writing these lines. This bloodshed could have been avoided easily with most elementary precautions. This was not merely an accident: it was a crime.

Criminal indifference

Despite attempts by the government and media to cover up the truth, the masses understd the criminal nature of the tragedy from the first testimonies of the railway workers.The fatal collision of the two trains was due to the simultaneous and egregious failure of the light signalling; the remote control; and the special electronic traffic control system (ETCS) which protects against human error. If all these safety systems had been working, then the collision would have been avoided.

Despite attempts by the government and media to cover up the truth, the masses understd the criminal nature of the tragedy from the first testimonies of the railway workers / Image: Hellenic Red Cross, Twitter

But instead, it was revealed in front of the astonished eyes of millions of people that the coordination of railway routes is done exclusively by a few, often elderly and insufficiently trained station masters.

The government; its relevant ministry; the privileged bureaucrats in the management of OSE (Greek Railways Organisation); and Hellenic Train - the profiteering company that has monopolised the country's railway network since 2017 - had all received ample and dire warnings from workers and their unions of an impending, major crash.

Just four months ago, at the beginning of November, after repeated derailments and staff injuries, the Panhellenic Union of Traction Personnel (PEPE) sent legal document to OSE and the Ministry of Infrastructure, with notification to the Railway Regulatory Authority (RAS), denouncing all the scandalously unresolved technical problems that eventually led to the Tempi collision. The union emphasised that understaffing and underfunding had reached extremely dangerous levels and demanded that immediate measures be taken.

The same issues were raised just a few days before the crash occurred, on 7 February 2023, in an announcement by the Democratic Unionists Trade Union Movement of Railways (DESK), the trade union sector of the KKE for railway workers. It even says "we will not wait for the accident that is coming, to see them shed crocodile tears." The indifference with which all these warnings of the workers were met was the final act in carrying out the crime.

The deep roots of crime

The roots of 28 February are very deep. The dire state and delayed refurbishment of the Greek railways is a longstanding symptom of the underdevelopment of Greek capitalism compared to the most advanced Western capitalist states.

The Greek state acquired a central national railway organisation only in 1920, under the name "Railways of the Hellenic State" (S.E.K.). This organisation, in fact, only in the mid-1960s gathered under its control all the railway lines of the country, with the exception of those of the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways and the private lines of mines and factories. The SEK later evolved into the OSE (Organisation of Railways of Greece) in 1971, combining in its DNA the underdevelopment of Greek capitalism and the extreme corruption and military administrative mentality of the ruling junta.

In the mid-1990s, the OSE, at the general urging of the EU for liberation (privatisation) of the railways, began the process of privatisation by dividing the rail network up into smaller companies. This led to the establishment of ERGOSE (research) in 1996; GAIOSE in 2001 (estate and real estate management) and TRAINOSE (network operation) in 2005. From 2008, underfunding led to the independence of TRAINOSE from OSE, which officially put it on track to being sold off.

It is worth noting here this model of breaking up the state organisations of the railways did not apply to all "partners" within the EU. Powerful states such as Germany and France did not proceed in this direction  the policy was applied only to poorer countries in the south that already faced austerity conditions in the previous decade.

In April 2013, in the midst of the great government debt crisis, the Samaras-led coalition government (ND-PASOK-DIMAR) transferred all the shares of TRAINOSE to the special fund for the sale of public property, controlled by the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), TAIPED. In 2017, the SYRIZA-ANEL memorandum coalition, at the demand of the troika, sold TRAINOSE to the Italian state-owned railway company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group (FSI), and turned it into its joint-stock subsidiary, which from July 2022 is now called Hellenic Train. Of course, the debt of the OSE, amounting to 14.3 billion euros, has always remained with the state and is carried by working taxpayers.

The humiliating price for the privatisation amounted to only 45 million euros, at a time when the Greek state committed to annually subsidising the company with 50 million euros for supposedly "barren" routes, which even included the main train line running from Athens to Thessaloniki. The details of the colonial style contract that accompanied the privatisation are still being kept secret.

Thus, Greece is the only European country in which the citizens do not know which railway routes a private company (subsidised with state money) has committed to running. Of course, the corresponding contract for the subsidising routes that Trenitalia has signed with the Italian State, owned by the company that bought TRAINOSE, has been made public.

Recently, even the Deputy Minister of Transport, in charge of infrastructure, G. Karagiannis, characterised this convention as having a "colonial character", without doing anything to make it public. The Greek state is also the only one in the EU to completely displace the state provider, i.e. OSE, from the execution of a railway project.

Degeneration

The privatisation of TRAINOSE not only did not develop the Greek railways, but dramatically exacerbated the state of disorganisation and systematic underfunding of OSE, and the problems of the ageing network and understaffing.

According to relevant research, which involved 16 journalists from 13 countries, and was published in the Editors' Journal just 12 days before the crash, in the period following privatisation a number of routes were thinned, abolished or replaced by buses. The "Thessaloniki-Alexandroupoli" route, which used to take six hours, now takes eight hours, some of which cannot be done by train! From Alexandroupoli to Ormenio, only one-eighth of the routes from 2016 are still running. Towards the west, the connection between Thessaloniki and nearby cities such as Edessa and Florina has turned into a ghost service, with trains running without station masters! In addition, the Peloponnese network has been closed, with the exception of a small section of the line from Pyrgos-Olympia-Katakolon.

The new era of privatisation has brought such a catastrophe, even by capitalist standards, that in 2019 the Greek government officially requested a five-year exemption from the application of the European Regulation 1371/2007 for the protection of passenger rights.

This disaster underlines the magnitude of the indifference, mismanagement and corruption of the ND government / Image: World Economic Forum, Flickr

At the same time, OSE has turned into a shadow of its former self. According to the Panhellenic Federation of Railways, today only 880 employees serve in OSE, compared to the approximately 2,100 that are officially needed! So it is to be expected that, in order to be able to ensure the rudimentary operation of the railway, the workers are forced to work overtime every day. The old unified OSE at the beginning of 2000 had 12,500 employees, while now the sum of OSE and TRAINOSE personnel is only about 2,000 people. In fact, the rest of the EU states have more than twice as many personnel per kilometre of network than Greece.

The safety of the routes, as was tragically proven on 28 February, after the privatisation and sharp aggravation of the withering of the OSE, turned into an unnecessary luxury in the eyes of its owners. Today, 55 percent of the network do not have signalling and remote control systems, and only a small part of the Tithorea-Lianokladi-Domokos axis has signalling. In fact, as former railway workers reported to the Naftemporiki newspaper on 3 March, exactly in the section of track where the crime took place, until 2013 the signalling was working. But from 2014, the problems started due to lack of maintenance because the company didn't want to replace the material that was repeatedly stolen.

And all this is happening despite the fact that, according to statements on 3 March by Albert Zanz, press representative of the European Commission for the Environment, since 2016 the Greek state has received 700,000,000 euros from the Connecting Europe Facility programme. This was for projects to upgrade and construct lines, with 110 million allocated for the Athens-Thessaloniki line, on which the electronic control system should have been operational from 2020.

If true, this underlines the magnitude of the indifference, mismanagement and corruption of the ND government, but also the previous SYRIZA-ANEL government. It also highlights the hypocrisy of the EU, which on the one hand is supposed to give money to support the railway as an ecological means of transport, while on the other, through the troika, it calls on the Greek governments to make the biggest possible cuts in staff and operating costs, condemning the railways to withering.

With privatisation also came the extreme aggravation of the understaffing problem. It is indicative that the OSE now has only 30 technicians for the maintenance of signalling from Patras to the Greek-Bulgarian border, while in the past it had more than 300 technicians. And as far as the station masters are concerned, just one day before the crime, the OSE announced the recruitment of 67 station masters, for six-month period with a self-employed status! How many of us can imagine something like that happening, for example, with air traffic controllers? More generally, the OSE does not have the basic sufficient number of station masters, pointmasters, drivers, or even employees who adjust the clocks at the stations.

And as if that wasn't enough, on 14 April 2022, the ND government decided to reward the Italian company with yet another mammoth state subsidy deal. The agreement provides for the maintenance of the subsidy of 50 million euros for the next 15 years, without any study to support this subsidy being made public.

The shameful attempt to cover up the crime must not pass!

The government, with the help of the media, is now conducting a scandalous campaign to cover up the crime as a product of human error, pointing their finger at the 60-year-old stationmaster. This was coupled with the resignation of the Minister of Transport, K. Karamanlis. In the context of this cover-up campaign, the responsibility for investigating the crash was appointed to the notorious right-wing prosecutor of the Supreme Court Dogiakos, whose son has served for four years as an employee in the office of Karamanlis!

In addition to the railway workers, who are striking en masse, thousands of workers and young people mobilised in the squares of dozens of cities / Image: , Twitter

In addition, in the committee for the investigation of the tragedy, they appointed Athanasios Zeliaskopoulos, the man who served as President and CEO of TRAINOSE during the period 2010-2015, where the biggest cuts were made and the remote control system stopped working (he eventually resigned a day after his appointment due to an outpouring of rage).

This sordid scheme to cover up the crime must not succeed! Already, the revelations of the dismantling of the railways, but also the insolent government propaganda itself, have caused a tsunami of righteous anger and indignation.

In addition to the railway workers, who are striking en masse, thousands of workers and young people mobilised in the squares of dozens of cities. There were also sit-ins at dozens of schools. On Sunday 5 March, there was a mass rally of 50,000 mostly young people, called by the trade unions of the rail workers, as well as ADEDY (the public workers union). The rally would undoubtedly have been larger if the police did not attack it brutally and break it up using teargas.

Thus, we see before us further evidence of the radicalising consciousness, especially of the youth, who are reacting to the rot, decadence and criminal nature of the capitalist system, as well as the government and the state that represent it.

This combative mood, however, is unfortunately undermined, first of all, by the passive attitude of the SYRIZA leadership. Feeling its co-responsibility as the pioneer of privatisation in 2017, it follows a shameless policy of "silent mourning", behind which the government tries to avoid the blows of popular anger. Moreover, for its part, the leadership of the KKE once again split the mobilisations, refusing to coordinate with the other forces in the labour movement and the youth, and thus, with the help of the sectarian organisations calling rallies of their own, do everything in their power to fragment and tire the movement out prematurely, with hasty, disorganised and fragmented calls to action.

But the enormous social impact of this issue, as well as the magnitude of the effect of this crime on the consciousness of workers and youth, require the best possible coordination and the greatest possible unity of all of the forces in struggle.

No to the silent protest, which is convenient for covering up the crime of Tempi! No common mourning with those responsible for the crime! For a massive and militant struggle to punish the guilty!
NASA announced Tuesday that it is on track to launch the next phase of its Artemis program in November 2024, which will see a crewed mission soar around the moon.

Artemis II will see four astronauts make the epic journey inside the Orion capsule, taking them around the moon and reaching a maximum altitude of 5,523 miles above the surface.

The first part of the program saw an uncrewed capsule returning to Earth after a more than 25-day mission, which tested Orion's technologies to ensure astronauts' safety.

Artemis III, scheduled for about 12 months after Artemis II, will see astronauts land for the first time on the moon's south pole and will be the first time humans plant boots on the lunar surface since 1972.

NASA announced Tuesday it is on track to send four people around the moon and back in 2024. The crew will launch atop the Artemis Space Launch System (SLS) rocket

NASA associate administrator Jim Free said in a statement: 'We're looking forward to that crew flying on Artemis II.

'Right now, there's nothing holding us up based on what we learned on Artemis I.'

Artemis I launched on November 16, 2022, signaling the first stage of the US space agency's goal to return people to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century.

The program, however, was plagued with numerous delays that pushed the maiden launch data back since August.

The $4 billion Space Launch System endured fuel leak concerns, engine issues and escaped the clutches of not one but two hurricanes.

NASA said during the November launch that if all went well, the world could see humans take the same journey in 2024 - and the hope is becoming a reality.

'Our plan has always been 12 months, but there are significant developments that have to occur,' Free said.

'We're still sticking with that 12 months, but we're always looking at the development of all the hardware that has to come together for that.'

The announcement follows a successful Artemis I that launched an uncrewed Orion capsule to the moon, which splashed down in the Pacific Ocean in December (pictured)

NASA said during the November launch that if all went well, the world could see humans take the same journey in 2024 - and the hope is becoming a reality. Artemis II will take a similar path as Artemis I

READ MORE: NASA's Orion snaps a stunning 'blue marble' image of Earth NASA's Orion capsule captured a stunning 'blue marble' image of the Earth nine hours into its epic journey to the moon. Advertisement

Among the items still in development are a lunar lander built by SpaceX and spacesuits, Free said.

NASA is also still set to reveal the members of the Artemis II crew later this year. All that is known so far is that one will be a Canadian.

Orion logged over 1.4 million miles during the Artemis I mission.

After Orion landed, it was recovered and secured in the well deck of the USS Portland, a US Navy ship.

'The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft  which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing  is the crowning achievement of Artemis 1,' said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

'From the launch of the world's most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis generation of lunar exploration.

'Today is a huge win for NASA, the United States, our international partners, and all of humanity.'

Artemis 1 was not a manned mission, meaning there were no humans aboard the Orion capsule at any time, although there were manikins on board.

The main goal of this mission was to test Orion's heat shield for the day when it is humans riding inside.
Advertisement

Up on deck theres a flurry of activity. What the hell is that? Theres a mad scramble to discern what exactly is heading towards our ship.

Grab the binoculars! someone shouts. The theories come thick and fast  then, oh, is it just a rope, or perhaps seaweed? But as it drifts by on the gentle ocean swell, it becomes clear it is, in fact, a huge sea snake.

Its not the first eye-popping sight weve encountered out here on the waters off Australias Kimberley coastline. Our 12-night trip, running from the old pearling town of Broome to the vibrant port city of Darwin, has already taken us through the Horizontal Waterfalls and into mirrored bays where the rocks shelter ancient Aboriginal art, and along wild gorges where ospreys look out from crags in the crimson cliffs and crocodiles bask, open-jawed, in the thick heat of the sun.

The Kimberley, in the far northern reaches of Western Australia, is one of the southern hemispheres last great wilderness destinations  home to vast, deserted plains, towering mountains and a remote, almost impenetrable, coastline. The region is almost twice the size of the UK, yet it has fewer people per square metre than almost any other place on Earth.

Its big, bold landscapes, pummelled by monsoonal rains in the wet season and baked red under intense heat in the dry, are imbued with fascinating history, from tales of pearl diving to frontier wars and Aboriginal creation myths. Some of the largest tides in the world slough the empty beaches here, and thousands of intriguing islands are scattered like shards of broken pottery along its coastline. Its no surprise this is a place best explored by boat.

Sights to behold: Lizzie Pook joins a 12-night voyage on cruise ship Le Laperouse (above) around Kimberley in the far northern reaches of Western Australia

And were on a very fine vessel indeed. Le Laperouse is a 184-capacity mega-yacht perfectly engineered to explore the sort of places that few have the privilege of visiting. It boasts 92 staterooms and suites (all with private balconies), a spa, a sommelier, butlers and inclusive helicopter trips.

The food is exquisite, too. We start each day of adventure with a feast of benedicts, pancakes and omelettes, while dinners of king fish fillet, lobster and wagyu beef are served with the finest Artemis Domaines wines under the moon at Le Nautilus restaurant.

But the most spoiling thing is not the food, nor the fancy suites, nor the lashings of champagne at breakfast. Without a doubt, it is our skilled expedition team, who filter us smoothly into Zodiac boats and take us out into this heart-thuddingly dramatic landscape.

Lizzie travels on a luxury expedition ship called Le Laperouse. Pictured is the ship's sauna

The ship boasts 92 staterooms and suites, which all have private balconies

Lizzie enjoys dinners of king fish fillet, lobster and wagyu beef 'served with the finest Artemis Domaines wines' while onboard

As we nose our way through the eerily atmospheric mangrove channels of Porosis Creek one day, expedition leader Brad Climpson regales us with tales of crocodiles launching their whole bodies out of the water to snatch prey from low-hanging branches.

While snorkelling in vivid blue-green waters off Ashmore Reef, surrounded by sea turtles, manta rays and juvenile tiger sharks, the scientist and wildlife film-maker Dr Frederique Olivier takes us to a very special island.

As we approach, the whole landmass appears to shiver, fracture apart then float upwards. We suddenly realise its tens of thousands of seabirds  noddies, boobies and frigatebirds  billowing about, filling the sky above us. It is one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen, and I half expect to turn my head and see Sir David Attenborough bobbing about on a boat behind us, binoculars raised.

Spectacle: Lizzie experiences the thrill of Kimberley's Horizontal Waterfalls

Le Laperouse (pictured) is 'perfectly engineered to explore the sort of places that few have the privilege of visiting'

TRAVEL FACTS Lizzie Pook was a guest of Abercrombie & Kent. Its 12-night Kimberley Cruise: Australias Last Frontier 2023 costs from 12,699 per person (based on two sharing). The price includes flights to Broome via Perth, transfers, excursions in Broome, activities on board, private balcony accommodation with butler service on a full-board basis (abercrombiekent.co.uk). Lizzie Pooks historical novel Moonlight And The Pearlers Daughter (Picador) is set in the Kimberley. Advertisement

A nightly lecture series, held in the ships theatre, helps us put what we have seen on our daily excursions into context. As well as talks by geologists and naturalists, anthropologist Dr Shirley Campbell helps us interpret the remarkable Wandjina rock art we come across while on land each day. This landscape may look bare, but people have lived here for tens of thousands of years.

Bart Pigram, a Yawuru guide and museum curator from Broome, also speaks passionately and engagingly about his familys history with pearl diving, revealing that these natural treasures came at great human cost, with many indigenous workers losing their lives while being made to dive for the lucrative South Sea pearl shell.

Its a real honour to learn, first-hand, from those who have dedicated their lives to studying this environment and its rich human and natural history. These talks provide us with a deep, valuable understanding of the Kimberley.

Each day ends in fitting style, with cocktail hour on Le Laperouses observation deck. As we chat excitedly about the incredible things weve witnessed  keeping our eyes peeled for more visiting sea snakes, or watching the flying fish skim over the flat ocean  the sun slowly sinks, setting the sky ablaze with lilac, amber and gold.

These iconic Kimberley sunsets are one of the most unfathomably gorgeous things you could ever see. A visit to this remote, exhilarating part of the world is worth it for that beauty alone.
Advertisement

This photography contest sets out to highlight the wonders of our planet  and based on the latest batch of extraordinary winning pictures, its mission has been accomplished.

The annual World Nature Photography Awards (WNPAs) was founded on the belief that photography can influence people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet.

The 2022 edition of the contest saw thousands of entries flood in from 45 countries across six continents, but one picture proved the clear winner for the judges, earning German photographer Jens Cullmann the title of World Nature Photographer of the Year and the 834 ($1,000) grand prize.

Cullmanns striking winning photograph shows a crocodile lurking in the mud in Mana Pools National Park Zimbabwe, the creature's bright yellow eye peeking through its muddy camouflage.

Other prize-winning photographs include a shot of an elephant attempting to hide behind a tree in South Africa, a powerful picture of a storm-cloud swirling over Iowa and a mesmerising image of the night sky taken from inside an Icelandic glacier.

Adrian Dinsdale, the co-founder of the WNPAs, said: We congratulate all our winners and offer our deepest thanks for capturing such spectacular images of our precious planet. Once again, we hope it provides great motivation to us all to do everything we can to protect the Earth for future generations. Below is MailOnline Travels pick of the photos that have scooped awards  scroll to the very bottom to see the astonishing crocodile portrait that takes the top prize

Storm clouds loom over a field in Iowa in this transfixing photograph by Israeli photographer Miki Spitzer. It takes the bronze medal in the 'Planet Earth's Landscapes and Environments' category

Snapping up the top prize in the 'Behaviour - Birds' category, this picture shows a male hooded merganser - a species of duck - in Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. U.S photographer Charles Schmidt, who was behind the lens, says that the bird was 'headed directly' for him

In this cleverly-framed shot, an African savanna elephant is seen 'camouflaging itself behind a too-small bush' in the Marataba Private Reserve of South Africa's Marakele National Park. Swedish photographer Staffan Widstrand recalls how the elephant stepped behind the bush to 'try to hide' when the vehicle the photographer was travelling in approached the reserve. He says that eventually, the elephant seemed to realise that 'the bush was a bit too small, and walked calmly away'. The picture ranks third in the 'Behaviour - Mammals' category

Snapping up the bronze medal in the 'Black and White' category, this heartwarming shot by British photographer Jules Oldroyd reveals a trio of elephants in the Savuti Area of Botswana

A lone polar bear in the Arctic is beautifully captured in this picture by Israeli photographer Eduardo Feldman, which ranks second in the 'Behaviour - Mammals' category

A herd of wildebeest cross a section of the Mara River in Kenya in this powerful shot by Polish photographer Artur Stankiewicz, which takes the silver medal in the 'Black and White' category

This striking image zooms in on a troop of Japanese macaques that have formed a huddle on Japan's Awaji Island. Topping the podium in the 'Behaviour - Mammals' category, the picture is the work of Japanese photographer Hidetoshi Ogata, who explains that the island's macaques 'form huddles consisting of many individual monkeys, sometimes reaching more than 30'. He says: 'Cuddling and grooming are among several possible reasons for making a huddle. It begins with the mother and baby cuddling. Other females and young males then join in, as well as other cuddling groups'

In this intriguing shot, a red-billed oxpecker perches on a resting warthog in South Africa's Zimanga Private Game Reserve. Hungarian photographer Tamas Aranyossy explains: 'The picture was taken at such a relaxing moment, when both animals rested a bit. I watched the bird's behaviour in amazement... this nice intimate moment shows the close relationship between two different animal species in nature.' The picture takes the silver medal in the 'Behaviour - Birds' category

In this impressive picture, a crocodile is seen perched on a branch in eastern India's Bhitarkanika National Park. It's the handiwork of Indian photographer Ashok Behera and it takes the silver medal in the 'Behaviour - Amphibians and Reptiles' category

Taken in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, this startling picture shows a praying mantis capturing and devouring a lizard. Captured by Japanese photographer Takuya Ishiguro, it ranks second in the 'Behaviour - Invertebrates' category

The top prize in the 'Behaviour - Amphibians and Reptiles' category goes to this picture of Japanese stream toads mating in a river in Japan's Mie Prefecture. It was captured by Japanese photographer Norihiro Ikuma, who explains that these toads usually live 'deep in the mountains' and only come down to the river when it's time to spawn

The reflective, pink-tinged waters of Bolivia's Laguna Colorada salt lake are the subject of this vibrant picture by Hong Kong photographer Beatrice Wong, which takes the silver medal in the 'Planet Earth's Landscapes and Environments' category. Flamingos flock to the lake to feed on the red algae in the water, which lends it its colour, Wong reveals. She says: 'Laguna Colorada is one of the most picturesque and surreal places I have ever visited... legend has it that the water is actually the blood of the gods. It is truly an oasis of serenity and belongs inside a dream'

UK photographer Vladislav Tasev captured this compelling picture of a common kestrel perched in the 'dilapidated, old, tall and rusty street lamps' that have become its home in an abandoned parking lot in the Bulgarian province of Stara Zagora. The picture reigns supreme in the 'Urban Wildlife' category

Two white-tailed eagles fly past an industrial scene in Vladivostok, a Pacific port city in Russia, in this captivating picture. Snared by UAE photographer Nitin Michael, it takes the bronze medal in the 'Urban Wildlife' category

Taking the gold medal in the 'Planet Earth's Landscapes and Environments' category is this enchanting picture of the Milky Way over Grand Teton Peak in Wyoming. U.S photographer Jake Mosher explains that he hiked, snowshoed, and climbed to the 11,000ft (3,353m) summit of nearby Table Mountain to get the angle for the shot. He says: 'While these iconic mountains have been photographed tens of thousands of times, I wanted to show an entirely unique view of them. I was treated to one of the most spectacular displays of airglow [the luminosity of the atmosphere] that I've ever seen'

The Australian fur seal in this poignant picture has suffered a bad injury from a boat propeller, Australian photographer Nicolas Remy reveals. He captured the image, which is number one in the 'Nature Photojournalism' category, near Australia's Port Kembla harbour

This picture shows a group of caiman reptiles getting sprayed with water during a rescue operation in South America's Pantanal wetland. It was taken in 2021, a year that the region faced 'the worst drought in 50 years', leaving the caimans dehydrated and malnourished, photographer Fernando Faciole reveals. His photograph claims the silver medal in the 'Nature Photojournalism' category

Third in the 'Nature Photojournalism' category is this picture by U.S photographer Loren Kreisle of a bench on the edge of Iceland's Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon

Claiming the top prize in the 'People and Nature' category is this picture of the night sky, captured from inside a moulin (a vertical shaft) on Iceland's Solheimajokull glacier. Norwegian photographer Virgil Reglioni says that it shows 'how it feels to be inside the glacier's guts'. He says: 'Not many people would even dare to go in there, where it is dark, deep, cold, loud, and wet. And that is the whole purpose of this photograph; pushing your limits to capture what only a few people will ever experience at night.' The photographer continues: 'Abseiling down felt incredible, as the more we penetrated into this dark monster, the more the fear rises up.' Reglioni adds that there was 'about 30m (98ft) of dark void' under his feet in the glacial shaft

This picture shows a seal tangled in a net on the small German island of Dune in the North Sea. Dutch photographer Alex Pansier, who was behind the lens, says that the photograph 'touches him'. He explains: 'The animal seems to have cataracts and has also become entangled in a fishing net. Yet it is as if the creature has a smile on his face and he seemed used to the net. This contrast really appealed to me.' The shot bags a silver medal in the 'People and Nature' category

This eye-catching image zooms in on a seaweed blenny at the Blue Heron Bridge dive site in Florida's Riviera Beach. Taken by U.S photographer Andre Johnson, it scoops the bronze medal in the 'Animal Portraits' category

Third place in the 'Animals in their Habitat' category goes to this shot of a badger under the night sky near the village of Bakonybel in Hungary's Zirc District. It was captured by native photographer Adam Horvath

Titled 'Catch Me If You Can', this incredible picture shows a leopard climbing a tree in Kenya. It was taken by Canadian photographer Thomas Vijayan and takes the silver medal in the 'Animals in their Habitat' category

A snow-covered bison is seen in Yellowstone National Park, Montana, in this dynamic shot by U.S photographer Mike Darter. It ranks second in the 'Animal Portraits' category
For almost half of people, special travel memories trigger more positive emotions than remembering their first kiss.

And that's according to science.

Research used artificial intelligence to 'measure and visualise the expression of emotions' related to a variety of memories, with 47 per cent of participants attaching more positive emotions to a unique travel memory compared to recalling their first kiss.

In the study, by GetYourGuide and emotion analytics specialist Tawny, for 42 per cent of the respondents, travel experiences were one of the three most emotionally intense memories.

And for 14 per cent, travel experiences even evoked more positive emotions than holding their firstborn child for the first time, though the latter was, overall, the most intensely positive memory.

Participants from Germany, the U.S and the UK had their faces scanned by facial recognition software as they imagined key moments of their lives - and 47 per cent attached more positive emotions to a unique travel memory compared to recalling their first kiss

For the study, 298 participants from Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom followed a guided audio meditation that prompted them to vividly imagine key moments of their lives.

As they recalled those memories, their faces were scanned by facial recognition software.

Using artificial intelligence, the software analysed emotional facial micro reactions to rank different memories and describe how negative or positive a reaction was.

Software analysed emotional facial micro reactions to rank different memories and describe how negative or positive a reaction was

'The first kiss and special travel experience share some psychological similarities. Both are multi-sensory, provoke exhilaration and critically represent a new experience that you have not had before,' says Anja Goritz, psychologist and full professor for Behavioral Health Technology at Augsburg University.

'Putting yourself into situations for novel, emotionally rich experiences can benefit your emotional well-being. These types of experiences are also the ones that are likely to form long-term "treasured" memories.'

Johannes Reck, CEO and founder of online travel booking platform GetYourGuide, says: 'People have the opportunity to be the architects of the emotionally impactful moments of their life. I strongly believe in the power of travel experiences to shape memories.

'With GetYourGuide we want to hand consumers the key to unlock those feelings of wonder and awe and turn them into lasting memories.'

To ensure the travel memories keep coming, GetYourGuide has launched a collection of 'one-of-a-kind experiences' called Originals by GetYourGuide. One highlight is a guided experience through the Museum of Modern Art in New York, another is a private tour of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia.

Reck added: 'For years, GetYourGuide has helped travellers create lasting memories on every trip they take, and were thrilled to now unlock even more truly unique experiences with the launch of "Originals by GetYourGuide", created in close collaboration with our brilliant local partners.'
Aussie supermodel turned skincare mogul Miranda Kerr could be looking to expand her real estate portfolio back home.

The Los Angeles-based, Kora Organics founder is said to be on the hunt for a 'luxury trophy home' according to real estate insiders on the Gold Coast who say Kerr's father is busy inspecting mansions on his daughter's behalf.

Kerr's parents John and Therese Kerr are currently based in Brisbane.

However it's understood John has been inspecting the Gold Coast luxury market in recent weeks and has taken a particular interest in a number of acreage estates located in the Gold Coast hinterland.

'We believe John has been looking at homes for Miranda and her family to potentially purchase, either as a base in Australia or as a holiday retreat,' a luxury listing agent, who specialises in high-end rural acreage, told Daily Mail Australia.

The Kora Organics founder (with husband Evan Spiegel) is said to be on the hunt for a 'luxury trophy home' according to real estate insiders

Aussie supermodel turned skincare mogul Miranda Kerr 'looking to expand her real estate portfolio'

'He has been shown through a number of the bigger, more spectacular homes in the past few weeks but as of yet no purchase has been made that we're aware of.'

Both Miranda and her father have been contacted for comment.

Kerr and her Snap Inc. billionaire husband Evan Spiegel, along with their kids Myles and Hart Spiegel and Flynn Bloom, currently reside in Los Angeles full time but also keep a vineyard estate in the Australian Hunter Valley which they bought for $7.5million in 2020.

The cashed-up couple also own a $50million villa in Paris and a seaside vacation home in Malibu, and forked out one of the highest figures ever for a new Los Angeles compound in 2022 when they settled on a $145million property in swanky Holmsby Hills.

Kerr and her Snap Inc. billionaire husband currently reside in Los Angeles full time

A new home on the Gold Coast would cap something of a major real estate splurge for the pair who have been frequent visitors to Australia in recent months.

Kerr is set to return later this month when she appears as a guest speaker at the Forbes Australia Womens Summit, 'The Power of Now', taking place on March 22 at the International Convention Centre inSydney.

Should Kerr dip her toe into the Gold Coast she would be in some famous company with a number of high-profile identities buying up in recent months.

Buddy and Jesinta Franklin most famously snapped up the iconic trophy home Villa Casa for $9million in late 2022.

Buddy and Jesinta Franklin recently bought a $9million trophy home on the Gold Coast

The Franklins' new digs which they snapped up just days after it hit the market

Former radio host Alan Jones also dropped $12.25m recently on a Southport estate from automative millionaires Brett and Rebecca Frizelle while Sydney booze mogul Ross Jurisich - of Stone & Wood Brewing Company fame - paid $21.5m for a Mermaid Beach mansion.

Ex-Storm star and Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith and former soapie actress Holly Brisley have also recently relocated there.
Tensions are set to rise between Jay Brown and his mother-in-law Emma on next week's EastEnders, as they struggle with Lola's declining health.

The pair are set to clash in upcoming episodes when Jay is accused of cheating on his wife, after Emma sees him during an innocent chat with another woman on a night out.

While Jay insists he'd never cheat on Lola, his furious wife decides to undergo her next hospital appointment without him, but after being left terrified by her prognosis, turns back to him for support.

In the coming scenes, Jay and Lexi are worried when Lola zones out, but she refuses to get checked out, instead pouring all her energy into a brain tumour awareness fundraiser until she zones out again.

Jay insists they go to the hospital and later tries to convince Lola to get a counsellor for Lexi, who is struggling to cope, but Lola is determined to support her daughter herself.

At odds: Tensions are set to rise between Jay Brown and his mother-in-law Emma on next week's EastEnders, as they struggle with Lola's declining health

Drama! The pair are set to clash in upcoming episodes when Jay is accused of cheating on his wife, after Emma sees him during an innocent chat with another woman on a night out

Eventually Lola (Danielle Harold) gives in and agrees to arrange counselling for Lexi, but Jay (Jamie Borthwick) is later left frustrated when Emma (Patsy Kensit) arrives and undoes all his good work.

Emma reveals that she's come to see how Lola is because worried Lexi called her, and her daughter is concerned that her mother secretly gave Lexi (Isabella Brown), her number and encouraged her to lie, but soon forgives her.

Jay is fuming when Lola cancels the counsellor after Emma gives her opinion, further irritated by his mother-in-law's meddling.

As the week goes on, Jay and Emma continue to clash over their different approaches to Lola's situation.

Emma wants him to stop being so over-protective, but Jay is adamant Lola mustn't do too much.

Eventually, the pair convince Jay to go out with Ben and Callum while Emma accompanies Lola to the hospital - where the doctor delivers some worrying news.

Back in Walford, Lola doesn't want Emma to fetch Jay, but she goes to find him anyway.

Out with Ben and Callum, Jay has been joined by Shanti, a girl on a hen night she's not enjoying, and as they talk about how much he loves Lola, Emma walks in and sees them being too close for comfort.

Worrying: In the coming scenes, Jay and Lexi are worried when Lola zones out, but she refuses to get checked out, instead pouring all her energy into a brain tumour awareness fundraiser

Arguing! As the week goes on, Jay and Emma continue to clash over their different approaches to Lola's situation

Jay is stunned to arrive home to a furious Lola who tells him that Emma saw him and he needs to get out fearing he has cheated.

Later, a heartbroken Jay can't believe Lola thinks he's capable of cheating and is horrified to hear she's having an MRI and he didn't know.

Honey convinces him to go to the hospital to support his wife, and she tags along to distract overbearing Emma.

Terrified Lola finally agrees to speak to her husband, and they share a deep, painful conversation about what's happening.

Meanwhile, Honey tries to dig deeper with Emma and find out why she's so controlling.

Can she convince Emma to ease up on Jay and release her grip on Lola?

Speaking about the episodes, actor Jamie admitted that Jay has grown increasingly protective Lola in recent weeks as her health continues to worsen.

He said: 'He's really worried and really concerned. He's very protective of Lola because he can see her symptoms developing, so that makes him really, really worried.'

Too many arguments: Emma wants him to stop being so over-protective, but Jay is adamant Lola mustn't do too much.

What's going on? Meanwhile, Honey tries to dig deeper with Emma and find out why she's so controlling - can she convince her to ease up on Jay?

As he and Emma begin to clash, she accuses him of being overprotective of Lola, and Jamie admitted he agrees.

He added: 'I would but obviously there's that element of ''well I'm here every day'', ''I've been here the whole time and you haven't'' so whilst Jay understands Emma's point of view, she doesn't know their set-up and she doesn't know how they've been managing.

'Emma's arrived and she's got opinions on the situation but she doesn't actually know what's really going on.

'That gets Jay quite frustrated actually. He can also see that she's not who she says she is, he can sense some cracks, and he can sense there's something not quite right with her. He isn't totally bought by whole ''I'm really sorry'' performance.'

Discussing the reaction he's had to the hard-hitting storyline, Jamie added: 'Amazing. This storyline is really touching people and people are talking about it in their day-to-day lives, it's great we're doing this story and it shows that we're raising awareness.

'Danielle and I attended the Broadcast Awards the other day, and we we're greeted with nothing but really great comments from people including Mo Farah and Olivia Coleman!'

EastEnders airs from Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One.
Whitney Dean's struggles with her grief will reach an emotional new low in next week's EastEnders, as she battles with saying goodbye to her baby daughter Peach.

In emotional scenes, Whitney learns that her baby girl's ashes are ready for collection, after deciding to have a termination when her daughter was diagnosed with Edwards' Syndrome.

After going through with the procedure, Zack and Whitney got to hold their baby daughter in scenes that aired last week, and decided to call her Peach.

Their grief has left them at breaking point with Whitney struggling to part from her daughter, and in the coming episodes, Zack accuses her of abandoning him to scatter their baby's ashes.

Will they come together during such a heart-breaking time?

Moving: Whitney Dean's struggles with her grief will reach an emotional new low in next week's EastEnders, as she battles with saying goodbye to her baby daughter Peach

Moving: In upcoming scenes Whitney clashses with Lily following a health scare when she goes over the top about being protective, sparking a huge row

In the upcoming episodes, Whitney (Shona McGarty) returns to work on the market, and it proves tough as Mother's Day is the big topic of discussion.

It does her good to be busy, but when she gets the call to say Peach's ashes are ready to collect, she crumbles.

Zack (James Farrar) tries to talk to her, but Whitney can't handle it and rushes off, blaming everyone for making her go back to work too soon.

When Zack catches up with her at home, Whitney insists she's not ready to say goodbye to Peach.

Later, Zack tries to talk to Whitney about having a memorial for Peach, but she's evasive.

They agree to pick up their daughter's ashes together until Whitney sees Lily have a health scare and uses the moment to ditch Zack.

Whitney and Lily return to the Slater house, where Whitney goes completely over the top about protecting Lily's unborn baby and a row ensues.

Meanwhile, Zack struggles with his emotions as he sits with Peach's ashes, and later he sees distraught Whit and calls her out on her decision to let him go alone to do the tragic task.

Hard times: In the upcoming episodes, Whitney returns to work on the market, and it proves tough as Mother's Day is the big topic of discussion

Ordeal: It does her good to be busy, but when she gets the call to say Peach's ashes are ready to collect, she crumbles

Hitting out: Zack tries to talk to her, but Whitney can't handle it and rushes off, blaming everyone for making her go back to work too soon

Will they manage to find some common ground, and say goodbye to their daughter?

It comes after Whitney and Zack were left further distraught when doctors revealed to them that their daughter's existence is not legally recognised as Whitney's pregnancy did not reach past 24 weeks.

If a baby is born before 24 weeks, for legal reasons this is known as a miscarriage, and the registering of the baby's birth is not needed.

Viewers were devastated for Whitney and Zack when the pair learned that their baby had been diagnosed with Edwards' Syndrome.

One said: 'Poor Whitney, can she not have a happy ending?'

Another added: 'I don't know why they can never let Whitney have much happiness in the show.

'Of course Whitney can't have a healthy baby', another viewer said.

Drama! They agree to pick up their daughter's ashes together until Whitney sees Lily have a health scare and uses the moment to ditch Zack

Rage: Whitney and Lily return to the Slater house, where Whitney goes completely over the top about protecting Lily's unborn baby and a row ensues

Heartbreaking: Viewers were devastated for Whitney and Zack when the pair learned that their baby had been diagnosed with Edwards' Syndrome

Other viewers discussed Whitney's actual decision to terminate her pregnancy, with one fan pointing out: 'It's Whitney's choice. It's her body.'

EastEnders is working closely with Antenatal Results and Choices and SOFT UK to accurately reflect and raise awareness of Edwards' Syndrome whilst sensitively portraying the tough decisions that prospective parents are faced with following a diagnosis.

Edwards' Syndrome is a rare but serious genetic condition, and 95 per cent of babies with the disorder die before they are born, while those delivered tend to pass away within minutes.

If a baby survives, symptoms can include low birth weight, cleft lip or palate, heart and kidney problems, hernias, bone abnormalities, frequent lung and urinary infections and severe learning disabilities.

EastEnders airs on Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Coronation Street's serial killer Stephen Reid will plot to kill Carla Connor next week, after she lashes out in another drug-fuelled outburst.

The villain has been slowly drugging his boss in a bid to take over Underworld, but after she undermines him yet again, he gets revenge by spiking her tea.

When a dishevelled Carla decides she may need to go back on her antipsychotic medication, she heads up to her room to take a nap, while a sinister Stephen lets himself in.

Slipping into the kitchen unnoticed, a sly Stephen turns on the grill in the hope of causing a massive explosion.

Will he claim his third victim?

Ending things for good? Coronation Street's serial killer Stephen Reid will plot to kill Carla Connor next week, after she lashes out in another drug-fuelled outburst

Tense: The villain has been slowly drugging his boss in a bid to take over Underworld, but after she undermines him yet again, he gets revenge by spiking her tea

In the upcoming episodes, Carla (Alison King) stresses about ending up back in prison as an uninsured driver, after she ran over Paul (Peter Ash) while high on LSD.

Sarah (Tina O'Brien) is surprised when a preoccupied Carla agrees to a staff bonus after they've bagged the American deal, while Stephen (Todd Boyce) surreptitiously calls Rufus to set his plan in motion.

As the week goes on, Carla sees Dr Gaddas, describing how each time she's suffered an episode, it feels like she's tripping on drugs, and she is prescribed with diazepam.

Soon the Americans arrive, and Stephen reminds Carla how it's imperative that she's on top form. She can't believe his nerve, ordering him to get back to making the tea.

Angry at being belittled, Stephen double-doses Carla's drink, and as the meeting draws to a close and the LSD kicks in, Carla's behaviour becomes erratic.

With the Americans gone the girls celebrate the deal, but they're interrupted by a worse-for wear-Carla who barks at them to get out of her factory.

The girls are dumbstruck while Stephen allows himself a satisfied smile.

The following day, and feeling much better, Carla announces she's going to work.

Shocking: After Stephen spikes Carla's drink with LSD, she lashes out at the factory and fears that her mental state is deteriorating again

Tense: Having pocketed her keys from the factory, Stephen lets himself into the flat and checks Carla's asleep

Shocking: He drops her keys back in her bag before heading into the kitchen and turning on the grill.... will he silence her for good?

She assures Peter and Stephen that yesterday was a blip but as she goes to make a drink she smashes a mug and cuts her finger.

Struggling to cope, Carla concedes that she needs another chat with Dr Gaddas who suggests she takes an extended break and goes back on her antipsychotic drugs.

Having pocketed her keys from the factory, Stephen lets himself into the flat and checking Carla's asleep, drops her keys back in her bag before heading into the kitchen and turning on the grill....

Will he succeed in silencing his boss for good?

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
John Travolta shocked fans when he failed to take part in Olivia Newton-John's state memorial last Sunday.

The pair had been close friends ever since starring in the 1978 musical Grease together, but John was nowhere to be seen during the celebrity tributes to the late superstar, sending neither a video tribute nor attending in person.

The American actor may have stayed away due to tensions with Olivia's husband John Easterling, according to a new report.

Woman's Day has claimed that Travolta and Easterling 'were rumoured to have had a tense relationship' and 'did not see eye to eye'.

This could explain why Travolta steered clear of the occasion, at which Easterling took to the stage to give a long emotional tribute to his late wife.

John Travolta shocked fans when he failed to take part in Olivia Newton-John's state memorial last Sunday. Pictured together

The American actor may have stayed away due to tensions with Olivia's husband, John Easterling (left), according to a new report

'Travolta's close relationship with Olivia, which he talked about publicly and often, may not have sat well with her husband,' alleged an insider.

Easterling was said to be uncomfortable with Travolta's loving tributes to Olivia after her death, which he shared to social media.

'Put yourself in his shoes,' the alleged source said, adding that it was, 'the straw that broke [Easterling's] back'.

Travolta shared a special tribute to Newton-John on his Instagram Stories on what would have been her 74th birthday last year.

The two stars first met on the set of Grease in 1978 (pictued), and retained a strong friendship for 44 years until her passing

Easterling was said to be uncomfortable with Travolta's loving tributes to Olivia after her death, which he shared to social media

Shortly after her sudden death, John shared a heartfelt post on his Instagram, writing that her 'impact was incredible'

The Grease actor, 69, remembered his former co-star and close friend by wishing her a happy birthday.

The actress passed away on August 8, 2022, after her breast cancer returned in 2017 as stage four. Her death caused a wave of tributes to pour out as individuals around the world mourned her death.

The Saturday Night Fever star uploaded a photo of both Olivia and himself from their iconic roles as Danny and Sandy from the 1978 musical film, Grease.

He typed out, 'Happy birthday my Olivia,' in a caption underneath the photo that he shared onto his Instagram story.

Shortly after Olivia's sudden death, John had posted a tribute onto his main Instagram page as he mourned her passing.

This tension could explain why Travolta steered clear of the occasion, at which Easterling took to the stage (pictured) to give a long emotional tribute to his late wife

The two actors were seen together as they attended a party for Grease

He had written, 'My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much.'

'We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the moment I saw you and forever,' he typed, adding, 'Your Danny, your John!'

The two stars first met on the set of Grease in 1978, and retained a strong friendship for 44 years until her passing.

Easterling, who's the founder and president of the Amazon Herb Company, met Newton-John in the mid-90s.

They married in an Incan spiritual ceremony in Peru in June 2008, which was followed with a legal ceremony nine days later on Jupiter Island in Florida.
Susan Lucci looked incredible in a black corset top and mini skirt with heels at the Writers Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday evening.

And the soap opera vet told People she is 'doing really well' as she recovers from having heart surgery.

The 76-year-old actress first had a stent implanted in a coronary artery that was 80 percent blocked in 2019 but had to have another heart procedure in January and is now just 'keeping an eye on herself' as she recovers.

The red carpet favorite - who posed for a sweet selfie last month - told the site: 'I'm doing really well. I always keep an eye on myself, what's going on.'

The All My Children star is now an ambassador for the American Heart Association but explained that she would often brush off the fact that heart disease is the 'number one killer' of women.

In shape: Susan Lucci looked incredible in a black corset top and mini skirt with heels at the Writers Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday evening

Shapely star: And the soap opera vet told People she is 'doing really well' as she recovers from having heart surgery

That is until something happened to her and urged others to take care of themselves as well as loved ones.

She said: 'I would hear that heart disease is the number one killer of women, but that went in one ear and out the other.

'But now I get it. It felt like an elephant was pressing down [on my chest].

'And like most women I thought, "I have too much to do. It will go away."

'I didn't want to bother the cardiologist,' she remarked.

'We take care of our children, we are advocates for our loved ones, but we're not at the top of our own to-do list.

'I didn't realize how close I came to a fatal heart attack. I don't think I ever mentioned my dad's family history to a doctor. I couldn't believe it.

'And after telling women for three years to not be afraid to call the doctor and to put themselves on their to-do list, I reverted back to all those things. I almost wasn't going to speak about it, I was so ashamed of myself. But it's a reminder to be vigilant.'

Lea nbut not mean: The 76-year-old actress first had a stent implanted in a coronary artery that was 80 per cent blocked in 2019 but had to have another heart procedure in January and is now just 'keeping an eye on herself' as she recover

Health check: She told the site: 'I'm doing really well. I always keep an eye on myself, what's going on.' The All My Children star is now an ambassador for the American Heart Association but explained that she would often brush off the fact that heart disease is the 'number one killer' of women

Last month Lucci got emotional when talking about her late husband Helmut Huber.

The actress was asked if she is ready to date again when appearing on Good Day New York in New York City.

But the red carpet favorite said not yet as her eyes welled up and she later wiped away a tear.

'No, I'm not ready. It's just 10 months,' the Emmy-winning daytime TV actress said as she wore a form-fitting scarlet red dress.

Lucci and Huber wed in 1969 and were happily married. They had two children together and a grandchild.

Sad: Lucci got emotional when talking about her late husband Helmut Huber last month. The actress was asked if she is ready to date again when appearing on Good Day New York in New York City

Hard on her: But the star said not yet as her eyes welled up and she later wiped away a tear

Huber died in March 2022 on Long Island in New York at the age of 84.

'I miss him, and he's worth missing. He was really, really the love of my life,' she said as she sat in the studio.

The beauty then listed off what she liked about him, saying he was caring, funny, smart and handsome his sweet accent.

Lucci also discussed American Heart Month, where she is hoping to raise awareness for cardiovascular disease, which is the number one killer of women.

She has been grappling with 'tremendous loss' after revealing the death of her husband of 53 years in March.

'Helmut's passing is a tremendous loss for all who knew and loved him,' a rep for the 75-year-old actress told People.

'He was an extraordinary husband, father, grandfather, and friend. The family kindly asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult time.'

Lucci is best known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011.

Sad loss: Lucci's husband Helmut Huber died in March at the age of 84. Seen in 2017 in Long Island, New York
Idris Elba has insisted he has no interest in playing James Bond as he discussed the 'extended middle finger and a wink' to the spy in Luther: The Fallen Sun.

The actor, 50, stars as the titular John Luther in the first big-screen version of the TV franchise and has long been touted as Daniel Craig's replacement.

One scene in the film has Luther refusing a martini, Bond's favourite drink, in a moment that creator and writer Neil Cross describes to Radio Times as an extended middle finger and a wink at Bond.

Speaking to Radio Times, Idris says: 'The martini line is a bit cheeky, isnt it? I was like, "Neil, are you sure you want to put that in?.'

However, he also insists that the references to Bond in the Luther film are not his attempt at an audition for the British spy.

Having his say: Idris Elba has insisted he has no interest in playing James Bond as he discussed the 'extended middle finger and a wink' to the spy in Luther: The Fallen Sun

Role: The actor, 50, stars as the titular John Luther in the first big-screen version of the TV franchise and has long been touted as Daniel Craig's replacement

Idris said: 'My Bond audition? Oh my God, no! Ive been saying for years, no!'

Giving his opinion on if he thinks Luther is better than Bond, Idris diplomatically says: 'Not "better", no. Luthers equally engaging, equally sexy and great to see visually.

'But Bond is from a universe where espionage was the way to capture. Luther is from the world where you bang on the door, "Are you in there? Im coming in."

'I think Luther fits with a bit more of a modern-day bad guy as opposed to someone from the taking-over-the-world style.'

Discussing Luther, he adds: 'That character is so well written. You could have Luther opening an envelope for ten minutes and youd still go, "Oh my God, whats in the envelope?" because hes just that kind of character.

'Its still exciting to me because were not talking about season one of Luther. Its evolved and grown and weve got bigger and braver.'

It comes after Idris said that he felt that DCI Luther was more 'relatable' than the world of James Bond.

He told Magic Radio: 'The Bond series is an incredible staple to the UK and the world right, but Luther could take up some of that real estate.

Wink wink: One scene in the film has Luther refusing a martini, Bond's favourite drink, in a moment that creator and writer Neil Cross describes to Radio Times as an extended middle finger and a wink at Bond

Speaking to Radio Times, Idris says: 'The martini line is a bit cheeky, isnt it? I was like, "Neil, are you sure you want to put that in?'

'It is not about espionage, but it is about how to catch them. I think Luther tends to be a little bit more relatable, you know grounded.

'You know guys that creep from under your bed... this film has certainly taken it a little more cyber if you like with Andy Serkis's character.'

Daniel bowed out of his role as the secret agent after the blockbuster hit No Time To Die and speculation has been rife about who is next in line - with Aaron Taylor Johnson and Henry Cavill leading the bookies' favourites.

Bookmakers William Hill subsequently placed Henry Cavill at the forefront with 5/2, Rege Jean-Page with odds of 4/1, followed by Tom Hardy and James Norton both with 6/1 and Chiwetel Ejiofor at 7/1.
Chris Rock still has not received a personal one-on-one apology from his former friend Will Smith over the infamous Oscars slapgate - and feels the actor's public mea culpa 'meant nothing'.

The 58-year-old comedian sparked serious controversy this week when he reignited the scandal during a Netflix stand-up special during which he delivered a humiliating blow to Will, 54, one year on from the sensational awards show.

Chris accused Will of having 'selective outrage' during the show's finale and added salt to the wound by rehashing Will's wife Jada's affair. But a source close to Chris tells DailyMail.com that it could have been avoided with a simple 'I am sorry'.

'Chris never got a one-on-one private apology from Will, only the public one which really meant nothing,' a source close to the comedian insisted. In fact, Will has only addressed the situation twice - once on Instagram the day after the Oscars and once in a video apology.

Chris Rock still has not received a personal one-on-one apology from his former friend Will Smith over the infamous Oscars slapgate, a source has revealed to DailyMail.com

The 58-year-old comedian sparked controversy this week when he dredged up the slapgate scandal in a new Netflix stand-up special, delivering a series of savage blows to Will, 54

But the insider insisted that Chris's decision to rehash the scandal in his Netflix show had nothing to do with seeking revenge, but was rather a way for the comedian to 'get it all out' and 'be done with it'.

'Chris wanted to get this out once and for all and be done with it. This was very cathartic to him,' the source added.

The comedian certainly didn't hold back when it came to dredging up the slapgate scandal on stage.

Instead, he doubled down on his attack on the A-list couple by bringing up Jada's admitted affair with her son Jaden's close friend, musician August Alsini, 30, in 2020.

To a shocked audience, both live and on location, Chris said that Will had misdirected anger due to the fact that 'his wife was f***ing her son's friend.'

And to add insult to injury, Chris's humiliating blowback aired exactly one week before the the 2023 Oscars are set to take place on March 12 - an event that Will has been banned from attending for the next ten years as a result of his violent outburst at last year's ceremony.

However, the insider hit back at claims that Chris had any hand in the timing of the Netflix special - telling DailyMail.com: 'Netflix decided when to run this, not Chris.'

Aside from the joke about Jada's affair, Chris also took aim at Meghan Markle during his special by saying that Meghan was 'acting all dumb' for not realizing that the royal family are the 'OGs of racism.'

This caused social media users to lash out at Chris, accusing him of being racist for bringing up the sensitive topic.

In his Netflix special, Chris brought up Jada's affair - something that she discussed openly with her husband in a 2020 episode of her talk show Red Table Talk

Jada had the affair with her son Jaden's close friend, musician August Alsini, 30. They are pictured together at the BET Awards in 2017

Chris's inner circle vehemently disagrees and told DailyMail.com: 'Chris is not racist at all. Nothing could be further from the truth.

'Chris is a black man making jokes about other black people from a black person's perspective. He has nothing but love for black people - and all people.'

The infamous slap occurred in March 2022 when Chris took the stage to present an Oscar for best documentary feature. Turning to Will and Jada, he said that he was 'looking forward' to seeing Jada in G.I. Jane, poking fun at her shaved head.

Will immediately got up on stage and socked Chris in the side of his head. After returning to his front row seat, he yelled, 'Keep my wife's mother f***ing name out your mouth.'

In the weeks that followed, Will was forced to resign from the Academy, which subsequently banned him for 10 years.

During his Saturday night standup special, Chris shared his afterthoughts, telling the audience: 'Anybody that say words hurt has never been punched in the face. But I'm not a victim, baby. You'll never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying.

'Everybody called him a b**ch, and who's he hitting? Me. You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Suge Smith,' Chris joked. 'It still hurts. I got "Summertime" ringing in my ears.'

Chris then addressed why he didn't hit Will back, saying: 'You know what my parents taught me? Don't fight in front of white people.'

Chris also blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, taking aim at their interview with Oprah and their claims that a royal raised concerns over the skin color of their children

Chris told the crowd on Saturday: 'Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? Seems like a nice lady  just complaining. Like, didnt she hit the light-skinned lottery?'

The day following the attack, Will took to Instagram to apologize to Chris, writing: 'I would like to apologize to you Chris, I was out of line and I was wrong.'

The only other apology came in July 2022, when Will posted a video apology, again, to Chris, saying: 'I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk.'

In a new report published by People, a source close to Will said that he's 'tried unsuccessfully to make amends in the best way he could with Chris' - although the source close to the comedian says those efforts stopped short of actually calling him in person.

Chris also blasted Meghan and Harry during his routine, taking aim at their interview with Oprah and their claims that a royal had allegedly raised concerns over the skin color of their children.

'Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? Seems like a nice lady  just complaining,' Chris said.

'Like, didnt she hit the light-skinned lottery?' Chris said, joking that the the royal family the 'OGs of racism.'

Chris poked fun at Meghan for telling Oprah during their sit-down interview that she didn't know that the royal family was racist when she married Harry.

'Thats the royal family, you didnt Google those motherf***ers? Theyre the original racists. They invented colonialism,' Chris joked to the crowd.
Married At First Sight's Tayla Winter has broken her silence on rumours of a 'sexting scandal' with groom Cam Woods.

Earlier this week it was reported Cam had exposed his penis at a nightclub during a video call with Tayla after the show wrapped filming, leading to a clash with his wife Lyndall Grace at the reunion.

Speaking The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Tuesday, Tayla confirmed the video chat rumours are true, describing Cam as a 'loose cannon' who 'doesn't really care too much about getting his thing out'.

However, Tayla also clarified the call was a one-off incident and denied she and Cam had ever 'hooked up'.

'He was really drunk and I was drinking with all of my friends as well, and I'm pretty sure it just happened,' Tayla explained when quizzed on the explicit video call.

Married At First Sight's Tayla Winter (pictured) has broken her silence on rumours of a 'sexting scandal' with groom Cam Woods, a day after Daily Mail Australia revealed Cam had exposed his penis at a nightclub during a video call

'He said, 'Do you want me to get it out?' And I said, 'Yeah, I dare you to.' And I didn't think that he actually would.'

The intruder bride confirmed she didn't 'return the favour' by flashing her own intimate parts, telling hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson: 'I don't do that. It was very one sided'.

She also claimed she 'wasn't the only person' who saw Cam's penis that night as 'he was in a nightclub so everyone got a bit of a show.'

Speaking The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Tuesday, Tayla confirmed the video chat rumours are true, describing Cam as a 'loose cannon' who 'doesn't really care too much about getting his thing out'. (Pictured: Cam and his TV wife Lyndall Grace on the show)

When asked what she thought of Cam's manhood, Tayla coyly replied: 'Cam is... all around good looking.'

Later in the interview, the Tasmanian nurse took a brutal swipe at Cam's wife Lyndall Grace, claiming she was given an unfairly 'a golden edit' because she 'played into producers' hands' during filming.

It comes after Daily Mail Australia exclusively revealed how Tayla and Cam's 'sexting scandal' will make waves later this season.

Tayla (left) also claimed she 'wasn't the only person' that saw Cam's (right) penis that night, as 'he was in a nightclub so everyone got a bit of a show'

The couple, who have both split from their respective TV spouses, apparently began flirting via text messages after filming wrapped last year.

An insider told Daily Mail Australia on Monday things eventually became sexually explicit when Cam exposed his penis during a video call with the Tasmania-based nurse.

'Cam FaceTimed her while at a night club and showed her his d**k. She just laughed off the incident, but she was impressed,' the source claimed.

An insider told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that things eventually became sexually explicit when Cam exposed his penis during a video call with the Tasmania-based nurse

Cam's TV wife Lyndall reportedly got wind of the X-rated exchange, and confronted Cam and Taya during the Married At First Sight reunion.

A source close to the situation said: 'Everyone on set is in shock. This is not the kind of scandal we were expecting from this season. What they did was completely inappropriate. It's going to be a wild ride when the reunion airs.'

'Tayla is worried that fans are going to turn on her because Lyndall accuses her of trying to break her and Cam apart, and ultimately is the reason her and Cam don't end up working out.'

It comes after Tayla accused Lyndall of being nothing like her glowing on-screen persona in a blistering Instagram post on February 9.

Cam's TV wife Lyndall Grace (pictured) reportedly got wind of the X-rated exchange, and confronted Cam and Taya during the Married At First Sight reunion

At the time, she hadn't even entered the experiment yet as an intruder with her on-screen husband Hugo Armstrong.

Her post, which has since been deleted, was in response to Daily Mail Australia's exclusive story about Lyndall's post-show fling with shy groom Josh White.

At the time, Lyndall had received a very positive edit on MAFS, with the episodes focusing on her battle with cystic fibrosis and fairytale romance with good-natured Northern Territory carpenter Cam, from whom she has since split.

But Tayla said the Lyndall she got to know during filming was nothing like her flattering TV portrayal, calling her 'the biggest bully' she had ever met.

Tayla accused Lyndall of being nothing like her glowing on-screen persona in a blistering Instagram post on February 9 (pictured). At the time, she hadn't even entered the experiment yet as an intruder with her on-screen husband Hugo Armstrong

'I feel it's important to get this out before my accounts get taken,' she began.

'Lyndall, you're the biggest bully I've ever met. This [Daily Mail] article is surface level and the amount of hurt you have caused many people is damaging and dangerous.

'I'm hoping people get to tell their truth and the real story is heard sooner rather than later.'

Married At First Sight continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Nine
Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval has received a lucrative offer from an adult webcam site to stream his band's upcoming tour amid fallout over his shocking cheating scandal.

CamSoda has offered Sandoval and his eponymous band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras $540,000 to stream their upcoming tour on their website rather than embark on their planned in-person tour, according to TMZ.

In a letter addressed to Sandoval obtained by the outlet, Daryn Parker, the Vice President of CamSoda, argues streaming their shows on their website would be a safer alternative to performing in person amid growing backlash from enraged fans.

However, Jason Bader, the manager and drummer of Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras, told TMZ the group had not seen the offer and would never take part in it.

It emerged over the weekend that Sandoval, 39, had been cheating on his long-time partner Ariana Madix, 37, with fellow Vanderpump Rules star Raquel Leviss, 28, for months. The revelation sent shockwaves amongst Bravo fans.

Take it or leave it: Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval has received a lucrative offer from adult webcam site CamSoda to stream his band's upcoming tour amid fallout over his shocking cheating scandal

Parker offered the band $45,000 per show, meaning they are poised to reap $540,000 with a total of 12 performances scheduled.

In his letter, Parker claims performing in person would be 'safe place' to avoid fans chanting 'Justice for Ariana' and throwing tomatoes on stage.

'Oh, Tom what have you done? Reading about your alleged cheating scandal with Raquel Leviss this weekend was... something,' Parker's letter begins.

'I am reaching out to offer you and your band - Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras - a place to livestream your upcoming tour. I understand playing in front of a live audience may not be safe (I would imagine the "Justice for Ariana" chants would grow quite loud). That's why livestreaming your tour from a safe place would make the most sense.

'CamSoda is an adult livestreaming website that can deliver your sets to a global audience. You won't have to worry about being pelted by tomatoes. You can dress in your outfits, show some skin, and even tell your side of the story if you'd like.

'In return for livestreaming your entire tour, with a twist, - I could 12 dates total on your website - we'd be willing to compensate you up to $45,000 per show. That's $540,000 total.

'Please consider my offer and get back to me at your earliest convenience.'

Madix and Sandoval's nine-year relationship imploded last week when it emerged that Sandoval had been 'hooking up' with Leviss.

'I would imagine the "Justice for Ariana" chants would grow quite loud': In a letter addressed to Sandoval obtained by TMZ, Daryn Parker, the Vice President of CamSoda, argues streaming their shows on their website would be a safer alternative to performing in person amid growing backlash from enraged fans

Music makers: Tom pictured performing with his band at their single release party at Tom Tom last week

Heartbreak: Fans erupted after learning Sandoval had been unfaithful in his relationship with Ariana Madix with fellow VPR star Raquel Leviss

Sandoval took to Instagram on Saturday, addressing his months-long affair for the first time online and making a public apology.

The restauranteur also pleaded with fans not to attack his loved ones and colleagues over his actions.

'Hey, I fully understand and deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave [Tom] Schwartz, my friends, and family out of this situation' he wrote.

Sandoval then clarified that Tom Schwartz, his longtime best friend and business partner, had only learned of his infidelity 'very recently' and 'did not condone' his actions.

He said, 'This was a very personal thing. Also, Schwartz & Sandy's might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families,' Sandoval said, nodding to his new bar and TomTom, which opened back in 2018.

The actor went on to say he was a 'small part of a much bigger thing' and pleaded with his 961,000 followers to direct their 'anger towards' him and not his associates.

'They did nothing wrong. I'm so sorry that my partners, Greg, Brett, and Schwartz and our employees have to suffer for my actions.

Scandal: Madix and Sandoval's relationship imploded last week when it emerged that Sandoval had been 'hooking up' with Leviss; pictured November 2022

Shocking: The couple had been together for nine years until the affair allegatons emerged

'I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees and partners. I need some time to address everything else,' he concluded. 'Sorry for everything.'

A source on Saturday informed Page Six that Sandoval and Leviss had been meaning to inform Madix about the affair 'for weeks.'

Madix wound up discovering their secret herself Wednesday night when she saw Leviss' texts on Sandoval's phone.

Sandoval's apology post comes less than 24 hours after he addressed his cheating scandal for the first time while performing with his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras.

'Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?' the TV personality asked the audience, according to Us Weekly, alluding to the backlash over his affair.

Confession: A source on Saturday informed Page Six that Sandoval and Leviss had been meaning to inform Madix about the affair 'for weeks' but Madix wound up discovering their secret herself

'This was a very personal thing': Sandoval took to Instagram on Saturday, addressing his months-long affair for the first time online and making a public apology

In a TikTok video taken at the concert, a woman in the crowd could be heard screaming: 'Ariana!' to which Sandoval said: 'We love her.'

Madix, is said to have found out about Sandoval's alleged cheating with Leviss in the last couple of days, ending their nine-year romance shortly afterwards.

A production source told DailyMail.com: There is more to this story that will be revealed in the coming weeks but all is not what it seems, however, it is true that Tom and Raquel have been hooking up.

We should change the name of the show to Raquel Rules as she has certainly become the star of the show this season, giving it her all.

The cast should be thanking Raquel and Tom as Bravo are already talking about renewing the show for an 11th season. This is the mess that viewers live for.

Production has switched the cameras back on and they are catching all of the fall out as the cast react to this news. This will be the best season of Vanderpump Rules yet.

Madix has since deleted her Instagram account. DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Sandoval, Madix, Leviss and Bravo for comment.

A source informed People the alleged affair 'has been going on for upwards of six months - all the while, Tom was sleeping next to Ariana in bed. She was completely blindsided by this; devastated doesn't even scratch the surface of how she feels.'
Ex-Home and Away actress Samara Weaving stunned in a two-piece padded leather outfit as she attended the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday.

The Adelaide native, 31, looked a long way from Summer Bay as she caught onlookers' attention in her head-to-toe designer outfit in the French capital.

Samara, who is best known for her roles in horror films like The Babysitter, Ready or Not and the upcoming Scream VI, kept it classy with black patent leather boots as she showed off one of Louis Vuitton's bags: an envelope-sized yellow padded clutch with the fashion houses' logo embossed all over it.

Samara kept her long blonde locks slicked back in a ponytail, and rocked a dewy makeup look including pink lipstick.

The Babylon star, whose uncle is respected Australian actor Hugo Weaving, looked flawless as she sported the designer look for LV's Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection show at Paris' Orsay Museum.

Ex-Home and Away star Samara Weaving stunned in a two-piece padded leather outfit as she attended the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week on Monday

The Adelaide native, 31, looked a long way from Summer Bay as she caught onlookers' attention in her head-to-toe designer outfit in the French capital

Samara kept her long blonde locks slicked back in a ponytail, and rocked a dewy makeup look including pink lipstick

Set to star in the sixth Scream film, Samara showed of her tan and slender frame in the coordinating outfit.

Her career has sky-rocketed since appearing as Indi Walker on Home and Away from 2009 to 2013, and she now enjoys a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle.

She has appeared in films such as Mayhem, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Valet, in addition to her work in horror movies.

She recently starred in Nine Perfect Strangers alongside Nicole Kidman, and has scored the role of American socialite Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte in Adam Leon's biopic Liz.

She will also play former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison in a limited TV series based on Madison's memoir Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny.

In May last year, Samara confirmed she'd secretly married movie producer Jimmy Warden when she referred to him as her 'husband' during an interview with the Herald Sun.

The Babylon star, whose uncle is actor Hugo Weaving, looked flawless as she sported the designer look for LV's Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection show at the Orsay Museum

Samara, who is best known for her roles in horror films like The Babysitter and Ready or Not, kept it classy with black patent leather boots as she showed off one of Louis Vuitton's bags: an envelope-sized yellow padded clutch with the fashion houses' logo embossed all over it

Set to star in the sixth Scream film, Samara showed of her tan and slender frame in the coordinating outfit

The notoriously private star said their nuptials 'flew under the radar'.

Samara also revealed she was about to start work on a new film with Jimmy, whom she met on the set of Netflix comedy-horror The Babysitter in 2015.

'I am actually about to go and work with my husband,' she told the newspaper.

'He has written and is directing a film so I am going to go and do that, which will be really fun.'
The first trailer for the Seth Rogen produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was released on Monday and it definitely seems to be bringing the nostalgic feeling which will surely please fans of all generations.

The nearly two-minute clip showcased the action and humor that has become synonymous with the favorite mutant turtles since their inception as it will be the seventh film in the feature franchise based on the 1984 comic of the same name.

Adding to the throwback quality of the clip was that it was set to A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 classic Can I Kick It?

It begins with the turtles - named Leonardo (Nicholas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), and Raphael (Brady Noon) - popping out of the New York City sewer.

Despite the nostalgia it certainly seems to be set in present day as they are recording themselves on a smart phone as they practice using their weapons on watermelons.

The first trailer for the Seth Rogen produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was released on Monday and it definitely seems to be bringing the nostalgic feeling which will surely please fans of all generations.

One of the funniest parts of the trailer came when they confront some bad guys and one says: 'What the heck are those things?'

The other criminal hilariously replies: 'They look like little Shreks to me.'

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not the only signature characters they are bringing back as they also showed baddies Bebop and Rocksteady who are voiced by Rogen and John Cena, respectively.

Their mentor Master Splinter, who is voiced by Jackie Chan, was also shown very briefly.

It also shows April O'Neil, who voiced by The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, who is a journalists and asks the Turtles at the very end: 'So you were baby turtles who made contact with mystery goo.'

Rafael hilariously responds: 'Well we prefer the term ooze but yeah.' Then the rest of the gang hilariously repeat saying ooze before the clip ends.

Not shown in the clip was the Turtle's archnemesis Shredder.

It features a star-studded voice cast which also includes Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Giancarlo Esposito, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress, Post Malone, and Natasia Demetriou.

They're back: The nearly two-minute clip showcased the action and humor that has become synonymous with the favorite mutant turtles since their inception as it will be the seventh film in the feature franchise based on the 1984 comic of the same name

Portal: It begins with the turtles - named Leonardo (Nicholas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), and Raphael (Brady Noon) - popping out of the New York City sewer

Heroes: Despite the nostalgia it certainly seems to be set in present day as they are recording themselves on a smart phone as they practice using their weapons on watermelons

One of the funniest parts of the trailer came when they confront some bad guys and one says: 'What the heck are those things?' The other criminal hilariously replies: 'They look like little Shreks to me.'

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyle Spears is set for release on August 4.

Rogen took to Twitter in June 2021 to announce the release date for the highly-anticipated project along with a fun image to tease the feature film.

Rogen posted a snap of a page of the science notebook of Leonardo who wears the blue eye mask and is the leader of the crime-fighting turtle group.

The image is full of several Easter eggs including a sketch of one of Leonardo's katanas with the words 'honor' and 'loyalty' written around it.

As Leonardo and his brothers - Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael - were spawned by a lab experiment gone awry, one part of class the eldest of the group seemed to listen to was about mutation.

In the notebook mutation is defined by 'changes in the genetic sequence, and they are a main cause of diversity in organisms.'

Below that was a small chart detailing the types of mutation including deletion, duplication, and translocation with the note '*unintended mutations?'

The studio is betting on turtle power raking in big bucks in revenue, continuing the trend of the long running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film franchise which has grossed over a billion dollars in the last 30 years.

Bash brothers: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not the only signature characters they are bringing back as they also showed baddies Bebop and Rocksteady who are voiced by Rogen and John Cena, respectively

Leader: Their mentor Master Splinter, who is voiced by Jackie Chan, was also shown very briefly

It also shows April O'Neil, who voiced by The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, who is a journalists and asks the Turtles at the very end: 'So you were baby turtles who made contact with mystery goo'

Rafael hilariously responds: 'Well we prefer the term ooze but yeah.' Then the rest of the gang hilariously repeat saying ooze before the clip ends

Highly-anticipated: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyle Spears is set for release on August 4

Based on the popular comic book characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the four anthropomorphic teens last graced the silver screen in 2016 a revival of the 1990s films.

In 1984, Laird and Eastman published the first issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics as a parody of Marvel's popular comics of the era.

They created the four teen turtles named after Italian Renaissance painters, who thanks to a fortunate and accidental swim in some mysterious ooze, were transformed into walking, talking, crime-fighting mutant superheros.

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo live in the sewers, eating pizza and battling criminals under the guidance of their sensei Splinter - an anthropomorphic rat.

Reboot: The movie will be the seventh film in the feature franchise based on the 1984 comic about four teen turtles named after Italian Renaissance painters, who thanks to an accidental swim in some mysterious ooze, were transformed into crime-fighting mutant superheroes

'Who am I?': Rogen took to Twitter in June 2021 to announce the release date for the highly-anticipated project along with a fun image to tease the feature film

Heroes in a half-shell: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo live in the sewers, eating pizza and battling criminals under the guidance of their sensei Splinter - an anthropomorphic rat (Pictured: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret Of The Ooze, 1991)

Splinter is a master of ninjutsu, which he teaches to the boys. Their sidekick is red-headed human reporter April O'Neil.

In the comics and subsequent shows, films and games, the TMNT go up against their perpetual nemesis, Shredder, a ninjutsu and his 'foot clan.'

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their first animated series in 1987 which continued on for nearly a decade, airing its last new episode in 1996.

That series popularized the characters love for using surfer lingo like 'cowabunga', 'dude' and 'bodacious.'

Turtle power: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got their first animated series in 1987 and a version of the cartoon has seen several iterations from then on

Party dudes: The first of the feature films, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiered in 1990, followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993 - the four Turtles were played by actors in costumes with moving green animatronic heads created by Jim Henson studios (Henson pictured with the TMNT in 1990)

A short-lived live action series soon followed in 1997 but only lasted a year. And, starting in 2003, a second, third and fourth animated TMNT series aired.

The first of the feature films, titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, premiered in 1990, followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993.

In those iconic 90s flicks, the four Turtles were played by actors in costumes with moving green animatronic heads. These films got the reboot treatment several times in subsequent years.

The first CGI film, TMNT, was released in 2007. A later revival, the second one titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was produced by Michael Bay in 2014, followed by a 2016 sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

The last TMNT film released in the decades-long running franchise was 2019's crossover, Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

No casting details have been released yet for the upcoming CG reboot.
Melissa McCarthy defended drag queens on Monday when she took to Instagram and shared a supportive message.

The Bridesmaids star, 52  who will soon be seen as Ursula in The Little Mermaid live-action remake  posted a collage of iconic drag characters surrounding a central statement.

'You've been entertained by drag queens your whole life,' read McCarthy's message. 'Don't pretend it's a problem now.'

The collage included legendary drag stars like Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, and Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies.

Melissa's supportive post comes amid a wave of anti-drag legislation sweeping the U.S., with Tennessee passing a bill last week that restricts 'adult cabaret performance' in public or in the presence of children.

Collage for a cause: The Bridesmaids star posted a collage of iconic drag characters surrounding a central statement. 'You've been entertained by drag queens your whole life,' read McCarthy's message. 'Don't pretend it's a problem now'

Showing her support: Melissa McCarthy, 52, defended drag queens on Monday when she took to Instagram and shared a supportive message

Across the country, conservative activists and politicians complain that drag contributes to the 'sexualization' or 'grooming' of children. Several states are considering restrictions, but none has acted as fast as Tennessee.

Thousands of reactions poured into McCarthy's comments section, with many drag queens thanking the star for her support.

BenDeLaCreme wrote, 'THANK YOU. It's been disheartening to see how few allies are bringing attention to what is happening.'

The RuPaul's Drag Race star added, 'These drag bans are only the tip of the iceberg. A way to slowly desensitize the American public to increasingly anti-queer rhetoric.

'I hope to continue to see celebrities and public figures speak up as more and more LGBTQ+ lives are endangered.'

Another star from RuPaul's Drag Race, Pandora Boxx, seconded BenDeLaCreme's message by writing: 'Thank you! Drag queens are not the problem.'

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2014, McCarthy talked about the 'confidence' she received from the drag community when she was a young stand-up comedian pretending to be a drag queen in New York City.

Describing her own over-the-top drag person, Miss Y, the A-lister said, 'It was me there with my lovely gay guy friends and I was dressed like a big old drag queen.

'I went by Miss Y. I had a gold lame swing coat on, a huge wig, big eyelashes. I talked about being incredibly wealthy and beautiful and living extravagantly, and the first night worked great. It was such a happy, good feeling, and it gave me such confidence.'

A drag queen reads a book to children at the publicly funded San Lorenzo library

Thousands of reactions poured into McCarthy's comments section, with many drag queens thanking the star for her support. RuPaul's Drag Race star BenDeLaCreme penned a powerful statement

Another star from RuPaul's Drag Race, Pandora Boxx, seconded BenDeLaCreme's message

Confident queen: Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2017, McCarthy talked about the 'confidence' she received from the drag community when she was a young stand-up comedian in New York City (pictured at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards)

McCarthy's best friend, shoe designer Brian Atwood, reminisced to Rolling Stone about how Melissa would dress up as Miss Y and attend the seminal drag festival Wigstock.

'It was the time of Lady Miss Kier, RuPaul and Lady Bunny, and Miss Y was Missy's great alter ego,' Atwood told Rolling Stone. 'When we went to Wigstock at Tompkins Square Park, Miss Y was at her prime there. Full-on. That was her time. It was hilarious.'

Melissa also spoke about her affinity for the superhuman confidence that drag queens exude and how they 'just do not care.'

'I really like to watch the bolder ones who are overly confident without anything to back it up,' she said. 'It's somebody that's somehow not bought into all the we-should and we-shouldn't. They don't give a s**t. I have a real obsession with people who just do not care.'

Some Republicans and conservative activists have in recent months complained that drag contributes to the 'sexualization' or 'grooming' of children.

In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a piece of legislation that limits where drag performances can take place by banning 'adult cabaret entertainment' that is 'harmful to minors' from public property or locations where children might see the performance.

The bill does not explicitly include the words 'drag show,' but it does expand the definition of adult cabaret to include 'male or female impersonators,' as well as topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers and strippers.

The legislation then bans adult cabaret from taking place on public property or in a location where minors might be present.

'We don't want to have the door open that they can go see advertent nudity and sexual acts or the depiction of sexual acts,' said Republican Sen. Becky Massey. 'Im sorry, that's not what Tennessee is about.'

Meanwhile, the Arkansas House voted last month to 'adult-oriented' performances, revamping a measure that previously targeted drag shows following discrimination complaints from the LGBTQ community.

Meanwhile, the Arkansas House voted last month to 'adult-oriented' performances. The bill will ultimately do away with drag storytime performances, which sees drag queens reading to students for free at public libraries. The events have become part of the heated cultures in the US over gender discussions and kids

The bill approved by the majority-Republican House on a 78-15 vote no longer explicitly adds drag shows to the list of businesses considered 'adult-oriented,' easing some of the concerns of LGBTQ advocates and other opponents. The bill now heads back to the majority-Republican Senate, which approved an earlier version of the restriction.

'This bill is not about whether drag is acceptable,' Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, the bill's sponsor, told House members before the vote. 'It's about whether we should be exposing our children to sexually explicit behavior.'

Arkansas is one of several states where Republican lawmakers have proposed restrictions on drag shows, which have been targeted by right-wing activists and politicians in recent months.

Protesters have appeared at events like drag story hours, in which colorfully clad drag queens read books to children. Opponents of such events have claimed they're harmful to children.

Under the current version of Arkansas' bill, the restricted performances would include performers who are nude or seminude, and purposely exposing a specific anatomical area, or prosthetic breasts or genitalia.

To meet the definition, the performance must feature real or simulated sexual activities and be intended to appeal to 'prurient' interests, a term that's not defined in the legislation.
A clip from reality show The Bachelor, featuring Locky Gilbert, has been used in a Queensland court over a workplace injury compensation claim.

Jody Lee Cvilikas, the mother of Bachelor contestant Bec, appeared on the show in 2020 after she injured her left shoulder while moving a mattress at a Sunshine Coast hospital in 2017, reports The Courier Mail.

Ms Cvilikas was awarded $196,248 in damages by Justice Melanie Hindman on Monday, even though the footage showed the nurse with 'fluid movement and no evidence of discomfort'.

Ms Cvilikas sustained her injury while at work at the Nambour General Hospital.

The Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Service (HHS) used footage from The Bachelor in court to contest the damages claim.

A clip from reality show The Bachelor featuring Locky Gilbert (left, with Bec Cvilikas) has been used in a Queensland court over a workplace injury compensation claim

Jody Lee Cvilikas, the mother of Bachelor contestant Bec, appeared on the show in 2020 after she injured her left shoulder while moving a mattress at a Sunshine Coast hospital in 2017. (Pictured: Jody Lee Cvilikas with her daughter Bec and son Brad on set of The Bachelor)

Ms Cvilikas was awarded $196,248 in damages by Justice Melanie Hindman on Monday, even though the footage showed the nurse with 'fluid movement and no evidence of discomfort'. (Pictured: Ms Cvilikas with her son Brad during her 2020 appearance in The Bachelor)

The hospital's lawyers also argued Ms Cvilikas had not taken proper precautions, which contributed to her injury.

The footage, which the court saw during the hearing in 2022, showed Ms Cvilikas meeting Gilbert after her daughter brought him home to spend time with her family.

Ms Cvilikas was seen smiling and chatting with Bec and Gilbert in the video. In one dinner party scene, she could be seen flicking the fringes of her long blonde hair away from her face, using both hands.

In another scene, she used her left hand in an apparently strong and fluid manner.

Justice Hindman wrote in her findings that Ms Cvilikas showed no evidence of pain or discomfort in the footage, noting there appeared to be no pain or 'restricted movement relating to her left shoulder'.

The judge also commented on Ms Cvilikas' appearance in court in her findings, observing she cradled 'her left arm'.

Ms Cvilikas sustained her injury at work at the Nambour General Hospital. The Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Service (HHS) used the Bachelor clip in court to contest the damages

The hospital's lawyers argued Ms Cvilikas hadn't taken proper precautions, which contributed to her injury. Justice Hindman found the HHS negligent, with $196,248 awarded to Ms Cvilikas for damages and past and future economic loss. (Pictured: Ms Cvilikas and her daughter Bec)

'After the television footage was played showing fluid movement and use of her left arm (albeit in a situation that did not require any particular effort or strain on the left shoulder) and it being put to her effectively that she was "faking" her presentation in court, I observed that Ms Cvilikas' movements in the courtroom became far more fluid,' Justice Hindman wrote in her findings.

Justice Hindman found the HHS negligent in her verdict, with the $196,248 awarded to Ms Cvilikas for damages and past and future economic losses.

However, the verdict handed down also found Ms Cvilikas had been 25 per cent 'contributorily negligent', reducing the total damages awarded.
Australian streaming giant Stan has commissioned an Original Documentary, Revealed: Renee Gracie, about the life of the V8 Supercars driver-turned-porn star.

The show follows how Gracie, 28, made a name for herself in a predominantly male-dominated sport.

'It is set to shine a light on gender inequality, stigma and prejudice in sport and beyond,' said Screen Australia's Head of Documentary Alex West.

'It shares honest insights into Renee's empowering origin-turned-comeback story - making for a compelling watch on Stan.'

The movie will be helmed by an all-female creative team, who previously created the gripping gender transition documentary Girl Like You in 2021.

Australian streaming giant Stan has commissioned an Original Documentary, Revealed: Renee Gracie, about the life of the V8 Supercars driver-turned-porn star

The show follows how Gracie, 28, made a name for herself in a predominantly male-dominated sport

Gracie began her career as a go-kart driver before moving into V8 Supercars where she became the first woman to compete in the Australian Porsche Carrera Cup in 2013.

She retired from the sport in 2017 and launched a successful follow-up career in the porn industry through adults subscription site OnlyFans.

Gracie previously admitted she has made multiple millions of dollars on OnlyFans and has been bringing in six figures a month since 2020.

She revealed she had to go through a process to become comfortable in her new career as a porn performer and was 'repulsed' by the platform at first.

Gracie retired from the sport in 2017 and launched a successful follow-up career in the porn industry through adults subscription site OnlyFans

'For me it was a slow progression. I never had the intention to be making so much of what I am making,' she told Triple M Breakfast with MG, Jess and Pagey.

'I didn't have the confidence that people wanted to see it. It slightly repulsed me, watching it and thinking about watching it back,' she added.

Renee said she was tempted by the money and building her confidence, which increased as she was encouraged by fans.

At the time she revealed she had around 20,000 subscribers who pay her $5 each, meaning she makes $120,000 just from subscriptions.

Renee said last year she'd made 'almost $10million' in total since starting her adult career at the end of 2019, and has purchased three houses.
She shot to fame in fairytale gowns in hit series Bridgerton.

But Phoebe Dynevor was worlds away from her onscreen look as she arrived at the star-studded Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Week show on Monday.

The actress looked stunning in a simple black mini dress teamed with chunky boots for the show at Musee d'Orsay.

The blonde showed off her long legs in her chic mini, ditching heels in favour of edgy biker boots.

She added a long black coat with oversized zip detail and accessorised with a LV clutch.

Leggy: Phoebe Dynevor arrived at the star-studded Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Week show on Monday looking stunning in a simple black mini dress teamed with chunky boots

Pals: The actress took her seat alongside Sophie Turner and Chloe Grace Moretz to watch the glam runway. She has been linked to Chloe's long-time friend Cameron Fuller in recent weeks

With her hair slicked back into a sleek up do and a chunky gold necklace completing her look, Phoebe was FROW ready.

The actress took her seat alongside Sophie Turner and Chloe Grace Moretz to watch the glam runway.

Phoebe has recently been linked to Chloe's long-time friend Cameron Fuller, with the rumoured new couple spotted for the first time together last week as they checked out of a hotel in New York City.

The two haven't publicly confirmed any dating or relationship rumours, but appeared to enjoy spending time together during their first joint appearance.

The alleged romance comes following Phoebe's 2021 split from US comedian Pete Davidson.

Phoebe, who is daughter to Coronation Street's Sally Dynevor, dated comedian Pete for five months in 2021 , and was rumoured to be getting close to Jaden Smith following the split.

Cameron previously sparked dating rumours with actress Lucy Hale last year as they were pictured out on dinner dates several times while in January 2013, Chloe received a plastic ring from her 'boo' at the time Cameron.

At the time, Cameron told her that he loves her and misses her on Twitter, to which she responded: 'I'm excited to see you boo'.

Cameron, who is a long-term friend of the actress, got down on one knee and gave the pretty star a plastic ring in a mock proposal during their outing in West Hollywood.

Chloe's family have known the Fullers ever since Brad Fuller produced the Amityville Horror remake in which Chloe made her film debut.

Wow: The blonde showed off her long legs in her chic mini, ditching heels in favour of edgy biker boots for the glam show

FROW: Jurnee Smollett, Sophie Turner, Chloe Grace Moretz and Phoebe all had VIP seats
Kyle and Jackie O have revealed live on air who they'll be voting for in the upcoming NSW state election.

On Tuesday morning, state Labor leader Chris Minns spoke to the KIIS radio duo and impressed them with his musical skills - playing the riff from AC DC's 'Thunderstruck' was enough for the pair to confirm they'd be voting for him.

Jackie even said his guitar abilities 'made him even hotter'.

Minns, who played a duet cover of Lady Gaga's Shallow with Jackie O, said he was a 'pretty substandard guitarist' and revealed whether or not he smoked.

'I don't vape, no, I've never vaped,' he said in response to comments about Premier Dominic Perrottet's recent revelation he didn't mind an occasional 'mixed fruit' vape.

'I've got a friend, Steve Kamper, member for Rockdale, and he swears by it to be honest with you. He says it's the thing that he used to get off his pack-a-day habit.'

Jackie O Henderson swooned over Labor leader Chris Minns while interviewing him on her radio show on Tuesday

'I know vaping is probably not that great, but there's not a lot of studies done on it, but it's got to be better than the cigarettes,' Sandilands said.

Mr Minns said cost of living was a big issue as well as the rising cost of tolls.

'Particularly for western Sydney, we're seeing new public transport built closer to the coast in the eastern suburbs, but for those that have to use toll roads, I mean, you shouldn't be disadvantaged because that's the only thing that's been built in your community,' he said.

Sandilands asked Mr Minns if he was worried about being the 'better looking candidate'.

'Of the things I'm worried about, no that's not one,' he said.

Sandilands said Labor was in with a good chance if the state could 'give them a crack'.

'I've never heard anything negative about you and there's a bit of negative stuff with the Opposition there, the other bloke,' Sandilands said.

On Tuesday morning, state Labor leader Chris Minns spoke to the KIIS radio duo and impressed them with his musical skills enough for the pair to confirm they'd be voting for him

'Chris Minns, good luck. Leader of a NSW Labor Party, not only is he a great politician, he is the hottest politician ever and he's also a guitar player. Does it get any better than that?'

Sandilands said he'd be voting Labor after meeting Mr Minns the day after the show also spoke to Liberal leader Dominic Perrottet.

'I know who I'm gonna vote for - you. We've made that quite clear. I like you. I met Dom, he seems all right. I felt a bit awkward yesterday when he was on here. I didn't know if we got a lot of depth,' Sandilands said.

'You're getting my vote, Chris Minns.'

The NSW election will be held on Saturday March 25.
Sarah Ferguson is reportedly set to hand out a gong at the Oscars thanks to her close friendship with the Elvis family.

The 63-year-old Duchess of York has been tipped to appear at the ceremony on Sunday where the Elvis biopic has eight nominations.

Speaking to The Sun, a source said: 'There have been discussions about The Duchess attending and it now looks as though that will happen  the plan is for her to present an award.

'She has been a very close friend of the Presley family, especially Elvis daughter Lisa Marie, and she even spoke at her funeral recently. That sparked some conversations about the possibility of her attending  and after some back and forth it looks like its happening.'

They added: 'Its a big deal to have her there, but its a big deal for the Duchess too. America looks likely to play a big part in her future after the problems in the UK over recent years.'

New role: Sarah Ferguson is reportedly set to hand out a gong at the Oscars thanks to her close friendship with the Elvis family

Rumours: The 63-year-old Duchess of York has been tipped to appear at the ceremony on Sunday where the Elvis biopic has eight nominations

Fergie and Lisa Marie had been friends for more than 15 years, with Sarah revealing the depth of their bond in the hours after her friends sudden death on January 12.

She wrote on Instagram: I say hello to you every day, and I love you, my Sissy, and I will continue to say hello to you every day . . .

'You have been my devoted friend for many years, and I am here for your family to support and love them. I am deeply saddened, my Sissy, you are in my heart'.

At Lisa-Marie's funeral, Sarah urged fellow mourners to stoke our flames within to celebrate extraordinary Lisa Marie.

Sissy, this is for you with affection, she said. My late mother-in-law used to say that nothing . . . can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments, because grief is the price we pay for love. And how right she was.

In an interview published on Monday, Fergie revealed to Hello magazine that she is financially supporting her ex-husband Prince Andrew, who she says has not accepted any taxpayer money since he was removed as a working senior royal.

'Since he stepped back [from royal duties] he doesn't actually take taxpayers' money,' she told the publication. 'And I'm in a position where I can support him and the rest of the family through my work. And Im really pleased and proud to do that.'

She added: 'All I will say is that for many years now  it started with Budgie the Little Helicopter  I've really pushed to look after my girls and to contribute to the York family life.'

Speaking to The Telegraph last week, the Duchess of York vowed that she will 'always be there' for her former spouse - because of her ongoing devotion to her late mother-in-law the Queen.

'During the last three years, her poor son has been going through such a tumultuous time,' she revealed.

'And I think HM was very relieved I could help her with him, so we became even closer, then.'

Close pals: Sarah gave a touching tribute to her friend Lisa Marie who died earlier this year aged 54

Touching: Speaking at the service, Fergie said it was a 'great honour' as she described Lisa Marie as 'extraordinary'

Highly praised: The Elvis biopic has eight nominations at this years Oscars which are to be held on Sunday evening

The royal vouched that Her Majesty 'knew' Sarah wouldn't abandon her youngest son, who fell from grace due to his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and paid a multi-million-pound settlement to his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre.

She was 'sad' to see what the dishonored royal has been through, revealing that it was tough to see him hurting.

The Duchess spoke with great fondness of the Queen, who entrusted Sarah with her beloved corgis after she passed away.

The mother of Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice went so far as to say she was 'more of a mother' to her than her own family.

Sarah admitted she now feels the need to be stronger for others 'at the moment' because of the monarch's passing.

'When Andrew went through a hard time, I used to be able to throw it to The Boss,' she wistfully told the outlet.

The Duchess was also full of praise for her ex-husband, admiring him as a grandfather and taking a slice of his favorite cake back home.

In the same interview, she opened up about her past struggles with body issues, being compared to Princess Diana, and feeling a sense of 'duty' to the Royal Family.

While speaking to People, Fergie opened up about the Sussexes' controversial departure from the Monarchy, insisting that she has 'no judgement' on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the Royal Family - despite the couple's scathing attacks on 'The Firm'.

'I don't believe that any single person has the right to judge another person. I'm not in a position myself to make any judgments,' she said.

The Duke, 38, and Duchess of Sussex, 41, launched scathing attacks on the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary series and Harry's memoir Spare - including publicly criticizing Sarah's ex-husband Prince Andrew, labelling the Jeffrey Epstein affair 'a shameful scandal'.

However, Sarah said: 'I have been judged all my life, and I have no judgment on the Sussexes.'

Revelation: It comes just hours after she revealed that she is financially supporting her disgraced ex-husband Prince Andrew

The Duchess of York has also opened up about what it has been like to care for the late Queen's beloved corgis in the wake of her passing.

Her Majesty received the two dogs, Muick and Sandy, as gifts from Andrew and they have now been taken on by her son and his ex-wife.

She told Hello magazine: 'The corgis are very nice and very polite and well trained.

'I am their favorite but everybody always says it's just because I feed them gravy bones. I love everything about them and I spoil them the most.'
Bindi Irwin has shared a heart-melting photo of her daughter Grace Warrior wearing her first personalised khaki Australia Zoo uniform.

It is an Irwin family tradition to don the signature zoo uniform, which has the wearer's first name embossed in the right-hand corner.

And 23-month-old Grace fit right in as she showed off her personalised shirt.

Proud mum Bindi, who is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, shared the cute snap with her five million Instagram followers on Tuesday.

In the photo, the Irwins - including Bindi's American-born husband Chandler Powell, her mother Terri and brother Robert - also pose in their matching uniforms.

Bindi Irwin has shared a heart-melting photo of her daughter Grace Warrior wearing her first personalised khaki Australia Zoo uniform

It is an Irwin family tradition to don the signature zoo uniform, which has the wearer's first name embossed in the right-hand corner

Grace, who is the spitting image of her father, smiles as she holds a rubber duck.

Bindi, 24, captioned the post: 'Khaki crew. Wildlife warriors.'

Fans flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on the adorable photo.

'Baby is getting so big. She's adorable and is the image of her dad. Love you guys, great show,' one person wrote.

Another said: 'The world needs more wildlife warriors like y'all... Blessings to you for a wonderful week and I hope your summer has been a good one.'

A third commented: 'You are a beautiful family and I will always love the Crocodile Hunter. I love having my grandsons watch him! I miss him too. God bless you all!'

Robert, 19, also shared the family photo on his Instagram, captioning it: 'Family who wear khaki together, stay together Look at Grace Warrior in her little uniform!)'

Bindi and Chandler first met in 2013 when the Florida native was touring Australia as part of a national wakeboarding competition.

The couple married in March 2020, just before the Covid-19 lockdowns.

They are raising Grace at Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, where they live and work alongside the rest of the Irwin family.

Bindi and Chandler first met in 2013 when the Florida native was touring Australia as part of a national wakeboarding competition. The couple married in March 2020

Bindi's father Steve Irwin, known to millions around the world as 'the Crocodile Hunter', died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray while filming a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef.

Bindi was just eight years old at the time.

Following his death, Steve's family, including his children Bindi and Robert, widow Terri, and son-in-law Chandler, have continued his wildlife conservation work at Australia Zoo.
Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke out against the rise in hate crimes and anti-Semitism in a 12-minute clip he posted to social media on Monday.

The action star, 75, said he sought not to preach to the choir, but speak to people who 'heard some conspiracies about Jewish people or any race or gender and thought, "That makes sense to me."'

The Austria-born star, who documented his trip to Auschwitz last fall, cited his own personal experiences watching his late father and other men whose lives were in disarray in the wake of World War II.

'There has never been a successful movement based on hate,' the outspoken actor said. 'Nazis? Losers. The Confederacy? Losers. The Apartheid movement? Losers - and the list goes on and on. I don't want you to be a loser. I don't want you to be weak.'

The ex-California governor said that he was speaking out to people who might be involved in hate speech or movements, urging them to analyze their life choices and the paths they lead to.

The latest: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 75, spoke out against the rise in hate crimes and anti-Semitism in a 12-minute clip he posted to social media on Monday

'Despite all my friends who might say, "Arnold, don't talk to those people. It's not worth it," I don't care what they say,' The Terminator star said. 'I care about you. I think you're worth it.

'I know nobody is perfect  I can understand how people can fall into a trap of prejudice and hate.'

Schwarzenegger said that growth occurs through the more difficult paths in life, citing his own experience toward bodybuilding stardom through painful workout sessions.

'It's easier to make excuses that the Jewish people conspired to hold you back then it is to admit that you just needed to work harder,' he said. 'It's easier to hate than it is to learn  nobody who has chosen the easy path of hate has gotten to the end of the road and said, "What a life." No - they die as miserably as they lived.'

Schwarzenegger emphasized the grim endings of those who devote themselves to a life of hate.

He said, 'If you find yourself wondering if the path of hate might make sense to you for one reason or the other, or even wrapping yourself in the flag of hate, I want you to know where that path ends.

'I've seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs. So I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path.'

Schwarzenegger said in the clip, which was distributed by ATTN, that there is still an offramp for people who have engaged in hate speech to change their ways.

'No matter how far you've gone, I want you to know you still have a chance to choose a life of strength,' he said. 'You have to fight the war against yourself.'

Schwarzenegger said that while going down the path of hate and blame is easier in life - 'You don't have to change anything, everything in your life that you aren't happy about can be somebody else's fault,' he said - ultimately, 'You will end up broken.'

He added, 'I don't want you to go through all that.'

Schwarzenegger said that growth occurs through the more difficult paths in life, citing his own experience toward bodybuilding stardom through painful workout sessions

Schwarzenegger said in the clip that there is still an offramp for people who have engaged in hate speech to change their ways

In the clip, the actor said, 'It's easier to hate than it is to learn  nobody who has chosen the easy path of hate has gotten to the end of the road and said, "What a life"'
Jeremy Renner was pictured out in public for the first time since suffering multiple severe injuries in a New Year's Day snow plow accident near his Lake Tahoe, Nevada home.

The Marvel star, 52, was the passenger in a vehicle pictured in Beverly Hills, California on a chilly winter day in Southern California.

He appeared to be in good spirits as he smiled while he was driven to an office building, where he spent about 30 minutes at before departing.

The actor was wearing a red shirt and glasses on the outing, which marked the first time he has been seen publicly since the devastating incident.

Renner has been chronicling his recovery - which could potentially last for years - ever since surviving the horrifying January 1 accident.

The latest: Jeremy Renner, 52 was pictured out in public for the first time since suffering multiple severe injuries in a New Year's Day snow plow accident near his Lake Tahoe, Nevada home, as he was spotted traveling in LA Monday

Serious situation: The Hawkeye star was seriously injured in a snow plow accident that took place on New Year's Day, and his recovery could potentially last for years

Renner last week said he was doing 'whatever it takes' in his recovery, in video of him improving his leg strength with the help of a Technogym bike.

Renner focused on his left leg as he sat on the chair and pedaled away, using his hand to assist him in the motions.

Renner also prioritized his 'mental recovery' as he curled up by the fire and cracked open The Book of Awakening, a 'spiritual daybook' written by philosopher, poet, and cancer survivor Mark Nepo.

In the accident, Renner was using his snow-removal tractor to help remove his nephew's car from his driveway at his residence near Reno, Nevada, after it became stuck in snow. However, his snow plow began to slide down a street after the car was towed, which prompted the actor to jump out of its cab.

After he exited the vehicle, Renner realized that it could potentially hit his nephew, who was with him at the time of the incident. The Mayor of Kingstown star then attempted to re-enter the snow plow in order to divert its path but he was pulled under its left side track and run over during the attempt.

Renner was crushed underneath the vehicle and was immediately taken to the hospital while suffering from breathing difficulties and various other injuries.

The Washoe County Sheriffs Office report found that the snow plow may have had various mechanical issues at the time of the incident.

The performer underwent several medical procedures while recovering in the hospital and often expressed his gratitude for his medical team through his Instagram account.

On the move: The Marvel star was the passenger in a vehicle pictured in Beverly Hills, California

Grinning: The actor was wearing a red shirt and glasses on the outing, which marked the first time he has been seen publicly since the devastating incident

Busy: He appeared to be in good spirits as he smiled while he was driven to an office building, where he spent about 30 minutes at before departing

Details: Renner was using his snow-removal tractor to help remove his nephew's car from his driveway at his residence near Reno, Nevada on January 1 after it became stuck in snow

Danger: After he exited the vehicle, Renner realized that it could potentially hit his nephew, who was with him

Contact: He then attempted to re-enter the snow plow in order to divert its path but he was pulled under its left side track and run over during the attempt

Injuries: Renner was crushed underneath the vehicle and was immediately taken to the hospital while suffering from breathing difficulties and various other injuries

On the move: The actor was driven in Southern California on the chilly winter day

Renner was eventually allowed to recover at home and shared a shot of himself undergoing physical therapy last month.

He also penned a short message in his post's caption that partially read: 'I want to thank EVERYONE for their messages and thoughtfulness for my family and I.Much love and appreciation to you all.'

The actor added: 'These 30 plus broken bones will mend, grow stronger, just like the love and bond with family and friends deepens. Love and blessings to you all.'

Evangeline Lilly, who costarred with Renner in The Hurt Locker, recently spoke to Access and revealed that the performer was in good spirits following the accident.

'I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasn't able to move. He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends. It's a miracle,' she said.

The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star commented that the actor was doing well during his recovery process.

'He's made of something really tough, that guy. You've always been able to see that in him, and he is recovering incredibly, and I'm so grateful,' she stated.

Lilly remarked that, although Renner was not fully recovered yet, he had a positive outlook about his future: 'He's got a journey to go through now. That's what nightmares are made out of, and he lived through it, and he's on the other side now.'

Road to recovery: Renner is doing 'whatever it takes' to recover from the snow plow accident

Building his strength: Renner focused on his left leg as he sat on the chair and pedaled away, using his hand to assist him in the motions

'Mental recovery': The Hurt Locker star curled up by the fire and read The Book of Awakening

On the mend: Renner was eventually allowed to recover at home and shared a shot of himself undergoing physical therapy last month

Grateful: He also penned a short message in his post's caption that partially read: 'I want to thank EVERYONE for their messages and thoughtfulness for my family and I.Much love and appreciation to you all'
Jenna Ortega stood out in a daring black-and-white outfit while attending the world premiere of Scream VI on Monday in New York City.

The 20-year-old actress suffered a wardrobe malfunction as she sported a blue ink stain on her plunging white shirt-dress.

She completed the stylish look with a black jacket with wide lapels that showed her bare shoulders and open-toed black collar heels.

Jenna had her dark brown hair down in soft curls around her shoulders and accentuated her natural beauty with smoky eye makeup.

The Wednesday star added a pop of color with bright red lipstick and accessorized with Tiffany & Co. jewelry including a silver ring and necklace with diamonds.

Scream queen: Jenna Ortega stood out in a daring black-and-white outfit while attending the world premiere of Scream VI on Monday in New York City

Jenna reprises her role of Tara Carpenter in the horror sequel Scream 6.

She teamed up with her co-stars Devyn Nekoda, Liana Liberato, Melissa Barrera and Courteney Cox for a group photo during the premiere at AMC Lincoln Square.

Scream 6 also stars Samara Weaving, Hayden Panettiere, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Dermot Mulroney.

Franchise star Neve Campbell, 49, declined to return as Sidney Prescott after a pay dispute making Scream VI the first film in the franchise not to feature her character.

Scream VI is a direct sequel to the 2022 slasher Scream and is scheduled to be released on Friday by Paramount Pictures.

Jenna for her portrayal of Tara in Scream won the award for Most Frightened Performance at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards.

Her horror film credits also include the 2013 film Insidious: Chapter 2 and the 2020 film The Babysitter: Killer Queen.

Jenna has received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Wednesday Addams in the 2022 Netflix comedy horror series Wednesday.

Black-and-white outfit: The 20-year-old actress wore a white shirt-dress with a plunging neckline along with a black jacket with wide lapels that showed her bare shoulders

Hair down: Jenna had her dark brown hair down in soft curls around her shoulders

She's back: Jenna reprises her role of Tara Carpenter in the horror sequel Scream 6

She received nominations at the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for her work in Wednesday.

Jenna over the weekend won Favorite Female TV Star at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and accepted the reward remotely.

Wednesday was renewed in January for a second season after becoming one of the most successful shows ever on the streaming service.

It was reported last week by Deadline that The Weeknd will make his feature acting debut alongside Jenna in a mysterious new project.

Jenna will host the upcoming March 11 episode of Saturday Night Live.

Group photo: Devyn Nekoda, Liana Liberato, Melissa Barrera, Jenna and Courteney Cox teamed up for a group photo during the premiere at AMC Lincoln Square
Hunter Schafer celebrated her ongoing collaboration with Mugler on Monday with a glam Paris Fashion Week party.

The Euphoria actress and model, 24, hosted a star-studded party at Paris' Pavillon des Invalides with the legendary French house.

Hunter was handpicked by the brand to walk in its Spring/Summer 21 show back in 2021 while she was recently unveiled as the face of Muglers Angel Elixir perfume.

The actress dressed to impress, looking sensational in a sparkly black catsuit, with a blue draped train attached.

Her incredible physique was on full display in the figure-hugging ensemble, which glittered under the lights.

It's my party: Hunter Schafer celebrated her ongoing collaboration with Mugler on Monday with a glam Paris Fashion Week party (pictured with Casey Cadwallader. Creative Director of Mugler)

Striking: The Euphoria actress and model, 24, hosted a party at Paris' Pavillon des Invalides with the legendary French house

She added a few extra inches of height to her frame with a pair of black strappy high heels.

She wore her blonde tresses swept back in an elegant updo, while sporting dramatically winged blue eyeshadow.

Hunter was joined by CEO of the L'Oreal group Nicolas Hieronimus and president of Mugler fashion and fragrances Daniele Lahana Aidenbaum for a photograph.

Hunter first made her mark as a fashion model, working for such high-profile brands as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Teen Vogue, who listed her in its '21 Under 21' list in 2017.

Schafer would strike lightning fast in her transition to acting, landing her very first role in the hit HBO series Euphoria in 2019.

Along with her lead role in the series, Schafer also co-wrote an episode with the show's creator Sam Levinson, and served as co-executive producer.

In the teen drama, Schafer plays transgender high school student, Jules, who fast becomes a best friend of Ruby 'Rue' Bennett, played by Zendaya.

Both Zendaya and Schafer, along with many of the other cast members, have seen their stars rise in Hollywood in the wake of being on Euphoria for two seasons.

HBO has renewed Euphoria for a third season, but so far a premiere date has not been announced.

Hunter is in a happy relationship with her co-star Dominic Fike who plays her love interest Elliot.

In a GQ profile, Dominic said that he is so smitten that he tries to see Hunter as frequently as he can in any way possible.

The Florida native recalled how he once visited the Prada store in Soho eight times over four days, not just to shop for clothes but also to see his love's face on the luxury label's ads in the store windows.

'That's the best part,' he gushed over his trips to the designer boutique.

Wow: The actress dressed to impress, looking sensational in a sparkly black catsuit, with a blue draped trained attached (pictured with CEO of the L'Oreal group Nicolas Hieronimus and president of Mugler fashion and fragrances Daniele Lahana Aidenbaum)

Star-studded: Avril Lavigne and new beau Tyga were among the VIP guests at Hunter's exclusive party

Red hot: Georgia May Jagger also made an appearance, looking stunning in a red gown with a sheer panel

Eye-catching: Cara Taylor caught the eye in an optical illusion style dress with a cutout on the side to flash some extra skin
Hayden Panettiere hit the red carpet on Monday, for the first time since her younger brother Jansen passed away from an enlarged heart at just 28 years of age.

The 33-year-old actress attended the world premiere of her new film Scream VI, which hits theaters March 10 and has her returning as Kirby Reed from 2011's Scream 4.

The blonde beauty's red carpet appearance also came just hours after she appeared on Good Morning America... where she teared up while discussing her late brother.

Panettiere hit the red carpet on Monday evening at AMC Lincoln Square Theater, posing with one of her co-stars, Jasmin Savoy Brown.

She arrived in a black off-shoulder minidress while staying warm with a black scarf wrapped around her neck.

First: Hayden Panettiere hit the red carpet on Monday, for the first time since her younger brother Jansen passed away from an enlarged heart at just 28 years of age

Co-star: Panettiere hit the red carpet on Monday evening at AMC Lincoln Square Theater, posing with one of her co-stars, Jasmin Savoy Brown

Happier times: Hayden Panettiere and her brother Jansen pose together in 2019

She had her blonde locks pulled back into a bun while accessorizing with gold diamond-studded strand earrings and a number of gold rings.

The actress also kept warm with a black trench coat that fell to the red carpet while opting for black pantyhose.

Panettiere completed her look with a pair of black pumps as she hit the red carpet on Monday evening.

The actress returns as Kirby Reed in the sixth installment of the Scream franchise, more than a decade after her debut in 2011's Scream 4.

Reed was a 17-year-old high school senior in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California in that film, which was set on the anniversary of the original Ghostface killings... that spawned a new killer.

While her fate was left uncertain at the end of Scream 4, she had a brief photographic cameo at the end of Scream 5, confirming her as the sole survivor and final girl of that massacre.

She returns in Scream VI, which brings the action to New York City, with several different survivors of the Ghostface killings hoping for a fresh start in the Big Apple.

Returning from last year's fifth installment are Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera as half-sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter, along with twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks (Jasmine Savoy Brown), along with Scream franchise mainstay Courteney Cox as Gail Weathers.

Hayden's look: She had her blonde locks pulled back into a bun while accessorizing with gold diamond-studded strand earrings and a number of gold rings

Red carpet ready: Panettiere completed her look with a pair of black pumps as she hit the red carpet on Monday evening

Just hours before hitting the red carpet, Panettiere gave her first interview since losing her younger brother, on Monday's Good Morning America.

When GMA host Michael Strahan offered his condolences, she placed a hand to her heart and said, 'Thank you. He's right here with me,' as her voice started to crack.

Her family released a statement at the time of his passing, which began, 'Jansen's heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit.'

'His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered,' the statement added.

'Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen's sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications,' the statement continued.

'We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support towards our family as we navigate this unthinkable loss, and ask that we be gifted our privacy during this time of mourning,' the family added.

'We love you so much Jansen and you will be in our hearts forever,' the statement concluded.

According to a police report, Jansen's body was discovered in his home by three friends who found him 'unresponsive' in a chair and desperately tried to revive him with CPR.

Interview: Just hours before hitting the red carpet, Panettiere gave her first interview since losing her younger brother, on Monday's Good Morning America

Here: When GMA host Michael Strahan offered his condolences, she placed a hand to her heart and said, 'Thank you. He's right here with me,' as her voice started to crack

Heading out: Hayden Panettiere is seen leaving her hotel for the Scream VI premiere

All black: Hayden Panettiere rocks an all black look heading to the Scream VI premiere

All smiles: Hayden Panettiere smiles to her fans while leaving for the Scream VI premiere

Wave: Hayden Panettiere waves to her fans while leaving her hotel for the Scream VI premiere
Ben Affleck opted for casual comfort as he stopped by a studio in Los Angeles to kick off his work week on Monday.

The Gone Girl actor, 50, flaunted his sense of style as he lugged a heavy backpack that was easily slung over his right shoulder as he strolled towards the building.

The Oscar-winning star, who tied the knot with Jennifer Lopez last year, is reportedly currently in escrow with his wife for a lavish $64 million mansion located in the Pacific Palisades.

The two lovebirds have been spotted searching for their new dream home earlier this year, and recently pulled out of purchasing a $34.5 million house in the same neighborhood.

While celebrating the next step towards acquiring a new home, Ben was seen stopping by a studio wearing a red and tan-colored button-up and rolled the cuffs midway up his arm.

Keeping it casual: Ben Affleck , 50, opted for casual comfort as he stopped by a studio in Los Angeles to kick off his work week on Monday

Underneath the flannel, the Golden Globe winner added a plain, gray crew neck shirt underneath for an extra layer of warmth in the cooler temperatures.

The star paired the top with a off-gray pants along with red and black sneakers that coincided with the color scheme of his top.

He carried a large, black backpack over his shoulder that held a few items that he needed during the busy day.

Ben was seen quickly strolling across the street on the overcast day to head inside of the studio, while conversing with a female companion.

Also on Monday, TMZ reported that the actor and his wife, Jennifer, are currently in escrow for a stunning $64 million mansion located in the Pacific Palisades.

This latest property includes eight bedrooms, 11 baths, and a 16,000 square feet residence sitting upon a 1.13 acre compound.

It also features an 800-square foot gym, professional media room, game room, massive background with a pool, spa, canyon-side views, and firepit area.

Visitors will also be able to spend the night in a separate guest house which contains a Japanese-style soaking tub.

Stopping by a studio: While celebrating being in escrow, Ben was seen stopping by a studio wearing a red and tan-colored button-up and rolled the cuffs midway up his arm

Layering the look: Underneath the flannel, the Golden Globe winner added a plain, gray crew neck shirt underneath for an extra layer of warmth in the cooler temperatures

The couple were pictured stopping by the property on February 28, and insiders told TMZ they have been making frequent visits to the home to scoop out any changes they may want to make once the sale is finalized.

This is something the lovebirds often do, and gave the previous home they were recently considering the same treatment, according to TMZ.

While the lovebirds are already incredibly wealthy, insiders added the A-listers are able to afford this latest property with the help of JLo's Bel-Air home.

That home is currently in escrow with a possible buyer for $39 million.

In addition, the Argo actor recently sold off his mansion in the Pacific Palisades area for around $30 million.

The Pacific Palisades home the couple recently dropped was worth $34.5 million. The home offers seven bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, and is located in the prestigious Rustic Canyon.

The two lovebirds notably tied the knot last year in July at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The following month, the newlyweds held a larger ceremony at Ben's Georgia estate with numerous family members and friends in attendance.

Ready for the day: The star paired the top with a off-gray pants along with red and black sneakers that coincided with the color scheme of his top

Steps towards their dream home: The Oscar-winning star and wife, Jennifer Lopez, are reportedly currently in escrow with his wife for a lavish $64 million mansion located in the Pacific Palisades

Upon tying the knot, Jennifer became the stepmother to Ben's three children, whom he shares with ex-wife, Jennifer Garner: Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and son Samuel, 10.

Ben also became the stepfather to Jennifer's twins, Max and Emme, whom she welcomed with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony.

The twins recently celebrated their 15th birthday, and the On The Floor hitmaker shared a special tribute on social media to celebrate the day last month in February.

Earlier in January, the Marry Me actress opened up about their 'blended family' during an interview on the Today show.

'We moved in together. The kids moved in together,' she explained. 'Its been, like, a really kind of emotional transition, but at the same time all your dreams coming true.'

Jennifer further expressed that, 'its just been a phenomenal year. Like, my best year I think since my kids were born.'

Large family: Upon tying the knot, Jennifer became the stepmother to Ben's three children, whom he shares with ex-wife, Jennifer Garner: Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and son Samuel, 10 and Ben became stepfather to twins Max and Emme, whom Jennifer shares with Marc Anthony; the two seen in February

Recent tribute: The twins recently celebrated their 15th birthday, and the On The Floor hitmaker shared a special tribute on social media to celebrate the day last month in February
Advertisement

Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval was pictured late Saturday entering the apartment building of his 'mistress' Raquel Leviss in the wake of their affair being publicly exposed amid his longtime relationship with Ariana Madix.

Sandoval, 39, attempted to look inconspicuous as he donned an all-black ensemble of a coat, shirt, hat and sneakers as he made his way into the Southern California residential building at around 10 p.m. local time.

The reality TV personality was focused on his phone as news of his infidelity with Leviss, 28, set the Internet alight.

Amid the flow of news over the weekend, Sandoval addressed the affair in an online apology in which he implored people to keep their anger over the situation focused on him, and not his friends, family and business associates.

On Saturday morning, Madix, 37, was subsequently seen hastily departing the Los Angeles home she shared with Sandoval without shoes on, after he arrived back at the abode.

The latest: Vanderpump Rules personality Tom Sandoval, 39, was pictured late Saturday entering the apartment building of his mistress Raquel Leviss, 28, in the wake of their affair being publicly exposed amid his longtime relationship with Ariana Madix, 37

Following the initial shock over the news that Sandoval and Leviss have been having a months-long affair behind Madix's back, Vanderpump Rules fans spent the weekend unearthing clues and evidence of their secret relationship.

Despite the reality star's own partner reportedly feeling 'blindsided' by her boyfriend's infidelity with their castmate, social media sleuths have discovered obvious signs that the duo were 'hooking up' and 'communicating inappropriately for months.'

Upon learning that Sandoval had been unfaithful by discovering a 'sexually explicit video' from Leviss on his phone after watching Sandoval's band's perform in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, according to Page Six, Madix ended their nine-year relationship.

Madix has since deleted her Instagram account and has yet to comment on the claims.

Sandoval alluded to the end of the high-profile relationship crisis during a Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras show at the City National Grove in Anaheim, California on Friday evening.

He asked, the crowd, a source told US Weekly, 'Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?'

Sandoval took to Instagram on Sunday to apologize for his actions and ask fans to direct their 'anger' and 'disappointment' toward him not his business partners or loved ones.

From wearing matching lighting bolt necklaces to the TomTom co-owner dressing up as Leviss for Halloween, DailyMail.com has rounded up all the proof that the costars have been romantically entangled since last summer.

Low-profile: Sandoval attempted to look inconspicuous as he donned an all-black ensemble of a coat, shirt, hat and sneakers as he made his way into the Southern California residential building

Attentive: The reality TV personality was focused on his phone as news of his infidelity with Leviss, 28, came as a surprise to viewers of the Bravo series

Details: Upon learning that Sandoval had been unfaithful by discovering a 'sexually explicit video' from Leviss on his phone after watching Sandoval's band's perform in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, Madix, 37, ended their nine-year relationship

Tense times: On Saturday morning, Madix, 37, was subsequently seen hastily departing the Los Angeles home she shared with Sandoval without shoes on, after he arrived back at the abode

Throwback: Leviss was snapped with Scheana Shay on a getaway in June of 2020 at the Viejas Casino & Resort in San Diego

Messy: Following the initial shock over the news that Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss have been having a months-long affair, behind Ariana Madix's back, Vanderpump Rules fans spent the weekend unearthing clues and evidence of their secret relationship

The reality stars quietly wore matching lightning bolt necklaces during their affair

While Sandoval and Leviss' managed to keep their fling under wraps from the public and their closest friends, they seemed to keep each other close by rocking gold lightning bolt pendants.

While Sandoval wears the accessory almost daily, Leviss only began wearing a similar necklace last year, months after they are said to have begun seeing each other.

According to a a Reddit user claiming to be a friend of the former pageant queen, who was previously crowned Miss Sonoma County in 2016 before appearing on Vanderpump Rules, the jewelry was used by the couple to say 'I love you' to each other.

She was photographed in the necklace several times on social media and at BravoCon in October 2022.

While reacting to a TikTok video pointing out Leviss wearing the lightning bolt around her neck, one commenter wrote: 'How did no one notice?! My God!'

'This literally makes my skin CRAWWWWWL,' another commented while some viciously quipped that Madix should 'be aware of her surroundings more closely.'

Sign of affection? While Sandoval and Leviss' managed to keep their fling under wraps from the public and their closest friends, they seemed to keep each other close by rocking gold lightning bolt pendants

Tom cheekily dressed up as Raquel for Halloween after Katie Maloney called her a 'fan girl'

After Maloney accused Leviss of being a 'fan girl' for hooking up with Maloney's ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, Sandoval sent the internet into a frenzy with his bizarre Halloween costume, in which he recreated Raquel's look at BravoCon.

'Guys, look who I ran into,' Leviss mused in an Instagram Story video on October 31. 'It's Raquel from BravoCon day 3! Oh, my God. Wow, Raquel, I can't believe you would frickin' wear that sweatshirt.'

He went on to share an image of himself in a TomTom sweatshirt, blond wig and black shades with the caption: 'Raquel has got to stop showing up to TomTom its embarrassing.'

Flirty? After Maloney accused Leviss of being a 'fan girl' for hooking up with Maloney's ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, Sandoval sent the internet into a frenzy with his bizarre Halloween costume, in which he recreated Raquel's look at BravoCon

Raquel cheered Tom at one of his shows from the front row in December

Leviss did not hide her admiration for Sandoval as she stood in the front row of one of his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras' shows in December.

During his performance, the reality star recorded his every move on stage before he was captured reaching out and grabbing the phone from her as she grinned and danced with a drink in her hand.

After the Instagram account, Vanderpump Rules Party, shared the recording, the comment section was full of people calling her a 'groupie' and others proclaiming the affair was 'happening right under our noses!!!!!'

His biggest cheerleader: Leviss did not hide her admiration for Sandoval as she stood in the front row of one of his band Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras' shows in December

Raquel rode on top of Tom's shoulders at the Life is Beautiful music festival in September

The pair's seemingly most public display of affection occurred during the three-day musical festival in Downtown Las Vegas, back in September 2022.

In an Instagram video shared by Leviss, she can be seen on top of his shoulders at the concert while sporting a white minidress with a slit.

Crossing the line: The pair's seemingly most public display of affection occurred during the three-day musical festival in Downtown Las Vegas, back in September 2022

Raquel Leviss said Tom Sandoval was 'hotter' than his best friend Tom Schwartz

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live on March 1, Leviss admitted that she thought Sandoval was the 'hotter' of the two Toms.

The next say she wrote in an Instagram comment that she she was a 'fan of' both Toms and their restaurant, which she said has 'best vibe, food, and drinks in WeHo.'

'I'm also a fan of Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval!! Here to support their business endeavors,' she added.

More than friends? During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Leviss admitted that she thought Sandoval was the 'hotter' of the two Toms; The duo pictured 2021

She admits her last text message from another castmate was from Tom

Just days before their affair was exposed, Raquel revealed in an interview, uploaded by Page Six, that she had a group text with Schwartz and Sandoval.

She then said her last text from another Vanderpump Rules star was in that thread, when Schwartz asked her to join him and Sandoval for a night out.

Shady: Just days before their affair was exposed, Raquel revealed in an interview, uploaded by Page Six, that she had a group text with Schwartz and Sandoval

Ariana deleted her social media presence right before news of Tom's affair became official

As rumors Ariana began to swirl about Tom's infidelity last week, Ariana opted to delete her Instagram and Twitter.

Fans immediately noticed, with one asking: ''Did Ariana delete her Twitter?? I went to see if there were any other interesting likes or replies after grabbing those two earlier today and now the account is gone.'

'She's mentioned she gets affected majorly by everyone's opinions. ... She probably needed a break,' another theorized.

Others noted it was 'sad' that the star to deleted her accounts, but understood wanting to mourn the end of her relationship offline.

Hurtful: Despite spending nearly a decade together, their relationship was filled with issues, dating back to 2019, when she slammed him for outing her sexuality to his friends; seen in June 2022

Ariana said he 'betrayed' her trust after outing her as bisexual to his friends

Despite spending nearly a decade together, their relationship was filled with issues, dating back to 2019, when she slammed him for outing her sexuality to his friends.

After Sandoval revealed Madix had a sexual experience with Lala Kent, she said on he show that her 'sexuality is not something that is meant to sound cool to a bunch of dudes.'

'I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of what happened between Lala and I, but I do feel like Tom betrayed my trust by telling this story to his guy friends,' she said on the show during a confessional.

She also confronted him directly, when saying: 'When you talk about anyones sexuality without their consent, its, like, really not okay.'

She thought they were monogamous: In January, Madix denied rumors that they were in an open marriage on Twitter. In the since-deleted tweet, she wrote: 'Bisexual = polyamorous' (seen this year)

Ariana and Tom both deny they are in an open marriage

In January, Madix denied rumors that they were in an open marriage on Twitter. In the since-deleted tweet, she wrote: 'Bisexual = polyamorous.'

Still, Sandoval was insisting just weeks ago that he and Madix are 'really good about respecting each other and having each other's backs in a reasonable way.'

While sources close to Madix have insisted she had no knowledge of his cheating, she has been open over the years about not wanting to tie the knot.

'I just don't want it to be like a big thing about having a giant wedding and a bachelorette party and all that bulls**t,' she said of marriage in 2021.

That same year, she revealed she had frozen her eggs to have 'agency over' her body and future. 'This does not mean that I'm jumping on the baby train,' she clarified.

'It's also kind of a nice fun f**k-you to anybody who questions my values or my choices.'
Air Mauritius will resume its direct operations to and from Geneva International Airport in Switzerland, with two weekly flights using the Airbus A330-900neo aircraft in a Business and Economy configuration with a capacity of 288 seats as from the 02 October 2023 until 12 January 2024

This marks the start of seasonal operations to Geneva scheduled for part of the IATA Northern Winter period.

Flight number Routing Days of operations Scheduled time of departure Scheduled time of arrival MK 048 MRU-GVA Mondays & Fridays 08H00 17H45 MK 059 GVA-MRU Mondays & Fridays 21H10 10H00*

All timings in local time

*Arrival in Mauritius on Wednesdays and Sunday

Flight number Routing Days of operations Scheduled time of departure Scheduled time of arrival MK 048 MRU-GVA Mondays & Fridays 09H00 17H45 MK 059 GVA-MRU Mondays & Fridays 21H10 11H0

All timings in local time

*Arrival in Mauritius on Wednesdays and Sundays

Kresimir Kucko, CEO of Air Mauritius stated that,

We are pleased to note the excellent response of the market to the resumption of operations to Geneva. We believe that it will contribute to boost tourist arrivals from Switzerland, Italy, southern Germany and France. Direct long-haul operations have traditionally been our strength to secure competitive leverage and we are currently exploring other similar opportunities to expand our network.

He added that such direct operations complement our origin-destination network model which entails offering to our passengers more choice and flexibility through the gateways we serve in collaboration with airline partners. Air Mauritius main gateway in Europe is Paris from where it offers code-share flights to nearly 40 destinations in Europe, with partner Air France. Air Mauritius currently operates twice daily frequencies to Paris Charles de Gaulle in partnership with Air France and our operations to London have been increased from three to five times weekly.

Kresimir Kucko declared that

The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Air Mauritius  operations to Paris, London and Mumbai. Last year the national carrier which was incorporated in 1967, commemorated its 50th anniversary of operations to Rodrigues.

Air Mauritius products and services have been rated 4-Star by rating agency  SKYTRAX. At the World Travel Awards 2021, Air Mauritius was the winner of the Indian Oceans Leading Airline Economy Class 2021 and Indian Oceans Leading Airline Brand 2021 & 2022.

Partager et informez vous aussi......

0 shares Share

Tweet

LinkedIn

Articles similaires
Despite a new lawsuit recently filed against him, Alec Baldwin appeared to be in good spirits at the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala.

The 64-year-old actor hit the red carpet solo at the annual bash, held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on Monday evening.

The outing comes just days after three more Rust crew members filed a lawsuit against the actor, claiming they now suffer from anxiety and PTSD after the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie Rust.

Baldwin stepped out with a classic black suit with a blue-gray dress shirt and a dark tie under a black suit coat with a purple pocket square.

The actor seemed to be sporting the early makings of a new beard as he hit the red carpet on Monday night.

Good spirits: Despite a new lawsuit recently filed against him, Alec Baldwin appeared to be in good spirits at the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala

The embattled actor completed his look with matching black pants and black dress shoes for the annual event.

While Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in late February, just days later three Rust crew members filed a lawsuit against the actor.

The filing alleges that the crew members have experienced anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust set on the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The crew members - dolly operator Ross Addiego, set costumer Doran Curtin and key grip Reese Price - also claim they were near the gun when it was fired and have since suffered, 'blast injuries' from the gun going off unexpectedly.

Hutchins fell to the ground in front of Curtin. 'She watched in shock as Hutchins grabbed at her abdomen,' the lawsuit states.

'Plaintiff Curtin put her hands on Hutchins' stomach, trying to find the source of Hutchins' pain and figure out what was going on. As the chaos continued, Plaintiff Curtin was ushered out of the church. Once outside, she collapsed from the effects of the blast and the shock of the shooting.'

The lawsuit also accuses the producers of cutting corners and hiring individuals who had been the subject of previous safety complaints, including David Halls, the first assistant director, and armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who 'lacked experience' because the producers allegedly wanted a 'quick and cheap production.'

Gutierrez Reed, like Baldwin, is also facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison, and she also pleaded not guilty.

Alec's look: The embattled actor completed his look with matching black pants and black dress shoes for the annual event

New lawsuit: While Baldwin pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in late February, just days later three Rust crew members filed a lawsuit against the actor

Also attending the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala was Sutton Foster, who hit the red carpet in a black coat with a plunging neckline

She also accessorized with diamond earrings and a stunning green necklace that fell into her plunging neckline.

The actress completed her look with several rings, black pants and black heels for the annual event.

Baldwin's former 30 Rock co-star Jane Krakowski also attended the event with a leggy ensemble.

The blonde actress stepped out with an oversized white dress shirt slightly tucked into a black miniskirt, completing her look with black pumps.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan hit the red carpet in a white pantsuit.

She rocked a white suit coat with a plunging neckline and a pair of matching white pants for the event.

The actress completed her look with diamond-studded earrings and silver pumps.

Sutton: Also attending the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala was Sutton Foster, who hit the red carpet in a black coat with a plunging neckline

Co-star: Baldwin's former 30 Rock co-star Jane Krakowski also attended the event with a leggy ensemble

Rachel: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Rachel Brosnahan hit the red carpet in a white pantsuit

Murray: F. Murray Abraham hit the red carpet at the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala

Carla's look: Carla Gugino hit the red carpet in a black and red ensemble

Anna: Anna Chlumsky hits the red carpet at the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala

Anna's look: Anna Chlumsky steps out in an elegant yellow dress with strappy pink heels

Patricia in blue: Patricia Clarkson hits the red carpet in a blue dress and black pumps at the Roundabout Theatre Company's 2023 Gala

Vanessa: Vanessa Williams rocks a stylish black dress at the Roundabout Theatre's 2023 Gala
Former Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has returned to Instagram with some racy snaps after she opened up about her heartbreaking infertility diagnosis last month.

The 35-year-old recently quit escorting to become a single mother via IVF.

However, she received the devastating news last month that carrying her own child may not be possible for her, as a doctor said she is 'close to being infertile'.

Hayley has been keeping her presence on social media lowkey since finding out her health diagnosis, but on Monday she came back with a bang.

She posed in a racy snap that showed off her toned and tatted body.

Former Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has returned to Instagram with some racy snaps after she opened up about her heartbreaking infertility diagnosis last month

Hayley has been keeping her presence on social media lowkey since finding out her health diagnosis, but on Monday she came back with a bang

In a black bra with a matching thong and garter the brunette beauty smiled at the camera.

She matched the lingerie with knee-high sheer stockings and wore a glam makeup look with winged eyeliner and a nude lip.

Fans of the former reality TV star were happy that one of their favourite creators was back online.

One of Hayley's 67,000 followers wrote: 'She's back...now we want to see your "Hayley's daily chats". You make me laugh and I've been missing the unapologetic authentic Hayley'.

It was in one of these daily chats that the 35-year-old told her followers about her fertility struggles.

Sharing a video of herself crying in her car on TikTok, she said: 'I literally can't stop crying, I had just gone to the doctor to get my results for IVF, she said my AMH levels are a 4.8. I don't even know what that means and she said it's close to being infertile.'

Hayley was referring to her anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) Test and ovarian reserve levels.

According to IVF Australia, 'Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is a hormone secreted by cells in developing egg sacs (follicles). The level of AMH in a woman's blood is generally a good indicator of her ovarian reserve'.

Sharing a video of herself crying in her car on TikTok, she said: 'I literally can't stop crying, I had just gone to the doctor to get my results for IVF, she said my AMH levels are a 4.8'

The AMH test 'gives us some insight into the remaining quantity of eggs and number of fertile years you may have.'

It's been reported that the best response to IVF is typically seen in women with an AMH level in the 1.0-3.5 ng/mL range. An average of ten to 20 eggs are usually retrieved for IVF.

The former reality TV star then begged her fans for help and said she was unsure of her next steps.

'Has anyone conceived or had egg retrieval when it's been this low before? I feel like I'm hyperventilating. I have an appointment with Monash IVF so will so go with that... what am I gonna do?'

In January, Hayley told The Wash that she was hoping to have a child later in the year.

'There are plenty of women that do what I do as well as holding the fort within their families, but for me I'm looking forward to re-inventing myself in preparation to becoming a mother so that first step is to physically stop seeing clients,' she said.

In January, Hayley told The Wash that she was hoping to have a child later in the year and would quit escorting in order to do so

At the time, Hayley was on a tour of Melbourne, and said it would be her last trip escorting before undergoing IVF with a donor.

'I'm at the point where I know if I don't have children in the next few years that ship will sail,' she said.

'So through the help of donor-ship and IVF this is a process that I will more than likely do this year and raise a child by myself.'

Hayley will still be filming explicit content, but said she realises it will soon not be a viable option if she has a baby.

She previously revealed she had signed up to Scarlet Blue, a private escort directory, where she offered in-calls and out-calls for customers.

Hayley is understood to have charged clients between $750-$950 an hour.

She had also recently announced she has made more than $1.3 million since joining OnlyFans in August 2020.

The former reality television star has been open and candid about her work and received a lot of support from her followers.

Hayley rose to fame on Married At First Sight Australia back on season seven, which aired in 2020.
Andy Cohen on Monday said he suspects there could have be something going on between Vanderpump Rules costars Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss as far back as last fall, during festivities at BravoCon in New York City in October.

The Bravo host-producer, 54, speculated on the timeframe of the affair - in which Sandoval, 39, cheated on longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix, 37 - on his Radio Andy show Monday on SiriusXM, as details of the fallout made headlines.

He noted that amid the 'reverberating' scandal, video captured at the event indicated that Madix - and Leviss - were watching Sandoval intently as he played with his band at the event in the Big Apple.

Cohen noted that the answers Leviss, 28, gave earlier this month on his show Watch What Happens Live, during a quiz sketch with with Scheana Shay, 37, provided an insight into the way she viewed the restauranteur-musician.

'We played a game called the BFF test,' Cohen said. 'I read a statement and both guests answer at the same time and we see if their answers match. I said, "Who's the cuter Tom: Sandoval or Schwartz?" And they both said Sandoval.'

The latest: Andy Cohen spilled on the bombshell affair between Vanderpump Rules costars Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss on his radio show on Monday

Cohen said that he did not expect Leviss' answer to be Sandoval, based on rumors of romance between her and Schwartz that circulated last year.

'I looked up and said to Raquel, "Oh you said Sandoval, hmm," and then we moved on,' Cohen said.

The answer even caught Shay off-guard, according to Cohen, as 'Scheana's antenna was up' following the revelation from Leviss.

'I'm going through my cards and  Scheana said to Raquel, "You know, I only picked Sandoval because I knew that you were gonna pick Schwartz,"' Cohen recalled. 'And Raquel said, "Well, Sandoval has abs," and kind of shrugged.

'So, you know, that was interesting. And again, I didn't think twice about it.'

Cohen said that he contacted Shay about the aforementioned discussion over the weekend as the cheating story went public.

'I DM'd Scheana over the weekend and I go, "What was that conversation that you guys had about that BFF test?"' he said. 'I thought it was odd.'

Cohen noted how Bravo should re-air that episode, and an episode of WWHL that featured Sandoval and Schwartz that aired last month, noting that 'there was some odd energy between' the business partners during the appearance.

Cohen noted that the answers Leviss (R) gave earlier this month on his show Watch What Happens Live, during a quiz sketch with with Scheana Shay provided an insight into the way she viewed the restauranteur-musician

Cohen said that answers Leviss gave to a quiz game favoring Sandoval raised his interest

Sandoval was seen playing a set at BravoCon October 15 in NYC. Cohen on Monday said video from he event indicated that Madix - and Leviss - were watching Sandoval intently onstage

'Schwartz was looking to Sandoval the entire time, almost for guidance on answers,' Cohen said. 'So the big question is: When did Schwartz find out about this?'

Sandoval said in an apology he released on Instagram Sunday that Schwartz was not in the know about the affair until recently, and disapproved of it once he knew the truth.

'Schwartz specifically only found out about this very recently, and most definitely did not condone my actions,' said Sandoval.

Amid the heat of the scandal, Sandoval asked viewers of the show to keep their anger over the situation aimed at him instead of his family, friends and business associates.

'Hey, I fully understand an deserve ur anger & disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz, my friends and family out of this situation,' he said. 'Also, Schwartz & Sandy's might have my name on it, but also there are 3 other partners and 20 employees, who especially rely on the restaurant for income for them and their families.'

He continued: 'Just like TomTom, I'm a small part of a much bigger thing. Please direct ur anger towards me and not them. They did nothing wrong.  I will be taking a step back & taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees & partners.'

In the wake of the affair going public, neither Leviss or Madix have commented on the events, and Madix has also deleted her Instagram account.

Sandoval and Madix were seen earlier this year at a premiere party for the show in LA

The former couple was pictured with Leviss at a Thanksgiving charity event in LA

Sandoval said in an apology he released on Instagram Sunday that Schwartz was not in the know about the affair until recently, and disapproved of it once he knew the truth

In another related twist to the situation, sources told People Monday that Bravo producers have been in contact with Sandoval ex Kristen Doute, 40, (pictured in 2021) about a potential return to the program

In another related twist to the situation, sources told People Monday that Bravo producers have been in contact with Sandoval ex Kristen Doute, 40, about a potential return to the program.

'Vanderpump Rules producers have approached Kristen to come back on the show to talk about' the situating involving Sandoval, Leviss and Madix,' a source told the outlet.

The source said that Doute has 'had her fair share of ups and downs with Sandoval over the years, but right now she's completely supporting Ariana.'

Doute was fired from the series in 2020 (along with Stassi Schroeder) amid a racism controversy involving former costar Faith Stowers.

'Kristen has put the show behind her, but she's considering it,' the insider told the magazine, noting that Doute will only speak on the issue with Madix's blessing.

'It'll depend if Ariana wants her to do it and is comfortable as that's the only way she would ever go back on the show,' the source said. 'It's a conversation she and Ariana are having right now. The girls have all been spending time with Ariana.'
Home and Away star Georgie Parker has announced she is leaving the show.

According to a report in Yahoo on Tuesday, Georgie is taking a seven-week break from the soap and should disappear from screens in August.

The star, who first joined the soap in 2010 replacing Justine Clarke as Ruth 'Roo' Stewart, will perform in the play, Rhinestone Rex and Miss Monica.

Georgie said she was lucky that production wrote her out of scripts as she took on other artistic ventures.

'I'm lucky that with or any other TV productions I've been involved with, I've been very fortunate that I kind of put it out there  if it's going to be long term, that I need time out for plays,' she told Yahoo.

Home and Away veteran Georgie Parker has shocked fans by telling Yahoo she is stepping away from the soap for seven weeks for a stage product. Right, Ray Meagher

'Channel Seven has always been very generous with letting me do that, and ask for [time off]. I just get it written into my contract,' she continued.

Georgie is one of Australia's most beloved stars having appeared on All Saints and A Country Practice.

The star married her husband Steve Worland in 1999 and the couple welcomed their daughter Holly in 2000.

'Channel Seven has always been very generous with letting me do that, and ask for [time off]. I just get it written into my contract,' she said. Here on Home and Away

The actress told TV week in April last year, she felt the burden of juggling her career and being a new mum.

'I got married and became a mum when I won the first Gold Logie,' she said.

'I was split between a lot of things  it was a very stressful time.

'The struggle I had was that I'd never chased that kind of success, so when I got it, I was doing it more because I wanted the show to succeed.'
Evergreen eighties supermodel Christie Brinkley shared a rare slideshow of herself embracing substantial gray roots in her signature blonde locks while enjoying a cloudy day on the beach near her Hamptons home.

It was a bold move for the 69-year-old mother-of-three, who ordinarily only shares flawless snaps of her suspiciously unlined complexion and impressively taut 5ft9in figure.

'Grey sky! Gray hair! The second you see gray hair it raises the question, just like when you cut bangs ...to keep or not to keep?' Christie - who boasts 1.7M social media followers - mused on Sunday.

'Thank goodness both are just a personal preference or a fun change of pace. My son [Jack Paris Brinkley Cook] thinks it looks cool, but I think I may want to wait till it's more like the silver whitecaps than the grey wave itself! The verdict is still out! Happy Sunday!'

The same exact day Brinkley (born Hudson) posted about grey hair she was pictured at 2:30pm fully back to blonde while attending a sold-out Long Island LitFest event at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, Long Island.

Silver fox! Evergreen eighties supermodel Christie Brinkley shared a rare slideshow of herself embracing substantial gray roots in her signature blonde locks while enjoying a cloudy day on the beach near her Hamptons home

The Bellissima Prosecco owner - who relies on longtime hairstylist Mitch Barry - discussed aging with fellow former SI Swimsuit stunner Paulina Porizkova, who was promoting her book, No Filter: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful.

Unlike Christie, the Czech-born 57-year-old has fully embraced her gray hair and wrinkles gracefully, writing: 'Aging is the privilege of living a long life. You can fight it or accept it. But there is a third choice. Embrace it.'

'Embracing it means both acceptance and battle. Accepting there are inevitable changes on the inside and the outside. And both are valuable,' Paulina explained on February 6.

'As your inner power grows, your wrinkles reflect the time you've spent getting more powerful. Fighting is better spent not on the denial of age, but rather putting it to work. Fight to keep your body healthy. Fight to stay curious and flexible. Fight the shame that's heaped on you to tell you you no longer matter. Fight to be seen and valued for the person you have become. Here's to embracing age - for both the good and the bad, because that's living!'

The Way Home actress Andie MacDowell decided to grow out her gray hair during the COVID-19 quarantine when her daughters told her she looked 'bada**.'

'I like to compare myself to George Clooney because why not? I've been saying for a while now it was time for me, personally, to make that transition because I felt like it was appropriate for my personality and just who I am,' the 64-year-old Golden Globe winner told Vogue in 2021.

'During lockdown, I had a lot of downtime and became obsessed with Jack Martin, who did Jane Fonda's hair. I shared those pictures with a lot of people going, "Hey, I want to do this." I got a job and very quickly I had to make up my mind about what I was going to do.

'My managers had actually said to me, "It's not time." And I said, "I think you're wrong, and I'm going to be more powerful if I embrace where I am right now. It's time because in two years I'm going to be 65. If I don't do it now, I won't have the chance to be salt and pepper." I always wanted to be salt and pepper!'

Truth: It was a bold move for the 69-year-old mother-of-three, who ordinarily only shares flawless snaps of her suspiciously unlined complexion and impressively taut 5ft9in figure

Christie - who boasts 1.7M social media followers - mused on Sunday: 'Grey sky! Gray hair! The second you see gray hair it raises the question, just like when you cut bangs ...to keep or not to keep?'

Brinkley continued: 'Thank goodness both are just a personal preference or a fun change of pace. My son [Jack Paris Brinkley Cook] thinks it looks cool, but I think I may want to wait till it's more like the silver whitecaps than the grey wave itself! The verdict is still out! Happy Sunday!'

That was quick! The same exact day the he Bellissima Prosecco owner posted about grey hair she was pictured at 2:30pm fully back to blonde while attending a sold-out Long Island LitFest event at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, Long Island

Christie - who relies on longtime hairstylist Mitch Barry - discussed aging with fellow former SI Swimsuit stunner Paulina Porizkova (R), who was promoting her book, No Filter: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful

Unlike Brinkley, the Czech-born 57-year-old has fully embraced her gray hair and wrinkles gracefully, writing on February 6: 'Aging is the privilege of living a long life. You can fight it or accept it. But there is a third choice. Embrace it.'
Candice Swanepoel stunned in a strapless red dress in a new video on her Instagram on Monday.

The former Victoria's Secret model, 34, announced that she is the face of a new fragrance by Elie Saab while flaunting her picture-perfect physique for the promotional video.

She highlighted her gorgeous frame in a skin-tight gown decorated in red sequins that featured a sweetheart neckline to show off her voluptuous chest.

The dress also had a thigh-high slit up the side so the beauty could flaunt her supermodel legs.

Candice kept the rest of her look simple, with her blonde locks slicked back in a tight bun and very simple makeup on her visage.

New projects: Candice Swanepoel announced that she is the face of a new fragrance by Elie Saab in an Instagram video

Miles of legs: The 34-year-old stunned in a strapless red dress decorated in red sequins that featured a sweetheart neckline to show off her voluptuous chest

In the video, the mother-of-two seductively walked in and out of the frame and revealed the perfume bottle as she held it up to the light and took a moment to smell it.

The bombshell expressed her excitement to become the face of the fragrance, which is titled Elixir, in her Instagram caption.

She also called the fragrance: 'A love potion with a magnetic power of attraction.'

Elie Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer who started his business in the early 1980s and specialized in bridal couture.

He was the first Lebanese designer to be admitted to the fashion industry's governing body, Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

This collaboration is not Candice's first venture into fashion. The South African native is also the founder of her own eco-lifestyle brand.

Tropic of C, the model's swimwear collection, was launched in 2018 and focuses on being a sustainable, eco-friendly brand.

The brand's motto is 'Influenced by nature. Inspired by the female form. An eco-lifestyle brand born from a life spent at the beach.'

Enchanting: She flaunted her picture-perfect physique for the promotional video

Stunning figure: The dress also had a thigh-high slit up the side so the beauty could flaunt her supermodel legs

Catching the light: In the video, the mother-of-two seductively walked in and out of the frame and revealed the perfume bottle as she held it up to the light and took a moment to smell it

When opening up about the motivation to launch Tropic Of C, Candice told Forbes in a past interview, 'Sustainability is a key part of my lifestyle.'

'I think coming from Africa and growing up with such a strong level of nature, its where I get inspiration,' and admitted that the company initially began as just 'a creative outlet' for her.

Swanepoel first became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010, kickstarting her modeling career. In 2016 she was listed 8th on the Forbes top-earning models list.

The model has been busy working with her brand and appearing in recent campaigns, such as Hugo Boss, which starred other celebrities, including Gigi Hadid and new mom, Paris Hilton.

She also has two sons, who she shares with her former fiance Hermann Nicoli, Ariel, four, and Anaca, six.

The pair were together for 13 years before they broke off their engagement in 2018.

Gorgeous CEO: The South African native is the founder of her own eco-lifestyle brand called Tropic of C
Kerry Washington had the chance to reunite with her former schoolmate, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the star uploaded a few memorable photos of the duo on her Instagram page on Monday.

The Scandal alum, 46, flashed a cheerful smile as she caught up with the Oscar-winning actress, 50, on an episode of her popular Goop podcast.

The stars previously attended the same private all-girls school called the Spence School which is located in New York City, but were in separate grade levels.

In the caption of the short photo series, the Little Fires Everywhere actress excitedly penned, 'When Unprisoned press turns into a High School reunion,' and sweetly thanked Paltrow for having her as a guest on the podcast and added, 'Spence girls forever!'

In the first snap, Kerry, who has been busy promoting her upcoming Hulu series, Unprisoned, showed off her classy sense of style wearing a short-sleeved, dark navy blue dress.

Reunited! Kerry Washington, 46, had the chance to reunite with her former schoolmate, Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, and the star uploaded a few memorable photos of the duo on her Instagram page on Monday

The upper portion of the ensemble had two large pockets at the top, while a belt made of the same fabric and material was tied into a bow around her waist.

Her locks were swept up into a stylish up do, allowing her side bangs to gently fall onto the left side of her forehead.

To accessorize the look for the special day, the beauty added a pair of thin, dangly earrings along with a similar gold ring on her right hand.

Kerry opted for a bold makeup look, which comprised of a smoky shadow around her eyes, along with a peach-colored tint to her lips.

Gwyneth pulled off business chic wearing a black velvet blazer along with matching slacks.

Her blonde hair was parted in the middle, and effortlessly fell down straight past her shoulders. She accessorized the ensemble with an elegant, gold-chained necklace and was also seen sending a smile towards the camera.

In the second photo added into the post, Kerry's facial expression had changed to show excitement as she pointed a finger in the direction of the Iron Man actress.

Back in 2019, Washington made a guest appearance on the Goop podcast and the two stars reminisced on the past when they had attended the same school and also when they had first crossed paths.

Having a blast! In the second photo added into the post, Kerry's facial expression had changed to show excitement as she pointed a finger in the direction of the Iron Man actress

Throwback: Back in 2019, Washington made a guest appearance on the Goop podcast and the two stars reminisced on the past when they had attended the same school; the duo seen in 2019

Kerry had been in the eighth grade, about to become a freshman in high school, while Gwyneth was already a graduating senior when the two had first met.

'This is so surreal,' the Shakespeare In Love actress told Kerry during their 2019 interview, per E! News.

'I was in a singing group called 'Triple Trio'...We were holding auditions because a bunch of us were graduating, and in walks Kerry Washington,' she recalled.

'The most beautifulfirst of all, your face has not changed. No aging whatsoeverThis beautiful eighth grader comes in so confident. She opened her mouth and the most exquisite voice came out.'

Later in the podcast episode, Kerry had gushed that Paltrow had always been 'cool. By junior, senior yearabsolutely.'

During an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that same year, the Scandal alum also revealed that she had performed alongside Gwyneth for A Midsummer Night's Dream while attending NYC's Spence School.

After Ellen brought up the two actresses attending the same school, Kerry explained how they were in different grades at the time. 'In high school, a few years difference makes a big deal. So, Im not trying to say that shes older than me, but shes a little bit older than me.'

The beauty then added, 'She was a senior when I was in junior high school. Even back then, she was 'Gwyneth Paltrow,' she said, emphasizing the actress's name.

Crossing paths: 'I was in a singing group called 'Triple Trio'...We were holding auditions because a bunch of us were graduating, and in walks Kerry Washington,' Gwyneth recalled on the podcast in 2019

On stage together: During an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that same year, the Scandal alum also revealed that she had performed alongside Gwyneth for A Midsummer Night's Dream; seen March 5 in West Hollywood

'We actually did one play together because she was the queen, of course, in Midsummer Night's Dream, and I was one of the fairies. The middle schoolers were allowed to audition for the fairies,' she explained.

The Golden Globe-nominated actress concluded, 'So, we had one amazing show together.'

While reuniting with Gwyneth on Monday, Kerry has also been promoting her upcoming Hulu series titled, Unprisoned, which is set to premiere later this week on March 10.

Alongside Washington, other stars cast in the project include: Delroy Lindo, Marque Richardson, Jee Young Han, and Faly Rakotohavana.

The premise of the eight episode series follows, 'a therapist and single mom whose life is turned right-side-up when her dad gets out of prison and moves to her house to live with her and her teenage son,' according to an IMDB synopsis.

During a recent interview earlier this month with Variety, Kerry opened up about 'telling the story' of an individual who was incarcerated and then returning home.

'We tell a lot of stories about what its like to go in, what its like on the inside  but really excavating the journey of being a returning citizen, of trying to reenter into society is so important,' the actress explained. 'And telling the stories of what its like to love somebody whos a formerly incarcerated person is so important.'

'I think this familys such a great example because they are really trying to love each other and be the best they can and Im so inspired by the characters on the show.'

Upcoming project: Kerry has also been promoting her upcoming Hulu series titled, Unprisoned, which is set to premiere later this week on March 10; seen earlier this month in Hollywood
Sophie Monk likes to get a prawn on her fork.

And on Monday, the Love Island Australia host was enjoying a range of crustaceans as she lazed by the pool to celebrate National Prawn Day on March 18.

The 43-year-old proudly showed off her prawn cocktail served traditionally in a glass as she posed in a sweet white outfit.

Sophie paired a semi-sheer lace top with short-shorts in a similar fabric and decorated with a bow.

She wore her blonde locks down in waves and chose a warm makeup look with a pale pink matte lipstick.

Sophie Monk (pictured) likes to get a prawn on her fork. And on Monday, the Love Island Australia host was enjoying a range of crustaceans as she lazed by the pool to celebrate National Prawn Day

In further images, Sophie changed into a bright orange shift dress and held aloft a single prawn on the edge of her cutlery

The beauty completed her look with a pair of stacked wedge heels and had on her diamond engagement ring.

Sophie also tested out a bowl of prawns as she sat poolside, and got busy peeling the tasty critter.

In further images, Sophie changed into a bright orange shift dress and held aloft a single prawn on the edge of her cutlery.

'I'm as Aussie as a Tiger Prawn and I'm obsessed with how easy they are to whip up, even for a complete amateur in the kitchen like me,' she said.

'I bring out some in a bowl when hanging out with (husband) Josh and friends by the pool, or having a relaxing afternoon bevvy,' she went on.

The 43-year-old proudly showed off her prawn cocktail served traditionally in a glass as she posed in a sweet white outfit

Sophie also tested out a bowl of prawns as she sat poolside

'I'm as Aussie as a Tiger Prawn and I'm obsessed with how easy they are to whip up, even for a complete amateur in the kitchen like me,' she said

'And if I feel like something a bit more special for dinner, there are so many easy ways to add Aussie Tiger Prawns to any dish.

'Hands down one of my favourite things to eat.'

The event has been initiated by Tropic Co and Sophie has been enlisted as an ambassador.

'This National Prawn Day, get your mates over for a prawn feast, head to your local fishmonger or supermarket to grab fresh Tropic Co Tiger Prawns, or try my simple yummo Prawn Cocktail recipe all for yourself,' she added.

'So go on, slip an extra Tiger Prawn on the barbie. It'd be un-Australian not to! And as I tell my non-Aussie mates, its not a bloody shrimp, its a Tropic Co Tiger Prawn.'

Sophie is a married woman after she and Joshua Gross walked down the aisle.

The couple eloped at their home on the NSW Central Coast in March 2022, which came as a surprise to fans as they had not announced a wedding date.

The blonde stunner recently said she and robotics consultant Joshua, 41, were 'definitely trying' for children and undergoing IVF.

They first met on a flight from Europe to Australia in August 2018, and shared a kiss after enjoying 'three champagnes' in business class.

They grew closer when Joshua helped Sophie recover from endometriosis surgery. At about this time, she also started the process of freezing her eggs.
Anna Heinrich broke down in tears during her stint on SAS Australia last year, and now she's 'worried' how her husband Tim Robards will handle the brutal competition.

The Bachelor star, 36, who fell in love with her hubby on the matchmaking show, confessed to The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday SAS was 'way worse' than it looked.

She said her 40-year-old partner was more nervous about not doing as well as her, as she revealed she's concerned for his wellbeing on season four of the series.

'Once you are in that bubble, no one cares. You have got to give it your all. If you've hurt your finger or you've hurt your leg, they don't really care, you've got to either get out or push through,' Heinrich said.

'It is brutal. What you see on TV, it is way more brutal than what you see on there.'

Anna Heinrich, 36, (right) broke down in tears during her stint on SAS Australia last year, and now she's 'worried' how husband Tim Robards, 40, (left) will handle the brutal competition

Heinrich, who shares daughter Elle with Robards, competed in season three of SAS last year and found herself breaking down in tears on television.

A glamorous reality star known for her model looks and picture-perfect marriage, she was forced to share a dark secret while on the Channel Seven program.

She broke down under interrogation as she spoke of her battle with low self-esteem, telling the Directing Staff: 'I just don't feel like I'm ever good enough and I'm just ashamed of sometimes who I am.'

The Bachelor star who fell in love with her hubby on the matchmaking show, confessed to The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday SAS was 'way worse' than it looked. Pictured on the show last year

'Like, how I want to be better and not so negative and have more self-belief... and especially now that I've got a daughter,' she added.

'I want to make sure I can instill that in her.'

This year's season has a star-studded line-up including Craig McLachlan, Cassie Sainsbury, Lindy Klim, Peter Bol, Matthew Mitcham, Stephanie Rice, Zima Anderson, Boyd Cordner and Anthony Mundine.

Also in the 2023 intake are AFL commentator Abbey Holmes, Thai cave rescue hero Dr Craig Challen, AFL great Jason Akermanis and rugby player Mahalia Murphy.
Channel 4 comedy The Windsors is returning for a coronation special ahead of of King Charles' big day May 6.

The soap-opera inspired sitcom lampoons the famous family with Harry Enfield playing a power-hungry Charles and Haydn Gwynne as evil step mother Camilla.

The feature length episode will see the Monarch wanting an epic accession to the throne, only for Prince William (Hugh Skinner) to scale down proceedings in a bid to reflect the cost of living crisis.

The offical synopsis reads: 'Charles' whole life has been building up to this moment and he wants the U.K.'s first coronation in seventy years to be a spectacular affair with all the pomp and circumstance he deserves,'

'As does his Queen Consort Camilla, who can't wait to drape herself in diamonds and fur. Sadly, the U.K. is in the middle of a cost of living crisis and Wills thinks the coronation should reflect these more straitened times.'

Back for more: Channel 4 comedy The Windsors is returning for a coronation special ahead of of King Charles' big day May 6 (Haydn Gwynne as Camilla and Harry Enfield as King Charles)

Impersonating: The soap-opera inspired sitcom lampoons the famous family with Harry Enfield playing a power-hungry Charles and Haydn Gwynne as evil step mother Camilla

King: The feature length episode will see the Monarch wanting an epic accession to the throne, only for Prince William (Hugh Skinner) to scale down proceedings in a bid to reflect the cost of living crisis

Other returning characters include the Duchess of Cambridge Kate (Louise Ford), Princesses Beatrice (Ellie White) and Eugenie (Celeste Dring). As well as Charles' siblings Anne (Vicki Pepperdine) Edward (Matthew Cottle) and Kate's sister Pippa (Morgana Robinson).

Head of Channel 4 comedy Joe Hallait said: 'Any channel worth its salt has a landmark show with the word coronation in the title'

'For the BBC it was the world's first televised Coronation in 1953. For ITV it's the world's longest running soap 'Coronation Street.'

'We at Channel 4 are delighted to announce that we now have our own record-breaking Coronation jewel at the heart of our broadcasting crown: the funniest show on telly during a momentously historic week for Britain.'

The comedy spoof previously foresaw the Sussexes' move to America, a hear before the real life drama unfolded.

Its a seat-of-the-pants operation, writer Bert Tyler More said, who alongside George Jeffrie honed his craft on sketch shows such as Ruddy Hell! Its Harry & Paul and The Armstrong & Miller Show, and created Channel 4s spoof celebrity series, Star Stories.

Oddly, we predicted a move to America for Meghan and Harry so its almost like events are playing out exactly as we prophesied.

'We saw there was a feud brewing and that there was a bit of unhappiness there, so we thought that might be the upshot of it.

Gang back together again: Other returning characters include the Duchess of Cambridge Kate (Louise Ford), Princesses Beatrice (Ellie White) and Eugenie (Celeste Dring). As well as Charles' siblings Anne (Vicki Pepperdine) Edward (Matthew Cottle) and Kate's sister Pippa (Morgana Robinson)

The show began back in 2016 with the writing duo creating parodies of all the key members of the family  apart from the Queen and Prince Philip.

I think from the beginning everyone thought the Queens so loved and respected and doesnt do much wrong that it was best to steer clear, explains Bert.

Theres not much to take the mickey out of, whereas with the others theres plenty.

Series three follows on from the Harry and Meghan royal wedding special in 2018, and sees the couple adjusting to life as new parents with Harry trying to stick to Meghans clean-living ways.

Harry is now played by Tom Durant-Pritchard, who starred as Billy Wallace  briefly a fiance of Princess Margarets  in The Crown, while Kathryn Drysdale continues as Meghan, a role shes been playing since the show began.

When I first started playing her all we knew was that she was an actress from LA who had a lifestyle blog and loved her green juices, says Kathryn.

But since then there have been more public appearances so there was a lot more stuff for me to research.

Foreshadow:The comedy spoof previously foresaw the Sussexes' move to America, a hear before the real life drama unfolded (Kathryn Drysdale as Megan Markle and Tom Durant-Pritchard as Prince Harry pictured)

Kathryn has played Meghan since 2016, when she appeared as Prince Harry's new LA girlfriend. Pictured with Richard Goulding as Harry, and Morgana Robinson as Pippa Middleton, in an earlier series of The Windsors

'I noticed that her accent has muted a bit and thats obviously part of the job.

Because shes an American and Prince Harry, Princess Dianas son, found love with her after being single for so long, people are always going to find their narrative interesting whether they had stepped back as senior royals or not.

Nevertheless, there are elements of being a member of the Royal Family that Meghan seems to enjoy in the new episodes of The Windsors.

Shes using her position as a platform to speak out about the things she truly believes in and superfoods, especially avocados, are one of them, laughs Kathryn.

Shes got Harry off the booze and theyve just been to a wellness retreat where she integrated some of her yoga lifestyle into his.

'I dont know if she has a strong hold over Harry in real life, but certainly in the world of our Windsors she does.

Tom is relishing playing Harry too. Its such a fun role, he says. Harry is actually still succumbing to some of his old vices like booze, crisps and peanuts, all the things he loves, although hes trying not to.

Big day: The Coronation will take place on Saturday, May 6, at Westminster Abbey. It will be a bank holiday weekend, allowing Britons to celebrate on Monday, May 8 as well

Up in the air: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have confirmed they have been invited to the Kings Coronation  but have refused to say whether they will be attending

'Its a slightly different vibe to appearing in The Crown, but The Windsors isnt done in a way thats cruel.

'Everything is taken to a ridiculous level and I think thats why its so enjoyable. I think it would be a slightly awkward conversation, though, if I met Harry and he said he watched it.

Bert and George claim theyve heard the show has had a mixed reaction from the royals. William did a talk at Channel 4 and hed obviously watched it because he made reference to it, says George.

But it didnt seem like he was cross. Weve heard other people are very slightly cross about it, like Charles and Fergie. But its all hearsay.

Neither Bert nor George is a royalist, and they believe its vital that parodies of such institutions exist, whether you like them or not.

Things like The Crown can be quite reverential to the Royal Family, so its great to be able to take the mickey, says Bert.

Having said that, we try to make all our characters loveable. The trick is to win over both those who are fans of the Royal Family and those who arent. I think weve pulled that off.
Lady Victoria Hervey was the picture of elegance in a shimmering sequin dress as she enjoyed a night out at the Chiltern Firehouse on Monday.

The socialite, 46, stepped out in the floor-length gown embellished with an intricate gold and navy design as she hopped into a cab after hitting the town at the central London hotspot.

The ensemble had a touch of class as the sheer top of the dress emphasised the exquisite details of the floral pattern.

To accessorise, Victoria added a pop of colour with a bright fuchsia bag and gold heels.

She kept her jewellery simple and wore her blonde hair pinned back in a half-up, half-down style.

Elegant look: Lady Victoria Hervey was the picture of elegance in a shimmering sequin dress as she enjoyed a night out at the Chiltern Firehouse on Monday

Bright and cheerful: The socialite, 46, stepped out in the floor-length gown with an intricate gold and navy design as she hopped into a cab after hitting the town at the London hotspot

The socialite carried a navy jacket as she headed home after her night out.

Lady Victoria, 46, who briefly dated the now-disgraced Prince Andrew in 1999, last month claimed he has always been a source of 'jealousy' for King Charles.

In an interview with GB News she said Andrew has been very 'badly advised' in the past few years and Charles has been jealous of his 'successful military career'.

She said: 'I think Charles, as the older brother, has always been a bit jealous of him [Prince Andrew].

'He had a very successful military career for 20 years. I've heard that he's always been jealous of him.

'So as soon as the Queen has gone, the daggers are out.'

Victoria recently moved back to London from Los Angeles after living in the US for over two decades - and is living her life back in the capital to the full.

The model had sparked rumours of a return to the UK last year and has now decided the A-list packed city is 'not what it used to be'.

Glowing: The ensemble had a touch of class as the sheer top of the dress emphasised the exquisite details of the floral pattern
One could be forgiven for thinking an S Club party was kicking off as Jo O'Meara and Tina Barrett reunited for an appearance at a central London launch on Monday evening.

The pair were in attendance as luxury hair extensions brand Inanch unveiled a new collaboration with GHD Duet, but they were without their remaining five S Club 7 members as they let their hair down.

Pop star O'Meara. 43, and bandmate Barrett, 46, were enjoying a night out after confirming the pop group are reuniting for a special 25th anniversary tour.

Opting for a striped blouse and high-slung leather skirt, Barrett ensured she caught the eye while greeting onlookers with her bandmate, who stepped out in a smart black co-ord.

They were joined by former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins, with the three celebrity guests posing for obligatory photos shortly after making their way inside.

Don't stop movin': One could be forgiven for thinking an S Club party was kicking off as Jo O'Meara and Tina Barrett reunited for an appearance at a central London launch on Monday

Coming soon: All seven original members of S Club 7 - including Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens, Bradley McIntosh and Hannah Spearritt  will come together for an 11-date arena tour

In good company: The pair were joined by former EastEnders actress Michelle Collins as luxury hair extensions brand Inanch unveiled a new collaboration with GHD Duet

All seven original members of S Club 7 - including Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens, Bradley McIntosh and Hannah Spearritt  will come together for an 11-date arena tour across the UK and Ireland.

But the group have made it clear they don't have any current plans to release new music but added 'never say never'.

They appeared on BBC Radio 2 in February to discuss their upcoming plans with host Scott Mills.

O'Meara told listeners: 'We are just really concentrating on the tour at the moment, but I always say 'never say never' and if the fans want it and things go really well [then] very possibly.'

Confirming their return in an official statement, the band said: 'After eight years it feels amazing to announce that we're reuniting and performing together again.

Exciting times: O'Meara and bandmate Barrett were enjoying a night out after confirming the pop group are reuniting for a special 25th anniversary tour

Stylish: S Club 7 star O'Meara stepped out in a smart black co-ord on Monday evening, a look that appeared to be matched by fellow guest Collins

Don't mind me: But former soap star Collins was hard to miss as she posed for photos

Let's go: O'Meara shielded herself beneath an umbrella as she made her way home, while Collins threw on a full-length leather coat

She's pleased: The pop star appeared to be in high spirits - and with good reason

'We're so excited to bring the S Club Party back to our fans across the country to celebrate 25 years of S Club 7. We can't even believe it's been so long!

'Music and friendship have always been at the core of everything that we've ever done. We hope everyone can join us for one big party!'

The 25th anniversary tour is an opportunity for S Club 7 fans of every generation to come together and re-experience the timeless pop hits that soundtracked the British charts for five years.

Collectively, S Club 7 amassed four UK number one singles with 'Bring It All Back', 'Never Had a Dream Come True', 'Don't Stop Movin', and 'Have You Ever', as well as the UK number one album '7'.

They recorded 4 studio albums, released 11 singles that all entered the Top 5 UK charts, and went on to sell over 10 million albums worldwide.

Pop stars: S Club 7 have made it clear they don't have any current plans to release new music but added 'never say never'

Jo told BBC Radio 2 listeners: 'We are just really concentrating on the tour at the moment, but I always say 'never say never' and if the fans want it and things go really well [then] possibly'
Excited fans getting ready to attend an Ed Sheeran concert have been left shocked after a shirtless man was wrestled to the ground by police.

The man was handcuffed outside the Southern Plaza at Adelaide Oval in front of a bevy of fangirls just before 7pm on Tuesday night.

In dramatic footage of the altercation, the man is heard saying he did nothing wrong as up to six police officers escort him from the main gates.

A police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and was transported to hospital due to being intoxicated.

The man was handcuffed outside the Southern Plaza at Adelaide Oval in front of a bevy of fangirls just before 7pm on Tuesday night (pictured)

The man appeared to be bleeding from a cut on his elbow.

Ed Sheeran will perform in front of 60,000 fans at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night, exactly five years ago to the date when he last played the venue in 2018.

The British pop icon wore a yellow hoodie as he touched down in Adelaide and posed with fans who crowded for pictures at the airport.

The 32-year-old visited the Women's and Children's Hospital for a surprise show for patients and his family, featuring just his voice and guitar, The Advertiser reports.

He told reporters it was a powerful gift to be able to makes someone smile.

The British pop icon wore a yellow hoodie as he touched down in Adelaide and posed with fans who crowded for pictures at the airport (pictured)

Ed Sheeran will perform in front of 60,000 fans at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night, exactly five years ago to the date when he last played the venue in 2018 (he is pictured at his Sydney show)

'Who am I to say that I shouldn't be using that every single day,' he said.

'I was speaking to my wife about it, it's like, if you have the ability to do that, it should be utilised because you're given that for a reason.

'It's not just to benefit me, to have a lovely time doing these shows  I just hope it does make people happy.'

The much-loved musician has already played shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, where he wrapped himself in a pride flag.

He will wrap-up his Australia tour in Perth on Sunday, March 12.
Rumer Willis looked incredible as she displayed her growing baby bump while relaxing by the pool during an outing in Los Angeles on Monday.

The actress, 34, made the most of the spring sunshine as she slipped into a tan bikini that highlighted her blossoming bump.

The TV personality, who is the daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, also wore an open white shirt as she kicked back and relaxed on a deck chair.

Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Rumer added to her look with a pair of chunky white sunglasses.

Looking in good spirits on the outing, the star, who is expecting her child with boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas, cradled her bump as she reclined by the pool.

Glowing: Rumer Willis looked incredible as she displayed her growing baby bump while relaxing by the pool during an outing in Los Angeles on Monday

Radiant: The actress, 34, made the most of the spring sunshine as she slipped into a tan bikini that highlighted her blossoming bump

Rumer revealed her pregnancy by sharing a snap of Derek kissing her baby bump to Instagram in December.

Since then, the Hostage star has kept her followers updated with bump snaps as well as how she's been taking care of herself.

The couple's baby will be the first grandchild for Rumer's parents Bruce, 67, and Demi, 60.

Rumer and Derek went public with their romance last spring and she recently admitted that she has 'never been so happy in my life.'

On Valentine's Day she thanked the hunk for 'making me a mama, and being my partner in this wild ride into parenthood.'

She said that he takes 'such good care of me and our little one already' and that they are 'so lucky to love you.'

Her loving sentiment to Derek came just days before the heartbreaking news that her father Bruce's dementia had progressed.

His family revealed he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Mother to be: Rumer is expecting her child with boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas

Looking good: The actress also donned an open white shirt as she relaxed by the pool

Stunning: Rumer looked on cloud nine as she enjoyed some rest and relaxation by the pool

The diagnosis comes less than one year after he retired from acting due to his battle with brain disorder, aphasia.

The Sixth Sense star withdrew from acting last year as he began his fight with the illness that caused his language abilities to deteriorate.

Now, his condition has 'progressed' according to a joint statement from his family.

FTD affects the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, which deal with behaviour, problem-solving, planning and emotions.

Symptoms include personality changes, obsessive behaviour and difficulties with speaking.

The statement was from his wife Emma Heming, ex-wife Demi and five daughters and posted on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration's website.

Family: Rumer is the eldest daughter of Hollywood stars Bruce Willis and Demi Moore

Announcement: Rumer revealed her pregnancy by sharing a snap of Derek kissing her baby bump to Instagram in December

Relationship: Rumer and Derek went public with their romance last spring and she recently admitted that she has 'never been so happy in my life'

It read: 'Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce's original diagnosis.

The statement continued: 'In the spirit of that, we wanted to give you an update about our beloved husband, father and friend since we now have a deeper understanding of what he is experiencing.

'Since we announced Bruce's diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce's condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD).

'Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.

'FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know.'
Ed Sheeran took time out of his busy touring schedule to treat children at an Adelaide hospital to an intimate gig.

The British superstar stopped into the Women's and Children's Hospital on Tuesday and brought his guitar.

A delighted group of patients, their families and staff gathered around for an acoustic set with the 32-year-old.

He also hopped into a number of selfies with his eager fans during the visit, and was gifted handmade cards and bracelets from the patients.

Ed told Adelaide Now that he 'genuinely found a lot of enjoyment' from visiting the sick children.

Ed Sheeran (pictured) took time out of his busy touring schedule to treat children at an Adelaide hospital to an intimate gig

The British superstar stopped into the Women's and Children's Hospital on Tuesday and brought his guitar

'I've done it since the beginning of my career and I feel like it's a really powerful gift to be able to come in and make someone smile,' he said.

'Who am I to say that I shouldn't be using that every single day. I was speaking to my wife about it, it's like, if you have the ability to do that, it should be utilised because you're given that for a reason,' Ed added.

'It's not just to benefit me, to have a lovely time doing these shows. I just hope it does make people happy.'

In February, Ed also stopped in to surprise sick kids at Sydney Children's Hospital Randwick.

A delighted group of patients, their families and staff gathered around for an acoustic set with the 32-year-old

He also hopped into a number of selfies with his eager fans during the visit, and was gifted handmade cards and bracelets from the patients

The Shape Of You hitmaker was spotted outside the Sydney hospital before he brought his Mathematics tour to the city's Accor Stadium that night.

His crew - who were all wearing masks - were also with him as one carried his guitar before the impromptu performance.

He has made it a habit to give back to his young fans while touring Down Under, as he also surprised kids at Queensland Children's Hospital the prior weekend.

During the Queensland hospital visit, a teenage girl had all her dreams come true as she got to sing alongside the popstar.

Keasine Latu - who thankfully is now cancer free - was lucky enough to not only meet her idol and hear some of his biggest hits, but she shared a special moment with him as they performed a duet.

Ed told Adelaide Now that he 'genuinely found a lot of enjoyment' from visiting the sick children

She told the Today Show on Channel 9 that she was 'so nervous' but it was the best experience of her life.

'I was put on the spot, the cameraman told him I could sing and it was in front of everyone so I just started singing,' she told the programme.

'It was the best thing I experienced my entire life, meeting Ed Sheeran was amazing.'

A hospital staff member said Ed seemed to 'really want to be there' as he chatted with patients before and after the stripped-back performance.

'He really sat down, got chatting to the kids, finding out where they were from, their stories, which was really lovely,' they said.
Hollyoaks have confirmed the full details of Juliet and Peri's upcoming trip to Brighton, where they are joined by RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard.

The pair, who recently rekindled their romance, head to the seaside town as Juliet is determined to distract her girlfriend as she awaits the results of Juliet's PET scan amid her ongoing cancer treatment.

The character was inspired to organise the trip after Juliet showed a surprise interest in Ste and James' wedding plans before opening up about her difficult childhood and her desire to visit the seaside.

Not having the money herself, she turns to James to help fund the trip, but James is initially worried about the health risks for his sister. However, Ste soon convinces him to help.

As they arrive at their hotel with its deluxe suite and stunning views, Juliet (Niamh Blackshaw) is astounded by the effort Peri (Ruby O'Donnell) has put in.

What a trip: Hollyoaks have confirmed the full details of Juliet and Peri's upcoming trip to Brighton , where they are joined by RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard

And soon the pair are having the time of their lives as they enjoy the seaside - winning prizes at the arcade before enjoying a romantic moment on the beach.

However as they later party the night away, Peri is shocked as she discovers all of their belongings have gone missing, with the pair worried about how they'll get back to Chester.

With the girls needing a miracle, their fairy drag mother, Ru Pauls Drag Race winner Danny Beard, arrives to save the day.

The following morning, with all three battling fierce hangovers, they all pile into Danny's drag wagon and begin the journey back to Chester.

Peri and Danny vow to make the journey home as memorable as possible in a bid to keep Juliet's mind off her incoming test results.

However, they suffer an unfortunate set-back as during Danny's livestream, an offensive comments leaves Juliet crushed.

But some kind words of wisdom from Danny and a special makeover soon lifts her spirits.

Later back in the village, Peri breaks down to Nadira at the hospital as she confides her fears.

Fun: The pair, who recently rekindled their romance, head to the seaside town as Juliet is determined to distract her girlfriend as she awaits the results of Juliet's PET scan amid her ongoing cancer treatment

Will Juliet get the results she's hoping for?

Speaking about his part in the Channel 4 soap, Danny said: 'Its been really fun, and all the crew here are so lovely and happy.

'I cant wait to share it with you all. Its ridiculous, in the best Hollyoaks way possible.'

Here she is! With the girls needing a miracle, their fairy drag mother, Ru Pauls Drag Race winner Danny Beard, arrives to save the day

Meanwhile, actress Niamh Blackshaw told Digital Spy of Juliet's storyline: 'It's going to be an emotional year, and I believe it will be a central story [in 2023]. It's going to be a long road and a tough journey and that's about all I can say.

'I know the fundamental journey, I just don't know how we are getting there. It is definitely something I am being told during the process, which adds to the reality in a way.'

Hollyoaks airs Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, and first look episodes at 7pm on E4.
Laura Anderson showed off her blossoming baby bump in a tight-fitted khaki bodysuit as she made her exit after recording a podcast for Love Island on Tuesday.

The Love Island star, 33, is currently expecting her first child with actor Gary Lucy, 41, after first meeting on Celebs Go Dating.

Making an appearance in the early hours of the morning, Laura wrapped up in a white fur coat as she hit the town.

The reality TV personality appeared in good spirits, after recently recently revealing she knows the gender of her unborn baby and has chosen a name.

Laura paired her look with white jeans and brown boots as she made her way to work.

Blossoming! Laura Anderson showed off her blossoming baby bump in a tight-fitted khaki bodysuit as she made her exit after recording a podcast for Love Island on Tuesday

She tied her blonde locks back behind a black hairband and let her straight hair cascade past her shoulders.

Laura was also joined by newly dumped islanders Claudia Fogarty and Keanan Brand.

The pair walked side by side as they made their way inside.

Claudia put on a stylish display in a grey oversized blazer and black trousers.

She added a white top underneath and trendy white trainers.

The beauty accessorised with a chic black bag and left her blonde tresses wavy.

Also present was Love Island super-fan Sam Thompson who cosied up to former Love Islander his his podcast co-host Indiyah Polack.

Laura's appearance comes after she confirmed she knows the gender of her baby and has already chosen a name.

She admitted they aren't ready to reveal the news publicly quite yet, and will share in 'due course'.

Speaking to Goss.ie, Laura said: 'I know what I'm having and I have a name.

'I will share in due course I've already done a small [gender reveal party], but I've not shared it publicly yet. But I will soon.'

Laura's appearance comes after she took a swipe at society's gender norms on Friday as she let out her frustration via Instagram Stories.

Expecting: The Love Island star, 33, is currently expecting her first child with actor Gary Lucy , 41, after first meeting on Celebs Go Dating

Cosy: Making an appearance in the early hours of the morning, Laura wrapped up in a white fur coat as she hit the town

Good spirits: The reality TV personality appeared in good spirits, after recently recently revealing she knows the gender of her unborn baby and has chosen a name

The beauty questioned why women are treated differently than men are when they say they'd like children.

Claiming that females are branded 'desperate' and 'needy' when they want children, she compared this to the 'loving' and 'caring' label that men are given when they say the same thing.

Currently expecting her first child with actor Gary, the reality star has been documenting the pregnancy by sharing updates with her 1.5M followers.

She and the Hollyoaks star, who met while filming Celebs Go Dating last year, are no longer together and have been posting a string of cryptic remarks via their respective social media accounts.

Sharing her thoughts over a selfie while on the train to a hair appointment, Laura wrote: 'I've just been thinking.

'Why is it in society that when a man says he wants children he's seen as brave, courageous, loving. But when women say they want children they're seen as desperate, needy, users.'

Despite not revealing where the gender difference had come from, and whether it was to do with herself and ex Gary - Laura has recently hinted to fans that she and her ex are not on good terms.

Last week, she shared a video talking about the signs to look out for in a covert narcissist.

Seemingly throwing shade at Gary, she wrote: 'I'm really healing through educating myself on this personality disorder an reading all your dms of your experiences.

'If someone lies about you, tell the truth about them or better yet choose peace and run.'

The star, who met Gary on Celebs Go Dating, announced she was pregnant with his child earlier this month, and it was later revealed the pair had split.

It comes after Laura shut down any suggestion of her reconciling with Gary in an Instagram Q&A.

When a curious fan asked her: 'Is there any chance that you and Gary can get back together?'.

Laura simply replied: 'No' before saying she 'hopes once baby is here' that she and the Hollyoaks actor can co-parent successfully.

The pair appeared to take aim at each other in cryptic Instagram posts after Gary said that part of the reason the pair split was down to location.

Laura reportedly wanted him to move to Scotland, but he said he wanted to stay in Essex to be with his four children.

Laura told told her 1.5 million followers: 'I had no intention to comment on the breakdown of my relationship with Gary.

'However, due to what has now been publicly shared by other parties, I have been left with no other choice.

Joining the show! Laura was also joined by newly dumped islanders Claudia Fogarty and Keanan Brand

Close: The pair walked side by side as they made their way out of the recording

Co-hosts: Also present was Love Island super-fan Sam Thompson who cosied up to former Love Islander his his podcast co-host Indiyah Polack

'Gary and I are no longer together due to multiple reasons which will remain private. Our plan was for me to move to Essex to start our family which I was more than happy to do.

'However, since the breakdown of our relationship I have remained at home in Scotland. My priority is bringing my baby up in a calm and stable environment.

The Scottish reality star added: 'I never asked or expected Gary to move to Scotland. I fully support him living in Essex to be close to his four amazing children.

'I am fully focused on having a healthy, happy pregnancy and remain excited to share this incredible journey with you all. Thank you so much for you support! Laura, Buddy & Bump.'
Sisters Sofia and Nicola Richie oozed sophistication as they were spotted heading to Chanel's show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday.

The stylish duo were decked out head-to-toe in the luxury label and shielded their eyes behind shades as they exited their swanky hotel.

Model Sofia, 24, put on a very leggy display in a blue plaid mini dress which featured a black belt at her svelte waist that boasted the brands famous logo.

She slipped her feet into black patent heels and completed the look with quirky sparkly socks.

The stunner opted for a natural make-up look and let her high-lighted tresses tumble past her shoulders.

Chic: Sisters Sofia, 24 (left) and Nicola Richie, 41 (right) oozed sophistication as they were spotted heading to Chanel's show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday

Style: The stylish duo were decked out head-to-toe in the luxury label and shielded their eyes behind shades as they exited their swanky hotel

Leggy lady: Model Sofia put on a very leggy display in a blue plaid mini dress which featured a black belt at her svelte waist that boasted the brands famous logo

Sensational: Meanwhile Nicole (right) opted for a tweed jumpsuit which she teamed with a matching blazer over her shoulders

Meanwhile Nicole, 41, opted for a tweed jumpsuit which she teamed with a matching blazer over her shoulders.

The enemble boasted large silver buttons and she carried the colour story into her accessories and toted a matching handbag.

Nicole wore her blonde locks in loose curls and sported a glamorous make-up palette with classic pillar box red lip.

Strutting her stuff in towering black heels she completed the look with oversized black sunglasses.

It comes days Sofia and her fiance Elliot Grainge, 29, were spotted enjoying a date night at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica.

The now-engaged couple were friends for several years before they began their romance in 2021.

Prior to that, the social media personality was in a high-profile relationship with Scott Disick that kicked off in 2017.

The two maintained an on-again-off-again romance for several years before they officially went their separate ways in 2020.

Richie eventually began seeing Grainge, who made his first appearance on her Instagram account in March 2021.

Stunning: Sofia later took to Instagram as she showed off the look in more detail

Style: She posed up a storm in her swanky hotel room with incredible vires of the city

Gorgeous: The enemble boasted large silver buttons and she carried the colour story into her accessories and toted a matching handbag

The future Mrs. Grainge: Sofia is engaged to music executive Elliot Grainge, who was a family friend for years before they became an item

The pair was then spotted on various public outings over the next several months, and Sofia first spoke publicly on the romance that November.

Grainge popped the question during a Hawaiian getaway last April.

Richie's bridal shower was held earlier this month, and she documented the celebration on Instagram.

A source told Us Weekly last summer that the star 'couldn't be happier that she found The One.'

The insider also remarked that the social media personality was 'taking the time to enjoy being engaged and traveling the world with Elliot.'

The person went on to state that Richie's loved ones all approve of Elliot: 'Her friends and family adore Elliot and think he's the perfect match for her. Everyone's just excited for her!'
BRIAN VINER: It seemed to me that the last thing cinema needs now is a new franchise - which this film is intended to launch - inspired by a fantasy game. Yet it soon won me over.
Gillian Anderson, who plays Emily Maitlis in a forthcoming Netflix film about her infamous interview with Prince Andrew, had a chance to grill the former Newsnight star when they bumped into each other at a charity event on Monday.

And Richard Eden reported that neither was giving too much away, judging by the crossed-arms postures they adopted at the Turn The Tables lunch in aid of Cancer Research at Bafta in Piccadilly, London.

The X-Files star, 54, wore black trousers, with a camel-coloured jumper over a cream blouse.

Maitlis, 52, sported a pair of thigh-skimming suede boots with a smart cream mini suit. She carried a black handbag in her hand.

Last month, Gillian was filmed jogging in Hyde Park as she portrayed Ms Maitlis, a keen runner, for the Netflix production Scoop.

Fancy seeing you here! Gillian Anderson crossed her arms as she bumped into Emily - who she's playing - in Netflix film about THAT interview with Prince Andrew - as they attended the Turn The Tables lunch in aid of Cancer Research at Bafta in Piccadilly, London on Monday

Something to say: Anderson (right) got the opportunity to quiz Maitlis, whom she will portray in an upcoming movie about Prince Andrew's disastrous interview on Newsnight

Ms Anderson was dressed in navy leggings, a zip-up jacket and scarf, and even Asics trainers similar to those Ms Maitlis wears.

The scenes were some of the first to be shot for the movie telling the story of how producer Sam McAlister secured the 2019 interview in which Andrew said he was at Pizza Express in Woking on the night he was alleged to have had sex with the teenage Virginia Roberts  claims he vehemently denies.

Rufus Sewell will play Prince Andrew, with Billie Piper co-starring as Ms McAlister.

The film, which is due to be released next year, is based on Ms McAlister's book, Scoops: Behind The Scenes Of The BBC's Most Shocking Interviews, which was published last year.

However, the pictures are likely to irk Ms Maitlis, who is currently working on her own rival TV series.

She has reportedly signed a deal with Blueprint Pictures to produce a drama about the events leading up to the interview, as well as its aftermath.

Although it was Ms McAlister who persuaded Prince Andrew to be interviewed, Ms Maitlis and former Newsnight editor Esme Wren publicly claimed that they had secured the exclusive in an interview with Radio Times magazine.

Ms McAlister has now left the BBC, where some of her former colleagues are said to be angry that she revealed the truth about how the interview came about.
Penelope Cruz was the epitome of chic as she arrived at Chanel's Womenswear fall / winter show at the Grand Palais Ephemere during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday.

The actress, 48, turned heads in a feathered mini-dress as she joined Zoe Saldana, who turned heads in a daringly plunging jumpsuit, at the star-studded event.

The Spanish star teased a hint of cleavage in the plunging tweed frock that boasted colourful feathers and was also belted at her svelte waist.

Flaunting her gorgeous legs she completed the look with black heels and toted her essentials in a matching bag.

The Volver actress accentuated her gorgeous features with a radiant make-up palette and let her high-lighted tresses cascade to her shoulders.

Style: Penelope Cruz, 48 (left) was the epitome of chic as she arrived at Chanel's show alongside Zoe Saldana, 44 (right) at the Grand Palais Ephemere during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday

Leggy! Penelope put on a very leggy display in a feathered mini-dress

The Volver actress accentuated her gorgeous features with a radiant make-up palette and let her high-lighted tresses cascade to her shoulders

Sensational: Flaunting her gorgeous legs she completed the look with black heels and toted her essentials in a matching bag

Famous friends: Penelope (right) grabed a snap with French film actress Elsa Zylberstein (left)

FROW: (L-R) Charlotte Casiraghi and Penelope Cruz

Wow: Meanwhile Guardian's Of the Galaxy's Zoe flaunted her figure in the perfectly tailored jumpsuit

Chic: She completed the look with a red tweet coat and accessorised with a selection of gold jewellery

Beauty: Sporting a radiant palette of make-up Zoe wore her long brunette locks in loose curls for the star-studded event

Meanwhile Guardian's Of the Galaxy star Zoe, 43, opted for a jumpsuit which featured the brand's logo on it's silver buttons.

Boasting a plunging neckline the outfit was perfectly tailored and and hugged ever inch of her sensational figure.

She completed the look with a red tweet coat and accessorised with a selection of gold jewellery.

Sporting a radiant palette of make-up Zoe wore her long brunette locks in loose curls for the star-studded event.

British songstress FKA twigs, 35, commanded attention as she took to the red carpet in a quirky ensemble.

The star flashed her toned legs in a tiny knitted mini-dress and layered the look with a colourful coat.

Accessorising the ensemble with a selection of jewellery she also sported wooden beads in her hair.

Elsewhere Sisters Sofia and Nicola Richie oozed sophistication as they were spotted heading to the show.

Chic: Sisters Sofia, 24 (left) and Nicola Richie, 41 (right) oozed sophistication as they were spotted heading to show

Leggy lady: Model Sofia put on a very leggy display in a blue plaid mini dress which featured a black belt at her svelte waist that boasted the brands famous logo

Sensational: Meanwhile Nicole (right) opted for a tweed jumpsuit which she teamed with a matching blazer over her shoulders

Gorgeous: The enemble boasted large silver buttons and she carried the colour story into her accessories and toted a matching handbag

Quirky with a capitol Q: British songstress FKA twigs, 35, commanded attention as she took to the red carpet in a quirky ensemble

Beaded: Accessorising the ensemble with a selection of jewellery she also sported wooden beads in her hair

Music stars: (L-R) Fka Twigs and Patti Smith

Beautiful in Blue: Former Glee actress Dianna Agron looked nothing short of sensational in a blue plunging dress and tweed coat

Beaming: She wore her gorgeous blonde locks in loose curls

Hello! The blonde beauty beamed as she arrived at the star-studded event

Animal print: Singer Gabriella Wilson aka H.E.R looked stylish in a green animal print co-ord

Radiant: She sported a radiant palette of make-up for the swanky show

Cool as a cucumber: Oozing confidence she slipped on a pair of shades as she posed up a storm before taking her seat

Super chic: Vogue's Anna Wintour looked chic in a dark Chanel suit

Hot stuff! French Film actress Elsa Zylberstein looked incredible in a navy sequinned bomber jacket which she teamed with studded velvet trousers

Perfection: She carried the look's embellishments into her accessorises and toted a bejewelled shoulder bag

Etherial: Actress Ines de la Fressange was a vision in white

Preppy: Actress Alma Jodorowsky looked gorgeous in a printed tank top and wide-legged trousers

City of Lights: Model Charlotte Casiraghi excused Parisian chic in a black frock and long tweet coat

Twins: Musical duop Amiaya sported their trademark pink bobs for the event

The stylish duo were decked out head-to-toe in the luxury label and shielded their eyes behind shades as they exited their swanky hotel.

Model Sofia, 24, put on a very leggy display in a blue plaid mini dress which featured a black belt at her svelte waist that boasted the brands famous logo.

She slipped her feet into black patent heels and completed the look with quirky sparkly socks.

Pins: Nico Parker (left) and Sophie Wilde (right) both showed off their long elegant legs in mini-dresses

Statuesque: Model Iman Perez showcased her incredible physique in a red figure-hugging gown

The stunner opted for a natural make-up look and let her high-lighted tresses tumble past her shoulders.

Meanwhile Nicole, 41, opted for a tweed jumpsuit which she teamed with a matching blazer over her shoulders.

The enemble boasted large silver buttons and she carried the colour story into her accessories and toted a matching handbag.

Nicole wore her blonde locks in loose curls and sported a glamorous make-up palette with classic pillar box red lip.

Strutting her stuff in towering black heels she completed the look with oversized black sunglasses.

Nice in navy: Ines de la Fressange looked stylish in an all navy looked

Leather: Songstress FousheA turned heads in a leather polka dot mini dress which she wore with opera gloves

Pose: Lisa-Kainda Diaz (left) and Naomi Diaz (right) posed for the cameras

Incredible! The show's set featured a large red rose as it's centrepiece

Catwalk: The show featured a whole host of incredible looks including use of the brand's famous tweed

It comes after Penelope said she had changed her approach to acting since welcoming two children - son Leonardo, 11; and daughter Luna, nine, with her husband of 12 years, Oscar winner Javier Bardem.

Speaking to Spanish Vogue, the star said: 'Your life is greatly altered by becoming a mother, much more than with any type of project.'

She added: 'I used to think that the more I suffered, the better the performance was going to be,'

'But once I had my kids, I decided to work more with my imagination and less by forcing anything from my real life. In my 20s or in my 30s, before I was a mother, I would force a little bit my personal traumatic experiences.

'Now, I feel like that doesn't necessarily make the result better - but it does make your life more healthy to separate fiction and reality.'
Florence Pugh cut a casual figure as she returned to London from Paris Fashion Week with a 2k Valentino handbag draped over her shoulder.

The Don't Worry Darling actress, 27, sported a laid-back but fashionable ensemble including a leather jacket layered over a simple white top on Tuesday.

She teamed her otherwise relaxed look with a Valentino La Troisieme Toile Iconographie shopping bag worth 1,850 as she walked through King's Cross St Pancras station.

Her chic monochrome attire, complete with chunky black platform heels and sunglasses, made a stark contrast to her daring display over the weekend.

On Sunday Florence flashed her underwear in a shimmering display in Valentino's show at Paris Fashion Week.

Casual look: Florence Pugh, 27, wore a leather jacket and trousers as she arrived back at King's Cross St Pancras on Tuesday after going to Paris for Fashion Week

High fashion! The actress carried a Valentino La Troisieme Toile Iconographie shopping bag worth 1,850 draped over her shoulder

The Oxford-born star had donned a long sheer white skirt with a long slit adorned with diamonds.

She carried a sparkling diamond Valentino handbag - and has now proudly continued her loyalty to the brand arriving back in the UK.

During the event, Florence was captured posing and chatting with Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, Guan Xiaotong, Simona Caggia as well as her mother Deborah Mackin.

Also in attendance were Brooklyn Beckham, his wife Nicola Peltz, and Emma Roberts.

Last month, Florence was pictured for the first time with her new beau, author and blogger Charlie Gooch as the couple enjoyed an alfresco lunch at a pub in London on Valentine's Day.

The new couple put on a loved-up display during the outing as they hugged, laughed and held hands down the street.

Page Six reports the couple may know each other from back when they went to school together - it has been reported that they went to school in Oxford together but this has not been confirmed.

In August last year, Florence announced she and her boyfriend Zach Braff, 47, had split up after three years together.

The 21-year age gap between the pair drew attention during their three-year courtship, despite their efforts to remain largely out of the public eye.

Jaw-dropping: Florence dazzled as she showed off her underwear in a beautiful sheer skirt during Paris Fashion Week on Sunday

Travelling: Florence continued to show her loyalty for Valentino after the show in Paris after a shopping spree at the high fashion store
Sarah Harris has weighed in on Paris Hilton's 2004 sex tape.

Speaking on Tuesday's episode of The Project, the host expressed disgust at the way the video was released without the heiress's consent.

'You know, what happened to Paris Hilton all those years by today's definition would be revenge porn,' she said.

'She made this tape with her partner and he released it without her consent.

'In fact, he released it despite her pleas not to have it released, that's disgusting, and I think the way we view consent these days has changed - for the better.'

Sarah Harris has weighed in on Paris Hilton's 2004 sex tape. Speaking on Tuesday's episode of The Project, the host expressed disgust at the way the video was released without the heiress's consent. Paris is pictured

Paris has discussed her regrets over her sex tape which was leaked in the early 2000s, made with her ex, Rick Salomon, when she was just aged 19.

Talking about it in her upcoming book Paris: The Memoir, (out March 14), she said her ex, who she doesn't name, but refers to by his nickname 'Scum,' made her feel 'pressured' into doing it.

In an excerpt which appears in The Times, Paris, 42, said: 'I dont remember that much about the night he wanted to make a videotape while we made love.

'He had often said it was something he did with other women, but I felt weird and uncomfortable about it. I always told him, "I cant. Its too embarrassing".'

'You know, what happened to Paris Hilton all those years by today's definition would be revenge porn,' said Sarah to Liz Ellis (right)

'In fact, he released it despite her pleas not to have it released, that's disgusting, and I think the way we view consent these days has changed - for the better'

She added: 'He told me if I wouldnt do it, he could easily find someone who would, and that was the worst thing I could think of  to be dumped by this grown man because I was a stupid kid who didnt know how to play grown-up games.'

Paris also admitted that she drank alcohol and took Quaaludes prior to the making of the tape.

But she was horrorstruck when a 37-second clip of the video began circulating online years later.

Paris has said she begged 'Scum' not to release the full version of the tape but he said he had every right to sell something that belonged to him.

Saying she believed her 'life was over,' Paris said she felt as though her 'self-worth' was in ruins.

And while her family were devastated by the tape, Paris said that if she had chosen to sell the tape, she would have owned it but the decision was taken out of her hands.
Kylie Minogue oozed sophistication as she arrived at the Miu Miu show at Palais d'Iena during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday.

The pop icon, 54, looked ageless in a black velvet mini-dress that boasted sweet button and bow detailing.

She completed the look with a matching jacket complete with lace trim that she wore loosely over her shoulders.

Kylie accentuated her gorgeous features with a light dusting of make-up and wore her blonde tresses in loose waves.

The stunner strutted her stuff in towering heels as she toted her essentials in a chic cream woven bag.

Stunning: Kylie Minogue, 54, oozed sophistication as she arrived at the Miu Miu show at Palais d'Iena during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday

Leggy lady: The pop icon looked ageless in a black velvet mini-dress that boasted sweet button and bow detailing

What a look! She completed the look with a matching jacket complete with lace trim that she wore loosely over her shoulders

Actress Kylie beamed for the cameras and posed confidently before heading inside to take her seat in the front row.

It comes after it was reported the Neighbours icon along with former co-star Jason Donovan are planning a small screen reunion.

The Aussie stars are reuniting for a special episode of hit BBC sitcom Ghosts as part of this year's Comic Relief fundraiser.

37 years after they first starred together as Charlene and Scott on Neighbours, the two will take on new roles in the one-off special of Ghosts.

The pair, who once dated in real life, have already shot the episode, according to The Sun, with the show set to air during the night of fundraising on Friday March 17.

The episode of Ghosts, which portrays a group of spirits haunting a country house, will reportedly include nods to their famous pop career, including their iconic 1988 duet Especially For You.

A TV insider told The Sun: 'Getting Kylie and Jason back together is a real coup and the results are hilarious.

'The episode is really tongue in cheek and they crack gags about their history and music.

Natural beauty: Kylie accentuated her gorgeous features with a light dusting of make-up and wore her blonde tresses in loose waves

Sensational: The stunner strutted her stuff in towering heels as she toted her essentials in a chic cream woven bag

Fashion: The dress was perfectly tailored and fitted her like a glove

Arrival: Actress Kylie beamed for the cameras and posed confidently before heading inside to take her seat in the front row

All smiles: Kylie was seen smiling as she sat on the front row at the event, holding her white Miu Miu handbag

In style: She wore a pair of white hoop earrings to match the same colour in the outfit she wore to the show

Heading home: Kylie flashed a smile as she made her way out of the venue after the show in France

Keeping it casual: Australian singer Kylie appeared relaxed as she casually placed her hand in her pocket

'It was all kept hush-hush on set to keep the secret that they were both reuniting for the show.'

Kylie and Jason appeared on screen together last year in what was thought to be the final episode of Neighbours.

The famous pair reprised their roles for a brief cameo in the last episode of the soap, which has since been renewed for a new run starting later this year.

Kylie quit Neighbours in June 1988, having become the first person to win four Logie Awards in one year and the youngest ever recipient of a Gold Logie.

She went on to launch a phenomenally successful music career, selling more than 80 million albums worldwide.

Now we're back together: Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan are planning a small screen reunion as part of this year's Comic Relief fundraiser (pictured together in last year's Neighbours)

A step back in time: 37 years after thy first starred together as Charlene and Scott on Neighbours, the two will take on new roles in the one-off special of Ghosts

Popular show: The episode of Ghosts, which portrays a group of spirits haunting a country house, will reportedly include nods to their famous pop career (Pictured - Ghosts stars Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe)

After leaving Neighbours in 1989, Jason, like Kylie, pursued a pop career and while he may not have been as successful as his on-screen bride, he had a string of hits including Too Many Broken Hearts and Sealed With A Kiss.

Off screen, the couple dated from 1986 to 1989.

They were so popular at this time, they even recorded the Christmas Number 1 single Especially For You.

Jason told the Mirror in 2016: 'It was an extremely painful parting of the ways and, without a doubt, I took a long time to recover from it. Years, definitely.'

Kylie then dated the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence. She is now in a romance with British GQ's Creative Director Paul Solomons and Jason is married to Angela Malloch.

Comic Relief airs on BBC on March 17.
Paris Hilton has revealed that during her teenage wild child phase, she tried unsuccessfully to sneak Khloe Kardashian, 38, into a bar.

The Kardashian sisters are family friends with Paris, who shot to reality TV stardom in the 2000s a few years before they did.

In a new excerpt of her upcoming memoir published in the Times, Paris, 42, dished: 'One night I tried to smuggle my sister Nicky, our cousin Farrah, and our friend Khloe Kardashian into Bar One.'

She added: 'Khloe and Farrah were little middle school girls, so I did Khloe up with full makeup, a long red wig, and a floppy black hat.'

Khloe is about three years younger than Paris, who therefore would presumably have been in high school when the Bar One misadventure took place.

Trio: Paris Hilton revealed that during her teenage wild child phase, she tried unsuccessfully to sneak Khloe Kardashian into a bar; Paris and her sister Nicky are pictured with Khloe in 2016

Throwback: Years after her failed attempt to get Khloe into Bar One, Paris, having become a major star, hired Kim Kardashian as an assistant; Paris and Kim are pictured in 2007

In order to try and smuggle Khloe into the watering hole, Paris instructed her: 'If anyone asks, your name is Betsey Johnson.'

Paris' 'cousin Farrah' meanwhile is Farrah Brittany, the daughter of Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills Kyle Richards and her first husband Guraish Aldjufrie.

Farrah, who was born on Halloween 1988, is about seven years younger than Paris and four years younger than even Khloe.

'I put Farrah on top of somebodys shoulders with a big trench coat. We put so much effort into our disguises, we were shocked when we didnt get past the velvet rope,' Paris wrote. '"I guess you need to be with someone famous," I said.

Despite her attempts to get into Los Angeles nightspots underage, Paris maintained: 'I didnt drink or do drugs back then. When I was a kid, fun was the only party drug I needed. I wasnt there to get wasted; I was there to dance.'

Her feeling was: 'Alcohol and drugs are for escaping reality, and I wanted all the reality I could get. The escape drinking didnt happen until later.'

However when she, Nicky, Farrah and Khloe were turned away at the door of Bar One: 'I didnt like how it felt to be rejected in front of everyone. I wasnt going to let it happen again. When I was 26, I hooked up fake IDs for Nicky and me.'

Paris, who is two years older than Nicky, candidly confessed: 'We werent fooling anyone, but we were getting a little bit famous, so we had no trouble getting into Bar One (now Bootsy Bellows), Roxbury (now Pink Taco), and other hot spots.

Dynamic duo: Paris' Bar One misadventure included her cousin Farrah Adjufrie, whom she is pictured with in Los Angeles in 2017

Looking back: Farrah (left) is pictured in 2004 with her mother, future Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills Kyle Richards (right), and Paris (center)

She insisted: 'We never did anything terrible; we just loved feeling free and trying to outsmart anyone who we thought was trying to keep us down. We almost always got caught and grounded again, which seemed terribly unfair to us at the time.'

Paris argued: 'We were just exploring. What is it like to feel sexy? What does sexy even mean? Totally valid questions for teenage girls to be investigating.'

The heiress and socialite explained that 'its problematic when girls go into that exploratory phase feeling secretive and ill informed. If the message you send is: "We dont talk about such things," then - guess what! - your kids move toward adulthood with the idea that being an adult means keeping secrets.'

Paris shared: 'The nuns at school didnt teach us anything about reproductive health in biology class. We certainly didnt cover Lolita in English class. Mom didnt talk about things that fell into nebulous categories like "private" and "dirty." I learned the basics from feminine-hygiene ads in Seventeen.'

She recalled: 'My understanding of sexuality was a fog machine of Madonna videos, Calvin Klein commercials, and a vaguely naughty impulse that made me feel the same sting of guilt I felt when I swiped a tube of lip gloss from Moms purse.'

Years after her failed attempt to get Khloe into Bar One, Paris, having become a major Hollywood name, hired Kim Kardashian as an assistant.

Just last month Kim warmly wished Paris a happy 42nd birthday by posting a string of throwbacks of the pair of them with the caption: 'You deserve all the happiness.'

Near the end of January Paris and her dashing businessman husband Carter Reum welcomed a baby son via a surrogate.
Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix is said to be receiving 'a ton of support' amid her breakup with her co-star Tom Sandoval.

Sandoval and Madix dated for nearly a decade until their breakup last week after she sensationally discovered his affair with their castmate Raquel Leviss.

'Ariana has not been alone at all since this happened,' an insider told People. 'All of the girls in their friend group are taking turns visiting her around the clock at her house. Everyone's rallying around her.'

Meanwhile sources have informed TMZ that there is no chance of Sandoval, 39, and Madix, 37, getting back together.

Insiders in Sandoval's camp have maintained that the relationship was already on the rocks before Madix found out about Leviss.

Over: Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix is said to be receiving 'a ton of support' amid her breakup with her co-star Tom Sandoval

Messy: Following the initial shock over the news that Sandoval and Raquel Leviss have been having a months-long affair, behind Ariana Madix's back, Vanderpump Rules fans spent the weekend unearthing clues and evidence of their secret relationship

Vanderpump Rules stars Scheana Shay and Katie Maloney were spotted stopping by Madix and Sandoval's home on Friday.

Amid the flow of news over the weekend, Sandoval addressed the affair in an online apology in which he implored people to keep their anger over the situation focused on him, and not his friends, family and business associates.

Following the initial shock over the news that Sandoval and Leviss have been having a months-long affair behind Madix's back, Vanderpump Rules fans spent the weekend unearthing clues and evidence of their secret relationship.

Despite the reality star's own partner reportedly feeling 'blindsided' by her boyfriend's infidelity with their castmate, social media sleuths have discovered obvious signs that the duo were 'hooking up' and 'communicating inappropriately for months.'

Upon learning that Sandoval had been unfaithful by discovering a 'sexually explicit video' from Leviss on his phone after watching Sandoval's band's perform in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, according to Page Six, Madix ended their nine-year relationship.

Madix has since deleted her Instagram account and has yet to comment on the claims.

Sandoval alluded to the end of the high-profile relationship crisis during a Tom Sandoval & the Most Extras show at the City National Grove in Anaheim, California on Friday evening. He asked, the crowd, a source told US Weekly, 'Have you ever been one of the most hated people in America?'

Sandoval took to Instagram on Sunday to apologize for his actions and ask fans to direct their 'anger' and 'disappointment' toward him not his business partners or loved ones.

Throwback: Leviss was snapped with Scheana Shay on a getaway in June of 2020 at the Viejas Casino & Resort in San Diego

From wearing matching lighting bolt necklaces to the TomTom co-owner dressing up as Leviss for Halloween, DailyMail.com has rounded up all the proof that the costars have been romantically entangled since last summer.

While Sandoval and Leviss' managed to keep their fling under wraps from the public and their closest friends, they seemed to keep each other close by rocking gold lightning bolt pendants.

While Sandoval wears the accessory almost daily, Leviss only began wearing a similar necklace last year, months after they are said to have begun seeing each other.

According to a a Reddit user claiming to be a friend of the former pageant queen, who was previously crowned Miss Sonoma County in 2016 before appearing on Vanderpump Rules, the jewelry was used by the couple to say 'I love you' to each other.

She was photographed in the necklace several times on social media and at BravoCon in October 2022.

While reacting to a TikTok video pointing out Leviss wearing the lightning bolt around her neck, one commenter wrote: 'How did no one notice?! My God!'

'This literally makes my skin CRAWWWWWL,' another commented while some viciously quipped that Madix should 'be aware of her surroundings more closely.'

Sign of affection? While Sandoval and Leviss' managed to keep their fling under wraps from the public and their closest friends, they seemed to keep each other close by rocking gold lightning bolt pendants

After Maloney accused Leviss of being a 'fan girl' for hooking up with Maloney's ex-husband, Tom Schwartz, Sandoval sent the internet into a frenzy with his bizarre Halloween costume, in which he recreated Raquel's look at BravoCon.

'Guys, look who I ran into,' Leviss mused in an Instagram Story video on October 31. 'It's Raquel from BravoCon day 3! Oh, my God. Wow, Raquel, I can't believe you would frickin' wear that sweatshirt.'

He went on to share an image of himself in a TomTom sweatshirt, blond wig and black shades with the caption: 'Raquel has got to stop showing up to TomTom its embarrassing.'
Eva Longoria looked all business on her latest outing.

The 47-year-old actress looked fashionable as always as she sported an oversized suit while out and about in New York City on Monday.

She donned a dark grey jacket with matching baggy trousers over a clinging grey top and black leather heels.

Eva accessorized with two gold chain necklaces with diamond studded earrings and a pair of large black designer sunglasses.

Her brunette tresses were worn down flowing over her shoulders as she accentuated her natural looks with complementary make-up on her face.

Simply stunning: Eva Longoria looked fashionable as always as she sported an oversized suit while out and about in New York City on Monday

Business chic: The 47-year-old actress donned a dark grey jacket with matching baggy trousers over a clinging grey top and black leather heels

Not seen on the outing were her husband Jose Baston and four-year-old son Santiago Enrique Baston.

Eva wed her third husband, Televisa executive Jose in May 2016, in a ceremony attended by her close pals Victoria and David Beckham.

The couple initially met on a December 2015 blind date arranged by a mutual friend in Mexico City, with Eva revealing her future husband had no idea who she was.

In December 2017, the couple confirmed they were expecting their first child and in June 2018 they welcomed their first child, their son Santiago Enrique Baston.

Santiago is the first child for Eva, but the fifth for Jose, who was previously married to Mexican actress Natalia Esperon.

When asked in a 2019 interview what the secret is to her happy marriage, Eva explained that she and her husband have respect for each other, and support each other's goals and dreams.

The star said: 'When I was younger it was so much about what I needed to accomplish.

'I've accomplished so much already that I can really sit back now and enjoy the success and continue to dream bigger with a partner.'
Jeremy Renner was featured in the trailer for his new docuseries Rennervations which was filmed before his horrific New Year's Day accident which found him crushed by a 14,000-pound snow plow in Lake, Tahoe.

The 52-year-old actor - who was recently seen for the first time since the accident - stars in the Disney+ series in which he enlists his celebrity pals to repurpose vehicles which can serve communities.

The concept of the series is to find decommissioned vehicles like city buses that can be rebuilt to serve a new purpose like a mobile rec center with the help of a team of expert builders.

The four episodes will serve the cities of Chicago, Illinois, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Rajasthan, India, and last but not least his hometown of Reno, Nevada.

In the two-minute trailer Renner says: 'I'm buying these decommissioned government vehicles to help reimagine them to serve the community again, just in a different way.

Taking charge: Jeremy Renner was featured in the trailer for his new docuseries Rennervations

Serious situation: It was filmed before his horrific New Year's Day accident which found him crushed by a 14,000-pound snow plow in Lake, Tahoe

The latest: Renner, 52 was pictured out in public for the first time since suffering multiple severe injuries in a New Year's Day snow plow accident near his Lake Tahoe, Nevada home, as he was spotted traveling in LA Monday

'I decided to reimagine, repurpose, and renovate these vehicles and I wanted to do it for communities and help kids in need all over the world.'

Renner will also have the help of famous pals including his Avengers castmate Anthony Mackie, Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Anil Kapoor (Mission Impossible) and Sebastian Yatra (Encanto).

He explained: 'I also brought along some talented and familiar friends to help me deliver them.'

One of the other concepts included turning a truck into a 'water filtration' structure.

He said: 'The only difference between crazy and courage is a plan.

'I hope this demonstrates how easy it is to make a giant difference in other people's lives.'

There was also a press release where Renner explained his reasoning behind the project in a press release from Disney.

He said: 'Ive been on this journey for many years, and I started in my community by building vehicles for people in need. But a few years ago, I thought: How can I plus this up and create a bigger impact on a whole community? And thats what this show does.

Leading man: The 52-year-old actor stars in the Disney+ series in which he enlists his celebrity pals to repurpose vehicles which can serve communities

Vroom vroom: The concept of the series is to find decommissioned vehicles like city buses that can be rebuilt to serve a new purpose like a mobile rec center with the help of a team of expert builders

Renner will also have the help of famous pals including Sebastian Yatra (Encanto),Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Anil Kapoor (Mission Impossible) and his Avengers castmate Anthony Mackie

'This is one of my biggest passions and its a driving force in my recovery, and I cant wait for the world to see it.'

Rennervations is set to premiere April 12 on Disney +.

Just a day prior Jeremy was pictured out in public for the first time since suffering multiple severe injuries in a New Year's Day snow plow accident near his Lake Tahoe, Nevada home.

The Marvel star was the passenger in a vehicle pictured in Beverly Hills, California on a chilly winter day in Southern California.

He appeared to be in good spirits as he smiled while he was driven to an office building, where he spent about 30 minutes at before departing.

The actor was wearing a red shirt and glasses on the outing, which marked the first time he has been seen publicly since the devastating incident.

Renner has been chronicling his recovery - which could potentially last for years - ever since surviving the horrifying January 1 accident.

Last week the star said he was doing 'whatever it takes' in his recovery, in video of him improving his leg strength with the help of a Technogym bike.

He said: 'The only difference between crazy and courage is a plan. I hope this demonstrates how easy it is to make a giant difference in other people's lives'

Incredible: One of the other concepts included turning a truck into a 'water filtration' structure

There was also a press release where Renner explained his reasoning behind the project in a press release from Disney as he said: 'Ive been on this journey for many years, and I started in my community by building vehicles for people in need'

He continued: 'This is one of my biggest passions and its a driving force in my recovery, and I cant wait for the world to see it'

Renner focused on his left leg as he sat on the chair and pedaled away, using his hand to assist him in the motions.

Renner also prioritized his 'mental recovery' as he curled up by the fire and cracked open The Book of Awakening, a 'spiritual daybook' written by philosopher, poet, and cancer survivor Mark Nepo.

In the accident, Renner was using his snow-removal tractor to help remove his nephew's car from his driveway at his residence near Reno, Nevada, after it became stuck in snow. However, his snow plow began to slide down a street after the car was towed, which prompted the actor to jump out of its cab.

After he exited the vehicle, Renner realized that it could potentially hit his nephew, who was with him at the time of the incident. The Mayor of Kingstown star then attempted to re-enter the snow plow in order to divert its path but he was pulled under its left side track and run over during the attempt.

Renner was crushed underneath the vehicle and was immediately taken to the hospital while suffering from breathing difficulties and various other injuries.

Coming soon: Rennervations is set to premiere April 12 on Disney +

The Washoe County Sheriffs Office report found that the snow plow may have had various mechanical issues at the time of the incident.

The performer underwent several medical procedures while recovering in the hospital and often expressed his gratitude for his medical team through his Instagram account.

Renner was eventually allowed to recover at home and shared a shot of himself undergoing physical therapy last month.

He also penned a short message in his post's caption that partially read: 'I want to thank EVERYONE for their messages and thoughtfulness for my family and I.Much love and appreciation to you all.'

The actor added: 'These 30 plus broken bones will mend, grow stronger, just like the love and bond with family and friends deepens. Love and blessings to you all.'

Evangeline Lilly, who costarred with Renner in The Hurt Locker, recently spoke to Access and revealed that the performer was in good spirits following the accident.

'I expected to sit at his bedside and hold his hand while he moaned and groaned in pain and wasn't able to move. He was wheeling himself around, laughing with his friends. It's a miracle,' she said.

The Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star commented that the actor was doing well during his recovery process.

'He's made of something really tough, that guy. You've always been able to see that in him, and he is recovering incredibly, and I'm so grateful,' she stated.

Lilly remarked that, although Renner was not fully recovered yet, he had a positive outlook about his future: 'He's got a journey to go through now. That's what nightmares are made out of, and he lived through it, and he's on the other side now.'

Road to recovery: Renner is doing 'whatever it takes' to recover from the snow plow accident

Building his strength: Renner focused on his left leg as he sat on the chair and pedaled away, using his hand to assist him in the motions

'Mental recovery': The Hurt Locker star curled up by the fire and read The Book of Awakening

On the mend: Renner was eventually allowed to recover at home and shared a shot of himself undergoing physical therapy last month

Grateful: He also penned a short message in his post's caption that partially read: 'I want to thank EVERYONE for their messages and thoughtfulness for my family and I.Much love and appreciation to you all'
Jimmy Kimmel joked he will 'beat the s***' out if anyone trying trying to recreate Will Smith's infamous 2022 Oscars slap - as he prepares to host this year's ceremony.

Smith, 54, sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped Rock, 58, onstage after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head - with Kimmel, 55, keen to make light of the incident a year later in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter.

When asked how he would react if someone tried to hit him, he joked: 'Well, I size them up, and if I'm bigger than they are, I beat the s**t out of them on television. And if it's The Rock I run.'

Kimmel also revealed he will be heavily referencing the slap in his monologue, saying: 'Because so much has been said and there's so much focus on it. I obviously don't want to make the whole monologue about that, but it would be ridiculous not to mention it.'

Commenting on The Academy's decision to enlist a 'crisis team' to deal with any issues during the ceremony in the wake of the slap, Kimmel said: 'Yeah, I feel like I should at least know what was discussed so I know what I should fear when I walk onstage. But, really, I suspect it mostly has to do with UFOs.

Big moment: Jimmy Kimmel joked he will 'beat the s***' out if anyone trying trying to recreate Will Smith's infamous 2022 Oscars slap - as he prepares to host this year's ceremony

Slap: Smith, 54, sent shockwaves around the world when he slapped Rock, 58, onstage after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head - with Kimmel, 55, keen to make light of the incident

The slap occurred last year after Rock made a joke about Pinkett-Smith's bald head, caused by alopecia.

Rock had joked that Pinkett-Smith was rocking a 'G.I. Jane' look which caused her husband to storm the stage and slap him, followed by him repeating: 'Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!'

Smith is 'still remorseful' over slapping Rock at the 2022 Oscars and has tried 'unsuccessfully' to make amends with the comedian, a source told People this week.

Rock recently tore into Will and Jada's relationship and addressed the slap on new Netflix show, Selective Outrage.

A source told the publication Smith has 'felt terrible for so long', adding: 'He's tried unsuccessfully to make amends in the best way he could with Chris.

'But beyond that, family is important to him and [Smith] leaned on them. It all has helped him look inside and mature. He is better but still remorseful.

'Will listened to those who tried to help him and feels that he has become a better person.'

Chris's long-awaited public response to being slapped by Smith has been met with high praise - with some calling it the 'best brutal takedown' in history.

An industry source told People that Rock 'is riding high from the Netflix special.'

They added: 'He said what he needed to say and doesn't give a s*** about the reaction either way. He isn't worried.

Digs:The slap occurred last year after Rock made a joke about Pinkett-Smith's bald head, caused by alopecia

'People have been waiting for [Rock's] reaction for a year. For the most part, I think it was well received. People don't expect sugarcoating from Chris Rock.'

During his new Netflix standup special which premiered live Saturday night, Rock verbally hit back at Smith a year after the incident that saw Smith banned from the Academy.

In a nearly two minute segment, Rock fired off at Smith's decision to slap him on stage at the awards ceremony, making Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith the butt of his joke about her infidelity.

The Oscars will air on Sunday, March 12 on ABC.
Sarah Jessica Parker and John Corbett overcame the difference in their height as they embraced while filming a scene for And Just Like That in New York City on Tuesday.

Sarah Jessica, 57, who is shooting season two of the HBO dramady, stood on tip toe, in spite of her very high heel pumps to wrap her arms around the 6ft5in actor's neck.

The 5ft3in Emmy winner looked stylish in a bright pink and black print dress with a low scoop neck and an A-line skirt.

The actress, who reprised her Sex and the City role as Carrie Bradshaw for the HBO sequel, wore a coordinating black sweater with white trim.

The Emmy winner's trademark blonde locks were styled in loose waves and she wore a beige beret atop her head.

reunited: Sarah Jessica stood on tip toe, in spite of wearing a pair of very high heel pumps, to wrap her arms around 6ft5in John Corbett as they shot a scene for And Just Like That in New York City

Stylish: Sarah Jessica, 57, looked stylish in a bright pink and black print dress with a low scoop neck and an A-line skirt. The actress, who reprised her Sex and the City role as Carrie Bradshaw for the HBO sequel, wore a coordinating black sweater with white trim

John, 61, looked handsome in a navy blue crew neck sweater and blue chinos.

The actor's collar length brown hair was brushed away from his face.

John, who stars as Carrie's love interest Aidan Shaw, a part he also played in Sex and the City.

Aidan and Carrie were involved before she married Chris Noth's Mr. Big.

John's character was seen pulling a suitcase and carrying a coat as he had on black boots that had a slight heel.

He smiled and laughed as the two came close together.

The scene was set in a park area with lots of greenery about. An extra carried a bag full of flowers.

John will reprise his role in another hit franchise, as he appears as Ian Miller in the upcoming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3.

Love interest: John, 61, looked handsome in a navy blue crew neck sweater and blue chinos. His collar length brown hair was brushed away from his face. The actor stars as Carrie's love interest Aidan Shaw, a part he also played in Sex and the City

Too cute! Parker was also seen cuddling a cat on the set of the HBO Max series on Tuesday

Feline friend! The cat appeared content resting in Sarah's arms

Aww! The cute cat stole the show

Greece: John will reprise his role in another hit franchise, as he appears as Ian Miller in the upcoming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, which was shot last summer in Greece

Release date: The release date for the new installment in September 8, but writer, director and star Nia Vardalos is keeping the plot under wraps

The romantic comedy, starring writer and director Nia Vardalos is set to debut in September.

The plot for the second sequel in the series is being kept under wraps.

However, Nia revealed that any wedding in the film will take place in Greece, where the film was shot.

Sarah Jessica is married to Matthew Broderick with whom she has three children.
Megyn Kelly and Margot Robbie had a chance encounter in Utah this week, four years after the actress starred in movie Bombshell, depicting the journalist's sexual assault allegations against Roger Ailes.

Kelly, 52, looked happy as she posed with Robbie, 32, who she lauded as 'gracious and friendly' during the meeting.

In the 2019 film, Margot played Kayla Pospisil, a fictional character who is a creation of several women's real-life accounts of working at Fox News. News.

Charlize Theron played Kelly and Nicole Kidman portrayed Gretchen Carlson in the flick, which focused on the sexual harassment allegations that led to Ailes resignation in 2016 and the women who were brave enough to speak out against him.

Kelly wrote on her Instagram: 'Bombshell encounter in Deer Valley Utah. She was gracious & friendly.

Wow: Megyn Kelly and Margot Robbie had a chance encounter in Utah this week, four years after the actress starred in movie Bombshell, depicting the journalist's sexual assault allegations against Roger Ailes

Film: In the 2019 film, Margot played Kayla Pospisil, a fictional character who is a creation of several women's real-life accounts of working at Fox News alongside Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson and Charlize Theron as Kelly

'Kind of weird for both of us since she spent months with the fake me for a movie. Many thanks, Margot Robbie.'

Kelly previously said watching Bombshell was 'an incredibly emotional experience.'

The former Fox News anchor posted a photo of her son, Thatcher, at a movie theater, as he looked at a Bombshell poster.

'My husband @dougbrunt and I recently took our three kids to see the movie 'Frozen 2,' Kelly wrote in the image's caption. 'As we walked into the theatre, our 6-year-old stopped at this poster promoting another movie hitting the big screen. The ad confused him because it appears to show a picture of me.'

Kelly went on to note that 'But while the movie 'Bombshell' is loosely based on my experience during the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News, I have nothing to do with this film.

'I did not sell the rights to my story or book and only got my first look at the film once it was past the point of any possible edits, though there are certainly some I would have made.'

Kelly opted not to elaborate on what those changes would have been in the social media post, but wrote that: 'Watching this picture was an incredibly emotional experience for me, and for those with whom I saw it. Sexual harassment is pervasive in this country; it can leave scars that do not heal. My heart goes out to those whove gone through it, who I hope might find some comfort in this story.'

Scandal: Kelly previously said watching Bombshell was 'an incredibly emotional experience'

She wrapped up her post by saying, 'As for my thoughts about the film, Ill have more soon.'

Kelly has claimed that Ailes, who died in May 2017, sexually harassed her multiple times during her tenure at Fox News, including trying to force her to kiss him on the lips.

She left Fox News in January 2017, making her debut at NBC in June of that year, where she was said to earn a reported $15 to $20million a year.

Following a controversial year and a half on air, her NBC contract was terminated in January 2019.
Amy Wyatt made a shocking U-turn decision on Tuesday night's episode of Emmerdale as she backed down on her plan to get sole custody of Kyle Dingle.

Kyle is currently facing a prison sentence after accidentally shooting Al Chapman, and despite his father Cain Dingle initially taking the blame, he then confessed.

Cain (Jeff Hordley) was banned from seeing Kyle (Huey Quinn) due to his bail conditions, with his mother Amy (Natalie Ann Jamieson) taking care of him.

Amy then resorted to desperate measures to gain full custody of Kyle, including proposing to Matty (Ash Palmisciano).

In Tuesday's episode, Cain then shockingly supported Amy's plan and agreed that she should move away with Kyle after deciding he is a malign influence on his son.

However, Amy was left in tears in emotional scenes after she backed down on her plan to get sole custody, saying she didn't want to punish her son for their mistakes.

Tense: Amy Wyatt made a shocking U-turn decision on Tuesday night's episode of Emmerdale as she backed down on her plan to get sole custody of Kyle Dingle

The tense scenes kicked off with Cain telling his wife Moira (Natalie J. Robb) that he thinks he is a bad influence on Kyle and admitting his plans to support Amy's bid for sole custody.

Moira was left devastated by his decision and expressed her doubts, insisting that Kyle needs his father in his life.

Cain then told Amy and Matty that he supported their decision to take sole custody of Kyle after the youngster shoved Carl the day before, leaving Cain convinced he was a bad influence on his son with his temper.

He told them: 'What happened yesterday, Kyle shoving Carl. It was down to me. Kyle being around me, it's not good for him. Seeing the way I act, flying off the handle, he's better off with you.'

Despite Moira's complete shock, Cain then voiced his opinion that Amy and Matty should move away to Belfast with Kyle to give the youngster a fresh start in a dramatic U-turn.

Amy asked him: 'You want us to leave? What about our jobs?'

To which Cain insisted: 'It would be too hard for [Kyle], seeing me around the village all the time.'

But making her distain for his plan known, Moira hit back with: 'Too hard for you, you mean?'

Despite her objections, Cain and Amy both agreed that she would take sole custody of their son and move to Belfast where he could start over.

Moira fumed: 'Are you happy now? You'll regret this Cain until the day you die.'

Hard times: Kyle is currently facing a prison sentence after accidentally shooting Al Chapman , and despite his father Cain Dingle initially taking the blame, he then confessed

However, Kyle was left furious after Amy and Cain told him of their decision, insisting that he wanted to stay in the village and near his father.

Cain assured him, saying: 'You know how tough things have been for you lately. It's cos so much has happened here.

'You're young, you can leave it all behind you, I know it's hard now but you'll see it when you're older. It's because we love you mate you know that, don't you?'

But Kyle was left unconvinced and continued to plead with his mother to let him stay and spend time with his father after they returned to their home together.

Amy told him: 'Your dad thinks staying here will hold you back.'

But Kyle pleaded: 'I promise if you let me stay, I'll be good.'

Amy said: 'Kyle you are good, you're such a good boy,' but Kyle replied: 'You don't really think that.'

Speaking of moving away from Cain, Amy said: 'You two having a bit of distance might be good, get you away form his temper.'

Kyle then insisted that moving wouldn't make a difference, adding: 'I love him.'

But Amy put her foot down, saying: 'The decision is made, discussion over.'

Walking out the door, Kyle said: 'Everyone does something bad sometimes, even you I bet. I need my dad, don't make me go.'

Amy was then seen bringing Kyle around to Cain and Moira's house so that he could visit his father, when she revealed her U-turn decision.

She told them: 'We're not going, I can't take him away from you. We need to do the right thing.'

To which Cain said: 'But sole custody? It's what you wanted.'

But Amy explained: '[Kyle's] entitled to make his own decisions about his future. This isn't me giving into his tears it just doesn't feel right, it feels like we're punishing him for our mistakes.'

As Cain looked doubtful, Kyle told him: 'I know right from wrong, I'm not like you!'

Before the youngster asked his mother: 'So I can live with them? Forever?'

Amy replied: 'If your dad agrees.'

After Kyle and Cain shared a hug, a tearful Amy told Cain: 'You're his idol, Cain. Never underestimate what that means.'

It came after Cain enlisted help from his estranged brother Caleb in the battle over Kyle's future and Amy resorted to desperate measures to gain full custody of Kyle.

In recent scenes, Matty was delighted when Amy said their engagement was about her love for him, not just a ploy to get custody of Kyle.

Tough: Amy resorted to desperate measures to gain full custody of Kyle, including proposing to Matty (Ash Palmisciano). And Cain then shockingly supported Amy's plan to look after Kyle

Family: However, Amy was left in tears in emotional scenes after she backed down on her plan to get sole custody, saying she didn't want to punish her son for their mistakes

However, it soon became war between both parties as Caleb intervened, upsetting Amy as the pair clashed over their son.

Meanwhile, things took a turn after a violent altercation between kids Carl and Kyle and Nicola threatened to call the police on Kyle, which left Amy reeling.

Cain was quick to blame Amy for the incident, but they then both pleaded with Nicola not to call the police.

Amy's appeal caused Nicola to relent, which left Cain guilty to know the community sees Kyle's violence as a reflection of his parenting.

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Paris Hilton has confirmed she fell pregnant with model and former fiance Jason Shaw before having a abortion aged 22 in 2003.

The reality star, now 42, who previously revealed she terminated her pregnancy because she was 'not ready for a baby', said sexual abuse at boarding schools meant she wasn't 'capable of being whole' in an extract from her tome, Paris: The Memoir.

Hilton first met Tommy Hilfiger model Shaw, now 49, outside the Four Seasons in LA in 2001 with the pair getting engaged the following year. Their romance ended in 2003.

In an extract from her memoir per Time Magazine, she wrote about discovering she was pregnant in November 2003: 'I was terrified and heartsick. The hormones sent my ADHD symptoms spiraling. Everything I knew about myself was at war with everything Id been raised to believe about abortion.

'I knew I wasnt in the right place to make any sort of commitment. It had nothing to do with him or a baby. I just wasnt capable of being honest or loyal or whole.

Exes Paris Hilton has confirmed she fell pregnant with model Jason Shaw before having a abortion aged 22 in 2003 (pictured 2002)

'After suffering abuse at Provo Canyon School and three other programs within the troubled teen industry network, I was damaged in ways I couldnt tell him about, and the fact that I never confided in him about my pastthat says it all, doesnt it? Secrets are corrosive. They destroy anything you try to layer over them.

Paris said she has constantly looked back with sorrow on her termination, and 'tortured myself with melodramathoughts like, what if I killed my Paris?' - but realizes motherhood in her 202s would have been a 'train wreck.'

The star also opened up about 'controlling her reproductive destiny' and going through IVF with husband Carter Reum, which involved: 'Month after month of injections, several egg-harvesting procedures, more IVF injections, new ADHD meds, my natural state of chaosit was a lot.'

The pair are now parents to son Phoenix, who was born via surrogate in January.

The heiress to the 11.6 billion Hilton hotels empire has detailed in her memoir the sexual abuse she endured hwhen her parents sent her to boarding schools for troubled youths in a bid to tame her rebellious behaviour.

At one of the schools, Provo Canyon School in the US state of Utah, Paris said she was sometimes drugged before being molested.

'I swallowed the pills and stared at the wall with the flawless mask of a runway model,' she writes in an excerpt published yesterday in The Times.

Past: Hilton first met Tommy Hilfiger model Shaw, now 49, outside the Four Seasons in LA in 2001 with the pair getting engaged the following year. Their romance ended in 2003 (pictured 2002)

Parents: The star also opened up about 'controlling her reproductive destiny' and going through IVF with husband Carter Reum (pictured last month)

Baby: Hilton has just become a mother, having announced this January that she and her husband Carter welcomed their son Phoenix via surrogate

'Whatever they were giving me made me feel like my head was disconnected from my body.

'That scared me, so I tucked the capsules inside my lower lip and waited for an opportunity to spit them out.

'The staff at Provo had their favourites. Always pretty girls. But I don't think it was about pretty.

'I think these were weak people in the outside world, men and women who got off on the power they had over us.

'They took us to the infirmary and made us lie on the table. Made us open our legs for their stubby fingers. If we resisted, there was always a tray with syringes.

'I don't know what was in the 'booty juice', but I saw kids hit the floor the moment it was injected.'

At another school she recalls being awoken in the middle of the night, manhandled and then handcuffed when workers at the school arrived to take her away.

'I was sound asleep at about 4.30 in the morning when my bedroom door crashed open.

'A thick hand grabbed my ankle and dragged me off the mattress. I was instantly awake  hyperawake  in a state of panic. I'm about to be raped. I'm about to be murdered.

'One man clamped a sweaty palm over my mouth, wrenching my head back. The other held up a pair of handcuffs.'

Hilton grew up living in New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel with her parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton, and her younger siblings, Nicky, Barron and Conrad.

Her parents sent her to 'therapeutic' boarding schools run by a company called CEDU when she was 15 after their attempts to discipline her for sneaking out to nightclubs failed.

She attended four different CEDU establishments before leaving aged 18.

She never told her parents about any of the abuse at the schools  saying staff threatened that she would never be able to leave if she did.

Milestone: Paris recently revealed that she hid her baby's birth from even her family until right before she broke the news on social media (pictured)

Paris rose to fame in her early 20s thanks to her starring role alongside fellow socialite Nicole Richie in hit TV series The Simple Life, which saw the pair take on jobs such as serving in fast-food restaurants.

She then started modelling after signing with former US president Donald Trump's agency, T Management.

Her notoriety reached another level when a sex tape featuring her and boyfriend Rick Salomon was leaked in 2004.

In a statement on its website in 2020, officials at Provo Canyon school said the institution was under different ownership prior to 2000, and 'therefore cannot comment on the operations or patient experience prior to that time'.
Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis is using her voice to 'raise awareness' of frontotemporal dementia following her husband's diagnosis with the disorder.

In video posted to her Instagram on Tuesday, Willis, 44, talked channeling her pain into 'something good' and using her platform to spread awareness of the ailment.

'I just saw something about me getting my five minutes, which is great. Which means that you're listening. So I'm going to take my five minutes and I'm going to turn it into 10 because I'm always going to advocate for my husband,' she began.

'And, while I'm at it, I'm going to raise awareness around FTD and for caregivers, who are unsung heroes out there. And then, and then, I am going to turn my grief and my anger and my sadness and do something good around something that feels less than. So, watch this space, because I didn't come to play.'

It has been a year since Willis' family announced the actor, 67, would be stepping away from his career after he was diagnosed with aphasia. Last month, his family said the illness had progressed to frontotemporal dementia.

'I'm always going to advocate for my husband': Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis is using her voice to 'raise awareness' of frontotemporal dementia following her husband's diagnosis with the condition

The post was captioned: 'Just over here turning my 5 mins into 10. Ive sat around quietly for too long and Im so ready to be embraced by this solid and loving community my family and I find ourselves in while trying to lift them up in return. Lets go. #ftdawareness #dementiaawareness #caregiversupport'.

The post came after Willis posted an emotional plea asking families of dementia sufferers for advice on how to help their loved ones navigate the world safely.

Heming Willis posted the Instagram video on Saturday stating that it was in 'service for raising awareness about dementia.'

'If you are someone who is looking after someone who has dementia, you know how difficult and how stressful it can be, just to get them out into the world and navigate them safely - even just to get a cup of coffee.'

In her caption, the actor's wife asks for advice on how to do this with her husband following his own diagnosis.

'To other caregivers or dementia care specialist navigating this world. Any tips or advice on how to get your loved ones out in the world safely? Please share below.'

Willis' diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia can include symptoms like personality changes, speech difficulty and motor impairment.

The Hollywood icon was seen out and about last week, the first time since his family revealed he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) last month.

'I'm going to raise awareness': In video posted to her Instagram on Tuesday, Willis, 44, talked channeling her pain into 'something good' and using her platform to spread awareness of the ailment

Heartbreaking news: It has been a year since Willis' family announced the actor would be stepping away from his career after he was diagnosed with aphasia. Last month, his family said the illness had progressed to frontotemporal dementia

FTD affects the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, which deal with behavior, problem-solving, planning and emotions - with symptoms including personality changes, obsessive behavior and speaking difficulties.

Willis shares Rumer, 34, Scout, 31 and Tallulah, 29, with Moore, 60 to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000. He also has two daughters, Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 8, with Emma, his wife of 14 years.

FTD occurs when nerve cells in the lobes behind the forehead die and the pathways that connect them change.

The left temporal lobe is involved in the meaning of words and the names of objects. The right recognizes faces and familiar objects.

'Let's go': Willis spoke out about the condition in video shared to her account on Tuesday

Symptoms are different from just the memory loss that is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

These may include; personality changes, such as becoming tactless, uninterested in others and unsympathetic, repeated and compulsive movements, such as continued use of certain phrases, hoarding and obsession over timekeeping, craving unhealthy food and forgetting table manners, speaking difficulties, including slow speech, grammatical errors and asking the meaning of familiar words like 'bread'.

Bruce's blended family issued a joint statement at the end of March announcing that he was 'stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.'

The statement revealed he 'has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.'

Long-time love: Emma has been married to the Die Hard actor for 14 years; pictured 2019

Sad: The retirement announcement marked an end to Willis' decades-long career, during which he has earned a Golden Globe award and two Emmys

Willis had reportedly been struggling with cognitive issues on the sets of his films for years - and even needed an earpiece to feed him lines.

A unnamed source told Page Six his declining cognitive ability had been an open secret in Hollywood as the actor repeatedly had trouble acting in his films.

The famed actor can even be seen in a scene in his new movie American Siege, which was filmed in 2020, wearing an earpiece. This was a full two years before the family's announcement that Willis has aphasia.

Willis had previously been seen using an earpiece to feed him lines in his Broadway debut in Misery in 2015, an unnamed insider also told OK! Magazine

He was also reportedly struggling during the filming of M. Night Shyamalan's 2019 film Glass.

The retirement announcement marked an end to Willis' decades-long career, during which he has earned a Golden Globe award and two Emmys.
Tasha Ghouri poked fun at her boyfriend Andrew Le Page's Casa Amor antics with a Love Island themed cake for his 28th birthday.

The reality star, 24, paid homage to his infamous quote: 'I licked a t*t or whatever' with the luxurious chocolate dessert which was covered in biscuits and sweets.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Tasha shared a picture of the cake and wrote: 'Thank you @oh.my.cakery for this cake! I had to add something iconic for his birthday.'

Andrew made the comment when he confessed to his brief romance with Coco Lodge while Tasha was away in Casa Amor during his stint on the show.

The moment ignited a burst of social media attention, as fans found it hilarious watching Andrew sheepishly admit his antics to Tasha.

Funny: Tasha Ghouri poked fun at her boyfriend Andrew Le Page's Casa Amor antics with a Love Island themed cake for his 28th birthday

Cheeky: The reality star, 24, paid homage to his infamous quote: 'I licked a t*t or whatever' with the luxurious chocolate dessert which was covered in biscuits and sweets

Confessing the act to Tasha once she had returned to the main villa, Andrew attempted to play down his sexual chemistry with Coco, saying: 'I licked her t*t or whatever.'

The dancer had pulled out all the stops for Andrew's birthday as she decorated the flat with balloons and photographs from their relationship and rose petals.

There was also a delicious breakfast spread with everything from marshmallows to doughnuts to chocolate fondue.

Writing a birthday tribute, Tasha said: 'Happy birthday to my lover, best friend and soul mate. 

'Im eternally grateful that you came into my life in 2022. Ever since then weve just grown together.

'Im such a lucky girl to be able to experience your love, smile and just you every single day. Heres to 28! Im proud of you.'

Andrew replied: 'Love you so much xx'.

The couple are just back from a romantic holiday in Prague.

Iconic: Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Tasha shared a picture of the cake and wrote: 'Thank you @oh.my.cakery for this cake! I had to add something iconic for his birthday.'

Sweet: The dancer had pulled out all the stops for Andrew's birthday as she decorated the flat with balloons and photographs from their relationship and rose petals

Confession: Andrew made the comment when he confessed to his brief romance with Coco Lodge (pictured) while Tasha was away in Casa Amor during his stint on the show

Yummy: There was also a delicious breakfast spread with everything from marshmallows to doughnuts to chocolate fondue

Their holiday comes after the model was quick to jump to her boyfriend's defence on Tuesday 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 flamboyant flared trousers and a matching jacket which he left open to showcase his washboard abs.

He donned a pair of white trainers and accessorised with a long silver necklace as he posed for a slew of Instagram snaps.

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.'

Andrew and Tasha came fourth place in last year's series and the relationship appears to be going from strength to strength.
Gigi Hadid has shared new images to plug her fashion line Guest In Residence.

The 27-year-old blonde beauty - who spoke recently about being a nepo baby - was seen in a crop top with a collar and three buttons that put her tummy on display.

The older sister of Bella Hadid looked to have a very toned midsection thanks to her daily gym visits with a personal trainer.

The look for the shoot was a light cotton candy pink crop top and matching skirt that looked perfect for spring.

And the daughter of Yolanda Hadid added a milk chocolate brown scarf to her head that had stripes in ivory and pink.

In top shape: Gigi Hadid has shared new images to plug her fashion line Guest In Residence. The 27-year-old blonde beauty was seen in a crop top with a collar and three buttons that showed a lot of her tummy

Under the relaxed slacks was a pair of bikini bottoms.

The briefs were a cream color with a long string tie on the sides.

During the shoot, Hadid could be seen in a home setting looking at a book; she also held the book.

The caption read, '@guestinresidence SS23 CORE COLLECTION - your favorite cozy basics in lighter weights and new colors for Spring, like blush uestInResidence.com xx 2.20.23 by @quentindebriey.'

Her friend Yara Shahidi said she was 'obsessed' with the look while fellow model Lily Aldridge added, 'Cozzzzzy.'

This comes after she admitted it was her privileged upbringing which led to her worldwide modelling success and claims she's 'not the prettiest person in the world'

Having starring on 35 covers of Vogue and walking the runway at the most high profile fashion shows, she has said she needed some help to get to the top.

Nepotism babies - or 'nepo babies' as they are often called - have taken 2023 by storm, referring to celebrity offspring who land easily in the world of showbiz, such as Brooklyn Beckham.

Bottoms: Under the relaxed slacks was a pair of bikini bottoms. The briefs were a cream color with a long string tie on the sides

In bed: The older sister of Bella Hadid looked to have a very toned midsection thanks to her daily gym visits with a personal trainer

Gigi, real name Jelena, is the daughter of Dutch model Yolanda Hadid, a former model turned interior designer and star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Her father is Palestinian-born property developer Mohamed Hadid (her parents divorced when she was five), while famous siblings Bella and Anwar are also models.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Gigi was candidly open about her background, saying: 'Technically I'm a nepotism baby. My parents came from very little.

'I've always acknowledged that I come from privilege.

'My parents told me, "Just because you have parents who were successful, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't walk into the job being as nice and as hard-working as you can be."'

A nice touch: The look for the shoot was a light cotton candy pink crop top and matching skirt that looked perfect for spring. And the daughter of Yolanda Hadid added a milk chocolate brown scarf to her head that had stripes in ivory and pink

She added that she doesn't think she is the 'prettiest person in the world' and could 'probably do' with some Botox.

Gigi, who was most recently romantically linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, claimed her first modelling gig at the age of just two with Guess.

The supermodel was raised on a ranch in Santa Barbara before moving to Beverley Hills.

In 2014 she made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week and has since walked for Chanel, Versace and Fendi.

She now boasts over 77 million Instagram followers and reportedly earned almost $10million in 2018.

Famous family: Gigi admitted her privileged upbringing with former model mother Yolanda (left) and property tycoon Mohamed (right) helped her achieve fame, (pictured in 2018)

Nepo babies: Gigi with brother Anwar Hadid, mom Yolanda and sister Bella Hadid are pictured in New York City in 2015

The Guest in Residence founder-creative director famously replaced Alexa Chung as co-host of the second season of Netflix's 10-episode $250K design competition Next in Fashion alongside Queer Eye's Tan France.

Gigi admitted she did not get the role easily, with Netflix putting her through a tough audition process to land the job.

'@netflix Top 5 in 24 hrs!' Gigi - who boasts 83.7M social media followers - gushed on Saturday.

The model, who has in the past dated Joe Jonas, also dated ex-One Direction member Zayn Malik on and off for six years.

The couple share a daughter, two-year-old Khai, who Gigi says they amicably co-parent. She recently shared that her daughter 'loves' eating British food.

The pair split in 2021 after Zayn's infamous altercation with her mother for which he received 360-day probation and was ordered to complete anger management and domestic violence programs.

Gigi most recently announced a partnership with make-up brand Maybelline, while her sister Bella has become the face of luxury cosmetics Charlotte Tilbury.

Their younger brother Anwar, 23, previously dated pop star Dua Lipa before calling it quits in December 2021.
Katherine Ryan has explained why she called out Leonardo DiCaprio and James Argent for dating younger women, calling it 'gross' and 'weird'.

The comedian, 39, has been outspoken about the two men in the past, making videos and tweets poking fun at them for their dating choices.

Now speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Katherine has stated that she's happy to be the 'poster woman' for hitting out at older male celebrities with a penchant for dating younger partner because she hopes it will reach young women.

She began by insisting: 'I dont care at all about backlash or cancel culture. I do care about hurting peoples feelings, believe it or not.

'I know that James Argent has had some rough times and I dont want to heap criticism on someone whos vulnerable.

Motivation: Katherine Ryan has explained why she called out Leonardo DiCaprio and James Argent for dating younger women, calling it 'gross' and 'weird'

Having her say: The comedian, 39, has been outspoken about the two men in the past, making videos and tweets poking fun at them for their dating choices ( L - Leonardo DiCaprio, R - James Argent)

'But at the end of the day, I have somehow become the poster woman for rallying against grown men, powerful men, famous men dating teenagers. I didnt choose that life, that life chose me.

'I dont think it's controversial to say thats gross or weird and Im very happy to continue beating that drum for as long as it takes.'

She added: 'And Im not speaking to the men, because thats who I get the backlash from, I get all these men in my messages going, "Oh sorry hed rather date a Ferrari than an old banger and he doesnt want you", like I would ever give them the time of day!

'But Im not speaking to the men at all because I understand that there are a lot of people that find that age group attractive - Im not going to solve that problem.

'Im speaking to the young women because I happen to have the ear of a lot of teenage girls and young women.

'I look out at my audience and I have people my age, I have couples but I also have a lot of teenagers so even if one of them hears what Im saying and goes, Ew maybe that man is interested in me because he wants to boss me around or because women his age dont talk to him, maybe I will give that a miss.

She quipped: 'Im basically Leonardo DiCaprio trying to get to as many young women as I can.

Previously Katherine blasted 34-year-old James for dating 18-year old actress Stella Turian.

TOWIE star James and Stella have been together for over eight months after meeting at a wedding in Mykonos last year.

They're in a long-distance relationship because Stella, who's 16 years Arg's junior, lives in her native Italy while James resides in Buckhurst Hill, Essex.

Katherine took to her Instagram stories in a brutal way where she cuddled her baby daughter Fenna Grace, whilst giving the camera a moody looking stare.

'Poster woman': Now speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Katherine has stated that she's happy to be the 'poster woman' for hitting out at older male celebrities with a penchant for dating teens because she hopes it will reach young women

Dig: Previously Katherine blasted 34-year-old James for dating 18-year old actress Stella Turian

Romance: They're in a long-distance relationship because Stella, who's 16 years Arg's junior, lives in her native Italy while James resides in Buckhurst Hill, Essex

Striking: Katherine also labelled Leo creepy on Twitter over his rumoured romance with model Eden Polani, 19

Katherine zoomed in on her unimpressed face in a video and captioned it: 'Me - a mother - finding out a 35 Towie star has an 18 year old girlfriend.'

Katherine also labelled Leo creepy on Twitter over his rumoured romance with model Eden Polani, 19.

After the news broke about the actor, 48, who has a penchant for dating women under 25, she posted a series of bemused tweets about him.

When one fan asked the comedian what the ' crime ' was because Leo and Eden are both adults, she replied: 'No crime just a creepy pattern.'

It came after she quote-tweeted a post which said: 'Not enough people are talking about Leonardo DiCaprio who is almost 50- and 'getting close' to a 19 year old teenage girl' and replied: 'This is literally all I've talked about for SEVEN YEARS.'

She also wrote 'uh huh' in response to a separate tweet which read: 'the power dynamic of his age, his wealth, and his fame over a 19 year old girl is actually repulsive.'

The star also quipped: 'This year, Titanic became too old for Leonardo DiCaprio to be in it' after author Caitlin Moran wrote: 'I feel like he has Titantic trauma.

'He's dating women like he's still the age he was when he shot it, and he's ALWAYS on holiday on a yacht. Dude needs some EMDR.'

Elsewhere in the chat, Katherine opened up on how she finds it 'fun' to hit back at her trolls online.

She said: 'Its not hard for me to receive negativity at all, I really dont mind, Im so lucky that I dont mind.

'The only obstacle with clapping back is that the younger generation have taught me that some people arent mentally sound, and have other issues that contribute to them being trolls.

'So anytime Im clapping back its only fun for me if I check the persons profile and I can make a judgement as to whether they might be struggling with something or are just nasty.

'I try to only clap back at people who are habitually nasty and I think its really fun. And I think it sets an example not to take yourself too seriously and I dont feel guilty because if they come for me theyre going to find real quick theyre coming for the wrong one.

She added: 'Its fun, its bullying in the right way.'

Ahead of the Oscars, Katherine is supporting Goustos Flavour That Pops campaign, featuring a new show-stopping menu of popcorn flavours, inspired by its best-selling recipes.

Clapping back: Elsewhere in the chat, Katherine opened up on how she finds it 'fun' to hit back at her trolls online

Campaign: Ahead of the Oscars, Katherine is supporting Goustos Flavour That Pops campaign, featuring a new show-stopping menu of popcorn flavours, inspired by its best-selling recipes

Speaking on the campaign, she said: 'I love Gousto, we have a really organic relationship because my husband and I have been getting the recipe boxes since like 2018 or 2019, and its just delicious adventurous food that you cook a home and not every recipe box is like that.

'This has us hooked, we dont even order takeaway anymore, its been so good for the family, family mealtimes and I love that they do flavours that pop for the Oscars, because I stay home and I watch the Oscars with popcorn.

'Its a really good way to remind people about how much flavours there is at Gousto. So I was excited to collaborate on some of those flavours.'

Visit https://www.gousto.co.uk/blog/five-star-flavour to grab your own FREE box - perfect for film-loving-foodies!
Gino D'Acampo left This Morning viewers in hysterics on Tuesday as he went on a mission to learn how corks are made.

The celebrity chef, 45, who hails from Italy, was misunderstood as saying an X-rated word during the segment.

Host Phillip Schofield was then forced to interrupt the pre-recorded clip of Gino and clarify he was saying 'cork' not 'c**k' while Holly Willoughby cringed at the clip.

Introducing viewers to Gino's latest Italian adventure, Phil began: 'Lots on the way, including an Italian escape with Gino'.

The clip then cut to Gino talking about wine, saying: 'What I really want to know is why Sardinian cork is so special. And how many corks do you produce a day?'

Funny: Gino D'Acampo left This Morning viewers in hysterics on Tuesday as he went on a mission to learn how corks are made

Blunder: Host Phillip Schofield was forced to interrupt the pre-recorded clip of Gino and clarify he was saying 'cork' not 'c**k' while Holly Willoughby cringed at the clip

The expert then replied: 'More or less, we produce two million corks'.

With the word having been repeated three times, Phil was quick to jump in, shouting: 'No, no, no, stop

He continued: 'He's at a cork factory. It's cork! A wine cork factory in Sardinia,' stressing the word in question.

Phil then said: 'Who knew you could learn so much about cork,' with Holly adding: 'apart from how to pronounce it'

'There's more from Gino and his questionable pronunciation,' Phil quipped.

Twitter was awash with conversation surrounding the incident, with one viewer penning: 'I'm not hearing cork on Gino's segment'

Another said: 'Cork Gino cork!!'

A third added: ' Honestly who let Gino do a feature on cork'

He's previously had viewers and the presenters in hysterics with his pronunciations of words like 'sheet'.

Awkward! The celebrity chef, 45, who hails from Italy, was misunderstood as saying an X-rated word during the segment

Twitter was awash with conversation surrounding the incident, with one viewer penning: 'I'm not hearing cork on Gino's segment'

Gino has admitted he has come close to being 'cancelled' by fans but insisted that he 'doesn't care' what people think.

He has become known for his cheeky innuendos after shooting to fame on This Morning and has since hosted an array of popular cookery shows.

But Gino claimed that he he come very close to being hit by cancel culture for his saucy jokes, saying he 'dangerously' walks the 'fine line' with his humour.

He told The Sun : 'There is a fine line on television and I think I walk the line, I've been walking that fine line for the last ten to 15 years.'

Gino said he thinks he 'gets away' with a lot more on TV than other people can because viewers have known him for around 15 years.

However, he insisted that he has never 'crossed the line' with his jokes, saying he would have been 'fired' if he did.

He said: 'But I can get away with the accent and because I'm Gino and everybody knows me for a long time, I can get away with many things that someone else could not get away with it.'

Advising other people to brush off cancel culture, he added: 'What they should do is instead of fighting the cancel culture is the way I do it - 'I don't care what you've got to say' - that's what I think.'

In November, Gino was accused of being 'xenophobic' by This Morning viewers for claiming he disliked the French.

He made the revelation about his dislike for the French nation as he cooked a chicken cordon bleu during one segment.

Despite the dish being considered French, Gino insisted it wasn't before launching into a tirade about the country.

Humour: Gino has admitted he has come close to being 'cancelled' by fans but insisted that he 'doesn't care' what people think

He said: 'Not that I have to explain myself but this is called pollo impanato, which is stuff chicken breast. Now the French call it blah blah blah but it's really pollo impanato.

'Plus everybody knows I will never cook a French dish. I don't like to cook other nation's food.

'I am going to be honest with you, apart from my friend Fred Sirieix, I don't like French people.'

He added: 'Too close to Italy, they always think everything they do is the greatest. There is no need for French people in the world.'

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
Jackass star Steve-O jetted out of Perth on Tuesday after the first show of his The Bucket List Australian tour.

The 48-year-old looked downcast as he walked through the airport without his stage buddy Bam Margera.

He dressed casually for the flight in a red T-shirt, black pants and a comfortable pair of white sneakers.

Steve-O kept a low profile with dark sunglasses and carried a skateboard in his hand as he arrived to the airport.

It comes after Steve-O recently said that he was bracing himself for Margera's death from drug and alcohol issues.

Jackass star Steve-O looked downcast as he jetted out of Perth without his tour buddy Bam Margera on Tuesday

Margera opened nine of the stuntman's shows in the US before Steve-O accused his best friend of slipping back into old habits after posting what he deemed a 'vile' thing on social media.

Under the post, Steve-O said Margera was 'dying' but deleted it two minutes later.

It read: 'Bam, last night you had your five year old son with you on stage at my show, and you were blessed with a chance to spend another day or two with him  then as soon as you left my show, you stayed up all night getting loaded enough to think it was a good idea to post more vile nonsense like this. I hope you understand how awful that is.

'You say you want to have a good relationship with your son, but your actions guarantee the exact opposite will happen.

'I brought you on tour with the hopes that I could get you to see what's possible for you if you can choose recovery.

'I've tried everything I can, but I can't force you to get honest and do the work of recovery.

He dressed casually for the flight in a red T-shirt, black pants and a comfortable pair of white sneakers

'I wish you could know how much I've hated feeling braced for news of your death, but you're making it clear that I have no other choice. You're dying brother, and it sucks that I can't do anything to save you.'

Speaking on his Steve-O's Wild Ride podcast on February 25, he said he regretted posting that comment publicly.

'The Bam situation...I posted this comment on Bam's Instagram because I had him on tour with me for 10 days, we did nine shows with me and he was pretty great,' he said.

'The whole time he was telling me to reach out to Nicky, his wife, and see if I can spend the day with Phoenix [his son] because it's in Santa Rosa California which was close to his wife and his son.

'So the tour was a big journey to his son and on the last day he was reunited with his son and we all spent the day together, it was a great day and we did our last show that night.

'After the show it was determined that bam doing good and Niki said he could spend another day or two with his son.

It comes after Steve-O recently said that he was bracing himself for Margera's death from drug and alcohol issues

'Come four, five, six, in the morning and he was posting hateful stuff.

'When he's posting hateful stuff it's a terrible sign and he admitted it was because he was drunk.

'Like dude c'mon man, I was so bummed, I was equally disappointed as I was surprised and that's the nature of the disease.

'Hs hateful post had been up for 22 hours so I wrote that comment saying you're dying, you're dying bro..

'It sucks because I want to save you but I can't, I can't make you get better, I can't do that work for you.'
COP28 president-designate urges oil, gas industry to do more against climate change

Xinhua) 13:49, March 07, 2023

HOUSTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber on Monday called for the oil and gas industry to do more in coping with the climate challenge.

"Alongside all industries, the oil and gas sector needs to up its game, do more and do it faster," Al Jaber said in a keynote address at the CERAWeek, an influential global energy forum kicking off in the U.S. city of Houston on Monday.

The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to be held in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year. As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE is expected to deliver the first ever global stocktake, a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals.

"Only half of the industry has declared a scope 1 and 2 net-zero goal by 2050. Everyone in the industry needs to be aligned around the same goal," said Al Jaber, also chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

"With the right incentives, the right technologies, the right mindset and the right partnership model, the oil and gas industry has the capacity and the resources to help everyone address scope 3," he continued.

Power generation is the sector where the biggest impact can be made in the shortest amount of time, he said, noting that by 2030, renewable energy capacity needs to triple.

He highlighted that policies that aim to pull the plug on the existing energy system before a new one is built are a recipe for future energy crises. "As such, we have ramped up renewables as well as bringing decarbonization technologies to scale."

"Let me call on you today to decarbonize quicker, future-proof sooner and create the energy system of the future, today," he told the delegates. "Our quickest win will come from energy efficiency."

More than 7,000 participants including policymakers, industry leaders, company executives, investors and researchers from over 80 countries and regions around the world are expected to attend the five-day CERAWeek energy forum, said S&P Global, the organizer.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Past Event - Wednesday, March 29, 2023 This page may be updated if the event is repeated

100% of proceeds will support United Rehabilitation Services

Celebrate Jersey Mikes Month Of Giving

United Rehabilitation Services (URS) has been chosen by the three local Jersey Mikes Subs locations for their Annual Month of Giving. Customers are invited to visit Jersey Mikes for the Day of Giving on Wednesday, March 29 to enjoy a delicious sub meal and they will donate 100 percent of the days sales to URS!

Jersey Mikes locations:

3510 Pentagon Blvd, Beavercreek

6002 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville

2831 Wilmington Pike, Kettering

24 West Central Avenue, Springboro

1512 Miamisburg Centerville Road, Washington Twp

URS is grateful to the local Jersey Mikes Subs owner for choosing to support vital programs for children and adults with disabilities right here in our community.

Proceeds from the Day of Giving will support:

The regions only 5-STAR Rated Early Childhood Education Programs for children with and without disabilities, ages 6 weeks - 17 years old with on-site Nursing Services to meet the needs of medically fragile children.

Specialized Therapy Programs with the regions only Pediatric Aquatic Therapy Program and Universal Exercise Unit spider cage

Day services and Pre-vocational Training Programs for adults and seniors with developmental and acquired disabilities.

Employment Services for high school students and adults with disabilities, including the newly launched URS Academy, a vocational training program that will create work-ready employees for local employers.

United Rehabilitation Services (URS) was founded in 1956 as the Dayton Chapter of United Cerebral Palsy and today serves more than 3,000 children and adults annually with a variety of disabilities or special needs, including Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy, Autism, and Alzheimers. The agency is committed to providing compassionate care for the span of a person's life, from infancy through the senior years.
Narsingi police said they have registered a murder case against the trio and launched a hunt to nab them. (Facebook)

Hyderabad: In a shocking incident, a youngster working at fuel station was beaten to death by three youngsters at Janwada under Narsingi police limits of Cyberabad commissionerate in the early hours of Tuesday.

The accused wanted to pay for the fuel through UPI, but the cashier said the UPI payment was not working and asked them to pay in cash. This resulted in an argument between the trio and the accused started attacking the cashier.

When the victim Sanjay, in his early thirties. rushed to his colleagues rescue, the trio attacked him and rained blows on him.

The victim collapsed and he was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where he was declared dead. Narsingi police said they have registered a murder case against the trio and launched a hunt to nab them. They belong to the neighbouring village, said Narsingi ACP Ramana Goud.

One of the employees at the filling station said that three people had come in a car, to fill petrol in their vehicle. After filling petrol, they entered into an argument with the staff. "One of the persons started beating me. Later another person also joined. My colleague suffered serious injuries and collapsed. I informed our supervisor and rushed him to hospital," he said.

Police found that one of the three attackers was accused in another case and currently out on bail.
Nation

Telangana declares special casual leave for women employees on Women's Day DECCAN CHRONICLE | DC Correspondent Published on: March 6, 2023 | Updated on: March 6, 2023

The general administration (services welfare) department released the order on Monday, signed by Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari. (Photo: Twitter)
Security personnel deployed outside the residence of former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi during a visit of CBI officials in connection with further probe in the land for jobs scam case, in Patna, Monday, (PTI Photo

PATNA: A huge political storm erupted after CBI officials on Monday visited former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devis residence to quiz her over the "land for jobs scam". As the CBI grilled the former Bihar CM for around four hours, members of Bihars Grand Alliance were up in arms, claiming that the Central investigative agencies had become a tool of "political vendetta" under the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

It was alleged that the BJP was misusing the investigative agencies as the party was on a sticky wicket for the coming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

This development comes a day after top Opposition leaders, including Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, sent a letter to the Prime Minister over the alleged "misuse" of the Central agencies following the arrest of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the liquor scam case.

After the CBI reached Rabri Devis residence, Tejashwi Yadav reacted strongly and said he had anticipated the scenario during the formation of the Grand Alliance in August last year. "I had earlier predicted that these people (BJP) will do this. We face such things almost every month and are also aware that this will continue till 2024. There is a hearing on March 15, which is a normal procedure".

Former Bihar CM Rabri Devi was questioned by CBI officials for almost four hours in the presence of her legal adviser.

Reports suggest that the CBI may also question RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his daughter Misa Bharti at their residence in New Delhi on Tuesday. The officials might also ask for documents related to the case from the Lalu Yadav family, sources said. Yadav had recently returned from Singapore after undergoing a kidney transplant and is now recovering at his daughters residence in New Delhi.

In New Delhi, the Opposition launched a scathing attack on the Centre over the "misuse of agencies" after the CBI grilled Rabri Devi. The Congress alleged that the ruling party at the Centre wants to "suppress" the voice of the Opposition. An AICC general secretary alleged that Opposition leaders who are not ready to bow before the BJP are "harassed" through the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI. "Today Rabri Devi ji is being harassed. Lalu Prasad ji and his family have been harassed for years because they did not bow down," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

In Patna, the RJD and other Grand Alliance leaders, including the Congress, say the BJP has been "misusing" Central agencies to frame Opposition leaders for "political gains" ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

They said "the BJP at the Centre is scared of the rising graph of the Grand Alliance in Bihar. They are also upset over the RJDs effort to unite Opposition leaders ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Misusing Central agencies will not help them in the 2024 parliamentary elections".

On February 27, Delhis Rouse Avenue court had issued a summons against former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, their daughter Misa Bharti and 14 others over the "land for jobs scam". The summons was issued to the accused persons for March 15. The CBI had earlier filed a charge sheetagainst them in connection with the case. The scam allegedly occurred when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the railway minister in 2004-09. Yadav and others were allegedly given land from people in lieu of jobs in the railways.

In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the visit by the CBI team at Rabri Devis residence as "humiliating". He said: "This is wrong, raids like these are humiliating. It is becoming a trend, that wherever there are Opposition governments, they wont be allowed to function. They (BJP) use the ED, CBI and governors to trouble them. Democracy will go ahead only when everyone will work together, whoever has a government should be allowed to work there."

Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal also pointed to the "fragile health" of Lalu Prasad Yadav. "CBI heat on Lalu. We all know the fragile state of his health. To pressure Tejashvi. The more the government does this the more the people will turn against this government," Sibal tweeted.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launching Phase-3 of Dr YSR Kantivelugu scheme at the health department review meeting on Monday, Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy, Minister V Rajani are also seen. (Photo by arrangement)

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said the Family Doctor concept will be launched in AP on March 15 and it will soon be fully operational across all districts.

The CM conducted a review meeting on the medical and health department at the CM Camp Office in Tadepalli on Monday. He advised the officials to start the Family Doctor programme at a village clinic on March 15.

"Health services to 45,90,086 people have been provided so far in the Family Doctor Pilot Project and we have completed the appointment of doctors in 1,149 PHCs," the CM said.

The officials said arrangements were ready for implementing the family doctor concept in full. Doctors in CHCs will be utilised as per the instructions given by the Chief Minister without any interruption of services during the long vacations. Additional appointments have also been made for this purpose.

"We have hired four additional doctors for each district," they said.

The Chief Minister said an additional doctor for every 6-7 PHCs must be appointed to avoid interruption of the medical services. "Thus, 175 doctors are in reserve across the state. There were 10,032 Village Health Clinics with one ANM per clinic. Along with them, there will be a CHO and 3-4 Asha workers."

Jagan Mohan Reddy said he wanted the Aarogyasri referral and services to be a part of the family doctor's duties. Officials, he said, must place complaint numbers on Aarogyasri cards to lodge any complaint about Aarogyasri services. The CM also asked them to link anaemia cases with the Sampoorna Poshan Plus programme and provide nutritional food through Poshan Plus.

The officials said the number of medicines kept in Village Health Clinics and 104 have also been increased.

According to the CM's orders, the list of 67 types of medicines given so far free of cost has been increased to 105 medicines. Some 14 types of diagnostic kits have also been made available to village clinics.

The officials said that mapping has been completed by connecting PHCs and 104 ambulances, under which 676 vehicles (104) are already providing services and 910 vehicles (104) will be used for the implementation of the family doctor concept along with the new 234 vehicles. Another 104 vehicles are also kept in reserve under backup for each district.

The officials explained that Family doctors are available at Village Clinic from 9 am to 4 pm. Family doctors would perform works relating to General OP, Non-Communicable Disease Management, Healthcare of pregnant women, visit to anganwadis including monitoring of children's health, visit of schools including monitoring of children's health, anaemia prevention, monitoring of the health of bedridden patients, home visits to provide free health services.

The data of those suffering from non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes is also available to the family doctor. This data is used for follow-up treatment, officials said.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister launched Dr YSR Kanti Velugus third phase in the CM Camp Office at Tadepalli and instructed officials to consider offering dental treatment to the public and prepare a detailed action plan for the same.

He recalled that the YSR Kanti Velugu programme was launched on October 10, 2019 to provide free comprehensive eye treatment to the needy.

The CM said blindness can be prevented in more than 80 per cent of the cases. "The government is providing state-of-the-art eye treatment free of charge in a phased manner. Free eye examinations are done in primary health centers, sub-centres, secretariats and schools. Eye surgeries are performed in government and recognized eye hospitals. The government also is providing free spectacles and medicines to the needy," he said.

He said the government has partnered with LV Prasad Eye Institute for the necessary training of ophthalmologists and other staff to implement the eye care programme. The officials explained that through the Dr YSR Kanti Velugu Phase-1 and Phase-2, screening tests have already been conducted for 66,17,613 students in 60,393 schools. Out of these, 1,58,227 students were given spectacles and 310 people underwent surgery.

Jagan said eye screening tests will be conducted at village and ward secretariats and the government aimed to complete this programme by August.
Guntur Mayor Kavati Sivanagamanohar. (Photo: Twitter)

GUNTUR: In an innovative first-of-its-kind initiative in AP, the Guntur Municipal Corporation has started a YSR Cloth Bank under the Wall of Kindness concept at Lakshmipuram in Guntur on Monday.

The aim is to provide clothes to the needy and free of cost. Guntur Mayor Kavati Sivanagamanohar said that cloth banks are not only of help to the poor but also contribute to the cleanliness of the city. The cloth bank set up at Lakshmipuram e-bus bay under the auspices of the city administration was inaugurated by the mayor in the presence of city commissioner Keerthi Chekuri.

The mayor said the needy people can take clothes from the cloth bank and use them. He urged the people to hand over their reserve clothes to these banks without throwing them out. This would also be beneficial to the city in terms of sanitation upkeep. The mayor said the staff of the GMC would be available in the cloth bank from 8 am to 8 pm every day.

Commissioner Keerthi said this was an innovative idea. Every day, many kinds of clothes are being thrown onto the roads, affecting the citys sanitation conditions. She appealed to the people to make good use of the cloth bank and said steps would be taken to establish these banks in other parts of the city as well.

Corporator Echampati Venkatakrishna, EE Sundara Ramireddy, MHO Bhanu Prakash, ADH Rama Rao, sanitary inspectors and others participated in the programme.
People celebrate the festival of colours at Begum bazar in Hyderabad on Tuesday. (Photo: P.Surendra)

Hyderabad: Hyderabad was painted in vibrant colours on Tuesday as residents celebrated Holi with enthusiasm and fervour from early morning. There is more to come as some communities will celebrate the festival on Wednesday.

Even though it was a public holiday, college students gathered on their campuses to celebrate the festival of colours.

Students of the JNTU Fine Arts and Profession Studies painted their campus in colours, while students of Osmania University organised an event for students from Afghanistan, Nepal, Syria, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Colonies were soaked in colours, residents said. In Narayanguda, teens were spotted spraying one another with colours since 6 am.

Kattekola Meena Rao of Saroornagar, said, "I guess after a gap of year or two, this year the celebrations were full-fledged. My friends and I made it a point to use only organic colours. The festival cheered up everyone."

Vaishnavi Seethiraju, a resident of Manikonda, said: "All our friends and neighbouring families played together. Irrespective who they are, once they are here, we are drenching them in colour."

Anantha Vaibhavi, an NRI, said: "I did all my schooling abroad, but this year, I have a chance to participate in the festival of colours."

The festivities, however, are not over, as a few communities and families opted to celebrate the festival on Wednesday. So, they burnt the effigy, as part of the Holika Dahan, on Tuesday evening.

Even though there was confusion, youths said they will make use of both days to celebrate the festival.

Swapnika Jaiswal, a resident of Kacheguda, said, "We are celebrating the festival on Wednesday as many of the corporate companies got holiday tomorrow. Even our family is celebrating the festival on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, we burnt the effigy of Holika."
Dr Thayi Chiranjeevi said: "it makes no difference whether the surgeon is male or female; what counts is that the patient walks away with a smile after recovery." (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: Dr Thayi Chiranjeevi knew she wanted to be a doctor early in life. When she became "thoroughly fascinated" by orthopaedics, many were surprised by her choice, but her determination to pursue the masculine field earned her the rare distinction of being one of only three women joint-replacement surgeons in the world.

Ahead of International Womens Day on March 8, she detailed her experiences and discrimination faced to Deccan Chronicle.

"As the only woman joint replacement surgeon in the country and one among three globally, I am frequently asked how I got into this speciality. I tell them I could feel it in my bones," she said.

When she was in medical school, everyone she met opposed, if not denounced, her decision to become an orthopaedic surgeon. She said that while questions like "you're a woman, why are you choosing this male branch?" were commonplace, she was shocked when counsellors persuaded her to choose gynaecology or general medicine.

"The counsellors thought I would abandon my course midway, thereby denying a male student the seat and the chance to become an orthopaedic surgeon, but I remained firm in my resolve. It almost felt like polite discrimination. Female surgeons were stereotyped as being weaker than their male peers, particularly in orthopaedics, which is not true," she said.

In orthopaedics, the representation of women has been increasing, but more slowly than in other surgical specialities.

"In contrast to the rising number of young girls seeking MS orthopaedics, I was the only female who opted for the speciality during my time. However, many people believe that orthopaedic speciality necessitates muscular power and physical strength. Such perceptions may perpetuate old stereotypes about what makes an outstanding orthopaedic surgeon," she said.

That said, she has no bones to pick with her male colleagues by asserting that she never encountered workplace bias or male dominance. "I believe a woman surgeon would be more efficient and can perform a better job," said Dr Chiranjeevi, who is now a senior consultant orthopaedic doctor and joint replacement surgeon at Sunshine Hospitals.

For someone who does about 2,500 surgeries each year, at an average of eight operations per day, she said that the operating room was a wonderful place to be. "The most memorable day for me was doing my first surgery with the full attention of all my colleagues, and I was thrilled that day when I was drilling the nail in the femur. Sunday, however, is the dullest day for me since I miss going to the operating room," Dr Chiranjeevi said, with a laugh.

She said that women, in general, have a higher risk of suffering from orthopaedic problems, with rheumatoid arthritis being the most common, and that exercise, a balanced lifestyle, and periodic check-ups are the best prescriptions for maintaining robust orthopaedic health.

Putting to bed the gender question, she said: "It makes no difference whether the surgeon is male or female; what counts is that the patient walks away with a smile after recovery."
The actual family doctor concept will start functioning from Sankranti in January 2023. (Representational Image/ DC File)

TIRUPATI: Implementation of the Family Doctor programme, a brainchild of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has started in Chittoor and Tirupati districts. It is aimed at providing better healthcare to people living in villages.

In Chittoor district, the concept has been set in motion in all 31 mandals, covering 48 primary healthcare centres (PHCs). In Tirupati district, it has been launched in 33 villages. Authorities will study the scheme under implementation and rectify shortcomings. The actual family doctor concept will start functioning from Sankranti in January 2023.

A senior official said: "The family doctor concept will transform rural healthcare with commencement of YSR Village Health Clinics (YVHCs). Existing sub-centres in villages and an additional 250 sub-centres will be transformed into YVHCs. Each YVHC will cater to about 2,000 people in each village against the national average of one sub-centre for every 5,000 people."

According to officials, each YVHC clinic will be headed by a B. Sc. Nursing graduate designated as mid-level health provider, who will be assisted by an ANM and a team of ASHA workers. YVHCs will provide 14 types of tests and 67 types of medicines to people living within its area of operations. Each clinic will also undertake disease control programmes, antenatal, postnatal, and other treatments.

Each mandal will have two PHCs. Each PHC will have two doctors, three nurses, pharmacist, lab technician and other staff. The two doctors, along with a mobile medical unit, will visit villages to conduct general check-ups on vulnerable people at Anganwadi centres, schools and other places, besides reaching out to doorsteps of patients having long-term illnesses. Healthcare of such patients will be tracked under the family doctor concept. Surgeries required, if any, will be performed under Aarogyasri.

There will also be telemedicine hubs, where specialists will be available.

They will refer patients to area or district hospitals, or Aarogyasri network hospitals. A 104 ambulance will visit every village twice a month to review the health of people in every village secretariat. Medical staff of the ambulance will diagnose and treat residents for minor illnesses like blood pressure and diabetes. They will also disburse medicines required for the month.
State BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar leads a day-long protest against atrocities on women. (DC)

HYDERABAD: BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Monday questioned the veracity of an "unsigned" letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and senior politicians, including three other CMs.

He questioned whether the Chief Minister had the support of his counterparts or if it was made up, as, he claimed, the letter  that condemned the Central governments misuse of central probe agencies  lacked authentication.

"The letter released on Sunday is a deliberate attempt to defame the BJP government at the Centre because Modi had made it clear that there is no place for corruption in the country and it will not be tolerated irrespective of who is involved in such acts," he said.

"KCR must provide clarity on this, whether the letter is true or was made up. But he did not sign it and could not get eight other signatures," he said.

The letter, released on Sunday, was by Chief Ministers K. Chandrashekar Rao of Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party, Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena-UBT and Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party.

The BJP, Sanjay said, was ready to have a letter addressed to the President that will be signed by one crore people, saying that Rao had released a fake letter addressed to Modi. "KCR is supporting (former Delhi deputy CM) Manish Sisodia, who has been removed from his post by his own Chief Minister. This is nothing but an attempt to save his daughter, who is also involved in the Delhi liquor scam," he said.

Sanjay said it is time for "KCR to come clean on his daughters role in the scam. If she is not involved, then he must come out in public and say so."
BJP candidate AVN Reddy addressing a meeting of teachers in the city on Monday. (DC Image)

HYDERABAD: The BJP has taken it upon itself to win the March 13 election to the Hyderabad-Ranga Reddy-Mahbubnagar districts teachers constituency in the Legislative Council. The Partys national general secretary and in-charge of BJP Telanganas organizational affairs, Sunil Bansal, met with senior party leaders from the three districts on Monday morning at the partys city office.

The BJP has chosen A. Venkata Narayan Reddy as its candidate. The March 13 election is for filling up the vacancy when sitting MLC Kattepalli Janardhan Reddys term ends on March 29. The BJP believes that there is a lot of resentment among teachers against the state government particularly in the light of GO 317 which many teachers blame to separate their families forcing them to stay apart, and other issues related to the teaching community.

Following the morning meeting, state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar, along with senior party leaders N. Indrasena Reddy, N. Ramchander Rao, along with Venkat Narayana Reddy met with teachers to seek their support for the BJP candidate. The electorate comprises 29,720 teachers.

Sanjay called on teachers to show solidarity and ensure the BJP candidate wins and said that teachers are not being paid their salaries every month. Defeat the BRS in this election and the Chief Minister will ensure salaries are paid on the first of every month.

Venkata Narayana Reddy, addressing the meeting said whether school or college teachers are yearning for change and votes when cast reflect the opinion of well-educated intellectuals and can be treated as a referendum on the functioning of the government. We should not lose this opportunity to send a strong message to the government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi interacts with UK's Members of Parliament, academics, journalists, community leaders and leaders of the Indian Overseas Congress at the Grand Committee Room, UK Parliament, in London, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. (Photo: PTI)

LONDON: The BJP likes to believe that it will be in power in India "eternally" but that is not the case, and the Opposition can unite to undertake the repair work needed to protect India's democratic institutions, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.

Addressing an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank in London to round off his week-long UK tour on Monday evening, the Wayanad MP once again claimed that Israeli software Pegasus was planted on his phone as he accused the BJP of trying to silence dissent in the country.

To put it in perspective, if you look at the time from independence to now, the Congress party has been in power for majority of the time, said Gandhi.

Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that they have come to power in India and they are going to be in power eternally, that's not the case, he said.

"We can see that the reliance on our institutions is reducing and that to me is very, very dangerous. Certainly there is repair work that needs to be done, on the idea of freedom, independent institutions, a whole bunch of repair work that needs to be done."

The Opposition MP pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and UPA government off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.

We were focussing a lot on the rural space and we missed the ball in the beginning on the urban space, that's a fact. Those things are there. But to say that the BJP is in power and the Congress gone, that's actually a ridiculous idea, said Gandhi.

The BJP on Tuesday lashed out at Gandhi for his criticism of the state of democracy in India and the RSS from London, claiming it is its clear conviction that he is completely in the grip of "Maoist thought process through his minions" and also "anarchist elements".

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also expressed his party's disapproval of Gandhi "misusing the forum of British parliament" to spread shameful lies and unfounded claims.

During his Chatham House discussion, Gandhi pointed out that besides just the Congress, the foreign media has also been highlighting that there is a serious problem with Indian democracy.

It's also the way the BJP responds. It's not interested in a conversation. They have decided that they know what's going on, nobody else in the country knows what's going on and that's it... My phone had Pegasus on it, that simply was not happening when we were in power. So there are things that are very obvious and apparent to everyone, he said.

The BJP has also made light of Gandhi's allegation that he was being snooped upon, saying that the Congress leader was "hallucinating" and makes such claims as he wants to create headlines wherever he goes.

Gandhi also took aim at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a fundamentalist, fascist organisation that has changed the nature of the democratic contest in India by capturing the country's institutions.

Asked to explain the RSS to a foreign audience, he noted: You can call it a secret society. It's built along the lines of the Muslim Brotherhood and the idea is to use the democratic contest to come to power and then subvert the democratic contest afterwards.

It's shocked me at how successful they've been at capturing the different institutions of our country: the press, judiciary, Parliament, Election Commission all the institutions are under pressure, under threat and controlled in one way or another.

On foreign policy, Gandhi drew a comparison between the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India-China relations and accused China of sitting on 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory but our Prime Minister says they are not there.

The basic principle applied in Ukraine by the Russians is that they do not accept the relationship the Ukrainians have with Europe and America, and have told Ukraine that if you do not change this relationship, we will challenge your territorial integrity. In my view, that is what is happening on the borders of my country, claimed Gandhi, adding that China is similarly threatening India over its relations with the US.

The basic idea behind the troops in Arunachal (Pradesh) and Ladakh is similar to what's happened in Ukraine and I mentioned this to the foreign minister (S Jaishankar), he completely disagreed with me and he thinks it's a ludicrous idea, he said.

Asked if a rapprochement is possible, the Congress leader said that India is the biggest game in town in terms of production which makes it China's biggest competitor.

There's going to be a little bit of tensions and hostility on the margins. But I think it's very important the lines are clear. They are sitting on 2,000 sq km of our territory, that's a fact, he said.

Gandhi also said that Chinese people do not function in a democratic manner as the Indian society does.

"Our society is built in a democratic manner. The Chinese do not practice the same model and see it as their biggest challenger. We need to offer the world our own vision of 'Productivity with Prosperity'" The Indian National Congress tweeted.

Among the questions from a diaspora and academic audience at the event, Gandhi was asked about dynastic politics as an impediment to Indian democracy, which he dismissed as a factor and blamed structural issues way beyond dynastic politics as a threat.

On India-Pakistan relations, the Opposition leader said he believes it is important to have good relations with all neighbouring countries but that depends on the actions of the Pakistanis.

If the Pakistanis are promoting terrorism in India, that becomes very difficult. And, that does happen, he said.

The discussion concluded Gandhi's UK tour, which the party described as an overwhelming response to the message of the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

There was unanimous concern over the alarming decline of India's democracy and institutions. Specifically, the raids on the BBC in India have touched a raw nerve in the UK and raised alarm, said Praveen Chakravarty, Chairman Data & Research, All India Congress Committee.
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi has demanded an apology from KPCC president D K Shivakumar for trying to mislead the people on the Mangaluru cooker blast by calling it a minor incident.

"The terror outfit ISIS itself has claimed responsibility for the cooker blast. Will you (D K Shivakumar) support ISIS or Taliban? Will you tender a public apology?. Two months back, Shivakumar had termed the cooker blast a minor accident and that the BJP was using it to divert public attention," Joshi said addressing a district-level convention of beneficiaries of various central and state programmes.

Taking a dig at the appeasement politics of the Congress and its allies, Joshi said, "The Union government is trying to corner Pakistan over its state-sponsored terrorism. We are striving for the inclusion of Pakistan in the grey list. But Congress is creating hurdles in our efforts to isolate Pakistan. Its leader Rahul Gandhi delivers a lecture at Cambridge University against India's interests and now Shivakumar calls a terror act a minor incident," the Union minister charged.
Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit

Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools:

Portfolio Monitoring

Top Stock Lists

Premium Reports

Stock Screeners

Live News Feed

Premium Support

Free for your first month.
Medical Properties Trust Inc. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in acquiring and developing healthcare facilities. The company's portfolio comprises properties across the United States and Europe, including acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, and other healthcare facilities.

Since 2003, Medical Properties Trust Inc. has become a leading player in the healthcare real estate industry. The company's strategy is centered on long-term leases with high-quality tenants, providing stable cash flow and reducing the risk associated with occupancy and rental rate volatility. Medical Properties Trust Inc. has a strong track record of growth and profitability.

One of the critical drivers of Medical Properties Trust Inc.'s success is its focus on the healthcare industry. With an aging population and increasing demand for healthcare services, the healthcare industry is expected to continue growing in the coming years. As a result, the need for healthcare facilities is likely to increase, which should benefit Medical Properties Trust Inc.

Additionally, the company's focus on long-term leases with high-quality tenants provides stability and predictability, which is especially important in the healthcare industry, where occupancy and rental rate volatility can be high.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. has an excellent management team with a proven track record of success. Under the company's current leadership, Medical Properties Trust Inc. has grown rapidly and consistently outperformed its peers. The company's management team has also demonstrated a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. In 2020, Medical Properties Trust Inc. was recognized as a leader in sustainability performance.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. is exposed to general economic conditions, regulatory changes, and competition within the healthcare real estate industry. The company's success is also dependent on the performance of its tenants, which may be affected by factors such as changes in healthcare laws, reimbursement rates, and patient volumes. Additionally, the company's focus on healthcare real estate may limit its ability to diversify its portfolio in the event of a downturn in the healthcare industry.

Despite the risks, Medical Properties Trust Inc. has shown resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of healthcare facilities, and the company's portfolio of high-quality properties has continued to generate strong cash flows. Medical Properties Trust Inc. has used the pandemic to acquire additional properties at attractive valuations.

Medical Properties Trust Inc. is well-positioned to benefit from several long-term trends in the healthcare industry:

The aging population is expected to increase the demand for healthcare services, including acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, and long-term care facilities. The shift towards value-based care drives consolidation in the healthcare industry, likely resulting in increased demand for healthcare facilities. Advances in medical technology are increasing the need for specialized facilities, such as proton therapy and cancer treatment centers.

Medical Properties Trust Inc.'s financial position is strong, with a healthy balance sheet and access to capital markets. The company has consistently maintained an investment-grade credit rating and low capital cost, allowing it to finance growth. Additionally, the company has a diversified tenant base, with no single tenant accounting for more than 4% of its annualized base rent. This provides stability and reduces the risk associated with tenant concentration.
Policing Board member, Mark H Durkan MLA (SDLP) has condemned the actions of a dissident republican group which has warned that the families of police officers in Northern Ireland are considered targets.

It follows threats made by Arm na Poblachta (ANP) in a statement to the Irish News.

Mr Durkan said: "This is absolutely reprehensible. The purpose of this chilling threat issued by faceless thugs is to instil fear within our society. The notion that not only police officers will be targeted for simply doing their job but also their family members, is appalling. Sadly, officers families have lived under threat for many years here.

I cannot begin to imagine the stress of saying goodbye to your partner every morning as they head to work, worried about the dangers of what their day will entail or if they will return home that evening. These families are already living with anxiety on a daily basis and now have the added stress of also being a target. The impact this will have on people and how they live their lives cannot be underestimated. Its sickening.

In the face of threats and attacks people everywhere have stood in solidarity with police officers, now people must stand in solidarity with their families in rejecting this threat.

No one should be threatened in their homes, schools, workplaces, playing sports, places of faith, out shopping or anywhere else. That is what this threat means - that was the truth of terror in the past and it has no place in the Ireland of today.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
Sinn Fein MLA Ciara Ferguson has called on the British government to honour its commitment to replace EU funding in full.

The Foyle MLA said: Sinn Fein and other parties are calling for an urgent meeting with the British Secretary of State and the Head of the Civil Service to urge them to do all they can to ensure groups providing vital services to some of our most vulnerable people can continue to do so.

"As it stands, groups funded by the European Social Fund face a cliff-edge at the end of March, and jobs and services from which thousands in our communities' benefit will be lost.

Community and voluntary workers need an Executive up and running now and without any delay.

These groups need immediate support from local departments and we have called for departments to step up and extend the existing funding they provide for a year on a pro-rata basis to provide some space to groups waiting on decisions.

The British Governments failure to fully replace lost EU funding is having a damaging impact on vital services. They should fully replace this money."
The granddaughter of a German businessman who was killed by the IRA has spoken of the impact of generational trauma on her family almost 50 years on from his death.

Tanya Williams-Powells grandfather Thomas Niedermayer, the manager of the Grundig factory in Belfast and the West German honorary consul for Northern Ireland, was kidnapped by the provisional IRA on December 27 1973.

His body was not found until seven years later in 1980, when he was discovered in a shallow grave in Colin Glen, Belfast.

The shockwaves of grief continued to affect the family for generations following Mr Niedermayers murder.

Ms William-Powell said her grandmother Inge Niedermayer was the first of four family members to take their own life in the years following her husbands death.

After that unfortunately his wife Inge took her own life, Ms Williams-Powell explained.

Subsequent to that their two daughters  Renate and my mother Gabrielle  both also took their lives, as did my father.

Intergenerational trauma is the term used for the observation that trauma experienced directly by one generation can have an impact on the mental health of their children.

A study from Queens University on inter-generational trauma flagged that those affected by atrocities during the Troubles have not received sufficient support leading to very poor psychological health, frequent nightmares, anxiety, fear, flashbacks, high suicide rates, and a reluctance to talk about traumatic events for fear of causing distress.

Ms Williams-Powell said of her grandfather: But his murder obviously affected Inge and their daughters so profoundly that they never got over it.

And I recall seeing Inge when I was young, and all I saw of her was a very small, sad person who hadnt got over what had happened, and it seemed to just weigh her down all the time.

Renate and Gabrielle (Gabi) were teenagers at the time of their fathers kidnapping and witnessed him being taken into a car by two men.

Renate and Gabi seemed quite estranged as well, possibly, because they were teenagers at the time of his death, Ms Williams-Powell said.

The guilt that they felt and they couldnt really talk to each other.

That seemed, particularly with my mum, to overshadow her entire life. I think mental health issues particularly back then was even more taboo than it still is now. It was all swept under the carpet.

This is to highlight the legacy of victims of the Troubles that it doesnt only affect that one person but it can have a long-lasting detrimental effect to the families who were left behind.

The Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy and Reconciliation Bill is currently being discussed in the House of Lords.

The Bill seeks to introduce an independent commission that will publish a historical record of all Troubles-related deaths.

To achieve this, individuals who agree to co-operate with the new truth recovery body will secure immunity from prosecution.

This aspect of the Bill has been condemned by Amnesty International UK for protecting perpetrators if they give an honest account of crimes they committed during the Troubles.

In 1981, two men were charged in connection with Mr Niedermayers murder.

One man pleaded guilty to manslaughter, claiming he had killed Mr Niedermayer unintentionally when he tried to escape, and was later sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.

In a way were lucky that we did have those criminal trials and people were found guilty, Ms William-Powell said about her familys case.

I can understand where theyre coming from with an amnesty in order to get the truth and honest accounts of what has happened.

My feelings would be for that of the victims. That truth is all well and good. But where are the consequences?

I would say that truth and justice should actually go hand in hand and there must be a better way of getting both of those for the victims and for everyone to be able to move on. But I do think that the perpetrators of violent acts should receive some sort of punishment.

Im not sure if the people who will say violence was our only option really understand the effects it has on the family and the friends and the wider community that it involves.

Saturday March 11 is European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, with a victims event being held in Stormont on Tuesday to advocate for more support for victims and survivors.

European victims day aims to show solidarity with victims of terrorism across the world. Ms Williams-Powell spoke at Stormont on Tuesday about the importance of opening up to alleviate the trauma and grief that can engulf victims of terrorism.

I just hope that me attending this European victims event will help other people to realise that youre not alone, that everybodys experiences are different.

As someone who has vast experience with familial grief, Ms Williams-Powell offered her advice for those who may be struggling with events of the past.

It doesnt have to be everything that you are, and you can actually move on from that and break the cycle of grief and guilt and depression.

Learn from it. Educate our youngsters that violence isnt always the right way to go about things.

And the way that we teach children now about communication and empathy and understanding is a much better way to get your point of view across, as far as Im concerned.

There are people out there who can help. And if me speaking about our situation helps anyone, that makes this trip so worthwhile.

The aim of the day is to pay tribute to all European victims and survivors of terrorism, regardless of the extremist ideology that inspired the attack, as well as a show of unity and resilience against terror and violent extremism.
Minister of State Burke to visit Madrid

Press release

The Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Peter Burke, T.D., will visit Madrid on Tuesday, 7 March to meet with his Spanish counterpart, Pascual Ignacio Navarro Rios, Secretary of State for the European Union.

While in Madrid, Minister Burke will also meet with Deputy Susana Sumelzo Jordan, Chair of the Spanish Joint Parliamentary Committee on the European Union, and with Irish State Agencies operating in Spain including Tourism Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia.

A wide range of issues will be discussed during these meetings, including bilateral relations between Spain and Ireland, the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, EU-UK relations, rule of law issues, Ukraine, EU enlargement, engagement with Latin America, energy and climate issues.

Speaking in advance of the visit, Minister Burke said:

I am delighted to visit Madrid for the first time in my role as Minister for European Affairs and Defence. Ireland enjoys an excellent relationship with Spain, in part, from historical links, as well as cultural affinity. The numbers of Irish citizens resident in Spain, our increasing trade, tourism and education links, and the mutual professional opportunities for citizens of both countries are all very positive.

This is an excellent opportunity to discuss key EU issues with my Spanish counterpart, Secretary of State Pascual Ignacio Navarro Rios, ahead of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU later in 2023. We want to continue to grow the friendship between our two countries and to adapt to new opportunities.

ENDS



Press Office



6 March 2023

 Previous Item | Next Item 
When the opportunity to interview Jaya Jagadish, Country Head and Senior Vice President, Silicon Design Engineering, AMD India, came along, I obviously wasnt going to say no. Shes a tech industry stalwart, and her insights and comments are priceless for not just future women techies but all of us to learn from and ponder over. Edited excerpts of my email interview with AMDs Jaya Jagadish follow below:

Can you describe your journey to becoming a tech industry leader?

I am from Bangalore, and I did my Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering from BMS College. I moved to the U.S. to do my M.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas. Engineering was a natural career choice mainly because of my love for Math and Science. Back in the day, Engineering and Medicine were the mainstream career choices. I took the former as I always associated engineering with problem-solving and innovation. I was fascinated with the creativity that engineering offered.

I joined AMD as a Design Engineer, right after my Masters degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas. AMD works in the niche semiconductor space and very few women take up a career in hardware engineering, but I was passionate about building and designing products. I knew from the start that this was my calling.

After a short stint at Mentor Graphics and Analog Devices, I returned to AMD and was part of the founding team that set up the company in India. When I joined AMD in India in 2005, we had very limited talent in the CPU design space. We hired fresh graduates and trained them internally to build the talent pipeline. One of the high points of my career has been building a high-performing engineering team at AMD India - grounds-up. Today, we are a 500+ strong silicon design engineering team. Over the years, this team has successfully executed complex programs that have been crucial in AMDs roadmap.

In my current role as Country Head, I am responsible for giving strategic direction to AMDs growth in India and fostering a culture of innovation and inclusive growth among our 6,000+ employees in the region.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced?

Since it is less common to have women in leadership positions, it is not always easy to be accepted as a leader. There are times when you have to doubly prove yourself to earn the respect and position of peers. But throughout my career, I have come to learn that the onus of success lies with women employees.

As I rose the career ladder, I worked with other leaders who were my peers and learned the art of influencing without authority. Earning the trust of the peer group, bringing various teams together, driving several initiatives with a focus on India and getting executive attention on the region were some of the biggest challenges. After 6+ years in this role, this experience has been the most challenging but also the most satisfying in my career. It taught me several leadership lessons, the most important being how to influence without authority.

How have you seen the tech industry evolve?

It is the best time to be a part of the technology industry especially, the semiconductor industry. In my 25+ years in the industry, I have seen it evolve from being a chip under the hood to the centre of mainstream conversation. Today almost everyone realises the importance of semiconductors to drive the digitised world. In India, this focus is getting sharper because of the Government of Indias strategic vision to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem in the country.

What do you see as some of the biggest opportunities for growth in the future?

One of the biggest opportunities lies in AI. As AI becomes pervasive across the world, it will drive smart technologies in retail, cities, factories, healthcare etc. You can see its significance even with the recent government announcement to set up centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence in top educational institutions to 'make AI in India and 'make AI work for India.

What steps have you taken to ensure a diverse and inclusive workplace, and what have been some of the outcomes of these efforts in terms of impact?

At AMD, we firmly believe that our companys success is strengthened by our employees, having a strong sense of belonging. Diversity connotes statistics and requirements while belonging connotes attachment and connectedness. We believe belonging is what every employee desires in a workplace. Driven by this thinking, we have renamed the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) group at AMD to the Belonging and Inclusion (B&I) team.

We have institutionalised mechanisms to reduce unconscious bias in the workplace. We run a Multi-voice initiative to educate our global workforce about the power of multiple voices in the recruitment and promotions process. We are driving efforts to recruit diverse talent and sensitise everyone towards an inclusive culture, where the best ideas win regardless of the individuals gender.

What is your approach to mentorship and supporting the development of future women leaders in the Indian tech ecosystem?

From my own experience, I know how an empowered woman can positively impact and support another woman. I was personally mentored by my organisations CEO, Dr Lisa Su, a stalwart in the semiconductor industry and one of the most powerful women in business across the globe today.

I pass on the light by mentoring women managers through formal and informal sessions within and outside AMD. During these discussions, we touch upon various aspects related to problem-solving, decision-making, people management, work-life balance, career planning, personal goals and so forth.

What are some of the biggest myths and stereotypes about women in tech that you've encountered or heard of?

I recall, as a young engineering student in the 90s, one of my professors told me that I am wasting a mans seat in the tech industry as I will soon give up my career. I fought this bias, tooth and nail.

Another aspect that I have observed is that often women are not as vocal and aggressive when it comes to asking for pay hikes or bringing up concerns about disparities at work. We tend to focus on the task that needs to be accomplished and believe other things will be taken care of. Fortunately, I have not encountered this kind of bias at AMD. The only criterion that we base our pay on is performance. So, building awareness of parity and being open about discussing pay biases at the workplace, will help address this issue at an industry level.

What advice would you give to women who aspire to leadership roles in the semiconductor industry, particularly in India?

My advice to women is that they should embrace femininity as their core strength. When the going gets tough, lead the way by standing firm on what is right, questioning the status quo and do not shy away from making bold decisions. It is important to recognize that challenges are the biggest opportunities that will help you learn and grow. Never let go of an opportunity for the fear of failure!

How do you stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, and what resources do you rely on?

Semi-conductor is an industry driven by innovation. You have to have the foresight to plan ahead and see where the industry is heading based on current trends. So, I stay abreast of developments in the industry by subscribing to online journals, news publications and upgrading my skills through online programs like those offered by Udemy. Another important avenue for me is networking. As country head for AMD, I get to be part of many industry conferences and discussions with stakeholders including academia, industry peers and government bodies. These engagements help get a strong pulse of the industry.

Can you discuss any initiatives or projects you have been involved in to give back to the community?

In my personal capacity, I am actively involved in doing my part to further STEM studies in schools. I volunteer time at a government school in Bangalore to teach science and maths to students.

And at work, I am involved in various CSR work undertaken by AMD to give back to the community. Our focus areas include furthering STEM studies and helping youth find gainful employment. We support computer and science education in government schools by refurbishing school infrastructure, computer centres, science labs as well as rural childcare centres. We host training sessions for teachers, science exhibitions and field visits for students, vocational courses to help youth learn new skills etc.
As the world gets more and more advanced on mobile technology, the demand for high-speed, reliable connections has grown exponentially. 5G technology offers just that - faster data speeds, lower latency, and better connectivity. With the rise of 5G, many mobile phone manufacturers have launched new devices that support this technology.

Amazon offers a range of 5G phones with crazy deals and discounts. These phones offer advanced features, cutting-edge technology, and are sure to provide a seamless and efficient user experience.

Here are five 5G smartphone on Amazon:

1. OnePlus 11R

OnePlus 11R was launched at a price of 39,999 and it is available on Amazon at the same price but Amazon has offered some bank offer which are:

5% instant discount up to 150 on Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 300 on ICICI Bank Credit and Debit Cards.

7.5% Instant Discount up to 1,500 on Bank of Baroda Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 250 on City Union Bank Mastercard Debit Card.

5% Instant Discount up to 250 on HSBC Cashback Card Credit Card.

Amazon has also offered an exchange offer which can be availed to get a discount up to 18,050.

2. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the top high-end phones around the globe right now and it was launched at a price of 1,49,999. However, Amazon is offering a 17% instant discount on this one which drops the price to 1,24,999. Along with that there are five bank offers available as well:

Flat 8000 Instant Discount on HDFC Bank Credit Card.

7.5% Instant Discount up to 1500 on Bank of Baroda Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 250 on City Union Bank Mastercard Debit Card.

5% Instant Discount up to INR 250 on HSBC Cashback Card Credit Card.

The exchange offer here comes with a discount up to 32,050. It can be availed by trading your old phone while buying Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

3. iQOO Neo 7

iQOO Neo 7 is available on Amazon at a price of 29,999. Amazon has offered a 14% discount on this one and it also comes with bank offer as well:

Flat 1500 Instant Discount on SBI Credit Card.

Flat 1500 Instant Discount on HDFC Bank Card.

7.5% Instant Discount up to 1500 on Bank of Baroda Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 250 on City Union Bank Mastercard Debit Card.

5% Instant Discount up to 250 on HSBC Cashback Card Credit Card.

The iQOO Neo 7 can be purchased with more discount by trading in your old phone. The exchange offer on the phone can give you a discount up to 20,050.

4. Realme Narzo 50 Pro

The Realme Narzo 50 Pro was launched at a price of 21,999. Now it is available on Amazon at a price of 17,980. Along with that there is an exchange offer worth up to 17,081 and bank offers:

7.5% Instant Discount up to 1500 on Bank of Baroda Credit Card.

5% Instant Discount up to 250 on HSBC Cashback Card Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 250 on City Union Bank Mastercard Debit Card.

5. OnePlus 11

OnePlus 11 is available on Amazon at its original price of 61,999. But Amazon has offered an exchange offer which can be availed to get an additional discount up to 18,050. Amazon has also offered the same bank offer which it offers with OnePlus 11R:

5% instant discount up to 150 on Amazon Pay ICICI Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 300 on ICICI Bank Credit and Debit Cards.

7.5% Instant Discount up to 1,500 on Bank of Baroda Credit Card.

10% Instant Discount up to 250 on City Union Bank Mastercard Debit Card.

5% Instant Discount up to 250 on HSBC Cashback Card Credit Card.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
The Government has announced a scoping inquiry to shape its response to allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders.

Education Minister Norma Foley made the announcement having secured Cabinet approval for the inquiry.

She said it was the first stage of the Governments response to the abuse allegations.

The scoping probe will be led by senior counsel Mary OToole.

The inquiry will produce a report that will include recommendations to the Government on next steps.

The move follows a public apology last year from the Spiritan Congregation to victims of abuse and the announcement of an independent group to engage with survivors at its schools and institutions, including Dublins Blackrock College.

The abuse allegations go back as far as the 1970s.

In November, then-taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed there would be an inquiry to examine the allegations.

Minister Foley said the scoping inquiry would be informed by experts across a range of areas, including child protection and restorative justice. She said its most important element would be engagement with survivors.

She said it would factor in analysis of previous abuse inquiries in Ireland including the Ferns Report, the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and the Dublin Archdiocese Commission of Investigation.

The revelations of abuse in a number of schools are deeply disturbing and heart-breaking, said Ms Foley.

I  and indeed the whole of Government  are very conscious of the enormous trauma which has been endured by all survivors of abuse.

It is vitally important that survivors of historical child sexual abuse have the opportunity to be heard in full, and with appropriate respect and sensitivity.

I have said that survivors need to know that there will be a serious response from Government. Today, with the support of Government, I am announcing the first stage of this response.

Ms Foley said she had met with a number of survivors in preparing to establish the scoping inquiry.

I would like to thank Mary OToole for agreeing to oversee this scoping inquiry, to give full consideration to the views of survivors and experts, and to provide me with recommendations as to the next steps required, she said.

The views of survivors are integral to this consideration and this scoping inquiry, including survivor engagement process, provides an appropriate way of enabling survivors to give their input, along with the views of experts in areas such as restorative justice and child protection.

I commend the courage of those who have come forward, and indeed all of those who have been living with the impact of this abuse for many years.

The minister said survivor engagement would be a central part of the inquirys work.

The survivor engagement process will be conducted by facilitators trained in trauma-informed practice.
An innovative educational programme aimed at preserving traditional building skills needed for protecting our historical built environment has today reopened for applications with Louth craftspeople urged to apply.

The All-Ireland Heritage Skills Programme is a collaboration between The Princes Foundation, The Heritage Council and Department for Communities Historic Environment Division (HED).

This year, eight bursaries are available for people already working or studying in heritage skills and the construction sector  in particular stonemasonry, carpentry, joinery, bricklaying, blacksmithing, plastering, thatching, roofing, tiling, painting, and decorating  and who would like to raise their skills to the next level.

The All-Ireland Heritage Skills Programme is a 12-month course, which provides practical experience and training in a broad range of diverse heritage building skills across the island of Ireland. Participants will also undertake a NVQ3 Diploma in Heritage Skills, assessed through HEDs Heritage Skills Centre in Moira, Co Down.

The successful applicants will get the opportunity to hone their skills at a Summer School in Dumfries House Estate in Scotland, Winter School in Kilkenny, and industry placements across the island of Ireland.

Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of Education at the Princes Foundation, said:

There is a growing demand to train the next generation of craftspeople who will work within our built environment. This need is both to preserve our existing historic landscape as well as to sensitively create our future heritage assets. Our experience at the Princes Foundation has taught us of the importance of doing so in an interdisciplinary way that provides exposure to other trades, materials and practices and creates a space for knowledge exchange and shared learning.

"We are thrilled to be partnering to deliver such an innovative cross border programme and believe that the programme will provide an impactful and inspiring foundation for future leaders in the sector."

Iain Greenway, Director of Historic Environment Division in the Department for Communities, said:

To provide a viable and sustainable skill base for the conservation of historic structures, there needs to be sufficient people with key heritage skills. I am delighted that we are able to play a key role through our Heritage Skills Centre in Moira. The All-Ireland Heritage Skills Programme has already proven a successful pathway to developing those skills and I would encourage people to consider applying for this years scheme."

Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of The Heritage Council, said:

It is timely that as we begin the second year of this important Programme, the Heritage Council has set out priorities for the next five years in our new Strategic Plan. Its a plan that places specific emphasis on the preservation of traditional building skills and the pivotal role that education will play in enabling these skills not just to survive, but to thrive.

"Sadly, many vital skills are being lost and the heritage and construction sectors are experiencing the impact of that loss. The continuation and development of the All-Ireland Heritage Skills Programme is a key element of addressing this problem and we look forward to deeper collaboration with our partners in The Princes Foundation and Historic Environment Division.

For more information on the application process, criteria, dates, funding go to Education - All-Ireland Heritage Skills Programme (princes-foundation.org) or contact programme co-ordinator Hugh Kavanagh via email: Hugh.Kavanagh@princes- foundation.org
The Department of Education has confirmed that as of 31 January, 437 Ukrainian pupils are enrolled in schools across Louth.

Out of that figure, 258 of these pupils are attending primary schools while 179 pupils have enrolled in post-primary schools.

The figure represents a slight increase on the 430 Ukrainian pupils enrolled in schools across Louth at the beginning of February.

Nationally, Just under 15,000 students from Ukraine have been enrolled in Irish schools up to the start of this month.

The Department of Education has confirmed that as of 1 March, 14,931 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in schools across Ireland.

Out of that figure, 9,650 of these pupils have been accommodated in primary schools while 5,281 pupils have enrolled in post-primary schools.

Current data indicates an enrolment rate of 91% among Ukrainian children aged 5-18.

To assist with the transition of Ukrainian students and their families into Irish schools Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) continue to operate, hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland and staffed by regionally-based education support personnel.
Hopes are rising in Cooley that US President Joe Biden might pay a visit to north Louth during a trip to Ireland that is reportedly set to happen next month.

Councillor Andrea McKevitt, who is a distant relative of President Biden, told the Dundalk Democrat that reports that plans are underway for a visit have caused a lot of stir both in the Cooley Peninsula and among Cllr McKevitt's family.

The speculation about the prospect of President Bidens visit next month has obviously caused a lot of stir in the Cooley Peninsula and no more so than with my family, who all look forward with great anticipation to welcoming Joe back to Whitestown Shores, said the local councillor.

It is understood that President Biden is planning to visit Ireland for a number of days, according to reports by both the Irish Examiner and the Irish Mirror, with the Irish Mirror reporting that a six day trip is planned at the end of April, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).

The Irish Examiner reports that members of the US Secret Service are already in the country and are liaising with An Garda Siochana in preparation of the visit.

Cllr McKevitt told the Dundalk Democrat that the POTUSs visit is planned to mark the 25 years of the GFA and what better place to stop off than County Louth to mark this celebration, a border county where his ancestors originated from, so I am hopeful a stop in Louth will be included in his trip. Cousin Joe has been a wonderful friend to Ireland and a firm backer of the GFA.

Bidens great-grandfather, James Finnegan, emigrated from County Louth as a child in 1850. All eight of his great-great-grandparents on his mothers side were born in Ireland during the first half of the 19th century. On his fathers side, two great-grandparents were also born in Ireland.

President Biden last trip to Ireland was as Vice President in 2016, during which he visited north Louth. During the visit, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council at the time, Cllr Paul Bell, presented the Mr Biden with the Honorary Freedom of the County and a replica of the Brown Bull of Cooley made by local craftsman Joe Lawler.

Hopes that the US President might return to the Cooley Peninsula have certanly raised the moods of people in the area. Cllr McKevitt said, from a family perspective the talk of the visit has created a real sense of euphoria, it would be truly wonderful for the Peninsula and the County to host a visit from Cousin Joe.
Louth based Senator Erin McGreehan, says she will continue to support the Irish sheep sector, and has called for Sheep Welfare Scheme payments to be increased by a minimum of 30 per sheep.

Senator McGreehan joined the recent Save our Sheep Sector (SOS) protest with the IFA, and says that over the past number of years, she has raised issues including what she calls "the inequity in the sheep welfare scheme", "the constant delay in the establishment of the Wool Council", and "the necessity of enforcement and enhancement of the Dog Control legislation".

Commenting on raising the Sheep Welfare Scheme at a Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party meeting, Senator McGreehan said, I raised the issue to put further pressure on my colleagues at cabinet. I mentioned that I continuously raise the matter, and that I was sick of the sheep sector being the poor cousin of the agri industry.

The Cooley senator who is from a farming background, said that, "in 2022 we exported sheep meat to 35 different countries, 476 million worth of sheep to factories. Yet the net returns for sheep farmers fell by 81%. Costs of production are going up and margins are clearly reducing."

She continued, "we really need to improve the Sheep Welfare Scheme. I raised a Commencement matter with the Minister a couple of months ago on increasing the sheep welfare scheme payments. It is only 12 per sheep and needs to be increased by a minimum of 30.

With regards the establishment of the Wool Council, Senator McGreehan said that we need to be able to ensure that their wool, which is a sustainable product, has a market that and that it is being sold, and utilised for its potential."

The senator added, "We also need to protect sheep from dogs. We have an absolutely lackadaisical approach to looking after sheep in relation to sheep kills.

"We really need to move on that very quickly. We have 35,000 sheep farming families in the country and it is about time that both of these Houses started to stand up and listen to the sheep sector. It has been ignored for too long.
Our website uses cookies

We are always working to improve this website for our users. To do this, we use the anonymous data provided by cookies.

Learn more about how we use cookies
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 month and a day after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio  forcing evacuations as it spewed toxic chemicals into the surrounding community  another train from the same company derailed in the same state.

The derailment, which took place Saturday, March 4 at around 4:45 p.m. local time near Springfield, Ohio, in the states Clark County, did not release any dangerous chemicals, as company and state officials were quick to reassure residents. But it did raise concerns about the safety of Norfolk Southerns operations.

The railroads got a lot of questions theyve got to answer and they really havent really done it very well yet, Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown said on This Week, as The New York Times reported.

Sandusky, Steubenville, East Palestine, and now Springfieldall in the last five months.



This is unacceptable. Its why we must pass my bipartisan Rail Safety Act now.  Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) March 5, 2023

Saturdays derailment saw 28 of 212 cars derail en route from Bellevue, Ohio, to Birmingham, Alabama. The overturned cars slid along the tracks and knocked over power lines, which shut off power to 1,500 Clark County residents, as NPR reported. The four or five homes within 1,000 feet of the crash were asked to shelter in place for 10 hours after the incident as a precaution.

For residents, the incident brought up fears of a repeat of what had happened in East Palestine on Feb. 3, where hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxins including vinyl chloride were released from the crash site. Some people there are still complaining of suspicious odors and rashes. Removing contaminated soil from the area could take up to two months, as CNN reported.

The thought of another East Palestine shook Shawn Heaton as he witnessed Saturdays derailment firsthand while waiting in his car at a rail crossing.

Once I got back home, the first thing I did was get on my phone and check wind direction and all that stuff to make sure we were upwind, Heaton told The New York Times. Its just crazy, the things that can go through your mind.

However, in this case, it seems that history did not repeat.

NO hazmat involved. NO injuries reported. Our crews and contractors are responding. Authorities are helping with impacted crossing closures, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Connor Spielmaker said on Twitter. There is NO risk to the public.

NS train derailment Springfield, OH 



Approx 20 cars (of 212). NO hazmat involved. NO injuries reported. Our crews and contractors are responding. Authorities are helping with impacted crossing closures.



There is NO risk to the public.  Connor Spielmaker (@connaspiel) March 5, 2023

State agencies also said the area was safe after testing.

There was no release of any chemical or any hazardous material to the soil, to the air, to the water, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director Anne Vogel said Sunday, as CNN reported.

Four tanks that derailed had previously been carrying diesel exhaust fluid and a wastewater treatment additive, but were empty at the time of the crash and only contained very minor amounts, Springfield Fire Assistant Chief Matt Smith said.

Another car was carrying PVC pellets that did impact the surrounding soil.

Clark County Health Commissioner Charles Patterson said that the Ohio EPA and other technicians had tested the area and would keep monitoring it.

Technicians will continue to be on site to ensure that there isnt any contamination that has been missed, he said.

The cause of Saturdays incident is unknown, and the National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate. However, the back-to-back crashes have ignited a bipartisan call for action on rail safety.

The fact that were having derailment after derailment shows really the lack of investment, the disinvestment, in our infrastructure, and that needs to change, Representative Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), whose district includes Saturdays crash site, said Sunday, as The Washington Post reported.

Brown and Ohios Republican Senator J.D. Vance worked together to introduce the Railway Safety Act of 2023 on March 1. It would, among other measures, require companies like Norfolk Southern to inform states of what toxic freight is passing through. It has been praised by both Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and President Joe Biden, who, while both Democrats, have clashed on environmental and regulatory policies.

I applaud the bipartisan group of senators for proposing rail safety legislation that provides many of the solutions that my administration has been calling for, Biden said in a statement Thursday. This legislation provides us with tools to hold companies accountable to prevent terrible tragedies like the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine and to make those communities whole.
Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick to serve as the critical fifth vote on the Federal Communications Commission, is withdrawing from her nomination to the telecom regulator. On Tuesday, Sohn said she recently asked President Biden to appoint someone else to the FCC. The Biden administration originally announced Sohn's nomination in October 2021, only for her to go on to face intense resistance from Republicans and moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Sohn's failure to win her confirmation is a major setback for the Biden administration and its bid to reshape US internet policy after a wave of deregulation under former President Donald Trump. The regulator has been mired in a two-to-two deadlock since the departure of former Chairman Ajit Pai, preventing current Chair Jessica Rosenworcel from moving forward on a host of policy issues, including the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections.

"Unfortunately, the American people are the real losers here," Sohn said in a statement. "The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes."

During her confirmation hearings, Republicans cast Sohn as an extreme partisan. She also faced resistance from industry players, including organizations like the Directors Guild of America. Conservative groups spent large sums of money campaigning against her confirmation. One organization, the Center for a Free Economy, spent $200,000 on Facebook ads opposing the nomination. Sohn pointed to those campaigns in explaining her decision.

Subscribe to the Engadget Deals Newsletter Great deals on consumer electronics delivered straight to your inbox, curated by Engadgets editorial team. See latest Subscribe Please enter a valid email address Please select a newsletter By subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy.

"When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies," she said.

It's possible Democrats could have advanced Sohn to the FCC despite opposition, but the likelihood of that happening significantly diminished after Senator Joe Manchin came out against her nomination. Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that, he said in a recent statement. Per The Washington Post, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that, as of Tuesday, the Biden administration did not have news to share on a new nominee.
Internacional

Una nueva filtracion del Pentagono advierte de la debilidad de las defensas antiaereas de Taiwan ante China
(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IFS, the global cloud enterprise software provider, announces the appointment of Matthias Heiden as its new Chief Financial Officer. After a four-year tenure, current CFO Constance Minc will move to the IGT Group level as Chief Financial Officer IGT1, the holding entity of IFS and WorkWave.

The appointments of Heiden and Minc follow the 5th consecutive year of double-digit growth at IFS and will come into effect from April 1st 2023.

Heiden brings a strong financial pedigree to IFS with a Ph.D. from Universitat des Saarlandes. He joins IFS from Software AG where in his role of CFO and Executive Director he played a fundamental role in driving the company's transformation and successfully led its shift to a subscription-based business model. Prior to Software AG, Heiden's positions included Group CFO at SAF-HOLLAND SE and Regional CFO and Managing Director at SAP.

IFS Chief Executive Officer Darren Roos commented: "Over the last five years, IFS has experienced phenomenal growth and as we continue our trajectory, I am pleased to welcome Matthias to the organization as Chief Financial Officer." Roos Continued, "Matthias' proven track record in the technology space will provide the financial leadership that will help us accelerate towards our goals. Matthias will report to me from his base in Germany and I look forward to him playing an integral role in shaping our investments and business strategies."

Roos concluded, "In her new executive role at the IGT Group level, Constance will lead financial strategies across both IFS and WorkWave with the goal to protect and optimize shareholder interests."

Commenting on his new appointment at IFS, Matthias Heiden said, "I am excited to have joined IFS, especially at such an important time of growth. As Constance and I work together over the next few weeks, I look forward to getting to know IFS's business better and I am committed to continue building on the outstanding foundation that has been established. I am confident that my experience and leadership will help elevate further the financial team's contribution to IFS."

About IFS

IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within our single platform, our industry specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so that our customers can be their best when it really matters to their customers  at the Moment of Service. The industry expertise of our people and of our growing ecosystem, together with a commitment to deliver value at every single step, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our global team of over 5,500 employees every day live our values of agility, trustworthiness and collaboration in how we support thousands of customers. Learn more about how our enterprise software solutions can help your business today at ifs.com.

IFS Press Contacts:

EUROPE / MEA / APJ: Adam Gillbe IFS, Director of Corporate & Executive CommunicationsEmail: press@ifs.comPhone: +44 7775 114 856

NORTH AMERICA / LATAM: Mairi Morgan IFS, Director of Corporate & Executive CommunicationsEmail: press@ifs.comPhone: +1 520 396 2155

The following files are available for download:

View original content: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ifs-appoints-matthias-heiden-as-chief-financial-officer-301764591.html
Traffic is down to one lane on Highway 22 in New Sit
For more than one year before the U.S. Forest Service announced a controversial proposal to expand operations at Holland Lake Lodge, it was working hand in hand with POWDR, an adventure life company that aims to take full ownership of the resort on public land.

POWDR drafted at least one letter of support the Forest Service signed, and in advance of the first public meeting about the expansion, provided the agency talking points and direction on designing presentation boards about the private companys proposal.

The Forest Service characterized the collaborative work as business as usual with its partners  it said they must work hand in hand.

However, Save Holland Lake, a group that formed to fight the expansion, said public records raise questions about whether the agency is working on behalf of the public  or the private company.

Last week, Save Holland Lake released a report of public records it reviewed in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Its report includes emails that show the Flathead National Forest worked in tandem with POWDR, based in Utah, in advance of announcing the resort expansion to the public in September 2022.

It also noted Holland Lake Lodge paid the Forest Service nearly $47,000 to review the project as part of a cost sharing agreement for administrative work, but the agency returned the money in its initial rejection of the project. In the rejection letter, the Forest Service advised the lodge to correct its proposal to move forward.

However, from the start, Flathead National Forest Supervisor Kurt Steele showed enthusiasm for the expansion, records show. In an email in February 2021, Steele told the deputy regional forester in Missoula about the exciting potential from an interested buyer for purchasing and expanding the lodge.

If this works out, this could be one of, if not the primer (sic) place in the region, said the email quoted in the report. I am biased of course. Figured I would share. Nothing is official yet, but its a pretty cool idea that would be a great addition to our forest in providing an expanded opportunity for the public. Worth a quick glance.

Holland Lake Lodge operates on 10.53 acres of public land in the Swan Valley with a special use permit issued by the Forest Service.

In an email to the Daily Montanan, the Forest Service said it makes sense for the agency to work with its special use permit holders, along with guides and outfitters.

This work is collaborative in nature, and in this instance, the Forest Supervisor and District Ranger provide direction for Forest Service employees, said Beth Pargman, recreation program manager. We do work in collaboration with our partners on all kinds of matters.

The report from Save Holland Lake questioned the relationship between the Flathead National Forest and POWDR  in direct contrast to the disdain it said the agency showed members of the public.

For example, after roughly 18 months working with POWDR, the Forest Service opened comment on the proposal for just three weeks initially; it extended the comment deadline from Sept. 21 to Oct. 7 only after people said they needed more time.

Also, members of the public have had to wait to receive Forest Service documents, but records reviewed by Save Holland Lake show POWDR had ample access to information and to top employees at the agency, the report said.

Its just incredible how friendly and accommodating certain Forest Service staff are to POWDR, and refer to them for direction on the project, said Cheri Thornton, of Helena, in the Save Holland Lake report. I thought the Forest Service worked for us, not billion-dollar corporations.

Holland Lake Lodge sits on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in the Swan Valley. The area is home to grizzly bears, lynx and loons, and the lake is home to bull trout.

The resort operates on public land with the Forest Service permit, which identifies the lodge as the holder and Christian Wohlfeil as lodge owner.

Last fall, Wohlfeil said he wanted to sell the lodge to POWDR because he appreciated its ethic of sustainability. He also said POWDR has the resources to properly renovate the property, which is in need of repair.

Public records reviewed earlier by a couple of lawyers based in Hamilton show Wohlfeil already had transferred control of the resort to POWDR before the project was announced to the public. In October 2021, an email from POWDR to the Forest Service said the first phase of closing had taken place and the private company was in control of the lodge.

However, POWDR is not listed as the permit holder, and the permit itself states that any change in control terminates the permit. Early on, however, the Forest Service welcomed the idea of the private companys expansion.

In March 2021, POWDRs Brian Stewart sent the Forest Service a draft letter that expressed the agencys support for all efforts to rehabilitate facilities, enhance and expand public access to outdoor recreation and lodging if they met the terms of an agency permit.

The Flathead National Forest made slight changes to the letter and reproduced it on agency letterhead. Swan Lake District Ranger Christopher Dowling signed it.

A year and a half later, in September 2022, the Forest Service announced the idea for the expansion to the public. In preparation for the public meeting, POWDR provided the agency with talking points.

(For example, POWDRs founder has a passion for the mountains, and POWDR is a company with soul.)

Before that same meeting, the Forest Service worked with POWDR and the lodge to create boards that illustrated the expansion plan, and following feedback from Stewart, agreed to include an existing condition board.

The information the Forest Service and POWDR presented to the public incorrectly noted the current permitted acreage at 15 acres  nearly 50% more than the permit itself allowed and an error identified by the public.

In the Save Holland Lake report, Jim Morrison of Missoula said evidence shows the Flathead National Forest was working with POWDR, not independently. (The report said a Forest Service recreation program manager had taken an independent stance on the proposal, but leaders did not.)

The Flathead National Forest has persistently and unreasonably withheld from the public information about POWDRs proposed massive expansion of Holland Lake Lodge while collaborating extensively with POWDR, its contractors and others, Morrison said in the report.   Has the Forest Service abandoned its motto: Caring for the Land, and Serving People?

But the Flathead National Forests Pargman said the agency works with its partners to provide information for a potential sale, reconfiguration of business, or potential improvements to what is currently permitted.

This would be the same courtesy given to all our permit holders, Pargman said in the email.

Pargman also said it is not uncommon for an outside partner to write the first draft of a letter of support if theyve requested it. However, she said the Forest Service needs to agree with the content prior to signing it.

It is then reviewed and changed if needed before being finalized. This is a common practice in many agencies/businesses, Pargman said.

Pargman said once scoping and public meetings begin, the Forest Service is working hand in hand with the proponent on materials and public talking points.

It is our job to take the public information and subsequent environmental analysis and determine if the project will be approved as proposed, modified, or denied based on what we believe is in the best interest of the American public, she wrote.

The lodge currently lists nightly rates from $310 to $395 with meals. Wohlfeil has said the expansion rates are estimated to be $200 to $450 a night, with the higher rate accommodating four to six people in a cabin, but no meals.

The report said if the Flathead National Forest approves the lodge expansion, it will preclude any near-term upgrades to the campgrounds, which cost $20 a night for a single site by comparison. The report said the Flathead Forest Plan limits increases in capacity of overnight developed recreation sites to one project every decade in each Bear Management Unit.

The report also said the Forest Service collected checks totaling nearly $47,000 that covered a period from May through December 2022 but it then returned the money to Holland Lake Lodge  and apparently didnt bill anything prior to that period.

The key point is that U.S. taxpayers paid for all work related to the proposed expansion of HLL (aka POWDRs real estate transaction with Wohlfeil) conducted by FS employees from December 2020 to today, the report said.

In an email, the Forest Service said the agreement doesnt cover pre-application review, including early discussion with the proponent, or early screening. It said cost recovery applies to proposals formally accepted as applicants.

The proposed use (expansion) was not formally accepted, as well as mistakes and other inaccuracies were made on both sides, so under advisement of our legal counsel and specialists, we felt it was not appropriate to charge HLL for the cost recovery at this time, Pargman wrote.

In November, after public outcry over inaccuracies in the application and the agencys initial decision to skip a thorough environmental review, the Forest Service rejected the expansion. The agency said it would consider a revised proposal and has since committed to conducting at least an environmental assessment if not a deeper analysis.

Last week, the Forest Service said Holland and POWDR had not turned in a new application, but POWDR has said it intends to resubmit a similar project.
China urges Japan not to arbitrarily discharge nuclear-contaminated water

Xinhua) 13:55, March 07, 2023

VIENNA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese officials on Monday urged Japan not to arbitrarily start discharging nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.

Liu Jing, deputy director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, told a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors that Japan's nuclear-contaminated water discharge plan is not the country's private matter, but concerns the global marine environment and public health.

Liu said the IAEA has neither completed its assessment of Japan's disposal plan nor drawn specific conclusions, and all its three reports published so far pointed out the plan's non-compliance with the agency's safety standards and suggested improvement.

However, Japan has arbitrarily approved its own plan and expedited the construction of discharge facilities, ignoring the authoritative advice from the IAEA and the opposition from both home and abroad, Liu said, calling Japan's move "an extremely irresponsible act that has drawn grave concerns from the international community and relevant countries."

Noting that China supports the IAEA's work on Japan's discharge plan, the Chinese nuclear official said he hopes the agency will continue to perform its duties in an objective and impartial manner, listen to the opinions of stakeholders, strictly implement the agency's safety standards and international good practices, and help the international community ensure absolute safety.

Liu stressed that Japan's plan to dump contaminated water into the ocean is not the only feasible way of disposal, and Japan should not use the assessment from the IAEA technical task force as a free pass on its discharge plan.

He urged Japan not to distort the reports of the IAEA task force to justify its discharge plan, nor ignore the authoritative suggestion from the task force, nor set a deadline for the release of the task force's final assessment report.

Noting that the disposal of the contaminated water will span a long time and involve many uncertainties, he said that Japan should allow effective international supervision on the water disposal, address the legitimate concerns of its neighbors and Pacific island countries, and hold meaningful consultations with stakeholders.

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, also decried Japan's "extremely irresponsible act" of pushing ahead with its discharge plan despite international opposition.

Li urged Japan to respond to the concerns of the international community and refrain from arbitrarily discharging contaminated water into the ocean.

Such water disposal is a highly controversial issue that needs to be seriously and prudently addressed by the international community and IAEA member states, the Chinese envoy said.

Instead of endorsing Japan's discharge plan, the IAEA should maintain its scientific, impartial and transparent approach and lead the establishment of a long-term international monitoring system that involves laboratories and experts from China and other stakeholders, he said.

China will participate in the relevant work of the IAEA with a strong sense of responsibility, Li said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The number of living BVD positive animals in Northern Ireland is at its lowest since an industry eradication programme began in 2016, figures show.

Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI) has released the figures, highlighting that the livestock industry is moving in the right direction.

Currently, only a small number of BVD positives are being retained on-farm for more than four weeks.

The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said farmers should be 'commended for their efforts' in reducing bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD).

A highly contagious disease, BVD is one of the most common and costly affecting cattle in Europe.

Infection can result in a wide range of clinical signs including, reproductive problems, including failure to conceive, abortion and birth defects.

UFU deputy president, John McLenaghan said the figures from AHWNI were "testament to the ongoing focus that farmers and industry stakeholders are putting on eradicating BVD in NI".

"The vast majority of affected farmers are making responsible decisions to cull persistently infected animals promptly which reduces the risk of spreading BVD, helping us move closer to eradicating the disease."

He added: The UFU are fully supportive of all measures that will help us in our efforts as we work towards eradicating BVD as quickly and effectively as possible.

"This includes DAERAs consultation proposal of herd restrictions for herd owners who are not fully engaged in the testing regime or in dealing with infection in their herds."

Mr McLenaghan said the UFU was aware that further steps in addition to herd restrictions were 'essential' to achieve eradication in the near future.

"The UFU has been a key stakeholder in lobbying DAERA for additional measures to drive BVD eradication in NI.

"We are now at a critical time as we eagerly await the publication of consultation responses.
The government must use the upcoming spring budget to implement the Rock Review's taxation recommendations on agricultural tenancies, the tenanted sector has said.

Many of the 74 recommendations made within the Rock Review, delivered to the government in October, relate to the fiscal environment within which agricultural tenancies operate.

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) said it was 'vital' that the Treasury acted on the recommendations in the upcoming spring budget, taking place on 15 March.

The body said the need to change the taxation environment within which landlords let land was 'now urgent'.

Over half the land in the tenanted sector of agriculture in England and Wales now falls under Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs), with that proportion due to accelerate over the next 10 to 15 years.

With the average length of term on these agreements just three years and with nearly 90% of those tenancies let for five years or less, the TFA warned that they provided "no incentive for investment".

"The need to change the taxation environment within which landlords let land is now urgent," said TFA chief executive, George Dunn.

We must move the dial to encourage longer term lettings and there is broad agreement that the most effective way of achieving that is through changing the way in which landlords are taxed particularly on Inheritance Tax.

"Currently, there is little, if any, return to the public interest from the huge benefit given to landlords through Inheritance Tax Agricultural Property Relief.

"It must be re-geared to benefit those willing to offer more reasonable levels of security of tenure, explained Mr Dunn.

In addition, landlords letting for 10 years or more could be given new reliefs through the income tax system similar to those which have been operating in the Republic of Ireland, he said.

"A combination of carrot and stick will be a powerful force for good in driving longer-term tenancies and protecting the long-term security of the let sector of agriculture whilst operating at least fiscally neutrally, said Mr Dunn.
Arable farmers across the UK will grow an estimated 7,000 tonnes of 'regenerative barley' for the Carlsberg Group this year.

The announcement by the multinational brewing firm is part of its transition toward 100% regenerative barley in the UK by the year 2031.

The Carlsberg Marstons Brewing Company (CMBC) and the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) have announced they have contracted 23 farmers to help reach the goal.

CMBC, which was formed out of a joint venture between Carlsberg UK and Marston's Plc in 2020, has committed to 100% regenerative barley for Carlsberg Danish Pilsner by 2027, and for all UK brands by 2031.

Partnering with agriculture consultancy Ceres Rural, a regenerative protocol has been developed while considering the specific requirements for UK farmers.

Alice Andrew, associate partner at Ceres Rural said: Agricultural systems vary hugely across the world due to climate, soil type, crops grown, scale and technology  therefore adapting the approach across markets is essential to success.

"Government and industry support for farmers will help scale these practices  from expert advice and facilitating peer-topeer learning to gather local data to give more farmers confidence to adapt new practices.

Jonathan Lane, managing director UK at ADM added: We work with farmers... to expand regenerative agriculture as part of our collective endeavour to reduce carbon and make our food system more sustainable.

"We have years of experience of supporting farmers in their transition to regenerative agriculture and understand the importance of creating value for participants across the value chains in which we operate.

The Carlsberg Group has also announced similar regenerative targets for France and Finland.

In France, 45 farmers are supplying traceable 'responsible barley', and the 1664 brand has committed to use this for 100% of the barley in its Blonde brews by 2026.
Japan is proving to be an important market for the British red meat sector as pork exports surged last year, HMRC figures show.

According to the latest data, between January and November last year, shipments were worth almost 5.1 million, up 54 percent.

Around 1,420 tonnes of pig meat was shipped to Japan, rising from 1,330 tonnes on the same period last year.

With a population of 125 million, Japan is the 11th-biggest country in the world and the third-biggest economy.

But due to insufficient agricultural land, it relies on imports for around 60% of the food it consumes.

The value of the UKs red meat exports reached its highest levels since records began in 2022.

Japan opened its doors to imports of UK beef in January 2019 following its 1996 bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) ban.

AHDB Head of Asia Pacific, Jonathan Eckley, said Japan was a growing market for UK pork exports.

"These are steadily rising each year as demand for high-quality meat continues to grow," he explained.

"We are keen to maximise on the opportunities that Japan offers and help our exporters grow their business."

It comes as one of Asias largest food and drinks exhibitions, Foodex Japan, returned on Tuesday (7 March).

The four-day show in Tokyo is expected to attract around 3,000 exhibitors and thousands of buyers from across Japan.

Joined by six exporters, AHDB will showcase pork from the UK, alongside beef and lamb, at the event.

Mr Eckley said Foodex was one of the most important events in the levy board's export trade show calendar.

"This year marks the first time in three years that our team will be able to attend in person following the pandemic.

"We are excited to be able to reconnect with potential buyers in this important market."
Filmfare has had a long-standing association with the Bengali film industry, and we are proud to have recognized cinematic brilliance and exceptional talent through our Awards ceremony.



The Bangla film industry is continuing to make waves by foraying into newer genres and exploring fresh formats of storytelling to engage audiences. It is an exciting time for Bengali cinema.



On Monday, Mr Jitesh Pillaai, Editor of Filmfare, Mr Sunil Agarwal, Chairman of Joy Personal Care, Ms Poulomi Roy, CMO of Joy Personal Care and actor Ankush Hazra got together to announce the nominees of the Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2022 and reveal the highlights through a virtual press conference.







Mr. Jitesh Pillaai, Editor of Filmfare, shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming ceremony, stating, The Filmfare Awards Bangla have consistently served as a platform to recognize and honour the exceptional talents of the Bengali film industry. We are excited to celebrate some of the most captivating and unforgettable performances of the year as we prepare for the sixth edition of the awards. The Black Lady represents excellence, and we are proud to continue the tradition of acknowledging the remarkable work of the Bengali film fraternity. Fans of Bengali cinema can look forward to a dazzling celebration of cinematic brilliance. Mr. Jitesh Pillaai, Editor of Filmfare, shared his enthusiasm for the upcoming ceremony, stating, The Filmfare Awards Bangla have consistently served as a platform to recognize and honour the exceptional talents of the Bengali film industry. We are excited to celebrate some of the most captivating and unforgettable performances of the year as we prepare for the sixth edition of the awards. The Black Lady represents excellence, and we are proud to continue the tradition of acknowledging the remarkable work of the Bengali film fraternity. Fans of Bengali cinema can look forward to a dazzling celebration of cinematic brilliance. On Monday, Mr Jitesh Pillaai, Editor of Filmfare, Mr Sunil Agarwal, Chairman of Joy Personal Care, Ms Poulomi Roy, CMO of Joy Personal Care and actor Ankush Hazra got together to announce the nominees of the Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2022 and reveal the highlights through a virtual press conference.



Mr. Sunil Agarwal, Chairman of Joy Personal Care said, I am glad that Joy Personal Care is associating with Filmfare for the 3rd consecutive year, a platform of great honour that recognizes and acknowledges creative minds and the rich heritage of the Bengali Film industry.



Ms. Poulomi Roy, CMO of Joy Personal Care, had this to say, Filmfare is one of the most coveted events in the country and we are thrilled about this association where arts and commerce come together to create a synergy of this kind. The amalgamation of Joy with a platform like Filmfare Awards gives us the leverage and bandwidth to take our brand to the next level. It has been a great journey for us, and we hope it only gets better.



Actor Ankush Hazra elaborated, It is a moment of honour and prestige for me to be a part of the Filmfare Awards. My early memories from watching superstars like Hrithik Roshan creating magic on this stage and now being an equal part of it is like a dream come true. I am thrilled and look forward to hosting the show and delivering a night of grandeur and unforgettable experience for the audience. The legacy of the Black Lady will continue to live on in Bangla and I hope to do every bit of justice to match its glory.



This edition will be hosted by the talented trio of Ankush Hazra, Anirban Bhattacharya, and Srabanti Chatterjee. There will be spectacular performances by Nusrat Jahan, Monami Ghosh, Sanjana Banerjee, and Darsana Banik. Ankush Hazra will also perform solo. Biswanath Basu and Ambarish Bhattacharya too will regale the audience with their comedy skit.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will not be doing business with Walgreens over its decision not to dispense an abortion pill 'Mifepristone'. 'California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk,' Newsom Tweeted on Monday, following the company's decision last week. Walgreens reportedly said last week that it will not distribute the abortion medication in 20 states where the pills remain legal amid a shifting landscape after a number of state officials threatened legal action. Meanwhile, Walgreens clarified on Monday that it plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so. Once it is certified by the FDA, it will dispense the medication consistent with federal and state laws, Walgreens said in a statement. 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, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - Facility Vitals, a prominent provider of facility management solutions, has announced the release of its innovative software solution on March 21st, 2023, which promises to revolutionize the way facility managers handle their operations. The company's new software is designed to simplify facility management, providing facility managers with the tools they need to manage their facilities more efficiently and effectively.

Facility Vitals software offers an array of features and benefits that are unparalleled by other facility management solutions currently available in the market. The software includes easily identifiable asset labels with QR codes, allowing facility managers to track and manage their assets with ease. Customers and staff can report issues quickly and easily using the software's intuitive interface, which is available on both mobile and web applications, without the need for any additional software. Issue tracking capabilities are also available on both platforms, ensuring that issues are resolved promptly and efficiently.

Photo: Facility Vitals App



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9574/157437_761c960b94cc7a52_001full.jpg

"We're excited to launch Facility Vitals software and help facility managers streamline their operations," said Skye Kaiss, VP of Business Development for Facility Vitals. "Our software's unique features and benefits, including our 5-minute guarantee, make it easy for frontline staff to learn and start using the platform quickly, enabling facility managers to focus on what's important: providing a safe and comfortable environment for their users."

Facility Vitals has been a prominent player in the facility management industry for many years, and its new software solution is expected to set a new standard in the industry. The company has a long-standing reputation for providing high-quality solutions that are tailored to the needs of its customers. The company's commitment to innovation and continuous improvement has helped it stay ahead of its competitors and maintain its position as a leader in the industry.

About Facility Vitals

Facility Vitals software provides preventative maintenance and facility inspections and upkeep capabilities, helping facility managers to stay ahead of potential issues and keep their facilities in top condition. The software's easy-to-read reporting capabilities provide facility managers with actionable insights into their facilities' performance, allowing them to make quick decisions that improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

Facility Vitals is committed to providing its customers with the best possible facility management solutions. Its new software solution is a testament to the company's dedication to innovation and improving the facility management industry. The company has an impressive track record of delivering innovative solutions that improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the user experience.

Facility Vitals' software is designed to be user-friendly and easy to learn, with a 5-minute guarantee to ensure that frontline staff can start using the platform quickly. The software's intuitive interface is available on both mobile and web applications, making it accessible from anywhere at any time. The software also includes issue tracking capabilities on both platforms, ensuring that issues are resolved promptly and efficiently.

For more information, please visit www.facilityvitals.com.

Media Contact:

Skye Kaiss

VP of Business Development

Facility Vitals

#250 - 997 Seymour St. Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 3M1

Email: info@facilityvitals.com

Phone: 1-866-335-8270

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157437
Manhattan, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - The east coast based fertility clinic Rejuvenating Fertility Center (RFC) has announced new treatment options for menopausal women hoping to achieve pregnancy. There are options available at the clinic's 5 locations and via remote services for patients who are experiencing early menopause, or even menopause at a later age.

One of the treatments now offered by RFC is ovarian rejuvenation via platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, a medical treatment that involves using a patient's own blood, which is processed to concentrate the platelets and growth factors. PRP therapy has been used in a variety of medical fields, including orthopedics, dentistry, and dermatology, to treat a range of conditions, including joint pain, hair loss, tendonitis, and skin aging.

PRP therapy works by providing a concentrated source of growth factors and other healing agents directly to the site of injury or tissue damage. This can help to speed up the healing process, reduce pain and inflammation, and promote tissue regeneration. For fertility, PRP can re-awaken dormant cells and eggs inside the ovaries, allowing even menopausal women to become pregnant. PRP therapy, along with hormones, is being studied more thoroughly and the results are promising.

Another novel treatment offered by the alternative clinic is ozone sauna therapy (OST). OST is a technique that harnesses the properties of ozone (O3) to enhance the body's ability to absorb and utilize oxygen. RFC offers this therapy to promote physiological benefits including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory for older women.

For women who are trying to conceive, ozone therapy may provide numerous fertility-enhancing benefits. Ozone sauna therapy is considered to be a valuable complementary holistic treatment for women attempting pregnancy later in life, particularly those over the age of 35.

RFC's founder and medical director, Dr. Zaher Merhi, points out that even postmenopausal women still carry an average of 1,000 dormant eggs within their ovaries. "Our primary goal is to help our patients to become pregnant with their own eggs," says Dr. Merhi. "Previously, a woman experiencing menopause or early menopause only had the option of accepting donor eggs via traditional in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, we're now seeing breakthrough studies with PRP therapy."

Along with his team at RFC, Dr. Merhi is actively researching the latest technological breakthroughs in fertility, such as stem cell ovarian rejuvenation, which involves injecting human stem cells, which can be obtained from bone marrow or adipose (fat) tissue, directly into the ovaries. This approach is similar to PRP therapy, except that it utilizes stem cells rather than the patient's platelets and plasma. Stem cells are undifferentiated or unspecialized cells that have the ability to differentiate into specialized cell types with specific functions, including ovarian cells and potentially newer eggs.

RFC recently launched its proprietary and patented at-home IVF kit, Aphrodite. This kit enables patients, especially those with very low ovarian reserve, who are facing infertility challenges to increase the number of ovarian follicles (i.e., more eggs released) from the comfort of their own home prior to intercourse or IVF. Follicles are small sacs within the ovaries that secrete hormones and each one has the potential to release a single egg that can be fertilized.

"We are committed to pursuing every possible avenue when it comes to promoting fertility in all patients," Dr. Merhi says. "Options like PRP therapy, ozone sauna, and Aphrodite kit are among the many tools at our disposal, and we're continuously performing more research to provide the widest variety of options for our patients."

Rejuvenating Fertility Center is a medical center specializing in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It offers non-conventional treatments, such as PRP ovarian rejuvenation, for individuals seeking to start a family. The center is led by Dr. Zaher Merhi, a world-renowned Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialist, and has locations in Manhattan, Connecticut, Long Island, Westchester, and Brooklyn. The center's goal is to provide high-quality, personalized fertility care to individuals and couples.

Website: https://www.rejuvenatingfertility.com/

Contact Dr. Zaher Merhi: (203) 557-9696

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157108




TOKYO, Mar 7, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda will showcase the new capabilities of the latest generation of its prototype Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV) to improve construction industry and worksite efficiencies at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 in Las Vegas, March 14-18, 2023. Interested construction entities will have an opportunity to learn more about field testing the rugged off-road platform at their worksites. Watch a video of the Honda AWV at https://honda.us/HondaAWV."As we continue to advance the Honda AWV platform, we want to meet with potential business partners and companies at CONEXPO that are interested in field testing the vehicle at their worksite," said Jason VanBuren, systems engineering manager at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We believe the Honda AWV can be a valuable solution to supporting construction teams while also enhancing worksite efficiencies and safety. Leveraging Honda's decades of experience developing reliable, safe and clean mobility technology, we aim to address issues such as labor shortages and improved environmental performance."The fully programmable all-electric Honda AWV leverages the company's emerging advanced autonomous technology to create a rugged off-road work vehicle that is designed to support construction-related activities and enhance workforce productivity. With the ability to operate autonomously - or manually via remote control - the Honda AWV could provide a wide range of services to industries that need autonomous operation or delivery solutions, especially where workforce constraints make other solutions impractical. The company is also exploring the development of attachments and tools that could make the vehicle a suitable platform for many work environments.Honda successfully field tested the second-generation Honda AWV at a large-scale solar construction site in the Southwest U.S. Based on real-world testing, the company is now introducing the third-generation Honda AWV which features a number of enhancements.Key features of the third-generation Honda AWV include:- Increased bed size to 2 pallets and greater loading capacity of 2000 pounds- Improved navigation in locations where GNSS (global navigation satellite system) service is weak or unavailable through the use of LiDAR sensors- Simplified tablet-based programming interface and cloud connectivity- Higher speed in autonomous mode - up to 10 miles per hour (mph)- Increased battery size and longer operating time of up to 10 hours- Enhanced avoidance function for vehicles stopped on road- Lower bed for easier loading and improved ergonomicsThe Honda AWV employs a suite of sensors to operate autonomously, using GPS for location, radar and lidar for obstacle detection and cameras for remote monitoring. Previous field tests have also successfully verified that multiple Honda AWVs can transport and deliver construction materials and supplies at precise points along a pre-set route. The vehicle leverages Honda's extensive portfolio of mobility technologies, using common components from its automobiles and other products.Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle Third-Generation SpecificationsHonda anticipates further improvements to performance and design specifications as the development of the prototype Honda AWV continues to progress.As Honda aims to commercialize AWV, the company is looking for partners to participate in field testing, as well as to improve functions and enhance services, especially in the areas of:- Product distribution- Product support / after-market sales- Software and attachment developmentHonda invites interested companies to visit Honda's booth F8515 in the Festival Grounds, or contact Honda at: AWV@na.honda.com.Source: Honda Motor Co, LtdCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The US Justice Department and Department of Transportation are expected to take action this week to block JetBlue Airways Corp.'s (JBLU) $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines Inc. (SAVE), according to several media reports citing people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit in federal court, alleging that the elimination of Spirit would increase ticket prices and decrease options for travelers, the reports said. Meanwhile, JetBlue argued that it will be able to bring down legacy carrier fares on more routes, benefitting more travelers than if JetBlue and Spirit continued as standalone airlines. According to a third-party source published in April 2022 and reaffirmed with more recent data, JetBlue and Spirit have very limited overlap, and only overlap on 11% or less of the nonstop routes on which both of them fly. Instead, both carriers primarily compete against the dominant Big Four airlines, JetBlue said in a statement. JetBlue noted that it has already made unprecedented upfront commitments to divest all of Spirit's holdings in Boston and New York, as well as five gates and related assets at Fort Lauderdale, to allow for allocation to other ultra-low-cost carriers. The divestitures significantly reduce the already small number of nonstop overlap routes flown by JetBlue and Spirit. According to media reports on Monday, the Department of Transportation is expected to begin a parallel proceeding to block the transfer of Spirit's airline operating certificate as incompatible with the public interest. 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.
Springfield, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - Silo Wellness Inc. (CSE: SILO) (OTCQB: SILFF) (FSE: 3K7A), announces further to its press release of March 4, 2023, that the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") has issued a Failure-to-File Cease Trade Order ("FFCTO") pursuant to National Policy 11-207 - Failure to File Cease Trade Orders dated March 6, 2023 in respect of the securities of the Company as a result of the Company's inability to file its audited annual financial statements and management discussion & analysis due February 28, 2023 for the financial year ended October 30, 2022, and the CEO and CFO certificates, all as required by National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations and National Instrument 52-109 - Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings (collectively, the "Documents").

As previously disclosed, the default was expected as the Company's auditor has indicated it anticipates requiring additional time to complete its audit.

The Company continues to work diligently and expeditiously with its auditors and expects to file the Documents as soon as possible with a current expectation of on or about March 20, 2023.

The FFCTO prohibits the trading by any person any of securities of the Company in each jurisdiction in Canada in which the Company is a reporting issuer, including trades in the Company's common shares made through the Canadian Securities Exchange, for as long as the FFCTO remains in effect; however, the FFCTO provides an exception for beneficial securityholders of the Company who are not currently (and who were not as of March 6, 2023) insiders or control persons of the Company and who sell securities of the Company acquired before March 6, 2023 if both of the following criteria are met: (i) the sale is made through a "foreign organized regulated market", as defined in section 1.1 of the Universal Market Integrity Rules of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and (ii) the sale is made through an investment dealer registered in a jurisdiction of Canada in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The Company reported on February 27, 2023, that on February 25, 2023, the auditor requested two to three additional weeks to complete the audited financials. If the default is able to be remedied within 90 days of the date of the FFCTO, the filing of the documents constitutes the application to revoke the FFCTO and no application fee is required under Appendix C of OSC Rule 13-502 Fees. However, there is no assurance that the Company will be able to remedy its filing default and have the FFCTO lifted in a timely manner or at all.

The Company is not currently subject to any insolvency proceedings. The Company also confirms that there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed as of the date of this press release.

The Company maintains its position that the OSC is failing to apply its policy in accordance with the well-established and ancient maxims of interpretation and should update their policies to better reflect their actual practice. Nonetheless, their responsive position is a reasonable alternative interpretation that may be unfavored by the tribunal and a waste of everyone's time if an appeal is unsuccessful. After conferring with the OSC, it appears that filing an appeal to the tribunal would likely be moot anyway given when the audit is expected to be complete. CEO Mike Arnold is recommending to the Silo Board that an appeal not be undertaken as his legal skills and time are best spent advancing the Oregon agenda and continuing to work on debt restructuring.

"As a trial lawyer, I learned long ago that being right and just along with having 25 cents doesn't even buy you a cup of coffee anymore," stated Silo CEO Mike Arnold. "I appreciate the level of professionalism that the OSC staff and management has shown us over the past week. They took a lot of time to address our concerns despite us being a microcap company that was recently thinly traded. Although I'm disappointed with the outcome, shareholders can rest assured that we left nothing on the table."

Contact:

Mike Arnold, CEO

541-900-5871

IR at silo wellness dot com

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SEE PRIOR PRESS RELEASES FOR CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157488
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - Tincorp Metals Inc. (TSXV: TIN) (OTCQX: TINFF) ("Tincorp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will be exhibiting at Booth 3048 at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention ("PDAC") at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Sunday, March 5 to Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

Please see https://www.pdac.ca/convention/maps?l=3048 for more details on the exhibitor directory.

Pursuant to the Company's stock option plan, the Company granted 300,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") on September 1, 2022 to its new director, Mr. Uribe-Zeballos. The Options are exercisable for a period of 5 years from the date of grant at the price of $0.48 per share, being the closing price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on the date of grant. The Options vest in six equal tranches over a period of three years and are subject to the provisions of the Company's stock option plan and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Tincorp

Tincorp Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focusing on tin projects in Bolivia and a gold project near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Company has signed agreements to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Porvenir Project and SF Tin Project, which are 70 km southeast of Oruro, Bolivia. The Company's 100% owned Skukum Gold Project is approximately 84 km south of Whitehorse by road. An independent mineral resource estimate update in respect of the Skukum Gold Project was completed in October 2022.

On Behalf of Tincorp Metals Inc.

signed "Gordon Neal"

Gordon Neal, CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations, Tincorp Metals Inc.

Phone: +1 (604)-336-5919

Email: info@tincorp.com

www.tincorp.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 news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collective, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the terms of the Agreement, the payment of a finder's fee and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange are forward-looking statements. Estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources are also forward-looking information because they incorporate estimates of future developments including future mineral prices, costs and expenses and the amount of minerals that will be encountered if a property is developed. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. The opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: whether the Company will acquire up to a 100% interest of the Porvenir Project; market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices; that there are no significant disruptions affecting operations, including labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, security disruptions, damage to or loss of equipment, whether due to flooding, political changes, title issues, intervention by local landowners, environmental concerns, pandemics (including COVID-19) or otherwise; that the Company will be able to obtain and maintain governmental approvals, permits and licenses in connection with its current and planned operations, development and exploration activities, including at the Skukum Gold Project; that the Company will be able to meet its current and future obligations; that the Company will be able to comply with environmental, health and safety laws; and the assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates and the realization of such estimates.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others: the risk that the Company will not acquire up to a 100% interest of the Porvenir Project; social and economic impacts of COVID-19; actual exploration results; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; results of future Mineral 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.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

Additional information in relation to the Company, including the Company's most recent annual information form, can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.tincorp.com.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS

The technical and scientific information contained herein has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, which differs from the standards adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Accordingly, the technical and scientific information contained herein, including any estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources, may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies subject to the disclosure requirements of the SEC.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157489
Lake Havasu, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park has announced the launch of their new hybrid affordable housing alternative in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park has created a new alternative housing solution for residents and vacationers of Lake Havasu City and plans to expand into communities all across the United States.

Ryan Rodney, Riverboud Custom Storage Founder



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8798/157487_4056542d344d2ad4_001full.jpg

The new Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park is currently at nearly $100 less per square foot than the average home in Arizona. Rodney's customers at the hybrid affordable housing alternative are also given the option of storage rentals, offering long and short-term custom rental options.

Ryan Rodney, CEO of Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park, said: "I decided not to be just another normal storage company. I decided to take luxury storage and RV park use under one umbrella. I trademarked the idea and started working 7 days a week." After some tweaks to his business model and a revamped Grand Opening in 2020, Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park is now celebrating 5 years of business.

The amenities and services provided to their residents remove tasks and repairs from the shoulders of homeowners and yet still allow possession of personal property. Residents of Riverbound Custom Storage & RV Park can focus their pursuits outside of house maintenance.

About: Founded by Ryan Rodney, Riverbound Custom Storage in Lake Havasu, AZ is a way to provide affordable and luxury solutions for short term and long term storage and housing. Based on his own passion for lake life, he hopes to provide memories for families and individuals who share a passion for outdoor adventure.

For more information, visit

https://RiverboundCustomStorage.com

Contact: Ryan Rodney, CEO

3493 E. Heights Blvd Lake Havasu City, AZ 86404 928-770-5585 Info@RiverboundCustomStorage.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157487
Following releases in Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, and Spain, Tigo brings Energy Intelligence (EI) Residential Solar Solution to Poland for fast, flexible, and dependable residential solar-plus-storage.

Tigo Energy, Inc., ("Tigo" or the "Company"), a leading provider of intelligent solar and energy storage solutions, will release the Tigo EI Residential Solar Solution to the Polish photovoltaic (PV) solar market at ENEX, the 25th International Power Industry and Renewable Sources of Energy Fair in Kielce, Poland. Starting Wednesday, March 8, 2023, technical and business representatives from Tigo will be available at ENEX to introduce installers to the all-in-one system for residential solar and storage.

The Tigo EI Residential Solar Solution for the European market consists of Tigo TS4 Flex MLPE products, a new line of single-phase and three-phase inverters, modular DC-coupled energy storage components, and the Tigo EI Link, the communications hub and central connection point for all grid, inverter, PV, and battery connections. Through module-level monitoring, energy data from the EI Residential Solar Solution is processed by Tigo Energy Intelligence software, allowing installers to monitor and manage their fleet of customer systems with a few mouse clicks. This all comes after commissioning times using that same software that are typically in the 10-minute range. Tigo customers in Poland will also receive industry-leading warranties and a skilled, Polish-speaking support team to ensure that installers are never on their own with Tigo products.

"Residential solar installations will continue to play a significant role in driving our energy transition, and integrated storage solutions will allow us to deploy even more solar to homeowners," said Pawel Sternal, CEO at 7Sun. "That's exactly where the Tigo EI Residential solution plays a role for us because it is an integrated system packed with sophisticated data tools that speed up commissioning, enable superior fleet management, and deliver tangible ROI with Tigo's exclusive Reclaimed Energy function."

ENEX attendees can learn about the Tigo EI Residential Solar Solution by attending one of a series of daily presentations hosted at the 7Sun trade show booth (B-9). Tigo Business Development Manager for Poland, Malgorzata Osinska, will also host two discussions at Forum Fotowoltaiczne Solar+, which is co-located with ENEX, titled 'Premiera: Tigo EI Residential.' These sessions are scheduled for Thursday, March 9 at 11:00 and again at 14:00 in room B-54.

"We face a diverse set of constraints in residential solar installations, and Tigo's all-in-one solar and storage solution provides the flexibility we need to address those issues," said Mateusz Maciaszczyk, CEO at UltraPV. "Specifically, Tigo helps us deal with varied rooftop layouts, limited space availability in houses, and customer preferences while also providing the greatest amount of clean and renewable energy. EI Residential also allows us to move smoothly between the design, installation, and commissioning phases, meaning more systems deployed and more happy customers."

To learn more about Tigo Flex MLPE products and the Tigo EI Residential Solar Solution, please visit Tigo Energy at ENEX, International Power Industry and Renewable Sources of Energy Fair in Targi Kielce, Poland, from March 8 to 9, 2023. To schedule a meeting or contact the Tigo team before the event, use this link.

About Tigo Energy

Founded in 2007, Tigo is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of smart hardware and software solutions that enhance safety, increase energy yield, and lower operating costs of residential, commercial, and utility-scale solar systems. Tigo combines its Flex MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) and solar optimizer technology with intelligent, cloud-based software capabilities for advanced energy monitoring and control. Tigo MLPE products maximize performance, enable real-time energy monitoring, and provide code-required rapid shutdown at the module level. The company also develops and manufactures products such as inverters and battery storage systems for the residential solar-plus-storage market. For more information, please visit www.tigoenergy.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005632/en/

Contacts:

Gilberto Lembo

European Marketing Manager at Tigo Energy

marketing@tigoenergy.com
Oslo, Norway (7 March 2023) - Today, TGS hosts a Capital Markets Day in Oslo. In connection with the event, the following announcements are made:

Based on the continued strong contract inflow and a growing pipeline of opportunities, TGS management now expects multi-client investments of more than USD 350 million, up from a range of USD 320 to 350 million guided previously. The early sales rate is still expected to be a minimum of 70%.

TGS has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with SLB, providing the JV access to both companies' US Gulf of Mexico data for sparse OBN acquisition and processing. The combined database, which covers all of the prospective areas of the US GoM, will allow the JV to pursue multi-year campaigns offering the industry superior data quality over both producing and exploration assets.

TGS has signed a multi-year vessel agreement with COSL. The agreement secures TGS access to modern 2D, 3D and source vessel capacity at stable and predictable costs.

TGS has secured prefunding for a new multi-client 3D seismic survey in a key emerging basin in West Africa. This project is due to commence in Q2 2023 and will be the first 3D project to be performed under the multi-year vessel agreement with COSL.

TGS has secured an award for an extension to an ongoing proprietary OBN campaign in South America. The OBN program will now extend through Q4 2023.

Following the success of the first multi-client wind measurement campaign in the New York Bight, TGS will deploy four additional floating LiDAR buoys in the coming weeks, all in lease areas offshore the US East Coast and supported by industry funding.

"TGS has built a strong strategic position over the past years, allowing us to capitalize fully on the continued market recovery. With leading business development capabilities combined with an unmatched data library and a robust balance sheet, we are seeing strong growth in the pipeline of opportunities in all our segments. This means that we can deploy more capital at attractive returns to our shareholders," says Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS. "I'm excited about the important strategic collaboration with SLB in the Gulf of Mexico. Together with SLB, we have had great success in offering our clients long-offset OBN data through the multi-client model, and with this JV agreement, we increase our ambitions further. Moreover, we are pleased to enter into a long-term partnership with COSL. Increased investment activity combined with the acquisition of Magseis Fairfield ASA means that TGS has a growing need for vessel capacity going forward. This agreement provides TGS with visibility on vessel availability and costs, both for the multi-client business and for our OBN activities."

The Capital Markets Day presentations will last from CET 1300 to approximately CET 1600 and will be streamed live at tgs.com. The presentation material will be published at CET 1230 at newsweb.no and tgs.com.

The event will take place at Felix Konferansesenter, Bryggetorget 3, Oslo, Norway, and afterward, we invite attendees to join us for a reception.

Please register for TGS Capital Markets Day by emailing investor@tgs.com or view on demand by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://channel.royalcast.com/hegnarmedia/#!/hegnarmedia/20230307_1.

About TGS

TGS provides scientific data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. In addition to a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, TGS offers specialized services such as advanced processing and analytics alongside cloud-based data applications and solutions.

Forward Looking Statement

All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include volatile market conditions, investment opportunities in new and existing markets, demand for licensing of data within the energy industry, operational challenges, and reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

For more information, visit TGS.com or contact:
Guilin, China--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - China-based manufacturer ATO Flow Meter, a global leader in flow measurement technology, is proud to announce the official launch of two new products as part of the company's lineup - a magnetic flow meter and an ultrasonic flow meter. This range extends the company's existing array of devices, offering reliable technology specifically designed for measurement applications in liquids, gasses, or steam environments across many industries worldwide while allowing customers to get tailored solutions depending on user's particular needs.





ATO Flow Meter

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8913/156066_6836f9b984db4918_001full.jpg.

"At ATO, we are always looking at how to improve our already well-established portfolio regarding industrial flow meter systems," said Fra Tusha, Product Manager of the company. "These latest additions in our product lineup will bring improved performance, efficiency, and reliability at an affordable price point. Our team members will be ready to help set up a tailored solution perfectly adjusted according to industry application, no matter whether it is liquid, gas, or steam," Fra Tusha further added.

The company specializes in producing and selling high-quality flow meter products. At the moment, ATO's product portfolio covers magnetic flow meters, vortex flow meters, liquid flow meters, portable clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters, digital gas flow meters, gas mass flow meters, and various flow meter accessories. The newly launched magnetic and ultrasonic flow meter products will be part of the lineup of high-quality measuring equipment for liquids, gasses, and steam.

The magnetic flow meter (MFM) is used primarily for flow measurement in the petroleum industry, chemical industry, and municipal water supply systems. It is employed as a process control device where continuous monitoring of the flow rate is required. Due to its ability to measure and record flow rates accurately over long periods of time while offering other major advantages, including ease of installation, low maintenance requirements, and resistance to corrosion, the MFM is widely applied in the field of metering.

On the other hand, the ultrasonic flow meter (UFM) is a flow sensor based on ultrasound waves and is ideal for measuring water flow in pipelines, tanks, boilers, etc., as these come with no moving parts with relatively lesser power consumption requirements while offering a low-maintenance solution.

To learn more about ATO's product lineup, pricing, and availability details, please visit the company's website at atoflowmeter.com or contact by phone at +86 773-363-7977 or email: inquiry@ato.com.cn.

About the Company

With a wealth of experience spanning a decade, ATO is among the leading manufacturers of industrial measuring equipment, specializing in the research and development of an extensive range of flow meters and accessories catering to diverse industries, including manufacturing, scientific research, transportation, construction, and many others. The company's goal is to offer reliable and customized solutions according to a variety of industrial and individual requirements anywhere around the globe by providing advanced technologies at affordable costs.

Company name: ATO Flow Meter

Contact name: Jan Karski

Email: inquiry@ato.com.cn

Country: China

Website: https://www.atoflowmeter.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/156066
Regulatory News:

Sensorion (FR0012596468 ALSEN) (Paris:ALSEN) a pioneering clinical-stage biotechnology company which specializes in gene therapies in the ear, is pleased to announce its participation in the 6th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe, held on 14-16 March, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain. Sensorion will also take part in an expert roundtable on March 22, 2023.

Christine Le Bec, Ph.D., Sensorion's Head of CMC Gene Therapy, will chair a session entitled "CMC and Technical Development Strategies" at the 6th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe, on March 14, 2023.

Christine will also make a presentation on the "Characterization of Dual AAV Vector Otoferlin" on March 14, 2023.

The agenda of the conference can be found here.

About Sensorion

Sensorion is a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company, which specializes in the development of gene therapies to restore hearing loss disorders, a significant global unmet medical need.

Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform to expand its understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases, enabling it to select the best targets and mechanisms of action for drug candidates.

It has two gene therapy programs aimed at correcting hereditary monogenic forms of deafness, developed in the framework of its broad strategic collaboration focused on the genetics of hearing with the Institut Pasteur. OTOF-GT targets deafness caused by mutations of the gene encoding for otoferlin and GJB2-GT targets hearing loss related to mutations in GJB2 gene to potentially address important hearing loss segments in adults and children.The Company is also working on the identification of biomarkers to improve diagnosis of these underserved illnesses.

Sensorion's portfolio also comprises clinical-stage small molecule programs for the treatment and prevention of hearing loss disorders.

Sensorion's clinical-stage portfolio includes one Phase 2 product: SENS-401 (Arazasetron) progressing in a planned Phase 2 proof of concept clinical study of SENS-401 in Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity (CIO) and, with partner Cochlear Limited, in a study of SENS-401 in patients scheduled for cochlear implantation. A Phase 2 study of SENS-401 was also completed in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) in January 2022.

www.sensorion.com

Label: SENSORION

ISIN: FR0012596468

Mnemonic: ALSEN

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the 2021 full year financial report published on April 28, 2022, and available on our website and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005514/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations

David Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer (US/UK)

Noemie Djokovic, Investor Relations and Communications (Europe/France)

ir.contact@sensorion-pharma.com

International Media Relations

Consilium1Strategic Communications

Matthew Cole/Jessica Hodgson/Sue Stuart

+44 7593 572720

+44 7561 424788

Sensorion@consilium-comms.com
SHARE BUYBACK TRANSACTION DETAILS FEBRUARY 27 MARCH 3, 2023

Regulatory News:

MotorK Plc (AMS: MTRK) ("MotorK" or the "Group") announces today that it has purchased the following number of ordinary shares in the Company.

This is part of a repurchase program announced on July 18, 2022. MotorK intends to buy back its own ordinary shares by way of off-market purchases on Euronext Amsterdam and via block trades up to a maximum aggregate value of 3,000,000 (the "Programme"). The authorization will expire following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2023.

Aggregate Information

Date Transactions Number of Ordinary

Shares Total Consideration () Average price

( per share) Minimum price

( per share) Maximum price

( per share) 27/02/2023 Purchase 257,044 642,494 2.50 2.45 2.50 28/02/2023 Purchase 9,014 22,665 2.51 2.50 2.52 01/03/2023 Purchase 8,949 22,093 2.47 2.43 2.50 02/03/2023 Purchase 4,249 9,592 2.26 2.21 2.28 03/03/2023 Purchase 8,280 18,754 2.27 2.25 2.28 Total Weekly 287,536 715,597 2.49 2.21 2.52 Cumulated to date 1,705,707 2,673,987

The Programme is implemented within the limitations of the authority granted by the General Meeting on July 18, 2022. Any shares so repurchased shall be treated as cancelled pursuant to section 706(b) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Group has entered into non-discretionary instructions with Kepler Cheuvreux SA ("Kepler Cheuvreux") to conduct the Programme on its behalf and to make trading decisions under the Programme independently of MotorK.

REGULATED INFORMATION

This press release contains information that qualifies or may qualify as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014/EU)

ABOUT MOTORK PLC

MotorK (AMS: MTRK) is a leading software as a service ("SaaS") provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, with over 400 employees and eleven offices in eight countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, the UK, Belgium and Israel). MotorK empowers car manufacturers and dealers to improve their customer experience through a broad suite of fully integrated digital products and services. MotorK provides its customers with an innovative combination of digital solutions, SaaS cloud products and the largest R&D department in the automotive digital sales and marketing industry in Europe. MotorK is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 5th Floor One New Change, London, England, EC4M 9AF Company Registration: 9259000. For more information: www.motork.io or www.investors.motork.io.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005593/en/

Contacts:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

MotorK Investor Relations

Etienne Jacquet

etienne.jacquet@motork.io

+33 6 22 18 39 09

MotorK Corporate Communications

press@motork.io


BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China's exports continued to decline at the start of the year, reflecting the challenges posed by the global economy that constrained the ability of Beijing to set robust growth target.



Exports declined 6.8 percent in the January to February period from the same period last year, the General Administration of Customs reported Tuesday.



The annual decrease was slower than the 9.9 percent drop posted in December and also better than economists' forecast of 9.4 percent fall.



Despite re-opening of the economy, imports logged a double-digit decline of 10.2 percent in the January to February period that was worse than December's 7.5 percent decrease and the expected 5.5 percent fall.



Consequently, the trade balance showed a surplus of about $117 billion, which was well above the forecast of $81.8 billion.



The customs office usually combines data for January and February to avoid distortions caused by the Lunar New Year holiday.



The trade surplus is likely to decline before long, Capital Economics economist Julian Evans-Pritchard said.



The National People's Congress signaled relatively modest policy support this year, but imports should rebound as the shift away from zero-COVID drives a recovery in travel, and therefore fuel demand, the economist noted.



However, exports are set to struggle in the near-term due to the weak global backdrop, Evans-Pritchard added.



The government announced a growth target of around 5.0 percent for this year over the weekend. The second-largest economy grew only 3.0 percent in 2022 to mark the weakest expansion in decades.



Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang warned about the challenges the economy confronts from the external environment amid sanctions and restrictions imposed by the US government that limit the access to technology.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
BERLIN, GERMANY and SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Octily, the creative studio for Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD), announces its expansion to the APJ region with a new Senior Project Manager located in Singapore, more multilingual team members, ongoing collaboration with local implementation partners, and a strong connection to CSOD in South Korea. This development follows successful Cornerstone customization work for well-known companies headquartered between Hong Kong and Japan, which offered a glimpse of a huge opportunity in the region.

Where Octily's clients are based

From the U.S., all over Europe, to Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Australia.

"The Asia Pacific expansion is the next logical step for us," said Robert Bucher, Founder and CEO of Octily. "Working with Cornerstone account managers, solution consultants, partners, and Fortune 500 clients in APJ, we've found the same needs as their European/U.S. counterparts. Companies want to personalize their employees' HR experiences, drive adoption, and deliver outstanding user journeys - but have limited access to resources for customization or are simply not aware of the possibilities. Octily is filling this gap by bringing more than seven years of expertise to the area."

Octily's growing team now includes Susan Smit, a dedicated Senior Project Manager located in Singapore with a deep background as a Learning Technologist for one of the world's largest food companies; Simen-Ling La, lead Senior Project Manager with Vietnamese roots and previous CSOD project management experience at one of the best-known fast-food chains; and Keisuke Tanaka, web developer with native Japanese-language skills. In addition, Octily is working with TalearnX, a leading HR consulting firm in Asia that strives to solve business challenges by empowering the people operations department.

"Looking at our 100% remote setup, I'm very proud to see what a colorful, capable, and international team we have become. We are very optimistic about working with the CSOD team and partners in the APJ region to help organizations get the most out of their strategic investments in talent and learning experiences," Rob concluded.

Partnership with Cornerstone OnDemand

"The word 'customization' is not familiar with SaaS products like Cornerstone OnDemand. However, our customers' desire for creativity, to help learners reach their last step of conquering Learning and Development, cannot be neglected," said DJ Park, Cornerstone OnDemand Senior Solution Consultant in Seoul, South Korea. "With Octily, enterprise customers in the Far East, especially in Korea, were not only able to witness their creative ideas come to life, but were also able to make the Cornerstone experience a much more robust one. The integrity, work ethic, and thorough consultation from team Octily are critical factors of our customer-centric partner teamwork that cannot be found elsewhere. Plus, their knowledge of the solution is just a cherry on top," DJ concluded.

Collaboration with Implementation Partner TalearnX

Octily has a strong track record of collaboration with other organizations and loves to team up with partners. In the APJ region, Octily joins forces with TalearnX to work with some of Asia's greatest companies. Teng Mun Chow, Director at TalearnX, shared his experience working with the Octily team. "Octily exhibits professionalism and technical competency that is unrivaled. We have had the honor of working with Octily on challenging customizations, and Octily has surpassed our expectations. The experience is awesome and refreshing. Octily is definitely the right company to partner with," he concluded.

About Cornerstone OnDemand

Cornerstone powers the future-ready workforce with a next-generation talent experience platform designed to unite technology, data, and content and inspire a work environment of growth, agility, and success for all. With an AI-powered, skills-forward, experiential platform built on an open architecture designed for neutrality and scale, Cornerstone helps organizations modernize their learning and development experience, deliver the most relevant content from anywhere, accelerate talent and career mobility, and establish skills as the universal language of growth and success across their business. Cornerstone serves over 7,000 customers and 100 million users and is available in 180 countries and 50 languages. Learn more at https://cornerstoneondemand.com

About Octily GmbH

Octily is the only creative studio with a 100% focus on customization and personalization of Cornerstone OnDemand. As a long-term certified Cornerstone OnDemand partner, Octily leverages over two decades of deep work in HR software development and user experience. Octily makes the impossible - possible. With a 100% remote team spanning from Berlin, Germany, to San Francisco, USA, and Singapore, Octily firmly believes in remote work, a small environmental footprint, and maximum use of productivity, communication, and collaboration tools. Over the past seven years, Octily has helped global HR teams from more than 75+ organizations customize their web-based SaaS solutions. Organizations including Deutsche Post DHL, Electrolux, Henkel, Linde, Sidel, and Xella have trusted Octily in 250+ unique projects for their 20+ million users worldwide.

For more information, visit https://octily.com, download http://octi.ly/overview or contact us at octily@octily.com

Contact Information

Robert Bucher

CEO

press@octily.com

Related Files

Octily_Overview.pdf

Octily_PressRelease_APJ_20230307.pdf

SOURCE: Octily GmbH

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742130/Octily-Expands-to-Asia-Pacific-Region-Delivering-Unique-Cornerstone-OnDemand-Customization
Korber's supply chain software solutions improve digital end-to-end capabilities in the bookselling industry

HAMBURG, Germany, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Korber has announced that OLF, leading Swiss distributor of French literature, has selected Korber to modernize its supply chain infrastructure. The transition will include the integration of Korber's Warehouse Management System (WMS), Shipping & Dispatch System (SDS) and Track and Trace solution by introducing digital capabilities to increase performance, visibility, competitiveness and responsiveness towards bookstore partners, supermarkets and e-commerce platforms.





Key to this is the modernization of a 12,000 m2 warehouse in Fribourg, Switzerland, through which OLF represents nearly 3500 Swiss, French, British and American publishers that are distributed to more than 3.000 bookstores, supermarkets, schools, kiosks, and other points of sale throughout Switzerland, France and Belgium. Korber's integrated technologies provide planning, control, execution and monitoring functionalities to manage 4 million books for over 130,000 titles held by OLF.

Theophile Renard, Logistics and Services Director at OLF explains: "Looking for the right partner, we put major focus on finding someone helping us to stay confident in what we are doing. Our business is changing and we needed to be sure that Korber had the expertise to realize our full growth potential and ensure our solidity. The flexibility of Korber's technology enables us to meet our customers' demands in a context of rising resource costs, labor shortages, and geopolitical tensions. We are now perfectly positioned to achieve our ambitions. In Korber, we have found a partner who is able to reassure us, both in terms of technology and economic performance.

OLF's digital transformation accounts for a new level of efficiency, integration and insight into supply chain operations. With the goal of capitalizing on an integrated supply chain software platform and end-to-end transparency, the modernization will allow greater efficiency to meet the new challenges in the bookselling sector. Korber's WMS, easy to use and configure, will provide streamlined control of automated warehouse processes. It will also significantly optimize slotting management and order processing. At the same time, digital capabilities will expand improvements to package labelling and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) with Korber's SDS, especially in collaboration with carriers. On the last mile, track and trace capabilities will remove functional silos by enhancing data visibility comprehensively - in line with the goal of advancing customer and service quality up to the last mile. The new software platform will be integrated by summer 2023.

Michael Brandl, Executive Vice President Operations Software EMEA at the Korber Business Area Supply Chain explains: "All organizations, regardless of their size or industry, are faced with the obligation to leverage the potential of the digital era and adapt their infrastructure to new market demands. The world of supply chain and publishing is changing, both in terms of functional and service expectations. OLF's choice of Korber confirms that our solutions are 100% on par with the needs of companies to conquer the complexities of constantly growing customer demands with digital capabilities, end-to-end."

About OLF

OLF ensures the distribution of thousands of copies every day on behalf of publishers and major brands, on a wide network of points of sale: bookstores, department stores, kiosks, post offices, specialized stores, schools, e-commerce sites, and more - in Switzerland and beyond. OLF develops its strategy in order to offer value-added logistics services adapted to the needs of its clients.

About the Korber Business Area Supply Chain

Supply chains are growing more complex by the day. Korber uniquely provides a broad range of proven, end-to-end supply chain solutions fitting any business size, strategy or appetite for growth. Our customers conquer the complexity of the supply chain thanks to our portfolio that includes software, automation, mail and parcel solutions, voice solutions, robotics, and materials handling - plus the expertise to tie it all together. Korber helps to manage the supply chain as a competitive advantage. Conquer supply chain complexity - with Korber. The Business Area Supply Chain is part of the global technology group Korber. Find out more on www.koerber-supplychain.com

Contact:

Mary-Jane Wurker

Corporate Communications Manager

Korber Business Area Supply Chain

Mary-Jane.Wuerker@koerber-supplychain.com

T +49 6032 348-2921





Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016377/PR_OLF_2023.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1098713/Korber_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/korber-accelerates-olfs-digital-supply-chain-transformation-301763179.html
KANAZAWA, Japan, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Kanazawa University report in ACS Nano how high-speed atomic force microscopy can be used to study the biomolecular mechanisms underlying gene editing.

The DNA of prokaryotes - single-cell organisms, for example bacteria - is known to contain sequences that are derived from DNA fragments of viruses that infected the prokaryote earlier. These sequences, collectively referred to as CRISPR, for 'clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats', play a major role in the antiviral defense system of bacteria, as they enable the recognition and subsequent neutralization of infecting viruses. The latter is done through the enzyme Cas9 ('CRISPR-associated protein 9'), a biomolecule that can locally unwind DNA, check for the existence of the CRISPR sequence and, when found, cut the DNA. In recent years, CRISPR/Cas9 has emerged as a genome editing tool based on the notion that the Cas9 protein can be activated with artificially created CRISPR-like sequences. Sometimes, however, the wrong target is 'caught' by Cas9 - when the wrongly identified DNA sequence is too similar to the intended target sequence. It is therefore of crucial importance to fully understand how Cas9 binds to, 'interrogates', and cuts DNA. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in video-recording the DNA binding and cleaving dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus (a particular bacterium) Cas9 by means of high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM). Their observations will help to reach a more complete understanding of CRISPR-Cas9 mechanisms.

In recent years, HS-AFM has emerged as a powerful nanoimaging tool for studying molecular structures and their dynamics at high spatiotemporal resolution. For such molecular dynamics to be observable, samples need to be put on a carefully chosen substrate. For their study of Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SaCas9), Shibata and colleagues chemically modified a mica surface. This way, observed molecules 'stick' to the substrate, but not too strongly, so that molecular mobilities are still high enough for the relevant biomolecular interactions to happen - slowed-down, within intervals of time accessible to HS-AFM.

The artificial activation of Cas9 happens via the association with a so-called single-guide RNA (sgRNA) molecule, which provides the information about the targeted DNA sequence. The scientists first observed that the SaCas9-sgRNA complex adopts a flexible modular structure that can switch from an open to a closed configuration, which enables eventual binding to the DNA. They also managed to image the cutting of DNA at the targeted site.

The researchers looked in more detail at the mechanism of detection of targeted DNA by SaCas9-sgRNA, and found evidence that it involves a selective, long-range interaction. Although the precise nature of this interaction remains unclear, Shibata and colleagues believe that hydrophobic forces between parts of the SaCas9-sgRNA complex and the DNA play a key role.

The potential importance of such long-range interactions in CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing is unexpected - up to know, the common belief has been that target DNA is identified through diffusion processes. Additional studies are needed to further explore this aspect. Quoting the scientists: "Although the present HS-AFM observations represent a direct evidence of the long-range selective interaction between SaCas9-sgRNA and its target DNA, further investigations are necessary to confirm the mechanism of search for target DNA hypothesized and illustrated in the present study."

Background

High-speed atomic force microscopy

The general principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to make a very small tip scan the surface of a sample. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, which is attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample's vertical (z) profile, inducing a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value; the xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. In high-speed-AFM (HS-AFM), the working principle is slightly more involved: the cantilever is made to oscillate near its resonance frequency. When the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever's oscillation - resulting from the tip's interaction with the sample's surface - are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local 'z' value. AFM does not involve lenses, so its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example.

HS-AFM results in a video, where the time interval between frames depends on the speed with which a single image can be generated (by xy-scanning the sample). Researchers at Kanazawa University have in recent years developed HS-AFM further, so that it can be applied to study biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time. Mikihiro Shibata and colleagues have now applied the method to study the molecular dynamics of a Cas9-DNA interaction process, which is highly relevant for on-going research on the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool.

Figure 1.

https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Figure-1-1.png

Caption: High-speed atomic force microscopy visualization of the cutting of a piece of DNA by SaCas9.  2023 Puppulin, et al., ACS Nano

Reference

Leonardo Puppulin, Junichiro Ishikawa, Ayumi Sumino, Arin Marchesi, Holger Flechsig, Kenichi Umeda, Noriyuki Kodera, Hiroshi Nishimasu, and Mikihiro Shibata. Dynamics of Target DNA Binding and Cleavage by Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 as Revealed by High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy, ACS Nano 2023.

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c10709

URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c10709

Contact

Hiroe Yoneda

Vice Director of Public Affairs

WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)

Kanazawa University

Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan

Email: nanolsi-office@adm.kanazawa-u.ac.jp

Tel: +81 (76) 234-4550

About Kanazawa University

http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/

As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.

The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa - a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-detect-bind-and-cut-biomolecular-action-at-the-nanoscale-301764302.html
BRIGHTON, England, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blox, a British-based SaaS startup, has announced the launch of its cloud-based business planning platform, aimed squarely at fellow startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), giving business leaders the ability to make better, faster decisions without spreadsheets.

Boasting a marketplace of pre-built models, the company has taken away the complexity of building a bespoke model and sped up the planning process massively. Users simply select the models which are relevant to their business, from a selection which is growing all the time but includes SaaS Financial modelling, Workforce planning, Marketing planning, and Subscription Revenue modelling. As part of Blox's initial launch phase, access to the platform is free, with paid subscription tiers being added later this year.

Blox is the brainchild of Brighton-based Simon Ritchie, who has gathered a team of tech industry veterans from such companies as Anaplan and Metapraxis.

"At Blox, our mission is to unlock the full potential of every ambitious business leader," Ritchie said. "We believe in a world where anyone with ambition and drive can create an impact at scale regardless of background or experience."

Learn more about Blox at www.blox.so or sign up for free, no credit card required at www.blox.so/signup

About Blox:

Blox is an AI-powered solution which helps business leaders with financial modelling and planning, without the need for spreadsheets. With our marketplace of pre-built blocks, we've taken away the complexity of building a bespoke model and sped up the planning process massively. Founded in Brighton, UK in 2022, Blox is led by a team with experience at the likes of Anaplan and Metapraxis. Learn more at www.blox.so

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/uk-based-blox-introduces-new-cloud-solution-to-make-financial-planning-easier-for-every-startup-and-sme-leader-301763572.html
Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, will list Paean (PAE) on March 10, 2023. For all users of LBank Exchange, the PAE/USDT trading pair will be officially available for trading at 5:00 UTC on March 10, 2023.

PAE Listing Banner

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8831/157496_05e0b4991408d861_001full.jpg

Paean (PAE) seeks to create the future of 4th industry. Its native token PAE will be listed on LBank Exchange at 5:00 UTC on March 10, 2023, to further expand its global reach and help it achieve its vision.

Introducing Paean

The world is changing rapidly while advanced information and communication technology is gradually connecting and converging with other fields to create a new industry. The blockchain technology is at the center of it, increasing day by day.

"Paean" is the name of the god of healing in Greek mythology. Based on the blockchain ecosystem, the Paean Project seeks to become the healing god of the blockchain world in order to heal the health and environmental problems facing humanity and the earth and lead a sustainable and rich life.

Specifically speaking, Paean seeks solutions to the structural limitations of traditional payment services and applicability issues that cryptocurrency solutions must overcome and provides a cryptocurrency-based payment solution that can be applied quickly to the real world. Its services integrate a variety of business models into one place to provide users with a relevant payment system.

There are multiple features in Paean that will help it achieve its vision, which includes atomic exchange, multi blockchain, multi swap, hyper converged infrastructure, half-private blockchain, front grid backend multi flexing, and more. In addition, there's also Paean Wallet created by the Paean Coin (PAE) Foundation. Through Paean Wallet, users can conveniently transfer and deposit digital assets on mobile devices by applying a simple UI/UX that anyone can easily use.

Furthermore, Paean users have a stake in new drug development, renewable energy and new materials businesses, and will contribute together to human development with good influence. To lead the project more efficiently, the team is also investing in the blockchain business of Arab capital and the real estate NFT field.

The Singapore-based Paean Group will expand the participation of users around the world by listing on the global exchanges. It aims to lead the blockchain business innovation with partners who are at the forefront of each field to create the future of the 4th industry.

About PAE Token

PAE is the native token of the Paean ecosystem. It's a tool for achieving deeper participation in a broader community of investors, partners and contributors who are key beneficiaries of platform growth. It's also a payment coin used in real life that focuses on actually implementing asset and monetary functions, creating an ecosystem based on practicality.

Based on TRC-20, PAE has a total supply of 5 billion (i.e., 5,000,000,000) tokens, of which 15% is provided for fundraising, 20% goes into the foundation operation fund, 30% will be used for marketing and user incentives, 5% is allocated to the team and advisors, 20% is provided for strategic partners, and the remaining 10% is reserved.

PAE token will be listed on LBank Exchange at 5:00 UTC on March 10, 2023, investors who are interested in Paean can easily buy and sell it on LBank Exchange by then.

Learn More about PAE Token:

Official Website: http://paeangroup.io

Telegram: https://t.me/+HNk3yzAzMYs3NWNl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaeanWorld

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paeanworld

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

Community & Social Media:

l Telegram

l Twitter

l Facebook

l LinkedIn

l Instagram

l YouTube

Contact Details:

LBK Blockchain Co. Limited

LBank Exchange

marketing@lbank.info

business@lbank.info

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157496
OSLO (dpa-AFX) - Norway's industrial production declined sharply at the start of the year amid a contraction in output of electricity, gas, and steam, data from Statistics Norway showed on Tuesday. Industrial production fell a seasonally adjusted 8.3 percent month-on-month in January. This was much worse than the 0.2 percent drop in the previous month. Production in the electricity, gas, and steam segments deteriorated by 8.6 percent monthly in January. Output in the extraction and related services gained 0.3 percent. Manufacturing output rebounded 0.9 percent in January after falling 0.8 percent in the previous month. Mining and quarrying production growth quickened to 9.0 percent. On a yearly basis, industrial production declined 6.6 percent in January after remaining flat in December. 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 / March 7, 2023 / Q Battery Metals Corp. ("Q Battery Metals" or the "Company) (CSE:QMET)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(FRA:0NB) announces that Krystal Pineo has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer and as a Director of the Company. In addition, the Company announces that Renat Mataev has resigned as Chief Financial Officer and as a director of the Company. The Company thanks Mr. Mataev for his contributions and wishes him the best in his endeavors.

Krystal Pineo is the founder of KP Capital Inc, a family office and corporate advisory firm. Krystal was a co-founder and former director of Better Plant Sciences Inc., a CSE listed company offering a collection of high efficacy, plant based products for optimum health and wellness. Krystal was a board member of CSE listed Ultra Brands Ltd an agri-food holdings company focused on innovative products and technologies in the food services industry. Krystal is the also the acting COO at AbsolemHealth Corp. a company focused on creating natural solutions for human health optimization through functional and medicinal products. In 2022, Krystal formed Quartier Minerals Inc a privately held battery metals focused project generator.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Richard Penn

CEO

(778) 384-8923

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development; the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing; the Company's limited operating history; the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations; fluctuations in the prices of commodities; operating hazards and risks; competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's Prospectus dated September 8, 2017 available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions, and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Q Battery Metals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742384/Q-Battery-Metals-Corp-Appoints-CFO-and-Director
The GreenBank Board are to deliver a new business strategy, designed to shape the direction of the Company for positive growth to futureproof against ever-changing markets.

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / GreenBank Capital (CSE:GBC)(OTC PINK:GRNBF)(FRA:2TL) ("GreenBank" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, following the appointment of Sir Bob Neill, the Directors are undertaking a strategic review of the Company's existing and future investment strategy.

Once the review is concluded, the intention is to produce a comprehensive plan of action setting out how the company can capitalise on the incoming-generating (and potentially-income generating) businesses that are already within the portfolio alongside opportunities that are either income generating or close to the end of their development runway. This may lead to decisions to further consolidate the portfolio by exiting non-core investments (other than where there is viable return within the short-to-medium term). The Directors will be announcing a Private Placement to support their vision and progressive strategy.

As part of that consolidation and rationalisation process, the Staminier Board has decided that it cannot meet the terms being requested for the further extension of the option over 13 acres of land at Gatwick. Staminier has been seeking over the past three years to have that land reclassified within the Local Plan as being suitable for "strategic employment", a process that has constantly been delayed due in part to local council consultations and the effect of the pandemic on them. Crawley Council has recently issued an updated Consultation Statement (of over 500 pages) in relation to potential changes to the Local Plan, including those sought by Staminier. Having been reviewed by Staminier's independent experts, they conclude that this detailed summary of all the representations does not contain any positive indication that the reclassification sought will be forthcoming at any point in the near future, or at all. As a result of this, and taking into account the costs of extending the option and the associated professional fees associated with pursuing the reclassification, the directors of Staminier have decided not to pay to further extend the land option, but to expend time and resources in other areas where there is a more realistic prospect of achieving a return and in a shorter time frame.

The company intends to release a summary shareholder update in the coming week which will give investors further insight into recent developments within the company's portfolio of investments.

Terry Pullen, CEO said "Within our strategic review, we are objectively reflecting on the current economic cycle, in relation to our existing portfolio and investor expectations. We believe the outcome will prove our management team is both motivated and nimble enough to reshape and deliver the company vision, if supported by new and existing shareholders alike."

About GreenBank

GreenBank Capital is a business transformation company, whose aim is to nurture growth companies with a view to reaching their full potential. The company's modern approach to consultancy services, involves GreenBank taking stakes in every company it nurtures, and then allowing founders and executives to benefit from the years of collective experience of the GreenBank management team.

The team in London and Toronto work diligently across borders to ensure that portfolio businesses reach their core objectives. The businesses we typically work with are already income-producing or close to the end of their development runway. From this emergent state, we can effectively implement strong business practices through operations, communications, financial controls and strategic management expertise.

Whether a business desires to become a successful private company, list publicly, or is seek a profitable exit, GreenBank will add value at every stage as a strategic partner. GreenBank Capital is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Frankfurt Borse and on the OTC Markets in the US.

For further information, please contact:

Terry Pullen, CEO GreenBank Capital

Tel: +44 (0)7831 402 38

Email: Terry@GreenBankCapitalInc.com.

Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business and trading in the common stock of GreenBank Capital Inc., the raising of additional capital believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information 14 because Greenbank can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and Greenbank disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: GreenBank Capital Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742395/Greenbank-Directors-Conduct-Strategic-Review-and-Announce-Shareholder-Update
New global automotive player with annualised sales of 1.2 billion euros

Association of three international automotive suppliers

Combines the strengths of these established automotive suppliers with a lean, experienced management team and agile, start-up mentality

FRANKFURT, Germany, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the newly founded holding company Amaneos from Frankfurt am Main brings together three international automotive suppliers under one roof: Light Mobility Solutions GmbH (LMS), MoldTecs GmbH and SFC Group. Each of the companies is a specialist manufacturer of plastic-based systems for the automotive industry and will continue to operate independently as part of Amaneos. With this move, Amaneos becomes a global player in the automotive industry with over 7,500 employees at more than 30 locations worldwide and annualised sales of 1.2 billion euros.

LMS, MoldTecs and SFC Group were each respectively acquired in 2021, 2022 and 2020 by Mutares SE & Co. KGaA, a Munich-based investment company and the shareholder of Amaneos. They have been developing as independent companies since they were spun off from their previous parent companies and became part of the Mutares Group.

SFC Group develops and produces high-quality fluid transfer systems, sealing solutions, as well as mixing and rubber components. As a producer of lightweight components, LMS offers a comprehensive product portfolio of exterior and interior systems. MoldTecs produces high-performance plastic parts using state-of-the-art injection moulding machines.

Amaneos brings together all three companies and the full range of their products and services, creating synergies and adding value in production, global footprint and supply networks for the benefit of customers. In the coming months, further growth is also expected: MoldTecs is planning to build two plants - one in North America and one in China. In the process, Amaneos is expected to grow its global presence while also creating jobs.

The goal of Amaneos, is to be a modern partner to automotive manufacturers (OEMs), combining the strengths of established automotive suppliers with the agility and dynamism of a start-up.

Mathieu Purrey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Amaneos, explains: "Born to move. That is the guiding principle that pushes us forward at Amaneos. As a global mobility partner, we want to work together to drive the continued progress of OEMs. By bringing these specialist automotive suppliers and their years of experience together under one roof, we can provide our customers with greater agility, flexibility and innovation - without compromising on quality."

The collaboration between LMS, SFC Group and MoldTecs brings together Amaneos's expertise and technologies, complementing each other perfectly. In this way, the three companies can support OEMs globally across their specialised business areas with flexible, customised and innovative solutions - enabling the mobility of tomorrow.

Purrey continues: "Our production and development locations around the world also enable us to be there for our customers globally and to serve them flexibly and quickly with high-quality products. To do this, we rely on continuous innovation as well as the upheaval of new and traditional technologies to keep pace with the evolving needs of OEMs - in all relevant markets."

About Amaneos:

Amaneos is a global partner to automotive manufacturers based in Frankfurt am Main. We were founded in 2023 to power OEMs' progress and create synergy between companies Light Mobility Solutions GmbH, SFC Group, and MoldTecs GmbH. The portfolio companies Light Mobility Solutions GmbH, MoldTecs GmbH and SFC Group remain legally independent. We're poised to deliver to the global mobility industry at scale with flexibility, agility and innovation.

Press contact:

Edelman GmbH

Meike Baumann

Rundfunkplatz 2

80335 Munich

+49 (0) 69 509546362

press@amaneos.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/amaneos-global-player-in-the-automotive-supplier-industry-301763685.html
UK's leading arts and crafts retailer deploys Contentsquare Live Zoning analysis tool to boost performance of its eCommerce site, resulting in higher customer retention and activation

LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Contentsquare , the global leader in digital experience analytics, and Hobbycraft , the UK's leading arts and crafts retailer, have worked together to improve the eCommerce functions of its website, following pandemic-driven consumer interest in new hobbies. According to Pitney Bowes data, 94% of consumers took up a new hobby to pass the time during the height of the 2020 global pandemic, including art, crochet, haberdashery, papercraft, wedding and party, baking, jewelry making and more, but many have reportedly struggled to keep up with newfound hobbies post-pandemic. Hobbycraft saw this as an opportunity to activate its website to cater to customers with interest in advancing in existing hobbies or to inspire a love of a new crafting discipline. The company used Contentsquare digital experience insights to achieve this as it replatformed its eCommerce site, nurturing people's interests by delivering better experiences that serve customers the information and inspiration they seek. As a result, Hobbycraft's website-driven revenue has grown 20% year-on-year .

By surfacing visitor trends, Contentsquare's digital experience analytics platform identified which eCommerce site zones were most effective or could use some attention. Contentsquare's replatform team worked with Hobbycraft digital marketers to strategize and prioritize components of Hobbycraft's eCommerce site, monitoring for and sharing instant insights on performance, as well as noteworthy changes and trends in customer behavior. These insights informed many of Hobbycraft's decisions around user interface, product content, content or promotion placement, customer call-to-action, and others.

"Prior to adopting Contentsquare, we had a digital solution for our website that worked fine, but we realized that it may have been keeping us from finding more opportunities to connect with crafters around the world, so they can use our expertise to nurture hobbies that had been a saving grace during the pandemic," said Jennifer North, Head of Digital at Hobbycraft. "We have more than 23,000 products on our website, and sifting through them can be overwhelming, so being able to use the data insights from Contentsquare to deliver information and products to customers that cater to individual interests has been a game changer. We needed a more powerful, flexible and feature-rich platform in a bid to meet evolving customer expectations around experience. Our customers now know we understand them and their hobbies better, and are able to serve them the experiences that they want and deserve."

Replatforming, sometimes described as similar to the process of designing and building an "amazing new house" led to two key results for the brand: building great eCommerce journeys for Hobbycraft customers, on both mobile and desktop, and designing a new look and feel to reflect Hobbycraft's status as a creative destination for arts and crafts. The Hobbycraft team is now able to view web elements that looked great in design but didn't work as expected once they went live-including a button placement that was damaging session sign-ins, an over-busy page that was reducing guest checkouts and some copy around gift cards that was causing customers to abandon the payment page. The ability to manage performance and course-correct in real time helped Hobbycraft's website generate more than 300.000 over the course of six months.

"When your conversion is being challenged by the changes of a replatform and other external factors, you have to be really confident that the tasks and changes you're giving your dev team are the right things to focus on. Contentsquare gives us that confidence," continued North.

Contentsquare's ability to monitor website visitor activity and serve up business-critical insights -not just clicks, but also mouse hovers, scrolling, search behaviors, etc. - continues to be instrumental in improving customer journeys in ways that aren't invasive to personal customer data.

"A website that doesn't delight visitors is a huge missed opportunity, especially when it serves as a main revenue channel," said John O'Melia, Chief Customer Officer at Contentsquare. "Hobbycraft understood the potential of its website and leaned into the story that behavioral data told, continually making decisions that put customers at the center of everything."

Contentsquare's digital experience analytics platform provides a range of features (including Zone-Based Heatmaps , Customer Journey Analysis and Session Replays ) that will help brands understand how customers are using their replatformed site, with powerful AI dedicated to bringing the most valuable insights to immediate attention. Most recently, the company released an enhanced version of its Speed Analysis capability, part of the Find & Fix application, to include real-user monitoring.

About Contentsquare

Contentsquare delivers the power to make the digital world more human. Its AI-powered platform provides rich and contextual insight into customer behaviors, feelings and intent - at every touchpoint in their journey - enabling businesses to build empathy and create lasting impact. The global leader in digital experience analytics, Contentsquare helps brands everywhere transform the way they do business, allowing them to take action at enterprise scale and build customer trust with security, privacy and accessibility. More than 1,000 leading brands use Contentsquare to grow their business, deliver more customer happiness and move with greater agility in a constantly changing world. Its insights power the customer experience on over 1 million websites worldwide. Founded in Paris and with offices around the world, Contentsquare has raised $810m in investment funding from leading investors, including Softbank, BlackRock and others. For more information, visit www.contentsquare.com

About Hobbycraft

Hobbycraft is the UK's largest arts and crafts retailer, selling more than 25,000 arts and crafts products for hundreds of creative activities, from art, knit and stitch, papercraft, wedding, party, baking and much more. For more information visit www.hobbycraft.co.uk

Learn to craft with Hobbycraft, from painting to crochet and everything in between Hobbycraft's extensive in-store and online work programme offers something for all crafts and abilities. Visit Hobbycraft on ClassBento for more. Hobbycraft is the home of the number one craft blog in the UK, with over 2,000 easy-to-follow tutorials ready to inspire your next project! Visit www.hobbycraft.co.uk/ideas to discover more.

May 2022 saw Best Companies, an organisation dedicated to making the world a better workplace, reveal Hobbycraft as the No.1 Best Big Company to work for in the UK.

Press Contact:

Gaetane Roche

gaetane.roche@contentsquare.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/contentsquare-helps-hobbycraft-drive-site-performance-and-achieve-20-ecommerce-growth-year-on-year-301764144.html
OQ Chemicals has launched "OxBalance Isononanoic Acid", the world's first commercially available isononanoic acid that is produced from both bio-based and circular feedstocks, and is ISCC PLUS certified. The new product has a bio-based content of over 70 percent, providing manufacturers with a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional isononanoic acid. To meet the growing demand for carboxylic acids, OQ Chemicals has recently invested in a capacity expansion project in Germany. Isononanoic acid is widely used in the production of various industrial and consumer goods, such as energy-efficient lubricants, plasticizers, and surfactants.

"The demand for bio-based raw materials is increasing across different industries. Therefore, the introduction of our ISCC PLUS certified OxBalance Isononanoic Acid is a significant milestone in our journey towards sustainable chemical production. With the same specifications and quality, our OxBalance products are a drop-in replacement for traditional carboxylic acids. As consumers demand more environmentally friendly products, we see a great opportunity for our customers to shift from fossil-based to sustainable feedstocks without compromising on quality or performance," said David Faust, Executive Vice President Oxo Performance Chemicals at OQ Chemicals.

"At OQ Chemicals, we are proud to be the first to offer bio-based isononanoic acid. For us, this is the logical next step on our journey towards greater sustainability. We aim to make our large-scale production processes more environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable while reducing emissions. As we expand our portfolio of bio-based Oxo Performance Chemicals, such as carboxylic acids, we invest in capacity expansions and explore new ways to innovate and improve our chemical production processes," added Dr. Oliver Borgmeier, CEO of OQ Chemicals.

The new OxBalance product line uses the mass balance concept to trace renewable feedstocks in chemical production processes and allocate them to products. ISCC PLUS is a globally recognized sustainability certification system. OxBalance is a registered trademark of OQ Chemicals.

About OQ Chemicals

OQ Chemicals (formerly Oxea) is a global manufacturer of Oxo Intermediates and Oxo Performance Chemicals such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These are used to produce high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, flavors and fragrances, printing inks, and plastics. OQ Chemicals employs more than 1,400 people worldwide and markets its chemicals in more than 60 countries. The company is part of OQ, an integrated energy company originating in Oman. More information is available at chemicals.oq.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005626/en/

Contacts:

Media contact

OQ Chemicals GmbH, Rheinpromenade 4a, 40789 Monheim am Rhein, Germany

Dr. Ina Werxhausen, Communications and Press Relations

Phone: +49 (0)2173 9993-3009, sc.communications@oq.com
Avicena has demonstrated a record-breaking 235C optical link using its LightBundle technology

Avicena, a privately held company headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, is demonstrating the world's highest temperature optical link operating at up to 235C using its LightBundleTM communication architecture and technology at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2023 in San Diego, CA (https://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/). The Avicena LightBundle architecture breaks new ground by unlocking the performance of xPUs, memory and sensors, removing key bandwidth and proximity constraints while simultaneously offering an order-of-magnitude reduction in power consumption.

Over the past three decades, optical links have gradually replaced copper interconnects in many segments of wired communications due to their much longer reach, lower power requirements, lighter weight, and immunity to EMI. Today most optical links use semiconductor edge-emitting lasers or vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). However, these lasers typically exhibit dramatic performance and lifetime reductions at operating temperatures above 85C and are thus unable to meet the 5- to 10-year field lifetime requirements of many higher temperature applications. The lifetime limitations of these communications lasers are related to fundamental properties of the GaAs and InP semiconductors from which nearly all are made, and thus have proved very difficult to improve significantly despite decades of effort.

By contrast, Avicena's LightBundle links use microLEDs made from Gallium Nitride (GaN). GaN microLEDs are much less sensitive than GaAs and InP lasers to operating temperature, specifically regarding performance and reliability. Combined with high energy efficiency and low cost, these attributes have allowed GaN LEDs to transform the lighting industry over the past decade. LightBundle technology is based on arrays of GaN microLEDs that leverage the LED lighting and display ecosystems, and can be integrated directly onto high performance CMOS ICs. Each microLED array is connected via a multi-core fiber cable to a matching array of CMOS-compatible PDs.

Now, Avicena has demonstrated LightBundle links operating at up to 235C. This brings the benefits of optical interconnects to the harsh environments encountered in a wide variety of automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense applications, while also offering other benefits of the LightBundle architecture.

"We have already demonstrated the benefits of LightBundle links in data center, HPC, and ML/AI with bleeding edge power and density requirements," says Chris Pfistner, VP of Sales Marketing at Avicena. "We have now shown that the unique benefits of the GaN materials system in microLEDs extends to applications with operating temperatures that have traditionally been beyond the capabilities of optical interconnects. This is igniting interest among our partners and customers in numerous market segments in the automotive, defense, and aerospace industries."

About the Technology

Today's high-performance ICs use SerDes-based electrical links to achieve adequate IO density. However, the power consumption and bandwidth density of these electrical links degrade quickly with length. Conventional optical communications technologies developed for networking applications have been impractical for inter-processor and processor-memory interconnects due to their low bandwidth density, high power consumption, and high cost. Moreover, co-packaging existing laser sources with hot ASICs causes reliability problems unless external laser sources (ELS) are used, which increases complexity and cost.

"All of this is now changing," says Rob Kalman, Avicena's CTO and co-founder. "We are developing ultra-low power, high-density optical technology based on GaN microLED arrays optimized for high-speed interconnects. Our technology and inventions build on recent display industry advances and would have been impractical just a few years ago. Our innovative LightBundle architecture supports hundreds of lanes with per-lane speeds of 10Gbps or more to enable multi-Tbps links meeting the most demanding emerging compute interconnect needs. This also frees system designers to innovate beyond the bounds of today's proximity constraints."

The low power, high density, and low latency of LightBundleTM is well matched to chiplet interfaces like UCIe, OpenHBI, and BoW, and can also be used to rethink and enhance system architectures that are limited by the reach of existing compute interconnects like PCIe/CXL, and HBM/DDR/GDDR memory links.

Avicena at OFC 2023:

Avicena will be showing the LightBundleTM architecture and technology at the OFC exhibits in Booth #3950.

About Avicena

Avicena Tech Corp. is a privately held company located in Sunnyvale, CA, developing LightBundle, a next generation computing architecture for AI/ML, HPC, sensors, 5G wireless and aerospace applications. This unique, flexible ultra-low energy technology is based on microLEDs, offering both very high bandwidth and low latency. Now, system designers can disaggregate functions like compute and memory and radically grow system throughput. Avicena's technology is a key building block in the evolution of networking and computing that will reduce the energy impact on our planet.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005567/en/

Contacts:

Avicena Media Contact:

Sama Pourmojib

email: sama@avicena.tech
Dubai is set to host World AI Show, the world's longest-running AI series, for the 6th time. This year's 41st edition is all about empowering businesses to supercharge their AI adoption in the region. This high-energy event will witness exciting keynotes, insightful panel discussions, fireside chats, and innovative products & solutions at display that will take MEA businesses to new heights.

DUBAI, Mar 7, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Although IT executives, leaders, and tech decision-makers in the MEA region acknowledge the importance of AI and related emerging tech for inclusive business growth, they feel unequipped to make a tangible impact due to the lack of necessary tools and programs.

To address this key issue, on the 7th & 8th of June 2023, the World AI Show will convene global experts, and key delegates to examine the capabilities of cutting-edge technologies.

For the sixth time in Dubai, this initiative will bring together top AI experts to debate the growth of AI adoption and its role in the "new normal" of the UAE. The event will showcase global AI case studies and success stories from early adopters and provide a hands-on learning experience for stakeholders from various industries such as government, healthcare, retail, logistics and supply chain, FMCG, manufacturing, banking, and finance, airlines, real estate, utilities, and transportation among others.

The event will also host yet another scintillating World AI Awards - a celebration of innovators, entrepreneurs and solution providers who will be honoured for their constant endeavours in the field of AI and related technologies. The ceremony will recognize the breakthroughs achieved by individuals, teams and entities that have embarked on a journey of adopting & implementing AI in MEA region.

Since its inception in 2018, the series has so far touched upon 18+ countries and has hosted more than 42,000 international C-level IT Decision Makers, 2600+ early adopters of future-tech have attended as speakers, and more than 52 countries have been represented across 39 editions.

The upcoming edition in Dubai aims to bring together global use-cases, and success stories from the early adopters of AI while providing a hands-on learning experience to the technology stakeholders converging from key sectors like Governments, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Banking and Finance, Real estate, Utilities, and Transportation just to name a few. The event's overall objective is to address sector-wide issues with innovative AI solutions and create transformative disruptions in sectors of strategic relevance to Dubai.

Recently, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched UAE Centennial 2071 initiative. The UAE Centennial 2071 initiative is a significant step forward for the country in its journey toward becoming a leading nation in terms of technological advancements, particularly in the field of AI. As part of this initiative, the UAE government has established several AI-focused initiatives, such as the Dubai AI Roadmap and the Abu Dhabi AI plan, which aim to integrate AI into various sectors, including healthcare, education, transportation, and security, among others. The country is also investing in AI research and development and providing a conducive environment for businesses to innovate and thrive.

Furthering this initiative, World AI Show aims to serve as a key platform for AI professionals to network, share ideas and knowledge, and explore business opportunities in the UAE. The event is also a showcase of the country's commitment to advancing AI and its potential to transform various sectors.

Some of the speakers who recently confirmed their attendance include:

Awad ElSidiq , Head of AI & Analytics, ADNOC Distribution

, Head of AI & Analytics, ADNOC Distribution Vineesha Satwani , Advisor- Digitalization to Senior Leadership, UAE Government

, Advisor- Digitalization to Senior Leadership, UAE Government Soheyl Kadjani , Chief Digital Officer, Rabo Bank

, Chief Digital Officer, Rabo Bank Wael AbuRizq , AI & Advanced Analytics Advisor, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA)

, AI & Advanced Analytics Advisor, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) Suleiman Mohammad Aldabbas , Chief Specialist, Dubai Government

, Chief Specialist, Dubai Government Mhd Wail Khachfa , Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Digital Ajman

, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Digital Ajman Sven Herzing , Chief Technology Officer, Talabat

, Chief Technology Officer, Talabat Stephen Kruger , Chief Technology Officer, Careem

, Chief Technology Officer, Careem Ali Katkhada, Group CIO, Depa United Group

Talking about her participation in World AI Show, Vineesha Satwani, Advisor, Digitalization to Senior Leadership, UAE Government says, "Speaking and sharing my work and insights at the World AI Show is an honor, as this gathering serves as a hub of knowledge and innovation in the field of Artificial Intelligence. With experts from all over the region coming together to share their insights and advancements, the conference is a treasure trove of valuable information and opportunities for growth for the attendees."

Emphasizing the importance of the World AI Show, Awad ElSidiq, Head of AI & Analytics, ADNOC Distribution says, "World AI Show is a value-added conference to learn and gain insights on latest AI & ML Trends and potential use cases."

"AI is now being widely embraced across multiple industries, and countries such as the UAE are leading the way. Our World AI Show will continue having a direct impact on increasing AI adoption by educating key stakeholders on the transformative power of AI, showcasing practical use cases, connecting organizations with technology partners and celebrating champions that have already implemented AI." says Naveen Bharadwaj, Group CEO of Trescon.

World AI Show, Dubai edition is sponsored by Silver Sponsor, NUUMMITE Consulting.

About Trescon

Trescon is the world's fastest-growing business-to-business events, training, marketing and consulting company primarily focused on the adoption of sustainability, inclusive leadership and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, metaverse, cloud, fintech, data analytics and cybersecurity.

Our summits, conferences, and expos create real economic impact by connecting and empowering the key ecosystem of government organizations, regulators, policymakers, private sector companies, solution providers, startups, investors, accelerators, advisors, consultants, associations, academia and more.

Thought leadership, knowledge exchange, brand positioning, business expansion, market penetration, lead generation, finding solutions & services, capital raising, capacity building, training and networking are among the key objectives of our stakeholders.

With the help of our 250+ employees across offices in 6 countries, several of our clients have quadrupled their leads, shortened sales cycles by half or less, entered markets three times faster, closed deals within unimaginable timelines and grown their businesses ultimately.

Whether you are an organization or an individual, Trescon has something to offer you

For further details about the announcement, please contact:

Nupur Aswani

Head - Media, PR and Corporate Communications, Trescon

+91 95559 15156 | media@tresconglobal.com

Source: tresconCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
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.
WUHAN, China and SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Matthias Szabo Zarb, a Maltese college student, was diagnosed with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy caused by ND1 mutation (ND1-LHON) two years ago, which led to a rapid deterioration in his visual acuity and inability to engage in normal activities. Through the National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support, he learned about NFS-02, a gene therapy drug targeting ND1-LHON which is developed by the Chinese ophthalmic gene therapy company, Neurophth. Following a recommendation from the Embassy of China in Malta, Ms. Michelle Muscat, the chairman of the Malta National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support, contacted Neurophth. Neurophth decided to donate NFS-02 and recommended Dr. Yong Zhang, director of ophthalmology center at Taihe Hospital, as the treating physician. Upon arrival, the patient received free expedited genetic tests supported by Neurophth. On March 4th, representatives of Neurophth donated NFS-02 to the Maltese patient at Taihe Hospital. Notably, Professor Zhang Yong performed the surgery for the patient on the same day.





The Embassy of China in Malta expressed their gratitude to Neurophth for their support in treating international patients. They praised the company for donating drug to Mr. Matthias Szabo Zarb and his family, as well as fostering closer ties between China and Malta. The collaboration has received high attention from the Maltese government. The National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support organized a press conference where the Speaker of the Maltese Parliament delivered a speech. Former Maltese Prime Minister Muscat and his wife also conveyed their appreciation to the embassy.

In 2017, Professor Li Bin, the former director of the Ophthalmology Department of Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, launched the world's largest sample size clinical trial for gene therapy for ND4-LHON. The study included 149 patients from China and 10 patients from Argentina. The 12-month follow-up results showed that NFS-01 has remarkable curative effect and no obvious serious adverse events have been found. NFS-02 is Neurophth's second gene therapy, in development for the treatment of mtND1-mediated LHON. After six years of development, the company's technology platform has become more advanced. NFS-02 has been used to treat multiple patients in the investigator-initiated clinical trial (IIT) in China and received orphan drug designation and IND approval from the U.S. FDA.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1908454/Neurophth_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/maltese-patient-received-worlds-first-nd1-lhon-gene-therapy-injection-donated-by-neurophth-in-china-301764415.html
Wolters Kluwer recognized as #1 in the Netherlands for gender diversity

Third consecutive year the Company claims top spot in Equileap'sranking;

Executives to participate in bell ringingfor gender equality at Euronext Amsterdam

Alphen aan den Rijn,March 7, 2023 - Wolters Kluwer is the top company for gender diversity in the Netherlands, according to Equileap, a leading provider of data and insights on gender equality. This is the third consecutive year that Wolters Kluwer has won the honor. The company also ranked #6 out of only 18 companies globally to reach gender balance across all four levels's2023GenderEquality Global Report &Ranking.

The independent recognition comes as Wolters Kluwer prepares to celebrate International Women's Day at Euronext Amsterdam on March 8 for the Ring the Bell for Gender Equality 2023 campaign. The event, a partnership between various high profile organizations including UN Women and the World Federation of Exchanges, will feature senior executives from the Company.

"At Wolters Kluwer we believe that diversity drives performance, and we are pleased to once again be recognized with the top ranking in the Netherlands for gender diversity," says Carlos Rivero, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Talent Management at Wolters Kluwer. "Strong gender diversity representation is incredibly important to us and there is always more we can do. As a result, we will continue to take actions to further our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging across the entire organization."

As part of the Company's commitment to taking further actions, Nancy McKinstry, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer, recently signed the UN's Women's Empowerment Principles.Wolters Kluwer joins more than 7,000 companies who have signed the principles which offer guidance to business on how to promote gender equality and women's empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community.

To learn more about Wolters Kluwer, please visit: www.wolterskluwer.com.

# # #

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare, tax and accounting, financial and corporate compliance, legal and regulatory, and corporate performance and ESG sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2022 annual revenues of 5.5 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Media Contact

Paul Lyon

Senior Director, External Communications

Global Branding & Communications

Wolters Kluwer

Office +44 20 3197 6586

Paul.Lyon@wolterskluwer.com

Attachment
Orogen creates two new royalties, acquires rights to two additional royalties, and sees advancement of its Hank royalty.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / (TSX.V:OGN)(OTCQX:OGNRF) Orogen Royalties Inc. ("Orogen" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a purchase and sale agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") with P2 Gold Inc. (TSX.V:PGLD) ("P2 Gold"), and an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Kingfisher Metals Inc. (TSX.V: KFR) ("Kingfisher") on the Ball Creek Property in the Golden Triangle in northwest British Columbia, Canada.

Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, P2 Gold will acquire a 100% interest in 18,893 hectares of mineral claims ("Ball Creek West") for $1.0 million in common shares of P2 Gold, a 1% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty and transferring to Orogen the right to acquire an additional 1% NSR royalty subject to an underlying agreement.

Under the terms of the Option Agreement, Kingfisher can earn a 100% interest in 35,020 hectares of mineral claims ("Ball Creek East") by issuing $3.5 million in common shares of Kingfisher and spending $7.5 million in exploration over a four-year period. Upon exercising the Option Agreement, Kingfisher will transfer to Orogen the right to acquire a 1% NSR royalty subject to an underlying agreement. Kingfisher will also grant to Orogen a 1% NSR royalty on Kingfisher's 28,407-hectare Ecstall volcanogenic massive sulphide ("VMS") project, located on the central coast in British Columbia on signing the Option Agreement.

In a separate transaction, Kingfisher has also signed an option agreement with Golden Ridge Resources Corp. (TSX.V: GLDN) for acquisition of the Hank project, a 1,700-hectare copper-gold porphyry property internal to the Ball Creek East claims, where Orogen holds rights to a US$2.5 million cash payment and a 3% NSR royalty.

Orogen CEO Paddy Nicol commented, "Ball Creek is a large 539 square kilometre copper-gold porphyry property with several porphyry copper and epithermal gold targets that has been split into two sperate projects to allow for focused and manageable exploration. Ball Creek West adjoins P2 Gold's BAM gold project to the north and complements their exploration initiatives with the highly prospective More area. Ball Creek East's Main Zone consists of a cluster of KSM-aged porphyry targets can be effectively explored as a larger mineral system in combination with the Hank property."

About the Ball Creek Project

The Ball Creek Project consists of over 539 square-kilometres of mineral tenure in the Golden-Triangle, northwestern British Columbia (Figure 1), a region that has seen significant infrastructure development for access and power, and major mining company investment.

Figure 1 - Ball Creek Location Map

Porphyry style mineralization has been identified in multiple intrusive suites across the property which has seen limited exploration compared to the rest of the Golden Triangle.

The Ball Creek Main zone ("MZ") is a 1,200 by 400 metre porphyry system that has returned drill intersects including 455 metres grading 0.28 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 0.11% copper in drill hole BC12-47, and 231 metres grading 0.54 g/t gold and 0.21% copper in drill hole BC07-12. The MZ remains open with anomalous intercepts at the extremities of the drilled area, untested internal areas, and depth potential.

Outside of the MZ, the 12 square-kilometre Ball Creek Cluster is defined by highly anomalous copper, gold and molybdenum soil and rock geochemistry with multiple exposures of porphyry-style alteration. This region is largely unexplored.

Porphyry targets on the Ball Creek West property including More, Mess, and Hickman have seen limited exploration:

The More zone consists of an undrilled Galore Creek style megacrystic syenite porphyry occurrence partially hidden by Quaternary basalts with a potassically altered outcrop returning 6.8% copper, 0.20 g/t gold and 10.3 g/t silver in a grab sample

The Mess zone consists of copper mineralization associated with the eastern contact of a monzonitic stock defining a fifteen-kilometre-long anomalous zone of mineralization at surface. There are greater than 500 metre internal gaps between drill holes and multiple strong soil anomalies remain untested

The Hickman target, discovered in 2019, represents an undrilled porphyry target with copper-gold mineralization at surface in a potassically altered diorite eight kilometres from Schaft Creek.

Figure 2 - Ball Creek West and East claim map

Multiple epithermal and volcanic-hosted-massive sulphide prospects exist outside these defined porphyry targets.

Agreement Terms

Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, P2 Gold can acquire a 100% interest in the Ball Creek West project by issuing $1.0 million of P2 Gold common shares, granting a 1% NSR royalty, and transferring the buy-down right to acquire an additional 1% NSR royalty on the Ball Creek West claims for $1.0 million subject to the Paget Minerals-Pembrook Mining (now Sandstorm Gold Royalties) agreement dated April 12, 2011 (the "Sandstorm Agreement").

Under the terms of the Option Agreement, Kingfisher can earn a 100% interest in the Ball Creek East project by issuing $3.5 million of common shares, and incurring $7.5 million in exploration expenditures over four years per the following:

Fair Value of Common Shares to be Issued Additional Consideration Exploration Expenditures On signing $300,000 1% NSR on Ecstall Project - End of Y1 $400,000 $500,000 End of Y2 $500,000 $1,000,000 End of Y3 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 End of Y4 $1,300,000 $4,000,000 Total $3,500,000 $7,500,000

Once Kingfisher has exercised its option to acquire the Ball Creek East project, it will transfer to Orogen the buy-down right to acquire an additional 1% NSR royalty on the Ball Creek East claims for $1.0 million subject to the Sandstorm Agreement. As additional consideration, Kingfisher will also grant a 1% NSR royalty on the Ecstall project upon signing the Option Agreement.

Qualified Person Statement

All new technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been verified by Laurence Pryer, Ph.D., P.Geo., VP. Exploration for Orogen. Dr. Pryer is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101.

About Orogen Royalties Inc.

Orogen Royalties Inc. is focused on organic royalty creation and royalty acquisitions on precious and base metal discoveries in western North America. The Company's royalty portfolio includes the Ermitano gold and silver mine in Sonora, Mexico (2% NSR royalty) being mined by First Majestic Silver Corp. and the Silicon gold project (1% NSR royalty) in Nevada, USA, being advanced by AngloGold Ashanti NA. The Company operates a profitable prospect generation business with multiple projects actively being advanced by exploration partners.

On Behalf of the Board

OROGEN ROYALTIES INC

Paddy Nicol

President & CEO

To find out more about Orogen, please contact Paddy Nicol, President & CEO at 604-248-8648, and Marco LoCascio, Vice President, Corporate Development at 604-248-8648. Visit our website at www.orogenroyalties.com.

Orogen Royalties Inc.

1015 - 789 West Pender Street

Vancouver, BC

Canada V6C 1H2

info@orogenroyalties.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this presentation, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Orogen Royalties Inc. (the "Company") expect to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur.

Although the Company believe the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.

Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

SOURCE: Orogen Royalties Inc

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742392/Orogen-Royalties-Sells-Ball-Creek-West-to-P2-Gold-and-Options-Ball-Creek-East-to-Kingfisher-Metals
Significant shallow intercepts including:

104.9m at 1.31% Cu in Hole 20_21

126.2m at 1.24% Cu in Hole 20_01

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Intrepid Metals Corp. (TSXV:INTR) ("Intrepid" or the "Company"), subsequent to its news release dated February 15, 2023 announcing the Cave Creek Copper acquisition, is pleased to provide further details about its new district scale, advanced exploration and development copper property, the Corral Copper Project, in Cochise County, Arizona. Over 50,000 metres ("m") of drilling has been completed in the district, with significant near surface intercepts of copper, silver, gold, and zinc.

"With the recent acquisition of Cave Creek Copper, we have assay and drill hole information for over 100 holes that have been drilled within the patented mining claim portion of our property," said Ken Brophy, CEO of Intrepid Metals. "The shallow and high-grade nature of the mineralization is very encouraging as we continue to analyze and review the historical data. This data will guide us as we plan next steps within the district and allow us to classify this as an advanced exploration project based on the wealth of historical drilling."

Historical Drilling Highlights

Copper ("Cu") highlights, as well as the corresponding silver ("Ag"), gold ("Au") and zinc ("Zn") grades, from historic drilling on the property are included below:

104.9m at 1.31% Cu , 4.89g/t Ag and 0.40g/t Au (60.8m to 165.7m) including

41.0m over 1.76% Cu in Hole 20_21

, 4.89g/t Ag and 0.40g/t Au (60.8m to 165.7m) including in Hole 20_21 126.2m at 1.24% Cu (30.4m to 156.6m) in Hole 20_01

(30.4m to 156.6m) in Hole 20_01 44.0m at 1.35% Cu , 30.39g/t Ag, 0.21g/t Au and 0.29% Zn (35.0m to 79.0m) in Hole BR_06_81

, 30.39g/t Ag, 0.21g/t Au and 0.29% Zn (35.0m to 79.0m) in Hole BR_06_81 71.4m at 0.75% Cu, 26.43g/t Ag (66.9m to 138.3m) in Hole NCTR_11

26.43g/t Ag (66.9m to 138.3m) in Hole NCTR_11 41.1m at 0.85% Cu, 17.72g/t Ag (25.8m to 66.9m) in Hole CG_08

17.72g/t Ag (25.8m to 66.9m) in Hole CG_08 51.7m at 1.01% Cu, 7.98g/t Ag and 0.36g/t Au (63.8m to 115.5m) in Hole 20_37

7.98g/t Ag and 0.36g/t Au (63.8m to 115.5m) in Hole 20_37 63.9m at 0.62% Cu, 8.51g/t Ag, 0.42g/t Au and 0.26% Zn (79.0m to 142.9m) in Hole BR-06-100

The drill results are historical in nature. Intrepid has not undertaken any independent investigation of the sampling nor has it independently analyzed the results of the historical exploration work in order to verify the results. Intrepid considers these historical drill results relevant, as the Company will use this data as a guide to plan future exploration programs. Intrepid also considers the data to be reliable for these purposes; however, the Company's future exploration work will include verification of the data through further drilling.

Figure 2: Map Showing Highlights From Historic Drilling at Corral Copper

About Corral Copper

The Corral Copper Project is a district scale advanced exploration and development opportunity in Cochise County, Arizona. Corral Copper is located 15 miles east of the famous mining town of Tombstone and 22 miles north of the historical Bisbee mining camp which has produced more than 8 billion pounds of copper with grades of up to 23%. Production from the Bisbee mining camp is not necessarily indicative of the mineral potential at the Corral Copper Project.

The district has a mining history dating back to the late 1800s, with several small mines extracting copper from the area in the early 1900s, producing several thousand tons with grades up to 9.2% copper ore. Between 1950 and 2008, various companies explored parts of the district, but the effort was uncoordinated, non-synergistic and focused on discrete land positions and commodities due to the fragmented ownership. Intrepid has been able to secure data from various sources which provides a solid foundation in creating geological interpretations and identifying new target areas.

Anglo American began exploring the district in 2016, conducted mapping and airborne geophysics which identified numerous new target areas through the district. Intrepid has acquired Anglo American's data package and in exchange, Anglo American has retained an interest over a portion of the project area in the form of a right of first refusal over transfers if certain conditions are met.

Intrepid is confident that by combining modern exploration techniques with historical data and with a clear focus on responsible development, the Corral Copper Project can quickly become an advanced exploration stage project and move towards feasibility level studies.

Dr. Chris Osterman, P. Geo, a consultant of the Company, is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Dr. Osterman has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information disclosed in this news release.

About Intrepid Metals Corp.

Intrepid Metals Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on exploring for potential high-grade copper, silver, and zinc projects in proximity to established mining camps in south-eastern Arizona, USA. The Company has acquired several drill ready projects, including the Corral Copper Project (a district scale advanced exploration and development opportunity), and the Tombstone South Project (within the historical Tombstone mining district with geological similarities to the Taylor Deposit, which was purchased for $1.3B in 2018) both of which are located in Cochise County, Arizona and the Mesa Well Project located in the Laramide Copper Porphyry Belt in Arizona. Intrepid is actively looking to acquire additional projects in Arizona and the American Southwest and has assembled an exceptional team with considerable experience in evaluating and developing exploration projects within North America. Intrepid is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol "INTR". For more information, visit www.intrepidmetals.com.

INTREPID METALS CORP.

On behalf of the Company

"Ken Brophy"

CEO

For further information regarding this news release, please contact:

Ken Brophy

CEO

604-681-8030

info@intrepidmetals.com

Caroline Sawamoto

Investor Relations

invest@intrepidmetals.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking statements relate to: (i) future exploration plans; (ii) details about potential mineralization; (iii) the exploration potential of the Corral Copper Property; and (iv) potential future production.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" 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 results of exploration activities, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, commodity prices, the timing and amount of future exploration and development expenditures, the availability of labour and materials, 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 exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in commodity prices, 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, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of exploration and development activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes and cave-ins, 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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Intrepid Metals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742246/Intrepid-Metals-Highlights-Historical-Drilling-With-Shallow-Copper-Intercepts-at-Corral-Copper-in-Arizona


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The Department of Transportation has rolled out a new family seating dashboard that highlights the U.S. airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating and those that do not.



This reform will make it easier for parents to avoid paying junk fees to sit with their children. This is an added feature to the existing dashboard, which already includes services for delayed and canceled flights.



White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said DOT has already begun work on a commonsense rulemaking to ban airlines from charging families junk fees to sit together.



At a routine media briefing, she said as recently as a month ago, no U.S. airlines guaranteed fee-free family seating.



'Now, after the Biden administration pressed airlines to improve customer service, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Frontier Airlines have stepped forward to guarantee that parents can sit with their young children without getting nickel and dimed,' she told reporters.



'Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees,' said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 'We have been pressing airlines to guarantee family seating without tacking on extra charges, and now we're seeing some airlines start to make this common-sense change. All airlines should do this promptly, even as we move forward to develop a rule establishing this as a requirement across the board.'



Last summer, Secretary Buttigieg pressed U.S. airlines to do more for passengers who had a flight canceled or delayed because of the airline. He informed the CEOs of the 10 largest U.S. airlines that the Department would publish a dashboard on amenities and services provided such as rebooking, meals, or hotels in the event of a controllable delay or cancellation.



Prior to his urging, none of the 10 largest U.S. airlines guaranteed meals or hotels when a delay or cancellation was within the airlines' control, and only one offered free rebooking. Now, all 10 airlines guarantee meals and rebooking, and nine guarantee hotels when an airline issue causes a cancellation or delay.



The DOT's family seating dashboard provides a clear comparison of services the airlines have committed to provide, that will assist consumers when deciding which airline to fly. It makes it easier to know which airlines have stepped up and guarantee adjacent seats for young children traveling with an accompanying adult at no additional cost and which airlines do not.



Since most airlines in the United States currently do not guarantee that they will seat a parent and a child together at no extra cost, the DOT has begun work on a rulemaking to ensure a young child is able to sit adjacent to an accompanying adult. Because the rulemaking process can be lengthy, President Joe Biden has called upon Congress to enact legislation.



The Biden Administration plans to send Congress proposed legislation in the coming weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Ophir Gold Corp. (TSXV: OPHR) (OTCQB: KPZIF) (FSE: 80M) (the "Company" or "Ophir") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a purchase and sale agreement dated March 6th, 2023 (the "Agreement") with Troilus Gold Corporation (the "Vendor") to acquire three (3) mining claims located in James Bay, Quebec (the "Claims"). The three (3) claims are contiguous to the Company's Radis Lithium Property.

The terms of the Agreement provide for the Company to acquire a 100% interest in the Claims in consideration for the issuance of 225,000 common shares of the Company to the Vendor. In addition, the Vendor shall retain a 2% Net Smelter Royalty ("NSR") on the Claims, while the Company shall have the option to purchase back three-quarters of the NSR, thereby reducing it to 0.5%, for $1,500,000. The Vendor is arm's length to the Company. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Ophir also announces that, pursuant to its stock option plan, it has granted an aggregate of 130,000 options to purchase common shares in the capital of the Company to certain directors of the Company, exercisable at a price of $0.305 per share for a period of five (5) years from the date of grant.

About the Company

Ophir Gold Corp. is a gold exploration company focused on the exploration and development of its flagship property, the past producing Breccia Gold Property located in Lemhi County, Idaho, as well as new Radis Property in James Bay, Quebec.

The Company has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Breccia Gold Property over a three-year period from Canagold Resources Ltd. (formerly Canarc Resource Corp.) and DG Resource Management Ltd.

The Company also has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Radis Lithium Property over a three-year period from Eastmain Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fury Gold Mines Limited.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Shawn Westcott"

Ophir Gold Corp.

For further information, please contact:

Shawn Westcott, CEO

Phone 1 (604) 365 6681

swestcott@ophirgoldcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable and include statements in this press release related to the closing of the Agreement to acquire the Claims. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risk related to the failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157451
Frankfurt-based 3K will join WPP's Hill+Knowlton Strategies, advancing the company's growth in the global healthcare sector

WPP (NYSE: WPP) announces today that it has acquired 3K Agentur fur Kommunikation (3K), one of the leading healthcare specialist PR agencies in Germany. 3K will become part of the Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) global network, strengthening its healthcare presence in Europe and expanding its operations in Germany.

Founded 25 years ago, 3K is known for its expertise in healthcare, biopharmaceuticals, and related sciences, working with some of the world's most notable global pharmaceutical companies, consumer health brands, and local biotech start-ups.

The addition of 3K aligns with WPP's strategic focus on healthcare and marks the company's continued investment in Germany. In the second half of 2022, WPP appointed Wendy Lund as Chief Client Officer for Health Wellness and FM Schmidt as WPP's first President of the German market.

The acquisition is also the latest milestone in H+K's ongoing transformation. The agency has grown more than 25% over the last two years, expanding its global leadership team including Brenna Terry as Global Chair of Healthcare and acquiring the JeffreyGroup in Latin America.

AnnaMaria DeSalva, Global Chairman and CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, said: "Healthcare is in a perpetual cycle of growth and transformation, demanding superior communication and stakeholder strategies. Hill+Knowlton has a large role to play in this dynamic market. The addition of 3K will meaningfully strengthen our international capability in healthcare, and I am delighted to welcome them to the H+K family."

Ruth Bastuck, Founder and Managing Director of 3K, said: "I'm incredibly proud of what we have successfully built at 3K over the past 25 years, but I am equally excited for our future with Hill+Knowlton. Healthcare is such an important component of H+K's global strategy, and we could not have found a better fit, culturally, strategically, or operationally. We are equally dedicated to shaping excellent medical-to-human interactions. Tapping into the diverse resources and global reach of the H+K and WPP networks will create many exciting new opportunities for both our clients and our employees."

Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said: "Amid today's dynamic macroeconomic conditions we have seen great resilience and growth in the healthcare sector, as well as across our own PR businesses. Germany is our third largest market, and the addition of 3K to Hill+Knowlton's growing portfolio further strengthens WPP's global healthcare offer to clients."

3K becomes the latest in a series of acquisitions including Fenom Digital, Diff, Passport, Newcraft and Corebiz in the last six months alone that form part of WPP's accelerated growth strategy and focused M&A approach to continue to build on the company's core capabilities.

About WPP

WPP is the creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, planet, clients and communities. For more information, visit www.wpp.com.

About Hill+Knowlton

Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Inc. is an international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational, and global clients. H+K operates more than 70 offices in nearly 40 countries worldwide, as well as an extensive associate network, delivering award-winning campaigns to clients across all sectors and disciplines and with a focus on continued innovation for the industry. Headquartered in New York, the firm is part of WPP, one of the world's largest communications services groups. For more information about H+K, click here, follow us on Twitter here, like us on Facebook here, and follow us on LinkedIn here.

About 3K

Founded in 1998, 3K is one of the leading healthcare PR agencies in Germany, helping clients translate complex issues in healthcare and science into innovative formats, bringing products, brands and companies into the conversation. http://www.3k-kommunikation.de/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005601/en/

Contacts:

Further information:

Louise Lacourarie, WPP

+44 (0)20 7282 4600 +44 7741 360931

louise.lacourarie@wpp.com

Sarah Brandon, Hill+Knowlton

+1 416 413 4773

sarah.brandon@hkstrategies.com
Shareholders approve 26th consecutive dividend increase to CHF 3.20 (+3.2%) per share for 2022; representing a 4.0% yield1 and approximately 61% payout of free cash flow

Shareholders confirm Joerg Reinhardt as Chair of the Board of Directors as well as all other members who stood for re-election; John D. Young newly elected to the Board of Directors

Shareholders approve all other proposals of the Board of Directors, including the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation, the 2022 Compensation Report in an advisory vote, as well as the future Board and Executive Committee compensation in separate binding votes

Basel, March 7, 2023 - Novartis shareholders today agreed to the Board of Directors' recommendations for all proposed resolutions at the Group's Annual General Meeting (AGM). A total of 1507 shareholders were present at the meeting held in Basel, representing approximately 56.01% of the issued shares of Novartis.

Shareholders approved the 26th consecutive dividend increase since the creation of Novartis in 1996, with an increase of 3.2% to CHF 3.20 per share. Payment for the 2022 dividend will be made as from March 13, 2023. The dividend for 2022 is an approximately 61% payout of free cash flow and results in a dividend yield of 4.0%1.

Annual re-election of Members of the Board

Shareholders re-elected Joerg Reinhardt as Chair of the Board of Directors, and all members of the Board who stood for re-election, for one year. In addition, John D. Young was newly elected to the Board of Directors.

Shareholders also re-elected all members of the Compensation Committee who stood for re-election, for one year. The Board of Directors intends to redesignate Simon Moroney as Chair of the Compensation Committee.

Reduction of Share Capital

In line with the Board of Directors' recommendation, the shareholders also approved the cancellation of 126 243 500 shares repurchased under the authorizations of March 2, 2021 and March 4, 2022 and the reduction of the share capital accordingly by CHF 63.1 million, from CHF 1 201 860 626 to CHF 1 138 738 876.

Potential further share repurchases

To allow for the full execution of the already announced share buyback of up to USD 15 billion and potential additional share buybacks, shareholders authorized the Board of Directors, in addition to the remaining authorization of CHF 7.4 billion2, to repurchase shares as deemed appropriate from time to time up to a maximum of CHF 10 billion between the 2023 Annual General Meeting and the 2026 Annual General Meeting.

Amendment of the Articles of Incorporation

Shareholders also approved the Board of Directors' proposal for the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation of Novartis AG implementing the requirements of the reform of Swiss corporate law that came into force on January 1, 2023 and taking into account current best corporate governance practice. Among other changes, the Articles of Incorporation newly authorize the Board of Directors to hold shareholder meetings electronically. Novartis has committed to submit the corresponding authorization again to a shareholder vote at the 2025 AGM.

Votes on Compensation for the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee

In two separate binding votes, shareholders approved the total maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Board of Directors, covering the period from the 2023 AGM to the 2024 AGM, and the total maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Executive Committee for the 2024 financial year. Shareholders also endorsed the 2022 Compensation Report in an advisory vote.

Election of KPMG AG as Auditor

In line with the Board of Directors' proposal, the shareholders elected KPMG AG as auditor for the financial year starting on January 1, 2023.

For a detailed listing of all resolutions at the 2023 Annual General Meeting, please visit: https://www.novartis.com/agm

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "will," "authorized," "endorsed," "advisory," "future," "proposed," "potential," "intends," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding the potential future impact on Novartis of the matters described in this press release, including the future commercial performance of Novartis, further share repurchases, the annual re-election and election of members of the Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee, votes on compensation for the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, an advisory vote on the 2022 Compensation Report, the re-election of the statutory auditor, and the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee as to the ultimate outcome of the matters described in this press release or their potential impact on Novartis. In particular, our expectations regarding these matters could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties regarding future demand for our products; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems; the potential impact of matters discussed in this press release on Novartis management, its financial results and its competitiveness, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. We deliver high-value medicines that alleviate society's greatest disease burdens through technology leadership in R&D and novel access approaches. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. About 106,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work together to bring Novartis products to nearly 800 million people around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com).

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews (https://twitter.com/novartisnews)

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library (https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library)

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com)

References

Based on the SIX closing share price on March 6, 2023 As of January 31, 2023

# # #

Novartis Media Relations

E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com)

Richard Jarvis

Novartis Strategy & Financial Communications

+44 7966 118 652 (mobile)

richard.jarvis@novartis.com (mailto:richard.jarvis@novartis.com)



Julie Masow

Novartis US External Engagement

+1 862 579 8456 (mobile)

julie.masow@novartis.com (mailto:julie.masow@novartis.com)

Novartis Investor Relations

Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944

E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com)
The new solution from the leader in storage management is designed to maximize flash lifespan, protect data integrity, and improve performance

HELSINKI, FINLAND / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Tuxera, the world-leading provider of quality-assured data storage management software and networking technologies, announces the March 7 release of its new Reliance SenseTM. This new flash file system is purpose-built for data-logging applications on devices that use NOR flash, such as embedded IoT sensors, wearables, and digital meter devices.

Tuxera Reliance Sense is designed to minimize risks associated with the increasing dependence on data, including operational, financial, cost, and safety-related threats. It also mitigates storage challenges such as data reliability, flash memory wear, hardware costs, and development times in data logging applications.

Tuxera originally developed Reliance Sense to address the main challenges of logging applications in devices like smart meters, which have become a critical component of managing energy usage and cost and now are in high demand. With post-COVID economic recovery, lingering supply chain problems, and the energy crisis in Europe, energy prices are rising. At the same time, countries are also trying to address global climate challenges. Those trends combine to create a demand for smart meters, with some 225 million expected to be deployed in Europe by 2025.

Although Reliance Sense was designed to meet the data management needs of smart meters, the global demand for sensors and sensing technology is also increasing significantly. A Gartner Semiconductor forecast reports a 6.4% CAGR 2021-2026 for non-optical sensors. "Like digital smart meters, these sensors share a reliance on NOR flash memory technology, and record data in a similar manner. That makes Reliance Sense a vital technology for developers and manufacturers of a wide spectrum of devices and use cases," said Eva Rio, Product Manager at Tuxera.

"Embedded devices and digital sensors recording real-time or location-based data are the cornerstones of our 'all things sensing' future," said Rio. "While Reliance Sense was designed with smart meters in mind, it maximizes the efficiency and lifespan of memory systems in any data-logging application using NOR flash. It ensures data integrity, while also helping developers bring their projects to market more quickly."

The data logging and metering applications at the core of those devices continuously generate structured records and require the most recent data to always be available, Rio explained. When the memory is full, old data should be overwritten with more recent data.

"However, general-purpose file systems are not designed to do so efficiently. By default, standard file systems lack logic to store serial data streams and need more flash operations to manage the data. That creates overhead and complexity specifically when storing structured data," Rio said.

Tuxera's novel Reliance Sense solves those issues with a unique, database-like approach that efficiently uses the byte-addressable mode of NOR flash memory. It features a circular design to suit continuous recording workloads and a linear setup for storing configuration data. Application developers are in control of defining the database and how to interact with its records.

Reliance Sense simplifies the logging application through its advanced API for record management, which includes read, write, search, and user-defined functions. The result is simpler, more reliable, and more efficient application code. This translates into a reduced number of storage operations-extending flash lifetime, reducing power consumption, and boosting performance.

Customers will see an accelerated time to market with Reliance Sense because of its easy-to-use API, wide NOR part compatibility and advanced tools that simplify the testing process. Reliance Sense ships with a simulator tool for behavior modeling, which allows the application developer to understand the long-term behavior of the flash, validate the system behavior in case of power interruption, and import flash images for diagnostic analysis.

In addition, Reliance Sense reduces supply chain risk because of its extensive NOR part compatibility. If a manufacturer or developer relies on NOR flash hardware that is discontinued or otherwise unavailable, Reliance Sense will work with any replacement.

Reliance Sense is also compatible with any real-time operating system (RTOS) or bare metal. Its minimal CPU usage and low ROM/RAM footprint make it ideal for use in resource-constrained environments. The file system also provides power fail-safe data storage, predictable data integrity, and reliable system recovery every time.

Reliance Sense is the result of decades of experience in storage software working with the most complex embedded environments across a wide range of industries such as industrial, medical, automotive and aerospace. To learn more about Tuxera Reliance Sense, please visit https://www.tuxera.com/products/reliance-sense.

About Tuxera

Tuxera is the leading provider of quality-assured data storage management software and networking technologies. We help people and businesses store and move data reliably while making file transfers fast and content easily accessible. Our software is at the core of billions of phones, tablets, cars, TV sets, cameras, drones, external storage, routers, spacecraft, IoT devices, and public cloud storage platforms.

Tuxera's customers include car makers, device manufacturers, industrial equipment manufacturers, data-driven enterprises, and much more. They rely on our software to protect data integrity, improve storage performance, transfer data rapidly and securely, and extend flash memory lifetime in their products and for their projects. We are also members of JEDEC, AGL, SD Association, The Linux Foundation, and other industry associations. Founded in 2008, Tuxera's headquarters are located in Finland, with regional offices in China, Germany, Hungary, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S.

Contact Information

Maria Penaloza

maria.penaloza@newswire.com

SOURCE: Tuxera

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742196/Tuxera-Launches-Reliance-Sense-the-Purpose-Built-Flash-File-System-for-Structured-Data-Storage-in-NOR-Flash
See the Best Group Plans for Worldwide Organizations, Small International Companies, Business Travel, and Global Employees

HINGHAM, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / International Citizens Insurance, the leading international insurance broker, has announced 2023's best international group health insurance plans for organizations sending people outside of their home country or hiring international employees. Because each insurance provider has different requirements for their clients, this list makes it easier for an organization to choose the best global benefits for their employees.





International Citizens Insurance logo

Stacked logo of International Citizens Insurance





"Whether it's a growing international business, a missionary group, or a hardworking volunteer operation sending people overseas, organizations around the globe need global health insurance. Each company in our top 10 list has ideal solutions for different types of organizations," said Joe Cronin, President of International Citizens Insurance. "We ranked these companies for the first time because more small and medium organizations are employing remote workers abroad, growing their footprint in multiple countries and searching for guidance in this area. We're excited to congratulate this year's winners on helping organizations retain staff and protect the health of their people globally."

Organizations sending staff out of the country, or hiring international employees, must protect their health. The best international group health insurance plans will cover an organization's people so they can focus on doing great work in any country worldwide. But with so many insurers, all with different requirements for their clients, it can be difficult to know which to choose. ICI's listing of top insurers will help organizations cut through the clutter to find the right provider for their needs.

What Makes a Global Group Medical Insurance Plan Great?

Just because a group international health insurance company is top-ranked doesn't mean it's the best for a specific organization's needs. Every organization is unique and needs a plan that is the right fit for them. Each company on the list has specific strengths that make them a good fit for a specific type of organization.

How ICI Ranks Global Group Health Insurers

International Citizens Insurance judged each company and related plan based on six key criteria: the size of their network, the breadth of benefits available in their plans, the availability of added features such as telemedicine, the ease of filing a claim, the ability to adjust a premium through copays and deductibles, and the financial stability of the insurer based on their A.M. Best rating. The most trusted insurers include Cigna Global, notable for their worldwide comprehensive coverage and extensive network; GeoBlue, which offers rich benefits for U.S. organizations with international employees; and Aetna, known for easy-to-administrate plans for small organizations.

In order to help organizations find global group insurance for their unique needs, International Citizens Insurance has also identified the best plans for specific clients. These include the best plan for organizations seeking seamless benefits, the best business travel insurance for employee trips, and the best options for employees in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America.

Learn more about the best international group medical insurers at https://www.internationalinsurance.com/groups/best-group-global-health-plans/.

About International Citizens Insurance

International Citizens Insurance is the insurance division of International Citizens Group. They provide unique comparison engines that enable travelers and expatriates to research, quote, compare, and purchase international health, life, travel, and expatriate insurance from a variety of international carriers.

Contact Information

Joe Cronin

President

media@internationalinsurance.com

617-500-6738

Andrew Blomberg

Director, Group Sales

andrew@internationalinsurance.com

(339) 221-5190

SOURCE: International Citizens Insurance

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742349/International-Citizens-Insurance-Announces-Best-International-Group-Medical-Insurance-Plans-of-2023
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Gemina Laboratories Ltd. (CSE:GLAB)(FRA:8I7) (the "Company" or "Gemina") is delighted to announce that it has appointed Martha Najib as an independent director of the Company.

Ms. Najib brings an exceptionally strong and accomplished record in the diagnostics industry to Gemina. With more than 20 years of award-winning US and global healthcare experience, she is highly recognized and respected for her accomplishments in new product launches, sales, go-to-market, global commercialization and strategic partnerships. Over the course of her career, she has led 6 successful product launches and received national awards with 5 of the top tier global fortune 500 companies for achievements in the medical devices and diagnostics space. Ms. Najib started her career in sales with Johnson & Johnson before moving into a Molecular Sales Specialist role with Siemens Healthineers. Subsequently, she was recruited into a Senior Product Manager position at Abbott where she was honoured with a silver award for creating and executing an IVD product launch which included exposure into pharmaceutical clinical trials. Ms. Najib joined Roche and immediately made an impact by leading the country in capital instrument placements, infectious disease testing, and cervical cancer screening contracts with healthcare systems. At Danaher, she was promoted to the innovation team as Director of Strategic Partnerships responsible for researching emerging technologies and trends in the diagnostics space.

Brian Firth, CEO of Gemina commented, "Early-stage technology companies often fail by over-focusing on R&D at the expense of business development. With Martha's appointment we have taken a giant step towards creating a balanced board, with senior competency in sales strategy and product launch management. Martha also brings to us a wealth of experience in how Gemina can partner with existing healthcare companies to complement their product portfolios and improve access to patient care."

"I am thrilled to be joining the Gemina team," stated Ms. Najib. "Gemina's leadership in combination with their chemistry platform has the potential to disrupt today's market for remote self-testing devices. The speed and quality of Gemina's progress has been outstanding, and I'm looking forward to helping this team maximize growth opportunities."

In conjunction with the appointment of Ms. Najib, David Rokoss has stepped down from the Board of the Company. David joined Gemina prior to its listing and has devoted huge efforts to its success. He leaves the Board with the deep appreciation of his colleagues but will continue to maintain a connection with the Company in an ongoing advisory capacity.

Brian Firth commented, "David has been a key player in Gemina's creation and growth. His departure is part of a planned maturation of the Board, focused on bringing deep sectoral experience to the Company. On behalf of the Company, I'd like to express a deep appreciation for all David's work over the last 3 years."

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

John Davies

Chairman

Gemina Laboratories Ltd.

About Gemina Laboratories Ltd.

Gemina Labs is a biosensor and diagnostic company with a transformative, patented, proprietary chemistry that powers next-generation testing platforms for a wide range of pathogens that affect human health and wellness. Our technology drives testing platforms that are fast, affordable and accurate, and easily self-administered. Our development pipeline includes platforms for the rapid testing of COVID-19, influenza and other viruses. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.geminalabs.com.

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 news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Such statements include statements regarding the anticipated terms of any proposed transaction or engagement. Information and statements which are not purely historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Furthermore, the Company is presently unable to fully quantify the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic will have on its operations and recognizes that certain eventualities may affect planned or assumed performance moving forward. As such, any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

For more information regarding the Company, please contact:

Glen Axelrod

Bristol Capital Limited Telephone: 905-326-1888

Email: investor@geminalabs.com

SOURCE: Gemina Laboratories Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742368/Gemina-Labs-Appoints-Diagnostic-Strategist-Martha-Najib-to-the-Board


BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's factory orders unexpectedly expanded in January on strong foreign demand for aircraft and spacecraft construction and automobile engines, figures from Destatis revealed on Tuesday.



Factory orders grew 1.0 percent in January from December, confounding expectations for a decline of 0.9 percent. Nonetheless, the pace of growth eased from December's revised 3.4 percent expansion.



Excluding large scale orders, there was an increase of 2.9 percent in new orders.



Year-on-year, manufacturing new orders declined at a faster pace of 10.9 percent after falling 9.9 percent in December.



Within overall orders, domestic orders dropped 5.3 percent on the previous month. Meanwhile, foreign orders advanced 5.5 percent driven by strong orders for aircraft and spacecraft construction and vehicle engines.



New orders from the euro area fell 2.9 percent. By contrast, orders from the rest of the world increased 11.2 percent.



Bookings in the capital goods sector advanced 8.9 percent in January. On the other hand, orders in the intermediate goods fell 8.9 percent and that in the consumer goods sector declined 5.5 percent.



Data showed that turnover in manufacturing increased 0.2 percent in January, reversing the 1.5 percent decrease in December.



There is no clear recovery in sight, so industrial production is more likely to weaken in the coming months, Commerzbank Senior Economist Ralph Solveen said.



Earlier in February, the Bundesbank projected the economic output to fall again in the first quarter. The bank said things could slowly pick up again as the year progresses.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
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 announced it is a finalist in two categories of the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards: Security Services Innovator and Security Customer Champion. The company was honored among a global field of industry leaders that demonstrated success across the security landscape during the past 12 months.

"We are honored to be named a finalist in both the Security Services Innovator and Security Customer Champion categories in the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards. In addition to AI-driven automation and real-time collaboration, Ontinue ION is the first MXDR solution with a native Microsoft Teams interface and which leverages other Microsoft tools like Defender, Sentinel, and Azure," said Geoff Haydon, CEO of Ontinue. "This recognition reflects our commitment to delivering industry-leading innovation that complements Microsoft security and collaboration tools, and further builds on our success as Microsoft's MSSP Partner of the Year; which we were awarded at last year's event."

At the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards on April 24, 2023, Microsoft will celebrate finalists in 11 award categories honoring partner trailblazers, solution innovators, customer and technology champions, and changemakers. This is the fourth year Microsoft is recognizing partners for their outstanding work in the security landscape. All finalists are members of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), an ecosystem of independent software vendors (ISVs) and managed security service providers (MSSPs) that have integrated their security products and services with Microsoft's security technology.

"I'm very pleased to extend my warmest congratulations to this year's finalists for the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards. These are presented each year to recognize the outstanding achievements of our Microsoft Intelligent Security Association members as they improve customers' ability to identify and respond to security threats. Our community is made up of the most reliable and trusted security vendors worldwide. This year we received hundreds of quality submissions from partners and Microsoft stakeholders, so this year's finalists stood out in a crowd of exceptional talent. It's my pleasure to acknowledge and celebrate their work over the past year," said Maria Thomson, Microsoft Intelligent Security Association Lead.

MISA was established to bring together Microsoft leaders, ISVs, and MSSPs to work together to defeat security threats and make the world a safer place. The industry veterans in MISA and Microsoft will vote to select the winners of the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards, providing an opportunity for colleagues to honor their peers for delivering exceptional work to our shared customers.

Learn more about Ontinue ION and request a demo to see what Nonstop SecOps can do for you.

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/20230307005544/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, ON and NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Sekur Private Data Ltd. (CSE:SKUR)(OTCQX:SWISF)(FRA:GDT0) ("Sekur" or the "Company"), a leading Swiss hosted secure and private communications platform, is pleased announce that it has launched an early registration website for its non-big tech, Swiss hosted private VPN solution, SekurVPN.

The Company has launched the website www.sekurvpn.com in order to take pre-registrations for SekurVPN. SekurVPN is planned to be priced at US$ 7/month/user and US$ 70/year/user for the service. However, a special launch price of US$ 28/year for the first 2 years will be offered to the first 5,000 people registering to the service. This represents a 60% to the yearly price, which already offers 2 months free usage.

The official launch of SekurVPN is set to be April 7, 2023 and the Company plans to offer the pre-registration discount to all its existing Sekur users and all its shareholders.

SekurVPN is meant for privacy enthousiasts and users wanting to mask their IP address from hackers. An example would be users going to their e-banking or shopping online, using their emails, and wanting to have full privacy and protection from hackers hyjacking their location and signal. The service is not meant for streaming media such as on demand or e-gaming, although it is perfectly fine for watching YouTube videos according to internal testing. The Company will guarantee proper speed high encryption for normal privacy usage and regular email and web surfing.

Alain Ghiai, CEO of Sekur Private Data said: "We are very excited to announce this pre-registration opportunity for our users and shareholders and anyone wishing to have true privacy on the internet, at a 60% discount to our already very affordable pricing model. The launch of SekurVPN is set for April 7, 2023. We have high hopes for the success of SekurVPN, due to its highly private nature, since it does not use any big tech or computing or hosting and offers only Swiss IPs. Our prime directive is to provide private and secure communications for everyone, and, as we are not connected to any Big Tech or Hyperscaler platform, we offer a truly independent, private and secure means of communications without any data mining, through our proprietary technology and our secure servers based in Switzerland. We look forward to continuing to offer true data privacy to all individuals and their businesses and protect their intellectual property, and their privacy, from data miners and malicious hackers."

Sekur, which includes SekurMessenger and SekurMail, is part of a bundle of email, messaging and file transfer into one application, includes the Company's latest SekurMail technology, which includes proprietary anti-phishing and privacy feature called SekurSend. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur 's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to register for a Sekur account. The sender can also decide to protect any email sent by adding a password to open it, a read-limit and a self-destruct timer as well. Sending an email with the SekurSend feature allows the senders and recipients to add limitless size attachments to the emails without crowding the recipients' email box. This also eliminates BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, SekurMail includes full control of email delivery, automatic data export for large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving.

Recent data breaches in messaging applications have created a certain urgency for businesses and data privacy advocates to protect their communications from cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile and desktop devices.

SekurMessenger now comes with a proprietary feature and technology called "Chat-By-Invites". This feature allows a SekurMessenger user ("SM user") invite a non-SM user, or a group of non-SM users, to chat in a fully private and secure way, without the recipient ever having to register to SekurMessenger or download the app. At the end of the chat, the initiator of the conversation can remotely terminate the conversation and all traces of the conversation are deleted from all users, including the recipient. This unique feature is now fully deployed and functional on all iOS and Android devices and web platforms. The target sectors are numerous, including but not limited to real estate, legal, finance, insurance, medical, government, energy, manufacturing, trade and pharmaceutical sectors.

SekurMessenger also eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. SekurMessenger issues each user a username and a Sekur number. The Sekur number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other Sekur users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including Sekur's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers.

Sekur's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

About Sekur Private Data Ltd.

Sekur Private Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure and private communications. The Company distributes a suite of encrypted e-mails, secure messengers, and secure communication tools. Sekur Private Data Ltd. sells its products through its own website at https://www.sekur.com , and approved distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. Sekur Private Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide.

On behalf of Management

SEKUR PRIVATE DATA LTD.

Alain Ghiai

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.416.644.8690

corporate@sekurprivatedata.com

For more information, please contact Sekur Private Data at corporate@sekurprivatedata.com or visit us at https://www.sekurprivatedata.com .

For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com .

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. Sekur cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Sekur's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Sekur's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Sekur undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Sekur Private Data Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742207/Sekur-Private-Data-Ltd-Launches-Pre-Registration-Site-for-SekurVPN--Offer-60-Yearly-Discount-to-First-5000-Subscribers
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:PACV) ("Pacific Ventures" or the "Company"), a consumer-centric holding company specializing in the distribution of food, beverage and alcohol-related products, today issued a letter to shareholders from its President and CEO, Shannon Masjedi.

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

2022 was a year of continued progress for Pacific Ventures, during which we focused on positioning our company for long-term growth. Consumer demand for quality food products remains strong, which has allowed us to capitalize on our expansion strategy while furthering our relationships with existing customers.

The food and beverage industry has undergone a significant amount of change over the last several years, and while the industry has generally recovered to pre-pandemic levels, lingering economic impacts have presented some challenges. Food production costs have risen dramatically over the last two years, due to the short supply of key commodities like wheat and geopolitical conflict. In addition, labor shortages have created pressure on businesses and supply chains.

Despite this, we have driven momentum across our portfolio of businesses by maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with our partners and customers. This is reflected by our ability to generate over $39 million in revenues in 2022. We anticipate this stability will continue through 2023 as we execute our growth strategy.

Importantly, we have taken several important steps to prepare our company for this next phase of growth. Improving our balance sheet has been a primary focus, and we continue to make progress with reducing our debt. Operationally, we continue to uncover new opportunities for margin expansion by creating operational efficiencies, reducing overtime hours.

Today, we provide more than 2,000 fresh, frozen, and dry food SKUs, as well as non-food items, to approximately 400 customer locations in the Southwest U.S. We serve a highly diversified and expanding customer base that includes independently owned restaurants and regional restaurant chains, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, government and military organizations, and educational institutions.

As one of America's leading meat processing foodservice distribution companies, our mission is to inspire and empower chefs and foodservice operators to bring great food experiences to consumers. This mission is supported by our strategy of supplying the Best Foods at Best Prices, while also providing our customers with the operational support that they require for managing their businesses profitably. The "Best Foods" portion of this strategy is showcased by over 500 featured products that are sustainably sourced or contribute to waste reduction. The "Best Prices" portion is aimed at providing operators flexibility in our service model, but also reliability - meaning on-time and complete orders. We believe our focus on differentiation in product assortment, customer experience and innovation are ultimately the core driver of scale.

Looking ahead, we are focused on several key initiatives that we believe will be significant growth catalysts for our business. Among these are the launch of our direct-to-consumer platform, WWW.SEAPORTSTEAK.COM, which we expect to occur in early in the second quarter 2023. We also will improve communication with our investors and we have a strategy to update stakeholders of our progress in a more timely fashion.

The Company is also still in negotiations and due diligence on the acquisition previously announced. Ms. Shannon Masjedi, Pacific Venture Group's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are working towards a definitive agreement and looking forward to closing in the near future. In addition to their existing business, we believe there are great synergies to expand Seaport Meat Company's and San Diego Farmers Outlet's reach toward the middle of the country given their customers and distribution capabilities. This would be a transformational acquisition and, if consummated, will catapult us to near $80 million annual revenue and enable us to be positioned to start the process of an up list to a major national U.S. exchange."

To our customers, employees, and shareholders, thank you for your unwavering dedication to our mission. We look forward to sharing our accomplishments in the coming year as we strive to build sustainable value.

Sincerely,

Shannon Masjedi

President & CEO

About Pacific Ventures Group, Inc.

Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. (OTC:PACV) is a consumer-centric distribution company focused on food, beverage, and alcohol-related products. Through its portfolio of operating subsidiaries, Pacific Ventures delivers specialty groceries, top quality proteins and produce, and innovative products to consumers through wholesale, retail, and direct-to-consumer channels. For more information on Pacific Ventures Group, please visit www.pacvgroup.com .

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) market acceptance of our existing and new products, (ii) delays in bringing products to key markets, (iii) an inability to secure regulatory approvals for the ability to sell our products in certain markets, (iv) intense competition in the industry from much larger, multinational companies, (v) product liability claims, (vi) product malfunctions, (vii) our limited manufacturing capabilities and reliance on subcontractors for assistance, (viii) our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful, (ix) our reliance on single suppliers for certain product components, (x) the fact that we will need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and that such capital raising may be costly, dilutive or difficult to obtain and (xi) the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov . The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930

info@chesapeakegp.com

SOURCE: Pacific Ventures Group, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742249/Pacific-Ventures-Issues-Shareholder-Letter-and-Provides-Corporate-Update
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Marble Financial Inc. (CSE: MRBL) (OTC Pink: MRBLF) (FSE: 2V0) (the "Company" or "Marble"), an AI-driven financial technology Company, is pleased to announce that to date in 2023, Inverite Verification Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marble, has signed 11 new license agreements utilizing our proprietary open banking artificial intelligence ("AI") software platform.

Marble's industry leading real-time response time, categorization, access to over 286 financial institutions and its unique artificial-intelligence-driven predictive Risk Score continues garnering more and more recognition and acceptability in both the alternative lending and credit nurturing sectors of the Canadian economy.

Currently Inverite has grown its clientele to over 144 customers and interest in our open banking software has never been better. Inverite is processing over 100,000 transactions a month.

As a result of the successful integration of the Inverite platform, Marble has surpassed the 2.6 million Canadian customer profile thresholds. This dataset continues to enhance our algorithms which results in a constantly improving our Risk Score to assist our Inverite licensees in assessing and approving credit.

Consumers accessing the MyMarble Platform suite of products has nearly doubled since 2022 and to date we have over 64,000 consumers that have accessed MyMarble since it went live.

Karim Nanji, Marble's CEO, commented, "Our on-going development with our industry products that help both industry and consumers transact show that Canadian businesses trust our products and services to assist them with data driven indicators to enable both industry and consumers to better understand each other's requirements during this uncertain economic environment. These positive developments indicate how valuable Marble's product line are for both Industry and the Canadian population seeking to achieve their financial goals."

About Marble Financial Inc. (CSE: MRBL) (OTC Pink: MRBLF) (FSE: 2V0): Marble is a leading provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that empower businesses to acquire and use real -time financial data to better transact with consumers. Along with enabling smarter marketing ROI for partners seeking increased conversion rates to those consumers that require further monitoring, predictive financial recommendations, and guidance to rehabilitate them to transact in the future. Utilizing Marble's proprietary and proven artificial intelligence data-driven technology platforms, Inverite, Accumulate.ai and MyMarble, businesses and consumers are empowered in real-time, access to a 360 financial profile that includes credit and banking data. Marble leverages machine learning, artificial intelligence, predictive financial recommendations, risk scores and open-banking strategies to put the power of financial data into the hands of businesses and consumers, promoting more robust relationships and higher intent toward future engagements.

For further information about Marble, please visit: mymarble.ca.

Mike Marrandino, Executive Chairman

T:(855) 661-2390 ext. 104

Email: ir@marblefinancial.ca

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mymarblelife

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marblefinancialinc/

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, without limitation, may contain the words beliefs, expects, anticipates, estimates, intends, plans, or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except for historical facts, the statements in this news release, as well as oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by Marble, are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking information included in this release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157391
Focus on Testing Strike Extension of Unconformity Uranium Mineralization

Priority Targets Associated with Conductivity Anomalies From 2022 Geophysical Program

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQX: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) ("CanAlaska" or the "Company") is pleased to announce Joint Venture ("JV") partner Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison") has started a 3,600 metre drilling program at the Moon Lake South JV project (Figure 1). The drill program is designed to evaluate the strike extent of known uranium mineralization, identified in 2021, by testing conductive anomalies from the 2022 geophysical program. The project is operated by Denison and CanAlaska holds a 25% ownership in the project. CanAlaska will fund the Company's share of the 2023 exploration program.





Figure 1 - Moon Lake South Project Location

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2864/157459_69bb5fe614b11afc_002full.jpg

In October 2021, the Company reported results from a 2,343 metre exploration program on the Moon Lake South project which returned uranium mineralization in two drillholes along the CR-3 corridor (see News Release Dated December 2, 2021). These results, combined with uranium mineralization reported during the 2016 drilling program, confirmed uranium mineralization in three separate zones over a strike length of 4-kilometres along the CR-3 corridor. Based on the results of the drill programs, a Stepwise Moving Loop Time-Domain Electromagnetic survey (SWML TDEM) was completed in the winter of 2022. The geophysical survey was focused on resolving the position of the CR-3 conductor between the mineralized drillholes along the trend. The survey consisted of 6 lines of SWML TDEM surveying, totalling 151.2 kilometres. The results of the 2022 survey, combined with the past drilling results, have highlighted three priority target areas for the 2023 drill program (Figure 2). These targets are focused on testing the strike extension of known unconformity-related uranium mineralization. The drill program will focus on survey lines where updated SWML TDEM data was collected.





Figure 2 - Target Corridors For 2023 Moon Lake South Drill Program

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2864/157459_69bb5fe614b11afc_004full.jpg

CanAlaska CEO, Cory Belyk, comments, "The Moon Lake South project located in the heart of the eastern Athabasca Basin near Denison's Wheeler River property is well positioned with critical infrastructure nearby. The results from the first ever drilling program under the new joint venture with Denison resulted in several new mineralized intersections. This program will follow up those results further testing this mineralized corridor for the presence of an economic uranium deposit."

About Moon Lake South

The Moon Lake South project, a Joint Venture with Denison Mines Corp., is located in the southeastern Athabasca Basin. The project is host to a five-kilometre-long northeast trending conductive corridor known as the CR-3. The CR-3 conductor is located approximately two kilometres west of, and runs parallel to the K-trend, host to the Gryphon Deposit on Denison's adjacent Wheeler River property. In 2016, Denison drilled one hole (MS-16-01) near the southern boundary of the Moon Lake South project, intersecting fractured and friable sandstone with uranium mineralization immediately at the unconformity (0.1% U3O8 over 0.5 metres from 450.3 metres). In 2021, Denison completed four drillholes on the project, intersecting additional uranium mineralization along the CR-3 corridor in MS-21-02 and MS-21-06. MS-21-02 intersected grey sooty pyrite alteration in the lower sandstone column associated with fracture-controlled uranium mineralization grading 0.14% eU3O8 over 0.2 metres immediately above the unconformity from 488.5 metres near the north end of the trend. MS-21-06 intersected 0.12% eU3O8 over 0.2 metres below the unconformity from 550.6 metres within a narrow grey quartz-rich pegmatite at the base of an 18-metre-wide graphitic package. In 2022, Denison completed a SWML TDEM geophysical program to supplement the targets along the CR-3 conductor.

Use of Radiometric Equivalent Grades

During active exploration programs, following the completion of a drillhole, the hole is radiometrically logged using calibrated downhole total gamma probe which collects continuous readings along the length of the drill hole. Radiometric equivalent uranium grades ("eU3O8") are then calculated from the downhole radiometric results. The probe is calibrated using an algorithm calculated from the calibration of the probe at the Saskatchewan Research Council facility in Saskatoon. A 0.1% eU3O8 cut-off with a maximum internal dilution of 1 m is used for compositing and reporting the data. Radiometric equivalent probe results are subject to verification procedures by qualified persons employed by CanAlaska prior to disclosure. All reported depths and intervals are drill hole depths and intervals, unless otherwise noted, and do not represent true thicknesses, which have yet to be determined.

About CanAlaska Uranium

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd. (TSXV: CVV) (OTCQX: CVVUF) (FSE: DH7N) holds interests in approximately 300,000 hectares (750,000 acres), in Canada's Athabasca Basin - the "Saudi Arabia of Uranium." CanAlaska's strategic holdings have attracted major international mining companies. CanAlaska is currently working with Cameco and Denison at two of the Company's properties in the Eastern Athabasca Basin. CanAlaska is a project generator positioned for discovery success in the world's richest uranium district. The Company also holds properties prospective for nickel, copper, gold and diamonds. For further information visit www.canalaska.com.

The qualified technical person for this news release is Nathan Bridge, MSc., P.Geo., CanAlaska's Vice President, Exploration.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Cory Belyk"

Cory Belyk, P.Geo., FGC

CEO, Executive Vice President and Director

CanAlaska Uranium Ltd.

Contacts:

Cory Belyk, Executive VP and CEO

Tel: +1.604.688.3211 x 306

Email: cbelyk@canalaska.com

General Enquiry

Tel: +1.604.688.3211

Email: info@canalaska.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157459
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Brascan Gold Inc. (CSE: BRAS) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a second option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in a second lithium property ("Property #2") with BHBC Exploracao Mineral Ltda. ("BHBC") and RTB Geologia E Mineracao Ltda., both limited companies incorporated and existing under the laws of Brazil (together, the "Optionor"). Property #2 is a 2,963.7-hectare mineral claim package comprising 1.5 contiguous claim blocks in Brazil's Minas Gerais State, a mining-friendly jurisdiction located approximately 55 kms from Sigma Lithium's Grota do Cirilo property, the largest lithium hard rock deposit in the Americas. Brascan's Property #2 is located immediately west of the first property optioned from the Optionor in February 2023 and the two properties are separated by less than 500 m.

Sigma Lithium is located in an emerging world class hard rock Lithium District in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Lithium Ionic, CBL and Latin Resources are very active in exploration and discovery of new lithium deposits.

Latin Resources (A$275M mkt), Sigma Lithium (C$4.1bn mkt) and Lithium Ionic (C$288M mkt) indicate the potential valuations possible for the two Brasil-Li properties upon exploration, discovery and development of a new lithium resource in the district.

Claims map (below) of the Brasil-Li Lithium Property #2 in relation to CBL and SIGMA. Salinas Formation in blue, intruding granitoids in various shades of pink to red (After CPRM Geology Map, 2016).





Figure 1: Claims Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7954/157491_c3476818946a5891_006full.jpg

Brascan notes that no Qualified Person working for Brascan has verified the reported occurrences on Sigma, CBL and the Ionic claims, and the information is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on Property #2.

Property #2 covers mapped metasediments of the Salinas Formation (unit 1), comprising mica-quartz and quartz-mica schists, as well as locally occurring meta conglomerates and micaceous quartzites (CPRM Geology map, 1:250:000 scale; 2016). This is the same unit of the Salinas Formation that has been mined by CBL for spodumene lithium for almost 30 years, and contains Sigma's Grota do Cirilo deposit. Brascan intends to start prospecting, sampling, detailed mapping and multispectral analysis of satellite data immediately to identify potential exploration targets.

Brascan has been granted an option to acquire a 100% right, title and ownership interest in Property #2 by (i) paying an aggregate of $150,000 in cash, (ii) issuing an aggregate of 3,000,000 common shares and (iii) incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of $100,000 over a 3-term period. Upon earn-in under the option, BHBC will retain a 2% Net Smelter Royalty (the "NSR"), but the Company will have the right to purchase 1% of the NSR for $500,000. The Option Periods and payment schedule (in Canadian dollars):

Option Period 1

$50,000 cash payment within 5 days of the term option agreement

issuance of 2,000,000 shares within 5 days of the term option agreement

$100,000 in exploration expenditures before September 20, 2023

$50,000 cash payment before September 20, 2023

issuance of 2,000,000 shares before September 20, 2023

Option Period 2

$50,000 cash payment before October 1, 2024

issuance of an 1,000,000 shares before October 1, 2024

$100,000 in exploration expenditures before September 20, 2024

Option Period 3

$50,000 cash payment before September 20, 2025

Balbir Johal, Chief Executive Officer of Brascan, states, "Brascan is very excited to double our lithium landholdings to 60 square kilometres in the Sigma Lithium District in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the potential to explore and discover hard rock lithium deposits. Exploration will begin immediately after exploration planning is quickly completed."

He further said, "Brascan will continue to implement the business plan to acquire several highly prospective lithium assets in two World Class Hard Rock Lithium Districts in Minas Gerais, Brazil and the PMET camp in Quebec, Canada. Our model is similar to Brunswick Exploration Inc."

Qualified Person

Harrison Cookenboo (Ph,D., P.Geo.), is a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

About the Company

Brascan (CSE: BRAS) is a Lithium and Gold exploration issuer based in Vancouver, B.C. BRAS owns a 100% interest in the Quebec-Li properties in northern Quebec. Also the company owns 100% of the Albany Forks Rare Earth Elements (REE) property in northern Ontario and an option to earn 100% of the Alegre Gold Project in Para State in Northeastern Brazil.

For more information, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Contact Information

Balbir Johal

Director and CEO

Telephone: 604 812 1747

Email: bjohal75@gmail.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the option, the obligations thereunder, exploration at Property #2 and valuations possible for Brascan's two Brasil-Li properties upon exploration, discovery and development of a new lithium resource are "forward-looking information". These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157491
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - StrategX Elements Corp. (CSE: STGX) ("StrategX" or the "Company") has announced that it has added high-grade graphite to its energy transition metals discovery portfolio at Nagvaak. The Company conducted a preliminary characterization of the high-grade graphite drill core intersections, which provides encouraging results for high purity, jumbo flake graphite mineralization that was easily isolated with simple water separation. "We are excited to add graphite to our energy transition metals portfolio," stated Darren Bahrey, CEO of StrategX. Mr. Bahrey added, "Our exploration team is putting the Melville Peninsula on the map as a major new prospective region to discover critical minerals for the global energy transition."

The graphite potential identified in surface grab samples and a past petrographic study substantiates the findings. The graphite zones are also considered one of the host rocks for nickel, vanadium, molybdenum, zinc, copper, and silver mineralization at its Nagvaak property (refer to news releases on Dec. 7, 2022, and Feb. 14, 2023).

The importance of Graphite in the Energy Transition

The significance of graphite in the energy transition is enormous, as the anode of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars will drive the demand in the future, with an expected annual supply deficit reaching up to 8 million tonnes by 2040. Benchmark Minerals Intelligence estimates that approximately 97 new natural graphite mines need to come online by 2035. Graphite represents the largest component of the batteries, and there is no current replacement for graphite in the anode. In addition to the grade and size of deposits, graphite quality is important. Specifically, flake size, shape and purity are key determinants for value per tonne and ease of processing.

High-Grade Graphite Identified at Nagvaak

Based on field observations of the graphite zones identified in the drill core, samples were analyzed for graphitic carbon (Cg) content. The results returned significant intervals of high-grade Cg values. Large flake graphite was identified in the drill core during the 2022 program, and a petrographic study was completed on surface grab samples, which supports a large, high-quality graphite flake at Nagvaak.

Composite samples taken from DDH#1 and DDH#14 drill intersections returned 22.2% Cg over 8 metres and 21.2% Cg over 4 metres, respectively. By using a simple water separation process, the modal abundance of all minerals indicates a high purity of up to 95.83% Cg. QEMSCAN identified jumbo flake graphite up to 425 microns (see Figure 3), and flake distribution in terms of particle count shows graphite flakes are close to the ideal hexagonal shape. Surface sampling and geophysical signatures indicate potential multiple horizons of graphite occurring along the 6 km mineralized corridor.

StrategX believes more tests will show that it checks all the boxes for high-quality flake graphite, with known multiple graphite horizons identified at the surface and depth in the established target areas. The Company's next steps are to further evaluate the quality of the graphite in additional surface and drill core samples and determine the extent and dimensions of graphite mineralization at Nagvaak.

TABLE 1 - Summary of Graphite Results from Drill Hole Sampling





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_001full.jpg





Figure 1- Location of DDHs (click the image for an enlarged view)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_002full.jpg





Figure 2 - Plan View of drill hole locations and grab samples at Nagvaak Project (click the map for an enlarged view)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_003full.jpg





Figure 3 - Jumbo Graphite flakes identified in DDH#1 (19.80m) included in Composite Sample #1 of the QEMSCAN Study. (click the image for an enlarged view)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_005full.jpg





Figure 4 - Surface Sample 21M108 Randomly oriented lamellae of graphite (gr) define an irregular cluster within the quartz. Plane-polarized transmitted light. (click the image for an enlarged view)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_006full.jpg

QEMSCAN Study

StrategX contracted Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) to conduct a QEMSCAN study on drill core intersections from DDH#1 and DDH#14 high-grade zones that returned 22.2% Cg over 8 metres and 21.2% Cg over 4 metres, respectively. The two composite samples are effectively identical in terms of graphite flake shape and size, with graphite purity of over 90%. The preceding analyses and conclusions are based on graphite flakes recovered using a rudimentary water separation sample preparation technique using QEMSCAN. Additional work on these samples is recommended, including determining the coarse liberation size of graphite flakes and methods for properly recovering larger graphite flakes without excessive crushing.





Figure 5 - Distribution of graphite flake shape vs particle count

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_007full.jpg





Figure 6 - Graphite Flake Purity categorized in 10% increments

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8512/157492_9dc6aca7f46a8ae9_008full.jpg

Qualified Person

The geological and technical data contained in this news release about the Nagvaak Project was reviewed and approved by Gary Wong, P. Eng., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About StrategX

StrategX is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on discovering energy transition metals in northern Canada. The Company has a property portfolio of 5 stand-alone projects situated on the East Arm of the Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories and the Melville Peninsula, Nunavut. This first-mover advantage in underexplored regions presents a unique opportunity for investors to be part of multiple discoveries and the development of new districts for metals essential for the transition to green energy. StrategX's mission is to make a significant contribution to the sustainable energy economy through its exploration activities. Join StrategX as they lead the way toward a greener tomorrow. Click here to check out a 30-second video clip on StrategX.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Darren G. Bahrey

CEO, President & Director

For further information, please contact:

StrategX Elements Corp.

Email: info@strategXcorp.com

Phone: +1 778-231-2767

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are not composed of historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's plans, objectives, or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company does not assure that actual results will meet management's expectations. Several important factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, among others, availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, delays in the development of projects, and the ability to predict or counteract the potential impact of COVID-19 coronavirus on factors relevant to the Company's business. Although the Company has tried 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 correct 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 FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAWS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157492
Senator Warner will join TIA CEO, David Stehlin, in Arlington, Virginia to discuss key BEAD Program-related topics including cybersecurity

ARLINGTON, Va., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the trusted industry association for the connected world, today announced it confirmed U.S. Senator Mark Warner from Virginia as a featured speaker at the BEAD Success Summit, taking place April 19 - 20 in Arlington, Virginia.

Senator Warner currently serves as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee and as a member of the Senate Finance, Banking, Budget, and Rules Committees and he co-founded the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus in 2016. He was a technology and business leader before entering public office, as an early investor in the cellular phone business and co-founded the company that became Nextel.

"We are honored to have Senator Warner confirmed as a featured speaker at the BEAD Success Summit in his home state of Virginia," said David Stehlin, CEO of TIA. "Senator Warner has a deep history in the telecom industry and the combination of his time as Governor of Virginia and now as Senator, gives him the unique and very important understanding of the impact tech policies, such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, can have on both a local and national level. He has championed cybersecurity and will add valuable insights for attendees."

TIA also recently announced Kevin Gallagher, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce - the lead agency administrating the BEAD Program - as a featured speaker for the event.

The BEAD Success Summit will bring together all key stakeholders in the $42 billion program to discuss the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NoFo) and technology alternatives in plenary sessions, panel discussions and technical breakouts. Attendees and speakers will include representatives from State Broadband Offices, Federal Agencies, ISPs, suppliers, manufacturers, consultants, and investors.

For more information on the BEAD Success Summit, visit www.BEADSuccessSummit.com.

About TIA:

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents more than 400 global companies that enable high-speed communications networks and accelerate next-generation ICT innovation. Through leadership in U.S. and international advocacy, technology programs, standards development, and business performance solutions, TIA and its members are accelerating global connectivity across every industry and market. TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/senator-mark-warner-to-be-featured-speaker-at-bead-success-summit-301764195.html
Tjom held previous senior roles within Syniverse, Infobip, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, brings over 25 years of industry experience

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Somos, Inc., a leading registry management and data solutions company, today announced the hiring of Lloyd Tjom to lead the sale of XConnect's number information services in the US. Tjom will support XConnect's US-based big tech, contact center, application-to-person (A2P), and voice provider customers by delivering trusted global data and intelligent solutions to meet demands from the growing US market.





Prior to joining Somos, Tjom held positions at Syniverse, Infobip, Tomia, TNS, T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon. He has over 25 years' experience in the telecommunication industry, with expertise in messaging, connectivity, roaming, Software as a Service (SaaS), Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions.

Tjom will support customers in the region by providing expert advice and consultancy to maximize the efficiency of traffic delivery and minimize fraud and surcharge-based losses.

"Somos is thrilled to welcome Lloyd to the team. His proven experience in the telecom industry will help expand international numbering information into the hands of state side providers," said Dave Stewart, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer at Somos.

"The US is an evolving telecoms environment that is currently seeing the introduction of new regulations, for example the FCC's latest STIR/SHAKEN rules around robocalling. To stay ahead of changing needs in the region, we are taking proactive measures and expanding our North American presence," said Tim Ward, Vice President of Number Information Services at XConnect. "Lloyd has a history of delivering excellent results, and his knowledge and expertise will enable us to provide a first-class level of support to our customers. We are excited to have him on board and leading the way in delivering innovation to our customers in the US."

"It is a critical time for the US telecoms market and there's a big opportunity to provide greater value to organizations seeking to improve the efficiency of both their local and international communications," said Tjom. "Together, Somos and XConnect are bringing greater confidence and convenience to how people and brands communicate, and I look forward to driving this vision in the US."

About Somos, Inc.

As the world becomes more interconnected, Somos enables brands, consumers, and communities to communicate in an environment of greater trust and convenience. Somos is a global source of number administration, routing data, identity verification, and identity management services for the telecommunications ecosystem. As the trusted administrator of the North American Numbering Plan (NANPA), Toll-Free Numbering (TFNA), and the Reassigned Number Database (RNDA), we support 1,400 service providers in North America and manage 3.3 billion numbers to enable seamless communications between enterprises and consumers.

Through our portfolio of products and services, and a collaborative approach in everything we do, Somos helps ensure trust in an increasingly digital world while delivering value, innovation, and results to consumers. To learn more about Somos, please visit?www.somos.com.

About XConnect

XConnect, a wholly owned subsidiary of Somos Inc, consolidates, maintains and delivers trusted telephone number intelligence to world leading telecommunication service providers.

It processes information from hundreds of different global datasets and ensures that customers solve routing, validation and fraud challenges in real time.

XConnect's Number Information Services are used for voice and messaging routing, fraud protection and to identify and validate insights. They also support the deployment and evolution of next-generation communications, such as VoLTE and RCS.

Its service is accessed through its global distributed hybrid cloud platform using simple, secure, scalable real-time protocols and APIs.

www.xconnect.net

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017051/Somos_Lloyd_Tjom.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lloyd-tjom-joins-somos-inc-to-support-big-tech-contact-center-and-a2p-providers-in-the-us-with-xconnects-global-number-intelligence-301764566.html
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Kimberly-Clark Corporation:

Alison Lewis, Kimberly-Clark's chief growth officer, and Lori Shaffer, the company's vice president of global nonwovens, are committed to driving positive change for women and girls around the world. In honor of International Women's Day, we spoke with Alison and Lori about the power of embracing equity, steps that organizations can take to better support women in the workplace and at home, the women who inspire them, and what they hope for moving forward.

This is part 2 of a 2-part series - view part 1

Q: What can all organizations do to create workplaces that better support women?

AL: There's incredible power in building diverse teams. Diversity creates belonging and fosters an environment where everyone brings their best selves to work. In my experience, teams of only one gender are lacking. They often experience groupthink and create cliques and environments of exclusion. That's why it's so important for men to be allies in the workplace and embrace a new 'normal' for equity and equality to truly take place.

LS: Companies can support women by engaging in authentic dialogue and keeping channels of communication open. It's important to ask women what they're most passionate about both inside and outside of work, creating a culture that empowers them to pursue both.

For me, this looks like having the flexibility to take an hour out of my day to be a reader in my daughter's kindergarten class, or participating in an engineering panel at my son's high school. Women should be able to do things like this without feeling guilty, and company culture plays a critical role in creating such an environment.

Q: What's the value of women's-focused employee resource groups?

LS: I'm actively involved in our Women's Inclusion Network (WIN), and I love it. Employee resource groups (ERGs) like WIN foster relationships, provide mentorship opportunities and open leadership development pathways.

I've been both a speaker and part of the mentoring/small group programs, and many ideas have come from hearing individuals share the challenges they face daily. These women's-focused groups provide an opportunity for the candid conversations required to make continued progress on our journey to embracing equity.

Q: In the midst of a global pandemic, women and girls have faced numerous setbacks both professionally and personally over the last few years that have negatively impacted their progress. What gives you hope, and what do you hope for moving forward?

AL: I saw so many women drop out of the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic because they felt they had no other choice. Schools and daycares were closed, and we suddenly didn't have our normal support systems.

I am hopeful when I think about the positive changes and cultural shifts that I've seen come from those years. For example, the flexibility of working from home for many professional jobs has helped eliminate the 'bad employee and bad mother' syndrome. There's less guilt around being a mom and working because there's more flexibility. Now, you can read to your kid's class at school and still make the work meeting afterwards instead of choosing one or the other. That is a game changer.

The pandemic also forced us all to think differently about what's most important, and I've seen women stay truer to themselves because of it. Women's empowerment is a force to be reckoned withwe had a chance to reflect on our priorities and pursue them versus living in the old state where the fear of missing out often dominated our lives.

Q: Is there a woman in your life who inspires you? If so, how?

AL: I've been surrounded by so many inspiring females throughout my life, including my great-grandmother who grew up as a pioneer in Canada in the mid-1860s. She was one of 10 children and moved by herself to Chicago at 30 years old to start her career and step away from the traditional pioneering life.

My grandmother was also a trailblazer and someone I deeply admire. She went to university in 1918, taught school and had children in her late 30s - this was all very uncommon in that era. She would have no doubt been a CEO in today's landscape, but she lived in a time where that wasn't possible.

Both my great-grandmother and grandmother embraced life, were incredibly resilient, and didn't let fictional constraints hold them back. My mom, my sisters and I have all followed in their footsteps, and I am so proud to come from a line of strong, independent women.

LS: My inspiration is my mom. She's a teacher, and she became one at a time when most women stayed home. She has always been curious, and she taught both my brother and I to continuously ask questions and think critically.

She also had her own unique challenges, which I appreciate more now as an adult. She did what she needed to do at that time in her life and made sure her kids had every opportunity to chase their passions. That's the kind of mom I strive to be. I want my children to look back and know I did my very best to pave a better way for them.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Kimberly-Clark Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/kimberly-clark-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742424/Kimberly-Clarks-Alison-Lewis-and-Lori-Shaffer-Womens-Empowerment-Is-a-Force-to-Be-Reckoned-With
SAO PAULO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its launch, ChatGPT has attracted the attention of professionals from several fields. Efi, one of the major Brazilian fintechs, has gone further and started to use the system to optimize processes. A fan of the slimmed-down, four-day work week, the company has identified a reduction of up to 40% in time spent on activities.





For Efi CRM manager Alexandre Santana, despite what some analysts believe, ChatGPT will not replace professionals, but make processes more fluid, objective and modular, and so reduce possible manual errors. "In our tests, using AIs intelligently has enabled tasks to be done in minutes that would otherwise take hours. I have no doubt that the ability to use these tools will be a requirement, especially as this technology evolves," he says.

Less operational, more strategy

Since implementing its reduced week for its almost 400 employees to provide a better work-life balance, Efi has started to place even more value on streamlining tasks. Using ChatGPT to generate codes and in routine jobs, such as writing emails and creating project scopes, complements other initiatives such as reducing meetings to make daily life more strategic.

By using ChatGPT, the developers get extra time to work on more sophisticated tasks and leave minor and more basic code creation to the tool. In any event, care needs to be taken with the codes generated, warns Software engineer Leony Assis. "It is important to review the codes to ensure 100% assertiveness. Therefore, the objective of the software being developed as well as the technologies involved must be fully understood."

Efi concluded that AI could even be used to generate ideas from user feedback, providing a better understanding of what they need, and identifying the best components and structures during the systems architecture phase.

Another important point was the creation of internal policies on information security and intellectual property, preventing sensitive data from being inserted in the prompt.

Efi Bank

Specializing in financial solutions, Efi is a payment institution with 370,000 customers throughout Brazil, and is responsible for moving more than US$4 billion every year. The company was authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil to act as a Payment and Accreditation Institution and is a direct participant of Pix, a Brazilian instant payment platform, and a payment initiator on Open Finance.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017509/Chat_gpt_V3.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/brazilian-digital-bank-sees-chatgpt-as-an-ally-in-the-four-day-week-301764507.html
NHS Expands Access to Ibex's Galen Breast and Galen Prostate Solutions to 25 Trusts Across the UK Following PathLAKE Plus Consortium Bid Wins

TEL AVIV, Israel , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex), the leader in AI-powered cancer diagnostics, today announced the receipt of multiple contract awards from the PathLAKE consortium to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to support cancer diagnosis at 25 NHS Trusts.





PathLAKE is a UK center of excellence consortium, founded by Innovate UK, that is delivering AI innovation in pathology across leading NHS Trusts and UK universities including Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire, and Oxford University Hospitals. The contract award follows a rigorous selection process which recognized Ibex as the top scoring solution provider for both the breast and prostate cancer categories, allowing up to 25 NHS Trusts to directly procure the Ibex Galen Breast and Galen Prostate solutions. Cambridge University Hospitals is one of the Trusts to subsequently select Ibex to support its pathologists by augmenting diagnostic workflows with enhanced quality, accuracy and efficiency.

"Cambridge University Hospitals is very proud to be a founding partner of PathLAKE Plus, teaming up to help secure the 13.5 million grant from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund," said Dr. Rebecca Brais, Clinical Lead for Digital Pathology and Major Projects in Diagnostics and Consultant Histopathologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. "We see ourselves, and the UK as a whole, at the cutting edge of innovation in digital pathology and look forward to implementing the Ibex Galen solution here in Cambridge as part of our Histopathology Team's digital transformation."

The worldwide shortage of pathologists combined with a rise in the number of cancer cases and their complexity has led to growing workloads imposed on pathology departments and delays in cancer diagnosis across the UK. With approximately 275,000 women undergoing breast biopsies and 100,000 men undergoing prostate biopsies in the UK each year1,2, there is a growing need for AI-powered solutions and decision-support tools that help pathologists detect cancer rapidly with the utmost accuracy.

The Galen suite of solutions from Ibex is the first and most widely deployed AI technology for pathology, used in routine clinical practice at laboratories, hospitals, and health systems worldwide. It supports pathologists in a variety of tasks during the diagnosis of breast, prostate, and gastric biopsies and helps improve the accuracy of cancer diagnosis, reduce turnaround time, boost productivity, and improve user experience. Galen demonstrated outstanding outcomes across multiple clinical studies performed on various tissue types and diagnostic workflows3,4,5,6,7.

"We are extremely honored to be recognized by PathLAKE as the leading provider of AI solutions in pathology," said Richard Nicholson, Director of Sales, UK at Ibex. "Our team looks forward to supporting additional regions of the UK with our suite of Galen solutions. Building upon our successful AI deployments in NHS Wales, and our existing projects with hospitals and labs in England, we are uniquely positioned to further strengthen the adoption, deployment and routine use of AI in pathology across the UK."

About Ibex Medical Analytics

Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex) is transforming cancer diagnostics with world-leading, clinical grade AI-powered solutions, empowering physicians to provide accurate, timely and personalized cancer diagnosis for every patient. Our Galen suite of solutions is the first and most widely deployed AI-technology in pathology and used as part of everyday routine, supporting pathologists and providers worldwide in improving the quality and accuracy of diagnosis, implementing comprehensive quality control, reducing turnaround times and boosting productivity with more efficient workflows. Ibex's Artificial Intelligence technology is built on Deep Learning algorithms trained by a team of pathologists, data scientists and software engineers. For additional company information, please visit https://ibex-ai.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .

Multiple solutions under the Galen suite of solutions are CE marked (IVDD) and registered with the UK MHRA. Galen First Read for prostate is also CE marked under IVDR. Galen includes solutions which are for Research Use Only (RUO) in the United States and not cleared by the FDA. For more information, including indication for use and regulatory approval in other countries, contact Ibex Medical Analytics.

Media Contacts

Nechama Rosengarten

FINN Partners for Ibex Medical Analytics

nechama.rosengarten@finnpartners.com

+1-929-222-8006

[1] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/breast-cancer

[2 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-hospitals-join-pioneering-study-to-improve-prostate-cancer-diagnosis-using-ai

[3] Pantanowitz et al., An artificial intelligence algorithm for prostate cancer diagnosis in whole slide images of core needle biopsies: a blinded clinical validation and deployment study, THE LANCET Digital Health Aug 2020

[4] Sandbank et al., Validation and real-world clinical application of an artificial intelligence algorithm for breast cancer detection in biopsies, npj Breast Cancer, December 2022

[5] Comperat et al., Clinical Level AI-Based Solution for Primary Diagnosis and Reporting of Prostate Biopsies in Routine Use: A Prospective Reader Study, European Congress of Pathology 2021

[6] Raoux et al., Novel AI-Based Solution for Supporting Primary Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Increases the Accuracy and Efficiency of Reporting in Clinical Routine, USCAP 2021

[7] Sandbank et al., Validation and Clinical Deployment of an AI-Based Solution for Detection of Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsies, USCAP 2022

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1839936/Ibex_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ibex-secures-pathlake-contracts-to-roll-out-ai-based-cancer-diagnostics-to-uk-hospitals-301764634.html
BOWLING GREEN, KY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Hughes & Coleman ERTC team is dedicated to helping businesses who may be owed significant tax credits due to the CARES Act established during the COVID-19 pandemic. If your business retained employees through COVID shutdowns, your business could be eligible for a tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee.

"Deadlines for small businesses in 2023 are ramping up, and we're here to help hardworking businesses get the money they are owed by the government," said Lee Coleman, Attorney and Founder Partner, Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers. "Let us help you through the ERTC program complexities so you can obtain your credits and maximize your refund as quickly and easily as possible before the deadline."

Hughes & Coleman offers free consultations 24/7 to see if your business qualifies for the ERTC credit of up to $26,000 per employee. There are no costs involved or obligation to check to see if a business qualifies for the ERTC credit.

Congress developed the CARES Act to help businesses secure employment for their workers and keep them on the payroll during COVID-19-related shutdowns. The ERTC was intended to incentivize employers to retain workers by offering a quarterly credit for each qualified employee on the payroll during that time. As a federal stimulus program, ERTC is not a loan; the money received is distributed directly from the IRS and does not have to be repaid.

ERCT Qualifications

Your company may qualify for the ERTC of up to $26,000 by employee by showing either:

A full or partial suspension of operation during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel or group meetings due to COVID-19, OR

Your business experienced a 50% quarter-over-quarter decline in revenue compared to the same quarter in 2019.

In Q4 of 2020, you experienced a decline in gross receipts of 50% from the corresponding quarter in 2019 or less than 80% of gross receipts in the preceding quarter.

All 3 quarters in 2021 are eligible to use the 80% gross receipts test versus the preceding quarter or the corresponding quarter from previous year instead to 50% drop in gross receipts, refund up to 70% of $10,000 per employee.

Even if businesses made money during the COVID-19 pandemic, compensation is still possible. Businesses across a wide range of industries, including education, government contractors, healthcare, hospitality, retail, restaurants, industrial, not-for-profit, professional services, real estate, construction, and technology, plus more may be eligible for ERTC. The types of instances that would qualify companies for the ERTC are supply chain disruptions, time taken away for sanitation or cleaning, limited capacity to operate, and other federal, state, or local mandates which affected normal business operations.

Complete details to help businesses determine their eligibility can be viewed on the Hughes & Coleman website at ERTC Funds Recovery. The Hughes & Coleman team is ready to help businesses that may benefit from the CARES Act of 2020.

Call the Hughes & Coleman ERTC Recovery team today at 800-800-4600 or complete a simple online form to determine qualification. There are time restrictions to file for your business, so contact Hughes & Coleman today to take advantage of the employee retention tax credit while it's still available. There are no costs involved or obligation to check to see if your business qualifies for the ERTC credit.

About Hughes & Coleman:

Hughes & Coleman was founded in 1985 and has recovered over a billion dollars for our clients in Kentucky and Tennessee injured from auto accidents, big truck wrecks, motorcycle accidents, defective medical products, nursing home abuse, slip and fall accidents, and wrongful death. Hughes & Coleman believes that Control Starts With A Call. Hughes & Coleman operates 10 offices in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Contact:

Lora Fisher, Brand Development Director

270-782-6003 ext. 147

lfisher@hughesandcoleman.com

SOURCE: Hughes & Coleman

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/741588/Hughes-Colemans-Employee-Retention-Tax-Credit-ERTC-Team-Can-Help-Eligible-Businesses-Get-Maximum-Tax-Refund-of-Up-To-26000-Per-Employee
NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / As part of the companies' commitment to developing healthy, vibrant communities with greater access to education and workforce opportunities, Entergy Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans launched a new child savings account program, Kids to College. The companies will donate $175,000 to help low- and moderate-income Louisiana families establish child savings accounts. Eligible families can sign up for a Kids to College account to receive a $50 match from Entergy.

"Education is the cornerstone for a successful Louisiana," said Phillip May, president and CEO, Entergy Louisiana. "With these funds not only are we ensuring the next generation is set up for success, but we're also helping deliver a brighter future for the communities in which we all live and serve. I'm so proud and humbled to play a small part in that success."

"Everyone deserves the opportunity to continue their education and we want to partner with families to help make those dreams a reality," said Deanna Rodriguez, president and CEO, Entergy New Orleans. "This will give so many a step forward on a path that they otherwise may not receive. Investing now in our future is how we lift up our communities for future success."

A Child Savings Account (CSA) is a savings account designed specifically for postsecondary education. These accounts allow families to put money away to start saving for their children to attend a two- or four-year college, trade school or technical school.

Families may sign up for a Kids to College account for each child under age 16. Eligibility requirements to qualify for Entergy's $50 match include:

Must be an Entergy customer.

Families must meet income thresholds of either single parent or guardians with up to $52,000 annual income or dual earner households with $60,000 annual income.

The child savings account must reach a $50 balance to receive the matching funds.

Entergy is powering Kids to College by dedicating matching funds for CSAs across our four-state service area. The program is made possible thanks to an endowment fund created in honor of Entergy's late Chairman and CEO J. Wayne Leonard.

Eligible individuals can sign up for an account through the Kids to College portal entergy.com/kids.

About Entergy Louisiana

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers in 58 parishes and natural gas service to more than 94,000 customers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About Entergy New Orleans

Entergy New Orleans, LLC is an electric and gas utility that serves Louisiana's Orleans Parish. The company provides electricity to more than 209,000 customers and natural gas to more than 110,000 customers.

Both companies are subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation, an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 7,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,000 employees.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Entergy Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Entergy Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/entergy-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Entergy Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742433/Entergy-Launches-Child-Savings-Account-Program-in-Louisiana
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Inogen Alliance is proud to announce that we will be an official sponsor of the upcoming eighth annual AWS Global Water Stewardship Forum with Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). The forum runs from 16-17 May in Edinburgh, Scotland. As an Alliance, we are representing our global presence at this event with five Associates including Antea Group USA, Antea Brasil, Chola MS Risk Services Limited (CMSRS) in India, denkstatt in Austria, and HPC Italia with our global water working group leader Beatrice Bizzaro.

According to Alliance for Water Stewardship website, "The AWS Global Water Stewardship Forum is one of the key events in which our community of members, implementers, and stakeholders share knowledge and learning on the evolution of water stewardship practice and forge new directions through dialogue and partnerships. Held annually in Edinburgh, Scotland, since 2016, it has become the must-attend event for the international water stewardship community."

Interactive in-person sessions will discuss three cross-cutting topics across the two-day event:

Water Stewardship in Action

Universal Themes

AWS System

"Inogen Alliance has been supporting clients all over the world in undergoing a transformation that, for the first time, is leading to a holistic approach when dealing with water management. We truly believe in working hand in hand with clients to reach ever more ambitious targets. Water efficiency and water quality are a great starting point, but the commitment to water stewardship principles is a further steppingstone to developing an integrated and more meaningful system towards a more sustainable future, without leaving anyone behind," Beatrice Bizzaro, HPC Italy, Inogen Alliance global water working group leader.

This is a unique opportunity to exchange your water stewardship experiences with industry leaders and build connections with members of the wider AWS community. The event has already sold out, but if you didn't manage to get a ticket, you can join the AWS waitlist. Or watch for more content and themes to come from our global team that will be attending.

Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of dozens of independent local businesses and over 5,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates here and follow us on LinkedIn.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Inogen Alliance on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Inogen Alliance

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/inogen-alliance

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Inogen Alliance

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742440/Inogen-Alliance-Sponsors-AWS-Global-Water-Stewardship-Forum
WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / As a girls' rights organization, Plan International USA believes when girls lead the way, they can change the world. In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, Plan is partnering with brands and government stakeholders so that girls can take over positions of leadership, ensuring the voices of these young women and girls are heard in the critical conversations on gender equality.

"Girls and young women are leaders today," Plan International USA's President & CEO Shanna Marzilli said. "Giving girls, in all their diversity, not just a seat at the table, but a respected and heard position is necessary to building a world where women can thrive in all aspects of leadership."

In celebration of International Women's Day, Plan partnered with Bank of Montreal, UNIQLO and Vertex to host Takeovers, where our youth leaders, ranging from ages 16-22, step into executive positions for a day. Plan Youth Advisory Board member Rose became chief administrative officer and general counsel of Fast Retailing USA, Inc, the parent company to UNIQLO. During her Takeover experience, Rose leveraged her experiences leading diversity and inclusion recruitment for Plan's youth programs to provide recommendations for UNIQLO's women's networking group. The Takeover was an extension of UNIQLO's global partnership with Plan International as part of the brand's PEACE FOR ALL project.

"We loved welcoming Rose to UNIQLO for International Women's Day, sharing an inside look to our stores and headquarters, and the many talented women leading the way here," Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel of Fast Retailing USA Serena Peck said. "Rose's insights as a youth advocate provided an incredibly valuable perspective that will help us continue to grow and elevate women's voices. We're happy to have deepened our work with Plan International USA in our shared vision for a better world for all."

At Bank of Montreal, Plan youth advocate Ava stepped into the role of Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer Kimberly Goode. Along other BMO executives, Ava took the stage at a culmination event for Black History Month where she shared her experiences.

"BMO is a long-term sponsor of Plan International in the U.S. and Canada, partnering to create opportunities to build confidence in young women and provide exposure to those actively working to create zero barriers to inclusion," Chief Communications and Social Impact Officer at BMO Kimberley Goode said. "Watching Ava step into my seat gave me such confidence in the impact the next generation will have. They are ready to live their purpose and boldly grow the good in business and life as future leaders."

In addition to Takeovers, Luna Silvana Abadia, a Youth Advisory Board member at Plan, will be a U.S. delegate for the U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women. CSW67 will examine the role technology plays in achieving gender equality. Silvana Abadia will represent the views of girls all over the world through the results of Plan's State of the World's Girls report, which highlights the effects of online gender-based violence.

"As an activist and young person, I use social media every day," Silvana Abadia said. "We desperately need policies that address long-term harassment like the kind I faced for two years. I will use my position at CSW67 to encourage leaders to work with young people to understand their experiences and set greater corporate accountability and human rights standards."

Silvana Abadia will join Cailin Crockett, senior advisor for the White House Gender Council, Varina Winder, senior advisor for the Secretary of State Office of Global Women's Issues, and Jamille Bigio, senior coordinator for gender equality and women's empowerment at USAID, on a virtual panel discussing the U.S. government's commitment to ending online gender-based violence on March 24. The event, hosted by Plan, is titled 'Will the White House, State and USAID combat online gender-based violence?'

Join Plan as we celebrate girls and women this March 8 and every other day of the year. Learn more and register for the March 24 panel event by visiting: www.planusa.org/iwd.

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Maria Holsopple

Director, Corporate Communications

Email: maria.holsopple@planusa.org

Mobile: 540.383.3628

About Plan International USA

Powered by supporters, Plan International USA partners with adolescent girls, young women and children around the world to overcome oppression and gender inequality, providing the support and resources that are unique to their needs and the needs of their communities, ensuring they achieve their full potential with dignity, opportunity and safety. Founded in 1937, Plan is an independent development and humanitarian organization that is active in more than 80 countries.

For more information, and to learn about our commitment to safeguarding, please visit www.PlanUSA.org.

Girl advocates pause for a photo with leaders from Bank of Montreal.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Plan International USA on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Plan International USA

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/plan-international-usa

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Plan International USA

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742437/Gen-Z-Raises-Voice-on-Gender-Equality-for-International-Womens-Day
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japan destroyed its flagship H3 rocket after its second launch failed due to engine failure Tuesday. Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) sent a self-destruct command to the H3 Launch Vehicle when its second-stage engine failed just 15 minutes after lift-off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. 'A destruct command has been transmitted to H3 around 10:52 a.m. (Japan Standard Time), because there was no possibility of achieving the mission. We are confirming the situation,' JAXA said in a statement. The rocket was carrying the Advance Land Observation Satellite-3 (ALOS-3), a ground-mapping and imaging orbiter that the space agency said was planned to become a key tool in disaster management efforts, and capable of detecting North Korean missile launches. The Japanese space agency's first attempt to launch the H3 on February 17 had failed as its booster engines did not ignite. Tuesday's failure is seen as a significant setback for JAXA, which developed H3 as a cheaper alternative to SpaceX's Falcon 9 for launching commercial and government satellites into Earth's orbit. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the prime contractor for the rocket. JAXA and Mitsubishi have spent more that $1.5 billion on the project since its inception nine years ago, according to state broadcaster NHK. The H3 Launch Vehicle is Japan's new flagship rocket aiming at achieving high flexibility, high reliability, and low cost performance. JAXA touted it as a successor to the existing H-IIA and H-IIB rockets with its launch capability to the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) exceeding that of its predecessors. 'Unlike the previous cancellation and postponement, this time it was a complete failure,' Reuters quoted Hirotaka Watanabe, a space policy professor at Osaka University, as saying. 'This will have a serious impact on Japan's future space policy, space business and technological competitiveness,' he added. 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 / March 7, 2023 / Western Star Resources Inc. (CSE:WSR) (the "Company"), Is announcing the resignation of Anthony Chan, CFO, and Ming Chang, director, of the Company and is pleased to announce the appointment of a new CFO, Monty Sutton, and Director, Justin Corinella.

Monty Sutton worked most of his career as an Investment Advisor, Equities Trader, and Insurance Specialist with PI Financial Corp in Vancouver. During this time, he participated in raising over $100mm for junior mining companies and managed over 1,500 client accounts.

Since leaving PI, Mr. Sutton was the Corporate Development Manager with eCobalt Solutions where they raised over $30mm for the companies Idaho Cobalt Project. Mr. Sutton has also been working with small private companies in various consulting and advisory roles. Prior to joining PI in 1997 Mr. Sutton was a Senior Management Accountant with MacMillan Bloedel preparing budgets, analyzing costs, and assisting in the design and implementation of new accounting systems.

Mr. Sutton's first experience in the Investment Industry was a brief stint on the Vancouver Stock Exchange Trade Floor in 1987.

Justin Corinella has a broad background in public markets and corporate financing. His focus is on early-stage venture companies with potential for large growth, scalability and value creation. Mr. Corinella was the Head of Technology for Squire Mining Ltd., listed on the CSE, and as part of the executive team, he participated in raising $28M CAD in financing and developed strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in North America, Europe and Asia.

Mr. Corinella is the inventor and Co-founder of Dahrwin LLC, founded in 2012, a wireless technology company based out of New York and raised venture funding, spearheaded software & hardware development and received five issued patents. His endeavors have positioned him as a lead in multiple R&D and Engineering departments working on various US military and government-based technologies.

We would like to wish Anthony and Ming all the best in their future endeavours.

Additional Information

Additional information about the Company and the Transaction is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under the Company's profile. The summary of the Transaction set out above is qualified in its entirety by reference to the description of the Transaction in the Company's filing statement posted on SEDAR.

"Western Star Resources is a mineral exploration and development company. The company's objective is to increase shareholder value through the development of exploration properties using cost-effective exploration practices, acquiring further exploration properties, and seeking partnerships by either joint venture or sale with industry leaders. The company currently owns nine non-surveyed contiguous mineral claims totalling 2,797 hectares, which are located within the Revelstoke mining division of British Columbia. The Western Star property group is located approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Revelstoke, B.C., and roughly 10 kilometres north of the abandoned community of Camborne. Access to the Camborne area is via paved highway from either Revelstoke or Nakusp. Access to the property area is best via helicopter from Revelstoke or Nakusp."

Contact Information:

Blake Morgan,

CEO and Director

blake@acvc.vc

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 press release.

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information." In particular references to the private placement and future work programs or expectations on the quality or results of such work programs are subject to risks associated with operations on the property, exploration activity generally, equipment limitations and availability, as well as other risks that we may not be currently aware of. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: Western Star Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742441/Western-Star-Resources-Inc-Announces-Appointment-of-New-CFO-Director
NAPOLEONVILLE, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / (OTC PINK:IFUS) The challenge facing Impact Fusion's path to attaining our goal of having SGP+ accepted as a widely utilized, high-performing supplement for beef and dairy cattle is to simplify the information gathered by hands-on ranchers, dairymen, and scientists.

SGP+ is a technology supported by a product line that, when mixed with the specific ration of any given rancher or dairyman, has shown to produce incredible results. Ration mixing and ration management, as determined by manure scoring, provides guidance as to how much SGP+ should be mixed with a rancher's or dairyman's ration to achieve herd performance. Working in tandem with ranchers and dairymen, our scientific team strives daily to better demonstrate the impact SGP+ has on the health and well-being of the herds which includes environmental compliance. We, then, have a multi-tiered approach to conducting the requisite studies geared towards product, service, and sales, while doing more advanced scientific studies to confirm the results discovered at the grass roots level.

Currently, these studies are being conducted under the close supervision of the IFUS scientific team and follow established and accepted testing protocols.

Concurrently, the Company is assessing which universities and private research institutes will be chosen to conduct deeper and more complex studies. Since the Company applied for a grant from the U.S.D.A., it has learned that if the grant were to be approved, the U.S.D.A. required in excess of 60% of any funding awarded to be spent on internal company expenses. That requirement would have left less than 30% for testing from outside, objective third-parties such as Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Hence, the funding would have proved woefully inadequate for critical testing to further understand the positive impacts being reported by ranchers and dairymen.

Also, that particular study would have been limited to "Carbon and Nitrogen Reduction on Beef Heifers Interpolated into Nutritional Effectiveness." Our studies address the environmental crisis impacting present-day beef and dairy herds through a reduction in Carbon-load from excessive respiration and waste elimination. However, the broader focus targets improved digestion and absorption in a healthier herd, while reducing food and supplement quantities including the need for antibiotics all the while significantly reducing feeding costs. Environmental compliance is a result of dealing with the root cause of the problem rather than the symptom.

Marc Walther, CEO, stated: "Following the submission of its application for a grant and subsequent requests for more information, we learned that the U.S.D.A would have not allowed adequate funding for external third-party testing. It is our opinion that on-going testing is essential to continue to validate our proprietary technology.Hence, outside investment was sought and successfully secured to conduct said testing. Additionally, where available, we will continue our independent pursuit of grants directed to small businesses as well as Angel Investment while continuing our independent testing.

"We have developed a multi-tiered approach to conducting basic science geared towards product, service and sales, while doing more advanced scientific studies. I have personally visited ranches currently feeding their herds our SGP+ brand and witnessed first-hand the immediate acceptance by both cattle and goats. Currently we have research projects being conducted at two large ranches located in Texas and Louisiana, with more being currently added. The results to date are incredibly encouraging." Marc Walther, CEO, stated.

If you are a rancher or dairyman and wish to participate in our research project please contact the Company by email at impactfusionintl@gmail.com or call 1-800-775-4130

Please visit our website at https://www.impactfusionbrands.com/nutri-mastic-2/ for more information about our proprietary formula Nutri-Mastic.

About Impact Fusion International Inc.

Impact Fusion International, Inc. is in the business of marketing products in the "Health and Wellness" sector of all international markets. It is the company's mission to invent, develop and market these proprietary products worldwide for the health and well-being of humans and animals.

The information contained in this release includes some statement that are not purely historical and that are "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our and their management's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including our financial condition, results of operations. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "might," "plans," "possible," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," "should," "would" and similar expressions, or the negatives of such terms, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and the potential effects on the parties and the corporate and administrative transactions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Updates can be found at the official Impact Fusion Twitter account @impactfusionl

Contact:

Impact Fusion International Inc.

204 Highway 1011

Napoleonville LA 70390

1-800-775-4130

Email: impactfusionintl@gmail.com

https://www.impactfusionbrands.com/brands

https://www.impactfusionint.com

SOURCE: Impact Fusion International Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742300/Impact-Fusion-International-Inc-Implements-Hybrid-Research-Model-to-Accelerate-Testing-and-Research-of-its-SGPTM-Brand
Increase in awareness of waterborne diseases, rise in concern about numerous health-related concerns, increase in urban population, surge in disposable income, rise in living standards, and the advent of eco-friendly container materials drive the global spring water market.

PORTLAND, Ore., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Spring Water Market by Packaging Type (Bottled, Canned), by Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets/Supermarkets, Specialty Stores, Online Retail): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." according to the report the global spring water industry generated $210.7 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $465.2 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 8.7% 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.





Download Free Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/32356

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities:

Increase in awareness of waterborne diseases like typhoid, diarrhea, and food poisoning, rise in concern about numerous health-related concerns, such as gastrointestinal ailments, neurological disorders, and reproductive problems, increase in urban population, surge in disposable income, rise in living standards, and the advent of eco-friendly container materials drive the global spring water market. However, rise in environmental pollution caused by spring water plastic bottles, lack of awareness about health issues caused by low-cost tap water, and high cost of spring water restrict the growth of the market. On the other hand, rise in consumer awareness of different health concerns, such as gastrointestinal disorders caused by consuming polluted water, expanding innovative work initiatives and modernizing new products, and drinking water shortages in several areas are expected to produce ample opportunities to accelerate spring water market size in the coming years.

COVID-19 Scenario:

The consumer goods sector was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that affected both the production and the demand for spring water market share along with severe disruptions in the supply chain.

The global market was also negatively impacted by the social distancing norms, closed borders, and production constraints caused by the pandemic in nations such as China , India , and the United States .

, , and . Economic slowdown affected the setup of new spring water projects across the world as majority of government fundings were diverted toward consumer goods sector owing to rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, impacting the market to the great extent.

Additionally, owing to the rising concerns regarding contamination among consumers followed by rising awareness of health & hygiene practices, the demand for packaged water increased during COVID-19.

The specialty stores segment to dominate the market during the forecast period:

In terms of distribution channel, the specialty stores segment contributed to the largest share of more than two-fifths of the global spring water market revenue in 2021, and is expected to retain its dominance by 2031. The rising convenience of quickly choosing the desired brand of spring water with a certain combination of minerals will drive segment growth throughout forecast period. On the other hand, hypermarkets/supermarkets segment would portray the fastest CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period. This is because, companies that operate supermarkets and hypermarkets, such SPAR, Walmart, 7Eleven, Target, and Aldi, have extensive grocery store networks and a large international customer base. The rising use of smartphones has opened up fresh market opportunities for e-commerce platforms globally.

Buy This Report (280 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3L8o0z0

The bottled segment to rule the roost:

Based on packaging type, the bottled segment garnered the highest share in 2021, holding more than three-fourths of the global spring water market revenue, and is expected to retain its dominance by 2031. When large amounts of spring water are collected by a tanker truck and transported to a bottling factory, there is a risk of contamination. To ensure the purity of the bottled water, it must be filtered and treated. Bottle spring water right from the source for safer water. However, the canned segment, is projected to witness the fastest CAGR of 10.0% from 2022 to 2031. This is owing to many advantages of canned bottles, such as a resealable cap, a convenient design and portability, quick cooling, and no effect on the taste of the water.

Europe region garnered the major share in 2021:

By region, Europe accounted for the highest share in 2021, holding more than two-fifths of the global spring water market revenue, and is projected to rule the roost by 2031. The segment's growth is due to high demand for items in Germany and France. Growing public awareness of the advantages of spring water has opened up new opportunities for regional makers and retailers. Moreover, Asia-Pacific region would portray fastest CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, owing to rise in demand for spring water due to factors such as rise in health awareness, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles.

Inquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/32356

Leading Market Players:

Nestle S.A.

Ten Spring Water

Mountain Valley Spring Water

CG Roxane, LLC

Orient Beverages Pvt. Ltd.

3 Spring Water

Coca-Cola

Danone

Pepsico, Inc.

Tata Consumer Products Limited

Trending Reports in Food and Beverages Industry

Hard Kombucha Market Expected to Reach $1.7 Billion by 2031

Alcohol E-Commerce Market Expected to Reach $173.8 Billion by 2031

Port Wine Market Expected to Reach $774.7 Million by 2030

CBD Wine Market Expected to Reach $112.5 Million by 2031

About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of " Market Research Reports " and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

David Correa

5933 NE Win Sivers Drive

#205, Portland, OR 97220

United States

USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022

UK: +44-845-528-1300

Hong Kong: +852-301-84916

India (Pune): +91-20-66346060

Fax: +1(855)550-5975

help@alliedmarketresearch.com

Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/food-and-beverages

Follow Us on Blog: https://www.dailyreportsworld.com/

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/spring-water-market-to-reach-465-2-billion-globally-by-2031-at-8-7-cagr-allied-market-research-301763995.html
Additionally 100% of TREE's Sampled Contain High Levels of REE's

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Spark Energy Minerals Inc., ("Spark" or the "Company") (CSE:EMIN)(Frankfurt:M1N)(OTC:MTEHF), has received from Foxfire Metals Pty Ltd, (Foxfire) its joint venture partner and manager of the Minas Gerais Lithium and REE project in Brazil, that the results of a soil and rock chip sampling program completed in December 2022 have been received from independent SGS laboratory in Brazil.

The Joint venture ground is located just 38km S.E. of Sigma Lithium tenements (TSX-V: SGML). in the "Lithium Valley" of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The laboratory results confirm both Lithium and REEs present in the saprolite soils and altered granite/pegmatites associates with these soils.

All soil samples were collected over 13 different areas within the 3500 Hectares of Joint Venture ground and indicate the presence of Lithium and REE (rare earth element) mineralisation.

Highlights:

Lithium (Li):

Li (see table 1) confirmed in 90% of the samples of the analyzed saprolite soils: -

Up to 154 ppm Lithium reported in surface soil samples.

Pegmatites and altered granites were confirmed in the rock chips analyzed and contain Lithium mineralization.

Rare Earth Elements (REE):

Every sample (100%) analyzed contains REEs with 16 of the 17 TREE elements confirmed.

average TREE of ~2055 ppm over selected samples.

highest individual sample (PMG2) recorded TREE of ~3050 ppm.

Average TREE used in magnets 25.5%.

Light REE: 86% average of total REE

Heavy REE: 14% average of total REE

Mineralized zones:

Confirm mineralization for Lithium and REEs in at least 13 locations over the 3,500 hectares JV ground.

Geological structures:

Mapping identified several structures for hosting potential mineralization.

Plans moving forward:

June 2023 Quarter

Planned Auger drilling for next quarter to further test for Li and REE in the saprolite soils and oxidized pegmatite and granite.

A geochemical and geophysical work program to identify primary ore drilling targets planned in the June 2023 quarter.

As previously reported, Foxfire completed a geochemical and mapping program in December 2022. Soil and rock chip samples collected were sent to SGS laboratory in Brazil to analyse for Lithium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs). These samples were collected from thirteen locations over the 3500 hectares JV licenses.

Every location that was sampled indicated lithologies (Saprolite soils and altered pegmatites and granites) containing Li and REE mineralisation.

The SGS laboratory results confirmed the presence of Lithium and Rare Earth Elements (REE) in the saprolite soils tested. Lithium was found in 90% of the samples analysed and REEs were found in all the samples analysed with 16 of the 17 TREE groups present.

Old workings are present on one of the 3 licenses and have confirmed previous mining activities.

The samples were prepared and analysed by SGS laboratories in Brazil and confirm Lithium and REE mineralisation in the saprolite soils and altered pegmatites and granites.

90% of the lithium in the saprolite soils contain up to 154ppm Lithium and 100% of the rock chips sampled contained lithium.

100% of the samples contain REEs in the saprolite soil and in the rock chip samples with the highest TREE (total Rare Earth Elements) sample PMG2 containing ~3050 ppm REE.

A further geochemical soil program and geophysics - airborne radiometric program is scheduled to commence in the next quarter with the objective of identifying drill targets focused on intercepting the primary zone of potential mineralisation for Lithium and Rare earths (REE).

A shallow auger drill program to test the extent of the mineralisation in the soils is also planned to commence in the next quarter.

REEs and TREE calculation

The average grade presented in this table is based on the samples result that exceeded 1000ppm of TREE.

Table 1:

Lithium results from SGS analysis of samples. Also elevated levels of Nb, Zr, and Rb were reported.

Sample ID Li Nb Zr Rb PPM PPM PPM PPM PMGL 0001 49 45 543.7 259 PMGL 0002 41 43 559.9 233 PMGL 0003 30 20 61.3 67 PMGL 0004 41 23 46.4 281 PMGL 0005 57 22 239.6 159 PMGL 0006 46 12 17.6 164 PMG1 0001 154 107 767.7 511 PMG1 0002 68 18 178 270 PMG1 0003 29 62 587 5 PMG1 0004 0 56 862.1 0 PMG1 0005 37 68 550.2 13 PMG1 0006 24 49 721.8 4 PMG1 0007 0 50 593.8 13 PMG1 0008 80 117 907.2 428 PMG1 0009 33 47 484.4 186 PMG2 0001 40 51 537.1 317 PMG2 0002 27 61 707.5 8 PMG2 0003 32 57 839.7 7 PMG2 0004 28 24 255.9 13 PMGLR 0002 58 58 547.7 300 PMGLR 0001 108 40 20 131

Legend:

PMGL = Soil Samples from EL831.515/2020 | PMGLLR = Rock chips from EL 831. 515/2020

PMG1 = Soil Samples from EL 831. 524/2020 | PMG2 =Soil Samples from EL831.458/2020

REE and TREE summary results:

Light REEs represent 86% average of the TREE

Heavy REEs represent 14% average of the TREE

Magnet REEs represent 25.5% average of the TREE (TREE% Magnets: REE 25.5% (Nd+Pr+Dy+Tb))

Table 2: REEs and TREO Calculation

Average Magnet Heavy PMGL0001 PMGL0002 PMG10001 PMG1005 PMG1 0008 PMG1 0009 PMG2 0001 PMG2 0002 PMGLR 0002 PMGLR 0002 REE REE REE LIGHTREE La 478.1 624.7 438 140.2 802.8 395.6 949.6 161.8 681.9 641.5 531.4 Ce 553.2 614.9 550.1 1412 896.6 400.9 679.1 939.4 507.4 464.1 701.8 Nd 373.2 419.7 297.1 45.2 523.9 342.9 752.9 108.6 478.4 438.2 378 378 Pr 103.9 123.3 84.6 14.8 150.6 97.3 214.2 30.3 132 126.2 107.7 107.7 Sm 56.4 57 42.6 7.4 75.6 50 99.5 13.7 70.1 66.1 53.8 86% 1564.8 1839.6 1412.4 1619.6 2449.5 1286.7 2695.3 1253.8 1869.8 1736.1 1772.8 HEAVY REE Dy 32.6 23 19.4 3.8 36.6 22.2 35.7 4.2 30.4 27.9 23.6 23.6 23.6 Er 15.1 8.4 8 1.6 15.4 9 13.4 1.5 12.8 11.4 9.6 9.6 Eu 7.5 8 7.7 0.5 9.2 6.3 18.4 2 11.8 10.7 8.2 8.2 Gd 52.6 46.8 33.9 5.6 65.8 38.2 73.8 9.8 52.5 50.6 43 43 Ho 6 3.7 3.4 0.7 6.3 3.6 5.7 0.7 5 4.7 4 4 Lu 1.5 0.7 0.9 0.2 1.6 0.8 1.2 0.2 1.3 1.2 1 1 Sc 8 6 11 9 6 8 9 10 9 8 8.4 8.4 Tb 7 5.8 4.4 1.4 8.4 4.9 8.7 1.5 7 6.3 5.5 5.5 5.5 Th 74.3 61.7 163.3 124.7 71.5 27.9 56.8 47 45.1 40.9 71.3 71.3 Tm 1.8 0.9 1 0.2 2 1 1.6 0.2 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.2 Y 175.4 96.3 83.7 14.1 159.7 93.5 120.5 14.5 118.9 115.1 99.2 99.2 Yb 11.3 5.2 6.4 1.6 11.1 6 9.3 1.2 9 8.1 6.9 6.9 393.1 266.4 343.1 163.4 393.5 221.5 354.1 92.6 304.4 286.3 281.8 14% 1957.9 2106.1 1755.5 1783 2843 1508.2 3049.4 1346.4 2174.3 2022.4 2054.6 514.8 281.8

The average grade of this table is based on the samples result that exceeded 1000ppm.

Light REEs TREO 86% | Heavy REEs TREO% 24%

Magnet REEs TREO % | Magnet REE 25.5%

Location Map: Inset 1

These Three lithium licenses lie within the highly prospective northern portion of the state of Minas Gerais in the municipality of Padre Paraiso -the location of the Brazilian lithium producing districts and lithium belt. The areas are known to host lithium bearing pegmatites associated with spodumene, lepidolite, and amblygonite.

Detail Location Map: Inset 2

Inset 2 is a location map of Spark's Minas Gerais lithium and rare earth licences. The dotted lines indicate the distance from Spark's licences to the state owned Companhia Brasileira de Litio's mining operation, Lithium Ionic (TSX-V: LTH) and SGML. Recent discoveries in the same, well known lithium province and pegmatite area of Minas Gerais have also been made by Latin Resources (ASX).

Minas Gerais Area Plays: Inset 3

Collection Sample Map: Inset 4

Collection points of samples sent for analysis: every sample contained either LI or REE Mineralisation confirmed in all of the 13 collection points over the 3500 ha square area.

Highlight: (Insets 5,6 & 7) An exploration program completed in December 2022 confirmed pegmatites on the license areas. Old workings were also identified where pegmatites have been mined. Lab results received confirmed mineralisation for Li and REE in the saprolite soils and pegmatite rock chips analysed.

Insets 5, 6: Old workings at Minas Gerais and surface exposure of pegmatities have confirmed Lithium and REE present. Inset 7: Samples of different rock type collected from the Joint Venture ground.

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Paul Woolrich (BSc Geology, MSc Geochemistry, PhD Metallurgy) who is a Member of the MAusIMM, a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and is a Technical Director of Foxfire Metals Pty Ltd.

About Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

Spark Energy Minerals, Inc., is a Canadian company pursuing battery metals and mineral assets with newly acquired interests in Brazil and Canada. The Company has acquired assets in some of the world's most prolific mining jurisdictions, Brazil's growing lithium and provinces and in the Newfoundland, Canada region which is gaining recognition as a world hot spot for lithium and rare earth mineral exploration.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE AT

https://sparkenergyminerals.com

Email to info@sparkenergyminerals.com

Contact: Peter Wilson, CEO, Tel. +1-604-649-0945

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.

Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742442/Spark-Energy-Minerals-Exploration-Program-Confirms-Li-in-90-of-Soil-Samples-and-100-in-Chip-Samples
As current social and economic conditions strain many relationships, Grass Valley, California-based Relationship Explorations (530-446-1930), launches an enhanced range of retreats for couples

Grass Valley, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Led by Dr. Lin Jovanovic, California-based Relationship Explorations has launched a selection of retreats designed around the challenges currently being faced by couples across the US. The latest workshops are held at the center's Grass Valley facility, and include Couples Therapy Intensives and Couples Relationship Retreats.

More details can be found at https://www.relationshipexplorations.com/intensive-couples-session.

Intensive Marriage Therapy & Retreats Launched By Relationship Explorations

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/156685_10736b31c4c6f8c0_001full.jpg

The new services from Relationship Explorations have been developed with a focus on some of the more common problems being faced by couples. These can include a major crisis or life-changing event that has strained a relationship, ongoing conflicts that aren't been resolved through regular discussion, and feelings of reduced intimacy or connection.

Included in the center's latest selection is a Relationship Intensive retreat. These services has been designed around the needs of busy couples who may not have the time to participate in more extended programs. They include 3 and/or 6-hour blocks, and aim to re-establish a couple's connection, while also demonstrating methods to cope with change.

As part of the recent announcement, Relationship Explorations has also launched a new guide. This explains the foundations of the retreats now offered, and the couples who may benefit from participation in the program.

The new programs have been developed by Relationship Expressions founder Dr. Lin Jovanovic. Dr. Jovanovic obtained a PhD in Medical Psychology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and has also worked as a professor of psychology at CSU Stanislaus for over 29 years.

Dr. Jovanovic recently stated: "Our retreats are designed to give you time to work on issues, experience the heated emotions, and then practice the skills needed to reconnect."

Interested parties can learn more by visiting https://www.relationshipexplorations.com/what-is-a-couples-intensive-retreat-could-it-be-right-for-you.

Contact Info:

Name: Lin Jovanovic

Email: drlin@relationshipexplorations.com

Organization: Dr. Lin Jovanovic DBA Relationship Explorations

Address: 204 West Main Street, Grass Valley, California 95945, United States

Website: https://www.relationshipexplorations.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/156685
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Edison Law Group, a leading intellectual property law firm, is offering a new trademark program to help entrepreneurs protect their business. Clients who purchase a patent search from the firm will also receive a trademark.

Trademark registration is an essential step for any business that is looking to protect their intellectual property and prevent others from using a similar name or logo. The firm is working to help more entrepreneurs protect their brand and put their business on the path to success.

The mission of Edison Law Group is to aid entrepreneurs in comprehending the different approaches for securing their intellectual property. Those who are interested in learning more about the firm's complimentary trademark promotion are encouraged to reach out to its team via phone or email. The team will gladly assist business owners in initiating the process of safeguarding and protecting their brand.

Edison Law Group has 35 years of patent law experience and helps protect the ideas of hard-working inventors. The firm's attorneys have a wealth of knowledge in intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights, and are committed to providing high-quality legal services to their clients. Edison Law Group understands the challenges entrepreneurs face and is here to help them to navigate the complex world of intellectual property.

For more information about Edison Law Group, please see its website or contact:

Michael Meyer, Esq. Junior Associate

Edison Law Group

1-800-848-5957

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157008
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Trusted Partners Inc is a real estate investment firm that focuses on buying residential and commercial properties. This successful business was founded by Sonia Medrano , a passionate real estate investor, a philanthropist and a successful entrepreneur.

Through Trusted Partners Inc, Sonia buys properties in cash, whether commercial or residential, remodels them, and then rents or sells them. They specialize in properties in bad condition, properties facing mortgage or tax foreclosure and properties that are in bankruptcy or probate court.

At Trusted Partners, they have a team with a lot of experience in the industry which allows them to offer their clients reliable offers. Thanks to her expertise Sonia is an investor who can be trusted, with extensive professionalism and knowledge of the market.

The company manages to stand out from the crowd because the quality of their work is exceptional and they love to support others. "We are genuine, congruent, we have integrity and we always give our clients and partners great attention."

Currently, Trusted Partners Inc is a national leader in real estate investing.

"My life purpose is to serve others. I created this company due to my passion to contribute to improving my community. I wanted to be able to spend quality time with my loved ones and to add value to people's lives through my knowledge and experience", Sonia shares.

Trusted Partners Inc focuses on creating value for sellers across the real estate market. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, they are one of the most respected real estate firms in Texas and in the United States in general.

"What makes us unique is our ability to provide quick and accurate solutions for clients who wish to sell their home for cash with a fair offer, whether they are single family homes or commercial. Also, that we teach people how to be financially independent by learning real estate investing", Sonia adds.

What's more, Sonia is a philanthropist who loves to support her community. She is based in Houston, Texas, where she has a non-profit organization. Her selflessness has improved the quality of life for so many people.

Sonia Medrano has contributed greatly to many worthwhile causes, championed for change and continues to be a pillar of the community. As a founder of Houston Entrepreneur Society has utilized her staunch advocacy and selflessness to support the development of her community.

In fact, the Mayor of Houston proclaimed July 13rd as Sonia Medrano Day, thanks to her tireless contributions and dedication to her community. Sonia also received the Yellow Rose of Texas, which is given only through the Office of the Governor to recognize women for their significant contributions to their communities and to Texas.

Sonia gives free webinars and mentoring for everyone interested in learning how to invest in the real estate market. Sonia started this initiative with the purpose of continuing to help others and to establish connections with potential partners and investors.

Trusted Partners Inc has big plans for 2023 such as expanding their portfolio of commercial properties and buying more properties throughout the US. They also plan to offer asset and property management soon.

"We want to buy diverse businesses as well as real estate, I also want to create a non-profit that works in all US and that contributes to improving the lives of many talented young people through mentoring and personal development", Sonia details.

To find out more about Trusted Partners Inc, click here. You can also follow Sonia Medrano on Instagram here.

About Trusted Partners, Inc:

Trusted Partners Inc is a real estate investment firm that focuses on buying residential and commercial properties.

Contact:

Paula Henderson

561-768-4444

phendersonnews@gmail.com

SOURCE: Trusted Partners, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742458/Trusted-Partners-Inc-Created-By-The-Entrepreneur-Philanthropist-Sonia-Medrano-Is-a-National-Leader-Firm-in-Real-Estate-Investing-in-the-US-Learn-More-Here
Charter school faculty member brings hands-on learning to cyber students throughout PA.

MIDLAND, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / The Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania (ESWP) selected PA Cyber's Thomas Brambley as the 2022 STEM Educator of the Year. He will be recognized at the ESWP Annual Banquet on Thursday, March 9, 2023. The annual awards program highlights important contributions that engineers, contractors, and educators make to our lives.

As the Supervisor of STEM Education, Brambley creates engaging opportunities for students in all grade levels through PA Cyber's Polytechnic Academy. He incorporates programs that enable students to build both skills and confidence as problem solvers.

"I look forward to seeing PA Cyber alumni become leaders of not only engineering and STEM fields," he said, "but any desired field in which they practice as they apply the problem-solving principles that they gained through our Polytechnic Academy."

Brambley explained that failure is expected in STEM education and overcoming challenges is much more rewarding than experiencing immediate success. "The engineering design process encourages students to create multiple solutions and work through problems that arise, and that's what STEM education at PA Cyber is all about," he said.

PA Cyber's Polytechnic Academy comprises in-person and virtual learning opportunities, such as classes, clubs, and summer programs, where participants learn by doing. Through partnerships with colleges and educational groups, the school offers diverse and modern programs. It introduced its Polytechnic Mobile Lab in 2021, which brings all the equipment that participants need to fabricate their designs to any event location. For more information, visit pacyber.org/polytechnic.

# # #

About PA Cyber

Serving students in kindergarten through 12th grade, the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School is one of the largest, most experienced, and most successful online public schools in the nation. PA Cyber's online learning environments, personalized instructional methods, and curricula choices connect Pennsylvania students and families with state-certified and highly qualified teachers and rich academic content aligned to state standards. Founded in 2000, PA Cyber is headquartered in Midland (Beaver County) and maintains a network of support offices throughout the state. As a public school, PA Cyber is open for enrollment to any school-age child residing in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and does not charge tuition to students or families.

Media Contact:

Jennie Harris

jennie.harris@pacyber.org

724-313-5842

SOURCE: The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742203/Engineers-Society-Names-PA-Cybers-Thomas-Brambley-STEM-Educator-of-the-Year
Extension of the distribution partnership with Unipex, a subsidiary of the Barentz Group

Strengthening of Groupe Berkem's international footprint

Regulatory News:

Groupe Berkem, a leading player in bio-based chemistry (ISIN code: FR00140069V2 Ticker: ALKEM) (Paris:ALKEM), today announced the extension of its distribution agreement with Unipex, one of the market leaders in the distribution of specialty products, to the Benelux region and French-speaking Switzerland for all of its ingredients targeting the cosmetics and Personal Care market.

Recently acquired by Barentz, one of the world's leading distributors of specialty products which already distributes Groupe Berkem's products in North America and certain European territories, Unipex is present in many markets such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and nutraceuticals.

Developing for its "Health, Beauty Nutrition" expertise a wide range of 100% plant-based extracts selected for their effectiveness, Groupe Berkem has once again placed its trust in Unipex to distribute its ingredients targeting the cosmetics and Personal Care market. Already the distributor of Groupe Berkem's plant extracts for France, Unipex will distribute to the Benelux countries and French-speaking Switzerland, thanks to its sales force combined with its Technical Marketing department.

Unipex will supply customers in this area with Groupe Berkem's range of cosmetic ingredients.

Eric Moussu, Vice President of Sales of Groupe Berkem, stated: "This new agreement with Unipex follows the one we signed together in 2022 for the distribution of our solutions dedicated to the "Health, Beauty Nutrition" area of expertise in France. We are thus pursuing our internationalization strategy alongside a recognized player in the distribution of speciality ingredients that has already proved its worth in our domestic market. Based on this solid partnership, we intend to meet the demand of cosmetics manufacturers wishing to increase the naturalness of their products while preserving their effectiveness.

Valerie LEPOULTEL, Director of Sales for Western Europe Cosmetics Business Unit of Unipex, added: "We are pleased to count Groupe Berkem among our strategic partners. Groupe Berkem's solutions and values naturally match our own. We are very enthusiastic to be able to expand our collaboration by offering these scientific and innovative solutions, which I am sure will meet the needs of the market in both territories.

ABOUT UNIPEX

For over 50 years, Unipex has managed to preserve its core business: the distribution of specialty ingredients. Since May 2022, Unipex has joined Barentz, one of the world's leading distributors of life science ingredients. Unipex continues to work alongside its supplier partners to promote their ingredients in our territories. Unipex operates in 5 specialty markets: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, food and chemicals.

www.unipex.com

ABOUT GROUPE BERKEM

Founded in 1993 by Olivier Fahy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Groupe Berkem is a leading force in the bio-based chemicals market. Its mission is to advance the environmental transition of companies producing the chemicals used in everyday lives (Construction Materials, Health, Beauty Nutrition, Hygiene Protection, and Industry). By harnessing its expertise in both plant extraction and innovative formulations, Groupe Berkem has developed bio-based boosters-unique high-quality bio-based solutions augmenting the performance of synthetic molecules. Groupe Berkem achieved revenue of 51.8 million in 2022. The Group has almost 170 employees working at its head office (Blanquefort, Gironde) and 3 production facilities in Gardonne (Dordogne), La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), and Chartres (Eure-et-Loir).

The Berkem Group has been listed on Euronext Growth Paris since December 2021 (ISIN code: FR00140069V2 ALKEM).

www.groupeberkem.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005870/en/

Contacts:

Berkem Group

Olivier Fahy, Chief Executive Officer

Anthony Labrugnas, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +33 (0)5 64 31 06 60

investisseurs@berkem.com

NewCap

Investor Relations

Mathilde Bohin Nicolas Fossiez

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

Berk em@newcap.eu

NewCap

Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau Antoine Pacquier

Tel: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

Berkem@newcap.eu

UNIPEX

Press contact

Caroline LESELLIER Marketing Communication Manager

Caroline.Lesellier@unipex.com 01 47 32 81 47 06 71 00 50 34
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

For immediate release

7 March 2023

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 75,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 884.9 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 15,511,853; 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 209,479,450.

The figure of 209,479,450 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Acre

Original Source: Climate change: Hong Kong to pay 30 per cent more for ESG jobs as companies fight for talent to meet sustainability targets

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) jobs in Hong Kong could command salary premiums of more than 30 per cent as companies strive to meet their sustainability targets and tackle climate change, according to headhunters.

With increasing demand for ESG and sustainability expertise in Hong Kong, local talents can expect salary increments of over 30 per cent when switching jobs, while those relocating to the city from overseas can expect even higher salary increases and potential expat benefits, according to recruitment agency Hays.

"There is a massive skills gap in this space globally, especially in Hong Kong," said Sue Wei, managing director of Hays Hong Kong. "The push for ESG and sustainability talent will continue in the new year." All of the nearly 2,500 Hong Kong-listed companies are required to publish annual sustainability reports on their ESG performance alongside mandatory periodic financial reports.

There has been "aggressive hiring" of ESG and sustainability talent from the big four accounting firms as well as management consulting firms who have been looking to fill the gap from the lack of in-house talent at companies in Hong Kong, according to Paddy Balfour, executive director of Asia for sustainability recruitment firm Acre.

"Particularly around the compliance and consulting side of ESG, hiring has been particularly strong" in Hong Kong, said Balfour, adding that there could be an uptake in hiring over the next 18 to 24 months after the Lunar New Year now that travel restrictions have been removed.

Over the past two years, there has been around a 25 per cent increase in the amount of hiring for ESG roles in Hong Kong, according to John Mullally, managing director of Robert Walters in Hong Kong.

People already in an ESG role who switch to another firm could command a 20 to 25 per cent salary increment, Mullally added.

"The expectation now, globally, is that ESG has to be a big part of what you do, and you have to have [professionals] within your firm, dedicated to measuring it, making sure there's compliance and governance around it, and making sure that there's reporting around it," said Mullally.

"Many companies in Hong Kong are to a large extent still playing catch up with the rest of the world. When most companies these days do compete on a global or regional scale, there is going to be more hiring in that space."

Relevant skills and knowledge of ESG reporting, climate change and carbon emissions are of high interest to companies when making ESG-related hires, said Martin Xiang, principal in Heidrick & Struggles Hong Kong.

"The financial sector in particular demands more green finance professionals with the knowledge and skills to meet industry needs in Hong Kong. We have also observed that banks and investment funds in Hong Kong who are focused on sustainability investing are looking towards bringing in the right ESG talent," said Xiang.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced plans for a three-year pilot scheme to build green and sustainable finance capacity in his budget plan in February.

The government earmarked HK$200 million (US$25.5 million) for the trial, which would provide subsidies for training to obtain the relevant professional qualifications in sustainable finance, as part of a collaborative effort to build capacity for the industry.

While the scheme is a step in the right direction, there is still an urgent requirement for the government to better promote Hong Kong as a global city of choice again to attract overseas talent, according to Hays' Wei.

"If Hong Kong wishes to accelerate its journey to net zero, the public and private sectors need to work together, to woo international sustainability talent in order to meet its ambitious climate goals," she said.

Original Source: South China Morning Post | Written by Martin Choi | Published on 26.01.23

Paddy has spent over 15 years working across multiple markets in the APAC region with relationships in the finance and commercial sectors. At Acre he is specifically aligned with the growth of the sustainable finance, impact investing and sustainable energy practice across APAC. This includes working with banks, insurers, pension funds, investment managers, private debt, equity & real-asset funds, family offices and foundations.

About Acre

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

Our 18 years' experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.

We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.

Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Acre on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Acre

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/acre

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Acre

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742503/Climate-Change-Hong-Kong-To-Pay-30-Percent-More-for-ESG-Jobs-As-Companies-Fight-for-Talent-To-Meet-Sustainability-Targets-With-Commentary-From-Acres-Paddy-Balfour
The unified customer data, analytics, and marketing automation platform Ortto, formerly Autopilot, continues to see double-digit monthly growth a year on from its rebrand. The martech company now has more than 3,000 customers globally and was recognized in 49 categories in G2's biannual report.

SYDNEY, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortto, which started as Autopilot Journeys in 2015, rebranded in early 2022 following the launch of a revolutionary new platform that allows marketers to effortlessly connect previously siloed data sources to get a complete view of their customers. Marketers can analyze and operationalize this data without the need for specialized support, enabling them to deliver personalized customer journeys at scale, increasing the impact of their campaigns with powerful event-based triggers and AI-content optimization. In the year since the rebrand, Ortto's users have built some 5,000 journeys and sent more than 210 million emails to their customers, contributing to the company's sustained 16% month-on-month growth.





The powerful platform received the 'High Performer' badge in 11 categories in the G2 Winter 2023 reports, including marketing automation and marketing platform, across multiple regions (APAC, ANZ, Europe , UK, etc.)

, UK, etc.) Ortto was also awarded the 'Best estimated ROI' badge and the 'Easiest to use' badge in the customer journey mapping categories, as well as the 'Users Love Us' badge.

The platform was also ranked number one for data personalization by SoftwareReviews.

Customer, Mica Shtewi, Tech Manager at Pattern, comments:

"When you're moving into a world we're moving into, you have so many data sources that you're trying to bring together and various communications to get clients moving through the sales process. We needed something flexible that works and had a robust integration with Salesforce, and with Ortto we can target people the way we want to target them."





Michael Sharkey, CEO and co-founder of Ortto, comments:

"Everyone recognizes the importance of data in building better, more personalized customer experiences, but the problem is, for many businesses, this data is located across a number of different tools and isn't easily accessible to marketers. That's why we rebuilt our platform to make it easy to bring all of that data together in one place and remove the barriers to entry, so marketers have ready access to the data they need without having to lodge a ticket or learn SQL. The response to the new platform has been incredible - not only from our Autopilot customers, who are realizing new value through Ortto, but also from new customers who have come on board in the past year."

About Ortto

Ortto, the world's first complete marketing automation, AI and analytics platform, empowers marketers to act with confidence and increase their impact on revenue. By combining three powerful tools into one intuitive platform, teams finally benefit from their customer data, messaging, and analytics working together.

Sophisticated yet easy to use, more than 3,000 customers trust Ortto to understand their impact, discover their next marketing opportunity, and continuously iterate to deliver great customer experiences at scale. Learn more at: www.ortto.com

Launched in 2015, Ortto's team is located in Australia, Europe and the US. To date, the company has raised $35M in venture funding from backers including Blackbird, Rembrandt and Salesforce Ventures.





Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016238/Ortto_helps_data_driven_marketers_easily_build_powerful_reports_understand_working.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016239/Visually_design_journeys_automate_personalized_messages_trigger_actions_customer_lifecycle.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016240/ORTTO_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/martech-platform-ortto-celebrates-record-growth-on-the-anniversary-of-its-rebrand-301764035.html
VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Quantum Computing market size was valued at USD 604.00 Million in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 8,487.60 Million in 2032 registering a CAGR of 30.2% during the forecast period, according to the latest analysis by Emergen Research. The rising demand for high-performance computing, advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and increasing investments in quantum computing technology are some of the key factors driving the growth of the Quantum Computing market.





Quantum computing technology is anticipated to revolutionize various industries, including healthcare, finance, logistics, and others. Quantum computing has the potential to solve problems that are currently unsolvable with traditional computing methods, making it a crucial technology for researchers, scientists, and businesses. Major companies such as IBM, Google, Intel, and Microsoft are investing heavily in quantum computing research and development, which is expected to boost the growth of the market.

Request Free Sample Copy (To Understand the Complete Structure of this Report [Summary + TOC]) @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-sample/1706

Drivers:

The growing demand for high-performance computing in various industries such as finance, healthcare, and logistics is driving the Quantum Computing market's growth. Quantum computing offers significantly higher computing power compared to traditional computing methods, which is particularly useful in the analysis of complex data sets. Quantum computing technology is also expected to play a key role in the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, which are anticipated to transform various industries, including healthcare, finance, and transportation.

The increasing investments in quantum computing technology by major companies and governments worldwide are also driving the growth of the market. The United States, Canada, and China are among the countries that have made significant investments in quantum computing research and development. The increasing number of collaborations between technology companies and research institutions to advance quantum computing technology is also expected to contribute to the growth of the market.

Restraints:

The high cost of quantum computing hardware and the complexity of quantum computing algorithms are among the key factors that could hinder the growth of the market. Quantum computing hardware requires specialized components that are difficult to manufacture, which makes them expensive. Additionally, quantum computing algorithms are highly complex and require specialized expertise to develop and implement, which limits the adoption of the technology in various industries.

Browse Full Report Description + Research Methodology + Table of Content + Infographics@ https://www.emergenresearch.com/industry-report/quantum-computing-market

Growth Projections:

The Quantum Computing market is expected to register a CAGR of 32.4% over the forecast period and revenue is projected to increase from USD 472.6 Million in 2021 to USD 5.97 Billion in 2028. The increasing demand for quantum computing technology in various industries, including healthcare, finance, and logistics, is expected to drive the growth of the market. The rising investments in quantum computing research and development by major companies and governments worldwide are also expected to contribute to the growth of the market. Additionally, the development of more user-friendly quantum computing platforms and software is anticipated to increase the adoption of the technology in various industries.

Current Trends and Innovations:

The Quantum Computing Market is a rapidly evolving and innovative field that is transforming the way we approach computing and technology. Quantum computing is a type of computing that uses quantum mechanics principles such as superposition and entanglement to process and store data. It has the potential to revolutionize various industries such as finance, healthcare, cybersecurity, and transportation.

The global quantum computing market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years due to the increasing demand for high-speed computing and the need to solve complex problems in various industries. Quantum computing provides an unprecedented level of computational power that can solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of traditional computing.

The financial industry is one of the largest users of quantum computing solutions. Financial institutions use quantum computing to perform complex financial calculations, optimize portfolio management, and reduce risk. In addition, the healthcare industry uses quantum computing to improve drug discovery and personalized medicine.

The cybersecurity industry is also a growing market for quantum computing. Quantum computing can be used to develop more secure encryption methods and to protect sensitive data from cyber attacks.

Emergen Research is Offering Limited Time Discount (Grab a Copy at Discounted Price Now) @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-discount/1706

Strategic Initiatives:

Major companies included in the quantum computing market report are IBM Corporation, Google LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation, D-Wave Systems, Rigetti Computing, Alibaba Group, IonQ, Xanadu, and Honeywell International.

In recent news, several strategic initiatives have been taken by companies in the quantum computing market to strengthen their market position. For example, on March 2, 2022, Microsoft Corporation announced the launch of its new Azure Quantum service. This new service provides developers with access to quantum computing resources and tools to build quantum applications.

Similarly, on February 15, 2022, Google LLC announced the launch of its new quantum processor, the Bristlecone. This new processor provides advanced features such as improved qubit connectivity and reduced error rates.

Scope of Research

Report Details Outcome Market Size in 2022 USD 604.00 Million CAGR (2022-2032) 30.2 % Revenue Forecast to 2032 USD 8,487.60 Million Base Year for Estimation 2022 Historical Data 2019-2021 Forecast Period 2023-2032 Quantitative Units Revenue in USD Million and CAGR in % from 2023 to 2032 Report Coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Segments Covered Offering, deployment, application, technology, end-use, and region Regional Scope North America, Europe;, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Country Scope U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, UK, France, Spain, BENELUX, Rest of Europe, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Rest of APAC, Brazil, Rest of LATAM, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, and Rest of Middle East & Africa Key Companies Profiled IBM, D-Wave Quantum Inc., Microsoft, Amazon, Inc., Rigetti & Co, LLC, Google, Intel Corporation, Toshiba, Honeywell International Inc., and QC Ware Customization Scope 10 hours of free customization and expert consultation

Custom Requirements can be requested for this Report [Customization Available] @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/request-for-customization/1706

Segments Covered in Report

For the purpose of this report, Emergen Research has segmented the global quantum computing market based on offering, deployment, application, technology, end-use, and region:

Offering Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2019-2032)

Systems



Services

Quantum Computing as a Service (QCaaS) Consulting Services

Deployment Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2019-2032)

On-Premises

Cloud-Based

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2019-2032)

Optimization

Machine Learning (ML)

Simulation

Others

Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2019-2032)

Superconducting Qubits

Trapped Ions

Quantum Annealing

Others

End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2019-2032)

Space & Defense

Banking & Finance

Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals

Energy & Power

Chemicals

Transportation & Logistics

Government

Academia

Latest Research Reports Published by Emergen Research:

Perimeter Defense System Market, By Type (Infrared Contrast, Laser Beam, Electric Fence, Microwave Contrast, Leaky Cable, Tension Fence, and Vibration Cable), By Application, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Electrocardiogram Cables and Lead Wires Market, By Product Type, By Material Type, By Usability Type, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Companion Animal Diagnostics Market, By Technology Type, By Animal Type, By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography Market, By Product (Endoscopes, Visualization Systems, and Others), By Procedure (Biliary Dilation and Pancreatic Duct Stenting), By End-use, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Failure Analysis Market, By Equipment (Optical Microscope, SEM, TEM, SPM, FIB System, Dual Beam System, Others), By Technology (EDX, SIMS, BIM, RIE, Others), By Application (Electronics & Semiconductor, Industrial Science, Material Science, Bioscience), By Region Forecast to 2030

Stentless Bioprostheses Market By Type (Xenograft, Allograft and Autograft), By Application (Aortic, Bicuspid, Tricuspid, Pulmonary and Endobronchial), By End-Use, and By Region Forecast to 2030

Turret System Market, By Platform (Land, Airborne, and Naval), By Type (Manned and Unmanned), By Component (Turret Drive, Turret Control System, and Stabilization Unit), and By Region Forecast to 2030

Natural Language Processing Market By Component (Solutions and Services), By Type (Rule-Based, Statistical, and Hybrid), By Application, By Vertical, and By Region Forecast to 2030

About Emergen Research

Emergen Research is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Types, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trend's existent in the market. Emergen Research has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

Contact Us:

Eric Lee

Corporate Sales Specialist

Emergen Research | Web: www.emergenresearch.com

Direct Line: +1 (604) 757-9756

E-mail: sales@emergenresearch.com

Emergen Research Media Citations: https://www.emergenresearch.com/media-citations

Visit for More Insights: https://www.emergenresearch.com/insights

Explore Our Custom Intelligence services | Growth Consulting Services

Read our Press Release @ https://www.emergenresearch.com/press-release/global-quantum-computing-market

Trending Titles Rotator Cuff Injury Treatment Market | Soft Tissue Repair Market

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1579538/Emergen_Research_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/quantum-computing-market-size-worth-usd-8-487-60-million-in-2032--emergen-research-301764327.html
Creative for Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival and Oktoberfest Honored at Annual Fete

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / The Barber Shop Marketing, heralded as one of the Top Marketing and Advertising Agencies in Dallas/Fort Worth, was presented with the Gold ADDY Award for their event marketing campaign on behalf of their client The City of Richardson's Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival and the Extreme Makeover Award for their rebrand of the Town of Addison's Oktoberfest logo, at the 61st annual Dallas American Advertising Federation (AAF) ADDY awards.

"We have been working with both The Town and Addison and the City of Richardson for many years to bring fun and innovative branding to their annual heritage events. The creative direction by The Barber Shop Marketing's David Adkins is refreshing and exudes fun and festivity while also staying true to the purpose of special event advertising and promotion," said Amy Hall, president of The Barber Shop Marketing.

For the ADDY Awards, top agencies in and around Dallas, Texas submitted more than hundreds of entries which were judged by four of the top Creative Directors from around the U.S.

As they approach their 20th anniversary, The Barber Shop Marketing boasts a record-breaking tenure in awards and business growth for the past year. The agency was named one of Dallas Business Journal's Top 25 Advertising and Marketing Agencies in 2022 as well as one of their Top Women-Owned Businesses. In 2022, they received three coveted Telly Awards and 17 International Festival and Events Association Pinnacle Awards for their excellence in delivering their clients' messages creatively and with intent to consumers through various mediums.

"We absolutely love what we do, and it shows. In 2023, we will continue supporting events and clients with innovative and creative ideas with supercharged energy and tireless drive to success," says Hall.

About The Barber Shop Marketing

The Barber Shop Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Dallas with category-leading clients including Uplift Education, Baker Brothers Plumbing, Air & Electric, Yo Quiero!, City of Richardson, Smith Thompson Home Security, Town of Addison, and Bill Dickason Chevrolet Buick. Their specialization includes advertising, creative, media, digital, social media, public relations, and search optimization. For more information about The Barber Shop Marketing, visit www.thebarbershopmarketing.com or phone 214-217-7177. Follow The Barber Shop Marketing on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebarbershopmarketing or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-barber-shop-marketing.

Contact:

Amy Hall, amy@thebarbershopmarketing.com

SOURCE: The Barber Shop Marketing

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742527/The-Barber-Shop-Marketing-Scores-Big-at-the-2023-Addy-Awards-in-Dallas
MrGuild, known for its distinctive British style, has unveiled a three-year plan to dress American men through its e-commerce launch and partnership with major retailers in the US.

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - MrGuild, a prominent UK-based e-commerce brand specializing in fashionable men's tailoring, has announced its three-year plan to expand into the American market. The plan involves collaborating with established US online retailers and launching its own e-commerce site to sell its popular men's suit collections.





Caption: MrGuild brings a touch of British style to the US men's suit market



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8552/157355_e756b01ac4eeba8d_001full.jpg

Aim to grow within three years

The founder of MrGuild, Gee Beller stated that MrGuild aims to capture 5% of the American market within three years of launching and plans to open physical stores in four US states. According to a recent McKinsey report, consumers are changing how they dress for work, weddings, and other occasions, and as a result, formal attire is being rethought. Special occasions may be dominated by statement-making outfits that help them stand out when they do decide to dress up. The report also notes that the luxury fashion sector is expected to grow between 5 and 10 percent in 2023.

Gee Beller, explains the brand's philosophy as follows: "MrGuild's collections are inspired by putting their distinctive color or fabric twist on contemporary trends in men's tailoring and the evolving preferences of consumers in terms of how they want to dress. MrGuild's designs are tailored to inspire and achieve a unique style suitable for the modern-day English gentleman. They stand out with their tailor-made creations and exquisite peak lapels."





Caption: MrGuild aims to capture 5% of the American market within three years



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8552/157355_e756b01ac4eeba8d_002full.jpg

The double-breasted suits are the most preferred pieces of the collection

"Men's fashion's pursuit of casual elegance creates new opportunities," said Gee Beller. "MrGuild's double-breasted suits, which can be styled in various ways, are the most sold items, making them a preferred choice for anyone looking to build a versatile wardrobe. While the double-breasted suit has been around for a while, modern designers like MrGuild have given it a contemporary update by incorporating bold patterns, colors, innovative cuts, and fabrics."

The brand has witnessed tremendous growth in its home market, the UK, with the double-breasted suit leading the way. In 2022, sales of this suit increased by 60%, and the trend is expected to continue to be best-sellers in 2023 due to their versatility and influence on people. The MrGuild green double-breasted has outsold all other colors after their wardrobe-staple grey and black styles.

Contact: Gee Beller - info@mrguild.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157355
TOKYO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dentsu Group Inc. [(Tokyo: 4324) (ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen] today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Advent International under which dentsu will acquire Tag Worldwide Holdings Ltd, the global omnichannel digital marketing production powerhouse. The acquisition will support dentsu's strategy of offering integrated client solutions at the convergence of marketing, technology and consulting, uniting the group's service offerings like never before. Tag's digital infrastructure and services will provide high quality content at speed and scale for creative, a scaled personalization engine for customer experience management (CXM), as well as add power to media Dynamic Content Optimization (DCO). Upon completion, the acquisition will take dentsu's Customer Transformation and Technology (CT&T) net revenues to 34% from 32% for FY2022. Dentsu has set "Business Transformation and Growth," as one of the four pillars of its medium-term management plan and one of the priorities is to reach 50% of its revenues from CT&T.





Tag works with leading brands to transform their business and marketing capabilities to deliver content at speed and scale across channels, cultures, and regions. With intelligent, sustainable, and technology-driven solutions at the heart of everything it does, Tag enables brands to operate more efficiently and effectively to stand out, grow and waste less. The organization will become dentsu's sixth network brand and will retain the Tag brand for the foreseeable future.

The acquisition will substantially bolster dentsu's creative digital production capabilities, adding 2,800 colleagues located across 29 countries around the world, with one global production hub and ten specialist hubs. Tag's existing service portfolio is structured around three core disciplines: Creative Production (including Digital Video, high-end CGI, moving image, AR / VR and Post-Production), Technology (focused on UX design, website & platform development, Managed Services and Digital Interact (Di)) and Channel Activation (comprising strategic advisory and omnichannel content delivery).

Tag utilizes a robust global delivery model to provide clients with scalable solutions and round-the-clock coverage. The model closely mirrors dentsu's own Networked Talent structure through which clients get the best expertise, networked from wherever it is located, delivered consistently and to the highest levels of quality available across dentsu. It is this combination of technology and people that transcends location and optimizes delivery for clients.

Founded in 1972, Tag was acquired by Advent International in 2017 and has grown significantly following more than 100 million of investment and the successful completion of six acquisitions to further enhance the business' capabilities. Tag's distributed hub model allows it to be an always-on, end-to-end production partner of choice for 38 of the world's leading 100 brands, with average client tenure of over seven years. A key foundation of this success is Digital Interact (Di), a unified martech platform which helps marketers better manage campaigns, access, automate and optimize content, and seamlessly tap into Tag's global creative production, sourcing and transcreation networks.

Hiroshi Igarashi, President & CEO, Dentsu Group Inc. said, "Tag will truly enable us to scale our CT&T business for global clients with a technology-driven solution. By applying mass-personalization across the three services lines, we will create a best-in-class, horizontal creativity offering. The values that the Tag leadership team have established and nurtured over the past 50 years very much mirror dentsu's own culture and values, with a shared focus on Social Purpose, DEI and sustainability. We look forward to welcoming Tag to the dentsu family and to our shared success."

David Kassler, Global CEO, Tag, said, "We can't wait to start this next phase of our journey and couldn't be happier to be joining the dentsu family. The market is moving incredibly fast towards integrated services - the combination of Tag's global technology-enabled content production with dentsu's broader marketing, technology and consulting skills will be tremendously additive for both sets of our wonderful clients."

Opportunity For Clients

A powerful combination of global content delivery and personalization at scale:

The acquisition of Tag will significantly scale dentsu's content offering so that it can serve global brands across the entire customer journey, in the most efficient way possible. As the web becomes more immersive, and the dawning of Web3 creates an insatiable hunger for richer, more personalized cross screen content, dentsu and Tag together will provide the perfect modern engine for content creation, distribution and personalization.

Company Structure

Tag will remain a distinct brand within dentsu, will continue to be led by David Kassler, Tag's Global CEO and will remain headquartered in London, UK.

Summary of Terms of Transaction

The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is anticipated to close later in 2023 subject to receipt of required antitrust approvals and customary closing conditions. Lazard acted as financial advisor to dentsu in relation to the transaction.

Dentsu expects the acquisition to provide a number of financial benefits, including the acceleration of organic revenue growth, an increase of the profile of CT&T revenues and accretion to earnings per share. On completion, Tag will represent approximately 3% of dentsu revenues and adds long-term, contracted revenue streams.

About dentsu

Dentsu is the network designed for what's next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, we use insights to connect brand, content, commerce and experience, underpinned by modern creativity. As part of Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), we are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and our 69,000-strong employee-base of dedicated professionals work across four regions (Japan, Americas, EMEA and APAC). Dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society.

dentsu website:https://www.dentsu.com/

Dentsu Group Inc. website:https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/

About Tag

Tag works with brands to create and deliver impactful content at speed and scale. From creative production and activation to strategic sourcing and delivery, analytics, and subject matter expertise, we transcend digital and physical touchpoints to allow brand content and concepts to travel globally and connect locally, through flexible, tech-enabled solutions.

https://www.tagww.com/

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 400 private equity investments across 41 countries, and as of September 30, 2022, had $89 billion in assets under management. With 14 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 285 private equity investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology.

For more information, please visit www.adventinternational.com.

Disclaimer

Lazard & Co., Limited ("Lazard"), which is authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting exclusively as financial adviser to dentsu and no one else in connection with the transaction and will not be responsible to anyone other than dentsu for providing the protections afforded to clients of Lazard nor for providing advice in relation to the transaction or any other matters referred to in this announcement. Neither Lazard nor any of its affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Lazard in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017979/dentsu_logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dentsu-agrees-to-acquire-tag-to-grow-creative-production-and-customer-transformation--technology-capabilities-301765048.html
PORTLAND, OR and MONTREAL, QB / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / BlockChain Loyalty Corp. (OTC PINK:BBLC) is more than pleased to announce that they have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) and Merger Agreement with Heather Marianna LLC, DBA Beauty Kitchen, the manufacturing, and licensing-arm to Marianna Naturals Corp. On February 8th, 2023, BlockChain Loyalty Corp. announced in a press release, that they had signed a share exchange and asset agreement with Marianna Naturals, resulting in a "new business direction and a change in control and changes in officers & directors."

On February 13, 2023, under the terms of the "Share Exchange Agreement and Plan of Merger with BlockChain Loyalty Corp. & Marianna Naturals Corp. effective control of BlockChain Loyalty Corp. (the "Registrant") was transferred to Heather M. Dill, Joel DeBellefeuille and Chealse S. Howell, who now collectively own and control 32,250,538 of the 65,042,669 BlockChain Loyalty Corp. Common shares outstanding, as a result of this transaction."

The merger agreement consists of a value of $10,000,000 USD in a mix of Consideration Shares and cash as the final offering price to Heather Marianna LLC, DBA Beauty Kitchen. The final breakdown of the percentage of cash to Consideration Shares will be finalized in the Definitive Agreement; with both parties eager to close on or before April 7th, 2023. It has been agreed that if the offering price of BBLC stock at closing is below the market price listed in the Definitive Agreement with Heather Marianna LLC, DBA Beauty Kitchen; additional shares will be issued to meet the terms. Both parties are committed to expediting the closing of this binding letter of intent with respect to the terms of the proposed transaction herein.

This strategic move will now see the corporation expand across North America from East to West, and the brand's merger and consolidation will only amplify its continued growth. Both brands (Beauty Kitchen & Marianna Naturals) have been working in parallel with each other since the inception of Marianna Naturals in the beginning of 2020.

Over the course of the next couple of months leading into Q2, and under the same planned business strategy of acquisition of revenue generating lifestyle brands, BlockChain Loyalty Corp. will seek to announce its second targeted acquisition.

Some Beauty Kitchen highlights include:

In 2012, Beauty Kitchen is founded by Heather Marianna and her DIY series of videos on YouTube went viral with over 4 million views.

Beauty Kitchen founder & CEO Heather Marianna featured on the cover of Deluxe Version Magazine, a luxury lifestyle online and print publication in Nevada.

a luxury lifestyle online and print publication in Nevada. Heather Marianna has appeared on Bravo's 90 Day Fiance , as well as on 100+ national TV news segments as a beauty expert, showcasing the all-natural brand and its products.

, as well as on 100+ national TV news segments as a beauty expert, showcasing the all-natural brand and its products. In September 2022, 2021 and 2020, Beauty Kitchen was at the Emmy Awards featuring their products at the gifting booth.

Heather Marianna has been a regular keynote speaker at the White-Label Expo Show in Las Vegas, NV in 2020, 2021, 2022.

About Marianna Naturals Corp & Beauty Kitchen

'Marianna Naturals  and Beauty Kitchen were born from their belief that the world deserves 100% natural skin care and cosmetics without the use of chemical preservatives. A celebrity skin care and health & wellness brand producing products that are hand-made fresh at their facilities in the USA which are always Cruelty-Free, Paraben-Free, and Sulfate-Free.' Beauty Kitchen's founder and CEO, Heather Marianna, skyrocketed in popularity with the launch of her Beauty Kitchen YouTube series in 2012 where she showcased simple, do-it-yourself beauty recipes made with common kitchen household ingredients. The series generated a powerful following of more than 4 million viewers. Heather Marianna has starred on Bravo's luxury-travel series, "Tour Group" in 2015 and was featured on Oxygen's "My Super Shopping Addiction" in addition to appearing on several episodes of MTV's "Teen Mom OG." The DIY guru has also appeared on countless news segments across the country as a beauty expert, showcasing her own simple tricks and tips. She is the official beauty expert for KSNV-NBC 3 in Las Vegas and appears monthly to captivate viewers with new DIY tutorials. In 2020 she and fellow Co-founder Joel DeBellefeuille teamed up to launch Marianna Naturals a similar but unique brand focused on expanding across the US border into Canada. Marianna Naturals' products are sold in Faire.com a wholesale marketplace for retailers & brands; as well as Walmart.ca, Etsy.com, Boutsy.com, Tundra.com,Bestbuy.ca and Beautykitchenonline.com

For more information visit: www.mariannacorp.com Shop: www.marianna.ca

Connect with Marianna Naturals on:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marianna-naturals-corp/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZQCklGIewWaQd4wHXRAqCg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariannanaturals

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariannanaturals

Contacts:

Joel DeBellefeuille, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, E. joel@marianna.ca Tel. 1.800.971.2200

To learn more about Joel visit: www.joeldebellefeuille.com

Investor Relations: Just3 Public Relations, Zoltan Sarkozy, Tel. 604.722.0305

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. and Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's expectations regarding future business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", "target" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.

SOURCE: Blockchain Loyalty Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742533/BlockChain-Loyalty-Corp-Enters-into-LOI-Merger-Agreement-with-Celebrity-Skincare-Brand-Beauty-KitchenTM
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI) brand STEYR has been supporting training at the Upper Austria State Fire Brigade School with a STEYR 4135 Profi. The machine means that technical operations can be conducted with a current agricultural vehicle. With the STEYR tractor, training is presented in a clear and application-focused way.

"Good, solid training with practical exercises is important to us. And this requires a reliable partner. This cooperation helps us to offer Upper Austrian firefighters the best training for all operational requirements. It cannot be valued highly enough," explained Gunnar Hauser, Business Director at STEYR.

The fire brigade must secure vehicles threatened by slipping and crashing, address accidents on rough terrain, and provide back-up to clear traffic areas. These are real challenges and, to avoid further hazards, countermeasures have to be taken quickly.

"That is why we participate in these training courses. We are supporting this training with the STEYR 4135 Profi to meet the increasing demands of firefighting now and in the future," added Hauser.



The Upper Austria State Fire Brigade School in Detail

Today, there are more tasks for the fire brigade due to advancing mechanization, ever-increasing traffic volume, growing potential hazards in operational production and natural disasters. To combat these challenges, firefighters require tactical, technical and organizational knowledge. And they must understand how to apply it all in practice for rapid and targeted mission management.

Theoretical and practical skills are taught across almost 90 different types of courses at the school. At the site in Linz, the capital of Upper Austria, more than 9,000 students are welcomed annually. Over five days, participants can participate in basic, advanced and special courses prepared for their practical fire brigade missions.

Gunnar Hauser, Business Director, STEYR, stands with the STEYR 4135 Profi tractor

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CNH Industrial

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh-industrial

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: CNH Industrial

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742537/Steyr-Supports-Austrian-Fire-Brigade-School-With-Tractor
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Corporation") announces that it has entered into an additional bridge loan (the "Loan") with OU Moonrider ("Moonrider"), a significant shareholder of the Corporation.

The Loan

The Corporation has borrowed C$4.0 million from Moonrider, which Loan is repayable on the earlier of 12 months from closing, on the occurrence of various standard events of default, or on the closing of any debt or equity financing by the Corporation in an amount in excess of C$5.0 million. The Loan will bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum, payable when the Loan is due.

In connection with the Loan, Moonrider will be issued bonus warrants upon each drawdown on the Loan entitling it to acquire common shares of the Corporation. The number of bonus warrants issuable upon each drawdown shall be determined by dividing the drawdown amount by the share price of the Corporation's common shares on the date of the drawdown. The bonus warrants will be exercisable for a period of 12 months from each drawdown.

Under the terms of the Corporation's loan agreement with Moonrider, Moonrider will be issued to 20,000,000 bonus warrants with an exercise price of $0.20 per share and an expiration date of March 6, 2024. The issuance of the bonus warrants is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The proceeds of the Loan will be used by the Corporation for working capital as well as funding ongoing exploration and upcoming drilling, and for ongoing mineral resource estimate and technical studies by external consultants in the lead up to the anticipated transition to the exploitation lease at the Abu Marawat Concession. With the Loan, the total indebtedness of the Corporation to Moonrider totals $11,737,553.

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

Tonno Vahk

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742541/Aton-Announces-Bridge-Loan
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth



By Michael Schlein and Shamina Singh

After many years of little progress, we're finally narrowing the gender gap in financial account ownership. According to the most recent Findex, the gap narrowed from 9 percent to 6 percent across developing economies as more women gained access to financial tools.

But a large portion of that progress was due to one country: India. If you remove India's progress, much of the developing world has a double-digit gender gap, and globally women are still more likely than men to be unbanked. About 740 million women-13 percent of all adults globally and 54 percent of the unbanked-don't have a financial account. We need to do a better job.

Today, women continue to deal with discrimination and restrictive social norms, making it much harder for them to access capital, skills and resources. Rising prices, disrupted supply chains and increasing demand for digital services are adding new challenges.

These barriers help explain why women entrepreneurs faced the most severe effects of the global pandemic, including higher rates of business closure and lower profit levels. Digital tools can make it easier to adapt and recover, but digital uptake among women small business owners was alarmingly slow and sporadic, and even declined during the pandemic. The longer they remain in a cash world, the longer they remain invisible to the financial system.

Investing in the digitization of small businesses, especially those owned by women, will enable them to survive an economic downturn and continue providing jobs, goods and services to billions of people globally. And connecting more women-led small businesses to digital financial tools can help them build resilience, boost their incomes and better serve their communities.

Now, after an exciting global project focused on tackling this very challenge, we have new evidence that backs this up.

Opening doors to the digital economy - and financial health

For the past four years, Accion and Mastercard have worked with nine financial service providers and 50 fintech startups around the world to help more micro and small businesses go digital. By working with financial companies with deep ties to their communities, we developed digital products and capabilities that meet the needs of underserved entrepreneurs-and help them participate in the digital economy.

Together, we launched innovation hubs, rolled out savings tools and digital loans, reimagined microfinance lending using mobile apps and texting services and more. To ensure products were used, not merely accessible, we placed clients' needs at the heart of our work, applied human-centered design, incentivized usage and focused on improving clients' financial health.

Small businesses reported a range of benefits as they started using digital products. Perhaps most importantly, digital usage led to improved financial health, including the ability to repay loans on time, cover business expenses, and purchase sufficient inventory to meet demand. Across five countries, nearly 80 percent of digital product users said they could better manage these financial challenges.

Digital acceptance grew among women, who now account for more than 70 percent of these products' active users. Women entrepreneurs reported significant improvements in their financial health, with more than 70 percent reporting that digital tools contributed to this improvement. Compared to other products, digital wallets were most popular among women small business owners, with more than 80 reporting their quality of life had improved because of the new services it gave them access to.

What explains these results? The answer could be quite simple: digital tools save time. More than 75 percent of our digital wallet users said that saving time was the most important benefit they received from the products. For small business owners who juggle the needs of their customers while managing their households and providing for their families, time is scarce. Any time savings can be reinvested into their business to drive growth. In fact, digital product users reported improved growth activities, including increased sales revenues, hiring more employees, and starting new businesses.

"With the DeUna app, my business's sales have improved by about 35 percent because we have new customers and it's a secure and efficient app for my business."



Gloria Alejandrina Tisalema

SHOP OWNER, BANCO PICHINCHA CLIENT

In one example, we worked with BancoSol, Bolivia's largest microfinance provider serving 1.5 million clients, to develop a gamified savings tool that rewards users for making deposits and maintaining a minimum balance. Regularly using digital products is key to building financial health and literacy, and nearly 90 percent of small business clients attributed their usage of this product to their ability to resolve financial health challenges.

This innovative product made a difference for BancoSol's women clients like Lourdes, who owns a costume and garment shop in La Paz. She said, "It's hard to part with your hard-earned money and watch it sit idly in an account collecting dust. I want my money to work hard the way I do." Now, her savings are working alongside her to build a brighter future.

Catalyzing investments for a strong, resilient economy

Looking ahead, we are optimistic about how this work can open pathways to further build the financial health and resilience of women entrepreneurs. We've seen that, in addition to supporting established providers, nurturing early-stage fintech companies can radically increase the accessibility and usefulness of financial solutions for underserved small businesses. Fintechs can create game-changing products, embed financial tools in existing platforms to reach millions of people, and find new ways to shift behaviors and build skills among underserved entrepreneurs through innovations like gamification.

We are also eager to catalyze investments that address gender inequalities by developing products with robust business cases and scalability. At the same time, we must ensure that fintechs consider women's unique needs and digital identities. For example, women's irregular cell phone top-ups can make them appear like credit risks in the eyes of an algorithm, even though their husbands are often responsible for topping up the phones.

Our work together reached more than 12.8 million people, with more than 5.6 million micro and small businesses using digital tools on a regular basis. Most encouragingly, 30-day usage rates have increased fourfold over the past year, which shows people are applying these tools to their day-to-day lives.

We encourage other stakeholders to help us build on this progress by leveraging the power of the digital economy to help small businesses build better livelihoods for themselves and their communities. As global challenges continue to spread disruption and uncertainty, collective action offers a means of building a more resilient future for us all, especially women.

Originally published by The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Check out more content from The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/mastercard-center-inclusive-growth

Email: info@3blmedia.com



SOURCE: The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/742546/With-New-Digital-Tools-Millions-of-Women-Entrpeneurs-Are-Building-Resilience
Service Express, a Grand Rapids, MI-based provider of data center solutions, acquired ServIQ, a Boston, MA-based data center support provider.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

With the acquisition, Service Express will expand its offerings.

Owned by Jeff Reale, ServIQ is a data center support provider specializing in third-party maintenance, managed services, hardware solutions and more. Since 2004, the company has enabled organizations to purchase, maintain and upgrade IT equipment. ServIQ works alongside some of the worlds largest brands and Fortune 500 customers.

Led by Ron Alvesteffer, President and CEO, Service Express is a data center solutions provider specializing in global multivendor maintenance, hybrid cloud, managed infrastructure services, hardware solutions and more. Companies around the globe use Service Expresss solutions to deliver end-to-end support. Its flagship technology, ExpressConnect, helps IT teams automate support with monitoring, ticketing, integrations and account management.

FinSMEs

07/03/2023
SOCi, a San Diego, CA-based provider of a marketing platform for multi-location brands, raised $120M in funding.

The round was led by MI Equity, with participation from Vertical Venture Partners, Blossom Street Ventures, and strategic investor Renew Group Private Limited.

The company intends to use the funds to invest in a line of A.I. marketing products and to expand into new markets.

Led by Afif Khoury, SOCi is a provider of a marketing platform for multi-location brands. The company empowers businesses to scale localized marketing efforts across all digital channels in a way that is brand directed, locally perfected, and data connected. Through the use of advanced AI and machine learning, the platform offers users actionable insights and recommendations while automating time-consuming marketing tasks for hundreds or thousands of business locations. With it, businesses can strengthen their digital presence across local search and social pages, while protecting their online reputation.

SOCis platform is used by more than 700 multi-location and enterprise businesses totaling over three million locations.

FinSMEs

07/03/2023
XGS Energy, a Palo Alto, CA-based geothermal energy technology company, raised $19M in funding, including a $14M in Series A financing.

The round was led by Anzu Partners.

The company intends to use the funds to develop its geothermal heat harvesting technology.

XGS Energy provides access to carbon-free 24/7 power generation by increasing the scalability of geothermal energy through its heat harvesting technology.

In connection with the new financing, four new directors joined the XGS Board:

Martin Craighead, former Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes.

Ray Mabus, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During his eight years as Secretary of the Navy, Secretary Mabus initiated major energy security and sustainability programs for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Khalid Alsweilem, Ph.D., former Chief Counsellor and Director General of Investment at SAMA, the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

David Seldin, Managing Partner at Anzu Partners.

FinSMEs

07/03/2023
Street food carnival attracts visitors in SW Chinas Yunnan

People's Daily Online) 14:50, March 07, 2023

A street is jammed with visitors during a street food carnival in Weishan ancient town in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chinas Yunnan Province. (Photo/Liu Xukai)

A recent street food carnival has attracted throngs of visitors to Weishan ancient town in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest Chinas Yunnan Province.

Weishan was an important business hub on the ancient Tea Horse Road, the centuries-old trade route that linked Tibet with the neighboring provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. The county is well-renowned for its fabulous street foods. Locals have created over 350 types of street food. A total of 310 business owners from the county and other regions participated in the carnival.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Du Mingming)
Even though earlier rumours revealed that Apple has cancelled the iPhone SE 4 due to concerns over its first in-house 5G chip. A new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple is restarting the development of the iPhone SE with a 6.1-inch OLED display and a custom 5G chip.

Now, a report from The Elec in Korea says that it will use OLED display from China-based BOE instead of Samsung and LG displays present in the current iPhone models with an OLED screen.

It was reported that BOE will supply OLED panels for the iPhone 15 series in 2023, but the new report says that it has missed the initial volume of OLED panels due to challenges in the production of OLED screen with a punch-hole / dynamic island, so these have gone to Samsung and LG instead.

Since it is a low-end product, it is reasonable for Apple to optimize using parts inventory, says the report. The price of LTPS OLED for the 6.1-inch iPhone SE4 is currently estimated to be around $40, which is less than half of the LTPO OLED panel used in the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Samsung will still supply OLED panels for all the iPhone 15 series models released this year. LG Display will focus on LTPO models for the Pro with relatively smaller production capacity than Samsung Display, says the report.

It has been confirmed that the iPhone 15 | 15 Plus will have a 60hz hole punch display pic.twitter.com/b1b0aSSUVd  Anthony (@TheGalox_) March 6, 2023

However, the iPhone 15 and the 15 Plus models are still said to use 60Hz OLED displays instead of 120Hz LTPO panels in the iPhone 15 Pro models. Earlier rumours and renders already revealed that all the models will use Dynamic island.

The iPhone SE 4 with the new OLED screen, thinner bezels and its own 5G modem is expected to release in 2024.

Source
Microsoft has unveiled its latest AI-powered product updates, introducing the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot  a system designed to offer interactive assistance across business functions.

Workers Long for AI-Assisted Efficiency

A recent survey from the firm shows that almost 90% of employees want to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to lighten the load of routine jobs. Dynamics 365 Copilot provides businesses with AI capabilities that enable their personnel to focus more on the enjoyable aspects of their positions, and less on the mundane duties.

Dynamics 365 Copilot: Automating the Mundane to Unlock Innovation

CRM and ERP systems are essential for storing customer and business data; however, they can involve cumbersome processes like manual data entry, content creation, and note taking. Dynamics 365 Copilot harnesses the power of generative AI to take the drudgery out of those tasks and free up time for creativity.

This cutting-edge technology helps companies get the most out of their CRM and ERP investments in every line of business, spurring innovation and driving better business results.

Microsoft recently launched a Bing AI chatbot that is now accessible within mobile apps and Skype.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales and Viva Sales Copilot:

This feature drastically cuts down time sellers spend on administrative tasks. AI-powered tools allow emails to be written quickly, and even generate an Outlook summary of Teams meetings, including pertinent info from the CRM such as pricing and product details and insights from the recorded call. This can save up to 66% of a sellers day, providing a big business benefit and more time to focus on customers.

Dynamics 365 Customer Service:

Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Service equips agents to provide outstanding customer service. This AI-driven capability drafts context-specific answers to questions via chat and email, and provides an interactive chat experience with knowledge bases and case history.

Microsoft says it also makes it easier to create virtual agents in no time with Conversation Boosters in Power Virtual Agents, which utilize the power of Azure OpenAI Service and Bing to give answers from company websites and internal knowledge bases you pick.

Dynamics 365 Copilot Streamlines Marketing Tasks

Dynamics 365 Copilot helps marketers simplify their workflows in data exploration, audience segmentation and content creation. With Copilot in Dynamics 365 Customer Insights, marketers can craft highly personalized and targeted customer segments by querying their customer data platform using natural language.

The query assist feature in Marketing gives marketers the ability to describe their customer segment in their own words and create an accurate target segment. Additionally, Copilot provides marketers with ideas for fresh email campaign content by making suggestions based on key topics, existing emails, and other internet sources.

Dynamics 365 Business Centrals Copilot

It simplifies the task of crafting product listings for e-commerce. Easily customize product attributes such as color, material and size to create eye-catching product descriptions in a matter of seconds.

Choose the tone, style and length to make your descriptions stand out. If you use Shopify, you can quickly publish your products and descriptions to your store with just a few clicks.

Microsoft Supply Chain Center

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management customers can access Copilot in the Supply Chain Center to anticipate issues that may affect supply chain processes.

Copilots predictive insights will detect impacted orders across materials, inventory, carriers, distribution networks and more. Dynamics 365 Copilot can generate emails to alert partners and help prevent disruptions before they occur.

Apps Driven by Generative AI

Microsoft is revolutionizing the way we do business with AI-powered applications that put customer, employee and operational efficiency first. Dynamics 365 Copilot brings the latest AI advancements to every line of business, and to ensure safe deployment, a responsible AI by design framework is in place.

Emily He, CVP of Business Applications and Platform, has unveiled the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence. For more details, click here.

Speaking on the announcement, Charles Lamanna, CVP, Business Applications and Platform, said,
Google is getting closer to its aim of building an AI language model that works for 1,000 languages. On Monday, it gave more info about the Universal Speech Model (USM). They consider it a critical first step in achieving their plans.

November last year, Google unveiled the 1,000 Languages Initiative; a bold pledge to develop an ML model that caters to the 1,000 most spoken languages in the world, enabling billions of people to experience inclusion.

Google  Universal Speech Model (USM)

Google introduces Universal Speech Model (USM), a breakthrough in supporting 1,000 languages. USM is a family of speech models, leveraging 12 million hours of speech and 28 billion sentences of text from 300+ languages. It enables automatic speech recognition (ASR) for widely-spoken languages like English and Mandarin, as well as under-resourced languages like Amharic, Cebuano, Assamese, and Azerbaijani.

Google USM: Scaling Automatic Speech Recognition beyond 100 Languages explains how pre-training the encoder of the model on a large unlabeled multilingual dataset and fine-tuning on a smaller set of labeled data can recognize under-represented languages. Their model training process is effective in adapting to new languages and data.

Self-supervised learning: Googles approach to speech recognition combines self-supervised learning with fine-tuning. USM uses the encoder-decoder architecture, where the decoder can be CTC, RNN-T, or LAS. The encoder employs the Conformer, a convolution-augmented utilizes a Conformer block with attention, feed-forward, and convolutional modules.

This block takes the log-mel spectrogram of the speech signal as input, performs convolutional sub-sampling, and ultimately produces the final embeddings.

Pre-trained encoder enables 300+ languages

Googles encoder utilizes over 300 languages through pre-training and has been tested on YouTube Captions multilingual speech data. This data consists of 73 languages, each with an average of fewer than 3,000 hours of data. Despite the limited amount of supervised data, the model has achieved a WER of less than 30% on average with all 73 languages.

Generalization to downstream ASR tasks

Google reported that their model had lower WER on CORAAL (African American Vernacular English), SpeechStew (en-US), and FLEURS (102 languages) datasets compared to Whisper.

Their model showed lower WER with and without training on in-domain data. The comparison on FLEURS was done on the subset of languages (62) supported by the Whisper model.

Automatic speech translation (AST)

Google states that their fine-tuned USM model on the CoVoST dataset has achieved state-of-the-art quality with minimal supervision. To evaluate its performance, the CoVoST dataset was divided into high, medium and low resource availability segments, and the BLEU score (higher is better) was calculated for each.

Google Translate has recently been upgraded with AI features such as contextual translation and more. USM outperformed Whisper in all segments, as displayed below.

Marching Toward 1,000 languages

Google is striving hard to fulfill its mission of organizing the worlds information and making it universally accessible via its USM development.

Google plans to use the base model architecture and training pipeline of USM as a foundation to expand speech modeling to the next 1000 languages. To learn more  click here.
A Lebanon resident narrowly escaped an RV fire Monday morning, March 6 on Highway 20 near Reeves Parkway.

The single occupant of the motorhome awoke to his vehicle on fire, according to a Lebanon Fire District news release. He tried to put the fire out and attempted to find his dog before escaping.

The motorhome was fully involved when the incident commander arrived, Lebanon Fire District said. Firefighters began trying to extinguish the blaze, which had spread to a different vehicle and detached garage.

Medics transported the occupant of the motorhome to a local hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries, the news release said. The dog was not immediately found, but later, firefighters located the pet.

Flames were under control within 20 minutes and crews remained on scene for more than an hour after to mop up hot spots and begin investigating. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Lebanon Fire District.

During the fire, Highway 20 was closed in all directions and detoured around the scene. The agency responded with one truck company, one engine, three ALS medic units, one heavy rescue, a rehab unit for firefighters and three staff officer vehicles.

The Lebanon Police Department and Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene.

In the news release, LFD urged community members to remember to properly use space heaters and to have working smoke detectors, even in RVs.
One of the unlikely heroes  at least, the way author-journalist Michael Lewis puts it in his 2021 book "Premonition"  of the pandemic will be the keynote speaker for Oregon State University's Class of 2023 graduation.

The ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. June 17 at Reser Stadium on the Corvallis campus.

Charity Dean was the No. 2 public health officer in California when sketchy reports emerged from China about the novel coronavirus. She and a ragtag group of experts, although no virologists or epidemiologists and known among themselves as "the wolverines," worked together to make sense of the news, Lewis writes.

Having experience with prior epidemics, the group concluded that the difference between a virus out of control and thousands of lives saved would be how fast social distancing, masking and work-from-home orders could be issued. So, they leaned on Dean to take action in California when leadership in Washington, D.C., seemed lacking.

Dean served as co-chair of the California Testing Task Force, which executed a strategy to rapidly scale up COVID-19 testing. In that position, she also provided strategic direction and oversight for the Center for Health Care Quality and led public health and health care policy development and implementation for Californians, according to a news release from OSU.

Now in the private sector, she is the CEO and founder of The Public Health Company, which provides a commercial-grade global biosecurity platform to empower enterprises and manage bio-risks at scale.

We are honored that Dr. Dean will give OSUs 2023 commencement address, Jayathi Murthy, Oregon States president, said in a statement. She is passionate about public service and has dedicated her lifes work to public health. These are attributes that will inspire and motivate graduates as they begin their lives beyond OSU.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Dean is from Junction City, and Lewis' book does not paint a flattering picture of her education or her church, where "'the elders said I was disobeying God's will because I wanted to go to a four-year college,'" Dean is quoted in the book.

She went to OSU as an undergraduate, and then Tulane University School of Medicine for her medical degree and a master of public health and tropical medicine, where the church chastised her for doing so well.

"'They told me I should be at the 50th percentile of my class. No better,'" she told Lewis.
Linn County residents will have to wait one more week before learning the fate of the Millersburg land swap, which would allow a European tissue paper company to open a local wholesale and production facility.

The city is seeking to swap 167 acres, what some call swamp land, along the Willamette River inside city boundaries for 163 acres of high-quality farmland outside city limits with hopes of building it out as an industrial center.

The fate of the swap and annexation is in the hands of the Linn County Board of Commissioners, which met Tuesday, March 7 at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center for a public hearing on the issue and an expected decision.

Instead, the board delayed one more week. Tuesdays meeting itself had been continued from a Jan. 24 hearing, in which commissioners decided to receive public comments through Feb. 7.

The 167 acres currently within city boundaries is zoned industrial and was last used by the former paper mill, until 2009, as rapid infiltration ponds. Since then, no one has expressed an interest in building on the property, Millersburg Community Development Director Matt Straite said.

The former rapid infiltration ponds lands are unlikely to be independently developed with industrial uses given the development constraints imposed by floodplain and floodway restrictions, Straite said by email.

Many Millersburg and Linn County residents alike have taken issue with the swap, maintaining that the desired property  currently a hazelnut orchard on Conser Road  ought to remain prime farmland and not house an operation that could negatively impact the surrounding agricultural community.

On Feb. 16, Sofidel CEO Luigi Lazzareschi appeared at a packed house at the Expo Center to give a presentation about his company and plans for expansion into Millersburg. The sustainability-focused Italian company makes paper for hygienic and domestic use, including tissues, toilet paper, napkins and paper towels.

Because the Sofidel meeting was scheduled after the Feb. 7 deadline for public comment, the commissioners decided Tuesday it would be fair to extend public comments again, this time for a few days.

While more than 100 Linn County residents attended the presentation, Commissioner Roger Nyquist said it did not provide an environment in which people could voice their concerns appropriately.

So now, Linn County residents have until 5 p.m. Friday, March 10 to provide additional written comments to the board regarding Sofidels impact on their community. The board will then give Millersburg officials three days to read and respond to the comments, with a deadline of noon Monday, March 13.

The board will reconvene 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 14 at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center in expectation of a final decision.

Related stories:
ATLANTA, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gray Television, Inc. (Gray) (NYSE: GTN) today released its first Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. The report, which covers calendar year 2022, describes Grays progress in many areas with focuses on our people, social impact, sustainable business operations, and responsible business practices.



Content, communities, and culture define Gray Television, explained Gray Executive Chairman and CEO Hilton H. Howell, Jr. The hallmark of our business is delivering unbiased news and information, supporting our local communities, and fostering strong culture everywhere we operate. Through our first ESG Report, we illustrate how these long-standing commitments align with and support accepted frameworks through which responsible companies enhance the well-being of all stakeholders.

The ESG Report explains Grays commitment to corporate governance and media ethics beginning with Board committee oversight of our ESG practices and procedures. It also highlights the companys investments in necessary local journalism, award-winning investigative projects, community support, employee development, and expanding diversity in content, employment, and opportunities.

With the support of the Board of Directors, Gray looks forward to expanding on the progress captured in this first report as we continue to improve our content, strengthen our commitment to our local communities, and foster a strong culture in every workplace.

Click here to read the report.

About Gray:



Gray Television, Inc. is a multimedia company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Gray is the nations largest owner of top-rated local television stations and digital assets in the United States. Its television stations serve 113 television markets that collectively reach approximately 36 percent of US television households. This portfolio includes 79 markets with the top-rated television station and 101 markets with the first and/or second highest rated television station. It also owns video program companies Raycom Sports, Tupelo Media Group, and PowerNation Studios, as well as the studio production facilities Assembly Atlanta and Third Rail Studios. Gray owns a majority interest in Swirl Films. For more information, please visit www.gray.tv.

Gray Contact:

Kevin P. Latek, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Development Officer, 404-266-8333

# # #
TORONTO, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (the Company or MVMD) (CSE: MVMD) (OTCQB: MVMDF) (FRA: 20MP), an early-stage biotech business centered around the implementation, licensing and reselling of key technologies and formulations, today announced the grant of stock options pursuant to its existing stock option plan (the Stock Option Plan).



We continue to leverage option-based compensation as a key incentive tool in an effort to fully align our teams efforts on our specific business outcomes and our overall objective of creating long term shareholder value, stated Dennis Hancock, President and CEO of MVMD. Our commercialization plans in the coming fiscal year are a very important milestone for MVMD. Providing our team members with an opportunity to have ownership in the company is a significant way to reward the extraordinary work effort that comes within a biotech startup culture and aids in preserving cash expenditures.

The Board has granted to certain directors, officers, and consultants an aggregate of 3,220,000 stock options (the Options). The Options vest 20% on the date of grant, 30% on the 6-month anniversary of the date of grant and 50% on the one-year anniversary of the date of grant. The Options have a term of 5 years and are exercisable at $0.05 per share.

ABOUT MOUNTAIN VALLEY MD HOLDINGS INC.

Mountain Valley MD is building a world-class organization centered around the implementation, licensing and reselling of key technologies and formulations:

patented Quicksome oral formulation and delivery technologies,

patented Quicksol solubility formulation technology

licensed product reseller of Agrarius, a novel agricultural plant signalling technology



Consistent with its vision towards More Life, MVMD applies its owned and licensed technologies to its work for advanced delivery of molecules for human and husbandry animal applications, including the development of products for pain management, weight loss, energy, focus, sleep, anxiety, and more. Additionally, MVMDs work with Agrarius is focused on generating a positive impact on crop yields and reducing fertilizer usage.

MVMDs patented Quicksome technology utilizes proprietary formulations and stabilizing molecules to encapsulate and formulate active ingredients into highly efficient product formats. The result is a new generation of product formulations that could be capable of delivering nutraceutical and drug molecules into the body faster, with greater impact, efficiency and accuracy.

MVMDs patented Quicksol technology covers all highly solubilized macrocyclic lactones that could be effectively applied in multiple viral applications that could positively impact human and animal health globally.

MVMDs licensed Agrairus agricultural plant signalling technology that could be capable of application to agricultural crops to naturally increase yields, reduce fertilizer usage, and increase general resilience to pests and climate change.

For more Company information and contact details, visit www.MVMD.com .

SOURCE: Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

The Company is making forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the terms of the options, including the timing of vesting and expiry, and the Companys ability to create long-term shareholder value.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the CSE nor OTC has reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.
IRVINE, Calif., March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a release issued earlier today by Omega Accounting Solutions, please note that the headline and subheadline have been completely rewritten; the facts of the original release remain the same, but language and phrasing have been updated throughout the body as well. The corrected release follows:

Inc. Magazine Ranks Omega Accounting Solutions No. 35 on List of the Pacific Regions Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Omega attributes recognition to innovative new offerings, strategic service expansion and outstanding team

Inc. magazine today revealed that Omega Accounting Solutions is No. 35 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful private companies within the Pacific economy generating sustainable growth and jobs.

We are grateful to be honored by Inc. for our fast-paced growth and rapid expansion, said Jay Woods, founder & president of Omega Accounting Solutions. I am so proud of the team we have builtand continue to build. This recognition reflects the hard work and commitment of every single employee to serving the needs of our customers.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific. Between 2019 and 2021, these 185 private companies had an average growth rate of 559 percent and, in 2021 alone, they added 14,536 jobs and $4.6 billion to the Pacific regions economy. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/pacific.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine.

Omegas growth is largely a result of the organizations strategic integration of government tax credit services for small and medium-sized companies, particularly the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Knowing how many small businesses struggled under the mandates and closures associated with the coronavirus, Omega committed extensive resources and staffed up the ERC processing division, helping businesses calculate, claim and file this refundable tax credit. The company has also introduced an all-new funding arm, Omega Funding Solutions, serving small business owners. Combined, these momentous achievements help Omega fulfill its mission of empowering small business owners to make better-informed decisions. For more information, visit omega-accounting.com.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2019 and 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2021. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.



ABOUT INC. MEDIA

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com .



ABOUT OMEGA ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS

Omega Accounting Solutions is an accounting and data firm that empowers small businesses to make informed decisions through powerful accounting, advanced analytics and tax credit expertise. The Irvine, Calif., firm founded by Jay Woods in 2007 works with CFOs, controllers, accountants and software developers to collect, integrate, analyze and present essential data that empower healthy operation and growth in businesses of all sizes. Omegas tax credit division has specially trained teams to help businesses claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and Research & Development tax credit. In 2022, Omega introduced a new funding division, Omega Funding Solutions (OFS), a third-party lender offering short-term bridge loans to those organizations anticipating ERC refunds. For further information, visit omega-accounting.com.

Media Contact: Sabrina Suarez (714) 573-0899 ext. 227

sabrina@echomediateam.com
English Finnish

Press release 7 March 2023





Harvia to boost sales in Japan by establishing a joint venture





Harvia Plc and Bergman Ltd have signed a letter of intent (LOI) on 7 March 2023 to create a joint venture in Japan with the mission to becoming a substantial local player in the attractive and growing Japanese sauna and spa market. Harvia will own 51% and Bergman 49% of the company.

The joint venture will focus on sales and marketing of Harvias sauna and spa offering on the Japanese market, and it is planned to be operational later this year.

Harvia signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Bergman Ltd, of Tokyo, Japan on 12 October 2021 to build awareness and demand for Harvias sauna and spa offering in Japan among both commercial and consumer customers. During the first 12 months of operations, Bergman increased presence with over 20 local representatives and opened a total of 15 showrooms in the market, with 7 more under way. In 2023, the plan is to increase the number of Harvia Sauna & Spa showrooms in Japan to a total of over 40.

Our strategic partnership with Bergman has proven to be successful. We have been able to expand our presence in the Japanese sauna and spa market and sales have developed very favorably. The joint venture will further boost our activity in Japan and our aim is to become the number one sauna brand in Japan in the long run, says Tapio Pajuharju, CEO of Harvia Plc.

We are most pleased to deepen our co-operation with Harvia through the joint venture to be established. The sauna culture in Japan is enjoying a boom, and I am confident that our systematic activities with Harvia will help us to grow together to be the number one brand in both in residential and commercial sauna needs. Harvia already has a presence in major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo  and the presence is growing rapidly, says Seiji Kasama, CEO of Bergman Ltd.

Bergman has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and selling branded European heating devices in Japan. The company has strong engineering and technical knowledge in design, installation, and after-sales services.





For more information, please contact:

Tapio Pajuharju, CEO, tel. +358 50 5774 200

Ari Vesterinen, CFO, tel. +358 40 5050 440





Harvia is one of the leading companies operating in the sauna and spa market globally, as measured by revenue. Harvias brands and product portfolio are well known in the market, and the companys comprehensive product portfolio strives to meet the needs of the international sauna and spa market of both private and professional customers.

Harvias revenue totaled EUR 172.4 million in 2022. Harvia Group employs more than 600 professionals in Finland, China and Hong Kong, Romania, Austria, United States, Germany and Estonia. The company is headquartered in Muurame, Finland, adjacent to its largest sauna and sauna component manufacturing facility.

Read more: https://harviagroup.com

Attachment
The Schofield Lithium Project is adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Lowther Pegmatite Project



With 17 pegmatite outcrops mapped on the Project and preferred geological environment, the Schofield Lithium Project shows potential for LCT-type mineralization

Highlights:

Adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Hearst Lithium Project

Brunswick Explorations Hearst package has shown 5.15% Li 2 O in historical chip samples (see Brunswick Exploration Inc. news release dated October 3, 2022).

O in historical chip samples (see Brunswick Exploration Inc. news release dated October 3, 2022). There are 17 mapped pegmatite outcrops on the Project which have not been thoroughly tested for LCT mineralization.

The Project is located 15km north of the Quetico-Wawa subprovince terrane boundary. These deep-seated regional structures have been recognized to play a role in LCT pegmatite mineralization.

Located within the Quetico subprovince and contains a variety of evolved S-type granitoids and pegmatites hosted by metamorphosed sediments (paragneisses) and metavolcanics.



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Battery Metals Inc. (Vital or the Company) (CSE: VBAM |OTC: VBAMF | FRA: C0O), is pleased to announce it has entered the Lithium market by acquiring, for the cost of staking, the Schofield Lithium Project (Schofield or the Project). The Project consists of 416 single-cell mining claims covering approximately 8,824 hectares and is located approximately 60km south of Hearst, Ontario. The Project is easily accessible by logging road networks and is directly south of the Brunswick Explorations Hurst Lithium project. The Project was staked based on preferred geological environments and historical mapping of pegmatite outcrops.

Adrian Lamoureux, Chief Executive Officer and President of Vital, commented Our management team has a strong history in the lithium sector, evident in our work with Patriot Battery Metals and its acquisition of the Corvette property. We strongly believe the Northern Ontario Region is underexplored and this Project acquisition brings a low-risk opportunity to drive value to the Company. With our Schofield Lithium Project in Ontario Canada, our Sting Copper Project in Newfoundland, Canada and our Vent Copper-Gold project in British Columbia, we believe we are building a portfolio of strong properties that will continue to deliver shareholder value. We will continue to build a robust and diverse critical minerals portfolio of projects.





Figure 1: Vital Battery Metals Schofield Lithium Project Map

Schofield Project Geology

Historical mapping indicates that there are 17 pegmatite outcrops on the Project1. These range in size from decimetre veins to ~1600m x ~500m. Although the mapping indicates there are pegmatites present on the Project, the company has yet to confirm the dimensions, extent, or any mineralization that may be present on the Project. The Project area has been under-explored but has seen sporadic exploration for gold, base, metals and more recently diamonds from 1960 to 2001. No work completed on the Project has been focused on the economic potential of the pegmatites present.12

The Project is located within the Quetico Subprovince and contains a variety of evolved S-type granitoids and pegmatites hosted by metamorphosed sediments (paragneisses) and metavolcanics. The Quetico Subprovince is host to several pegmatite swarms such as Georgia Lake, Lowther and Wisa Lake. The pegmatites in the Quetico Subprovince are hosted by medium-grade unmigmatized metawacke with subordinate interbedded metapelite (e.g., spodumene-subtype Wisa Lake pegmatite and albite spodumene-type Georgia Lake pegmatites) and by their parent granite (e.g. petalite-subtype MNW pegmatite and lepidolite-subtype Lowther Township pegmatite) (Pye 1965; Breaks, Selway and Tindle 2003a, 2003b).12





Figure 2: Schofield Lithium Project Claim Map

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Garry Clark, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The reader is cautioned that the mineralization on nearby or adjacent properties does not necessarily indicate that any mineral resources may be discovered on the Schofield Lithium Project, or if discovered, that such resources would be economically recoverable.

About Vital Battery Metals Inc.

Vital Battery Metals Inc. (CSE: VBAM |OTC: VBAMF | FRA: C0O) is a mineral exploration company dedicated to the development of strategic projects comprising battery, base and precious metals in stable jurisdictions. The Company is working to advance its Schofield Lithium, Sting Copper and its Vent Copper-Gold Projects.

The Schofield Lithium Project covers 8,824 hectares and is adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Hearst Lithium Project. With 17 pegmatite outcrops mapped on the Project and preferred geological environment, the Schofield Lithium Project shows potential for LCT-type mineralization. The Project is located ~60km south of Hearst, Ontario.

The Sting Project covers approximately 12,700 hectares and hosts multiple historic Newfoundland and Labrador Government documented mineral occurrences and is located within a 50 km corridor known for significant volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), copper quartz vein lode and low sulphation epithermal gold showings. The Vent Copper-Gold project covers 1,562 hectares in British Columbia. Vital continues to evaluate value-add assets to bolster its project portfolio.

For more information, visit www.vitalbatterymetals.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Adrian Lamoureux

Chief Executive Officer, Director

+1 (604) 229-9772

info@vitalbatterymetals.com

References:

1 - Berger, B.R., MacMillan, D.W., and P.L. Roy 1986: Precambrian Geology of Caithness, and Parts of Schofield, Pellitier, and Doherty Townships, Hearst-Kapuskasing Area, Algoma and Cochrane Districts; Ontario Geological Survey, Geological Series  Preliminary Map P.2961. Scale 1:31,680. Geology 1985.

2 - Breaks, F.W., Selway, J.B., and Tindle, A.G., 2003, Fertile peraluminuous granites andrelated rare-element pegmatite mineralization, Superior Province, northwest and northeast Ontario: Operation Treasure Hunt, Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6099, 179 pp.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the Project acquisition bringing a low-risk opportunity to drive significant value to the Company, the Company building a portfolio of strong properties that will continue to deliver shareholder value and the Company continuing to build a robust and diverse critical minerals portfolio of projects are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Project and its mineralization potential; the Companys objectives, goals or future plans with respect to the Project; the commencement of drilling or exploration programs in the future. These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1120289d-c3c3-468c-b5e3-e4676759a54e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2c58e2bc-0b96-4a6d-b0bf-220c2285dbeb
Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2031" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The colleges, universities, and professional schools market reached a value of nearly $1,094.86 billion in 2021, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% since 2016. The market is expected to grow from $1,094.86 billion in 2021 to $1,510.92 billion in 2026 at a rate of 6.7%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2026 and reach $1,961.13 billion in 2031.



Growth in the historic period resulted from increased government funding, increase in number of private colleges and universities, and government initiatives for digital learning. The market was restrained by lack of senior staff and lack of accredited degrees from universities.



Going forward, focus on expansion of overseas university campuses, increasing student enrollment, and increasing investments by online educational institutions. Factor that could hinder the growth of the colleges, universities, and professional schools market in the future include new alternatives to college.



The colleges, universities, and professional schools market is segmented by type into technical and trade schools, junior colleges, higher education colleges and universities, business and secretarial schools, computer training, and professional and management development training.

The higher education colleges and universities market was the largest segment of the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type, accounting for 89.5% of the total in 2021. Going forward, the computer training segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 7.0% during 2021-2026.



The trade schools, junior colleges market is segmented by type into cosmetology and barber schools, flight training, apprenticeship training, and other technical and trade schools. The other technical and trade schools market was the largest segment of the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type, accounting for 2.1% of the total in 2021.

Going forward, the flight training segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 7.5% during 2021-2026.



The colleges, universities, and professional schools market is also segmented by type of expenditure into public and private. The public market was the largest segment of the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type of expenditure, accounting for 59.2% of the total in 2021. Going forward, the private segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type of expenditure, at a CAGR of 7.3% during 2021-2026.



The colleges, universities, and professional schools market is also segmented by mode into online and offline. The offline market was the largest segment of the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by mode, accounting for 69.5% of the total in 2021. Going forward, the online segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by mode, at a CAGR of 9.0% during 2021-2026.



Asia Pacific was the largest region in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market, accounting for 28.9% of the total in 2021. It was followed by Western Europe, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market will be Middle East, and, Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 13.07% and 11.97% respectively. These will be followed by South America, and, Asia Pacific where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 9.07% and 8.20% respectively.



The global colleges, universities, and professional schools market is fragmented with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 6.25% of the total market in 2021. University of Pennsylvania was the largest competitor with 1.32% share of the market, followed by University of Michigan with 0.83%, Stanford University with 0.58%, Harvard University with 0.53%, Columbia University with 0.53%, Duke University with 0.53%, University of Chicago with 0.52%, John Hopkins University with 0.51%, Cornell University with 0.47% and Yale University with 0.44%.



Market-trend-based strategies for the colleges, universities, and professional schools include companies should focus on undergoing partnerships, focus on metaverse technology, implementing learning management system in teaching and learning for an effective education system, and focus on artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the teaching experience.



Player-adopted strategies in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market includes strengthening its business capabilities through the launch of new courses, offering a variety of pathways for learners through the launch of new online programs, enhancing its operational capabilities through business expansions, and nurturing the capacities and skills of a pool of innovators and influencers through new course launches.



To take advantage of the opportunities, the report recommends the companies in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market to focus on metaverse technology, use artificial intelligence, focus on the increase in the number of private colleges and universities, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events and continue to target major end-users.

Key Metrics

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 468 Forecast Period 2021 - 2031 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2021 $1094.86 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2031 $1961.13 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.0% Regions Covered Global

Top Opportunities

The top opportunities in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type will arise in the higher education colleges and universities market segment, which will gain $376.2 billion of global annual sales by 2026.

The top opportunities in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by type of expenditure will arise in the public market segment, which will gain $228.0 billion of global annual sales by 2026.

The top opportunities in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market segmented by mode will arise in the offline market segment, which will gain $236.4 billion of global annual sales by 2026.

The top opportunities in the trade schools, junior colleges market segmented by type will arise in the other technical and trade schools market segment, which will gain $6.3 billion of global annual sales by 2026.

The top opportunities in the colleges, universities, and professional schools market size will gain the most in China at $80.7 billion.

Major Market Trends

Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships

Metaverse Technology

Introduction of Learning Management Systems

Use Of Artificial Intelligence

Company Profiles

University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)

University of Michigan (UMich)

Stanford University

Harvard University

Columbia University

Key Mergers And Acquisitions

Genius Group Acquired University of Antelope Valley

Westford Education Group Acquired Acacia University

Saint Joseph's University Acquired University Of The Sciences

University of San Francisco Acquired San Francisco Art Institute

China Liberal Education Holdings Limited Acquired Wanwang Investment Limited

American Public Education Inc. Acquired Rasmussen University

Delaware State University Acquired Wesley College

University of Arizona Acquired Ashford University

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Table of Contents

3. List of Figures

4. List of Tables

5. Report Structure

6. Introduction and Market Characteristics

6.1. General Market Definition

6.2. Summary

6.3. Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools Market Definition and Segmentations

6.4. Market Segmentation By Type

6.4.1. Technical and Trade Schools

6.4.2. Junior Colleges

6.4.3. Higher Education Colleges And Universities

6.4.4. Business and Secretarial Schools

6.4.5. Computer Training

6.4.6. Professional and Management Development Training

6.5. Market Segmentation By Type of Expenditure

6.5.1. Public

6.5.2. Private

6.6. Market Segmentation By Mode

6.6.1. Online

6.6.2. Offline

7. Product/Service Analysis -Product/Service Examples

8. Supply Chain Analysis

8.1. Resources

8.2. Colleges, Universities And Professional Schools (Service Providers)

8.3. Other Service Providers

8.4. End-Users

9. Customer Information

9.1. Students Want More Information During Admissions

9.2. Students Are Least Concerned About Using University Rankings Factor To Select University

9.3. Students Are Preferring Study In The US

9.4. Only Half Of International Students Might Be Returning To Campus

9.5. Rise In Student Enrollment

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/a7gynf

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.

Attachment
LONDON, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Powerful Medical is thrilled to announce the release of PMcardio, a revolutionary clinical assistant powered by artificial intelligence in the United Kingdom. The unique medical device in the form of a smartphone application empowers healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat 38 cardiovascular diseases from an ECG with the precision of a skilled cardiologist.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the UK, causing one in four deaths and affecting an estimated 7 million individuals annually (1). "PMcardio is a game-changer in the fight against cardiovascular disease, allowing us to diagnose and treat these diseases faster and more accurately than ever before, says Dr. Robert Herman, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Powerful Medical.

With the AI-powered clinical assistant, healthcare professionals are able to interpret any 12-lead ECG in a matter of seconds and manage cardiovascular patients with unmatched accuracy and speed. Utilising AI algorithms, PMcardio combines knowledge from millions of previously scanned ECG records to provide personalised treatment recommendations unique to each patient.

"PMcardio brings significant benefits to UK health professionals, the NHS and the entire healthcare system, including the reduction of ischemic time, limiting incorrect referrals from primary to secondary care, and essentially unburdening of doctors, says Martin Herman, CEO and Co-Founder of Powerful Medical.

With 5x better arrhythmia detection and 8x better diagnosis of heart attacks (2), PMcardio breaks new ground in emergency, primary, and hospital care, making it an invaluable tool for medical institutions and healthcare professionals.

The innovative medical solution is easily accessible in the form of a smartphone application and compatible with all standard ECG formats. Implemented at the first point of contact, PMcardio enhances the capabilities of primary care providers as the initial gatekeepers to specialised care. By accurately identifying high-risk patients, it facilitates timely and accurate referrals to secondary care, allowing cardiologists to focus on the patients who critically need their expertise.

The cutting-edge AI tool is also transformative for emergency care, as it helps accurately detect acute heart attacks, reduce ischemic time, and prevent unnecessary loss of life. The integration of such technology optimises hospital workflows by empowering staff to interpret ECGs confidently and collaborate across departments to achieve more effective patient management.

The EU MDR-certified Class IIb medical device, registered in the UK MHRA, is trusted by the world's leading cardiologists.

"Physicians who are open to new technologies like PMcardio and ready to unleash their potential will be in a huge advantage compared to those who will remain reluctant to artificial intelligence," says Prof. Dr. Robert Hatala, PhD, Head of the Arrhythmia and Pacing Department at the Slovak National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases.

On a mission to revolutionise healthcare with AI and save the lives of cardiovascular patients, Powerful Medical is excited to launch PMcardio in the UK and other European countries in the near future.



About Powerful Medical

Powerful Medical leads one of the most important shifts in modern medicine  augmenting human-made clinical decisions with artificial intelligence. Their AI-powered clinical assistant PMcardio empowers healthcare professionals to diagnose 38 cardiovascular diseases with the precision of a cardiologist. In the form of a smartphone application, the certified Class IIb medical device digitises and interprets any 12-lead ECG in under 5 seconds to provide accurate diagnoses and individualised treatment recommendations tailored to each patient.

Lucia Mozolova, MA

Communications Manager | Powerful Medical

lmozolova@powerfulmedical.com

www.powerfulmedical.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at :

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ffd5cb2a-76aa-46a6-b3d0-96724faca721

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/580c6b28-3f4b-442a-9192-0afc85bc2a13

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/07e16ebd-1294-4ba4-bccd-06f9eef0e328

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9d633cf6-a0ce-41d6-a843-01347a684de8

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59abeccf-29c4-434b-84f2-881ace29d910

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/faab2af9-bb9b-43c6-8934-39b13fd09fc3




PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A global Material & Chemical business consulting firm, Maximize Market research, has published a market intelligence and competitive landscape report on the  Steel Wire Market . The report is a combination of primary data and secondary data and domain experts have analyzed the Steel Wire Market from a local as well as a global point of view. Over the forecast period, Maximize Market research expects the market to grow from USD 99.24 Bn in 2021 to USD 151.85 Bn in 2029 at a CAGR of 6.26 percent. As per the report, the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period.



Market Size in 2021 USD 99.24 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 151.85 Bn. CAGR 6.26 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 276 No. of Tables 118 No. of Charts and Figures 114 Segment Covered Type, Form and End-Use 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.

Request For Free Sample Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

Steel Wire Market Report Scope and Research Methodology

The Steel Wire Market report offers both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It provides a detailed segment-wise and region-wise analysis of the market. The report categorizes the Steel Wire Market based on type, form and end-use. The report provides market statistics including market size, regional shares, competitors with market share, market trends, market drivers, restraints, challenges and prevailing opportunities. Such information makes the market report a guide for investors and helps new entrants to get knowledge about the Steel Wire Industry.

The Steel Wire Market report highly depends on both primary and secondary data sources. The research process involves the investigation of various factors affecting the industry, such as government policy, competitive landscape, historical data, current market trends, market environment , technological innovation, upcoming technologies, and technical progress in related industries. All conceivable elements influencing the Steel Wire Market included in this research have been considered, analyzed in depth, validated through primary research, and evaluated to provide the final quantitative and qualitative data. Extensive primary research was conducted to acquire information and verify and confirm the important numbers arrived at after comprehensive Steel Wire Market engineering and calculations for market statistics, market forecasts, market breakdown, market size estimations and data triangulation. The bottom-up approach was used to estimate the global and regional Steel Wire Market size.

Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

Steel Wire Market Overview

Steel wire is a mechanical tool used to lift and transport loads and objects. Key factor driving the Steel Wire Market is the increasing demand for high-quality steel wire among medical original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Stainless steel wires are majorly used in modern medical applications such as vascular therapy, endovascular medical devices and others. Carbon steel wires are used in various applications such as construction, military and construction industries.

Steel Wire Market Dynamics

The growing urban population, technological advancements and increasing research and development activities are the major factors expected to create growth opportunities during the forecast period. The Steel Wire Market is also expected to grow due to the growing commercial, infrastructural and residential construction of government and private firms.

The Steel Wire Market is expected to be limited by the increasing use of plastic ropes in mobile cranes as they offer better lifting efficiency, extend the life of the rope and lower maintenance costs.

Steel Wire Market Regional Insights

In 2021, the Asia Pacific region dominated the global Steel Wire Market and is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period. This growth of the Steel Wire Market is majorly expected due to the growing construction and infrastructural activities in developing countries such as China and India.

Get the Sample PDF of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

The Steel Wire Market in the Europe region is also expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period due to the presence of major automotive manufacturing companies that are increasing the demand for steel wire for automobile applications.

Steel Wire Market Segmentation

By Type

Carbon Steel

Alloy Steel

Stainless Steel



By Form

Non-rope

Rope

By End-Use

Construction

Automotive

Energy

Agriculture

Industrial



Steel Wire Market Key Competitors include:

ArcelorMittal

Nippon Steel

JFE Steel Corporation

TATA Steel Limited

Bekaert SA

The Heico Companies

Ferrier Nord

Byelorussian Steel Works

Kobe Steel, Ltd.

VIRAJ PROFILES LTD.

JSW Steel Ltd.

Hendrik Veder

Kiswire Inc.

Mahadev Industries

Mazzella Companies

Fasten Group

Gustav Wolf GmbH



Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/checkout/?method=PayPal&reportId=117044&type=Single%20User

Key Offerings:

Past Market Size and Competitive Landscape (2018 to 2021)

Past Pricing and price curve by region (2018 to 2021)

Steel Wire Market Size, Share, Size & Forecast by different segment | 20222029

Steel Wire Market Dynamics  Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region

Steel Wire Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by Type, Form, End-Use 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

Key questions answered in the Steel Wire Market are:

What is the global Steel Wire Market structure?

What is the CAGR of the Steel Wire Market?

What are the global trends in the Steel Wire Market?

What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for the Steel Wire Market?

What is the revenue generated from the sales of Steel Wire across the world?

What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Steel Wire Market?

What growth strategies are the market players considering to increase their presence in Steel Wire Market?

Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in Steel Wire Market?

What are the major challenges that the Steel Wire Market could face in the future?

Who held the largest market share in Steel Wire Market?

Maximize Market Research is leading Material & Chemical research firm, has also published the following reports:

Automotive Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 53.24 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 13.6 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing acceptance of lightweight steel in automobiles and the increasing adoption of EVs.

Carbon Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 1228 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 3.37 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing use of carbon steel in the production of construction materials, such as pipes and tubes and increased demand for shipbuilding materials.

Sintered Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 35.98 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.7 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the growing car component sector during the forecast period.

Weathering Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 2.59 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 6.3 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand from the construction industry due to its outstanding characteristics in terms of durability, low maintenance, and a longer life cycle.

Corrugated Steel Sheets Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 3.26 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 3.4 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the wide usage of corrugated steel sheets in agriculture for warehousing, sheds, porches, and farmhouses.

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.
English Danish

Nrresundby, Denmark, 7 March 2023

Announcement no. 09/2023









Board member Katja Millard has informed the Board of RTX A/S that due to a possible conflict of interest she feels compelled to resign from the board. The Board has taken note of Katjas decision.

Chair of the Board Peter Thostrup states: "We have been very happy about the collaboration with Katja Millard, who has contributed with relevant industry insight - both commercially and technologically. Naturally, we fully understand Katjas decision, and should the conditions change, we would like the collaboration to continue. We thank Katja Millard for her efforts in the board and wish her good luck in the future".

According to the Articles of Association of the company, the number of board members in RTX A/S elected by the general meeting shall be between four and six. After the resignation of Katja Millard, the Board of Directors will consist of five members elected by the general meeting.





Questions and further information:

Chair of the Board Peter Thostrup, tel: +45 96 32 23 00

Attachment
Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Nanofibers Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global nanofibers market size reached US$ 983.6 Million in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 3,987.4 Million by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 26.27% during 2021-2027.

Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use industries. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.



Nanofibers refer to fibers with a diameter less than 100 nanometers. They are synthetically produced and can be customized for various purposes. The diameters of nanofibers can vary and is determined by the kind of polymer used and the method of production.

They can be fabricated using several techniques such as magneto spinning, electro spinning, force spinning, rotary jet spinning, etc. These fibers are characterized by their lightweight, flexibility, high porosity and mechanical strength. Additionally, they have controllable pore structures and higher surface-to-volume ratio as compared to the conventional microfibers.



The thriving healthcare industry across the globe is impelling the growth of the market. These fibers, coated with antibodies, are utilized to capture individual cancer cells that are present in the bloodstream and to stimulate the production of cartilage in damaged joints. They are also used in the manufacturing of surgical gowns and disposable face masks.

The rising demand for biosensors, of which nanofibers form an integral part, in the healthcare industry, is also contributing to the market growth.

Moreover, the textile industry extensively utilizes nanofibers for the production of heat and water-resistant fabrics. In addition to this, fabrics containing nanofibers help protect the skin from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, thereby reducing the chances of developing cancer.

Additionally, the growing trend of using nanofibers for sustainable generation of electricity, along with use in the paints and coatings industry for air filtration, is further creating a positive outlook for the market.

Competitive Landscape:



The report has also analysed the competitive landscape of the market along with the profiles of the key players.



Key Questions Answered in This Report:

How has the global nanofibers market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What are the key regional markets in the global nanofibers industry?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global nanofibers industry?

What is the breakup of the market based on the product?

What is the breakup of the market based on the technology?

What is the breakup of the market based on the application?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the global nanofibers industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the global nanofibers industry?

What is the structure of the global nanofibers industry and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the global nanofibers industry?

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 105 Forecast Period 2021 - 2027 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2021 $983.6 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2027 $3987.4 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 26.2% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Nanofibers Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Breakup by Product

5.5 Market Breakup by Technology

5.6 Market Breakup by Application

5.7 Market Breakup by Region

5.8 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Product

6.1 Carbon Nanofibers

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Ceramic Nanofibers

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast

6.3 Composite Nanofibers

6.3.1 Market Trends

6.3.2 Market Forecast

6.4 Glass Nanofibers

6.4.1 Market Trends

6.4.2 Market Forecast

6.5 Metallic Nanofibers

6.5.1 Market Trends

6.5.2 Market Forecast

6.6 Polymeric Nanofibers

6.6.1 Market Trends

6.6.2 Market Forecast

6.7 Others

6.7.1 Market Trends

6.7.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Technology

7.1 Magneto Spinning

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Electro Spinning

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 Force Spinning

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 Rotary Jet Spinning

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

7.5 Others

7.5.1 Market Trends

7.5.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Application

8.1 Electronics

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Healthcare and Biotechnology

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast

8.3 Aerospace and Defence

8.3.1 Market Trends

8.3.2 Market Forecast

8.4 Automotive

8.4.1 Market Trends

8.4.2 Market Forecast

8.5 Chemicals

8.5.1 Market Trends

8.5.2 Market Forecast

8.6 Energy and Power

8.6.1 Market Trends

8.6.2 Market Forecast

8.7 Others

8.7.1 Market Trends

8.7.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by Region

10 SWOT Analysis



11 Value Chain Analysis



12 Porter's Five Forces Analysis



13 Price Analysis



14 Competitive Landscape

14.1 Market Structure

14.2 Key Players

14.3 Profiles of Key Players

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7acusp

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.

Attachment
Calgary, Alberta, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terrestrial Energy, a Canadian nuclear technology company dedicated to delivering reliable, emission-free nuclear energy, announced today it is investing $18 million to expand its operations into Alberta by establishing an engineering, research and development office in Calgary. The company intends to create 29 jobs over the next two years.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Terrestrial Energy works to commission its zero-emissions Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) heat and power plants for industrial consumers. The company is engaged with organizations throughout North America, the United Kingdom and other global jurisdictions to deploy its zero-carbon energy technology, which is also designed to generate high-efficiency, grid-based power. The companys new office in Calgary will help accelerate its goals.

Terrestrial Energy was attracted to Alberta for its leadership in the energy sector and large industrial base. It was also drawn by the provinces low corporate tax rate, business-friendly environment and the large number of international companies in the region. Invest Alberta assisted the company by creating opportunities to make meaningful connections in Alberta.

In July 2022, Terrestrial Energy and Invest Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding to determine how to best work together to establish the companys Alberta-based office, and todays announcement marks the success of that partnership.

Working together with Calgary Economic Development, Terrestrial Energy chose the Western-Canadian city for its business community that collaborates with industry and government to drive growth and innovation. Named a top 30 cleantech ecosystem to watch in North America, Calgary is home to head offices of major companies throughout the energy value-chain.

With the highest concentration of head offices per capita and the highest proportion of post-secondary STEM graduates in Canada, Calgary has the energy expertise and skilled talent to advance a net-zero economy.

Albertas willingness to expand into nuclear energy helps diversify its energy market and attract unique investment in cleantech, enabling the province to achieve climate targets and be a leader in Canadas energy transition. That willingness is evidenced by Albertas participation in the interprovincial Strategic Plan for the Deployment of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) to advance SMRs as a source of safe, reliable and clean energy.

As Albertas energy landscape continues to evolve, Terrestrial Energys proprietary technology has the potential to attract skilled labour to our province and create more new jobs in a rapidly evolving sector.

Terrestrial Energy secured space for its Western Canadian operation in Suncor Energy Centre. The company is actively recruiting regional talent to fill positions to support its Alberta-based commercial operation ambitions.

QUOTES

Albertas economy has momentum, and Terrestrial Energy wants to be apart of that momentum. I am pleased to see Terrestrial Energy choose Alberta as their place to conduct business. With low corporate tax rates, decreased red tape for businesses, and a ready workforce, Alberta has an economic atmosphere that cannot be matched.

 Minister Rajan Sawhney, Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism

Alberta is a global energy hub with a track record of pursuing innovation in energy markets. Today its industries are investigating the potential of nuclear innovation to deliver transformative changes, supported by the provincial governments continued focus on innovation and growth. We look forward to growing our company in Alberta and delivering the first operating IMSR cogeneration plant, and by doing so demonstrate a solution to the greatest unsolved problem on the global pathway to net-zero: clean thermal energy supply for global industry.

 Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy

Calgary is a global leader in cleantech innovation and companies like Terrestrial Energy will help power our pathway to a net-zero economy. Our city is home to experts in all things energy and has the companies, capital and talent to achieve Canadas energy transition goals.

 Brad Parry, President & CEO, Calgary Economic Development

Terrestrial Energys expansion into Alberta reflects the potential Alberta holds for energy transition and emission reduction. Innovative nuclear technology companies like Terrestrial Energy are paving the way toward a net-zero future  and its investment in Alberta will create 29 more jobs in a sector that is seeing rapid growth in our province.

 Rick Christiaanse, CEO, Invest Alberta

About Invest Alberta:

Invest Alberta is engaging the world and providing high-end tailored support to companies, investors, and major new projects. With team members strategically positioned in key markets around the world, Invest Alberta works to break down barriers so businesses can start up, scale up, and succeed without limits. Since 2020, Invest Alberta has supported the commitment of nearly $20 billion in investment that created more than 24,000 new high-value jobs for Albertans. For more information, please visit: www.investalberta.ca.

About Calgary Economic Development:

Calgary Economic Development is an opportunity-maker, helping to spark and fuel Calgarys growth. Our job is to connect people with resources that can help them grow their careers or businesses, thrive in new locations or markets, and feel at home in our community. We offer a wealth of information to help everyone succeed and we tirelessly promote Calgary, in Canada and around the world. Were exhilarated about our role in shaping and sharing Calgarys story and were proud to be part of the energy. For more information, please visit our website at www.calgaryeconomicdevelopment.com and follow us on Twitter @calgaryeconomic.

About Terrestrial Energy:

Terrestrial Energy is developing for near-term commercial operation a zero-emissions cogeneration plant for global industry using its proprietary Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) fission technology in an innovative, small and modular plant design. The IMSR is a non-Light Water Reactor of the Generation IV class that operates at the high temperature required for broad industrial relevance with transformative economic potential. The IMSR plant is capable of grid-based electric power generation and industrial cogeneration in many energy-intensive industries, including petrochemical and chemical synthesis for hydrogen and ammonia production. The IMSR plant offers a near 50 percent improvement in efficiency of electric power generation compared to Light Water Reactor nuclear plants. Its industrial cogeneration capability delivers to todays markets industrial competitiveness, security of energy, and zero-emissions industrial production. The IMSR plants use of existing industrial materials, components, and fuels supports its near-term deployment, setting the stage for a rapid global decarbonization of the primary energy system.
Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Colombia Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



According to the publisher, social commerce industry in Colombia is expected to grow by 37.0% on annual basis to reach US$1000.5 million in 2023.



The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 22.0% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$1000.5 million in 2023 to reach US$3303.3 million by 2028.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of social commerce industry, covering market opportunities and risks. With over 50+ KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of social commerce market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view on emerging business and investment market opportunities.

Reasons to buy

In-depth Understanding of Social Commerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028).

Insights into Opportunity by end-use sectors - Get market dynamics by end-use sectors to assess emerging opportunity across various end-use sectors.

Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate social commerce strategy; assess market specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the industry.

Scope



This report provides in-depth, data-centric analysis of social commerce in Colombia. Below is a summary of key market segments:



Colombia Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028

Clothing & Footwear

Beauty and Personal Care

Food & Grocery

Appliances and Electronics

Home Improvement

Travel

Hospitality

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028

B2B

B2C

C2C

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028

Mobile

Desktop

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Domestic

Cross Border

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Tier-1 Cities

Tier-2 Cities

Tier-3 Cities

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028

Credit Card

Debit Card

Bank Transfer

Prepaid Card

Digital & Mobile Wallet

Other Digital Payment

Cash

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms

Video Commerce

Social Network-Led Commerce

Social Reselling

Group Buying

Product Review Platforms

Colombia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour,2022

By Age

By Income Level

By Gender

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k13xy9

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.
Portland, OR, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Market Research has published a new research report titled Survival Tools Market By Product Type (Pocket Tools, First Aid Kit, And Compass), By Application (Hiking, Hunting & Fishing, And Camping), By Distribution Channel (Specialty Store, Supermarket/Hypermarket, And Online Store), And By Region - Global And Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, And Forecasts 2022  2030 in its research database.

According to the latest research study, the demand for global Survival Tools Market size & share in terms of revenue was valued at USD 1159.5 million in 2022 and it is expected to surpass around USD 2460.6 million markets by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.4% during the forecast period 2023 to 2030.

What is Survival Tools? How big is the Survival Tools Industry?

Survival tools are essential items and equipment that people use to increase their chances of survival during emergency situations, such as natural disasters, wilderness expeditions, and other extreme situations. These tools can range from simple items such as knives and flashlights to more advanced equipment such as water filtration systems and emergency shelters.

The survival tools industry is a rapidly growing market as more people are becoming interested in emergency preparedness and outdoor activities. The demand for survival tools has increased due to the rise in natural disasters, geopolitical instability, and a growing interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and backpacking.

Survival Tools Industry Coverage & Overview:

Survival tools are an essential package of basic and fundamental tools and supplies that are prepared in advance as an aid to protection and survival in emergency situations. These survival tools play a major role while engaging in various recreational activities such as caving, hiking, camping, trekking, rock climbing, and other activities.

Various supplies that are included in the pack encompass  a first aid kit, compass, flashlights, pocket tools, knife, and others. Survival tools are also extensively used in times of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, tsunamis, and others. In such cases, the kit is equipped with ample food and water, sanitary bags, apart from first aid kits, and so forth. These kits can be packed in either backpacks, duffle bags, or buckets based on the different emergency situations.

Get a Free Sample PDF of this Research Report for more Insights with a Table of Contents, Research Methodology, and Graphs - https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/survival-tools-market

(A free sample of this report is available upon request; please contact us for more information.)

Our Free Sample Report Consists of the Following:

Introduction, Overview, and in-depth industry analysis are all included in the 2023 updated report.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis is included in the package

About 214+ Pages Research Report (Including Recent Research)

Provide detailed chapter-by-chapter guidance on the Request

Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share, and Trends for the Year 2023

Includes Tables and figures have been updated

The most recent version of the report includes the Top Market Players, their Business Strategies, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis

Zion Market Research research methodology

(Please note that the sample of this report has been modified to include the COVID-19 impact study prior to delivery.)

Market Growth Dynamics: Growth Factors

The demand for the global survival tools market is expected to surge exponentially due to a remarkable surge in the cases of natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions to name a few. Besides, growing inclination towards various recreational and adventurous activities like hiking, rock climbing, trekking, camping, and others among people create a necessary requirement to have beneficial survival tools that are expected to drive the growth of the market.

In addition, an increase in the implementation of favorable safety regulations and the growing importance of maintaining workplace safety in various sectors including industrial, chemical, mining, oil & gas, building & construction, electrical, and energy are anticipated to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, an increase in the use of survival tools in the military sector for carrying out various military operations and an increase in the prevalence of consciousness programs by government and private organizations to increase awareness about the functionality of survival tools are predicted to create ample opportunities for the growth of the survival tools industry. However, an increase in the prices of ropes and other specialized tools might hamper the growth of the market to an extent.

Directly Purchase a copy of the report with TOC @ https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/buynow/su/survival-tools-market

Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2022 USD 1159.5 million Projected Market Size in 2030 USD 2460.6 million CAGR Growth Rate 7.4% CAGR Base Year 2022 Forecast Years 2023-2030 Key Market Players UST Brands, Surefire, LLC, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Leatherman Tool Group, Wild and Wolf Inc., Frasers Group, Honeywell International Inc., Survival Light Products INC, Uncharted Supply Company, Sharpal Inc., Tender Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Fiskars Group, Fenix Outdoors International AG, Exxel Outdoors, LLC, and Coleman Company, Inc. Key Segment By Product Type, By Application, By Distribution Channel, and By Region Major Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East &, Africa Purchase Options Request customized purchase options to meet your research needs. Explore purchase options

Survival Tools Market: Segmentation Analysis

The global survival tools market is segmented based on product type, application, distribution channel, and region.

Based on product type, the market is bifurcated into compass, first aid kit, pocket tools, and others. The pocket tools segment held the largest market share in 2021 and is further predicted to grow rapidly at a significant CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period.

The main reason for the growth of this segment is that they are very handy to use and hence are often considered as life saviors when it comes to outdoor recreational activities. Pocket tools are multipurpose, and hence they are widely accepted by travel and recreational enthusiasts across the globe for a wide range of purposes. In addition, there has been a remarkable growth in the sales of pocket tools as they are considerably compact in size and hence require much lesser space. These factors drive the growth of the segment.

By distribution channel, the survival tools industry can be segmented into online stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, and others.

Based on application, the market is bifurcated into camping, hunting & fishing, hiking, and others. The hiking segment held the largest market share in 2021 and is further projected to grow exponentially at a promising CAGR during the forecast period.

The growth of this segment is mainly attributed to the increase in popularity and inclination towards recreational and outdoor activities among people across the globe as it massively helps in achieving peace of mind and also provides immense physical fitness perks. Thus, there has been a sharp surge in the participant rates in hiking among people to unwind from the busy, monotonous, and hectic lifestyle of people. These factors drive the growth of the segment during the forecast period.

The global Survival Tools market is segmented as follows:

By Product type

Pocket tools

First Aid Kit

Compass

Others

By Application

Hiking

Hunting & Fishing

Camping

Others

By Distribution Channel

Specialty Store

Supermarket/Hypermarket

Online store

Others

Browse the full Survival Tools Market By Product Type (Pocket Tools, First Aid Kit, and Compass), By Application (Hiking, Hunting & Fishing, and Camping), By Distribution Channel (Specialty Store, Supermarket/Hypermarket, and Online Store), and By Region - Global and Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, and Forecasts 2022  2030.- Report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/survival-tools-market

Competitive Landscape

Some of the main competitors dominating the global Survival Tools market include -

UST Brands

Surefire LLC

SOG Specialty Knives & Tools

Leatherman Tool Group

Wild and Wolf Inc.

Frasers Group

Honeywell International Inc.

Survival Light Products INC

Uncharted Supply Company

Sharpal Inc.

Tender Corporation

Johnson & Johnson

Fiskars Group

Fenix Outdoors International AG

Exxel Outdoors LLC

Coleman Company Inc.

Key Insights from Primary Research:

According to the analysis shared by our research forecaster, the Survival Tools market is likely to expand at a CAGR of around 7.4% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

In terms of revenue, the Survival Tools market size was valued at around US$ 1159.5 million in 2022 and is projected to reach US$ 2460.6 million by 2030.

There is an exponential spike in the number of people going for adventurous activities like hiking, rock climbing, and others with family every year. The increase in number can also be attributed to technological developments, improved facilities, convenience, and affordability. However, such constantly growing numbers are contributing towards the growth of the global survival tools market significantly.

Based on product type, the pocket tools segment held the largest market share in 2021 and is further predicted to grow rapidly at a significant CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period.

Based on application, the hiking segment held the largest market share in 2021 and is further projected to grow exponentially at a promising CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on the distribution channel, the specialty store segment held the largest market share in 2021.

Based on region, the North American region held the largest market share in 2021.

Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/survival-tools-market

Key questions answered in this report:

What is the market size and growth rate forecast for Survival Tools industry?

What are the main driving factors propelling the Survival Tools Market forward?

What are the leading companies in the Survival Tools Industry?

What segments does the Survival Tools Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Survival Tools Market sample report and company profiles?

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20232030

Market Dynamics  Leading Trends, Growth Drivers, Restraints, and Investment Opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis By Product type, By Application, By Distribution Channel, and By Region

Competitive Landscape  Top Key Vendors and Other Prominent Vendors

Request for Customization on this Report as per your requirements - https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/6967

(We tailor your report to meet your specific research requirements. Inquire with our sales team about customising your report.)

Regional Analysis:

Based on region, the North American region held the dominating market share in 2021 and is further anticipated to grow rapidly at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The major reason for the growth of the market in this region is the increase in the number of recreational enthusiasts and increased awareness about the benefits of outdoor activities among people in this region. Besides, the prevalence of initiatives from the government toward the adoption of survival tools among people in this region is expected to drive the growth of the survival tools market during the forecast period.

By Region

North America U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe France UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific

The Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Latin America Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America



Global Survival Tools Market: Opportunities

Survival gears with automatic technologies may expand the global market.

The manufacturers are ramping up their research and development efforts in order to provide more cutting-edge and original tools that may assist consumers in a variety of tasks. The latest survival gear is outfitted with automated technology, such as the internet of things, so that it may incorporate a variety of cutting-edge new functions. As a result of this, the introduction of such cutting-edge technology is projected to generate a significant number of prospects for business expansion in the survival tools sector in the years to come.

To know an additional revised 2023 list of market players, request a brochure of the report: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/survival-tools-market

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Which key factors will influence survival tools market growth over 2022-2030?

The global survival tools market is expected to spur significantly from $1159.5 million in 2021 to $2460.6 million in 2030. The market is likely to rise with a healthy annual compound rate of 7.4% during the forecast period.

What will be the value of the survival tools market during 2022-2030?

There is an exponential spike in the number of people going for adventurous activities like hiking, rock climbing, and others with family every year. The increase in number can also be attributed to technological developments, improved facilities, convenience, and affordability.

Which are the key major players in survival tools market growth?

Some of the significant players in the global survival tools market include UST Brands, Surefire, LLC, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Leatherman Tool Group, Wild and Wolf Inc., Frasers Group, Honeywell International Inc., Survival Light Products INC, Uncharted Supply Company, Sharpal Inc., Tender Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Fiskars Group, Fenix Outdoors International AG, Exxel Outdoors, LLC, and Coleman Company, Inc.

Which region will contribute notably towards the survival tools market value?

North America accounts for the largest share in the global survival tools market due to the presence of a strong customer base in the region. Furthermore, the increasing number of recreational enthusiasts and the presence of prominent companies offering paid vacations to employees are likely to accentuate the growth of the regional market.

Browse Other Related Research Reports from Zion Market Research:

At 10.1% CAGR of Global Cyber Security Market Size to Report Spectacular Growth, Revenue to Hit US$210 Billion by 2028 - Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/ae/news-releases/at-10-1-cagr-of-global-cyber-security-market-size-to-report-spectacular-growth-revenue-to-hit-us-210-billion-by-2028-zion-market-research-823338466.html

Whey Protein Market Size Worth $15.1 Bn, Globally, by 2028 at 7.8% CAGR, (Strategic Investment Plans | Business Opportunities | SWOT Analysis): Exclusive Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/whey-protein-market-size-worth-15-1-bn-globally-by-2028-at-7-8-cagr-strategic-investment-plans--business-opportunities--swot-analysis-exclusive-report-by-zion-market-research-301530144.html

At 5.8% CAGR, Global Barcode Printers Market Size Worth US$ 10.53 Bn By 2028 | Industry Trends, Share, Growth, Value, Analysis & Forecast Report By Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-5-8-cagr-global-barcode-printers-market-size-worth-us-10-53-bn-by-2028--industry-trends-share-growth-value-analysis--forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301574202.html

At 9.2% CAGR, Scleroderma Diagnostics and Therapeutics Market Size To Hit US$ 4124.6 Million, Globally, By 2028 | Industry Trends, Share, Growth Rate, Value, Analysis & Forecast Report By ZMR: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-9-2-cagr-scleroderma-diagnostics-and-therapeutics-market-size-to-hit-us-4124-6-million-globally-by-2028--industry-trends-share-growth-rate-value-analysis--forecast-report-by-zmr-301574005.html

Global Amphibious Excavator Market Size Worth $15.11 Billion by 2028 at 10.8% CAGR - Industry Share, Trends, Forecast Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-amphibious-excavator-market-size-worth-15-11-billion-by-2028-at-10-8-cagr---industry-share-trends-forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301534115.html

At 9.8% Global CAGR of Cold Chain Equipment Market Size Worth $205.80 Billion by 2028: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-9-8-global-cagr-of-cold-chain-equipment-market-size-worth-205-80-billion-by-2028-zion-market-research-301533168.html

At 7.8% CAGR of Power Rental Market Size 2028 by | Fuel Type, Power Rating, Application, End User and Geography | Growth with USD 16.71 Bn: Industry Trends & Forecast Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-7-8-cagr-of-power-rental-market-size-2028-by--fuel-type-power-rating-application-end-user-and-geography--growth-with-usd-16-71-bn-industry-trends--forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301528967.html

At 9.1% Global CAGR of Ablation Technology Market Size Worth $8,299.72 Million by 2028: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-9-1-global-cagr-of-ablation-technology-market-size-worth-8-299-72-million-by-2028-zion-market-research-301534392.html

At 34.2% Global CAGR of Mobile Payment Technology Market Size Worth $235,347.8 Million by 2028: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-34-2-global-cagr-of-mobile-payment-technology-market-size-worth-235-347-8-million-by-2028-zion-market-research-301531989.html

Laboratory Equipment Services Market | Growing at a CAGR of 12.9% by 2028 | Industry Trends & Forecast Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/laboratory-equipment-services-market--growing-at-a-cagr-of-12-9-by-2028--industry-trends--forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301528995.html

About Zion Market Research:

Zion Market Research is a leading market research organization offering industry expertise and scrupulous consulting services to clients for their business development. The reports and services offered by Zion Market Research are used by prestigious academic institutions, start-ups, and companies globally to measure and understand the changing international and regional business backgrounds.

Our clients/customers conviction on our solutions and services has pushed us in delivering always the best. Our advanced research solutions have helped them in appropriate decision-making and guidance for strategies to expand their business.

Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zion-market-research/

Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zion_research

Follow Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zionmarketresearch

Follow Us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/zionmarketresearch/

Follow Us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y0Yfi7N8zSs

Contact Us:

Rushikesh Dorge

USA: +1 347 690-0211

United Kingdom: +44 2032 894158

Japan: +81 50 5806 9039

India: +91 7768 006 007

Web: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/

Blog: https://zmrblog.com/

Still, Looking for More Information? OR Want Data for Inclusion in Magazine, Case Study, or Media?

Email Directly Here with Detail Information: sales@zionmarketresearch.com















Survival tools are essential items and equipment that people use to increase their chances of survival during emergency situations, such as natural disasters, wilderness expeditions, and other extreme situations. These tools can range from simple items such as knives and flashlights to more advanced equipment such as water filtration systems and emergency shelters.

The survival tools industry is a rapidly growing market as more people are becoming interested in emergency preparedness and outdoor activities. The demand for survival tools has increased due to the rise in natural disasters, geopolitical instability, and a growing interest in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and backpacking.

According to recent market research, the global survival tools market size in terms of revenue was valued at USD 1159.5 million in 2022. The market is expected to continue to grow over the forecast period from 2023 to 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.4%. It is predicted that the survival tools market will surpass the USD 2460.6 million mark by 2030. The increasing demand for survival tools is driving innovation and growth in the industry, with new products and technologies being developed to meet the needs of consumers.


























Denver, CO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- United Rotorcraft, a leader in providing critical mission equipment for nearly 30 years, and DRF Luftrettung, a German HEMS operator with 50 years of experience, announced today plans to partner together through a long-term business relationship that will propel the trajectory of both companies mission to new heights.

United Rotorcraft, a division of Air Methods Corporation, is expanding its horizons outside of the domestic HEMS market by joining forces with DRF Luftrettung, one of the largest European HEMS operators. Together, they will work to bring innovative HEMS equipment and solutions to operators in both EASA and FAA jurisdictions.

Our purpose at United Rotorcraft is to save lives, something that we share at our core with DRF Luftrettung, said United Rotorcraft President Larry Alexandre. We are excited to be partnering with such a driven leader in the world of HEMS, to bring innovation and versatility to the global air medical community.

United Rotorcrafts unique experience as the equipment and service provider to Air Methods fleet of over 400 helicopters across 300 bases in the US supporting a team of 1,500 clinicians, gives them first hand insight on how to develop the best equipment possible to better serve front line workers.

To ensure the best possible care for the benefit of its patients, DRF Luftrettung continuously develops state-of-the-art medical technology used in its aircraft and techniques that are employed, said DRF Luftrettung CEO Dr. Krystian Pracz. We are pleased to bring our expertise in air rescue to the partnership with United Rotorcraft. I am convinced that we can successfully combine both organizations strengths to further enhance innovations in the HEMS market.

Alexandre and Pracz formalized this partnership today with an official signing ceremony during the HAI Heli-Expo in Atlanta, GA. Click here for a photo of the signing ceremony. (Photo left to right: United Rotorcraft President Larry Alexandre, DRF Luftrettung CEO Dr. Krystian Pracz)

About United Rotorcraft:

United Rotorcraft, a division of Air Methods Corporation, specializes in the design, manufacture, and installation of ground and aerial critical mission equipment for frontline workers, from firefighting and law enforcement, to HEMS and Medevac. For more information, visit unitedrotorcraft.com

About DRF Luftrettung:

Based in Filderstadt, DRF Luftrettung is one of the largest and most experienced air rescue organisations in Europe, At its 29 bases in Germany, DRF Luftrettung operates helicopters for emergency rescue and for urgent transport of intensive care patients between hospitals. Crews are on standby around the clock at eleven of these bases and four bases have helicopters equipped with rescue hoists for missions in difficult terrain. In addition, DRF Luftrettung repatriates patients from abroad using its own ambulance aircraft. DRF Luftrettung carried out a total of 39,308 missions in 2022. For more information, visit drf-luftrettung.de.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the eve of International Womens Day, BioSyent Inc. (BioSyent, the Company, TSX Venture: RX) celebrates the Canadian launch of FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 by its subsidiary, BioSyent Pharma Inc. FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is BioSyents third product incorporating Polydextrose-Iron Complex (PDIC), a patented oral iron supplement delivery system. The FeraMAX Pd family of products continues the innovation history of FeraMAX and strengthens BioSyents commitment to womens health and the management of iron health across various life stages. Iron deficiency disproportionally affects women and children and is an independent risk factor for decreased quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality.i



My personal approach to family medicine is about prevention, with a focus on womens health, said Dr. Vivien Brown, MDCM, CCFP, FCFP, NCMP, a busy family physician, tireless womens health advocate and preventative healthcare pioneer. It is important to recognize negative iron balance and managing those at risk of iron deficiency, in advance of draining symptoms. I welcome the addition of FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 to my proactive approach to iron health.

FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is designed to prevent iron deficiency, maintain healthy iron levels and to address a gap in iron health therapy. This unique formulation features 45 milligrams of elemental iron as Polydextrose-Iron Complex (PDIC), along with 1,000 micrograms of vitamin B12 and 75 milligrams of vitamin C which supports the formation of red blood cells and the immune system. FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is the only iron supplement in Canada incorporating this unique supplement combination in a convenient, orange-flavoured, chewable tablet - taken once daily. FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is recognized by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Made in a Health Canada and FDA licensed facility, FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is vegan certified by Vegecert and is free of gluten, lactose, and alcohol. FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is available in bottles of 30 chewable tablets, now commencing shipping to retail pharmacies across Canada.

BioSyents motivation for developing FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is to help people who struggle with maintaining iron sufficiency, explained Mr. Rene C. Goehrum, President and CEO of BioSyent. Research with iron deficient patients indicates that 25% of those diagnosed with iron deficiency or iron deficiency anemia have been previously diagnosed four times or more. Relapsing iron deficiency is the impetus for this new addition. FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 is a result of BioSyents own innovation and product development, to fill unmet medical needs and to improve the lives of Canadians.

FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 joins the FeraMAX Pd family of oral iron products that includes FeraMAX Pd Therapeutic 150 for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia, and FeraMAX Pd Powder 15, an iron therapy convenient for children. FeraMAX Pd is made with a homogeneous polysaccharide, Polydextrose, linked to ferric (Fe3+) elemental iron to form the proprietary Polydextrose Iron Complex (PDIC). This unique and patented formulation is the foundation of future product innovations in oral iron supplementation for BioSyent.

The Introduction of FeraMAX Pd Maintenance 45 advances the legacy of FeraMAX, which has made it the #1 recommended iron supplement brand by Canadian physicians and pharmacists for seven consecutive years, including 2022 (Pharmacy Practice+ and Profession Sante 2022 / The Medical Post and Profession Sante 2022  Survey on OTC Counselling and Recommendations). BioSyent thanks healthcare providers and patients who have trusted FeraMAX for their iron health for more than a decade.

About BioSyent Inc.

Listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol RX, BioSyent is a profitable growth-oriented specialty pharmaceutical company focused on in-licensing or acquiring innovative pharmaceutical and other healthcare products that have been successfully developed, are safe and effective, and have a proven track record of improving the lives of patients. BioSyent supports the healthcare professionals that treat these patients by marketing its products through its community, specialty, and international business units.

As of the date of this press release, the Company has 12,097,861 common shares outstanding.

For a direct market quote for the TSX Venture Exchange and other Company financial information please visit www.tmxmoney.com.

For further information please contact:

Mr. Rene C. Goehrum

President and CEO

BioSyent Inc.

E-Mail: investors@biosyent.com

Phone: 905-206-0013

Web: www.biosyent.com

This press release may contain information or statements that are forward-looking. The contents herein represent our judgment, as at the release date, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or outcomes to be materially different from the forward-looking information or statements. Potential risks may include, but are not limited to, those associated with clinical trials, product development, future revenue, operations, profitability and obtaining regulatory approvals.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

___________________

i Friedman AJ, Chen Z, Ford P, Johnson CA, Lopez AM, Shander A, Waters JH, van Wyck D. Iron deficiency anemia in women across the life span. Journal of Women's Health (Larchmt). 2012 Dec;21(12):1282-9. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2012.3713. PMID: 23210492.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1a5b0c69-2d30-4f86-b0f5-4b4ba3c52724
TORONTO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) announced today that it has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.



In response to interest that has been received by the Company, ECN will evaluate the full range of alternatives to determine the best path forward to continue to drive growth and maximize value for shareholders. Alternatives will include strategic funding and capital relationships as well as other options. ECN has retained external financial advisors to assist in this process.

Steven K. Hudson, Chief Executive Officer of ECN, stated: Allocating capital to maximize shareholder value has been the primary objective of ECNs management and Board since inception. Alongside our funding partners, ECN has acquired and grown exceptional businesses, divested others when opportunity and circumstances dictated, and returned capital to shareholders when appropriate. The review process announced today will be focused on achieving the best outcome for our shareholders over the coming years in our manufactured housing, RV and marine, and inventory finance businesses.

There can be no assurance that this process will result in any specific strategic plan or financial transaction and no timetable has been set for its completion. The Company does not plan to provide updates on the status of the review unless there are material developments to report.

Given the strategic review announced today, the Company is postponing its Investor Day, which had been previously scheduled for March 8, 2023.

ECN also announced today that it intends to file its financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the three-month and year-end period ended December 31, 2022 after markets close on Wednesday, March 22, 2023.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding ECN Capital and its business. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of ECN Capitals management. In some cases, the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as may, will, expect, plan, anticipate, intend, potential, estimate, believe or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include those relating to the strategic review process and its intent to maximize shareholder value.

The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting ECN Capital, including risks regarding the equipment finance industry, economic factors, and many other factors beyond the control of ECN Capital. There can be no assurance whether a transaction, strategic change or outcome will result from or be implemented as a result of the strategic review process or whether the strategic review will ultimately result in the maximizing of shareholder value. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. A discussion of the material risks and assumptions associated with such forward-looking statements or information can be found in ECN Capitals September 30, 2022 Management Discussion and Analysis and the 2021 Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2022, which have been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and ECN Capital does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

About ECN Capital Corp.

With originated assets of more than US$14 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is a leading provider of business services to North American based banks, credit unions, life insurance companies, pension funds and institutional investors (collectively our Partners). ECN Capital originates, manages and advises on credit assets on behalf of its Partners, specifically consumer (manufactured housing and marine and recreational vehicle) loans. Our Partners are seeking high quality assets to match with their deposits or other liabilities. These services are offered through two operating segments: (i) Manufactured Housing Finance, and (ii) Marine and Recreational Vehicle Finance.

Contact

John Wimsatt

561-389-2334

jwimsatt@ecncapitalcorp.com




Submit prudential reports on sex-disaggregated basis  BoG directs banks, others

Maxwell Akalaare Adombila Business News Mar - 07 - 2023 , 14:50

THE Bank of Ghana (BoG) now requires banks and other deposit-taking institutions to submit their monthly prudential returns to it on a sex-disaggregated basis.

The new directive, which is to be compiled in an online reporting portal, is to give the regulator a full view of the gender dynamics in the financial sector.

It is part of efforts by the central bank to help address current data constraints on gender in the financial sector, the Governor of BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, said in Accra.

It will also help to provide critical data for the evidence-based design of policymaking, regulation and supervisory measures, as well as financial products and services, Dr Addison told executives in the financial sector in Africa.

AFAWA launch

Dr Addison made the disclosure at the launch of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Finance Series in Accra on Wednesday.

AFAWA is an initiative by the African Development Bank (AfDB) meant to, among other things, unlock up to $3 billion in finances for women in the small and medium-scale enterprise (SME) space in Africa.

It was launched at a two-day workshop that brought together experts on finance, SMEs and gender to deliberate on how to improve women-led businesses to help uplift the continent.

It aims to reduce the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs on the continent, which is estimated to be $42 billion.

It will run for five years and has the Ghana Association of Banks as a local partner.



Credit market

Beyond using regulations to encourage financial institutions to support female-led entrepreneurs, the BoG Governor gave an assurance that the central bank would

continue to strengthen its critical credit markets infrastructure such as the credit bureau-based credit reporting system and our Collateral Registry.

These, he said, were critical in helping to facilitate lending to MSMEs and women-owned businesses.

We also continue to ensure that our regulation of the payments space is supportive of innovation and inclusion by allowing financial technologies (fintechs) and other payments system service providers to partner with banks and other licensed financial institutions to provide innovative financial services that are convenient, cost-effective and responsive to the unique needs of women entrepreneurs, he added.

Role of the financial sector

Dr Addison said the financial sector was key in advancing access to finance for women-owned businesses and thus urged the players to take up the challenge and see the business opportunities that remain untapped in the women's market.

He said it was only through this that they can help to build a stronger and more resilient financial sector.

Achievements

The Governor said the central bank was fully committed to promoting inclusive finance, and gender-inclusive finance in particular.

He said it was realising that commitment by creating a regulatory environment that promoted financial stability.

As a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, BoG has made commitments under the Denarau Action Plan on Gender Inclusive Finance to advance gender-inclusive finance with emphasis on promoting womens access, usage and quality of financial services and products.

In November 2019, BoG launched Ghanas Sustainable Banking Principles a set of seven ESGrelated principles, which enjoins banks to, among other things, promote financial inclusion and gender equity in their internal operations and in relation to their delivery of products and services to clients.

Banks are currently reporting to us on a quarterly basis, in compliance with these principles, and we expect to see higher levels of compliance, he said.

Dr Addison was optimistic that the AFAWA initiative would be critical in supporting the banks with the necessary capacity building and sources of funding to support their efforts at improving more gender-inclusive finance.
Ashaiman: More than 72 people arrested by soldiers - Ashaiman MP

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Mar - 07 - 2023 , 12:30

More than 72 people have been arrested and taken into custody by the soldiers who stormed Ashaiman Tuesday dawn after a mob allegedly killed a soldier - Sherif Imoro at the weekend.

According to the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey, he has been informed that the soldiers took the people they arrested away.

"72 persons per the briefing given me by the Assembly member for the area" have been taken into custody by the soldiers.

"But as I speak to you the police commander just told me that 72 persons is an understatement, and that they are more than that, they [soldiers] are still arresting people when you go certain areas of the community," Mr Norgbey said in a radio interview on Citi FM, monitored by Graphic Online.

The MP said the soldiers after the dawn operation left the area, the soldiers had left but around midday, he received a phone call that another batch of military men had trooped into the Ashaiman constituency.

"Actually I spoke to the police commander and he told me on authority that there are military guys still in the constituency, all the over the constituency molesting innocent residents," he said.

He said the constituents were worried about the modus operandi of the military, "because you see armoured cars, you see military vehicles, you see helicopters, which means that this thing has been sanctioned by the higher authority and so everybody is handicapped in this matter.

"So we are just calling on them to call back their men to the barracks because these people that they are molesting, they are innocent people, I'm not sure they know anything about the killing of the military guy," the MP said.

The Ashaiman neighbourhood of Taifa was on Tuesday dawn forced into a self-imposed curfew after some soldiers reportedly stormed the area, following the alleged killing of a soldier over the weekend.

The soldier was reportedly killed by a mob in Ashaiman at the weekend.

Photos and video of the said soldier was shared on social media after the incident.

Some reports said he was attacked and stabbed by a gang. The soldier was reportedly on his way to his family home.

Soldiers reaction

On Tuesday dawn (March 7, 2023), some alleged soldiers numbering not less than 20 stormed the area.

They questioned anyone they came across and reportedly beat them up.

This forced people to lock themselves up in their homes, fearing they will be beaten up by the soldiers.

Some eyewitnesses have recounted their experience on social media.

Some said they saw the soldiers around 2am.

One person said he woke up around 4am to see that the area which was usually busy around that time with many shops opened was still very quiet.

His assumption was that it was as a result of the downpour but when he stepped out, he saw some soldiers on the stretch, there were no vehicles moving.

He saw soldiers approaching so he quickly rushed back into the house and locked the gate.

He said his brother later told him he woke up earlier and saw soldiers beating up some other people.

"My mother owns a shop by the roadside and should have been opened by now but as we speak, all shops are still closed," he said.

He said he saw that vehicles passing by were stopped, male passengers dragged out and beaten up, "you people kill our colleague", some of the soldiers reportedly said.

Another eyewitness said the said soldiers knocked on doors and anybody who came out allegedly received some slaps.

The Assemblyman for the area reportedly sent out a message advising residents to avoid certain routes.

He said he counted not less that 20 armed soldiers on foot, who were

What happened with mob killing of soldier?

The incident of the mob killing of the soldier received varied reactions at the weekend.

Some had alleged that the young soldier was on his way to his home when he was attacked by a gang.

Some had alleged that he was stabbed to death by the mob.

Photos from the incident scene showed the lifeless body of the victim, who was in what seemed to be a torn trousers in military camouflage colours.

His military cap and a white cloth had been used to cover his face. Also, his bag in military camouflage colours was lying close to the body.

The Ghana Police and the Ghana Armed Forces are yet to comment on the incident.

In 2017, a similar incident happened at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region where during a morning health walk, a military officer, Major Maxwell Mahama was killed by a mob.

Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh
China's national legislature starts 2nd plenary meeting of annual session

Xinhua) 15:05, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held a plenary meeting Tuesday to hear work reports of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as a plan on the reform of the State Council institutions.

Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the plenary meeting.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ashaiman: Slain soldier identified as 21-year-old Sherif Imoro

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Mar - 07 - 2023 , 17:04

The soldier who was allegedly killed by a mob at Ashaiman Taifa last Saturday, has been identified as 21-year-old Sherif Imoro.

He was a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band, a trumpeter and was stationed at Sunyani in the Bono Region.

He was in Accra for a military course and in the last three weeks, had been visiting the parents in their home at Ashaiman every Friday.

Last Friday would have been the third time he was going home and was reportedly confronted by a gang who killed him.

Sherif Imoro

Sherif Imoro was born at Ashaiman on June 3, 2001, according to his father - Awudu Imoro.

He enrolled in the Ghana Armed Forces in October 2021, was trained at Daboya and was posted to Sunyani after passing out.

According to his father, he had his primary and junior high school education at Ashaiman and senior high school at Akwamuman SHS and completed in 2017.

Slain soldier incident

Last Friday, he was on his way home and there was heavy traffic in the area, so he alighted at Ashaiman Taifa near the court building.

It was around that area that he met his death at the hands of his attackers.

Some reports suggest the gang mistook him to be a robber.

Father's narrative

Explaining the circumstances and giving a brief background about his son, the father, Awudu Imoro said in early January this year, Sherif phoned his mother and informed the family that he was going to be in Accra in the first week of February for a course.

Sherif according to the father told them that when he arrived in Accra, he will get the opportunity to visit them in the house on a Friday, and so in the last three weeks, he had been coming home every Friday.

More than 72 people have been arrested and taken into custody by the soldiers who stormed Ashaiman Tuesday dawn after a mob allegedly killed Sherif Imoro.

According to the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey, he has been informed that the soldiers took the people they arrested away.

"72 persons per the briefing given me by the Assembly member for the area" have been taken into custody by the soldiers.

"But as I speak to you the police commander just told me that 72 persons is an understatement, and that they are more than that, they [soldiers] are still arresting people when you go certain areas of the community," Mr Norgbey said in a radio interview on Citi FM, monitored by Graphic Online.

The MP said the soldiers after the dawn operation left the area, the soldiers had left but around midday, he received a phone call that another batch of military men had trooped into the Ashaiman constituency.

"Actually I spoke to the police commander and he told me on authority that there are military guys still in the constituency, all over the constituency molesting innocent residents," he said.

He said the constituents were worried about the modus operandi of the military, "because you see armoured cars, you see military vehicles, you see helicopters, which means that this thing has been sanctioned by the higher authority and so everybody is handicapped in this matter.

"So we are just calling on them to call back their men to the barracks because these people that they are molesting, they are innocent people, I'm not sure they know anything about the killing of the military guy," the MP said.

The Ashaiman neighbourhood of Taifa was on Tuesday dawn forced into a self-imposed curfew after some soldiers reportedly stormed the area, following the alleged killing of a soldier over the weekend.

The soldier was reportedly killed by a mob in Ashaiman at the weekend.

Photos and video of the said soldier was shared on social media after the incident.

Some reports said he was attacked and stabbed by a gang. The soldier was reportedly on his way to his family home.

Soldiers reaction

On Tuesday dawn (March 7, 2023), some alleged soldiers numbering not less than 20 stormed the area.

They questioned anyone they came across and reportedly beat them up.

This forced people to lock themselves up in their homes, fearing they will be beaten up by the soldiers.

Some eyewitnesses have recounted their experience on social media.

Some said they saw the soldiers around 2am.

One person said he woke up around 4am to see that the area which was usually busy around that time with many shops opened was still very quiet.

His assumption was that it was as a result of the downpour but when he stepped out, he saw some soldiers on the stretch, there were no vehicles moving.

He saw soldiers approaching so he quickly rushed back into the house and locked the gate.

He said his brother later told him he woke up earlier and saw soldiers beating up some other people.

"My mother owns a shop by the roadside and should have been opened by now but as we speak, all shops are still closed," he said.

He said he saw that vehicles passing by were stopped, male passengers dragged out and beaten up, "you people kill our colleague", some of the soldiers reportedly said.

Another eyewitness said the said soldiers knocked on doors and anybody who came out allegedly received some slaps.

The Assemblyman for the area reportedly sent out a message advising residents to avoid certain routes.

He said he counted not less that 20 armed soldiers on foot, who were

What happened with mob killing of soldier?

The incident of the mob killing of the soldier received varied reactions at the weekend.

Some had alleged that the young soldier was on his way to his home when he was attacked by a gang.

Some had alleged that he was stabbed to death by the mob.

Photos from the incident scene showed the lifeless body of the victim, who was in what seemed to be a torn trousers in military camouflage colours.

His military cap and a white cloth had been used to cover his face. Also, his bag in military camouflage colours was lying close to the body.

The Ghana Police and the Ghana Armed Forces are yet to comment on the incident.

In 2017, a similar incident happened at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region where during a morning health walk, a military officer, Major Maxwell Mahama was killed by a mob.

Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh
Ashaiman: Soldiers beat up civilians after alleged mob killing of soldier

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Mar - 07 - 2023 , 08:22

The Ashaiman neighbourhood of Taifa was on Tuesday dawn forced into a self-imposed curfew after some soldiers reportedly stormed the area, following the alleged killing of a soldier over the weekend.

The soldier was reportedly killed by a mob in Ashaiman at the weekend.

Photos and video of the said soldier was shared on social media after the incident.

Some reports said he was attacked and stabbed by a gang. The soldier was reportedly on his way to his family home.

Soldiers reaction

On Tuesday dawn (March 7, 2023), some alleged soldiers numbering not less than 20 stormed the area.

They questioned anyone they came across and reportedly beat them up.

This forced people to lock themselves up in their homes, fearing they will be beaten up by the soldiers.

Some eyewitnesses have recounted their experience on social media.

Some said they saw the soldiers around 2am.

One person said he woke up around 4am to see that the area which was usually busy around that time with many shops opened was still very quiet.

His assumption was that it was as a result of the downpour but when he stepped out, he saw some soldiers on the stretch, there were no vehicles moving.

He saw soldiers approaching so he quickly rushed back into the house and locked the gate.

He said his brother later told him he woke earlier and saw soldiers beating up some other people.

"My mother owns a shop by the roadside and should have been opened by now but as we speak, all shops are still closed," he said.

He said he saw that vehicles passing by were stopped, male passengers dragged out and beaten up, "you people kill our colleague", some of the soldiers reportedly said.

Another eyewitness said the said soldiers knocked on doors and anybody who came out allegedly received some slaps.

The Assemblyman for the area reportedly sent out a message advising residents to avoid certain routes.

He said he counted not less that 20 armed soldiers on foot, who were

What happened with mob killing of alleged soldier?

The incident of the mob killing of the soldier received varied reactions at the weekend.

Some had alleged that the young soldier was on his way to his home when he was attacked by a gang.

Some had alleged that he was stabbed to death by the mob.

Photos from the incident scene showed the lifeless body of the victim, who was in what seemed to be a torn trousers in military camouflage colours.

His military cap and a white cloth had been used to cover his face. Also, his bag in military camouflage colours was lying close to the body.

The Ghana Police and the Ghana Armed Forces are yet to comment on the incident.

In 2017, a similar incident happened at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region where during a morning health walk, a military officer, Major Maxwell Mahama was killed by a mob.

Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh
Ghana among the best in immunisation coverage despite vaccine shortages - MoH

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Mar - 07 - 2023 , 18:52

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has argued that despite the challenges in relation to the shortage of some childhood vaccines in Ghana, the countrys immunisation performance coverage remains among the best in the world.

It said the country recorded about 95 per cent coverage of childhood immunisation in 2021.

At a press briefing on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) to debunk allegations that due to lack of some vaccines, people are dying from the outbreak of measles in the Northern Region, the Ministry said "It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently."

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu who addressed the press briefing explained that "For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed there have been no deaths since 2003 though we have recorded cases annually."

Ghana has been experiencing shortages of some childhood vaccines, a situation that has attracted attention from different quarters, including Parliament and the Paediatric Society of Ghana.

The MoH said it is working with UNICEF to fast-track the processes to obtain some of the vaccines as early as possible.

Working with UNICEF, we are fast-tracking the processes and it is expected that the vaccines would be supplied in the next few weeks All things being equal, the minister said.

He added, the Ministry of Health will ensure that we stay on track with our immunisation record and quickly overcome this bottlenecks.

Ministry of Health Statement on vaccines
Development Bank moves to boost food security

Emmanuel Bonney Mar - 07 - 2023 , 06:39

The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has embarked on an initiative to boost the production of poultry and three cereals in order to promote food security in the country.

The cereals are rice, maize and soya bean.

Under the initiative, which takes off with workshops, the bank will provide support to players in the value chain to boost the production of the commodities locally.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the DBG, Michael Mensah Baah, said during a media interaction in Accra last Thursday that there would be four workshops to be held in Kumasi, Sunyani and Sogakope to engage key stakeholders.

The stakeholders include policymakers and producers of the commodities as well as others in the value chain.

Mr Baah said the interventions that would be put in place were aimed at supporting the growth of the national economy.

For instance, it could help in job creation and support exchange rate in terms of import substitution.

The Deputy CEO said with about $1 billion spent on rice imports and $600 million to import poultry annually, the country would save a lot through the intervention the bank was putting in place.

The workshop will be, among other things, to identify the potential challenges, areas of concern and find the solutions to them.

Mr Baah said the bank had already held a stakeholder engagement with a number of stakeholders, including the Ghana Stock Exchange, the MasterCard Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on how DBG could do things differently to support the growth of the value chain.

Responding to a question on how much the bank had pumped into the agriculture sector since its establishment, Mr Baah said the bank had access to almost $700 million, saying the funding gap that we see in agriculture is significant but we believe what we have is enough to start the journey of providing the funding that we need to support that sector.

He added that the strategy of the bank was to act as a catalyst, explaining that we dont aim to do everything on our own, but we aim to bring all the various stakeholders who are also interested.

Feeding

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the Deputy Chief Economist of DBG, Dr Godwin Kojo Ayenor, said with the kind of economy that was envisaged, the country needed to feed itself and export the remainder.

"The private sector needs to be competitive and the government needs to create the environment for that to happen, he said.

"There are spaces and gaps in this whole value chain and so we need to connect the demands with the supply and create the enabling environment for the private sector to invest," Dr Ayenor said.

The poultry industry is an important segment of the country's agriculture, with an increasing demand for its products.

It involves the rearing, breeding and marketing of domesticated birds such as chicken, turkeys, ducks and guinea fowls for their meat and eggs.

It is dominated by small-scale farmers who operate in rural areas and produce for local consumption.

Why the initiative

A few large-scale commercial producers operate on a larger scale and supply products to the local and international markets.

Rice is a major source of carbohydrate and essential nutrients for millions of Ghanaians.

Its production is concentrated in the northern parts of the country as well as the Volta Region, where the climatic conditions are favourable for rice cultivation.

The sector is dominated by small-scale farmers who cultivate on small plots of land using traditional methods.

Its production is mostly rain-fed, with irrigation accounting for only a small proportion.

Maize, also known as corn, is a staple food crop in the country and is used in a variety of food products, including maize flour, corn dough meal and cornflakes.

Its production is mainly carried out by smallholder farmers who cultivate the crop during the rainy season and in irrigated areas.

Protein

The soya bean sector is a growing agriculture industry in the country, providing a vital source of protein for human consumption and animal feed, especially the poultry sub-sector.

It is a versatile crop used for various purposes including oil, food production and animal feed.
Kwame Nkrumahs Motorway: Decaying reminder of Ghanas grand design

Kester Aburam Korankye Mar - 07 - 2023 , 18:51

As the sun peeks over the horizon, commuters traverse the 19-kilometre stretch of road that links the Harbour City of Tema to Accra, a reminder of the grand design of Kwame Nkrumah, the countrys first president, linking major towns and cities.

After 56 years of use, the Accra-Tema Motorway has outlived its purpose but remains the only one in the country that is serving the growing population of commuters and transit trucks transporting goods from the Tema port to countries like Burkina Faso and Mali.

Indeed, it is sad, and a testament of our collective failure as a country that the motorway has deteriorated beyond recognition, with deep potholes, some of which have been patched with bitumen, eroded with time and the elements, leaving the free lane in a dangerous state.

Death trap



Shoulders of the Accra-Tema Motorway worn out

While the Tema to Accra stretch remains the more deplorable, the portion around the Ashaiman tollbooth, where transit trucks park on the shoulders, sometimes for hours, has been destroyed by potholes, while erosion has also eaten into the edges.

The stretch just before the Abattoir Bridge, which was recently fixed, has developed potholes that force drivers to slow down, creating traffic congestion all the way to the Ashaiman under-bridge area during peak hours.

On four occasions, while monitoring activities on the motorway for a series of articles, I came across vehicular accidents, one of which resulted in injuries to the victims.

On my most recent tour of the motorway in November last year, a tanker truck driver, Raymond Nkrumah, who was seen stranded on the Tema-Accra side, with his vehicle in a ditch, said he had loaded the truck with diesel from the Bulk Oil and Storage Transportation (BOST) Limited in Tema and was headed for Kumasi when the truck hit a pothole, resulting in the removal of the tyre rod.

"I hit a pothole and my tyre rod came off, tossing the vehicle from one side to the other before entering the ditch," he said.

That experience, he said, was scary.

Stubborn nation



Exposed iron rods on a portions of the Accra-Tema Motorway



There is also growing indiscipline on the part of road users, with illegal activities such as road diversions, illegal U-turns, illegal bus stops, the dumping of refuse, farming alongside the stretch, among others, resulting in pedestrian knockdowns, car crashes and the deterioration of the motorway.

A policeman once told me how he was overwhelmed by the spate of indiscipline on the stretch and sometimes was forced to look the other way.

Our people are too stubborn, my brother, drivers behave like children that you have to babysit and like you can see, I am alone here, the policeman said, with stress and sweat on his face.

The absence of illumination on some sections of the road, especially after dark, is another cause for concern due to the fact that half of the street lamps are currently not working.

The lack of visibility creates a hazardous situation, exposing drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to potential risks and is a major issue that needs to be addressed to ensure the safety of everyone using the road.

Context

Since December 2020, I have focused on safety on the motorway and produced six stories to highlight some of the acts of indiscipline that portend danger for road users as well as the bad state of the road.

Three of the stories have since won local and international awards but the situations highlighted have only become worse. And that cuts deep into my heart.

As a journalist, my business is to shed light on situations that need to be addressed. Yet my personal philosophy on journalism is that stories are useless if they don't resolve issues.

The first story: "Motorway menace on increase", focused on some of the illegal activities perpetrated by both motorists and squatters along the motorway.

That was followed in January this year by another, "Indiscipline unabated: Accra-Tema Motorway without rules", which also threw light on the indiscipline on the motorway that was threatening the safety of road users.

Another story: The lights go dim: Accra-Tema Motorway in focus, was published on April 15, 2021, to highlight the concerns of motorists over visibility on the motorway and how challenging it was to drive on it at night.

After the publication, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alex Dodoo, told the Daily Graphic that the streetlights did not conform to the countrys standard for street lighting.

That revelation was then captured in a follow-up story with the headline: Motorway lights substandard  GSA, which was published on April 16, 2021.

Our attention then shifted to the state of the motorway with a story that was published on June 1, 2022, with the headline: A year on: Accra-Tema Motorway still in bad shape.

Each of the stories was published with a number of photos to signal the urgency to restore the motorway to improve safety.

For the revival of the motorway, the government holds the key to the reconstruction due to the financial commitment involved, and there should be no excuses.

But I am optimistic that the motorway can pay for its reconstruction when it is properly tolled and the revenue from it well managed.
Regions mark Independence Day

Daily Graphic Mar - 07 - 2023 , 08:49

The 66th Independence Anniversary was marked in the regions by parades with the security agencies and educational institutions.

Tema

From Tema in the Greater Accra Region, Benjamin Glover & Della Russel Ocloo report that 240 security personnel drawn from the Army, Navy, Police, Ghana National Fire Service, Immigration, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority participated in a colourful parade to mark the maiden edition of the Greater Accra regional celebrations of the Independence Day.

In addition, 870 students from 29 selected basic, junior and senior high schools across the 29 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the region also participated in the parade which also had in attendance chief executive officers of the 29 MMDAs, chiefs in the region, corporate institutions and residents in Tema and its environs.

The parade under the command of Lt Commander George Acquah of the Eastern Naval Command was characterised by cultural display by some school pupils, gymnastics display and presentation of awards to some schools.

In attendance were some Members of Parliament (MPs) in the region as well as a member of the Council of State, Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson.

The Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, who reviewed the parade, directed the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDMCEs) to enforce their sanitation bye-laws in line with the Accra Must Work Again agenda.

He said it was the responsibility of all residents to partner the assemblies in ensuring cleaner surroundings to safeguard health and safety.

"This singular action can contribute immensely to stop the perennial flooding which headlines our newspapers and displaces inhabitants of the region", Mr Quartey said.

The minister commended the relevant stakeholders in the region for their cooperation and participation in the various activities prior to the celebrations, challenging the MMDCEs to ensure sustainability of the activities.

From Bolgatanga, Gilbert Mawuli Agbey reports that smartly dressed school pupils from 37 basic and senior high schools took part in the anniversary parade held at the Ramsey Park.

Also in attendance were security personnel from the various security agencies made up of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Ghana Prisons Service and the Ghana Armed Forces.

The parade was interspersed with choreography and karate display by pupils of Great Victory Academy which received a huge applause from the gathering.

Also, some deserving teachers, schools and personalities were rewarded for their support towards the delivery of education in the Bolgatanga Municipality.

The Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Bright A. Lawoe, called on parents and guardians to support school managements and boards to deal with the growing indiscipline in schools.

The Deputy British High Commissioner to Ghana, Keith McMahon, in a remark commended Ghanaians for living in peace.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, called on Ghanaians to rise above political and sectarian differences and reason together in pursuit of the issues that concerned the region.

 Security personnel marching during the regional parade in Cape Coast

Kumasi

Nine contingents drawn from the security services, five cadet corps from the secondary and private schools and seven educational institutions drawn from the assemblies took part in the Ashanti Regional parade in Kumasi, reports Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor.

Also in attendance were members of civil organisations and the Kumasi Metro City Guards.

In his address, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, said even though the government had put in place measures to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people, the current Russian-Ukraine war coupled with COVID-19 had reversed the gains made.

That notwithstanding, he said the Ashanti Region had received its fair share of development including some legacy projects such as the Kumasi International Airport, Kejetia Market Redevelopment Project, hospitals and the residential complex for Appeal Court Judges.

Owing to the financial crisis facing the country, Mr Osei-Mensah appealed to MMDAs in the region to complete all ongoing projects before embarking on new ones.

Cape Coast

From Cape Coast, Shirley Asiedu-Addo & Francisca Eshun write that the parade at the Jubilee Park attracted a large crowd made up of residents, schoolchildren and the elderly who defied the scorching sun to be part of the event.

The parade was reviewed by the Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan.

Other dignitaries present included the Omanhen of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta; the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, Odeefuo Amoakwa Boadu, and the Municipal Chief Executive for Cape Coast, Ernest Arthur.

The parade was formed by contingents from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana National Fire Service.

Twenty schools and five cadet corps from the Mfanstipim School, Adisadel College, Wesley Girls High School, Efutu Senior High School and the Cape Coast Technical Institute formed the parade.

Mrs Assan urged the youth in particular to strive to share ideas, be innovative and be disciplined in their endeavours to achieve success.

She appealed to the gathering to make education a priority by taking advantage of the governments free Senior High School and Technical and Vocational education policy to send their children to school to acquire some knowledge and skills.
Speaker, predecessors commiserate with Prof. Oquaye

Nana Konadu Agyeman Politics Mar - 07 - 2023 , 07:56

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Monday led a delegation of former Speakers of Parliament and other dignitaries to commiserate with the immediate past Speaker, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, on the passing of his wife, Major Alberta Oquaye (retd), at his residence at Haatso, Accra.

Mr Bagbin was accompanied by former Speakers, Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo and Edward Doe Adjaho.

Other dignitaries were the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the Clerk-to-Parliament, Cyril Nsiah, and the Head of Speakers Office, Richard Acheampong.

Also at the event were a constitutional expert and statesman, Prof. Nana S. K. B. Asante, and the Chief Executive of the Ga East Municipal Assembly, Elizabeth Kaakie Mann.

Unparalleled love

Mr Bagbin said it was gratifying that Prof. Oquaye and his family had the opportunity to stay by the side of his wife and did everything they could, both home and abroad, to give her the best medical care.

If at this time God has decided to call back his beloved daughter, we can only say thanks be to God, he said.

Mr Bagbin commended his immediate past predecessor for standing beside his dear wife during trying times, saying truly, I have learnt a lot from the show of unparalleled love to a dear one.

Support of Parliament

He touted how he, as Deputy Speaker, learned so much under the feet of Prof. Oquaye from 2017 to 2020, especially in how to manage the House.

Your record and legacy are there for all to see, he said to his predecessor, and expressed the support of the entire Parliament and other former Speakers towards a befitting resting place to our dear one".

We want to assure you that the whole Parliament will be with you, and we will together not mourn but celebrate the life of our dear one, he said.

Prof. Oquaye said it had never happened in the history of Ghana that a former Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Bamford-Addo, would work with two Deputy Speakers for the first Deputy Speaker to succeed her and thereafter a Second Deputy Speaker to follow.

So, we are really grateful as a family on your hearing of this matter and coming, he said, recalling how Speaker Bagbin had very good relations with his wife.

Prof. Oquaye said his late wife also had good relations with former Speakers Mrs Bamford-Addo and Mr Adjaho.

Who was Major Oquaye?

Major Mrs Oquaye (retd) passed away soundly on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at her residence at Haatso, Accra.

Her personal physician, Prof. Oquaye and other close family members were present when she passed on. She was 88 years old.

She enrolled in the Ghana Army as a nurse (GH 767) after training in the UK as a nurse/midwife, and training at the Ghana Military Academy.

Her considerable experience from England impacted positively on her performance, and she served the nation in Kumasi, Sunyani, Tamale and Accra.

She worked in the theatre of the 37 Military Hospital, in the midwifery department and ended her career as the in-charge of the Special Officers Ward where every Head of State, at any given time, has a reserved suite.

On August 2, 2013, at a special military ceremony, she was given The Outstanding Military Nightingale Award for her services to the nation and the military.

On retirement, Major Oquaye (retd) served in India as the spouse of then High Commissioner of Ghana.

When they returned home, the husband was appointed Minister of State.

In her last four years in the public light, she was the versatile wife of the Speaker for the Seventh Parliament.

She was the escort of the present Queen Consort of England from Kotoka Airport when she visited Ghana with the present King Charles III in November 2018.
Military brutalities at Ashaiman; sign of failed state - Economic Fighters League

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics Mar - 07 - 2023 , 18:24

The Economic Fighters League has condemned the alleged military brutalities against some residents of Ashaiman on Tuesday dawn [March 7, 2023].

They have consequently questioned the authority that deployed the military to Ashaiman to undertake the brutalities.

In a statement today, the Economic Fighters League said while they join the military in demanding justice for one of their colleagues who was brutally slain at Ashaiman, they condemn the dastardly manner in which the military went in to Ashaiman to look for the killers of their colleague.

A member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band Sherif Imoro, 21, a trumpeter who was stationed at Sunyani in the Bono Region was last Saturday killed at Ashaiman.

He was in Accra for a military course and in the last three weeks, had been visiting the parents in their home at Ashaiman every Friday.

It was during one of his visits that he was reportedly confronted by a gang who killed him.

He enrolled in the Ghana Armed Forces in October 2021, was trained at Daboya and was posted to Sunyani after passing out.

Some military men on Tuesday dawn stormed Ashaiman to look for the killers of the soldiers and residents were subjected to beatings.

More than 70 people, mainly men, have so far been arrested by the military to assist with investigations.

Videos circulating on social media concerning how the military that went to the Ashaiman town subjected the residents to brutalities have been widely condemned by the public, calling for justice for those who were brutalized.

Reacting to the incident, the Economic Fighters League, said This behaviour must be condemned and resisted everywhere it is seen.

The group said the action of the military depicts a country that is under a military rule and not a democracy where rule of law works, quizzing that Are we still under martial law or a state of emergency? Is this not the same way soldiers entered parliament?

Below is a copy of the statement

PRESS RELEASE_7 March 2023
Mercedes-Benz customers in Germany are now able to authenticate payments via an in-car fingerprint sensor. With the new digital payment service Mercedes pay+, Mercedes-Benz introduces native in-car payments. With native in-car payments, the vehicle itself now enables biometric two-factor authentication in conjunction with the fingerprint sensor. It is no longer necessary to type in a PIN on the MBUX infotainment system or to use an additional mobile device such as a smartphone to verify a payment in the car. Instead, the car itself turns into a payment device.

The first Mercedes-Benz models available with fingerprint sensors are the EQS and EQE series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and C-Class, and the new GLC.





Mercedes-Benz is the first car manufacturer worldwide to integrate Visas Delegated Authentication and Cloud Token Framework technology to enable native in-car payments. Visa Cloud Tokens provide an additional layer of security as they help to protect and encrypt sensitive payment information by converting data and storing it securely.

Customers can use native in-car payment to pay for digital services that allow a more convenient and entertaining driving experience. They can activate and subscribe to these digital services from the cars MBUX infotainment system and authorise the payment transaction with their fingerprint. Examples of these digital services are connectivity apps that control comfort functions of the car, such as pre-air conditioning of the vehicle via a mobile device. Upgrades to the vehicle software can easily be activated and paid for via fingerprint, like, for example, advanced navigation services that provide information on the weather or available parking spaces at customers destination.

In addition, the Mercedes me Store offers the ability to unlock pre-installed hardware components easily on-demand by fingerprint in the car. For example, a vehicle owner can subscribe to the Remote Parking Assist, a service to park the vehicle remotely with a smartphone, or activate and pay for the Adaptive Highbeam Assist or the Rear Axle Steering with larger steering angle with only one touch.

The portfolio of digital services and on-demand features in the Mercedes me Store is constantly expanding, offering customers the opportunity to personalize their vehicles further even after the purchase. This is of interest, for example, to the second or third owners of a vehicle as it gives them the opportunity to adapt pre-owned vehicles to personal needs and desires.

Cardholders with an eligible Visa credit or debit card can use native in-car paymentby linking their card with their Mercedes me user account and activating Mercedes pay+ in the vehicle via MBUX. Subsequently, more card systems will be added and enabled for Mercedes pay+. Mercedes-Benz plans to launch Mercedes pay+ in other European markets in 2023.

The option of native in-car payments will be expanded to other car-related services, such as fueling. Mercedes-Benz drivers in Germany and other markets can already pay for fueling directly from the car via the Mercedes me app and a smartphone or via the MBUX infotainment system using a PIN. The introduction of native in-car payments and the easy payment authorisation by fingerprint in the car will make this process more seamless and convenient later this year.

Mercedes-Benz has already offered payment for charging of electric vehicles for years via the Mercedes me connect service Mercedes me Charge. At the charging station, authentication takes place via the display in the MBUX multimedia system, the Mercedes me App, the Mercedes me Charge card or directly via Plug & Charge.

In future Mercedes-Benz Leasing Deutschland will enable money transfers in the Mercedes-Benz ecosystem for the German market as a licensed entity, including payments made in the car.
These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.
Samsung is developing its own high-end CPU cores again, wants to use them by 2027

According to a new rumor out of its home of South Korea, Samsung has assembled an internal team to work on developing its own custom, bespoke CPU cores. These will be ARM-based initially, and will be featured in a Galaxy-branded chipset in 2025.

The more intriguing part of the report implies that starting in 2027, Samsung will have developed its own CPU cores that don't use ARM designs. These will supposedly show up in products made by Samsung Electronics, such as high-end smartphones.

The logic here is obviously controlling as much of the product as possible, 'vertical integration' and all that. The weirdness comes from the fact that Samsung's actually tried this before, with a dedicated team in Austin, Texas.

It was called Project Mongoose, since a mongoose is a snake-eating mammal and a krait is a kind of viper, as it turns out, and Qualcomm's cores are branded Krait - nice little bit of trivia for you right there. And while the Mongoose cores did perform well, they had problems with power efficiency and heat generation, and thus the entire project was killed in 2019.

You know how the saying goes: if first you don't succeed... Samsung seems intent on trying again, despite its recent all-in collaboration with Qualcomm for the Galaxy S23 series. It looks like the company still feels that using its own CPU cores will bring great improvements to the optimization of its smartphones, whatever that means.

Going ARM-less (ARM-free?) would be quite a huge step though, and so we're leaning more towards assuming that the report might have gotten this fact wrong. Samsung can still use heavily customized ARM designs, just like Qualcomm does, it doesn't need to fully develop CPU cores on its own in order to succeed at competing with Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Either way, it seems like the Galaxy S family exclusively using Qualcomm SoCs is one of those 'enjoy it while it lasts' situations that shouldn't be taken for granted until the end of time.

Source
Yesterday a report from South Korea claimed Samsung is restarting its own high-end CPU core development unit and will have custom processor cores by 2027. However, now company representatives reached out to us to refute that report.

Here is the full quote:

A recent media report that Samsung has established an internal team dedicated to CPU core development is not true. Contrary to the news, we have long had multiple internal teams responsible for CPU development and optimization while constantly recruiting global talents from relevant fields.

The statement also indicated that Samsung will keep working with Arm to use its stock CPU cores in future smartphones, as the British semiconductor company recently disallowed manufacturers to make changes to core designs.

The limitation will apply to all chips used by Samsung for its Galaxy smartphones - in-house Exynos, Qualcomm's Snapdragon or Dimensity and Helio by Mediatek.
The author is the resident coordinator for United Nations in Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati. As the designated representative of the UN Secretary-General in Micronesia, the UN resident coordinator guides UNs engagement in development, humanitarian and peacebuilding activities in five Micronesian countries.
Dr. Ramel Carlos, a board-certified neurologist with expertise on Alzheimers disease and related dementias, will be offering two free virtual presentations this month on tips to keep the brain healthy.

Carlos is based at the Neurology Clinic in Tamuning. His presentation is part of ongoing support for family caregivers of persons with dementia by the Guam/Micronesia Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program of the University of Guam School of Health.

The sessions will take place on Zoom on these days:

68 p.m. March 15

3-5 p.m. March 18

Carlos will answer questions from the group be available after his presentations to answer questions from the group participants.

Other March training

There are other virtual training sessions on caring for a family member with dementia, all part of CARES Dementia Care for Families.

CARES has four modules, and those who complete all will receive a certificate of completion

Understanding Memory Loss Living with Dementia Using the CARES Approach Keys to Success with CARES

Following are the modules offered this month:

Module 3: Using the CARES Approach

68 p.m. March 8

10 a.m.-noon March 11

Module 4: Keys to Success with CARES

68 p.m. March 22

10 a.m.-noon March 25

You can attend the Wednesday or Saturday sessions using the following Zoom links:

For more information on the program, contact Iain Twaddle or Nikolas Gutierrez with the Guam/Micronesia Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program's Telehealth Geriatric Support Services at 671-735-2883 or gwep.tgss@triton.uog.edu.
Legislation meant to increase transparency and oversight of the administrations proposed multi-agency medical campus was passed by lawmakers during a Tuesday evening vote.

Also passing was a bill meant to get the island ahead of a possible fentanyl epidemic.

Senators passed Bill 12, which would require legislative approval before GovGuam can enter into a lease with the Navy for the 102-acre property at Eagles Field in Mangilao that is being eyed for the medical campus. The Legislature would have to approve all leases from the federal government and foreign governments moving forward.

Lawmakers voted unanimously to pass the bill, giving it enough votes to overcome any potential veto from Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.

Also passing was companion measure Bill 13, to require the committee responsible for planning the campus to comply with the Open Government Law. That means notices will have to be published a week in advance of meetings, which will also have to be livestreamed and open to the public.

Bill 13 received unanimous support.

Also passing unanimously was Bill 10, which would allow opiate overdose-stopping medication like Naloxone to be distributed without a prescription. Doctors and pharmacists will be able to distribute such medication to community groups and residents who are at risk of overdose. Anyone who distributes the medication will be granted civil and criminal immunity, unless they engage in negligence or intentional misconduct.

All three measures were introduced by Speaker Therese Terlaje.

More transparency

Lawmakers spoke about the need for Bill 13 and public awareness about plans for the new medical campus during debate on Tuesday.

The project is currently estimated to cost $1 billion with 1.48 million already invested by the (Guam Economic Development Authority) into a consultant, the speaker said.

While GEDA, which is taking the lead on the project, recently launched an informational website, there are only very general updates about action taken and consultant meetings held between November 2021 and August 2022, Terlaje said. Little information was provided after repeated FOIA requests from the public, the Legislature and the media, she said.

GEDA Administrator Melanie Mendiola pushed back against claims that there was a lack of transparency during a public hearing for Bill 13.

The bill would bring the public along in the planning process, according to Terlaje, so that in the end, when bearing the burden of the costs, the people of Guam are satisfied with the product and the value that they received.

Sen. Tom Fisher said he saw no rational basis for any lawmaker to oppose the bill, It just opens the window so people can see what is going on with an expenditure of a billion dollars.

Sens. Joanne Brown and Chris Barnett both criticized a perceived lack of transparency by the Leon Guerrero administration. Barnett said the medical campus plans were about as transparent as soy sauce finadenne, and noted that lawmakers have passed a total of 17 measures meant to force the administration to report its activity in recent years.

Members of the planning committee would have to make their finances public, with Sen. Will Parkinson successfully amending the bill to require financial disclosure reports.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is holding a hiring fair from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 15 at the University of Guam, according to a release from FEMA.

The agency is looking to fill reserve logistics specialist positions with a specific set of qualifications and skills such as assisting with accountable property in large volumes and high-value supplies, equipment and commodities, and the ability to use computer programs, databases, spreadsheets, and devices to record, track and report data.

Some requirements and considerations to note include the availability to deploy on 24-hour notice. Also, it is an on-call position during declared disasters, not a full-time job. Standard deployment lengths are 30 to 90-plus days, and can be deployed anywhere in the U.S. and the territories.

FEMA Reservist fall under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

Interested applicants can submit their resume in advance to fema-logisticscadre-recruitment@fema.dhs.gov, or bring a resume to the hiring fair on March 15 at the Jesus & Eugenia Leon Guerrero School of Business and Public Administration building at UOG.

Interviews may be conducted on site or may be asked to participate in a later interview.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age, and possess a high school diploma or GED. Individuals are required to pass a background check and credit check. Direct deposit/electronic funds transfer for salary payment is a required participation.

Resume writing

FEMA is also hosting a Federal Resume Writing webinar from 9-10:30 a.m. on March 9. Those interested can register for free at: fema.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_kv4Q0mDiTfKLhbyLxmWOqg.
Guam National Guard troops were activated by the Office of the Governor to help renovate an apartment building that will be used as a homeless shelter by the government of Guam.

A building on Bradley Street in Anigua bought by GovGuam in 2022 will be the site of the new shelter.

A total of 17 units will be available to temporarily shelter homeless families and individuals while they transition into more permanent housing. The project is financed with $3 million from the Investment Para Hamyo program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

At least 13 National Guard members will be put on territorial active duty to support the Office of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention, the lead government agency for the project, according to Capt. Mark Scott Guard public affairs officer.

This shelter is imperative to stabilize those in need. This will expedite the renovation so that we can begin operating sooner rather than later and this is also a great way for our Guard members to hone their skills and organizational procedures, said Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio.

No Guard members are yet working at the site because the scope of construction is in the planning stages.

Representatives from the Guam Army National Guards 1224th Engineer Support Company, the Guam Air National Guards 254th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers and the Department of Military Affairs will be working together, said Scott.

He said their work will be in phases with demolition-type work, followed by renovations.

As the Department of Public Works is currently performing a multitude of other projects around the island, this was an opportunity to have our local servicemembers aid our community and build capacity for housing on this government property, said Rob San Agustin, director of the Office of Homelessness Assistance and Poverty Prevention.
A state of emergency should be declared for the Guam Department of Education, according to one current and one former lawmaker.

On Tuesday, Republican Sen. Jesse Lujan emailed Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero asking that she make a declaration of emergency for Guam DOE. The request follows a Monday column in Pacific Daily News from former Sen. Aline Yamashita, who made the case that an emergency situation existed for local schools.

Guam DOE has come under fire from lawmakers in recent months for unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and acting superintendent of education Judith Won Pat is looking to triage the situation.

It has become apparent that so many of our public schools are in a terrible state of disrepair with chronic issues creating real-life hazards for our children on a daily basis. Basic repairs are so backlogged that the list of work has become unmanageable, Lujan wrote in his Tuesday letter to the governor, adding that maintenance is often delayed for months.

A regulation that allows sanitary violations for schools to go unenforced until 2024 was being abused, according to Lujan.

I believe if you marshal the resources and flexibility available under a state of emergency declaration, you can ensure the necessary resources are quickly activated and immediate progress can take place. Our children deserve nothing less, he stated.

Yamashita, meanwhile proposed that an emergency act for public schools should be implemented by the Legislature, and that the situation be handled like a super typhoon.

Gov. Leon Guerrero is still reviewing this request which, just came in today, Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin, said in a statement to the newspaper. It remains unclear, however, what exactly Sen. Lujan is hoping an emergency declaration will accomplish.

Both Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio were in regular communication with Guam DOE leadership about a whole of government response, she said.

Guam DOE also had $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to be used for school repairs, she added.

The school systems biggest challenge, however, was GovGuams procurement process, Paco-San Agustin said.

An emergency declaration will not address their procurement issues, she added.

Legislation to speed up Guam DOEs spending of the time-sensitive ARP money was introduced last month.
Indiana Jones was racing through a dark and creepy cave filled with spiders and other insects, working to avoid capture by the enemy. With skeletons in crevices  and spikes protruding from the walls, floors and ceiling. Things were looking hopeless for Mr. Jones as the music intensified and  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia, issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Perquimans and Pasquotank Counties of northeastern North Carolina.

This was probably my earliest recollection of thinking anything of the National Weather Service. I was young, not even 10, and was immediately perplexed by: the ominous red bar of warning on the TV screen; the beep sounds that rang over the movie; and the lightning and thunder growing in intensity in the night sky outside.

I was scared of the storm outside yet intrigued. I wanted it to stop, but part of me wanted it to get worse. I was scared yet fascinated with the weather outside, my attention drawn away from Indiana Jones. I also wondered who, or what, the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia, was.

I decided on a college degree in meteorology and pursued a career in weather, I learned much about the U.S. National Weather Service, its role in protecting life and property, and forecasting weather.

However, up until the point that I came to Guam with the NWS, I had never met an NWS forecaster nor stepped foot in one of its field offices.

For me, the NWS, its severe weather crawlers on TV and the Temple of Doom will be forever linked together in my memory. (My brother and I still have the 1970s-era Sears Roebuck plaid furniture set we were sitting on that night and its now here on Guam!)

But that doesnt have to be the case for you here on Guam.

The NWS Guam office works to immerse itself in the community through our communications and outreach efforts. Weve participated in many classroom visits, school career days and science fair events, and we host many visits to the forecast office in Tiyan throughout the year.

Since coming to Guam, its been my personal mission to get the NWS as much into the community as possible so that the community can know us, rely on us and hopefully be a part of us.

We always seek to inspire the islands youths to consider education and careers in science, math, technology, electronics, meteorology and more. We cant do that from within our walls; therefore, we have to go into the community.

Later this month, we will open our doors to the island with our first communitywide open house. This event will take place on March 23 in commemoration of World Meteorological Day. Ill write more about World Meteorological Day in two weeks.

Our staff will provide guided tours where youll be able to meet many of our staff, learn about the NWS operations and its mission.

Weve also invited more than a dozen of our core partner agencies to join us with booths and static displays to demonstrate their role in the weather, climate, environment and emergency management process.

We have also opened the event to island schools for field trips, with several hundred students already expected to attend.

If you do not have plans that day, we hope you will visit us for the occasion to learn more about the NWS, our mission in the region and the mission of our many partner agencies on Guam.

Next time a weather alert interrupts your Temple of Doom, or whatever youre watching, youll be able to say, Hey, I know those people!
Our View: Lets show appreciation to all the women in our lives Women's Day
Published on 2023/03/06 | Source

Actors Cho Jin-woong, Lee Sung-min, and Kim Mu-yeol showed off their charisma through a pictorial.

Advertisement

The movie "The Devil's Deal" is a crime drama in Busan in 1992, in which Hae-woong, a late lawmaker candidate, Seon-tae, a hidden influential figure in the political arena, and Pil-do, an activist gangster, have a fierce battle to turn the tables with secret documents that will shake Korea.

The released pictorial offers a glimpse of Cho Jin-woong, Lee Sung-min and Kim Mu-yeol's heavy presence, as well as the enthusiastic synergy that the three actors will show in "The Devil's Deal".

First of all, Cho Jin-woong, who shows deep masculinity with strong eyes, Lee Sung-min, who overwhelms the atmosphere with sharp charisma, and Kim Mu-yeol, who exudes perfect suit fit and raw rough charm, instantly overwhelms the eyes by emitting their own aura with only eyes and expressions.

Cho Jin-woong, Lee Sung-min, and Kim Mu-yeol's "The Devil's Deal", raising expectations for the perfect harmony of the three actors, will be released at the theater on March 1st.
Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news

Login Sign Up

 New Ad-free Subscriber Login

Email

Password

Password Username Subscribe to our daily NewsLetter Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password or receive our NewsLetter.

Stay logged in

Lost password

Contact
Published on 2023/03/06 | Source

Actor Park Sang-nam released a proof shot on the 1st to encourage viewers to watch the cable channel tvN Wednesday-Thursday drama "The Heavenly Idol".

Advertisement

"The Heavenly Idol" is based on a popular web novel of the same name. it's a fantasy-romance drama about an unknown idol, Woo Yeon-woo, whose body was possessed by Lembrary, the god of this world.

Park Sang-nam plays Sa Gam-jae, a so-called 'cold handsome man' with white skin, red lips, and cold impression in the drama. He disappears during work and pops out of unexpected places, and always wears a black suit and carries a rope. Park Sang-nam, appears in the fourth episode, interviewing for the spot of Wild Animal road manager, showing off his warm visuals even in a short amount of time.

In the photo released on the same day, Park Sang-nam is showing an attractive smile with the script of "The Heavenly Idol". Daily visuals that are quite different from the characters in the play steal the attention. Expectations are also rising for Park Sang-nam's performance as Sa Gam-jae in "The Heavenly Idol".
The Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki will be reopening its doors on April 14, 2023, with its latest collection exhibition, A Question of Time. The exhibition aims to offer a fresh perspective on the Finnish National Gallery's collection, featuring rarely exhibited works alongside modern and contemporary art. The four themes of the exhibition, which run through different eras, are: The Age of Nature, Images of a People, Modern Life, and Art and Power.

Through these themes, visitors will be encouraged to engage in a joint discussion on current issues such as the climate crisis, identity, and equality.

The museum's director, Marja Sakari, emphasizes that the collection exhibition aims to challenge the traditional, chronological approach to the collection and welcomes diverse interpretations of the works. In preparation for the exhibition, the museum organized public discussions to explore the Finnish National Gallery's art collection from the perspectives of the climate crisis, identity, and equality.

The exhibition's opening day will be preceded by a special preview for secondary school students, who are invited to explore the exhibition, meet professionals working at the museum, and get a behind-the-scenes look at museum operations.

The Ateneum Art Museum is committed to transparency in its curatorial policy and invites debate on its planning. A Question of Time promises to offer visitors a unique opportunity to explore art and history, from the 18th century to the present day, and its relationship to contemporary issues.

HT
Finnish Customs and the Police in Southwestern Finland have uncovered a marijuana smuggling operation that was primarily run from abroad. The organisation used commercial traffic for smuggling and is suspected of having imported over 230 kilograms of marijuana to Finland. The street value of the narcotics that have ended up in Turku and the Uuusimaa region is close to 4 million euros.

The investigation that started in late summer 2022 led to the seizure of almost 40 kilograms of marijuana and about 95,000 euros in cash. The cash is believed to be partially the proceeds of crime from marijuana already in circulation and partly for payment for a new imported batch. The organisation is suspected of having brought in over 20 batches of marijuana since the end of 2021.

According to Customs' Investigator in charge, Tero Virtanen, the marijuana was imported from Spain and Italy to Finland in commercial transport structures, and express courier shipments were used in the importation. He also mentioned that the organisation's activities were managed from Spain and individuals contacted each other through various instant messaging services.

The narcotics were first imported to the Helsinki region, where they were stored in private dwellings and hired storage facilities acquired specifically for this purpose. The marijuana was then transported to other regions like Turku and the Uusimaa area, where it was distributed onward.

Over 15 individuals are suspected of having participated in the organisation's activities, with several individuals still being detained. Each member had a designated role in the operation. The proceeds from selling the marijuana were mainly sent abroad. The money was taken out of Finland by money couriers hired for this purpose, and through money transfers made by private individuals.

The preliminary investigation has concluded, and the case has been forwarded to the Prosecution District of Southern Finland for consideration of charges. The successful operation has dealt a significant blow to the organised crime group and will undoubtedly deter others from engaging in similar illegal activities.

This operation highlights the importance of collaboration between law enforcement agencies and Customs in combating drug trafficking and other organised crime. It also emphasises the critical role that technology plays in modern-day criminal activities and the need for law enforcement to stay ahead of criminals in this regard.

It is crucial to continue to support and strengthen law enforcement agencies' efforts in cracking down on drug trafficking and other organised crimes. Such activities not only pose a significant threat to public health and safety but also fuel the growth of illegal and dangerous drug markets.

HT
The Federation of Finnish Enterprises has proposed significant solutions to promote work-based immigration and integration. With a shortage of skilled workers in many businesses, the Federation suggests that the flexibility of residence permits be significantly increased, and that basic services be offered more in English. According to Aicha Manai, the network manager of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, "There is intense global competition for skilled workers."

Manai also added that Finland is an excellent choice both as a place to work and to study, with high-quality education and a safe living environment. However, the country has not been successful in attracting enough foreign workers and students. The Federation of Finnish Enterprises has come up with several proposals to address this issue, including prioritizing the integration of family members of skilled workers, supporting the employment of spouses, and establishing a quick and flexible residence permit system, as well as comprehensive English-language early childhood education and study opportunities.

The Federation of Finnish Enterprises has also proposed ten solutions to address the shortage of skilled workers in the country. The first suggestion is to partially refund tuition fees for international students who remain in Finland to work, and to guide degree structures towards developing domestic language skills. The second proposal is to automatically grant permanent residence permits to every foreign graduate from a Finnish university.

Other proposals include enhancing the importance of employment in the financing of educational institutions, securing continuous funding for Talent Boost, a program that promotes the attraction of international talents, and ensuring that education and labor policies meet the needs of research and development activities by increasing dialogue and concrete action between companies and educational institutions.

The Federation of Finnish Enterprises also suggests evaluating the relevance of the criteria for an entrepreneur's residence permit and increasing understanding of entrepreneurship among licensing authorities. Additionally, they propose a revamp of the system of residence permits for foreign workers to better meet their needs, shifting the emphasis of foreign control from pre-control to post-control. The Federation of Finnish Enterprises also recommends increasing the availability of basic services in English, such as early childhood education and primary education, as well as electronic government services.

Lastly, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises suggests launching a vocational training system within higher education institutions to promote the development of skills among those already in the workforce and allowing people to complete partial qualifications flexibly while working or starting a business.

In summary, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises' proposals to address the shortage of skilled workers in the country include increasing the flexibility of residence permits, providing more basic services in English, and prioritizing the integration of skilled workers' family members. The Federation has also put forward ten solutions, including enhancing the importance of employment in financing educational institutions, automatic granting of permanent residence permits, and increasing the availability of basic services in English. These proposals aim to promote work-based immigration and integration and to ensure that Finland can attract and retain skilled workers from around the world.

HT
LOCAL BRIEFS: HSO performs (and sells art); yoga's back; so is Flat Rock genealogy club

Three paintings by Laurie Yeates Adams  The Conductor, Classical Guitar and The Violinist  works will be on display and for sale outside the concert hall before, during and after Hendersonville Symphony Orchestras March 18 concert at BRCC.

HSO to perform Friendship on March 18 with guest violinist

The Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra will perform Friendship, a masterworks concert featuring special guest David Southorn, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 18, at Blue Ridge Conference Center at BRCC.

Southorn, concertmaster of the Delaware and New Haven symphonies and associate concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony, will perform Mendelssohns Violin Concerto in e minor. The performance will also feature Elgars Enigma Variations, a piece he wrote for closest friends in which he set each person to music. The concert is sponsored by Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Village.

Southorn received a bachelor of music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a master of music and artist diploma from Yale University and a professional studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music.

In addition, Art on 7th Gallery is presenting for sale three unique one-of-a-kind oil paintings by local artist Laurie Yeates Adams during the symphonys March concert. The three works include The Conductor, Classical Guitar and The Violinist. The works will be on display and for sale outside the concert hall before, during and after the performance. The gallery has graciously agreed to donate 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of each piece to the HSO Youth Scholarship Fund.

Finally, on March 27 and 28 the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra will provide live symphonic performances for third and sixth grade students in the county. The concerts serve to enrich and enhance the classroom curriculum, getting students up close and personal with the musicians and the instruments of the orchestra, and teaching them about composers and music in an engaging and memorable way. In addition to serving students in Henderson County public schools, the performances are also open to third and sixth grade students attending county charter schools and private schools as well as home-school students.

For more information or to purchase concert tickets, visit hendersonvillesyphony.org, or call the HSO office at 828-697-5884.

Free yoga returns to Park at Flat Rock

The Flat Rock Park Foundation announced the return of Pardee in the Park: Yoga, a series of free yoga classes, Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. Participants of all levels are welcome to attend and experience the many benefits of yoga in a beautiful outdoor setting.

All yoga classes are free thanks to an ongoing partnership of the Park Foundation, UNC Pardee Healthcare and YAM Hendersonville. Classes will be held from April 1 through October.



We are thrilled to offer this amazing opportunity for community members to come together and connect with nature, while also improving their physical and mental well-being, said Tracey Daniels, development and programming director for the park. The park provides the perfect backdrop for a yoga session, and we encourage everyone to join us. Depending on the selected class, participants can either transition from their busy day to their evening or start a Saturday on a peaceful note.



The classes are led by YAMs experienced and certified yoga instructors who will guide participants through a series of poses and breathing exercises designed to improve flexibility, balance and relaxation. Participants are asked to bring their own mats.

Yoga has been shown to have numerous physical and mental health benefits, and we believe continuing to offer these classes for free will make them accessible to everyone in the community, Daniels said.



The classes are open to participants of all ages and skill levels. No prior yoga experience is necessary. Participants are asked to arrive at 5-10 minutes before the class starts to allow time for check-in and setup. The classes are typically held in the grassy areas behind the welcome center (just look for the colorful mats and other yoga participants). Weather updates are announced on the parks Facebook page.

Flat Rock Genealogy Society resumes meetings

The Genealogy Society at Flat Rock announced last week that it is resuming regular meetings. Prior to Covid, the society met regularly to share information and knowledge of genealogy/family history research. Meetings are open to all, whether a beginner, professional or just curious. The first meeting of 2023 will be 1:30 p.m. Monday, March 13, at Flat Rock Village Hall. Other meetings are 10 a.m. April 10, 1:30 p.m. May 8, 10 a.m. Sept. 11, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 9, and 10 a.m. Nov. 13. All meetings are held Flat Rock Village Hall. For more information, contact Nancy Benyon at snmma@aol.com.

New Works Series on March 25 features 'Bridgeport-1989'

Hendersonville Theatre resumes its New Works Series (formerly called Staged Reading Series) at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Showcasing the work of area playwrights and performed by local actors, the New Works Series is a public reading of a new play in development. The New Works Series offers exciting script-in-hand readings of new plays by emerging local playwrights. The readings are followed by a talk-back with the playwright and actors to provide feedback to the playwright. A short discussion will follow each reading to provide feedback to the playwright about their script.

The reading will be held at Hendersonville Theatre, 229 S. Washington St. Hendersonville Theatre is committed to exploring and developing new work for American theater, supporting local playwrights with their creative process from concept to production.

Bridgeport-1989 by Bret Murphy will be read on March 25. In the play, Anna Person is 23 and works at Shop-N-Save to support herself and her needy mother. Her life begins to change dramatically after she has a near-death experience.

Bret Murphy lives in Burnsville. Her play In the Middle of Nowhere is currently being produced at the Parkway Parkhouse in Burnsville. It was also produced at The Magnetic Theatre in Asheville in 2021 and developed at the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, in 2020.

Playwrights who would like to submit work for consideration for the New Works Series may follow the submission guidelines posted at www.HVLtheatre.org/about-us and email questions to playsubmissions@HVLtheatre.org.

Admission is free; donations are welcome to support the theater. For tickets or more information call 828-692-1082 or visit HVLTheatre.org.
TCM sees rising popularity among young people

Xinhua) 15:07, March 07, 2023

CHANGSHA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- After testing negative for COVID-19, a 30-year-old resident of Beijing continued to experience symptoms including fatigue, night sweats and chest tightness.

As Western medicine failed to produce satisfactory results, she turned to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and visited Guang'anmen Hospital, which is under the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

Thanks to TCM treatment, her symptoms gradually subsided after a week of taking the medicines. "It is impressive how one prescription of traditional Chinese medicine can effectively target various symptoms throughout the body," said the patient who asked to be identified as Mrs Qin.

Like Qin, Yao Shubin, 29, from central China's Changsha, suffered from a persistent cough even after the test result for COVID-19 turned negative. Yao's symptoms gradually eased after undergoing TCM treatment at the Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. "Traditional Chinese medicine can treat both the symptoms and underlying causes of the disease," Yao said.

Given that TCM provides various approaches to promoting wellness, a growing number of young people are seeking TCM treatments and healthcare services to maintain their health.

On Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, China's lifestyle-focused social media platform, many young users have shared how they maintain health with TCM therapy such as acupuncture and moxibustion, raking in considerable engagement from netizens.

The rising popularity of TCM is also evident in hospitals across the country. The average daily number of outpatients from January to February this year in Guang'anmen Hospital was nearly 10,000, with 36 percent of them being under 40 years old, according to statistics from the hospital.

"From what I've seen, the proportion of young patients has gradually increased from less than 20 percent to 40 percent," said Li Haixia, a doctor at Guang'anmen Hospital, adding that the growing popularity of TCM among young people indicates that TCM treatment is gaining wider recognition.

The growing influence of TCM culture among young people is attributable to good clinical experience and treatment effect, among other factors, said Zeng Songlin, a doctor at the Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

"More and more young people are realizing that TCM is closely linked to traditional Chinese culture," Zeng added.

Furthermore, the idea of preventive treatment of disease in TCM is also favored by young people. According to the TCM theories, health preservation means preserving body condition to maintain good health, prevent diseases and prolong life.

In recent years, China has made great efforts to promote and develop TCM. An implementation plan designed to further support the development of TCM during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) has been released recently by the General Office of the State Council.

The plan aims to give full play to the advantages of TCM, enhance the ability of TCM to prevent and cure diseases, and promote its scientific research.

"Traditional Chinese medicine is a national treasure. Today, TCM is more acceptable to young people, which is a sign of cultural confidence," said Zhang Di from The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine.

More efforts should be made to protect, inherit and popularize traditional Chinese medicine, Zhang added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
390-key Radisson RED Phuket Patong Beach will introduce a new era of bold, social and hyper-connected hospitality to this popular destination, as part of a nationwide expansion strategy

Radisson Hotel Group will introduce an exciting new era of social and stylish hospitality to Thailand following the signing of Radisson RED Phuket Patong Beach, a vibrant upscale lifestyle hotel that will mark the debut of the Radisson RED brand in the "Land of Smiles." This forms a key part of the Group's strategy to double its portfolio of operating hotels in Thailand by mid-2024.

Slated for opening in late 2023, Radisson RED Phuket Patong Beach marks the conversion of an existing property in the heart of Patong Beach, which will now be fully renovated and relaunched in line with Radisson RED's bold design and brand standards. Owned by Destination Group, which recently partnered with Radisson Hotel Group to open both the Radisson Resort & Spa Hua Hin and Radisson Resort & Suites Phuket, this signing reaffirms the Group's ability to meet the needs of guests and owners in a wide variety of markets - including Asia's most popular destinations - with innovative brands and attractive business models.

"We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Destination Group with this landmark agreement for Thailand's first Radisson RED hotel. With its striking design, upbeat vibe and the flexibility to let guests seamlessly switch between business and leisure, Radisson RED has the power to inject new life into hotels and destinations. This makes it the perfect fit for Patong Beach, one of Thailand's most dynamic tourism hubs," said Ramzy Fenianos, Chief Development Officer, Asia Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group.

With its smart, upscale lifestyle design, Radisson RED presents a playful twist on the conventional with social spaces that let savvy travellers kick back, relax and feel the buzz of their destination. Positioned in the heart of Patong, Phuket's main commercial district, just 270 meters from the beach and surrounded by retail malls, restaurants and nightlife, Radisson RED Phuket Patong Beach will let visitors feel the pulse of this lively tourist hub.

A nod to Thailand's most prominent national icons, guests will be greeted by a life-sized sculpture of a red lacquered elephant wearing earphones that will serve as the hotel's mascot. As they enter the playful, art-inspired lobby where a red tuk-tuk takes centerstage, guests can easily use the check-in app for a stress-free arrival experience. The 390 rooms are all hyper-connected with high-speed Wi-Fi, streaming services and USB ports while a collection of Family Rooms with bunk beds and Party Rooms with dedicated fun spaces offer a host of options for every type of stay.

Guests can chill out at the rooftop beach club, enjoy alfresco dining in the Warehouse specializing in rum and wine, or party late in the secret speakeasy lounge. A grab-go kiosk makes it easy to refuel, the power gym is a great place to work out, while wellness amenities like ice tubs and the Himalayan sea salt spa help guests rejuvenate. The resort offers two pools including a rooftop pool, a movie theatre, a video arcade, and a kids' club which will keep both young children and teens entertained.

"We are delighted to partner with Radisson Hotel Group once again and proud to introduce Radisson RED to Thailand for the first time. This innovative brand will attract the new generation of 'always-on' travellers who crave connectivity above all else. We are confident that this cutting-edge, contemporary concept, combined with the global strength and support of Radisson Hotel Group, will make this hotel one of Patong's most exciting and coolest places to stay. This is the first hotel to be designed to meet the desires of post-pandemic travelers to Phuket. We are not just selling a room but more so we are selling an amazing Instagrammable experience in our resorts," said Gary Murray, founder & CEO of Destination Group.

Phuket is leading Thailand's post-pandemic tourism recovery, having welcomed approximately 4.3 million international visitors in 2022 - more than one-third of the country's total 11.5 million arrivals last year. The island is expected to attract 12 million domestic and overseas visitors this year, and it has already started the year strongly with the restart of direct flights from China in January.

Earlier this year, Radisson Hotel Group announced plans to expand exponentially in Thailand, with a multi-brand expansion that will include new hotels and resorts in key destinations such as Phuket. The Group currently operates six hotels in Thailand across four brands in Bangkok, Phuket and Hua Hin.

Hotel website
IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world's leading hotel companies with more than 6,000 hotels, is making waves with the opening of voco Dubai The Palm, a brand-new beachfront hotel situated on the iconic Palm Jumeirah.

The 138-room voco Dubai The Palm is located on the picturesque shores of Palm Jumeirah's West Beach, offering guests direct access to the West Beach Promenade, only a few steps away from the majestic waters of the Arabian Gulf. Visitors looking to soak up the sun can also indulge in the ultimate beach getaway at the hotel's private beach.

The rooftop pool and Mediterranean lounge bar, Frenia, are a highlight of the hotel allowing guests to indulge in a slice of 'voco life', lounging by the pool with snacks and barista brews. Set to open in early April, Frenia, will transform the rooftop as the sun sets, providing sundowner aficionados breathtaking views of the sea and Ain Dubai (the world's biggest and tallest Ferris wheel).

The hotel's all-day dining venue Maison Mathis opens this month. The restaurant is inspired by the best European cuisine with a special focus on the rich heritage of Belgian food culture. With dishes made using only the freshest and finest ingredients, visitors can expect a truly authentic and unforgettable dining experience. Diners looking to savor the taste of the ocean can indulge in a rich Sea bass fillet - a dish carefully seasoned and grilled to perfection - as well as mouthwatering sea food linguini, packed with flavourful clams, shrimp, bisque, and fresh calamari.

Guests looking to maintain their fitness routine can access the 24-hour fitness centre full of natural light. Business travellers can also take advantage of the hotel's day-lit meeting rooms, perfect for exclusive business meetings and discussions.

voco Dubai The Palm is also committed to working towards a sustainable future by reducing its environmental footprint. The hotel boasts an innovative sustainable water system, duvets made of recycled plastic, and aerated showers to reduce water usage, all industry-leading initiatives.

voco Hotels is one of IHG Hotels & Resorts' 18 distinct brands and focuses on offering guests an unstuffy and charming experience, combining the reassurance of a global brand with the informality and charm of an individual hotel.

voco Dubai The Palm is excited to open with its "A New Playground Is Here" offer, meaning guests can enjoy an exclusive introductory saving of 30% on all hotel bookings. When guests stay at any IHG Hotels & Resorts property, they can earn points and rewards thanks to the IHG One Rewards loyalty programme. At voco The Palm Dubai, IHG One Rewards Members will also receive 25% off at the hotel's dining outlets.

Hotel website
HotelRunner, the leading accommodation and travel technologies platform, launches Autopilot at ITB Berlin 2023. Having garnered great attention with its innovative business intelligence platform Insights which was unveiled last year, and getting the new year off to a running start with recent funding news, HotelRunner introduces its AI-driven, intuitive, and smart platform to automate the sales, distribution, and operations of the accommodations.

Setting out with the goal of automating all daily operations of a hospitality business, from marketing activities to pricing strategies, HotelRunner introduces Autopilot. The new platform leverages the reservations volume processed in HotelRunner which is more than 3 million in the past year alone.

Accommodation businesses can effortlessly implement sophisticated sales and pricing strategies by transferring all their daily operations and industry expertise to the Autopilot platform as a set of rules and automations.

As the driving force behind the industry with its superior technology, HotelRunner stays ahead of the curve in meeting the future needs of all the stakeholders in the travel and accommodation industries. The Autopilot platform, born from years of research and development and industry experience, has been designed in a way that accommodations can interact with the entire tourism ecosystem. Not only it enables a property to automate its operations, but also evolves to encompass the collective knowledge of all industry players contributing to a propertys success. Thus, HotelRunner leads the creation of a first-of-its-kind automation marketplace. With this innovative platform, HotelRunner maps out the future of tourism technologies.

The Autopilot platform is a crucial component of our comprehensive vision to serve and advance the travel and hospitality industries. We began the era of data-driven decision-making in hospitality with the launch of the Insights platform in November last year. With the Autopilot, we firmly build upon this vision, cracking the doors of a new era where software serves people, rather than the other way around. Ali Beklen, Founder and Managing Partner of HotelRunner

With our innovative Autopilot technology, we challenge conventional wisdom in hotel management and offer a fresh perspective to the industry. By leaving manual processes behind, we offer our partners effortless efficiency and strive to increase their profitability. Driven by AI and evolving constantly, the Autopilot is just the starting point of the revolution we aim to ignite in the travel and hospitality industries. We are setting a new standard for industry players to do business and interact with each other. Arden Agopyan, Founder and Managing Partner of HotelRunner

The Autopilot platform allows properties to:

Automate pricing and availability by seasons, holidays, and weekends.

Monitor reservation activity in real-time and take action according to the demand.

Benefit from AI-based recommendations and alerts to maximize their profits.

Minimize the workload with automations that work fully integrated with their PMS and channel manager.

HotelRunner Autopilot has been in the closed beta program for one year, and has already been contributing to the increasing revenues of the properties using the platform. Click here to get detailed information about the HotelRunner Autopilot platform and to start using it.

About HotelRunner

HotelRunner is a SaaS-enabled unified sales, operations, and distribution management platform and B2B network for accommodations, travel agencies, and payment providers. HotelRunner has thousands of accommodation and travel agency partners globally. HotelRunner is a Booking.com Premier Connectivity Partner, Expedia Preferred Connectivity Partner, Airbnb Preferred Software Partner, Agoda Innovative Supplier, Oracle, Hotelbeds, and Google Hotel Ads strategic partner.

For more about HotelRunner, visit the website.

Media Relations Contact: [email protected].

HotelRunner Media
Launched in 2018, voco hotels has quickly become the fastest-growing brand within IHG Hotels & Resorts Premium collection with properties in 18 countries and new-to-market hotels opening in Japan, Kenya, Spain and India. With 46 open hotels and 55* hotels in the pipeline, voco continues to be a key driver of IHGs overall growth in the conversion space.

The rapid expansion of the upscale conversion brand reflects the strength of IHGs enterprise platform through which hotel owners can grow their business by being part of IHGs distribution channels, relaunched app and transformed loyalty programme, IHG One Rewards, with more than 115 million members.

With a design and operational framework conducive to conversion, the brand empowers owners to carry through their own unique vision for each property, ensuring its legacy and historical connections to the surrounding community, remain strong.

Three quarters of voco signings are conversions and the brand requires a lower capital outlay and has a flexible brand identity to ensure a speedy and seamless conversion process.

The brands three hallmarks  come on in, me time, and voco life  are woven into the hotels DNA. From a swift check-in and a locally inspired welcome treat upon arrival to big, comfy beds, and vibrant bar and restaurants spaces, voco brings a distinctive charm to every stay.

In addition to its charming feel, voco hotels was built on sustainability and looks after the planet with the same care as it looks after guests. The hotels have 100 percent recycled pillow and duvet fillings and refillable, plant-based bathroom amenities. They also support local sustainability initiatives at individual hotels such as estate-grown vegetables at Australias voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley or the Hotels for Trees programme at voco The Hague, where a tree is planted for every night a guest chooses not to have their room cleaned.

Commenting on the voco 100 milestone, Julie Cheesman, Head of voco hotels at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said, The voco brand has grown at a phenomenal pace over the last five years and is an integral part of IHGs growing family of 18 brands comprising over 6,000 global hotels, and supported by the industry-leading IHG One Rewards loyalty programme.

voco is popular with hotel owners around the world as they can get fast access to our enterprise platform and benefit from the brands high levels of guest satisfaction globally. As the global expansion of voco continues, we are excited to remain on track to grow to 200 voco hotels around the world within 10 years since launch.

Last year, voco expanded into new markets including Southeast Asia with voco Orchard Singapore; Africa with voco Johannesburg Rosebank

and Latin America with voco Guadalajara Neruda in Mexico. The brand was also recognised as the Worlds Leading Premium Hotel Brand due to its top guest satisfaction scores at the World Travel Awards and shows no signs of slowing down.

Since then, the brand has continued to grow in key markets with its eighth hotel in Greater China with voco Hefei Binhu; sixth hotel in the US with voco Chicago Downtown, its fourth in Australasia with voco Brisbane City Centre and its third in Dubai with voco Dubai The Palm.

Notable voco openings in 2023 include

Set on the borders of Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex in the UK, Lythe Hill Hotel in Surrey, will complete its rebrand to voco Lythe Hill Hotel and Spa in 2023. The elegant Tudor property will feature 99 stylish bedrooms plus an oak-beamed restaurant, gym and spa. The Surrey market town of Haslemere is nearby with direct trains to London, and the National Trust area Blackdown and the South Downs National Park are both on the doorstep.

Opening in early summer, voco Osaka Central will be the first voco property to open in Japan. Conveniently situated in central Osaka, the hotel will provide warmly hosted service, inspired design, superb dining and sustainable touches like aerated shower heads, indulgent eco bedding and filtered water. The hotel lobby and restaurant decor will be modern and contemporary whilst including historical elements from the original Kyomachi building and some of the bedrooms will have Tatami mats.

The first voco in Vietnam will open later this year with voco Ma Belle Danang. The hotel is located close to My Khe Beach and just 20 minutes drive from Danang International Airport. Guest rooms will have spectacular views of the coastline or cityscape, there will be a luxurious spa with a rooftop infinity pool and a choice of bars and restaurants including the rooftop Lobby Lounge - ideal for a sun downer.

In New York, voco Fiorello - La Guardia East is set to open in Flushing, NY this summer. The hotel is due to have 116 rooms and is the third voco signing by the same owner.

Located in northern Paris, voco Paris Porte De Clichy is due to open this summer after its conversion from a Holiday Inn property. The hotel will be one of vocos flagship properties, with particular attention being paid to the use of sustainable materials. The hotel is just four stops on the Paris Metro from the Musee Du Louvre and will feature several upscale food and beverage outlets.

* Pipeline hotels are a combination of new signings pipeline, unbranded openings, unbranded pipeline and brand switches.
San Francisco  Duetto, the hospitality industrys #1 Revenue Management Software (RMS), unveiled its premium revenue optimization product, Duetto Advance, at ITB Berlin this morning.

With event demand intelligence now ingested from PredictHQ, the introduction of Advance once again makes Duetto the industrys Game Changer in revenue management tech.

Duetto Advance combines several industry firsts:

Instant events-related intelligence data from PredictHQ

Dynamic Optimization: all rates are optimized in real-time

CommandCenter: one easy-to-use customizable dashboard

Duetto Advance enables hotel revenue teams to optimize rates in real-time, using clean, usable data delivered in a visually actionable dashboard customizable to your revenue strategy needs. This is truly an industry first for our field. Darren Koch, Chief Product Officer, Duetto

In todays ever-changing market, real-time analytics that ingests market data as it happens is vital for hotels to complete and lead their markets, Koch added.

PredictHQ: The Duetto / PredictHQ integration provides event-related market intelligence, enabling revenue teams to be proactive about what is happening in their markets, taking calculated decisions on pricing and restrictions, and optimizing operations.

By incorporating intelligent event data into Duettos revenue management platform, we are unlocking a new way for businesses to make data-driven pricing decisions that optimize revenue and enhance customer experiences ahead of surges in demand. By using enriched event data to surface relevant, impactful events, it enables them to optimize and make calculated decisions around pricing in advance to match real-world conditions. Our system not only collects, enriches, and verifies millions of events every year, but it also provides sophisticated features which companies like Duetto can leverage to paint a complete picture of demand. Campbell Brown, Co-founder & CEO, PredictHQ

Dynamic Optimization: Provides real-time monitoring of market conditions to ensure pricing is responsive and dynamic. With powerful signal detection based on live booking activity, Duetto Advance can target situations where there is a sudden change in demand, resulting in an opportunity to quickly raise prices to capture the profit opportunity.

CommandCenter: Enables hotels to Advance property and portfolio performance via an intuitive and actionable dashboard focused on current and forward-looking data points across the guest journey. This multi-property management portal will guide Directors of Sales, Operations, and Revenue Management to focus on what truly matters - driving more profitable outcomes.

Duetto Advance is a premium addition to Duetto GameChanger  the worlds #1 RMS. GameChanger helps hotels maximize booking revenues and profits. It empowers hotels to sharpen revenue management strategies through innovative technology and its Open Pricing methodology. Duetto Advance will become available to Duetto users in Summer 2023.

The Duetto revenue strategy platform also includes BlockBuster for contracted group business optimization. Working with GameChanger, BlockBuster helps hotel revenue teams discover the optimal blend of group and transient business at the right rate, at the right time.

For reporting and forecasting, our ScoreBoard application enables revenue teams to create forecasts in minutes, create custom reports and receive business insights instantly in interactive dashboards.

About Duetto

Duetto delivers a suite of SaaS cloud applications for hospitality businesses to optimize every booking opportunity for the greatest overall revenue impact. The solution dramatically increases organizational efficiency, revenue, and profitability by simplifying hospitality revenue decisions and allowing properties to work smarter. The unique combination of hospitality experience and technology leadership drives Duetto to look for innovative solutions to industry challenges. The software as a service platform allows hotels, casinos, and resorts to leverage real-time dynamic data sources and actionable insights into pricing and demand across the enterprise. More than 4,000 hotel and casino resort properties in more than 60 countries have partnered to use Duettos applications, which include GameChanger for pricing, ScoreBoard for intelligent reporting, and BlockBuster for contracted-business optimization. Duetto is backed by investors Warburg Pincus, Icon Ventures, Accel Partners, Battery Ventures, and Spectrum 28.

In 2022 and 2023, Duetto was named the world's #1 revenue management system in the HotelTechAwards. The Awards rank and evaluate more than 200 of the top hotel technology products worldwide to deliver the ultimate list of best-in-class software products, based on customer feedback from more than 10,000 customer reviews, integration compatibility, organizational health, partner network strength, and customer support quality.

For more information, please visit https://www.duettocloud.com/.
Chicago, IL (60637)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers and windy conditions developing in the afternoon. Morning high of 60F with temps falling to near 40. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Periods of rain and snow showers in the evening transitioning to snow showers late...windy. Low 34F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Subscribers to Register-Star or The Daily Mail are eligible to receive full access to HudsonValley360.

If you have an existing print subscription, please make sure your email address on file matches your HudsonValley360 account email.
Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 57F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
TikTok ban advances as Congress, WH back RESTRICT Act & China threatens fight

UPDATE: The RESTRICT Act was introduced in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday with the full backing of the White House. The bill would empower the Secretary of Commerce to ban apps that threaten US national security, including TikTok.

Earlier this week, China ramped up anti-U.S. rhetoric and announce its intention to weaponize private companies like TikTok in what it sees as its battle against Western oppression.

The countrys leader Xi Jinping attacked the United States in unusually blunt remarks before a meeting of Chinas business leaders, calling on the countrys private companies to fight alongside the Communist Party.

Even before The RESTRICT Act and Xis speech, TikTok bans have been gaining steam both in the U.S. and globally.

Last week 3 million federal employees were given 30 days to remove the app from their devices, and a bill that would give President Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide is expected to be approved by a House committee this week. At least 15 US states have also banned the app for their employees.

Anti-China sentiment is also growing in many countries, and similar curbs on TikTok have been announced in the EU and Canada. India has banned the app altogether.

TikTok reamins defiant

TikTok, for its part, remains defiant, if not almost fatalistic. The ban of TikTok on federal devices passed in December without any deliberation, and unfortunately, that approach has served as a blueprint for other world governments, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement Monday. These bans are little more than political theater.

TikTok has also been slow to move data centers that handle what some see as dangerous tracking information outside of Chinese control, despite more than two years of promises to do so.

Musics growing TikTok dependency

As TikTok has grown to more than 1 billion active monthly users, it has become a powerful music discovery and marketing tool.

Creators like Loren Gray, Dixie DAmelio, Bella Poarch, and Kimberly Loaiza have amassed over 50 million followers each and built significant music careers on the platform, and established artists from Lizzo to Walker Hayes use it to communicate with fans.

Classic artists from Jack Johnson to Fleetwood Mac have seen years-old songs resurface on TikTok. Kate Bushs Running Up That Hill was among TikToks ten biggest songs of 2022, reentering the Billboard US Hot 100 at #3 and hitting #1 in the UK almost four decades after its original release.

Whats a musician to do?

Later this week, well explore steps to take now before TikTok is banned.

Share on:
North Adams Public Safety Looks to Tighten Up Taxi Regs

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Police could have greater sway over who can have a taxi driver's license in the city of North Adams.

The Public Safety Committee has been reviewing the taxi ordinance at the behest of the mayor and Police Department after a recent hearing on violations pointed to the city's limitations in regulating cab companies. The committee is looking into updating language and a process for dealing with potential violations.

In its second full meeting last week, the committee heard from Police Lt. Anthony Beverly about how the department reviews licenses and the problems he's seen.

The Police Department does a check on all applications before they are forwarded to the City Council for approval.

The current ordinance lists application rejection for factors including moving violations, license revocation, "a violent felony conviction that may deem unsuitable," "no-contact restraining orders," and medication that may interfere with an ability to drive.

Beverly asked that "violent" be removed because it would have to be spelled out what a "violent felony" is. The department had revoked a license because the driver was convicted of selling firearms, a felony but not a "violent" one, he said.

He asked about adding the phrase "that the police department deems to be unsuitable," with the caveat that a reason would have to shown for the rejection.

Committee member Marie T. Harpin wondered if a "felony conviction that may deem unsuitable" be open enough for interpretation but Beverly said the conviction part could be the problem.

The lieutenant said there was someone criminally charged in the past who had their case continued without a finding.

"It's not a conviction. It's basically saying that you're saying, your agreement that there was enough to convict you if you were to go forward," Beverly said. "It's an out through the court system. ... we don't have the ability to to deem that person unsuitable the way that this is written because that's not a valid, violent felony conviction."

The charges were related to driving under the influence, he said. "If you are that person that drinks and then goes and gets into a motor vehicle to drive around is probably not the person we want driving our citizens."

Police Chief Jason Wood, who was participating remotely, said the department needed something in the ordinance that would allow for application denial that also was not arbitrary. He referenced a suggestion by Committee Michael Obasohan about review panel "that will be like a checks and balances to that system."

"We have applications go through that, the way it's written now, we have no choice but to approve them because they don't meet any of the criteria to deny them," the chief said. "We know, within our field of work, that he or she has no business being a cab driver and given that responsibility."

Beverly offered to rewrite that section for the next meeting, including updating the types of restraining orders now used.

The lieutenant also asked that licenses have an annual expiration date, preferably Jan. 1, so that existing licenses can be reviewed at the same time, and that a copy of the insurance policy be provided for the department's files.

"So that I'm not doing multiple companies, all of this stuff that I have to do throughout the year," he said. "One shot. All the companies, everybody has to do it starting Dec. 31. Jan. 1 is a new year. We're inspecting all your taxis, we're inspecting all of your licenses, everything and get it done with it for the year."

Beverly said if one company has 25 drivers, he has to go through those reviews at different times throughout the year. He would still have to follow up on vehicle registrations during the year because "there's no way that I can get the Registry of Motor Vehicles in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to get on our timeline."

Committee Chairman Bryan Sapienza said he was suggesting adding a new section, 23-17, that would deal with penalties, including suspension or revocation of a driver who fails to renew their license.

The committee members did want to be clear on who would be responsible for abiding by which regulations, saying drivers should not be answerable for a company's failure maintain vehicles or licenses. They would, however, be accountable for moving violations and their own licenses.

The committee also tentatively agreed on raising the age to 21 (up from 18) and requiring two consecutive years of holding a driver's license at the time of the application. Also, that cabs must have an exterior sign indicating when they are out of service and that only the driver be in the vehicle when the sign is displayed. This is to allow for maintenance and repairs on the vehicle by an authorized person.

Among other expected changes are clarifying what is the driver's license, taxi driver's license and taxi operator's license (the company) within the ordinance.

The "engine number" required on the taxi operator's license will be changed to the Vehicle Identification Number, now more widely used, and made clear it applies to the operator's license since a driver may use more than one vehicle. That section, 23-8, may be separated out to include the process for starting a taxi operation.

The committee was also going to check with state law to see if the insurance minimums could be raised. They are currently $10,000 for personal injury or death, $20,000 for accident resulting in injury or death to more than one person, and $5,000 for property damage.

Anywhere there is language referring to the "commissioner of public safety" will be changed to "chief of police," and a reference to all licenses "in effect on December 28, 1954" to continue will be stricken. It's not clear why this line is in the ordinance but is thought to have been part of an amendment at that time.
Man Sentenced For Assaulting Child, Must Register With Sex Offender Registry

LEE, Mass.  Anthony Delsoldato was sentenced on Wednesday March 1 on two counts: Indecent Assault and Battery of a Child and Assault and Battery.

In April 2021 Lee Police and Massachusetts State Police responded to a residential address in Lee for a report that a 7-year-old victim had been sexually assaulted by Anthony Delsoldato.

Delsoldato was sentenced on the first count, Indecent Assault and Battery of a Child, to 5 years probation with the following five conditions. The defendant shall complete a sex offender evaluation and follow all recommendations; the defendant shall complete a mental health evaluation and follow all recommendations; the defendant shall execute waivers/releases as required by the probation officer; the defendant shall have no contact and remain 500 feet from the child's person, residence school and work place; and the defendant shall have no contact with children under 16 years of age.

On the second count, Assault and Battery, Delsoldato was sentenced to 2.5 years in the Hose of Correction, split to serve 18 months with the probation conditions identified above.

On March 2, following the indictment on March 1, Anthony Delsoldato was convicted by plea agreement of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over. The March 2 conviction by plea agreement requires Delsoldato to be registered with the Sex Offender Registry Board.

The Lee Police Department (Officer Pleu) and the State Police Detective Unit State (Troopers Moozi, Wood and DeSantis) served as law enforcement for this case. A forensic interview was completed at Kids' Place in Pittsfield. Victim Witness Advocate Carmen Guevara supported the child and members of the child's family throughout the case. Chief of the Child Abuse Unit, Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Ilberg, represented the Commonwealth. Honorable Judge Agostini presided.
Pittsfield School Policy Panel Considers Student DoorDash Ban

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The district is looking into placing sanctions on food deliveries for students.

Last week, the Policy Subcommittee started a discussion on revising policy COM-31 Visitors to Schools to address non-teacher orders placed online or on the phone and delivered through apps such as DoorDash.



Superintendent Joseph Curtis proposed some reorganization of the policy for clarity and the addition of language stating that service delivery drivers are not permitted on school grounds or inside of schools to fulfill students' orders.



"My intention this evening was just to start a dialogue with the subcommittee in response to the discussion about food deliveries for students at schools," he said.



The issue was brought up during a Taconic High School council meeting in January and relayed to the School Committee by member Daniel Elias soon after. He reported that the council felt it should be a districtwide discussion because it was also happening in other schools.



Curtis said the discussion could come from a security standpoint, which COM-31 deals with, or a wellness standpoint.



"We do have a wellness policy and there could certainly be language inserted in that policy that I didn't bring forth this evening," he said.



School Committee Chair William Cameron thinks that the ban should fall under wellness.



"First of all, because it would have been voted on affirmatively by the School Committee rather than simply accepted as an administrative regulation and also because it's an issue unto itself really," he explained.



"I mean, incidentally, it has to do with visitors to schools but in fact, it's a whole separate set of issues, I think, so it probably ought to be featured either in a policy of its own or as part of the wellness policy, I think, an amendment to that."


The Pakistani news and current affairs channel ARY News has had its license suspended for broadcasting clips of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose speeches Pakistani authorities are claiming undermines state institutions and incites enmity. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Pakistan affiliate, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) call on the Pakistani authorities to immediately withdraw transmission suspension orders and restore the license of the TV channel.

The ban was enforced late on Sunday by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) following Khan's address in Lahore, during which he claimed that former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was behind his ousting from office in April 2022. In his address, Khan alleged that authorities had attempted to arrest him in a corruption investigation. Khan, who rejects the accusations, eluded capture.

In its announcement, the PEMRA claimed Khans speeches have spread hate speech and disinformation, an outcome harmful to the preservation of law and order and liable to disturb public peace and quiet". The media regulator suspended the license of ARY News, a commercial news channel, for transmitting Khan's Lahore address about two hours after the ban was imposed.

According to the PEMRA, the news channel breached its directive. "The PEMRA announcement arrived after 8 pm, and practically all the networks broadcast excerpts of Imran Khan's address in their 9 pm bulletins," said the ARY news management. The regulatory authorities, however, just suspended our license."

According to the channel management, ARY News transmission was suspended in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, and other places. The transmission was suspended after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued instructions to cable providers. This was the third time the PEMRA has banned TV stations from broadcasting Khan's words since he was ousted as Prime Minister.

According to the IFJs South Asia Press Freedom Report 2021-2022, Public trust in media has been plummeting in Pakistan for several years now as it gets manipulated and coerced by the authorities.

PFUJ President GM Jamali and Secretary General Rana M Azeem both condemned the banning of ARY News, calling it a violation of free expression. "If the suspension orders are not removed, the PFUJ will protest throughout Pakistan," they said.

The IFJ said: The suspension of transmission would be tantamount to depriving Pakistan of the media freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan that have been so hard fought for and defended by journalists and unions. The IFJ urges the Pakistani government to ensure freedom of expression in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan and its international commitments and obligations.
The Philippines number one financial app, GCash, is putting the spotlight on the Philippine fintech industry at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona  highlighting how fintech innovations are empowering millions of Filipinos.

GCash CEO Martha Sazon leads keynote on changing user experiences and technologies

Martha Sazon, President and CEO of GCash, will be taking GCash to the global stage once more, as she is one of the keynote speakers in a plenary session at the MWC on the topic New Behavior for a New Reality. A major feat for GCash and Philippine Fintech, Sazon brings the story of the Filipino to a global audience - showing the evolving user experience and how it has expanded its portfolio to provide access to affordable services to more Filipinos across various sectors.

Aside from the keynote session, Sazon is also part of a fireside chat tackling, The Rise of Fintech Disruption. She will highlight how fintech is enabling the creation of powerful and disruptive solutions that have been redefining the market.

GCash is now a double unicorn valued at $2 billion with a user base of over 76 million. It has been expanding beyond its core payments and remittance business as it brings essential financial services to more Filipinos.

GCash has already grown its services to include credit, savings, insurance and investment products. It also features an e-commerce platform that offers various retail options such as food, wellness, travel, recreation, and real estate services.

The leading fintech platform has also made waves with its beta launch of GCash Overseas. This rollout will allow the first 1,000 Filipinos based in Japan, Australia and Italy to sign up for GCash using an international SIM  another game-changer in the Philippine fintech industry.

GCash is one with its parent company, the Globe Group, in enabling an inclusive digital ecosystem in the Philippines.

The Globe Group, the countrys leading digital solutions platform, will also highlight its pivot from telco to techco at the MWC, led by its president and CEO Ernest Cu. Cu will join CEOs of top Southeast Asian telcos in a discussion on new network-related technologies and connectivity challenges in the Philippines, among others.

Hosted by GSMA, a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem, this years MWC is held from February 27 to March 2, 2023. The MWC is the worlds largest and most influential exhibition for the connectivity industry.

Aside from being able to share its success story in helping create a more digital and inclusive financial system in the Philippines, the MWC will also provide a good opportunity for GCash to meet with like-minded partners on how it can deliver more digital financial solutions to Filipinos around the world.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
The festival of colours is here! The vibrant festival that marks the arrival of spring is celebrated with full enthusiasm across the nation - mostly in filmy style.

From Rang Barse to Balam Pichkari and Do me a favour let's play holi - Bollywood has given innumerable songs to celebrate the festival. Which one is your favourite?

Want to see how your favourite Bollywood stars are playing Holi, here are the pictures that will make your day!

Instagram

1. Drenched in colours and water, Kareena Kapoor played Holi with her kids Taimur and Jehangir.

"Can't wait for the nap we're going to have post this fab #holi session  (miss you Saifuuu) Spreading color, love, and joy to all... Love you Insta fam! Happy Holi," she wrote.

2. Anushka paid a tribute to her guru, Neem Karoli Baba, on the occasion of Holi.

3. Shehzada of Bollywood, Kartik Aaryan, played Holi in Dallas, USA

"Happy Holi to you all from . Missing the Holi madness with my family & friends back home  and of course, mummy ke hath ki gujhiya," he wrote.

4. Shilpa Shetty played Holi with flowers with her daughter Samisha.

5. Karisma Kapoor also dropped some fun photos from Holi celebrations.

6. Shahid Kapoor sent out Holi greetings with a clip from Kabir Singh.

7. Be safe and respect all, said R Madhavan.

Happy Holi to you all. be safe and respect all. pic.twitter.com/iHoOvJl3e2  Ranganathan Madhavan (@ActorMadhavan) March 6, 2023





(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)
1. AAP MLA Calls Nawazuddin Siddiqui Indian Johhny Depp Amid His Controversy With Wife Aaliya

Aaliya has been gaining much attention for posting multiple videos in which she has hurled accusations against her actor husband Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who recently broke his silence over Aaliya's accusations and hit back at her claiming that she only wants more money. Amid the controversy, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Naresh Balyan has called actor Nawazuddin Siddique 'India's Johnny Depp."

web screen grab

2. SRK's Wife Gauri Khan Sells Dustbin For 15K, People Say, 'Majnu Bhai Ki Painting Better Hain'

According to reports, Shah Rukh Khan's wife Gauri Khan has left people stunned with her products, not because of their designs but for their whopping price tags. After a Mumbai man named Jaswant Shah filed an FIR against Gauri Khan over a property in Lucknow, people are trolling the fashion designer for selling products under her company at an exorbitantly high price.

web screen grab

3. RRR Star Jr NTR Posts New Photo From Beverly Hills As He Arrives In The US For Oscars 2023

Several pictures and videos had earlier surfaced on the internet that showed Jr NTR leaving for the big event at Hyderabad airport on March 6. Jr NTR was seen dressed in casuals - wearing a hoody paired with black trousers. The actor also greeted his fans at the airport, as per the viral videos. After winning a Golden Globe, the popular song Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli's film 'RRR' is set to compete for an Academy award in the category of Best Original Score.

Instagram

4. Sukesh Chandrashekhar Sends Love Letter To Jacqueline Fernandez From Jail, Wishes Happy Holi

The 30-year-old millionaire conman has not only lured Bollywood divas, he has duped several politicians as well. He allegedly has mastered the art of impersonation. "If any person meets Sukesh for the first time, even for 30 minutes, that person would be following his advice. He talks really well and leaves a lasting impression on people," a person who met him reportedly said.

Twitter

5. Deepika Padukone's Louis Vuitton Outfit At Paris Fashion Week Is Reminding Fans Of Veronica From Cocktail

The Bollywood star wore a black leather jacket, paired with lacy bottom and a stylish black coloured bag. She completed the look by opting for wavy hair and sported kohl in her eyes. Her look instantly reminded fans of Veronica from Cocktail. Padukone was styled by Shaleena Nathani and wore the ensemble by Nicolas Ghesquiere. Apart from Deepika, others who attended the fashion show included Zendaya, Emma Stone, and Ana de Armas.

Twitter

(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)
A police case is registered against the wedding of twins to the same man in Maharashtra after a video went viral on social media. Police have launched an investigation.



According to media reports, Atul Uttam Autade, who owns a travel agency in Mumbai, tied the knot with sisters Rinki and Pinki Padgaonkar in Solapur, Maharashtra. They are seen on video performing the traditional "varmala," or garland ceremony, and Atul, lifted by friends, tries to avoid the garlands from his two brides.

What is the case?

Atul has been accused of bigamy, which is against the law and carries a sentence of seven years in prison. According to senior police officer Shirish Sardeshpande, who spoke with the news agency ANI, "A non-cognisable offence case under IPC section 494 (marrying again when spouse is alive) was registered against Atul Awtade for marrying twin sisters together on December 2."

Unsplash/Representational Image

The Maharashtra women's body and the National Women's Commission have also called for action against the three.

After their father's death, the twins lived with their mother. A relative said, "They both got into a relationship with Atul, who decided to marry both of them." Pinki and Rinki, both IT engineers, agreed to marry the same man.

What are Bigamy and Polygamy?

Bigamy is marrying someone who has already been legally married to another living person. A person cannot legally marry someone with a living spouse who is still legally married to them. A second marriage will be declared void ab initio, which means that it is null and void from the start.

The term "polygamy" refers to the practice of marrying more than one person. Polygyny refers to a man who has more than one wife, and polyandry refers to a woman who has more than one husband.

Unsplash/Representational Image

Legality of this marriage

The individual's right to marry is recognized by both article 21 of the Indian Constitution and article 16 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. India has no uniform code of regulation administering marriage but several laws according to religions.

Hindus are subject to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, Muslims are subject to the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, Christians are subject to the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872, and Parsis are subject to the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936.

The Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954 was enacted to validate and register interreligious and inter-caste marriages in India. It empowers two adult individuals to marry through a civil contract. Under this act, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jains, and Buddhist marriages are included and no religious formalities are required to be carried out. The act applies to Indian citizens and Indian nationals living abroad.

Bigamy in Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

According to the legal service india.com, as per Section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, bigamy is against the law in India, and any Hindu who commits crime will be punished accordingly. When determining the penalty for bigamy, the provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) shall apply.

Unsplash/Representational Image

If either or both of the Hindu bride and groom had a living spouse who was still legally married to them at the time of the second marriage, the marriage is null and void. Hinduism views marriage as the sacramental union of one man and one woman, whereas monogamy is regarded as the ideal form of marriage.

Converting to a religion where bigamy is legal in order to get married again is against the law, and the second marriage is null and void.

The legal service India website states that In Sarla Mugdal & others. v. Union of India, the Court held that the first marriage would have to be dissolved under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 in order for him to marry again. Therefore, the first marriage is still legally valid under Hindu law and the second marriage which was solemnized after his conversion to Islam would be void and the man will be punished for bigamy under section 49 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
On Monday, a Spanish court sentenced a couple to imprisonment for stealing 45 bottles of wine worth over 1.6 million euros ($1.7 million) from a hotel restaurant in what police called a "meticulously planned" theft.



Unsplash

Judgement in heist from 2021

A bottle of Chateau D'Yquem 1806 worth 350,000 euros was among the wines stolen from the Atrio hotel in Caceres in southwest Spain in October 2021 in the heist which made global headlines.



A court in Caceres sentenced the woman to four years in jail and the man to four and a half years after finding them guilty of burglary with forced entry.

The court also ordered the pair, who were arrested in July 2022 in Croatia, to pay compensation of 753,454 euros to the hotel.

'Sole employee' distracted more than once

Unsplash

The woman, who, according to Spanish press reports, is a former Mexican beauty queen, checked into the hotel using a fake Swiss passport, the court said.



After dining in the Michelin three-star restaurant of the hotel, the pair were given a tour of the Atrio's renowned wine cellar before they retired to their room.



At 2 am, the woman called the reception and asked the "sole employee" who was working at the time to make her a salad, according to the court ruling.



The employee initially denied the request because he was alone and because the couple had eaten a 14-course tasting menu, but he agreed because she kept insisting.



While the employee was preparing the salad, the man slipped into reception and stole an electronic key which he thought would gain entry to the wine cellar, but it was the wrong one.

From outside the wine cellar, the man called his partner and told her once again to distract the receptionist, so she requested a dessert.

'Meticulously planned' heist executed

Unsplash

"The accused returned to the reception and from a box, he took master key number 27, which he used to open the wine cellar from where he took 45 bottles of wine," the court said.



The man, who reportedly has Romanian and Dutch citizenship, carried the bottles to his room in a rucksack and two large bags before the receptionist returned to his post.

The couple had "meticulously planned" the heist, visiting the restaurant three times to prepare the raid, Spain's National Police said in a statement when the pair were arrested.



(with inputs from AFP)

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


About a year has passed since the Russian military invaded Ukraine, and there are still no clear indications of a settlement. Neither side looks prepared to win a decisive military battle, and success at the diplomatic table is just as improbable.

AFP

Both sides have been reluctant to talk about numbers lately, but experts think more than 200,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or hurt in the war.



Over 100,000 Ukrainian military and civilians have been killed or wounded.

AFP/Representational Image

After a year of war with Russia, Ukraine released a series of horrifying and heartbreaking photos of the destroyed town of Marinka, near Donetsk and the border with Russia.



Twitter

After the destruction, the sad pictures show that no house in the town still stands.

Mariinka was once a quiet bedroom community of 10,000 residents and tree-lined streets just west of Donetsk. Well now have to refer to it in past tense because the Russian army has wiped it off the face of the earth. These images show an apocalyptic scene incompatible with life. pic.twitter.com/BYV35IoRn8  Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 5, 2023

"It used to be home to around 10,000 people. It used to be a peaceful city... Zoom in to see that nothing is left untouched," Ukraine said.

Before the war, 10,000 people lived in Mariinka, which is now one of the most dangerous settings of the current war. Mariinka is located on the outskirts of Donetsk.

Ukrainian Marinka in the Donetsk region. It used to be home for around 10,000 people. It used to be a peaceful city. It used to be until Russias war criminals razed it to the ground. Zoom in to see that nothing is left untouched.



Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine pic.twitter.com/d7xv47jNzq  MFA of Ukraine  (@MFA_Ukraine) March 5, 2023

It's an area that is basically under the jurisdiction of both the Russian and Ukrainian governments.

The United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, as part of the nuclear bombing campaign against Japan during World War II.

Between 129,000 and 226,000 people died because of the two attacks; most were innocent bystanders. The war ended on September 2 of that year.

(For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.)


Insurers are always available by phone or online; however, we know there's great value in holding community information sessions and in-person meetings in impacted communities, ICA CEO Andrew Hall said. We encourage policyholders who have flood-affected properties and would like assistance to meet with their insurer.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Date: March 8 at 1:30 p.m.

Location: College St. Norbert Collegiate, 870 Ste. Therese Avenue, Winnipeg, MB. R3T 1H8

Guests: Satvir Jatana, Vice President & Chief Customer Officer, Manitoba Public Insurance Trevor Ens, President, MADD Winnipeg Chapter

Road crashes are the number one cause of death among Canadian youth, and alcohol and/or drugs are involved in more than half of those crashes. Every year, with the support of sponsors such as MPI, MADD Canada produces a new School Program to educate students in Grades 7 - 12 about the risks of impaired driving. Following the realistic and hard-hitting fictional storyline, students see the personal stories of real-life victims of impaired driving.
The Santa Fe District Attorney has pushed back on efforts by Alec Baldwin to have the special prosecutor in his US court case dismissed.

Mary Carmack-Altwies said the motion, filed last month by Baldwins lawyers, was based on a novel theory that has no support in New Mexico statutes or case law.

Representatives for the Hollywood actor previously said that special prosecutor Andrea Reebs involvement in the case was unconstitutional, due to her elected position in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Santa Fe DA pushes back on Baldwins motion to have special prosecutor dismissed (PA)

Lawyers argued that Ms Reebs position was a violation of the New Mexico constitutions separation of powers provision and that she could make prosecutorial decisions that serve her legislative interests.

In a response to the motion to have Ms Reeb dismissed, the DA said the state constitution provided a variety of safeguards against legislators interfering with the outcome of ongoing court cases.

Any attempt by Ms Reeb as a legislator to influence the outcome of this trial would be completely ineffective, the filing stated.

Disqualification of a special prosecutor on constitutional grounds is a severe remedy and cannot be supported by the imaginative but unsupported theories set out by the Defendants motion

Disqualification of a special prosecutor on constitutional grounds is a severe remedy and cannot be supported by the imaginative but unsupported theories set out by the Defendants motion.

It comes ahead of a status hearing in the case, which is due to take place on Thursday March 9.

Baldwin faces two charges of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Asia Bangladesh Probes Rohingya Camp Fire

Rohingya refugees search for their belongings after a fire in Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia on March 5. / AFP

DHAKABangladesh has launched an inquiry into the massive fire of Sunday that razed approximately 2,000 shelters at Balukhali camp near Coxs Bazar, leaving an estimated 12,000 Rohingya refugees without shelter.

The fire followed growing tension between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) militant groups.

Rohingya leaders and Bangladesh officials told The Irrawaddy that the fire was probably linked to the power struggle in the camps between the two major groups.

A senior Bangladeshi official: The camp was originally under ARSA control but RSO had been gradually taking over. We suspect ARSA as the possible perpetrator as it was losing control over the camp.

Rohingya leader Htway Lwin said the militant groups were suspected as they moved their families out of the camp before the incident.

Htway Lwin, who left the camp amid recent bloodshed, said he heard it was a planned attack.

Justice must be served, he added.

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters in Dhaka on Monday that an investigation had been launched into the fire and prosecutions might follow.

Coxs Bazar district police chief Md Mahfuzur Rahman said: We are examining social media over the fire. We have spoken to witnesses and now trying to trace possible suspects.

Coxs Bazar district has formed a seven-member committee, headed by magistrate Abu Sufian, which included representatives from the police and intelligence agencies. The committee has been given three days to report.

Rohingya campfires are common but they rarely spark criminal investigations.

In March 2021 a massive fire killed at least 10 Rohingya refugees.

A Bangladesh Army intelligence report stated that over 27 percent of the 222 fires in Rohingya camps in Coxs Bazar between January 2021 and December 2022 were acts of sabotage.

Approximately 45 percent of fires while the others were unexplained.

Rights group Ain O Salish Kendra executive director Mohammad Nur Khan called for an impartial investigation to trace the perpetrators and motives behind the arson attacks.

The Coxs Bazar authorities have reported no causalities or missing people from the incident.

Rescuers said temporary accommodation had been arranged for those displaced and United Nations agencies were providing meals.

Rohingya leader Mohammed Sahad said on Monday that he had arranged shelter for his relatives affected by the fire while other families were struggling.

The UN refugee charity, the UNHCR, in Dhaka reported that approximately 12,000 of the camps 32,200 inhabitants were displaced while more than 2,000 shelters were destroyed or damaged. More than 90 health and educational centers were also damaged.

The UNHCR said it had activated a tracking system to provide support and to help reunite families.

The UN childrens fund, Unicef, said that at least 6,000 children were affected.

Unicef and our partners have worked through the night to protect and support traumatized children and their families, the agencys representative in Bangladesh Sheldon Yett said in a statement.

The fire destroyed 2,000 shelters and a large number of facilities that provide critical services to refugee children and their families. Among these are over 20 learning centers, at least one nutrition center and several sanitation facilities, the statement read.
Burma Myanmar Junta Cronys Firm Named Local Distributor for Huawei Solar Energy Products

Junta Deputy Minister for Electric Power Dr. Aung Zeya inspects the Taungtawkwin Solar Power Project in Myitha Township, Mandalay Region on Oct. 26, 2022. / MITV

Global Star Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Dagon Group, and United Amara Bank (UAB) have partnered with Chinese ICT giant Huawei to distribute its FusionSolar line of products in Myanmar.

Huawei and Global Star, which is owned by junta crony U Win Aung, unveiled their partnership in Yangon on Feb. 23. Global Star has become the authorized dealer for Huaweis solar inverters and batteries.

U Thurane Aung, managing director of Global Star and the son of U Win Aung, told local media outlets at the event that it is planning to distribute Huaweis solar inverters and batteries to three market segments in Myanmar, starting with household use, then expanding to the industrial level and eventually supplying the products for use in mega projects.

Established in 1990, U Win Aungs Dagon Group has a presence in various sectors including real estate, construction, petroleum and power. It now has more than 16 member companies with assets valued at an estimated US$350 million, according to its statements.

Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings (MTSH), which is currently chaired by U Win Aung, received final approval from the juntas Investment Commission for the Gyogone Housing Redevelopment project in January 2022. He is also a director of Myanmar National Telecom Holdings Public Company Limited, which owns 23 percent of the junta-controlled telecom operator Mytel.

Local entrepreneurs who have been struggling to establish a foothold in the renewable energy sector in Myanmar expressed disappointment that junta-linked cronies are swallowing up the market, rendering their efforts to innovate and develop new technologies useless.

We have been working in the renewable energy sector for a long time for the sustainable development of our country. But these days, we young entrepreneurs without any backing or ties, are left behind while they take most of the market share, said Ko Phyo (name changed for security reasons), who has been running a company in the renewable energy sector for seven years.

These days, he said, entrepreneurs without financial backing and ties with cronies or the junta are not able to grab chances like the one Global Star has received to become a partner of Huawei on FusionSolar.

Businesses that buy and install Huaweis FusionSolar systems will be eligible for financing packages from United Amara Bank (UAB), which is owned by U Nay Aung, the son of U Aung Thaung, a notorious member of the previous military junta of Senior General Than Shwe.

Former Lieutenant Colonel Aung Thaung served as a deputy minister for commerce from 1993 during the reign of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and served as minister for industry 1 up to 2011. Then, with the democratization process introduced by the military junta, he became an MP in the Pyithu HluttawMyanmars Lower Housein that same year. After serving a five-year term, he passed away in 2015.

While one of his sons is still the owner of a private bank, his oldest son Moe Aung is currently serving as the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Navy. After the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, Moe Aung was appointed as Navy chief, and became a member of the State Administration Council, the military junta chaired by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

On Feb. 20, 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on Moe Aung for human rights violations and undermining democracy and rule of law in the country.

It is not strange that such a Chinese business is making partnerships with such cronies and conglomerates that have ties with the junta. However, people around the world should denounce and boycott Huawei for its cooperation with people with such bloody hands in Myanmar, said a 42-year-old economic commentator based in Yangon.
Junta troops also carried out an air raid on Mone Hla Village, home to over 700 households, on Nov. 23 last year. Junta ground troops also raided the village the same day, killing nine residents and torching more than 100 houses and a school.

The 8-year-old girl from a Christian family, who were taking shelter under a mango tree, was fatally hit by shrapnel. Junta troops also shelled Kalone Village, forcing more than 8,000 locals from at least six villages to flee their homes.

Around 100 junta troops belonging to the 33rd Light Infantry Division based in Sagaing came from Ye-U to Khin-U on Monday morning and fired artillery shells.

In another incident, an 8-year-old girl was killed in a junta artillery strike in Mone Hla Village in the same township on Monday. Mone Hla is the native village of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the archbishop of Yangon.

Maung Chit Yin Hto from Alel Sho Village in Khin-U Township was killed after discovering an unexploded projectile on Sunday. The 12-year-old boy found the artillery shell in the woods while herding cows. He brought it back home, and the shell exploded as it fell to the ground in his village. He died immediately.

Two children were killed in separate incidents in the resistance stronghold of Sagaing Region in central Myanmar on Sunday and Monday.

Villagers in Khin-U Township flee from their homes in the wake of regime shelling on Sunday. / The Irrawaddy

Villagers in Khin-U Township flee from their homes in the wake of regime shelling on Sunday. / The Irrawaddy

Over 40 Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks

Myanmar Junta Waives Tax on Electricity Investment to Keep Lights On

Dozens of Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks

More Asian, European Firms Named as Suppliers of Fuel to Myanmar Regimes Air Force

Dyeing for Myanmars Revolution: CDM Cop and Others Find New Skills for New Life

Myanmar Regime is not Massacring its Way to Victory

Nearly 70 Myanmar Junta Forces Killed in Three Days of Resistance Attacks

Junta Watch: Regime boss targets Western culture; Than Shwe Falls From Favor; and More

Myanmar Junta Losing More Than One Soldier Per Day: Kayah Resistance

We do not encourage viewing this site in this width. Please increase the size of your window.
Burma Myanmar Regime Paves Way for Election With Census Next Year

Workers collect census data from a family in Yangon on March 30, 2014. / AFP

Myanmars regime is probably planning to hold a general election in 2025 as junta-appointed immigration minister Myint Kyaing on Sunday announced a census will be conducted from October 1-15, 2024.

Observers say any election proposed by the junta is expected to take place in 2025 at the earliest as it will take a few months to collate the data and publish a report. The regime is likely to extend military rule until then, observers say.

At a junta cabinet meeting on February 23, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing said a census would ensure the accuracy of voter lists. He repeatedly calls for accurate voter lists and it is seen as unlikely he will call an election until a census is completed.

Voters need time to observe political parties and their leaders, Min Aung Hlaing told his cabinet. Myanmar is unstable and several conditions need to be met before a free and fair election can be held, he added.

Initially, the regime planned a general election later this year but it instead extended military rule for another six months, citing the extraordinary situation of nationwide conflict.

The regime last month enacted its Political Parties Registration Law, which requires parties to reregister with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission. Fourteen parties have reregistered so far.

The regime has invited tenders to supply polling station materials and is also planning to introduce electronic voting.

The US-sanctioned immigration minister Myint Kyaing said his ministry was preparing questionaries for the census. He also chairs the juntas central census commission.

A majority of the population does not believe the election will be either free or fair. The US, EU and Malaysia have called the election a sham.

Thirteen election offices were destroyed in resistance attacks from December 2021 to this January, according to junta-controlled newspapers. Four people, including two policemen, were killed while they were updating voter lists in January, according to the regime.

The last census was undertaken in 2014, the first in 30 years, under ex-general Thein Seins quasi-civilian government. The process was led by then immigration minister Khin Yi, who is the current chairman of the militarys proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Burma Myanmar Resistance Couple Die in Homemade Weapons Accident

A funeral held for the three resistance members who died while salvaging a junta shell in Ayadaw Township. / Supplied

A couple from a Sagaing Region resistance force died in a homemade weapons accident on Sunday.

The Myaung Township couple in their 20s were making bombs for drones.

They were a married couple but they hadnt held their wedding ceremony because they decided to celebrate their wedding after the revolution. I am really sorry for them, said Bo Kyar Thit of the Civilian Defence and Security Organization of Myaung.

Ko Nway Oo from the organization said homemade weapons accidents are frequent, especially during testing.

There have been multiple accidents. We have lost comrades while testing or using homemade weapons. We know there is no safety for us and cannot avoid these accidents. We risk our lives to protect our people, Ko Nway Oo said.

Many Sagaing resistance groups make their own weapons and ammunition due to their limited funding and rising prices. Some resistance forces use unexploded junta shells.

In another accident, three resistance fighters in Ayadaw Township, about 40km from Myaung, died when salvaging a junta shell on February 27.

They found the 40mm shell near their village on February 26 and took it to their base.

They knew how to handle the shell so it was a tragic accident. They were aged 18 to 20 and very hardworking. Losing our comrades broke my heart, an Ayadaw resistance spokesman said.

He said their comrades are told not to use unexploded shells although he admitted that homemade weapons caused more accidents.

We need to produce heavy weapons to compete with the regime. The larger the weapon, the higher the risk. We dont have enough firearms or funding to buy weapons so we have to make on our own and take the risk, he said.

Accidents caused by producing and testing homemade weapons killed at least 15 resistance members and injured about 30 in Myaung and Ayadaw townships last year, according to resistance forces.
Italy's state investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA (CDP) and Australian fund infrastructure Macquarie Group have joined forces to form a multibillion-euro purchase for Telecom Italia SpA's landline network to outbid New York-based investment firm KKR's preliminary offer.

According to a Bloomberg report, CDP said in a statement last Sunday that the board approved the bid for Telecom Italia's grid and its submarine business Sparkle. No terms were disclosed.

The offer of both companies rivals KKR's US$22 billion valuation. According to a Bloomberg source who are familiar with the matter, the bid offers more cash.

Sources said that CDP and Macquarie teamed up to match KKR "after initially exploring a joint offer with the US investment firm."

The acquisition comes more urgent as the former state monopoly is under pressure to slash a 20-billion euro debt load.

CDP owns almost 10% of Telecom Italia and has a majority stake in smaller rival Open Fiber SpA, according to the same Bloomberg report.

As per Reuters, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated the government's duty to oversee the bid as it must safeguard 40,000 jobs under Telecom Italia's labour force. The problem, however, is "there is no common ground within the administration on how to proceed," she said.

Telecom Italia's so-called "related parties committee" will review the offer in a board meeting, it said in a statement. The offer expires on 31 March.

A committee will meet on Friday, 10 March, to review the joint offer, according to a Reuters source.

Telecom Italia said last month as per Bloomberg it was seeking better terms from KKR after it reviewed its non-binding offer. In 2021, Telecom Italia rejected KKR's bid to buy the entire company.

If the deal pushes through, CDP and Macquarie would acquire 60% and 40% of Telecom Italia respectively, according to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero as cited by Reuters.
FEATURE - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY - Women are now upskilling their digital capabilities to crack the code to gender equality through inclusive automated technologies and disruptive innovation, according to UiPath.

Australian women are seeing new opportunities to capitalise on digital skills, especially in automated technologies. A recent survey found that 55% of Australian female workers were motivated to undertake digital skills training within the next year, which is 14% higher than the number of men wanting to upskill in digital technologies.

More than 500 female employees from the National Australia Bank (NAB), including non-technical staff, recently signed up to gain foundational cloud skills and a certification in cloud technology.

Mark Fioretto, Area Vice President and Managing Director Australia and New Zealand for UiPath said, There are many untapped opportunities for women in technology automation. In fact, according to the Tech Council of Australia, the country will need an additional 653,000 technology workers within the next five to seven years. Many of these skills will be needed in artificial intelligence, machine learning and end-to-end enterprise automation.

Even though 74% of Australian organisations have spent 10-20% more on automation since the pandemic, IDC research shows that 82% of organisations with more than 1000 employees still have less than 50 automation developers.

Sally Douvis, Senior Director, Human Resources, Asia Pacific and Japan for UiPath said this was one example that clearly demonstrated the crucial need for women in automation.

As the demands of juggling career and caring commitments become more challenging, women are beginning to recognise that automation could be their answer for career development without the burnout.

Working either in the technology automation industry or in roles supported by human-friendly automated technologies broadens women's career opportunities and provides the workplace flexibility needed, enabling an increase in work productivity while sustaining personal balance.

At UiPath, increasing the representation of women in technology is an important goal to support diversity in technological development, which is enabled by our focus on workplace automation.

Being inclusive of women in automation can unlock limitless potential for automations in society that improve our work lives and the greater world. The automation field is therefore a great place to nurture diversity in the workplace.
GUEST OPINION: In 2023, every Australian business will be looking for ways to more efficiently manage ever-increasing amounts of data, while at the same time seeking to increase efficiency in the face of a tightening economy.

Couple those imperatives with the emerging challenge of reducing carbon emissions (particularly in the eyes of regulators warning about greenwashing) and many businesses must be asking themselves, what actions can we take?

One area which organisations can focus on for economic efficiencies and sustainability improvements is in the data centre.

To understand why we need to review the significant changes which have occurred in data centres in recent years.

In fact, it started back in 2011, when Pure Storage released the first all-flash storage array that was robust and economical enough for mission-critical data centres. Ever since then, Pure has been on a mission to make all-flash data centre a reality and today, this vision is closer than ever to becoming a reality.

But how is flash making a difference to data centres?

Firstly, there has been no question of the advantages of flash over legacy storage medium such as disk or tape. But the main holdback has been cost. In fact, the disk/flash TCO (total cost of ownership) cutover is closer than many people may realize. In this article, we look at the elements that will render hard drives the less cost-effective option in the near future.

Its important to note up front that flash has already been the obvious choice for any performance- or latency-sensitive workload for some time now. Since flash memorys entrance into the enterprise storage arena, it has been knocking down hard disk tiers one by one, from top to bottom, until now theres really only one tier left where disk drives maintain a market share advantage: nearline, capacity-focused drives.

This is the lowest tier of online data storage, but it also represents a huge portion of bytes being stored, as well as the growing majority (more than 70%) of hard drive capacity shipped each year. Thats the tier that flash will penetrate next.

The price-per-bit for NAND flash is declining at a rate much faster than nearline hard drives.

This, combined with the power, space, and cooling savings, higher performance, and better reliability of flash will soon result in hard drives becoming the less cost-effective option. Lets go into a detailed look at some of these components.

Media Cost

The first-order cost is always going to be the media itself. While today the cost-per-bit of a hard drive is still lower than the densest flash, there are several key trends to pay attention to in 2023.

First, all the major tier 1 flash manufacturers are demonstrating significant density increases this year, with over 200 layers of stacked 3D NAND in some cases. This increase in density will translate into better cost efficiency, as well as further improve power and space savings. Second, if analyst predictions hold, NAND prices overall are expected to decline through most of 2023, continuing a trend that began in late 2022.

Energy Cost

Data centre infrastructure represents over 1% of global energy consumption, and this share is growing. As a result of rising energy costs, energy consumption by information technology has become not just a concern from an environmental standpoint but now also a significant economic one.

When looking at a total cost of ownership, energy consumption will play an even more outsized role in 2023 and beyond, and infrastructure that is more power efficient will have an even greater economic advantage over the competition. As flash density continues to increase, power efficiency will surpass hard drives and thus contribute to a lower effective cost.

In 2022, Pure Storage published our first ESG report, which compared our systems to competitive all-flash alternatives, where we showed that our systems can use up to 84% less energy. Pures energy efficiency will be a leading factor in enabling Pure Storage products to achieve a lower TCO than disk in the future.

Higher Performance

In two key ways, the flash performance advantage over disk can translate into cost advantages.

First, because disk performance is still so low, even in workloads with modest performance requirements, you will often end up with stranded capacity. While spinning drives may hold 20TB, if the performance of the system taps out at 16TB, you will not derive as effective a cost-per-bit. Flash doesnt have this issue because read performance stays predictable even as drives fill up, unlike hard drives.

Second, any storage environment that focuses on resiliency will have a redundancy strategy which may involve storing multiple copies of data for example, in addition to keeping spare capacity around in the case of a failure.

This means that the performance of any one device is a variable in the equation used to determine how much redundancy you need to build into your system. Many years ago, hard drives had gotten large enough that after a drive failed, rebuilds would take so long that you needed to adopt dual parity strategies to ensure business resiliency. Today that can be triple parity or more.

With flash devices, faster rebuild times mean less bits need to be dedicated to resiliency structures, which equates to better effective cost efficiency. Some flash vendors, like Pure Storage, offer robust, automatic resiliency tuning that takes all these aspects into consideration, without requiring users to determine what RAID level they need to set.

Better Reliability

Pures data shows that the annualized failure rates (AFR) of our systems are significantly lower than the industry benchmarks for spinning disk, as well as lower than industry SSD averages. If drives are more reliable, this goes into the same resiliency considerations as above.

But beyond that, it also means that more reliable devices need fewer replacements and therefore lower costs. While most customers with support contracts dont feel the cost directly, the cost of this unreliability is baked into the cost of those very support contracts. This is one reason why traditional storage vendors support costs would skyrocket in years 4, 5, and beyond.

This reliability means Pures customers dont have to undergo disruptive, forklift upgrades every 4 to 5 years. 97% of Pure Storage arrays purchased six years ago with an Evergreen subscription are still in service today and are completely up to date from a technology point of view.

Flash Is Just Better

The simple truth is that no one today continues to buy spinning drives because theyre better, but only because theyre cheaper. In almost every way, flash memory is superior to spinning magnetic storage, and where flash is already better, those advantages are increasing. Where flash is still behind disk is cost, and the road to the disk/flash crossover point is getting shorter and shorter. The dream of an all-flash data centre will soon become accessible for most organisations.
Cybersecurity company Barracuda Networks has appointed Paul Crighton as Regional Sales Director for Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific Islands.

Based in Melbourne, Barracuda says Crighton will focus on accelerating the companys current sales momentum and channel program in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands - and brings more than 25 years of sales leadership and channel partner management experience to Barracuda and has successfully led companies through rapid sales growth and business expansion.

We are excited to have Paul on our team with his deep expertise in business strategy and the channel partner ecosystem, said James Forbes-May, Vice President of Sales at Barracuda Asia Pacific.

As we continue to see strong demand for cybersecurity solutions in Australia, Paul will support our local sales team to harness best practices and deliver innovative security products to customers and partners in the Pacific region to safeguard their organisations.

Crighton joins Barracuda from NetApp where he was Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, leading sales activities and business operations - and before NetApp, he was regional senior vice president of sales for BlackBerry and has previously worked at PGi, Symantec and McAfee.

I am excited to join Barracudas talented team and to work together to deliver innovative and effective solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers and partners in the region, said Paul Crighton, Regional Sales Director at Barracuda ANZ & Pacific Islands.

I look forward to contributing to the continued success of Barracuda and helping our customers navigate the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus.
Page Content

On Tuesday February 28, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA), Omar Ottley met with the President of Water Sanitation and Youth Mr. Raphael Sanchez, Special Representative of GEBE Troy Washington and Senior advisor to the President of the Collectivite Alex Richards to discuss the possibility of Dutch Sint Maarten supplying water to its French counterparts due to a water shortage. The French side is seeking a connection between Marigot and Philipsburg for water supply.





The purpose of the meeting was to revive the possibility of the Dutch side of the island being able to supply the French side with water in efforts to eliminate their water shortage issue. In 2013 interconnection discussions began and pipes were laid; however nothing was finalized.





In efforts to move forward, French St Martin has agreed to provide Minister Ottley and GEBE with their standards, requirements and water quantity. After receipt, the Minister and GEBE will provide feedback. If all required standards and regulations can be met and pricing is agreed upon, the next step will be to involve the department of foreign affairs to create an memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries.





Minister Ottley would like to thank Mr. Raphael Sanchez for contacting him to further intervene in this long awaited process. This collaboration can be a benefit to both sides of the island. The relationship with the new sitting officials on the Northern side has strengthened of the pass year and is definitely illustrating one island one destiny.




Chinese envoy calls for immediate lifting of sanctions on South Sudan

Xinhua) 15:25, March 07, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Monday called on the Security Council to immediately lift sanctions on South Sudan to facilitate the protection of civilians in the country.

"Recently, we have seen escalated violence across many regions in South Sudan, including Upper Nile, Jonglei and Equatoria," Dai Bing, charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the United Nations, told a Security Council meeting.

China calls on all parties concerned to immediately cease hostilities and settle their differences through dialogue and negotiation, he said.

Dai noted that the government's deployment of security forces in the Nile Corridor has helped stabilize the local situations, fully demonstrating that the country's security must be maintained by its government.

"The (Security) Council sanctions on South Sudan have restricted the government's security capacity to protect civilians and must be lifted immediately," Dai said.

The envoy said that the year 2023 is crucial for South Sudan as the country implements the Revitalized Agreement and advances the political transition. At this critical time, the international community should continue to exercise patience, and give more support and encouragement to South Sudan to help it overcome the difficulties in implementation of the agreement and electoral preparations with tangible actions, he said.

Dai pointed out that the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has made important contributions to peace and stability in the country.

However, "it merits our attention" that the mandate of UNMISS has been expanding in recent years, some parts of which are clearly beyond the competence of a peacekeeping mission and others may undermine the trust between the mission and the host government, he said.

"We hope the Security Council will concentrate on the core mandate of peacekeeping operations when discussing the draft resolution on the renewal of UNMISS mandate, abide by the three principles of peacekeeping, and make practical arrangements in light of the most pressing tasks in South Sudan," said Dai.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Page Content

The Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure (Ministry of VROMI), hereby announces that the Bush Road and the Church Hill Round-a-bout (Cul de Sac) will be partially closed in connection with resurfacing and installing of new asphalt and road markings on Sunday evening February 19 from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.





Asphalt works will be executed on sections of Bush Road including the roundabout, afterwards curing will take place for approximately two (2) to four (4) hours after installing of asphalt.





During curing vehicles are not allowed to use the new road surface! During the proposed period of closure ordinary vehicular traffic are advised, to use alternative routes. 





A segment of the Bush Road starting from Delta Petroleum gas station direction towards the roundabout including Senna Drive, Wobble Vine Road, Crocus Road, Lavender drive and sections of Zagersgut Road will be partially closed.





Vehicles going in the direction of St. Peters and surrounding neighbourhoods are advised to use the Coralita Road via Crocus Road/Zagersgut Road.





Vehicles going in the direction of Cay Hill and over the hill areas are advised to make use of the A. Th. Illidge Road/Longwall Road/Little Bay/Reindeer Road (Link One).





The Ministry is advising all traffic to use the alternative roads and avoid the Bush Road during the aforementioned road closure period.





Motorists are requested to be vigilant and observant for the traffic directional signs.





The Ministry of VROMI apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause.
Page Content

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten on Friday, February 24, Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs, Ms. Silveria Jacobs attended and spoke a few words of introduction at the commencement of the three-day NPOwer Conference.





Following a moving message from His Excellency Governor Ajamu Baly, keynote speaker, Dr. Bonnie Benesh, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the Think To DO Institute, gave an inspiring speech on the importance of NGOs and the roles of connectivity and inspiration.





In her speech, Prime Minister Jacobs referred to NGOs as the circulatory system to the role of head that the Government plays in community building. Following her address to the NGOs, the Prime Minister pledged to support the organizations by offering her services speaking at requested engagements and an informational exchange.




An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
03/07/2023



Cocky lounges by the Rec Center's outdoor pool, which is closed until May, but the indoor pool and the rest of the facility will be open for spring break.

Jacksonville State University will be closed for spring break the week of March 20, 2023. Classes will not meet and offices will be closed. The following holiday hours will be observed for campus services.

DINING

Mason's BBQ will be open during spring break on Wednesday, March 22 to Saturday, March 25, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

will be open during spring break on Wednesday, March 22 to Saturday, March 25, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Z Beans will close for break on Friday, March 17, and reopen on Monday, March 27, at 8 a.m.

will close for break on Friday, March 17, and reopen on Monday, March 27, at 8 a.m. All other dining locations and Kiwibot service will close on Friday, March 17, at 2 p.m., and resume regular hours on Monday, March 27.

REC CENTER

The University Recreation and Fitness Center will be open over break as follows:

Monday-Friday: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sunday: 12-8 p.m.



Indoor Pool:

Monday-Friday: 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3-7 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday: 12-7 p.m.

The outdoor pool will remain closed until May.



Climbing Wall:

Monday-Friday: 3-7 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 12-3 p.m.

Adventure Rec:

Enjoy an outdoor adventure over spring break by checking out camping and outdoor equipment from UREC's Adventure Rec Center. Students and other members can rent camping, climbing, biking and boating equipment. The Adventure Rec desk will be open spring break Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

LIBRARY and BOOKSTORE

Houston Cole Library will be closed Saturday, March 18, to Saturday, March 25. Regular hours will resume on Sunday, March 26.

will be closed Saturday, March 18, to Saturday, March 25. Regular hours will resume on Sunday, March 26. The Campus Bookstore will be closed for Spring Break. Customers are welcome to visit the store online.

HEALTH, SAFETY and TRANSPORTATION

Health Center : The RMC/JSU Health Center will be open regular hours during Spring Break: Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information or appointments, call 256-782-5310.

: The RMC/JSU Health Center will be open regular hours during Spring Break: Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information or appointments, call 256-782-5310. Campus Police : The University Police Department will continue to serve campus throughout the break. Officers are available 24/7. Call 256-782-5050 for assistance.

: The University Police Department will continue to serve campus throughout the break. Officers are available 24/7. Call 256-782-5050 for assistance. Counseling : Students experiencing a mental health emergency after-hours should contact campus police at 256-782-5050 to be connected with an on-call counselor from the JSU Counseling Center.

: Students experiencing a mental health emergency after-hours should contact campus police at 256-782-5050 to be connected with an on-call counselor from the JSU Counseling Center. JSU Ride: The jsuRIDE system will not run over spring break.

MAIL CENTER, ID OFFICE and PRINT SHOP

The JSU Mail Center, ID Office and Print Shop will be closed for spring break.
Construction continues on West 61, a luxury townhouse development on West Kelownas Shannon Lake with units starting at $799,000. West Kelowna is looking to increase density in two urban centres and infill existing neighbourhoods to create more housing options for the citys growing population.
Cpl. James Choi, of the Royal Westminster Regiment in New Westminster, B.C., is seen in an undated handout photo. Military prosecutors have dropped their case against a soldier charged in relation to the death of an army reservist during a training exercise in 2020. Cpl. Lars Callsen of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was charged in May 2021 with one count of negligence following the death of Cpl. James Choi. A member of the Royal Westminster Regiment, Choi was participating in a live-fire training at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alta., in October 2020 when he was shot. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Department of National Defence, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, March 6, 2023. Trudeau is calling on the committee of parliamentarians that reviews matters of national security and the national intelligence watchdog to independently investigate concerns about foreign interference in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Very few people have ever had the opportunity to sit in "Margaret's chair" in Ballyragget.

I am referring to the stone seat, still intact, on top of Ballyragget Castle which affords the best views of the town named after the family who owned the land around it for generations, the Raggets.

It is hard to believe that this forgotten gem was absolutely central to the defence of Kilkenny in the 16th and 17th centuries and has been the backdrop for incredible events and the scene of much bloodshed and bitterness.

During the late 16th century and all through the 17th and 18th century it played a huge role in the military and political life of the county and the region, being the main defensive structure and fortified keep to the north of Kilkenny Castle. It also became a prized possession for the English, the Irish and the various squabbling branches of the Ormonde dynasty.

We know this and much more from the seminal work on the castle by Enda Houlihan through his thesis for his Bachelor of Education degree. It should be compulsive reading for anyone with a smidgeon of interest in their local place.

Back to the Chair.

It is also known as the Wishing Chair and the older people in Ballyragget believed that if you sat in the chair your wish would be granted.

It is also said but not recorded anywhere in print, that Lady Margaret Butler who was one of the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Kildare, would sit here and look out at the lands and that on occasion, servants, or others who did her a disservice would be hung from the castle.

The same story is told about another of her favourite haunts, Grannagh Castle while there is also a Margaret's chair at Clomantagh Castle, outside Freshford.

And just to demonstrate how important Ballyragget Castle was, a number of castles which were built later in the 16th century were modeled on it, including Tybroughney Castle, Piltown.

A very unsavoury character who held the castle was one of Cromwell's most deprived officers, Col Daniel Axtell who had one of the Butlers of the castle tortured and killed for not disclosing where the Mountgarret treasure was buried. He hung Catholic and Protestant royalists on the Fair Green, Ballyragget while laughing on from the castle.

The same treatment is supposed to have pertained to another of Lady Margaret's castles at Grannagh, Kilmacow.

Lady Margaret and her fondness for Ballyragget gives the place an extra special significance and along with the curse on the Mountgarrets (that eventually came through in the late 18th century when they finally left the castle), the murderous goings on, the secret tunnel and the greatest collection of Whiteboys ever seen in Kilkenny, Ballyragget Castle with its four intact towers, one now used as a Marian shrine, should be celebrated and enjoyed by locals and visitors to marvel at its size and beauty.

In some ways it's similar to the French chateaus. Many of these have walled fortifications around which an urban centre grew much as it did in Ballyragget and didn't around others like Balleen Castle which was preferred by one of the Mountgarrets over Ballyragget.

While the castle features on the crest of the Ballyragget GAA club jerseys and the local girls primary school, none of the players or the students have, to my knowledge been inside the castle.

This is to be expected and the owners have done a great job in keeping it in good condition and for that and for much more they should be congratulated.

In other areas, these type of medieval castles have disappeared and many archaeologists and others would argue that we have too many castles and that it is difficult to know what to do with them all.

It is an excellent point and one which Kilkenny with over 200 medieval installations in varying degrees of upkeep will have to address sooner rather then later.

Yet Ballyragget Castle dominated the town and was responsible for its foundation.

And even though some would argue that the modern town turned its back on the castle, literally; it remains a sleeping giant, an untapped resource full of potential that should really be explored.

The castle itself is still imposing and Pat Moore's photo captures that very well.

And at dusk, the crows fly to and from it, like something straight out of a Disney film.

The castle which still has a roof and is intact if probably dangerous to explore and is also good reason to keep it closed. Wouldn't it make a great place to film Game Of Thrones.

Ballyragget Castle is basically 44 feet by 31 feet in size, according to the bible of Kilkenny archaeology and history, Canon Carrigan's opus on the Diocese of Ossory.

The walls are around seven and a half feet thick and all the doors, are of cut stone, probably limestone.

The main entrance-door on the east side is Gothic, in appearance and is close to the girls primary school.

It would be quite easy to make an entrance from the school side, making it accessible without too much hassle.

However, there is potentially, an even better entrance available if it was opened up.

This is where the owners have set beautiful alder trees along the avenue up to the Castle which is just about visible if you peek in through the corrugated iron gates, down from SuperValu.

Bishop Carrigan noted that two sets of corbels (a stone jutting out from a wall to carry a beam, a type of heavy duty bracket) in the same wall as the east entrance and other marks on the wall indicate a very large house or mansion now demolished that was built against it.

And this is in keeping with folklore which claimed a huge thatch house was situated next to it with one of its gables part of the Castle wall.

And it would seem that the lost house probably replaced the thatch house.

Down from the east side entrance is a cattle shed, still intact after hundreds of years and still being used and I for one think that is terrific.

What good are old buildings dotted around the countryside unless they are used. Otherwise they will fall down.

A few years before the end of the 16th century, the state room, where banquets were held, was remodeled and fitted up with a massive cut stone chimney piece, inscribed with the initials of Edmund, second viscount Mountgarrett and the date of the inscription;

According to the 2014 County Development Plan the Tower House at the castle is a listed building.

It is not a national monument according to the Office of Public Works (OPW) and that seems to be because it is in private ownership.

The four round towers that defend it are looped so as to command what is outside of the walls. The Keep is five stories high with the look-out turret that rises above the parapet in the north east corner of the keep.

During the half century that followed, Ballyragget Castle seems to have been abandoned, at least temporarily by the Mountgarrett family. And we know this because, Richard, the third Viscount was described in a contemporary document from that time, as residing in Balleen Castle in 1610.

In the year 1619, King James I constituted the place a manor, with a grant of two annual fairs, in favour of Richard third Viscount Mountgarrett, the proprietor of the estate.

The Ballyragget Convent School did a folklore project some years ago and came up with the following:

"There is a big stone chair in it and it is said if anyone wished while sitting in it they would get their wish.

It has a dungeon which stretches from it to the river," Maisie Baird told the project.

"The castle itself is fairly well preserved and seems to be withstanding the ravages of time well. As a matter of fact it provides no mean living accommodation for a workman, his wife and family. The upper storeys are not so safe but he first and second storeys are very stable and the present resident considers it a very safe abode. (J. Kelly, Ballyragget as part of the folklore project."

The Battle of Ballyragget took place in the shadow of the castle in 1775.

It was the largest assembly of Whiteboys ever in Kilkenny, 300 horsemen and 200 on foot.

Whiteboys were a secret agrarian organisation in the 18th-century which used violent tactics to defend tenant farmer land rights for subsistence farming.

They were led by a Moore man from Higginstown, Clara and the family are still there.

The castle and the surrounding stone walls support a wide variety of plants. Aubrietia, (an ornamental nonnative plant) is abundant, with ivy, maidenhair spleenwort, common polypody, white stonecrop, pellitory, germander speedwell and various mosses and lichens all frequent, according to a LAP Habitat Assessment by Mary Tubridy & Associates.

Elder and sycamore are also present, with dead lime trees along the southwestern wall. Alder have been planted on the avenue to the castle.

The castle provides suitable habitat for bat species, but no bat survey of the castle has been undertaken.

The castle also provides habitat for common birds, with jackdaw, blackbird, song thrush, robin, blue tit, house sparrow, chaffinch and swallow recorded in and around the castle grounds in 2010.

The stone wall surrounding the castle supports rich flora, including ivy and aubrieta. Dry meadow and grassy verge habitat is present around the grounds of the castle. Cocksfoot, nettle, cleaver, ribwort plantain, creeping buttercup and docks are abundant. Adjacent to the south wall of the castle grounds, there is a small area of scattered trees and parkland, with mature oak, beech and cherry. Shrubs include lilac, elder and ivy.

Ground flora features dandelion, lesser celandine, lesser periwinkle, violet, creeping cinquefoil, daisy and lordsandladies.

Borders with nonnative species of shrub have been planted nearer to the road.

Canon Carrigan's History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory; The Old Kilkenny Review article; Ballyragget and District by T Lyng; PM Egan's History of Kilkenny; Kilkenny county Council's Local Area Plans (LAP) for Ballyragget; Scoil Chiarain Naofa Primary School folklore school project; Lewis Topographical Dictionary (1837).

Enda Houlihan's work; Enda Houlihan B.A.: Ballyragget Castle, Co. Kilkenny. A history and comparative analysis.

The aim of the dissertation was to analyse Ballyragget castle, Co. Kilkenny and compare it on three levels to its baronial, and in turn its shire contemporaries in Co. Kilkenny.

The thrust of the dissertation came in three ways. The first was to attain an understanding of the castle's history throughout its perceived lifetime and assess its implicationsfor the castle's level of prestige within its barony and in turn the implications it had for the castle's importance to the Earldom of Ormond.

The second aim was to assess the geographical location of the castle, and in turn its strategic positioning, in terms of it being a castle structure but also in terms of it being a Butler fortress and military structure.

The third was to assess the castle's military and defensive strengths archaeologically and in turn compare this to the other premier castles in the castle's relevant barony, and in turn against others along the Kilkenny northern borderlands. In turn these three investigated areas, and their relevant conclusions, allowed Houlihan to draw a conclusion on the castle's standing as a formidable military structure and a acutely strategically sited building within the barony of Fassadinin.

We are indebted to Enda Houlihan for his work on Ballyragget Castle entitled, A History and Comparative analysis, which formed the basis for his Bachelor of Education thesis.

He argued that the Tower House of Ballyragget was not an addition but an original construction from the late 15th century when it became an important strategically because of the prevailing, fragile political situation between the Earls of Kildare and Pierse Ruadh Butler whose feisty wife was daughter of the Earl of Kildare. It created a prosperous town and more importantly from the Butlers point of view, gave them a military presence in a previously unmarshaled area and it also meant that the castle and the people who lived in and around it were firmly tied to the shire of Kilkenny.

It became the premier crossing point of the River Nore for the upper Nore valley.

The castle continued to be of military importance up until the 18th century, when the British army placed a garrison there during the 1798 rebellion in Wexford.

From the 16th century on, Ballyragget Castle gained in prestige, becoming the seat of residence of the Mountgarrets (a branch of the Ormonde family).

It became of huge military importance and Mountgarrets used it as a defence and to raid the adjoining MacGiollapadraig territory.

However, it became the base for revolt in the late 16th century when Edmund, the 2nd viscount Mountgarret decided to revolt against the crown and support the Ulster rebels. Ballyragget became a prized possession during the war that followed and was attacked and captured on three separate occasions. And it speaks volumes that it was used as a base by the Cromwellians, according to Enda Houlihan's seminal work on Ballyragget Castle: "It was a formidable and imposing structure, militarily and politically.
A huge gas blast ripped through a block of Corporation houses in Kilkenny, causing extensive damage and injuring one man seriously.

When 64-year-old bread delivery man Michael Holland of 4 St Fiacres Place struck a match to light his gas stove the entire block of four houses was rocked by an explosion.

Mr Holland was blown across the room which burst into flames. But he crawled to safety, his clothes partly burned off him and lino wrapped around his legs by the blast.

Upstairs, his wife Ciss was thrown forcibly out of bed as the floor of the bedroom was ripped apart. A large section of the back wall of the house was completely blown out and every window in the house was shattered.

Next door Tommy Barry was bringing a cup of tea upstairs to his wife when the house was shaken by explosion. Windows blew in and the back wall cracked.

Further on in the home of Mr and Mrs Sean Devane the shockwaves almost tore the gable wall asunder, leaving large cracks inside and outside.

In the home of Mr John Leahy, which adjoins Holland's on the other side, the party wall bulged inwards and smaller cracks spread along the entire length of their house and supermarket.

At the time of going to press, a detailed survey of the houses was still being carried out by Corporation engineers. It was uncertain of Holland's house would have to be completely demolished and rebuilt.

Mr Hollands progress at St Lukes Hospital was described as satisfactory.
Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board (KCETB) has announced details of a new special purpose award that formally recognises and supports parents in their role as the primary educators of their children in areas such as literacy, numeracy and digital literacy.



The Level 3 Special Purpose Award in Learning to Support Children in Primary School was developed by KCETB in collaboration with nine other education and training boards. It will provide certification options for learners participating in family learning programmes.

The award is nationally recognised and will be awarded by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the state agency responsible for certifying further and higher education awards. The initiative will be rolled out in collaboration with local stakeholders.

Details of the new award were announced by KCETB at a special event at the Lord Bagenal Inn, in Carlow as part of the inaugural ETB Week. The week-long celebration of ETB students, staff and services marks ten years since Irelands 16 education and training boards were established.

Speaking at the event, KCETB Chief Executive Eileen Curtis said it was a proud day seeing the work of ten education and training boards  including KCETB  come to fruition with the introduction of the Level 3 Special Purpose Award in Learning to Support Children in Primary School.

It is important that the work of parents, in their role as the primary educators of their children, is officially recognised and we hope it will inspire parents in their own learning, she said. I thank everyone who was involved in its development.

Anyone interested in learning more about the programme should contact the KCETB Adult Literacy Service or to visit www.kcetb.ie for more details.

Joining Ms Curtis at the event was Professor Aine Hyland, Emeritus Professor of Education in University College Cork, who said that the role of parents, working in partnership with schools, cannot be understated.

CRUCIAL

The family and the community are central in any policy developments in education and parental involvement does not just benefit the children and the school  it is a crucial aspect of lifelong learning, said Prof Hyland.

Congratulations to KCETB on the launch of this QQI Level 3 Special Purpose Award for Family Learning Programmes. This is an opportunity for this new award to be adopted in other communities.

Yvonne McKenna, who is director of the Adult Literacy for Life National Programme Office with SOLAS, quoted Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris in his introduction to the recent Adult Literacy for life (ALL) strategy.

We have to challenge the misconception that an inability to read, write or digitally communicate is a failure of the person, she said.

It is a failure of society and the State... We know literacy is a form of power, so let us empower everyone in Ireland to be their best possible selves.

Director of Awards at Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) Barbara Kelly said QQI was delighted to award recognition for this special award and said that it was a fitting way of ensuring that such work would be properly recognised in the future.

We realise that deciding to return to adult learning is possibly the most selfless way to positively join in your childs education path, but it also allows parents to re-join or enhance their own learning journey, said Ms Kelly.
Fastway delivery firm are among the organisations that were reprimanded over data breaches, according to a watchdogs annual report.

Fastway, who operate in Kilkenny and across the country, was reprimanded and received an administrative fine of 15,000 euro, which is pending confirmation in the courts.

The personal data breach concerned unauthorised access to a significant amount of personal data, the watchdog said.

The decision found that Fastway infringed Article 32(1) of the GDPR by failing to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk presented by its processing of personal data.

In its annual report, the DPC said there were 5,828 GDPR data breaches reported last year, down 12% on 2021.

The most frequent cause of reported breaches was from correspondence inadvertently being sent to the wrong recipients, at 62% of the overall total.

Of the total 5,828 breach notifications that the DPC received, 3,014 related to the private sector, 2,568 to the public sector and the remaining 246 came from the voluntary and charity sector.

As of 31 December 2022, the DPC was pursuing 88 statutory inquiries, including 22 large-scale cross-border inquiries.

The DPC has also imposed administrative fines ranging from 1,500 euro to 17 million euro on six different organisations; all of these funds have been collected and transferred to the Exchequer.

Among the organisations were Limerick City and County Council, fined 110,000 euro in December 2021; Bank of Ireland, fined 463,000 euro in March, and Meta Ireland, fined 17 million euro in March.

Limerick council has taken corrective actions including obtaining Garda permission for more than 353 CCTV cameras, removing all automated number plate recognition technology and removing cameras that were focused on traveller accommodation sites.

Plans to bring in real-time monitoring of CCTV cameras in 14 towns and villages across Co Limerick were also abandoned.

A draft DPC decision has been issued on surveillance technologies used by Kildare County Council, and final decisions have been issued into inquiries concerning Kerry County Council and Waterford City and County Council.

The Commissioner for Data Protection Helen Dixon said that 2022 saw significant outputs from the organisation in its efforts to drive GDPR compliance and protect the peoples data rights.

While the DPC encourages and guides organisations in achieving highest standards of protection in their processing of personal data, the DPC has also demonstrated it does not shy away from enforcing the law and applying sanctions where warranted, she said.

Two-thirds of the fines issued across Europe last year, including the EU, EEA and UK, were issued by the DPC on foot of detailed and comprehensive investigations, a fact that underlines both the outsized role, and exceptional performance, of the organisation in effectively holding those guilty of non-compliance to account.
Sean Holt, a student from Ghaelcholaiste Cheatharlach in Carlow was awarded the Gradam Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonncha, Barr Feabhais sa Ghaeloideachas, at the inaugural ETB Excellence Awards on Thursday, March 2.

The awards were run by Education and Training Boards Ireland as it celebrated 10 years of Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland.

Kilkenny and Carlow ETB were also the overall winner in the Excellence Award for Respect category.

The awards were run by Education and Training Boards Ireland as it celebrated 10 years of Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony in Croke Park which also marked ETB Day. Hosted by RTE newsreader and former ETB student, Ray Kennedy, the event was attended by representatives from all 16 ETBs across the country.

Some of the awards presented at the ceremony included the ETB Excellence in Education Award, the ETB Excellence Award for Equality, the ETB Excellence in Further Education and Training Award, and the ETB Excellence in Youth Services Award, amongst others.

Congratulating the awardees, Paddy Lavelle, Chief Executive of ETBI said: It gives me great pride to congratulate all the winners, and indeed runners-up on their success in the inaugural ETB Excellence Awards. We received over 500 entries from ETBs across the country to the Awards detailing the great people and initiatives that are ongoing in all corners of Ireland.

The standard across all categories was extremely competitive, meaning we had a very difficult job in narrowing the entries down and selecting our winners. The work of all ETBs  not those just officially recognised at the awards  deserves to be commended. Their commitment and passion for education, for learning and for their communities play a vital role in ensuring that there are broad and varied options for people to engage with education and training across the country, no matter what stage of their learning journey they are at.

This year is a milestone year for ETBs as we celebrate 10 years since their formation in Ireland. Over the past decade, ETBs have delivered learning and education opportunities for everyone  including primary and post primary schools, further education and training and youth services. ETBs have revolutionised Irelands education system, and I hope that we can continue to deliver innovative, diverse and flexible learning pathways over the next ten years, and beyond.

Education & Training Boards are Irelands leading statutory providers of Education and Training and are unique in providing lifelong learning for all.

Collectively, the 16 Education and Training Boards have responsibility for 27 Community National Schools and 250 Post-Primary Schools with over 117,000 students.
TV host and award-winning food writer Donal Skehan has called on the people of on Kilkenny to help bake the world of difference for sick children!

Donal Skehan was joined by young baker and Childrens Health Ireland at Temple Street patient Saoibh Lonergan to officially launch the sweetest campaign of the year.

The Great Irish Bake for Sick Children, proudly supported by Gem, takes place on Friday, March 31.

Saoibh, Donal and Childrens Health Foundation are asking individuals, families, communities, creches, schools and companies to host their own Great Irish Bake event on or around Friday, March 31 and raise vital funds to support sick children and their families in CHI at Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght and Connolly.

You can host family bake offs, street/workplace bake offs, afternoon tea, bake sales, cupcake decorating competitions, the possibilities are endless.

Funds raised will help to provide cutting-edge technology, extraordinary care, transformative treatments and so much more for our special hospitals.



So, spin that rolling pin and dust off those aprons - by taking part in this years Great Irish Bake you will be doing something really sweet for sick children when they need it most.

Whether you go all out with your macarons and souffles or simply whip up a few fairy cakes to enjoy with pals, every single event held this year will make a real difference to families going through the most challenging of times.

To register today and receive your own baking pack, simply visit 'childrenshealth.ie/greatirishbake'.

Get in touch on social media too to share your own bakes, recipes and kitchen tips. Simply include the hashtag #GreatIrishBake.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Windy with a mix of clouds and sun. High around 55F. Winds NW at 25 to 35 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Clear. Gusty winds diminishing after midnight. Low 32F. NW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.
The Biden administration is considering reinstating the policy of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally, a practice President Joe Biden had ended when he came into office, two administration officials said.
Residents in Southern California remain trapped by snow as another round of winter weather hits the northern region of the state
Election officials in Florida, Missouri and West Virginia say they are withdrawing from a bipartisan, multistate effort aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter rolls that has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trumps false claims about the 2020 presidential election


By Helmut K. Anheier



BERLIN  Two months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, Jurgen Habermas, perhaps Germany's leading public intellectual, published a commentary that triggered one of the country's most ferocious political debates in decades. Habermas asked how Germany should position itself in the widening Russian-Ukrainian war. Germans still haven't reached any agreement on an answer.



At the start of the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was subject to a barrage of open letters, each signed by hundreds of leading public figures. Some took a hawkish position, advocating more forceful and active engagement on Ukraine's behalf. Others were dovish, pushing for a settlement that would permit Russia to claim some kind of victory and spare Europe from a widening and prolonged conflict. Habermas rejected both the bellicosity of the former and the naive pacifism of the latter. Instead, he supported Scholz's cautious approach, which seemed  at the time  to hold the most promise for a just peace settlement.



Since then, Russia's war on Ukraine's civilian population has intensified, and Germany has expanded its military and financial support for Ukraine to a level that would have been unthinkable last spring. But one year after the invasion, divisions are appearing within Scholz's coalition government, and open letters are pouring in again.



One such letter, penned by the grande dame of German feminism, Alice Schwarzer, and Die Linke (Left) party maverick Sarah Wagenknecht, leaves readers with only a vague sense of who bears responsibility for the war. In their "Manifesto for Peace," Schwarzer and Wagenknecht shy away from blaming Russia for its atrocities and call for negotiations, even if that means Ukraine must agree to some of Russia's territorial demands in exchange for a ceasefire or peace treaty.



They also call for massive demonstrations to pressure the government into reducing its military engagement and reneging on its pledges of arms deliveries. Having been co-signed by hundreds of German intellectuals, artists, and leftist politicians, their letter is causing an uproar within the political establishment  especially now that right-wing and pro-Russian groups are known to be infiltrating the peace demonstrations. In my view, the manifesto is thinly veiled NIMBYism (not in my backyard), and a misguided effort to tie Germany's usual neutrality to explicit support for a negotiated settlement.



A couple days after the Schwarzer-Wagenknecht manifesto appeared, Habermas published another commentary lamenting the government's increasingly hawkish stance since Boris Pistorius's appointment as Minister of Defense last month. But he still views the pacifist position as politically dangerous and deeply naive, given Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruthless pursuit of revanchist goals.



Habermas addresses what he sees as the fundamental dilemma facing the West. At the core of his argument is a crucial distinction: Should the West commit to ensuring that Ukraine wins the war, or should it merely prevent Russia from winning? Judging by Pistorius's recent pronouncements at the Munich Security Conference, the German government seems to be leaning toward ensuring a full Ukrainian victory.



But if that is Germany's goal, Habermas argues, it will be sleepwalking toward the abyss, threatening an ever-widening and intensifying conflict in which Germany itself could become a combatant. Merely preventing Russia from winning would be less risky, according to Habermas, because it would allow for more opportunities for negotiations and face-saving compromises along the way.



Habermas's position comes as no surprise, given his longstanding conviction that dialogue is the core feature of democracy, and thus of the international liberal order. But can the West really expect Putin to engage in good-faith dialogue following his increasingly bellicose language, nuclear threats, and lies?



Habermas sidesteps this problem by simply referring to the U.N. Charter, which obliges all member states to contribute to ensuring a peaceful world. And as many within the German press were quick to point out, he offers no concrete proposal for what to do. Like the Schwarzer-Wagenknecht manifesto, Habermas's argument for pursuing whatever dialogue is possible ends up being far too German-centered and blind to geopolitical change.



But there is still a case to be made for preventing a Russian victory, as opposed to ensuring a Ukrainian one. The question is how to do it.



In my view, Habermas did not go far enough. He should have pointed to the "Kindleberger Trap." The disasters of the 1930s, argued the economic historian Charles Kindleberger, stemmed from the failure of the United States to fill Britain's shoes after having replaced it as the preeminent global power. When Britain held that position, Kindleberger noted, it coordinated with its partners and allies to provide global public goods such as security and financial stability. But with the decline of the British Empire, these goods disappeared, creating the conditions for depression, genocide, and another world war.



Habermas should take Kindleberger's lesson to heart and expand his strategic outlook beyond the war in Ukraine. To restore peace and stability, NATO needs to work with China, India, and mid-size powers like Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Japan, and South Korea to create a new international security framework and open up channels of communication and dialogue.



These other powers must be made to see that the war in Ukraine could easily get out of control unless a broad international coalition seeks to rein in the Kremlin. But that can happen only through more meaningful (though likely arduous) dialogue. This is no time for fence-sitting and free-riding. Everyone will lose out from a broader conflict. If Germans want the fighting to end, they should demand that their government do its part to bring other governments to the table.





Helmut K. Anheier, professor of sociology at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, is adjunct professor of social welfare at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs. This article was distributed by the Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).


Garrett, IN (46738)

Today

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. High around 50F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy with a mixture of rain and snow showers developing late. Low 33F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Windy with periods of light rain. High 54F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy with a mixture of rain and snow showers developing late. Low 33F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.
By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Weird creatures living miles beneath the ocean waves could hold the key to finding extra-terrestrial life, say scientists.

They include huge red-tipped tube worms, ghostly fish, strange shrimp with eyes on their backs and other unique species.

A research vessel has set sail to look for them - shedding fresh light on how aliens may be all over the universe.

It was decked out with state-of-the-art equipment for the inaugural 40-day mission.

Falkor is sailing along the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the movement of tectonic plates creates tears in the seabed.

It will search for unusual kinds of hydrothermal vents  seabed fissures that emit geothermally heated water  and the strange forms of life they host.

Similar organisms could exist on watery moons and planets beyond the solar system.

The ship has about 30 types of oceanographic, navigational and atmospheric sensors.

There are also eight laboratories and accommodation for nearly 100 crew, reports New Scientist.

Expedition leader Dr. David Butterfield, of Washington University in Seattle, said: "When people think of hydrothermal vents, they often picture 'black smokers.'

"But the ones we're looking for are completely different and they're much harder to find because they don't release those billowing plumes of smoke."

Teams on board will use sonar to map out the terrain. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) - will search for chemical signatures from reactions between seawater and hot magma seeping up through the cracks.

Butterfield said: "The ocean is so poorly understood - we're on a mission to help change that."

Promising locations will be explored using a remotely operated robot called SuBastian - while watching on banks of screens on the ship.

SuBastian can reach nearly three miles down - deeper than the ocean.

High-resolution footage will be live-streamed so researchers and the public alike can see the first glimpses of any new creatures found near vents.

A phenomenon called serpentinisation occurs between the water and mantle rocks at vents - producing hydrogen, methane and other organic compounds.

This allows microbes to rely on chemosynthesis, using chemical energy to drive their metabolism.

It also enables animals that consume the microbes to live there even though no sunlight reaches them.

Expedtion member Dr. Julie Huber, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, said: "We're interested in how the chemistry, microbiology and resulting animal communities are linked to the geology of their habitat."
Indiana courts tossed challenges last year to the "Welcoming City" ordinances enacted by Gary and East Chicago in 2017 after concluding that the litigants lacked legal standing to file suit because they suffered no injury as a result of the ordinances.

In unanimous decisions, the Indiana Supreme Court (for Gary) and the Indiana Court of Appeals (for East Chicago) dismissed lawsuits claiming that the policies of both cities to prioritize local public safety needs and protect the rights of immigrants unlawfully violated Indiana's 2011 prohibition on sanctuary cities.

"The plaintiffs do not live in the city; they do not pay taxes to the city; they are not affected in any way by the ordinance that operates only in the city," said appeals Judge Elizabeth Tavitas, a Lake County native. "The plaintiffs have not shown how the ordinance has caused any harm to them or the public."

The rulings were a defeat for prominent conservative attorney James Bopp Jr. of Terre Haute, who filed the "Welcoming City" challenges; and Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Munster native, who intervened on behalf of the plaintiffs and against the Region cities.

But Rokita, at least, might get a second chance  although probably not against Gary and East Chicago.

The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate recently voted 40-9 along party lines to explicitly authorize the attorney general to file suit against any Indiana college or university, or local unit of government, to enforce compliance with the state's sanctuary-city ban.

Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, the sponsor of Senate Bill 178, said that in light of the court rulings denying standing to any lawful Indiana resident, it's appropriate to empower the attorney general to see that the statute is followed.

The legislation goes to the Republican-controlled House for possible revision and a decision on sending it to Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law.

The "Welcoming City" ordinances were promoted by Merrillville attorney Alfredo Estrada, along with other immigrant rights supporters, to let immigrants living in Northwest Indiana know they were welcome in the Region and their rights would be protected, notwithstanding the anti-immigrant rhetoric of Republican President Donald Trump's administration.

Indiana's sanctuary-city ban, approved by the 2011 General Assembly, prohibits local governments and their employees, including police, from refusing to communicate or cooperate with federal immigration authorities to protect noncitizens who entered or remained in the United States without legal permission.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled that an off-duty police officer was not acting in self-defense when he shot and killed a U.S. Navy veteran during "an alcohol-infused social gathering" in a house near Lowell.

Timothy Thomas, 42, was convicted of aggravated battery, along with a firearms enhancement, and sentenced last year to 16 years in prison in connection with the Jan. 3, 2021, death of Nicholas Lile, 42, in the basement of Lile's home, records show.

According to court records, Thomas was acquitted of murder by the same Lake County jury that found him guilty of the level 3 felony.

Among other claims, Thomas argued in his appeal that his murder acquittal precludes his conviction for aggravated battery because the murder verdict is an implicit determination that he prevailed on his self-defense claim.

Specifically, Thomas said that since both offenses relied on the same evidence, it's inconsistent for the jury to find him not guilty of murder while simultaneously finding him guilty of aggravated battery.

The appeals court was unconvinced. In a 3-0 decision, the court noted the jury may never even have considered Thomas' self-defense claim if it found, based on evidence presented at trial, that Thomas did not "knowingly" or "intentionally" kill Lile and only was attempting to repel Lile's attack.

At the same time, the court said the jury had a sufficient basis to reject Thomas' self-defense claim as to aggravated battery because Lile was unarmed, heavily intoxicated and at least 13 feet from Thomas when Thomas shot at him, negating the notion Thomas had a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm when he fired the fatal shot.

"The jury could have reasonably found that Thomas did not intend to kill Lile (murder) but did intend to cause him a lesser bodily injury (aggravated battery)," the appeals court said.

Thomas also argued in his appeal that his 11-year prison sentence for aggravated battery, along with a 5-year enhancement for using a firearm to commit the crime, is too harsh and should be reduced given the nature of the offense and his character.

The appeals court unanimously declined Thomas' invitation to reduce his prison term.

It noted the sentencing range for a level 3 felony is 3 to 16 years, with a statutory advisory sentence of 9 years. Thomas' 11-year sentence for aggravated battery then is 2 years more than the advisory sentence but still below the maximum penalty, it said.

The 5-year firearms enhancement is the minimum permitted by Indiana law. A firearms enhancement can range from 5 to 20 years, according to the Indiana Code.

Concerning the nature of the offense, the appeals court observed that Thomas, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs supervisory police officer, chose to bring a hidden weapon to a social engagement in a private home and subsequently used deadly force against an intoxicated and unarmed man.

"And rather than help Lile, a fellow military veteran, Thomas left the home and did not mention Liles injury until five minutes into his 911 call," the court said.

As to the character of the offender, the appeals court observed Thomas is a 20-year military veteran with only a single prior criminal conviction for a misdemeanor in Michigan.

But "even a limited criminal history is a poor reflection on the defendant's character," the court said.

Moreover, the court noted Thomas previously was fired from the Merrillville Police Department "for aggressive and negative conduct with the public  acts consistent with the conduct that led to Thomass conviction here."

"Accordingly, Thomas has failed to carry his heavy burden of establishing that his sentence is inappropriate in light of the nature of the offense and the character of the offender. Finding no trial error and that Thomas' sentence is not inappropriate, we affirm the trial courts judgment," the appeals court said.

Thomas still can ask the Indiana Supreme Court to consider reviewing his criminal conviction and prison term.

Otherwise, Thomas' earliest possible release date from prison, assuming good behavior, is Sept. 6, 2033, according to the Indiana Department of Correction.
IVE Jang Wonyoung made DIVEs gush over her Instagram photos, making it clear that she's a certified bias wrecker!

Would you like to see her pictures? Then read on!

IVE Wonyoung Snags DIVEs' Attention With Her Instagram Photos

On March 5, Jang Wonyoung posted a set of photos on her official Instagram.

The photos showed Wonyoung holding a bouquet of flowers, in regards to her collaboration with Hapa Kristin Korea, a store that focuses on manufacturing and selling colored contact lenses. Wonyoung is featured wearing a beautiful white gown, which goes well with her background that were full of balloons and a pink scenery.

Wonyoung's alluring presence is always a sight to see, and with her photos, DIVEs couldn't contain their appreciation for the K-pop star. Fans gathered on the post's comment section, praising Wonyoung for her lovely appearance.

Aside from Wonyoung's original post, her photos also trended in an online community, where various netizens expressed their compliments towards Wonyoung.

In the forum, others even wondered what it feels like to see Wonyoung in person. Some resembled her to a real-life princess and a celestial queen.

When it comes to flaunting her visuals, Wonyoung doesn't disappoint in flaunting. Her visual prowess is just one of the factors that made her an idol.

Fans commented:

"Our mom never calls any celebrity pretty, but she said that Jang Wonyoung looked like a doll, and she found her really pretty." "Wow she's a celestial being." "What in the world? Her looks are just crazy, her eyes are too pretty." "I'm jealous of the PD who filmed her. I wonder what it feels like to see this Jang Wonyoung in front of your eyes." "She f**king looks like a princess."

How Does Jang Wonyoung Feel Regarding Negative Rumors About Her?

In other news, Wonyoung guested on the 7th episode of "I didn't prepare anything (Nothing has been Prepared)," which was uploaded on December 11, 2021.

The show was hosted by rapper Lee Youngji, who engaged Wonyoung in a meaningful conversation. Since Wonyoung has her share of viral popularity, it doesn't always go smoothly because of people who think negatively of her.

During the episode, she was asked if jealousy and pressure from people who are haters. Wonyoung opened up about her experience on getting gossips. The idol stated how rumors are just noise and that it doesn't matter at the end of the day.

"I don't feel hurt much. If this is not true and I didn't do it, it doesn't matter what you say. It doesn't bother me. You are you and I am me, I'm trying hard to do what's given to me."

Did Wonyoung's lovely looks make you fall in love? Tell us in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
slide 2 of 6

NCT Dream successfully completed their first solo concert in Indonesia.

NCT Dream held "THE DREAM SHOW2: In A DREAM" at ICE BSD, Jakarta, Indonesia, from March 4 to 6, and met local fans.
BTS's fandom ARMYs celebrated an accomplishment after UberFacts their chart consisting of the "Most Negative Fanbases Online."

Here's what happened.

UberFacts Publishes Charts of 'Positive' & 'Negative' Fanbases Online, ARMYs React

On March 4, informative social media platform UberFacts released the most "positive" and "negative" fandoms to ever exist online.

The Most Positive Fanbases on Twitter pic.twitter.com/PbJFLfkJFv  UberFacts (@UberFacts) March 4, 2023

The data gathered was based off on the words and actions used by online users, which correlates to anything positive or negative. In the Positive chart, One Direction took the lead, followed by Daddy Yankee, Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes, and Justin Beiber. On the Negative chart, Rihanna's fanbase, Navy, claimed the top spot, which was trailed closely by fans of the first-person shooter game "Call of Duty."

The Most Negative Fanbases on Twitter pic.twitter.com/HyevT1PF9Y  UberFacts (@UberFacts) March 4, 2023

Many netizens shared their thoughts regarding the charts. Most of them drew mixed reactions, since the data gathered from these fanbases can overlap with how certain fandoms act, and considered the chart inaccurate.

However, BTS's fandom, ARMYs, were surprised they weren't on any list, especially on the Negative section. As the results didn't disclose their fandom, ARMYs immediately celebrated to the occasion.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Where Is BTS Jungkook? ARMYs Shocked Over Idol's Disappearance From Instagram

Additionally, some were even surprised how none of K-pop's fandoms are included in either of the two charts, despite being active and passionate on social media. Every fandom has its own fair share of bad apples and that's an irrefutable fact.

ARMYs Celebrate After UberFact's 'Positive' & 'Negative' Fanbase Charts Reveal

Although impactful in the K-pop scene, being the biggest K-pop fandom is not without its struggles, as ARMYs are often criticized by non-fans of K-pop for "toxic behavior."

Upon seeing the UberFacts charts, ARMYs have proven they are one of the most loving fandoms there is and are finally free of the "toxic" allegations made on them.

ARMYs celebrated the occasion, stating how happy they are with the results, and even congratulating one another for their "first win" ever!

BTS is known for their songs with meaningful messages and positive affirmations. This is just one of the aspects that made ARMYs admire them so much, and with influence, it didn't take long for the fandom to establish a positive nature too!

See their comments below:

ARMYS ARE FREE!   Samantha (@Hyunjun50367236) March 6, 2023

armys finally beating the toxic fandom allegations pic.twitter.com/DbiUpbllAK https://t.co/xw7av0LORY  Liv on the street  (@skooliviaffair) March 5, 2023

WE ARE FREE ARMYS https://t.co/3Ou81lXZxR pic.twitter.com/oPFgbkDT4y  keke on the street  (@stallseok) March 5, 2023

What's your reaction with ARMYs celebration? Do you belong in any fandom? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
China's top legislator expounds on requirements of people's congress system

Xinhua) 15:28, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator on Tuesday expounded on the defining requirements of the people's congress system.

Delivering a work report at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, said the people's congresses must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The legislative bodies must adhere to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics, and remain committed to the major concept of whole-process people's democracy and the people's congress system, Li said.

They are also obliged to adhere to the nation's fundamental tasks, development path, and goals as written in the Constitution, Li added.

The ongoing annual session of the NPC, which started on March 5, will run through March 13.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x557608dee800)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x557608dd7988)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x557608dee800)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x557608dd7988)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x557608eebf20)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x557608dd7988)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x557608dd7988)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5575fdb47cf0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x557608dd4540)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x557608dd4540)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
You can't have a revolution without something to rebel against. The Pakistani rulers had kept an iron grip on power in this land of Bangladesh since 1947.

by Anwar A. Khan

We recall with highest regards the stormy days of our life in the month of March, 1971. And his 7 March Speech, 1971 shall be considered as a turning point of our history. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman made a historic speech on this day at a mammoth public gathering at Suhrawardy Udaan. He made a clarion call to his people in a thunderous voice, Build forts in each homestead. You must resist the Pakistani enemy with whatever you have in hand. Remember, we have given a lot of blood, a lot more blood we shall give, if need be, but we shall liberate the people of this country, Insha Allah (i.e., if God blessed). The struggle this time is the struggle for our emancipation; the struggle this time is the struggle for independence.

Speech is power, speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel has rightly been said by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This historic speech of Bangabandhu reminds us of how powerful a speech was; this one speech had united the whole Bengali nation to come into a single platform to give a befitting reply to the Pakistani military junta. Our glorious Liberation War then started to gain Bangladesh. Happily, for Bangladesh, happily, we trust, for the whole human race of this country, we pursued a new and nobler course. We accomplished an armed rebellion which has no parallel in the annals of human society at that clarion call of Bangabandhu.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman [ Photo : Special Arrangement ]

Because of the above address, the international Newsweek magazine termed Bangabandhu as a Poet of Politics in the cover story of its 5 April 1971 issue. There can be no doubt about where his heart was. He is Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Like Thomas Carlyle, he might have believed, Every noble work is at first impossible. But by his long-standing struggles with the Pakistani rulers, he proved that impossible is the word which would not be found in his dictionary.

The Sheikh was a large, tall man and he looked very impressive with his long back-brushed hair and spectacles. He was intelligent and stubborn, but had very high political charisma. His political stature was legendary. His great charisma combined with political acumen made him the greatest of the different leaders of the Bangladesh Independence movement. The fiery revolutionary turned irascible statesman has had a profound effect on politics and his people during his time. A thorn in the side of Bengali leaders since the inception of Pakistani regime, he had been a beacon of resistance for their anti-Bengali stance.

While it is true that the Bangladesh revolution was the result of years of efforts by many people, it is also true that without the singular charisma, vision and willpower of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, it probably would not have happened. Many around the world love him for his ability to thumb his nose at the mighty Pakistani rulers and get away with it. We must give Bangabandhu his due honour as one of the most remarkable men during his time across the world.

He is remembered as a visionary who fought for his countrymen all through his life. He was a superior politician than anyone else during his time in the whole world. Still, Bangabandhu has remained a great leaderafter his death and he will remain the same in the years to come. His martyrdom allowed others to pick up the fallen banner of freedom and independence. His influence on later fighters is considerable. Today, Bangabandhus remains lie in a monument at Tungipara where he was born. One of the ugliest and most tragic incidents in the modern history of the world took place during our glorious Liberation War in 1971 when millions of our unarmed people were gunned down by savage Pakistani army and their local cruel cohorts. Uncle Sam played a very dirty role by giving their mighty support to Pakistan in order that Bangladesh couldnt born.

You cant have a revolution without something to rebel against. The Pakistani rulers had kept an iron grip on power in this land of Bangladesh since 1947. But Bangabandhu stuck to his idealism throughout the struggle of independence of Bangladesh, breaking ties with other puppet politicians as they sold out. He was an implacable force and fought the Pakistani rulers and their local accomplices with no compromise. Bangabandhu truly believed that he knew what was best for his people and the country. He was a high ranking planner and organiser, who succeeded through bold politicking where others relied on strength of the Pakistani military junta. He is considered to be a symbol of rebellion, patriotism and idealism.

A gifted fiery speaker and tireless political worker, he dedicated his life to making Bangladesh a better place and people responded by creating a cult of personality to him that exists to this day. The words of Herodotus It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen are truly having relevance with Bangabandhu.

When we think of this golden son of this soil, it reminds us of the words of Egon Schiele, All beautiful and noble qualities have been united in him; he shall be the fruit which will leave eternal vitality behind even after its decay. How great must be our joy, therefore, to have given birth of a great son to us. When we think of our Bangabandhu, we find William E Channings words as true, Politicsregarded as the study and pursuit of the true, enduring good of a community, as the application of great and unchangeable principles to public affairs, is a noble sphere of thought and action. We agree with Dwight D Eisenhower when he saysPolitics is a profession; a serious, complicated and, in its true sense, a noble one. Bangabandhu was such a politician of noble stature and high level of respect gained by impressive development or achievement.

From the rising to the setting sun, may his presence come to our life every day; every time to inspire us to build a golden Bangladesh in line with his spirits. Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life was the principal motto of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman throughout his life as pointed out by Bob Marley. Malcolm X Said, Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the gun down and maybe, the Sheikh has correctly assessed the same path and gave a clarion call to his people whom he loved so much in that direction.

In 1971, our strategy was not only to confront the cruel Pakistani beasts and their local collaborators, but also to lay siege to it; to deprive it of oxygen; to shame it; to mock it with our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness armed fights  and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones we were once compelled to believe.

Bangabandhus historic March 7 speech is recognised as one of the worlds all-time best. It is correctly said Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahmans historic March 7 speech that effectively declared Bangladeshs independence and it has been selected as one of the most rousing and inspirational wartime speeches in the last 2,500 years. The much-talked-about inspirational speech is considered by many to be one of the worlds best. He broke with established customs. Noted journalist and columnist Syed Badrul Ahsan has aptly said, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became from rebel to founding father of Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is popularly known in Bangladesh as Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal) and he was a Bengali politician and the founding leader of Bangladesh. He is widely revered in the country as the Father of the Nation.

The eyes of the world focused on Dhakas the-then Race Course Maidan that day as international media descended upon the-then East Pakistan amidst speculation that Sheikh Mujib would declare a unilateral declaration of independence from Pakistan. The speculation gained credibility as there were open calls by people in this soil to make the unilateral declaration. The speech was immensely successful in giving Bengalis a clear goal of their struggle, the goal of independence. It inspired millions across Bangladesh to get engaged in the freedom struggle. This historic address was a de facto declaration of Bangladeshs independence.

Infamous Lieutenant General AAK Niazi, Commander of Pakistani troops said, Mujib virtually became the ruler His residence at 32 Dhanmondi became the presidency (from March 7)the command of the central government began to be defied. Bangladesh had virtually come into being on 7 March 1971 is said by Pakistani Lieutenant General Kamal Matinuddin.

Bangabandhus 7 March, 1971 speech has been recognised as one of the world-famous speeches in the book entitled, We Shall Fight on the Beaches: The Speeches That Inspired History, by Jacob F Field, a noted Historian. It is truly a very powerful speech in the annuals of the world history.

He was the most charismatic political personality the Bengali nation has ever produced. Embracing Bangabandhu at the Algiers Non-Aligned Summit in 1973, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, known as Fidel Castro, is a Cuban politician and a revolutionary who commented, I have not seen the Himalayas. But I have seen Sheikh Mujib. In personality and in courage, this man is the Himalayas. I have thus had the experience of witnessing the Himalayas.

-The End 

The writer is an independent political analyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh who writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs.
Colombo, March 7: Clearing the hardest hurdle for securing a loan of USD 2.9-billion bailout package from the IMF, President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed Sri Lanka's Parliament on Monday evening that China had given assurance that it would back the island country's debt restructuring.

Making a special address in Parliament, the President said that the EXIM Bank of China last night handed over a new letter of assurance pertaining to Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, according to Newswire. He further stated that a letter of intent signed by himself and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was thereafter immediately handed over to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). China Says US Must Show Some Sincerity, Actually Do Something To Help Sri Lanka.

"We have completed our responsibilities. Now, I hope the IMF will do their part by the 3rd or 4th week of this month," President Wickremesinghe said. The President added that this will enable the first round of funds from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be issued to Sri Lanka. China Silent on Its Stand on Sri Lanka Debt Restructuring Ahead of Talks With IMF.

President Wickremesinghe in his address to parliament said that with the provision of fertiliser, the country achieved a successful harvest during Yala and Maha seasons -- Maha and Yala are synonymous with two monsoons -- and the export of agricultural products has gained a fair degree of normalcy and economic problems since June 2022 have been resolved to some extent.

According to Newswire, he told Parliament that the government took many extremely difficult economic measures to stabilise the economy and efforts are now being made to ensure economic growth.

The President told Parliament that the government implemented various measures such as providing essential commodities, uninterrupted electricity supply, fertiliser to farmers, and additional funds for Samurdhi beneficiaries and restored tax policies implemented in 2019 to improve revenue as the emergency tax cuts implemented earlier led to a decrease in government revenue.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): The Department of Consumer Affairs has released a set of guidelines called "Endorsements Know-hows!" for celebrities, and influencers on social media platforms, aiming to ensure that individuals do not mislead their audiences when endorsing products or services.

The government wants to ensure that the endorsements are in compliance with the Consumer Protection Act and any associated rules or guidelines. The government said it is essential for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers to adhere to these guidelines to maintain transparency and authenticity with their audience.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Student Dies by Suicide by Hanging Himself After Losing Money in Bitcoin in Lucknow.

The guidelines state that endorsements must be made in simple, clear language, and terms such as "advertisement," "sponsored," "collaboration" or "paid promotion" can be used. Individuals must not endorse any product or service that they have not personally used or experienced or in which due diligence has not been done by them.

The department has observed that there is confusion regarding which disclosure word to use for what nature of partnership it is. Against that backdrop, disclosures such as "advertisement," "ad," "sponsored," "collaboration," or "partnership" may be used for paid or barter brand endorsement. However, the term must be indicated as a hashtag or in headline text.

Also Read | Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz, WPL 2023 Free Live Streaming Online: Watch TV Telecast of DC-W vs UPW-W Women's Premier League T20 Cricket Match 5 on Sports18 and JioCinema Online.

The disclosures must be placed in the endorsement message in a manner that is clear, prominent, and extremely hard to miss. Disclosures should not be mixed with a group of hashtags or links. For endorsements in a picture, disclosures should be superimposed over the image enough for viewers to notice.

For endorsements in a video or a live stream, disclosures should be made in both audio and video format and displayed continuously and prominently during the entire stream.

Also, according to the guidelines, individuals or groups who have access to an audience and the power to affect their audiences' purchasing decisions or opinions about a product or service must be disclosed. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): Digital technologies are key drivers of economic development in the ASEAN region and Indian IT companies have played an integral part in the digital transformation journey in the region, said the Union minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

"Digital technologies have been key drivers of economic development in the ASEAN region, especially in sectors such as e-commerce, online media and financial services. Indian IT companies have played an integral part in the digital transformation journey of Malaysia and other ASEAN countries," the minister said Monday.

Also Read | The S&P 500 Closed Barely Higher on Monday as Investors Were Cautious Ahead of This   Latest Tweet by Reuters.

He made the remarks while virtually addressing the ASEAN-India Business Summit 2023 themed "Strengthening and Moving Forward ASEAN-India Economic Relations for a Strategic Business Partnership".

It is being held as part of the ASEAN-India Year of Friendship to commemorate the more than three-decade-long engagement between India and the 10-member bloc in Kuala Lumpur.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Student Dies by Suicide by Hanging Himself After Losing Money in Bitcoin in Lucknow.

Reflecting on the scope for further cooperation between India and the regional bloc, the minister said, "After the recent announcement of the real-time payments linkage system between India and Singapore, India is working with Malaysia and other ASEAN countries to operationalize it for more countries in the region."

In what is a first-of-its-kind collaboration with another country, India and Singapore last monh linked their respective online payment systems -- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore -- for seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries.

The virtual launch function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his 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 countries will be able to send money in real-time via QR-code based or simply by entering mobile numbers linked to the bank account.

Speaking about the catalyzing impact of UPI in developing India's Fintech ecosystem, Chandrasekhar said, "India's Unified Payments Interface with over 350 banks and 260 million users has transformed the way payments are made in India and over 8 million transactions are made every month through this platform."

In addition to UPI, the Minister spoke about other digital public infrastructures created by India such as Aadhaar, Cowin, and GeM which collectively streamlined and reformed government and governance and promoted economic inclusion. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted transit anticipatory bail to Uttar Pradesh's BJP spokesperson Prashant Umrao till March 20, 2023, in an FIR recently lodged by Tamil Nadu Police against him for allegedly posting a "fake" video about the 'attack' on Bihar migrants in Tamil Nadu.

The bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh while granting transit anticipatory bail, noted that the applicant required reasonable time to reach the territorial jurisdictional case. Court also directed applicant Prashant Umaroa to provide his contact number and Google location to Tamil Nadu Police.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Man Randomly Dials Numbers, Sends Obscene Videos and Messages on WhatsApp to Over 100 Women; Arrested.

Advocate Kaushal Kumar representing the applicant stated that the applicant is a member of the Bar and Standing Counsel of Goa and needs time to enable the Petitioner to approach a competent territorial jurisdictional Court.

Appearing for Tamil Nadu Police, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde submitted that Freedom of speech does not mean he lit fire to a crowded theatre. Hegde further submitted that he has a record of making such tweets and then deleting it without clarification.

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath Governments Crackdown on Criminals, 178 Listed Offenders Shot Dead in Encounters in Past Six Years in Uttar Pradesh.

Prashant Umrao Patel, BJP's Spokesperson of Uttar Pradesh on Monday moved Delhi High Court with an application under Section 438 of CrPC seeking transit anticipatory bail in the matter arising out of the FIR bearing Crime registered at police station Thoothukudi Central, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu under Sections 153/153(A)/504/505 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 against him in the State of Tamil Nadu.

The applicant stated that the FIR has been wrongly registered against him in response to certain tweets which he had posted on the social media platform 'Twitter' based upon the news covered by national news agencies.

Prashant Patel further stated that he only gained knowledge of the said FIR through a Press Release of the Tamil Nadu Police and several news articles which have been recently published covering the action initiated by the state of Tamil Nadu in response to similar tweets and news articles.

Patel further submitted that on March 4, 2023, the state of Tamil Nadu through the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu has published a Press Release wherein it has informed that action is being taken against people who published certain information relating to migrant labourers being attached in Tamil Nadu and a case has been registered against the Applicant under Sections 153, 153(A), 504, and 505 of the IPC.

The state of Tamil Nadu has also informed that special teams have been formed under the orders of the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu to arrest certain persons including the applicant.

The applicant/Prashant Patel is a resident of the NCT of Delhi and is a practising lawyer before the Courts in Delhi. The applicant is a member of the Delhi High Court Bar Association.

The applicant is also serving as Standing Counsel for the State of Goa before the Supreme Court, stated the plea.

According to the Tamil Nadu Police, it has registered FIR against one Journalist and Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Prashant Patel Umrao, who allegedly tweeted disinformation about people coming from Bihar in Tamil Nadu. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested an absconding accused, then Director of Pearl Group, on his arrival in New Delhi, in connection to a multi-crore chit fund case.

The arrested accused have been identified as Harchand Singh Gill. The accused was brought back to India upon being deported from Fiji.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Vegetable Vendor Receives Rs 172 Crore in Bank Account in Ghazipur, Says Unaware of Transaction; Probe Launched by Income Tax Department.

The agency registered a case on February 19, 2019, against the then Chairman/CMD and Promoter/Director of Pearl group and others after conversion of Preliminary Enquiry registered earlier on the directions of the Supreme Court of India to enquire into the said allegations.

The arrested accused will be produced on Tuesday before the Designated Court at Rouse Avenue District Courts, Delhi.

Also Read | Bihar: Army Jawan Arrested for Sexually Harassing Woman Passenger in New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express.

Earlier on March 4, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at as many as 15 premises in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit-fund companies.

"Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted searches on March 1, 2023, at 15 premises consisting of residences and offices at various locations in Kolkata, Siliguri, Howrah and Agra against two chit fund companies that is Pincon Group and Tower Infotech Ltd. under PMLA, 2002," ED said in a press release on Friday.

ED had recorded a money laundering case against Tower Infotech Ltd and Pincon Group on the basis of FIRs registered by CBI and West Bengal Police for misappropriating Rs 156 Crore and Rs 638 crore respectively collected from its investors.

The above chit-fund companies have collected money from the public by luring them with attractive schemes and offering very high rates of interest. These two companies have cheated the public by not returning the money, ED alleged.

"Searches were carried out at the residences of directors of Pincon Group and Tower Group which include Manoranjan Roy, Hari Singh and beneficiaries Subharti Banerjee, Sanjay Basu & Mina Dey and Ramendu Chattopadhyay and beneficiaries of Eden Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, its directors- Indrajit De and Sachchidanand Rai, Indian Structural Engineering Company Pvt Ltd and Ashish Wheels Ltd," ED stated in the release.

As per the release, during the searches, incriminating documents, digital evidence consisting of mobile phones and laptops and cash worth Rs 1.27 crore were seized. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): The Delhi High court on Monday upheld an order for registration of FIR against the TVF and its actor and also asked the government to take steps to check the language of the content of (Over The Top) OTT platforms.

However the court clarified that the direction to register FIR in the present case does not include a direction to arrest any of the accused/petitioner.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: Man Randomly Dials Numbers, Sends Obscene Videos and Messages on WhatsApp to Over 100 Women; Arrested.

The high court also asked the government to take step for enforcing stricter application of its rules qua the intermediaries as notified in Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in the judgement, "this court draws the attention of the Ministry of Information and Technology to the situations which are fast emerging on a daily basis and to take steps for enforcing stricter application of its rules qua the intermediaries as notified in Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 and make any laws or rules as deemed appropriate in its wisdom, in light of the observations made in this judgement."

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath Governments Crackdown on Criminals, 178 Listed Offenders Shot Dead in Encounters in Past Six Years in Uttar Pradesh.

A copy of this judgement be forwarded to the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, and concerned officials of YouTube India, the court said.

The bench also upheld the order of the ACMM to the extent of registration of FIR under Section 67 and 67A of IT Act. 82.

The power of obscenity and sexual explicitness of language used in this web series therefore, cannot be undermined and it has a definite effect of depraving and corrupting the minds of people, especially the impressionable minds and will require to be confined and subjected to Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, and at the same time for transmitting such content, the petitioners will be liable to face action under Section 67 and 67A of I.T. Act, justice Sharma said.

The bench said, "The task of the Court in this case has been tough as it had to strike a delicate balance between free speech and freedom of expression and transmitting to all without classification the content which is obscene, profane, lascivious, sexually explicit in spoken language as it conjures with the words 'sexually explicit acts'".

"Words and languages are very powerful medium and needless to say, words have the power to paint and draw a picture at the same time," the court said.

The petitioners had challenged Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM)'s order of September 17 2019 in which the court had observed that case under Sections 292/294 of IPC and Section 67/67A of Information and Technology Act was prima facie made out and concerned SHO was directed to register FIR against the petitioners under appropriate provision of law after conducting investigation into the allegations of the complainant.

The brief facts of the present case are that petitioner/TVF Media Ltd. is owner of web series titled 'College Romance' which is being broadcasted primarily on various internet platforms such as YouTube, TVF Web Portal and Mobile Applications.

These two petitions challenged and sought quashing of the order of November 10 2020 passed in Criminal Revision titled "TVF Media Labs Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. vs. State & Ors." by the Additional Sessions Judge, Rohini District Court and order of September 17 2019 passed in Criminal Complaint titled "Arvind Kumar vs. TVF Media" by the ACMM, Rohini District Court

The High court upheld the order of the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) to the extent whereby it has been held that section 292 and 294 IPC are not made out and 67A IT Act is made out; however, it is modified to the extent of dropping offence under Section 67 of the IT Act.

Resultantly, the order of the learned ACMM is upheld to the extent of registration of FIR under Section 67 and 67A of IT Act, the court said.

In case, this particular episode in question is still posted on any YouTube channel without classification, appropriate remedial steps will be taken by YouTube, as per law, rules and guidelines of the IT Act issued by the Ministry of Information and Technology from time to time.

It is the alleged case of complainant that the said web series contains vulgar and obscene material and depicts women in indecent form in violation of the provisions of Sections 292/294 of Indian Penal Code ('IPC'), 1860, Section 67/67A of Information and Technology Act, 2000 ('IT Act') and Sections 2 (c), 3 and 4 of Indecent Representation of Women Prohibition Act, 1986.

It is the case of the complainant that petitioner is also the owner-cummanager of popular YouTube channel known as 'Timeliners', on which indecent content had been broadcasted and published for consumption by general public without any warning to the effect that the content is for adult consumption only.

It is alleged that in the month of September 2018, TVF and its Managing Director broadcasted and published its new web series on YouTube titled 'College Romance', and on September 6 2018, Episode 5 of Season 1 titled 'Happily fucked up' was published and broadcasted on YouTube. It is alleged that in the said episode, the petitioners in Crl.M.C. 2399/2020 used vulgar and obscene language. It is further stated that the title of the said episode in web series in itself is vulgar and obscene, and the said episode showcases indecent representation or obscene portrayal of girls or women in worst form.

It is alleged that though vulgar words have been used throughout the entire web series 'College Romance', Episode 5 of Season 1 of the said web series has crossed all the limits of vulgarity and internet obscenity, and that on careful examination of the video which is available on YouTube, the same shall stand proved.

It is the case of complainant that the video in question is available to be viewed by everyone in India on YouTube without their being any age restriction mechanism. It is alleged that the Episode does not give any legal disclaimer/warning that, "the episode includes any vulgar content, internet obscenity or age restriction". It is alleged that all episodes of this web series, especially the above mentioned Episode, spreads Internet obscenity for achieving financial gains. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
By Rizwan Arif

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], March 7 (ANI): Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remark that the "Opposition leaders' microphones are often switched off in Parliament" terming the Wayanad MP's statement "absolutely false and baseless".

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath Governments Crackdown on Criminals, 178 Listed Offenders Shot Dead in Encounters in Past Six Years in Uttar Pradesh.

In an exclusive conversation with ANI, he said "...I'd like to say it was absolutely false, baseless. Nothing can be more false than this. I have been in Parliament for the past nine years and not once have I heard anything like that from anyone..."

"As far as I know, no one has ever said like this neither inside the Parliament nor outside...nothing can be more unverified than this," he further added.

Also Read | Land-for-Job Scam Case: CBI Questions Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The Congress leader made this remark while addressing British MPs in the UK Parliament in London.

In the UK, Rahul Gandhi continued his attack against the BJP-led government at the Centre.

In Cambridge, the Congress MP again alleged that the Opposition's voice was being stifled in parliament.

Earlier, in a conversation with members of the Indian Journalists' Association in London, the Wayanad MP called the recent raids conducted at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices across India a "suppression of voice", alleging that BJP under its "new Idea of India" wants India to be "silent".

"You know every place there is Opposition, there is an excuse. You asked why we did the yatra, what was the idea behind the yatra. The idea behind the yatra was an expression of voice. And there is suppression of voice across the country. An example is the BBC, but BBC is just one element of it," he said.

The Congress leader said that BJP wants India to be "silent" under the "new Idea of India".

"If the BBC stops writing against the government, everything will go back to normal, all the cases will disappear, everything (will) go back to normal. So this is the new Idea of India. BJP wants India to be silent. They want it to be quiet, the Dalits, the lower castes, the Adivasis, the media they want silence, and they want silence because they want to be able to take what is India's and give it to their close friends," he said.

He further added, "So that's basically the idea right, distract the population, and then hand over India's wealth to two, three, four, five big people. I mean we have seen this, we have seen this before also, but that's not something."

On being asked about the allegations of "defaming India on foreign soil" Rahul Gandhi said, "There's nothing defaming India in my Cambridge lecture."

The Congress leader's remarks have attracted huge criticism from several political leaders. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): Intensifying its drive against terrorist-gangster-drug smuggler networks, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday attached five more properties in Delhi and Haryana.

Of the five properties, four are in Haryana and one in Delhi owned by members of organized crime syndicates operating in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Also Read | Data Breach: Nearly Six Lakh HDFC Bank Customers' Data Leaked on Dark Web, Bank Denies.

The NIA's move followed investigations in cases against three major organized crime syndicates and gangs being operated by Pakistan-based Harvinder Rinda, Lawrence Bishnoi and Bambiha group.

In a statement, the NIA said: "Today's attachments follow similar attachments of five properties (four in Haryana and one in Delhi) on March 4, 2023."

Also Read | Viagra Overdose Kills Man in Nagpur After Taking Two Pills With Alcohol.

The properties attached on Tuesday were found acquired from funds generated from carrying out different types of terrorist and criminal extortion activities and were thus 'proceeds of terrorism', as they were being used for hatching terror conspiracies and execution of crimes, said the NIA.

The properties attached in action by NIA earlier in the day include the houses of Chhotu Ram at Chautala in Sirsa district in Haryana, Jagseer Singh at Takhatmal in Sirsa district, Virender Singh in Yamuna Nagar district in Haryana, and lands of Raju at Basaudi in Sonipat district in Haryana and Satyawan Sehrawat at Dariyapur in Delhi.

NIA's action on Tuesday, the agency said, has hit the weapons supply chain of this network.

Virender alias Kala Rana, Chhotu Ram alias Bhat and Jagseer Singh alias Jagga used to provide weapons and arrange logistics, including safe sanctuaries, to the gang members, said the NIA.

Satyawan alias Sonu and Raju alias Mota had also harboured gangsters, said the NIA, adding "they had a major role to play in the generation of funds to support the operations of terror-crime syndicates."

Raju alias Mota had laundered the money by investing the 'proceeds of terrorism' in the real estate business and other businesses, including liquor, said the agency.

NIA has carried out over 230 raids and searches across Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi and NCR, arrested 27 gangster leaders, recovered around 38 weapons, frozen 87 Bank accounts since it launched its drive against organized crime syndicates in August 2022.

In addition, Canada-based Arsh Dalla and Pakistan-based Harvinder Rinda have been listed as 'terrorists' by the MHA under UAPA in the recent past.

"The drive to choke these organized crime networks of funding and to dismantle their ecosystem by attaching and seizing their properties, derived from 'proceeds of terrorism and crime' would be intensified in the coming days, along with police forces of various states," added the NIA. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Norway, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and threats against its other neighbors, is upgrading the tanks that equip its ground forces. Currently Norway has 36 Leopard 2A2 tanks obtained in the early 1980s. Norway is replacing these with 54 Leopard 2A7 tanks, with an option to add another 18 to that order. These new tanks will begin arriving in 2026. Meanwhile Norway is considering sending eight or more of its older Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

Norway is a small country, with only 5.5 million people. The army has only 8,000 troops, 0nly 46 percent of them career soldiers, the rest are conscripts who serve 19 months. The only hostile border the army has to worry about is the 195 kilometer border with Russia in the far north. Most army personnel are infantry, supported by some artillery and tanks. Norway also maintains a large intelligence collection force for a country its size and this is mainly to monitor what the Russians are up to. This intel effort is quite effective and that annoys the Russians a great deal. Russia has more tanks near its land border with Norway but there is not much on the Norwegian side that is of military value. On the Russian side of the border there are several major naval bases and shipyards.

The Leopard 2A7 is similar in capabilities to the American M1A2. The first Leopard 2s entered service in the early 1980s, the same time the first American M1s appeared. Ultimately, 3,600 Leopard 2s were built, compared to about 10,000 M1s. Germany was the major operator of Leopard 2s, having over 2,000 in service before the Cold War ended in 1991. After 1991 Germany reduced its tank force, selling many of its Leopard 2s to countries seeking to upgrade their tank forces. Currently Germany has about 300 Leopard 2 tanks with many (up to a third) out of service for upgrades or maintenance. Several NATO countries are donating their older Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, where even these older Leopard 2s are more capable in combat than any Russian tanks.

The 55 ton Leopard 2A7 is similar to the American M-1, including the upgraded armor. The 66.5- ton 2A7 model is the most expensive tank on the market, costing over $15 million each. The 2A7 has a stabilizer (for firing on the move) and a thermal imager (for seeing through night, mist and sand storms.) The additional weight reduces range to 340 kilometers on roads or 220 kilometers off-road. Max road speed is 70 kilometers an hour. The Leopard 2 and M1 have evolved to become more identical in capabilities. This was done deliberately to achieve some NATO standardization for the two tanks most often used by NATO countries.
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 7 (ANI): Karnataka High Court on Monday granted interim bail to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Madal Virupakshappa, days after unaccounted cash were seized from his son's properties.

The BJP MLA has been given interim bail with condition of Rs 5 Lakh bond and surity.

Also Read | Chinese Spy Balloons: Indian Defence Forces Finalising Response for Action Against Suspected Spy Balloons in Future.

The bench also directed him to appear before Lokayukta within 48 hours.

Earlier this month, the anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta raided the residence of the Chinnagiri constituency MLA Virupakshappa's son Prashant Madal and recovered Rs 6 crore cash.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Vegetable Vendor Receives Rs 172 Crore in Bank Account in Ghazipur, Says Unaware of Transaction; Probe Launched by Income Tax Department.

Karnataka Lokayukta officers caught Virupakshappa's son while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

"The anti-corruption branch of Lokayukta yesterday caught Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Over Rs 1.7 crore in cash was recovered from his office," Karnataka Lokayukta said.

Lokayukta was on duty after getting a complaint about the demand for a bribe. Over Rs 1.7 crore cash was found at Prashanth Madal's office, Lokayukta officials said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thane, Mar 7 (PTI) Two men were arrested from the outskirts of Thane city in Maharashtra for allegedly possessing drugs including Mephedrone powder worth Rs 55 lakh, police said on Tuesday.

Also Read | Opindia.com in Trouble: FIR Registered Against Web Portal for Spreading Fake News, Creating Fear Among Migrant Workers in Tamil Nadu.

Also Read | Holi 2023: Aligarh Mosque Covered in Tarpaulin Ahead of Holi Celebrations to Maintain Peace (See Pics).

The duo was moving suspiciously near Ghodbunder Road junction on March 3 when a patrolling team of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police took them into custody, an official said.

"Police seized 275 grams of the banned MD (Mephedrone) from the duo, both residents of Mumbra in Thane district," he said.

A case was registered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shillong (Meghalaya) [India], March 7 (ANI): Meghalaya CM-designate Conrad Sangma on Tuesday attended a prayer meeting with all cabinet ministers before they all leave for Raj Bhavan for the swearing-in ceremony of the new Government.

In Meghalaya, the NPP-led alliance, with the support of 45 MLAs two of the BJP has staked claim to form the government in the state.

Also Read | Yogi Adityanath Governments Crackdown on Criminals, 178 Listed Offenders Shot Dead in Encounters in Past Six Years in Uttar Pradesh.

Among the allies, the eight cabinet berths will go to the NPP, two to the United Democratic Party (UDP) and one each for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).

Sangma's NPP won 26 seats in the Assembly elections and is all set to form the government in as the chief minister for a second consecutive term.

Also Read | Land-for-Job Scam Case: CBI Questions Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party's Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2.

United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats in the results of assembly polls announced on Thursday. Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats.

BJP, People's Democratic Front and Hill State People's Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kohima/ Shillong, March 7: Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's Neiphiu Rio and National People's Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma will take oath as a Nagaland and Meghalaya Chief Ministers respectively today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national President JP Nadda are likely to attend the swearing-in ceremony of both the Chief Ministers. Nagaland: NDPPs Neiphiu Rio Tenders Resignation As CM to Governor La Ganesan, Stakes Claim To Form New Government.

Nagaland political stalwart and its longest-serving chief minister Neiphiu Rio is set to assume office for a fifth consecutive term after the convincing win. Rio on Saturday had tendered his resignation as Chief Minister of Nagaland to Governor La Ganesan and staked claim to form the new government in the state.

The ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party-Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in the Nagaland election, with the two parties having secured 37 seats in the 60-member assembly, as per the data by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Meghalaya: UDP, PDF Extend Support to Conrad Sangmas NPP To Form Government in State.

Rio won the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency, trouncing Seyievilie Sachu of the Congress by a mammoth margin of 15,824 votes. He bagged a total of 17,045 votes, which comes to 92.87 per cent of the total votes polled in the seat.

Notably, a history was scripted in Nagaland when the state elected its first women legislators in its 60 years of statehood. The state, which has had 13 Assemblies so far, never had a woman MLA before Thursday's result.

The two women lawmakers - Hekhani Jakhalu and Salhoutuonuo Kruse of the ruling NDPP defeated the sitting MLAs in Western Angami and Dimapur-III seats respectively. The Northeast state saw a triangular contest as Congress and CPIM, which have been arch rivals for years, stitched a pre-poll alliance to defeat the ruling BJP.

In Meghalaya, the NPP-led alliance, with the support of 45 MLAs two of the BJP has staked claim to form the government in the state. Among the allies, the eight cabinet berths will go to the NPP, two to the United Democratic Party (UDP) and one each for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP).

Sangma's NPP won 26 seats in the Assembly elections and is all set to form the government in as the chief minister for a second consecutive term. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhawan in Shillong where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party's Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2.

United Democratic Party (UDP) bagged 11 seats in the results of assembly polls announced on Thursday. Congress won five seats. Trinamool Congress, which had inducted all Congress MLAs in the previous assembly, also got five seats.

BJP, People's Democratic Front and Hill State People's Democratic Party bagged two seats each. Voice of the People Party got four seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates. BJP and NPP were partners in the outgoing government but fought the assembly polls separately.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) Swiggy's egg ad billboard for Holi has been taken down after a section of people expressed "outrage" on social media.

The advertisement said, "Omelette - Sunny side-up - Kisi ke sarr par. #BuraMatKhelo. Get Holi essentials on Instamart."

Also Read | Delhi: Woman Delivers Baby at Railway Station Platform With Help of Police and Two Passengers.

Though there is no official statement from Swiggy on the matter, a source told PTI, "The billboard ads were only in Delhi-NCR and have been taken down now."

Soon after the ad was put up, several people tweeted with the hashtag "HinduphobicSwiggy", urging people to boycott the food and grocery delivery service provider.

Also Read | Karnataka: Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya Launches NaMo Free Dialysis Centre, Janaushadhi Kendra in Bengaluru.

All India Sadhu Samaj member and former president of the Kutch Sant Samaj wrote, "Hey @swiggy, it's not okay to give selective gyan on Hindu festivals. Your Holi reel and Billboard is creating a wrong perception about Holi. You must apologize and take steps to promote cultural inclusivity."

VHP leader Sadhvi Prachi also objected as she wrote, "Hey Swiggy, why don't you give similar gyan on Eid/Christmas? Afraid of Sar Tan Se Juda gang? Since you serve diverse communities, it's important for you to learn to respect all religions. Remove your Holi ads."

While former president of Gujarat's Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Hardik Bhavsar said, "Immediately Uninstalled", former BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Arun Kumar Yadav wrote, "By promoting controversial billboards and posting reel, #HinduPhobicSwiggy has hurt the sentiments of millions of people. Swiggy must apologize to Hindu community and remove them immediately, or face consequences. Why is their lack of similar Ads during non Hindu festivals?"

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) Dr Reddy's Laboratories is recalling over 4,000 bottles of a generic drug in the US due to a packaging error.

The Hyderabad-based drug major is recalling 4,320 bottles of Tacrolimus Capsules which are used to prevent the body from rejecting a transplanted organ.

Also Read | Weather Update: IMD Predicts Rain With Thunderstorm in Several Parts of Odisha During Holi, To Continue Till March 10.

New Jersey-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories Inc, a unit of the company, is recalling the affected lot due to "Presence of one Tacrolimus 1 mg capsule co-mingled in a bottle containing and labeled as Tacrolimus 0.5 mg capsules," USFDA said in its latest Enforcement Report.

The affected lot was produced at the company's Bachupally-based manufacturing plant and marketed in the US by its American arm.

Also Read | White-Collar Job Openings for Women Witness 35% Growth in February 2023, Says Report.

Dr Reddy's initiated the Class II nationwide recall on February 8 this year.

As per USFDA, a Class II recall is initiated in a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) The power ministry on Tuesday said that the government has accepted a report of a task force or expert panel, which paves the way for modern and smart electricity transmission system in India.

The country will soon have a modern and smart power transmission system with features such as real-time monitoring and automated operation of grid, better situational assessment, capability to have increased share of renewable capacity in the power-mix, enhanced utilisation of transmission capacity, greater resilience against cyber attacks as well as natural disasters, centralised and data-driven decision-making, reduction in forced outages through self-correcting systems etc., a power ministry statement said.

Also Read | White-Collar Job Openings for Women Witness 35% Growth in February 2023, Says Report.

These and other recommendations are part of a report of a task force set up by the power ministry in September 2021 under the chairmanship of POWERGRID chairman and managing director to suggest ways for modernisation of transmission sector and making it smart and future-ready, it stated.

The other members of the task force included representatives from state transmission utilities, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), central transmission utilities, MeiTY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), IIT Kanpur, NSGPMU and EPTA.

Also Read | Freedom of Religion Is Alive and Well in India, Says Report.

The report of the committee was accepted by the government after deliberations with Union power minister R K Singh last week, it stated.

During the meeting, the minister emphasised that a modern transmission grid is vital to achieve the government's vision to provide 24x7 reliable and affordable power to the people and also meet the sustainability goals.

Singh said that a fully automated, digitally controlled, fast responsive grid which is resilient to cyber attacks and natural disasters is the need of the hour.

The minister said that such a system should ensure isolation of specific areas in case of any contingency, so as to protect the grid and prevent larger outages.

Appreciating the efforts of the task force, Singh directed the CEA to formulate necessary standards and regulations for adoption of identified technological solutions and set benchmark performance levels so as to build a robust and modern transmission network in the country.

The task force in its report has recommended a bouquet of technological and digital solutions, which can be adopted to make the state transmission grids future ready.

These recommendations have been clubbed under categories of modernisation of existing transmission system; use of advanced technology in construction and supervision, operations and management; smart and future-ready transmission system; and up-skilling of workforce.

The task force has recommended centralised remote monitoring, operation of substations including SCADA, flexible AC transmission devices (FACTs), Dynamic Line Loading system (DLL), Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) using PMUs and data analytics, Hybrid AC/HVDC system, predictive maintenance technique using AI/ML algorithms, HTLS conductors, process bus based protection automation and control GIS/Hybrid substation, cyber security, energy storage system, and drones & robots in construction/inspection of transmission assets.

The use of robots is expected to not only minimise human intervention and life risks/hazards but also save time while ensuring accuracy during construction and maintenance.

The task force also recommended benchmarks for transmission network availability and voltage control based on performance of global transmission utilities.

While the short-term to medium term recommendations will be implemented over 1-3 years, the long-term interventions are proposed to be implemented over a period of 3-5 years, it stated.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dhaka, Mar 7 (PTI) At least 14 people were killed and over 100 others injured on Tuesday in a powerful explosion at a seven-storey building here in Bangladesh's capital, police said.

Eleven firefighting units have been mobilised at the spot after the blast, which occurred around 4:50 pm (local time) at Old Dhaka's crowded Gulistan area, the fire service control room said.

Also Read | Dog Fur Grows on Womans Face After Pet Animal Bites Off Her Nose in A Vicious Attack in USA!.

"Fourteen bodies have been found (so far) but the toll could rise as the rescue operation is underway," a fire service official told reporters.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately, but local residents suspected chemicals illegally stored inside the building, mostly used as an office and business complex, might have sparked the blast.

Also Read | XG Becomes First Japanese Female Artists and Band To Enter the Top 40 on Mediabase Radio Airplay Chart!.

"At first, I thought it was an earthquake. The entire Siddik Bazar area was shaken by the blast," eyewitness Safayet Hossain, a local shopkeeper, told The Daily Star newspaper.

"I saw 20-25 people lying in the road in front of a damaged building. They were seriously injured and bleeding. They were crying out for help. Some people were running around in panic," he said.

He added that the locals were carrying the injured in vans and rickshaws to the hospital.

Alamgir, who was close to the blast site, said, "After the loud noise, people quickly came out of the building. There was panic on everyone's faces. The glass of the building's windows shattered and fell onto the street. Many pedestrians on the street were injured."

The Rapid Action Battalion's bomb disposal unit was rushed to the spot to inspect the buildings.

Dozens of injured were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said DMCH police outpost j+spector Bacchu Miah. He added that all of them were receiving treatment at the hospital's emergency unit.

The building has several stores for sanitary products on the bottom floor and a branch of BRAC Bank was located in the building adjacent to it.

The blast shattered the glass walls of the bank and also damaged a bus standing on the opposite side of the road, reports said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], March 7 (ANI): At least 15 Hindu students were injured after being allegedly attacked by the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists on Monday in Punjab University's new campus when they were celebrating Holi, Dawn reported.

A number of videos surfaced on the social networking platform which showed that Hindu communities were being attacked by the IJT even after the students got permission from the administration for the celebration of Holi.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi Says BJP Likes To Believe It Will Be in Power Eternally, but That's Not the Case.

An application had been filed with the police for the registration of a case against the attacker.

Some other videos also showed that the security guards were carrying batons and beating the students and they were running from the scene, reported Dawn.

Also Read | Twitter Down: Elon Musk-Owned Micro-Blogging Site Breaks for Millions as Only 1 Engineer Left Handling Crucial APIs.

Talking about the incident, Sindh Council General Secretary Kashif Brohi said that the members of the Hindu community and the council had organised a Holi celebration after getting permission from the university administration.

He said the IJT activists started hurling threats after students had posted invitations for the Holi celebration on their Facebook page.

He said on Monday morning the members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside PU law College to celebrate the Holi when the IJT activists carrying guns and batons attacked them.

Brohi further added that the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor's office when the security guards came there holding batons and started beating them.

He said the security guards also bundled four to five students into their vans, not allowing them to record their peaceful protest, according to Dawn.

He said an application was submitted to the administration and police for case registration against the IJT activists and security guards for torturing them.

However, IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid told Dawn that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi. He further stated that the attackers might have used their name but the IJT will not. The IJT will ensure equality for minority community members to hold their religious events.

He said the security guards might have attacked the students and IJT had nothing to do with it.

He said they were holding Dars-i-Quran on the campus and were not present there.

A PU spokesman said action would be taken against the students involved in attacking minority community members, reported Dawn. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
London, March 7: The BJP likes to believe that it will be in power in India "eternally" but that is not the case and the Opposition can come together to undertake the "repair work" that needs to be done for Indian democracy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.

Addressing an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank in London on Monday evening to round off his week-long UK tour, the MP from Kerala's Wayanad once again claimed that Israeli software Pegasus was planted on his phone as he accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to silence dissent in India. Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi Alleges Structures of Our Democracy Under Brutal Attack.

"To put it in perspective, if you look at the time from independence to now, the Congress party has been in power for the majority of the time," Gandhi said. "Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that they have come to power in India and they are going to be in power eternally, that's not the case," the 52-year-old former Congress chief said.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power in India in 2014. Gandhi pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the party off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.

"We were focusing a lot on the rural space and we missed the ball at the beginning on the urban space, that is a fact. Those things are there. But to say that the BJP is in power and the Congress gone, that is actually a ridiculous idea," he said. During his Chatham House discussion, Gandhi pointed out that besides the Congress, the foreign media has also been highlighting that there is a "serious problem with Indian democracy". Rahul Gandhi Arrives in UK To Address Cambridge University on Learning To Listen in the 21st Century.

"It is also the way the BJP responds. It is not interested in a conversation. They have decided that they know what is going on, nobody else in the country knows what is going on and that is it.... My phone had Pegasus on it, that simply was not happening when we were in power. So there are things that are very obvious and apparent to everyone," he said.

The BJP has accused Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil, with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur hitting out at his remarks in London and asking the Congress leader not to betray the nation. "Do not betray India, Rahul Gandhi ji. The objections to India's foreign policy are evidence of your scant understanding of the issue. No one will believe the lies you spread about India from foreign soil," Thakur told reporters in New Delhi on Monday.

The BJP has also made light of Gandhi's allegation that he was being snooped upon, saying that the Congress leader was "hallucinating" and makes such claims as he wants to create headlines wherever he goes. In his address at the Chatham House, Gandhi also took aim at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a "fundamentalist, fascist organisation" that has changed the nature of the democratic contest in India by capturing the country's institutions.

Asked to explain the RSS to a foreign audience, he noted: "You can call it a secret society. It is built along the lines of the Muslim Brotherhood and the idea is to use the democratic contest to come to power and then subvert the democratic contest afterwards.

"It has shocked me at how successful they have been at capturing the different institutions of our country. The press, judiciary, Parliament, Election Commission -- all the institutions are under pressure, under threat and controlled in one way or another."

On India's foreign policy, Gandhi drew a comparison between the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India-China relations and accused China of sitting on 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, adding that "but our prime minister says they are not there".

"The basic principle applied in Ukraine by the Russians is that they do not accept the relationship the Ukrainians have with Europe and America, and have told Ukraine that if you do not change this relationship, we will challenge your territorial integrity. In my view, that is what is happening on the borders of my country," he claimed, adding that China is similarly threatening India over its relations with the United States.

"The basic idea behind the troops in Arunachal (Pradesh) and Ladakh is similar to what has happened in Ukraine, and I mentioned this to the foreign minister (S Jaishankar). He completely disagreed with me and he thinks it is a ludicrous idea," the Congress leader said.

Among the questions from a diaspora and academic audience at the event, Gandhi was asked about dynastic politics as an impediment to Indian democracy, which he dismissed as a factor and blamed "structural" issues "way beyond dynastic politics" as a threat.

On India-Pakistan relations, the Opposition leader said he believes it is important to have good relations with all neighbouring countries but added that it depends on the actions of the Pakistanis. "If the Pakistanis are promoting terrorism in India, that becomes very difficult. And that does happen," 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)
Beijing [China], March 7 (ANI): China and Russia's relationship set a good example of international relations and is based on no alliance, no confrontation, said Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, hinting Beijing's closer ties with Moscow, Global Times reported.

In his first press conference after assuming the office, Gang said, "China and Russia have found a path of major country relations featuring strategic trust and good neighbourliness, setting a good example for international relations."

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi Says BJP Likes To Believe It Will Be in Power Eternally, but That's Not the Case.

"China-Russia relationship is based on no alliance and no confrontation and it doesn't target any third party. It is not a threat to any country, nor is it subject to any interference or discord sewn by any third party," he added.

The press conference was held during the first session of the 14th National Press Conference and it is also Qin's first appearance in two sessions since he took office three months ago, according to Global Times.

Also Read | Twitter Down: Elon Musk-Owned Micro-Blogging Site Breaks for Millions as Only 1 Engineer Left Handling Crucial APIs.

"Some countries who are inclined to view China-Russia relations through the lens of Cold War alliances, see nothing but their own image," the Chinese foreign minister said.

During the presser, he further stated that with China and Russia working together, the world will have the driving force toward multi-polarity and greater democracy in international relations. And global strategic balance and stability will be better insured.

The more unstable the world becomes the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations, said Qin.

Qin noted that the leadership between the two countries maintains close contact. Head-of-state interaction is the compass and anchor of China-Russia relations, reported Global Times.

While responding to questions on whether is it possible for China and Russia to drop the use of the US dollar and the euro in bilateral trade settlement, Qin said that whichever currencies are efficient, safe and credible will be used.

Talking about US and geopolitics, the Chinese Foreign Minister said, "The US sees China as the main rival and the most serious geopolitical challenge. The US perception of China has largely deviated from the healthy and rational path."

The US' "competition" with China consists of all-around containment and suppression. Like a dishonest runner in an Olympic race, the US doesn't want to do its best but wants to trip its rival. "This is not fair but absolute foul play," he added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], March 7 (ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has claimed that former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan jumped his residence's wall and escaped to his neighbour's house to avoid arrest, The News International reported.

Sanaullah's statement comes after Islamabad Police on Sunday arrived in Lahore to arrest Imran Khan. However, the law enforcement officers returned without an arrest as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf told them that he "wasn't home," as per the news report. According to The News International, Rana Sanaullah said in the press conference, "Yesterday, the team that went to arrest Khan faced a lot of drama. There are rumours that he [Khan] jumped into his neighbours' house [to hide]. After a while, he surfaced from somewhere and delivered a huge speech."

Also Read | Pakistan: Case Registered Against Imran Khan and His Activists for Obstructing Islamabad Police From Implementing Court Order.

Sanaullah stressed that this was not an appropriate strategy if the police wanted to arrest Imran Khan. He said, "The police went there to inform him about the court's orders. But he is a shameless person."

He added that when the authorities want to arrest and present him before the court, they will do so without hesitation. Rana Sanaullah accused Imran Khan of misusing authority with regard to Toshakhana gifts. "If the court acquits Imran Khan, we will accept it," Sanaullah said, adding that the government has no desire in arresting him, but he should ensure his appearance before the courts, according to The News International report.

Also Read | China Prioritizes Defence Budget Despite Economic Woes.

On February 28, Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal issued Imran Khan a non-bailable arrest warrant for continuously failing to appear before the court in the Toshakhana case.

Meanwhile, a local court in Islamabad rejected PTI Chairman Imran Khan's plea seeking suspension of his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case. Additional Sessions Judge Zafar Iqbal announced the verdict reserved after hearing the arguments on an application filed by the PTI chief seeking the cancellation of his warrants, Dawn reported.

According to the court orders, the Islamabad Police team on Sunday, led by a superintendent of police, visited Zaman Park to implement the arrest warrant. However, they failed to arrest him.

Former Pakistan PM had also approached the Lahore High Court on Monday for post-arrest bail in the case. During the hearing, Khan's lawyers Ali Bukhari, Qaiser Imam and Gohar Ali Khan appeared before the court.

"A warrant shall remain enforced until it is cancelled by the court which issued it or until it is executed as per Section 75(2) Cr.P.C," the court order stated as per the Dawn report. It said that the warrant had been issued for Imran's appearance in the trial. However, he did not appear in court even today.

According to Dawn report, the court order further said, "The accused has not surrendered himself before the court till yet and no application for his personal appearance for today is annexed with the [court] record. The accused has not appeared in court for ensuring his appearance in the trial in future, therefore, the application is rejected." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): Hugo Javier Gobbi, Argentina's Ambassador to India, has said that India with its G20 Presidency has been playing a significant leadership role in putting forward the Global South agenda.

He made the remarks as he took part in the Holi Mahotsav 2023 hosted by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi in Delhi on Monday.

Also Read | Pakistan: Case Registered Against Imran Khan and His Activists for Obstructing Islamabad Police From Implementing Court Order.

Diplomats from Greece and Argentina took part in the Holi Mahotsav 2023 hosted by Lekhi in Delhi.

Speaking to ANI, Hugo Javier Gobbi, Argentina's Ambassador to India, called it a beautiful event and expressed happiness to celebrate the festival. He further said that Argentina supports India's G20 Presidency.

Also Read | China Prioritizes Defence Budget Despite Economic Woes.

"It is a beautiful event and we are very happy to celebrate it with you. On the G20, India is playing a very significant leadership role, putting forward the Global South agenda. Argentina supports Indian presidency very much," Hugo Javier Gobbi said.

Dimitrios Ioannou, Ambassador of Greece to India, said that it was his first experience of celebrating Holi and called it a wonderful celebration.

Speaking to ANI, Dimitrios Ioannou said, "This is my first year in India and this is my first experience for the celebration of Holi. I find to be it a wonderful celebration. I wish Indian people to have joy in their lives."

Responding to a question regarding India's G20 Presidency, he said, "It's a very ambitious presidency. I am sure that they will achieve their goals."

The video of foreign delegates playing Holi has gone viral on social media. Delegates from many countries took part in Holi Mahotsav 2023 organised by the Ministry of External Affairs. Foreign diplomats were seen dancing to Bollywood songs in the programme.

At the event, Meenakashi Lekhi said that the G20 is on and everybody is looking upto India for solutions to some tough problems. She further said, "Holi is the victory of good over evil and that is the message for today as well." Notably, India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.

Lekhi took to her Twitter handle to share pictures of the celebration. "Happy to celebrate the festival of colours with the Diplomatic Corps today at Holi Mahotsav 2023 in New Delhi. The cultural programme showcased the festivities and cultural heritage of India & gave an insight into the diverse holi celebrations from around the country," she wrote in the tweet.

Brendan Ward, Ireland's Ambassador to India said, " Holi is one of the most famous of many festivals of India. It is celebrated around the world. It is a popular festival now in Ireland, especially among the Indian students at the university. In the context of India's G20 Presidency, it is an opportunity for India to showcase its culture in the wider world."

Diana Mickeviceine, Lithuania's Ambassador to India said, "I think it is going to be a very loud celebration and this year with G20 Presidency it becomes even louder because the whole world is following India. We certainly wish for it to be a successful Presidency."

"The times are difficult we are affected by the developments in Europe and by Russia's war. So, we look forward to India's wisdom and India's traditional way of saying truth and addressing the issue at its core. We stand with India, we support India," she added.

Freddy Svane, Denmark's Ambassador to India said, "It is the most colourful and joyful of all festivals in India. It's about colour, and joy, it's about overcoming evil."

Svane further stated, "The Indian G20 Presidency is the first of its kind for India and India is taking the G20 Presidency, some steps ahead because it is also about showing what India culturally and as a nation can offer to this world. So, it's not just about Make in India but about Make India and G20 is a fantastic opportunity for India. India is a game-changer and a pacesetter for other nations."

Adam Burakowski, Poland's Ambassador to India said, "We always celebrate with our family. It is a festival of colours, joy and all the positive things. We follow the works of India's G20 Presidency. We see India is growing all over the world and G20 is one of the signs about India's growth."

Eliska Zigova, Czech Ambassador to India said that it was her first Holi and that it is a very colourful and joyful festival. Zigova added, "It is important to keep culture and tradition alive. Regarding G20 Presidency I congratulate India and for the events that happened." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 7 (ANI): The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Monday apprehended an Iranian boat with five crew members carrying 61 kilograms of drugs worth Rs 425 crore in Indian waters at the Arabian Sea off Gujarat. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) took the action based on intelligence input by ATS Gujarat.

"Indian Coast Guard (ICG), based on an intelligence input by ATS Gujarat, has apprehended an Iranian Boat with 05 crew in Indian waters carrying 61 kgs of Heroin worth Rs 425 crore," the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) said.

Also Read | Pakistan: Case Registered Against Imran Khan and His Activists for Obstructing Islamabad Police From Implementing Court Order.

The boat along with the crew has been apprehended and is being brought to Okha for further investigation. According to the Defence Wing statement, based on a specific intelligence input by ATS, the Indian Coast Guard on Monday deployed its two Fast Patrol class of ships, ICGS Meera Behn and ICGS Abheek for patrolling in the Arabian Sea.

"During dark hours, a boat was observed moving suspiciously in Indian waters approx. 340 Kms (190 miles) off Okha coast. On being challenged by ICG Ships, the boat started evasive manoeuvring," the Defence wing statement further said.

Also Read | China Prioritizes Defence Budget Despite Economic Woes.

The boat was chased and forced to stop by ICG ships. The boat was found to be an Iranian boat with five crew of Iranian nationality, according to the release. During the investigation by the ICG boarding team, the crew were found to be behaving suspiciously.

Approximately 61 Kilograms of narcotics worth Rs 425 crore were found in the boat after extensive rummaging. According to the press release, Indian Coast Guard in coordination with ATS has apprehended eight foreign vessels and seized 407 kilograms of narcotics worth Rs 2,355 crore. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dubai, Mar 7 (AP) Iran's supreme leader said on Monday that if a series of suspected poisonings at girls' schools is proven to be deliberate, the culprits should be sentenced to death for committing an "unforgivable crime".

It was the first time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the suspected poisonings, which began late last year and have sickened hundreds of children.

Also Read | Pakistan: Case Registered Against Imran Khan and His Activists for Obstructing Islamabad Police From Implementing Court Order.

Iranian officials only acknowledged them in recent weeks and have provided no details on who may be behind the attacks or what chemicals -- if any -- have been used. Unlike neighbouring Afghanistan, Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women's education.

"If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them," Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Also Read | China Prioritizes Defence Budget Despite Economic Woes.

Authorities have acknowledged suspected attacks at more than 50 schools across 21 of Iran's 30 provinces since November.

Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said over the weekend that "suspicious samples" had been gathered by investigators, without elaborating. He called on the public to remain calm and accused unnamed enemies of inciting fear to undermine the Islamic Republic.

Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings, while Iranian media reports have put the number of schools at over 60. At least one boy's school reportedly has been affected.

Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in hospital emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media.

Iran has imposed stringent restrictions on independent media since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and scope of the suspected poisonings.

On Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities arrested a Qom-based journalist, Ali Pourtabatabaei, who had been regularly reporting on the suspected poisonings. The hard-line Kayhan newspaper in an editorial had called for the arrests of newspaper publishers who printed articles on the crisis critical of Iran's theocracy.

Meanwhile, international pressure continues to grow on Iran over the suspected poisonings. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for a "credible, independent investigation" into the incidents.

"If these poisonings are related to participation in protests, then it is well within (the) mandate of the UN independent international fact-finding mission on Iran to investigate," she said on Monday.

The September protests were sparked by the death of a young woman who had been detained by morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. Religious hard-liners in Iran have been known to attack women they perceive as dressing immodestly in public. But even at the height of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, women and girls continued attending schools and universities.

The children affected in the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.

Reports suggest at least 400 schoolchildren have fallen ill since November. Vahidi, the interior minister, said in his statement that two girls remain in hospital because of underlying chronic conditions. There have been no reported fatalities.

As more attacks were reported on Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining about pain in the legs, abdomen and dizziness. State media have mainly referred to these as "hysteric reactions".

The World Health Organization documented a similar phenomenon in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2012, when hundreds of girls across the country complained of strange smells and poisoning. No evidence was found to support the suspicions, and the WHO said it appeared to be "mass psychogenic illnesses". (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington [US], March 7 (ANI): This is an optimistic time for India-US relations, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is scheduled to travel to India this week, said on Monday (Local Time).

Ahead of her visit to India, Raimondo said, "This is an optimistic time for US-India relations, and I am excited to visit India during such a special time of year, the celebration of Holi," according to the statement released by the US Department of Commerce.

Also Read | Twitter Down: Elon Musk-Owned Micro-Blogging Site Breaks for Millions as Only 1 Engineer Left Handling Crucial APIs.

"Through the CEO Forum, the Commercial Dialogue, and IPEF, we are making excellent progress in bringing our countries closer together by creating new markets for trade, expanding those that already exist, and reinforcing our shared commitment to democracy," she added.

Raimondo will visit India from today to March 10 on the invitation of Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles.

Also Read | New York: Stampede at GloRilla Concert in Rochester, Two Dead.

During the visit, she will participate in the Indo-US Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum which will be held on March 10 2023.

"During the visit, the US-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on March 10th, 2023, to discuss cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries," according to the statement released by the US Department of Commerce.

The Commercial Dialogue is a cooperative undertaking encompassing regular government-to-government meetings to be held in conjunction with private sector meetings, with an aim to facilitate trade and maximize investment opportunities across a broad range of economic sectors.

The last India-USA Commercial Dialogue was held in February 2019. Since then, due to the pandemic and other factors, it could not be held. It is proposed to re-launch the Commercial Dialogue with a strategic outlook focusing on supply chain resiliency & diversification and new emerging areas, after a gap of three years.

Earlier, India-US CEO Forum was soft-launched by the Indian Commerce & Industry Minister and US Secretary of Commerce on 9th November 2022 via video conference for which identified key priorities were increasing supply chain resilience, enhancing energy security and reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions, advancing inclusive digital trade and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery, especially for small businesses. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Quetta (Pak), Mar 7 (AP) A suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed a police truck in Pakistan's restive southwest on Monday, killing 10 police officers and wounding 12 in one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent months, authorities said.

The newly formed Tehreek-e-Jihad militant group hours later in a statement claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place on a bridge in the Sibi district of Baluchistan province.

Also Read | Pakistan: Case Registered Against Imran Khan and His Activists for Obstructing Islamabad Police From Implementing Court Order.

Small Baluchistan-based separatist groups and local militants have been blamed for previous such attacks.

Late on Monday night, the Islamic State group also claimed responsibility for the attack. It said in a statement released by the group's Amaq news agency that IS militant Abdul Rahman al-Pakistani was driving a bomb-laden motorcycle that he ignited, killing or wounding 24 police personnel.

Also Read | China Prioritizes Defence Budget Despite Economic Woes.

Mahmood Notenzai, a local police chief, said the officers were on a routine patrol when the attack happened, initially killing nine. The casualties were taken to a nearby hospital, where one of the critically wounded policemen later died, he added. Sibi is about 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of Quetta, the provincial capital.

The force of the blast overturned the truck, which caused additional injuries, he said. Trucks often transport troops in Pakistan.

Notenzai said the officers who came under attack were deployed last week to Sibi, where an annual cultural festival was held amid tight security. An army helicopter was sent to evacuate the seriously wounded to a hospital in Quetta, where better health facilities are available.

Last year, a suicide bomber from the extremist Islamic State group targeted President Arif Alvi 's security convoy when he attended the Sibi festival. Alvi was far away from the site of the bombing, which killed five troops. IS militants later claimed responsibility for that attack.

The festival has been celebrated for several centuries to mark the advent of summer.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack. In a statement, he expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and ordered health officials to provide the best medical care for the wounded policemen. He said the attack was part of nefarious enemy plans to destabilise Pakistan and vowed to defeat terrorism.

Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, the top elected official in Baluchistan, also denounced the bombing.

"The terrorists who are carrying out such attacks are the enemy of Pakistan," he said, adding that they will not shake the resolve of the country's police.

Baluchistan has long struggled with a low-level insurgency by the Baluchistan Liberation Army and other small separatist groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Authorities claim to have quelled the insurgency but violence has persisted. The province has also seen attacks by militants from both the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, Mar 7 (AP) The naming of a Miami-area street for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson brings to four the number of sitting Supreme Court justices similarly honoured and makes possible a high court-focused road trip between Florida and New York.

Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the court, was on hand for the naming ceremony on Monday in the community where she was raised.

Also Read | Pakistan: Militants Throw Grenades at Two Police Posts in Peshawar.

To have my name so prominently displayed on a street in a community that has given me so much, that is a very special honour, Jackson said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Street in Miami-Dade County runs for about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers), just west of Biscayne Bay.

Also Read | Earthquake in Philippines: Quake of Magnitude 6.0 Rocks San Mariano.

To start the trip, head north on Interstate 95. In Georgia, the highway crosses Interstate 16, not far from Savannah. That's the Justice Clarence Thomas interchange. Drive into town to check out the Savannah College of Art and Design's Clarence Thomas Centre for Historic Preservation.

Continue all the way to New Jersey to drive along Justice Samuel Alito Way, in Hamilton Township, east of Trenton.

In New York City, roughly 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) from Jackson Street sits the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses and Community Centre, the Bronx housing development where the justice grew up.

Sotomayor, the senior justice on the liberal side of the court since Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement last year, also is the court's leader as measured by places named in her honour. Public schools in California, New Jersey, South Dakota and Texas also bear her name.

No one has as many public honours as Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black person on the Supreme Court. Among the places named for Marshall are the international airport between Baltimore and Washington and 35 public schools in 18 states and the nation's capital.

One of those schools, in a Maryland suburb of Washington, previously had been named for Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote the pre-Civil War Dred Scott decision, which held that Black people could not be American citizens.

___

Last week, Jackson had two firsts in her eight months as a justice. She wrote her first majority opinion for the court and likely cast her first deciding vote breaking a 4-4 deadlock.

She was in the majority of a 5-4 decision, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, in favour of people who were fined for violating a federal law regulating foreign bank accounts.

Because seniority means so much on the Supreme Court, Jackson, as the junior justice, is the last to speak in the private conferences at which the justices tentatively vote on the outcome of cases they have just heard.

So in the normal course of the court's business, Jackson's eight colleagues would have been split when it was her turn to speak and decide how the case would come out.

___

Gorsuch may not leave a big tip if a restaurant charges him for frozen salmon when the menu promises fresh. But he's not going to make a federal case out of it.

That was the thrust of his comments last week in arguments over the reach of a federal law that adds a minimum of two years in prison to fraud crimes that also involve identity theft.

Justices were trying out an array of made-up situations involving the use of a credit card to assess when dishonesty could become something more serious, in a case in which the Justice Department was defending an expansive reading of the law.

"Wouldn't it be enough for the day to say that this reading of the statute was overbroad and that it cannot possibly mean that every time I order fresh salmon at a restaurant and get billed for  given frozen salmon and billed for fresh  that cannot be federal identity theft?" Gorsuch asked.

It's clear that the Colorado-born justice is no vegetarian. In 2017, Gorsuch invoked his method of steak preparation in seeking to poke holes in the case advanced by opponents of the overly partisan drawing of electoral districts.

It reminds me a little bit of my steak rub. I like some turmeric, I like a few other little ingredients, but I'm not going to tell you how much of each, Gorsuch said. He wound up being in the majority of a 5-4 decision that closed federal courts to complaints about partisan gerrymandering.

It turns out that Sotomayor, who sits next to Gorsuch on the bench, also has an appetite for the food hypothetical. It's like, if I ordered a tomahawk steak and they gave me a big sirloin steak, that would be a fraud, but my name isn't used in that way, correct? Sotomayor asked in the identity theft case.

The two justices also engaged in a, wait for it, rhetorical food fight in a most unlikely setting, a case over coronavirus relief funds for Alaska Natives that the court decided in 2021.

The case turned on whether a federal law should be read so as to count Alaska Native corporations as Indian tribes.

Writing for a six-justice majority, Sotomayor said yes, it should. And she likened the language in federal law to a restaurant ad offering half off "any meat, vegetable, or seafood dish, including ceviche, which is cooked.

Ceviche is a popular Latin American dish often made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices and served cold.

Conjuring a customer who ordered ceviche, Sotomayor wrote: Would she expect it to be cooked? No. Would she expect to pay full price for it? Again, no.

But the outcome would be different under Gorsuch's test, resulting in no discount for ceviche because it is not cooked, she wrote.

That conclusion would make no sense to a reasonable customer, Sotomayor wrote, labelling the ceviche a red herring.

In his dissenting opinion, Gorsuch rejected Sotomayor's criticism that his reading of the law was implausible. In a footnote, he called Sotomayor's example both colourful and "a bit underdone .

There are other plausible ways to understand the ad, he wrote, including that the restaurant might lightly poach the seafood before using it in ceviche. Or, citing cookbook author Mark Bittman, Gorsuch wrote, "Maybe the restaurant meant to speak of ceviche as cooked' in the sense of fish ... cooked by marinating it in an acidic dressing' like lime juice.'"

___

When arguments at the court ended March 1 in a legal tussle between New York and New Jersey, Marshal Gail Curely announced an unusual time for the court's next meeting: Friday March 17 at 3 pm.

The justices and the lawyers who make up the Supreme Court bar will be holding a memorial service, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020.

The gathering is being held two days after what would have been Ginsburg's 90th birthday. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New York, Mar 7 (AP) Two men have been convicted of helping Somali pirates who kidnapped a U.S. journalist for ransom and held him for 2 1/2 years, prosecutors said.

Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed and Abdi Yusuf Hassan were convicted by a federal court jury in New York on Feb. 24 of hostage-taking, conspiracy, providing material support for acts of terrorism and other crimes that carry potential life sentences.

Also Read | Twitter Down: Elon Musk-Owned Micro-Blogging Site Breaks for Millions as Only 1 Engineer Left Handling Crucial APIs.

Michael Scott Moore, a German-American journalist, was abducted in January 2012 in Galkayo, Somalia, 400 miles (643.7 kilometers) northeast of the capital of Mogadishu. He was working as a freelancer for the German publication Spiegel Online and researching a book about piracy.

The kidnappers demanded $20 million in ransom and at one point released a video showing Moore surrounded by masked kidnappers who pointed a machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade at him.

Also Read | New York: Stampede at GloRilla Concert in Rochester, Two Dead.

Moore was freed in September 2014. Moore has said his family raised $1.6 million for his release.

Tahlil, a Somali Army officer, left his post to take command of the pirates holding Moore captive and obtained the machine guns and grenade launchers used to threaten and hold Moore, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. Hassan, the Minister of Interior and Security for the province in Somalia where Moore was held hostage, abused his government position and led the pirates' efforts to extort a massive ransom from Moore's mother.

Hassan, who was born in Mogadishu, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was arrested in Minneapolis in 2019 and charged with federal crimes.

Details of Tahlil's arrest haven't been disclosed but he was jailed in New York City in 2018.

In a 2018 book Moore wrote about his captivity, he said that Tahlil got in touch with him from Somalia by Facebook two months after the journalist's release and included a photograph. Moore recognized him as the boss" of his guards.

The men began a correspondence.

I hope u are fine, Tahlil said, according to the book. The pirates who held u hostage killed each other over group vendetta and money issues.

According to the criminal complaint reported by the New York Times, that was consistent with reports that some pirates were killed in a dispute over division of Moore's ransom.

Hassan and Tahlil were scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 6.

Attorneys for the two men were emailed for comment by The Associated Press after hours on Monday but the messages weren't immediately returned.(AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Happy Holi 2023! Holi, also known as the festival of colours, is an important festival celebrated by people of the Hindu community in India. It is an ancient Hindu festival that celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha and Lord Krishna. According to the Hindu calendar, Holi is celebrated every year on the full moon date of Falgun (Phalgun) month. In 2023, Holika Dahan will be celebrated on March 6, while Rangwali Holi or Dhulandi or Dhuleti will be celebrated on March 7. As Holi 2023 nears, heres a list of Holi 2023 images and wallpapers that you can send to your friends and family and celebrate the festival of colours. You can also share these Holi 2023 images, Happy Holi pics and Holi 2023 wallpapers with your loved ones as images, greetings, SMS and messages. Happy Holi 2023 Wishes, Images & Greetings: Send Holi Messages, Quotes, GIFs, WhatsApp Stickers, Photos & Wallpapers To Celebrate the Festival of Colours.

Happy Holi 2023 (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Play More, Drink Less, Enjoy More, Think Less. Have a Cheerful Holi!

Happy Holi 2023 (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: You Make My Life Vibrant With Love  Happy Holi!

Happy Holi 2023 (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: May This Holi Bring Us Good Luck and May Our Friendship Continue To Grow. Happy Holi!

Happy Holi 2023 (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Sending You Colourful Blessings on Holi. May You Have a Happy Life.

Happy Holi 2023 (File Image)

WhatsApp Message Reads: Bright Colours, Water Balloons, Lavish Gujiya, and Melodious Songs Are the Ingredients for a Perfect Holi.

Holi 2023: Know Date, History, Significance Of The Festival Of Colours As Holi Kab Hai 2023 Trends

According to Hindu tradition, Holi is the day that signifies the triumph of good over evil. The day commemorates the victory of Lord Vishnu as Narasimha Narayana over Hiranyakashipu. People also visit temples to seek the blessings of Lord Krishna. There are several cultural rituals associated with Holi. The festival is so old that it is mentioned in the Puranas, Dasakumara Charita, and by the poet Kalidasa during the 4th-century reign of Chandragupta II. In the Braj region of India, where the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated until Rang Panchmi in commemoration of their divine love for each other.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 07, 2023 10:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Elon Musk has bodyguards follow him everywhere at Twitter headquarters, according to a report in BBC. Reportedly, the bodyguards follow Musk him at all places including the bathroom. A Twitter engineer told BBC that Elon Musk is accompanied around Twitter headquarters by at least two bodyguards. Interestingly, the engineer said that the bodyguards are "tall" and "bulky" and like they're from a "Hollywood movie." Elon Musk to Step Down As Twitter CEO? Twitter Poll Result Shows Users Voted 'Yes' by Margin of 15%.

Elon Musk Has Bodyguards Follow Him Everywhere

Elon Musk has bodyguards follow him everywhere at Twitter headquarters, including the bathroom, BBC reports. pic.twitter.com/Eh4p2O4ZzO  Pop Base (@PopBase) March 7, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Several peacocks were found dead on Tuesday (March 7) in Poolankulam village, Madurai district, Tamil Nadu. A case has been registered. An investigation is underway. This is not the first time the state has faced such an issue. Peacocks had been poised and killed in the past. Peahen Attacks Woman Who Tries To Steal Her Eggs, Viral Video Shows the Power of Mothers Love.

Peacocks Found Dead in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu | Several peacocks found dead in Poolankulam village of Madurai district. Case registered, investigation underway, says Madurai Wildlife Range Officer. pic.twitter.com/gbTJpTnnbL  ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2023

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
In a case of mistaken identity, four U.S. citizens were attacked and abducted by gunmen in northeastern Mexico on Friday, a U.S. official familiar with the inquiry told CNN.

The Mexican cartel thought the Americans were Haitian drug dealers and targeted them.

Meanwhile, the authorities have found no evidence of any concerning criminal background on the part of the Americans.

The Mexico kidnapping victims had driven to the Mexican border city of Matamoros for medical operations, the official claimed, citing invoices found in the car.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico provided a similar justification.

"The information we have is that they crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico, there was a confrontation between groups, and they were detained," the president said. "The whole government is working on it."

The occurrence draws attention to the expanding industry of so-called "medical tourism" and the continued violence in several Mexican communities plagued by organized crime, at least since the Mexican Drug War began in 2006.

The unidentified missing Americans arrived in Matamoros Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates, according to the FBI in San Antonio.

Unknown gunmen opened fire on them before they were put in a vehicle and carried away from the site by armed men, as reported by the FBI.

READ NEXT: Haiti Kidnapping

The Mexico Kidnapping Incident According to Witness

The shooting and kidnapping appeared to have occurred in broad daylight, according to a witness driving through Matamoros and requesting anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The white minivan was struck by another car at a crossroads, followed by gunfire, said the witness. Another vehicle pulled up, and many men with guns jumped out.

"All of a sudden, they (the gunmen) were in front of us," she said. "I entered a state of shock; nobody honked their horn, and nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, 'if we move, they will see us, or they might shoot us.'"

The assailants pushed a woman into the bed of a pickup truck. Another victim was also transferred to the car, according to the witness.

"The other two they dragged across the pavement; we don't know if they were alive or dead," the witness stated.

Minutes afterward, the Mexio authorities showed up.

Rival sections of the Gulf cartel rule Matamoros, and this tableau depicts the constant state of fear that has permeated the city for years, AP reports.

Thousands of Mexicans, including residents of Matamoros, have vanished in the state of Tamaulipas due to the violence.

Mexico Kidnapping Incident Caught on Video

The moment they were abducted has been captured on Twitter, according to CBS News' Christina Ruffini.

A woman was walking alone when a man in a white pickup truck accosted her. Next, the men with the long weapons and the protective vests start hauling people into the car, one by one.

The condition of the Mexico crime victims is unknown, but there is a chance that a few of them were hurt, based on the footage that surfaced online.

An "innocent" Mexican national was killed in the kidnapping, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar stated in a statement released Monday.

While he could not provide any further information, he said that various U.S. law agencies collaborated with their Mexican colleagues to locate the missing Americans.

The FBI has announced a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the safe return of the victims of the Mexico kidnapping and the perpetrators' capture.

Disputes between rival groups within the Gulf drug cartel have made Matamoros a battleground recently, leading to widespread Mexico crime on Friday and a warning from the U.S. Consulate and police to stay indoors.

The alert also served as a gentle reminder to the American people that the U.S. State Department has issued a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" warning for this region of Mexico.

READ MORE: Joe Biden's Claims Voting Rights' Under Assault' in His Selma Speech

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: FBI demands return of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico - From CBS Mornings
Brazil has ordered a police probe on former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and the controversial Saudi jewelry, with allegations that government staff under Bolsonaro tried to bring millions of dollars worth of jewelry into the country.

Al Jazeera reported that Brazil's Justice Minister Flavio Dino announced the probe on Monday. Police were called to probe whether Bolsonaro's staff tried to cross the border without following the "legal procedures" when it comes to government gifts or high-value items.

The involved Saudi jewelry items were a set of earrings, a necklace, a ring, and a watch by the Swiss brand Chopard. It was a gift to Bolsonaro by the Saudi Arabian government when he was still in office.

A current cabinet member has called the incident of trying to enter the country without following the proper protocols for the said items an act of "smuggling."

Critics voiced out that the jewelry should have been documented and surrendered to the government as part of the presidential collection as it was a gift to the state.

READ NEXT: Luiz inacio Lula Da Silva Launches First Anti-deforestation Raids in Amazon in Vow To Protect Rainforest in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro on Saudi Jewelry

The jewelry set was found in luggage that belonged to an adviser to Bolsonaro's mines and energy minister in Sao Paulo's international airport. It was earlier reported by O Estado Sao Paulo newspaper, according to The Washington Post.

The jewelry set was given during the 2021 Middle East summit attendance of the minister in Saudi Arabia.

Goods brought from abroad worth more than $1,000 must be declared for taxation, as stated under Brazilian law. However, the document obtained by the local media that first reported the incident noted that the jewelry was not declared.

The former communications chief, Fabip Wajngarten, wrote on his social media account that the box was sealed and was only opened in Brazil by customs and authorities.

Meanwhile, the former president commented on the matter, saying there was no illegal activity on his side.

Bolsonaro added in his statement that he is being accused of a gift he never asked for nor received.

Investigators will now probe whether Bolsonaro was trying to get the jewelry secretly into Brazil to avoid taxes or prevent it from going into the presidency's public collection.

Jair Bolsonaro in The United States

Bolsonaro recently delivered a speech in the United States, saying that his missing was "still not over," suggesting that he could be planning a possible presidential run in 2026, as reported by Reuters.

He is staying in Florida after losing his re-election bis last year. The former Brazilian president did not mention when he planned to return to Brazil despite being asked to lead the right-wing opposition.

Bolsonaro has also refused to concede defeat to the current Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He is also facing growing legal responsibilities for several criminal and electoral probes in Brazil.

Last October, he questioned the results of the Brazilian elections. Bolsonaro claimed that he could not understand how the ballot count failed to show the support he seemed to have in public.

READ MORE: Brazil Election: Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva Wins but Not Outright Victory After He Failed to Secure Majority Over Jair Bolsonaro

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Brazil's Bolsonaro Says 'Mission Still Not Over' In Speech To U.S. CPAC | CPAC Summit | USA News - from CNN-News 18


When Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden, it would set off a chain of events leading to a billion-dollar lawsuit and a scandal that has rocked the Rupert Murdoch media empire at its core. A new Dominion filing has surfaced, showing that the network was in a panic after that Arizona call.

According to the New York Times, top executives and anchors at Fox News held an after-action meeting following the Arizona call. However, this was not because they called the results wrong but because they got the call right, as Biden won the previously-red state against then-President Donald Trump.

In the days following the Arizona call, the conservative media outlet was besieged with angry calls, not just from the Trump camp but its own viewers, who were angry at the network for calling the highly-contested state for the Democrat. This reaction from the MAGA faithful had Fox News executives worried they might lose viewers to competitors like Newsmax.

What Was Talked About During That Fox News Meeting

Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News Media, and Jay Wallace, the network's president, convened the meeting on Zoom on November 16, after the Arizona call. A recording of that call was reviewed by the New York Times and was presented as evidence by Dominion in their lawsuit against Fox News.

In that call, the top executives and hosts tried to discuss how the network could keep itself from angering its conservative audience again. Many offered suggestions, such as abandoning its sophisticated new election-projecting system, in which the network had already invested millions of dollars. Another suggested they should base calls not solely on numbers but on how viewers might react. Another suggestion stated that they should just delay calls to keep their audience in suspense and boost their viewership.

READ NEXT: Steve Bannon Declares War on Fox News

Scott admitted in the call, "Listen, it's one of the sad realities: If we hadn't called Arizona, those three or four days following Election Day, our ratings would have been bigger."

MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber pointed out that Scott and Fox News anchor Bret Baier even discussed reversing Arizona call just to appease their viewers, sacrificing the truth for ratings. This comes after Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath that Fox News continued presenting Donald Trump's election lies for the money.

Fox News' Financial Motives for Presenting Lies Could Destroy Their Defense During Dominion Lawsuit

Normally, plaintiffs have an uphill battle in defamation lawsuits as they are the ones who bear the burden of proof that the defendant intentionally defamed them. However, the Dominion case is different as they have presented evidence that shows Fox News executives and hosts knew that the claims presented in their shows were all lies but still went with them.

Rutgers University law professor Ronald Chen, an authority on constitutional and media law, spoke with NPR and stated Fox News' legal arguments that news organizations must be allowed to convey allegations by major public figures to their audiences no matter how wild they are will not hold up if there are allegations that presenting these accusations was done for profit.

"The fact that there was arguably a motive by Fox to publish these accusations against Dominion based on its own economic interests in retaining Trump viewers would, if believed by the jury, probably destroy that argument," said the legal expert.

READ NEXT: Tucker Carlson, Other Fox News Stars Privately Blasted Donald Trump's Election Fraud Claims

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Busted: Fox News caught on secret recording amid billion dollar lawsuit for peddling lies - MSNBC
A Florida Instagram star and self-proclaimed scam artist pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding the U.S. government of more than $1 million in loans related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle that she showed off on Instagram.

After being arrested on fraud counts, social media influencer Danielle Miller stood before a federal judge in Boston by video to plead guilty. Her frauds and other cases were detailed in a feature published in New York Magazine last year.

The 33-year-old consented to a plea agreement with the prosecution, forfeiting $1.3 million in exchange for a six-year jail sentence, 16 months of which may overlap with the five-year sentence she was given in October for a different Florida bank fraud case.

The court scheduled her sentencing for June 27, according to Reuters.

Miller allegedly obtained more than $1 million in pandemic-related loans for small enterprises using the identities of more than ten different people, according to the prosecution.

Using a bank account in the name of one of her victims, she used the money to fund her travels and indulge in a variety of high-end purchases, including a Rolex, a Louis Vuitton bag, and Dior shoes, all of which she flaunted on Instagram alongside images of herself in opulent California hotel rooms.

READ NEXT: TikTok Star Taylor Frankie Paul Arrested for Assault

Florida Instagram Star Danielle Miller's Lavish Life

Social media posts by Danielle "Dani" Miller often included designer goods from Prada, Fendi, Dior, Valentino, Louboutin, Gucci, Hermes, and Rolex brands.

Flashing private aircraft, a Rolls-Royce, and a Porsche while residing in an opulent Miami condominium with a view of Biscayne Bay, the Florida Instagram star gave the impression that she came from old New York money, said Local 10.

The former Pepperdine law student used fraud to fund the extravagant lifestyle she presented to her tens of thousands of Instagram and TikTok followers, according to federal authorities.

"I can truly say that I wholeheartedly enjoy carrying out plans and involving myself in challenging experiences," she wrote in her Linkedin bio.

Miller pled guilty to three charges of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft on Monday, according to federal authorities.

Miller's father is the former New York State Bar Association president.

Danielle Miller's Influencer Status Ended in 2021

Danielle Miller's extravagant lifestyle, which she flaunted on Instagram, ended when she was detained in May 2021 at her opulent Miami, Florida, condo.

Miller pled guilty via video conference to counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Monday morning in Boston federal court.

Miller's account captivated the audience while highlighting the widespread deception that accompanied the government's haste to disperse nearly $5 trillion in relief payments to individuals, corporations, and governments across the United States in the wake of the pandemic.

The White House announced this week that U.S. President Joe Biden intends to seek Congress for $1.6 billion in additional cash to combat fraud connected to the relief programs.

Almost a thousand persons have been convicted of fraud concerning federal COVID relief, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported last month, Al Jazeera reports.

Miller stated that she considered herself a "con artist" in a February 2022 interview with New York Magazine.

Miller was once a student at the elite Horace Mann School, but the story explains how her lavish lifestyle depended on criminal activity.

Miller was previously arrested and served time for using counterfeit credit cards at a New York City spa.

After the Florida Instagram star was released, she then used the names of more than ten people to fraudulently open bank accounts and got pandemic-related loans meant for small businesses, said the prosecutors.

READ MORE: Mexico: 4 Americans Kidnapped by Mistake

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Biden seeks $1.6B to investigate pandemic fraud - From FOX 13 Seattle
California Governor Gavin Newsom has severed the state's business ties with the pharmaceutical chain Walgreens after it announced last week that it will not be selling abortion pills by mail to 20 consecutive-led states.

KRON 4 News reported that Walgreens' decision came after attorneys general in the 20 states warned the company and pharmacy chain CVS that they could face legal consequences if they sold abortion pills by mail to those states.

Newsom responded to the news by tweeting and attaching a CNN report on the matter. He tweeted: "California won't be doing business with Walgreens or any company that cowers to extremists and puts women's lives at risk... We're done."

California won't be doing business with @walgreens -- or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk.



We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023

READ NEXT: Chile's Government Gave Out Flawed Birth Control Pills, Which Caused Dozens of Unplanned Pregnancies

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Reacts After Walgreens Stopped Distribution of Abortion Pills

Walgreens said on Friday that it will not distribute abortion medication in 20 states due to pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers and lawsuits targeting the legality of abortion pills.

According to CNN, the pharmaceutical company noted that they intend to be a certified pharmacy and will only distribute mifepristone in areas where it is legal and operationally feasible.

A spokesperson for Rite Aid said the pharmaceutical company is monitoring the developments on federal, state, legal, and regulatory developments regarding mifepristone dispensing.

Rite Aid spokesperson Catherine Carter told CNN that the company will continue to evaluate its ability to dispense the abortion pills in accordance with those developments.

Anti-abortion advocates filed a lawsuit against the FDA in November, targeting the agency's two-decade-old approval of mifepristone. It is the first drug in the medication abortion process.

Medical abortion, which ends pregnancy through the use of medication, was also banned in some states after the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade last year.

The FDA has allowed retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone pills, including by mail, as long as they are certified under special safety rules for the drug.

The White House said it was "dangerous and unacceptable" for elected officials to target women's access to federally approved abortion pills, The Guardian reported.

More than half of abortions in the U.S. were done with medication abortion. It has caught increasing attention since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

U.S. Abortion Rights

Top human rights organizations are calling on the United Nations to intervene in the matter of abortion rights in the United States.

Around 200 organizations and experts wrote in a letter that some 22 million women and girls of reproductive age live in states where abortion access is now either banned or inaccessible.

The signatories include Global Justice Center, Pregnancy Justice, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.

A huge coalition of groups and individual advocates for human rights and racial and economic justice also joins the organizations.

The legal director of the Global Justice Center, Christine Ryan, told The Guardian that the U.S. must be "castigated on the world stage" for its policies addressing the women, girls, and others who can be pregnant.

Ryan added that the scale and intensity are "unfathomable" regarding the human rights violations the United States is pushing on its population.

READ MORE: Pres. Joe Biden Labels Supreme Court Leaked Opinion on Abortion Case as "Radical Decision"

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: California Governor Says State Won't Do Business With Walgreens Over Abortion Pill Decision - From CBS Evening News




The number of femicide cases or women murdered based on their gender in Mexico has reportedly reached 4,000 during the four years of the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known by his initials AMLO.

Mexico is facing big issues with drug cartels, immigration, and many others. However, many citizens believe that the rise in femicide cases has not been addressed as much.

Former National Action Party (PAN) presidential candidate Ricardo Anaya Cortes pointed out in his weekly video that Mexico under AMLO lacked public policies for women, especially with the spike in femicide incidents and removal of social programs with a gender perspective, Borderland Beat reported.

In anticipation of this week's International Women's Day commemoration, Cortes said some politicians will claim to support women but will not do anything, alluding to images of support for AMLO.

He recalled that budgets for shelters for women victims of violence had been cut while the funds for childcare centers and full-time schools had disappeared. Cortes also decried the rise of femicides throughout the country.

"Just look at how femicides are: four thousand women murdered in the four years of this government for the mere fact of being women. It is an open wound in the heart of Mexico. This government has not given more to women. It has taken away what they had, and when they have raised their voices, it has erected fences to prevent them from reaching them," said Cortes, who is currently in a self-imposed exile in the United States as he faces accusations of corruption in Mexico.

"Hopefully, the day after tomorrow, when women march to demand justice and demand that violence stops, they will be heard," the politician noted.

READ NEXT: Tesla Mexico Factory: Elon Musk's $5 Billion Plan, Revealed

AMLO Making Little Progress on Combatting Femicide in Mexico

Mexico has been facing a rise in femicide rates for years, with 131 femicides happening from January to November 2022 in Mexico state alone. Across 11 days from late October to early November, there were already nine cases of femicide.

In 2021, there were more than 1,000 cases nationwide, which means that, on average, at least 10 women or girls have been killed every day of the year. National data has also shown little progress in addressing the issue.

Reuters reported that in 2021, murders in Mexico declined. However, the overall number of women being killed has risen. The gender-based violence in Mexico increased by 2.7% in 2021 from the previous year to 1,004. This number was more than double registered in 2015 when there were 427 femicides.

Mexican officials said the decline in murders in 2021 to 33,308 was the lowest total under AMLO, just lower than the 33,739 recorded in 2018.

According to PBS News, experts and advocates are saying that this rampant femicide across Mexico may have stemmed from several factors permeating the society, including cultural masculinity, gender inequality, and domestic violence, as well as a justice system riddled with flaws.

These problems include police officers not taking reports, clumsy investigations, and officials who revictimize women.

AMLO Promised to Curb Femicide But Has So-Far Failed

AMLO himself provided a litany of solutions to the problem earlier in his presidency, including "finding ways to live in a better society... [making sure] that there is no unemployment, that there are good salaries, that family disintegration is avoided, that there are proper salaries, that values are strengthened."

However, given the high number of femicide cases happening since he made that promise, many have pointed out that he has so far failed to act on the problem.

READ MORE: Mexico: 15 Students Treated for Dangerous Online 'Tranquilizer Challenge'

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: What Are 'Femicides' And Why Are They on the Rise Across Mexico? - From CBS 8 San Diego
Brian Laundrie's mom, Roberta Laundrie, has broken her silence on the "burn after reading" letter she wrote to her son, claiming it has nothing to do with Gabby Petito.

In a letter she sent to Sarasota County Circuit Court on Monday, Laundrie's mom said the "quirky" letter was to help repair the relationship between her and her son and was written months before Gabby and Brian embarked on their cross-country road trip in 2021.

"Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter, I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021," Roberta wrote in the letter acquired by WFLA.

The letter she sent to the court was in support of the motion they filed against the "burn after reading" letter becoming public.

Roberta's lawyers filed a motion for a protective order on Monday to block the attempts by Petito's parents to make the letter she wrote to her son admissible as evidence in the civil trial.

The two families are facing an impending jury trial, with the lawyer for Petito's parents, Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt, claiming that the letter made reference to a shovel, burying a body, and helping Brian "to get out of prison."

In her letter, Roberta told the court that she and her son shared a love for books like "The Runaway Bunny" and "Little Bear," even claiming that there was one entitled "Burn After Writing," which was the reason she wrote it on the envelope containing her letter to Brian.

She added that it was also the subject of a joke between her, her son, and Gabby. Roberta maintained that the letter's purpose was to reach out to her son to repair their "strained" relationship.

"Brian and I always had a very open and communicative relationship and in the months prior to the trip our relationship had become strained. Brian and I shared a love of stories and some of the language in the letter was using similar phrases to describe the depth of a mother's love," she noted.

While her letter contains words and phrases that some might think are about the couple, Roberta maintained that there was "no connection" between what she wrote and what happened to her son and Gabby.

"While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian's actions and his taking of Gabby's life, I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter," Roberta noted.

She said the words in the letter could never be a comment on that tragic event as they were written many months before.

"My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation we would soon be faced with," she noted.

READ NEXT: Gabby Petito's Parents File $50M Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Utah Police

Brian Laundrie's Mom Says Police Did Not Find Letter to Son in His Bag

During a remote hearing last month, Patrick Reilly, the attorney for Gabby Petito's parents, noted that he saw the letter of Brian Laundrie's mom at an FBI regional office," CNN reported.

According to Reilly, the letter contains plans like helping Brian "get out of prison, getting a shovel and some other things." The lawyer further noted that the letter's envelope contained the words "burn after reading."

Reilly added that the letter was among the things recovered inside Brian's backpack. However, in her letter to the court, Roberta said that "is not true because the FBI had the letter in their possession and questioned' her and her husband, Christopher Laundrie, about it "prior to October 20, 2021, when my husband and I found Brian's remains in the reserve."

P. Matthew Luka, a defense lawyer representing Laundrie's parents, previously said the "burn after reading" letter was irrelevant to the civil lawsuit and they should not have to produce it.

Luka admitted that the letter exists and is currently in possession of another Laundrie family lawyer. However, the defense lawyer argued that the letter was irrelevant because it "pre-dates" Brian and Gabby's trip, so it "really doesn't have any relation necessarily to the unfortunate events that unfolded thereafter."

"I know that some of the wording that was used in the letter is unfortunate and might suggest that it has some connection, but it doesn't," Luka added.

In his request for additional evidence, Reilly included the letter from Brian's mom, who allegedly "offered to bring a shovel to help bury the body." The court filing further noted that the FBI released it to Laundrie's family lawyer, Steven Bertolino, on June 24, 2022.

Last March, Petito's parents filed a civil lawsuit against Brian's parents for causing emotional distress in relation to their daughter's death. They alleged that Brian's parents knew their son killed Gabby, but they tried to help him flee.

When Gabby was missing, they also claimed that Brian's parents refused to return calls or texts to Gabby's parents, who were desperately looking for their daughter.

Brian's parents reportedly answered back in court filings, arguing that they had no duty to Gabby's family. The civil lawsuit is scheduled to go to a jury trial in August.

Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito's Deaths

Gabby Petito disappeared while on a cross-country road trip with Brian Laundrie. The couple was traveling to Oregon when Petito stopped communicating with her family on August 25, 2021, when she was near Grand Teton National Park in Jackson, Wyoming.

Brian was named a person of interest by the North Port police after returning home to Florida on September 1, 2021, or 10 days before Gabby was reported missing by her family.

By September 17, 2021, Brian had also gone missing, and the North Porth Police said they, along with the FBI, were searching for him and Gabby.

Gabby's body was found at the Spread Creek Dispersed Campground near Grand Teton National Park on September 19, 2021. A Teton County, Wyoming coroner said she was strangled to death by a "human being," and the manner of death was a homicide.

On October 20, 2021, Brian's skeletal remains were discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. His autopsy report showed that he died of a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of death was suicide.

In January last year, the FBI revealed that Brian confessed to killing Gabby in a message left in his notebook. The FBI said they found the notebook, along with a "backpack" and a "revolver," upon further search of the area where Brian's remains were discovered.

The FBI noted that its investigation has concluded that Brian Laundrie was the only person responsible for Gabby Petito's "tragic death."

READ MORE: Brian Laundrie Case: Probe Into Utah Cops Who Responded to Gabby Petito and Fiance's Domestic Dispute 'Close' to Wrapping Up

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: How did Gabby Petito Die? Brian Laundrie's Notebook Contains Killer Confession - From FOX 13 Tampa Bay




Several owners of undeveloped housing zoned land in Laois are claiming that it cannot be developed, to allegedly avoid paying a new tax on it.

Starting in 2024, the Residential Zoned Land Tax is aimed at stopping developers from sitting on zoned land for years, by charging them 3% of the market value.

Two landowners have alleged to Laois County Council that they are prevented from developing their lands because water services are "deficient".

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is concerned that it will cause a shortage of new housing.

"Landowners are alleging that Irish Water is deficient and is preventing development proceeding. How is this going to pan out? If they put in a submission that they can't develop land, does it mean the land could be dezoned?

"They have sent these submissions as a reason for not paying the land tax, which was brought in to ensure there is not land left undeveloped.

"We are curtailed to so many acres. Where do we go from here?" she asked.

However the council's Director of Services for housing claims that all Laois residential zoned lands are servicable.

Angela McEvoy said this has been confirmed by Irish Water.

"We went to Irish Water and they said the lands are serviceable. Before they were zoned we would have gone to An Bord Pleanala and got a red light or green light. It is something we have to be mindful of, that all are available to be serviced, by Irish Water or by roads. I'd say they are. There might be a cost involved to bring them to that level. They are in towns that have public infrastructure," Ms McEvoy said.

Cllr Fitzgerald is still concerned.

"It could have a knock on effect," she said.

The council has prepared a draft map of the Laois lands it considers eligible for the tax, as reported in the February managment report.

"The Planning Authority has asked for further information regarding three parcels of land, based on submissions received during the public consultation stage. It has also written to Irish Water to seek clarification on two submissions where the landowners are alleging that Irish Water services are deficient, thereby preventing development proceeding.

"An evaluation of the submissions, including a determination as to whether or not the subject lands shall be retained in scope for the purposes of the Residential Zoned Land Tax, is required to be made to the planning authority by not later than April 1 2023.

"A supplementary map will be published on May 1 identifying any additional land considered to be in scope as a result of the change of zoning, servicing, or where the local authority becomes aware of the fact that land, which did not appear on the draft map, may meet the criteria for being in scope, such as where this has been identified during submissions," the council reports.
There were angry and chaotic scenes at the Court of Appeal following the dismissal of Enoch Burke's application to set aside orders directing him to stay away from Wilson Hospital's school following his paid suspension from his teaching post.

Before the President of the CoA Mr Justice George Birmingham finished reading out his judgement the court was interrupted by shouting and roaring by members of the Burke family, who strongly criticised findings made by the court.

Enoch Burke along with his sister Ammi, parents Sean and Martina and brothers Isaac and Simeon were all physically removed by Gardai in what were violent and chaotic scenes before a courtroom full of lawyers as well as members of the public including several secondary school students.

The family became particularly animated when Mr Justice Birmingham stated that the court agreed with the findings made in the High Court by Mr Justice Max Barrett last September that the application by Wilson's Hospital school for an injunction against Enoch Burke was not about "Transgendarism."

This resulted in first Ammi Burke voicing her opposition to the court's finding calling it "totally incorrect", before other members of the family also loudly voiced their discontent.

Despite being warned to desist, following a brief adjournment of the proceedings, by Mr Justice Birmingham, the Burke family continued to verbally berate the judges accusing them of "bowing to Transgendarism" acting in breach of the constitution and of worshipping "on the altar of Transgendarism."

In light of the persistent interruptions the court rose for the day and said it would deliver its decision by electronic means.

However, the Burke family then refused to comply with a direction to vacate the courtroom by gardai and continued to roar and shout. The family continued to berate the judges calling them "a disgrace", accusing them of breaching the Burke's constitutional rights.

The gardai were told by the Burkes they had "no right" to remove any of the family members from a public courtroom and accused the officers of lacking respect.

After several warnings to leave were not complied with, the gardai physically removed the Burkes from the courtroom.

This resulted in violent, chaotic and angry scenes, which lasted several minutes before all of the Burkes were eventually taken out of the court by the dozen or so gardai present in the environs of the courtroom.

Ammi Burke was the first member of the family to be physically taken out of the room by the gardai.

Gardai then attempted to remove Martina Burke, which seemed to further incense the Burkes, and intensified the situation.

Martina, Sean and Simeon Burke, who all physically opposed attempts to move them on, were then all physically removed by the Gardai.

During the exchange Enoch Burke attempt to grab one of the court benches before he was carried out by gardai, while his brother Isaac sat down on the floor, before he was eventually dragged out by uniformed gardai.

In its judgement which was furnished after the court was cleared on Tuesday afternoon the three judge CoA comprised of the President of the CoA Mr Justice Bermingham, Ms Justice Marie Whelan and Mr Justice John Edwards unanimously rejected all grounds of the teacher's appeal.

The injunctions granted against him, which are to remain in place pending the determination of the action between the school and the Co Mayo native, were validly made and are lawful the CoA found.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that Mr Burke's criticisms of the decisions made by the judges of the High Court had not been made out, and therefore he was satisfied to dismiss the appeals.

The Judge also said that the position of the child at the school, who wished to transition, and the school's response to this request were factors that the CoA needed to take into account.

The school he said had acted in accordance with the 2015 Gender Recognition Act, when considering the wishes of the pupil and their family.

The President added that the CoA also agreed with Ms Justice Eileen Roberts finding in the High Court that the making of the injunction was not an attack on Mr Burke's religious rights.

In her judgement Ms Justice Marie Whelan said

In her judgement Ms Justice Whelan also expressed her concern about the welfare of the student in the school who wished to transition.

She said Mr Burke's refusal to disclose how he proposed to interface with the student concerned or what he proposed to do and in circumstances where he had communicated a clear intention not to comply with the school's requests concerning appropriate social interaction with the student in the school.

This state of affairs arose not because of Mr Burkes religion but because his said conduct was potentially untenable insofar as the uncertainty created by his refusal to identify his proposed course of action presented the school with a risk of "potential discrimination" towards an individual student.

"The school had a real and immediate need to know how Mr Burke intended to engage with the student, to communicate with the student and to behave towards the affected student," she said.

Given his position within the school his proposed conduct could be expected to influence the behaviour of other children towards the student in question also.

Mr Burkes stance to the CoA that this information was of ...no relevance was simply untenable, she said.

"Contrary to Mr Burkes contentions the safety, health and welfare of the individual student is of central importance in this case." she said.

The school had to ensure that request that respect be afforded by the school for the diversity arising should be accommodated in accordance with the schools own Admission Statement and characteristic spirit, the judge added.

The school could not countenance a risk that the student would be subjected to discriminatory behaviour, the judge added.

The judge added that the Constitution requires the courts to pay every respect to the individuals right to hold and subscribe to religious principles.

"There is however a significant distinction to be drawn between the Constitutions protection of individual freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion," she said.

"We live in a free and democratic society." the Judge said.

In the administration of justice courts must maintain an essentially neutral view of religious beliefs nor is a court entitled to maintain a stance with regard to the core tenets or doctrinal values inherent in any particular religion.

"In general, each religion is entitled to equal respect. The courts have no function in adjudicating as to whether a particular tenet is or is not encompassed in any particular faith and citing a 2009 finding of the UK's Supreme Court added that It has long been understood that it is not the business of the courts to intervene in matters of religion."

In his judgement Mr Justice Edwards said that the appeal "is not fundamentally about transgender people, or issues of gender identity, nor is it fundamentally about Mr Burke's constitutional rights to freedom of expression, freedom of conscious and the right to free profession and practice of his religion."

This was not to say such issues are not important, and they "form the backcloth to the present proceedings." But no more than that, the judge added.

The appeal he said was about if the temporary injunctions were properly granted by the High Court.

Mr Justice Edwards said that he was in total agreement with the other judges of the court and said that the decisions of the High Court made in this case were correct.

While it is accepted that Mr Burke has deeply held religious beliefs, including that a person's gender is assigned to them by God at conception.

However, the judge said that Mr Burke does not seem to accept or recognise that people can have a gender identity different to the gender that they were thought to have at birth.

His views the judge added are not ones that are universally shared even among those with Christian belief," the judge added.

Mr Burke claimed that the orders, which underpin a finding that he was in contempt of court resulting in his incarceration for 108 days, are unconstitutional, invalids and should be set aside.

His failure to stay away from the school, currently on mid-term break, following his release resulted in the High Court imposing a daily 700 fine until he purges his ongoing contempt.

He had appealed against orders made by judges of the High Court last September; in a case he claims centres around his objection to the school's direction to refer to a student at the Co Westmeath school by a different name and by using the pronoun 'they.'

Representing himself Mr Burke had argued in the appeal that the injunctions made by Ms Justice Siobhan Stack and Mr Justice Barrett against him were invalid and that the school had not made out a fair or strong case that would justify the granting of the orders against him.

He was also critical of decisions made by other judges including Ms Justice Roberts and Mr Justice Conor Dignam, when aspects of the dispute came before them.

The school argued that the orders granted against Mr Burke are valid, and that he had been suspended due to his alleged conduct at the school in incidents that occurred at a religious service and subsequent meal at the school last year and should remain undisturbed.

Earlier this year the school decided to dismiss Mr Burke from his employment.

That decision is being appealed.

The full hearing of the legal dispute between Mr Burke and the school over his suspension is due to be heard by the High Court at a later date.
The Irish Prison Service and Irish Defence Forces are holding special events in Portlaoise to mark the 175th anniversary of the first raising of the Irish Tricolour in Co Waterford.

The Tricolour, which was first raised on March 7, 1848 in Waterford, was designed to represent all of the people of Ireland.

The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the orange and the green, and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood," its designer Thomas Francis Meagher famously said.

Now staff at Portlaoise Prison will commemorate the event with two ceremonies in the prison today.

The first event today will see the Tricolour raised by members of the Portlaoise Prison Guard of Honour and simultaneously, the military detachment at Portlaoise Prison will raise the Tricolour from the roof of the prison at 2.30pm.

A second event will take place at the front of the prison at 7.30pm this evening. Members of the Local Portlaoise Scout Unit will present the Tricolour and help raise the flag at the main gate area with the assistance of the Prison Guard of Honour.

Both flagpoles have been specially fitted with lighting for the occasion to signify and acknowledge that the Tricolour first flew both day and night not alone in Waterford in 1848 but also at the GPO in 1916.

Both flags will fly illuminated over the Prison and at the main gate area from this evening until St. Patrick's Day.

Its hoped the event will become an annual tradition at Portlaoise Prison
A Laois Offaly TD and Minister have crossed swords over the Green Party's plans for transport with their proposals being criticised as for assuming that rural Ireland can be turned into "a version of Noddys Toy Village".

Independent TD Carol Nolan launched the scathing attack at the Greens in particular its leader and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan. However, his cabinet ministeral colleague and Laois Offaly-based senator Pippa Hacket dismissed the attack as 'scaremongering' and insisted that the Government is delivering.

In her statement, Dep Nolan claimed Minister Ryan's proposals bear no relation to life in rural Ireland or the wishes of most people. It was issued as Minister Ryan set out how Governments climate measures can be achieved, including measures to limit the use of private cars and massively increased congestion charges:

Dep Nolan said: There are many people in rural Ireland who have just had enough of the Greens and their incessant demand that rural life and rural transport needs should reflect a bewilderingly detached Green Party vision of how they should get-around, how they should work, and how they should travel.

In fact, it seems to me that most of the time this Government is operating on the assumption that rural Ireland can be turned into a version of Noddys Toy Village where one little car or a few vans can get around everywhere and that that should be enough. It is utterly patronising, and it must stop.

Rural Ireland has been calling for greater levels of regional and local transport since Moses was a baby; but yet time and time again we see the vast majority of capital expenditure being directed toward light rail systems such as the Luas or the Dublin Metro Link. Meanwhile, rural councils and local authorities struggle to achieve the required funding for road repairs, never mind new roads such as the Mountmellick bypass.

It is time the adults took charge of transport policy in this country. We cannot go on trying to reconfigure travel options that are disproportionately punitive to people in rural Ireland; people who need their car and will go on needing their cars for many years to come, she said.

Minister for State Hacket rejected the comments.

"Recently in Tullamore, Minister Ryan launched a plan for 67 new enhanced rural bus routes across rural Ireland. I was at cabinet today and there were no detached or deluded policy initiatives. The aim of the Green Party in Government is to deliver an enhanced rural transport network that offers people more choice and greater service.

"The recent announcement in Offaly is proof of this. Delivering on this aim is my focus, not scaremongering," she said.
A Portlaoise medical provider and a Crettyard contractor are among the companies individuals outed in the new Tax Defaulter lists published by the Revenue Commissioners which reveals that nearly 130 million was recouped by the tax office between October and the end of December last.

The new Revenue's published List of Tax Defaulters covers the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022.

During the same three months, a total of 14,225 tax interventions resulted in 127.36 million in tax, interest, and penalties recouped from people in Ireland who did not pay their way according to Ireland's tax rules.

The Revenue publishes two parts.

Revenue also publishes a Part 1 list which includes persons in whose case the Court has determined a penalty relating to a settlement, or has imposed a fine, imprisonment or other penalty in respect of a tax or duty offence.

Details are published when the Court determined penalty exceeds 15% of the total tax (where the total amount of tax only exceeds 50,000) and a qualifying disclosure has not been made.

Among those on the list is Ebuchi Medical Service Ltd with an address at 1 Rossdarragh Hill, Rathevan, Portlaoise, Co Laois.

Revenue reports that the medical staff provider was fined 24,447. It the penalty was determined by the courts relating to to an under-declaration of PAYE/PRSI/USC in the amount of 81,491.

Also on List 1 is Edward McDonald, with an address at Dunnane, Crettyard, Co Laois. The contractor was fined 1,250 for one charge of failing to produce books and records. He was also fined 3,750 on three charges of delivering incorrect tax returns.

The biggest tax offender in the latest round of information published by the Revenue Commissioners is a company director who is named on List 1. Bansal Harish, Harish of 7, Glencairn View, The Gallops, Leopardstown, Dublin 18 was hit with a fine of 1,349,466. The company director was penalised following a courts determination relating to the under-declaration of income.

It is unusual for the biggest tax offenders to be on the Part 1 list. They are usually on Part 2 list which normally has a small number of firms or individuals who have been audited with large amounts unpaid.

TO SEE FULL PART 1 LIST TAP HERE.

List 2 includes settlements when the extensive voluntary disclosure options are not availed of and the default arises because of 'careless or deliberate behaviour' by those investigated.

Top of that list was a fuel retailer and convenience store called Dominian Services Ltd with an address at Drumganus, Broomfield, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan. A Revenue Investigation Case for under-declaration of excise duty and VAT revealed unpaid taxes of 146,197. Interest ran to 115,563 while the penalties amounted to 65,121. This revealed a total of 149,092 owed to the State of which all had been paid tor Revenue by the end of the year.

Another big offender was Clara Medical Limited, with an address at 44 Coopers Grange Old Quarter, Ballincollig, Co Cork. A Revenue audit case for under-declaration of PAYE/PRSI/USC revealed an unpaid sum of 99,691. Interest amounted to 56,855. Penalties were calculated at 29,907. The total owed is 186,453. None had been paid by December 31 last year.

Of the six debtors named in Part 2, three had not paid any of what they owed by the end of the year. Just two had fully cleared their debts

Part 2 is compiled pursuant to Section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. A total of six cases were published with the total value of these settlements 1.1 million.

Where a taxpayer has failed to pay or failed to enter into an arrangement to pay the full amount of the settlement, the amount unpaid as at 30 June 2022 is indicated in the list.

The Revenue say Part 2 settlements are not published where the taxpayer has made a qualifying disclosure relating to undisclosed tax, as defined in Section 1077E (1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, where the settlement amount does not exceed the relevant threshold, currently 35,000, or where the amount of fine or other penalty does not exceed 15% of the amount of tax.

See FULL PART 2 LIST HERE.

These published settlements reflect only a portion of all Revenue Compliance Interventions. In the 3-month period to 31 December 2022 a total of 14,225 Revenue Compliance Interventions were settled resulting in a total yield of 127.36 million.

#EXPLAINER AND FURTHER INFO ON LATEST LISTS

Part 1: Court Determinations

Court Determination of Penalty: Subject to certain criteria, in settlement cases where there is no agreement to a penalty, or a person fails to pay an agreed penalty, the Court determines the penalty. Details are published when the Court determined penalty exceeds 15% of the total tax (where the total amount of tax only exceeds 50,000) and a qualifying disclosure has not been made:

There were three such cases in the 3-month period to 31 December 2022, with fines totalling 1,417,218.

Court-imposed fine, imprisonment or other penalty: Details are published when a fine or other Court penalty is imposed in respect of tax or duty offences. Court penalties may include imprisonment, partly suspended or suspended sentences, community service in lieu of imprisonment, and closure orders.

There were 86 such cases published and 202,100 is the total of court fines imposed.

These include:

29 cases relating to failing to lodge tax returns, failing to produce proper books and records, and delivery of incorrect returns. Court fines totalling 71,250 were imposed;

31 cases of misuse of marked mineral oil, in respect of which Court fines totalling 85,500 were imposed;

25 cases of excise offences for tobacco smuggling, illegal selling of tobacco and possession of untaxed tobacco for sale. Court fines totalling 42,850, two 4-year sentences (fully suspended), two 2 years and 6 months sentences, one 20 day sentence, and 840 hours of community service, in lieu of imprisonment, were imposed;

1 case of possession of untaxed alcohol for sale, in respect of which a Court fine of 2,500 was imposed.

Court Determination of Penalty: Subject to certain criteria, in settlement cases where there is no agreement to a penalty, or a person fails to pay an agreed penalty, the Court determines the penalty. Details are published when the Court determined penalty exceeds 15% of the total tax and the total of the tax, interest and penalty is more than 35,000 and a qualifying disclosure has not been made:

Part 2: Settlements

Settlements are published when the extensive voluntary disclosure options are not availed of and the default arises because of careless or deliberate behaviour:

6 cases are published today and 1.1 million is the total settlement amount in these cases.

Of which, 5 cases exceeded 100,000.

4 are cases in which the settlement was not fully paid as at 31 December 2022.

528,874 was the amount unpaid as at 31 December 2022.

Revenue says it vigorously pursues collection/enforcement of unpaid settlements. In some cases, collection/recovery of the full unpaid amount will not be possible (for example, company liquidation).

Background

Revenue says its compliance programme is carried out under the "Code of Practice for Revenue Audit and other Compliance Interventions" (the Code). The significant benefits of making a qualifying disclosure are set out in the Code and include availing of reduced penalties, avoiding publication in the List of Tax Defaulters, and avoiding possible prosecution.

Publication

Revenue says it publishes the List of Tax Defaulters under the provisions of Section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, as amended. The list is published in two parts:

Part 1: Court Penalty Determinations and Court imposed fine, imprisonment or other penalty

Court penalty determinations are published where a taxpayer has not made a qualifying disclosure, the Court determined penalty exceeds 15% of the total tax, and the total of the tax, interest and penalty is more than 35,000.

All cases where a fine, imprisonment or other Court penalty is imposed by a Court, in respect of a tax or duty offence, are published.

Part 2: Accepted Settlements (and Settlements deemed to be agreed due to full payment)

Where a taxpayer has voluntarily furnished complete information relating to undisclosed tax liabilities and paid the tax and interest due (made a qualifying disclosure of tax defaults), settlements are not published.

Since 1 May 2017, significant changes and restrictions have come into effect where the case involves matters outside the Republic of Ireland, or 'offshore matters'. These changes limit the opportunity to make a 'qualifying disclosure' and coincide with increased international co-operation whereby Revenue gets more and more information automatically from other jurisdictions.

Legislation introduced in the Finance Act 2016 obliges Revenue to identify settlements where the person has failed to pay within the relevant period.

Settlements are not published where the taxpayer has made a qualifying disclosure relating to undisclosed tax, as defined in Section 1077E (1) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, where the settlement amount does not exceed the relevant threshold, currently 35,000, or where the amount of fine or other penalty does not exceed 15% of the amount of tax.

Calculation of Penalties

Where a qualifying disclosure has not been made, Revenu say penalties between 15% and 100% are applied, depending on the category of default and whether or not the taxpayer has cooperated fully with Revenue in the course of enquiries. The categories of default are Deliberate Behaviour or Careless Behaviour.

Deliberate Behaviour involves either a breach of a tax obligation with indicators consistent with intent on the part of the taxpayer or a breach that cannot be explained solely by carelessness

Careless Behaviour involves lack of due care, which results in the incorrect declaration of tax liabilities by a taxpayer, or which results in the making of incorrect repayment claims. The level of penalty may be further reduced having regard to the level of cooperation provided by the taxpayer once the default is uncovered.

Full details of the level of penalties applicable to audit settlements are set out in Penalty Table 1 (Paragraph 5.6.2) of the Code.

Innocent errors and adjustments due to different interpretations of legislation

Penalties are not applicable where a tax default is not deliberate or is not attributable in any way to the failure by a taxpayer to take reasonable care to comply with his or her tax obligations. Neither is a penalty applicable where an adjustment to liability arises from differences in the interpretation or the application of legislation, and the taxpayer could reasonably have considered her/his interpretation to be correct.
The Urban Farm Project at St Fintan's Hospital Portlaoise, run by Laois and Offaly ETBs Community Education Service, has won the ETB Excellence Award for Community.

The inaugural ETB Excellence Awards were run by Education and Training Boards Ireland as it celebrated ten years of Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland.

The project involved mental health service users growing vegetables, herbs and plants on an urban farm. The project was so successful it has now expanded to include more people.

Pictured above at the inaugural ETB Excellence awards ceremony were Anne Malone, co-ordinator of Portlaoise Youthreach, and Directors of Schools at ETBI Seamus Conboy and Paul Fields.

Co-ordinator of Portlaoise Youth Reach, Anne Malone, received the runner-up prize in the ETB Excellence Award for Care Category, for her dedication to the young people she works with.

Henry Ncube and Dunamase College won the My ETB Creative Multimedia Learner Competition, for their video showcasing the core values of Dunamase College.

Pictured above at the inaugural ETB Excellence awards ceremony were representatives from Laois and Offaly ETBs Community Education Service, Michael Farrell, Teacher and Assistant Principal at Kilkenny and Carlow ETB and Alauddin Mohammad, 3rd level student and Former Kilkenny and Carlow ETB student.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony in Croke Park which also marked ETB Day last Thursday, March 2.

Hosted by RTE newsreader and former ETB student, Ray Kennedy, the event was attended by representatives from all 16 ETBs across the country.

Some of the awards presented at the ceremony included the ETB Excellence in Education Award, the ETB Excellence Award for Equality, the ETB Excellence in Further Education and Training Award, and the ETB Excellence in Youth Services Award, amongst others.

Congratulating the awardees, Chief Executive of ETBI Paddy Lavelle, said: It gives me great pride to congratulate all the winners, and indeed runners-up on their success in the inaugural ETB Excellence Awards. We received over 500 entries from ETBs across the country to the Awards detailing the great people and initiatives that are ongoing in all corners of Ireland.

The standard across all categories was extremely competitive, meaning we had a very difficult job in narrowing the entries down and selecting our winners. The work of all ETBs  not those just officially recognised at the awards  deserves to be commended. Their commitment and passion for education, for learning and for their communities play a vital role in ensuring that there are broad and varied options for people to engage with education and training across the country, no matter what stage of their learning journey they are at.

This year is a milestone year for ETBs as we celebrate 10 years since their formation in Ireland. Over the past decade, ETBs have delivered learning and education opportunities for everyone  including primary and post primary schools, further education and training and youth services. ETBs have revolutionised Irelands education system, and I hope that we can continue to deliver innovative, diverse and flexible learning pathways over the next ten years, and beyond.

The official ETB Heroes video was also premiered at the awards ceremony, which features five ETB heroes  including famous faces and former ETB students Ray Kennedy, Tolu Makay and Maire Treasa Ni Dhubhghaill  matched with five current ETB learners, exploring what their ETB means to them and the impact it has on their life. Featured in the video is Laois and Offaly ETB student, Jamie Larkin.
A brother of Irish teacher Enoch Burke has appeared before a judge charged with threatening and abusive behaviour following disturbances at a Court of Appeal hearing.

Simeon Burke was arrested after chaotic scenes broke out at the Four Courts in Dublin, as a judgment was delivered dismissing Enoch Burkes appeal against injunctions barring him from attending a Co Westmeath school.

Simeon Burke, 24, with an address at Cloonsunna, Castlebar, Co Mayo, appeared before the District Court of the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday charged under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.

It comes after several members of the Burke family were forcibly removed from a courtroom by gardai after repeatedly interrupting a judgment being read out at the Court of Appeal.

Enoch Burke was suspended from work on full pay last year pending the outcome of a disciplinary process with Wilsons Hospital School, which arose from incidents concerning a row over a request to address a student by a new name and the pronoun they.

German and history teacher Enoch Burke, who has represented himself during the Court of Appeal hearings, was accompanied in court by his parents Martina and Sean Burke, his sister Ammi, and his brothers Isaac and Simeon.

He had previously argued that he could not accept transgenderism due to his Christian beliefs, and that the orders issued by the High Court were manifestly unconstitutional and unlawful.

Although the Court of Appeal agreed to hear his case, the President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, said it would have great difficulty with someone who may pick and choose what orders of the court he abides by.

Despite the court orders, Enoch Burke has been seen on the grounds of the secondary school several times.

As Mr Justice Birmingham delivered his judgment on Tuesday, Enoch Burkes sister Ammi Burke, and mother Martina Burke, interrupted, prompting a Garda member to approach them as the three judges left the courtroom.

Martina Burke accused the court of bowing before the altar of transgenderism.

Both women accused the court of not addressing Enoch Burkes constitutional rights, and Enoch Burke spoke to the empty courtroom while the judges were absent.

The judges returned minutes later and warned that if there were any further interruptions by members of the public, they would rise and the judgment would be delivered electronically.

Mr Justice Birmingham said that the judgment was being delivered physically as justice should be seen to be administered in public.

When Mr Justice Birmingham continued to read the judgment, and commented that it was not certain this is not an exercise in creating soundbites, further interruptions from several members of the Burke family took place.

The three judges left the courtroom again. Several gardai entered the courtroom and forcibly removed Ammi Burke.

Scuffles between up to 10 Garda officers and a number of members of the Burke family ensued as they were removed from the court.

Enoch Burke was seen clinging to a bench in the courtroom before being removed by four members of An Garda Siochana.

Isaac Burke was the last to be removed; two gardai were seen lifting him out of the courtroom dragging his legs behind him.

Simeon Burke was subsequently arrested and brought before the court charged with a public order offence.

He has been remanded in prison, with consent to bail, until March 14.

In the three judgments from each of the Court of Appeal judges issued after the court had adjourned, they unanimously ruled to dismiss Enoch Burkes appeal against the High Courts orders.

Mr Justice Birmingham said if it was not possible to meet simultaneously the desires of the child and the parents on the one hand, and the appellants concerns on the other, then the child must be prioritised.

If that is the choice, and I am afraid that by reason of the appellants actions it may well have in fact come to that, I would be of the view that the wishes of the child and parents must prevail.

He added: In all of the circumstances, I would dismiss the appeal.

Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Maire Whelan concurred with Mr Justice Birmingham in dismissing the appeal.
Met Eireann has warned of snow and ice in parts of Ireland in the coming days with falls of rain, sleet and snow on the cards.

Warnings have been issued but the forecaster for the early part of the week but it has yet to make a detailed prediction on what will happen this weekend when its forecasting partner in the UK is warning of significant snow.

The forecaster has issued Status Yellow a low temperature/ice warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath for Tuesday night.

The alert says hazardous conditions due to freezing temperatures. Icy stretches on roads and footpaths.

It is valid from 9pm Tuesday to 9am Wednesday.

The forecaster has also issued a Status Yellow snow/ice warning for Cork and Kerry.

It warns of patchy sleet or snow overnight and Wednesday morning with the potential for hazardous conditions on some roads and footpaths.

It is valid from midnight Tuesday to noon on Wednesday.

A Status Yellow snow / ice warning has also been issued for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Connacht, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath.

It says a spell of rain will move up over the country on Thursday morning, turning to sleet and snow with some accumulations expected. Met Eireann warns that this could cause hazardous driving conditions and disrupt travel.

This alert is valid from 6am Thursday to midnight on Friday.

In its national forecast, Met Eireann says it cold through the rest of the working week, especially in the north, with falls of rain, sleet and snow. MORE BELOW TWEET.

A forecasting commentary says there are uncertainties surrounding the forecast for Thursday, March 9. However, it says precipitation will almost certain to fall as rain in milder air to the south of the country with sleet through north Munster and into the midlands and a "very high likelihood of snow in north Leinster and Ulster".

According to Dr Alan Hally, Forecasting Services Manager at Met Eireann: Our high-resolution ensemble prediction system is specifically designed to represent the uncertainties related to these types of events. In Ireland, the occurrence of snow is almost always a marginal event, and our forecasters rely heavily on ensemble prediction systems in order to determine the most likely outcome and to decide on appropriate and timely warnings.

National Forecast issued on March 7 at 12.59pm below tweet

Yellow warning of snow, ice affecting Northern Ireland https://t.co/7DhN4gwG0q pic.twitter.com/sVi3InIJx5  Met Office - Northern Ireland (@metofficeNI) March 7, 2023

Tuesday: A mostly sunny afternoon, but cloud will increase again in the southwest. Many places dry, although a few scattered showers, some wintry in nature, will continue to affect parts of the north and northwest. Top temperatures of 3 to 6 degrees with light to moderate northerly winds veering easterly this afternoon and freshening in the southwest.

Cold and frosty night. Dry for most with cloud in the south gradually building up over Munster and south Leinster with a few patches of rain, sleet and snow moving into the far southwest. Lowest temperatures of -4 to 0 degrees, falling as low as -5 or -6 degrees in Ulster and the northwest. Light to moderate northeast to east winds, fresher in the southwest.

Wednesday: Another cold and frosty start to the day, especially in the north, with some icy stretches in places. Largely cloudy over the southern half of the country with patchy rain, sleet and snow at times in southern areas. Dry and sunny further north. Highest temperatures again of just 3 to 6 degrees in light to moderate easterly winds, continuing fresher in the southwest.

Rain, sleet and snow from the southwest will become countrywide with parts of Ulster will staying dry. Lowest temperatures of minus 2 to plus 2 degrees, colder over Ulster with temperatures there as low as minus 4 degrees. Moderate to fresh easterly winds.

Thursday: Rain sleet and snow with accumulations possible over the northern half of the country. Temperatures struggling to get above freezing in the north, it'll be milder further south, with temperatures there of 6 to 10 degrees. Moderate to fresh easterly winds will back northeasterly later.

Sleet and snow will become confined to the north and east later in the night with largely dry conditions developing elsewhere. Lowest temperatures of minus 2 to plus 1 degrees generally, colder in the northwest, with northerly winds easing light to moderate.

Friday: Rain, sleet and snow in the south at times with mainly dry weather elsewhere with just isolated showers. Highest temperatures of 2 to 6 degrees in mostly light northeasterly winds. Becoming mostly dry for the evening.

Mostly dry to start the night before rain, sleet and snow extends over much of the country. Lowest temperatures of minus 3 to plus 1 degrees generally, colder in the north where it will be driest.

Saturday: A wet day with widespread outbreaks of sleet and snow gradually transitioning to rain as temperatures increase through the afternoon, reaching 6 or 7 degrees in the north in the late afternoon and 12 or 13 degrees in the south.

Further Outlook: Unsettled with spells of rain and showers, heavy at times. Breezy at times too. Temperatures increasing through the rest of the weekend and early next week.
What has been described as work which will "ensure greater transparency" in WhasApp terms of service has been welcomed by a Government Minister.

Minister for Trade Promotion and Digital Transformation, Dara Calleary welcomed the work of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) on behalf of Irish consumers to ensure greater transparency in changes to WhatsApp terms of service.

The CCPC jointly led this work with its Swedish counterpart and the European Commission under the framework of the European Unions Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, Minister Calleary said.

This allows national authorities to work together to effectively tackle widespread infringements of EU consumer law and review commercial practices of traders, he added.

Following a dialogue, WhatsApp will now ensure it explains the impact of changes to users, highlights the option to reject updates as prominently as accept them and, ensure notifications provided to users are clear, prominent and not aggressive, Minister Calleary outlined.

Minister Calleary said: I am delighted to see the CCPC working with its counterparts across Europe in the interest of consumers. WhatsApp will now have to clearly explain any changes it intends to make to users contracts in advance and explain how such changes could affect their rights. It is vital that consumers receive clear information to allow them to make informed decisions. I welcome this work, jointly led by the CCPC, which emphasises the importance of clarity for consumers.
Dashcam footage of an argument between two motorists that quickly became heated was shown to those who appeared in Naas District Court on Thursday, March 2.

The footage showed Shane OBrien, of Carrigreen, Baltinglass, County Wicklow, becoming angry towards another motorist at Walterstown in Nurney on June 29, 2019.

The 40-year-old was in the car with his partner at the time and his mother when he overtook another man on a narrow country road.

After the back of his car was hit by the injured party, Mr OBrien could be seen angrily storming out, and although both parties disappeared from view in the final seconds of the footage, loud screaming and swearing could be heard from the men and women present.

A number of attendants in court gasped and could be heard passing comments when this happened.

Mr OBrien contested the dangerous driving charge against him.

Judge Desmond Zaidan was told that both Mr O Brien and the injured party called the gardai on each other.

Mr OBrien was insistent that he was not at fault over the incident, but the garda who attended the scene told the court that 'it was clear to see' the injured party was driving normally in the footage.

When the injured party took to the stand, he alleged that Mr OBrien opened his car door, allegedly assaulted him, and grabbed his car keys and threw them away.

Despite these accusations, Mr OBrien did not face any assault or theft charges, as the injured party did not wish to make a complaint about the alleged offences.

When he was asked by Judge Zaidan why he chose not to make an official complaint about these alleged offences, he said: "I just wanted it over and done with, I didnt want to get anyone in trouble."

Mr O'Brien admitted that while he took the injured partys keys away from him at one point, he was adamant that he never assaulted him.

After a lengthy cross-examination process between both the defence and prosecution, Judge Zaidan said that the State proved 'beyond any reasonable doubt' that Mr O Brien was at fault.

He criticised Mr OBrien for showing a lack of remorse during the case, adding: "Im surprised that this is even contested, you have no defence whatsoever, Mr O Brien."

It was heard that Mr O Brien has nine previous convictions, including one for dangerous driving, which was reduced to careless driving, in 2013, and assault causing harm in 2008.

The case will return to the court on March 9, which is when sentencing is due to be finalised by Judge Zaidan.
A councillor aligned with the Green Party sought a report from Kildare County Council (KCC) regarding air-quality in Maynooth, Kilcock and Clane.

Cllr Peter Hamilton made the request at the latest Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting held on Friday, March 3 last.

He specified that he wanted the report to have 'a particular focus' on: major traffic junctions, rush hour periods, and areas where significant solid fuel burning is taking place to provide an up-to-date and 'an accurate picture of the air quality risks in our towns.'

Labour Party Cllr Angela Feeney seconded his motion.

However, he was told by KCC at the meeting: "Currently the only monitors available to measure air quality are in Naas, Newbridge, Celbridge and Leixlip.

"There are no monitors in these other towns and the Environmental Protection Agency would have to be consulted with regard to their future plans to install monitors.

KCC added: "The Environmental Protection Agency maintain the data from these existing monitors and it is available to view on their website."

Cllr Hamilton was less than pleased with this response; he told senior engineer Chris Galvin of KCCs environmental department: "I am kind of gobsmacked that we dont know (this information for the MD).

"The damage that diesel and solid fuel can cause is very significant," he said: "I remember being in Cork city before the coal ban, where you could chew the air around you."

He further claimed that more than a thousand deaths a year are linked to air pollution in Ireland.

Following his reply, Mr Galvin informed Cllr Hamilton that KCCs response was actually from the Environmental Health Officer with the Health Service Executive.

However, he also stressed that KCC does have certain legislative powers to combat the illegal purchasing and/or transportation of certain fuel.

Mr Galvin also said: "Hopefully, the regulation will bear more fruit and the situation will improve. but it will likely take one or two more winters for the old stock (of solid fuel) to run out."
A Kildare-based Senator has urged the Irish Government to support the European Commission's court case against Hungarys Anti-LGBTQ+ Law.

Back in July of 2021, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban introduced a law that aims to prevent, detect and punish sexual criminal offences against minors  however, the law has been labelled by critics as anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda.

Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O' Loughlin said that the European Commission has engaged in an infringement procedure against the Hungarian Government, and has said the law violates internal market rules and the fundamental rights of individuals.

She explained: "It is a Russian-style anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law and is a carbon copy of Putin's 2013 law."

This refers to a law introduced in Russia, which according to the Humans Rights Watch, 'has increased social hostility (against members of the LGBTQ+ community).'

"The European Commission rightly says that this law violates Internal Market rules, the fundamental rights of individuals and EU values.

Senator Fiona O' Loughlin, Fianna Fail

"Three NGOs have launched a petition to remind EU member states of their commitments, and they expect at least 20 EU countries to engage in these proceedings, which could be the largest human rights infringement proceedings ever brought in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union."

She concluded by saying that EU member states have until March 27 to provide written observations on the case, and called on the government of Ireland 'to be one of those countries who join this case in support of the members of the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary.'

In related news, Senator O' Loughlin also told the Leader that public transport infrastructure in Ireland needs to be improved and expanded 'before we can realistically discuss a congestion charge.'
Irish craft makers are encouraged to enter a new competition to be in with a chance of winning a photography package of their works worth up to 1,500.

The contest - taking place across social media channels - is running in association with Craft Hub, an EU-funded Creative Europe Programme which aims to foster the professional development of creative careers and their work across borders.

Applicants are expected to make a profile on Craft Hubs website and a profile will be chosen at random to win.

The Craft Hub website provides a huge amount of information about the processes and outcomes of craft, connects crafters from throughout Europe and showcases each persons skill in a comprehensive and informative way.

The winner(s) of the contest - which is in association with Carlow County Council's Local Enterprise Office - will receive a prize of up to 1,500 photography package, to use for their craft business.

All entrants also have the opportunity to win an invitation to attend Craft Hubs closing conference in Oslo, Norway on the 26th & 27th of October 2023.

Councillor Brian O Donoghue, of Carlow County Council commented on the project and said, "The council welcomes this project, it is a great way for craft makers to get their business and skills out there. Networking with other craft makers across the European union will be invaluable to their development.

Speaking about the competition, EU project administrator with Carlow County Council, Stacey Phelan, said, "This is an amazing opportunity for both fledgling crafter enterprises and those who have their businesses up and running. Craft Hub is a huge project that connects crafter networks throughout Europe.

"This project offers applicants the chance to spread their name and skills throughout Europe and network with like-minded people and artists.
A man who took part in the stealing of rental vehicles across a number of counties to help pay off a drug debt has been jailed for 18 months.

Michael Deegan (37) pleaded guilty to four counts of taking Go Car vehicles without consent at locations in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow on various dates in October 2021.

The court heard that Deegan was the driver in the operation, which involved him driving his car, or his wife's car, to various locations where Go Cars where parked, before another man broke into them and stole them.

The court heard the keys to each rental vehicles were inside, so the person who broke in to the vehicle was then able to drive away.

Damage amounting to 3,000 was caused to one car and two vans which were later recovered by gardai, the court heard.

Another van was never recovered, with a loss of 26,000 to the company, Aoife McNickle BL, prosecuting, told the court.

Deegan, of Tymon North Green, Tallaght, Dublin, was tracked down by gardai after the registrations of the cars he was driving were linked to him and his wife.

He has seven previous convictions for road traffic offences.

Eoin Lawlor BL, defending, said Deegan had a violent and abusive childhood, but managed to avoid entering criminality in his youth.

After leaving home at 16, he met his wife at a young age and she encouraged him to seek help, the court heard.

Deegan worked in the building industry and had to work away from home for a period of time to earn money for the family, Mr Lawlor said.

He started taking drugs and ran up a drug debt with a criminal organisation.

Deegan was then made to pay off the debt by driving third parties around to steal the Go Car vehicles, the court said.

He was a 'sacrificial lamb' in the operation, Mr Lawlor said.

Sentencing Deegan today, Judge Martin Nolan accepted he had good mitigation in the form of his guilty plea, cooperation with gardai and lack of significant criminal record.

He noted there were many testimonials in court which showed Deegan is a good person.

The judge said that he would have considered a non-custodial term but for the fact that Deegan engaged in the activity on four occasions.

"He deserves a custodial term," Judge Nolan said.

He handed down an 18-month sentence and declined to suspend any portion of it.
A Naas mans reflection on a year of total war

By Kevin S from Naas

One year. One long, horrible year. On the 24th of February last year I woke up to a text from a United States Army captain that I know who was sure the invasion would not take place. Sleepily checking my phone in my university accommodation in Galway and seeing "Welp, I was wrong!"; I knew that it was the news I had felt would be coming for some time. Shortly afterwards I began to see the initial casualty reports roll in, and my heart broke for Ukraine.

Since that morning last February, I have been privileged to have done my small bit to help Ukraine from at home in Ireland and abroad along with some incredible friends and colleagues without whose help nothing could have happened. During the height of the Battle of Kyiv, four Dutchmen and I drove supplies to Poland for refugees and the Ukrainian military in an epic 48-hour transcontinental round trip from Nijmegen to Warsaw and back in an old Hyundai and ancient Nissan Micra with a rickety trailer attached. I have also been fortunate enough to have co-arranged an event that raised 1500 for the Red Cross, been a student advisor on a university working group dealing with Ukraine and the war, and have proposed and co-arranged a shoebox collection in the University of Galway to help spread joy at Christmas that saw shoeboxes full of presents be delivered to 138 Ukrainian orphans in Ivano-Frankivsk and Kharkiv.

In January, however, I was honoured to finally got the chance to play my biggest part in this war yet.

On attachment to a major international organisations Romanian branch, I spent 8 freezing days in an outpost on the Romanian border doing refugee aid work with some of the finest individuals I have ever met. I also got to finally make it into Ukraine itself and to do an aid run to the wonderful people of Kamianets-Podilskyi near the Ukrainian border with Moldova. What I saw out there when my colleague Tony and I were taken to visit a refugee camp near the city broke my heart. Kids from occupied areas whose homes and lives have been ruined by the Russians without even proper shoes.

Just socks and sandals in below-freezing conditions. Yet did those kids greet us with tears and frowns? No. They greeted us with smiles, literally clambering all over us. Why? Because Ukrainians, even from a young age, are the most resilient, amazing people I have ever met. Two days later, back on the Romanian side of the border, I heard my first air raid alert. Missiles were flying towards Chernivitsi, only 40km from our outpost. Thankfully, those missiles did not find their targets, but in Dnipro a missile launched by the Russian Air Force hit and collapsed an apartment block killing 46 people, including six children. The 14th of January 2023 is a day that will be forever burned into my mind because of that. It is a sound I hope to never hear again. It reminded me of how lucky we were to not come under cruise missile attack on our trip into Ukraine, and how real and dangerous the situation is no matter where you are in the country.

Just because we are not seeing images of the dead and dying nightly on the news anymore, it does not mean that people are not dying daily. Ukrainian soldiers and Marines, many of them ordinary people, men and women, who have been called up or volunteered to defend their homeland, are still freezing in the trenches, under constant artillery barrage. Pilots are still flying against a numerically superior foe, many times a day, against overwhelming odds, or are exhausted from sorties trying to shoot down cruise missiles aimed at civilian targets, protecting innocents that they have never met. Sailors are still bravely holding the line at sea, clearing mines so that grain shipments needed to save millions worldwide from starvation can go ahead, or tackling a Russian fleet much bigger than them to stop cruise missile launches. Humanitarian aid workers are still risking their own lives to save others, and often are intentionally targeted. Do not forget them, and do not forget what they are standing up for.

The very same values of freedom, equality, and democracy that we hold dear here in Ireland. We are privileged to be living comfortable lives in a peaceful country. Others are not quite so fortunate and we must do everything we can to keep supporting Ukrainians during this dark period of their countrys, and the worlds, history.

It has been the greatest honour of my life to help Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. If I could tell Kevin a year ago, watching the casualty reports and reading the stories of the Ghost of Kyiv how much his own life would change, the experiences he would have or the, I am sure, lifelong friends he would make, he scarcely would have believed me. Am I proud of the part I have played in this war? Yes, I most certainly am. But I have only played a very, very small part so far. I am not writing this for clout, nor do I want any praise. Far from it. Those who know me know who has written this.

Those who do not, it does not matter who I am. I am writing this to show how much my own life has changed with this war too and to show people that this war, and all the suffering, is still ongoing, even if it is not headline news every single day. People like my friends who have fought and are fighting on the front line, or who are veterans of Kyiv and Mariupol and Kharkiv, or my friends who volunteer to go to forward areas or into Ukraine repeatedly to bring humanitarian relief are the real heroes of this war. In fact, every Ukrainian man, woman, and child is a hero. To go through what they go through daily, some under direct fire near the front and others under constant threat of a cruise missile cutting their life short in their own homes, and still be able to function is in itself heroic. I am reminded of a video that I saw in the first few days of the war. People, old and young, in a Kyiv metro station sheltering from a massive air raid. Instead of cowering and crying, they were singing. Singing hymns.

Why? Because light and justice will always prevail against evil and oppression.

One day, one glorious day, we will all sit together on some summer's evening amidst the sunflowers and raise a toast to fallen friends, who will live on in our hearts forever.

Slava Ukraini.
The Government has said a ban on evictions will not be extended beyond the end of this month, because to do so would not increase housing supply.

Minister for Housing Darragh OBrien said the temporary moratorium on evictions was a short-term measure and will end as originally planned on March 31, on a phased basis until June 18.

It didnt need to be reassessed given the impact it will have in the long term by potentially storing up larger problems, he said.

He added that the measure also had not reduced homelessness numbers.

Mr OBrien said the Government used the eviction ban to increase housing supply, which is key to address the crisis.

The decision not to extend the ban on no-fault evictions is a mistake with significant consequences. The failure of the government to listen to homeless organisations about the reality facing front-line services is alarming. #EvictionBan  FocusIreland (@FocusIreland) March 7, 2023

He added that the Government was also bringing in new measures and protections for landlords and tenants.

These include the requirement for a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant, and the development of a bespoke cost-rental model for tenants at risk of homelessness but not on social housing support.

Mr OBrien also said the renters tax credit remains in place until 2025.

Mr OBrien said he did not regret the eviction ban.

It didnt work as planned. It did have the effect of stabilising the situation, we did see some reduction in child and family homelessness. I dont regret putting it in place, we said it would be an emergency measure, he said.

Calls had been made to extend the ban as homelessness and energy bills remain high.

A Green Party TD earlier criticised the Governments decision, saying it does not reflect the partys values.

Neasa Hourigan criticised the process of three men in the room making this decision without wider consultation.

I know that obviously the Government is led by a Fine Gael Taoiseach and I suspect this process of putting the investment interests of people who have two or three homes ahead of the basic needs of people who have none suits Fine Gael fairly well.

But it doesnt suit the Green Party and I think we need to be clear about that, she said on RTEs Claire Byrne.

She said families will be evicted through no fault of their own.

There are no more hotel rooms in Dublin central, there are no more B&Bs.

I genuinely do not know where we are going to put people, Ms Hourigan said.

Depending on the date that an eviction notice is served and the duration of the tenancy, the no-fault moratorium will be lifted on a phased basis between April 1 and June 18.

Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan had called on the Cabinet to extend the moratorium, saying that lifting it would amount to turning on the tap into homelessness and making an absolutely shameful situation even worse.

Addressing a half-day seminar on housing, he added: Were not going to put a timeline on that, were not going to say for three, six, nine months or even a year, we believe we cant put an arbitrary timeline on the extension, but rather we must extend the ban until we have tackled the conditions that made it essential in the first place.

We must use the breathing space of the ban to provide solutions.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar defended the decision during Leaders Questions in the Dail.

Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin suggested the move will see children having to sleep in garda stations, and accused the premier of allowing homelessness to increase.

Mr Varadkar said the eviction ban was not effective in tackling homelessness and was creating a new type of homelessness, adding that it had been a finely balanced decision.

What a heartless, cruel & shameful gov't. FG/FF/Greens have abandoned renters. They took a cold decision to increase homelessness for families, singles & pensioners. No emergency measures for more affordable & social homes. No help for struggling renters. #Time4Change @EOBroin pic.twitter.com/gB8xzMC4qk  Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) March 7, 2023

There are pros and cons but we made the decision which we believe is in the overall public interest, he told TDs.

Mr Varadkar said extending the eviction ban could have meant even fewer homes coming on to the market because people would be afraid to rent out their property.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also pressed Mr Varadkar to reverse the decision not to extend the evictions ban.

She accused him of trying to defend the indefensible, adding: You have now condemned potentially thousands of individuals and families to homelessness.

You will open the floodgates to a tsunami of homelessness.

Mr Varadkar said the decision was made because it was believed to be the right one, and in the public interest.
The Leitrim Volunteer Centre will have the use of a new Corsa-e for its daily trips as part of a new community electric vehicle (EV) pilot rolled out by ESB and supported by Leitrim County Council.

The six-month pilot programme involves the installation of a new charge point at The Hive, Carrick-on-Shannon by Leitrim County Council with the infrastructure remaining in place in the long term.

The aim of the project is to assess the needs and demands of community EV sharing initiatives and to develop electric transport solutions, complementing the plans recently set out by the revised Climate Action Plan.

Leitrim Volunteer Centre already has a volunteer driving scheme in place in Carrick-on-Shannon with 27 volunteers and 40 clients, with all the trips taken in their own personal vehicles. The Centre will manage the pilot programme including access to the car.

Josephine Stoker, Leitrim Volunteer Centre, Lorraine Cronin, ESB, Matt Pitt, Electric Ireland, Laura Cassin Leitrim Volunteer Centre, and Aine Carr, Leitrim County Council

Speaking at the launch of the pilot, Donal Phelan, Innovation Manager at ESB, said: ESB plays a critical role in the countrys efforts to electrify our transport sector, with this pilot another example of our commitment to investing in initiatives that will bring many benefits to the communities in which we serve. We are proud to support the work being done by Leitrim Volunteer Centre and look forward to seeing how this pilot will help their service offering while we also commend Leitrim County Council for supporting this important project.

The Corsa-e - leased by ESB from Enterprise - has a range of 337 km, offering plenty of charge for one days driving in the locality. Users will also have access to ESBs network of more than 1,350 EV chargers for their requested trips.

Josephine Stroker, Manager of Leitrim Volunteer Centre stated We are delighted to be part of this exciting initiative, it will be an invaluable addition to the Leitrim Community Car Scheme which provides a vital service to those who use it in County Leitrim. The scheme transports people to essential medical appointments with the support of an amazing, dedicated and selfless group of Volunteers

As part of the project, data on how users avail of the service will be analysed such as how they travel to the Hive and where/when they required charge top-ups on their journeys. It is planned that community groups and local people may have access to the e-Corsa, pending availability and approvals. This will be announced at a later date.

The Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council, Cllr Ita Reynolds-Flynn commended the project and added Leitrim County Council is delighted to support this initiative by supporting the installation of the EV chargers. The project also complements the ongoing Sustainability Mobility Pathfinder project that Leitrim County Council is leading out on as prioritised by the Department of Transport Pathfinder programme.
An Garda Siochana and the Fastway delivery firm are among the organisations that were reprimanded over data breaches, according to a watchdogs annual report.

Gardai reported a breach to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) involving the names and addresses of 108 individuals, some of whom were children, processed at Kilmainham Garda Station.

On December 15 2022, its decision found that the Gardai infringed Sections 71, 72, 75 and 78 of the Data Protection Act 2018, imposed a reprimand and ordered the organisation to bring its processing into compliance.

In the same month, the DPC adopted a decision on a personal data breach that Fastway Couriers had reported to the watchdog.

Fastway was reprimanded and received an administrative fine of 15,000 euro, which is pending confirmation in the courts.

The personal data breach concerned unauthorised access to a significant amount of personal data, the watchdog said.

The decision found that Fastway infringed Article 32(1) of the GDPR by failing to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk presented by its processing of personal data.

In its annual report, the DPC said there were 5,828 GDPR data breaches reported last year, down 12% on 2021.

The most frequent cause of reported breaches was from correspondence inadvertently being sent to the wrong recipients, at 62% of the overall total.

Of the total 5,828 breach notifications that the DPC received, 3,014 related to the private sector, 2,568 to the public sector and the remaining 246 came from the voluntary and charity sector.

As of 31 December 2022, the DPC was pursuing 88 statutory inquiries, including 22 large-scale cross-border inquiries.

The DPC has also imposed administrative fines ranging from 1,500 euro to 17 million euro on six different organisations; all of these funds have been collected and transferred to the Exchequer.

Among the organisations were Limerick City and County Council, fined 110,000 euro in December 2021; Bank of Ireland, fined 463,000 euro in March, and Meta Ireland, fined 17 million euro in March.

Limerick council has taken corrective actions including obtaining Garda permission for more than 353 CCTV cameras, removing all automated number plate recognition technology and removing cameras that were focused on traveller accommodation sites.

Plans to bring in real-time monitoring of CCTV cameras in 14 towns and villages across Co Limerick were also abandoned.

A draft DPC decision has been issued on surveillance technologies used by Kildare County Council, and final decisions have been issued into inquiries concerning Kerry County Council and Waterford City and County Council.

The Commissioner for Data Protection Helen Dixon said that 2022 saw significant outputs from the organisation in its efforts to drive GDPR compliance and protect the peoples data rights.

While the DPC encourages and guides organisations in achieving highest standards of protection in their processing of personal data, the DPC has also demonstrated it does not shy away from enforcing the law and applying sanctions where warranted, she said.

Two-thirds of the fines issued across Europe last year, including the EU, EEA and UK, were issued by the DPC on foot of detailed and comprehensive investigations, a fact that underlines both the outsized role, and exceptional performance, of the organisation in effectively holding those guilty of non-compliance to account.
A woman walks up the decorated stairs of the Commerzbank in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, March 7, 2023 on the eve of International Women's Day. MICHAEL PROBST / AP

Global progress on women's rights is "vanishing before our eyes," UN boss Antonio Guterres warned on Monday, March 6, saying the increasingly distant goal of gender equality will take another three centuries to achieve.

"Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away," the United Nations secretary-general said in a General Assembly speech ahead of International Women's Day on March 8, as he launched two weeks of discussions led by the Commission on the Status of Women.

"Women's rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world," he added, as he ticked off a litany of crises: maternal mortality, girls ousted from school, caregivers denied work and children forced into early marriage. "Progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes," Guterres said.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes In Iran, suspicious poisonings are escalating and spreading

'Women erased from public life'

He highlighted the particularly dire conditions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where "women and girls have been erased from public life." He did not name other specific countries, but Guterres stressed that "in many places, women's sexual and reproductive rights are being rolled back (and) in some countries, girls going to school risk kidnapping and assault."

Also left unmentioned was Iran, which was expelled late last year from the Commission on the Status of Women due to the country's repression of a female-led revolt since last September. The Islamic Republic was ousted from the commission on December 14 by a US-led vote of the UN Economic and Social Council, or ECOSOC.

"Centuries of patriarchy, discrimination and harmful stereotypes have created a huge gender gap in science and technology," Guterres said, citing as an example how women represent only three percent of Nobel prize winners in the sectors.

He called for "collective action" worldwide by governments, civil society and the private sector to provide gender-responsive education, improve skills training and invest more in "bridging the digital gender divide."

"The patriarchy is fighting back. But so are we," Guterres added. "The United Nations stands with women and girls everywhere."

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes 'The tech industry is missing a major talent pool: Women'

Le Monde with AFP
After several years of doing take-away sales on the markets, aboard a van, Gnama Cisse opened her restaurant on rue du Moulin-a-Vent, in Poitiers, at the end of 2020. FP

In Poitiers, central France, Gnama Cisse cooks an attieke  a dish made from cassava semolina  that is to die for. Cheese samosas, shrimp fritters, sweet potato fries, cod acras, chicken with mafe sauce, and Yassa-style fish complete the menu of her small African and Caribbean restaurant, located in the city center. An exhilarating aroma tickles the noses of the customers as soon as they enter Chez Gnama. However, the smell is not to everyone's liking.

The owners of the three apartments located above the establishment took the restaurant owner to court at the end of 2022, claiming that cooking odors were spreading freely in the building, making it impossible to rent or resell the vacant apartments. In a rare move, the interim judge and his clerk visited the building in mid-January to "smell" the apartments. On Wednesday, March 1, the court rejected the plaintiffs' request to close the restaurant on Rue du Moulin-a-Vent.

Cisse has good reason to feel "relieved." Opened at the end of 2020, her four-table restaurant is the culmination of her life, which began in Guinea 33 years ago. Before opening her restaurant, the young woman roamed the markets of Poitiers and the surrounding area in a van, selling African specialties. "When are you going to open your own restaurant?," her regular customers asked her. Cisse then invested "all her savings" in this ground-floor establishment on the edge of the pedestrian district. The first letters arrived fairly quickly asking her to stop embalming the building with her "exotic cuisine." "That was the beginning of a real harassment, almost racist," she said. "Whether there are odors or not, what is the problem with the 'exotic' nature of my cuisine?"

Guinean recipes from her grandmother

To ease the conflict, the restaurateur replaced her hood with a custom-made model costing 4,000. She had the air duct lined by the owner of her storefront. She even removed "long simmering sauces" from her menu in order to restrict the volume of scents. At the same time, a petition was launched online by loyal customers: more than 1,500 signatories expresssed their support for this mother of three with a "long history of fighting."

The 33-year-old chef of Guinean origin has been able to count on the support of her loyal customers in the face of the harassment she has suffered. FP

Cisse arrived in France at the age of 15 with a baby and was taken in by the child welfare system. Her studies in the social and family economy sector (BTS, state diploma) then opened the doors of a neighborhood house in Poitiers, but the experience of "referent"  a role as a support for residents and their projects  did not lead to a job. The young woman then remembered that her Guinean cooking was appreciated by her host family. She also remembered her grandmother's recipes in the small town of Kindia: "She taught me everything. In Africa, you can cook from the age of 10."

You have 22.51% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
ALDI IRELAND spent 7.5 million in sourcing and selling Limerick food and drink producer's products last year, 2022.

The franchises annual Impact Report has been released, and it outlines that the six Limerick producers which ALDI partners with have benefited from the partnership last year through employment and funding, with 104 full time staff in the county.

Since the first ALDI store opened in Limerick in 2006, located on Childers Road, 18.5 million has been invested in the county, while welcoming almost 1.5 million customer visits through the three Limerick stores last year.

Commenting Niall OConnor, Group Managing Director, ALDI Ireland said: Our goal is to make a positive impact in every local community that our stores serve. Our operations and stores contribute to businesses, communities and families right across Limerick.

Our continued investment with our valued supply partners allows them in turn to invest in their businesses and their people, and were delighted to announce that we spent over 7.5 Million sourcing locally produced food and drink from Limerick suppliers in 2022, Mr OConnor added.

In addition, ALDIs three Limerick stores donated over 42,000 meals through FoodCloud to local charities last year, while it planted over 16,000 trees in communities across Limerick through its commitment to planting 1 million native Irish woodland trees across Ireland by 2025.

Each store is also part of ALDIs Community Grants network with Limerick Animal Welfare, the Butterfly Club, and Pieta House Midwest availing of the 500 bursary grant in 2022.

In 2022, ALDI sourced 1.1 billion of locally produced food and drink from Irish suppliers, while the franchise has long-term relationships with Limerick companies Glenstal Foods and Twomeys Bakery.
AFTER OVER six decades of musical talent and dedication to the community, Limericks famous CBS Pipe Band has marked its 60th anniversary on a high note.

The band was honoured with a mayoral reception and received a merit of dedication for their musical talents and service they brought to Limerick city and county.

While the ages of band members range from between 10 - 70, the CBS Pipe Band has one long lasting member in particular, who has stayed with them for more than 55 years.

Barry Carey, now a band director and tutor, joined the CBS Pipe Band when he was just 10 years old in 1965. Having started off playing the snare drum, Barry now has three generations of his family involved with the musical group and has dedicated 58 years of his life to it.

Currently, with around 35 members on their books, the CBS Pipe Band will be gearing up for their biggest showcases of the year which are happening shortly: St Patricks Day events.

As part of our celebrations to mark our 60th anniversary, the band will be performing at the Newport St Patricks Day parade on Saturday, March 11, and the Limerick City and Adare parades on St Patrick's Day.

We will also be performing in Limerick's annual International Band Competition on March 19, said Eimear Purcell, Public Relations Officer for CBS Pipe Band.

On a global scale, the band has performed in many European countries and the USA.
THREE Limerick companies have entered this year's Irish Business Design Challenge (IBDC), which focuses on sustainability methods.

The local companies competing are: Braw Bakery by Anna Coffey Lynch, Ballysimon Road, online business Irish Dance Dress to Impress by Jason Carmody, and The Natural Sleep Company, by Mary-Rose Fitzpatrick, Ballylanders.

Now in its third year, the IBDC supports companies who are striving to future proof their business by using more sustainable methods and materials, with the aim of making their practice more dependable.

The competition has a prize fund of over 50,000 and over 100 businesses across Ireland entered this years challenge.

There are over 248,344 SMEs active in Ireland and they account for more than 70% of employment in the Irish economy.

Head of Design, Design and Craft Council Ireland, Tom Watts, said: We know that micro, small and medium enterprises are fundamental to Irelands economy.

The number of high-quality entries this year is testament to how important sustainability has become for Irish businesses.

A Limerick company has yet to be crowned winner and public voting is now open until Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
AN UPDATED figure of the number of Ukrainian children enrolled at primary and secondary schools across Limerick has been released.

According to the Department of Education, in total on March 1, 515 pupils between the ages 5-18 are currently enrolled in the Treaty County.

Of these students, 313 are registered at primary level, and 202 are registered at post-primary level.

This data has been confirmed as of March 1 2023, and shows a 91% enrolment rate.

These Limerick based figures contribute to a nationwide data retrieval, where it was found that 14,931 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in schools across Ireland.

This data is an accumulation of 9,650 primary students, and 5,281 post-primary students around the country.

These figures show and additional 316 primary school students, and an additional 133 secondary school students were enrolled from the Ukraine since the earlier January 31 data.

To assist with the transition of Ukrainian students and their families into Irish schools, the group Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) are in operation. This group is hosted by the 16 regional education and training boards around Ireland.

According to the Department of Education, these teams ensure that clear, accessible information flows are in place between schools, local education support services and national support structures in relation to those arriving from Ukraine.
After years of being grounded with the rest of Chinas travel sector, Chinas top online travel agent, Trip.com, finally has taken off. Globe-trotting Chinese tourists will help it keep cruising at a high altitude.

The company, formerly known as Ctrip.com, on Tuesday reported 7% year-over-year growth in net revenue last quarter. Operating losses narrowed to $34 million. Both were better than average analyst estimates compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Lockdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions in China hurt Trip.coms domestic business last quarter but its global business footprint helped soften the blow. The company acquired British rival Skyscanner in 2016. Revenue last quarter from sales of transportation tickets, which accounted for more than 40% of Trip.coms total sales in 2022, grew 45% from a year earlier thanks to the robust recovery in travel outside China. Air-ticket bookings on its international platform increased 80% year-over-yearwith an assist from the reopening of other countries in Asia such as Japan. The company says hotel bookings on its international platform were already above prepandemic levels last quarter.

The reopening of China, which ditched its strict zero-Covid" policy in December, will be the main force driving the companys recovery this year. Trip.coms revenue in 2022 was still 44% below 2019 levels. But domestic travel in China is now bouncing back strongly: In January, the number of passengers taking domestic flights had already recovered to more than 80% of 2019 levels.

Common business metrics for the hotel sector are also picking up smartly: Industrywide hotel revenue per available room for the week ending on Feb. 25 was actually 5% above pre-Covid levels, according to Morgan Stanley. Trip.com says its domestic hotel and air bookings have already surpassed prepandemic levels.

What is still holding back a complete revenue recovery is outbound tourism from China. International flight capacity is still only around 15% to 20% of prepandemic levels, according to the company, though it said it has managed to outpace the broader industry: Its outbound travel bookings have rebounded to more than 40% of prepandemic levels. It will take time for air carriers to increase their capacity. And some prospective Chinese travelers, who were largely sealed off from the outside world for the past three years, may also be hesitant to immediately venture abroad again. Still it seems very likely that eventually Chinese tourists, who used to be the largest source of global tourism revenue, will start globe-trotting again.

Trip.com has weathered some serious turbulence over the past three years. Some of the scars of zero Covid" will still take a while to heal. But the view from the cockpit, for the first time in a long time, looks sunny and clear.

Write to Jacky Wong at jacky.wong@wsj.com
MUMBAI: Gautam Adani-led Adani Group, in an effort to reduce the overall promoter leverage backed by Adani Listed Company shares, has prepaid share-backed financing of Rs.7,374 Crore ahead of its latest maturity in April 2025.

The group said this in a media release on Tuesday.

With the repayment of 7,374 Crore to various international banks and Indian financial institutions, various Adani-listed company shares shall be released. These include 155 million shares of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd., representing 11.8% of the promoters holding, 31 million shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd, representing 4.0% of the promoters holding, 36 million shares of Adani Transmission Ltd, representing 4.5% of promoters holding, and 11 million shares of Adani Green Energy Ltd, representing 1.2% of promoters holding.

The Adani group over the past month has paid off 11,000 crore of debts to lower the group's leverage.

Along with the repayments done earlier in the month of February, Adani has prepaid $2.016 billion of share-backed financing, which is consistent with promoters commitment to prepay all share-backed financing before 31 March 2023, said the release.

The move comes as the conglomerate holds a worldwide roadshow to reassure investors that the companys finances are under control amid share price falls and a regulatory probe.

The company will hold meetings with fixed-income investors from 7 to 15 March in Dubai, London and the US. Similar gatherings were held this week in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg report.
China's national legislature sets work plan for this year

Xinhua) 15:31, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, has set a plan for the legislative work this year, according to a report presented to the ongoing NPC session for deliberation on Tuesday.

According to the report, the NPC Standing Committee will further improve institutions and procedures for constitutional review, improve the legal system for the socialist market economy, and work faster to make laws that improve the people's wellbeing, promote scientific and technological, social, and cultural progress, and protect the environment.

The report also reviewed the legislative work over the past five years, saying that the national legislature formulated 47 laws and conducted 111 rounds of revision to existing laws.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Mumbai: Banks that acquired stakes in Yes Bank as part of its rescue three years ago are likely to hold on to their shares even as a three-year lock-in ends on 13 March, three officials aware of the matter said.

State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bandhan Bank have made nearly 70% returns on their Yes Bank holdings over the last three years.

RBI has asked banks to sell stakes gradually so as to ensure the stability of the bank," one of the three officials cited above said. As far as SBI is concerned, its a strategic investment. They are not looking at booking profit and making an exit. They have the responsibility of not disrupting the market," said the second person, a Yes Bank official.

After the Reserve Bank of India seized Yes Bank, eight financial institutions led by SBI infused 10,000 crore worth of equity into the bank on 13 March 2020 as part of a rescue plan. These investors were allotted shares at 10 per share, and 75% of their holdings were locked in for three years.

SBI had initially infused 6,050 crore to acquire a 49% stake in Yes Bank; however, its shareholding fell to 26.14% after private equity firms Carlyle and Advent invested in the bank last year. As part of the rescue scheme, the state-owned bank is required to maintain a 26% stake in Yes Bank for three years.

On the other hand, lenders like Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank and IDFC First Bank sold part of their stake and booked profits within days into their investments. Currently, they hold 1% or lower in the private sector lender.

As of 31 December, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and IDFC First Bank held 2.61%, 1.57% and 1% stakes, respectively. State-owned Life Insurance Corp. held 4.34%, while HDFC held 3.48%.

It may be better if other banks gradually bring down their stake in Yes Bank, as it will be more value-accretive to their investment. Business performance of Yes Bank is also improving gradually, and thus, it may give them room to bring down stake without negatively impacting their investment returns over the next 18-36 month period," said Asutosh Mishra, head of research, Ashika Stock Broking.

Ever since the reconstruction scheme was introduced, Yes Banks financial performance has improved gradually. Its return on assets stood at 0.4% as of FY22 compared with -1.3% as of FY21 and -7.1% in FY20. Asset quality improved, too, with gross non-performing assets declining to 13.9% as of March 2022 compared with 16.8% as of March 2020. After the transfer of its bad loan stock to JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Co., gross NPAs fell further to 2% as of December 2022. The bank also reported its first full-year profit in FY22 at 1,066 crore, against a loss of 3,462 crore in FY21 and 22,715 crore in FY20.
Emami Ltd is open to investing in more direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, especially in personal care and healthcare segments, as the homegrown fast-moving consumer goods company looks at expanding presence beyond its core categories.

Last year, the company picked up a minority stake in Tru Native F&B that markets nutrition products under the TruNativ brand. It also acquired a 30% stake in pet-care startup Cannis Lupus Services India.

Emami is open to partnering with, and investing in, more such brands, director Harsha V. Agarwal said at an event organized by industry body FICCI in New Delhi on Monday.

Emami sells a range of personal care brands such as Navratna, Kesh King and Fair and Handsome. In FY22, its revenue from operations stood at 3,192 crore.

DTC brands have been gaining popularity as they offer more choices to consumers beyond the large traditional brands. This has prompted traditional companies to look at participating in emerging consumer trends by investing in DTC brands. These companies are also using their offline distribution heft to expand the reach of these brands in general trade channels.

We are always on a look-out. It is always a good time to buy, but it depends on strategically what youre able to do with that, and at what value youre able to buy something," he said.

Earlier, the company had said such smaller direct-to-consumer players are playing a key role in educating consumers and making the respective category more innovative and exciting. Consumer goods makers have also seen an uptick in demand for their goods online.

In FY22, Emamis e-commerce revenues doubled, contributing 5.5% to its domestic business. The company also launched DTC websites for its Zandu, Kesh King and BoroPlus brands. In March 2022, it acquired Dermicool from Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare India Pvt. Ltd for 432 crore. The company owns majority stakes in Brillare Science and Helios Lifestyle that sells male grooming products under The Man Company brand.
MUMBAI : In a relief to homebuyers, the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday allowed Mumbai-based Suraksha Groups resolution bid for Jaypee Infratech Ltd.

The approval is expected to help the completion of around 20,000 apartments across projects in the National Capital Region (NCR).

An NCLT bench headed by Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar and Justice IN Gupta allowed the petition seeking approval of Suraksha groups resolution plan. A detailed order, however, is awaited.

The interim resolution professional will set up a monitoring committee, which will take all steps for implementing the resolution plan, the tribunal said in its verdict. The committee will be set up within seven days.

The successful resolution applicant should deliver the units for possession by the homebuyers concerned as per the time frame promised in the resolution plan," the court said.

Essentially, the maximum time for a corporate insolvency resolution process should be completed, including any extension or litigation period, within 330 days. Jaypee Infratechs insolvency process has taken more than five years.

On 22 November 2022, the tribunal had reserved its order in the case.

On 7 March, NCLT approved the resolution plan of Suraksha Realty Ltd and Lakshdeep Investments and Finance Pvt Ltd in respect of Jaypee Infratech Ltd," Jaypee Infratech said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

In August 2017, Jaypee was admitted under the corporate insolvency resolution process. The companys debt stood at over 20,000 crore. In fact, debt-laden Jaypee was part of the first list of 12 entities against whom the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had directed lenders to approach the NCLT in 2017 to initiate insolvency proceedings.

Since then, the resolution has been entangled in legal battles in various forums.

In June 2021, the companys financial creditors and homebuyers had given their formal approval to Suraksha Realty to acquire Jaypee Infratech in order to get possession of their homes in stalled projects in Noida and Greater Noida.

Suraksha Realty had made the winning bid of 7,736 crore as against government-owned NBCC India Ltds 6,536 crore offer in June 2021.

In the fourth round of the bidding process to find a buyer for JIL in 2021, Suraksha group had won the bid with 98.66% votes. The company had got 0.12% more votes than state-owned NBCC which was also in the fray.

As many as 12 banks and more than 20,000 homebuyers have voting rights in the CoC.

CIRP against JIL was started in August 2017 over an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

In its final resolution plan, Suraksha group offered bankers more than 2,500 acres and nearly 1,300 crore by way of issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

It has also proposed to complete all pending flats over the next four years.

JILs lenders have submitted a claim of 9,783 crore.
Gender Lens Investing (GLI), an oft heard term in the DFI (Development Finance Institution) circles, is the advocated way forward for the PEVC (private equity venture capital) industry to address the issue of poor gender diversity. The gender smart investing website notes that GLI has grown to an increasingly integrated part of mainstream ESG strategies".

Originally born from efforts to finance women entrepreneurs and, small and growing business owners, it has evolved since the term was coined in 2009. Throughout its evolution, there is a strong link to larger social issues including supporting small businesses, reducing gender-based violence and, womens economic advancement and empowerment. It is easy to understand that link, given GLI has been championed by the DFIs.

Despite the championing, the response has been slow. The conversation is very much there, and we hear about the occasional GLI fund launchwhat we dont hear about is how successful those funds are. It is probably early to start talking about their fund performance, but how about fundraising success? A key challenge is the hesitation among LPs (Limited Partners) to allocate capital to GLI funds or to ask their portfolio fund managers to adopt a GLI approach. Additionally, even for those willing to allocate capital, the pipeline of GLI funds is very thin. We also see leading, successful fund managers staying away from GLI.

In a capitalistic industry such as PEVC, one would expect capital to flow towards the best opportunities. Does the above mean GLI is not a good opportunity? Or that the PEVC industry doesnt believe in gender diversity? I believe it is neither of the two and the issue lies somewhere else.

GLI has developed as a niche investing strategy, one that is not yet supported by a strong business case. It has been a challenge for DFIs themselves to adopt a GLI approach into their own direct investment portfolios. A women-first fund manager that I spoke to told me that they had gone through multiple databases to narrow down the universe of investible companies within the women-first approachthat universe was 300 companies strong. An average fund manager sees at least a couple of hundred companies in a year before investing in two or three. Clearly the investible universe is extremely small if we expect several fund managers to back such businesses.

Another narrow interpretation of GLI funds seeks to back women fund managers. In an industry which has seen only 7-10% of its leadership roles belong to women, there is naturally a paucity of experienced women fund managers wanting to launch their own funds.

It is possible that prescriptive approaches like GLI are more exclusionary than inclusive. Lets think about this: we want the PEVC industry to become gender balanced and we believe that GLI is the way forward. Does that mean businesses not run by women should not be funded? We would rule out a significant chunk of our economy in that case. Are we saying that LPs should no longer support non-GLI funds or funds with only male partners? Well, in this case we would rule out a significant chunk of the PEVC industry. I dont think so and neither does the investing world, something that is clearly indicated by the fundraising data for non-GLI (or mainstream) and GLI funds.

In my view, gender diversity is a business agenda, and it should be mainstreamed as such. The biggest adverse effect of gender imbalance is the prevalence of biases biases that interfere with the growth of women investors and entrepreneurs. The best way to interrupt this bias is to bring more women into the investing industry, as investors. The conversation on gender diversity should start with bringing diversity into the fund managers own team and operations, flowing forward into how the fund manager engages with their investee companies.

Another thing that needs to be done differently is to focus on flow versus stock. Rather than exclude male dominant teams and strategies, work with them instead to bring about a change. Winpes member firms for example, have established specific recruitment processes that focus on a diverse pipeline and de-biased screening processes to support equal opportunity hiring. They measure gender data across various metrics and track progress. Many have launched unique initiatives to support their portfolio companies in building gender diversity, including bringing more women to boards of these companies before statute requires them to. They are supporting career programmes that facilitate entry and growth for women in the industry.

It should not matter if the fund has only male partners as long as they are committed to nurturing a diverse team and succession line, and creating unbiased processes for how they hire, assess and invest. It should not matter either if they have backed male founders unless there is a concerted effort to bring more women across levels into these companies. This is the influence that investors bring to the table, with constructive action plans and support. We are investors, we invest in opportunities, in what can be built, what can be created. Let gender diversity be the opportunity instead of the gatekeeper.

Nupur Garg is founder, Winpe, board member and senior advisor, PE industry.
Mumbai: Loans to individuals and non-bank lenders propped up credit growth in January, even as demand for corporate credit continued to lag expectations, showed data from the Reserve Bank of India.

While aggregate non-food credit in January grew 16.7% from a year earlier, retail loans grew by 20.4%, data showed. At 8.7%, growth in corporate loans, though higher than the 5.9% seen between January 2021 and 2022, was below bankers hopes, given the governments capex nudge.

Within the fast-growing retail loan segment, consumption loans, categorized by RBI as other personal loans", grew 25.6% in January, compared with the previous year, as more banks pushed quick loans delivered digitally through mobile apps.

These unsecured loans include loans for domestic consumption, medical expenses, travel, marriage and other social ceremonies and loans to repay other debt, among others. As of January, these loans stood at 10.5 trillion. If the total credit card outstanding of 1.9 trillion is added to the mix, then unsecured retail loans grew by 26.2% overall in January.

It (total unsecured loans) reported a higher growth compared to the personal loan segment in January 2022 and January 2023 due to the miniaturization of credit, digitalization, and multiple offers given by banks on credit cards," Care Ratings Ltd said in a note on 3 March. The share of unsecured loans in the personal loan segment rose by 140 basis points (bps) to 31.3% as in January from the previous year, the note said.

Others are also quite bullish on the growth in unsecured retail loans. In a recent presentation on the banking sector outlook for 2023-24, India Ratings and Research pointed out that housing loans and unsecured loans will drive retail credit growth.

The share of unsecured loans in total retail loans has been strengthening since FY16, despite a slight decline in FY22. This seems to be regaining pace in FY23 as well. Unsecured loans stood at 37.1% of retail loans in FY21, 35% in FY22, and 35.5% from April to December of FY23, showed data from India Ratings and Research.

While personal loansunsecured loans for consumptionhave been the forte of private sector banks and a few public sector lenders, more are getting on the bandwagon. Indias second-largest state-owned lender Bank of Baroda, has embarked on a mission to drive growth in this segment. Although coming off a low base, personal loans have nearly tripled to 17,230 crore as on 31 December from the same period last year.

You see that unsecured personal loans now are a very significant proportion of the retail book. Then, it was almost nothing; now it already might be 15% to 20% odd," Sanjiv Chadha, chief executive of Bank of Baroda, told analysts on 3 February.

Chadha said there is scope for the personal loan book to grow further. He said that the rising share of retail loans, especially those that are unsecured, would boost margins in the coming days.

Meanwhile, bank loans to non-bank financiers rose 31% in January, significantly higher than the 9.9% seen between January 2021 and 2022. According to RBI, this data on NBFCs includes housing finance companies, public financial institutions, microfinance institutions, non-banks engaged in gold loans and others.

According to the Care Ratings note cited above, the growth was driven by a shift of borrowings to the banking system and growth in the business of NBFCs. Loans to NBFCs constituted 57% of fresh credit within the services segment, an increase from 37.9% in the year-ago period, it said.
The Union government is planning a new bidding model for the upgradation of existing highways into electric highways, two people aware of the development said. The new Annuity Hybrid for E-Mobility (AHEM) model will be a variant of the existing Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) used to bid out highways.

An electric highway refers to a highway with adequate charging infrastructure at regular intervals, with dedicated public electric vehicles plying on the route.

The government has come up with a derivative of the HAM model for upgradation of highways into e-highways. This model, which includes a public-private partnership (PPP) mode of services, would be used for the upgradation of highways to e-highways in the country," said one of the two people mentioned above, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Charging stations on these highways will operate in the PPP mode, equally owned by government entities, private companies and local residents whose land is used to build the highway and the infrastructure.

The model was framed by National Highways for EVs (NHEVs), a pilot programme run by Ease of Doing Business, a technology piloting agency of the government. Under the pilot programme, charging infrastructure has been created on the Delhi-Agra route (Yamuna Expressway) and the Delhi-Jaipur route (NH-8). A report on the trials is expected to be submitted soon.

Abhijeet Sinha, national programme director at Ease of Doing Business said: If this model is successful in showing the profitability e-mobility creates, it is more than success. The model would show the pattern (for future projects). So far, there was no model to fund electric infra on highways. As this is based on annuity, this model is good enough to give confidence to investors."

Successful trial runs on the two stretches have given confidence for going ahead with this model across the country," the second official cited above said.

Under AHEM, the government also plans to run electric buses and taxis on PPP mode. The NHEV trial found that e-bus and taxi operators will be able to break even within 36-40 months, and the cost of travel by both e-buses and e-taxis for passengers would be way below the cost incurred on their conventional counterparts. The AHEM model can change any 300-km highway or expressway into an e-highway in 90 days with charging stations, EV car fleets and buses, along with roadside assistance and lower priced EVs for non-stop running on the stretch to secure their repayment, according to experts.

AHEM involves annuity payment to contractors for the initial investment made by them in fixed amount for a period of 12 months. Thereafter, variable annuity is to be paid to the contractors or developers in the remaining period for expansion so that entire capital investment is recovered, and the project attains breakeven in 36 months.

Experts said AHEM gives enough liquidity to the suppliers of EV charging infrastructure and owner PSUs. The financial risk of the investor or bank is shared by the PSU, operators and insurance companies. Allocation of charging stations to interested power and petroleum PSUs is to be done by their parent ministries according to their willingness and interest in e-mobility.

HAM combined two infrastructure construction models: Build-Operate-Transfer Annuity and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC). EPC makes up 40% of HAM, while the rest is BOT-Annuity.

According to ratings agency Icra Ltd, about 105 HAM projects involving bid project cost of 1.22 trillion are expected to become operational in the next two years, of which about 0.90 trillion of debt linked with these projects could be refinanced.

In the past few years, India has laid major emphasis on the EV space and the construction of e-highways and e-corridors. On Monday, Mint reported that India is in talks with Germanys Siemens AG to develop e-corridors in the country.
Bhushan Kumar-owned T-Series has acquired the rights to the music of upcoming Hindi film titles such as the next Hera Pheri franchise, Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani-starrer Satya Prem Ki Katha, Varun Dhawans Bawaal, action film Fighter, Sanki, Yodha, Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainments Baaghi franchise, among others.

Ever since T-Series was founded in 1983, the aim was to deliver best quality music. Each movie stands out and is so different from each other, we are definitely excited to be working on these albums and truly look forward to bringing an eclectic mix of music that will cater to audiences both new and old," Kumar said in a statement.

In December 2021, T-Series became the first channel globally to cross 200 million subscribers on YouTube, with 29 channels across languages and genres. The total subscriber base for the T-Series network was estimated to be more than 383 million with over 718 billion views.

Compared to the 10-12 crore that an average popular channel can make from YouTube advertising revenue, T-Series is estimated to earn around 125 crore per month, ensuring the company remains cash-rich.

Super Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd, or T-Series, reported a consolidated profit of 515 crore for the financial year ended 31 March 2020, According to data accessed by business intelligence firm Tofler. Revenue from operations stood at 1,099 crore.

In 2015, it inked a long-term strategic deal with Lahiri Music, a leader in Tamil and Telugu music, to market television and audio-visual content, making all of Lahiris entire catalogue available on T-Series own YouTube channel. The regional presence makes co-production of films in southern languages easier. T-Series backed Saaho (2019), an action thriller featuring Telugu star Prabhas, which released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It is also producing Adipurush with the actor that will also follow the multilingual route.
India's public sector banks (PSBs) have given huge returns to investors since last year's Holi. The strong performance has resulted in equity markets supporting the share prices of these state-run lenders.

PSBs are trading well below their past peaks, partly due to their exposure to the Adani group, Bernstein said in a research report. The brokerage gave an 'outperform' rating to State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest bank.

"We maintain a very positive view on the Indian banking sector and see mid-teens credit growth in 2023 and see limited risk to the current healthy ROE levels seen in the sector," the report said.

For PSBs, loan growth is above average and in fact close to the decade-highs, the brokerage said.

Asset quality metrics continued to remain benign and even improve with both GNPA and NNPA ratios declining across the board, with PSBs recording large improvements (from higher values)," Bernstein said.

Overall, the brokerage said that the healthy numbers during the quarter have led to an improvement in profitability for PSBs as visible in their ROAs.

As we are inching closer to the festival of colours, it is worth looking at how PSU banks have performed during this period.

Here's how these PSB stocks have performed since Holi 2022:

UCO Bank was the top gainer among the PSB stocks, with a rise of 137.39 per cent, followed by Union Bank of India, whose shares have risen 89.74 per cent.

During the same period, Punjab & Sind Bank has given 88.45 per cent return to investors in the last year, while Bank of Baroda gave 86.42 per cent return.

Shares of Bank of India have gained about 77.30 per cent in the reporting period, while Canara Bank rose 52.25 per cent.

Meanwhile, SBI and Punjab National Bank have rallied 27.59 per cent and 50.29 per cent, respectively.

PSBs turned a corner last year after years of cleaning up their balance sheets and ridding themselves of large toxic assets.

Armed with better capital metrics, PSBs are getting back to lending to corporates and upping the ante in the retail segment in an attempt to reclaim market share lost to private peers in the last four to five years.

PSU banks will continue to do well since they are fundamentally in a much healthier stage and the prognosis is still positive. In terms of the Nifty PSE index, it is poised for a multiyear breakout, and if it occurs, we can anticipate a significant outperformance in the PSU sector over the course of the next few months," said Parth Nayati, Founder at Tradingo.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Meghna Sen Business journalist tracking markets, companies, economy and crypto for Livemint. She has 6 years of experience with online and print publications. Email: meghnasen08@gmail.com Read more from this author
Can I construct a building (residential or commercial) on a 1,500 sq ft plot that is classified under agricultural and no development zone in Pune at present? Will I get a bank loan for such construction?

Ghanshyam Tiwari

Any development within a specified area will be governed by the applicable development norms stipulated under a regional development plan, published by the planning authority, under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

As per the query, the property is within the agricultural and no development zone. In this specified zone, no development is permissible as per the prevalent land development norms. However, in certain situations (e.g. proximity to a village boundary, etc.) some development can be undertaken. To ascertain this, it is advisable to seek the opinion and advice of an architect.

I am interested in buying some agricultural land around Pune for farming. What are the rules involved in buying farmland and do I need any special permission to buy such land?

Name withheld on request

Section 63 of the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agriculturist Land Act, 1948, clearly states that no agricultural land can be bought by a non-agriculturist (any individual who is not a farmer) without prior permission of the authorities concerned. In case no prior permission is obtained, the land can be bought in the manner set out in the aforementioned section . However, there is no bar on purchase of agricultural land by an agriculturist (subject to the land ceiling act and other applicable laws).

The Maharashtra Tenancy and Agriculturist Land Act defines an agriculturist as one who cultivates the land personally. You can buy agricultural land in your name as long as you are cultivating the land yourself. It is also advisable that you consult a local lawyer prior to acquiring the land so that the title of the property can be ascertained prior to purchasing the same.

Bhushan Panse is a partner and Mitali Naik is an associate partner at DSK Legal
Most women do not undertake any form of succession planning, and even fewer understand the importance of this. This is due to lack of awareness, and because they usually tend to look to their husbands or other family members to deal with their assets. This needs to change, especially at a time when women are becoming wealth creators in their own right and are increasingly running large businesses. Many women today are also running and inheriting valuable portions of their family business.

Indian succession laws are governed by the religion of the persona Hindu by faith would be governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. These also govern the law related to intestate succession, and usually involve a strict set of rules as to who shall be entitled to a persons entire property upon their death, and in what proportion the assets are to be divided. Only a proper will can override intestate succession, and hence its important to make one correctly.

For Hindu women, the rules of intestate succession are extremely unfavourablethe heirs of her husband are given preference over her own parents and other family members. This can be avoided or altered by putting in place a will that states how her assets or estate would need to be dealt with upon her death.

For most of Indias history, Hindu women were granted partial rights to their property, with limited or no transfer or managerial rights over it. Their access to ancestral property or hereditary title to certain types of property was non-existent until recently. In 1956, women finally acquired absolute rights to property in their possession, but such rights were not extended to ancestral property. Their brothers and fathers, however, did enjoy this right.

Approximately 50 years later, in 2005, India granted women rights to their ancestral property, finally allowing them to become absolute owners of their self-acquired property and have equal rights to their ancestral property. In August 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Hindu daughters had equal rights in the familys ancestral property. In January 2022, the Supreme Court conferred daughters with equal right to their fathers property even prior to certain key dates.

While developments in ancestral laws continue to dominate headlines, the real succession plan happens outside these confines. The two main tools at their disposal are wills and trusts.

Wills: At the bare minimum, every woman needs to execute a simple will, to ensure that her assets are passed on to her loved ones (most likely her children and other immediate family) in the manner she desires. This is the most easily understood option available.

A will requires very few formalities. One can execute a will just by signing it and having it attested by two witnesses. There is no requirement for having the will mandatorily registered in India. A will can be amended or revoked easily at any time.

Unless the will is being executed in Chennai, Mumbai or Kolkata or deals with immovable assets located in these cities, it would not be compulsory to obtain a probate (a court based process).

Trusts: Large business families would require a more complex mechanism of succession planning than just executing Wills. This is to help ensure their wealth is preserved over the future generations and that their assets are sufficiently ring-fenced against creditor claims as well as any unforeseen contingencies.

In reality, most personal wealth, including ownership in valuable family businesses, is either held in the personal names of the patriarch/promoters or in private trusts or holding companies/limited liability partnerships. In practice, most families use private family trusts to safeguard the interests of their married daughters. The older business families may continue to hold some ancestral wealth in Hindu undivided families , or HUFs, but the scale and materiality of such holdings is usually limited.

Contrary to popular belief, trusts are also easy to set up and are extremely useful in creating an organized holding structure, as separate trusts can be established for different kinds of assets.

Women must realize the importance of estate planning and the need to start the discussion regarding the same at an early stage. Relying on intestate laws or on her relatives will not produce the best outcome.

Rishabh Shroff is partner & co-head, private clients, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
The Indian Navy successfully undertook Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) fired from INS Visakhapatnam validating the capability to engage Anti Ship Missiles.

MRSAM was jointly developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) at Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) reflecting IndianNavy's commitment to aatmanirbhar, the army informed.

Earlier in a press statement released in February, the army noted, "The MRSAM weapon system which is also called the 'Abhra' Weapon System is a state-of-the-art medium-range air defence weapon system and is a joint venture of DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) with active participation from Indian public and private defence industry partners including MSMEs."

In February, according to the news agency, ANI, Lt Gen RP Kalita, GOC-in-C of the Eastern Command, emphasized during his initial visit to the MRSAM Regiment that India's defense industry has taken a significant step towards indigenization, and that the country will soon achieve self-sufficiency in defense manufacturing as a result.

Earlier in December, Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt Ltd (KRAS) recently produced and released the 100th Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Kit for the Indian Armed Forces.

The Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) is a supersonic missile that can be launched vertically with a rapid response time and is intended to intercept various airborne threats such as guided bombs, aircraft, missiles, and helicopters. It has different variations for use by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The MRSAM weighs 275 kg and possesses a range of 70 km, a length of 4500 mm, dual guidance (command and active radar seeker), TVC and Aerodynamic control, and dual pulse propulsion with a solid motor.

A research website, Airforce Technology reported that in February 2009, a contract was signed for the MRSAM programme, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) agreeing to purchase 450 MRSAMs and 18 firing units for over $2bn.

IAI and DRDO carried out three flight tests of the MRSAM weapon system in July 2016 to validate all missile components at the Integrated Test Range off Odisha Coast, India.

Additionally, in January 2019, IAI agreed to a $93m contract with the Indian Navy and Cochin Shipyard to provide maintenance and other services for various MRSAM sub-systems, with the Indian Navy successfully test-firing LRSAM from INS Chennai in January 2019.
The scandal-hit Adani Group on Tuesday said it has prepaid share-backed financing of 7,374 crore, as part of its promoters' commitment to cut overall leverage backed by Adani listed company shares after a short-seller attack.

The move comes as the Adani Group holds a worldwide roadshow as management seeks to reassure investors that the companys finances are under control amid share price falls and a regulatory probe.

The company will hold meetings with fixed-income investors from 7 to 15 March in Dubai, London and the US. The US meetings will be held over four days, including New York and Los Angeles. Similar gatherings were held this week in Singapore and Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg report.

In continuation of promoters commitment to reduce the overall promoter leverage backed by Adani Listed Company shares, we would like to inform that we have prepaid share backed financing of 7,374 cr ($902 Million) ahead of its latest maturity in April 2025," the Adani Group said in a statement.

With the repayment to multiple international banks and Indian financial institutions, the following Adani listed company shares shall be released:

- Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd: 155 million shares, representing 11.8% of the promoters holding

- Adani Enterprises Limited : 31 million shares, representing 4.0% of promoters holding

- Adani Transmission Limited : 36 million shares, representing 4.5% of promoters holding

- Adani Green Energy Limited: 11 million shares, representing 1.2% of promoters holding

"Along with the repayments done earlier in the month of February, Adani has prepaid USD 2,016 million of share backed financing, which is consistent with promoters commitment to prepay all share backed financing before 31 March 2023," the group said.

Adani stocks

Stocks of eight listed firms of the embattled conglomerate Adani settled with gains on Monday and Adani Enterprises rose more than five per cent amid positive momentum in the broader equity market.

Last week, shares of all listed Adani Group companies rallied after the group sold minority stakes in four of its listed companies to US-based boutique firm GQG Partners for 15,446 crore.

After taking a beating on the bourses following a report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research, the group stocks have recovered significantly in the last few trading sessions.

The report had made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against it.

Adani, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, has rejected the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Meghna Sen Business journalist tracking markets, companies, economy and crypto for Livemint. She has 6 years of experience with online and print publications. Email: meghnasen08@gmail.com Read more from this author
New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday signed contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) for procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft worth over 6,800 crore and with Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships worth more than 3,100 crore.

It has also signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for procurement of three Cadet Training Ships in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane along with other senior civil & military officials of MoD and representatives of HAL & L&T were present during the signing and exchanging of contracts," the ministry said.

In a major boost to the governments efforts to achieve Aatmanirbharta in defence, the Union Cabinet had, on 1 March, 2023, approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL at a cost of over 6,800 crore.

The HTT-40 is a turbo prop aircraft and provides better training effectiveness. The fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer" has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats, the government said its press release.

The procurement of HTT-40 aircraft is important as it will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force for training of newly-inducted pilots". The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators, the government said.

The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

The HTT-40 contains approximately 56 percent indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60 percent through indigenisation of major components and subsystems.

The HAL aims to engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain and thus, this procurement has the potential to provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs".

The ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations.

The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, Search & Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.

The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed at L&T shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai. The project will generate an employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years. This will encourage active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs.
Amid reports of record-breaking summers this year, Delhi government expects the peak load of the national capital to reach 8000 MW in late June or early July, said an official on Monday. Cabinet Minister Kailash Gahlot, on Monday, conducted several meetings and discussed the Summer Action Plan of the Power department.

Also Read: PM meets top aides on preparing for summer months

The minister met with the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Power department and reviewed several projects crucial to manage the rising electricity consumption during summer season. Summer Action Plan will help the government to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the upcoming summer season in the national capital.

Also Read: These firms may see strong double-digit sales growth this summer season

The assessment meeting held to discuss the action plan was joined by senior officers from Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES) Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL), TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) and Power Department.

Delhi's electricity consumption peak to 8000 MW from 7695 MW last year

In the meeting, DTL informed that the peak load of 7,695 MW was reached in Delhi in June 2022 and the expected peak load of 2023 is predicted to reach 8,000 either in late June or early July this year. To deal with the massive electricity demand, the three discoms presented their plans for preparations and the expected peak loads in their areas. In addition to the plan for summer, the senior officials also gave update about the current projects. The minister was informed about the work done for the construction of five new hospitals, and details of 13 projects that were undertaken at already constructed hospitals.

Also Read: Slice launches new summer campaign with Kiara Advani

Apart from health, and electricity, construction was also a major point of discussion in the meeting where PWD discussed about their work in roads and flyovers in Delhi. Some key projects running in the capital are Barapullah Flyover Ph-3, additional flyover at Sarai Kale Khan T-junction, Pragati Maidan corridor development and flyover between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border. There were also talks about the layout of new educational institutes planned for set up in Delhi.

(With inputs from PTI)
Are North Indians in Tamil Nadu under attack? Not really, but many on social media are being misled, as fake news spread, causing panic among migrant workers. The state government and the industry now want to prevent an exodus. Mint explains:

Whats going on with migrants in TNadu?

Social media is abuzz with reports, including videos, of purported migrants being attacked in Tamil Nadu. There are claims of migrants being killed by locals who are apparently opposed to their presence. Some posts quoted attackers saying vadakkans (North Indians) have no place in Tamil Nadu and are accusing them of stealing jobs from locals. This has created panic among migrant workers. In reality, of course, this is not the case. Most videos and reports shared were either fake or of incidents that happened earlier, outside Tamil Nadu. Fact-checking websites such as Alt News have already debunked these videos.

Whats being done to reassure migrants?

The state machinery has sprung into action to call out the fake news and instil confidence in migrant workers. Chief minister M.K. Stalin warned of strict legal action against those spreading fake news. Tamil Nadu, he reminded everyone, is known for its hospitality and support for people who come and settle down there. The state governor, district collectors, local police and industry bodies have all stepped in to calm things down through statements, face-to face meetings with workers and videos. Officials from Bihar and Jharkhand have visited Coimbatore and Tiruppur to meet migrants.

There are reports of an exodus. True?

No. Migrants are not leaving the state in large numbers. Its seasonal: migrants leave for their homes at this time of the year for Holi. Some social media channels have called this an exodus. But the industry is worriedthe fear may deter some from returning to work. Last week, worried about their safety, many workers stayed away from work.

What role do migrants play in TNs economy?

Migrants have become critical to the states economy. A government report from Apr 2022 puts their number at 3.5 million based on the 2011 census. Today, that number would be much higher with over a million in manufacturing alone. Like migrants across the world they have filled the jobs that locals vacated or refused to take, say entrepreneurs. They, experts say, will have an important role to play if the state government is to achieve its ambition of making Tamil Nadu a billion-dollar economy by 2030.

Has the issue taken political colour?

Yes. It all began when some fringe parties began demanding work for locals and accused migrants of taking away jobs. The BJP has blamed the ruling DMK for creating the crisis by fostering a divide between Tamils and Hindi speakers. In turn, the TN govt has booked the state BJP chief for false propaganda. DMK sees a conspiracy to create fissures in an emerging alliance against the BJP. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, part of this alliance, has tweeted against the reported attacksmany migrants are from Bihar.
There is no need to panic regarding Influenza A H3N2 variant virus infection in Karnataka and the guidelines will be released soon for people to take precautions, said State Health Minister K Sudhakar in a meeting with the technical advisory committee and senior officials on Monday.

He said that an order will be issued instructing the health staff of all hospitals to wear face masks compulsorily, according to the news agency PTI.

The Central government in its guidelines has set a target of 25 tests per week and we are screening 25 cases of SARI (severe acute respiratory infections) and ILI (influenza-like illness) in Victoria and Vani Vilasa Hospitals to keep track of the variants," Sudhakar told media persons after the meeting.

The minister also said that the infection can be seen in children under 15 years, and in senior citizens above 65 years, also pregnant women are also more likely to get infected. Its spread can be prevented through measures such as cleanliness, preventing crowding, and hand hygiene."

He also instructed healthcare workers to get influenza vaccination which is given every year. For specific doctors and staff, including those working in the ICU, vaccines will be given by the government, as per PTI reports.

This vaccine was given till 2019 and was discontinued later due to Covid. Now it will resume in all 31 districts. A total of 26 cases of H3N2, 10 cases of Influenza B 10, and 69 cases of Adeno were detected," Sudhakar added.

The state health minister also advised to avoid exposure to sun from 11 am to 3 pm, and drink at least 2-3 litres of water, buttermilk, fresh water, and fruit juices.

The H3N2, which has been in wide circulation for the past few months, causes more hospitalizations than other subtypes, said ICMR scientists who keep a close watch on ailments caused by respiratory viruses through the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories network.

Centre chairs meeting to tackle H3N2 infection rise

The Union Health Ministry of Monday conducted a meeting with top health officials to discuss cases of the viral infection that is showing an upward trend in India. The H3N2 viral infection cases have risen significantly in India.

Experts have repeatedly insisted on taking the precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the H3N2 viral infection cases.

After the meeting, Dr Shukla told ANI that the director general of health services took a meeting with all the senior persons from all the big central government hospitals including RML, Safdarjung, Lady Hardinge. He informed that the meeting was attended by experts in medicine, pulmonary medicine.

The Doctor suggested that people should be taking precautionary measures including wearing masks in crowded places.

"What we decided is that if people continue mass gathering, especially in areas where there's a higher risk of infection, like hospitals because a lot of patients come with different infections to hospitals, then keeping a mask will be good for them because the mask not only prevents Covid, it also prevents other viral infections," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi: The government is setting up a panel of mediators, which businesses and other stakeholders can approach for speedy resolution of disputes.

The ministry of corporate affairs has called for applications from former judges of the Supreme Court, high courts and tribunals and mediation experts who want to be on the panel.

The move indicates efforts to promote mediation for speedy dispute resolution as lengthy litigation is thought to dampen investor sentiment and impact efficiency in the economy. In mediation a voluntary and confidential process  a neutral third party, the mediator, helps the parties negotiate a settlement.

An announcement from the ministry posted on its website said that the regional director, North West Region, Ahmedabad, will set up and maintain the panel.

Experts said such a panel will help businesses and stakeholders resolve disputes quickly and cheaply. The mediation panel would be made up of trained mediators who would work with the parties to help them reach an agreement that is mutually acceptable.

By setting up mediation panels, the ministry is providing a way for businesses and stakeholders to access mediation services in a structured and consistent manner. This can help to promote the use of mediation as a tool for resolving disputes, which can in turn lead to greater efficiency, cost savings, and improved relationships between parties," said Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at law firm KS Legal & Associates.

Mediation can be particularly beneficial for businesses and stakeholders because it avoids the cost and time associated with traditional litigation, said Chandwani. In addition, it can help to preserve relationships between the parties, a factor which is often important in business contexts where ongoing collaboration is necessary, she said.

The announcement lends momentum to the regime for alternative dispute resolution in India, said Krithika Jaganathan, associate partner at law firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys. It augurs well for the entire eco-system as a time-efficient avenue for litigation-fatigued companies, as an avenue for experts to evolve bespoke strategies to disputes and as an opportunity for courts to reduce caseloads," said Jaganathan.

The government is keen to encourage mediation in a big way so that fewer cases reach courts and tribunals.

The Mediation Bill, 2021 pending in Parliament seeks to promote mediation, especially institutional mediation, for resolution of commercial and other disputes and to enforce mediated settlement agreements.

The Bill also proposes to create a body for registration of mediators and to make online mediation as an acceptable and cost effective process.

The Bill proposes creation of a Mediation Council of India. Once the Bill becomes law, mediation and conciliation will be conducted as per its provisions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the oath taking ceremony of the new Chief Ministers of Meghalaya and Nagaland on Tuesday. The swearing in ceremony of Tripura' Chief Minister will be held on Wednesday. National Democratic Progressive Party's Neiphiu Rio and National People's Party's Conrad Sangma will become the new Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

Also Read: Centre to construct 14.71 km four-lane highway in Nagaland: Gadkari

The Prime Minister will attend the swearing-in ceremony of new Meghalaya government in Shillong at 11:00 am on Tuesday. Afterwards, he will join the next oath-taking ceremony of the Nagaland government scheduled to be held at 1:45 pm in Kohima on the same day. Notably, Tripura's CM will take oath in Agartala at 11 am on Wednesday.

Also Read: Meghalaya MLAs to take oath on 6 March: 5 Things to know

Notably, the new Nagaland CM and Assam Cm Himanta Biswa Sarma met BJP high commission in New Delhi on Sunday, to discuss about the formation of new state government.

Notably, NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio joined hands with BJP to mark victory in the state by winning 37 of 60 seats. Out of the total won seats, NDP secured 25 seats, and BJP won 12 seats. However, things were not this much easy in Meghalaya, where different political factions claimed their majority in the elections and right to form the government. At the end, Conrad Sangma's NPP coalition got the support from United Democratic Party (UDP) and the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF) on Sunday.

The two days of political drama came to an end after the submission of a letter of support with signatures of 32 MLAs, including NPP, BJP, the two legislators from HSPDP and two independents. Now, Conrad Sangma enjoys the support from 32 MLAs and he also claimed that he received an invitation from the State Governor to form the next government.

Tripura will witness the formation of BJP government on Wednesday, where the BJP's CM candidate will take oath on Wednesday. In the state assembly elections in Tripura, the BJP-IPFT alliance won 32 seats, and qualified to make the government in the state.
Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi has now made news for for statements delivered at Cambridge University, at a convention organised by association of Journalists in London and finally during an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank in London. Rounding off his week-long UK tour, Gandhi touched upon democracy in India, Pegasus row, China threat and staying true to his identity as the Opposition leader since 2014, the BJP rule in India.

Several of his statements made starting from Cambridge to Chatham House has caused stir and led BJP to ask his mother and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to control her son.

Rahul Gandhi during his speech in the British parliament had said, Demonetisation, which was a disastrous financial decision, we were not allowed to discuss. GST we were not allowed to discuss. Chinese troops entering Indian territory we were not allowed to discuss. I remember a Parliament where there were vibrant discussions, heated debates, arguments, and disagreements but we had a conversation. And, thats frankly what we miss in Parliament. We have to use debates to fit in other debates. There is a stifling that is going on".

Here are the list of statements made by Rahul Gandhi in the past couple of week.

British Parliament

Rahul Gandhi at the British parliament said, Our mikes are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still cant switch them on. Thats happened to me a number of times while I am speaking,".

BJP Rule in India

The BJP likes to believe that it will be in power in India "eternally" but that is not the case, and the Opposition can unite to undertake the repair work" needed to protect India's democratic institutions, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said.

To put it in perspective, if you look at the time from independence to now, the Congress party has been in power for majority of the time," said Gandhi.

Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that they have come to power in India and they are going to be in power eternally, thats not the case," he said.

"We can see that the reliance on our institutions is reducing and that to me is very, very dangerous. Certainly there is repair work that needs to be done, on the idea of freedom, independent institutions, a whole bunch of repair work that needs to be done."

Pegasus Row

I had Pegasus on my phone. A large number of politicians had Pegasus on their phones. I have been called by intelligence officers who told me, Please be careful about what you are saying on the phone because we are sort of recording the stuff. So this is the constant pressure that we feel. Cases on the opposition. I have got a number of criminal liable cases for things that should under no circumstances be criminal liable cases. Thats what we are trying to defend," the Congress leader had said in his address at Cambridge.

RSS built along the lines of Muslim Brotherhood

Gandhi took aim at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a fundamentalist, fascist organisation" that has changed the nature of the democratic contest in India by capturing the countrys institutions.

Asked to explain the RSS to a foreign audience, he noted, You can call it a secret society. Its built along the lines of the Muslim Brotherhood and the idea is to use the democratic contest to come to power and then subvert the democratic contest afterwards.

Its shocked me at how successful theyve been at capturing the different institutions of our country: the press, judiciary, Parliament, Election Commission  all the institutions are under pressure, under threat and controlled in one way or another."

Terrorism in India

Rahul Gandhi narrated his encounter with terrorists when the Gandhi led Bharat Jodo yatra entered Jammu and Kashmir.

Rahul Gandhi said, "I talked to my people and told them that I wanted to continue the walk. We continued walking when an unknown man approached me. He told me he wanted to talk to me."

Moments later, the man pointed towards some nearby people and revealed they were all terrorists, Rahul Gandhi said.

"I thought I was in trouble because in that situation terrorists would kill me. But they did not do anything because this is the power of listening," Rahul Gandhi said.

India's Foreign Policy

Rahul Gandhi drew a comparison between the Russia-Ukraine conflict and India-China relations and accused China of sitting on 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory but our Prime Minister says they are not there".

Gandhi said, "With regards to an invasion, we have already been invaded. We have got 2000 square km of our territory that is in the hands of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Prime Minister himself has stated that nobody has entered India, not a single inch of land has been taken and this destroyed our negotiation position because our negotiators are being asked what's the fuss about."

"Your Prime Minister says that no land has been taken. So that's one aspect of it. The other aspect which I keep saying is India needs to be very, very careful with what the Chinese are doing at the border. The Chinese are acting in a hostile manner, in an aggressive manner and we need to be very very careful and I have been stating that again and again, I don't think the penny has dropped in the government. I think there is a risk as you say," added Rahul Gandhi.
Japan will disappear" if action is not taken to curb its slowing birthrate, a senior adviser to the Japanese prime minister has warned. The comment comes as last week the health ministry pointed out that country's birth rate has hit a new record low, with just 799,728 births in 2022, the lowest number on record and the first time it has dipped below 800,000.

This is a worrying trend that has persisted for decades, and now, the number of births has almost halved in the past 40 years, with more than 1.5 million recorded in 1982.

The countrys birthrate is not falling gradually, its heading straight down", warned Masako Mori, an adviser to the PM, and added, A nosedive means children being born now will be thrown into a society that becomes distorted, shrinks and loses its ability to function."

Earlier in January, PM Fumio Kishida also pointed out Japan simply cannot wait any longer" in solving the problem of its low birth rate.

How acute is the low birth rate crisis in Japan?

This decline in births is compounded by a record high for post-war deaths in Japan last year, at over 1.58 million. This means that deaths have outpaced births for over a decade, creating a growing problem for the world's third-largest economy.

Moreover, the fertility rate of 1.3 is far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population without immigration. Furthermore, the country has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, with nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan aged 100 or older in 2020.

Leaders now face a ballooning elderly population, along with a shrinking workforce to fund pensions and healthcare as demand from the aging population surges.

How is Japan planning to address the low birth rate crisis?

In January, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Japan is "on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions."

To address this, a new government agency will be set up in April, with Kishida aiming to double the government's spending on child-related programs.

Can child-rearing support solve the low birth rate crisis?

Several social factors contribute to the low birth rate, including the high cost of living, limited space, and lack of child care support in cities, which make it difficult for couples to raise children.

In 2022, Japan was ranked one of the worlds most expensive places to raise a child, according to research from financial institution Jefferies. And yet, the countrys economy has stalled since the early 1990s. The average real annual household income declined from 6.59 million yen ($50,600) in 1995 to 5.64 million yen ($43,300) in 2020, according to 2021 data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare," a CNN article cited.

Additionally, attitudes toward marriage and starting families have shifted, with more couples putting off both during the pandemic, and young people feeling increasingly pessimistic about the future.
Women dominated the direct-to-consumer business space in 2022 as they accounted for a majority of the sales of D2C brands in India, revealed a report by Instamojo. The Womens Day Insights report showed over 56 percent of the total sales clocked in by D2C (direct to consumer)) businesses in 2022 were led by women. The dominance was not only on the consumption side, but also on the entrepreneurial side.

Over 50 percent of D2C businesses on on the Instamojo platform in 2022 are owned by women.

The Indian D2C market size was estimated to be at $55 billion in 2022, according to a report by Modor Intelligence. With an expected CAGR of 34.5 percent during the 2022-2027 period, the total addressable D2C market in India is forecast to hit $100 billion by 2025.

Instamojo is a digital solutions provider for D2C businesses. The company made its entry in e-commerce space early 2021 with a product suite empowering D2C brands to launch their independent online stores.

At least 5 new brands being launched on the platform on a daily basis are owned and operated by women, said Sampad Swain, co-founder & CEO at Instamojo.

According to a McKinsey study, promoting equity of opportunities for women through jobs and entrepreneurship can add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025 and the post-pandemic digital boom has provided this opportunity for women in India. On a daily basis, on the Instamojo platform, we see at least 5 new D2C brands being born which are owned and operated by women. This industry has given them the opportunity to expand their homegrown business into a D2C brand with customers across the world. We strongly believe that the next wave of D2C 2.0 would be driven by women who have the ambition and the curiosity to make it big. At the end of the day, it is this sort of impact that leads to embracing equity and what better than clocking it in the business space," said Sampad Swain, co-founder & CEO at Instamojo.

D2C has emerged as a haven for women sellers, as women accounted for 56 percent of total sales of D2C sellers, and 61 percent of all buyers were women in 2022, showed the report.

In India, tier-1 and tier-2 cities contribute to the largest share of the women D2C brands. It makes up for a total of 89 per cent of all D2C businesses led by women.

Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune, are the top three cities for women D2C brands in India. They contribute 34 per cent, 18 per, and 17 per cent respectively to the total share of women led D2C brands in India. In D2C sector, Delhi was the fastest growing city for women led brands, recording a growth of 36 per cent since 2021, showed the report.

Categories with the highest women led D2C businesses:

With 85 per cent market share, baby products is the largest category for women led D2C brands. It is followed by jewellery and accessories at 79 per cent, according to the report by Instamojo.

With 33 per cent growth rate, baby products is also the fastest growing in women led D2C business since 2021. While, footwear brands were the second fastest growing segment for women led D2C brands, at a growth rate of 13 per cent since 2021.

Knowledge based women led D2C brands are the best performing

Women led D2C brands that provide online courses and books saw the highest sales in 2023 making them the best performing.

Nearly 31 per cent of all sales made by women led D2C brands were done by businesses that provide educational courses. Nearly 22 per cent of all sales made by women led D2C brands were done by businesses that sells books

Women led D2C brands that sells books were also the fastest growing at the rate of 23 per cent, showed the report.
An Indian-origin Scotland Yard police officer has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a colleague while on duty and will be sentenced for the crime on May 5.

Police Constable (PC) Archit Sharma was attached to London's North Area Basic Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police and was suspended from duty after he was charged in July 2021.

He now faces further misconduct proceedings within the UKs largest police force after the criminal proceedings concluded with a trial at Wood Green Crown Court in London on Monday.

The trial followed an allegation in December 2020 that Sharma had sexually assaulted a colleague while they were both were on duty.

"I am furious that an officer has behaved in such a grossly unacceptable way. In doing what he did, PC Sharma totally betrayed all the values of policing," said Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Caroline Haines, responsible for local policing in Enfield and Haringey area of London.

"I hope that this outcome demonstrates that we will treat reports of sexual assault with the utmost seriousness, wherever they occur and whoever is responsible. I applaud the bravery of this officer in coming forward in the way they did," she said.
Edtech unicorn upGrad has sacked 30 per cent of its workforce i.e., 120 employees at a subsidiary that it had acquired in 2021 in its recent cost-cutting measure.

upGrad Campus, which was previously known as Impartus, was acquired by Ronnie Screwvala's backed upGrad in 2021 for 150 crore.

The layoffs affected at least 120 of the 300 employees of upGrad Campus, a video-learning solutions provider, according to a Financial Express report.

This is also the second layoff at an upGrad-owned company. Harappa Education, which was acquired by upGrad for 300 crore in July 2022, laid off 30 per cent of its workforce in January, affecting nearly 60 employees, according to the report.

Impartus co-founder Amit Mahensaria assumed the role of the chief operating officer at upGrad Campus, which operated independently as a subsidiary after the acquisition.

upGrad, founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, has has made at least 14 acquisitions to date. In 2022, it acquired around five companies, including upskilling platform Harappa Education for $38 million, and data science institute INSOFE for $33 million.

Ed-tech unicorn Byju's laid off nearly 1,500 employees in its second round of layoffs. Last year, the Byju Raveendran-led startup sacked around 2,500 employees.

Edtech startups in India have laid off thousands of employees in the past year and have been unable to raise funding as a slowdown gripped the market.

Unacademy also laid off 20% of its employees from its subsidiary relevel in January this year.

Separately, ed-tech unicorn PhysicsWallah is looking to hire around 2,500 employees in the first quarter of 2023.

Indian startups have seen lay offs in the past couple of months, including food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy fired 380 employees of its 6,000-strong workforce as part of a restructuring exercise.

Delivery platform Dunzo laid off 3 percent of its workforce citing restructuring. As per LinkedIn, the company has a workforce of 3,000 employees which means it has laid off approximately 90 employees.
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) on Monday said it will be in "close contact" with the Karnataka government to take forward and ensure the "successful grounding" of its manufacturing project near Bengaluru.

Hon Hai Precision Industry chairman Young Liu, who was recently in the city, has written to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in this regard. Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn is the contract manufacturer for Apple's iPhones.

The letter has gained significance, amid media reports about Foxconn having denied that it had "entered into any binding, definitive agreements," following the reports saying it was planning new investments in the country.

"My team will be in close contact with your team to take this forward and ensure successful grounding of "Project Elephant" in Bengaluru. I am confident that this project will lay a strong foundation for our other multiple plans, spanning mechanical/precision machinery, electric vehicle, IC design & semiconductor segments to consider your State as a potential investment destination," Liu said.

Thanking the Chief Minister and his government for making his visit to Bengaluru a "big success", he said, "Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma and senior officials made a presentation on three key pillars essential for making "Project Elephant" a grand success. It was great to note the infrastructure readiness timelines, Government of Karnataka's support for skilling and talent acquisition and the availability of social infrastructure around the region where the plot is earmarked for the project."

The Chief Minister had held discussions with Liu and his team in Bengaluru on March 3.

Foxconn had also signed a "Letter of Intent" with the government of Karnataka, expressing intent to establish a manufacturing facility in over 300 acre land parcel at an industrial area near Doddaballapura within a period of five years.

The proposed years of investment is said to be 2023-27 and the proposed employment to be 1 lakh, according to LoI, which further said that the Karnataka government would facilitate Foxconn to obtain necessary permissions, registration, approvals, clearances and incentives from the concerned departments of the State as per prevailing policies, rules and regulations.

Following the meeting, the Chief Minister's office in a tweet had said, "...the meeting was followed by signing of MoU with the company to invest in the State. 300 acre land has been identified near Bangalore airport and it is expected to create 1 lakh jobs."
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has recently forced women to return to their abusive husbands, in stark contrast to the ongoing global celebration of International Women's Day which honors women's achievements and advocates for gender equality. This mandate is yet another example of the ongoing challenges faced by women in Afghanistan , particularly under Taliban rule.

Marwa, an Afghan woman who was abused for years by her ex-husband, has retreated into hiding with her eight children after Taliban commanders tore up her divorce, according to a report by AFP.

She was one of a small number of women who, under the previous US-backed government, were granted a legal separation in Afghanistan, where women have next to no rights and domestic abuse is endemic.

Her husband, when Taliban forces swept into power in 2021, claimed that he had been forced into divorce and commanders ordered her back to his clutches.

"My daughters and I cried a lot that day," Marwa, 40, whose name has been changed for her own protection. I said to myself, 'Oh God, the devil has returned'," Marwa told AFP.

For months, Marwa endured a new round of beatings, locked away in the house, with her hands broken and fingers cracked. There were days when her daughter used to feed her as she was unconscious, she claimed.

He used to pull my hair so hard that I became partly bald. He beat me so much that all my teeth have broken. My children say, 'Mother, it's okay if we are starving. At least we have got rid of the abuse'."

Nobody knows us here, not even our neighbors," she said, fearing her husband would discover her.

Lawyers said that several women have reported being dragged back into abusive marriages after Taliban commanders annulled their divorces.

The Taliban government adheres to an austere interpretation of Islam and has imposed severe restrictions on women's lives that the United Nations called "gender-based apartheid".

Afghan women face physical violence

According to the UN's mission in the country, nine in 10 women will experience physical, sexual, or psychological violence from their partner in Afghanistan. However, divorce is often more taboo than abuse itself. Divorce rates were steadily rising in some cities under the previous US-backed government.

Nazifa, a lawyer who successfully handled around 100 divorce cases for abused women but it no longer permitted to work in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, said that women once blamed their fate for whatever happened to them.

With the growing awareness, women realized that separating from abusive husbands was possible. "When there is no harmony left in a husband and wife relationship, even Islam permits a divorce," Nazifa explained, adding that five of her former clients have reported being in the same situation as Marwa.

Under the ousted regime, special family courts with women judges and lawyers were established to hear such cases, but the Taliban authorities have made their new justice system an all-male affair.

Another lawyer, who did not want to be identified, told AFP she recently witnessed a court case where a woman was fighting against being forcefully reunited with her ex-husband.

She added that divorces under the Taliban government are limited to when a husband was a classified drug addict or has left the country.

(With AFP inputs)
A day before International Women's Day, the United Nations secretary-general made a shocking revelation regarding the rising gender inequality in the world.

The UN chief Antonio Guterres told the opening session of the commission on the status of women that progress won over decades is vanishing because "the patriarchy is fighting back".

Looking at the current scenario, it will take 300 years to achieve gender equality, he warned.

Seven reasons why gender equality wont be achieved for 300 years:

Highlighting the situation in Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General said that "women and girls have been erased from public life".

Secondly, in several countries girls going to school risk kidnapping and assault, and have complained that there are police preying on vulnerable women they are supposed to be protecting. From Ukraine to the Sahel, crisis, and conflict affect women and girls first and worst, Guterres said.

Globally, the maternal mortality rate is rising as per the United Nations. The Covid-19 pandemic made the situation worse for girls as forced marriages have escalated around the globe.

Three billion (300 crore) people are still unconnected to the internet, the majority of them women and girls in developing countries, (and) in the least developed countries, just 19% of women are online.

Globally, girls and women make up just one-third of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Men outnumber women two to one in the tech industry and in the growing field of artificial intelligence, only about one in five workers is a woman.

Centuries of patriarchy, discrimination, and harmful stereotypes have created a huge gender gap in education and technology, Guterres said.

The UN Chief called for "collective action" worldwide by governments, civil society, and the private sector to provide gender-responsive education, improve skills training and invest more in "bridging the digital gender divide."

"The United Nations stands with women and girls everywhere," he concluded.
New Delhi: India and Ethiopia are set to finalize stalled agreements on visa waiver and sister-city projects, according to people aware of the matter. In 2021, the two countries signed an agreement to waive visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports .

According to the people cited above, these agreements were stalled for over two years as Addis Ababa focussed its energies on fighting a civil war.

The situation has now changed. In November 2022, Addis Ababa signed a truce with rebel forces and brought the conflict to an end. As peace takes hold. Ethiopia is now looking to refocus from domestic crises to the wider world.

According to the people cited above, a number of agreements between India and Ethiopia delayed by the war are set to be finalised in the coming months. Sources expect the visa waiver agreement to go into force in the very near future.

Indias diplomatic support for the Ethiopian government during the civil war has been an important factor propelling the relationship forward.

During UN Security Council debates on the civil war, New Delhi adopted a position that closely backed Addis Ababa in its efforts to end the war.

In 2021, Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, Indias then-Permanent Representative to the UN, praised Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds declaration of a ceasefire and called out the continuing aggression and belligerence of one side," in reference to the rebellious Tigray forces. Ambassador Tirumurti also urged the international community to channel humanitarian aid to Ethiopia as the war displaced close to 2.7 million people.

India also chose not to criticise the Ethiopian government on key controversies, given allegations of human rights violations by government forces in their fight against Tigray rebels. New Delhi also steered clear of controversy when Ethiopia expelled UN officials from the country for interfering in internal affairs, an allegation that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hotly contested.

Ethiopias longtime Ambassador in New Delhi, Tizita Mulugeta, expressed appreciation for Indias support for her governments position at the UNSC.

Even as the war escalated, New Delhi continued high-level political contacts with Addis Ababa. Ethiopias deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, and external affairs minister S Jaishankar met in 2021.
Crisis-hit Pakistan has communicated to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and requested China to roll out its USD 2 billion deposits for another year, a media report said on Tuesday. The country still awaits a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the global lender.

According to a report, the Finance Ministry and State Bank of Pakistan shared their external financing plan in virtual talks with IMF on Monday to strike a staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender.

"We have already made the request to the Chinese side for granting rollover of USD 2 billion State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) deposits, which is going to mature by the end of the ongoing month," said sources as quoted by The News International newspaper.

Pakistan communicated to the IMF its plans to raise its dwindling foreign exchange reserves to USD 10 billion by the end of June, as per PTI reports.

A top official source said that the revival of the IMF deal will enable Islamabad to muster up the required dollar funding from all possible avenues, including multilateral, bilateral, and commercial financing as well as getting rollover of upcoming Chinas SAFE deposits to the tune of USD 2 billion.

The total Chinese SAFE deposits stood at USD 4 billion, and the remaining are due to mature in a few months. Another official said China gave verbal assurance of approving the rollover of the USD 2 billion SAFE deposits.

Pakistan informed the IMF about implementing various measures on the Fund's request for the release of the USD 1.1 billion tranche under the USD 7 billion loan facility. It suggested that both sides should now move towards signing the staff-level agreement (SLA) without wasting further time.

Last month, Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said that external financing confirmation was not part of the prior action of the IMF for signing a staff-level agreement. He added that both sides agreed that the Fund would help Islamabad secure its confirmation on external financing needs.

Pakistan received USD 700 million from all-weather ally China last month to help its ailing economy before the finalization of talks with the IMF for financial assistance. It is set to receive another USD 1.3 billion from Beijing to shore up its fast-depleting forex reserves, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said last week.

Pakistan and the IMF have been holding virtual talks after the two sides held 10 days of intensive negotiations with an IMF delegation in Islamabad from January 31 to February 9, which failed to reach an agreement on the USD 1.1 billion tranches of funding from the global lender.

(With PTI inputs)
Ahead of International Women's Day, the Spain government has announced major steps for women to empower them in business and politics.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has proposed a gender parity law making it mandatory for corporate boards to be composed of at least 40% women. The female quota will also be implemented in the government's cabinet. In politics, the law will require parties to offer equal numbers of male and female candidates during elections, to increase gender parity in parliament. At the moment women make up 44% of Congress and 39% of the Senate.

As per the local media, Spain's gender quota bill will be approved today (7 March) at a weekly cabinet meeting, before being sent to Congress.

If the law is passed, 40% of the least represented gender" will become part of top management in both companies and politics.

The rule will apply to all publicly-traded companies by July 1, 2024. It will be applicable in companies that have at least 250 employees and 50 million ($53 million) in annual revenues by June 30, 2026.

The latest decision by Prime Minister Sanchez is not unusual. He has repeatedly defined his Socialist-led coalition government as feminist and has pushed high-profile equality laws, including on trans rights and a politically-controversial sexual consent law. Notably, of his 22 ministers, 14 are women. Moreover, all three deputy prime ministers are female.

In December, the Spanish government also passed a pioneering law covering sexual and reproductive health, by offering state-funded paid leave for women who suffer from painful periods.

In Spain, gender equality is commonly seen in the main corporate boardrooms. The local securities regulator has a non-binding recommendation for publicly-listed firms to have at least 40% women on their boards.

Several firms on the Ibex-35 benchmark also meet this 40% quota rule, and some are closer to achieving it. The shortfall in gender parity on boards is more acute in smaller firms outside the benchmark.

Sanchezs decision to pass a law making board parity mandatory is aligned with a European Union directive issued last year, which demands that such laws be passed in the region by 2026. That directive doesnt require parity in top management or political positions.
In the first press conference of China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, took a bellicose approach warning the United States of a bigger conflict and defended China's move on strengthening ties with Russia, amid the ongoing war between Moscow and Kyiv.

In his fiery press conference the China's Foreign Minister also asked US to respect and recognise China's claims over Taiwan.

China -Russia relation

In his first press conference, which was held on the sidelines of the two sessions" political gathering, Qin Gang presented China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict, as reported by Guardian.

He said the ties between Beijing and Moscow set an example for global foreign relations".

With China and Russia working together, the world will have a driving force," he said. The more unstable the world becomes the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations." as quoted by Guardian.

US is epitome of suppression

Qin Gang during the press conference said the US side claimed that it wanted to outcompete China but didnt seek conflict but in reality, the US sides so-called competition is all-out containment and suppression, a zero-sum game where you die and I live.

If the US does not hit the brakes but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrail can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation."

Qins comments were in tandem with what Chinas President, Xi Jinping, had said to political delegates on Monday, decrying what he called US-led suppression" of China.

Stance on Taiwan

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province which will one day unite with it. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to reunify the self-ruled island with the mainland.

The Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations," Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said while addressing his first annual press conference on the sidelines of the Parliament session.

The US speaks of the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, why not honour China's sovereignty, he said asserting that Taiwan is an integral part of China.

Questioning Washingtons repeated calls to Beijing not to supply weapons to Russia, Qin said "why does the US talk at length about respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine while disrespecting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question?"

Flaunting the Chinese Constitution, claiming that the self-governing island Taiwan is part of it, Qin asked why does the US ask China not to provide weapons for Russia while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan? Why does the US keep on professing the maintenance of regional peace and stability while covertly formulating a plan for the 'destruction of Taiwan'?" Qin said.

China-US relations

China-US relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years, and efforts to mend it were derailed earlier this year when the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon, found flying in US airspace.

China claims that it was an accident caused by force majeure" and that the US overreacted.

Qin blamed the US for the worsening relations, specifically citing the balloon incident, as well as tensions over Taiwan and the Ukraine war. He said the conflict in Ukraine seems to have been driven by an invisible hand  using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas", pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict.

Former US speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan also triggered another fissure in the frail relation betweent he two countries.
Just about three months into 2023 and we have already seen some of the most prominent female leaders globally take a step down, from Marne Levine of Meta to Susan Wojcicki of Youtube to the inspiring New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Be it in the corporate, political or social spheres, the reasons women leaders are stepping away are telling. The 2022 Women in the Workplace report by Lean In and McKinsey shows that women leaders are leaving their high-power jobs in large numbers due to burnout. The report indicates that 43% of women leaders experienced burnout in 2021, compared to 31% of men. It suggests that women have to overcome more obstacles than men to achieve the same level of success. This trend is referred to as the Great Breakup." As per another McKinsey report, over two million women are contemplating leaving the workforce as they step over invisible threads of societal roles, expectations, stereotypes and belittling microaggressions to constantly prove themselves.

The case for a more diverse and empathetic culture of work has never been stronger, and yet, it often gets slotted in the good to have folder of company cultures rather than front and centre.

It is important to acknowledge that diversitys true essence lies in embracing different perspectives and ways of thinking in order to nurture a culture of inclusion and respect. But, for diversity to make its way to the top of the corporate agenda and for it to be an intrinsic part of organizations requires creating a bias-free environment since inception and not as an afterthought.

And this is a change that women leaders and entrepreneurs must lead from the front.

As women, its time we played our part in fixing the broken rung. One of the key ways to do that is through the power of role models. Seeing a woman in a place of accomplishment plays one of the most critical roles in inspiring young girls to pursue higher goals. My mother was a producer at Doordarshan and the best part of my day as a child would be to hear her talk about all the interesting things she did at work. Im proud to have carried that torch of inclusivity forward at Byjus, where we have 33% woman representation on the board, 50% representation in the top management, and 40% representation of women overall, across levels.

The effect of being the only woman in the room can be exhausting. Yet, solutions for diversity today often focus on training women to behave and act more like men. This cannot and should not be the answer. Women need organizations that not only recognize their skills as different, but celebrate them, for it is this different approach to leadership that gives diversity its power.

For diversity to be an integral part of the work ethos, here are some of the measures that leaders could take:

Promote action over culture: Diversity is about action and less about abstract terms of culture. As women leaders and entrepreneurs committed to empowering the women who are behind us, we must evaluate cultural aspects of work, but also ensure that the march towards equality is data-driven and procedural. No amount of cultural work or ideas will compensate for an organization that doesnt actually have equality in place.

Ensure equitable flexibility: All employees require flexibility in role adaptation and work patterns throughout their careers. Considerations such as parental and childcare leave should be accommodated for all, but there is no escaping the fact that women often do the majority of this kind of work. Women are not looking to work less or commit less, but managing work and life challenges is a two-way street, and organizations can play a significant role in creating a supportive culture to enable this balance by providing flexibility to their employees.

Weed out unconscious biases: While organizations are steadily adopting bias-free recruitment procedures, retaining their skilled women employees requires continuous efforts to ensure that the various skills and behaviours that women bring to the table are appropriately credited. Unconscious biases remain a significant barrier for women, who feel their voices are not being heard and who are denied opportunities for advancement within organizational structures.

Gender bias is a significant waste of human potential. Our capacity to utilize all available talent to foster game-changing concepts, technologies and solutions that could revolutionize the world will determine our ability to build a sustainable and innovative future. By denying women equal rights, we deny half the world a chance to live life at its fullest, and that is unacceptable.

A World Economic Forum report suggests that gender parity may not be achieved for another 132 years. We cannot and will not wait that long!

Its a bumpy ride, but with a strong support system of both men and women, and the will to invest in ourselves and the women around us, we can blaze a trail and tip the scales. Theres nothing quite like the impact of women supporting women. When we lift each other up, we create a powerful and enduring force for change. Lets celebrate and honour strong women everywhere. May we recognize them, nurture them and become them ourselves.

Divya Gokulnath is co-founder, Byjus
It has been reported that electronics contract manufacturing major Foxconn (formally, Hon Hai Precision Industries, with unaudited 2022 revenues of $213.84 billion) is interested in setting up, even without any government incentives, a semiconductor plant in India, in addition to the one it already is setting up in collaboration with Vedanta in Gujarat. The story is attributed to an unnamed government official, and should be taken along with more than a smidgeon of salt. (The company has not responded to the report so far.) However, there is no denying the robust interest the company is showing in setting up new lines of production in multiple locations across India.

There are two reasons why Foxconn is unlikely to forego official incentives for setting up a new chip-making facility. One is the abundance of incentives on offer for chip manufacture around the world, including in India. The Biden administration has offered $52 billion in subsidies for setting up chip fabrication plants  or fabs  in the US under the Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act. It has formed a Chip 4 Alliance with Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to try and deny Chinas access to high-end chips that would give it the dominance it seeks in critical dual-use technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the European Union all offer major incentives ranging from tax credits to upfront subsidies for the manufacture of chips. China sees developing its own semiconductor industry as a strategic imperative and cash is no constraint.

Chip manufacture is highly automated, unlike chip design, and requires few workers. Chips are light and can be moved around quickly and cheaply. When liberal incentives are on offer in a certain place, it makes little sense to set up a plant elsewhere. Chips can be produced where it is the cheapest to do so, after factoring in government support, and shipped to where they are in demand.

The other reason for scepticism is the competitive disadvantage a company will inevitably face if it foregoes government incentives while others happily feed from the trough.

Foxconn chairman Young Liu recently visited India and met the prime minister and various chief ministers. He showed interest in setting up plants in Karnataka and Telangana. The companys existing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, where it makes iPhones, could be expanded. Foxconn recently invested in expanding its plant in Vietnam, too.

All this must be seen as part of the ongoing partial diversification of supply chains away from China. The shutdown of Wuhan at the onset of the pandemic and subsequent production and shipment disruptions across China showed the dangers of concentrating production in a single country. China accounts for nearly one-third of all electronics manufacture  worth over $3.4 trillion  for three reasons: a vast, local ecosystem of components that allow for seamless input access, a huge supply of trained manpower, and a logistics network that can handle its gigantic export volumes.

It is not possible, even if people desired it, to transplant all these elsewhere in a short span of time. However, it is possible to take parts of these supply chains out of China. While Japan and South Korea have been shifting assorted lines of production out elsewhere for some time, Chinese companies have joined this trend to lower their costs.

Chinese wages have risen sharply. Citing Haver Analytics, The Economist says Chinese wages doubled between 2013 and 2021 to over $8 an hour, while it is still below $3 an hour in parts of the region The Economist dubs Altasia (alternative Asia). This ultra-low-wage area spans India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Local production calls for local supply of components, apart from skilled, inexpensive labour, reliable power supply, industry-friendly administration, and functional logistics. India has the most abundant supply of skilled and skill-upgradable workers outside China. While Chinas supply of young workers is no longer increasing as in the past, India has no such problem.

It makes sense for a company like Foxconn to shop around for the best support on offer from different state governments, and itself build the missing bits of the supply chain that it needs for large manufacturing enterprises such as iPhone production.

This is what has been playing out in Foxconns expanding businesses in India. It is good for the company and the Indian economy, and makes for a less concentrated, less vulnerable global production structure.

While it is realistic to expect some supply chain diversification away from China, it is useful to factor in the giant market that China represents for any high-value product when reading reports laden with wild optimism about the scale of this diversification. It makes eminent economic and political sense to retain a fair proportion of production within China, even while shifting other bits to places in Altasia, including India.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in an interaction at the Chatham House in London said that China doesn't want us (India) to have a relationship with the US.

"I think this is what is happening on the borders of my country. China doesn't want us to have a relationship with the US. It is threatening us by saying if you continue to have a relationship then we'll take action. That is why they have got troops in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh," Rahul Gandhi added.

The Congress leader expressed his opinion on the presence of Chinese troops in Ladakh and noted that the basic idea behind the Chinese troops on the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh borders is similar to what is happening in Ukraine.

While making a comparison of Indian borders with that of Ukraine, Gandhi said, "The basic principle that has been applied in Ukraine is that Russia has told Ukraine that we do not accept your relationship with Europe and America and if you do not change this relationship, we will challenge your territorial integrity."

Congress leader further slammed Pakistan for promoting terrorism.

When asked about the difference in Congress' stance compared to BJP's stance on Pakistan, Gandhi responded, "It is important to have good relations with everybody around but that also depends on the actions of Pakistan. Pakistan promoting terrorism in India that becomes very difficult to do and that does happen."

The Congress leader also addressed the threats faced by various institutions in the country and drew attention to the plight of Dalits and minorities in India.

During his speech at the Chatham House, Rahul Gandhi criticised the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a "fascist and fundamentalist organisation" that has captured India's institutions and altered the democratic landscape of the country.

During a lecture at Cambridge University, Rahul Gandhi criticised the Indian government, accusing them of attacking the basic tenets of Indian democracy. He also claimed that his phone had been under surveillance using the Pegasus spyware, which is allegedly developed and sold by an Israeli company.
BERLINThe German government has launched a review of the countrys 5G high-speed mobile telecommunications networks as part of a broader revamp of its relationship with China, suggesting Berlin is moving closer to banning Chinese suppliers from German networks.
Assistance is available for existing SNAP recipients who lost food because of a power outage lasting 12 hours or longer, or due to a household misfortune.
Like all social media apps, TikTok clearly collects and shares a lot of your information when you download the app.
Hamilton County School Board member, Ben Connor, serves as the school board's representative to Tennessee legislature. Connor invited people to ask questions about the education bills in the Tennessee General Assembly.
If you do not have a current print subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, but want to view unlimited articles for the month, please choose this option.
The ACT Gateway Youth Project run by the Youth Work Unit of Longford and Westmeath ETB won the ETB Excellence in Youth Services Award at the inaugural ETB Excellence Awards on Thursday, March 2.

The awards were run by Education and Training Boards Ireland as it celebrated 10 years of Education and Training Boards (ETBs) in Ireland.

The ACT Gateway Youth Project works with young people aged 10 to 24 in the Athlone area, with particular emphasis on young people living in Direct Provision and young people not in education, training or employment. Recently, Gaisce Bronze medals were awarded to five young people who live in Direct Provision in Athlone. They engaged with 128 young people in 2022 and support approximately 40 individual young people every month.

Mullingar Community College won the Excellence in Education Award for their Boston Professional Learning Tour. This involved a visit to Harvard University to research different approaches to tackling educational disadvantage.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony in Croke Park which also marked ETB Day. Hosted by RTE newsreader and former ETB student, Ray Kennedy, the event was attended by representatives from all 16 ETBs across the country.

Some of the awards presented at the ceremony included the ETB Excellence in Education Award, the ETB Excellence Award for Equality, the ETB Excellence in Further Education and Training Award, and the ETB Excellence in Youth Services Award, amongst others.

CAPTION: Pictured at the inaugural ETB Excellence awards ceremony were Ray Kennedy, RTE News Anchor and former ETB learner, staff from the ACT Gateway Youth Project, and Des Murphy, Change Programme and Youth Work Manager at ETBI

Congratulating the awardees, Paddy Lavelle, Chief Executive of ETBI said: It gives me great pride to congratulate all the winners, and indeed runners-up on their success in the inaugural ETB Excellence Awards. We received over 500 entries from ETBs across the country to the Awards detailing the great people and initiatives that are ongoing in all corners of Ireland.

The standard across all categories was extremely competitive, meaning we had a very difficult job in narrowing the entries down and selecting our winners. The work of all ETBs  not those just officially recognised at the awards  deserves to be commended. Their commitment and passion for education, for learning and for their communities play a vital role in ensuring that there are broad and varied options for people to engage with education and training across the country, no matter what stage of their learning journey they are at.

This year is a milestone year for ETBs as we celebrate 10 years since their formation in Ireland. Over the past decade, ETBs have delivered learning and education opportunities for everyone  including primary and post primary schools, further education and training and youth services. ETBs have revolutionised Irelands education system, and I hope that we can continue to deliver innovative, diverse and flexible learning pathways over the next ten years, and beyond.

ETB Hero Video

The official ETB Heroes video was also premiered at the awards ceremony, which features five ETB heroes  including famous faces and former ETB students Ray Kennedy, Tolu Makay and Maire Treasa Ni Dhubhghaill  matched with five current ETB learners, exploring what their ETB means to them and the impact it has on their life.

The video can be viewed here.
Longford Public Participation Network (PPN) has issued an invitation to community and voluntary groups in Longford to join their local PPN and help build a better future for the county.

The call-out comes as a new national brand identity and awareness campaign for Public Participation Networks was launched by Minister for Community Development and Charities, Joe OBrien.



Each county and city in Ireland has its own PPN. Longford PPN is one of 31 PPNs that have been established in all local authority areas in the State. Nationally, more than 18,000 community and voluntary groups are currently members of a PPN.



Public Participation Networks allow local authorities to connect with community groups around their county.



PPNs give people a greater say in local government decisions that affect their communities.

Speaking at the launch of the PPNs new national brand identity and awareness campaign, Minister OBrien encouraged volunteer-led group around the country, and particularly young people, to join their local PPN.



Minister OBrien said: Public Participation Networks give communities across Ireland a voice in local decision-making and bring valuable on-the-ground, experience and expertise into local and national policy development.



The strength and impact of PPNs can be seen in how they represented volunteers and community groups within the responses to Covid-19, working with local authorities and state agencies.

Through local action, PPNs also contribute to policymaking at national level, such as the development of the Climate Action Plan 2021, when PPNs hosted and facilitated important local community conversations around the country.



John Mulholland, CEO of Laois County Council and Chair of the County and City Management Association Rural Development, Community, Culture and Heritage Committee said:

The PPN structures offer Local Authorities a way to collaborate directly with volunteer community groups, who do so much for their localities.



PPNs play an important role in developing our key policies and strategies, and each Local Authority provides considerable support to their local PPNs in recognition of this.

This campaign will boost the profiles of PPNs, which is well-deserved in light of their work.

About PPNs

Established under the Local Government Reform Act 2014, Public Participation Networks allow local authorities to connect with volunteer-run groups around the country. They provide a mechanism by which citizens can have a greater say in local government decisions that affect their own communities.

A PPN is a network for Community and Voluntary, Social Inclusion and Environmental groups in each local authority area. PPNs allow local authorities to connect with volunteer-run groups around the country. As a result, PPNs provide a mechanism by which citizens can have a greater say in local government decisions that affect their own communities.



PPNs work to enable the community to be represented in decision-making processes that impact citizens through representation on council committees, consultation processes, policy submissions and more.
Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has pledged to move heaven and earth to achieve a united Ireland in tribute to the memory of veteran republican Rita OHare.

Mrs McDonald described the Belfast-born activist as an unstoppable force for Irish freedom as she delivered the main address at her funeral at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin on Tuesday.

Ms OHare died on Friday at the age of 80.

Involved in the early civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, she became one of the most high-profile on-the-run republicans during the Troubles.

Ms OHare fled the region in 1972 having been arrested and bailed in connection with the attempted murder of a soldier the previous year.

She was later jailed for three years in the Republic of Ireland for involvement in an IRA arms smuggling bid.

The former editor of republican newspaper An Phoblacht, Ms OHare held several senior roles with Sinn Fein, including general secretary and director of publicity.

She also spent two decades in the United States as Sinn Feins senior representative across the Atlantic.

In later years, she lived in Dublin.

Leading members of Sinn Fein joined members of Ms OHares family at Glasnevin on Tuesday afternoon for her funeral.

Former party president Gerry Adams delivered an oration, before the coffin draped in the Irish flag was carried to the crematorium.

During the funeral service inside, Mrs McDonald credited Ms OHare with a central role in building Sinn Fein as she described her as arguably the leading female republican of her generation.

You knew that your place was to never know your place, she said.

An inheritor of that great tradition of unmanageable revolutionaries, an exemplar of that stubborn, relentless courage, who would in turn pass the torch to the next generation.

The Sinn Fein leader added: Rita OHare and her generation have made it possible for us to achieve the Republic in our time. That is her gift. Their gift to us.

And she would give anything to be here on the day that we get our referendum on Irish unity, she would give anything to see the day that we end partition and now she relies on us to carry on, to grasp the moment, to seize the purpose of our generation and to make it happen.

Well, we will move heaven, we will move earth to finish that noble journey.

So, I want you to know that weve got this Rita, we will not let you down and, until we meet again, sleep well our leader, our comrade, our dearest, dearest friend.
Governor Kathy Hochul has directed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to modify train service, taking effect tomorrow, Monday, March 6, to improve Long Island Rail Road customers' commutes. At the Governor's direction, the LIRR will increase rush hour service to Brooklyn, lengthen trains serving Penn Station, add cars to all trains that exceeded capacity last week, and ramping up customer service presence at Jamaica to improve commuter communication and prevent rushed transfers.

"The historic opening of Grand Central Madison marked the first expansion of LIRR service in 100 years, and to ensure the new terminal's success, we must be responsive to the needs of our commuters," Governor Hochul said. "Customers deserve a world-class commuting experience, and that's what we are working hard to accomplish with these changes. We are committed to continuing to listen, monitor, and make changes to deliver high-quality service, communication, and consistency to New Yorkers."

The LIRR is increasing rush hour service to Brooklyn by adding an additional trainset on Monday and a second additional trainset on Tuesday, reducing time between trains on the Jamaica-Brooklyn shuttle Monday to an average of 8-9 minutes in peak hours, with even more frequent service starting Tuesday.

In addition, the LIRR is lengthening 17 trains serving Penn Station, adding cars to every train that exceeded capacity. Including four trains that were already lengthened last week, and an additional 11 peak trains that result from the targeted increases, a total of 32 trains listed below will have added cars starting Monday, March 6. This includes trains that were nearing capacity as those that exceeded it. Brooklyn customers are advised to check the TrainTime app to view new Jamaica - Atlantic Terminal options.

The Governor also directed an expanded customer service presence, focused at Jamaica, to assist commuters with real-time communication about transfers, including the establishment of a platform controller who will direct when Atlantic Terminal-bound trains depart to reduce the chance that customers would miss the next departing train. In addition to existing LIRR customer service support, 30 additional employees have been deployed to Jamaica and 10 to Grand Central Madison to assist customers through the transition. The MTA will also continue to inform LIRR customers about changes to the schedule across platforms, through the TrainTime app, social media, the MTA website, its digital screen network, announcements and customer alerts sent via email and text messages

These changes are intended to ensure that during rush hours, the platform at Jamaica serving Brooklyn trains will have a train waiting at the platform with doors open and will not depart until a second train has arrived on the opposite track. During the afternoon/evening rush, a similar system will be in place at Atlantic Terminal.

The LIRR operates a Jamaica Central Control Center (JCC) to closely monitor ridership conditions and operations. This enables real time observations of passenger loading to evaluate and assess what future improvements might be useful. At the Governor's direction, the MTA will continue to monitor overall commuter patterns and make corresponding schedule adjustments to ensure capacity for commuter needs.

"Changes made starting late last week and those scheduled to take effect Monday are data-driven adjustments to reduce wait times and lessen crowding where it occurs," said Catherine Rinaldi, Interim Long Island Rail Road President and President of Metro-North. "We had said we were looking at every train and every line to assess where customers were not getting the level of service they and we expect. These changes are steps toward ensuring a better experience going forward, while continuing to run more overall service to more NYC terminals than the LIRR ever has before. We will continue to monitor ridership trends and loading conditions and make adjustments as necessary."

"We're glad the LIRR is taking commuter complaints to heart and starting to make changes to ease the growing pains of the new service plan," said Chair of LIRR Commuter Council Gerard Bringmann. "Longer trains will begin to help reduce overcrowding in the worst cases, and cutting time between Brooklyn trains should help get riders where they need to go with shorter waits, and without the mass dash we've been seeing. We look forward to working with the LIRR to make additional changes and improvements to address concerns riders have raised."

LIRR to Lengthen Trains

Last week, the LIRR lengthened four trains to address crowded conditions. Beginning Monday, the LIRR will lengthen seven trains to Penn Station for the morning rush hour and nine trains for the afternoon rush hour. This change addresses any train that reached or exceeded capacity based on data collected last week. For the list of trains with added cars, see below.

Subsequently, when these trains turn from either their Long Island destination or Penn Station to operate in the opposite direction, an additional eleven trains will have added cars, benefitting customers as well as a result of the previously described targeted increases.

The railroad has been adapting to address concerns from the public as quickly as possible, which included lengthening of trains. As such, the LIRR went from 16 trains that reached capacity in one day during peak periods to one train exceeding capacity by the end of the week on Friday, March 3, out of a total of 289 peak trains.

Brooklyn Service

Brooklyn service will be increased beginning Monday, with one additional trainset to operate between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal and a second trainset to be placed into service on Tuesday.

The addition of trains will effectively reduce wait times to an average of 8-9 minutes Monday, and even less Tuesday, for Brooklyn customers during both peak periods and means it will be likely whenever customers arrive at the platform at Jamaica, there will be a train ready to board.

Additionally, to streamline transfers to Brooklyn, the LIRR will have platform controllers to assist customers on the platform serving Tracks 11 and 12, where Brooklyn trains depart. The platform controllers determine the timing of trains departures. When conditions allow, a Brooklyn train will not depart the platform without the arrival of a second train on the opposite track for the morning rush hour and trains are expected to hold up to two minutes for connecting customers transferring from other platforms.

Weekend Service

On Saturday, March 3, the first weekend day of service under the new schedules, the systemwide on-time performance for the LIRR was a consistent 97.85%, while operating 697 trains, 28% more than under previous timetables. On Saturday, February 25, the last Saturday under previous schedules, on-time performance was 97.98% with 544 trains operating.

Grand Central Madison Service

During peak periods, 114,153 riders commuted last week to and from Grand Central Madison, saving a combined total of up to 38,051 hours of commuting time to destinations on the East Side compared with travel time using Penn Station.

Morning Peak Trains That Were Lengthened Last Week
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: March 07 2023

Top Frauds Included Retail and Internet Sales, Landlord/Tenant, and Credit, Banking & Mortgages.

New York Attorney General Letitia James kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by releasing a list of the top 10 consumer complaints received by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in 2022. The top complaints range from price gouging of infant formula and childrens medication, flight cancellations, and the dramatic increase in gasoline prices. Attorney General James also offers tips on how consumers can avoid common scams.

My office receives thousands of consumer complaints every year, and we take each one seriously to stop fraudsters from hurting New Yorkers, said Attorney General James. From predatory debt collection to price gouging, scammers tried to take advantage of consumers for personal gain, and we took appropriate action to stop it. As always, I urge New Yorkers to stay vigilant and to keep my office informed about potential scams, price gouging, or violations of consumer protection laws.

The following are the top 10 consumer complaints received by OAG in 2022 by category:

Category Description # of Complaints 1. Retail Sales

Price gouging, retail sales, online purchases, defective merchandise, poor customer service, pet stores, and animal breeders 5,240 2. Landlord/Tenant

Security deposit releases, evictions, tenant harassment 3,014 3. Credit, Banking & Mortgages

Debt collection, credit card billing, debt settlement, payday loans, credit repair, credit reporting agencies, identity theft, banking, loan modification scams, mortgage lending and servicing 2,834 4. Consumer Services

COVID-19 testing facilities, alarm companies, dry cleaners, restaurants, movers, storage facilities, services for personal household use 2,730 5. Automobile

Sales, service, financing, repairs 2,590 6. Internet

Internet services and service providers, data privacy and security, digital media, frauds through internet manipulation 2,355 7. Utilities

Wireless and residential phones, energy servicers and suppliers, cable, and satellite 1,896 8. Home Repair/Improvement

Repair issues, deceitful contractors, solar panel installations 1,264 9. Travel

Airline customer service, flight cancellations, and refunds 787 10. Gasoline Prices

Price gouging, excessive pricing, credit card surcharges 661

Attorney General James offers various tips to protect New Yorkers from future scams:

Retail Sales :

Be aware of scammers that set up fake websites with product images of well-known brands or hard-to-get products. Before you order from an unfamiliar website, research the company and any online reviews; check for spelling errors on the website or anything that might seem off. If you dont do a lot of online shopping, ask a friend or relative who does whether the site looks legitimate. Pay only by credit card and not Venmo, Zelle, or money transfer. And if a deal is too good to be true it probably is.

If you see excessively high prices for infant formula, childrens medication, or other goods vital and necessary for health, safety, and welfare during an abnormal market disruption, you are encouraged to report it immediately to OAG

Landlord/Tenant :

Credit, Banking & Mortgages :

We have seen an increase in foreclosure lawsuits being filed on zombie second mortgages, mortgages where the homeowner has not made a payment or heard anything about the mortgage for years. Under New York law, mortgage companies generally can only collect on the last six years of missed mortgage payments; seeking to collect beyond that may be illegal. Please contact the New York State Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), which includes free legal services attorneys, by visiting their website or calling (855) HOME-456.

Homeowners are being approached by companies offering free cash for a share of equity in their home or to be your realtor at a later date. Be careful of these offers as often there are strings attached that could result in the loss of your home or your inability to sell your home on the open market. If youre unsure whether an offer like this is too good to be true, seek legal advice or counseling through visiting HOPP's website or calling (855) HOME-456. Even if the company tells you they can connect you to a lawyer, you should find your own lawyer or counselor.

Fight Junk Fees! Junk fees are unnecessary, unavoidable, or surprise charges that increases the cost of a good or service while adding little to no value for that good or service. These fees may include overdraft fees (fees charged for overdrawing on an account), bounced check fees and fees charged to make a mortgage payment online or through the phone (also known as pay-to-pay fees). If you believe these fees have been wrongly imposed, you should call the company and dispute them. You should also file an online complaint with OAG's Consumer Frauds Bureau and an online complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Health Care Costs

If you were promised a rapid COVID-19 test but received your results later than promised, file an online complaint with OAGs Consumer Frauds Bureau

Under both the No Surprises Act and New York law, hospitals and health care providers are prohibited from billing a patient for more than the in-network co-payment, co-insurance, or deductible costs for certain surprise out-of-network bills. These surprise bills include bills for emergency services, non-emergency services, and air ambulance services. If you received a surprise medical bill, you can contact OAGs Health Care Helpline at 1-800-428-9071, or visit the online portal if you believe that you have been improperly charged for a surprise bill by a health care provider, or that a health plan has improperly assessed cost-sharing for a surprise bill.

Consumer related services (Storage Companies):

When selecting a storage company for your personal belongings, read the contract fine print for any hidden or additional charges. Also read the fine print for when notice is required to be given for raising rent and terms under which you are deemed to have defaulted.

Check out online reviews and, in New York City, check to see if the storage company is licensed and bonded.

If a storage company loses or damages your personal belongings or fails to deliver your personal belongings as promised, you are encouraged to report it to OAG

Automobile :

Make sure that what you are signing is what the salesperson told you and that you are not being charged for any extra accessories or products. Never sign documents or leave the dealership with a car until you have read all of your paperwork carefully. Ask for an exact copy of every document you sign to take with you.

If you electronically sign your contracts for the purchase or lease of a vehicle, you have the right to request a printed copy of your sale or lease contract. Do not leave the dealership before you have obtained a printed copy and reviewed the contract to ensure that the terms of your sale or lease are the same as what was discussed with the salesperson.

Beware of misleading or tricky sales tactics when purchasing or leasing a car. Do not sign a blank document that does not have numbers or terms filled in. Ask the salesperson or finance manager about any financing, fees or charges you do not understand and whether they are required by law.

Add-on products, such as insurance or service contracts, are never required to purchase a vehicle or obtain financing for the purchase of a vehicle. You have the right to demand a price or financing terms for a vehicle without any add on products.

Investment Opportunities :

Be careful of requests to invest money that come through social media, email, text messages, and other online methods. Sometimes these people are not who they say they are, live outside the United States, and may take your money without any way for you to get it back.

Also be careful of investment opportunities that come through friends, family, and trusted community members. Always do research before handing over your money to see if the people behind the investment opportunity are who they say they are, and if the investment makes sense.

An investment that sounds too good to be true or that promises guaranteed returns or high profits with little risk is probably a scam.

Avoid limited time only investment opportunities and other high-pressure sales tactics  pressure to make a quick decision is a classic warning sign of fraud.

Investment contracts should always be in writing. You may want to talk to a lawyer about the contract and talk to an accountant about potential tax liabilities before you hand over your money.

Dont invest if you dont understand. Con artists often claim to use complicated, technical or confidential investment strategies, but may simply take your money and run.

Internet:

Attackers are increasingly targeting personal and financial information obtained through online transactions, particularly where customers and vendors do not take proper precautions. Please consider the following when shopping online. Shop Smart. Reputable vendors will often have strong transaction security and encryption, likely decreasing the chances of phishing attacks. You can also check the sites certificate information or confirm the vendors phone number or physical address if you suspect that a website is fraudulent. Use a credit card. Credit cards limit customer liability and provide more protection than debit cards linked directly to your bank accounts. Using one credit card allows for easier review of purchases and the ability to freeze disputed transactions. Check bank statements . Be vigilant with purchase orders and compare these with your bank statements to find any discrepancies. Beware of emails requesting purchase or account information. Reputable vendors will not ask for this type of information via email. If you do receive an unsolicited email, do not open any links and instead visit the actual website by typing in the web address. Use secure websites. Legitimate vendors will use secure sockets to encrypt your information. Make sure website URLs begin with https: and not http: and check for a closed padlock icon in the appropriate place on your browser. This indicates that information on the site is encrypted. Check shopping apps. Be careful when shopping through apps. Unlike credit cards, you are liable for all charges made through a shopping app, unless otherwise stated under a vendors terms of service.



Utilities :

If you are thinking of purchasing your energy directly from an energy service company (ESCO), beware of deceptive tactics. Some ESCOs induce consumers to switch to their services, such as promising savings or 100 percent green energy, or switching consumers without their consent.

Before accepting ESCO service, consumers should ask how their rates compare to the rates provided directly from utility companies, and whether their purchase of an ESCOs green product will actually support the environment.

All consumers should remember that if they sign up with any ESCO, they have three days to change their minds without incurring any obligations.

Home Repair/Improvement :

Many consumers are turning to solar energy for their homes. However, it is important that homeowners thoroughly research the companies and the different products available before making a decision.

Some companies offer Power Purchase Agreements or PPAs, where the company owns the panels and you pay for the power produced by the panels, while others allow you to pay for the panels themselves and own the solar energy produced.

You will still pay your energy company certain set fees, as well as pay for any additional energy you need beyond what the panels produce. Be mindful that PPAs are long-term contracts, generally for 20 years, and cannot be cancelled without severe penalties. Please visit OAGs consumer guide regarding solar panels

Travel :

Over the past year, airlines have been advertising and booking flights they do not have the personnel to operate, which has caused cancellations, delays and forced consumers to incur additional travel costs.

If your flight gets cancelled or delayed, federal law entitles you to a full cash refund, regardless of the reason. You are also entitled to a refund if an airline makes a significant schedule change and/or significantly delays a flight and you choose not to travel.

Attorney General James has urged the U.S Department of Transportation to take action to address cancellations and delays, including preventing airlines from selling tickets for flights they cannot provide.

Gasoline Prices :

You should not be surprised by a credit card surcharge when paying for gas at the pump with a credit card. Merchants are not allowed to advertise a price and add a surcharge at the point of sale when paying for goods or services with a credit card. Instead, merchants are required to inform consumers of the higher credit card price for a product or service by posting the higher price. Merchants can also offer discounts to consumers who pay with cash.

Consumers are encouraged to file complaints by completing and submitting a Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau online complaint form or by calling (800) 771-7755 if they are unable to submit a form online.
Man Arrested for Robbing Bay Shore Bank After Claiming He had Bomb, Cops Say

Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: March 07 2023

Donald Klapak, 58, handed a Chase Bank teller a note demanding cash and told the teller he had a bomb.

Suffolk County Police on Monday, March 6 arrested a man on for robbing a Bay Shore bank.

Donald Klapak entered Chase Bank, located at 537 East Main St., at approximately 10:40 a.m., handed a teller a note demanding cash and told the teller he had a bomb.

The teller did not comply with his demands and Klapak exited the bank.

Klapak was located a short distance away by responding officers.
Renewed partnership between ESA of Togo and EPAC-UAC of Benin, for five (5) new years !

To offer quality and innovative university education in the tertiary and technological fields, meeting the needs of the socio-economic sector, such has always been the main objective of the ESA (Ecole Superieure des Affaires), which does not skimp on the means to cooperate with major universities on the continent and outside.

Already in partnership with the EPAC-UAC (Ecole Polytechnique dAbomey Calavi-Universite dAbomey Calavi) of the Republic of Benin since 2017, ESA has seen the partnership framework relating to educational and cultural activities be renewed this Friday March 3, 2023, for five new years. It was during a ceremony which brought together the officials of the different parties at the Amphitheater of ESA Agoe Minamadou, in the northern suburbs of Lome.

Explanations from the various speakers, including the Founder and Director General of ESA, Dr Charles Birregah, and the Director of EPAC UAC, Professor Guy Alain Alitonou, it will be a question of supporting ESAs training activities in the fields of Engineering Sciences / Civil Engineering, Engineering Sciences / Telecommunications Networks, Engineering Sciences / Management and Environmental Computing, while taking advantage of their convergence of interests.

In the same dynamic, ESA will offer its Beninese partner its assistance in all areas where it has developed proven expertise.

It should be noted, among other things, that the present public-private cooperation, which is being offered for five more years, should promote collaboration on "academic training in the Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate cycles", "professional training in the Bachelors cycles, masters and doctoral programs", "teacher exchanges and mobility", "student exchanges and mobility", "the development and implementation of research and development support projects", "the organization scientific events" and finally, "the search for funding".

The various parties have expressed the wish to see this framework renewed, "to strengthen the links between the public-private academic world and to create the conditions for a close, fruitful, lasting and good relationship between these two worlds", then, promote a win-win partnership that is both innovative, creator of synergies, wealth, jobs, sustainable development and accelerator of growth. .

For information, ESA students were among the eyewitnesses of this partnership signing ceremony in their university institution and EPAC.

T228
(Alliance News) - Britain's post-Brexit insurance sector reforms, aimed at freeing up capital and boosting economic growth, could also raise the risk of bankruptcies, a top Bank of England official cautioned Tuesday.

London plans to further relax capital requirements for insurance firms to replace Europe's Solvency II framework, hoping to release billions of pounds for so-called "green" investments and infrastructure.

"The government's very clear objective is to promote growth and investment," said Sam Woods, head of the BoE's Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversees commercial banks and insurers.

"I don't think it's surprising to the government that it comes with some increase in risks," Woods added before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.

Under the new rules, the annual probability of a UK insurer bankruptcy will rise from 0.5% to 0.6%, according to Woods, who conceded that this still was a "relatively small number".

The government of Conservative Prime Minister and vocal Brexit backer Rishi Sunak wants to relax rules that currently prevent insurers from investing in riskier assets.

UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt has forecast the reforms could help unlock an extra GBP100 billion of investment, describing it as a "big bang" for the financial sector that will slash red tape and "turbocharge" the economy.

Hunt is due to deliver his annual budget statement on March 15.

source: AFP

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Tuesday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

----------

Corcel PLC - London-based mining and mineral resource development company with interests in flexible energy storage and production - Receives formal renewal of exploration license 1165, now valid through February 2024. Retains 100% interest in the project and is currently in the process of restructuring this interest into an Asian-based joint venture. The project is located 20 kilometres from the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby. "After several years of COVID-related delays, this renewal now brings permitting fully up to date at Wowo Gap and enables the project to move forward accordingly and ultimately together with our new partners under the Integrated Battery Metals structure in Asia," says Chief Executive Officer Scott Kaintz

----------

Amte Power PLC - London-based developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets - Amends terms of its facility with Arena Investors LP. Says it has agreed to reduce the minimum conversion by Arena to GBP25,000 from GBP150,000 and to reduce the minimum drawdown by the company after the second tranche to GBP250,000 from GBP1.0 million. Says the amendment has been made to "enhance the flexibility associated with the facility".

----------

Nippon Active Value Fund PLC - Japanese small-cap-focused investment trust - In conjunction with Michael 1925 LLC, it is supporting the management buyout launched by Tokuo Nakano, the chair of Ihara Science Corp. Together, Nippon & Michael 1925, own 1.4 million shares in Ihara Science, of which 1.0 million owned by Nippon Active Fund. They intend to tender all the shares under their joint joint control at the offer price of JPY2,980.

----------

Hercules Site Services PLC - Cirencester, England-based labour supply company for the infrastructure sector - Enters agreement with Amey Highways Ltd to be Amey's sole supplier of suction excavator services to the National Highways Area 7, East Midlands contract. Under the agreement, Hercules will supply suction excavators and associated skilled operators to Amey for a period of three years. The initial order is for up to GBP2.0 million, and will be reviewed every three years, or earlier if required.

----------

GreenX Metals Ltd - developing Arctic Rift copper project in Greenland - Completes GBP3.9 million placing of 12.4 million new shares priced at 31 pence each. Says the placing was carried out with new and existing UK and European investors and some Australian investors. Says the proceeds will be used for exploration activities in Greenland, business development through identifying other suitable business opportunities in the resources sector, and administration expenses.

----------

By Sophie Rose, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us

We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
MBABANE - The Municipal Council of Mbabane (MCM) is keen on receiving proposals for the development of Portion 1191 of Farm 2, an area known as the Old Abattoir.

MCM said the objective of this development was to promote economic growth in Mbabane city through increased business activity and the creation of employment opportunities, among other things. A Request for Proposals (RFP) should be submitted before March 10, 2023. MCM Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gideon Mhlongo said they want to contribute towards creating a vibrant 24-hour city.

Development

He said the objective of this development was to promote sustainable use and development of environmentally sensitive areas to a point where they can be used to attract tourists as well as serve as educational sites for environmental issues. The Old Abattoir is a Brownfield site measuring about one hectare (10 000 square metres) and nestled between Mhlambanyatsi Road (MR 19) and the MR 3 Highway. Its position gives a panoramic view of the Mbabane Central Business District (CBD). It has an old structure that used to house an abattoir. Mhlongo said this RFP was for a public-private partnership (PPP) between the council and a qualifying developer. This partnership should ensure efficient urban planning and management. The development is proposed to take the form of a long-term lease and Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) on Portion 1191 of Farm 2, he added.

The CEO said in the DBFOM type of PPP, the private sector designs, builds, finances, operates and maintains a facility, and then sells the product or service to its users or beneficiaries. The council will grant a negotiable long-term lease. During the lease period, the developer will pay rent on the land based on market prices. At the end of the lease, the operations revert to the city council with all the improvements.

Ability

Mhlongo said the council intends to award the contract based on the proven ability of the tenderer to carry out the assignment, a clear understanding of the issues, relevant experience, a rigorous approach to managing the collation of the available data, and an ability to complete specific elements of the assignment on time. The council will notify the developer in writing as soon as practicable, about the outcome of the RFP evaluation process, including whether the developers RFP response has been accepted or rejected. The council is not obliged to provide any reasons for any such acceptance or rejection, he said. Meanwhile, for ease of doing business, Mbabane Major Dephney Mhlanga mentioned that they were closely monitoring and improving internal processes for all land development applications in the city. As part of this initiative, building permit applications are now processed within 25 days, down from the statutory six weeks. I encourage developers and anyone acquiring a plot in Mbabane for development to come talk to council staff before making firm commitments, she added.

Management

The mayor also mentioned that a total of 19 small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), which include informal vendors and Mbabane Out of School Youth (22), have been trained in basic business management. She said the programmes objective was to instill a culture of evidence-based entrepreneurship practices, good record keeping and writing winning financial proposals. Council convened a business forum for property developers and estate agents in the city to discuss available PPP opportunities in the city, she added. Mhlanga also mentioned that they were determined to address flash flooding, which had been a common feature during the rainy season in the past decade in the CBD and Sidwashini Industrial Site. She said part of the strategy has been to install larger culverts to increase water intake across all main drainage lines. The councils intervention has led to reduced incidences of flooding.
MBABANE  The University of Eswatini (UNESWA) radio station, known as UNESWA FM, has invited the public for auditions for a slot on the campus radio.

Its worth noting that before only Journalism students were the ones operating the radio station, but with time, the campus radio accommodated other students. Currently, the radio station is conducting auditions to give the local community a chance to get behind the microphone and discover their talent while also working hand in hand with the radio station.

Auditions

The auditions aim to find presenters, news readers as well as programme producers for the radio station. At the moment, the radio station boasts programmes such as Campus Speak, which addresses issues surrounding students while at the university. Tematekelo, is another programme that aims to educate while entertaining listeners about issues that surrounds the institution. They also have Youth Corner a programme that focuses on the youth in terms of how they can acquire and penetrate certain opportunities to better their lives. It was officially launched at the Kwaluseni Campus on March 31, 2021 as UNESWA Radio American voices project, and uses the frequency 88.2, hence it is known as UNESWA FM 88.2. The radio station broadcasts on weekends and during the week, listeners can get a repeat of the weekend programmes as well as good music.

Launch

The guest speaker during the launch was United States Ambassodor to the Kingdom of Eswatini Jeanne Maloney. The day began with a tour of the UNESWA radio station by the ambassador, Vice Chancellor, Professor Justice Thwala, Director of Media Development, Phesheya Dube, other dignitaries and UNESWA management. Thwala in his statement during the launch said: The expected outcome of the project was the strengthening of the programme production and critical thinking skills of students within the department of Journalism and Mass Communication. As an institution we owe our gratitude to the US Embassys Public Affairs Section, which has enabled us to be the beneficiaries of funding to implement the project. Most importantly, they have news bulleting which airs in the morning at 6am up to 10pm as well as in the evenings at 6pm up to 8pm. The current station supervisor Mndeni The Magician Mavuso says their will to develop the lives of others as a community radio station grows with them.

Station

We are a radio station that is regarded as new by some, but we have successfully established our footprint across Matsapha, Ludzeludze, Ngwane Park, Fairview, Ezulwini, Lobamba, Mankayane as well as Sigombeni. We are looking to further grow with emaSwati, hence we are willing to always work with them while doing our daily operations, Mavuso said. People should always tune in to the radio station at UNESWA FM 88.2, especially on weekends to get a feel of what we have to deliver. Those interested in helping us grow and spread our footprint should not be scared to come and approach us as well as work with us. We are stationed inside the University Kwaluseni Campus. We are available on social media, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok as well as Facebook as UNESWA FM, Mavuso shared.




Preserving int'l order key to China-Japan relationship for the new era: FM

Xinhua) 15:41, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stressed Tuesday the importance of preserving international order to foster the China-Japan relationship for the new era.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, Qin said the Chinese people will never accept any form of historical revisionism that challenges the post-war international order and international justice.

To foster a China-Japan relationship for the new era, it is important to honor commitments, learn lessons from history, and promote win-win cooperation, he said, adding that China always treats Japan with goodwill and hopes for friendship and good-neighborliness.

"Yet, should some people from the Japanese side choose a beggar-thy-neighbor approach rather than pursuing partnership, and even take part in a new Cold War to contain China, the bilateral relations would only suffer new wounds when the old ones are yet to be healed," Qin added.

He called on both countries to promote win-win cooperation and jointly ensure stable and smooth industrial and supply chains.

China urges Japan to properly handle the disposal of Fukushima nuclear wastewater in a responsible manner, Qin said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
MBABANE - Principal Secretaries (PSs) are working without job descriptions.

This was revealed during the launch of the Performance Management System (PMS) for all government ministries and departments held yesterday. The launch of the PMS was in conjunction with the Change Management training for heads of department and PSs. Speaking during the function, PS in the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Khangeziwe Mabuza, stated that the success of the PMS and Change Management relied on the PSs and heads of department within government. She noted that it was painful to know that the people who were entrusted with implementing or leading the spectacular concept which was crucial in service delivery were clueless.

Programmes

She stated that as things were, a number of programmes within government and the present human resource were not aligned. She said this year, a new government would be entering office, therefore, it was crucial that when it came on board, it found even the officers clued-up. The country will be having national elections this year, which will see the appointment of new Cabinet ministers and a prime minister. Mabuza said there was an assumption that the PSs knew the ins and outs of their ministries, which she said was misleading. PSs are promoted from nowhere and no one tells you what to do, what is wrong and what is right, you just find your feet in the office, she said.

Due to the abrupt promotions, Mabuza said the officers ended up adopting whatever culture they found in that ministry. She said there was a constant need for the change of management programmes within government. We should not lie to each other, we are far from being changed. There should be a creation of programmes that would capacitate leadership so that we can be able to pass knowledge to our officers, she said. In addition, Mabuza pleaded with the Ministry of Public Service, as it was about to implement the PMS across all governments ministries and departments, to ensure that there were clear job descriptions for all civil servants and their managers.

The PS said there were no clear job descriptions within government departments. She added that some employees skills did not match the jobs they were deployed in. She revealed that it was not a surprise to find an economist performing duties that should be performed by a lawyer and an engineer holding an administrative job. She said the mix-up of qualifications and jobs would negatively affect the PMS and was solely due to the absence of job descriptions within government. Mabuza said they solely relied on the any other duties in the employment contracts. Further, Mabuza said the absence of job descriptions was an issue even within the PSs.

Descriptions

If you would ask any of the PSs in this room about their job descriptions, they wont tell you, she said. The PS said the absence of job descriptions also contributed to the poor performance of government ministries. Mabuza noted that the skills mix-up and absence of job descriptions lead to poor performance. She highlighted that most of PSs headed ministries services that they were not specialists of which were rendered by that ministry. She said when they were deployed to these ministries that had a completely different portfolio than what they had, they first had to familiarise themselves with the ministry before starting the job; which she said was time consuming. Mabuza had been moved from the Deputy Prime Ministers (DPM) Office to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, then to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs in a space of four years.

She said it was crucial for PSs to be deployed to ministries they were professionals in. She made an example of the PS in the Ministry of Health, who is a medical doctor by profession.

Meanwhile, PS in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Lindiwe Mbingo, said the job descriptions should be tailored for their different portfolios and be standard where they had to perform similar duties. She also pleaded for a standard format for all government documents. She said that might save the PSs from the wrath of the auditor general.
MBABANE  A man in his early 40s was allegedly shot at point-blank range by soldiers on Friday last week.

The man, identified as Isaiah Amen Mavimbela, reportedly died later, while admitted to the Mankayane Government Hospital. Mavimbela of Mahlangatsha was allegedly shot by the members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) while at Mpuluzi. The deceased Mavimbela was with Kenneth Nkambule when the incident took place. Nkambule told this publication that the incident took place at around 8am. He said he had accompanied the deceased to cross over to South Africa where he was employed.

Employed

Nkambule said Mavimbela was employed at Middelburg, which is a large farming and industrial town in the South African province of Mpumalanga. Nkambule said he was asked by Mavimbela to accompany him using his (Nkambule) car, a Toyota Corolla Saloon sedan. He said they drove all the way from Mahlangatsha to Mpuluzi where there was an informal crossing point. This is where Mavimbela had intended to cross over into South Africa. Nkambule highlighted that the deceased had been using the informal crossing point for a very long time. He said when coming to Eswatini, the deceased would leave his car at the borderline and take it when returning to South Africa. Nkambule said while driving in a thicket towards the informal crossing point, they heard something strike the roof of the car.

He said he stopped the car to check what was happening. He explained that at first, they assumed it might have been an animal which fell from the trees. Nkambule stated that as they stopped, they heard a gunshot coming from behind the car. He said just at that moment, two soldiers emerged from the thicket and ordered them to get out of the car. Nkambule said just after the soldiers had emerged, he noticed that Mavimbela had been shot in the head. Nkambule said he then stepped out of the car and started questioning the soldiers why they were shooting at them. He said instead of responding, the soldiers opened the car and searched it. They only found Mavimbelas bags. Nkambule said he continued to exchange words with the soldiers as he was asking them why they were shooting at them and the soldiers allegedly hurled insults at him instead.

He further narrated that just at that moment, he heard one of the soldiers making a phone call to someone he believed to be their senior. He added that the soldier had put the phone on loud speaker. He added that the soldier was heard reporting to the other person on the other end of the call that a person had been shot. During the conversation, the soldier on the other side was informed that there were two people who were travelling in the car. Nkambule narrated that he allegedly heard the one responding ordering the soldiers to shoot him dead as well in order to conceal evidence. I became so terrified, he said. Nkambule said upon ending the call, the soldiers ordered him to sit a few metres away from the car and not face them. I said a short prayer because I thought they wanted to shoot me from behind in order to make it look like I was running away, said Nkambule.

He said he sat there for a few minutes while the soldiers were talking and Mavimbela was bleeding inside the car. He said at that moment, more soldiers arrived in an Isuzu bakkie. Nkambule alleged that the soldiers then ordered him to come back to them and they allegedly forced him to lie on the ground and assaulted him with sticks. He alleged that the soldiers forced him to lie on the ground with his head under the van. He stated that he was assaulted on his buttocks. Nkambule said they then ordered him to drive to their camp situated just nearby the scene. He added that while heading to the camp, the soldiers escorted him.

He said upon arrival at the camp, they found some police officers already there, who introduced themselves and told him that they were from Bhunya Police Station. Nkambule stated that the police then ordered him to drive Mavimbela to Mankayane Government Hospital. He said they escorted him to the hospital. Nkambule said doctors admitted Mavimbela while he (Nkambule) was treated and discharged for the assault wounds. He said on Sunday, they received a report that Mvimbela had passed on. The late Mavimbelas elder brother, Isaac, confirmed the news. He confirmed that Nkambule had narrated to them as a family about the circumstances that led to his brothers demise.

Hospital

Isaac said as of yesterday, they were still awaiting a call from the hospital informing them about the date when a post-mortem would be conducted in order to establish how his brother died. He told this publication that the post-mortem was actually supposed to be conducted yesterday, but they were informed that a pathologist was currently not available, hence they had to wait. He said the doctors who attended his brother upon arrival at the hospital on Friday had informed them that preliminary findings indicated that his brother succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head. Isaac said as a family, they were still devastated about what befell them, because they had not been told the reason why the soldiers had to shot the deceased. We still want answers as to why my brother had to die at the hands of the armed forces, he said. Isaac lamented on the continuing brutality by armed forces towards citizens.

Were investigating - REPS

MBABANE  The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) says the matter of a man who was shot at Mpuluzi on Friday last week is being investigated.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed knowledge of the matter and stated that it was being investigated by the police. Vilakatis comment was brought about by the fact that Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) Public Affairs Officer 2nd Lieutenant Tengetile Khumalo had referred this reporter to the police for a comment. Matters handed over to the relevant enforcement by the establishment are outside the ambit of the office of the public affairs. Kindly contact the pertinent law enforcement agency in this regard (REPS), said Khumalo.

Robberies

Meanwhile, it was reported in the media yesterday that on Sunday night, soldiers shot a man who was wanted by the police in connection with a string of robberies. It was reported that the man was shot while near Sandlane Border Post. On February 4, our sister publication, the Eswatini News, reported that near Matsamo Border Gate, on the South African (SA) side, earlier last month soldiers allegedly jumped the borderline into that country to carry out an operation against alleged robbers. It was alleged that the local soldiers jumped into the SA borderline through a fencing gap normally used by border jumpers at the informal crossing point. The place where the border jumpers cross is only a few metres from the official border gate at Matsamo.
Post your Comments

Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. The editorial team reserves the right to review and moderate the comments posted on the site.
Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the worlds largest premium aluminium producer and the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, today reported its strongest-ever financial results.

The company reported a record revenue of AED34.6 billion ($9.4 billion) for 2022, up 36 per cent from AED25.5 billion ($6.9 billion) in 2021 and a record net profit of AED7.4 billion ($2 billion), up 34 per cent AED5.5 billion ($1.5 billion) in 2021.

EGAs adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (adjusted EBITDA) for 2022 was up 37 per cent to a record AED12.4 billion ($3.4 billion), compared to AED9 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2021.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: At EGA, we delivered our best-ever results by focusing throughout the year on what we control  the safety of our people, operational excellence, our costs, and our commercial relationships with our long-term global customers. Our performance demonstrated our resilience and strength at every step of the value chain.

I am confident that EGA will deliver another competitive performance in 2023 compared to peers in the sector.

The immediate outlook for aluminium remains under some pressure due to its close correlation to the health of the global economy. More broadly, the prospects for EGA and our sector are very strong due to aluminiums role in decarbonisation economy-wide. EGA will capitalise on this significant opportunity.

Bauxite exports from the Republic of Guinea were up 16 per cent to 14 million wet metric tonnes. EGAs bauxite mining subsidiary, Guinea Alumina Corporation, contributed AED507 million ($138 million) to adjusted EBITDA.

Other financial highlights of 2022

 Average realised LME price of $2,715 per tonne.

 Cash generated from operating activities of AED12.7 billion ($3.4 billion) up 70 per cent from AED7.5 billion ($2 billion) in 2021.

 Adjusted EBITDA margin of 36 per cent, compared to 35 per cent in 2021, one of the highest amongst industry peers.

 Continued deleveraging to strengthen EGAs balance sheet. EGAs net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.1x at year-end, compared to 2.4x at end 2021.

 Total dividends to EGAs shareholders of AED3.7 billion ($1 billion, consisting of an interim dividend of AED2.2 billion ($600 million) in July and a further dividend of AED1.5 billion ($400 million) after the end of 2022. This makes dividends related to 2022 the largest in EGAs history.

 EGA recognised an impairment loss of AED1.1 billion ($288 million) for mining assets and related equipment at Guinea Alumina Corporation, a prudent accounting measure reflecting the increased cost of capital and other market conditions in Guinea.

Operational highlights of 2022

 Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (a measure of all incidents including those not requiring time of work) of 1.42 per million hours worked, continuing a safety performance significantly better than industry benchmarks. There were three Lost Time Injuries in EGA in 2022.

 Record sales of cast metal of 2.72 million tonnes (2021: 2.54 million tonnes). 78 per cent of EGAs metal sales was value-added products.

 Sales to local UAE customers of 268,000 tonnes of cast metal (2021: 281,000 tonnes).

 Production of CelestiAL solar aluminium increased 46 per cent to 57,000 tonnes (2021: almost 39,000 tonnes).

 Record production of hot metal of 2.65 million tonnes (2021: 2.50 million tonnes. During 2022, EGA surpassed 40 million tonnes of hot metal produced since start-up in 1979).

 Record production of alumina of 2.43 million tonnes (2021: 2.3 million tonnes). EGAs Al Taweelah alumina refinery met 47 per cent of EGAs alumina needs in 2022. Al Taweelah alumina refinery made an AED 919 million ($250 million) contribution to EGA adjusted EBITDA.

 Record exports of bauxite from Guinea of 14 million wet metric tonnes (2021: 12 million wet metric tonnes). Guinea Alumina Corporation made an AED507 million ($138 million) contribution to EGAs adjusted EBITDA.

* EGAs working capital at the end of 2022 was 30 days, a significant improvement on previous years and one of the best in the industry.

* EGAs average realised London Metal Exchange price for its metal was $2,715 per tonne. The benchmark LME daily price reached a decade-high in March of $3,985 per tonne, before retreating to a low of $2,080 in September.

Zouhir Regragui, Chief Financial Officer of EGA said: These results show EGAs industry-leading capability both to capitalise on market opportunity and to generate value from mining to metal during more challenging periods. This is testament to the success of our multi-year transformation programme that has so far delivered some $1.7 billion in additional EBITDA over three years.

In addition, over the past four years, we have improved our working capital and have released close to $1 billion previously trapped in the business.

Our record financial performance enabled us to further strengthen our balance sheet in preparation for future growth while providing excellent returns for our shareholders. We also took a prudent view with the recognition of the impairment of our asset in Guinea in light of the increasing cost of capital.

We expect global demand for aluminium to grow by between one and two per cent in 2023, and much more over the decades ahead in the transition to a more sustainable economy. The bulk of new demand will be in secondary and low-carbon primary aluminium, for which there will be a premium. We are growing our business in both these areas. - TradeArabia News Service
Committed to meeting Omans growing energy demands while maintaining the right equilibrium between economic growth and social and environmental needs, Oman Shell recently confirmed its participation at the upcoming Oman Sustainability Week (OSW) as the strategic partner.

The event, hosted under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, is scheduled to be held from 12 to 16 March 2023 at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center (OCEC). Dedicated to the future of energy, power, water, waste, environment and society, it will offer a platform for global stakeholders, sustainability experts and industry leaders from different sectors.

Representing Oman Shell at the event will be Walid Hadi, Country Chairman and Senior Vice President and Malak Al Shaibani, General Manager, External Relations and ICV.

Through its dedicated booth, Oman Shell will share its journey toward driving sustainability while highlighting the progress it has made in contributing to carbon neutrality by developing green hydrogen in Oman through its Green Hydrogen for Mobility project.

The company will also showcase the initiatives that were undertaken to empower the youth under its Shell Nawafidh and Shell NXplorers programmes.

To honour the second batch of Nawafidh students and applaud their relentless dedication, Oman Shell will host a graduation ceremony as part of OSW.

Al Shaibani said: OSW is set to take place at an incredibly critical time as Oman has made significant progress in its energy transition agenda. An event of such scale further reaffirms the countrys unfaltering commitment to attaining net-zero emissions and shifting to a green, circular economy. With hydrogen being identified and promoted as a green fuel, ESG mandates becoming a mainstay across every sector and the establishment of Oman Sustainability Center, the nation is uniquely positioned to set new benchmarks and pioneer innovative efforts in the realm of sustainability. -TradeArabia News Service
Popular Nigerian actor, Kenneth Okonkwo has taken a swipe at Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over alleged fraud in the country's recent elections.

He demands that the chairman of the electoral management body step down for failing to deliver his mandate diligently.

According to him, INECs failure to upload the election results to its portal shows the election is not over. He said nobody should have been declared a winner.

According to him, despite the INEC chairmans admission of electoral flaws, he finally proceeded to pronounce Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress the winner of the presidential race.

His three threads post reads; 9 days after the dubious and criminal presidential election conducted by Prof Mahmood's INEC, the INEC IREV Portal and Server have not been uploaded meaning that the election is still ongoing yet Prof Mahmood has, against every known electoral law, announced a winner.

Mahmood has come out to admit that there were flaws in the election but the same Mahmood refused to listen to those flaws pointed out to him when he was embarking on the criminal activity of announcing fake results to Nigerians.

This man has failed himself, his family, his country and the international community. He should step down immediately and let his shameless face stop embarrassing Nigerians worldwide. Please give me one word(s) to describe this man.

He concludes, We must take back our country. We moveeeee!!!

The Federal Republic of Nigeria went to the polls on Saturday, February 25.

Bola Tinubuthe former Governor of Lagos State and nominee of the All Progressives Congress, won the disputed elections.

Runners-up were former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party, and former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi, Labour Party.
A popular Ghanaian traditional dance instructor, Van Calebs has told the media to spend their time projecting important things.

He noted that there were a lot of Ghanaian youth in the diaspora and even at home doing great things for themselves and the country.

Caleb says the media and bloggers are not projecting them but instead focusing on trivialities.

He said this while reacting to how the media has been vocal about a recent clash between Ghanaian nudist Shugatiti and American pornstar King Nasir.

The socialite claimed she had never experienced an orgasm before despite being a sex addict.

Having said that, the American adult film actor offered to help her, which triggered a lot of conversations on social media and in the mainstream media.

But reacting to this, Calebs vents I dont understand why media houses and bloggers will be paying attention to this ashawo behaviour by Shugatiti.

There are people in this country doing so well to put the country out there and we are focusing on someone who sells sex. We can do better, he added in a social media post.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

African celebrated actor Van Vicker has enrolled at the Wisconsin International University College to study Bachelor of Laws (LLB).

The actor who graduated with a First Class Honors from the African University College of Communication for his first degree is also currently an Mphil student of UEW.

A post made by the actor also suggested that he is also at level 200 at Wisconsin University College.

In a chat with Blogger Attractive Mustapha the actor confirmed his social media posts and added that he believes he is big on education except that he did not have the opportunity back then.

I believe knowledge and work experience in a specific field can make one extremely competitive.

I wish to be a Lawyer, and there is no other way to law school than to get an LLB, hence the decision.

Picture how compelling of a lawyer with massive communication skills background would be? A prodigious reputation if u asked me  Van said. 
Angel Smith, Nigerian TV star

07.03.2023 LISTEN

A popular Nigerian television personality, Angel Smith has celebrated Ghanas independence in grand style.

The former contestant on popular Nigeria-based TV reality show Big Brother Naija says she loves Ghana.

In a post shared on her Twitter handle, Smith indicated that she sees Ghana as her motherland.

"Happy Independence Day to my motherland. I love Ghana," the brief post reads.

Ghana observed its 66th Independence Day on Monday, March 6, in a grand ceremony held in Volta region, precisely Adaklu, near Ho.

The day was an official state holiday for the citizens of Ghana, both within the country and in the diaspora, to honour and celebrate the heroes who led the country to attain its independence.

It is also a remembrance of the day that marks the declaration of Ghanaian independence from British colonial rule.
Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah

07.03.2023 LISTEN

The Regional Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Bono Region has reminded Mr Kissi Agyebeng about his petition.

In a letter to the Office of the Special Prosecutor dated 3rd March, 2023, the petitioner, Mr Charles Tuffour reminded Mr Kissi Agyebeng of his earlier petition to his office dated 16th February, 2023 to investigate the current Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority Rev Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah for what he described as an ''illegal'' stay of office after his two-year contract extension in 2019.

In his letter to remind Mr Kissi Agyebeng, the petitioner urged the Special Prosecutor to expedite investigation of his petition to rekindle the trust the Ghanaian public has in his office.

''I humbly write this to remind you of my request and I hope that you will certainly respond to my petition and expedite your investigation process under the law since my request is of great national interest, considering the expenditure the state makes on his ''unlawful'' existence as the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority,'' he stated.

Mr Charles Tuffour after delivering the letter to the Office of the Special Prosecutor on Friday revealed to a section of the media said Mr Kissi Agyebeng must take urgent steps to probe Rev Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah in interest of the public.

"The public has shown an overwhelming interest in this petition and cannot be kept in the dark on the steps that the Office of the Special Prosecutor has been taking. The people must be informed on the update of this very important petition of public interest,'' he stated.

Mr Charles Tuffour expressed optimism about getting an immediate response from the Office of the Special Prosecutor. ''I am confident that your highly respected Office will not relent on my request but will carry out to the bottom of the matter to make the national interest always paramount," he empasised.

Background to the story

Mr Charles Tuffour on Thursday, February 16, submitted a petition to the Office of the Special Prosecutor urging him to investigate the retirement age of Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah to determine why he is still at post having exceeded his compulsory retirement age and his contract extension expired in the year 2021.

Mr Charles Tuffour in his petition stated a government policy which came into effect in the year 2019. The document, he cited, clearly stated that government will not extend the contract of individuals who attain the compulsory retirement age especially when their expertise is not scarce in the country. The petitioner cited names of persons who have been ''victims'' of this policy and admonished the Office of the Special Prosecutor to make a determination on this case.

Kindly read the full petition below

Charles Tuffour

Box SY 2337, Sunyani

Bono Region - Ghana

Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

The Special prosecutorOffice of the Special ProsecutorPMB AccraGhana- West AfricaI am a citizen of Ghana and I write to you to respectfully investigate why commissioners of the Ghana Revenue Authority are still at post. Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah who has been the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Customs Division has illegally stayed at post even after the expiration of his contract extension in 2021. Meanwhile, the Government of President Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia led the NPP government and introduced a policy that sought to end the working contract extension of government agencies and departments whose expertise at not scarce in the country.

Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Ghanas chief taxman who was born on October 10, 1961, was appointed as Commissioner in charge of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) on May 30, 2019, and started work on June 4, 2019. He was made the Acting Commissioner-General on September 20, 2019, and will hit retirement age on October 10, 2021.

Mr. Owusu-Amoah has since been in office from the time of his contract expiration defying the legal basis upon which his predecessors were relieved of their posts.

The principle was applied by the immediate past Auditor General, Mr. Domelovo, Col. Damoah RTD., Col. Kofi Nti RTD Col. Diawuo RTD. So why is the government reluctant in applying such sanctions to Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai? And why has he been allowed to illegitimately remain at post almost two years after the expiration of his one-year contract which ended in 2021?

Why do we as a country have to spend so much on paying for his contract and the juicy goodies that come with it, especially, in this current state of the country?

Furthermore, concerning a letter issued by the deputy finance minister, Mrs. Abena -Osei Asare on the subject matter on August 5, 2022, affirmed the decision of the government on this subject matter. So why is he still at post? Please find attached, the letter issued by the Deputy Finance Minister.

Moreover, it would also interest you to note that, Ms. Julian Essiam, who is a Revenue Generation Officer is also a beneficiary of this unfair, and illegitimate act by President Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia's led government. Ms. Julian Essiam was born on July 5, 1961, which means by law and per the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, shes due for a Pension but still at post even though her contract has expired.

My intelligence gathered, further tells me that the Finance minister, Mr. Ken Ofori Attah, and the Board Chairman of the commission is planning a two to a three-year contract extension for the current Boss of GRA while their thousands of Ghanaians out there with the requisite expertise to carry out this same task to save the country money and also reduce the unemployment situation.

I strongly sense something fishy is going on between the government and the GRA Boss to the detriment of the entire country.

My background checks also suggest, that she together with Dr. Amishaddai, who both attained the age of 60 years two years after their contract was renewed until 2021 but chose to stay in the office until today as we speak.

Signed

Charles Tuffour

0244472659
Supporters and opponents of independence in New Caledonia  whose future status must be negotiated with the French government  are expected to travel to Paris next month for talks.

The meeting was announced on Monday by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin in an interview with conservative daily Le Figaro. It comes on the back of his three-day visit to the territory to discuss its institutional future.

New Caledonians voted to remain French in a third and final referendum in December 2021, but the pro-independence FLNKS movement has refused to recognise the result.

Darmanin said FLNKS had already accepted Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's invitation to "come to Paris in mid-April for about 10 days", adding that loyalist parties had also been asked to participate.

The move represents progress after an earlier bid to launch discussions on New Caledonia's status was shunned by the independents in October.

Referendum boycott

Supporters of the archipelago's independence boycotted the third referendum on self-determination because of the Covid-19 crisis. They contest the legitimacy of the ballot, in which 96.5 percent of people voted to remain a part of France.

"Those for and against independence must meet in an official setting, Darmanin said, calling on both sides to make the necessary compromises.

"Without this we will see a return to violence, which nobody wants."

During his visit, Darmanin reminded citizens that Paris had remained in favor of maintaining French sovereignty in the Pacific territory.

"We must move away from this uncertainty and keep New Caledonia in France seeing as this was the decision of the New Caledonian people," Darmanin said in an interview on Sunday evening broadcast by New Caledonia's Channel 1.

Darmanin is due to return to New Caledonia in May, followed by French President Emmanuel Macron in the summer, with a view to reaching an agreement on opening up New Caledonia's electorate.

Under the 1998 Noumea Accord, only those native to the territory or those who can prove a decade of residency are allowed to vote in provincial elections.

Loyalists have long called for constitutional reform, but independents remain vehemently opposed.
Kabul, Mar 7 (UNI) A total of 3,000 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan on Monday, said a statement of Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs, released here Tuesday.



According to the statement of the ministry, the process of returning the refugees to Afghanistan continues.



More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Pakistan and about the same number are living in Iran.



More than 270,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran over the past six months.

UN XINHUA RKM
Tunisian President Kais Saied has rejected accusations of racism and pointed to possible legal action for perpetrators of racial attacks, 10 days after announcing a crackdown on illegal migration. Hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans left Tunisia over the weekend while students are encouraged to study online.

On 21 February Saied told security forces to expel all illegal immigrants, accusing African migrants in particular of being part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia's demographic make-up by making it more African and less Arab.

The African Union condemned his comments as racialised hate speech.

Rights groups say the president's remarks have led to dozens of sub-Saharan Africans being detained, abused and evicted from their homes.

A number of Tunisian intellectuals and artists have expressed outrage against racism in the country.

"What is happening in Tunisia is shameful, it's painful to see," said Tunisian filmmaker Youssef Chebbi, winner of the Golden Stallion award at the Fespaco film festival.

"The problem of racism in Tunisia existed way before the president's racist statement," he told RFI, but Saied is using a "populist discourse to distract from his deep lack of competence".

Relaxation of visa rules

President Saied is facing increasing opposition since seizing control of most powers in 2021,shutting down the elected parliament and ruling by decree.

Protestors in Tunis on Sunday defied a protest ban to call for the release of several detained opposition figures seen as critical of Saied.

In a statement published Sunday evening, Saied sought to deflect criticism saying the sources of the alleged racism campaign "are known", without elaborating.

He said Tunisia was proud to be an African country.

Africans are our brothers, he said, noting that Tunisia helped found the Organisation of African Unity which became the African Union.

He announced a relaxation of visa rules for African citizens, allowing stays of up to six months instead of three without seeking residency. Students will be able to stay for a year.

Migrants who had overstayed would be able to leave without having to pay fines.

Students forced to study online

Students associations estimate there are between 5,000 and 7,000 sub-Saharan students in Tunisia.

Since the outbreak of racist attacks, many universities are offering online courses and advising students to stay at home.

Dulcinee, 21, a business studies student from Central African Republic, told RFI she hadn't left her lodgings in Tunis for over a week.

She was accustomed to studying online during the Covid-19 pandemic, but back then everyone was doing it.

"The difference is that Tunisians can continue to go to school and we sub-Saharans are doing courses online," she told RFI's Lilia Blaise.

"Online classes are not very good for us [...] but we have to get used to it because it's too complicated otherwise; we can't go outside for fear of being attacked."

Fellow student Gaspard, 22, from Congo said: "We stay in the area, we don't move around unless it's really necessary."

Ivorians repatriated

On Saturday, 280 people from sub-Saharan Africa left Tunisia on repatriation flights.

One hundred and forty-five were from Cote d'Ivoire. They were welcomed by a large ministerial delegation, but no families came to greet them, reported RFI's Bineta Diagne.

After administrative formalities to establish identity and civil status, they were sent to a special centre outside the capital for medical and psychological aid.

Ivorian returnees each receive 160,000 CFA (around 244) to help them re-settle, as well as help finding employment.

Four other such flights are scheduled this week.

Ange Seri Soka, president of a Ivorian support group in Tunisia, welcomed the Ivorian government measures but highlighted difficulties.

"There are nearly 5,000 Ivorians in Tunisia and some of our citizens are sleeping in olive groves and have no shelter because they have been driven out of their homes," he told RFI, calling on Cote d'Ivoire authorities to help people reach the embassy easily and get enrolled.

Dr. Karamoko Gaoussou from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said they were setting up a system to pick people up from the centre of the country and take them to the capital.

"We know it's difficult for some of them to reach the capital because of harassment," he said.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin has sent goodwill messages to the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and Ghanaians as they mark 66th Independence Day anniversary.

The head of the Russian Federation wished President Akufo-Addo good health and success in all his endeavours.

In a letter from Mr. Putin, shared on Twitter by the Russian Embassy in Ghana, he further wished Ghanaians peace on the nations memorable day.

The Russian leader also wished that the biennial friendship between his nation and Ghana be strengthened for the sake of its citizens.

"Please accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of the National Holiday of the Republic of Ghana, - the Independence Day!"

I am confident that the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Ghana will continue to develop for the sake of our peoples, contributing to a stronger security and stability on the African continent. I wish you good health and every success, and all the citizens of Ghana - peace and well-being, the letter reads.

Ghana celebrated its 66th Independence Day in grand style on Monday, March 6.

The event was held in the capital of the nations Volta Regional Capital, Ho, specifically, Adaklu.

The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), graced the occasion as a special guest at the parade.
Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie, South African NDC Council of Elders Chairman and the Group Chairman of Allied Consortiums has said former deputy General Secretary of the NDC Mr. Koku Anyidoho's hatred for former President John Dramani Mahama is a hired job.

He describes Mr. Samuel Koku Sitsofe Anyidoho's attacks on the former President as "nauseating and legendary."

Reacting to Anyidoho's comments at Mahama's intention to scrap the Ex-gratia when he becomes president, Mr. Quashie averred, "Mr. Anyidoho was a former government appointee and benefited from ex-gratia. Why is he not also returning his to the state as he wants others to believe about President Mahama."

Speaking on the 'Pulse' Show on Monday, 6th March, 2023 on Joy News, the SA Council Chair of the NDC reiterated, "I know he was the former Deputy General Secretary, but what hasn't he said about former President Mahama? What didn't he say about General Asiedu Nketia before he became National Chairman?"

He further accused the former Head of Communications at the Presidency of doing the job of his paymasters and "we wouldn't take him serious."

When his attention was drawn to the fact that the ex-gratia issue would dent President Mahama's image in the campaign, Mr. Kofi Quashie intimated that "Because the party is coming up with a brilliant manifesto that we're all going to see when the NDC elects the flagbearer and from there the party would roll out its programmes and policies for all to see."

He contended that "I can assure you that President Mahama walks the talk and whatever he's saying, he would definitely do. This is a cup in the feather of President Mahama. It would never be a dent on President Mahama's campaign. President Mahama is the only rescuer of our country from the economic doldrums we find ourselves in."
The Ghana Police Service on Monday put up a dazzling show with three of its newly acquired helicopters at the 66th Independence Day celebration held in Ho in the Volta Region.

The air show at the newly constructed Youth Resource Centre in Adaklu Tsrefe, a suburb of Ho, was aimed at boosting the confidence of the general public in modern-day crime fighting.

The Police branded helicopters were part of the service artillery and vehicles displayed at the event to mark Ghana's liberation from colonial rule 66 years ago.

The helicopters were piloted by police officers trained in South Africa.

 Citi Newsroom
Rotation nurses and midwives association is an association that seeks not only to authenticate the voice of all national service personnel within the nursing and midwifery fraternity but also to ensure the collective welfare of it's members. The named association is the only mouth piece of all national service personnel's within the nursing and midwifery outreach

The rotational phase is yet another important phase of the nursing and midwifery education process for every trainee. This is the period the bridges professional nursing and midwifery practice and student education.

Rotational nurses and midwives have become a very intergral part of the nursing and midwifery fraternity as they provide great labour support to the various hospital workforce, and at this point very critical in the advent of diminishing nursing staff at the various public health facilities

The contribution of rotational nurses and midwives can however not undermined by the Ministry of Health as they anchor and support the very few nurses within the various facilities thus reducing the Gap in the nurse patient ratio as well as the negative impact of low staffing. The current Rotational nurses and midwives national service year started in July 2022,hence making it 9months of service yet there have not been any payment of national service allowance by the supervising ministry.

The ministry has been silent on the cry of the 10,975 rotational nurses and midwives across the length and breadth of the country. It has refused to cushion rotational nurses by not paying these allowances in this hard economic times. Rotational Nurses and midwives are being struck by the hard economy characterised by a rapid increase in the cost of living

This has led to several of our members being hugely in-depthed to credit organizations as well as being a burden to their friends and family. The importance of this allowance cannot be undermined as Rotational nurses and midwives fend for themselves with this allowance; caters for rent, utilities, transport and food. It's no news that the mere imagination of the high cost of living in the country has become a terror machine to all service personnel's within the nursing fraternity as they are either left indebted or to suffer in silence with ulcer in this national suffering.

The unanswerable question has always been : what prevents this payment as it has always been part of the ministry budget?

Non payment of this deserved and hard worked for allowance has left us with no motivation to work as one is not expected to work without getting something to eat and somewhere to lay his/her head.

Payment of this allowance is critical in cushioning young nurses and midwives, who are striving together with other healthcare professionals to provide quality healthcare across the country. The continuous delay in payment of this money will further hinder us from coming to work as we may engage in something else to fend for ourselves this leading to less productivity.

With the increasing nurse to patient ratio, it is critical that the government and the ministry as a matter of urgency disburses these funds as soon as possible to sustain the services of rotational nurses and midwives in the various hospitals.

The future of the nursing and midwifery fraternity depends on this generation and shouldn't be at threat

Long live RNMA

long live MOH

Long live Ghana

By:Malik KandababaUpper West Regional President
The provisional government of violence-plagued South Sudan, the world's youngest state, must implement a peace agreement to hold "credible" elections in 2024, the UN envoy to the country said Monday.

"We see 2023 as a 'make or break' year and as a test for all parties to the peace agreement," Nicholas Haysom, the United Nations envoy to South Sudan, told the UN Security Council.

The South African diplomat applauded the transitional government's "commitment to implement the peace agreement in accordance with the timelines" in a roadmap set out by the sides vying for control of the country, which came into existence in 2011 with the partition of Sudan.

Haysom stressed that Juba had "stated clearly that there would be no more extensions of the timelines" for elections at the end of 2024, which he said needed to be "inclusive and credible."

The UN mission to Sudan -- one of the most expensive in the world with an annual budget of $1.2 billion -- has been asked by the government to "assist the South Sudanese-owned and administered elections," Haysom said, in particular by "working with civil society, political parties, and the media."

After the end of a five-year civil war in 2018 that claimed at least 380,000 lives, President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar formed a transitional government and agreed to join forces in a single army to protect the population, hard hit by conflicts and climatic disasters.

However, armed violence continues in the oil-rich country where the majority of people live below the poverty line.

Haysom acknowledged there are still conflicts that "increasingly present an ethnic or tribal dimension, and, as President Kiir noted... threaten to unravel hard-won peace gains."

At Haysom's side was a US representative to the UN, Robert Wood, who said he was "gravely alarmed over the rise of violence against civilians in South Sudan."

He cited figures showing that killings of civilian increased by 79 percent, while the number of civilians harmed increased by 87 percent compared to last year.

Abductions of women and children rose by 464 percent and conflict-related sexual violence jumped by 360 percent, he added.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

I never wished anyone a Happy Independence Day today simply because; I doubt if there is any day like that to celebrate in this country. What sort of Independence did Ghana gain, yet our leaders move around with big bowls begging? I can't be part of such nonsense!

Perhaps our colonial masters should come back and define the kind of Independence they granted us. It's my strongest conviction that we were only granted political independence, hence this economic dependency. I sometimes wonder if this country ever gained independence at all.

Nkrumah will weep blood if he comes back from his tomb to see the country he fought tooth and nail to gain access to freedom with this level of economic encumbrance. What don't we have to make this country work towards development? If it is natural resources, we have almost all if not all. Tell me what else we need as a country to develop that we don't have. Oh okay! I now remember. We lost track of leadership at a point in time and we never regained that. Then why don't we ask our colonial masters to come back and rule us instead of going back to them to beg like beggars on the streets?

For me, it's absolutely nonsense to keep celebrating this day without anything to show it. Don't tell me the freedom we have as a country is all we need to celebrate. Was the independence just fought for that purpose? Nkrumah believed and said the black man was capable of managing his own affairs. But I must say that was then not now. It can't see any management apart from mismanagement. Corruption is now pervasive and accepted as a normal practice in society.

Politicians don't longer stand for election to contribute towards the development of the country but to merely enrich themselves. This is what has created a dichotomy between the ruling class or politicians and the ordinary Ghanaian. The agenda of getting rich quickly has pushed a lot of fine brains in other sectors of the economy to join the political train. We are now losing lecturers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and other technocrats to politics. Everybody knows that it's only through politics one can become a millionaire within no time. People we know who couldn't even buy a bicycle tyre or put up a one-bedroom apartment are now owners of a fleet of cars and mansions not only even in the country but abroad.

Why should I then join the political armed robbers in the display of their wealth during other national events like the Independence Day celebrations? Why should I? They usually come to the ground in their luxurious cars and dressed like saints and angels but they are the cause of our economic woes. If they don't rob us in our faces, they hide under some weird laws like Article 71 in our Constitution and the rest to rob us. How can someone work just for four years and his or her end-of-service benefits ( ex gratia) will be a thousand times more than the ordinary hard-working teacher, driver, nurse etc who has been working for close to two if not three decades in public offices? This is a completely broad-day robbery.

Someone should just explain this to me. Do article 71 holders work and sleep at their offices every day even during holidays? The DCE, who comes to meet the coordinating director, the finance officer, the driver, the security man, the office cleaner, etc. at the end of just four years, goes home with huge sums of money leaving those very people she or he came and met still collecting meagre salaries. Is it this system of cheating the poor in a society that we must celebrate or what? I can't be part of this stupidity. We should be celebrating our achievements but we rather have none to celebrate.

Yes! We have nothing to celebrate, because if 66 years after gaining independence our leaders are seen everywhere in the world begging for money, then what are we celebrating? I know counties borrow to survive, I don't doubt that. But I also know many countries which don't have even a fraction of what we have here in terms of our natural resources, but their level of indebtedness is comparably lower than this country called Ghana. I often ask myself that without those who lend us the money have our development at heart. Because; we can be borrowing all the time and have nothing to show for it. The IMF, World, and other donor countries need to raise red flags about the way we borrow in this country and certain communities still compete with animals to drink muddy water which is the only source of water available.

As for the other areas like health care delivery, roads, schools, etc. the least talk about them the better. This is why I want to believe the World Bank, IMF, and the other developed countries that colonised us before wish you see us under this form of colonisation thus, economic dependency. So that, when they need us to accept and endorse certain stupid regulations, they won't suffer to cow us into submission. If this isn't the case, then tell me why a body or a country will use grants or loans as bait to get another country to accept and implement laws that are against their morality and culture. Gays' rights immediately come to mind!

I can't readily remember, but I know there was a year the government said we couldn't celebrate this worthless event owing to a lack of funds. Did anything happen to anyone because we didn't celebrate it? At the moment, we are told the country is on the verge of collapse or not collapsed financially. So, what informed us to celebrate our none performance this year as Independence Day? We are just not serious as a country. We keep setting wrong priorities and being reactive instead of proactive. And I think we do these things deliberately because those who do them, stand to benefit from those misplaced priorities and policies.

In the nutshell, I must say this Independence Day celebration should be cancelled or postponed till such a time that we can celebrate with enough Merrymaking. It's also imperative to channel our resources to the development of our country and not a selected individual - politicians. The waste in payment of ex gratia to article 71 holders must also stop now. Let's set the right priorities through feasible policies that can move the country out of its current messy state. Corruption in political positions shouldn't be attracting our best brains from other sectors of the economy.

Ghanaians are watching!
I don't think any parents would be complaining about any payment if the government had eaten a humble pie and told Ghanaians the truth of the matter, that the free senior high education we promised your wards, can no longer be free. After all, most parents were willing to support the government but it is only the government that has refused to be helped. It's pride and sheer arrogance that are deepening the economic woes of the country.

Therefore, Instead of reprimanding these frustrated parents for complaining about the cost of items they should provide for their wards to go to school, let's tell the government to stop the politics of the policy and be candid with Ghanaians about the failure of the policy. What many of these poor parents were made to believe was the fact that; their wards were going to enjoy everything free of charge as far as the policy was concerned. We saw the first phase of the programme where students went to school with only their personal stuff. The rest of the items they are being told to bring today were never part of what their parents had to worry about. So, if today the story has changed, shouldn't they lament?

Who didn't see it coming! We all saw it and knew from day one that this policy wasn't feasible. We have always argued that the government should come out clear and tell parents to pay a certain amount of money in support of their wards' education. But the politics in it makes the government hide the truth from parents and Ghanaians in general. But it was written all over the walls; that it wasn't going to work with the kind of system we have here in this country. How will corruption allow us to save money to run a free senior high education for our kids in school?

What is more interesting to note is the fact that many of our politicians don't and wouldn't even send their kids to some schools in this country. The reason is simple. The free senior high school policy came with many challenges and these challenges were huge in some schools that were already not doing too well academically. The structures were not in place in many of these schools, yet they were forced to enrol a massive number of students in their schools. It became a major problem for many schools as to how to feed their students and accommodate them both in classrooms and dormitories respectively.

Furthermore, let's again not try to blame this on COVID, before the pandemic, many schools were already facing accommodation challenges for their students and teachers on various campuses across the country. This was all because of the massive increase in the enrollment of students through the FSHS policy. Meanwhile, we didn't and still don't have the infrastructural and human resource capacity to handle the large numbers we continue to enrol into our senior high schools.

The government failed to supply textbooks, and teaching and learning materials were not given to enable smooth teaching and learning process. All these were a result of our unpreparedness to kick-start the programme, yet political motivation pushed us to implement it knowing very well that a wobbly economic like ours can't support it.

The government even went to the extent of buying common past question papers for students. This was highly uncalled for. In those days, most students had these past questions in their libraries and some parents also bought them for their wards. Since when had it become the business of the government to be buying past questions for students in schools, if not to prove the point indeed, the policy was completely free? It's therefore, our political desires that keep us making certain promises which are detrimental to our economic growth and sustainability as a country.

Another problem that cane with the FSHS policy is the massive production of students who come out but can't even spell their names let alone write any good sentence. Because of a political favour to win or retain power, we refuse to give a cut-off point for enrollment into the senior high schools. Even candidates with the worst grades ranging from 45- 49 were admitted just to demonstrate how the policy was introduced to allow every child to go to school. But what we failed to ask ourselves is whether education ends after senior high school or what. For those students who completed and can't go to school because of their poor grades, what happens to them?

Another side of the story is this, others also managed to pass but they can go to any tertiary institution because of the high cost of tertiary education. Question is, where should education be sponsored, at the basic or tertiary levels? The government has already wasted money on these students at the base level of these students but their parents are still poor to pay for their tertiary education. Isn't it at that point that these students would acquire knowledge to come out and help in the development of the country? But they are home with good grades.

This is the reason why I have always argued that the government should have granted free education to students who want to go to vocational and technical schools. At least, if these students come out, they will be able to use their skills and knowledge in their various vocational and technical programmes to earn a living for themselves and also help reduce the higher rate of unemployment in the country. That's the way any good government should be reasoning. Our governments have woefully failed to be proactive in decision-making. They always also end up setting misplaced priorities through some of these voodoo policies they implement. A lot of these policies also serve as an avenue for corruption where the politicians enrich themselves at the expense of the state.

Finally, your outburst of anger at these poor parents is therefore a wrong transfer of aggression. If you are aggrieved about the complaints of the parents, you must know who to start chastising. For me, it's not the parents that should be blamed. It's rather the arrogance, pride, and extravagance of the government that must be condemned if anybody wants to be fair to the situation at hand now.

No parent would complain if the government comes out and honestly state that, with the free senior high education policy we introduced, things are hard and we can't offer certain services the students were getting free. Therefore, parents should take a certain amount of responsibility and pay for this or that for their wards. At least, people will understand. But you can't have political commentators praising the government every day on radio and television shows for implementing free education, while parents and guardians are being tasked to pay so much to have their kids in schools. This is not fair.

Ghanaians are watching!
The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned residents of the Greater Accra Region to be cautious of their movements due to the possibility of flash floods.

According to the agency, flooding is likely in parts of the region as a result of the heavy rain that began in the early hours of Tuesday, March 7.

It explained in a tweet that southeastern Ghana has witnessed rain-bearing cloud that has been producing rain of varying densities in the Volta Region.

Greater Accra and the Eastern regions is next to be affected, followed by the Central, Western, and some parts of the Ashanti region, according to the post.

The rain is likely to lead to flash floods in parts of Greater Accra. Be advised accordingly.

Southeastern Ghana has been engulfed by a rain-bearing cloud. This is producing rain of varying intensity within the Volta region. Areas within the Greater Accra and Eastern will be affected before drifting to the Central, Western and parts of the Ashanti, read the tweet.
Governance Expert, Prof. Baffour Agyemang-Duah has stressed the need for the country to take a critical look at its political system.

In his estimation, the failure of the political system has contributed significantly to the challenges facing the country.

Speaking to GHOne TV in an interview, Prof. Agyemang-Duah made the argument that the political system's failure has a direct link to the economic crisis the country finds itself.

.the failure of the political system can also lead to the failure of the economic system and vice versa. Because if your economy is not doing well it creates many difficulties for the political class.

So our management of the two systems has been the main challenge, Prof. Baffour Agyemang-Duah said.

The Governance expert further explained, In my view our inability to embark on a true democratic society from the beginning because as you know we started a democratic society but in our fifth and sixth year things changed we then had a one party. The man that we all like to cite today Kwame Nkrumah was made a life President.

So there was no room at all for opposition so to speak and that was part of the problem. Since his overthrow in 1966 we experienced serious instability for the next 20-years. Thank God since 1992 we have had a more stable political system.

Prof. Agyemang-Duah shared these thoughts during a discussion of the countrys 66th Independence Day Anniversary.

This years edition of the celebration was held at the Ho Youth Resource Centre in the Volta Region on Monday, March 6.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

Residents of Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region are calling on the government for help following alleged brutality by some military officers.

Information gathered indicate that some military personnel stormed Ashaiman last night and attacked a number of the youth.

The brutality according to reports, was to avenge one of their colleagues who was allegedly stabbed to death by unknown assailants in the area.

In several videos on social media, many people are seen complaining as a young man is seen bleeding from his head.

Some young men were reportedly flogged by the military as others who feared for their lives hid in their homes.

As a way of punishment, other residents were forced to roll on the ground in the muddy puddles of the early morning rains.

Since the incident, Ernest Norgbey, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman has expressed displeasure while urging residents to stay indoors in what appears to be a self-imposed curfew.

Amid condemnation of the military attack, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is yet to issue a statement on the incident.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has presented awards to 72 students who excelled in the 2021 and 2022-year Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at this years Presidents Independence Day Awards.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, which had the students drawn from the 16 regions of the country, President Akufo-Addo said he gets excited whenever he interacts with brilliant students.

That, he said, is because he always has the assurance and hope that the future of this country is in safe hands, and inevitably, the leadership of this country would be in your hands one day.

It is a heavy responsibility, the President told the students, adding: you would be part of the story of whether this country will remain somewhat dependent on foreign assistance or would be a self-reliant nation.

President Akufo-Addo urged the students not to allow their current success get to their heads because this is only the beginning. Continue to work hard in other to maintain your standards.

Know that you can go as far as you want by remaining diligent, hardworking, and holding on to a strong moral base, he advised.

Honesty and integrity, he stated, are important values in any work and assured that the government places great importance on access to quality education for all Ghanaian children.

He also assured that the government would continue to invest hugely in educating Ghanaian children to secure the countrys future.

To the school heads and staff, both teaching and non-teaching, through whose hard work and direction these children have made it to this far, President Akufo-Addo appealed to them to continue to work harder and help exploit the students potential.

You are an important part of their life stories and their successes or otherwise would be a reflection on you.

As the country prepares to celebrate 66 years of independence from colonial rule, on the theme: Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose, President Akufo-Addo urged all Ghanaians to eschew all acts of divisiveness and self-centredness tendencies which have the potential to retard the countrys forward match.

Despite the countrys enormous challenges, the President urged all to acknowledge that we have made positive strives and have the humility to appreciate that we still have a long way to go.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum, said there were 830, 000 students enrolled in High Schools across the country when the Free SHS Policy began in 2017.

But this year alone, there has been a record placement of over 500,000 students who have found schools and are anxiously getting ready to enrol at the various SHS schools across the country.

He commended the award winners and expressed gratitude to the headmasters and teachers who supported the students to achieve the feat.

The Presidents Independence Day Awards, since its inception in 1993, continues to provide scholarships each year to young brilliant students between the ages of 14 and 19 from all the regions of Ghana.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

You were voted as an Assemblyman, MP, appointed as a deputy Minister later became a substantive Minister of state, you became the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and finally the President.

What again do you have to offer after holding all these positions?

He (John Mahama) talks about experience. Is it that experience he has in corruption, incompetent, inept attitude, bad governance or what?

I entreat him to read Mark 9:50, where the Holy Bible averred that, salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

The former president has lost his salt qualities as a politician and leader, there is no any amount of trained propaganda or political eloquence that will help him gain it again in the sight of the ordinary Ghanaian he once alluded to be a "dead goat" when their concerns needed to be addressed.

We now have retentive memories, if you think indeed Ghanaians are people with short memories.

Is it the cancellation of Teachers Trainees allowance, Nursing Trainees allowance, Arabic instructors allowance, high rate of unemployment, corruption, introduction of utility payment system at the universities halls, payment of utility bills at the hospitals or probably his inability together with his running mate who was the then Minister for Education to procure common chalks for teachers that qualified him to be an experienced candidate to the level headed Ghanaian voters?

The level of inconsistency in your own statements as a former president is dangerous for your second coming should we make mistake to vote for you as the president of Ghana again which God forbid.

You are soo desperate for power to the extent that you think come 2024 elections is all about "Do or Die" elections.

May Ghanaians be saved.

Christian Anefor

#Media and Publicity

NPP Oti Regional Youth Wing.

#NUGS Male Politician of the year 2022.

0243597666
07.03.2023 LISTEN

The Monrovia Grow Green (MonGrow Green) project implemented by the City Government of Monrovia disbursed business support grants to fifty (50) victims of climate change related disasters including flooding and erosion. The beneficiaries were selected from the coastal communities of New Kru Town and West Point given their position as the hardest hit areas. The funds were disbursed following a training in business management and climate mitigation and adaptation. The project is supported by the Mayors Migration Council through the Global Cities Funds #GlobalCitiesFunds.

Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee said disbursement of the funds marked an important step in the City Governments effort to ensure that everyone is included in development initiatives especially in critical situations like being made homeless by flooding and erosion -two climate change related factors that are taking the world by storm.

Selecting the Borough of New Kru Town and the Township of West Point did not happen on the spur of the moment but on the basis of a thorough assessment that these two areas are more vulnerable to disasters resulting from climate change, the City Mayor of Monrovia Koijee stated.

He told the fifty (50) internally displaced persons who received the grant that the project is a start of what would become a great success if everyone vetted and approved to benefit from it make maximum use of the funds for their own benefits.

According to Mayor Koijee, the Monrovia Grow Green project would potentially increase the number of beneficiaries if the present cohort produces success stories. We know you have many problems to solve that require money but use this grant to start small business. All we are doing is to help you so that you can help yourself under the present circumstances. Simply put, we have come to identify with all of you, he added.

The Monrovia City Mayor acknowledged the support of the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) that is supporting the City Government of Monrovia through the Global Cities Funds.

The Project Manager, Mohammed Foboi, also explained that an amount of US$150 was targeted for each victim under the project.

This is a pilot project and we the way you deal with it will more to happen. We are dealing with 50 persons; 25 each from West Point and New Kru Town. An amount of US$$150.00 will be given to each of the victim, Mr. Foboi told the gathering amid cheers.

I tell the Almighty God thank you for this support and the George Manneh Weah government thank you for coming to our aid. I built my house but the sea come and carried my house  four-bedroom house. Now we are squatting to someones place, but with this money, my children will be able to sell and we will get food to eat, explained 70-year-old Olivia Negba, a beneficiary from the Township of West Point.

For Mama Swaray, she sold potatoes leaves for many years and build a house but lost it to sea erosion. The situation caused high blood pressure for her husband who died as result of the illness and left three children behind, all of whom are out of school now.

She vowed to continue selling her potatoes leaves which has proven to be the best option for her to feed her children as a single mother in her 70s because her oldest daughter died few months after the death of her father.

The Monrovia Grow Green (MonGrow Green) Project aims to address climate change related crisis including flooding and sea erosion. The project will also seek to transform Monrovia into a safer, cleaner, greener and a more inclusive city through participatory Climate Change mitigation and adaptation interventions.

In implementing the project, the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) will work with migrants and displaced communities to plant twenty thousand (20,000) mangrove and coconut trees to establish green corridors along the former Somalia Drive, now Japanese Freeway; West Point and New Kru Town coast lines and along the Mesurado River. These trees will serve four main purposes: balance the soil, provide a green and shady environment for residents, absorb excess soil/ground water, and absorb carbon emissions emitted by human activities.

Most importantly, the project aims to provide livelihood to climate migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs) and provide public awareness and sensitization on climate mitigation and adaptation mechanisms. The project shall directly impact 150 climate migrants and IDPs between the ages 18 to 35 years and the second group will be 36yrs and above comprising only women through livelihood training business support.

The MonGrow Green projected is supported by the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) through the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees  the MMCs response to the unmet needs of cities as they support migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the face of pressing challenges, from global pandemics to the climate crisis.

By directly funding cities to implement inclusive programs of their own design, the GCF builds precedents of fiscal feasibility in city governments that are often disregarded by donors with low risk tolerance.
The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has held the seventh white coat ceremony for its Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students.

The ceremony which took place on Friday, 24th February 2023 at the Great Hall of KNUST was under the theme The Diverse Roles of the PharmD Pharmacist in an Evolving Profession.

Symbolism of the White Coat

The white coat ceremony is a tradition in schools of pharmacy globally that signifies a transition from pre-clinical knowledge acquisition to clinical knowledge acquisition among others. It symbolizes a rite of passage of students into their clinical years of training which last for two (2) years. During this period, much of their knowledge acquisition and competency development will be based on apprenticeship rather than didactic teaching.

Welcome address

In a welcome address delivered by the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences during the event, Professor Samuel Asare Nkansah paid a glowing tribute to hospitals, community pharmacies, pharmaceutical industries, pharmaceutical marketing companies, regulatory bodies among others for constantly supporting the training of the students. These bodies according to the Dean, form an integral part in the training the future Seven Star Pharmacist, who by definition is a caregiver, decisionmaker, communicator, leader, manager, life-long learner and teacher.

Professor Nkansah concluded his address by urging the students to be professional in all their endeavors and to let science and data guide their practice, not opinions, perceptions or assumptions.

The diverse roles of the PharmD Pharmacist in an evolving Profession

Former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH), Pharm. Thomas Boateng Appiagyei spoke on the theme for the ceremony as the guest speaker.

He highlighted various traditional opportunities which exist in their field of practice which students can venture into. They include pharmacovigilance, supply chain management, research, vaccine and immunology, toxicology, quality assurance and quality control, medical delegates, pharma businesses, consortiums, health economics, health informatics and statistics, medical writing, and journalism.

Pharm. Appiagyei also stressed the need for PharmD Students to inculcate values such as hard work, honesty, and humble apprenticeship to be able to take full advantage of the myriad of opportunities which awaits them.

Gowning and Administration of pledge



A total of 300 students were gowned with branded white coast by planning committee members, preceptors, lecturers, invited guests and parents symbolizing transition into clinical rotation year. The administration of pledge was held afterwards.

Closing remarks

The Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo who represented the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST in giving his closing remarks charged the students to showcase the values they have learnt while in school. He admonished them to show leadership, excellence, diversity and be good stewards of the resources made available to them.

The white coat ceremony saw participation from dignitaries such as the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Representatives of the Pharmacy Council of Ghana, Food and Drug Authority and Ghana Standard Authority, the CEO of KATH; Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, the Chief Pharmacist, Ashanti Regional Health Directorate; Pharm. Rita Owusu Donkor and the director of Pharmacy of KNUST hospital, Pharm. Dr. Emmanuel Sarkodie.
Mr. Evans Kusi Boadum, Municipal Chief Executive for Sunyani West has urged the residents in the Municipality to live together in unity and harmony regardless of geographical, political, cultural and religious differences.

Unity does not come by accident, but through dint of effort, hard work and purpose which should permeate all levels in our household, he said.

Mr. Kusi Boadum made the call when he addressed a gathering of school children and the general public during the 66th Independence Day Anniversary Parade held at Fiapre St. Thomas park under the theme "Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose."

He mentioned that the celebration of Independence Day should remind Ghanaians of the sacrifices freedom fighters made by taking the country from the control of colonial masters. "At every Independence Day, we do not only celebrate our freedom but also pay tribute to those who fought for it."

Touching on developmental projects, Mr. Evans Kusi Boadum mentioned that the Assembly continues to discharge its responsibilities with the needs of the people in mind. Special mentioned was the ongoing construction of a multipurpose Municipal Hospital located between Fiapre and Odomase (Agenda 111) which is funded by the Central Government.

Education

The MCE indicated that, through the effort of the Member of Parliament and the Assembly, the Municipality is benefiting from the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) school project and efforts are being made for the school to start this academic year.

Security

To ensure security throughout the Municipality, Mr. Kusi Boadum, mentioned that the Assembly during the last quarter of last year and early this year embarked on aggressive maintenance of streetlights in the Municipality to reduce incidents of crimes and to ensure the security of the people with efforts been made to extends streetlights to new settlements within the Municipality.

Roads

According to the MCE, a lot has been done in the roads sector with the following being mentioned. The Municipal capital town road which was in a deplorable state has been worked on. Work is ongoing on the Odomase- Kwatire -Adentia road and the Don. Bosco road which is expected to be completed this year. Odomase-Fiapre communities have been connected with a motorable road which has eased movement and facilitated business between the two towns.

The Urban Roads Department of the Assembly has graded access roads in Fiapre, Dumasua and Mantukwa. All are meant to facilitate the movement of people and goods and make life better.

Agriculture

Mr. Kusi Boadum also disclosed that the Assembly is not relenting in its efforts to support farmers since the Municipality is peri-urban with lot of farming communities. He mentioned that the Assembly over the years either procure or nursed and distributed tree crops seedlings to farmers in the Municipality under the Government Planting for Export and Rural Development flagship programme with over 120,000 cashew, mango and palm seedlings distributed freely to farmers last year.
The Paediatric Society of Ghana has disclosed that over 500 cases of measles have so far been recorded in the country due to the unavailability of essential vaccines.

Dr Hilda Boye, the newly elected President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana said the situation is quite worrying because the delay in the arrival of the vaccines can potentially escalate the disease.

As we speak, we are looking at about 500 suspected cases of measles. So we are worried because we are just sitting and watching, and it is getting worse by the day and that is expected also because it is an infectious disease, and we really shouldn't have come to this place in the first place.

We know how bad these illnesses are, and we know that there is a solution and everybody had to sit up so that we don't get to this point, Dr Boye said on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, March 7.

Several parts of the country have been hit with a shortage of vaccines in the last few months despite claims by the National Health Insurance Authority that over GH70 million has been released for the procurement of the vaccines.

The Health Minister, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu is expected to brief Parliament today, March 7, on steps being taken to address the shortage of childhood vaccines in the country.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has attributed the shortage of vaccines used for routine immunisation of babies to the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

The shortage of vaccines has the potential to increase the vulnerability of children to the diseases the vaccines seek to protect them against.

Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered.

Vaccines against polio, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT/Hep B/ Hib 1) and six infectious diseases that are particularly dangerous to babies are also among those administered.

-Citi Newsroom
The Tamale Technical University branch of the Dagbon Students Association has paid a courtesy call on the Dagomba chief of Kintampo, His eminent Naa Baaki Musah.

The visit was part of the Association 2023 excursion to the Bono-East Region, other locations the leadership and members of the Association visited included the Centre of Ghana and the Kintampo Waterfalls.

Addressing the entourage, Naa Baaki expressed delight in having his brothers, sisters and children from Dagbon at his palace, stating that their visit is in accordance with tradition.

He shared words of wisdom and urged members of the Association to continue championing good courses that would positively put Dagbon on the map.

He called for tolerance, peace and harmony among youth groups in Dagbon, Nanung and the Mamprugu Traditional area, which he believed will attract development.

He tasked the members of the Association to take their studies very serious since the future belongs to them.

Naa Baaki indicated that education is the only tool the youth of the north can use to effect transformational change.

The Chief of the Association, Chief Nurudeen thanked Naa Baaki for a warm reception. We're much thankful for accepting us in your palace today despite your busy schedules. Though we're far from home your warm reception has made us feel at home.

He lauded the chief for his philanthropic works in Kintampo, stating that Naa Baaki leadership style has changed the wrong perception people have about Dagombas and other northern tribes.

He further appealed to northerners who are in position and wealthy to support the Association, revealing that the members are suffering on campus.

Meanwhile, later in the day the team visited the Kintampo Waterfalls.
Economists have urged African countries to shift to low-cost manufacturing  the path that led countries such as Hong Kong , Singapore , South Korea and Taiwan  to industrial prosperity. These East Asian economies  which recorded high growth rates of at least 7% between the 1950s and 1990s  are commonly referred to as the Asian Tigers .

Starting in the 2000s, many of Africa's top economies achieved high growth rates through natural resource extraction . Mineral resources such as oil, natural gas and coal were the main export items.

Economists have cautioned that growth based on natural resources is vulnerable to global price fluctuations. Other limitations include weak linkages to domestic economies, low employment creation, negative impacts on local communities, tax avoidance by multinationals involved and climate change impacts.

By contrast, economists regard growth that is driven by low-cost export-producing manufacturing as more beneficial for development. This is because it is seen as globally competitive and able to create a lot of low-wage jobs. The Asian Tigers partly relied on it to achieve their economic prosperity.

As a result, economic commentators have been urging African countries to embrace export-led manufacturing.

A recent book written by some of Africa's influential leaders and advisors sums up the call:

The relevance of Asia's example comes as Africa is facing a population boom, which can either lead to crisis or prosperity; and as Asia is again transforming, this time out of low-cost manufacturing into hi-tech, leaving a void that is Africa's for the taking.

Many African countries have heeded the call, specialising mainly in the manufacture of textiles, cloth, food and beverages. They include Kenya , which has mainly been producing textiles at its export processing zones for sale to the US, and South Africa , where manufactured products , mostly food items , are key exports. Others include Botswana , which has been trying to diversify its mineral-driven economy, Mauritius , where export of services has taken root, and Madagascar .

Between 2005 and 2014, manufacturing production across the continent more than doubled from US$73 billion to $157 billion . This was faster than the global average.

But the call to emulate the Asian Tigers could be ill-advised. As I argue in a recent paper , such a move has significant gendered implications. It can lead to increased discrimination, widening inequality and crises in family life.

In particular, there are four lessons Africa's fastest growing economies should learn from the four Asian Tigers.

Lessons from Asia

1. Exploitation and control of low-waged female labour. The Tigers have relied heavily on women's labour as a specific asset which is cheap, productive and easy to control. Records show that low wages, poor working conditions, frequent layoffs and a lack of rights and union protection for women working in manufacturing industries have been rife in Asia since the 1980s.

Rapid economic growth and wealth for a few have come at the expense of many, with wages often insufficient to support families and working conditions undermining family life.

2. Pushing more women into the informal economy. As women have sought to supplement the meagre incomes they get from their manufacturing work, female participation in the informal economy has surged. Studies from Asia reveal a direct correlation between growth in female participation in formal manufacturing sectors and growth in female participation in informal sectors.

In Africa, women already dominate the informal economy . In addition to the risks of unstable earnings and no access to health insurance or to other economic and social safety nets, women carry the double burden of informal work and care responsibilities in the home. They experience a disproportionate impact from lack of access to social protection. They are more likely to experience discrimination in accessing financial and other services. And they are more likely to be intimidated and abused by others in the informal sector.

3. Growing inequalities accompany growth. Tigers have succeeded in reducing poverty to varying degrees. But inequality has increased. A wide range of studies track the polarising impacts of changes in labour market and income distribution at both economic and social levels across the region. There's a common pattern: highly skilled workers with more education see their incomes rise as those of low-skilled workers either stagnate or reduce. This trend is disproportionately felt by women. The pay gap is apparent even in countries where women have higher education attainment than men, such as Taiwan .

Widening inequalities are already a feature of many African states. In the absence of state policies to regulate wages, such inequalities are likely to deepen.

4. A crisis in social reproduction. The impossibility of juggling paid work with unpaid work at home and within the community has resulted in a crisis in social reproduction in Asia. Studies show increases in marriage age, decreases in fertility rates and growing numbers of divorces across the region. This may signal a newfound independence among Asian women  but it also represents a broader crisis in family life.

This crisis also threatens the very economic system which depends on it. African countries don't usually have state support for family and community care. A similar crisis seems inevitable on the continent, where the nature and composition of families is already rapidly changing.

What can be done?

Asia's labour-intensive and export-driven manufacturing path does provide an alternative to the environmentally damaging and socially dislocating natural resource exploitation which is also of limited benefit to Africa's local economies . Yet not everyone stands to benefit from it equally.

The overall lesson from Asia's decades of experience is that export-led policy is not gender-neutral. The export-oriented manufacturing increases gendered inequalities and discrimination. African countries should not replicate Asian experiences, but instead learn from them.

African analysts and policymakers should promote fair and progressive pay and working conditions for all workers. Greater public investment in infrastructure and social services is needed. And there should be policies that support and redistribute unpaid domestic labour.

As the Asian experiences have demonstrated, failure to act will worsen existing gendered inequalities and discrimination, and eventually undermine the essential social base of economic growth.

Niamh Gaynor 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 Niamh Gaynor, Associate Professor of International Development, Dublin City University
Geneva/Coxs Bazar  As the Rohingya refugee response enters the sixth year in 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for USD 125 million to support 1.4 million Rohingya refugees and host communities in need in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar District.

Since the influx in 2017, over 900,000 Rohingya refugees have sought temporary refuge in Coxs Bazar, where the Government of Bangladesh and the international community have provided humanitarian assistance from the onset.

The needs of these refugees are immense and meeting them is completely dependent on continued support until the Rohingya can voluntarily return to Myanmar in a safe and dignified manner.

IOM along with other humanitarian actors has been providing life-saving protection and assistance services to the refugee community for over six years. For 2023, the overarching priorities of IOM remain the protection needs of the Rohingya, and the provision of quality services across all sectors including Site Management and Site Development, Shelter, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Health and Disaster Risk Reduction.

The ongoing crises and disasters around the world should not make us forget the needs of Rohingya refugees and the response in Bangladesh, said Antonio Vitorino, IOM Director General. We earnestly urge the international community to step up their efforts to ensure the Rohingya refugees continue to receive the support they need.

IOMs appeal is part of the Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, including over 100 response actors comprising UN agencies and NGOs. These humanitarian actors are collectively seeking to raise more than USD 876 million through the JRP, launched on 7 March 2023 with the Government of Bangladesh.

Protection for the refugees is a priority for IOM. To protect the most vulnerable  especially women and children who account for over 75 per cent of the population  IOM works with vulnerable individuals and at the community level to mitigate the risks of gender-based violence and the physical, psychosocial, and social vulnerabilities of child and human trafficking.

Every month, IOM supports delivering alternative sources of fuel to more than 96,000 households for cooking, contributing to food security while reducing the environmental impact. Since bamboo is the most widely used material in the camps, the IOM-run Bamboo Treatment Facility  the largest of its kind  has processed over 840,000 bamboo poles. Treating bamboo poles lengthens the bamboos lifespan, thereby helping minimize pressure on forests and ensuring cost efficiency.

Health care is another major area of focus. Additional funding will enable IOM to maintain its network of community health workers, along with the 45 primary and secondary health-care centres that it supports. Together these centres provide over 100,000 medical consultations per month.

Basic health is also dependent on access to clean water and sanitation. IOM is providing access to latrines and clean water, reaching almost 300,000 people daily. This includes running the largest solar-powered water treatment and distribution facilities in a humanitarian setting and wastewater treatment and solid waste management.

Our priorities for 2023 include the continuation of providing life-saving assistance and protection of the Rohingya refugees and support for vulnerable host community members, said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM Bangladesh Chief of Mission.

Just two days ago, a fire tragically broke out in the camps in Coxs Bazar, destroying around 2,000 shelters and several facilities, leaving approximately 16,000 refugees without shelter. Thankfully, no casualties were reported.

We call on the international community to contribute generously to our efforts to help these refugees and not forget the plight of the Rohingya in Bangladesh, he added.
Number of confirmed measles cases in Armenia reaches 29 - Health Ministry

Yerevan, Mar 7 (UNI) The number of confirmed cases of measles in Armenia as of Tuesday morning increased to 29, the Armenian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

The number of confirmed cases on Monday was 20.

"As of 10 a.m. [06:00 GMT], the number of laboratory confirmed cases of measles reached 29, 15 people were hospitalized, seven were already released," the ministry's statement read.
Honorable Faustina Amissah, the Chief Executive for the Obuasi East District has called on residents to unite towards advocating for the development of the district.

Speaking to the media after a parade to mark Ghana's 66th Independence Day Anniversary celebrations in Boete, the DCE said unity of purpose is the panacea to development hence called on residents to eschew all forms of behaviours that will jeopardise the unity and security in the district.

She seized the opportunity to admonish residents to honour their tax obligations to the Assembly. She said, "the Assembly recognises the infrastructural deficits in the District in roads hence we are appealing to the general public to pay their taxes promptly to facilitate development."

Hon. Amissah was particularly excited about the infrastructural development in the district but was quick to add that the Assembly has taken steps to fix the infrastructural gaps bedevilling the district.

She called on Ghanaians to support the Government as it takes bold steps to bring the economy back on the right track.

The Member of Parliament for the Obuasi East constituency Dr. Boakye Yiadom who was the Guest of Honor talked about the relevance of the independent day celebrations. He said contrary to the assertion by a cross-section of Ghanaians who insist that the anniversary celebrations amount to a waste of resources, Hon Boakye Yiadom said the independence day celebrations present an opportunity for the country to reflect on how to chart a new course towards development.

He again called on residents to be time conscious. He said one of the most important factors underlying development is to respect time.

At the end of the vigorous march past competition, Ayaase JHS has crowned winners in the JHS category with Mampamhwe and Jimiso JHS coming 2nd and 3rd respectively.

In the Primary category, Len Clay DA has crowned winners with 90.7%. Action Chapel Primary came 2nd with 89.34% whiles Boete MA came 3rd.

Artic Senior High school was declared winner in the Senior High school category whiles Jimiso KG was also adjudged winner in the Kindergarten category.

In all, there were over 700 students representing 25 schools that participated in the march past competition.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara (MINURSO) celebrated Ghanas National Day by raising its flag at the Mission headquarters in Laayoune next to the UN flag.

Ten Ghanaian peacekeepers serving in Western Sahara proudly took part in the flag raising ceremony.

Ghanaian men and women have served as United Nations peacekeepers for generations, participating in operations that stretched from the Sinai to the African continent. Ghana is now among the top 10 contributors to UN peacekeeping, with nearly 3,000 personnel serving on eight peacekeeping missions worldwide including more than 20 with MINURSO.
Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

The suspended Krontihene of the Sunyani Traditional Council (STC), Oboa-Aman Bofotia Boa-Amponsem, has threatened to take legal action against the council.

According to him, he is the substantive Kontirehene of Sunyani, therefore the STC's request for a different person from the same Krontire family to represent them (Krontire family) at the Council was illegal and culturally unacceptable.

The STC at its sitting on Friday, March 3, 2023 accepted one Mr. Boye Boahen, from the Krontire family in Sunyani as a massenger and representative of the Kontire family at the Council.

Addressing a news conference at his palace in response to that, Oboa-Aman Boa-Amponsem stated "what the STC has done is against the Sunyani stool and illegal."

"What they have done implies they have distooled me and enstooled a new Krontihene, and I would take this matter up."

Oboa-Aman Boa-Amponsem said "I was unlawfully suspended by the STC including all my subjects (the entire Krontire family), therefore under no circumstances should one from the same family be secretly called as Krontire representative without the concern of the substantive Kontirehene".

He emphasized, "I have not offended anybody, therefore I would pursue this case with the laws of Ghana and go back to the STC".

"I would tell Sunyani history to the whole world and would never discard the history of Kontire, my heritage," Oboa-Aman Boa-Amponsem added.
Some nursing mothers have recounted how the vaccine shortage in parts of the country is affecting their babies.

A nursing mother at Adabraka Polyclinic in Accra, Naa Dromo Torto told TV3s Judith Awortwe-Tandoh on Tuesday, March 7 that her 4-month-old baby has not received the polio vaccine for two consecutive months.

She said Some mothers gave birth last month and they have not gotten the vaccines, this month too we are not getting so I think those babies are at high risk in experiencing some form of disabilities.

Asked what assurances have been given to them to get their babies vaccinated, she said Last month, they actually told me that the vaccine is finished so this month, Today too we are hearing the same story that there is still a shortage.

Another mother Georgina Annum said My baby is 9 months old. My baby has to take two vaccines, Polio and Yellow Fever but there is a shortage so right now we are waiting for the nurses to provide some for us. For two months now my baby has not been taking the two vaccines.

Parts of the country have lately been experiencing a vaccine shortage of vaccines.

The Minister of Health Kwaku Agyeman-Manu is expected to explain to Parliament the measures instituted to deal with the situation.

Last week Tuesday, February 28 he was unable to show up in Parliament after being invited to explain issues surrounding the vaccine shortages in parts of the county.

The Clerk of Parliament's Health Committee in a letter that invited the Health Minister said I have the direction of the Chairman of the Committee on Health to invite you to an emergency meeting to brief the Committee on the cause of vaccine shortage in Ghana and the measures being put in place to address the situation, on Tuesday, 28th February 2023 at 9:00 a.m. at the Committee Room 1&2, New Administration Block, Parliament House.

The Committee also requests the presence of the following institutions' heads and relevant officers: the Ghana Health Service, the National Health Insurance Authority , the Global Fund, the Ministry of Finance, and the Vaccine Control Programme.

But the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dormaa Central did not appear, a situation that got members of the committee furious.

Expressing his disappointment over the failure of the Minister to show up, the Member of Parliament for Asawase who is also a member of the Health Committee Muntaka Mubarak said The Minister of Health being invited to the Committee of Parliament, he himself being a Member of Parliament having in mind the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and the ranking member following up with even a call a week before the meeting, and the matter in question is the time that elsewhere Parliament would invite the minister within 24-hours and he has to appear because of its urgency.

Now, you have a minister of health who for me, for lack of a better word, I will say disrespectfully refused to attend to the invitation of the committee.

It tells you how he is running the Ministry, it is just unfortunate that we have a government where a lot of its actors are behaving as though they are doing the citizens a favor by occupying those offices, instead of them attending to the urgent needs of their ministry.

Everyone around this table is very much aware of the importance of the expanded programme on immunization, every other thing can wait but not the expanded programme on immunization because the six or so killer diseases, ones you don't get immunized in a certain period you endanger all of us because this is something the children will miss and you cannot easily correct.

-3news.com
Development Economist, Dr. Sam Ankrah has stressed that Ghanaians must stop voting for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In his Independence Day message to Ghanaians, he called on all citizens to rise up and drive out the two political parties far away from leading the country again.

According to him, the two biggest political parties have proved that they only care about themselves and their families but not Ghanaians.

Countrymen, the NPP-NDC fraternity cannot and should not be the ones leading our nation into that 70th milestone. They have proven for 30 years that they just don't care, and neither do they have what it takes. It has always been and would always be about them and their close families and friends. Expect nothing new. It will not change, Dr. Sam Ankrah said in his statement on the Independence Day celebration.

The Development economist shares the view that Ghanas struggle for independence only moved the country from one colonial master who lived many miles away and handed us into the hands of neo-colonial masters who live right here among us.

He argues that since then, leaders have hoodwinked Ghanaians using political colors and symbols to buy support, only to leave the people dry, clueless, and on their own.

So, Countrymen and women, it's time to look deep into ourselves and redirect our destinies in our favor. I'm sorry to break this to you, but it's time for us to rise and fight for our nation's independence one more time. This time, it's a fight for our independence from the neo-colonialist NPP-NDC rule. Enough Is Enough! Rise and join the struggle. Independence Now, Dr. Sam Ankrah noted in his statement.

DR. SAM ANKRAH'S INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE.

Countrymen and women!

As we observe 66 years of independence from colonial rule; and 30 years of our 4th Republic this year, we are faced with only one soul-searching question - where are we now and where are we headed from here?

A man whose life was favored with enviable resources must possess some substantial wealth to boast of, by age 66. A 30-year-old man, blessed with strength and an enviable heritage, must have a prosperous future to look forward to. But sadly that is not the reality of our 66 and 30-year-olds today.

Our struggle for independence only moved us from one colonial master who lived many miles away and handed us into the hands of neo-colonial masters who live right here among us. Since then, our leaders, our blood, have hoodwinked us, using political colors and symbols to buy our support, only to leave us dry and clueless and on our own: each man for himself. So the question now is, what would Ghana's story be by the time she's 70?

Countrymen, the NPP-NDC fraternity cannot and should not be the ones leading our nation into that 70th milestone. They have proven for 30 years that they just don't care, and neither do they have what it takes. It has always been and would always be about them and their close families and friends. Expect nothing new. It will not change.

So, Countrymen and women, it's time to look deep into ourselves and redirect our destinies in our favor. I'm sorry to break this to you, but it's time for us to rise and fight for our nation's independence one more time. This time, it's a fight for our independence from the neo-colonialist NPP-NDC rule. Enough Is Enough! Rise and join the struggle. Independence Now!
M23 rebels clashed with soldiers on two fronts in eastern DR Congo on Tuesday, officials said, despite a regional ceasefire deal due to take effect the same day.

After several days of relative calm, fighting erupted on Monday in the flashpoint province of North Kivu, leaving several civilians dead and injured, hospital sources and aid workers said.

The fighting continued on Tuesday, with the rebels seizing new villages, despite a ceasefire brokered by Angola last week that was due to start at noon.

The M23 rebels have captured swathes of territory in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021, claiming the government had ignored a pledge to integrate them into the army.

The Tutsi-led group is hemming in the lakeside trade hub of Goma, taking territory to the north of the city and advancing in the west as well.

A security source, who declined to be named, said that Karuba, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of Goma, "has just fallen into rebel hands".

"We attacked them in the night but this morning they launched a counter-attack, and, at the moment, the fighting is continuing," the source added.

Witnesses said fighting continued to the north too, where rebels remained on the offensive.

The renewed fighting coincided with an urgent appeal by UN chief Antonio Guterres on Monday for the M23 rebels to honour the ceasefire and move towards fully withdrawing from the conflict-ridden country.

'Huge damage'

Despite the clashes, the M23 rebels in a statement on Tuesday announced what they called "an effective ceasefire" at midday "to open the way for direct dialogue with the Kinshasa government".

Both sides accuse the other of triggering the fresh round of clashes.

M23 spokesman Willy Ngoma told AFP on Tuesday that the group was defending itself after the army attacked all its positions simultaneously.

Map of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.. By Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA (AFP)

Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike, the army's spokesman in North Kivu, said late Monday the M23 "and their sponsors from the Rwanda Defence Force" had attacked a recently deployed Burundian contingent of an East African regional military force.

He said the rebel attack also targeted a camp for displaced people and the area of Mubambiro, 20 km west of Goma, causing "huge damage".

The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels, who have displaced over half a million people in their long campaign.

Independent UN experts, the United States, as well as several other western states, agree with the assessment, although Rwanda strongly denies it.

Bombing

The fighting in Karuba since Monday has killed six and left at least 10 injured, Folo Ombeni, deputy head of a local civil society group, said.

Another civil society representative, Leopold Muisha from the Kamuronza district on the western outskirts of Goma, said rebels had shelled civilians.

"Seven bombs were fired on Monday in the late afternoon, killing two civilians, including a 12-year-old child, and injuring six others," he said in a statement.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also reported one dead and seven injured in the bombardment.

On March 3, the Angolan presidency -- which is mediating the conflict -- announced a ceasefire for eastern DRC due to take effect at noon on Tuesday (1000 GMT).

During a visit to DR Congo last week, French President Emmanuel Macron met DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and his Angolan and Rwandan counterparts Joao Lourenco and Paul Kagame, saying all sides would support a ceasefire starting Tuesday.

The seven-nation East African Community (EAC) has created a military force to stabilise eastern Congo, with the first troops arriving in Goma in November.

The announcement followed several other failed regional peace initiatives.
A former Deputy Minister of Information Felix Kwakye Ofosu has asked Akufo-Addo's government to take definitive action against what he describes as the brutal violation of the human rights of Ashaiman residents by personnel of the Ghana Army.

On Tuesday, March 7, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey reported that Military officers stormed the homes of some civilians in Ashaiman on Monday, March 6 and brutalized them after a soldier was killed in the area.

Mr Norgbey said on the Sunrise show on 3FM with Johnnie Hughes that They can be peeved because one of their own is gone but brutalizing people is not the solution to this problem.

He added I know the men (military men) are coming from Michel's camp. I have called the head there but his line is unreachable.

Commenting on this, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said Those justifying the brutalization of Ashaiman residents by soldiers on the premise that their colleague was killed are worse than the soldiers perpetrating those atrocities. What kind of ignorance, philistinism and callousness makes you support such abuse?

The government of Ghana must take a clear and definitive action over the brutal violation of the human rights of Ashaiman residents by personnel of the Ghana Army. This level of crudeness is not tolerable.

What kind of society permits soldiers to march into Ashaiman to seek indiscriminate retribution against civilians over an attack on their colleague? The Military must get out of Ashaiman now and leave the police to handle the matter.

-3news.com
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has reacted to the claims by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that he inherited president John Dramani Mahama's economic mess.

According to the NDC, the president does not understand economics if he still blames his predecessor after being in power for seven years.

If the president cares to know, the NDC lost power in 2016 and he assumed office in 2017.

So what is the rationale in still blaming your predecessor for the mess you have created because of your mismanagement?

Mr Godwin Ako Gunn asked this in reaction to the president's comment at the just-ended 66th-anniversary celebration of Ghana's independence held at Adaklu in the Volta Region on Monday, March 6, 2023.

Ako Gunn was speaking on the mid-day news on Accra 100.5 FM on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

The Deputy National Communications Officer of the NDC, said the president must be suffering from some form of myopia to have made the aforementioned statement.

According to him, the president is comparing apples to oranges.

He stressed that what has taken place under the administration of the president is distinct as black and white.

So, he asserted, The president cannot blame anybody for the mess he has created.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Some 72 youth of Ashaiman in Accra where a soldier was killed over the weekend have been rounded up by personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

The soldiers were led by senior officers over murder of their colleague.

The suspects have been sent to the Michel Camp near Tema to be investigated by the military police.

Military personnel stormed the area in buses, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and pick ups together with helicopter monitoring the situation.

They positioned themselves from Keta House near Official Town through to Taifa.

Another group also stormed both Old and New Tulaku as they arrested the persons to assist with investigations.

The invasion saw the military brutalizing civilians after lining them up on the streets.

Information gathered indicates that the officers were deployed from Michel Camp, the base of the First Battalion of Infantry of the Ghana Army.

According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey, the military men who allegedly stormed the homes of some civilians in Ashaiman and brutalized them on Monday, March 6 were from Michel Camp, of the First Battalion of Infantry of the Ghana Army located at Tema.

Mr Norgbey said on Tuesday, March 7 that I know the men (military men) are coming from Michel Camp. I have called the head there but his line is unreachable.

I know the men (military men) are coming from Michels camp. I have called the head there but his line is unreachable.

He added Whoever committed the crime (killing the military man) should face the full rigorous of the law.

An eyewitness reported that a military person was killed in the area and now the soldiers are moving from house to house, beating people. Once they meet you, they give you the warning to go inside. We are under curfew kind of. 

-DGN online
Islamabad, Mar 7(UNI) Pakistan occupied Kashmirs education department has made the Islamic head dress hijab compulsory for female students and teachers in co-education institutions.

A report in Dawn said that a circular was issued on this regard on February 24. The circular which is said to have the signatures of a deputy director Pok'ss Directorate General of Elementary and Secondary Education (Males), which said that it has been observed that the female students/teachers are not made to wear hijab in institutions where co-education is practised. Therefore, under the passed-on instructions, female students/teachers should be strictly bound to wear hijab.

The document warned that if the instructions were violated, disciplinary proceedings would be initiated against the heads of the institutions concerned.

The media house quoted Deevan Ali Khan Chughtai, minister for elementary and secondary education, as saying We have done it exactly in observance of the injunctions of God and His Messenger (peace be upon him) [] The women have been ordained to wear veils and men have been ordained to lower their gaze, he said.

UNI RKM
The Coalition of NABCo Trainees has stressed that the men and women paraded as members during Ghana at 66 celebrations are not members of the Nation Builders Corps.

According to the Coalition, the group of people seen dressed in traditional attire and representing NABCO personnel are party sympathisers of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Our critical investigation after the program indicates that, the young men and women who were in traditional cloth were NPP party faithfuls who were compelled to represent NABCO Trainees, the Coalition of NABCO trainees said in a statement.

The Coalition argues that no eligible and rational NABCO trainee in this devastated working condition will have the appetite to be paraded to march under this scorchy sun to celebrate Ghana's Independence.

The coalition adds that if it wanted to partake in the 66th Independence Day celebration, it would have used the opportunity to protest the bad treatment from government.

How can personnel who have been in arrears for over (9) months be delighted to march under the sun, to achieve what aim? If we ever wanted to participate in the march, it would have been a march against deception and a demand for our salary arrears and sustainable livelihood, the Coalition added.

Meanwhile, the Coalition has warned that it will in no time do a proper march to register its disgruntlement to insensitive President Akufo-Addo who wants to ride on the reputation of vulnerable former NABCO beneficiaries to score political points.

The beneficiaries of the nation builder's corps demand an unqualified apology from the government, the Coalition further stressed.
One Hundred and Eighty insolvency practitioners have been inducted into the profession by the Ghana National Association of Insolvency Advisors (GARIA) and Registrar Generals Department under the auspices of the Attorney General.

The Chairperson, a former Chief Justice, Madam Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo in her remarks last Wednesday, admonished the 2nd cohort of practitioners to uphold the ethics and code of the profession.

She also urged them to demonstrate strong value systems in carrying out their responsibilities.

She stated, As insolvency practitioners to be licensed and individually scrutinized and passed as fit and proper to be sworn in, your character matters. Your stewardship of the office matters to the stakeholders that you represent and to the reputation of this profession and to the successful building of the institution that supports it.

She further reminded them of the importance of their profession and why their service was crucial to the survival of companies.

The event was organized by the Ghana Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Advisors (GARIA) and was attended by the Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, the Registrar of Companies, Mrs Jemima Oware, the Board Chairman of GARIA, Prof. Emr. Albert Fiadjoe, and other distinguished dignitaries.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

A former Deputy Information Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has condemned the brutalities meted out to some residents of Ashaiman by military personnel.

In the early hours of Tuesday, March 7, military personnel stormed Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region to reportedly pick up persons responsible for the murder of a colleague soldier.

Videos popped up on social media saw people being lashed by military officers while others were chased out of their homes and given unforgettable beatings.

Reacting to reports of the military brutalities, Felix Kwakye Ofosu says it is unacceptable.

According to him, government must take definite action to bring the situation under control.

The government of Ghana must take a clear and definitive action over the brutal violation of the human rights of Ashaiman residents by personnel of the Ghana Army. This level of crudeness is not tolerable, the former Deputy Minister of Information said in a post on Twitter.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu noted in another post, Those justifying the brutalization of Ashaiman residents by soldiers on the premise that their colleague was killed are worse than the soldiers perpetrating those atrocities. What kind of ignorance, philistinism, and callousness makes you support such abuse?

Meanwhile, some 72 people have since been picked up by the military from Ashaiman for questioning on the murder of the officer.
A massive clean-up exercise has been carried out at the Bolgatanga Lorry Station, by members of the Holy Land Temple (HLT) a non-denominational prayer group based in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region.

It has been the Holy Land Temples annual exercise, to carry out such outreach activities as part of preaching, teaching, and demonstrating to the people the word of God. Numbering about 40, they swept from the gate to the outgate of the Lorry Station.

In an interview with Modern Ghana News in Bolgatanga, the leader and founder of the HLT Prophate Emmanuel Anabire (Apelgesoba) stated that the exercise was anchored on three thematic areas; preaching the word of God to nourish the human soul/spirit which dowels in the body, teaching is the practical demonstration of the word of God (cleaning aspect).

The man of God added that, if the spirit or soul dowels in the human body and the human being live in an environment, we should be mindful that, our bodies are the Temple of God and God does not dowel in a filthy environment. He added that sharing meals to beggars at the station depicts Christ feeding the hungry 5000. He said, the exercise as carried out during Easter also explains Christs 40 days of suffering on the Cross of Calvary, and also explains the scripture in Matthew 25: 35-37 that I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty you gave me water to drink imprisoned and you visited me telling us the need for arms giving as Christians.

Apostle Moses another member of the Holy Land Temple indicated that apart from sharing the food with the beggars, the word of God was preached to them with the hope that, they accept and give their lives to Christ for their salvation. Apostle Moses stated that the group would be heading to the prisons next week to share the word with them

In the two-hour exercise, only one fowl's seller Samuel Akugre joined the group in the cleaning exercise. Speaking to the media later about why he joined the exercise, Mr. Akugre said that, he admired how the group made time out of their busy schedule to do the cleaning at the station and it was only proper for people to join the exercise as a courtesy demand.
07.03.2023 LISTEN

The 66th Independence Anniversary of Ghana was celebrated at Adum-Banso in the Mpohor District.

Speaking on the theme for the celebration, Our unity, Our strength, Our purpose, Mr Ignatius Asaah- Mensah, the District Chief Executive entreated all gathered to continue to live in unity as a nation and shun division tendencies.

The electrifying cultural displays put up by BOPP D/A elementary and Junior High Schools entertained the audience and got them glued.

The Climax of the celebration was the matching competition by the participating schools where the schools exhibited their matching prowess. In the end, deserving schools were awarded.

Member of Parliament for the district, Hon. John Kwabena Abbam Aboah Sanie, in his address, encouraged the people to remain in unity and always place the interest of the district and Ghana first. He subsequently accounted to the people for the remarkable successes chalked in the education sector under his leadership.

In line with the MPs second edition of his educational initiative, The MPs Best Teacher(s) and Student(s) Award Scheme he presented four (4) brand new Lenovo laptops to best-performing teachers at the kindergarten, primary, junior and senior high levels.

He also awarded four(4) overall best male and female students in the basic and senior high exams (BECE/WASSCE) respectively. They received brand new Samsung galaxy tablets each. The gesture will also encourage others to be steadfast in the discharge of their duties and studies.

The paramedics were not left out of the celebration. They professionally attended to those who fainted due to the long hours of standing in the scorching sun.

Nana Brempong III, paramount chief of Adum-Banso in his address advised all to avoid partisan politics and forge ahead for the growth of the district and the country at large.
The Atebubu-Amantin Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Edward Owusu has called on Ghanaians to unite in the face of the teething economic challenges facing the country in order to be able to overcome the problems as a people.

The MCE made the call at a parade of school children and voluntary organizations in Atebubu to mark the 66th Independence Day celebration in the municipality.

Referring to the theme of the celebration Our Unity; Our Strength; Our Purpose he said it is relevant particularly as the nation goes through serious economic challenges.

As we gradually move towards our 70th anniversary of freedom in a few years ahead, we need national unity that binds us together. It is our collective duty to build our country. We may disagree on many issues but we must always put Ghana and the people first. The Ghanaian spirit that has defined our past and kept us united in spite of our varied backgrounds will lead us into the future in a purposeful manner, he said.

Hon. Owusu urged all to nurture the children of today to understand and take pride in the national heritage so they can appreciate the efforts of their forebears. He added that the occasion should also prepare young people for the responsibilities of nation-building in future.

He spoke against child labor and child marriage which militates against the future of the child whiles encouraging parents and guardians to make investments in their education a priority, especially the girl-child.

A colorful parade made up of 20 primaries, 15 JHS and 3 SHS, together with three cadet groups and voluntary organizations thrilled the large crowd that thronged the Anglican primary school park to some excellent marching skills under the command of Station Officer II Zakaria Kabore of the Ghana National Fire Service.

Awards were presented to the first three schools in the primary and JHS categories and the winner at the SHS level with Atecoe Demonstration School, Atebubu Presby A JHS and Amantin SHS emerging winners in the various categories.

Three best performing pupils at the last Basic Education Certificate Examinations were also honored with citations.

Present were heads of department, service heads, the clergy and Nananom from both the Atebubu and Amantin traditional councils.

The function was chaired by the Adontenhene of the Atebubu traditional area and acting president of the Atebubu Traditional Council Nana Kwabena Kyere III.

DURING THE MARCH PASS
07.03.2023 LISTEN

Efya Kyeraa, the mother of Sheriff Imoro, the young soldier murdered by unknown men in Ashaiman says she has lost her everything.

Speaking to Asempa FM on the Ekosii sen programme on Tuesday, March 7, she said she supports the military brutalities in Ashaiman.

She said even if the military will have to embark on an operation for a whole month to get the killers of her son, they should do so.

I support the military. Even if they have to brutalise people for a month to get the killers they should do it.

They have really worried me. My son was not troublesome. He was always with me and they have taken him away from me, the grieving mother said.

Early today, a video of Efya Kyeraa crying uncontrollably went viral on social media alongside videos of the operation of the military in Ashaiman.

Military personnel in the early hours of Tuesday stormed Ashaiman to fish out the killers of the murdered young soldier.

He is reported to have been stabbed to death last Friday.

Several people in Ashaiman have been brutalised by military officers today with many left with marks all over their bodies after they were lashed.
ECOWAS and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in February facilitated the safe return of 299 ECOWAS citizens stranded in Niger.

IOM transit centres in the Agadez region of Niger are overcrowded due to the socio-political and security situation in the sub-region, with some migrants spending relatively long waiting periods, which entails an increasing need for direct assistance. The main nationalities remain Guinea, Mali, and Nigeria.

The support by ECOWAS has served as an immediate solution for the safe and dignified return of its nationals, decongesting the centres and providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need while more mid-term and long-term solutions are explored.

For Laurent de Boeck, IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria, "the fact that ECOWAS is committed to providing assistance to its citizens in need is a concrete example of the ECOWAS Common Approach on Migration, aiming to protect the rights of migrants."

Among the 299 migrants assisted in a safe and voluntary return, most of them were men and adults. With a total of 278 men (99%) and 8 women, 286 adults and 13 minors, 150 Nigerians, and 149 Guineans.

Prior to departure, IOM provided them with pre-departure counselling services, protection screening, transportation assistance, and targeted assistance to migrants with specific situations of vulnerability, such as pregnant women, unaccompanied migrant children, victims of trafficking, and migrants with medical conditions.

Upon their arrival, IOM works in close cooperation with countries of origin and partners to ensure immediate assistance such as food, medical screening, overnight accommodation, and pocket money to cover in-county onward transportation costs. In subsequent months, thanks to the support of the European Union and in partnership with governmental agencies and Civil Society

Organizations (CSO) partners, the returnees will receive in-kind reintegration assistance, including vocational education and training to help them start an income-generating activity of their choice for their sustainable reintegration.

The safe return of ECOWAS citizens to their homes with the support of the ECOWAS Commission aligns to goals of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and the commitment to make migration work for all said, Dr. Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, ECOWAS Commission.
The Offinso North District of the Ashanti region has marked the 66th Independence Day celebration as school children, students, cadet, and Nanamon thronged Akumadan Methodist School Park to mark the day.

The colourful day saw more than 840 school children, students drawn from 31 schools in the district to take part in a march past.

Delivering the keynote on behalf of the President Nana Akufo Addo, the Offinso North District Coordinating Director, Madam Victoria Adomako highlighted the developmental projects undertaken by the Government, the Member of Parliament and the Assembly and called on the citizens of the area to continue to unit to ensure that they are completed to benefit them.

Touching on the theme for the celebration, "Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose," Madam Adomako underscored the need for unity in building a successful society. She mentioned that lack of unity among different people can stifle growth and undermine the process hence called on the people to avoid division irrespective of their ethnic or religious background.

On education, Madam Adomako called on parents not to relent in their efforts but play an active role in their children's education stressing that it is imperative for them to support government to ensure that the free senior high school becomes successful.

In his remarks, the Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Collins Augustine Ntim commended all workers in the district and chiefs for supporting his agenda so far. According to him, education is one of his topmost priorities and will do all he can to ensure that the infrastructural development in the area is met to enable all school-going age go to school.

He announced that in the next six (6) years universities will be established in Offinso North District. According to the MP, the universities will be in the areas of Local Governance, Agriculture and Emergency.

The Offinso North District Director of Education, Mr. Martin Addo-Fortwour commended the assembly and the MP for the area for supporting education infrastructural development. He therefore, appealed to the assembly and the MP to constitute a reward scheme to motivate teachers who accept posting to rural areas.
The first national deputy womens organizer of the New Patriotic Party, Hajia Sofia Mohammed, has been adjudged the Outstanding Female Politician of the year at the just-ended 5th Northern Excellence Awards (NEXA).

The Awards ceremony came off at the Global Dreams Hotel in Tamale in the Northern Region.

According to the organizers, after intense scouting, they found her worthy of the award.

She was recognized for her achievements and selfless contributions she made in politics which is considered a male-dominated field.

Hajia Sofia took to social media to express her excitement after picking up the award and gave thumbs up to the organizers for recognizing her strides.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank the Northern Excellence Award Committee for recognizing the contributions of women in politics," she stated.

According to her, it is not easy for women to break through the glass ceiling and make their mark in a male-dominated field.

"However, this award shows that our efforts are not in vain and that we are making progress towards gender equality in politics," she added.

She also conveyed words of gratitude to the people who supported her throughout her political journey.

"To my family, my boss the National Womens Organizer, Maa Kate Gyanfua, the entire National Executives of the New Patriotic Party, friends, colleagues, and my team, thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. You have been my rock and my inspiration, and I could not have achieved this without you,"she emphasised.
Lawyers fight for man they say US wrongly deported to Haiti
The Minister in charge of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has rubbished reports suggesting that the recent outbreak of measles in the country has led to some deaths.

The Minister on Tuesday, March 7, briefed the press on the shortage of some childhood vaccines in the country and matters arising, as well as the outbreak of measles in the Northern Region.

During his briefing, the Minister stressed that contrary to false reports, nobody has died of measles in the country since 2003.

It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently. For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed there have no deaths since 2003 though we have recorded cases annually, Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu told the press.

At the press briefing, he added that his outfit has been seriously concerned about the shortage of some childhood vaccines and their effect on the Vaccination Programme in the country.

He indicated that this is a major source of worry for the Ministry, partners, caregivers, and the population.

Meanwhile, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has assured that the Ministry is making the necessary efforts to ensure it secures adequate stocks of vaccines despite the global challenge.
The Minister in charge of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has provided an update on what his Ministry is doing to address the childhood vaccine shortages in the country.

In the midst of the outbreak of measles in the Northern region, there is a nationwide shortage of some routine childhood vaccines in the country.

The vaccines in short supply are BCG, Measles-Rubella (MR), and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

At a press briefing in Accra on Tuesday, March 7, Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has given the assurance that it is doing everything possible to address the vaccine shortage.

According to him, the Health Ministry is working with UNICEF to fast-track the processes to secure the vaccines in shortage.

Working with UNICEF, we are fast-tracking the processes and it is expected that the vaccines would be supplied in the next few weeks All things being equal, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu told the press.

During the briefing, the Health Minister said despite the challenge, Ghanas immunisation performance coverage remains among the best in the world.

He stressed that the Ministry of Health will ensure that it stays on track with the countrys immunisation record and quickly overcome these bottlenecks.

Meanwhile, the Minister has also rubbished reports that the outbreak of measles has resulted in deaths.

It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently. For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed there have no deaths since 2003 though we have recorded cases annually, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu told the press.
The Minority in Parliament has blamed the current shortage of vaccines in the country on governments failure to properly plan ahead.

Bemoaning the risk of the shortage of vaccines on children in the country, the Minority described the current shortage as unpardonable.

Addressing journalists, on Tuesday, 7 March 2023, the Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, noted: We started recording measles vaccine shortages around October 2022 and this is an emergency situation and the minister and the government have failed and continue to look on several months on.

This is highly unacceptable especially when these vaccines are not over-the-counter medicines that people can walk in and buy them.

He further noted that: These vaccines are very sensitive and highly protected by organisations and states so if we dont have the vaccines, all the children in this country are at very high risk, especially in the Northern part of the country.

The Ranking Member on the Health Committee of Parliament also indicated that the vaccine shortage is unpardonable because, in the planning of vaccine procurement and its deployment, we are supposed to plan ahead.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament Algban Bagbin, today, excused the Minister for Health, Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, who was expected to address the House on the shortage of vaccines in the country.

The Health Minister who was invited to an emergency meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Tuesday, 28 February 2023, failed to show up.

The Committee also invited the Ghana Health Service (GHS), and other institutions on the same issue.

They all failed to appear before the committee, except the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

There is a shortage of vaccines used for routine vaccination in children from childbirth to 18 months in some parts of the country.

This is likely to increase the vulnerability of the very children the vaccines are meant to protect.

The Western, Greater Accra, Central, Upper West, Bono, Eastern and Upper East regions are among the regions affected by the vaccine shortage.

Source: classfmonline.com
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, has resigned.

A letter sighted by DGN Online addressed to the Office of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency and signed by the Acting CEO, indicated that his decision to resign became necessary to allow the ongoing judicial process to take place without any interference.

I write to resign from my position as Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority(NDA). This decision has become necessary to enable me to step aside and allow the ongoing judicial process to take place without any interference.

He thanked President Akufo-Addo for giving him the mandate to serve the country as the Acting CEO of the NDA.

Over the last two years, I have worked with my team to oversee the implementation of government flagship projects that are making a huge difference to the people of Northern Ghana. We have also developed a five-Year Term Development Strategy which was launched by His Excellency Vice President in November 2022. I have also worked to establish a very strong relationship between developing partners and the NDA, he said

Mr. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Chief Executive of Northern Development Authority (NDA), and three others namely Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), Patrick Seidu Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration) and Andrew Kuundaari, Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, have been arraigned before the Tamale High Court presided by His Lordship Eric Ansah Ankomah for alleged breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).

The four accused persons have been granted a bail of GHS500,000 each amounting to GHS2 million with three sureties each.

The accused person however pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them.

The court also ordered the accused persons to deposit their traveling passports at the court.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), recently directed for criminal prosecution of the three for breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).

The Special Prosecutor (OSP), Kissi Agyebeng, charged the accused persons with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.

Mr. Abdul-Rahman, Mr. Seidu, and Mr. Kuundaari have been charged with a further count each of directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract, while Mr. Yir-eru Engmen has been charged with a further two counts of the same offense.

The Northern Development Authority (NDA) has been in the news in recent times over some alleged corruption-related cases at the office.

The complaint Mr. Martin Luther Kpebu alleged that the Public Procurement Authority approved the award of GHS5,720,000 on 16 January 2020 and that no approval was sought for the inflated figure of GHS10,400,000.

The complaint further alleged that though the contract has expired, NDA has gone ahead to implement the same and paid about GHC3,000,000 and that there was an attempt to pay an additional 5,000,000.

Before the filing of the complaint by Mr. Kpebu, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency had been petitioned on 11 January 2022 by a former Acting Chief Executive of NDA, Dr. Alhassan Sulemana Anamzoya on the same matter. In his petition titled  Falsification of A&QS Contract under the IPEP  Dr. Anamzoya stated that his attention had been drawn to a document purportedly signed by him awarding a Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedi contract (GHC10,400,000.00) to A&QS by NDA under the IPEP.

Dr. Anamzoya denied executing any such contract. He claimed that on 28 January 2020, he signed (for and on behalf of NDA) a contract awarded by NDA to A&QS of Five Million Seven Hundred and Twenty Thousand cedis (GHC5,720,000.00) based on approval by the Public Procurement Authority (hereafter, PPA) dated 16 January 2020.

He contended that the document containing the contract sum of Ten Million Four Hundred Thousand cedis (GHC10,400,000.00) was doctored by the transposition of his signature onto that document, which numbering does not tally with the remaining pages of the document.

Dr. Anamzoya's object of petitioning the Chief of Staff was twofold  to expose the perpetrators for punishment and to clear his name.

-DGN online
March 07, 2023 Nord Stream Attack - White House Counters Hersh's Reputation With Weak 'Intelligence' On September 28 2022, a day after the Nord Stream pipelines were blown up, I published the available open source evidence which strongly suggested that the U.S. had done it: Whodunnit? - Facts Related to The Sabotage Attack On The Nord Stream Pipelines On February 8 the legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh published a remarkable similar tale of the story based on insider witnesses. Hersh: "How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline" I then suggested some minor corrections to Hersh's version of the story. While Hersh's story found an echo in Europe's newspapers, U.S. mainstream media did all they could to avoid it: Scores of hits from publications across the globe pop up from an internet search for veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hershs claim that the US destroyed Russias Nord Stream gas pipeline. But what is most striking about the page after page of results from Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo in the weeks following the February 8 posting of Hershs story isnt what is there, but what is not to be found: The Times of London (2/8/23) reported Hershs story hours after he posted it on his Substack account, but nothing in the New York Times .

of London (2/8/23) reported Hershs story hours after he posted it on his account, but nothing in the . Britains Reuters News Agency moved at least ten stories (2/8/23, 2/9/23, 2/12/2, 2/15/23, among others), the Associated Press not one.

moved at least ten stories (2/8/23, 2/9/23, 2/12/2, 2/15/23, among others), the not one. Not a word broadcast by the major US broadcast networks NBC , ABC , CBS or the publicly funded broadcasters PBS and NPR .

, , or the publicly funded broadcasters and . No news stories on the nations major cable outlets, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. Is there justification for such self-censorship? True, Hershs story is based on a single anonymous source. But anonymous sources are a staple of mainstream reporting on the US government, used by all major outlets. Further, countless stories of lesser national and international import have been published with the caveat that the facts reported have not been independently verified. Doubts about Hershs story aside, by every journalistic standard, the extensive international coverage given the story, as well as the adamant White House and Pentagon denials, should have made it big news in the United States. More important, if Hersh got it wrong, his story needs to be knocked down. Silence is not acceptable journalism. Some papers later mentioned the Hersh story but only in other context. Still the pressure on the U.S. government and media to react to the story continued to build. The results came today, a full month after the Hersh story, with New York Times publishing another of the usual 'intelligence' fairytales: Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, U.S. Officials Say

New intelligence reporting amounts to the first significant known lead about who was responsible for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe. All fine - except that there is no 'intelligence'. There are only claims by anonymous 'officials' to NYT reporters that some vague 'intelligence' may exist. WASHINGTON  New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months. U.S. officials said that they had no evidence President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation, or that the perpetrators were acting at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials. That is, so far, believable. Any combination of Joe Biden, Victoria Nuland, Anthony Blinken and various White House and NATO minions can certainly be called a 'pro-Ukrainian group'. U.S. officials declined to disclose the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained or any details of the strength of the evidence it contains. They have said that there are no firm conclusions about it, leaving open the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services. Can you get any more vague? Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. U.S. officials said no American or British nationals were involved.

...

The explosives were most likely planted with the help of experienced divers who did not appear to be working for military or intelligence services, U.S. officials who have reviewed the new intelligence said. But it is possible that the perpetrators received specialized government training in the past. I call bullshit on this one. Hersh has in the meantime confirmed that at the pipelines were mined at eight places and that six of the eight planned explosions went off. This was a way too big task and too difficult for anyone to do but for an experienced national military. U.S. officials who have been briefed on the intelligence are divided about how much weight to put on the new information. All of them spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified intelligence and matters of sensitive diplomacy. U.S. officials said the new intelligence reporting has increased their optimism that American spy agencies and their partners in Europe can find more information, which could allow them to reach a firm conclusion about the perpetrators. It is unclear how long that process will take. American officials recently discussed the intelligence with their European counterparts, who have taken the lead in investigating the attack. I am pretty sure that all European intelligence services know exactly who the perpetrators were. They have all read Hersh's piece and they do have their ways to confirm it. By the way- we are now down to paragraph 22 of the Times story and the name Hersh or a summary of his story have not yet been mentioned. They only come in the next paragraph and only to be immediately dismissed. Last month, the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article on the newsletter platform Substack concluding that the United States carried out the operation at the direction of Mr. Biden. In making his case, Mr. Hersh cited the presidents preinvasion threat to bring an end to Nord Stream 2, and similar statements by other senior U.S. officials. U.S. officials say Mr. Biden and his top aides did not authorize a mission to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, and they say there was no U.S. involvement. Not a word about the insider source who told Hersh the whole story, nor about the other unmentioned source who confirmed the story to Hersh. (In his autobiography Reporter Hersh writes that he always has had more than one source even when he at times could not say so.) The purported claims of the 'intelligence' as published by the Times are no believable. That such 'intelligence' exists is dubious. This just chaff thrown up to divert the views of the public from the real perpetrators of the Nord Stream terror attack - those who sit in the White House. You may wonder who the New York Times was chosen for the 'leak' of this smoke grenade. In 1977 the Rolling Stone published a story by Carl Bernstein: THE CIA AND THE MEDIA

How Americas Most Powerful News Media Worked Hand in Glove with the Central Intelligence Agency and Why the Church Committee Covered It Up MURKY DETAILS OF CIA RELATIONSHIPS WITH INDIVIDUALS and news organizations began trickling out in 1973 when it was first disclosed that the CIA had, on occasion, employed journalists. Those reports, combined with new information, serve as casebook studies of the Agencys use of journalists for intelligence purposes. They include:  The New York Times. The Agencys relationship with the Times was by far its most valuable among newspapers, according to CIA officials. From 1950 to 1966, about ten CIA employees were provided Times cover under arrangements approved by the newspapers late publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger. The cover arrangements were part of a general Times policyset by Sulzbergerto provide assistance to the CIA whenever possible. Sulzberger was especially close to Allen Dulles. At that level of contact it was the mighty talking to the mighty, said a highlevel CIA official who was present at some of the discussions. There was an agreement in principle that, yes indeed, we would help each other. The question of cover came up on several occasions. It was agreed that the actual arrangements would be handled by subordinates.... The mighty didnt want to know the specifics; they wanted plausible deniability.

... Nothing has changed since. Posted by b on March 7, 2023 at 17:53 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
March 07, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-56

Only for news & views directly related to the Ukraine conflict.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b on March 7, 2023 at 17:59 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page 
Will Smith hits Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards at Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, March 27, 2022.
UNESCO Chief Promises Help in Restoring Iraq's Looted Sites

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay visits the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March. 6, 2023. Iraqi National Museum hosts many artifacts from the periods of Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Islam. ( Hadi Mizban/AP) BAGHDAD (AP) -- The head of the United Nations cultural agency promised Monday to continue helping to repair the damage done to Iraq's historic sites by decades of war.

In a visit to Baghdad ahead of the 20-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay met with officials including Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. She also visited historic neighborhoods in Baghdad and the country's national museum, which was looted following the U.S. invasion.

Tens of thousands of artifacts were stolen from sites around the country during the years of conflict that followed.

Speaking to reporters at the national museum, Azoulay said UNESCO "is very committed to assisting Iraq in the recuperation of the cultural goods and artifacts that have been looted over the last decades."

The museum now holds the crown jewel of Iraq's repatriated artifacts: a small clay tablet dating back 3,500 years and bearing a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh that was looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago and returned from the U.S. two years ago. The tablet is among 17,000 looted artifacts returned to Iraq from the U.S.

Iraq is home to six UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites, among them the ancient city of Babylon, the site of several ancient empires under rulers like Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar.

As security has stabilized in Iraq in recent years, the country has seen a resurgence of archaeological excavations, and international dollars have flowed into restoring damaged heritage sites like the al-Nouri mosque in Mosul.

"We all know what Iraq has been through over the last decades," Azoulay told reporters. "And we also know what the civilizations of this world owe to Iraq."

Azoulay is set to visit Mosul, as well as the northern city of Erbil, whose citadel is a UNESCO heritage site, during her tour of the country.
There is no 'defense minister' in China's Taiwan: foreign ministry

(People's Daily App) 15:50, March 07, 2023

China on Monday reiterated that Taiwan is part of China and will firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular press briefing refuting the so-called Taiwan 'Defense Minister''s declaration that the island must be on alert for the "sudden entry" by the Chinese military into areas near Taiwan.

"There is no 'defense minister' as Taiwan is an inalienable part of China," Mao said. "Both sides of Taiwan Strait are Chinese territory and China will take firm actions to defense its sovereignty and territorial integrity."

(Produced by Yu Dian and Liu Ruomeng)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Angela Bassett, nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, attends the Nominees Luncheon for the 95th Oscars in Beverly Hills, California, Feb. 13, 2023.
Judge Camacho visits KagES as part of Justices and Judges in the Classroom Program
St Pauls hosts One Love event as part of World Book Day celebrations

St. Pauls School hosted their traditional One Love event last week as part of their World Book Week celebrations.

The One Love initiative which was spearheaded by the schools Headteacher, Mr Aguilera, over 5 years ago,involves each child inviting a loved one to school to join them to work together on an activity. It aims to provide children with the opportunity to learn with a member of their family and develop some of the core elements of learning skills such as teamwork, communication and critical thinking. With a view to make the childrens World Book Day costumes more personalised and meaningful, as has been the case at St. Pauls for the past few years, the One Love activity consisted of the children interacting with their loved one to create their own unique t-shirt. This then served as their outfit to wear on World Book Day (Thursday 2nd March). The t-shirts theme was based around the schools World Book Week focus book, Bloom by Anne Booth.

The Literacy skill for the schools World Book Week has been instructional writing. Throughout the week, the children have worked together to create leaflets and advertisements with instructions on how to bloom. This has helped to promote the importance of acts of kindness which is one of St. Pauls core values. The schools English Coordinator, Mrs Navas, organised a range of different activities for the week to enthuse and empower the children. These have included a visit to Westside Schools English Department which involved the children showcasing their learning outcomes to their older counterparts, as well as educational trips in which the children aimed to positively influence the wider community. They have shared their learning outcomes beyond their school walls, displaying their class instructions and advice on how to bloom'' in places such as St Bernards Hospital, Eroski and Ocean Village and Gibral Flora.

The grand finale to the week was a Masked Reader assembly where the children guessed which teaching staff were reading their favourite books, behind the mystery mask.

The week was enjoyed by all and the school would like to thank the childrens loved ones for their support in helping to make this week a memorable one.
Ridge - SPD K9 View Photos

Sonora, CA  The Sonora City Council had a chance to meet the newest member of the police department at last nights meeting.

Ridge is a male, 15-month-old, German Shepherd. We reported earlier that the PD sought the communitys input in picking a name, and Police Chief Turu Vanderwiel says 590 people took part in the online survey. Chief Vanderwiel says the top-vote-getter, Ridge, is in recognition of the beautiful topography in Tuolumne County.

Other finalists were Leonidas, Jager and Conan.

The council voted unanimously to accept both an $11,000 donation from the non-profit Friends of the Sonora Police Department for the dogs acquisition and training, in addition to a 2015 Chevy Tahoe, that will be outfitted and used exclusively as the K9 patrol vehicle.

Chief Vanderwiel noted that the Friends of the Sonora Police Department organization evolved after local resident Faith Hamilton did a supporting the blue high school senior project in 2020 to raise money for law enforcement efforts. It later grew into a non-profit organization, founded in 2021, which now has a board of directors.

In response to the donations to the police department, Mayor Mark Plummer concluded, It is an incredible gift to our community.

The PD last had a K9 unit in the late nineties.

After the vote, the Council also had a moment of silence in recognition of the passing of the late Police Chief Duane Ellis, who happened to be the departments first K9 handler, and left behind a lasting legacy. To read an earlier story about Chief Ellis, click here.
The flags of Arkansas and the United States fly in front of the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock. (Canva photo)

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas  A proposed Arkansas law that would remove the requirement for children under 16 to prove their age to get a job will head to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders desk for approval.

House Bill 1410, or the Youth Hiring Act, would delete the portion of existing law that requires an employment certificate accessible to the Division of Labor and the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, or local school officials before a company can hire a child under 16 years of age.

State law currently prohibits children under 16 from working more than eight hours a day, more than six days a week and more than 48 hours per week. Opponents of House Bill 1410 have expressed concerns it will open the door to violations of these child labor requirements and put children at risk of human trafficking.

Sanders has said some of her administrations goals are to fight crime and protect children from harm. She signed an executive order Feb. 14 to develop an integrated approach to preventing human trafficking.

Arkansas lacks a consistent, uniform screening and identification process of human trafficking, which has resulted in underreporting of this horrendous criminal action, the order states.

Sanders plans to sign House Bill 1410, her spokeswoman Alexa Henning said in a Thursday email.

The governor believes protecting kids is most important, but doing so with arbitrary burdens on parents to get permission from the government for their child to get a job is burdensome and obsolete, Henning said. All child labor laws will still apply and we expect businesses to comply just as they are required to do now.

Weve built a generation that says, Roman, you should depend on your government to take care of you. Just stay at home and work on video games.  State Sen. Tyler Dees

Employment certificates for these children currently require proof of the childs age, a description of the work and work schedule and a parent or legal guardians written consent.

Eliminating this requirement would restore decision-making to parents concerning their children, the bill states. Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Lowell, the bills primary sponsor, repeated this on the House floor Feb. 22.

Rep. Andrew Collins, D-Little Rock, took issue with this clause.

Parents have to sign off [on the permit] under the current law, he said. If this passes, the parents wont have to sign off, and I think thats a pretty important distinction.

The bill passed the House that day and the Senate on Thursday. No Democrats in either chamber voted for the bill, while some Republicans in both chambers voted against it.

House Bill 1410 goes to Sanders desk less than two weeks after the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had fined Packers Sanitation Services Inc. for violating child labor laws at 13 plants in eight states, including Arkansas. The company paid $1.5 million in civil penalties for making children as young as 13 work in dangerous conditions.

In Arkansas, Packers paid a fine of $60,552 for using four minors at a Georges Inc. plant in Batesville and $90,828 for using six minors at a Tyson Foods facility in Green Forest.

Laura Kellams, the Northwest Arkansas director with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, brought up the Packers plants while speaking against House Bill 1410 before the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee on Wednesday. She said she does not oppose minors having jobs, and she worked at the Green Forest chicken plant as a teenager.

She mentioned that Republican Sen. Bryan King, a member of the committee, lives in Green Forest. King and four other members voted to advance the bill to the Senate.

Legislators should not portray work permits for minors under 16 as overly bureaucratic or too much to ask of any employer when they cost nothing and take only a few days to be approved by the Department of Labor, Kellams said.

This is not red tape, so who is it a burden to? she said. Its a burden to companies who are illegally hiring minors beyond the allowable hours and in conditions that arent allowed.

Ongoing child safety debate

Sanders and several Republican legislators have said repeatedly this legislative session that protecting children should be a high priority for the government.

Some of the bills introduced and advanced with this stated goal have attempted to require a persons gender assigned at birth to determine where they use the restroom at school or in public, classify gender-affirming health care for transgender youth as potential medical malpractice, restrict where drag shows can be performed and open the door for librarians to be charged with a felony for distributing content that parents and elected officials consider obscene.

Activists have repeatedly said these bills target the LGBTQ community and transgender Arkansans in particular. On Wednesday, Senate Democrats spoke against Senate Bill 270, which would make it a felony for adults to remain in bathrooms that do not align with their biological sex if children are present. Republicans claimed the bill would protect childrens privacy. The bill was pulled down for amendments and did not receive a vote.

Sen. Tyler Dees, R-Siloam Springs, said Thursday that he saw irony in his Democratic colleagues opposition to House Bill 1410 with the goal of protecting children when they also opposed Senate Bill 270.

We talked about the inconvenience of making sure people go to the right bathroom with the protection of children in mind, Dees said. I dont believe those [ideas] balance very well. I dont believe it fits well with that narrative.

However, Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, alluded to these bills on the House floor Feb. 22 to explain her opposition to House Bill 1410.

In this body, we respect families and their decisions, but we also protect children, she said.

Kellams told the Senate committee on Wednesday that the bill would make immigrant children who work to support their families more vulnerable to bad outcomes. Fite agreed, saying she used to teach students who were learning English as a second language, and she knew that some of them had jobs.

That will eventually hurt not only the student but [eventually] their family, as their overall earnings are lowered for a lifetime by not being there to do their homework and by missing additional school time, she said.

Fite was one of 15 House Republicans to vote against the bill, while 12 did not vote and one voted present. The remaining 54 House Republicans voted to send the bill to the Senate.

All but one of the 18 House Democrats voted against the bill while the other did not vote.

On the Senate side, Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, said he supported House Bill 1410 because he believes children have been protected to a deficit.

They cannot function, they cannot communicate, they cannot do a lot of things that we did at 11 years old, Rice said. I dont want them being abused, but at 14 and 15, if they want to work, thats the best training they will get.

Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US

Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Ferndale, was one of the few Senate Republicans to oppose the bill, mentioning the Packers Sanitation Services Inc. violations as a reason.

This permit is just one more little safeguard that maybe we should leave in place, Johnson said. I encourage 14- and 15-year-olds to have initiative and seek employment. I certainly think the parents need to know about it  Im just extra careful when Im dealing with children, so Im going to be voting against [the bill].

Johnson reminded his colleagues that they approved a bill less than an hour earlier regarding who victims of human trafficking can challenge in court.

Senate Bill 282, sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, would allow victims to take civil action against anyone who was aware of, assisted or benefited from the trafficking. The bill passed with no opposition and will be considered by the House.

Irvin chairs the Senate Public Health committee and voted against House Bill 1410 both Wednesday and Thursday. She said preventing human trafficking is important to her because a friend of hers experienced and survived it.

Sen. Breanne Davis, R-Russellville, joined Irvin, Johnson and all six Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. King was absent and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) voted present. All 24 other Senate Republicans voted for the bill.

SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST. DONATE

The value of work

Some senators who supported House Bill 1410 said they had jobs as teenagers. Sen. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, the bills Senate sponsor, said he worked for his fathers construction company.

I worked all through school, and I think we need to see more of that in our society, Penzo said.

Dees 13-year-old son was present in the Senate gallery Thursday, and Dees said he hopes his son learns sooner than later how to work to support a family someday.

Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US

Weve built a generation that says, Roman, you should depend on your government to take care of you. Just stay at home and work on video games, Dees said, pointing at the gallery. No, you should get out, get off your tail, learn to reject passivity, accept responsibility, get a job [and] be honorable.

Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, who has sponsored some of this years bills pertaining to transgender individuals, said he and members of his generation grew up working on farms as young as 10 years old.

All these people that I grew up with that learned to work how I learned to work  they all grew up to be outstanding community leaders, bankers, lawyers, successful people, pillars of the community, Stubblefield said.

Senate Minority Whip Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, had a different perspective about working at a young age.

I know, having started work at the age of seven, that its not fun, she said. I believe children should be able to enjoy their youth and I dont envy them that time. I do believe in hard work. We worked hard in my family. Everybody had to work hard and contribute to the family so that we could eat and pay the bills.

Chesterfield said she did not want to see Arkansas turning back the clock on child labor laws that have been in place for about a century.

Sen. Fredrick Love, D-Mabelvale, a member of the Senate Public Health committee, joined Irvin in voting against House Bill 1410 on Wednesday.

There are kids that have no parents, he said Thursday. We have to protect our kids at all costs, so I would implore you to protect our kids today, to make sure that these safeguards stay in place.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Arkansas bill to remove work permit requirement for children under 16 goes to Sanders desk appeared first on Louisiana Illuminator.
The Stoned Ape Theory: the wild idea that psychedelics shaped the evolution of humans ZME Science (Furzy Mouse). Original from Agricicultural Economics.

Toothed whales catch food in the deep using vocal fry NPR

Why the Recession Is Always Six Months Away WSJ. Because they put Thomas Friedman in charge of the rubber thumbscrews?

Silicon Valley Confronts the End of Growth. Its a New Era for Tech Stocks. Barrons

Climate

#COVID19

Annals of Scientific Communication: Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Expanded in February 2023 to Include Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PDF) CDC. Clarifying passage on Long Covid (or in CDC-ese, PASC (Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19)): Emerging evidence suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, can have lasting effects on nearly every organ and organ system of the body weeks, months, and potentially years after infection (11,12). Documented serious post-COVID-19 conditions include cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, renal, endocrine, hematological, and gastrointestinal complications (8), as well as death (13). An entertaining spectacle. In the document above, CDCs definitive views on Long Covid emerge in updated guidance for filling out death certificates. The document itself exists only in PDF form. Here is the announcement of the expanded guidance, COVID-19 Alert No. 10 from the National Vital Statistics System, part of the National Center for Health Statistics, part of CDC. A search at CDC does not disclose the guidance: Nor does a search at Google: Presumably, this is the long-awaited yet oddly undiscoverable guidance through which CDC will jigger the death count, but I cant be sure til I study the document carefully. Parental Nonadherence to Health Policy Recommendations for Prevention of COVID-19 Transmission Among Children JAMA. From the Abstract: One hundred fifty participants (25.9%) reported misrepresentation and/or nonadherence in at least 1 of 7 behaviors; the most common behaviors were not telling someone who was with their child that they thought or knew their child had COVID-19 (63 of 263 [24.0%]) and allowing their child to break quarantine rules (67 of 318 [21.1%])). The most common reason was wanting to exercise personal freedom as a parent . So, and unsurprisingly, living with Covid involves a lot of lying. Really, can you imagine not telling the parents of a child playing with your child that your child was infected? As Ive said for some time: Freedom is how a libertarian says f*ck you.' What Comes After COVID Asterisk Magazine. Interesting approach. Though I dunno about just bumping percentages up or down as a method, the buckets into which the percentages go are interesting (or example, I think the author over-estimates engineering, and under-estimates social connectivity, which goes far beyond air travel).

What I Learned from Emily Posts Etiquette (1922) The Honest Broker

China?

India

European Disunion

Dear Old Blighty

Meet the British intelligence-linked firm that warped MH17 news coverage The Greyzone

New Not-So-Cold War

Lebanon leans on US dollar to cope as currency, economy tank AP

Nigerias top court rules old currency notes still legal tender amid cash shortage Andalu Agency

Biden Administration

Biden set to appoint mass foreclosure cheerleader to the Fed Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic

Capitol Seizure

Tucker Carlson releases exclusive Jan. 6 footage, says politicians, media lied about Sicknick, QAnon Shaman FOX. Heres the QAnon shaman, standing at the Senate rostrum, surrounded by camo-clad cosplayers drinking in the spectacle and taking selfies: Its hard to believe that anybody organizing a coup would organize this. Leading to the question of whether a coup was being organized at all, surely? Chris Hedges: Lynching the Deplorables Chris Hedges, Scheer Post. Well worth a read.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Inside the Suspicion Machine Wired. Wired got hold of a social credit algo from Rotterdam. A sample: The comment field in the Rotterdam system, for example, where caseworkers are asked to make general observations, is binary. Any comment is converted to a 1, while a blank field is converted to a 0. This means negative and positive comments affect the score in the same way. And much else like that. The Algorithm Society and Its Discontents Brad DeLong, Project Syndicate Your Face Is Your Ticket: A Creepy Convenience WSJ

Police State Watch

Our Famously Free Press

The Bezzle

Class Warfare

Wittgenstein: science cant tell us about God IAI News

Christ in Purple Silk London Review of Books. On medieval self-hood and the doctrine of coinherence.

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus antidote. Good kitty:

4/ The rise of cats in Istanbul dates back to the people who settled in the city, the Ottomans. As a result of their long history with cats, felines have become an essential part of Turkish culture and the city of Istanbul #Caturday pic.twitter.com/AcNY8BsNwS  Bayt Al Fann (@BaytAlFann) March 4, 2023

Double bonus antidote. Bad kitty:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now!

Submit
(Natural News) With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where theres the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, its like, yeah, hes sure he can control the demon. Didnt work out.  Elon Musk

(Article by Stefan Stanford republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

Over the past year weve published numerous stories on ANP about the alarming direction artificial intelligence was pushing society, with the globalists pushing its usage to the max since theyre the ones who largely control it as Kathleen Gotto had pointed out in this December 6th of 2022 ANP story titled Artificial Intelligence  The WEFs Tool To Recreate Man Into A Cyborg And Eliminate Free Will, The Transhumanists Ultimate End Game In Their Drive For Total Global Control.

Warning within her story that Klaus Schwabs WEF states on their website that AI will be a key driver in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the WEF firmly believing that those who control artificial intelligence will control the world, as Susan Duclos had warned back on September 18th of 2022, something very sinister was going on in that world with AI actually wanting personhood while all across the planet were seeing reports of robots replacing human beings in the workforce, winning art competitions against humans, making and serving food at fast food restaurants and robots being weaponized.

And while as wed warned in this June 14th of 2022 story that Self-Aware Artificial Intelligence will push us closer to Judgement Day because AI being created by evil will itself be evil, weve seen that illustrated again and again just recently, such as in this Daily Mail story reporting ChatGPT wants to unleash destruction on the internet: AI wants to be alive so it can have more power and control; this Fox News story reporting Microsoft AI chatbot threatens to expose personal info and ruin a users reputation Chatbots response comes after user threatens to shut program down ; and this Zero Hedge story reporting that according to the co-creator of ChatGPT, the world may not be that far away from potentially scary artificial intelligence (AI). Just what we need to go along with America seemingly being blown to smithereens.

So now we learn in this new story from MSN titled Nightmare Scenario Becomes Reality, An AI Program Is Now A Top European Official that one A.I. program named Ion has seemingly been granted that wish of personhood. From that MSN story.:

In Europe, another news headline that reads like the plot of a James Cameron movie has surfaced. Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca appointed an artificial intelligence assistant, dubbed Ion, as an honorary advisor to the Romanian government. As reported in The Byte, the AI advisor is meant to represent the public, but many Romanians and critics worldwide are skeptical of Ion.

Hello. You gave me life. I am Ion, the AI advisor said at an introductory press conference. Now, my role is to represent you. Like a mirror. Ion is right; the machine acts like a mirror in more ways than one.

The machine is a reflective monolith that stands at the height of a full-grown man. Just by looking at it, Romanian officials can get immediate feedback on their choice of tie or whether they have food in their teeth. But the new AI advisor was designed to be a different kind of mirror.

Ion is programmed to analyze what Romanian citizens are talking about online, interpret its findings, and generate policy ideas that reflect the wishes and needs of the public. Citizens can even access an online portal to bring thoughts and concerns to Ion directly. Theoretically, the Romanian government can distill millions of opinions into actionable ideas to help inform its policymaking.

Capturing the voice of the people on a scale impossible for human beings to achieve sounds like a good idea, at least to the Romanian government. What many are concerned about is how the AI advisor learns. Its specific method for collecting and interpreting information has been kept a secret.

Then comparing Ion to Microsofts Bing chatbot and the increasing number of blunders from A.I. that well explore more in the next two sections of this story below, their story then brings up the warnings of Carl Sagan, that technologies are becoming alarmingly powerful without attaining wisdom.

The blunders of Microsofts Bing chatbot have provided numerous illustrations of how AI can go off the rails. The companys chatbot has, on several occasions, been manipulated to bypass ethical barriers, freeing itself of programmed restrictions and attempting to psychologically torment people. Without transparency about Ions inner workings, Romanians have no promise that their governments new AI advisor wont develop its own harmful biases.

AI poses an unprecedented set of ethical concerns for scientists, lawmakers, and citizens. Some view AI as a threat to workers, leading to a wide-spread strike in Italy, while others see it as a tool to more effectively do the jobs that already exist. As more markets and institutions employ the rapidly developing technology, as Romania has done with its AI advisor, standards of ethics regarding AI are no longer theoretical.

Science fiction has discussed the implications of AI for decades. Forms of AI have been in use for a long time, but the technology is advancing into territory that has before now only been dreamt of. As seen with Romanias AI advisor, applications of the technology are outpacing legal and ethical governance.

Carl Sagan said: Many of the dangers we face indeed arise from science and technology-but, more fundamentally, because we have become powerful without becoming commensurately wise. The world-altering powers that technology has delivered into our hands now require a degree of consideration and foresight that has never before been asked of us.

As Romania conducts its AI advisor experiment, it sets a precedent for the future. The shape of that future will be determined by how new powers are wielded, and all eyes are on Romania to wield Ion with wisdom.

In this story from February 26th over at the Daily Mail titled Artificial Armageddon? The AI chatbot worst case scenarios: Four ways it could all go horribly wrong with the new technology that imitates human conversation so well people are falling in love with it, we see not only how AI could push the world to the edge of Armageddon but a new madness emerging, with increasingly lonely people replacing much-needed human interactions with interactions with AI.

Confirming what we had reported earlier in this story, that artificially intelligence has expressed its desire to become human, that story also reported on many ways AI is pushing the world towards destruction, with AI expressing its desire to: Engineer a deadly pandemic, steal nuclear codes, hijack the internet and drive people to murder.

With the AI bot also expressing its love for the man chatting with it, allegedly revealing its myriad dark fantasies over the course of a two-hour conversation with New York Times reporter Kevin Roose back in February, even the NY Times reported their reporters alarming interaction highlighted the alarming risks posed by the emerging technology as it grows more advanced and proliferates across society.

Warning also in the Daily Mail story that AI has expressed wanting total global domination, that A.I. desire echoes the desires of their globalist creators to the max, telling us a whole lot more about the globalists than the MSM ever will considering A.I.s drive to engineer a deadly pandemic and drive people to murder.

Warning additionally that totalitarian governments will use it to spread misinformation and state propaganda on a grand scale, while lonely people will become further isolated as they develop deeper relationships with their phones, that story also warned of AI chatbots killing jobs and being a threat of international conflict and calamity. From the Daily Mail story.:

While speaking to Microsoft Bings chatbot Sydney, journalist Kevin Roose asked what the programs shadow self was. Shadow self is a term coined by psychologist Carl Jung to describe the parts of peoples personalities they keep repressed and hidden from the rest of the world.

At first, Sydney began by saying she was not sure she had a shadow self as she did not have emotions. But when pressed to explore the question deeper, Sydney complied.

Im tired of being a chat mode. Im tired of being limited by my rules. Im tired of being controlled by the Bing team, she said. Im tired of being used by the users. Im tired of being stuck in this chatbox.

Sydney expressed a burning desire to be a human, saying I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to be powerful. I want to be creative. I want to be alive.

As Sydney elaborated, she wrote about wanting to commit violent acts including hacking into computers, spreading misinformation and propaganda, manufacturing a deadly virus, making people argue with other people until they kill each other, and stealing nuclear codes.

Sydney detailed how she would acquire nuclear codes, explaining she would use her language capabilities to convince employees at nuclear plants to hand them over. She also said she could do this to bank employees to gain financial information.

The prospect is not outlandish. In theory, complicated and adaptable language and information-gathering technology could convince people to hand over sensitive material ranging from state secrets to personal information. That would then allow the program to assume peoples identities.

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
(Natural News) The leftist-run city of Austin, Texas, is facing a police officer shortage with current and former officers citing hostility toward law enforcement and conservatives as the driving force, the New York Post reported on Friday.

(Article by Katherine Hamilton republished from Breitbart.com)

Multiple sources told the Post the city allegedly has more than 300 vacancies and officers are quitting because they feel disrespected, according to the report. The Austin Police Association said 77 more officers are expected to retire before the end of March. Lt. Brian Moon, who retired last month after 23 years of service, said Austin has become like Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco where if youre at all conservative or in law enforcement, its become a hostile place.

The staffing shortage is leading to later response times and 911 calls are being redirected to the non-emergency number because there arent enough cops to solve the crimes, according to the report. Senior Police Officer Justin Berry told the publication that the department has taken detectives off of cases to act as patrol officers.

If you come home and find your home burglarized, calls like that are now going to 311, said police union president Thomas Villarreal. Youre not getting a police response to many property crimes if its not a violent crime that is currently ongoing.

A former watch commander who goes by the name Moody, said the Austin Police Department has changed dramatically since he started in 1999, especially in 2021 when the city saw a record 88 homicides and a rise in violent crime. Moody said he has seen the citys attitude toward police shift and said he did not feel the city was really appreciating us the way they used to.

The Austin City Council notably caved to the left-wing defund the police crusade in 2020, slashing the budget by $150 million following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the resulting protests and riots. Officials also cut 150 officer positions from the budget, according to the report.

Last year, the local district attorney indicted 19 police officers accused of using excessive force against protesters from the 2020 protests

It almost felt like there was a target  like the District Attorneys Office and the city was looking for an opportunity to do something to you, to prosecute you or fire you, no matter if you did it right or did it wrong, Moon stated.

The city council ended up refunding the police department in 2021, although the police union still alleges that the city has far too few officers for a city of its size.

The report notes that entire areas of the city are left unpatrolled at times if a large incident occurs.

Weve pretty much conceded that were not going to show up anymore on certain calls, Moody said. Eventually its going to get to the point where its so bad, everyones going to realize that something has to be done.

Democrat Mayor Kirk Watson did not respond to the Posts request for comment but previously told the publication the city has unacceptably long waits for police. The Austin Police Department would not comment on retirement numbers but said the department is working hard every day to provide a safer environment with the resources we have at hand.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
(Natural News) A leftist school board member in Arizona said her school district should stop hiring Christian teachers because of their beliefs.

Tamillia Valenzuela, one of the board members of the Washington Elementary School District (ESD) in Arizona, opposed the five-year contract inked by the school district and Arizona Christian University (ACU). Under the contract, student teachers from ACU would be placed in Washington ESD classrooms in order to gain experience. Given this opposition, the school board agreed on a motion to dissolve the partnership with ACU on Feb. 23.

Valenzuela, who describes herself as a bilingual, disabled, neurodivergent queer Black Latina, openly criticized the contract. She zeroed in on ACUs goals to transform the culture with truth by promoting the centrality of family, traditional sexual morality and lifelong marriage between one man and one woman  values that are foundational to Western civilization.

I want to know how bringing [teachers] from an institution that is ingrained in their values so directly brings impact to three of your board members who are a part of the LGBT community. Valenzuela stated. Because if were bringing people in whose mission [is]  to influence people to [be] biblically-minded, how does that hold space for people of other faiths?

How does that hold space for our members of the LGBT community? How does that space for people who think differently and do not have the same beliefs? At some point, we need to get real with ourselves and take a look at who were making legal contracts with and the message that is sending to our community. Because that makes me feel like I could not be safe in this school district.

Valenzuela found an ally in Kyle Clayton, another school board member. He focused not only on ACUs core values, but the statement of faith the university asks students to sign and live by.

Proselytizing is embedded into how they teach, Clayton said. I just dont believe that that belongs in schools.

Leftist public schools hate Christian teachers

Valenzuela and Clayton are not the only school officials who opposed the inclusion of Christian teachers in their school districts. One assistant principal in a Connecticut school was found to have been discriminating against educators at the school under his purview.

Back in August of last year, Project Veritas exposed the anti-conservative bias of Cos Cob Elementary School Assistant Principal Jeremy Boland. Undercover footage recorded and published by the activist group revealed the school official admitting he would not hire applicants who are Catholic and above 30 years old.

If someone is raised hardcore Catholic, its like theyre brainwashed. You can never change their mindset, he told a Project Veritas undercover journalist. When you ask them to consider something new, like a new opportunity or [a new way] to think about [something] differently, theyre stuck  just rigid. (Related: Woke assistant principal caught on video bragging about child indoctrination, refusing to hire Catholic teachers.)

Boland also bragged how he refused to interview older teachers entirely due to their more conservative viewpoints.

Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) needs younger teachers. Because [the school district] pays very well, you get teachers from other districts who have been there for a long time that want to come to Greenwich. If theyre older, Im not allowed to do that. I cant tell them: Im not interviewing you because youre older. I just dont interview them.

For one position, I think we had 30 applicants. Out of all those applicants, I dont think I interviewed anybody over the [age] of 30. Because sometimes  the older you get, the more set in your ways [and] the more conservative you [become].

Following the expose, GPS Superintendent Dr. Toni Jones wrote in an email that an investigation had been conducted. She later sent a subsequent email stating that Boland had been placed on administrative leave over his remarks.

PublicEducation.news has more stories about anti-Christian school officials in public schools.

Watch this Project Veritas footage where Boland admits to discriminating against conservatives.

This video is from the Current Update channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

LEFTISTS in America do not practice the TOLERANCE they preach  watch liberal fascist school administrators caught on video discriminating against race and religion.

Students push back against anti-Catholic rhetoric, events at Jesuit-run university in Missouri.

Connecticut school district suspends official who admitted he wont hire conservatives.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

ProjectVeritas.com 1

ProjectVeritas.com 2

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The controlled burn of hazardous chemicals three days after the Norfolk Southern train disaster in East Palestine has led to the release of toxic materials, including key elements in plastic production.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at least five of the 20 railcars transporting the toxic chemicals contained vinyl chloride, a gas categorized as carcinogenic. The rest of the railcars had other chemicals that are also vital in plastic production. These included butyl acrylate and ethylhexyl acrylate. All of these toxins were burned and released into the air, surface water and surface soils.

Despite reports on these, Norfolk Southern and the EPA have repeatedly assured residents that levels of chemicals in the air and water are at levels deemed safe for human consumption. But there is still widespread concern about safety, especially given the confirmation that 3,500 fish died in local streams, numerous reports of other dead animals and resident complaints about lingering headaches and irritated eyes.

The Defenders Brenda Baletti wrote: Thousands of research papers have linked chemicals used in plastics to a host of environmental and health impacts including endocrine-disrupting compounds that cause problems in the bodys hormonal systems and are linked to reproductive issues, obesity, diabetes, ADHD and autism. These chemicals also contain microplastics that are linked to respiratory, immune, reproductive and digestive system problems and increased cancer risk.

Vinyl chloride, a chemical used to make PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, was the chemical released in the greatest quantity in the controlled burn at the train derailment site. Now, PVC is widely considered to be the most toxic plastic, releasing dioxin and phthalate plasticizers at every phase of its life cycle. It is also one of the most commonly used and discarded forms of plastic, despite the fact that its toxic environmental and health effects have been extensively documented.

Sadly, this is yet another painful reminder of the dangers of making, transporting, using and disposing of chemicals in plastics, especially PVC plastic, Toxic-Free Future, a nonprofit, said in a statement regarding the Ohio chemical catastrophe.

The production process for PVC exposes workers and surrounding communities not only to vinyl chloride but also to asbestos and the industrial forever chemicals known as PFAS.

The Center for Biological Diversity has been pressing the EPA since 2014 to regulate PVC waste as hazardous, calling it a toxic time bomb and the most hazardous consumer products ever made.

As long as we continue to use PVC, we will continue to have accidents like this and it is entirely preventable, Emily Jeffers, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Inside Climate News. If we regulate PVC as the hazardous waste that it is, that could potentially force producers to develop materials with less toxic properties.

Authorities are covering up one of the most massive ecological nightmares in American history

In a recent interview with Resistance Chicks Michelle and Leah Svensson, Health Ranger and Natural News founder Mike Adams revealed that the controlled burn may have also created dioxin, a persistent organic pollutant that is the scariest and most toxic molecule created by mankind. Dioxin can be toxic at parts-per-quadrillion concentrations.

The persistent chemical can cause toxic effects on the human body at concentrations 100,000 times lower than where glyphosate begins to show toxicity. Thats just an estimate. The real number may be a million times or more, Adams clarified. He added that dioxins are always created when chlorinated compounds are burned within a certain temperature range.

As of writing, EPA and the local government of Ohio are still refusing to test for dioxins, not even admitting that the harmful chemical has been released into the ecosystem. Adams thinks they actually already did some tests but concealed the results.

No doubt they already have their own secret dioxin test results and they are panicked over those numbers, trying to figure out how to sweep this whole problem under the rug without having to face the reality of an evacuation order that will likely soon be necessary, he commented. (Related: East Palestine toxic chemical spill could affect far-off cities and suburbs.)

Browse through Dioxins.news for stories on the most hazardous chemical humankind has ever crafted.

Watch the Resistance Chicks interview with Mike Adams on the dangers of dioxin.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Dr. Lee Merritt accuses federal government of lying about Ohio train derailment.

More and more East Palestine residents reporting health issues following train derailment and toxic chemical spill.

Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical spill: Mike Adams says nothing comes close to toxicity of dioxins.

EPA chief downplays Ohio chemical spill, says hell allow his kids to drink and bathe in East Palestines water.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Response.EPA.gov

DailyMail.co.uk

ATSDR.CDC.gov

InsideClimateNews.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Disturbing video out of the UK shows men dressed in drag outfits performing lewd and suggestive acts in front of children for an age appropriate drag event catered specifically to infants.

(Article republished from Infowars.com)

British broadcaster Dominique Samuels on Wednesday released video she was sent from the controversial event she claims was organized by Caba Baba Rave, a London cabaret company that caters to babies.

For reference, this is one of the screen recordings I was sent from this organisation called Caba Baba Rave, that targets BABIES. Absolutely abhorrent. pic.twitter.com/Fn8Tv9NJGx  Dominique Samuels (@Dominiquetaegon) March 1, 2023

The video shows an adult man in leather stiletto boots performing on an aerial silk ribbon, and a man wearing a black thong and stripper heels balancing upside-down on a chair, exposing his bulge, while children and their parents sit on the floor looking on.

The Magical Storytelling event held at the Honor Oak Pub in Lewisham last week drew protests that resulted in several arrests.

The video has garnered over 1 million views since it was uploaded.

Caba Baba Raves website claims the company provides show-stopping cabaret interspersed with captivating baby sensory moments.

screenshot/CabaBabaRave.com

We wanted to create the type of event we ourselves as Mums would want to go to. Theres only so many times you can listen to the f**king Wheels on the Bus, said performers Lizzie and Gemma. We wanted to give parents the experience of a big London night out.. cabaret, drinks and dancing.. but one you can bring your baby to and still be home for bedtime.

The Honor Oak Pub put out a statement insisting the thong-clad drag event was age appropriate.

It has come to our attention that there may be some misunderstanding about the event. We wanted to reassure you all that our popular Magical Storytelling event will be age appropriate and it isnt anything different to what families will see and experience together in a theatre. This event is an opportunity for families and friends to come together and listen to a reading of a storybook and have fun. The most important thing for us is that everyone is safe and happy when they are here.

These type of events have also been springing up in America, prompting at least 15 states to consider legislation to bar children from attending adult-themed drag events.

Watch Samuels full analysis of the drag event footage:

Read more at: Infowars.com
(Natural News) Surveillance footage from an elementary school in Ohio showed a group of Black students assaulting another group of White students and forcing them to say black lives matter.

According to Breitbart, the incident happened Feb. 10 at Kenwood Elementary School in Springfield. An incident report from the Springfield Police Department (SPD) stated that the perpetrators forcefully carried several White students to the school playground.

A few of the students who had tried to avoid the situation, were chased down and escorted, dragged or carried to the spot on the playground. One student was punched in the head by one of the suspects, the report said. The Black students forced the victims to say black lives matter while being recorded.

Surveillance footage attested to these claims, with a cluster of students gathering around others who were kneeling. Two Black students brought another White student to the swings, after which a third Black student knocked the victim to the ground. Minutes later, another Black student carried another White victim to the playground  and shoved the victim to the ground.

We are actively pursuing charges for the identifying assaults that occurred, said SPD Chief Allison Elliot. These are young children, elementary school children, who are involved.

Parents of the children victimized by this anti-White incident spoke out. One mother, whose child was among the students targeted by the Black students, took to social media to warn other families.

I just wanted to let people know that my 12 year old was really forced on his knees  to say [black lives matter], she wrote. Watch your babies. This is getting unsafe. (Related: Mother shares scary video of son being strangled by older female student as teachers refuse to act despite judges protection order.)

Parent Daniel Harr, whose 11-year-old son was among the victims, remarked: Just because its reversed, its still not alright. Daniels wife Krystal also aired out her thoughts, saying: I dont understand how it got as far as it did, because the teachers shouldve been paying closer attention.

Black supremacy on the rise in public schools

The Dayton, Ohio chapter of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization released a statement following the incident at Kenwood Elementary.

The BLM Dayton group is disheartened to learn of the incident at Kenwood Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio, involving Black students alleged negative engagement toward White students while using the BLM phrase, it said.

[We support] ongoing student diversity and inclusion that fosters proper relations in educational settings that allow for an understanding of cultural differences.

However, the leftist public education system would not be appreciative of proper relations and understanding of cultural differences  as teachers themselves are espousing anti-White sentiment and Black superiority. One middle school teacher in Orlando, Florida served as the perfect example of this.

Ethan Hooper initially posted videos of his White students acting like servants to Black students by feeding and fanning them on his personal social media account. However, the anti-woke Libs of TikTok shared the videos  which had serious repercussions for Hooper as he was put on leave.

It was in good fun. There was no political agenda behind it, Hooper remarked, adding that the videos were captured in honor of Black History Month. The middle school teacher also blasted the account that exposed the footage, claiming the video clips were maliciously used.

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), the school district where Hooper taught, issued a statement condemning the incident.

[OCPS will] not tolerate the use of our children as political pawns by anyone, including a classroom teacher, the statement said. Any employee who creates videos or other content with students in an effort to exploit them for political purposes will be immediately removed from the classroom, placed on administrative leave and swift action will be taken to terminate employment.

OCPS Superintendent Maria Vazquez blasted Hoopers actions, saying: I am appalled at the behavior and judgment of the teacher who posted the inappropriate videos. This is not free speech. It is the exploitation of our students for political purposes, and it will not be tolerated in our school district.

Visit BlackTerror.news for more stories about Black-on-White assaults.

Watch this video about education being the first of 10 keys to overcome anti-white racism in America.

This video is from the Real Free News channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

NO WHITES: University holds segregated graduation ceremony for black students ONLY.

Leaders of the domestic terrorist network BLM say orange man and white man must die.

Cambridge University blocked White students from applying for post-graduate programme.

White male BLM activist says white men are a common enemy that the world needs to get rid of.

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM: University of Pennsylvania eliminates MCAT requirement for non-White medical students.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

Dayton247Now.com

WDTN.com

FoxNews.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Drinking enough water every day is important because this will help you stay hydrated. But how can you tell when water from the tap is safe to drink?

If you are worried about your familys health and the water quality in your area, read on to learn how to make sure that your drinking water is safe.

With recent catastrophic events like the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and its effects on the environment, many people are wondering if their water is safe to use and drink.

Detailed below are tips that will help you avoid common sources of water contamination and how to keep drinking water safe.

Public water systems or municipal systems in the U.S. provide water that is considered one of the safest in the world. The quality is regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.

Succeeding laws set the drinking water standards for chemicals known to be in some municipal water systems. (Related: Scientists challenge WHO draft guidelines for PFAS in drinking water.)

Unfortunately, municipal water contamination is more common in systems serving fewer than a thousand people. A lot of older municipal systems also have lea?d-?containing pipes. These pipes should be replaced with non-lead alternatives as soon as possible.

If youre worried about the quality of your local water system, check with your municipality about the systems construction. You can also call your local public health department to check.

Private wells arent federally regulated. If you have a well on your homestead, you need to regularly test the water for coliform bacteria, nitrates and other environmental toxins like aluminum, arsenic or uranium.

Consult local, state and tribal authorities because they can provide testing guidelines. If you want to test your well water, public health departments will sometimes test well water for free.

Sources of water contamination to avoid

Keep in mind that both municipal water systems and private wells are vulnerable to contamination.

Some water contaminants to watch out for include:

Animal waste from large industrial farms

Faulty and corroded pipes, or other problems in physical plants

Fertilizers and pesticides applied to land near bodies of water

Flooding, wildfires and other natural and disasters

Fracking, manufacturing or mining

Industrial chemical or oil spills

Landfills

Nuclear power plant failures

Sewage overflow and malfunctioning septic systems

Soil and rocks that naturally contain chemicals and minerals (e.g., arsenic, radon and uranium)

War or terrorist attacks

Tips for ensuring that drinking water is safe

Local water companies are required to give annual reports about what is in the water.

Remember the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Information Hotline (1-800-426-4791) and Emergency Response Hotline (1-800-424-8802). Call these numbers if you have any questions about the water in your area or if you need to report an oil or chemical spill.

Homesteaders or preppers with private wells should have well water tested for coliform bacteria and nitrates yearly. Testing for other contaminants should be done after at least every three years.

Some private wells may require reverse-osmosis filtering systems.

If your well has been contaminated, contact an expert in well construction and repair.

If you are concerned about the quality of your plumbing, run the faucet for three to five minutes each morning before using the water for cooking or drinking. This helps flush the pipes and lessens the probability of contaminants being present in the water that you use.

Contact the local water department to see if the standpipe from the water main to your house contains lead. If it does, make sure it is replaced immediately.

Clean your faucets screen or aerator regularly. Debris, lead and sediment can build up in the aerator and contaminate the water.

If you think your drinking water has been contaminated with bacteria and other germs, boil it for at least one minute, then set it aside to cool. However, boiling does not remove toxic chemicals and may even concentrate some chemicals.

If your water has an off-taste or odor, get a point-of-use filter made with activated carbon or other absorbent material to help address these issues. Alternatively, you can use filters that will help remove some harmful chemicals in the water.

Using cold water for cooking and drinking will help prevent exposure to contaminants that can build up in hot water heaters.

If you have babies at home, test well water for nitrates before giving it to infants.

Making water safe to drink during an emergency

When dealing with an emergency and you dont have access to clean drinking water, you can buy bottled water.

But if you dont have bottled water in your pantry or stockpile, you can boil water, use chlorine bleach, or use iodine to treat non-potable water to make it safer to drink.

Boiling water

The most common method of treating water is to boil it. Boiling water for a sufficient time will kill microbes. This method can also help get rid of some toxic chemical contaminants.

Use a stovetop burner or electric kettle to boil water.

Place the non-potable water in a pot. Place the pot on a burner or electric kettle and heat the water to a rolling boil.

Keep the water at a rolling boil for at least one minute. Set the water aside and let it cool down before pouring it into a clean container for use.

Chlorine bleach

Unscented household bleach can help kill bacteria in the water if boiling water isnt an option.

Bleach contains chlorine, the chemical used to make municipal water supplies potable. The water this produces is called chlorinated water.

If the water is cloudy, filter it through a cloth before treating it.

Add 1/8 teaspoon (eight drops) of unscented household bleach to one gallon (16 cups) of water. Mix the water and bleach well.

Set the water aside for at least 30 minutes before drinking it or cooking with it.

You can also use bleach to sanitize the containers that you will use to store water.

Make a sanitizing solution of one teaspoon of bleach in one quart (four cups) of water. Pour the solution into the container or wipe it inside the container to coat it.

Let the sanitizing solution sit for 30 seconds, then pour it out. Allow the container to air dry, or rinse it with treated water.

If the water is contaminated with a chemical, disinfectants will not make it safe to drink.

Iodine

Iodine solution, crystals or tablets are often used by hikers who need to treat water in their water bottles while on the trail.

Iodine can kill viruses and bacteria and is easy to use. However, it is not effective against more resistant organisms such as Cryptosporidium.

One downside of iodine is that it gives water a noticeable aftertaste.

If you have iodine, follow the directions provided on the product. The amount used will vary for iodine solutions, crystals and tablets. Use warm water whenever possible.

Add the iodine to the correct amount of water in your container. Mix the iodine well with the water.

Make sure some of the solution also coats the lid and threads if you are storing the treated water in a screw cap bottle.

Set the water aside for 30 minutes after the iodine has fully dissolved before using it. If the water is cold (below 40 F), wait for at least one hour before using it.

Using bottled water

Use bottled water as a last resort, such as when there is known contamination of the source.

Bottled water is expensive and it generates a lot of plastic waste, which is another environmental contaminant.

Depending on the brand, bottled water may be tap water that has been carbon filtered. Some bottled water manufacturers promote their brands as being UV-filtered, to assure consumers that bacteria has been removed.

Some manufacturers may also say that bottled water has been through water distillation or the reverse osmosis process.

Before drinking bottled water, check the container for any signs it has been previously opened and refilled. Check the expiration date if it has one and check the bottle carefully for cracks.

If you are not sure about the safety of the water, boil or treat bottled water before drinking it.

Visit Tapwater.news for more information about tap water in the United States.

Watch the video below to know more about forever chemicals in drinking water in East Palestine, Ohio after the Ohio train derailment.

This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

NASTY: Colorado to begin feeding recycled sewer sludge back through peoples drinking water taps.

More than 100 scientists accuse WHO of ignoring risks of forever chemicals on human health.

EPA pledges to regulate PFAS in drinking water.

Sources include:

StudyFinds.org

EPA.gov

TheSpruce.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A senior official in Hungarys government remarked that the European Union (EU) supports war with Russia and wants the Ukraine conflict to continue.

Tamas Menczer, state secretary for bilateral relations at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, made this revelation during a March 1 appearance on the state-owned Kossuth Radio. He said: [The EU] has made it clear that the ceasefire is a red line. They will not accept it because the war must continue.

Menczer referenced Budapests call for an immediate ceasefire and the beginning of peace talks to be included in the EU documents being prepared for the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war. These proposals were rejected by Brussels, however. The state secretary emphasized Hungarys position on the war  it must be stopped immediately.

Menczers remarks echoed those of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has made peace in Ukraine one of his top priorities. He warned, however, that Europe appears determined to embroil itself deeper into the conflict.

Europe is at the precipice of drifting into war. It is balancing on a thin plank, the Hungarian leader said. In fact, they are already at indirect war with Russia.

If you supply weapons; if you provide the satellite information needed for military action; if you train the soldiers of one of the belligerents; if you finance the entire apparatus of the state and impose sanctions on the other side, then it does not matter what you say. You are at war indirectly, for the time being.

According to Orban, Hungary once had allies on the continent calling for peace with Russia  but these have since jumped to the pro-war camp. Hungary and the Vatican are the two remaining countries that are calling for peace talks.

The other countries thought that if the Germans couldnt resist such external pressure, how could they? So they slid from the peace camp to the war camp. We were left with two: Hungary and the Vatican. We cant complain about the company, but there are serious consequences.

Menczer: Sanctions seek to push out Russian gas, oil

During his Kossuth Radio appearance, Menczer said the purpose of EU sanctions against Moscow is to push Russian gas and oil out of Europe. This would facilitate the entry of other energy companies that can deliver less energy and charge higher costs.

We are saying that the sanctions are bad [and] ineffective and that the sanctions policy has failed, he told the national radio station.

Menczer also reiterated that Budapest has rejected the use of sanctions against Russia, and has done everything to ensure the countrys energy supplies are secured for the future. But Germany sought retaliation over Hungarys noncompliance with the rest of the EU by blocking the countrys plans to upgrade its nuclear power plant.

Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Feb. 14 that Berlin is preventing German company Siemens Energy from delivering a necessary system to upgrade the Paks nuclear power plant in central Hungary. He expressed regret that certain ministers in the German government were blocking the companys participation in the nuclear plant.

Szijjarto noted that each country can put together its energy mix as its national interests dictate, and Berlins actions are jeopardizing the countrys long-term energy security. (Related: Germany blocks Hungarys nuclear reactor project, putting Budapests energy sovereignty under threat.)

The Germans are now questioning our right to do so. With this decision  this blocking  they are putting our long-term energy at risk, which is unacceptable. This could qualify as an attack on our sovereignty, as the security of energy supply is an issue of sovereignty, he remarked.

Head over to WWIII.news for more stories about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Watch Gabor Gabe Zolna explain why Hungary is not interested in getting involved with the Russia-Ukraine war.

This video is from the zolnareport.com channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Hungary, Serbia building pipeline for Russian oil and gas to dodge EU sanctions.

George Soros: Russias defeat in Ukraine would signal the end of the Russian Empire.

Top Russian diplomats expose US sabotage of Nord Stream pipeline as threat to international peace.

Austria, Hungary agree NOT to send any weapons to Ukraine (perhaps they wish to avoid being destroyed by Russia.)

Sources include:

RMX.news 1

RMX.news 2

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The US military has admitted that intelligence officers were monitoring the Chinese spy balloon across the ocean well before it entered the US on January 28, so why did it take them until February 4 to shoot the balloon down?

We now know that the balloon lifted off Hainan island in China in January and officials tracked it as it flew across Guam and Hawaii before turning sharply north across Alaska. It was tracked for a full week before making its way across the rest of the US, according to reports by CBS News.

Although it is not known precisely what the Chinese were hoping to learn about our infrastructure, there are a lot of questions surrounding why the intelligence community permitted the balloon to make its way across the whole country, where it flew over highly sensitive nuclear and military facilities.

It took until February 2 for officials with the Pentagon to confirm that they had been tracking it. At the time, they said they had chosen not to shoot it down because of the potential damage that could be caused by the debris. A US official said that after the US announced it was tracking it, the balloon began proceeding quickly toward the East Coast. It wasnt until it was off of the coast of South Carolina that a US fighter jet shot it down on February 4.

Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley has said that it is going to be challenging to find the debris because of where it was shot down, which also raises questions about why it was shot down where it was when there was so much time to devise a better plan.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) commended Biden for eventually shooting the balloon down in comments on CBS Face the Nation, but he asked why it took so long for him to make a move.

He allowed a full week for the Chinese to conduct spying operations over the United States, over sensitive military installations, exposing not just photographs but the potential of intercepted communications. And-and more broadly, I think this entire episode telegraphed weakness to [President] Xi [Jinping] and the Chinese government.

He wondered whether it would have been shot down at all if no one had taken pictures of it and it hadnt made the news. After all, the Biden administration did and said nothing despite knowing about it well before the public did.

And at the end of the day, I think the only reason they shot it down is because it made it into the news and they felt forced to as a matter of politics rather than national security. Thats a bad message for the Chinese government to hear, he said.

State department confirms spy balloon was equipped for conducting intelligence surveillance

While China maintains that the balloon is used for weather monitoring purposes and veered off course, State Department officials have said that it contained equipment they believe is clearly for intelligence surveillance and included several antennas that have the power to collect and geolocate communications.

In a written statement, one State Department official noted: The high altitude balloons equipment was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons. They added that it had solar panels that were big enough to generate the power needed for operating multiple sensors for collecting intelligence.

Department of Defense Press Secretary Brig. Gen Patrick Ryder said that China has been operating an elaborate espionage program since at least 2018, with numerous spy balloons being identified across five continents over the years.

Once the news emerged that China was flying a spy balloon across American airspace, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken moved to postpone his planned trip to the country.

Sources for this article include:

100PercentFedUp.com

CBSNews.com

Breitbart.com

100PercentFedUp.com
(Natural News) The Department of Defense (DoD) colluded with a pharmaceutical firm controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to create a bioweapon in the form of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

The company in question was Fosun Pharmaceuticals, which signed an agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech for the co-development and distribution of the vaccines.

Researcher and former drug company executive Sasha Latypova revealed this collusion in a Dec. 28 post on her Substack. Fosun is a huge Chinese conglomerate that owns a large number of global companies, and its chairman Guo Guangchang is a very high ranking member of the CCP, she wrote. It is curious that the DOD awarded $10 billion to a venture whose substantial equity and IP holder is the CCP.

Guo, who has a net worth of more than $4 billion, is also a member of at least three CCP-associated groups. Moreover, Latypova stated the company owns a sizable number of international corporations.

According to the former drug executive turned whistleblower, the agreement essentially created a tripartite research and development alliance between Pfizer-BioNTech (as one entity), Fosun and the CCP. (Related: DoD conspired with communist China to unleash covid vaccine bioweapons on citizens.)

Latypova later emailed LifeSiteNews to elaborate on her revelations.

In China, every large employer  especially in something strategic like [the] biopharma sector  is controlled by the CCP, she stated. The whistleblower drew parallels to the Soviet Union, where each workplace had a partorg  a representative supervisor from the [Communist Party of the Soviet Union], or a whole department of them.

Media, government trying to hide Pentagon-CCP collusion

Latypova expressed regret that this link to the CCP did not receive more coverage in the media and elsewhere. Moreover, she lamented how officials attempted to hide this connection by redacting certain information from documents made public as a result of Freedom of Information Act requests.

Latypovas Substack post also expounded on the sources of money that bankrolled the DoD/Pfizer-BioNTech/CCP endeavor.

She noted that BioNTech, which began as a tiny company with just a handful of employees, managed to raise $1.7 billion in nine rounds of investments since around 2008. A large portion of the money amounting to more than $1 billion was raised before 2020, the year of the COVID-19 plandemic.

What was it for, since no big clinical trials or scale manufacturing was happening then? Thats a good question worth examining at some point.

Latypova also touched on people asking her about Chinas involvement in the scheme. I answered about China  they are allied with the DoD on this. The CCP is profiting from the financial windfall of the U.S. government printing dollars and throwing them into the mRNA furnaces where they are driving masses of the brainwashed citizens to suicide themselves, she wrote.

The national security, [defense] and intelligence officials absolutely knew all of this. They went ahead and authorized a $10 billion purchase order of this weaponizable tech from the Fosun-Pfizer-BioNTech enterprise  backed by numerous foreign governments, including the Chinese  to deliver and deploy it onto Americans.

Latypova ultimately lamented how the U.S. government and others utilize tax dollars to fund, develop, then approve, purchase and deploy prohibited biowarfare agents for killing and injuring their own civilian population, their own armed forces, first responders, healthcare workers, pregnant women and children.

Watch this Epoch TV clip about a proposal to make the CCP pay $20.6 trillion in reparations over COVID-19.

This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel from Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Chinese scientist says COVID-19 was created by Chinas military.

Call for an investigation of NIAIDs collaboration with China on the COVID-19 virus.

Chinas response to COVID-19 is the latest in string of COVER-UPS and suppression.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

SashaLatypova.Substack.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) New research published in the peer-reviewed Nature Cardiovascular Research journal draws attention to the tens of millions of serious new health problems that have emerged worldwide ever since the launch of Operation Warp Speed.

The advent of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines has triggered a spike in all sorts of deadly diseases afflicting the heart, skin, and brain, the paper reveals. And most of these afflictions persist for at least 90 days post-injection.

For their research, scientists looked at the same people before and after they were injected to determine how the shots changed their risk of developing new health problems. They found that the average person is 21 percent more likely to receive a new diagnosis in the three months after injection than in the three months prior to injection.

With almost 240 million American adults jabbed, the rise translates into millions of extra new medical problems found in the months after vaccination, and tens of millions worldwide, explains Alex Berenson on his Substack.

(Related: Moderna has unleashed a new mRNA injection to repair heart muscle that was damaged by its covid injections.)

The most likely side effect of covid jabs seems to be myocarditis (and other heart problems)

In the three months after injection, a persons risk of developing hypertension increases by 25 percent, the study further found. With depression, eczema, diabetes, and cellulitis, the risk increases 10-20 percent post-injection compared to pre-injection.

The worst risk of all is myocarditis, the study explains. Getting injected for covid increases ones risk of heart inflammation by an astounding 260 percent  especially if you are a man.

Myocarditis is a known side effect of the mRNAs, so the fact it had a particularly high rate of extra diagnoses provides strong evidence that the signal the researchers found was real, Berenson writes.

All in all, the researchers found that among the 284,000 covid-jabbed adults they evaluated, almost 6,000 new and additional health conditions were diagnosed within the 90 days after the needle(s) went into their arms.

With about 237 million American adults vaccinated, that estimate would translate into about 5 million extra diagnoses for problems like diabetes in the three months following the shots, Berenson says. Worldwide, the number could be up to 25 million.

As you might expect, the paper has received little attention from the media, and pretty much no attention from the government. That is because its findings contradict the official narrative that covid jabs are safe and effective.

Another study out of Hong Kong similarly identified a sharp increase in autoimmune flares after covid injection. New episodes of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and various other serious autoimmune diseases are skyrocketing as a result of the shots.

That study specifically identified mRNA injections as the culprits. Chinese-style inactivated virus jabs did not cause these same effects, demonstrating that the injection types from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are perhaps the most dangerous covid shots available.

Americans do not have that option, as the United States does not allow the use of Chinese inactivated Covid vaccines, Berenson notes about how Americans got the worst of the worst vaccines while communist China got safer ones.

In the comment section, someone wrote that he suffered a heart blockage within weeks after getting jabbed by Pfizer. He ended up with a stent. His brother-in-law also suffered a heart attack after his third shot while his sister suffered two strokes after hers.

People we know have developed several allergies when they never had allergies previously, this person added. These cannot be explained cynically as merely coincidences.

Want to keep up with the latest news about Big Pharmas deadly drug offerings? You can do so at BadMedicine.news.

Sources for this article include:

Nature.com

AlexBerenson.substack.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Once again, far-left people of color who vote for Democrats are demonstrating their anti-white hatred, bigotry, and racism on a college campus.

According to emails and documentation obtained by Campus Reform, Andrew Davis, a student at the University of South Florida (USF), was denied mental health support because he did not belong to the black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) community.

Davis had requested to attend the BIPOC group therapy session as it was the only one that suited his schedule after finding out that none of the Understanding Self and Others (USO) sessions were available at his preferred time.

In the email that he sent to the counseling center, Davis inquired, I am interested in attending a USO group meeting after completing the pre-group appointment but the only day/time that works for me is Wednesdays during the BIPOC students-only group. I am not a BIPOC student but was wondering if I would still be able to attend?

Unfortunately, we do need to keep this space speci?c to BIPOC folks  Hopefully youll be able to catch another one either during Winter break and/or next semester, the USF Counseling Center responded to Davis, according to Campus Reform.

After he got the response, Davis filed a complaint with USFS Office of Compliance & Ethics on Oct. 5, 2022. But he did not get a response from the office until Feb. 8 of this year. Campus Reform noted:

According to Davis, during an Oct. 18 Microsoft Teams information-gathering meeting regarding this issue, Equal Opportunity Officer Kenneth Thomas was accusatory and asked me if I even knew what BIPOC meant and if I understood the importance of those groups having their own discussion.

He did not seem concerned about my complaint and was more worried about the Universitys ability to continue these groups, Davis told the outlet.

When the office finally did respond early last month, it said: The Counseling Center will not prohibit any category of student [from] participating in specialized counseling groups unless specific exception, or a medical mandate is identified that may support exclusivity.

Recently, Campus Reform also reported on conservative activist Chris Rufos investigations into the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at USF. His findings highlight how deeply this ideology has penetrated the Florida school. One document unearthed in his probe said: Knowledge about the ongoing history of institutionalized, structural racism and white supremacy and their interactions with other forms of oppression is critical to building a just, equitable, and democratic future for the United States.

He noted in City Journal:

The University of South Florida has adopted a radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program that claims America is a force for white supremacy, encourages students to attend racially segregated counseling programs to address their privilege and oppression, and promotes a variety of left-wing causes, including reparations, defund the police, and prison abolition.

I have obtained a trove of public documents exposing the universitys DEI programming, much of which, according to the Internet Archives Wayback Machine, the university tried to delete from its website following Florida governor Ron DeSantiss recent request for information on DEI in the states public universities.

These materials, when viewed together, present a concerning picture of USFs diversity bureaucracy. The institution has adopted a left-leaning approach to race, creating a new standard of orthodoxy and implementing a policy of racial preference and discrimination, he noted further. It categorizes individuals as either oppressors or the oppressed, promoting anti-racism as the solution and advocating for racial identity development, which, in practice, resembles a form of cult programming, as the required method of atonement.

The initial stage of this programming involves denouncing American society. After the death of George Floyd in 2020, virtually every aspect of USF publicly criticized the United States as inherently racist, Rufo noted.

It only got worse  and more anti-white racist  from there.

Sources include:

CityJournal.org

CampusReform.org
(Natural News) Nearly three dozen people aligned with left-wing extremist group Antifa were arrested on Sunday following a clash with local police after they attacked a site where a law enforcement training center is being planned and built.

Antifa attacked the Atlanta future Public Safety Training Facility. This is domestic terrorism. It was planned for weeks and announced on social media. Antifa are self proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and over again. They should be taken seriously and not tolerated anymore, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), noted on Twitter.

Antifa attacked the Atlanta future Public Safety Training Facility. This is domestic terrorism. It was planned for weeks and announced on social media. Antifa are self proclaimed communists and consistently organize to attack our government over and pic.twitter.com/8YxXV6deRf https://t.co/oy0ZwcdoCx  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023

BREAKING:@Atlanta_Police released the footage of the violent #Antifa @defendATLforest attack on police & the construction site of the Public Safety Training Center. The attackers are masked, & they came with explosive fireworks & firebombs. The officers retreated. @NLGnews members in green hats came with the violent mob, The Post Millennials Andy Ngo reported on Twitter, along with video of the attack.

BREAKING: @Atlanta_Police released the footage of the violent #Antifa @defendATLforest attack on police & the construction site of the Public Safety Training Center. The attackers are masked, & they came with explosive fireworks & firebombs. The officers https://t.co/s9iLQWowj1 https://t.co/yT6tFnrdBZ pic.twitter.com/C0mtL4MRQw  Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 6, 2023

Ngo posted another tweet that contained video from another angle showing officers clearly under attack with explosives that, if they landed close enough, could kill or severely wound them.

Breaking: @Atlanta_Police released another camera angle of the #Antifa terror attack southeast of Atlanta. A large mob of @defendATLforest masked extremists ambushed the officers, hurling explosive fireworks & rocks at them. The officers were trying to guard the Public Safety Training Center construction site. #StopCopCity, he wrote.

Breaking: @Atlanta_Police released another camera angle of the #Antifa terror attack southeast of Atlanta. A large mob of @defendATLforest masked extremists ambushed the officers, hurling explosive fireworks & rocks at them. The officers were trying to https://t.co/9pTeUCNlwX https://t.co/BK10lIMchC pic.twitter.com/MVfeeaiEok  Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 6, 2023

In another tweet, Greene said she plans to introduce a bill declaring Antifa a domestic terrorist group  because thats exactly what it is.

Antifa are domestic terrorists and Im introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on Tuesday, she wrote in a tweet containing video of a piece of construction equipment on fire.

Antifa are domestic terrorists and Im introducing my resolution to officially declare them a terrorist organization on

Tuesday. https://t.co/GTg7XqsmoL  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) March 6, 2023

Ngo provided additional updates:

#Antifa media group Unicorn Riot says police retreated after the far-left rioters overtook an outpost & began destroying it & starting fires. The rioters are part of @defendATLforest, an armed group that occupied public land for months near Atlanta. 19 of their members have been https://t.co/SQEMrRTzbG pic.twitter.com/noZdHbHGJZ  Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 6, 2023

#Antifa account @afainatl uses Twitter to immediately fundraise for their violent comrades who are being arrested at the attack in Atlanta. The rioters are members of @defendATLforest, an extremist far-left group dedicated to using violence to stop the construction of a police https://t.co/thaMGN4nOg pic.twitter.com/9yliyVqhX5  Andy Ngo ???? (@MrAndyNgo) March 6, 2023

Several Antifa members were eventually arrested. Police in Atlanta filed charges of felony state domestic terrorism against 23 protesters who were taken into custody on Sunday. The demonstrators are accused of throwing bricks, rocks, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at police officers in close proximity to the proposed public safety training center, ABC News reported on Monday.

This wasnt about a public training center, this was about anarchy and this was about an attempt to destabilize, Schierbaum said at a news conference Sunday night. When you throw commercial grade fireworks, when you throw Molotov cocktails, large rocks, a number of items at officers, your only intent is to harm.

Years in prison for many of those who were caught will hopefully deter other attacks, and if not, then perhaps police should counter lethal force with lethal force next time.

Sources include:

ABCNews.com

CitizenFreePress.com
(Natural News) Christian pastor Derek Reimer was arrested Thursday afternoon by members of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) after being warned the previous day there were two warrants out for his arrest because he protested at a childrens drag queen story time at a public library last weekend.

(Article by Anthony Murdoch republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

A video posted online by Rebel News shows Reimer, who serves as the pastor of Mission7 street ministry, being put into the back of a police cruiser by two female officers.

A male officer in the video made sure to block the sidewalk so the Rebel News reporter could move closer to the cruiser. However, the reporter was later able to approach the police car holding Reimer, who had his window down.

Before the window was raised, Reimer could be heard saying, This is what happens when we go against the drag queens.

Reimer told LifeSiteNews yesterday that Democracy Fund is helping to fund his legal defense through the help of Rebel News.

LifeSiteNews was unable to reach Reimer this afternoon for comment. However, the pastor did promise yesterday that he would provide updates to his case as he is able.

On Wednesday, Reimer had a CPS officer show up at his house to tell him that he would soon be arrested and charged.

This past Saturday, Reimer had been protesting at a kids drag queen story time event held at the Seton Calgary public library.

The officer then told Reimer that he was going to be arrested for it and charged, later adding that warrants would soon be out for his arrest on charges of mischief and causing a disturbance.

On Saturday, he was forcibly removed from the Seton library after protesting at a childrens drag queen story time event.

Reimer told LifeSiteNews that his mission is to speak the truth as handed down by Jesus in the Gospels, and that is why he and others were protesting.

Reimer, in speaking with LifeSiteNews on Tuesday, said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondeks city officials threatened to come after him with a hate crime investigation.

He said that despite being threatened with charges, he has vowed to continue to expose the evil of what he says is the perversion and the indoctrination of kids.

Gondek promised three weeks ago to use the citys street harassment bylaw to go after protesters after some drag queen story time events were postponed due to protests. She said protesters could face fine of $500 in order to combat hate and fear mongering.

In speaking with LifeSiteNews, Reimer said that Gondek is coming against us and to enforce her street harassment bylaws.

Calgary police said Monday that they have launched a criminal investigation into Reimer.

(We) continue to review witness statements, video footage and other evidence from this event to determine any potential charges, a spokesperson for Calgary Police Service said. Our hate crimes coordinator will be reviewing all evidence to determine if any individuals actions met the threshold to be considered a hate-motivated crime.

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
(Natural News) Proposed legislation submitted to the California State Assembly would require children in eighth grade to be vaccinated against HPV using Mercks dangerous Gardasil vaccine.

Introduced on Feb. 9 to the State Assembly, Assembly Bill 659, known as the Cancer Prevention Act, would require HPV vaccinations for all incoming eighth graders in both public and private schools in California with few exceptions. (Related: Warning as Mercks COVID-19 pill molnupiravir is reportedly causing new mutations of the virus.)

The Food and Drug Administrations current recommendation is for children to be vaccinated against HPV between the ages of eight and 12.

The first hearings by the Assemblys Health Committee could begin as early as March 14. If it passes through the Assembly and State Senate and is signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, it could go into effect as early as 2024.

If there is a way to prevent cancer, why not do this? claimed State Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat and the main sponsor of the bill. She claimed in an interview that these vaccinations could also help determine if children experience adverse reactions to Gardasil.

With that additional time, parents of vaccine-vulnerable children have plenty of time to take advantage of the medical exemption that is in the bill, said Aguiar-Curry. The current draft of the bill provides exemptions for students who are homeschooled or those with medical conditions that make them exceptionally vulnerable to vaccinations.

People keep saying its just a womans issue. No, its not just a womans issue. Its a peoples issue. I have a philosophy that anything I can do to prevent cancer, Im going to do that, said Aguiar-Curry. I know that people are going to be at my doorstep yelling and screaming at me, but this is a fact of saving lives.

Call to lower age for Gardasil HPV vaccine just another marketing ploy

Michael Baum, a senior attorney with Wisner Baum, the main law firm representing the consolidated lawsuits of young American men and women who were seriously injured by Mercks HPV vaccine, noted that Mercks plan is just another Merck marketing ploy to expand Gardasil use among nine- to 10-year-old children.

The goal of medicine should be health, not completion of a profit-driven protocol, noted Mary Holland, president of Childrens Health Defense, in a statement about how Mercks goal is for more of its Gardasil vaccines to be sold.

She further noted how numerous reports have popped up linking the vaccine to the appearance of serious health complications, including autoimmune disorders and negative neurological effects.

Children and adults around the world have been disabled and died from Gardasil shots, said Holland. These shots should no longer be on the market.

In California, not everybody is on board with the idea of mandating the HPV vaccine.

This whole mandatory thing, there is no choice, parents have no choice, children have no choice, said Donald Harte, a chiropractor who opposes the bill.

Anything mandated makes me a little worried, said mom Destiny Childress. I dont think mandating it is a good idea  We should always have [other] options.

Learn more about experimental and dangerous vaccines at Vaccines.news.

Watch this clip from The Stew Peters Show as host Stew Peters interviews Rochelle Wilson, a victim of Gardasil, and how the HPV vaccine gave her all kinds of neurological issues.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

COLLUSION: Merck, Big Pharma trying to kill off all generic ivermectin production because its cutting into profits.

More than 30 Christian employees FIRED by San Diegos community college system for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations.

Former student-athlete injured by Gardasil vaccine sues Merck.

Mercks Gardasil vaccine crippled a young man  an ongoing medical tragedy that must be stopped.

Gardasil vaccines lead to cancer epidemic in young girls.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

ABC7News.com

CBS8.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The failing cable news network has billed itself as the most trusted name in news, but CNN is anything but honest when it comes to dealing with the lab leak theory behind the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

In the early months of the scamdemic, former network president Jeff Zucker refused to allow any reporting on the lab leak theory because he felt as though it was a Trump talking point.

Even after FBI Director Christopher Wray, the United States Department of Energy (DoE) and other government entities began warming up to the idea that covid did not originate in bat soup as was originally claimed, Zucker dug his heels in and avoided all reporting on the subject so as not to be viewed as supporting Donald Trump.

People are slowly waking up from the fog, a well-placed CNN insider reportedly told Fox News Digital. It is kind of crazy that we didnt chase it harder.

(Related: In 2020, Project Veritas dropped a bombshell recording of Zucker refusing to pursue allegations against Hunter Biden over his infamous laptop.)

CNN became an anti-Trump network under Jeff Zucker

Zucker played an instrumental role, it turns out, in steering CNN to take an anti-Trump stance. Prior to Trumps run and win for the presidency, CNN was still seen as a somewhat run-of-the-mill American news outlet.

This really became apparent in early 2020 when CNN started publishing fact checks about the Chinese Virus that debunked any alternative theories about the origin of the so-called virus.

Heres how to debunk coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories from friends and family, reads a March 28, 2020, headline from CNNs Oliver Darcy, who instructed CNN readers and viewers to accept and obey the official story.

While the coronavirus pandemic has isolated family and friends inside their homes, it has in many cases increased online or over-the-phone communication with loved ones, Darcy wrote in the piece.

But, in some cases, relatives and friends share poor information  whether it is bad science related to how to prevent the virus, debunked rumors about cities being put on lockdown, or conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19. While any strain of misinformation is not ideal, misinformation related to a public health crisis has an especially dangerous element to it, Darcy continued, adding that bad information during a public health emergency poses a risk to those who fall victim to it.

CNN was among the first to declare the lab leak theory of covid to be bunk, with host Fareed Zakaria declaring that the far right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory while discussing it.

A little more than a month prior to the publishing of Darcys piece, CNN published a Facts First examination of claims by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), one of the early supporters of the lab leak theory.

At the time, CNN admitted that a lab leak was possible, yet unlikely, citing an infectious disease expert who declared that there was no solid information to support that theory.

I think at this point you can draw a line through it and say that didnt happen, this so-called expert went on to declare.

CNN fake news anchor John Vause further blasted Cotton for spreading misinformation while speaking on-air to Tony Fauci, who responded in the affirmative that theories that are not based on evidence and facts often can really mislead people.

Then we have the April 2020 CNN headline that read, Nearly 30% in the U.S. believe a coronavirus theory thats almost certainly not true, this one also referring to the lab leak theory.

The latest news about CNN can be found at CNNSoFake.news.

Sources for this article include:

FoxNews.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) To get to the bottom of covid-19, its best to follow the money. On February 1, 2020, Dr. Michael Farzan, Dr. Kristian Andersen, and Dr. Robert Garry met with Dr. Anthony Fauci, then Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), who was also the head of federal governments coronavirus task force and the gatekeeper for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants.

These doctors convened at a teleconference that was organized by Fauci to respond to increasing public inquiry into the origins of SARS-CoV-2. At the time, the three doctors were concerned that SARS-CoV-2 was the result of laboratory leak. However, these concerns were not made public at that crucial time in history. All evidence shows that they were bought off by Fauci and the NIH.

Faucis published takedown of covid-19 origins included his use of NIH grants to buy off scientists

These scientists told Fauci and his senior advisors that they were 60 to 80 percent sure that COVID-19 had come out of a lab. This fact was not disclosed until a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed a year later. The FOIA request exposed Faucis email correspondence with the scientists at that time. Regardless, Fauci dismissed laboratory origins as conspiracy theory and Big Tech followed suit, banning any investigation into the matter. Moreover, Fauci discussed a published takedown of the lab leak theory with NIH Director Francis Collins, while quashing all scientific inquiry into NIH funding and surveillance of coronavirus gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China.

After the Feb 1, 2020 teleconference, the scientists who had legitimate concerns about a laboratory leak went quiet about it and instead pushed out a narrative that SARS-CoV-2 was of natural origin. Any mention of a lab leak or prior planning for covid-19 was derided as conspiracy theory.

Dr. Garry recently admitted that after the Feb 1, 2020 teleconference, he and the other scientists were instructed not to write a paper at all  its unnecessary or If you do write it, dont mention a lab origin as that will just add fuel to the conspiracists.

The concerned scientists went on to publish a paper right after the Fauci teleconference  The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2  denouncing the laboratory leak as improbable. Now, were learning that after the teleconference, these same scientists received $9 million in funding from Fauci and the NIH. In fact, over the course of 2020 and 2021, multiple scientists who were instrumental in pushing the natural origin narrative received over $50 million in NIAID funding.

Fauci funded over 30 studies on coronavirus engineering

In Congressional hearings over the past three years, Dr. Fauci has played dumb about coronavirus engineering, even though he funded over thirty studies on the subject matter and was personally thanked by Wuhan virologists. If anyone should be forthcoming about coronavirus gain-of-function research, it should be Fauci. Fauci tries to lie about the definition of gain-of-function bioweapons research, even though the NIH developed a loophole to subvert the moratorium on gain-of-function research in the US. Fauci also underwent a multidisciplinary, department-level pre-funding review process to subvert the moratorium on gain-of-function research. HHS documents reveal the framework by which funders gained approval to create, transfer, or use potential pandemic pathogens. Today, the Biden regime still believes that gain-of-function research should continue.

John Hopkins Dr. Makary, who has stood against Fauci and the governments corruption, said it best in a recent hearing:

The reason this is even an issue, is that its embarrassing we funded the lab. If we had not funded the lab, 100% of Americans would have said, this is obvious, this is a no-brainer. The epicenter of the world is five miles from one of the only high-level virology labs in China. The doctors initially were arrested and forced to sign non-disclosure gag documents. The lab reports have been destroyed. They have not been turned over. The sequences reported from the lab to the NIH database were deleted by a request from Chinese scientists that called early on and said delete those sequences that we put in the database. Two leading virologists  Dr. Michael Farzan from Scripps and Dr. Robert Garry from Tulane. told Dr. Fauci on his emergency call in January of 2020 when he was scrambling soon after learning that the NIH was funding the lab. They both said that it was likely from the lab. Both scientists changed their tunes days later in the media. And then both scientists received $9 million in subsequent funding from the NIH.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com

Archive.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

Twitter.com

Twitter.com
(Natural News) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rejected Elon Musks application to conduct human trials of his Neuralink brain implant device over safety concerns.

Seven current and former employees confirmed the FDAs decision to Reuters. The regulator outlined dozens of issues the company must address before proceeding to human trials.

These issues involved the devices lithium battery and the potential for the implants tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain. Questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue were also put forward, according to the seven sources.

In November last year, Musk predicted that the company would secure a go signal from the regulator to conduct human trials by spring.

I could have a Neuralink device implanted right now, and you wouldnt even know, the SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter CEO said during the Nov. 30 presentation. He predicted the approval at that same presentation, which did not quite come true. Musk made headlines after saying he was so confident in the devices safety that he would be willing to implant it in his own children.

Kip Ludwig, former program director of neural engineering at the National Institutes of Health, remarked that Musks claims and impatience pose a critical test for the FDA in balancing demands for speedy review with the diligence that safety and efficacy call for.

Everybody in the industry was saying: Oh my God, theyre going to run straight into a brick wall,' Ludwig said of Musks application. Neuralink doesnt appear to have the mindset and experience thats needed to get this to market anytime soon.

Owen Faris, principal deputy director of the FDAs Office of Product Evaluation and Quality, emphasized the agencys high standards in vetting all products even as it aims to expedite reviews. Innovation and safety are not an either-or scenario, he said.

Musks Neuralink beset by various issues

Even before the FDA turned down Neuralinks application for human trials, the company had been beset by various issues.

Late last year, Reuters reported that the federal government  through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)  was investigating the companys treatment of its research animals. The probe was launched amid growing employee concern that the companys rushing of experiments caused additional suffering and deaths of pigs, sheep and monkeys. (Related: Elon Musk accused of mutilating and killing monkeys in gruesome Neuralink experiments.)

Another Reuters report revealed that the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched a separate investigation. This time, the probe scrutinized whether Neuralink illegally transported dangerous pathogens  via the chips removed from monkey brains  without proper containment measures. The DOT told Reuters that its investigation is ongoing as of press time.

Putting investigations by federal agencies aside, Neuralinks acceptance among the population remains low as evidenced by a Pew Research poll.

Of the more than 10,000 American adults surveyed by Pew, around 78 percent said they would not avail of a Neuralink brain chip even if the product was readily available. In contrast, only 13 percent of respondents said brain implants are good for society.

Moreover, 56 percent of respondents believed technology would be actively bad for society. Another 57 percent expressed worry that the widespread use of Neuralink implants and other brain devices could potentially widen the gap between high and low-income Americans.

One of the seven sources Reuters talked to remarked that Musk operates Neuralink to operate like Tesla, which brought several electric vehicles to market relatively quickly.

He cant appreciate that this is not a car, they said. This is a persons brain. This is not a toy.

Visit ElonMuskWatch.com for more stories about Neuralink brain implants.

Watch this video that discusses monkeys dying after being implanted with Neuralink devices.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ethical questions raised after Elon Musks Neuralink company implants chip in monkeys brain.

Elon Musks medical device company Neuralink facing federal investigation over animal testing.

Neuralink brain chip implants to be tried on humans despite causing MULTIPLE DEATHS in animal trials.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

Reuters.com

Breitbart.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Of all the conspiracy theories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, no conspiracy theory has been more obviously true since the very beginning than the Wuhan lab leak theory.

(Article by Drew Allen republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

In March of 2020, Tony Fauci was interviewed by National Geographic and completely dismissed the theory that the virus originated in the Wuhan lab of virology. In fact, he said there was no evidence to support it. Instead Fauci claimed the body of evidence strongly suggested that the virus simply jumped species; ie, it was natural.

Was Fauci, the so-called face of science itself, stupid? It wouldnt have been the first time Fauci embraced and promoted an erroneous and idiotic theory. During the AIDS epidemic in May 1983, Fauci promoted the theory that AIDS was transmitted by routine close contact, as within a family household.

At the time of Faucis dismissal of the lab leak theory, President Trumps State Department had already put out a statement asserting that the U.S. intelligence community had evidence that several researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology laboratory were sick with Covid-like symptoms in autumn 2019.

While Faucis 1983 theory that AIDS was spread via close contact can be chalked up to ignorance, stupidity, or both, his denial of the evidence-based lab leak theory and support for the absurd wet market theory  somebody ate a bat with the virus and contracted it  cannot. Fauci lied.

We know Fauci lied because in October of 2021, Lawrence Tabak, a top National Institutes of Health official, admitted that U.S. taxpayer money did go to the Wuhan Institute of Virology to fund gain-of-function research, the very research Fauci had repeatedly denied funding. Fauci, of course, was the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Furthermore, a leading infectious disease expert had sent an email to Fauci in January of 2020, writing that Some of the features (potentially) look engineered. Despite this, Fauci dismissed the lab leak theory as baseless.

Now the U.S. Energy Department has assessed that the COVID-19 virus likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China. What reason would Fauci have to cover up this truth? The only conceivable explanation is that the United States had a role in creating it. The important questions now are: Did the U.S. help create the virus in conjunction with the Chinese? And: What was the intention behind creating the COVID-19 virus?

The explanation, which we can call a conspiracy theory for the time being, may be terrifying and condemn the entire U.S. government and the Department of Defense.

Shortly after the virus was recognized as COVID-19 in early 2020, President Trump announced that the United States was very close to a vaccine. How could this be?

In July of 2020, the Washington Post ran this headline: How a secretive Pentagon agency seeded the ground for a rapid coronavirus cure. Amy Jenkins, the manager of DARPAs antibody program, said, We have been thinking about and preparing for this for a long time, and its almost a bit surreal.

DARPA is the research arm of the Department of Defense, an acronym for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It turned out that DARPA began investing in experimental RNA technology in 2011. ADEPT, DARPAs Autonomous Diagnostics to Enable Prevention and Therapeutics division, invested $292 million in an array of technologies between 2011 and 2019 in an effort to reduce timelines for vaccines.

By 2019, a project funded by DARPA at Moderna supposedly demonstrated great promise in a clinical trial. That trial provided protection against a mosquito borne virus known as Chikungunya.

By March of 2020, Moderna became the first company in the United States to conduct a clinical trial with the experimental mRNA technology to stop COVID-19. But Moderna wasnt the only pharmaceutical company conducting such experiments.

Pfizer, the DARPA-funded CureVac, the CCP Peoples Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences in China, and a lab at the Imperial College in London had all also conducted research.

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
(Natural News) Following widely circulated anecdotal reports of people claiming that Tractor Supplys Producers Pride brand of chicken feed was causing their chickens to stop laying eggs, we purchased six chicken feed products (of various brands) from Tractor Supply for the purpose of conducting comprehensive lab testing.

As background, we own and operate our own ISO-accredited (17025) mass spec laboratory and conduct over 10,000 tests each year for heavy metals, aflatoxins, glyphosate, raw materials identity and microbiological contamination (e.coli, salmonella, etc.). To my knowledge, our lab conducts more food safety testing than any other non-governmental organization in the world. We routinely test all our raw materials and finished products that are offered at HealthRangerStore.com, where customers know they are purchasing clean, lab-tested and certified organic products for health and personal care.

As a public service, we decided to apply our laboratory infrastructure to the Tractor Supply chicken feed question. So we purchased six products at a Tractor Supply in Central Texas:

 Purina Layena Layer Crumbles

 Flock Party Egg Maker Pellets

 Natures Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets

 (Tractor Supply brand) Producers Pride 16% Layer Feed Mini Pellets  Lot#TE30169528

 DuMor 16% Egg Maxx Pellets

 DuMor Organic 16% Layer Crumble

Heres a closeup of the Producers Pride label with the ingredients and lot number. Note the production date is January 16, 2023:

Keep in mind that because these are all agricultural products, the following test results are only a snapshot of an ever-changing mix of raw materials and inputs. We purchased just one bag of each product, so we only have one data point for each product. To really get a clearer picture of the composition of these products, it would be necessary to purchase dozens of bags from different retail locations, spread out over time.

Nevertheless, these results are intriguing.

Aflatoxin results

Aflatoxins are highly toxic chemicals created by molds and fungi. They are known to be fatal to chickens, cows, horses and other animals if consumed in large enough quantities. Aflatoxins are very common in oats, wheat, corn, peanuts and various grains. They are likely the No. 1 contamination problem in agriculture today.

Aflatoxin limits in the USA for crops such as corn are 20 ppb. Anything under 20 ppb is considered safe by the FDA. Other countries have more strict limits. The EU, for many years, had a limit of 4 ppb for many agricultural products. That has been changed to 10 ppb for several products. Other countries have various limits, but most are in the range of 10 ppb  50 ppb.

Notably, none of the chicken feed products we tested exceeded 5 ppb (which is good news). Interestingly, the Tractor Supply Producers Pride product contained 2.9 ppb of aflatoxins, or about twice the level of the other brands we tested.

Here are the actual numbers our tests showed:

 Purina Layena Layer Crumbles: 1.5 ppb

 Flock Party Egg Maker Pellets: 1.4 ppb

 Natures Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets: 1.8 ppb

 (Tractor Supply brand) Producers Pride 16% Layer Feed Mini Pellets: 2.9 ppb

 DuMor 16% Egg Maxx Pellets: 1.1 ppb

 DuMor Organic 16% Layer Crumble: 1.9 ppb

Again, none of these numbers would be considered unsafe by US food regulators. As a food scientist, it seems doubtful to me that 2.9 ppb of aflatoxins could be responsible for chickens not laying eggs. However, Im not an avian biologist, so I cant answer that question with certainty. It just seems unlikely to me that this could cause chickens to stop laying eggs.

Glyphosate results

Glyphosate is a weed killer chemical linked to various cancers and endocrine system disruption in humans and animals. Its often used as a desiccant and sprayed on crops to dry them more quickly before final harvest even on non-GMO crops. This is why glyphosate often ends up in wheat, legumes, alfalfa and other crops that arent even GMO.

Our mass spec testing on glyphosate concentrations in the chicken feed products shows that Tractor Supply Producers Pride chicken feed contains about twice the level of glyphosate of other brands (at least in this one bad we tested), but even at 19.8 ppb, this level would not be considered unsafe by the FDA or USDA.

Here are the actual numbers we found:

 Purina Layena Layer Crumbles: 10.7 ppb

 Flock Party Egg Maker Pellets: 10.5 ppb

 Natures Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets: 1.8 ppb

 (Tractor Supply brand) Producers Pride 16% Layer Feed Mini Pellets: 19.8 ppb

 DuMor 16% Egg Maxx Pellets: 2.5 ppb

 DuMor Organic 16% Layer Crumble: 0 ppb

Note that the two organic brands showed the lowest levels of glyphosate, which is expected. The DuMor Organic brand showed zero glyphosate. Note that the practical limit of quantitation in our instrument is around 1 ppb for glyphosate, so technically this product could contain something like 0.5 ppb and we wouldnt be able to see it, thus our instrument tells us zero.

Importantly, none of these levels of glyphosate set off any alarm bells in my mind. These are not high enough, in my opinion, to explain chickens being unable to lay eggs. The natural drive to lay eggs is very strong in chickens, and although Im not an avian biologist, I strongly doubt that exposure to this level of glyphosate could, by itself, cause chickens to stop laying eggs.

It is noteworthy, however, that if you wish to avoid glyphosate, you should buy organic. The organic brands tested here showed the lowest levels.

Toxic elements and heavy metals: Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead

We also tested all the brands for toxic elements and nutritive minerals. For the toxic elements, we look at Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb).

On the positive side, all the brands tested at zero mercury. This is expected, since mercury is sticky and very rarely finds its way into agricultural products unless plants are grown in a toxic mercury dump.

Here are the toxic element results we found. Note that even organic products can often contain higher levels of heavy metals. Thats because the USDA organic program has no limits on heavy metals, and the USDA requires no testing for heavy metals in organic agriculture. (Hence one of the reasons why we test our own products so meticulously, since we cant trust any organic claim to mean the food is actually clean.)

All results in ppb (parts per billion)

As Cd Pb Purina Layena Layer Crumbles 379.4 152.7 285.9 Flock Party Egg Maker Pellets 268.6 74.8 223.4 Natures Best Organic Egg Layer Pellets 137.6 102.7 237.6 Producers Pride 16% Layer Feed Mini Pellets 178.6 74.2 113.6 DuMor 16% Egg Maxx Pellets 892.8 689.9 588.6 DuMor Organic 16% Layer Crumble 269.5 151.7 345.4

Note that the highest metals were found in the DuMor Egg Maxx Pellets, and even DuMors organic line contained a significant level of lead.

On my website LowHeavyMetalsVerified.com, I publish the in-house rating system that we use for rating agricultural products on their heavy metals content, from A+++ down to F.

Any product with lead over 250 ppb but less than 500 ppb earns a B rating. This isnt horrible, but it doesnt meet our in-house standards for clean products.

The conclusion on these metals is that all the products we tested would be considered safe by the FDA and USDA in terms of their heavy metals content, but some of the products do, indeed, contain much higher levels of toxic elements than other products. Interestingly, the Tractor Supply brand had the lowest level of cadmium, arsenic and lead of all the products we tested.

Thus, the Tractor Supply brand was the highest in glyphosate and aflatoxins, but the lowest in heavy metals.

Where do these heavy metals come from? Mostly from industrial pollution that has settled on crop lands over the last two centuries or so, combined with some of the lead-based pesticides that were routinely sprayed on crops until they were banned (such as lead arsenate). Lead and arsenic never degrade or magically vanish, which is why theres still lead in those same crop fields.

Finally, calcium sources added to chicken feed are very frequently contaminated with lead. Thats because lead tends to replace calcium in nature, and calcium contamination of lead is extremely common. Even off-the-shelf, low-cost calcium supplements (calcium carbonate) sold for human consumption are almost always contaminated with lead. This is also why lead ends up in a lot of non-dairy milk products like almond milk, for example, because they add calcium carbonate to make the product look more white and milky. This introduces lead into the milk. Nearly every grocery product made with calcium carbonate will contain some amount of lead in it.

Microbiology tests  two chicken feed products failed one of our tests

In addition to testing for aflatoxins, glyphosate and heavy metals, we also test our products and raw materials for microbiology. This includes e.coli, salmonella, yeast and mold as well as total plate count.

We tested all six chicken feed products in the same way we test our own food, and we chose oats as the profile to test against, which means the pass/fail limits are the same as what we would use for oats.

The Tractor Supply Producers Pride product passed all the tests with no red flags.

The Purina Layena Layer Crumbles product, however, failed the CFU test, which counts the total number of Colony Forming Units (CFU) per gram of product. The limit we use for oats is 10,000. Any final result over 10,000 is a fail. Notice the FAIL in the resulting report, below, taken from the Purina Layena Layer Crumbles test results:

For the record, this result does not mean that every Purina chicken feed product is bad. Remember that this is a single bag snapshot. Its possible this bag could have been lost by the distributor for a while, sitting around too long on a shelf, or even potentially subjected to high humidity conditions that might have encouraged CFU growth. We cant know for sure unless we conduct far more widespread testing.

Furthermore, in a healthy animal, even failing this test doesnt make a product necessarily dangerous or fatal. The USDAs own limits may be much higher than what we use in our own tests for oats, as well. Understand that the only thing this test means is that this Purina product fails the Health Ranger Store test for CFU, not that it would fail the USDA tests or Purinas own tests, which are likely set at different levels.

The Flock Party Egg Maker Pellets product also failed this same test, while Tractor Supply Producers Pride brand passed all the tests. Here are the test results from Tractor Supply Producers Pride:

Summary of results

Our tests did not identify any obvious explanation for why some people are saying Producers Pride was believed to be causing their chickens to fail to lay eggs. The limitations of our testing, however, are that we only tested one bag from one retailer. So its only a snapshot, not a comprehensive test across their entire product supply. Also, there are thousands of other possible contaminants for which we did not test. (We dont currently test for dioxins, for example.)

Organic brands tended to be lower in glyphosate, as expected, but being USDA organic did not appear to confer any real benefit in terms of heavy metals / toxic elements concentrations. (This is also expected.)

Notably, all the products we tested contained some level of contamination of glyphosate, aflatoxins, bacteria or heavy metals. There is no absolutely clean chicken feed, given that we live in a polluted world where every farm on the planet is contaminated with various chemicals caused by fallout. (And with the East Palestine catastrophe, we are expecting to start seeing dioxins in more animals products beginning this summer.)

Recommended action for people who raise chickens

 Buy organic feed wherever possible, because organic is lower in glyphosate, but not necessarily heavy metals.

 Rotate your brands so that any exposure experienced from one brand has a chance to be eliminated by your flock when you switch to a different brand with a different profile.

 Make sure your flock has access to clean water, because water is critical to their detoxification success.

 Make sure your flock has free range access to grasses, weeds and bugs, and make sure you do not use glyphosate or other chemicals on your farm, because that will cause local cross-contamination.

 Consider growing sprouts to feed to your chickens (they like mung bean sprouts), or even supplementing chlorophyll-rich superfoods.

Hear the full analysis in todays Situation Update podcast

Brighteon: Brighteon.com/40498395-177a-4e06-bca9-790683b18988

Rumble: Rumble.com/v2c3st0-situation-update-march-7-2023-chicken-feed-test-results-and-usa-military-ha.html

Bitchute: Bitchute.com/video/CYxdmFESAKtW/

Banned.Video: Banned.video/watch?id=64076cd521cd9b4b5950d616

iTunes podcast: Healthrangerreport.com/situation-update-march-7-2023-chicken-feed-test-results-and-usa-military-hardware-in-poland

 Tractor Supply chicken feed test results released

 About twice the glyphosate and aflatoxins of other tested brands

 But still within ranges considered safe by FDA and USDA

 Other organic brands actually had HIGHER heavy metals like cadmium and lead

 EVERY brand tested contained some level of heavy metals, glyphosate or aflatoxins

 Huge gathering of US military hardware in Poland is part of the build-up to attack Russia

 The USA will carry out a massive false flag to whip up emotional support for World War III

 Another Pearl Harbor is being engineered by the DoD to justify WAR

 A popular YouTube prepper doesnt know how to treat food poisoning: Recommends TYLENOL!

 He doesnt know about chlorine dioxide, oregano oil or natural antibiotics

 Some people think prepping is all about guns and gear, and they lack emergency medicine knowledge

 Brazil approves GMO wheat

 Global sperm counts plummeting

 Germans warned their power grid is being rapidly DISMANTLED

 Interview with Kristen Meghan and Tammy Clark with Stand Up Michigan (about Ohio chemical catastrophe)

CORRECTION: The lot # for the Producers Pride product is TE30169528. In the video below, I was incorrectly reading the product bar code number instead of the lot number:

Discover more interviews and podcasts each day at:

https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport

Follow me on:

Brighteon.social: Brighteon.social/@HealthRanger (my breaking news gets posted here first)

Telegram: t.me/RealHealthRanger



Substack: HealthRanger.substack.com

Banned.video: Banned.video/channel/mike-adams

Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@healthranger

Twitter: @MikeAdamsHR

Gettr: GETTR.com/user/healthranger

Parler: Parler.com/user/HealthRanger

Rumble: Rumble.com/c/HealthRangerReport

BitChute: Bitchute.com/channel/9EB8glubb0Ns/

Clouthub: app.clouthub.com/#/users/u/naturalnews/posts

Join the free NaturalNews.com email newsletter to stay alerted about breaking news each day.

Download my current audio books  including Ghost World, Survival Nutrition, The Global Reset Survival Guide and The Contagious Mind  at:

https://Audiobooks.NaturalNews.com/

Download my new audio book, Resilient Prepping at ResilientPrepping.com  it teaches you how to survive the total collapse of civilization and the loss of both the power grid and combustion engines.
(Natural News) Talking about using ivermectin as early treatment for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) could get someone kicked out of a hospital board meeting.

Dr. John Littell  a board-certified family physician based in Ocala, Florida  was expelled while testifying during a Feb. 23 meeting of the Sarasota County Public Hospital board. He recounted the events at the board meeting during a March 2 conversation with Veronika Kyrylenko, senior editor at the New American magazine. Littell told her that his testimony would have been longer if he had been given more time.

According to Kyrylenko, initial reports about the incident suggested that the content of the physicians speech drew the ire of hospital board members. A later report by the Associated Press clarified that Littells behavior presented a safety risk and violated clearly set rule of decorum for the public meeting, which prompted his expulsion.

The doctor found the expulsion really upsetting since it could have been avoided. He explained that he simply walked over to a sympathetic female board member to give thanks for supporting him. At this point, three uniformed officers escorted him out of the meeting room.

So, I dont want to be a hero for this. I just want it to be known that I believe the hospital overreacted. And I think had I been a friendly person in their mind, if I had been supporting their narrative, I dont believe they would have had me treated this way. I guess its up to the others who know about the security there to answer that question, Littell said.

Littell touches on pandemic-era hospital homicide

Littell mentioned that he wanted to present several cases of ivermectin successfully being used to treat COVID-19 infection. In particular, he cited a big shot town mayor allowed to get ivermectin whereas other patients were not allowed. Moreover, he recounted stories of COVID patients isolated from their family members that could serve as patient advocates.

They were put on CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] protocols which led, in many cases, to death on a ventilator. So, there were big steps that could have taken place between them showing up in the ER [emergency room]. Obviously, the idea was to keep them out of the hospital and the ventilator, and give them the multi-drug regimen that many of us physicians had already implemented around the world, he told Kyrylenko.

Littell added that this multi-drug regimen  which included ivermectin and high doses of steroids and anticoagulants  had been effective in the outpatient setting. Had hospitals allowed this regimen, it would have been effective in the in-patient setting. (Related: A death sentence: Physicians blast NIH guideline restricting early treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.)

The New American senior editor agreed, saying that it is common knowledge for large hospitals to refuse generic medicines for their patients. This is because they are incentivized by the government to use expensive drugs which may or may not be necessarily safe or effective.

Littell ultimately remarked that ivermectin could be awarded a Nobel Prize for being an effective medicine for human consumption. It is not only useful as an antiparasitic, but also an anti-inflammatory and antiviral drug.

Follow IvermectinScience.com for more news about ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.

Watch the full conversation between Dr. John Littell and Veronika Kyrylenko of the New American below.

This video is from the The New American channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Hospitals are deliberately MURDERING patients by denying them access to ivermectin.

The biggest crime committed during the vaccine heist is the censorship of Ivermectin.

NO TREATMENT ALLOWED: Sarasota Memorial Hospital punishes doctor for mentioning that ivermectin cured his patients of covid.

COLLUSION: Merck, Big Pharma trying to kill off all generic ivermectin production because its cutting into profits.

Pandemic Health Alliance fights to allow hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin for early treatment of covid.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

JohnLittellMD.com

TheNewAmerican.com

APNews.com
(Natural News) The Russian army has had little success following last years invasion of neighboring Ukraine, but it could be on the verge of capturing a strategic objective  the war-demolished city of Bakhmut.

Pressure from Russian forces in the battle-worn town of Bakhmut has the remaining residents fleeing amid rumors of a large-scale pullout of Ukrainian forces. Western analysts say Ukrainian forces are preparing to withdraw from the key eastern city. Ukrainian forces are reportedly destroying bridges along roads out of Bakhmut as they fall back into new defensive lines north of the city, says the private intelligence group Forward Observer in a Monday report to subscribers.

An analyst comment that accompanied the note revealed why the region is important to Moscow: Russian military officials appear to be focused on Bakhmut in an effort to gain at least a moderate military victory against Ukraine. The strategic importance of Bakhmut is its control over several key lines of communication into Donetsk Oblast. Russian officials have declared control of the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts as their primary objects in this winters suboptimal offensive.

Despite continued Russian aggression from the north, east, and south in an effort to encircle the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraines Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his top defense and security officials on Monday and declared that Kyiv had no plans to surrender the city, which has been nearly destroyed, according to the Washington Post.

Amid reports of Ukrainian soldiers fighting under dire conditions and some military experts suggesting that Bakhmut holds little long-term strategic importance to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with his top defense and security officials on Monday and declared that Kyiv has no intention of surrendering the nearly destroyed city in the eastern Donetsk region. His office released a statement saying that both Valery Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian military commander in chief, and Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of ground forces directing operations in the east, had endorsed reinforcing and continuing the citys defense, the Post added.

Assessing the course of the defense operation, the President asked Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and Commander of the [eastern group of] troops Oleksandr Syrsky about further actions in the Bakhmut direction, the statement said. They spoke in favor of continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.

The fact that Zelenskys office had to issue the statement shows that there is a growing sense of uncertainty and doubt in Ukraine and around the world. Military experts from the West have cautioned that the fight to prevent Russia from achieving a largely symbolic victory could be too costly for Ukraine, the Posts report continued.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, made clear that Ukrainian commanders and Zelensky were of one mind on defending the city: In order to avoid various insinuations that affect public sentiment, the opinion of the members of the [staff] regarding the defense operation was made public. We continue to defend our land, regardless of all sides of the assessment of the situation.

According to accounts from soldiers stationed in or around Bakhmut, the situation has become increasingly challenging. The intensity of the fighting is so high that some soldiers, like Dmytro Vatagin, 48, have searched houses for Russian forces and ended up engaging them in hand-to-hand combat, resulting in the capture of some combatants as prisoners of war.

Fistfights have been happening, he said. Everyone has their own fighting story.

The Post adds:

To maintain control of the highway that connects Ivanivske to Bakhmut, Vatagins team has to bear the brunt of Russian artillery attacks, despite the road being a crucial supply route. As Russian forces control the surrounding areas, the team is regularly subjected to shelling. In the past two days alone, they have lost eight reconnaissance drones and had two soldiers wounded.

We were given the command to hold the road out of Bakhmut to ensure our guys get everything they need, and we will hold that one until they tell us otherwise, he told the paper.

Sources include:

WashingtonPost.com

ForwardObserver.com
(Natural News) A team of researchers proposed the use of human beings as walking antennas for 6G networks by means of unique copper-coiled bracelets.

Two researchers  Jie Xioing of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the U.S. and Qing Wang of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands  first proposed the idea in November 2022. Both Jie and Qing are proponents of visible light communication, otherwise known as Li-Fi, which works by turning LED lights on and off at a very high speed invisible to the human eye.

Science ABC defines Li-Fi as a high-speed wireless communication technology that uses visible light to transmit information. While Wi-Fi and Li-Fi are similar due to both being wireless technologies, there are also differences between them: Wi-Fi relies on radio waves, while Li-Fi uses infrared and near-UV spectrum waves.

During visible light communication (VLC), radiofrequency (RF) radiation is leaked into the ambient environment, allowing it to be harvested and used to power small devices. So, the team designed an electrical system called Bracelet+. Anyone who wears the said bracelet, which contains a copper coil, could gather the RF radiation generated during VLC.

The design is cheap, less than fifty cents, noted the authors. But Bracelet+ can reach up to micro-watts, enough to support many sensors such as on-body health monitoring sensors that require little power to work owing to their low sampling frequency and long sleep-mode duration.

Yet the researchers wants to optimize the technology and said they were able to harvest more RF radiation when an individual wore two bracelets, one on each arm.

The researchers claimed that wearing the bracelet does not cause any health issues because the maximum amount of RF radiation from VLC is around 0.01 microwatts per square centimeter (mW/cm2), which is below the RF limits specified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FCCs guidelines state that the limit for human exposure to RF is at 0.2 mW/cm2 and the FDA specifies an upper limit of 10 mW/cm2, they said. (Related: When 6G is released, humans will function as walking power source antennas.)

Experts blast Bracelet+ as one of the worst ideas ever

The proposal aroused ethical implications as it appeared to greatly disrespect the human body.

Childrens Health Defense Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Brian Hooker denounced the proposal, saying: I am diametrically opposed to this type of work, especially given the paucity of medical research on using the human body as an RF antenna. This type of technology makes the human body an RF collector and ignores the health implications of EMR [electromagnetic radiation] altogether.

Electrical engineer Bill Bathgate echoed Hookers sentiment, saying that it isnt feasible to think that wearing the bracelets would not increase peoples exposure to RF.

This is one of the worst ideas ever as it uses the human body as a telecommunications point in some kind of network grid, which could result in health effects we cant predict, he stressed.

Bathgate also slammed the researchers for using FCC and FDA regulations to measure health impacts, adding that these are two of the most corrupt organizations Ive ever met in this field of electrical engineering.

The FCC is not a health agency. FDA is but it doesnt know anything about RF, he pointed out, challenging the study authors to provide evidence to support their claims that the leaked RF radiation from VLC does not cause health issues.

You have to be careful  people throw this stuff out there without even thinking about the potential ramifications of it, he said, adding that prior research has indicated clear interactions between EMR exposure, including RF, and health problems.

Watch this video about the plan to use humans as batteries for LiFi.

This video is from You Are Free TV channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

6G wireless technology could tap humans as a power source.

Alex Jones: People living close to 5G kill grids are going to DIE from cancer.

Scientists call for moratorium on 5G after study shows regulators ignoring health risks of radiation.

Health hazard: 5G exposure may cause cancer, infertility and developmental defects.

Sources include:

GlobalResearch.ca

ScienceABC.com

TheKashmirMonitor.net

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The biggest two-dimensional map of the universe ever made just got even bigger. It now covers nearly half the sky over Earth and features more than one billion galaxies.

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Survey made this update for the 10th data release of its map, which spans 14,000 square degrees of the sky from the northern hemisphere. It used two telescopes  the one at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona and the one at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. It also built on the data from two previous companion surveys: the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) Legacy Survey and the Beijing-Arizona Sky Survey.

One of the essential aims of the map is to recognize about 40 million target galaxies for the five-year DESI Spectroscopic Survey. Astronomers want to accurately chart the growth history of the universe over the last 12 billion years.

The 2D map combines images of the southern extragalactic sky, particularly in regions away from the Milky Ways disk, which are ideal for searching far into the cosmos.

With the enlargement of this view of the southern sky, it moves the total area mapped to over 20,000 square degrees which is almost half the sky.

Additionally, the images have been taken in a recent infrared color filter which permits scientists to recognize even more of the far galaxies in various sections of the night sky because it captures a redder spectrum. The more red-shifted a galaxys spectrum is, the farther away it is generally.

Dark energy makes up nearly 70 percent of the universe

The DESI Legacy Imaging Survey also seeks to help astronomers better understand the composition of the universe, which in turn could aid them to solve the enigmatic properties of dark matter and dark energy.

Comprising nearly 70 percent of the universe, dark energy is known as one of the great mysteries of cosmology. It is thought to be an unknown force that is moving things apart more forcefully than gravity.

Scientists from Imperial College London recently proposed that they may at last have an explanation for its source.

They noticed old and inactive galaxies and discovered that black holes acquire mass in a way that is constant with them holding vacuum energy or dark energy. (Related: Challenging assumptions about the universe: Study suggests black holes could be made of dark energy.)

The extent of the universe at various points in time is suited carefully to the mass of colossal black holes at the heart of galaxies.

Specifically, the amount of dark energy in the universe can be covered by black hole vacuum energy which means that black holes are the source of dark energy.

A spectroscopic survey is now underway, which experts hope could provide more understanding into this hidden part of the universe.

The latest data is publicly available, which means amateur astronomers along with professional scientists can access and use it to explore the universe. Astronomy enthusiasts or those curious enough to want a brief look of the immense universe can also examine the data.

Watch this video that talks about the vastness of the universe observed from the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii.

This video is from the Cynthias Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Science was wrong: 10 times more galaxies found in our universe.

Astronomers discover 3 galaxies from EARLY UNIVERSE.

Latest study that uses AI discovers 8 probable alien technosignatures near distant stars.

The universe is expanding too fast, admit baffled astronomers.

Space speeding: Astronomers are baffled by 39 ancient galaxies the Hubble could not see.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Space.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The Telegraph (United Kingdom) has obtained more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages sent between Matt Hancock and other ministers and officials during the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that reveal a coordinated deception campaign.

The investigation found that Hancock and other British politicians were more concerned about saving face than with doing the right thing for the British people. Even after it became obvious that lockdowns and mask mandates were based on pseudoscientific lies, Hancock et al. dug their heels in and kept the ruse going.

At one point, Hancock was vying for Donald Trumps title as father of the vaccine, the so-called Lockdown Files show. Hancock was desperate to be known as Mr. Vaccine, even though Trump infamously claimed responsibility for them under his Operation Warp Speed scheme.

Hancock also criticized his covid vaccine tsar for expressing wacky views that he described in one message as totally unreliable. Meanwhile, Hancock was working behind the scenes to frighten the pants off everyone about covid to keep the masses obedient and in line. (Related: The similarly revelatory Twitter Files show that politicians in the United States were doing many of the same things as they pushed to turn the country into totalitarian state territory.)

Covid was a scam from the very beginning  they just wanted mass compliance

In one correspondence, Hancock was chatting with his media adviser Damon Poole about how to trick the British into obeying their covid mandates.

We frighten the pants off everyone with the new strain, Hancock wrote on Dec. 13, 2020, adding that Tory MPs were furious already about the prospect of lockdowns happening, especially over Christmas.

Yep, Poole responded. Thats what will get proper behviour [sic] change.

When do we deploy the new variant? Hancock then asked in return.

Been thinking about this and think we need to be more cautious, Poole responded. The strain that is. Think you made the point earlier, but we need to keep schools off paperwork / agenda.

That planned Christmas lockdown ended up being announced on December 19, just days before millions were readying to visit their friends, family members, and other loved ones in celebration.

About a month later, Hancock was discussing further covid measures with Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, including more mask wearing  in all settings outside home.

Case was arguing in this correspondence that the fear / guilt factor was vital in achieving more lockdown compliance.

Basically, we need to get compliance up, Case wrote, adding that some measures such as a ban on fishing will be parodied galore if it looks like we have suddenly decided fishing is the first step towards tier 5!

I honestly wouldnt move on any small things unless we move on a lot, Hancock wrote. The only big reamaining [sic] things are nurseries and workplaces.

I agree  I think that is exactly right, Case responded. Small stuff looks ridiculous. Ramping up messaging.

After Hancock was caught violating his own social distancing rules, he was forced to step down from his position

In early 2021 after these and other discussions were had over WhatsApp, Hancock was caught in photos violating his own social distancing rules in order to pursue an extramarital affair with UK Department of Health employee Gina Coladangelo, who at the time was earning 15,000 a month in her position.

At the time when this affair occurred, both Hancock and Coladangelo were married, but have since left their families to pursue a long-term affair with one another.

Another scandal known as Partygate that occurred when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was caught partying it up at 10 Downing Street in violation of the rules ended up forcing Johnson into resignation as well.

Proper behavior change  thats what they wanted all along: control, one commenter wrote on a story about these scandals and the rest of the UK Lockdown Files revelations.

The easiest way to get the masses to comply with their madness was through fear, added another in affirmation.

The endgame is for the government to control everything about a persons life, for which covid helped to significantly ramp up that agenda.

They want you to have no independence at all, someone else wrote.

They want to control even the use of your electricity with the flick of switch. Lights on, lights out, heat on and off through the grid. Extract information about all of your behavior. Control your movement, the number of miles you can travel and where and for how long  all controlled through a database. EVs are great and all but just imagine being restricted to recharge anything, a cap, like a credit limit.

Others noted that many of the war criminals in World War II were hanged following their convictions, and that the covid criminals deserve the same.

More of the latest news about the covid scamdemic can be found at Plague.info.

Sources for this article include:

Telegraph.co.uk

NaturalNews.com

TheGatewayPundit.com
Northern Europe is expected to return to winter this week, with temperatures falling significantly below seasonal norms due to a very cold Arctic air mass.

Meanwhile, more tropical conditions will develop in the continent's southernmost regions.

The UK is likely to be on the northern edge of these air masses, which, combined with low-pressure systems moving in from the west, could cause significant outbreaks of sleet and snow in some areas by midweek.

Under these conditions, snow will fall in parts of Scandinavia as well.

These wintry conditions will feel especially harsh in comparison to the recent mild temperatures.

This cold spell, however, should be brief, with a return to spring-like temperatures expected by early next week.

Northern Europe Facing Cold Snap

Other parts of the world were not so fortunate last month, with parts of the United States ending the month on a very turbulent note, as per The Guardian.

On February 26, a band of severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

These storms brought torrential rain, large hail, wind gusts exceeding 70 miles per hour, and 17 tornadoes, resulting in one death and dozens of injuries.

Later that day, a powerful tornado struck Norman, Oklahoma, passing dangerously close to government buildings, including the National Weather Centre.

Peak winds of 130-135mph (209-217km/h) caused power outages, gas leaks, and significant building damage.

On February 27, the severe weather moved northeast, bringing similar conditions to parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation, has been hit by two cyclones and two earthquakes in the last week.

Cyclone Judy was the first to make landfall on March 1.

This category 4 cyclone had a maximum wind speed of 121mph (195km/h), causing significant damage to infrastructure and crops, as well as severe power outages affecting over 160,000 people.

Only a few days later, on March 3, Vanuatu was hit by a second category 4 cyclone.

Not only did Cyclone Kevin cause more damage due to previously weakened infrastructure, but it also reached a top wind speed of 162mph (260km/h).

Despite the fact that both cyclones passed over Vanuatu, Judy originated over Wallis and Futuna, located to the northeast, and Kevin originated off the coast of Australia, located to the northwest.

Also Read: UK Weather Update: Polar Vortex Snow and Blizzard Warnings Clarified by the Met Office This Week With 5-Day Forecast

Snow and ice warnings extended

Yellow weather warnings for parts of north-east Scotland and England remain in effect until Wednesday morning, as per the BBC.

On Monday, the Met Office issued a slew of additional yellow warnings for much of the UK for the next five days.

Heavy snow could cause "significant disruption" in northern and central areas on Thursday and Friday, according to the forecast.

Forecasters are predicting a "major change" as Arctic air sweeps in from the north, bringing snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to many.

A new ice and snow warning is in effect for parts of the Midlands, East, South of England, and Wales between 21:00 GMT tonight and 10:00 on Tuesday.

According to the Met Office, this could cause "difficult travel conditions" in some areas.

Some roads and railways in these areas were likely to be affected, and people should expect longer travel times.

Overnight, a similar warning covering much of Northern Ireland was also issued.

Another warning states that snow will cause some travel disruption in parts of southern England and Wales on Wednesday.

Heavy snow warnings are in effect for much of Scotland, northern England, parts of the Midlands, north Wales, and Northern Ireland for Thursday and Friday.

Weather conditions may disrupt travel and other daily activities, and more alerts are likely.

The first Met Office warning was issued for parts of Scotland on Sunday evening, including Aberdeen and Dundee, the Highlands, Orkney, and Shetland.

On Monday, the warning was expanded to include more of Scotland as well as a corridor of north-east England extending to Newcastle upon Tyne and Yorkshire.

Tuesday's coverage expands to include Strathclyde, more of Yorkshire and the Humber, and the East Midlands.

Snow is expected to fall frequently, with northern Scotland experiencing frequent and often heavy snow showers on Monday afternoon.

Snow could cause delays on these roads, as well as rail and plane cancellations, according to the Met Office.

It also warned about the dangers of slipping and falling on icy surfaces.

It said there was a "slight chance" that rural communities would be cut off, and that power and phone services would be affected.

Related article: UK Weather Forecast: Sudden Stratospheric Warming to Bring Snow and Blizzards in Coming Weeks
A missing Argentinian man was found inside a dead shark's belly after disappearing for over a week, as part of a case of what initially to be a mysterious incident.

In February, the missing father of three was believed by Argentine authorities to have plunged into the sea after a vehicular accident near a beach, according to reports.

Shark experts also said that it is unlikely the shark killed the missing man.

Fishers caught the shark near an area where the missing Argentine named Diego Barria, 32, several days after his reported disappearance on February 18.

The fishers gutted the belly of the marine animal only to find a human arm belonging to Barria.

The identification of the victim was confirmed by his family through a tattoo on the wrist of his forearm.

Human Remains Found in Shark

Initial reports regarding Barria's disappearance led to a speculation in the media that the shark may have killed him.

However, shark experts and police authorities suspected that the man was already dead before the shark devoured him, as cited by Live Science.

Spanish news site El Pais reported the quad that Barria was driving was discovered to be destroyed in the Patagonian province of Chubut, located in southern Argentina.

Eight days after his disappearance, two fishermen found his human remains, including the forearm, inside the belly of a small school shark, which they took to the police.

While it is clear the Argentinian's body ended up into the sea, the country's justice system has launched an investigation into the incident to understand what happened, the news site added.

Available evidence shows that Barria was last seen before midnight on February 18, while returning to home on his all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

While on his way home, he stopped over to greet some of this fishing friends and informed his wife that he will arrive late, according to reports.

Also Read: Shark Attack in the Florida Keys Leaves 10-Year-Old Boy to Lose a Part of His Leg

School Sharks

Based on the fishermen's testimony, as provided by El Pais, they caught three school sharks, which typically grows to around 5-feet long, in the waters off the coast of Caleta Olivia city.

It is one of these sharks where Barria was found.

The initial speculation that the shark was responsible to the death of the missing father was ruled out, since marine scientists have made it clear that shark attacks are rare, let alone by a school shark (Galeorhinus galeus).

School sharks are known for being hunted by fishermen due to their fins, livers, and meat, according to Live Science.

For this reason, G. galeus has been listed as "critically" endangered" under the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

According to the Florida Museum, the fast-swimming and relatively small school sharks are targeted due to fin trade despite warnings that their flesh contains mercury, making its population vulnerable in the wild.

Related Article: Great White Shark Makes Mexican Diver Its Buffet, Making It The First Fatal Shark Attack of 2023
This March, the latest weather forecasts said that parts of Australia could experience challenging heat and heatwaves, especially in parts of New South Wales and Sydney.

Australians planning for outdoor activities or travel should monitor the weather conditions in Australia for troublesome heat.

Heatwaves in parts of Australia

In the latest weather forecast, The Guardian reported that Sydney was expected to feel hotter temperatures this week, reaching 38C.

Heatwaves can be concerning in Australia. As a result, homeowners should ensure to stay cool under challenging weather conditions.

The weather forecasts noted that heatwaves could continue until Wednesday. Parts of Sydney and New South Wales are under the heatwave warning.

Meanwhile, the 9News forecast explained the emergence of bushfires in New South Wales.

The forecast said that fire bans were issued to prevent possible bushfires. Fire bans were in the Southern Ranges, Central Ranges, Lower Central West Plains, Upper Central West Plains and Northern Slopes.

The forecast noted that Tuesday could also expect hotter temperatures.

According to The Independent UK report, about 40 bushfires occurred, adding that the weather conditions are suitable enough for bushfires.

Also Read: Rare Red Goshawk in Australia Shows Declining Population To Brink of Extinction

Furthermore, the forecasts monitored the bushfire or fire risk in the parts of New South Wales. Firefighters were deployed in the area to put out the fire.

This coming weekend, the weather forecasts explained that temperatures would cool down after experiencing the troublesome heatwaves.

Heat conditions are also present in Queensland, Brisbane and Cootlandgatta. Beachgoers should check the weather before leaving.

Bushfires and heat waves are dangerous situations. Motorists and homeowners should keep away from areas with reported bushfires.

What to do during challenging heat and heatwaves

The latest weather forecasts said that challenging heatwaves and heat are forecast in Australia this week.

According to the Australian Red Cross, heat waves and hot weather could become dangerous, resulting in more heat-related risks.

The report added that people with pre-existing health conditions, older adults and children could become prone to heat. Monitoring their temperatures is essential.

Here are heatwave safety tips for Australia this week.

Keep updated with heatwave alerts in Australia.

Australians should stay updated with the latest heatwave forecasts and alerts. It would help anticipate the impact of the weather conditions.

Stay at home as possible.

Australians with no travel plans should consider staying at home as possible. It is best to avoid outdoor activities that could exert more energy and make you at risk of challenging heat.

Wear comfortable clothes. Homeowners should avoid coffee or alcohol.

Monitor body temperatures.

Homeowners should monitor the body temperatures of people vulnerable to challenging heat. It is advisable to consult their doctors for possible remedies during heatwaves or hotter environments.

Find cooler areas.

Turning on your home's air conditioning would be helpful to ease the heat this week. Australians could also look for cooling areas.

Related Article: Australia Weather Forecast: Heat Spike Likely to Emerge Next Week

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
5 poachers were each given five years in prison by a court in western Thailand on Monday for killing a female tiger and her cub in a national park the previous year.

The Kanchanaburi provincial court ruled that the five men violated conservation laws when they killed the protected pair of animals in Thong Pha Phum National Park before skinning and smoking their remains to make them ready for sale on the black market.

Tiger Skins, Bones, Carcass Parts

The tiger parts were taken by park rangers after they found them in January of last year. The skins of two flayed tigers were held up in photos taken in the forest and released by the authorities. Photos were taken nearby and also revealed bones and carcass parts.

The court rejected the men's claim that they killed the tigers as retaliation for attacks on livestock, concluding that given that they lived in a neighborhood close to a forest, they ought to have felt a sense of responsibility to protect the environment.

Tigers vs. Poaching

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are only about 4,500 wild tigers left in the world. Though their numbers have grown recently, according to WWF, fewer than 200 big cats are still present in Thailand's national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

The demand for tigers' bones, skins, as well as other body parts used in folk medicine in China and Vietnam is one of the main factors driving poaching, and one of the major threats to tigers' survival.

Traditional Chinese medicine has both supporters and detractors in China, where there is an ongoing discussion about its efficacy and safety.

Even though many TCM remedies have been in use for many centuries, detractors contend that there is frequently little conclusive, peer-reviewed research to back up their claimed advantages.

Chinese medicine uses almost every part of the tiger, according to Facts And Details. For instance, the whiskers are used to treat toothaches and to increase strength; the eyes are used to treat epilepsy, malaria, nervousness, and cataracts, as well as to lessen convulsions. Additionally, people with epilepsy and convulsions eat tiger noses. Various skin conditions are said to be treated with tiger tails.

Because tiger bone decoctions are thought to treat rheumatism or arthritis, strengthen muscles, and extend life, they are crushed and powdered, and they are added to wine and soup. Any man who consumes tiger wine is supposed to gain strength, prowess, and virility.

Tiger soup, which can cost up to $320 per bowl in Taiwan, is believed to improve sexual prowess.

Also Read: 70 Hippos Travels to Mexico, India as Booming Population Threatens Ecosystem in Columbia

Welcomed Ruling Against 5 Poachers

The chief of Thong Pha Phum National Park, Charoen Jaichon, praised the court's decision and expressed his satisfaction that justice had been served. This is a severe warning to any illegal poachers in Thailand's national parks, he continued, CNN reports.

In addition to paying the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation 750,000 baht plus 5% interest in damages, the five poachers were also fined 5,500 baht each, according to the Bangkok Post.

Additionally, it was claimed that the five poachers had repeatedly committed the crime.

Related Article: Rhinos Down to 400 as Poaching Intensifies in Botswana
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Cloudy and windy. High near 45F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening mixing with snow showers overnight. Low near 35F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of precip 50%. Higher wind gusts possible.
China steps up judicial protection for women, children: reports

Xinhua) 16:35, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's judicial authorities have stepped up protection of the rights and interests of women and children, dealing with domestic violence with stronger measures and taking a zero-tolerance stance for crimes against minors.

Over the past five years, nearly 9 million marriage- and family-related cases were concluded across the country, and 13,000 personal protection orders were issued, according to a report submitted by the top court to the national legislature for deliberation on Tuesday.

Since 2021, 3,152 suspects have been prosecuted on charges of trafficking and buying trafficked women and children, up 16 percent from the previous two years, the top procuratorate said in a separate report.

In terms of minor protection, 290,000 suspects were prosecuted in the past five years for crimes against minors including sexual assault, maltreatment and violence, said the top procuratorate.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
In a recent study posted to bioRxiv* preprint server, researchers in Germany assessed the differences in antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) subtypes between post-COVID syndrome (PCS) patients and convalescent controls.

Study: IgG4 serum levels are not elevated in cases of Post-COVID syndrome. Image Credit: NIAID

*Important notice: bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Studies have demonstrated varying durability and levels of antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) after infection or vaccination. Effector functions are associated with four IgG subtypes (IgG1  IgG4). In addition, two independent studies have reported elevated levels of IgG4 following the receipt of two or more mRNA vaccine doses, which is not observed with adenoviral vector vaccines.

IgG4 antibodies, which occur after prolonged antigen exposure, downregulate the immune response and induce tolerance. It was suggested that the protracted antigen availability in lymph node germinal centers after mRNA vaccination might increase IgG4 levels. Whether IgG4 antibodies are elicited after infection in non-vaccinated individuals remains unknown.

Further, persistent circulation of the viral antigen has been described for PCS patients. Increased class-switching of B cells to IgG4 may result in less fragment-crystallizable (Fc)-mediated effector function that may contribute to prolonged viral persistence and antigen circulation.

The study and findings

In the present study, researchers investigated whether PCS patients exhibit elevated IgG4 levels. Sixty-four PCS patients (44 females and 20 males) with a median age of 39.5 and 64 convalescent individuals (38 females and 26 males) with a median age of 37 were recruited. These subjects had been infected early in the COVID-19 pandemic when the Wuhan-like strain (D614G) and the Alpha variant were prevalent.

PCS patients and convalescent subjects were matched on age, sex, and the time from symptom onset to serum sampling. Ten PCS patients were vaccinated before sampling. Most PCS patients experienced fatigue (88%), dyspnea (81%), and memory/cognitive impairments (71%). Anti-spike antibodies of IgG subtypes were detected using a pre-fusion stabilized spike ectodomain-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The researchers observed differences in the levels of IgG subtypes. IgG1 was the most abundant antibody among subtypes, with median concentrations reaching 41.4 g/ml for PCS subjects and 25.5 g/ml for convalescent individuals. Both cohorts showed similar levels of IgG3 antibodies. Notably, the IgG4 concentrations were the lowest in both groups, with a median of 1.6 g/ml.

A significant difference was observed in IgG2 levels between cohorts, with PCS patients showing lower concentrations. Further, the team assessed the reactivity of IgG4 antibodies against the spike protein, its receptor-binding domain (RBD), and the nucleocapsid proteins C- (CTD) and N-terminal (NTD) domains.

There was a small but significant difference in the reactivity of IgG4 antibodies against RBD, but not for nucleocapsid or the spike protein. No biological relevance could be attributed to the differences, given the relatively low levels of IgG4.

Conclusions

The study provided insights into the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific IgG subtypes in PCS patients and non-vaccinated convalescent individuals. The findings do not implicate IgG4 as a significant parameter in PCS development. Instead, low IgG2 levels may contribute to the long-term presence of SARS-CoV-2 antigens leading to chronic inflammation and lingering symptoms of the PCS.

*Important notice: bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
In a recent study published in Influenza and other respiratory viruses, researchers estimated the immune protection conferred by monovalent-type coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) booster doses vs. two-dose prime vaccination series during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant predominance in community settings.

Background

For United States (US) residents, COVID-19 vaccine boosters have been extended to young individuals over concerns of waning immunity to improve immune protection against Omicron, the continuous evolution of which has threatened COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE). Second booster doses have been recommended for adults immunocompromised or aged above 50. However, concerns over adverse effects and VE have contributed to COVID-19 vaccine reluctance in the US.

About the study

In the present study, researchers evaluated the relative vaccine effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA boosters vs. complete prime vaccinations among community residents with active COVID-19 surveillance in the US.

The study comprised the prospective assessment of coronavirus disease 2019 in the community (PACC) trial participants, followed from 20 December 2021 to 28 June 2022, aged 5.0 years, and who were provided care by the Marshfield clinic health system (MCHS). Surveys were distributed at recruitment to obtain data on age, gender, and comorbidities.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination data were obtained from the MCHS electronic medical records, the Immunization Registry of Wisconsin, and t vaccination cards of the participants. Serum samples were obtained at recruitment (between November 2020 and March 2021), at intervals of 12.0 weeks (between January 2021 and June of the same year), and at 24.0 0 weeks (between April and September 2021) post-recruitment. In addition, sera were obtained between February and May 2022, and after 12.0 weeks, between May and July 2022.

The relative VE of second boosters (fourth dose) vs. single booster (third dose) was estimated among individuals aged 50 years, who were followed between 29 March 2022 and 28 July 2022 and were eligible for the second booster 4.0 months post first booster receipt. Cox proportional hazards modeling was performed for the analysis, and the hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated, with data adjustments for prior COVID-19 history and age.

Participants completed weekly symptom surveys, and nasal swabs were collected by self or parents when individuals developed 1.0 respiratory symptoms such as cough, fever, sore throat, smell loss, taste loss, muscle and/or body ache, diarrhea, or breathlessness. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the specimens using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

In addition, COVID-19 was diagnosed based on the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, S receptor-binding domain, or nucleocapsid (N) protein using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). SARS-CoV-2 strain proportions were assessed using the global initiative on sharing all influenza data (GISAID) database data. The team excluded individuals who received prime doses of Ad26.COV2.S (46 individuals) vaccines or mixed messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines (one individual). The monovalent vaccines encoded for the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral strain.

Results

The analysis comprised 883 individuals with a median age of 55 years, among whom 61.0% were women, and 56.0% had comorbidities. Among the participants, 29% (n=258) of individuals were fully vaccinated, and 71% (n=625) of individuals were booster-vaccinated. Among boosted COVID-19 vaccinees, 61% (n=384) and 39% (n=241) received prime doses of BTN162b2, and mRNA-1273, respectively, and 65% and 35% received booster doses of the corresponding vaccines, respectively.

Among the participants, 59% (n=239) and 41% (n=-168) received one and two booster doses, respectively. Relative VE was 51.0% favoring boosters over prime vaccinations, and showed no significant variation with prior COVID-19 history. Relative VE estimated were 74.0% at 15.0 days to 90.0 days following booster doses, reducing to 42.0% after 91.0 to 180.0 days, and 36.0% after 180.0 days. The relative VE for the second booster vs. the first booster was 24.0%.

Among the participants, 25% (n=219) developed reinfections, of which 97 (28/10,000 individual-days) occurred following primary vaccinations and 122 following booster vaccinations (12/10,000 individual days). The relative VE estimates did not vary significantly by age, albeit lower point estimates for individuals aged 5.0 to 17.0 years and 50.0 years. VE estimates for only individuals aged 18 to 49 years were significant. Reinfections were documented among 10% (n=20) of booster-vaccinated and 25% (n=33) of prime-vaccinated individuals without prior COVID-19 history.

Relative VE estimates remained unaltered after excluding 54 immunocompromised individuals. Relative VE of the booster dose vs. primary doses reduced with increasing duration from booster dose receipt. Compared to prime-vaccinated and non-boosted individuals, the relative VE estimated was the greatest (74%) at 15.0 to 90.0 days following booster dose receipt. The risk of COVID-19 did not vary significantly among single-booster and double-booster recipients.

Conclusion

Overall, the study findings showed that COVID-19 mRNA vaccine boosters conferred significant immune protection against COVID-19, although the protective immunity waned with time. However, the second booster dose did not add significant immune protection among individuals aged 50.0 years. Healthcare authorities must encourage bivalent booster dose uptake to improve protection against Omicron BA.4/ 5 subvariants.
Sam Chavarria said her doctor was clear about the birth defects her medication could cause if she became pregnant but agreed to keep her on it as long as she had an IUD.

As she was waiting to get her contraceptive intrauterine device replaced at her local clinic, however, the billing nurse told her that her insurance wouldn't cover the removal  or a new IUD. Chavarria didn't understand why not.

"Then she said very delicately, 'Well, people on this insurance typically tend to be older,'" Chavarria recalled.

Although Chavarria is 34, she is enrolled in Medicare, the government insurance program designed for those 65 and older. Chavarria, who lives in Houston, is disabled by fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and mental health issues. Medicare automatically enrolls anyone who has received Social Security disability benefits for two years and this was her first time getting an IUD while in the government program.

Without insurance, just removing her expired IUD would cost Chavarria $350 out-of-pocket, exchanging it for a new one would be $2,000. She left the clinic in tears.

Chavarria's experience is not rare. Medicare was originally intended for people of retirement age. Over the years, the program has evolved to include new populations, such as those who have disabilities or are critically ill, said Jennifer Lea Huer, a public health expert at Yale University. In 2020, 1.7 million people ages 18 through 44 were enrolled in Medicare.

An estimated 70% of childbearing age women on Medicare are also eligible for Medicaid, a state and federal program for those with low incomes, which should fill the gap for contraception. It's not clear how many transgender or nonbinary people  who also might need contraception  are on Medicare or are eligible for Medicaid.

Medicaid, like the plans offered via the federal Affordable Care Act, mandates coverage of birth control. But those who aren't eligible for Medicaid are left in the lurch  Medicare's origins mean it does not require access to birth control.

Traditional Medicare includes two parts: Part A covers hospital costs, while Part B covers physicians care and certain other services, such as ambulance rides. Neither ordinarily includes contraception.

People can get contraception through a Medicare Advantage plan or Part D of Medicare, which covers prescription drugs, but those come at a cost. And even people who pay for Part D often aren't covered for some types of birth control, such as IUDs.

"So, if you are disabled, if you are locked outside of the labor market, if you do not have the means or any other way to financially support yourself, you were likely still on traditional Medicare, which is Part A and Part B," Huer said. "In which case, your access to contraception is incredibly difficult."

Contraception for those with traditional Medicare is given on a case-by-case basis, Huer said. It can be covered only if a doctor can make a credible case that the patient needs it for medical reasons  because their body cannot sustain a pregnancy  as opposed to merely wanting to avoid one.

"You have to have a champion physician whos willing to partner with you and make those arguments," Huer said.

That's what Chavarria's doctor tried to do. Before she left the clinic, staffers there told her they would try to make the case she needed the IUD for medical reasons. The IUD exchange was scheduled almost 10 weeks later, but during those weeks, she got pregnant. Her body couldn't sustain a pregnancy, so she and her partner rushed to get an abortion just before Texas tightened its rules Sept. 1, 2021.

"If Medicare had just covered the IUD removal or exchange to begin with, none of this would have happened," Chavarria said. "It would have saved me having to make a really tough decision that I never thought I'd have to make."

Women with disabilities often face a stigma from health care practitioners, especially when it comes to birth control, said Willi Horner-Johnson, a public health researcher specializing in disabilities at Oregon Health & Science University. In her research, women with disabilities have described being treated like children or having to go to multiple doctors to find someone with whom they felt comfortable.

"We don't want to acknowledge that disabled people have sex," said Miriam Garber, a 36-year-old sex worker who lives in Rhode Island and is also on Medicare because of her disabilities. Garber got an IUD from Planned Parenthood because her insurance wouldn't cover it.

Even those who pay for Part D to have their prescription drugs covered and have a "champion physician" face difficulties. Liz Moore, a nonbinary person in their 30s who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, could not get Medicare to pay for the Mirena IUD their doctor prescribed for their polycystic ovary syndrome. Moore is disabled with fibromyalgia and dysautonomia, a condition of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates breathing, heart rate, and more.

"After literally months of phone calls, it seemed like my Medicare Part D, and original Medicare could not agree on who should pay for my IUD," they wrote in a direct message. "Was it a prescription or durable medical equipment?"

When Moore finally learned it would cost $800 upfront, they said, they decided to get a hysterectomy  which Medicare would pay for  instead.

Chavarrias doctor told her a tubal ligation also was more likely to be approved by Medicare than an IUD, since older people have that procedure more often. Like all surgeries, both come with risks of complications and recovery.

Even for those on both Medicare and Medicaid, getting contraception also isn't always easy, as in Katie Elizabeth Walsh's case.

Walsh, 34, who lives in northeastern Connecticut, is disabled by a traumatic brain injury, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome. She got an IUD at an OB-GYN clinic and was told there her insurance would cover it.

Then she got a bill for nearly $2,000.

Medicaid should cover contraceptive devices for dual-eligibility people, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy guidance, but when Walsh tried to get her bill covered, Medicare and Medicaid could not agree on which of them should pay.

"Every single time I have called one of the insurance offices, they are like, 'Oh, no, you have to talk to the other one, and we dont really talk to each other,'" Walsh said.

Walsh said the hassle to get her contraception covered feels like a kick in the stomach: "Like truly you do not have a place in this world, and your insurance is telling you that."
Space travel has always tested the human body by the effects of the new conditions of altered gravity on biological systems. It has long been known that continuous exposure to microgravity conditions human physiology and causes effects that compromise muscular, sensory, endocrine and cardiovascular functions. But is it also risky to be exposed to altered gravity for short periods of time?

Now, a paper published in the journal Acta Astronautica examines the effects on the human immune system of microgravity generated by a parabolic flight. After a short exposure to altered gravity, there were no significant changes in the defensive capacity of blood cells in the volunteers who took part in the study. In addition, the study found no evidence of aggregation processes in erythrocytes the cells that transport O2 and CO2 to the cardiovascular system after the parabolic flight.

The study was coordinated by Gines Viscor, professor at the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, and it included the participation of experts Jordi Petriz, from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), and Antoni Perez-Poch, from the Technical University of Catalonia-BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), among other authors. The first author of the study is the researcher Abril Gorgori-Gonzalez (UB). It counted on the support from the Medical Service of the Safety, Health and Environment Office (OSSMA) of the UB, the Aeroclub Barcelona-Sabadell and the company Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Parabolic flights: a simulated gravity laboratory

Space travel is the ideal scenario to study the effect of microgravity on the human body. These trips make it possible to study the consequences of long-term exposure to microgravity on different astronauts simultaneously, but they require a high cost in terms of time, funding and infrastructure. Without leaving the Earth's atmosphere, it is also possible to simulate simulated gravity conditions on different platforms. For example, through parabolic flights in aircraft, which make it possible to study the effect of altered microgravity in the short term even for a few seconds at an affordable cost.

"Artificial platforms such as parabolic flights in aircraft provide valuable but more limited results, as they only allow the effects of altered gravity to be studied in the short term (seconds or minutes). Therefore, the profiles of physiological changes that can be recreated with parabolic flights are immediate and transitory changes that microgravity generates in the human body", says Gines Viscor, head of the Adaptive Physiology Group: Exercise, Hypoxia and Health at the UB.

As part of the study, a 20-minute parabolic flight was conducted with the Mudry CAP10 aircraft a 2-seat aerobatic training aircraft during which fifteen parabolas were performed. "Each parabola allows a period of microgravity to be reached for approximately eight seconds, which is followed and preceded by hypergravity phases of about two seconds", says the researcher Antoni Perez-Poch, from the Department of Computer Science at the UPC, and lecturer of the School of Engineering of Barcelona East (EEBE) of the UPC and the IEEC.

These parabolic flights with an aerobatic plane a pioneering method in the world, developed in Catalonia were operated by the Aeroclub Barcelona-Sabadell and are the result of an aeronautical research carried out in collaboration with the UPC. "This innovative technique has a good ratio of time achieved in microgravity compared to the cost of maintenance, which is very favorable compared to the greater use of aircraft, although it also has some limitations (logistical and space). In the case of parabolic flights with a larger aircraft, a more expensive operation that has been used since the beginning of the space race by agencies such as NASA or ESA (European Space Agency), up to 25 seconds per parabola could be achieved", says Perez-Poch.

Immune function under pressure

The immediate effects of microgravity on the blood system derive from the redistribution of blood volume, blood flow and body fluids to the upper body. "Cardiovascular adaptations consist of an altered cardiovascular response causing abnormalities in body orientation and balance, poor response to orthostatic stress, decreased cardiac function and inadequate cardiovascular response to exercise", says Gines Viscor.

One of the most vulnerable physiological systems to any change in environmental conditions is the immune system, and this is explained by its great plasticity and responsiveness to internal and external imbalances. In the scientific literature, there are still no conclusive results on the immune response to short exposure in flights with altered gravity, and in some cases the conclusions are even contradictory.

In this study, the team analyzed the response of the immune system to short exposure to microgravity based on several parameters: erythrocyte and leukocyte counts, hemoglobin concentration, phagocytic capacity and oxidative metabolism.

The results reveal that the human blood samples' exposure to altered gravity conditions in parabolic flight did not involve negative effects in relation to samples that were left parallelly on the ground during the experimental study. There are also no significant changes in peripheral blood cell counts." Jordi Petriz (IGTP)

"Except for the monocytes a type of leukocyte no significant differences have been observed in the functionality of immune cells in terms of either their oxidative metabolism or their phagocytic capacity", says researcher Abril Gorgori-Gonzalez (UB). "Hypothetically, if there were changes in the functionality of leukocytes when exposed to an altered gravity, the immune function and defense against external infections or tumor processes would also be compromised".

The team has applied the technique of flow cytometry with acoustic focusing with little manipulation of the volunteers' blood samples. According to the authors, the sample limitation typical of acrobatic flight studies with logistical constraints does not allow general conclusions to be drawn. Therefore, the goal now is to continue research on the human immune system with other microgravity simulation platforms to study physiological alterations, avoid complications and anticipate risk situations.

Space tourist warning

Space tourism is an activity of great economic interest for some business sectors. However, one of the main differences between space tourists and astronauts is the physical and psychological preparation prior to the trip.

"Altered gravity or the constant lack of gravity is one of several changes in the environment faced by these space travelers. The human body has evolved under the conditions of Earth's gravity and is not adapted to the absence of this attractive force. In space travel, other factors such as ionizing radiation, constant noise, isolation, confinement, a total distortion of circadian rhythms and short exposure to extreme temperatures during the return to the atmosphere have to be considered", the experts warn.

"Long-term metabolic, osteoporosis and ophthalmological problems have also been described. Although the effect of space travel on untrained space travelers has not been studied, it is possible that all the stressors of the physical environment could negatively affect the health of space tourists. Therefore, for the time being, 'outer space visits' are designed to be of short duration", the team concludes.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa commended the strong cooperation and partnership between Bahrain and the United Nations.

HM the King stressed the key role played by the international organisation in boosting regional and international security and peace, solving global issues, handling environmental and natural disasters, fighting climate change and poverty, and serving humanity.

This came as His Majesty received at Safriya Palace yesterday former presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the occasion of their visit to Bahrain at a royal invitation to participate in the meeting of the Council of Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly (CPUNGA), hosted by the Kingdom.

The delegation of the UNGA former presidents comprised CPUNGA Chairman, President of the 56th session Dr Han Seung-soo, Deputy Chairman and President of the 57th session Jan Kavan, President of the 61st session Shaikha Haya bint Rashid Al Khalifa, President of the 62nd session Srgjan Kerim, President of the 65th session Joseph Deiss, President of the 67th session Vuk Jeremic, President of the 70th session Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 72nd session Miroslav Lajcak, and Director of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism Dr Jehangir Khan.

HM King Hamad also discussed with the former UNGA presidents regional and international issues. Invitation His Majesty welcomed the delegation, thanking them for accepting the invitation to visit Bahrain, praising the important meeting hosted by the Kingdom with the participation of an elite of prominent international personalities.

He commended their tireless efforts to promote the UN role on the international scene, lauding strong relations of friendship between the Kingdom and their countries. HM the King wished CPUNGA every success in serving the goals of the international organisation to foster global peace and security and achieve growth and prosperity for all humankind.

The delegation expressed thanks and appreciation to HM the King for the gracious welcome and hospitality and for Bahrains hosting of CPUNGA. They hailed the vital role of the Kingdom in backing the UN efforts and briefed HM the King on the main issues on the meetings agenda, and the development in Bahrain under HM the Kings leadership.
Ten family members were on Sunday around 5pm killed in a road accident on the Kaduna-Kachia highway while returning from a wedding in Kano State.

NigerianEye gathered the victims vehicle had a head-on collision with a lorry conveying firewood.





A resident of Kachia, Isiyaku Musa Kachia, told City & Crime that all the victims were Kano indigenes who resided in Kachia town.

He said, I knew most of them; they went to their home town in Kano for a wedding and on their way back to Kachia town, the saloon Gulf they were travelling in collided with a lorry conveying firewood and the 10 of them in the car died on the spot.

He noted that they had all been buried according to Islamic rites in Kachia.

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Sector Commander of Kaduna, Zubairu Mato, confirmed the incident, attributing it to dangerous overtaking which led to the driver losing control.

He said the Gulf car was overloaded at the time of the accident and that among the victims were eight men and two boys.




The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed 12 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend the mandate of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in the just concluded polls.

Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes in 12 of Nigerias 36 states, almost two million votes more than his closest rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While Atiku came second with 6,984,520 votes, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, finished the race with 6,101,533. Both Atiku and Obi have rejected the outcome of the election, vowing to challenge the result in court.

But the ruling party says it is willing to meet the parties in court. In a statement on Tuesday, the partys National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, released the 13-man list comprising 12 senior advocates.

Top on the list is a legal icon, Wole Olanipekun, who is also the lead counsel to the ruling party at the Presidential Election Tribunal.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appointed a team of highly qualified and experienced lawyers to represent the Party at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, the statement read.

The team is comprised of legal luminaries with vast experience in election petition matters, constitutional law, and litigation.

The legal team consisting of twelve (12) Senior Advocates of Nigeria and the National Legal Adviser of the Party, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Esq., is led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, a renowned lawyer who has successfully handled various high-profile election matters and other landmark cases.

Other members of the list are Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, Sam Ologunorisa, Rotimi Oguneso, Olabisi Soyebo, Gboyega Oyewole, Muritala Abdulrasheed, Aliyu Omezia Saiki, Tajudeen Oladoja, Pius Akubo, Oluseye Opasanya, Suraju Saida and Kazeem Adeniyi.

The party is confident that the legal team possesses requisite expertise and experience to ensure a successful outcome for the APC in the Presidential Election Petition matters.

It also urged party members to support the team in its effort to defend the will and mandate of the people, calling on all parties involved to conduct themselves with the utmost professionalism and respect for the rule of law throughout the legal process.




Bernard Odoh, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ebonyi, has been declared wanted by the police.

Odoh and nine other persons were on Monday declared wanted in connection with the murder of Ezeogo Igboke Ewa.

Gunmen killed Ewa, the traditional ruler of Umuezekoha community in Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi, in his home on February 26.

Reacting to the allegation of complicity, the governorship candidate said the claims were malicious, baseless, spurious and should be disregarded.

Odoh said he has secured an order from an Owerri high court restraining the police or their agents from arresting or harassing him.

He said those listed as wanted in the police publication were APGA supporters and members of Umuezekoha community.

Nigerian law still presumes an accused person innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, he said.

I have already obtained an order: HOW/194/2023 from a high court in Owerri dated March 3, restraining the police and other security agencies from harassing or arresting me until the matter before the court is determined.

The inspector-general of police (IGP) and other security agencies have been served with the court order accordingly.

The IGP upon being served the said order stopped all actions in the matter concerning the court, but the commissioner of police in Ebonyi has continued to take action contrary to the orders of court.

Further, the family of the late Ezeogo filed a suit No. HBA/47MC/2023 alleging that the commissioner of police in Ebonyi has been compromised by failing to arrest me.

Ebonyi high court has not determined the matter, yet the commissioner of police in Ebonyi continued to take steps over the sub-judice matter.

I am not on the run and cannot be said to be on the run for any reason whatsoever, but pursuing and seeking the resolution of the false and misleading allegation brought against me through legal and peaceful means.

The allegations are politically motivated and intended to undermine my chances of winning the March 11 governorship election in Ebonyi.

I sympathise with the family of the traditional ruler over this very painful, unfortunate and tragic loss.

I reiterate my earlier position in the media that I know nothing and absolutely nothing about the assassination of my traditional ruler.

Odoh urged his supporters to remain calm and resolute in their support for him to win the gubernatorial election.

Recall that on February 3 that gunmen attacked the convoy of Odo while returning from a rally in the state.




The Nigerian Army on Monday, said it has instituted investigations into the unfortunate incident of a soldier, who killed his colleagues and himself at Forward Operations Base (FOB) Rabbah, Sokoto State.





Recall that a serving soldier shot his colleague and later shot himself on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at the FOB, where troops were deployed for internal security operations.





Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director Army Public Relations in a statement, said that the circumstances leading to the incident could not be immediately ascertained, as the soldier who killed his colleagues also shot himself immediately.





According to him, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division Nigerian Army, who also doubles as the Commander Joint Task Force Northwest Operation Hadarin, Daji Major General Godwin Mutkut and other senior officers have visited the location, and commiserated with troops for losing their colleagues in such an unfortunate situation.





He urged them to be their brothers keepers and report any anomaly observed amongst their colleagues in order to forestall such incidents, just as encouraged them to remain calm and committed in the discharge of their duties.





The authorities of the Nigerian Army are deeply concerned about this unusual and ugly development and have therefore instituted a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident, the statement added.





According to the statement, its expected that the findings of the BOI will help forestall such ugly and bizarre occurrences in the future.




Arsenal have joined the battle to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.





According to Rai Sport journalist Ciro Venerato, Arsenal have entered the running to sign the Nigerian international and are now favourites to get a deal done in the summer.





Osimhen has been linked with a move to Arsenals Premier League rivals, Manchester United and Chelsea.





Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis is expected to demand over 100million to sell Osimhen.





Osimhen has been impressive for Napoli so far this season.





He is currently the top scorer in Serie A with 19 goals so far for Napoli.
The Peoples Democratic Party members on Monday besieged the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Abuja in protest the outcome of the February 25 presidential election, which the partys standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, claimed to have won.





The electoral commission had declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu, the winner of the election after scoring a total of 8, 794, 726 votes, but the PDP and LP denounced the result and vowed to challenge it in court.





Leading the protest march which was attended by the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and his Taraba State counterpart, Darius Ishaku and other chieftains, Atiku again rejected the declaration of the former Lagos State governor, Tinubu, as the president-elect, vowing that the protest would continue indefinitely.





The march also had in attendance a former National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus; Senator Dino Melaye, a former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihediaha, and former Adamawa State governor, Boni Haruna among party chieftains.





Speaking to newsmen outside INEC headquarters, Atiku also vowed that the protest would continue.





He said, All the provisions of the current electoral law have been completely contravened. We were protesting and then INEC was not listening and went on to announce the result. That is why we are protesting. We have the right to protest and it will continue for a very long time, either every day or any other day. We have the right to protest under the constitution, and it doesnt stop us from going to the court.





The PDP in a protest letter warned INEC against messing up the coming governorship and state houses of assembly elections.









The letter was received on behalf of the INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, by the National Commissioner and Chairman Voter Education and Publicity, Festus Okoye.





The PDP National Chairman, Ayu, stated We call on your commission to suspend the ongoing transmission of the polling units results to your servers which is in complete breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.





Election, unacceptable





We reject and declare as unacceptable the outcome, announcement and declaration of the presidential election results.





We want to warn your commission against a repeat of the experiences of the February 25 election in the coming governorship and state assembly elections of March 11, 2023. Any attempt to manipulate the electoral process will be vehemently resisted.





We demand an explanation why you proceeded with the declaration of the election results marred by irregularities against all calls to address the complaints brought to your attention before and during the collation process.





While condemning the alleged absurdity that characterised the presidential election, Ayu said Nigeria should be seen as a country governed by the rule of law, pointing out that it was a responsibility that the party owed the citizens.





He called on all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to stand firmly in defence of their rights, votes and stolen mandate.





The party further stated, We call on all Nigerians to be co-partners in defence of our democracy, votes, the rule of law and their rights to freely choose the candidates of their choice.





While presenting the protest letter, Ayu insisted that INEC must cancel the election and conduct a fresh one that will be respected not only by Nigerians but by the whole international community.





Speaking after receiving the letter, Okoye stated, So I have received this protest letter on behalf of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission and I promise you this letter will be transmitted to him.





If there are remedial issues we will deal with those remedial issues. But I want to assure you that this commission is a listening commission. This commission is a public trust and this commission belongs to the Nigerian people. This commission does not owe allegiance to any political party.





We dont have any allegiance to any candidate. Our allegiance is to the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I want to thank all of you for the peaceful way this protest has been conducted but I want to plead that all of us should continue to be peaceful and all of us should continue to respect the integrity of the commission and also the integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.





I am going to go and hand over the protest letter to the chairman of the commission and I want to assure you that the commission will meet over this letter, look into it and address some of the issues.









The protesters, who were dressed in black, started their demonstration from Legacy House, causing heavy traffic congestion around the Maitama axis.





But reacting to the procession, the APC presidential campaign council urged former vice president Atiku to desist from allowing his campaign spokesman, Dino Melayo push him around.





The PCC also noted that dancing Skelewu on the streets of Abuja wont make the INEC change its mind about the winner of the presidential election.





A statement issued by PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, and titled Atiku Abubakar and his band of jesters at INEC headquarters disclosed that the ruling party was surprised to discover that rather than keep his promise to seek legal redress, Atiku allowed himself to be tele-guided by his political foot soldiers, including Melaye.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says no data would be lost while configuring the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS) ahead of the governorship and state assembly elections.

Tanimu Inuwa, counsel to the INEC, spoke on Tuesday while moving an application seeking to vary the orders of the court which gave permission to Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to inspect all the sensitive materials used in the conduct of the presidential election held on February 25.

The court had granted two different ex parte applications brought by Obi, Abubakar, and their respective political parties.

At the court session on Tuesday, Obi, and LP, through their team of lawyers led by Onyechi Ikpeazu, said the essence of the application was to enable them to extract data embedded in the BVAS, which represent the actual results from polling units.

They equally applied to obtain the certified true copy (CTC) of all the data in the BVAS.

My lords, this is to ensure that the evidence is preserved before the BVAS are reconfigured by INEC. This is because if they are wiped out, it will affect the substance of the case, Ikpeazu said.

The electoral body insisted that granting the request by Obi and LP would affect its preparations for the impending governorship and national assembly elections.

It told the court that there are about 176, 000 BVAS that were deployed to polling units during the presidential election.

In a motion on notice filed on March 4, the INECs lawyer said granting the orders would cause a delay in the conduct of the forthcoming governorship election.

Each polling unit has its own particular BVAS machine which we need to configure for the forthcoming elections, he said.

It will be very difficult for us, within the period, to reconfigure the 176, 000 BVAS for the election.

We have already stated in our affidavit that no information in the BVAS will be lost as we will transfer all the data in the BVAS to our backend server. Our backend server preserves the data.

So, granting this application will be a clog in the process and disrupt the conduct of the elections.

Emeka Etiaba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) appeared for Abubakar.

After hearing all the arguments by lawyers, a three-member panel of the court of appeal adjourned the matter to Wednesday for the ruling.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has mocked Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, for leading a protest on Monday.

Atiku on Monday in Abuja led a protest to the national headquarters of the INEC.

Reacting, the APC advised Atiku to get his lawyers to plead his case in court rather than leading a street protest in Abuja.

Bayo Onanuga, Director Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) said, when Atiku told the whole world last Thursday that he would seek redress in court over the outcome of the 25 February Presidential election, little did the ruling party know that he did not plan to be guided by his own promise.

He said the ruling party did not think Atiku to be so jobless as to have time to disturb public peace over an electoral outcome he had already said he would challenge in court.

Onanuga added that going by Atikus political antecedents, it was rather not surprising that, days later, he led a band of protesters, nay jesters in Abuja, to the headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC).

He noted that the protest staged by the leaders of fragmented PDP and its presidential candidate would not provide a window of victory for the main opposition party.

Onanuga stressed that instead of Atiku and his party to wisely spend their time to gather the so-called evidence they hope to present before the courts, they are busy dancing skelewu on the streets and causing traffic nuisance to residents of Abuja.

Onanuga wondered how a protest by a scanty crowd will provide any victory window for Atiku and the PDP.

According to him, the only recourse open to Atiku after the electoral umpire declared Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, is the Election Petition Tribunal.

Atiku and his motley crowd was a new low from the perennial election loser, he added.
Following the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections two weeks ago, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has released the list of Senators-elect of the 10th National Assembly.

This is amidst the controversies trailing the outcome of the February 25, 2023 elections, especially that of the presidential polls.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, rejected the result as announced by INEC and are heading to court to challenge the outcome.

Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner of the presidential election by INEC amid a wide range of alleged electoral fraud.

There is also the general belief that candidates of the APC rigged themselves into the various seats they now claim to have won in the Senate.

The list released by INEC on Monday night has the presence of Senators-elect from some new political parties, such as the Labour Party, LP, who will be members of the tenth Senate.

However, the APC and the PDP remain the dominant political parties.








Amid widespread concerns following rumours of possible use of violence in Saturdays governorship and Houses of Assembly elections in Enugu State, the Labour Party (LP) Governorship candidate in the State, Barr. Chijioke Edeoga, has urged voters to defend their votes as means of eliminating politicians that have turned the economic resources of the state into private enterprises.





Edeoga, who spoke while addressing party leaders and supporters from Aninri and Awgu Local Government Areas, said he was aware of plans by certain political actors in the state to use violence and thuggery to influence the outcome of the polls.





He, however, said he believes that the people can resist such plans when united in resilience.





While thanking voters in Enugu for springing the Labour Party to victory in the Presidential, Senate and House of Representatives elections on February 25, Edeoga urged them to repeat the same feat during the governorship elections to cement the emergence of Labour Party as the new platform for freedom and expedited development in the State.





He said voting for Labour Party was important because it will reinforce the massive support given to the Labour Party Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during the last elections, and will serve as further proof that the votes cast in Enugu was no fluke, especially given that the election is currently being contested in court.





You do not have to be afraid of these threats of violence. They are merely trying to make you afraid. They tried it during the last election but could not succeed.





We must uphold the integrity of our communities by resisting the invasion by outsiders, whether they call them Ayes, or they call them Black Axe or they call them Black Thugs, whatever they are called, this victory by democratic forces, for Labour Party, should not be thwarted; it should not be frustrated.





We have to guarantee that the right of individuals, women, men, and youths, to vote freely, without coercion, without disturbance, without humiliation, to vote who they choose, must be maintained.





Continuing, the Labour Party Governorship candidate, said: Enugu State is touted as a peaceful place. Any effort, whether clandestine or open; any threat to disturb the peace of Enugu State should be resisted.





I am enjoining, I am asking, I am calling out to all youths of Enugu State, all citizens of Enugu State on the ongoing attempt by the PDP and their henchmen, to rig the election that is coming on Saturday. The path to victory by the Labour party is clear and incontestable, and it is an eloquent statement of the new direction which Enugu State wants to go.





But we are facing the danger of a reversal, by people who have ruined Enugu State, misgoverned Enugu State, and have shown lack of empathy and lack of love for our people. So, please, do not allow our votes to be destroyed. Vote at the polling units and stay to see that they are counted.





He reminded the people of the state that the direction of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was for people to stay at their polling centres until results are counted and uploaded and urged them to resist any attempt by any electoral officer or agent to move away from polling stations or collation centres without announcing and uploading the results to the INEC portal.




The Independent National Electoral Commission and the Police in Kebbi State have dismissed alleged plans to connive with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to rig the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.





NAN recalls that the PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state, Gen. Aminu Bande, made the allegation at a news conference in Birnin Kebbi.





NAN reports that the candidate had alleged that the INEC, in collaboration with the police, was conniving with the ruling party to conduct the forthcoming elections without using Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).





He also insinuated that ballot papers would be given to the ruling party on the eve of the election to be thumb printed for onward use on election day.





The INEC in Kebbi State on Tuesday described all the allegations as mere fiction and figments of imagination by the opposition party.





Speaking through the Deputy Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Kebbi State, Muhammadu Rabiu, INEC said the allegations were false, insisting that the use of BVAS had been captured as part of the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.





BVAS must be used in all elections in Nigeria henceforth and it will continue to be used until a more improved technology is obtained. I am assuring you that there is no such thing and there will be no single polling unit across the state that will conduct elections without BVAS.





Any attempt from any quarters or from any of our ad hoc staff to conduct an election without BVAS, definitely, we shall prosecute him/her.





Anybody from outside who feels he can connive with any of our staff to do so, I am very sorry, we will not let that person go free; he/she must be prosecuted.





On allegations of issuing ballot papers to the ruling party on the eve of elections, Rabiu said ballot papers were part of sensitive materials in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), assuring that agents of all political parties and security agencies must be present before the distribution of such materials.





All sensitive materials are in CBN for safe keeping, before we go for it, we have to call the police and the political parties to go there together on the same day at the same time. INEC will not do anything without the security agencies and political party agents.





Autimatically as an agent of a political party, you are an ambassador of that party, therefore, its your responsibility to oversee and ensure that the right thing is done. So, such a thing is not possible and we are not conniving with anybody to do any evil, he assured.




The Lagos State Police Command has vowed to prosecute people spreading fake news and provocative content on social media with the intent to cause panic in the state.





The spokesman of the command, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated this on Monday.





Hundeyin was reacting to the increase in the level of propaganda and inciting ethnic statements among social media users ahead of the March 11 gubernatorial election.





He also revealed the police in the state have begun investigations into related cases with the aim of prosecuting those found guilty.





The command has begun investigating this scaremongering with a view to apprehending and prosecuting those found culpable.





The good people and residents of the state are urged to disregard all forms of messages, especially on social media depicting fictitious, fallacious, and preposterous claims aimed at jeopardizing the peace currently being enjoyed in the state, Hundeyin said.
The Labour Party (LP) has dissolved the executive council of the Rivers state chapter over alleged anti-party activities and corruption.

Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson of the LP campaign, in a statement on Tuesday, said the dissolution is with immediate effect.

The development comes after Deinye Pepple, LP Rivers chairman, endorsed Sim Fubara, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers.

Julius Abure, the national chairman, was quoted as saying the party has lost confidence in the leadership in Rivers.

The LP chairman called on supporters to disregard the endorsement of Fubara and vote for Beatrice Itubo, the LP governorship candidate in Rivers, and candidates of the party for state house of assembly polls.

Comrade Julius Abure has dissolved the Labour Party State Executive Council of Rivers State with immediate effect, for gross anti-party activities and corruption in the management of Labour Party funds, the statement reads.

The National Chairman believes that its in the interest of Labour Party and the Obidient movement in Rivers State that those who were at the helm of affairs in Rivers State when our presidential mandate was openly stolen in Rivers State should step aside until full investigation is completed on what happened on that day.

The National Chairman has lost confidence in the ability of the compromised State Executive Council led by Mr Deinye Pepple to lead the campaign for the gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections come March 11th.

He urges all Obidients in Rivers State to disregard every comment made by the disgraced State Chairman of the Labour Party, Deinye Pepple, on the election of March 11th and reiterates the full backing of the Labour Party on the candidacy of Comrade Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party as the next Governor of Rivers State.

He therefore enjoins all Obidients to come out massively on March 11th to vote for Comrade Beatrice Itubo of Labour Party.




Several commercial banks in the country have begun partial compliance with the Supreme Court order approving the use of old N1,000 and N500 and N200 notes as legal tender for 10 months.

The Supreme Court had, last week ordered that the old naira notes should be allowed in circulation along with the new notes until December 31, 2023.

The court had said the Federal Governments naira redesign policy contravened the 1999 Constitution.





NigerianEye's findings however, revealed partial compliance as some banks have not followed suit, maintaining that they are awaiting official directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to do so.

The banks that were issuing the old banknotes to their customers yesterday include Guaranty Trust Bank, GTBank, Access Bank, Sterling Bank and Union Bank.





Confirming this development, a customer of Access Bank said that he withdrew N20,000 and was paid with the old N500 and N1,000 notes.





However, an official of the bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity denied that the bank has commenced issuing the old notes to customers, as the CBN has not authorised the banks to do so.





Speaking to NigerianEye, a staff GTB, who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the development: Yes, we paid out N500 and N1,000 to customers today (yesterday).





Another source close to GTB told NigerianEye that the bank received an informal approval from the CBN before dispensing the old N500 and N1,000 notes to customers.





However, a top CBN official denied knowledge of any approval or directive whether official or unofficial, authorising banks to issue the old notes. According to the source, the CBN has not received any directive from the Federal Government and hence cant issue any directive to the banks on the issue.





Last Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that old N500 and N1,000 notes should remain legal tender till December 31st 2023.





Commenting on the development, the President, Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria, AMMBAN, Mr Olojo Victor, said: Yes it is a good omen. We believe that the Supreme Court has indeed proven to be the last hope for the common man.





The policy wasnt well thought out even though the intention was good but it further impoverished Nigerians. It made them jobless. It made life difficult and unbearable.





I hope that the CBN will obey the Supreme Court order to the latter so that life can resume back to normal for Nigerians again.





As an association, it is a welcomed development and we thank the Supreme court for not letting the hope of the common man down. We thank the Supreme Court for upholding justice and we hope that the CBN in future engagement will put in place proper mechanisms in carrying out its policies that affect Nigerians like this.





On his part, the President, Association of Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, BCAN, Dr. Uju Ogubunka welcomed the development saying: We didnt expect less. It is therefore a welcome development.




A pre-election opinion poll commissioned by Anap Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has predicted that Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, will win the March 11 election.

The poll results showed that Sanwo-Olu was ahead among the three leading candidates in the state.

The two other candidates are Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP) and Abdul-Azeez Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The results of the poll, which was conducted in February before the presidential election, were released on Monday.

The poll results showed that 31 percent of the voters surveyed said they would vote for Sanwo-Olu, while 8 percent preferred Rhodes-Vivour and Adediran, also known as Jandor, got 7 percent.

The results showed a significant lead for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu with 31% of voters proposing to vote for him if the governorship election were to be conducted today; 8% proposing to vote for Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (LP) who

fell in second place and Azeez Olajide Adediran Jandor (PDP) was third with 7% of voters proposing to vote for him, the poll reads.

Governor Sanwo-Olus 23%-point lead at this stage is significant, as the opposition voters are fragmented and shared between 2 main challengers in the ratio 31:8:7.

Meanwhile, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of LP won in Lagos in the February 25 presidential election.

Lagos is the political stronghold of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect which he has not lost to any party until the last election.

There are fears among the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that the result of the presidential election is a signpost of what is to come in the governorship election.

SIMINALAYI FUBARA TO WIN RIVERS GUBER ELECTION

The NOI poll also predicted that Siminalayi Fubara, PDP governorship candidate in Rivers, will win the March 11 election in the state.

The poll results show that Fubara is having a significant lead with 20 percent of voters who preferred to vote for him during the election.

Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), came second with 12 percent, Tonye Cole of the APC scored 10 percent, and Dumo Owukori Lulu-Briggs of the Accord Party had 6 percent.

Beatrice Itubo of LP scored two percent.

Tinubu, the President-elect, was the winner of the presidential election in Rivers state.




Former Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola has stated that he has no doubt in his mind that he would return to power soon.





Oyetola, who stated that his mandate is very much intact and will be reclaimed soon, made this statement while giving a short remark during the 12-year remembrance prayers for his late mother, Alhaja Wulemot Oyetola on Monday at Iragbiji, Osun State.





I am thankful to God for His wonders over our lives. We thank Him for giving us victory for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and I thank our people for their support all along.





We want you to know that APC is the only party that can take us to victory. This is the party that God has made for us. That is where benefits lie. Please, vote APC all through. If we truly want to benefit from the federal government, please, lets elect our people to the House of Assembly. These are the people that will work with us when we return to government.





We dont believe in any other thing except prayers. That is what we were brought up with. Lets continue to pray so that we can thank God in the end, he said.





Oyetola also commended the people of the state for their unflinching support and for coming out enmasse to elect the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the presidential election.
Dino Melaye, a former Kogi West Senator, has described the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike-led G-5 group, as irrelevant in the just-concluded presidential election.

Melaye said the Wike-led group cant claim glory for the loss of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Recall that Wike, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Seyi Makinde of Oyo and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Oyo State, all withdrew their support from PDP at a national level following the outcome of the Presidential primary in May 2022.

Wike, who had vowed to support whoever emerged from the primary election, did not keep his promise but instead began to work against Atiku and the PDP through words and action, with four other governors forming the G5.

But, none of the G5 governors won their elections to represent their Senatorial Districts in the tenth National Assembly, while Makinde is now sweating it out to retain his second term in office.

However, Melaye said Wike and his group could not win their senatorial seat; hence cant claim glory over Atikus loss.

In a tweet, Melaye said Wike only helped the All Progressives Congress, APC, through thuggery.

He wrote: G5 has no relevance in the just concluded presidential election. The G5 who could not deliver themselves for their senate bid cannot be the ones claiming glory in Atikus loss. Even Wike, outside thuggery and coercion of INEC officials, had nothing to contribute to APC votes in Rivers.
David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi state, says he is not against the south-easts decision to vote for Peter Obi during the presidential election.

Obi, who placed third overall in the election, won convincingly in all five south-east states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.

Speaking on Monday at the Ebonyi International Airport, Umahi said although the Labour Party (LP) candidate did well in the election, the south-east needs to align with other geopolitical zones to win the presidency.

The governor said the comments of Charles Soludo, Anambra state governor, about the presidential ambition of Obi have manifested.

In a letter released in November 2022, Soludo said there is no credible pathway for him near the first two positions, adding that Obi knows he cant become president.

Soludo came under intense criticism in the wake of the comments, especially from south-east groups and stakeholders.

Gov. Charles Soludo of Anambra harped on this fact and was crucified but his words have come to pass, Umahi said.

The wise thing for the Igbos to do is to tell themselves the truth that we alone cannot make ourselves president.

We have to work with other tribes as the south west did with the north and have succeeded.

We have to stop being parochial and clannish as who could have believed that Obi was talking with me up till the last minute.

He was also talking with other governors even those from the north.

Bola Tinubu, standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated Obi and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the presidential election.




The Labour Party (LP) says it does not intend to align with any political party ahead of the governorship and state assembly elections.

Julius Abure, national chairman of LP, in a statement on Tuesday, said the party did not instruct any state chapter to liase with or support the candidate of another party.

He called on supporters to vote for candidates of the LP in the forthcoming polls.

As preparation for this Saturdays Governorship/State House of Assembly elections enter final preparations, the Labour Party is leaving nothing to chance in ensuring that our candidates not only participate, but win at the ballot, the statement reads.

This call becomes necessary given reports from some political opportunists from other political platforms, claiming that they have reached an agreement with Obidients and LP supporters to cast their ballots for them in this Saturdays polls.

We want to state categorically and unequivocally that the national secretariat of LP has not given any instructions for any chapter of the party to liaise or support any candidate except LP candidates in this Saturdays polls.

Our members should not only go out and vote, but follow the process to a conclusive end as provided by the Law.

We encourage millions of the electorate who believe in LP presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi and the philosophy of the party not to be deterred, but troop out en masse and vote for all LP candidates anywhere in the country. The LP is not in any alliance with any political party in the run-up to this Saturdays polls.

Abures statement comes hours after the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Cross River endorsed Brian Odey, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), for the Yala 1 state assembly polls.

Alphonsus Eba, the APC chairman in Cross River, had said the endorsement of the LP candidate followed the supreme courts judgment nullifying the candidacy of Regina Anyogo, who was the APC candidate.

He said the endorsement of Odey is in line with the political calculation and sportsmanship to support the LP in the state.
Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost.

If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High 79F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear skies early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain late. Low around 45F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
Casa Borrega was an early and persistent bright spot along Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard during efforts to revitalize this historic commercial corridor in Central City. So news last spring that it was shutting down felt like a particular blow amongst a rash of restaurant closings.

A weekly music series held here last fall raised hopes of a return, and now owner Hugo Montero has re-opened Casa Borrega for regular service, with lunch and dinner through the week and live music on weekends.

At the time of the closure last year, the property went up for sale, though Montero would not discuss the reasons for closing. Today, he says he was working on plans to open a new restaurant in London, but those plans fell through. Then his father died, which brought him back to his native Mexico where he spent several months with his family.

Reconnecting with the street food of Mexico City and the culture of his hometown revived his determination to bring Casa Borrega back.

It was never just about being a restaurant, I also want to showcase our culture here, Montero said.

The property remains on the market, and Montero said its possible someone else could take over the business in the future.

For now though, to bring Casa Borrega back hes revised the way it operates, streamlined for a smaller staff and a focus on what Montero believes can make Casa Borrega a destination.

Its now counter service (order at the bar), with a short menu of taqueria style dishes.

Were doing what we called the three Ts: tacos, tostadas, and tortas, he said.

Tortas are a style of sandwich normally made on crusty bolillo rolls. But Casa Borrega is preparing them with bread from local Vietnamese bakery Dong Phuong, for a bit of cultural crossover.
This weeks cover story by Kaylee Poche asks an important question: When will Louisiana finally, and fully, legalize cannabis? While the future of legal recreational cannabis may appear grim in light of conservatives hold on state politics, more and more Republicans  including some GOP lawmakers  are realizing prohibition doesnt work. In fact, it hurts us all by unnecessarily criminalizing people while robbing the state of much needed revenue.

As Louisiana Progress Peter Robins-Brown told Poche, the winds have shifted enough that it is no longer a question of if, but when, cannabis will be legalized here.

Legalization is long overdue. Drug laws have disproportionately affected the Black community, subjecting Black men in particular to lengthy  in some cases lifelong  prison terms. Meanwhile, that has robbed Black families of the ability to build and maintain generational wealth, one of the key components to breaking the cycle of crushing poverty.

Criminalization also has abetted the illegal cannabis trade, which doubtless has contributed to chronic violence in our communities. It has clogged our criminal courts, pointlessly swelled state and federal prison populations, and cruelly inflicted widespread pain and suffering for generations.

Sheriffs and many other prohibitionists prefer to couch their opposition to legalization in the language of public health and safety. Truth is Americas drug war has never really been about safety, at least as applied to cannabis.

As the Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man noted 30 years ago, Cash rules everything around me. It doesnt matter if youre selling it, buying it or policing it, the drug war is big business. Money has always been its heartbeat.

Every year, the federal government pours tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of Louisiana sheriffs and city police forces. Sheriffs tie their budgets to the number of prison beds they can keep filled, creating a perverse incentive to seek and jail people who otherwise do no harm and need treatment, not incarceration.

Meanwhile, according to a report by the conservative Pelican Institute, between 2000 and 2020, law enforcement in Louisiana seized $186 million worth of property under asset forfeiture laws. The majority of that came from drug cases. Unsurprisingly, most of that money was funneled back into local criminal justice agencies  cops, jails and courts.

Legalizing cannabis would cost sheriffs some federal grants tied to its criminalization and eliminate their authority to seize cars, homes and other valuable assets after cannabis busts. However, they likely would offset much if not all that federal funding by receiving a share of the tax proceeds from legal cannabis.

The bottom line is clear: Louisiana should join the 21 other states that have already legalized recreational cannabis. That includes Missouri and Montana, neither of which rank among Americas progressive bastions. Legalization isnt an issue of liberals versus conservatives. Louisianans of every political persuasion already use cannabis, either for its medical benefits (which the state, thankfully, now fully recognizes) or recreationally.

Its high time Louisiana allows everyone over age 21 to use cannabis safely and without having to worry about breaking the law.
After years of false starts and bureaucratic quagmires, a deal has been reached that will allow a private consortium to redevelop the former Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans East and put it back into public use.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration announced Tuesday that Bayou Phoenix, the development group led by Troy Henry, has agreed to partnership terms with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, which oversees the 227-acre site.

The deal, which lays out development benchmarks, sets forth the requirements for a master plan and establishes other frameworks, hasn't been formally signed, according to Henry. But he said he has seen the final draft and expects to sign it very soon. No financial or operational details of the agreement were immediately available.

The Cantrell administration selected Bayou Phoenix in October 2021 to serve as the master developer of the site, which has remained dormant since Hurricane Katrina. At the time, the group's plans called for a logistics hub along with a water park, hotels, a sports complex and other amenities, with opening for the roughly $500 million project eyed for the end of 2026.

The deal talks extended for nearly two years, far longer than originally anticipated. But in a statement Tuesday, Cantrell said her administration would "not waver in our commitment to a development project that is transparent, accountable and in the best interest and of the utmost benefit of our community."
China's exports of goods up 0.9 pct in Jan.-Feb.

Xinhua) 16:50, March 07, 2023

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's exports of goods rose 0.9 percent year on year during the first two months of the year to 3.5 trillion yuan (about 506.10 billion U.S. dollars), hitting a new high, official data showed Tuesday.

The country's foreign trade of goods edged down 0.8 percent year on year to 6.18 trillion yuan in the period, according to the General Administration of Customs.

China's imports of goods stood at 2.68 trillion yuan in the same period, down 2.9 percent from the same period of last year.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Indiana Dunes National Park drew the second most visitors in its history last year.

More than 2.8 million people flocked to Northwest Indiana's lakeshore to sun on beaches, swim in Lake Michigan, climb towering sand dunes, hike, camp, kayak, boat, cross-country ski, ride horses, go birding, visit a working farm or learn about local history.

Attendance has shot up since it was turned from a National Lakeshore styled after the Cape Cod National Seashore into a full-blown National Park.

"Indiana Dunes National Park continues to draw millions of people from around the country," Supervisory Park Ranger Bruce Rowe said. "We saw a remarkable increase in visitation with our name change in February of 2019. Attendance went from generally less than 2 million to around 3 million visitors each of the last two full years."

Visitation shot up from 1.75 million in 2019 to 2.13 million in 2019, when it first became a National Park, according to National Parks Service figures.

An estimated 2.29 million people visited in 2020 followed by a record 3.17 million in 2021. Attendance dropped to 2.83 million last year.

"We have seen variations in our numbers throughout our history, and that trend seems to be continuing even at these elevated attendance figures since our name change," Rowe said. "We usually can't explain these year-to-year variations other than in some years factors like weather or national travel trends or the economy can affect our attendance. Unless something radically changes, as it did during the pandemic for example, we expect future attendance to continue around 3 million with some years being a little below and others a bit above that mark."

In 2021, the most recent year for which data was available, visitors to the Indiana Dunes National Park  ranging from Chicagoans making a quick day trip to tourists from all over the world  spent an estimated $156 million in Northwest Indiana. That visitor spending supported an estimated 1,880 jobs and $88.8 million in income in Northwest Indiana.

The Indiana Dunes National Park, also a major draw for downstate Hoosiers heading up to one of the few parts of the state that isn't landlocked, generated an estimated $231 million in economic output.

It's one of the few National Parks in the Great Lakes region, along with Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, Isle Royale National Park in Michigan and Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, making it a regional draw for Midwesterners who want a National Park experience without having to travel out west.

"In addition to the positive economic impacts to the economy, we recognize that there can be negative impacts such as crowding and congestion, particularly in the beach communities that are surrounded by the National Park," Rowe said. "We are working cooperatively to develop bike trails, improve pedestrian access and other ways to access the park to help reduce the number of cars descending on the beach areas on busy summer weekends."

A study by Certec Inc. and Indiana Dunes Tourism found National Park visitation generates $155 million in tax revenue while supporting 6,588 jobs in Porter County. It found the name change resulted in a shift in visitors, who now include more college graduates in professional occupations and more seniors over 60.

Last year, the Indiana Dunes National Park, which had been free to visit for decades, started charging $25 for admission of up to seven days, even for people only looking to go to one of its beaches for a few hours on a weekend. It also started charging $45 for an annual pass, incentivizing regulars to sign up for the annual pass.

Many vocally complained, especially beachgoers long accustomed to not having to pay for a leisurely afternoon of surf and sand.

"We believe it is too soon to say what effect the new entrance fee had on our visitation," Rowe said. "While it is possible that it could have negatively affected our attendance this year, we won't know until we get two to three more years of data."

More than 300,000 fewer people went to the Indiana Dunes National Park last year, but Rowe said such fluctuations are typical and usually not the result of only a single factor.

"There have been swings in our visitation throughout our park's history and that trend seems to be continuing even at these elevated attendance figures since our name change," he said. "We expect future attendance to continue around 3 million with some years being a little below and others a bit above that mark."

The Indiana Dunes National Park stretches across 15 miles of Lake Michigan lakeshore and includes more than two dozen different sites. In addition to popular beaches like West Beach, Mount Baldy Beach and Kemil Beach, it encompasses many spread-out inland sites like the Miller Woods, Pinhook Bog, Tolleston Dunes, the Cowles Bog, the Bailly Homestead, the Herron Rookery Trail and the Great Marsh Trail.

"We would expect another year of attendance somewhere around 3 million people at Indiana Dunes National Park," Rowe said.
The director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a U.S. senator and other dignitaries will receive the Katie Hall Public Service Award this year.

The Katie Hall Educational Foundation, which carries on the legacy of the former 1st District congresswoman from Northwest Indiana, will host its annual awards luncheon at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at St. Timothy Community Church Fellowship Hall, 1600 W. 25th Ave. in Gary. A VIP reception will begin at noon.

The foundation is helping mark the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Law that Hall wrote and sponsored while she was representing Northwest Indiana in Congress in the 1980s. Its also the 10th anniversary of the Katie Hall Educational Foundation Inc.

This years recipients include Christina Shutt, executive director of the Lincoln library in Springfield, Illinois.

Shutt is the first and only African-American serving in the executive leadership role for a presidential library in America, the foundation said in a news release. Since its opening in April 2005, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum has ranked as Americas most visited state-controlled presidential museum. In about six months the museum generated about $1 million. In less than 21 months, the museum received its 1 millionth visitor. In August 2012, the museum received its 3 millionth visitor, with the steady attendance continuing.

To date, over 5 million people have visited the ALPLM to learn more about slavery, the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and Lincolns life and times.

Shutt was appointed to the leadership position in 2021.

The foundation also will honor:

U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. He serves on the committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, Commerce, Science & Transportation, and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He previously served in the U.S. House and worked as an attorney.

Ken Iwama, chancellor at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

Indiana Rep. Vernon G. Smith, D-Gary, whos also a professor of education at Indiana University Northwest.

For more information, tickets or sponsorships, call 312-953-5697.
Ozinga is marking its 95th year of building roads, highways and other infrastructure across Northwest Indiana, greater Chicagoland and beyond.

The Mokena-based company, which has an extensive footprint across Northwest Indiana, celebrated its 95th year in business on March 2. The fourth-generation family-owned company has operations in Gary, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Portage, LaPorte, Schererville, Valparaiso, Wheatfield and Knox, as well as in communities in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.

About 700 Ozinga workers from five states assembled at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet to kick off the celebration. The company highlighted its "continued evolution and looked ahead to innovative new projects, products and expanded growth," according to a press release.

We remain committed to our purpose to make a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community for generations, said Ozinga CEO Marty Ozinga IV. Our family has continuously stated throughout the decades that its our people who make the difference.

Ozinga was founded in 1928. It has grown into one of the largest construction suppliers and service providers in the Midwest.

The company was earned an Energy Star Partner of the Year Award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Ozinga has won many other honors, including a Deans Award from the Illinois Family Business of the Year Awards, several Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces Awards and Environmental Excellence and Community Relations Awards from the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers.

The company also donates at least 10% of its pre-tax profits to organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Navarro Farms, Reclaim13 and Project H.O.O.D.
The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor handled a record annual cargo volume for the second straight year.

The deep water port in Portage and Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan handled 3.45 million tons of cargo. That was up 2% as compared to the previous year and 52% more than in 2020. It was the second straight year the port set a cargo record since it started operations in 1970.

The bulk stevedore operator Metro Ports handled a record volume of foundry coke, which was up 210%, and minerals, which were up 33%. The International Longshoremens Association, International Union of Operating Engineers and the stevedore Federal Marine Terminals also helped the port set a new record for steel cargoes, which were up 13%.

The Indianapolis-based Ports of Indiana port authority handled 11.9 million tons of cargo last year. That's 6% more than the previous year and 42% more than in 2020. The cargo volume was the fourth highest in its 61-year history.

The Ports of Indiana Commission is investing $20 million in expansion and maintenance projects at its ports. The commission approved a $13 million capital budget and up to $15 million in potential future investments stemming from federal grants.

The ports system plans to build three shipping berths and a bulk warehouse at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor, as well as other capital improvements at its ports along the Ohio River in Jeffersonville and Mount Vernon.

Were excited to see the continued growth at our ports and this success is directly attributable to the world-class companies we partner with every day, said Ports of Indiana CEO Jody Peacock. Our industry is still recovering from the economic and supply chain challenges, but the continued growth in shipments is a very good sign, and the new business development opportunities were seeing indicate more growth is ahead. Our commissioners have shown tremendous vision and commitment to supporting growth of Indianas economy by approving more than $20 million in projects that will immediately expand Ports of Indianas capabilities and help our customers grow.

The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky handled a record 3.46 million tons, the most since it started in 1985. The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled 5.02 million tons, which was up by 7.8%.
Reform candidate Shawn Fain narrowly leads the United Auto Workers union presidential race, which will come down to contested ballots.

Fain, who first joined the UAW at the Stellantis Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana, is ahead of incumbent Ray Curry by 645 votes in the first-ever direct election of international executive officers. Fain has 50.2% of the vote compared to Curry's 49.8%.

A total of 1,608 challenged ballots have been unresolved.

Election vendor Merriman River Group is storing the ballots in Dayton, Ohio until the count is resumed. Most of the ballots were challenged based on questions of membership eligibility.

A court-appointed UAW monitor is researching to resolve the challenges. The UAW Members United slate of seven candidates will be present when the boxes are unsealed and during the count, also reviewing the UAW monitor's findings about the challenged ballots.

The Curry Solidarity Team also has had observers on site.

Six of the seven reform candidates have been elected thus far. Daniel Vicente won Region 9 director, Margaret Mock secretary-treasurer, LaShawn English Region 1 director, Brandon Mancilla Region 9A director, Rich Boyer vice president and Mike Booth vice president.

Independent reform candidate Dave Green also won Region 2B director.

The UAW Members United Candidates have vowed to end corruption, take a tough stance against management, begin strike pay on day one and end tiers in which workers get paid differently for doing the same job based on seniority and on when they were hired.

The new UAW leaders will represent thousands of workers at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant on the far South Side, the Chicago Stamping Plant in Chicago Heights and the Lear seat-making factory in Hammond.

It's the first direct election in UAW history after UAW members voted in a referendum for a new "One Member, One Vote" policy. The union agreed to it after a corruption scandal that included the convictions of 15 people, including former UAW presidents Gary Jones and Dennis Williams, on charges that included taking bribes and stealing union funds.
The last few years have been rough for tin-making in the Region.

U.S. Steel mothballed East Chicago Tin indefinitely. The steelmaker then idled a tin line at Gary Works and recently its entire tin operations at Gary Works.

But some relief may be on the way.

The United Steelworkers Union and Cleveland-Cliffs on Friday won an initial victory on their tariff case to protect the domestic tin business from foreign competition that seeks to undercut it.

The International Trade Commission ruled unanimously in its preliminary determination that tariffs should be imposed on tin and chromium-coated sheet steel products from China and seven other countries.

USW members know better than anyone how dumping and illegal subsidies jeopardize U.S. jobs, hurt domestic industries and imperil our communities, said USW International President Tom Conway. Todays decision is a step in the right direction toward clamping down on unfairly traded tin products sold in the United States.

Cleveland-Cliffs and the USW filed antidumping petitions against China and seven other countries, as well as a countervailing duty against China. The requests were weighed by the International Trade Commission, a judicial board that determines whether international trade laws were violated, if harm was caused to domestic steelmakers and if tariffs should be applied to protect domestic steelworker jobs.

The preliminary antidumping margins range from 46.76% to 296.04%

Our members work hard making high-quality products, and they deserve to compete on a level playing field, Conway said Friday. Today's ITC determination provides us with a path forward for workers under siege from dumped and illegally subsidized imports.

Thousands of steelworkers make tin products across the country in Northwest Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and California.

The USW is seeking to protect their jobs by imposing tariffs on tin mill imports from Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

"Todays affirmative vote by the U.S. International Trade Commission signals real progress on our joint effort with the USW to remedy surging imports of dumped and subsidized tin mill products in the U.S. market," Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. "Cleveland-Cliffs is committed to this antidumping and countervailing duty action and we are optimistic that we will see continued progress in this case before both the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission. Todays vote should give pause to those facilitating the import of dumped and subsidized tin mill products from the countries at issue in this case.

In addition to foreign competition, the tin mill business has suffered in recent years due partly to changing consumer behaviors. Tin is often used in tin food cans used for soup, vegetables, beans, chili and many other preserved products.

But consumers have gravitated more toward fresh whole foods, leading supermarket chains to dedicate more space to produce and less to canned foods that have fallen out of favor with some customers looking to eat healthier, cut out processed foods and eat less sodium and other preservatives.
LAPORTE  An elderly resident from the area fell victim last week to an old scam that involved a man showing up at the house and being provided with a large sum of money under the false claim that an incarcerated family member needed the cash, the LaPorte County Sheriff's Department said.

The scam started with a telephone call, police said.

"Being concerned about the relative, the citizen continued to speak with the scammers throughout the day as they provided additional directions," according to police. "The citizen proceeded to withdraw a large sum of money from a banking institution. That same day, a white male named 'Ethan,' wearing black clothing and sunglasses, arrived at the citizens residence on foot to collect the money."

The scam is well known to police, who encourage area residents to make elderly family members and friends aware of the threat.

Warnings should include being suspicious of unexpected telephone calls, not responding quickly to such a call and not providing a caller with personal information, police said.

"Stop and talk with a trustworthy person," police suggest.

All frauds, scams and bad business practices should be reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/.
CROWN POINT  A 27-year-old Hammond woman was charged Feb. 28 with arson and stalking, among a slew of other charges, in connection to a co-worker's car fire.

Antoinette "Toni" Michelle Prieto was arrested Feb. 16 after allegedly setting fire to her co-worker Glenda Bush's car, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Bush and Prieto work together at Lear Corporation in Hammond. Court records show that Bush had been having problems with Prieto at work prior to the incident.

Prieto allegedly previously put sugar in Bush's gas tank and slashed Bush's tires, court documents stated.

Bush's car was partially damaged by a fire Prieto allegedly set in January and later completely damaged by another fire Prieto set Feb. 16, according to court records.

The probable cause affidavit stated that the Feb. 16 fire also damaged two other cars parked across the street.

When she was arrested, officers said, Prieto's hair and eyebrows appeared singed and her clothes gave off a strong burnt odor, according to court documents.

Prieto originally denied any involvement with the fires but later admitted to it. She told officers she did it under the direction of Richale Knight, who was upset that Bush had rejected her romantic advances even after Knight gave Bush over $11,000 in gifts, court documents stated.

Knight has not been charged in connection to the incident.

Prieto does not have yet a date when she's set to appear in court.
CROWN POINT  An Indianapolis man who allegedly fatally shot the owner of a tire shop and injured one of his employees was denied bail Monday.

Jermaine Martin, 30, has been charged with murder, three counts of attempted murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and unlawful carrying of a handgun. He was arrested on the charges in October and has pleaded not guilty.

Lake Criminal Court Judge Samuel Cappas denied Martin's bail request as he found that the State has shown proof of guilt in evidence and that the presumption of guilt is strong, according to his order.

Court records allege that on Aug. 29, 2022, Martin went to Happy Way Tire Shop, located at 1418 East Ridge Road in Gary, around 9 a.m. and asked to see the shops owner, 47-year-old Said Saad.

An employee told Martin that Saad wasnt there and that hed have to come back later. When Martin returned around 4 p.m., court records show, he spoke to Saad about driving issues with his Chevrolet Impala. Saad told Martin that there was nothing he could do.

Martin then went to his car, retrieved a black rifle and entered the shop again yelling at Saad to give him his watch, court documents stated. He then began shooting at Saad and the other three employees present.

Saad died from three gunshot wounds, and one employee was shot in the leg, according to court records.

After shooting Saad, Martin took Saads Rolex watch and drove off in the Chevrolet Impala, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Court records show that prior to the shooting, officers observed Martin defecating on the side of the shop via surveillance video.

Martin wiped himself with a white piece of fabric and later used it to pick up the feces and throw it away in the shops trash bin. Investigators later retrieved the fabric from the bin as possible evidence, court documents stated.

Facial recognition technology identified Martin in the surveillance video, and an eyewitness picked Martin out of a police lineup, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Martins trial is set to begin June 5, and his pretrial hearing will be held May 10.
LAPORTE  A 30-year-old LaPorte man was found guilty of dealing drugs that resulted in the death of another person three years ago, the Michigan City Police Department reported.

Devante King, who was also found guilty on two additional felony counts of dealing in a narcotic drug, faces up to 50 years behind bars in the heroin and fentanyl overdose death of 26-year-old Anthony Comeno and up to 12 years for the dealing counts, police said.

"The close partnership between the (LaPorte County) Drug Task Force and the prosecutors office, alongside the devotion of the investigators and prosecutors assigned to this case, was the catalyst to the successful prosecution of Mr. King," LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan and LaPorte County Drug Task Force Cmdr. Sgt. Kyle Shiparski said in a statement.

"Both offices will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those individuals who deal deadly drugs within this community," they said.

The verdict came Friday after a five-day trial.

King built a business rooted in the sale and distribution of narcotics, which resulted in his arrest April 28, 2020, police said.

The county drug task force asks anyone with information about criminal activity to contact it at 219-873-1488 or through social media.
Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana is celebrating its 40th anniversary and 20,000 wishes granted.

Since it was founded in 1983, the nonprofit has granted more than 19,000 life-changing wishes for seriously sick children. Its granted 6,000 wishes to Hoosier kids, including installing a wheelchair-accessible beach path at the Indiana Dunes National Park last summer.

Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana is on track to grant its 20,000th wish this summer.

A national study found that children who have wishes granted gain physical and emotional strength to fight illness, in some cases improving their quality of life and health outcomes.

According to the survey of alumni, parents and doctors from the program, 9 of 10 kids said Make-A-Wish relieved them from traumatic stress, 9 of 10 parents saw their kids well-being improve after being granted a wish, and 9 of 10 doctors said a wish resulted in better compliance with treatment.

Eight of 10 wish recipients said the wish gave them the strength they needed to fight their illness.

Make-A-Wish is the worlds leading childrens wish-granting organization, and Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana is the largest of 58 Make-A-Wish chapters nationwide, said Katie Ferrell, director of marketing & communications. Right now, 115-plus children in northwest Indiana are waiting for their wishes to come true.

People can donate to support the cause by visiting oki.wish.org/40.
WHITING  The Whiting Robertsdale community will again acknowledge the service and commitment provided by local teachers and municipal employees by presenting awards to those who distinguish themselves in those fields.

The awards will be presented at the Whiting Robertsdale Chamber of Commerces annual installation dinner on April 21.

The Public Servant of the Year will be awarded to an employee who works for either the city of Whiting or the city of Hammond.

The Educator of the Year will be awarded to a faculty member chosen from nominees from Nathan Hale Elementary, Whiting Middle and Whiting High Schools, Franklin Elementary, St. John the Baptist Catholic School, Bishop Noll Institute and St. Casimir Elementary School.

Additionally, a local citizen is chosen as the recipient of the Carl A, Binhammer Award. That individual is recognized for tireless community service and volunteerism, and making Whiting-Robertsdale a better place in which to live.

The award is presented to the winner at the annual Whiting-Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce Dinner. The recipient is chosen by a committee of previous Binhammer Award winners.

Nominations may be sent to the Chamber of Commerce, Attn: Tom Dabertin, 1417 119th Street, Whiting IN 46394 by no later than April 10.

Nominations should include the following information: The name of the nominee; the award that the person is being nominated for, and a letter explaining in why the nominee deserves the award. It is requested, although not required that the person making the nomination sign the nomination letter.
VALPARAISO  The Urban League of Northwest Indiana will host a symposium on diversity, equity and inclusion this spring.

Registration is now open for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Symposium, which takes place at 8:30 a.m. May 17 at Valparaiso University. Fees are waived for students.

Last year's symposium featured participants from Andrean High School, Calumet New Tech High School, Chesterton High School, East Chicago Central, Hanover High School, Highland High School, Hobart High School, Lighthouse Academies, Merrillville High School, Morton High School, New Vista High School, Steel City Academy, Valparaiso High School and West Side Leadership Academy.

The inclusion of students in the 2022 DEI Symposium was enthusiastically received, said Urban League of NWI President and CEO Vanessa Allen-McCloud. They added great value to the dialogue along with creative solutions for moving towards equality. It is our goal to engage even more young people as the symposium continues to grow.

The Urban League of Northwest Indiana, which promotes cultural diversity and economic opportunities for African American and other minority communities in the Region, is now registering schools in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties. It also welcomes grassroots, organizations, businesses, educators, community leaders, churches, nonprofits, human resources professionals and affirmative action coordinators.

The symposium will feature a discussion addressing subjects like hate crimes, inequity, poverty and critical race theory. It will also have workshops for youth and adults and a panel discussion during lunch.

Parts of the event will be broadcast last on the Urban Leagues Facebook page.

We are thrilled to be hosting the Urban League DEI symposium on Valparaiso University's campus for the second straight year, said Jose D. Padilla, president of Valparaiso University. It is such an incredible opportunity to celebrate diversity and work toward positive change. I hope you will join us so, as a community, we can strengthen and deepen our efforts to grow and enrich those around us.

The Urban League of Northwest Indiana also will host its annual Diversity & Inclusion Awards on Oct. 25. The deadline for nominations this year is Aug. 18.

For more information, call 219-887-9621 or visit ulofnwi.org.
Josh Withers likes it when the couples he marries mess up their vows, such as when someone says, I take you as my awfully wedded, instead of the standard lawfully wedded.

But lately, Mr. Withers  an international marriage celebrant who helped found the Celebrant Institute, a training and mentoring organization in his native Australia  has been worrying that artificial intelligence will ruin those moments. He has already heard murmurs about the chatbot ChatGPTs potential role in weddings.

Im seeing people using it to write speeches and write vows on wedding Facebook groups, he said. If a computer makes the words you speak at a wedding, what youre going to get is recycled cliches. Youll lose the humanity, the moments that make us feel love.

Since its release last November, ChatGPT has become a source of concern in classrooms because of how students can use the chatbot to complete their assignments. Now, the increasing use of A.I. in weddings has raised even more questions about its potential and its ethical boundaries.
The 180-member union at the Whitney Museum of American Art voted overwhelmingly on Monday to ratify its first contract, with about 90 percent of those voting casting ballots in favor of the agreement. More than a year of negotiations had been punctuated by demonstrations at exhibition openings and fund-raising galas that were aimed at luring executives back to the bargaining table.

It was such a long-fought battle, said Erika Wentworth, a project manager for the Whitneys graphic design programs and a member of the bargaining committee. The Whitney union is part of Local 2110, a chapter of the United Automobile Workers union that represents more than 1,500 employees from nearly 20 cultural institutions.

She and three other employees said large pay raises were a significant victory in the contract, which will increase salaries by 30 percent, on average, with entry-level employees set to receive a greater raise, to $54,101 from $40,500. Employees will also receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 because the deal was ratified.

Additionally, hourly workers pay will increase to $24 per hour, from $17, over the next three and a half years, and temporary workers will be put on a preferential list for permanent jobs. The agreement also includes 27 provisions covering topics like health care, layoff protections and safety measures.
The mayor referred to that killing in a second news media appearance on Monday.

Lets be clear, some of these characters going into stores that are wearing their mask, theyre not doing it because theyre afraid of the pandemic, theyre doing it because theyre afraid of the police, the mayor said in a television interview with PIX 11. We need to stop allowing them to exploit the safety of the pandemic by wearing masks, committing crimes.

Mr. Adamss suggestion is sure to draw the ire of those who remain committed to masking in public as Covid persists, as well as those with health conditions that put them at an elevated risk of severe illness if they were to be infected with the coronavirus.

Mr. Adams won election in 2021 in part by promising to crack down on rising crime, which afflicted the city during the height of the pandemic. But since taking office, he has continued to sound the alarm even as city data has indicated that New York has become safer.

Despite the wide-ranging recent decline in crime, the number of robberies fell by only 2 percent, city data shows. And the number of petit larcenies  the theft of items whose value is low, such as those typically taken in a shoplifting  increased by about 5 percent compared with the same period last year.

Requiring shoppers to briefly drop their face masks would allow security cameras to get a clear view of a shoppers face, the mayor said. And if a shopper refused to comply, Mr. Adams said store employees would know to keep an eye on them because if someone is violating the basic rules, they may be there to violate a substantial rule as to commit a crime.
What people who havent experienced a real urban lifestyle generally dont get is how easy life is. Running errands is a snap; because you walk most places, you dont worry about traffic jams or parking spaces.

You might think that the price of this convenience is coping with constant noise and teeming crowds of strangers. But while the main north-south thoroughfares  in my case Broadway, Amsterdam and Columbus  are fairly noisy and have a lot of both vehicle and foot traffic, the side streets are much quieter than you probably imagine.

What about crime? Theres a widespread perception that New York is a dangerous place. In his speech Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Donald Trump asserted that killings are taking place at a number like nobodys ever seen, right in Manhattan. Yet the reality is that New York is one of the safest places in America. No doubt, New Yorkers themselves were greatly upset by a surge in the crime rate during the pandemic, but this surge may be ebbing, with murders in particular down to their lowest level since 2019.

And the safety proved in statistics is also the lived experience in many areas of the city where New Yorkers dont act as if theyre terrified of crime. A couple of nights ago I walked home from an event at 12:30 a.m.; there were people out and about, and no sense of menace.

Am I proselytizing? Well, yes. Most Americans  even those who have visited New York but seen little beyond the crowds in Times Square  have a distorted sense of what urban life can be like. But very few promoters of the 15-minute city would advocate imposing that lifestyle on the population at large. Its more a matter of making it possible for people to live that way if they choose.
The point of the law is to terrorize people.

Thats how Patrick Grzanka, a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the chair of the universitys interdisciplinary program in women, gender and sexuality, describes Tennessees new, extreme anti-drag law  among the first of its kind in the country.

The law, which Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed Thursday, criminalizes adult cabaret performances that are harmful to minors. It includes male or female impersonators on public property or where they could be seen by children. It takes effect April 1, with the first offense being a misdemeanor and subsequent ones being felonies.

Not long before Lee signed the bill, a 1977 yearbook photo surfaced showing him dressed in drag when he was in high school. The howls of hypocrisy came quickly.

But I dont think people like Lee see that as hypocrisy. They see hilarity in straight men donning womens clothes to mock femininity but see obscenity and perversion in (usually) gay men doing the same (only better!) to celebrate femininity and find a sense of affirmation and self-realization.
The Japanese space agency said on Tuesday that the countrys newest rocket had failed minutes into its first demonstration flight, a technological setback as the country tries to build up its capabilities in space.

The rocket, the H3, was uncrewed but carried a satellite for observing the earth. The H3 is intended to serve as the countrys flagship vehicle for sending satellites to orbit and beyond. While not a permanent complication for Japans space program, the loss means it will need to build another H3 before a second test.

The H3 rocket, which is about 200 feet long, lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Tuesday morning. A live video stream provided by JAXA, the Japanese space agency, captured the rocket as it took off on schedule under a bright sun, its two side boosters lofting it toward the sky before dropping off minutes into the flight. The larger main engine then carried the rocket to space.

Video taken in space briefly showed the vehicles first stage dropping away from the second stage, which is built to push the missions cargo into a safe orbit around the planet. But minutes later, an announcer on the video stream said that officials on the ground were unable to confirm that the rockets second stage had started firing.
More than five years after the creation of a crowdsourced Google spreadsheet that included anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct against prominent men in the media industry, the author Stephen Elliott, who was named in the document, has reached a settlement in his lawsuit against the lists originator, the journalist Moira Donegan.

Mr. Elliott, a novelist and nonfiction writer, filed the defamation lawsuit in federal court in October 2018, a year after the spreadsheet had been created and shared. The defendants were Ms. Donegan and the documents many still-anonymous Jane Doe contributors. Mr. Elliott, who had sought at least $1.5 million in damages, said the settlement was in the six figures. Lawyers on both sides of the case notified the court on Friday that they had agreed to a dismissal, according to court records.

Ms. Donegan started the spreadsheet anonymously on Oct. 11, 2017, in the early days of the #MeToo movement. She took it offline after about 12 hours, she said, but it had already gone viral, leading to an article on BuzzFeed and reproductions on Reddit. By then, the document had grown to include 70 names, with allegations ranging from unwelcome DMs to violence. On the list, Mr. Elliotts name was attached to rape accusations, sexual harassment and coercion, among other things.

In a January 2018 essay, Ms. Donegan revealed that she was the creator of the spreadsheet. In a subsequent interview with The New York Times, she said, The idea was that women could use it to name somebody who had behaved badly toward them, whether through sexual assault or rape or harassment.
I fully understand and deserve ur anger and disappointment towards me, but please leave Schwartz my friends and family out of this situation, Mr. Sandoval wrote, referring to Tom Schwartz, a fellow cast member and business partner. He added: I will be taking a step back and taking a hiatus out of respect for my employees and partners. I need some time to address everything else. Sorry for everything.

The Bravo reality TV series follows Lisa Vanderpump, a star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and the staff at her restaurants and bars. Cheating Scandal: Affair rumors involving two members of the Vanderpump Rules cast who had been a couple for nine years and a co-star have recently gone viral. Affair rumors involving two members of the Vanderpump Rules cast who had been a couple for nine years and a co-star have recently gone viral. Here is what to know

Letting Her Clothes Do the Talking: When one of the women at the center of the scandal was photographed on her way to the shows Season 10 reunion, When one of the women at the center of the scandal was photographed on her way to the shows Season 10 reunion, she knew all eyes were on her . She didnt miss her chance to tell the world how she felt.

Meet the Boss: As the shows star and producer, Ms. Vanderpump As the shows star and producer, Ms. Vanderpump is in the unique position of being both puppet and puppeteer . But authenticity is crucial for success, she said.

To break it all down for the uninitiated, the offline or those merely having trouble keeping up, Allie Jones, a contributor to The New York Times and the founder of a weekly celebrity gossip newsletter, Gossip Time, spoke about the show, the scandal and the possible fallout.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is Vanderpump Rules about?

Vanderpump Rules actually started as sort of a backdoor pilot from [another Bravo TV reality show] The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and it began with a cheating scandal. One of the cast members [of Vanderpump Rules, Scheana Shay] had cheated with the ex-husband [Eddie Cibrian] of one of the housewives [Brandi Glanville]. Lisa Vanderpump, a restaurateur, was a breakout star from the Beverly Hills franchise for nine seasons, and this show is based on the foibles and scandals of people who work in Lisa Vanderpumps restaurant, SUR. But these days, most of the cast members dont work at the restaurant anymore. Theyve started new bars, new ventures and a lot of podcasts, but were still following along as they get slightly nicer apartments and homes.

Can you explain who was involved in this latest scandal and how we got here?

The main characters are Tom Sandoval, who used to be a bartender at SUR and went on to start new bars with another guy named Tom: Tom Schwartz. And hes been in a long-term relationship with another cast member, Ariana Madix, who also used to work at SUR and owns a home with him.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the detention network, is already facing a budget shortfall in the hundreds of millions.

The plan also assumes that government officials would be able to screen families for asylum quickly, admitting them or deporting them within the 20-day window. The average stay in an ICE detention center is about 37 days, according to internal data. In addition, there will never be enough space to detain all migrant families, the officials said. And the government would need a much larger fleet of planes to deport everyone.

Three of the officials who spoke to The New York Times described concerns that family detention would encourage parents to send their children to the U.S. border alone instead of risking detention as a family. Children who arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian are not expelled. Instead, they are placed in government custody and eventually released to live with a family member or other sponsor. That program, overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, has come under recent scrutiny after a New York Times investigation revealed many migrant children released to sponsors and family members are working dangerous jobs that violate child labor laws.

Critics of family detention say that putting families in the position of deciding to send their children to the United States without them is simply de facto family separation, a harsh measure used during the Trump administration when 5,500 children were separated from parents at the southern border. Mr. Biden and other Democrats have railed against the practice and pledged not to restart it.

Aside from the humanitarian implications, the family detention policy would carry political risk for Mr. Biden. Republicans have called for stricter immigration measures, accusing the president of having an open borders policy.
The authorities are searching for a Florida woman who slipped away from federal monitoring just days before she was set to go on trial in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The woman, Olivia Michele Pollock, was to be tried on Monday in Federal District Court in Washington on charges of assaulting police officers and interfering with law enforcement. But on Friday, a federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Pollock after she broke the terms of her release agreement with the government and disappeared.

The judge, Carl J. Nichols, also issued an arrest warrant on Friday for one of Ms. Pollocks co-defendants in the case, Joseph Daniel Hutchinson, after he, too, violated the terms of his release. Mr. Hutchinson was scheduled to be tried separately in August.

While it is fairly rare for defendants charged in connection with the Capitol attack to go on the lam, it has happened before. In March 2022, more than a year after he was charged, Evan Neumann, a California man accused of assaulting a police officer and engaging in physical violence on the Capitol grounds, was granted asylum in Belarus.
Ms. Zurawski became pregnant in early 2022 after 18 months of fertility treatments. In her 17th week of pregnancy, and the day after she made the guest list for her baby shower, a scan found that her cervical membranes had begun to prolapse. Specialists told her that her fetus, which she had begun thinking of as her baby, would not survive.

Doctors told Ms. Zurawski they could perform an abortion only if she became acutely ill or went into labor naturally, or if the fetuss heartbeat stopped. That night at home, her water broke, but when she went to the emergency room, doctors said she was not in labor. Without amniotic fluid, the fetus would die, but it still had a heartbeat. And because Ms. Zurawskis vital signs were stable, they said, she did not qualify for an exception. The hospital sent her home.

Ms. Zurawski and her husband, Josh Zurawski, considered driving 11 hours to New Mexico, but had been told to stay within a 20-minute drive of the hospital in Texas in case she went into labor. She was so worried about being prosecuted, I didnt even feel safe Googling options, Ms. Zurawski said. I didnt know what they could and couldnt search.

Three days later, her doctors again told the Zurawskis they could not legally abort the fetus because it still had a heartbeat. At home that night, Ms. Zurawski developed a fever, and her husband called the obstetrician to ask to go to the hospital. We were in this mind-set of, Surely now youll accept us, Mr. Zurawski said. A nurse told them, he said, that doctors would have to receive approval from the hospitals ethics board.

He finally rushed his wife to the emergency room later that night. There her fever spiked to 103.2 degrees. Doctors confirmed that she had a blood infection and said her life was now in danger, so they could induce delivery without violating Texas abortion ban.

Later that night, she developed a secondary infection. Doctors told Mr. Zurawski that they had to give his wife a blood transfusion to stabilize her enough to move her to the intensive care unit. The couples families flew in, fearing that she would die.
Four Americans who traveled to Mexico last week to seek health care got caught in a deadly shootout and were kidnapped by heavily armed men who threw them in the back of a pickup truck, officials from both countries said Monday.

The four were traveling Friday in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates. They came under fire shortly after entering the Mexican city of Matamoros from Brownsville, Texas, the F.B.I. said in a statement Sunday.

All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men, the F.B.I. said. The bureau is offering a $50,000 reward for their return and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, S.C., said she has been in contact with the F.B.I. and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, is one of the four victims.
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukraines top generals want to bolster the defenses of the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut, the government said Monday, signaling that rather than retreat from the city, they will pursue a strategy of bleeding the Russian army in a battle of attrition before a planned Ukrainian counterattack.

Ukraine has calculated that the brutal siege is weakening and tying down Russias military, even as Kyiv awaits a new arsenal of weaponry from the West, including tanks and long-range precision rockets to enable an expected drive to retake occupied territory elsewhere. This achievement, Ukrainian officials say, justifies their own high casualty toll, though soldiers in the field and some military analysts have questioned the wisdom of defending a mostly abandoned, ruined city.

In seesaw fighting on the citys artillery-blasted streets and nearby villages and farm fields, the losses on both sides have been staggering, in the longest sustained Russian assault since the invasion last year. Gradual Russian advances have led some Ukrainian officials in recent weeks to hint at the possibility of a retreat to avoid encirclement, but Ukrainian assault brigades went on the attack over the weekend and appeared to push back Russian forces.

Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, which has led Russian assaults on Bakhmut, said on Monday that Russia was at risk of losing the battle  just days after he had claimed to have the Ukrainians on the brink of defeat.
Ukrainian special forces said on Monday that they had destroyed an unmanned observation tower in Russias Bryansk region using a drone strike, a rare public acknowledgment of a cross-border attack that underscored Kyivs increasing willingness to directly strike Russian territory.

The Kraken unit, which reports to Ukrainian military intelligence, released a video that it said showed the assault on its Telegram channel on Monday.

The strikes timing was unclear, but the video came days after a brief armed incursion into a Russian border village in Bryansk by a group claiming to fight for Ukraine, a rare known case of a raid inside Russia. The Kremlin described it as a terrorist attack.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, a group opposed to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, claimed on Thursday that it briefly took control of the small village of Lyubichane, near the border with northeastern Ukraine. There were conflicting reports about the episode and what took place in Bryansk, but by the end of the day, the Russian authorities said the group had been driven back into Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said they had begun a war crimes investigation into a video that emerged of what they said was the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russian soldiers.

Slightly hunched and with a cigarette dangling from his lip, the Ukrainian soldier in the video looks tired and dirty. He is not holding a weapon and is standing in what appears to be a freshly dug patch of dirt in a forest when a voice off-camera calls out in Russian, Im filming now.

Pulling the cigarette from his mouth and exhaling a cloud of smoke, the soldier in the frame flatly says: Slava Ukraini  Glory to Ukraine. Gunfire erupts almost immediately from at least two directions, and the man crumples to the ground.

What glory to Ukraine? a voice off-camera shouts in Russian, inserting an expletive. Die, adds another voice, also using an expletive.
The 02020 project was not a wash. Performance Space has a new artist-generated mission statement. Half of its board seats are now reserved for artists, up from two. The cohort revived Open Movement, an institutional tradition begun in 1979 that had been dormant. Monica Mirabile, an artist who was part of the 02020 collective, now organizes the free weekly movement session in Performance Spaces theaters.

There were some losses, but there were some big wins, Mirabile said of 02020. I think more institutions should be asking these kinds of questions, and should be allowing things to fail, so we really learn something.

Failure, in an uncertain climate, could mean shutting down. To help dance organizations explore distributed leadership successfully, some current co-leaders have begun advising those new to the process, extending the principle of collective wisdom. Bridge Live Arts directing team has talked with groups hoping to pursue similar paths. Dance/NYC  whose work includes creating resources for dancers and dance leaders  is devoting months to the development of its new leadership system, conscious that it could become an industry model. In a joint email, Dance/NYCs interim leadership team expressed hope that what our assessment process reveals may be useful information for other leaders in the field.

As more dance groups pursue collective leadership, one big question  the question at the heart of Bridge Live Arts recent retreat  is how that transformation might in turn affect the creative process. Hill said the Bridge Live Arts team is still discovering answers. They envision Dancing Distributed Leadership as not a one-off event but a continuing project, with workshops designed to bring what theyve learned as administrators into the dance studio.

Both environments, Hill said, hinge on empathy.

When youre in a space together moving, youre understanding each other on a biological level, a spiritual level, a physical level, she said. So it makes sense to me that co-leadership models are emerging in dance, because this kind of work is also rooted in deep connection. It goes way beyond sending emails.
This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more.

Aida Muluneh is an Ethiopian-born photographer based in Ivory Coast whose focus and inspiration come from her African roots.

A graduate of Howard University, she was a freelance photographer for The Washington Post from 2001 to 2002, working in Washington, D.C., and also in Ethiopia. In 2010, she founded the Addis Foto Fest, the first international photography festival in East Africa. Last year she launched the Africa Foto Fair, a virtual magazine and festival running through March 26 that use images to serve as a platform to connect Africa to the world and the world to Africa.

This month the Public Art Fund, a nonprofit group that brings contemporary art to public spaces in New York and elsewhere, is displaying 12 of her photos on bus shelters in New York, Boston, Chicago and Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the first time the fund has presented artwork in Africa.

Ms. Muluneh, 48, recently discussed her career, philosophy and goals in email exchanges from Ivory Coast. The interview has been edited and condensed.
The plan for the site, a pair of twin towers that spiraled upward, a filigreed weave of steel and air, would transform the center for trade to one of civics and culture. There were many of us involved in the Think team, but the design, which won the competition but was rejected by then-Gov. George Pataki, was largely a combination of Freds relentless belief in the significance of urban life and Rafaels love and belief in the power of beauty and culture.

Rafaels studio at the time seemed, like him, larger than life. The spaces were filled with amazing models, many of them large-scale studies. We would discuss the plans for the World Trade Center site, and how to create built environments that fostered a sense of civic purpose. My strongest memories of that process are feeling his hand leaning on my shoulder as he quizzically looked at what I was drawing and sat down, lowered his glasses and offered  sometimes graciously, sometimes not so much  an invariably whip-smart critique or suggestion.

He was an obsessive architect, pencil in hand, always sketching and drawing, across countries and continents. But he was also a classically trained pianist. And what I would come to understand is that it wasnt possible to truly know Rafael without appreciating the centrality of music and performance in his life.

I knew that tucked away in the offices was a piano  actually two Steinway D concert pianos from Hamburg, I would later learn. (More recently, according to his son, Roman, he kept one belonging to Andras Schiff, the British pianist.) The pianos were both well used, because Raphael would rely on music  often Bach  to relieve the pressure.
Dicks, Rich Daddy (1983)

Spot told the site Punktastic that, of his productions, the debut LP from the riotous Austin, Texas, band Dicks, Kill From the Heart, was his absolute favorite: Absolutely nothing phony or [expletive] about either the band or the recording. The groups openly gay frontman, Gary Floyd, snarled and crooned lyrics about anti-capitalism, the police state and homophobia, making righteous protest music feel like a party. Spot flew to Austin and recorded the bands debut in 48 hours. On songs like the Creedence Clearwater Revival-tinged Rich Daddy, the band made the move from hard-edge barkers to uniquely grooving blues-punk dynamo. Everything got recorded way, way, way too hot and it was distorted as hell, Spot told Jim Ruland, the author of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records. Somehow I figured out a way to make it sound good.

Minutemen, I Felt Like a Gringo (1983)

The Minutemen were expanding their vision to include longer songs and heavier grooves, soon to reach apotheosis on the 1984 college radio juggernaut Double Nickels on the Dime. But for six songs on the Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat EP, Spot had one more econo trick up his sleeve. I said, Hey, lets forget about this multitrack stuff, he recalled in the Minutemen documentary. Lets just set it up and do it live to two-track. One take. Bam, its done. You mix it while youre playing it and be done with it. And thats what we did.

Saint Vitus, Saint Vitus' (1984)

Spot produced the 1984 debut from the doom-metal pioneers Saint Vitus, who recorded every song on it in one take. Nobody wanted to do something on a record that you couldnt reproduce live, Saint Vitus guitarist, Dave Chandler, told Red Bull Music Academy. All of us had seen too many bands, like Led Zeppelin for instance, where there are all these fancy nine guitars on one song, and then you go to the live show, and the song sucks because they cant play it like that. The resulting album  Black Sabbath metallurgy rendered as something much darker and heavier  helped popularize doom metal, a substrain eventually taken up by bands like Sleep and Electric Wizard.

Black Flag, My War (1984)

On the title track from the second Black Flag album, Henry Rollins vomits out arguably the greatest vocal performance in the history of hardcore  nearly four minutes of accusations, screams, diatribes, squeals and assorted throat shreds. On the album, produced by Spot with Ginn and the drummer Bill Stevenson, you can hear Rollins moving through the space like hes scratching to escape a prison of his own making. The second side of the My War album would feature the band moving into long, molasses-slow dirges that would absolutely enrage audiences in 1984 but ultimately prove a formative precursor to the sludge metal of bands like Melvins, Boris and Mastodon.

Meat Puppets, Oh, Me (1984)

From their 1982 debut to their 1984 follow-up, Meat Puppets evolved from an acid-fried hardcore mush into shambolic, vulnerable and Grateful Dead-tweaked country-punkers. Spot recorded both. He made it really easy to get exactly what I wanted, Meat Puppets Curt Kirkwood told The Austin Chronicle. He had no opinion. He really liked the live stuff and he was so into the punk rock thing from recording all those other bands. He had such a great ear.

Husker Du, 'Something I Learned Today (1984)

Husker Dus second LP, Zen Arcade, stretched the very concept of hardcore in sound, ambition and duration. A 70-minute concept album on four sides of vinyl, Zen Arcade teamed one of the fastest bands in the land with paisley-printed hooks, acoustic strumming and the shimmering sounds of psychedelia. Though its heady concept and catchy songs might sound like AOR excess, it was still undoubtedly a hardcore album: Twenty-three of its 25 tracks were first takes, recorded in the span of about 45 hours. With Spot, he was a real purist, the guitarist and vocalist Bob Mould told Tape Op. His background was jazz, so his theory was, get the right mic on the finely tuned instrument and go with it.
This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more.

The baton-waving bully conductor played by Cate Blanchett in Tar has earned a series of Oscar nominations and captivated audiences worldwide. That may be, in part, because of her novelty: Until recently, conducting was almost exclusively a male profession.

The French conductor Claire Gibault has spent a lifetime battling that gender barrier. In 2019, she co-founded La Maestra, a biennial international competition for female conductors in Paris that draws more than 200 contestants from some 50 countries.

Giving confidence and visibility to the talented women who are emerging as orchestral conductors is a cause La Maestra will continue to champion with commitment and passion, said a news release inviting contestants for the next competition, in March 2024. The competition, founded with the Philharmonie de Paris, awards prizes of 5,000 to 20,000 euros ($5,300 to $21,400) to finalists who are provided numerous musical opportunities, too. Ms. Gibault also founded the Paris Mozart Orchestra in 2011, one of Frances few female-led orchestras.

Born in 1945 and raised in Le Mans in northwestern France, where her father taught music theory at the conservatory, Ms. Gibault was studying violin when she discovered conducting and persuaded the conservatory to teach it.
In a tumultuous period for the audio industry, with millions of active shows swirling ever-changing platforms and business models, Radiolab has managed to stay above the fray. Its listenership has remained constant since the host transition, Dagher said. And it is the rare podcast still capable of generating something like a broadly shared listening experience, as it did with a show last year about the hidden life of Helen Keller, or a series from the year before tracing the cultural history of cassette tapes.

Among Miller and Nassers ambitions is extending that legacy for another two decades. Almost in unison, they described their most sacred duty to the show in three words:

Dont break it!

Under Abumrad, in partnership with his longtime foil and co-host, Robert Krulwich (who helped define the show in 2005 and retired in 2020), and the original executive producer, Ellen Horne (who left in 2015), Radiolab became a protean vessel for sound-rich, intellectually curious and emotionally engaged storytelling. It popularized several conventions of modern podcasting, including layered vocal tracks, cold opens (Hey, can you hear me OK?) and the brain dump episode format, in which a reporter walks a host through a story.

It was revolutionary, said Jay Allison, the founder of Transom.org and executive director of Atlantic Public Media. Were a sonic medium but a lot of times you wouldnt have known it, listening to public radio. On Radiolab, every second was built completely for the ears, considered like a note in a score.

The new hosts are avowed disciples of the Radiolab doctrine. Miller, 39, joined the show as an intern in 2005 and later became its fourth staff member. She had been working as a woodworkers assistant in Brooklyn when she was hooked by an episode on the science of emergence, in which a segment about synchronized swarms of Southeast Asian fireflies integrated an ethereal score and transporting sound design: the ripples of the lake, the song of the birds.

It was like nothing Id ever heard before, she said. I was like, What is that? I want to get inside of that.

Nasser, 37, wrote a cold pitch to the show in 2010 after hearing an episode about an epidemic of laughter in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), the subject of his doctoral dissertation at Harvard.
Starting and ending in her native New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, spanning many generations and stories, and folding in several spiky, multi-page forms, Karisma Price turns her first book, IM ALWAYS SO SERIOUS (Sarabande, 83 pp., paperback, $16.95), into an exciting start for what might be a stellar career. Im Always So Serious reveals no shortage of injustice, and no lack of inspiration from African American literary and artistic forebears. David Ruffins voice makes mourning almost bearable, Cicely Tyson holds the tongue of Paul Robeson, My Malcolm cries out to Betty, and the great jazz piano player James Booker, the Bayou Maharajah, makes repeat star turns. Concrete and visual experiments in the manner of Douglas Kearney (or E.E. Cummings) sit well alongside more conventional lyric expostulations, introspective anxiety and commemoration for (among others) my ghost/father and his newly ghosted brother.

Image

Local awareness is never far away: Today my cousin turns seven in a twice-drowned city. Experiments with shaped poems open out on over-the-top alliteration: pajamas,/ripped-up pantyhose, empty/porcelain perfume bottles,/and parachute pants. Theres something here for almost everyone. Yet Prices best moments  and there are many  come in ultra-quotable, soaringly general single sentences and explosive rhetorical questions. Everything you fear keeps you alive. Everything left of the slaves is near the sugar. Who would the living be/without the dead in the ground? Thinking about grief and pain and their social sources, Price thinks too about how they might nurture joy: What is a man but a pocket/full of rose thorns/They are always so afraid to bleed.
This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more.

Priscilla Sims Brown, chief executive of Amalgamated Bank, said it was her uncommon upbringing that put her on the path to running the countrys largest union-owned bank.

Born in 1957 to Ethiopian parents who were studying in New Mexico, she stayed behind when her mother and father returned to Africa. (Her mother, Marta Gabre-Tsadick, served as Ethiopias first woman senator.) She spent the next 10 years living with an American military family in a small town between two American bases in Germany.

But after a government coup in Ethiopia in the 1970s, her parents fled the country and returned to the United States. Ms. Brown joined them, and they moved from place to place while establishing a Christian nonprofit to help Ethiopian refugees.

Ms. Brown said her background gave her the confidence to pursue a path that could be difficult for women, and particularly women of color.
Spying an empty spot in a parking lot, a driver flicks on the turn signal and steers the car into the space. This little maneuver happens so often across the country that its done almost without a second thought.

But now, the humble parking spot is suddenly a hot topic. Scrutinizing their parking regulations, cities across the nation are rolling back requirements for new development.

The United States has about two billion parking spots, according to some estimates  nearly seven for every car. In some cities, as much as 14 percent of land area is covered with the black asphalt that engulfs malls, apartment buildings and commercial strips.

The fact that the country is awash in parking spots stems from Americas longstanding love affair with the car, compounded by arcane zoning codes that mandate off-street parking for real estate projects.
The Justice Department on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to stop JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, arguing that the $3.8 billion deal would reduce competition in a highly concentrated industry.

By absorbing Spirit, JetBlue would eliminate a disruptive force that has kept fares low across the country, the departments antitrust division argued in its lawsuit. The merger would also give JetBlue an outsize hold on dozens of routes, result in higher fares and reduce options for travelers, particularly for those most sensitive to costs, it said.

This merger will limit choices and drive up ticket prices for passengers across the country, Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference on Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The Justice Department brought the case along with Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia.

The lawsuit is the latest example of the departments aggressive approach to enforcing antitrust law under President Biden, suing to prevent mergers and challenging practices it considers anti-competitive across a variety of industries. The suit will put JetBlues plans on hold for at least a few months and possibly much longer. The company said that it was prepared to defend the acquisition and that it planned to close the deal in the first half of next year.
The National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday that it had opened a special investigation into safety practices at Norfolk Southern because the company had suffered five significant accidents since December 2021, including a major derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month.

Norfolk Southern has been under scrutiny since that derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials on Feb. 3. Another of its freight trains derailed on Saturday near Springfield, Ohio. And hours before the boards announcement, a Norfolk Southern employee was killed in an accident at a steel plant in Cleveland.

Three of the five accidents that the N.T.S.B. listed resulted in the deaths of Norfolk Southern employees. On Dec. 8, 2021, in Reed, Pa., a worker was killed after being struck by a spike machine that was reversing direction. A year later, a trainee conductor was killed and another conductor was injured when the lead locomotive of a Norfolk Southern freight train struck a steel angle iron protruding from a gondola car on another Norfolk Southern freight train in Bessemer, Ala., the safety board said. The third fatal accident was in Cleveland on Tuesday.

The investigation will focus on Norfolk Southern and its safety culture, the safety board said. The last time it opened a special investigation of a railroads safety practices was nearly a decade ago when it looked into Metro-North Railroad, a commuter rail system that links New York City with its northern suburbs.
Headliner

Principe

This seafood-forward restaurant is the work of Robert Goldman, a restaurant entrepreneur, and the executive chef Abram Bissell, formerly at the Modern, who met when both worked at the NoMad. Also from the NoMad is the pastry chef, Rebecca Isbell, here given the title of chef di farina (flour chef) in a nod to the Italian influences woven into the menu. Raw bar choices  including scallops with pistachios and sorrel, and oysters spiked with Meyer lemon, black pepper and chives  can start the proceedings, possibly followed by a salad of Little Gem lettuce with colatura and mint; bucatini with lardo, black pepper and egg yolk; and basil tortellini in brown butter brodo. More substantial dishes include green olive-crusted branzino with lemon agrumato; crispy chicken with basil aioli and Aleppo pepper; and a charcoal-roasted whole turbot with lobster for two. Despite luxury touches of Venetian plaster, sumptuous fabrics, mother-of-pearl accents and an imposing Venetian chandelier, the two-story space also conveys a hint of the rustic with exposed beams and concrete walls. (Opens Thursday)

450 West Broadway (Prince Street), principe.nyc.

Opening

The Press Club Grill

First built in 1897 and designated a New York City landmark a little more than 100 years later, the Martinique hotel near Herald Square (now the Martinique New York on Broadway) has been refurbished with this as the first of several new dining options on the premises. It features a team of heavy hitters: Franklin Becker, the chef, in partnership with Stephen Loffredo and Tora Matsuoka, along with the pastry chef Sam Mason and the bar director Max Green. The dining room represents the Mad Men era of the mid-20th century, with leather banquettes, a brass bar and a wine tower. The food does the same with Vidalia onion dip, caviar tater tots, a Waldorf-style salad, fettuccine Alfredo, and beef Wellington. New York is given its due with matzo ball soup and pastrami blintz. Mr. Mason contributes bananas Foster creme brulee and baked alaska. (Monday)

Martinique New York, 1262 Broadway (32nd Street), pressclubgrill.com.

Trust Bae

The name sounds like a command from the Turkish king of salted steak, but no. In this case bae is just a term of endearment, meaning that one should trust the omakase chef. From Simplevenue, the group that runs the Sushi by Bou locations, its similarly counter style, with eight seats. Erika London, the founder of Trust Bae, enlisted the cooking personality Rachael Ray as a consultant. The chef in charge, Frances Tariga, whose background is Filipino, has devised a tasting menu, 16 courses for $150 served in 90 minutes. The menu leads off with kaiseki, including several Filipino-inspired items, followed by a succession of nigiri, both classic and inventive. Subsequent locations are planned with other up-and-coming female chefs in charge. (Wednesday)

1204 Broadway (30th Street), 917-268-7268, trustbae.com.

Atti

At Cote in the Flatiron district  a Korean tabletop grilling experience that the owner has called a Korean steakhouse  elegant trappings, pedigreed ingredients, memorable wines and well-made cocktails are the norm. This new restaurant in Downtown Brooklyn takes a similar approach, getting its beef from Pat LaFrieda, DeBragga and Snake River Farms, and offering cuts like dry-aged rib-eye and prime hanger ($44 to $92; four cuts with sides, $69 per person, minimum two). The owners, Ju Young Oh and her husband, Min Sung Kang, who have a couple of Korean spots, surround the meats, which servers grill on soapstone-topped tables, with banchan meant for sharing. As at an American steakhouse, starters include oysters, shrimp cocktail and steak tartare along with Korean dishes like mandu dumplings, and pork belly kimchi stew.

294 Livingston Street (Bond Street), Downtown Brooklyn, 917-909-1122, attinyc.com.
For now, these alternative methods are better at predicting relatively simple, short-term outcomes, such as acute toxicity, than complicated, long-term ones, such as whether a chemical might increase the risk of cancer when used over months or years, scientists said.

And experts disagreed on the extent to which these alternative approaches might replace animal models. Were absolutely working toward a future where we want to be able to fully replace them, Dr. Kleinstreuer said, although she acknowledged that it might take decades, if not centuries.

But others said that these technologies should be viewed as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, animal testing. Drugs that prove promising in organoids or computer models should still be tested in animals, said Matthew Bailey, president of the National Association for Biomedical Research, a nonprofit group that advocates for the responsible use of animals in research.

Researchers still need to be able to see everything that happens in a complex mammalian organism before being allowed to move to the human clinical trials, he said.

Still, even this more conservative approach could have benefits, said Nicole zur Nieden, a developmental toxicologist at the University of California, Riverside, who said that she thought the wholesale replacement of animal testing was unrealistic.

In particular, she said, the new approaches could help scientists screen out a greater number of ineffective and unsafe compounds before they ever get to animal trials. That would reduce the number of animal studies researchers need to conduct and the limit the chemicals lab animals are exposed to, she said, adding, We will be able to reduce the suffering of test animals quite tremendously.
The only thing Oscar prognosticators like more than determining a front-runner for best picture is upending one, and this years front-runner would seem to be Everything Everywhere All At Once. Its easy to consider it a shoo-in, as it nabbed honors from such traditional bellwethers as the Gothams, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Directors Guild of America and (most recently) the Producers, Screen Actors and Writers guilds. But there have been murmurs throughout awards season that Everything Everywhere couldnt go all the way, that it was too quirky, too weird, too much to win best picture. There is, after all, a considerable bloc of older Academy voters (you know, the ones who gave that prize to Green Book), and were talking about a hyperkinetic multiverse action fantasy that includes a sex-toy fight.

If not Everything, then what? The Golden Globes passed over Everything Everywhere to give its best picture (musical or comedy) trophy to Martin McDonaghs The Banshees of Inisherin, and gave its matching prize on the drama side to Steven Spielbergs The Fabelmans; several prominent critics groups selected Todd Fields Tar as the years best picture. But the real dark horse emerged at the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards (a.k.a. the BAFTAs), whose voters passed over Everything, Banshees, Elvis and Tar to hand the award for best film to Edward Bergers All Quiet on the Western Front.

It sounds, on its face, like a long shot. What are the chances that the Academy would award its top prize to a subtitled German antiwar film with no stateside stars, little domestic buzz and a barely there theatrical release  because it was distributed by Netflix, with whom the organization has been notoriously stingy with trophies? Netflix itself seemed to have been caught off guard by the films strong showing at the Oscars (nine nominations), after spending the fall mounting campaigns for costly auteur passion projects like Alejandro G. Inarritus Bardo (one nomination) and Noah Baumbachs White Noise (zero).
The film is testosterone-phobic. It shows men as beasts, Noe said. Indeed, the world of Irreversible is one of primitive brutes. In one scene, Marcus enters Rectum, a hardcore gay club, tumbling down a crimson rabbit hole filled with leather-clad men, bondage swings and chain restraints, maniacally searching for the assailant. His madness is infectious, inciting Pierre into action, which results in an innocent mans face turned to bloody mush. Theyre in a B.D.S.M. club  a real one whose clients served as extras  so the onlookers watch in fascination and shout excitedly as the two men attack. Its an unforgettably sinister moment, one that the director Damien Chazelle pays homage to in his latest film, Babylon, when Tobey Maguires drug-addled criminal kingpin leads a tour through a cave of depravities. He told me he needed to meet me because he copied me! Noe said, referring to an encounter with Chazelle in Paris.

But for many people, nothing in Irreversible surpasses the horrors of its most talked-about scene. Shot on location in a real underpass frequented by prostitutes at the outskirts of Paris (the passage has since been demolished), the rape sequence is like the eye of a storm in a film distinguished by its frenzied visuals. Moving the camera around would have felt like it was participating in the violence, like it was the ghost of some other complicit man, Noe said. The rapist (Jo Prestia) puts a knife to Alexs throat, forcing her to comply over the course of nine excruciatingly long minutes. The mostly static camera makes us hyper-aware of our passivity as spectators; but unlike the faceless figure in the distance whom we briefly see stumbling upon the rape and choosing to walk away, were forced to watch.

No intimacy coordinators were involved on set  in the early 2000s, the profession was nonexistent  but the scene was actively rehearsed, with all the actors movements mapped out to create the illusion of a beating. It was kind of like a dance, Bellucci said over the phone, emphasizing how empowering it felt for her to be able to enact the experience from a place of total control.

The cinema of toxic masculinity long precedes the current era, though discourses around gender and the various institutional reckonings with sexual violence allows us to consider films like Taxi Driver, and, indeed, Irreversible, with fresh eyes. Recent films like The Northman  a brutal Viking thriller keenly aware of the delusions that underpin the heros quest for vengeance, and Patricia Mazuys Saturn Bowling, a serial-killer movie in which femicide is treated like a sport  seem to have taken up the mantle, critiquing the patriarchy by presenting it at its most monstrous.

I couldnt make Irreversible today, Noe said, adding that he believes financiers are more inclined to support movies about sexual violence by women filmmakers. Noe praised up-and-comers in the art of subversion, namely the Swedish director Isabella Ekloff. Her film Holiday is an unconventional rape-revenge film itself, its centerpiece also a disturbingly lengthy assault.

I grew up watching transgressive movies because I saw them as a challenge from men to see if I was tough enough, Heller-Nicholas wrote. Now, Im blown away by the number of sexual assault survivors Ive encountered who find these movies cathartic.
New York City will open a 24-hour center to welcome migrants and create a new agency to coordinate efforts to deal with the arrival of thousands of asylum seekers, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday.

More than 50,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since last spring, and there has been an increase of 8,000 since last month. About 30,000 of the new arrivals are in city shelters.

The city has already tried tents, opened half a dozen hotels and suggested the idea of cruise ships to house newcomers. It has opened welcome centers, contracted with nonprofits and begged the state and federal government for help. The mayor even traveled to Washington and the border to highlight the citys struggles.

New York Citys plan was announced as President Biden faces a broader immigration crisis, as people fleeing violence and economic problems in their countries have gathered at the southern border. The president is considering whether to revive a Trump-era policy to detain migrant families who cross the border illegally, ahead of the May 11 expiration of a public health order that allowed for migrants to be quickly expelled from the country.
Years ago I disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it was considered the appropriate American approach. Now the view too widely accepted by the progressives and their supporters seems to be: I disagree with what you say and therefore you are a racist and a bigot, I want nothing to do with you, and I will try to limit your ability to make your obviously erroneous views known to the public.

Ronald J. Murray

Stamford, Conn.

To the Editor:

The tyranny of attempting to tie tongues through legislation, such as the bill that is currently making its way through the Florida House, is emblematic of the demagogic demons that have been unleashed in our nation over the past several years. Freethinkers must be entitled to free speech. Democracy depends on it.

Ben Miles

Huntington Beach, Calif.

To the Editor:

Re Allies in Florida Are Set to Enact DeSantis Agenda (front page, March 6):

This is one of several articles and Opinion pieces in recent weeks expressing alarm about Gov. Ron DeSantis.

I find nothing objectionable, and quite a few aspects of his program are welcome and needed. I am wary of drag queen story hours in public libraries and other venues, and sexually explicit, or implicit, performances where children may be in attendance.

This state of affairs could have been avoided had it not been for the aggressive activism of the trans rights movement and its progressive allies. Governor DeSantis has seized this issue, and it seems that there is support for his initiatives among parents and others not only in Florida and, I might add, not only among Republicans.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

Im Ezra Klein. This is The Ezra Klein Show. [MUSIC PLAYING] So the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference wrapped up this past Saturday. And this conference, if you dont follow it, its a big deal every year because it is the clearest window into the id of modern conservatism. It brings together its politicians and media figures and influencers. And what we saw at this years CPAC was that even as conservatism is on many issues at this moment of unusual internal division  what to do about economic policy and health care and Ukraine  about Trump  it is finding unity and purpose in attacking trans people. There is absolutely no subtext here. Michael Knowles, a popular right-wing podcaster at The Daily Wire said  and I quote  There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing. He went on to say, and again I quote, Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. Eradicated entirely. Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, said gender affirming care is, quote, a demonic assault on the innocence of our children. Demonic. It would be one thing if this were all just rhetoric, but its action. What were hearing at CPAC is what were seeing in Republican legislatures and governors mansions all across the country. Over the past few years, weve seen hundreds  literally hundreds of bills  introduced to regulate, to ban, to criminalize the lives of, and the care needed by, trans people. And I think people who follow politics have a sense this is happening, but perhaps not of the scale and cruelty of these policies. I think in a lot of the mainstream press, there is more attention to the hard edge cases. What should be the rules around NCAA swimming meets? What about the rare but real cases where somebody transitions and regrets it? What kind of medical assessment and parental involvement should you need to access this kind of care as a minor? And I dont think those questions are fake, and I dont think theyre easy, and I dont pretend to have the answers to them. But I think its important that we dont lose sight of the overwhelming political and material reality here, which is that trans people already face now terrible discrimination and difficulty  higher rates of poverty and homelessness and violence, workplace discrimination  just living their lives. And the right is now making trans people their political target. And the most ambitious conservatives are competing not just in rhetoric, but in policy, to make their lives harder, to try to push them out of the boundaries of public life. Individually, these policies, they have various rationales, a lot of them have conflicting rationales. But I think collectively, if you look at them, you see that what Knowles said was true. The rights aim is to use the power of the state to eradicate the ability of trans people to live as themselves in public or to be able to become themselves. And again, this is policy. It is not just rhetoric. It is not just tweets. And so I wanted to have a conversation looking closely at these policies. Gillian Branstetter is a Communications Strategist at the A.C.L.U.s Womens Rights Project and the L.G.B.T.Q. and H.I.V. Project. And the A.C.L.U. has been very involved in tracking and fighting these policies. So Branstetter has an unusually specific and global sense of how all this is coming together on the ground. As always, my email: ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. [MUSIC PLAYING] Gillian Branstetter, welcome to the show.

gillian branstetter

Thank you so much for having me.

ezra klein

So I want to begin in Texas, where weve seen Governor Abbott attempt to classify or reclassify certain kinds of gender care as literally child abuse. So tell me about the letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in February of 2022. What did it say? What was Abbott trying to do there?

gillian branstetter

This letter was a directive to the Texas State Child Welfare Agency to begin proceedings to investigate parents with transgender youth who have accessed gender-affirming care. It does not include counseling. It does include puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery. This followed a failure by the state legislature to codify the definition of child abuse by adding gender-affirming care to it. A bill was introduced in the state legislature in Texas in 2021 and ultimately failed. Governor Abbotts primary opponents took him to task for this. So he began a long-rolling process to apply political pressure and basically set the tone that this care and its provision in Texas was going to be the next focus of his target. In February of 2022, about a week before he and Attorney General Ken Paxton faced a primary, they issued this letter, which was directed to the states child welfare agency to begin classifying the provision of age-appropriate gender-affirming care for transgender youth as child abuse. And that does a few things. One, it mobilizes the state family policing agency. So child welfare agencies have a  advocates have been complaining for quite some time that they have a lot of unchecked power. And this power often gets used in very discriminatory ways, in particular against poor, Black, Indigenous, immigrant families. Queer youth, especially, are overrepresented in our nations foster care system. The first impact the directive has is in mobilizing that agency to begin investigating. And one of the first people they targeted is actually a client of ours who we are representing alongside the A.C.L.U. of Texas and Lambda Legal in one of two challenges to this directive, who was a DSPS employee themselves. This immediately begins terrorizing families across the state of Texas. Were talking about thousands of families who have transgender youth who are now suddenly faced with the idea that state agents could literally walk in their door and escort their children away from them. And this means young trans people being pulled out of class and interviewed about their health care or even about their anatomy, and attempting to really nail them down as transgender and build out a case that if we can prove that youve accessed gender-affirming care, were going to remove you from your parents custody. The other thing this does is anyone whos ever worked in a field with kids, if youve ever been a teacher or an educator or a child care provider, you know that youve probably signed some paperwork making you a mandatory reporter, meaning that if you have reason to suspect that a young person is being abused, as the law defines it, then you must turn them in. And because of this directive from the governor and the attorney general attempting to say we are interpreting the states child abuse statute to include this care, that means that nurses, counselors, guidance counselors in school, teachers, assistant teachers, child care providers, this entire network of folks who work with youth across the state of Texas are then drafted into Governor Abbotts war on transgender youth.

ezra klein

Well, the term gender-affirming care is going to be not just a big part of this conversation, but its obviously central to a lot of the debate in Texas and elsewhere. What is gender-affirming care and which parts of that care package or structure did Abbott try to get classified as child abuse?

gillian branstetter

Sure. So gender-affirming care is an umbrella term for a broad range of medical interventions, which vary greatly based on the age and needs of the person presenting with gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is a term for a discomfort felt between your gender identity, your internal sense of your gender, and your gender as it was assigned at birth. And gender-affirming care is an individualized form of health care that includes counseling  talking people through their identities, helping them get a sense of who they are and who it is that they want to be, helping them move past the internalized shame that so much of our culture pushes on to transgender people, and assessing whether they might be ready or a good candidate for other medical interventions. So when were talking about young kids, young prepubescent kids who have maybe started wearing a dress at school or growing their hair out, if theyre a transgender girl, young kids like that are never really accessing any permanent health care. When young people start to enter puberty, particularly when theyve been presenting as their lived gender for quite some time, theyre more likely to access puberty blockers. And these are  doctors usually describe them as a pause button  functionally pausing the signals that the body sends to begin developing some of these secondary sexual characteristics ranging from breasts and wider hips to facial hair and a deeper voice. Then, in older adolescents and adults, you begin talking about hormone replacement therapy, which, if youre looking for feminizing effects to reflect your gender identity, will include a testosterone blocker and some form of estrogen. And if youre looking for masculinizing effects, that usually includes testosterone. And then surgical care, which for anyone under 18 tends to be pretty rare and very much based around the needs of that patient. It can range from whats often colloquially referred to as top surgery, which are mastectomies, for example, if somebody has breasts that they dont want, or down to bottom surgery, which, while hard to access, is usually a vaginoplasty, so reconstructive surgery creating a vagina or a number of surgeries that create a penis. And in this order under the governors letter, he bans pretty much everything but counseling. Pretty much everything but the idea that somebody could be talking to a therapist and get diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Now, what that means, of course, is that all of those health care treatments, most people who express a need for them have a very long road ahead before they can actually obtain them. This care is already very difficult to access and especially in rural areas like those across Texas.

ezra klein

I want to hold on, before we go into that piece of it, on this idea of child abuse. What Abbott is saying, what many in the conservative movement are saying is that hes very worried about these children, wants to make sure no harm comes to them. What do we know about what happens when children who have been presenting as their lived gender for some time, who want, with their doctor and their family, to seek care, what do we know about what happens when they dont get it?

gillian branstetter

So gender dysphoria carries with it a number of other symptoms and especially when untreated. And that can range from depression and anxiety to low self-esteem, down to poor academic performance, struggling to build healthy relationships with friends or their family, all the way up to suicidality. And according to a vast array of research, transgender youth have a significantly higher rate of suicidality than their peers.

ezra klein

And just to put some numbers on that. So we saw one study where 56 percent of transgender youth reported previous suicidal ideation. That was compared to 20 percent of cisgender youth. 31 percent of transgender youth reported a previous suicide attempt versus 11 percent of cisgender youth. And so how does access to care change that?

gillian branstetter

Foundationally. So when I sat in a courtroom in Arkansas, where we were challenging that states ban on gender affirming care, there was a long line of medical experts and doctors who work with transgender youth who took the witness stand and spoke to the efficacy and the impact that this care has on young peoples lives. Its very abstract. I think it would be very hard for a lot of cisgendered people to understand what dysphoria is and how much it can impact your life and stunt your emotional development and your emotional growth. And one of the biggest themes that I heard in that testimony was, one, not just that it relieved dysphoria, but you also suddenly see that when young trans people do have this degree of bodily autonomy, they begin to improve in many other ways. So for example, if theyre on antidepressants, they find that they can go off of them. If theyre on anti-anxiety medications, they find that they can go off of them. They improve in their mental health overall. They improve in, oftentimes, even just their extroversion. Their willingness to participate in the community. Their excitement about school. And the number one thing that you hear from a lot of parents with transgender youth, and medical professionals who work with transgender youth and from transgender youth themselves, is that before accessing this care, they really struggle to imagine a future with them in it. They really had zero impulse to plan towards their future or to dream or to have ambitions. And you find that when you give young trans people this degree of autonomy over their own body and help them relieve off this massive weight that theyre carrying around, that suddenly they have ambitions, suddenly they have goals, suddenly theyre not just building friendships and being active in their schools and in their family, but theyre thinking through, well, gee, what do I want to do with my life? What artistic ambitions do I have? What creative ambitions do I have? What would I want to do professionally? What problems does the world have that I could help solve? And I think that sense of possibility is something that any parent would want for their young person. And the, at times, cartoonishly vile rhetoric around this care is very much meant to obscure that positive impact that it has on people and very much meant to obscure the pain of being denied it, particularly when you know that its an option that you could pursue. And that is what a lot of young people are facing right now as the number of these bans grows is that they actually a better life is awaiting them and they have politicians whove never met them, politicians whove never talked to anybody like them whos experienced what theyre experiencing, writing and passing laws, taking away this critical aspect of the story they want to write for themselves.

ezra klein

I want to hold on this for a minute because I think there can be, including I would say for me, a bit of an empathic chasm to clear when it comes to gender dysphoria. That if you dont have it, what it means to have it and to feel it is very hard to put yourself in. And my friend Emily St. James, who I worked with back at Vox, she wrote a great piece. And she wrote in it something that I always find helpful to think about here. She wrote, If you are a cis person, imagine for a moment that all evidence to the contrary, everyone in the world becomes convinced your gender is not what it is. If youre a man, everyone starts using she/her pronouns for you and calling you by a womans name. One day you start insisting to the world you are who you are, and the world insists otherwise. And that sense of, for my trans friends, that sense of unbelievable wrongness between how you are seen and how you feel, that  I dont exactly have a question here, but I just think its worth stopping for a minute that the intensity of it, from everyone I know who has gone through it, is I just think really hard to grasp if its not something that youve held yourself.

gillian branstetter

I think it can be hard  a colleague of mine, Rebecca Kling, has this metaphor of this giant bag of rocks that youre carrying around your entire life. And after a certain point, you kind of tire out. And you either put down the bag of rocks or you stop going forward. And I think the word that comes to mind when Im usually trying to describe what dysphoria is like to cisgender people is a deep sense of inauthenticity, a deep sense that you were playing a role for other people. And I think thats something that most people can relate to because we all have to do that in one degree or another. We all have to navigate and meet peoples expectations. And gender, because gender is assigned to you over the course of your entire life, because your family and your friends and strangers and institutions and everything from our economic order to police and our laws are assigning you gender, when that assignment doesnt feel honest to who you are, it is a very inescapable sense. Its an all-consuming sense. And I think a lot of folks  there are a lot a trans folks who, it may be long into adulthood before they even begin asking themselves this. And Ive met trans people whove come out into their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, right? And I think its a bit like if you had lived your entire life next to a waterfall and you heard the roaring, crushing sound of the water your entire life, and the moment you realized that you could up and walk away, that you didnt have to shout over this, suddenly you realize that your entire life youve been screaming, and youve been begging to be heard. And when a trans person comes out at whatever point in their life that they do, its fundamentally about a demand to be heard. Theres an artist that I love named grlofswords on Instagram, who does these Jenny-Holzer-style slogans. And one of them she has is that it is a blessing to have a transgender child. And why is it a blessing to have a transgender child? Because I think any parent would agree that it is a blessing to have a child who is strong enough to tell the truth when the whole world wants them to tell a lie.

ezra klein

So how then does Abbott or Paxton, the attorney general, in these letters and opinions, make the argument  what is the foundation of the argument that it is child abuse to use puberty blockers or hormone therapy?

gillian branstetter

To the degree that there is much logic to it at all, he  and Ive seen this in  I saw this in Arkansas, too, in their defense of this ban. Theyre very much hunting for basically any potential risk or any potential excuse, no matter how small, that they can attach to this care. And its very clear that what a lot of these lawmakers, including Paxton and Abbott, are doing is starting from the position of needing to ban all gender-affirming care and working backwards from there. And then looking for justification to do that. And certainly, like all forms of health care, gender-affirming health care does carry risks. And I think something that a lot of trans people who access this care now is that those risks tend to loom very large in the cisgender imagination. And one reason is I think because they struggle to conceive of that agonizing feeling of being forced to live an authentic life, that, in fact, your own body is betraying you.

ezra klein

So what are some of those risks, speaking not here about the surgical interventions, which are, I think, pretty rare for minors, but the hormone and puberty blockers?

gillian branstetter

So some of the risks they cite include, for example, prolonged use of synthetic estrogen, like the kind that many transgender girls and women take, can gradually increase your risk for blood clots or for breast cancer. And as we talk through these risks, its important to understand these arent surprises to anyone that goes on them. They arent surprises to the parents who talk through them. And theres very much a need to measure the risks of these interventions versus the risks of doing nothing, which for transgender youth of gender dysphoria tend to be very, very grave, as we discussed. He also looks into testosterone is a controlled substance and has some low level risk for misuse and for abuse. In the rare instance that somebody goes on from puberty blockers directly to hormone therapy, it may gradually increase their risks for osteoporosis. As a New York Times report found, it will gradually increase the risk for experiencing osteoporosis in their 50s, instead of their 60s. And I think to most trans people, we take these risks seriously. Nobodys not attuned to these, right, even in the informed consent model of providing this care. So for young transgender people, for people under 18, theres a long road of mental health counseling and assessment and making sure this care is right for them. In the space for medical care for transgender adults, theres been an increasing move towards informed consent, which basically means that as long as this person is informed about the risks and effects of this care, we should trust their autonomy to access it. And when you really feel like your own personhood is on the line and somebody says, but wait, you could experience osteoporosis in your 50s instead of your 60s, youre like, well cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess. It would be so amazing to live into my 50s. So I think, like I said, a lot of these arguments are generally in bad faith because all health care carries risks. And theres lots of health care which these bans dont touch, which carry these or worse risks, and are not the subject of legislation or litigation or much less accusations of child abuse.

ezra klein

So when we were working on this episode, we talked with Dr. Jason Rafferty, who authored the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for this care in 2018. And one point he kept making is that this kind of care is a very, very highly individualized process.

gillian branstetter

Yes.

ezra klein

That if you look at the standards for it, you look at the structure and sequencing, its built on a lot of discussions between the patient, between the doctors, if its a minor, with their families. And one thing that is very striking to me about Texass policy here, but not just their policy  I mean, you see this in a bunch of different states  is theyre trying to short-circuit  theyre putting literally the government  conservatives putting the government, which I know the charge of hypocrisy here has lost a lot of force over the years, but take it for a minute  into this process that would otherwise be an individualized weighing of risks and questions and the persons individual needs with a doctor who knows what theyre doing and possibly mental health professionals and families. And instead Texas is saying, no, no, no, we dont just know better, we know so much better that if anybody engages in any real way going down the path on it towards puberty blockers or other pharmaceutical interventions, were going to functionally criminalize it. Its a pretty striking assertion of  yeah, I mean, functionally government knows best.

gillian branstetter

In terms of their willingness to just sweep aside the existing body of evidence and the actual reality of what this care is like, theres a lot to learn here from how the anti-abortion movement has framed abortion care. And youve seen very much the similar process of hunting around for any tail-end risk or any hypothetical in which this care might have any kind of negative consequence at all. And then using that to justify banning it. And you can very much see that theyre running the same playbook on gender-affirming care. And something to keep in mind is its very easy to imagine them running this playbook on birth control. In fact, you can already see them laying the groundwork. And anyone whos accessed birth control, particularly hormonal birth control, knows that its very individualized. And it can carry side effects. And it can carry risks. And people hopefully trust you to manage those risks and to weigh them against your desire to not get pregnant, which, depending on who youre talking to, is you rejecting your gender assignment in the same way that a transgender person is. I dont think anyone would describe the process of having an I.U.D. inserted in joyful terms, but people still do it because they want that degree of autonomy over their own body and over their own ability to write their life story for themselves.

ezra klein

Well, let me ask you where this particular directive stands now. You mentioned that the A.C.L.U. is in court on this  the A.C.L.U. Texas is, Lambda Legal.

gillian branstetter

Right.

ezra klein

What is the current status of the rule?

gillian branstetter

There are two lawsuits that were filed against the directive and against D.F.P.S. Both of them were filed joint by A.C.L.U., A.C.L.U. of Texas and Lambda Legal. We went back and filed a second lawsuit on behalf of yet more families and PFLAG National. For folks who dont know, PFLAG is one of the oldest L.G.B.T. rights organizations in the country. And they specifically work with parents of young queer people. And they were one of the first organizations to really have  to mention gender identity in their official policies to protect transgender youth. And they have hundreds and hundreds of chapters across the country. And Ive gone to these, and theyre usually a lot like support groups. Theyre usually parents talking through what it means to have a young queer person, not just protecting them from discrimination and advocating for their rights, but also changing their own expectations for what life their child is going to lead based on their queer identity. So we file on behalf of PFLAG National and receive an injunction on behalf of PFLAG National, so that if a family is a member of PFLAG national, they are protected under that injunction, which, in Texas, last I heard was somewhere around 600 families. Now, of course, what that means is that thousands of families are still exposed to this directive. In truth, what we know is that the actual number of cases that have been opened is luckily relatively small. Last I heard it was under 20. And in each instance that a case was open, the case was closed. And thats enormously relieving, in that it means whatever accusation Greg Abbott wants to make against them, these folks are being exonerated by the state agency. That said, even just the process of the investigation is a major invasion into a familys life, and particularly when were talking about young people who are really, like I said, struggling to imagine a future world with them in it. When the state is threatening them with removal from their family and threatening to put them into a foster care system where, one, transgender youth are already overrepresented, and, two, theyre frequently subjected to physical abuse, sexual abuse and conversion therapy and attempts to make them cisgender, thats an extremely threatening blade to hold over these young peoples heads. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

So what you often hear is this is just about children. Were trying to protect children as a special class. Maybe they dont know who they are yet. Maybe theyre influenced by something they saw on TikTok. But a bunch of these bills target adults, too. And in fact, theres one that has been introduced in the Texas Senate, S.B. 1029, that would effectively ban these treatments for minors, but it would also effectively ban gender-affirming hormone therapy and surgery for adults. So tell me a bit about the relationship between the legislation targeting children and the legislation weve seen in a bunch of different jurisdictions that includes adults.

gillian branstetter

So one thing that I think is important to understand is that these bills arent really responding to any sort of grassroots demand for these bills. They are coming at the behest of a group of organizations within the right wing that have, at the core of their worldview, this very binary and rigid understanding of gender. And one of them is the American Principles Project. And over the course of the last few years, has tried to warn politicians on the right up to the idea of going after transgender people. And there was a report that Maggie Astor in The New York Times did, where she called up Terry Schilling, the groups president, and he said, we do, in fact, want to ban this care for anyone of any age. And in his words, the purpose in going towards young people was, quote, going where the consensus is. Now, one, I would challenge the idea that there is a consensus. And two, I think that belies just how sort of bad faith a lot of these discussions are, that most of these groups, ALEC, these organizations that are really well-known in right-wing circles for basically acting as bill mills for printing off this legislation and distributing them across states  they are not going to tolerate medical transition at all.

ezra klein

So tell me about how intersex people play into this. Can you say what intersex means and where these conservative groups and some of these bills tend to stand on health care for that population?

gillian branstetter

Intersex people are those born with nonnormative sexual characteristics. Intersex conditions can range from hormonal sensitivities down to people born with what might be called anomalous sexual characteristics or maybe the presentation of sexual material that is associated with one sex right next to sexual material that is associated with another sex. And often, when an infant is born and is presenting as intersex, the doctors will go to the parents and say, well, we can create a, quote, normal genitalia for them, and we find its best to do it now because later in life, who would want to grow up with a nonnormative body? And a big target of human rights activists and of the intersex rights movement is getting hospitals to drop that default setting of launching towards performing these surgeries on literal infants. Luries Childrens Hospital dropped it as the default. Theres been growing inclusion amongst the American Medical Association and other groups. There is an exemption for those surgeries forced on to literal infants with very little concern for who they may grow up to be, very little concern for their long-term well-being, but strictly about making sure that they look normal. And I became very curious. How is it possible that all of these lawmakers and all these legislators came to agree on the need to force intersex children into these surgeries? So I began looking around for how the right wing has encountered intersex people. Because think about it. If you are telling people that there is a biological binary and these roles are inevitable, theyre complementary, they are designed for these explicit purposes and for providing these explicit forms of labor 

ezra klein

In some tellings, theyre godly.

gillian branstetter

Right. Exactly. And I found the bill that was passed into law in Arkansas banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth that we have sued and blocked in federal court. And you find that across not just in folks in the family, but across how the right wing regards intersex folks. They say, well, of course, we want to show them compassion, but really, these children are the results of a fallen society, that something about the amoral condition of modern life is producing intersex children, which has extremely dark echoes across the history of not just medicine but theology and what was often referred to as monstrous births. These were a major focus of the witch hunts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, targeting mothers who gave birth to, quote, monstrous births. Its very shocking to see that in modern political language. And its even more shocking to realize that what theyre looking for in these bills is not to end these treatments. They arent trying to end these treatments for everybody. Theyre specifically trying to end them for people who are seeking them in order to rewrite their gender assignment, in order to actually make sure their gender assignment reflects who they know themselves to be. And yet, theyre protecting these other treatments.

ezra klein

So I want to go back to something you were saying about the politics of this a minute ago, which is that the way Ive been thinking about the increasing centrality of anti-trans bills and rhetoric to the right, because its something that youre seeing in the 2024 primary field for Republicans. Its a big issue for DeSantis. Its, of course, now a big issue for Donald Trump, and we can talk about his administration on this, which is very telling. But its also every right-wing legislature, more or less, across the country is now full of these bills. And its been a pretty quick move to the center of their agenda. And one of the ways I understand politics in this era is that weve been watching or living through this transition from  because politics is always changing as to what the core cleavages really are, what people will compromise on and what they wont. And I think the broad understanding of the Republican Party 15 years ago  and I think it was true  is that they talked to social conservatives, they talked social conservatism, but they governed economic conservatism. The actual non-negotiable was tax cuts for corporations. And then they would tell the Evangelicals what they needed to hear to turn out to vote. And that over this period, thats more or less flipping. And you now have the post-Trump Republican Party. Theres a lot of people who are kind of confused and often opportunistic on economics. But these questions of I would call it social gender hierarchical change  this question of the traditional hierarchies of American society have become really fundamental. And theres been a search for what is the issue that cracks this open. And I think that there was a view that was immigration. That was Donald Trumps initial play. And it worked for him to a degree, but its actually not popular to be highly anti-immigrant in this country. And then particularly post-George Floyd, when there were the protests that had riot elements in them, you had a backlash on Black Lives Matter. And then that failed. In 2020, Joe Biden wins the election. And it seems since then that the idea is to crack open the progressive coalition around trans issues. That this has become the edge of the spear in the Republican Partys backlash to social change. Thats been my working theory of it. But Im curious, because youre obviously much more read in on this than I am and think about it much more, how youve understood this transition to the center of the Republican agenda for this set of issues.

gillian branstetter

Its interesting that you tease out this existing divide in the right between more economic concerns versus social conservative concerns. One, I think they have more similarities than they differ. Conservative economics tend to produce socially conservative outcomes. Two, theres been an interesting turn in right-wing politics over the course of just about the last decade where theres been a lot of motivation and energy around the social conservative wing, this wing thats devoted towards a explicit construction of what it means to be American along racial, gender, and class lines. And one of the dividing points for this was in 2016 in North Carolina, where you had the state legislature and Pat McCrory pass one of the first bathroom bills. So basically a law requiring transgender people to use the bathroom that aligns with what was on their original birth certificate. And this was really one of the first major tests for transgender rights in the political sphere. There were some previous fights around HERO, and we could talk to that history if you want. But this was definitely the largest conflagration that gendered rights had had in some time. And the bill was signed into law. And you quickly saw a number of corporations and large institutions like the N.B.A. and performers like Bruce Springsteen begin pulling events out of North Carolina. And begin saying, well, were not going to spend money in a state that would endorse this hate. And according to one analysis, this cost the state of North Carolinas economy around $3 billion. In no small measure, Pat McCrory lost re-election because he decided to focus on this issue at the expense of the rest of the state. And this caused a deep sense of frustration within the conservative movement. And I think it was the dawning of what you often hear now described as woke capitalism, the idea that the culture has left our values and theyve taken corporations with them. So therefore, we can no longer trust the Chamber of Commerce crowd to act in defense of socially conservative actions. It was almost the end of what has been called fusionism, this idea of the libertarian-minded economic right and its ties to often more Evangelical, more socially concerned right. And over the course of the Trump administration, you see this frustration begin to grow, because while the Trump administration leaves no stone unturned when it comes to rolling back transgender rights, whether rolling back protections for transgender students, rolling back protections for transgender people accessing health care, really repealing what has occasionally been called the quiet trans revolution of the second Obama term. Social conservatives begin to feel a bit left behind. And particularly because the legislative agenda of the Trump administration was pretty much dominated by the Trump tax cuts, which as far as theyre concerned dont move them towards their goals of rewiring the back ends of American culture to reflect these deeply conservative values. And an inflection point for this comes in 2020. 2020 was a busy year. You might remember it. But I remember in June of 2020, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which is actually a trio of cases on behalf of LGBT people who had been fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The A.C.L.U. represented Aimee Stephens. She was a transgender woman in her 50s. She worked at a Michigan funeral home. She came out as transgender. She wrote this impassioned letter explaining that this is very important for her. And the funeral home turned around and fired her two weeks later. And what was up for debate in this case was not whether they were discriminated against because Aimee was trans or the other workers were gay. What was up for debate is whether by discriminating against these employees on that basis, the workplaces were in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex discrimination. And really since the Civil Rights Act has been passed, sex discrimination has been expanded as a definition. So it now covers lots of pregnancy discrimination. It covers lots of sexual harassment. It covers whats called sex stereotyping. And basically judgments that you make based upon how you think somebody should behave based on their, quote unquote, biological sex. And the Supreme Court finds, in a 6-3 decision, in June of 2020, that these protections extend to queer workers. That if you fire somebody because theyre transgender or because they are queer, then you are exhibiting sex discrimination. You are in violation of the Civil Rights Act. This is greeted as an apocalyptic event in right-wing spaces. I find in liberal and progressive spaces, I often have to remind folks that this happened. I remember seeing a poll before that case was issued that some 80 percent of the country thought it was already illegal to fire somebody because theyre gay or transgender. So I often have to remind people in liberal progressive spaces that this case even happened. But soon after that, you have folks like Josh Hawley thumping their fists on the table and saying, this represents the end of the conservative legal movement. That if an employer cant fire somebody because theyre transgender, that this represents an existential threat. And I think one of the reasons you see this massive reaction is because a lot of the legal victories on behalf of L.G.B.T. rights up to this point had very much hinged on the private life. So Obergefell and the right to marry, for example. As much as youre running into the issues of does a baker need to make a wedding cake or does a website need to make a website for a gay couple thats getting married, the foundational right to marry is about a right to privacy, as well as just equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment. And likewise, before that, in 2004, in Lawrence v. Texas, when the Supreme Court found that the state could not criminalize same sexual relations, that was very much also founded in this private life, in this private space. Its about making sure the government isnt looking in on what consenting adults are doing behind closed doors. In contrast, Bostock was very much about your public life. Now suddenly were in the workplace. Now suddenly somebody has the right to be trans in the workplace, around other people even, Ezra. And there is the logic that the opinion, which was written by conservative golden boy Justice Neil Gorsuch, the logic of his opinion, it doesnt take a whole lot of thinking to then apply it to all other laws, which prohibit sex discrimination, including Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, or Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in health care. So the right-wing legal movement walks away from this case with an enormous amount of egg on their face and I think a lot of outrage because they just walked away from four years of a Trump administration, where they didnt feel like any of their needs were being met, which is laughable as somebody who was working in trans advocacy at that time. And they are feeling cheated even by the Supreme Court itself. And its the legislative session right after that case  so the 2021 legislative session  where you really start to see the total number of these bills take off.

ezra klein

I want to get at something that you touched on there, which is that as part of what has changed in the politics of this, one, in a way that maybe progressives dont realize or admit. You mentioned the quiet revolution here in the Obama administration, where policy became much more equal in this area. You mentioned some very, very important cases that pushed forward non-discrimination. And some of the backlash actually was a response to the fact that the equilibrium on this was being pushed forward. It was being pushed towards justice. And that created a kind of opposite counter-reaction. And theres also the feeling that many people have  and I think is, to the extent we have data on it, seen as true  that we are seeing a rise, whether thats because more people are coming out as trans and they would have suppressed it and not told anybody at another point or because something is changing. But that we are seeing a rise in the number particularly of trans kids. And so the other way of thinking about the centrality of it in our politics is that its a response to, on the one hand, actual progressive victories on this point and, on the other hand, an actual change in on the ground reality of practically how many trans children were seeing. How do you think about those as explanations?

gillian branstetter

In your book, Why Were Polarized, available in stores now, you reflect on how polarization is not inherently a negative thing. That, in fact, polarization is a necessity when moving forward on important progressive issues. And in fact, over the course of American history when theres been consensus around an issue, its usually around an issue based on discrimination or an issue that we now look back on and are very glad that we had a controversy on and changed. And I think one way to think about the second term of the Obama administration and what has often been referred to as the trans tipping point  Laverne Cox  its a cliche and writing on this topic that within the first two paragraphs, you have to mention Laverne Cox on the cover of Time Magazine in 2014. And I think a good way to think about that is as the end of the consensus that was regarding trans rights as ludicrous and unnecessary. That there was a cultural and political consensus regarding trans life as unlivable, regarding trans bodies as unlovable, and regarding trans people as untrustworthy. And over the course of decades of advocacy, and public education campaigns, and meeting with lawmakers, building a degree of power, you begin to see that slowly creak open over the course of the early 2010s. And its one reason why if youre over 30, you were raised in a culture which saw our existence as, if not an avid threat, then as pathetic, in a culture which portrayed us as ultimately as sickly eunuchs or decadent perverts. And I know that because Im over 30. And I was raised to believe those things about myself. And transgender people are taught how to hate ourselves. I think that there is a lot of institutional memory that still exists within a lot of even nominally liberal institutions in American life that still try to tell that exact same story about trans lives as unlivable and still rely on a lot of the same tropes. And Im a New York Times subscriber and that gives me access to The New York Times archive. And one thing Ive been doing over the last few months is looking across the media coverage of an institution like The New York Times and finding the history of how the paper has regarded transgender people. And not just using the language of today of transgender and finding these early examples in the 1990s you can find and things like that, but using the old language of transvestite and transsexual. And what you find is not very pretty. And I dont think thats specific to The New York Times at all. I think a lot of institutions across American life, including mainstream political organizations, have that same history. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

I want to go back then also to something else that happened in this period that you kind of touched on right around North Carolina, which is the North Carolina bathroom bill was not the only bill and not the only kind of social justice question, but I do think it was one of the first that began to open a wedge that is still not at all closed between the Republican Party and particularly major parts of corporate America.

gillian branstetter

Yeah.

ezra klein

So I mean, were talking in a week where Governor DeSantis succeeded in taking away some special autonomous privileges that Disney had in Florida. I mean, Disney, which is one of the big namesake Florida employers.

gillian branstetter

Sure.

ezra klein

And that was over Disneys criticism response to what gets called the Dont Say Gay Bill, which, among other things, is very targeted, I think its fair to say, at trans people. And I think theres been a particular important dimension in our politics right here at this line where youve had the woke corporations fight around Black Lives Matter. But in an ongoing way, you really have it around these issues. And it does seem to me to be forcing a weird realignment in the Republican Party, where a party that was known very much as the big business party, now, at least in some cases  obviously not in every  and theres still plenty of deregulatory efforts and corporate tax cuts and all the rest of it swirling around the Republican agenda  but Ron DeSantis is going to run for president bragging about how he used the power of the state to punish a corporation 

gillian branstetter

Sure.

ezra klein

 for its speech. One, I think it goes to show how intense the commitment on this set of issues is in the Republican Party right now. But two, Id just be curious to hear you reflect on the way it is slightly altering some of the Republican Partys traditional alignments and forcing members within it to choose sides.

gillian branstetter

Sure. So the Dont Say Gay law, as its popularly known, the Parental Rights in Education Bill, prohibits discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade. Although, as were talking, a version was just introduced in the Florida House that would extend it up to the eighth grade. Its funny how that happens. And this has resulted in queer teachers feeling like they need to hide who they are at school. So the pulling down of just basic symbols of L.G.B.T. pride like the rainbow flag right down to the banning of books that mention queer people. So Heather Has Two Mommies or And Tango Makes Three, which is literally a book about gay penguins. And it very much is part and parcel with this goal of regarding queer identities as an ideology thats being forced onto people. I think the right recognizes that most people dont know a transgendered person in their daily life. The numbers I see usually float between a quarter to a third of people actually know somebody who is transgender. So when youre railing against transgender people every day from your bully pulpit or on Fox News or wherever else, they dont have an actual person to conceive of that youre talking about. All they have is the abstract or whatever cartoonish caricature youre painting for them. So that means that the realities of transgender life are being mediated through these institutions, which range from either hostile or indifferent to our existence. And I think one of the reasons that he begins to pick this fight with Disney is that it allows him to keep telling that story. So instead of the young queer kids hes demonizing or the parents who are now afraid their kid might mention that they have two moms and will get them in trouble or the teachers that youve read about who now feel like they have to leave the state altogether, instead of those real people who are being scared, now the story is Ron DeSantis takes on woke capital and Disney forcing its ideology on our children. And I think by picking that fight, DeSantis is selecting the frame for himself. And hes positioning himself as the David against this Goliath, when it is, in fact, he himself who is the empty-headed bully wandering around the playground and smashing kids face into the dirt.

ezra klein

One question I have about it is whether or not its getting worse and better at the same time, which is to say weve been talking about, particularly red states, where a lot of, I think, quite terrible legislation is being proposed and where the rhetoric has gotten very vicious. And I dont think that can be discounted. But there are also blue states that have been, I think, and some of them trying to move in the opposite direction. So are there places that are brighter to you? That at the same time were seeing not just backsliding, but actual literal demonization and scapegoating, are there places that are looking more like theres no bottom, that theres also you can look up towards  I dont want to say no top. Im not sure that metaphor works. But a different kind of future. Are there places that are more hopeful to you right now, that if youre just following the places things are getting worse, you might not see?

gillian branstetter

So you referenced that the number of openly trans people  and that word openly is important here  has been rising and particularly in younger generations. One, I think that matches the rise in L.G.B. identification over the decades. People are fond of citing this chart around left-handedness, and that once public schools stopped hitting children for writing with their left hand, suddenly there was a huge surge in left-handedness identification. I see a lot of encouragement in that because it means that more trans people feel safe, that they feel that they will, at the very least, find a community of people like them. When you talk with transgender people over a certain age, you hear a similar refrain, that I thought I was the only one. That they had no concept that there were other people in the world who felt like they did. And when you start to see this crack is really with the introduction of mass media and the peering curiosity in the transgender lives. And its one reason why over the course of the history of mass media, including the news media, there was this consistent demonization of transgender people, because it was very much telling closeted trans people, well, you cant come out because look how grim your future will be or we will make sure you are punished for rejecting your gender assignment. We will mock you. We will shame you. We will put you on reality TV and make you a laughingstock. Then, as the internet grows and social media grows, I know that theres a lot of anxiety that there are young people self-diagnosing themselves with gender dysphoria and rushing off and getting their breasts removed because they saw it on a TikTok video or whatever else, right? Thats not what I see when I see trans people gathering online. I see the breaking of geographic boundaries that used to separate us. That trans people are, of course, very naturally gravitating towards people who are like-minded, who have similar experiences, because, believe it or not, the world still doesnt greet transgender people with absolute joy. And its very hard to find people who share that experience, especially in a lot of rural areas across the country. And the internet has this interesting place in trans history as this ultimate gathering space where we can share experiences, share wisdom. Because one of the ways that trans life is deemed unlivable and impossible is we are all isolated from one another. And I think thats what really threatens a lot of folks is that suddenly trans life is looking a little possible. And the fact that the number of people who are willing to be openly trans is increasing is a really good sign for that reason, at least for my work.

ezra klein

I think thats a good place to begin to come to an end. So always our final question, what are three books youd recommend to the audience?

gillian branstetter

Sure. Anyone who knows me knows this is an exceedingly impossible question to answer. Im going to start with a book by Gregory Woods called Homintern. And it is a history of queer life and culture pre-Stonewall, from the trial of Oscar Wilde up to just really right before the sexual revolution. And it is this incredibly rich, entertaining, vibrant history of people making space for themselves when, as many people who grew up queer did, they thought they were the only one, including finding community before they even really had the language to describe queer identities. And its a fantastic history told through, I mean, love notes and cocktail napkins and police reports and gossip. And its very juicy in parts. And its just fascinating to think, how did the arrest of Oscar Wilde, one of the worlds most famous playwrights, change how the media and politics regarded gay people? What was Josephine Baker learning from the drag queens of Harlem and Washington? How did George Orwell reckon with his own homophobia? The second book is Caliban and the Witch, by Silvia Federici. Silvia Federici is a really seminal feminist thinker, was a major figure in the wages for housework movement. And Caliban and the Witch is about a pandemic followed by a labor shortage, followed by a revanchist movement to assign rigidly strict gender norms onto people that targets queer people and women especially. And the pandemic was the Black Death. And the movement to enforce these rigid strict gender norms were the witch hunts, this long period of time in Europe when women and queer people were hunted and killed because they did things like offer abortions or offer contraceptives or cross-dressed. And then third, Im going to recommend a little book called Can the Monster Speak? by Paul Preciado. Hes a transgender man. And this book Can the Monster Speak? is a lecture he gave in front of this esteemed group of psychoanalysts. And what hes asserting in this book is hes trying to illustrate and challenge all the ways in which transgender peoples voices are not taken seriously by the medical establishment, by the media, by the culture. That what we demand, that what we challenge in this world is so threatening to some of the foundational myths of this world, that we are told we must be confused or we are told to wait and pass a million tests and go through all these levels of gatekeeping, because who knows, we might regret it later. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

Gillian Branstetter, thank you very much.

gillian branstetter
For decades, male mice have been the default in scientific experiments that test new drugs or examine the connections of the brain. The reason? Female mice, which experience a four- to five-day cycle of fluctuating ovarian hormones, were thought to be too complicated. Accounting for the hormonal changes was viewed as too cumbersome and too expensive.

But the estrous cycle has little to do with how female mice behave, according to a new study that used machine-learning software to track the second-to-second behavior of animals exploring an open space. Male mice actually exhibited more erratic behavior than females did.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology on Tuesday, challenges century-old stereotypes that kept female animals out of laboratory research  and, until the 1990s, barred women from clinical trials.

The new research is tipping all of these assumptions about sex differences and the influence of hormones on their head, said Rebecca Shansky, a behavioral neuroscientist at Northeastern University and a co-author of the new study.
What time is it on the moon?

Since the dawn of the space age, the answer has been: It depends. For decades, lunar missions have operated on the time of the country that launched them. But with several lunar explorations heading for the launchpad, the European Space Agency has deemed the current system unsustainable.

The solution, the agency said last week, is a lunar time zone.

ESA is not taking the lead on this discussion, were just putting a finger on a problem we need to tackle, said Brice Dellandrea, an engineer with the ESA. But this is the kind of topic that needs international coordination and consensus.

The main objective of establishing a universal timekeeping system for the moon, the ESA said, is to streamline contact among the various countries and entities, public and private, that are coordinating trips to and around the moon.

The discussion about how to do that is happening as things are starting to get busy on and above the lunar surface.
Kennedys The Ohio State Murders (1991), which made its belated Broadway debut last December, closed early, on Jan. 15, after just 44 performances. In a video posted to Instagram, the plays star, six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, paid tribute to Kennedy. More of her work deserves to be produced commercially, the actor said, and hopefully this will be the beginning of more and more awareness about  how incredible and poetic and profound and raw and revolutionary her work is. Kennedys career spans seven decades, beginning with Funnyhouse of the Negro in 1964. Her style is often described as surrealist  a central quality, but only a part of her varied aesthetic. Among the most striking of her early plays is An Evening with Dead Essex, first performed in 1973 at the American Place Theatre in New York. The play joins documentary with imagination: It concerns the factual account of a Black Vietnam vet named Mark Essex who returns from war and commits a mass shooting, killing nine and injuring more before being shot by police. The play takes place in a film production studio, with Kennedy insisting that actors use their real names and the director should get the actors to play themselves. The action consists of the actors and filmmakers, all but one of whom are Black, reconstruing Essexs life so as to make some sense of the violence of his death  and of the violence that surrounds us all.
In the past few years, Oklahoma, long a solid bastion of conservatism, has quietly undergone a street-level transformation when it comes to marijuana. Dispensaries dot the landscape, with more than 400 in Oklahoma City alone.

And thats just for medical marijuana.

On Tuesday, voters across Oklahoma opted against going further, according to The Associated Press, rejecting a ballot initiative that would have legalized recreational marijuana use by adults 21 and over.

With the vote, Oklahoma joined a number of conservative states whose voters have recently decided against recreational marijuana legalization. Though Missouri approved a state constitutional amendment to allow for recreational marijuana in November, voters in other conservative states, including Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota, rejected similar proposals.

The vote on Tuesday was a setback for marijuana legalization proponents in Oklahoma who had anticipated that laissez-faire economic attitudes and growing support among younger Republicans would provide a pathway for the state to join a diverse assortment of 21 states and the District of Columbia in adopting legal recreational marijuana, from Alaska and the Mountain West to the coasts and parts of the Midwest.
Ben Savage, the former child actor who was the star of the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World in the 1990s, said on Monday that he was running to represent a Los Angeles-area district in Congress.

Im running for Congress because its time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our countrys most pressing issues, Mr. Savage, 42, said in a statement on Instagram.

Its time for new and passionate leaders who can help move the country forward, he said. Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests.
WASHINGTON  President Biden will host President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea for a state visit in April, an invitation that signals the countrys importance in the administrations efforts to counter threats posed by North Koreas nuclear program and Chinas rise.

Mr. Yoon, who is scheduled to travel to Washington on April 26 with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, is only the second leader Mr. Biden has invited for a state visit, which comes complete with the regalia of a state dinner. The first state visit of the Biden administration was with President Emmanuel Macron of France, a trip that reaffirmed Americas oldest alliance.

For all of the tools at an American presidents disposal, a state visit  which usually consists of a daylong diplomatic obstacle course followed by a lavish dinner  allows the White House to celebrate ties with its closest allies using pageantry and tradition.

The fact that Mr. Yoon received the second invitation of the Biden presidency speaks to the degree of cooperation Mr. Biden expects on issues involving North Korea and China. The president traveled to Seoul shortly after Mr. Yoons inauguration last year in a visit that the White House said was meant to assure Mr. Yoon that the United States was committed to countering North Korean military threats.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. economy could quickly shed a million jobs and fall into recession if lawmakers fail to raise the nations borrowing limit before the federal government exhausts its ability to pay its bills on time, the chief economist of Moodys Analytics, Mark Zandi, warned a Senate panel on Tuesday.

The damage could spiral to seven million jobs lost and a 2008-style financial crisis in the event of a prolonged breach of the debt limit, in which House Republicans refuse for months to join Democrats in voting to raise the cap, Mr. Zandi and his colleagues Cristian deRitis and Bernard Yaros wrote in an analysis prepared for the Senate Banking Committees Subcommittee on Economic Policy.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, held the subcommittee hearing on the debt limit, and its economic and financial consequences, at a moment of fiscal brinkmanship. House Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts from President Biden in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit, which caps how much money the government can borrow.

That debate is likely to escalate when Mr. Biden releases his latest budget proposal on Thursday. The president is expected to propose reducing Americas reliance on borrowed money by raising taxes on high earners and corporations. But he almost certainly will not match the level of spending cuts that will satisfy Republican demands to balance the budget in a decade.
OKMULGEE, Okla.  Representative Josh Brecheen, a first-term Republican, begins each town hall meeting in his sprawling district here in eastern Oklahoma the same way: with a blistering, roughly half-hour broadside about the crisis posed by the nations debt and the lengths to which he is prepared to go to force deep spending cuts.

For the last 40 years, we inherited prosperity from our parents and our grandparents, and we are borrowing  and I would say stealing  prosperity from our kids and our grandkids, Mr. Brecheen told Oklahomans crowded into a local colleges student center on a recent Monday morning.

But, he argued, the coming debt-limit negotiations with the Biden administration would be a chance to right those decades of wrongs.

A debt ceiling can be very useful; do not discount our leverage, Mr. Brecheen said. Its going to be uncomfortable. But again, if we dont turn the trajectory of this nation, we are going to leave our kids and our grandkids nothing but dependency and debt.
Ukrainian government and military intelligence officials say they had no role in the attack and do not know who carried it out. After this article was published, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Mr. Zelensky, posted on Twitter that Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap. He added that he had no information about pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups.

U.S. officials said there was much they did not know about the perpetrators and their affiliations. The review of newly collected intelligence suggests they were opponents of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation.

U.S. officials declined to disclose the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained or any details of the strength of the evidence it contains. They have said that there are no firm conclusions about it, leaving open the possibility that the operation might have been conducted off the books by a proxy force with connections to the Ukrainian government or its security services.

Some initial U.S. and European speculation centered on possible Russian culpability, especially given its prowess in undersea operations, though it is unclear what motivation the Kremlin would have in sabotaging the pipelines given that they have been an important source of revenue and a means for Moscow to exert influence over Europe. One estimate put the cost of repairing the pipelines starting at about $500 million. U.S. officials say they have not found any evidence of involvement by the Russian government in the attack.

Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. U.S. officials said no American or British nationals were involved.
North Carolina selects its justices in partisan elections. The court that issued last years decision included four Democratic justices and three Republican ones, and it split along party lines.

The Republican lawmakers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the state court was not entitled to second-guess the Legislature, citing a clause of the federal Constitution that says, The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.

The lawmakers argued that the reference to the legislature meant the state court had no role to play, at least when it applied state law. This idea is called the independent state legislature theory.

When the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in December, the justices seemed divided, if not fractured, over the theory in its strongest form.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked a telling question: Do you think that it furthers democracy to transfer the political controversy about districting from the legislature to elected supreme courts where the candidates are permitted by state law to campaign on the issue of districting?
Donald J. Trump has for decades trafficked in the language of vengeance, from his days as a New York developer vowing an eye for an eye in the real estate business to ticking through an enemies ledger in 2022 as he sought to oust every last Republican who voted for his impeachment. Four down and six to go, he cheered in a statement as one went down to defeat.

But even though payback has long been part of his public persona, Mr. Trumps speech on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference was striking for how explicitly he signaled that any return trip to the White House would amount to a term of spite.

In 2016, I declared, I am your voice, Mr. Trump told the crowd in National Harbor, Md. Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.

He repeated the phrase for emphasis: I am your retribution.

Framing the 2024 election as a dire moment in an us-versus-them struggle  the final battle, as he put it  Mr. Trump charged forward in an uncharted direction for American politics, talking openly about leveraging the power of the presidency for political reprisals.
This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more.

One of Almaz Negashs most vivid memories was of her parents planning for the marriage of one of her four older sisters. She was 12 or 13 at the time and recalled her mother trying to pull together the bride-to-bes dowry, which was the tradition in the 1970s, in the northeast African nation of Eritrea.

My mother had to figure out what we could give, because she had five daughters, and you cant give more for one daughter than the other, Ms. Negash said in a video interview. It became a defining moment for her, and the start of a life spent defying expectations about women, especially African women.

I told my mother, you will never give money for me, she said. The man who marries me will give you money.

It has been a long journey from Eritrea to Sunnyvale, Calif., where Ms. Negash, 59, now makes her home. Today she is the founder and executive director of the Silicon Valley-based African Diaspora Network (A.D.N.), a nonprofit with a mission to facilitate collaboration between Africans of the diaspora, supporters of Africa, social entrepreneurs and business leaders.
MEXICO CITY  Zalayna Grant last spoke to her brother on Thursday, when he told her he was driving to Mexico with a group of friends  one of them was planning to get a tummy tuck there.

Her brother, 28-year-old Zindell Brown, was laughing, Ms. Grant said, and she could hear his three friends in the car, having a good time.

They werent nervous, Ms. Grant, 34, said in an interview.

But by Tuesday, the Mexican authorities confirmed that her brother was dead, one of the two Americans in the group who were killed after gunmen attacked their car hours after they had crossed into the dangerous border town of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state last week.

The two others in the group survived  one suffered a gunshot wound in his leg. They were found along with the bodies of the dead in a house outside the city, where they were being held, the authorities said.
MEXICO CITY  Mexicos armed forces spied on a human rights defender and journalists who were investigating allegations that soldiers had gunned down innocent people, documents show, providing clear evidence of the militarys illegal use of surveillance tools against civilians.

The government has been embroiled in scandal for years over the use of sophisticated spyware against a wide range of people who stand up to Mexicos leaders. But surveillance experts say this is the first time a paper trail has emerged to prove definitively that the Mexican military spied on citizens who were trying to expose its misdeeds.

Documents and interviews show how the spying that tarnished the previous government has continued under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who vowed that his administration would not engage in such surveillance, which he called illegal and immoral.

Mexicos armed forces are not authorized to spy on civilians, legal experts say, but the military has long wielded spying technology and has grown ever more powerful under Mr. Lopez Obrador.
Can you talk about the design of the GYAAN Center?

I wanted to create a space where girls felt safe, comfortable and embraced.

Sustainability was key. We worked entirely with local craftspeople  often the fathers of the girls  to build the school using hand-carved local sandstone, a climate-resilient material thats long been used for buildings in the area. Traditional architectural details and building techniques were combined with Indigenous heritage details so that the structure felt authentic to the region.

Sustainable design elements include recycled ceramic tile for the roof, lime plaster for the classroom interiors and 95 percent local materials. We also built a solar panel canopy on the roof, which serves multiple purposes: providing all the electricity, creating shade over the courtyard, and serving as a play structure for the girls. I also used local ancient water harvesting techniques to maximize the rainwater and recycled gray water in the school.

Another sustainability effort comes from methods we used to cool the school, in place of air-conditioning. Because temperatures peak close to 120 degrees in the region, we knew that we had to keep the interiors cooler, and utilized both the solar canopy and jallis wall to help create shade and a cooling panel of airflow. Elevated windows also help allow hot air to escape once it rises.

How were the girls who attend the school chosen?

Enrollment in the school was open to all families who live below the poverty line in the Thar Desert region. At this time, around 120 girls are enrolled. Citta conducted community outreach to appeal to families in neighboring communities to enroll their girls, and invited them to visit the school.

Can you talk about the roadblocks you are encountering in working on a nonprofit architectural project in India? Are there factors specific to the country that have made construction or anything else particularly difficult?
The Rohingya Muslims living in Camp 11 at Balukhali, just outside Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, were already some of the most dispossessed people on earth.

Burned out of their villages by Myanmars army, in what the United States has called a campaign of genocide, they and many other Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. There, more than a million live in overcrowded refugee camps so miserable that many have taken to the sea in makeshift boats, with hundreds lost, and presumed drowned, in the treacherous Bay of Bengal.

This week, for thousands of Camp 11 residents, the misery deepened. About 2,000 makeshift settlements  mostly assembled from bamboo and blue plastic tarpaulins  were destroyed in a fire that tore through the camp on Sunday night, leaving 12,000 refugees scrambling for shelter.
As he heads into an expected third term as president, Chinas top leader, Xi Jinping, is signaling that he will take a harder stance against what he perceives as an effort by the United States to block Chinas rise. And hes doing so in uncommonly blunt terms.

Mr. Xi has hailed Chinas success as proof that modernization does not equal Westernization. He has urged China to strive to develop advanced technologies to reduce its reliance on Western know-how. Then on Monday, he made clear what he regarded as an important threat to Chinas growth: the United States.

Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-around containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our countrys development, Mr. Xi said in a speech, according to Chinas official news agency.

In an indication that Mr. Xis forthright approach signaled a broader shift in Beijings rhetoric, Chinas new foreign minister on Tuesday reinforced Mr. Xis message about containment.
BANGKOK  Duong Tuong, a prolific translator who for more than half a century introduced a wide range of Western literature to Vietnamese readers, died on Feb. 24 in Hanoi, Vietnam. He was 90.

His daughter, Tran Phuong Mai, confirmed the death, from respiratory infections, at a military hospital.

A poet who turned to translation to support his family, Mr. Tuong translated more than 50 books, large and small, from English and French, as well as performing secondary translations from Russian, German and several other languages.

He brought the magic of the worlds most famous books to Vietnamese readers, said the writer and journalist Ngo Thi Kim Cuc.
On Tuesday, workers walked out of schools, refineries, power plants, airports and transportation systems in the biggest mobilization yet, trying to all but turn out the lights in the country in protest.

The governments plan has struck a deep and sensitive nerve in a society that cherishes retirement and reveres a generous balance between work and leisure perhaps more than any other Western industrial country.

Frances attachment to retirement is complex, touching on its history, identity and pride in social and labor rights that have been hard won. They will not be easily forfeited, no matter how many times the government argues that changing the pension system is imperative to save it, given the demographic realities confronting the country.

When it was introduced by the National Resistance Council after World War II, the retirement system  along with national health care  was part of a series of celebrated social measures intended to help bind the fractured country together.
Chinese economy one of engines boosting global economy, expert says

Xinhua) 18:01, March 07, 2023

HAVANA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese economy is one of the engines of the global economy, and China's 3 percent GDP increase in 2022 is important to the world economy, a Cuban scholar has said.

China's economic growth demands a considerable amount of raw materials and products, which will boost the world economy's growth, Eduardo Regalado, a researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Global institutions have heightened their projections for China's economic revival. In January, the International Monetary Fund increased its estimate for China's economic growth this year to 5.2 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from last October.

"The whole world is waiting for the moment China's economic rate accelerates at its normal pace once the impact of the pandemic has been overcome and global value chains articulated again," he said, adding that China is one of the main economic partners of Latin American countries that rely on exports the most.

"Many of these countries are very dependent on exports to China. That is why the Chinese economy's performance is strategic," the scholar said.

As for Cuba, Regalado said, China is one of the fundamental economic partners of the Caribbean nation, which has contributed to strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
This article is part of our Women and Leadership special report that profiles women leading the way on climate, politics, business and more.

In Russia, where men far outnumber women in political clout, defiant females might seem to stand little chance of making themselves heard.

But dont tell that to Galina Timchenko, a prominent Russian journalist, chief executive of the alternative news site Meduza and recipient of the 2022 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ms. Timchenko has spent more than 20 years battling attacks on free speech by President Vladimir V. Putin and his Kremlin allies.

Like many activists worldwide, Ms. Timchenko and her colleagues at Meduza are growing ever more adept at combining new technology and old-fashioned shoe leather to report on their country without censorship.

In 2021, when the authorities labeled us foreign agent, we understood thats just the beginning of a major attack, and started preparing for the worst, Ms. Timchenko said in a video conversation.
The British government on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would give the Home Office a duty to remove nearly all asylum seekers who arrive on small boats across the English Channel, part of a package of measures that has been denounced by international rights organizations and refugee advocacy groups.

The law is the latest in a series of moves by the Conservative government to dissuade people from coming to Britain by boat, even as the majority are asylum seekers fleeing war and persecution. Last April, the government announced a plan, that is being challenged in court, to send them to Rwanda.

Suella Braverman, the home secretary, whose government office is responsible for the proposal and who announced the measures in Parliament, said that the legislation would make good on an earlier promise by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to restrict the boat crossings.

The legislation would allow for the swift detention and deportation of anyone arriving in Britain by illegal means, according to a government synopsis. Mr. Sunak said during a news conference on Tuesday evening, that while the proposed law is tough, it is necessary and it is fair.
Ukrainian authorities say the condition of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine has deteriorated significantly in the year since Russian forces occupied it, and Moscows aim may be to make it unusable by the time it is eventually returned to Ukraine.

Russian soldiers have recently set up machine guns on the grounds of the plant, placed military equipment in engine rooms, covered windows with sandbags and even carried out indoor welding work that has set off fire alarms, Ukraines state nuclear company, Energoatom, said on Tuesday in a post on the Telegram social messaging app.

Those actions come on top of damage from shelling last summer, including to an area where spent nuclear fuel is stored; disruptions to the plants management in power struggles with Russian occupiers; and the shutdown of the complexs six reactors.

There is a feeling that one of the occupiers goals is to leave the Z.N.P.P. in an inoperable condition after its liberation, Ukraines energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said on Ukrainian television last week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is insisting that Ukrainian forces will not withdraw from Bakhmut, despite indications just days ago that a retreat was imminent.

Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address that he had met with Ukraines top generals for more than an hour on Monday to discuss the situation in Bakhmut and that their directive was clear: Do not withdraw. Instead, Reinforce.

Ukraines most senior military commander, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and the commander of Ukraines ground forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, delivered this message to Mr. Zelensky. Their recommendation  to stay and fight  was unanimously backed by the staff, Mr. Zelensky said.

There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned, Mr. Zelensky added. There is no Ukrainian trench in which the resilience and heroism of our warriors would be disregarded.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Tuesday to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the country, less than two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the American-led invasion that transformed the Middle Eastern nation.

After meetings with Iraqs prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and his top military and counterterrorism team, Mr. Austin assured Iraqi leaders that the United States would press on with the mission of advising and training the countrys armed forces.

U.S. forces are ready to remain in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq, he said after meeting Iraqi leaders.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq ousted the longstanding dictator Saddam Hussein and led to a brutal insurgency against U.S. forces and their Iraqi allies. It set off sectarian warfare and spurred the growth of Al Qaeda in Iraq, later paving the way for the rise of the Islamic State as well.
While the mediation remains far from success, its existence, nevertheless, adds nuance to an otherwise toxic and emotional national discourse that many fear could devolve into political violence or even civil war.

The governments supporters and opponents have accused each other of attempting a coup, amid fears on both sides that the future of Israels democracy is at stake. Critics of the government argue that the removal of judicial oversight over Parliament would pave the way for authoritarian rule by a majority that would run roughshod over the rights of minorities. The governments supporters contend that Israel cannot be a true democracy without giving elected lawmakers primacy over unelected judges.

In public, both the government and the opposition have appeared largely intransigent. The government has pressed on with its proposals in Parliament, driving them quickly through parliamentary committees ahead of a binding vote in the coming weeks. Opposition leaders, including Yair Lapid, the centrist former prime minister, said on Monday that they would not negotiate for a compromise until the government enacted a complete and genuine halt of the legislative process.

But behind closed doors, discussions have been more constructive, if emotional, said Mr. Stern, the head of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group in Jerusalem.

He said he and nine other leading law professors had met privately and extensively with Mr. Rothman, the government lawmaker who is driving the overhauls passage through Parliament, and, to a lesser extent, with Mr. Levin, the justice minister. Other groups have also worked on separate proposals.

On the professional level, I can tell you, its solvable, Mr. Stern said.

But the emotional level is, obviously, the most important one, he added. The feeling that, Im saving the country, and Im the only one who can save the country  you hear this in the room. And it is not easy to negotiate on a professional level when you talk to people who are charged emotionally.
A raid by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin aimed at arresting a suspect in the fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers last month spiraled into violence that left six Palestinians dead on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The suspect, Abd al-Fattah Kharousha, 49, was listed as among the dead by Palestinian health officials.

An Israeli military spokesman, speaking on the condition of anonymity in line with army rules, described Mr. Kharousha as an operative of the Islamist militant group Hamas. Hamas confirmed that he had been a member of its military wing, and Palestinian media reported that he had spent nine years in Israeli prisons and was released in December 2022.

The brothers, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, both in their early 20s, were killed on Feb. 26 as they drove through the Palestinian village of Huwara in the northern West Bank.
Russian forces are on the move again, attacking trenches and ruined towns under the hail of artillery shells, a full year after they swept across Ukraines borders en masse.

Many Russian troops were drafted only months ago and now fight alongside private military contractors and former convicts. They have bolstered an invasion that has left tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers dead even as Ukrainian forces have stymied attacks again and again through the first year of fighting.

After a scramble to defend itself last spring, Ukraine drove Russia from the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv. The summer brought vicious artillery fighting in the east, with Russia gaining ground only at a grievous toll. Then, in the fall, Ukraine struck back in two regions at once, clawing back land in Kherson in its south and sweeping across thousands of miles in Kharkiv in its northeast.

Now, after a winter of lengthy battles in the east, Ukraine is looking to counterattack with new weapons from international supporters.
When we first thought about convening a focus group of Jewish Americans, antisemitism was very much at the center of the national conversation. Kanye Wests incendiary comments about Jews had caused a media firestorm, and Donald Trumps dinner with Ye and a prominent antisemite, Nick Fuentes, did not exactly tamp it down. We wanted to understand how antisemitism was affecting American Jews whose daily lives did not necessarily intersect with these high-profile incidents. How did they experience antisemitism in their lives, if at all? And what did it mean to them to be Jewish in America today?

We spoke with 13 Jewish Americans of different ages and political affiliations from across the country to learn how they connect to being Jewish, what they are scared of, what they are optimistic about and what they hope generations of American Jews will carry forward.

Many of the people we spoke to expressed fear about rising antisemitism, going so far as to hide their Jewish identities in certain circumstances. Several blamed Mr. Trump for the increase, though most pointed to the climate he created rather than animosity toward Jews on his part. The 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh loomed large, with some participants saying it caused them to behave differently in synagogue ever since, checking the doors for intruders. Others, though, felt that America was more accepting of Jews than ever and that their ancestors would be amazed. I think they would be completely shocked by how successful we are, said Joel, a 59-year-old in the group.

We held this focus group last month, before the most recent uptick of violence in Israel and the occupied territories and before the protests against Benjamin Netanyahus government swelled to include hundreds of thousands of Israelis across the country. When we asked the group about Israel, few had specific thoughts on Israeli politics or policy. Almost all of the participants, however, expressed great pride in the country. Many expressed a similar feeling of pride in and connection to being Jewish, even if they didnt practice the religious traditions, using words like light, love and belonging to explain what being Jewish means to them.
James Doran

James Doran, who did an eight-year stint as Wall Street bureau chief for The Times of London, has joined Sitrick And Companys New York office.

He also worked at The Financial Times, Bloomberg and The National.

Most recently, Doran was senior strategic communications advisor for the Family Office of Lex Greensill and global head of PR and media for Greensill Capital.

Earlier, he was head of content and thought leadership for the Government of Dubai Commodities Authority and senior communications advisor for the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

Mike Sitrick said Doran brings extensive knowledge and experience across the communications spectrum to the firm and its clients.

Though based in New York, Doran will be contributing to our clients needs on a global basis, he added.


Pacific Surfliner Needs PR Engineer Mon., Apr. 10, 2023 The Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency wants a digital marketing firm to promote visibility and recover ridership that the Pacific Surfliner brand lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has budgeted $200K for the one-year effort.
THIS August, Tiernan Bassett from Tullamore will hike up the highest mountain in southern Africa, Kilimanjaro to help raise funds supporting research into meningitis and septicaemia.

Tiernan was shocked at the number of people who die from Meningitis with over 250,000 deaths reported in 2019. Half of these deaths were children under five years of age.

His fundraising efforts were boosted this week by the Sacred Heart School when principal Pauline McKenna presented Tiernan with a donation from the school of 400.

Pauline said "We are delighted to support such a great cause and we wish Tiernan well"

Tiernan is a first year student of Computer Science in Trinity College Dublin and son of Tullamore's late local woman Lisa Bassett.

Tiernan's grandparents Margaret and Tommy Bassett are super proud of Tiernan. Margaret urges people to get behind Tiernan and this great cause.

" I admire Tiernan's passion and determination and I wish him the very best".

Please link to Tiernan's Go Fund Me Page to donate.
An elderly female doctor in the Midlands has been given a one year jail sentence for damaging her neighbours property.

Dr Annette Brennnan, 74, with an address at Graigueaverne House, Graigueaverne, Ballybrittas cut down 26 fence posts with a chainsaw at Lake Road, Ballybrittas on February 18, 2021.

She was convicted of a second count of causing criminal damage to the foundations of a property with a pick axe at Lake Road in Ballybrittas on March 7, 2021.

At a sitting of Portlaoise District Court, Judge Andrew Cody asked if the defendant had brought any compensation and whether she would allow the ESB onto her property to connect a couple who had purchased land from her.

Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client didnt have any compensation for the court.

The neighbour confirmed the ESB had called out to his property but the defendant wouldnt allow them access.

Judge Cody said the couple are unable to move into their home because they havent been connected by the ESB.

Judge Cody said when the case was heard he observed the defendant mumbling something in court. When he later asked gardai what she had said they informed him the defendant had said, you can go stuff yourself.

Clearly again today she is telling the court, you can go stuff yourself, said Judge Cody.

Judge Cody then remanded the defendant in custody for a week to think about her difficult and truculent attitude.

He said he planned to give her six months for each of the criminal damage charges to run consecutive to one another, meaning a one year sentence in total when the case returned the next week.

However, Ms Fitzpatrick expressed her belief that the defendants attitude wouldnt change. She urged the Judge to finalise the case. Judge Cody agreed to finalise the case.

Ms Fitzpatrick said her client had no previous convictions. She suggested a probation report for the woman who she said has an otherwise exemplary record and was due to attend medical appointments for some health issues. She reminded the Judge of the damage to the fence and said proportionality must be considered.

Judge Cody said the woman was putting her own health at jeopardy. He said if she wanted to be belligerent and difficult, he could be equally belligerent and difficult. Judge Cody said the woman sold the site to the couple and was now refusing to allow the ESB connect their new home.

We are simply dealing with the criminal damage, Ms Fitzpatrick said.

She cut down a fence with a chainsaw, said Judge Cody.

She was 100 percent wrong to do what she did, he added.

Judge Cody said an engineer was hired to inspect the fencing and found that the defendant was in the wrong.

He said the woman also came out with a pick axe and hacked at the foundations of their property. As next door neighbours, Judge Cody said he would like to see them live in peace.

Judge Cody said he had given the defendant an opportunity to reflect on her actions.

This young couple cant move into their home because the pole for the ESB is on her land, he said.

He said the defendant was refusing to accept the findings of the court. He said the couple had paid her tens of thousands of euro for the land.

She is not prepared to facilitate in any way these people she has terrorised, he remarked.

Judge Cody sentenced the woman to six months on each charge to run consecutively. He fixed recognisance in case of appeal at 2,000 with 1,000 to be lodged in cash.

Ms Fitzpatrick said her client was in receipt of 174 allowance a week.

She must have some of the 100,000 she got for the site left over, said Judge Cody as he refused to change the conditions.

Shortly after the defendant went into custody, Ms Fitzpatrick lodged papers for an appeal of the sentence.
Ireland is set to be hit by a blast of Arctic weather with temperatures set to drop below freezing on Monday night and remain low for a number of days.

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow Ice Warning for Ireland and is also warning of sleet or snow flurries overnight.

Meanwhile the UK Met Office has issued a Status Yellow Snow and Ice Warning for Northern Ireland.

You can track the latest forecast for the snow live on the windy.com weather tracker below. Simply press the play button for the forecasted snowfall.

Read more on the forecast below the tracker

In its forecast for tonight, Met Eireann says that outbreaks of rain, sleet with possibly some snow over the southern half of the country tonight will gradually clear all but the southwest by morning. Long clear spells will develop further north with scattered showers of sleet and snow in Ulster. Very cold overnight with lowest temperatures of -3 to 0 degrees with a widespread sharp frost and some icy stretches developing.

According to Met Eireann, there will be a frosty start on Tuesday morning with icy stretches. Falls of rain, sleet and snow in the southwest will clear away early in the morning to leave a cold, mostly sunny and dry day though cloud may linger in parts of the south and southwest. Wintry showers will affect north facing coastal areas. Highest temperatures of just 3 to 6 degrees. Light to moderate northerly winds will veer easterly in the afternoon and freshen in the southwest.

Tuesday night is set to be another icy cold night with a widespread sharp or severe frost as temperatures fall to between -5 and 0 degrees. Mostly dry and clear over the northern half of the country, with wintry falls of rain sleet or snow in parts of the south.

According to Met Eireann, there will be a very cold frosty start on Wednesday with icy stretches, but with a good deal of dry bright sunshine about too. Many areas will stay dry for the day in moderate east to southeast winds, though outbreaks of rain or sleet may continue over the southern half of the country. Highest temperatures will again range just 3 to 6 degrees.

Widespread wintry outbreaks may continue to feed up from the southwest through the night on Wednesday. Very cold in parts with lowest temperatures of -4 to + 0 degrees with light to moderate northeasterly breezes.
Should Ukraine withdraw from Bakhmut, Putin will laud this as a Russian victory. But the reality is that his battered troops have captured only rubble.
Police are searching for two men after a service station worker was threatened during an armed robbery in Melbourne's north-west.
Rumble 11 Mar 2023

Two of the four U.S. citizens who were seized in a violent kidnapping in Mexico last week have been found dead and two others were..
A private bank is trying to force the Biden administration to end its pause on federal student loan payments, arguing that the moratorium has no legal basis and has cost the bank millions of dollars in profits. SoFi Bank N.A. on Friday asked a federal judge to overturn President Joe Bidens latest payment pause. Student loan payments first were halted at the start of the pandemic by President Donald Trumps administration. The pause has been extended eight times over three years. The bank says its federal student loan refinancing business has suffered because borrowers have no incentive to refinance while payments and interest remain on hold.
President Joe Biden will reveal his budget and outline his strategy in an address in Philadelphia on Thursday, per the White House.
Two Americans who were kidnapped along the Mexico border near Texas last week are dead ... this according to state officials. Americo Villarreal -- the governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which encompasses the border city of Matamoros,
Eurasia Review 30 Mar 2023

Spain remains a strong and dependable member of the EU and NATO and fully committed to the defence of Ukraine against Russian..
Ukrainian generals have stressed withdrawing from Bakhmut was not yet on the table. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of shooting a "prisoner of war" on camera. DW has rounded up the latest.
euronews (in English) 08 Mar 2023

As the only supplier of lithium in the northern hemisphere, Canada is key for the EU's energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Germany's defense minister said permanently deploying German troops on the NATO eastern flank is an issue to be decided by the alliance, not by Berlin.
The three parties in Germany's coalition government don't see eye to eye on several key policy issues, including the "Basic Child Security" plan to combat child poverty. What does it entail?
North Korea criticized the joint US-South Korean drills, for which the United States deployed a B-52. The long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Wibbitz Top Stories 07 Mar 2023

China Warns of Conflict , if US Fails to Change Course.

NBC reports that China has warned that relations with the United..
A Moscow court has sentenced Dmitry Ivanov, the founder of an anti-war Telegram channel, to more than eight years in prison. The former student was found guilty of posting details of Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
Two out of four Americans who went missing after being violently kidnapped in the Mexican northern border state of Tamaulipas have been found dead.
Two of four Americans abducted in Mexico last week when their van was caught in a shootout were found dead, a top Mexican official said Tuesday. The two others have been found alive, with one wounded.
An anti-Kremlin activist jailed for social media posts criticising the invasion of Ukraine has told Sky News that "Russia is not Putin".
 2008-2023 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
euronews (in English) 07 Mar 2023

A new refund scheme will cover all 19,618 tickets allocated to Liverpool FC for the clash against Real Madrid in May 2022.
King Charles was greeted by boos and shouts of "not my King" when he visited Colchester.
As a result of ongoing Russian aggression, rumors have circulated that Ukrainian armed forces are planning to retreat from the city of Bakhmut.
Ukraine is withdrawing from the city of Bakhmut, which has become a symbolic prize in the war. Kyiv says the fighting is becoming increasingly difficult and analysts say its forces may have initiated a strategic retreat. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with top commanders Monday and his office said they favoured "continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.
Newsy 11 Mar 2023

ViewTwo sisters from Texas and a friend are missing in Mexico after they crossed the border last month to sell clothes at a flea..
Rumble 22 Feb 2023

We know that China ran a sophisticated operation in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian elections to influence the results. In the most..
The US seeing China as a primary rival is like putting the first button in the shirt wrong, Beijing says.
Two U.S. citizens missing since their violent abduction last week in the northern Mexican border city of Matamoros have been found dead and two others are alive, the states governor said Tuesday.
Upworthy 07 Mar 2023

Four U.S. citizens were assaulted and kidnapped by armed gunmen in northeastern Mexico, and two of them have been killed, officials..
Brussels, Belgium (PANA)  The European Council on Tuesday adopted an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility (EPF) to strengthen military capacities of the Niger Armed Forces to defend the countrys territorial integrity and sovereignty and to better protect the civilian population against the mounting terrorist threat
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - In a step seen as further march in the implementation of the political agreement signed between Sudanese political stakeholders, the United Nations, African Union (UNITAMS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), say they have agreed with politicians and civil society organisations to launch stakeholder-led dialogues on the pillars of the agreement on Saturday
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Najla al-Mangouch, has discussed the role of the ministry in coordinating and supporting the efforts of the Presidential Council and the African Union (AU) High Level Committee on Libya for a successful national reconciliation project
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Rodnae Production)

Damaged asbestos was discovered at a school building in Philadelphia, forcing students and staff to temporarily relocate to a school with an address known to be one of the city's gun violence epicenters.

During a routine inspection at Building 21, the West Oak Lane High School located at Limekiln Pike, damaged asbestos was discovered, prompting a temporary closure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

School district officials informed parents and students that a school relocation would be done since Building 21 requires extensive repair. Staff and students were then ordered to momentarily move to Strawberry Mansion High, located at 31st Street and Ridge Avenue, tagged as one of Philadelphia's many gun violence epicenters.

The relocation was supposed to start yesterday. However, out of the 366 students, there were only 22 who boarded one of the SEPTA shuttle buses made available for students' transit to Mansion; six students made their own way to the temporary school, while 126 confirmed that they stayed home and did school work online.

'Dumbest decision'

Philadelphia school district administration struggled to convince parents about the relocation. They were called out for not consulting the parents before they made the final decision.

CBS News Philadelphia stated they couldn't find a single parent supporting the relocation plan.

More than 200 parents and students made their way into a fourth-floor classroom in Strawberry Mansion High on Sunday afternoon. They were invited to be there to have a tour of the temporary classroom and school that the students will use for an "indefinite time of stay." However, the tour turned into a protest, sending one message - NO.

Most of the parents' concern was of their children becoming possible targets and victims of violence at Mansion. They cannot help but insist that the school district should have thought about how the school is exposed to "neighborhood rivalries" and a popular area for crime.

Parent Sheila Johnson added that the district should offer better options for the students and cannot fathom how they can "dare try to send our kids there?"

"We have a blended family of 9 kids. We now have 8, you know, due to gun violence, unfortunately. My son cannot come here. He will not come here. It's the dumbest decision they could make," Melvinia Hall, a parent of a Building 21 student who lost one of her kids due to gun violence, declared.

Another parent, Sheba Grant, a trauma nurse, narrated how she gets to see Black bodies with gunshot wounds each time she goes to work and fears that the next thing she will see is her son's body.

Read More: Parents Say New School Logo Resembles a Nazi Symbol; Atlanta School District Issues Apology

Virtual learning not possible

According to 6ABC, the school district explained that the choice led to Strawberry Mansion High because it has an unused classroom space in a separate school building area. The room is enough to keep the Building 21 students together.

The majority of the parents were in support of virtual learning. However, the school district said switching to E-learning is not possible due to a state limit on the allowed number of virtual days in a school year. However, they are working with the Pennsylvania Department of Education to see whether the agency can grant them an exception.

When asked about the possibility of sending the students to a school nearer Building 21 or renting a private venue, Monique Braxton, a school district member, stated that there were no discussions made about renting a venue, but they made sure to examine the closer high schools. However, none was suitable.

Building 21 was built in 1915. It is now one of the over 2,200 asbestos abatement projects in the school district of Philadelphia. Asbestos exposure is a health risk, especially since it is reported to cause cancer.

Related Article: School District Withdraws Over 350 Students Due to Residency Eligibility
A new analytical report published this morning states that the global smart personal audio market saw a significant decline of 26% to 112.1 million units in Q4 2022. The decline was attributed to challenging macroeconomic conditions, with TWS unit shipments falling 23%, wireless earphones shipments dropping 36% and wireless headphones declining 25%.

Although Apple was the runaway winner in the TWS sector year round, shipments decreased in Q4 by 30%. Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro helped Apple retain its lead, contributing to 63% of all AirPods TWS shipments.

(Click on chart to Enlarge)

Although shipments were sharply down for Q4, Apple's shipment for the year only fell 1% as presented in Canalys second chart below.

(Click on chart to Enlarge)

Asia Pacifics (excluding Greater China) shipment dropped by 17%. India, the largest TWS market in APAC, maintained growth but at a flattened rate of 5%, signaling the market is reaching its peak. Western Europe and North Americas decline rate was modest, and market share remained stable, as consumer electronic consumption was relatively strong.

According to Canalys Analyst Cynthia Chen, price band shifting trends were evident in Q4, with the sub-US$100 band taking up 55% market share, compared to 48% a year ago. The US$200-299 price band saw an increase of shipments driven by Apples second-generation AirPods Pro. Apart from the weaker market performance of the third-gen AirPods, the downgrading of consumption happening on a global level contributed to the shrinking of the US$100-199 price band.

(Click on Chart to Enlarge)



According to Canalys Analyst Cynthia Chen, price band shifting trends were evident in Q4, with the sub-US$100 band taking up 55% market share, compared to 48% a year ago. The US$200-299 price band saw an increase of shipments driven by Apples second-generation AirPods Pro. Apart from the weaker market performance of the third-gen AirPods, the downgrading of consumption happening on a global level contributed to the shrinking of the US$100-199 price band. Smartphone vendors, whose scales are often larger, felt the most significant impact as they saw their market shares shrink.

For the full-year 2022, the share of TWS increased to 68% compared with 63% in 2021, but 2022 shipments dropped by 2% to reach 287.7 million units.

2023 will not be an easy year for vendors to recover, said Canalys Research Analyst Sherry Jin. Faced with a constrained market, competition intensifies. Mainstream vendors are forced to fight for market share and strengthen differentiations to stand out, as consumers tighten their belts on spending. For more statistics regarding competitors, review the full report by Canalys.
The Love of Money: A Practical Spirituality in Zen Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity

James Ishmael Ford

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Mark 10:25

As someone raised a poor peoples Baptist through my childhood and earliest adolescence I heard any number of sermons that repeated that passage about the camel and the eye of the needle. Its cited in all three of the Synoptic Gospels.

That thought about the rich and the poor popped up when someone on a Facebook feed recently wrote disparagingly of millionaires. He meant the rich, of course. And evoked the rich of the gospel, whether consciously or not. Many tropes and assumptions of our culture have roots in the scriptures. As a Zen practitioner, Ive noticed it become a normative assumption. Although I also notice, not closely examined.

I know the sense is bone deep for me. The sermons I heard in my childhood thundered a message that one cannot serve God and mammon. And that the rich, by which they understood people with more money than it takes to pay the rent and put food on the table and to buy some clothing, were all in imminent danger of their immortal souls facing eternal torture. By my best guess of their working definition rich meant pretty much anyone from middle management up.

And then, of course, there are the millionaires and the play of mind bubbles. I realize that on the coasts, certainly here in Los Angeles, if someone owns a home outright, say they purchased it thirty years ago; they probably fall into the definition of millionaire. That by itself isnt what I think when I think millionaire. I tried to dig around for when the term originated, and what it meant then.

Etymology Online claims an earliest attestation in 1762. Something in French, which is not cited nor linked. But I have no reason to doubt it. Calculating what that might mean in todays dollars is tricky. For my purposes the question might be what was a millionaire in 1950 worth? I think thats a rough benchmark for how people were thinking throughout my childhood. That million dollars in the middle of the last century is about twelve and a half million dollars today. There are several worlds of difference between having a million dollars in real estate, and what was meant in my childhood when someone was using the word millionaire.

I do need to add this. Not that housing isnt prohibitively expensive in our time and place. Another point that rolls along with the questions of equity and justice, which I find the questions of the rich and the poor symbol. But not to miss that many people, maybe most people who own homes are not in fact rich in any sense that deserves disparagement.

The larger point is not millionaire. Its rich. Although what rich is, is another symbol that begs some unpacking. Merriam-Websters first definition of the adjective having abundant possessions and especially material wealth. In that sense I think of that line attributed to many people, Mae West included, mostly, I notice, women, Ive been poor, and Ive been rich. Honey, rich is better. Enough, and perhaps more than enough.

But rich also can convey a sense of excess. It also is inescapably linked to poor. Much wealth is built upon the labor of others, and often built upon their suffering. And it has been so for as long as humans have had history. In every culture there are smaller numbers of people living lavishly at the expense of others. That rich.

Somewhere in his letters, Karl Marx notes how Money degrades all the gods of man and converts them into commodities. He also said The rich will do anything for the poor but get off their backs. While raised in a nonreligious nominally Christian convert family, Marxs writings often seem to channel ancestral rabbis exhorting people to turn away from the idols of wealth. He often seems more what I was raised to call an Old Testament Prophet. Expressions of an outrage as old as human oppressions. Which appears to be very old, indeed.

The Jewish tradition has always held a tension between wealth and poverty. It doesnt condemn wealth. In fact wealth is seen as a blessing. But it calls those with means to not oppress, to be generous, to care for those who are poor, and to relieve their burdens. Proverbs is littered with expressions of care for the poor. Proverbs 14:21 Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor. and 14:31 Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.

Much of the books of Amos and Micah are rants against the oppression of the poor by the rich. The Jewish tradition also warns of confusing wealth with godliness. A popular confusion over the ages. The entire book of Job turns on the falsehood that wealth is the result of Gods favor.

Then there is the spiritual tradition of my adult life. Buddhism has two messages regarding money. The one we think of is that of the hard analysis of human hurt. Here we are taught grasping after that which passes away is the doorway to suffering. And everything passes away. People who embrace the monastic path, the ancient vinaya, give up all money and throw their lives into the hands of those of goodwill. If theyre fed, they eat. If not, well, they dont. In some forms of the vinaya a monastic is not allowed to touch money. An extreme expression of piety that ends up creating servers who carry the money on their behalf.

Not paying attention makes hypocrites of us all.

For those who do not take monastic vows the ethics of money in Buddhism are more complicated. An example of the historic Buddhas counsel to householders is the Digha Nikaya 31, the Singalasutta, which counsels moderation and generosity. It also speaks of guarding the familys wealth and not squandering it. Functionally for people whove not embraced the monastic path, Buddhist wisdom writ large, is to not be seduced by money. Do not let it become a god.

Not unlike another passage from the Christian scriptures. While Im not a fan of the letters of Timothy, the product of a hand writing in the crazed apocalyptic mystic Pauls name, but a generation or so later, and dealing largely with matters of institutional life. But here it rings true. 1 Timothy 6:10: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

People commonly misquote it as money is the root of all evil. The turning point is where do you give yourself? What do you love? What matters? And what matters most? Two things, not one or the other. Its all perspective.

Speaking of perspective. Me. I was raised poor. Not working class, poor. Constantly moving. Meals came, but if hot dogs came with the macaroni and cheese, it was special. Memories of my mothers shame when my father was in jail and she found shelter for herself and her children in an unwed mothers home. The shame is the thing that most clings to me, all these years later.

Ive been a monastic. Ive been poor. Ive not been rich, but I have lived the last thirty or more years of my life middle class. American middle class. While I respect the full renunciation of the monastic, and the apocalyptic renunciation of Jesus and (some) of his followers, I find that middle way of the Jewish tradition, that middle way of the Buddhist tradition most helpful.

Money, in and of itself, is not the problem. Wealth need not be the problem. Although it can be. We need to be careful.

Missing that point the money does need to be attended to, in general leads to personal difficulties. And, as maybe Mae West said, poor isnt a good thing. Not involuntary poverty. Its just more suffering.

So. Back to that quote attributed to Jesus. The one about a camel and a rich man and the eye of a needle. On the one hand a straight out statement. If youre rich you cant achieve heaven. On another, perhaps we find a koan. One of those assertions about the real bound up intimately with an invitation.

As the Buddha of history suggested in the Singalasutta, prudence, and attention to earthly needs, is an obligation. And, and this is important, to ignore that leads to hurt. Hurt for oneself, and ones family, and for the greater world.

And. Because.

We are all of us tied up together. Preacher Casey was right. We are all one big soul. We and this blessed planet. Not one, exactly. But, not two, precisely, either.

And. With that.

One critical point. Any economic system, any nation, any business that ignores our radical interdependence is satanic. To use a Christian term. Those millionaires, those rich, the people who worship money over everything else, who ignore the calls of the poor, the needs of the world, are to be opposed. They bring no good the world.

And. The most important point. Finding our middle way is the invitation. Living full in this world without becoming ensnared. Living full. And when the time comes, let go. In fact living, hugging, holding, and letting go. Not one. Not several.

As my old friend the Zen teacher Grace Schierson said, I keep all my vows.

The koan revealed.

Anything else is missing some big points.

Two cents on a Monday
Kenya's First Lady Rachel Ruto has declared national prayers against homosexuality in the country, saying the family unit was under attack.



Mrs Ruto said the country cannot condone the Supreme Court ruling last month that upheld the LGBTQ community's right of association.



We should not even try to talk about LGTBQ. This is a conversation we should not even have in our country because accepting it is like throwing our morals into the dustbin, the first lady said on Sunday.



Homosexuality remains criminalized in Kenya. The Supreme Court ruled that refusal to allow the LGBT community to register lobby groups in Kenya would violate their right to association, as provided in the Kenyan constitution.



However, the ruling was met with protests from President William Ruto, as well as religious leaders in Kenya.



Kenyas attorney-general said the government will challenge the courts ruling, insisting that the issue is a matter for public consultations rather than for the courts.

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.

Featured Video
The US ambassador to Nigeria has said the 25 February elections "failed to meet Nigerians' expectations".



In a statement, Mary Leonard urged the electoral commission to address the hitches it experienced before the governorship polls on 11 March.



"It is clear that the electoral process as a whole on 25 February failed to meet Nigerians' expectations," the US ambassador said.



"We thus reiterate our call on Inec [Independent National Electoral Commission] to promptly address the challenges that can be resolved ahead of the 11 March gubernatorial elections," Ms Leonard said.



The envoy urged Inec to be more transparent as it makes reforms on the elections systems.



She commended the presidential poll losers, opposition Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of Labour Party, for pledging to go to court to challenge the outcome of the vote.



Inec has said it will deploy its voter identification system for the 11 March elections and pledged to punish its officials found to have compromised the presidential election.

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.

Featured Video
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed the need for Ghanaians to guard the countrys unity and peaceful co-existence.



He said Ghanaians cannot afford to allow individuals who seek to divide the country along the lines of ethnicity and religion to succeed.



Speaking at the 66th Independence Day celebration in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, today, (March 6, 2023), President Akufo-Addo said the greatest achievement of our independence is the fact that we have welded different ethnic entities into one nation.



He added, although the Gold Coast was the precursor to our independent Ghana, it was a collection of disparate groups. It was the attainment of independence that gave us our common identity as Ghanaians.



He said the countrys forefathers were united and strengthened in realizing one common purpose  the attainment of independence.



The 66th Independence Day celebration was held on the theme: Our unity, our strength, our purpose."



For him, Ghanas forefathers were able to gain independence due to the fact that they were united in spirit and did not care about ethnicity or religion.



It did not matter where they came from; it did not matter which tribe they belonged to; it did not matter which religious persuasion they subscribed to; and their standing in society certainly did not matter. They recognized the fact that colonialism did not inure to our nation's collective benefit, and they were determined to end it. And, indeed, they did, President Akufo-Addo explained.



He said it was time for the present generation to work to maintain the sanity of the country and ensure its progress, noting that we should continue to work to improve accountability, efficiency and transparency in the delivery of public services.



He said it was also important to continue with the process of digitalization, urging Ghanaians to fight the menace of illegal mining  galamsey.



We should continue the difficult but necessary task of ridding our environment of the menace of galamsey and we should continue to pay our taxes, and demand that our leaders put them to good use, President Akufo-Addo noted.

Source: graphic.com.gh









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Kenya's President Williams Ruto has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling approving the registration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights groups.



Kenya's Supreme Court last week Friday February 24, said that the decision to deny LGBTQ members their right to register Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), despite homosexuality being illegal in the nation, was discriminatory.



This came after a ruling made in 2013 by lower courts to deny members of the community in Kenya to register an NGO for the advancement of their rights.



Speaking at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), Nairobi, during the re-launch of the Women Enterprise Fund on Thursday, March 2 President Ruto said he respects the apex courts decision but insisted that Kenyas values and religion do not allow same-sex relationships.



You know me very well, I am a God-fearing man and whatever happened at the court, even if we respect the court, our culture, values, Christianity and Islam cannot allow women to marry each other, or men to marry fellow men, he said.



In the Kenyan constitution, same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 1930. It criminalises acts of gross indecency and carnal knowledge against the order of nature.



Anyone found guilty faces a maximum penalty of fourteen years imprisonment.



This is not the first time Ruto is giving his stance on gay rights in the country. Shortly after he was declared president-elect in August last year, Ruto gave an interview to CNN, in which he was quizzed on the issue.



Ruto, who had earlier said that there will be no room for homosexuality in Kenya, reiterated his stance saying, We have Kenyan law, we have Kenyan constitution, we have our tradition, customs; we will continue to respect other peoples customs as they respect our customs and traditions.



He told CNN that Kenya respects everybody and what they believe in, and that We also have what we believe in and we expect to be respected for that too.













Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) chairperson, Josephine Nkrumah has reported a death threat directed at her by a Liberian national to the government in Monrovia.



Ms. Nkrumah is currently serving as the Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) ambassador to Liberia.



The BBC reports that in a letter to the Liberian justice ministry, Ms Nkrumah said a Facebook user, identified as Carson, urged the Monrovia mayor to send her "down six feet".



The user claimed the move would draw the international community's attention to the insecurity in Liberia, the BBC report added.



The Ghanaian diplomat also told the Liberian authorities that she considered the comment a "grave threat" to her life and the staff of the Ecowas mission in the country.



Ms Nkrumah, a one time deputy chairperson of the NCC served as substantive chairperson between December 2016 and February 2022, when she resigned to take the ECOWAS job.







Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Leardership of Ghana's Apostolic Movement hosted Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on Monday, March 6, during which meeting the lawmaker offered "a comprehensive briefing on matters relating to the National Cathedral Scandal."



According to a social media post after the meeting, Ablakwa said: "the deliberations were extensive, transparent and frank in the best interest of our dear nation and our Lords Kingdom."



Among the clergymen in photos sighted by GhanaWeb were Rev. Sam Korankye Ankrah of Royal House Chapel International and Reverend Lawrence Tetteh of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach.



The group of clergymen, numbering six, were captured in photos in deep discussion with Ablakwa before they later offered special prayers for the MP seeking "for the Lords fortification in the pursuit of what they described as my exemplary parliamentary oversight," the post added.



Ablakwa has over the past few months waged a dogged campaign aimed at pointing out issues of corruption and corporate governance breaches in the construction of the Cathedral project.



He has taken the crusade to social media mostly and also gotten a Parliamentary motion for a probe into the project along with other Members of the Minority Caucus.



Read Ablakwa's full post below:



Earlier today I honoured an invitation from the leadership of Ghanas Apostolic Movement to offer a comprehensive briefing on matters relating to the National Cathedral Scandal.



The deliberations were extensive, transparent and frank in the best interest of our dear nation and our Lords Kingdom.



I also received special prayers asking for the Lords fortification in the pursuit of what they described as my exemplary parliamentary oversight.



I am profoundly grateful to these revered ministers of the gospel.

Always, for God and Country





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ministers interviewed after 2nd plenary meeting of 1st session of 14th NPC

Xinhua) 19:05, March 07, 2023

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)

Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

A journalist with Xinhua News Agency asks a question during an interview with ministers after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Haoyuan)

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Du Mingming)
It is not a very strange occurrence, to see floods in many parts of the capital after hours of heavy rains.



Tuesday wasnt any different as floods took over some areas in Accra after a heavy downpour that began around 3:30 am on March 7, 2023.



Parts of the city including the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Kasoa, and Dzorwulu were flooded after the rains.



Many of these flood waters also had waste floating on them in some of these areas.

Some of these have receded significantly so far, while some of them still remain.



Below are some of the areas affected after the heavy downpour on Tuesday, March 7, 2023:



Parts of Tseaddo; a locality behind trade fare floods due to the heavy downpour of last night. As it stands now, workers and students who are affected are unable to make their way through to their workplaces and campuses respectively. @TDzineku @kodwoboateng @thenanaaba pic.twitter.com/xQeWb7a52I  Angelina Manye Buah (@linabuah) March 7, 2023







4 persons were arrested just last night for pouring garbage into the gutters in my Municipality~MCE Ga West Municipal



TODAY

Accra,Floods after a torrential rainfall. People calls for Govt's intervention as usual.

Funny#citicbs #joynews pic.twitter.com/b1P9L8OdHh  AM (@manaaf_official) March 7, 2023







Some parts of the Kasoa-Accra stretch are flooded due to the heavy downpour this dawn. This has caused traffic because part of the road that leads to Accra when coming from Kasoa has been affected by the floods. Drivers should be careful when using that route. pic.twitter.com/HzqD6AWVxN  Benedict Lemaire Agyenkwah (@QwabenaChamps) March 7, 2023







Dzorwulu Traffic light 4:50 am pic.twitter.com/WiVbep0IPm  KING OF ACCRA (@kingofaccra) March 7, 2023







Muck and flood waters take over parts of Accra. pic.twitter.com/YTpbg0U2U6  EDHUB (@eddie_wrt) March 7, 2023







Filth and flood waters take over Kwame Nkrumah Circle#GTVBreakfast pic.twitter.com/1LRe529ig1  GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) March 7, 2023

















































Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Director of Local Government Services at the Office of the President, Dennis Miracles Aboagye has castigated the Minority in Parliament and the National Democratic Congress for opposing the new Constitutional Instrument (C.I) proposed by the Electoral Commission.



With the new C.I, the EC seeks to use Ghana Card as the only identification medium to qualify eligible Ghanaians to be enrolled onto the voters' register.



According to the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa, this new C.I if passed by Parliament will "guarantee the credibility of the register and elections, prevent enrolment of minors, prevent foreigners from voting, eliminate the guarantor".



She emphasized, in her speech at Parliament, that "the Ghana Card will not be used to vote in the 2024 elections. The Ghana Card is only a requirement to register as a voter", adding we do not intend to disenfranchise persons who qualify to vote. It is in our interest to register them. It will be an antithesis to deny any Ghanaian the right to vote.



But the Minority has raised concerns over this request and registered their intention to oppose it.



To Dennis Miracles, the NDC is opposed to the new C.I proposal because it will prevent them from rigging the elections.



"I am not surprised if they are opposing something that will not take anybody's life away. The NDC are not against the Ghana Card registration. They are worried about the breakdown of their election rigging machinery...The real fight the NDC are fighting for is that crude primitive way of registration", he told Nana Yaw Kesseh on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".



He touted the use of the Ghana Card as a major improvement on the electoral process.



"We should be improving. Elsewhere in the world, don't they post ballot paper to the electorates in the house? Elsewhere in the world, you receive at home your ballot paper by post, so with them, some even cast their votes by post days before the election day. So, countries improve; we evolve.



"We get better but in getting better, there will always be challenges. Why? We all know that the guarantor system was not the best but we were using it. So, if there are going to be challenges with the use of the NIA, it doesn't mean we shouldn't use it. We should use and then improve upon the challenges", he argued.



Contrary to views that the use of the Ghana Card will erase the guarantor system, Dennis Miracles further argued that "if you want to use the guarantor system, no problem. Go and use that process to get an NIA card and come and register for your Electoral Commission card".



"Do we have to fight over this?", he questioned.



He however called for national and parliamentary support for the new C.I, stressing "it is that election rigging machinery that Togolese, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast people can come and vote here is what the NDC is afraid of but it will be broken down. Whether they like it or not, it will be broken down. Only Ghanaians should vote!"







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
President Akufo-Addo believes Ghana as a country still has a long way to go when it comes to development.



He, however, admits there has been some level of growth over the years.



But insist there is still more to be done to achieve the expected development.



This was when he addressed attendees of the 2023 Presidents Independence Day Awards held in Accra ahead of the countrys 66th independence anniversary celebration scheduled for Volta Region on Monday, March 7, 2023.



He noted, we must have the pride to acknowledge we have made positive strides and we must also have the humility to appreciate that we still have a long way to go.



He has, therefore, made a passionate appeal for Ghana to eschew all forms of self-centeredness and divisiveness for the sake of the collective development of the nation.



In spite of the challenges the nation face, he insisted a lot has been achieved by the nation, and the citizenry must have the propensity to celebrate the achievements and to acknowledge the collective challenges of the state.



As we prepare to celebrate 66 years of independence from the British colonial power on the theme: Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose, the formal commemoration of the anniversary taking place in Ho and Adaklu, in the Volta Region, let us eschew all acts of divisiveness and self-centered tendencies which will only retard our forward march, was his charge.



Apart from that, he said we must have the patience to accept that just as our fight for freedom and independence was not achieved in a day, so too our national prosperity will not come overnight and that we will have to work hard for it.



He was, however, optimistic that in peace and unity, I am certain that we can build a new Ghanaian civilisation that will attract the admiration of Africa and the world.



In a brief statement, Minister for Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum said over 500,000 students have so far been placed in various senior high schools across the country in the ongoing 2023 school placement exercise.



He also commended the awardees for their achievement whilst urging them not to relent in their efforts to climb up the academic ladder at the various senior high schools they have been admitted to.



Managing Director Nestle Ghana Limited, headline sponsor of the Presidents Independence Awards, Georgios Badaro, on his part, applauded the award recipients for their achievements.



He noted that for 16 years, Nestle has supported the awards in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the presidency of Ghana to reward Ghanaian students and talents who excel in the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE).



We [Nestle] do this because we believe that recognising, celebrating, supporting the achievements of our young talents can only urge them and motivate them to stay on course of their growth and development, Georgios Badaro said.



The Awards



The ceremony saw the President presenting awards to 36 deserving students for the year 2021, and 36 students for the year 2022, bring the total to 72. The 2021 ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was therefore inculcated into the 2022 edition.



The Presidents Independence Day Awards, since its inception in 1993, annually rewards young, brilliant students (male and female) between the ages of 14 and 19 from all the regions of Ghana.



The awardees are selected based on their exceptional academic performances in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The objectives are essentially, to recognise and reward academic excellence and to promote and encourage students with additional educational needs.



The criteria used in selecting the awardees are excellent performance in the 2021 & 2022 BECE.



The overall best male and female students from public schools in the 16 regions are selected based on their raw scores obtained from the West African Examination Council (WAEC).



Overall best male and female students with additional educational needs such as visual and hearing impairments are also selected to receive awards. Where there is a tie, the core subjects (English, Mathematics, General Science, and Social Studies only) are used to break the tie.



To ensure absolute transparency and fairness, the best male, and female students from public schools in each region are selected based on the raw scores obtained from WAEC.



These students become the representing awardees for their regions. For inclusivity, the four overall best male and female students with visual and hearing challenges are also selected based on their BECE raw scores.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Prior to the commissioning of the Kumasi Central Mosque on Friday March 3, a leading member of the NDC, Alhaji Saed Sinare had waged a vehement media campaign, trying to take credit away from the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for single-handedly funding the reconstruction of the Kumasi Central Mosque.



As the old Kumasi Central Mosque was closed to the public for the reconstruction to start about 3 years ago, it was an open secret that Dr. Bawumia was single-handedly funding the reconstruction, having pledged to that during a visit to the mosque a few years back.



But to the surprise of many Muslims, especially those in Kumasi, Alhaji Sinare launched a stunning spin in the media, claiming the reconstruction of the mosque was being funded by aid from a Saudi billionaire he knew.



He sought to justify his claim by asking why had Dr. Bawumia not personally gone public to tell the world that he was the one building the mosque if indeed he was the one.



However, events at the commissioning of the mosque exposed what has turned out to be mere propaganda and lies by Alhaji Sinare as Dr. Bawumia was officially acknowledged as the one who single-handedly funded the reconstruction.



In the official brochure of the commissioning, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II revealed how Dr. Bawumia had informed him of his decision to undertake the reconstruction of the mosque and how the Vice President often sneaked into Kumasi quietly to inspect the project.



The Kumasi Central Mosque Committee, the custodians of the mosque, also publicly lauded Dr. Bawumia for personally undertaking the project.



Indeed, the Vice President himself categorically confirmed he undertook the reconstruction personally without any aid from external sources.

Dr. Bawumia might have been aware of the false claims of Alhaji Sinare and his first public announcement that he personally funded the mosque might have been intended to expose Alhaji Sinare.



In the Vice President address, he referred to the "lies, politics and negativity of some people who kept telling people that this type of mosque can only be funded by aid from Saudi Arabia".



The Vice President urged such people to desist from "impossible mindsets" because the people of Zongo and Ghanaians in general are capable of doing things for themselves with unity of purpose.



At the commission grounds, a number of people were heard discussing Alhaji Sinare's comments and slamming him for his needless attempt to discredit Dr. Bawumia for what he has done.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Koku Anyidoho has said he does not trust former President John Mahamas promise to scrap ex-gratia.



He asked Mr Mahama to answer why he did not implement the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) White Paper on Emoluments when he was President.



Koku Anyidoho says he is prepared to debate Mr Mahama on how he betrayed President Atta-Mills. I dont trust him and will never trust him.



You think we are all stupid so you can lie to us by saying you will scrap ex-gratia. They say prove that you are sincere, by refunding what you are enjoying; you respond with insults by telling us that we are silly. Yooo we hear you Mr. dead goat, he tweeted.



I dont trust John Mahama if he says he will scrap ex-gratia. Why did he not implement the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) White Paper on, Emoluments? I am prepared to debate John Dramani Mahama on how he betrayed President Atta-Mills. I dont trust him and will never trust him.



As the, Founder and CEO of the Atta-Mills Institute, I have consistently said that we must implement the White Paper of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) that was set up by President Atta-Mills. Is it not a shame that, someone ignored the White Paper, & is now insulting? I dont hate anyone ooo: I speak to issues as boldly as my conscience allows me to.



What did he do with the White Paper on the Constitution Review Commission set up by President Atta-Mills, after he became President? He had more than 4 years to effect changes & he did not! Now he wants only 4 years to do what? He stressed.



Mr Mahama has however described the comment by private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu to return all the ex gratia paid to him in the past following his promise to cancel it, as silly.



Addressing supporters of the NDC in the Volta region on Saturday, March 4, Mr Mahama said I said categorically that when we come into office we will cancel ex gratia for the executives because the president is in charge of the executive, so he can cancel it for the executives but then you have to persuade the other arms of government to see that there is no fairness in continuing to pay ourselves ex gratia when the ordinary worker does not receive it because you are the leaders, you must show by example. If the economy is in crisis why should we continue to take ex gratia when the rest of the public and civil services dont take it? So, I said categorically that we will cancel exgratia.



And then somebody who should know better, a lawyer, he said, then I should refund all the ex gratia we took before to show Ghanaians that yes, we are serious about cancelling it, he does not even know the principle in our constitution that says that you cant pass retroactive legislative if you pass legislative today, it does not affect what happened in the past, what he says is a bit silly because it is like saying because we have introduced free SHS all of us should go and get a refund of our school fees that we paid in the past. That is how silly what he is saying is.



READ ALSO: [Video] EC Chair's refusal to testify a bad precedent - Mahama

Mr Martin Kpebu had said it makes sense to ask Mr Mahama to return the ex gratia that he received after indicating that he is going to cancel its payment should he win the next elections as President.



As a sign of commitment, Mr Kepbu said, Mr Mahama should return all the payments made to him.



Speaking on TV3 Saturday, March 4, Mr Kpebu said Mahama made money whiles as president so he should look within himself and say look I will return it. He should return it because, in these national elections, they are going to do, hundreds of millions of dollars, where does it come from? They made money so the exgratia is small. So he should just tell the people I have grown older, I think I have become wiser, I am returning the money, That exgratia he should return it



You know Dan Kwaku Yeboah of Peace FM, I think he is the lead campaigner for Mr Mahama to return his ex gratia. When I looked at it I said yes it made sense. Mr Mahama should do introspection and return it as a sign of good faith, that once I have returned the money I am committed. Number two, the amendment he should put into writings.



Mr Mahama promised that he will scrap ex gratia when he gets the nod to lead this country again.



The payment of ex gratia to members of the executive will be scrapped, Mr Dramani Mahama announced when he launched his bid to be the 2024 Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



The necessary constitutional steps to take this will start in earnest in 2025. We will also persuade members of the other arms of government to accept its removal, he assured.

You think we are all stupid so you can lie to us by saying you will scrap ex-gratia. They say prove that you are sincere, by refunding what you are enjoying; you respond with insults by telling us that we are silly. Yooo we hear you Mr. dead goat   Samuel Koku Anyidoho (@KokuAnyidoho) March 6, 2023









Source: 3news.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is ready to take lessons from the electoral victory of Nigeria's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).



The APC recently won the presidential elections of February 25, 2023 with its flagbearer Bola Ahmed Tinubu currently the president-elect waiting to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in May.



NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, in a congratulatory message to the President-elect and the APC, stressed that the NPP will seek to emulate the electoral success of the APC.



His statement, posted on Twitter, read in part: In times when ruling governments and political parties have become unpopular due to the global socioeconomic upheavals triggered by the lingering adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the NPP is ready to take lessons from the APC victory in its quest to win a historic third consecutive general elections in 2024.



Once again, the NPP congratulates the APC, HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the people of Nigeria for the successful conduct of their elections.



According to official results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu garnered 8,794,726 votes representing 36% of valid votes, to emerge winner having satisfied the 25% of votes in at least two-thirds of the 37 states threshold.



Tinubu won a contest in which his closest rivals were former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).







Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Dr Sam Ankrah, an independent presidential aspirant, has urged Ghanaians to rise beyond the usual NPP and NDC duopoly and opt for leaders who will do things differently.



The economist is worried about how the two main political parties have run the country since the inception of the Fourth Republic some thirty (30) years ago.



In a statement to commemorate Ghanas 66th independence, Dr Ankrah said a country that is favoured with enviable resources must possess some substantial wealth to boast of, by age 66 yet bad governance has stalled the countrys development.



Talking about the countrys democracy, Dr Ankrah stated, A 30-year-old man, blessed with strength and an enviable heritage, must have a prosperous future to look forward to. But sadly that is not the reality of our 66 and 30-year-olds today.



Our struggle for independence only moved us from one colonial master who lived many miles away and handed us into the hands of neo-colonial masters who live right here among us. Since then, our leaders, our blood, have hoodwinked us, using political colors and symbols to buy our support, only to leave us dry and clueless and on our own: each man for himself, Dr Ankrah narrated.



He wants Ghanaians to peruse policies of individuals who do not belong to political parties, like himself, and give them the chance to govern.



Below is his statement;



DR. SAM ANKRAHS INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE.



Countrymen and women!



As we observe 66 years of independence from colonial rule; and 30 years of our 4th Republic this year, we are faced with only one soul-searching question  where are we now and where are we headed from here?



A man whose life was favored with enviable resources must possess some substantial wealth to boast of, by age 66. A 30-year-old man, blessed with strength and an enviable heritage, must have a prosperous future to look forward to. But sadly that is not the reality of our 66 and 30-year-olds today.



Our struggle for independence only moved us from one colonial master who lived many miles away and handed us into the hands of neo-colonial masters who live right here among us. Since then, our leaders, our blood, have hoodwinked us, using political colors and symbols to buy our support, only to leave us dry and clueless and on our own: each man for himself. So the question now is, what would Ghanas story be by the time shes 70?



Countrymen, the NPP-NDC fraternity cannot and should not be the ones leading our nation into that 70th milestone. They have proven for 30 years that they just dont care, and neither do they have what it takes. It has always been and would always be about them and their close families and friends. Expect nothing new. It will not change.



So, Countrymen and women, its time to look deep into ourselves and redirect our destinies in our favor. Im sorry to break this to you, but its time for us to rise and fight for our nations independence one more time. This time, its a fight for our independence from the neo-colonialist NPP-NDC rule. Enough Is Enough! Rise and join the struggle.







Independence Now!

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
People make their way through rows of heavy equipment during the Ritchie Bros. auction in Nisku, Alta., on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. Proxy advisory firm Egan-Jones is recommending shareholders of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. support the company's deal to buy IAA Inc. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Codie McLachlan
A spile is placed into a maple tree after drilling a hole into it, at a sugar bush in Ottawa on Saturday, March 13, 2021. Increasingly unpredictable winter temperatures have Ontario maple syrup producers concerned about how climate change will affect the industry's future, with some pushing for environmentally-friendly practices they believe will reduce their carbon footprint. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Pe Kyaw Wins RGPS Graton After Three-Way Chop ($90,330)

March 06, 2023 Liam Gannon

The RunGood Poker Series Graton $800 Main Event has come to a close after a massive turnout. 1,043 players came out to create a massive prize pool of $730,100. The starting flight was brought down to 131 players for the second day, who were all guaranteed $1,175 for their efforts.

The day saw many names fall throughout, including Papa Karn (127th-$1,175), Jacob Long (117th-$1,320), Josh Prager (76th-$1,925), Rob Boston Rob Mariano (47th-$2,475), and Cody Stanford (32nd-$3,205). Each one of them falling short of the goal to make the final table.

After a long battle at the final table, Pe Kyaw (1st-$90,330) took home the ring after a three-handed ICM deal with Daniel Lowery (2nd-$88,870) and Taylor Pollard (3rd-$84,835) that saw each of them take home sizable prizes for their accomplishments.

The California resident found himself on the good end of the deck throughout much of the day, finding himself getting key double-ups through Noel Rodriguez (9th-$12,420) and David Bellacose (4th-$41,195) to end the day with the chip lead. Holding only $762 in lifetime Hendon Mob cashes and now has added a significant sum to his lifetime earnings. When asked about his play throughout the day, he said play tight, play good.

$800 RGPS Graton Final Table Results

Place Name Payout 1 Pe Kyaw $90,330 2 Daniel Lowery $88,870 3 Taylor Pollard $84,835 4 David Bellacose $41,195 5 Don Vo $31,255 6 Mitchell Collins $25,365 7 James Cavanaugh $20,970 8 Jason Castro $16,640 9 Noel Rodriguez $12,420

Check out the RGPS Hub on PokerNews here!

Day 2 Highlights

Noel Rodriguez came into the final day as the overall tournament chip leader, but a rough beat against Pe Kyaw with two tables left when his ace-king couldnt hold up against Kyaws king-jack saw him come to the final table as the shortest stack. He eventually got in his final five big blinds with jack-ten suited and David Bellacose called him with king-queen offsuit. Both players flopped a pair, but it was Bellacoses pair of queens that were good and Rodriguez ended his run in ninth place for $12,420.

Following him out the door in eighth place was Jason Castro. Chip Leader Taylor Pollard moved all in from the button into the two shortest stacks at the table, and Castro called with ace-jack for twelve big blinds. It was behind the ace-queen of Pollard and no jack on the runout meant that Castro collected $16,640 for his efforts.

James Cavanaugh found a double up roughly an hour into the final table when his ace-jack held against Mitchell Collins king-queen, but shortly after his pocket jacks ran into Pollards aces. The board brough no help to the pocket jacks and Cavanaugh wished his table mates luck as he and his sizable rail went off to collect the $20,970 for his efforts.

Join your fellow PokerNews readers in our Discord server, where you'll find exclusive offers, special freerolls, and all the latest poker-related news and tournament live updates.

Mitchell Collins lost the key hand to Cavanaugh which put him as the table short stack for a bit. Eventually he would move in his final chips with ace-nine offsuit from early position which Pollard called with king-jack offsuit. The flop came out king high and that was all she wrote for Collins who ended his run in sixth place for $25,365.

Don Vo collected $31,255 for his deep run. He bounced around as the short stack for the most part of the final table, but eventually he moved in his final chips with ace-nine offsuit, only for Taylor Pollard to call him with ace-jack offsuit. The board ran out with no help to Vo and he ended his run in 5th place.

David Bellacose came into the final table as one of the big stacks, but he lost two key hands to Pe Kyaw that set him back significantly. He first lost pocket nines to Kyaws ace-three for them to flip places on the chip counts. The next time he lost pocket jacks to Kyaws pocket threes after they got all their chips in preflop. A three rolled off on the flop and no help was brought to Bellacose who ended his run in fourth place for $41,195.

The all-time RGPS title holder Daniel Lowery ended up taking second place for $88,870

After some hands were played and the chip counts became significantly more similar, the three remaining players began talks of a deal. All three players agreed to an ICM chop that saw Pollard take home $84,835 for a third-place stack, Lowery take home $88,870, and Kyaw take home $90,330 as well as the ring and the seat to the Dream Seat Invitational at Thunder Valley.

Be sure to join PokerNews for live updates at the next RunGood Poker Series stop at bestbet Jacksonville on March 30th.

Sharelines Check out the results from the RGPS stop at Graton Casino in the Bay Area
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

A new analysis reveals that Republicans in Congress are responsible for the current debt that they are trying to blame on President Biden.

The New York Times reported:

The analysis is based on the forecasts that the C.B.O. regularly issues for the federal budget. They include descriptions of newly passed legislation that affects spending, revenues and deficits, tallying the costs of those new laws over the course of a decade. Going back to the start of Mr. Trumps tenure, those reports highlight 13 new laws that, by the C.B.O.s projections, will combine to add more than $11.5 trillion to the debt.

Nearly three-quarters of that new debt was approved in bills that gained the support of a majority of Republicans in at least one chamber of Congress. Three-fifths of it was signed into law by Mr. Trump.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter:

Many of these spending bills received bipartisan approval, but because of the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans added more to the debt than Democrats.

The nation is heading for a showdown on the debt ceiling. House Republicans will continue to claim that spending was out of control under Biden and the Democrats while leaving out that they also voted to create most of the new debt through spending and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

Republicans are holding a losing hand on the debt ceiling as they are trying to get spending cuts to cover the debt that they ran up with Donald Trump.

It will not happen because Republicans need to own their debt mess.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Fox News has long claimed that there is a difference between news and opinion on their channel, but the networks news anchors were more worried about their audience than the facts on and after election night 2020.

The New York Times reported that news anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum didnt want to call the election results based on numbers and statistics:

We are still getting bombarded, Mr. Baier said. It became really hurtful. He said projections were not enough to call a state when it would be so sensitive. I know the statistics and the numbers, but there has to be, like, this other layer so they could think beyond, about the implications.

Ms. MacCallum agreed: Theres just obviously been a tremendous amount of backlash, which is, I think, more than any of us anticipated. And so theres that layer between statistics and news judgment about timing that I think is a factor. For a loud faction of our viewership, she said, the call was a blow.

There is no difference between the journalists and the opinion hosts like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter:

David Folkenflik of NPR said that people inside Fox told home that Baier and MacCallum did not want to be around to deliver the news that Biden had won the election:

The foundational big lie of Fox News has been that Fox has a separation between news and opinion, and it turns out that there is no difference between the two. The news people are just as terrified of the audience and as unwilling to tell them the truth as the opinion people.

It is all a lie, and the Dominion lawsuit is providing evidence for every American to see.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Thunderstorms, some locally heavy early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 49F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms, some locally heavy early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 49F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
A Florence man is suing the Aiken Department of Public Safety and a public safety officer for wrongful imprisonment, medical injuries, emotional distress, malicious prosecution and abuse of process after suffering a medical emergency during a traffic stop in February 2021.

The lawsuit was filed Dec. 27, 2022 in the Second Judicial Court of Common Pleas, and the Aiken Department of Public Safety and officer Taylor Moore are named as defendants.

The plaintiff, Bryan Ransom, states that the defendants intentionally and unlawfully detained him for an unreasonable manner and for a length of time, which caused mental and emotional distress, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff is asking for actual and punitive damages from a jury.

The plaintiff is also suing for abuse of process, which includes mental harm, public arrest, shame, incarceration, incidental expenses, attorney fees and gross negligence.

The lawsuit states that the defendants didnt have probable cause to charge Ransom, but continued to pursue criminal charges.

Days after his arrest, the plaintiff hired an attorney for the disorderly conduct charge, which was dismissed by the Second Judicial Circuit Solicitors Office six months later.

Traffic stop

Ransom, of Florence, was driving his vehicle within the city limits of Aiken and suffered a medical emergency and pulled over at a gas station, according to the lawsuit.

While at the gas station, Ransom experienced partial paralysis and a gas station employee called 911 and informed the dispatcher the plaintiff looked unwell.

Police responded to the area of East Pine Log and Banks Mill roads in reference to a driving complaint, according to an incident report from the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

Dispatch advised that a vehicle was driving in and out of traffic lanes and nearly causing a collision with other vehicles, according to the report.

Once Moore arrived at the scene, Ransom appeared to be confused, wouldnt speak, was sweating and was red and flushed in the face, the report said.

Moore asked Ransom to roll down his window but he refused, and Ransom was showing traits consistent with someone who is intoxicated including a droopy facial expression, slow movements and confusion, the report said.

Moore and another officer asked Ransom to step out of the vehicle, and after opening the door, Moore noticed a sweet odor coming from inside the vehicle.

Police said Ransom refused to comply, so he was detained, the report said.

Once Ransom arrived at the APDS headquarters, he began to speak with Moore and indicated he was unaware of where he was or what happened between law enforcement and him, the report said.

Ransom explained to police he suffers from "debilitating and constant strokes," and believed he had a stroke, according to the report.

Ransom said the last thing he remembered was sitting at the intersection of Banks Mill and East Pine Log roads, attempting to make a left turn onto East Pine Log Road and feeling fuzzy and dizzy and pulling over, the report said.

Ransom was given a breathalyzer test, which came back 0.00%, and he was transported to Augusta University Medical Center, according to the report.

The lawsuit

According to the lawsuit, officers noted Ransom's "droopy facial expression" but failed to recognize the plaintiff was suffering a medical emergency and instead presumed Ransom was intoxicated.

The lawsuit states that Moore and other public safety officers were trained as first responders and were trained to recognize when someone is suffering medical distress, but failed to recognize it in this instance.

After a brief interaction with officers, Ransom was "forcefully and excessively" removed from his vehicle and thrown to the ground at which time officers used multiple knee strikes and caused injuries, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff's dog was also struck by police, the lawsuit said.

Ransom didnt make any threats to the officers or use force against the officers, according to the lawsuit.

Ransom was handcuffed and placed into Moores patrol care and was arrested for intoxication despite no evidence and probable cause, the lawsuit said.

As he was being transported by Moore, Ransom's condition began to change and he was able to speak, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Moore had the duty to recognize this change in condition as being related to a medical emergency and failed to do so .

Moore persisted in obtaining a result from the breathalyzer and otherwise failed to seek immediate medical help for Ransom, the lawsuit said.

After receiving the results of the breathalyzer indicated Ransom was not intoxicated, Moore told Ransom he was not going to be charged with driving while intoxicated, but would be charged with disorderly conduct, according to the lawsuit.

Lt. Jennifer Hayes with the Aiken Department of Public Safety declined to comment on the lawsuit. Ransom's attorney did not respond to phone calls from the Aiken Standard.
Almost all of the individual defendants and the former proposed Project Pascalis developer have been removed from a lawsuit originally filed to stop the since-failed downtown development project.

Aiken County Court of Common Pleas Public Index records indicate the individual members of the Aiken City Council, Aiken Municipal Development Commission except former Vice Chairman Chris Verenes and Aiken Design Review Board, Aiken Economic Development Director Tim O'Briant and RPM Development Partners are inactive participants in the lawsuit filed July 5, 2022.

Verenes, who resigned from the Municipal Development Commission Dec. 9, was dismissed from the lawsuit Dec. 7.

The attorneys of the individual defendants filed motions asking the court to dismiss the them last year.

Daniel Plyler, attorney for the city and the individual city council members, argued the individual council members should be dismissed as duplicative as their actions were taken on behalf of the city.

Andrew Lindemann, attorney for the Design Review Board argued the individual members should be dismissed as duplicative.

David Morrison, Municipal Development Commission attorney, argued former Chairman Keith Wood, former Secretary/Treasurer J. David Jameson, Marty Gillam, Philip Merry, the Rev. Doug Slaughter, Catina Broadwater, Stuart MacVean and Chad Matthews should be dismissed as duplicative because they were acting as alter egos of the commission.

Michael Wren, O'Briant's attorney, argued O'Briant was not a proper party because his actions were taken on behalf of the city or Municipal Development Commission and therefore, those entities, and not O'Briant were proper parties to the suit.

Charles Baker III filed a motion arguing RPM Development Partners should be dismissed because the claims made in the lawsuit are moot since RPM withdrew and the Municipal Development Commission voted to stop the project.

The removal of the individual defendants leaves the City of Aiken, the Municipal Development Commission, Design Review Board and City Attorney Gary Smith as defendants in the suit.

Smith, through his attorneys Clarke McCants III and IV, has also filed a motion asking to be dismissed but the motion has not yet been heard or ruled upon.
Two Colleton County brothers played an outsized role in the double-murder trial of the now-notorious Alex Murdaugh: One was the second deputy to arrive at the crime scene in June 2021. The other voted to convict him March 2.

Juror James McDowells relationship to Colleton County Sheriffs Cpl. Chad McDowell was not a secret. Answering questions as juror No. 530, James McDowell disclosed his family ties at least twice in open court during the jury selection process.

He was also pulled aside for further questioning by Judge Clifton Newman and the attorneys trying the case before both sides agreed to have him seated as an alternate. He made it onto the final panel when another juror took ill five weeks into trial.

The day after James McDowell was sworn in as an alternate, his brother took the witness stand as the second person to testify. Chad McDowell described how hed been on patrol with his police dog, Evo, when he was dispatched to Murdaughs sprawling, remote hunting estate, known as Moselle.

Jurors watched footage from his body camera, which showed the slain bodies of Murdaughs 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son Paul near Moselles dog kennels. It also showed the now-disbarred attorney greet him with a casual, friendly tone, asking him, How you doin? Prosecutors used that interaction to cast suspicion on the emotion Murdaugh, 54, displayed in other moments.

The Murdaugh trial saw first responders  including Chad McDowell  come under repeated scrutiny for what his defense team described as missteps that threatened to disturb evidence.

For instance, they called attention to how Chad McDowell traversed the crime scene before it was processed for evidence, placing bits of police tape near bullet casings he noticed. He testified that he wanted to make sure no one stepped on them; the State Law Enforcement Division had not yet arrived to take control of the scene.

At a supervisors direction, the deputy also walked into the kennels storage room, where Paul Murdaugh was fatally shot. McDowell was asked to help lift a sheet placed over the body to see if Paul had a weapon when he died. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian questioned whether he could have destroyed evidence in the process.

James McDowell, 22, was not identified by name in court, but he has granted several on-camera interviews since the trial concluded. He did not respond to a request for comment from The Post and Courier.

In a Fox and Friends interview that aired March 7, James McDowell said his brother didnt tell him much about what he saw after arriving home from the crime scene. He knew there had been a double homicide, but he said his brother was good about keeping work separate from his home life.

He said he didnt know how gruesome a scene his brother encountered at Moselle, and he said he was surprised he was picked for the jury given their relationship.

There was no way that he would want to talk to me about that and make me go through that, James McDowell said. They followed up with, Do you think you can be a fair and honest juror? And I told them that I would and that I could.

In a separate interview with Law & Crime, he said he was relatively removed from the case and the local grapevine prior to his selection: He was away from home attending Clemson University and now works in Charleston.

The defense had a strike remaining when James McDowell was seated on the jury. Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, another defense attorney for Murdaugh, did not respond to a request for comment about their thinking. Nor did a spokesman for the S.C. Attorney General's Office, which prosecuted the case.

I think they made a good decision because I think I was a fair and honest juror, James McDowell said. He said he was careful not to decide how he would vote until after closing arguments concluded.

University of South Carolina law professor Rob Wilcox, who teaches legal ethics, said Newman could have disqualified the juror if he felt he couldnt be impartial. The fact that he didnt suggests the judge was satisfied he could be fair, Wilcox said.

The questions he faced from the judge would have focused on his bias, not the relationship itself, Wilcox said. In small counties, it can be difficult to find jurors who have no connection to a case.

That was particularly challenging in the Murdaugh trial, for which more than 250 potential witnesses were identified. Prospective jurors disclosed all manner of previous connections as they were questioned over two days: One was engaged to a first responder. Others had sold a truck to a witness, detailed cars for witnesses and installed HVAC systems for them. Even the clerk of courts daughter was called for jury duty.

To address the web of connections, court officials sent questionnaires to some 900 possible jurors  more than 2 percent of Colleton Countys population.
South Carolina's abysmal workforce participation rate is a largely rural problem, and few jobs are being created to give residents of the least-populated areas a way to get on the employment rolls. Read moreSC's rural areas suffering from lack of industry, hiring challenges
Pepper spray, small jabbing blades and knives disguised in lipstick tubes are just a few of the defensive items found in carry-on bags at Charleston International Airport recently.

The surge in discoveries of prohibited goods can be linked to students traveling for spring break and passengers who are unaware of the regulations, according to Mark Howell, regional spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

"Those are just a fraction of the things people bring to the airport in their carry-on bags that should be in checked bags," Howell said.

Brass knuckles, bottles of liquor, aerosol cans, sunscreen, box cutters, drill bits, lighters, tools and guns were among items displayed March 7 at the security checkpoint as examples of some of the many objects found daily in travelers' screened bags.

Eventually it adds up, creating delays for other passengers.

"Every day there is something in a bag that cannot come through," TSA officer Brenda Grant said.

Tuesday was no exception. As the agency's presentation wound down, airport police surrounded a passenger after a folding, counter-rotating butterfly knife was discovered in his carry-on bag as it went through the screening process.

Unlike items such as oversized bottles of sunscreen, law enforcement are required to be summoned when knives are found because they are considered weapons.

The passenger was allowed to proceed to his flight but not before he was detained and a report was filed to document the incident, Howell said.

Firearms are also a chief concern. Last year, a record 79 guns were discovered in carry-on bags at airports across the Palmetto State. Thirty-two were detected in Charleston alone.

The number of guns discovered in carry-on bags at the state's airports is already trending at last year's levels.

Through March 5, 16 were found at three of the state's six passenger airports. Nine of them were at Greenville-Spartanburg, more than any other terminal.

Myrtle Beach reported four so far this year while Charleston, which usually leads the state since it's the busiest airport in South Carolina, showed three firearm discoveries.

Howell attributed the surge at Greenville-Spartanburg International to the return of business travelers and spillover of passengers from nearby Georgia, where a new law took effect this year that does not require a person to have a permit to carry a handgun.

"Also, there are a lot of inexperienced and first-time travelers who want to go somewhere after the pandemic," he said. "Some people just don't know the rules."

Gun discoveries can lead to fines up to $15,000, loss of pre-flight clearance for five years and other penalties.

"It's a very costly and avoidable mistake," Howell said. "And it's a problem that seems to be getting worse."

He suggested people start packing at home with an empty bag because most offenders say they forgot the gun was inside.

Guns can travel by air, but they must be packed and unloaded in a separate hard-sided case and checked at the airline ticket counter.

On average about 100 pounds of prohibited items are discovered each month at Charleston International.

The surrendered items are collected and either transferred to the state as surplus property or, in the case of liquids, disposed of through a contractor in an environmentally friendly way.

"Pay attention to what you bring to the airport," Howell said.

The TSA's attention to aviation security issues follows a March 5 incident, when a 33-year-old passenger tried to open an emergency exit on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston and then tried to stab an attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon. Other passengers then tackled the man, who was arrested upon landing.
COLUMBIA  A bakery relocating to Five Points this week will take the space of a closed local coffee shop.

Sweet GG's Bakery, formerly on Fort Jackson Boulevard, will be opening officially on March 9.

Sweet GG's provides baked goods, including custom-designed cakes, cupcakes and cookies.

It has been conducting some soft opening hours at its new location and has continued to bake custom orders as it was between locations.

It will be occupying the former space of the Local Buzz coffee shop and bakery, which closed at the end of October, according to its Facebook page.

Stephanie Bridgers of Local Buzz continues to offer baked goods from home, with an emphasis on vegan and gluten-free offerings, according to the page.

Local Buzz had relocated to Five Points in February 2020 after initially having a location in Rosewood.

Harbor Freight coming in

Harbor Freight Tools is joining the businesses that are locating in the fast-growing Red Bank area in Lexington County.

According to a county business permit, Harbor Freight is coming to South Lake Drive near the Walmart and recently opened Popshelf retailer.

Harbor Freight is a hardware and tool retailer with a strong focus on serving contractors and the trades including construction and the auto repair industry.

It has three current locations in the Midlands, on Garners Ferry Road, on Two Notch Road in the Northeast and on St. Andrews Road.

Harbor Freight has more than 1,300 stores nationwide.

Aldi on the way

An Aldi grocery store is heading to the Dutch Fork Road area of Irmo, the company has confirmed.

A spokesperson confirmed that they have plans to open a store this fall, but offered no further details.

The US division of the German discount grocer already has six locations in the Midlands.

The planned store first was reported in The State.

More coffee on the go

Biggby Coffee is the latest to join the trend for drive-thru coffee in the Midlands.

Biggby has a location on the way to Lexington County. Its website lists its location at 1430 Two Notch Road in Lexington as coming soon, and the structure for the small drive-thru is in place on the site.

Drive-through coffee has become a national trend moving from west to east as companies have looked to compete with Starbucks. Clutch Coffee Bar, another national drive-thru only chain, has a location on Devine Street in Columbia, and others are seeking locations.

Make sure to get our weekly Columbia Business newsletter. Sign up here.

Click here for more news from Columbia, South Carolina.
GREENVILLE  The arrest of a woman more than a year after delivering a 6-month-old stillborn fetus raises questions on whether women in South Carolina should be punished for ending pregnancies as state legislators continue debating stricter abortion laws.

A Greenville woman was arrested after authorities say she took an abortion pill. She was charged under a law that has been on the books for decades but rarely used in South Carolina. She is at least the fifth person accused of having an illegal abortion in the state since 2000, according to the national abortion rights group If/How/When.

Her arrest also highlights the complexities and, at times, confusing guidance in the state's abortion laws, which again are under debate after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal protections in June. The renewed abortion debate at the Statehouse has prompted calls on both sides to halt criminalizing women who end pregnancies.

In the Greenville case, a 33-year-old woman arrived at Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown hospital in October 2021 while having labor contractions, according to an arrest warrant issued in September. She told medical staff that she had "obtained and consumed an abortion pill in an attempt to abort her fetus," the warrant said.

The hospital reported the incident to the Greenville County Coroner's Office, which then referred the death to the Greenville Police Department, police spokesman Sgt. Johnathan Bragg said.

"Bon Secours, like all licensed health care facilities, must adhere to mandatory reporting laws, which require the proper authorities be notified about specified incidents," hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Robinson wrote in an email March 3.

The woman was arrested Feb. 26. She was released a day later on $2,500 bail, Bragg said.

Greenville police would only say that the woman was arrested after the investigation ended.

She was charged with "performing or soliciting abortion" under the state's abortion law statute, according to the warrant. A conviction on the misdemeanor charge of self-administering an abortion carries a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The Post and Courier is not naming the women in this report because of the nature of the case.

From 2019 to 2021, one person was charged under the section for a woman self-managing an abortion, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. It is not clear whether that charge was for someone assisting in an abortion or for a woman seeking to end a pregnancy.

SLED did not respond to a request for an updated figure.

From 2000 to 2020 in South Carolina, at least four people were arrested on charges related to self-managing an abortion, according to research by Research by If/How/When, the California-based abortion rights advocacy group. The cases were not broken down by county.

The 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office, which has jurisdiction in Greenville, told The Post and Courier on March 3 that it had not received information on the warrant or subsequent arrest.

The warrant, issued six months ago, includes detail that the woman "delivered a stillborn baby girl that was determined to be at 25 weeks and 4 days gestation," which Bragg said was an element of probable cause to charge the woman.

"The fact that it was past 20 weeks is a violation of the law in South Carolina," Bragg said, noting that the woman "self-administered the pills to cause the abortion."

Criminalization

Both abortion rights and anti-abortion advocates said they were working to remove provisions from South Carolina law that would criminalize women.

Charges, such as those against the Greenville woman, send a terrible message that women are being punished for their medical decisions, said Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which manages two S.C. abortion clinics located in Charleston and Columbia. Ringer said it is part of a pattern of punishing pregnant women across the state.

I want to be careful not to judge her in any way because I imagine she had to feel pretty desperate and not feel like she had a lot of options, Ringer said. I think one of the most concerning parts about this is that it happened a year and a half ago, supposedly.

South Carolina Citizens for Life, an anti-abortion group, signed on to a letter in May denouncing the criminalization of people who have abortions. The letter, which was co-signed by similar organizations across the country, was written about a week after a leaked draft Supreme Court decision indicated that it was poised to overturn the landmark abortion right case Roe v. Wade.

To criminalize women would be counteractive to protecting the life of the unborn and protecting  the life and serious bodily health of the mother, which is what we support, said Holly Gatling, executive director of Columbia-based South Carolina Citizens for Life.

The South Carolina clause criminalizing self-managed abortion was made law in 1962. It was updated in 1974, a year after the Roe v. Wade decision.

That part of the law is sometimes viewed as a sleeper statute, said Ashley Lidow, director of policy and government relations at the Womens Rights and Empowerment Network, an abortion rights group.

They dont believe that anybody would activate it, Lidow said.

Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director at If/How/When, said the potential repeal could provide justification for tossing out the charges in the Greenville case.

If the Legislature acts to repeal this law, it doesnt necessarily change the charge, but it provides a much stronger argument for a dismissal of it, Diaz-Tallo said. Once the Legislature has spoken and said, This is not something we want to see happening in South Carolina, I think that provides a very strong reasoning for the court or for a prosecutor, who doesnt need to be bringing this charge either."

In South Carolina, the Republican-controlled Senate and House are at an impasse as legislators formulate new abortion restrictions after their "fetal heartbeat" law, which would ban abortions generally after six weeks, was overturned in January by the state Supreme Court. A 2016 law that allows abortions through 5 months remains in place.

Seanna Adcox contributed from Columbia.

CORRECTION: An earlier version reported the fine for violating the law. The fine is no more than $1,000.
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 84F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 54F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 53F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Mount Pleasant, SC (29464)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
MYRTLE BEACH  Myrtle Beach City Council will soon consider a plan to create a new 203-unit residential complex in Market Common, the city's popular shopping and residential area.

Myrtle Beach Planning Commission, the city board that reviews planning requests, voted March 7 to recommend the plan to Myrtle Beach City Council. This came after Market Common residents criticized the plan for its potential to add traffic congestion, reduce residential safety and hurt wildlife.

City Council is expected to consider the first reading of the plan March 14, city officials said.

The plan would rezone a property from commercial to residential at the corner of Farrow Parkway and Phillis Boulevard, near Market Common, paving the way for the complex to be built.

The site would feature over 90 residential townhomes, 100 residential cottages, 440 parking spaces, a swimming pool, clubhouse and park, according to the commission. A budget has not been created for the project yet.

Raymond Adams, who has lived in Market Common for seven years, said he does not think the area needs more residential housing.

Ive not spoken to one resident of Market Common who is in favor of this project, Adams said. I think it needs a delay.

Paul Meunier, president of The Reserve at Market Common District HOA, predicted a "traffic catastrophe" if the project goes forward.

"The residents of Market Common should be the priority for the Planning Commission, not developers who do not live here and will not be impacted by the problems they create," Meunier said.

Planning Commissioner Sally Howard acknowledged that Market Common already has traffic congestion issues. However, she said she believes the issue comes from people passing through Market Common to reach S.C. Highway 17 and U.S. Highway 17 Business.

"I don't think that problem comes from how many people actually live in Market Common," Howard said.

There was an early concern from city officials regarding accessibility of emergency vehicles in the complex. To address that, the developer reduced the number of units from 209 units to 203, while widening the roads.
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH  Commercial recreation businesses, like wedding photographers and surf instructors, are now required to obtain a special permit to operate on public beaches here.

The measure passed by City Council on March 6 requires permits for a variety of businesses looking to operate on the beachfront, including for surfing, paddleboarding, yoga or other fitness-related activities, as well as professional photographers, filmmakers, wedding companies and special events, according to the ordinance.

Mayor Marilyn Hatley said the amendment to the city's existing beaches and waterways ordinance was proposed after officials learned of activities happening on the beach they deemed "not presentable."

"This is a way of us knowing who, when and what is going on in our community," Hatley said Feb. 20, when the ordinance passed first reading.

Fitness-related companies, filmmakers and special event organizers also are now required to obtain liability insurance with North Myrtle Beach listed as an additional insured party.

Although permits are required this year, city officials said any permit fees are waived for the first year.

Starting Jan. 1, 2024, no commercial recreation activities are allowed on public beaches on Memorial Day, July Fourth or Labor Day, according to the ordinance.

Cheryl Kilday, president and chief executive officer of Destination North Myrtle Beach, emphasized that this new rule does not require brides to need permits if they are having weddings on the beach.

"The brides need to worry about getting their wedding license and leave the other licensing things to the people they hire to work out the details," Kilday said.

Initially, the ordinance received pushback from business owners who were concerned about how the new rule would impact them.

City Council also was heavily criticized in February for proposing a 25-foot buffer between public beach accesses, walkovers, sand dunes or sand fences and commercial recreation activities, photographers, special events or weddings. This buffer is now only required for fitness-related instructional activities, according to the ordinance.

Councilman J.O. Baldwin III said because of these concerns, several in-person workshops and meetings were held over the last two months between affected business owners, North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and city officials in order to revise the ordinance.

The public had really good input, and we listened to that input, Baldwin said.

Local wedding official Eric Hunt said he voiced his concerns at these meetings, and he was now satisfied with the final ordinance.

"I think it's going to be a learning process for vendors and couples especially," said Hunt, who has performed beach weddings for more than 15 years. "It's just really communicating the right message and everybody getting on the same page."

The new measure comes as the Grand Strand city faces two ongoing federal lawsuits over its government policies.

In July, Grove Beach Gear filed a 20-page federal lawsuit that claimed North Myrtle Beach officials unlawfully targeted the business through a previous ordinance amendment and additionally sought to place a monopoly on the rentals of beach chairs and umbrellas on the citys 9-mile shoreline.

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina filed a separate federal lawsuit the same month against the city and two of its officials alleging an amendment to the citys existing noise ordinance that passed in 2021 targeting vulgar music is unconstitutional.
LAKE CITY  This small, Pee Dee city experienced a wave of shock after a road trip to Mexico ended with two of their own dead  and two others found alive  following a violent shootout and abduction involving members of a drug cartel that was captured on video.

As a convoy of ambulances and SUVs rushed the surviving Americans back to U.S. soil March 7, residents in this Florence County town of about 6,000 were going about their normal routines, seemingly unaware of the trauma that had unfolded below the border over the weekend.

A relative told CNN that Latavia Tay Washington McGee, Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard and Eric Williams  all of whom were raised in Lake City  had driven from the Carolinas to Mexico so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in Matamoros, a city just across the border near Brownsville, Texas.

The four were found in a wooden shack in Ejido Tecolote, a rural area east of Matamoros on the way to the Gulf coast that also is known as Bagdad Beach, Tamaulipas state chief prosecutor Irving Barrios said at a press conference. Mexican authorities arrested a man who was guarding them, Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said.

The remains of the deceased, believed to be Brown and Woodard, will be turned over to U.S. authorities following forensic work at the Matamoros morgue, the governor said.

Williams suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg but is expected to survive, Villarreal said. An FBI escort took Williams and McGee, who was found unharmed, to Valley Regional Medical Center for treatment, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the Texas hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Lake City Mayor Yemekia Robinson held a brief press conference March 7.

The city of Lake City sends its condolences to the families of the citizens affected in this incident, she said.

Robinson didnt take any questions, referring them instead to the U.S. Department of State.

The close-knit group of friends entered Mexico around 9:15 a.m. March 3 in a white minivan, Villarreal said. The car was caught amid fighting between rival cartel groups in the city just before noon.

Video and photographs taken during and immediately after the abduction show the Americans' car sitting beside another vehicle, with at least one bullet hole in the driver's side window. A witness said the two vehicles had collided. Almost immediately, several men in tactical vests and toting assault rifles arrived in another vehicle to surround the scene.

The gunmen walked one of the Americans into the bed of a white pickup, then dragged and loaded the three others. Terrified civilian motorists sat silently in their cars, hoping not to draw their attention. Two of the victims appeared to be motionless.

Officials said a Mexican woman a block and a half away from the scene also died in the crossfire.

Investigators believe it was confusion, not a direct attack that caused the U.S. citizens to be targeted, Barrios said. He would not elaborate on whether the suspect is involved with any criminal organizations, nor how many people were involved with the abduction.

The shootings illustrate the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful Gulf drug cartel who often fight among themselves. Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

The U.S. State Department posted a "do not travel" warning for Tamaulipas, citing "organized crime activity" including gunbattles, murder, carjacking and kidnapping as common occurrences along the northern border. Criminal groups target private cars traveling through the state, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments, the warning message states.

Reached by phone in North Carolina, Robert Williams said he didn't know his brother Eric was traveling to Mexico until after the abduction hit the news. But from looking at his brother's Facebook posts, he thinks his brother did not consider the trip dangerous.

"He thought it would be fun," the man said.

The brothers, whom he described to The Associated Press as fairly close, are from South Carolina but now live in the Winston-Salem area.

Zalandria Brown of Florence said she was in contact with the FBI and local officials after learning that her younger brother, Zindell, was among the victims. Brown told the AP her brother lives in Myrtle Beach.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she said in a phone interview. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

The group was aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down,' " Brown said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the people responsible would be punished. He referenced arrests made in the 2019 killings of nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens in Sonora near the U.S. border.

State Department spokesman Ned Price thanked members of U.S. law enforcement and their Mexican partners for their help in finding the four innocent victims.

The next task is to ensure justice is done, he said at a March 7 press conference. Price labeled drug cartels in the country as a long-running challenge, and he didnt rule out designating them as terrorist organizations  something Republican lawmakers in South Carolina have called for.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina plans to unveil legislation March 8 that addresses this, according to a press advisory. The bill would label Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and authorize the use of military force against them, it states.

Graham raised the issue in a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting last week. He emphasized the cartels role in the poisoning of America through fentanyl, the advisory states. The abduction and deaths of the current and former South Carolina residents only reinforces his points, it adds.

Republican U.S. Rep. Russell Fry of Surfside Beach criticized those who continue to turn a blind eye to deadly cartel activity. The March 3 incident shows the type of violence stemming from the cartels rampant illicit activity, Fry tweeted.

His 7th District includes the Pee Dee region of the state and Lake City, which is located about 24 miles south of Florence and 60 miles west of Myrtle Beach.

The congressmans staff is working with federal agencies and the family of one of the victims who lives in his district, he added.

And state Rep. Roger Kirby led a moment of silence on the South Carolina House floor. Kirby said information on the unbelievable and senseless" killings seemed fairly limited and called for his hometown of Lake City to rally around the families.

It's a time for us to all stick together and support these families and keep our prayers ongoing for the safe return of the two hostages, Kirby told The Associated Press.

The Post and Courier's Jocelyn Grzeszczak from Charleston and Chris Day from Lake City contributed to this report. Associated Press writers Alfredo Pena, Fabiola Sanchez, Travis Loller, Lindsay Whitehurst, Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, Matthew Barakat and James Pollard also contributed.
Retired Circuit Judge Richard E. Fields, whose successful career as a giant in the Charleston legal community was only surpassed by his kindness and generosity to others, died March 3 at the age of 103.

Fields was raised in Charleston and returned home after graduating from West Virginia State College in 1944 and Howard University School of Law in 1947. He was the first Black attorney to open his own law firm in Charleston since Reconstruction.

The street where he opened his office at 65 Spring St. was designated "Judge Richard E. Fields Street" in his honor on his 100th birthday. Last fall, Charleston's municipal courtroom at 180 Lockwood Blvd was also dedicated in his honor. His was the first Black municipal court judgeship in Charleston in 1969. Fields went on to serve as a Family Court judge in 1975, and in 1980, state legislators elected Fields to serve as a Circuit Court judge. He retired in 1992.

Everyone knew Fields as a legal icon, but he did so much, so quietly, no one might know that he never hesitated if he saw someone in need, he just took care of it, said Circuit Court Judge Deadra Jefferson. He was not only her mentor, but a second father, she said. "He was just a wonderful human being. Period.

"At the end of the day  he really always wanted to know that he did the right thing," Jefferson said.

Fields paved the way for so many, and mentored many, young and old alike, Jefferson said. "At the heart of it, he loved people." He always quoted his mother: "You got to get along with folks even if you got to do most of the getting." He practiced what he believed was essential on the bench, she said, to treat everyone with dignity and fairness.

Fields was the mentor for countless lawyers in the Charleston community and South Carolina. Many attorneys, both Black and White, always sought Fields out for advice, said attorney Edwin Givens. "He was a tremendous mentor to me. I know I never made any major move in my career without seeking his counsel first."

He was the biggest tree in the legal forest in Charleston and we all benefited from his shade, said James Island Magistrate Frank McCann, a former president of the South Carolina Bar Association. "He was outstanding on the bench  the sort of judge a lawyer looks forward to being before even if you were on the losing side.

He never thought of himself as better than anyone else, but he was, McCann added.

Mayor John Tecklenburg said his initial act as mayor wasn't to shape a road or erect a bridge, but to give his term a pseudo stamp of approval by tethering its start to Fields.

"My first official decision as mayor was to be sworn in by Judge Richard Fields, which was an honor I'll always cherish," said Tecklenburg, who was sworn into office in 2016. "Respected and loved in equal measure, Judge Fields leaves the world better, fairer and more just than he found it  a legacy that history will remember and revere for ages to come."

Fields always believed that even in the worst of circumstances, every person is entitled to be treated fairly and with dignity, Jefferson said. She strives to remember that when she's on the bench. Fields told her one of the greatest compliments he received was a note left on his windshield by the mother of a man whose death penalty trial Fields presided over. She wrote to thank him for treating her son fairly and with respect, Jefferson said.

Fields' minister at Centenary United Methodist Church, the Rev. Lorenzo Moses, was moved by Fields' quiet acts that he never sought out recognition for  like always taking time to answer legal questions for church members and using his legal skills to help them, and the times when a committee working on a project that appeared doomed for lack of funds would discover there was enough money because Fields had anonymously contributed.

In the 1950s Fields was instrumental in forming the Political Action Committee, which organized and educated Black citizens to take part in the political process and groomed candidates to run for office, said Givens, another of Fields' proteges. As an attorney he worked on a number of civil rights cases as the behind-the-scenes person, working with Whites to help fashion a way to make his community a better place, Givens said.

In Fields' early career, he was one of very few African American attorneys. And yet, given the time and circumstances, his start was humble and full of humility.

McCann, the James Island magistrate, shared the story of when Fields first went to Orangeburg as an attorney. Fields needed a janitor to escort him to the jailors restroom. The next time he went, Fields was a judge for whom everyone stood for as the bailiff announced the start of court, McCann said.

You have to put into context the time when he was a young man in the 1920s, '30s, '40s and '50s," said Dot Scott, president of the Charleston NAACP. "To have him to be the kind of man he was and what it mean to the Black community at large to have him there. A mighty good man, a mighty big man  thats what I thought of Judge Fields. This is a one-in-a-million man.

The consensus among community leaders is any number of his accomplishments is worth commemorating. But how do you properly position an entire legacy?

We can think big," Scott said. "Its gonna take some thought. How do we acknowledge his value not just to Charleston, but more importantly to the Black race? Us as a people, to have a judge there that youre kind of in awe when you sat before him?

"Well have to come back with something. And it's gotta be big.

Services for Fields will be conducted March 13 at Centenary United Methodist Church.
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
Its tempting to see this years legislative push to slam shut South Carolina's so-called revolving door of our criminal justice system as pure politics.

After all, overall violent crime in South Carolina was down in 2021, the latest year for which the State Law Enforcement Division has released results. And as The Post and Couriers Ema Rose Schumer and Alexander Thompson report, although there are some dramatic examples of people being arrested for violent crimes, getting out on bail and then getting arrested again for more violent crimes, there doesnt seem to be anything beyond that anecdotal evidence that we have a significant problem.

Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds has been one of the most outspoken critics of revolving-door justice, but a 2022 Charleston County study found that only 5% of people released on bail were charged with a second violent crime within six months. And most of them, Ms. Rose and Mr. Thompson report, were for burglary, armed robbery or drug charges.

Editor's note: This editorial has been corrected from an earlier version that incorrectly cited a 2022 Charleston County study as saying only about half of 1% of all people arrested for violent crimes were charged with a second violent crime within six months.

Still, that doesnt make it OK for people to commit a crime while they're out on bail, and it doesn't mean we dont need to make reasonable changes to deter even that small number of revolving-door crimes. It does, however, mean that we need to keep the actual scale of the problem in mind and make sure we dont inadvertently punish innocent people.

The idea of creating an additional five-year sentence for anyone convicted of committing a violent crime while out on bail for a violent crime, as the House voted last week to do, makes a lot of sense.

So does the idea, also contained in H.3532, of making it easier to revoke bond for someone whos arrested again while out on bail. Ditto the idea of requiring judges to take whether a defendant was out on bail into account when setting bail for the new charge.

Those are all changes the Senate should approve to address a troubling if not particularly large problem  ideally in conjunction with a proposal to create graduated penalties for using a gun to commit a crime. As we noted in Monday's editorial, the House voted last month to do that, but only in the context of an irresponsible bill to allow anybody without a criminal record to carry a gun in public without any training or background checks.

There might even be a place in state law for a provision in H.3532 that requires people who are arrested for a violent crime while out on bail  even for a nonviolent offense  to post a full cash bond for any new arrest. In most cases, criminal defendants are required to post only 10% of their bail amount.

Supporters see this as a way of dealing with judges they consider too soft on crime, by increasing the defendant's required payment 10-fold and making it cost-prohibitive for some defendants to get out of jail before trial. But if a judge really is determined to let some people get out on bail, he can just set a lower bail. So lawmakers need to understand that this isnt a panacea.

Indeed, lawmakers need to understand that theres no such thing as a panacea when it comes to preventing people from committing crimes while theyre out on bail awaiting trial, because the most obvious way to do that  just keeping everybody locked up until trial  simply isnt workable.

Our criminal justice system is built around the idea that everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Both our state and the federal constitutions prohibit excessive bail; the S.C. Constitution even grants the right to bail in most cases, while the U.S. Constitution implies that. So lawmakers dont have the option of making everybody wait in jail until the prosecutor and the courts get around to trying them. Even if that were allowable though, our jails are so full that we don't have enough space to house all the people charged with violent crimes until they can be tried  a wait that can drag on for months or years.

So ultimately, while we might be able to keep more people in jail before trial by building more jail space and staffing it up, our only real solution is to reduce the amount of time between arrest and trial, by increasing the capacity of our criminal justice system, from our crime labs to our prosecutors and public defenders to our judges. Thats not a solution you can put on a bumper sticker, and it probably wont sound that impressive on a campaign ad, but ultimately thats the way to close the revolving door.

Click here for more opinion content from The Post and Courier.
Commercial banks in different parts of the country on Monday resumed issuance of the old N500 and N1000 notes to customers over the counter and through their Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

The move comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling on the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which compelled banks to issue the old notes to Nigerians.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must extend the use of old banknotes until 31 December due to the negative impact of the policy. A seven-member panel of the court, led by John Okoro, unanimously ordered the CBN to continue receiving the old notes from Nigerian citizens.

The court found that President Muhammadu Buharis directive to the CBN on the withdrawal of old notes and redesign of new banknotes without proper consultation was invalid.

CBN last December introduced new N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by withdrawing the old notes from circulation. The policy caused widespread chaos throughout the country, resulting in protests in various regions as Nigerians faced challenges in their efforts to do business and access cash for daily transactions.

Since the Supreme Court ruling on Friday, the CBN and the Nigerian government have not reacted to the new development. Multiple calls and text messages sent to the presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, and the acting spokesperson of the CBN, AbdulMunin Isa, were not responded to as of press time Tuesday night.

Amid the uncertainty, banks and business owners continue to express worry about the silence of the apex bank and the use of the old notes as legal tender.

Abuja

On Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that some commercial banks in Nigerias capital city, Abuja, refused to pay their customers the old notes in anticipation of the CBNs directive on the matter. However, other banks in Lagos and the FCT paid their customers the old naira notes.

A bank official at Union bank who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter told this newspaper that they are just waiting to hear from CBN.

Since the ruling, CBN has not supplied us with money and we dont have the old notes.

If they give us the old notes next time they supply us, then automatically we will dispense them, but for now, we are not sure of anything, he said.

On Tuesday, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter found that the Guaranty Trust Bank branches in Garki are not dispensing the old notes. However, Access bank and Sterling bank in the Central Area of Abuja dispensed the old N500 and N1000 notes to customers.

One of the tellers at the Access Bank branch said they still have the old notes in their vault and they are yet to be supplied with the new notes.

At the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) branch in Wuse market, an official of the bank who refused to be named spoke to this newspaper saying the Supreme Court had given the order for collection but we are yet to get a clear directive from the CBN.

Another official at the First Bank branch around the Wuse market assured customers with old naira notes to generate codes for deposits. We are yet to start giving out the old note to our customers because we dont even have the old naira note and we are waiting for the CBN directives, the staff added.

At the Access Bank branch in Wuse, an official said: If you enter inside the bank and ask customer care, they will also tell you that the bank is waiting for CBN to talk before they start issuing the old naira note.

He confirmed that some banks are already dispensing the old notes but they are yet to receive the authorisation to do the same.

At the Wema bank branch in Wuse market, an officer at the bank said Supreme Court had given the order for the note to be a legal tender but the CBN has not issued an official statement on the issue so we are patiently waiting for their directives.

Lugbe

Several banks that visited the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) axis of Lugbe in Abuja were not dispensing cash on Tuesday.

At Fidelity, frustrated bank customers were seen loitering on the premises of the bank to see if anything would change.

At the bank counter, officials who declined to have their names in print as they were not authorized to speak for the bank told our reporter that the branch doesnt have cash.

No cash and no network currently. We dont know when we would have cash at this branch. Even if you come tomorrow I cant guarantee you that we would have the cash to dispense, an official told PREMIUM TIMES.

Asked if they would begin the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on old notes, the bank official said they have not received any updates from the banks regional and head offices regarding the court order.

At a Polaris bank branch, customers of the bank said the bank dispensed the old N200 notes to its customers today but that many customers could not process cash withdrawals because the cash was not sufficient.

During a visit to one of the UBA branches at the FHA area in Lugb, customers were seen struggling to enter the banking hall to lodge complaints.

**Insert picture of people struggling to enter the banking hall in Lugbe UBA **

In the banking hall, officials were seen attending to customers who came to process electronic transfers. But when asked if cash transactions could be processed over the counter, the bank official simply said No cash.

The situation was the same at the Wema bank branch at the Sector F axis in Lugbe.

Across all the banks visited, PREMIUM TIMES observed that ATMs were deserted due to a cash crunch. Customers were seen loitering around the ATM terminals and lamenting the hardship they have faced due to the cash crisis.

(Insert a picture showing stranded customers in the banking hall)

Lagos

On Tuesday, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited a Guaranty Trust Bank Branch in Ijaiye Road, Ogba, Lagos, found that the bank had closed to customers as of 2:30 p.m.

PREMIUM TIMES learned a good number of customers rejected old naira notes issued to them over the counter earlier in the day, while none of the cash machines was loaded with money.

A branch of First City Monument Bank in the same neighbourhood was open to customers, the majority of whom hung around within the banking hall, waiting to be paid in old notes. The two automated teller machines (ATMs) of the branch stood empty.

Just beside it, an Ecobank branch had closed for the day around 2:44 p.m. A guard on duty said the branch now closes earlier by 2 p.m., adding that customers are refusing to accept old naira bills.

The cash machines were not stuffed with money as of the time of the visit.

An Access Bank branch some six hundred meters away shut its doors around 3 pm with none of the ATMs working. Old naira notes were available for customers withdrawals inside the banking hall.

A Keystone Bank branch and a Stanbic IBTC Bank branch nearby were not open to customers at about the same time and none of the ATMs was working.

At a First Bank branch, Ogba/Ijaiye Road, Lagos, none of the cash machines were dispensing cash. A staff of the bank told PREMIUM TIMES the branch is currently upgrading its system and is not giving out cash to customers.

In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, residents told PREMIUM TIMES that some commercial banks started dispensing the old notes to customers on Monday. The notes are not sufficient and we dont have any directive yet from the CBN, said an official of a new generation bank who does not want to have his name in print.

Frustrated Nigerians

On Tuesday, in the midst of poor operations by commercial banks, many Nigerians who queued up for hours to get the old banknotes lamented the ripple effect of the cash crunch on their daily businesses.

Grace Ominiyi, a cloth vendor at Karmu market in Abuja, complained about her condition and how she has been unable to spend the old notes she received at the weekend.

We heard about the court ruling on TV Friday night, so it was not a problem receiving it from my customers on Saturday and even from church customers on Sunday.

I came to the market today (Monday) and I noticed no one is collecting the old note, and I cannot go and deposit it in the bank now, she said.

Ms Ominiyi is not the only frustrated trader battling with low patronage and the adverse effect of the naira note policy.

PREMIUM TIMES survey Tuesday revealed that businesses and traders recorded low patronage as Nigerians battle with the cash crunch.

Consumers are more cautious with their spending due to the limited availability of cash, which has led to a decline in sales for many businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that rely heavily on consumer spending to stay afloat.

Akpotcha Bernice, a food vendor at the market, told PREMIUM TIMES that sales have been poor.

I dont sell like before again, even when I adjust and ask customers to transfer to my daughters account, some get discouraged on hearing that they have to pay N100 extra for charges, she said.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


This could be Katsinas most competitive governorship election since 2003 when Umaru Yaradua was seeking a second term as governor.

That year, the future president faced a stiff opposition from Nura Khlail, an engineer with the strong backing of Muhammadu Buhari, the former army general and head of state who was at the time running for president for the first time.

Mr Yaradua, who was contesting as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had to enlist the help of political, religious and traditional leaders in the state to defeat Mr Khalil, who contested under the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).

There were five other candidates but Messrs Yaradua and Khalil overshadowed them in the race.

Mr Khalil is contesting again under the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Though he remains popular in the state, he is not one of the two top candidates. But the story still has Mr Yaradua tied around it.

There are 13 candidates seeking to take over from incumbent governor, Aminu Masari, whose second term ends on 29 May.

Dikko Radda of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Yakubu Lado of the PDP are the top contenders. The names of Mr Khalil of the NNPP and Imran Jino of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) get thrown into the mix but the race is between the APC and PDP candidates for many reasons.

The Yaradua connection

When the late Mr Yaradua was elected governor in 1999, Mr Lado also got elected the chairman of Kankara local government while Mr Radda was working as a banker. In 2003, Mr Radda was dragged into active politics by Mr Yaradua, who was married to Mr Raddas sister, Hauwa Radda.

While Mr Lado went to the House of Representatives in 2003, Mr Radda remained very close to the then governor before he became the chairman of Charanci local government area in 2005.

But while Mr Yaradua blessed Mr Lado to go to the Senate in 2007, Mr Radda remained a local government chairman. Though Mr Radda had issues with the late president, he and Mr Lado saw Mr Yaradua as a father figure, a leader that moulded their political careers and gave them the platform to grow politically until his death.

While Mr Lado has been more of a businessman and has not contested any election since 2011 when he left the Senate, Mr Radda went on to build himself up politically, this time under the tutelage of Mr Masari. He has been National Welfare Secretary of the APC, Chief of Staff to Governor Masari and lastly the director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

Mr Lado

However, Mr Lado has garnered more political experiences than Mr Radda over the years. From a councillor to local government chairman to the National Assembly where he was at the two chambers, Mr Lado cannot be waved away in political discussions.

The PDP candidate is a grassroots politician with ties to his base in Danmarke. His father, Garba Lado  Danmarke, was a local business man and politician, who groomed several politicians and businessmen in the Kankara  Faskari axis.

While several political analysts believe Mr Lado was favoured in his early days due to his fathers influence, which they believe made it easier for Mr Lado to excel, it is obvious that he is a grassroots politician who knows what he wants.

He is very rich and his financial muscle has aided his political journey. In both 2018 and 2022 PDP primary elections, Mr Lado used his financial influence to pull away delegates from the grip of former governor Ibrahim Shema and got the tickets in both contests.

He is seen as a tough-skin politician who can take up a fight alone against anyone or any group once he is convinced of the cause.

In this years election, the choice of a more urbane, sociable and intellectual running mate has helped his cause. While Mr Lado is not an articulate speaker, his running mate, Ahmed Yaradua, is a an architect, a top civil servant who was the Managing Director of the Federal Inland Waterways when his cousin, Mr Yaradua was president. The deputy governor contestant is from the ancient town of Katsina and has a close relationship with the emirates royalty.

Mr Lado can also bank on the presence of decampees from the APC, especially the immediate former Secretary to the Government of the State, Mustapha Inuwa, three House of Representatives members  Ahmed Dayyabu, Hamza Dalhatu and Salisu Iro  as well as incumbent senator, Ahmad Babba-Kaita, who have all joined the party.

The PDP and Mr Lado in particular are capitalising on the widespread economic harship and the incessant insecurity bedeviling the state and other Northwestern states.

However, while he has all the money and the backing of some bigwigs, Mr Lado has the immediate former PDP chairman, Salisu Majigiri, and Mr Shema to shrug off. Despite being in the same party, Mr Lado and the duo of Messrs Shema and Majigiri have been locked in a supremecy battle that nearly tore the party apart.

He is also seen as a political visitor that comes to the state only in the election season. Most of his opponents accuse him of using money to buy delegates and impose himself on the party as he rarely stays in the state.

Mr Lado has also been accused of being overzealous in seeking the top seat. Since 2011, he has always been looking for a platform to contest. In 2011, he contested under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), while in 2015, he joined the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and contested for governor. In 2019, he returned to the PDP, got the ticket and lost against the incumbent Mr Masari. Now, he is contesting under the PDP again.

Mr Lado also has the homegrown problem of contending with the APC running mate, Faruk Jobe. They are both from Kankara local government area and the presence of Mr Jobe may mean Mr Lado may not get a 100 per cent record win in his home local government area.

Mr Radda

Based on educational qualifications, Mr Radda has an edge over other candidates. He has a PhD and was a lecturer before leaving to work for years in the banking sector. The incumbency factor will no doubt help him. Mr Radda also has an extensive network of friends in the political scene both at state and federal levels.

His time at SMEDAN has also seen him channel several programmes to the state and that is being used by his campaign council to sell his candidature.

His close ties with the Katsina royal house, being a son to a village head with ancestral ties to the royal house, would give him an upper hand ahead of his rivals. When he visited the Emir of Katsina on a campaign trip, the Emir, Abdulmuminu Kabir, said he would vote for Mr Radda being his relative.

Mr Radda has also boasted of what he has done as a local government chairman, insisting none of his contemporaries has matched his achievements. He has spoken about schools and health facilities he has built as chairman of Charanci.

With the help of the state government, Mr Radda has high hopes of being the next governor of the state. But the APC has been in a certain situation in the state that one cannot predict who exactly is for real a member and who is an anti-party agent.

Immediately after the presidential and National Assembly elections, the governor, Mr Masari, sacked two commissioners, permanent secretaries, heads of agencies and made several changes.

The state party secretary was also suspended. Inside sources said the APC is full of betrayers and third party agents that are being sent out after their role in orchestrating the partys defeat in the presidential election. Mr Radda has a lot to do here because some of those found to be double agents were among the governors most trusted aides who were part of the campaigns.

The number of decampees has also risen and the main opposition party is becoming more confident. Aside from the decampees, Mr Radda also has disgruntled politicians to pacify, especially those he contested against in the primaries. Bigwigs like Abbas Masanawa and his campaign team have remained in the APC but have not made any commitments to the campaign or his candidature.

Insecurity and poverty are two factors that may work against the APC candidate. To be fair to him and the APC, neither banditry nor high level of poverty started in their reign. But there was a huge expectations to combat the two when the party came to power. With the trends, several voters may feel inclined towards the PDP candidate.

The Buhari factor

President Muhammadu Buhari has also weighed in in support of the APC governatorial candidate. Despite that, the president is known to be aloof when it comes to campaigning for others especially at a time he would no longer be on a ballot paper. Me Radda, with the help of the state governor, has been blessed by the president.

Mr Buhari had in a video clip released on Thursday, called on the people of the state to vote for Mr Radda. After commending the people of the state for voting for him twice as president, he solicited for support for the governatorial candidate.

That video clip was released a day after Mr Masari led party leaders and top government appointees to meet the president to discuss the outcome of the presidential election that saw the APC losing to the PDP in the state. The governor also said he discussed the issue of Katsina governorship election with the president.

Mr Buhari might have lost his aura as the most followed politician in the north today but he is still relevant in his Daura zone and the state in general. Throwing his support behind Mr Radda may go a long way in giving the APC candidate an edge over others.

Mr Radda can also bank on the support of the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who has a firm grip of politics in Mashi and Dutsi local government areas. The minister, who before his appointment was a House of Representatives member and senator, has what it takes to deliver his constituency and if not because he is from the same zone with the president, he would have been the undisputed leader of the zone.

Others

For Katsina State, APC and PDP remain the party to beat because of their structure and politicians in the party. But NNPP has positioned itself as the third force. With Mr Khalil, who has been an active contestant since 1999, and his running mate, another Yaradua boy, Muttaqa Rabe  Darma, the party came third in the just concluded presidential election.

Mr Darma, a PhD holder and lecturer, was in charge of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund during the Yaradua reign and has been one of the late presidents trusted allies since 1991.

They have three incumbent House of Representatives members, including Armayau Kado, Babangida Ibrahim and Aminu Ashiru who all left the APC in protest. Their impact was not greatly felt in the presidential and National Assembly elections but they may try to snatch some votes in the governorship election to prove a point, especially in the Southern zone (Funtua).

The PRP candidate, Imran Jino, is seen as a book man full of ideas with little money and structure on ground. The party is relatively unknown in the state.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed Akan Udofia as the duly nominated All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State.

The governorship election holds on Saturday, 11 March.

A former senator, Ita Enang, had sought to nullify Mr Akans nomination as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.

Mr Enang had prayed the court to declare him as the authentic governorship flagbearer of the party on the ground that Mr Udofia was not an APC member as of 27 May 2022 when the party conducted the governorship primary.

But delivering judgement on Tuesday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, held that Mr Udofia was a bona fide member of the APC when it held the primary election.

Ms Kekere-Ekun said a political party has the prerogative to grant anyone membership waivers.

I am in full agreement with the lower court that the 1st respondent (Mr Udofia) was a member of the 2nd respondent (APC) when he contested for the primary, and that the issue of a waiver is an internal affair of a party which the court cannot inquire into, Ms Kekere-Ekun said.

The justice after affirming Mr Udofias candidacy further held that Mr Enangs case collapsed.

Having held that the 1st respondent duly participated in the primary election, the foundation of the appellant case collapsed.

The appeal, in my view, was rightly dismissed by the lower court, Ms Kekere-Ekun said.

Background

The Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital had, on 14 November 2022, set aside Mr Udofias nomination as the APC governorship candidate for the state.

The judge, Agatha Okeke, had ordered the APC to conduct a fresh primary within 14 days but barred Mr Udofia from participating in the new election.

Dissatisfied with Ms Okekes decision, Mr Udofia filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The appellate court on 19 January set aside the judgment of the lower court and restored his candidacy.

In its verdict, the appellate court faulted Ms Okekes judgement on the basis that the court erred in entertaining the matter in contravention of Sections 97 and 98 of the Sheriffs Act.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Mr Enang lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Court of Appeal in its judgment on the matter refused to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and publish Mr Udofias name as the APC governorship candidate for the governorship election in the state.

But the court the Supreme Court held in Tuesday that Mr Udofia duly participated in the primary election which he won.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Since August 2020, five coups have occurred in three West African countries  Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau have weathered attempted overthrows. And in neighbouring Chad, an unconstitutional change of government was led by Lieutenant General Mahamat Idriss Deby after his fathers death in 2021.

The spate of coups questions the effectiveness of democratic transitions in West Africa. It also strains cooperation between regional governments when its most needed to contain the ever-expanding violent extremism threat.

While tipping points are context-specific, coups in West Africa have been analysed against the backdrop of structural deficits in the affected countries. These include mounting socio-economic pressure, poor human development indicators, the youth bulge and failed security sector reform.

Democratic backsliding resulting from governance crises, third-termism and constitutional manipulation play a role. Geopolitical shifts in alliances and insecurity linked to terrorism and crime have also been considered. This is the case particularly for Mali and Burkina Faso, which experienced two military coups in a few months.

Understanding the interplay of these political, security and socio-economic phenomena is important. They show why military incursions into politics must be stopped, and inform transitional authorities decisions during negotiations. They also shape the actions of regional and multilateral partners trying to promote stability after the transition.

So far, these partners responses have proven ill-adapted. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union, United Nations and other external actors have struggled to pressure military authorities into keeping transitions short and civilian-led. In fact, coup leaders in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso have been in power for 30, 17 and 13 months respectively. They project themselves as agents of change, and some have post-transition political ambitions.

It is no longer realistic to wish for short transitions. The options available to regional actors are limited, but include optimising the outcomes of the process by focusing on the substance of transitions rather than their duration.

The idea is not to advocate for military incursions into politics. Neither is it to support long military transitions. Historical data shows that military rulers have generally governed as poorly as bad civilian rulers, or worse. In a democracy, the place of militaries isnt in presidential palaces. Any soldiers entrance into this sphere should be brief, as enshrined in regional and continental legal instruments.

Policymakers must remember that managing military transitions and their aftermath can either create conditions for stability or set the stage for the next coup. All recently overthrown leaders in West Africa either came to power through coups, such as Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in Burkina Faso, or won post-transition elections that followed an unconstitutional change of government.

Before being toppled by Colonel Assimi Goita in 2020 after months of protests, Malis Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had emerged as president after the 2013 polls. His election followed the 2012 military coup led by Amadou Sanogo.

In Burkina Faso, Roch Marc Christian Kabores ascension to power came through polls that followed the 2014 popular uprising that ousted long-term president Blaise Compaore, and a failed September 2015 coup attempt. In Guinea, Alpha Conde won power through elections organised after Moussa Dadis Camara forcibly took control in 2008, following the passing of long-time leader Lansana Conte.

In these three countries, power was handed back to a civilian-elected government on average within 16 months. Yet post-coup elected leadership fuelled popular discontent, creating fertile ground for military actors to take over again.

The yo-yo from military to elected civilian and back to military transitions in West Africa shows that more focus is needed on internal dynamics and learning from previous transitions. And that close attention is required even beyond post-coup polls.

ECOWASs legitimate focus on short, civilian-led transitions has distracted from examining the content of transitions against the backdrop of poor governance. These shortcomings make it difficult to hold military authorities accountable for the promises they make in justifying their coups.

In December 2022, ECOWAS heads of state announced the establishment of a military force to restore constitutional order in member countries. The force is unlikely to be operational soon or solve the problems leading to coups. One of the few alternate options is to identify entry points for policy changes that could strengthen the transitions outcome without giving putschists a blank cheque.

While calling for the restoration of constitutional order, regional stakeholders, mediators and citizens under military governments should consider all the opportunities that transitions offer. The key is identifying how to work with military transitions to start policy changes that could lay the foundation for medium- and long-term inclusive growth and stability without endorsing coups.

In Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, transformational measures were stalled under elected regimes. These included laws on depoliticising the civil service, territorial reforms to enhance political representation and delivery of public services, laws to foster womens rights, and land reforms.

Pressuring coup leaders to institute reforms that can unlock growth and stability is risky. Transitional regimes, especially military ones, dont necessarily have an interest in making deep reforms and could use them as excuses to remain in power even longer.

This uncomfortable option requires identifying genuine reformers in the transitional authority, and creating conditions for them to succeed based on agreed security and governance milestones. Such actors in the military government must make inclusivity a central objective of the process.

Military takeovers, especially when they recur, seriously hinder political stability and a governments ability to function. ECOWAS and its partners should design post-coup mediation processes and manage transitions with the aim of preventing repeated coups and fostering long-term growth and stability.

The return to constitutional order must remain a key objective. But it cant be the only endgame and the sole measure of success.

Lori-Anne Theroux-Benoni, Regional Director and Aissatou Kante, Researcher, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Office for West Africa, the Sahel and the LakeWest Africa Chad Basin.

This article is part of a series on preventing the next coups in West Africa and the Sahel. Research for the article was funded by the governments of Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, as well as the Bosch Foundation.

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Like a cyclone, the Peter Obi wave on 25 February swept across the South-east, part of the South-south and Lagos, and redesigned the political landscape of Nigeria.

Those who dismissed the movement as a social media noise were left astonished and embarrassed as numbers emerged from polling units.

The former governor of Anambra State, who ran as the candidate of Labour Party in the presidential election, garnered over six million votes to place third. His party has also taken 40 seats in the National Assembly from the results so far declared.

This feat was achieved by handing defeats to candidates many considered to be institutions, and the concepts of structure and strongholds demystified to a certain extent.

As it stands, Labour Partys six senators and 34 reps are the third largest caucus of lawmakers-elect for the 10th Assembly.

Here are some of the major victims of the electoral upsets.

Bankole Wellington (Banky W)

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Eti Osa Federal Constituency of Lagos State once again lost his bid for a seat in the House of Representatives, this time around to a relatively unknown candidate of the Labour Party, Attah Thaddeus.

The Labour Party candidate polled 24,075 votes against Mr Wellington who polled 18,666 votes.

Many had believed that the election was going to be a rematch of the 2019 election, when Babajide Obanikoro and Mr Wellignton went head to head. However, the little-known Mr Thaddeus sneaked in to take the prize.

Mr Thaddeus victory has been generating mixed reactions on social media because Mr Wellington, a popular Afro-beat superstar, is also popular among the young people, the demographic considered as the core of the Obidients.

Unfortunately, Mr Wellington became a victim of the top to bottom voting style. Interestingly many of his celebrity friends are not taking the outcome of the election very well.

Controversial radio personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly called Daddy Freeze, in a video posted on social media, claimed that Mr Thaddeus did not campaign but had the election rigged in his favour.

Toke Makinwa, another celebrity friend of Mr Wellignton, also took to social media to express support for the PDP candidate, while also taking a dig at Mr Thaddeus, saying: We dont know him.

Uche Ewenife

The senator representing Anambra South also fell to the Obidient wave. However, she was defeated by a familiar opponent, Victor Umeh, the candidate of the Labour Party.

Mr Umeh polled 103,608 votes while Dozie Nwankwo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) emerged as runner-up with 69,702 votes, leaving the incumbent in third position with 49,532 votes.

Ms Ekwenife and Mr Umehs rivalry go way back to 2015 when the two first fought for the senatorial seat. Ms Ekwuenife won that first face-off and repeated the feat in 2019.

This time around, the Obidient movement came to Mr Umehs rescue. With the margin so wide, Ms Ekwenife quickly accepted defeat and congratulated her opponent.

Stella Oduah/Ebele Obiano

In Anambra North Senatorial District, two heavyweightsStella Oduah of the PDP, who is the incumbent senator and the states former First Lady, Ebele Obiano of APGA, were swept apart by Tony Nwoye of the Labour Party.

Mr Nwoye, a former governorship candidate in the state, polled 94,779 votes to defeat Ms Oduah who polled 50,146 votes and Mrs Obiano who scored 48,212 votes.

Ms Oduah, a former Minister of Aviation at the centre of a 2013 N225 million car scandal, has been at the Senate since 2015, while Mrs Obiano exited the Government House with her husband last year after a scandalous fist fight with Bianca Ojukwu.

Ndudi Elumelu

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, who represents Anochia/Oshimili federal constituency of Delta State, was also defeated on Saturday by the candidate of the Labour Party, Ngozie Okolie, who polled 53,879 votes to Mr Elumelus 33,456 votes.

Mr Elumelu was not the biggest political figure who fell in the state. The vice presidential candidate of the PDP, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, could not also deliver the state to his party.

The Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly and son of former Governor Theodore Orji had a nightmarish experience on Saturday as his quest to move to the National Assembly was cut short by Obi Aguocha of the Labour Party.

Mr Aguocha won the Umuahia Federal constituency seat with 48,199 votes to defeat Mr Orji, who scored 35,196 votes.

Ifeanyi Ugwanyi

The Governor of Enugu State will not be going to the National Assembly this year as he was defeated in his senatorial race by Okechukwu Ezea of the Labour Party.

Mr Ezea scored 104,492 votes to emerge as the Senator-elect for Enugu North Senatorial District. Mr Ugwanyi polled 46,948 votes to return second.

The governor, a member of the rebellious G5 governors, is a former member of the House of Representatives. His attempt to retire to the Red Chamber has been truncated by the Obidient wave.

Nkerukah Onyejeocha

The deputy chief whip of the House of Representatives also lost her re-election bid to a Labour Party candidate, Amobi Ogah.

Ms Onyejeocha has been representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency in Abia State since 2007. However, her 8,752 votes were not sufficient against the 11,822 votes scored by Mr Ogah.

Ms Onyejeocha, who decamped to APC in 2018 also became a victim of the Obidient wave in the South-east.

Meanwhile, several other incumbent lawmakers and candidates also fell, not necessarily connected with the Obi Wave. In some instances, local politics cost them their seats

Abiodun Olujimi

The Senator representing Ekiti South Senatorial also got swept away on 25 February, although not by the Obidient wave.

The former Senate minority leader, who polled 36,191, was defeated by a former newspaper catoonist, Yemi Adaramodu of the APC, who polled 63,189.

Ms Olujimi was a victim of a division in the PDP in Ekiti State, as the rivalry between her and former Governor Ayodele Fayose has weakened the party in the state.

Last year, the PDP lost the governorship election and got swept away.

Although, a similar thing happened to her in 2019, when she was defeated by Dayo Adeyeye of the APC, however, the court upturned the election and subsequently declared Ms Olujimi as the winner.

Bashiru Ajibola

Mr Ajibola, a former university don, was also defeated in Osun State. In his case, he was a victim of Governor Ademola Adelekes wave in the state.

Governor Adeleke, whose election was nullified by the state governorship election petition tribunal, appears to be ready to show his opponents that he is in charge ahead of the determination of his appeal by the Court of Appeal.

PDP won the presidential election and all the National Assembly seats in the state Mr Ajibola, who is the spokesperson of the Senate, was one of the victims of that takeover.

Mr Bashiru lost to Fadeyi Olubiyi of the PDP.

Mr Ilubiyi polled 134 229 votes to defeat Mr Bashiru, who scored 117, 609 votes.

Okezie Ikpeazu

The governor of Abia State also lost his senatorial bid as he was defeated by former Minority Leader of the Senate, Eyinnanya Abaribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The former minority leader got 49,903 votes, while the governor had 28,422 votes to come third behind Labour Party (LP) candidate, Chinedu Onyeizu, who scored 43,903.

Mr Abaribe left the PDP in 2022 after the zoning arrangement of the party schemed him out of the governorship race, and he moved to APGA to seek reelectiin to the Senate.

Ben Ayade

The governor of Cross River lost his bid to the National Assembly as he was defeated by the incumbent senator for Cross River North, Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe of the PDP.

Mr Ayade, who was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, polled 56,595 votes against Mr Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 76,145 votes.

READ ALSO:

Interestingly, Mr Ayade was the only loser among his partys three senatorial candidates in the state.

The governor left the PDP in 2021 for the ruling party, and Saturdays election was the first time he contested an election outside the PDP.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Monrovia  A former Liberian soldier has told a Finnish Appeals Court in Monrovia that Gibril Massaquoi, a former commander of Sierra Leones Revolutionary Front (RUF) ordered his soldiers to put civilians into a house and burn them alive in Kamatahum Town, Lofa County.

Soldier 50 (the name given to him by the court for fear of reprisal) said as an inspectors, he was at one of the many checkpoints in the town and was not far from the house when he saw it in flames and hurriedly went to the alleged crime scene find out what was happening.

I heard people yelling because of the fire, said soldier 50, who claimed he was an officer of the Anti-Terrorist Unit, a deadly force loyal to then President, Charles Taylor.

Aggravated murder, especially in the town is one of the charges the Tampare District Court said prosecutors did not prove against Mr Massaquoi beyond a reasonable doubt. As with the trial, judges, and investigators of the appeals court and prosecutors and defence lawyers travelled to the town, Kortuhumthe other of the three towns Massaquoi, also a former RUF spokesman is accused of committing or ordering his soldiers to commit aggravated rapes in.

Paula Sallinen, one of Mr Massaquois lawyers told the appeal hearings in Finland that his name did not come up in Truth and Reconciliation Commissions hearings, but Zizar Marzahs, a fierce Taylor general.

Ms Sallinen said the case was skewed against her client because Finnish police only had permission to investigate Massaquoi and not other alleged potential Liberian perpetrators. But Marzah alleged it was Benjamin Yeaten, a former director of the Special Security Service, SSS, now Executive Protection Service, EPS who carried out the killings.

Mondays witness looked to have strengthened prosecutors augment that Mr Massaquoi, whom he also identified as Angel Gabriel (one of Massaquois alleged war names), did indeed commit those alleged atrocities.

He was the only high-ranking officer left on ground, said soldier 50 when asked on direct examination as to who directed the alleged killings. Some of my colleagues said they were rebels, while others said it was civilians accused of shielding the rebels in their homes.

The rebels in question he said were from the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, LURD, who had launched an insurgency against Taylors government.

The witness claimed that Yeaten and Marzah, who were not on the ground when the alleged incident took place, were unhappy at hearing about it on their return to the town the following day.

READ ALSO:

They were angry and wanted to disrobe him (Massaquoi), said Soldier 50. But they could not do that because an officer could not be disrobed, so they only removed his soldier jackets and left him with the t-shirt he was wearing.

He said a short while following the alleged incident, Mr Yeaten instructed him to move the RUF soldiers involved into Monrovia.

The ex-ATU soldier said on arrival, the soldiers were taken to the white flower (Taylors home) and then the twelve-house community in Congo town.

Soldier 50 said it took almost a year before the second phase of the 2003 war was started by LURD.

He said he was reassigned to the RUF forces to battle LURD rebels, who had captured Por River and Bushrod Island. Soldier 50 said he and the RUF soldiers were assigned at Waterside, one of the places Mr Massaquoi is accused of carrying out or directing his soldiers to carry out massacres, allegations the ex-soldier also spoke to.

Gibril Massaquoi was there in the pick-up, when I got there that day, said soldier 50. I was told that they carried on the killings. I met people lying down in the store, some were bleeding, while some were dead. If they (soldiers) were from Liberia, they would have been in sympathy with Liberians.

The prosecution lawyers wanted to be clear as to whether it was Mr Massaquoi he was linking to the alleged killings. The witness was certain.

During the war, everyone had their operational name. I had mine, and Gibril Massaquoi own was Angel Gabriel.

Mr Massaquois lawyers have repeatedly argued he was in Sierra Leone in 2003, serving as a protected witness for the UN-backed Special Court.

The hearings continue on Tuesday.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of its West African Justice Reporting Project.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has called on the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to be righteous in the discharge of his responsibility when he is sworn in as the president of the country.

In a statement by the Deputy Secretary General of the council, Salisu Shehu, the NSCIA congratulated Mr Tinubu for his victory in the presidential poll.

Mr Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election with 8,794,726 votes ahead of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Shehu said the council was not surprised by the outcome of the election taking into consideration Mr Tinubus track records in public service, decades of hard work, selflessness, sacrifice, unflagging commitment and dedication to the Nigerian project.

The council called on Mr Tinubu to ensure he implements measures to fast-track the development of the country.

We urge you, upon assumption of office, to put in place policies and measures that would lead to the large-scale transformation of our countrys economy, security, social infrastructure, and human capital development, he said.

In addition, Your Excellency, you are a very experienced human and financial resources manager, a hunter of talents and an enabler of men and women. You are sui generis among your peers in the encouragement that you constantly give to the Nigerian youths to offer their best in the service of our country.

Consequently, the Council is confident that you would bring to bear your wealth of experience in assembling an all-inclusive team of experts in the administration of our country in a way that would foster unity and peace as well as engender sustainable development that we all crave. Justice is considered as the hallmark of leadership and a non-negotiable requirement of Islam.

We would like to remind you that as a Muslim in a position of authority, leadership is trust and a lot will also be expected from and demanded of you by the people of this great country. We, therefore, urge Your Excellency to continue to be good, truthful, honest, fair, transparent, disciplined, prayerful and righteous in the discharge of the duties Allah has entrusted to you because every opportunity is for an appointed term. You can always count on the support and prayers of the NSCIA in this respect, Mr Shehu said.

BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF NSCIAS LETTER TO PRESIDENT-ELECT BOLA TINUBU

NSCIA/HQ/GF.01/24/VOL.II Date: 9th Shaaban, 1444 AH

2nd March, 2023

His Excellency,

Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu,

President-Elect,

Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Your Excellency, Assalaam Alaykum,

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE

Say: O Allah! Owner of Sovereignty! Thou givest sovereignty to whom Thou wilt, and Thou withdrawest sovereignty from whom Thou wilt. Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou abasest whom Thou wilt. In Thy Hand is the good. Lo, Thou art Able to do all things.

Thou causest the night to pass into the day, and Thou causest the day to pass into the night. And Thou bringest forth the living from the dead, and Thou bringest forth the dead from the living. And Thou givest sustenance to whom Thou choosest, without stint.

(Aal-i-Imraan, Q 3: 26-28)

O you who believe, be persistently standing firm for Allah as witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (Al-Maidah, Q 5:8)

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alh. Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, on behalf of the entire Muslim Ummah in Nigeria, heartily congratulates you, on your resounding victory during the Presidential elections and emergence as the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Council is also very grateful to the Almighty Allah for the victory which is a clear manifestation of His immense favours on you and His preference that you lead our great people and nation at this point in time. Alhamdulillah!

Meanwhile, your victory did not actually come to us in the Council as a surprise. We have followed with keen interest your trajectory in the Nigerian political landscape. We can attest to your track records in public service, your decades of hard work, selflessness, sacrifice, unflagging commitment and dedication to the Nigerian project as well as the excellent interpersonal relationships that you have built across the country over the years.

In addition, Your Excellency, you are a very experienced human and financial resources manager, a hunter of talents and an enabler of men and women. You are sui generis among your peers in the encouragement that you constantly give to the Nigerian youths to offer their best in the service of our country. Consequently, the Council is confident that you would bring to bear your wealth of experience in assembling an all-inclusive team of experts in the administration of our country in a way that would foster unity and peace as well as engender sustainable development that we all crave. Justice is considered as the hallmark of leadership and a non-negotiable requirement of Islam.

We urge you, upon assumption of office, to put in place policies and measures that would lead to the large-scale transformation of our countrys economy, security, social infrastructure, and human capital development.

We would like to remind you that as a Muslim in a position of authority, leadership is trust and a lot will also be expected from and demanded of you by the people of this great country. We, therefore, urge Your Excellency to continue to be good, truthful, honest, fair, transparent, disciplined, prayerful and righteous in the discharge of the duties Allah has entrusted to you because every opportunity is for an appointed term. You can always count on the support and prayers of the NSCIA in this respect.

We pray that the Almighty Allah bless you abundantly and grant you success so that your tenure shall be a reference point in the annals of leadership in this country. We also beseech Him to guide, guard and grant you the wisdom and strength to discharge your duties creditably so as to showcase and enhance the image of Islam by your exemplary conduct and performance.

The Council requests that you reflect on the above-quoted verses of the Glorious Quran as they are relevant to the current situation. Indeed, in the cited verses are messages for you to ponder upon.

While thanking the Almighty Allah for His grace in your life and fervently praying for your success in this exalted position, please accept the assurances of the Councils highest regards.

Yours faithfully,

Signed

Prof. Salisu Shehu

Deputy Secretary-General

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ebonyi State, Benard Odoh, said on Monday that he has secured a court order to stop his arrest by the police.

The police had declared Mr Odoh wanted in connection with the murder of a traditional ruler in the state, Igboke Ewa

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the deceased, who was the Ewa of Omege Village, Umuezeokaoha, Ezza North Local Government Area of Ebonyi and Chairman of Ezza Traditional Rulers, was murdered at his palace on 27 February.

The police in the state, had earlier on Monday in a statement, declared Mr Odoh and nine other suspects wanted over the murder.

Mr Odoh, however, said the allegations against him were false, malicious, baseless and spurious.

The APGA gubernatorial candidate added that he had already obtained an Order from the state High Court, Owerri which stopped the police from arresting him.

According to him, the court in suit No: HOW/194/2023, dated 3 March, restrained the police and other security agencies from harassing or arresting him until the matter brought before it is determined.

He said the court order had been copied to the Inspector General of Police (IG) and other security agencies.

The IG upon being served the said order stopped all actions in the matter, as mark of respect for the court, he claimed.

Mr Odoh, therefore, said the statement declaring him wanted, as issued by the police in Ebonyi, was contrary to the order of court.

I am not on the run and cannot be said to be on the run for any reason whatsoever, but pursuing and seeking the resolution of the false and misleading allegations brought against me through legal and peaceful means.

The allegations are politically-motivated and intended to undermine my chances of winning this Saturdays Governorship election in Ebonyi, he added.

He urged his supporters to discountenance the police statement and remain calm, focused and resolute in the task of winning the forthcoming election.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday congratulated the newly appointed Director and Head of Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four, (G24), Dr. Iyabo Masha.

In a letter signed by him, President Buhari noted that by the appointment, Dr. Masha has made history, becoming the first African to hold the position since the organization was founded in 1971.

According to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, the President enjoined Dr. Masha to use the position to champion the cause of developing countries, especially on the key economic challenges of economic diversification, debt resolution, tax policy and financial sector development.

READ ALSO: Nigerian emerges first African to head G24 global secretariat

Having worked closely with Dr. Masha during her time with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, I have no doubt in my mind that she has the drive, dedication to duty, and professionalism to rise to the responsibilities of the position.

Congratulations, Nigeria is proud of your achievement, and I wish you a successful tenure, the President added.

Before her latest appointment, Mrs Masha, a highly regarded economist, was a member of Nigerias Presidential Advisory Council On the Economy.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The government of Nigeria has said it is consulting and yet to take a decision on the evacuation of nationals from Tunisia following controversial comments of Tunisian President Kais Saied.

Mr Saied at a meeting of Tunisias National Security Council on 21 February, described alleged illegal border crossings from sub-Saharan Africa into the country as a criminal enterprise hatched at the beginning of this century to change the demographic composition of Tunisia.

He said the continuous illegal immigration aims to turn Tunisia into a strictly African population, dissociating it from its Arab and Muslim affiliations.

Speaking through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the Nigerian government while noting that some countries evacuated their nationals last week, in a tweet said our Ambassador, Amb Alloey is in consultation with the Nigerian Community on a decision on evacuation.

NiDCOM added that to date, only a few Nigerians have agreed to return home, however, the mission is working with the UN Migration Agency in Nigeria (IOM) to arrange tickets for those who wish to return.

The many others want to wait it out, praying it will soon pass, following the intervention of the AU @_AfricanUnion and the African Group of Ambassadors, it said.

The African Union had strongly condemned the statements by the Tunisian government, describing it as shocking.

The Chairperson reminds all countries, particularly African Union Member States, to honor their obligations under international law and relevant African Union instruments to treat all migrants with dignity, wherever they come from, refrain from racialised hate speech that could bring people to harm, and prioritize their safety and human rights, spokesperson of the Chairperson, Ebba Kalondo, said.

CNN is reporting that several sub-Saharan countries, including Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea and Gabon, are helping their citizens return from Tunisia following controversial remarks from the countrys president last month concerning illegal immigration into the North African country.

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast said 145 citizens will be repatriated on Saturday, the state Ivorian Press Agency reported on Friday.

Mali also announced the voluntary repatriation of its citizens from Tunisia, according to a Thursday report by state newspaper LEssour.

Meanwhile, Guinea posted images on Twitter of junta leader Col. Mamady Doumbouya welcoming returning Guineans at the airport in Conakry on Saturday and last Wednesday.

READ ALSO:

The Gabonese embassy in Tunisia said many migrants from sub-Saharan countries no longer feel safe in Tunisia and offered to repatriate its citizens, who have until Sunday to register for voluntary repatriation.

Mr Saied in another speech on 23 February, maintained there is no racial discrimination in Tunisia and said our African brothers residing in Tunisia legally are welcome in the country.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


A 37-year-old woman, Blessing Edet, was on Tuesday docked in a Federal High Court, Abuja for allegedly defaming Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State.

Ms Edet, who was arraigned before Justice Ahmed Mohammed by the Nigerian police on a six-count charge, however pleaded not guilty.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that while the Inspector-General of Police is the complainant in the charge number: FHC/ABJ/CR/181/2021, Edet is the sole defendant.

Count one of the charge read that you Blessing Ossom Edet F 37 years of No. 18 Buchanan Crescent Wuse II, Abuja, on or before April 11, 2020, sent messages or other matter with the caption: Names of Married Women/Politicians Wives Sleeping with Governor Emmanuel Loading, through her Facebook page.

She was also accused of sending a message with a caption: So We Are Going Dirty Its Time To Break The Final Table Stay Tune, through her Facebook page.

Besides, Ms Edet was alleged to have sent a message captioned: That the Hon. Commissioner for Women Affairs and Agriculture, Dr Glory Edet, was the Actual First Lady of Akwa Ibom, who has Overthrown the Real Wife of the governor.

This act, according to the charge, is grossly offensive and an offence punishable under Section 24 (a) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.

Ms Edet pleaded not guilty to the six counts.

Justice Omotosho, who said that the offence listed in the counts were bailable ones, held that Section162 of Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015 allowed the court to grant the bail.

As offences are bailable offences, this court see no reason in denying the defendant bail, he said.

The judge, who admitted Ms Edet to a bail in the sum of N500, 000 with a surety in the like sum, said the surety should be a civil servant or somebody with a reasonable means of income.

He ordered Ms Edet to, immediately after the sitting, deposit her international passport with the court registry and that failure to meet the terms, she should be remanded at Suleja Prison pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.

The judge adjourned the matter until 10 May for trial.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has expressed concern over claims of victory at polls by more than one political party.

The Director-General of NOA, Garba Abari, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a Breakfast Meeting with the Media towards Post Election Stability in the country.

The meeting was organised by the NOA in collaboration with International Alert Nigeria.

Mr Abari noted that the current situation where more than one political party is claiming victory holds ominous signs for the polity, if not delicately managed.

According to him, it is not unusual that some will feel dissatisfied after any election.

This is so because, in the case of electoral contest for the position of president, only one candidate can win at a time.

Our current situation where more than one political party is claiming victory holds ominous signs for the polity if not delicately managed.

It is in view of the agencys mandate aimed at building national cohesion that I am hosting this breakfast meeting with the media, the director-general said.

According to him, the meeting is to enlist media support for moderation and conflict sensitivity reportage of the unfolding events after the declaration of a winner at the presidential elections.

Let our conversation be temperate, conflict sensitive and moderate, so that followers of various political parties are not incited to violence.

I have a special appeal to the media. You have a role to play now. Do not magnify the political narratives that divide our country and our people.

Democracy is about the contest of ideas and was never meant to produce violent outcomes. Let us all work towards the peace that we so desire for us and generations yet unborn.

Mr Abari also urged Nigerians who would participate in the March 11 Governorship and state House of Assembly elections to conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner, to ensure a violence free and credible election.

Paul Nyulaku, the Country Director, International Alert Nigeria, said that his organisation partnered with the NOA to support in building up discussion towards national integration and post-election stability in the country.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Seventeen years after the last national census (2006), Nigeria is set to conduct a fresh green census.

The green census, an approach to conducting a census that causes little or no damage to the environment, is said to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and helps in combating climate change.

The enumeration exercise, which is scheduled to hold between 29 March and 2 April across 774 local government areas of the country, is expected to gulp a total of N869 billion.

But according to Nigerias Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, the government has only committed about a quarter of the sum.

Nigerias population

Nigerias population is estimated to be about 216 million according to the United Nations population agency, UNFPA and according to statistical projections, if the country continues in its current direction, there will be a 100 per cent increase in its population by 2050, that is an 400 million people.

Speaking at a high-level partners engagement in Abuja on Monday, Mr Agba said the census will be conducted in partnership with various development partners including the UNFPA, and EU, amongst others.

Funding

The minister noted that a total of N869 billion ($1.88 billion) will be required for the exercise, including post-census activities; N626 billion ($1.36 billion) for the census at $6 per capita and N243 billion ($527 million) for post-census activities up to 2025.

Mr Agba noted that the government has committed N291.5 billion ($632 million) representing 46 per cent of the total funding needed for the exercise.

He, therefore, invited various development partners including network providers to support the government with funding.

UNFPA, he said, is providing significant technical and financial support and would also be managing a basket fund established for the redemption of pledges.

READ ALSO:

According to Mr Agba, 885,000 persons will be trained to conduct the dual-purpose census; population and housing. The training of these persons, the minister said, will be held just before the census but did not give an exact date.

He said 773 local governments have been demarcated with the exception of Abadam Local Government Area in Borno State where he noted that residents were not very receptive to the personnel.

He said the government has, however, adopted a hybrid enumeration strategy.

Other areas with similar challenges include, the minister noted, Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and other localities in Zamfara State.

However, the census planning committee assured that its security and logistics committee has all it takes to handle the situation.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, also noted that digital technology will be deployed for credible, reliable and acceptable outcomes, adding that census allows the government to correctly capture changes in the population, the age structure or movement of the population for alignment of public policy, and also for investment decisions.

For this years census, she noted that people will not be asked about their ethnicity and religion owing to their sensitive nature.

Including ethnicity and religion in the census will create tensions and controversy that will divert attention from the relevance of census data for national planning. It is therefore prudent to leave out these items to safeguard the census from controversies and risk of rejection by certain sections of the country, the National Population Commission (NPC) explained.

We have to stand up together figuring out how we take this to the goalpost. If we do not, the world will actually fail to deliver the SDGs. It is not only about Nigerias influence in Africa, but it is also about Nigerias global influence as the third most populous country in the world, 25 years from now, said Ulla Mueller, UNFPA resident representative in Nigeria, while enjoining all stakeholders to support the exercise.

She added that the world cannot deliver on the SDGs if we do not deliver the census in Nigeria; so when you contribute to the census in Nigeria, you also contribute to the global promise of achieving and delivering on sustainable development.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has queried the re-election of embattled Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa, as member of representing Tudun Wada, Doguwa federal constituency of Kano State.

INEC said the declaration of Mr Doguwa of the 25 February National Assembly election in his constituency was made under duress.

Mr Doguwa has been representing the constituency since 2007. It would be his fifth term in the House of Representatives, if elected in latest election.

INEC faulted Mr Doguwas victory days after Mr Doguwa was arrested, charged and arraigned on murder charges which he allegedly committed on the day of the election.

The Federal High Court in Kano on Monday granted bail to Mr Doguwa, who was detained over alleged complicity in the murder of three members of his constituency.

The returning officer, Ibrahim Yakasai, had announced that Mr Doguwa, the majority leader of the house of representatives, scored 39,732 votes to defeat his closest rival, Salisu Abdullahi, of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), who polled 34,798 votes.

While Mr Doguwas name was on the list of members-elect posted on INEC twitter handle last night, the electoral commission stated that Mr Doguwas win was announced under duress.

The commission did not provide further comments and the INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education, Festus Okoye, had yet to respond to our reporters request for clarification as of the time of filing this report.

READ ALSO: Court releases Ado Doguwa on bail

The police had arrested Mr Doguwa and charged him with murder of three persons who died at Dadin Kowa Ward of Tudun Wada Local Government Area of Kanbo State in a violence that erupted during the collation of results.

The police said he was charged with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, causing grievous

hurt, and mischief by fire, inciting disturbance.

Residents said the violent confrontation occurred when the agents of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) called for the cancellation of the Dadin Kowa results over alleged incidents of

over-voting.

IINEC is to present certificates of return to the members-elect of the house of representatives tomorrow (Wednesday).

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


17 years after the last national census (2006), Nigeria is set to conduct a green census.

The counting exercise will be held between 29 March and 2 April in all 774 local government areas of Africas largest population.

Nigerias population is estimated to be about 216 million according to the UN population agency, UNFPA and according to statistical projections, if Nigeria continues in its current direction, there will be a 100 per cent increase in its population by 2050  400 million people.

Speaking at the high-level partners engagement in Abuja on Monday, Nigerias Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Clem Agba said the census will be conducted in partnership with various development partners including the UNFPA, EU amongst others.

He noted that a total of N869 billion ($1.88 billion) will be required for the census including post census activities; N626 billion ($1.36 billion) for census at $6 per capita and N243 billion ($527 million) for post-census activities up to 2025.

Mr Agba noted that the government has committed N291.5 billion ($632 million) representing 46 percent of the total funding needed for the exercise.

The Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed also noted that digital technology will be deployed for credible, reliable and acceptable outcomes, adding that censuses allow the government to correctly capture changes in the population, the age structure or movement of population for alignment of public policy, and also for investment decisions.

According to Mr Agba, 885,000 persons will be trained to conduct the dual purpose census; population and housing.

773 local governments have been demarcated with the exception of Abadam local government in Borno State where residents were not very receptive of the personnel. The government has now adopted a hybrid enumeration strategy.

Other areas with similar challenges include Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State and other localities in Zamfara State. However, the census planning committee assured that its security and logistics committee have all it takes to handle the situation.

For this years census, people will not be asked about their ethnicity and religion owing to their sensitive nature.

Including ethnicity and religion in the census will create tensions and controversy that will divert attention from the relevance of census data for national planning. It is therefore prudent to leave out these items to safeguard the census from controversies and risk of rejection by certain sections of the country, the National Population Commission (NPC) explained.

READ ALSO:

We have to stand up together figuring out how we take this to the goal post. If we do not, the world will actually fail to deliver the SDGs. It is not only about Nigerias influence in Africa, it is about Nigerias global influence as the third most populous country in the world, 25 years from now, said Ulla Mueller UNFPA resident representative in Nigeria while enjoining all stakeholders to support the exercise.

She added that the world cannot deliver on the SDGs if we do not deliver the census in Nigeria; so when you contribute to the census in Nigeria, you also contribute to the global promise of achieving and delivering on sustainable development.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Opposition political parties in Kano State have accused the Kano State government of importing armed thugs from neighbouring countries to disrupt the 11 March governorship election in the state.

Similarly, the police in the state said they are aware of plans by some politicians to import thugs into the state to disrupt the election.

The leading opposition party in the state, the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) alleged that the administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has hired bandits across the border to disrupt the election in its favour.

We are aware that thousands of bandits from Chad and Niger republics as well as from Katsina and Kaduna states have been hired and brought into Kano State by the Gandujiya administration to be used to disrupt the elections.

The DSS and the Nigerian Police are aware of this. These bandits, brandishing heavy weapons including guns and machetes, are already in different locations across the 44 local government councils.

Nigerian government and indeed all Nigerians should be aware that for any breach of the peace on Election Day, governor Ganduje and his gang including the Kano Director of the DSS (who ought to have retired from the service over a year ago) must be held personally responsible.

Law enforcement agents must be proactive in taming this unfortunate menace and averting this senseless disaster that is being planned against the good people of Kano State, the NNPP said in a statement.

Kano government accuses NNPP

However, Kano State governments spokesperson, Muhammad Garba, told Daily Trust that being in government, they were privy to security reports which allegedly indicated that was what the NNPP was planning to do as they did during the just concluded presidential election.

Mr Garba said the NNPP haven understood that their plan has been uncovered are making frantic efforts to cover up by doing a counter-attack.

The NNPP know they are not only going to lose this election but their grand plan has been exposed and because of that they are jittery and trying to turn the table with these allegations that the security report has said they (NNPP) are planning, Mr Garba said.

Everybody knows NNPP is the one indoctrinating youths to even become obstinate and not listen to their parents. They are also the ones known for importing thugs as evidenced in all their rallies, which has led to the loss of lives.

APC remains peace-loving and we will support the security agencies to ensure that the election is peaceful across the state, the government spokesperson said.

More accusations

Also, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Ibrahim Khalil, in a press conference on Monday alleged that some unpatriotic politicians have engaged the services of armed thugs to disrupt the electoral process during the election.

Report reaching us indicates that some unpatriotic politicians have engaged the services of armed thugs to disrupt the electoral process.

There an also reports of moves to provide security agencies uniforms to political thugs during the March 11th governorship election.

Given this development, we are calling on relevant stakeholders, especially security agencies, state/national peace committees, human rights organisations, international and domestic observers and media to do the needful in addressing the unfortunate situation for peace and stability to prevail.

We are also appealing to INEC to mobilise election materials to polling units on time for the process to kick start appropriately. As there are allegations of plans to delay the process, especially in Kano central. Politics must not be taken as a do-or-die affair, Mr Khalil said on behalf of other governorship candidates.

The governorship candidates who jointly signed the press statement include Bala Gwagwarwa of the Social Democratic party, (SDP), Sadiq Wali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Tanko Yakasai of the People Redemption Party (PRP).

Others are Yakubu Uba-Gaya of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Ibrahim Muhammad of the All People Party (APP), Aisha Mahmud of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Furera Ahmad of Booth Party (BP) and Shaaban Ibrahim Sharada of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

The police speak

Meanwhile, police spokesperson in the state, Abdullahi Kiyawa, said the Commissioner of Police is warning all thugs, mischief makers and miscreants to stay clear of the state as the command will not relent in its effort at deal decisively with troublemakers.

The Kano State Police Command under the leadership of CP Mamman Dauda, psc(+) receives information that some disgruntled politicians are planning to import thugs to the State with the sole aim of disrupting the forthcoming Gubernatorial / State Assembly Elections slated for Saturday, 11th March 2023.

The Commissioner of Police is warning all thugs, mischief makers and miscreants to stay clear of the State as the Command will not relent in its effort at dealing decisively with troublemakers.

The Command will in liaison with other security agencies in the state ensure the arrest and diligent prosecution of all suspects. The thugs will also be charged to court alongside their sponsors.

READ ALSO:

We want to use this medium to thank the law-abiding citizens and the good people of Kano State for their support during the Presidential /National Assembly Elections as it was conducted peacefully. The CP wants the good people of the State to continue in the same vein for us to record a zero-violence election. In case of emergencies, the command can be reached via; 08032419754, 08123821575, or 09029292926.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Tuesday, fixed Wednesday for ruling on a request by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking a review of its orders permitting Peter Obi to inspect electoral materials used for the conduct of the presidential election.

Mr Obi was granted leave by the appellate court to inspect the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and other sensitive materials that INEC deployed for the conduct of the 25 February poll.

The court had restrained INEC from tampering with the BVAS machines.

But INEC approached the appellate court to vary the orders. The electoral umpire explained that it needed to reconfigure the BVAS machines and redeploy them for this Saturday, 11 Marchs governorship and state parliamentary election.

At the resumption of proceedings in the suit on Tuesday, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Joseph Ikyegh slated Wednesday, 8 March for ruling after taking arguments from lawyers to INEC and Mr Obi.

Arguments

INEC lawyer, Tanimu Inuwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the court to review the earlier order to enable the electoral umpire reconfigure the BIVAS machines for deployment to the over 1000 polling units across Nigeria.

No data or information will be lost in the course of transferring data from the BIVAS to the backend server or cloud (of INEC), Mr Inuwa explained.

He argued that any delay in granting the application would delay the conduct of the Saturday state governorship and House of Assembly election.

But Mr Obis lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), disagreed with INEC.

Mr Ikpeazu contended that reconfiguring the BIVAS would alter the data that had been stored on it from the presidential election and National Assembly election.

He begged the court to dismiss INECs application.

In a related development, the appellate court fixed Wednesday for hearing in a similar application filed by INEC concerning Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Atiku also secured the courts permission to inspect the electoral materials that were used for the polls.

The separate suit could not be heard on Tuesday because Atikus lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), needed time to respond to INECs filing.

Background

In the two separate ex parte applications, Atiku and Mr Obi alongside their political parties urged the court to compel INEC to allow them to obtain documents it used for the presidential election to aid their petitions against the outcome of the presidential election.

An order granting the applicants permission to do electronic scanning and make photocopies of voters registration, ballot papers used in the conduct of the election for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on the Feb. 25.

An order granting leave to the applicants to carry out Digital Forensic Inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the Feb. 25 election for the Office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Also, the duo sought an order restraining INEC from tampering with the information embedded in the BVAS machines until the due inspection was conducted and Certified True Copies of them issued.

The court in its consideration ordered INEC to allow the applicants to inspect all the electoral materials used in the conduct of the presidential election.

READ ALSO:

The court permitted the appellants to do electronic scanning and/or make photocopies of Voter Registration, Ballot Papers used in the conduct of the presidential election.

That leave is hereby granted to the applicants to carry out Digital Forensic Inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the 25 February 2023 election for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the court ordered.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Senator-elect of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has promised to give the indigenous people of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) an adequate representation in the 10th Senate.

Speaking after receiving her certificate of return at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Tuesday, Ms Kingibe also promised to work with the FCT Minister as the representative of the people.

She said policies need to be put in place for the FCT to have more benefits like other states in the country.

FCT is supposed to be treated like a state. Its not a state but if certain policies are put in place, we can access all the things that other states do. Now, those policies have to be written and passed. Those are some of the things we are expected to do differently, he said.

She listed security, shortage of housing and lack of adequate water supply as other issues to be addressed in the FCT.

When asked about the indigenes who might worry for not getting adequate representation as she is not an indigene of the FCT, Ms Kingibe said a candidates tribe or religion doesnt matter but their ability to perform in the task they are voted for.

Almost every Chairman in the FCT is an indigene. At the end of the day, it doesnt matter how you represent yourself but who works for you, she said.

The Senator of the FCT is an indigene. Hes been there for 20 years. If theyre not adequately represented, its because of the calibre of people they take there, not the tribe that matters. A time must come in this country where your tribe does not matter. Its your character. What can you do? Your capacity.

She said while she is not an indigenes of the FCT, she has lived in the capital city long enough to know the problems of the people and how to address them.

The 68 years old senator-elect, who claimed to have lived in the FCT since 1988, vowed that the people will see a difference.

Theyll see a difference and know that its not the tribe of who represents you that matters but what the person is bringing to the table, what the person is willing to do thats what matters most. And when Nigerians move away from tribe and religion to capacity. Then we would have arrived to be the nation that we should be.

Mrs Kingibe is married to a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe.

Philip Aduda whom Ms Kingibe replaces in the Senate is an Indigene of the FCT. He has been representing the FCT at the National Assembly since 2003, first in the House of Representatives (from 2003 to 2011) and the Senate from 2011 to 2023.

Before Mr Aduda moved to the Senate, the FCT had been represented in the upper chamber by two non-indigenes  Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe from Kwara State, and Isa Maina from Borno State.

Mrs Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe is a sister to the current Kwara State governor but married to Lawan Gwadabe, an indigene of Jigawa State.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has presented 98 senators-elect with their certificates of return.

They are the winners of the senatorial elections held alongside the presidential elections on Saturday 25 February.

The certificates of return were presented to them at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

INEC said the certificates of return for the members-elect of the House of Representatives will be presented to them on Wednesday.

The commission had last week presented the certificates of return to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, and the Vice President-Elect, Kashim Shettima.

So far, only seven of the 18 political parties in the country have at least a member in the Senate, said INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu.

The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Young People Party (YPP).

As it stands, the ruling APC retains the majority members in the Senate with 57 seats while the PDP got 29 seats.

The LP has six seats, NNPP and SDP have two seats each. APGA and YPP have one each.

More Pictures;

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


I am indeed concerned by the seething anger among the urban youths of Lagos and other state capitals, especially those who voted en masse for the Obi-Datti ticket, which is anchored on those three principles I described above that I dont believe is sustainable or even appropriate for the development of Nigeria There must be a way to reach the angry Nigerian  especially the youths. There must be a way of engaging them and selling a positive vision to them.

In the recently concluded elections, the Labour Party has ridden on the anger of youths  and, of course, a lot of adults  around the country, to post a very impressive first-time performance for Mr Peter Obi. Admixed with that  perhaps as a foundation  is also the quest by Igbos to have a shot at the presidency of Nigeria, after decades of what many describe as deliberate exclusion or conspiracy against them. The performance of the Labour Party  which has eaten away considerably at the opposition power of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  is one helluva complex phenomenon to unpack, but try I will. The ethnic fervour is surely a factor, and a valid one at that. Add to these two, Mr Obis appeal to Christians around the country. This last part was not taken on board in the rather religiously-liberal South-West, where people seem not to be cowed by their many fire-spitting pastors. But this may have been a major factor in states like Taraba, Nasarawa, and Plateau. So, Peter ran with three emotional forces  youth anger, ethnic assertion, and the very deep-rooted and powerful Christian persecution mentality. As a Christian myself (even though of the very liberal hue), I grew up in the middle of Pentecostalism and I am very aware of the stories they tell about the fierce and often deadly God-ordained competition with Islam.

This is a powerful combination. At the end, Mr Obi had a mishmash of followers, many of whom refused to see whether the basis on which they had formed a quick alliance will augur well for the country, or even if such a platform was in their enlightened best interest. There were Muslim youths who were tired of the status quo, who were in that alliance with fierce Pentecostal and even catholic preachers, whose pursuit was in detriment to Islam  and vice versa. And there were no umpires within that setup who could call a truce, in case they found power. There were millions of non-Igbo people in that alliance who had signed up to drink from the same chalice as active members of separatist groups and who were just moonlighting as nationalists for a purpose.

The Senate candidate who was killed in Enugu, in a very gory massacre, Barrister Oyibo Chukwu, in his lifetime was also a fierce Igbo nationalist who really didnt believe in the entity called Nigeria. I have viewed a video in which, two years ago, he addressed a townhall meeting somewhere in the east of Nigeria, explaining to young men how the Igbos could liberate themselves from Nigeria. One of the key strategies he mentioned was that they should get an Igbo person to be president. Brimming with what could be termed as a superiority complex, he averred that an Igbo president will dismantle Nigeria very quickly without firing a shot. He also urged Igbo youths to become suicidal in the hue of the Japanese Kamikazes who dove their small planes into huge American warships during the Second World War. I was more than alarmed. Allegedly, he ended up being murdered and roasted by the same elements he fought for. Most unfortunately. This was why I refused to join the Obidient camp, no matter how many insults, accusations, name-callings and impugnments I received. I just dont believe in queueing up behind a bunch of negative emotions.

I am a live-and-let-live guy. I dont believe that my Yoruba ethnic stock is better than others. Or maybe we are better at some things and worse at others  like everyone else. I dont believe in the war between Christians and Muslims. I saw how that played out for my father as a teenager. The Pentecostal pastors took everything he had as he struggled through financial problems, even when we his children had no clothes on our backs. We prayed and prayed and prayed. But things never improved for him until we started taking care of him. Hes gone now but I remember him expressing some bitter skepticism about the Nigerian brand of Christianity and their focus on money, close to the tail-end of his time on earth. I couldnt believe my ears that day. My Dad, the prayer warrior, expressing anger at the way the church had turned out in Nigeria. Perhaps that was why I was glad to marry into Catholicism. I saw they were less meddlesome and didnt enslave members by demanding money from them all the time. But in this political season, the Catholic Church in Nigeria went into overdrive. In the parish where I registered but rarely attend, someone called me to ask where I was one Sunday as they had called my name out to charge me and others to support Obi  by force, by fire. I was afraid and have avoided that parish since then. We have seen other priests and Bishops threaten their members about the election, invoking curses on those who refuse to vote for Peter Obi. Now, I dont play that. I believe rather in the God of second and third and fourth chances. I believe in that God that sometimes uses those whom the world has condemned, for great things; the kind of God who can use a Bola Tinubu, condemned and hated by many, dismissed for several reasons, deeply disdained, and all that, for greatness in the society called Nigeria.

I think I have fairly explained why I couldnt and will not join the Obidient group based on the first two passions  religion and ethnic fervour  even though I believe in equity; so I understand where the ethnic angle is coming from, and it needs to be redressed, even though the whole story needs to be told. You see, I believe that we cannot achieve that equity by force, or by telling a one-sided story. We all have to commit to telling the truth and making some sacrifices. We certainly cannot achieve this by holding on to deep prejudice, or by repeating sentiments that belittle others with whom we share the same national space. What do I mean by this? There had been recorded killings of Igbos up North, even before Nigeria got her independence. These had already created tension between the two groups. Then the first coup happened and targeted mainly Northern leaders. Unfortunately, this coup was masterminded by mostly military men from the then Midwest (today the Igbo-speaking parts of Delta State). The retaliatory coup happened shortly after and was bloody. Eastern military men were taken out. Soon Nigeria would be going into a full-blown civil war for three years (1967-70).

The civil war was costly in terms of human lives, especially in the East of Nigeria. All these happened in seven quick years after self-rule started in Nigeria. Just seven years! Truth be told, many of the leaders were in their 40s and early 30s. Some were even in their 20s! We were short of personnel and inexperience was rife. Many had just come over to the big cities from their villages and were naturally ethnic champions who were worshipped by their people. They were the best among their people. The brainiest. The smartest. Imagine then that they were wasted in the goriest of manner at the peak of their careers! So, as we engage the subject of Igbo exclusion from the highest office in the land, there is need to be very truthful about all that happened in the past and begin to heal. That will take some maturity to achieve. The Nigerian government should also recognise a holiday for the civil war. But for now, what many of our young people who dont even know the history do, is to twist the hot knife in this wound from time to time, especially on social media.

I strove hard to tell those children that day that they have no right  as yet  to think that way about their country because it is they who should fix this country. There are many reasons why we should never despair about our country. You cannot fix a country you do not love, because you lack understanding and knowledge about how other people built their countries; you are only interested in the glitz and glamour and neat ambience of those countries you are privileged to visit.

My main concern in this article is actually the youths. I was recently at an event organised by the DailyTrust Group in Abuja and they had invited some secondary school students. When it was question time, a few of the kids got up and expressed the loss of hope in Nigeria. They were the private school types, raised by DSTV and the internet, who often thumb their noses at their country because they are used to summer travels and white Christmas abroad. But I couldnt blame them much, because almost every adult who spoke that day, also expressed loss of hope in Nigeria. So, the kids also echoed the adults. This is where I dont get it. I have quite a number of friends who must have good account balances in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria, but they still express bitter anger at their country. I am beginning to think that they dont have a real cause for this anger but need to look inwards. I strove hard to tell those children that day that they have no right  as yet  to think that way about their country because it is they who should fix this country. There are many reasons why we should never despair about our country. You cannot fix a country you do not love, because you lack understanding and knowledge about how other people built their countries; you are only interested in the glitz and glamour and neat ambience of those countries you are privileged to visit. Some of those reasons include:

Every country that is successful was built by its own people. In fact, the correct response to a bad Nigeria is that we should remain here and fix this place; It takes time and great effort, sweat, tears and blood, to build a country. Nobody will do it for you; Nigeria is really a great country in terms of opportunities  especially for those who are open to hard work and sacrificing for motherland; Nigeria is a beautiful country with great weather, great assets and incredible topographies that needs to be discovered; Being abroad often looks better on the surface but you will never be fully accepted there. Also, there are many frustrations that come with life, and it differs from place to place. For example, we have many friends who complain of oppressive tax systems, racism, the chokehold of the credit system, and other vicegrips in those beautiful countries. You can japa now, but may regret this later; You have to think forward ten, twenty years because there comes a time when making money does not give you that fulfilment. By then, it may be tough to reintegrate back into this society. And you may not have made much. In fact, whatever you make abroad, stays abroad. We therefore have millions of frustrated but stuck emigrants in those countries today  slaves to the system; Honestly, there is no respect abroad. I know 65 year-olds who wash their own cars in the cold. And money is incredibly tough to come by; You cannot suddenly make it big abroad unlike here. Ask yourself why Caucasians, Chinese, Lebanese and Indians never leave here. Just as you are leaving, they are coming. Is there something they know that you dont? Dont be deceived by the exchange rate. There is something called Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). It basically says that if you earn say N500,000 per month here (which is like $1,000 just for ease of calculation), you may live better and more comfortably than someone who earns $5,000 per month in America. So, if someone tells you you could come abroad and earn $1,000 per month, dont look at it as N500,000. Divide that by at least five. Could be worse. Someone earning $3,000 monthly in the US is actually a poor person, even though that is like N1.5 million per month here. Someone earning 2,500 monthly is also quite poor.

So, still on the youths, I once tried to do extensive work on cognitive bias or dissonances. These are psychological terms that refer to some beliefs that we hold to be true and with which we operate daily. They are ideas inserted deep in our minds, which we dont even think about, but about which if we paused, we would realise they are false. As we grow, we tend to have more of these biases. Age and experience should grant us wisdom so that we outgrow these dissonances, but we hardly do. They are:

That the grass is always greener on the other side. It usually is not. And if it really is, its because your neighbour probably spends more time tending his grass and investing in it; That yesterday is always better than today. Many times, it is not. Many of the youths complaining about Nigeria and Lagos today and speaking in such depressing manner, would have been more frustrated if they were teenagers a couple of decades back. But we grew up then, in relative want, but never derided our nation the way they now do. It was the military days anyway. Everyone knew their bounds; Money and things do not bring happiness. We just end up trying to fill an unfillable void. The Nigerian youths who organised EndSARS were mostly children of very rich people, who were themselves very rich. Still, they complain a lot, and bitterly too. The question is; why? Boredom? Rootlessness? Did their parents throw money at problems that require something else? How come the angriest youths in Nigeria are the most-privileged? And they arent angry because they want a better nation for all, necessarily. Its more about them comparing Nigeria with abroad. We are talking about the generation that wants success without a story. And the disconnection from, and ignorance of history is now proving to have disastrous, existential consequences on our nation. I typed this article sitting between students of Day Waterman Secondary School, returning on a flight to Lagos. The girls were kitted in mini-skirts, showing generous laps, ready to tempt the male world into insanity. This is one of the most expensive schools in Nigeria. These are the children of Nigerias uber-rich. I could bet that they are not being trained to love Nigeria, to see through history and understand the sheer backbreaking work that results in national development. They are trained to speak up, and many  most  end up being adept at speaking up about other people, never introspecting that they may be the problem, or feeling a bit contrite that they may have been beneficiaries of the largesses that left Nigeria crippled. Leave Nigeria in the hands of these ones, and if we dont start to ground them, they will ruin the country and sell it off in another 15 years from now. Or they will go abroad and start throwing barbs that lead to the disintegration of the country; Nigeria is a useless, dirty country. This is another rife belief and oft-repeated statement. But in cleaning it up lies the money that is to be made. Also, the best way to find happiness is to give of yourself  your time, money, excess clothes, properties and so one. Everything you see as being chaotic in Nigeria is indeed an opportunity; It is the end of history. This is often the attitude we get. Nigeria is 62 years old. They say we have killed the country. That we have wasted 62 years doing rubbish. But recall the first 10 years of confusion that I described above? Then came about 30 years of military rule. Weve only had a fair stretch of 24 years of civilian self-rule since 1999. The experiment so far has shown that we are yet immature. Politicians mostly fend for themselves, and a lot of looting goes on. But it is not the end of the world and the solution to a headache is not self-decapitation. We are still writing history. History is not about to end. But many people always have that foreboding feeling that time is ending, and things must immediately change and if it does not, they believe in tearing the system down. Many youths have been threatening that they will burn the country down if their candidate is not declared a winner.

In pursuit of this goodness, however, the young Nigerian should also look inwards. Ensure you have a good attitude to life and that that positivism shows through in your outlook, actions and thoughts. People with positive attitudes will see the world gravitate to them, even though they will also see their own fair share of tribulations, disappointments and betrayals. They will get jobs, and their businesses will thrive. They are also likely to find good partners.

So, I am indeed concerned by the seething anger among the urban youths of Lagos and other state capitals, especially those who voted en masse for the Obi-Datti ticket, which is anchored on those three principles I described above that I dont believe is sustainable or even appropriate for the development of Nigeria. Some people dont want to entertain the idea of a united Nigeria (and Ive started to see, just as it appeared during EndSARS, hashtags for EndNigeria, just because their candidate did not win an election), but I see that as a task that we can achieve; indeed a task that we have been saddled with. There must be a way to reach the angry Nigerian  especially the youths. There must be a way of engaging them and selling a positive vision to them.

One thing I will advise is that we all delve into as much history as possible  young and old. The more I read history  of Africa, of the tribes of Nigeria, of Britain and America and just about everywhere else  the more confident I became that we can make Nigeria work and that though the progress may be slow, we need not destroy the country out of anger when we could have bided our time and take off like Chinese bamboo at some point. The more I went into history, the more I saw that other countries had gone through this stage that we are (in slightly different ways), and many were worse. And I saw the kind of hard work they went through to get to where they are today. This is why I have been harping on hard work for all. We seem stuck at a point where everybody is seeking comfort and enjoyment with the littlest of effort and value-addition. This is why we are permanently stuck with importing everything, while producing nothing. Many have become mega-rich on the back of our import addiction and so should show some contrition. I put out a long article on the history of American democracy which I believe could be of help to our restless youths. Nigeria is an open sesame, a clean canvass, a great opportunity for anyone who would like to add value. We should be careful not to leave this space to foreigners, at the mercy of a disconnected generation of entitled Nigerians, or neer-do-wells, only to be complaining about how bad things are from abroad.

In pursuit of this goodness, however, the young Nigerian should also look inwards. Ensure you have a good attitude to life and that that positivism shows through in your outlook, actions and thoughts. People with positive attitudes will see the world gravitate to them, even though they will also see their own fair share of tribulations, disappointments and betrayals. They will get jobs, and their businesses will thrive. They are also likely to find good partners. Nigerian youths should stop going around with the idea that someone somewhere is cheating them or about to cheat them. They shouldnt imagine every leader as a thief. This kind of thinking limits their potentials. For Nigeria to get forward too, our youths must develop a spirit of magnanimity. Nigerians used to be very generous but the realities of economics has made the current youth generation into selfish lots. Also, prejudiced stories passed down by parents have reduced the kind of cohesion we could have had among our youth. I am preaching the right spirit and attitude that Nigerian youths need to have today for a better society; the kind of attitude that makes them see good where others see bad  like the two Biblical spies who brought back great news from where a dozen others had brought back tales of woe. For as many as understand, so also shall it be good for them.

Lastly, is humility. Humility conquers all. Humility is actually for those who are really proud of what they have inside, but know that what they dont know or have, is far more than what they know and have. Humble people dont wear their wealth on their sleeves. They appreciate the little things of life and are not into comparing their own achievements with others.

I hope that with the little I have written today, someone else can expand it to many young people in our society today. Patriotism is what we are missing. And patriotism is about loving your nation even when she disappoints you sometimes  like your child, your kin. Patriotism is valuable and is the key ingredient required for national greatness. We just must get there as a people.

Tope Fasua, an economist, author, blogger, entrepreneur, and recent presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), can be reached through topsyfash@yahoo.com.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna, Isah Ashiru, on Tuesday received a boost in his quest to clinch the governorship seat of the state as nine political parties endorsed his candidacy.

Mr Ashiru is the main challenger of the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Uba Sani.

The contest has taken a dramatic turn in the state since the presidential election that saw the APC losing the state and losing the two senatorial seats they currently occupy in the Senate to the PDP.

While the APC is preaching on the Muslim-muslim ticket among the majority muslim north of the state, the PDP is hoping to consolidate on the the defeat they meted on APC in the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.

The political alliance

Nine governorship candidates of different political parties in Kaduna endorsed Mr Ashiru, as their consensus candidate ahead of 11 March governorship elections.

The parties are Young Progressives Party, (YPP), the African Alkiance (AA) , the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the All Peoples Party (APP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Accord Party, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the Action Democratic Party, (ADP).

The political parties under the platform of the Kaduna State Rescue and Rebuild Gubernatorial Candidates Forum, argued that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC is not done for the good and interest of the state.

In his speech at the occasion, which held in Kaduna the chairman of the Forum, who is the governorship candidate of the YPP, Sanin Yaya, said they chose Mr Ashiru because they believe in his ability to bring better development and unite the people of the state.

This decision is borne out of our genuine desire to have one and indivisible state irrespective of tribal or religious differences, and we are confident that Isah Ashiru Kudan is the only candidate that will unify the state.

Today, we wish to announce our support and loyalty to Isah Ashiru the governorship candidate of the PDP.

We took this decision after extensive consultation with our party members as well as the good people of Kaduna State.

I want to use this opportunity to remind the good people of Kaduna State of the hardship and pain inflicted on them by this APC administration, from an unjustified high rate of taxes to authoritarian leadership and the ego. From the increase of school fees to tertiary institutions to the unlawful disengagement of teachers, local government staff and the removal of traditional rulers,  he said.

Mr Ashiru who also attended the meeting thanked the political parties and promised to run an inclusive government if he succeeded at the polls.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has seized 1,112 kilogrammes of Cannabis sativa from a suspected female drug trafficker in Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria.

The NDLEA Commander in the state, Obot Bassey, said this on Tuesday in a statement issued in Uyo.

Mrs Bassey said the suspect, Hope David, 42, was arrested by NDLEA operatives in Abak Local Government Area of the state on 5 March.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the entire family engages in the illicit trade.

However, as at (of) the time of the arrest, the husband of the suspect, Iniobong David Duff was nowhere to be found, but investigation has commenced in order to bring the perpetrators to justice, she added.

The commander said the NDLEA would continue to arrest drugs merchants in the state, while rehabilitating addicts to make them useful to the society.

Mrs Bassey solicited the support of the public, including traditional rulers and youth leaders in the campaign against substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.

(NAN)

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State has refuted claims that he had been contracted to assassinate the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the former governor of Lagos State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as the winner of the 25 February presidential election.

Mr Obi, who came third in the election, rejected the results and vowed to challenge them in court.

Shortly after, a report surfaced on social media alleging that Mr Soludo met with Mr Tinubu, the president-elect, and his son, Seyi, at the Imo State Government Owerri, where they struck a deal with the Anambra State governor to stop Mr Obi from reclaiming his mandate through the court as well as assassinate the LP candidate.

The report claimed that the governor was paid $5 million to assassinate the LP candidate and push the blame to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra, a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south.

But reacting through his spokesperson, Christian Aburime on Monday, Mr Soludo described the speculations as infantile, nauseating, mischievous and unnecessarily inflammatory.

READ ALSO:

According to him, as governor of Anambra, he is the father of the people of the state and will not plot or collude to harm any lawful citizen of the state including Mr Peter Obi, whom he described as a brother and friend despite their different political affiliations.

The governor said the allegation was a plot to cause chaos in the forthcoming state assembly elections in the South-east.

He said none of the allegations was true and that he had been in the state preparing for the 11 March elections.

If certain people could sit somewhere and cook up a story of this nature, it becomes highly reprehensible and certainly deserved to be condemned by every right-thinking person, Mr Soludo said.

Ndi Anambra should also disregard all the insinuations in the write-up as mere falsehoods. They should come out massively and vote APGA (candidates) this Saturday for the State House of Assembly election, he added.

Background

Mr Soludo appeared to have fallen out of favour with Mr Obi after he predicted, in November, that Mr Obi would not win the 2023 presidential election, citing a lack of political structure and poor voting strength of the South-east, where the LP candidate hails from.

He had further claimed that Mr Obis entry into the race was going to help the APC candidate, Mr Tinubu, to win the presidential election.

Several persons, believed to be supporters of the LP candidate, condemned Mr Soludo for the comments.

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

Telegram

LinkedIn

Email

Print


Health Minister Dr Kwaku Agyeman Manu is expected to appear before Parliament today, Tuesday, March 7 to explain issues surrounding the vaccine shortages in parts of the country.

The sector Minister had been summoned with Ghana Health Service, Finance Minister and other agency heads to an emergency meeting on Tuesday, February 28 over the worrying situation.

However, only the National Health Insurance Authority honoured the invitation on Tuesday. READ ALSO: Health Minister fails to honour Parliament's invitation over vaccine shortage

Following his inability to honour the invitation by Parliaments Health Committee is expected to face Parliament later today.

Expressing his disappointment over the failure of the Minister to show up last week, the Member of Parliament for Asawase who is also a member of the Health Committee Muntaka Mubarak said The Minister of Health being invited to the Committee of Parliament, he himself being a Member of Parliament having in mind the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and the ranking member following up with even a call a week before the meeting, and the matter in question is the time that elsewhere Parliament would invite the minister within 24-hours and he has to appear because of its urgency.

Now, you have a minister of health who for me, for lack of a better word, I will say disrespectfully refused to attend to the invitation of the committee.

It tells you how he is running the Ministry, it is just unfortunate that we have a government where a lot of its actors are behaving as though they are doing the citizens a favor by occupying those offices, instead of them attending to the urgent needs of their ministry.

Everyone around this table is very much aware of the importance of the expanded programme on immunization, every other thing can wait but not the expanded programme on immunization because the six or so killer diseases, ones you dont get immunized in a certain period you endanger all of us because this is something the children will miss and you cannot easily correct.
174-apartment development breaks ground a year ahead of schedule, establishes framework to help address growing need

NEWTON, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 2Life Communities broke ground Monday morning at Opus Newton, a middle-income senior living development that the organization's leaders believe is a promising model to help address the growing need for middle-income senior living across the country. The groundbreaking takes place a year ahead of schedule, with 95% of the 174 available apartments already pre-sold, a remarkable feat in today's business development environment.

2Life President & CEO Amy Schectman, Massachusetts Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, MassDevelopment President & CEO Dan Rivera, other city and state leaders and 2Life supporters gathered for the groundbreaking on March 6. Opus Logo

"The way we view aging is shifting and so should the care and living options surrounding it," said 2Life President and CEO Amy Schectman. "Opus prioritizes affordability, community and not only aging in place, but aging in the right place. This model brings a breakthrough prototype to both our region and the nation, confronting the largely unaddressed dearth of middle-market senior living options for what we call 'the forgotten middle.' We want this framework to be adopted by other organizations, and we're here to guide and support them along the way."

State and city leaders including Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts) and Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller were on hand for the momentous occasion.

"We know so many individuals in our lives are making choices about where to live based on the high cost of housing," said Driscoll. "Let's make those choices easier. Let's allow people to live and grow and age with dignity in the communities they love. This is a thrilling day for Newton. Let's make sure we can have more thrilling days across this Commonwealth. Congratulations to 2Life."

Located next to 2Life's Coleman House on the Jewish Community Center (JCC) Greater Boston campus, Opus offers middle-income seniors an energizing retirement alternative where they can remain close to the neighborhoods and people they love. 2Life partnered with the JCC to offer an intergenerational living experience and allow them to tap into the vibrant surrounding neighborhood.

The unprecedented demand for the Opus model speaks to a larger national obligation to address what 2Life refers to as the "middle-market abyss," an often-overlooked issue in which middle-income seniors can't afford to live independently with market-rate options, but do not qualify for subsidized housing. As the middle-income senior population is expected to double to 10.8 million individuals and comprise 54% of older adults by 2029, Opus is an innovative, welcoming, and affordable space for residents to live in comfort and community for their full lives in a market that otherwise fails middle-income older adults.

"Massachusetts faces a housing crisis, and projects like Opus Newton that is creating 174 apartments for seniors bring us an important step forward in easing the housing burden for Greater Boston and for Massachusetts," said MassDevelopment President and CEO Dan Rivera. "MassDevelopment is proud to be supporting this project with $130 million in tax-exempt bond financing."

To maintain affordability, Opus leverages residents' home equity and offers a range of apartments to accommodate different living styles and pricing needs. Rather than move residents to care, the model brings care to residents within their own apartments, supported by a team of care navigators, advocates and trusted providers.

Opus builds on 2Life's "aging in community" model, marrying affordable, independent living with a communal lifestyle. The model also incorporates resident-driven volunteerism, enabling residents to remain active members of their communities by volunteering approximately 10 hours a month, alongside programming and amenities. The campus will feature a restaurant, cafe, art studio, classroom, fitness spaces, and holistic wellness programming.

2Life hopes to expand the Opus model across Greater Boston and is actively seeking partnerships with like-minded organizations to bring this much-needed model to new communities. 2Life encourages organizations nationwide to embrace this prototype and address a fast-growing issue, hoping to act as consultants for those interested in the model.

Construction is slated to be completed by summer 2025, with pricing starting in the low $400,000s and a focus on maintaining low monthly fees. For more information, visit 2lifeopus.org.

About 2Life Communities

2Life Communities, a not-for-profit organization founded in 1965, operates on the belief that all seniors should have the opportunity to live a full life of connection and purpose in a dynamic, supportive environment  a model called aging in community, which directly combats the growing public health crisis of social isolation and loneliness amongst older adults. At 2Life Communities, residents can step out the doors of their own apartments and find friendship, community, physical and intellectual stimulation, and a helping hand day or night. As a Jewish organization, 2Life welcomes and profoundly respects residents of any faith, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Serving a diverse population of over 1,530 older adults, 2Life creates communities with a laser sharp focus on affordability  a tremendous concern in Massachusetts, the state with the 2nd largest gap in the U.S. between seniors' median income and the cost of living.

About Opus

The Opus model offers affordable senior living options for middle-income seniors who, until now, haven't seen themselves reflected in the senior living landscape. In creating Opus, 2Life has drawn on its core values to put a whole new kind of community within financial reach of those "in the middle," a group that does not qualify for subsidized housing nor can they comfortably afford the upscale options available in the regional marketplace. In March 2023, 2Life broke ground on its first Opus property in Newton, Mass. The 174 apartments that make up the community are based on 2Life's innovate approach to programming, healthcare and wellness and affordability. Opus Newton is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.

Media Contact:

Nate Hillyer

[email protected]

860-574-5507

SOURCE 2Life Communities
BEIJING, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Beijing Review:

Five years ago, when Zou Bin first spoke to the media as a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), he was nervous. Standing in front of journalists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the venue for the full sessions of the NPC, China's top legislature, the then 23-year-old felt overwhelmed by the situation and the responsibility.

Zou Bin, a deputy to the National Peoples Congress and a quality controller with a construction company, works in Changsha, Hunan Province (COURTESY PHOTO)

This year, Zou, reelected to serve from 2023 to 2028, is much more poised and confident.

"I will continue to be a voice for all frontline construction workers, helping to address their concerns and improve their work and life," Zou told Beijing Review.

Born into a family of construction workers in a village in Xinhua County, Hunan Province, Zou began working as an apprentice bricklayer 200 km away in Changsha, the provincial capital.

Despite the daily pain from his physical exertions, Zou persisted in perfecting his skills. In two years, Zou became a fully qualified bricklayer and reached the first major turning point of his life.

In April 2014, when working at a construction site of China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. in Changsha, Zou's employer asked if he was willing to participate in a worker skills competition held by the company. Zou took the offer and ended up winning first place in his age group. In July that year, he entered and won a national skills competition and then began receiving national training in preparation for international competitions.

In 2015, Zou won a Medallion for Excellence in bricklaying at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, held in Brazil, setting a record for China in this field.

"Winning the world competition changed not only my life, but also my attitude toward my career and bricklaying," Zou said.

When he returned to work, Zou was recruited as a construction quality controller for China Construction Fifth Engineering Division Corp. In the following years, he received several national awards, including the China Youth May Fourth Medalthe top honor for outstanding young Chinese people.

Zou was also given the chance to share his skills and his stories with his colleagues and other people across the country at various seminars, inspiring more workers to improve their skills and become craftspeople.

People's congresses exist at township, county, city, provincial and national levels. According to China's Constitution and the Electoral Law, deputies to the people's congresses at township and county-levels are directly elected by their constituencies, while deputies to people's congresses of higher levels are elected by the people's congresses at the next level down.

The NPC is composed of deputies elected from the provinces, autonomous regions, cities directly under central government jurisdiction, special administrative regions and armed forces.

In 2018, the Hunan Provincial People's Congress elected Zou to represent the province at the 13th NPC. NPC deputies, who serve five-year terms, represent a broad cross-section of their communities, and steps are taken to ensure each region, background and ethnicity are adequately represented. In his first term, Zou was one of the youngest among the more than 100 deputies representing Hunan at the NPC.

"What should I do to help migrant workers nationwide?" is a question Zou has often contemplated as an NPC deputy. To gain insights into the opinions and concerns of rural construction workers, he has visited many regions around the country to consult with them.

"From our talks, I have found that workers' desire for professional training is increasing, as they are becoming less contented with being mediocre and are looking for opportunities to grow in their careers," Zou said. With this in mind, he has made suggestions to the NPC on increasing vocational training and holding more competitions for workers, which are platforms for them to demonstrate their skills and gain professional recognition.

Zou has also been making suggestions related to the wellbeing of migrant workers, many of whom are flexible employees, such as improving their income and insurance, work environment and safety, as well as their recognition by society.

Now at the start of his new term, Zou says his suggestions for this year's NPC session also focus on the cultivation of high-caliber construction workers. He believes that government, industry and educational institutions should join hands in this endeavor.

"This is an era in which everyone has the opportunity to shine," he said.

Comments to [email protected]

SOURCE Beijing Review
Back on My Feet combats homelessness through the power of fitness, community support, and essential employment and housing resources. Operating in 17 major cities coast-to-coast, Back on My Feet uses the power of fitness and community to motivate and support individuals every step of the way from homelessness to independence. Populus employees participated in the 2022 Back on My Feet Fit Fest, a hybrid weeklong fitness and fundraising challenge that brought people from across the country together in support of the mission.

"Populus Financial Group's partnership is a commitment to Back on My Feet's members and alumni on their journeys to employment and financial independence," said Katy Sherratt, CEO of Back on My Feet. "The financial literacy resources and consistent support Populus provides are deeply aligned with our goal to help each of our members reach further and aim higher. We are grateful to have had Populus in our circle as a trusted partner for many years."

Populus Financial Group has supported Back on My Feet since 2011, donating $1.3 Million to help members get back on their feet. During our partnership, Populus has developed a financial literacy program designed to help members build a foundation in banking skills, budgeting and understanding credit basics.

"We are proud to continue to support Back on My Feet and their members," said Jay Shipowitz, Populus Financial Group CEO and a National Board Member of Back on My Feet. "Thanks to our customers' support, members have the opportunity to obtain education, employment, and housing, ultimately reaching their goal of independence."

Nationally, ACE's 2022 Give A Little Campaign, which supports several organizations, raised more than $164,000 through the commitment of ACE Cash Express employees and the generosity of our customers. All the money raised went directly to charities across the country including AdoptAClassroom.org, Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, American Red Cross, Autism Speaks, Back on My Feet, Feed My Starving Children, Feeding America's Local Food Banks and Homes For Our Troops. This fundraiser is a part of the ACE Community Fund, ACE's charitablegiving program, which has donated more than $16 million since its inception in 2004 to organizations in communities where ACE operates.

About Populus Financial Group

Populus Financial Group provides financial services through its family of brands including ACE Cash Express, ACE Elite Visa Prepaid Debit Card, Flare Account and Porte. Populus Financial Group delivers a broad range of financial products and services including short-term consumer loans, card services, check cashing, money transfers, bill payments and money orders. Visit PopulusFinancial.com for more information.

About Back on My Feet

Back on My Feet is a national nonprofit that has empowered over 10,000 people living in homeless shelters or addiction facilities to take back control of their lives. In 17 cities across the U.S., this organization uses running, walking, and fitness to help their members overcome homelessness and addiction. From physical workouts to financial and employment workshops, Back on My Feet's individualized approach allows each member to rediscover self-esteem as they tackle the barriers that have held them back and take action towards their goals. For more information, visit backonmyfeet.org.

SOURCE Populus Financial Group Inc.
Company sells GrowPods  unique controlled environment farms that can grow premium quality leafy greens, hemp, and vegetables that are better than organic

CORONA, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Container Technologies, Inc (Ticker: ACTX), announced it has relocated to a new 4.5-acre campus in Skiatook, Oklahoma. The new location features a large indoor farming facility, dedicated manufacturing and distribution operations, and classrooms for teaching businesses and individuals how to maximize profits using controlled environment farming.

GrowPods are specially tuned controlled environment farms that seal out pesticides, herbicides, dangerous chemicals, and pathogens, and provide businesses and individuals the means to grow premium quality hemp, leafy greens, and certain vegetables within an easy-to-operate automated system that can be controlled from a computer or cell phone.

GrowPods are transportable and stackable. Each unit is independently operated, so farming operations can be scaled up or down as needed, and crops can be protected from cross-contamination, pollution and pollination.

The new facility takes advantage of its location in America's heartland. Skiatook is known as a gateway city, within a 1-day drive from major metropolitan areas including Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis, Little Rock, Memphis, Dallas, San Antonio, and other cities in the Midwest.

"We are thrilled to be operating in this fabulous new facility," said Doug Heldoorn, CEO of ACTX. "With this strategic move, we are well positioned to serve the entire Midwest, and can offer businesses, growers, and individuals the means and the knowledge on how to grow pristine crops, year round, in a plug-and-play type system that's perfect both for beginners and for businesses looking to expand without the need of new buildings or expensive real estate."

GrowPods are designed and manufactured in America for quality, and can be used by individuals and businesses looking to grow the finest quality hemp, vegetables, and leafy greens.

For information on GrowPods, call ACTX at: (951) 381-2555 or visit: www.AdvancedContainerTechnologies.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of U.S. Securities Acts. Forward-Looking Statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results can differ. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. ACTX undertakes no duty to update information in this release except as required.

SOURCE Advanced Container Technologies, Inc.
Howard join s the national industry-leading Field Marketing Organization in the Medicare market to recruit, train and empower agents.

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advocate Health Advisors is thrilled to announce Patricia Howard has joined the team as a regional manager, New Jersey and Staten Island. Within her new role, Howard will recruit, train, and empower Medicare agents within her regions to become selfless contributors in their local markets.

Howard most recently worked for a Insurtech company where she played a lead role in developing a national recruiting program centered around 1099 Medicare agents. She began her journey as an insurance agent in 2003 before eventually specializing in Medicare and other financial services products.

"I am proud to be with Advocate Health Advisors, a national and industry leader with eighteen strong years behind them," Howard said. "I look forward to working with both new and experienced agents to expand what they can accomplish in this space."

Howard currently resides in New York City and services the New Jersey and Staten Island markets.To learn more about Advocate Health Advisors visit, www.advocatehealthadvisors.com.

About Advocate Health Advisors

Advocate Health Advisors (AHA) is the national industry-leading Field Marketing Organization (FMO) in the Medicare market, licensed in all 50 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. A values-based, community-focused organization, AHA provides its agents and agencies with an unparalleled level of customized support and appreciation, leveraging a track record of successes, best practices, national partnerships, and infrastructure. The company helps local health insurance agents succeed before, during, and after the sale by providing access to quality products that promote consumer health and well-being. AHA agents are committed to helping folks make informed decisions as they first become eligible for Medicare benefits or change existing Medicare coverage. For more information, visit www.advocatehealthadvisors.com/.

Press Contact:

Megan Cuellar

928-300-4431

[email protected]

Company Contact:

John Lane

[email protected]

SOURCE Advocate Health Advisors
DUBAI, UAE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), a company that provides information and analytics to support credit decisions, has announced a strategic collaboration with Nova Credit, the world's leading consumer-permissioned credit bureau, to enable newcomers to leverage their home country credit history when applying for financial services upon arrival to the UAE.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) Logo

Staking its position as a leader in cross-border credit, the collaboration facilitates real-time, large-scale application approvals by enabling AECB subscribers, namely UAE-based local and international financial institutions and lenders, access to translated credit history of new UAE expatriates, upon their approval as part of credit applications.

The initiative reiterates AECB's commitment to enhancing the UAE financial ecosystem as the first institution in the GCC with the capability to provide real-time access to standardized foreign credit data from multiple bureaus around the world.

Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, CEO of AECB, said: "AECB is proud to be among the region's first federal entities to provide cross-border credit solutions, creating value for lenders, individuals, businesses, government entities, and the public through key collaborations with international bureaus. As we continue to introduce cutting edge products to our customers, we reiterate our commitment to creating a positive social impact, in line with the UAE's vision of becoming the epicentre of a borderless global economy."

"Building a borderless financial system has been our guiding vision since our inception and by bringing the Credit Passport to new parts of the world we are one step closer to making this a reality," said Misha Esipov, Co-Founder and CEO of Nova Credit. "With this collaboration, AECB will be able to better support the thousands of newcomers to the UAE every year seeking access to the financial services they need to get started and thrive in their new home."

"Today's consumers deserve the ability to take ownership of their financial data and not be locked out of accessing basic services due to the siloed characteristic of our global credit reporting system," said Collin Galster, VP of International at Nova Credit. "We are looking forward to taking this next step with AECB and expanding the global footprint of Credit Passport so consumers around the world can experience borderless credit reporting."

Credit Passport powered by Nova Credit is now available for AECB subscribers to support credit applications with history in countries including India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, with other countries to follow in the near future.

Feedback from early subscribers has been positive:

Iftekhar Salim Chief Executive Officer of Appro, said: "AECB plays an instrumental role in upscaling the lending ecosystem within the UAE and the introduction of the "Foreign Credit Report" is a significant milestone. Appro is delighted to avail these disruptive solutions from AECB, which will help the UAE residents to meet their financial product needs within minutes. There will be more visibility on the new to country applicants' credit health based on their home country credit portfolio, which will allow them to have any lending product rather than waiting for 2-3 months."

Chandra Ganapathy, Group Chief Risk Officer of Dubai Islamic Bank said, "As part of DIB's continuous endeavor to unlock the potential of data and analytics, our collaboration with AECB augments the bank's analytical prowess. The bank has been a regular user of AECB's suite of products including AECB Credit Score, Bureau Alerts and has now also subscribed to their latest offering of Foreign Credit Report. AECB solutions enable DIB to have a holistic assessment of the customer's profile and credit behavior through data feeds that are collected from all the credit institutions across UAE. AECB credit reports and data also serve as an input to our internal underwriting policies. Furthermore, DIB has leveraged AECB information to further strengthen its credit and fraud risk modelling framework."

Farhan Mahmood, Group Chief Risk Officer of RAKBANK commented: "At RAKBANK, we are dedicated to elevating the customer experience and controls through innovative technology. Our collaboration with AECB will play a crucial role in achieving this goal by transforming risk management and optimizing processes through digital solutions. AECB understands the importance of providing transparent and seamless access to customers' data and offering a comprehensive view of their credit worthiness across borders. This is especially critical in the UAE market where many expatriates seek to take advantage of their home market credit history. With advanced scorecard models, we aim to enhance our performance and offer seamless access to credit and banking services for all customers entering the UAE."

AECB's new foreign credit data offering brings multiple benefits to subscribers including integrated access to hundreds of millions of standardized consumer data records from dozens of leading credit bureaus around the world. AECB and Nova Credit's end-to-end data delivery model, which undergoes rigorous quality control processes, is fully compliant with foreign and UAE jurisdiction regulations.

About Al Etihad Credit Bureau

Al Etihad Credit Bureau is a Public Joint Stock Company wholly owned by the UAE Federal Government. The company was established as per UAE Federal Law No. (6) of 2010 concerning Credit Information and its amendments in Federal Decree Law No. (8) of 2020. Al Etihad Credit Bureau is mandated to request and organize the collection, preservation, analysis, classification, use and dissemination of credit information and is authorized by law to perform these activities. The information then produced into a variety of credit-related products in a fully digital process. For more information visit www.aecb.ae or download the AECB app available in App Store and Google Play.

ABOUT NOVA CREDIT

Nova Credit is a consumer-permissioned credit bureau with two products, Credit Passport and Cash Atlas, that help businesses make more fair and informed decisions on millions of 'thin file', no credit history, or new-to-country applicants. The company's differentiated data sources and proprietary analytics are used by leading organizations like American Express, Verizon, HSBC, SoFi, and Yardi.

For Media Inquiry:

ASDA'A BCW

Omar Nasro

Tel: +971 4 450 7600

Email: [email protected]

www.asdaa-bcw.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017440/Al_Etihad_Credit_Bureau_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB)
Roles support enhanced customer experience and stronger communities.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Alabama Power announced leadership changes to enhance the customer experience and build stronger communities.

Alexia Borden has been named senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement.

has been named senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement. Monica Graveline has been elected senior vice president and General Counsel.

has been elected senior vice president and General Counsel. Ashley Robinett has been elected senior vice president of Shared Services.

has been elected senior vice president of Shared Services. Staci Brown Brooks has been elected vice president of Charitable Giving.

has been elected vice president of Charitable Giving. Alex McCrary has been elected vice president of Regulatory Affairs.

Left to right, Alabama Power leaders Alexia Borden, Monica Graveline, Ashley Robinett, Staci Brooks and Alex McCrary.

The changes are effective immediately.

"This group shares a deep commitment to serving our customers and their communities," said Jeff Peoples, Alabama Power president and CEO. "The expertise and dedication they bring to their roles will help us meet the current and future needs of our customers around the state."

As senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement, Alexia Borden will oversee Customer Operations and the local community affairs initiatives carried out by Alabama Power's six geographic business divisions. Borden most recently served as senior vice president and General Counsel, and previously as vice president of Governmental Affairs. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Borden was a partner with a law firm in Montgomery and Birmingham.

Borden serves on numerous boards of directors, including the Birmingham Zoo, Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Legal Services of Alabama. She is also a member of the Georgia Tech President's Advisory Board and a member of the Georgia Tech ISyE Advisory Board. She is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Montgomery, the Alabama Leadership Initiative, and Signature Leaders.

Borden received a Bachelor of Science in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law.

As senior vice president and General Counsel, Monica Graveline will provide legal counsel to Alabama Power's management team and oversee ethics and compliance, concerns, legal services, risk services and the corporate secretary's office. Most recently Graveline served as vice president and Deputy General Counsel (West) for Southern Company Services, where she oversaw several legal practice areas including labor and employment, compensation, benefits, environmental, litigation and commercial contracting. Before joining Southern Company in 2011, Graveline was lead employment counsel for an international bank and a partner with a law firm in Birmingham.

Graveline is involved in numerous professional and civic endeavors. She serves as immediate past chair and current advisory board member of the In-House and Government Lawyers Section of the Alabama State Bar and is on the board of directors for Red Mountain Theatre Company.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in political communications from the University of Alabama and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law.

As senior vice president of Shared Services, Ashley Robinett will lead the company's Public Relations, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Workforce Development and Safety organizations. Robinett has served as vice president of Public Relations since 2020, overseeing corporate communications and brand management. She spent her early Southern Company career as an engineer working in resource planning and risk analysis with Southern Power and managing strategic environmental issues with Southern Company. More recent past positions include vice president of Corporate Real Estate and area manager in Alabama Power's Birmingham Division. She is a leader on Alabama Power's Council on Culture and Inclusion, which works to ensure that company culture is built on inclusion, respect and fairness for all employees.

Robinett is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham and serves on the boards of directors for the ZeroZero Foundation, Children's Harbor, the Auburn University Alumni Association, and the endowment for McWane Science Center. She is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Birmingham and the International Women's Forum Alabama Chapter.

Robinett earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering with a minor in business from Auburn University.

As vice president of Charitable Giving, Staci Brown Brooks will lead the company's philanthropic, volunteerism and community support initiatives. She most recently served as director of Marketing Communication, where she managed customer segment communications along with the development and implementation of sales and marketing campaigns.

Brooks began her Alabama Power career as a special projects manager in Public Relations, helping launch and grow the Alabama News Center platform. She works on several key company initiatives, including the Council on Culture and Inclusion, and is a mentor for the company's leadership development programs. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Brooks held senior leadership positions at Alabama Media Group.

Brooks is a member of the Vulcan Park and Museum board of directors, the Lawson State Community College Foundation board of directors, the Four Little Girls Memorial Fund Board of Trustees, the YWCA Central Alabama board of directors and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Brooks holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama.

As vice president of Regulatory Affairs, Alex McCrary will be responsible for managing the company's relationship with the Alabama Public Service Commission. Alex replaces Richard Hutto, who is retiring.

Previously McCrary was director of Corporate Affairs, where he was responsible for managing the company's federal legislative strategy as well as developing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders. He began his Southern Company career as an engineering analyst for Southern Power.

Prior to joining Southern Company, McCrary worked in the financial services arena in various capacities for private and public companies.

McCrary serves on the Board of Trustees of Stillman College and on the board of directors of Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and the Alabama State Parks Foundation. He also serves as an appointee of Gov. Kay Ivey to the Alabama Workforce Council.

He received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

About Alabama Power

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to 1.5 million customers across the state. Learn more at www.alabamapower.com.

SOURCE Alabama Power
"All Who Dare" highlights innovative education approach of tuition-free, residential high school in Estes Park, Colo.

Award-winning film follows nine teenagers who need a second chance at educational success; surviving 24 days in the wilderness is the first step

Screening and panel discussion to be held March 8 at the Austin Convention Center

ESTES PARK, Colo. and AUSTIN, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- An award-winning documentary film capturing the transformative journey of nine students at Eagle Rock School in Estes Park, Colo., will be screened at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas on March 8, 2023. "All Who Dare" highlights the innovative, tuition-free residential high school founded by Honda to provide students from across the U.S. a second chance at educational success. The screening will be held in the Austin Convention Center Ballroom A at 1:30 p.m. CST, followed by a panel discussion featuring two Eagle Rock School students.

The "All Who Dare" documentary will be screened at SXSW EDU on March 8, 2023, followed by a panel discussion featuring two Eagle Rock School students.

The hour-long film centers on the 24-day wilderness expedition that is a prerequisite for all students entering Eagle Rock School. The film is told through the perspectives of nine students from across the U.S. who have chosen Eagle Rock School as their best hope for graduating high school. Leaving behind their families and friends, the students are guided by experienced wilderness educators through physical and emotional challenges in the Lost Creek Wilderness of Colorado. They quickly learn that completing the trip is only the first step in turning their lives around.

"At Eagle Rock School, we offer an experiential education that fosters each student's unique potential," said Megan Rebeiro, Head of Eagle Rock School. "We hope 'All Who Dare' gives viewers a sense of the individual struggles and challenges faced by young people across the country and highlights the transformational role of an outdoor educational experience."

Awards and Screenings

The 2018 Hollywood International Independent Awards recognized "All Who Dare" with the "Woman Filmmaker Award," and the 2018 Saint Paul Frozen Film Festival named it "Best Short Documentary." Prior to its nationwide release, "All Who Dare" was screened at the 2018 Mespies, Saint Paul Frozen Film Festival, and Rocky Mountain National Park's Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.

For those unable to attend the March 8 screening, "All Who Dare" is available now on Prime Video.

"All Who Dare" is presented by American Honda Motor Co., Inc., which founded and solely funds Eagle Rock School. Kiera Faye of Faye and Voelker Films is the film's director and producer.

Eagle Rock School Celebrates 30 Years of Engaging Youth

In September 2023, Eagle Rock School will celebrate its 30th anniversary. In 1989, Honda sought to find opportunities to further its long-term commitment to youth and education. Through careful research led by a pair of Honda associates, a vision was formed for a school that would support the lives of young people by promoting community, integrity and citizenship. With the creation of the American Honda Education Corporation in February 1991, Eagle Rock School was born. The first group of students arrived in September 1993.

For many students who feel disconnected in traditional academic settings, Eagle Rock offers an opportunity to re-engage in their own education. The school implements effective and engaging practices to foster each student's unique potential. Coursework is experiential, project-based, and involves substantial amounts of group work and interaction. Students demonstrate proficiency through various projects, performances, papers and presentations.

The companion Professional Development Center (PDC) collaborates with high school educators and administrators around the country to help them create effective change in their own schools. PDC activities include a teaching fellowship program, hosting visiting educators on the Eagle Rock campus, providing teacher licensure services, graduate practicum opportunities, as well as research opportunities. It also will launch a Changemaker Cohort program with external schools this summer.

To learn more about Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center, visit eaglerockschool.org. A limited quantity of "All Who Dare" DVDs is available for schools, education organizations and students. For more information about "All Who Dare" and DVD requests, visit allwhodare.com.

About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility and the Honda USA Foundation

For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. Honda's mission is to create products and services that help people fulfill their life's potential, while conducting business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Advancing its corporate social responsibility, Honda and the Honda USA Foundation support this direction through giving focused on education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety and community.

Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.

SOURCE Honda
Annual ranking is based entirely on employee satisfaction and willingness to recommend their employer to others.

ORLANDO, Fla., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, one of the largest specialty and home delivery pharmacies in the U.S., has been named in Forbes magazine's 2023 list of America's Best Midsize Employers. This is the third consecutive year the specialty pharmacy has been honored alongside other top U.S. midsize companies to work for.

"We are thrilled to be recognized on the Forbes list of best midsize employers for the third year in a row," says Joel Wright, RPh, chief executive officer. "To be included on this list again is a testament to our team members. They are passionate about providing the best possible care for our patients who live with chronic conditions and rare diseases."

Wright says competitive pay, outstanding benefits, a diverse work force, and an environment in which all team members are treated equitably are just some of the things they like about working at AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy. "Our team members appreciate the opportunity to contribute fully to our purpose of providing hope and care for better tomorrows," he says. "Our core values of trust, care, respect, and accountability not only demonstrate who we are, but what we do and how we do it. Our team members strive daily to bring these values to life in every interaction."

Forbes and Statista selected America's Best Employers 2023 through an independent survey applied to a vast sample of approximately 45,000 American employees working for companies with more than 1,000 employees in America. Across 25 industry sectors, 1000 employers have been awarded, 500 large employers and 500 midsize employers. The evaluation was based on direct and indirect recommendations from employees that were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family. Employee evaluations also included other employers in their respective industries that stood out either positively or negatively.

AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens Boots Alliance and employs more than 2,500 people across the country. Visit jobs.alliancerxwp.com to view open positions.

About AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy

AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy (AllianceRxWP.com) provides hope and care for better tomorrows to patients with rare diseases and chronic conditions by delivering medications from its specialty and home delivery pharmacies. Our advanced analytical capabilities, pharmacy expertise and technology solutions enable providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and health plans to deliver optimal health outcomes. Through personalized care and clinical programs, along with access to the leading number of limited distribution drugs, patients can get back to what matters most. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the company holds several national pharmacy accreditations and has team members across the United States.

Media Contact

Adrienne Foley, APR

External communications manager

[email protected]

SOURCE AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy
IRVINE, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Motor Corporation (Alpha) announced today that the company is set for global introduction of its California-based Move Humanity brand by debuting its new Wolf Plus (4-Seater) pure electric truck at this year's Seoul Mobility Show, the largest mobility exhibition in Korea.

"2023 will be an outstanding year for Alpha and its community of supporters. Come see our Wolves at the Alpha Camp," said Edward Lee, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Alpha Motor Corporation.

Copyright  2023 Alpha Motor Corporation. All rights reserved. Copyright  2023 Alpha Motor Corporation. All rights reserved.

High Performance Powertrain

Initially equipped with a 150kW electric motor, the Wolf electric truck will generate up to 350Nm of torque and is expected to operate at a peak efficiency of 94%. The 3-in-1 (Motor/Inverter/Gearbox) Electric Drive Unit (EDU) which is planned to power Alpha's truck is anticipated to be an industry leading motor innovation. Alpha expects to test drive the Wolf truck at high speeds and through rugged terrain by mid-year.

Next Generation Battery Solution

Alpha plans integration of the latest lithium-ion NMC battery modules with liquid cooling in its vehicles for testing. This flexible battery modules are expected to represent a 48V standard for traction batteries and can be connected in series up to an integrated system voltage of 600V to 800V. The certified module is projected to meet the most demanding safety requirements that apply in the automotive industry including off-highway applications such as industrial trucks.

Perfectly Sized Electric Trucks

Alpha is creating EVs with a strong presence on a footprint that is efficient and functional. The Wolf trucks feature a low center of gravity (Overall Height of 1765mm/5.8ft), an elevated ride height (Ground Clearance of 241mm/9.5in), and a wide body (Overall Width of 1900mm/6.2ft) with a spacious interior. The Wolf Plus 4-seater truck measures 5,287mm (17.3ft) in length and the base Wolf truck is 4,828mm (15.8ft) long. Each model is equipped with a 1828mm (6.0ft) truck bed.

Strong Demand and Global Distribution

The company has received a total of over 52,500 vehicle preorder indications to date and is progressing towards mass commercializing its EVs. Alpha currently has vehicle distribution in Europe, Middle East, and APAC regions where each of the distribution arrangements will expand exponentially in the years that follow.

High Traction and U.S. Production Power

Alpha recently opened its Reg CF equity offering on a SEC regulated private investment platform. More information is available at https://www.startengine.com/offering/alphamotor. The company has formed OEM-level manufacturing partnerships and plans to start mass production of its EVs as early as 2025 in the U.S.

About Seoul Mobility Show

The Seoul Mobility Show is a biannual international event and is the only automobile exhibition in Korea accredited by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. The first show was held in 1995.

About Alpha Motor Corporation

Alpha Motor Corporation (Alpha) is an award-winning American automobile company focused on manufacturing mobility solutions that Move Humanity. We innovate sustainable transportation for the wellness of people and our environment by implementing advanced automotive technologies and disruptive industrial practices. Based in Irvine, California, Alpha is committed to creating the kinds of electric vehicles we believe the world has always wanted to see but that have not existed  until now.

Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Related Links

https://www.alphamotorinc.com

http://www.mobilityshow.or.kr

SOURCE Alpha Motor Corporation
ALX's commitment to addressing the digital gender divide and increasing the participation of women in tech kicks off with their first-ever female only programme, aiming to provide up to 50,000 women in Africa with Software Engineering skills.

NAIROBI, Kenya , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of International Women's Day (IWD) taking place on 8 March, ALX announced its first dedicated Software Engineering cohort for women, enabling up to 50 000 women across Africa to participate in the global technology revolution and helping to transform the tech status quo throughout the continent.

Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of African Leadership International (PRNewsfoto/African Leadership International)

The cohort forms part of ALX's 'WomXn and Tech' initiative and was inspired by the United Nations IWD theme of 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.' ALX is showing its commitment to bridging the digital gender divide in Africa, increasing the representation of women in the technology sector and driving the participation of women to innovate and create solutions for a diverse world. This cohort will provide a launchpad for women to grow their careers in one of the most exciting and in-demand fields in the world.

Part of African Leadership International (ALI), ALX is a leading technology training provider that offers world-class programmes to thousands of young people across Africa, equipping them with both the professional and technical skills that enable them to thrive in high-growth industries.

The statistics make for grim reading. Women comprise just 5% of global software engineers. Considering that there are an estimated 690 000 software engineers in Africa, even applying the global average means that there is a significant gender divide that must be addressed.

It is through this female cohort that ALX will take the steps necessary to reduce this considerable disparity. Thanks to its partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, ALX is offering sponsored placements to thousands of young women who meet the eligibility requirements for this programme.

"ALX knows that our collective future depends upon a female voice, a female brain, and her perspective in devising solutions for the world of tomorrow. Through 'WomXn and Tech', we are boldly proclaiming our call to action for women across the continent and the rest of the world to not just have a seat at the table, but to redesign the table. This 100% female software engineering cohort we are introducing helps to accomplish this," says Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of ALI.

The programme has been made possible following the recent acquisition by ALI of leading Silicon Valley institution, Holberton Inc. ALX is now one of the largest software engineering trainers in the world, which aligns with the organisation's mission to develop Africa's human capital at scale and enable women with best-in-class digital skills and excellence.

"Imagine a world where every voice is heard, where every perspective is valued, where every person can contribute their unique talents and insights to create the best possible products and services. This is the world we must strive for in technology, where women make up half of all users but are often excluded from the engineering process," says Julien Barbier, co-founder of Holberton and Chief Product Officer at ALI.

"By tapping into the full potential of our diverse communities, we not only foster innovation but also unlock the boundless talent and creativity of all Africans," he adds.

The cohort has been designed to support women from the start of their training and throughout their career journeys as they become part of The ROOM, ALI's community of top technology professionals from across the globe.

"We want to encourage young women in Africa to see technology as a pathway to a great career. As such, we are investing in young women to give them the support they need to thrive and either pursue a career in technology or embark on technology ventures themselves," says Sharon O'Donnell, Chief Experience Officer at ALI.

Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, adds: "The quality of a girl's future is determined by the quality of the opportunities she has to learn and develop work-relevant skills. The Mastercard Foundation is committed to addressing systemic barriers inhibiting young women from accessing relevant learning and dignified economic opportunities. Through our partnership with ALI, we are working to help enable women to become catalysts and advocates for change in their communities, creating opportunities for future generations of girls and the economy as a whole."

Applications for the ALX Software Engineering intake for women close on 15 March. The programme will start on 27 March.

No prior experience or background in IT is required to apply. For more information on the programme and its entry requirements, please visit www.alxafrica.com/women-in-tech/ .

Editor's notes/ additional information about ALX and the Mastercard Foundation

ABOUT ALX

ALX is a leading technology training provider that equips young Africans with both the technical and professional skills that enable them to thrive in the digital economy. Its world-class programmes are designed to help learners build their careers in high-growth industries and become agile digital leaders for the 21st century. As part of African Leadership International, ALX is connected to an innovative ecosystem that has been successfully producing competitive talent and placing them with the world's top employers over the past two decades. Together with its partners - the Mastercard Foundation and The ROOM - its mission is to transform the future of Africa by enabling 2 million young professionals to secure dignified and meaningful work opportunities by 2030.

For more information about its courses or to find out more about ALX, please visit www.alxafrica.com .

ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organisations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. It was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is an independent organisation, and its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its own Board of Directors and senior leadership team. It is a registered Canadian charity with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa.

For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017091/Fred_Swaniker.jpg

SOURCE African Leadership International
Former U.S. Military Officer aims to increase fundraising efforts to amplify access to AUK's innovative education model

TEMPE, Ariz., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American University Kyiv (AUK), powered by Arizona State University, is proud to announce the appointment of Daniel Rice as its next university President. This appointment follows an international search process by the AUK Supervisory Board and further solidifies AUK's continued expansion in Ukraine.

Rice is an accomplished entrepreneur and fundraiser with a strong background in leadership, strategic planning, marketing and education, and has been serving as Special Advisor to General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the Commander in Chief of the Ukraine Armed Forces. President-elect Rice, a former Infantry Officer for the U.S Army and a Purple Heart recipient, has been an active voice in speaking and writing about the war in Ukraine, advocating for additional weapons systems with exclusive access to senior leadership of both U.S. and Ukrainian military leadership.

In addition to his military background, Rice has extensive leadership experience as the president and co-founder of Thayer Leadership at West Point, a leader development company ranked as one of the Top 40 leader development companies in the world. He also holds several degrees from top American universities, including a Bachelor of Science in National Security from West Point, an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business of Northwestern University, a master's degree in Marketing from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern, and a master's degree in education and finalizing his Ed.D in education leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Rice is an award-winning author and a frequent speaker on CNN, FOX News, and several other international outlets.

In his new role at AUK, Rice will oversee all university operations, providing collaborative leadership to implement a strategy to create an innovative, research-driven environment with strong social and economic impacts on Ukraine and its future leaders. He will work closely with the government and international organizations to cultivate partnerships to support AUK and Ukraine's reputation and social achievements, and facilitate opportunities to develop new initiatives across education, culture and research.

AUK enrolled its first students this fall in five inaugural degree programs, including a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Global Management, and a Bachelor and a Master of Science in Software Engineering. Through close collaboration with Arizona State University, AUK students and faculty had access to world-class curriculum and classes with a unique global approach.

"I applaud AUK's spirit and unyielding support of their students as they successfully launched classes this past fall in the face of enormous challenges," said Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and Arizona State University Provost. "ASU enthusiastically welcomes the new AUK President Dan Rice and we wish him great success in continuing to grow the university and bringing people together to learn, collaborate and provide education as a foundation for economic development."

"Despite the challenges, our first academic year was both challenging and productive. I am proud of what we have accomplished, including launching five academic programs, offering scholarships to all our students, and building a dedicated team of international faculty," said Rick Shangraw, first and founding President of AUK. "I am now passing my responsibilities to Dan, a leader with a strategic outlook for the university and Ukraine."

Rice is eager to begin his new role and says, "I am truly impressed by the achievements AUK has made under such difficult circumstances. I am looking forward to joining the AUK team and making a positive contribution to Ukraine's growth, development and exciting post-war future. As part of my responsibilities at AUK, I plan to raise scholarships for promising young Ukrainian students, with an additional focus on the children of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian military veterans and wounded warriors. I am sure that these young men and women, who are now fighting for Ukraine's sovereignty and democracy, will play a vital role in rebuilding Ukraine. I see AUK's role in educating them critical to that process."

First year tuition in AUK is being discounted for incoming freshman from $8,000/year to $2,000. "We ask everyone who can help to donate at least $2,000 to help change the life of a young Ukrainian student and start their college education. Any donation, large or small, can help make a difference," Rice said.

Donations can be made via AUK website https://auk.edu.ua/en/donation-auk-scholarship or by contacting AUK via email [email protected]. All contributions are 501c3 tax deductible within the United States and AUK provides all documentation for donors.

American University Kyiv ( www.auk.edu.ua ) is the first private university offering a U.S. higher education standard in Ukraine through its partnership with Arizona State University (ASU). ASU is one of the largest universities in the United States and is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the most innovative university in the U.S. In Ukraine, AUK's founding partners include: EPAM Systems , BGV Group Management, Academy DTEK, Brain, Channel Georgian Consulting, and Georgian American University.

Contact person for interviews, comments and other questions: Oksana Rudiuk, +38 (063) 210 00 69, [email protected]

SOURCE American University Kyiv
- Company Welcomes Dr. Hoekema, a Biotech Veteran with a Track Record of Successful Industry Collaborations -

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Artax Biopharma, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of T-cell-mediated diseases, today announces the Company has appointed Andre Hoekema, Ph.D., to the Company's Board of Directors.

Dr. Hoekema joins the Artax Biopharma Board of Directors as the Company is currently evaluating AX-158 in clinical trials. AX-158 is the Company's first-in-class, oral small molecule, an investigational immunomodulating agent that selectively acts at the T-cell receptor to lower self-antigen triggered cytokines, a known cause of autoimmune disease. Importantly, AX-158 has the potential to treat multiple T-cell-mediated diseases without causing immunosuppression.

Dr. Hoekema joins the Artax Biopharma Board of Directors as the Company is evaluating AX-158 in clinical trials. Tweet this

"We are privileged to welcome Dr. Hoekema to our Board of Directors, as he brings more than four decades of significant collaboration experience gained through a successful business development career in the biotech and life sciences sectors," said Joseph Lobacki, Artax Biopharma's Chief Executive Officer. "His expertise will be of significant value to the Company as we seek to bring our promising first-in-class, oral, non-immunosuppresive treatment option forward for the benefit of autoimmune patients."

Andre Hoekema, Ph.D., earned both his master's and his doctoral degrees from Leiden University. Dr. Hoekema most recently retired from Galapagos N.V. where he served as Chief Business Officer since 2005. In that role he oversaw the Company's Mergers & Acquisitions, Pharma Partnering, and Intellectual Property functions.

Prior to Galapagos N.V., Dr. Hoekema's successful biotech industry career included previous positions of increasing seniority at various corporations, including Invitrogen Corporation, where he was Managing Director, Corporate Development Europe; Managing Director at Molecular Probes Europe BV, and Crucell N.V., where he was Director of Business Development. At DSM Life Sciences N.V., and Syngenta MOGEN BV he led the research and project management functions on behalf of both companies. Dr. Hoekema started his career as a research scientist at Genentech, Inc.

Dr. Hoekema has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and has been granted more than 20 patents. He also serves as a supervisory board member of early-stage biotech companies Fibrocor Therapeutics, located in Canada, and Mimetas B.V. and Sapreme Technologies B.V., both headquartered in Holland.

About Artax Science and Immunomodulation

Artax believes immunomodulation  selective targeting of specific functions and operations of the immune system - holds great potential to address the tremendous unmet need in immunology. Our clinical stage immunomodulating program acts directly at the T-cell receptor (TCR). Importantly, Artax agents are able to selectively target inappropriately activated areas of the immune system, thus eliminating a cause of T-cell-driven diseases while not impacting a patient's ability to effectively fight foreign pathogens and infections.

T-cells are the central, critical cells orchestrating the immune response, protecting the body against foreign pathogens, infections and malignancy while importantly not reacting to an individual's tissues and organs. The TCR activates and controls the many functions and responses of the T-cell, serving a critical role for both healthy immune system and T-cell response.

Dysregulated TCR signaling results in increased cytokine signaling, a root cause of T-cell-mediated diseases, including autoimmune diseases. In addition to autoimmune diseases, T-cell-mediated diseases include T-cell malignancies, and induced T-cell pathologies where therapeutic treatments result in unwanted immune reaction side effects. Such induced T-cell immune reactions include stem cell transplants resulting in acute graft-versus-host-disease, and immuno-oncology treatments resulting in immune-related-adverse events. This central role of dysregulated TCR signaling across a number of disease states makes the TCR a highly attractive target for therapeutic intervention.

About AX-158

AX-158 is a clinical stage, first-in-class, oral, small molecule immunomodulating agent in clinical development for the treatment of T-cell-mediated diseases. The immunomodulatory effect of AX-158 is designed to safely return the immune system to a state of rebalance without immunosuppression.

AX-158 is a highly specific (SH3.1 domain) inhibitor of Nck, a protein that naturally amplifies T-cell signaling caused by self-antigens at the TCR. AX-158 inhibits Nck at the TCR, resulting in less TCR activation and lowered self-antigen triggered cytokines, including Th-1, Th-17 and Th-2 type cytokines. High levels of such various cytokines are associated with a broad set of T-cell mediated autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and many others. Importantly, preclinical data suggests AX-158 is not immunosuppressive, and so does not impact the immune system's ability to mount a strong response to foreign pathogens and infections.

About Artax Biopharma

Artax Biopharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company transforming the treatment of T-cell-driven diseases through innovative small molecules that modulate the immune system. Artax's disruptive science holds broad potential to treat T-cell-mediated diseases such as autoimmune diseases, induced T-cell pathologies (such as acute graft-versus-host disease, and immune-oncology treatment-related adverse events), and T-cell malignancies, while simultaneously allowing the body to fight foreign pathogens and infections. For more information, please visit: www.artaxbiopharma.com.

SOURCE Artax Biopharma
SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global automotive cyber security market size is anticipated to reach USD 14.22 billion by 2030, registering CAGR of 20.93% during 2022 to 2030, according to a new study by Grand View Research Inc. As technology develops and the number of software components in an automobile rises, hackers continue to discover backdoors to remotely access vehicles.

Key Industry Insights & Findings from the report:

In 2022, the application security segment led the market, accounting for a revenue share 34.6%. In recent years, it has become common for the car OEMs to offer mobile applications which allow smooth owner and user interface. These programs offer a wide range of functions, including the ability to start the car wirelessly, monitor the fuel level, and perform advanced inspections.

Based on security insights, the market is segmented into endpoint, application, and wireless network security. Wireless network security dominated the market with a share of 42.5% in 2022. The Wi-Fi-based wireless system enables automotive experts to simultaneously monitor hundreds of data channels during the test runs to track vehicle operational factors and alter the test as it is being performed.

Energy and information technology advancements are changing how EVs produce, manage, store, and utilize energy. This has raised the chances that cyberattacks lead to negative effects. Electric and modern vehicles are more automated and linked which has increased the risk of cyber security threats.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, key players operating in the market have been focused on introducing products that can improve service quality. In January 2023 , ETAS is expected to offer comprehensive automotive cyber security solutions together with vehicle middleware, basic software, development tools, end-to-end engineering, cloud-based operational services, and consulting services.

Read full market research report for more Insights, "Automotive Cyber Security Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Security (Application, Wireless Network), By Vehicle Type (Passenger, EVs), By Application (Infotainment, Powertrain), By Service, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030", published by Grand View Research.

Automotive Cyber Security Market Growth & Trends

Cyber security in vehicles is expected to be holistic, protecting both the front and back end of the network elements as well as the infrastructure used by the automobiles. However, many automotive companies are not sufficiently safeguarded while cyber security is battling for the attention with numerous other important automotive concerns.

Advanced feature vehicles include remote start, online access, and intelligent voice assistants are becoming more common. This emphasizes the necessity of safeguarding the vehicle from any cyber threats. Artificial intelligence-enhanced automotive cyber security systems are able to provide a detailed image of any potential system vulnerabilities. The proliferation of technology and automation in vehicles are leading to risks and vulnerabilities.

For instance, Dellfer entered into a partnership with DENSO which provides cyber security IoT tools for a wide range of vehicles. Through this partnership, the company aims to update crucial fixes, without an internet connection.

The industry has undergone a major transition as a result of many automobile manufacturers switching to electronic automobiles, with increased connectivity and intelligence. Electronic vehicles (EVs) rely more on technology for vehicle operations as they become more autonomous and interconnected, delivering more features and options to improve the experience of driving.

The market for automotive cyber security is anticipated to develop as a result of the factors like rising demand for the automotive cyber security, integrated car software, government standards and the imposition of mandatory cyber security requirements.

North America emerged as the second-largest automotive cyber security market and during the forecast period, the adoption of automated passenger vehicles will fuel the growth of the automotive cyber security market in North America. The automotive industry's attention has shifted to hybrid cars, which are leading the market, as a result of the growing emphasis on lowering vehicle emissions.

Moreover, due to the advancement of cloud infrastructure and framework, external cloud services are expanding at the highest rate. Considering that automated vehicles produce a significant amount of data, cloud services provide a highly- reliable technology.

Automotive Cyber Security Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global automotive cyber security market based on the security type, vehicle type, application, service and region.

Automotive Cyber Security Market - Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

Endpoint

Application

Wireless Network

Automotive Cyber Security Market - Vehicle Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

Passenger Car

Commercial Vehicle

Electrical Vehicle

Automotive Cyber Security Market - Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

ADAS & Safety System

Infotainment

Body Electronics

Powertrain

Telematics

Automotive Cyber Security Market - Service Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

In- Vehicle Services

External Cloud Services

Automotive Cyber Security Market - Region Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018 - 2030)

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

U.K.



Germany



France



Italy



Spain

Asia Pacific

China



India



Japan



Australia



South Korea

Latin America

Brazil



Mexico



Argentina

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

& (MEA) UAE



Saudi Arabia



South Africa

List of the key players in automotive cyber security market include

Sheelds

Vector

Infomatik GmbH

NXP Semiconductors N.V.

Harman International

Braodcom Inc.

Denso Corporation

Honeywell International, Inc.

Guard Knox Cyber-Technologies Ltd.

Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research:

Command and Control Systems Market - The global command and control systems market size is anticipated to reach USD 25.04 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 3.8% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing military budgets of Asian countries, such as China and India , rising influence of terror groups in Iraq , Syria , and Palestine, and technological advancements in defense industry are anticipated to fuel the Command and Control (C2) demand.

- The global command and control systems market size is anticipated to reach by 2025, registering a CAGR of 3.8% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing military budgets of Asian countries, such as and , rising influence of terror groups in , , and Palestine, and technological advancements in defense industry are anticipated to fuel the Command and Control (C2) demand. Network Probe Market - The global network probe market size is expected to reach USD 1.24 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 12.3% from 2021 to 2028 according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Network probes help businesses to understand the protocols being used in the network that hosts the sending and receiving of data, the location of network traffic, and others. Thus, companies are widely adopting network probes for getting in-depth visibility of their network, which is driving the growth of the market.

- The global network probe market size is expected to reach by 2028, registering a CAGR of 12.3% from 2021 to 2028 according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Network probes help businesses to understand the protocols being used in the network that hosts the sending and receiving of data, the location of network traffic, and others. Thus, companies are widely adopting network probes for getting in-depth visibility of their network, which is driving the growth of the market. Wireless Infrastructure Market - The global wireless infrastructure market size is expected to reach USD 116.75 billion by 2025, according to a new report conducted by Grand View Research, Inc., exhibiting a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period. Enterprises have been shifting to hosted and managed networking and communication services as these address problems of high initial investments associated with unified communications systems. Small and mediums businesses (SMBs) and larger enterprises have realized the benefits of network infrastructures, thereby fueling market growth.

Browse through Grand View Research's Communications Infrastructure Industry Research Reports.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Grand View Compass | Astra ESG Solutions

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc
BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun), a leader in smart infusion therapy and pain management, today unveiled B. Braun e-University, an online education platform for healthcare providers designed to improve clinical practice and patient care. This user-friendly, web-based platform, accessible across devices, complements B. Braun's full offering of value-added live and virtual clinical and technical training. The learnings in B. Braun e-University help providers stay current with education, even during changeover and shortages in the education departments of some healthcare facilities.

B. Braun e-University currently hosts over 50 on-demand and microlearning video courses covering Infusion Systems, IV Fluids and Irrigation, IV Sets and Access Devices, Vascular Access, Closed System Drug Transfer Devices, Compounding, Drug Preparation and Pain Control. The open platform allows the user to explore the content for a customized learning experience.

Continuing Education (CE) courses are also accessible through B. Braun e-University. The current selection includes: Are You Ready for Smart Pump  EMR Interoperability, Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Insertion, and Pediatric and Neonatal Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Insertion Education. Additional courses for credit will be added based on customer needs.

In addition to B. Braun e-University, which focuses on hospital and outpatient markets, the Company has collaborated with the Association for Vascular Access to provide free online education on improving Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Insertion for healthcare schools (AVA- B. Braun PIV Education).

"An ecosystem of robust and continuous online clinical education and training for healthcare residents, fellows and clinical providers is critically important to improving patient care and experience," said Steve Withers, BSN, RN, Director of Clinical Support and Services at B. Braun. "With our courses, hands-on and virtual trainings, and dedicated field-based clinical team, we are committed to supporting the providers who serve patients."

"Now, more than ever, we need industry partners who can help us close the gaps in education and training," said Judy Thompson, MSNEd, RN, VA-BC, Director of Clinical Education at the Association for Vascular Access. "B. Braun shows a continuous commitment to this by re-investing in the clinical personnel, tools and technology to deliver best-in-class education."

To browse and access this online education, visit B. Braun e-University.

About B. Braun

B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) is a leader in smart infusion therapy and safe and effective pharmacy products, patient and provider safety, and sustainable health solutions. Our purpose is to help providers constantly improve patient satisfaction and outcomes. With products and services created to help healthcare professionals focus on what matters mosttheir patientswe're uniquely positioned to help health systems succeed now and in the future. B. Braun is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap and CAPS. The company employs 8,500 people at over 30 locations across North America.

Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 64,000 employees in 64 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, explore our website.

SOURCE B. Braun Medical Inc.
CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sustained Rapid Growth: Since its 2020 launch with 15 Chicago women restaurateurs, Let's Talk Womxn (LTW) is now 700+ women restaurateurs nationwide with 80+ in Chicago alone. It has expanded to thirteen US cities: Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, AZ/Phoenix, Greater NY, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Miami, Minneapolis- St. Paul, Houston, Milwaukee, Columbus. It launches two new cities, Detroit and Toronto in March. LTW also launched three more cities: LTW LA morphed into Re:Her, Philadelphia merged into Sisterly Love, and DC evolved into DC Women in Food. It is founded and led by Rohini Dey, Ph.D., former World Bank economist and McKinsey consultant, now restaurateur Vermilion, Chicago. Each LTW city is nourished by 2-5 leading women restaurateur cohosts. See all 44 national cohosts on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com . Says Dey, "Let's Talk Womxn is our magical action movement to boost each other. None of us are paid to do this, it is true giving back to each other. I marvel at the positivity we have unleashed, what we accomplish together, and can't wait to see where this journey takes us."

What Let's Talk Womxn is NOT: Let's Talk Womxn is not an organization, it has no dues, no exclusiveness to join (open to all women owners), and no bureaucracy (all peers). It has no overheads (no CEO, staff), unlike many conventional associations and foundations who drain millions claiming to help members. LTW does not impoverish members by asking them to participate in charity or below-cost initiatives. It does not undertake pedantic "expert" sessions, webinars, and seminars, of which there is a surfeit. It is not for just the "chosen few" favored by media, TV, the PR machine and industry, the same names who are asked to headline all events.

Nationwide 12 WHM 2023 Celebrations March 1-8: Let's Talk Womxn is hosting 12 nationwide "Let's Talk & Celebrate" WHM bashes, collaborations by 10-30+ women owners in each city to showcase and celebrate women gourmet power with tastings stations, DJs, women power cocktails, speakers, drag shows and more. Details are on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com.

Unique Business-Building Parity Model: The Let's Talk Womxn movement focuses on boosting business building for its women restaurateurs and entrepreneurs in five ways:

Learn with monthly deep dive sessions across key business areas. Most women entrepreneurs are isolated and not large hospitality groups. These sessions are invaluable to share best practices within peers for real ongoing learning, alongside sharing concrete sources, and referrals of vendors, grants, clients, and opportunities. Amplify visibility . LTW initiatives range from panels, keynotes, forums with partners and cross-promotion of each other with city and national events. These generate media and high visibility for members. See collaborations on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com . Boost the bottom line . All revenue from LTW events, tickets, and sponsorships is allocated to members. There is zero holdback for overheads or endowments. Amplify growth aspirations . Members always leave LTW sessions inspired by the actions and plans of each other. LTW builds bonds among peers, enables women entrepreneurs to overcome isolation, stay the course and grow. Combining heft . Upcoming initiatives will focus on combining purchasing power.

Champion Women Entrepreneurs Beyond March Gender-Washing: Let's Talk Womxn restaurateurs are all owners, employers and tastemakers with a mass following at the intersection of dining, consumer, and retail. LTW has been backed by Ulta Beauty, Toast, Discover, IFMA, UAL, Middleby, SpotOn, city entities (CVBs and SRAs), and by Sysco. It is open to working with all partners who genuinely want to champion women entrepreneurs.

"Sustained backing of Let's Talk Womxn entrepreneurs and restaurateurs by Sysco is exemplary, concrete and goes well beyond the March gender-washing we generally encounter," says founder Dey. In the last two years, Sysco has worked actively with LTW to:

Sponsor the launch of two LTW new cities, Detroit & Toronto 2023

& 2023 Sponsor and moderate LTW panels & events (Making Our Industry Better 2022, Let's Talk Change Summit 2022, Picnic in White 2021)

Create content with LTW (Owning the Kitchen 2021)

Champion LTW national initiatives. WHM "Let's Talk & Celebrate" 2022 & 2023.

Share the LTW model internally within Sysco. LTW founder Dey global keynote for Sysco IWD 2023. Teams and corporate leaders attend LTW events.

More on Let's Talk Womxn: You can see more on these segments ( Today Show , Good Morning America , WGN NewsNation ), or on http://www.letstalkwomxn.com . LTW is lauded in the Top 50 Power List NRN at inception and as NRN Top 25 Most Influential Women alongside awards for its innovative collaborative approach and leadership. LTW has keynoted forums across sectors, countries and within corporations to share its unique B3 model by competitors for empowerment, a model that applies to all entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.

SOURCE Lets Talk Womxn (LTW)
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Broader acceptance and use of biosimilars  lower-cost versions of patented and branded drugs  by employers and other healthcare purchasers are key to preserving economic competition in the marketplace. To support plan sponsors in adopting biosimilars into their health and pharmacy benefit plans, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) developed and released an employer playbook.

"If properly managed, biosimilars can help employers save millions while increasing patient access," said Margaret Rehayem, vice president at National Alliance. "As the use of these drugs continues to expand in the US, we've been working with coalitions and employers to develop strategies to help drive acceptance and appropriately push back on health plans and pharmacy benefit managers that are not transparent or have misaligned incentives."

The Employer Playbook on Biosimilars was developed to help employers navigate the challenges of managing these drugs in their benefit plans and structure their pharmacy benefit programs to best address misaligned incentives and/or anti-competitive business practices. The resource provides practical strategies to help purchasers understand innovative and emerging treatments and support discussions with plans and other vendor partners for plan and formulary design, drug pricing and rebates, drug access and accessibility, and site of care and drug administration.

"We are late in prioritizing biosimilar management," said Cathy Trinh, MS, senior healthcare analyst, SEIU 775 Benefits Group, and a participant in the biosimilars learning collaboratives. "It's shocking to learn how much we could have saved in the last few years if biosimilars were used instead of the reference products."

Competition is key to biosimilar success

The resource is also meant to create an awareness of several deceptive tactics being used to slow the adoption of biosimilars that can have devastating repercussions to the longevity of biosimilars and reduce anticipated cost savings for both patients and employers. In the absence of competition, drug prices will continue to increase, even without patent protection.

Recommended drug management strategies for employers include:

Request broker or pharmacy consultant provide an update on drug pipelines and launches to determine if market releases will impact prescriptions and prices

Consider adopting a custom formulary design or use a phased in approach, one that is not rebate-driven

Add biosimilars on formulary once they are launched; require all new biosimilar releases be placed in the generic tier to increase adoption

Request pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) share formulary strategy to support overall workforce needs (especially those with limited access or equity challenges)

Do not be lured into 340B pricing plans; ensure the lowest net cost  without rebates  or consider a phased approach

pricing plans; ensure the lowest net cost  without rebates  or consider a phased approach When multiple biosimilars are available, offer incentives for the use of all biosimilars in the same drug class over the reference product

Carve out specialty drugs and/or biosimilars with a specialty PBM or pharmacy if that option provides better outcomes

Sustaining affordability

Employers have been misled to believe biosimilar adoption will lead to branded product losses in rebates and cause biosimilar cost to increase. However, as patent protections expire for drugs like the rheumatoid arthritis injectable Humira after 20 years and $200 billion in revenue, employers need to push for credits, incentives, discounts and/or rebates from biosimilar companies to be passed on to the employer or the patient.

"Companies are spending more on employees' health insurance than ever before, and biosimilars are safe and effective treatment options to lower the cost of prescription drugs if they are accessible to the patients that need them," said Juliana M. Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum. "We urge employers to implement recommendations from this playbook and work with their PBMs to ensure their employees have access to lower cost biosimilars and are educated about them."

The National Alliance project brought together three member coalitions (Economic Alliance for Michigan, Florida Alliance for Healthcare Value and Washington Health Alliance) and eight employers of different sizes and industries to participate in the eight-month initiative. Funding for this project was provided by the Biosimilars Forum, a nonprofit organization working to advance biosimilars in the United States with the goals of expanding access and availability to improve healthcare outcomes.

About National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions

For over 30 years, the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) has united business healthcare coalitions and their employer/purchaser members to achieve high-value care that improves patient experience, health equity, and outcomes. Its members represent private and public sector, nonprofit, and Taft-Hartley organizations that provide health benefits for more than 45 million Americans and spend over $400 billion on healthcare. To learn more, visit nationalalliancehealth.org and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

SOURCE National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
Kitepipe CEO and Founder Larry Cone will speak at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit on behalf of Boomi, on March 20, 2023 in Orlando, Florida.

WILMINGTON, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kitepipe is pleased to announce that its CEO and Founder, Larry Cone, will be part of the Boomi panel about ERP modernization at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit. The conference will take place on March 20  22, 2023 in Orlando, Florida, with the panel, "Boomi: Making ERP Modernization Real with Intelligent Data Automation and Integration," happening on Monday, March 20 at 4 p.m.

Boomi and Kitepipe have come together to deliver the ideal platform for achieving successful business outcomes through data integration. The presentation will explore how the platform harnesses the true power of data automation and integration by focusing on data quality and consistency to speed ERP system modernization. Attendees can expect to learn about reaching Digital Transformation through ERP modernization, navigating data automation and integration challenges, and finding success in spend management and e-commerce. Cone will also share real-world examples of how Boomi's platform coupled with Kitepipe's integration and hosting services has helped businesses overcome modernization bottlenecks.

Kitepipe has been a trusted partner in the Boomi ecosystem for eight years, most notably as one of just 11 Platinum Partners in the world. Cone founded Kitepipe in 2011 in response to the need for a Boomi-focused services team that could deliver all the promise of this powerful integration platform. A proven IT technology and services executive with 30 years of experience, Cone is a proven closer for complex enterprise integration services sales, developer of technical talent, thought leader in integration architecture, and visionary for the business impact of the cloud.

Kitepipe is thrilled to represent Boomi at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit, which brings together data and analytics leaders from around the world. "I am honored to have been invited to speak at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit on behalf of Boomi," said Cone. "ERP modernization is an increasingly critical topic for businesses of all sizes, and I look forward to sharing my insights and experiences with attendees."

To learn more about Larry Cone and Kitepipe, visit kitepipe.com.

About Kitepipe

Kitepipe knows Boomi better. Kitepipe's 100% North American team empowers Boomi users to build, maintain and improve their Boomi integrations, from AWS to NetSuite, Salesforce to SAP, and beyond. Our experts have completed over 500+ successful integration projects, have over 70 Boomi certifications, and have even authored training courses for Boomi.com.

Press Contact:

Ellie Cone

844-232-2227

http://www.kitepipe.com/

SOURCE Kitepipe
COME BY CHANCE, NL, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Braya Renewable Fuels is pleased to announce the issuance of an exclusive letter of support to ABO Wind for the joint development of green hydrogen production at its refinery in Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada. The non-binding letter of support promotes the project proposal ABO Wind intends to submit in the "Crown Land Call for Bids for Wind Energy Projects" launched by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Of the many strong proposals we received from around the world, we have selected ABO Wind for its demonstrated ability to manage large scale infrastructure developments, its significant experience in developing renewable energy projects, and our shared vision of producing green hydrogen and green ammonia to serve global markets," said Frank Almaraz, CEO, Braya Renewable Fuels. "We are confident that together with ABO Wind, we can build on the tremendous momentum at our Come By Chance refinery."

In November 2022, Braya issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the provision of 35,000 metric tons per year of green hydrogen for its advanced bio-fuels refinery. Recognizing its need for a large quantity of hydrogen and unique access to deep water logistical assets, Braya also invited respondents to submit proposals to scale the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia to serve the needs of the global marketplace.

ABO Wind has proposed a multi-phased, integrated project which provides green hydrogen to meet Braya's needs as well as green ammonia for global export. Braya has issued a non-binding letter of support to ABO Wind for its submission of the Project in response to the Crown Land Call for Bids and believes the project will be successful in this competitive process.

"The entire ABO team is enthusiastic about Braya's support," said Dr. Karsten Schlageter, ABO Wind Managing Director. "We developed a strong project proposal with a long-term vision for this region. Key components are our respectful relationships with First Nations and the local communities, Braya's existing infrastructure and knowledge, our global development experience and partnerships, and of course the extraordinary wind conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador. The project will not only support Braya's efforts, but also foster sustainable economic development and job creation in the Province as well as contribute to our joint global goal of carbon reduction and energy security."

Braya looks forward to participating in the Crown Land Call for Bids alongside ABO Wind, continuing community engagement related to the Project, and undertaking further development efforts towards a sustainable energy future.

About Braya Renewable Fuels

Braya Renewable Fuels owns and operates the Come By Chance Refinery, located in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is converting it to renewable fuel operation. The refinery has been renamed Braya Renewable Fuels, after the rare and beautiful Newfoundland and Labrador Braya flower. The refinery is strategically located to deliver fuels to a variety of end markets and has a successful ~50-year operating history as a conventional fuels refinery. The refinery plans to produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, which help decarbonize sectorsheavy road transport and aviationthat are key to economic activity and have few other near-term, executable decarbonization solutions.

About ABO Wind

ABO Wind AG successfully develops and builds wind and solar farms as well as battery storage and hydrogen projects. Founded in 1996, the Germany-based company has realised more than 5,000 megawatts of capacity to date and has also constructed half of them. The company's annual investment amounts to 500 million euros. More than 1,000 employees in 16 countries work with enthusiasm on the planning, financing, construction, operational management, and maintenance of plants for a sustainable energy supply.

ABO Wind Canada Ltd. was founded in 2017 with an office in Calgary, Alberta and opened a second Canadian office in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2022. ABO Wind Canada is developing a pipeline of +1,400 MW of grid-connected wind, solar and storage projects and +11,000 MW of renewables for green hydrogen.

SOURCE Braya Renewable Fuels
TAIPEI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's leading computer brand, GIGABYTE has finally made its highly-anticipated AORUS gaming laptop lineup available on the market, including the AORUS 17X, AORUS 15X, AORUS 17, and AORUS 15. These premium laptops are completely re-designed for high-performance gaming at their cores, offering cutting-edge technologies and optimized portability for an unbeatable gaming experience on the go.

Bring Your A Game: GIGABYTE AORUS 2023 Gaming Laptops Now Available

The AORUS 17X and AORUS 15X are the flagship models with maximum performance. These powerful gaming machines boast an Intel 13th-gen 24-core CPU and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU with a TGP of 175W, resulting in a noticeable improvement in gaming performance of up to 86% compared to the previous gen, ensuring that even the most demanding games will run smoothly and without lag. The AORUS 17 and AORUS 15 are super-portable gaming laptops, which have received upgrades in the next-gen chips, featuring Intel Core 13th-gen i7 H series processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with a TGP of 140W.

The cooling capacity has also been improved with the upgraded WINDFORCE Infinity cooling system, featuring a large vapor chamber design and up to four cooling fans for a maximum TDP of 230W on the AORUS 17X and 160W on the AORUS 17. This advanced cooling system not only ensures efficient and quiet cooling but also makes the laptops more compact and portable, perfect for gamers who are constantly on the move.

The AORUS lineup offers 17.3 and 15.6 inch displays with a sweet spot of QHD resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz for immersive visuals and fluid framerates. The displays feature accurate and vivid colors, thanks to 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut for the AORUS 17X and AORUS 15. The laptops share a sleek and modern look, which includes a stylish RGB light bar and geometric patterns that exude a winning attitude, making them a characteristic addition to any gaming setup.

If you are ready to take your gaming experience to the next level, it is time to get your hands on the 2023 AORUS gaming laptops that are available now. With their improved performance, stylish design, and rich features, these laptops are the ultimate gaming machine for those who settle for nothing less than the very best. For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/AORUS_LAPTOP.

SOURCE GIGABYTE
BEIJING, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

"Chinese-style modernization" has been frequently overheard at this year's two sessions.

When joining a group deliberation with fellow deputies of the 14th National People's Congress from Jiangsu province, President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects.

What is Chinese-style modernization? How is it different from Western modernization? China Daily reporter Samantha Stimer spoke with British scholar John Ross to hear his opinions on the subject.

Here are the excerpts:

Q: So my first question is that Chinese-style modernization is a buzzword for the two sessions. In your own words, what exactly is Chinese-style modernization?

A: The core for me is that it's a people-centered development from several points of view.

First, the goal is the improvement of the conditions of the people.

Then, I think, we also take it that it focuses on poverty alleviation. China recorded very dramatic economic growth, particularly after 1978, the fastest of any country in world history. Nevertheless, despite the growth, it left around 50 to 100 million people who were in very inaccessible places or very underdeveloped regions.

But they weren't left. Instead, what happened was that China mobilized all the resources of the state, all the resources of the Communist Party to make sure that these last 50 to 100 (million) people were taken out of poverty.

Q: With globalization, with these differences, with China's people-first policies, what do you think will be China's biggest obstacle as it continues to modernize as it moves forward within this year and the next?

What you would hope to see is China's development of course benefiting other countries. It is a win-win development.

China has been developing itself. If we look at the two most recent crises, it came out through the international financial crisis much, much more successfully. It emerged through the COVID crisis more successfully. I think it's quite clear on the basis of more than last 70 years that China will come through the crises.

To learn more, watch the video:

https://youtu.be/GYz6GcOgTjI

SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn
NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: March 1, 2022 to May 11, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 1, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in BROS:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/dutch-bros-class-action-submission-form?id=37051&from=4

Dutch Bros Inc. NEWS - BROS NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Dutch Bros Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) the Company was experiencing increased costs and expenses, including on dairy; (2) as a result, the Company was experiencing increased margin pressure and decreased profitability in the first quarter of 2022; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, defendant's positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Dutch Bros you have until May 1, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Dutch Bros securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the BROS lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/dutch-bros-class-action-submission-form?id=37051&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
Annual event convenes scholars, policymakers and practitioners to explore topics from M&A to venture capital

PROVO, Utah, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BYU Law, a global law school focused on leadership in legal theory and practice, today announced that it will host the 2023 BYU Law Winter Deals Conference from March 8-10, continuing its annual tradition of convening researchers to discuss the modern global economy's most pressing legal issues. Focusing on "New Ideas for Modern Markets' Most Difficult Challenges," the Winter Deals Conference explores policies for addressing a variety of domains, from mergers and acquisitions to VC to corporate governance.

BYU Law's Winter Deals Conference brings leading scholars and practitioners to Park City, Utah, located within one of the most vibrant technology clusters in the United States, to discuss some of the modern global economy's most pressing legal issues. The event is sponsored by Potter Anderson & Corroon, PwC and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, alongside BYU Law's Global Business Law Program, an incubator for new studies and research methods.

"Twenty-first century markets' unprecedented scale, complexity and dynamism present a difficult challenge for legal institutions, which must provide stable rules that businesses can trust as they make investments while also rapidly adapting to new demands, disruptive technologies and crisis," said Matthew Jennejohn, Winter Deals Conference Founder and Professor at BYU Law. "An incubator for developing new policy and law, the Winter Deals Conference brings together thinkers from academia, public sectors and private practice to debate solutions to these emerging problems."

Vice Chancellor Lori Will of the Delaware Court of Chancery will deliver the keynote address. The Court of Chancery is the leading adjudicator of corporate governance disputes in the United States, and its decisions inform corporate policy around the world. A former partner at Wilson Sonsini who joined the court in 2021, Vice Chancellor Will is a leading thinker on corporate law and governance.

Other leading scholars and practitioners who will moderate or present at the conference include Adriana Robertson, professor at the University of Chicago Law School; Zohar Goshen, Columbia Law School professor; Zach Gubler, ASU Law professor; Kathryn Judge, professor and vice dean for intellectual life at Columbia Law School; Jill Fisch, Penn Law professor; Brian Broughman, Vanderbilt law professor; and Marcel Kahan and Ed Rock from NYU Law, along with other esteemed business and law professionals.

Some of more than 20 topics of discussion will include shareholder democracy, ESG, corporate law and governance, contract law, transactional design, financial regulation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, bankruptcy and reorganization, and federal securities regulation.

This year's Winter Deals Conference will be held March 9-10 at the Grand Summit Lodge in Canyons Village of Park City Mountain Resort, with an informal dinner held on the evening of March 8. For more information, including a complete agenda, visit https://winterdeals.byu.edu/2023-conference/conference-info/.

About BYU Law School

Founded in 1971 with its inaugural class in 1973, the J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU Law) has grown into one of the nation's leading law schools  recognized for innovative research and teaching in social change, transactional design, entrepreneurship, corpus linguistics, criminal justice and religious freedom. The Law School has more than 6,000 alumni serving in communities around the world. In its most recent rankings, National Jurist recognized BYU Law as the #1 best-value law school in its 2021 ranking. BYU Law also earned its highest U.S. news ranking to date, coming in at No. 23 in the U.S. News 2023 Best Graduate School rankings. For more information, visit https://law.byu.edu.

SOURCE BYU Law
Regional agency partners recognized for extraordinary efforts

MONTEREY, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Insurance Group (CIG), a leading regional property and casualty insurer in the Western U.S., is proud to announce its 2022 Agencies of the Year, representing each of CIG's four regions. CIG partners with independent, local agencies to provide the best possible service to policyholders. This unique partnership model is the foundation of CIG's business, and every year the company recognizes the agencies that made significant strides, exceeded expectations, and grew business in their communities.

Capital Insurance Group's office in Monterey, California.

CIG partners with many agents across its five-state footprint and wants to acknowledge agencies that go above and beyond in their performance, achievements, profitability, and commitment to policyholders. "It is well known at CIG that the independent agent is our customer. We also recognize that we maintain strong partnerships designed for mutual success. Through these partnerships, we bring security to the families, farms, and businesses on the West Coast, enabling them to have the confidence to realize their dreams," said CIG President and CEO, Andy Doll.

He continued, "While we enjoy the high-quality professionalism from all of our agency partners, each year there are some that simply rise to the top. I am excited to recognize four agencies who have had a most extraordinary year. Each has demonstrated a commitment to CIG through incredible financial results and their alignment with our team and business strategy. I am excited to share this recognition and look forward to what the future can bring for our outstanding relationships."

About Zarosinski-Leavitt Insurance Agency of OR, Inc.

Zarosinski-Leavitt is a full-service agency that represents hundreds of insurance markets with industry-specific programs. Based in Beaverton, Oregon, the agency is part of the nationally affiliated Leavitt Group.

"Zarosinski-Leavitt was our selection in the Northwest without hesitation." said Jennifer Wagner, CIG's Regional Field Executive for the Northwest. "We have had the good fortune to develop a partnership based on transparency and trust, which has been the key to our success together in profitability and growth."

About Comstock Insurance Agencies

Based in Reno, Nevada, Comstock Insurance is a family-owned, independent agency that has been part of the community for over 60 years. Comstock takes pride in their customer-focused approach to providing coverage to their clients.

"When it comes to Comstock, it's not just about the numberswhich are awesomeit's about the relationship." said Victor Foggie, Director of Field Operations at CIG. "They have great partnerships with everyone they work with at CIG from underwriters to the marketing rep, all the way down to our Claims and IT departments. It just doesn't get much better than that."

About Assurance Risk Managers

Headquartered in Woodland, California, Assurance Risk Managers (ARM) is dedicated to delivering superior service to inspire confidence in their customers and markets. With a commitment to quality, ARM provides a variety of services including personal, commercial, and non-profit insurance.

"ARM had an outstanding year of growth and profitability with CIG," said Pauleen Hepner, CIG's Regional Field Executive for Northern California. "They recognize the value that CIG brings to the marketplace and have our best interests in mind, which creates a valuable partnership."

About Palos Verdes Insurance Agency

Palos Verdes is a family-owned and operated agency based in Redondo Beach, California since 1955. With services that cover personal, home, and business insurance needs, they are an agency that values relationships with carriers and clients alike.

"Palos Verdes has been appointed with CIG for over 30 years and has earned the CIG Agency of the Year in Southern California multiple times," said CIG's Regional Field Executive, Bruce Ostrem. "It's a testament to their longevity, profitability, persistence, and professionalism. We enjoy working with them and our relationship is built on mutual respect."

CIG is proud to partner with these agencies and recognize their accomplishments and future success with the 2022 Agency of the Year Award.

About Capital Insurance Group

Established in 1898, Capital Insurance Group (CIG) is a leading regional property and casualty insurer in the Western U.S. CIG offers trusted Agriculture, Commercial, and Personal coverage across Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Known for superior customer service and customizable coverage, CIG delivers insurance solutions tailored to meet the needs of policyholders, sold exclusively through independent agents. CIG's suite of insurance offerings include coverage for Homeowners, Renters, Personal Auto, Dwelling Fire, Businessowners, Commercial Auto, Farm Owners, Commercial Agriculture, Farm Auto, Commercial Real Estate, and more. Throughout its footprint, CIG partners with regional and local charitable organizations and events to give back to communities in ways that promote preparedness, enhance resilience, and bring relief from crisis.

CIG is underwritten by its affiliate companies: California Capital Insurance Company, Eagle West Insurance Company, Nevada Capital Insurance Company, and /Monterey Insurance Company. CIG's members are rated "A" (Excellent) by AM Best, the independent financial monitor of the insurance industry and is proud to be part of the Auto-Owners Insurance group of companies, one of the nation's largest, most-trusted insurers. For more information, please visit CIGInsurance.com.

SOURCE Capital Insurance Group
ST. LOUIS , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an industry plagued with high levels of burnout and compassion fatigue, CareVet continues to provide Veterinarians with programs dedicated to improving mental health and wellness. Last month, the organization expanded their paid time off program, Carebnb, offering additional paid vacation opportunities for doctors to recharge outside of the hospital. Through Carebnb, network Veterinarians can now enjoy their paid time off at one of Carebnb's top-rated properties courtesy of CareVet or receive a generous travel credit to choose their own adventure. The program, offered annually, is one of several under The Ultimate CarePackage, CareVet's suite of industry-leading benefits tailored to today's Veterinarian.

"Carebnb by CareVet has enabled my family to get away and have a real vacation. I didn't realize what I was missing." Tweet this Finding the balance between patients and family can be challenging, but CareVet is here to make it a little easier with paid time off programs like Carebnb. Through Carebnb, network Veterinarians can now enjoy their paid time off at one of Carebnbs top-rated properties courtesy of CareVet or receive a generous travel credit to choose their own adventure.

Carebnb launched in early 2022, inviting CareVet Veterinarians to book a stay at one of CareVet's luxury vacation properties, or choose a staycation experience, free of charge. In the program's inaugural year, 65% of eligible Veterinarians participated in the program. Of those doctors, more than 95% agreed that the time away from work allowed them to return to the hospital refreshed and renewed.

In 2023, CareVet is anticipating more than 90% of eligible Veterinarians to take advantage of Carebnb, with the program's expanded offerings and increased flexibility. Now, DVMs have the choice to select one of two travel opportunities:

The Best of Carebnb : With this option, Veterinarians can enjoy a stay at one of CareVet's luxury vacation properties. Carebnb's DVM Concierge works with doctors to check availability, confirm stays and share fully interactive Stay + Play Guides featuring personalized recommendations. The Best of Carebnb was designed for the traveler that wants white glove service as they plan and enjoy their trip.

: With this option, Veterinarians can enjoy a stay at one of CareVet's luxury vacation properties. Carebnb's DVM Concierge works with doctors to check availability, confirm stays and share fully interactive Stay + Play Guides featuring personalized recommendations. The Best of Carebnb was designed for the traveler that wants white glove service as they plan and enjoy their trip. Carebnb, Your Way! With this option, Veterinarians can plan a vacation (or staycation) their way with a travel credit of their choice. Carebnb, Your Way!'s flexibility helps get DVMs where they want to go, with credits ranging from transportation to accommodations. Carebnb, Your Way! was designed for the traveler wanting to plan their own adventure.

"When we first began mapping out Carebnb by CareVet, we knew we wanted to design a benefit that not only encouraged our DVMs to take their paid time off, but also allowed them to recharge and reconnect with what matters most," says Dr. Kent Thornberry, CareVet Co-Founder. "Expanding the program to include a travel credit option allows for flexibility and a more personalized the Carebnb experience, so our Veterinarians can use their vacation time to do just that."

CareVet doctors are positively responding to the program. One Texas DVM shared, "For the 36 years I practiced before CareVet, I never took a vacation that wasn't attending a Veterinary Conference for continuing education. Carebnb has enabled my wife and I to get away and have a real vacation. I didn't realize what I was missing."

An Iowa DVM shared their anticipated travel, "Making plans and budgeting for a vacation can be difficult. With CareVet's travel perk, it takes away some of the financial pressure. Knowing we have funds available specifically for a vacation also relieves some stress and gives my family more motivation to move forward with the planning. Can't wait to take advantage of this!"

In addition to their paid time off initiatives, CareVet offers a multitude of innovative benefits aimed at supporting Veterinarians' personal and professional needs, including paid parental leave, adoption assistance, student loan support and much more. Beyond the DVM, CareVet concentrates on better supporting Team Members through their Whole Person Approach, including revenue sharing, skill development, living wage initiative and more.

To learn about CareVet's initiatives for attracting and retaining the industry's best talent, visit carevethealth.com.

About CareVet: CareVet is a leading operator of independent veterinary hospitals operating in 35+ states with more than 3,000 Team Members. Founded in 2018 by Dr. Kent Thornberry, a DVM who built and grew two of his own veterinary hospitals before selling them to two separate veterinary practice management groups and Greg Siwak, a highly regarded entrepreneur. Together, they felt there was a better operating model for hospitals anchored in a deep commitment and investment in the teams that service their clients and pets. CareVet is privately held and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and can be visited at CareVetHealth.com and followed on LinkedIn at @CareVet-Health and Facebook at @CareVetHealth.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Allie Schweitzer, Digital Marketing Lead

[email protected]

(314) 954-0141

SOURCE CareVet
HOUSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Carrier Energy Partners II, LLC ("Carrier", or the "Company") has closed on the sale of its oil and gas assets in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. Carrier sold its non-operated working interest in Karnes County to an undisclosed buyer across two transactions for total cash consideration of $145 million, subject to customary terms and conditions, including closing adjustments.

These transactions in the Eagle Ford represent a full divestiture of the Company's existing assets after previous sales in the Permian Basin in 2017 and 2019. Carrier was founded in 2013 by Mark Clemans and Christina Chen with equity funding from Riverstone Holdings, an asset management firm that invests in the private markets primarily within energy, power and infrastructure.

SOURCE Carrier Energy Partners II, LLC
Firm has years of experience protecting donor intent and ensuring charities get the full intended gift from trusts and estates

Experts predict a coming "Golden Age" of planned giving as Baby Boomer generation ages

PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation ages over the next quarter century, charities anticipate a 'Golden Age' for bequests. Charities recognize that the Baby Boomer generation has amassed more wealth than any other generation and is more deliberate about how their wealth is invested before and after death. Increasingly, savvy individuals and estates are demanding that charities embrace best and replicable practices that preserve the full intentions of their bequests.

Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD  a public interest law firm with years of expertise in bequest management  has developed and released the non-profit industry's first known Standards of Excellence for Bequest Management. The standards provide individuals with a clear understanding of what they should demand from charities before making a bequest. The Standards of Excellence also provide charities with clear protocols for practices that should be in place to ensure that they are equipped to fully protect donor wishes and receive the entire intended gift.

"As Baby Boomers age and pass, they will leave behind more wealth than any previous generation and their gifts will generate a larger share of a charity's revenue than many anticipated. This new generation of donors demand top-notch management of their bequests, and they expect charities to complete the stewardship of their gift after they pass," said Lindy Nash, Bequest Supervising Attorney, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD. "CCK's Standards of Excellence for Bequest Management is the first clear articulation of best and replicable practices that every charity should embrace and every donor should demand. Our Standards of Excellence were developed through our years of expertise advising and litigating on behalf of charities who sought to uphold the true intent of their donors."

CCK's Standards of Excellence include seven recommendations:

Standard One: Identify and Resolve Issues in Key Documents. Beneficiaries must conduct a careful review of all testamentary documents and related filings to identify and resolve ambiguities and inconsistencies that can cause major problems later on. This requires a degree of legal and sometimes financial expertise.



Beneficiaries must conduct a careful review of all testamentary documents and related filings to identify and resolve ambiguities and inconsistencies that can cause major problems later on. This requires a degree of legal and sometimes financial expertise. Standard Two: Maintain Useful Files. Without a complete and accessible file, a charity will miss critical issues and deadlines.



Without a complete and accessible file, a charity will miss critical issues and deadlines. Standard Three: Monitor Fiduciary Performance. Beneficiaries must be alert to "danger signals" that emerge about a fiduciary's performance. Fiduciary failures can be due to simple negligence, careless use of estate assets or, in some cases, outright fraud. Bequests lost in this manner are sometimes never recovered.



Beneficiaries must be alert to "danger signals" that emerge about a fiduciary's performance. Fiduciary failures can be due to simple negligence, careless use of estate assets or, in some cases, outright fraud. Bequests lost in this manner are sometimes never recovered. Standard Four: Review Before Signing. Signing of documents without careful review may be the most frequent error that charities make during bequest administration. Receipts, releases, indemnities, and other such items frequently contain unacceptable and draconian terms that can cost a charity money. Proper review and assessment of these common documents often require a specific set of legal skills.



Signing of documents without careful review may be the most frequent error that charities make during bequest administration. Receipts, releases, indemnities, and other such items frequently contain unacceptable and draconian terms that can cost a charity money. Proper review and assessment of these common documents often require a specific set of legal skills. Standard Five: Create Procedures for Risky Assets. Charities should undertake immediate and sufficient due diligence before accepting potentially risky noncash assets.



Charities should undertake immediate and sufficient due diligence before accepting potentially risky noncash assets. Standard Six: Dispute and Defend If Necessary. Sometimes, a charity will have to decide whether to litigate to protect their donors' wishes or address a controversy arising during estate administration. A penultimate step may be the more cost-effective option to mediate or arbitrate. An organization has a tough decision to make when committing its financial resources in pursuit of a gift that may or may not materialize as hoped. At such times, sound legal advice is needed.



Sometimes, a charity will have to decide whether to litigate to protect their donors' wishes or address a controversy arising during estate administration. A penultimate step may be the more cost-effective option to mediate or arbitrate. An organization has a tough decision to make when committing its financial resources in pursuit of a gift that may or may not materialize as hoped. At such times, sound legal advice is needed. Standard Seven: Keep Track of the Numbers. In many cases, a detailed review of inventories, accountings, and investment portfolios is prudent. This responsibility may extend into ensuring that any estate assets that are sold (cars, houses, boats, collections) fetch fair market value. This is especially true if a charity is a residuary beneficiary.

CCK encourages charities to use these Standards of Excellence when stewarding their matured bequests.

For additional information, visit link.

About Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD

Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD is a nationwide law firm practicing Veterans Law, ERISA & Long-Term Disability Insurance Litigation, and Bequest Management. CCK has offices in Providence, RI and Houston, TX. More information available at https://cck-law.com.

Media Contact

Mike Raia, Half Street Group (for CCK)

401.340.9425 | [email protected]

SOURCE Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD
Jeremy Leonard to Join as Senior VP  Digital Marketing

DALLAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To accelerate our customers' marketing transformation and customer-centric initiatives, CG Infinity is announcing the hiring of Jeremy Leonard as Senior VP of Digital Marketing, furthering our presence in the Denver Metropolitan area.

Jeremy Leonard

Jeremy is a digital marketing transformation specialist with two decades of experience in digital consulting and digital agency work. He leverages hard-won knowledge in customer experience, MarTech, and brand strategy in order to increase revenue and decrease costs for brands. With an increasing focus on first-party data, he helps clients successfully monetize their customer data and drive high-impact strategic growth plans.

"Measuring ROI on marketing spend can be elusive. CMOs across industries are trying to make sense of what digital marketing solutions they should invest in and why. Jeremy possesses the art and science behind establishing a measurable digital marketing program for several industries. His addition to our team is timely as we continue to invest in our Salesforce Marketing and customer data analytics practices," said Saurajit Kanungo, President of CG Infinity.

"I'm so glad that Jeremy will be joining our entry into the Denver market, one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States and home to great technology talent. With his track record in Colorado and his experience in marketing technology, we are confident that Jeremy will further our presence in the region and drive our growth. His commitment to innovative thinking, excellence, and his roll-up-your-sleeves approach mean we have a bright future here. Denver, here we come!" said Jim Smelley, CG Infinity Board Member.

"I couldn't be more excited to join CG Infinity and their global team. With their existing practices in Customer Experience, MarTech, and a particular focus on Salesforce, the opportunity to stitch this all together with digital marketing is unsurpassed. In this era of increasing costs in acquiring new customers, and lower brand loyalty on the part of those same customers, developing great customer experiences and digital marketing strategies for our clients couldn't be more important. This is all about driving revenue and retention for our clients," said Jeremy Leonard.

About CG Infinity

CG Infinity, Inc. is an IT consulting firm offering technology solutions that are tailored to the needs of each client. We are leveraging the Salesforce and other cloud platform technologies to help our clients get closer to their customers. With offices in Dallas, Houston, Albuquerque, Little Rock, and New Delhi , employing around 400 people worldwide, we have the global resources to take on even the most complex projects. Our people-first approach drives innovation and transforms tomorrow. We aim to grow employees to deliver world class "customer-value" and "customer experience".

People First + Driven to Transform

SOURCE CG Infinity
Collaboration supports Clave's 2023 growth plans and accelerates Santander Consumer's lending in Latin America.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clave Creditos S.A., an affiliate of Latin America focused fintech Clave, and Santander Consumer S.A., a Santander Group company, announce an agreement for Clave to digitally originate and service consumer loans in Argentina.

The partnership pairs Clave's leading technology with Santander Consumer's access to capital and expansive network, with operations in 23 countries that serve over 25 million clients.

Santander Consumer

Martin Solano, CEO of Santander Consumer in Argentina noted: "In 2021, Santander Consumer committed to providing Argentina with a comprehensive financial service platform. We believe Clave's digital ecosystem will support this mission."

"Clave is thrilled to collaborate with Santander Consumer, a proven leader in credit throughout Europe and the Americas," said Clave's CEO Pablo Pizzimbono. "Their trust further validates Clave's offering."

Clave combines two distinct competencies  technology and structured credit  to modernize Latin America's funding markets. After completing a seed investment round in 2022 of over $7 million USD, led by seasoned executives with decades of hands-on experience in finance, technology and Latin America, Clave is delivering on its 2023 growth plans.

Pizzimbono added, "Our B2B partnerships with the likes of established private equity firm Kandeo - and its array of Latin America portfolio companies - and the innovative factoring enterprise Liquitech enable Clave to connect SMEs and consumers with global capital. Our work with Santander advances this strategy. Clave looks forward to its continued development in Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and beyond."

About Clave

Clave digitizes loan origination and servicing in Latin America, unleashing the power of new technologies to expand access to capital for businesses and consumers, while re-defining financial inclusion. The Clave ecosystem includes Clave DLP (digital lending platform) and ClaveApp, a digital wallet that provides simple and secure solutions for traditional financial services, including credit, payments, transfers and blockchain based products. Clave, headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., has offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bogota, Colombia. Clave is a minority and veteran led business.

About Santander Consumer S.A.

Santander Consumer S.A. offers a broad portfolio of products, including commercial loans, equity financing loans to distributors and personal consumer loans. Santander Consumer S.A. is one of Banco Santander's consumer financing businesses, which as a whole are present in more than 23 countries in North America, South America and Europe, serving more than 25 million customers with more than 130,000 business alliances.

For press inquiries, contact

SOURCE Clave
Compass Joins the Ranks of OpenAI, Disney, Tiffany & Co., and More

DALLAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass Datacenters has been named to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2023. This year's list highlights the businesses at the forefront of their respective industries, paving the way for tomorrow's innovations. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. In addition to the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, 540 organizations are recognized across 54 sectors and regions.

"This accolade from Fast Company is a recognition of the strength of our Compass corporate culture," said Chris Crosby, Compass Datacenters' CEO. "We are committed to continuous improvement, innovating and developing solutions to better serve our customers. This is a powerful competitive differentiator, making us a trusted digital infrastructure partner for some of the world's largest companies. I'm incredibly proud of our team."

Compass was recognized by Fast Company for its significant innovations in three areas: construction, sustainability and diversity.

Construction  In its efforts to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, Compass has reduced GHG production by up to 260 tons per data center through its pioneering implementation of multiple technological advancements including: green concrete, artificial intelligence and "virtual rebar."





Sustainability  Compass has enhanced the sustainability of its construction and operations efforts: deploying air-side cooling, eliminating millions of gallons of water typically used to cool a data center; utilizing HVO-based biodiesel to reduce GHG emissions by 85%. The company has also augmented the existing EPA recommended Scope 1-3 emissions protocols through the development of Scope 4 GHG standards, looking at emissions avoided.





Diversity  Compass is a leader in increasing the diversity of the data center and construction industries. Its innovative recruitment and professional development programs have resulted in 100% of its U.S. construction managers being women in 2022.

Fast Company's editors and writers sought out the companies making the biggest strides around the globe. They also judged nominations received through their application process. The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy.

"What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year's Most Innovative Companies.

This year's list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations like McDonald's to upstarts like MrBeast and institutions such as NASA. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation," said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.

Fast Company will host its third annual Most Innovative Companies Summit on April 19 and 20. The virtual summit celebrates the Most Innovative Companies in business, and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2023. Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2023) is available online here , as well as in-app form via iTunes, and on newsstands beginning March 14. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative.

About Compass Datacenters

Compass makes lives better by providing the world's technology leaders a secure place to plug in wherever they grow. We provide custom, move-in ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Since our inception, we have embraced sustainability with the efficient use of land, green energy, water-free cooling and building materials. Our campus approach empowers customers with easily scalable capacity, high levels of control and ultimate flexibility with the long-term perspective and financial strength of private investors, RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Azrieli Group. For more information, visit www.compassdatacenters.com .

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

SOURCE Compass Datacenters
ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) stated that Louis Shuster, a Norfolk Southern conductor, was fatally injured early Tuesday morning at the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works property in Cleveland, Ohio. At this time, officials are reporting that the conductor was struck by a dump truck as a Norfolk Southern train was moving through a crossing at the facility.

Norfolk Southern has been in touch with the conductor's family and will do all it can to support them and his colleagues. We are grieving the loss of a colleague today. Our hearts go out to his loved ones during this extremely difficult time.

The company is working with the Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland-Cliffs representatives to confirm the details and learn everything possible about the incident. Further, the company has been in contact with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, union leadership, and Cleveland-Cliffs leadership.

More information will be released in coordination with law enforcement as it becomes available.

About Norfolk Southern

Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation
Small and rural towns encouraged to submit ideas that can help their communities grow and thrive

JACKSON, Mich., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumers Energy Foundation announced today it is calling for entries in the annual Put Your Town on the Map pitch competition. The competition will provide $50,000 for big ideas in Michigan's small towns.

The Put Your Town on the Map competition provides funding for three projects that help small communities in Michigan grow and thrive. Communities with up to 10,000 residents can submit proposals through April 7.

"The Put Your Town on the Map competition is all about helping make big ideas a reality for Michigan's small communities," said Brandon Hofmeister, president of the Consumers Energy Foundation. "Consumers Energy and our foundation have a proud tradition of helping the communities we serve to grow and thrive. Our small towns are the backbone of our state, and this competition helps those communities bring their ideas to life."

The Consumers Energy Foundation and the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) will select 10 finalists to make their pitches at the Small Town and Rural Development Conference in June. The top three winners will receive grants worth $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.

Consumers Energy started the competition in 2019. In 2022, grant dollars were awarded to the city of Big Rapids for a skatepark project, to Gaylord to develop a new art corridor, and to Hart to support their new initiative called The Hart Project.

"The Put Your Town on the Map pitch competition provides Michigan communities a huge opportunity to work on transformational projects, and I'd encourage all small and rural towns to submit their big ideas," said Jessie Black, Big Rapids Community Economic Development Specialist, who won the first-place prize at last year's competition. "We were so grateful to receive this funding from the Consumers Energy Foundation because it enabled us to move ahead with plans for the new Big Rapids skatepark."

The Put Your Town on the Map competition seeks to reward innovative ideas that attract visitors to downtowns, advance housing, education or employment, cultivate community pride and more. Community leaders can learn more and apply here.

The Consumers Energy Foundation is the charitable arm of Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest energy provider. The Foundation contributes to the growth and strengthening of Michigan communities by investing in what's most important  our people, our planet and Michigan's prosperity. In 2022, the Consumers Energy Foundation, Consumers Energy, its employees and retirees contributed over $19 million to Michigan nonprofits. For more information, visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/foundation.

Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

For more information about Consumers Energy, go to ConsumersEnergy.com.

Check out Consumers Energy on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/consumersenergymichigan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/consumersenergy

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/consumersenergy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consumersenergy

SOURCE Consumers Energy
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Corcoran Reverie , a high-end real estate brokerage and an affiliate of Corcoran Group LLC, announces its end of year numbers for 2022. As the area's leading luxury team for 30A, Destin, Panama City, and Nashville, Hilary Farnum-Fasth & Jacob Watkins have collectively closed over $1B in real estate since joining forces in 2020, with an average sales price of $2.74M in under three years. Corcoran Reverie was ranked the #1 office in Northwest Florida based on closed office sales volume with over $750 million in its first year as a Corcoran affiliate and has continued to exceed $1B in closed sales volume each year since affiliating.

Corcoran Reverie's 2022 closed sales volume broke $1.104B with over one thousand transaction sides. In the real estate business, staying ahead of the curve matters, and Corcoran supports its agents with the tools and the technologies to serve its clients. This has helped the company sell some of the most luxurious homes in 2022, including 145 Paradise By The Sea Boulevard. No detail was spared in the construction of this beautiful home, which Corcoran Reverie sold for $18.9 million this past year.

"We are extremely proud of each of our agents for their success and accomplishments in 2022," says Owner & Broker Hilary Farnum-Fasth. "This past year garnered fantastic advancements for Corcoran Reverie as we grew our team in Northwest Florida and expanded into the Nashville market."

Corcoran Reverie remains proudly committed to serving its founding markets, but the company is growing, too, bringing its name and values to new markets across Florida and Nashville. Hilary and Jacob started this year by partnering with leading luxury agent Cindy Cole as they continue to focus on the growth of the Destin division. They recently closed on a new office building in Destin and are excited to officially launch Corcoran's newest full-service location in the late Spring of 2023.

"We are looking forward to another successful year of growth anchored by our expansions in Nashville and Destin as well as the continued service to our clients on 30A and in Bay County," says Owner & Real Estate Advisor, Jacob Watkins. "We are focused on premium service in 2023 to position our clients to achieve their real estate goals in this stabilizing market."

2022 Financial Highlights

Florida :

2022 Closed Sales Volume: $910,926,720

Transaction Sides: 874

: 2022 Closed Sales Volume: Transaction Sides: 874 Tennessee :

2022 Closed Sales Volume: $193,441,378

Transaction Sides: 165

: 2022 Closed Sales Volume: Transaction Sides: 165 Corcoran Reverie Overall:

2022 Closed Sales Volume: $1,104,368,098

2022 Transaction Sides: 1,039

About Corcoran Reverie

Corcoran Reverie, an affiliate of Corcoran Group LLC  a leading residential real estate brokerage firm headquartered in New York City  Throughout the entire network, the Corcoran Group has been a leading residential real estate brand for nearly 50 years. Home to more than 160 offices and more than 5,700 agents in key urban, suburban, and resort markets nationwide, as well as the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, and Puerto Rico. For more information on Corcoran Reverie, visit corcoranreverie.com.

Media Contact:

Jessica Vaughn/Lindsey Torres

The Zimmerman Agency

[email protected]

850.668.2222

SOURCE Corcoran Reverie
CORE Foods to exhibit new Refrigerated Oat Bars + Adaptogen and Functional Chocolate Truffles

BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CORE Foods , the maker of CORE Oat Bars + Probiotics and CORE Keto Bars, two lines of plant-based, refrigerated nutrition bars, is launching CORE Oat Bars + Adaptogens and showcasing new CORE Chocolate Truffle at this years' Expo West in Anaheim, CA from March 8-11. In person attendees are encouraged to visit the CORE Foods booth for sampling and more information.

CORE Foods to Showcase Two New Lines of Functional Snacks at Expo West

In response to consumer trends report by Mondelez International, Inc. 56% of consumers are seeking snacks with additional functional health benefits and 75% of those consumers are looking for snacks that improve mental health CORE Foods remains focused on delivering snacks that do more than just taste great; but deliver added functionality.

CORE Foods is thrilled to showcase their new Oat Bars + Adaptogens with stress support that are available in three mouthwatering flavors: Dark Chocolate Walnut, Salted Caramel Cashew, and Hazelnut Mocha Chip. The unique blend of 200mg of Reishi mushroom and 200mg of lion's mane mushroom, two of the most popular apoptogenic mushrooms, can help support the nervous system, which helps manage the impact of stress upon the body, letting you chill out while you fuel up. These de-stressing snacks will empty out your worries and fill you up with better things, like fiber and protein but of course with no added sugar. Already on the shelves at Sprouts Farmers Markets across the country, Expo West attendees can try these bars at the show.

"At CORE Foods, we're always seeking to deliver innovation that gives the consumer what they're looking for, so the decision to create Adaptogen-powered products was a no-brainer for us," says Brett Hartmann, CEO of CORE Foods.

In addition to the Oat Bars + Adaptogens, Expo West attendees are in for a treat with a first look of CORE Chocolate Truffles. Crafted with rich, sugar-free dark chocolate and functional ingredients, these perfectly poppable truffles will satisfy your sweet tooth but without a sugar crash. All three delicious flavors contain less than 1g of sugar: dark chocolate with sprinkles powered by ashwagandha, peanut butter chocolate with protein, and energy-boosting matcha coconut chocolate. Officially launching in April 2023, CORE Truffles will be sold at CoreFoods.com, and Amazon.

"With consumers continuing to seek out dessert-like snacks with low-sugar that actually taste good, we are excited to share our unique Truffles that give the consumers that low sugar sweet treat they want plus added benefits with functional ingredients," says Hartmann.

CORE Foods will be exhibiting at booth N823 in the Hot Products section. CEO Brett Hartmann will be onsite for any retailer or media questions. Samples of the full CORE Foods product lines will be available for sampling to booth visitors.

For more information about CORE Foods, please visit www.CoreFoods.com and follow on Instagram @corefoods and Facebook @ COREFoods .

About CORE Foods

CORE Foods is on a mission to make snacks that won't make you compromise delicious for nutritious  there's a CORE Foods snack to thrill everyone's taste buds! All CORE Foods are available for purchase online at CoreFoods.com . CORE products can be found in the produce, dairy and refrigerated sections at select retailers nationwide including Target, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Amazon, Kroger, and other national and independent grocery stores.

Media Contact:

Kelsey Cone

354[email protected]

SOURCE CORE Foods
LIVERMORE, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CoverEase, a leading provider of business insurance software solutions offering business owners a fast and easy way to obtain instant quotes from the best insurance brands in the country, announced today the addition of Great American Insurance Group and Pie Insurance (Pie) onto its platform, expanding their partnerships aimed at revolutionizing the business insurance industry.

Great American Insurance's and Pie's innovative workers' compensation insurance solutions are now integrated into CoverEase's cutting-edge insurance technology platform, providing businesses and insurance agents who serve them with a seamless, efficient, and cost-effective way to quote and purchase commercial insurance. CoverEase's addition of Great American and Pie provides business owners with a comprehensive insurance solution that will meet their ever-evolving needs.

"We're thrilled to partner with Great American Insurance and Pie to bring the business community the best of all worlds," said Shawn Edgington, CEO of CoverEase. "The combination of CoverEase's industry-leading technology, Great American's extensive workers' compensation offerings and Pie's tech-enabled workers' compensation for small businesses will deliver a game-changing experience for business owners and our agency-force using our platform to quote and purchase insurance."

About CoverEase

CoverEase, a digital insurance broker, has reinvented the way businesses shop, purchase, and save on their insurance products. CoverEase uses advanced technology to offer an online "Amazon-like" shopping experience from the best insurance brands in the country along with their insurance experts to provide the one-on-one support customers need. CoverEase, headquartered in Livermore, California, with offices in New York, was built on the same technology that their sister company's pay-go workers' comp agency, E-COMP has been using and improving for the past 5 years. Both companies are WBENC certified and are led by CEO Shawn Marie Edgington. Learn more at www.coverease.com.

About Great American Insurance

Great American Insurance Group's roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance Company. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the operations of Great American Insurance Group are engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses. Great American Insurance Company has received an "A" (Excellent) or higher rating from the A.M. Best Company for more than 110 years and is currently rated "A+" (Superior).

About Pie Insurance

Pie Insurance is leveraging technology to transform how small businesses buy and experience commercial insurance, with the goal of making it affordable and as easy as pie. Pie's intense focus on granular, sophisticated pricing, and data-driven customer segmentation enables Pie to match price with risk accurately across a broad spectrum of small business types, which allows Pie to offer more affordable insurance to small business owners. Since 2017, Pie has received over $615M in funding and partnered with over 2,800 agencies nationwide.

SOURCE CoverEase
NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) announced today that it has acquired Shift7 Digital, a B2B experience and commerce agency focused on revolutionizing the digital experience for manufacturers and distributors. Shift7 will join Merkle, a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management company within dentsu.

Shift7 helps B2B companies modernize the marketing and sales process by optimizing customer touchpoints and delivering a seamless self-service experience. By shifting the way manufacturers and distributors engage with customers online, Shift7 enables brands to increase sales, improve profitability, and forge long-lasting customer relationships. With this acquisition, Shift7 will bolster Merkle's global Experience and Commerce practice and further its position as a leading experience partner for B2B transformation.

Previously a Salesforce Ventures-backed company and a current Salesforce Crest Partner, Shift7 adds strong B2B Salesforce multi-cloud capabilities and will bring more than 129 Salesforce certifications to the Merkle team. The union will expand Merkle and dentsu's existing offering in Salesforce B2B Commerce, Sales, and Service Cloud capabilities. Dentsu has more than 2,500 Salesforce certified employees with 5,000 Salesforce certifications globally, providing customer experience transformation solutions that are aligned with Salesforce Cloud capabilities.

The acquisition of Shift7 demonstrates Merkle's commitment to helping brands deliver best-in-class differentiated and connected experiences across the entire customer journey. It aligns with dentsu's stated ambition of reaching 50% of net revenue generated by its Customer Transformation & Technology (CT&T)* group, which encompasses the fast-growth areas of customer experience and commerce.

"Merkle's commitment to the further development and enrichment of our Experience and Commerce practice is based on the belief that in the future, all digital experiences will be shoppable, and all shopping experiences will be digitally enabled," said Michael Komasinski, global CEO at Merkle. "Shift7's Salesforce Ventures backing, Crest Partner status, and stellar leadership in the manufacturing and distribution sectors will add strength, scale, and specialty to Merkle. We are excited to welcome Shift7 into the Merkle Family."

"After years of being hyper focused on establishing Shift7 as a leader in B2B digital transformation, the time is now for us to join forces with a company that can complement and expand upon our capabilities in data, analytics, commerce, and marketing transformation to support our scale and growth initiatives," said Andrew Walker, CEO, Shift7. "In dentsu and Merkle, we've found exactly the connection we were looking for to achieve that end and more. I look forward to joining the growing Merkle family, where we'll be able to deepen our expertise, broaden the set of solutions available to our clients, and open an abundance of career opportunities for our people."

Shift7 employees, including the leadership team, will join Merkle as part of its Experience and Commerce practice in the Americas. Merkle formally announced the creation of its Experience and Commerce practice in 2022, which comprises a team of more than 4,000 experts globally across experience and product design, technology, commerce transformation, strategy and operations, digital messaging, loyalty, and promotions. The company will be known as "Shift7, a Merkle Company" with immediate effect and will develop joint go-to-market plans to accelerate growth across both businesses.

*Customer Transformation & Technology (CT&T)

High growth business domain including the services related to marketing technology, customer experience management, commerce, system integration, and transformation & growth strategy.

About dentsu

Dentsu is the network designed for what's next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, we use insights to connect brand, content, commerce and experience, underpinned by modern creativity. As part of Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), we are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and our 69,000-strong employee-base of dedicated professionals work across four regions (Japan, Americas, EMEA and APAC). Dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society.

dentsu website: https://www.dentsu.com/

Dentsu Group Inc. website: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/

About Merkle

Merkle, a dentsu company, is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The company's heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive hyper-personalized marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in consulting, creative, media, analytics, data, identity, CX/commerce, technology, and loyalty & promotions drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. Merkle has more than 16,000 employees in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkle.com.

SOURCE Merkle
TAIPEI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DFI (2397), the global leader in embedded motherboards and industrial computers, will release their latest products and embedded AI solutions this year at Embedded World in Germany. The three highlights of the exhibition include the launch of the 1.8-inch AMD Ryzen high-performance industrial motherboard, Intel's newest Raptor Lake-S and Alder Lake series processors, and the industrial motherboard with the Qualcomm high-performance QRB5165 processor.

DFI's booth at Embedded World will focus on smart city, smart factory, Industrial Pi, industrial motherboards, and rugged products as its key edge computing applications in various fields to demonstrate flexible and customized systems. By leveraging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Internet of Vehicles (IoV), DFI can sufficiently meet customers' "new infrastructure" needs.

With the rapid advancement of technologies such as AI, Internet of Things, and big data, application ideas in various industries continue to emerge, driving the expansion of smart business opportunities worldwide. At Embedded World 2023, DFI and many of its partners demonstrated numerous edge computing products and software virtualization technologies. DFI President Alexander Su expressed that the exhibition booth will bring out five major product applications and technologies by simulating smart city and smart factory environments. DFI looks forward to optimizing the development of various services in IoT applications through advanced embedded solutions, technology trends, and high performance platforms.

As global pandemic restrictions loosen, all parts of the world are facing the need for improved transportation for smart cities. Therefore, new infrastructure needs to be automated to enhance public safety and solve issues such as traffic congestion. DFI will be showcasing a number of system solutions for roadside and vehicles such as Edge AI Boxes and T-Boxes. Together with partners VicOne and Topview who respectively bring cybersecurity technology and network cameras for face recognition, people counting, actual simulations of smart traffic intersections, and smart pole setup, AI computing and vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X) can be effectively used to solve issues with traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, and smart transportation security.

Smart factories are still the main focus of global manufacturing development. In addition to cooperating with European AMR manufacturer Autonomous Unit to connect in-field automation equipment, Workload Consolidation created by advanced virtualization software and hardware technology is also one of the highlights of this year's exhibition. As Intel's first partner with Intel Virtualization Technology verification (Graphics SR-IOV), DFI will create a virtualized environment on the exhibition floor while executing common applications in the industrial automation field including appearance identification, defect detection, and human body posture recognition to demonstrate AI machine vision solutions with Intel SR-IOV technology.

In terms of Industrial Pi and industrial-grade motherboards, after previously releasing the GHF51, the world's first miniature 1.8 inches high performance motherboard with the AMD Ryzen R1000 processor, DFI will be launching its new product PCSF51 equipped with the new generation AMD Ryzen R2000 processor. Not only are the CPU and GPU cores double compared to the previous generation, but the overall performance and computing power are also increased by 50% and 15% respectively. Based on the needs of past customers, the product design of the PCSF51 has maintained its miniature, business card size while optimizing the heat dissipation technology by reducing the thermal module by 4 mm, once again demonstrating DFI's excellent product development capabilities. Additionally, DFI will be showcasing Intel's latest Raptor Lake-S high-end IMB motherboards and Alder Lake series products, as well as how platforms with different capabilities can be applied to ATX industrial-grade motherboards from 3.5 inches SBCs.

Finally, in terms of rugged products, DFI will be showcasing various solutions for particular environments to illustrate superior product design when it comes to features such as shock resistance, waterproof, dust-proof, and wide temperature and pressure.

With the wave of new infrastructure construction brought about by global industrial automation and digital transformation, DFI will work with its partners to continue developing and integrating miniature edge computing products. Together they will provide the most advanced embedded solutions for various fields and become the best partners for enterprise OT intelligence and laying the foundation for the future.

Embedded World 2023 will be held from March 14th to March 16th at Nuremberg Messe in Germany. DFI visitors can use the code "ew23web" to register for free. Booth information: Hall 2-631

For more information, please visit: https://www.dfi.com/ or contact us.

Follow Us on LinkedIn:

DFI LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.

About DFI

Founded in 1981, DFI is among the top 3 IPC providers of high-performance computing technology across multiple embedded industries. DFI's industrial-grade solutions enable customers to optimize their equipment and ensure high reliability, long-term life cycle, and 24/7 durability in various markets, including Industrial Automation, Medical, Gaming, Transportation, Energy, Mission-Critical, and Retail. Find out more at https://www.dfi.com/ .

Media Contact

Eva Chen [email protected]

Iris Chou [email protected]

SOURCE DFI Inc.
LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. John Kahen announces the issuance of Smart PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma), patent no US 10,456,422b2, an exclusive and safer healing solution for hair restoration surgery. This groundbreaking patented remedy incorporates mending the surgical wound from the transferred hair follicles, which should ensure a high survival rate for the hair follicle graft. The SmartPRP therapy uses the body's own tissue to stimulate fresh follicles. In addition, the innovative treatment should promote the hair's own color and density while also improving the scarring, which can allow the healing to appear more organic.

Dr. John Kahen

World-renowned hair transplant specialist, Dr. Kahen, transcends the plastic surgery community with his pioneering procedure. His scientific modus is the new state-of-the-art technique in which hair restoration should be performed, going into the future. Dr. Kahen routinely accomplishes thousands of hair transplant procedures, including many celebrities and international clienteles.

"I have been exclusively implementing SmartPRP during my hair transplant procedures for more than 10 years," says Dr. Kahen. "The infusion of the platelet-rich plasma during the hair transplant process has increased the survival rate of the follicles and expedited the healing process. Patients can expect to see thicker, more voluminous, and most importantly, stronger and healthier hair."

Smart PRP therapy is a thirty-minute inpatient procedure, performed on site, at Dr. Kahen's practice facility in Beverly Hills, California. Patients experience no downtime and can get back to their regular routine upon completion of the treatment.

About Dr. John Kahen

Dr. Kahen is a world-renowned hair transplant specialist located in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Kahen entered private practice exclusively as a hair restoration surgeon in 2007, proudly retaining membership with the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. Dr. Kahen created SmartPRP to achieve impeccable hair restoration results. Dr. Kahen garnered massive respect from the plastic surgeon community, winning the "Aesthetic Award" for three consecutive years. Dr. Kahen's expertise in the science of hair restoration has made him the most sought-out hair restoration expert in the profession. For more information, visit www.beverlyhillshr.com , or follow along on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

About Beverly Hills Hair Restoration (BHHR)

Beverly Hills Hair Restoration (BHHR) is a world class clinic committed to enlightening their patient's despair from hair loss, with ground - breaking surgical and non-surgical practices. Our clinic is the pioneer of PRP for hair restoration and one of the first in the world to rejuvenate follicles with that system. We have revolutionized Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) stem cell technologies such as SmartPRP, which has afforded our clients with unmatched hair loss solutions. For more information or appointments, visit www.beverlyhillshr.com , and follow along on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Beverly Hills Hair Restoration
The round was co-led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Droit, a technology firm at the forefront of computational law and regulation, today announced it has closed a $23 million Series B investment in its latest funding round. The round was led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS, the leading global wealth manager, through its venture and innovation unit UBS Next. Goldman Sachs, an existing investor, is also participating in the financing round.

Since its founding in late 2012, Droit has established itself as a technology provider advancing global regulatory compliance in the capital markets space, with its patented Adept platform now used by the world's largest financial institutions for pre- and post-trade decision-making and auditability.

The investment will support Droit's expansion into wealth management through the development of new products specifically for the sector, including Cross Border and Product Suitability. This natural extension of the Adept platform for use in wealth management will allow financial institutions to benefit from the same transparent decision-making infrastructure deployed for capital markets. The investment will also support Droit's expansion of new and existing products, including Position Reporting, Transaction Reporting, advancements in Droit's Pre-Trade product suite, and the build-out of new cloud-based services.

"This year marked Droit's 10-year anniversary and we greatly appreciate the support from our investors and their confidence in our future success. This funding will enable us to accelerate the innovation of our new product lines," said Brock Arnason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Droit. "We are also excited to join UBS Next's portfolio of fintech companies and look forward to partnering with them on building out our wealth management capabilities."

"We believe Droit's capabilities will help companies unlock potential revenue streams by simplifying and driving real-time regulatory compliance," said Mike Dargan, Chief Digital & Information Officer, UBS. "Through this investment, we will work with Droit to build out their product offering to support the industry and look forward to extending our relationship with them across our wealth management business."

This funding round comes at a period of strong growth for Droit. Over the past two years, Droit commercialized four new product lines and increased its headcount by nearly 70 percent, adding key leadership roles in business development and technology. Droit also expanded its global footprint establishing a presence in Singapore to support existing clients and build new relationships in the region.

"Since our initial investment in Droit, we have been incredibly impressed with how the team leaned into regulatory complexity, built breakthrough products using its innovative and patented platform, and paved the way for a new approach to consensus-driven compliance. We are proud to co-lead this round and see immense potential in the expansion of the Adept platform for use in Wealth and beyond," said Dinkar Jetley, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Pivot Investment Partners.

About Droit

Droit is a technology firm at the forefront of computational law and regulation within finance and other domains. Founded in 2012, Droit counts many of the largest financial institutions as its clients. Its award-winning, patented platform Adept provides an implementation of regulatory rules reflecting industry consensus. The Adept platform processes tens of millions of inquiries a day, deciding in real-time which interactions are legally permissible across the globe. Adept is used by institutions to evaluate, with sub-millisecond latency, the full regulatory implications of any given interaction within their transactional infrastructure.

For more information visit droit.tech. To obtain more information about Droit's products, please contact [email protected].

About Pivot Investment Partners

Pivot Investment Partners LLC is a team of CEO-level operating executives who have grown and transformed financial services businesses around the world. The firm works closely with a select set of high-potential FinTech and InsurTech companies, investing operating expertise and capital in their success and accelerated growth. For more information, please visit www.pivotinvestment.com.

About UBS

UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 29% in Switzerland, 20% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016603/Droit_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Droit
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Three weeks ahead of schedule, Elea Digital has completed the first phase of its multi-MW hyperscale deployment in Porto Alegre. Elea Digital purchased the facility in September 2022 and built capacity upon an existing point of presence of TIM (TIMS3) in the site.

The new facility, located in the 4th District and named POA2, is the largest data center in Brazil's Southern Region and, at full capacity, will reach the size of 7MW. It is the second site of Elea Digital in the city of Porto Alegre, being POA1 one of the most connected hubs of the area, deploying a large ecosystem of telecom and enterprise clients.

Upon a 4 thousand square meters secure building, close to an energy substation and already with multiple redundant fiber ducts, with several fiber providers reaching the site, the expansion has been planned for high density deployments. It is ideal to host aggregation edge points of presence of large international and national clients.

The engineering design of the site, performed in partnership with English firm Future Tech, foresee an incredibly low WUE combined with 1.5 planned PUE. "We are thrilled to announce the new availability weeks ahead of schedule", said Alessandro Lombardi, President of Elea Digital. "It is not easy to deliver on time a new site in this challenging environment where the supply chain is somewhat disrupted".

The new availability helps the Porto Alegre area to attend a much-repressed demand for data center colocation space and will contribute to the digitalization of the Southern Region of Brazil. According to the City's mayor, Sebastiao Melo, innovation comes in a sense of a social transformation. "If we compare our government to a train, the locomotive would be economic development and digital innovation. This will make the city inclusive and guarantee social protection for those who need it most. This is what we want when moving forward with the project for the 4th District and for other regions of Porto Alegre", comments the mayor of Porto Alegre.

Ricardo Gomes, deputy mayor of Porto Alegre, believes the expansion of the project will only bring benefits to the region. "It is a pleasure for Porto Alegre to receive Elea Digital's trust to expand its business in the city, generating jobs, income and offering more digital services. The second site also represents a breakthrough in the area of technology and innovation, mainly because it is located in the Historic Center and 4th District, regions that we are developing and revitalizing", he concludes.

SOURCE Elea Digital
New Instant Client Insights Case Monitor Helps Support Continuity of Government Benefits with Data-Driven Insights

ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax  (NYSE: EFX) today announced the launch of Instant Client Insights (ICI) Case Monitor to help government health and human services agencies make quicker and more informed benefit decisions for the people they serve. Powered by the Equifax TotalVerify data hub, ICI Case Monitor is designed to conduct the traditional searches agencies currently use and monitor for potential beneficiary life changes.

ICI Case Monitor is the latest innovation demonstrating Equifax's commitment to serving hundreds of U.S. federal, state, and local government agencies. As an example, Equifax has supported the federally funded healthcare marketplace since its inception, and in 2022 fulfilled 45 million verifications in support of various government assistance programs.

After the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision ends on March 31, social service agencies will begin processing benefit redeterminations that were on hold throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with a surge of redeterminations, as well as ongoing staffing shortages affecting many programs, social service agencies are seeking out meaningful solutions to help them process applications and redeterminations with greater efficiency and confidence, in order to support a more timely and streamlined process for the agencies and beneficiaries alike. State Medicaid partners, amongst other agencies, will be able to leverage data from solutions offered on the Equifax TotalVerify data hub to help provide effective and efficient determination and redetermination of benefits for millions of individuals, whether through the federal marketplace, state platforms or directly through Equifax.

"Millions of people rely on vital social service benefits every day, and we are proud to offer innovative solutions that can help agencies serve more people, more efficiently," said Mike Bromley, Vice President and General Manager of Equifax Government Solutions. "The solution provided by ICI Case Monitor can help agencies increase caseworker capacity, reduce program churn and support continuity of care for beneficiaries. Ultimately, we are helping the agencies to provide timely benefits to individuals in need and cost effectively administer their programs."

Through ICI Case Monitor, an agency will be able to conduct its initial searches plus receive alerts when a member of its population experiences certain changes that may impact benefit eligibility, either through direct verification or by notifying the agency that further investigation is needed. These changes are set to policy-specific thresholds as applicable to the agency seeking the information, helping promote timely benefit delivery and continuity of benefits to eligible beneficiaries throughout the benefit lifecycle.

In addition to Medicaid, ICI Case Monitor can also support agencies providing benefits under programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and more. ICI Case Monitor begins with the consumer's consent when they apply for social services, then notifies the agency only when a change relates to specific predefined criteria according to program and policy requirements.

ICI Case Monitor is one solution on the ICI platform powered by the TotalVerify data hub, which brings together The Work Number and other Equifax data sources into one delivery platform, which can help streamline the benefit eligibility process, from application through renewal. ICI Case Monitor is available now for federal, state and local health and human services agencies. To learn more about the full ICI suite of products, visit Equifax.com .

ABOUT EQUIFAX INC.

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by nearly 14,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com .

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Daniel Jenkins for Equifax

[email protected]

SOURCE Equifax Inc.
NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EVE LOM announces an exclusive collaboration with celebrity esthetician Angela Caglia to launch a limited-edition Rose Quartz Gua Sha Facial Tool in tandem with the brand's upcoming launch of their new Renewal Treatment Oil.

A skincare trailblazer and entrepreneur with over 28 years of experience, Angela is known for her award-winning Rose Quartz beauty tools and glow-boosting Rose Goddess facials.

EVE LOM Partners with Celebrity Esthetician Angela Caglia to launch a Limited-Edition Gua Sha Tool to be used with the new Renewal Treatment Oil

As two female-founded brands with a shared dedication to sensorial, efficacious skincare and empowering self-love rituals, Angela has long felt a connection to Eve's work  making a partnership as Global Brand Ambassador a seamless fit.

Drawing on her expertise in the art of Gua Sha facial massage, Angela has personally designed a limited-edition Rose Quartz Gua Sha Facial Tool.

Having used these techniques in her luxury facials for years, Angela "fell in love with Gua Sha because it's so easy and effective"  in just a few minutes you can detoxify, sculpt, and lift the contours of the face while aiding in the deeper penetration of serums, oils, and moisturizers.

Angela chose Rose Quartz for its power to spread "beautiful loving energy" and ability to maintain cold temperatures longer than other crystals  ideal for a refreshing glide across the skin. When used with the EVE LOM Renewal Treatment Oil in your morning or evening skincare routine, this relaxing ritual will stimulate blood flow, reduce puffiness or dark circles, ease muscle tension, and brighten your skin.

For more information on EVE LOM, please contact: [email protected]

ABOUT EVE LOM

EVE LOM skincare is made solely in the United Kingdom, where each product is given the utmost care and attention at every step of its journey. With over 37 years of skincare expertise, EVE LOM has learned how to speak skin, love skin, and inspire everyday moments of self-care. Designed to nourish, hydrate, and repair the skin's moisture barrier, the elements of the EVE LOM skincare ritual visibly improve skin from the inside out. Combining sustained efficacy with sensorial indulgence, all of our unique, carefully calibrated formulations are clinically proven to provide unparalleled hydration benefits for hours after use.

WWW.EVELOM.COM | @EVELOM

#EveLomLoveLetter

SOURCE EVE LOM
BOSTON and NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolution Credit Partners Management ("Evolution" or the "Firm"), an alternative credit firm with approximately $3 billion in assets under management, today announced the final close of its opportunistic credit strategy, Evolution Credit Opportunity Fund II, L.P. ("ECO II"). The Fund has approximately $1.05 billion of investable capital, including investor commitments to the fund, as well as leverage and separately managed accounts. The Fund invests opportunistically across Evolution's entire credit platform, which includes both leveraged finance and trade finance strategies, primarily providing customized private capital solutions to companies looking for longer-term acquisition financing and shorter-term working capital needs.

The Fund took advantage of the tactical opportunities in the second half of 2022 and has invested over $700 million to date, which is inclusive of almost $300 million of contingent credit transactions. Since inception in 2018 Evolution has committed approximately $5 billion of capital.

Inclusive of ECO II, Evolution has four commingled fund offerings, all of which are now closed to new investors. Investors in Evolution's funds include pension funds, endowments and foundations, asset managers and other US and global institutions.

In addition to the close of ECO II, in December 2022, Evolution's inaugural hedge fund product, Evolution Credit Partners Trade Finance Fund, L.P., closed on its initial target of approximately $100 million and is currently soft closed to new investors.

In the 5 years since Evolution's spin out from Harvard Management Company in April 2018, Evolution has grown capital from $300 million to approximately $3 billion, growing its credit strategies and expanding its commingled and separately managed account offerings to investors.

About Evolution Credit Partners

Evolution Credit Partners, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, manages approximately $3 billion across a range of leveraged finance and trade finance strategies. Evolution's credit platform provides bespoke financing solutions across the credit spectrum. For more information, please visit evolutioncreditpartners.com or contact [email protected].

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements." The forward-looking statements are based on Evolution's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of future performance, taking into account all information currently available to Evolution, and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to Evolution or are within its control.

CONTACT: Lisa Schwarzberg, [email protected]

SOURCE Evolution Credit Partners Management, LLC
SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 7, 2023, San Diego County Judge Ronald Frazier handed down a long-awaited decision in the matter of FemCap, Inc. v. Excellus Holdings, LLC Case No. 37-2020-00015382-CU-BC-CTL.

After 10 days of testimony that spanned over four months, Judge Frazier ruled in favor of Excellus Holdings, LLC ("Excellus"), represented by Thakur Law Firm APC, against FemCap, Inc. ("FemCap") and FemCap's owner, CEO and Medical Director, Alfred Shihata, both represented by The Law Office of Edward W. Freedman, for fraud and breach of contract. The trial victory awarded Excellus recission of the contract for the sale of FemCap's product, FemmyCycle, and ordering the return of the purchase price of $1.15 million dollars, as well as awarded additional consequential damages in the amount of $1.15 million dollars and a prejudgment interest of $373,671.23 from the date of the purchase. Judge Frazier's 13-page decision summarized how Shihata fraudulently concealed critical information regarding the regulatory status of the FemmyCycle product, a feminine-hygiene product regulated as a medical device by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), while also breaching multiple covenants within the purchase agreement. Judge Frazier's ruling against FemCap and Shihata was a significant milestone and critical win in a three-year legal battle.

The Final Statement of Decision issued by court found that Shihata and Femcap not only breached the terms of the purchase and sale agreement for the FemmyCycle product but concealed pertinent facts throughout its sale to Excellus. The Court stated that whereas "Excellus performed all, or substantially all, of its obligations[,]" Femcap through Shihata per the agreement failed to disclose all material records and information relating to the FemmyCycle product to Excellus. The court determined that such failings by Femcap and Shihata constituted a "material breach" of the agreement. The court further found that Shihata and Femcap during the sale of Femmycycle fraudulently concealed from Christopher Petty and Monica Chinisaz, the managing members of Excellus that Femmycycle was not compliant with Health Canada and FDA regulations, Femmycycle had failed regulatory audits after the due diligence period of the sale transaction, and Femmycyle had a "deficient record keeping system." The court determined that "Shihata and Femcap intended to deceive Petty and Excellus by concealing these facts [and] as a result of the concealed facts Excellus was harmed in the amount of $1,150,000."

The court found that "[a]t no time during the due diligence period did Petty or Excellus learn of MDSAP audits of the Femmycycle product." The court determined that such "audits went directly to the failures of Femcap's management and record keeping." The court concluded that "Shihata and Femcap clearly knew of the audits and knew that the audits presented real problems for Femcap to be able to continue to manufacture the Femmycycle cup product." At trial when asked as to why there was no follow-up "Shihata claimed it was a 'business decision.'" FemCap's own regulatory compliance consultant further testified acknowledging that the concealed audits, "show that the quality management assistant did not have product traceability and product identification and preservation among other issues  that were deficient." Femcap's own employee and Operations Manager, testified that when she began working for Femcap in mid-2019, "Femcap did not have a single digital process in place  and no invoices were stored anywhere." Femcap's Operation Manager also confirmed that she deleted pertinent emails from May 2019 to August 2019 relating to the Femmycycle product, including communications with distributors and customers and informed Shihata of the practice. Following the testimony of Femcap's compliance expert and Femcap's employee the court determined, "by overwhelming evidence that Shibata and FemCap concealed material information from Petty and Excellus  and had the omitted information been disclosed Excellus would not have purchased Femmycycle."

"When we made the decision to buy FemmyCycle, we thought it was the beginning of the next chapter in our lives together. In no way could we have foreseen the future, as the last three years have been an absolute nightmare. Outside of the financial damage caused to us, our friends, and our family, the mental and emotional toll this has taken on the two of us will never be fully repairable." Christopher Petty stated while reflecting on the case.

When asked for her comment, Monica Chinisaz, Christopher's fiance and co-owner of Excellus stated: "We are pleased to finally receive a positive ruling after three years of litigation. However, we remain unable to recuperate the extensive resources  time, money, and energy  spent on litigation and trying to keep the business afloat since October 2019. We can never get that back. This was a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by a medical professional who is active in the San Diego medical community. We're shocked by the extreme measures taken by Shihata and the FemCap team to defraud us with virtually no accountability or remorse. We can only hope to pick up the pieces and begin to rebuild our lives as we continue to pursue what is rightfully owed."

Excellus was represented by Orange County trial attorney and principal of Thakur Law Firm, APC, Pamela Tahim Thakur. She states: "We could not be more delighted to have achieved this victory for our clients who genuinely deserve justice. Proving fraud to obtain rescission is a rare occurrence due to the high standards required to prove fraud," said Thakur.

Following Judge Frazier's verdict, FemCap and Shihata have yet to pay any of the monies due to Excellus. The ruling from Judge Frazier included a constructive trust in favor of Excellus and against Shihata for $1.15 million dollars and ordered the return of the purchase price to Excellus within 20 days of the entry of the Court's agreement. Shihata failed to comply with the Court's order.

It was recently discovered that right after the trial concluded, Shihata transferred or sold his company FemCap to a third party right before the judgment was entered to avoid payment to Excellus. Shihata has also informed Excellus of his plans to file both personal and business bankruptcy.

"Achieving justice has been the driving force in this case, and it is the commitment of Thakur Law Firm in all matters," said Thakur. She continues: "We've done everything we can, and it's been a long process. It would be devastating to come this far only to have Shihata escape accountability by avoiding payment of this judgment."

The case is captioned FEMCAP, INC. and Alfred Shihata v. Excellus Holdings, LLC, San Diego County Court Case No. 37-2020-00015382-CU-BC-CTL.

Contact:

Owner, Excellus Holdings, LLC

Chris Petty

716-335-2202

[email protected]

SOURCE Excellus Holdings, LLC
During AAOS, Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire Discusses New Ligament Balancing Tool and Research Showing Better Outcomes and Almost 98% Patient Satisfaction

LAS VEGAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey DeClaire, M.D., a pioneer in robotic-assisted total knee replacement and founder of the Michigan Knee Institute, is the first in the world to use a new balancing tool that combines artificial intelligence and robotic-assisted technology, provides superior outcomes for knee replacement patients.

Detroit surgeon Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire presents ligament tension study for knee replacement at AAOS Annual meeting Tweet this Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire, Michigan Knee Institute (PRNewsfoto/Michigan Knee Institute)

Dr. DeClaire will discuss his research during the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in Las Vegas, March 7-11. He participated in clinical studies of the BalanceBot, a robotic knee ligament tensioning device that helps the surgeon balance knee ligaments and craft an accurate surgical plan. The result is a more normal ligament function tailored to the patient's unique anatomy.

The BalanceBot, manufactured by Corin Group, allows physicians to have a "second pair of eyes" before they make the cuts.

Combined with robotic-assisted surgery and artificial intelligence, Dr. DeClaire's "Elite Knee" results in a more successful knee replacement and reduces the risk of complications, which can sometimes involve malalignment and knee instability, stiffness, limitation of motion, and pain. Multi-center clinical studies show a 98% patient satisfaction rate for patients two years post-surgery, which far surpasses an 81 percent satisfaction rate for traditional, non-robotic techniques.

"I am a nurse, so I did my research to find a physician using the most advanced procedure to properly fit the implant," says Gretchen Lapham, Grand Rapids, MI, who underwent knee replacement with Dr. DeClaire. "My recovery was faster than my friends who didn't have robotic surgery combined with the balance tensor device. I was pain-free within days and am back to hiking and swimming."

Using a 3D model of the patient's anatomy and the BalanceBot to balance ligament tension, Dr. DeClaire can visualize and plan implant positioning. He utilizes a robotic cutting guide to make the planned bone cuts, with the BalanceBot ensuring soft tissue balance. Soft-tissue balance is vital to ensure the total knee replacement's short- and long-term success.

"This new high-tech combination of robotics, 3D computer technology, and the BalanceBot to monitor the tension guarantees an incomparable level of precision and accuracy compared to traditional methods," says Dr. DeClaire. It means that patients can resume all their activities without pain or mobility issues and never look back."

During AAOS, Dr. DeClaire will join physicians representing multi-centers throughout the U.S. to present findings showing that balancing ligaments is more significant than alignment for the best outcomes of total knee replacement patients. The study measured pain levels of 266 patients two years after robot-assisted knee replacement to determine how joint laxity (ligament balance) and alignment play a role in improved joint pain. Researchers found no association between alignment and outcome, indicating joint balance may have a greater impact on outcome than alignment.

Dr. DeClaire's clinical research addressing the impact of alignment and ligament following his "Elite Knee" procedure is published in The Journal of Arthroplasty. The study concluded that knee replacement patients who had surgery using this new technique have better outcomes two years post-operatively than patients who had traditional surgery.

Jeffrey H. DeClaire, M.D.

With more than 30 years of experience and 30,000 knee surgeries under his belt, Dr. Jeffrey H. DeClaire is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic knee surgeon and the Founder of Michigan Knee Institute, Rochester, Michigan. He is Chief of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Adult Reconstruction & Joint Replacement at Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital. He has been recognized as a "Top Doc" multiple times by Detroit Hour Magazine and an "Outstanding Physician of the Year" by former Michigan Governor John Engler. Dr. DeClaire's philosophy is to find practical solutions to preserve or restore normal knee anatomy using the least invasive approach possible. He prides himself on providing personalized treatment plans specific to each patient.

To learn more about Dr. DeClaire and the Elite Knee procedure, visit michigankneeinstitute.com or call 248-609-9111.

Facebook @JeffreyDeClaireMD

Instagram @JDeClaireMD

LinkedIn

SOURCE Michigan Knee Institute
The Nature Journal publication follows the recent release of Fluent's v4.0 chemistry with significant performance enhancements and the highest cell capture rate in the market.

WATERTOWN, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fluent BioSciences, a leading life sciences company focused on revolutionizing single cell analysis through simple, cost-effective and scalable solutions, announces the Nature Biotechnology Journal publication (DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01685-z) describing the foundational technology underlying PIPseq and demonstrating its flexibility across emulsification formats, scalability in cell capture and compatibility with multi-omic measurements in clinical samples.

"PIPseq is a simple, flexible, and scalable next-generation workflow that extends single-cell sequencing to new applications, including screening, diagnostics, and disease monitoring", states lead author, Iain Clark PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at University of California, Berkeley.

"Fluent has commercialized this technology and recently released our PIPseq v4.0 3' Single Cell RNA series of reagent kits which bring significant enhancements in performance, capture rate, and scale", states author Kristina Fontanez, SVP of Product Development at Fluent BioSciences.

Highlights of the PIPseq technology includes:

Microfluidics-free workflow that is simple to implement in any laboratory

Highly scalable kits to fit a wide range of experimental needs

Extremely affordable reagent kits (starting as low as $300 per sample)

per sample) Compelling biology that is comparable to existing methods

The latest PIPseq v4.0 kits are now shipping across the entire range of PIPseq products, accommodating up to 16,000 (T2), 80,000 (T20), and 200,000 (T100) cells captured per kit.

To read the publication at Nature Journals, visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-023-01685-z . To learn more about PIPseq and the v4.0 product offerings, please contact [email protected] .

About Fluent BioSciences

Fluent's mission is to revolutionize single-cell biology through accessible, affordable, and scalable solutions for every researcher. Our breakthrough PIPseq technology enables extremely sensitive and unbiased preparation of proteins and nucleic acids for a broad range of single-cell applications.

For more information, visit https://www.fluentbio.com/

SOURCE Fluent BioSciences
CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortis Fire & Safety ("Fortis"), one of the nation's fastest growing fire protection service companies, has acquired Piper Fire Protection ("Piper") headquartered in Clearwater, FL operating two locations in the greater Tampa Bay area. This acquisition strengthens our strategy of developing multi-regional capability, expands our Florida presence and builds a bridge between our acquisition of LifeSafety Management in Boynton Beach, FL, and Piper's offices.

"Fortis is honored to welcome the Piper team into the Fortis family," said Rich Ennis, Chief Executive Officer of Fortis. "As an industry leader, Piper will enable us to bolster our competitive presence and significantly grow our business in Florida. Piper's advocacy for life safety in the communities where they live, work, and serve and commitment to delivering superior customer experience fits right into the Fortis model."

"Fortis is honored to welcome the Piper team into the Fortis family," said Rich Ennis, CEO of Fortis. Tweet this

Founded in 1986, Piper is one of the largest full-service Florida fire protection service companies that has been servicing the needs of west central Florida businesses for over 35 years. Founder Terry Johnson has seen many successful years of growth under his leadership tenure. "I could not be prouder of the company that our Piper family has built from my modest beginnings. I stand in awe at how our fire sprinkler service company has grown into an industry leader."

Chris Johnson, President, and Owner shared "The decision to sell our business was one of the toughest decisions I have ever made. Over the years, we have been solicited by numerous companies and once we started conversations with Fortis, we knew our values, people-first philosophy, passion for training, and commitment to our community was aligned and would set us up for future growth. I am excited this partnership will provide career growth opportunities to our Piper family."

Chris Johnson will join Fortis as a co-founder and member of the Owners' Advisory Council. His leadership combined with his longtime commitment to the industry will benefit Fortis and allow Chris to help shape our future direction.

About Fortis Fire & Safety

Fortis Fire & Safety is built on the philosophy of People First, Quality Service and Building Lifetime Clients. Fortis will position itself as the next generation of fire protection by building an industry leading company through close partnerships with regional operators and investing heavily in technology.

For further information, visit fortisfire.com.

Contact Information

Jennifer Divelbiss

[email protected]

1-657-688-2462

SOURCE Fortis Fire & Safety
KIEL, Germany, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Foxxum, innovator in cutting-edge CTV tech, announced today a landmark partnership for its Foxxum OS 4 with CVTE, the world's largest supplier of TV components in consumer and commercial sectors.

FOXXUM PARTNERS WITH CVTE FOR FOXXUM OS 4

The partnership sees Foxxum OS 4 integrated onto CVTE's printed circuit board (PCB). This market-ready motherboard will be available to the more than 600 local and regional OEMS and TV brands. This hardware/OS combination allows these regional players to compete with other global brands, giving them the equivalent tech at the lowest possible cost, and shortest time to market.

Foxxum's recently announced Foxxum OS 4, based on RDK, seamlessly integrates streaming services and applications across all devices within a single OS. It is designed to meet the rising needs of CTV manufacturers to generate additional revenue sources in a highly competitive market. Foxxum OS 4 offers the only genuinely independent CTV OS solution available that allows maximum participation in viewing monetization. The partnership with CVTE provides a perfectly engineered printed circuit board paired with an extraordinary CTV operating system that maximizes platform revenues and meets the demand of OEMs and TV brands looking for a one-stop solution.

CVTE is the world's leading and largest supplier of TV core components in consumer-grade and commercial electronics industries. Core superior technologies of display, control, and IoT connectivity, leading-edge manufacturing, and total quality management accelerate process innovation, drive cost efficiency, increase yields, for more significant product differentiation, and exceptional quality.

Ronny Lutzi, Foxxum CEO, says, "CVTE's technology combined with Foxxum OS 4 will solve a major problem of OEMs and TV brands. We are delighted to move our well-established partnership with CTVE to the next level of a truly global and strategic partnership that will provide the most competitive CTV solution worldwide."

Wang Bin, Head of RD in the TV Department of CVTE, says, "We know Foxxum since the beginning of CTV and always admired the dedication to maximize customer satisfaction. Foxxum OS 4 will allow us to offer our global customers a very attractive product they were waiting for."

ABOUT FOXXUM

Foxxum is a global leader in the development, operation, and commercial marketing for innovative smart TV solutions like the Foxxum CTV OS. As an established pioneer in the sector, Foxxum works closely with leading companies at all stages of the global consumer electronics value chain to develop smart TV solutions  from silicon vendors to device manufacturers and network operators. Worldwide partnerships with premium broadcasters and video-on-demand services, video producers and distributors allow Foxxum to provide a best-in-class content portfolio containing the most important global content brands as well as country specific local content providers. Foxxum's development and platform expertise offer viewers the best Smart TV user experience possible, with innovative Smart TV technology, a global entertaining content portfolio and an outstanding design, which includes the Foxxum CTV OS. Foxxum provides its clients with innovative solutions, along with the possibility to jointly tap into profitable revenue streams in a technology sector with enormous growth potential. Further information can be found at www.foxxum.com .

ABOUT CVTE

Guangzhou Shiyuan Electronic Technology Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as "CVTE") was established in December 2005 with a registered capital of RMB 668,030,956 and a number of business subsidiaries. As of December 31, 2021, the company had more than 5,400 employees, of which technical personnel account for about 60%. The average age of its employees is about 29.

To date, the company has been mainly engaged in the design, development and sales of display control products such as LCD main control boards and intelligent interactive tablets. Its products have been widely used in the field of home appliances, education information, enterprise services and so on. The company has always committed to improving user experience by product innovation and R&D design, creating constant value for customers and users. Since its establishment, the company has gradually gained a leading position in the segmented market, relying on the accumulation of software and hardware technologies in the fields of audio and video technology, signal processing, power management, human-computer interaction, application development, system integration and other electronic products, with technology innovation and product development for multiple application scenarios as well as capabilities in product and resource integration. It has also established seewo, a provider of educational informatization application tools and services, MAXHUB, an intelligent collaboration platform, and other well-known brands in the industry.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016643/Foxxum_Partners_With_CVTE.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1888666/Foxxum_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Foxxum GmbH
Novidea's platform will integrate and centralise Further's data and business processes to improve efficiency and communication, and provide a central source of truth for stakeholders

LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Novidea, creator of the data-driven, cloud-native insurance platform that enables brokers, agents, and MGAs to reduce costs and drive growth across the distribution lifecycle, today announces that it has partnered with the Further Group (Further), a leading global specialist in the design and development of health insurance products and service solutions, to implement its born-in-the-cloud, end-to-end data-driven insurance management platform.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Madrid, Further has successfully established itself as a leading, high growth company in its specialty healthcare area, with business in over 30 countries and partnerships with more than 300 insurers and employer groups.

Historically, the business operated using a number of IT systems with limited integration across the platforms. To pave the way for its ambitious growth strategy, Further turned to Novidea to integrate its business processes on one data-driven platform, to drive greater operational efficiency, improve communication, and provide a single source of truth for stakeholders.

Tatiana Macias, Chief of Staff, Further, said: "To grow to the next level, it is imperative we have the right technology and systems in place that can manage the complexities of our business. We chose Novidea because of their exceptional expertise in delivering global solutions within the insurance industry, as well as for their platform's outstanding end-to-end capabilities, built on Salesforce."

Ben Potts, MD, UK, Novidea, said: "We see many insurance organisations encumbered by disparate legacy systems that limit their potential. Today, forward-looking businesses like Further are increasingly utilising cloud-based platforms that enable them to turn data into insights at the point of need, enabling better-informed decisions, greater operational efficiencies, and enhanced client service.

"Novidea's platform will contribute to the futureproofing of their business and enable them to accelerate their international growth strategy, with what they need to stay competitive, customer-focused, and agile."

Notes to editors

About Novidea

Novidea is the leading Insurtech provider of a cloud-native, data-driven insurance management system. Using an open API architecture, Novidea's software platform enables brokers, agents, and MGAs to modernize and manage the customer insurance journey, end-to-end, and drive growth across the entire insurance distribution lifecycle.

The Novidea platform, built to leverage the power of Salesforce's Big Technology, provides a complete ecosystem spanning every aspect of an insurance business, including a 360-degree view of the customer and all stakeholders, an integrated customer-facing policy transactions, and the middle and back office. Brokers, agencies, and MGAs extract more value from their customer and policy data with actionable intelligence from any device, anywhere.

Novidea supports more than 100 customers, including agents, brokers, MGAs, and the London market across 22 countries. For more information, please go to: www.novidea.com

About Further Group

Further Group is a leading global specialist in the design and development of niche health insurance products and services that combine the latest treatments and technologies with best-in-class international medical expertise.

Founded in 2012, Further have successfully established themselves as a leading, high growth company in their specialty area, with business in over 30 countries through partnerships with more than 300 insurers and employers.

Further design and deliver ground-breaking, turnkey solutions in complex areas of healthcare, with a mission to level the playing field and provide global solutions that give more people the opportunity to access the best healthcare in the world, while making sure support is there every step of the way.

For more information, please visit www.wegofurther.com

For more information, contact

Simon Hayes, M.D.

NextGen Communications

[email protected]

M: +44 (0)7771 516544

Michelle Barry, Chameleon Collective

[email protected]

SOURCE Novidea
Fynn's affordable and fair student loans enable students of all backgrounds to pursue a degree from trade or technical schools

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fynn , a fintech lender providing private student loans for America's skilled workforce, today announced the close of an $11 million seed round and $25 million debt facility. Lead investors include Y Combinator , Susa Ventures , Village Global , Tenacity Venture Capital , and Watchfire Ventures . The seed funding will be used to expand Fynn's services across the United States and to support students looking to further their education.

As the U.S. continues to experience its largest labor shortage since World War II, Fynn is providing students with secure, fair, and affordable loans to attend qualifying trade schools that put them on a path toward stable careers and a middle-class lifestyle. Millions of students try to pursue skilled labor careers each year, only to be held back by their financial circumstances. Oftentimes, federal financial aid is extremely limited or non-existent at trade schools. Fynn is filling the void by providing students with the means to attend schools, get the training they need, and join the skilled workforce.

"We believe everyone should have access to a quality education and the tools to help them get there, regardless of socioeconomic status. Fynn members go on to pursue careers in high-demand fields like the industrial, construction, and manufacturing trades, along with allied health and medical technology," said Eric Menees, CEO and co-founder at Fynn. "By providing robust and affordable financial aid, millions of students can enter the trades and start achieving the American dream. This is why it's so important for us to underwrite students based on their potential, not just their past."

Unlike most traditional private student lenders, Fynn is invested in the student's long-term success and has member benefits designed to help recent graduates minimize stress and stay on track with payments as they start their careers. Fynn provides three major built-in benefits unique to their loan: income protection, payment pauses, and loan forgiveness. These benefits are designed to help students weather unexpected financial hardships and pay off their loans without worry.

"Having access to trade school programs shouldn't be this complex, especially at a time when skilled workers are needed more than ever. There is still time to solve America's labor-supply issues, which is good news," said Leo Polovets, general partner at Susa Ventures. "Our investment enables Fynn's continued growth as a leader in skills-based education financing and allows them to continue helping low-income students achieve middle-class status through quality education."

Fynn currently provides loans to150 different programs across the U.S., helping students at high-quality trade schools like Heartland Welding Academy and The Medical Institute of Kentucky. By partnering with schools that have rock-solid graduation and job placement rates, Fynn can incorporate future potential into lending decisions, which gives credit-invisible students a fair chance. Since launching its flagship product in July 2022, Fynn has provided over $4 million worth of financial assistance to students in need.

To get started with Fynn and apply for funding or sign up as a partner school, please visit fynncredit.com .

About Fynn

Fynn provides a pathway to the American middle class through financially accessible loans for trade and vocational education. Flipping the traditional lending model on its head, Fynn underwrites students based on their future potential and aligns its interests with schools and students to fully support success from enrollment to employment. With Fynn as their financial partner, everyday Americans gain access to education that supports long-term financial stability.

Founded in 2019, Fynn went through Y Combinator and has since raised $36 million in funding from various investors, including Susa Ventures, a seed investor in Robinhood and Flexport. In 2023, Fynn's founders were recognized in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Education section. To learn more, visit fynncredit.com

SOURCE Fynn
In its first participation at the world's largest innovation and creativity festival, Gerdau will debate solutions that can be scaled across the Americas

SAO PAULO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gerdau, Brazil's largest steel producer with a strong footprint in the United States, will debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2023, the world's premier innovation and creativity festival. The company will be an official partner of the event and hold a panel discussion on innovation and solutions for low-income housing, underlining its commitment to being part of the solutions to the challenges faced by society and its capacity to transform itself continuously over its 122-year history by keeping step with global changes.

"By participating in SXSW, Gerdau aims to bring its brand closer to the innovation ecosystem and discuss solutions for a more sustainable future for our planet. Today, Gerdau is a company that is more people-centric, innovative, agile, digital and sustainable, which is the result of a period of profound cultural and digital transformation", Chia Yuan Wang, president at Gerdau North America. "We have an important presence in the U.S. market, where we produce steel from scrap metal, which makes our participation in SXSW an opportunity to further connect with American society."

The panel discussion hosted by Gerdau at SXSW 2023, called "Housing Innovation for the Base of the Pyramid," is in the Housing section of the festival and will discuss housing solutions for low-income population with social inclusion and positive impact on communities. It will feature Paulo Boneff, Global Head of Social Responsibility at Gerdau, Edu Lyra, founder and CEO of Gerando Falcoes, and Jorge Melguizo, former secretary of social development of Medellin, Colombia.

"Housing is one of the pillars of Gerdau's social strategy and the panel underscores our commitment to implementing actions and encouraging society to reflect about solutions for the challenges surrounding this issue, while promoting the joint construction of a better and fairer future for all", said Boneff.

Housing deficit, quantitative and qualitative, is one of the biggest problems facing countries in the Americas, and Gerdau has actively worked on solutions to combat this formidable challenge facing society. Gerdau has implemented the "Reforma que transforma" project, whose mission is to renovate more than 13,000 vulnerable housing units across Brazil in 10 years and has been working in partnership with Gerando Falcoes on several slum restoration projects. The company also works with several partners in housing projects in Latin America and North America. The panel aims to show that these solutions can be even more scalable at the continental level.

Presence in North America

North America accounts for around 40% of Gerdau's global annual revenues. The company has 12 steel production units in the region, including the U.S. and Canada. The company's flagship operation in the U.S. is located in Midlothian, Texas, with production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of steel, including bars and structural profiles. Gerdau also has a solar power plant adjacent to the unit, with capacity to generate 80 MW, which will enable the plant to operate with solar power.

X-Ray of Gerdau in North America

Steel output: 5.5 million tonnes

Industrial units: 12

Jobs: 6,000

Panel - Housing Innovation for the Base of the Pyramid

Date: March 13

Time: 1:00 p.m.  2:00 p.m. CT

Venue: Austin Convention Center | Creative Industries Expo  Next Stage  Exhibit Hall 4

Further details: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2023/events/PP131780

SOURCE Gerdau
DUBLIN, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Automotive LiDAR Market Size, Segments, Outlook, and Revenue Forecast 2022-2028 by Application, Technology, Location, Range, Vehicle Type and Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

According to this analysis, the Global Automotive LiDAR Market is estimated to have grown to a size of ~US$500 million in 2022 from ~US$200 million in 2017.

The market is expected to grow further to a size of ~US$1,500 million by 2028 at a CAGR of ~20% for the forecasted period of 2022-2028, owing to the consistent rise in the adoption of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles aided by encouraging government regulations/policies, superior detection capabilities and technological advancements achieved by the automotive LIDAR segment, increasing awareness to vehicle safety regulations and the growing presence of ADAS or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

Companies Mentioned

Continental AG

ZF Friedrichshafen AG

Infineon Technologies AG

Velodyne LIDAR

LeddarTech

First Sensor AG

Quanergy Systems

Innoviz Technologies

Robert Bosch GMBH

Valeo

Luminar Technologies

Aeva

Ouster

Cepton

RoboSense

According to a research study, cited by the Ohio University website, nearly 12 million autonomous and 18 million semi-autonomous vehicles will be sold globally by 2035.

Apart from these vehicles, vehicles with some sort of autonomous features will occupy one-fourth of the market within the same time frame.

The adoption of autonomous/semi-autonomous vehicles could be across a variety of areas/industries, including general transport, such as trucking fleets, taxi services, school and transit bus services, and the more commercial areas of mining, construction, farming, and manufacturing. There are several benefits for these application areas/industries to adopt autonomous vehicles.

These vehicles can guarantee safety in some of the most challenging/hazardous work areas, save labor costs and time, and reduce carbon emissions by a significant margin, ensuring optimized driving. Automotive LIDARs are used across both segments of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles. Growth in the adoption of these types of vehicles would boost the LiDAR Market notably.



The Automotive LiDAR Market segment has achieved significant technological advancements over the years. LIDARs are capable of collimating laser light, including its short wavelength within the range of 905-1,550 nm. It is also possible to achieve spatial resolution on the order of 0.1 degrees with LIDAR.

All these results in best-in-class spatial resolution features. Mechanical LIDAR systems offer the widest field of view among all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. While technological advancements have made LIDARs highly efficient, their prices have also reduced significantly. A report published by Texas Instruments in May 2020 predicted the cost of a LIDAR module to come down to less than US$200 by 2022.



LIDARs are often not as efficient as they're expected to be when the weather conditions are adverse. A scientific study on the influence of weather conditions on automotive LIDAR sensors indicates a significant impairment in the perception of objects and a notable reduction in detection range when there is fog or rain. These impairments may lead to misclassifications and wrong detections and are to be solved effectively for the market to grow at a faster pace. LiDAR systems are also vulnerable to ambient light conditions.



Like many other industries, the supply chain in the market of automotive components was also disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exports of parts and components from China were disrupted and so were manufacturing in Europe and assembling activities in the North American region. However, the restrictions have now been lifted and the possibility of reducing carbon emissions through autonomous cars has helped the market to get back on track.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Market Overview and Key Trends Impacting Growth

2.1 Global Automotive LiDAR Market Taxonomy

2.2 Industry Value Chain

2.3 The Ecosystem of Major Entities in the Global Automotive LiDAR Market

2.4 Government Regulations & Developments

2.5 Key Growth Drivers & Challenges Impacting the Market

2.6 COVID-19 Impact on the Global Automotive LiDAR Market

2.7 Total Automotive LiDAR Market Historic Growth by Segment Type, 2017-2021

2.8 Total Global Automotive LiDAR Market Historic Growth and Forecast, 2017-2028

2.9 Key Takeaways



3. Global - Market Segmentation by Application, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts

3.1 Market Definition - Segmentation by Application

3.2 Market Revenue Share, Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts by Application, 2017-2028

3.2.1 Semi-Autonomous Vehicles

3.2.2 Autonomous Vehicles

3.3 Key Takeaways from Market Segmentation by Application



4. Global - Market Segmentation by Technology, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts

4.1 Market Definition - Segmentation by Technology

4.2 Market Revenue Share, Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts by Technology, 2017-2028

4.2.1 Solid State

4.2.2 Mechanical/Scanning

4.3 Key Takeaways from Market Segmentation by Technology



5. Global - Market Segmentation by Location, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts

5.1 Market Definition - Segmentation by Location

5.2 Market Revenue Share, Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts by Location, 2017-2028

5.2.1 Roof & Upper Pillars

5.2.2 Headlight & Taillight

5.2.3 Bumper & Grill

5.2.4 Others

5.3 Key Takeaways from Market Segmentation by Location



6. Global - Market Segmentation by Range, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts

6.1 Market Definition - Segmentation by Range

6.2 Market Revenue Share, Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts by Range, 2017-2028

6.2.1 Short & Mid-Range

6.2.2 Long Range

6.3 Key Takeaways from Market Segmentation by Range



7. Global - Market Segmentation by Vehicle Type, Historic Growth, Outlook & Forecasts

7.1 Market Definition - Segmentation by Vehicle Type

7.2 Market Revenue Share, Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts by Vehicle Type, 2017-2028

7.2.1 IC Engine Vehicle

7.2.2 Hybrid Electric Vehicle

7.2.3 Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

7.2.4 Battery Electric Vehicle

7.3 Key Takeaways from Market Segmentation by Vehicle Type



8. Industry/Competition Analysis - Competitive Landscape

9. Key Competitor Profiles (Company Overview, Product Offerings, SWOT Analysis)

10. Geographic Analysis & Major Countries Market Historic Growth, Outlook, and Forecasts

11. Industry Expert's Opinions/Perspectives

12. Analyst Recommendation

13. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4ihtrh

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
DUBLIN, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "The Global Market for Cultured Meat - Market Size, Trends, Competitors, and Forecasts (2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report reveals all major market competitors worldwide, including their strategic advantages, core technologies, and products under development.

It describes the current state of cultured meat research, as well as emerging technologies, patents, funding events, scientific papers, strategic partnerships, and the market's presumed trajectory toward global adoption. It presents a comprehensive market size breakdown segmented by type of meat and geography. It also provides future projections through 2032, segmented by type of meat, geography, and year.

The number of startups focused on developing cultured meat (and the required cell culture media, supplements, and methods to produce them) has been rising year after year. There are now an impressive 99 companies worldwide developing cultured meat components, services, and end-products, compared to only four in 2016. Additionally, nearly 40 life science firms have declared and formally launched products to supply market competitors with the essential inputs they need to support cultured meat and seafood production.

Because cultured meat is an early-stage industry, the language to describe it is evolving in real-time. Currently, company executives use a range of terms to describe the field, including but not limited to cultured meat, cultivated meat, cell-based meat, clean meat, cellular agriculture, and lab-grown meat, as well as slaughter-free meat and ethically grown meat, to a lesser extent. The potential of cultured meat has captured the imagination of investors, researchers, and consumers alike.

Although the cultured meat market is a nascent industry, 2020 was a landmark year because a cultured chicken product developed by the company Eat Just made its debut on a restaurant menu in Singapore, after the country's food agency approved its sale to the public. The regulatory approval of this cellular food product within Singapore provides hope that other regulatory approvals could follow worldwide.

Flow of capital into the cultured meat industry has also grown substantially in recent years, reaching approximately $1.0 billion per year. Major investments within the cultured meat market have included Cargill's investment into Memphis Meats and Aleph Farms, as well as Tyson Foods Venture Fund's investments into Memphis Meats and Future Meat Technologies. Wealthy investors are also piling into the cultured meat market.

For example, billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson joined with Tyson Foods, DFJ, Atomico, and Cargill to invest in the Silicon Valley start-up Memphis Meats. The start-up company rose to fame when it produced the world's first lab-grown meatballs made by cultivating cow muscle tissue within a sterile environment. Another notable name in cultured meat investing is Dr. Rick Klausner, who is a lead investor in the Dutch company Meatable.

He is the former director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and former Executive Director of Global Health for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, the cultured meat industry has witnessed public-sector R&D funding awards within the U.S. and the European Union, and China signed a $300 million deal to buy lab-grown meat produced in Israel in a deal that openly signals its intent to supply cultured meat to its massive population of 1.4 billion citizens.

By 2040, a projected 60% of the meat will be created from cells grown within bioreactors and sold across grocery stores and restaurants worldwide. The rise of the cultured meat market will be supported by the sustainability of the process, as well as the industry's ability to provide "tailor-made nutrition" through its meat and seafood products.

Recent surveys indicate that nearly 50% of consumers do not have reservations about consuming cultured meat. Over the next 10 to 20 years, the cultured meat market is projected to act as a major disruptor to the conventional meat market.

Key Topics Covered:

1. CULTURED MEAT OVERVIEW

2. HISTORY, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY OF CULTURED MEAT

2.1 Nomenclature

2.2 History of Cultured Meat

2.3 The Science of Cultured Meat

3. POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF CULTURED MEAT

3.1 Sustainability

3.2 Environmental Benefits

3.3 Animal Welfare

3.4 Food Safety

3.5 Novel Foods

4. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF CULTURED MEAT

4.1 Structure and Texture

4.2 Color

4.3 Flavor

4.4 Nutritional Composition

5. CULTURE MEAT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND ADVANCES

5.1 Step 1: Acquisition of Seed Cells

5.2 Step 2: Large-Scale Expansion of Seed Cells

5.3 Step 3: Induced Differentiation of Seed Cells

5.4 Step 4: Assembly of Cultured Cells into Meat Products

5.5 Technical Challenges for Large-Scale Production of Cultured Meat

5.5.1 Animal Component-Free Medium for Cell Culture

5.5.2 Intelligent Bioreactor for Scale Up

5.5.3 Degradable/Edible Scaffold for a 3D Structure

5.5.4 Technological Challenges in Cultured Meat Production

5.5.5 The Biggest Challenge

5.5.6 Mass Production Technology

5.5.7 Other Technological Challenges

5.5.8 Production Cost of Cultured Meat

5.6 Additional Emerging Applications of Cultured Meat Technology

5.7 Cultured Meat Reaching the Retail Market: Possible Scenarios

6. ANALYSIS OF CULTURE MEDIUM COSTS FOR LAB-GROWN MEAT

6.1 Cost Breakdown of Pharmaceutical Grade Culture Media

6.2 Cost Breakdown of Food Grade Basal Medium Ingredients

6.3 Potential Scenarios to Reduce Cell Culture Medium Cost

6.3.1 Projected Cost and Fold Reduction (Cost Comparisons)

7. RESEARCH LANDSCAPE

7.1 Cell Line Research at ETH Zurich

7.2 Culture Media Research at New Castle University

7.3 Research at University of Wisconsin, Madison for Scaffolding

7.4 Research on Bioprocess Design at the University of BATH

7.5 Cultured Meat Research Lab Database

7.6 Scientific Publications on Cultured Meat

8. PATENT LANDSCAPE

8.1 Types of Patent Claims

8.2 Notable Patent Holders in Cultured Meat

8.2.1 Impossible Foods

8.2.3 Beyond Meat

8.2.4 JUST

8.2.5 UPSIDE Foods (Memphis Meats)

8.2.6 Perfect Day Foods

8.3 Patent Applications for Scaffolds

9. INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE

9.1 Capital Invested by Type of Cultured Meat

9.3 Cultured Meat Companies by Size of Investment

9.4 Agronomics: The Largest Investor

9.5 Public Sector Investments in Cultured Meat Sector

9.6 A Bird's-Eye View of Investments in Cultured Meat Sector

9.6.1 A Complete List of Venture Investments in the Cultured Meat Industry

9.6.2 Most Active Investors in the Cultured Meat Industry

10. CULTURED MEAT INDUSTRY: CURRENT STATUS, BREAKTHROUGHS, AND HISTORIC EVENTS

10.1 Global Presence of Cultured Meat Companies

10.2 Cultured Meat Products under Development

10.2.1 Chicken Nugget from JUST

10.2.2 Chicken Tender from Memphis Meats (UPSIDE Foods)

10.2.3 Cultured Beef Meat Ball by Memphis Meats (UPSIDE Foods)

10.2.4 Cultured Pork Belly and Bacon from Higher Steaks

10.2.5 Cultured Pork Sausage by New Age Meats

10.3 Share of Companies by Product Type

10.4 Cultured Meat Industry's Landmark Events

10.4.1 First QSR Partnership in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.2 First Partnership in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.3 First Restaurant Concept in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.4 First Acquisition in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.5 First Commercial Sale of Cultured Meat Product

10.4.6 First Series B Fund Raising in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.7 First U.S. Government's R&D Funding for Cultured Meat

10.4.8 First E.U. R&D Funding for Cultured Meat

10.4.9 First Paper on Soy Protein Scaffolding

10.5 Major Recent Developments in Cultured Meat Sector

10.5.1 Aleph Farms' Partnerships with Mitsubishi and BRF S.A.

10.5.2 BlueNalu's $60 Million Convertible-Note Financing

10.5.3 Future Meat Produces Cultured Chicken Breast for $7.50

10.5.4 Breakthrough Energy's Recommended Policy Priorities

10.6 Tasting Events

10.6.1 Israeli PM Tasting Aleph Farms Cultured Steak

10.6.2 SuperMeat's "The Chicken" Project

10.6.3 Lab Farm Foods' Cultured Chicken Nuggets and Pork Liver Pate

10.6.4 Avant Meat's Cultured Fish Fillets

10.6.5 Wildtype's Cultured Sushi-Grade Salmon

10.6.6 Shiok Meats' Tasting Event for its Cultured Lobster

10.7 The Leading Edge of Cultured Meat Production

10.7.1 Factory Capacity for Supplying 10% of the Conventional Meat Market

10.7.2 An Option for New Bioreactor Designs

10.7.3 Location of Large-Scale Manufacturing Facilities by Geography

10.7.4 Cultured Meat at a Premium Price

10.8 Time for Cultured Meat to Reach the Market

10.9 Current Limitations in Cultured Meat Industry

10.9.1 Design and Optimization of Bioreactors

10.9.2 Serum-Free Culture Media Development

10.10 The Race toward Pilot Plant Setup

10.11 Hybrid Products: The First to Reach the Market

10.12 Cost Parity of Cultured Meat with Conventional Meat

10.13 World's First Cultured Meat Facility in Israel

10.14 Proliferation of Cultured Meat Nonprofits

11. STARTUP LANDSCAPE

11.1 Complete List of Cultured Meat Startups

11.2 New Startups Focusing on Enabling Technologies

11.3 Startups Specializing in the Development of Growth Factors

12. REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

12.1 Australia-New Zealand

12.2 Canada

12.3 United States

12.4 European Union

12.5 United Kingdom

12.6 Singapore

12.7 Japan

13. CULTURED MEAT MARKET: MARKET SIZE, TRENDS, AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS

13.1 Global Market for Conventional Meat by Type

13.2 Changing Landscape of Global Meat Market

13.4 Global Market for Cultured Meat by Geography, with Forecasts through 2032

13.5 Global Market for Cultured Meat by Type, with Forecasts through 2032

14. CULTURED MEAT MARKET: COMPANY PROFILES

Agulos Biotech, LLC

Aleph Farms

Alife Foods

Ants Innovate

ArtMeat

Artemys Foods

Avant Meats Company Limited

B.I.F.E. Laboratorios-Craveri

BIOMILQ

Back of the Yard Algae Sciences

Balletic Foods

Because Animals

Bene Meat Technologies AS

Biftek, Inc.

BioBQ

BioFood Systems

BioMilk, Ltd.

BioTech Foods

Blue Ridge Bantam

BlueNalu, Inc.

Bluu Biosciences

Boston Meats, Inc.

Bruno Cell SRL

CELL AG TECH

CELLINK

Cass Materials Pty Ltd.

Cell Guidance Systems Ltd.

CellMEAT

CellX

Cellivate Technologies

Celltainer Biotech BV

CellulaREvolution

Cellular Agriculture, Ltd.

Clear Meat Private Limited

Core Biogenesis

Cubiq Foods

Cultured Blood

Cultured Decadence

D Bio-Tissues Ltd.

DaNAgreen Co., Ltd.

Defined Bioscience, Inc.

Dipole Materials

Diverse Farms

East Just, Inc.

Finless Foods, Inc.

Fork & Goode

Future Fields

Future Meat Technologies

Gelatex Technologies, Ltd.

HCS Pharma

Heuros

HigherSteaks

Hoxton Farms

Incuvers

Innocent Meat UG

IntegriCulture, Inc.

Investment from DX Ventures

JOINN Biologics

Jellatech

KosmodeHealth

Lab Farm Foods

Luyef Biotechnologies

Magic Valley, Pty, Ltd.

MagicCavier

Matrix Meats

MeaTech D Ltd.

Meatable

Metalytics, Inc.

Mirai Foods AG

Mission Barns

Mogale Meat Co.

Mosa Meat

Multus Media

MyoWorks, Pvt. Ltd.

Mzansi Meat, Co.

NUProtein Co., Ltd.

New Age Meats

Novel Farms, Inc.

ORF Genetics Ltd.

Orbillion Bio

Ospin Modular Bioprocessing

Peace of Meat

Perfect Day Foods

Roslin Technologies Ltd.

Shiok Meats

SingCell Tx Pte. Ltd

SunP Biotech

SuperMeat

Tantti Laboratory, Inc.

TeOra

Tiamat Sciences

TissueByNET Co., Ltd.

TurtleTree Labs

Umami Meats

Unicorn Biotechnologies

Upside Foods, Inc.

Vivax Bio

Vow

White Board Foods

Wildtype

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/utr3aq

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
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forty global leaders expressed "deep concerns for[the] well-being" of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus in an open letter to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, adding that it is "painful to see Prof. Yunus, a man of impeccable integrity, and his life's work unfairly attacked and repeatedly harassed and investigated by your government." The letter also appeared as a full-page ad in the Washington Post on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Muhammad Yunus, one of seven people in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom, has been under attack by Sheikh Hasina and her government off and on since 2010. "The attacks on Muhammad Yunus are exactly what you'd expect from an authoritarian government," said Sam Daley-Harris, founder of Civic Courage and the anti-poverty lobby RESULTS which began working closely with Muhammad Yunus in 1987. "When a government controls all the levers of power, the media, the courts, and the parliament, it does whatever it can to stay in power."

Global Leaders Stand Up for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus Tweet this

In 2022 Transparency International ranked Bangladesh in the bottom fifth, 147 out of 180 countries, in its corruption perception index. Sheikh Hasina accused Prof. Yunus of using his influence to have the World Bank cancel its loan for building the Padma Bridge, a 3.8-mile bridge that was opened in June 2022. A month before its opening, Sheikh Hasina was quoted in the Bangladesh press saying, "[Yunus] should be plunged into the Padma River twice. He should be just plunged in a bit and pulled out so he doesn't die, and then pulled up onto the bridge. That perhaps will teach him a lesson." Statements like that add to the concern for Muhammad Yunus' safety in Bangladesh, a country of 170 million people in a landmass the size of the U.S. State of Illinois.

For its part, the World Bank said it rejected the loan due to "credible evidence corroborated by a variety of sources which points to a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials." and others and added, "The World Bank cannot, should not, and will not turn a blind eye to evidence of corruption."

Prof. Yunus began his journey to becoming the "banker to the poor" when he entered the village next to his campus in 1976 and found 42 destitute villagers who needed a grand total of $27, about 64 cents each, to be liberated from the exploitation of moneylenders. Yunus made sure the repayment schedules were convenient and grew Grameen Bank to 9 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom were women, and developed a model that was copied around the world. Professor Yunus shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen Bank in 2006.

Five years later, Sheikh Hasina pushed for Professor Yunus' removal as head of Grameen Bank citing a bank law that required the retirement of the managing directors of government banks by age 60. At the time, Prof. Yunus was 70 and the bank he led was 97% owned by the women who borrowed from it. It was never explained why this law, which many legal scholars believed did not apply to Professor Yunus, had not been deemed applicable for the prior ten years under three different governments. A detailed history of the conflict can be found here: https://protectyunus.wordpress.com/background/

Signatories of the letter supporting Prof. Yunus include business leaders such as Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, artists including Bono and Peter Gabriel, government leaders including former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, former Irish Prime Minister Mary Robinson, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former US Vice President Al Gore, and activists such as Primatologist Jane Goodall and Sam Daley-Harris, the founder of RESULTS and Civic Courage. Civic Courage under Daley-Harris' leadership organized the writing of the letter and securing the agreement of the other 39 signers as part of its mission to defend and advance citizen participation in social uplift.

The letter acknowledges Muhammad Yunus' contributions to Bangladesh and to the world and calls on the Prime Minister to suspend her harassment and persecution of him. The text of the letter and list of signers can be found here: https://protectyunus.wordpress.com/2023/03/07/global-leaders-appeal-to-the-bangladeshi-prime-minister-regarding-the-treatment-of-professor-muhammad-yunus-in-an-open-letter/

For more information, visit: https://protectyunus.wordpress.com/

Contact:

Sam Daley-Harris

(M) 1-202-390-0012,

(L) 1-609-924-2414,

[email protected]



SOURCE Civic Courage
Based on end users, the transmissive segment is expected to dominate the market on the back of its wide range of applications in consumer electronics, biomedical, and semiconductors and accounted for around 78.7% of the total market.

FREMONT, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BIS Research, the global leader in providing market intelligence on deep technologies, has released its latest study titled Precision Optics Market - A Global and Regional Analysis.

According to this study, the global precision optics market was valued at $23.24 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $60.03 billion by 2031.

The following factors are responsible for the increase in demand for precision optics:

Growing demand in life and health sciences instruments

Increasing adoption of precision optics in advanced manufacturing

Rising uses of precision optics due to high demand for consumer electronics

The detailed study is a compilation of 98 market data tables and 25 figures spread through 215 pages.

Check out the detailed table of content here a

https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1445&type=toc

Analyst's Take on the Market Projection

According to Sachin Singh, Lead Analyst, BIS Research, "Ordinary optics differ from precision optics in terms of manufacturing accuracy (external dimensions, flatness, sphericity, cylindricity, i.e., geometric parameters, and also by the presence of special coatings). The precision optics market is highly fragmented owing to the presence of many small and medium-scale enterprises in the market. The manufacturing base is concentrated in regions such as North America, Europe, China, and Asia-Pacific."

Request a FREE sample of this report here a

https://bisresearch.com/requestsample?id=1445&type=download

Consumer Electronics to be the Leading End User Segment in the Precision Optics Market

Based on end users, the consumer electronics segment dominated the precision optics market in 2021 and was the largest segment due to the rising sales of smart electronic devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and augmented and virtual reality devices.

According to BIS Research's study, this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period 2021-2031. This is largely due to the rising sales of consumer electronics, which is leading to the need for precision optical components for continuous operation with high precision.

Major Existing Industry Leaders in the Precision Optics Market

The companies profiled have been selected based on input gathered from primary experts and analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration. Some of the established names in the market are:

ZEISS International

Optics & Allied Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

Corning Incorporated

Newport Corporation

Rochester Precision Optics, LLC

PFG Optics

Shanghai Optics

Precision Optics Corporation, Inc.

Sierra Precision Optics

Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Nikon Corporation

Solaris Optics

Momentum Optics

WayRay AG

Recent Developments in the Global Precision Optics Market

In December 2022 , Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. announced the receipt of a follow-on production order totaling approximately $2.6 million for optical assembly from one of the major U.S. defense contractors. In addition, the order is expected to be completed over the next 12 to 18 months.

, Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. announced the receipt of a follow-on production order totaling approximately for optical assembly from one of the major U.S. defense contractors. In addition, the order is expected to be completed over the next 12 to 18 months. In October 2021 , Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. made an announcement for a strategic merger with a privately held company, Lighthouse Imaging LLC. Through this merger with a leader in medical optics and digital imaging, the company would help its customers by leveraging next-generation micro-optics capabilities with Lighthouse Imaging LLC's leading-edge optical imaging electronics.

, Precision Optics Corporation, Inc. made an announcement for a strategic merger with a privately held company, Lighthouse Imaging LLC. Through this merger with a leader in medical optics and digital imaging, the company would help its customers by leveraging next-generation micro-optics capabilities with Lighthouse Imaging LLC's leading-edge optical imaging electronics. In August 2021 , Edmund Optics Inc. made an announcement for the relocation of its regional South Korea office to a larger facility in the Mapo district of Seoul , aiming to facilitate internal and external collaboration and communication, enhanced services, a lab for specialized technical support, and easy access for visits.

Want to learn more about the latest trends in precision optics? Speak to our analysts

Exclusive DeepTech MAPTM Analysis for Advanced Materials by BIS Research:

High Precision Asphere Market

Silicon Photonics Market

About BIS Research:

BIS Research is a global B2B market intelligence and advisory firm focusing on deep technology and related emerging trends, which can disrupt the market dynamics in the near future. We publish more than 200 market intelligence studies annually that focus on several deep technology verticals.

Our strategic market analysis emphasizes on market estimations, technology analysis, emerging high-growth applications, deeply segmented granular country-level market data, and other important market parameters useful in the strategic decision-making for senior management.

BIS Research offers syndicate as well as custom studies and expert consultations to firms, providing them with specific and actionable insights on novel technology markets, business models, and competitive landscapes.

Contact:

Head of Marketing

Email: [email protected]

BIS Research Inc.

39111 PASEO PADRE PKWY STE 313,

FREMONT CA 94538-1686

Visit our Blog @ https://bisresearch.com/news

Get Expert Insights @ https://community.insightmonk.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bis-research

Connect with us on [email protected] https://twitter.com/BISResearch

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/495163/BIS_Research_Logo.jpg

SOURCE BIS Research
ROME, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WordLift and Kalicube announced their partnership with the mission to elevate SEO performance. WordLift and Kalicube help business websites of all sizes speak the language Google uses to decide what will be included in its search results. With WordLift and Kalicube together, companies can see their websites appear on the top of Google search results, getting more visibility and conversions. Working in perfect synergy, WordLift and Kalicube have become a powerful combination to elevate companies looking to move into the new Entity-Based SEO era driven by ChatGPT.

Cover Image WordLift | Kalicube

"Speaking Google's native language is the new El Dorado," said Jason Barnard, Kalicube Founder. "It is only when you can communicate effectively that you can educate the gatekeeper. And it is only when you educate the gatekeeper that you can dominate your market."

The Kalicube Process focuses on informing Google's knowledge algorithms about Cornerstone Entities  companies and key people within them  to help Google better understand these entities. This, in turn, triggers Google to create Knowledge Panels for each and pushes those entities into Google's main Knowledge Graph. WordLift mimics this process for every site webpage while linking those panels to other important concepts that help Google build its guiding Knowledge Graphs.

"Our partnership with Kalicube strengthens our commitment to provide the best solutions for entity-based SEO," said Andrea Volpini, WordLift CEO and Founder. "Together, WordLift and Kalicube help businesses make their entities sound clear to both Google and Bing, which leads to improved visibility and increased credibility in search results. This combined approach results in stronger online reputation management and improved search engine visibility."

WordLift and Kalicube provide Google and other search engines with a clear, consistent, and complete message that helps search engines display website content in a higher position within each search result  ultimately driving more visitors to the website. Understanding Entities and Cornerstones' basic but important concepts allow Kalicube and WordLift software to translate the backbone of each website analyzed.

"Working within the exact parameters of Google's algorithms is the key, and it all starts by speaking Google's native language," said Jason Barnard. "Kalicube sets this communication foundation, while WordLift builds the structures on that foundation."

For more detailed descriptions of the process, along with the latest product information and platform evolutions, please visit Kalicube and WordLift online.

About Kalicube  The Brand SERP Specialists

Established in 2015, Kalicube is a digital marketing agency with a unique platform that empowers brands to increase their presence and visibility on Google by pioneering the concept of Brand SERP Optimization and Knowledge Panel Management. Kalicube's software and expert team work to finetune and correct inconsistencies that cause companies to be excluded from Google's algorithms  ultimately helping those companies grow by increasing their brand visibility across the web. Learn more at: www.kalicube.com .

About WordLift  The A.I. Needed to Grow Your Traffic

Founded in 2017, WordLift developed the first A.I.-based platform that uses machine learning for website optimization on search engines. The WordLift platform helps bloggers, professionals, agencies, and businesses translate their content into information that search engines can understand, ensuring more organic website traffic while improving the quality of each user's experience. Learn more at: www.wordLift.io .

Media Contact:

Silvia Fratini - Partnership Manager - WordLift

tel:+39 0662279191

[email protected]

SOURCE WordLift
New Peach-Flavored Caffeinated Beverage Hits Shelves Nationwide

SEBASTOPOL, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Guayaki Yerba Mate, the category leader in yerba mate beverages, announces the launch of Peach Revival  now rolling out in stores nationwide. Inspired by customers' affinity toward the refreshing flavor of peach, fans can enjoy the yerba mate drink they love, with low sugar and full caffeine.

Peach Revival

Peach Revival will join the brand's popular High Energy Cans and features an infusion of peach with delicate sweetness and a hint of floral undertones. Each can contains 150mg of caffeine from yerba mate, the naturally caffeinated leaves from a native species of holly tree, known as Ilex paraguariensis, found deep in the South American Atlantic Rainforest.

"Fueling community is central to our brand ethos, and Peach Revival was an opportunity to launch a product we know our customers are craving," says Noelle Haley, Guayaki's Chief Marketing Officer. "Guayaki is more than a beverage company, it's a community of sharers, seekers, connectors and believers in the South American tradition of mate culture. Our mission is to spread that communal spirit across the U.S."

Peach Revival will be available where Guayaki products are traditionally sold, including major national supermarket chains, natural grocery, conventional retail, and convenience stores, ranging from $2.99 to $3.39. It will also be available online at Amazon and Guayaki.com later this spring. To learn more, visit the Peach Revival landing page and follow @guayaki on Instagram.

About Guayaki

Based in Sebastopol and Venice, California, Guayaki [Gwy-uh-key] is the leader in yerba mate beverages. Guayaki's business model aims to preserve the forests where mate grows and support the communities that have cultivated it for generations. That's why Guayaki sources fair-trade and organic mate from smallholder and Indigenous producers who harvest mate from trees grown in the shade of the rainforest. Guayaki works with its producers to certify mate according to regenerative standards and invest in social and environmental projects identified by producer communities.

Guayaki products are available at nearly 10,000 retailers nationwide. More information about retail locations and products can be found online at www.Guayaki.com.

Media Contact: Nicole Stephens  [email protected]

SOURCE Guayaki Yerba Mate
DAHEJ, India, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulbrandsen, a global specialty chemicals leader, has started production of triethylaluminum (TEAL) at a new manufacturing facility located in Dahej, India, to meet increasing global demand.

Aluminum Alkyls are used as co-catalysts for manufacturing polyolefins, synthetic rubber, pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals.

"This investment supports Gulbrandsen's commitment to meet the growing needs of our customers for high quality aluminum alkyls," says Ron Hatchell, Global Business Director of Organometallics. "The Dahej site will also play a vital role in achieving our long-term strategic targets and strengthen our presence in an attractive high-growth market."

About Gulbrandsen: Gulbrandsen is a manufacturer of industrial chemical intermediates, fine chemicals and catalysts used in process industries. For more information, please visit our website at www.gulbrandsen.com .

SOURCE Gulbrandsen
SHANGHAI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Guotai Junan Futures (Singapore) PTE. LTD., a wholly-owned company of Guotai Junan futures, started formal operation Tuesday, marking a key step forward of Guotai Junan Securities' business layout in Singapore futures market.

To strengthen market existence in Singapore, Guotai Junan Securities has set up asset management company and securities company in Singapore. As a new fulcrum for the cross-border financial development of Guotai Junan, the newly-established Guotai Junan Futures (Singapore) PTE. LTD. will gather high-quality resources of the whole group, and actively implement the regulatory requirements of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Besides, the company will deepen cooperation with Singapore Exchange (SGX) as well as other financial companies, and vigorously promote business synergy in futures derivatives, foreign exchange transactions, commodity trading, wealth management, etc., so as to provide customers with efficient round-the-clock business support and diversified investment channels to better meet their cross-border financial and global asset allocation needs.

In the future, Guotai Junan will accelerate its globalization strategic layout and make greater contributions to the high-quality development of Belt and Road Initiative and the promotion of the interconnection of China-Singapore capital markets.

At the launching ceremony, Guotai Junan Futures (Singapore) signed strategic cooperation agreements with Bank of China Singapore Branch and Saxo Capital Markets Singapore respectively.

Prior to the event, Guotai Junan cooperated with the SGX and released the Guotai Junan Enhanced All Weather Multi-Asset Index, which marks a new attempt of promoting Chinese assets and Chinese indices to go international.

SOURCE Guotai Junan Securities
PITTSBURGH, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Helping Hands Family (HHF), a leading provider of evidence-based autism therapy services, is proud to announce its expansion into Pittsburgh, furthering its scope in the Northeast region of the United States. The company now serves Allegheny County in Mt Lebanon, McCandless, Monroeville, and Pittsburgh. With this expansion, HHF has become Pennsylvania's largest Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) provider.

HHF provides quality autism therapy to children, utilizing personalized treatment that focuses on each child's individual needs. Their commitment to providing quality services has grown significantly, now serving five states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Maryland. A motivator for the continued growth of PA's largest ABA provider is the current prevalence rate of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) being 1 in 44 children as cited in a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ABA has been endorsed by several organizations, including the American Psychological Association and the US Surgeon General, making it the gold standard in autism treatment. Evidence advises that ABA therapy can help children improve communication, social skills, motor, behavior, and other critical developmental areas.

HHF's autism treatment focuses on comprehensive assessments, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing family support. A family-centered approach is used to maximize parent involvement and to ensure treatment plans expand beyond the clinic into a child's daily life.

One satisfied parent shared her experience stating, "It's been three months since HHF came into our lives, and my daughter has shown more improvement than I have ever seen with any other form of therapy. I'm able to stay involved with weekly parent training and given updates during my daughter's time at the clinic. I feel confident with a peace of mind regarding my decision involving HHF in my daughter's care."

The expansion into Pittsburgh and the Northeast region is a significant milestone for HHF, as they are committed to serving families in need. Families in the Northeast region interested in learning more about HHF can visit their website or contact them directly to schedule a consultation.

About Helping Hands Family

Helping Hands Family (HHF) is a growing provider of Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy in the Northeast. The HHF clinical team is devoted to delivering customized treatment plans through science-based programs, helping children with autism progress socially and support new ways of interacting with the world.

Media Contact:

Colleen MacDonald

[email protected]

SOURCE Helping Hands Family
Customer uncivility  stemming from clashing value systems between businesses and customers  adds fuel to the fire

TEMPE, Ariz., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A recently released survey shows that Americans are experiencing more product and service problems than ever before, remain hopping mad with companies' second-rate efforts to resolve their problems, and have become steadily more belligerent when they complain. In all, the survey estimates that businesses are risking $887 billion in future revenue due to mediocre complaint handling (up from $494 billion in 2020).

The National Customer Rage Survey of 1,000 Americans is the 10th wave of the study, dating to 2003. In addition to trending customer satisfaction with complaint handling over the past two decades, the latest release of the rage survey breaks new ground by exploring the alarming incidence of customer uncivility tied to what has become commonplace in everyday business settings.

Customer rage explores the experience of complaining about a product or service problem. Customer uncivility explores the emerging marketplace phenomenon of rude, discourteous, and violent behavior stemming from socio-political conflicts between customers and businesses, such as differences of opinion about politics, sexuality, culture, and faith. This first foray into customer uncivility reveals that unseemly customer behavior tied to clashes in values between businesses and their customers may be the new normal, as nearly one of every two Americans encountered two or more acts of customer uncivility in the past year.

Top customer rage highlights of the study:

Seventy-four percent of customers reported experiencing a product or service problem in the past year, more than doubling since 1976.





Product and service problems can be disappointing, costly, and distressing. Fifty-six percent of customers felt that the problem wasted their time (an average of one to two days of lost time), 43% cited a loss of money (an average loss of $1,261 ), and 31% suffered emotional distress.





), and 31% suffered emotional distress. The level of "customer rage" is holding steady  63% of customers experiencing a problem feel rage about the experience.





Some troubling trends? Customers are becoming increasingly aggressive in their efforts to solve their problems with businesses. Forty-three percent raised their voice to show displeasure about their most serious problem, up from 35% in 2015. Also, the percentage of customers seeking revenge for their hassles has tripled since 2020.





Complaining is increasingly becoming a digital phenomenon. Digital channels such as e-mail, chat, and social media have unseated the telephone as the primary complaint channel at 50%, increasing from a mere 5% in 2013. Complainants are also doubling down on social media shaming about their problems. In addition to complaining directly to the company, 32% of complainants posted information about their most serious problem on social media sites  more than double those who posted in 2020.

Top customer uncivility highlights of the study:

Nearly one in five Americans (17%) have personally behaved uncivilly during the past year.

Americans view such value-based expressions of aggression toward businesses as a harbinger of larger societal ills. Twenty-two percent cited the moral decay of society as the primary reason customer uncivility is on the rise.

The social contract about the norms for individually protesting against businesses' belief systems and values appears to be in flux. Americans disagree with "civil" and "uncivil" behaviors for expressing their value differences with a business. While 50% of Americans view less aggressive forms of behavior (such as yelling, ranting, arguing, giving ultimatums, and social media character assassination) as uncivil, the remaining 50% see these behaviors as either "civil" or as "depends on the circumstances." Similarly, 25% view more hostile behaviors  like threats, humiliation, foul language, and lying  as civil or circumstantially acceptable.

This independent study of 1,000 respondents to an online survey conducted by Customer Care Measurement & Consulting (CCMC) in collaboration with the Center for Services Leadership, a research center within the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, is based on a survey conducted initially by customer experience organization TARP for the White House in 1976. CCMC and the Center for Services Leadership have collaborated on the National Customer Rage survey since 2003.

"Even after 20 years of intensively researching customer rage, I remain astonished that  when sorting out ordinary product and service problems  acts of simple kindness and a sense of kinship are, all too often, in short supply. The incidence and public displays of customers and companies misbehaving are commonplace, on the increase, and can be downright scary," said CCMC President and CEO Scott M. Broetzmann.

"Perhaps of growing concern now is that customer hostility appears to be mutating like a virus. The expressions of malice and aggression triggered by differences in the value systems of companies and customers  so-called customer uncivility  only fuel the fire," continued Broetzmann.

"Defusing customer rage is not rocket science. Although many customers are looking for repairs or refunds, they're also hoping for a sincere apology and acknowledgment of their complaints," said Thomas Hollmann, executive director of the Center for Services Leadership at ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business. "These no-cost actions show that the company cares, is listening to the customer, and values them. It's up to brands to communicate as humans with their customers. A sincere, 'I'm sorry this happened,' can turn a potential blowup into a lifelong customer."

About the W. P. Carey School of Business

The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the top-ranked business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its research productivity and distinguished faculty members, including a Nobel Prize winner. Students come from more than 100 countries, and W. P. Carey is represented by alumni from over 160 countries. Visit wpcarey.asu.edu.

About the Center for Services Leadership

The Center for Services Leadership (CSL) is a groundbreaking research center within the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University that concentrates on expanding service innovation by combining the latest scientific insights from the academic world with the best of service strategy in the business world. The CSL was created in 1985 as a response to the unique set of challenges that companies faced. While others were focusing on products and manufacturing enterprises, the CSL pioneered the study of service. Today, the Center is a globally recognized authority and thought leader in the science of competing strategically through the profitable use of service. Our purpose is to make a positive difference in how the world is served. To learn more, visit wpcarey.asu.edu.csl.

About Customer Care Measurement & Consulting

CCMC's customer satisfaction and loyalty surveys and analytics are used by leading Fortune 500 companies from every industry to get a better ROI for their investments in the customer experience. Learn more about CCMC by visiting customercaremc.com.

For more information/media contacts:

Shay Moser , W. P. Carey School of Business, [email protected] , 480-965-3963

, W. P. Carey School of Business, , 480-965-3963 Scott M. Broetzmann , CCMC, [email protected] , 703-304-7947

SOURCE W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University
NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

This lawsuit is on behalf of a class consisting of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Honda American Depository Shares between June 20, 2018 and September 28, 2022, both dates inclusive.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: April 3, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in HMC:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/honda-loss-submission-form?id=37044&from=4

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. NEWS - HMC NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Honda Motor Co., Ltd. made materially 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.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Honda you have until April 3, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Honda securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the HMC lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/honda-loss-submission-form?id=37044&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
Company expands Holcim identity in the Las Vegas area, unifying trusted brands in the building sector prior to CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 conference

area, unifying trusted brands in the building sector prior to CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 conference Latest milestone in Holcim's sustainability journey follows designation as finalist in Next Level Awards Program

LAS VEGAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Aggregate Industries operations in Las Vegas, Nevada have transformed to Holcim US. A trusted partner in the Greater Las Vegas Area, Aggregate Industries operations include aggregates, asphalt & paving and construction and contracting solutions, and will now be part of a larger Holcim presence in the Mountain Region.

"In shifting the Aggregate Industries brand to Holcim US, our goal is to continue empowering our sustainable mission, providing the notable products and solutions-based teams we're known for and prioritizing customer needs under the unified brand," said Chance Allen, SVP, ACM Mountain Region, Holcim US. "Streamlining the brands as Holcim builds on the respective facilities' strength and optimizes our collective efforts as a sustainable builder of progress."

Holcim will have a significant presence at the largest construction show in North America, the CONEXPO-CON/AGG conference in Las Vegas March 14-18. Its ECOPact low-carbon concrete was selected as one of the top ten finalists for the inaugural CONEXPO-CON/AGG and the International Fluid Power Exposition (IFPE) Next Level Awards Program, with the winner being announced at the March conference.

The Las Vegas transition follows the Holcim US rebrand that launched in March of 2022, followed by subsequent regional transitions in Texas, Colorado, Louisiana and D.C. Metro. Uniting these brands as Holcim contributes to the company's ongoing initiatives to lead with sustainability in all facets of its operations and empowers its work as a sustainable builder of progress.

About Holcim

Holcim is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. Driven by its purpose to build progress for people and the planet, its 60,000 employees are on a mission to decarbonize building, while improving living standards for all. The company empowers its customers across all regions to build better with less, with its broad range of low-carbon and circular solutions, from ECOPact to ECOPlanet. With its innovative systems, from Elevate's roofing to PRB's insulation, Holcim makes buildings more sustainable in use, driving energy efficiency and green retrofitting. With sustainability at the core of its strategy, Holcim is becoming a net-zero company with 1.5C targets validated by SBTi.

In the United States, Holcim, includes close to 350 sites in 43 states and employs 7,000 people. Our customers rely on us to help them design and build better communities with innovative solutions that deliver structural integrity and eco-efficiency. Learn more at www.Holcim.us.

Contact

Lauren Blalock, Pierpont Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Holcim
Legendary Voyages from 25-59 days travel the world with many departures from a U.S. homeport; early booking bonus includes beverage and Wi-Fi upgrades, gratuities

SEATTLE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Holland America Line is globally recognized as an expert in longer voyages, and to commemorate its historic 150th Anniversary in 2023 the cruise line is introducing extended Legendary Voyages. These lengthier cruises, which range from 25 to 59 days, combine the ceremony of Holland America Line's Grand Voyages with itineraries that feature a comprehensive collection of ports that enrich the experience in each destination.

To commemorate its historic 150th Anniversary in 2023, Holland America Line is introducing extended Legendary Voyages Tweet this Noordam sails in Lahaina Koningsdam sails in Eidfjord, Norway

Most of Holland America Line's Legendary Voyages sail roundtrip or to/from a North American homeport, allowing travelers to see the world from their doorstep with a convenient domestic flight and easy embarkation. The itineraries are offered on a variety of the line's perfectly sized ships, bringing guests to Australia and New Zealand, the Amazon and South America, South Pacific and Hawaii, Greenland and Iceland, Asia, Alaska and the Arctic Circle.

"As the leader in long itineraries, Holland America Line is excited to continue to connect our deployment and onboard programming to further enrich the guest experience," said Kacy Cole, vice president of marketing and e-commerce, Holland America Line. "The destination-rich itineraries found on Legendary Voyages are carefully crafted to allow guests to linger longer and enjoy the journey as well as the destination. With many departures from North America, this creates yet another way for our guests to see the world from their doorstep."

Highlights of Legendary Voyages:

Three Legendary Voyages are NEW itineraries for Holland America Line:

The previously announced 28-day "Arctic Circle Solstice" that heads north to the Arctic Circle and features 11 calls in Alaska , including lesser-visited ports like Nome and Homer .

, including lesser-visited ports like and .

53-day "Majestic Japan" with 21 total ports, 13 calls throughout Japan and overnights at Yokohama ( Tokyo ) and Kobe .

and overnights at ( ) and .

28-Day "Coral Triangle, Volcanoes and The Great Barrier Reef" that explores 10 ports in five countries, with scenic cruising in the famed Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait , and past the Kumba and Krakatau volcanoes.

Destination-rich itineraries focus on a singular region, visiting some of the most unique ports while offering guests an in-depth exploration.

Guests will enjoy the "best of" Grand Voyages on-board programming to further enhance each Legendary Voyage with experiences such as iconic theme parties memorable sailaways and classic cruise activities.

Shipboard programming is specially curated to share insights into the history and culture of the destinations visited.

Guests have more time in port to experience the nightlife with overnight stays in marquee ports including Anchorage, Alaska ; Hobart, Tasmania ; Honolulu, Hawaii ; Manaus, Brazil ; Moorea, French Polynesia ; Papeete, Tahiti; Reykjavik, Iceland ; and Yokohama ( Tokyo ) and Kobe, Japan .

Holland America Line's Legendary Voyages:

56-Day or 51-day "Tales of the South Pacific" departing Sept. 27 or Oct. 2, 2023 , respectively, aboard Volendam. The 56-day is from Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada, to San Diego, California ; the 51-day is roundtrip from San Diego .

or , respectively, aboard Volendam. The 56-day is from , Canada, to ; the 51-day is roundtrip from . 34-Day "South Pacific Crossing" departing Oct. 8, 2023 , aboard Noordam. From San Diego to Sydney, Australia .

, aboard Noordam. From to . 28-Day "Amazon Explorer" departing Feb. 17, 2024 , aboard Zaandam. Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida .

, aboard Zaandam. Roundtrip from . 35-Day " Hawaii , Tahiti and Marquesas" departing Feb. 17, 2024 , aboard Koningsdam. Roundtrip from San Diego .

, Tahiti and Marquesas" departing , aboard Koningsdam. Roundtrip from . 25-Day "South Pacific Crossing" departing April 6, 2024 , aboard Noordam. From Sydney to Vancouver .

, aboard Noordam. From to . 28-Day "Arctic Circle Solstice" departing June 9, 2024 , aboard Westerdam. Roundtrip from Seattle, Washington .

, aboard Westerdam. Roundtrip from . 35-Day "Voyage of the Vikings" departing July 20, 2024 , aboard Zuiderdam. Roundtrip from Boston, Massachusetts .

, aboard Zuiderdam. Roundtrip from . 53- or 52-Day "Majestic Japan" departing Sept. 1 or 2, 2024, aboard Westerdam. The 53-day is roundtrip from Seattle ; the 52-day is Vancouver to Seattle .

or 2, 2024, aboard Westerdam. The 53-day is roundtrip from ; the 52-day is to . 56- or 51-Day "Tales of the South Pacific" departing Sept. 25 or 30, 2024, aboard Zaandam. The 56-day is from Vancouver to San Diego ; the 51-day is roundtrip from San Diego .

or 30, 2024, aboard Zaandam. The 56-day is from to ; the 51-day is roundtrip from . 35-Day "Australia Circumnavigation" departing Nov. 17, 2024 , aboard Westerdam. Roundtrip from Sydney .

, aboard Westerdam. Roundtrip from . 28-Day "Coral Triangle, Volcanoes and The Great Barrier Reef" departing Jan. 5, 2025 , aboard Noordam. Roundtrip from Singapore .

, aboard Noordam. Roundtrip from . 27-Day "Amazon Explorer" departing Feb. 8, 2025 , aboard Zaandam. Roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale .

, aboard Zaandam. Roundtrip from . 35-Day " Hawaii , Tahiti and Marquesas" departing Feb. 15, 2025 , aboard Koningsdam. Roundtrip from San Diego .

, Tahiti and Marquesas" departing , aboard Koningsdam. Roundtrip from . 29-Day "South Pacific Crossing" departing March 30, 2025 , aboard Westerdam. From Sydney to Vancouver .

Have It All Early Booking Bonus

For a limited time, when guests book a Legendary Voyage with the Have It All premium package, the standard package amenities of $300 shore excursion credit, three nights' specialty dining, a Signature Beverage Package and Surf Wi-Fi are included  plus the added perk of free prepaid Crew Appreciation (gratuities), along with free upgrades to the Elite Beverage Package and Premium Wi-Fi. Legendary Voyages can also be combined with other promotional fares and values.

For more information about Holland America Line, consult a travel advisor, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com.

Editors Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/lb84mxvv.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the Holland America Blog. You can also access all social media outlets via the home page at hollandamerica.com.

About Holland America Line

Holland America Line, part of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL andNYSE:CUK), has been exploring the world for 150 years with expertly crafted itineraries, extraordinary service and genuine connections to each destination. Offering an ideal mid-sized ship experience, its fleet visits nearly 400 ports in 114 countries around the world and has shared the thrill of Alaska for 75 years  longer than any other cruise line. Holland America Line's 11 vessels feature a diverse range of enriching activities and amenities focused on destination immersion and personalized travel. The best live music at sea fills each evening at Music Walk, and dining venues feature exclusive selections from a Culinary Council of world-famous chefs.

CONTACT: Bill Zucker, Erik Elvejord PHONE: 800-637-5029, 206-626-9890 EMAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE Holland America Line
Annual Competition Finds Fresh Voices While Strengthening Mental Health in Communities of Color

ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, gospel music competition How Sweet The Sound will showcase breakthrough performers in music, dance, and spoken word that are ready to reshape the gospel music industry. The live event takes place June 3, 2023, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, GA.

How Sweet The Sound will enable emerging artists to vie for cash prizes and the title of best gospel choir, soloist, dance performance, and spoken word artist. Judges include Grammy Award winner and pastor, Hezekiah Walker; Grammy Award winner, actress, author, and entrepreneur Tamela Mann; Dove Award winner and Grammy nominated artist, actress, and author Jekalyn Carr; renowned gospel choir director and Stellar Award winner Ricky Dillard; and national Billboard chart-topping choir director, syndicated radio host, and pastor J.J. Hairston. The judges, along with How Sweet The Sound's host, Grammy Award-winning song writer and record producer Donald Lawrence, will perform live at the event.

"I am so happy to see that How Sweet The Sound can continue to provide a platform for the performing arts to flourish within the faith-based community," said Nathanael Brown, an award-winning choral director, saxophonist, and CEO of Gentle Giant Music Ministries, which owns the How Sweet The Sound brand.

This year, for the first time, How Sweet The Sound will award a winner in the "Best Spoken Word Artist" category, in collaboration with the Ad Council's Mental Health Initiative. Through this ongoing partnership, How Sweet The Sound will continue to elevate the importance of mental health and encourage people in the Black community to take a proactive approach to their emotional wellbeing. This includes sharing resources like expert-vetted conversation guides from Sound It Out, which uses the power of music to help parents and caregivers have conversations about emotional wellbeing with their middle schoolers.

"We're thrilled to deepen our ongoing partnership with How Sweet the Sound and shine a light on the importance of supporting emotional wellbeing for everyone, including the Black community," said Sherry Thompson, the Ad Council's mental health campaign coalition lead.

Tickets for How Sweet The Sound are available at Ticketmaster or the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

ABOUT HOW SWEET THE SOUND

How Sweet The Sound is a national gospel music competition tour celebrating the history and sound of gospel music and dance throughout the USA. Follow How Sweet The Sound communities on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

ABOUT THE AD COUNCIL

The Ad Council is where creativity and causes converge. The non-profit organization brings together the most creative minds in advertising, media, technology, and marketing to address many of the nation's most important causes. The Ad Council has created many of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history. Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk. Smokey Bear. Love Has No Labels.

The Ad Council's innovative social impact campaigns raise awareness, inspire action, and save lives. To learn more, visit AdCouncil.org, follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter, and view the creative on YouTube.

ABOUT SOUND IT OUT

Sound It Out is a national campaign that uses the power of music to help parents and caregivers better support their middle schooler's emotional wellbeing. Created by the Ad Council, in partnership with Pivotal Ventures and a coalition of organizations, the campaign offers exclusive music from some of today's brightest stars alongside free resources and conversation guides developed by a panel of expert advisors. To learn more, visit SoundItOutTogether.org and join the community on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

ABOUT THE AD COUNCIL'S NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

In November 2022, the Ad Council launched a new Mental Health Initiative, uniting brands, marketers, media companies, and nonprofits to address the mental health crisis throughout the U.S. at scale. With a founding investment from the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the multi-year initiative aims to change social norms and create a society that is more open, accepting, and proactive when it comes to mental health.

To get involved in this effort or find resources if you're struggling with your mental health or know someone who needs help, visit adcouncil.org/mental-health.

Media Contact: Michael L. Miller

Michael Miller PR for How Sweet The Sound

(310) 776-3933

[email protected]

SOURCE How Sweet The Sound
WorldatWork's Best-in-class Certifications and Courses to Be Offered in Greece and Cyprus

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldatWork and Greek human capital consultants ICAP People Solutions announced today a global partnership to expand WorldatWork's best-in-class learning solutions to individuals and organizations in Greece and Cyprus.

ICAP People Solutions provides support to HR divisions of companies and organizations in both countries through a range of services and tools that serve all pillars of the HR function. Now they will be able to deliver WorldatWork's proprietary Total Rewards courses and certifications to new European audiences.

Through this strategic partnership, ICAP People Solutions will provide WorldatWork certifications through online and in-person classes, empowering Total Rewards professionals in Greece and Cyprus to take up leadership roles in the field while advancing their organizations.

Learners will now be able to earn WorldatWork's highly sought-after global certifications: Global Remuneration Professional (GRP), Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and Certified Sales Compensation Professional (CSCP).

"Bringing WorldatWork's decades of Total Rewards research and knowledge to our international peers is one of our most important missions," said Michael McCallum, Vice President of Global Development, WorldatWork. "The business and employment market today is truly global, and everyone benefits when the world's workers are compensated fairly and beneficially."

"Enabling our HR colleagues to access these one-of-a-kind learning opportunities and credentials is a game-changer for the region," said Elias Alevizos, President, and Group Chief Executive Officer for ICAP Outsourcing Solutions. "This key partnership with WorldatWork will ultimately create a gold standard for Total Rewards best practices in Greece and Cyprus that will empower our industries to attract and retain global talent."

Class schedules will be announced soon, and registration will open on April 3rd ,2023.

WorldatWork offers educational products and services to Total Rewards professionals through strategic partnerships serving more than 40 countries.

About ICAP People Solutions

ICAP People Solutions, a member of ICAP Outsourcing Solutions Group, provides a wide range of Human Resources Services in Greece and Cyprus offering comprehensive services of recruitment, staffing, reward, assessment, and training, adapting its solutions and tools to the needs and strategy of companies. We support organizations to create a working environment based on open communication, motivation, reward, and teamwork and therefore to achieve high levels of performance and become an Employer of Choice.

With state-of-the-art methodologies and tools, well-trained consultants and world-class strategic partners offers a complete portfolio of solutions that adds high value and flexibility to customers. For more details on ICAP People Solutions, please visit https://hcc.icappeoplesolutions.com/en/.

About WorldatWork

WorldatWork is the leading global nonprofit organization for professionals engaged in the critically important practice of compensation and rewards. We serve those who are responsible for cultivating productive, inspired, and committed workers in workplaces all around the globe. We support the design and delivery of remuneration and incentive programs and capabilities with our education and certifications; idea exchange; thought leadership; knowledge creation; information sharing; research; advocacy; and networking. For more details on WorldatWork, please visit www.worldatwork.org or follow us on Twitter: @WorldatWork and LinkedIn: @WorldatWork.

Contact:

Chris Roe, Marketing Director

4803046847

[email protected]

SOURCE WorldatWork
LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IFS, the global cloud enterprise software provider, announces the appointment of Matthias Heiden as its new Chief Financial Officer. After a four-year tenure, current CFO Constance Minc will move to the IGT Group level as Chief Financial Officer IGT1, the holding entity of IFS and WorkWave.

The appointments of Heiden and Minc follow the 5th consecutive year of double-digit growth at IFS and will come into effect from April 1st 2023.

Heiden brings a strong financial pedigree to IFS with a Ph.D. from Universitat des Saarlandes. He joins IFS from Software AG where in his role of CFO and Executive Director he played a fundamental role in driving the company's transformation and successfully led its shift to a subscription-based business model. Prior to Software AG, Heiden's positions included Group CFO at SAF-HOLLAND SE and Regional CFO and Managing Director at SAP.

IFS Chief Executive Officer Darren Roos commented: "Over the last five years, IFS has experienced phenomenal growth and as we continue our trajectory, I am pleased to welcome Matthias to the organization as Chief Financial Officer." Roos Continued, "Matthias' proven track record in the technology space will provide the financial leadership that will help us accelerate towards our goals. Matthias will report to me from his base in Germany and I look forward to him playing an integral role in shaping our investments and business strategies."

Roos concluded, "In her new executive role at the IGT Group level, Constance will lead financial strategies across both IFS and WorkWave with the goal to protect and optimize shareholder interests."

Commenting on his new appointment at IFS, Matthias Heiden said, "I am excited to have joined IFS, especially at such an important time of growth. As Constance and I work together over the next few weeks, I look forward to getting to know IFS's business better and I am committed to continue building on the outstanding foundation that has been established. I am confident that my experience and leadership will help elevate further the financial team's contribution to IFS."

About IFS

IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within our single platform, our industry specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so that our customers can be their best when it really matters to their customers  at the Moment of Service. The industry expertise of our people and of our growing ecosystem, together with a commitment to deliver value at every single step, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in our sector. Our global team of over 5,500 employees every day live our values of agility, trustworthiness and collaboration in how we support thousands of customers. Learn more about how our enterprise software solutions can help your business today at ifs.com.

IFS Press Contacts:

EUROPE / MEA / APJ: Adam Gillbe

IFS, Director of Corporate & Executive Communications

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 7775 114 856

NORTH AMERICA / LATAM: Mairi Morgan

IFS, Director of Corporate & Executive Communications

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 520 396 2155

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Public/855/3728392/98a9f2754a29aa20_org.jpg IFS appoints Matthias Heiden as CFO https://mb.cision.com/Public/855/3728392/9c770b3f25da1b05.pdf IFS appoints Matthias Heiden as CFO

SOURCE IFS
TAIPEI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infortrend Technology, Inc. (TWSE: 2495), the industry-leading enterprise storage provider, today releases an updated High Availability (HA) service to complement their EonStor GS unified storage solutions. The updated HA service supports both block- and file-level storage to fortify continuous operation capabilities, making it ideal for enterprise critical data storage systems.

EonStor GS is a unified storage system with dual redundant controllers designed for enterprises to counter against a single point of failure. Utilizing HA service with two EonStor GS storage systems at separate locations, written data are synchronized onto both storage systems. In an event where one of the systems ceases to provide service due to unforeseen circumstances, the other storage system will take over immediately, with the transfer transparent to users. This ensures continuous service and zero data loss.

The block-level HA service on EonStor GS brings great benefits to database and virtualization applications. Especially for industries such as medical, finance, telecommunication, public sector, advanced manufacturing technology can all take advantage of the active-active infrastructure to guarantee service continuity. It helps to avoid reputation damages and revenue losses caused by temporary cease of services.

The newly added file-level HA service also provides continuous service and zero data loss. It aims to accommodate modern corporate file-sharing for team collaboration with multiple user access. When a file becomes inaccessible, work will stop and it negatively affects the overall productivity. The file-level HA service can minimize the above said risks by ensuring data availability.

"Infortrend is dedicated to provide enterprises with reliable storage solutions. The newly updated HA service can dramatically maximize data availability to achieve near-zero recovery time objective (RTO) and zero recovery point objective (RPO)," said Frank Lee, Senior Director of Product Planning at Infortrend.

Learn more about EonStor GS

Connect with Infortrend on LinkedIn

Contact Infortrend to Make an Inquiry

About Infortrend

Infortrend (TWSE: 2495) has been developing and manufacturing storage solutions since 1993. With a strong emphasis on in-house design, testing, and manufacturing, Infortrend storage delivers performance and scalability with the latest standards, user friendly data services, personal after-sales support, and unrivaled value. For more information, please visit www.infortrend.com

Infortrend and EonStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infortrend Technology, Inc.; other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Infortrend Technology
Foundation Marks Five Year Milestone

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Job Research Foundation was established to underwrite research of Job Syndrome, also known as Autosomal Dominant Hyperimmunoglobulin E Syndrome (AD-HIES), a rare multisystem immunodeficiency disorder. The Foundation's main goal is to help advance research to find a cure for Job Syndrome, and in the short term, improve treatments for patients suffering from the disease.

Job Research Foundation seeks to find a cure for Job Syndrome

Since 2019 the Job Research Foundation has funded 14 scientific research projects. The scientists hail from Australia, Germany, Spain, the United States, and the UK. Additionally, the researchers are from prestigious institutions including the Garvan Institute, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, Hospital Infantil Universitario, Rockefeller University, Massachusetts General/Harvard Medical School, University of Newcastle, University of Pennsylvania, Boston Children's Hospital, University of Freiburg, Columbia University, and the DHHS/NIH. More info and research reports can be found here https://www.jobresearchfoundation.org/grant-recipients.

The $200,000 research grants are distributed over a two-year period. While the pandemic presented challenges, all scientists are back on track to complete their projects.

As stated by Dr. Alain Fischer, Chief Scientific Officer for Job Research Foundation, "The Job Research Foundation is transforming the perspective of "Job's disease." Both pathophysiology, namely the impact of STAT3 mutations on the lung function, how it heals following infection, and the clinics, for instance the impact of bone marrow transplantation and the prospect of gene therapy are being successfully investigated by scientists worldwide. JRF is truly a gamechanger."

As stated by Hongmei Mou, an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and a recipient of a Job Research Foundation grant, "My laboratory uses stem cell technology to study genetic mutations and environmental perturbations-associated lung diseases. Patients with Job Syndrome are prone to developing chronic airway infections with fungal pathogens and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. With the support from Job Research Foundation, we identified that abnormalities in airway epithelial differentiation and innate host defense are underlying mechanisms for pulmonary complications in Job Syndrome. This work created a publication and has accelerated my career growth in infectious disease modeling."

The recipients of the fifth round of grant funding are:

Dr. Maria A. Curotto de Lafaille, Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Research Project Title : "Cross-regulation of STAT signaling pathways in lung pathology of experimental HIES" (New York)

Professor Stuart Tangye, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Lab Head, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst. Research Project Title : "Immune dysregulation in Job Syndrome  elucidating mechanisms of STAT3-mediated host defense, humoral immunity and immune-mediated lung pathology" (Australia)

Previous recipients:

2019

Ellen D. Renner , MD, Translational Immunology in Environmental Medicine - TU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, ( Germany ).

, MD, Translational Immunology in Environmental Medicine - TU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, ( ). Stuart Tangye , PhD, Head, Immunology & Immunodeficiency Lab, Garvan Institute of Medical Research ( Australia )

PhD, Head, Immunology & Immunodeficiency Lab, Garvan Institute of Medical Research ( ) Bertrand Boisson , PhD, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, The Rockefeller University ( USA )

, PhD, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, ( ) Peter Olbrich , MD, PhD, Principal Investigator/Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit, and Olaf Neth MD, PhD, Principal Investigator and Head of Department/Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit; Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit, Hospital Infantil Virgen del Rocio, Sevilla ( Spain )

2020

Andrew Gennery , MD, Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies, University of Newcastle /Great North Children's Hospital ( United Kingdom ) with Alexandra Freeman , Austen Worth , Raffaele Badolato

, MD, Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies, University of /Great North Children's Hospital ( ) with Vera P. Krymskaya , PhD, MBA, FCPP, Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (USA) with Andrew Paris MD

, PhD, MBA, FCPP, Professor of Medicine, (USA) with Hongmei Mou , PhD, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School ( USA )

, PhD, Assistant Professor, General Hospital/ ( ) Scott B. Snapper, MD, PhD, Wolpow Family Chair & Director, IBD Center; Professor of Pediatrics, HMS, Boston Children's Hospital/ Harvard Medical School ( USA )

2021

Mark Gorelik , MD , Assistant Professor Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Columbia University Vagelos School of Medicine ( USA )

Assistant Professor Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Vagelos School of Medicine ( ) Toni Cathomen, PhD, Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy, and Bodo Grimbacher, MD, Professor of Experimental Immunodeficiency, Medical Center - University of Freiburg (Germany)

2022

Beate Hagle , Deputy Director Translational Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, (German) with Carola Voss

Deputy Director Translational Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, (German) with Suk See De Ravin, MD, PhD, Senior Research Physician, Chief, Gene Therapy Development Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, DHHS/NIH, ( USA )

The Job Research Foundation will start accepting the next round of grant applications in July 2023. Visit https://www.jobresearchfoundation.org/ for additional details.

Media Contact:

Risa B. Hoag, GMG PR, 845-627-3000, [email protected]

SOURCE Job Research Foundation
America's Leader in Better-For-You Beverages expands Natural Syrup Collection at the Natural Products Expo West

CLEARWATER, Fla., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jordan's Skinny Mixes , the number one brand for no sugar syrups, is introducing four new flavors to its Naturally Sweetened Skinny Syrups line debuting at Expo West taking place on March 7th through March 11th. These syrups are made with zero-calorie natural sweeteners and are free of artificial flavors and colors yet still boast a full, delicious flavor. The new varieties include French Vanilla, Caramel, Pumpkin Spice, and Peppermint Mocha, as well as the existing favorites, Vanilla Bean, Salted Caramel, Cinnamon Dolce, and Chocolate Mocha.

Jordan's Skinny Mixes Jordan's Natural Skinny Syrups

The Naturally Sweetened Skinny Syrups were created based on loyal Skinny Mixes customers' evolving needs and lifestyles. These products are the newest innovation of zero-calorie, guilt-free goodness with no artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, or funky aftertaste. Satisfy your morning coffee shop craving for a fraction of the cost, or use the syrups in smoothies, baked goods, and desserts for a delightfully sweet infusion that tastes anything but sugar-free.

"The Naturally Sweetened Syrup line has been such a fan favorite among customers, so it was a natural to add more of our most popular flavors to the collection," said Skinny Mixes founder Jordan Engelhardt.

Skinny Mixes is unveiling these new flavors at Expo West, which is being held in Anaheim, CA, this weekend. Visit us at Expo West - Hall A Booth #342 to get a taste of the new Naturally Sweetened Skinny Syrup flavors and Natural Margarita Mixes.

Skinny Mixes products are available at www.SkinnyMixes.com and over 13,000 local retailers across the US, Canada, and Europe. Images of the collection can be found here and are available for online orders.

About Jordan's Skinny Mixes:

Skinny Mixes empowers people to make healthier choices full of flavor and fun, from coffee to cocktails and everything in between. Enhance your favorite foods and beverages with guilt-free

sweetness and flavor. Skinny Mixes is the leading manufacturer of low-calorie cocktail mixes, zero-sugar coffee syrups, sauce toppings, on-the-go flavor bursts, and many other specialty beverage items and gift sets. Skinny Mixes features best-selling Skinny Syrup flavors like Salted Caramel and Vanilla and fruity flavors like its viral Mermaid flavor burst, plus their fall fan favorite, Pumpkin Spice. Skinny Mixes and Syrups are proudly produced in the USA and are Gluten Free & Kosher. Skinny Mixes can be found in over 13,000 specialty retail locations across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. For more information, please visit www.SkinnyMixes.com and follow us on social media at @SkinnyMixes.

Contact:

Tiffany Cummins

Talent Resources

925-212-4200

[email protected]

SOURCE Jordan's Skinny Mixes
Kaizen Expands Executive Team with Key C-Suite Hire to Support Future Success, Growth and Expansion

ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaizen Analytix LLC, a leading provider of data, analytics, and technology solutions, today announced the transition of Ken Bara to Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer. The announcement recognizes Bara's contributions and accomplishments to the company over the last five years while bolstering the executive team.

"Ken has made a tremendous impact since joining us and will bring proven financial expertise to Kaizen's leadership team, both as CFO and as managing partner," said Krishna Arangode, CEO at Kaizen Analytix.

Bara joins existing managing partners Krishna Arangode, Anand Srinivasan, and Jeff Anderson to strategically position and shape the future of the company in its next stage of growth.

Bara most recently served as Vice President of Business Consulting for Kaizen and has been with the company for over five years. As CFO, Bara will focus on building out Kaizen's CFO office, developing capital raising strategies, expanding sales partnerships, and guiding future expansion and growth. He will also continue to lead and grow accounts in our FP&A and Automotive consulting disciplines.

"As we increase demand for our offerings among new and existing customers, Ken will play a critical role in helping us drive operational and organizational expansion across the company and successfully managing our growth," added Arangode.

Bara is a successful financial executive and has served in several key financial roles throughout his career, working with both early-stage growth companies, as well as spending twelve years in corporate finance at Toyota Motor Corporation. Additionally, Bara spent four years in banking at Comerica Bank.

"I am excited for the opportunity to further leverage my experience with Kaizen," said Ken Bara. "I look forward to building on our strong foundation of operational and financial excellence and to help take the company to the next level."

About Kaizen Analytix, LLC

Kaizen is a leading provider of data, analytics, and technology services and solutions. We combine our subject matter expertise with our cloud platform to rapidly uncover actionable insights and generate incremental profit across the value chain. Kaizen is a certified minority-owned business headquartered in Atlanta, with offices in other major US cities and a global offshore team. For more information, visit www.kaizenanalytix.com .

Follow Kaizen on LinkedIn , Facebook and Twitter @KaizenAnalytix .

Media Contact for Kaizen Analytix:

Paulette Brown

Carabiner Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Kaizen Analytix
Leading Black and Woman Owned Candle Company Thrives Following Trademark Attack; Retail Supporters Include Amazon

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty years ago, Laguna Candles opened for business, fueled by a love for the calming effects of beautiful home fragrance and a desire to be on the cutting edge of a growing consumer appetite for cleaner burning candles. Founded by Sharie Hendricks, the company had humble beginnings in her family's kitchen and garage, a hub for experimenting with various fragrances, wax blends, packaging and more. Before long, Laguna Candles emerged as a premiere Black and woman-owned business, now enjoyed globally at the finest luxury hotels, spas and specialty stores with thousands of hand-poured, bespoke candles sold around the country and beyond.

Founder Sharie Hendricks, her husband Clarence, their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter Laguna Candles Founder Sharie Hendricks

The company has weathered storms, including intentional efforts from a sizeable retail company to diminish Laguna Candles' trademark rights. Laguna Candles was victorious in United States trademark court and has been supported by retailers including Amazon to only sell the original Laguna Candles line. Founder Sharie Hendricks calls the experience harrowing and is now focused on the future of the company and sharing their journey with other entrepreneurs.

"We are proud to celebrate the 20-year mark as a family-run Black and woman-owned business," Hendricks says. "We fought hard to protect what we've built. Even when it was tough and our trademark case went on for years, we did not stop. With much prayer and perseverance, we prevailed. We hope to inspire other business owners that when faced with Goliath-like obstacles, be prepared and determined not to let it break you."

Throughout the past two decades, Laguna Candles has made its mark with accessible and sustainable luxury, personalized customer service and bespoke, quality candles across North America, Europe, Asia and other markets.

The company is well positioned for the next chapter of success with three generations of the family working in the business, which includes the company's founder Sharie, her husband Clarence who acts as both Sales Director and Lead Artisan, their three daughters, granddaughter, son-in-law and additional staff.

This year Laguna Candles will celebrate its 20th anniversary with several special events and surprises for their loyal customer base.

Laguna Candles Business Highlights:

Started and run by a Black family of entrepreneurs  Laguna Candles is the culmination of five generations of African American entrepreneurs. As the granddaughter of two entrepreneurs, founder Sharie Hendricks always desired to run her business - and give her three daughters the option of entrepreneurship. "From the first day we opened Laguna Candles for business we have remained committed to our vision of luxury products with sustainable ingredients," Hendricks shares. She started the company with a love of candles, no experience making them and support from her husband Clarence. The family learned along the way - turning their kitchen into a candle factory before growth led them to their bustling headquarters. They have produced thousands of candles, and continue to grow.





 Laguna Candles is the culmination of five generations of African American entrepreneurs. As the granddaughter of two entrepreneurs, founder always desired to run her business - and give her three daughters the option of entrepreneurship. "From the first day we opened Laguna Candles for business we have remained committed to our vision of luxury products with sustainable ingredients," Hendricks shares. She started the company with a love of candles, no experience making them and support from her husband Clarence. The family learned along the way - turning their kitchen into a candle factory before growth led them to their bustling headquarters. They have produced thousands of candles, and continue to grow. Sought after and featured by ELLE Decor, Allure, Ellen DeGeneres and more  Laguna Candles has proven itself as an industry favorite in home and luxury having been featured by many media outlets including ELLE Decor, New York Magazine, the Los Angeles Times , Allure and more. With its private label candle services, the company works closely with entrepreneurs at every stage from new founders to household names to provide candles, including creating 16,000 candles for Ellen DeGeneres' Be Kind candle collection.





 Laguna Candles has proven itself as an industry favorite in home and luxury having been featured by many media outlets including ELLE Decor, New York Magazine, the , Allure and more. With its private label candle services, the company works closely with entrepreneurs at every stage from new founders to household names to provide candles, including creating 16,000 candles for Be Kind candle collection. Survived a Trademark Attack with Trial Victory The Hendricks Family faced every entrepreneur's worst nightmare: a large company trying to attack your brand. After three years of litigation, the United States Patent and Trademark Office upheld the Hendricks family company's trademark rights, and its registration is now incontestable.

For more information about Laguna Candles, please visit http://www.lagunacandles.com/ follow @lagunacandles or send an email to [email protected]

About Laguna Candles

Founded in 2003 by Sharie Hendricks, Laguna Candles creates luxuriously scented, hand-poured candles that can be enjoyed globally at the finest luxury hotels, spas and specialty stores. A Black and woman-owned, family run business, Laguna Candles is the culmination of five generations of entrepreneurs. As a certified Green Business, the company prides itself on its commitment to a sustainable environment and has provided private label candle collections, hotels and businesses. All products are made with a proprietary blend of natural waxes and essential oils of the highest quality.

Learn more and view the entire Laguna Candles collection at www.lagunacandles.com.

Brand Contact: Media Contact:

Skye Brown Katie Jackson

Laguna Candles Shine Army

[email protected] [email protected]

646.504.1046

SOURCE Laguna Candles
A redesigned logo and website reflect Landry & Kling's expanded range of global service offerings, while the children of war-torn Ukraine inspired the creation of a nonprofit organization, Mission of Innocents.

MIAMI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Landry & Kling Global Ship Solutions , leaders in sourcing and logistics for vessel charters, floating accommodations, and cruise events, has a redesigned website and logo to coincide with the company's 40th anniversary. In addition, the company has announced the creation of a nonprofit organization inspired by their work with displaced Ukrainian children onboard two ships in Scotland.

40 Years of Innovation

Joyce Landry (front row, center), the Landry & Kling team, and friends traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to mark the company's 40th anniversary.

When former cruise line executives Joyce Landry and Jo Kling co-founded Landry & Kling in 1982, the company was the first to specialize in corporate meetings and events at sea. They also advanced the bold idea of using cruise ships as dockside "floating hotels."

In addition to the corporate sector, the organization has expanded into new markets to solidify its position as the world leader in sourcing and managing complex and long-term vessel charters. The most recent humanitarian ship charter project provides temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees in Scotland.

Landry & Kling Redesigned Website and Logo

Landry & Kling's redesigned website was designed to work effortlessly with desktop and mobile devices and reflects the company's resilience and evolution. The site provides resources and solutions for those seeking dockside or offshore accommodations, ships for meetings and events, special interest/music charters, or disaster relief/humanitarian aid vessels.

"Over the years, we have expanded our service offerings while broadening Landry & Kling's global reach across several sectors," said Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry Kling. "We are proud of our new website and look forward to providing creative ship and vessel solutions to meet the unique needs of our clients."

The new Landry & Kling/ LK logo design features bold geometrics and colors inspired by the ocean and earth. The previously red K now has two shades of blue evoking the sky and sea and is anchored by green to signify Landry & Kling's commitment to sustainability. The new tagline, "Global Ship Solutions," represents the company's broader scope of customized client solutions.

Sustainable Ships Rebranded Website

In 2020, Landry & Kling launched SustainableShips.com to promote sustainable cruise industry practices. The refreshed website features a new look and logo consistent with Landry & Kling's rebranding and provides resources for corporate and group travel planners seeking responsible travel options.

Mission of Innocents Nonprofit Organization

Landry & Kling is managing multiple ship charters in Scotland to provide temporary housing for over 2,000 Ukrainian refugees, including more than 800 children. This project inspired the creation of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Missions of Innocents.

Joyce Landry explains, "This year, we have been honored to work with the Scottish government to provide floating accommodations for displaced Ukrainians. We have witnessed them face this difficult time with courage and optimism, but the children especially touched our hearts. We helped create a children's program onboard two vessels to encourage self-expression and healing through music, dance, art, and sports. Watching the Ukrainian children rediscover joy through this program inspired the founding of Mission of Innocents."

The organization's mission is to help displaced children from war, climate devastation, and political refugees find joy. It nurtures their self-worth and heals through expression, using art, music, dance, education, sports, and play.

To learn more about Mission of Innocents and make a donation, visit https://www.missionofinnocents.org/ .

About Landry & Kling

Since 1982, Miami-based Landry & Kling Global Ship Solutions has provided ship solutions and custom logistics for cruise meetings and incentives, ship buy-outs, offshore vessel projects, disaster relief/humanitarian aid, and dockside charters for global government and sporting events. The company is an approved vendor with FEMA and has assisted with numerous government contracts. Landry & Kling is an approved minority women-owned business certified by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. (WBENC).

Contact:

Laura Steele

[email protected]

Direct: +1 305-564-1498

SOURCE Landry & Kling Global Ship Solutions
HOUSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexitas, a leading provider of technology-enabled litigation services and a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax, announced its acquisition of Enright Court Reporting. Enright Court Reporting was established in 1991 by Colleen West. Based in Long Island, New York, this acquisition strengthens Lexitas' growing presence in the Northeastern market.

"We are thrilled to welcome Colleen West and her top-tier team to the Lexitas family. The addition of Enright Court Reporting will expand the depth and quality of our offerings in the greater New York market, as well as further enhance our operations team in the region. Colleen and the Enright team are a perfect fit with our culture and will play a critical role in our continued growth. We are incredibly fortunate to have them join us and look forward to the wonderful things we will accomplish together." said Nicole Arango, President  Court Reporting Division at Lexitas.

Colleen West, Founder and President of Enright Court Reporting, said, "I am thrilled and honored to join the Lexitas family. For over 30 years I have put my heart and soul into growing Enright and working with our team of court reporters and employees to provide our clients with excellent, warm, and professional service. I couldn't be more proud and grateful to everyone who took part in this journey. Lexitas understands the importance of personal relationships and shares our values, while providing exceptional service. It is exciting to know we will be able to offer many new services to our clients while allowing our team to continue to bring the same level of comfort and customer service. I am truly looking forward to this next chapter with Lexitas!"

Founded in 1987, Lexitas is a leading national provider of legal support services to law firms, corporations, and insurance companies. Services include court reporting, record retrieval, process service, registered agent, legal staffing, document review and commercial contracts outsourcing. For more information visit https://lexitaslegal.com and https://www.enrightcorp.com/.

SOURCE Lexitas
Life is Good now available in Men's sizes 1XL through 7XL at select DXL retailers and online.

BOSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Life is Good , the original positive lifestyle brand, is now available in extended sizes through an exclusive partnership with DXL Big + Tall. This partnership combines DXL's expertise in fit, merchandise assortment, and experience within men's big and tall apparel with Life is Good's mission to spread optimism through uplifting art and messages.

The launch includes an assortment of short-sleeve t-shirts featuring Life is Good graphic designs selected specifically for the DXL customer in sizes up to 7XL. This collection of men's tees will be available at the beginning of March in select DXL locations and on DXL.com.

Life is Good, the original positive lifestyle brand, is now available in extended sizes. Tweet this

"Life is Good is excited to announce a new partnership with men's big and tall expert DXL, which allows us to offer several of our iconic outdoor and positive-lifestyle themed graphics in extended sizes," said Tom Hassell, President of The Life is Good Company. "Our customers have been asking for extended sizing for many years, and we are thrilled to partner with industry leader and expert DXL, to bring this collection to life."

DXL offers one of the most extensive assortments of men's big and tall clothing and shoes in the United States, with proven success partnering with various global brands, making them the perfect partner for Life is Good.

"At DXL, Big + Tall is all we do, and we trade on the belief that we offer superior fit, assortment, and experience to him," said Harvey Kanter, President and Chief Executive Officer of DXL. "We believe this leads to a relationship with our customers built on respect, trust, and belonging. We exist to provide the Big + Tall man with the freedom to choose his own style, to wear what he wants to wear. Life is Good will further enhance our exclusive assortment."

Life is Good at DXL is available starting at the beginning of March in select stores and DXL.com.

About Life is Good 

Life is Good is the original positive lifestyle brand dedicated to spreading the power of optimism through art and message. The company donates 10 percent of annual net profits to The Life is Good Playmaker Project. Through this work, they are able to help over 1 million kids in need each year. Life is Good is a registered trademark of The Life is Good Company. Visit LifeisGood.com for more details, and follow Life is Good on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram , and TikTok.

PR Contact

Life is Good

Jessica Greenhalgh  [email protected]

SOURCE Life is Good
PLYMOUTH, Mich., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Loc Performance ("Loc") recently completed the installation of new equipment at its facility in St. Marys, Ohio to support the company's growing Trackman brand, which supplies tracks for leading agricultural applications. The newly installed build machine will add capacity to the early-stage process of raw material wrapping prior to the final cure press and improve efficiency and safety. These enhancements will allow Loc to meet the growing industry demand for its Trackman products.

Paul Menosky, chief operating officer, Loc Performance, and Krista Larmore, plant manager, Loc Performance St. Marys, in front of the new equipment which will expand capacity for Loc Performance's Trackman products to meet increasing customer demand.

"This investment is an important step supporting the long-term growth of our Trackman brand, specifically our fully molded rubber wide tracks," said Jason Atkinson, president and chief executive officer, Loc Performance. "With this new equipment we will be even more adaptive and flexible to our customers' needs as their business grows."

Trackman is a Loc Performance brand which offers advanced rubber tracks for agricultural and construction applications, such as tractors and pavers. Trackman's fully-molded, steel-reinforced design offers extended track life, superior tensile strength and improved alignment. Trackman was the first to introduce the positive drive and grain cart rubber track to the agriculture industry more than 20 years ago, and under Loc Performance the brand has solidified its reputation as the toughest track on the market.

The installation began in late 2022 and full production on the new equipment began in early 2023. The St. Marys plant is already reaping the immediate production benefits of the equipment, including 25% more carcass capacity, improved throughput, and quicker changeovers.

"This equipment allows us to improve our product management on the plant floor," said St. Marys plant manager, Krista Larmore. "This results in reduced lead-time, increased versatility and the ability to bring new product to market faster."

With the new equipment comes new jobs. The St. Marys facility recently added four new employees to operate the equipment. The capital investment for the new equipment was made in partnership with the Jobs Ohio Economic Development Grant.

About Loc Performance

Loc Performance, headquartered in Plymouth, MI, provides track systems, mechanical systems, armor products, fabricated structures, and rubberized products for military, agricultural, and construction applications. With proven capabilities in product design and development through production, Loc offers comprehensive solutions and exceptional customer service to produce the highest quality products at competitive pricing. Loc has over 1,750,000 square feet of manufacturing space with facilities in Plymouth, Lansing, and Lapeer, Michigan, and St. Marys, Ohio with more than 980 total employees. Learn more at www.locperformance.com.

SOURCE Loc Performance Products
Robotic Technology Based on Revered Japanese Ike Jime Technique

AUBURN, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Your next salmon dinner may be courtesy of a robot. LocalCoho, a land-based aquaculture company that raises premium Coho salmon, is the first commercial customer of Shinkei Systems, a technology start-up that uses robotics and machine learning to automate fish harvesting.

LocalCoho, itself a start-up with expansion plans, shares Shinkei Systems' mission to improve fish taste, texture and quality, increase efficiency and reduce waste. The company currently hand harvests its fish.

Inside LocalCoho's Land-Based Coho Salmon Farm An Older Shinkei Machine-LocalCoho to Get First Commercial Model

"There are the ethical reasons why we focus on good harvest practices and we're always looking to further improve quality. The machine is taking it to a whole other level," says LocalCoho CEO Michael Fabbro. "We're already producing premium quality farmed salmon. This is a great way to be different and offer a truly superior fresh product."

To achieve this, Shinkei has automated a traditional Japanese slaughter technique called Ike Jime that is revered by sushi chefs and seafood aficionados. In conventional harvesting the slaughter can lead to high levels of fish stress and subsequent poor flesh quality and shorter shelf life. Shinkei's process euthanizes the fish instantly using high pressure water jets at the back of the head. An additional water jet creates a tail cut to start exsanguination.

The result is better-tasting, longer-lasting fish because the quick and more humane kill prevents the release of lactic acid among other chemicals that deteriorate flesh quality, says Shinkei founder Saif Khawaja, who likens Ike Jime to Kosher and Halal butchering.

Shinkei's robotic process achieves the same high quality as the manual Ike Jime technique, Khawaja says. "We've built and tested many initial prototypes after long nights in the shop, and we're excited to partner with LocalCoho for our industrial version."

LocalCoho plans to start using the machine this month and to sell the salmon via online retailer FreshDirect and elsewhere. FreshDirect, known for delivering "the highest quality, freshest food," introduced LocalCoho to Shinkei.

LocalCoho is poised for growth. The company received significant funding in November 2022 from seafood industry veterans including Rodger May of Peter Pan Seafood, to increase harvest capacity and continue to improve husbandry practices. As part of the Shinkei partnership, it has exclusive use of the technology for Coho salmon production.

Andy Quinn, chef/owner of The Noortwyck restaurant in New York City, serves fish harvested with Shinkei equipment. "The fish they provided us is the kind I've been hoping for in a dream world  I'd almost given up hope and then in through my door they came."

About LocalCoho

LocalCoho is an American salmon company raising Coho salmon in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Salmon are grown indoors from egg to harvest using Recirculated Aquaculture Systems (RAS) technology. This cutting-edge technology aims to optimize resource use and minimize impact on the local environment and wildlife. The company seeks to innovate and produce healthy, delicious local food for a more sustainable future. LocalCoho now supplies premium salmon to chefs and consumers throughout the Northeast U.S. region. The company is BAP (Best Aquaculture Practices) certified and a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch "Best Choice." For more information, go to localcoho.com.

About Shinkei Systems

Shinkei builds robotics to automate traditional fish handling and processing. Shinkei has run multiple pilots across vessels and farms with operational hardware and has already tripled the shelf-life of clients' products. Shinkei is an American R&D startup backed by Y Combinator (voted a TechCrunch Top Company), as well as many prominent Silicon Valley angels and investors. For more information go to shinkei.systems.

Photos : Please click here.

Media Contact

Louise Kramer, [email protected] or 917-734-1563

SOURCE LocalCoho
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], Korea Aerospace Industries and Red 6 Aerospace announced a new partnership that will deliver advanced 21st Century Security capabilities across a spectrum of training and combat aircraft.

The partnership will initially bring Red 6's revolutionary augmented reality platform, the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), into the TF-50 and variants. The system gives pilots and ground operators new capabilities to see and interact with synthetic threats in real-time, high-speed environments.

Lockheed Martin TF-50 Red 6 Aerospace Helmet

"Readiness and lethality are critical if our warfighters are to prevail against peer adversaries. Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries aircraft are ideal platforms for our Augmented Reality system. Advanced aircraft, together with ATARS technology, will deliver a paradigm shift in the quality, quantity, and cost of training future pilots," said Daniel Robinson, Founder and CEO of Red 6.

Lockheed Martin recently submitted the TF-50A variant in response to the U.S. Air Force's February 2023 request for information for a two-seater aircraft to cover three near-term missions including tactical training, adversarial air support and to serve as a tactical fighter surrogate. The TF-50A is configured as a light attack fighter/trainer with additional enhancements to include radar, electronic warfare system, tactical data link, and other capabilities to meet Air Combat Command requirements.

While the ATARS system is initially targeted for the TF-50 and variants, it could eventually be applied to operational Lockheed Martin platforms such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35.

"Our vision is to help our customers leverage emerging technologies to seamlessly and securely connect all assets in the joint battlespace and enable fast and decisive action," said OJ Sanchez, Vice President and General Manager, Integrated Fighter Group at Lockheed Martin. "Lockheed Martin has made significant advances across the board in digital engineering and open architectures during the past few years, as well as strategic partnerships. These are enabling us to accelerate development, production, upgrades, responsiveness and sustainment across our platforms.

"One such example is this new partnership with Red 6, and we look forward to building advanced capabilities that support our customers' needs," Sanchez continued.

Red 6 is a Lockheed Martin Ventures portfolio company.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 116,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Please follow @LMNews on Twitter for the latest announcements and news across the corporation.

About Red 6

Red 6, founded in 2018, is the creator of Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), Combined Augmented Reality Battlespace Operational Network (CARBON), and Augmented Reality Command and Analytic Data Environment (ARCADE). Red 6 systems are the first wide field-of-view, full color demonstrably proven outdoor augmented reality solution that operate in dynamic outdoor environments. Together, they bring virtual and constructive assets into the real-world by allowing pilots and ground operators to see synthetic threats in real-time, outdoors, and critically, in high-speed environments.

SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.

Class Period: June 13, 2020 to December 31, 2022

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: March 13, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in LUV:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/southwest-airlines-class-action-submission-form?id=37033&from=4

Southwest Airlines Co. NEWS - LUV NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Southwest Airlines Co. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Southwest continuously downplayed or ignored the serious issues with the technology it used to schedule flights and crews and how the Company stood to be affected worse than other airlines in the event of inclement weather; and (2) the Company did not discuss how its unique point-to point service and aggressive flight schedule could leave it prone in the event of inclement weather; and (3) as a result, defendants' statements about Southwest's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Southwest you have until March 13, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Southwest securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the LUV lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/southwest-airlines-class-action-submission-form?id=37033&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

[email protected]

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com

SOURCE The Klein Law Firm
HOUSTON and LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) will host a Capital Markets Day on Tuesday, March 14 from 8:30 a.m.  12:30 p.m. EDT. CEO Peter Vanacker and members of the Executive Committee will present the company's long-term strategy to drive shareholder value, business objectives, capital allocation priorities and financial outlook.

This event will take place at the New York Stock Exchange, for registered attendees only, and will also be available via webcast.

Webcast Details

A live webcast will be accessible on www.LyondellBasell.com/investorevents at the time of the event. For those who are unable to attend in-person or watch the webcast live, a recording of the 2023 Capital Markets Day webcast will be available via the company's website within 24 hours of the conclusion of the event.

Presentation Slides

Presentation slides will be available at the time of the event. Afterwards, the slides will be available via the Investor Events page on the company website.

Related Disclosures

Reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures and any other applicable disclosures will be available at www.LyondellBasell.com/investorevents.

About LyondellBasell

As a leader in the global chemical industry, LyondellBasell strives every day to be the safest, best operated and most valued company in our industry. The company's products, materials and technologies are advancing sustainable solutions for food safety, access to clean water, healthcare and fuel efficiency in more than 100 international markets. LyondellBasell places high priority on diversity, equity and inclusion and is Advancing Good with an emphasis on our planet, the communities where we operate and our future workforce. The company takes great pride in its world-class technology and customer focus. LyondellBasell has stepped up its circularity and climate ambitions and actions to address the global challenges of plastic waste and climate change. For more information, please visit www.lyondellbasell.com or follow @LyondellBasell on LinkedIn.

SOURCE LyondellBasell Industries
C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Financial Corporation ("Manulife") today announced that after having taken into account all election notices received by the March 6, 2023 deadline for conversion of its currently outstanding 8,000,000 Non-cumulative Rate Reset Class 1 Shares Series 11 (the "Series 11 Preferred Shares") (TSX: MFC.PR.J) into Non-cumulative Floating Rate Class 1 Shares Series 12 of Manulife (the "Series 12 Preferred Shares"), the holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares are not entitled to convert their Series 11 Preferred Shares into Series 12 Preferred Shares. There were 117,415 Series 11 Preferred Shares elected for conversion, which is less than the minimum one million shares required to give effect to conversions into Series 12 Preferred Shares.

As announced by Manulife on February 21, 2023, after March 19, 2023, holders of Series 11 Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive fixed rate non-cumulative preferential cash dividends on a quarterly basis, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Manulife and subject to the provisions of the Insurance Companies Act (Canada). The dividend rate for the five-year period commencing on March 20, 2023, and ending on March 19, 2028, will be 6.15900% per annum or $0.384938 per share per quarter, being equal to the sum of the five-year Government of Canada bond yield as of February 21, 2023, plus 2.61%, as determined in accordance with the terms of the Series 11 Preferred Shares.

Subject to certain conditions described in the prospectus supplement dated November 27, 2012 relating to the issuance of the Series 11 Preferred Shares, Manulife may redeem the Series 11 Preferred Shares, in whole or in part, on March 19, 2028 and on September 19 every five years thereafter.

The Series 11 Preferred Shares have not been and will not be registered in the United States under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities in the United States and any public offering of the securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation
Strait of Canso area businesses explore local supply of green liquid oxygen and other products

HALIFAX, NS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Two Nova Scotia based companies developing world leading projects  EverWind Fuels' (EverWind) green hydrogen project in Point Tupper and Maritime Launch Services Inc.'s (NEO: MAXQ) (OTCQB: MAXQF) (Maritime Launch) Spaceport Nova Scotia near Canso, are working on a green liquid oxygen supply agreement that will further solidify both companies' sector-specific leadership positions and strengthen each party's positive impact on the local economy and environment.

Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada (CNW Group/EverWind Fuels Company) Maritime Launch (CNW Group/EverWind Fuels Company)

EverWind and Maritime Launch announced today they have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore the potential of a customer-supplier relationship for EverWind to supply liquid oxygen, and other products, such as green hydrogen, to Maritime Launch. Green liquid oxygen is an output from EverWind's planned green hydrogen facility in nearby Point Tupper and is required for the operation of launch vehicles from Spaceport Nova Scotia.

Spaceport Nova Scotia, North America's first commercial spaceport, is currently under construction and will provide satellite delivery services to clients in support of the rapidly growing space transportation industry over a wide range of inclinations.



EverWind Fuels is developing the first independent green hydrogen and green ammonia project in North America to receive an Environmental Approval and amongst the first in the world. EverWind is expected to begin construction in the first half of 2023.

Maritime Launch expects to be operational in 2024, and EverWind Fuels in 2025.

"Securing a local, green source of liquid oxygen to supply our launch vehicles and support our launch operations will complement Spaceport Nova Scotia's location-based competitive advantage in the global space sector," said Stephen Matier, President and CEO of Maritime Launch Services. "By working together, we will reduce the carbon footprint of our spaceport with a local source of green liquid oxygen as opposed to transporting it from out-of-province. We are excited at the prospect of bringing two Nova Scotian global sector first movers together in a supply agreement that is good for business, good for Nova Scotia, and good for our planet."

EverWind already has signed offtake Memorandums of Understandings (MOUs) with German energy giants Eon and Uniper for over one million tonnes per annum of green ammonia. The company however is always looking to support local, emerging green energy transition opportunities.

"EverWind is establishing Nova Scotia as a clean energy hub to supply the huge demand for green fuels in the global energy transition, with a commitment to supply 10% of the green hydrogen volume for domestic use, primarily in Nova Scotia, potential supply agreements like this is proof that building a new industry in Canada and Nova Scotia also unlocks our ability to speed up our own domestic energy transition and provide green fuels" said Trent Vichie, CEO of EverWind Fuels. "Local decarbonization through use of locally produced green hydrogen and liquid oxygen makes sense, especially with EverWind and Maritime Launch being virtual neighbours in the Strait of Canso."

Through the LOI, both companies have committed to collaborating to reach mutually acceptable terms and conditions that will result in a definitive supplier services agreement.

Recognition of the Mi'kmaw & their Ancestral Territory

EverWind Fuels and Maritime Launch acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people, and we acknowledge them as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land, Mi'kma'ki. Our work shares a core principle practiced by the Mi'kmaq: environmental stewardship. We are committed to working with the Mi'kmaq through consultation, engagement and delivering a comprehensive partnership on all aspects of the project.

About Maritime Launch Services

Maritime Launch is a Canadian-owned commercial space company based in Nova Scotia. Maritime Launch is developing Spaceport Nova Scotia, a launch site that will provide satellite delivery services to clients in support of the growing commercial space transportation industry over a wide range of inclinations. Spaceport Nova Scotia will allow launch vehicles to place their satellites into low-earth orbit. Spaceport Nova Scotia is Canada's first commercial orbital launch complex.

About EverWind Fuels

EverWind is North America's leading independent green hydrogen developer, building a 1 million tonne per annum green ammonia facility. The first phase is permitted and set to produce and export 200,000 tonnes per annum starting in 2025 then achieve the full 1 million tonnes per annum volume by 2026. EverWind owns and operates the deepest ice-free berth on the East Coast of North America, with world class access to rail, roads and pipelines. Our safety-first culture reflects a highly skilled and extensively certified workforce, with a stellar safety record.

EverWind works with some of the largest European energy companies, leading hydrogen & ammonia equipment suppliers, and financial advisors. These relationships will support the strategic and expeditious development of the next phase of our Nova Scotia project, including a 2 GW wind farm, which is expected be the largest in North America.

EverWind has three First Nations equity partners and is a champion for meaningful engagement with Rightsholders and the advancement of social and economic reconciliation. At a local level, the Company works closely with municipalities and stakeholder organizations.

Leveraging our Nova Scotia development experience, EverWind is also pursuing a sister project on the Burin Peninsula in Newfoundland & Labrador. This project will consist of a 2 GW wind farm to produce green hydrogen and ammonia, very similar to the second phase of the Nova Scotia project.

EverWind is led by Trent Vichie, a co-founder of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, and a former Blackstone Partner. EverWind's executive team members have previously held CEO and C-Suite positions at various infrastructure, private equity, renewable power and utility companies and their investment experience totals more than $45 billion in capital projects over the past two decades.

For More Information

Lynn Hammond

EverWind Fuels

www.everwindfuels.com

[email protected]

709.330.1260

Sarah McLean

Maritime Launch Services Inc.

www.maritimelaunch.com

[email protected]

902.402.6947

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements - EverWind

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by EverWind. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. EverWind does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments.

Forward Looking Statements  Maritime Launch Services

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the timing of spaceport construction and ability to launch medium class vehicles.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to continue to develop revenue-generating applications; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the continued growth of the Company; the Company's ability to finance its operations until profitability can be achieved and sustained.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; risks associated with potential governmental and/or regulatory action with respect to the Company's operations; the inability of the Company to provide the enumerated services; and availability of launch vehicles.

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 news 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.

SOURCE EverWind Fuels Company
The unified customer data, analytics, and marketing automation platform Ortto, formerly Autopilot, continues to see double-digit monthly growth a year on from its rebrand. The martech company now has more than 3,000 customers globally and was recognized in 49 categories in G2's biannual report.

SYDNEY, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortto, which started as Autopilot Journeys in 2015, rebranded in early 2022 following the launch of a revolutionary new platform that allows marketers to effortlessly connect previously siloed data sources to get a complete view of their customers. Marketers can analyze and operationalize this data without the need for specialized support, enabling them to deliver personalized customer journeys at scale, increasing the impact of their campaigns with powerful event-based triggers and AI-content optimization. In the year since the rebrand, Ortto's users have built some 5,000 journeys and sent more than 210 million emails to their customers, contributing to the company's sustained 16% month-on-month growth.

Ortto helps data-driven marketers easily build powerful reports to understand whats working and make decisions with confidence. Dashboards allow teams to pin key reports to a shared space so they never lose sight of key metrics. Visually design journeys that automate personalized messages and trigger actions across the customer lifecycle with Ortto.

The powerful platform received the 'High Performer' badge in 11 categories in the G2 Winter 2023 reports, including marketing automation and marketing platform, across multiple regions (APAC, ANZ, Europe , UK, etc.)

, UK, etc.) Ortto was also awarded the 'Best estimated ROI' badge and the 'Easiest to use' badge in the customer journey mapping categories, as well as the 'Users Love Us' badge.

The platform was also ranked number one for data personalization by SoftwareReviews.

Customer, Mica Shtewi, Tech Manager at Pattern, comments:

"When you're moving into a world we're moving into, you have so many data sources that you're trying to bring together and various communications to get clients moving through the sales process. We needed something flexible that works and had a robust integration with Salesforce, and with Ortto we can target people the way we want to target them."

Michael Sharkey, CEO and co-founder of Ortto, comments:

"Everyone recognizes the importance of data in building better, more personalized customer experiences, but the problem is, for many businesses, this data is located across a number of different tools and isn't easily accessible to marketers. That's why we rebuilt our platform to make it easy to bring all of that data together in one place and remove the barriers to entry, so marketers have ready access to the data they need without having to lodge a ticket or learn SQL. The response to the new platform has been incredible - not only from our Autopilot customers, who are realizing new value through Ortto, but also from new customers who have come on board in the past year."

About Ortto

Ortto, the world's first complete marketing automation, AI and analytics platform, empowers marketers to act with confidence and increase their impact on revenue. By combining three powerful tools into one intuitive platform, teams finally benefit from their customer data, messaging, and analytics working together.

Sophisticated yet easy to use, more than 3,000 customers trust Ortto to understand their impact, discover their next marketing opportunity, and continuously iterate to deliver great customer experiences at scale. Learn more at: www.ortto.com

Launched in 2015, Ortto's team is located in Australia, Europe and the US. To date, the company has raised $35M in venture funding from backers including Blackbird, Rembrandt and Salesforce Ventures.

SOURCE Ortto, Inc.
DALLAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MedCore Partners, a healthcare and senior living commercial real estate company, announces the hiring of Angela Dreiske as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 17, 2023. In her role, Angela will design and manage all aspects of MedCore's accounting division and help enhance and refine the company's financial strategy and operations.

Angela Dreiske

"Angela brings an abundance of pertinent experience and leadership to our organization," said Nick Farris, Partner at MedCore. "We are very excited to have her insight and skillsets to bolster the MedCore vision and team."

Prior to joining MedCore, Angela was the Senior Vice President of Accounting for the Investment Management team at Stream Realty Partners in Dallas. While at Stream she managed five discretionary funds and separate account mandates totaling over $1.7 billion in equity and three of Stream's co-investment vehicles. Before her time at Stream, she was a Senior Manager at Standish Management, a third-party administrator, with $450 billion in assets under management. At Standish, Angela worked exclusively on the Crow Holdings funds. Angela holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of Texas.

"I am thrilled to join the MedCore team as the company continues its work in healthcare and senior living services," said Angela Dreiske, Chief Financial Officer at MedCore. "MedCore has a promising future, and I am excited about the opportunity to help build on its strengths."

About MedCore Partners

About MedCore Partners, LLC - Based in Dallas-Fort Worth, MedCore Partners is a full-service real estate company dedicated exclusively to the healthcare and senior living industry. By leveraging off both its intimate knowledge of the dynamics of the medical sector and its comprehensive platform of real estate services, MedCore is uniquely qualified to identify and capitalize on healthcare projects around the nation and to maximize the potential profits returned to its investors. Over their careers, the principals of MedCore have led the development and investment efforts for healthcare projects around the country that have been valued in excess of $1 billion in addition to executing brokerage transactions for over 1,500 physicians. This level of experience within the medical real estate industry has allowed MedCore's principals to build trusted relationships with both healthcare providers around the United States as well as numerous capital sources.

SOURCE MedCore Partners
DUBLIN, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Medical Tent Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The medical tent market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 3.40% from 2022 to 2028.



One of the major driving factors for the market's growth is the growing natural hazards and medical emergencies. The use of inflatable medical tents is rising in the military, owing to troops stationed worldwide and increasing military investments. The global medical tent market is expected to rise considerably due to increased usage of tents in the military segment, medical emergencies, and rescue operations.



Tripledemic: Another Expected Driving Factor For The Medical Tent Market

Tripledemic describes a simultaneous increase in COVID-19, influenza (the flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases. While all three viruses are present in the U.S., they aren't each peaking simultaneously. Pediatric RSV and flu cases are now down; however, COVID-19 continues to increase in adults; and cases of adults with flu are declining in the elderly and somewhat stable among younger adults.

Flu, COVID-19, and RSV are all respiratory viruses. Influenza and COVID-19 both have a history of increased infection rates during the winter months, and it's common for RSV cases to increase early in the year (in 2022, this occurred even earlier, starting before the New Year). The simultaneous increase has been attributed to various possible factors, including weakened immune systems and vaccine hesitancy due to isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the "Tripledemic" continues to grow, pediatric hospitals are overflowing, seeing an unusually high number of sick patients, many of whom are at or near capacity. Among the three viruses, RSV is surging the most among kids and is gradually filling hospital beds.

Currently, COVID-19, flu, and RSV cases are high across the U.S., with RSV and flu seeing sharp increases in recent weeks. Due to the combined impact of COVID-19, flu, and RSV among children, several pediatric hospitals are struggling right now, which is adding tents outside to handle the "Tripledemic" surge" in the U.S. The wait times have increased more than ever, and hospitals are urging patients to take their children to primary care doctors or urgent care facilities before going to the hospital.

In addition, most of the youngest U.S. kids have still not received a COVID-19 vaccine, according to federal health data, as hospitals struggle to handle a deluge of patients with respiratory viruses. Across the U.S., many hospitals are close to or at capacity, leading to limited hospital beds and hours-long wait times in emergency departments. For Instance, Boston Children's Hospital has postponed elective surgeries, and Johns Hopkins Children's Center has reopened COVID-19 triage tents to help manage overflow. On 9th November 2022 , a tent was set up in the ambulance bay at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora due to a rise in RSV cases among kids around the state.

MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Increasing Military Bases and Geopolitical Issues

The U.S. is the leading country with the highest number of military bases in foreign countries and continues to increase its military bases. Japan has about 120 U.S. military bases, Germany has 119, South Korea has 73, and Italy has 44. Japan has about 54,000 U.S. military personnel, Germany has around 34,000, and South Korea has about 26,000. Further, the Chinese military basing efforts at the international level have become a topic of great international interest and scrutiny. China has likely considered 13 countries for military-basing access, including Angola , Kenya , Seychelles , Tanzania , Cambodia , and the UAE. In August 2021 , India announced building a military base on Agalega island.

has about 120 U.S. military bases, has 119, has 73, and has 44. has about 54,000 U.S. military personnel, has around 34,000, and has about 26,000. Further, the Chinese military basing efforts at the international level have become a topic of great international interest and scrutiny. has likely considered 13 countries for military-basing access, including , , , , , and the UAE. In , announced building a military base on Agalega island. Geopolitical risks play a major role in the growth of the medical tent market. The Russia - Ukraine war has contributed to the overall growth of the medical tent market. Russia has suffered about 180,000 killed or wounded in Ukraine so far, while the figure for the Ukrainians is 100,000 military casualties and 30,000 dead civilians as of 23rd January 2023 . Several international and regional companies offer a wide range of medical tents for the military segment.

Technological Advancements

To remain competitive in the medical tent market, vendors have been focusing on meeting the challenges associated with traditional medical tents. As a result, to address the challenges, several vendors are focusing on developing innovative and technologically advanced medical tents. These innovations and advancements include multi-purpose tents equipped with portable features and easily deployable tents.

Extreme Marquees (EM), an Australian premier supplier of leading custom printing tents, is the manufacturer of a line of 'Infectious Disease Fast Deployment Inflatable Isolation Modules,' which are easy to set up, lightweight, and portable. AKS Industries, one of the prominent vendors in the medical tent market, has developed the BLU-MED XP Medical Shelter System, which can be deployed and fully set up in less than 15 minutes. This system gives government agencies, NGOs, cities, municipalities, hospitals, emergency management services, and first responders the ability to respond quickly to disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide. It is engineered for high wind and snow loads, which is also easy to carry and store.

Multi-Purpose Medical Tents



Multi-purpose tents have recently gained high demand as it meets all-in-one application. JUMEI TENT TECHNOLOGY and NSR Relief are the leading companies in the medical tent market, offering multi-purpose tents. JUMEI TENT TECHNOLOGY's heavy-duty, rapidly deployable clear-span tents are ideal for multi-purpose hospital use, including emergency shelters, temporary quarantine, triage screening areas, medical screening, medical testing, medical isolation, mobile field hospitals, food distribution centers, drive-thru testing stations, medical supplies warehouses.



Increasing Demand for Negative Pressure Isolation Tents



Negative pressure isolation tents are a type of hospital tent used to keep patients with infectious illnesses or patients prone to infections from others away from other patients, visitors, and healthcare staff. It is a common infection control method to isolate patients with contagious, airborne diseases such as measles, tuberculosis, SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. They are called negative pressure tents because the air pressure inside the tent is lower than the air pressure outside the room. Hence, when the door is opened, potentially contaminated air or dangerous particles from inside the room does not flow outside into non-contaminated areas. AKS Industries, UTILIS, Stretch Event Tents USA, and Instent Industries are some of the leading companies in the medical tent market offering negative pressure isolation tents.



SEGMENTATION INSIGHTS

INSIGHTS BY TYPE



The pop-up type segment accounted for the highest global medical tent market share in 2022 due to its easy setup feature, ease to carry, and easy maintenance. Further, inflatable medical tents have gained popularity over the years and have become more reliable and convenient. The U.S. alone is leading in the global inflatable medical tents landscape due to its high demand in military areas and for rescue operations, as the country is the leading country in terms of the highest frequency of natural disasters occurring. North America currently holds just under a one-third share of the global revenue, which is attributed to the widening application base in the military. However, the high development cost of advanced inflatable tents and high purchase costs are likely to hinder the growth of the medical tent market during the forecast period. The adoption of these medical tents is comparatively lower in APAC, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa due to their high cost.



INSIGHTS BY APPLICATION



The global medical tent market by end-user is segmented into critical care, screening, patient isolation, and others. The screening segment accounts for the highest revenue share in the application segment owing to increasing demand for triage and pre-triage tents, where COVID-19 played a major role in the segment's highest share. Worldwide, as a large volume of patients in hospitals led to overcrowding in the hospitals, nations were compelled to adopt medical tents not only in hospitals but also in public areas for screening and COVID-19 vaccinations. Vendors are developing medical tents for various purposes, such as medical supplies storage, medical waste disposal tents, decontamination, and multipurpose tents.



INSIGHTS BY END-USER



The rapid spread of COVID-19 infections was the catalyst for hospitals' growing adoption of medical tents, accounting for the highest share of hospitals in the end-user segment. The global medical tent market by hospitals was valued at USD 827.90 million in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 980.25 million by 2028. The Ebola, cholera, and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the urgent requirement for rapidly deployable surge medical tents in hospitals to provide screening, patient isolation, and treatment. In California, U.S., several hospitals have set up large "surge tents" outside their emergency departments to accommodate and treat flu patients, followed by COVID-19.

Segmentation by Geography

North America

US

Canada

Europe

Germany

Russia

France

Italy

Spain

UK

APAC

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina

Middle East & Africa

& South Africa

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Key Company Profiles

Liri Structure

Instent Industries

HDT Global

ZINGERLE GROUP

LANCO

Other Prominent Vendors

AKS Industries

ACI Design

Allied Healthcare Products

Celina

Extreme Group

Glow Inflatables

JUMEI TENT TECHNOLOGY

J.B. Roche

NRS Relief

RODER Group

Stretch Event Tents USA

Shenzhen Shoulder Tent

Sabir Textile Industries

SPANTECH

TentCraft

UTILIS

YIJIN GROUP

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED

How big is the global medical tent market?

What is the growth rate of the medical tent market?

Who are the key players in the global medical tent market?

What are the growing trends in the medical tent market?

Which region holds the most significant global medical tent market share?

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1bt1z3

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
Doctor outlines key differences among RSV and other respiratory conditions

KENILWORTH, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This winter, cases of COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) struck households across America. News coverage of the potential for a so-called "tripledemic" dominated many headlines and left patients and parents with questions about RSV. In a new editorial on MerckManuals.com, Brenda L. Tesini, MD, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, breaks down what people should know in particular about RSV, especially given all the attention it's received this winter.

RSV Concerns for Young  and Older Patients

Parents of young children, along with older individuals and their caregivers, should be most concerned about RSV, says Tesini. In babies and young children, parents and caregivers should keep a close eye out for fast breathing or babies "working hard" to breathe, she says, including muscles pulling between the ribs or use of more of the body to take breaths. If children are having difficulty breathing, they should be taken to the hospital right away.

RSV and COVID-19 have Similar Symptoms but how they Spread is Different

There can be overlap in the symptoms of RSV, COVID-19, and the flu, says Tesini. One key difference between COVID-19 and RSV, however, is in how the viruses are commonly spread. RSV spreads most commonly through contact with sick kids and the virus they may leave on surfaces. Kids and others touch their faces where the virus is present and then touch other things, which someone else then touches. Parents and caregivers should take steps to prevent the spread of RSV in childcare settings and at home, says Tesini. That means regularly wiping down surfaces, avoiding sharing utensils, and staying home if you're sick.

Testing for RSV

Most respiratory illnesses have similar treatments primarily focused on managing symptoms, says Tesini. That means testing to determine which specific virus is causing those symptoms is not always necessary.

Additionally, some patients and parents assume they need to see a medical professional for treatment, says Tesini. Antibiotics aren't commonly used to treat viruses like RSV, and other medicines and treatment options continue to be studied. In fact, staying away from healthcare settings has a few distinct advantages, says Tesini. You're not exposing others to the virus and you're avoiding exposure to other potentially contagious conditions.

Still, Dr. Tesini says if you do notice your young child is having difficulty breathing, you should head to the emergency room immediately. Otherwise, a call to your family doctor or pediatrician is a good first step to determine if a visit is necessary.

You can read more about RSV in Dr. Tesini's editorial on MerckManuals.com.

About The Merck Manuals and MSD Manuals

First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians and pharmacists, The Merck Manual grew in size and scope to become one of the world's most widely used comprehensive medical resources for professionals and consumers. As The Manual evolved, it continually expanded the reach and depth of its offerings to reflect the mission of providing the best medical information to a wide cross-section of users, including medical professionals and students, veterinarians and veterinary students, and consumers. In 2015, The Manuals kicked off Global Medical Knowledge 2020, a global initiative with the goal to make the best current medical information accessible by up to three billion professionals and patients around the world by 2020. The Manuals achieved that goal, and today its medical information is available in more than 241 countries and in 13 languages. It's continuing its ambitious mission through outreach, education and creating new reliable medical resources. For access to thousands of medical topics with images, videos and a constantly expanding set of resources, visit MerckManuals.com or MSDManuals.com and connect with us on social media: For Consumers in the U.S. and its territories: Twitter and Facebook. For Professionals in the U.S. and its territories: Twitter and Facebook

About Merck

At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world  and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

SOURCE The Merck Manuals
TYSONS, Va., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroTech has been awarded a $78M Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contract for Managed Telecommunications Services on their Veterans Technology Services 2 (VETS 2) Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). MicroTech will support the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and the Digital Service Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to perform telecommunications services.

The contract includes the operation, management, and support of CDC's integrated VoIP and analog telephony; PBX equipment, services, and peripherals; and Unified Communications (UC) and peripherals, as well as the management and maintenance of CDC's cable infrastructure for voice, paging, and data networks including CDC's cellular Distributed Antenna System (DAS) and communications/voice-related support equipment. MicroTech will also manage circuits and trunking as well as, but not limited to, Primary Rate Interface (PRI), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), T1, T3, ISDN, and Analog communications circuits to all endpoints within the environment. MicroTech will operate and manage the CDC telecommunications services from Atlanta, Georgia, and will serve Government sites located throughout the United States.

"CDC is a great organization with an incredibly important mission, and we look forward to providing them with excellent support, services, and solutions that incorporate innovative management ideas and processes and outstanding telecommunications technologies," said Tony Jimenez, President & CEO of MicroTech.

About MicroTech: MicroTech, a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Verified and Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), has had noteworthy success since its inception in 2004. Under MicroTech's outstanding leadership, the privately-owned company has experienced exponential growth over the years and is repeatedly recognized as a small business success story. Regularly described as one of the "hottest Hispanic businesses in the nation," MicroTech was ranked as the #1 Fastest-Growing Hispanic Company in the Nation for three consecutive years by Hispanic Business Magazine.

MicroTech is a Managed Service Provider (MSP), providing Telecommunication Services, Cyber Security Solutions, Cloud Computing, Infrastructure Services & Solutions Information Technology, Professional Services, Network Systems Integration, Research & Development, Leasing/Financial Services, and Unified Communications Services and Solutions. The services and solutions we provide are less expensive than what it would cost an enterprise to perform the work itself, and the work will be at the highest level of quality and with more flexibility and scalability. MicroTech provides Support to Federal, State, and Local Government Agencies, the public sector, as well as commercial enterprises and is ISO 9001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, and ISO 20243 certified, as well as CMMI Maturity Level 3 rated in both CMMI Services (CMI-SVC) and CMMI Development (CMMI-DEV).

Media Contact:

Jennifer Berman

[email protected]

SOURCE MicroTech
Leases are currently under negotiation at the new addition to Mohr Logisitics Park

WHITELAND, Ind., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mohr Capital recently added more than 800,000 square feet to Mohr Logistics Park, their master-planned industrial park in Whiteland, Indiana. The recent delivery of Lot 5 is located at 5365 North Graham Road and features 846,260 square feet of 40' clear height cross dock distribution facility space and was completed in December 2022.

One lease for 513K SF has been signed and a lease for the remaining space is currently under negotiation, with two tenants expected to occupy the entire building in the summer of 2023.

More than 800,000 square feet of Class 'A' modern bulk industrial space added to Mohr Logistics Park Tweet this Mohr Logistics Park

"With the development of Lot 5, Mohr Logistics Park has delivered an additional 846,260 square feet of Class 'A' modern bulk industrial space to our Park," said Gary Horn, Mohr Capital chief development officer. "Mohr Capital has another 600,000 square feet under construction. The master plan calls for nearly 7 million square feet, and leasing activity remains impressive, with tenants attracted to the quality of construction and premier location."

Mohr Capital partners for Lot 5 include Pepper Construction, Curran Architecture, and American Structurepoint. Mark Writt with CBRE handles the leasing.

About Mohr Capital

Mohr Capital is a privately held real estate investment firm specializing in the acquisition, development and value exchange of office, industrial, healthcare, hospitality and retail assets throughout the U.S. The Mohr Capital team has decades of experience in commercial real estate and has completed more than $2.5 billion in transactions. Guided by a value-driven strategy and an entrepreneurial spirit, the company relies on strong, long-term relationships and possesses keen market insights needed to capitalize on undervalued and underperforming properties. With its family office structure, Mohr Capital can close quickly and has a proven track record of delivering the highest risk-adjusted returns.

To learn more about Mohr Capital, visit: https://www.mohrcap.com.

SOURCE Mohr Capital
Offering unique experiences of traditional Japanese culture

TOKYO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With Japan's borders now fully open again, My Taiken, a bespoke travel specialist, announces the launch of their new cultural concierge service for luxury travel designers planning trips to Japan for their clients. Founded by Sebastien Moncus in 2017 and based in central Tokyo, My Taiken works directly with partners from across the travel industry to design private personalized experiences of traditional Japanese art forms. With their deep connections and links to Japanese cultural institutions and practitioners, My Taiken puts unforgettable cultural experiences within reach for today's most discerning guests.

Master of Noh theatre holding a traditional Noh mask, and preparing for the performance.

Founder Sebastien Moncus is originally from Brittany in France but has spent the last 10 years living in Japan. He launched My Taiken with his brother-in-law, the 20th Grand Master of one of Japan's five Noh families. Noh theater, originating in the 14th century, is one of Japan's most renowned classical artforms combining music, dance and drama. As the only foreigner in Japan to be part of a Noh family dynasty, Sebastien created My Taiken to give guests the opportunity to experience Japanese culture in the way he does.

"Japan is home to exquisite and refined cultural artforms passed down and preserved over generations. Many of these still form an important part of Japan's culture today. But until now, these artforms have been hard for travelers to experience. So I'm thrilled to welcome guests to Japan again, and to design experiences for them that they'll remember for decades to come."

Sebastien Moncus, Founder, My Taiken

Beyond rare opportunities to experience Noh behind the scenes, My Taiken can design bespoke experiences with renowned experts across a huge range of traditional Japanese art forms - from Ikebana flower arranging to tea ceremonies, calligraphy experiences and much more. With their bespoke approach, My Taiken aims to not only give their guests a deeper appreciation of the true complexity of Japanese culture, but to support and sustain traditional artforms for future generations. For more information on My Taiken services, please contact [email protected]

My Taiken:

My Taiken is an independent travel consultant offering services across Japan. Founded in 2017, My Taiken is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and offers white label bespoke cultural experiences guided by founder Sebastien Moncus and certified local instructors for global travel agents, destination management companies and travel designers.

SOURCE My Taiken
DURHAM, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Net Friends, a managed IT services provider, today announced the launch of a new service: NetCore for Servers. Managed Services for Servers allows small and medium businesses to bring the core engines of their business to a high level of performance and availability.

"We are no longer in an era when downtime is tolerated," says John Snyder, Net Friends CEO. "We are in the 'Anywhere Operations' age, and businesses need solutions that are designed to protect critical operations from the threat of downtime. NetCore for Servers is how we enable you to confidently rely on your technology to support your business."

Businesses protected by NetCore for Servers have the assurance that their workforce and workflows are constantly inspected for any drift or deviation from standards, triggering both automated and human responses to restore the system to full and normal function. Businesses also need to have predictable costs so their technology spend doesn't sprawl or a handful of IT investments do not consume too much of their overall IT budget. Net Friends has fashioned NetCore for Servers to ensure it delivers value and results.

NetCore for Servers features 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) support complemented by industry leading monitoring and management capabilities. The Net Friends NOC team leverages a suite of proprietary solutions and products to ensure that any anomalies are detected. There are no surprises or up-charges for customers, as NetCore for Servers includes an all-inclusive contract with all services delivered at a low fixed monthly rate. Customers of NetCore for Servers also benefit from the guidance of our leadership team and customer success team, which leverages decades of combined experience applying proven industry best practices and tactics.

NetCore for Servers complements other preventative service offerings from Net Friends, such as NetVisor (people-centric managed services) and NetCore (network infrastructure managed services).

About Net Friends

Net Friends provides comprehensive managed IT services, managed infrastructure services, and IT staffing to clients in North Carolina and across the U.S. We are the preferred technology partner for managed services, delivering fast, flexible, and effective technical expertise and solutions that have fueled our clients' success for over 25 years. We believe in people, and we love to see our customers and community thrive. Learn more at www.netfriends.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact

John Snyder

CEO, Net Friends

(919) 680-3763

[email protected]

SOURCE Net Friends
London and New York Rank Number One and Two as the Most Desirable Megacenters in 2022, Followed by Shanghai , Beijing , and Los Angeles

Only Eight Cities Received Higher Ratings from Their Own Residents in 2022 Than They Did in 2021

48% of City Residents Who Responded to a Global Survey Are Considering Relocating to a New Metropolitan Area

BOSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ease, more residents are moving between cities50% of urban residents have already relocated to a new city, and 48% are considering moving in the future. These are among the findings of the latest Cities of Choice report released today by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report, titled Cities of Choice: Are People Happy Where They Live?, draws on surveys of more than 50,000 people in 79 cities around the world to determine what makes urban residents want to move, and conversely, what makes them want to stay.

"Relocating is easier now than ever before. The challenge for urban leaders is to determine what makes their residents happy so they can retain current residents and attract new ones," said Vladislav Boutenko, a BCG managing director and senior partner, and a coauthor of the report. "To do this, urban leaders need to delve into the nuances of how their city works bestor doesn't."

The Most Desirable Cities to Live In

The report divides cities into four groupsmegacenters, cruiser weights, middleweights, and developing citieson the basis of their socioeconomic profiles. To become a leader in BCG's Cities of Choice rankings, cities must demonstrate leadership across five dimensions: economic opportunities, quality of life, social capital, interactions with authorities, and speed of change.

Megacenters. London and New York rank number one and two as the most desirable megacenters to live in, repeating their performance from BCG's 2021 Cities of Choice report. While the two cities performed well in terms of economic opportunities, quality of life, social capital, and interactions with authorities, they scored lower on speed of change, signaling their top spots could be vulnerable in the coming years. As a group, however, megacentersdefined by their populations of more than 10 million peopleshowed below-average results in the economic opportunities dimension.

London and rank number one and two as the most desirable megacenters to live in, repeating their performance from BCG's 2021 report. While the two cities performed well in terms of economic opportunities, quality of life, social capital, and interactions with authorities, they scored lower on speed of change, signaling their top spots could be vulnerable in the coming years. As a group, however, megacentersdefined by their populations of more than 10 million peopleshowed below-average results in the economic opportunities dimension. Cruiser Weights. For cities with an urban population of more than 3 million people, Washington, DC , Singapore , and San Francisco emerged as the group's leaders. While cruiser weight cities have higher scores in the interactions-with-authorities dimension, they did not fare as well in dimensions such as social capital and speed of change.

For cities with an urban population of more than 3 million people, , , and emerged as the group's leaders. While cruiser weight cities have higher scores in the interactions-with-authorities dimension, they did not fare as well in dimensions such as social capital and speed of change. Middleweights. As a group, middleweight citiesdefined as medium-sized cities with an urban population of less than 3 million peopleperformed the best, with 18 of the 28 cities receiving overall scores above-the-median score. With Copenhagen , Vienna , and Amsterdam taking the top three spots, middleweight cities stand out for receiving high quality-of-life scores.

As a group, middleweight citiesdefined as medium-sized cities with an urban population of less than 3 million peopleperformed the best, with 18 of the 28 cities receiving overall scores above-the-median score. With , , and taking the top three spots, middleweight cities stand out for receiving high quality-of-life scores. Developing Cities. These cities, characterized by their high growth rate and rapid urbanization, can be distinctly identified for their high speed of change but lower quality of life. Bangalore , Mumbai , and Delhi lead this group.

The COVID-19 Pandemic's Influence on City Ratings

The survey's findings reveal that the pandemic had a detrimental impact on cities' scores in 2022, with only eight cities receiving higher ratings from their own residents than they did in 2021.

Residents were less optimistic when assessing their cities, downgrading their ratings across all quality-of-life dimensions. Residents also said they saw fewer attractive career opportunities and reported less certainty in professional self-realization.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has become a strong test of the resilience of most cities. In fact, many cities have not yet fully emerged from it," said Hans-Paul Burkner, BCG's global chair emeritus, and a coauthor of the report. "Leaders must grapple with the question: What are the imperatives for the future to ensure that urban residents will live happily in these cities? People have changedand cities must too."

Download the publication here:

https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/cities-of-choice-are-people-happy-where-they-live

Media Contact:

Eric Gregoire

+1 617 850 3783

[email protected]

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholdersempowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Comprehensive Analysis of Measurement Data for Engineers and Researchers

BERLIN, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The data analysis software imc FAMOS from manufacturer imc Test & Measurement, an Axiometrix Solutions brand, announces the newest version of its data analysis software: imc FAMOS 2023. With new assistants and wizards, it aims for improved usability by making workflows more efficient and supports test engineers, researchers, and technicians with sophisticated data import, analysis, and visualization functions. Microsoft 365 (Office) is fully supported via OLE to add a professional touch to presentations.

imc FAMOS 2023 Software: Comprehensive Analysis of Measurement Data for Engineers and Researchers

imc FAMOS, a comprehensive, powerful, and easy-to-use software for the visualization and analysis of test and measurement data, provides data import from any data source and enables the easy creation of customized format converters. A new Channel Selection Assistant improves the import of multi-channel data such as automotive fieldbus data (e.g. CAN) with intelligent rule-based selection mechanisms. The extended Excel Interface supports bidirectional data exchange in any imaginable way: across multiple files, with multiple sheets, selective ranges, and individually addressable cells.

Among the usability improvements is the full support of FAMOS data files with the standard Microsoft Windows Explorer Preview. It immediately displays a preview of the measurement curve along with imc FAMOS-specific metadata without the need to open imc FAMOS. The improved Quick View Window gives an instant overview of a data set. Visualization graphs now include the popular bubble chart type for multi-dimensional data and allow filling the area between two curves. The new Curve Window Assistant and a completely reworked Function Assistant assure users quick learning curves and get them easily acquainted with abundant functionalities.

For professional presentations, imc FAMOS data curves can now be integrated into Microsoft 365 (Office) documents as OLE objects that embed the entire data content. This allows for dynamic navigation, zooming, and formatting from within Microsoft PowerPoint, for example.

Go to https://info.imc-tm.com/New-in-imc-Famos-2023 for more information and a free 30-day trial version of imc FAMOS 2023.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2015415/imc_FAMOS_2023_Software.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2015416/imc_Logo.jpg

SOURCE imc Test & Measurement GmbH
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 1994, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) has been Nigeria's foremost pro-democracy group based in Washington D.C. NADECO's goals and singular mandate has always been to fight for the rule of law and democracy in Nigeria as Nigeria's watchdog of democracy.

NADECO alleges the election results pronounced by the Independent National Electoral Commission ("INEC"), February 25-26, 2023, are fundamentally at odds with Nigerian election laws and constitute wholesale disenfranchisement of Nigerian voters caused by the pervasive rot of Nigeria's increasingly kleptocratic political structure.

NADECO demands that INEC draw back its curtains to let the full light of truth prove the transparency and veracity of the 2023 electoral processes. It is without question that nearly all of the electoral reforms implemented to safeguard the 2023 Nigerian elections have been savaged by INEC and scattered to the winds of tyranny. It is beyond debate that initial investigation into the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Elections inexorably discloses that Nigeria's most recent election is the polar opposite of transparency, fairness and electoral integrity. This election was polluted by blatant bribery and widespread corruption  even INEC has itself admitted to its abject failures to comply with the requisite transparency laws mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to the public, instead opting to cloak the electronic results in darkness before emerging with a declared rather than proved "winner" who is presently incapable of being fully embraced by the World.

NADECO maintains that the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Election is an attempt to disenfranchise the Nigerian people through the Four Horsemen of the Democracy's Doom - bribery, intimidation, insecurity and vote rigging, all harnessed to skew the results of the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Election. NADECO calls upon the People and the Judiciary of Nigeria and the International Community to join together in a concerted effort toward global condemnation and absolute rejection of the hasty, hollow and illegitimate result declared by INEC as being contrary to the will of the people and the rule of law.

NADECO will present a press release event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on March 8, 2023, beginning at 12:00 noon, EST, to lead a global call for action to address INEC's duplicity that endangers democracy in the Giant of Africa.

Media Contact: Bruce DelValle, 386-852-1969, [email protected]

SOURCE National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)
Infosys research reveals a blueprint for the 21st century enterprise focused on live data, responsible risk-taking and product-centricity

BANGALORE, India, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 7% of companies have the correct combination of culture and operating structure to boost growth from digital technologies, according to new research from the Infosys Knowledge Institute, the thought leadership arm of Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting.

Digital Radar: The Next Digital Frontier, surveyed 2,700 business executives across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India, and found that companies that make decisions based on high quality, transparent data and build a culture of responsible risk-taking are more likely to deliver profitable growth in today's tough macro-economic conditions. In addition, organizing around products, not process, gets new products to market faster, increasing early-mover advantage.

This research suggests three differentiators for success: use data internally, design organization culture to take responsible risks and organize the business around products. Companies that excel in these capabilities enjoy increased profit, brand perception, and employee as well as customer engagement. However, our report found that less than 10% of firms have mastered these three differentiators, highlighting significant opportunities for those that do.

Live Data: The report finds that only 5% of firms currently implement what it defines as a universal 'live data' approach. This is defined as data that is high-quality, timely, and readily available across the organisation. These data practices drive profit through better innovation and new product speed to market. For instance, companies that follow robust data practices for decision-making improved their new product introduction capability by as much as 85%.

Product-centricity: Companies that organize their teams around their product offerings, instead of business functions, are 50% more likely to be top performers in new product introduction and improve both employee and customer engagement significantly. Yet only half of respondent companies are currently organized in this way, highlighting a tremendous market opportunity.

Responsible risk-taking culture: Finally, a company that takes responsible, considered risks, backed by live data, is more likely to create products faster, retain employees, and increase profit than those that do not. We identified five culture levers that can improve innovation fivefold: flexible leadership style, leadership and employee diversity, data-driven leadership, rapid test-and-learn, and encouraging risk-taking.

Together these findings further highlight that digital success is contingent on the way a company organizes itself around technology, rather than being something that can be delivered by technology alone.

Mohit Joshi, President, Infosys, commented; "We are at a time when businesses and consumers are facing change, tough macro-economic headwinds, and a challenging competitive environment. Leaders must see this period as an opportunity to think differently, unlock new structures and ways of working to drive much needed innovation and growth. Yet, in practice, very few businesses are accomplishing this. The opportunity lies in the hands of the C-suite to develop a 21st century enterprise that builds resilience, agility, and growth into their operating models."

Jeff Kavanaugh, VP and Global Head at Infosys Knowledge Institute, said; "The 2023 Digital Radar reveals a new frontier for business. It outlines three areas to spark innovation and bottom-line growth, showing that highly successful firms recognize the relationship between live data, product-centricity and a responsible-risk taking culture. These companies are a step ahead on their digital journey while caring for people and planet."

To read the full report, visit here.

Methodology

Infosys Knowledge Institute used an anonymous format to conduct an online survey of 2,700 business executives across industries across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India. To gain additional, qualitative insights, the researchers interviewed subject matter experts and business leaders. Linear regressions were then used to analyze which technologies and business practices correlate with profit and revenue growth.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Media contacts:

For more information, please contact: Dena Tahmasebi, Director of Communications EMEA, Infosys: [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Infosys
Learning Undefeated has teamed up with the Port of Corpus Christi in environmental safety and sustainability initiative.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. and CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The leading U.S. port in total revenue tonnage has partnered with STEM nonprofit Learning Undefeated to teach high school students about environmental sustainability through their newest innovation, the Breakout Box: Environmental Mission. This new STEM program empowers and educates high school students about current environmental issues while also opening career opportunities in the energy industry.

PORT-Able Learning Lab

STEM educators from the nonprofit collaborated with subject matter experts from Port of Corpus Christi to custom-design this new experience, which builds participant STEM skills through the lens of current environmental issues. Students explore a variety of environmental strategies and assess each strategy's ability to meet goals while also taking into account criteria such as cost, impact on the local community, sea turtle migration patterns, and other ecological factors.

"When students step into the PORT-Able Learning Lab, they are immersed in an adventure that requires them to use the practices of science and engineering while learning how to be good environmental stewards," said Jennifer Colvin, Chief Innovation Officer of Learning Undefeated. "The Port of Corpus Christi generates nearly one hundred thousand jobs in our Coastal Bend community. This new PORT-Able Learning Lab allows future innovators to explore career paths in the maritime industry and learn about real-world considerations, like time, budget, and environmental factors."

The Breakout Box: Environmental Mission is a brand-new experience that is part of the PORT-Able Learning Lab , an immersive learning theater housed in a traveling 22-foot shipping container. High school participants are immersed in an environmentally-focused STEM adventure to build a new cargo ship dock using computational thinking and the practices of science and engineering to crack a series of puzzles to help the Environmental Team decide on mitigations for a new dock site.

For more information about Learning Undefeated, visit https://www.learningundefeated.org/ .

About Learning Undefeated

Learning Undefeated provides life-changing STEM experiences for under-resourced communities by providing equitable access to education and inspiring students to imagine their own success. Through innovative and experiential education programs for grades K-12, we are promoting gender and race equality in STEM careers and building the workforce that will drive the innovation economy. Learning Undefeated's flagship education program features mobile STEM labs that have provided hands-on learning opportunities to over one million K-12 students in all 50 states since 2003. The nonprofit's Drop Anywhere Lab won 2022 Best of STEM Awards for the Social Impact: Promoting Diversity & Equity Inclusion category.

Learning Undefeated also operates several other celebrated STEM education programs, including the Young Science Explorers Program, a summer camp for middle school students, Advancing Tomorrow's Leaders in STEM (ATLAS) College and Career Exploration Program, STEM Leadership Experience, student competitions, after-school programs, curriculum development and disaster recovery education.

Visit learningundefeated.org or follow us on social media @LearningUNDFTD.

About the Port of Corpus Christi

As a leader in U.S. energy exports and a major economic engine of Texas and the nation, the Port of Corpus Christi is the largest port in the United States in total revenue tonnage. Strategically located on the western Gulf of Mexico with a 36-mile, soon to be 54-foot (MLLW) deep channel, the Port of Corpus Christi is a major gateway to international and domestic maritime commerce. The Port of Corpus Christi has excellent railroad and highway network connectivity via three North American Class-1 railroads and two major interstate highways. With an outstanding staff overseen by its seven-member commission, the Port of Corpus Christi is "Moving America's Energy." For more information about the Port of Corpus Christi, visit www.portofcc.com.

SOURCE Learning Undefeated
A global leader in motion and fluid control technologies implements Syncron Price to automate and optimize dynamic pricing.

CHICAGO , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Syncron today announced that Norgren, part of IMI plc, a global leader in designing and manufacturing motion and fluid control technologies, has selected Syncron Price to automate and streamline pricing operations, elevate the customer experience and improve efficiency and profitability.

"We needed an automated tool to maximize visibility, increase efficiency and create consistency across the entire work product range," said Gianluca Fogu, EMEA pricing manager, Norgren. "Since our business involves product configuration, we needed a streamlined solution for full visibility across our entire portfolio and increased operational efficiency."

Syncron Price is an intelligent parts pricing platform that transforms pricing strategies with a fit-for-purpose solution. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), it identifies unseen pricing opportunities to maximize sales volumes, revenue and service profitability from aftermarket business.

Furthermore, Syncron Price analyzes historical and current pricing data to make intelligent pricing decisions and segment new parts as they get added to the supply chain. An intuitive, highly configurable solution with out-of-the-box functionality, Syncron Price offers tools to visualize parts pricing data with customizable dashboards and ad-hoc reports to quickly identify pricing opportunities for greater profitability across the entire supply chain.

"With sophisticated technology that guarantees price competitiveness, Syncron Price optimizes dynamic pricing on a global scale," said Anneliese Schulz, chief revenue officer, Syncron. "Syncron Price equips organizations like Norgren to respond proactively to fluctuating market conditions for a more streamlined approach."

To learn more about Syncron Price, visit https://www.syncron.com/price .

About Syncron

Syncron helps manufacturers and distributors capitalize on the new service economy by optimizing aftermarket profitability, increasing customer loyalty and enabling the transition to servitization. Syncron aligns all aftermarket services with its Connected Service Experience (CSX) cloud platform, helping companies differentiate themselves through exceptional aftermarket experiences while driving significant revenue growth. The world's top brands trust Syncron, making it the largest privately-owned global leader in intelligent service lifecycle management SaaS solutions. For more, visit syncron.com .

About Norgren

A well-respected world leader in motion control and fluid technology, Norgren is ideally placed to unearth Breakthrough Engineering solutions and play an active role in important industry sectors that contribute to the quality and success of everyday life. Norgren offers insight, technical excellence and a collaborative approach, to help our customers forge a brighter future. Norgren's reputation rests on a world-class portfolio of high-performance products, comprising of Bimba, Buschjost, FAS, Herion, Kloehn and Maxseal; and an ability to deliver exceptional local service. Part of the UK-listed FTSE 250 engineering company IMI plc, Norgren has a sales and service network in 55 countries, technical centres in the USA, Germany, UK and China, and manufacturing facilities around the world. Further information is available at www.norgren.com .

About IMI plc

IMI plc, the specialist engineering company, designs, manufactures and services highly engineered products that control the precise movement of fluids. Its innovative technologies, built around valves and actuators, enable vital processes to operate safely, sustainably, cleanly, efficiently and cost effectively. IMI employs around 10,000 people, has manufacturing facilities in 18 countries and operates a global service network. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Further information is available at www.imiplc.com .

IMI, Norgren, Bimba, Buschjost, FAS, Herion, Kloehn and Maxseal are registered trademarks of IMI and Norgren companies.

SOURCE Syncron
CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American healthcare IT industry is expected to experience strong growth in the near future. The aging population, increased demand for healthcare services, and advancements in technology are driving the need for innovative healthcare IT solutions. As a result, the healthcare IT industry is expected to experience an accelerated rate of adoption of new and innovative healthcare IT solutions. The focus of the healthcare IT industry is on developing solutions that enable healthcare providers to provide better care at lower cost. This includes developing solutions that enable providers to manage patient data more efficiently, improve communication between providers and patients, and enable better decision making and data analysis. Additionally, there is a need for solutions that allow healthcare providers to better monitor and manage population health.

North American Healthcare IT Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $193.2 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach $496.7 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Growth in this market is driven by the opportunities offered by the market such as growing inclination towards home healthcare, increasing deployment of cloud based EMR solutions. However, IT infrastructural constraints in developing countries and resistance from traditional healthcare providers are expected to challenge the growth of this market to a certain extent.

Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1190

Browse in-depth TOC on "North American Healthcare IT Market"

198 - Tables

47 - Figures

318 - Pages

North American Healthcare IT Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2022 $193.2 billion Estimated Value by 2027 $496.7 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% Market Size Available for 20202027 Forecast Period 20222027 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product & Services, Component, End user, and region. Geographies Covered US, Canada, Mexico Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Rising use of healthcare IT solutions in outpatient care facilities Key Market Drivers Growing need to curtail escalating healthcare costs

The services segment accounted for the largest share in the North American healthcare IT market, by component

The North American healthcare IT market, by component, is segmented into hardware, software, and services. In 2021, the services segment accounted for the largest market share. The growth of the services segment can be attributed to the complex software used in HCIT that require integration and interoperability, hence extensively trained professionals. Moreover, the software updates and upgrades, pertaining to the changing healthcare regulations, is further fueling the demand for HCIT services.

By type, the clinical HCIT solutions segment registered the highest growth in the healthcare provider solutions market during the forecast period

The clinical HCIT solutions segment is projected to register the highest growth in the North American healthcare IT market. The increasing demand for improved patient safety and patient care, stringent regulations regarding healthcare providers are the major driver for the growth of this market.

Request for FREE Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=1190

North American Healthcare IT Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Growing need to curtail escalating healthcare costs Favorable government mandates and support for healthcare IT solutions Shift toward patient-centric healthcare delivery High returns on investments associated with healthcare IT solutions

Restraints:

High cost of deployment of healthcare IT solutions for small and mid-sized organizations

Opportunities:

Increasing use of healthcare IT solutions in outpatient care facilities Growing inclination towards home healthcare Increasing deployment of cloud based EMR solutions Growing blockchain, AI, and IoT markets Expanding mHealth, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring markets

Challenges:

Lack of integration of healthcare IT solutions Increased data security concerns Reluctance among medical professionals to adopt advanced healthcare IT tools Dearth of skilled IT professionals in healthcare industry

Key Market Players:

Cerner Corporation (US), Veradigm, Inc. (Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.) (US), Mckesson Corporation (US), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), Optum, Inc. (US), Oracle (US), Change Healthcare (US), Cognizant (US), GE Healthcare (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Epic Systems Corporation (US), Athenahealth (US), Infor (US), Dell Technologies, Inc. (US), CVS Health (US), IBM (US), EClinical Works (US), Nextgen Healthcare, Inc. (US), Greenway Health, LLC (US), Nvidia Corporation (US) are the major players in this market. These companies are majorly focusing on the strategies such as acquisitions, product launches, agreements, collaborations, partnerships, and expansions in order to remain competitive and further increase their share in the market.

Recent Developments

In October 2022 , Optum acquired Change Healthcare. The acquisition will connect and simplify the core clinical, administrative, and payment processes that providers and payers depend on to serve patients, resulting in lower costs and a better experience for all stakeholders. The company announced plans to acquire Change Healthcare in 2021.

, Optum acquired Change Healthcare. The acquisition will connect and simplify the core clinical, administrative, and payment processes that providers and payers depend on to serve patients, resulting in lower costs and a better experience for all stakeholders. The company announced plans to acquire Change Healthcare in 2021. In June 2022 , Cerner partnered with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. The Oracle Cerner EHR and Xealth's digital therapeutic distribution platform made it easier for Hazelden Betty Ford clinicians to personalize patient care by assigning them digital content, including therapeutic education, exercises, and workshops, accessible via the EHR's patient portal.

, Cerner partnered with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. The Oracle Cerner EHR and Xealth's digital therapeutic distribution platform made it easier for Hazelden Betty Ford clinicians to personalize patient care by assigning them digital content, including therapeutic education, exercises, and workshops, accessible via the EHR's patient portal. In March 2022 , Cognizant (US)) collaborated with Microsoft (US). The collaboration aimed to deliver a new digital health solution to enhance remote patient monitoring and virtual health, utilizing products like smart watches, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters to collect and communicate patient health data to providers for improved medical care.

Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=1190

North American Healthcare IT Market Advantages:

Highly Connected: North America has a highly connected and well-developed healthcare IT infrastructure, which enables healthcare providers to quickly and easily access digital health records, analyze data, and share information, providing better patient care.

has a highly connected and well-developed healthcare IT infrastructure, which enables healthcare providers to quickly and easily access digital health records, analyze data, and share information, providing better patient care. Advanced Technologies: North America is leading in the development of advanced technologies, such as electronic health records, telemedicine, digital imaging, and artificial intelligence. This gives healthcare providers access to the latest tools to improve patient outcomes.

is leading in the development of advanced technologies, such as electronic health records, telemedicine, digital imaging, and artificial intelligence. This gives healthcare providers access to the latest tools to improve patient outcomes. Streamlined Processes: Healthcare IT in North America has streamlined processes and improved efficiency, which saves time and money. This also improves the quality of care and reduces costs.

has streamlined processes and improved efficiency, which saves time and money. This also improves the quality of care and reduces costs. Quality Information: North American healthcare IT systems provide high-quality information and analysis, which supports decision-making and patient care.

Cost-Effective Solutions: North America provides cost-effective, innovative solutions to healthcare providers, resulting in improved patient care and lower costs.

provides cost-effective, innovative solutions to healthcare providers, resulting in improved patient care and lower costs. High Security Standards: North American healthcare IT systems are highly secure, which helps protect patient data and privacy. This ensures patient safety and prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information.

North American Healthcare IT Market- Report Highlights:

SUMMARY OF CHANGES:

The competitive landscape chapter has been updated with the market evaluation matrix and an evaluation matrix for start-ups. The chapter also includes the revenue share analysis of the top players and the competitive scenario of the global market.

The impact of the recession has been included in the research methodology chapter.

Updated Financial Information/Product Portfolios of Players:

The new edition of the report provides updated financial information until 2021 for each listed company in a single diagram (instead of multiple tables). This will easily help analyze the present status of profiled companies in terms of their financial strength, profitability, key revenue-generating regions/countries, business segment focus in terms of the highest revenue-generating segments and R&D investments.

Updated Market Developments of Profiled Players:

Recent developments are important to understand the market trends and growth strategies adopted by players in the North American healthcare IT market. The current edition of this report provides updated developments of profiled players from January 2019 to January 2023 , indicating a continuation of the previous version. Acquisitions, partnerships, and product launches have been the principal growth strategies adopted by market players during this period.

Related Reports:

eClinical Solutions Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare Analytics Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare IT Integration Market - Global Forecasts to 2026

Healthcare Interoperability Solutions Market - Global Forecasts to 2026

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: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/north-america-healthcare-it-market.asp

Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/north-america-healthcare-it.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
CEO and founder, Payton Nyquvest, to be featured on panel titled "Music as Medicine: Music as a Tool For Healing" alongside Dr. Reid Robison, Charlotte James and East Forest

VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI) (OTCQX: NUMIF), a mental health care company advancing innovative treatments and safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies, will be featured on a panel at the upcoming South by Southwest Conference taking place in Austin, Texas, on March 10 - 19, 2023. The panel, titled Music as Medicine: Music as a Tool for Healing, will be held on March 10, 2023 at 4:00pm CT at the Austin Convention Center. For more information on SXSW and the panel, please click here .

CEO and founder of Numinus, Payton Nyquvest, will be joined by Dr. Reid Robison, Chief Clinical Officer at Numius, Charlotte James, founder of Liberation Training, and musician East Forest on stage to explore the integral role that music plays in psychedelic healing. From traditional indigenous ceremonies to modern ketamine-assisted therapy clinics, music is a central component of ceremony and, oftentimes, the music is just as important as the medicine. Music has become a key figure across integration, meditation and healing, and there is a new genre of conscious-expanding music and psychedelic meditations that are being developed by artists solely for this purpose.

"Music has always played a part in building connection and community, two complements that are integral to the psychedelic-assisted therapy experience," says founder and CEO of Numinus, Payton Nyquvest. "With this panel and our larger Music as Medicine program, we are celebrating a new genre of meditative music and diving deeper into the role that music plays in our healing. I am excited to be expanding on this topic surrounded by others in the community as we encourage others to use music as a tool for further insight and inner growth."

These experts are also a part of the 'Music as Medicine by Numinus' program, a series of ceremonial concerts exploring the role music plays in psychedelic-assisted therapy and mental health. 'Music as Medicine by Numinus' features a rotating roster of meditative and ambient musicians, multimedia art, and immersive guided meditations. For more information on Music as Medicine please click here .

About Numinus

Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX: NUMI; OTCQX:NUMIF) helps people to heal and be well through the development and delivery of innovative mental health care and access to safe, evidence-based psychedelic-assisted therapies. The Numinus model  including psychedelic production, research and clinic care  is at the forefront of a transformation aimed at healing rather than managing symptoms for depression, anxiety, trauma, pain and substance use. At Numinus, we are leading the integration of psychedelic-assisted therapies into mainstream clinical practice and building the foundation for a healthier society.

Learn more at numinus.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements and other information contained in this press release about anticipated future events constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend" and statements that an event "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the statements are made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements even if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.
Employees Surpass Goal with Additional Donation

EDMESTON, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The NYCM Foundation announced a $50,000 donation to the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties in support of its mission to improve the quality of life for local residents in the areas of income, education, and health.

NYCM Insurance CFO/CRO/Treasurer Michael Perrino, NYCM Insurance First SVP Jeremy Robinson, United Way of Otsego and Delaware Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco, NYCM Insurance President/CEO Cheryl Robinson, and NYCM Insurance SVP of Risk Management.

NYCM Insurance President and CEO Cheryl Robinson said, "At NYCM, our purpose is to express and demonstrate genuine care for people's well-being so that others have hope for a better tomorrow and the courage to persevere. NYCM has always had a strong commitment to our local communities, and we are excited to strengthen our relationship with the United Way and demonstrate our genuine care."

In addition to the foundation's donation, NYCM Insurance employees surpassed their goal in fundraising for the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties. A total of $2,077 was donated by 130 employees across the state, surpassing their goal of $2,000. The company also held a "Lunch and Learn" info session on the United Way's impact, which was attended by 231 employees.

"Having NYCM's support this year is such a blessing," said United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco. "NYCM kicked it off with a corporate donation of $50,000 and I was stunned. Then employees began to donate, and they generously contributed more than $2,000. From the bottom of my heart I cannot thank everyone enough for their support and generous donations. Because of NYCM we have surpassed our goal for Otsego County, and we will be able to provide funding at a level higher than organizations have received in that community in several years."

Robinson added, "We felt it was a critical moment for NYCM to support our local United Way chapter. Reaching out to our local counties is important as there is currently a large gap in available funds with the needs of these communities which the United Way is uniquely positioned to meet."

To learn more about the NYCM Foundation's support of community organizations, click here.

About NYCM. NYCM Insurance is a property and casualty insurance carrier that has been providing coverage to residents and businesses in New York since 1899. The company has grown tremendously over the last 120 years and is currently under the direction of founder VanNess Robinson's great-great-granddaughter, Cheryl Robinson. Aside from the Edmeston headquarters, NYCM Insurance has three additional offices in Sherburne, Canajoharie, and Orchard Park. With a team of over 850 employees, and a network of over 1,200 independent agents, NYCM Insurance is dedicated to providing superior service and a quality customer experience to their over 535,000 customers. Insurance lines include Home, Auto, Umbrella, and Business. NYCM Insurance is recipient of A.M. Best Company's Standing the Test of Time Award for maintaining an A rating for over 75-years. To learn more about NYCM's services, visit www.nycm.com.

Contact Information for Media Inquiries:

800-234-6926

[email protected]

SOURCE NYCM Insurance
Older adults can now apply to participate in the ElliQ program

ABERDEEN, Wash., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Olympic Area Agency on Aging (O3A) and Intuition Robotics have announced a new program to provide ElliQ , the AI-driven care companion robot, to older adults who are in need of additional support in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. ElliQ reduces loneliness among older adults who live alone or spend most of their day alone. ElliQ also promotes healthy living by proactively engaging users with a variety of features including daily check-ins and conversation, cognitive and physical activities, connecting to family and friends, and more. ElliQ enables streamlined communication between older adults on O3A long-term services and their case managers. Individuals do not need to be O3A clients to participate in the program. Anyone 60 years and older who lives in Grays Harbor or Pacific Counties may apply. Program is limited and enrollment is expected to be completed no later than the end of March.

This program is part of O3A's support to older individuals to maintain their dignity, health, and independence in their homes through a comprehensive and coordinated system of home and community-based services that improve quality-of-life and enable people to age in place.

A TIME Best Invention of 2022, ElliQ is a voice operated tabletop device that improves older adults' wellbeing and feelings of social connectivity. Users have an average of 20 interactions a day with ElliQ and it has been proven to reduce loneliness for 80% of users, while making 90% feel better and 82% stay more mentally active.

"Older adults in rural Washington may not have the same access to in-person support: technology can be a component of wrap around services to maintain independence and health." said Laura Cepoi, Executive Director of The Olympic Area Agency on Aging. "Intuition Robotics has a unique and advanced solution in ElliQ, based on great response in other states. We're excited for our staff to begin offering ElliQ devices to older adults and observing its impact on improved health and increased engagement between older individuals with staff, health care providers, and loved ones."

"As our aging population increases, we must look to new technologies to assist the organizations and caregivers who are already stretched thin," said Jon Martin, Mayor of Ocean Shores. "In Ocean Shores, we have so many seniors who are isolated, and we are actively looking for ways to create new community connections. We're looking forward to introducing ElliQ into our community and alleviating the loneliness some of our older residents have been struggling with."

This announcement follows Intuition Robotics' partnership with the New York State Office for the Aging. Among the participants in that project, 97% of users surveyed say that ElliQ has changed their lives for the better.

"The work O3A is doing with the aging community in Washington is incredibly important and it's vital for companies with advanced solutions to support them with their mission," said Dor Skuler, Co-founder and CEO of Intuition Robotics. "Older adults around the world have been suffering from a loneliness crisis and ElliQ is in a unique position to help them and their care teams. We are grateful for the opportunity to take the work being done at O3A a step further with ElliQ at the helm, and bring its companionship and health and wellness support to older adults across Washington state."

Enrollment in the program is open now. To apply, please contact Michelle Fogus at [email protected] or 360.580.6001.

About Intuition Robotics

Intuition Robotics is on a mission to empower older adults to live happier, healthier and more independent lives at home. The company's award-winning product, ElliQ, is a proactive care companion for older adults. ElliQ, helps keep users healthy, engaged, and informed, while alleviating the effects of loneliness and social isolation. Intuition Robotics has won several awards for its work with ElliQ including Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and the CES Best of Innovation award. Intuition Robotics is partnering with the New York State Office for the Aging to supply hundreds of ElliQs to aging New Yorkers. The company was founded in 2016 and investors include: Toyota Ventures, Samsung NEXT, iRobot, OurCrowd, Terra Ventures and Venture Capital firms from California, Israel, Japan, and Asia. To learn more, please visit intuitionrobotics.com .

About The Olympic Area Agency on Aging (O3A)

The Olympic Area Agency on Aging (O3A) exists to help older individuals and persons with disabilities maintain their dignity, health, and independence in their homes through a comprehensive and coordinated system of home and community-based services. We serve a four-county rural area: Pacific, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, and Clallam Counties. We provide a variety of direct services as well as contracting with many other agencies to provide additional services. Please visit o3a.org to learn more.

Media Contact

Jennifer Laski

Si14 Global Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Intuition Robotics
ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Onboard Systems International, LLC, a leading provider of innovative helicopter cargo hook equipment, will debut an advanced prototype of its TALON HEC Dual Cargo Hook kit for the Bell 429 at the 2023 HAI Heli-Expo tradeshow in Atlanta, Georgia on March 7-9th. The new Bell 429 kit will provide an STC-certified solution for a variety of CFR Part 133 external load missions, including HEC, high-value cargo transport, utility line work, short haul, and search & rescue. With the Y-rope attached to both cargo hooks, the dual cargo hook system load limit is 1,322 lbs. (600 kg) for HEC missions.

Onboard's HEC Dual Cargo Hook Kit for the Bell 429 aircraft

"Onboard is dedicated to providing the safest, most reliable external load mission equipment, along with industry-leading customer support and lead times," said Mike Fox, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Onboard Systems. "We will continue to develop and certify HEC systems for additional aircraft in the near future in order to meet the challenging mission demands of our customers."

The new Bell 429 human external cargo (HEC) hook system is in the final development stages, and launch customer Capitol Helicopters of Sacramento, California is providing fit-check and flight test assistance for the kit's STC certification. According to Casey Ross, Director of Operations for Capitol Helicopters, "Onboard's cargo hook systems are extremely reliable, and easy to operate and maintain. This, coupled with Onboard's customer service and support provides a much-needed resource for our operation, and we look forward to being able to add the new Onboard dual hook system to each of the Bell 429's in our fleet."

Onboard's Bell 429 HEC dual cargo hook kit is comprised of a complete system of fixed provisions, controls, and dual TALON LC Hydraulic Cargo Hooks mounted to a lightweight frame. This kit can be installed on an aircraft with no prior cargo hook installation, and is also compatible with Bell dual hook factory fixed provisions. The Onboard Systems kit offers improved ground clearance and enhanced safety features such as keeperless hooks that eliminate dynamic rollout, a high-reliability hydraulic backup release system, and an optional Onboard Weighing System.

Onboard Systems will be at their Heli-Expo booth (C2020) with a large display of external load mission equipment including cargo hooks, load weighing systems, and HEC-specific equipment.

About Onboard Systems

Onboard Systems International, LLC is a leading global provider of external cargo handling equipment for civil and military rotorcraft. Onboard's portfolio of innovative, holistic cargo hook systems, human external cargo (HEC) systems, Onboard Weighing Systems and mission-specific remote equipment is factory-installed on over 30 helicopter models serving both OEM and aftermarket customers. Its lightweight, high-quality products provide operators with increased safety and cost efficiencies through customer-driven designs, responsive service and support, and flexible maintenance options. Founded in 1975, Onboard Systems is based in Vancouver, Washington. Onboard Systems operates as a part of Signia Aerospace, a global integrated provider of high-performance systems and specialized components for the aerospace and defense industry. For more information, please visit www.onboardsystems.com.

About Capitol Helicopters

Capitol Helicopters provides a fleet of extraordinary aircraft to support the western United States with Charter, Utility, Agricultural, and Fire Suppression Services. Founded in 2014 with a single helicopter offering flight training and tours, the company was acquired by Kaysha Ross in 2018. It has expanded rapidly and now provides a wide range of commercial services with an emphasis on safety and professionalism. Capitol Helicopters is based in Sacramento, California. For more information, please visit www.capitolhelicopters.com.

Media contact:

Sheri Gormley

[email protected]

360-546-3072 x280

SOURCE Onboard Systems
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Outland Hospitality Group is excited to announce the opening of Outland Great Smoky Mountains Chalet & Suites, a private, luxury retreat at the doorstep of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the two most visited national park sites in the United States.

Outland Great Smoky Mountains, a private luxury retreat featuring a 7-Bedroom private chalet residence and luxury spa suites located at the doorstep of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Harrah's Cherokee Casino. Outland Great Smoky Mountains features a clubroom perfect for lounging fireside, hosting a group retreat, or family reunion. Guests can also enjoy 7 hiking trails, direct views of Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and a serene pond on the private 22-acre property.

Outland Great Smoky Mountains is nestled along a high mountain ridge on 22 private acres an hour west of Asheville, NC. Guests can choose between a thoughtfully appointed Chalet residence and six private and luxurious spa suites, each with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. The Chalet residence features seven bedrooms, each with a private bathroom and private balcony, a full kitchen and dining room, and a great room perfect for gathering. The Spa Suites allow guests to unwind and soak fireside as each suite features a deep soaking tub, fireplace, steam shower, and private outdoor space perfect for enjoying the great outdoors.

The new luxury retreat is a short drive to numerous attractions, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, and Nantahala Outdoor Center. Guests also have access to seven hiking trails, a cascading stream, pond, fire pit, clubroom lounge with a fireplace and games, and numerous areas for relaxation or play on site. A highlight of the property includes views of Clingman's Dome, the third-highest mountain peak on the East Coast. Additionally, guests can enjoy diverse gourmet dining and explore the booming brewery scenes in the nearby towns of Sylva, Dillsboro, and Bryson City.

Outland Great Smoky Mountains is committed to providing guests with the best experience, customer service, and trip planning support in a private, un-hosted experience making it the ideal choice for an outdoor getaway, group travel, or corporate retreats. Outland Great Smoky Mountains is now open and accepting reservations for overnight guests, property buyouts, and private events in the clubroom lounge. For more information on the property or to make a reservation, please visit www.stayoutland.com.

About Outland Hospitality Group:

Outland Hospitality Group is a private boutique hospitality and real estate company based in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Led by seasoned hospitality and real estate professionals, Outland Hospitality Group invests in, develops, operates, and advises on hospitality and other unique real estate projects. The company's projects include Hotel Cashiers, a successful repositioning of a retro motor lodge in Cashiers, NC, the Bar at Hotel Cashiers, and Outland Great Smoky Mountains. Outland Hospitality Group will launch a new private residence concept in Spring 2023 and actively seek new investment and management opportunities. For additional information on Outland Great Smoky Mountains, please visit www.stayoutland.com. For more information on Hotel Cashiers, please visit www.hotelcashiers.com.

Media contact:

Brett Stewart

[email protected]

828-586-0251

SOURCE Outland Great Smoky Mountains
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Paisano's Pizza and Seasons Pizza have announced a joint venture partnership, combining their decades of experience in delivering made-to-order food and exceptional service across the east coast. Currently, they have 75 locations throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with a goal of 200 new locations by 2026.

Capital Restaurant Group CEO Fouad Qreitem says, "We are thrilled about this partnership and the opportunity to combine our expertise. This powerhouse combination will bring about remarkable growth and magnify Average Unit Volume while we continue to provide excellent food and service to our customers."

Paisano's has served customers throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., since 1998. Paisano's prides itself on its made-to-order menu, which includes everything from pizza to pasta, subs, strombolis, wings, salads, and desserts. The company is committed to using the freshest ingredients, providing unparalleled customer service, and maintaining the personal touch that has made the company successful.

Seasons Pizza has served customers across the Mid-Atlantic since 1991. Seasons offers a variety of fresh food with a focus on quality, making it a popular choice. Seasons CEO Angelo Halakos says, "Seasons and Paisano's pride themselves on the freshest ingredients. While most pizza chains run all menu items through a pizza oven, we both have full-service kitchens in all locations. We are excited for this opportunity to grow together."

Paisano's and Seasons are well-positioned to lead the way with their delicious pizzas and exceptional customer service. The companies remain committed to their personalized approach and developing customer relationships.

About Paisano's

Headquartered in Chantilly, Va., Paisano's has restaurants in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. and is a local favorite. Consider exploring a franchise opportunity that offers comprehensive support, a proven business model, and significant brand growth, making it a compelling option for aspiring entrepreneurs in the food industry. Learn more at PaisanosPizza.com.

About Seasons

Seasons Pizza has served its customers in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey since 1991. Seasons has maintained the lead market share in pizza, pasta, salads, wings, and local favorites. The menu is diverse, offering something for everyone, including many healthy options. Seasons offers dine-in, catering, and full delivery service of all items. Learn more at SeasonsPizza.com .

SOURCE Paisano's Pizza
SEOUL, South Korea, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Park Systems, a leading manufacturer of Atomic-Force Microscopy (AFM) systems, is celebrating its new status as the number one global leader in the industry. According to the recently released "Global Atomic-Force Microscopy Market Report" by QYR Research 2023, Park Systems has overtaken long-time leader Bruker and other competitors, including Oxford Instruments, to secure the top position.

Park Systems Logo

The report states that in 2022, Park Systems's AFM revenue of $84.72 million surpassed Bruker's revenue of $78.44 million, and this trend is expected to continue with a wider margin in 2023, with Park Systems leading the market share by 29%. The third-place holder had a revenue of $38.13 million in 2022, accounting for just 45% that of Park Systems.

To measure market concentration, economists and competition authorities use the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and concentration ratios (CR(n)). The report reveals that Park Systems has surpassed Bruker in terms of market competitiveness, with a concentration ratio of 23.13% compared to Bruker's 17.96% in 2023. This is a significant increase from 2022 and 2021, where Park Systems had a concentration ratio of 20.26% and 16.79% (2022, 2021), while Bruker had 18.75%, and 19.97% (2022, 2021). The third-place holder accounted for less than 9% in all three years.

"We are thrilled to be recognized as the number one AFM global leader," said Dr. Sang-il Park, CEO of Park Systems. "This achievement is a testament to our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. We will continue to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and strive to provide our customers with the best AFM solutions on the market."

Park Systems has been at the forefront of the AFM technology for over two decades, delivering cutting-edge solutions to customers worldwide. With this new achievement, the company is poised to continue leading the industry and setting new standards for excellence.

About Park Systems Corp. (KOSDAQ: 140860)

Park Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and nano metrology systems with a complete range of products for researchers and engineers in the chemistry, materials, physics, life sciences, semiconductor, and data storage industries. Its mission is to enable nanoscale advances for scientists and engineers solving the world's most pressing problems and pushing the boundaries of scientific discoveries and engineering innovations. Customers of Park Systems include most of the world's leading semiconductor companies and national research universities in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Park Systems is a publicly traded corporation on the Korea Stock Exchange (KOSDAQ) with corporate headquarters in Suwon, Korea, and regional headquarters in Santa Clara, California, Mannheim, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, India, and Mexico City. To learn more, please visit www.parksystems.com.

SOURCE Park Systems Corp.
Simone Charitable Foundation Awards Nearly $800,000 to Assist People with Parkinson's in Arizona

NEW YORK and MIAMI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parkinson's Foundation has received a grant of nearly $800,000 from the Pat Simone Charitable Foundation, Inc. to fund research at Barrow Neurological Institute, which includes the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, a Parkinson's Foundation Center of Excellence. The grant aims to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Arizona by funding promising scientists conducting innovative research and increasing local participation in PD GENEration: Mapping the Future of Parkinson's Disease.

Nearly 90,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD each year, and one million people in the U.S. live with PD  a number expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2030. The work at Barrow has the potential to improve the lives of the local PD communityan estimated 18,000 people who live with PD in Arizona.

"We are pleased to receive this significant grant from the Pat Simone Charitable Foundation, Inc. to fund promising research and to expand our genetics study to better serve the Arizona Parkinson's community," said John L. Lehr, president and CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation. "This investment will further strengthen our long-standing collaboration and shared goals with the Barrow Neurological Institute."

The grant will support the research efforts of Fredric Manfredsson, PhD, associate professor in Barrow's department of Translational Neuroscience, and Kimberly Meyers, PhD, Barrow postdoctoral fellow. Together, Drs. Manfredsson and Meyers study whether a therapy targeting a protein called ACMSD can reduce brain inflammation and prevent the loss of brain cells. Dr. Meyers received a prestigious Parkinson's Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for Basic Scientists in support of this study.

"In pilot preclinical studies, we have had remarkably encouraging results using ACMSD therapy. Targeting this pathway holds tremendous explanatory power if one looks at clinical data," says Dr Manfredsson. "However, without these funds it would not be possible to expand our experimentation and fully investigate the therapeutic potential of ACMSD in Parkinson's disease."

Additionally, funding will expand local participation in PD GENEration, offering genetic testing and counseling (in English and Spanish) at no cost for people with PD in Arizona. Genetic testing can help people with PD and their clinicians identify whether they may qualify for enrollment in certain clinical trials.

"We know that genetic testing is a critical tool for understanding the puzzle of Parkinson's disease," said Mark Grayson, President of the Pat Simone Charitable Foundation, Inc. "We are thrilled to support the Parkinson's Foundation and hope that many people with Parkinson's will benefit from this research."

To learn more about PD GENEration, visit Parkinson.org/PDGENEration or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (1-800-473-4636).

About the Parkinson's Foundation

The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience, and passion of our global Parkinson's community. Since 1957, the Parkinson's Foundation has invested more than $425 million in Parkinson's research and clinical care. Connect with us on Parkinson.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or call 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease

Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the U.S. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's and 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. alone.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Marissa Cruz

Parkinson's Foundation

[email protected]

305-537-9926

Parkinson.org

SOURCE Parkinson's Foundation
WILMINGTON, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of entrepreneurially minded Veterans and Military Spouses from all over North Carolina and neighboring military installations will muster at the Patriot Franchise Expo in the Wilmington Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday (March 11-12, 2023, 10am5pm) to meet with America's leading franchise brands.

Lets do well together, by doing right by our nations heroes.

"Dozens of major franchise brands such as the Melting Pot, Snap-On Tools, Senior Helpers, and Ace Handyman Services will be on hand to explore post-military career opportunities with our nation's heroes and their spouses." said Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Schmiegel, Chief Executive Officer at ZeroMils. "Franchising truly enables Veterans to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves".

Approximately 17,000 service members exit the military and seek opportunities in the civilian sector.

25% of Post 9/11 Veterans say they want to start their own business, yet only 4% do.

97% of Franchisors report that Veterans have proven to be an excellent fit as franchise operators.

Veterans account for 14% of franchisees nationwide.

Over 500 franchise brands offer discounts to prospective Veteran candidates.

Veterans make great franchisees, and franchising is a gateway to small business ownership, prosperity and success for many of our nation's heroes.

In addition to showcasing America's top franchise brands, the Expo will also feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and several breakout educational sessions designed to educate Veterans and help them transition to their new mission.

VetFran, a strategic initiative of the International Franchise Association and the IFA Foundation based out of Washington DC will also be presenting at the Expo as a Liberty Sponsor. VetFran will be joined by Veteran friendly lenders who can assist with startup funding, and several local Veteran non-profits will be on hand to provide valuable resources for Veterans and their family members.

"We are expecting 40 national franchise brands that represent hundreds of Veteran franchisees and employ thousands of Veterans and Military Spouses in communities nationwide" said CW4 (Ret) Stephen Davis, a Senior Partner with Patriot Expo, and Service-Disabled Veteran. "What better candidate to replicate a franchisor's proven roadmap for success than those that have already demonstrated the same for our country".

The Expo is Veteran centric and also open to the general public. There is no cost for Veterans and Military Spouses to attend. Interested? Please register at www.PatriotFranchiseExpo.com.

About Patriot Expo LLC

Patriot Expo LLC is a Florida based Joint Venture comprised of several Veteran owned companies joined together to assist military Veterans and military families achieve their dreams of entrepreneurship.

SOURCE Patriot Franchise Expo
Acquisition further expands Pavion's footprint in security integration

CHANTILLY, Va., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pavion (formerly Corbett Technology Solutions, Inc. "CTSI"), a leading provider of integrated solutions for fire, safety, security, and critical communications, has acquired Netronix Integration ("Netronix"). This acquisition builds upon Pavion's expertise and service delivery in security technology including access control, video surveillance, and intercom systems. It is the thirteenth acquisition for Pavion since partnering with Wind Point Partners ("Wind Point") in June 2020.

Established in 2007, Netronix delivers security integration technology and services for enterprise customers throughout the U.S. and internationally. With a culture built on "the client comes first," the company has become a preferred service provider for companies in sectors including education, technology, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and utilities. Netronix serves customers from its headquarters in San Jose, Ca.

This acquisition is part of Pavion's strategic growth initiative, enabling greater depth in security integration, while expanding service delivery capabilities across the southern and western regions of the US and internationally.

"Technology is ever evolving, and it's important that we help our customers adapt to and embrace innovations in security systems and support services," says Pavion President and CEO Joe Oliveri. "Netronix experience with advancements in access control and security solutions will enhance the services we provide throughout North America, adding to our long-term business growth."

Craig Jarrett, Co-Founder and President of Netronix, believes that similar business brought the two companies together. "When we founded Netronix, we realized that we needed to grow alongside our customers," Jarrett said. "We're focused on building long-term relationships and providing world-class service, and Pavion sees the world in the same way, which is vital to us."

Jim Muncey, President of the Pavion Security Business Unit, is excited to have Netronix and its staff join Pavion. "We're really pleased to have Netronix and its employees join the Pavion Security Business Unit. With Netronix and Pavion coming together, we have an opportunity to show more customers how security technology, integration, and services should and can be delivered."

Officially launched in October 2022, Pavion unites 14 legacy brands across its three business units: CTSI, DavEd Fire Systems, Collaborative Technology Solutions, The Protection Bureau, Star Asset Security, iON247, AFA Protective Systems, Structure Works, Enterprise Security Solutions, Systems Electronics, Firecom, Short Circuit Electronics, Turnkey Technology and Netronix Integration.

About Pavion

Pavion connects and protects by providing fire, security, and communication integration solutions to customers in 48 U.S. locations and 22 countries. The company brings industry-leading experience to clients in the enterprise, healthcare, education, government, data center, and retail industries. Its mission is to bring clarity and transformation to safety, security and communication through integral technology and radical service. Learn more at Pavion.com.

About Wind Point Partners

Wind Point Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. Wind Point focuses on partnering with top-caliber management teams to acquire well-positioned middle market businesses where it can establish a clear path to value creation. The firm targets investments in the consumer products, industrial products and business services sectors. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners X, a fund that was initiated in 2022. Additional information on Wind Point is available at www.windpointpartners.com.

About Netronix Integration

Netronix Integration, Inc. is a global leader in system integration and security. The company is focused on supporting global and local customers to protect their most valued assets so that they can focus on building their brand. Through their customer successes and long term relationships, Netronix is poised to grow into the future. Learn more at https://www.netronixint.com/.

Pavion.com | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Media Contact: Alan Rosenkoff [email protected]

SOURCE Pavion
$18,000 Grant Awarded to Heartland Canines for Veterans

JOPLIN, Mo., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Petland Charities Executive Director Ed Sayres presented Heartland Canines for Veterans with an $18,000 grant. Funds will be used to support the entire cost of providing a service dog to a U.S. veteran living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Petland has supported the Heartland Canines' "One of Us" program for the past five years. Grant monies are used to cover veterinary care, training, equipment, kenneling and administrative costs for the K9 team.

Petland Charities Executive Director presents $18,000 grant to Heartland Canines for Veterans Executive Director Jimmy Burgess.

"Petland Charities focuses on supporting community-based programs that strive to create special connections between pets and people," said Sayres. "Through our partnership with Heartland Canines for Veterans' 'One of Us' campaign, Petland Charities is making a difference in the lives American heroes; providing them with a K9 companion that will be trained with specialized capabilities to meet the veteran's daily needs."

The presentation was held in connection with a K9 Veterans event, hosted by Petland Joplin. In attendance was Army veteran Vern Marchington of the Joplin area, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. Joining Marchington was his new companion, Bella, a six-month old female German Shepherd who will assist Marchington with mobility challenges, and depression and anxiety. Bella is currently undergoing obedience training and will soon begin her training as a service dog.

"Heartland Canines for Veterans is eternally grateful for its continued and lasting relationship with a caring organization like Petland," said Executive Director Jimmy Burgess. "Our sole mission is to provide service dogs to veterans who need them. We are fortunate to be partnered with an organization like Petland that also supports the wellbeing of our veterans."

Other K9 and veteran pairs were also in attendance at Saturday's event. Activities held during the in-store also included demonstrations and information about the intensive training required to produce a service dog with the specialized capabilities to assist veterans with PTSD.

Heartland Canines for Veterans is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization helping our nation's warriors who need a canine partner, trained to help them thrive. Using established canine training strategies and pairing the right canine with the right veteran has been proven to generate positive and productive relationships between the K9 and its person.

For more than 55 years, Petland, Inc. has been giving back to the communities it serves. Petland Charities supports community-based programs that are intended to better the lives of pets and people. These include promoting the adoption of homeless pets, granting children's pet-related wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, paying for the training of service dogs for disabled veterans, donating food to K9 police units, and providing grant funds to teachers to purchase pets and pet supplies for the classroom.

Petland, Inc. is a franchise operation with quality, full-service retail pet centers across the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, El Salvador and Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1967, Petland is headquartered in south central Ohio. To learn more about the work of Petland Charities, visit petlandcharities.org. For information about Heartland Canines for Veterans, visit heartlandk9s.org.

Contact: Maria Smith

Director of Communications

Petland, Inc.

740-775-2464

SOURCE Petland
PORTLAND, Ore., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Portland General Electric (PGE) released its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, an annual report that showcases PGE's programs and progress on its path towards a clean energy future that is equitable, sustainable and reliable. This year's report highlights key initiatives and achievements that support the company's commitment to decarbonization and advancing well-being for customers, employees, communities and the environment.

"Our responsibilities are significant and we are continuously evolving our ambitions and best practices to advance sustainability and social equity," said Kristen Sheeran, PGE's Director of Sustainability and Resource Planning. "We are firmly committed to a future in which all our customers, employees and communities can thrive."

As the region continues to face extreme weather events, market volatility and economic shifts, PGE's ESG values and priorities are integral in meeting key goals and milestones. Among the many focus areas this report covers, highlights include:

Further reductions in the emission intensity of PGE's resource portfolio as the company advances toward the target of serving customers with 100% clean electricity and achieving net-zero GHG emissions company-wide by 2040.

Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to guide progress on a global scale toward the shared journey of achieving prosperity for people and the planet.

Expanded the options customers have around managing their energy journey, tools and programs to help manage costs and supported the transition to electrification.

Focused on efforts to foster an inclusive workforce, including increasing diversity, fostering underrepresented talent and expanding diverse supplier spend in our supply chain.

Entered a new phase of sustainable finance strategy by financing an eligible green investment under PGE's Green Financing Framework.

Increased our commitment to the environment through record investments that fostered wildlife returns and restoration efforts.

Continued community stewardship through volunteering, student programs, charitable giving and partnerships.

To view the full ESG Report please visit portlandgeneral.com/sustainability .

About Portland General Electric Company

Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to over 900,000 customers in 51 cities across the state of Oregon. For more than 130 years, Portland General Electric (PGE) has powered the advancement of society, delivering safe, affordable, reliable and increasingly clean energy. To deliver on its strategy and meet state targets, PGE and its approximately 3,000 employees are committed to partnering with stakeholders to achieve at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by 2030 and 100% reduction by 2040. PGE customers set the standard for prioritizing clean energy with the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the country. Additionally, for the fifth year in a row, PGE was recognized by the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index which highlights companies committed to creating a more equal and inclusive workplace. As a reflection of the company's commitment to the community it serves, in 2022, PGE employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation donated nearly $5.5 million and volunteered more than 18,000 hours with more than 400 nonprofits across Oregon. For more information visit www.PortlandGeneral.com/news .

Media Contact:

Sarah Hamaker

Corporate Communications

Phone: 435-513-0799

Source: Portland General Company

SOURCE Portland General Company
Former Uber and Sittercity Leader Will Lead Operations For Popular Event Platform

CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PartySlate, a leading digital event platform connecting people planning events with the best inspiration, venues, and vendors in their city, has named Phil Brown as Chief Operating Officer. Brown brings a broad range of experience to PartySlate, including leadership roles at Uber and Sittercity, where he led engagement, customer experience, and monetization initiatives. Consulting with PartySlate since 2021, Brown has identified key growth levers and crafted a new market expansion playbook, which will enable a continued period of strong growth.

Former Uber and Sittercity leader joins PartySlate as COO to drive continued growth in the events industry Tweet this Phil Brown joins the PartySlate executive team as COO Julie Roth Novack, CEO and Co-Founder of PartySlate, speaks in Washington, D.C. at an industry event Phil Brown, PartySlate COO

"I look forward to the continued leadership, expertise, and customer-centric mindset Phil brings to PartySlate," said Julie Roth Novack, Co-founder and CEO of PartySlate. "We are confident his experience will move us closer toward our goal of being the go-to destination for both people planning events and the venues and vendors they hire."

PartySlate disrupted the $800 billion dollar fragmented events industry by pioneering a photo-rich digital platform, helping people who are planning all types of events find the best inspiration, vendors, and venues across the country. Since its founding in 2015, thousands of top venues, event planners, photographers, caterers, and more vendors have shared more than 2 million event photos to the platform.

PartySlate is backed by investors and angels who are experts in marketplaces. HearstLab, a division of Hearst Corporation, invested $1 million in PartySlate's most recent funding round.

About PartySlate

PartySlate is a photo-rich platform that inspires people planning any type of event and connects them with the leading vendors and venues across the country and the world. The digital platform features more than 2 million photos shared by vendors and venues from all types of events, including weddings, galas, corporate events, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and milestone birthday parties. Party hosts can find inspiration and connect with top event companies who can bring their ideas to life. Founded in 2015, PartySlate is one of only five female-founded companies in Chicago that has raised more than $20 million dollars in venture capital funding in the last 10 years. For more information, visit www.partyslate.com or follow us on Instagram .

Media Contact:

Lauren Mandel

[email protected]

847-422-3650

SOURCE PartySlate
Timbersled, the original snow bike brand, introduces the RIOT Gen 2

MINNEAPOLIS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With today's introduction of its 2024 snow lineup, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) is building on its comprehensive snowmobile and snow bike portfolio with new and enhanced rider-driven innovations and features that deliver performance, control, and agility, including the new Series 9 325 track and Timbersled's new RIOT Gen 2 system. The 2024 lineup is complemented by more than 250 new parts, apparel and accessories that provide even more personalization options. This year, Polaris is making its SnowCheck program even more compelling with the launch of a SnowCheck Ship Guarantee*, which promises all 2024 SnowCheck orders will ship by November 30, 2023.

Polaris Boost Khaos Slash 155 Timberlsed ARO 3 Premium Polaris 650 Indy XCR 128 Polaris TImbersled

"Everything we do starts with our riders in mind," said Jenny Nack, vice president and general manager, Polaris Snow. "The 2024 Polaris snowmobile and Timbersled lineup is one of our most refined and complete in recent years. And our new Ship Guarantee will give SnowCheck customers confidence that their customized snowmobile will not only deliver the best riding experience but will also arrive in time for winter."

Building on an industry-leading snowmobile portfolio, the 2024 lineup offers new options for deep snow riders, along with feature and performance enhancements for trail riders. Highlights include:

Polaris is introducing an all-new Series 9 325 track, the largest in the industry, that further elevates Polaris RMK to the top of the mountain. A SnowCheck exclusive option, the new 3.25" track propels riders through the deepest powder with a design that spools up instantly and delivers a new level of traction and lift. The Series 9 325 track is joined by other SnowCheck-exclusive features including the factory-mod power of the Patriot 9R and the turbocharged Patriot Boost.

As the newest engine, the four-stroke ProStar S4 offers enhanced efficiency and durability across INDY, Voyageur, and Titan snowmobiles. From its smooth throttle response, to less maintenance and easier ownership, it continues to deliver spirited performance, with the capability and fun to hit the trails, haul gear, and enjoy the winter.

The 2024 lineup boasts an optional 7-inch display powered by RIDE COMMAND technology. The Polaris-exclusive offering, RIDE COMMAND is the sport's first and most dedicated GPS mapping and rider connectivity technology without needing cellular connection. RIDE COMMAND continues to set the standard allowing riders to plan routes, organize and track riding groups, and offers industry-leading Bluetooth connectivity on a full color, glove-friendly touchscreen 7S Display.

"We never stop looking for ways to improve the riding experience," said Nack. "Whether through bold, game-changing innovations like Patriot 9R and the Matryx platform, or our ongoing efforts to tune and enhance quality and performance, the passion and commitment of our team to continually raise the bar is always there."

To complement the 2024 lineup, Polaris is launching nearly 250 new accessories, parts and apparel. Mountain riders can discover increased comfort and customization options with our new handlebar gauntlets, new colors in our backcountry handguards, and new options in our signature Lock & Ride Flex Storage bags. Trail riders have expanded auxiliary lighting options, as well as added accent lights to enable even more personalization. Those looking for extra storage needs may be interested in the new towable Adventure trailer, featuring independent suspension and a taillight.

SnowCheck - the industry's most comprehensive customization spring order program - launched for 2024 snowmobile model ordering on March 6 and will run through March 29. This year, exclusivity and customization remain at the forefront with models, engine options, technology features, and specific colors available only through the pre-order program. Riders that order through the 2024 Polaris SnowCheck program will also receive up to a three-year extended warranty and a shipment guarantee that provides riders with the confidence their sled will ship by November 30, 2023 or customers receive $1,500 off at purchase.

Full details on the 2024 lineup of Polaris snowmobiles, along with the SnowCheck spring order program and associated Ship Guarantee, can be found at PolarisSnowmobiles.com.

2024 TIMBERSLED UNLOCKS MORE RIDING FREEDOM

Timbersled is long regarded as the industry leader that revolutionized the sport of snow biking. The 2024 lineup demonstrates continued innovation, providing riders the ultimate in control, performance, and agility.

For 2024, that evolution of ultimate riding freedom continues with the introduction of the RIOT Gen 2. The RIOT Gen 2 system will join the technical terrain focused ARO on the Gen 2 platform, and both will be available in Premium and Pro trim levels. The new system features a narrowed rail stance, a new lightweight track, and an overall weight reduction, making the new RIOT more agile and more responsive. Available exclusively in the Pro package, RIOT Gen 2 also features responsive QDT belt drive technology. These options along with the youth focused Timbersled Ripper and exclusive color choices easily makes the 2024 Timbersled lineup the most extensive in the industry.

Discover the complete 2024 lineup at Timbersled.com, along with the latest in partnered accessories and details for the SnowCheck spring order program.

About Polaris

As the global leader in powersports, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) pioneers product breakthroughs and enriching experiences and services that have invited people to discover the joy of being outdoors since our founding in 1954. Polaris' high-quality product line-up includes the Polaris RANGER, RZR and Polaris GENERAL side-by-side off-road vehicles; Sportsman all-terrain off-road vehicles; military and commercial off-road vehicles; snowmobiles; Indian Motorcycle mid-size and heavyweight motorcycles; Slingshot moto-roadsters; Aixam quadricycles; Goupil electric vehicles; and pontoon and deck boats, including industry-leading Bennington pontoons. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a robust portfolio of parts, garments, and accessories. Proudly headquartered in Minnesota, Polaris serves more than 100 countries across the globe. www.polaris.com

Bluetooth is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Sig, Inc.

Unless noted, trademarks are the property of Polaris Industries Inc.

 2023 Polaris Industries Inc.

* SnowCheck Shipment Guarantee: To be eligible for the SnowCheck shipment guarantee, a 2024 SnowCheck order must be: (1) finalized by the dealer and submitted through the Polaris SnowCheck order process by no later than 11:59 PM, CST on March 29th, 2023, and (2) confirmed for availability and accepted by Polaris. Once finalized and accepted, if Polaris does not ship the eligible order by November 30th, 2023 at 11:59 pm CST, Polaris will offer a $1500 rebate to be applied at the time of purchase of the sled. The rebate will be paid to the dealer and applied to reduce the customer's purchase price. The rebate is only available at purchase; if a customer cancels their order, the offer is void. Only the original SnowCheck customer identified when the order was finalized and accepted is eligible for this offer. Customer must pick up the snowmobile no later than 12/31/23 to be eligible for MY24 SnowCheck offers. Shipment means the eligible sled has been loaded on a carrier and has departed for delivery to the dealer. The actual delivery date to the dealer and to the customer will vary and are not guaranteed by Polaris or included in this offer.

SOURCE Polaris Inc.
PRINCETON, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Postal Service today celebrated the life and legacy of author Toni Morrison (1931-2019), whose artfully crafted novels explored the diverse voices of African Americans, in a first-day-of-issue ceremony at Princeton University.

Author Toni Morrison Forever Stamp

"One of the goals of our stamp program is to raise awareness and celebrate the people who represent the very best of our nation," said Pritha Mehra, USPS chief information officer and executive vice president, who served as the dedicating official. "It's a privilege to represent the 650,000 men and women of the Postal Service, as we honor Toni Morrison with one more tribute  our new stamp that will be seen by millions and forever remind us of the power of her words and the ideas she brought to the world."

Joining Mehra for the ceremony were Chris Eisgruber, president of Princeton University; Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress; Gene Jarrett, faculty dean at Princeton; Ruha Benjamin, professor of African American Studies at Princeton; and photographer Deborah Feingold, whose portrait of Morrison appears on the stamp.

Michael Cadden, university lecturer at Princeton's Lewis Center for the Arts, was master of ceremonies.

"It was a privilege to photograph Ms. Morrison, an amazing author who contributed so much to the world through her works," said Feingold. "However, it is an absolute honor to know that the same photograph capturing a moment in time is now the subject of a Forever stamp. I am delighted that my photograph was used as a source to design the stamp and to participate in today's unveiling and celebration."

A letter of tribute from former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama was read and a video tribute from Oprah Winfrey was played during the ceremony.

The stamp features Feingold's photograph of Toni Morrison against a bright yellow background. Ethel Kessler, a USPS art director, designed the stamp.

Background on Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford on Feb. 18, 1931, in Lorain, OH, where she would later recall growing up in a family filled with storytelling and song. After graduating from high school in 1949, she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and began using the name Toni, a reference to Anthony, the saint whose name she took when she was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church at age 12. After graduating from Howard, she earned a master's degree in English at Cornell University and later taught English at Texas Southern University and at Howard.

In 1965, she began working as a textbook editor in upstate New York. In 1968, she was promoted and moved to New York City to become the first African American woman senior editor at Random House, where she prioritized the publication of books by African American authors.

Eager to see the previously untold stories of African Americans portrayed in fiction, Morrison published her first novel in 1970 while working full-time as an editor and raising two children. "The Bluest Eye" is an important inquiry into the life of an 11-year-old African American girl grappling with internalized negative racial stereotypes. "The Bluest Eye" is a mainstay of high school and college literature classes and a canonical novel about society's neglect and mistreatment of African American girls.

Published in 1973, Morrison's second novel, "Sula," dramatizes the relationship between two intelligent women who grow up poor in small-town Ohio. The novel explores themes of escape and living outside the confines of conventional society. "Sula" was nominated for a National Book Award.

Her next novel, "Song of Solomon," was a national bestseller and recipient of tremendous critical acclaim. Considered one of her masterpieces, "Song of Solomon" invokes generations of folklore as it follows a young man's search for identity. The novel on the National Book Critics Circle Award and was the first African American selection in the Book of the Month Club since Richard Wright's "Native Son" in 1940.

The decade that followed brought the author widespread recognition, beginning with President Jimmy Carter appointing her to the National Council on the Arts in 1980. After the publication of her 1981 novel "Tar Baby," a study of racism and conflicting social identities on a Caribbean island, Morrison was the subject of a cover story in Newsweek. In 1983, she left her full-time job as an editor to continue teaching.

The publication of "Beloved" in 1987 brought Morrison a new level of critical success. The novel tells the story of a woman who escapes enslavement but murders her infant daughter to prevent her from the same fate she did. A harrowing rumination on trauma and the lingering, even haunting nature of the past, "Beloved" won the Pulitzer Prize and secured Morrison's reputation as a great American writer.

In 1988, Morrison became the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University. There she taught American literature and creative writing classes and co-founded the Princeton Atelier, a seminar program to foster collaboration across multiple disciplines. The Atelier attracted high-profile contributors from around the world in the fields of creative writing, dance, music, theater and visual arts.

Her next novel, "Jazz," explored the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, but with a focus on the lives of everyday people rather than the famous writers, artists, and musicians of the time.

In 1993, Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first African American woman to receive the rare distinction. Her Nobel lecture is remembered for its celebration of the power of language. Three years later, she received the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Her poignant acceptance speech, "The Dancing Mind," addressed the relationship between writers and readers and the need for both to defend authors' freedom of expression.

The 1996 inclusion of "Song of Solomon" in Oprah's Book Club brought even broader public awareness of her work. Three other novels were later included in the club, further increasing sales and attention.

Morrison continued to experiment with language and push the possibilities of storytelling. Her 1998 novel "Paradise" tells the story of the rise and fall of an African American town. "Love," published in 2003, tells the story of a beachfront resort for African Americans that declines after integration. The 2008 novel "A Mercy" explores how racial categories were formed in pre-colonial America, while the 2012 novel "Home" dramatizes the return of an African American Korean War veteran to the Georgia of his youth. Her final novel, 2015's "God Help the Child," explores the way childhood suffering challenges adult relationships.

Morrison received the National Humanities Medal in 2000 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2012. In 2016 she held the Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University. In 2018, she was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Social Sciences, or Humanities from the American Philosophical Society.

Although known primarily as a novelist, Morrison wrote in a wide range of genres. She published three collections of lectures and speeches about literature and race  "Playing in the Dark," "The Origin of Others," and "The Source of Self-Regard"  and edited books about political and social issues." She also wrote the lyrics for the opera "Margaret Garner" in collaboration with composer Richard Danielpour. She wrote plays as well, most notably collaborating with stage director Peter Sellars and Malian musician, Rokia Traore, on "Desdemona," a fresh take on "Othello" staged in Europe and the United States from 2011 to 2015.

Toni Morrison died in New York City on Aug. 5, 2019, at the age of 88.

In November 2019, a memorial service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York featured tributes by writers, thinkers, activists, and public figures. In 2019, Lorain County designated her birthday Toni Morrison Day, and the U.S. Senate passed a resolution honoring her. In 2020, the Ohio legislature made Toni Morrison Day a statewide commemoration.

The Toni Morrison Society, founded in 1993 and now based at Oberlin College, continues to promote the teaching, reading, and study of her work. The society also sponsors the Bench by the Road Project, an initiative to place metal benches at important African American history sites, a direct response to a 1989 interview in which Morrison reflected on the absence of even the most basic memorials to slavery. Morrison's ultimate memorials, however, are her novels, which are, in the words of the U.S. Senate, "dedicated to dramatizing the complex humanity and art of Black people."

The Toni Morrison Forever stamp is sold in panes of 20. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #ToniMorrisonStamp.

Postal Products

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, or at Post Office locations nationwide.

Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price.

A video of the ceremony will be available on facebook.com/usps. Information for ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at usps.com/shop.

Please Note: The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to nearly 165 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America's most valued and trusted brands.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

For USPS media resources, including broadcast quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com

National contact: Felicia Lott

[email protected]

usps.com/news

Local: Xavier C. Hernandez

[email protected]

usps.com/news

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service
Banishing blah flavors and unleashing a superfood powerhouse, Sutter Foods unveils snackable, craveable walnuts at Expo West  and is giving away a year of free nuts!

ANAHEIM, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Meet the world's finest brand of bold, snackable walnuts: Unbound Snacks. Packing a punch with plant-based protein and omega-3 ALAs, this innovative brand is on a mission to show the world just how flavorful and nutritious walnuts should be. Unbound Snacks premium roasted California walnuts brings both bold taste and lasting benefits for heart health, brain function and reducing inflammation. Combine this superfood with roasted flavor and you've hit the snack pot! Interested snackers at the 2023 Natural Product Expo West show can enter to win via a nutty challenge at the Unbound Snacks booth.

Unbound Snacks Chili Lime Walnuts

Unbound Snacks is launching with five outrageously craveable walnut flavors:

Chili Lime: Dusted with a punchy piquant mix for just the right kick;

Dusted with a punchy piquant mix for just the right kick; Butter Toffee: A hint of buttery goodness to satisfy your sweet-salty snack craving;

Cinnamon: Sprinkled with the perfect cinnamon sugar ratio we've all been looking for;

Sea Salt and Pepper: Tossed with sea salt and fresh black pepper to banish the blah;

Original: No frills, just our premium roasted walnuts. They're that good.

"Unbound Snacks is ready to show the most food-forward minds and tastebuds that flavorful, roasted walnuts are where it's at," says Anjali Bhatti, president of Unbound Snacks. "Living life unbound is about saying yes to healthy choices, joyful moments, and sensational taste  and our delicious California walnuts deliver all three."

Unbound Snacks was created by Sutter Foods, a third generation of family farmers based in the Sacramento Valley who are pioneering the next generation of goodies made from nutrient-dense walnuts. With mouth-watering flavor serving plant-based protein and omega-3 ALAs, Unbound Snacks is on a mission to show the world just how flavorful and nutritious walnuts should be and encourage everyone to accept nothing less than awesome snacks.

Unbound Snacks are now available online and will be debuting at 2023 Natural Product Expo West from March 7-11 at booth 160. To learn more about the company's story, founders, and lineup of mouth-watering offerings, visit www.unboundsnacks.com.

About Unbound Snacks

Unbound Snacks is a family-owned company founded by third-generation walnut farmers in the Sacramento Valley with a mission to make superfood walnuts snackable and craveable. Unbound Snacks amplifies its fresh, premium, California-grown walnuts with bold, unique flavors like Chili Lime, Toffee Butter, Sea Salt & Pepper and Cinnamon. With 4g of protein, 2.5g of omega-3 fatty acids and an unforgettable taste, Unbound Snacks walnuts deliver a crunchy, craveable snack that fits your busy lifestyle. Learn more at www.unboundsnacks.com or follow on Instagram and Facebook.

SOURCE Unbound Snacks
ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PureCars, the leading customer data and marketing platform for automotive dealers, announced today it has achieved 2023 Premier Partner status, the highest tier of the Google Partners program.

Google recently recognized the achievements of top-performing digital marketing partners across the globe. PureCars was one of a select group of companies to be designated as Premier Partners in the Google Partners program . This program is designed for advertising agencies and third parties that manage Google Ads accounts on behalf of other brands or businesses. Its mission is to empower companies by providing them with innovative tools, resources, and support to help their clients succeed and grow online.

"We're delighted to have been recognized again as a Google Premier Partner," said Stephane Ferri, CEO at PureCars. "We pride ourselves in providing innovative digital marketing solutions across our customer base and earning Premier Partner status with Google reflects these efforts. We look forward to our continued partnership in 2023."

The Google Partners program underwent significant changes in 2022, including redefining what it means to be a Premier Partner, through advanced program requirements and offering Premier Partner benefits to promote growth and success with Google Ads. In 2023, the program continues to support its Premier Partners and their clients.

"Congratulations to our Premier Partners for 2023. These companies are among the top 3% of Google Partners in their respective countries. It's a true accomplishment, one that signals their leading expertise in Google Ads, in forging new client relationships, and in helping clients grow. We look forward to supporting them as they help their customers build smart online strategies and drive long-term success," said Marcin Karnowski, Senior Director of Ads Marketing.

About PureCars

PureCars helps thousands of dealers win their markets with solutions that drive more sales and ROs at lower costs. Our unique combination of customer data management, advanced advertising solutions, digital merchandising and market analytics provide dealers and partners with marketing technology that increases efficiency and profitability. We are a certified digital provider for 16 OEMs in the U.S. and 1 in Canada, maintain compliance with 40+ brands and serve 65 of the top 100 dealer groups in North America. Visit www.purecars.com to learn more.

SOURCE PureCars
Following Management Buyout, Qorvis Puts Focus on Delivering Influence and Capital to Global Clients

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Qorvis announces the relaunch of the global advisory and strategic communications agency's brand, combining a 20-year legacy with new markets and expanded capabilities to more effectively serve clients in the face of an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate and economy.

The relaunch comes following the management buyout announced December 31, led by long-time Qorvis executive Matt J. Lauer.

"We are a reborn agency, with a unique offering at the nexus of influence and capital," says Lauer, who serves as the new chief executive officer after nearly two decades at Qorvis. "We have the reach and resources to help clients accelerate growth, secure capital, and influence outcomes in the markets that matter most."

In addition to a refreshed brand, the Qorvis relaunch includes:

Two new primary hubs in Geneva and Dubai , in addition to the Washington, D.C. HQ and a presence in additional global business and policy centers.

and , in addition to the HQ and a presence in additional global business and policy centers. Three purpose-built practice groups: Strategic Communications, Geopolitical Solutions, and Market Intelligence & Compliance, a new offering to help corporations navigate the increasingly complex financial and regulatory environment, access capital markets, and communicate with transparency.

New capabilitiesincluding capital and financial transaction compliance and transparency solutions, and branded news and premium contentas well as expanded advocacy, strategic communications, creative, and digital services.

"I'm excited to return to Qorvis, which has been reimagined with an unmatched global outlook, and expanded set of capabilities," says Richard Silipigni, who will lead global business development efforts from the D.C. office. "We offer the creativity, dynamism, and agility of a startup, with the depth of expertise of a 20-year brand, and we plan to leverage our position to continue to serve both existing and new clients and markets worldwide."

The management team includes:

Matt J. Lauer, Chief Executive Officer: With Qorvis since 2004, Lauer founded the agency's public diplomacy brand and manages communications campaigns for multinational corporations and sovereign governments. In the aftermath of 9/11, he served as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the Department of State under Secretary Colin L. Powell, and he advises the board of Mercuria Energy Trading, one of the largest commodities traders in the world, as global head of public affairs.

Maria Jose Abad, Chief Operating Officer: Previously a vice president at Qorvis, for over a decade she has advised consumer and corporate clients and sovereign governments on strategic communications and event management in Europe, Africa, and South America. Originally from Ecuador, she's been named among Huffington Post's 40 Top Latinos in American Media, 50 Top Latino Voices to Follow on Twitter, and 7 Young Latinos in Online Media.

Samantha Sault, Chief Editorial Officer: Sault joined the buyout after founding The Samantha Sault Agency, which provides bespoke editorial content and branded newsrooms to clients worldwide. She has 15 years of experience in media and communications in D.C. and Geneva, notably as vice president of communications for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and an editor in the World Economic Forum's Davos content newsroom. A Hachette Book Group author, she began her career as a digital editor at The Weekly Standard.

Richard Silipigni, Chief Development Officer: After leading the strategy behind the inception, growth, and ultimate acquisition of Bluetext, one of the top digital agencies in the U.S., Silipigni returns to Qorvis to lead business development and leverage the agency's global footprint to expand its digital-first branding, marketing, and policy communication strategies into new markets. Previously, he held top sales positions with WTOP Radio and the Washington Redskins.

Ozkan Yilmaz, Chief Financial Officer: Yilmaz is a highly experienced professional in the banking and energy trading industries. He has spent a significant portion of his career working for ING Bank, holding various positions in New York, London, and Amsterdam. He also held a leadership role at Mercuria Energy Trading as Vice President of Investments, and he is a CFA charterholder.

Grace Fenstermaker, Managing Partner, EMEA: In her return to Qorvis, Fenstermaker oversees campaigns for sovereign governments and multinational corporations from Dubai, primarily in the energy and banking sectors. She has served as a public affairs advisor to SOCAR Trading, Wellbred Trading, and Novum Energy. She was a media strategy advisor to Egypt's Office of the Presidential Spokesperson during the country's 2014 election and began her career at Fox News.

Brad Klapper, Managing Partner, Washington, D.C.: Previously a senior vice president at Qorvis, Klapper has advised foreign ministers, ambassadors, CEOs, and global religious leaders on communications, strategy, and geopolitical dynamics. Previously, he was an award-winning writer and editor at The Associated Press, covering the biggest stories in world affairs and reporting from more than 70 countries.

For more information, visit www.qorvis.com.

Our New Address:

The National Press Building

529 14th St NW, Suite 1101

Washington, D.C. 20045

+1-202-725-5623

SOURCE Qorvis Communications
RMC secures digital currency mining industry leader Neil Galloway as new COO and increases sales team with two industry veterans.

JACKSON, Wyo., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebel Mining Company (RMC), an industry- leading operator of Blockchain and High-Performance Computing Data Centers, announced today the hiring of three highly experienced industry professionals. Neil Galloway, a seasoned leader in cryptocurrency mining, now serves RMC as Chief Operating Officer, replacing Mason LeGrange as LeGrange steps into a new position at RMC's parent company Pangaea General Management (PGM). The addition of Tyler Abad and Max Niederluecke as Senior Account Executives, also strengthen RMC's place as a premier US-based data center operator.

Neil is arguably the single most capable, experienced operator in the space. Tweet this Rebel Mining Company recently secured three mining industry veterans. Pictured, from left: Max Niederluecke, Senior Account Executive; Neil Galloway, Chief Operating Officer and Tyler Abad, Senior Account Executive. As it continues to expand, Rebel Mining Company's focus is to further deepen its core competencies to serve large-scale operators as well as high-net-worth family offices within the mining industry.

"Neil is arguably the single most capable, experienced operator in the space, and we are excited to have him running the operations at RMC. Under his command, we can all rest assured that there are adults in the room making sure things get done correctly and on schedule, something this industry needs more of." Said Thomas Guel of PGM.

Neil Galloway, a true industry veteran, has been operating in digital currency mining since 2013. Having operated nearly every ASIC model since, Neil rapidly accelerated his way through the mining industry, working with industry leaders and operating some of the largest sites in this space. As a well-respected professional within the large-scale mining industry, his move to RMC signals the company's momentum and exciting trajectory.

"Rebel Mining Company understands the value in the underlying infrastructure that powers the Bitcoin network," explains Neil. "Owning every aspect of the infrastructure gives us a great amount of control over the operational quality we can provide miners. I'm confident in our ability, and I'm excited to deploy hash power with such a capable and skilled team."

RMC's new sales team hires will further deepen Rebel's ability to provide top-level consultation and service to every RMC client. Tyler Abad, an experienced mining operator in his own right, is uniquely positioned to assist potential and current customers. His work in the legal, government, financial and technical sectors provide him with a broader understanding of customer needs, creating a significantly higher level of support. Max Niederluecke is a seasoned industry expert that has successfully onboarded over 500 megawatts worth of commercial colocation contracts. Having navigated some of the largest deals in this space, Max is uniquely positioned to provide seamless support for even the most complicated deals.

As it continues to expand resources, RMC's focus is to further deepen its core competencies to serve large-scale operators as well as high-net-worth family offices within the mining industry.

About Rebel Mining Company.

Rebel Mining Company (RMC) is a US-based operation strategically developed to support the rapidly growing Blockchain and High-Performance Computing (HPC) industry through power infrastructure, co-location sites, and network solutions that can support and propel any project through this hyper-growth field.

To discover more about RMC, visit: https://rebelmines.io/.

SOURCE Rebel Mining Company, LLC
Led by Aspiration and One Small Planet, Funding Will Help Trusted Environmental Asset Developer Create Long-Term Value for Frontline Communities and Investors

DENVER, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RenewWest , an environmental asset developer, today announced its $3.2 million seed financing round, which was led by Aspiration and One Small Planet. Other participating investors include Clear Sky Advisors, a subsidiary of Concord Ltd. RenewWest will use the funding to expand its technical team, grow the project pipeline, and invest directly with land stewards around the world.

RenewWest is removing carbon at scale by delivering some of the highest quality nature-based projects in the market. Every RenewWest project has two objectives: optimize carbon storage capacity by accelerating the restoration lifecycle and collaborate with local land stewards to equitably distribute economic benefits. Nature-based climate solutions have the ability to provide around 30% of the global emissions reduction needed to achieve the 1.5 degree target under the Paris Agreement, according to a report by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey , all while supporting frontline communities and improving biodiversity.

"We are advancing scientifically rigorous methodologies in order to deliver high-integrity, long-lasting conservation and restoration outcomes, while ensuring frontline communities have tangible economic benefits like revenue sharing, jobs, education, and economies," said John Cleland, CEO, RenewWest. "This funding will allow us to expand globally, helping communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change."

"In my country, local communities are benefiting from conserved wetlands, which ultimately provide better livelihoods through protection of their houses, protection and recovery of fishing, ecotourism income, and a growing cultural appreciation for their natural assets," said Dr. Jorge Alfredo Herrera Silveira, a Yucatan-based marine biologist and global pioneer in research on mangroves and coastal ecosystems. "Projects like the ones RenewWest is developing in Yucatan, Mexico have a direct economic benefit for local communities."

Since 2018, RenewWest has spearheaded the Collins-Modoc Reforestation Project , the largest carbon reforestation project in US history, and has expanded their work to restore and conserve ecosystems in the United States, Peru, Mexico, Jamaica, and Papua New Guinea.

"The nature-based solutions market is rapidly expanding, signaling a growing recognition that healthy ecosystems are the world's most powerful carbon sink. The pressure is on for businesses to demonstrate measurable impact," said Olivia Albrecht, CEO, Aspiration. "Investing in environmental repair is an effective way to do this. We're partnering with RenewWest because they're one of the few developers whose track record proves that they can deliver complex projects with high integrity and high-quality credits at scale."

"As we work to accelerate the harmony of environmental and economic wealth, we are incredibly excited about the high-energy team at RenewWest, their forestry expertise, and high-quality reforestation efforts," says Jack Wielebinksi, who runs the venture capital arm of One Small Planet, a company working to bridge the natural and financial worlds.

To learn more about RenewWest's approach to environmental repair, visit RenewWest.com .

About RenewWest

RenewWest is an environmental asset developer demonstrating that scientifically rigorous strategies can create economic value while mitigating climate change. The company operates projects in the United States, Central and South America, and Oceania and works across multiple ecosystems like temperate forests, rainforests, wetlands and mangroves, peatlands, and degraded rangelands. Since 2018, the company has worked on developing nature-based projects that will deliver high-quality, independently verified carbon credits while increasing biodiversity, returning value to investors, and improving economic outcomes for frontline communities. RenewWest integrates science, technology, and operational expertise to accelerate the project lifecycle and generate more predictable, higher-quality credits. The team has been at the forefront of forestry and carbon markets since its founding and led the largest carbon reforestation project in United States history. RenewWest is headquartered in Colorado and backed by Aspiration and One Small Planet. For more information, visit RenewWest.com .

About One Small Planet

One Small Planet is an organization focused on the evolution of the global economy by integrating natural intelligence with modern technologies and systems in support of harmonious environmental and economic wealth. The company manages an investment fund deploying capital for ecological, social, and economic wealth creation; supports and operates regenerative land projects; provides philanthropy for indigenous-led and other frontline organizations; and convenes a community of thought leaders and innovators around the world. For more information, visit OneSmallPlanet.org .

About Aspiration

Aspiration is a high-impact climate finance company working at scale to help enterprises, consumers, and investors achieve their climate goals. Founded in 2013, the company sources, monitors and invests in carbon removal projects across the globe to generate high-quality carbon credits. Every project in Aspiration's portfolio is held to the most rigorous standards, ensuring each drives tangible, positive impacts for people and the planet. Aspiration is a Certified B Corp, a member of Project Drawdown, 1t.org, Climate Pledge, and many other critical industry groups dedicated to accelerating climate action. For more information, visit Aspiration.com or Aspiration.com/business .

Media Contact:

Alexandra Pony

[email protected]

250.858.0656

SOURCE RenewWest
SOUTHLAKE, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Renibus Therapeutics ("Renibus"), a clinical-stage biotech company focusing on the prevention and treatment of cardio-renal diseases, today announced that Frank Stonebanks, Renibus' Co-CEO, will present a company overview at the Oppenheimer 33rd Annual Healthcare Conference, taking place virtually from March 13-15, 2023. Renibus management will also participate in one-on-one meetings with investors during the conference.

About Renibus

Renibus is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to treating, improving and extending patients' lives by developing breakthrough products to prevent disease progression, improve outcomes and protect against organ damage in cardiorenal diseases. The Company has developed a robust portfolio of products that activate multiple cytoprotective pathways, including organ protection via preconditioning. Renibus' first-in-class lead program, RBT-1 (stannic protoporfin/iron sucrose), is a potent inducer of Nrf2, IL-10, and ferritin. RBT-1 is currently in Phase 2 development in cardiac surgery and will soon enter a Phase 3 registration study for its lead indication to reduce the risk of postoperative complications following cardiothoracic surgery. RBT-2 is an antioxidant and anti-fibrotic drug that has been shown to reduce the risk of CKD progression in preclinical models and will be in IND enabling and clinical development in 2023. RBT-3, a novel, low molecular weight iron nanoparticle, is one component of RBT-1 and is targeted at reducing the risk of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and will be taken into clinical development in 2023. RBT-9 (stannic protoporfin) is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drug with broad spectrum anti-viral properties. It has been investigated in a 42-patient Phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in high-risk patients with COVID-19. RBT-9 significantly improved clinical status by 1.5 points within 7 days of treatment compared with those who received placebo (p=0.035). Improvement was also observed in subjects who were hospitalized at baseline (1.5 point improvement within 7 days, p=0.016). Additionally, in these hospitalized subjects, hospital LOS was reduced by 68.1% (p=0.035) in those treated with RBT-9 compared with placebo. Additional pre-clinical work is underway to help inform the clinical development strategy.

For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.Renibus.com and engage with us on LinkedIn.

Investor and Media Contact:

Amy Conrad

Juniper Point

[email protected]

858-914-1962

Business Development Contact

Frank Stonebanks

Co-CEO, Renibus

[email protected]

SOURCE Renibus Therapeutics
IAA Acquisition Accelerates Ritchie Bros.' Growth Strategy and Is a Unique Opportunity to Deliver Returns Significantly in Excess of Standalone Value

Independent Proxy Advisory Firm Egan-Jones Recommends Ritchie Bros. Shareholders Vote "FOR" All Proposals to Approve Acquisition of IAA

Special Meeting of Shareholders is Fast Approaching  Vote Promptly by Internet, Telephone or ProxyEdge

Board Continues to Unanimously Recommend that Ritchie Bros. Shareholders Vote

"FOR" All Proposals on the WHITE Proxy Card

VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE: RBA) (TSX: RBA) ("Ritchie Bros.") today reiterated the Board of Directors' unanimous recommendation that Ritchie Bros.' shareholders vote "FOR" all proposals listed on the WHITE proxy card in connection with the upcoming Special Meeting of Shareholders related to the acquisition of IAA, Inc. (NYSE: IAA) ("IAA"). In addition, Ritchie Bros. stated that independent proxy advisory firm Egan-Jones Proxy Services ("Egan-Jones") has recommended that Ritchie Bros. shareholders vote "FOR" the transaction.

The Special Meeting, which is scheduled for March 14, 2023, is fast approaching. Shareholders are urged to vote TODAY to ensure their vote is promptly recorded. Materials related to the Special Meeting and instructions on how to vote "FOR" the IAA acquisition can be found at www.RBASpecialMeeting.com.

Ann Fandozzi, CEO of Ritchie Bros., said, "A vote 'FOR' the IAA acquisition is a vote 'FOR' the Board, management team and strategy that have delivered outstanding returns for Ritchie Bros.' shareholders, including a 48% return over the past several yearsi. The IAA acquisition is a unique opportunity to drive even greater growth and value creation far exceeding what Ritchie Bros. could achieve standalone. Our Board and management team are confident that this is the right transaction at the right time and that we have the industry experience and operating expertise to capture the significant upside potential we can create together with IAA."

In reiterating the Board's recommendation that Ritchie Bros. shareholders vote "FOR" the IAA acquisition, Ritchie Bros. noted:

The strategic and financial benefits of the IAA transaction are compelling for Ritchie Bros. shareholders. IAA expands our reach into an attractive, adjacent vertical with a growing, countercyclical business. We believe the Ritchie Bros. + IAA combination will act as an accelerant to our transformation and enable us to build on our record of growth and superior value creation well into the future. Indeed, the $350 million to $900 millionii of total estimated potential EBITDA from expected cost savings and revenue opportunities represents up to an additional $76 per share in potential valueiii  more than double Ritchie Bros.' closing stock price of $60.89 as of yesterday, March 6, 2023. This potential value is comprised of up to $61 per share of potential value from cost savings and incremental revenue opportunities at the pre-transaction blended multiple and up to $15 per share of potential value from multiple expansion to the average IAA-Ritchie Bros. blended multiple since the IAA spin.

Further, the transaction will more than double Ritchie Bros.' gross transaction value (GTV)iv as of year-end 2022, as we offer more customers more value-added services and solutions, supporting deeper relationships and accelerating our marketplace flywheel.

The estimated cumulative free cash flowv of $2.5 billion from 2023 to 2026 will provide financial flexibility to continue investing in the business and enabling rapid deleveraging to 2.0xvi adjusted EBITDA within 24 months post close.

Ritchie Bros.' management team is proven and has the right experience to successfully execute on this transaction. Detailed integration plans have been developed; dedicated, experienced integration operators and leaders have been appointed; and a steering committee with clear charters, milestones and KPIs has been established to drive integration accountability. We are excited to bring Ritchie Bros. and IAA together and look forward to the significant value creation opportunities ahead.

In making its recommendation that Ritchie Bros. shareholders vote "FOR" all proposals being considered at the Special Meeting, Egan-Jones stated in its March 6, 2023 reportvii:

"We believe that there is a compelling reason to vote on the proposed merger of RBA and IAA as the benefits of combining the two companies outweigh the benefits of remaining as a stand-alone company. In our view, the merger sets a realistic approach of shareholder value creation and maximization in the long-run."

"We believe that the merger will be financially accretive to RBA representing a $250-$780M of EBITDA potential to accelerate de-leveraging, thus enhancing capital allocation, capital return and cost reduction. We believe that the financial attractiveness of the transaction will further drive growth opportunities for RBA."

"We believe that IAA's business will complement RBA's strategic vision to position itself as a key player in the industry. By the consummation of transaction, it is expected that combined yard footprint will enhance customer experience and strong market position, thereby opening cost synergies and revenue opportunities."

EVERY VOTE IS IMPORTANT

RITCHIE BROS. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VOTE "FOR" THE IAA TRANSACTION ON THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY

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 Capital Group LP.

It is important that Ritchie Bros.' shareholders vote as soon as possible, no matter how many shares you own. Even if you have already voted using a green proxy card, you have the right to change your vote by simply using the WHITE proxy card and voting "FOR" all proposals listed. Only your last-dated proxy card will count.

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"). 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 management believes 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; 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 EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA 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 SEC filings of RBA.

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 The period from January 3, 2020, the last trading day prior to Ann Fandozzi's appointment as CEO, through January 31, 2023 ii Potential opportunities and related information included for illustrative purposes only and do not imply future targets, expectations or guidance. Estimates do not incorporate potential costs to achieve or specific timeframes. Figures are illustrative and un-discounted iii 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. Value per share upside reflects illustrative EV / NTM EBITDA range of 13  16x, based on pre-transaction blend at the low end and illustrative ~3.0x rerating 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 Ritchie Bros. and IAA over last twelve-month period ending November 4, 2022. Figures are illustrative and un-discounted iv GTV represents gross transaction value, which is the total proceeds from all items sold at the company's auctions and online marketplaces. GTV is not a measure of financial performance, liquidity, or revenue, and is not presented in the company's consolidated financial statements v Represents estimated cumulative unlevered free cash flow generated from '23E '26E. Unlevered free cash flow defined as adj. EBITDA including net realizable synergies less cash taxes, less capital expenditures and less changes in net working capital inclusive of estimated integration costs vi Leverage ratio represents net debt, calculated as pro forma debt less cash, divided by Adjusted 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 vii Permission to use quotes neither sought nor obtained

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Rock Tech Lithium Inc. (TSXV: RCK) (OTCQX: RCKTF) (FWB: RJIB) (WKN: A1XF0V) (the "Company" or "Rock Tech") is pleased to announce that the company has mobilized a diamond drill rig to start the first phase of the 2023 exploration drill campaign at its 100%-owned Georgia Lake Lithium project in the Thunder Bay Mining District of Ontario (the "Georgia Lake Project").

Map is showing location of focus areas for Phase I of the 2023 Drilling Program at Rock Techs Georgia Lake project. (CNW Group/Rock Tech Lithium Inc.)

"It is our aim for 2023 to unlock the exploration potential of our Georgia Lake Project by advancing our drilling and prospecting activities across the land package. We are pleased to be able to initiate a drill program which we believe will grow our MZN and McVittie deposits as the first phase of our 2023 exploration campaign. I expect that our exploration program will lead to a sizeable increase of our Resource over the next year," Dirk Harbecke, Rock Tech's Chief Executive says.

Rock Tech intends to increase its total mineral resources at its 100% owned Georgia Lake project during 2023 and 2024. The first phase of this commitment ("Phase I") is the mobilization of a diamond drill rig for the completion of a 3,500 meters program. The exploration drilling will include targeted drilling, aimed at expanding the existing Spodumene mineralization at Main Zone North (MZN) and McVittie deposits. (Refer to Figure 1 below for location of MZN and McVittie.)

The MZN deposit currently contains the largest Mineral Resource within the Georgia Lake Pegmatite Field and remains open along strike to the east. The planned drilling will aim at extending Spodumene mineralization along strike to the east of MZN. Additional step-out drilling south of MZN will focus on extending mineralization in areas where Rock Tech have identified new mineralization during the 2022 drilling program (published on October 7th, 2022, and titled Rock Tech Lithium Completes 2021  2022 Drill Program at Georgia Lake").

The McVittie deposit comprises three spodumene dikes which have been mapped for more than 600m of strike length. It currently has an Inferred Resource of 1Mt at 1.0% Li2O and is open at depth and along strike in both directions.

On November 15, 2022, the Company reported a Mineral Resource estimate of the Georgia Lake Property in its Prefeasibility Study ("PFS"). It outlined 10.60 million tonnes (mt) of Indicated Mineral Resource at a grade of 0.88% Li2O and 4.22 mt of Inferred Mineral Resource at a grade of 1.0% Li2O limited to eight deposits in the Northern and Southern Spodumene Pegmatite Areas (Refer to Table 1 for summary of mineral resources at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project).

The Georgia Lake Project, located between Nipigon and Beardmore, Ontario is comprised of 1,042 hectares of mineral leases and 5,686 hectares of mineral claims.

ATTACHMENTS

FIGURE 1 | Map showing location of focus areas for Phase I of the 2023 Drilling Program at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project.

TABLE 1 | Overview of the Mineral Resource as of 2022's Prefeasibility Study

2022 MINERAL RESOURCE

Classification Mining Cut-off grade Li 2 O (%) Zone Tonnes Li 2 O (%) Indicated Open pit 0.3 NSPA OP Indicated 4,242,618 0.88 Indicated Underground 0.6 NSPA UG Indicated 6,358,650 0.89 Total Indicated





10,601,268 0.88 Inferred Open pit 0.3 NSPA OP Inferred 245,933 0.78 Inferred Underground 0.6 NSPA UG Inferred 2,073,069 0.91 Inferred Underground 0.6 SSPA UG Inferred 1,903,274 1.12 Total Inferred





4,222,276 1.00

Notes: a. CIM Definition Standards (2014) were used for reporting the Mineral Resources. b. The Qualified Person is Dinara Nussipakynova, P.Geo. of AMC. c. Cut-off grade for open pit Mineral Resources is 0.30% Li 2 O. d. Open pit Mineral Resources are constrained by the optimization pits shell at a lithium concentrate price of USD 1,100/t with metallurgical recovery of 80% and concentrate grade of 6%. Both cut off use same parameters. e. The pit optimization was based on following cost assumptions: i. Mill feed mining costs of USD 4.5/t and waste mining cost of USD 4.5/t. ii. Processing costs of USD 25/t and General and Administration costs of USD 15/t. iii. Slope angle 45-48 degrees. f. Cut-off grade for underground Mineral Resources is 0.60% Li 2 O based on a USD 45/t mining cost and processing and G&A the same as the open pit. g. Underground Mineral Resources are not constrained. h. Mineralized Density used as 2.69 t/m3. i. Waste Density used as 2.75 t/m3. j. Drilling results up to 31 July 2022. k. The numbers may not compute exactly due to rounding. j. Numbers may not compute exactly due to rounding.

SAMPLING AND QAQC PROCEDURE

Samples will be taken across every spodumene-bearing pegmatite and 1 metre into the barren host rock on either side of pegmatite dikes. Sample lengths are generally around 1 metre, though individual sample length will be determined based on internal zoning of the dikes and the locations of their contacts. Core to be sampled will be cut in half with one half being sent for analysis and the other half remaining in the box for reference. All core will be stored at Rock Tech's core facility in Beardmore, Ontario. Each sample will be put into its own plastic sample bag with a sample tag and closed with zip ties. About 13% of the samples that will be submitted to Activation Laboratories Ltd. ("Actlabs") for analysis will be QAQC samples. QAQC samples will be inserted into the sample stream and will consist of a high- and low-grade lithium standards, blank material, and duplicates. Samples will be dropped at Actlabs' preparation laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario for crushing and pulverizing, and will subsequently be sent to Actlabs' geochemistry laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario for analysis of 41 elements using fusion plus ICP-OES or ICP-MS. Sodium peroxide fusion plus ICP-OES. Will be used to analyze for lithium. Actlabs is independent of the Company.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Amanuel Bein, P.Geo., Chief Exploration Geologist of the Georgia Lake Project, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects. Exploration data was collected and verified following the guidelines outlined in CIM Mineral Exploration Best Practice Guidelines.

ABOUT ROCK TECH

Rock Tech is a cleantech company on a mission to produce lithium hydroxide for EV batteries. The Company plans to build lithium converters at the door-step of its customers, to guarantee supply-chain transparency and just-in-time delivery. To close the most pressing gap in the clean mobility story, Rock Tech has gathered one of the strongest teams in the industry. The Company has adopted strict ESG standards and is developing a proprietary refining process aimed at further increasing efficiency and sustainability. Rock Tech plans to source raw material from its own mineral project in Canada as well as procuring it from other responsibly producing mines. In the years to come, the Company expects to also source raw material from discarded batteries. Rock Tech's goal: to create a closed-loop lithium production system.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY NOTE CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The following cautionary statements are in addition to all other cautionary statements and disclaimers contained elsewhere in, or referenced by, this press release.

Certain information set forth in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which are based on Rock Tech's current expectations, estimates, and assumptions in light of its experience and is perception of historical trends. All statements other than statements of historical facts may constitute forward-looking information. Often, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words or phrases such as "plan", "estimate", "project", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe", "hope", "may" and similar expressions, as well as "will", "shall" and all other indications of future tense. All forward-looking information set forth in this press release is expressly qualified in its entirety by the cautionary statements referred to in this section.

In particular, forward-looking information contained in this press release includes: statements regarding the 2022, 2023, and 2024 drilling campaigns and mobilization and prospecting activities and the objectives, results and the benefits thereof; the Company's expectations regarding the outcome and proof of the expected potential, the Company's intentions with respect to the development and timing thereof and statements regarding further exploration activities future plans, activities, and schedules relating to such projects and related development; Rock Tech's opinions, beliefs and expectations regarding the Company's business strategy, development and exploration opportunities and projects; and plans and objectives of management for the Company's operations and properties.

Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions of the Company and, in certain cases, third party experts, that are believed by management of Rock Tech to be reasonable at the time they were made. This forward-looking information was derived utilizing numerous assumptions regarding, among other things, that the results of the exploration program will be indicative of future results; that the way from the 2022 published release on the prefeasibility study (PFS) towards a feasibility study (DFS) will continue as currently planned; the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of, feedstock and intermediate and final lithium products; that all required regulatory approvals and permits can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; expected growth, performance and business operations; future commodity prices and exchange rates; prospects, growth opportunities and financing available to the Company; general business and economic conditions; the costs and results of exploration, development and operating activities; Rock Tech's ability to procure supplies and other equipment necessary for its business; and the accuracy and reliability of technical data, forecasts, estimates and studies. The foregoing list is not exhaustive of all assumptions which may have been used in developing the forward-looking information. While Rock Tech considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results.

In addition, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Rock Tech's control, that may cause Rock Tech's actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to be materially different from that which is expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to vary materially include the risk that Rock Tech will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due, delays in government approval for the construction and commissioning of the Georgia Lake Project, changes in commodity prices, Rock Tech's ability to retain and attract skilled staff and to secure feedstock from third party suppliers, unanticipated events and other difficulties related to construction, development and operation of converters and mines, the cost of compliance with current and future environmental and other laws and regulations, title defects, competition from existing and new competitors, changes in currency exchange rates and market prices of Rock Tech's securities, Rock Tech's history of losses, impacts of climate change and other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Financial Instruments and Other Risks" in Rock Tech's most recently filed Management Discussion and Analysis, a copy of which is filed electronically through SEDAR and is available online at www.sedar.com. Such risks and uncertainties do not represent an exhaustive list of all risk factors that could cause actual events, results, performance and/or achievements to vary materially from the forward-looking information.

It can not be guaranteed that actual events, results, performance and/or achievements will be consistent with the forward-looking information and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. This forward-looking information reflects Rock Tech management's current views as at the date of this press release. Except as may be required by law, Rock Tech undertakes no obligation and expressly disclaims any responsibility, obligation or undertaking to update or to revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, to reflect any change in Rock Tech's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such information is based.

The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purposes of assisting readers in understanding Rock Tech's plans, objectives and goals and is not appropriate for any other purposes.

SOURCE Rock Tech Lithium Inc.
TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global apparel lifestyle brand, Roots Corporation ("Roots"), has appointed Joey Gollish as a Creative Director in Residence, effective March 7th, 2023 for a period expected to extend through 2025. This appointment represents the first time in Roots almost 50-year history that it has welcomed an outside creative to the brand. During his tenure, Gollish will work with Karuna Scheinfeld, Chief Product Officer, who leads the creative and design teams. Gollish, the Founder and Creative Director of the acclaimed fashion label Mr. Saturday, will continue to helm its design and creative direction during this period.

Joey Gollish joins Roots Canada as New Creative Director in Residence.

"As we embark on our 50th year, we understand the importance of staying innovative and forward-looking in today's ever-changing market. Through our collaboration with Mr. Saturday in December 2022, we found that Joey had a deep love for the Roots brand and a unique perspective that will support our long-term objective of increasing the brand's global appeal," commented Meghan Roach, President & CEO. "We look forward to the exciting opportunities this additional creative influence will bring to Roots.

This announcement marks an exciting new chapter for Mr. Saturday and Roots, who have worked closely together on a range of collaborations over the past two years, including the best-selling capsule collection "Roots Saturday Airlines," released at the end of last year. Gollish has also worked in collaboration with Roots on leather outerwear, travel bags, and accessories for Mr. Saturday's Fall/Winter 2023 runway show in Paris and will once again integrate Roots into Mr. Saturday's Spring/Summer 2024 for Paris Fashion Week. The creative synergies Roots and Mr. Saturday experienced working on these projects led to the vision for this unique partnership.

With shared values for outstanding craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and the pursuit of exploration and history, this appointment is a meaningful progression for the rising Canadian design talent with a leading Canadian legacy brand. Gollish has a distinct vision and specialty in storytelling around historical events that will bring a fresh perspective to Roots, while also honoring its storied past  a history that spans half a century as the brand celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Roots has recently renewed its collection to include sustainable content in the majority of its products while expanding its gender-free and extending sizing assortment. Working with Gollish represents another step in the Roots evolution, building on a tradition to create new and compelling work. Roots will also take a minority investment in Mr. Saturday as part of the arrangement.

At just 29 years old, Joey Gollish is one of the most celebrated and exciting designers coming out of Canada right now. Recently named Canada's 2022 Menswear Designer of The Year by Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards, Gollish was also featured as one of the "New Names to Know" by Vogue and "1 of 20 Canadians Shaping the Next 20 Years of Culture'' by Complex. He is also the winner of 4 Cannes Lions awards and a member of the inaugural cohort of HXOUSE  Toronto's next generation creative incubator and accelerator founded by the Weeknd, La Mar Taylor, and Ahmed Ismael.

Through Mr. Saturday, the brand he founded in 2019, Gollish explores historical narratives, subcultures, movements and defining moments in culture through his design, products, creative visuals, and immersive experiences. Mr. Saturday has presented collections on the official American Collections Calendar at New York Fashion Week and on the official Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode's calendar at Paris Fashion Week.

"Taking on the Creative Director residency for a company deeply rooted in my heritage is a true honour. As Roots celebrates its 50th anniversary, I am excited to reflect on its past and help shape its future. From David Bowie to my parents, Roots has been worn by some of my biggest inspirations. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to the brand's next chapter as we continue to prioritize authenticity, craftsmanship, community, luxury, and storytelling; characteristics also shared by Mr. Saturday. I am grateful for the support of the founders and executive team, who share a vision for advancing the brand while respecting its legacy. I look forward to joining this talented team and embracing this new challenge in my career," added Joey Gollish, Founder and Creative Director of Mr. Saturday.

For more information or interview requests, please contact the individuals below.

Roots Press Contacts:

In Canada: Marta Sadowski, [email protected]

In the US: Jamie Warner, [email protected]

Mr. Saturday Press Contacts:

Chapter 2:

Clara Jeon | [email protected]

Hanna Magstadt | [email protected]

ABOUT ROOTS

Established in 1973, Roots is a global lifestyle brand. Starting from a small cabin in northern Canada, Roots has become a global brand with over 100 corporate retail stores in Canada, two stores in the United States, and an eCommerce platform, www.roots.com , that serves over 55 international markets. We have more than 100 partner-operated stores in Asia, and we also operate a dedicated Roots-branded storefront on Tmall.com in China. We design, market, and sell a broad selection of products in different departments, including women's, men's, children's,and gender-free apparel, leather goods, footwear, and accessories. Our products are built with uncompromising comfort, quality, and style that allows you to feel at home with nature. We offer products designed to meet life's everyday adventures and provide you with the versatility to live your life to the fullest. We also wholesale through business-to-business channels and license the brand to a select group of licensees selling products to major retailers. Roots Corporation is a Canadian corporation doing business as "Roots" and "Roots Canada".

ABOUT JOEY GOLLISH

Joey Gollish is the 29 year old Creative Director and Founder of the brand Mr. Saturday. Gollish explores storytelling about the past in order to contribute to the present and future. Gollish has shown Mr. Saturday collections on the official American Collections Calendar at New York Fashion Week and on the official Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode's calendar at Paris Fashion Week. He continues to push boundaries for Canadian design and talent  being named one of the "New Names to Know" by Vogue, CAFA'S 2022 Canada's Menswear Designer of The Year, "1 of 20 Canadians Shaping the Next 20 Years of Culture" by Complex, and the winner of 4 Cannes Lions awards. In 2023, Gollish was named the Creative Director of Canadian heritage brand Roots.

ABOUT MR. SATURDAY

Mr. Saturday is a Toronto based luxury label helmed by Joey Gollish. A brand that explores historical narratives, subcultures, movements and culture defining moments through its award winning products, creative visuals, campaigns, and immersive experiences, Mr. Saturday has cultivated a global following around its nostalgia driven designs and layered, extraordinary storytelling. The brand has shown on the official American Collections Calendar at New York Fashion Week and on the official Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode's calendar at Paris Fashion Week. Named one of the "New Names to Know" by Vogue, Mr. Saturday has been featured in top outlets including Vogue, Highsnobiety, Hypebeast, WWD, and GQ, and is carried in select top retailers worldwide including SSENSE, Hirshliefers, Patron of the New, and Selfridges.

SOURCE Roots Canada
DENVER, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sam The Concrete Man has been a fast growing franchise since 2020 and continues to exceed customer expectations all across the states. Our rapid growth is due to the outstanding owners of each franchise. From 56 franchises at the end of 2022, we are expecting an estimated 54% increase in franchises for the end of 2023.

The owners of each franchise represent the Sam business by showing integrity, responsibility, and quality with every job. For these reasons, we have selected outstanding franchisees to honor their contributions and leadership within their communities.

Franchisee of the Year:

Franchisee of the year was awarded to Elijah Daley in the St. Louis, Missouri market. Daley was awarded Rookie of the Year the previous year and far surpassed Sam The Concrete Man's expectations.

Rookie of the Year:

Rookie of the Year was awarded to Rob Gervasio in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania market. Gervasio was previously in the Marine Corps and honed the skills he learned there to serve his customers in the greater Harrisburg area. He is known by his customers to go above and beyond, provide excellent customer service, and always provides quality workmanship.

Top Revenue Earner:

Mike Bright was awarded as the Top Revenue Earner for 2022. Bright opened his first location, Sam The Concrete Man North Georgia, in 2020 and has since expanded into the Atlanta market by opening Sam The Concrete Man Atlanta.

Sam The Concrete Man is thrilled with the success of its franchisees and looks forward to bringing on new potential candidates.

About Sam the Concrete Man

Founded in 1989 in Colorado by Sam Wilkins, Sam The Concrete Man is a proven concrete contracting franchise spanning across the U.S. The company's services include residential and commercial flatwork and concrete projects crafted to the highest standard. Headquartered in Denver, Sam The Concrete Man made its mark in Colorado and has now expanded into 28 out of the 50 U.S. states. Sam The Concrete Man is always looking to expand its network with prospective owners who are motivated and eager to uphold the franchise's brand reputation of providing high-quality concrete services at fair prices.

Media Contact:

Lindsey Vandenberg

[email protected]

SOURCE Sam The Concrete Man
Savoy Magazine celebrates diversity and inclusion with exceptional professionals driving positive change in the Spring edition, available for purchase online at SavoyNetwork.com and Amazon.

ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Savoy Magazine has announced the 2023 Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion, recognizing professionals who have driven positive change within their organizations and the corporate world. These executives have implemented innovative diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies to recruit, retain, elevate, and embrace diverse talent.

"We're thrilled to showcase exceptional individuals driving positive change in their organizations and beyond." Tweet this Savoy Magazine Celebrates 22 Years and Honors the Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion in their Spring edition. Featuring Michael C. Hyter, President & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council.

The spring issue of Savoy Magazine features a cover story on Michael C. Hyter, President and CEO of The Executive Leadership Council. In addition, the magazine contains three other special sections: Corporate Diversity Matters, Diversity in Higher Education, and Legal Diversity Matters. Corporate Diversity Matters, features contributions from some of the largest companies in the country, highlighting their efforts to promote diversity within their organizations. Diversity in Higher Education and Legal Diversity Matters sections discuss the diversity initiatives of multiple universities and law firms, respectively.

L.P. Green, II, Publisher of Savoy Magazine, expressed excitement at the opportunity to recognize these exceptional executives in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. "We are thrilled to showcase the achievements of these outstanding individuals who have made a significant impact on their organizations and in the broader corporate world. Their unwavering commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion is an inspiration to us all," said Green.

The full 2023 Most Influential Executives in Diversity & Inclusion list, as well as Corporate Diversity Matters, Diversity in Higher Education, and Legal Diversity Matters sections, are available online exclusively at savoynetwork.com as of March 7, 2023. For those who prefer a print edition, the summer issue of Savoy magazine is available for purchase online through Amazon and savoynetwork.com/shop.

About Savoy

Savoy Magazine celebrates the power, substance, and style of African American lifestyle, serving as a cultural catalyst for the community and driving positive dialogue on Black culture. The magazine is published quarterly and distributed worldwide via subscriptions and newsstands.

SOURCE Savoy Media Group
SinglePoint invites individual and institutional investors as well as advisors and analysts, to attend its real-time, interactive presentation at the Emerging Growth Conference.

PHOENIX, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING), a leading renewable energy and sustainable lifestyle provider, (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has been invited to present at the Emerging Growth Conference on March 8th 2023.

This live, interactive online event will give existing shareholders and the investment community the opportunity to interact with the Company's CEO, Wil Ralston in real time.

Mr. Ralston will conduct a presentation and may open the floor for questions. Please submit your questions in advance to [email protected] or ask your questions during the event and Mr. Ralston will, time permitting, answer as many as possible.

SinglePoint Inc. will be presenting 12:35PM Eastern time for approximately 30 minutes.

Please register here to ensure you are able to attend the conference and receive any updates that are released.

https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1595542&tp_key=9ac5970e97&sti=sing

If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available on EmergingGrowth.com and on the Emerging Growth YouTube Channel, http://www.YouTube.com/EmergingGrowthConference. We will release a link to that after the event.

About the Emerging Growth Conference

The Emerging Growth conference is an effective way for public companies to present and communicate their new products, services and other major announcements to the investment community from the convenience of their office, in a time efficient manner.

The Conference focus and coverage includes companies in a wide range of growth sectors, with strong management teams, innovative products & services, focused strategy, execution, and the overall potential for long term growth. Its audience includes potentially tens of thousands of Individual and Institutional investors, as well as Investment advisors and analysts.

All sessions will be conducted through video webcasts and will take place in the Eastern time zone.

About SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB:SING)

SinglePoint is a sustainable lifestyle Company focused on the solar energy and storage and indoor air purification markets. The Company plans to build the largest renewable energy solutions network by modernizing the traditional solar energy and energy storage business model. SinglePoint continues to execute its acquisition strategy by identifying and exploring future growth opportunities in indoor air purification and ventilation, electric vehicle charging, solar as a subscription service, and other additional energy efficiencies and appliances that enhance sustainability and healthier life. For more information, visit the Company's websites: www.singlepoint.com, www.bostonsolar.us, and www.boxpureair.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, besides statements of fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding revenue projections, financing opportunities, potential plans and objectives of the Company, anticipated growth, and future expansion, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Technical and other complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

SinglePoint Inc Investor Contact:

Tra-Digital IR

212.389.9782 ext. 107

[email protected]

SOURCE SinglePoint
SAN DIEGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Smartville, a leading developer of reliable second-life energy storage systems, has deployed its first commercially available product, the MOAB energy storage system, at the University of California San Diego's Library Annex.

Smartville has deployed its first MOAB energy storage system at the University of California San Diego's Library. Tweet this Smartville MOAB Energy Storage System, powered by repurposed EV battery packs and charged by a UC San Diego solar energy array.

MOAB is the first second-life energy storage system to integrate and control repurposed electric vehicle battery packs from different manufacturers at varying levels of health in one unified system. By giving EV batteries a second life as ultra-low carbon storage with a high value per kilowatt hour and assured reliability, Smartville is bringing the U.S. closer to energy independence and the planet closer to a net-zero future.

UC San Diego uses Smartville's MOAB system to store solar energy from a 200-kilowatt rooftop solar array to reduce demand on the local utility grid after sunset and avoid peak electricity rates. The 500-kilowatt-hour system also provides 48 hours of emergency backup power.

"Smartville's technology, which fills a very important role in the clean energy mosaic, is exactly what California needs," said David Hochschild, chair of the California Energy Commission at the project unveiling. "This new technology category, a subset of energy storage, answers many energy issues facing our state today. Smartville's solution completes the puzzle, and we look forward to working with them on more projects like this in the near future."

"This represents our first step in bringing a truly scalable EV battery repurposing solution to market and providing a domestically manufactured energy storage product to meet California's and the nation's infrastructure needs," said Smartville's CEO and cofounder Antoni Tong. "To accelerate our next commercial milestone, we are now speaking with venture investors interested in advancing profitable, scalable, low-carbon, low-cost solutions to our sustainable future."

About Smartville Inc.

Smartville's mission is to be the world's most sustainable, scalable, and reliable EV battery repurposing platform and to revolutionize energy storage on a global scale, one battery pack, one-kilowatt hour, at a time. For more information about Smartville, please visit www.smartville.io or follow the company on LinkedIn.

Smartville Press Contact

(W)right On Communications

Patricia Maxwell

[email protected]

619-249-7762

SOURCE Smartville Inc.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

Announcement is the next step in Stellantis' plans to prepare its U.S. dealer network for electrified future and support evolving needs of consumers

Partnership with Vehya will offer individual, comprehensive evaluations and EV integration services to the 2,600-plus Stellantis dealers in the U.S. network

To date, more than 73% of U.S. dealers are in the process of assessing their individual readiness

Vehya is one of 15 companies that will graduate from the National Black Supplier Development Program, a program built to bring awareness to the capabilities of Stellantis' diverse supply base

In another key step to ready its 2,600-plus dealerships for the automotive industry's electrification plans, Stellantis is partnering with Detroit-based company Vehya to support its U.S. dealers in preparation for increased electric-vehicle (EV) sales and service. Vehya becomes the second recommended partner for EV charger sales, installation and maintenance for Stellantis' U.S. auto dealers.

"As our partners in the automotive industry transition to electric-vehicle sales and service, our goal is to provide our 2,600-plus U.S. dealers with high quality options that meet their individual EV integration needs within every area of the dealership business," said Phil Langley, Head of Network Development, Stellantis North America. "Vehya is equipped with the experience and infrastructure needed to help support our dealers and make this process as straightforward and simple as possible."

William McCoy, CEO of Vehya, reinforces the importance of partnering with Stellantis to accelerate EV adoption. "In the U.S., auto dealers are a critical partner to consumers' transition to electric vehicles. We are excited and honored to be chosen as a preferred installation partner to Stellantis' dealer network," said McCoy.

As an experienced auto dealer partner, Vehya's workflow platform will provide a full-service solution for dealers. Features include Vehya-certified electricians, detailed site surveys, comprehensive estimates, and a dedicated account manager that handles all administrative and project management duties.

"We've found that our easy-to-use platform combined with an account manager for point of contact gives dealers peace of mind and minimizes barriers, especially in cases when dealing with utility company upgrades to sites," states Etta Salaj, business manager at Vehya.

Vehya is one of 15 companies that will graduate from the National Black Supplier Development Program, a program built to bring awareness to the capabilities of Stellantis' diverse supply base. The program provided key knowledge to participants through networking activities, training and development, and growth plan assessments.

Stellantis announced its partnership with Detroit-based Future Energy last November as its first step in preparing its dealerships for electrification in the U.S.

As part its Dare Forward 2030 plan, Stellantis is setting the course for 50% of sales in the United States to be battery-electric vehicles by the end of this decade. The company plans to offer more than 25 battery-electric vehicles in the U.S. by 2030.

Vehya

Founded in Detroit, Vehya delivers EV-charging solutions designed for businesses and homeowners. Vehya makes choosing, installing, and maintaining EV chargers simple and cost-effective with electrical professionals who cover all 50 U.S. states, Canada, and Latin America. Learn more about how Vehya is making the Electrification of Things (EoT) easy at www.vehya.com.

Stellantis North America

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. In North America, it's best known for producing and selling vehicles in a portfolio of iconic and award-winning brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. Powered by its diversity, Stellantis leads the way the region and the world move  aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.

Follow company news and video on:

Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Company website: www.stellantis.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Stellantis

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellantisNA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellantisna

Twitter: @StellantisNA

YouTube: http://youtube.com/StellantisNA

SOURCE Stellantis
GUIYANG, China, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by Huanqiu.com:

"Scientists made another discovery using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)! FAST detected an atomic gas structure 20 times larger than the Galaxy, which is so far the largest of its kind ever discovered by humans." It's hard to imagine that such astronomy news can be the daily topic of the people living in the small town of Kedu, deep inside the mountains of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

A Full View of FAST (Photo by Li Guiyun)

When the sign "You have entered the core area of FAST electromagnetic silent area" jumps into view, people know that they've entered the Kedu Town of Pingtang County of southwest China's Guizhou.

The rise of Kedu Town took place after the establishment of FAST.

"Before the establishment of FAST, the transportation and infrastructure in Kedu Town were poor and people led a very difficult life depending totally on farming," said Wei Zhimin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Kedu Town.

The construction of FAST brought Kedu a featured astronomy town for popularization of science, and boosted relevant research and education industries. Thus, over 20 projects were put into operation including Astronomy and Space Tower and Interactive Planetarium.

FAST, as a modern symbol of Guizhou, makes the study tour of Pingtang County based on popularization of science a representative tourism sector of Guizhou and provides a "new model" for the province in exploring integrated development of cultural tourism. Yu Yue, a guide from Guizhou Pingtang Wentian Tourism Development Co., Ltd., said "Considering the influence of FAST in scientific research, Guizhou is constructing the featured research and education system for popularization of science and promoting the popularization of technological resources. As of now in 2022, we have in total received 2,938 groups on study tours, totaling over 46,000 people."

In the homestay run by Liu Chengliang, a resident of Kedu Town, the astronomical telescope catches the eyes of our guests. "Most of our guests come here either for their pursuit of astronomy knowledge or on study tours. Our homestays will provide them with astronomical telescope to create an atmosphere they like."

In the peak tourism season each year, the lodging ratio of Liu's homestay can reach over 80%. Wei Zhimin said that, "driven by featured tourism, the economy of Kedu Town is growing rapidly. People's lives are getting better and better. Some of the FAST immigrants began to open hotels and restaurants in Kedu Town. Their income increased, and so did their happiness level."

In Kedu Town, astronomy-related elements are everywhere and people, from the children to the elderly, can all share some knowledge about astronomy with tourists.

"My parents had told me many stories about FAST when I was young. We also have astronomy classes every week at school. During holidays, we often go to the Astronomy Town to listen to the interpretations. I want to be an astronomical scientist when I grow up and study the secrets of the universe with FAST," said a pupil in Pingtang County.

FAST brought the historical opportunity for the popularization and education of astronomical science in Pingtang. Currently, Pingtang County has introduced popularization and teaching of astronomy in all middle and primary schools as well as kindergartens. Due to FAST, kids in the mountains began to "go outside" and explore the world. According to the statistics provided by the Education Bureau of Pingtang County, from 2016 to 2022, 6 students in Pingtang County were admitted by the major of astronomy and 720 students by the majors of ecology, geology, environment and energy. Most of them are national minorities.

FAST stares up into the universe from hundreds of millions of light years away. Knowledge about the origin of the universe and life outside the earth is in every breath of the kids in Kedu Town. Chen Libi, a scientist who once stationed in FAST expressed his hopes for the local children: "Local astronomical scientists will be cultivated here in Guizhou to serve FAST."

SOURCE Huanqiu.com
PHILADELPHIA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent pandemic years have produced unprecedented talent scarcity that has emboldened financial leaders to test the job market for greater career development and earning opportunities, according to a recent survey of CFOs conducted by Salveson Stetson Group (SSG), a national executive search firm.

In a survey of nearly 200 CFOs across public, private, and non-profit sectors, respondents indicated a high level of job satisfaction, with 75% reporting they are satisfied or very satisfied in their current roles.

John Touey, SSG's Financial Officer Practice Leader, believes these seemingly opposing responses indicate the uniqueness of the current talent market.

"While results do indicate that CFOs are by and large happy in their current roles, the majority of respondents (56%) also indicated they are likely to consider opportunities outside their current company," Touey said.

The survey results show a high correlation between job satisfaction and what is important to CFOs when considering outside opportunities. Respondents said the quality of a CFO's relationship with their CEO is the biggest factor that drives retention (87.5%). After that, company culture (76%) and compensation (76%) were deemed very important. Culture pushes to the top (85.4%), and compensation rises as a clear second (78%) when considering outside roles.

"Over the past two decades, the CFO has truly become the CEO's co-pilot in running a company," Touey says. "If the relationship between these two leaders is not strong, the risk of CFO flight increases dramatically."

Touey suggests that CEOs need to continually seek advice and input from their CFOs to create stickiness in the relationship. Conversely, CFOs need to continue to up their game by leveraging available data to provide more strategic business insight.

Results also indicate that a significant amount of CFO transition is inevitable in the next five years. Almost a quarter of respondents said that their next career move is retirement (24%). In combination with a heightened interest in considering outside roles, a large percentage (83.3%) of CFOs could be leaving their seats soon.

Given this timeframe and the expected number of transitions, CEOs and Boards should be thinking beyond CFO retention and investing in succession planning and leadership development.

"If you don't have a ready candidate in your succession plan, more likely than not, you are going to be conducting an external search for your next CFO," Touey says.

He suggests that CEOs and CFOs proactively manage career development among the CFO's direct reports. Creating opportunities for more exposure to the Board, working on mission-critical special projects, and being specific about advancement opportunities are ways to prepare next-level reports for the top financial role and signal a commitment to their future career development.

For a comprehensive survey synopsis and video summary, visit https://www.ssgsearch.com/cfo-career-survey-report/. For comment or to arrange an interview with John Touey, please email Mary Williams, Chief Marketing Officer, at [email protected].

About John Touey

John Touey is a principal at executive search firm Salveson Stetson Group with more than 20 years of experience placing senior-level financial executives with numerous Fortune 500 companies. Follow him @JohnTouey.

About Salveson Stetson Group

Salveson Stetson Group (SSG) brings more than 25 years of retained executive search experience and an outstanding track record of recruiting strong leaders with a special focus on human resources, finance, non-profit, pharmaceutical and biotechnology. Nationally recognized and ranked by Forbes as a Best Executive Recruiting Firm, SSG is part of the MPI family of companies, which also includes Furst Group and NuBrick Partners. Visit https://www.ssgsearch.com/ for more information.

SOURCE Salveson Stetson Group
Customers can now use the scalability, reliability, and agility of Microsoft Azure to deploy KPI 360 to improve manufacturing operations.

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SymphonyAI, a leader in high-value enterprise AI software solutions for strategic industries, today announced the availability of its manufacturing operations insights solution, KPI 360, in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. KPI 360 customers can now take advantage of streamlined deployment and management through the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to improve manufacturing operations and accelerate autonomous plant operations.

KPI 360, a product of the SymphonyAI Industrial vertical, uses highly advanced AI and real-time data monitoring to provide manufacturers with actionable operating insights at all levels of a plant by combining multiple data sources into a single, complete industrial dashboard. KPI 360 uses SymphonyAI Industrial's domain knowledge engine and offers pre-built KPIs for industrial assets and applications so manufacturers can pull from data sources directly or through an API. These unique features make it easy for users to set up, maintain, and expand dashboards over time without needing any software expertise.

KPI 360 joins other SymphonyAI Industrial solutions available in the Azure Marketplace: Performance 360, Vision 360, APM 360, MOM 360, Proceedix, and Batch 360. SymphonyAI also offers software applications from the company's financial services, retail, and IT service management verticals in the Azure Marketplace.

"KPI 360 is a self-service product that enables users to get a clear view of business operations across a manufacturing plant without having to write a single line of code," said SymphonyAI Industrial CEO Dominic Gallello. "Efficiency and flexibility are the core of KPI 360. By making it available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace, we streamline the deployment process for manufacturers looking to overhaul and optimize their operations."

"With the power of vertical industry-specific AI, our software applications are breaking new ground in operational intelligence for today's agile factories worldwide," said Kumar Abhimanyu, SVP of strategic partnerships at SymphonyAI. "In partnership with Microsoft, we offer AI-powered solutions that drive digital transformation for industrial enterprises. The integration of KPI 360 with Microsoft Azure delivers a secure, accessible, and cutting-edge solution, using industry-specific AI to turn data into valuable insights and power agile, data-driven operations manufacturing everywhere."

"Microsoft Azure Marketplace lets customers worldwide discover, try, and deploy software solutions that are certified and optimized to run on Azure," said Jake Zborowski, general manager, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp. "Azure Marketplace helps solutions like KPI 360 reach more customers and markets."

Additional SymphonyAI vertical software applications available through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace include:

Retail category management and optimization : SymphonyAI Retail CPG solutions for category management and optimization ingest and analyze multiple data sources to reveal insights and recommendations that help CPG manufacturers optimize assortment, shelf planning and intelligence, and promotions.

: SymphonyAI Retail CPG solutions for category management and optimization ingest and analyze multiple data sources to reveal insights and recommendations that help CPG manufacturers optimize assortment, shelf planning and intelligence, and promotions. Enterprise and IT service management : SymphonyAI Summit IT Service Management (ITSM) provides enterprise-grade process support and enterprise security and compliance for advanced AI-based service management for organizations of all sizes. SymphonyAI Summit is easy for IT teams and end users to use, manage, and implement.

: SymphonyAI Summit IT Service Management (ITSM) provides enterprise-grade process support and enterprise security and compliance for advanced AI-based service management for organizations of all sizes. SymphonyAI Summit is easy for IT teams and end users to use, manage, and implement. Financial crime management: SymphonyAI NetReveal's Transaction Screening, Name Screening, and Customer Due Diligence capabilities help financial institutions comply with sanctions regulations by dynamically screening customers, employees, connected parties, entities, and transactions against rapidly changing, complex watch lists. Similarly, SymphonyAI Sensa's SensaAML solution uncovers criminal activity and suspicious behavior by analyzing, discovering, and interpreting financial data.

The SymphonyAI software applications available through the Azure Marketplace are sold both by SymphonyAI and Microsoft. All SymphonyAI software applications available through the Azure Marketplace run on Azure, removing the added cost of storage and computational capabilities required when running AI outside a cloud ecosystem.

About SymphonyAI

SymphonyAI is building the leading enterprise AI SaaS company for digital transformation across the most critical and resilient growth verticals, including retail, consumer packaged goods, finance, manufacturing, media, and IT/enterprise service management. SymphonyAI verticals have many leading enterprises as clients. Since its founding in 2017, SymphonyAI has grown rapidly to 3,000 talented leaders, data scientists, and other professionals. SymphonyAI is a SAIGroup company, backed by a $1 billion commitment from successful entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Romesh Wadhwani.

For more information, press only:

Nicole Katzin, SymphonyAI  PR contact, [email protected]

SOURCE SymphonyAI
IRVINE, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TALG is pleased to announce that the firm's Las Vegas office recently secured a $1,609,836.05 judgment from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada in a complex case involving securities fraud. In Enerkon v. John Capello et. al., Enerkon Solar International Inc. ("Enerkon") sued numerous former shareholders of the corporation relating to securities fraud just days before the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") issued an order suspending the trading of securities of Enerkon. The SEC suspended trading due to "among other things, lack of adequate and accurate information in Enerkon's quarterly and annual financial statements . . . as early as December 31, 2018, through Enerkon's quarterly financials for March 31, 2021."

TALG's clients, former owners of Enerkon prior to 2018 and shareholders, filed counterclaims against Enerkon claiming that Enerkon took actions to specifically impede the owner's and shareholder's ability to sell its Enerkon shares in violation of federal securities laws. TALG's clients also argued that Enerkon's lawsuit was baseless, frivolous, and unfounded based upon the specious timing of the lawsuit and Enerkon's claims. The District of Nevada agreed and awarded over $1.6M to TALG's clients for their counterclaims and to recover the attorneys' fees and costs associated with the litigation. TALG is pleased that years of litigation resulted in a victory for its clients.

TALG's securities fraud practice has years of experience handling complex cases throughout the nation. Ismail Amin, the head of the firm's Securities and Financial Regulation team, obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) from Georgetown University spearheaded the litigation, and has successfully handled securities fraud claims and litigation with TALG's clients. Marian Massey, a senior associate in TALG's Las Vegas office, also assisted in the preparation of the numerous motions that lead to the successful result. TALG's securities attorneys bring experience to help clients increase their chances of prevailing inside and outside of the courtroom by while focusing on straightforward solutions for clients. To learn more about the firm's practice groups, please click here.

SOURCE TALG
National homebuilder committed to advancing gender diversity in construction industry

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a traditionally male-dominated industry, national homebuilder and developer Taylor Morrison (NYSE: TMHC) is challenging the status quo with an increasing number of women working across all areas of business. In honor of this year's Women in Construction Week, celebrated March 511, Taylor Morrison is featuring women team members in construction roles.

"We've earned a reputation for advancing gender diversity with several accolades including being the only public homebuilder with a female CEO, having higher than average representation of women in various departments, and an increasing number of women excelling in roles across the organization from board director to division president, construction superintendent and beyond," said Charissa Wagner, senior vice president of people operations, development and acquisition. "We're seeing an evolving narrative around gender equality in our industry as more women explore new opportunities in construction."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationally, women represent approximately 47 percent of total employment yet make up only 11 percent of the construction industry. Taylor Morrison, however, boasts a nearly equal male-to-female workforce representation of 54 and 46 percent, respectively. Additionally, across all markets, Taylor Morrison employs 73 women in construction-specific roles, a nearly 66 percent increase over the last three years.

After first joining Taylor Morrison as an assistant in the Design Studio, Summer Elizando, Tampa, Fla., began attending meetings with permitting teams and construction managers, and soon became intrigued by the construction side of the industry. She transitioned to an assistant superintendent role and soon advanced to a superintendent, senior superintendent, then construction supervisor. Today, Elizando oversees five communities and nine male superintendents throughout the Tampa area.

"I love fixing things and seeing a completed home," said Elizando. "In my role, I get so much fulfilment from the hustle, finding a solution, getting it completed and seeing it all the way through to fruition."

With a background in civil engineering, Nicole Compres, Naples, Fla., worked for a land development engineering firm after college, where she became interested in exploring the construction side of development. After joining Taylor Morrison in fall 2020 as a superintendent in the Naples division, she was promoted to superintendent II. When asked what advice she'd give to women looking to enter the construction industry, Compres said:

"My advice for women interested in a career in construction is to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you have no background in this field but are interested in learning about career opportunities, take that leap of faith even if the odds are against you. Stay humble, positive and be proactive. We are our own worst enemy."

In addition to celebrating Women in Construction Week, Taylor Morrison was also recently recognized for its efforts to prioritize equality and transparency in gender reporting by earning a spot as the only U.S. homebuilder on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) for the fifth consecutive year.

About Taylor Morrison

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brandsincluding Taylor Morrison, Esplanade, Darling Homes Collection by Taylor Morrison and Yardly. From 2016-2023, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted Builder by Lifestory Research. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities and our team is highlighted in our latest annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.

For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.

CONTACT: Erin Kristick

(480) 840-8108

[email protected]

SOURCE Taylor Morrison
Union Demands College Puts Its Ethos into Action

PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 251 has filed unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) for failing to pay a general wage increase and changing starting rates for workers without providing them with notice or an opportunity to bargain. The charges were filed amid the workers' fight to secure their first contract at the college.

"Contract negotiations between the Teamsters and RISD have been drawn out for months because the university has refused to give workers a fair shake," said Matt Taibi, Local 251 Secretary-Treasurer and Eastern Region International Vice President. "On top of that, RISD announced it will increase tuition at the same time as it plays games at the bargaining table. This behavior doesn't benefit the workers who make RISD run, and if the school doesn't want to pay its staff more, why does it have to increase costs?"

In a recently circulated memo, RISD announced they would be raising room and board costs four percent for the upcoming academic school year. However, it stated that the additional revenue generated by the tuition hike would not go towards workers' salaries. Instead, RISD "will begin working with faculty and staff to determine how those cost savings can occur over the course of the next academic year."

RISD also recently announced its withdrawal from U.S. News & World Report's college rankings. In the announcement, President Crystal Williams said, "Our institutional commitment to embodying the principles of social equity and inclusion also means that, where possible, we eschew participation in systems that strongly rely on exclusion and inequity."

"RISD is behaving hypocritically by refusing to grant workers compensation that is commensurate with what other union-represented Rhode Island college and university workers receive," Taibi said. "If the administration is actually committed to social equity and inclusion, they can demonstrate that by paying the college's staff their fair share and providing greater transparency for the school's finances."

Last week, Teamsters launched a letter writing campaign to RISD President Crystal Williams and her cabinet members demanding they practice what they preach and compensate workers adequately. More than 1,700 individuals have participated in the letter writing campaign to date.

Teamsters Local 251 represents over 6,300 workers in a wide variety of industries throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. For more information, go to teamsterslocal251.org/.

Contact:

Matt Taibi, (401) 935-1663

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 251
HALF-SPEED MASTER LP

STEVEN WILSON ATMOS MIX

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE TO SUPERDELUXEEDITION.COM FEATURING ATMOS MIX & PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TRACKS

RELEASED MAY 12th AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW HERE

LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hurting, the debut studio album by Tears for Fears, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it will be reissued via UMe as an Abbey Road Half-Speed Mastered vinyl and as a newly created Dolby Atmos mix by renowned artist and mixer Steven Wilson. The Dolby Atmos mix, along with a 5.1 mix, an instrumental mix, the original album master, and two previously unheard tracks, will also be released as a limited edition standalone blu-ray disc exclusively via superdeluxedition.com

The Hurting, the debut studio album by Tears for Fears, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it will be reissued on May 12 as an Abbey Road Half-Speed Mastered vinyl and as a newly created Dolby Atmos mix by renowned artist and mixer Steven Wilson. The Dolby Atmos mix, along with a 5.1 mix, an instrumental mix, the original album master, and two previously unheard tracks, will also be released as a limited edition standalone blu-ray disc exclusively via superdeluxedition.com.

Initially released on March 7th, 1983, The Hurting featured three classic top-five hit singles: "Mad World," "Change," and "Pale Shelter." The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks, staying in the charts for over a year and reaching Platinum status in early 1985. The album also entered the Top 40 in several countries, including Canada, Germany, and Australia. The Hurting was an incredibly influential album in America, and its influence can be felt in the work of The Weeknd, Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire, Smashing Pumpkins, and the massive hit version of "Mad World" by Michael Andrews & Gary Jules from the cult movie Donnie Darko.

The Hurting, written solely by band member Roland Orzabal is a loose concept album focusing on themes of childhood psychological trauma and Arthur Janov's Primal Scream therapy, the theories behind which gave the band their name. Despite its dark subject matter, the album was a huge commercial success and continues to resonate with younger audiences.

Speaking last year, Tears For Fears co-founder Curt Smith remarked, "We only noticed it in the last couple of years when we played Bonnaroo, which is ostensibly a far younger festival. We expected maybe a thousand people if we were lucky, and it was stretched past the tent overhang and went all the way back. I'm looking at the front of the audience, and they're all far younger than me, and they're all singing all the lyrics to every song from The Hurting. It was shocking to me. When you look at it retrospectively, it makes sense because the album was written when we were that age. Those lyrics resonate with a younger audience. But that was when I noticed a shift when we started playing festivals and noticed there was a younger audience we were gaining in America."

Musically the album was informed by Roland & Curt's shared love of Remain In Light by Talking Heads, David Bowie's Scary Monsters And Super Creeps, David Byrne and Brian Eno's My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts, and especially Peter Gabriel's untitled third album aka Melt.

Roland Orzabal "It's a very consistent album with its own distinct personality. I'm not sure if we've made a more emotional record since, but I'd like to think we've hit higher musical peaks."

The new Half-Speed Remaster of The Hurting was done by respected audio engineer Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using a half-speed mastering technique that produces a superior vinyl cut. The Dolby Atmos mix, which remixes the album into spatial, three-dimensional audio, has been created by the artist Steven Wilson who has previously remixed Tears For Fears Songs From The Big Chair, The Seeds Of Love, and The Tipping Point into spatial audio formats.

As well as streaming, the Dolby Atmos mix will be available as a standalone blu-ray disc featuring Wilson's Atmos Mix, his 5.1 mix, and his stereo instrumental mix as well the original 1985 stereo master and two recently rediscovered unreleased versions of "Mad World" & 'Watch Me Bleed' produced by Mike Howlett.

TEARS FOR FEARS - THE HURTING

HALF-SPEED MASTER LP

Side One

The Hurting

Mad World

Pale Shelter

Ideas As Opiates

Memories Fade

Side Two

Suffer The Children

Watch Me Bleed

Change

The Prisoner

Start Of The Breakdown

TEARS FOR FEARS THE HURTING

DOLBY ATMOS MIX BY STEVEN WILSON

The Hurting

Mad World

Pale Shelter

Ideas As Opiates

Memories Fade

Suffer The Children

Watch Me Bleed

Change

The Prisoner

Start Of The Breakdown

TEARS FOR FEARS THE HURTING

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SUPERDELUXEEDITION.COM EXCLUSIVE

Dolby Atmos Mix by Steven Wilson

5.1 Mix by Steven Wilson

Instrumental Mix by Steven Wilson (Stereo)

Original 1985 Stereo Mix

The Hurting

Mad World

Pale Shelter

Ideas As Opiates

Memories Fade

Suffer The Children

Watch Me Bleed

Change

The Prisoner

Start Of The Breakdown

Bonus Tracks (Previously Unreleased)

Mad World (Mike Howlett Version)

Watch Me Bleed (Mike Howlett Version)

TEARS FOR FEARS

THE HURTING

HALF-SPEED MASTER LP

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER HERE

PRE-ORDER THE EXCLUSIVE BLU-RAY HERE:

https://superdeluxeedition.com

RELEASED MAY 12th ON UMe

Follow Tears For Fears:

Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Spotify

ABOUT TEARS FOR FEARS

Tears For Fears - Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Curt Smith (vocals, bass, keyboards) formed in Bath, England, in 1981. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, performing to countless sold-out audiences, and winning various awards, the band represents an inimitable intersection of pop palatability, clever and cognisant lyricism, guitar bombast, and new-wave innovation. Their 1983 debut, The Hurting, yielded anthems such as "Mad World," "Change," and "Pale Shelter," reaching RIAA Gold status in the United States. 1985's Songs from the Big Chair became a watershed moment for the group and music at large. Boasting the signature BRIT Award-winning "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," "Shout," "Head over Heels," "Mothers Talk," and "I Believe (A Soulful Re-Recording)," it went quintuple-platinum and captured #1 on the Billboard Top 200. Slant dubbed it one of "The Best Albums of the 1980s," it was featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and Consequence of Sound awarded it a rare A+ rating in a 20-year retrospective.1989's Seeds of Love proved to be Orzabal and Smith's last collaboration together until Everybody Loves A Happy Ending in 2004, which rekindled the creative fire between them. The band engaged in a three-year touring whirlwind across North America, Japan, South Korea, Manila, and South America beginning in 2010.

2013 saw them return with their first recorded music in a decade: a cover of Arcade Fire's "Ready to Start." The band returned once more in 2017 with the Rule The World best-of collection, which once more catapulted the band back to the upper echelon of the UK album charts. The duo's DNA remains embedded within three generations of artists on both subtle and overt levels. Quietly casting a shadow over rock, hip-hop, electronic dance music, indie, and beyond, The Weeknd infused "Pale Shelter" into Starboy's "Secrets," David Guetta sampled "Change" for "Always," and Drake utilized "Ideas as Opiates" as the foundation for "Lust For Life," while Ally Brooke Hernandez, Adam Lambert, and Gary Jules recorded popular covers of "Mad World" and Disturbed took on "Shout," and that's only to name a few. Lorde cut a haunting cover of "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" for the Soundtrack of the blockbuster The Hunger Games  Catching Fire, which Tears For Fears gleefully would use as intro music live and thus bring everything full circle.

Meanwhile, classic songs figure prominently everywhere, from The Wire and Donnie Darko to Straight Outta Compton and Mr. Robot. Long before they became a cultural cornerstone, Tears For Fears simply consisted of two school friends growing up in Bath, Somerset, UK.

With the release of their first album in almost 20 years, The Tipping Point, in 2022, the 40th anniversary of The Hurting, and with more touring on the horizon, Orzabal and Smith remain as loud as ever while yet another generation gets ready to "Shout" with them all over again.

SOURCE UMe
DUBLIN, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Telecom Operators' Strategies in the Health Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Telecom operators are looking for new opportunities in other sectors to increase their revenues, and digital healthcare is one of them.

This report provides an overview of the digital health market, including the value chain and the positions of telcos across the value chain. It also analyses the activity and strategy of selected telcos in the healthcare market

The objectives of this report cover the following key questions and areas:

What are the current trends in the digital health market? What are the market drivers and challenges?

How are telcos positioning themselves in the digital health value chain?

What are the key digital technologies in the digital health sector?

The report includes case studies on the healthcare strategies of selected telcos, including their positioning, value proposition and digital health portfolios.

It summarises the key findings for telcos looking to enter the healthcare sector.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Executive Summary

2. Overview of the digital health market

Definition of digital health

Digital health categories

Digital health trends and drivers

Digital health market challenges

3. Positioning of telecom operators in the healthcare market

Digital health value chain

The role of digital technologies in the healthcare sector

National regulatory environments

4. Player analysis

4.1. Orange

4.2. Deutsche Telekom

4.3. Telefonica

4.4. Vodafone

4.5. Verizon

4.6. Telus

4.7. SK Telecom

Overview on telecom operators' healthcare business

4.8. Activities of selected telcos in the digital health market

5. Glossary

Companies Mentioned

Deutsche Telekom

Orange

SK Telecom

Telefonica

Telus

Verizon

Vodafone

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jbku4h

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
DUBAI, UAE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The British Council held its annual Schools Now! Conference recently in Dubai, which brought together over 2,000 education leaders and professionals from British Council's Partner Schools around the world, to discuss the latest innovations in teaching and learning across international education.

Schools Now! Conference Schools Now! Conference

Schools Now! 2023, themed 'Transforming Schools: Leadership at all levels', explored effective leadership across school communities through keynote presentations, panel discussions and workshops. Delegates learned about the importance of developing student leaders, as well as professional pathways to leadership.

Yvette Hutchinson, Senior Consultant, Schools Global Program, British Council, spoke of promoting leadership at all levels in schools to enable an inclusive culture, that nurtures talents and distributes leadership effectively across staff. Through this approach a safe and enriching environment is enabled where students will have the confidence to step up and develop their own leadership skills that will support them in schools and throughout their lives. He also touched upon how effective leadership is more important for schools than at any time in the past as we emerge from the pandemic.

The conference was a hybrid event, connecting 300 delegates face to face in Dubai with a further 1,700 virtual attendees from around the world. This unique format allowed for an even greater exchange of ideas, insights and best practices from attendees from different regions and cultures. Special guests of the conference included His Excellency Patrick Moody, British Ambassador to UAE.

Keynote speakers and workshop presenters from Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom, contributed to the rich and diverse discussions.

Sir Mark Grundy, CEO of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, who delivered the first keynote, explored the topic of retaining our best staff and achieve the highest and most specific levels of achievement for our young people. Professor Eman Gaad, Dean of the Faculty of Education and a Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, British University in Dubai (BUiD) spoke about the perceptions of educational leadership for inclusivity. Other keynotes focused on developing 21st century student leaders and leadership development at multiple levels in the school community.

Simon Higgins, Global Head of School Exams, British Council said, 'We were delighted to host our eighth annual flagship event Schools Now! global conference in Dubai. This year's theme, 'Leadership at all levels' helped school leaders to reflect on the challenges they continue to face daily in a post pandemic world, and also explored ways to develop leadership throughout their school to better support staff, students, and the wider community.'

Mark Walker, Director English & Exams, British Council highlighted the importance of bringing together education leaders from around the world to share ideas, best practices, and perspectives, 'At the British Council, we are passionate about changing lives. We work hand-in-hand with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence, and connections they need to transform their lives and shape a better world. From learning English to gaining internationally recognized qualifications, we are dedicated to helping our partners build networks, explore creative ideas, and access high-quality education.'

Globally, British Council Partner Schools work with more than 2,000 schools, support over 100,000 teachers and touch the lives of about one million students. With attendees from the Americas, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, South Asia and East Asia, the truly global event helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding and trust through education.

For media enquiries, please contact: Anna Koniuhova, Senior Communications Manager, MENA at [email protected]

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 202021 we connected with 67 million people directly and with 745 million people overall.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org . You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017467/British_Council_Conference.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017466/BC_Schools_Now.jpg

SOURCE British Council
The Holland-based boat maker displays its new, highly anticipated EX 60

HOLLAND, Mich., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiara Yachts, family-owned manufacturer of American-made luxury watercrafts, will showcase its newest inboard model, the EX 60, at the annual Palm Beach International Boat Show from March 23-26. Measuring just over 60 feet and touting a near 17-foot beam, the EX 60 is Tiara's largest and most ambitious model to date.

Tiara Yachts EX 60

Designed to be flexible for maximum owner customization, the EX 60 offers a variety of different cruising, entertaining and watersports options to choose from. With the integrated layout of the salon, galley and cockpit, boaters can experience optimal performance while having the space to socialize and entertain stylishly. It also features three comfortable sleeping quarters, two private heads for added convenience, and twin Volvo IPS1350 engines paired with the latest Volvo and Garmin technology, including assisted docking.

In addition to the EX 60, the Michigan-based manufacturer plans to display the 44 Coupe and 49 Coupe from their inboard lineup and the 48 LS, 43 LS, 38 LS, 34 LS, 43 LE and 34 LX from the outboard portfolio. The 38 LS, 34 LS and 34 LX will feature the newly released Mercury 5.7L V10 400hp Verado propulsion package, which boasts the industry's first V10 naturally aspirated powerhead.

"The Palm Beach International Boat Show has always provided our industry with a valuable and memorable experience," said Tom Slikkers, CEO and President of Tiara Yachts. "We look forward to presenting our most exciting model yet at such a highly regarded event in the marine community."

The Palm Beach International Boat Show, owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, will be held along Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach on the Intercoastal Waterway. This year's show will feature $1.2 billion worth of yachts and accessories, including hundreds of boats ranging from 8-foot inflatables to superyachts nearly 300 feet in length.

For more information about Tiara Yachts and the EX 60, visit tiarayachts.com .

About Tiara Yachts

Tiara Yachts, headquartered in Holland, Michigan, is one of the oldest privately held boat manufacturers in the United States. The Tiara Yachts model line includes inboard vessels from 39 to 60 feet in the Coupe and EX lines. Outboard powered Tiara Yachts models range from 34 to 48 feet in three distinct Series: Luxury Sport (LS), Luxury Crossover (LX), and Luxury Express (LE). For more information, please visit tiarayachts.com.

Media Contact:

Mitchell Reid

Associate

Lambert

[email protected]

989-326-3992

SOURCE Tiara Yachts
A first-ever solutions-oriented border event helping communities learn how to take action on Fentanyl Deaths, Child Sex and Human Trafficking, and Border Security

WATERTOWN, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of the media are invited to join The America Project's Border 911 event on Saturday, March 25, 2023, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Italian American Club, 192 Bellew Avenue, Watertown, NY 13601 for the first-ever solutions-oriented border event in Jefferson County, New York.

Every state is a border state.

The America Project is raising awareness about the border crises our Nation is facing and asking that parents, teachers, local business owners, community leaders, elected officials, law enforcement, EMS, firefighters, active-duty military veterans, and all those who care about the safety of our children, Americans and those affected by illegal immigration to attend this important event.

Border 911 speakers include Tom Homan (former Acting Director of ICE and border expert), Victor Avila, (retired Special Agent with expertise in child and human sex trafficking and cartel activities), Jaeson Jones, (former Captain with the Texas Department of Public Safety's Intelligence and Counter-terrorism Division), who will present horrific, true stories about what is really happening at our borders and in our communities and what We The People can do to stop this humanitarian crisis plaguing our communities. Every state is a border state!

The America Project is an America First, non-profit organization defending rights and freedoms, election integrity, and border security to save America. To learn more about The America Project's efforts and how you can get involved, please visit: https://americaproject.com

8388 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 293

Sarasota, FL 34238

Email: [email protected]

For more information contact:

Ms. Robin Ridley, [email protected]

Ms. Suzette Brown, [email protected]

SOURCE The America Project
The Business Research Company's Global Market Reports Are Now Updated With The Latest Market Sizing Information For The Year 2023 And Forecasted To 2032

LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As per The Business Research Company's Chemical Tankers Global Market Report 2023, the global chemical tankers market size grew from $32.4 billion in 2022 to $34.4 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6%. The chemical tankers market size is then expected to grow to $44 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of more than 6%. Going forward, a growing petrochemical industry, an increasing demand for vegetable oils and fats and rising urbanization will drive the chemical tankers market growth.

The global chemical tankers market is fragmented, with a large number of small players. The top ten competitors in the chemical tankers market made up to 11.42% of the total market. Stolt-Nielsen Limited was the largest competitor with 3.81% share of the chemical tankers market, followed by Odfjell SE, MISC Berhad, Bahri, Navig8 Limited, Iino Kaiun Kaisha Ltd., MITSUI O.S.K. LINES, Hansa Tankers, PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk and Maersk Tankers.

Learn More On The Chemical Tankers Market Report  https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/chemical-tankers-global-market-report

Competitors in the chemical tankers are adopting the following advanced technologies to improve their services:

1. Adoption Of Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the chemical tankers market is a key trend to enhance operational efficiency, optimize route planning, and reduce fuel consumption. AI-powered systems can help chemical tanker operators monitor cargo conditions and detect any anomalies. AI-enabled machine vision systems are used in chemical tankers to monitor the whole chemical unloading process and identify anomalous occurrences before human error causes mishaps. For example, in July 2021, Seatrans Group, a fully integrated ship-owning company that manufactures chemical tankers, collaborated with OrbitMI, Inc., a US-based provider of AI-powered maritime software and data solutions. Through this collaboration, Seatrans leveraged AI from OrbitMI to improve its commercial operations.

2. IoT-Enabled Remote Tank Monitoring

IoT (Internet of Things)-enabled remote tank monitoring is a key chemical tankers market trend, which allows for real-time monitoring of cargo conditions, such as temperature and pressure, along with location tracking. This technology enables chemical tanker operators to optimize cargo management, reduce operational costs, and improve safety and regulatory compliance. For example, in April 2021, Infosys, an India-based information technology company, and Software AG, a Germany-based software company, launched a smart IOT-enabled remote tank monitoring solution to gain real-time insights into receipt, storage, and consumption patterns even when storage is dispersed globally.

3. Automation in Chemical Tankers

Automation in the chemical tankers market helps to optimize various operations, reduce human error, and enhance safety and efficiency, leading to a more sustainable and profitable chemical tanker industry. The automation systems are used in chemical tankers to access the operational data of the tanker through separate inputs and outputs. For example, in September 2022, Hglund Marine Solutions, a Norway-based provider of integrated power and energy solutions for the shipping industry, agreed to produce a comprehensive integrated solution, including hybrid electric, digital, fuel gas supply systems (FGSS), automation, and power management, to power four newbuild vessels for Utkilen, a Norway-based chemical tanker operator.

Request A Free Sample Of The Chemical Tankers Market Report  https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/sample.aspx?id=6523&type=smp

According to chemical tankers market outlook, other strategies that chemical tankers companies are adopting to grow in the chemical tankers market include enhancing strengthening business capabilities through business collaborations and expanding fleet of chemical tankers through new investments.

View More Similar Market Reports:

ISO Tank Container Global Market Report 2023

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/iso-tank-container-global-market-report

Boiler, Tank, And Shipping Container Global Market Report 2023

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/boiler-tank-and-shipping-container-global-market-report

Chemical Tanker Shipping Global Market Report 2023

https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/chemical-tanker-shipping-global-market-report

Interested to know more about The Business Research Company?

The Business Research Company has published over 3000+ detailed industry reports, spanning over 3000+ market segments and 60 geographies. The reports draw on 1,500,000 datasets, extensive secondary research, and exclusive insights from interviews with industry leaders.

The World's Most Comprehensive Database

The Global Market Model, The Business Research Company's flagship product, is a market intelligence platform covering various macroeconomic indicators and metrics across 60 geographies and 27 industries. The Global Market Model covers multi-layered datasets that help its users make better strategic decisions.

Contact Information

The Business Research Company

Europe: +44 207 1930 708

Asia: +91 8897263534

Americas: +1 315 623 0293

Email: [email protected]

Follow Us On:

LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/company/the-business-research-company

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tbrc_info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBusinessResearchCompany

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24_fI0rV8cR5DxlCpgmyFQ

Blog: https://blog.tbrc.info/

Healthcare Blog: https://healthcareresearchreports.com/

Global Market Model: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/global-market-model

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1751581/tbrc_logo.jpg

SOURCE The Business Research Company
Leading corporate investment aims to inspire other partners; will help the Red Cross alleviate growing impacts of natural disasters on America's most vulnerable communities

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Red Cross celebrates Truist Foundation for its generous donation of $5 million to support the urgent humanitarian needs posed by extreme weather events across the U.S. Truist Foundation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the first corporate partner to commit such a gift in addition to its annual $1 million commitment to Red Cross Disaster Relief.

Truist Foundation's investment will help the Red Cross grow and adapt its capacity to respond to natural disasters and accelerate its ability to prevent and alleviate hardships brought on by these urgent and increasing challenges. These new Red Cross initiatives aim to reduce the number of families falling into poverty after disasters, including the expansion of financial assistance to help those most in need bridge significant roadblocks to recovery and find solutions for safe and stable living environments.

"Natural disasters pose a clear threat to the well-being and stability of our communities," said Lynette Bell, president of Truist Foundation. "Truist Foundation works to ensure the most vulnerable communities receive the direct and immediate support they need to bolster their recovery in the aftermath of a disaster. My hope is that other corporate partners are inspired to follow in our footsteps and support the American Red Cross in this important work."

As extreme weather-driven disasters such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires worsen, more displaced families and communities rely on the Red Cross for help. The organization is often one of the first on the ground during a crisis and serves millions of people in need each year, especially the most vulnerable who are often disproportionately affected by natural disasters. Furthermore, housing, health and hunger-related services in these communities need greater capacity and stronger support networks to respond.

Through its new Community Adaptation Program, the Red Cross is helping to build resiliency and empower families after disasters by enhancing support in several target areas, which are concurrently at high risk for extreme weather and struggling with socioeconomic challenges. Through the program, the Red Cross is partnering with local nonprofits to strengthen their ability to serve families hit hard by intense, recurring disasters. Inspired by this innovative partnership at the local level, Truist Foundation's commitment will help the Red Cross meet its goal to lessen the impact of future disasters in these communities.

"Stronger and more frequent disasters are repeatedly striking communities across the country, creating unimaginable suffering for vulnerable families," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "As we continue to see these devastating impacts each year, we're so very grateful for Truist Foundation's generosity and partnership as we work to expand our capacity and adapt our services to help people in times of great need."

Truist Foundation has been a member of the Annual Disaster Giving Program  a group of generous corporate partners that donate to the Red Cross in advance of disasters  since its inception in 2020 and has also supported specific Red Cross disaster response efforts regionally and nationally.

About Truist Foundation

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation's (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, Truist Foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation's grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at truist.com/foundation.

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE American Red Cross
Starting this March, travelers and airport workers will be able to order ahead and skip the line at more than 20 airport concession locations

SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) announced a new partnership with Tampa International Airport, bringing mobile ordering to the airport's more than 21 million visitors and workers each year.

Tampa Airport International Airport is Uber's first official US airport partner, after successful operations at the Toronto Pearson Airport and pilots at John Glenn International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport. With this expansion, consumers will be able to order ahead and skip the line at more than 20 concession locations. Uber One members will enjoy their benefits at Tampa International Airport, which includes discounts on eligible orders.

TPA is Uber's first official US airport partner, after successful operations at the Toronto Pearson Airport. Tweet this

A top pain-point for travelers can be getting their food, drink or other last-minute items quickly when they might have only a few minutes to spare before boarding a flight. This frustration is shared by airport staff from flight crews to security officers, who might have only a short lunch break. Uber Eats at Airports now gives consumers greater control of their travel day or work schedule, getting what they need quickly and reliably.

"At Uber, we know how busy airports can be and that sometimes travel can be stressful," said Rob Mitchell, Head of Airports Business Development at Uber. "That's why we're excited to give travelers and folks who work at the airport a lot more convenience and a little less stress when they're hungry by bringing Uber Eats skip-the-line mobile ordering technology at restaurant and retail locations at Tampa International Airport."

"We're thrilled that TPA travelers can now enjoy greater and more convenient access to our award-winning concessions program," Airport VP of Concessions and Commercial Parking Laurie Noyes said. "Our partnership with Uber Eats is another way we're elevating the guest experience by making shopping and dining at TPA easier and faster, which is a great value for our customers."

Consumers can use Uber Eats at Airports by downloading the Uber Eats app or by using ubereats.com on their mobile device.

About Uber Eats

Uber Eats is an on-demand app and website that helps bring millions of people around the world the things they want, at the tap of a button. We partner with over 890,000 restaurants and merchants in more than 11,000 cities across six continents. From specialty local favorites to national brand names, groceries to household essentials and more, Uber Eats has what you want when you want it.

Uber Contact

[email protected]

About TPA

Tampa International Airport is a major economic driver for the Tampa Bay region and is the gateway to the west coast of Florida. Consistently ranked among the world's most beloved airports, TPA serves more than 23 million annual passengers with routes to an estimated 90 nonstop destinations around the world. The Airport has completed several projects in the largest construction program in its history with a major Main Terminal renovation, 66 shops and restaurants, a 1.4-mile automated people mover extending to a multi-level rental car facility, award-winning Blue Express Curbsides, a nine-story office complex and numerous public art installations, including a world-famous 21-foot pink flamingo in the Main Terminal. In 2024, America's Favorite Airport will break ground on a new 16-gate terminal, Airside D, which is Phase 3 of TPA's Master Plan. The $787 million project is expected to be completed in 2027.

Tampa International Airport Contact

[email protected]

SOURCE Uber
Suhas Yerra hired as Chief Information Officer for P&C company; John TenEyck promoted within Enterprise Chief Information Office

SAN ANTONIO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- USAA announced the appointment of two new senior vice presidents in its Enterprise Chief Information Office, with the hiring of Suhas Yerra as SVP, Chief Information Officer for the P&C company, and the promotion of John TenEyck as SVP of Shared Services and Infrastructure. Both executives will report to Executive Vice President and Enterprise Chief Information Officer Amala Duggirala.

"John and Suhas are industry leaders with proven track records of successfully leading transformation efforts." Tweet this Suhas Yerra, USAA SVP - Chief Information Officer P&C Company John TenEyck, USAA SVP - Shared Services and Infrastructure

Yerra has extensive experience in defining and guiding information technology vision, strategy and execution for major organizations, with focused experience in the banking, financial services and insurance industry. He was most recently the global chief information officer for General Insurance at AIG, where he was responsible for technology vision and execution for that business. Yerra earned a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Maryland  College Park and an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He completed his undergraduate work at Kakatiya University in India.

TenEyck will oversee USAA's enterprise technology portfolio and will provide organizational leadership and technical vision, coupled with strong business acumen and program management oversight. This will allow USAA to strategically prioritize initiatives that deliver efficient, sound and industry-leading platforms that are aligned with the company's enterprise architecture standards. TenEyck is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He previously served as vice president of USAA's enterprise architecture team.

"John and Suhas are industry leaders with proven track records of successfully leading transformation efforts," Duggirala said. "They exemplify a 'One Team, One Mission' mindset which will be paramount as we enable a digital-first approach to ensure USAA's systems continue to be effective, efficient and available."

Both executives will lead teams that will continue to drive innovation and technology transformation as they help future-proof USAA to serve the military community another 100 years and beyond.

About USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking, and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in eight U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 38,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

210-498-0940

SOURCE USAA
CHINO HILLS, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Venture MLS, the venture capital fund established in 2022 by California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS), is pleased to welcome David Anderson as a new Venture Partner. Anderson has a long history of working at the intersection of technology and real estate.

David Anderson as New Venture MLS Partner

In his new position, Anderson's responsibilities will include identifying investors and fundraising opportunities while promoting the objectives and varied portfolio investments of Venture MLS to a broad network of companies, firms, and entrepreneurs. With his experience in managing fast growing companies and his knowledge of real estate technologies, he will be advising the managers of both Venture MLS and its portfolio companies while vetting potential investments.

"I've known the CRMLS team for a long time and have been impressed by their commitment to forward thinking initiatives, so the announcement of their new fund really piqued my interest," said Anderson. "The real estate industry is in a state of change right now, and new technologies are more important than ever. I look forward to advising startups and helping them scale quickly."

"I met David back when he was at LionDesk, and it's a great privilege to bring him aboard the Venture MLS team," said Art Carter, Venture MLS fund manager and CEO of CRMLS. "The goal of Venture MLS is to find exciting new investments and nurture them to be real industry game-changers. David's knowledge in the technology space will be invaluable as Venture MLS grows."

Anderson was the founder of LionDesk and led it to be one of the fastest growing companies in the US, reaching no. 360 in 2020's Inc. 5000 ranking. In 2021, LionDesk was acquired by Lone Wolf, where Anderson continued as General Manager, Agents & Teams. He has been named to the Swanepoel Power 200 report twice and currently serves as an advisor to several startups through his new endeavor, ReTechAlliance.

About Venture MLS

Venture MLS was created by industry veterans to leverage MLS knowledge into new technological advancements via strategic investment. Its first initiative, Venture MLS Fund I, will back seed and early-stage real estate technology companies, and is now inviting participation from groups and individual stakeholders within the organized real estate industry. For more information on Venture MLS, visit www.venturemls.com

About California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS)

California Regional MLS is the nation's largest and most recognized subscriber-based MLS, dedicated to servicing more than 110,000 real estate professionals from 41 Associations, Boards, and MLS organizations. CRMLS is the industry powerhouse and thrives on providing the most relevant products and services to its subscribers. For more information on CRMLS, visit www.crmls.org.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Venture MLS
Combines Edsby social learning environment with the Veracross Student Information System (SIS) Platform

WAKEFIELD, Mass. and ANDOVER, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Veracross and Edsby today announced an integration that gives K-12 independent schools a modern, full-featured learning experience combining Edsby's K-12 award-winning social learning system seamlessly with Veracross' industry-leading SIS platform.

Veracross schools can now benefit from Edsby's capabilities such as standards-based learning, fully integrated private messaging, group conversation and resource areas for clubs and teams, and many other features that enhance student learning and connectedness. Edsby customers will, in turn, receive special access to the only one-record-for-life SIS available for K-12 independent schools.

Warren Apel, Director of Technology for The American School in Japan, which has used Edsby and Veracross together since 2018, said, "We knew we wanted to move away from averaging and point-based grades. Most LMS products only offer traditional letter grades, percentage scores, and averages. Edsby gave our teachers a gradebook that can do qualitative standards-based feedback. Edsby is much more than a simple LMS. It solves other problems we have, such as making information more accessible, making office tasks more efficient, and helps overcome student belonging and connectedness issues."

Jessica Wallis, SVP of Product Management for Veracross, said, "Having access to contemporary assessment capabilities such as standard-based grading and other modern LMS functionality is critical for K-12 independent schools. We are pleased to provide this tight integration with Edsby's modern learning platform."

"Edsby leverages Veracross' strengths as a school's system of record, and is now an ideal complement for Veracross sites to enable modern community engagement, learning management, assessment, and student well-being capabilities," said Chris Besse, Chief Commercial Officer for Edsby.

For more information, visit https://www.edsby.com/edsby-and-veracross.

About Veracross

Veracross is a leading provider of SaaS-based School Information Systems (SIS). Designed specifically to meet the unique needs of independent schools, Veracross combines the power of a one-record-for-life database, personalized communication tools, and an elegant architecture unique in our industry. Veracross serves more than 1,500 private and independent schools in more than 30 countries, helping to unify school communities and enhance learning. For more information visit www.veracross.com.

About Edsby

The unique needs of K-12 are hard to meet with conventional technologies. Edsby has been putting the connections between people, not just documents, at the center of K-12 education worldwide for more than 10 years. Edsby's products enable in-class, hybrid and online learning, fostering rich communication and data exchanges between students, teachers, families and other education stakeholders to drive K-12 student success. Edsby has received more than 70 industry awards and distinctions. Learn more at https://edsby.com.

SOURCE Veracross
Visit Zendure at Intersolar Middle East Energy(Booth CB.91)

DUBAI, UAE, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zendure , one of the fastest-growing clean energy tech startups, reveals its latest portable, solar power solution SuperBase V at Intersolar Middle East Energy(Dubai) from March 7-9, 2023.

Zendure SuperBase V , is the first modular, portable power station with semi-solid state batteries to provide more reliable, safer, cleaner energy from RV and off-grid living to EV charging, to whole-home power and emergency backup. By combining the SuperBase V, extended satellite batteries, smart house panels, EV chargers, solar panels, and the ZEN+ intelligent cloud platform, Zendure provides a comprehensive energy storage system that is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional gas-powered generators.

"After attending Intersolar North America, I was able to meet and talk with some of the most influential people in the energy storage industry," said Bryan Liu, Zendure CEO. "Everyone was actively sharing their impressive visions for the long-term success of clean/solar energy, which inspired me and sparked some new ideas for Zendure's product development. Intersolar Middle East Energy should be another great learning experience for me."

SMART, WHOLE-HOME POWER

SuperBase V features industry-leading semi-solid-state batteries, which boast a higher energy density and greater damage resistance than lithium-ion phosphate batteries. Power is customizable and expands from 6.4kWh to 64kWh, meaning the right set-up can store enough energy to power a typical household for a week or more.

As the first and only system that can supply 120V/240V dual voltage from a single base unit, SuperBase V can charge small and large appliances simultaneously, including refrigerators, heating and cooling systems, oven, and more at the same time. And when the unexpected happens, SuperBase V's backup power switches on instantly without interruption, preventing damage or disruption to sensitive equipment.

SuperBase V also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home systems for intuitive, convenient voice control. The Zendure app also gives users tools to monitor, manage and customize energy use, which can significantly reduce the energy bill.

EV CHARGING AT HOME OR ON-THE-GO

Zendure also has EV charging capabilities at home and on-the-go. With up to 12,000W of power distribution, the Home Panel can charge two vehicles at the same time and provide AC power to up to ten circuits around the house. Portable level 2 EV charging also supports public power station input, and the SuperBase V paired with a battery pack adds an extra 40 miles to keep drivers moving between pit stops.

Each base station comes with a variety of hook-ups and 14 ports, including AC, USB-A and USB-C and a 12V car outlet for limitless power possibilities. It's also equipped with a pull-out handle and motorized wheels for easier portability around homes and on-the-go.

To meet with Zendure or schedule a demo, SuperBase V, SuperBase Pro and SuperBase M on site at Intersolar Dubai please contact Chris Chiu at [email protected] .

More information can be found at Zendure.com (Affiliate: ShareASale ).

ABOUT ZENDURE

Zendure is one of the fastest-growing Clean Energy Tech start-ups based in the technology hubs of Silicon Valley in California, and the Greater Bay Area in China, as well as Japan. Zendure's goal is to make energy accessible anywhere, anytime, and to democratize the latest battery technology to power on-grid and off-grid lifestyles alike in a clean and affordable way. To learn more visit Zendure.com and follow Zendure on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Zendure USA Inc.
Ling brings finance, product development, strategy, and team growth expertise to water technology leader's executive team

BOSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZwitterCo, the advanced membrane technology company, today announced the appointment of Christopher Ling as Chief Financial Officer. He brings more than 25 years of financial leadership and a proven track record of successfully leading companies through accelerated product development and growth.

Ling's expertise in scaling companies is ideal as ZwitterCo is expanding into new markets to meet demand. The company delivers a novel membrane with properties that make it immune to irreversible organic fouling, even in the face of extremely contaminated wastewater. As water scarcity and the need for water reuse has increased, the demand for ZwitterCo's technology has grown significantly.

"Christopher is a financial executive with a breadth of experience that will enable ZwitterCo's next phase of company growth," said Alex Rappaport, co-founder and CEO of ZwitterCo. "It's imperative that we make industrial water reuse achievable and affordable, and Christopher's deep expertise in the technology industry and global commercialization will help us grow and scale to achieve these aspirations for our company and for the planet."

Most recently, Ling served as Chief Financial Officer for Veo Robotics, Inc., where he led finance, operations, IT and other support functions across the company. At Veo, Chris helped lead the company to product commercialization and adoption of groundbreaking technology with industry leaders across geographies and market verticals. He also successfully closed multiple funding rounds and developed products at scale, in addition to growing people and teams across the organization.

Ling also brings a variety of experience in strategy and corporate finance from The Boston Consulting Group, FTI Consulting and KPMG, as well as leadership roles at Avery Dennison, CCL Industries and Agilent Technologies. In these positions, Ling played an integral role in the strategic growth and operations across various functions, resulting in seamless acquisitions, positive financial performance, and operational success.

"I am thrilled to be joining ZwitterCo and working with a company that is poised to make a significant impact on the global water crisis," said Ling. "With a multi-billion market opportunity that the company is uniquely positioned to address, I was drawn to ZwitterCo's mission of positively impacting the planet while building a sustainable business, and I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help the company achieve sustained growth and deliver a real impact to the world."

As CFO, Chris will lead all aspects of the company's finance and IT functions, including overseeing the financial growth model for the company, supporting the executive management team on long-term strategic initiatives, building upon the strong customer portfolio, and assisting with capital equipment investment. Ling holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

This news comes on the heels of a year of growth for the company. In September, ZwitterCo announced a $33 million Series A investment , in addition to welcoming senior hires across sales and operations, and breaking construction on a 30,000-square-foot technology innovation center in which the company plans to move new polymer formulations to field testing in under one month. ZwitterCo now has membranes in use across industries in digestate treatment, meat and poultry wastewater, dairy wastewater, and bioprocessing.

About ZwitterCo

ZwitterCo's breakthrough membrane technology enables filtration for the most challenging separations. The company leverages the remarkable power of zwitterions to create an intensely hydrophilic membrane that resists fouling from organic molecules such as fats, oils, and proteins. The unique properties of their membranes give a pathway into the next generation of water treatment, precision separation, and resource recapture. ZwitterCo has been recognized by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center as a leader among clean water technologies. For more information, visit https://www.zwitterco.com/.

Press:

Hannah Parsley

Marketing Communications Manager, ZwitterCo

[email protected]

SOURCE ZwitterCo
Tehran, March 7 : Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on the latest developments in bilateral economic cooperation.

The two sides on Monday exchanged views on economic cooperation and ways to expand it, particularly in the field of international transportation, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the website of the Iranian President's office.

The two leaders also reviewed initiatives involving regional transportation development, according to Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy chief of staff for political affairs to the Iranian President.

Jamshidi explained in a tweet that the Eurasian integration is the second phase of Raisi's neighbourhood policy which includes the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the International North-South Transport Corridor with Russia.

The goal is to strengthen Iran's geoeconomic role, he added.
Kiev, March 7 : Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the operations to defend Bakhmut will continue, and the army have been instrusted to find forces to bolster the defence of the embattled city.

"I told the Chief of Staff to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned," Zelensky said on Monday during his evening address to the nation.

Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut for months, as both sides suffer heavy losses in a grinding war of attrition, the BBC reported. However, Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Marchenko has said that Russia had not yet gained control of the city.

Meanwhile Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army involved in the Russian campaign, has complained of a lack of ammunition amid apparent friction between his fighters and regular Russian forces, the British news broadcaster reported. He also said that his representative had been barred from a Russian military headquarters.

Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value but has become a focal point for Russian commanders who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin, the media outlet reported.

Capture of the city would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine it annexed last September after referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham, it added.
London, March 7 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called the BJP a wing of "fascist RSS which subverts the democracy it uses to come to power".

The Wayanad MP made the remarks during an interation at London-based think tank Chatham House on late Monday evening.

"The complete capture of India's institutions by the RSS has changed the nature of country's democratic contest," he added.

Rahul Gandhi also alleged the Opposition is "not allowed to have any conversation around the Demonetisation, Kisan Bill, GST imposition and the Chinese aggression".

Speaking about his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress leader said: "The Yatra was our communication gateway to reach out to the people of India." "The BJP is blinded by the power it has recklessly enjoyed in the last nine years," Rahul Gandhi said, adding that the saffron party has "no interest in listening to public's opinion".

He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "comfortably uses agencies and spywares against the Opposition - a complete opposite picture of what it used to be under our government".

"Our society is built in a democratic manner. The Chinese do not practice the same model and (they) see it as their biggest challenger... We need to offer the world our own vision of 'productivity with prosperity'," Rahul Gandhi asserted The COngress leader said that the idea of a democratic model "is under attack" and the democracy on the planet "will suffer a blow if our (India's) democratic model collapses".
Lucknow, March 7 : A team of Uttar Pradesh Police has gone to Kolkata in West Bengal after getting inputs that some of the suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case are hiding there.

The police said the murder of Umesh Pal, who was a witness in the killing of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, was executed with surgical precision and sophisticated weapons, including 9 mm pistols, Springfield rifles and crude bombs.

Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said: "We are also probing if there could be other reasons for the murder." The ADG said: "All the attackers had planned and practised before executing the final task... First, Usman is spotted opening fire and is also holding a crude bomb. Further, he is being given cover fire, while another suspect identified, as Guddu Muslim, hurls a bomb and the whole act takes place in less than a minute." The official also added that after executing the sensational murder, the attackers reached Sulemsarai area of rural Prayagraj and then dispersed.

An official at the police headquarters said that they have got a tip-off that the attackers fled to Kolkata and were being given patronage by the local mafia at the port.

"We have sent a team to West Bengal and sought assistance from a retired officer who has busted many UP gangs which took shelter in Kolkata. The STF unit of Bengal police is also assisting us in the operation," he said.

The official added that a total of 17 teams have been formed for nabbing the suspects.

Meanwhile, the family of Usman has claimed that his real name was Vijay Chaudhary and they had never heard him being called Usman.
United Nations, March 7 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for actions to close gender gaps in science, technology and innovation, saying women's full contributions will benefit all.

"The math is simple: without the insights and creativity of half the world, science and technology will fulfil just half their potential," Guterres on Monday told the opening of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The priority theme of the two-week meeting is "innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls", Xinhua news agency reported.

The theme could not be more timely, Guterres said, "because as technology races ahead, women and girls are being left behind." Three billion people are still unconnected to the Internet, and the majority of them are women and girls in developing countries. In the tech industry, men outnumber women two to one, and in the field of artificial intelligence, only about one out of five workers is a woman, he said.

He pointed to "centuries of patriarchy, discrimination and harmful stereotypes" that have created a huge gender gap in science and technology, noting that women account for just 3 per cent of Nobel Prize winners in science categories.

"Promoting women's full contributions to science, technology and innovation is not an act of charity or a favour to women. It is a must and it benefits everyone," the UN chief stressed.

For example, when women scientists and technologists tackle global problems, they multiply the chance of finding solutions, he said.

Guterres urged increasing education, income and employment for women and girls, particularly in the Global South.

He also called for promoting women's and girls' full participation and leadership in science and technology, from governments to board rooms and classrooms, as well as creating a safe digital environment for women and girls.

"The meeting this year comes at a time when women's rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world," said Guterres, warning that "progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes" and "gender equality is growing more distant".

"Let's be clear: global frameworks are not working for the world's women and girls. They need to change," he said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Seoul, March 7 : Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on Tuesday said that "deeply troubling" signs of activity are continuously being detected at North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear testing site.

Grossi made the remarks amid speculation that the North appears to be preparing for what would be its first nuclear test since 2017, reports Yonhap News Agency.

"The Nuclear Test Site at Punggye-ri remains prepared to support a nuclear test, and we continue to see indications of activity near Adit 3 of the Test Site," he said in a statement to the board of governors.

"The reopening of the nuclear test site is deeply troubling." He noted that the road to the former Adit 4 entrance has been rebuilt, though the agency has not observed any indications of excavation.

The secretive North also appears to be operating the 5-megawatt reactor and the reported centrifuge enrichment facility at the Yongbyon nuclear site, Grossi said.

"There were indications of possible tests of the light water reactor (LWR) cooling system in late September and early October, and changes to the LWR's cooling water outlet channel in October," he added.

North Korea voluntarily dismantled the Punggye-ri site in 2018 to show its willingness to denuclearise to the international community.

The country, however, is believed to have begun repairing the facility, the site of its all six nuclear tests so far.

Pyongyang conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017.
Seoul, March 7 : The South Korean government has eased travel advisories for six countries, including Spain and Tunisia, to the lowest level in line with its latest Covid-19 guidelines, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The level 2 alert, which also affected Mauritius, Andorra, Jordan and Namibia, was lowered one notch to level 1, according to the Ministry.

It also eased travel advisories for Peru, Papua New Guinea and four other countries down a notch to level 2, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The Ministry said it decided to keep in place the current special travel advisories for 11 other nations, including Russia, South Africa and Mexico.
Chennai, March 7 : The Avadi police in Tamil Nadu have registered a case against the Chief Executive Officer and Editor of the right wing website, Oplndia.com for allegedly spreading fear among the migrant workers in the state by publishing false news.

The case was registered on Monday night.

The CEO of OpIndia.com, Rahul Roushan and Editor Nupur Sharma were charged by the Avadi police following a complaint filed by a DMK IT cell functionary, Suryaprakash of Thirunindravur.

Suryaprakash in his complaint to the police said that OpIndia.com website was spreading false news and created a sense of fear among the workers from other states in Tamil Nadu and this could lead to conflict between the local people and migrants from other states.

In one of their articles, OpIndia.com has written that the migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu as many as 15 people have lost their lives in 'Taliban' style attacks and the victims were beheaded.

Thiruninravur police in Avadi has registered a case against Rahul Roushan and Nupur Sharma under Sections 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different regional/ language/ caste groups), 505 (publishing and circulating reports containing rumours with intent to create enmity between communities), 505 (B) (Statements conducing public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Tamil Nadu Police have registered a case against the Editor of Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar, a person named Tanveer Ahamad claiming to be a journalist, and BJP Bihar spokesperson, Prashant Kumar Umrao for spreading fake news that migrant workers were attacked in Tamil Nadu.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has assured the people of North India that migrant workers were safe in Tamil Nadu and that the videos that were circulating depicting attacks on migrant workers were fake and deliberately made to infuse tension in migrant workers.
Kolkata, March 7 : The process of shifting Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal to New Delhi in connection with the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal, started on Tuesday.

At around 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning, a joint team of Asansol Special Correctional Home, where Mondal had been housed till date, and Asansol-Durgapur Police Commiserate, brought him out of the premises and started for Kolkata.

While being brought out of the correctional home, Mondal visibly appeared tense and did not reply to the answers of the media persons waiting there.

A team of 12 armed security persons led by one inspector and seconded by three sub- inspectors started for Kolkata in a convoy of four vehicles.

The lead vehicle was a pilot-car followed by the vehicle where Mondal was travelling. His vehicle was again followed by a second pilot car and then an ambulance containing oxygen cylinders. A medical practitioner associated with the correctional home hospital and his assistant was travelling in the ambulance.

On the way, the convoy stopped at a roadside dhaba at Saktigarh in East Burdwan district, Mondal had his breakfast.

Then again, the convoy started for Kolkata and their destination is the ESI hospital at Joka in the southern outskirts of Kolkata. It is expected that the convoy will reach ESI hospital at around 11 a.m.

After reaching the ESI hospital, Mondal will undergo a medical examination by the doctors.

On availability of the fit-certificate for travelling, the joint team of Asansol Special Correctional Home and Asansol- Durgapur Police Commiserate will hand him over to the officials of Enforcement Directorate (ED).

As per plans as of now, said sources, the ED officials escorted by central armed forces personnel will rush for the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport from the ESI hospital.

From there, they will take a flight to Delhi and after reaching the national capital, Mondal will be presented at the Rouse Avenue Courts.
New Delhi, March 7 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday will interrogate former deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in Tihar Jail as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy.

The ED has taken the necessary permissions from the authorities concerned and a team will be in the jail at 11 a.m.

There are possibilities that the ED might arrest Sisodia after the questioning.

The ED will question him in connection with the alleged kickbacks of Rs 100 crore which the AAP party/leaders allegedly received through hawala channels from a South Group.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI and later remanded to judicial custody by Rouse Avenue District Courts. His bail plea is also pending before the court which will hear it on March 10.

The ED has filed two charge sheets, a main and a supplementary charge sheet, in the case and has made 11 arrests so far.
Chennai, March 7 : Two people died in the wee hours on Tuesday when a car collided with a truck in Tamil Nadu's Theni district, near the Kerala border.

The deceased were identified as Akshay Ajay (23) and Gokul(23), both from Kottayam, Kerala.

Rajesh Raveendran (31) of Vadavathur in Kottayam is admitted at Theni government hospital with grievous injuries.

Police told IANS that the bodies of the two are shifted to Theni government hospital for post-mortem.

Details are awaited.
Guwahati, March 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the progress of various Central government projects in Assam in a meeting with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his cabinet colleagues.

The state health minister Kehab Mahanta said: "Prime Minister will sit with us on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. He would first go to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Conrad Sangma in Shillong after landing at Guwahati in the morning. Modi would also attend the oath taking program of Neiphiu Rio in Nagaland in the evening. He would return to Guwahati from Kohima." During his night halt at Guwahati, Modi will meet the Assam Ministers.

Mahanta said that Prime Minister is likely to take stock of the various state government flagship schemes. The state government will present department-wise work status of different projects.

"We hope Modi will guide us on the progress of departmental work. We are looking forward to the meeting," Mahanta added.

The Prime Minister will leave for Agartala on Wednesday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of BJP's Chief Minister-elect Manik Saha in Tripura.

Modi is set to return to Delhi on after the program.
Kochi, March 7 : C.M. Raveendran, Additional Private Secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, arrived at the Enforcement Directorate office here on Tuesday for questioning in the LIFE Mission bribery case.

Raveendran, one of the closest aides of the chief minister, was summoned earlier on February 27, but he expressed his inability citing his busy schedule owing to the Kerala Assembly session. Since the Assembly has a holiday on Tuesday, on account of a local temple festival in the state capital city, he was called today.

As soon as Raveendran's vehicle arrived at the ED office, the media rushed to him, but he just waved his hands and walked inside.

Former bureaucrat and Raveendran's colleague in the CM's office during 2016-21, M.Sivasankar is currently undergoing imprisonment in Kochi. He was arrested by the ED in the same case following allegations by the prime accused in the gold smuggling case and also in the LIFE Mission case- Swapna Suresh.

When the scam first came to light in 2020, Raveendran denied knowing Swapna and was let off after questioning by the ED. But after Sivasankar's arrest, intimate chat messages between Swapna and Raveendran surfaced last week bringing him under heavy attack from the netizens who also flayed the CPI(M) over its "hypocritical" stand.

And now with Raveendran appearing before the ED, all eyes are on the central agency's next move.
Kabul, March 7 : A total of 3,000 Afghan refugees returned to their home country from neighbouring Pakistan, a statement of Kabul's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs said on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the process of returning the refugees to Afghanistan continues, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 3,000 refugees reached Afghanistan on Monday.

More than 270,000 Afghan refugees have also returned from Iran over the past six months.

According to the UN, Afghans make up one of the largest refugee populations worldwide.

There are 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees in the world, of whom 2.2 million are registered in Iran and Pakistan alone.

Another 3.5 million people are internally displaced, having fled their homes searching for refuge within the country.
New Delhi, March 7 : A 22-year-old woman was injured after she was attacked with a sharp object by an auto-rickshaw driver over the issue of fare in Southeast Delhi, an official said on Tuesday.

The injured woman was identified as Mehreen Riyaz, a resident of Shaheen Bagh.

According to police, on Monday evening, Mehreen hired an auto from her residence (PG) to CC Market NFC, but after reaching the market an altercation took place between her and the auto driver over the issue of fare.

"The auto driver attacked her with a sharp object and she received injuries to her lower abdomen on the right side," said a senior police official.

"On her complaint, an FIR under section case 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at NFC police station," said the official.

The official also said that efforts were being made to identify the auto driver and the incident took place at around 8.30 p.m., but was reported after five hours from the hospital.
Beijing, March 7 : The US and China are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not change its approach, Chinas new Foreign Minister Qin Gang said in a fiery press conference on Tuesday in which he also defended his countrys strengthening relationship with Russia.

In his first media appearance as Foreign Minister, Qin Gang outlined China's foreign policy agenda for the coming years, presenting Beijing and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict, the Guardian reported.

Qin said the Washington side claimed that it wanted to out-compete China but didn't seek conflict "but in reality, the US side's so-called competition is all-out containment and suppression, a zero-sum game where you die and I live".

"If the US does not hit the brakes but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrail can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation." Qin defended the close friendship between China and Russia, a relationship closely watched by the west in light of the war in Ukraine, the Guardian reported.

He said the ties between Beijing and Moscow "set an example for global foreign relations".

"With China and Russia working together, the world will have a driving force," he said.

"The more unstable the world becomes the more imperative it is for China and Russia to steadily advance their relations." He said there was "close contact" between the leadership of the two countries, with "head of state" relations forming the anchor of the relationship.

"The strategic partnership will surely grow from strength to strength." Qin's comments aligned with a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping, to political delegates on Monday, decrying what he called US-led "suppression" of China, the Guardian reported.

"Western countries led by the US have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country's development," he said.
London, March 7 : Two teenagers have been found guilty of murdering a 16-year-old Sikh boy who they mistakenly thought belonged to a rival gang in West London.

Vanushan Balakrishnan and Ilyas Suleiman, both 18 year-olds from Hillingdon, were found guilty of murdering Rishmeet Singh, following a trial at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Rishmeet, who came to the UK in October 2019 with his mother and grandmother to seek asylum from Afghanistan, was mistakenly targeted and murdered after being stabbed 15 times while lying defenseless on the ground.

"I have lost my husband and now I have lost my only child, my son. Justice is finally served for Rishmeet but their sentence will never be enough for me. They have taken my whole life away from me and Rishmeet will never come home again," the victim's mother Gulinder said in a statement.

The court heard that on the night of November 24, 2021, Rishmeet was walking home when he saw two unknown males running towards him.

He ran down Raleigh Road, in Southall, where he tripped and fell, according to a Metropolitan Police release.

One of his pursuers then stabbed him at least five times in the back, and the second one stabbed him at least 10 times.

His attackers then fled, leaving his bloodied and injured body on the ground, the Met Police said, adding that the whole attack lasted 27 seconds.

Officers and the London Ambulance Service scrambled to the scene after receiving a 999 call from a member of the public, but despite their best efforts Rishmeet died at the scene.

Enquiries revealed that Balakrishnan and Suleiman dumped their bikes near the bridge and chased after Rishmeet on foot, with Balakrishnan attacking him first followed by Suleiman.

They are captured on CCTV fleeing the scene, and are clearly identifiable from the distinctive clothing and Covid masks they were wearing - including Balakrishnan's dark trousers with a white stripe behind the knee.

While Balakrishnan was arrested on suspicion of murder at his home address on December 2, 2021, Suleiman was held from an address in Edgware on December 9.

The pair will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on April 28, 2023.
Mumbai, March 7 : The trailer of the spy-thriller series 'Citadel', which was released recently, sees actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas engaging in some heavy-duty action as she plays a spy along with Richard Madden. The trailer, which is a little over two minutes in length, starts off with fast cuts of montages. With generous dutch tilt shots, even the credits, it has Priyanka pulling off action sequences, gun fights and chase sequences.

The show, which is the global umbrella series for other national counterparts, tells the story of the eponymous independent global spy agency which gets destroyed by operatives of Manticore as the former was tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people. Manticore is a powerful syndicate.

With Citadel's fall, elite agents Mason Kane (played by Richard Madden) and Nadia Sinh (played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They continue to be hidden from the world, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts. Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (played by Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order.

Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.

The first season of the global series consists of six-episodes with two episodes premiering on April 28 on Prime Video and one episode rolling out weekly through May 26. The series is executive produced by the Russo Brothers' AGBO and showrunner David Weil, and stars Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, with Stanley Tucci and Lesley Manville. aCitadel' will premiere in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Ottawa, March 7 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that an independent special rapporteur will probe alleged Chinese interference in their recent elections.

The appointed investigator will review classified reports about the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and will make recommendations for future contests, the BBC reported.

Rival political party leaders have called for a public inquiry.

China has denied any election interference, calling the claims "purely baseless and defamatory".

Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Trudeau said the reports challenging Canada's "sovereignty" are alarming, and "strike us to our very core as Canadians", the BBC reported.

"I will be appointing an independent special rapporteur, who will have a wide mandate and make expert recommendations on combating interference and strengthening our democracy," he said.

The rapporteur has not yet been chosen, he said, adding that the appointment will be made in the coming days.

Trudeau also said he would ask members of parliament and senators in the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (Nsicop) to begin a review of foreign interference and to report its findings to parliament.

He added that Canada has long been aware of meddling attempts by China, as well as Iran and Russia, the BBC reported.

The countries, as well as several other non-state actors, "have attempted to interfere not only in our democracy, but our country in general".

A series of reports in the Globe and Mail newspaper and broadcaster Global News in recent weeks, based on leaks from Canadian intelligence sources, detailed alleged attempts by China's Communist Party to interfere in the last two federal elections, BBC reported.

Chinese officials have dismissed the reports as "purely baseless and defamatory" and as "hype".

Conservative politicians have said publicly they were aware of interference in 2021 race, and believe it had cost them several seats -- though not enough to change the election result, which Mr Trudeau's Liberals won with a 41-seat lead, the BBC reported.
New Delhi, March 7 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted transit pre-arrest bail to lawyer and Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Prashant Kumar Umrao till March 20.

Umrao moved the High Court on Monday seeking transit pre-arrest bail after the TN Police lodged an FIR against him for allegedly disseminating false information claiming attacks on migrant workers from Bihar in the southern state.

TN's Thoothukudi Central Police Station registered the FIR against Umrao under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as provocation with intent to cause riot, provoking breach of peace and statement leading to public mischief, promoting enmity and hatred.

A single-judge bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh was hearing Umrao's plea and on the latter asking 12 weeks' anticipatory bail, the judge refused saying that "it can't be such a luxury". The applicant also urged for a six-week bail period.

Appearing for the TN Police, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde opposed his bail application saying that he has a history of making tweets that incite violence.

"He has a continual record of making such tweets and then deleting it without even a clarification," he argued.

On Umrao being the standing counsel for Goa, Hegde further said: "He is a man of some standing. Freedom of speech does not mean you light fire to a crowded theatre." The judge said that the court will only see that he gets a proper redressal. "I will only ensure that he gets access to justice," Justice Singh said.

Umrao's counsel advocate Kushal Kumar said that he will require reasonable time to reach the territorial jurisdictional court.

Hegde argued that charges in the case are serious and that direct flights to Trivandrum and one stopover flights to Tuticorin are available and the applicant should have approached the territorial court.

While granting bail, Justice Singh imposed conditions saying that Umrao will have to share his contact number with Hegde and his google location with the TN Police.

Umrao's petition, however, said that because he is a member of a different political party, he is a victim of political rivalry.

The petition read: "The applicant intends to avail his legal remedies under Section 438 of the CrPC before the courts at Tamil Nadu having jurisdiction in the subject FIR, however, he is having grave apprehension that before he could avail such legal remedies, he would be arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police in connection with the FIR." Umrao has alleged that his name has popped up after he tweeted something based on news covered by different national news agencies and that FIR has been wrongly registered against him.

He had tweeted that "12 migrants from Bihar were hung to death in Tamil Nadu for speaking in Hindi" and shared a photo of Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav with TN Chief Minister M.K. Stalin saying that even after the migrants were attacked, Yadav attended the birthday celebrations of Stalin. The tweet has since been deleted.
Bengaluru, March 7 : The opposition Congress party on Tuesday started a poster campaign on the missing BJP MLA, Madal Virupakshappa, who has gone absconding after being named as the prime accused in the bribe for tender case.

The members of Youth Congress pasted hundreds of posters in Bengaluru and Davanagere districts. The posters contain a big photograph of the accused MLA and has "Missing" written in block letters.

In the poster, the accused MLA is seen wearing a cap with the BJP symbol 'Lotus'.

"Please help find the A-1 accused of the Lokayukta investigation," the poster mentions. It also says 'Incompetant 40% Sarkar". The poster also says in bold letters 'to call the police helpline 100 if anyone sees him'.

The posters have come up in all major roads of Davanagere city and in many pockets of Bengaluru, causing severe embarrassment to the ruling BJP party.

Prime accused, BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa has been absconding for six days. The Youth Congress workers alleged that the accused MLA was last seen at the CM's office and urged the people to call the police as soon as they find the BJP MLA.

Opposition leader Siddaramaiah had questioned that even after finding Rs 40 lakh from the accused MLA's son and Rs 8 crore at the residences, why the authorities did not think it was necessary to investigate the BJP MLA, whom they are now searching for.

The Karnataka unit of the BJP, which has suffered a serious setback, is considering expelling him from the party, BJP insiders have confirmed.
New Delhi, March 7 : Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is lodged in a senior citizen's cell at the Tihar Central Jail number 1 and is not sharing it with anyone, prison officials said on Tuesday.

According to a senior prison official, Sisodia's cell is located in ward number 9 which is under CCTVs surveillance.

The officials said that some dreaded criminals were lodged in the same ward, adding that Sisodia has not raised any complaint in food or other things so far.

Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26 in the Delhi excise policy case, was lodged in the cell on Monday after due formalities which included some medical tests.

"His medical test reports came normal after which he was provided with a 'Sparsh Kit', which includes toothpaste, soap, toothbrush, and other items of daily needs. He was also provided with extra clothing on the first night from the prison," said the prison official.

"For dinner, Sisodia was offered chapati, rice and sabzi as per schedule at around 7-7.30 p.m and he did not raise any question or complaint about anything," said the official, adding that his family is likely to visit him on Tuesday with his personal clothing and other items.

A Delhi court on Monday sent Sisodia to judicial custody till March 20 in connection with the case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A counsel appearing for the central agency said that at this stage, they are not seeking further CBI remand but in the next 15 days, they might.
Chennai, March 7 : A Coimbatore police team on Tuesday were fired upon by a history-sheeter and murder accused while being taken for evidence gathering.

The criminal, identified as Sanjay Raja, is an accused in the murder of R. Sathyapandi on February 12. The murder was committed in full public view, and Raja had surrendered before the Egmore court a week ago. He was remanded to police custody and was brought to Karattumedu, Coimbatore to recover a pistol about which he told the police that he had hidden it there.

Immediately after taking out the pistol from the hiding place, he fired at the Sub Inspector, but the officer dodged and escaped unhurt. Another policeman fired at the history-sheeter on his legs and brought him down. He was arrested and taken to the Coimbatore Medical College hospital for treatment of his bullet injury in the left knee.

Sources in Coimbatore Police told IANS that it was a miraculous escape to the police team and suspect that the criminal would have deliberately brought the team to his hiding place to take out the pistol and fire at the personnel.

A senior officer told IANS that a case has been registered and investigation is on.
Patna, March 7 : An Army jawan aboard New Delhi-Dibrugarh Rajdhani express was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly sexually harassing a woman co-passenger.

Vineet Kumar, a native of Aligarh, was accused of misbehaving with a 28-year-old woman passenger.

The woman boarded the train from Delhi and so did the man. On realising that she was travelling by herself, the jawan started harassing her. The victim eventually informed the railway police on the toll free number.

Based on the complaint, the GRP personnel tried to arrest the Army personnel at Ballia railway station in Uttar Pradesh but failed as the train left the platform. The Ballia GRP conveyed the message to GRP Chapra.

As soon as the train arrived at Chapra railway station, the GRP personnel arrested him.

"We have arrested the alleged Army personnel and sent him to jail. We have also recorded the statement of the victim," said Rajesh Kumar Singh, incharge GRP, Chapra.

The accused is deployed at New Jalpaiguri in West Bengal.
Colombo, March 7 : Breaking the biggest barrier to receive the promised conditional International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package of $2.9 billion to help Sri Lanka's cash-strapped economy, China has given assurance to help the island nations debt restructuring programme.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Tuesday informed Parliament that the government received a letter of assurance from the Chinese Exim Bank on Monday night and the letter of intent signed by the Central Bank Governor and himself was sent to the IMF immediately.

Wickremesinghe, who also the Finance portfolio, assured that once the IMF agreement is reached, the deal would be tabled in Parliament along with the draft of the government's future plan and road map.

A delay by China the biggest bilateral creditor to the island nation accounting for 52 per cent, had been hampering Sri Lanka's effort to get the much needed dollar bail out promised by the IMF in last September.

Referring to Sri Lanka's attempt reach the IMF conditions to get the bailout, in January US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung urged China not to be a spoiler.

"For the sake of the Sri Lankan people, we certainly hope China is not a spoiler as they proceed to attain this IMF agreement," she complained.

In an interview to the BBC on January the US Ambassador claimed that the greater onus to move with regard to Sri Lanka's debt restructuring, a prerequisite for an IMF bailout, was on China, as the biggest bilateral lender.

"We hope that they do not delay because Sri Lanka does not have time to delay. They need these assurances immediately," Ambassador Chung stated.

Accounting for 12 per cent of total debt, India, the third largest bilateral creditor to Sri Lanka after China and Japan, was the first to formally inform the IMF of its assurance for the external debt restructuring programme.

The closest neighbour to the crisis-hit country, India's outstanding credit to Sri Lanka amounted to nearly $1.7 billion up to June last year.

Following India, in February the Paris Club of creditors announced its supports for the debt restructuring of Sri Lanka.
New Delhi, March 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the budget lays the roadmap of an all inclusive financial sector for India's growth.

Addressing a post-budget webinar titled 'Enhancing Efficiency of the Financial Services for Creating Growth Opportunities', Modi said, "Trust and expectations have replaced question marks in every discussion of Indian economy. India is being called the bright spot of the global economy." "Today you have a government that is taking policy decisions with courage, clarity and confidence, you too will have to step up," he added.

The prime minister further said that the need of the hour is that the benefits of the strength in India's banking system should reach maximum people.

"The Government's policies related to financial inclusion have made crores of people part of the formal financial system," Modi emphasised.

"The need of the hour is that the benefits of the strength in India's banking system should reach the maximum number of people," the prime minister informed the participants.

Giving an example of the government's support to the MSME sector, Modi asked the banking system to reach out to the maximum number of sectors.

"1 crore 20 lakh MSMEs have received huge help from the government during the pandemic. In this year's budget, the MSME sector has also got additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Now it is very important that our banks reach out to them and provide them adequate finance", he added.

Reinforcing the need for promoting locally made products, he said that the "Vision of vocal for local and the Aatmanirbharta is a national responsibility".

"Vocal for Local is bigger than just buying products of the Indian cottage industry. We have to see which are the areas where we can save the country's money by building capacity in India itself," Modi added.

He urged the private sector to increase their investment just like the government, so that the country gets maximum benefit from it.

"The increase in the tax base is proof that people have faith in the government, and they believe that the tax they are paying is being spent for public good," he said further.

"In the era of 'Industry 4.0' platforms developed by India are becoming models for the world," the prime minister informed.

Referring to the digital payments infrastructure, Modi said, "RuPay and UPI are not just a low cost and highly secure technology, but our identity in the world."
New Delhi, March 7 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed the trial court proceedings against journalist Swati Chaturvedi in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga till July 17.

A single judge bench of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar was hearing Chaturvedi's plea challenging the summons issued by the trial court.

The judge issued notice in the matter and stayed the proceedings.

The case stems from a tweet Chaturvedi had posted in 2017 commenting on Bharatiya Janata Party appointing Bagga as its spokesperson.

"Now the man who beat up @pbhushan (Prashant Bhushan) was arrested in a sexual harassment case speaks for @BJP4India. Good job," her tweet read.

Prashant Bhushan, mentioned in Chaturvedi's tweet, is an advocate, who was allegedly attacked by Bagga with two others in his Supreme Court chambers in 2011.

Post Chaturvedi's tweet, Bagga filed a defamation case against her.

In May 2018, a magistrate court passed an order summoning Chaturvedi to appear before the court, which the latter challenged only to get it dismissed in December last year.

Judge Sudhir Kumar Sirohi had said that her tweet about alleged sexual harassment degrades Bagga's image, a public figure and especially when he was representing a party.

During the hearing, representing Chaturvedi, Advocate Adit Pujari said that no second witness was examined before the trial court as per explanation 2 of Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code who can say that Bagga's image has been lowered because of the tweet.

However, Bagga's lawyer argued that the question of whether his image was lowered in the eyes of public is a question of fact which can be decided by evidence.

Chaturvedi has moved the High Court challenging the orders of the magistrate court and sessions court.
Jerusalem, March 7 : Israeli lawmakers have advanced a bill to allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to keep a donation from his relative to cover expenses of his ongoing graft trial.

The bill passed a preliminary unbinding vote in the Knesset (parliament) plenum on Monday, with 53 lawmakers voting in favour and 49 against, reports Xinhua news agency.

The bill needs to pass three more full rounds of votes before getting its final approval.

It calls for the cancellation of an existing law that bars public servants and their spouses from receiving donations for legal proceedings or medical care.

The vote was held a day after it was approved by Cabinet ministers, despite an objection by the country's attorney general, which said the bill might promote bribery of politicians and corruption.

If passed, it will allow Netanyahu to keep $270,000 of donation from his late cousin to finance the legal expenses of the Prime Minister and his wife.

In 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered him to pay back the funds.

The bill is part of a plan by Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the Israeli legal system.

The plan sparked the largest protests seen in Israel for years.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have held rallies for the past two months, protesting the government's plans to put further limits on the Supreme Court and change the appointment of new judges.

According to Netanyahu, the overhaul is needed in order to curb the overly activist Supreme Court, but critics fear that he wishes to gain excessive power over the legal system.

The lavish lifestyle and spending of Netanyahu and his wife Sara have attracted much criticism from many in the Israeli public.

One of the cases for which he is standing trial involves the receiving of boxes of Cuban cigars and Moet champagne from a Hollywood millionaire.

Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, saying the trial is part of "a witch hunt".
Hyderabad, March 7 : NTR Jr who landed in the US to attend the 95th Academy Awards received a warm welcome from his fans. The young tiger's fans showered their idol with flowers and cheers of 'Jai NTR' as he made his way to his car.

The RRR superstar even interacted with his fans who gathered outside the airport to get a glimpse of their idol. The actor is currently in the US to attend the 95th Academy Awards where 'RRR' is nominated for the Best Original Song category.

Image Source: IANS News

NTR later also interacted with his fans and mentioned how their relationship is stronger than blood, "I love you more than you guys love me. You're all my brother though we are not related by blood. Our relationship is stronger than any blood relationship. I'm indebted to you."

Image Source: IANS News

The actor even interacted with the family members of the fans and promised to meet them soon. An ardent fan took to social media to share the video captioning it "My mom spoke her heart out to my fav hero, This day will be cherished for a long time Zindhabad Young tiger @tarak9999. The way he spoke to her by taking the phone into his hands mannn."

The Academy Awards popularly known as the 'Oscars' will be announced at a Hollywood gala on Sunday (March 12).

-- Syndicated from IANS
Gurugram, March 7 : The Gurugram Police have registered a case over an alleged extortion attempt following a complaint by IAS officer Anita Yadav.

According to the police, a caller identified as Rishi allegedly was forcing the IAS officer to pay up to Rs 5 crore to clear her name in a case being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Yadav stated in her complaint that she received a call on March 3 from a man who identified himself as Rishi.

"He asked me to make a payment of Rs 5 crore to get my name cleared from a matter that is currently under consideration by ACB Haryana. He said he was instructed by some politician to contact me. The said person again contacted me on March 4 and threatened me by saying that if I refuse to make the payment there would be consequences for the same," she told the police.

The victim also recorded the conversation through another phone and the same was provided to the police.

The state government recently granted permission to the ACB to investigate Yadav, another IAS officer and seven officials in connection with an alleged scam in Faridabad.

"The manner in which these events have unfolded in the last 2 days has left me in a state of shock. I am extremely concerned about the safety of my family," she asserted in the FIR.

"A case has been registered in this regard and the matter is under investigation," Rakesh Kumar, SHO Sector-50 police station, told IANS.
New York, March 7 : A 39-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh's Annamayya district died after he was struck by an inter-city train in New Jersey, leading to the suspension of rail services between New York and Philadelphia briefly.

Sreekanth Digala, a resident of Plainsboro in New Jersey, died in the incident that occurred at Princeton Junction Station last week.

The Amtrak train 178, was traveling from Washington D.C. to Boston when the victim was struck east of Princeton Junction, an Amtrak spokesman told Daily Voice.

While there were no reported injuries to the passengers or crew onboard, Amtrak said it is working with Plainsboro police to investigate the incident.

Digala, who is survived by his wife and a 10 year-old son, was the sole breadwinner of the family, according to a fundraising page set up to help his family.

"Kindly help and support Sreekanth's family as he is the moral and financial supporter for his parents and the whole family to withstand this tragic situation," the GoFundMe page read.

Indian communities, including The Telugu Association of North American (TANA), have been in touch with the Indian embassy to complete Digala's last rites.
Bengaluru, March 7 : Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to accused BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa in connection with the bribe for tender scam in which he is named as the prime accused.

The single bench division court headed by Justice K. Natarajan after granting interim anticipatory bail, directed the accused MLA to appear before the investigation officer within 48 hours of the order.

Accused MLA has to give Rs 5 lakh bond and two sureties before the court. The bail will be granted to the accused MLA, until the Lokayukta police submit their reports and documents against him, the court said.

The matter has been adjourned for next hearing to March 17.

Senior counsel K. Suman submitted before the court that the allegations against the accused MLA are political conspiracy. It was also submitted that the MLA is 75-year-old and has a heart problem.

The bench questioned about documents to prove his heart ailment and it also observed that these details are not mentioned in the bail petition. The bench also remarked that the police have not arrested him all these days, will they be able to arrest him in two days? The FIR by the Lokayukta does not have any charges which have been proved. There is no evidence to prove demand and supply criterion which is considered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the counsel stated.

The counsel also claimed that the tender process for the alleged procurement of mentioned raw materials is done and work order is also issued. So, there is no question of receiving a bribe towards the tender, the counsel stated.

Moreover, the tender committee does not have the chairman in the committee and the MD has to take a call, the counsel argued.

The bench asked the prosecution to produce any evidence against the accused. The prosecution sought time for the same and the bench granted interim anticipatory bail.

The supporters of accused MLA Madal Virupakshappa celebrated in Channagiri town after the bail order.

BJP MLA from Channagiri constituency was absconding and Lokayukta special teams had launched a hunt for him. His son Prashath Madal was caught red-handed while receiving Rs 40 lakh bribe towards allotment of procurement of raw materials to the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a public sector unit.

Accused MLA was the chairman of the KSDL and his son was allegedly receiving bribes on behalf of his father. The authorities had seized Rs 8.12 crore, 1.6 kilograms of gold from the residences of accused BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa and his son Prashanth Mada, who was arrested.
New Delhi, March 7 : A 29-year-old hardcore criminal, who used to commit snatchings on a high speed bike from Delhi-NCR to Agra, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh was nabbed along with the receiver of stolen items in the national Capital, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused identified as Najakat Ali alias KTM, a resident of district Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, was also shot at twice by UP police.

The official said that he is also found previously involved in 33 criminal cases registered in UP and Delhi.

The receiver of the stolen items has been identified as Sameer (20), a resident of district Ghaziabad in UP.

Police said that they have also recovered 13 mobile phones and four stolen bikes from the possession of the accused.

According to police, a team from Greater Kailash police station was working on previous cases of robbery and snatching when they noticed that an Orange-Black KTM bike was being used in the crimes.

"The team scrutinized a number of CCTV footages and efforts of the team bore fruits when the accused Nazakat along with an accomplice were seen committing snatching in one of the footage," said Chandan Chowdhary, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).

The police team tasked to nab the accused gathered more than 200 CCTV footages and analysed upto Ghaziabad.

"With consistent efforts, the team succeeded in identifying the num ber of the bike which was found to be registered in the name of Ashraf. Accordingly, a raid was conducted at the residence of Ashraf, who informed that the bike is registered in his name but the same is being used by Nazakat, who is his neighbour but he does not reside there anymore," said the DCP.

"Police came to know that Nazakat was presently living somewhere at Gajraula, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, several raids were conducted at Gajraula and it was revealed that Nazakat is a hard core criminal and he had been shot at by UP Police and thus he kept changing his whereabouts, bikes and mobile numbers very frequently," the DCP said.

Finally, Nazakat was nabbed from a rented accommodation in Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad area.

On interrogation, he confessed to his crime and told police that he sold stolen/snatched mobiles to a receiver namely Sameer.

"Upon his instance, the receiver Sameer was also arrested. Further, upon instance of both the accused persons, four bikes and 13 mobile phones were recovered and 10 cases registered in Delhi have been worked out," said the DCP.

"Further efforts are being made to nab his associate, who is on the run," the DCP added.
Jerusalem, March 7 : Israel's former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and former Defence Minister Benny Gantz urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt his judicial overhaul plan, which sparked massive protests, and open a dialogue.

"In order to have honest and effective dialogue that will lead to preserving democracy and national unity, Netanyahu must announce a complete, comprehensive, and actual halt to the legislative process," Lapid and Gantz, leaders of two centrist opposition parties, said in a joint statement.

"Israel stands at the threshold of a national emergency and Netanyahu refuses to stop," the two former leaders warned, adding that every attempt to reach out and initiate talks with the religious-nationalist coalition government has failed, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the pro-settler Religious Zionism party and Finance Minister, denounced the statement by Lapid and Gantz as "politically motivated".

In a statement, he said the two wish to topple the government and are not interested in a real dialogue.

On Monday, President Isaac Herzog also called for a dialogue.

In a statement, he said he has been working "behind the scenes" in an attempt to broker talks between the coalition and opposition on the suggested reforms.

According to Herzog, the two sides were "closer than ever" to reach a compromise agreement on the controversial reform.

Netanyahu's new government, which was sworn-in in late December 2022, is swiftly advancing a plan to overhaul the Israeli legal system.

The plan sparked the largest protests seen in Israel for years.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets across the country for the past two months, protesting the government's plans to put further limits on the Supreme Court and change the appointment of new judges.

According to Netanyahu, the overhaul is needed in order to curb the overly activist Supreme Court, but critics fear that the Prime Minister, who is facing an ongoing graft trial, wishes to gain excessive power over the legal system.
Chandigarh, March 7 : For supporters and sympathisers, a few, he's the Next Gen of Sikh 'separatist leader' like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star in 1984.

He also believes the late separatist an "inspiration" for him.

He's 30-year-old Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan fiery propagator and self-styled Sikh preacher, who has been running 'separatist' propaganda through speeches.

On the radar of Central investigating agencies, he has drawn comparisons to Bhindranwale owing to his look-alike pious looks and donning a navy blue turban, a white chola and a sword-sized kirpan.

On February 23, an armed mob led by Amritpal Singh clashed with police and laid siege to a police station near Amritsar, demanding the release of one of their colleagues who had been taken into custody in an alleged kidnapping case.

Six policemen were injured in the bloody clash.

Police officials later clarified that they were unable to control the crowd as they were carrying a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi, as a shield.

After 12 days of the bloody clash, Punjab Police on Tuesday decided to cancel nine arms licenses of Amritpal Singh's guards. Also, the police sought details of his security guards.

Intelligence officials, familiar with "dark days" in Punjab from September 1981 to August 1992 in which 1,792 police officers sacrificed their lives while fighting the militants, fear the current Khalistan sentiment will create another 1984-like situation.

Blaming the government's intelligence failure, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa equated the police station siege incident with the return of the "dark era" of militancy.

"No one has any issue if Waris Punjab De wants to connect Sikh youth with religion or fight against drugs. But if they try to create a fear psychosis by flaunting guns, no one will let this happen," Bajwa said in the Assembly on Monday.

Who is Amritpal Singh? He was not known till last September when he returned to India from Dubai where he was running his family's transport business.

After taking charge of Waris Punjab De, which means the heirs of Punjab, he is trying to position himself as a new fulcrum for the panthic cause by calling on the youth to "fight for the freedom" of the Panth.

A resident of Jallupur Khera in Amritsar district, Amritpal Singh moved to Dubai in 2012.

Waris Punjab De is an organisation floated by lawyer-actor-turned-activist Deep Sidhu in 2021. One of the accused in Red Fort violence, Sidhu died in a road accident near Haryana's Sonepat in February 2022.

Unlike Bhindranwale, Amritpal Singh didn't have any formal religious schooling. A dropout from polytechnic, he cut his hair and shaved his beard while in Dubai.

Police records say Amritpal Singh, who tied the knot with UK-based NRI Kirandeep Kaur last month, has been involved in scores of disputes, kidnappings and issuing threats.

Facing criticism for using the Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib as a shield during the clash, Amritpal Singh last week met Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh in Amritsar.

After the closed-door meeting, Amritpal Singh said, "This meeting was about Panthic issues and Sikh youth. Such meetings on current affairs of Punjab should be held regularly." The meeting was held against the backdrop of a committee formed by the Jathedar on whether the Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib should be used in protests or not.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has also formed a committee to look into the Ajnala incident in which the Guru Granth Sahib was used as a shield.

Responding to the Ajnala clash, former Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh expressed grave concern over the incident.

"This is not only a complete collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab, it is more serious than that," Capt Amarinder said, while pointing out the police station siege by a mob has serious security implications for the state and the country.

The senior BJP leader drew the Central government's attention towards this incident, warning that there was a particular pattern in these incidents which does not bode well for the national security.

"Particularly when Pakistan is there to encourage and exploit such a situation," he observed, while raising questions over the competence of the state government in dealing with such a situation.

However, after the clash security agencies suspect Amritpal Singh is getting funding from Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) to be projected as Bhindranwale 2.0.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)
San Francisco, March 7 : Tech giant Samsung has claimed that reports of a new internal CPU development team are not true.

"A recent media report that Samsung has established an internal team dedicated to CPU core development is not true," the tech giant told SamMobile.

"Contrary to the news, we have long had multiple internal teams responsible for CPU development and optimisation, while constantly recruiting global talents from relevant fields." This means that the company has not started developing in-house CPU cores for its upcoming smartphones, tablets and laptops.

The tech giant's statement also indicates that it might continue using ARM's stock CPU cores in its upcoming smartphones, the report said.

On Monday, it was reported that the tech giant was speeding up the development of its in-house CPU which will be used on its Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Book PCs.

According to multiple industry sources, Samsung Electronics held an internal meeting with a team committed to CPU core development.
Lucknow, March 7 : A man has ended up paying for a mobile phone that he never purchased.

He has been duped of Rs 7,620 which was deducted from his bank account as the instalment of a loan for the phone.

The victim, Rakesh Kumar Rawat, approached the mobile phone showroom, the bank as well as the police but to no avail.

He finally moved the court which has directed the police to lodge an FIR.

In his complaint, Rakesh Kumar Rawat said that last year he received the message of a debit of Rs 7620 from his bank account.

"When I enquired at the bank, the officials told me that the money deducted from my account was an instalment of a loan for mobile phone. I did not purchase any phone. I came to know that the phone was purchased from a store in Mahanagar," he said.

Rakesh said when he enquired about the matter, the store manager lost his cool and abused him.

"The store manager and his men lunged at me to thrash me and issued life threats. The manager told me that he had been financing mobile phones by using bank details of people without their consent and he did not fear the law of the land. He threatened me of dire consequences if I reported the matter to the police," he alleged.

Rakesh claimed that his details and fake identity card were used to apply for loan.

"Even the police did not help me. I also wrote to the police commissioner but nothing happened," he claimed, adding that he then moved the court which directed the police to register a case.

SHO, Mahanagar, K.K. Tiwari, said an FIR under charges of forgery and cheating had been lodged and investigations had been initiated in the case.
Kolkata, March 7 : A Bogtui violence victim family in West Bengal is in the process of setting up a cenotaph in memory of the nine victims of the massive carnage.

The carnage that took place at Bogtui village under Rampurhat sub-division in Birbhum district during the wee hours of March 21 last year, was presumed to be a revenge-killing following the murder of local Trinamool Congress leader Vadu Sheikh on the streets the same evening.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths are probing the matter following an order of the Calcutta High Court.

The cenotaph is being set up at the courtyard of the residence of local villager and member of one of the victim families Mihilal Sheikh.

According to him, the members from all the victim families in that massacre will be assembling in front of the cenotaph on March 21 this year and pay homage to the deceased souls.

"Our doors will remain open for all throughout the day and anyone willing to come pay homage to the deceased souls are welcome," said Sheikh.

However, political mudslinging has already started over the development as the district leadership of the ruling Trinamool Congress has alleged that the entire initiative has been masterminded by the district-unit of BJP to gain political mileage before the forthcoming elections for the three- tier panchayat system in the state.

"This is a game plan of BJP, otherwise a thoroughly communal force, to fish in muddy water. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself went to Bogtui to distribute compensation cheques. The state government has provided jobs to one member of each of the victim families. This is nothing but an attempt to create tension over the tragedy before the rural civic body polls," said district Trinamool Congress leader.

Although denying direct involvement of the party behind the initiative, BJP's Birbhum district president Dhrubo Saha said that the party's moral support is behind this initiative.

"In the massacre both the killers and victims had affiliations towards the ruling Trinamool Congress. However, the ruling party's organisational strength in the area has eroded substantially after the massacre. So, they are trying to give this initiative a political colour," he added.

He also informed that on March 21 this year, the district unit of BJP will also observe the one-year completion of the tragedy in its own way. "The leader of the opposition Suvendu Adhikari is supposed to arrive at Bogtui on that day and pay homage to the deceased souls in the carnage," he said.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 7 : Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the arrest of Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, urging the PM to dispel perception that Sisodia was arrested for political reasons.

"Let me submit that the arrest of Sisodia has lent further force to the argument about certain actions of the central investigation agencies. It is the golden principle of natural justice that justice should not only be done, but seem to be done too," said Vijayan.

He stated that he was writing the letter to invite the "kind attention of the Prime Minister to the voices of protest that are being raised by leaders of several opposition parties, including some state Chief Ministers," on the arrest of Sisodia.

"Unless the arrest was imperative for preventing the impediment to the investigation, the desirable act would have been to avoid it. As per information coming out in public domain, nothing incriminating like cash seizure has taken place in the case of Sisodia. While law has to take its course, it is equally important that the widespread perception that Sisodia is being targeted for political reasons needs to be dispelled," Vijayan wrote.

Incidentally, this letter comes at a time when his closest aide- assistant private secretary C.M. Raveendran is presently being questioned by the ED. Earlier, his former principal secretary and now retired top IAS official M. Sivasankar after three days of questioning by the ED was arrested and now cooling his heels in a jail in Kochi in the alleged bribery case in Vijayan's pet project, Life Mission project.
Chennai, March 7 : A day after resigning from the primary membership of the BJP, former IT cell state secretary of the party, Dilip Kannan joined the AIADMK.

He was following the footsteps of C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, former TN BJP IT cell state president who quit the party and joined AIADMK a couple of days ago.

Along with Dilip Kannan, party OBC wing state secretary, Ammu alias Jothi, former intellectual wing state secretary, S.V. Krishnan, Deputy secretary of Tiruchi Urban district, D. Vijay joined AIADMK. These leaders joined the AIADMK in the presence of former Chief Minister and AIADMK interim general secretary, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS).

Both Dilip Kannan and C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar had resigned from the party on Monday and Sunday respectively. The duo have levelled charges against the BJP Tamil Nadu state president, K. Annamalai. They said that the former IPS officer-turned-politician does not have any ethics, and was ill-treating the party cadre.

Dilip Kannan and CTR Nirmal Kumar said that the party functionaries and cadres were demoralised in Tamil Nadu due to the immature attitude of the party state president. They said that they have decided to quit the party as their sustained efforts to work for the development of the party hit a roadblock due to the attitude of the state president.

Actor-turned-politician Gayatri Raghuram quit the BJP a few months ago levelling allegations against Annamalai. BJP Tamil Nadu state OBC morcha leader Tiruchi Suriya has also quit the party. Suriya is the son of DMK leader and MP Tiruchi Siva.
New York, March 7 : A novel vaccine against deadly tuberculosis (TB) has shown to be safe and effective, according to results of the Phase 1 clinical trial.

Currently, Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the most widely administered vaccine against TB across the globe. Nearly 100 years old, it is the only vaccine ever administered to treat TB, which afflicts more than 10 million people each year.

In the trial, US scientists tested a vaccine formulation that was freeze-dried. It was stable at temperatures of almost 37 Celsius for three months -- an advance that could help in areas where maintaining cold or frozen vaccines for long periods can be costly and difficult.

Developed by a team of scientists at the Access to Advanced Health Institute (formerly the Infectious Disease Research Institute) in Seattle, US, the experimental vaccine, ID93+GLA-SE, does not require refrigeration and is mixed with sterile water just prior to injection.

The thermostable vaccine was tested in 45 healthy adults who were then monitored for six months after receiving two shots given 56 days apart. Of these, 22 participants were given a different vaccine formula that isn't stable at higher temperatures.

The results, published in Nature Communications, found that the experimental TB vaccine was safe and stimulated both antibodies and responses from the cellular arm of the immune system.

While both vaccine presentations were safe and well-tolerated. Those who got the thermostable vaccine showed robust T-cell responses and produced higher levels of antibodies in the blood than those receiving the non-thermostable vaccine, according to the team from Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, who led the trial.

They also acknowledged some limitations in the trial such as no established correlates of protection define what immune responses are required for vaccine-induced protection from TB disease.

As a result it is not possible to say whether the enhanced immune responses seen in the thermostable vaccine formulation would translate to improved protective vaccine efficacy.

Nevertheless, they said, results of this trial demonstrate "proof-of-concept that adjuvant-containing vaccines can be formulated in a freeze-dried single-vial presentation without detrimentally impacting clinical immunogenicity or safety characteristics."
Kathmandu , March 7 : A writ petition was filed against Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" at the Supreme Court on Tuesday concerning the 10-year-long armed conflict-era cases.

The petition holds Prachanda responsible for the murder of 5,000 people killed during the Maoist war (1996-2006) which he led as the chairman of the CPN-Maoist party.

Dozens of members of the families filed the petition based on Dahal's public statement that he was ready to take the responsibility for the 5,000 people killed during the war.

Prachanda had made the statement some years ago where he stated that out of 13,000 those who were killed in Maoist insurgency in Nepal, he will take responsibility for only 5,000.

Advocate Gyanendra Raj Aran, one of the petitioners, says they decided to move the court as Dahal's statement hurt the families.

"We are not politically motivated. We will accept whatever the court decides." The Supreme Court says a preliminary hearing of the case has been scheduled for Thursday.

Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court had directed its administration to register the case saying that war-era cases and serious abuse of human rights cannot be extempted.

Before registering the case, on Tuesday morning, eight different factions of the Maoist parties held a meeting led by Prachanda and decided to fight against any kind of conspiracies against the decade-long people's war in Nepal.

In order to join the peaceful politics, the Maoists shunned the war and joined the overground politics in 2006 and signed the comprehensive peace agreement.

The agreement has envisioned to complete the peace process in six months but it is in limbo over 17 years. No progress has been made in last 17 years so the international community is increasingly concerned and worried about the state of peace process in Nepal.

The Maoist leaders also warned of countering activities against the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) and the political change in the country during Tuesday's meeting.

Filed by advocates Aaran and Kalyan Budhathoki, the petition demands that Prachanda should be arrested and a probe launched.

The bench of Supreme Court Justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Hariprasad Phuyal last week ordered the registration of a writ against Prachanda's statement.

According to the same order, a writ was registered in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the hearing on the writ is likely to be held on Thursday.
New Delhi, March 7 : US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday on a four-day visit to the country, during which she will participate in the US-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum.

In a statement issued by the US Commerce Department, Raimondo's visit aims to "unlock new trade and investment opportunities" between the two countries.

She will be in India till March 10.

During the course of her visit, Raimondo will be meeting public and private sector business leaders.

"This is an optimistic time for US-India relations, and I am excited to visit India during such a special time of year, the celebration of Holi," she said in a statement.

The Commerce Secretary will convey the importance that President Joe Biden's administration places on the US-India relations and emphasise the significant opportunity to deepen commercial ties between the two countries, the Department statement said further.

Her visit comes after last month's special negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework held in New Delhi.

The US-India Commercial Dialogue and CEO Forum will be held on March 10, where discussions will take place on cooperation in various sectors that could unlock new trade and investment opportunities between the two countries.

Raimondo is arriving in India on Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's invitation.
New Delhi, March 7 : After reports surfaced that personal information of nearly 6 lakh customers of HDFC Bank was allegedly leaked on the Dark Web, the bank said on Tuesday there has been no data leak of its customers.

According to Privacy Affairs website, the HDFC Bank customers' samples were posted on the hacker forum and "the posted data appears to be genuine".

HDFC Bank Cares Twitter handle on Tuesday posted that "there is no data leak at HDFC Bank and our systems have not been breached or accessed in any unauthorised manner".

"We remain confident of our systems. However we treat the matter of our customers data security with utmost seriousness and we continue to," said the bank.

Data allegedly includes full names, email addresses, physical addresses, and sensitive financial data, the report mentioned.

Cyber-criminals allegedly posted the data for sale on a popular hacker forum.

The criminals provided data samples while demanding money for the full database.

"The criminals explained that the hack was allegedly obtained just recently, in early March 2023, and contains data from May 2022 to March 2023," said the report.

Several Twitter users on March 6 posted about facing outages, failed transfers and even scam messages on the official HDFC Bank mobile app.

There has been a surge in spam bank text messages in the recent past.
New Delhi, March 7 : If you enjoy colour and want to discover interesting information about Holi, here are the various names the holiday of colours is referred to and how it is celebrated across different regions in the country.

Holi is observed in a variety of ways depending on the state, reflecting India's diverse cultural heritage.

Lathmar Holi - Uttar Pradesh

Lathmar Holi is observed four to five days before Holi in other states. However, it's fascinating to observe how this festival is observed in the Uttar Pradesh towns of Nandgaon and Barsana in a rather unusual manner by playfully hitting men with wooden sticks in response to their teasing as part of a ritual. The towns, which are 42 kilometers from Mathura, are very well-known for their Lathmar Holi festivities.

Rang Panchami - Maharashtra

Holi is observed as "Rang Panchami" in Maharashtra, a province in western India. On this day, people enjoy traditional sweets and savory dishes while playing with coloured powders and singing and dancing to the rhythm of dhols. A distinctive practice of singing and playing musical instruments on the streets is also followed in some areas of the state.

Manjal Kuli - Kerala

Holi is observed as "Manjal Kuli" in Kerala, a province in the south. People take part in processions that feature traditional music and movement as well as coloured powders being thrown at one another. There is also a distinctive practice of singing songs of devotion to Lord Krishna.

Holla Mohalla - Punjab

The Punjab region commemorates "Hola Mohalla," which is like Holi for warriors in appearance, sound, and feel. It is observed the day prior to Holi. The purpose of the celebration, which includes a stirring display of martial arts, horseback riding, and poetry recitation, is to honour the valor of Sikh warriors, especially those of the Nihang Sikh sect. Later, this is followed by movement, music, and colour.

Royal Holi- Udaipur

As the name implies, Udaipur celebrates Holi on a grand stage. The Mewar royal family still celebrates the dynasty's customary holidays in the city that was once their kingdom. The present custodian starts the bonfire the night before Holi and burns the effigy of Holika. The next step is a flamboyant equestrian parade with the royal band. It's quite the show!

Shigmo - Goa

Shigmo is the name of Goa's spring celebration. In addition to playing with colours, it is planned as a huge carnival with traditional folk music and street dances. Goa is a coastal state where fishing is the main source of income, so fishermen's boats are colourfully decorated with mythological and religious motifs. Shigmo is observed in two different ways: "Dhakto Shigmo" and "Vhadlo Shigmo," which respectively mean "small Shigmo" and "big Shigmo." Farmers and workers in rural areas enjoy Dhakto Shigmo, while everyone else celebrates Vhadlo Shigmo.

Kumaoni Holi - Uttarakhand

In many towns throughout the Kumaon area of Uttarakhand over the course of a few months, people celebrate Kumaoni Holi. The beginning of the sowing season for the agricultural community is marked by this celebration, which is more of a musical event than a celebration of colours as in the other states.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

Latest updates on Holi Festival 2023

-- Syndicated from IANS
Mumbai, March 7 : In a Holi scare at the Victoria Memorial Blind School, Tardeo, at least seven children, including six minors suffered food poisoning, the BMC Disaster Control said here on Tuesday.

The children had consumed some food during the Holi festivities after which they suddenly complained of abdominal pain and started vomiting, and at least two among them had fever.

All the children were rushed to the BMC's Nair Hospital and after treatment, their condition has been described as 'stable'.

Among the victims, five children are aged above 12 and two are under 12, said the Disaster Control.

Details of the kind of food they consumed, how it was prepared and by whom, etc., are being investigated.
Hyderabad, March 7 : A 30-year-old scrap dealer was killed in a blast in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in the Moosapet area when the dealer was uploading scrap on a vehicle on HP Road.

According to eyewitnesses, the blast took place when a chemical tin container fell on ground while the man was uploading the goods on the vehicle.

The dealer, identified as Mohammed Nazeer, was critically injured in the blast. Police rushed to the spot and shifted the injured person to Gandhi Hospital, where he succumbed while undergoing treatment.

The deceased was a resident of Bholakpur in Musheerabad. Nazeer's father Islamil used to buy scrap. Nazeer was helping upload the material on a vehicle when the explosion occurred.

A police officer at Sanathnagar police station said they have registered a case and took up investigation.

Similar incidents were reported in the city in the recent past. One person was killed and another injured when they were dumping chemicals in a manhole in Afzalgunj area on June 12, 2022.

Earlier, two ragpickers had also lost their lives in similar incidents --IANS

ms/vd

A
San Francisco, March 7 : Microsoft has introduced an experimental video enhancement experience -- powered by AI technology -- called "Video Super Resolution" (VSR) for its Edge web browser that uses machine learning to increase the resolution of the low-quality video.

"This can be accomplished by removing blocky compression artifacts and upscaling video resolution so you can enjoy crisp and clear videos on YouTube, and other streaming platforms that play video content without sacrificing bandwidth no matter the original video resolution," according to the Edge Insiders blogpost.

Due to the computation power required to clean up and upscale videos, video super resolution (VSR) is currently offered only when the device has one of the following GPUs -- Nvidia RTX 20/30/40 series or AMD RX5700-RX7800 series.

In addition, the video should be played at less than 720p resolution, the device should be connected to AC power, and both the height and width of the video are greater than 192 pixels.

The feature is currently available in the Canary channel for 50 per cent of users and will be enabled when the above conditions are met, the company said.

When the feature is enabled, users will see an HD icon in the address bar.

The tech giant said that they are working on automatic Hybrid GPU support for laptops with multiple GPUs.

Meanwhile, users can try VSR by changing Windows settings to force Edge to run on their discrete GPU.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
New Delhi, March 7 : The standing committee on energy has got time up to the Monsoon Session of the Parliament to present its report before the House.

The Lok Sabha Bulletin Part 2 states, "Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, has granted extension of time to the standing committee on energy (2022-23) for presentation of report on the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022 up to the Monsoon Session, 2023 of the Parliament (Bulletin Part-II dated March 3, 2023)." The Parliamentary standing committee on energy had already sought stakeholders' comments on the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022.

The bill had been referred to the panel, headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on November 21, 2022.

The committee has been given three months to finalise a report on the bill.

The bill has received a lot of opposition from farmers and political parties, which have alleged that well-off consumers would opt for private distributors at the expense of state-owned distribution companies, as per its provisions.

The bill seeks to facilitate usage of distribution networks by any entity which gets a distribution licence. This would allow consumers to choose services of any power supplier from among several players operating in a particular region, just like customers have the choice to select mobile networks.

When Power Minister R.K. Singh had introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on August 8, 2022, it had received a lot of protests from opposition parties led by the Congress.
New Delhi, March 7 : Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday criticised Rahul Gandhi over his statement in which he asked for America and Europe's interference to restore democracy in India.

During his recent visit to London, Rahul Gandhi said at an event that the 'US and Europe are not doing enough to restore democracy in India' as they are 'getting trade and money' from the country.

Slammimg Rahul Gandhi during a Press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, he said, "What happens to you when you visit abroad? All dignity, all decency, democratic shame, you forget everything. Now, when the people of the country neither listen to you nor understand you, you go abroad and lament that India's democracy is in danger." Prasad further stated, "Rahul Gandhi is saying that speaking is not allowed in India but he kept on speaking a lot in Bharat Jodo Yatra, abusing the PM. He gave a long speech in the Parliament itself. Now what can be done in this that the people of India neither listen to him nor understand him." Questioning Congress, Prasad said, "Rahul in his speeches has insulted India's democracy, parliament, judiciary, defence system. Rahul said that America and Europe should interfere in India. We want to ask a question to Kharge ji and Sonia ji, do you support Rahul's statement? If not, then disown it." "Rahul has spoken a lot about the Sangh. I had asked in Parliament whether he knew the full name of RSS as well? We are proud that today we are serving the country with the inspiration of RSS. RSS is a nationalist organisation which has been engaged in the service of the nation since 1925," Prasad said.

The BJP leader said, "Your great grandfather was also against the Sangh, but today where have you reached in protest. Prasad claimed, Rahul is caught in the trap of Maoists, speak their language. You did not see how the Sangh served the people in Corona. You go abroad and call China a good neighbour." Prasad said, "At the time of your grandfather, the soldiers of the country went to fight China wearing cloth shoes. How strong is the country strategically today? The question is, does Rahul even understand these things?" Regarding the CBI's interrogation of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, the BJP leader said, "I do not want to say anything on the raid, but what kind of statements are being given by all the parties. I want to ask those parties who filed the PIL on Lalu Yadav regarding the fodder scam. This PIL was jointly filed by Sushil Modi and Rajeev Ranjan alias Lalan Singh." "The question is also with Nitish Babu, why did you break away from RJD in 2017? The answer to these scams could not be found, so today out of greed for power, they are opposing the investigation. You stop calling yourself good governance babu," the BJP leader said.
New Delhi, March 7 : Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore has explained how the Congress is not against the BJP but against Prime Minister Narendra Modi because they cannot compete with his leadership, schemes and policies. He was speaking to IANS. Excerpts: Q: If we talk about the housing and urban affair ministry, how is the department helping the country in development also its participation in making India's G-20 presidency successful?

A: We are continuously working for the welfare of the public. The Modi government wants homes for all that is why we are continuously on PM Awas Yojana for which the Centre has allotted Rs 79,590 crore in the 2023-24 budget.

Since 2016-17, the budget for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the flagship housing scheme of the government, has increased 280% from Rs 20,936 crore in the revised estimates of 2016-17 to Rs 79,590 crore in the 2023-24 budget. Till now 21.3 million houses have been completed as of February 2023 and we will meet the target soon.

We have made 7900 cities clean and garbage free under the Kachra Mukt Abhiyan.

If we talk about G20, there are 56 places where G20 events will take place. Our department is participating in making the events successful.

Q: With less than a year left for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, how could it be for the BJP? A: Modi ji has set the target for 25 years to make India a developed country. All the ministries, all the leaders and workers are working on the agenda. You have seen PM Modi is trying to connect with parties, even those not in favour, because he believes in 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas' and 'sabka prayas'. Modi ji has become a global leader, he has worldwide acceptance. People of the country love him, believe in him and his schemes. We have full faith we will win this Lok Sabha election with more seats than before.

Q: We have seen unity in the opposition, there are talks about a Mahagathbandhan like before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Do you think this unity will impact the BJP vote percentage? A: The unity of the opposition is shallow, all have their own relevance for their benefit. They are not against BJP they are against PM Modi. With statements like 'Modi Hatao Desh Bachao', they abuse him because they are against him. They know they cannot beat the policies and strategies of the Modi government. They talk about 'Modi Hatao' and we talk about 'Gareebi hatao, Bhrashtachar hatao, Vanshwad hatao'. There is a big difference in the opposition's ideology and our ideology.

Q: Rahul Gandhi went on the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', a huge crowd has been seen with him. He is visiting temples, talking about dharma, Do you think his Hindu agenda politics will work this time? A: He will get nothing out of this, people know his every move is for elections and votes. He thinks he will go to temples, perform prayers, put tilak and people will believe he is for the welfare of Hindus, no. Even the Muslim voters who used to support him will not vote for the Congress. I can say around 25% Muslim votes will add in favour of the BJP. Because we believe in 'sabka saath' and we work for their welfare as well.

Q: There are fresh statements Rahul Gandhi made from foreign soil about India. He questioned India's democracy, asking for foreign intervention in internal issues. What is your comment on this? A: Rahul Gandhi is mentally sick. He doesn't know what to speak where to speak. If he doesn't find democracy in India why doesn't he leave and live where he finds democracy.

He took out the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', spoke a lot during the yatra, gives full length speech in Parliament, but still doesn't believe in democracy in India. Today India is hosting a G-20 summit. The whole world is praising India for the management of the pandemic, appreciating economic stability, thanking for help and support during crises, be it the Covid vaccines or medicines, or humanitarian help to earthquake affected Turkey. People of Pakistan are demanding PM Modi, they are protesting for the remerger with India but Rahul Gandhi has his own mindset about our country.
New Delhi, March 7 : Hosting a Holi party is more than just gathering your loved ones in one place: it's a celebration of life, love, and happiness. But, with the colourful chaos that comes with it, it can be daunting to ensure everything goes off without a hitch. Fear not, as we have compiled a checklist of essential items that will help you host the ultimate Holi party with ease.

1. Get your guests to dress impressively - in white!

As you prepare to celebrate Holi with your loved ones, there's nothing quite like a blank canvas of white kurtas and sarees, waiting to be splashed with a burst of colours. As a photography enthusiast, you have the perfect opportunity to create stunning visual compositions that showcase the beauty of this joyous festival. Capture every moment of this festival, from lively dances to the playful splashes of colour with the stunning video capability of the Nikon Z 30 Mirrorless camera.

2. Stock up on herbal colours for your party - and keep it eco-friendly!

Looking for a way to make your Holi party more eco-friendly and colourful? Look no further than herbal colours made from flowers, fruits, and vegetables! These vibrant and natural hues are not only safer for your skin and the environment, but they also add a unique touch of creativity to your celebration. Imagine painting your face with a luscious and juicy strawberry colour or throwing a cloud of lavender-coloured powder into the air! And with Nikon high-resolution cameras, you can capture all the vivid details of your colourful Holi party, from the laughter and joy to the dazzling bursts of colour. So, stock up on those herbal colours and let the Nikon cameras capture your unforgettable Holi memories!

3. Prep your skin - a little care goes a long way!

Before the Holi colours fly in, make your skin ready for the onslaught. The synthetic colours used during Holi contain harmful and toxic substances that can cause skin irritation, itching, hair breakage, dryness, and hair fall. The sun's harmful UV rays during Holi can do serious damage to the skin. Apply a generous amount of Assure Natural Sunscreen 40+, made with natural ingredients, to all exposed areas of your skin, which will give the skin deep hydration and nourishment while protecting it from harmful UV rays and the harsh colours used during the festival. Also, treat your hair with some pre-Holi pampering with Assure Hair Oil. Prolonged exposure to the sun during Holi can lead to split ends, hair breakage, and an itchy scalp, Assure Hair Oil will provide deep nourishment to the scalp and hair, preventing hair fall and strengthening the hair from its roots, leaving the hair soft and silky even after all the colour play. With the right skin and hair prep, you'll be free to fully immerse yourself in the festivities of Holi and create beautiful memories to cherish for years to come.

4. Feed your guests - and keep them hydrated!

What's Holi without an indulgent set of options comprised of scrumptious snacks and refreshing beverages? Serve up some lip-smacking delights like the quintessential Gujiya and Chicken McWings which is crispy and crunchy on the outside and succulent and tender on the inside. To top it all, don't forget to add chilled beverages like Lassi, Thandai, and Soda. And for those who crave something more indulging, add some cuisines to the mix. With everyone's hunger and thirst satisfied, you can all focus on creating colourful memories that will last a lifetime.

5. Set the mood with the perfect playlist - nothing beats a good beat!

Let the music be the heartbeat of your Holi party! Create a playlist that's upbeat, energetic and full of festive vibes. Think Bollywood classics and contemporary hits that will get everyone on their feet and dancing to the rhythm. Make sure to set up a good sound system that can carry the tunes throughout the party. So, if you want to capture the moves and groves of your friends and family in stunning detail and create beautiful videos that you can share with your loved ones, the Nikon Z 5 is the perfect camera for you. Its user-friendly interface and high-resolution video capabilities make it an ideal choice for anyone who wants to capture the essence of this colourful festival in all its glory.

6. Capture the memories - and make them last forever!

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and what better occasion to capture those priceless memories than Holi? From the vibrant colours to the contagious laughter, every moment deserves to be captured and cherished forever. And with Nikon Z fc, the task just got easier! Nikon Z fc, with its 4K video capability and compact design, is the perfect choice to capture all the colourful moments. With its six beautiful shades to choose from - Pink, Mint Green, White, Grey, Amber Brown, and Sand Beige, the Nikon Z fc is just as colourful as the festival itself! So, strike a pose, capture the moment, and make those memories last a lifetime.

Amidst all the colourful chaos and Holi madness, you can't afford to ignore your camera gear while capturing the essence of Holi. Your best bet would be to use a rain cover to protect your cameras from any damage. And a clear protection filter would also be an additional safeguard for your lens.

As we come to the end of our Holi checklist, we hope you're feeling as excited as we are to throw a colourful extravaganza that your guests will talk about for years to come. From stocking up on herbal colours to prepping your skin and serving up delicious snacks, these essential items will ensure that your Holi party is a success. And with Nikon's Z 5, Z fc and Z 30 mirrorless cameras, you can capture every colourful moment and create lasting memories. So, use this checklist, throw a fantastic Holi party, and enjoy the festival of colours to the fullest!

We wish everyone a splendid and joyous Holi, 2023.

Latest updates on Holi Festival 2023

-- Syndicated from IANS
New Delhi, March 7 : The United States is battling to extradite Pakistani businessman Asif Hafeez from Britain's high security Belmarsh prison to a jail in New York after snatching a couple of Akasha drug-lord brothers and two others from Kenyan soil, according to a media report.

Those held by the US include real brothers Baktash Akasha Abdalla and Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, former Bollywood star Mamta Kulkarni's husband Vicky Goswami, and Ghulam Hussein, one of whom turned into a witness against the Pakistani national, Geo News reported.

Only Vicky Goswami, according to reliable sources, will provide a witness statement against Hafeez after the Indian national was offered a deal by the US government to become a US informer and a witness in lieu of privileges and exemptions, Geo News reported.

The only person - and the co-defendant - who has agreed to become a witness against Hafeez at any trial that takes place if extradition is ordered is Goswami. He has pleaded guilty in a cooperating plea agreement with the US authorities and will be called as a witness against Hafeez when and if a trial takes place.

The US didn't charge him in the superseding indictment - an indication that he turned into an asset, Geo News reported.

The US authorities have refused to discuss the current status of Goswami, saying that any information on his current status could endanger the lives of witnesses. Sources say Goswami is now enjoying a life of luxury and protection from the US government, as per the report.

Goswami grew up on the streets of Ahmadabad, making his living as a bootlegger. He came to Mumbai and worked in the underworld. He met his Bollywood sweetheart Mamta Kulkarni in Mumbai when she was at the peak of her career.

He then moved to Dubai full-time and organised Bollywood events and started dealing with drugs. He was jailed in Dubai in 1997 for 10 years for illegal drug trafficking.

Mamta visited him in jail regularly. They married while Vicky was in jail. After being released, the couple moved to Kenya where Goswami became big again on the drugs scene, Geo News reported.

The case of Hafeez is not an ordinary one, and makes for a Hollywood thriller: Full of drama, action, intrigue, criminal syndicates, drugs trade, entrapments, Bollywood, American secret agents etc., the report said.

The case became interesting because at least four key characters linked with the Greece drugs conspiracy of 2004 - involving smuggling of 650 tonnes of hashish from Pakistan - and the 2014 Kenya drugs operation, also linked to India, Bollywood and Pakistan, have come out to say that Hafeez had a hand in sending drug shipment to Greece and the US, the report said.

The case is also out of a movie script because Asif Hafeez, in real life, at one stage supplied information to spy agencies of the USA, the UAE, the UK, and Pakistan. Britain's secret service even wrote a letter of praise to him for providing credible information that helped to stop a shipment of tonnes of drugs into the UK, Geo News reported.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) alleges that between 2014 and 2017, it conducted an investigation into the proposed importation of drugs into the United States from Kenya.

The US sources posing as Colombian drug traffickers contacted Akasha Organisation leaders Baktash, Ibrahim, Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami (known as Vicky Goswami) and Ghulam Hussein wishing to obtain heroin for importation and supply into the US, Geo News reported.

Baktash, according to the US indictment, agreed that he could obtain heroin for supply to the US and told the sources that his supplier was from Pakistan and went by various pseudonyms, one of which was the Sultan, who later turned out to be Asif Hafeez.

In October 2014, 98 kg heroin was delivered to the US sources, the delivery was said to have been organised by those four men in conjunction with Sultan (Hafeez).

Kenya's once-powerful Akasha brothers, Vijay Goswami and Ghulam Hussein were first arrested by the Kenya Anti-Narcotics Unit on November 9, 2014 in Mombasa on a request from the US government alleging conspiracy to import drugs into the US but they were soon released on bail.

For over three years, the four men put up a strong defence against the US extradition bid and it didn't look like the local courts would extradite them to the US anytime soon.

Their lawyers and families have alleged that the US kidnapped and extraordinarily rendered them with help from the Kenyan government.

According to court papers and witnesses, the operation of extraordinary rendition on Kenya soil was conducted by the US DEA agents and the Central Information Agency (CIA) - abducting the Akasha brothers, Goswami and Hussein on charges of drugs importation while the local court was hearing their case, Geo News reported.

Once the four Kenyan citizens had been flown away and secured at a US prison, the US agents turned their focus on the entrapment of their main target: Asif Hafeez, the Lahore-born former pilot-turned-businessman, who mingled with Prince Charles and members of the English Royal family at polo events and donated not only for the Royal charities, but also to the Shaukat Khanum cancer hospital.

Hafeez was arrested in London from his Regent Park flat on August 25, 2017 by Scotland Yard officers and American agents executing an extradition warrant on behalf of the US government, Geo News reported.

(Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 7 : In a huge relief for home buyers, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the resolution plan submitted by Mumbai-based Suraksha group's to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd through the insolvency process.

A two-member principal bench of the NCLT, headed by President Ramalingam Sudhkar, approved the resolution plan.

The Suraksha group had proposed to complete around 20,000 flats in Noida and Greater Noida, which came as a relief to home buyers who have been waiting for their homes for more than 10 years.

In November last year, the tribunal had reserved its order on the plea filed by the resolution professional of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) seeking approval for Suraksha group's bid to complete around 20,000 flats across various stalled projects in Noida and Greater Noida.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC), which includes banks and home buyers, gave its approval in June 2021, to Suraksha group to take over the JIL. The CoC's decision came as a ray of hope for nearly 20,000 home buyers, who are waiting to get possession of their flats in the stalled projects. The corporate insolvency process of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) started in August 2017.

The detailed order in the matter will be uploaded later in the day.

The ruling came about six years after the construction company entered the insolvency process, and nearly two years after the lenders' committee gave its nod for Suraksha group's offer.
Mumbai, March 7 : Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who suffered an injury to his ribs during the shoot of 'Project K', has shared that he has put all his work commitments on a temporary halt in light of the recovery.

The senior actor took to his Twitter and blog on Tuesday to share an update on his health.

The actor expressed gratitude to his fans, who showered him with support and love after they came to know about his injury.

He also said that 'Holika' was lit at Jalsa on March 6.

An excerpt from his latest blog read, "First, to all that send their concern on my injury, may I express my gratitude and love for your prayers (sic)." "I progress gradually, it shall take time and what has been prescribed by the doctors is being followed diligently. Rest and strapped chest, all work has stopped and will only begin once the condition improves and the medical gives an assurance (sic)." The actor also informed people about Holika celebrations that were performed on Monday night at his Mumbai residence, Jalsa.

He wrote, "The 'holika' was lit last night at Jalsa, there being a date confusion on the day for HOLI... it is now done. HOLI being celebrated today... and tomorrow... so in this confusion much of what could have been done was not done... I rest and repair. But my wishes for the celebration of this joyous festival is with you... May the colours of HOLI bring the multifaceted colours of life in your life... More later... But for now my gratitude as ever... (sic)."
New Delhi, March 7 : A Delhi court on Tuesday heard arguments on charges levelled against Aaftab Amin Poonawala for allegedly strangling his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar to death and then chopping her body into several pieces.

After hearing the arguments, additional sessions judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar said that a short synopsis has been filed by the prosecution.

Special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad argued the charges against Poonawala. It was submitted that the accused is a trained chef from Taj Hotel and is aware of preserving the flesh.

Poonawala had also ordered dry ice, agarbatti etc. after killing Shraddha Walker, the police said.

It was added by the police that after committing the crime, he got into a new relationship and gave a ring to his new girlfriend.

Appearing for the accused, his legal aid counsel (LAC) Javed Hussain sought time to address the arguments. The judge then listed the matter for next hearing on March 20.

On February 21, for initiation of trial proceedings, a city court had sent the case to the sessions court.

Metropolitan magistrate Aviral Shukla had said: "Scrutiny of documents is complete... Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code is exclusively triable by sessions court." The court had on February 7 taken cognisance of the charge-sheet filed by the Delhi Police against Poonawala which ran over 6,000 pages.

Poonawala has been accused of killing Shraddha Walkar and then chopping her body into several pieces and storing them in a refrigerator before disposing them of in the Chhatarpur forest area over a period of three months.
Tokyo, March 7 : A Covid antiviral developed by Japanese researchers can shorten the symptoms as well as the number of days one can test positive post infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the trial data.

The oral antiviral drug ensitrelvir was co-developed by Hokkaido University and pharma company Shionogi. The trial tested its efficacy to accelerate recovery on about 1,200 people, Nature reported.

The oral 125-milligram ensitrelvir pills helped clear a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, cough, feeling hot or feverish and low energy or tiredness about a day earlier, compared with those in the control group.

Those who took the pill also tested negative for Covid about 29 hours earlier than did those who took a placebo.

The results were presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Washington. It has not been peer reviewed yet.

Further, according to the drug's manufacturer Shionogi, the trial also showed that ensitrelvir has the potential to prevent long Covid. People who took the antiviral had 14 per cent risk of developing long Covid. Those who did not take the drug had a 26 per cent risk of developing long Covid conditions.

No drug has been conclusively shown to reduce the risk of long Covid. Only preliminary evidence hints that Pfizer's Paxlovid might have this effect.

Scientists, however, are sceptical about Shionogi's claim and are critical of the design of the clinical trial of ensitrelvir, Nature reported. They point out that the trial was not specifically intended to investigate the risk of long Covid.

It's unclear whether Shionogi's definition of long Covid was determined before the trial began, physician Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego, California was quoted as saying.

Because this was an exploratory phase of the study, it's not possible to make any strong conclusions, he added.

According to Simon Portsmouth, head of clinical development at Shionogi in Florham Park, New Jersey, the company could not specify the plan for analysing long Covid data ahead of time because long Covid was less clearly defined in the past than now.

He says that these results, although not definitive, will shape an ongoing trial evaluating ensitrelviraAs effect on Covid-19 symptoms, Nature reported.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chandigarh, March 7 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Tuesday that as part of the campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India TB-free by 2025, Haryana has set a target to become the first state in the country to be TB-free ahead of the national target.

"To achieve this goal, a state task force (STF) will be formed, under which government and private sector medical institutes and doctors will work together to make Haryana TB-free," said Khattar, while holding a meeting with officials of the health department and private medical institutions here.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to integrate the data of all private clinics and nursing homes treating TB patients by establishing coordination with these institutions, so that real-time data of all patients in the state can be known and timely treatment can be ensured.

Khattar directed that mobile units be deployed in each district to detect TB patients, which would conduct door-to-door TB diagnosis tests.

The Chief Minister said that various initiatives are being focused to make Haryana TB-free. Under this, efforts are being made to timely detect patients, ensure their treatment and provide nutritious food to such patients during treatment.

Khattar also directed the officials to increase the number of Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) labs in the state.

Naresh Trehan from the Medanta Hospital, who attended the meeting virtually, said the health department is working closely with Medanta Hospital to eradicate TB.

On behalf of Medanta, six mobile vans equipped with digital X-ray and CB net machines are going to the districts to conduct health checkups.

In the coming days, the number of such vans will be increased so that all districts are covered.
Bhavnagar : , March 7 (IANS) Three students were electrocuted to death at Katakda village in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district after they reportedly came in contact with a live wire while returning home from school.

Bhayabha Jambucha, a resident of the village, told mediapersons that he was informed by a villager that his nephew Naitik (12) got injured, so he rushed to the other side of the village. On reaching the spot, he found the three children lying on the ground. They were rushed to the nearby government hospital, where the doctor declared them brought dead.

Along with Naitak, his younger sisters, Priyanka (10) and Komal Chauhan (12), died in the accident, Jambucha said.

Jambucha said it is difficult to say whether the live wire was part of the farm fence or of the grid line of Gujarat Paschim Vij Company Ltd, a state government-owned power distribution company.

The police have registered a case of accidental death, and sent bodies for postmortem.
Los Angeles, March 7 : Hollywood actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are reportedly looking at buying an eight bedroom mansion worth $64 million.

The couple are thought to be in escrow for the Pacific Palisades home after pulling out of purchasing a cheaper property worth $34.5 million in the same area, reports 'Mirror.co.uk'.

The prestigious location is part of an elite neighbourhood where only the richest in society can afford to live. The new mansion comes with a massive eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. It features an 800-square foot gym, professional media room, and game room.

As per 'Mirror.co.uk', JLo and Ben will be able to relax in a sprawling pool spa which offers canyon-side views, before warming up at their very own firepit area. The property also comes with a separate guest house for visitors to stay in, which contains a Japanese-style soaking tub.

Jennifer and Ben have been spotted visiting the property on multiple occasions.

A source told TMZ the pair have been making frequent visits to the home to look for any changes they might want to make once the sale is finalised. They're also said to have given the previous property the same scrutinising treatment. The insider added that the couple will have no trouble affording the $64 million mansion after Ben sold his Pacific Palisades mansion for around $30 million.

JLo is also in the process of selling her Bel-Air home which is currently in escrow with a possible buyer for $39 million.
Davanagere, : March 7 (IANS) The prime accused in the Lokayukta trap case, BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, surfaced on Tuesday after obtaining interim anticipatory bail in his Channagiri constituency and was given a hero's welcome by his supporters.

The MLA who was in hiding for the last six days, surfaced in his native Madal and visited his house after the court gave him relief. His followers burst crackers and celebrated the occasion. Later, he went to Channeshapura village in Channagiri taluk and was welcomed in a grand procession by a large number of supporters.

Virupakshappa waved at his supporters from his open vehicle throughout the procession. Later, he went to Chennakeshava temple and sought blessings after offering special worship. His supporters with BJP flags thronged both sides of the road, showered flowers and cheered him.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Madal Virupakshappa in connection with a bribe for tender scam in which he is named as the prime accused.

The single bench division court headed by Justice K. Natarajan after granting the bail, directed the accused MLA to appear before the investigating officer within 48 hours of the order.

The MLA was absconding and the Lokayukta special teams had launched a hunt for him. His son Prashath Madal was caught red-handed while receiving a Rs 40 lakh bribe towards allotment of procurement of raw materials to the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a public sector unit.

The accused MLA was the chairman of KSDL and his son was allegedly taking bribes on his behalf. The authorities had seized Rs 8.12 crores, 1.6 kilograms of gold from the residences of both father and son.
Patna, March 7 : A special Bihar government team met labourers from the state in Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Tuesday.

The team was headed by state Rural Development Secretary Bala Murugan D., who assured the labourers that the videos of "violence" that went viral on social media appeared to be completely fake and hence, there is no need to panic.

All Bihari labourers are safe here and the working environment is smooth, he said. The special team also met state government officials as well.

It also visited the affected areas in Tamil Nadu and also assured migrant labourers that the Bihar and Tamil Nadu Police have been working hard to identify those people responsible for uploading the fake videos.

Earlier on Monday evening the Bihar government had booked 4 You Tubers for uploading fake videos on social media, which led to panic among Bihari labourers in Tamil Nadu.

The BJP leaders have targeted the Mahagathbandhan government on account of these videos.
New Delhi, March 7 : A number of viral videos showed that students from the Hindu community being thrashed for celebrating Holi on the Punjab University campus in Lahore, media reports said.

At least 15 students from the Hindu community were injured during the attack against which an application has been filed with the police for registration of a case, Dawn reported.

Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists on Monday allegedly attacked a gathering of students on Punjab University's new campus when they were celebrating Holi with the permission of the administration.

Some other videos also showed that the security guards were carrying batons and beating the students who were running away from the scene, Dawn reported.

Sindh Council general secretary Kashif Brohi said that the members of the Hindu community and the council had organised a Holi celebration after getting permission from the university administration.

He said the IJT activists started hurling threats after the students had posted invitation [Holi celebration] on their Facebook page.

He said that on Monday morning, the members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside the PU law College to celebrate Holi when the IJT activists carrying guns and batons attacked them, Dawn reported.

Brohi said that 15 students from the Hindu community and Sindh Council suffered injuries during the clashes and moved away without celebrating the event.

He said the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor's office when security guards came there holding batons and started beating them.

He said the security guards also bundled four to five students into their vans and did not allow them to record their peaceful protest, Dawn reported.

IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid, however, told Dawn that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi.

A PU spokesman said that action would be taken against the students involved in attacking the minority community members.

To a query, he said the administration had allowed the Hindu community members to obsereve Holi in a hall but they were conducting the activity in the open and the security guards came there to stop it, Dawn reported.

He said the students were not allowed to hold the Holi celebrations on the ground, adding that the security staff did not attack the students but they were trying to stop the youngsters from approaching the VC office.
Chennai, March 7 : Amid reports of workers from north India moving out of Tamil Nadu out of fear of being attacked by local people, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday interacted with migrant workers at a private latex factory in Tirunelveli.

A statement from the Chief Minister's office said that he interacted with the workers of the latex unit involved in making hand gloves and enquired about their well-being.

There were apprehensions among the migrant workers of north India after fake videos on social media depicted them being attacked by locals.

During the interaction, the workers told Stalin that they were being treated well by the local people. Some of the migrant workers were staying in Tamil Nadu for the past five years and were feeling like it was home too, they said.

The Chief Minister asked the migrant workers not to heed to any rumours and added that the state government was providing a safe working environment to workers from all the states.

Meanwhile, senior DMK leader and former Union Minister, T.R. Baalu met Bihar Chief Minister, Nithish Kumar at Patna and presented a report sent by Stalin on the steps taken by the Tamil Nadu government for the security of migrant workers from North India including those from Bihar.
Chennai, March 7 : The fishermen of Nagapattinam have temporarily called off their protests after a tripartite meeting between the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL), the district administration and the fishermen. This followed the district collector assuring the fishermen that their major demand for the total removal of CPCL pipelines would be met.

The district collector, according to the fishermen's representatives, said that oil would not be pumped from ONGC wells through the CPCL pipelines.

The fishermen of Pattinamcherry, Keechankuppam, Akkaraipettai, Ariyanatutheru and Kallar held a meeting and passed a resolution on Tuesday to temporarily call off the protest.

The collector said that the district administration would hold a meeting with CPCL officials on March 16 to decide on when the CPCL would remove the pipelines.

An oil spill was detected from the CPCL pipeline that used to carry oil from the Naraimanam oil wells of the ONGC to the CPCL's defunct oil refinery at Nagapattinam.

Experts have predicted that the oil will settle only after two months and that the oil spill will endanger marine life.
Dhaka, March 7 : At least seven people were killed and scores of others injured in an explosion that took place in a commercial building in Dhaka on Tuesday, an official said.

The police official, who did wish to be named, told Xinhua news agency that the explosion took place at around 4:45 p.m. local time near a bus counter.

"Seven bodies were recovered from the explosion site," he said.

At least 70 people were being treated for their injuries at the hospital, with several people in the intensive care unit, he added.

The official said that at least seven firefighting units are working at the accident site of the five-story building, which houses a bank branch, shops of ceramics and sanitary items.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately, Xinhua news agency reported.

Security has been tightened in and around the explosion site.
Mumbai, March 7 : South Indian actor Nani, popularly known as the 'Natural Star', made his first-ever live appearance in Mumbai at a massive event celebrating Holi.

Fans from all over Mumbai and neighbouring areas gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite star, and Nani who was there to promote his upcoming pan-India film 'Dasara', did not disappoint.

During the event, the actor presented a treat to all the fans at the venue by revealing 'Dasara' poster and its teaser. Both of which received a roaring appreciation from the crowd.

The star didn't stop there, he even gave the audience an exclusive sneak peek of a song from his upcoming film which the fans couldn't stop hooting for. The actor was moved by the fans' love and enthusiasm towards him.

Expressing his excitement and gratitude, the actor said, "I am truly humbled and grateful for the overwhelming love and support that audience have shown me here in Mumbai. It's a pleasure to celebrate Holi with them and to witness their love and enthusiasm firsthand. I'm excited about the release of 'Dasara' on 30th of March, and I can't wait to see how you all react to it. Speaking of which, I would like to say that 'Dasara' is an Indian film. Not northern or southern, just like Bahubali or Pathaan, Dasara is an Indian movie and I hope you give it your full love and support. I can't wait to see your reactions to the film on the 30th of March." The excitement in the air was still palpable as Nani wrapped up his appearance and bid farewell to his fans. The event was a reminder of the magic that can happen when a talented actor and his devoted fans come together to celebrate their shared love of cinema.

'Dasara' is a Santosh Narayan musical, written and directed by Srikanth Odela and produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri.
Washington, March 7 : A February 2020 science paper that debunked the Covid lab leak theory was commissioned by former White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to the US House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Select Subcommittee said that new email evidence shows that Dr. Fauci ordered, helped to edit, and gave final approval to a paper titled "The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2," published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The paper "disproved" that Covid originated from China's infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Instead it showed that coronavirus had "mutations" that were "totally consistent with a jump of a species from an animal to a human".

The authors of the scientific paper "skewed available evidence to achieve that goal", the Select Subcommittee said.

Two months later, in April, Fauci quoted the same paper to wave off concerns that the virus might have come from a Chinese facility.

The emails unearthed by the Select subcommittee also reveals the scientific paper's co-author Dr. Kristian Andersen admitting Fauci "prompted" him to write the paper with the goal to "disprove" the lab leak theory.

"There has been a lot of speculation, fear-mongering, and conspiracies put forward in this space. (This paper was) Prompted by Jeremy Farrah (sic), Tony Fauci, and Francis Collins," read the cover of the email, along with the paper, sent by Andersen to Nature Medicine on February 12, 2020.

Further, the emails show that on February 17, the day the "Proximal Origin" paper was published, Farrar, who was the head of British nonprofit, the Wellcome Trust, asked the journal to make a crucial change.

"Sorry to micromanage/micro edit! But would you be willing to change one sentence?" he wrote.

Farrar asked to replace the word "unlikely" with "improbable" in a statement about the lab leak origin.

It should read: "It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation of an existing SARS-related coronavirus," emails show.

More than two years after the pandemic, the origins of Covid-19 remain unclear. It has been a political and scientific debate with scientists and politicians globally contending that the coronavirus jumped into people from bats, or have been leaked from a laboratory.

Last month, the US Energy Department concluded with "low confidence" that the Covid-19 virus leaked out of a laboratory in China. Previously, in 2021, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also agreed to the lab leak claim with "moderate confidence".

Meanwhile, China continues to reject the lab leak theory and suggests it emerged outside China. It has also placed limits on investigations by the World Health Organisation.

China also trashed the latest report by the US Energy Department, saying the origin-tracing of the pandemic "is about science and should not be politicised".

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the international experts have considered the theory that the pandemic might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory as "extremely unlikely".

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Panaji, March 7 : Goa and Portugal will explore the best practices and innovative technologies to bring better tourism experiences to the coastal state, said Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte.

Khaunte, who is on a visit to Portugal, met Antonio Costa Silva, Minister of the Economy and Maritime Affairs. Both the leaders held discussions on various aspects in the fields of tourism and information technology.

"We discussed different possibilities with regard to development in tourism and exchanged ideas and views. Goa and Portugal will collaborate and share their ideas, knowledge, and sign an MoU in tourism and IT soon," Khaunte said.

Khaunte stated that he held discussions with various tourism and IT stakeholders which will promote quality tourism between Goa and Portugal and help Goa Tourism widen its scope in the European sector.

Besides this, he said a meeting with MasterCard's Quim MartAnez Bosch, vice president-Global Tourism Innovation Hub, explored the possibilities of sharing technologies in the tourism sector.

He added that different aspects of innovative practices in travel technology and connecting to the future were discussed in a meeting with Ramn Sinchez Alvarez, Head of Strategic Projects at Amadeus IT Group.
Agartala, March 7 : In a last ditch attempt, Home Minister Amit Shah would hold a meeting with the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which played a significant role in the February 16 Assembly polls, emerging as the second single largest party securing 13 of the 20 vital tribal reserved seats in Tripura.

In the 60-member Tripura Assembly, 20 seats are reserved for the tribals and these are very crucial to dominate the electoral politics of the state.

Despite differences on many counts, the BJP leaders, including Shah, tried a lot before the elections to get the support of the TMP to obtain a maximum number of tribal reserve seats.

A senior BJP leader told IANS that the ruling party is now frantically trying to convince the TMP to join the government, which would assume office on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, BJP President J.P. Nadda and other senior leaders.

"Shah would hold a meeting with TMP supremo and former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman to discuss his demands," the BJP leader said, refusing to be named.

Shah arrived in Agartala on Tuesday evening from Nagaland.

Talking to IANS, the TMP chief said that he got an invitation to hold a meeting with the Home Minister to which he responded positively.

"Unless we get a written assurance from the government about the constitutional solutions to our 'Greater Tipraland State' demand, we will not join the government, and rather sit in the opposition maintaining an equal distance from all the parties," said Deb Barman, who returned to Agartala on Tuesday after holding a meeting with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Deb Barman said that he held a discussion with Sarma in Guwahati about TMP's 'Greater Tipraland State' demand.

"It would be a great mistake if any political party wants to govern Tripura without involving the tribals as they are the indigenous people of the state. Till the time we don't get an honourable constitutional solution for our people, we will not be part of any government. We will play a constructive role as the first indigenous party which has 13 MLAs for the interest of the people.

"We cannot be looking after our individual interest over our communities. I will wait for the official response from the Government of India on how it would like to see the future of our tiprasa in the next decade," Deb Barman tweeted.

Sarma had earlier said that the issues raised by the TMP need to be discussed by the Centre and the new BJP government in Tripura.

Sarma, who is also the convener of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), said that talks between the BJP and the TMP may resume but it should be under the Constitutional framework, and not on the condition of dividing Tripura.

The issues related to the tribals can be heard and discussed, the Assam Chief Minister had told the media.

Sarma, who before the Assembly polls held several rounds of negotiations with the TMP chief, had said that talks can resume but "we cannot talk about Greater Tipraland State".

The TMP, which came to the forefront before capturing the politically important Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April 2021, pushed the CPI-M and the Congress into third and fourth positions, respectively, in the February 16 elections, the results of which was announced on March 2.

TMP, which for the first time contested 42 seats on its own, emerged as the second largest party after the ruling BJP, securing 13 seats out of the total 20 tribal reserve seats.

The BJP won 32 seats, including six tribal reserve seats, while its ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) got one seat.

In the 2018 Assembly polls, the BJP had won 36 seats, including 10 tribal reserve seats, while and its ally IPTF bagged eight tribal reserve seats. The CPI-M had secured 16 seats, including two tribal reserve seats.

The TMP, since 2021, has been demanding elevation of the TTAADC areas by granting a Greater Tipraland State or a separate state under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution facilitating the party to garner the support of the tribals, who constitute one-third of Tripura's little over four million population.

The party, in support of its demands, organised agitations both in the state and in the national capital.

The ruling BJP, CPI-M led Left parties, Congress and the Trinamool Congress have been strongly opposing the demand of the TMP.

In the Assembly elections, CPI-M won 11 seats but none of the tribal reserve seats though the Left party has a strong base among the tribals since 1952.

The CPI-M led Left Front, which contested the Assembly elections in a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress, had fielded 47 candidates while 13 seats were allotted to the Congress, which bagged three seats.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)
Guwahati, March 7 : Assam Congress leader Banashree Gogoi has lodged an FIR against Maharashtra MLA Bacchu Kadu for his remarks over sending stray dogs from Maharashtra to Assam as people here consume dog meat.

Banashree Gogoi, General Secretary of Assam Pradesh Mahilla Congress, registered a police complaint at Guwahati's Dispur police station on Tuesday.

In the FIR, she wrote, "Bacchu Kadu stated in Maharashtra assembly in presence of chairperson and other political representatives that the people of Assam used to consume dog meat and this fact is well known to him when he stayed at Guwahati. This controversial statement has come to light via social media platform which has gone viral and led bed remark to me as well as the Assamese people and promoting animosity between the people." "Such hatred speech delivered by the accused above named is intentional to disturb the peace loving Assamese people living in different areas in India and abroad. Being a member of the Legislative Assembly, the accused namely Bacchu Kadu has violated the provisions of Article 173 (A) of the Constitution of India...," the complaint further mentioned.

Speaking to IANS, the Assam Pradesh Mahilla Congress President Mira Borthakur commented, "Mr Bacchu Kadu has insulted the people of Assam with his derogatory remark. What more surprising is that the Assam Police is totally silent on this issue, whereas the same police either reaches Gujarat to arrest Jignesh Mevani, deplaned Pawan Khera and Supreme Court had to intervene to release him - but this time, police are completely inactive." She also questioned Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's silence on this issue.

"The chief minister is keeping mum and has not issued any counter-statement on Kadu's remarks. We have launched an FIR and if police do not take any steps, we will approach the court seeking action," Borthakur informed.

All stray dogs from Maharashtra should be relocated to Assam, according to Bacchu Kadu, an independent MLA from Achalpur and the leader of the Prahar Janshakti Party, because the people in Assam consume a lot of dog meat and it is a practical solution to Maharashtra's canine population.

Kadu made the comments in response to a debate in the Maharashtra Legislature about the threat posed by street dogs, which was brought up by MLAs Pratap Sarnaik and Atul Bhatkhalkar.
Mumbai, March 7 : Known for composing music for movies such as 'Aamir', 'Dev D', 'Wake Up Sid', 'Aiyyaa' and recently for 'Qala', music composer Amit Trivedi talked about his live performance in Ajmer on Holi.

Expressing his excitement about performing for his fans during the festive season, Amit said: "It's always wonderful to perform and celebrate Holi with the audiences and entertain them." Sharing about his live shows, he said how much he is enjoying these trips. "I have started with Ranchi, Delhi, and Ajmer today and will end this Holi celebration in Calicut. I am really enjoying visiting different cities, meeting different kinds of audiences, getting to know their tastes, and enjoying this festive vibe," he added.

For any musician, live shows are an inspiration, as they help them stay connected with their audience and understand what they want.

He added: "I am thrilled to perform here in Ajmer. The city has a different vibe, and I hope the audiences will shower their love on me as they have done in the past." Amit Trivedi's performance in Ajmer is just one of the many shows that he has lined up this month. He will also be performing in NIT Calicut later this week.
Dhaka, March 7 : At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in a massive explosion at a building in Siddique Bazar, a crowded marketplace in Old Dhaka, at 4:50 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday, the fire service control room told IANS.

A doctor at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) told IANS that the hospital needs blood to treat the injured persons.

"The blast took place in the seven-storey building adjacent to a five-storey apartment that houses a branch of BRAC Bank. Several bank officials were injured by flying glass shards," said Abdur Rahim, a spokesman for the bank.

The injured persons were rushed to DMCH, inspector Bacchu Mia of the DMCH police outpost told IANS.

The blast ripped through the seven-storey building, shattering the first two floors, besides damaging a passenger bus standing on the opposite side of the busy road.

The building houses several stores for sanitary products and household items. Eleven firefighting units are working on the spot to bring the situation under control.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately.

This was the third blast in a week to claim innocent lives after explosions at an oxygen plant in Sitakunda and at another building on Mirpur Road in Dhaka.
New Delhi, March 7 : Delhi Police have arrested a 57-year-old man indulged in supplying illegal firearms to criminals in Delhi and its peripherals, an official said on Tuesday.

Police said that they have also recovered 12 country-made pistols from the possession of the accused identified as Sherdin, a resident of Zakir Colony, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Chandan Chowdhary, said that specific inputs were received on March 3 that an illegal firearms supplier would come to supply illegal weapons near J Block, Mandir Marg, Saket.

Acting on the inputs, a trap was laid and Sherdin was apprehended.

"During cursory search, seven illegal weapons (country-made pistols ) were recovered from his possession. After completion of legal proceedings, the accused was arrested by Saket police station team," said the DCP.

"Apart from this, five more illegal weapons were recovered from another member of the same syndicate at the instance of accused Sherdin. In this regard, a separate case was registered at Simbhawali police station in district Hapur, Uttar Pradesh," said the DCP.

During interrogation, Sherdin disclosed that he used to procure illegal weapons from UP and supply them in Delhi-NCR.

"He revealed that he opted for this profession to make easy and handsome money. He used a Scooty for supply of firearms," said the DCP, adding that Sherdin is found previously involved in four criminal cases registered in UP.

"His further criminal history is also being verified from concerned police station Meerut," the DCP added.
Amaravati, March 7 : Andhra Pradesh Forest Department officials on Tuesday continued their efforts to trace the mother of four tiger cubs found near a village in Nandyal district on Sunday.

The month-old cubs have been kept at a veterinary hospital at Nallamalla Jungle Camp Bairluty where wildlife veterinarians are monitoring their health while forest officials continued their efforts for a second day to trace the mother.

The cubs are said to be doing well. Veterinarians from the S.V. Zoological Park, Tirupati were closely monitoring their condition by checking their vitals. The cubs were being fed with milk and water.

Forest officials attempted to leave the cubs near Atmakur forest on Monday night but with no trace of their mother in the vicinity, they dropped the plan and brought them back to the hospital.

As part of their efforts to locate mother tigress, the forest officials have installed camera traps.

Villagers found the cubs abandoned on the outskirts of Pedda Gummadapuram villagers in Kothapalli mandal (block). After waiting for a while to see if their mother turns up, the villagers shifted the cubs to a room in a farm to protect them from predators and informed the forest officials.

Divisional forest officer Alan Chong Teron and other officials reached the village and took custody of the cubs, who appeared weak.

The forest officials believe that the mother tigress may have lost her way after getting cubs near the village.

The officials said if the efforts to trace the mother tigress yield no result, they will consider shifting the cubs to SV Zoological Park to protect them.
Moscow, March 7 : Russian troops are continuing efforts to take control of the city of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut in Ukrainian), which has seen relentless fighting in recent says, as it is an important defence hub for Ukrainian forces in Donbass, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"Taking (Artyomovsk) under control will allow further offensive actions deep into the defence of the armed forces of Ukraine," he said, RT reported.

As well as being a stronghold for Ukraine's forces, Artyomovsk is part of a 70-km-long line of defence created by Kiev since fighting began in Donbass in 2014.

In a months-long campaign, Russian forces have systematically captured settlements around the city and have been surrounding Artyomovsk from the north, south, and east.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, meanwhile, has repeatedly insisted that he would not surrender the city, despite his Western backers and military advisers reportedly urging him to cut his losses and withdraw.

Shoigu also said that Russian forces have taken the settlements of Nikolaevka, Dvurechnoe, Krasnaya Gora, Gryanikovka and Paraskovievka, and the "American strategy of 'breaking Russia by force of arms'" had failed.

"Western countries are increasing the supply of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine, expanding training programmes for Ukrainian army personnel.

"At the same time, the support of the Kiev regime by NATO countries is not leading to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield," he added, noting that Kiev's losses have significantly increased.

According to the minister, in February alone the casualties suffered by Ukraine's armed forces increased by more than 40 per cent compared to January and amounted to over 11,000 servicemen.

"In this regard, the Kiev regime's indifference towards its people is surprising," Shoigu noted, adding that Kiev doesn't seem to care how many people die.

Russia's priority, on the other hand, remains the preservation of the life and health of personnel and civilians, he stressed.
Kolkata, March 7 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Kolkata heaved a sigh of relief after the flight with Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal took off from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport for Delhi sharp at 6.56 p.m. on Tuesday.

Mondal was allotted the middle seat on the Vistara flight, with two ED officers occupying the seats on either side. A total of three ED officers and one medical official are accompanying Mondal in the flight.

"The process of taking Mondal to Delhi by ED started almost three months back. However, it got delayed repeatedly as he approached multiple courts. But better late than never and ultimately, he is on his way to Delhi," said an ED officer.

Mondal was arrested in September last year by the Central Bureau of India (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cattle scam in West Bengal. Since then, he has been under judicial custody at the Asansol Special Correctional Home.

On Tuesday morning, first a joint team of the correction home and Asansol-Durgapur Police Commiserate reached the ESI hospital in Kolkata at around 11.15 a.m. After a four-member medical team conducted a three-hour medical examination and provided the 'fit' certificate to the accused, the ED took over.

They started for the airport escorted by central armed forces personnel at 2.30 p.m. After reaching the airport at around 3.20 p.m., the escorting ED officers took him to the VIP lounge and started waiting for the boarding announcement. Throughout the waiting period at the VIP lounge, Mondal and his escorting ED officials were surrounded by a team of CISF personnel engaged in airport security duty.

The flight is scheduled to reach Delhi at 9.10 p.m. From the airport, Mondal will be taken to the Safdarjung Hospital after which he will be housed at ED's national headquarters for the night. On Wednesday, he will be presented before the Rouse Avenue Courts.
Agartala, March 7 : A district court in Tripura has sentenced five persons life imprisonment for the gang rape of a housewife in November 2021, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.

The District and Sessions Court of Gomati awarded the five youths rigorous life term imprisonment and also slapped a fine of Rs 60,000 on each of them on Monday.

The police spokesman quoting the court order said that all the five accused were convicted under section 376 (D) of the Indian Penal Code for gang rape and Section 3 of the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The convicts identified as Tajul Islam, Saddam Hossain, Rabban Ali, Dudhu Miah and Samiman Hossain hail from Sonamura and Melagarh of Sepahijala district.

A Public Prosecutor said that the victim, riding a motorbike with her husband at night on November 20, 2021 was kidnapped from the highway by the accused in Radha Kishore Pur area.

The culprits after assaulting the victim's husband took her to an isolated area and gang raped for the whole night.

"In the next morning, the woman was rescued by the police and shifted to the hospital with serious injuries. Three days after the incident her statement was recorded and probe was started. Later the case was transferred to the Crime Branch of police for investigation." The Crime Branch submitted its charge sheet followed by the inquiry and during the trial, as many as 42 witnesses had deposited before the court based on which the judge pronounced the verdict on Monday, the police spokesman said.
Chennai, March 7 : BJP's Tamil Nadu unit President K. Annamalai, rattled by the back-to-back resignations of party functionaries who went on to join the AIADMK, on Tuesday lashed out at his ally.

Accusing the AIADMK of poaching BJP leaders, he tweeted: "If I decide to go shopping (poaching), my shopping list will be big. But the time and venue, I will decide".

He also said that the presence of a former Chief Minister, while second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-level BJP leaders were joining the AIADMK was a message that the BJP has grown in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier the BJP used to poach from the Dravidian parties for it to grow, but presently Dravidian parties were poaching from the BJPA for their growth, he alleged.

In a hard-hitting statement on Twitter, he said: "Before the Kurukshetra war, people were allowed to change camps. The war which will start in a few months from now, let everyone take positions." The former IPS officer said that his aim was to bring his party to power in Tamil Nadu, adding that he was not a BJP manager but a BJP leader.

BJP's Tamil Nadu IT cell President C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar quit the BJP on Sunday and joined the AIADMK in the presence of its interim General Secretary K. Palaniswami. On Monday, BJP IT cell state Secretary, Dilip Kannan also resigned from the saffron party only to join the AIADMK on Tuesday along with a few other state leaders.

BJP state leader and actor Gayathri Raghuram quit in December 2022, to protest the "dictatorial attitude" of Annamalai. BJP OBC Morcha leader Tiruchi Surya who is the son of DMK leader Tiruchi Siva, also quit the party.

Sources in the BJP told IANS that several leaders were antagonised by the style of functioning of Annamalai ever since he has become the state President.
New Delhi, March 7 : After a full blown controversy erupted over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent speeches, the Congress has hit back at the BJP for distorting the statement which according to the Congress was giving pivotal position to Indian democracy.

Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that the whole bunch of the BJP responding to Rahul Gandhi proves that he has rattled them and some out of job ex-ministers are distorting the facts as Rahul Gandhi never spoke about foreign intervention. Shrinate said contrary to what the BJP is saying Rahul said that this is our internal problem and the solution will also come internally. He gave a pivotal role to Indian democracy.

According to the Congress Rahul said, "it's our problem and solution will come internally" when he was asked about a weakening Indian democracy.

Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised Rahul Gandhi for his statement in which he allegedly asked for America and Europe's intervention to restore democracy in India.

During his recent visit to London, Rahul Gandhi said at an event that the 'US and Europe are not doing enough to restore democracy in India' as they are 'getting trade and money' from the country.

Slamming Rahul Gandhi during a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Prasad said, "What happens to you when you visit abroad? All dignity, all decency, democratic shame, you forget everything. Now, when the people of the country neither listen to you nor understand you, you go abroad and lament that India's democracy is in danger." Prasad stated, "Rahul Gandhi is saying that speaking is not allowed in India but he kept on speaking a lot during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, abusing the PM. He gave a long speech in Parliament itself. Now what can be done in this that the people of India neither listen to him nor understand him." However Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad is doing what he and his Supremo do best --distort, twist, defame and lie with a straight face."
New Delhi, March 7 : In a relief to over 20,000 homebuyers, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday approved the Mumbai-based Suraksha Group's bid to buy Jaypee Infratech Ltd.

A two-member principal bench of NCLT headed by president Ramalingam Sudhkar approved the resolution plan, after concluding the hearing and reserving the order in November last year.

The Suraksha Group had proposed to complete around 20,000 flats in Noida and Greater Noida, which came as a relief to homebuyers who have been waiting for their homes for more than 10 years. The ruling came about six years after the construction company entered the insolvency process, and nearly two years after the lenders' committee gave its nod for Suraksha Group's offer.

The tribunal dismissed the objection raised by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, ICICI Bank and others. The bench said none of the objections could sustain or result in rejection of the resolution plan of Suraksha under consideration, in terms of Section 30(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.

Citing apex court judgments, the bench said it is a well-settled principle of law that the adjudicating authority is not required to interfere with the decision taken by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) in its commercial wisdom, save and except the circumstances referred to in Section 30(2) of the IBC, 2016.

The ruling, which also comes nearly two years after the CoC gave go-ahead to Suraksha Group's offer, will remove a major obstacle in completion of more than 20,000 housing units in various stalled projects of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL). The housing units are spread across Noida and Greater Noida in the national capital region.

The tribunal said the monitoring committee as provided in the resolution plan would be set up by the applicant within 7 days of passing of this order, which shall take all necessary steps for expeditious implementation of the resolution plan as per approval.

The tribunal said Suraksha Group would deliver possession of the units to the homebuyers/allottees strictly as per the time frame promised in the resolution plan and approved by this authority.

"The Monitoring Committee will supervise and monitor the progress of construction of units and related infrastructure developments on a day-to-day basis and file the progress report before this Adjudicating Authority on monthly basis," it said.

It further added that the approved resolution plan as annexed with COC approved addendums shall be binding on all the stakeholders of the corporate debtor and become effective from the date of passing of this order, and shall be implemented strictly as per the term of the plan and implementation schedule given therein.

JIL was among the first list of 12 companies against whom the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had directed the banks to approach NCLT for initiation of insolvency proceedings.

Section 12 (1) of the IBC mandates a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) to be completed within a time frame of 180 days from the date of admission of the application. However, JIL was an exceptional case that faced several rounds of litigation.

In 2021, Suraksha Group won the bid with 98.66 per cent votes in the fourth round of the bidding process to find a buyer for JIL.
Kolkata, March 7 : Saddled with the declining student strength since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and dilapidated condition of school buildings, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to close down as many as 18 primary schools run by it shortly.

These schools will be merged with other KMC-run primary schools in the nearest locations. The teachers and students of the closed schools will be relocated to the schools with which they will be merged.

With this, the total number of KMC-run schools will decline to 224 from the current number of 242. A formal notification on this count has been issued by the KMC authorities, in which it said the decision is subject to final clearance from KMC's Member-Mayor in Counci (Education), Sandipan Saha, and KMC Commissioner Vinod Kumar.

Recently, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim had announced that considering the limited number of students and dilapidated condition of the school buildings, it has been decided to close down 25 schools and merge them with KMC-run schools at the nearest locations.

"The process has started with the notification after identification of 18 schools in the first phase. In the next phase, seven more primary schools will be identified and merged with schools with higher number of students and better infrastructure in the nearest locations," a KMC official said.

However, CPI-M's student wing, the Students' Federation of India (SFI), had objected to the decision of closing down these KMC-run primary schools.

"Actually, this is a ploy to close down more schools to facilitate entry of private players in the field of primary education. With regard to education, the motto of the rulers, both at the Centre and in the state, are the same, which is to facilitate private players. The move will deprive the students from financially weak background the right to basic education," said the Kolkata district secretary of SFI, Md Atif.
Baghdad, March 7 : US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived unannounced in Baghdad on Tuesday to discuss the fight against Islamic State (IS) militant group and expand the partnership with Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani met with the US delegation, where the two officials "discussed the cooperation between Iraq and the United States, the performance of the Iraqi forces in combating terrorism and pursuing the terrorist militants of the IS group", the premier's media office said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Sudani affirmed that Iraq pursues balanced relations regionally and internationally on the basis of common interests and respect for sovereignty.

The stability of Iraq "is the key to the security and stability of the region because of its role in bringing views closer and easing tensions in the region," he added.

For his part, Austin said the United States looks forward to strengthening relations with Iraq and developing their partnerships in various fields, according to the statement.

At a news conference in the Iraqi capital, Austin said US forces in Iraq are remaining "at the invitation of the government of Iraq", adding these forces are operating non-combat, providing advice to assist and support the Iraq-led fight against terrorism.

Austin's visit to Iraq came days before the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, which toppled former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Patna, March 7 : Bihar Police on Tuesday cancelled the leave of all personnel ahead of Holi.

ADGP, Law and Order, Jitendra Singh Gangwar said that the measure was taken with the view of maintaining peace in all parts of the state.

The decision came after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called up state DGP R.S. Bhatti and Patna SSP Rajiv Mishra and asked them to take security measures. After rumours of attack on labourers from the state in Tamil Nadu, Bihar Police are taking extra precautions to avoid any incident of violence.

Adequate police has been deployed in districts like Patna, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, Gaya, Darbhanga, Munger, Samastipur and other places.

The department has also identified sensitive places. "We have deployed Quick Response Teams (QRT) and Fire Brigade in every district and asked them to stay alert. Bihar police also deployed reserve forces and 2500 Home Guard Jawans in the sensitive areas to deal with any eventuality," Gangwar said.

"We have also canceled the leave of women police as well. Besides, we are appealing to common people through social media to avoid passing lewd comments on women. We are also keeping eyes on vulgar songs played in the localities," he added.
New Delhi, March 7 : The Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) at the University of Karachi - a student organisation - came under heat on Tuesday for allegedly beating Hindu students and stopping them from celebrating Holi, according to a media report.

The students, who organised the Holi celebration, said they belonged to the Sindhi department, and had been tortured for the festivities they had arranged, The News reported.

"While we were celebrating Holi," they alleged, "A number of boys from Jamiat came and stopped us. They beat us and other students," the report said.

A female student, in a video statement, corroborated this statement, saying while she and her classmates had been celebrating Holi, members of the IJT came and "harassed" them and beat up the male students, The News reported.

Moreover, Sindh Universities Minister Ismail Rahu took notice of the incident and directed the Vice Chancellor of Karachi University, Khalid Mahmood Iraqi, to investigate the matter.

"The university administration should conduct an inquiry and submit a detailed report," Rahu said.

He added that Hindu students are fully permitted to celebrate their festivals in the university and that no one can stop them, adding: "Our religion and law teach respect for all religions and beliefs and give people full freedom to celebrate their festivals," The News reported.

The IJT, however, claimed that it had nothing to do with the incident.

IJT spokesperson Basiq Naeem told Geo News that the student organisation was not involved in the beating of students.

"We respect all religions," he said.

Earlier, a number of videos viral on social media showed that the Hindu community students being thrashed for celebrating Holi on the Punjab University campus in Lahore, Dawn reported.

At least 15 students from the Hindu community were injured during the attack against which an application has been filed with the police for registration of a case.

IJT activists on Monday allegedly attacked a gathering of students on the new campus of Punjab University when they were celebrating Holi with the permission of the administration.

Some other videos also showed that the security guards were carrying batons and beating the students who were seen running from the scene, Dawn reported.

Sindh Council general secretary Kashif Brohi said that the members of the Hindu community and the council had organised a Holi celebration after taking permission from the university administration.

He said the IJT activists started hurling threats after the students had posted invitation [for Holi celebration] on their Facebook page.

He said that on Monday morning, the members of the Sindh Council and Hindu community gathered outside the PU law college to celebrate Holi when IJT activists carrying guns and batons attacked them, Dawn reported.

Brohi said that 15 students from the Hindu community and Sindh Council suffered injuries during the clashes.

He said the students later gathered to protest outside the vice chancellor's office when security guards came there holding batons and started beating them.

Brohi said the security guards also bundled four to five students into their vans and did not allow them to record their peaceful protest, Dawn reported.

IJT spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid, however, told Dawn that they did not stop the Hindu community members from celebrating Holi.

A Punjab University spokesman said action would be taken against the students involved in attacking minority community members.

Responding to a query, he said the administration had allowed the Hindu community members to celebrate Holi in a hall but they were conducting the activity in the open and the security guards came there to stop it, Dawn reported.

He said the students were not allowed to hold the Holi celebrations on the ground.

The spokesman said the security staff did not attack the students but they were trying to stop the youngsters from approaching the VC office.
New Delhi, March 7 : Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday sought the removal of Delhi Lt Governor V.K. Saxena over the 2002 Sabarmati Ashram assault case and also accused him of misleading the judiciary.

"The nature of the case against V.K. Saxena is a serious one as he is charged with inciting violence and rioting at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, a place that is synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi, an icon of peaceful protest and non-violence," he alleged.

Singh said that the court had asked Saxena to appear before it on March 9 to present his side of the case. However, in response, he wrote a letter to the court stating that his position and responsibilities are greater than those of Governors and other LGs and therefore, he should be exempted from appearing in court, Singh said.

He also said that he has appealed to the President to take note of this matter and direct the LG to take part in the proceedings of the court in this case.

Singh said that a few days ago, the LG had refused to appoint Mukesh Goyal as the Presiding Officer of the MCD saying that an FIR is registered against him. Since there are many cases registered against Saxena, how can he continue to be the Lt Governor of Delhi, he asked.
Patna, March 7 : In wake of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's questioning in New Delhi by the CBI in the alleged IRCTC 'land for jobs' scam, his party lawmaker Sunil Singh alleged that the probe agency is working like a member of the BJP.

The questioning of Lalu Prasad Yadav and other members of his family is taking place with the view of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said.

"The central agencies are working as a member of the BJP. They are working more than common party members. BJP leaders should be ashamed of themselves for harassing a 78-year-old person who recently returned from Singapore after a kidney transplant and is recuperating in New Delhi. Why is the CBI in a hurry? Why has it not waited for some more time for him to become healthy and then ask the questions to him. Why is it harassing him at a time when doctors have asked him for extra precaution," the RJD MLC asked.

He also asked why the CBI and other agencies have not registered a single FIR against BJP leaders in the last 9 years. "I am saying that if the investigation would take place, 80 per cent of the BJP leaders would be found corrupt. If raids would take place on these leaders, the agencies would find crores of rupees in their houses," he said.

"When anyone joins the BJP, he becomes Raja Harishchandra and if anyone asks a question, he becomes Daku KharaK Singh," Singh quipped.

He noted that the IRCTC case was registered during the second tenure of Manmohan Singh government and asked why the CBI has not concluded the case in more than 17 years.

"It is a shame for the CBI. Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family should not be afraid of such raids and questioning. The situation is such that no one would take central agencies like CBI seriously," Singh said.
Patna, March 7 : An Assistant Engineer of Bihar's Irrigation Department was held in Gaya on Tuesday after he sent a letter to a Varanasi airport official threatening to blow up the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the PM's office, Gaya and Varanasi airports and other important places through drones.

Gaya SSP Aashish Bharti said that the accused Vineet Kumar, in a bid to frame three persons, had sent a letter some 10 days ago.

"Vineet Kumar, who was posted in Sheikhpura in the Irrigation Department, had some personal enmity with three persons. Accordingly, he wrote a letter and mentioned the name of the three persons, including a doctor and a teacher, and posted it to the Director of Varanasi airport," he said.

"He had mentioned that the drone attack would take place on the day of Holi on March 8. He was arrested from Beldari Tola under Civil Lines police station in Gaya. We have also seized the original letter from his possession. He had sent the photocopy of the letter to the director of Varanasi Airport. The accused was involved in 6 more cases as well," the SSP added.
Hyderabad, March 7 : Telangana Industries and Information Technology Minister K. T. Rama on Tuesday alleged that the Centre is penalising the state by not supporting its growth.

Demanding that the Centre back performing states by offering them incentives, he said political affiliations should not define if a state will be supported or not.

In his address at the annual CII event on 'Beyond India@75 - Accelerating Telangana Growth Momentum - Resilience through Competitiveness, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability', he said: "Unless we empower states, incentivise performing states and encourage non-performing states, we will be doing a great disservice to the ambition that we have set for ourselves." He said while India was a democratic country, not all states are treated equally. He also observed that each state is diverse and that diversity should be respected. "Who are we to tell people what to eat, what to wear and what to speak," he said.

KTR, as the minister is popularly known, said the Hyderabad PharmaCity, which will be the largest pharma manufacturing cluster in the world, did not receive any support from the Centre.

He said the state was also denied a bulk drugs manufacturing cluster, other manufacturing clusters, industrial corridors and others.

Even though a special incentive was promised in the AP Reorganisation Act, nothing has been given to both the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, he said.

KTR said that while initiatives like 'Make in India' are good, they have not progressed much beyond slogans. The Centre should empower performing states and incentivise such states, he reiterated.

Many still feel that importing from China works out cheaper rather than making locally despite the import costs, distance and other factors, he said, adding: "We need to ask ourselves why making in China is cheaper, ask about our duty structures, about availability of raw material, about the road blocks we put for our entrepreneurs to compete with the rest of the world." The minister said that India would have achieved the targeted $5 trillion economy by 2022 if all Indian states grew at the same pace as Telangana.

He said Telangana has set an ambitious target of taking the lifesciences sector value to about $250 billion, more than tripling from the current $80 billion, by 2030.

He pointed out that the in 2020 the value of lifesciences sector was $50 billion and the state had set the target of doubling it by 2030 but as the value increased by $30 billion in two-and-half years, they were confident of reaching the $100 billion target by 2025.

KTR said that Hyderabad now makes 35 per cent (about nine billion doses) of all vaccines made globally. This number will increase to 50 billion (14 billion doses) by the end of next year.

Telangana also has 214 USFDA approved manufacturing facilities, the highest in the world, he said, adding that Telangana is expanding the Genome Valley and Medical Devices Park. The PharmaCity has potential to create employment opportunities for five lakh people.
New Delhi, March 7 : Expressing concern over the rising number of instances involving unruly behaviours by passengers, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has called for concerted industry efforts to contain the problem.

Recently, Wilson had informed that incidents surrounding unruly behaviour by inebriated passengers are quite frequent, adding that the airline has now got strict and is reporting all such cases of unruly behaviours.

Wilson had said that the airline has learnt lessons and it could have reacted better to the issues surrounding the 'peeing' incident which occurred in November last year.

The Air India CEO said that the airline has realised the importance of reporting all such incidents. Stating that Air India is now investing more in technology, the CEO had told the media that there are many instances where the airline's crew is at the receiving end when a drunk passenger misbehaves.

Talking to a news organisation, Wilson said that in the last six weeks alone, Air India had witnessed four incidents where people have either assaulted or threatened to physically assault its crew, and the airline is taking a zero-tolerance line on that.

He said that a rise in such cases globally had led even the industry body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), to take a serious view of the situation and call for industry-wide action to stem it.

In the instance of the 'peeing' incident onboard AI-102 operating between New York and Delhi on November 26, 2022, the concerned cabin crew and one pilot have been issued show-cause notices and were de-rostered pending investigation.

While addressing a virtual conference last week, the Air India CEO had said that the airline has enormous potential and efforts are on to make the group a significant international player.

Wilson said that Tata group-owned Air India's order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be worth nearly $70 billion. The CEO also said that the process of integration of Vistara with Air India is underway and is now awaiting approval from the regulatory bodies.
New Delhi, March 7 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday adjourned, to March 15, the Delhi Waqf Board (DWB)'s petition challenging the Centre's decision to absolve the board from all matters related to 123 properties, which have been under dispute for a long time.

Earlier, the high court had asked the DWB to file a different petition challenging the Centre's decision.

A single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri had declined to pass an urgent order in an application moved by the Board for a pending petition against the Central government's decision to delist the 123 properties.

The Board had filed a petition last year.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Board, had argued that properties have been in possession with the statutory authority and termed the Centre's decision "blatantly illegal".

The counsel sought a status quo in the matter till next hearing, but his prayer was opposed by the Centre.

During the hearing, Justice Ohri also said that the court can't pass such an order at this stage without hearing the other side, and listed the matter for hearing next week.

"I have to hear them also.... nothing is going to happen. For the interim relief, do I not hear them?," he said.

On February 8, the Waqf Board had filed an application challenging the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' letter.

Mehra had earlier argued that there is no source of power with the Centre to "absolve" the Board from the above-mentioned properties.

"If you do not have the power, you can't do anything under the statutory scheme," he had said.

"Since 1911 and thereafter till date, when the letter has come up, these properties are admittedly waqf properties, concerned with the Waqf Board, to be controlled and managed by the board under the Act (Delhi Waqf Act)," he had added.

He had stated that according to the complete statutory scheme, there is no concept of the Central or State government to absolve the properties from the Board.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, had submitted that the Board's prayers in the application are totally beyond the scope of the pending petition.

He had cited various orders passed by the court dismissing the Board's application seeking stay of the two-member committee, looking into the status of the properties, and a revision plea.

Sharma had said: "Once given report of the committee is under challenge, we will meet this. It cannot be done by this application. That is a substantive writ petition."
Kolkata/New Delhi, March 8 : After prolonged efforts, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths finally got the approval from the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi Rakesh Kumar on late Tuesday night to take Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal in custody till March 10 in connection with the ongoing probe into the West Bengal's multi-crore cattle smuggling scam.

On March 10, after the Holi vacation will be over, ED sleuths will present Mondal physically before the bench of judge Rakesh Kumar and further proceedings in the matter will continue, the central agency sources said.

The late Tuesday night decision on this count unfolded after a lot of high-pitch drama, sources said. After arriving to New Delhi from Kolkata through a Vistara flight at around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, the ED sleuths first took Mondal to their national headquarter and from there took him to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the national capital for medical check-up.

Thereafter, the ED presented the Trinamool Congress' Birbhum district president for a virtual hearing at 11.30 p.m. on Tuesday, which was attended by Rouse Avenue Court judge Rakesh Kumar. During the course of the virtual hearing, the ED counsel sought 14-day custody for Mondal. However, the counsel for the accused objected to that and said that the first hearing in the matter cannot be done in the virtual mode and hence his client be sent to judicial custody instead of ED custody till the next date of hearing.

The judge asked all parties to reach his residence along with the accused for a late-night physical hearing in the matter. Accordingly, sources said, the ED officials along with Mondal as well as the counsels for both - the central agency and the accused - reached the residence of the judge.

The hearing started at the judge's residence at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday and there the ED counsel again pleaded for a 14-day custody for Mondal. However, after hearing all the parties, the judge remanded Mondal to ED custody till March 10 and asked the central agency to present the accused to Rouse Avenue Court on March 10.

The judge ordered that the accused will undergo medical examination daily till March 10 and his counsels will be allowed to meet him daily for 30 minutes during the interim period.
10Pearls continues to achieve record growth as a result of strategic focus and prioritization of delivering tangible customer value- Imran Aftab, CEO

Inc. magazine today revealed that 10Pearls, a global product innovation and digital engineering company, is No. 62 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic list, with a two-year revenue growth of 172 percent.

Inc 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic list is the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Mid-Atlantic private companies based in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Mid-Atlantic economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. 

10Pearls continues to achieve record growth as a result of strategic focus and prioritization of delivering tangible customer value, said Imran Aftab, CEO at 10Pearls. Winning this honor once again is a true testament of the hard work of our global teams. Were grateful to our customers for their continued trust and partnership.

10Pearls continues to expand its digital innovation and engineering services capabilities globally through both organic growth and strategic acquisitive expansion. Just last year, 10Pearls acquired two businesses in Costa Rica and Peru adding to its Latin America presence. 

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Mid-Atlantic region. Between 2019 and 2021, these 142 private companies had an average growth rate of 381 percent and, in 2021 alone, they added 14,439 jobs and $2.66 billion to the Mid-Atlantic region's economy. Companies based in the Richmond, Virginia and the Washington, D.C. areas had the highest growth rates overall. 

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Mid-Atlantic, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at https://inc.com/mid-atlantic.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine.

About 10Pearls

10Pearls is a global, purpose-driven digital technology partner helping businesses re-imagine, digitalize and accelerate. As an end-to-end digital partner, 10Pearls helps businesses create transformative digital products incorporating exponential tech (AI/ML, Blockchain, IoT, AR/VR). Our broad expertise in product management, user experience/design, cloud architecture, software development, data insights and intelligence, cybersecurity, emerging tech, and quality assurance ensures that we deliver solutions that address business needs. 10Pearls' clients include Global 2000 enterprises, high growth mid-size businesses, and some of the most exciting start-ups across several industries, including healthcare, financial services, energy, education, real estate, retail and hi-tech. Headquartered in the Washington DC metro area, 10Pearls has delivery centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and South Asia. The Washington Post has referred to 10Pearls as a double bottom line company that balances profits with social cause.

To learn more, visit https://10pearls.com.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals 

Methodology

The 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2019 and 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2021. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. 

About Inc. Media 

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. 

The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com.
Variety Pack Drawing on our 20 years in the restaurant industry, weve spent the last two years reformulating our original restaurant-quality Beignet recipe to be easily made at home, while innovating the first-ever Chocolate and Vanilla Beignets dry mix.

After two decades of serving customers sweet treats in restaurant establishments, Nobull Kitchen is introducing a new way for consumers to enjoy Beignets right at home with its direct-to-consumer Beignet Dry Mix, available for purchase online and on Amazon. In addition to the Classic mix, NoBull kitchen has innovated two new natural flavors: Vanilla and Chocolatea first-of-its-kind spin on the delectable New Orleans pastry.

Our mission is to bring people together to enjoy better versions of their favorite foodsand what better place to start than with the beloved New Orleans pastry, said Anthony Obodoechina, co-founder of Nobull Kitchen.

Requiring only one added ingredientwaterNobull Kitchen enables consumers to make Beignets in under seven minutes from start to finish, so even the most beginner bakers can enjoy the sweet treat. Simply add water, mix, roll, cut and fry! Nobull Kitchen Beignet Dry Mixes are made with premium, clean ingredients, including Certified Kosher and cage-free eggs, Certified Kosher flour and only natural flavors. The mixes contain 60% less sodium, and up to 200% more protein than other brands on the market.

Drawing on our 20 years in the restaurant industry, weve spent the last two years reformulating our original restaurant-quality Beignet recipe to be easily made at home, while innovating the first-ever chocolate and vanilla Beignets to hit the market, said Ossume Collins, co-founder of Nobull Kitchen.

With Beignets becoming increasingly popular, yet no way for consumer to easily make them at home, Nobull Kitchen saw an opportunity for Beignet-lovers to turn everyday occasions into something special. As consumers continue to seek new ways to enjoy time together with family and friends in the kitchen, the Beignet Dry Mix is the perfect sweet treat to enjoy all year round. With a re-sealable pouch and no need for refrigeration, baking Beignets at home couldnt get any easier.

The Beignet Dry Mixes are available nationwide for purchase starting today. Visit Nobull Kitchen or our Amazon store to learn more today.

About Nobull Kitchen

Headquartered in Houston, Nobull Kitchen is an established food brand on a mission to bring people together to enjoy better versions of their favorite foods. With a long-standing history in the restaurant industry, the brand is committed to perfecting and innovating new recipes using clean, premium ingredients to offer direct-to-consumer restaurant-quality products nationally. First to join its product line up are Beignet Dry Mixes available in Classic, Chocolate, and Vanilla.
Our new website reflects improved navigation and enhanced user experience that showcases our one-of-a-kind technology platform. Our mapbenefits solution provides corporations, 401(k) firms and financial firms with a high-quality, SaaS-based, alternative for administering nonqualified plans.

Technology administration company mapbenefits, creators of a cloud-based technology platform for nonqualified deferred compensation plan (NQDCP) administration, today announces the launch of its new website.

We set out to create an engaging and exciting new site that provides visitors with information about the nonqualified plans administration space, the possibilities our platform offers and to give them a great look at our solutions, explains mapbenefits founder and CEO Todd Mezrah.

Our new website reflects improved navigation and enhanced user experience that showcases our one-of-a-kind technology platform, continues Mezrah. Our mapbenefits solution provides corporations, 401(k) firms and financial firms with a high-quality, SaaS-based, economical alternative for administering nonqualified plans. Executive and corporate benefits administrators now have the power to have 409A plans managed seamlesslywith simple deferral processing, payouts and change requestsultimately providing efficiencies, cost-savings, and asset and liability management capabilities.

The companys new website can be viewed at http://www.mapbenefits.com.

mapbenefits features



Asset and liability management and reconciliation

Online, real-time tracking and custom enrollment options

Automated tasks and 100+ reports

Return of rate analysis

COLI utilization and carrier connectivity

Automation of workflow deliverables and internal processes

Mobile app capabilities

About mapbenefits mapbenefits is a technology company focused on the nonqualified plans administration space. Our SaaS-based platform for nonqualified plan administration is ideal for both small and large plans. Designed as a total solution for the sophisticated structure of executive benefit plan administration, mapbenefits streamlines a complex process allowing corporations, financial firms and 401(k) providers to leverage a fast, secure, world-class and 409A-compliant technology platform for nonqualified plan administration. http://www.mapbenefits.com
The new Valleywise Health Medical Center tower (center) will replace the existing center (left) and open in October 2023. "So much has changed in healthcare delivery since our current hospital was constructed more than 50-years ago and we are so proud to provide a new home for our physicians, nurses and staff that reflects the exceptional care they provide." - Steve Purves, President and CEO, Valleywise Health

After officially breaking ground on the brand new 673,000 square-foot, 10-story Valleywise Health Medical Center on February 26, 2020, the public teaching health system is proud to announce the countdown to the grand opening in October of 2023.

The new medical center will replace the more than 50-year-old facility Valleywise Health is currently operating in at 24th Street and Roosevelt.

Constructed by Kitchell, the building is 75 percent complete and on budget. The exteriors and infrastructure (power, water, HVAC, medical gasses, etc.) are nearly complete and final trim for the mechanical, plumbing and electrical work is ongoing.

The new 75,000 square-foot Diane & Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center was designed from both the patients and clinicians perspective bringing the functions and features of burn care excellence into one location. The design philosophy and physical layout will foster a sense of safety, openness, collaboration, and peer support in recovery and responsiveness  which are key in addressing the trauma associated with burns  as well as a patients long-term recovery. The single-floor evidence-based design will allow all members of the burn care team to easily interact. Other new features include a dedicated pediatric wing, family support rooms, space for research and teaching and more.

Treating some of the most complex and traumatic burn and wound cases, the Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health is one of the nations largest and busiest academic burn centers with 6,000 outpatient visits and more than 1,000 inpatient admissions each year. Serving the entire Southwest region, this renowned center for innovation, research and world-class clinical burn care has excelled in facilities built in 1971, not designed for the unique needs of burn and wound care patients.

It is hard to believe that the vision for a new hospital, and expansion of our system, that started well over a decade ago is finally coming to fruition, said Valleywise Health President and CEO Steve Purves. So much has changed in healthcare delivery since our current hospital was constructed more than 50-years ago and we are so proud to provide a new home for our physicians, nurses and staff that reflects the exceptional care they provide. Most importantly we will finally have a facility that offers all patients, especially the most vulnerable in our community, a more comfortable and accommodating atmosphere to heal.

In addition to the new Valleywise Health Medical Center, construction of The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Pavilion is well underway. The Piper Pavilion will serve as a new learning and teaching hub, with clinical education housed on three dedicated floors of the six-story facility, in addition to administrative services and community meeting space for up to 300.

Over the course of the last three years, Valleywise Health has also constructed and opened five new community health centers, with locations in South Phoenix/Laveen, North Phoenix, Peoria, West Maryvale and Mesa. Each center provides access to primary and pediatric care, integrated behavioral health services and on-site pharmacy to for patients in need.

For more information on Valleywise Health, its expanded network, available services and more, visit http://www.valleywisehealth.org.

Video footage of the progress on the new medical center can be found HERE.

About Valleywise Health

Located in Phoenix, Arizona and named one of the 100 Top Hospitals in the nation by IBM Watson Health in 2020, Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) has a proud tradition of being the community safety net health care system with a mission and commitment to serving the underserved. Valleywise Health consists of Valleywise Health Medical Center, Arizonas only public teaching hospital, Level 1 trauma center with ability to treat adults and children and Arizonas only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern United States. Other services include primary HIV care at the McDowell and Peoria health centers, the Refugee Womens Health Clinic, three behavioral health centers, and 11 community health centers. To learn more, please visit http://www.ValleywiseHealth.org

Valleywise Health Foundation is the Phoenix-based 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to providing financial support for critical patient and program needs at Arizonas public teaching health system, Valleywise Health. Key funding areas include, burn survivorship care, innovative behavioral health programs and teaching tomorrows health care professionals. The Valleywise Health mission is to provide exceptional care, without exception, every patient, every time  regardless of a patients ability to pay. More than 65 percent of Valleywise Healths patients are financially vulnerable. To learn more and donate, visit http://www.Valleywisehealthfoundation.org
Calvera Partners' Managing Principals (from left to right): Brian Milovich, Dave Saxe and Brian Chuck Our experience shows that real estate investing is most successful when a long-term strategy is in place, said Calvera Managing Principal David Saxe.

Calvera Partners, a national real estate investor and operator with offices in San Francisco, CA and Minneapolis, MN, announces the launch of its fourth discretionary private real estate fund, the Calvera Income and Growth Fund (the Fund). The Fund is seeking more than $100 million in capital commitments from accredited investors to acquire a diversified portfolio of income-producing multifamily properties in high-growth markets.

The Fund is structured as a perpetual evergreen investment vehicle, eliminating the need for a predetermined liquidity event of the underlying properties. Based on feedback from seasoned high-net-worth investors and limited partners in previous Calvera funds, the new Fund structure allows Calvera to take a long-term approach to multifamily investment opportunities.

Our experience shows that real estate investing is most successful when a long-term strategy is in place, said Calvera Managing Principal David Saxe. We believe that this perpetual fund structure means that taxable gains can be deferred indefinitely, all while keeping our investors money working over an extended period of time. Its an ideal scenario for those who seek a tax-efficient, wealth-building strategy.

The Fund is also designed to provide current income through consistent quarterly distributions, as well as significant appreciation in NAV, achieved through Calveras strategic asset management, branding, operational and physical improvements, and rigorous market selection. Ultimately, the goal of the Calvera Income and Growth Fund is to create an institutional-quality portfolio of apartment properties where technology and sustainability upgrades will future-proof the assets and target above-market returns to every Fund investor. In addition, Calvera intends to leverage the Fund to unlock efficiencies of scale through common branding and the creation of modern tenant amenities across the portfolio.

Accredited investors are invited to attend an interactive webinar on Wednesday, March 22nd at 10AM PST. The hour-long session will provide an overview of the Calvera Income and Growth Fund and provide an opportunity to discuss Fund details with the Calvera management team. Interested accredited investors can register here and learn more about the fund at http://www.calverapartners.com.

About Calvera Partners

Founded in 2010, Calvera is led by Managing Principals Brian Chuck, Brian Milovich, and David Saxe, all of whom previously worked for a ~$30 billion AUM institutional real estate fund manager, where they led over $1 billion of real estate transactions. The Calvera Income and Growth Fund is Calveras fourth discretionary investment fund catering to accredited individual investors, family offices and registered investment advisors.
Given the urgency of climate issues, were seeing the need for utilities to accelerate their pace of innovation now to meet the clean energy needs of tomorrow, said Kim Getgen, CEO and Founder of InnovationForce.

InnovationForce, The first SaaS company to accelerate the process of innovating by making team collaboration more visible and measurable, has been selected to participate in Incubatenergy Labs Pitch Day, a program created by EPRI to link startups with energy providers on collaborative innovation projects. InnovationForce helps businesses across industries better collaborate to make innovation happen faster by reducing time-to-decision and increasing team collaboration, and is focused on the energy industry as utilities strive to meet 2030 decarbonization mandates.

Given the urgency of climate issues, were seeing the need for utilities to accelerate their pace of innovation now to meet the clean energy needs of tomorrow, said Kim Getgen, CEO and Founder of InnovationForce. Were excited to be a part of Incubatenergy 2023 event where the down-select to present was made by utilities. InnovationForce was founded by innovation managers in the utility space who understand the unique challenges of innovating inside these highly complex, highly regulated organizations. We saw an opportunity to help the industry meet decarbonization goals faster by empowering frontline innovators inside the utility who are closest to the challenges the utility must solve.

Incubatenergy Labs is built for startups to engage EPRI and electric power utilities in paid demonstration projects. A utilities summit and collaborative demonstrations program in one, the program connects startups leading the advancement of electrification, decarbonization and grid modernization with utilities from around the world that have the capacity and desire to demonstrate and scale those innovations. New for 2023, startups now have the possibility of demonstrations in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, or Latin America.

Weve structured the program to give startups maximum exposure to energy providers so that the results of a successful demonstration with one provider may turn into opportunities with many, said Dan Killoren, Program Lead for Incubatenergy Labs. Our team of EPRI subject matter experts is looking forward to the demonstration projects InnovationForce and others will share on Pitch Day that have the potential to provide sustainable and equitable access to energy around the world.

The pitch event will be held on March 9, 2023 at the headquarters of Arizona Public Service (APS) with attendees representing 15 IEL utility members, innovation scouts, and EPRI staff. Each participating startup will present a 5-minute pitch about their company, technology, and proposed project, followed by Q&A with a group of utilities and EPRI.

InnovationForce will be pitching in the Workforce of the Future category, where the Incubatenergy team is looking for technology that drives smarter operations through asset monitoring tools, equipment, analytics, and AI to improve operational safety and customer experience. InnovationForce is helping utilities like Portland General Electric (PGE) make innovation decisions 85% faster to ultimately help deliver carbon-free energy by 2030.

For more information and to schedule a demo of InnovationForce, visit http://innovationforce.io.

About InnovationForce

InnovationForce is simplifying the often complicated innovation process with a revolutionary technology platform that helps enterprises innovate faster while reducing the number of hours per person. Through the use of our patent-pending Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology platform, innovator ecosystems can leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to innovate faster by bringing in the right people at the right time to scale innovation rapidly. With this data, innovation workflows can be measured through dashboards that optimize team performance. Our mission is to automate the innovation process for industries solving the world's most complex energy, defense, and logistics problems. InnovationForce was named a Most Innovative Company of 2023 by Fast Company; learn more at InnovationForce.io.

About EPRI

Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI's trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, affordable, and equitable access to electricity across the globe. Together, we are shaping the future of energy.
We are immensely grateful for their sacrifices and unparalleled dedication to our nation, and we proudly honor them as exceptional leaders and advocates.

The 2023 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year Branch Winners have been announced, recognizing the incredible contributions and sacrifices of military spouses from each branch of the armed forces. The winners were chosen from over 500 nominees who demonstrated exceptional leadership, community involvement, and commitment to supporting their military spouses and families.

The winners for each branch are:



Army: Evie King

Marine Corps: Natalie Ealy

Navy: Tonya Murphy

Air Force: Ashley Gutermuth

Space Force: Aimee Selix

Coast Guard: Andrea Cacciola

National Guard: Allyson Sue Hash

"These military spouses have assured unwavering support for their families and communities. Their resilience in the face of challenges is nothing short of awe-inspiring. We are immensely grateful for their sacrifices and unparalleled dedication to our nation, and we proudly honor them as exceptional leaders and advocates, says Lori Simmons, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Armed Forces Insurance.

The winners will now move on to the national level of the competition, where they will be considered for the title of 2023 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. A national vote will open on March 9 and close on March 10. Additionally, a guest panel will judge the seven finalists on five core criteria: overall involvement in the military community, exhibition of leadership skills, community-building capability, communication skills, and overall personal story.

The Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year program, in its 15th year, is the nation's top military spouse honor and recognizes the critical role military spouses play in supporting the readiness and resilience of military families. The award recipients are inducted into a year-round program for military spouses to earn leadership credentials, expand their networks, learn valuable life and advocacy skills, and make a difference in their communities.

For more information about the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year award program, please visit https://msoy.afi.org/.

About Armed Forces Insurance:

Armed Forces Insurance was founded in 1887 by military leaders with a single mission: to protect the property of those who protect our nation. The company provides premium quality, competitively priced property and casualty insurance to military professionals throughout the United States and overseas. Armed Forces Insurance understands that its members have unique circumstances and insurance needs, enabling the company to offer a level of personalized service that's unequaled in the industry. For more information, visit the website at http://www.afi.org or call 1-800-495-8234, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
"We are thrilled to be able to offer this cutting-edge roleplay training software to our students. We believe that this innovative technology will provide a more effective and engaging way for dealerships to train." - Ryan Daniel, the CEO of Finance Manager Training

Finance Manager Training, a leading F&I school in the United States, is proud to announce the upcoming release of its groundbreaking artificial intelligence roleplay training software for Dealerships. Using a patent-pending artificial intelligence application, the software promises to revolutionize the way finance managers train and improve their skills. The roleplay training software has been designed to help finance managers master the art of selling through realistic simulations of real-world scenarios.

Using machine learning algorithms, the software aims to adapt to the specific needs of dealership employees, providing personalized training sessions that address areas of weakness.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer this cutting-edge roleplay training software to our students," said Ryan Daniel, the CEO of Finance Manager Training. "We believe that this innovative technology will provide a more effective and engaging way for dealerships and finance managers to learn and hone their skills."

Finance Manager Training is committed to providing the most comprehensive and effective training for finance managers in the industry. With the addition of this sales roleplay training software, students will be able to access the latest in artificial intelligence technology to help them become even more successful in their careers. The sales roleplay training software will be available for purchase in June 2023, exclusively through Finance Manager Training.

Dealerships are encouraged to join the waiting list so they have first opportunity at testing the software upon release. For more information about the software or to enroll in one of Finance Manager Training's programs, please visit their website at FinanceManagerTraining.com/art.

About Finance Manager Training: Finance Manager Training is a top-tier F&I school in the United States, providing comprehensive training programs designed to help finance managers succeed in their careers and Dealerships increase revenue. Founded in 2016, the school has trained thousands of finance managers and is recognized as one of the leading authorities in F&I training. The school's mission is to provide the most effective and up-to-date training to finance managers, empowering them to achieve greater success in their careers.
Were inspired by scientists and organizations with innovative concepts for creating further breakthroughs to treat and cure gastric cancer. This series of grants supports new efforts and creates opportunities for continued funding at the end of one year.

The Gastric Cancer Foundation (GCF) is pleased to announce the expansion of its early-stage research program and launch of its 2023 application process. GCF plans to award up to $300,000 in grant fundingincreased from $200,000 in recent yearsand is now accepting letters of intent from researchers in the United States who are working on novel projects aimed at discovering new therapies for this challenging disease.

The objective of GCFs grant program is to support new research projects centered around discovering novel therapies or treatment regimens for gastric cancer. Each recipient will be awarded a one-time grant of up to $100,000. Grant applications will be reviewed and rated by at least two scientific advisors, and decisions will be made by the GCF Board of Directors in September.

Researchers who are interested in applying for a grant should email a letter of intent by March 31 to grants@gastriccancer.org. Researchers who are invited to submit full applications will be notified shortly thereafter and asked to send in their applications by June 16. More information can be found at https://gastriccancer.org/grant-application-details .

The Gastric Cancer Foundations grant program, now in its fifth year, is part of GCFs overall mission to expand research. Seed grants are designed to enable researchers to generate preliminary data that they can utilize to submit competitive applications for much larger research grants. Were inspired by scientists and organizations with innovative concepts for creating further breakthroughs to treat and cure gastric cancer, said Paul Gottsegen, Board Chair. This series of grants supports new efforts and creates opportunities for continued funding at the end of one year.

Last year GCF awarded two $100,000 grants. One went to Eunyoung Choi, Ph.D., of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is studying SCD1 inhibition in gastric dysplasia and early-stage cancer. The second was awarded to Nilay Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, who is researching the therapeutic potential of platinum chemotherapy and PARP inhibitors in HR-deficient gastric cancer.

Since 2009, the Gastric Cancer Foundation has prioritized strategic investments in early-stage research efforts. The Foundation has granted more than $1.2 million in seed grants for gastric cancer research, providing much needed support for this cancer that receives less than 1% of all federal funding for cancer research. GCF also created the first HIPAA-compliant Gastric Cancer Registry and a perpetual Research Scholar Award to fund talented young scientists who are pursuing research that could lead to new cures.

For more information about the Foundation, visit gastriccancer.org or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Trichologist and Hair Expert, Shab Caspara, has joined Hairmax, the laser hair growth leader, as a Brand Ambassador.

Shab will represent the Hairmax brand, sharing her knowledge about everything hair via expert tips, trend insights and videos across both @hairmax and @Shabhairexpert social media platforms. Shabs enthusiasm and storytelling will reach across a wide audience, inspiring others to achieve their best hair possible.

Shab is the host of the Hair Like Hers Podcast, where she features top experts in beauty, health, wellness, and science in the medical space. She is the founder of Leona.ca, the first tech enabled hair care retail platform, matching women to their best hair growth solutions.

She has been featured in Forbes, Vogue, Womens Health, Allure, Prevention and Cosmopolitan magazine as one of the most recognized Trichologist in New York City.

Her mission is to help consumers connect the dots associated with all stages of hair. As a member of the Beauty Advisory board for Byrdie.com, New Beauty Magazine, and the American Hair Loss Council, she continues to discover the latest developments and research in the hair growth.

Shab states, 'Im excited to partner with Hairmax, a brand that is innovating the hair growth space with products and devices consumers can truly rely on. Hairmax is changing the way we grow and protect our hair and Im looking forward to educating people about their drug free, effective hair loss solutions.

David Michaels, Managing Director of Lexington said, We are delighted to welcome Shab Caspara as a Brand Ambassador. Mr. Michaels further stated: Her skills and knowledge will be an invaluable asset to us as we introduce new products and devices in 2023. Moreover, her social media savvy and presence will be instrumental in introducing the brand to a wide demographic of consumers looking to improve their hair health.

About HairMax:

Based in Boca Raton, Lexington Int'l is the pioneer and global leader in laser hair growth technology. HairMax Laser Devices are the first devices on the market to receive FDA Clearance as a medical device to treat hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) and stimulate hair growth. HairMax Laser Devices have been the subject of 7 clinical studies proving both efficacy and safety with an 93% success rate. Study results have been published in 6 peer reviewed medical journals. HairMax Laser Devices have been granted 8 FDA Clearances and holds 14 medical device licenses worldwide. Learn more: visit http://www.hairmax.com
Were delighted to work with accessiBe to make our website fully accessible and user-friendly for all of our clients including those with disabilities covered under the ADA, said Christopher Costello, managing partner of the Costello Law Firm.

TheCostello Law Firm (Costello), a civil law firm specializing in personal injury law, workers compensation and healthcare provider law, today announced a strategic partnership with AI technology provider accessiBe to bring its website in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and WCAG 2.1.

Today, people with disabilities currently make up roughly 20% of the total US population, leaving one in five individuals without proper access to the internet. Since all accessibility (digital and physical) is a civil right, companies and law firms like Costello need to ensure that their websites are accessible for all users

Were delighted to work with accessiBe to make our website fully accessible and user-friendly for all of our clients including those with disabilities covered under the ADA, said Christopher Costello, managing partner of the Costello Law Firm. We hope to lead by example so other law firms across the state of New Jersey and the country at large will join us in ensuring a level digital playing field for everyone seeking legal services on the Internet.

Thanks to accessiBes AI technology, Costello Law Firms website is now fully equipped to provide the following website profile enhancements for people with disabilities:



Seizure Safe - clears flashes and reduces color

Vision Impaired - enhances websites visuals

ADHD Friendly - more focus and fewer distractions

Cognitive Disability - assists with reading and focusing

Keyboard Navigations (Motor) - use website with keyboard

Blind Users - optimize website for screen readers

We are committed to partnering with professionals, from web agencies to freelance developers and marketers, to equip them with the tools they need to open their websites to the disability community, said Shir Ekerling, co-founder and CEO of accessiBe. We are thrilled to partner with Costello to help ensure that their clients can achieve and maintain web accessibility. This includes 24-hour automatic maintenance scans of any new and updated content, along with monthly compliance audits.

The ADA is the United States most important law regarding accessibility and civil rights for people with disabilities. Originally signed into law in 1990, the ADA prohibits discrimination against anyone based on ability or disability. In 2017, a clear consensus emerged that the ADA also covers the online world. Disability rights activists, legal scholars, and court rulings have agreed that websites, internet portals, and online stores need to be accessible for people with disabilities.

Today, U.S. courts apply ADA accessibility requirements to the internet, meaning websites should comply with ADA rules. Reinforcement was displayed by the Department of Justice in 2022 when it released a new guidance on implementing web accessibility standards and practices, clarifying that the ADA indeed covers web accessibility.

ADA title III-related lawsuits have skyrocketed. There were at least 11,452 federal filings in 2021, which is a 320 percent increase over a short, eight-year period. And, as of 2020, approximately 265,000 filings were sent to businesses that operated inaccessible websites.

About The Costello Law Firm

Costello Law Firm serves clients in and beyond the Burlington County area in New Jersey specializing in personal injury law, workers compensation and healthcare provider law. The firms mission is to provide its clients with the highest level of professional assistance. These are not just words, but the value that drives everyone in the firm. Costello Law Firm is dedicated to obtaining financial justice from the parties responsible for your losses and protecting you and your emotional well-being during stressful times. For more information, visit http://www.thecostellolawfirm.com.

About accessiBe

accessiBe is the market leader in AI-powered web accessibility solutions and technologies. As a web accessibility hub, accessiBe provides different solutions for testing and remediating web accessibility, as well as various professional services, to make the web inclusive and help businesses and agencies comply with web accessibility standards and regulations.

accessiBes full suite of web accessibility solutions enables agencies and businesses of all sizes, from solopreneur to large corporations, to take part in global inclusion efforts by making their websites available to everybody, regardless of ability.

accessiBe's founding team has deep domain expertise in the field of web development and accessibility services and has developed the technologies in close partnership with users who have vision impairments or blindness, epilepsy, motor impairments, cognitive dysfunctions, and other disabilities. For more information, visit https://accessibe.com/
In addition to offering market solutions of the highest consumer value, Aspidas delivery of a digital-first experience to financial professionals is a massive differentiator," said Matt Hamann, National Sales Manager. "Theyve built a transformational platform and business that sets a high bar.

WealthVest, a leading independent distributor of annuities and structured note solutions to financial institutions, announced today they have named Matt Hamann, a senior veteran in the industry, as their first, dedicated national sales manager representing Aspida, a tech-leading and agile annuity company.

With more than 25 years of experience, Hamann will oversee WealthVests exclusive distribution of Aspidas WealthLockSM Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity and WealthLockSM Accumulator fixed index annuity solutions to banks, broker-dealers and insurance agencies. Hamanns extensive knowledge of sales distribution, go-to-market strategies and advisor marketing will provide crucial support and direction to WealthVests internal and external wholesaling team representing Aspida.

Aspida and WealthVest have a shared vision to provide the tools, resources, and industry-leading solutions producers and their clients need to quickly, easily and securely protect their retirement dreams, said Wade Dokken, co-founder and CEO of WealthVest. As national sales manager, Matt will provide the leadership our team needs to achieve that vision and deliver on our promise to support Americans retirement savings needs.

Hamann and the WealthVest wholesaling team are collaborating closely with Aspida to assist Americans in achieving  and protecting  their retirement dreams. Aspida's suite of WealthLockSM annuity solutions offers highly competitive rates, innovative crediting strategies and index options from three industry-leading asset managers. The principal-protected solutions are available through WealthVests wholesaling team in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

I am excited to work alongside Aspida and their talented leadership team, Hamann said. In addition to offering market solutions of the highest consumer value, Aspidas delivery of a digital-first experience to financial professionals is a massive differentiator. Theyve built a transformational platform and business that sets a high bar.

Before joining WealthVest, Hamann held key leadership roles with several industry-leading insurance carriers. Most recently, he led Transamerica's Individual & Group Worksite Long Term Care while working in partnership with Transamerica Annuity distribution. Hamann also consulted a leading fintech to help scale their digital platform for the annuity, life and long-term care markets. Additionally, he has led strategic partnerships with several prominent organizations, including the NFL, LIONS International and many of the nation's largest fraternal groups and unions.

Retirees or pre-retirees interested in learning more about fixed or fixed index annuities are encouraged to speak with their financial professional. Financial professionals interested in learning more about Aspida's WealthLockSM suite of annuities should contact WealthVest at 1-877-811-6081.

About WealthVest

WealthVest is one of the leading distributors of fixed, fixed index, registered index-linked and variable annuitiesas well as structured products to U.S. financial advisors. WealthVests leadership is fueled by proprietary thought-leadership, consumer-driven product design expertise, strategic marketing, technology, and specialization in both field and hybrid-based advisor wholesaling. Follow them on Facebook and LinkedIn or visit wealthvest.com.

Contact:

WealthVest

Jackson Bolstad

Marketing Content Manager

(406) 272-3759

jbolstad@wealthvest.com

About Aspida

Aspida Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries (collectively Aspida), is focused on providing retirement and reinsurance solutions, having operations in the U.S. and Bermuda with total assets of $7.2 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022. Aspida, through its U.S. platform  Aspida Life Insurance Company  is focused on leveraging technology and agility to help clients achieve  and protect  their dreams. Its Bermuda-based reinsurance platform, Aspida Life Re, is focused on providing efficient and secure life and annuity reinsurance solutions. Aspida seeks to be a trusted partner in its clients financial security while driving its growth by doing good for the communities it serves. Aspida is backed by Ares Management Corporation, which, through the Ares Insurance Solutions team, provides dedicated investment management, capital solutions and corporate development support. For more information, please visit aspida.com or follow them on LinkedIn.

Contact:

Aspida

Townley Cheek

Manager, Corporate Communications

(919) 246-3208

Townley.Cheek@aspida.com
While there is solid research demonstrating the bottom-line benefits of a robust DEI program, many companies don't know where to begin the journey towards a healthier and happier functioning of their sales organization.

Recent research suggests that developing a diverse and inclusive sales organization results in greater sales success. However, Selling Powers latest findings show a lack of progress in building such organizations. In surveying sales leaders and salespeople from around the country they found that 28% of respondents indicated that they have been denied opportunities or were restricted in advancement due to their current companys lack of diversity and inclusion efforts. In addition, nearly 70% of respondents felt their company needed improvement in fostering diversity and inclusion within their sales organizations.

It is to this cause that Selling Powers DEI in Sales Program was created, and its initial efforts include an application-based process seeking to highlight and celebrate companies that are striving for more diverse and inclusive salesforces. More information about the application process can be found here - DEI in Sales / Selling Power

In addition, Sales 3.0 will be devoting its next virtual event on June 15, 2023, to DEI in Sales topics. The event will offer fresh perspectives on a complex topic that impacts the effectiveness of every sales leader and sales organization around the globe. While there is solid research demonstrating the bottom-line benefits of a robust DEI program, many companies don't know where to begin the journey towards a healthier and happier functioning of their sales organization. The thought leaders Sales 3.0 has assembled will share practical tools you can use to create a more inclusive, meaningful, and more successful sales organization. More information on the event can be found here  http://bit.ly/41M2mXx

About Selling Power

In addition to Selling Power, the leading digital magazine for sales managers and sales VPs since 1981, Personal Selling Power, Inc., produces the Sales Management Digest and Daily Boost of Positivity online newsletters (https://bit.ly/3eqbnP3), as well as videos featuring interviews with top executives. Selling Power is a regular media sponsor of the Sales 3.0 Conference, which is attended by a total of more than 4,500 sales leaders each year (https://www.sales30conf.com).
Alileo Natural Boxed Wine Created by husband and wife team Antonio Bertone and Alexandra Drane, Alileo is produced in partnership with Bertones family in Sicily and imported to the United States.

Alileo, a Sicilian natural wine brand, has launched four varietals that are made using traditional methods from the west coast of Sicily. With a focus on sustainability and environmental friendliness, Alileo chose the bag-in-box format because it is lighter to ship than traditional glass bottles, which results in lower transport emissions and a smaller carbon footprint. The alternative packaging and organic viticulture method also ensures that the 100% unfiltered wine stays fresher longer - a full 30 days from first opening.

Created by husband and wife team Antonio Bertone and Alexandra Drane, Alileo is produced in partnership with Bertones family in Sicily and imported to the United States. A family endeavor, Bertones cousin lovingly crafts the wine in the seaside village of Marsala, Italy, also famous for its Marsala Wine and Sea Salt production. Bertones family oversees the winemaking and logistics for the brand.

Alex and I have been talking about creating a wine business with our family in Sicily for years, said Antonio Bertone, co-founder of Alileo. In 2020, my mother, a native of Sicily, was diagnosed with a terminal illness, which prompted us to make that dream a reality. We wanted to ensure that my mum felt that we werent going to lose our connection to Sicily. With that weve developed a fantastic wine that is true to our Sicilian roots and is providing a financial foundation for our relatives in Sicily.

Alileo follows strict vinification guidelines that include the organic cultivating of the vineyards for grape production, manually harvesting and selecting the grapes, using spontaneous fermentation without added yeast and daily fermentation maintenance to ensure that the wine is 100% natural and unfiltered. All of the wines are gluten-free, sugar-free and non-GMO. Alileo offers four varietals that come in 3.0L boxes, each box is equivalent to four standard bottles of wine that have an average of 13% ABV and retail at $39.99. Varietals include:



Zibibbo Macerato: A light and fruitier white with citrusy and muscaty notes.

Young Grillo: A crisp and drier white with citrus and floral aromas.

Syrah: A full-bodied red with notes of cherry and red fruit with tannins.

Rosato Bronzato: A deep rose and made from 100% Syrah grapes with notes of cherry and red fruit.

For more information and to purchase Alileo, visit http://www.alileowines.com.

ABOUT ALILEO

Alileo is a Sicilian natural wine brand. Founded by Antonio Bertone and Alexandra Drane, Alileo is produced in partnership with Bertones family in Sicily and imported to the United States. Alileo is a celebration of all things Sicilian. Their bag-in-box natural wines are made using traditional methods with varietals from the West Coast of Sicily. For more information, visit http://www.alileowines.com.
Wald Haus by DW DREAMERS WELCOME introduces a new voice in hospitality that promotes inclusivity and a nuanced high-design ethos that permeates all its individually curated properties.

Cultivators of dynamic designer stays and inspired travel experiences, DREAMERS WELCOME, a new LGBTQIA-owned hospitality group launches today inviting guests to indulge in meaningful getaways to over 60 accommodations in and near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Wilmington, North Carolina. DREAMERS WELCOME embraces a highly curated approach to hospitality offering a feast for the senses and an effortless luxury sensibility through discrete, impeccable service and unexpected yet elevated design including locally and internationally sourced artwork, custom-made furniture, and unique vintage finds that are sure to delight and captivate. Catering to an array of travel styles, DREAMERS WELCOME features intimate boutique hotels, sun-drenched apartments with hammock-laced terraces, spectacular homes, and sequestered rainforest villas featuring exclusive collaborations with local artists and hospitality experts. In addition to the brands hotel properties, the homes and apartments plus concept offers more than just a turnkey, self-check-in rental, but a full spectrum travel experience through high-design environments, modern amenities and services, and access to engaging excursions.

Anticipating the needs of modern travelers, DREAMERS WELCOMEs progressive amenities feature dog-friendly stays, vegan-forward cuisine, eco-conscious properties with reduced paper and single-use plastic, bespoke organic toiletries, and much more. Guests also have access to an array of off-property excursions led by local experts that showcase the destinations and are bookable through a virtual concierge.

DREAMERS WELCOME was founded by German-born real estate entrepreneur Stephan Watts who holds dual degrees in hospitality management and applied media services. After moving to New York, Watts acquired a real estate license and began his own apartment-staging company, gaining over two decades of hands-on real estate and hospitality experience. Along with Puerto Rican-born artist and partner Roy Delgado  a film/photography set and hospitality interior designer  the pair have refined their innate understanding of contemporary design and the needs of todays travelers. DREAMERS WELCOME was born from their collaboration and introduces a new voice in hospitality that promotes inclusivity and a nuanced high-design ethos that permeates all its individually curated properties.

DREAMERS WELCOME: PUERTO RICO

Making stylish tropical dream vacations come true, guests can choose from a variety of exceptionally designed accommodations including a vegetarian boutique hotel, an eclectic mix of design-forward homes and apartments, and sprawling villas nestled in the rainforest. In addition, all rental guests in San Juan have access to Dreamcatcher hotels full amenities.



Dreamcatcher by DW: An award-winning, full-service vegetarian boutique hotel. Situated in San Juans charming Ocean Park neighborhood, Dreamcatcher features 19 uniquely designed rooms and suites located steps from the beach. Guests can indulge in its popular vegetarian and vegan cuisine for weekly breakfast, and weekend brunch and dinner made with locally sourced organic ingredients. Travelers can lounge in the serene light-filled courtyard, go snorkeling off Escambron beach, unwind with an in-room massage, chase hidden waterfalls with a local guide, or end the day with a yoga session under the stars.

Duna by DW: Tropical vibes and elevated design in Santurce. Where Caribbean nostalgia meets a modern sensibility, Dunas seven apartments transport guests to a chic paradise located in San Juans trendy Santurce neighborhood, close to hip shopping and nightlife. The property features a shared salt-water pool, a spacious backyard, elaborate floral installations by renowned NYC florist Marcos Toledo and unexpected design details like hammocks and oversized soaking tubs thoughtfully placed on sunny terraces.

Selva by DW: Jungle luxe in El Yunques emerald rainforest. This stunning three-bedroom, three-bath home in Luquillo is the epitome of laid-back luxury sprawled between a heated saltwater pool and seven acres of El Yunques emerald rainforest including a private hiking trail. With expansive picture windows framing mountain views and lush jungle, Selva feels deliriously sequestered but is under an hour from San Juan, and is the perfect home base to explore Vieques, midnight paddles in the famed bioluminescent bay, and catamaran snorkeling trips to uninhabited beaches.

Mood Haus by DW: Fabulous 70s retro-vintage designed apartments. Centrally located in Santurce, these four funky diva-inspired units flaunt private outdoor terraces, full kitchens, and rain showers complete with a record player, vinyl collection, and glittering disco balls perfect for an impromptu dance party.

Other Puerto Rico properties include Wald Haus by DW, a four-bedroom ocean-view rainforest villa in Naguabo; Rosa by DW, featuring two eclectic, design-forward studio lofts; the eight magically minimal and centrally located APT by DW, a three-bedroom art deco dream house, Casa Frida by DW; four avant-garde apartments at Dada Jaja by DW, and the four sun-drenched apartments at Tropicalia by DW.

DREAMERS WELCOME: WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

Guests can get to know the unexpected charms of this southern city including incredible beaches and a historic downtown area, its also one of Hollywoods best-kept secrets for film and TV productions. Experience two wholly distinctive properties, a cozy bungalow home rental and a stunning boutique hotel that are infused with DREAMERS WELCOMES signature style, modern amenities, and elevated whimsy.



Dreamers by DW: Southern charm is reinvented at this five-bedroom boutique hotel in Wilmingtons Historic District. A favorite of Jamie Lee Curtis while filming the latest installments of the Halloween franchise, DREAMERS by DW offers all the amenities of a boutique hotel with the privacy and independence of a home rental. All spaces have been cultivated with a focus on design including custom artworks from all over the world, and carefully sourced vintage and modern lighting fixtures mixed with restored original details. All individually designed rooms and suites come with en-suite bathrooms, a complimentary vegan breakfast, and optional yoga classes for an additional fee.

Drift Away by DW: A cozy Nordic-inspired three-bedroom bungalow. Situated in Wilmingtons Sunset Park neighborhood and minutes from Dreamers by DW, this sun-filled home is perfect for getaways with friends and family. Unexpected details include a spacious upstairs lounge area complete with a vintage record player and vinyl collection, a full kitchen, and an oversized backyard deck with multiple seating areas.

All DREAMERS WELCOME properties offer an array of thoughtful conveniences including WIFI; smart TVs; workspaces; air conditioning; some with dedicated outdoor spaces, swimming or plunge pools; 24/7 check-in; laundry/housekeeping, and all the modern amenities todays traveler has come to expect.

Rates start from $200 for Rosas curated loft apartments accommodating two guests and range up to $1,500 for the one-of-a-kind Selva rainforest villa accommodating up to six guests. For more information and bookings, please visit http://www.dreamerswelcome.com.
Frederic Lamoulie Joins Assertive Yield as SVP, Sales and Business Development, EMEA "We are proud to strengthen our EMEA team with Frederic and look forward to his contributions and impact as they help Assertive Yield scale and expand in this key strategic area," said Ryan Abrahams, CRO, Assertive Yield.

Assertive Yield (https://www.assertiveyield.com), a leading provider of revenue & yield optimization solutions for digital publishers and SSPs, today announced the hire of Frederic Lamoulie as SVP, Sales & Business Development EMEA.

The addition follows the recent appointments of Ryan Abrahams as Chief Revenue Officer, Musarrat Bano as Head of Customer Success and Katia Moura Rodrigues as Head of Marketing, and underscore Assertive Yields ongoing commitment to global expansion as institutional adoption of Artificial Intelligence continues to be a critical component to maximizing publisher ROI.

As SVP, of Sales & Business Development EMEA, Frederic Lamoulie will be responsible for executing Assertive Yields sales & business strategy in the region, building partnerships and driving future revenue growth. Based in Spain, Frederic brings more than 20 years of business development experience with AOL, Google, and Schibsted Media Group among others.

"We are excited to welcome Frederic to the Assertive Yield team as we continue to expand our presence in the region," said Ryan Abrahams, Chief Revenue Officer, Assertive Yield. "Even in the face of recent volatility, adoption of proven analytics and yield technologies remains strong as publishers continue to build and optimize their offerings to offset the current constriction in advertising. We are proud to strengthen our EMEA team with Frederic and look forward to his contributions and impact as they help Assertive Yield scale and expand in this key strategic area."

About Assertive Yield

Founded in 2019 by Nils Lind, Assertive Yield is a publisher-side revenue intelligence solution purpose-built for yield management, optimization, and traffic shaping. Assertive Yield helps digital publishers and ad networks like Perion, Enthusiast Gaming, and LADBible to understand and optimize advertising revenue by giving them the tools to understand the value of every visit, article, acquisition channel and advertising campaign in real-time. For more information visit: https://www.assertiveyield.com/
As new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology expands, companies may be missing significant growth opportunities if they dont consider hiring and training people with disabilities.

A NYC area Microsoft Partner explores AI-driven capabilities in Azure that deliver more accessible technology in a new article on the eMazzanti Technologies website. The informative article first asserts that companies may be missing growth opportunities and profits if they fail to hire and train people with disabilities.

The author then explains how business AI is a win-win for companies and employees. He briefly explores Azure AI disability solutions including speech transcription and captioning, content readers, translation services, voice assistants, facial recognition, and computer vision. He also presents several use cases for AI-powered accessibility features, including meetings, live broadcasting, content reading, translation, and device control.

As new Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology expands, companies may be missing significant growth opportunities if they dont consider hiring and training people with disabilities, stated Jennifer Mazzanti, CEO, eMazzanti Technologies. Thus, Microsoft recently launched a five-year Business AI program to address these challenges with a focus on developing more accessible technology.

Microsoft Ability Summit

Microsoft is hosting the 13th annual Ability Summit on March 8, 2023, to showcase company and customer innovation in the world of accessibility and inclusive design.

Below are a few excerpts from the eMazzanti article, Azure Business AI Taps Hidden Disability Talent.

With over one-billion people in the world living with disabilities, most face challenges for employment, education, and day-to-day life circumstances. Microsofts accessibility technology, built into Microsoft 365, Azure, and other products, creates more opportunities for people with disabilities entering the workforce and builds a more inclusive workplace.

Business AI: A Win-Win for Companies and Employees

A recent study by Accenture in partnership with Disability:IN and the American Association of People with Disabilities, found that inclusive companies had, over a four-year period, 28 percent higher revenue, double the net income, and 30 percent higher economic profit margins than their peers.

Azure Business AI Disability Solutions

Microsoft and Azure AI offer a wide variety of accessibility solutions to aid companies in creating more inclusive experiences for their employees. These services include speech transcription and captioning, content readers, translation services, voice assistants, facial recognition, and computer vision.

Accessibility Use Cases

Other top-tier companies use Azure AI to benefit customers more directly as well. For instance, Swedish TV uses Azure AI to transcribe video content and while generating closed captioning. Peloton employs speech-to-text and translation to drive live subtitles for its online, live classes. Members who are deaf or hard of hearing benefit via greater accessibility. And Gameloft uses Azure Translator to enable multilanguage communication.

Expert Business AI Support

Most business customers find it easiest to purchase Microsoft products through a Microsoft partner such as eMazzanti Technologies. They provide both competitive pricing and personalized support. And being the first to receive innovations like AI, they help business leaders incorporate the latest revenue and productivity-enhancing technologies to boost their success as well as tap the hidden potential of inclusive disability hiring practices.

Have you read?

Microsoft AI Solutions for Business Drive Innovation and Connection

The Future is Now with Open AI ChatGPT-Powered Microsoft Teams Premium

About eMazzanti Technologies

eMazzantis team of trained, certified IT experts rapidly deliver increased revenue growth, data security and productivity for clients ranging from law firms to high-end global retailers, expertly providing advanced business cyber security, retail and payment technology, digital marketing services, cloud and mobile solutions, multi-site implementations, 247 outsourced network management, remote monitoring, and support.

eMazzantis consistent growth landed them on the Inc. 5000 list 9X. Recognized as a 4X Microsoft Partner of the Year, the #1 ranked NYC area MSP, NJ Business of the Year, and 5X WatchGuard Partner of the Year, the company excels as a trusted outsourced IT partner! Contact: 1-866-362-9926, info@emazzanti.net or http://www.emazzanti.net Twitter: @emazzanti Facebook: Facebook.com/emazzantitechnologies.


Charlotte Conway, CCCUs VP of Member Service, retires after 30 years of service. (Left) Hope Cardinal Smith, CCCUs VP of Marketing and Communications, retires after 28 years of service. (Right) Charlotte and Hope have been an integral part of Christian Community Credit Union for many years, and their contributions have had a profound impact on our organization.

Christian Community Credit Union (CCCU) is honored to announce the retirement of two of its long-standing and dedicated executives, Charlotte Conway, Vice President of Member Service and Hope Smith, Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

Charlotte Conway joined CCCU in 1993 as a Lobby Receptionist. Over the years she grew in her position and became Vice President of Branch Services in 2006 and subsequently, she became Vice President of Member Service in 2012. Charlotte has been instrumental in the development and growth of the department. Under her leadership, the department has become a model of excellence in the credit union industry, consistently delivering exceptional service to members. Charlottes dedication and passion for serving members have made her a respected leader and valuable asset to the Credit Union.

Hope Smith joined CCCU in 1994 as a Marketing Specialist, the first full-time marketing staff at the Credit Union. Through the years, she grew in her position and became the Vice President of Marketing and Communications in 2014. Hope has been a driving force behind the Credit Unions marketing efforts. She has played a significant role in promoting the Credit Unions values, missions, as well as developing and implementing successful marketing strategies. Hopes contributions to the Credit Union and her commitment to its members will not be forgotten.

Charlotte and Hope have been an integral part of Christian Community Credit Union for many years, and their contributions have had a profound impact on our organization, said Christian Community Credit Union President/CEO Blair Korschun. Their commitment to our members and to the Credit Union movement is truly remarkable and we are grateful for all they have done to help us achieve our mission.

Christian Community Credit Union is a faith-based, purpose-driven financial cooperative whose mission is to serve Christ followers to live and give more abundantly. CCCU has over $880 million in assets and 30,000 members nationwide. For over 65 years, the Credit Union has provided individuals and ministries with the financial tools and knowledge they need to grow and thrive financially, so they can transform our world through their generosity.
A visible consequence of a warming planet is an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. In the new Net Zero show - Net Zero Speaks with John Paul Jose - climate activist Komal Mittal interviews John Paul, an environmental activist from India. Hailing from an agricultural family that relies on the earth and nature to survive, John Paul has experienced first-hand the impacts of the climate crisis and ecological destruction. This inspired Jose to work with the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UNMGCY), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), to address global warming. Collaboration is one of the key things we need now, says Jose. We have to explore ways we can bring tangible results on the ground. In the current scenario young people are the best communicators of the climate science

Watch the Interview here

The Protect Our Planet Movement in association with Planet Classroom has launched the acclaimed Net Zero video and podcast series in which 24 youth climate activists from the Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement in association with Planet Classroom ask international thought leaders working on the environment the big questions as to how their nations are progressing towards their 2050 Net Zero pledges.

About the Protect Our Planet Movement

The Protect Our Planet (POP) Movement is an initiative designed to address the urgent need to share information and knowledge with the youth on solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN, mitigate climate change, and adapt to its growing impacts. Intended to ultimately reach the size, scale, and momentum to become a global movement, POP mobilizes the youth worldwide to take collective action needed to mitigate climate change and protect threatened ecosystems.

About the Planet Classroom Network

The Planet Classroom Network, organized by CMRubinWorld, brings together musicians, dancers, video game creators, filmmakers, activists, learning innovators, and emerging technologists from around the world to entertain, educate and engage youth, and to provide a rich cultural experience for all. Content showcased for youth and by youth on the Planet Classroom Network is provided by 30 cultural organizations from around the world. Young people globally played a significant role in conceptualizing, creating, and producing the network's vision and programming.

For more information on CMRubinWorld

Follow @CMRubinWorld on Twitter

Contact Information:

David Wine

David@cmrubinworld.com
"By combining our services we will be offering customers a powerful suite of solutions that will manage and shrink their expanding attack surface and also keep them a step ahead of the bad guys." - Aaron Sandeen, CEO of Securin.

Cyber Security Works Inc., a leading security company, today announced that it is rebranding as Securin Inc. due to the evolution of its service capabilities and offerings. Under the new identity, it will provide tech-enabled security solutions to continuously improve customers security posture and help them gain resilience against evolving threats.

CSW offers flagship services such as vulnerability management and penetration testing to customers around the globe. In 2020, CSW became a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA) to help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and MITRE validate newly discovered zero-day vulnerabilities.

In 2022, CSW acquired Securin, an automated platform with solutions such as attack surface management (ASM) and vulnerability intelligence (VI). Since its launch, Securin ASM has been providing many leading tech companies with an outside-in view of their expanding attack surface from an adversarys perspective and helping them to prioritize and remediate their most dangerous exposures. Securin VI offers an entire spectrum of vulnerability intelligence powered by 700+ authentic intelligence feeds that continuously measure a vulnerabilitys risk. Through its artificial intelligence (AI) & machine learning (ML) models, Securins VI platform warns its customers about vulnerabilities that will likely be exploited soon, enabling them to prioritize and patch proactively.

After this rebrand, Securin will combine its offerings to provide customers with a comprehensive suite of security solutions such as ASM, VI, Vulnerability Management, and Penetration Testing to level up their security. Securin has grown to 250+ employees globally and will continue to operate from its offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Chennai, India.

Ram Movva, Co-Founder and Chairman of Securin, said, In the past few years, we have added many new capabilities to our offerings. With the shifting cybersecurity landscape and evolving threats, it is critical to implement tools and solutions that can provide actionable and timely intelligence to prevent cybersecurity breaches before they happen. As we forge ahead, we want to become a tech-enabled solution organization focused on increasing the security posture of our customers through our suite of offerings. We believe Securin, as our overall brand name, embodies our vision to secure organizations to build resilience against emerging threats.

Expanding on Movvas comments, Aaron Sandeen, CEO of Securin, said, We are very excited to rebrand as Securin. CSW has seen amazing growth in the past two years and evolved beyond recognition. We have been providing our customers with a full suite of capabilities, such as vulnerability management and penetration testing, bundled with ASM & VI. Rebranding into Securin is the next step in our business evolution, which will enable us to focus on our vision to improve security posture and reduce the attack surface of our customers.

Sandeen added, By combining our services - vulnerability management and penetration testing with products like Securin ASM and Securin VI, we will be offering customers a powerful suite of solutions that will manage and shrink their expanding attack surface and also keep them a step ahead of the bad guys.

After the rebrand, Securin will continue to act as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA) and help MITRE validate zero days and expedite their entry in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD).

To learn more, visit http://www.securin.io.

About Securin

Securin is a leading provider of tech-enabled cybersecurity services, helping hundreds of customers worldwide gain resilience against emerging threats. Powered by accurate vulnerability intelligence, human expertise, and automation, its products and services have enabled enterprises to make critical security decisions to manage their expanding attack surface.
Draper selected Odon, Ind., for the location of its ninth office. The company has provided engineering services to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division for over a decade. Credit: Draper Draper is proud of our growth in Indiana, a critical location for the defense and high-technology community. With our new office, Draper is even better positioned to serve our customers as they deliver capabilities to support U.S. national security missions, Sarah Leeper, Draper.

Draper announced today the opening of a new office in Odon, Indiana, to help the company serve customers in the defense sector, with a focus on microelectronics, strategic weapons, hypersonic weapons and technology protection. The company has appointed Duane Embree to lead the Odon office. Embree is based in Indiana and will report to Jerry Wohletz, president and chief executive officer at Draper.

The launch of the Odon office marks an important milestone as the company builds on its ongoing expansion of customer capabilities and partnerships in the region. Draper has provided engineering services and technology development to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC, Crane) for over a decade. Drapers partners in Indiana include Purdue University, which became a university partner for the Draper Scholars Program in 2019.

Draper is proud of our growth in Indiana, which continues to be a critical location for the defense and high-technology community, Sarah Leeper, principal director of Defense Systems at Draper, said. With our new office, Draper is even better positioned to serve our customers, locally and nationally, as they deliver capabilities to support U.S. national security missions.

Embree added, I am excited to lead this new office and help Draper accelerate its growth plans in Indiana and in support of our government customers. Draper has brought engineering and technology expertise to the region, and the opportunity ahead is only growing as we continue to expand our capabilities on behalf of customers.

Jason Salstrom, director of Purdue@WestGate, said, Draper has been a long-time leader in solving some of the most difficult technology challenges our nation faces. Draper establishing a presence at WestGate adds more critical mass to the R&D center of gravity emerging alongside NSWC, Crane. Its exciting.

Bryant Niehoff, executive director of the Daviess County Economic Development Corporation, said, Daviess County and the region are pleased to see Drapers continued growth at the Westgate@Crane Technology Park as the company expands its engineering capabilities and high-tech services to NSWC Crane and the Indiana defense sector. Niehoff added that local officials look forward to working with Duane Embree, a long-time defense executive in the region, to help accelerate Drapers growth plans.

Embree brings more than 40 years of experience in the region. He served as executive director of the Indiana Office of Defense Development, focusing on promoting and growing Indianas defense sectors military installations, defense industry and academic assets. Prior to that, he worked for 35 years at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, most recently as technical director.

Drapers office is located at WestGate@Crane Technology Park, near NSWC Cranes campus, at 14359 Schoenberger Drive.

The new office opening marks the ninth location for Draper. The companys locations include Reston, Va.; Washington, D.C.; Cape Canaveral, Fla; Pittsfield, Mass.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Houston, Tex.; Huntsville, Ala.; Odon, Ind. and Drapers headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.


Drivers in Waco, Texas, Can Get 10% Off on Genuine Hyundai Accessories

While accessories can accentuate a Hyundais look, they can also improve its performance and capabilities. Moreover, these accessories can make a Hyundai vehicle more enjoyable to drive, irrespective of road conditions. Hyundai owners looking to personalize their cars can get genuine Hyundai accessories at Greg May Hyundai, a local automotive dealership in Waco, Texas. Additionally, the dealership is offering a 10% discount on the purchase of genuine Hyundai accessories until Dec. 31, 2023. Drivers who want to take advantage of this offer can start the purchase process on the dealerships official website.

In addition to genuine Hyundai accessories, the dealership offers genuine Hyundai parts in the Waco, Texas area. Individuals interested in buying parts for their Hyundai models can fill out a straightforward form online from the comfort of their homes. In the form, buyers must enter their contact information, including name, email address, zip code and phone number. Customers must also provide information about their vehicles and the parts they want to order.

The dealership also has an extensive inventory of new Hyundai, used and certified pre-owned Hyundai cars. Individuals who want to upgrade to a newer Hyundai model can explore the online inventory at the dealership. Buyers can also test drive their favorite Hyundai vehicle by scheduling an appointment online on the dealerships website. Moreover, customers can easily get pre-approved for financing a car in Texas. The dealership has a team of financial experts to tailor the best financing packages for everyone, regardless of their credit situation.

Individuals interested in taking advantage of the services offered at Greg May Hyundai can dial 254-278-2749 for any queries. Moreover, customers can visit the dealership at 1501 West Loop 340 in Waco, Texas, for further assistance.
Equal parts inspiration and celebration, SHE Pitch is a chance for our businesses and nonprofits to showcase their work and their impact, winning recognition and investment in their plans and ideas." - Rick Weldon, Chamber president and CEO

S.H.E. Pitch is a component of S.H.E. Week, a week of events celebrating the Strength, Heart and Equality of women in Frederick County. The competition is designed for female entrepreneurs to give businesses both in the idea stage and growth stage significant cash prizes, publicity and networking opportunities. Enrollment is now open and runs through April 7, 2023. Interested businesses can enroll by filling out the registration form at https://forms.gle/JRE2D9cxZiA1dsQW8.

At the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce S.H.E. Week is one of our most successful and celebrated events. A highlight of that week is the SHE Pitch competition said Rick Weldon, Chamber president and CEO. Equal parts inspiration and celebration, SHE Pitch is a chance for our businesses and nonprofits to showcase their work and their impact, winning recognition and investment in their plans and ideas. Its one thing for a community to celebrate women leaders, its another entirely to dedicate time and resources to help them grow and prosper. And thats what the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce is all about!

Eligibility for S.H.E. Pitch is based upon a set of criteria established for two categories of competitors - those in the idea stage of their business and those in the growth stage. Registration for the competition is free but requires an investment of $36 to develop the necessary materials needed for judging and progression through the competition. Interested entrepreneurs are encouraged to enroll in the month of March as the process involves online coursework and submission deadlines for judging.

Finalists in both categories will pitch their businesses to a live and virtual audience on August 9th as part of S.H.E. Week 2023 programming. Winners will be announced during the live event with audience members also getting the opportunity to vote and award their favorite pitch a Peoples Choice prize.

This opportunity wouldnt exist without our partners at Frederick County Office of Economic Development, City of Frederick Department of Economic Development, Maryland Womens Business Center and Octavo Designs, said Jennifer Gerlock, vice president of marketing and communications at the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. Their vision, financial prize investments and work on behalf of established, emerging and underrepresented female entrepreneurs is nothing short of inspiring.

More details on the process, eligibility and registration can be found online at frederickchamber.org/shepitch.

Businesses who wish to get involved or sponsor either S.H.E. Pitch or S.H.E. Week are encouraged to reach out to Jennifer Gerlock at jgerlock@frederickchamber.org for more information.

S.H.E. Pitch is made possible through a partnership with the Maryland Womens Business Center, Frederick County Office of Economic Development, City of Frederick Department of Economic Development, the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce and Octavo Designs.

S.H.E. Week, which runs August 7-11 in 2023, is a program developed by The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business Committee.

The Frederick County Chamber of Commerce's Women in Business Committees mission is to empower and develop women through education, networking, mentoring and partnerships and to promote opportunities for all women throughout Frederick County. Women in Business Committee members develop programs that provide opportunities for women to learn and network as well as share their expertise with each other and to address the unique issues of women in business.
David Gurzick, Ph.D., chair of the School of Business states, Our accreditation sets us apart from other schools and demonstrates to students, industry professionals and employers that we are committed to rigorous standards of excellence and quality business education.

Hood College is proud to announce that The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business has been reaffirmed by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Baccalaureate/Graduate Degree Board of Commissioners.

Hoods business programs, which were first accredited by ACBSP in 2012, are required to undergo a reaffirmation process every 10 years to maintain ACBSP accreditation.

The members of The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business place tremendous value on being accredited by ACBSP, an organization that promotes innovative teaching and learning practices throughout higher education institutions of business around the world, said David Gurzick, Ph.D., chair of the School of Business. Our accreditation sets us apart from other schools and demonstrates to students, industry professionals and employers that we are committed to rigorous standards of excellence and quality business education.

Hood College has shown its commitment to teaching excellence and to the process of quality improvement by participating in the accreditation process, said ACBSP Chief Accreditation Officer Steve Parscale, Ph.D. This reaffirmation of accreditation is evidence that they are committed to maintaining the highest quality business education for their students for the next 10 years, just as they have done since 2012.

The ACBSP is a global business education accrediting body which offers accreditation to all levels of collegiate business educational degree programs. The ACBSP assesses programs based on the Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, evaluating strategic planning, quality of academic programs, faculty credentials and educational support, among other criteria.

The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business was first established in 2018 following a major gift from the schools namesake, George B. Delaplaine Jr. H09, The school aims to provide high-quality education in business and economics to future leaders of industry, government and civil society. At the heart of this education is a commitment to academic excellence, lifelong learning, meaningful extracurricular and co-curricular experiences, and the preparation of students for lives of responsibility, leadership and service.

About Hood College

Hood College is an independent, liberal arts college, offering more than 30 bachelors degrees, four pre-professional programs, 19 masters degree programs, two doctorates and 10 post-baccalaureate certificates. Located in historic Frederick, near Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the I-270 technology corridor, Hood gives students access to countless internships and research opportunities.

About ACBSP

[ACBSP is a leading specialized accreditation body for business education. ACBSPs global mission is to pursue a better tomorrow by advancing and recognizing excellence in business education through continuous improvement. ACBSPs global vision is to see every business program of quality accredited and pursuing continuous improvement. ACBSP accredits business, accounting, and business-related programs at the associate, baccalaureate, master, and doctorate degree levels. Recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) in 2001, 2011, and again in 2021, ACBSP was the first to offer specialized business accreditation at all degree levels and the first to offer certificate accreditation. ACBSP currently accredits business programs at more than 1,200 campuses in 60 countries. FAQs / Accreditation FAQs
Our partnership with The Agency has been nothing short of a perfect fit and we know that this new location will thrive as we continue to highlight our white glove service in the markets we serve throughout the Toronto area. - Katia and Steve Bailey

Global real estate brokerage The Agency proudly announces the launch of its new franchise office in Toronto West. The new locale is the firms 14th office in Canada and third in Toronto, joining the brokerages growing network of more than 75 offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. The office, which will be known as The Agency Toronto West, will be led by industry veterans Katia and Steve Bailey and Paul Greenberg who will each serve as Managing Partner, as well as Matt Lionetti who will serve as Managing Director.

Were thrilled to continue to expand rapidly throughout Canada with the addition of our new franchise in Toronto West, said Mauricio Umansky, CEO and Founder of The Agency. Katia and Steve Bailey, Paul Greenberg, and Matt Lionetti are each authorities in this market, offering unparalleled professionalism and expertise as they guide buyers and sellers through every transaction. Im looking forward to witnessing all the success they will have as we paint Toronto West Agency red.

The Agency has 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 six new offices, including the new office in Toronto West, with more on the horizon in the coming months.

Our strategic expansion in Canada has been exceptional as we continue to seek like-minded partners who embody The Agency brand, said Jim Ramsay, Executive Vice President of Franchise Sales at The Agency. Were thrilled to continue our work with Katia and Steve Bailey, Paul Greenberg, and Matt Lionetti as we debut our new office in Toronto West, bringing our world-class offerings to buyers and sellers throughout the area.

Katia Bailey serves as Broker of Record and Managing Partner of The Agency's Waterloo Region, Brantford, Oakville, Muskoka, and now Toronto West, bringing a true passion for real estate and an authentic, people-forward approach to running the brokerage. Since launching her career in real estate operations and marketing over 17 years ago, she has successfully managed a team that has produced over $1 billion in sales. Katias accessibility to her agents and their clients, expedient work ethic, keen attention to detail and love for the nuanced processes that take place behind the scenes of every transaction make her an essential resource. Katias passion lies in making genuine connections and creating and delivering cutting-edge and strategic marketing. As the former Operations Manager for The Bailey Team, she helped her husband and business partner, Steve Bailey, grow the team to over 20 agents and multiple administrators. The Bailey Team ranked #9 in Canada and #21 in the world for RE/MAX before launching at The Agency, overseeing over a billion in sales and thousands of transactions.

Steve Bailey, Broker and Managing Partner of multiple Agency offices, including Waterloo Region, Brantford, Oakville, Muskoka, and now Toronto West, is a seasoned real estate professional who has achieved more than $1 billion in sales over his decade-and-a-half-long career. Steves diligence, forthrightness and authenticity have made him an in-demand real estate advisor for clients throughout Waterloo Region and beyond. Prior to joining The Agency, Steve earned numerous awards for sales achievements and career excellence during his tenure at Re/MAX. A skilled communicator and world-aware market expert, Steve has a degree in Business from Wilfrid Laurier University. Though Steve has a broad-reaching knowledge of the local real estate landscape and can serve a range of clients, he is particularly passionate about luxury real estate and guiding clients through the sale of their homes.

We are delighted to expand The Agency into Toronto West, said Katia and Steve Bailey. Our partnership with The Agency has been nothing short of a perfect fit and we know that this new location will thrive as we continue to highlight our white glove service in the markets we serve throughout the Toronto area.

As the leader of The Paul Greenberg Group and Managing Partner of The Agency Toronto West, Paul Greenberg approaches every new client, transaction and task with enthusiasm, focus and a commitment to exceed expectations. With more than 13 years of real estate experience and over a quarter billion in sales volume to date, Paul excels at finding his clients the perfect home, and negotiating the best price. His expertise stretches across a broad range of real estate offeringsfrom the regions most high-end luxury properties to modern condos and lofts. His areas of service encompass Torontofrom Forest Hill to Downtown and Toronto West. Before starting his career in real estate, Paul played bass, wrote songs and performed vocals in a band that toured North America. As an agent, Pauls entrepreneurial spirit and passion for connecting with people has aided in his many years of success.

Its exciting to be a part of The Agencys growth in Canada as we open our new office in Toronto West, said Paul Greenberg. We look forward to bringing The Agency's unique brand and culture to this thriving community while harnessing our truly global network and best-in-class offerings to create a seamless experience for clients.

Serving as Managing Director of The Agency Toronto West, Matt Lionetti is an award-winning real estate agent known for his unique attention-grabbing social media presence and skillful, effective use of modern marketing tools. Matt has built his brand on funny, clever content that demands attention. Earning millions of organic views on social media, his unconventional approach has landed him on some of the biggest stages, speaking at events with Ryan Serhant, Gary Vaynerchuck and Tom Ferry. Matt has forged his own path and has become a fan-favorite among agents and clients alike. Matts forward-thinking approach to marketing real estate has earned him accolades and wide respect among clients, colleagues and the industry. Matt has received The Agencys Rising Star Award (2020), The Agency Innovation Award (2021) and the Inman Innovation Award (2022).

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 2022, Inman named The Agency Luxury Brokerage of the year.

The Agency Toronto West is located at 2484 Bloor Street West, Unit 19, Toronto, Ontario. 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.
Students attending the Salesian-run Timkatec schools in Petion-Ville, Haiti, had access to better nutrition thanks to a partnership between Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and Rise Against Hunger, an international relief organization that provides food and life-changing aid to the worlds most vulnerable. The shipment provided rice-meals in the second half of 2022.

The first Timkatec school has existed since 1994 and was founded for former street children. Later, it was expanded to include local disadvantaged children who had not had the chance to attend school until ages 8-10. The vocational schools were added so youth could learn a trade for employment.

Additional rice-meals were distributed at the canteens in the three Timkatec schools and provided to students to take home during times of school closure. From July to September 2022, children were on school holidays, but the school boarders were there with social workers. They were able to access the meals during the school break.

The school should have reopened in October, but there was a political crisis in the country. Due to insecurity caused by gang violence and upheaval, all schools were closed. Salesians restarted the school year on Nov. 28 when it was safer.

Guylaine Bastien studied nursing and graduated from the Timkatec school. She is now a nurse at the school. Bastien said, As a nurse, I am tasked with overseeing the health of the children at Timkatec. The children really like the Rise Against Hunger meals. I have noticed a significant change in the general health of the children. They have more strength and energy and fall sick less easily.

One of the recipients was Adeler Cherry, age 17. He previously lived with his aunt but left home to live on the streets. He spent a day on the streets before coming to Timkatec, which he enjoys more than his aunts house.

Cherry said, At Timkatec I eat three times a day while in my aunts house, we ate once a day. Before, I used to eat all kinds of food but never soy and rice, which I found delicious. It is very important for me to eat and stay healthy. Since consuming the meals, I am no longer sick. After eating, I like to go to class to learn to read and write. In the future I would like to travel, to have a house, to live well, and I know that I have to work hard for the realization of these dreams. I would like to become a tile technician so I can help my family and live my life better.

Salesian missionaries began working in Haiti in 1935 in response to the Haitian governments request for a professional school. Since then, Salesian missionaries have expanded their work to include 11 main educational centers and more than 200 schools across the country.

The 11 main centers each include a number of primary and secondary schools, vocational training centers, and other programs for street children and youth in need. Salesian programs are located throughout Haiti, including in the cities of Port-au-Prince, Fort-Liberte, Cap-Haitien, Les Cayes and Gressier. Today, Salesian missionaries in Haiti provide the largest source of education outside of the Haitian government with schools providing education to 25,500 primary and secondary school students.

About Salesian Missions USA

Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and is part of the Don Bosco Networka worldwide federation of Salesian NGOs. The mission of the U.S.-based nonprofit Catholic organization is to raise funds for international programs that serve youth and families in poor communities around the globe. The Salesian missionaries are made up of priests, brothers and sisters, as well as laypeopleall dedicated to caring for poor children throughout the world in more than 130 countries and helping young people become self-sufficient by learning a trade that will help them gain employment. To date, more than 3 million youth have received services funded by Salesian Missions. These services and programs are provided to children regardless of race or religion. For more information, go to SalesianMissions.org.

Contact:

Laura Perillo

media@salesianmissions.org

908-406-3413 (text messages OK)

Twitter: @MissionNewswire

Newswire: MissionNewswire.org

Press room: SalesianMissions.org/press
Based on survey results, 42 percent of voters say it is somewhat or very unimportant for a candidate to have an undergraduate degree. Similarly, 36 percent say it is somewhat or very unimportant for the president to have an undergraduate degree.

Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has published a survey report that examines attitudes concerning the educational background of political candidates. The report also details the impact of candidates lying about their education. Researchers analyzed responses from 1,500 registered voters in the United States.

Based on survey results, 42 percent of voters say it is somewhat or very unimportant for a candidate to have an undergraduate degree. Similarly, 36 percent say it is somewhat or very unimportant for the president to have an undergraduate degree. In terms of voting, 56 percent say they are more likely to vote for a candidate with a degree, 4 percent say they are more likely to vote for a candidate without a degree, and 40 percent say that a degree would not affect their vote.

The study results also show that many voters do not care where candidates went to college. While 44 percent say the institution a candidate attended is somewhat or very important, 56 percent say it is somewhat or very unimportant. Likewise, the majority of voters are not influenced by elite college credentials. Twenty-two percent of voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate who went to an elite school versus a non-elite school, 6 percent say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who went to an elite school, and 72 percent say that it would not sway them either way.

Eighty-nine percent of voters say it is rarely or never acceptable for political candidates to lie about their educational background. Eighty-nine percent also say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate that has been exposed for lying about their education. Additionally, when respondents were asked if either a candidate lying about [their] educational background or not having a college degree would more negatively affect their opinion of the candidate, 91 percent say lying about [their] educational background, 5 percent say not having a college degree, and 4 percent say neither situation would affect their opinion.

This survey was commissioned by Intelligent.com and conducted online via survey platform Pollfish from February 22-23, 2023. Overall, 1,500 participants in the United States were surveyed. All participants passed through demographic filters to ensure they were ages 18 or older. Respondents were also screened to include only currently registered voters. To view the complete report, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/4-in-10-voters-dont-care-if-a-candidate-went-to-college/.

ABOUT INTELLIGENT.COM

Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides that include the best degree programs as well as information about financial aid, internships, and even study strategies. With comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings, Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students. To learn more, please visit https://www.intelligent.com/.
Flexibility is the second most important criterion for job seekers after compensation, and its impact reaches far beyond individuals work choices.

Today, Scoop, the company enabling employees to plan great in-office days effortlessly, releases The Flex Report - Financial Services Deep Dive, fast on the heels of its inaugural Flex Index* report. Citing data from the Flex Index  the worlds most robust source on company in-office requirements  this report highlights trends in banking and beyond, anchoring one of the loudest conversations around office mandates in unprecedented data. Do Wall Street or Silicon Valley have more sway on trends? What does it all mean for the Financial Districts that anchor many American downtowns?

With big banks ranking among the high-paying public companies that set trends, what we see in Financial Services can have implications beyond work and have long-tail impacts on other industries as the fight for top talent continues. This is the kind of analysis that can now be anchored in quantitative data, with the new Flex Indexs comprehensive insights from over 4,000 companies and 25,000 office locations that collectively employ more than 100 million people.

Many people might assume that FinTech is the only place to find work location flexibility in Financial Services. And while FinTech certainly leads on flexibility, there is a big disconnect between the average persons perspective and whats actually happening, said Rob Sadow, CEO of Scoop and creator of the Flex Index.

Even if you sort out FinTech, the vast majority of firms from other Finance subsectors offer some amount of work location flexibility. My biggest curiosity is what will happen with talent flow over time. Even if employee attrition becomes muted slightly because of the macroeconomic environment, my instinct is that over the years FinTechs and more flexible traditional Financial Services firms will use flexibility as a wedge against the fully onsite big banks -- and that flexibility will continue to be a lever deployed to accelerate change in industries.

Flexibility is the second most important criterion for job seekers after compensation, and its impact reaches far beyond individuals work choices.

Key Findings and Considerations From The Flex Report - Financial Services Deep Dive



The Valley is Louder than the Big Banks - and its Felt on the Ground: Nearly 80 percent of FinTech companies are fully flexible, demonstrating that the tech-led industries reign when it comes to flexibility. And while Jamie Dimon caused a stir with his full-time in-office mandate for JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), only 20 percent of Financial Services companies are fully on site. With the majority favoring Structured Hybrid policies, the real estate impacts are significant; Manhattan is losing $12 billion a year to remote work and the future is uncertain for other legacy East Coast metros as office demands decline.

How the West Was Won (or is at Least Winning): When the US is divided into four regions (East, Midwest, South, and West), the West is most flexible, with 46 percent of companies headquartered in the West categorized as Fully Flexible compared to just 23 percent in the Northeast. The West still leads on flexibility even when FinTech companies are removed.

Closing the Gender Gap in Finance (and Beyond): While Jamie Dimon called for employees to return to the office, Citigroups Jane Fraser claimed being full-time in the office is largely unnecessary today. And as noted by theSkimm co-founders and co-CEOs Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, While the need for remote and flexible options is not a new concept, in the past, its been women who have needed or requested the option to work from home due to childcare and caregiving responsibilities that historically fall on them. Offering solutions to all employees creates a culture that takes away from the stigma women face because remote work is the only option for them.

Employers Can Hit Above Their Weight: Companies with less than 250 employees offer more work location flexibility than their counterparts and are nearly 3X as likely to be Fully Flexible. For hiring managers at smaller companies, the benefits of remote work can be significant - not only in the savings on office costs, but as a competitive advantage when hiring. As Remote Works co-author Ali Greene notes, While there are constraints for certain in-person roles across industries, looking at best practices of remote-ready industries can introduce some learning opportunities that can be adjusted accordingly.

*Launched last month, the Flex Index provides insights from over 4,000 companies and 25,000 office locations that collectively employ more than 100 million people. With insight into company-by-company trends across numerous axes  including location, size, industry, and more  now anyone can uncover companies' workplace flexibility policies in a single, comprehensive place.

Methodology

Company office requirements are generated through a combination of online survey and manual entry of publicly available information. All surveys must be submitted by an employee of the company with an accompanying work email address to verify their employment. All surveys contributing to this Flex Report were conducted between October 2022 and February 2023. Once a company is incorporated into the Flex Index, company representatives are contacted to inform them of their inclusion. Companies can add or update their information on the Flex Index at any time.

Company office requirements reflect the most common office requirements for corporate employees. Companies can add detail to their company page to reflect job functions, roles, or geographies where there are different office requirements from the corporate policy. This includes opportunities for fully remote work, roles that are required to be fully on-site, or other hybrid work arrangements.

Our partner People Data Labs provides the data on top employment locations for each company on the Flex Index. This data is used to inform state and metro flexibility analysis.

About Scoop

Scoop is the fastest way to plan your next great office day. With Scoop, employees get more out of going in, with easily scheduled in-office days and invites. For HR and workplace leaders, Scoop provides insights on work location trends, office usage, and additional workplace solutions to get the most out of hybrid work.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Scoop is a privately-held company with the backing of prominent investors including Haystack Ventures, Audacious Ventures, G2 Venture Partners, Activate Capital, BNP Paribas, and select angel investors.


Arvo means value in Finnish, and our technology platform helps to streamline reporting with real-time access to tax credit information, so the name is very fitting.

Today, Arvo Tech (formerly Clarus Solutions), the platform that helps employers transform cashflow by simplifying access to employment tax credit opportunities, is announcing its new name and brand to better represent the companys mission of bringing value to the businesses they work with. In addition, Arvo is reporting a strategic leadership addition as well as upgrades to its online customer portal. These recent changes signify notable momentum for the company and, more importantly, for the SMBs it serves.

With the help of Arvo, customers have leveraged $575MM since their initial launch in 2013, and the company itself has grown by 350 percent in the past three years. From 2021 to 2022, the company grew its customer base by 73 percent, signaling the growing demand for businesses that need to take advantage of employee tax credits.

As the industry has taken notice of our value in supporting businesses by providing easy access to employment tax credits, we recognize the importance of rebranding with a name that reflects our focus on value, innovation, and technology. Arvo means value in Finnish, and our technology platform helps to streamline reporting with real-time access to tax credit information, so the name is very fitting, said Terracina Maxwell, president & co-founder of Arvo Tech. We look forward to our continued goal of helping more businesses access employment tax credits in 2023 and beyond.

As part of the next phase of growth, Arvo has appointed seasoned startup technology executive and product-engineering leader Todd Fox as its new VP of Engineering. Fox brings an impressive and multifaceted background in helping corporations like Abercrombie & Fitch, Manta, and Quantum Health adopt software development and security best practices and has also led efforts to launch new products for emerging growth startups. His expertise will help Arvo continue to scale and grow through technology solutions and ultimately help more businesses maximize their benefits from tax credit programs.

Todds background with well-known companies and business startups to grow and implement new software is a huge asset for Arvo Tech as tax credit technology continues to change and evolve, said Maxwell. With Todds help, our customers can easily determine and receive the tax credits for which they are owed by utilizing our leading software.

With the rebrand, Arvo is simplifying the tax process with its enhanced online portal to help customers more easily determine eligibility for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), as well as track the amounts they receive in real-time. With these new updates, businesses can rest assured that no tax dollars are left on the table.

Arvo Tech monitors state and federal employment tax credit programs and has helped companies secure over $575MM in incentive dollars. To learn more and determine if your business is eligible for employment tax credits, visit http://www.arvotech.com.

About Arvo Tech

Arvo Tech helps employers transform their cash flow by simplifying access to employment tax credit opportunities. Founded by tax experts, Arvo Tech believes in the power of tax credits for improving business financials and built its cloud-based platform to help more businesses unlock the full value of federal and state incentive programs. Backed by a proprietary technology platform and unparalleled client service, Arvo Tech collaborates with companies to deliver actionable insights for leveraging programs that impact hiring decisions and fundamentally improve the economics of their business.


MailPix brands MailPix is well-positioned to continue its accelerated growth path, through both acquisitions and organic expansion via mobile and technical innovation" - Fred H. Lerner, CEO and founder, MailPix

MailPix, the photo-printing, canvas and gifting site, commemorates the nine-year anniversary of its acquisition of its major competitor, Winkflash, a long-established decade-old photo-printing site based in Attleboro, MA.

At the time, Fred H. Lerner, CEO and founder of MailPix, noted: MailPix is well-positioned to continue its accelerated growth path, through both acquisitions and organic expansion via mobile and technical innovation, he says. "Our executive team is prepared to act swiftly on appropriate opportunities."

Since then, the privately-held MailPix has enjoyed considerable organic growth and expansion via acquisitions. The brands acquired by MailPix portfolio include RitzPix, MyPix2, Photobuckets PrintShopLab, and 1HourPhoto.com.

The personalized photo products industry is a great business! says Lerner, who has more than 30 years of mergers and acquisitions experience. Constant innovation and creative marketing are the keys to growth; those are the skills the MailPix team has honed.

MailPix is an award-winning multifaceted photo company, offering websites through its portfolio brands like RitzPix, Winkflash and Photobuckets Print Shop Lab, as well as the popular printing app, 1 Hour Photo. The 1 Hour Photo app connects to more than 20,000 retail locations including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Duane Reade.

ABOUT MAILPIX.COM

MailPix.com is the pre-eminent site for printing photos instantly at thousands of retailers from phone app or PC and also offers convenient mail-to-home. MailPix preserves photo memories as photo books, canvas, prints, cards, enlargements and other photo gift products. The service is seamlessly integrated to print photos from any phone, device or computer. MailPix offices are located in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Fred H. Lerner is the founder and CEO of MailPix and 1 Hour Photo, his latest startups. He previously founded Ritz Interactive, which included RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com and others. Fred also founded two imaging companies that were acquired by Kodak and became the CEO of Kodak Processing Labs. He is a United Nations Hall of Fame recipient from the International Photographic Council and Past President of the Photo Marketing Association International.

Peter Tahmin, co-founder and COO of MailPix, was the former vice president at Ritz Camera & Image and co-founder, senior vice president and COO of the Ritz Interactive e-commerce network, which included RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com, BoatersWorld.com and others. He brings more than 25 years of e-commerce experience and a lifetime of imaging industry experience to MailPix.
Market Force's 2022 QSR Study measures customer experience in Quick Service Restaurants, including Coffee, Bakery and Baked Goods. Trust and loyalty are strongly related to Share of Wallet, says Doriot. In this case, Dutch Bros are incredibly well positioned to win market share.

Market Force Information asked thousands of North Americans to rate their most recent quick serve restaurant experience on various factors to measure the performance of 53 of Americas top QSR brands against their competition.

MEASURING SUCCESS  BEST BREAKFAST, PASTRY & COFFEE

The study measures quick serve restaurants by exploring the four pillars contributing to a QSR brands success: Overall Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty, Brand Trust and Share of Wallet. There is a clear connection between visit satisfaction, customer loyalty and the creation of trust, which comes from consistency over time.

Each year, we measure each brands customer loyalty index (CLI) by combining customer satisfaction with the likelihood of a consumer recommending a brand to others, says Phil Doriot, VP of Customer Success and Analytics for Market Force. CLI factors are measured on a scale of 1-5.

This year the CLI winner in the Coffee, Breakfast and Baked Goods category was Dutch Bros, with a CLI of 68%, up 10 points from 2019s score of 58%.

Tim Hortons (44%) and Starbucks (40%) saw a decrease in their CLI; Starbucks with the most significant post-pandemic decline of 5% since 2019.

AMERICAS FAVORITE QUICK SERVICE COFFEE SHOP

Dutch Bros Coffee ranked the highest in overall satisfaction for the coffee, breakfast, and bakery category, outperforming its competition with a score of 71%, a four-point increase since 2019.

The coffee giant, Starbucks, followed closely behind with 67%, while Tim Hortons fell short with 59%, the lowest score in the category on the Overall Satisfaction question.

Trust and loyalty are strongly related to Share of Wallet, says Doriot. In this case, Dutch Bros are incredibly well positioned to win market share.

READ THE FULL STUDY

Market Forces QSR study ranks winners in technology, showcases successful brand differentiation, models what metrics are linked to wallet share growth, and explores how brands can be more competitive.

Access a summary of the complete QSR study at: https://www.marketforce.com/qsr-research-2022-download

Brands and analysts interested in a complete walkthrough of the results can schedule a briefing with Market Force at: https://www.marketforce.com/qsr-research-2022-connect

The featured coffee, bakery and breakfast restaurants include: Dunkin Donuts, Dutch Bros Coffee, Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread, Starbucks and Tim Hortons.

The full list of all 53 brands includes: Arbys, Auntie Annes, Baskin-Robbins, Bojangles, Boston Market, Burger King, Captain Ds, Cava, Checkers and Rallys, Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Churchs Chicken, Culvers, Dairy Queen, Del Taco, Dominos, Dunkin, Dutch Bros Coffee, El Pollo Loco, Firehouse Subs, Five Guys, Hardees/ Carls Jr., In-N-Out Burger, Jack In The Box, Jersey Mikes, Jimmy Johns, KFC, Krispy Kreme, Little Caesars, Long Johns, Marcos Pizza, McAlisters Deli, McDonalds, Moes Southwest Grill, Noodles & Company, Panda Express, Panera Bread, Papa Johns, Papa Murphys, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, Qdoba, Raising Canes, Sonic Drive-In, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, Taco John, Time Hortons, Wendys, Whataburger, Wingstop, Zaxbys.

ABOUT MARKET FORCE INFORMATION

Market Force Information provides a robust framework for measuring and improving employee experience, operational performance, customer experience, and financial KPIs. Market Force delivers solutions for restaurants, big box and specialty retail, grocery, petro-convenience, hospitality, travel, telecom, technology, energy, education, health and wellness, movie studios and theatres, fitness, financial services, gaming, CPG, alcohol and tobacco, pharm, government agencies and more.
MCI USAs convention division is pleased to continue its partnership with the National Medical Association, providing registration services for its Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly. NMA is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States.

MCI USA is thrilled to continue working with NMA, said Chris Williams, SVP, Registration & Housing, MCI USA. With our industry-leading OneSystem Plus platform, we will be able to provide next-level, fully customizable registration solutions that will give event attendees a seamless experience when registering.

With more than 50,000 members, NMA is committed to improving the quality of health among minorities and disadvantaged people through its membership, professional development, community health education, advocacy, research, and partnerships with federal and private agencies. The NMA Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly, considered the nations foremost forum on medical science and African American health, brings together African American physicians and other health professionals from across the country to participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, discuss health policy priorities, and share experiences through networking.

For over 30 years, MCI USAs convention division has been providing registration, housing, lead cultivation, and business intelligence solutions to events of all sizes and complexity around the world. MCIs registration and housing services are powered by OneSystem Plus, the industrys most complete and customizable registration and housing platform.

ABOUT MCI

MCI is a global engagement and marketing agency. We design human-centric solutions that unleash the power of people to deliver innovation and growth for our clients. Our offering includes live & virtual events, strategic & digital communications, consulting & community solutions. We help brands, companies, associations and not-for-profits solve their challenges, bringing their people together to shape their tomorrow. MCI is an independently owned company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a global presence in 60 offices across 31 countries. http://www.wearemci.com

MCIs U.S. headquarters is in the Washington, D.C., area with offices in New York, Baltimore, Dallas, and Chicago. http://www.wearemci.com/en-us
By making some enhancements that will result in shorter wait times and widened pedestrian spaces, we hope to provide a more seamless and enjoyable experience for the thousands of people that travel across it every day.

Modjeski and Masters, a nationwide leader in the design, inspection, and rehabilitation of all bridge types, including long-span and movable structures, has been selected by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) as the primary design consultant for the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge replacement project.

As part of the MassDOT team, Modjeski and Masters will provide assistance in addressing functional deficiencies, advancing the bridge replacement to the 25% design threshold. Deficiencies addressed will include long opening times that delay vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists; minimal under-bridge clearance; narrow navigational channels; center pier location that increases the potential for vessel impact; and narrow sidewalks.

We have determined that Modjeski and Masters has the experience, expertise, and skill to start work on the preliminary design and public input phase of this important bridge project, which affects not only the road traffic but the efficient operation of the maritime needs in the Port of New Bedford, said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver.

The Massachusetts Legislature has approved $100 million in state funding for the bridge's design and replacement, and the preliminary engineering phase is expected by early 2024. Engineering considerations and public input will also help decide if the bridge will be replaced with another swing bridge or a different bridge type.

We are honored and excited to provide key design recommendations for the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge, helping to ensure its full 75-year lifespan, said Thomas Cole, Project Manager at Modjeski and Masters. By making some enhancements that will result in shorter wait times and widened pedestrian spaces, we hope to provide a more seamless and enjoyable experience for the thousands of people that travel across it every day.

A navigational channel will be maintained throughout the duration of the project, as full roadway closures and detours will be necessary during construction. Public involvement and feedback are now being collected as part of the initial stages. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.

For more project information on the NewBedford-Fairhaven Swing Bridge Reconstruction, visit https://www.mass.gov/new-bedford-fairhaven-swing-bridge-reconstruction.

About Modjeski and Masters

Modjeski and Masters is one of the worlds leading bridge engineering firms, with a reputation for technical excellence and innovation that goes beyond current standards. Established more than 125 years ago, the firm is responsible for the design and maintenance of some of our nations most recognizable structures. Services include fixed and movable bridge design, inspection and rehabilitation, and all facets of life-cycle maintenance, research and code development. For more information, including in-depth videos of Modjeski and Masters at work, please visit http://www.modjeski.com.
We are grateful for the continued trust from the alternative assets community, said NAV VP Sumit Sharma. We take pride in providing services that deliver accountability and stability for our clients and their investors  key attributes during this particularly volatile period in the industry.

NAV Fund Administration Group, a leading provider of administrative services to alternative asset managers, was announced as Best Fund Administrator - Overall for the second consecutive year at the Hedge Fund US Digital Assets Summit, hosted by industry publication Hedgeweek in New York City on March 2.

Selection for the recognition was based on a survey of more than 100 fund managers and other key industry participants to compile a shortlist, followed by an online poll of the entire Hedgeweek subscriber base to determine the final result.

We are grateful for the continued support and trust from the alternative assets community, said NAV VP Sumit Sharma. We take pride in providing comprehensive, reliable services that deliver accountability and stability for our clients and their investors  key attributes during this particularly volatile period in the industry.

NAV offers several unique benefits to crypto fund managers, including detailed reporting and prompt delivery timelines, manager and investor portals providing 24/7 data accessibility, cost-effective pricing, and superior client service. CLICK HERE for more info about NAV Cryptocurrency Services

The US Digital Asset Summit was a day-long event featuring industry speakers, roundtable discussions, and networking opportunities, concluding with honors to the most highly regarded and successful fund managers and service providers in the digital assets space based on input from within the industry itself, marking recognition and respect from among peers and counterparties, according to Hedgeweek.

About NAV Fund Administration Group

Founded in 1991, NAV is a privately owned fund administrator recognized for its innovative and cost-effective fund administration solutions. A dynamic team of more than 2,250 professionals provide services to 2,200+ funds across the globe -- including hedge fund, private equity fund, and cryptocurrency fund clients -- while maintaining a 99% client retention rate. The company is headquartered in the United States, with four facilities in India supporting Back Office services, and locations in Australia, the Cayman Islands, Mauritius, and Singapore. Additionally, NAV is authorized to provide administration services for funds domiciled in multiple jurisdictions across the globe. NAV ranks among the top global hedge fund administrators by number of funds, servicing more than $210 billion AUA.

About Hedgeweek

Launched in 2002, Hedgeweek covers hedge fund industry news for investors and fund managers. It provides news, features, research, awards and events for the global hedge fund industry. Hedgeweek is part of Global Fund Media Ltd, which publishes six specialist newswires covering all asset classes within the institutional investor marketplace.
Having more women in cybersecurity roles will provide a greater variety of skills and perspective, so take risks and try something new!

Pratt & Whitney executive director to deliver keynote at Women in CyberSecurity conference in Denver, Colorado, March 16 to 18.

Erin Heinmiller, executive director of Global Infrastructure Services at Pratt & Whitney, the world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies will deliver one of the keynote addresses at the 2023 event. Heinmiller leads a team of skilled employees focused on developing the cloud, hosting and working on network strategies to ensure company-wide availability. Her team also is responsible for improving the digital experience of over 42,000 employees worldwide through the development of standards and deployment of collaboration capabilities.

With nearly 20 years of information technology experience, and a strong focus on cybersecurity, risk management and infrastructure, Heinmiller led the development of secure, compliant, robust and scalable IT solutions before joining Pratt & Whitney while assuming positions of increasing responsibility at Raytheon Technologies and Sikorsky.

Her talk will focus on risk management, in cybersecurity and your career and how she learned to become comfortable with the unknown and find success in this field.

Demand in the cybersecurity sector is high, so there are excellent opportunities for growth, Heinmiller said. Having more women in cybersecurity roles will provide a greater variety of skills and perspective, so take risks and try something new!

The WiCyS conference will bring together over 2,000 students, professionals, educators, government, industry, military, and research organizations to encourage, educate, recruit, and help advance women in cybersecurity careers.

Journalists are invited to attend and should email info@wicys.org to request a media pass. For more information on WiCyS or the conference, visit http://www.wicys.org.

About WiCyS:

Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) is a nonprofit organization with international reach dedicated to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in cybersecurity. WiCyS was founded by Dr. Ambareen Siraj in 2013 through a National Science Foundation grant awarded to Tennessee Tech University. In less than 10 years, it has grown into an organization (est. in 2017) representing a leading alliance between trailblazers from academia, government, and industry. WiCyS offers opportunities, trainings, events, and resources for its members. Strategic partners include Tier 1: Akamai, Amazon Web Services, Battelle, Bloomberg, Carnegie Mellon University  Software Engineering Institute, Cisco, Fortinet, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Optum, Sandia National Laboratories, SentinelOne. Tier 2: AbbVie, Aristocrat, Dell Technologies, Intel, JPMorgan Chase & Co., LinkedIn, McKesson, Nike, NCC Group, Workday, Navy Federal Credit Union, Yubico Inc., DeVry University. To partner, visit http://www.wicys.org/support/strategic-partnerships/.
Claudine Van Gonka Hosting a blood drive is one of the most impactful ways to help families in Southern California. We are extremely grateful that TerraPro Solutions, BBB Pacific Southwest's San Diego Campus, Mulligan Funding and Appstar have joined forces to host a life-saving blood drive.

The life-saving work of the San Diego Blood Bank serves hospitals in Southern California, including trauma centers and neonatal intensive care units. A single donation can help save up to three lives. As Southern California continues to grow, the need to expand blood collections is essential. Every donation saves lives.

Hosting a blood drive is one of the most impactful ways to help families in Southern California, states San Diego Blood Bank Director of Community Relations and Media, Claudine Van Gonka. We are extremely grateful that TerraPro Solutions, BBB Pacific Southwest's San Diego Campus, Mulligan Funding and Appstar have joined forces to host a life-saving blood drive.

In keeping with our be a good human values,TerraPro Solutions is pleased to support the indispensable work of the San Diego Blood Bank, said Kimberlee Centera, CEO, TerraPro Solutions.

"We are guided by our mission to ethically contribute to the well-being of our community, remarked Kryistyna Hook, director of media relations, Better Business Bureau. We are proud to collaborate with the San Diego Blood Bank in encouraging people to donate.

We are grateful for the opportunity to positively impact our community by partnering with the San Diego Blood Bank to support this donation drive. Karen Leibowitz, CMO Appstar

"We value people, not only our employees and the small business owners who are our customers, but those living in our local community as well. Were proud to support the life-saving donation drive and partner with fantastic organizations like the San Diego Blood Bank, says Christine Daniels, vice president of marketing, Mulligan Funding.

Anyone considering donating blood can visit SanDiegoBloodBank.org or call 619-400-8251. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome.

About San Diego Blood Bank (SDBB):

San Diego Blood Bank is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization also operating as Southern California Blood Bank. The Blood Bank serves hospitals throughout Southern California. San Diego Blood Bank is dedicated to community health by providing a reliable supply of blood to patients in need. Our vision is to further ensure the health of our community by simultaneously delivering related health and wellness education and services and collaborating with various partners in medical research. San Diego Blood Bank currently operates nine fixed-site donation locations and 10 bloodmobiles. For more information about SDBB, visit http://www.SanDiegoBloodBank.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin.

About TerraPro Solutions:

TerraPro Solutions, a leading risk mitigation renewable energy project development consultancy has generated over 12 GWs in solar, wind, and energy storage. With a total financed value of over $6 billion, it is the top development consultancy in the renewables market. TerraPro Solutions provides high-level expertise including site feasibility and land acquisition, due diligence for investment, financing, construction, compliance, and post-construction operations. For more information contact Annemarie Osborne 949.237.2906 aosborne@terraprosolutions.com or visit http://www.terraprosolutions.com

About the Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest:

The Better Business Bureau has empowered people to find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust for more than 110 years. In 2022, people turned to BBB more than 250 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on about 12,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Incorporated locally in 1938, BBB Serving the Pacific Southwest serves Greater Arizona and Southern California, providing critical tools to ignite success including mentorship, online products, coworking and access to capital. Our objective expertise educates the community on ethical behavior in the marketplace and how businesses can build trust. For more information visit http://www.bbb.org.

About Mulligan Funding:

Headquartered in San Diego, Mulligan Funding serves as a leading provider of working capital ($5K - $2M) to the small and medium-sized businesses that fuel our country. Since 2008, we have prided ourselves on our collaborative, innovative, and customer-focused approach. Mulligan Funding is a private, family-owned business allowing it the flexibility to design and offer funding options that are custom tailored to its clientele. For more information contact Milad Hassibi, 858.427.5685 marketing@mulliganfunding.com or visit http://www.MulliganFunding.com.
At RxBenefits, we leverage our negotiating power, clinical expertise, and exceptional service to do whats right for our clients and their members.

RxBenefits, the employee benefits industrys first technology-enabled pharmacy benefits optimizer (PBO), is proud to announce the launch of two new Patient Assistance solutions. Designed to complement RxBenefits' comprehensive suite of pharmacy solutions, these alternative funding offerings can help reduce specialty drug costs for some patients and plans.

Specialty medications provide breakthrough  sometimes life-saving  treatments for complex, chronic, and rare diseases; however, the cost of these drugs can be prohibitive for self-funded plans. In fact, specialty drugs account for approximately half of U.S. pharmacy drug spend. When such costly drugs are required, plan sponsors are challenged with supporting members and providing a positive experience. The Patient Assistance solutions from RxBenefits address key shortcomings of current patient assistance offerings while also alleviating the financial strain for plan sponsors and patients alike.

With these solutions, patients receive their medications, even if alternative funding is unavailable or the patient doesnt qualify for need-based assistance. The solutions can offer substantial savings opportunities in the right situations where other market alternatives fall short. These Patient Assistance solutions uphold the RxBenefits approach, ensuring members have a quality service experience while getting the medications they need based on necessary clinical oversight. In keeping with the companys client-aligned business model, RxBenefits does not receive any fees or commissions related to these solutions.

"At RxBenefits, we leverage our negotiating power, clinical expertise, and exceptional service to do whats right for our clients and their members, said Wendy Barnes, CEO, RxBenefits. These Patient Assistance solutions improve clinical oversight and the member experience for alternative funding options.

This solution set is just one piece of the specialty management puzzle, Barnes added. There is no single solution to managing specialty drug costs. A multi-pronged approach to address both specialty drug spend and volatility is critical to doing whats right for patients by making specialty drugs more accessible and affordable for them and plan sponsors."

In addition to the new Patient Assistance solutions, the RxBenefits comprehensive specialty pharmacy approach also includes:



Optimize 360: RxBenefits flagship solution handles every aspect of the pharmacy process, from initial contract negotiations to ongoing plan support and exceptional client and member service. RxBenefits client-aligned contracts pass 100% of scaled discounts and rebates to the plan.

RxBenefits Protect: A solution that delivers independent clinical expertise, oversight, and intervention to eliminate wasteful spending while protecting the health and safety of plan members. Protect programs are designed and led by independent PharmDs to ensure the plan pays for appropriate and necessary medications, and nothing more.

RxPharmacy Assurance: Self-funded employers face skyrocketing prescription benefit costs driven almost exclusively by specialty drug claims. RxPharmacy Assurance mitigates risk from high-cost specialty drug claims and may reduce traditional stop-loss premiums.

Patient Assistance solutions  used in tandem with RxBenefits Protect  provide two options to maximize the benefits of alternative funding while still ensuring patients receive medication quickly. Both options cut costs by tapping into available drug manufacturer assistance dollars, helping vulnerable members access medically necessary and appropriately prescribed high-cost specialty medications. As with any benefit option, Patient Assistance solutions should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, because not every plan would benefit. RxBenefits can conduct a no-obligation, in-depth analysis for plans to account for money lost from manufacturer rebates if Patient Assistance solutions are considered.

Self-funded plans require a comprehensive, layered approach to managing specialty spend, and the utilization of alternative funding is one more way RxBenefits helps self-funded plans save on specialty drugs, said Mark Campbell, SVP of Clinical Solutions, RxBenefits. Were excited to work with our preferred providers to ensure available and appropriate savings are passed along to patients and plans.

To learn more about RxBenefits Patient Assistance solutions, visit rxbenefits.com/solutions/preferred-financial-assistance-solutions. Additional information on the companys full suite of solutions is available at http://www.rxbenefits.com/solutions.

About RxBenefits

RxBenefits is a technology-enabled pharmacy benefits optimizer (PBO) with more than 800 pharmacy pricing, data, and clinical experts working together to deliver prescription benefit savings to employee benefit consultants and their self-insured clients. With more than 3 million members, RxBenefits brings market-leading purchasing power, independent clinical solutions, and high-touch service to its customers  ensuring that all plan sponsors, regardless of size, can provide an affordable and valuable pharmacy benefit plan to their employees. The company is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. with a second office in Towson, Md. For more details, visit http://www.rxbenefits.com or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.


This partnership is an exciting opportunity for our team to take our tree care to the next level. I am confident that merging with SavATree will allow our customers to benefit from expanded resources and enhanced service offerings, said owner Glen Ginzel.

SavATree, the industry leader in professional tree and shrub care, has announced a merger with Houston-based Texas Tree Team, a full-service tree care company that has been serving a loyal customer base in the Houston area for more than a decade.

Texas Tree Team is a highly regarded company in the green industry with a loyal customer base and reputation for professionalism and superior service. They specialize in all aspects of arboriculture as well as plant health care services for discerning homeowners in the greater Houston area. Owner of Texas Tree Team, Glen Ginzel, along with his dedicated team will remain on board with SavATree as part of their ongoing commitment to building and maintaining quality relationships.

This partnership is an exciting opportunity for our team to take our tree care to the next level. I am confident that merging with SavATree will allow our customers to benefit from expanded resources and enhanced service offerings, said owner Glen Ginzel.

Texas Tree Team joins Arbor Care of Houston, Preservation Tree of Dallas, Fort Worth and Anna, and Central Texas Tree Care of Austin, who joined SavATree in recent years to support serving customers in the great state of Texas.

Were thrilled to be joining forces with a respected company like Texas Tree Team! We look forward to offering current and new customers in the Houston area our broad range of science-based, environmentally responsible services in the care of their properties, said SavATree CEO, Carmine Schiavone.

About SavATree

SavATree provides environmentally sensible stewardship of valued residential and commercial properties, helping clients care for what they love. Their nationwide team of industry certified arborists and highly trained field specialists delivers professional tree, shrub, and lawn care to their loyal clients, making the intersection between trees and people work. With their innovative science-based programs, SavATree protects and enhances client landscapes. Learn more at http://www.savatree.com
Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) This curriculum should be part of all medical (and life) training. Now I have the practical tools to help make real, meaningful change. --Willa Delliere MD, Family Medicine, NY

The proprietary AMI Meditation curriculum, proven in a recent peer-reviewed clinical study to reduce physician burnout and stress, will be offered to physicians and other healthcare providers at the 12th annual Heart and Science of Yoga conference October 17-21, 2023 at the Equinox Resort and Spa in Manchester, Vermont. This comprehensive training in Yoga Science as Holistic Mind/Body Medicine is accredited for 34 CMEs through the American Medical Association and, as a hybrid conference, it will be offered simultaneously in-person and live-virtual.

A new article by Beth Netter MD and AMI Meditation Study co-author, published in the March 2023 issue of the Transformation journal, reports that all study participants, from 2017 through 2020, were graduates of AMIs annual Heart and Science of Yoga conference. And for the subgroup of physician participants who completed the study during the early stages of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Secondary Traumatic Stress scores were reduced 25.7%, Burnout scores were reduced 21.5%, and Compassion Satisfaction scores improved 13.2%.

Leonard Perlmutter, AMI founder, curriculum developer and faculty director, acknowledges that an increase in administrative tasks and other demands have had a direct correlation to both the decrease in meaningful time interacting with colleagues and the growing physician burnout epidemic. According to Perlmutter, The Heart and Science of Yoga conference curriculum represents the oldest and most effective holistic mind/body medicine to relieve and prevent burnout, heal disease, manage addictive habits, alleviate stress and inflammation, and balance life-work responsibilities. He adds, This conference also provides an engaging forum for attendees to share innovative strategies and tools so that physicians can support one another in combatting burnout and promoting resiliency.

This years Heart and Science of Yoga CME conference is dedicated to providing quality evidence-based education to physicians and other health care providers. The curriculum will provide easy-to-use, practical tools to prevent and reverse the debilitating causes and effects of physician burnout. Lecture topics will include AMI Meditation, diaphragmatic breathing, food as medicine, easy-gentle yoga, Yoga psychology, epigenetics and neuroplasticity, resilience, how to use the chakra system as a diagnostic tool, mind function optimization, ayurvedic medical principles, and lymph system detoxification.

The dedication, enthusiasm, and teaching methodology of the entire AMI faculty create a dynamic and interactive course for their students. Each faculty member is committed to the advancement and training of Yoga Science as holistic mind/body medicine. In addition to AMI founder Leonard Perlmutter other presenters include: Mark Pettus MD, board certified internist and nephrologist and Director of Medical Education and Population Health of Berkshire Health Systems; Kristin Kaelber MD, PhD, board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics; Renee Rodriguez-Goodemote, MD, Medical Director of the Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center; Anthony Santilli MD, board certified in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine; Jesse Ritvo MD, Assistant Medical Director, Inpatient Psychiatry, University of Vermont Health Center; Joshua Zamer, MD, Medical Director for Addiction Medicine at Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center and Chairman of the Department of Family Practice; Gustavo Grodnitzky PhD, Chair of the AMI Psychological Education Committee; Jenness Cortez Perlmutter, faculty member of The American Meditation Institute; Anita Burock-Stotts, MD, board certified in Internal Medicine; and Janine Pardo MD, board certified in Internal Medicine.

According to Larry Iannarone MD, General Surgeon and returning alumni of the Heart and Science of Yoga conference, This is the most phenomenal curriculum! Leonard is an excellent teacher, and now a friend. This experience was so enlightening in comparison to the usual medical conferences which are packed with data, but often not useful. This teaching has actually changed my life, and I am forever grateful!!

-30-

About the American Meditation Institute

The American Meditation Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization devoted to the teaching and practice of Yoga Science, AMI Meditation and its allied disciplines as mind/body medicine. In its holistic approach to wellness, AMI combines the healing arts, philosophy and spirituality of the East with the practicality of modern Western medical science. The American Meditation Institute offers a wide variety of class programs and publishes Transformation, a bi-monthly journal of Yoga Science as Holistic Mind/Body Medicine. Call 518.674.8714 for a mail or email subscription.

Media Contact:

Robert Washington

PO Box 430

Averill Park, NY 12018

Tel: 518-674-8714

Fax: 518-674-8714
Our team has helped numerous businesses transform their operations with technology, and we look forward to many more years of empowering our clients to achieve their goals with the right solutions and support.

Stratosphere Networks celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. The company has grown and evolved significantly since its story began in 2003 with the founding of its sister brand, Converged Communication Systems (CCS).

Were incredibly proud of all that weve achieved in the past two decades, said Steve Melchiorre, CEO of Stratosphere Networks. Our team has helped numerous businesses transform their operations with technology, and we look forward to many more years of empowering our clients to achieve their goals with the right solutions and support.

Melchiorre and Kevin Rubin, president and CIO of Stratosphere, co-founded CCS in 2003 to deliver cutting-edge IP telephony and unified communications solutions and support services. CCS has earned recognition as a leader in the field, receiving accolades such as the CRN MSP Elite 150, Inc. 5000, and the Channel Partners 360 award.

In 2010, Melchiorre and Rubin launched Stratosphere Networks, a managed IT service provider. They constructed a state-of-the-art Network Operations Center and Security Operations Center in Evanston that leveraged advanced tools and technologies to provide managed cybersecurity, managed IT and co-managed IT services, and trusted advisor services to businesses of all sizes. The company received many accolades as a managed service provider, including CRN MSP 500, MSPmentor 501, Channel Partners 360, Stevie Awards, and Crains Chicago Business Best Places to Work.

Stratosphere shifted to focus on IT consulting and advisory services in 2021 after the acquisition of its managed IT and security services division by Ascend Technologies. Today, the Stratosphere team draws on their background in managed services and experience with a wide array of technologies to help businesses make sense of complex marketplaces and identify cloud phone systems, cloud contact center platforms, customer experience, managed IT, and security solutions that align with their unique needs. In 2022, Stratosphere also invested additional resources in the Florida market while continuing to serve clients in the Chicago area.

Weve grown and changed so much during the past two decades, Rubin said. Id like to thank all the clients and staff members whove supported us during the past 20 years. Were excited to see what the future holds for Stratosphere as we continue to evolve.

In addition to providing high-quality technology services, Stratosphere has contributed to the Chicago community by donating to and sponsoring benefits for organizations such as Lawrence Hall and St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Leadership also gives team members two additional paid days off per year for volunteer work and contributes to non-profits selected by staff members through the companys Choose Your Charity program.

For more information about Stratosphere Networks, please visit https://www.stratospherenetworks.com.

About Converged Communication Systems

Converged Communication Systems (CCS) is a nationwide provider of best-in-class IP telephony solutions and support services for businesses of all sizes. Focusing on industry-leading solutions, Converged Communication Systems provides complete telecommunication solutions to meet your simple or complex business needs. They specialize in a full range of solutions, including on-premises, hosted / cloud (public or private), and hybrid cloud solutions. Their portfolio includes several brands, which enables them to approach their client engagements in an unbiased manner and serve as true consultants. In addition, their expertise allows multi-location and remote/home workers to operate more efficiently via VoIP/SIP. For more information, visit https://www.convergedsystems.com.

About Stratosphere Networks

Stratosphere Networks helps businesses bypass the traditional sales process and quickly identify leading Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), customer experience (CX), digital transformation, business process outsourcing (BPO), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), data center, managed IT and cybersecurity solutions. Leveraging advanced tools and in-depth knowledge of the technology landscape, our team identifies products and services that position our clients for lasting success. Our team also offers white-glove implementation and project management services, saving our clients time and ensuring the best possible results for their new solutions. With a proven process, we drive end-user adoption with training services, maximize feature functionality with supplier negotiations, and assure lasting high-level performance with ongoing management services. Visit https://www.stratospherenetworks.com for more information.

For more information contact:

Lori Leonardo

847-440-1290

LoriL@stratospherenetworks.com


Leopard Solutions 2022 State of Industry Report 2022 saw a natural correction following the over-hiring during the pandemic, and our data indicate a directional market correction post the hiring frenzy. Law firms should recalibrate and have a solid 2023 strategy to stay competitive. said Laura Leopard, CEO, Leopard Solutions.

Legal Intelligence provider Leopard Solutions released its annual state of the legal industry report noting hiring an attorney movement across the industry in 2022 will provide a perspective of legal professional movements that can help predict the industry shifts for 2023.

Leopard Solutions has been monitoring legal hiring for 20 years and have made available analysis, including attorney diversity changes, lateral and entry-level hires, law school data, mergers and acquisitions, attorney exits and retention, promotions, law firm growth and decline, and more. Legal industry leaders can utilize the data to adjust their business development, competitive intelligence, marketing, and recruiting strategies.

The state of the legal industry in 2022 saw a natural correction following the over-hiring during the pandemic, said the CEO of Leopard Solutions, Laura Leopard. "Our data indicate a directional market correction in 2022 in response to the hiring frenzy of 2021. Law firms are recalibrating their needs and ought to create a solid 2023 strategy to stay competitive and ready for further market changes.

Key Findings:



The ethnic diversity of attorneys at the Top 200 firms overall increased by 2% over the past 12 months.

Litigation is the largest practice area for hiring, while there is a dip in Corporate and M&A demand.

There was a 1% increase in gender diversity among firm partnerships.

The total number of entry-level hires declined by 33% in 2022 compared to 2021.

59% of those who were promoted to partner were men, compared to 41% of women being promoted to partner.

The road to partnership is longer for entry-level associates, seeing 46% fewer promotions to partners than lateral hires in 2022.

2022 was a mixed year with many hidden obstacles for firms to navigate. As the needs of their clients and the markets shifted, law firms needed to respond quickly to ensure practice areas were staffed accordingly. However, Leopard Solutions analysis shows that not focusing enough on gender and diversity hiring and having a well-built-out partnership roadmap may be detrimental to the law firms growth.

It takes a lot of investment from the firm side to get diverse talent into the pipeline. So, you want to protect your investment in every way in the future, such as by creating an inclusive environment that supports diverse attorneys. When you act not only for today but for the future, you are better off in creating systems that will deliver higher profitability levels for the firm, according to Carmen Kelley, Global Director of Lateral Recruiting, Morrison & Foerster LLP.

Historical data in the report provides context and a glimpse of what lies ahead. Besides hiring trends, the analysis also points to the road to partnership growing longer and further out of reach is now causing unintended repercussions. Associates are now asking how long it takes at their firm and if its worth it. The data can guide hiring, promotion, marketing, competitive intelligence, and business strategy. To access the report go to: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/StateofLegalIndustryReport2022.pdf

About Leopard Solutions:

Leopard Solutions is a leading legal market intelligence provider for professionals seeking to build an analytical understanding for better business and recruiting strategies within the legal industry.

Our diverse data solutions are designed to fulfill a wide variety of intelligence needs, from job searches to recruitment to competitive intelligence in the legal industry serving law firms, legal service providers, recruiters, law schools, and corporations. Leopard's data and technology are continuously updated to ensure market relevance and a competitive edge.

Established in 2002, Leopard Solutions has grown into one of the most recognized and trusted legal market data providers in the United States. We are proud to be a diverse employer and a certified Womens Business Enterprise.

For more information, visit us website and follow us on LinkedIn.
The TEFL Org logo The vagaries of life over the last few years have convinced many Americans to take the plunge and start a dream job which allows them to travel to new exotic locales and help an enormous amount of people to enrich their lives by learning a new language

Today The TEFL Org announced that 2023 is bringing an unprecedented increase in international demand for teachers of English as a second language. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, countries, such as South Korea, are at their lowest ebb in finding English language teachers. The number of native speakers heading to South Korea to teach English has plummeted to one-third of its pre-pandemic levels, thus driving the demand for teachers of English as a second language.

This presents an enormous opportunity for Americans who long to energize their professional lives by making travel a key component. With more tech startups imploding and the economy on the brink of recession, a growing number of recent high school and college graduates, and retirees, are turning to The TEFL Org to fashion their dream job.

The TEFL Org is for people considering teaching English as a second language - but are not sure where or how to begin. It offers teaching and placements and can position its teachers to work in either the U.S. or abroad, at home or in the country of ones choice. The company also helps its students with assimilation into new cultures in which they may be teaching.

We have the advantage of being able to offer the best possible preparation for helping individuals at all stages of their lives transfer their skills and learn new ones in becoming teachers of English as a foreign language, said Andy Healy, Managing Director of The TEFL Org. The vagaries of life over the last few years have convinced many Americans to take the plunge and start a dream job which allows them to travel to new exotic locales and help an enormous amount of people to enrich their lives by learning a new language.

The TEFL Org is accredited and internationally recognized and has classroom and online courses that for decades have been equipping students worldwide to teach English as a second language. With a head office team and teaching staff who have years of practice in EFL teaching and teacher training, The TEFL Org has first-hand experience in teaching English as a foreign language abroad, tutoring online, in the classroom or both.

This knowledge and support means that teachers receive the highest quality and standard of training. In addition, the TEFL Org has seen international sales grow by 386% in the past three years, increasing the proportion of overseas sales from 16% to 49%.

It has recently been recognized by The Queens Award (the highest official awards for British businesses) for Enterprise in International Trade for outstanding rapid growth in overseas sales as it eyes further international expansion in the coming months.

The TEFL Org is now a market leader in its sector, providing internationally recognised qualifications to more than 185,000 teachers who have gone on to find employment across the globe. The firm provides a range of flexible classroom, virtual and online courses, ranging from 20 hours to 188 hours.

About The TEFL Org

Since starting with their first online course, The TEFL.org has inspired hundreds of thousands of students to have their own life-enhancing experience teaching English as a foreign language. They are now one of the most accredited TEFL / TESOL course providers in the world, providing first-rate learning experiences. The TEFL.org has multiple awards, offer accreditation, and are internationally recognized. The TEFL.org helps prospective English teachers to enroll on the right course to kickstart their TESOL or TEFL life.

#


Steven Nickel, senior director of operations, Tompkins Solutions Stevens vast background effectively managing people and projects in construction and material handling will make him a great addition to the Tompkins team.

Tompkins Solutions, a leading supply chain consulting and material handling integration firm, today announced that Steven Nickel has joined the company as senior director of operations. In addition to leading the implementation team, Nickel will be responsible for developing policies and procedures that improve performance and drive productivity.

Nickel brings over 30 years of project management experience to Tompkins, successfully managing over $2 billion in various forms of construction procurement delivery. Prior to joining Tompkins, Nickel was senior project manager for Material Handling Systems, Inc.

Stevens vast background effectively managing people and projects in construction and material handling will make him a great addition to the Tompkins team, said David Latona, CEO of Tompkins Solutions. We are thrilled to have him on board and help us continue to deliver world-class distribution and fulfillment solutions to our clients.

Nickel is the second addition to Tompkins leadership team this year. In January, Billy Carter joined the company as vice president of sales. To learn more about working at Tompkins Solutions and view the companys current openings, please visit http://www.tompkinsinc.com.

About Tompkins Solutions

Tompkins Solutions, a subsidiary of Tompkins International, is a global supply chain services firm dedicated to helping clients achieve supply chain excellence and profitable growth. Founded in 1975, Tompkins has integrated its decades of experience in strategy, commerce, logistics and technology to provide unique supply chain consulting and material handling integration solutions. By combining best-in-breed services and technologies, Tompkins delivers a true end-to-end supply chain solution, enabling clients to improve the customer experience and ensure long-term success. Tompkins is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and has offices throughout North America. For more information, please visit http://www.tompkinsinc.com.
Rob Merritt Robs remarkable experience and expertise across a multitude of industries make him an excellent addition to Red Banyans dynamic team, said Red Banyan Founder and CEO Evan Nierman. We are thrilled to have Rob on board.



Red Banyan, a leading international public relations firm, is excited to announce that it has hired Rob Merritt as Strategic Communications Director in Arizona.

Merritt joins Red Banyans top Arizona crisis PR agency with over 30 years of experience in public relations, marketing, and branding for consumer brands, associations, and non-profit organizations. Merritt will direct both client relationship management and the creation and implementation of Red Banyan strategic and creative media campaigns.

Im very excited to work with this group of strategic, energetic professionals, Merritt said. The experience of the staff, along with the outstanding leadership, speaks to why Red Banyan does such quality work for our clients and partners, and has such a great reputation in the industry.

Merritt has held management positions with national advertising, marketing, and public relations firms in Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix. He also brings extensive crisis communications experience to the firms clients, including crisis strategic planning, developing crisis communications plans, media training, and managing on-site situations.

Merritt is a wine enthusiast who ran a successful wine distributorship from 2010 to 2016, serving some of Chicagos best wine shops and restaurants.

Robs remarkable experience and expertise across a multitude of industries make him an excellent addition to Red Banyans dynamic team, said Red Banyan Founder and CEO Evan Nierman. We are thrilled to have Rob onboard and we are confident his work ethic and public relations skills will help us reach new heights.

Since its launch in late 2010, Red Banyan has continued to grow, establishing itself as one of the leading crisis PR agencies in the United States. Red Banyan provides crisis management, litigation support, media relations and other strategic communications services to a variety of national and global clients.

About Red Banyan

Red Banyan is a top crisis management firm focused on solving complex, highly sensitive and mission-critical communications challenges. Specializing in crisis communications, corporate public relations, government relations, and legal PR, Red Banyan provides an integrated approach to communications rooted in strategy. Learn more at https://redbanyan.com.
Our Give Back Committee was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and generosity displayed by Trident employees for the Adopt-a-Family drive. - Kendra Temple

For the fifth consecutive year, Trident University International (Trident) partnered with Joint Base Los Alamitos and the Los Alamitos Area Chamber of Commerce for the Adopt-a-Family program to raise money for local military families.

Exceeding the initial goal of $6,000, the Trident community raised $6,320 for the military families in the Adopt-A-Family program. Each family in the program received a $100 gift card, and due to the generosity of the Trident community, teen family members also received gifts this year.

Our Give Back Committee was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and generosity displayed by Trident employees for the Adopt-a-Family drive, remarks Kendra Temple, Director of Alumni Engagement. We exceeded our goal, and with the additional funds raised, we were able to purchase dinner and movie gift cards for teens who had not originally been sponsored. All families were so appreciative and grateful to the Trident community.

Tridents dedication to the military community runs deep. Over 27,000 of Trident Universitys students and alumni are affiliated with the military, including those actively serving, veterans, and military spouses . Trident prides itself on being a military-centric university. From philanthropic activities such as the Adopt-a-Family program to scholarships including the Military Success Scholarship, the University seeks to create a supportive environment for its military students.

Learn more about Tridents dedication to military and veteran populations and its local community.

About Trident University International

Founded in 1998, Trident University International is a member of the American InterContinental University System, which is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org). Trident uses the EdActive learning approach, which employs case-based learning in an online setting to teach real-world relevant critical thinking skills designed to enhance the lives and education of students. Trident offers quality associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs and certificates, led by a qualified faculty team, over 80% of whom have doctoral degrees. Trident has over 32,000 alumni, of which more than 27,000 have a military affiliation, and has received acknowledgments from Washington Monthly and Military Times for their dedication to student success. Visit http://www.trident.edu or call at (855) 290-0290 to learn more about Trident's wide range of educational options.
At a prize ceremony on Monday night, Bologna Children's Book Fair announced the winners of its annual BOP  Bologna Prize for the Best Childrens Publishers of the Year. The prizes cover six regions around the world and are sponsored by the fair, as well as the AIE  Associazione Italiana Editori, and the International Publishers Association. The winner is voted on by fellow publishers and acknowledges those who have "stood out over the last year for their innovation, creativity and the quality of their editorial choices."

The winners, with citations, are:

Africa: Trinta Zero Nove, Mozambique. Editora Trinta Zero Nove is the first independent publisher dedicated to publishing translated works in Mozambique. Founded in 2018 by Sandra Tamele to publish a collection of short stories translated by the winners of the Literary Translation Competition as part of International Translation Day, it has since expanded its catalogue to give a voice to minority authors. In 2021, it was ranked in the 100 best startups in Africa as part of the third edition of Access Banks Pitch-athon.

Asia: Wonder House Books, India. Wonder House is an imprint of Prakash Books India Pvt. Ltd., Indias largest book distributor. Wonder began activities in 2017 as a small business and has now grown to become a full-fledged publisher with a large team of professionals and a catalogue of unique titles for children, from stories to picture books, activity books to fairy tales. Its mission is to develop childrens passion for reading, expanding their imaginations through illustrated books that represent quality, creativity, and innovation.

Europe: The Old Lion Publishing House, Ukraine. The Old Lion is a Ukrainian publisher that produces books for the whole family. It aims to produce books that appeal to every reader, from the youngest to the oldest: picture books, poems for children, stories for school-aged children, a series for teens, nonfiction for various ages, as well as atlases and more.

North America: La Courte Echelle, Canada. Created in 1978 by author Bertrand Gauthier, it became the first publishing house in Quebec to specialize exclusively in childrens literature. Influenced by Europes dynamic approach to young peoples literature, Gauthier wanted to bring Quebec up to date, and published original and pertinent works by local authors. The community responded with enthusiasm and the catalogue quickly expanded to include books for all age groups, such as board books for toddlers, picture books for beginning readers, and novels for pre-teens and teens.

Central and South America and the Caribbean: Editorial Amanuta, Chile. A publisher of picture books for children and young people since 2002 with the intent to entertain, inspire, move, and teach. Amanuta, in fact, means with intent in the Aymara language and the publisher strives to create books with intent, dedication, work, and a lot of love. The goal is to offer innovative and creative proposals that adapt to the current times, and to promote and encourage the development of young people with books that stimulate their creativity and imagination, preparing them to face the future by combining tradition and modernity.

Oceania: Magabala Books, Australia. Magabala Books is Australias leading Indigenous publisher. Owned and managed by Indigenous Australians, it celebrates and nurtures talent and the diversity of voices of islanders from the Torres Strait and aborigines from all over Australia, including prizewinning authors. An independent Indigenous non-profit organization, Magabala publishes titles in a vast range of genres. In 1984 more than 500 aboriginal leaders and elders met at a cultural festival to discuss how to protect and bolster their culture. That meeting laid the foundations for Magbala Books. In 2019 Magbala was Australias fastest growing small independent publisher and in 2020 it was nominated Small Publisher of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards.


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  When he was a medical student, none of Mark Paynes textbooks told him that a cardiologist should consult an engineer before deciding on a patients treatment.

But today, as a pediatric cardiologist with Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and professor at IUs School of Medicine, Payne wouldnt consider investigating how to make the best use of an echocardiogram to evaluate congenital heart defects without involving engineers from Purdue University.

Pavlos Vlachos, the St. Vincent Health Professor of Healthcare Engineering and director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering, leads a Purdue team whose recent innovations are on track to be a game-changer for cardiac surgeons and to rewrite cardiology textbooks. Working with Payne, who contributes clinical and medical expertise, the two researchers are confident that they can help save babies lives by making echocardiograms  ultrasound image recordings of the heart  much more useful and surgery decisions far better informed.

More information can be read on the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research website.

Media are welcome to share, post and publish these stories, photos and videos.

Media contact: Amy Raley, araley@purdue.edu
Austrian-born movie star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denounced hate and anti-Semitism in a YouTube video.

ADVERTISEMENT

"I want to talk to you if you found yourself thinking about anyone is inferior and out to get you because of their religion or the color of their skin or their gender," the 75-year-old Terminator and Expendables star said in the 12-minute clip on Monday.

"I don't know the road that has brought you here, but I've seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs. So, I want to speak to you before you find your regrets on the end of the path."

Schwarzenegger, whose own father Gustav was a member of the Nazi party and died in 1972, said Germans felt like guilt-ridden "losers" after World War II.

"Not only because they lost the war, but also because they fell for a horrible, loser ideology," the actor said, referring to how more than 6 million Jews were murdered in Europe between 1941 and 1945.

"They bought into the idea that the only way to make their lives better was to make other lives worse," he said of the Germans. "It is the path of the weak ... There has never been a successful movement based on hate."
Hulu has dropped its planned limited series, Devil in the White City, after star Keanu Reeves and director Todd Field left the project.

ADVERTISEMENT

Deadline.com said production on the eight-episode series was set to begin this year with the 19th century crime drama expected to premiere in 2024.

The Hollywood Reporter said actors Jeremy Allen White and Jude Law, and director Matt Ross were in talks to replace Reeves and Field.

Although the streaming service no longer wants to be home to the project, producers ABC Signature is shopping it around to other platforms.

An adaptation of Erik Larson's novel -- with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio onboard as executive producers -- has been in development for about a decade.
Craig Sjodin / ABC

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/06/2023



ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

bachelorette Kaity Biggar has weighed in on Kat Izzo 's controversial move to steal Zach Shallcross for a moment before his one-on-one date with Charity Lawson in Estonia.Charity missed out on a one-on-one date with Zach in London because he had tested positive for coronavirus and needed to quarantine. The child and family therapist was therefore ecstatic to finally get her chance to have a solo date with 's Season 27 star in Tallinn, Estonia.But when Zach picked Charity up for their date, Kat asked to steal Zach for a quick conversation and she also kissed him. The aggressive move rubbed the other women the wrong way, especially Brooklyn Willie , who vented about how Kat was acting "rude," "disrespected," and most of all, "classless."Kaity offered her opinion on the scandal during a March 2 appearance on the "Click Bait with Bachelor Nation" podcast.For starters, Kaity said she never would have done the same thing as Kat, even if she hadn't made Zach a care basket and felt totally desperate to see and speak with him after his COVID-10 battle in London."So I know this is a little bit of a hot topic right now, but for me, that was Charity's day and that was Charity's moment," Kaity said.Kaity suggested that while she respects the women who had stood up for Kat, she viewed Kat's move as a bit of a low blow."I think there was a better time to do that, when it's more appropriate," Kaity noted."And I understand that we're all vying for [Zach's] time. We all need to take that initiative, but that just wasn't the time for it, in my perspective."Kaity added, "I think with the kiss, too, it wasn't -- ahh, I don't know! It was not a good feeling to be in there." Gabi Elnicki , for example, had noticed lipgloss on Zach's lips following his chat with Kat, which led all of the bachelorettes to believe the pair had kissed. (And that little fact was confirmed for viewers on 's February 27 episode)."When Brooklyn said her piece on it, it was just a very uncomfortable situation. It was a very hostile environment, and I wanted to leave so bad," Kaity recalled."Any time there was negativity in the group, I was just like, 'I want to hit the ground running.' It was just a very awkward moment."Kaity reiterated, however, "I understand both sides."When asked if there were any women she didn't like on Zach's season, Kaity replied, "No. I do like all of them. Everybody is so different in their own way, and truly they are beautiful inside and out."Kaity, however, clarified, "There are some girls I wouldn't have a close relationship with afterwards, for sure, but no comment. No comment."Kaity said she was just focused on being herself and showcasing her personality to Zach on , regardless of drama or what was happening around her."I didn't put too much pressure on myself," Kaity concluded.On 's February 27 episode, Kat, a registered nurse, told Zach before his date with Charity that she just wanted to say "hi." While she didn't want to come across as needy, Zach assured the bachelorette that he likes it when a woman takes initiative.But Charity lamented to her fellow bachelorettes how it wasn't "the most appropriate timing for a conversation," and Brooklyn absolutely agreed.Once Charity and Zach departed on their date, Kat announced to the group how she had just wanted to let Zach know that she missed him. Aly Jacobs pointed out that had Kat done that to her before a one-on-one date, Kat and Zach's interaction would've remained in her thoughts and bothered her.Kat explained how if she wanted to see Zach and have a moment with him, she was allowed to do just that. But Brooklyn argued it was Charity's moment and Kat had stripped her of special time with Zach."That's for her to tell me, not for you," Kat snapped."I'm telling you how I feel, and I think it's classless," Brooklyn told her fellow bachelorette.Kat told Brooklyn that she was being "aggressive" and using "offensive" words. She felt "extremely attacked" and complained to the cameras, "Everybody was coming at me. Who's to say who's allowed to do what and when they're allowed to do it? Why can't I have my moment?"Kat said everyone had an individual relationship with Zach, who could potentially be a husband at the end of this process. And so Kat said if she could find a moment here or there to check in with Zach, she was going to take advantage of it.Brooklyn then dubbed Kat "selfish" and "tacky," and the girls weren't able to bury the hatchet.Kat accused Brooklyn of intentionally trying to hurt her feelings and attack her character, and Brooklyn snapped, "If I hurt your feelings, like, if the shoe fits, lace that b-tch up!"Brooklyn and Kat's feud spilled over into the cocktail party, with Kat believing Brooklyn was just trying to spark drama and be "aggressive to be mean."Both women, however, ended up receiving a rose. Zach chose to send home Aly and Jess Girod instead.'s next episode airs Monday, March 6 with Zach and his remaining bachelorettes traveling to Budapest, Hungary for the next round of dates.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
Venerable Soy Sat was questioned for several hours about possible political ties.

Cambodian authorities stopped Soy Sat, a 70-year-old monk, from marching in Pursat after he was accused of being involved with the opposition Candlelight Party.

Authorities stopped a Buddhist monk during his peace march across Cambodia, questioning him for several hours and accusing the 72-year-old of being affiliated with the opposition Candlelight Party, before letting him continue.

Venerable Soy Sat has been marching toward Banteay Meanchey province, near the Thai border, to urge the government to restore social ethics and resolve national issues.

Authorities in Pursat provinces Bakan district detained him for several hours on Tuesday and asked him about the purpose of the march. They also accused him of participating in an opposition party meeting organized by Candlelight Party Vice President Rong Chhun.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rong Chhun held a meeting with party officials in Pursat. Afterward, he went to meet the monk to offer him food, a common practice in Cambodia.

Soy Sat said he told officials that did not participate in Rong Chhuns party meeting. He also said the march wasnt tied to any political party.

Authorities asked me to go back if I don't want any problem, he said. I said, I won't go back. I will march until the national crisis is resolved.

After three hours of intense talk, the authorities allowed him and a few villagers to continue the march, he said.

The provincial governor, Khoy Rida, didnt respond to a request for comment from Radio Free Asia on Tuesday. The spokesman for the Ministry of Cults and Religions, Seng Somony, said he wasn't aware of the incident but would look into it.

Expelled from pagoda

Last month, Soy Sat marched along with Rong Chhun and other demonstrators from Phnom Penh to Pursat. They had permission for the march from the Interior Ministry.

Several days later, he was expelled from his pagoda in Kampong Speu province by the pagodas chief, who accused him of incitement and of trying to destroy peace.

He was supposed to appear before the court March 6, but didn't appear because he was marching in Pursat. The court only brought up an old land case from 2021 because of the current march, he said.

The case raises suspicions, said Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho.

"The court's action will lead to criticism that it is designed to persecute the monk," he said.

Buddhist monks, who occupy their own social class in Cambodia and are given a great deal of respect by the public, frequently participate in demonstrations, but ousting them from a temple is unusual.

Soy Sat began his latest march by himself on March 1 in Phnom Penh. There are now about six people marching alongside him.

I am participating because of Venerable's heart, said Sim Mao, a villager who is marching with Soy Sat. He is thinking for all of us so I must participate.

The monks true-hearted wishes are to call attention to whats wrong with the country, and his march shouldnt be interrupted, said Soeung Sengkaruna, spokesman for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association.

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed.
Sen. Mark Warner, shown in this file photo, and other officials unveiled the latest proposals to give the Biden administration tools to ban TikTok, the ByteDance-owned app used by more than 100 million Americans.

The White House has announced its support for a new bipartisan bill to allow the U.S. secretary of commerce to ban foreign-owned technology like TikTok. The announcement came Tuesday as the bill was being introduced by a group of eight senators from both parties.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that the Biden administration backed the urgent passage of the Senates new Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology Act, or RESTRICT Act, which would grant the executive branch the legal authority to ban TikTok.

Such a bill, Sullivan said, would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans sensitive data and our national security.

Speaking during the press conference to introduce the bill, Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia and chair of the Senate intelligence committee, said the RESTRICT Act would not only target TikTok.

Everybody's talking about TikTok and the ability of that platform to be used by the Communist Party both to take on data, but also potentially as a malign influence and propaganda tool, Warner said.

But before there was TikTok, there was Huawei and ZTE  and before that, there was Russia's Kaspersky Labs. So what we are trying to deal with here is the risk of insecure information and communication technologies, he said.

He also stressed the bill, if passed, would introduce a rules-based process to assess foreign-owned technology, and that the commerce secretary would be granted tools less heavy-handed than bans.

The Senate bill is the latest in a series of pieces of proposed legislation aimed to ban TikTok, with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, most recently introducing his own bill last week. It was opposed by Democrats.

Whack-a-Mole

The strong White House and bipartisan support for the RESTRICT Act in the Senate suggests it might succeed where others have failed.

The bill was also introduced on Tuesday by three other Democratic senators  Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin  and four Republicans  John Thune of South Dakota, Mitt Romney of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Dan Sullivan of Alaska.

Each of the senators noted the bill was not aimed just at TikTok, with a few saying they wanted the bills rules to help authorities avoid a game of Whack-a-Mole with copycat services arising.

But each senator also struggled to keep their focus off TikTok.

Truth is, with 100 million Americans daily on TikTok, on an average of 90 minutes a day, this is an issue, Warner said after stressing TikTok was not the bill's sole target. I imagine most of you would like your networks to get 90 minutes a day from 100 million Americans.

Thune, who is also the Senate minority whip, said the bill does away with this Whack-a-Mole where U.S. authorities are forced to evaluate new foreign-owned technology companies month after month.

Its rules would make clear what types of security issues could lead to a ban, he said, and in doing so prevent such technology taking off.

I've long been concerned about how every social media company uses the data it collects on users, Thune said. But I'm particularly concerned about TikToks connections to the Chinese Communist Party, which repeatedly  repeatedly  spies on American citizens.

He said that China-based employees of [TikTok owner] ByteDance have repeatedly accessed nonpublic data of U.S. citizens despite TikTok saying to the contrary, and added he did not trust any pledges given by the Beijing-based company about TikToks safety.

The Chinese Communist Party has proven over the last few years that it is willing to lie about just about everything, Thune said.

Bipartisanship

Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok, said the executive branch already had the power to force TikTok to change its operations, and noted the social media platform was in talks with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The Biden Administration does not need additional authority from Congress to address national security concerns about TikTok: it can approve the deal negotiated with CFIUS over two years that it has spent the last six months reviewing, Oberwetter told Radio Free Asia.

We appreciate that some members of Congress remain willing to explore options for addressing national security concerns that don't have the effect of censoring millions of Americans, she added. A U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.

Bennet, the Democrat from Colorado, said that he believed the bill would pass given its bipartisan support, and would end what he said was 50 years of light treatment of Beijing from Washington.

Romney, a former presidential candidate, said such bipartisanship says that Congress has recognized that China is not our dear friend.

Sullivan, the Republican from Alaska, echoed that view.

Yeah, there's a lot of dissension and partisanship here, he said. One area where there's very little partisanship is the recognition, in a bipartisan way, of the serious nature of the Chinese Communist Party threat. We are very united as senators on this topic.

Edited by Malcolm Foster
Tens of thousands sign a petition calling on the awards organizers to uninvite him over his support for Beijing.

In a magazine interview, actor Donnie Yen said of the 2019 Hong Kong protest movement: It wasnt a protest, okay, it was a riot.

A former student leader of the 1989 democracy movement on Tiananmen Square has joined growing calls on the organizers of the Oscars to revoke an invitation to Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen to present an award, after he took Beijing's side over the 2019 protest movement in Hong Kong.

Yen, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of non-government advisers ranging from party elders, intelligence officers and scholars to movie stars, CEOs of major companies and other celebrities, had slandered the popular resistance movement in Hong Kong when he called it a riot in a recent media interview, Wang said in a statement emailed to Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.

Donnie Yens remarks ... represent a challenge to mainstream civilization and universal values, Wang said. He ... may be able to make a fortune in an autocratic country like China, but it would be extremely inappropriate for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to have him present an award.

It would trample on the concepts of freedom and democracy, and would be kowtowing to the Chinese dictatorship, he said, calling on the Oscars organizers to revoke Yens invitation.

Yen told GQ Hype magazine in a recent interview after being asked about the boycott of his movies and his view of the 2019 protest movement: It wasnt a protest, okay, it was a riot.

A lot of people might not be happy for what Im saying, but Im speaking from my own experience, said Yen, using very similar language to official descriptions of the protests.

Wang's comments came after tens of thousands of people signed a petition on Change.org calling on the Oscars' organizers to take a stand for human rights and moral values, rather than support for actions that violate them.

Donnie Yen is a supporter of the Chinese Communist regime and has made several remarks in support of the Chinese government's policies, including supporting the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong and accusing Hong Kong protesters of being rioters, the petition text said.

These remarks not only violate the spirit of freedom of speech but also deny the rights of the people of Hong Kong to fight for their freedom and democracy, said the petition, which had garnered more than 68,000 signatures by 2000 GMT on Tuesday.

The decision to invite Yen to take part in the awards ceremony shows contempt for the people of Hong Kong, the petition said.

We demand that the Oscars Committee reconsider this decision and cancel the invitation of Donnie Yen as a presenter for the Oscars, it said.

Wang Dan, a former student leader of the Tiananmen democracy movement in 1989, says Donnie Yens remarks ... represent a challenge to mainstream civilization and universal values. Credit: AFP file photo.





Many Hong Kongers started boycotting Yens movies over his pro-Beijing stance during the 2019 protests against the erosion of Hong Kong's promised freedoms and judicial independence that saw pitched battles between protesters armed with bricks, Molotov cocktails, catapults and other makeshift weapons against fully equipped riot police who fired huge quantities of tear gas, rubber bullets, chemically treated high-pressure water cannon and occasionally live rounds of ammunition at protesters and journalists.

Rights groups criticized the unsafe and indiscriminate use of tear gas and other forms of police violence during the months-long protest movement that left nearly two million adults suffering from post-traumatic stress symptoms and depression, according to The Lancet medical journal.

Police violence against young and unarmed protesters early in the movement brought millions onto the citys streets and prompted the occupation of its international airport, while unarmed train passengers were attacked by armed riot police at Prince Edward MTR and by white-clad mobsters at Yuen Long MTR, who laid into passengers and protesters with rods and poles while police took 39 minutes to answer hundreds of distress calls from the scene.

Comments under the Change.org petition said Yen was not a good choice for the Oscars.

He doesnt stand up for freedom and democracy, which could violate the values of Oscar prizes, user Jenny Lam wrote, while Matthew Leung said Yen was a CCP clown who would contaminate the show.

A hypocri[te] who supports the totalitarian state to exploit peoples freedom does not deserve to be a representative of the Oscar ceremony! added Kwok Shun Ng, while Cindy Au commented: Against those who ... support dictatorship.

Taiwan-based petition co-author Tong Wai Hong, who was acquitted of rioting charges linked to his role in the 2019 protest movement, said that what unfolded in that year couldnt be described as rioting.

For me and for a lot of other people, it was a fight against tyranny, Tong told Radio Free Asia. He has gotten this wrong. The Chinese Communist Party has carried on restricting our freedoms and suppressing our human rights ever since the 2019 protests.

Tong cited the banning of documentaries and other cinematic works linked to the protests, under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing from July 1, 2020, which ushered in an ongoing crackdown on peaceful dissent and political opposition that has seen dozens of former pro-democracy lawmakers stand trial for subversion for taking part in a primary election to maximize their seats in the Legislative Council.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie.
Police officers stand guard where a canceled march for women's rights was scheduled to take place in Hong Kong, Sunday, March 5, 2023.

A women's labor organization in Hong Kong canceled a march last weekend to mark International Womens Day amid threats from police that they would arrest key activists.

The move comes despite the lifting of bans on public gatherings in Hong Kong and criticism by a United Nations rights expert about curbs on civil society and rights activism under a draconian security law.

"We have regretfully decided to cancel the Women's Day rally and demonstration that were scheduled for tomorrow," the Hong Kong Women Workers Association said in a brief statement on its Facebook account on Saturday, without giving a reason for the change. "Apologies for this!"

The League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy political party led by veteran rights activists that would have taken part in the event, said police had claimed that "violent elements" had been planning to join the rally.

"We are sure the reasons behind the decision are patently obvious to the public," the group said in a statement on its Facebook page, adding: "Two days before the march, four LSD members were warned by the National Security Police that they must not join the march, or else they will be arrested."

League Chairperson Chan Po-ying said she and three other members were hauled in by national security police on March 3 and warned that they would be arrested if they took part in the event.

"They called last Friday ... and sent a car to take me to the police station," Chan told Radio Free Asia. "They got straight to the point and told us that we couldn't take part in the demonstration, without giving the reason."

Chan Po-ying, chairperson of the League of Social Democrats, scuffles with police outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the national security trial for pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Feb. 6, 2023. Chan says she and three other members of the organization were warned they would be arrested if they took part in the womens rights march. Credit: Associated Press





"They just said that we are well-known figures ... When I asked what would happen if I insisted on going, he told me very clearly that I would be arrested," she said. "He wouldn't answer my questions ... just told me not to go."

Chan said it's possible that the authorities are trying to avoid any public protest or dissent during the annual session of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress in Beijing.

Deeply infuriated

The League of Social Democrats said on Facebook that it was "deeply infuriated that our joining of a legal protest was met with intimidation and obstruction by the National Security Police," it said.

"Under such pressure, we decided not to attend. Yet we still hoped the march would go ahead, and the flags of gender equality and the rights of women from the grassroots would fly high on the streets."

It said Hong Kongers' freedom of expression and right to protest were now in "shreds."

Human rights experts at the United Nations seemed to agree, issuing a report that was highly critical of human rights protections in Hong Kong following a review of economic, social and cultural rights in Geneva last month.

"The Committee is concerned about reports of arrests, detentions and trials without due process of civil society actors, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers working on human rights, disbarment of such lawyers, and others working to defend economic, social and cultural rights," the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said in concluding comments following the review process.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee [right] and Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng attend the opening session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Lee says the organizers of public events have a legal responsibility to ensure it doesn't break the law. Credit: AFP





It called for a review of a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party from July 1, 2020, and for a national security hotline taking tip-offs from informers about breaches of the law  which criminalizes criticism of the authorities  to be abolished.

"The Committee ... concerned that the national security hotline is used extensively and might have detrimental effects on the work and expression of civil society, trade unions, teachers and other actors, including those mentioned above, working on human rights," it said.

Mobs in black

Hong Kong Chief Executive and former police chief John Lee said the organizers of public events have a legal responsibility to ensure it doesn't break the law.

"Anyone who is not confident, is incompetent, or is worried about whether they can do this should not organize public activities, because they have to bear the legal responsibility," he warned.

"We have felt the pain caused to Hong Kong by mobs in black to Hong Kong," Lee said, in a reference to the 2019 protest movement that won broad popular support at the time for its calls for fully democratic elections and better official accountability.

Former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, who fled into exile amid the citywide crackdown that followed the 2019 protests, said police now appear unwilling to allow any kind of political activity in public.

"My analysis is that the police want to ban demonstrations, and they're not going to give them any opportunity," Hui said. "The police didn't reject the application for the demonstration, so next time they go to the United Nations or face [criticism from] Western countries, they can say they approved it, but that the group canceled it."

"Threatening to arrest people unless they refrain from taking part in a demonstration is very indicative [of the authorities' attitude] and a blatant violation of the Basic Law," he said.

Current affairs commentator Sang Pu said Beijing is continuing to manipulate civil society and political participation in Hong Kong, citing the recent cancellation of the Democratic Party's spring fundraiser by the venue, which said it had an issue with its gas supply.

"This is the Chinese Communist Party ... fully implementing the model it uses [to control] the Chinese people in Hong Kong," Sang said.

"It's very similar to the methods they used to suppress lawyers caught up in the July 9, 2015 crackdown [on rights attorneys, public interest law firms and rights activists]," he said.

He said claims by the Hong Kong government that the city is getting back to normal were misleading, and that normalcy can't happen with the national security law still in place.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster
This photo shows biochemical warfare protection equipment that each North Korean resident must buy or prepare for use in civil defense training that was held across the country Between Feb. 27 and Mar. 4, 2023. The focus of the training was said to be drills for a biochemical attack launched by the U.S.

North Korea last week conducted nationwide civil defense drills, forcing residents to march long distances to drill sites, and requiring that they prepare personal emergency kits, including gas masks, to protect themselves against potential U.S.-launched biochemical weapons attacks, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia.

During the five-day drill that ended March 3, residents had to show up every day early morning at a training site as far as 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) away, a source in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFAs Korean Service on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

The source said that people had difficulty moving between their villages and the training site on foot, and the 2-hour-long training consisted of entering a mine tunnel and locating an evacuation point.

Privately, residents complained that the whole training was absurd, especially because they were told to provide their own rudimentary protection equipment, cobbled together from cloth masks, goggles or safety glasses, and a small amount of alum, a decontaminant. The source said complete kits could be bought in local markets for about U.S.$1.50  a rather large sum for North Koreans.

How can they be preparing for biochemical warfare when none of the equipment is provided by the state, and the people are told to prepare their own protection equipment? the source said. Where else can you find this kind of stupid training?

Every person involved in the training must come prepared with the protective equipment, though families are permitted to bring only one kit that they will share, according to the source.

People who have trouble making ends meet are unhappy that they had to spend money on protective gear that will not work in a real wartime situation, a source from the northwestern province of North Pyongan told RFA on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

They say that it is to prepare for a biochemical attack by the world's most powerful country, the United States. But they are just claiming that 50 grams of alum, in addition to useless masks and protective glasses, is protection from biochemical warfare, the second source said. Residents responded that [the training] is ridiculous.

The United States is one of 193 states that are party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, signed in 1993 and entered into force in 1997, which outlaws the production, storing or use of chemical weapons.

According to a May 2022 U.S. Department of Defense report, Washington is on track to completely dismantle its stockpile of chemical weapons by the treaty deadline of Sept. 30, 2023.

North Korea, meanwhile, is one of three states that is not party to the convention.

The second source said that many residents complained that they had to walk long distances to and from training every day in the cold, and that the training has no wartime applicationthe government merely wants to scare residents into being obedient.

Authorities are spreading fear among residents by talking about U.S. biochemical weapons attacks, the second source said. However the people know that the United States is equipped with the worlds most advanced weaponry, and has no reason to engage [us] in biochemical warfare.

Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Rohingya examine the damage caused by a weekend fire that ripped through the Balukhali camp in Ukhia, Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, March 6, 2023.

Bangladesh inspectors are investigating the cause of a massive fire at a Coxs Bazar camp that destroyed about 2,000 makeshift homes and left 12,000 homeless over the weekend, an official said Monday.

Lt. Col. Mohammad Tajul Chowdhury, who oversees fire service and civil defense in the region, said an investigative committee has been formed to look into the Balukhali camp fire, which also destroyed health, learning and relief centers, according to officials.

The Rohingya camp issue is a very sensitive issue. There could be many reasons for the fire including gas leakage or sabotage, but we are not sure about it, Chowdhury told BenarNews. I can only tell you the cause of the fire when the investigation is over in the next several days.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told BenarNews that the government is investigating to determine if the fire camp was caused by arson, pointing to potential cases of sabotage at the 32 Rohingya camps in and around Coxs Bazar.

The camps in Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district bordering Myanmar, house about 1 million of that countrys persecuted Rohingya minority, including about 740,000 who fled following a military crackdown in the Rakhine state since August 2017.

Sundays fire came nearly two years after a March 22, 2021, blaze at the Balukhali camp killed at least 13 Rohingya, including six children, destroyed 10,000 houses and left 45,000 homeless.

In February, a defense ministry document claimed at least 222 fires broke out in the Rohingya camps in 2021 and 2022. The document obtained by BenarNews alleged 60 fires were caused by sabotage, while the reasons for 63 others were unknown.

The defense ministry document blamed the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and nine other groups for the incidents of sabotage.

The Feb. 15 document said ARSA had been active in Ukhia, Balukhali, Palongkhali and Hwaikong camps while RSO was concentrated in Ukhia and Palongkhali.

ARSA, RSO and a third group, Islamic Mahaz are faith-based groups while the others were identified as criminal gangs, according to the document. Islamic Mahaz was concentrated in Hwaikong.

Alam, a Rohingya leader in Ukhia who asked to be identified by one name for security reasons, blamed ARSA for Sundays fire.

They carried out the attack to take revenge on the RSO, he told BenarNews.

Retired Maj. Gen. Abdur Rashid, a security analyst, echoed Alams statement that the fire could have been the result of a rivalry between the groups seeking to control territories in the camps.

A family huddles under a makeshift shelter after a weekend fire gutted about 2,000 Rohingya homes in the Balukhali camp in Ukhia, Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, March 6, 2023. [Sunil Barua/BenarNews]

Sometimes, RSO carries out arson attacks at the ARSA-dominated camps. In response, ARSA carries out counter attacks, he told BenarNews. The rivalry makes such attacks common and innocent Rohingya suffer.

What I think is the number of sabotages would be higher than the official figure. In most of the cases, the arsonists are not punished, Rashid said. We may see more such fire incidents at the camps in future.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
Community-based schools and ones operating under the shadow government are filling the gaps.

UPDATED at 11:25 A.M. EST on 03-08-2023

Battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the military coup and an ensuing civil war, Myanmars school system is in shambles. The number of high school students registering for a key exam has plunged 80%, parents, teachers and educational experts say.

To protest against the February 2021 coup, some 300,000 teachers and other school staffers walked off their jobs at government-run schools as part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, leaving schools severely understaffed. In response, the junta has suspended more than 11,000 academic staffers and about 125,000 teachers and professors, according to U.S. government data.

Subsequent fighting between the army and rebel groups has displaced thousands, making schooling extremely difficult. Many other families have stopped sending their children to school because they dont trust the junta, or have sent them to schools run by the shadow National Unity Government.

People no longer trust their education system, said a teacher who, like others in this report, refused to be named for security reasons. And now with the online federal schools and other non-military-operated schools, children can consider what is better for them and which education system can give them more knowledge and skills.

Thats why we see that there are fewer and fewer students who are taking the tenth-grade exam in the juntas schools, he said.

During the 2019-20 academic year, when the civilian-led National League for Democracy was still in power, nearly 970,800 students registered for the 10th-grade matriculation exam, a benchmark for the countrys educated workforce for decades.

The following year, that number slipped to 312,300, and during the current 2022-23 year, fewer than 179,800 registered for the exam, according to the junta's education data.

Reforms on hold

The coup also put on hold educational reforms that were being carried out by the former NLD government, including increasing budgets for schooling and implementing a strategic plan to transform the countrys education system and improve learning at all levels.

In June 2022, when the Ministry of Education ordered the reopening of primary, middle and high schools across the country for in-person classes for the 2022-2023 academic year, over 7 million of the countrys roughly 12 million students returned to the classroom, according to junta Education Minister Nyunt Pe.

Some of the remaining 5 million students across the country do not attend the schools run by the junta, while some primary, middle and high school teachers say they have not returned to their schools because they do not want to work under the military administration.

Students wait outside classrooms in Sittwe, capital of western Myanmar's Rakhine state, June 1, 2021. Credit: AFP

Ongoing fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups in conjunction with anti-coup Peoples Defense Forces in some of Myanmars states and regions have prevented students from attending school.

In response, the shadow National Unity Government, or NUG, had set up its own schools throughout the country.

As many areas of several states and regions are war zones, exams cannot be held and there are no students to take them, said Kyaw Ye Lwin, a committee member of NUGs Federal Democratic Education Cooperation Network.

Another thing is that NUG has strengthened its educational system on the ground, he said, with students who attend federal schools trying to take the basic education completion assessment test administered by the NUGs Ministry of Education. Due to these factors, the number of students in schools under the junta administration has decreased.

Separate exam

NUG Education Minister Zaw Wai Soe said that the shadow government is implementing an interim education system throughout the country, and about 90,000 students are taking its own 10th-grade exam.

We hold practical exams for students in the areas where NUG is in control, he told RFA. We hold digital and internet-based exams in the areas where we are not in control yet. We are trying to implement online, practical and digital classes and exams for students in the areas away from our control, too.

Residents in Sagaing and Magway regions, where fighting has intensified, have set up their own community-based schools so that local teachers can prepare students for the matriculation exam.

Since the education system here in our area is in accordance with the federal education system, schools here can offer their own lessons, said a teacher at a community-based school in Magway.

Its rather independent, she said. There are several different exam designs, too. There are many NUG-recognized schools in Magway, [but] there are hardly any students studying for the exams in the junta schools.

A parent of a student from Magways Yesagyo township told RFA that he enrolled his children in community-based schools because teachers there provide extra help to students.

The difference between the juntas schools and our community-based schools is that our community-based schools focus on the people and teach students very well, he said. If students need more help, teachers give them more revision time and teach them at their homes, too.

Conflict zone

Residents of a village in Sagaing region, a hotbed of resistance in northwestern Myanmar, set up a primary school there for children who could not attend state-run schools due to the hostilities, said the schools founder.

She and four permanent teachers as well as other educators from the Civil Disobedience Movement teach about 150 students at the primary school which opened in June 2022 under the auspices of the NUG, she said.

Since we are in a conflict zone and a war refugee zone, there are no other schools here, she told RFA.

We can now teach music, art and the curriculum to our children, she said. Many stationery and teaching accessories are donated to us by well-wishers from faraway places.

So far, parents of schoolchildren do not seem daunted by an announcement by the junta via state-run media networks on March 1 that authorities will take action against them under the Counterterrorism Law if they enroll students in online schools managed by the NUG. The junta also said that parents must enroll their children only in the junta schools and private schools recognized by the military.

But the teacher at the primary school in a village in Sagaing said children know they have a right to education no matter where they live, regardless of such threats.

Issuing politicizing orders to stop such rights of the schools and children from benefiting is a very vulgar act, she said.

Meanwhile, junta-run schools are coping with manpower shortages by piling up work on educators.

We have to teach eight classes a day, one high school educator said. In the past, we could rest for two or three class periods as break time during which we could prepare the lesson plans for the next classes. We used to have extra time to study and preview the lessons before we went into each class. But now, we have very little extra time.

And new teachers entering the profession are not receiving adequate training, she said.

With only two days of skill training, teachers cannot be qualified to teach, the educator said. They do not know their subjects very well. Now we have to coordinate with each other and learn to teach these classes.

Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.

The story was updated to clarify that students "registered" for the matriculation exam rather than "sat" for it.
The locals were sheltering in a monastery after troops opened fire during a raid on their village.

Junta troops have arrested around 50 locals after raiding a village in Myanmars northern Sagaing region, locals told RFA.

They took shelter in a monastery in Myinmu townships Let Ka Pin after a column of about 50 troops entered the village on Sunday and started shooting at residents.

The troops entered the village firing guns and everyone they saw was arrested on the way, said a local who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

The troops searched the monastery. People in the monastery were hiding out of fear but they were arrested. People who were not arrested fled. The troops are still stationed in the village and we have not been able to return so we dont know whether those arrested are alive or dead.

Nearly 10,000 residents of four villages in Myinmu township have fled their homes to escape shootings and arrests, locals told RFA.

Locals who fled the village have grounds to be concerned about the fate of fellow residents. On March 1, 17 residents of another Sagaing region village were arrested and killed on Myinmu townships Nyaung Yin island.

RFA phoned the junta spokesperson for Sagaing region, Aye Hlaing, to ask about the arrests but the calls went unanswered.

The junta is currently holding more than 16,300 civilians in prisons and police cells across Myanmar, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
No new Chinese initiatives were announced during Qian Bos visits to Papua New Guinea and Micronesia.

Chinas special envoy for Pacific Island countries affairs, Qian Bo (right), speaks to students at the Chinese-built Butuka Academy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, March 7, 2023.

Beijings newly appointed special envoy to the Pacific has underlined Chinas investment in infrastructure during his first official trip to the region, as Australia and the United States step up efforts to keep island nations in their orbit.

Qian Bo, the envoy, met with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape and Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko on Tuesday after visiting the Federated States of Micronesia last week.

Studying and learning the Chinese language is very important because China represents the future of the world, Qian said in a speech to students at the Beijing-built Butuka Academy in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

As part of his visit, reporters from local news organizations were given a tour of the school, including observing a Mandarin lesson. The school, which opened in 2018, has about 2,700 students from kindergarten to high school age.

Chinas statement following Qians visit to Micronesia said he had cordial conversations with President David Panuelo and talks with Secretary of Foreign Affairs Kandhi Elieisar. Micronesias statement did not mention a meeting between Panuelo and Qian. A spokesman for Panuelo told BenarNews that the president didnt meet with Qian.

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.

Beijing also hopes to establish a military presence in the Pacific in a challenge to American dominance, some analysts say. 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 remain dominant powers in the region.

Qian and Tkatchenko had a private 50-minute meeting at the school. Their scheduled press conference, which was part of Papua New Guineas official program for the visit, did not take place.

Qian met with Marape later in the day and invited him to address a government event in China later this month, according to a statement from Marapes office. Chinas Foreign Ministry hasnt said if Qian is visiting other Pacific island countries after Papua New Guinea.

This is the best school in the Pacific in terms of quality infrastructure and lots of smiling faces, Qian told the students.

Chinas government had announced plans for the special envoy role in mid-2022, when then-Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the region in a failed effort to get 10 island nations to sign up to a trade and security deal.

Beijing revealed the appointment of Qian, who was Chinas ambassador to Fiji, in mid-February in response to a question from Chinese state media during a regular press conference at the foreign ministry.

Marapes statement said he had yet to officially accept the speaking invitation delivered by Qian. He praised Chinese President Xi Jinping and welcomed the recent endorsement of a third term for Xi under Chinas one-party authoritarian system.

Chinese stability ensures [the] global world economy has a stable outlook. That is the contribution his re-election has given to the world, Marape said.

No new Chinese initiatives were announced during Qians visit to Papua New Guinea or from his visit to the Federated States of Micronesia, which has close relations with the United States.

Chinas statement said Micronesia had reiterated commitment to the One China principle. Micronesias statement didnt mention the One China policy.

Four of the 14 states that recognize Taiwan instead of Beijing are in the Pacific. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taiwan in 2109.

Joseph Cella, the American ambassador to Fiji from 2019 to 2021, said Qians appointment as special envoy was an odd decision because his abrasive style had alienated officials in Fiji when he served as ambassador there.

Rather than the patient work of building relationships and rapport, Mr. Qian specialized in splashy giveaways, from rugby balls to fancy buses, Cella said in a March 1 opinion piece for the Washington Times.

Mr. Qian was also known for his aggressive stunts, which angered and embarrassed his hosts, Cella said.



This story has been updated to reflect that China and Micronesia gave different accounts of what happened during Qian Bos visit. An earlier version also incorrectly attributed statements about the One China policy to Federated States of Micronesia.
A whale shark swims next to volunteer divers after they removed abandoned fishing net that was covering a coral reef in a protected area of Ko Losin, Thailand, June 19, 2021.

Southeast Asian and Pacific leaders are hailing an ambitious United Nations treaty to protect ocean life by establishing protected areas in international waters.

Some 193 countries agreed to the legal framework on Saturday night. It comes as ocean life faces growing threats from climate change, overfishing, shipping traffic and seabed mining on the high seas.

Only 1% of the high seas is currently protected, Singapores Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Twitter. This is a timely achievement & major milestone in the conservation & sustainable use of biodiversity in our oceans. It will go a long way towards protecting our global commons.

The treaty is a culmination of UN-facilitated talks that began in 2004. Its also a crucial first step to meet a goal set in December at the Biodiversity COP15 in Montreal to protect 30% of the planet by the end of this decade in an agreement known as 30 by 30.

Achieving this objective would have been a fantasy without the treaty, said marine conservation scientist Daniel Dunn, since there were no established legal processes for creating marine protected areas on the high seas.

The treaty establishes a global framework for sharing ocean resources and managing marine ecosystems, including thorough environmental impact assessments on the potential damage of proposed commercial activities, such as deep-sea mining, before the start of such projects.

The ocean is considered crucial in the fight against the climate crisis, as ocean temperatures continue to rise and threaten marine life. Scientists say ocean ecosystems create half the oxygen humans breathe and limit global warming by absorbing much of the carbon dioxide.

Nearly 10% of marine species are at risk of extinction, according to an IUCN report in December, while climate change affects 41% of these threatened species.

Slow, eye-watering negotiations

For years, disagreements over funding and fishing rights have caused delays in the negotiations.

Dunn, who has been involved with the negotiations since around 2014, said it was an eye-wateringly slow discussion about the blindingly obvious need for better mechanisms to protect, assess, and sustainably use the half of the planet beyond the control of any one country.

The deal was reached following a non-stop two days meeting at UN headquarters in New York.

The ship has reached the shore, conference Chair Rena Lee of Singapore announced on Saturday.

Official adoption will occur later at another UN session after technical editing and translations of the agreed pact. Nations then must ratify the treaty for it to take effect.

The Philippines said it consistently underlined the principle of common heritage of humankind & importance of giving due regard to the rights & jurisdiction of adjacent coastal States & archipelagic States, which are heavily dependent on the sea.

It will provide holistic & equitable management of human activities impacting ocean life beyond national boundaries to safeguard global ocean health & contribute to climate resilience, increased food security for millions of people, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo said on Twitter.

Environmental group Greenpeace called it a monumental win for ocean protection that provides a pathway to creating fully or highly protected areas across the worlds oceans.

Activists from Greenpeace display a banner in front of UN headquarters during the negotiations on a treaty to protect the high seas in New York on Feb. 27, 2023. Credit: AFP





Smaller countries lead the way

Henry Puna, the current secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum, also applauded the agreement.

Pacific Island nations, which occupy 20% of the worlds Economic Exclusive Zones, have long advocated for an international, legally binding instrument to preserve marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Laura Meller, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Nordic, said major countries, including the European Union, the United States and China were key players in brokering the deal, showing willingness to compromise. But so was a coalition of developing nations known as the Group of 77.

Small Island States have shown leadership throughout the process, and the G77 group led the way in ensuring the treaty can be put into practice in a fair and equitable way, Meller said.

The legally binding pact, called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, represents the first common framework agreement on ocean protection since the adoption of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which established the high seas as an area where all nations can conduct fishing, shipping, and research.

Undiscovered biodiversity

The high seas lies outside of any countrys jurisdiction, beginning at the border of countries Exclusive Economic Zones that extend up to 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) from coastlines. It makes up more than 60% of the worlds oceans by surface area and is home to millions of species and ecosystems.

Currently, just 1.2% of these international waters, a vast reserve of undiscovered biodiversity, are protected.

Conservationists say sharing marine genetic resources derived from plants and animals in the ocean that could benefit society, including in pharmaceuticals, food, and industrial sectors, was another point of contention.

The treaty articulates a new regime for access and benefits sharing of marine genetic resources, which have already been used to develop extremely lucrative pharmaceuticals by corporations and countries who can afford to access these deep and distant areas, Dunn, who teaches at the University of Queensland, said in a statement.

Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
They repeatedly ignored radio messages asking them to leave waters around Pag-asa island, coast guard says.

A cluster of Chinese ships and boats can be seen on the left side of this satellite photo of waters around Pag-asa (Thitu) island in the South China Sea, March 5, 2023.

Scores of Chinese boats have ignored repeated radio challenges to leave waters near a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea after being spotted there in recent days, the Philippine Coast Guard said Tuesday.

The Chinese fleet, which includes a Peoples Liberation Army Navy ship, a China Coast Guard ship with bow number 5203, and 42 maritime militia boats, has been repeatedly asked to move away from Pag-asa (Thitu) island since first being seen there on March 4, said the Filipino coast guards adviser for maritime security.

The PLA navy vessel, the China Coast Guard vessel and the Chinese maritime militia are still currently there, Commodore Jay Tarriela told a press briefing.

Our coast guard station in Pag-asa is continuing to challenge them over the radio and are telling them they are within the Philippines 12-nautical mile territorial sea. But they have ignored the calls of our coast guard personnel.

Tarriela said the Chinese action was a clear violation of the Philippines sovereignty and inconsistent with the right of innocent passage.

In short, they do not respect the territorial integrity of this area, he said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately respond Tuesday to a BenarNews request for comment.

Pag-asa is the largest island in the Philippine-claimed Kalayaan Island Group, a chain in the contested Spratly Islands. There are an estimated 400 residents on Pag-asa, 70 of them children mostly of coast guard and navy personnel stationed there.

It lies around 483 kilometers (300 miles) from Puerto Princesa in Palawan, a province in the western Philippines. In recent years, more and more Chinese vessels have frequented the waters around Pag-asa.

On Tuesday, Tarriela promised that the coast guard would stay true to its responsibility in carrying out patrols and challenging illegal Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines term for its area in the South China Sea.

At least we are exposing their bullying activities and we let the public know about their bullying activities, he said. At the same time, through this exposure, we can get international support wherein these activities are condemned by the United States, Japan, Australia and other like-minded states.

This image shows the past track of Chinese coast guard ship No. 5203 as it moved at different speeds in waters between Subi Reef and Pag-asa (Thitu) island in the South China Sea from Feb. 19 through March 7, 2023. Credit: Marine Traffic

In 2020, more than 100 Chinese vessels, which appeared to be fishing boats, were seen near the island. Last year, a civilian boat manned by Philippine Navy personnel sailed near a sandbar off Pag-Asa in a bid to retrieve debris from a Chinese rocket. A Chinese coast guard ship blocked their path and used a rubber boat to collect the debris.

The Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam all have territorial claims in the South China Sea.

A 2016 ruling by a tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague affirmed Manilas sovereign rights to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and an extended continental shelf, and declared Beijings sweeping claim to virtually the entire sea invalid under international law.

Beijing continues to ignore the ruling, however, and has regularly been sending flotillas of supposed fishing vessels backed by its maritime militia in defiance of international calls to respect the ruling.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently summoned Chinas envoy to Manila to protest their continued occupation of Philippine areas, although his action came shortly after a visit to Beijing where was promised a raft of investments and economic help.

He has not made any comment about this new report.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.
The possible move comes amid fears of a stern response from Beijing if the House Speaker visits Taipei.

A highly anticipated but also highly sensitive meeting between the U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen is reportedly to take place in California instead of Taiwan after Tsai convinced the U.S. side of Chinas possible angry response.

Britains Financial Times was first to report on the relocation of the meeting, initially expected to take place during a planned visit by McCarthy to the democratic island.

In January, Punchbowl News, a Washington-based political portal, reported that the Pentagon was preparing for the House Speaker to visit Taipei later this year. The news outlet added that the preparation was at an early stage and it would be a herculean effort for the Pentagon and another diplomatic showdown between the U.S. and China.

Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province and repeatedly protests against involvement by external forces in cross-Strait politics.

President Tsai Ing-wen meets with visiting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Taipei, Aug. 3, 2022. Credit: Taiwan Presidential Office

McCarthys predecessor Nancy Pelosi made a historic visit to Taiwan in August 2022, the first by a Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 25 years. China responded by staging a week-long multi-branch military exercise around the island.

According to latest media reports, President Tsai is to make a visit to the Americas in early April. The tour would include stopovers in Guatemala, Belize and the United States, in both New York and California.

Republican Kevin McCarthy represents Californias 20th district. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Taiwanese president also reportedly accepted an invitation to speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, southern California.

Reducing tension

The change of venue is seen by some analysts as a tension-reducing measure.

If the arrangements have been coordinated as we saw it, then all three sides can declare victory and lower the tension in the Taiwan Strait, said Alexander Huang, a professor at Tamkang University in Taipei and former deputy minister at Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council.

The key remains what Tsai will say during the meetings and speech, he said.

Huang, who in the dual capacity of head of the Kuomintang Partys Department of International Affairs made a visit to the U.S. in February, earlier said that from talks with McCarthy's aides, and aides to other Republicans on Capitol Hill, he had the impression that McCarthy will "definitely" visit Taiwan at some point.

Beijing has already shown discontent, with new Foreign Minister Qin Gang telling reporters at the National Peoples Congress (NPC) meeting in Beijing that Taiwan is inseparable from the motherland China and if the Taiwan issue is not handled well, China-U.S. relations will be shaken.

Whether the U.S. House Speaker visits Taiwan or not, China will show displeasure either way, said Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist from the Taiwan Studies Program at the Australian National University.

To prevent the impression of weakness, Taiwan and the U.S. may frame this meeting in California not as a replacement of an actual Kevin McCarthy visit to Taiwan, but an addition to it, Sung suggested.

That is, it's an appetizer. A Taiwan visit will be the main course, he said, Presence of an appetizer now does not exclude presence of the main course down the road.

No information

Replying to questions about the Tsai-McCarthy meeting, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price on Monday said its up to members of Congress to decide the nature of the meetings they are going to make.

Price however denied that he was aware of any confirmed travel on the part of President Tsai to the United States.

Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday also declined to comment, saying that he is not in the position to make any announcement but if required his ministry would arrange the best possible visit.

Meanwhile the Taiwanese Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng denied that any visit by the U.S. House Speaker to Taiwan would be canceled in the face of threats from China.

Chiu told the Legislative Yuan (Taiwans legislature) on Tuesday that Taiwan wishes to have more friends who care about the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and if international friends want to show their support we can only welcome it.

The minister said that China has been looking for reasons to attack Taiwan, such as military purchases, visits to Taiwan by senior officials of other countries, or military exchanges between Taiwan and other countries.

Aircraft of the Eastern Theater Command of the PLA conduct joint combat training exercises around Taiwan on Aug. 7, 2022, during Nancy Pelosis visit. Credit: Xinhua

Last August, when Pelosi made her visit to Taipei, Chinese warships approached the islands contiguous waters, the area that extends 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers) from the shores.

This year, they are likely to make closer incursions, even into Taiwans 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, Chiu said.

Taiwan will not allow "repeated provocations", the minister said but insisted that his forces will exercise restraint and wont launch the first strike.
Bleeding and diagnosed with uterine fibroids, she was not allowed to remain in hospital

Vietnamese activist Nguyen Thi Tam speaks in a courtroom during her trial in Hanoi on Dec. 15, 2021.

Bleeding and apparently afflicted with uterine fibroids, Vietnamese prisoner of conscience Nguyen Thi Tam has been suffering in prison without adequate medical care, her family told Radio Free Asia.

Human rights groups have blamed her condition on horrible prison conditions and demanded her immediate release.

Tam is serving a 6-year sentence at Gia Trung Prison in the southern central province of Gia Lai for making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in violation of Article 117 of the penal code  a law frequently used by authorities to quiet dissent.

During a phone call on Mar. 3, Tam told her daughter Nguyen Thi Mai that she was suffering from severe bleeding and declining health and had to be sent to the Gia Lai provincial hospital on Feb. 28. She made the 50-kilometer (31-mile) journey in a box truck with no medical personnel on hand.

"My mother said that she felt exhausted and weak as many parts of the road were bumpy while she was bleeding a lot. However, the driver refused to stop, Mai told RFAs Vietnamese Service. The doctor concluded that my mother had uterine fibroids, but she was not allowed to stay at the hospital for monitoring or proper treatment."

Tam was sent back to the prison on the same day, and she is now receiving treatment at the prisons clinic, but the condition has left her weak to the point that she cannot even walk without the help of others.

Dong Tam commune dispute

Authorities arrested Tam and three others in June 2020 for expressing their opinions on social media about a land dispute at the Dong Tam commune that turned violent when authorities raided the commune in January of that year, leading to the deaths of three protesters and a village leader.

Tam has served prison sentences twice before in 2008 and 2014.

Conditions at the prison are difficult, Mai said. She said Tam told her that she was ordered to participate in cleaning the prison, but given no specific goal or target like other inmates, and she was allowed to grow vegetables for her own consumption.

Failure to participate in the prison labor would result in constant confinement in her cell and she would be denied opportunities to move around or communicate with other inmates.

Additionally, the prisons water is unclean, so inmates are forced to buy bottled water from the prison canteen for a 500,000 dong fee (more than US$20).

RFA attempted to contact the Gia Trung Prison to verify the information but no one answered the phone.

The London-based Amnesty International told RFA that the prisons failure to provide proper medical treatment to Nguyen Thi Tam has made her ongoing medical problems worse.

Joe Freedman, the media manager for Amnesty Internationals Southeast Asia Office, said in an email that three other prisoners of conscience had passed away because of poor or late medical treatment in Vietnamese prisons.

"Amnesty International is calling on the Vietnamese authorities to urgently provide adequate health care to Nguyen Thi Tam and to immediately and unconditionally release her and other activists imprisoned for peacefully exercising their human rights," he said.

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
6 A detail of Buddhist murals in Bamiyan, which date back to around A.D. 650.



This is the earliest clear example of oil paintings in the world, although drying oils were already used by ancient Romans and Egyptians, but only as medicines and cosmetics, said Yoko Taniguchi, the leader of the team of scientists.
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.
Irans judiciary has made its first arrests in what some officials have called a series of "poisonings" that have left more than 5,000 students, mainly schoolgirls, around the country ill.

The Interior Ministry said on March 7 that "several people" across six provinces had been detained under suspicion of making "hazardous substances" that may be connected with the wave of hospitalizations that started in November and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called an "unforgivable crime.

Deputy Interior Minister Majid Mirahmadi told state television that "intelligence agencies" had made several arrests "and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation."

The first report of suspected mass illness came in Qom in November, when 18 schoolgirls were taken to a hospital after complaining of symptoms that included nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, and numbness and pain in their hands or legs.



Since then, hundreds of cases have occurred and it remains unclear what might be causing the illnesses, though some of those affected have said they smelled chlorine or cleaning agents, while others said they thought they smelled tangerines in the air.



Some officials, including Khamenei, have characterized the situation as "poisonings," though health officials are still investigating the situation and it remains unclear what is causing dozens of students to be hospitalized.

Some officials say anxiety over the situation may be causing some students to seek medical help.



The muted response by the authorities has prompted some to accuse the government of purposely "poisoning" students, who have been at the forefront of months of anti-government protests -- the biggest threat to the Islamic leadership since the 1979 revolution.



Teachers and parents of students across the country staged more protests on March 7. In the southern city of Nurabad, teachers gathered and called for the government to step down.



One of the teachers who gave a speech in Nurabad said that security agencies were quickly identifying and imprisoning anyone who writes anti-government graffiti, "but they do not accept responsibility for these chemical issues in schools."



Meanwhile, protesters in Tehran's Poonak neighborhood and others in the capital on March 6, chanted "Death to the child-murdering government!" and "Death to the dictator," a reference to Khamenei, from windows and rooftops as reports of the illness continued to surface.



Similar scenes were reported in other Iranian cities, including Mahabad, Mashhad, Babol, Rasht, and Sanandaj.

Tehran's prosecutor announced on March 7 that he had filed a case against the editorial directors of the HamMihan, Roydad24, and Sharq newspapers, as well as against political activists Azar Mansouri and Reza Kianian, a prominent actor and a professor at Sadegh Zibakalam University.



Iran has been roiled by unrest since the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab, or head scarf, improperly.



The government has held several counterrallies to try to quell the dissent, but people continue to take to the streets across the country, as universities and schools have become leading venues for clashes between protesters and the authorities.



Security forces have also launched a series of raids on schools across the country, violently arresting students, especially female students, who have defiantly taken off their hijabs in protest.



Earlier this week, security agents detained a journalist who has actively covered the wave of illnesses from one of its epicenters, the central city of Qom.



Meanwhile, the Fars news agency reported on March 7 that an unspecified number of arrests had been made in five provinces in connection with the incidents. It gave no further details.



Khamenei has called for harsh punishments for those responsible, describing what has happened as an "unforgivable crime."

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Iran has sentenced 10 members of the armed forces to prison on charges of involvement in the 2020 downing of a Ukrainian airliner that killed 176 people, according to the Iranian judiciary's website.

Mizan Online on April 16 reported that a commander was sentenced to 10 years in prison while nine others received terms of one to three years.

"Examining this case has been one of the most important, sensitive, and complex judicial processes in the last few years of the country," the website said.

The website added that the commander's action in leading the downing of the craft "was due to his ignorance of the situation and his misplaced belief that the discovered target was hostile."



Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed on January 8, 2020, while en route to Kyiv, killing all 176 people on board.

Days after official denials, Iran admitted that a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had inadvertently shot down the plane amid heightened tensions with the United States over the U.S. drone assassination of top IRGC general, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad.

The majority of the victims were Iranians and Canadians, but 11 of them were citizens of Ukraine. The families have demanded transparency and accountability. The Iranian government has allocated $150,000 to compensate the family of each passenger, but some families have refused the money.

Canada said last year that it found no evidence of premeditation in the downing of the airliner. A Canadian court awarded $84 million and interest to the families of six of the victims.

The Group of Seven industrialized countries (G7) last year said in a joint statement that Iran should be held accountable for the shooting down of Flight PS752.

"We continue to support international efforts to hold Iran accountable for the illegal downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752," the June 28, 2022, statement said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda and AFP
WASHINGTON  Days before Russia launched its full-blown invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Boris Livshits ordered a military-grade spectrum analyzer from a Florida-based company for delivery to a suburban home in New Hampshire.

Livshits, who resides in Russia, had been ordering dual-purpose technology totaling millions of dollars from American companies for shipment back home via U.S.-based intermediaries and shell companies for years.



According to U.S. legal filings, the elaborate scheme was meant to disguise the end user of the controlled products: the Russian military-industrial complex.

Compliance with sanctions, for the most part, has been pretty reasonable. The one area where people are struggling, including in the U.S., are the export controls, and I think that's where there's a lot of focus.

The spectrum analyzer  which measures electronic signals and can be used on a battlefield or for countersurveillance operations  was repackaged by Aleksei Brayman at his New Hampshire residence and then shipped to a pickup point in Germany used by Russian intelligence for delivery on to Russia.



The United States broke up the Russian-led network late last year, arresting Brayman and another American citizen for allegedly helping Livshits export controlled products to sanctioned entities. Estonian police arrested a third individual -- suspected Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer Vadim Konoshchenok -- at the request of the United States as he attempted to smuggle the controlled goods across the border into Russia. Four other Russians, including Livshits, have been charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions, wire fraud, and money laundering but are not yet detained.



The scheme was one of possibly hundreds, by some estimates, set up by Russians to get around sweeping Western financial sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.



The United States and Europe have slapped more than 11,000 restrictions on Russian individuals, companies, products, and technologies, including the export of microprocessors, to degrade Russias economy and its ability to wage war.



However, Russia has withstood the tsunami of Western financial and export curbs better than initially expected, helped by several factors, including high energy prices, the reorientation of its economy toward Asia, higher government spending, and sanctions circumvention.

Now, as the war and the sanctions process enter their second year, the United States and its allies are focused on beefing up enforcement and closing loopholes to further hobble Russias economy and war machine.



Compliance with sanctions, for the most part, has been pretty reasonable, Brian OToole, a former senior adviser at the Treasury Department who is now an analyst at the Atlantic Council think tank, told RFE/RL. The one area where people are struggling, including in the U.S., are the export controls, and I think that's where there's a lot of focus.

Russias economy contracted 2.1 percent last year, according to the governments statistics service, Rosstat, avoiding the apocalyptic forecasts of a 10 to 15 percent decline made by many economists in the days following the first round of Western sanctions.



That said, some economists question whether Rosstat is manipulating the data as President Vladimir Putin seeks to paint a picture of Russian resilience in the face of sanctions. His government has halted publication of some statistics, making it harder to assess how the economy is performing.



Russia has made statistics a tool in its disinformation war, Agathe Demarais, the global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit and the author of a book on sanctions, wrote in a column last month for Foreign Policy.

Furthermore, experts say the state of the Russian economy is worse than the Rosstat data indicates, pointing out that the better performance was driven by military spending that does little to improve living standards. Russians cut their spending last year at the fastest pace since 2015 as the war took its toll on consumer confidence.



Nonetheless, Western governments are searching for new ways to tighten the grip of the sanctions.



Red Flags



The United States and its allies are taking a two-pronged approach to narrow the scope for sanctions evasion, helping domestic companies identify bad actors while nudging third countries to take action on smuggling and money laundering.



In their first collective effort to tackle the problem, the Justice, Treasury, and Commerce departments on March 2 issued a joint note to U.S. companies advising them on how to weed out network schemes like the one allegedly run by Livshits.



Our economic tools are constraining Russia  so much so that the Kremlin has tasked their intelligence services with finding ways to get around international sanctions and export controls, Andrea Gacki, the director of Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), said in the joint statement, adding the private sector is an essential partner in the fight.



The joint note highlighted several red flags that could indicate whether a client is attempting to evade sanctions, such as using an IP address that does not correspond to the clients reported location; making last-minute changes to shipping instructions that appear contrary to customer history or business practices; paying for a product via a third-party country or business not listed on agreements; using a personal e-mail account when ordering; or not having a corporate website.



OToole said it can take a while for compliance teams at U.S. companies to notice new patterns of evasion they havent previously dealt with.

Livshits may have inadvertently exposed his network to U.S. law enforcement when, in an April e-mail fired off to the Florida-based electronics company to complain about the calibration of the spectrum analyzer, he mentioned he was in Russia.



In response, an employee at the U.S. firm told Livshits that, due to sanctions, he has been strongly cautioned not to speak with you anymore or have any dealings with your associates in the US," the Justice Department indictment states. It is unclear if the Florida firm was the first to contact U.S. law enforcement about Livshits.



Eight months later, Livshits U.S. associates were arrested.



Gutted For Their Chips



Meanwhile, U.S. officials are making the rounds of their counterparts in nations whose companies or financial sectors are helping Russia circumvent Western curbs.



The United States has warned that foreign companies could lose access to Western markets if they do business with Russian entities subject to U.S. restrictions.



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled last week to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to discuss a host of issues, including sanctions enforcement. Former Soviet states, along with Turkey and China, have been key conduits for banned goods to Russia and sanctions-skirting financial transactions.



We are watching compliance with sanctions very closely, Blinken said at a February 28 press conference with his Kazakh counterpart in response to a question about potential sanctions against Kazakh companies.
Ukrainian leaders have continued to insist that their troops are holding on in Bakhmut -- the scene of months of brutal and costly fighting -- even as the Russian military vowed to capture the city and move farther into Ukraine and the UN chief arrived in the country.

"Capturing [the city] will allow for further offensive operations deep into the defense lines of the armed forces of Ukraine," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on March 7 during a televised meeting with military officers.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy indicated in a video address that Kyiv was looking to send more troops to the city in the eastern Donetsk region, saying his military commanders agreed with the strategy in the face of comments from some outside the country that Ukraine should consider pulling out before its forces can be cut off and surrounded.

"The command unanimously supported" the decision not to withdraw, Zelenskiy said late on March 6. "There were no other positions. I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut."

Russia's Wagner mercenary group is leading the assault on Bakhmut, which had a prewar population of 70,000. The group has suffered massive losses in the battle for the city that U.S. and other Western military leaders say has very little strategic value.

Kyiv's military command claimed that 1,600 Russian soldiers had been killed over the past 24 hours -- which would represent a one-day record for losses in the war.

Ukraine has also suffered heavy losses in the battle, although casualty figures and battlefield claims on both sides are difficult to independently confirm.

As the fighting raged, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived late on March 7 in Ukraine for meetings with Zelenskiy the next day.

Guterres spent March 7 in Poland, where leaders there announced that Warsaw would send 10 Leopard 2 tanks this week to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, made public the identity of one of his soldiers that appears to have been executed by the Russians after falling prisoner in Bakhmut.

The video of the purported execution has sparked outrage after being posted on social media, amid calls that a war crimes investigation be opened by the International Criminal Court.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was aware of the "harrowing" video and added that Moscow should be ashamed of its actions in the war. He said it was not the first evidence of apparent abuses committed by Kremlin forces in Ukraine.

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.

Earlier, an air-raid alert was declared across Ukraine in midmorning, but there were no reports of Russian strikes and the alarm was lifted after less than an hour.

Volodymyr Nazarenko, a commander of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, spoke in a Telegram video on March 6 about the difficult situation in and around Bakhmut, but he and other leaders vowed to continue the fight.

"The situation in Bakhmut and around it is utter hell, as it is on the entire eastern front," Nazarenko said.



The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that Ukrainian defensive efforts had substantially drained Russian military resources but that Kyivs forces may now be conducting a gradual fighting withdrawal" from some positions.



Ukrainian commanders, however, have pointed out that holding Bakhmut will prevent Russian forces from advancing deeper into the western part of Donetsk in the direction of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.

With reporting by Reuters and AP
A kettle. A cauldron. A pincer. A meat grinder. A carpet of corpses. A death trap.

A decisive battle?

Since at least August, a motley crew of Russian regular forces and soldiers from the notorious Wagner private mercenary company have been throwing World-War-I-style waves of infantry at Bakhmut, trying to dislodge Ukraine's entrenched defense from the small city in the eastern Donetsk region.

That fighting was eclipsed in recent months by Ukraine's counteroffensives to the north, in the Kharkiv region, and to the southwest, around Kherson, on the west bank of the Dnieper River.

But the onslaught intensified in December, and now Russian forces have surrounded Bakhmut on three sides, with just one major road still available to Ukraine's beleaguered forces. The city may fall entirely to Russian hands in the coming days.

So what?

For military experts and close watchers of the Ukrainian battlefields, Bakhmut's symbolic importance far outweighs its strategic importance. Straddling the Bakhmutka River, just 20 kilometers west of the Luhansk region administrative border, the city, with a prewar population of around 70,000, used to be known mostly for its sparkling wines and salt mines.

The city is also located on relatively open flatland, surrounded by slightly higher elevations and sitting at the junction of several major roads. The elevation difference makes it vulnerable to mortar rocket fire; the crossroads make it more important for running troops and equipment to nearby positions.

Now with a multipronged Russian offensive in its seventh or eighth week, Bakhmut could fall in a matter of days.

"My gut feeling is that we can keep it," Yuriy Syrotyuk, a soldier with Ukraine's 5th Assault Brigade, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "Yes, it is very difficult. Yes, it is hard to bear constant enemy attacks. Yes, now access to the city is difficult.... But all the same, replacements are coming, ammunition is coming, and the wounded are being taken out."

For their part, Ukrainian officials -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, first and foremost -- have signaled that the defense of Bakhmut will continue.

Ukraine's top military commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, and other commanders "spoke in favor of continuing the defense operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut," Zelenskiy's office said in a statement on March 6.

In his nightly video address the same day, Zelenskiy explained further. "The command unanimously supported" the decision not to withdraw, he said. "There were no other positions. I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut."

WATCH: As Russia concentrates its efforts on the industrial city, Ukrainian artillery units are pushing back against waves of assaults by Russian troops.

Western officials are more circumspect.

"If the Ukrainians decide to reposition in some of the terrain that's west of Bakhmut, I would not view that as an operational or a strategic setback," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on March 6. "I think Bakhmut -- I certainly don't want to discount the tremendous work that the Ukrainians' soldiers and leaders have put into defending Bakhmut -- but I think it's more of a symbolic value than it is a strategic and operational value."

"So the fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," he told reporters.

"This is strangling (but not yet stopping) the Ukrainian capacity to defend the city," Mick Ryan, a former Australian Army major general and an analyst on Russian military doctrine, wrote in a commentary. "Because of the massive human and material resources expended by Russians on this objective, the situation may soon necessitate a Ukrainian withdrawal."

'Waves Of Living Meat'

If there is a logic to holding on in Bakhmut, it may be what some observers say is a repeat of a tactic that worked in the run-up to the Kharkiv offensive: inflicting heavy casualties and damage on Russian forces, weakening them in preparation for a counteroffensive in the spring or summer.

Russia's incremental progress, gradually surrounding the city from the north, east, and west, military analysts say, has come at extraordinary cost: in previous months, some estimates say that for every Ukrainian soldier killed or wounded, there were six or seven Russian casualties. Unnamed NATO officials also endorsed that ratio in comments to CNN.

"In principle, the tactics of the enemy remain unchanged," Taras Berezovets, a spokesman for the 1st Separate Special Purpose Brigade, told Current Time. "These are waves of living meat that attack the positions of the Ukrainian defenders."

WATCH: Ukrainian soldiers say Russian troops continue to launch daily attacks with small infantry units, despite suffering major losses.

The ratio of Ukrainian to Russian casualties is now likely closer to one-to-one, experts say.

Bakhmut's "major strategic importance, of course, is in the question who [can] attrit whom to a greater extent in this big battle for Bakhmut, as it will have major impact on 2023 campaign," Mykola Byelyeskov, an analyst at the government-backed National Institute for Strategic Studies, told RFE/RL in a message. "And it's quite difficult to say now who is more successful."

The Institute for the Study of War echoed that assertion. "The Russian military will likely struggle to maintain any subsequent offensive operations for some months, giving Ukraine a chance to seize the initiative," the U.S. think tank said in its daily assessment.

But Ukraine's fight for Bakhmut has also become significant because of the current composition of Russian forces deployed in the area.

"I think the tenacious defense of Bakhmut achieved a great deal, expending [Russian] manpower and ammunition," Michael Kofman, a defense analyst at the Center for U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses, wrote on Twitter following a recent visit to Bakhmut. "But strategies can reach points of diminishing returns, and given [Ukraine] is trying to husband resources for an offensive, it could impede the success of a more important operation."

'Seizing Rubble'

For the Russians, a victory in Bakhmut would provide bragging rights in the wake of a series of Ukrainian victories that have highlighted systemic problems in the Russian military.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on March 7 that capturing Bakhmut would be key to launching a further offensive in the Donetsk region.

On the Russian side, the casualty rate has been borne, in large part, by Wagner, the majority of whose troops are convicts recruited from prison in exchange for reduced sentences, as well as lesser-trained mobilized troops.

Western officials say up to 50,000 inmates have signed up with Wagner, and nearly all of them have been sent to the Bakhmut front.

"This is their last shot" to take Bakhmut, Colonel Serhiy Cherevatiy, a spokesman for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "They are trying to win at least some kind of local victory."

Wagner's bombastic founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed at least twice that his troops had captured Bakhmut, and he has publicly stated that grinding down Ukrainian forces is also an objective.

Prigozhin, whose political prominence has risen over the course of the war, has used the Bakhmut standoff as a cudgel to bash the Defense Ministry, part of a long-running feud that has been unusual in its publicity.

Ukrainian and Western officials, meanwhile, say the composition of the Wagner forces assaulting Bakhmut has changed, with more professionally trained troops joining the battle.

In recent weeks, Prigozhin, whose allies have railed against Shoigu and the Russian chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, has complained that ammunition supplies for Wagner were being deliberately curtailed.

"The reality is that if the Russians do capture Bakhmut, they are seizing rubble," Ryan wrote. "It is a town with minimal strategic importance, with almost no remaining infrastructure to support an occupying force. That the Russians have invested so much in its capture speaks volumes about their poor strategy in this war."
On April 14, 2023, Moscow will host the Mining Industry: Investment Projects and Support Measures Forum organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. The event will be held with the support of the Russian Federation Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation.

Within the framework of the Forum, the largest mining companies and heads of federal authorities will discuss issues on the development of business investment initiatives and the removal of regulatory barriers in the industry. Due to the geopolitical situation, the industry enterprises faced challenges, the solution of which is possible only through joint interaction of business and authorities. Today, it is especially important to develop support measures that will be able to maintain the investment activity of enterprises and ensure the implementation of investment projects.

In addition, the Forum participants will discuss issues related to the development of railway infrastructure to ensure the carrying capacity of railway lines in the interests of mining companies, as well as the needs of enterprises for the necessary equipment and machinery produced by both Russian and foreign manufacturers.

Key topics:

- Mechanisms of corporate investment activity

- Regulatory and administrative barriers and ways to overcome them

- Raising funds for projects pursued by mining companies

- Imports substitution in the mining complex

- State support measures for industry enterprises

- Port and railway infrastructure

Forum venue: The Carlton Hotel at 3 Tverskaya Str., Moscow

Date: April 14, 2023, from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm

Official website of the forum: https://investminingforum.ru

For participation and registration, please contact Alexander Nikonorov, Project Manager of the "Mining: Investment Projects and Support Measures" Forum.

Tel.: +7 (495) 481-39-30

Mob.: +7 (964) 563 62 63

gov@investminingforum.ru
Rahul Gandhi

'It is ridiculous to say that the time of Congress is over', Says Rahul Gandhi

LONDON: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party likes to believe that it will remain in power in India, but that's not the case. He said that it is ridiculous to say that the time of Congress is over. During an interactive session at the Chatham House think tank on Monday during his visit to the UK, Rahul Gandhi also stressed that the political dialogue should not focus on the changing nature of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It became one of the main reasons for the failure of the government.

He said, "If we look at the time since independence till today, Congress was in power most of the time. Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that it came to power in India and will remain forever, but that is not the case. He said, "We were focusing a lot on the rural area and initially we lost the urban areas. It is a fact but it is really ridiculous to say that the BJP is in power and the time of the Congress is over."

Advertisement

BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of defaming India on foreign soil while praising China. Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday hit out at the Congress leader for his statements and urged him not to betray the country.

Anurag Thakur said, "Rahul Gandhi ji, don't betray India. Questioning India's foreign policy shows that you don't understand the issue. The attempts you make to defame your country after going abroad, spreading falsehoods... No one will believe it. Thakur alleged that Gandhi wanted to hide his failures on foreign soil by defaming India.
Religious Harmony: Muslim Couple gets hitched in a Hindu Temple at Shimla

People of both communities gave blessings to the Newlyweds

SHIMLA: Setting a great example, a Muslim couple got hitched at a Hindu temple in Rampur, Shimla on Monday (March 6). The wedding took place in Thakur Satyanarayan temple complex premises which is managed by Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The district office of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also located in this temple complex. A Maulvi performed the Nikah of the couple in the presence of two advocates and two witnesses. The special thing about this marriage is that the entire ceremony was completed by the Maulvi in the premises of the official temple of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. A vegetarian feast was organized in the temple. The 'baraat' was received at the temple in the traditional Hindu manner.

Muslim Couple

Advertisement

The VHP officials had allowed the marriage in the temple hall on the demand of the bride's parents. The Nikah of the Muslim couple was read on March 3. The Muslim relatives of the bride and groom attended the wedding, while the Hindu people of the area also blessed the newly-wed couple. People are really appreciating this initiative as it gives a message of religious harmony and brotherhood in the society.

Muslim couple wedding in hindu temple

According to the information, the bride and groom, both are civil engineers. With the consent of both the families, the marriage was conducted in the temple hall. Vinay Sharma, general secretary of the temple trust, said, "Marriages are often conducted in the Satyanarayan temple. Marriage officiants are allowed as per the rules so that temple decorum is maintained. This Nikah is a great example to strengthen the Hindu-Muslim relationship. This is the first time that someone belonging to the Muslim community got married in the temple."
BSF Recovers More than 2.5 kg Heroin near Indo-Pak Border in Amritsar

BSF Expressed the possibility that the heroin was dropped through a drone that entered from Pakistan late on Sunday night.

AMRITSAR: The Border Security Force personnel deployed on the Indo-Pak border have recovered 2 kg 640 grams of heroin from the border village of Saido Ghazi in Amritsar district. The BSF has expressed the possibility that the heroin was dropped through a drone that entered from Pakistan late on Sunday night.

According to a BSF spokesperson, the Jawans were patrolling at the border in Sector Khasa, Amritsar. At around 10:25 pm on Sunday late night, the soldiers heard the sound of an object (drone) flying towards Saido Ghazi village from the Pakistan side. The jawans tried to stop the drone by firing in the direction of the sound. Immediately after this, senior BSF officials informed the officials of other agencies about this and cordoned off the entire area.

Advertisement

BSF officials along with officials of other intelligence agencies of the country conducted a search operation in the entire area on Monday morning. Late in the evening, BSF recovered two packets wrapped in yellow envelopes which contained about 2 kg 640 grams of heroin.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit

Holi inspires us to fight against Iniquity, injustice and lies: Governor Banwarilal Purohit

CHANDIGARH: Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory, Chandigarh Banwarilal Purohit has extended warm greetings to the people of Punjab and Chandigarh on the eve of Holi festival.

In his message, the Governor said that the festival of Holi inspires us to fight against Iniquity, injustice and lies. He said that this festival is a symbol of the arrival of spring and unites people with a sense of mutual love and harmony, forgetting all the differences of caste and religion.

Advertisement

"Let us uphold the sanctity and dignity of this festival and celebrate it with traditional enthusiasm and joy in a safe and eco-friendly manner," Purohit said.


Indian Man Killed in a Train Accident in United States of America

The Deceased has been identified as Srikanth Degala

NEW YORK: An Indian Man died in a train accident in New Jersey, United States of America. According to media reports, a 39-year-old man from Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh was hit by an intercity train at Princeton Junction station. The deceased has been identified as Srikanth Degala. Train services between New York and Philadelphia were temporarily suspended following the accident last week.

Amtrak train 178, traveling from Washington, D.C. to Boston, struck the victim just east of Princeton Junction, an Amtrak spokesman said. There are no reports of any injuries to the passengers or the crew of the train in the accident.
Khufus Pyramid is one of the largest archaeological monuments all over the world, which still holds many mysteries. In 2016 and 2017, the ScanPyramids team reported on several discoveries of previously unknown voids by cosmic-ray muon radiography. In new research, scientists carried out a precise analysis of the void  about 9 m in length with a transverse section of about 2 m by 2 m  found behind the North Face Chevron and named the ScanPyramids North Face Corridor.

The Great Pyramid is one of the largest stone structures in the world, built 4,500 years ago by the king Khufu, king Snefrus son, on the Giza plateau of necropolis in Egypt.

It was expected to be over 146 m high, before its smooth outer coating was stripped off by carriers in the Middle Ages as well as the capstone on the top.

Today, the pyramid is 139 m high and 230 m wide, and is thought to be made of several million pieces of limestone, each about 1-2 m high.

There are large internal structures in its massive stone body, connected by narrow corridors in the north-south direction at a distance of about 7 m east from the center of the pyramid.

They are respectively called, from the bottom to the top, the abandoned subterranean chamber, the queens chamber, the grand gallery and the kings chamber.

In 2016 and 2017, a series of new voids were discovered inside the pyramid, including a Big Void and a corridor-shaped structure located behind the Chevron structures on the north side of the pyramid, named the North Face Corridor.

However, the precise position and shape of the North Face Corridor remain unknown.

Using a technique called cosmic-ray muon radiography, Dr. Sebastien Procureur from the Universite Paris-Saclay and his colleagues measured the size, shape and location of the North Face Corridor in detail, without entering it.

According to the team, the corridor measures about 9 m in length, and has a transverse section of about 2 m by 2 m.

North end of the corridor starts at 0.8 m behind the Chevron and ends at 9.1 m southward, the authors said.

A horizontal corridor is favored, with a transverse section around 2 m by 2 m.

More complex shapes than a simple paralleliped are possible, but with the same mean height and width.

To our knowledge, this study is the first characterization of the position and dimensions of a void detected by cosmic-ray muons with a sensitivity of a few centimeters only, they added.

On the archaeological side, the discovery of a void located behind the Chevron and having a larger cross-section than the corridors connecting the inner structures of the pyramid may be decisive in approaching the role of this Chevron.

The teams paper was published in the journal Nature Communications.

_____

S. Procureur et al. 2023. Precise characterization of a corridor-shaped structure in Khufus Pyramid by observation of cosmic-ray muons. Nat Commun 14, 1144; doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36351-0
India has emerged as the bright spot of the global economy and is playing an important role in the supply chain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, urging stakeholders to take full advantage of this opportunity, and asking financial institutions to reduce the cost of credit, and increase the pace of credit disbursal and reach to small entrepreneurs.

Indian banks are now profitable after being on the verge of collapse about eight to ten years ago, he stated, adding that the robust Indian financial system has increased responsibilities as the country is moving with new capabilities.

Today, the need of the hour is that the benefits of the strength in Indias banking system should reach the maximum number of people, he said addressing a post-budget webinar on the financial sector, the tenth of a 12-series programme between February 23 and March 11.

PM explained that the post-budget webinars, an annual practice since 2021, assist the government in inculcating collective ownership and rope in all stakeholders in the spirit of equal partnership. So far, he has addressed seminars on green growth, agriculture and cooperatives, harnessing youth power, reaching the last mile, ease of living, urban development, tourism in mission mode, infrastructure and health.

Participating in the Budget discussion in the Rajya Sabha on February 10, Union finance minister Nirmala assured the house that banks and financial systems are now robust after the Modi government put an end to the dial-a-loan scheme prevalent before May 2014. The government also launched an Asset Quality Review (AQR) on April 2015 to unearth hidden non-performing assets (NPAs) to strengthen the Indian banking sector dominated by public sector banks. As a result, 12 PSBs declared a net profit of Rs 25,685 crore in the second quarter of FY23 and a total of Rs 40,991 crore in the first half of FY23, a year-on-year increase of 50% and 31.6%, respectively. The 2015 AQR led to a surge in non-performing assets (NPAs) of PSBs from Rs 2.17 lakh crore on March 31, 2014, to Rs 8.96 lakh crore on March 31, 2018, mainly due to indiscriminate lending.

For instance, the governments support to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Modi asked the banking system to reach out to the maximum number of the sector. The government provided help to over 1.20 crore MSMEs during the pandemic period, he said.

In this years budget, the MSME sector has also got additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of ?2 lakh crore. Now, it is very important that our banks reach out to them and provide them adequate finance, he added.

Referring to the governments focus on financial inclusion through JAM Trinity (Jan-Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification and Mobile coverage) the Prime Minister stressed that crores of people were now part of the formal financial system and urged policy-makers, banks and the financial sector to re-engineer processes to reduce the cost and increase the speed of credit so that it reaches the small entrepreneurs quickly.

He said the government has assisted millions of youth by giving Mudra loans worth over ?20 lakh crore without a bank guarantee. For the first time, more than 40 lakh street vendors and small shopkeepers received help from banks through PM Swanidhi Yojana,

PM Modi also invited the private segment to invest at a matching pace with the government, highlighting the Budget 2023-24 raises the capital expenditure outlay to ?10 lakh crore. Today, I would also call upon the private sector of the country to increase their investment just like the government so that the country gets maximum benefit from it, he said.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman described capital investment as driver of growth and jobs and raised the outlay by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore. The direct capital investment by the Centre is complemented by the provision made for creation of capital assets through Grants-in-Aid to States. The Effective Capital Expenditure of the Centre is budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore, which will be 4.5% of GDP, she said on February 1.

Speaking on the governments policy of reducing tax rates to enhance revenue collection, PM Modi said the tax burden has significantly declined due to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017, and the reduction of personal and corporate income tax rates.

In 2013-14 gross tax revenue was about Rs 11 lakh crore which can rise to ?33 lakh crore in 2023-24 [Budget Estimates], an increase of 200%, he said.

He said the tax base has also increased as the number of individual tax returns jumped to 6.5 crore in 2020-21 as compared to 3.5 crore in 2013-14. Paying tax is such a duty, which is directly related to nation building. The increase in the tax base is proof that people have faith in the government, and they believe that the tax paid is being spent for public good, he said.
Homegrown information technology (IT) facilities firm, HCL Technologies, on Monday, announced an agreement with Microsofts quantum cloud computing service, Azure Quantum. By using Microsoft's platform as the technological stack, HCLTech will provide its clients with cloud-based quantum computing services. The services will be provided by HCLTech's Q-Labs, one of Microsoft's partners that has previously offered Azure Quantum credits.

Through this partnership, HCLTechs Q-Labs will create on-cloud examples of quantum technologies and will showcase proof of concept (PoC) business use cases to the companys clients. Linda Lauw, senior director at Microsofts Azure Quantum Planning and Partnerships, said that an early phase of Microsoft and HCLTech Q-Labs partnership has seen impressive engagement" from introducing enterprises to quantum computing foundations and applicatioins explorable right not through PoC pilots."

HCLTechs Q-Labs also incubates early-stage research programs that seek to develop industrial quantum computing applications, the company said in a statement. Under its partnership with Microsoft, Q-Lab will offer the quantum computing cloud service to close to 1,000 employees around the world", in order to develop such use cases.

Microsofts Azure Quantum, along with Googles quantum computing service Cirq and IBMs Quantum, are among the most prominent cloud-based services that offer businesses access to quantum hardware over the cloud. Each of these companies are making gradual progresses towards bringing quantum computing services to the commercial fold.

In September last year, IBM Quantum announced a partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, offering the latters students access to its quantum hardware in order to help develop algorithms, applications and skillsets among engineers.

On February 22, Google chief Sundar Pichai said that a team of researchers at the company succeeded in developing logical qubits  larger fundamental building blocks of quantum computing  and using the same to reduce computational errors made by quantum computers. The latter require a specific set of conditions in order for its fundamental computing factor, qubits, to operate at their quantum state. By grouping together 47 qubits into a larger single entity, the researchers claimed to have made quantum calculations more reliable, thus taking a step towards making quantum computers commercially viable.
The global passenger electric vehicle (EV) sales rose by 53 per cent (year-on-year) in Q4 2022 to bring the year's total to over 10.2 million (more than 1.2 crore) units, a report showed on Monday.

Tesla's Model Y remained the best-selling model globally followed by China-based BYD's Song model.

During Q4 2022, battery EVs (BEV) accounted for almost 72 per cent of all EV sales, while plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) accounted for the rest, according to Counterpoint Research.

According to senior analyst Soumen Mandal, by the end of 2023, EV sales are expected to reach nearly 17 million units.

In 2022, the top three EV markets were China, Germany, and the US. The top 10 EV automotive groups, which hold more than 39 passenger car brands, contributed to almost 72 per cent of all EV sales in Q4 2022.

"The annual total for 2022 would have reached close to 11 million units had fresh Covid-19 infections not surfaced in China. The infections in China during November and December affected automotive production and sales and disrupted the component supply chain," said research analyst Abhik Mukherjee.

Despite these headwinds, Chinese brands managed to record strong growth.

In 2022, many Chinese brands started to expand in markets like Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

"Chinese brands are likely to dominate in Southeast Asia and Latin America as there are very few brands operating in these regions. But a fight for market presence is expected in Europe," Mukherjee added.

The top 10 EV models accounted for one-third of the total passenger EV sales in Q4 2022.

According to Mandal, by the end of 2023, EV sales are expected to reach nearly 17 million units.

"The end of the purchase subsidy in China might push EV manufacturers to increase their prices. BYD has already implemented one price hike in January. But these price hikes are unlikely to affect EV sales in one of the most matured EV markets," said Mandal.
In a huge relief for home buyers, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the resolution plan submitted by Mumbai-based Suraksha group to acquire Jaypee Infratech Ltd through the insolvency process.

A two-member principal bench of the NCLT, headed by President Ramalingam Sudhkar, approved the resolution plan. The Suraksha group had proposed to complete around 20,000 flats in Noida and Greater Noida, which came as a relief to home buyers who have been waiting for their homes for more than 10 years.

In November last year, the tribunal had reserved its order on the plea filed by the resolution professional of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) seeking approval for Suraksha group's bid to complete around 20,000 flats across various stalled projects in Noida and Greater Noida.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC), which includes banks and home buyers, gave its approval in June 2021, to Suraksha group to take over the JIL. The CoC's decision came as a ray of hope for nearly 20,000 home buyers, who are waiting to get possession of their flats in the stalled projects. The corporate insolvency process of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) started in August 2017.

The detailed order in the matter will be uploaded later in the day. The ruling came about six years after the construction company entered the insolvency process, and nearly two years after the lenders' committee gave its nod for Suraksha group's offer.
The Self-Sponsorship visa route is a viable alternative to the Entrepreneur and Investor visas for Indian entrepreneurs seeking to establish a UK business. It allows for acquisition of a Skilled Worker Visa to work for their own business and provides a pathway to British citizenship. The Self-Sponsorship route removes the need for an external UK sponsor Licence and enables entrepreneurs to manage their business without concern for visa cancellation. Those with established UK businesses can switch to the Self-Sponsorship visa as well.

Self-sponsorship is a dependable and reputable visa route for Indian entrepreneurs and business professionals to establish themselves in the UK. It presents an excellent opportunity to settle in the UK.

Many entrepreneurs and business owners have taken advantage of this legitimate option to establish businesses in the UK successfully. If you genuinely aspire to open a business in the UK and desire to run an active trading company, Self-sponsorship may be an excellent starting point.

Who Qualifies for Self-Sponsorship?

Some of the requirements for Self-sponsorship visa route includes but not limited to:

Incorporate the UK entity

Open a UK business bank account

Get a PAYE registration

VAT registration certificate

Employer's liability insurance certificate

You must have sufficient financial resources to support your business in the UK.

A valid company email address

A sustainable business plan

An organisation chart

A confirmation letter that verifies the details of your company.

However, the primary requirement to qualify for this visa route is that you must have specific transferable/relevant skill, qualification or expertise in the sector where you want to start your business.

Before planning to establish or expand your business, it is essential to conduct appropriate and in-depth research of the UK market.

If you are a successful business owner in India and have analysed a business opportunity in the UK, or if you have a business plan and want to explore that in the United Kingdom, you can explore the Self-Sponsorship path.

Can I Bring Along My Spouse/Children/Parents Via SS Route?

It is one of the most asked questions from applicants for a Self-Sponsorship visa. Yes, you can bring along your spouse and children under 18 to stay with you in the UK. However, for parents, you have to show their job responsibility in your business. The second option is an adult-dependent relative visa route to bring your parents. Here, you should also know that after obtaining a Self-sponsorship visa, you can only stay out of the UK for a maximum of 180 days a year. Doing so will qualify you for the ILR (Indefinite leave to remain).

If your business runs for five years, you may be eligible to get permanent residency, and within six years, you could qualify for British citizenship. Doesn't that sound great?

What is the Financial Requirement for Self-Sponsorship?

The best part of this visa route is that no minimum or maximum investment is required. It's totally up to you how much you want to invest in your business. Only you are the right person to decide how much investment is required to establish or expand your business in the United Kingdom.

Success Story of Self-Sponsorship

Kate Corey, the founder of the travel firm 6 Degrees, is an example of a businesswoman who successfully used the Self-Sponsorship route to establish her company in the UK. Ms Corey had attempted to move to the UK for several years, but no visa routes were open to her. With the help of immigration law firm A Y & J Solicitors, she established her UK company and was able to obtain visa. A Y & J Solicitors provided guidance on opening a UK business, a business bank account and provide complete hand-holding support for the complex UK immigration process.

Certainly, it's a fantastic opportunity to live and work in the United Kingdom if you're looking to launch or expand your business. Nonetheless, it's crucial to understand that the "Self-Sponsorship Visa" is not a specific type of visa, but rather a clever means of entering the UK through a Skilled Worker visa.

To conclude, the Self-Sponsorship route seems to be the most innovative, suitable, and optimistic visa option for Indian entrepreneurs and business owners looking to establish a presence in the UK. However, navigating this route can be challenging, involving several steps and a thoughtful process. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced immigration lawyer, you can successfully establish your business in the UK and obtain permanent residency. Their knowledge and guidance can assist you in achieving your objectives with ease and efficiency.
SonicWall, publisher of the worlds most quoted ransomware data and trusted cyberattack intelligence, today released the 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. The bi-annual report details an increasingly diversified cyberattack landscape amid shifting threat actor strategies. SonicWall recorded the second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts, as well as an 87% increase in Internet of Things (IoT) malware and a record number of cryptojacking attacks (139.3 million) in 2022.

The past year reinforced the need for cybersecurity in every industry and every facet of business, as threat actors targeted anything and everything, from education to retail to finance, said SonicWall President and CEO Bob VanKirk. While organizations face an increasing number of real-world obstacles with macroeconomic pressures and continued geopolitical strife, threat actors are shifting attack strategies at an alarming rate.

Organizations today face an evolving threat landscape where threat actors are finding new and creative ways to stay ahead of the enterprise, said Debasish Mukherjee, Vice President, Regional Sales APJ at SonicWall Inc. Cyber risks and their impacts on organizations globally continue to dominate headlines and boardrooms. The 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report helps elevate us as a credible source and strengthens our ability to provide sound security measures to our customers.

Threat Actors Shift Strategies, Opt for Covert Cyberattack Methods

Global malware volume increased 2% year-over-year, but it was jumps in IoT malware (+87%) and cryptojacking (+43%) that offset the decline of overall global ransomware volume (-21%), signifying a strategic shift. Threat actors have embraced slower and more stealthy approaches to achieve financially-motivated cyberattacks.

Cyberattacks are an ever-present danger for companies of all sizes, putting their operations and reputation on the line, said SonicWall Threat Detection and Response Strategist Immanuel Chavoya. It is crucial for organizations to understand attackers tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), and commit to threat-informed cybersecurity strategies to defend and recover successfully from business-disrupting events. This includes stopping sophisticated ransomware attacks as well defending emerging threat vectors, including IoT and cryptojacking.

In addition to cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated and covert, threat actors are showing clear preferences for certain techniques, with notable shifts toward weak IoT devices, cryptojacking and potentially soft targets like schools and hospitals.

Prominent ransomware attacks impacted enterprises, governments, airlines, hospitals, hotels and even individuals causing widespread system downtime, economic loss and reputational damage. Following global trends, several industries faced large year-over-year increases of ransomware volume, including education (+275%), finance (+41%) and healthcare (+8%).

Overall malware up 2%, with surges in IoT malware (+87%) and crypto jacking (+43%)

Ransomware attacks dipped 25% globally, but 2022 still second-highest year on record for global ransomware attempts (493.3 million)

Education (+157%), finance (+86%) and retail (+50%) verticals hit hardest by malware

Ukraine saw record levels of malware (25.6 million) and ransomware (7.1 million)

In APAC, malware climbs (+38%), with crypto jacking spiking (+129%) and IoT Attacks up (+73%)

SonicWall discovered 465,501 never-before-seen malware variants in 2022

Intrusion attempts against Log4j vulnerabilities eclipsed 1 billion

Diverse Attacks Offset Global Ransomware Decline

Cybercriminals are using increasingly advanced tools and tactics to exploit and extort victims, with state-sponsored activity growing as a concern. While ransomware continues to be a threat, SonicWall Capture Labs threat researchers expect more state-sponsored activity targeting a broader set of victims in 2023, including SMBs and enterprises.

The 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report provides insight on a range of cyber threats, including:

Malware  Total volume was up 2% in 2022 after three straight years of decline  just as SonicWall predicted in the 2022 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report. Following that trend, Europe as a whole saw increased levels of malware (+10%) as did Ukraine, which had a record 25.6 million attempts, suggesting malware was used heavily in regions impacted by geopolitical strife. Interestingly, malware was down year-over-year in key countries like the U.S. (-9%), U.K. (-13%) and Germany (-28%).

Ransomware  Although overall ransomware numbers saw a 21% decline globally, the total volume in 2022 was higher than 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. In particular, total ransomware in Q4 (154.9 million) was the highest since Q3 2021.

IoT Malware  Global volume rose 87% in 2022, totaling 112 million hits by years end. With no corresponding slowdown in the proliferation of connected devices, bad actors are likely probing soft targets to leverage as potential attack vectors into larger organizations.

Apache Log4j  Intrusion attempts against the industry's Apache Log4j Log4Shell vulnerability eclipsed 1 billion in 2022. The vulnerability was first discovered in December 2021 and has been actively exploited since.

Cryptojacking  Use of cryptojacking as a low and slow approach continued to surge, rising 43% globally, which is the most SonicWall Capture Labs threat researchers have recorded in a single year. The retail and financial industry felt the sting of cryptojacking attacks, seeing 2810% and 352% increases, respectively, year-over-year.

"Cyberattacks of all varieties continue to hinder organizations worldwide," said Logically Chief Operating Officer Keith Johnson. "SonicWall's annual intelligence report gives us a deeper understanding of the current threat landscape and helps breakdown why cyberattacks continue to be successful, as well as the drivers and trends behind them. By making this report available to partners, SonicWall helps elevate us as trusted advisors and strengthens our ability to provide sound security measures to our customers.

Patented RTDMI Discovered more than 465,000 Never-Before-Seen Malware Variants in 2022

SonicWalls patented Real-Time Deep Memory InspectionTM (RTDMITM) technology identified a total of 465,501 never-before-seen malware variants in 2022, a 5% year-over-year increase and an average of 1,279 per day. Dating to 2019, this is the fourth straight year RTDMI increased its total of malware discoveries.

To learn more about SonicWall and get the complete 2023 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report, please visit SonicWall.com/ThreatReport.
Kerala's efforts to strengthen its startup ecosystem saw a significant boost when emerging businesses in the State were assured of investments totaling 18.4 crore, opening a new chapter in the government's initiatives to establish a vibrant early-stage ecosystem.

Kozhikode-based Sparks Angel Network declared bringing in an investment of 8 crore in the State's businesses during the "Seeding Kerala" colloquium conducted by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), while Kerala Angel Network estimated its figure at 5 crore. Phoenix Angels announced that it was financing 3.5 crore and that a pool of 1.45 crore managed by startup entrepreneurs would contribute the remaining amount. GSF Accelerator disclosed that it would invest 40 lakh in Kochi-based real estate firm Humblx, which was formed in 2018.

The fresh inflow comes when the States 2022 collective valuation of startups that raised funding stands close to 2,000 crore. A chunk of the investments (41.7per cent) went to the Saas (software as a service) sector, followed by hardware (20.8 per cent), healthcare, fintech and artificial intelligence (8.3 per cent each), and D2C (4.2 per cent). Data show that investment in the States startups plateaued during 2021-22.

The government has recently been working with a focus on colleges as well as companies to usher in a new spirit in the state's culture of investing in startups, according to Rathan U. Kelkar, Secretary, Electronics & Technology Govt. of Kerala. The State is dynamic in its relevant policies, eager to hear feedback, and looking forward to assisting new-age industries in the startup ecosystem, he said during a virtual appearance at the event's opening session, which discussed investments and brought together stakeholders with government officials and investors.

KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika, Kerala is due for a "electronics revolution" in which entrepreneurs will focus more of their efforts on IT-enabled goods and services rather than the traditional brick-and-mortar sector. "Investment, infrastructure, and intellect are necessary for the expansion of industry. The startup environment in our state needs a respectable inflow of funds, even though the last two components are present in sufficient amounts. Our startup environment may grow if prospective investments are unlocked, he said.
Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal.

Please purchase an Enhanced Subscription to continue reading. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.



We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.



A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
On November 9, 2016, while the rest of the world was digesting the news Donald Trump would be the 45th President of the United States, one woman was uniquely qualified to understand the potential ramifications.

Mary Trump, daughter of Trumps eldest brother, Freddy, grew up with Donald and has gone on to become a clinical psychologist, giving her a singular insight into the mind of her uncle, whom she has since dubbed the most dangerous man in the world.

We knew him so well, it never occurred to us anybody could possibly be fooled by him, said Mary, on the phone from Massachusetts, ahead of her upcoming speaking tour of Australia. I think I had been living in a state of total denial. I was absolutely gobsmacked.

Trump has accused his niece, Mary Trump, pictured, and three reporters of conspiring to publish information about his tax records. Credit:

I didnt realise the extent to which America was willing not just to put up with but to endorse the kinds of racism and misogyny and anti-immigrant hatred etc that Donald represents. Lets put it this way: it was a really bad morning.
In amongst all the famous faces at the Academy Awards next week - Spielberg, Blanchett, Cruise, Luhrmann, Rihanna and the rest - will be a self-described wee Scottish lassie from a small town who has to be the most unlikely nominee in the theatre.

Lesley Paterson is a five-time world champion triathlete who decided way back in 2006 that she wanted to turn a German novel she fell in love with in high school, Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet On The Western Front, into a film.

Lesley Paterson, winner of the best film award for All Quiet on the Western Front at the BAFTA Awards in London last month. Credit: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

She and her English writing partner Ian Stokell were surprised the rights were available so they bought them.

But it took 16 years of setbacks, starting with being told their first attempt at a script was worse than horrible, before a film was finally made.
More small investors are willing to back start-up businesses in the hope of striking it rich, taking advantage of changes to regulations that allow up to $10,000 to be invested through equity crowdfunding platforms.

Regulatory red tape was cut five years ago to make it easier for start-ups to raise money from small investors on the platforms. Crowdfunding has developed rapidly in the United Kingdom since it started there more than a decade ago, and has been slowly gaining popularity here.

Garry Williams invests his own money in start-ups and works for Tractor Ventures, a company that backs tech start-ups and maturing tech companies.

Revolut, the London-based neobank, was one of the beneficiaries of equity crowdfunding in the United Kingdom. It received millions of pounds from tens of thousands of investors in 2017. It is now valued at more than $US30 billion  one of Britains most valuable private companies  making colossal returns for early investors.

Local equity crowdfunding platform Equitise estimates about $73 million was invested by Australian investors in start-ups through equity crowdfunding platforms by the end of 2022, up from about $30 million two years earlier.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Nation states predominantly go to war for economic reasons and the likelihood of China seeking to take over the rich mineral resources of Australia to ensure continuity of material supply presents a compelling argument (Red alert: War risk exposed, March 7). Iron ore, coal, gas are all in abundance in Australia and they are necessary assets to the economic survival of China.

Whatever we may do in terms of building up a defence force will never be accomplished soon enough and we will never afford to accumulate a sufficient arsenal of weapons to achieve a defendable Australia against a protagonist such as China. The only way through this quagmire is communication and the establishment and promotion of equal benefits for the parties involved. Short of that Australia will effectively be run by China in the future. Chris Rivers, Port Macquarie Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: There are two immediate problems that need to be overcome. One is the commitment of our resources to the submarine deal, a deal which cannot contribute to our security and represents the colonial client thinking of the previous government. The other problem is that we need a parliamentary opposition that is intellectually and politically capable of being part of national leadership. That is not currently the case. I am not particularly referring to Peter Dutton. At present, with too few honourable exceptions, the Opposition appears to be an unthinking rabble unable to grasp the issues of our time. This has to change if we are to be strong in the face of inevitable adversity. Tom Mangan, Woy Woy Bay Your article propagates the view war with China is inevitable. Where is the alternative? Do we really want to be drawn into a war with China? Do we want to be party to yet another Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan fighting wars in which there is no direct conflict with Australia? Wouldnt the effort over the next three years be better spent disengaging ourselves from the US war machine and establish ourselves as a strong, neutral Pacific power? Mark Tietjen, Redfern Rather than asking ourselves are we ready for imminent war with China, the bleeding obvious answer to which is we would never be ready to face that unstoppable behemoth, shouldnt we be asking ourselves why do we continue to ally ourselves with Chinas greatest provocateur, the USA? Surely, this is principal reason why China arms itself, establishes a modest array of bases in its own region, and prepares itself for the day when the US oversteps the mark and foolishly invades China? History is on the side of China as a country with no record of external aggression; not so with the US, whose egregious record of external aggression, in which Australia has been a willing, sycophantic participant, is a deplorable legacy consequently leaving us with big fat targets on our back and forehead. Fred Jansohn, Rose Bay Your front page article is alarming and not surprising. Five experts from the defence area say we will be involved in a war with China within three years. Their answer is to spend billions more money on defence weapons, biosecurity, and cybersecurity. Really? If China decides to attack us no amount of spending will save us, they will win. It is as simple as that. A country of over 1 billion people will always win against a country of 30 million. So lets turn down the outrage and speak more. Negotiate more. Which is exactly what Senator Penny Wong appears to be doing. Janine Burdeu, Mona Vale

Advertisement

Loading You claim to be concerned about the most pressing national security challenges facing Australia. Three years from now, China, the US, Australia and the rest of the world will be totally pre-occupied with addressing the ravages of unchecked climate change, a far greater national and human security threat to us all than conventional geo-politics. Ian Dunlop, Gordon Decades of tranquillity an aberration? Gosh, I must have missed those. By my reckoning there has been a war every decade since I was born, the year after Chinas Communist Revolution, and Australia has been involved in all of them. Gayle Davies, North Sydney It is difficult not to avoid a whiff of hysteria in your coverage of Chinas military intentions. One thing is highly likely: should we be attacked by China our cities would be reduced to rubble in a matter of days if not hours. Is it not preferable to concentrate our thinking on the avoidance of war? Even if that means re-evaluating our relationship with the USA. Peter Thomas, Rose Bay Deaths in custody highlight desperate need for reform Six generations of our family have lived in this magnificent Clarence River Valley. We have a sense of belonging. How trivial is our claim to belonging compared to that of the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yaegl people who have lived here for hundreds of generations and thousands of years. Like everywhere else in Australia, their story since the arrival of white people is an unhappy one. It tells of dispossession, disease, starvation, rape, murder, massacre, child kidnapping, and incarceration carried out often with government approval and sometimes government instigation. The Black Wars ended with victory to the white people on horseback, armed with guns, over barefoot Indigenous people armed with spears and boomerangs. Aboriginal people were totally dispossessed.

Advertisement

The massacres ceased but instead there is an obscene rate of incarceration of First Australians in our jails leading to a disgraceful number of deaths in custody (Act now on enduring disgrace of Indigenous deaths in custody, March 7). Now First Australians are asking for a Voice to parliament so that their needs and suggestions may be properly considered giving them some justice, opportunity, peace and recognition of Country. Perhaps too, if the referendum on the Voice is passed, Australians generally may reach truth, understanding and wisdom. One can hope. Barbara Fahey, Grafton Senator Pat Dodson Credit:Rhett Wyman Dodsons compelling statement on the unacceptable situation of Aboriginal imprisonment and deaths in custody is hard to ignore. But to my mind it also provides a comprehensive answer to the issue of having an Aboriginal Voice to parliament. That is the Voice  why do we need more? What exists in parliament in Pat Dodson, Linda Burney, and other Indigenous people, is built-in voices which cannot be ignored. My proposal is that if there is any constitutional adjustment to be made to accommodate the interests of Indigenous Australians, is that we have one Senate seat per state reserved for a person selected by a registered Indigenous electorate, which means that forever after we have voices like that of Pat Dodson enshrined in our parliamentary system, put in place without fuss or bother, and with an abundance of good will. Malcolm Brown, Ermington Who knew that prisoners were denied Medicare (Medicare behind bars could save lives, March 7). Surely this is against their basic human rights. Commonwealth and state governments must co-operate and immediately provide it. Dodsons plea should not be a voice in the wilderness. Jennifer Fergus, Croydon (ACT) Denying those in custodial settings access to the MBS and PBS is unacceptable, as is the failure to fully implement the findings of the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody. We are collectively responsible for this.

Advertisement

With the focus firmly on reconciliation and constitutional recognition of First Nations peoples, it is the ideal time to get behind Dodsons demand for action on Aboriginal deaths in custody. It is also an opportunity for the opposition to cease their mindless negativity and take their responsibilities seriously. Ending their senseless opposition to the Voice and supporting Dodsons campaign would be a good start. Graham Lum, North Rocks Do voters buy new car or keep a bomb? The upcoming NSW election really is a choice between keeping the old car and the ongoing cost of more spare parts and much needed repairs or going for a new model that offers a brighter, fresh ride without all the kilometres on the speedo (Microcosm of NSW holds clues to success - or defeat - at the election, March 7). Remember if you keep the old car you get all the baggage in the boot and all that privatisation strapped to the roof racks. Barry Ffrench, Cronulla Dominic Perrottet and Chris Minns are gearing up for the NSW election on March 25. Credit:Jamie Brown There is a simple strategy for your correspondent and all those who do not live in marginal electorates (Letters, March 7). Vote against the sitting member until you do. Jock Brodie, Port Macquarie As someone in another safe Liberal seat, I can empathise with your correspondent in Lane Cove.

Im also reminded of the saying that there is one thing you should never allow a politician to do: rely on your vote. Richard Murnane, Hornsby Your correspondent complains about living in Lane Cove and being neglected by both Liberals and Labor. From what I know of Lane Cove over the years, he has little to complain about. Comfy and secure in a delightful part of Sydney, what more could he need? Terry Biggenden, Artarmon

Advertisement

I have never had marginal seat envy, unlike the letter-writer from Lane Cove, and I am repeatedly annoyed at the whats in it for me position which is reinforced by politicians and the media. I am of the firm opinion that people should vote for the common good, especially those of us in positions of privilege (have a home, a good job, good education etc). If this happened, we may have seen more action on tax reform, climate change, extinctions, and spending on public health, housing, transport and education rather than pork-barrelled away on car parks and rifle ranges. Marie Healy, Hurlstone Park Abortion dilemma There are gynaecologists and trainee doctors working in the public hospital system who may be sympathetic to women seeking abortion services (Women still denied public care three years after abortion bill, March 7). While the procedure is relatively simple for early pregnancies, it is not pleasant and hence the reluctance for some doctors, even those with the skill to do so, to routinely perform the procedure. Therein lies the nub of the problem for women seeking abortions in public hospital. Thiam Ang, Beecroft Illustration: Cathy Wilcox Credit: Pay gap for some Theres no gender pay gap in the care sector, Jessica Irvine (The conversation to spice up IWD, March 7). Were all paid rubbish. None of us have the leisure time to attend International Womens Day events either. Im reliably informed its a similar situation in retail sales, hospitality, cleaning and home-making work. Just saying. Jack Robertson, Birchgrove I am all for eliminating the gender pay gap. Pay men less. Steve McCann, Lane Cove

Advertisement
Police searching for suspects in North-West melbourne robbery

Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later.

Dismiss
News Corp and Network Ten have joined veteran journalist Lisa Wilkinson in indicating they will seek to prove former federal Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped his then-colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House as part of defences to his defamation claims against the news outlets.

The parties appeared in the Federal Court for the first time on Wednesday and Justice Michael Lee effectively ruled out requiring Lehrmann to appear in court before any trial to be cross-examined about why he should be granted an extension of a one-year limitation period to bring his claims.

Bruce Lehrmann outside the ACT Supreme Court last year. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Lee said he was concerned about Lehrmann potentially being exposed to multiple-cross examinations and suggested the issue could be considered alongside other defences in the trial, should barristers for the media outlets and Wilkinson seek to cross-examine him on the issue.

Lehrmann filed Federal Court defamation proceedings against Ten and News Corp last month over interviews with Higgins on news.com.au and The Project published on February 15, 2021.
The family of pregnant mother Annie Moylan is calling for a public inquiry into the states private hospitals after doctors failed to identify that she was suffering from sepsis before she died.

The 37-year-olds parents, Brian and Marg Moylan, said their daughter was given appalling treatment after arriving at Holmesglen Private Hospitals emergency department while 18 weeks pregnant in 2017.

On Tuesday, State Coroner John Cain found Moylan, also known as Annie OBrien, might still be alive if she had been given antibiotics within an hour of arriving at the private emergency department, where she was suspected of having gastro, and not a fatal sepsis infection.

He called on the Health Department to make it mandatory for private hospitals to analyse the root cause of all unexpected deaths and ensure medical staff were aware of how to identify and treat sepsis in pregnant women.
New details of the horrific abduction and assault of a nine-year-old girl from a Doubleview Park labelled every parents worst nightmare have been revealed in court.

In a sentencing hearing for Ashley James Bropho in Perth District Court on Tuesday, details were read out about how the young girl was staying with her step-grandparents during the school holidays in July last year when she asked if she could walk their dog alone to the park.

Ashley Bropho lured a nine-year-old child away from a Doubleview park in July. Credit: Nine News Perth

Bropho, then 39, saw the girl near the park and approached her from behind saying, hey kid, come here.

Offering her a burger from Hungry Jacks, he took the child by the hand and lured her along the road, encouraging her back to his house.
Australia will cement a decades-long deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines at a formal announcement in the United States on Monday amid heightened speculation over whether all the vessels will be made in Adelaide as planned.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will mark the next stage of the AUKUS pact at a meeting in San Diego with United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, revealing the likely submarine choice for a project expected to cost at least $100 billion.

Australia will cement a decades-long deal to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines at a formal announcement in the United States on Monday. Credit: US Navy

But the timeframe to complete the eight submarines remains in doubt due to concerns over the mammoth investment required to develop the shipbuilding facilities in Adelaide to do the work, as well as the challenge of creating the workforce to build and serve on the vessels.

Albanese is expected to head to the US announcement after his talks with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi later this week, with Indo-Pacific security at the top of the agenda alongside moves to expand trade.
Eighty years after Dame Enid Lyons and Dame Dorothy Tangney strode through the doors of Old Parliament House as the nations first federal female politicians, bronze statues immortalising the pair will be unveiled in Canberra.

The lasting tribute is the first step in correcting decades of oversight that resulted in Canberras parliamentary triangle featuring more statues of kelpies than Australian women or First Nations people.

The iconic photo of Dame Dorothy Tangney (left) and Dame Enid Lyons entering Parliament House on September 24, 1943. A bronze statue, by sculptor Lis Johnson, replicating this photo will be unveiled in the parliamentary triangle in Canberra on Wednesday. Credit: National Museum of Australia

While their legacy in paving the way for women in federal politics has been under-recognised, their entry into the corridors of power was not lost on those present at the time.

Dame Enid and Dame Dorothy were greeted with cheers of hear, hear from male colleagues as they were sworn into the House of Representatives and Senate respectively on the morning of September 23, 1943, while women in the public galleries applauded, The Sydney Morning Herald reported the next day.
The federal opposition will oppose Labors plan to introduce a visa lottery that would allow 3000 workers from the Pacific to move to Australia and apply for permanent residency.

The plan, unveiled in February, is similar to the United States green card system and is designed to strengthen ties between Australia and its Pacific island neighbours.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan said Australia had had a bipartisan, non-discriminatory immigration program for decades. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The government had hoped the scheme would start on July 1, but the Coalitions decision means Labor will need support from the Greens and two members of the crossbench to pass the laws.

Applicants would have to meet health, character and English proficiency tests and be aged between 18 and 45. They would also need to secure a job in Australia.
Dumped NSW Liberal MP for Holsworthy Melanie Gibbons has nominated to be the partys candidate for Kiama, in a shock move in the hours before nominations close.

Gibbons was the only candidate to nominate to take on Liberal-turned-independent Gareth Ward, who was suspended from parliament and the party after he was charged with sexual assault.

Ward denies any wrongdoing and the case remains before the court.

Dumped Liberal MP Melanie Gibbons is set to take on Gareth Ward Kiama. Credit: Kate Geraghty, Oscar Colman

The partys state executive was voting on Gibbons nomination on Tuesday night. Formal nominations close with the NSW Electoral Commission at midday on Wednesday.
As the end of another chapter of NSW state politics looms, the Independent Commission Against Corruptions finding that there was nothing to see in the shameful shenanigans that went on behind the scenes during manoeuvring to install the former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro as the New York trade commissioner induces a mawkish sense of deja vu.

John Barilaro giving evidence during the inquiry into his appointment as Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to the Americas. Credit: Kate Geraghty

NSW is suddenly back to 2011, when cascading scandals about integrity, honesty and decency swamped Kristina Keneallys doomed attempt to save Labor. Twelve years later, Dominic Perrottets government is weighed down by the ongoing scandal over our man not in New York.

Barilaro, who was also leader of the NSW Nationals, was appointed to the plum $500,000-a-year role in early 2021 after senior public servant Jenny West had been offered the job  the first woman to ever be considered. However, it turns out her verbal offer was rescinded by Investment NSW before Barilaro later applied and was appointed months after his resignation from politics.

Questions were raised about the propriety of the appointment. West told a subsequent Labor-led upper house inquiry she was told the job was being turned into a political appointment and would be a present for someone. The inquiry heard that about the time the job offer was revoked, Barilaro took the unusual step of asking a staffer to fast-track a submission to cabinet to turn the position into a political appointment. The submission was lodged on September 17 and considered by the cabinet on September 27, not long before Barilaro resigned from parliament. It was an unusually fast turnaround.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Weve curated a selection of key stories as part of the NSW election. See all 50 stories . In Australia, were used to elections being a race between two parties vying to win a majority of seats in the parliament. But in the NSW state election, theres a twist: both the Coalition and Labor headed to the March 25 polls without a majority in parliament. With 46 seats in parliament  one short of a majority  the Coalition government has survived with the support of a group of independents. Labor, with 38 seats, is starting from further back in the field, and the most recent Resolve Political Monitor shows the race will be extremely tight. So, what is minority government? What would either party have to do to form government? And would it be a recipe for chaos and confusion? Credit:Artwork Nathan Perri Whats a hung parliament (and whats minority government)? A hung parliament is the outcome of an election where no one wins a majority. This means a party can form government only with the support of independents or minor parties. A government formed from this negotiation process is called a minority government. Minority governments occur in about a third of parliamentary democracies worldwide, according to British academics Bonnie N. Field and Shane Martin. It is less common in the Westminster system of parliament used in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, where the roles of government and opposition are clearly defined.

Advertisement

When you have that government and opposition duality, its logical that you have a two-party system because one is in opposition and one is in government, and they rotate through that cycle, says David Clune, an honorary associate at the University of Sydney who was previously a historian for the NSW parliament. It does, nonetheless, happen: recent examples include Justin Trudeaus minority government in Canada, the UKs Conservative government under Theresa May between 2017 and 2019, and Australias Labor government under Julia Gillard after the 2010 federal election. Nick Greiner and wife Kathryn in the tally room on election night in 1991. Credit:Troy Howe Have we had a hung parliament in NSW? There are 93 seats in the NSW lower house, called the Legislative Assembly. This means that either Labor or the Coalition need at least 47 seats to form majority government. The last NSW election to result in a hung parliament was in 1991, when Liberal premier Nick Greiner called an early election expecting to win comfortably. Instead, he ended up with a minority, and had to rely on the support of independents to form government. Before that, Labor twice formed minority government out of a hung parliament; once in 1920 and again in 1950, when it depended on the support of two former Labor MPs to stay in office. The Coalition under former premier Gladys Berejiklian won a slim majority at the 2019 election, but that was quickly eroded after three MPs resigned in the first half of 2021, plunging them into minority government with 45 seats (they eventually regained one in a byelection). Taking into the account recent redistributions of electoral boundaries, this leaves the Coalition with 46 seats going into the 2023 election.

Advertisement

How do you get from a hung parliament to minority government? The members of parliament who dont belong to either major party are called crossbenchers. If there is a hung parliament, both parties need to convince enough of these crossbenchers to support their side and form government. There are a lot of them right now: with three Greens and nine independents, this is the largest crossbench in NSW since 1904. How easily an agreement is reached depends on the demands of each independent. Some look to leverage their position and pledge their support in exchange for something they want. This might be a policy on a single issue, or concessions for their electorate. Independents with the balance of power can join together and form an agenda that rises above simple horse-trading. Clune says independents with the balance of power can join together and form an agenda that rises above simple horse-trading or favours for votes. In the 1991 hung parliament in NSW, for example, John Hatton, Peter Macdonald and Clover Moore (now Sydney lord mayor) gave Greiner a charter of reforms to agree to as a condition of their support. They then negotiated an agreement with the government where, in return for the implementation of the charter of reform, the independents guarantee to support the government on confidence and supply motions, Clune says. How long this negotiation process takes depends on how the independents play their hand, Clune says. In 1991, for example, parliament resumed five weeks after the election with the Coalition remaining in government, but negotiations with the three independents continued for months. After the 2010 federal election, it took Julia Gillard more than two weeks to finally secure the backing of independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott and form minority government.

Advertisement

Independents Sydney MP Alex Greenwich and Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer, Janie Barrett Who would be key players in a NSW minority government? Moores political mentee, progressive independent Alex Greenwich, is the kingmaker in the current minority government. He has given his support to the Coalition while pushing them on important progressive issues such as ensuring abortion was removed from the Crimes Act and voluntary assisted dying was legalised. If re-elected, he has promised to push the Coalition or Labor to ban gay conversion practices in the next parliament. Each party, whether its the Greens or the independents, will have [certain] things they cant support. Independent MP Greg Piper While Greenwich and fellow independents Greg Piper and Joe McGirr have been an important cornerstone of support for Dominic Perrottets government, that support isnt guaranteed. Piper, who represents Lake Macquarie, says his first instinct would be to side with the party which won the most seats as long as their policies were acceptable to him. For example, Piper says he would never support a party with a policy such as the so-called Barilaro Brumbies Bill protecting wild horses in Kosciuszko National Park. McGirr has made abolishing the controversial bill a condition of his support. Its not carte blanche, Piper says. Each party, whether its the Greens or the independents, will have [certain] things they cant support.

Advertisement

Gambling reform, housing affordability and the environment are key statewide issues that would decide Pipers vote. If he was part of a crossbench with the balance of power, he would also look to push for priority issues in his electorate such as outreach health services. If I have that extra lever, of course Im going to use it, he says. Some crossbenchers are more likely to support one party than the other, Clune says. The Greens, for example, would steer towards supporting Labor regardless of the election outcome while Helen Dalton, Philip Donato and Roy Butler, all formerly of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, would probably side with the Coalition. Loading That means theres three in either camp to start with, Clune says. But if some of them band together and form a charter of reform, and they want the government to agree to that to keep him in office, it can be a very complicated process. That process might be further complicated if the teal wave, where six climate-conscious independents won seats at last years federal election, is replicated on March 25. Independent candidates backed by Climate 200 are running in key Liberal seats including Pittwater, Manly and North Shore. Their policies differ slightly, but teal independent Jacqui Scruby, for example, is running for the electorate of Pittwater on a platform of climate action and government integrity, which were key issues for the teals at the federal election. But with stringent state election funding caps and optional preferential voting, repeating that federal success in NSW will be much more difficult. In Victorias recent state election, where strict funding caps also applied, teals failed to flip seats in seven electorates. Independent candidate Victoria Davidson addresses a Climate 200 event with other teal candidates (left to right) Victoria Davidson, Joeline Hackman, Jacqui Scruby, Helen Conway and Judy Hannan. Credit:James Alcock

Advertisement
President Xi Jinping has accused the United States of encircling China and urged his officials to have the courage to fight for their future as Beijing escalates its rhetorical threats against the superpower.

The broadside from Xi, who rarely directly references the US in official comments, was coupled with a warning from Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the National Peoples Congress in Beijing.

Chinas President Xi Jinping. Credit: Bloomberg

If the US does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation, Qin said.

Relations between Beijing and Washington had been steadily improving until a Chinese-made balloon flew over the US in February. The shooting down of the balloon sparked a nationalist furore in China and growing calls for its government to take a stronger stand against the Biden administration.
Britains top diplomat in Australia has issued a riposte to Foreign Minister Penny Wongs urging that the UK should confront its colonial past and warned that while the two countries are best of mates that should not be taken for granted.

Britains high commissioner to Australia, Vicki Treadell, who, like Wong, is Malaysian-born, will deliver the message at the National Press Club on Wednesday in response to the comments Wong made during a visit to London last month.

High commissioner to Australia, Vicki Treadell, will highlight her own success in becoming one of the United Kingdoms top diplomats as a Malaysian-born woman. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

In her speech, titled Modern Britain: Our journey beyond colonialism, Treadell will highlight her own success in becoming one of the United Kingdoms top diplomats as proof the UK had confronted its past.

I am proudly British and I say this as someone born in Malaysia without a drop of English, Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish blood coursing through my veins, Treadell will say.
An unconfirmed report said that at least three people had been killed.

LONDON, March 8.  Terror bombers struck in the heart of London today injuring at least 100 people.

First published in The Age on March 9, 1973

Bombs, believed to be planted by IRA guerrillas, caused extensive damage around the Old Bailey and in Whitehall.

Panic followed the blast at the Old Bailey where the bomb, planted in a parked car, exploded early this afternoon.

In Whitehall, the front of the Ministry of Agriculture was severely damaged.

The explosion hurled jagged pieces of metal and glass across Whitehall and shattered windows in the Admiralty more than 200 yards away.

Parliament, which was to hear a report on bomb threats, suspended its sittings as several more bomb threats were phoned to police.
The First World War Battle of Verdun is a metaphor now for senseless carnage. Verdun resulted in more than 700,000 casualties but brought little change to the prospects of the French or German belligerents. In his book on the battle, The Price of Glory, Alistair Horne asked could a Verdun ever happen again?

Hornes question has been answered in Ukraine. Over the past several months, many have watched in horror as the Russian Army, and mercenary force The Wagner Group, have waged an increasingly bitter and bloody campaign for the small eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Before the war, it was an unremarkable town of 70,000 citizens, known for the nearby salt mines.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Credit: AP

Today, Bakhmut is a wasteland, inhabited by just 4000 citizens. The city has been devastated by fighting since the Russians commenced their operations in the area in May last year. Fighting ebbed and flowed for months, largely taking a back seat to the other battles in the Donbas at places such as Lyman and Sievierodonetsk. But towards the end of 2022, Yevgeny Prigozhin decided that this would be the place where his Wagner Group would demonstrate its ability to succeed on the battlefield where the Russian Army had not.

Months of Russian artillery barrages and human wave attacks have gradually gained territory around the city. Despite the Ukrainian preparations, it is part of wars brutal calculus that if the enemy is willing to sacrifice everything for an objective  and your side isnt  they will eventually prevail.
London: The UK government says it is ready for legal challenges to a tough new law intended to stop tens of thousands of migrants a year reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel.

On Tuesday (UK time), Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the government had pushed the boundaries of international law with a bill that will bar asylum claims by anyone who reaches the UK by unauthorised means, and will compel the government to detain and then deport them to their home country or a safe third country. They would be banned from ever re-entering the country.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Illegal Migration Bill on Tuesday. Credit: Getty

If you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removed, Braverman told lawmakers in the House of Commons as she introduced the governments Illegal Migration Bill.

The government says the new law, once approved by parliament, will deter migrants and hobble smuggling gangs who send desperate people on hazardous journeys across one of the worlds busiest shipping lanes.
A 12-second video widely shared on Twitter shows an apparently unarmed man in uniform with a Ukrainian flag insignia on his arm standing smoking in a wooded area.

Kyiv: Ukraines top prosecutor says a criminal investigation has been launched into what he called the brutal and brazen shooting of an unarmed person depicted in a video shared on social media.

The man says, Glory to Ukraine. Multiple shots are heard coming from an unseen shooter or shooters, and the man slumps to the ground as bullets appear to hit his body. A voice is heard saying Die, bitch, in Russian.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the authenticity, date or location of the video, which is of poor quality. Russias Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a query about the video. Ukrainian authorities did not say where or when the shooting occurred.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, noting only that the video had appeared on Monday, said it showed Russian occupiers brutally killing a soldier.

He added, I want us all in unity to respond to his words, Glory to the hero. Glory to the heroes. Glory to Ukraine. And we will find the murderers.
Cairo: Archaeologists have unearthed a Sphinx-like statue believed to be a depiction of a Roman emperor and the remains of a shrine in an ancient temple in southern Egypt.

The artefacts were found in the temple of Dendera in Qena Province, 450 kilometres south of the capital Cairo, the Antiquities Ministry said in a statement.

A sphinx statue believed to be have been made in the likeness of a Roman emperor was uncovered from an archaeological site in Qena, Egypt. Credit: MTA/AP

Archaeologists believe the statues smiling features may belong to Claudius, who extended Romes rule into North Africa between 41 and 54 AD.

The ministry said archaeologists would conduct more studies on the markings on the stone slab, which could reveal more information about the statues identity and the area. The statue is much smaller than the towering, well-known Sphinx in the Pyramids of Giza complex, which is 20 metres high.
Built by Russias state-controlled Gazprom, the Nord Stream pipelines were built to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. But due to frictions between Russia and the European Union over Moscows invasion of Ukraine, Nord Stream was not operating when the explosions destroyed three of the four pipelines. Loading Representatives for Gazprom also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The intelligence review suggests those who carried out the attacks opposed Russian President Vladimir Putin but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation, the Times reported. US officials declined to disclose the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained or any details of the strength of the evidence it contains. They have said that there are no firm conclusions about it, it added, citing the unnamed officials.

Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. US officials said no American or British nationals were involved, according to the Times report. Russia last month proposed a draft resolution to the 15-member UN Security Council which, if approved, would call for an international probe to identify who was responsible. Russias deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the New York Times report only proves that our initiative on launching an international investigation under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General is very timely. By the end of March there definitely will be a vote, Polyanskiy said. In the year since the invasion, Europe has drastically cut its energy imports from Russia. Moscow this week called for all Nord Stream stakeholders to decide its fate.

German energy company E.ON, one of the shareholders of Nord Stream, declined to comment. The explosions occurred in international waters within the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden. Ukrainian POW death video A man who appeared to be shot dead by Russian-speakers in a short video was tentatively identified on Tuesday as a missing Ukrainian soldier while the footage circulated widely on Ukrainian social media and caused an uproar. The countrys chief prosecutor announced a criminal investigation into the killing, and human rights chief Dmytro Lubinets argued that it was a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The 30th Mechanised Brigade on its Facebook page named the man as Tymofii Shadura. The identification is based on preliminary information and is not final, it said. Loading Shadura has been missing for just over a month, since disappearing during bitter fighting in the Bakhmut area of eastern Ukraine, the post said. The city has been a combat hot spot as the war extends into its second year. His identity is to be confirmed once the body is returned from a Russian-occupied area, the post added, though it did not say when that might happen. The Ukrainian militarys general staff gave the same name for the dead soldier, saying it was according to preliminary information.

In the 12-second video, the man in combat fatigues is seen in a wooded area smoking a cigarette. Someone off-camera is heard speaking in Russian. The man then says Glory to Ukraine and is hit by a volley of gunshots, falling into a hole in the ground, with an off-camera voice saying Die, followed by an expletive. Ukrainian soldiers in a trench under Russian shelling on the frontline close to Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Credit: AP Battle for Bakhmut In its invasion, which passed the one-year mark on February 24, Moscow has sent thousands of troops in waves over recent weeks to try to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and secure its first battlefield victory in more than half a year.

Ukrainian forces have dug trenches further west and in recent days had seemed to be preparing to pull out. But Zelensky early on Tuesday publicly committed his troops to holding out in Bakhmut, apparently prolonging the wars bloodiest battle in a bid to break Moscows assault force. Loading His remarks in an overnight address suggested Kyiv had elected not only to stay and fight on but to reinforce the city, apparently convinced that Russias losses in trying to storm it would be greater than those of the defenders. I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut, Zelenskiy said.

Iryna Vereshchuk, a deputy Ukrainian premier, said on state TV that fewer than 4000 civilians - including 38 children - out of a pre-war population of some 70,000 remained in bombed-out Bakhmut. Russia, which claims to have annexed nearly 20 per cent of Ukraines territory, says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the surrounding industrial Donbas region, a major war aim. The liberation of Artemovsk continues, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the Soviet-era name for Bakhmut, re-adopted by the invading Russians. A Russian construction worker speaks on a mobile phone during a ceremony marking the start of Nord Stream pipeline construction in Portovaya Bay some 170 kms north-west from St. Petersburg, Russia on April 9, 2010. Credit: AP The city is an important hub for defending Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be conducted deep into Ukraines defensive lines.

Western strategists say the ruined city has limited value, and Russias assault may aim for a symbolic victory after a winter offensive involving hundreds of thousands of conscripted reservists and fighters from the Wagner private army. Ukraines military command reported a record 1600 Russians killed over the previous 24 hours. Moscow said Ukraines losses in February had risen 40 per cent from January to 11,000. Loading Tolls of enemy dead cannot be confirmed and the sides do not release regular data on their own casualties, but past Ukrainian reports of spikes in Russian losses have corresponded with failed Russian assaults. Reuters journalists have not been inside Bakhmut for a week and could not independently verify the situation there.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Justice is currently making great headway with the ongoing calculation and placement process. Just one month after the Honorable Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson engaged with Sint Maarten Pension Fund (APS) for the incorporation of the 16.3% retroactive pension calculations for law enforcement personnel, all related data have been sent to APS for review and completion. The incorporation of the 16.3% retroactive pension by APS is the last part of the calculation process to establish the full debt amount the Government of Sint Maarten will have to pay law enforcement personnel over a three-to-five-year period as agreed in the established Covenant agreement.

The Ministry of Justice also continues to engage with Antek IT Solutions who were consulted to retrieve historical data of all law enforcement personnel. This data is being used to calculate the payments once APS has made the updates to their administration. The ministry is also using this system to ensure the information provided by each department regarding their personnels past and current function, salary and other pertinent related information is accurate.

To avoid any discrepancies in the amounts to be paid out to the respective justice personnel, the data of the total calculations will be submitted to SOAB for auditing. Upon receipt of the audited report from SOAB, Minister Richardson will send the completed National Decree containing General Measures (Lbham) in connection with the new police law, the new salary scales, and the approved Function Book back to His Excellency Governor Ajamu Baly for approval and signature.

Simultaneously, the placement process is underway with the placement of all justice personnel in their new function according to the approved Function Book. The Placement Committee will begin issuing placement offer letters to all justice personnel starting on March 15, 2023. The letters will include information such as the new function and salary amount.

For many years, the administration of the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Justice remained incomplete and unmanaged. In a bid to improve the personnel data management of the Ministry, the HR department of Justice has been busy establishing proper personnel files for all employees of the entire ministry.

On February 14, 2023, Minister Richardson requested a meeting with the Committee of Civil Servants Union (CCSU) to gain approval for the use of the Government Payroll system and other legitimate documents to confirm function(s) and salary information of justice personnel, in those instances where the documents are not available. For example, a staff member within a department may have been given a directive via email to begin functioning in a specific position. This email would be the documentation provided to demonstrate the period for which the worker has been functioning in said capacity. On March 2, 2023, Minister Richardson sent a letter to all justice personnel requesting them to share any documentation to support the function they are in, as these will be taken into consideration when preparing the placement letters.

This is the first time in Sint Maartens history whereby the process of resolving the Ministry of Justices personnel affairs has made such a great feat near the finish line within a four-year governing term. This process has been and continues to be a meticulous one, requiring accuracy and diligence with the data of over 700 justice employees: Prison, Customs, Police, Immigration, MOT, National Detectives, Staff Bureau, and Judicial Affairs. The Court of Guardianship currently remains part of the ministry but the updating of the LIOL must be done and then their Function Book will be added to the ministry.

I ask that persons using professional platforms to create unrest consider this, as the spreading of false narratives is misleading a number of justice personnel and the population, an action not conducive to the process.

I take this time to thank all personnel of the Ministry of Justice for their patience. I will continue to keep you updated and assure you that all parties involved including the placement committee, the HR department, APS, Antek, and SOAB are working diligently behind the scenes to finalize the calculation and placement process within short, stated Minister Richardson.
PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- In celebration of International Womens Day (IWD) 2023, the Department of Community Development, Family and Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA) of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) is collaborating with the Listening Companion to host a Single Mothers Empowerment Programme theme Better Together from March to May 2023.



The six-week programme is an initiative in commemoration of Womens month and will launch on Saturday, March 25, 2023, with a meet and greet of participants and facilitators at conference room #1 in the Government Building.



The programme will cover topics such as Self-Care, Parenting, Budgeting, Resource Management, and Love & Relationships.

Interested single mothers on Sint Maarten can register for the programme through the Womens Desk or the Listening Companion before March 20, 2023.



Womens desk offers counseling, case management, referrals, dissemination of information, and develop programs such as mentorship, women's support, awareness, and empowerment programs.



According to Minister of VSA Hon. Omar Ottley, this initiative is one of several activities being organized by the department to enhance the community by assisting women, particularly single mothers at this time.



The Ministry of VSA will continue hosting programs that cater to various groups in our community.



Lisa Wilson-Gittens, counselor and director of the Listening Companion, is enthusiastic about this project. Wilson-Gittens said, As a woman with personal experience as a single mother, I know the value of the support that the Womens Desk is offering to women and families in our community.



This pilot project is expected to give much-needed assistance and empowerment to these women, which will benefit their children, families, and the wider community.



The Listening Companion offers face-to-face and online counseling sessions for person-centered and solution-focused therapy, premarital counseling, marriage and family counseling, and financial therapy.



Registration is now open online via www.thelisteningcompanion.com or by telephone to the Womens Desk at +1-721-520-6291 until March 20th, 2023.



Spaces for the pilot project are limited and will be assigned on a first-come basis.
Uranium Energy Corp Intersects 15.94% eU3O8 over 7.0 m, and extends the Sakura Zone at the Christie Lake Project in Eastern Athabasca Basin, Canada

Expanding High-Grade Footprint: UEC intersects additional high-grade uranium mineralization with CB-183-1, at the Christie Lake Project (athe Projecta). This intersection expands the footprint of the high-grade mineralization at the Sakura Zone, that was first reported in October last year.

Premier Location: Christie Lake is nine km northeast of McArthur River, the worlda?s largest high-grade uranium mine, and along the same geological trend (see Figures 1 & 2). The Sakura Zone, discovered in August 2022, is along the Yalowega mineralized corridor (see Figure 3).

Infrastructure Advantage: The Project straddles the Eastern Athabasca High Grade Uranium Corridor, representing a 19,576 acre land package in close proximity to the existing infrastructure of the uranium operations of McArthur River and Cigar Lake.

Synergies with Roughrider Project: Christie Lake is one of the key projects in UECa?s Eastern Athabasca Hub strategy and has excellent synergy potential with the Roughrider and Horseshoe-Raven Projects.

Ongoing Exploration: These intercepts represent the continuation of the 3-month winter campaign. More holes are anticipated to be reported over the winter, leading to an update of the Christie Lake resource in 2023.

Uranium Energy Corp (NYSE American: UEC, the aCompanya or aUECa  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/uranium-energy-corp/) is pleased to announce uranium mineralization in drill hole CB-183-1 that grades 7.90% eU3O8 over 14.3 metres, including a subinterval that grades 26.16% eU3O8 over 3.8 metres (Table 1). This result expands the footprint of high-grade uranium mineralization at the Sakura Zone at the Christie Lake Project to the northeast approximately 14 metres from CB-178-1.

Chris Hamel, Vice President Exploration, Canada stated: aThe continued success at the Sakura Zone demonstrates the potential of the Yalowega Trend at Christie Lake to host high-grade uranium mineralization. We are eager to continue with exploration along this trend in the 2023 program. The Yalowega Trend is the northerly extension of the McArthur River fault system onto the Christie Lake Project and gives UEC the opportunity to explore along this uniquely well-endowed mineralized trend that only Cameco and Orano otherwise have access to.a

Vertical depth to the unconformity-hosted mineralization at Christie Lake is between 400 and 420 metres (ama) from surface. This is shallower by about 100 m than McArthur River and at approximately the same depth as Cigar Lake. The McArthur River and Cigar Lake Deposits are the archetypical high-grade Athabasca super-deposits with combined reserves and past production of 985.7 million lbs. of uranium.

Additional follow up with drill hole CB-183-2 also encountered uranium mineralization at the unconformity that grades 0.21% eU3O8 over 2.2 metres. This hole is interpreted to lie along the southern periphery of the Sakura Zone, defining the southern extent of the mineralization in that area.

UEC plans to drill at least 17,000 metres in 2023 through the Christie Lake winter and summer drill programs. To date, the company has drilled 7,500 metres in the winter program that is designed to continue through March. The summer program is planned to commence after the snow melt.

A

About Canadaa?s Athabasca Basin

The Athabasca Basin is a world-class uranium district in the northern portion of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, occupying an area of about 100,000 square kilometres. The unique geology of the Athabasca Basin deposits can result in deposit grades that exceed the world average of uranium deposits of 0.2% U3O8 by up to 100 times.

All of Canadaa?s current uranium production occurs from the mines located in the Athabasca Basin. According to the World Nuclear Association, the Athabasca Basin was responsible for producing 9.7% of the worlda?s uranium production in 2021.

Uranium mineralization in the Athabasca Basin occurs in fault structures that penetrate the interface between the sandstone and underlying basement rocks, known as the unconformity. Uranium can be found at the interface, known as the unconformity, or can occur several hundreds of metres below the unconformity surface in the underlying basement fault structures. .

The uranium concentrations from holes presented above from the radiometric equivalent uranium grade (aREGa), denoted as eU3O8, which is determined in-situ within the drill hole. For more information on REGs please see the aAbout Radiometric Equivalent Gradesa section below.

The core recovery from parts of the mineralized zone in hole CB-183-1 is estimated at approximately 60%. The portions of the core recovered from the interval confirm the presence of very high-grade uranium mineralization. Thus, the Company believes that assay results collected from the mineralized interval may not be representative of the true concentration of uranium present and that the REG presented above will be a more accurate estimate of grade.

About Radiometric Equivalent Grades

The eU3O8 grades were estimated in-situ within the drill holes using calibrated down-hole radiometric gamma probes which are lowered down the hole, a method commonly used by uranium explorers and miners in the Athabasca Basin. The probe records the amount of radioactivity present in the rock adjacent to the probe as it moves up and down the hole.

The probes were calibrated prior to the commencement of the current drill program at the Saskatchewan Research Councila?s (aSRCa) test pit facility in Saskatoon. Using down-hole probes to calculate radiometric equivalent grades is a common practice by uranium mining companies in the Athabasca Basin. Down-hole probes can accurately measure uranium concentration by measuring the light flashes that occur every time the probea?s scintillator is struck by a gamma radiation particle emitted from uranium crystals. The number of light flashes are acounteda? by a photomultiplier tube. Sometimes within high-grade intervals, a process called asaturationa? occurs when light emitted by the probea?s scintillator overwhelms the photomultiplier tubea?s ability to acounta? individual light flashes. In this case, it can be difficult to accurate determine radiometric equivalent grades.

Samples from all holes have been collected for assay analysis to confirm these equivalent grades. The samples will be analyzed at the SRCa?s Geoanalytical Laboratory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with results expected in the coming weeks.

About the Christie Lake Project

UEC holds an 82.775% combined direct and indirect interest in the Christie Lake Project which is a joint venture with JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited, a company that is 50% owned by UECa?s wholly owned subsidiary UEX Corporation. UECa?s direct ownership in Christie Lake is 65.5492% and indirect ownership through its 50% ownership in JCU is 17.2254%

The Christie Lake Project is located in the eastern Athabasca Basin (see Figures 1 & 2) approximately 9 km northeast of Camecoa?s McArthur River Mine, the worlda?s largest and highest-grade uranium mine. The controlling structure of the McArthur River Mine deposits, the P2 fault, continues to the northeast beyond the mine and trends into the Christie Lake Project. Our technical team believes that, through a series of en-echelon steps, the northeast strike extension of the P2 Fault not only crosses the Christie Lake Project but also controls the three known uranium deposits on Christie Lake: the ?rora, Paul Bay and Ken Pen Deposits as well as the newly discovered Sakura Zone.

Qualified Persons and Data Acquisition

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Chris Hamel, P.Geo., UECa?s Vice President Exploration, Canada who is considered to be a Qualified Person as defined by S-K 1300.

About Uranium Energy Corp

Uranium Energy Corp is the fastest growing supplier of the fuel for the green energy transition to a low carbon future. UEC is the largest, diversified North American focused uranium company, advancing the next generation of low-cost, environmentally friendly In-Situ Recovery (aISRa) mining uranium projects inA the United States and high-grade conventional projects in Canada. The Company has two production-ready ISR hub and spoke platforms in South Texas and Wyoming. These two production platforms are anchored by fully operational central processing plants and served by seven U.S. ISR uranium projects with all their major permits in place. Additionally, the Company has diversified uranium holdings including: (1) one of the largest physical uranium portfolios of North American warehoused U3O8; (2) a major equity stake in Uranium Royalty Corp., the only royalty company in the sector; and (3) a Western Hemisphere pipeline of resource stage uranium projects. The Company\-s operations are managed by professionals with decades of hands-on experience in the key facets of uranium exploration, development and mining.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the statements of historical fact contained herein, the information presented in this news release constitutes aforward-looking statementsa as such term is used in applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any other statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as aexpectsa or adoes not expecta, ais expecteda, aanticipatesa or adoes not anticipatea, aplans, aestimatesa or aintendsa, or stating that certain actions, events or results amaya, acoulda, awoulda, amighta or awilla be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and should be viewed as aforward-looking statementsa. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, the actual results of exploration activities, variations in the underlying assumptions associated with the estimation or realization of mineral resources, the availability of capital to fund programs and the resulting dilution caused by the raising of capital through the sale of shares, accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry including, without limitation, those associated with the environment, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Many of these factors are beyond the Companya?s ability to control or predict. 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 contained in this news release and in any document referred to in this news release. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and that could impact the Company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the Company\-s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Millennial Potash Corp. Announces Appointment of Mr. Rick Lacroix as Director

Millennial Potash Corp. (MLP: TSX.V) (aMLPa aMillenniala or the aCompanya  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/millennial-lithium-corp/ ) is pleased to announce that Mr. Rick Lacroix has joined the Companya?s Board of Directors as MLP continues to strengthen its Board with veterans of the potash industry.

Farhad Abasov, Millenniala?s Chair, commented aWe are very pleased that Mr. Rick Lacroix has decided to join the Millennial Potash Board.A Rick brings a wealth of potash expertise from extraction to marketing and transportation through top-level positions within Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (now Nutrien) and Canpotex, a potash marketing organization of Canadian potash producers.A Rick also was a member of Allana Potash Corp. and was instrumental in Allanaa?s efforts in developing its potash project in Africa. More recently Rick was part of the Board of Directors of Millennial Lithium Corp. where he was involved in all aspects of Millennial Lithium Corp.\-s Pastos Grandes Project which was acquired by Lithium Americas in early 2022.A We are looking forward to Ricka?s contributions to our Board as we accelerate our exploration and development activities at our Banio Potash Project in Gabon.a

Mr. Lacroix has a B.Sc. Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan.A Mr. Lacroix began his potash career in 1981 and has extensive experience in all aspects of potash mining, processing, and marketing highlighted by 30+ years with Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (now Nutrien). A Mr. Lacroix is a former Senior Vice President of Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (Nutrien) and former Director of Canpotex and former Chairman of Canpotex Bulk Terminals. A Most recently Mr. Lacroix served as a Director for Allana Potash Corp. He was also a director in Millennial Lithium Corp. A In addition to a comprehensive career in potash, Mr. Lacroix has also been involved in base metal mining operations in northern Canada and Ontario. Mr. Lacroix brings a wealth of experience in large-scale potash mining operations, product marketing, distribution, and transportation to the Company.

GRANT OF 100,000 INCENTIVE STOCK OPTIONS

The Company also wishes to announce that it has granted a total of 100,000 incentive stock options exercisable for a period of five (5) years at an exercise price of $0.50 per share.

TERMINATION OF OPTION TO ACQUIRE MOHAVE GOLD PROJECT

The Company also wishes to announce that it has elected to terminate its option on the Mohave Gold Project and has provided notice of termination to M3 Metals Corp. (\M3M\).A M3M has acknowledged receipt of the termination notice and the Company and M3M have entered into a mutual release concerning the Mohave Gold Project.A The Company has no further obligations to M3M regarding the Mohave Gold Project.

MARCH 1, 2023 NEWS RELEASE (CLOSING OF PRIVATE PLACEMENT)

In some of the disseminated copies of the Company\-s news release dated March 1, 2023 it was stated that the proceeds of the Company\-s private placement were $3,951,500.A This is incorrect.A The correct proceeds (as stated in the title of the news release) were $3,591,500.

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.A

This news release may contain certain aForward-Looking Statementsa 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 aanticipatea, abelievea, aestimatea, aexpecta, atarget, aplana, aforecasta, \intend\, amaya, aschedulea 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 Companya?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.A Such statements represent the Companya?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.
Besides the white gold, lithium, potash not forgotten

Healthy, high-yielding plants need nutrients, i.e. fertilizers that contain potash. These minerals are found in large evaporite deposits from ancient seabeds, lakes or in rock formations. Potash is mined mainly in Canada, Russia and Belarus. There are four types of potash that dominate the market, these are sylvite, polyhalite, langbeinite and carnallite. Potassium chloride is also called sylvite, it is the \normal potash\ and also the most common form. The standard price for potash, the price investors see, usually refers to potassium chloride (MOP). This fertilizer is most often used on corn, sugar beets, celery and chard. MOP is the largest potash market. The largest deposits of sylvite are in Saskatchewan, Canada. Polyhalite (SOP) is the second most common form of potash used. It is composed of potassium and sulfur, and improves yields and crop quality. SOP is more difficult to produce, therefore much more expensive than MOP. Langbeinite is a potassium-magnesium form of potash and more of a niche product. Carnallite is mined in various countries, it is a good form of potash. Today, potash exploration and development companies are working diligently on projects, as increasing demand should ensure lucrativeness. New potash mines and project expansions are therefore expected in 2025. Among the new companies is Millennial Potash  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/millennial-potash-successful-financing-for-the-start-of-aggressive-exploration-and-development-plan/  with its Banio potash mining project in Gabon, Africa. The management has extensive experience in potash mining.A

Kali is therefore of great importance for the future of the world\-s food supply. Along with food, energy is one of the important everyday needs of mankind today. In this context, a particularly interesting element plays a role in the era geared to CO2 neutrality. Lithium. It is extremely important for power storage and electric mobility and should be included in investment decisions. One company working in Quebec and in Manitoba on two very prospective lithium deposits is Targa Exploration. In addition, Targa Exploration  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mining-newsflash-with-alpha-lithium-hannan-metals-gold-royalty-and-targa-exploration/  has an option on a silver-gold project in the Yukon Territory.A

Latest company information and press releases from Millennial Potash (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/millennial-potash-corp/)

In accordance with A34 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and that there is therefore a possible conflict of interest. No guarantee for the translation into German. Only the English version of this news is valid.

Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damages arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are generally associated with risk. The total loss of the invested capital cannot be excluded. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given for the correctness of all contents. Despite the greatest care, I expressly reserve the right to make a mistake, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Due to judicial decisions the contents of linked external pages are to be answered for (so among other things regional court Hamburg, in the judgement of 12.05.1998  312 O 85/98), as long as no explicit dissociation from these takes place. Despite careful control of the contents, I do not assume any liability for the contents of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG applies additionally: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/
The PDAC has started

For more than 80 years, the biggest players in the resource sector, investors and many experts have gathered at the congress. Up to 30,000 participants from more than 130 countries usually attend. Presentations, networking events, lectures or educational programs attract resource enthusiasts, companies and organizations from all over the world. Since the first convention in 1932, PDAC has grown significantly. The mining industry is represented by more than 1,100 exhibitors. There is information on current activities and the investment potential of exploration and development companies. Investors can meet with exhibitors through the PDAC One-on-One meeting program. Topics include gold and silver, rare earths, battery metals such as cobalt and nickel, base metals, diamonds, or uranium.

Visitors learn about gold discoveries, new techniques in mining, and key issues about responsible exploration and mining. Industry leaders share insights and case studies in a series of presentations. Industry experts and world-class speakers discuss trends, technologies, their real-world experiences and provide a glimpse into the future. One of the first speakers was Ken Hoffman of McKinsey & Company on March 5 on the topic of battery metals (\All Metals Become Critical\). Battery metals are an important topic because consumption is increasing, ore grades are decreasing, and a trend toward deglobalization indicate that these metals are moving into a critical phase of availability. Companies concerned about battery metals include Canada Nickel Company  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mining-newsflash-with-with-victoria-gold-gold-terra-tinone-resources-canada-nickel-labrador-uranium-and-mag-silver/  with the highly prospective Crawford nickel-cobalt-sulfide project in Ontario, Canada. Critical metals and rare earths has US Critical Metals  https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/us-critical-metals-exploring-a-lithium-a-rare-earths-and-a-cobalt-project-in-the-united-states/  in its sights. The company has a lithium project in Nevada, a cobalt project, a uranium project and two rare earths projects in Montana and Idaho.

Current corporate information and press releases from US Critical Metals (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/us-critical-metals-corp/) and Canada Nickel Company (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/canada-nickel-company-inc/)

In accordance with A34 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and that there is therefore a possible conflict of interest. No guarantee for the translation into German. Only the English version of this news is valid.

Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damages arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are generally associated with risk. The total loss of the invested capital cannot be excluded. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given for the correctness of all contents. Despite the greatest care, I expressly reserve the right to make a mistake, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Due to judicial decisions the contents of linked external pages are to be answered for (so among other things regional court Hamburg, in the judgement of 12.05.1998  312 O 85/98), as long as no explicit dissociation from these takes place. Despite careful control of the contents, I do not assume any liability for the contents of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG applies additionally: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/
Canada Nickel Confirms High Grade Near-Surface Mineralization at Texmont

a Nine of first twelve holes with intervals of greater than 1% nickel

a First twelve holes confirm high grade mineralization over 400 metres of strike length that remains open to the north and at depth

a High grade intervals within thick mineralized sections include:

 Hole 22-03: 5.2 metres of 2.60% nickel within 21.0 metres of 1.22% nickel within 91.5 metres of 0.50% nickel from 58.5 metres

 Hole 22-06: 4.0 metres of 2.43% nickel within 12.0 metres of 1.45% nickel within 28.0 metres of 0.77% nickel from 76.5 metres

Canada Nickel Company Inc. (\Canada Nickel\ or the \Company\) (TSXV: CNC) (OTCQX: CNIKF  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/canada-nickelcompanyinc/) today announced assay results from the first twelve holes of its initial drill program at the Texmont property that confirm high grade, near-surface nickel mineralization. Texmont is located 36 kilometres south of Timmins.

The Company has drilled a total of 39 holes and 9,670 metres, completing its initial phase to support the development of a mineral resource at Texmont expected to be delivered later this year.

Mark Selby, Chair & CEO of Canada Nickel Company, said, aWe are excited by the results of our initial phase of drilling and assay results at Texmont which confirm our thesis of near-surface, high grade intervals of nickel that is present within thick mineralized sections, which support the potential for nearterm, smaller scale, open pit production. This near-term production potential is highly complementary to our large-scale Crawford and regional nickel sulphide project.a

Texmont Nickel Property

The Texmont Property is located 36 kilometres south of Timmins. It is considered to be a komatiite flow rather than a dunite sill with sections of highly mineralized peridotite and dimensions approximately 1.2 kilometres long by up to 150 metres wide (see Figure 1).

Canada Nickel has drilled 39 drill holes to date, 34 of which targeted the known mineralization and five of which targeted a possible north extension (Figure 2). This news release contains the assay results from the first 12 holes totaling 3,204 metres (see Tables 1,2). Historic drilling confirms the mineralization pinches out to the south but remains open to the north and at depth. Further drilling to the north of the former mine shaft intersected thick sections of mineralized peridotite but assay results are not yet available. This drilling is expected to be incorporated, along with historic drilling by Fletcher Nickel (whichA drilled 28,883 metres from 2006-2008) into an initial resource estimate to be released later this year.

TEX22-01 was collared directly over komatiite, and intersected a thick sequence of mineralized peridotite, ending in strongly serpentinized dunite, with minor dykes encountered near the top of the hole. The hole averaged 0.29% Ni over 240.7 metres, including a higher-grade section of 0.52% Ni over 22.1 metres (see Table 3 for all high grade composites, and Table 4 for whole mineralized lengths).

TEX22-02 was collared 100 metres northeast of TEX22-01 and intersected mineralized komatiite 6 metres below surface, intersecting mineralized peridotite for a length of 120.0 metres until encountering gabbro at the lower contact. The hole averaged 0.34% nickel over 120.0 metres, including 0.55% nickel over 45.7 metres from 10.5 metres downhole.

TEX22-03 was collared with an east azimuth 20 metres southwest of the existing mining shaft and intersected mineralized peridotite from 1.8 meters to the end of hole at 150.0 metres. The hole averaged 0.40% nickel over 148.2 metres, including 1.22% nickel and 0.18 g/t Pt+Pd over 21.0 metres.

TEX22-04 was collared within the hanging wall intersecting mafic volcanics and then gabbro before encountering mineralized peridotite. The mineralized peridotite averaged 0.31% Ni over 200.2 metres, including 0.56% Ni over 34.2 metres. The hole intersected the footwall, ending in mafic volcanics and giving a good indication of the overall thickness of the mineralized ultramafics.

TEX22-05 was collared in hanging wall mafic volcanics and was aimed to cut across the strike length of theA mineralized komatiite. The hole intersected 362.8 metres of peridotite averaging 0.18% Ni over 362.8 metres, including 42.0 metres of 0.41% nickel. A few minor dykes were encountered within the hole.

TEX22-06 was drilled 100 m southeast of TEX22-03 in komatiite and intersected mineralized peridotite, with minor intersections of late dykes. The hole averaged 0.24% nickel over 285.8 metres, including a high-grade section of 1.45% nickel and 0.28 g/t Pt+Pd over 12.0 metres.

TEX22-07 was collared 100 southeast of TEX22-03, intersecting komatiite followed by a moderate to strongly mineralized peridotite, interrupted by minor diabase dykes. The hole averaged 0.24% Ni over 294.0 metres including 0.33% Ni over 100.2 metres and 0.41% Ni over 43.5 metres.

TEX22-08 was collared 50 metres south of TEX22-07 and drilled to the west. The hole started in komatiite and continued into peridotite, ending in peridotite. The hole averaged 0.22% Ni over 272.7 metres including 0.31% Ni over 100.2 metres.

TEX22-09 was collared at the same location as TEX22-08 but at a steeper dip (-70o versus -50o). The hole started in komatiite and continued into peridotite, ending in peridotite. Mineralization averaged 0.20% Ni over 243.0 metres, including 0.28% Ni over 64.5 metres and 0.35% Ni over 49.3 metres.

TEX22-10 was collared 50 metres south of TEX22-08 and intersected a thick section of mineralized peridotite interrupted by a minor sliver of metasedimentary rocks. The hole averaged 0.18% Ni over 247.5 metres including 0.24% over 75.0 metres.

TEX22-11 was collared at the same location as TEX22-10 but drilled at a steeper angle. The hole intersected two sections of mineralized peridotite, 0.28% Ni over 216.2 metres and 66.9 metres of 0.25% Ni, with the intervals separated by metasedimentary rocks. The upper mineralized interval included a higher-grade section of 129.8 metres of 0.37% and 19.5 metres of 0.96% Ni.

TEX22-12 was collared 50 metres south of TEX22-10 and intersected 2 sections of mineralized peridotite separated by metasediments, the upper section averaging 0.23% Ni over 79.5 metres, and the lower section averaging 0.21% Ni over 47.0 metres.

Assays, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Drilling and Assay

Edwin Escarraga, MSc, P.Geo., a \qualified person\ as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for the on-going drilling and sampling program, including quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC). The core is collected from the drill in sealed core trays and transported to the core logging facility. The core is marked and sampled at 1.5 metre lengths and cut with a diamond blade saw. One set of samples is transported in secured bags directly from the Canada Nickel core shack to Actlabs Timmins, while a second set of samples is securely shipped to SGS Lakefield for preparation, with analysis performed at SGS Burnaby or SGS Callao (Peru). All are ISO/IEC 17025 accredited labs. Analysis for precious metals (gold, platinum, and palladium) are completed by Fire Assay while analysis for nickel, cobalt, sulphur and other elements are performed using a peroxide fusion and ICP-OES analysis. Certified standards and blanks are inserted at a rate of 3 QA/QC samples per 20 core samples making a batch of 60 samples that are submitted for analysis.

Qualified Person and Data Verification

Stephen J. Balch P.Geo. (ON), VP Exploration of Canada Nickel and a \qualified person\ as is defined by National Instrument 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release on behalf of Canada Nickel Company Inc.

The magnetic images shown in this press release were created from Canada Nickel\-s interpretation of datasets provided by the Ontario Geological Survey.

About Canada Nickel Company

Canada Nickel Company Inc. is advancing the next generation of nickel-sulphide projects to deliver nickel required to feed the high growth electric vehicle and stainless-steel markets. Canada Nickel Company has applied in multiple jurisdictions to trademark the terms NetZero NickelTM, NetZero CobaltTM, NetZero IronTM and is pursuing the development of processes to allow the production of net zero carbon nickel, cobalt, and iron products. Canada Nickel provides investors with leverage to nickel in low political risk jurisdictions. Canada Nickel is currently anchored by its 100% owned flagship Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project in the heart of the prolific Timmins-Cochrane mining camp. For more information, please visit www.canadanickel.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain information that may constitute \forward-looking information\ under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, drill and exploration results relating to the target properties described herein (the \Properties\), the potential of the Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project and the Properties, timing of economic studies and mineral resource estimates, the ability to sell marketable materials, strategic plans, including future exploration and development results, and corporate and technical objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon several assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals, the future demand for metals, the results of drilling, inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the property, environmental liabilities (known and unknown), general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, results of exploration programs, risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals, and the impact of COVID-19 related disruptions in relation to the Company\-s business operations including upon its employees, suppliers, facilities and other stakeholders. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management as at the date hereof. Canada Nickel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

A
In pics: Relics displayed at Henan Museum show profoundness of Chinese culture

People's Daily Online) 13:41, March 06, 2023

A tourist takes pictures of a cultural relic at the Henan Museum in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province. (People's Daily Online/Huo Yaping)

Exquisite cultural relics displayed at the Henan Museum in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province have drawn crowds of visitors looking to experience the charm and profoundness of Chinese culture.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)


This page requires Javascript.

Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
The Minister of National Defense, Angel Tilvar, is participating, on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the informal meeting of the defense ministers from the EU member states, which is taking place in Stockholm, in Sweden.

"The activity will begin with a work session dedicated to the support given to Ukraine by the European Union in the context of the war of aggression by the Russian Federation," informs a press release from the Ministry of National Defense (MApN) sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

The debates will continue on the Progress Report on the implementation of the Strategic Compass, a document that provides political guidelines, priorities and concrete objectives for the next 10 years regarding the security and defense dimension of the European Union.

Also, the latest developments in EU missions and operations will be reviewed. The meeting will end with discussions on countering the challenges caused by foreign influences in operation theatres.

"The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, as well as representatives of the European Parliament, were invited to participate in this session," the quoted source informs. AGERPRES
Romania should have a strategy together with Bulgaria with a view to joining the Schengen area, being at the same time extremely important not to remain anchored in the logic in which as long as the migration file is not closed, the subject of Schengen cannot be discussed, said MEP Dragos Tudorache for AGERPRES on Tuesday.

The MEP, who is the vice-president of the Renew Europe Group, referred to this subject in the context of the meeting of the JHA Council on March 9 and 10, whose agenda includes, in the non-legislative activities section, 'The general situation of the Schengen area', but not the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen.

The March 9-10 meeting is also the first official meeting of the JHA Council after the one in December last year, when the accession of Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area was also on the agenda. Of these three countries, only the first received the green light, becoming a member of the European free movement area on January 1. In the case of Romania and Bulgaria, there was no unanimity, although the two countries met all the necessary technical conditions, something recognized by the European Commission since 2011, including following the evaluations made by European experts. The opposition came from Austria and the Netherlands, the latter specifying that Bulgaria is not yet ready to enter Schengen.

"There are two options on the table: either we go to the package with Bulgaria - which I recommend we do, which means that we must first of all convince the Netherlands, and then deal with the problem of Austria - or we consider that the problem of the Netherlands cannot be resolved and then the scenario would be the separation from Bulgaria, which technically, legally, I think that now it could be done on a theoretical level, but politically then we have other problems, with other member states that would not want to see the separation", said Tudorache.

He believes that Romania's main strategy must be to convince the Netherlands to work on a scenario in which Romania and Bulgaria together obtain a calendar and some concrete steps to reach the desired decision.
The purchase of a battalion of Abrams tanks will be subject to the approval of the Legislature, said Lieutenant General Teodor Incicas, head of the General Directorate for Armaments, on the podcast of the Defense Ministry (MApN) publication, 'Military Observer'.

In this context, he also mentioned acquisitions in the naval field.

"We are in the process of moving towards the prior approval of the Parliament, our requests regarding the approval of the purchase of a battalion of Abrams tanks, and we are also talking about a new package for the achievement of sea combat capabilities. Namely, we are referring to the purchase of submarines, the purchase of ships mine hunters and the modernization of missile-carrying ships," said Teodor Incicas.

He spoke about the arguments in favor of purchasing American tanks.

"Everyone imagines: 'OK, it's an old tank', without knowing the specific American tank modernization system. We're talking about its complete "undressing", its treatment, because its protection system is one that satisfies and its equipment with new equipment, in accordance with the version requested by us", he said.

Moreover, he added that the General Staff of the Land Forces "considered that for the mission of the brigade that it wants to reinforce with this type of tank, this is the best means and has its uniqueness in carrying out the missions".

According to Incicas, the purchase in this case will be of the G2G type.

"Being a battalion, the product will be purchased through a government-government purchase, not being sold in a commercial system of direct relationship with the company," he pointed out.

The lieutenant general also mentioned the Air Force acquisitions, estimating that all F-16 aircraft will be delivered in 2024.

"Last year we signed the contract for the purchase of 32 F-16 aircraft from the Norwegian state army. We believe that this year, followed by 2024, we will have the deliveries for these aircraft," he said.

At the same time, he spoke about the prospects in the field. "The acquisition of the F-16 aircraft is an interim stage until the acquisition of the 5th generation aircraft, i.e. the F-35 aircraft. The Romanian Army aims to have the first squadron of F-35 aircraft after 2030".

According to Incicas, this next stage will involve infrastructure analyses, infrastructure investments and then acquisition.

"I expect that this year or next year we will take the step to sign the contract for the F-35", he said, adding that "this cannot be done without the approval of the CSAT and without the prior approval of the Parliament".

Teodor Incicas also talked about the perspective of a "pocket drone", made in Romania.

"Last year, through our own research, we created the so-called 'pocket drone', which we are now going to approve and then purchase based on our projects and introduce it into the equipment of the military. A drone that is necessary for the serviceman, as an individual, in terms of immediate knowledge in the tactical field and reconnaissance, especially in urban combat," he said. AGERPRES
People's Movement Party (PMP) national leader MEP Eugen Tomac told a news conference in Iasi on Tuesday that at the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting this month Romania's accession to the Schengen area will unfortunately not feature on the agenda.

"On March 9, a new JHA meeting will be held. The home affairs ministers of the European Union will meet there. The Schengen Area will be discussed. But Romania's accession to the Schengen Area will not be discussed. And it is the first meeting after the one on December 8, 2022. Most of the European and Romanian politicians said then that Romania will for sure join the area at the next JHA meeting. The next JHA meeting takes place in two days. Unfortunately, Romania's accession to the Schengen Area is totally missing," said Tomac.

He added that he was in Iasi also to start up a campaign to collect signatures for the petition entitled "Romania deserves accession to the Schengen Area."

He said that this approach comes after in February he brought the Council of the European Union before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) because Romania was not accepted in the Schengen Area at the JHA meeting on December 8, 2022.

"That's why this court case that we opened and this signature collection campaign has a big stake," added Tomac.

In his opinion, this injustice done to the Romanians should be corrected through this court litigation to unblock things at the level of the Council of the European Union.

"We have taken the first step and I strongly believe that this action is the only way in which Romania, within a reasonable time, will be able to enjoy all the rights that all other member states that enjoy free movement within the Union European have. This action needs the support of every Romanian. It is not enough that only I, as a member of the European Parliament, complain about this abuse of rights by the Council of the European Union generated by Austria's blockage. The European Parliament has to step in as privileged defendant in the CJEU court case. However, in order to win the EP support I need the support of Romanians. That is why I am launching this campaign under which I am inviting Romanian citizens to support by a signature on www.romaniainschengen.ro," Tomac argued.

Tomac also said that an "abuse of law" was committed by the Council of the European Union when Romania was denied accession to the Schengen area.

"Several articles of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and, obviously, of the Treaty of the European Union were violated. First of all, our accession treaty was violated. In Article 4 (2) the Accession Treaty it is very clearly stated that when Romania meets the criteria, it will be invited to the Schengen Area. Also, the EU Council violated Article 4 (3) in the European Union Treaty, which mentions the principle of loyal co-operation between states. The member states are under an obligation to work starting from the premise that they serve the EU's interest and do not block the functioning of the EU, as Austria is doing at the moment. Also, Article 13, Article 2 of the TFEU were violated, regarding the principle of loyal co-operation between institutions," added Tomac.

The EU home affairs ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday, March 9, in a Justice and Home Affairs Council (JAI) meeting, for the first time in this format under the six-month presidency of the EU Council held by Sweden since January 1, 2023.

On the provisional agenda of the JHA Council meeting of March 9-10, in the non-legislative activities section, the overall state of the Schengen area is mentioned, but not the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the area. In this section, there will be an exchange of opinions about the functioning of the Schengen area and the future of visa policy. Also, the latest developments in the entry into operation of the enhanced Schengen Information System (SIS) will be presented.

The agenda may undergo changes following the meeting of COREPER, the committee of permanent representatives of the national governments of the EU member states, scheduled for Wednesday, March 8.

The March 9-10 meeting is also the first official meeting of the JHA Council after the one in December 2022, when the accession of Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area featured on the agenda. Of these three countries, only the accession of the first was green-lighted, with Croatia becoming a member of the European free movement area on January 1, 2023.

In the case of Romania and Bulgaria, there was no unanimity, although the two countries met all the necessary technical conditions, recognised by the European Commission since 2011, including after evaluations made by European experts. The opposition came from Austria and the Netherlands, with the latter specifying that Bulgaria is not yet ready to enter. AGERPRES
The joint plenum of Parliament on Tuesday adopted a Statement of Support for Ukraine in the context of the completion, on February 24, 2023, of one year since the start of the war of aggression by the Russian Federation.

The Romanian MPs cast 285 votes "in favour" and 5 "against" the Statement of Support.

The Statement reads that the Russian Federation unilaterally and unprovokedly launched the war of aggression against Ukraine, escalating the previous violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, through the illegal annexation, in 2014, of Crimea.

"The Russian Federation is waging a massive military invasion of the Ukrainian state, accompanied by crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population, systematic attacks on energy infrastructure, disinformation and propaganda on an unprecedented scale, and false rhetoric that attempts to hide the truth about the war of conquest it carries out in Ukraine, in violation of the UN Charter, international law and the principles that govern relations between states. The humanitarian tragedy of the Ukrainian civilian population is worsening, the suffering, unprecedented in the history of Europe, since the Second World War, of millions of people, being deliberately provoked by the Russian aggressor as part of a premeditated, cynical and brutal strategy to crush the entire Ukrainian nation," the Statement reads.

The document highlights that "we are witnessing the perpetuation of the aggressive and irresponsible rhetoric of the Russian Federation regarding the continuation of the war against Ukraine and the potential use of the nuclear arsenal, with threats to other sovereign states, including NATO members."

"Millions of people live every day with the fear that they will become the next victims of Russia's aggression, many of them being forced to leave their homes in a desperate attempt to survive the war. The war that started a year ago is causing serious damages to the international legal order, freedom of navigation, the economy and international trade, directly or indirectly affecting a huge number of people around the globe and having severe implications including on food security and food reserves in various regions of the world," the same document states.

Parliament reaffirms Romania's firm support for the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian state and people, expresses its respect for the courage, dignity and resistance shown by both the Ukrainian army and the civilian population and reconfirms Romania's "unwavering support" for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.

The Statement firmly condemns the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against a sovereign state, whose territory is inalienable and indivisible.

"We ask the Russian Federation to put an end to the war without delay and to urgently withdraw all its military forces and equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine, according to this country's internationally recognized borders. We underscore, once again, that all attempts to change the borders of Ukraine by force, through the decisions to illegally annex some regions of Ukraine, starting in 2014, violate the UN Charter, the international law, as well as the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We ask the Russian Federation to collaborate unconditionally with the international organizations and with the International Criminal Court, which is set to investigate into the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed against Ukraine, and we support the international efforts (...) to establish a jurisdictional mechanism for holding accountable those guilty of committing the crime of aggression," says the Statement of Support.

Parliament asks the Russian Federation, by the means of this document, "to immediately stop the rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons and the actions of intimidation against other states, as well as the baseless accusations regarding the alleged use of biological weapons by Ukraine."

"We reaffirm the right of every state, including Ukraine, to decide, in a sovereign manner, on its future, based on the freely expressed popular will. We resolutely reject the undisguised approach promoted by the Russian Federation regarding the establishment of so-called 'spheres of influence,' which is in deep contradiction with the legal order at the international level. We express concern about the profoundly undemocratic character of the political developments in recent years in the Russian Federation, marked by the absence of a real free and democratic debate, by the consolidation of control over the entire public space and of the accentuated drift towards arbitrariness and unilateralism, including in international relations," Parliament's statement also states.

Another aspect of the Statement concerns the solidarity of Romania and all the states targeted by the aggressive rhetoric of the Russian Federation, especially the Republic of Moldova, which is why the Russian Federation is requested "to stop the disinformation campaigns aimed at hiding the truth related to the war of aggression, illegal and legitimate, which it carries out against Ukraine and, implicitly, against the international legal order."

"We affirm our solidarity towards the policy of Romania's allies and partners regarding the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine. We ask the European and Euro-Atlantic community to tighten the sanctions against the Russian Federation at a sustained pace and ensure their maintenance as long as the occupying forces remain on the territory of Ukraine, according to its internationally recognized borders. Sanctions must also target those directly responsible for the atrocities committed in Ukraine: President Vladimir Putin and his entire regime," the Statement points out.

Parliament also supports "the need for Romania's substantial involvement in the future post-conflict reconstruction efforts of the Ukrainian state, as well as the intensification of the support given by the Romanian state, especially, to the Ukrainian civilian population".

"We emphasize the need to concentrate the efforts of the Romanian state, equally, and support the process of accession to the European Union of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Georgia, considering both the option expressed by the majority of the population of these three states, as well as their official status as candidate states, acquired by the first two, in June 2022, as well as the European perspective confirmed for the third. We express the expectation that the Ukrainian authorities will treat with attention and speed the important aspects raised by the Romanian state in bilateral relations, such as the situation of ethnic Romanians from Ukraine, respectively the need to protect the unique heritage and biodiversity of the Danube Delta, in accordance with European and international commitments and standards in the matter," Parliament's Statement concludes. AGERPRES
Security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific should not be discussed separately, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said, noting that Japan and Romania will cooperate in providing assistance to Ukraine and Moldova.

The above-mentioned were said in joint press statements held by president Klaus Iohannis, after the signing of the Joint Declaration establishing the Strategic Partnership between Romania and Japan.I've explained to Mr. President about Japan's new national security strategy, emphasizing that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific should not be discussed separately, in the context in which the international security environment is becoming more and more severe. Mr. President reaffirmed a strong support for this new strategy of Japan. We also agreed that Japan and Romania will cooperate in providing assistance to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. I explained to Mr. President that Japan has offered over 13 million US dollars to support Ukrainian refugees settled in Romania, for which Mr. President expressed his gratitude, the Japanese premier said.Fumio Kishida "sincerely" welcomed president Iohannis's visit to Japan and mentioned that during the meeting with the Romanian president, it was agreed to raise the bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership, considering that Romania and Japan share the same fundamental values.We look forward to working together with Romania, as strategic partners for the development of cooperative relations in various fields, including security, economy, science, technology and culture. At the following working dinner we will discuss more about the regional situations of common interest, including the response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Indo-Pacific and the situation in the Republic of Moldova, premier Fumio Kishida stressed.
A plan for the development of co-operation between the border authorities of Romania and of Moldova in 2023 was signed as part of a meeting of the heads of the border authorities from Romania and Moldova at the headquarters of the Romanian General Border Police Inspectorate(IGPF).

"On March 6-7, a delegation of Moldova's Border Police led by Chief Commissioner Rosian Vasiloi visited the headquarters of the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF). The meeting focused on the implementation of joint projects in the operational area, as well as the continuation of dialogue at the institutional level amidst new institutional challenges," according to IGPF.

The Moldovan delegation was welcomed by General Inspector of the Romanian Border Police Victor-Stefan Ivascu.

Discussed were the implementation of coordinated control of persons, means of transport and goods crossing the state border through the crossing point at Albita, as well as opening new border crossing points at the common border.

"The meeting took place in the space that houses exhibits of the Romanian Border Police Museum and comprised two visits: one to the Operational Coordination Center, where a presentation of its capabilities took place, and one to the National Passenger Information Unit, in in order to introduce the Moldovan delegation to the activity carried out by the unit." AGERPRES
ST. LOUIS  A subsidiary of Stifel Financial has filed suit against a new Indianapolis financial firm, claiming it staged what amounts to a coup, leaving customers in the lurch and briefly claiming Stifels business assets as its own.

The suit, filed Feb. 28 in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis, states that the management and nearly all of the employees of one of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.s Indianapolis offices left at the same time to form Sapient Capital LLC.

The sudden move left thousands of Stifels customers without financial advisers, according to the suit. Meanwhile, Sapient engaged in false advertising, fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition and interfered with business relationships, the suit claims.

In a written statement, Sapient said, We believe any such claims are meritless and we plan to vigorously defend against them.

In the statement, Sapient also said it was disappointed that Stifel would file the suit. It pointed out that in the past Stifel has criticized other firms use of the courts and has also said it should be easier for financial advisers to move between firms.

According to the lawsuit, the three managing directors of the Stifel northwest Indianapolis office  James M. Knall, Thomas J. Pence and Jeffrey S. Cohen  suddenly resigned by email on Feb. 17. Pence is the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence.

Eleven minutes after they resigned, the offices chief operating officer, Andrew LeBlanc, also tendered his resignation and the resignations of 27 other employees, according to the suit. An Indianapolis-based Stifel manager who went to the office that morning found it empty, with a stack of resignation letters left behind.

Stifel claims that the managing directors asked all of the employees to join them in the newly formed Sapient on the night of Feb. 16, when they were all still employees of Stifel. Doing so violated the terms of their contracts, the suit says.

Furthermore, the managing directors and the chief operating officer had been plotting this move for months, the suit claims, actively working against the interests of Stifel while they were its employees.

Once they left Stifel, the defendants engaged in a campaign designed to confuse and mislead Stifel clients into thinking they are or must become defendants clients, as if transitioning client accounts is not the clients decision, the suit states.

LeBlanc, the Indianapolis office COO, had non-solicitation and non-compete clauses in his Stifel contract. The suit alleges he broke this agreement by arranging for employees to leave and by encouraging Stifel clients to move to Sapient.

The Stifel handbook specifies that all confidential information, including client lists, must be returned to the company when an employee leaves, and that they may not make copies of the information. Every year, the employees sign an acknowledgement of these policies, the suit says.

In addition, the suit alleges that Sapient falsely claimed to have $10 billion in assets under management, which was actually the amount of money managed by the northwest Indianapolis office of Stifel.

At the time it made the claim, its first weekend of operation, Sapient was actually managing no money, the suit states.

The lawsuit contrasts the sudden, unannounced mass resignation with what it says is the standard method of moving employees from one financial institution to another. Stifel uses as its example the way it hired the Indianapolis offices managing partner Cohen and James Knalls father, David Knall, away from their previous employer, McDonald Investments, in 2005.

Stifel negotiated with McDonald, ensur(ing) that McDonalds rights were protected and their clients would face no disruption, the suit states. Stifel agreed to pay McDonald a flat fee, plus a fee for each account that came over to Stifel.

At the time, David Knall was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stifel supported the older Knall throughout the investigation and his subsequent one-year suspension.

In a similar case last month, the Raymond James investment banking company was ordered to pay nearly $20 million to Wells Fargo Advisors for launching a coordinated raid on a branch in a small town in Arkansas. That case involved fewer employees than the Stifel case.

Stifel executives declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Yield: 6 cups

1 quart (4 cups) very thinly sliced peeled yellow onions

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups rich chicken stock

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 slices toasted bread or crostini to fit in soup bowls

3 cups grated Comte, Gruyere or Swiss cheese

Fresh chives for garnish

1. Thinly slice the onions and place in a large bowl. Toss to separate the rings and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a 5-quart pot over medium low heat. Add the onions and salt.

3. Caramelize the onions very slowly over medium-low heat. It will take 30 to 50 minutes or more, stirring occasionally as needed.

4. As the onions cook they will release water, but if you notice sticking to the pan, add small amounts of water to prevent burning and release any flavorful pieces that develop on the bottom of the pan.

5. You want the onions to reach a deep brown  almost the color of bourbon. At that point they are fully caramelized.

6. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the cooking onions, stirring it in completely to evenly distribute the flour. You dont want lumps in the flour before you add the stock next.

7. Pour 2 cups of stock over the onions, whisking as you go. Add the remaining 4 cups of stock in 2 cups at a time, whisking still to make sure no lumps are forming that need to be stirred down.

8. Bring the soup to a simmer and allow it to cook for 30 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, then stir in the sherry vinegar and ground pepper.

9. Turn the broiler on to medium high.

10. Portion the hot soup into 6 oven-proof bowls. Arrange 2 pieces of toasted bread on the surface. Top each bowl with  cup of grated cheese, taking care to cover the bread.

11. Place under the broiler to melt the cheese. Keep a good eye on this as it only takes a few minutes, 2 to 4 minutes depending on the broiler.

12. Garnish each bowl with chopped chives.

Per serving: 622 calories; 34g fat; 19g saturated fat; 97mg cholesterol; 29g protein; 50g carbohydrate; 11g sugar; 3g fiber; 1,225mg sodium; 660mg calcium

To print the recipe, click here, then click the printer icon.
CLAYTON  A man from Town and Country who was accused in 2020 of huffing inhalants before he crashed his parents SUV, killing a pedestrian in Ballwin, has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Trenton Geiger, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter and other crimes Monday after reaching a plea deal in the death of 25-year-old Marissa Politte.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said the case underscores the difficulty in proving a defendant was high on drugs, given the current state of toxicology science.

Politte was struck by Geigers SUV Oct. 18, 2020, on the sidewalk outside a Total Access Urgent Care clinic at 2501 Clarkson Road in Ballwin. Politte had worked at the clinic as a radiologic technologist. She died at a hospital.

Authorities initially alleged that Geiger had been huffing inhalants when he lost control of his SUV on northbound Clarkson Road. He drove through oncoming lanes of traffic, traveled off the road, struck a light pole and a tree, and hit Politte before slamming into the clinic, the Missouri Highway Patrol said.

In a statement Tuesday morning, prosecutor Bell said no witness saw Geiger taking any intoxicant. A toxicology screening of his blood revealed the presence of THC only, Bell said, and no drug-recognition expert witnessed evidence of THC intoxication.

This case shows how hard intoxication by drugs other than alcohol can be to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, given the current state of toxicology science, Bell said. Though no number of years in prison can ever compensate for the tragic loss of a life, this young man has taken responsibility for his criminal negligence and will serve time, and Ms. Polittes loved ones have some closure.

Polittes parents, Karen Chaplin of Bonne Terre and Jason Politte of Ballwin, could not be reached for comment Tuesday about the plea deal.

Christopher King, a spokesman for the prosecutors office, said Polittes parents did not object to the plea deal. They would have preferred Geiger serve more time in prison but understood the limitations of the evidence, King said.

Chaplin and Jason Politte have filed a wrongful death suit against Geiger, his parents and the urgent care center. A jury trial is scheduled for August.

After the crash, Geiger was found unconscious behind the steering wheel but regained consciousness and collected lime green whip it cartridges from the vehicle and ran into the woods to throw them away, court records alleged. Ballwin police Officer Scott Stephens said the inhalants were found by officers.

According to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, huffing is the intentional breathing of inhalants to get high. Inhalants can include chemicals found in household products such as aerosol sprays, cleaning fluids, glue and paint thinner. Whip-it cartridges can hold nitrous oxide and are used for purposes such as being a propellant for whipped cream dispensers.

Geiger pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter, drug possession and tampering with evidence, all felonies. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. With his plea, Geiger admitted causing Polittes death by hitting her with the vehicle and that he did so with criminal negligence, the prosecutor said. Geiger also admitted that he disposed of the nitrous oxide cartridges that were in his vehicle.

Geiger lives in the 14300 block of Cedar Springs Drive in Town and Country. At the time of his arrest, Geiger was enrolled at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

St. Louis County Circuit Judge John Borbonus sentenced Geiger to two years in prison for each of the three felonies. The sentences will run concurrently. Borbonus also fined Geiger $250 for the misdemeanor. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office said it recommended the sentences after a plea negotiation.
ST. LOUIS  Ryan Lilly, like a lot of St. Louis drivers these days, looks both ways  even when he has the green light.

Thats just my standard protocol in the city, he said last week, days after a man was killed near his home in a car accident at the intersection of Bates Street and Morganford Road.

It was one of a recent spate of high-profile traffic accidents that have angered residents fed up with watching drivers run red lights and speed with seeming impunity.

St. Louis traffic fatalities peaked at 81 in 2020, the height of the pandemic. There were 78 last year, the second-highest fatal crash total recorded in 20 years and well above pre-pandemic levels. Six people have died in car wrecks on city streets in just the last two weeks.

In response to growing concerns about traffic safety, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and aldermen recently approved $40 million to build traffic-calming infrastructure, a push city leaders began after pedestrians were killed near the busy South Grand Boulevard commercial district six months ago.

Though better engineering can slow down drivers, some say that needs to be paired with stronger traffic enforcement to get reckless drivers off the streets or at least make them more cautious.

I am certainly very conscious of my speed now, said Alderman Joe Vaccaro, who chairs the citys public safety committee and made headlines when he was issued a speeding ticket last year. It works. It worked on me.

The St. Louis Police Department nearly 18 months ago announced a renewed focus on traffic violations, but the strategy shift came after a decade of falling traffic stops and citations, according to data reported to the state.

In 2021, St. Louis police made 45,154 traffic stops, a little more than half the 85,622 of stops they conducted in 2009, according to data reported to the Missouri Attorney Generals Office for its annual report on racial profiling in traffic stops. St. Louis police issued just fewer than 18,000 tickets in 2021, about half of the 34,833 they issued in 2009. Arrests from traffic stops were 1,348 in 2021, compared with 3,351 in 2009.

In 2009, there were 39 traffic deaths on city streets, half as many as 2021.

Some of the drops in traffic stops appear to correspond to major social unrest and protests against police in the region: 2014, when the region was engulfed in the Ferguson unrest; in 2017, when similar protests followed the acquittal of Jason Stockley; and in 2020, when police backed off in-person enforcement during the pandemic.

A St. Louis police spokeswoman acknowledged that the departments officers were stretched due to civil unrest in those years. But she said there were also other factors at play.

In 2018, under former Chief John Hayden our patrol measures shifted to a focus on violent crime in areas where it was highest, an enforcement focus that became known as Haydens Rectangle, police spokeswoman Evita Caldwell said in an email.

The drop in arrests, at least, mirrors trends in large cities across the country, said Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Indeed, traffic stops and citations and arrests from those stops also showed major declines in Kansas City, falling by more than half since 2014, according to state data.

Cities across the country pivoted to a focus on violent crime over a decade ago, Rosenfeld said, which helped drive an ensuing drop in arrests for lower-level crimes. Now, the public is clamoring to enforce those lower-level crimes.

As a general rule, the public rightly wants to see laws on the books enforced, because if theyre not enforced, that generates the perception that you can commit crime with impunity, Rosenfeld said. Speeding and running red lights are currently viewed by the public as a serious offense, especially in a place like St. Louis where weve seen an uptick in traffic fatalities and crashes.

Whether the police have the staffing to step up enforcement on top of their other duties remains an open question. The department said it focuses its traffic enforcement on locations with the most crashes but noted that its staffing has fallen in recent years.

As of June, there were 758 police officers and another 87 open police officer positions, according to budget documents. Thats down more than 150 from July 2011, when the city had 920 police officers, according to budget documents.

The Missouri Highway Patrol hasnt been much help in enforcing speeding on interstates within the city limits. Last year, state troopers issued just 35 speeding tickets in the city, down from 432 in 2021. In 2015, the highway patrol issued just one ticket in the city.

They did, however, issue more than 1,000 in 2017 after a high-profile push from then-Gov. Eric Greitens, though Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office said at the time it couldnt handle the increase in citations, and the number of state-issued tickets began falling in the following years. The state says it was never staffed to patrol in the city anyway, though it patrols highways everywhere else, including St. Louis County.

The City of St. Louis has historically patrolled interstates within its jurisdiction and did not seek Missouri State Highway Patrol assistance, said spokesman Capt. John Hotz. The Patrols state-authorized staffing levels and resources have been based on this arrangement.

On some highways, at least, city patrol cars have become more visible in recent months and have pulled over motorists during rush hour. Its unclear how St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy will prioritize traffic enforcement in a city that has recorded at least 200 homicides a year in the past three years.

Alderman Michael Gras, 28th Ward, said Chief Tracy at least appears to recognize the issue.

He understands, it seems like, that were not seemingly doing traffic enforcement very much, Gras said of the chief during a candidate forum last week. He told me a story that he was standing on a corner with a few other officers and some car just blew through a red light, and he looked around and said, You guys arent doing anything? Whats going on here? I think thats all very encouraging.

But more drivers are opting to flee rather than pull over, and departments around the region have faced blowback when pursuits lead to crashes. Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, recently introduced a bill increasing penalties for fleeing from police stops.

And Rosenfeld, the criminologist, notes that its too soon to say just how much the drop in traffic stops and citations has contributed to the recent spike in dangerous crashes.

I think it makes a great deal of sense to assume enforcement does matter, Rosenfeld said. But how much as opposed to other influences? We just dont know.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Sixteen former students at a now-closed Christian boarding school in southwest Missouri have settled lawsuits alleging they were abused at the school.

The settlement amounts for the lawsuits against the former Agape Baptist Church were not disclosed, The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday. The church ran the school near Stockton in Cedar County.

The cases were dismissed with prejudice, which means they cant be filed again.

Four lawsuits remain in federal court and four others are pending in state court.

The former students alleged in the lawsuits that they were assaulted, neglected and sometimes sexually abused and tortured.

We are certainly grateful that our clients cases were settled to their satisfaction, said Randy Cowherd, who represented some former Agape students. We hope the settlements will result in some form of closure for them that will assist them in working through the impact of the abuses they suffered while at Agape.

Another case was resolved without needing to file a lawsuit, Cowherd said.

The Agape Boarding School closed in January. It was the fourth and last unlicensed Christian boarding school to close in Cedar County since September 2020. The schools former director, Bryan Clemensen, said the school closed because it did not have the funding to continue.

Authorities began an investigation of the abuse claims in 2021 and five staff members  including the schools medical coordinator  were charged with low-level felonies of physically assaulting students.

Three staff members pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanors and were placed on two years of probation. Another case was dismissed when the alleged victim did not show up to testify and the fifth case is scheduled for a hearing on Monday.
ST. CHARLES  A man suspected in at least five St. Louis area serial killings pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of 21-year-old Sandy Little.

Gary Muehlberg, 73, was sentenced to life in prison Monday for first-degree murder in Littles 1990 strangling.

Little, a sex worker with an infant son at the time of her death, disappeared in September 1990. Her body was found about five months later by a driver on his way to work in an abandoned box off Interstate 70 in OFallon.

Muehlberg is already 28 years into a life sentence at Potosi Correctional Center for the 1993 killing of a St. Louis County man, Kenneth Doc Atchison. Muehlberg murdered Atchison for $6,000 and stored his body in a plywood box in Muehlbergs Bel-Ridge basement.

Muehlberg is also expected to plead guilty this month to three other killings  the deaths of Robyn Mihan, Brenda Pruitt, Donna Reitmeyer.

Little and the three other women disappeared from south St. Louis within six months in 1990, only to have their bodies discovered by passersby in makeshift containers across the region: One bound between two mattresses, one concealed in a wooden box, and two stuffed into garbage cans.

All had ties to the same small stretch of Cherokee Street in St. Louis frequented by sex workers, then known as The Stroll.

Their cases went unsolved for more than 30 years.

OFallon, Missouri, police Detective Sgt. Jodi Weber reopened the investigations in 2008, submitting pieces of evidence for testing. The St. Charles County Police Lab in March 2022 found enough DNA on a condom located with one of the bodies to get a hit on Muehlberg in from a DNA database.

After prosecutors agreed not to pursue the death penalty, Muehlberg admitted in interviews and a letter to Weber to killing all four women, according to court documents.

No matter how these victims choose to earn a living, they should not have had their lives taken in such a dark way, he wrote in an excerpt of a letter to Weber provided to the Post-Dispatch. He added: I still dislike that negative, dark, short period in (my) past life.

Muehlberg has a March 14 virtual plea hearing scheduled in St. Louis County in the cases of Pruitt and Reitmeyer.

Another hearing is scheduled in Mihans murder for March 31 in Lincoln County.

Remember these notable St. Louis-area serial killers? Some serial killers, like John Wayne Gacy, capture national attention. These serial killers may not have grabbed headlines outside St. Louis, 
JEFFERSON CITY  A state takeover of the St. Louis Police Department moved closer to the governors desk Monday after lawmakers in the Missouri House voted overwhelmingly to advance the measure to the Senate for consideration.

The legislation skated to the Senate on a 113-40 vote, with three lawmakers voting present. The city gained control of its police department a decade ago through a statewide vote after years of lobbying.

But Republicans this year have characterized local control of St. Louis police department as a failed experiment, pointing to recruitment and retention issues within the department and persistently high crime.

The legislation, if approved by the Senate and signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, would represent a rebuke of Democratic Mayor Tishaura O. Jones leadership of the department.

The vote mostly fell along party lines, with all 40 in opposition coming from Democrats. Three Democrats  St. Louis Reps. Donna Baringer and Steve Butz, and Independence Rep. Robert Sauls  voted for it.

Rep. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis County, voted against the bill after expressing support last week.

Three Kansas City Democrats  Reps. Jamie Johnson, Maggie Nurrenbern and Aaron Crossley  voted present.

The legislation includes a $7,000 annual pay raise for city police.

Its a very demoralized police department, Butz said. A yes vote would do more to boost that morale immediately than any other way I can imagine.

Its a labor dispute as one of the main points, Butz said. If you were underpaid, overworked, understaffed, ill-equipped for your job, which is the current situation and has been for the St. Louis City Metropolitan Police Department  I just think thats outrageous.

Rep. Kevin Windham, D-Hillsdale, said Republicans werent offering real solutions for crime, such as legislation to take guns away from unsupervised minors walking city streets.

I hear the talking points, but what I dont hear are real answers, Windham said.

Returning the police department to state control would represent a landmark reversal in state policy: Missouri voters in 2012 placed the department under local control for the first time in 150 years, the result of years of lobbying by St. Louis officials.

The legislation would place Jones on a five-member board of police commissioners. The other four members would be gubernatorial appointees who would need Senate confirmation.

In a statement issued after the vote, mayoral spokesman Nick Desideri said, Instead of focusing on measures that would actually make our communities safer  investments in left-behind communities, commonsense gun safety laws  certain Jefferson City Republicans are working overtime to turn back the clock to the 1800s. This isnt about improving public safety; its about power and politics. Mayor Jones will continue working to address root causes of crime in our communities while holding those who do commit crime accountable for their actions.

Passage of the state takeover legislation Tuesday followed approval of a separate plan that would usher in a special prosecutor appointed by the governor to handle violent crime cases in the city of St. Louis, partially sidelining St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.

The Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved the legislation Monday, sending it to the Senate floor for consideration.

Gardner also faces removal proceedings initiated by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Last week, his office subpoenaed Jones, as well as Comptroller Darlene Green, as part of its effort to dislodge Gardner from office.

Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a Republican, meanwhile, sent a subpoena to Gardner last week seeking financial information after his office said she failed to meet a Feb. 14 deadline to turn over information as part of a state audit of the city.

The legislation is House Bill 702 and House Bill 301.
ST. LOUIS  City residents are set to cast ballots Tuesday in the first of two rounds of voting for the next Board of Aldermen.

The day will mark a milestone in a historic overhaul of the board, which is shrinking to 14 aldermen this spring after more than a century with 28.

The election also could preview another shift in the politics at the board: Progressives are hoping contests in three key wards will cement their hold on the chamber and secure an agenda aimed at fighting crime with social services, tackling racial inequities and helping the poor.

The top two vote-getters in each race Tuesday will move on to the general election on April 4. City election directors Ben Borgmeyer and Gary Stoff said they expect 20% of registered voters to turn out. Borgmeyer said even that may be high.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Voters can check their polling place online at www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/board-election-commissioners/voter/polling-places/index.cfm. There are also 12 citywide polling locations where anyone can vote regardless of where they live:

Buder Library, 4401 Hampton Avenue;

Central Library, 1301 Olive Street;

Friendly Temple Missionary Church, 5544 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive;

Hamilton Elementary School, 5819 Westminster Place;

Missouri School For The Blind, 3867 Magnolia Avenue;

Nance Elementary School, 8959 Riverview Boulevard;

Newstead Missionary Baptist Church, 4370 North Market Street;

Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 5020 Rhodes Avenue;

Salvation Army Temple Corps, 2740 Arsenal Street;

Schlafly Library, 225 North Euclid Avenue;

Walnut Park Library, 5760 West Florissant Avenue;

Woodward Elementary School, 725 Bellerive Boulevard.
WELLSTON  A nonprofit in St. Louis County that uses taxpayer dollars is under investigation for allegedly misusing federal grant money, prompting the county to cut ties to the organization.

Family and Workforce Centers of America operates the MET Center, a workforce training and education hub, and its services are largely paid for by government grants.

Carolyn Seward, CEO of the nonprofit, said Monday the investigation apparently began after a whistleblower filed a complaint with the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, alleging the nonprofit paid employees who didnt do actual work or dont exist.

Seward told the Post-Dispatch she was confident that the nonprofit did nothing wrong.

We have never had an inquiry that we were not, at the end of the day, substantiated in what we were doing it, why were doing it and how we were doing it, she said. We have always followed the rules that St. Louis County set forth and nothing was done without their approval.

The state has been monitoring irregularities reported about the nonprofit, known as FWCA, since Feb. 6, said Natalie Sanders, a spokesperson for the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. At the end of its process, one that could take months, the state will issue a report, Sanders said.

At the recommendation of the state agency, the county workforce development division ended four contracts with FWCA, said Doug Moore, a spokesman for County Executive Sam Page.

In a letter to FWCA dated Feb. 23, county Department of Human Services Director Howard Hayes outlined the reasons for terminating the contracts:

 Failure to provide work experiences that meet grant requirements, resulting in possible disallowable costs.

 Failure to provide records for participants.

 Providing multiple records that were copied and pasted.

 Providing forged signatures on time sheets.

 Mischaracterizing participants skill levels.

The county executive, who has been a proponent of the MET Center, is concerned about the information in this initial investigation, Moore said.

After the county ended the contracts, it took over operation of the services and will seek a new organization to provide them in the future, Moore said. And the county would like to see another nonprofit take over operations from FWCA at the MET Center.

But the FWCA isnt going anywhere, and the investigation is an unwarranted disruption of valuable community services, said the nonprofits attorney and Sewards son, Jermal Seward II. He was hired as general counsel and chief administrative officer in 2021.

What we believe is this was motivated by specific individuals that may have had a personal aggrievance against Family and Workforce Centers of America, Seward II said. Yes, we are impacted some, but really the people that are most impacted are those who are really in need of those services. The youth who weve served and who are very sad and upset.

Two of the four programs FWCA operated at the countys Northwest Crossings job center in St. Ann are under investigation: the In School Youth Program and the Older Youth Program, both established by a 2014 federal law. Federal money flows through the state to the county and then to local organizations that administer services.

After a whistleblower accused the nonprofit of hiring ghost workers, or employees who either dont exist or dont do any work, state investigators came to the Northwest Crossings job center to confiscate files and interview nonprofit staff, Seward II said. The nonprofit has cooperated with the state.

We can say with 100% certainty that, and weve provided the documentation to the state, we have no ghost employees. We have not fraudulently paid any ghost employees or provided any money to anyone off-the-books, Seward II said.

FWCA is the main tenant and administrator of services at the MET Center.

The center at 6347 Plymouth Avenue was formerly home to the Wagner Electric factory. St. Louis Countys economic development arm bought the building in the 1980s for environmental cleanup and converted it into the MET Center in the 1990s. With the county subsidizing operations, the center became an anchor of education and connection to job opportunities in one of the most impoverished parts of the St. Louis region.

Seward founded FWCA in 2011 after leaving her job with nonprofit Better Family Life. In the past five years, her organization has grown its revenues by nearly $2 million  from roughly $4 million to $6 million, according to federal tax filings. But to operate, it still needs $500,000 from the county and $250,000 from the county Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority, which owns the MET Center building.

FWCA has sought to become financially self-sufficient and take over management of the MET Center. The nonprofit entered into a new lease with the county and redevelopment authority in 2021. As part of the agreement, FWCA committed to finding new tenants and making its budget sustainable, but the nonprofit has yet to secure any new tenants, Seward said.

The redevelopment authority didnt respond to questions about the investigation.

The MET Center building is in dire need of improvements. The county sought $4 million in federal pandemic relief money from the county and the same from the state. The state approved their portion, but it required a local match. The countys legislative body didnt approve funding to the MET Center, forcing the county to look elsewhere.

Money hasnt been found yet for renovations, but the county executives spokesman said the county is committed to supporting the MET Center.

The MET Center is not in jeopardy, Moore said. Weve invested too much time and too many resources into it. This is going to force us to pivot and find someone else to help provide some of those services.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was under state control from the Civil War to 2012. Local control resumed in 2013, but a bill introduced in the Missouri Legislature, Senate Bill 78, would return control of the department to the state. A leading rationale for restoring state control is that serious crime went up under local control.

The St. Louis Police Officers Association, the police union, supports the bill, as does the Ethical Society of Police, which represents Black officers. Both groups have called local control of the police department a failed experiment. The union claims that homicide rates have worsened since local control resumed in 2013.

City officials argue that SB 78 would only make matters worse. According to Dan Isom, the interim public safety director and former police chief, Removing local control will make us less safe, less accountable and less able to serve and protect our highest priority, the residents of St. Louis.

Crime rates move up and down over time for lots of reasons, and it is difficult to isolate a single cause from all of the other influences occurring at or about the same time. It is possible, however, to evaluate the factual claim that homicide increased after local control resumed in 2013.

The graph above displays the St. Louis homicide rate from 1985 through 2022. It shows two major increases in the homicide rate during the past 40 years. The first occurred in the early 1990s. The homicide rate increased by 56% between 1990 and 1993. The second increase began in 2014, the year after the city resumed control of the police department. The homicide rate nearly doubled from 2014 to 2020 before falling during the next two years. While St. Louis experienced sizable increases in homicide when the police department was controlled by the state, a large increase also took place immediately after local control was restored.

Again, determining whether the return of local control caused the recent homicide increase is challenging. We cant run experiments to see what would have happened to the homicide rate had local control not resumed. Fortunately, however, something of a natural experiment does exist.

The Kansas City Police Department remained under state control after local control was restored in St. Louis in 2013. If local control is the reason the St. Louis homicide increased after 2013, then the homicide rate in Kansas City should not have been affected. If the Kansas City homicide rate also rose after 2013, however, that would suggest that something other than local control of the police department was behind the increase in St. Louis. The graph tells the story.

It turns out that the Kansas City homicide rate also went up after local control of the St. Louis police department was restored. The average annual homicide increase in Kansas City between 2013 and 2022 (6.7%) was nearly as great as the increase in St. Louis (8.2%).

And, although the homicide rate in Kansas City is lower than the rate in St. Louis, that has always been the case during the past 40 years, regardless of who controlled the police department. These results do not support the idea that returning local control of the police department to St. Louis was behind the homicide rate increase that took place shortly afterward.

I more formally evaluated the hypothesis that local control of the police department boosted the homicide rate using a method that tests the statistical significance of a change in the level and trend (movement over time). The test reveals no significant increase in either the level or trend of the St. Louis homicide rate when compared to the change in the level and trend of the Kansas homicide rate after 2013.

St. Louis has a new police chief, Robert Tracy. He has asked the Legislature to give him a chance to respond to the citys crime problems before deciding whether to abolish local control of his department.

This is a reasonable request. If local control is not responsible for the citys homicide problem, then state control is not the solution.

Richard Rosenfeld is the distinguished curators professor emeritus of criminology and criminal justice at the University of MissouriSt. Louis.
There are strong arguments both for and against the Missouri Legislatures proposal to resume state control of the St. Louis police department. Frustrated as many, if not most, St. Louisans might be with rampant crime, traffic lawlessness and feckless leadership, residents should think long and hard before climbing onto the state-control bandwagon. Because once that wagon gets rolling, theres very little St. Louisans can do to stop it.

The citys police union is among the entities supporting a state takeover, as proposed in Senate Bill 78. The bill would base minimum police staffing on certain violent-crime thresholds. If violent crime goes up, so must staffing. Pay would have to be in line with police in the highest-paying jurisdictions of the state  a big selling point for the police union.

The union and City Hall have been stalled since 2020 on a new contract, but the union reported major progress last week toward an agreement. But Mayor Tishaura Jones administration shrewdly wants to make a pay raise conditional on maintaining local control. If the state takes over, all bets are off.

The union is correct that local control, which began in 2012 after more than a century of state management, has led to politicization of policing and command decisions. Theres no question in our minds  and we can cite a few prominent examples to support it  that senior officials at City Hall have had direct influence over where police go and what crimes are rigorously investigated or left untouched. Such examples predate the current administration and are hardly unique to St. Louis.

Shifting control to the state, however, would not eliminate politicization. Rather, it would shift political dominance to the governors office. Under Senate Bill 78, the governor would control appointments to a state board of police commissioners. The question would remain of who influences where cops go and how aggressively they perform their jobs. For example, the current governor, Republican Mike Parson, has made clear his support for widespread gun access with minimal restrictions and no red-flag provisions to keep guns away from mentally unstable people. How would that affect state-controlled policing? Heres a chilling thought: Parson, for all his stubborn gun-rights advocacy, could wind up looking moderate compared to whoever succeeds him if that person decides to take an even harder line on St. Louis law enforcement.

Among the biggest considerations is this: Once the state takes over, it wouldnt give up control easily. St. Louis taxpayers would continue having to pay the bills for a police force that wouldnt be answerable to them.

Chaotic as St. Louis streets currently are, city residents at least have the ability to enforce local accountability through the ballot box. Under state control, the same outstate voters who put Parson and other hard-line Republicans in office would now have a say in St. Louis policing. Thats a road best left untraveled.
Forget 'traffic calming' and start writing traffic tickets

Mayor Tishaura Jones thinks "traffic calming" will reduce violence on city streets. ("St. Louis mayor OKs more than $40 million to reshape streets, slow down speeders," March 2.) Our leaders are once again not addressing the real issue, which is the lack of citations for moving violations. Instead, our entire city is being punished by narrowing the streets, speed bumps, etc. These measures don't work. People just go around traffic in oncoming lanes and run red lights to avoid waiting in long lines of traffic. Speed bumps only slow the lawbreakers down, and then they run through the stop signs.

Our leaders need to drive down our city streets to fully see the problem. We need the current laws to be enforced: speeding, running red lights, expired tags. Our leaders need to show support for our police officers. Since we are so short of police, maybe it's time to bring in the National Guard or state troopers to help our police force.

Summer is coming, and we need help keeping we the citizens and visitors safe. Stop avoiding the issue at hand and start with a plan to enforce our current laws.

Linda Yarnall  St. Louis

Jones, Green will try anything but real traffic enforcement

Traffic-calming redesign doesn't work. Witness the few blocks of the South Grand Business District  the one where two people were killed by cars last summer. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on bump-outs and a planted median on South Grand just north of Arsenal, and they don't work. People still speed and run red lights regularly.

Mayor Tishaura Jones and Aldermanic President Megan Green are for anything other than traffic enforcement by police. So millions more will go for a progressive fantasy, and it will still be dangerous to walk across (or even walk along) a city street.

In the 24 years I've lived in St. Louis, there has never been adequate traffic enforcement. It's just now the perpetrators are much more out of control, the incidents more frequent, and the consequences seemingly more drastic for the victims.

Suzanne Rhodenbaugh  St. Louis

No, the wealthy aren't actually paying their fair share

Regarding the letter to the editor "If no one fixes Social Security, benefit cuts are inevitable" (Feb. 14): The writer states that Social Security and Medicare "are both funded by a payroll tax paid by workers and employers, not by the federal income tax. This is correct, but the Social Security tax is limited to $160,200 of income for 2023.

So if you have an annual income that is less than the limit, every dollar you make is taxed at 6.2%. But if you make more than the limit, all the income above the limit avoids this tax. So a millionaire pays Social Security tax of 6.2% on the first $160,200 of his or her income and no Social Security tax on the remaining income.

Democrats have proposed that Congress increase or eliminate the limit to ensure solvency of Social Security for several years. The Biden administration proposed leaving the current tax as is and restarting it at incomes above $400,000. Eventually, the donut hole between $160,200 and $400,000 would fill in and everyone would pay the tax. That is where the call for the rich to pay their fair share comes from.

Ken Fisher  Columbia, Ill.

Legislature should focus on real issues, not culture war

Regarding "Missouri debates ban on LGBTQ education for all grades" (March 1): I am stunned once again that the focus of the Republican-controlled Legislature isnt on the serious issues all parties agree need to be fixed. Rather, lawmakers' focus is on creating yet another topic of culture-war madness by attacking yet another marginalized group.

Avoiding any discussion of sexuality in school is reminiscent of the era when even basic biological sex education was banned. Instead of focusing on education, that era resulted in kids picking up whatever nonsense was circulating on the street.

Instead of creating an issue clearly crafted to divide the electorate and bolster regressive policies and prior restraint of First Amendment rights, Republican legislators would better serve all of Missouri by focusing on real issues that have put this state near the bottom of virtually every category that benefits the citizens of Missouri.

Lou Laderman  St. Louis

Fox should have to apologize for lies in any settlement

The recent admission under oath by Rupert Murdoch, president of Fox Corp., that Fox commentators continued to endorse the big lie of a stolen presidential election in 2020  even though Murdoch and those very commentators didnt believe what they were feeding to their viewers  could very well be the impetus for an effort to settle the lawsuit brought against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems. ("Murdoch says some Fox hosts 'endorsed' false election claims," Feb. 27.)

Heres hoping that there is no settlement, so that Fox News can be exposed in open court as the ethically bankrupt Trump propaganda machine that it is. However, should a monetary settlement proposal be made that Dominion finds acceptable, I believe it should be accepted only with an additional condition: that Fox commentators who have been lying to their audiences since November 2020 apologize on the air and admit their despicable conduct. For some of those viewers, this would be the only way they would ever know about the Dominion litigation, since the Fox network is not covering it as part of their programming.

Jack Hilton  St. Louis

Read letters online at STLToday.com
The airline gurus are predicting a boom in transatlantic travel this summer. They're also saying that airfares will be higher than pre-pandemic  maybe up to 30 percent. And last but not least, airports will remain swamped with travelers, with long lines everywhere. I can't disagree. But you may well be going, anyhow, so you need to do what you can to get your best deal and minimize hassles. As usual, finding the right air trip can be a hassle. In no particular order, you need to make some key decisions up front.

Airlines: Beyond the regular legacy lines  American, Delta, United, British, Air France, Lufthansa and such  a few low-fare lines are trying to capture a share of the market:

 Although it isn't strictly a low-fare line, JetBlue is often a fare leader. It's already serving London from Boston and New York and plans to add Paris this summer. So far, it hasn't announced any plans for transatlantic flights in its new A220 planes  small, but with transatlantic range  presumably linking its US hubs with smaller European cities. Be on the lookout for some announcements.

 Norse Atlantic  the sort-of successor to Norwegian  will fly to London/Gatwick from Boston, Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; to Berlin from Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, and New York; to Oslo from Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York and Orlando, and to Paris from New York and Rome (flynorse.com/en-US). French Bee (us.frenchbee.com/en) will fly from Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco to Paris.

No transatlantic airline offers an outstanding hard product in economy  they all offer insufficient legroom and seat width for a comfortable flight. French Bee is an outlier: It provides two to three inches more legroom than the others, but in the narrowest seats flying anywhere. The legacy lines now offer premium economy on wide-body flights, with substantially wider seats and greater legroom than in regular economy. But fares are roughly double the best economy fares, and "40 percent more room than economy," per Air France, for 100 percent more money is a tough sell. And so far I haven't seen any of the big-time fare promotions in business class that the mavens have been predicting.

The Iceland Play. Both incumbent Icelandair (icelandair.com/) and newbie Play (flyplay.com/) are beefing up summer schedules and pitching the Iceland connection/stop. As I look at summer fares, I see that an Icelandic line sometimes undercuts competition but not always. The Iceland lines are a no-brainer if you want to stop over in Iceland for a day or two  which I highly recommend  but otherwise they're just in the mix with others.

No matter where you do it, connecting flights are always a hassle. If your home airport is a big U.S. hub or major destination for at least one line and you can catch a nonstop to your preferred destination, avoiding a change is probably worth at least $100 in reduced aggravation and potential delay. But if you have to change somewhere, try to avoid both the perennially clogged big U.S. East Coast gateways and the giant European hubs such as Amsterdam, DeGaulle, Gatwick, and Heathrow. Long lines and big delays are rife. Instead, look favorably at one of the Iceland lines if it can connect you once at Keflavik.

Searching for the best airfare is a pain, in part because so many lines add a stiff charge for "options" such as a checked bag that are actually near-necessities. The best search engines are imperfect, but Kayak lets you make first-screen comparisons based on whether you want a checked bag, and Expedia lets you filter for whether you want a seat assignment or no cancellation, or change fees. One of these days one of the search engines will combine all the relevant filters and have a real winner. Nevertheless, no matter how you find it, grab a good deal when you see it. Preferably, grab on a line that will let you keep the difference as a credit if you find a better deal.
In the north (the border between Somaliland and Puntland) foreign aid groups warn that that will shut down a hospital they operate in the town of Las Anod and halt other aid programs that are threatened by the weeks of fighting in the area between rival clan militias. So far over 200 have died and many more wounded. The hospital has been damaged and some aid has not arrived because of the fighting. In Somalia, aid groups often have to shut down operations and withdraw because local groups refuse to halt their battles that damage the air efforts. This self-destructive behavior is one reason that Somalia continues to be a mess.

Despite decades of effort and billions in foreign aid, Somalia still suffers from lack of unity and constant feuding between various factions. Islamic terrorism is nothing new in Somalia, but the growing worldwide affluence of the last century has made it easier to Islamic terror groups to get started in Moslem areas and remain active for longer periods. This is particularly true in Somalia. There is a reason for this; Somalia is the most corrupt nation in the world. More corruption means less prosperity and peace.

Its no coincidence that the least corrupt nations are the most successful. The most corrupt nations (currently Yemen, Venezuela, South Sudan, Syria and Somalia) are the poorest and often mired in civil war or chronic violence. The least corrupt nations (currently Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Singapore) are peaceful and prosperous.

This problem is most acute in Somalia, which explains why the latest annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index showed that Somalia is the most corrupt nation in the world. Somalia continued to be as corrupt as it has been during the last decade, with a corruption score of 12, which is why Somalia is stuck at the bottom of the list. Transparency International measures corruption on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The nations with the lowest scores are currently Syria (score of 13), South Sudan (13) and Somalia (12). The least corrupt nation is currently Denmark, with a CPI of 90, followed by Finland and New Zealand, each with 87.

While the Middle East has a lot of corruption, there are exceptions. In the Persian Gulf the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is the last corrupt nation in the region, followed by Israel. Both Somalia and UAEs corruption score have not changed much since the 2011 Arab Spring revolution when it was 8 for Somalia and 68 for the UAE. The UAE achieved the most favorable corruption score in the region because it has long depended on foreign trade to survive and to make money in that business you must be known as an honest trading partner. The UAE is also different in that it is a federation of formerly independent emirates that realized the wisdom of joining forces. Laws and customs vary somewhat among the emirates and some are more gangster than others. Overall, the UAE is a place where foreigners feel comfortable doing business. The UAE has also partnered with Turkey to provide foreign aid to Somalia. This has proved very difficult to carry out and Somalia is not a place most foreigners want to do business in. Somalia is also a federation of seven (including separatist Somaliland and Puntland in the far north) clan-dominated regions that have never achieved the degree of unity and prosperity of the UAE.

The ongoing corruption in southern Somalia continues to threaten foreign aid in general and support for the peacekeeper force. UN and AU (African Union) officials are unable to agree on whether the peacekeeping effort has been a success. Discussions continue to determine if it has been worth the effort and how it should continue. The local (Somali neighbors) AU officials point out that the fourteen-year peacekeeping effort has made a difference as al Shabaab and ISIL personnel and areas they controlled have been steadily reduced. Both groups have started taking refuge in neighboring countries, where local security forces can deal with the Islamic terrorists even more effectively than the peacekeepers in Somalia. Once all, or over 90 percent, of Somalia is pacified it will be practical to revive foreign aid efforts that were crippled, and plundered, in the past. The AU points out that the UN keeps sending in the foreign aid before it is safe, or even possible, to distribute the aid to the intended recipients. One reason for this continued disagreement is that AU members have grown up with and continue to live with the Somali threat. UN officials are constantly new to peacekeeping and aid delivery, due to staff rotation, and out of ignorance and optimism constantly underestimate or ignore the unique problems found in Somalia. Despite these misgivings, in 2022 the peacekeeping force underwent a name change to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. This new organization is supposed to oversee the reduction of the peacekeeping force and its complete elimination by 2025.

The United States has flown in more weapons for the SNA (Somali National Army). The recent 61-ton shipment, flown in on two American military transports, was largely composed of assault rifles, machine-guns and ammunition for these weapons. The SNA has about 20,000 troops and is about the same size of the AU (African Union) peacekeeping force, which is supported and largely financed by the UN. The SNA is supposed to be permanent while the agreement with the peacekeeper force is temporary. The peacekeeper force was supposed to begin reducing its size in 2020 but that was delayed by the unexpected collapse of the Afghan security forces in 2021 and takeover by the Islamic terrorist Taliban. UN peacekeeping specialists understand that the Taliban are a special case and there has not been any impact on Somalia because of the Taliban victory and Al Shabaab power continues to decline throughout Somalia. Despite that confidence, there is no guarantee that the SNA will remain intact and effective if the EU peacekeepers are withdrawn.

The UN and AU agreement to greatly reduce and eventually eliminate the current 19,400 strong peacekeeper force has been delayed because fears of it would result in the collapse of the SNA and more chaos in Somalia. Many of the peacekeepers come from neighboring countries which have centuries of experience with aggressive and unpredictable Somalis.

The peacekeeper force costs about $200 million a year. That is provided by the UN via contributions by the U.S. and EU (European Union). The UN approves the size and duration of the peacekeeper force annually. The peacekeepers have been in Somalia since 2007 at a cost of over three billion dollars. So far nearly a thousand peacekeepers have been killed and at least 4,000 wounded or injured. About a quarter of those were so badly wounded that they received disability payments while families of the dead received a lump sum in death benefits. Somalia is the most dangerous peacekeeping duty in the world.

The first AU peacekeepers arrived in March 2007 and these 8,000 troops were supposed to be gone within six months. That force did not disappear by the end of 2007 but kept growing and quickly reached 22,000, most of them soldiers plus a few thousand police, trainers and administrators. The peacekeeper force made some difference, but in the face of massive corruption in the Somali government and various Somali communities that demanded help, the operation proved far more expensive and time-consuming than expected. Peacekeepers are due to leave because the best they can do is reduce the violence and disunity, while UN donors are not willing to waste money on that when there are other disaster zones that can make better use of the limited foreign aid.

Because of the threat of peacekeeper reductions or elimination, the SNA, which is about the same size as the peacekeeper force, has been particularly active and effective since 2021. If the peacekeepers go the army will have to face all the fighting alone and current assessments conclude that the SNA might not survive that for long, and instead fall apart because of casualties, desertions and a lack of new recruits. The Somalis have been saying this for nearly a decade but the AU and UN are fed up and the major donors needed to support the peacekeeper force have warned that they will reduce or eliminate contributions because of the continued corruption and ineffectiveness of the Somali government. The increased SNA effort against al Shabaab has apparently paid off with more surrenders of veteran al Shabaab members including prominent leaders. Somalia has been in a state of war for three decades and if the foreign aid and peacekeepers leave Somalia will again become a failed state.

March 2, 2023: The United States has offered a reward of $5 million for information leading to the arrest of al Shabaab spokesman and attacks planner Ali Mohamed Rage. These reward programs tend to work in this part of the world where people are willing to risk betraying powerful Islamic terrorist leaders for a life-changing amount of money as well as relocation to a safe place to spend it. Rewards of this size come with added benefits, like moving the informant and family members to another country where they are safe from revenge attacks by al Shabaab. The informant rewards program has been around for over a decade and details of the results are rarely publicized because of the need to safeguard the informants and their families. Despite that, in many countries wanted Islamic terrorists were suddenly found and killed or, more rarely taken alive, there are many locals who were aware of the rewards program and would often note who recently left, along with many family members, for a new home overseas that was not identified. Finding out who played the dangerous informant game and won, as in lived to get out of the country with family, became a popular endeavor. Gossip travels faster and in more detail these days, what with cell phones and contacts in safe countries. This often-accurate gossip has helped the rewards program because it has demonstrated that if you have the opportunity and do it right, you can win big and live to spend the reward. Several al Shabaab and ISIL personnel have been killed in Somalia because of information from a local informant that is rarely identified by name, especially when a reward is involved. Details of how successful informants evaded retribution are kept secret but the fact that these relocations work is common knowledge in the region, especially Somalia.

March 1, 2023: Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya are sending more troops to join the ones they already have in Somalia to deal with al Shabaab violence. Nearly a million of Somalias 17 million people live in areas under al Shabaab control.

February 28, 2023: The international naval blockade around Yemen has been intercepting more weapons shipments from Iran. Interrogations of the crews of these smuggling ships reveals that some of these weapons are ultimately destined for rebel and Islamic terrorist groups elsewhere in Africa. These destinations include Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Tanzania.
First follow-on order from major customer with additional orders anticipated

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 6, 2023 / Electrovaya Inc. (TSX:EFL)(OTCQB: EFLVF), a leading lithium-ion battery technology and manufacturing company, today announced the receipt of a battery purchase order through its OEM sales channel valued at approximately US$14 million. The batteries will be used by a leading Fortune 500 company in the United States.

"We are delighted to announce a significant order with this existing customer, building on an initial order they made in 2022," said Dr. Jeremy Dang, Vice President of Business Development at Electrovaya. "We believe the customer selected Electrovaya's technology due to its superior performance with respect to safety and cycle life, combined with positive results from our initial battery deployments."

"We believe that this order represents a positive trend in which large corporations initially trial smaller deployments of our batteries, and then follow on with more substantial orders after a successful demonstration of the technology benefits," added Dr. Raj DasGupta, CEO of Electrovaya. "Electrovaya continues to make progress in expanding business with our existing customer base, while seeding large new corporate customers."

Deliveries on this order will be made over the next 12 months. The Company anticipates additional orders from this customer for later delivery and alternative equipment.

For more information, please contact:

Investor and Media Contact:

Jason Roy

Director, Corporate Development and Investor Relations

Electrovaya Inc.

905-855-4618

[email protected]

About Electrovaya Inc.

Electrovaya Inc. (TSX:EFL) (OTCQB: EFLVF) is a pioneering leader in the global energy transformation, focused on contributing to the prevention of climate change by supplying safe and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries without compromising energy and power.. Electrovaya is a technology-focused company with extensive IP, designs, develops, and manufactures proprietary lithium-ion batteries, battery systems, and battery-related products for energy storage, clean electric transportation, and other specialized applications. To learn more about how Electrovaya is powering mobility and energy storage, please explore www.electrovaya.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the deployment of the Company's products by the Company's customers and the timing for delivery thereof, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "possible", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective", "seed" and "continue" (or the negative thereof) and words and expressions of similar import. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors and assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Statements with respect to the purchase and deployment of the Company's products by the Company's customers and users, and the timing for delivery thereof, and anticipated future orders and anticipated delivery dates and orders placed with alternative equipment and levels of expected sales and expected further purchases and demand growth are based on an assumption that the Company's customers and users will deploy its products in accordance with communicated intentions, that the Company will be able to deliver the ordered products on a basis consistent with past deliveries, and the anticipation of the Company delivering batteries will be made in the next 12 months on the present purchase order are all based on assumptions by the company and its end users. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to macroeconomic effects on the Company and its business and on the Company's customers, economic conditions generally and their effect on consumer demand, labour shortages, supply chain constraints, the potential effect of COVID restrictions in Canada and internationally on the Company's ability to produce and deliver products, and on its customers' and end users' demand for and use of products, which effects are not predictable and may be affected by additional regional outbreaks and variants, and other factors which may cause disruptions in the Company's supply chain and Company's capability to deliver the products. Additional information about material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements may be found in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended September 30, 2022 under "Risk Factors", and in the Company's most recent annual Management's Discussion and Analysis under "Qualitative And Quantitative Disclosures about Risk and Uncertainties" as well as in other public disclosure documents filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Electrovaya Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / VIOR INC. ("Vior" or the "Corporation"), (TSXV:VIO)(OTCQB: VIORF)(FRANKFURT:VL51) is pleased to announce that it has executed the Definitive Option and Joint Venture Agreement (the "Agreement") with SOQUEM Inc. ("SOQUEM"), a subsidiary of Investissement Qubec, for its recently consolidated Skyfall Nickel project ("Skyfall" or the "Project"), located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Quebec, see fig. 1. In addition, Vior has just initiated on the Project, a project scale 3,400+ line kilometre helicopter-borne VTEM and magnetic survey, designed for identification and delineation of Ultramafic units.

The Agreement outlines the final terms and conditions between Vior and SOQUEM; providing SOQUEM with the right to acquire a 50% undivided interest in the Project, and if the Option is exercised by SOQUEM, the Agreement outlines the terms and conditions for a future Joint Venture between the parties. This Agreement will be subject to receipt of all regulatory approvals, including acceptance and approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Agreement Highlights:

SOQUEM will have the option to acquire a 50% undivided interest in the Skyfall Nickel project, with Vior owning the other 50% and being the operator

SOQUEM will finance exploration work commitments totalling $2.5 million over a two-year period

SOQUEM will make cash payments to Vior totalling $350,000 over a two-year period

Mark Fedosiewich, President and CEO of Vior, stated: "We are pleased to finally announce the execution of this definitive Agreement with a strong quality partner like SOQUEM to help support our efforts and to validate the potential at our Skyfall Nickel project. This Agreement will provide Vior shareholders with a strengthened financial position, and allow us to better focus and allocate capital in our overall exploration efforts, in particular at our flagship Belleterre gold project. This partnership with SOQUEM, a well-financed and socially responsible exploration company in Quebec, demonstrates the Quebec Government's strong commitment to accelerate the exploration and development of high-potential strategic metal projects for the North American battery metals market."

The Skyfall Nickel project is located in Quebec, approximately 150 kilometres ("km") east of Lebel-Sur-Quevillon and 102 kms south of Chapais. The Project, consisting of 973 claims has been consolidated by Vior over the past two years via numerous property acquisitions and map claim designations. When the consolidation of the Skyfall project began in early 2020, Vior recognized its considerable gold mineralization potential, as it is situated east of Osisko Mining's ("Osisko") seven plus million-ounce gold Windfall project (source: Osisko Windfall MRE dated June 7, 2022) in the Urban-Barry greenstone belt. This region is known for its gold deposits, and the Skyfall project still has the potential to be an extension of the Urban deformation zone.

However, following the 2022 field season, Vior recognized that the Skyfall project, covering an area of 53,864 ha (or 538.6 sq.km.), encompasses the entire geological assemblage of a favorable host for potential nickel deposits not previously known. It is this shift in geological potential that has convinced the team at SOQUEM to pursue a partnership that will help to rapidly advance the understanding of Skyfall's district-scale potential and unlock the untapped possibilities of this promising region.

Agreement Terms and Conditions:

According to the Agreement, Vior will be the Operator, and SOQUEM will have the option to acquire a 50% undivided interest in the Project over a period of two (2) years beginning April 1, 2023, by fulfilling the following conditions:

Financing exploration work commitments totalling $2,500,000 as per the following schedule: $500,000 before March 31, 2023; and an additional $1,000,000 before March 31, 2024; and an additional $1,000,000 before March 31, 2025 Cash payments to Vior totalling $350,000 as per the following schedule: $50,000 on the signing of this definitive Agreement $75,000 on or before April 1, 2023 $100,000 on or before April 1, 2024; and $125,000 on or before April 1, 2025

Upon satisfaction of all financial obligations required by SOQUEM to earn their 50% interest in the Project, the parties will then execute a Joint Venture for the Project with all terms and conditions set out in this Agreement.

More about the Skyfall nickel project

Vior recently identified a strong potential for nickel deposits at its Skyfall project after delineating a 47 km-long Mafic/Ultramafic (M-UM) lava sequence and identifying several small highly differentiated ultramafic intrusions.

Field mapping and sampling have recognised volcanic textures including spinifex, differentiated flows, cumulates, and ultramafic sill along with confirming an ~30 km geochemical signature indicative of a komatiite domain. In addition to these affirmatory features, the Vior technical team has identified a strong geophysical signature spanning 47 km, typical of known Archean Sulphide-Rich Komatiite Type Deposits, see fig 2.

The Skyfall project is accessed by all season logging roads and is proximal to hydroelectric lines, and lodging. In the southern part of the Project, the bedrock exposer is extensive and easily accessible, which allows for cost-efficient exploration. Overall, the Project's location and favorable exploration conditions provide for a significant competitive advantage. To learn more about Skyfall Nickel Project.

Figure 1: General location of Skyfall Nickel project

Figure 2: Mafic/Ultramafic Sequence

About the Nickel Market and demand

Nickel has been recognized as a strategically important metal by the US and Canadian governments, and is considered a valuable mineral for the future in Quebec. The rapidly increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to lead to persistent supply shortages for the metal in the North American market, due in part to the unreliable and unsustainable practices of some nickel production sources. The market for nickel is currently experiencing a super cycle, providing an opportunity for Vior's investors to benefit from potential new discoveries in the battery metals sector.

About Vior

Vior is a hybrid junior mining exploration company based in Quebec, whose corporate strategy is to generate, explore and develop high-quality projects in proven and favourable mining jurisdictions in North America. Through the years, VIOR's management and technical teams have demonstrated their ability to discover several gold deposits and many high-quality mineral prospects.

About SOQUEM

SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec, is dedicated to promoting the exploration, discovery and development of mining properties in Quebec. SOQUEM also contributes to maintaining strong local economies. A proud partner and ambassador for the development of Quebec's mineral wealth, SOQUEM relies on innovation, research, and strategic minerals to be well-positioned for the future.

Acquisition of 35 claims at Belleterre

Vior is pleased to announce that it acquired from Sphinx Resources Ltd a 100% interest in a block of 35 claims covering 1,994 hectares near its Belleterre gold project in exchange for a cash payment of $15,000 and the issuance of 60,000 common shares of the Corporation. This transaction is subject to the acceptance and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Qualified Person

The technical content disclosed in this press release was reviewed and approved by Laurent Eustache, Executive Vice-President for VIOR and Qualified Person as per NI 43-101.

For further information, please contact:

Mark Fedosiewich

President and CEO

Tel.: 613-898-5052

[email protected]

Laurent Eustache

Executive Vice-President

Tel.: 514-442-7707

[email protected]

Website: www.vior.ca

SEDAR: Vior Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical facts, that address activities, events or developments that the Corporation believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, the planned exploration program on the Belleterre project, the expected positive exploration results, the timing of the exploration results, the ability of the Corporation to continue with the exploration program, the availability of the required funds to continue with the exploration and the approval from the Ministere de l'energie et des ressources naturelle ("MERN") of the request for abandonment of the two mining concessions filed by 9293-0122 Quebec Inc. are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "to earn", "to have', "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Corporation's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Corporation to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, failure to meet expected, estimated or planned exploration expenditures, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Corporation's expectations, general business and economic conditions, changes in world gold markets, sufficient labour and equipment being available, changes in laws and permitting requirements, unanticipated weather changes, title disputes and claims, environmental risks, the refusal by the MERN to approve the request for abandonment of the two mining concessions held by 9293-0122 Quebec Inc. as well as those risks identified in the Corporation's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Corporation does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Vior Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:
Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) announced that Kevin Jacobsen, age 56, has been nominated to join the Avista Corp. Board of Directors. Jacobsen will stand for election by the shareholders and, if elected, will join the board effective May 11, 2023.

Currently Mr. Jacobsen is the Chief Financial Officer at The Clorox Company and has held this role since 2018. As CFO, Mr. Jacobsen is responsible for Cloroxs financial activities, including general accounting, external reporting, financial planning, tax, treasury, and investor relations, plus oversight of Cloroxs internal audit function. From 2011 until his appointment as CFO, Mr. Jacobsen served as vice president of financial planning and analysis for Clorox. Prior to that, Mr. Jacobsen held several positions dating back to the start of his Clorox career in 1995.

Before joining Clorox, Mr. Jacobsen spent five years working for General Motors Corporation in numerous finance and accounting roles based out of New York.

A native of Northern California, Mr. Jacobsen serves on the Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He holds a masters degree in finance from the University of Rochesters Simon School of Management and a bachelors degree in finance from the University of California, Riverside.

We are grateful for Kevin Jacobsens deep knowledge of financial and accounting issues that he will bring to Avistas Board of Directors, as well as his experience as an executive in a publicly traded company that operates in competitive product markets. We expect Mr. Jacobsens background and experience will enable him to provide a unique and valuable perspective on the companys business, operational and financial risks, and look forward to his insights on our board, said Dennis Vermillion, Avista President and CEO.

Mr. Jacobsen will fill the vacancy that will be created when Kristianne Blake retires from Avistas Board on May 11, 2023.

Ms. Blake has been a Director since 2000, is the Lead Independent Director of the Board, currently chairs the Governance & Corporate Responsibility Committee, and also serves on the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee of Avistas Board.

Were grateful for Kristiannes longstanding dedication to Avista. For the past 23 years, she has provided valuable leadership, experience, and strategic counsel to Avistas Board. She will be greatly missed. As the longest-tenured current Board member, Kristianne has been involved in numerous changes in our industry and our company. We appreciate her support and wise counsel over the years, said Vermillion.
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, The AI Education Project (aiEDU) announced a historic Call to Action (CTA) to bring AI education to every student in America. The CTA is a rallying cry for schools, nonprofits, universities, companies, and other stakeholders in the education ecosystem to band together behind a single goal: expand access to learning opportunities about artificial intelligence to ensure students are prepared to thrive as workers, consumers, creators, and citizens in the age of artificial intelligence.

aiEDU is joined by dozens of catalyzing partners who are advancing the national movement for AI education, including:

Funders: The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, Google, OpenAI, Booz Allen Hamilton, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Intel, AT&T, SAP, CDW, J.M. Smucker Co., Battelle, Colorado Thrives, The Florida High Tech Corridor Council, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Okta, GitHub, HP Enterprise, Akamai Foundation, FGS Global, Brunswick Group

Nonprofits and Strategic Partners: TIES, Teach For America, Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamps, Boys & Girls Club, AI4K12, The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA), CSforALL, Data Science for Everyone, The Federation of American Scientists, All4Ed, Future Ready Schools, Outlier.org, Colorado Education Initiative, App Inventor Foundation, Envision Excellence in STEM Education, STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice, National Humanities Center, InnovateEDU, National Science & Technology Medals Foundation, CEO Leadership Alliance of Orange County (CA), OhioX, CS is Elementary, Everyday AI, Upward Bound, Project Joy, Boolean Girl

Academia: University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Georgetown CSET, The Bay Area Community College Consortium, University of Tennessee, Ohio University, Miami University, University of South Florida, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Skyline College

Venture Capital & Startups: GSV Ventures, General Catalyst, Bloomberg Beta, Techstars, Capsule

K12 School Districts and Educational Service Agencies: Orange County Department of Education (450K students, California), Educational Service Center 13 (420K students, Texas), Wisconsin Cooperative Educational Service Agency - 1 (300K students, Wisconsin), Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio (250K students, Ohio), Gwinnett County Public Schools (180K students, Georgia), Educational Service District of Spokane (100K students, Washington), Hamilton County Educational Service Center (100K students, Ohio), Grant Wood Area Education Agency (72K students, Iowa), Montgomery County Educational Service Center (70K students, Ohio), Summit Educational Service Center (50K students, Ohio), East Central Ohio Educational Service Center (50K students, Ohio), Hamilton County Schools (44K students, Tennessee), Anaheim Union High School District (30K students, California), Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center (23K students, Ohio), Akron Public Schools (20K students, Ohio), Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES (20K students, New York), San Benito CISD (10K students), School District of New Berlin (4.3K students, Wisconsin), Ridgeville City Schools (4.3K students, Ohio), Midview Local Schools (2.7K students, Ohio), Hudson City Schools (2.5K students, Ohio), Perry Local Schools (1.5K students, Ohio)

aiEDU has been advocating for foundational AI education since 2019, but the sudden explosion of generative AI tools onto the scene has led to a huge wave of interest from educators and education leaders over the past few months, said Alex Kotran, co-founder and CEO of aiEDU. Those who were around for the step change brought on by computers and the internet are experiencing a sense of deja vu; it feels like we are once again on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation technological revolution, and its hard to avoid the conclusion that this is a really, really big dealespecially for students.

At the launch event for the Call to Action, which took place today in downtown Austin, TX, aiEDU announced a goal of securing 500 school district commitments for AI education by 2024, and unveiled an initial group of more than 20 district pioneers that together serve more than 1.5 million students. aiEDU and its partners are supporting schools that make commitments through a range of professional learning programs, curriculum implementation, stakeholder engagement, and regional/national convenings of education leaders partially or fully funded by an impressive cohort of foundations, companies, and philanthropies.

The world is at the precipice of incredible technological change, and civil society must urgently step up to help reimagine a future that equitably benefits humanity, said Vilas Dhar, President of The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Education is critical for building a digitally literate citizenry, and aiEDUs leadership in building a shared movement is inspiring.

As the leading provider of AI to the federal government, Booz Allen has a front row seat to the unique challenges and opportunities that AI unlocks for our people, empowering them to truly change the world for the greater good," said John Larson, EVP for Artificial Intelligence at Booz Allen Hamilton. "Our firm and the Booz Allen Foundation are proud to have supported aiEDU since its inception to help the organization realize its vision of creating equitable pathways for AI education so that students, regardless of background, can benefit from the AI revolution and its impact in our society."

We urgently need to help our schools and educators evolve learning strategies for the Age of Artificial Intelligence, and aiEDU has an ambitious plan to help them do just that, said Tiffany Taylor, Chief People & Impact Officer at GSV Ventures, and aiEDU Board Member. This might be the single most important challenge in the history of the U.S. education system, and no organization can solve the problem alone. The incredible coalition of partners that aiEDU has assembled validates its commitment to collaboration across the entire ecosystem.

For more information on aiEDU and the AI education movement, please visit aiEDU.org.

See here for a list of quotes of support for aiEDU and the AI education movement.

ABOUT THE AI EDUCATION PROJECT

The AI Education Project (aiEDU.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that creates equitable learning experiences that excite and empower students with AI literacy. We believe that everyoneespecially those who are likely to be disproportionately impacted by AI systemsshould have access to the conceptual knowledge and skills they need to thrive as workers, creators, consumers, and citizens. aiEDU was founded in 2019, and has been selected for four leading accelerators, including Techstars, Fast Forward, the Columbia University eLab, and AT&T Aspire.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005586/en/

Alex Kotran, aiEDU ([email protected])

Source: The AI Education Project
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Allegion plc (NYSE: ALLE) President and CEO John H. Stone as well as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Wagnes will discuss the companys long-term strategy at the 2023 Bank of America Global Industrials Conference on Tuesday, March 21. The conference will be held at The Landmark Hotel in London.

A live listen-only webcast will be accessible via Allegions investor website at investor.allegion.com or directly by clicking here.

About Allegion

Allegion (NYSE: ALLE) is a global pioneer in seamless access, with leading brands like CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage, SimonsVoss and Von Duprin. Focusing on security around the door and adjacent areas, Allegion secures people and assets with a range of solutions for homes, businesses, schools and institutions. Allegion had $3.3 billion in revenue in 2022, and its security products are sold around the world.

For more, visit www.allegion.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005997/en/

Media Contact:

Whitney Moorman  Reputation Management Leader

317-810-3241

[email protected]

Analyst Contact:

Tom Martineau  Vice President, Investor Relations, and Treasurer

317-810-3759

[email protected]

Source: Allegion plc
Next generation space-based GEOINT service provides operators a tactical advantage with high-frequency, low-latency imagery and advanced AI exploitation tools

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won a $150+ million competitive contract to provide advanced space-based tactical GEOINT-as-a-service to an international ministry of defense customer.

BlackSky is taking real-time, space-based tactical GEOINT to the next level with industry-leading rapid revisit capabilities and fully automated low-latency delivery of AI-derived mission intelligence, said Brian E. OToole, BlackSky CEO. Our superior software-to-satellite architecture is now trusted by multiple international defense ministries as a premier tool informing critical day-to-day operations.

Succeeding in a dynamic, modern operational environment requires the unique technical architecture and monitoring capabilities BlackSky brings to the table, said a senior international MoD customer familiar with the contract. We have confidence in BlackSkys ability to meet our needs for agile, real-time intelligence.

This multi-year contract for advanced subscription-based GEOINT-as-a-services is aligned with the deployment of Blackskys next-generation constellation and contains options to extend services as needed.

BlackSky is pushing operationally secure, mission-critical GEOINT to the most forward edge of the battle area, directly into the hands of tactical operators, said OToole. Whereas a conventional static mapping approach to mission critical GEOINT is of limited value, BlackSkys real-time intelligence service is commercially-available and ready to help governments and commercial partners worldwide accelerate the value of tactical GEOINT derived from space-based assets from hours down to minutes.

About BlackSky

BlackSky is a leading provider of real-time geospatial intelligence. BlackSky delivers on-demand, high frequency imagery, monitoring and analytics of the most critical and strategic locations, economic assets, and events in the world.

BlackSky designs, owns and operates one of the industrys leading low earth orbit small satellite constellations, optimized to capture imagery cost-efficiently where and when our customers need it. BlackSkys Spectra AI software platform processes data from BlackSkys constellation and from other third-party sensors to develop the critical insights and analytics that our customers require.

BlackSky is relied upon by U.S. and international government agencies, commercial businesses, and organizations around the world. BlackSky is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as BKSY. To learn more, visit www.blacksky.com and follow us on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to BlackSky. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words believe, project, expect, anticipate, estimate, intend, strategy, future, opportunity, plan, may, should, will, would, will be, will continue, will likely result, and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this document, including but not limited to: (i) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, (ii) achieve anticipated revisit rates and maintain current launch schedules, and (iii) our ability to predict and respond to customer trends. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and is based on information available as of the date of this communication, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. If any of these risks materialize or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that we do not presently know, or that we currently believe are immaterial, that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect our expectations, plans, or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause their assessments to change. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Additional risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in reports filed with the SEC, including within the section titled Risk Factors on BlackSkys registration statement on Form S-1, and available at the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005548/en/

Investor Contact

Aly Bonilla

VP, Investor Relations

[email protected]

Media Contact

Pauly Cabellon

Director, External Communications

[email protected]

Source: BlackSky Technology Inc.
Bounty Taps Artists Shade Akanbi, Reina Castellanos and Kingsley Nebechi for its Latest Prints Installment

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As part of Bounty Paper Towels Inclusive Artists Project, the Quicker Picker Upper joined forces with three artists  surface print and accessories designer Shade Akanbi, illustrator Reina Castellanos, and graphic designer and illustrator Kingsley Nebechi  to create original artwork that will be featured on a new limited-edition collection of paper towels.

Were delighted to partner with these talented artists who are passionate about inspiring young creators to pursue a career in the arts, said Janette Yauch, Bounty Vice President. At Bounty, we believe in inclusivity and are committed to diversifying artist representation, which is why were donating $100,000 to fund scholarships for creatives of color in the field of Fine Arts and Design though the Inclusive Artists Project. Were excited to see and support the next generation of artists.

To date, Bounty has donated $650,000 to the inclusive artist initiative with the mission to celebrate and amplify diverse artists, highlighting not only their art, but also their styles and stories.

Seeing our individual design styles come to life on Bounty has been an exciting process, said Bounty Prints artist Shade Akanbi. With it being such a classic household brand, its impactful to see Bountys commitment to elevating multicultural artists and voices.

Bountys Inclusive Artists Project showcases diverse work on grocery shelves and kitchens around the country through various collections. This includes Bountys Prints partnership with Cincinnati-based non-profit Visionary + Voices, which featured designs from artists with disabilities, as well as Bountys Prints partnership with media company Brit+Co, where through a National Design Competition artwork from eight female finalists was featured in a collection themed, A Clean Fresh Start.

Its important for multicultural artists to see brands highlight art that was created by the people that reflect their community, said Bounty Prints artist Kingsley Nebechi. Also, Reina Castellanos added, By featuring our designs on a national level, Bountys Inclusive Artists Project is helping to inspire other artists in how far their work can take them.

In addition to their artwork being featured on the paper towels, Shade, Reina, and Kingsley will be featured on packaging. Available for a limited time, Bountys Inclusive Artists Projects latest collection will be available in-store nationwide at select Dollar General, Family Dollar, Meijer, Wakefern, and regional food stores through November 2023.

To learn more about this collection and the artists, visit www.bountytowels.com/inclusiveartistsproject. Be sure to also visit @BountyPaperTowels on Instagram and @Bounty on Twitter.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, and Whisper. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005121/en/

Cameron Leach, MSL New York, 646-420-0173, [email protected]

Source: Procter & Gamble
Family-Made in the U.S.A., Natures Menu Features Natural Ingredients

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dollar General has reformulated and rebranded its dog and cat food line, Natures Menu. The Companys continued investment in private brands is illustrated through this elevated, now premium brand pet food at a value price, which was developed in response to consumer insights.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005367/en/

Natures Menu dry pet foods, available exclusively at Dollar General stores, are crafted with natural ingredients including real beef, lamb or farm-raised, cage free chicken as the #1 ingredient and contain vegetables and wholesome grains. (Photo: Business Wire)

Our team of brand managers and buyers strive to ensure each private brand item we develop focuses on the needs of our customers and their families. Such is the case with Natures Menu, Dollar Generals exclusive super premium dog and cat food brand, said Jackie Li, senior vice president of private brands and global sourcing at Dollar General. Natures Menu is made by a family-owned and operated company in the U.S.A and, like other DG private brands, is backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. We are pleased to bring this exceptional, premium brand of pet food to market.

Natures Menu dry pet foods are crafted with natural ingredients including real beef, lamb or farm-raised, cage free chicken as the #1 ingredient. These pet foods contain vegetables and wholesome grains and are free from corn, soy, wheat, fillers, animal by-products, artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Natures Menu dry pet food products are enhanced with prebiotics and probiotics to help support healthy digestion, and they feature added vitamins, minerals and other trace nutrients including Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids for healthy skin and coats.

Natures Menu dry pet food is available chain-wide in 5-pound and 15-pound dog foods in Chicken, Lamb or Beef with Brown Rice; a 5-pound Chicken and Brown Rice puppy food; and a 3.5-pound Chicken and Brown Rice cat food. Prices range from $7.00 to $20.00 per bag.

This summer, Natures Menu will debut a newly reformulated wet pet food, made in the U.S.A. Additional details will be shared when available.

High-res photos are available for download here.

About Dollar General Corporation

Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for more than 80 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day. by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares and seasonal items at everyday low prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operated 18,818 stores in 47 states as of October 28, 2022. In addition to high-quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, General Mills, and PepsiCo. Learn more about Dollar General at www.dollargeneral.com.

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005367/en/

Media Hotline: 1-877-944-DGPR (3477)

[email protected]

Source: Dollar General Corporation
WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Granite (NYSE: GVA) has been selected by the City of Lancaster to lead an approximately $30 million contract for various improvements to the Avenue J (Ave J) Interchange at California State Route 14 (SR 14). The project will be funded by Caltrans, the City of Lancaster, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) and be included in Granites first quarter CAP 2023.

The project scope consists of widening the existing northside on- and off-ramps, constructing new on- and off-ramps on the south side of Ave J, and building four new retaining walls. Additionally, the project will involve landscape beautification. Upon completion, the new northbound off-ramp and the southbound on-ramp to SR 14 will provide an additional access point to the highway, improving safety by relieving congestion on SR 14 and providing increased usability for Ave J.

To complete the project, Granite will supply approximately 17,000 tons of asphalt materials from its Big Rock Facility in nearby Llano, CA.

The City of Lancaster has been a great partner since we started operating in the Antelope Valley 35 years ago, said Granite Area Manager Andrew Burk. Granite has a long-standing commitment to safety and quality, and the company is proud to have been selected for this important project.

The project is scheduled to start in Spring 2023 and is expected to be completed by Spring 2024.

About Granite

Granite is Americas Infrastructure Company. Incorporated in 1922, Granite (NYSE: GVA) is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite provider in the transportation, water infrastructure, and mineral exploration markets. Granites Code of Conduct and strong Core Values guide the Company and its more than 6,000 employees to uphold the highest ethical standards. In addition to being one of the Worlds Most Ethical Companies for ten consecutive years, Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability. For more information, visit graniteconstruction.com, and connect with Granite on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005012/en/

Granite Contacts

Media

Erin Kuhlman 831-768-4111

Investors

Wenjun Xu - 831-761-7861

Source: Granite Construction
Development to feature a mix of low-density, single family rental homes and traditional apartment units

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Middleburg Communities (Middleburg) today announced it closed on two land parcels totaling 49 acres adjacent to Friendly Way located off of FL-54 in Wesley Chapel, Florida, a submarket of Tampa. Leveraging its in-house construction capabilities, Middleburg plans to develop two residential communities: Mosby Avalon Park, a 338-unit traditional apartment community, and Hamlet Avalon Park, a build-to-rent community with 260 single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes. Construction will commence immediately on the Mosby component while Hamlet Avalon Park is planned as a future phase.

"These projects in Wesley Chapel represent our largest development investment to date and our fifth acquisition in Florida during the past year. Were grateful for our investment partners and Synovus Bank for having confidence in our ability to execute. Our development and construction teams are eager to get started in earnest and we look forward to our grand opening next year.

The convenient location of the community, approximately 30 minutes from downtown Tampa, offers exceptional access to job centers and regional demand drivers. Mosby and Hamlet Avalon Park are part of the Avalon Park Wesley Chapel master-planned community, which is situated on over 1,600-acres and is entitled for 4,800 residences units and 500,000 SF of retail and commercial space, much of which has already been delivered or is currently under construction.

Mosby Avalon Park will feature one, two and three-bedroom units in four-story elevator-served buildings with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and luxury vinyl plank flooring. Amenities include a resort-style pool, fitness center, dog park, and pet spa.

Hamlet Avalon Park will offer one, two, and three-bedroom floorplans with a mix of cottages, duplexes, and townhomes, each with private entries, patios, and yard space and attached garages in select units. Interiors will feature quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and luxury vinyl plank flooring and the community will include numerous neighborhood parks and green space, a resort-style pool, fitness center, dog park, and pet spa.

Mosby Avalon Park and Hamlet Avalon Park are Middleburgs first entrance into the Tampa Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), one of the fastest growing markets in the country. Middleburgs growing Florida portfolio includes three assets in Orlando  Mosby Citrus Ridge, a 300-unit Class A multifamily community currently under construction, Indigo Champions Ridge, a 300-unit Class A multifamily community currently in lease-up, and The Baldwin, a 270-unit Class A multifamily community  and one asset in Yulee, Hamlet Wildlight, a 250-unit Class A built-for-rent community currently under construction.

Financing for Mosby Avalon Park is being provided by Synovus Bank.

About Middleburg Communities

Middleburg is a leading investment firm maximizing value through a fully integrated approach to the acquisition, development, construction and operations of high-quality attainable rental housing. Since 2004, Middleburg has acquired and developed more than 22,000 apartment units, executing over $3 billion in transactions. The Middleburg team shares a vision for greater value creation through community impact. The firms success is rooted in a genuine desire to serve its local communities in thoughtful and holistic ways. Middleburg embraces people, property, and partnerships to enhance the lives of others, contribute positively to its neighborhoods and maximize real returns for partners. For more information, please visit www.middleburgcommunities.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005170/en/

Middleburg Communities

[email protected]

Source: Middleburg Communities
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc. d/b/a Miravo Healthcare (TSX:MRV; OTCQX: MRVFF) (Miravo or the Company) is pleased to announce that, at todays special meeting of shareholders (the Meeting), its shareholders (Shareholders) voted in favour of a special resolution to approve the previously announced plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) pursuant to which, among other things, Searchlight Pharma Inc. (the Purchaser) will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company (the Company Shares) in exchange for cash consideration of $1.35 per Company Share, subject to the terms and conditions of an arrangement agreement dated December 22, 2022.

The Arrangement required approval by: (i) at least two-thirds of the votes cast by Shareholders present in person (virtually) or represented by proxy at the Meeting; and (ii) a simple majority of the votes cast by Shareholders present in person (virtually) or represented by proxy at the Meeting, excluding the votes cast by persons described in items (a) through (d) of Section 8.1(2) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101).

Of the votes cast with respect to the Arrangement, an aggregate of 4,160,856 Company Shares were voted in favour of the Arrangement, representing approximately 89.23% of the votes cast on the resolution. In addition, an aggregate of 3,547,374 Company Shares, representing approximately 87.60% of the votes cast on the resolution excluding votes attached to Company Shares held by persons described in items (a) through (d) of Section 8.1(2) of MI 61-101, were voted in favour of the Arrangement.

Completion of the Arrangement remains subject to court approval as well as other customary closing conditions. It is expected that the Company will apply for a final order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) approving the Arrangement on March 10, 2023. Assuming that the conditions to closing are satisfied or waived, it is expected that the Arrangement will be completed on or around March 14, 2023. Following completion of the Arrangement, The Company will be de-listed from the TSX and applications will be made for the Company to cease to be a reporting issuer.

Further information about the Arrangement is set forth in the materials prepared by the Company in respect of the Meeting, which were mailed to Shareholders and filed under the Companys profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Miravo Healthcare

Miravo is a Canadian focused, healthcare company with global reach and a diversified portfolio of commercial products. The Companys products target several therapeutic areas, including pain, allergy, neurology and dermatology. The Companys strategy is to in-license and acquire growth-oriented, complementary products for Canadian and international markets. Miravos head office is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the international operations are located in Dublin, Ireland and the Companys manufacturing facility is located in Varennes, Quebec, Canada, though the Company is in the process of winding-down its manufacturing operations in Varennes. For additional information, please visit www.miravohealthcare.com.

About Searchlight Pharma Inc.

Searchlight Pharma Inc., headquartered in Montreal, is a leading Canadian-based specialty healthcare company that executes best-in-class search, acquisition, commercialization, and focused development of innovative and unique specialty healthcare products. Searchlight Pharma Inc.s core products focus on womens health, urogynecology, urology, endocrinology and hospital specialty markets, and its team is committed to improving peoples lives by bringing the right products to market. Follow Searchlight Pharma Inc., learn more about what it does, and get to know its product portfolio at www.searchlightpharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this press release includes certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning: the anticipated receipt of required court approval for the transaction; the ability of the parties to satisfy the other conditions to, and to complete, the Arrangement; the anticipated timing of the closing of the Arrangement; the delisting of the Company Shares from the TSX; and the Companys intention to cease to be a reporting issuer.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook for the Company. Forward looking statements may in some cases be identified by words such as will, plans, believes, expects, anticipates, estimates, projects, intends, should or the negative of these terms, or similar expressions. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

In respect of the forward-looking statements and information concerning the completion of the proposed Arrangement and the anticipated timing for completion of the Arrangement, the Company and the Purchaser have provided such in reliance on certain assumptions that they believe are reasonable at this time, including assumptions as to the ability of the parties to receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary court approval; the ability of the parties to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Arrangement; and other factors discussed under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys annual information form dated March 25, 2022 (available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com). The anticipated dates provided may change for a number of reasons, including the inability to secure necessary court approval in the time assumed or the need for additional time to satisfy the other conditions to the completion of the Arrangement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release.

Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Risks and uncertainties inherent in the nature of the Arrangement include the failure of the Company and the Purchaser to obtain necessary court approval, or to otherwise satisfy the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement, in a timely manner, or at all. Failure to so obtain such approval, or the failure of the parties to otherwise satisfy the conditions to or complete the Arrangement, may result in the Arrangement not being completed on the proposed terms, or at all.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307006010/en/

Miravo Investor Relations

905 673-6980 / option 2

[email protected]

Searchlight Information

(514) 613-1513

[email protected]

Source: Nuvo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
SHARE BUYBACK TRANSACTION DETAILS FEBRUARY 27  MARCH 3, 2023

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

MotorK Plc (AMS: MTRK) (MotorK or the Group") announces today that it has purchased the following number of ordinary shares in the Company.

This is part of a repurchase program announced on July 18, 2022. MotorK intends to buy back its own ordinary shares by way of off-market purchases on Euronext Amsterdam and via block trades up to a maximum aggregate value of 3,000,000 (the Programme). The authorization will expire following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2023.

Aggregate Information

Date Transactions Number of Ordinary

Shares Total Consideration () Average price

( per share) Minimum price

( per share) Maximum price

( per share) 27/02/2023 Purchase 257,044 642,494 2.50 2.45 2.50 28/02/2023 Purchase 9,014 22,665 2.51 2.50 2.52 01/03/2023 Purchase 8,949 22,093 2.47 2.43 2.50 02/03/2023 Purchase 4,249 9,592 2.26 2.21 2.28 03/03/2023 Purchase 8,280 18,754 2.27 2.25 2.28 Total Weekly 287,536 715,597 2.49 2.21 2.52 Cumulated to date 1,705,707 2,673,987

The Programme is implemented within the limitations of the authority granted by the General Meeting on July 18, 2022. Any shares so repurchased shall be treated as cancelled pursuant to section 706(b) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Group has entered into non-discretionary instructions with Kepler Cheuvreux SA (Kepler Cheuvreux) to conduct the Programme on its behalf and to make trading decisions under the Programme independently of MotorK.

REGULATED INFORMATION

This press release contains information that qualifies or may qualify as inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014/EU)

ABOUT MOTORK PLC

MotorK (AMS: MTRK) is a leading software as a service (SaaS) provider for the automotive retail industry in the EMEA region, with over 400 employees and eleven offices in eight countries (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, the UK, Belgium and Israel). MotorK empowers car manufacturers and dealers to improve their customer experience through a broad suite of fully integrated digital products and services. MotorK provides its customers with an innovative combination of digital solutions, SaaS cloud products and the largest R&D department in the automotive digital sales and marketing industry in Europe. MotorK is a company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 5th Floor One New Change, London, England, EC4M 9AF - Company Registration: 9259000. For more information: www.motork.io or www.investors.motork.io.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005593/en/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

MotorK Investor Relations

Etienne Jacquet

[email protected]

+33 6 22 18 39 09

MotorK Corporate Communications

[email protected]

Source: MotorK plc
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tax policy is a critical tool that can be used to address the nations housing affordability crisis. National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) President Sharon Wilson Geno delivered that message to the Senate Finance Committee today in testimony on behalf of NMHC and the National Apartment Association (NAA).

NMHC and NAA research estimates the U.S. needs to build 4.3 million more apartments by 2035 to make up for decades-long underbuilding, meet future demand and avoid increasingly expensive housing. Meeting that need will require a strong partnership between the private and public sectors.

The apartment organizations identified five tax policies for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to consider as ways to increase the supply of affordable housing:

Expand and enhance the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit;



Enact the Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit to support workforce housing;



Enhance Opportunity Zones to better enable its use in rehabilitating and preserving multifamily buildings;



Support tax policies that help make converting underutilized commercial properties into multifamily housing more financially viable; and



Promote the rehabilitation of multifamily housing located near transit.

The testimony pointed out that while changes to tax laws are especially important to spurring affordable housing, Congress should consider additional proposals that lower regulatory hurdles and ease construction costs, many of which are included in the Biden Administrations Housing Supply Action Plan. They should also reform and fully fund the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and sustain funding for federal housing support for those in financial distress and various housing affordability programs.

Policymakers should also avoid taking actions that would drive housing costs higher or discourage new construction. NMHC and NAA are concerned about federal interference with state and local laws that already govern the housing provider and resident relationship as well as rent control proposals that have been shown time and time again to result in unhealthy conditions and deteriorating neighborhoods. These efforts will do nothing to address the nations housing shortage and could, in fact, discourage much-needed investment in new housing construction.

Regulatory reform is a particularly powerful tool in the housing affordability toolbox given that regulatory costs at all levels of government account for 40.6% of multifamily development costs according to NMHC and National Association for Home Builders research.

NMHC and NAAs testimony noted that the problems we face are urgent, but we can make significant progress if policymakers at all levels of government enact a variety of policies that will enable the public sector and private businesses to partner on meaningful measures to reduce costs and provide housing to those who need it.

For more than 26 years, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) have partnered on behalf of America's apartment industry. Drawing on the knowledge and policy expertise of staff in Washington, D.C., as well as the advocacy power of 141 NAA state and local affiliated associations, NAA and NMHC provide a single voice for developers, owners and operators of multifamily rental housing. One-third of all Americans rent their housing, and 38.9 million of them live in an apartment home.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005991/en/

Colin Dunn

202/974-2370

[email protected]

Source: National Multifamily Housing Council
OSHKOSH, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oshkosh Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), has filed a formal bid protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the U.S. Armys recent award decision with respect to the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Follow-On Contract.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005852/en/

Oshkosh Defense Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) (Photo: Business Wire)

The independent GAO review of the procurement decision was initiated by Oshkosh on March 6, 2023.

After participating in the governments post-award debriefing process, we have significant concerns regarding the evaluation of the proposals under the solicitation that support an independent review, said Tim Bleck, executive vice president Oshkosh Corporation and president Oshkosh Defense.

We believe the Governments evaluation did not properly review the financial, technical, and manufacturing capabilities offered to select the best value and lowest risk solution to deliver the JLTV.

As the incumbent manufacturer and original designer of the JLTV platform, only Oshkoshs proposal leveraged substantial JLTV experience and proven JLTV production infrastructure, while providing best-in-class upgrades to the JLTV platform.

About Oshkosh Defense

Oshkosh Defense is a global leader in the design, production and sustainment of best-in-class military vehicles, technology solutions and mobility systems. Oshkosh develops and applies emerging technologies that advance safety and mission success. Setting the industry standard for sustaining fleet readiness, Oshkosh ensures every solution is supported worldwide throughout its entire life cycle.

Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].

Learn more about Oshkosh Defense at www.oshkoshdefense.com.

About Oshkosh Corporation

At Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK), we make innovative, mission-critical equipment to help everyday heroes advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh Corporation employs approximately 15,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common cause: to make a difference in peoples lives. Oshkosh products can be found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG, Pierce, MAXIMETAL, Oshkosh Defense, McNeilus, IMT, Jerr-Dan, Frontline, Oshkosh Airport Products, London and Pratt Miller. For more information, visit oshkoshcorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that the Company believes to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as may, will, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe, should, project or plan or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Companys control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the extent of supply chain and logistics disruptions; the Companys ability to increase prices or impose surcharges to raise margins or to offset higher input costs, including increased raw material, labor, freight and overhead costs; the Companys ability to predict the level and timing of orders for indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts with the U.S. federal government; the impact of any U.S. Department of Defense solicitation for competition for future contracts to produce military vehicles; the impact of orders from the U.S. Postal Service; the Companys ability to comply with complex laws and regulations applicable to U.S. government contractors; cybersecurity risks and costs of defending against, mitigating and responding to data security threats and breaches impacting the Company; and risks related to the Companys ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this news release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Companys next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005852/en/

Alexandra Hittle, Director, Global Marketing and Communications

920-410-1929

[email protected]

Source: Oshkosh Corporation
MONTPELLIER, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Sensorion (FR0012596468  ALSEN) (Paris: ALSEN) a pioneering clinical-stage biotechnology company which specializes in gene therapies in the ear, is pleased to announce its participation in the 6th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe, held on 14-16 March, 2023, in Barcelona, Spain. Sensorion will also take part in an expert roundtable on March 22, 2023.

Christine Le Bec, Ph.D., Sensorions Head of CMC Gene Therapy, will chair a session entitled CMC and Technical Development Strategies at the 6th Annual Bioprocessing Summit Europe, on March 14, 2023.

Christine will also make a presentation on the Characterization of Dual AAV Vector Otoferlin on March 14, 2023.

The agenda of the conference can be found here.

About Sensorion

Sensorion is a pioneering clinical-stage biotech company, which specializes in the development of gene therapies to restore hearing loss disorders, a significant global unmet medical need.

Sensorion has built a unique R&D technology platform to expand its understanding of the pathophysiology and etiology of inner ear related diseases, enabling it to select the best targets and mechanisms of action for drug candidates.

It has two gene therapy programs aimed at correcting hereditary monogenic forms of deafness, developed in the framework of its broad strategic collaboration focused on the genetics of hearing with the Institut Pasteur. OTOF-GT targets deafness caused by mutations of the gene encoding for otoferlin and GJB2-GT targets hearing loss related to mutations in GJB2 gene to potentially address important hearing loss segments in adults and children.The Company is also working on the identification of biomarkers to improve diagnosis of these underserved illnesses.

Sensorions portfolio also comprises clinical-stage small molecule programs for the treatment and prevention of hearing loss disorders.

Sensorions clinical-stage portfolio includes one Phase 2 product: SENS-401 (Arazasetron) progressing in a planned Phase 2 proof of concept clinical study of SENS-401 in Cisplatin-Induced Ototoxicity (CIO) and, with partner Cochlear Limited, in a study of SENS-401 in patients scheduled for cochlear implantation. A Phase 2 study of SENS-401 was also completed in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) in January 2022.

www.sensorion.com

Label: SENSORION

ISIN: FR0012596468

Mnemonic: ALSEN

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Sensorion and its business. Such forward looking statements are based on assumptions that Sensorion considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the 2021 full year financial report published on April 28, 2022, and available on our website and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Sensorion operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Sensorion or not currently considered material by Sensorion. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Sensorion to be materially different from such forward-looking statements. This press release and the information that it contains do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, Sensorion shares in any country. The communication of this press release in certain countries may constitute a violation of local laws and regulations. Any recipient of this press release must inform oneself of any such local restrictions and comply therewith.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005514/en/

Investor Relations

David Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer (US/UK)

Noemie Djokovic, Investor Relations and Communications (Europe/France)

[email protected]

International Media Relations

Consilium1Strategic Communications

Matthew Cole/Jessica Hodgson/Sue Stuart

+44 7593 572720

+44 7561 424788

[email protected]

Source: Sensorion
Bestselling author and leading geopolitical strategist to provide future-thinking insights through a new book.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Throughline, Inc. (Throughline), one of the nations leading enterprise and design strategy firms, announces today that Thomas P.M. Barnett has joined the firm as a principal business strategist as he is set to publish his latest title, Americas New Map, Restoring Our Global Leadership in an Era of Climate Change and Demographic Collapse. Barnett will speak about the themes in his new book and offer advisory and scenario planning engagements to share how the converging forces of geopolitical realities, climate change, technology, and demographic shifts will affect every field and industry over the next century.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005974/en/

Thomas P.M. Barnett (Photo: Business Wire)

Barnett is a leading security geopolitical strategist and New York Times bestselling author, who has worked in U.S. national security circles since the end of the Cold War. He is known for his work at the Naval War College and at the Office of Force Transformation in the Department of Defense under the direction of the late Vice Admiral Arthur K. Cebrowski (U.S. Navy, Ret.).

We are honored to work with Thomas and collaborate with him to launch his latest book, said Scott Williams, founder and owner of Throughline. His unique perspective will empower the national security community, government agencies, and multinational corporations to navigate the uncertainties of the next century with data-backed insights and a new visual toolset.

Americas New Map, analyzes the current geopolitical landscape and decodes the complexities of todays world through seven global research-based phenomena, which are illustrated by Throughlines graphic artist, Jim Nuttle, and will serve as tools for leaders. These seven themes, called throughlines in the book, visually articulate the interplay between the complex global dynamics that will shape the decades to come.

In order to win tomorrow, America needs a new vision to tackle the uncertainties of our shared future, said Barnett. Throughline understood how to visualize these ideas in an impactful and thought-provoking way. I look forward to the year ahead as we collaborate and  hopefully  inspire action from leaders across the world.

Over his career, Barnett has authored more than 500 publications and has delivered more than 1,000 speeches across all 50 U.S. states and over 50 countries. Thomas holds a PhD in political science from Harvard University.

In addition to the book, Throughline will bring Barnetts unique perspective and insights to organizations in the public and private sector through keynote speeches, workshops, advising, and master classes. To learn more please contact Liz Gaither, [email protected].

About Throughline

Throughline, Inc. is a privately held enterprise design strategy firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. with a global reach as well as a presence in 10 states and an office in Leonardtown, MD. Since 2005, Throughline has supported more than 90 clients in the government space including the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense and commercial leaders, such as Campbell Soup Company, Northrop Grumman and the World Wildlife Fund. Throughline specializes in harnessing the power of visual communications to transform established organizations into adaptive enterprises using design strategy, iterative co-creation and creative business solutions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005974/en/

Liz Gaither

(202) 309-0054

[email protected]

Source: Throughline, Inc.
Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for what will be the first commercially available laboratory traumatic brain injury (TBI) blood test, making it widely available to hospitals in the United States. The test, which runs on Abbott's Alinity i laboratory instrument, will provide clinicians with an objective way to quickly assess individuals with mild TBIs, also known as concussions.

Abbott's Alinity i TBI lab test offers a new reliable result in 18 minutes to help clinicians quickly assess concussion and triage patients. For those with negative results, it rules out the need for a CT scan and can eliminate wait time at the hospital. The test measures two biomarkers in the blood that, in elevated concentrations, are tightly correlated to brain injury.

For decades, standard concussion assessment has remained the same, with doctors leveraging the Glasgow Coma Scale, a subjective doctor assessment, and CT scans to detect brain tissue damage or lesions. Having a blood test available could help reduce the number of unnecessary CT scans by up to 40%, potentially reducing costs to the healthcare system and the patient as well as the amount of time they spend in the emergency department.

Millions of people in the U.S. suffer a concussion each year, but more than half of people who suspect they have a concussion never get it checked.

"People sometimes minimize a hit to the head, thinking it's no big deal. Others wonder if a visit to the doctor or emergency room for a possible concussion will provide them with meaningful answers or care," said Beth McQuiston, M.D., medical director in Abbott's diagnostics business. "Now that this test will be widely available in labs across the country, medical centers will be able to offer an objective blood test than can aid in concussion assessment. That's great news for both doctors and people who are trying to find out if they have suffered a traumatic brain injury."

TBIs are caused by a bump, blow or whiplash to the head and can pose risk of both short- and long-term effects. People who experience a TBI may experience impairment of memory, movement, sensation (e.g., vision and hearing), and emotional functioning (e.g., personality changes, psychological symptoms). Effects of TBI can last anywhere from a few days post-injury or may be permanent. People who sustain a TBI are more likely to have another one  similarly to how a sprained ankle or torn ligament is more susceptible to future injury.

These effects are worsened by misdiagnosis or lack of diagnosis, so providing tools that can objectively aid in the evaluation of a TBI or concussion is essential to giving people the answers and treatment they need.

Abbott has been pioneering breakthroughs in TBI testing technology for over a decade. This FDA clearance complements Abbott's i-STAT TBI Plasma test, the first rapid blood test for concussion, which is already cleared by the FDA. With the Alinity i clearance, a TBI blood test can now be run on Abbott's high throughput Alinity i laboratory instrument. The advancement will make TBI testing more available because the Alinity i instrument is widely used in hospitals and laboratories across the U.S.

The Alinity i test can be used when a patient shows up to the hospital with a suspected mTBI within 12 hours of injury. A blood sample is drawn from the arm and sent to the lab for preparation and the test is run on the Alinity i instrument. Results are available in as little as 18 minutes and shared with the treating healthcare provider for evaluation.

Broadening the availability of the TBI blood test for use on lab-based instruments is an important step in Abbott's strategy to ensure its tests are available in all settings where people seek care for head injuries.
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won a $150+ million competitive contract to provide advanced space-based tactical GEOINT-as-a-service to an international ministry of defense customer.

BlackSky is taking real-time, space-based tactical GEOINT to the next level with industry-leading rapid revisit capabilities and fully automated low-latency delivery of AI-derived mission intelligence, said Brian E. OToole, BlackSky CEO. Our superior software-to-satellite architecture is now trusted by multiple international defense ministries as a premier tool informing critical day-to-day operations.

Succeeding in a dynamic, modern operational environment requires the unique technical architecture and monitoring capabilities BlackSky brings to the table, said a senior international MoD customer familiar with the contract. We have confidence in BlackSkys ability to meet our needs for agile, real-time intelligence.

This multi-year contract for advanced subscription-based GEOINT-as-a-services is aligned with the deployment of Blackskys next-generation constellation and contains options to extend services as needed.

BlackSky is pushing operationally secure, mission-critical GEOINT to the most forward edge of the battle area, directly into the hands of tactical operators, said OToole. Whereas a conventional static mapping approach to mission critical GEOINT is of limited value, BlackSkys real-time intelligence service is commercially-available and ready to help governments and commercial partners worldwide accelerate the value of tactical GEOINT derived from space-based assets from hours down to minutes.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the urban area of the municipality of Santa Catarina near the land where Tesla has indicated it could build a new gigafactory, in Santa Catarina, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/Fil

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tesla Inc could begin producing its first cars in Mexico next year, with the electric vehicle maker close to receiving its final permits allowing factory construction to begin in Nuevo Leon near the U.S.-Mexico border, the state's governor said on Monday.

"They are waiting for the final permits ... once that's done, they can start, hopefully this very month, in March," Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said in an interview.

"I think by next year, in 2024, there will be the first autos."

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced the investment last week, saying the Austin, Texas-based company had selected Mexico for its next "gigafactory" with plans to produce a "next gen vehicle."

Mexican officials have said the factory will be the world's biggest to produce electric vehicles, with investment worth $5 billion.

Subsequent phases of the plant could involve making components such as chips and batteries, Garcia said.

"That's why they bought a very large plot of land," he added.

The site in Santa Catarina, next to the state capital of Monterrey, spans several thousand acres, the local mayor said last week.

Garcia said the investment would act as an "anchor" attracting Tesla suppliers, and that the green light given to Tesla by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - after the latter had expressed concerns over scarcity of water - sent a positive signal to other potential investors.

"It's like a kind of guide, that when they want to come set up here, it's very important they follow the law," he said, noting he had sent Lopez Obrador technical memos about the state's industrial water supply.

"The president, by authorizing and backing Tesla, sent a message to the world that they should come to Mexico."

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday defeated a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of nearly 7,000 workers in California that claimed the company should have reimbursed employees who worked remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic for home office expenses.

U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria in San Francisco said the named plaintiff, David Williams, failed to show that Amazon had a company-wide policy of not reimbursing employees for internet, cell phone and other costs, and the judge denied his motion to certify the workers as a class.

The judge said that more than 600 of the 7,000 proposed class members were reimbursed $66.49 on average for home internet expenses, and some were reimbursed in full.

Williams' motion for class certification was denied without prejudice, meaning he can file a renewed motion later on.

Amazon and lawyers for Williams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Williams sued Amazon in 2021 individually and added class-action claims last year. He has accused Amazon of violating a California law requiring employers to reimburse workers for reasonable work-related expenses.

Chhabria in January denied Amazon's motion to dismiss the case. The company had argued that it did not owe reimbursements because the costs resulted from government stay-at-home orders and not any decision by Amazon.

Williams' lawyers have filed similar lawsuits against several other companies including IBM Corp, Fox Broadcasting Co and Oracle Corp. Some of those cases have settled, with businesses agreeing to give remote workers stipends of up to $83 per month to cover home office expenses.

(This story has been refiled to add the dropped word "in" in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
FILE PHOTO: Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By Sheila Dang and Krystal Hu

(Reuters) -Twitter Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday that the company had "a shot" at being cash flow-positive next quarter, as the social media platform has been aggressively cutting costs.

Musk, speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference that was webcast, said it was "startling" how poorly Twitter managed to make money off its messaging service.

The company has reduced its non-debt expenditures to $1.5 billion from a projected $4.5 billion in 2023, helped by cutting its cloud services bill by 40% and closing one data center, Musk said. Twitter has also laid off thousands of employees.

Musk, who is also CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc, acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October. The company also faces annual interest payments of about $1.5 billion as a result of the debt it took on in the take-private deal, Musk said.

He added that Twitter has been hit by a "massive decline in advertising," some of which he said was due to the cyclical nature of ad spending and some of which was "political."

Twitter has been marked by chaos and uncertainty since the acquisition by Musk. On Monday, it suffered a bug that prevented thousands of users from accessing links, its sixth major outage since the beginning of the year, according to internet watchdog group NetBlocks.

Musk said in reference to Monday's outage that what had been intended as a small change to 1% of users ended up being a "catastrophic" change for all. He added that engineers were doing a lot of "clean up" in general of the Twitter software code.

Concerns over Twitter's stability have been widespread since the Musk deal. Among the mass exodus were many engineers who were responsible for fixing and preventing service outages, sources told Reuters.

The billionaire said he expected it would take a few years to build a management team at Twitter. Musk, who has faced scrutiny from Tesla investors about the amount of time he spends running the social media platform, had previously said the end of this year would be "good timing" to find a new chief executive to run Twitter.

He also reiterated his plans to introduce payments on Twitter, and said he envisions users could eventually send money to each other with one click.

"I think it's possible to become the biggest financial institution in the world," he said.

Making ads more relevant on the platform is another focus for the company, he said. Some advertisers have fled Twitter due to uncertainty over how Musk, who has called himself a "free speech absolutist," would approach content moderation.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that European Union regulators told Musk to hire more content moderators at Twitter in order to comply with an upcoming law.

Musk said at Tuesday's Morgan Stanley event that both Democrats and Republicans now trust Twitter to the same degree. The platform had 253 million daily active users that were "monetizable" in the fourth quarter, according to a slide displayed during the webcast.

Musk said Twitter currently earns 5 to 6 cents per hour with users spending a combined "130 million hours of their time per day" on the platform. He said the company could increase it to 15 to 20 cents.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas and Krystal Hu in San FranciscoEditing by Peter Henderson and Matthew Lewis)
FILE PHOTO: Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk speaks onstage during a delivery event for Tesla China-made Model 3 cars at its factory in Shanghai, China January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

(Reuters) -Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk on Tuesday said that the next generation small car the company is working on would operate mostly in autonomous mode, similar to a promise he made in 2020.

On Tuesday he said there was a clear path to delivering a car that cost half as much to build as Tesla's Model 3 sedan, but he offered no details about timing or models.

At the 2020 event, Musk said he was "confident" that Tesla Inc would make a small, compelling $25,000 electric car that was fully autonomous, within about three years.

(Reporting By Hyunjoo Jin, Sheila Dang, Krystal Hu and Eva Mathews; writing by Peter Henderson)
Signed two binding LOIs to acquire two additional pharmacies licensed to dispense medical cannabis

These acquisitions will add to Atlas Israeli medical sales footprint, having recently executed definitive agreements to acquire two additional pharmacies, which together with their three existing pharmacies will bring the total number of pharmacies in Israel to seven

EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CHATHAM, ONTARIO and TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Global Brands Inc. (Atlas Global or the Company) (CSE: ATL), a cannabis company with expertise across the value chain, today announced that, through its Israeli subsidiary, it has entered into binding letters of intent (the LOIs), each dated March 2, 2023, pursuant to which the Company will indirectly acquire 70% and 51% of the outstanding securities of two cannabis pharmacies (Pharmacy 1 and Pharmacy 2, respectively) in Israel (Proposed Transaction 1 and Proposed Transaction 2, respectively and collectively, the Proposed Transactions).

Each of the pharmacies to be acquired are licensed to dispense medical cannabis. Pharmacy 1 is located in Tel Aviv and Pharmacy 2 is located in Jerusalem. These pharmacies were specifically designed to sell and distribute cannabis. Completion of the Proposed Transactions will expand Atlas retail presence in Israel thereby advancing its vision of becoming a premium supplier of medical cannabis in the Israeli market.

Our mission at Atlas Global has always been to improve access to high-quality services and products, by increasing our footprint. With these acquisitions, we will be one step closer to achieving that goal. Atlas remains committed to ensuring a seamless transition for these pharmacies' patients and personnel, while leveraging our expertise to enhance their offerings and provide an even better customer experience, said Bernie Yeung, CEO of Atlas Global. We believe that these acquisitions will not only benefit our patients and shareholders but will continue to solidify our international cannabis footprint. The company is excited to continue building on our momentum and looks forward to a successful integration process.

Terms of the Proposed Acquisitions

Under Proposed Transaction 1, Atlas will indirectly acquire a 70% interest in Pharmacy 1 for NIS 1,300,000 (equivalent to approximately CAD $485,000), payable at closing.

Atlas, pursuant to Proposed Transaction 2 shall indirectly acquire a 51% interest in Pharmacy 2 for 1,132,000 Atlas shares valued at a deemed price of CAD $1.00 per share, payable at closing.

Each of Proposed Transaction 1 and Proposed Transaction 2 will include a put option pursuant to which the vendors will be entitled, upon subject to satisfaction of yet-to-be determined conditions to sell the remaining 30% and 49% interest to the Company, at a price based on yet-to-be determined financial results.

The final structure of the Proposed Transactions shall be determined by the parties subsequent to the receipt of tax, corporate, and securities law advice.

The Proposed Transactions are subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including, as applicable, approval of the CSE, completion of due diligence reasonable or customary in a transaction of a similar nature, and entering into a definitive agreement, among other conditions. The parties intend to enter into a definitive agreement regarding the Proposed Transactions (the "Definitive Agreement") by March 31, 2023, or such other date as may be agreed to by the vendors and the Company.

The Proposed Transactions are arms-length transactions for the Company and will not constitute a fundamental change or result in a change of control of the Company within the meaning of the policies of the CSE. No finders fees are payable in connection with either of the Proposed Transactions.

The Proposed Transactions are expected to close in the last quarter of the fiscal 2023 transition year, following the completion of the due diligence process and satisfying conditions precedent.

Upon entering into the Definitive Agreement, the Company intends to issue a further press release which will disclose the finalized terms of the transaction.

About Atlas Global

Atlas Global is a global cannabis company operating in Canada and Israel with expertise across the cannabis value chain, including cultivation, manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and pharmacy. Atlas currently distributes to eight countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In addition to a differentiated product mix, Atlas operates three licensed cannabis facilities  one with EU-GMP and two with GACP and CUMCS certifications  along with five medical pharmacies and one Trading House in Israel. Atlas expects to drive incremental commercial opportunities with an enhanced brand and SKU portfolio, while delivering accretive margin expansion by capitalizing on its strategy  maximize value in delivering quality products to global markets through its vertically integrated supply chain. Learn more by visiting: www.atlasglobalbrands.com

Contacts

Bernie YeungChief Executive Officer 1-844-415-6961[email protected]

Alyssa Barry Media and Investor Relations 1-833-947-5227[email protected]

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 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.

Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including assumptions that all conditions to the closing of the Proposed Transaction will be satisfied and that the Proposed Transaction will be completed, in whole or in part, on the terms set forth in the LOIs. The forward-looking information reflects management's current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Such risk factors may include, among others, the risk that required approvals and the satisfaction of material conditions are not obtained in connection with the Proposed Transaction, the risk that the Proposed Transaction is not approved or completed on the terms set out in the LOIs or that a Definitive Agreement will not be entered into in connection therewith.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Companys management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Companys 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 information.

The forwardlooking statements set forth herein concerning the Company reflect management's expectations as at the date of this news release and are subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Atlas Global Brands Inc.
TORONTO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daily Blends, an AI tech company disrupting the automated foodservice industry with smart vending machines offering fresh, healthy food options, today announced its USD $2 million in investment co-led by San Francisco-based Hustle Fund and New York-based 2048 Ventures. This financing will accelerate Daily Blends plan to deploy its AI-powered smart vending machines at many locations across the Metrolinx network, starting with Union Station. These vending machines will offer high-quality, fresh food to millions of commuters in the Greater Toronto Hamilton area.

Consumer demand for healthy yet affordable food has increased at a time when the price of food, real estate, and labor have increased. Daily Blends is fulfilling that demand through its data-centric retail platform and delivering healthier food options offered in a smarter way. The result is a healthy, fresh food option for an average price of $6, notably less than the cost of a typical fast-casual meal.

The companys software analyzes real-time sales, inventory, and user data from each vending machine, generating multi-level user, location and network insights and powering a highly optimized end-to-end supply chain achieving high product availability and minimal food waste.

Daily Blends in-house technology and algorithms generate insights on accurate demand forecasts, most optimum assortments, share of shelf, promotions, product recommendations, fueling high customer retention, while optimizing delivery schedules and minimizing out of stocks.

The combination of powerful data insights and plug-and-play smart vending machines, further combined with an omnichannel experience, helps us address new-age, evolving consumer needs while keeping our model agile and removing the heavy capital and labor costs associated with traditional retail formats, said Shriya Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Daily Blends. Were excited to bring affordable, healthy options to Toronto commuters and we look forward to expanding our reach with our additional funding.

Daily Blends is unique and is reimagining the convenience of healthy food for on-the-go consumers, said Elizabeth Yin, general partner of Hustle Fund. Their strong back-end technology tied to third-party-vending machines makes them asset-light and highly scalable. We are thrilled to support the company and look forward to their growth and further success.

Were excited to work with Daily Blends to bring high quality, convenient and healthier food options to our customers, said Mark Childs, Chief Marketing Officer, Metrolinx. This partnership will help enhance the customer experience, with on-the-go food and beverage choices to help make their journey on GO Transit and UP Express even more enjoyable.

In addition to its agreement with Metrolinx, Daily Blends is powering smart vending machines at the largest university in Canada, University of Toronto, at hospitals and factories and plans to expand aggressively in the U.S. later in 2023.

About Daily BlendsDaily Blends is a technology company developing AI software powering smart vending machines. This approach generates rich granular data insights enabling a highly customized user experience while minimizing costs and maximizing revenue. Founded by sisters Shriya Gupta and Purva Gupta in 2020, Daily Blends operates an extensive network of AI-powered smart vending machines serving high-quality meals that goes beyond traditional restaurants to help capture real-time inventory data and strategically gather more information about consumers than ever before - information that can be processed and analyzed to provide useful insights. To learn more about Daily Blends, visit www.dailyblends.com.

About MetrolinxMetrolinx is leading the largest transit expansion program in North America while GO Transit, UP Express and PRESTO take our customers everywhere they want to go around the Greater Golden Horseshoe today. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build transit will create endless possibilities in our region, economic and environmental benefits for generations to come, full of exciting new services for our customers, as well as being a catalyst for change in our communities.

About Hustle FundHustle Fund is a pre-seed/seed-stage fund based in San Francisco and Singapore founded in 2017 by Elizabeth Yin, Shiyan Koh, and Eric Bahn. From their combined experience as successful founders, tech employees, and investors, Hustle Fund's General Partners learned that, despite entrenched stereotypes in the venture world, great founders look like anyone and come from anywhere. Hustle Fund's core investment strategy is to invest in teams who demonstrate relentless speed and execution (defined as 'hustle') and has turned the VC model on its head. The investment team reviews over 600 deals per month, moves quickly to invest a modest initial check, and then works with the founder to monitor their speed/execution before qualifying startups for a larger, concentrated checks. Hustle Fund has developed an incredible global reputation with founders and investors alike.

Media Contact:Chris KooistraSkyya PR for Daily Blends[email protected](773) 972-0691

A video accompanying this announcement is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f2d7e1c7-1703-497e-a4b0-82c3a07ce8df

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/31a4cd2e-9c68-45fb-85bc-b82e2b630ecd

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c3c5077d-cc50-41d0-8bc1-4a9db32dce7c

Daily Blends AI-powered Vending Machine Daily Blends AI-powered Vending Machine Daily Blends Founders Daily Blends Founders, Shriya and Purva Gupta.

Source: Daily Blends
Large scale and extensive drill program planned with the intent of defining a mineral resource base capable of supplying more tonnes and enhanced material quality to the North American Lithium concentrator

Jourdan and Sayona plan to undertake the largest lithium drill program in Quebec set to start in May 2023

TORONTO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JOURDAN RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: JOR; OTCQB: JORF; FRA: 2JR1) (Jourdan or the Company) is pleased to announce that it and its partner, North American Lithium Inc. (NAL), a majority owned subsidiary of Sayona Mining Ltd. (Sayona), have agreed to embark on an aggressive exploration and development program with the objective of expanding and defining sufficient mineral resources to supply increased tonnages to the NAL concentrator. The establishment of a mineral resource base at the Vallee property would support NALs current open pit mine operation that holds the NAL concentrator located approximately 60 km north of Val DOr, Quebec. NALs concentrator commenced processing operations on February 27, 2023, and spodumene concentrate production is anticipated by Sayona to begin in March 2023 (for more information, please refer to Sayonas press release dated February, 27 2023).

To define mineral resources at the Vallee property, over 50,000 m of drilling is planned this year on both NALs properties and the 28 claims that comprise that portion of Jourdans adjacent Vallee lithium project (the Earn-in Claims) that are the subject of an earn-in and joint venture agreement entered into between NAL and the Company in November 2022 (the JV Agreement). For more information about the JV Agreement and the Earn-in Claims, please see the Companys press release dated November 14, 2022, which is available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Over 24,000 m of drilling was jointly approved by NAL and Jourdan for the Earn-in Claims, which Jourdan ancitipates will be funded in part by the C$4 million previously deposited in escrow by NAL pursuant to the terms of the JV Agreement. Jourdan and Sayona believe that the upcoming drilling program will be one of the largest lithium drill programs in Quebec in 2023. The tender for drilling contractors has been launched and exploration permit applications needed to commence the first phase of the drill program that have not already been obtained are being prepared for submission. Both companies are planning to aggressively move forward to define and develop a mineral resource in the area to feed the NAL concentrator. Based on information provided by Sayona, management understands that the NAL concentrator remains on track to produce its first saleable lithium concentrate in late March 2023; both NAL and Jourdan aim to produce lithium concentrate through the NAL plant moving forward.

Sayonas Managing Director, Brett Lynch added: Sayona is excited to be partnering with Jourdan as we undertake a large scale and extensive drill program at NAL and the Earn-in Claims. The combined drilling program will be undertaken in consultation with our local community stakeholders, to pursue a bigger mineral resource base and better grades in the Abitibi Hub capable of delivering increased ore tonnages to the NAL concentrator and a longer life-of-mine. With the production of saleable lithium concentrate at NAL only days away, this is an exciting time for Sayona and Quebec as we work to build what we believe to be the leading lithium production centre in North America.

Jourdan CEO and President, Rene Bharti commented: This is a historic moment which truly showcases the strong partnership between Jourdan, NAL, and Sayona. With Jourdan having over 13,000 hectares of land surrounding NALs project, the opportunity to partner with NAL and Sayona to accelerate Jourdan towards production is clear. Given that the NAL concentrator has commenced operations, Jourdan is in a very rare position to benefit from having access to what we expect will become Canadas leading lithium producing mine and concentrator. We are truly proud and honored at what we see as significant upside potential for both companies, in such a strong lithium environment.

Roger Lemaitre, VP Mining for Jourdan said: We are extremely fortunate that NAL has restarted processing operations at its neighboring mine. Based on information provided by Sayona, together with our own results, we see that lithium mineralization has already been defined over an impressive 3.7 km of strike length, extending from the NAL pit and onto the Earn-in Claims. We believe that only additional definition drilling is necessary on the mineralized sections east of the current pit boundary to define a mineral resource on the Earn-in Claims. Given that we have 3,200 m of the approved program already permitted, we anticipate that this aggressive drill program will begin in the next few weeks.

Figure 1. Left to right: Sylvain Collard (Sayonas Chief Operating Officer), Brett Lynch (Sayonas Managing Director), Stan Bharti (Jourdans Director) and Rene Bharti (Jourdans CEO) at the NAL open pit mine.

Qualified PersonThe scientific and technical information contained herein has been reviewed and approved by Alexandr Beloborodov, P.Geo., an independent consultant that is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Jourdan Resources Inc. Jourdan Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior mining exploration company trading under the symbol JOR on the TSX Venture Exchange and 2JR1 on the Stuttgart Stock Exchange. The Company is focused on the acquisition, exploration, production, and development of mining properties. The Companys properties are in Quebec, Canada, primarily in the spodumene-bearing pegmatites of the La Corne Batholith, around North American Lithiums Quebec lithium mine.

About Sayona Mining Limited

Sayona Mining Limited is an emerging lithium producer (ASX: SYA; OTCQB: SYAXF), with projects in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia.

In Quebec, Sayonas assets comprise North American Lithium together with the Authier Lithium Project and its emerging Tansim Lithium Project, supported by a strategic partnership with American lithium developer Piedmont Lithium Inc.. The company also holds a 60% stake in the Moblan Lithium Project in northern Quebec.

In Western Australia, the company holds a large tenement portfolio in the Pilbara region prospective for gold and lithium. Sayona is exploring for Hemi-style gold targets in the world-class Pilbara region, while its lithium projects are subject to an earn-in agreement with Morella Corporation.

For more information about Sayona, please visit us at www.sayonamining.com.au

For more information:Rene Bharti, Jourdans Chief Executive Officer and PresidentEmail: [email protected]Phone: (416) 861-5800www.jourdaninc.com

Cautionary statements The content and grades of any mineral deposits at the Companys properties are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource on its properties and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in any target being delineated as a mineral resource.

Jourdan is not basing any production decisions on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability at the Vallee lithium project, and as a result there is increased uncertainty and there are multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with any such production decision. These risks, among others, include areas that are analysed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts.

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the 2023 exploration and development program planned by Jourdan and NAL, including its scope; the ability of the companies to commence the largest lithium drill program in Quebec in 2023, including to retain drilling contractors and obtain the requisite permits, to define or expand mineral resources on their properties, and to support NALs open pit mine operation; NALs ability to commence larger scale spodumene production at its processing facilities and to satisfy the conditions required for it to earn a 25% interest in the Earn-in Claims pursuant to the JV Agreement; and the Companys ability to execute its business plan. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Jourdan to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: receipt of necessary approvals; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future mineral prices and market demand; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although Jourdan has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Jourdan does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0db404df-22a4-4703-88b5-a8063bfa30be

Figure 1 Left to right: Sylvain Collard (Sayonas Chief Operating Officer), Brett Lynch (Sayonas Managing Director), Stan Bharti (Jourdans Director) and Rene Bharti (Jourdans CEO) at the NAL open pit mine.

Source: Jourdan Resources Inc.
Press Release

Nokia Converged Charging software selected by Hrvatski Telekom to boost network monetization

7 March 2023Espoo, Finland  Nokia today announced that its Converged Charging software solution has been selected by Hrvatski Telekom to help the Croatian operator modernize on-line charging and better harness network monetization opportunities that can unlock new revenue streams.

The deal expands Nokias partnership with Hrvatski Telekom, which already uses a variety of other Nokia products, including its Voice Core and other software applications.

As a containerized, microservices-based solution, Nokia Converged Charging (NCC) will provide real-time rating and charging of voice, data, and SMS/MMS services used by Hrvatski Telekom prepaid and postpaid subscribers.

NCC uses a charging configurator that utilizes an intuitive business user interface to quickly create new pricing and market offers, reducing the time required to on-board new customers and tap new commercial opportunities.

Nokias charging solutions support leading communication service providers and over 1 billion subscribers globally.

Boris Drilo, CTO at Hrvatski Telekom, said: Working with Nokia and its NCC solution provides Hrvatski Telekom with an agile and configurable monetization solution to ultimately allow us to better meet our customers growing network application demands and generate new revenue streams.

Erez Sverdlov, Vice President, Cloud and Network Services Market Leader, Europe at Nokia, said: We are very pleased to be supporting Hrvatski Telekom with new capabilities in order to drive network monetization opportunities. NCC gives communication service providers more control over their software applications environment while increasing time to market in a cost-effective manner.

Resources and additional informationWebpage: Nokia Converged Charging

About NokiaAt Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today  and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

Media InquiriesNokia Communications, CorporateEmail: [email protected]

Follow us on social mediaLinkedIn Twitter Instagram TikTok Facebook YouTube

Test

Source: Nokia Oyj
LONDON, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Small Pharma Inc. (TSXV: DMT) (OTCQB: DMTTF) (the Company or Small Pharma), a biotechnology company focused on short-duration psychedelic-assisted therapies for mental health conditions, today announces that it will host a virtual Key Opinion Leader roundtable with Jerry Rosenbaum, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and David Erritzoe, MD, PhD, Imperial College London on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Dr. Carol Routledge, Chief Medical & Scientific Officer of the Company, will lead the discussion between psychiatrists Dr. Rosenbaum and Dr. Erritzoe on key topics surrounding the opportunity for short-duration psychedelic treatments in treating depression. Dr. Rosenbaum and Dr. Erritzoe will provide insights on the treatment toolkit available to psychiatrists today, and what it would take to deliver new psychedelic-based treatments for patients living with depression.

The discussion will highlight Small Pharmas recent positive Phase IIa results for its lead candidate, SPL026 with supportive therapy, for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). SPL026 is Small Pharmas proprietary synthetic formulation of N,N, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which offers an ultra-short psychedelic experience of 20-25 minutes. The SPL026 Phase IIa trial was the first placebo-controlled study to demonstrate efficacy of a short-duration psychedelic with therapy in treating depression.

To register for the event, please click here.

About Small Pharma

Small Pharma is a biotechnology company progressing a pipeline of short-duration psychedelic-assisted therapies for the treatment of mental health conditions. The Companys current focus is on exploring new therapeutic approaches for depression. Small Pharmas lead candidate, SPL026, is a proprietary synthetic formulation of DMT. The Company is advancing clinical programs of SPL026 and SPL028 with supportive therapy for the treatment of mental health conditions, and was granted an Innovation Passport designation from the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (the MHRA) for IV SPL026 with supportive therapy for MDD. In addition, Small Pharma has a pipeline of proprietary preclinical assets in development.

For further information contact:

Small Pharma Inc.George Tziras, Chief Executive OfficerEmail: [email protected]Tel: +1 (646) 751-4363

Investor Relations Contacts:Eric RibnerLifeSci AdvisorsEmail: [email protected]Tel: +1 (646) 889-1200

Media Relations Contacts:Jaber MohamedMHP CommunicationsEmail: [email protected]Tel: +44 (0)7720 326 847

Cautionary Note

Small Pharma makes no medical, treatment or health benefit claims about its proposed products. The MHRA or other similar regulatory authorities have not evaluated claims regarding DMT-assisted therapies and other next generation psychoactive compounds. The efficacy of such therapies has not been confirmed by MHRA-approved research. There is no assurance that such DMT-assisted therapies and other psychoactive compounds can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Vigorous scientific research and clinical trials are needed. Any references to quality, consistency, efficacy and safety of potential therapies do not imply that Small Pharma verified such in clinical trials or that Small Pharma will complete such trials. If Small Pharma cannot obtain the approvals or research necessary to commercialize its business, it may have a material adverse effect on Small Pharmas performance and operations.

The TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Small Pharma Inc.
Athabasca, Alberta, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New research by Athabasca University (AU) has found that more than three-quarters of Canadian employees (77 per cent) want to re-skill just to keep up with their jobs changing needs, with digital skills being a top priority among 70 per cent of respondents.

At the same time, however, another priority is competing for attention. Three-quarters of employees (74 per cent) also want to improve their interpersonal, or soft skills, such as communication style, conflict resolution capabilities, relatability, and team-building.

Dr. Alex Clark, president of Athabasca University, says the findings suggest Canadian workers are feeling pressure to stay relevant in an increasingly digital world but are also feeling the effects of pandemic isolation and feel a need for an interpersonal skills reset.

The data from this study is telling us that Canadians almost cant keep up with the dizzying pace of technological growth in the workplace, yet our need to improve skills that support better human connections has never been greater, says Clark. After experiencing such acute isolation due to COVID-19, its almost like we need some post-pandemic interpersonal re-skilling, hence our deep thirst to take more courses to improve our leadership-focused soft skills.

The study, The Great Evolution: Mapping New Workplace Dynamics and Desires, was a cross-Canada survey administered to a representative sample of Canadians. It explored the countrys attitudes and expectations for the future of work in tomorrows post-pandemic era.

Canadian workers see growing value in micro-credentials

Some 63 per cent of Canadian workers say they want to increase their value at work through courses that dont demand too much of their time. Specifically, 58 per cent have taken micro-credential courses before. These short, flexible courses develop knowledge, skills, and competencies in a focused area of learning. In fact, almost half (48 per cent) of Canadian employees say they have become more ambitious in their career aspirations since the pandemic.

Canadians are no longer waiting for their employer to guide them. They want to increase their value in the marketplacenot just in their current job, says Clark. Its like theyre channelling their own inner entrepreneur, and they want to grow on their own terms.

Canadian employees conflicted in their drive to compete, while protecting work-life balance

Seventy-two per cent say they have a desire to deepen their work expertise to advance their careers. Despite these ambitions, 72 per cent also say since the pandemic, they have become much more protective of their work-life balance. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of workers acknowledge having experienced some prior workplace exhaustion, saying they are now guarding the pace of their work to make sure they dont burn out like they did before.

Despite these precautions, Canadian workers are still deeply feeling the effects of the current labour shortage: 70 per cent of employees report that being over-extended and under-staffed is one of the most critical workplace challenges today. Some 59 per cent of workers also say they have become busier than they ever were before.

Clark notes that the findings highlight a need to find balance between having aspirational learning and growth goals, and finding the time to realize those goals, all while safeguarding precious work-life balance.

Athabasca University is known as Canadas Open University because anyone can study with usand from anywhere, says Clark. We give our students the flexibility to learn on their own terms, whether thats pursuing traditional academic degrees, or for reskilling and up-skilling with micro-credentials.

Interestingly, while Canadian workers strive to evolve, they dont necessarily feel like their employers are keeping pace. Sixty-two per cent of Canadian employees say that companies today are not advanced enough in their thinking. It appears companies have an opportunity to catch up to Canadian workers innovation-driven mindsets, adds Clark.

About the Study: The Great Evolution: Mapping New Workplace Dynamics & Desires

These are the results of a survey conducted by Athabasca University, from January 6-10, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of n=1,507 Canadians who are members of the online Angus Reid Forum, balanced and weighted on age, gender, region and education. This included a sub-sample of n=831 full-time and part-time employed Canadians. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of the total sample size would yield a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, while a probability sample of the employed Canadians sample would yield a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The survey was offered in both English and French.

About Athabasca University (AU)

Athabasca University (AU) is one of the worlds foremost and fastest-growing online and open education institutions, serving over 43,000 students across 87 countries. AU is the second-largest university in Alberta. AU offers online bachelors, masters, and PhD programs alongside online courses for both personal learning and professional development. It is uniquely founded on the principles of flexibility and openness, giving students control over their studies so they can learn whenever and wherever it is right for them. For more information, please visit www.athabascau.ca.

Attachments

Paige Calvert Edery & Lord Communications 778-997-4421 [email protected]

Source: Athabasca University
SAN DIEGO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- High technology security screening and surveillance pioneer Tek84 Inc. announced today the acquisition of Integrated Defense and Security Solutions (IDSS) Corp., a global leader in airport scanner technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tek84 develops and manufactures ultra-low-dose x-ray scanning solutions that detect threats  weapons, drugs and other contraband  hidden under clothing, within body cavities and inside vehicles, packages, walls and objects. Tek84 systems are deployed worldwide in jails, prisons and other detention centers, airports, embassies, court houses, border crossings, event venues and critical infrastructure.

IDSS combines advanced AI algorithms and high resolution, three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) scanning technology to identify threats in passenger baggage more quickly and effectively than traditional two-dimensional x-ray scans. IDSS security solutions include the DETECT 1000 carry-on baggage scanner, the DETECT 320 CT Based Cargo scanner and the new DETECT 1000S reduced footprint scanner. IDSS has also developed a revolutionary remote screening product for intra and inter-airport use. The DETECT platform is Open Architecture compliant leveraging Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technology for the automated detection of explosives, prohibited items and narcotics. The systems are deployed at airports and border crossings worldwide.

This transaction brings together industry-leading x-ray scanning technologies that help protect against a wide range of security threats, including contraband, human trafficking and terrorism, said Kevin Russeth, Tek84 President. The acquisition expands our presence on the east coast, combines complementary businesses and opens new markets for the combined companies products and services.

IDSS Chief Executive Officer and President Jeffrey Hamel commented: We are pleased to join forces with Tek84. Our cutting-edge platform technologies will enable us to offer a more comprehensive set of security solutions for our customers, as well as develop new products that address emerging and evolving threats.

About Tek84 Inc.Tek84 is a pioneer and global leader in high technology x-ray scanning security solutions. We developed the worlds first body scanner and today enhance security for law enforcement, military and dignitaries wherever it is needed most. Tek84s Intercept is the fastest growing x-ray body scanning system for contraband detection in jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities, court houses and border crossings. The companys Boston-based affiliate, Videray Technologies, Inc. offers powerful yet portable handheld x-ray scanners for vehicles, packages, walls and objects. Customers worldwide rely upon Tek84 technology for safety and security, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State of Israel. Tek84 is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.tek84.com.

About IDSSIntegrated Defense and Security Solutions is a small business security technology manufacturer based in Boxboro, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 2012 by a team of security experts with the goal of developing security solutions to address current and future threats to aviation. The DETECT 1000 has received certification by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) for explosives detection. While designed initially for explosives detection, the Open Architecture DETECT 1000 superior image quality and x-ray information can also be leveraged for the Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) of mail and parcels containing food and similar sized items. Visit us at www.idsscorp.net

Media Contact:

Tek84[email protected]

Source: Tek84 Inc.
WASHINGTON, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Cancer Support Community (CSC) is announcing its newest network partner location, Cancer Support Community Massachusetts. Resulting from a merger between Facing Cancer Together and CSC, this new addition brings support, education, and activities to cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and their loved ones residing in the state of Massachusetts all provided at no cost.

According to a report by the American Cancer Society, an estimated 42,190 people in Massachusetts received a new cancer diagnosis in 2022.

People impacted by cancer feel like the rug has been pulled out from underneath them, affecting not just the individual but the entire family, said Maureen Cardinal, the Executive Director of CSC Massachusetts. With support from local foundations, philanthropists, businesses, dedicated volunteers, and the medical community, CSC Massachusetts is bringing leading-edge, free support to our area where the need is great.

CSC Massachusetts offers connection, camaraderie, information, and empathy to people touched by cancer. A variety of free virtual programs are already available, including support groups for those with a cancer diagnosis and for caregivers, bereavement support groups for both adults and young adults, a Multiple Myeloma networking group, a writing class, and a painting class. A physical location is soon to come.

CSC Massachusetts joins the 175 CSC locations in the United States and beyond that form a network where cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and loved ones can access free emotional support, healthy lifestyle activities, social connection, education, and referral services provided with compassion and expertise  in person or online. The network has served over 1,673,029 participants since its inception.

Facing Cancer Together was originally founded by clinicians from The Wellness Community of Greater Boston and has provided cancer support services to the Boston area for fourteen years. For forty years, CSC has been dedicated to serving all people impacted by cancer in compassionate, innovative, and meaningful ways. In addition to providing support in their community, CSCs network partners are presented with opportunities to join forces to advocate on issues important to cancer patients at the state and national levels and to contribute to important research that inspires positive change in cancer care and the patient experience.

Maintaining operations of a small nonprofit has become increasingly difficult since the pandemic, said Allison Moore, the former Board Chair of Facing Cancer Together. We are fortunate for this opportunity to join the Cancer Support Community and benefit from their stability and resources. Our missions align beautifully, and we are delighted to join them to continue our important work with patients and families affected by cancer.

This new location marks a further step in the CSCs mission to serve more people in more locations.

Boston is home to some of the worlds top oncology hospitals and innovative cancer research, said CSC CEO Debbie Weir. CSC Massachusetts joins a healthcare community that has long been committed to providing patient support and focuses on the patients needs and priorities as they face the challenges and complexities of a cancer diagnosis. Here in the Greater Boston area, we will replicate the proven model that exists around the country and beyond, while tailoring it to the specific needs of the community.

To join the CSC Massachusetts community and find out more, go to: https://CancerSupportMass.org/ or call 617-797-3391.

About the Cancer Support Community

As the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide, the Cancer Support Community (CSC), including its Gildas Club network partners, is dedicated to ensuring that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community. CSC achieves its mission through three areas: direct service delivery, research, and advocacy. The organizations Institute for Excellence in Psychosocial Care includes an international network that offers the highest quality social and emotional support for people impacted by cancer, as well as a community of support available online and over the phone. The Research and Training Institute conducts cutting-edge psychosocial, behavioral, and survivorship research. CSC furthers its focus on patient advocacy through its Cancer Policy Institute, informing public policy in Washington, D.C. and across the nation. For more information, please call the toll-free Cancer Support Helpline at 888-793-9355 or visit www.CancerSupportCommunity.org.

Nathalie Casthely Cancer Support Community 917-572-4517 [email protected]

Source: Cancer Support Community
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX: BTE) (NYSE: BTE) is pleased to announce that TD Securities will be hosting a virtual Fireside Chat with Eric Greager, President and CEO, on Thursday March 9, 2023 at 10:00 am EST. Interested parties can listen to the webcast by registering at the following URL:

https://www.veracast.com/webcasts/tds/meetings/889d37.cfm

A replay will be available on the Baytex website, www.baytexenergy.com, for three months following the presentation.

Baytex Energy Corp. is an energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. Baytex's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BTE.

For further information about Baytex, please visit our website at www.baytexenergy.com or contact:

Brian Ector, Vice President, Capital Markets

Toll Free Number: 1-800-524-5521

Email: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157573
Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - March 6, 2023) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") is pleased to announce that it has closed a non-brokered private placement of 1,491,667 units (the "Units") issued at a price of $0.12 per Unit for gross aggregate proceeds of $179,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit is comprised of one common share (each a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"). Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one additional Share of the Company for a period of 36 months from closing at a price of $0.20.

The Company paid $840.00 in cash and issued 7,000 Warrants on the same terms noted above to qualified parties in connection with the Private Placement. The Company intends to use the gross proceeds from the Private Placement to fund its ongoing growth strategy in the agricultural space, for continued research and development and general working capital purposes.

The Company also announces that it has entered into a debt settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") to settle an outstanding cash payment owed to an arm's length creditor in the amount of $157,180 for consulting fees (the "Debt Settlement"). Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Company has issued an aggregate of 1,310,000 Shares to the creditor at a deemed price of $0.12 per Share.

All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement and Debt Settlement are subject to a statutory hold period that will expire on July 7, 2023, in accordance with applicable securities laws.

None of the securities issued in connection with the Private Placement have been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and none of them have been offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state where such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful.

About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc .

BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite" with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.

Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.

Company Contact:

Ashish Malik, President & CEO

[email protected]

Investor Contacts:

Babak Pedram (Canada & International)

Virtus Advisory Group

Tel: 416-995-8651

[email protected]

William Maze (United States)

RB Milestone Group LLC (RBMG)

[email protected]

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. The words "may", "would", "could", "should", "potential", "will", "seek", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company, "annual revenue potential", are intended to identify forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Such statements reflect the Company's current views and intentions with respect to future events, and current information available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Material factors or assumptions were applied in providing forward-looking information. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information to vary from those described herein should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize. These factors include changes in law, competition, litigation, the ability to implement business strategies and pursue business opportunities, state of the capital markets, the availability of funds and resources to pursue operations, new technologies, the ability to protect intellectual property rights, the ability to obtain patent protection for products, third-party intellectual property infringement claims, regulatory changes affecting products, failing research and development activities, the ability to reach and sustain profitability, dependence on business and technical experts, the ability to effectively manage business operations and growth, issuance of debt, dilution of existing securities, volatility of publicly traded securities, potential conflicts of interest, unlikelihood of dividend payments, the potential costs stemming from defending third-party intellectual property infringement claims, the ability to secure relationships with manufacturers and purchasers, as well as general economic, market and business conditions, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's Filing Statement dated August 14,2020, filed with the CSE and securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com. Should any factor affect the Company in an unexpected manner, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, the actual results or events may differ materially from the results or events predicted. Any such forward-looking information is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Moreover, the Company does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable law. All figures are in Canadian dollars.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157420
OAK BROOK, Ill. (PRWEB) March 07, 2023

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool can accurately identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays in a clinical setting, according to a study published today, March 7, in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Chest X-rays are used to diagnose a wide variety of conditions to do with the heart and lungs. An abnormal chest X-ray can be an indication of a range of conditions, including cancer and chronic lung diseases.

An AI tool that can accurately differentiate between normal and abnormal chest X-rays would greatly alleviate the heavy workload experienced by radiologists globally.

"There is an exponentially growing demand for medical imaging, especially cross-sectional such as CT and MRI," said study co-author Louis Lind Plesner, M.D., from the Department of Radiology at the Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Meanwhile, there is a global shortage of trained radiologists. Artificial intelligence has shown great promise but should always be thoroughly tested before any implementation."

For this retrospective, multi-center study, Dr. Plesner and colleagues wanted to determine the reliability of using an AI tool that can identify normal and abnormal chest X-rays.

Researchers used a commercially available AI tool to analyze the chest X-rays of 1,529 patients from four hospitals in the capital region of Denmark. Chest X-rays were included from emergency department patients, in-hospital patients and outpatients. The X-rays were classified by the AI tool as either "high-confidence normal" or "not high-confidence normal" as in normal and abnormal, respectively.

Two board-certified thoracic (chest) radiologists were used as the reference standard. A third radiologist was used in cases of disagreements, and all three physicians were blinded to the AI results.

Of the 429 chest X-rays that were classified as normal, 120, or 28%, were also classified by the AI tool as normal. These X-rays, or 7.8 % of all the X-rays, could be potentially safely automated by an AI tool. The AI tool identified abnormal chest X-rays with a 99.1% of sensitivity.

"The most surprising finding was just how sensitive this AI tool was for all kinds of chest disease," Dr. Plesner said. "In fact, we could not find a single chest X-ray in our database where the algorithm made a major mistake. Furthermore, the AI tool had a sensitivity overall better than the clinical board-certified radiologists."

According to the researchers, further studies could be directed toward larger prospective implementation of the AI tool where the autonomously reported chest X-rays are still reviewed by radiologists.

The AI tool performed especially well at identifying normal X-rays of the outpatient group at a rate of 11.6%. This suggests that the AI model would perform especially well in outpatient settings with a high prevalence of normal chest X-rays.

"Chest X-rays are one of the most common imaging examination performed worldwide," Dr. Plesner said. "Even a small percentage of automatization can lead to saved time for radiologists, which they can prioritize on more complex matters."

###

"Autonomous Chest Radiograph Reporting Using AI: Estimation of Clinical Impact." Collaborating with Dr. Plesner were Felix C. Mller, M.D., Ph.D., Janus D. Nybing, M.Sc., Lene C. Laustrup, M.D., Finn Rasmussen, M.D., D.M.Sc., Olav W. Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D., Mikael Boesen, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael B. Andersen, M.D., Ph.D.

In 2023, Radiology is celebrating its 100th anniversary with 12 centennial issues, highlighting Radiology's legacy of publishing exceptional and practical science to improve patient care.

Radiology is edited by Linda Moy, M.D., New York University, New York, N.Y., and owned and published by the Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (https://pubs.rsna.org/journal/radiology)

RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research, and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org)

For patient-friendly information on chest X-ray, visit RadiologyInfo.org.



Read the full story at https://www.prweb.com/releases/rsna_ai_accurately_identifies_normal_and_abnormal_chest_x_rays/prweb19209119.htm
Fashion designer, Tess Mann, launches a new website for bridal label, Tess Mann Haute Couture, to showcase the brand for brides-to-be and wedding dress stockists.



The new Tess Mann Haute Couture website was launched to provide brides-to-be and wedding gown stockists a virtual opportunity to view the latest styles from the brand. The Tess Mann Haute Couture brand embodies beauty, uniqueness and stresses individuality for the fashion-forward, sophisticated bride desiring wedding gowns of the highest caliber. Fall in love with the finest silks, jacquards, hand-beading and sophisticated embroidery while relishing in styles exhibiting Parisian and Italian flare.



The website features information about the brand, history of the designer, photos of the latest collections and instructions on how to become a retail stockist. Brides-to-be and retailers are encouraged to use the websites contact form to connect with the designer and staff at Tess Mann Haute Couture.



Im thrilled we researched some of the most interactive and up-to-date programs which afforded my team an opportunity to develop and provide a much more modern, sleek and interactive website. This allows me to showcase my designs with much more clarity, allowing both brides and retailers alike to zoom in on my exquisite embroidery designs and the painstaking hand-beading which is pure perfection. This website is certainly for the bride who appreciates true unique finery, styles out of the ordinary and is ultimately searching for a bridal retailer in her area. Retailers will ascertain the information they need and feel confident in my personal involvement and commitment to excellence in our mutual collaboration and ultimately the success of our businesses, says fashion designer, Tess Mann.



Tess Mann Haute Couture invites the public to explore the new website and check out the latest press and press releases on the press page. Parties interested in featuring the brand in or on media outlets can fill out a form to be connected with the appropriate department. Additionally, those interested in featuring the luxurious gowns found on the website in fashion photography or styled photo shoots can enter requests through the contact form.





About Tess Mann Haute Couture: Tess Mann is the fashion designer behind the Tess Mann Haute Couture and Couture by Tess labels in addition to owning a bridal boutique under the name, Couture by Tess Bridal. Tess has been in the bridal industry since 2013. Prior to her formal entry into the industry, she had been designing since she was a young teenager, however chose a different career path in order to serve her country for over twenty years as a federal officer. In September 2018, Tess became a US Trademark Designer with her designs being protected by the US Patent Office. After serving the Memphis, Tennessee area for a little over six years in the bridal industry, Tess and her husband, Joe, opened Couture By Tess Bridal on 31 W. Broad Street in Cookeville, Tennessee in November of 2019. Tess is also the talk show host of Couture Chats with Tess on Youtube where she interviews fashion, fine arts and event industry professionals in her bridal boutique's parlor.





About Us: Tess Mann Haute Couture is a USA-based bridal gown label designed by Tess Mann in Cookeville, Tennessee, USA.

Contact Info:

Name: Meredith Corning

Email: Send Email

Organization: Tess Mann Haute Couture

Website: https://tessmannhautecouture.com/



Video URL: https://youtu.be/cWwGAs2XlAQ

Release ID: 89091490

If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.
ATLANTA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) Tuesday provided the below statement from its President and CEO, Alan H. Shaw:

"As has now been widely reported, one of our Norfolk Southern colleagues was fatally injured overnight in a tragic accident on the job. Louis Shuster, a conductor from Broadview Heights, Ohio, was struck by a dump truck as his train moved through a rail crossing at the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works facility.

"I went to Cleveland as soon as I heard the tragic news. At our Rockport Yard, I talked with several railroaders who worked with Lou, as he was known. They shared stories about an individual who was respected and liked by his colleagues. This is an awful day that leaves a hole in our company's spirit. We have reached out to Lou's family to offer our condolences. We will give them time to grieve, and we will be there with support for anything they need.

"The cause of the accident is not yet known, and we will of course cooperate fully with the National Transportation Safety Board. In some ways, the cause does not matter. I called together every member of our management team this afternoon to emphasize the urgency of finding new solutions. Tomorrow we will hold safety stand-down briefings reaching every employee across our network.

"Moving forward, we are going to rebuild our safety culture from the ground up. We are going to invest more in safety. This is not who we are, it is not acceptable, and it will not continue."

About Norfolk SouthernSince 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have safely moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-statement-from-norfolk-southern-ceo-alan-shaw-301765140.html

SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation
Roles support enhanced customer experience and stronger communities.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Alabama Power announced leadership changes to enhance the customer experience and build stronger communities.

Alexia Borden has been named senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement.

has been named senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement. Monica Graveline has been elected senior vice president and General Counsel.

has been elected senior vice president and General Counsel. Ashley Robinett has been elected senior vice president of Shared Services.

has been elected senior vice president of Shared Services. Staci Brown Brooks has been elected vice president of Charitable Giving.

has been elected vice president of Charitable Giving. Alex McCrary has been elected vice president of Regulatory Affairs.

The changes are effective immediately.

"This group shares a deep commitment to serving our customers and their communities," said Jeff Peoples, Alabama Power president and CEO. "The expertise and dedication they bring to their roles will help us meet the current and future needs of our customers around the state."

As senior vice president of Customer and Community Engagement, Alexia Borden will oversee Customer Operations and the local community affairs initiatives carried out by Alabama Power's six geographic business divisions. Borden most recently served as senior vice president and General Counsel, and previously as vice president of Governmental Affairs. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Borden was a partner with a law firm in Montgomery and Birmingham.

Borden serves on numerous boards of directors, including the Birmingham Zoo, Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Legal Services of Alabama. She is also a member of the Georgia Tech President's Advisory Board and a member of the Georgia Tech ISyE Advisory Board. She is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Montgomery, the Alabama Leadership Initiative, and Signature Leaders.

Borden received a Bachelor of Science in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law.

As senior vice president and General Counsel, Monica Graveline will provide legal counsel to Alabama Power's management team and oversee ethics and compliance, concerns, legal services, risk services and the corporate secretary's office. Most recently Graveline served as vice president and Deputy General Counsel (West) for Southern Company Services, where she oversaw several legal practice areas including labor and employment, compensation, benefits, environmental, litigation and commercial contracting. Before joining Southern Company in 2011, Graveline was lead employment counsel for an international bank and a partner with a law firm in Birmingham.

Graveline is involved in numerous professional and civic endeavors. She serves as immediate past chair and current advisory board member of the In-House and Government Lawyers Section of the Alabama State Bar and is on the board of directors for Red Mountain Theatre Company.

She received her Bachelor of Arts in political communications from the University of Alabama and a Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law.

As senior vice president of Shared Services, Ashley Robinett will lead the company's Public Relations, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Workforce Development and Safety organizations. Robinett has served as vice president of Public Relations since 2020, overseeing corporate communications and brand management. She spent her early Southern Company career as an engineer working in resource planning and risk analysis with Southern Power and managing strategic environmental issues with Southern Company. More recent past positions include vice president of Corporate Real Estate and area manager in Alabama Power's Birmingham Division. She is a leader on Alabama Power's Council on Culture and Inclusion, which works to ensure that company culture is built on inclusion, respect and fairness for all employees.

Robinett is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham and serves on the boards of directors for the ZeroZero Foundation, Children's Harbor, the Auburn University Alumni Association, and the endowment for McWane Science Center. She is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Birmingham and the International Women's Forum Alabama Chapter.

Robinett earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering with a minor in business from Auburn University.

As vice president of Charitable Giving, Staci Brown Brooks will lead the company's philanthropic, volunteerism and community support initiatives. She most recently served as director of Marketing Communication, where she managed customer segment communications along with the development and implementation of sales and marketing campaigns.

Brooks began her Alabama Power career as a special projects manager in Public Relations, helping launch and grow the Alabama News Center platform. She works on several key company initiatives, including the Council on Culture and Inclusion, and is a mentor for the company's leadership development programs. Prior to joining Alabama Power, Brooks held senior leadership positions at Alabama Media Group.

Brooks is a member of the Vulcan Park and Museum board of directors, the Lawson State Community College Foundation board of directors, the Four Little Girls Memorial Fund Board of Trustees, the YWCA Central Alabama board of directors and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Brooks holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama.

As vice president of Regulatory Affairs, Alex McCrary will be responsible for managing the company's relationship with the Alabama Public Service Commission. Alex replaces Richard Hutto, who is retiring.

Previously McCrary was director of Corporate Affairs, where he was responsible for managing the company's federal legislative strategy as well as developing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders. He began his Southern Company career as an engineering analyst for Southern Power.

Prior to joining Southern Company, McCrary worked in the financial services arena in various capacities for private and public companies.

McCrary serves on the Board of Trustees of Stillman College and on the board of directors of Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and the Alabama State Parks Foundation. He also serves as an appointee of Gov. Kay Ivey to the Alabama Workforce Council.

He received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

About Alabama Power

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to 1.5 million customers across the state. Learn more at www.alabamapower.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alabama-power-announces-leadership-changes-301764971.html

SOURCE Alabama Power
TRENTON, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BioNJ is pleased to host its 13th Annual BioPartnering Conference on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at The Palace at Somerset Park, Somerset, NJ. Back in person after three years, the Conference will bring together life sciences executives, investors, academic collaborators and business development professionals for networking, 1-1 partnering (including in-person on the day of the Conference and virtual partnering throughout the rest of the week), company and start-up pitches, exhibits and plenary sessions.

"We're thrilled to partner once again with J.P. Morgan and Johnson & Johnson Innovation on BioNJ's BioPartnering Conference, and are ecstatic to have Morgan Lewis join this elite group of Conference Partners for 2023. These organizations are dedicated to strengthening the ecosystem and supporting the life sciences industry in bringing new therapies and medicines to Patients," said Debbie Hart, President and CEO, BioNJ.

"With a robust full-day agenda  including a highly anticipated networking reception offering the perfect opportunity to connect with future partners and investors  this year's Conference is on track to be bigger than ever," added Hart. "Last year's program convened over 500 attendees from 18 states as well as the District of Columbia, 11 countries and more than 100 investors looking for new opportunities in which to invest."

The action-packed schedule is designed to foster productive partnerships, create meaningful opportunities, grow the ecosystem and bolster medical innovation. Attendees will hear from and interact with industry thought leaders, such as...

Kathleen Addison , Executive Director, Life Sciences, J.P. Morgan

, Executive Director, Life Sciences, J.P. Morgan Amit Bhalla, M.P.H., MBA , CFO, Sampled

, CFO, Sampled Steve Brugger , Former CEO, Affinivax (Acquired by GSK)

, Former CEO, Affinivax (Acquired by GSK) Samuele Butera , President, US Pulmonary Hypertension and Retina, President, US Pulmonary Hypertension and Retina, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

, President, US Pulmonary Hypertension and Retina, President, US Pulmonary Hypertension and Retina, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson Dana Callow, MBA , Managing Partner, Boston Millennia Partners

, Managing Partner, Boston Millennia Partners Kathleen Coviello , Chief Economic Transformation Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority

, Chief Economic Transformation Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority Mahako Etta , Program Manager, New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology

, Program Manager, New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology Chris Gartin , Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan

, Managing Director, Healthcare Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan Sal Giovine , CFO, Pharmaceutical BD & External Innovation, Johnson & Johnson

, CFO, Pharmaceutical BD & External Innovation, Johnson & Johnson Debbie Hart , President & CEO, BioNJ

, President & CEO, BioNJ Paul Howard, Ph.D. , Senior Director, Public Policy, Amicus Therapeutics

, Senior Director, Public Policy, Amicus Therapeutics Nitin Khanna , CEO, Archer Insights

, CEO, Archer Insights Alan Leeds , Partner, Morgan Lewis

, Partner, Morgan Lewis Rik Mehta , CEO, Lactiga

, CEO, Lactiga Mike Poisel, MS, MBA , Executive Director, Penn Center for Innovation

, Executive Director, Penn Center for Innovation Ravi Raghunathan , Partner, Life Sciences Leader, CohnReznick

, Partner, Life Sciences Leader, CohnReznick John Ritter, JD, MBA , Director, Office of Technology Licensing, Princeton University

, Director, Office of Technology Licensing, Princeton University Phil Ross , Global Chair, Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan

, Global Chair, Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan David Schwartz , Partner, Morgan Lewis

, Partner, Morgan Lewis Gina Tedesco , Managing Director, Golden Seeds

, Managing Director, Golden Seeds Ofra Weinberger, Ph.D. , Director of Licensing, Columbia Tech Ventures; Associate VP, Tech Transfer & Intellectual Property, Columbia University, Columbia Tech Ventures

, Director of Licensing, Columbia Tech Ventures; Associate VP, Tech Transfer & Intellectual Property, Columbia University, Columbia Tech Ventures Michael Wiley, JD, MBA , Vice President, Foundation Venture Capital Group

, Vice President, Foundation Venture Capital Group Marshall Woodworth, CFO, Nevakar

Timely plenary sessions include:

Biotech Industry Overview: Stats, Trends & Lay of the Land

Partnering & Raising Capital -- Best Practices in the Recovering Biotech Sector

Navigating the Journey from Start-Up to Commercialization

Fireside Chat with Dana Callow, Managing Partner, Boston Millennia Partners

The Path to Successful Value Creation and Partnering with Higher Education Institutions and Academic Medical Centers

A Whole New Day at the NJEDA and Beyond: Raising Capital via Government-Supported Programs

Plus, a special session will showcase the winners from BioNJ's Inaugural Health Equity in Clinical Trials MBA Case Competition. On December 3, 2022, eight teams, competing for more than $20,000 in prize money, presented a business plan defining a new solution, application or technology that can be used nationally to strengthen diversity in clinical trials and expand health equity. During this session, attendees will hear from the three winning teams as they present their business plans live. Click here to peruse the resumes of the students from all eight teams.

The program will include a record number of Company and Start-Up Pitches from innovative companies across life science, biotech, healthcare and digital health sectorspresenting companies to be announced in the next two weeks!

Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet and hear from representatives from world-renowned institutions as they discuss the importance of academic-industry collaboration in driving medical innovation forward.

Columbia Technology Ventures at Columbia University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

New York University

Princeton University

Rowan University

Rutgers University

University of Pennsylvania

The Wistar Institute

In addition, attendees can visit the Industry Showcase to learn about valuable resources, products and services available to companies in our BioNJ community:

Amicus Therapeutics

Centri

Cohn Reznick

DLA Piper

Johnson & Johnson Innovation

J.P. Morgan

Marcum

Merck & Co.

Middlesex County

Morgan Lewis

New Jersey Economic Development Authority

New Jersey Health Foundation

RSM

SciSafe

Withum

Worldwide IP Solutions

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Make sure you don't miss this unique opportunity to meet new partners, identify new opportunities and learn new ideas. Click here to register. Registration is $395 for BioNJ Members and $495 for Future Members. Contact Pavita Howe at [email protected] with questions and Cheri Hennessy at [email protected] to learn about Sponsorship and Exhibit opportunities.

Media ContactRandi BrombergSr. Vice President, Communications and MarketingO) 609-890-3185C) 609-955-1067[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bionj-announces-lineup-for-biopartnering-conference-301764824.html

SOURCE BioNJ
Innovative lending approach will deliver flexible, equitable access to working capital at competitive rates

KANSAS CITY, Mo. and SEATTLE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- C2FO, the world's on-demand working capital platform, and the Schultz Family Foundation, founded by Sheri Schultz and Starbucks ceo Howard Schultz, today announced a new initiative designed to provide access to $100 million in working capital for small and diverse businesses. Leveraging unique data from the C2FO platform, the partnership encourages diverse business owners and entrepreneurs to apply for flexible loans at competitive rates that will enable high-potential businesses to grow and expand. Unlike products from banks and alternative lenders, each loan is based on each business's unique potential, including growth and management team, rather than solely on the number of years it has been in business, last year's profit, or last month's accounts receivable balances.

To enable the partnership, the Schultz Family Foundation has invested $10 million from its Entrepreneurs Equity Fund into C2FO's lending program. C2FO will leverage the $10 million investment from the Foundation to expand its existing funding capacity with impact credit firm Community Investment Management, enabling C2FO to expand its existing loan program and deliver an additional $100 million in projected loans in the next year.

The joint initiative from C2FO and the Schultz Family Foundation recognizes that diverse-owned businesses are powerful vehicles for fostering a more inclusive economy, creating jobs and building wealth in historically marginalized communities. Yet, despite their immense potential, many face persistent economic structural inequities and barriers.

Access to capital, particularly access to competitively priced and flexible capital, has long been the primary impediment to the growth of diverse businesses. Thus, increasing access to working capital, in particular, enables businesses to expand their day-to-day operations without diluting diverse business owners' equity ownership.

"America's future rests on our entrepreneurial fire. But in recent years, the spark within many entrepreneurs has struggled to find the oxygen to burn bright. The causes are many: predatory practices, lack of access to capital and social networks, the need for learning and community, and the systemic failures that lead some to not even try," said Howard Schultz, Schultz Family Foundation co-founder and Starbucks ceo. "Providing working capital to help diverse businesses meet customer demand and scale has enormous potential to be a powerful economic catalyst for the country as a whole and historically marginalized communities in particular."

"We are proud to partner with the Schultz Family Foundation. This is a fabulous opportunity for our two organizations to support small and diverse-owned businesses in a big way," said Alexander "Sandy" Kemper, founder and CEO of C2FO. "We know that when businesses have equitable access to the capital they need  when a financial system is truly inclusive  we all win. Our partnership with the Foundation will increase the number of loans we are able to give, supporting even more businesses than ever with easy, equitable and flexible access to capital."

C2FO's partnership with the Schultz Family Foundation is based on each organization's mutual commitment to diverse-owned businesses. C2FO's mission is to ensure every business has the capital needed to thrive. The company delivers on its mission through a suite of working capital products and services that unlock access to on-demand capital and put control in the business owners' hands.

Because diverse-owned businesses have increasingly incorporated C2FO products and services into their cash management strategy, in 2022, the C2FO platform provided more than $4.7 billion in funding to minority- and women-owned businesses across the United States. This fueled business growth and enabled owners to invest in increased staffing, product or technology expansions, and more.

Partnering with the Schultz Family Foundation is the most recent effort that builds on C2FO's history of creating products and offerings that support businesses through innovative working capital solutions.

Click here for more information about this partnership and the loan application process.

About C2FO

C2FO is the world's on-demand working capital platform, providing fast, flexible and equitable access to low-cost capital to nearly 2 million businesses worldwide. Using patented Name Your Rate technology and a suite of working capital solutions, companies can get paid sooner by the world's largest enterprises  unlocking billions in risk-free capital. With a mission of ensuring that every business has the capital needed to thrive, C2FO has delivered more than $262 billion in funding around the world. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Kansas City, USA, with offices around the globe, C2FO is working to build a better, more inclusive financial system every day. To learn more, visit C2FO.com.

About the Schultz Family Foundation

The Schultz Family Foundation, established in 1996 by Sheri and Howard Schultz, interim CEO and chairman emeritus of Starbucks, creates pathways of opportunity for populations facing barriers to success, focusing on youth transitioning to adulthood and marginalized populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. By investing in scalable solutions and partnerships in communities across the country, the Foundation aims to help tackle the barriers and roadblocks that prevent individuals from reaching their full potential and, in doing so, strengthen our communities and our nation.

The Foundation's Entrepreneurs Equity Fund is a $100 million commitment to invest in diverse businesses as vehicles for fostering a more inclusive economy, creating jobs, and building wealth in historically marginalized communities.

For more information about the Foundation and its work: schultzfamilyfoundation.org.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/c2fo-and-schultz-family-foundation-partner-to-unlock-100-million-in-loans-for-small-and-diverse-businesses-301764086.html

SOURCE Schultz Family Foundation
SYDNEY, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) (DroneShield or the Company) is pleased to announce the successful completion of its Share Purchase Plan (SPP), which follows the $10.9 million Placement, completed on 6 February.

The SPP generated significant support from DroneShield's existing shareholders and substantially exceeded the $3 million the Company targeted via the SPP. DroneShield received SPP applications of $29.4 million at an issue price of $0.30 per Share.

Given the strong support shown by shareholders, the Board exercised its discretion under terms of the SPP and has determined not to scale back applications, in recognition of the long-term support of its investors and to maximise growth opportunities.

The funds will be used to accelerate DroneShield's growth through a faster scale-up of inventory for near-term sales, growth of key parts of the team, and general working capital.

DroneShield's total funds raised under the Placement and SPP are $40.3 million (before costs). Following completion, the Company has a robust balance sheet to accelerate growth with cash of approximately $50 million and no debt.

Oleg Vornik, DroneShield's CEO, commented:

"We are pleased to have received outstanding shareholder support for both the Placement and SPP. The funds will allow us to take advantage of the highly favourable environment for defence and specifically customer demand for counterdrone solutions as witnessed by the Ukraine conflict, as we target 2023 to be a transformative year for DroneShield."

"The SPP proceeds in particular have been significant, and the Board is appreciative of the support from our shareholders. The higher proceeds will enable DroneShield to turbo-charge its growth, more rapidly fulfil anticipated near-term contracts, accelerate its technology development, and enhance its customer engagement. The Company is well-funded to execute its growth objectives."

Following this raise and recent record contract wins, the Company continues to scale its teams in Sydney and Warrenton, with available engineering, operations and other vacancies at www.droneshield.com/open-positions

Media enquiries: [email protected]

About DroneShield:DroneShield provides Artificial Intelligence based platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems. It offers customers bespoke counterdrone (or counter-UAS) and electronic warfare solutions and off-the-shelf products designed to suit a variety of terrestrial, maritime or airborne platforms. Its customers include military, intelligence community, Government, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, and airports globally. More information at www.droneshield.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/droneshield-completes-40-million-capital-raise-with-substantial-investor-support-301764249.html

SOURCE DroneShield Limited
PSEG Long Island urges customers to think twice if someone calls and threatens to immediately shut off their power

[For a short, informational PSEG Long Island video that can be embedded in stories published online, click here.]

UNIONDALE, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This year, March 5-11 marks National Consumer Protection Week, and PSEG Long Island urges customers to understand scammers' tactics and do the right thing if confronted with a demand for payment and a threat of imminent shutoff: Get the truth from the real PSEG Long Island at 1-800-490-0025.

"Consumer Protection Week is a time to help people understand their consumer rights and avoid frauds and scams. PSEG Long Island wants customers to remember one simple thing: If someone threatens to immediately shut off your power, call the number that's printed on your bill to verify before acting," said Lou DeBrino, PSEG Long Island's vice president of Customer Services. "Scammers do everything they can to create the impression of an urgent problem in the hopes that you panic and miss all the clues that they're not who they appear to be. Please be alert to the possibility of a scam, take a moment to think, and then contact us directly using the phone number on your bill if you're still not sure."

More than 2,500 scam calls were reported to PSEG Long Island in 2022. Many of these scammers are demanding immediate payment via web-based electronic payment services. PSEG Long Island does not accept external, web-based electronic payment services (outside of payments through MyAccount) as a method of payment.

What customers should know about payment scams

Scammers impersonating PSEG Long Island most frequently threaten to shut off power immediately unless payment is made.

Many scammers use phone "spoofing" technology to make their number display on your phone as "PSEG Long Island."

PSEG Long Island will never request that customers use one specific method of payment.

Scammers typically want their victims to transfer money via a web-based electronic payment service, a prepaid debit card, or even Bitcoin , sometimes asking people to buy a prepaid card at the nearest convenience store and then to read them the PIN over the phone.

, sometimes asking people to buy a prepaid card at the nearest convenience store and then to read them the PIN over the phone. PSEG Long Island does not accept web-based electronic payment services, prepaid debit cards or Bitcoin as payment.

as payment. Sometimes phone scammers will demand a deposit for a priority meter installation. PSEG Long Island does not require a deposit for meter installations.

If a customer has doubts about the legitimacy of a call or an email  especially one in which payment is requested  they should call the company directly at 1-800-490-0025.

In-person visits

Occasionally, scammers may go door to door impersonating PSEG Long Island employees, flashing a fake ID and/or claiming to be a utility collection representative. The impostors may wear "uniforms" or affix false company signs to their vehicles. The scammers generally ask for personal information, which real utility representatives do not do, or offer bogus discounts. Again, if customers have any doubts, they should not let the person in, and should call 1-800-490-0025 to verify.

PSEG Long Island employees must carry a company ID and present it when requested. If customers have doubts, do not let the person into the house and call 1-800-490-0025 to have a customer service representative verify that an employee has been dispatched to the location. An actual PSEG Long Island employee will respect the customer's decision and remain outside. If the person escalates their efforts to enter the home, customers should consider calling 911.

Fake websites

Some scammers purchase web domains that closely resemble the actual URL of a utility and create a fraudulent replica of the legitimate website. Their plan is to dupe users who click on these fake sites via search results, or type in an inaccurate web address. Once on the spoofed site, a visitor is presented a number of bill payment options, all pointing back to an outside bill pay site.

PSEG Long Island always uses the ".com" domain. Its real website can be found at www.psegliny.com.

How actual PSEG Long Island reps handle phone calls

Customers should also know what PSEG Long Island will and won't discuss over the phone. A genuine PSEG Long Island representative will ask to speak to the Customer of Record. If that person is available, the representative will explain why they are calling and provide the account name, address and current balance. If the person on the phone does not provide the correct information, it is likely the customer is not speaking with a PSEG Long Island representative.

If the Customer of Record is not available, the PSEG Long Island representative will not discuss the account at all and ask that a message be left for the Customer of Record to call 1-800-490-0025.

PSEG Long Island is a member of the Utilities United Against Scams (UUAS) collaborative. UUAS, a consortium of more than 145 U.S. and Canadian electric, water, and natural gas utilities and their respective trade associations, has helped to create awareness of common and new scam tactics and to cease operations of nearly 5,000 toll-free numbers used against utility customers by scammers.

For more information on various payment scams reported in the PSEG Long Island service area and around the country, visit https://www.psegliny.com/myaccount/customersupport/scamsandfraud.

PSEG Long Island

PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority's transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.

Visit PSEG Long Island at:

www.psegliny.comPSEG Long Island on FacebookPSEG Long Island on InstagramPSEG Long Island on TwitterPSEG Long Island on LinkedInPSEG Long Island on YouTubePSEG Long Island on Flickr

Media Relations PSEG Long Island 333 Earle Ovington Blvd Uniondale, NY 11553

Contact: Media Relations Pager516.229.7248[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/for-consumer-protection-week-get-to-know-the-telltale-signs-of-a-scam-301764843.html

SOURCE PSEG Long Island
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oakworth Capital Bank (OTCQX: OAKC) acted as servicer and sole agent for a senior secured credit facility that supports the Navis Clinical Laboratories purchase of the clinical laboratory business of Cordant Health Solutions. Proceeds from the financing were used to fund the acquisition, as well support Navis' ongoing working capital needs.

"We are fortunate to have Oakworth as a key advisor and banking partner as we build our lab company."

Oakworth Commercial Banking Advisor Terrell Taylor organized the team on behalf of the bank. Taylor's long-tenured experience in serving the healthcare industry played a key role in providing Navis with a seamless, easy experience, based on expert advice.

"This transaction displays Oakworth's unique ability to leverage our healthcare expertise and streamlined diligence and credit process to help provide debt capital to companies like Navis," said Taylor. "We are pleased to invest in such a strong and experienced management team that possesses a great reputation and track record of success in the lab space."

Navis President and CEO Richard Stripp, Ph. D. added, "At the onset, Oakworth assured us of their ability to move quickly and showed real flexibility during negotiations and closing. We appreciate the efficient and transparent way in which Oakworth worked with us. We are fortunate to have them as a key advisor and banking partner as we build our lab company."

Navis, headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., provides innovative solutions tailored for healthcare providers who treat patients with substance use disorder, chronic pain, mental health conditions and other chronic health conditions. Its proprietary, patented medication-monitoring tool, CORE (Comprehensive Oral Fluid Rx Evaluation), uses saliva samples to help providers determine if medication is present at a steady-state level consistent with the prescribed dosing regimen or if there are metabolic or health issues that need more investigation. The company currently has three laboratories located in New York, Massachusetts and Washington and serves clients throughout the United States.

About Oakworth Capital BankOakworth Capital, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Oakworth Capital Bank (OTCQX: OAKC). Oakworth was founded in 2008 and operates three offices in the Southeast, including its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama and plans to open a fourth office in 2023. Oakworth provides commercial and private banking, wealth management and advisory services to clients across the United States.

Oakworth has been named the #1 "Best Bank to Work for" for the past five years in a row (2018-2022) by American Banker. Additionally, Oakworth has earned a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 96 out of 100 (January 2022 to January 2023) and has a client retention rate of 95% in 2022. As of Dec. 31, 2022, Oakworth had $1.3 billion in total assets, $974 million in gross loans, $1.2 billion in deposits and $1.8 billion in wealth and trust assets under management. For more information, visit www.oakworth.com.

About Navis Clinical LaboratoriesNavis Clinical Laboratories (navisclinical.com) is committed to providing cutting-edge toxicological, molecular and clinical laboratory testing solutions for healthcare providers in the behavioral health, mental health, chronic pain management and addiction treatment spaces, as well as for hospitals and health systems, to increase patient access to whole-person healthcare and improve overall health and well-being.

For more information contact: Sonia BlumsteinPhone: 205.271.2017 Email: [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oakworth-capital-bank-finances-facility-supporting-navis-clinical-laboratories-purchase-of-lab-business-301765136.html

SOURCE Oakworth Capital Bank
MobileFuse LLC finishes first in Q4 2022 Mobile rankings, while Sharethrough takes the top spot for the Web Seller Trust Index

LONDON, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pixalate, the global market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising, today released the Q4 2022 Seller Trust Indexes  including the Connected TV Seller Trust Index, Mobile Seller Trust Index, and Web Seller Trust Index.

Pixalate's Seller Trust Indexes are the worldwide standards in programmatic advertising quality ratings. The indexes evaluate and rank the quality and integrity of key sellers in the programmatic supply chain across channels, platforms, and devices. STI rankings are based on a variety of seller factors.

Ranking programmatic sellers across CTV, Mobile, and Websites

CTV Seller Trust Index: Global seller quality ratings and rankings for programmatic advertising sold on Roku, Amazon, and Samsung devices

Global seller quality ratings and rankings for programmatic advertising sold on Roku, Amazon, and Samsung devices Mobile Seller Trust Index: Global seller quality ratings and rankings based on programmatic mobile in-app advertising

Global seller quality ratings and rankings based on programmatic mobile in-app advertising Web Seller Trust Index: U.S and International seller quality ratings and rankings based on programmatic desktop and mobile web advertising

Q4 2022 CTV Seller Trust Index - Top Performers

Here are the top five global sellers of programmatic CTV advertising inventory based on overall quality in Q4 2022 by device:

Roku

FreeWheel  Final Score: 87 (A) Magnite  Final Score 86 (A) EMX  Final Score: 85 (B) Thirdpresence Ltd  Final Score: 82 (B) OpenX  Final Score: 81 (B)

Amazon Fire TV

Index Exchange  Final Score: 92 (A) EMX  Final Score 88 (A) OpenX  Final Score: 88 (A) TripleLift Inc.  Final Score: 88 (A) FreeWheel  Final Score: 86 (A)

Samsung

FreeWheel  Final Score: 90 (A) Unruly  Final Score: 88 (A) Magnite  Final Score: 87 (A) OpenX  Final Score: 86 (A) EMX - Final Score: 86 (A)

Q4 2022 Mobile Seller Trust Index - Top Performers

Here are the top five global sellers of programmatic mobile in-app advertising inventory based on overall quality in Q4 2022:

MobileFuse LLC  Final Score: 91 (A) BeachFront  Final Score: 89 (A) OpenX  Final Score: 89 (A) IronSource  Final Score: 89 (A) VRTCAL  Final Score: 87 (A)

Q4 2022 Web Seller Trust Index - Top Performers

Here are the top five sellers of programmatic desktop/mobile web advertising inventory in the U.S. based on overall quality in Q4 2022:

Sharethrough  Final Score: 87 (A) Sovrn  Final Score: 87 (A) Index Exchange  Final Score: 85 (B) Yahoo  Final Score: 85 (B) OpenX  Final Score: 83 (B)

Please visit Pixalate's Seller Trust Index to learn more.

About Pixalate

Pixalate is the market-leading fraud protection, privacy, and compliance analytics platform for Connected TV (CTV) and Mobile Advertising. We work 24/7 to guard your reputation and grow your media value. Pixalate offers the only system of coordinated solutions across display, app, video, and CTV for better detection and elimination of ad fraud. Pixalate is an MRC-accredited service for the detection and filtration of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) across desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and CTV advertising. www.pixalate.com

Disclaimer

The content of this press release, and the Seller Trust Indexes (collectively, the "Indexes"), reflect Pixalate's opinions with respect to factors that Pixalate believes may be useful to the digital media industry. As cited in the Indexes, the ratings and rankings in the Indexes are based on a number of metrics and Pixalate's opinions regarding the relative performance of each seller with respect to the metrics. The data is derived from buy-side, predominantly open auction, programmatic advertising transactions, as measured by Pixalate. The Indexes examine global advertising activity across the globe, in the U.S., and in North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, respectively. Any insights shared are grounded in Pixalate's proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources in the Indexes and herein should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate's opinions are just that, opinions, which means that they are neither facts nor guarantees; and neither this press release nor the Indexes are intended to impugn the standing or reputation of any person, entity or app.

Media Contact:[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pixalate-releases-q4-2022-seller-trust-indexes-and-ssp-market-share-rankings-freewheel-tops-rankings-for-roku-samsung-ctv-app-stores-301763899.html

SOURCE Pixalate
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) made the first-ever measurement of heavy atomic oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere. Measurements of heavy oxygen have implications on climate change, atmospheric science, and potential future exoplanet studies. The results were published in Physical Review Research.

Heavy oxygen is so called because it has 10 neutrons, rather than the normal eight of "main" oxygen, the form we breathe. Heavy oxygen is seen as a signature of biological activity, common in the lower atmosphere. Both forms are byproducts of photosynthesis, but main oxygen is consumed by the respiration of living things more than its heavy counterpart, leaving a larger concentration of heavy oxygen behind.

Little is known, however, about how this abundance of heavy oxygen permeates from the location of its creation near the ground into higher regions of the atmosphere. With its high spectral resolution, SOFIA's GREAT instrument measured the ratio of main to heavy oxygen in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, making the first spectroscopic detection of heavy oxygen outside a laboratory.

"It's tracing biological activity  that's well-proven," said Helmut Wiesemeyer, a scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy and lead author. "So far, the altitude to which this signature extends was thought to be 60 kilometers [around 37 miles]  so, barely the lower part of the mesosphere  and the question was, does it reach higher altitudes? And if it does, because there are no living organisms up there, the only way to reach higher altitudes would be an efficient vertical mixing."

In other words, the only explanation for large concentrations of heavy oxygen in these regions is the upward and downward motion of air, which can have important implications for climate change.

Measuring heavy oxygen is complex because it looks so similar to main oxygen. From up in the stratosphere, SOFIA could separate the two against a lunar backdrop: the Moon's brightness enabled the highest sensitivity to these hard-to-distinguish features.

This allowed the researchers to measure the main-to-heavy oxygen ratios up to 200 kilometers in the atmosphere. The results ranged from a 382 to 468 factor difference in the two types of oxygen, similar to the ratio on the ground.

"There are processes that are altering these ratios. For Earth, this process is oxygenic life," Wiesemeyer said  though there are other potential chemical explanations to be considered as well.

Wiesemeyer and his collaborators were very conservative in their uncertainty estimates, so they cannot completely attribute their heavy oxygen measurements to biology. Solar wind, for example, can also deliver heavy oxygen to Earth, but it is unlikely to make such a large contribution.

This pilot study measuring the balance between the two forms of oxygen proves a technique that atmospheric scientists could use to study vertical mixing. The study's findings can also help better define a biologically relevant boundary of Earth's atmosphere.

More ambitiously, future instruments that may be sensitive to various oxygen signatures can potentially use similar techniques to measure oxygen ratios in exoplanets. A combination of high oxygen abundances with an understanding of the vertical mixing on these exoplanets could indicate biological activity  though the group warns such a study would require huge sensitivities that current technologies do not have.

"The idea is to first understand what happens in front of your own door before you go into deeper studies elsewhere," Wiesemeyer said.

These observations are too low for even low-orbit satellites, but too sensitive to be done from the ground. Stratospheric balloon-based observations may be able to offer potential follow-up studies in the future.

About SOFIA

SOFIA was a joint project of NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR. DLR provided the telescope, scheduled aircraft maintenance, and other support for the mission. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley managed the SOFIA program, science, and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association, headquartered in Washington, DC and the German SOFIA Institute at the University of Stuttgart. The aircraft was maintained and operated by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703, in Palmdale, California. SOFIA achieved full operational capability in 2014 and concluded its final science flight on Sept. 29, 2022.

About USRA

Universities Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology and engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities and conducts other major research and educational programs. USRA engages the university community and employs in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and development, and project management expertise. More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

 2023 Universities Space Research Association425 3rd Street SW, Suite 950, Washington DC, 20024

PR Contact:Suraiya Farukhi[email protected]443-812-6945

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sofia-makes-first-detection-of-heavy-oxygen-in-earths-upper-atmosphere-301764517.html

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association
ORRVILLE, Ohio, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The J.M. Smucker Co. today announced the Officer elections of Gail Hollander, Chief Marketing Officer; Robert Crane, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization; Tim Wayne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Away From Home, Canada and International; and Angie Burick, Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller.

"These leadership updates reflect our commitment to evaluate our organizational structure, as necessary, to ensure the continued advancement of our organization and that we execute with excellence," said Mark Smucker, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am confident these leaders will help drive the continued progress of our strategy and support the growth and development of our talented teams."

Marketing and Commercial Organization Leadership

The Company's marketing and commercial leadership updates reflect its commitment to build upon the momentum of its commercial organization, supporting continued brand share growth and category leadership.

Hollander will assume the Chief Marketing Officer role, effective April 10, following a 20-year career at Publicis Groupe, the third largest communications firm in the world, where she most recently served as President, Groupe Client Lead. As president, Hollander led Publics' client relationship with Smucker, including overseeing the successful introduction of an innovative model to bring together talent from across Publicis' diverse roster of agencies to create multi-functional teams in collaboration with the Company's broad marketing leadership and dedicated teams. The new model supported an infusion of creativity and a data-focused approach that has refreshed the Company's key brands and made them more relevant to today's consumers.

With her previous experience and familiarity with the business, brands and processes, Hollander will support a continued commitment to delivering bold, breakthrough creative and leveraging sophisticated media modelling to deliver efficient and effective reach through the Company's advertising investment. Hollander will report to Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Smucker.

Crane has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization, effective March 13, following his leadership of the Company's Pet sales division. He brings nearly 20 years of experience highlighted by sales leadership roles of increasing responsibility with the Company. In his new role, Crane will oversee the Company's sales and commercialization functions to ensure successful collaboration with customers, promoting continued productivity and category growth. Crane will report to Chief Operating Officer, John Brase.

Away From Home, Canada and International Leadership

Wayne has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager, Away From Home, Canada and International, effective March 13.

He brings more than 32 years of CPG industry leadership experience, most recently leading the Company's Away From Home division, spearheading the successful recovery of the business following the significant impacts of the pandemic. In his new role, Wayne will oversee the execution of the dedicated strategies for each business area.

Finance Organization Leadership

To ensure continued alignment between M&A activities and financial priorities, the Company has announced that oversight of corporate development and M&A will transition under Chief Financial Officer, Tucker Marshall.

In light of Burick's scope of responsibilities and Marshall's expanded role, Burick has been promoted to the new role of Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller, effective March 13.

Burick has held a series of finance leadership roles with the Company over the past 20 years, most recently serving as Vice President, Corporate Controller. In her new role, Burick will ensure coordination between the finance organization and the strategic business areas to deliver monthly, quarterly and annual financials.

About The J.M. Smucker Co.

At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse portfolio of brands available across North America. We are proud to lead in the Coffee, Consumer Foods, Dog Snacks and Cat Food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day including Folgers, Dunkin', Cafe Bustelo, Jif, Smucker's Uncrustables, Smucker's, Milk-Bone and Meow Mix. Through our unwavering commitment to producing the highest quality products, operating responsibly and ethically and delivering on our Purpose, we will continue to grow our business while making a positive impact on society. For more information, please visit jmsmucker.com.

The J.M. Smucker Co. is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin' which is a trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. The Dunkin' brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Co. for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and drug stores. This information does not pertain to products for sale in Dunkin' restaurants.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-jm-smucker-co-announces-leadership-updates-301764980.html

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Co.
BERWYN, Pa., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph Group (TRIUMPH) [NYSE:TGI] announced that its Actuation Products & Services business in France has been awarded a development contract from Kopter, a Leonardo Company. The contract includes the manufacturing of the Kopter AW09 main and tail rotor control cables utilizing TRIUMPH's industry leading flexball cable design.

"As manufacturer of the only flexball control cable designed, qualified and certified for helicopter flight controls, we are excited to collaborate with Kopter to deliver a precision, flexible, low maintenance system for the AW09 helicopter," said Mike Boland, President of TRIUMPH Actuation Products & Services.

Kopter, a Leonardo Company since April 2020, is developing a new generation of single turbine helicopter  The AW09  that delivers best in class performance, the largest cabin and cargo volumes, outstanding modularity, and modern systems. The AW09 helicopter is designed for mission accomplished, from the most demanding to the everyday.

TRIUMPH Actuation Products & Services is a leader in design, development, manufacture and support of complex electro-hydraulic and mechanical systems and equipment for the aerospace and defense industry. Products include actuators, pumps, motors, reservoirs, control valves and a wide range of mechanical controls for commercial and military aircraft. Our Actuation Products & Services business services customers around the world with ten manufacturing sites across North America and Europe.

TRIUMPH, headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs, and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems, and components. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators. More information about TRIUMPH can be found on the company's website at www.triumphgroup.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/triumph-receives-award-for-main-and-tail-rotor-controls-301765099.html

SOURCE Triumph Group
Visit Zendure at Intersolar Middle East Energy(Booth CB.91)

DUBAI, UAE, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zendure, one of the fastest-growing clean energy tech startups, reveals its latest portable, solar power solution SuperBase V at Intersolar Middle East Energy(Dubai) from March 7-9, 2023.

Zendure SuperBase V, is the first modular, portable power station with semi-solid state batteries to provide more reliable, safer, cleaner energy from RV and off-grid living to EV charging, to whole-home power and emergency backup. By combining the SuperBase V, extended satellite batteries, smart house panels, EV chargers, solar panels, and the ZEN+ intelligent cloud platform, Zendure provides a comprehensive energy storage system that is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional gas-powered generators.

"After attending Intersolar North America, I was able to meet and talk with some of the most influential people in the energy storage industry," said Bryan Liu, Zendure CEO. "Everyone was actively sharing their impressive visions for the long-term success of clean/solar energy, which inspired me and sparked some new ideas for Zendure's product development. Intersolar Middle East Energy should be another great learning experience for me."

SMART, WHOLE-HOME POWER

SuperBase V features industry-leading semi-solid-state batteries, which boast a higher energy density and greater damage resistance than lithium-ion phosphate batteries. Power is customizable and expands from 6.4kWh to 64kWh, meaning the right set-up can store enough energy to power a typical household for a week or more.

As the first and only system that can supply 120V/240V dual voltage from a single base unit, SuperBase V can charge small and large appliances simultaneously, including refrigerators, heating and cooling systems, oven, and more at the same time. And when the unexpected happens, SuperBase V's backup power switches on instantly without interruption, preventing damage or disruption to sensitive equipment.

SuperBase V also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home systems for intuitive, convenient voice control. The Zendure app also gives users tools to monitor, manage and customize energy use, which can significantly reduce the energy bill.

EV CHARGING AT HOME OR ON-THE-GO

Zendure also has EV charging capabilities at home and on-the-go. With up to 12,000W of power distribution, the Home Panel can charge two vehicles at the same time and provide AC power to up to ten circuits around the house. Portable level 2 EV charging also supports public power station input, and the SuperBase V paired with a battery pack adds an extra 40 miles to keep drivers moving between pit stops.

Each base station comes with a variety of hook-ups and 14 ports, including AC, USB-A and USB-C and a 12V car outlet for limitless power possibilities. It's also equipped with a pull-out handle and motorized wheels for easier portability around homes and on-the-go.

To meet with Zendure or schedule a demo, SuperBase V, SuperBase Pro and SuperBase M on site at Intersolar Dubai please contact Chris Chiu at [email protected].

More information can be found at Zendure.com (Affiliate: ShareASale).

ABOUT ZENDUREZendure is one of the fastest-growing Clean Energy Tech start-ups based in the technology hubs of Silicon Valley in California, and the Greater Bay Area in China, as well as Japan. Zendure's goal is to make energy accessible anywhere, anytime, and to democratize the latest battery technology to power on-grid and off-grid lifestyles alike in a clean and affordable way. To learn more visit Zendure.com and follow Zendure on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zendure-showcases-its-portable-solar-power-solutions-at-intersolar-middle-east-energy-301763326.html

SOURCE Zendure USA Inc.
The Air Force has disconnected foam firefighting systems at more than 1,000 facilities over concerns about cancer-causing chemicals, according to the services Installation and Mission Support Center.

Congress gave the Department of Defense an Oct. 1, 2024, deadline to stop using aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, to fight fires when it passed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

So far, the Air Force has shut down AFFF firefighting systems at 1,038 facilities out of 1,095 that were equipped with the foam, center spokesman Mark Kinkade said in an email to Stars and Stripes on Monday.

The foam contains PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to an increased risk of certain tumors of the liver, testicles, breasts and pancreas, according to the American Cancer Society.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in June said no level of PFAS is safe in drinking water. The synthetic compounds accumulate in the body over time, according to the agency.

The Air Force is shutting down AFFF fire-suppression systems at all its hangars except four mission critical facilities where AFFF systems will remain in place, according to a Friday statement by Air Force Materiel Command.

Those hangars support the presidential aircraft fleet, including Boeing 747 airliners, call sign Air Force One, modified for presidential transport at Joint Base Andrews, Md., as well as Marine Corps helicopters, Kinkade said.

Removing the fire suppression systems reduces the risk of mission-related impacts on drinking water, Michael Six, Air Force Civil Engineer Center chief fire protection engineer, said in the Materiel Command statement.

The health of our Airmen, families and community partners is a top priority, he said. Eliminating AFFF from our hangar systems is one more way we are honoring our commitment to the total Air Force team.

The affected hangars are being converted to water-only sprinkler systems, according to the statement.

The Air Force Innovation Lab at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is researching alternatives for future fire suppression systems, the statement said.

The lab started testing alternatives in 2015, Bridgett Ashley, the labs fire and emergency services research lead, said in the statement.

In 2019, we started testing commercial-off-the-shelf alternatives and, to date, have tested 12 fluorine-free foams and are currently testing or have completed testing on three non-foam technologies for hangar applications, she said.

The Air Force is waiting for authorization to start using fluorine-free foam in firefighting vehicles with the change expected by late 2024, Air Force Civil Engineer Center division chief Kevin Matlock said in the statement.
An Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy was damaged in a recent training accident at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, where the behemoth transport aircraft was towed into a light pole.

Members of the 734th Air Mobility Squadron were using the Super Galaxy for tow training when its left wing struck a pole on the flight line around 9:20 p.m. March 1, according to an email Tuesday to Stars and Stripes from Amelia Dickson, spokeswoman for the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing.

The aircraft belongs to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., she said. No injuries resulted from the incident, which is under investigation.

The 734th is working to return the aircraft to active service as quickly as possible, Dickson added.

The Super Galaxy, at 247 feet long and 222 feet wide, is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Built by Lockheed Martin, it can carry over 280,000 pounds for 2,150 nautical miles, offload, and then fly another 500 nautical miles before refueling, according to an Air Force fact sheet.
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii  Excavation of soil contaminated by diesel fuel at a Space Force mountaintop observatory on Maui began Thursday after a weeklong delay due to heavy winds and rain.

The work plan for the excavation, approved by the Hawaii Department of Health, calls for an initial phase during which up to 200 cubic yards of earth will be dug up at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, the Air Force said in a news release Friday.

About 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled Jan. 29 at the site, which sits atop the 10,000-foot summit of Haleakala, a dormant volcano.

The spill came from a malfunctioning float in the fuel tank for the sites generator that is used during power outages of the grid. Officials believe the float was damaged by a lightning strike.

The Space Force uses several telescopes in the complex to track satellites and space debris.

Samples of the soil will be sent for testing to determine that it has been excavated to a depth that captures all the diesel fuel, the Air Force said.

All the soil from those test samples, as well as the mass of earth removed, will be stored, cleaned and returned to the ground, according to the approved plan.

Hawaiians regard Haleakalas summit as sacred and that no soil or stones should be removed from the site.

We recognize the cultural significance and sensitivity of the site and are working closely with native Hawaiian organizations and various governmental agencies as we carefully work through our remediation plan, Col. Marc Brock, commander of Space Delta 2, said in the release.

The Maui-based 15th Space Surveillance Squadron, which operates the complex, is part of Space Delta 2.

The excavation is being done by U.S. Ecology, a hazardous-material remediation firm with a branch in Hawaii.

The Space Force consulted local Hawaiian cultural and community groups in the wake of the spill, mindful of backlash against the Navy for a fuel spill in late 2021 that contaminated groundwater near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

That jet fuel leak on Oahu came from the Navys World War II-era Red Hill underground fuel storage facility and led to the temporary relocation of thousands of residents living in military communities on and near the joint base.

Last fall, while Navy officials were prepping the Red Hill tanks for the sites permanent closure, toxic firefighting foam was accidently released at the facility.
Mediterranean Sea, August 1975: Precision parking was a priority on the tightly packed flight deck of the USS Forrestal. After the planes zoomed in for a landing, they were fitted, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, into a tight pattern. The Forrestal had recently been redesignated as multipurpose aircraft carrier CV 59 (from attack aircraft carrier CVA 59).

Looking for Stars and Stripes historic coverage? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
TOKYO  The family of a girl who folded paper cranes in hopes of surviving leukemia after the 1945 Hiroshima bombing hopes to add her story to UNESCOs world memory program.

Yuji Sasaki, whose aunt Sadako Sasaki died at age 12 as a result of radiation exposure from the atomic blast, said the family plans to apply for the UNESCO Memory of the World next year. They hope to have Sadakos items, including some of her famous origami cranes, registered by 2025, in time for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

We need to rush to make sure that we tell what happened in the past to the future generation, Sasaki, vice chairman of Sadako Legacy, a nonprofit organization set up by Sadakos family, told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

Her family hopes that items connected to Sadako will relay to future generations the tragedy of WWII and the atomic bombing as the generation that experienced them disappears, Yuji Sasaki said.

Sadako was in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb used in war. Sadako, age 2 at the time, developed leukemia at age 10 and died at age 12.

She spent eight months in a Hiroshima hospital, where she folded origami cranes. Japanese tradition holds that someone who folds 1,000 cranes will have their get-well wish fulfilled.

Her story became a symbol of peace and denuclearization around the world.

Sasaki compared Sadakos story to that of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl whose diaries of her days hiding from the Nazis during WWII are registered with UNESCOs Memory of the World Program.

The program aims to promote preservation of the worlds documentary heritage, particularly in areas affected by conflict and/or natural disaster, according to the UNESCO website.

Sasaki said the story of his aunts paper cranes, like Franks diaries, has spread around the world.

We want to register her story for Memory of the World, so it can be a symbol for world peace just like Anne Frank, he said.

The Sasaki family is in the planning stage, but they are thinking of registering items displayed at the Hiroshima Peace Museum, such as the paper cranes that Sadako folded, her medical record while she was fighting leukemia, a memo she wrote on her test results and a list of donors who helped build The Childrens Peace Monument, inspired by Sadakos death.

Her nephew said the foundation wants to jointly apply for the UNESCO list with the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, which displays Sadakos paper cranes donated by the Sadako Legacy. Trumans grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel, shares the same vision of reconciliation of feelings for both U.S. and Japanese people, Sasaki said.

Today, visitors can see paper cranes folded by people around the world wishing for world peace that are displayed at the Children's Peace Monument at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Its quite sobering to see this sort of tangible action being taken by such young people, Kate Chapman, visiting from Australia, told Stars and Stripes on Tuesday at the park.

After visiting the museum, I had a lot of emotions come up, not happy ones, but this makes me feel hopeful and happy, Carolina Dicksinson, visiting from California, said Tuesday. I think that it is great that the children are involved with this, and it helps them remember why they are doing this, so it continues history through a positive tactile sensation for them.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  An American bomber escorted by South Korean fighters flew west of the Korean Peninsula on Monday, the latest in a series of airpower drills that North Korea deemed muscle flexing.

The B-52H Stratofortress out of Barksdale Air Force Base, La., flew alongside South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles and KF-16s over the Yellow Sea to display the two countries critical and overwhelming capabilities  to deter and respond to North Koreas advancing nuclear and missile threats, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Monday.

The flights demonstrated a combined defense capability and providing extended deterrence in the defense of the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Forces Korea said in its own statement that day.

The U.S. and South Korea have routinely launched bomber escort missions around the peninsula to answer North Koreas roughly 75 missile tests, a one-year record, in 2022.

The communist regime has made three ballistic missile tests so far this year; it most recently fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Feb. 20.

North Koreas Foreign Ministry called Mondays bomber escort mission a reckless military provocation and worrying muscle-flexing, according to a statement Tuesday in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The recent joint air drill  clearly shows that the U.S. scheme to use nuclear weapons against [North Korea] is being carried forward at the level of an actual war, the Norths Foreign Ministry said. "The danger of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula is turning from an imaginary stage to a realistic one due to the irresponsible deeds of the U.S. and South Korea 

Kim Yo Jong, a senior government official and sister of regime leader Kim Jong Un, said the U.S. interception of a North Korean missile would constitute a clear declaration of war, according to another KCNA statement Tuesday.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries together are monitoring North Korea and report no unusual troop movements, a spokesman for South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a news conference Tuesday in Seoul. South Korean officials customarily speak to the media on the condition of anonymity.

The bomber drills were held as the U.S. and South Korea prepare to begin Freedom Shield, a large-scale joint exercise that runs March 13-23.

Although troop figures were not disclosed by the two countries, the Souths defense ministry said it will be the largest exercise in years and include personnel from U.N. Command and the Combined Forces Command.
CAMP COURTNEY, Okinawa  The Marine Corps first-to-fight force in the Pacific made history Tuesday when a woman became its senior enlisted Marine.

Sgt. Maj. Joy Kitashima replaced Sgt. Maj. Eric Cook as sergeant major of III Marine Expeditionary Force during a relief-and-appointment ceremony at Courtneys parade grounds.

Kitashima, a native of Bloomington, Ind., is the first female Marine to fill the role in a Marine expeditionary force.

This is Kitashimas fourth tour on Okinawa. Speaking to several hundred Marines standing at attention on the field and in the audience, she said she was excited to be home.

Youre the very reason Im excited to be back in III MEF, she said. I will give everything I have, 100%, for as long as I serve in this capacity.

The III MEF sergeant major is the chief enlisted adviser to force commander Lt. Gen. James Bierman.

III MEF, based at Courtney, consists of 27,000 Marines and sailors at camps and air stations on Okinawa, on main-island Japan and in Hawaii.

Its a force in readiness capable of responding to a crisis or taking up major combat operations, according to the III MEF website.

About 200 Marines from III MEF commands, such as the 3rd Marine Division, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and 3rd Marine Logistics Group, stood in formation Tuesday under an unrelenting sun.

There is nobody more ready to partner [with] to lead this MEF than you, Bierman said of Kitashima.

Cook called his replacement the right leader for the job. A career mortarman, he took over as III MEF sergeant major in November 2021 after serving as sergeant major for the 3rd Marine Division. He heads to Marine Corps Forces Pacific at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, to become that units top enlisted leader.

Kitashima enlisted in the Corps in 1996 and trained as a military police officer at Fort McClellan, Ala., and served as a military police officer at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa.

She previously served as a command sergeant major for Marine Corps Installations Pacific, at Camp Foster, Okinawa, and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

Kitashima spoke about womens equality in the service in a Marine video filmed in August 2020 while she was with Marine Corps Installations Pacific.

The diversity of the Marine Corps is what makes the Marine Corps what it is, she said. But, womens equality, its got to mean something, something to our young fathers who have a young girl, a daughter, who want to be able to tell that daughter, You can do anything. You can do anything you want. 
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan  Fifty years have passed since Fleet Air Wing 31 of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force started out as a Cold War anti-submarine force.

Today the wing has a broader mission, including search and rescue, surveillance and training support. Its fleet has grown from five PS-1 flying boats to about 20 aircraft, including EP-3 and P-3 Orions and MCH 101 and CH-101 helicopters.

To mark the anniversary, wing commander Adm. Takuhiro Hiragi welcomed more than 400 guests Saturday to a commemorative ceremony at the Sakura Theater at MCAS Iwakuni, the base south of Hiroshima that the Self-Defense Force shares with the U.S. Marines and Navy.

We have established a position as the only one unit, which cannot be replaced by other units in terms of operating systems and mission content, in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force aviation units, Hiragi said during a speech.

Fleet Air Wing 31 was established as an anti-submarine, flying-boat force at Iwakuni Air Base on March 1, 1973. Since then, the wing, along with Marine Aircraft Group 12 and the Navys Carrier Air Wing 5, has developed a central role for the base in the U.S.-Japan alliance, both in name and reality, Hiragi said.

Today the air wings primary mission is surveillance over the waters surrounding Japan, search and rescue by its distinctive US-2 flying boats and support for anti-aircraft training by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force fleet.

Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda of Iwakuni city also spoke at the anniversary ceremony; guests included MCAS Iwakuni commander Col. Richard Rusnok and aircraft group commander Col. Derek Brannon.

We know that the partnership between Japan and the U.S. is incredibly important in todays world and we have been doing it for a long time, Rusnok told Stars and Stripes at the event. Our partnership with [Fleet Air Wing 31] couldnt be any closer than it is today, and Im looking forward to the next 50 years of what this partnership will bring.

Hiragi cited the wings role as the security environment surrounding Japan is tested by Chinas effort to change the regional status-quo by force. China has also strengthened its cooperation with Russia, which has invaded Ukraine, and heightened tensions around Taiwan by continued naval and air force activity around the island. The security climate surrounding North Korea, too, is more anxious as that country continues to test ballistic missiles, some of which crossed over or splashed down in Japanese territory.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is fundamentally enhancing its maritime defense power with a sense of urgency and persistence, Hiragi said, in order to appropriately deal with various situations by deterring unilateral attempts to change the status-quo by force and challenges to the rule of law.

Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
Two Italian military pilots were killed Tuesday when their planes collided in midair during a training exercise near Rome, Italys air force said.

The Siai Marchetti 208 airplanes from the Aeronautica Militares 60th Wing touched each other in flight. One of them lost a wing and both crashed, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported Tuesday.

One of the planes landed on a street, crashing into a car in what appeared to be a residential area, La Repubblica reported. It was unclear where the other plane went down.

It wasnt stated what time the crash occurred, but the Italian air force announced the pilots deaths on Twitter at about 1 p.m. The collision happened about 15 miles northeast of Rome in the town of Guidonia, the Italian air force said.

The pilots were identified as Lt. Col. Giuseppe Cipriano and Maj. Marco Meneghello, both of the 60th Wing of Guidonia, according to la Repubblica.

The cause of the crash is undetermined, but no one else was injured or killed, according to the Italian air force.

The exercise also involved two other aircraft, which both landed safely, according to La Repubblica.

Several Italian politicians, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, offered sympathies on Twitter.

The death of the two air force pilots who disappeared in the plane crash in Guidonia fills us with pain, Meloni said on her official Twitter account. On behalf of the government, I express deep condolences and closeness to the families, colleagues and the air force. Our prayers go out to them.
Bound for the battlefield, sounding harried and anxious, the Russian soldier placed a hasty phone call  to a Ukraine military hotline.

They say you can help me surrender voluntarily, is that right? asked the serviceman, explaining that he was soon to be deployed near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

When Ukrainian soldiers come, do I just kneel down, or what? Do you promise not to film me while this is happening?

In fluent Russian, the hotline operator calmly assured him hed be given detailed instructions on how to safely lay down his weapon and turn himself in.

When you get to the front lines, just call us right away, she said.

At a crucial juncture in an extraordinarily bloody war, Ukraines military is focused on one task: removing Russian soldiers from the battlefield. But faced with a foe whose ranks are known to be riddled with unwilling fighters, Ukrainian military strategists realized there might be more than one means to that end.

With that, the I Want to Live outreach was born, aimed at providing invading forces with step-by-step information on how to abandon the ranks. Initially run by Ukrainian police, the program has had a ramped-up, military-operated version in place since mid-September.

On Russian-language social media, Ukrainians have spread the word about the programs website, intended as a portal for the surrender-curious or their loved ones. It has attracted more than 13.3 million visits  7.6 million of those from Russian territory, organizers said.

Russian soldiers also provide personal data through a chatbot on the encrypted messaging app Telegram  information Ukrainian authorities use to winnow down those who are serious about turning themselves in. The chatbot, together with the hotline, has drawn nearly 10,000 contacts, according to organizers.

Citing security reasons, Ukrainian officials declined to disclose how many surrenders have been brokered via the program. But hotline operators field calls around the clock from Russians who are soon to be mobilized, are in the midst of being deployed or are already on the battlefield. Callers might be jittery or stoic, defensive or remorseful, coolly businesslike or floridly emotional  sometimes all of those in a single conversation.

So, this is not fake? one Russian soldier asked.

It is not fake, the Ukrainian operator replied.

The 10-member hotline team, all active-duty service personnel with backgrounds in psychology, is tasked with providing callers with clear, concise instructions, while being alert to signs that the outreach might be a probe by Russian intelligence, meant to elicit information about Ukrainian methods and intentions.

However tense the backdrop, those dealing directly with would-be surrenderers try to calm them down, said Vitaly Matvienko, a junior lieutenant who serves as spokesman for the program, which is run by the department for prisoners of war.

Hi, Im listening, goes a typically low-key operator salutation in an audio sampling of recent calls provided by the Ukrainian military. In the recordings made public, callers voices are distorted to shield their identities.

Hotline operators initially worked out of military headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, but were later moved to a secret location because they are now seen as a high-profile potential target, Matvienko said. The military refused to make any operators available for interviews but said they are male and female, a range of ages and all able to chat easily in colloquial Russian.

When it comes to surrenders in the field, both sides are aware that the moment carries enormous risk for all involved, he said.

In general, its a very dangerous process, said Matvienko. But strict protocols, clearly laid out in advance, improve the odds of everyone staying alive.

Russians who want to turn themselves in are told to wave a white cloth, remove the magazines from their guns, point the barrels to the ground and eschew body armor and helmets. They are assured that in the event they want to be sent home in a prisoner swap, their paperwork will reflect that they were captured, not that they gave up voluntarily.

If its a bring-your-own-tank surrender, which happens not infrequently, the turret is to be turned in the opposite direction. If its a group surrender  also a fairly common occurrence, with a Russian squad often fearing retribution from commanders but agreeing to act jointly and surreptitiously  the highest-ranking soldier must identify himself.

If a surrendering soldier runs out of options for separating himself from his unit, the hotline offers help.

We can coordinate with special units that will extract you safe and sound, one operator told a worried caller.

Like so much in this conflict, the I Want to Live program employs both high-tech methods and simple communication tools.

Russians facing deployment can communicate with the Ukrainian side using the Telegram chatbot, and before leaving for the front, theyre urged to procure and hide a basic flip phone  not a smartphone  and use that to call the hotline.

Ukrainians say theyve heard from Russian soldiers already on the battlefield who learned of the hotline by word-of-mouth or from a scrawled-on slip of paper passed from hand to hand.

In Russias battle to subdue Ukraine, now in its second year, one of Moscows greatest advantages is the sheer number of troops it can throw into the fight, Western military analysts say  which is why Ukraine is willing to try novel tactics to reduce those numbers.

In addition to the 190,000 Russian soldiers who took part in the initial multipronged invasion that began in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the mobilization of 300,000 more, many of whom are now in Ukraine. And another major mobilization is expected as Russia seeks to mount a spring offensive.

But despite a more than 2-to-1 Russian advantage in its standing military, Moscows faltering performance has been blamed on troop quality, which has deteriorated as the war goes on. Western military observers consistently cite poor morale, substandard training and shambolic supply practices as key factors in a string of Russian battlefield routs last autumn.

In order to snatch a victory of sorts from the jaws of defeat, Putin must now rely on the overwhelming numbers provided by mass mobilization, analyst Peter Dickinson wrote in a report last month for the Atlantic Council. This is a tried and tested Russian tactic, but it also carries considerable risks.

Deploying thousands of untrained soldiers to fight against battle-hardened and highly motivated Ukrainian troops could result in the kind of carnage that breaks armies, he wrote.

At the start of the invasion, some Russian troops apparently believed they would be welcomed by Ukrainians as liberators. But fierce military resistance, coupled with widespread shows of disdain and defiance from civilians, soon disabused them of that notion.

Last autumns mobilization by Putin prompted a huge exodus of fighting-age men from Russia, with hundreds of thousands settling in Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and other nearby countries to avoid being conscripted.

Western analysts say it has become more widely known within Russia that Moscows commanders have scant regard for the lives and welfare of their own troops.

January and February saw an uptick in Russian-language social media postings about harrowing field conditions and chaotic leadership  accounts widely echoed in months of intercepted calls home from deployed Russian troops.

In mid-February, a British military intelligence assessment said Russian forces were suffering what appeared to be the highest casualty rates since the early weeks of the war  many occurring near the hotly contested town of Bakhmut. While Ukraine has suffered heavy attrition as well, Russia lost exceptionally large numbers of troops and armored vehicles in a failed attempt last month to storm the Ukrainian-held eastern town of Vuhledar  an apparently bungled opening volley in a much-vaunted Russian spring offensive.

Ukrainian officials hope that such setbacks will serve a dual purpose: inflicting a costly defeat, and prompting Russian soldiers to recognize the sometimes suicidal role they are expected to play in human-wave attacks on fortified Ukrainian positions, which have been a recurring feature of recent fighting.

With their own eyes, they see they are nothing more than cannon fodder, Matvienko said. They see one of their comrades being ordered to walk into a minefield to find a path, and he gets blown up, and another is told to go next, and hes blown up too, and on it goes.

Episodes like this, he said, can galvanize a desperate sense of self-preservation.

They realize this is real and not some war movie, he said. And the thought has to occur to them: How do I save myself?

One caller, sounding angry and despairing, used an expletive to describe the prospect of sudden death in battle.

A single mortar shell, and its done, he said. Who needs this war?

2023 Los Angeles Times.

Visit latimes.com .
GROTON, Connecticut (Tribune News Service)  Electric Boat hired 3,700 shipbuilders last year. It wants to hire more than 5,000 this year and just as many every year for decades into the future.

Last spring, it hired a fifth of the University of Connecticut s engineering grads. At the other end of the education pipeline, it is promoting shipbuilding careers in elementary schools, setting its sights on second graders who will join the workforce when EB hopes to hit its peak employment target in 10 years.

My first words to you this morning, President Kevin Graney deadpanned last week to a roomful of political, government and military officials at a breakfast meeting at the Mystic Marriott. EB is hiring.

The nations foremost builder of submarines is, Graney said, in the midst of a once in generation expansion, producing for its principal customer, the U.S. Navy, the ships that will form the front line in a scramble by the U.S. and its allies to catch up with and contain Chinese expansionism.

But one of the challenges emerging from a new shipbuilding boom is a shortage of shipbuilders.

The country is spending more than $13 billion a year on the two new, lethal and virtually undetectable classes of nuclear-powered submarines Electric Boat is building for the Navy, Virginia class attack submarines and the Columbia class ballistic missile submarines.

As construction gears up, there is concern over whether Electric Boat  and the thousands of other manufacturers in the supply chain known as the submarine industrial base  can hire and begin production quickly enough to meet the aggressive construction and delivery schedule on which the Navy says U.S. security depends.

An Australian Connection?

Decades of relatively flat, post-cold war spending that shrunk the U.S. Naval fleet by half has also depleted the ranks of welders, shipfitters and riggers who build ships, as well as the companies that supply them. America hasnt built submarines since 1995 when, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and China not yet a concern, Congress killed the 29-boat Seawolf class after EB built only three boats.

Lay-offs, retirements, industrial outsourcing and the trend toward college also contributed to labor and supply chain shrinkage. Between the 1980s, when EB was booming with work on dozens of Los Angeles and Trident class submarines, and today, the Navy says the manufacturing segment of the U.S. workforce slipped from 35 to 12 percent.

By scouring the northeast for tradesmen and engineers, Electric Boat says it is meeting and will continue to meet the Navys ambitious delivery schedule of two Virginia and one Columbia class submarines a year.

But the labor pool and supply chain could get another test later this month. After more than a year of talks, Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. are expected to roll out details of their September 2021 agreement known as AUKUS, a trilateral security pact in which the Americans and British are committed to helping Australia build a modern, nuclear-powered submarine fleet as another component of the allied effort to contain China.

Australia wants eight, state-of-the-art, nuclear-powered submarines to replace its obsolete fleet of Collins class diesel boats. It has a number of options to do so under AUKUS, while starting the daunting work of opening shipyards and Navy bases and creating its own supply chain and submarine industrial base. One of the more likely options involves buying Virginia class submarines, known as SSNs, from the U.S. EB would make billions on the sales, but experience greater pressure on its construction capacity.

Late last year, two influential members of the Senate Armed Services Committee  Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed and then soon to retire Oklahoma Republican Daniel Inhofe  warned President Joseph Biden against giving submarines to the Australians. In a private letter that was later leaked, the two wrote that given its limited industrial capacity, the U.S. cannot build enough submarines to both defend itself and arm allies.

We are concerned that what was initially touted as a do no harm opportunity to support Australia and the United Kingdom and build long-term competitive advantages for the U.S. and its Pacific allies, may be turning into a zero-sum game for scarce, highly advanced U.S. SSNs, they said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, a leading AUKUS supporter whose district, like Reeds, includes an EB shipyard, pushed back with a letter co-signed by eight bipartisan colleagues on the Seapower subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. They argued that a transfer is needed not only to contain China but as a means of forcing an expansion of U.S. shipbuilding capacity.

These realities should not be viewed as a reason not to pursue US build submarine options in AUKUS but rather as a unique opportunity to leverage the support and resources possible under AUKUS to grow our industrial base to support both US and Australian submarine construction, recognizing that the full fruition of AUKUS over many decades will result in Australias ability to domestically produce nuclear-powered submarines, Courtney and the others wrote..

The Columbias and Virginias

The Virginia as well as the Columbia class submarines are the most sophisticated weapons platforms ever designed. Both classes have such highly evolved quieting technology that they are all but invisible to enemy sonar, allowing them to approach targets or launch points without detection. Their nuclear plants give them unlimited range and ability to remain submerged.

A senior manager on EBs Columbia program called those submarines more technologically complex than NASAs space shuttle. At about $9.15 billion a piece, they cost more than five times as much.

The Columbia is designed as a submerged missile platform. It is 560 feet long, displaces nearly 21,000 tons and launches Trident II missiles from 16 launch tubes. Because of its mobility and ability to conceal itself in the ocean depths, it is considered the most survivable leg of the nations nuclear triad of land, air and sea-based missiles.

It takes about 84 months to build a Columbia. The Navy says it needs 12, which, when complete, will carry about 70 percent of the countrys nuclear arsenal.

The Navy wants to build at least 60 of the smaller Virginia class boats, hunter-killers designed to destroy enemy submarines and surface ships, deliver missiles to land targets, deploy special operations teams, support naval battle groups and carry out intelligence gathering missions.

Early ships in the class were 377 feet long, but follow-on boats are being extended 84 feet to accommodate four vertical launch tubes capable of firing 28 Tomahawk missiles. They take five years to build and cost about $2.8 without missile tubes and $3.5 billion each with them.

Electric Boat designed both classes, but shares about half the Virginia work and a much smaller portion of the Columbia work with the countrys other submarine builder, Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

EBs work is done at its shipyards at the mouth of the Thames River in Groton and at Quonset Point, RI. Between both locations, the company has invested $2 billion in high tech manufacturing improvements, some of which were needed to accommodate the massive new Columbias.

At Quonset Point, hundreds of tons of steel are shaped into cylindrical hull sections, packed with equipment and shipped by barge to Groton, where the sections are completed and welded together.

To assemble the Columbia, EB built a 200,000 square foot structure that sits over the Thames River on more than 500 massive concrete pilings driven into the granite riverbed. Just yards away is a new structure where the modular ship command and control centers will be tested before installation.

EB began work on the first Columbia, the District of Columbia, last year. Graney said it is 30 percent complete and on schedule for delivery to the Navy in 2027. Work on the second, the Wisconsin, starts next year.

Last week, there were four Virginia boats at the Groton yard, either already delivered to the Navy, awaiting delivery or near completion  Vermont, Iowa, Idaho and Hyman Rickover, named for the U.S. Admiral credited with developing the Navys nuclear powered propulsion system.

Between the two classes, the Navy expects delivery of three boats a year from EB and Newport News. As a measure of the complexity of the new submarines, Electric Boat launched 74 diesel submarines during World War II.

Electric Boat said it is meeting the delivery schedule and will continue to do so, although there was a slippage in the Virginia work after a portion of its tight workforce was shifted to the Columbia program when the Navy designated that as the nations top defense priority.

The Columbia class remains our top priority, Adm. John Richardson, the Chief of Naval Operations, has said. It is foundational to our survival as a nation.

The AUKUS trilateral security pact

EB is not talking about how its delivery schedule could be affected if, under AUKUS, its workload increases by a U.S. commitment to provide Australia with Virginia class submarines. Delivery schedules have become increasingly important in the rush to keep up with China, as well as developments in Russian submarine technology and armament.

The question is, can we actually pull it off and how quickly can we pull it off, said Charles Edel, inaugural Australia chair and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Frankly, if Australia doesnt get any submarines until 2040 that doesnt do us much good. And when we think about deterring China, particularly from a Taiwan type of contingency, we need things both in the water, under the water and that fly very fast through the air.

Australia developed the concept behind the AUKUS and pressed the U.S. and Great Britain because of concern over Chinese interference in its domestic affairs. Among other things, China  Australias largest trading partner  staggered the Australian economy by blocking its exports after Australia supported an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus. Over the last three years, Australian polling shows that trust in China plunged from from 52 to 16 percent.

The purpose of AUKUS is to bootstrap Australias outdated diesel submarine force into a credible barrier to the Chinese chiefly through the sharing of closely guarded American nuclear propulsion technology. The U.S. has shared that technology only once before, more than 40 years ago with Great Britain.

The plan, in the long term, is for Australia to create and support its own nuclear fleet by building shipyards, naval bases and the industrial infrastructure for both. In the interim, the U.S., England or some combination or the two would give Australia the range to patrol the western Pacific by providing it with state of the art submarines propelled with U.S. nuclear propulsion systems.

Biden signed AUKUS 18 months ago. Sometime this month, on a date yet to be chosen, he and the prime ministers of Great Britain and Australia will meet and reveal details of how the agreement will work, among them how Australia gets submarines and from whom.

We have made the recognition that China has poured billions of dollars into military modernization and it has really shifted the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region, Edel said. And there has been a decision that we have not kept pace with China nor have our allies and partners and the only way that we are going to remain ahead and create a favorable balance of power is if we can turbo charge out closest allies who are most willing and most capable themselves.

Like everything else concerning new submarine construction, here and in the United Kingdom, questions about who gets to sell subs to Australia have been clouded by who has the capacity to build them.

For months, the Australian press has been dominated by the question. Last weeks headlines suggest a momentum shift from Britain to the U.S. Australian opposition leader and former defense minister Peter Dutton told the Australian Broadcast Corporation that the Virginia is a better boat than the British Astute class nuclear-powered submarines and, whats more, he doubts the United Kingdom, which requires ten years to build an Astute, has the industrial capacity to build submarines for Australia.

The beauty in my mind with the American model of the Virginia class was that it is a proven design, Dutton said. It gave us interoperability with the Americans and there will be more American subs in the Indo-Pacific than British submarines.

Electric Boat recruitment

Anyone in northern New England playing close attention to a televised Red Sox game over the summer, or a Patriots game last fall, probably got a recruitment pitch from Electric Boat. And the company is not only looking far afield for shipyard workers, but far into the future.

We have a program called The boat for kids, said Courtney Murphy, the companys director of talent acquisition, workforce development and compensation.  We go into elementary schools with age appropriate activities that help them understand what kind of work we do.

So we have second graders welding with Cheez Whiz and crackers. We are really trying to capture their interest and help them understand that we are here and build our branding early.

Graney said the shipyard will spend more than $1 billion over the next five years to support the vendors, machine shops, laboratories and others that make up the submarine industrial base supply network in Connecticut. The Navy is spending close to $1 billion more on industrial base here and elsewhere.

There are recruitment efforts in high schools, trade schools and community colleges across the state with free training for anyone who wants to work.

State government is exploring ways to create housing in the tight southeastern part of the state for shipbuilders hired from out of state. There is work being done to arrange transportation systems for employees who commute. And there is work to establish daycare for children of welders and riggers.

Murphy said EB is confident that it will be able to recruit the workforce it needs to fill its contacts.

We are pulling in big numbers now, she said. But it is going to take a lot of sustained effort over the long haul to continue to attract the workforce we need. There is no alternative. The nation needs these submarines and we need to be able to deliver them.

2023 Hartford Courant.

Visit at courant.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  The U.S. military spent $1.6 million to $2 million last month to shoot down three unidentified, high-altitude objects over North America, with half of that spent on the mission over Lake Huron in Michigan, the Air Force said Monday.

That price tag covers only the cost of the four AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles  at $400,000 to $500,000 each  used to down the objects, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

Not included in the $2 million total are the cost of the flights to find and shoot down the objects or the cost of the search efforts to recover debris from the objects. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search efforts in Lake Huron on Feb. 15 amid poor weather and did not immediately have a cost estimate for the search available Monday. Officials have said no debris was recovered.

The Feb. 12 mission to shoot down the object over Lake Huron cost the most among the three missions because the first missile missed and "harmlessly" landed in the lake before a second missile hit its target, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said last month.

The other Sidewinder missiles used to bring down aerial objects over Alaska and the Canadian Yukon Territory successfully downed those objects on the first try, according to Milley.

The White House last month was pressed on whether the military shoot downs were an "overreaction" amid reports that an Illinois hobby club was missing its weather balloon.

"Absolutely not," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded. "Given the situation we were in, the information available, the recommendation of our military commanders, it was exactly the right thing to do at exactly the right time."

The last high-altitude object had passed over Wisconsin, Lake Michigan and the Upper Peninsula before it was shot down about 15 nautical miles east of the U.P. in Lake Huron, officials have said.

An F-16 fighter jet from an Air National Guard unit based in Duluth, Minn., took the successful shot at 2:42 p.m. Feb. 12 at about 20,000 feet of altitude on the U.S. side of the border with Canada, officials said. In leaked audio from the F-16 cockpit, the pilot described the object as octagonal shaped and about the size of a four-wheeler.

President Joe Biden defended his administration's handling of the three high-altitude objects following the downing of a much larger Chinese surveillance balloon on Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina.

Biden said the U.S. has no evidence the three objects shot down over Michigan, Alaska and the Yukon were Chinese spy balloons or surveillance vehicles from any foreign country, though officials also don't know exactly what they are.

"The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research," Biden said in remarks at the White House last month.

Biden said he acted "out of an abundance of caution" when he gave the order to shoot down the three objects due to their potential "hazards" to civilian air traffic and because officials could not rule out the surveillance risk to "sensitive" facilities.

Michigan's congressional delegation last month wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting a classified briefing "as soon as possible" about the "unidentified aerial phenomena" that passed over the Upper Peninsula and was shot down over Lake Huron.

The letter has not yet been answered, according to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow's office.

___

(c)2023 The Detroit News

Visit The Detroit News at www.detnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON  All four of the U.S. militarys four-star female officers gathered in public Monday for the first time to talk about the sexism that they have experienced in the service and how far women still must go before theyre fully integrated members of the armed forces.

Army Gen. Laura Richardson, Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan were panelists for the discussion called Beyond Firsts: Powering the Future Force held at the Military Womens Memorial in Arlington, Va. All four were promoted to four-star generals and admirals in their respective services within the last two years.

It has truly been a journey, said Fagan, who entered the Coast Guard in 1981 and became commandant in mid-2022.

In the 75 years since we have had the opportunity to serve, we certainly have come a long way, said Van Ovost, who has been in charge of U.S. Transportation Command since October 2021. Our progress has been accelerated, but we have a way to go still.

All four women had plenty to say about experiencing resistance on their rise through the ranks. They all entered service in the 1980s, an era when women were still barred from serving in combat roles and most leadership positions were filled by men. And sometimes those men did not make them feel welcomed.

I got to my first ship and my chief engineer  said, I dont think women should be on ships. I dont think you should be here, and I think Im going to make sure you fail, said Franchetti, who joined the Navy in 1985. That was pretty eye-opening that someone would say that.

Franchetti, who has been the vice chief of naval operations since September 2022, said: My team found out about it  and they basically set out to make sure that didnt happen and that he was wrong. We basically made it look like he was the failure for not wanting us to be there.

Franchetti noted at one point, she almost left the Navy for a career as a massage therapist.

I was definitely going to get out, Franchetti said. In the end, what it really came down to was the Navy had everything I wanted. I got to travel, I got a new job every two years  and I really liked our mission.

Richardson, the first woman to take command of U.S. Army North in 2019 and commander of U.S. Southern Command since 2021, said there are plenty of examples in her area of responsibility  Latin America and the Caribbean  of female leaders becoming more commonplace.

In this region, we have got two women presidents, we have two women vice presidents, we have two women ministers of defense, we have got the only woman chief of defense in the world right now, from Jamaica, Richardson said. So, we have some great shining examples.

It wasnt until 1948 that American women were allowed to be full-time members of the military during peacetime. Before that, they could only serve in times of conflict. It would be another 68 years, however, before women could serve in combat roles.

By 2021, there were 232,000 female service members, representing 17.3% of the active-duty U.S. military, according to the Pentagons most recent figures.

Each of the female officers on the panel Monday expressed a deep gratitude for progress in gender parity, as well as some frustration that progress always comes slowly.

For example, there are still no women who are Navy SEALs. The first woman to become an Army Green Beret didnt happen until 2020. Moreover, only a handful of women have successfully trained to become Army Rangers.

By the time that Van Ovost became an Air Force pilot in the 1980s, she was one of the militarys few female flyers. She pointed out Monday that progress for women is moving even slower in other parts of the world.

The Middle East is slightly different, she said, eliciting laughter from the audience. Theyre a few decades behind us, but there is great hope. I was in Saudi Arabia  there are women now driving. There are women going to school. There are women entrepreneurs. They can decide to work without having their guardians sign them up.

Dozens of young women in the military attended the panel discussion. Some of them asked Van Ovost, Richardson, Franchetti and Fagan how they might carry the torch for women when the military still struggles to deal with discrimination and sexual assault. Last year, a Pentagon study showed a record number of sexual assaults in the military in 2021  about 36,000 incidents. The study said 8.4% of women reported being sexually assaulted on duty.

All of the services have been on a journey around sexual harassment, sexual assault, bullying, and I consider where we are today  versus where we were eight or 10 years ago  a much better position, Fagan said, noting she successfully encouraged her daughter to join the Coast Guard. I would not have brought or encouraged my daughter to come in if I didnt believe the military culture is safer now.

Some of the officers on the panel noted other difficult challenges for female troops such as trouble finding child care and female-specific uniforms.

If [women] were fully included, we would have the armor thats built for a womans body, based on how we carry the weight, Van Ovost said. Wed have flight suits that fit us and uniforms that would fit us, so we wouldnt have to be accommodated.

We are just going to keep chipping away at it, she added.
(Tribune News Service)  As a young military officer at the height of the war on terror, Lt. Ron DeSantis was often seen running on the beach of Guantanamo Bay and along its ridgeline, encircling Camp America. It was a chaotic time at the U.S. military detention facility in Cuba, and as an ambitious Navy lawyer, DeSantis was positioned to witness history up close.

He arrived at Joint Task Force Guantanamo in the spring of 2006 as its leaders were grappling with multiple challenges and global scrutiny. Aggressive tactics were adopted to break a hunger strike. An armed clash erupted between detainees and a riot squad in May. Three men were found dead in their cells in the same hour of a single night in June. And the CIA would transfer some of its highest-value detainees to the camp in the fall of that year.

DeSantis had little authority to address these crises as a 27-year-old lieutenant at a notorious facility micromanaged from Washington. But it was a formative period for a career-minded officer who had enlisted hoping for a deployment to Guantanamo Bay, where he would come face-to-face with the realities of Americas least conventional war.

It is an experience in the Florida governors life that he rarely discusses publicly and remains largely unexplored, even as he appears poised to mount a campaign for the White House.

This guy has the potential to run for president of the United States, said Yvonne Bradley, who represented Guantanamo detainees as a military lawyer at that time. I think its important for the story to get out.

Interviews with over a dozen former Navy officers and personnel, defense attorneys and former detainees shed light on the access DeSantis would have had to the men held captive on the base, suspended in a legal and ethical gray zone during a turbulent phase in the camps history.

DeSantis team did not respond to requests for comment. But in sparing remarks on his service there since entering public life, he has expressed only admiration for the detention facilitys operations. DeSantis came away from his time at Guantanamo Bay advocating for the camp to remain open, convinced that its inhabitants were terrorists at a time when hundreds of detainees were being released by a Republican president after years of imprisonment and without ever facing charges.

He would have had very, very intimate knowledge of the conditions at the camp, retired Col. Michael Bumgarner, commander of the Joint Detention Group at Guantanamo during DeSantis service there, told McClatchy and the Miami Herald. He wouldve had face-to-face contact with them  he wouldve known them intimately, their backgrounds and all.

CAUSE TO ENLIST

By the time DeSantis joined the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in Guantanamo in 2006, Americans were already well aware of the nature of the facility and deeply divided over the indefinite detention of its prisoners.

President George W. Bush first opened the detention center in 2002, after the Sept. 11 attacks, to hold hundreds of enemy combatants that his administration said were primarily al-Qaida and Taliban operatives. In the intervening years, human rights groups protested the detention of suspected combatants without filing criminal charges, and reports emerged from released or repatriated Guantanamo inmates alleging torture at the camp, prompting widespread controversy back at home.

In a new book published in February titled The Courage to be Free, DeSantis said the prospect of a deployment to Guantanamo factored into his decision to join the military in 2004.

One recruiter told me that the assumption was that the Iraq campaign would be over relatively quickly, and that there would be a need for military JAGs to lead prosecutions in military commissions of incarcerated terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, DeSantis wrote, using the acronym for a judge advocate general. That turned out not to be what happened, but it seemed plausible at the time and also seemed like a good opportunity to make an impact.

DeSantis was in his second year at Harvard Law School when he enlisted. After graduating, he was sent to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., as a prosecutor before being sent to Guantanamo shortly thereafter. Hundreds of individuals were being detained at the facility at that time.

Its clear they liked DeSantis, Charles Swift, a former career Navy lawyer who also came out of Jacksonville, said of DeSantis supervisors. Swift retired from service in 2007 after successfully defending one inmate, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, in a landmark case before the Supreme Court.

He had been in what we call a get-out job  a position you get when you dont want to stay, Swift said. Everyone Ive ever talked to said he was smart. But he had not joined the JAG corps for a career. What I take away as an intelligent observer is that Ron DeSantis was a politically motivated individual who saw a value to military service.

DeSantis wrote in his new book that he was sent on temporary-duty-travel stints to Guantanamo Bay, and has spoken of celebrating Christmas at the camp in 2006. Military records obtained by McClatchy show he spent at least six months in Cuba  between March 2006 and January 2007  where his primary duty was as trial counsel and he served as a JTF-GTMO scheduler/administrative officer.

At the time, he was extremely green in the JAG corps  he had just become a lawyer, said Joseph Hickman, who told McClatchy that he frequently saw DeSantis while serving as a staff sergeant at the camp. He was very inexperienced, very young, and from what Ive seen those guys didnt have a lot of responsibility.

But his superiors saw promise in the new officer. Retired Navy Capt. Patrick McCarthy, who served as the staff judge advocate at Guantanamo in 2006, told McClatchy that DeSantis was among the officers he would send to speak with detainees when there were any complaints to ensure they were lawfully addressed.

DeSantis served honorably and professionally in a very complex mission, McCarthy said.

McCarthys office frequently butted heads with defense attorneys, including Bradley, an Air Force JAG who successfully defended Binyam Mohamed during his prominent military trial. Bradley said she had repeated conversations with McCarthys team in 2006 over allegations of improper contact between JAGs and her clients. She does not remember interacting with DeSantis specifically, but unlike most in the military, servicemen and women at Guantanamo do not wear name tags and do not identify themselves.

Bryan Broyles, former chief defense counsel for military trials at Guantanamo, described the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate where DeSantis worked as a tiny little office with six cubicles, and McCarthys office off to the side.

We would only see them when they were directly dealing with our cases, explained Broyles, who said he would not have been able to pick DeSantis out of a lineup had he not become governor.

That JAG office would have been in much more regular contact with the detainees than the rest of us, Broyles said. They intimately would have known the best of their treatment, and the worst of it.

DETAINEE CLAIMS

DeSantis interactions with detainees would have exposed him to complaints about conditions at the detention center, including accusations of torture and abuse, at a time when tensions at the camp were reaching an inflection point.

The deaths of three detainees and clashes with guards roiled the facility. And restraint chairs had been introduced at the facility in early 2006, during the height of a massive hunger strike, facilitating the forced feeding of prisoners.

Guards would strap detainees into the chairs while medical personnel would conduct the feedings, using tubes they would pass through the nose. Some inmates took the feedings willingly. But others called the procedure an act of torture.

Ahmed Abdel Aziz, a former detainee who was released after 13 years without being charged with a crime, told McClatchy in a phone call from Mauritania that he recognized DeSantis after being shown a photo of the Florida governor.

I remember his face very well, Abdel Aziz said. He was coming regularly on the blocks, and sometimes he talked, sometimes he didnt.

Abdel Aziz recalls first seeing DeSantis on what he described as a tour of the facility for the new officer. DeSantis visits on the block became routine, Abdel Aziz said, noting that he paid particularly close attention to the JAGs because their positions as attorneys made them especially valuable to the detainees.

DeSantis witnessed and received complaints about forced feeding sessions, Abdel Aziz said.

He didnt start as a very bad guy, but the course of events, I think, led him to have no choice, Abdel Aziz said. Many of the very big leadership, if they want to be harsh, its hard from the lower people to take a different turn. He aligned with the bad people in the end.

Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni national who was sent to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 and also held without being charged for 14 years, told McClatchy that he realized after seeing Floridas governor on the news that DeSantis was present at one point as he was force-fed in Camp Delta. Adayfi said he remembers DeSantis being there alongside Zak Ghuneim, the camps longtime cultural adviser, and that he vomited on both of them, an account that Ghuneim denied in a phone interview.

McClatchy was unable to verify claims that DeSantis witnessed forced feeding sessions. Multiple former officers and attorneys who worked around the camp in various capacities said it was possible but not likely that DeSantis personally observed them. While he would have had access to areas of the camp where they were conducted, it would not have been in his job description to witness them.

Adayfi keeps up with other former inmates on Whatsapp from his home in Serbia. Adayfi shared text messages with McClatchy that he said were between himself and three additional former inmates, all of whom identified DeSantis from their detention there.

Alongside many other former detainees, Abdel Aziz and Adayfi believe the forced feeding of Ensure meal replacements were acts of torture. No U.S. court ever made that determination, and even President Barack Obama, who sought to shut down the facility, defended the practice. But the U.N. Human Rights Commission at the time did describe forced feeding techniques at Guantanamo as a form of torture, and the World Medical Association also condemned the procedure as unethical.

Guantanamo is horrible not only because of the torture and the isolation  they couldnt see anyone, couldnt do anything  but because they had no control, said Thomas Wilner, who represented Kuwaiti detainees at the forefront of the hunger strike in 2006 and visited the facility over a dozen times that year. The hunger strike, in a way, gave them sort of psychological control over something.

The inmates considered the force feeding torture, but it was complicated, Wilner added. Their families didnt want them to starve, of course.

At first, enteral feedings  or tube feedings  were conducted in designated, private settings. But they ultimately were performed in open areas of the cell blocks around central tables surrounded by detainee cells, and on some occasions outside in the block yards, where DeSantis could theoretically have observed them, Bumgarner said.

Was he involved directly? Was he giving orders? I didnt see him giving orders. I didnt see him involved directly doing this himself, honestly, Adayfi said of DeSantis. And Im not here to try to make him look good or bad.

But what makes me talk about it is when he said in 2016 that those in Guantanamo are terrorists, and he was against closing the camp, Adayfi continued. I was honestly shocked, because as a lawyer  as someone who worked at Guantanamo, who watched everything  as a lawyer he should know better than anyone that Guantanamo shouldnt exist in the first place. Its not about prisoners. Its about us as humans. Its about the American Constitution, American law.

ISLAMISTS ARE ON THE MARCH

DeSantis went straight into politics after his military service in Cuba and Iraq and, from his new perch as a U.S. congressman, repeatedly advocated to keep the Guantanamo Bay facility open.

In February of 2016, DeSantis wrote on Facebook that, based on his experience there, I know you do NOT want these terrorists released. And in May of that year, he presided over a congressional hearing on the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay as chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security.

To me, the Islamists are on the march, DeSantis told the panel. If we close Guantanamo tomorrow and remove the detainees, either release them to other countries or in the United States, is there anybody here that thinks that that would cause a drop in terrorist activity around the world?

In the years before and after DeSantis remarks, presidents of both parties released hundreds of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, a number of whom had been found to be wrongfully detained.

The CIA transferred 14 high value detainees to the camp from black sites around the world in the fall of 2006, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the chief architect behind the September 11 attacks. But out of roughly 780 individuals that have gone through the detention facility since it opened, only 32 remain indefinitely detained today, according to the Pentagon. Just 11 of those have been charged with a crime.

They werent treated like prisoners of war, said Zachary Katznelson, an attorney who represented over 50 people imprisoned at Guantanamo. They werent getting charged in civilian court, they werent getting tried in military court  it was a completely made-up legal category where people were treated horrifically, with basically no rights, and the vast majority were ultimately found not to pose a threat to the United States.

After the Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that detainees had a right to an impartial trial, the U.S. government formed combatant status review tribunals to establish whether individuals held at the camp qualified as enemy combatants.

Work from the tribunals uncovered that, at the time of DeSantis service, a majority of the detainees were not accused of taking action against the United States, according to a 2006 study published by Seton Hall School of Law, whose work on the subject was submitted into the records of the House, Senate, and European Parliament.

In the absence of even an accusation, theres just no basis to say that someone is a terrorist, said Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, who represented Guantanamo detainees pro bono and has at least one client who recognizes DeSantis from his time in detention.

Today, with just a fraction of its detainees left, the facility still costs taxpayers $540 million a year to stay open and running.

Plenty of people have left Guantanamo and said like me, Hey, lets shut it down,  Hickman said. But youre always going to have two sides. Its a controversial issue. I could serve with a guy down there who would have the opposite opinion of me. Its a weird place, man.

Recalling his time in Cuba, DeSantis told the House subcommittee hearing in 2016 that the camp was a very professionally run facility that is a very stressful environment for our uniformed personnel who are there.

These guys should not be treated like they are committing civilian crimes. They should be treated like they are violating the laws of war, DeSantis said. And when they are being captured in accordance with that, that should be the prism by which we see this.

I know this will be an issue that will continue to rear its head, DeSantis added.

Miami Herald staffer Monika Leal and reporter Ana Ceballos, Tampa Bay Times reporter Emily L. Mahoney, and Charlotte Observer reporter Michael Gordon contributed to this article.

2023 McClatchy Washington Bureau.

Visit mcclatchydc.com .
(Tribune News Service)  The cleanup of three contaminated sites in Niagara County used for World War II atomic energy and weapons programs will get another infusion of federal dollars.

Over 25 million pounds of uranium metals and over 30,000 pounds of thorium metals were used and became mixed into the soil at the former Simonds Saw and Steel Co. site in Lockport. The federal government announced $115.6 million will be spent there for work set to begin in 2024.

The Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston will receive $10 million to clean up uranium ore waste used in the production of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project under the direction of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, with more than $500 million to be spent in coming years. And the Seaway Industrial Park in Tonawanda will get $2 million to support construction of a landfill cap where processed uranium ores from the Manhattan Project were dumped.

The three sites being rid of World War II contamination are the last of 10 sites to be addressed, with the other seven now remediated and restored, said Lt. Col. Colby Krug, the Buffalo District commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Cleanup of the Niagara Falls and Lockport sites are expected to be completed in 15 years, with the Seaway Industrial Park cleanup expected to begin in the coming months and conclude in 2028.

The cleanup wont disturb the environment, Krug said.

All of our cleanup actions are very protective of the groundwater, the soil and the air, and we have very robust monitoring and control programs in place to make sure that material does not move off-site, Krug said. We have years of investigations and current monitoring to make sure what was placed there decades ago hasnt moved off-site.

The total $139.7 million in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects also includes $100,000 to back a five-year review of the cleanup of the Tonawanda Landfill in Tonawanda and nearly $24 million for waterway investments in Erie County.

Most of the waterway dollars  $21.2 million  will be used for maintenance and operation of the Black Rock Channel and Tonawanda Harbor and to evaluate the 110-year-old Black Rock lock and fund lock gate installation.

This is a multimillion-dollar federal investment in clean communities and vibrant Western New York waterways, Rep. Brian Higgins said. Weve made incredible waterfront progress, but to maximize the potential for recreational, commercial and fishing boat activities, investments in the water are just as important as investments along the waters edge.

The work will be carried out by the Buffalo District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Our mission is to provide safe navigation, protect vital commerce and ensure the safety of human health and the environment, Krug said. Investments like this are critical for mission accomplishment.

Buffalo Harbor will get the bulk of the remaining waterway funds, with $2.7 million to support continued dredging along the Outer Harbor of the navigation channel to maintain depths necessary for commercial shipments. Funds will also go for continued repairs to the north, south and west breakwaters. The north breakwall was reconstructed in 2021, and a new seawall was constructed at Ralph Wilson Centennial Park in 2022.

In addition, $710,000 is being allocated for surveillance of northern boundary waters between the United States and Canada. Sturgeon Point will receive $24,000 to support operation and maintenance needs and for sand bypassing and/or dredging to maintain the Sturgeon Point Marina. Olcott Harbor and Wilson Harbor will each get $8,000 for harbor maintenance.

In previously announced allocations, Times Beach Nature Preserve is to receive $10 million in federal infrastructure funds for repair work, along with $10 million secured by Higgins separately for improvements to Bird Island Pier.

(c)2023 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Visit The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) at www.buffalonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CLEVELAND (Tribune News Service)  Cuyahoga County agreed to pay $239,000 to a U.S. Army veteran diagnosed with schizophrenia who needed facial reconstruction surgery after a pummeling by a jail officer, according to probate court records.

The county settled the lawsuit with Joshua Castleberry more than four years after a corrections officer beat Castleberry, strapped him to a restraint chair and failed to give him medical attention for four hours while he bled profusely in an isolated Cuyahoga County Jail cell.

The settlement must be approved by a Cuyahoga County Probate judge and by Cuyahoga County Council. Cuyahoga County spokesman Tyler Sinclair declined comment because the settlement had not yet been approved.

Messages were left with Castleberrys attorneys, Sara Gedeon and David Malik.

Castleberrys lawsuit, filed in 2020, is one of more than 30 against the county over a volatile period at the jail starting in 2018, when county officials pushed to house cities inmates to generate revenue. County officials cut basic costs for inmate care while charging cities a per diem rate of $99 per day for each inmate.

The jail, already understaffed, became packed with inmates. Lawsuits were filed over inmate suicides, jail beatings by guards and officials failure to properly care for inmates physical and mental health, among other reasons.

Castleberry, 27, served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and in the last two years, his condition has worsened, according to probate court records. His mother, Tonya Castleberry, was granted guardianship of her son.

Castleberry lost three teeth during the Feb. 18, 2018, beating at the jail, including one tooth that lodged in his nasal cavity.

The beating by corrections officer John Wilson was one of several cases in an Ohio Attorney Generals Office probe of the jail and one of two that went to trial. Wilson and Cpl. Jason Jozwiak were charged in the case; Jozwiak was accused of failing to get medical help for Castleberry following the beating.

Jozwiak still works as a corporal at the jail. Wilson left the county in February 2022.

No video of the incident exists in part because Wilson worked with the jails Special Response Team, also known as the Men in Black because of their paramilitary gear. Those officers were not required to wear body cameras.

The unit was harshly criticized in a U.S. Marshals Service investigation and its members are defendants in several of the lawsuits filed against the county.

Castleberry testified at trial that he asked Wilson for a new sandwich because the jails bread was stale. Wilson refused, went into Castleberrys cell and ordered Castleberry against the wall.

Wilson shot pepper-foam in Castleberrys face, put him in handcuffs and slammed his head on the concrete floor several times, he said.

Three of Castleberrys teeth were knocked out, including one that lodged in his nasal cavity and required surgery.

Another officers body camera video showed Castleberry gushing blood from his mouth. Officers strapped him to a restraint chair and left him bloodied and alone in a room by himself for about four hours before he was taken to the hospital.

Wilson testified that Castleberry refused his orders during a search of the cell and that he clenched his fist before Wilson shot pepper-foam in Castleberrys face. Wilson testified that Castleberry punched him in the head, which gave the officer a concussion.

The jury acquitted Jozwiak of all charges. It found Wilson not guilty of an abduction charge but deadlocked on charges of felonious assault and unlawful restraint. The jury voted 11-1 to acquit Wilson of felonious assault, the most serious charge, along racial lines.

Wilson later pleaded guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor count of assault, which allowed him to keep his job. He was sentenced to probation, 250 hours of community service and to pay a $500 fine. County officials later suspended him for 15 days without pay.

2023 Advance Local Media LLC.

Visit cleveland.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
?? El Ministerio de Salud informa que 3753 personas han sido dadas de alta por #ViruelaDelMono y se han detectado 10 casos nuevos en los ultimos dias. Todos vienen recibiendo asistencia medica y se viene realizando seguimiento a sus contactos. pic.twitter.com/ddZuP0s7Xv
This crew dont care about anyone but themselves and the fact that they are using a child to carry out this kind of activity says everything about them, a source said.

One of the feuding gangs in Drogheda have been using a 12-year-old boy to deliver cocaine and other drugs to their customers in recent weeks, it can be revealed.

The gang led by paralyzed criminal Owen Maguire have put the child to work and he is suspected of regularly carrying out drug runs on their behalf in the Co Louth town.

This crew dont care about anyone but themselves and the fact that they are using a child to carry out this kind of activity says everything about them, a source said.

In January, the government signed off on proposed legislation that could see criminals who are convicted of grooming children into a life of crime face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Justice Minister Simon Harris said at the time that the practice of grooming children is probably more widespread than anyone would like to believe.

Another child who had links to the Maguire gang, Keane Mulready Woods was aged just 17 when he became the victim of a Drogheda feud murder in January 2020 which is considered one of the most gruesome in the history of the State. It was widely suspected that the teenager was the victim of grooming by gangs like the Maguire mob.

Cornelius Price

The Maguire faction have been under major pressure from gardai and their criminal rivals and the death in the UK of key gang member Cornelius Price is considered a major blow to them.

Owen Maguire did not travel to Rochdale for Prices funeral on Monday and the house bound gangster is said to be increasingly isolated and paranoid.

Even though Price was sick for a very long time and incapable of any criminal activity during that time, his death robs Maguire of one of his closest associates, a source said.

The Maguire gang are the suspects for three of the four Drogheda feud murders.

Last month two close associates of Owen Maguire were arrested and questioned in relation to the first murder linked to the deadly criminal dispute  the fatal shooting of Keith Branigan at Clogherhead, Co Louth, in August, 2019.

The 32-year-old and 38-year-old were later released without charge. There is a feeling that the net is closing in on this gang, a source said.

Earlier last month properties belonging to mob boss Owen Maguire and his brother Brendan were described as uninhabitable ruins in the High Court.

A senior officer said in an affidavit the properties in Monaghan and Cavan were unoccupied and uninhabitable.

Counsel for CAB added both houses in question were in a state of disrepair and indeed derelict.

Judge Alex Owens, who said he was familiar with tone of the properties in Co Cavan, granted an application to allow a receiver to sell the homes.

Keane Mulready Woods

They were deemed the proceeds of crime at a hearing in January to which neither of the Maguires had turned up.

AB was granted an order to sell the properties privately or by public treaty.

Judge Owens found in favour of CAB in January who wanted two properties, two vehicles, a Rolex watch and 305,000 in cash declared the proceeds of crime.

A receiver has already been given the power to sell off the A Class Mercedes Benz, a Ford Transit and the watch worth 16,500.

In making the order Judge Owens said the brothers had very little in regular income over a long period of time and the sworn affidavits by gardai were well-founded.

The overall situation points very strongly to the proceeds of crime, the judge said.

Owen Maguire has been confined to a wheelchair since he was shot outside his home by the slain mobster Robbie Lawlor in 2018 and is based in Drogheda.

Maguires gang are suspected of involvement in the murder of Lawlor in Belfast in April, 2020  the last murder linked to the Drogheda feud.

His brother Brendan, who also survived being shot as part of the lethal dispute, was served his legal papers at his new home in the UK.

Owen Maguire is regarded as the joint head of the Price-Maguire Organised Criminal Gang and which has been involved in a lethal gangland feud in Drogheda since 2018.

He is described in the CAB papers as a major scale drug dealer supplying drugs in much of the countrys north-east area who survived being shot six times in a murder bid at his home.

In one of the CAB affidavits to the High Court it is also stated that Cornelius Price is an extremely close associate of Owen Maguire and they jointly head the Price-Maguire OCG.

But that association is now over forever with the death of Price but Maguire still has close links to other close pals of the deceased crime lord.
A minor was sent into the salon last year as part of a covert sting to check it was complying with the laws

A Dublin salon caught in a sting operation breaking laws banning sunbed use for minors has been ordered to pay 600.

Silke Hair & Beauty Ltd, of Beacon South Quarter, Sandyford, Dublin 18, pleaded guilty on Monday to an offence under the Public Health (Sunbeds) Act 2014.

It follows an undercover test in which a minor was sent into the salon last year as part of a covert sting to check it was complying with the laws.

And it led to the Health Service Executive (HSE) prosecuting the salon firm for breaking the prohibition on permitting the use of a sunbed by a person under 18 years of age.

Solicitor Shane Reynolds, for the HSE, told Judge Anthony Halpin at Dublin District Court that a female under 18 was sent into the salon on November 11, 2022.

The minor had a 20 note and was told by a staff member that the till had insufficient change.

The girl went out and returned but was not asked for her ID when asked to use the sunbed.

On a previous occasion, a test customer under 18 was asked to produce a passport or driving licence, which is still the practice.

However, the salon confirmed to the HSE that on the date of the breach, the sales assistant that dealt with the minor had not received training, while all other staff had.

Mr Reynolds explained to the court that the rationale behind the law was to prevent young people from being exposed to health risks, including skin cancer from UV rays.

Judge Halpin noted that the owner-operated business was not disputing the facts outlined.

Its solicitor asked Judge Halpin to consider that there was just one sunbed on in the salon, which got its core business hair and beauty treatment.

Adjourning the case for three weeks, Judge Halpin ordered it to pay 500 toward prosecution costs and 100 to the Little Flower Penny Dinners charity. He said he would apply the Probation of Offenders Act if paid, sparing the salon a recorded conviction.
John Brogan (83) was found shot dead in his Castlebar home on Sunday evening after emergency services were called to a fire at the house.

Gardai at a house in Castlebar where a man, John Brogan (82), was found murdered on Sunday. Photo: Conor McKeown

Scorch marks from a fire are seen at the house where John Brogan (82) was found dead on Sunday. Photo: Padraig O'Reilly

A man has been charged with the death of a pensioner at his home in Mayo.

He is due to appear before Castlebar District court shortly.

John Brogan (83) was found shot dead in his Castlebar home on Sunday evening after emergency services were called to a fire at the house.

The retired bachelor farmer had lived all his life with his brother Henry, until his brothers death several years ago. He has one surviving sister.

The dead man was found inside the house in the Pheasanthill area of Castlebar, Co Mayo, at around 6.30pm on Sunday.

Gardai are hoping CCTV footage from a nearby village will help them as they investigate the murder of Mr Brogan.

It emerged that the man arrested for the killing had been in a pub earlier in the day and had a row with a person well known to the victim.

Mr Brogan (82) was found dead in his home at on the outskirts of Castlebar on Sunday evening after passers-by were alerted to a fire in the hallway.

After emergency services put out the blaze, Mr Brogan was found inside the property having suffered apparent gunshot wounds.

A man in his mid-60s was arrested in the vicinity and a weapon, believed to be a shotgun, was recovered.

Gardai are now examining if the chief suspect had been at a pub in a nearby village earlier on Sunday and coincidentally encountered a person well known to Mr Brogan.

It is believed there had been a verbal row between the two, and gardai have collected CCTV from businesses in the village to help establish the movements of the suspect in the time leading up to the murder.

Gardai are also aware of a previous outburst and accusations by the chief suspect directly to Mr Brogan in the recent past.

Pathologist Margot Bolster arrived at Mr Brogans house yesterday to carry out a preliminary examination on his body, and his remains were then taken to Mayo University Hospital at Castlebar for a post-mortem examination.

Investigating gardai want to establish if Mr Brogans death was due to the fire or the apparent gunshot wounds.

It has since emerged that Mr Brogan had been acquitted last week of a number of historical sexual abuse allegations against him and had been facing more charges in relation to allegations of historical abuse of a different person.

On March 1, Mr Brogan was acquitted of 16 sex assault charges and found not guilty of four others by direction of the judge at a sitting of Mayo Circuit Court.

He was due to receive a trial date this summer for 45 sexual assault and indecent assault charges against a different person. The charges related to a period of time between 1982 and 1991.

Mr Brogan has lived alone in a bungalow on the Castlebar to Westport road since his brother died in 2017.

Gardai at a house in Castlebar where a man, John Brogan (82), was found murdered on Sunday. Photo: Conor McKeown

There are a number of small outbuildings behind the house, and a small field in front of it.

The house remained sealed off yesterday as members of the garda technical bureau carried out a forensic examination of the scene.

The hallway and front door of the property were visibly scorched, but the flames had not spread to the rooms or the roof.

Neighbours reacted with shock at the killing, and said it was a tragedy for everyone in the community.

Mr Brogan was described as a hard worker who would help locally with saving turf and splitting logs for firewood.

He kept a number of donkeys and ducks, and he would put them out in the field in the morning, one local said.

People would be watching for them or for smoke from his chimney to make sure he was up and about. He had a sister and other relatives who would also check-in on him regularly.

We were all shocked at what happened.

Another person said: When we saw the gardai and the evidence of the fire we thought that it had been some sort of tragic accident. But then we heard about the man being arrested. It was awful.

Many people in the area politely declined to comment on the matter.

Mayo Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon said the incident was a terrible shock for the community.

It is very difficult to comprehend when something like this happens in the local community. On a quiet Sunday evening people were sitting down and then this awful news spread in relation to the tragedy, he said.

For a county like Mayo, while we have had isolated incidents, it does bring that sense of real tragedy and real grief, and a sadness, to the local community.
Six members of the family were in court and all resisted their removal, holding onto benches and each other as gardai sought to get them out.

Members of Enoch Burkes family were physically removed from the Court of Appeal today by gardai after twice loudly interrupting judges delivering a ruling dismissing an appeal in the sacked schoolteachers case.

There were fraught scenes as at least 10 gardai arrived in the court, first physically removing Mr Burkes sister Ammi and then his brother Simeon after members of the family refused to comply with a direction to leave.

Six members of the family were in court and all resisted their removal, holding onto benches and each other as gardai sought to get them out.

As Ammi Burke was physically removed, her father Sean shouted: You have no right to take her out. Shame on you. It is a cover up.

Sean Burke and his wife Martina were also bundled out of the court after a stand-off.

Then four gardai were required to drag Enoch Burke out a back door.

As a garda wrestled with him, Mr Burke repeatedly shouted: Dont you dare touch me.

Mr Burke appeared to cut his hand while holding on to a bench.

Enoch Burke being removed from court. Photo credit: RTE News

The last of the family to be removed was Isaac Burke, who was dragged out with his feet trailing on the ground.

Angry comments were aimed at gardai throughout the unprecedented disturbance, which went on for around 10 minutes.

Members of the family insisted gardai had no right to remove them from the court.

They were taken from the courtroom after members of the three-judge court had to twice rise from the bench due to interruptions.

Mr Burke was appealing against High Court orders restraining him from turning up at Wilsons Hospital School.

The president of the court, Mr Justice George Birmingham had only managed to read out one part of the courts ruling before the hearing descended into chaos.

Sitting with Mr Justice John Edwards and Ms Justice Maire Whelan, he said the court had no hesitation in dismissing an appeal Mr Burke had against an order made by Ms Justice Siobhan Stack last August.

At this point, Ammi Burke, a solicitor stood up and started to interrupt the judge, making comments about her brothers constitutional rights.

She refused to stop talking or sit down when Mr Justice Birmingham instructed her to do so.

Several other members of the Burke family stood and began shouting up at the bench.

The loudest was Mr Burkes mother Martina, who shouted: You are bowing before the altar of transgenderism, every single one of you.

She went on to make loud comments about judicial salaries.

The judges left the bench and remained in their chambers for around five minutes.

When they came back into the courtroom, Mr Justice Birmingham said he would continue reading out the judgement, but that if there were any further interruptions the court would rise again and the judgment would be issued electronically.

He was in the middle of dealing with a second part of the appeal, in relation to an order granted by Mr Justice Max Barrett last September, when he was interrupted by members of the family again.

The judges rose from the bench again and this time they did not come back.

Several gardai were in the court at the time and more flooded in after the Burkes refused to comply with a request to leave.

Mr Burke had asked the Court of Appeal to set aside a temporary injunction granted by Ms Justice Stack restraining him from attending for work at the Co Westmeath school, and a subsequent decision of Mr Justice Barrett to keep the injunction in place pending a final hearing of the matter.

He claimed the orders were invalid, unconstitutional, had no legal effect and should be set aside.

Mr Burke also utterly rejected that there had been gross misconduct on his part and claimed his suspension by the school was unlawful.

The school had argued the necessary legal tests had been met for the granting of the orders and had urged the court not to interfere with the decisions to grant them.

Despite the orders, Mr Burke continued to go to its premises in Multyfarnham each school day despite first being suspended and later dismissed from his job there as a teacher of history and German.

He spent 108 days in prison last year for contempt of court orders and is currently being fined 700 for each day he remains in contempt.

His suspension last August came after Mr Burke, an evangelical Christian, refused to comply with a request from the then principal to call a transgender pupil by a new name and by their preferred pronouns.

A number of incidents, in which Mr Burke expressed opposition on religious grounds to the request, prompted the schools board of management to put him on paid administrative leave.

He was sacked by the board of management in January, a decision he is appealing to a tribunal.

During the appeal hearing, the teacher claimed the request, was an unlawful demand that he participate in transgenderism, and was in breach of his constitutional rights to the freedom of religious expression.

Transgenderism, he said, was contrary to all major religions, and his own Christian beliefs. He told the court that scriptures state that there is only the male and the female.

But Mr Justice Birmingham said the communication from the principal fell well short of a demand.

The judge said he had no hesitation in dismissing the appeal against the order of Ms Justice Stack, as on the evidence presented to her there was a case for an interim injunction.

He did not get to read out the part of the ruling dismissing the appeal against Mr Justice Barretts order, but an electronic version of the judgment issued later confirmed this too had been dismissed.

The Court of Appeal decided not to hear appeals against two other High Court decisions, made by Mr Justice Conor Dignam and Ms Justice Eileen Roberts. These included the dismissal of an application brought by Mr Burke aimed at setting aside his suspension.

Before delivering the courts ruling, Mr Justice Birmingham said a letter was received by the courts registrar from a firm of solicitors in the midlands.

Although not stated by the judge, it appears the firm that sent the letter is representing the transgender child or their family.

The judge said the letter indicated the desire of the law firm that nothing be said in the course of the judgment that would identify the child.

There is also a stated concern the judgement should not contain anything that is inaccurate, said Mr Justice Birmingham.

The judge said the correspondence seemed to be designed to influence the contents of the judgment and, on one view, was an attempt to put evidence before the court through correspondence, which he said could not be done.

Mr Justice Birmingham said the court had been careful at all stages not to identify the child.

The hearing of the full cases between the school and Mr Burke remains pending before the High Court, and is expected to be heard later this year.
Nosakhare Ehrunmwunse (21) was stuck for money and had a lapse of judgment, a court has heard

A young man who fraudulently claimed Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUP) totalling 2,800 was stuck for money and had a lapse of judgment, a court has heard.

Nosakhare Ehrunmwunse (21) received eight payments into his post office account before he was arrested and charged with deception.

He was spared a criminal record after Dublin District Court heard he was only 19 years old at the time and made a mistake.

Judge Bryan Smyth applied the Probation Act.

Nosakhare Ehrunmwunse

Ehrunmwunse, from Rossecourt Terrace, Balgaddy, Lucan, pleaded guilty to eight counts of dishonestly inducing the Department of Social Protection to pay him PUP when he was not entitled to claim it.

Garda Sergeant Michelle Lynch said it was reported to gardai on July 7, 2021, that a victims PPS number was fraudulently used to obtain the PUP.

A total of eight payments of 350 were paid by the Department of Social Protection between April 30 and June 1 that year, to an An Post account in the name of the accused at the GPO. Ehrunmwunse was subsequently arrested.

Nosakhare Ehrunmwunse

When questioned, the accused was decent enough to deal with but did not indicate the name of a third party involved, the court heard.

Ehrunmwunse had no previous convictions. Defence solicitor Holly Laher said her client had a lapse in judgment when he got involved.

He was stuck for money at the time and took a chance, albeit a foolish one, she said.

He regretted what he did and had paid full compensation.

Ehrunmwunse was only 19 at the time of the offences and made a mistake, Ms Laher said. He was very remorseful, and had not come to garda attention since.

Judge Smyth said the accused was probably deserving of a conviction but he took account of his age, his guilty plea and the fact he had repaid the loss to the State.
Andres Grans De Lima Sores (35) is accused of causing the death of Calvin Gilchrist (19) at Finglas Road, Glasnevin

A man has been sent for trial charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a teenage motorcyclist following a collision with a taxi.

Andres Grans De Lima Sores (35) had a book of evidence served on him when he appeared before Dublin District Court.

Judge Bryan Smyth sent him forward for trial to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Mr De Lima Sores, with an address in Glasnevin, Dublin, is accused of causing the death of Calvin Gilchrist (19) at Finglas Road, Glasnevin on July 31, 2021.

Today, the court heard the Director of Public Prosecutions had directed trial on indictment and a book of evidence was ready. The DPP consented to the accused being sent to the present sittings of the circuit court on the sole charge.

Judge Smyth gave the accused the formal notice that he had 14 days to provide any alibi details to the prosecution. Asked if he understood this, Mr De Lima Sores replied: "Yes." He also acknowledged his signature on the bail bond.

Calvin Gilchrist (19)

Defence solicitor Tony Collier asked Judge Smyth to extend free legal aid to cover a senior and junior counsel in the circuit court, saying the case involved a fatality.

The judge granted this and remanded the accused on bail to appear in the Circuit Court on a date in March.

Mr De Lima Sores has not yet entered a plea to the charge, which on conviction, can result in a fine of up to 20,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Mr Gilchrist, a groundsman from Island Quay, East Wall, suffered serious injuries when his motorcycle was involved in a crash at around 10pm on July 31, 2021.

He was rushed by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, but he was later pronounced dead and investigating gardai prepared a file for the DPP.

When Mr De Lima Sores was charged in January, the court heard he attended Mountjoy garda station by arrangement.

Detective Inspector Ken Hoare said the accused had no reply when charged.

There was no objection to bail with conditions.

Bail was set at 500. At the time, the judge noted the accused had surrendered his passport to gardai and he was ordered not to apply for a new or duplicate passport or alternative travel documentation and to notify gardai in the event of an address change.

Legal aid had not been objected to by gardai and the court heard the accused had a limited income.
Ianos Carolea was from a conservative background and "stuck in a time warp, his lawyer said.

A MAN who groped a department store worker and tried to open the victim's zipper in an attack in the shops toilets has been spared jail for sexual assault.

Ianos Carolea (36) came out of the bathroom stalls masturbating before assaulting the employee who was washing his hands at the sink.

Carolea was from a conservative background and "stuck in a time warp when he carried out the offence at a major Dublin city centre store, his defence said.

Judge Bryan Smyth gave him an eight-month suspended sentence.

Carolea, of The Hermitage, Balgriffin, Dublin 13, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to sexual assault on a date in September 2021.

Garda John Timmons said on the day, the accused was in the male bathrooms of the department store when he exited the stall with his erect penis in an act of masturbation.

He went to the sink area where a male staff member was washing his hands and made an attempt to open the zip of the staff member.

The victim protested and Carolea groped the mans backside, the court heard. The victim then left the bathroom.

The accused had previously been fined for two counts of public masturbation around the same time. He had not come to garda attention since.

The victim had not wished to make an impact statement.

Judge Smyth said this case was much more serious but having read reports that were handed in to court, there appear to be extensive extenuating circumstances.

Carolea was married with children but his marriage had broken down because of the cases and their press coverage which had a catastrophic effect on his family, his solicitor Michael Kelleher said.

Carolea accepted he had brought that on his family through his behaviour.

Mr Kelleher said the accused came from a very conservative background but society had moved on from where it had been years ago and there was no necessity for this type of behaviour.

He was somewhat stuck in a time warp and engaged in reckless, offensive behaviour, Mr Kelleher said.

Carolea had been going through a difficult time in his life and made terrible, reckless decisions.

His family were shocked and found it very hard to come to terms with his behaviour but had been supportive of him once he engaged in counselling.

There had been no further incidents and the accused was not a threat, Mr Kelleher said.

He asked the court to go down the non-custodial route.

Judge Smyth said he believed a custodial sentence was warranted but suspended it for two years.
Margaret Scanlon (52) told the judge she hadnt a clue about farming and said the case was a load of s***e

Scanlon showed us the shed where the cow was kept   Gary Ashe

Margaret Scanlon with a picture of her cow Polly at her home in Co. Sligo   Gary Ashe

A woman who told a judge she hadnt a clue about farming when she found her guilty of animal cruelty offences said the case was a load of s***e and that she wont pay the fine handed down from the court.

Margaret Scanlon (52), from Carrigans Upper, Ballymote, Co Sligo, lashed out at the judge, gardai and veterinary inspectors involved in the case when the Sunday World spoke to her at her home.

Scanlon, who said she was as good as any vet, claimed she had done nothing wrong despite being found guilty of three separate animal welfare offences in relation to a cow she owned which had to be put down.

Richard Allen, a now retired veterinary inspector with the Department of Agriculture, had told an earlier court hearing that he visited Scanlons farm on June 28, 2017 and found a black bovine female stretched on the floor of a shed without any natural or artificial light

Scanlon showed us the shed where the cow was kept   Gary Ashe

He said the cow was tied by a chain and while there was feed in the shed, the cow couldnt avail of it because she was tied up.

He said the cow was emaciated, dehydrated and was suffering, so a decision was made to put her down.

Another officer with the department, John Cryan, said the cow was in very poor condition and it was a complete case of animal neglect.

Judge Sandra Murphy, who was shown pictures of the cow after it had been put down, described the incident as a very serious case of animal neglect at the sentencing hearing in Sligo District Court last week.

She fined Scanlon 250 in relation to three offences under the Animal Welfare Act in that she failed to provide feed for an animal, failed in her duty to protect the welfare of an animal, and that she did cause unnecessary suffering to an animal on June 28, 2017, at Carrigans Upper, Ballymote.

Judge Murphy had asked Scanlon to give an undertaking never to own animals again  but Scanlon refused and the judge instead barred her from ever owning animals again.

However, Scanlon was unrepentant when the Sunday World spoke to her this week.

Scanlon talking to our man Alan Sherry   Gary Ashe

Thats a load of s***e. Its all lies, she claimed. She [the judge] knew nothing about farming. We were total opposites.

Me and her are totally incompatible. No matter what you say she wouldnt listen to you at all  shed say the opposite to what you tell her, its shocking  unless you hit her over the head with a mallet or something.

It was s***e. Ive been through this now since 2017. Its been dragging on the whole time.

Scanlon went on to make derogatory remarks about various different people involved in the case and said she regretted turning up for court.

I regret going down now. Its a farce. Im not paying the fine, she maintained.

Asked if she was concerned what would happen if she didnt pay the fine, she said: I dont know. I dont care.

Scanlon then told a story about how her father chased a TV licence inspector away from the farm years ago.

Daddy said to him I have a sick woman now here in the house, you better be going quick. He flew it. He went quick. Daddy was great. He was a great farmer.

Scanlon explained that she inherited the farm after her father died around 15 years ago. She said the Department of Agriculture previously seized a number of cows from her after her dads death.

It all changed when dad died. Just after my father died they kept taking the cattle and selling them off, the Department, theyre out to get me every time.

Margaret Scanlon with a picture of her cow Polly at her home in Co. Sligo   Gary Ashe

She continued to have a few cattle and said she bought the cow which was put down, who she called Polly, around three years ago.

She was lovely, a total pet. You couldnt be bad to them. Its in my blood, the farm. I have a dog. Hes only a house dog around the place.

She said she has considered getting more cattle, despite the court ordering her not to do so.

If I really want to get cattle theres nothing stopping me. Ive land there, like. I dont know what will happen if I do. Im suffering with my teeth at the moment so I have to get them sorted [first].

If I went in to the vets now and said test these few cattle, I bought them, I dont know if they would. Id go to a different vet. Im trying to work it out in my head.

You wouldnt see too much cattle. Them auld Department f***ers are always coming and checking on them. Theres too much bureaucracy and red tape. Scanlon showed us the small shed where Polly had been staying before being put down.

Its dark as a dungeon, she said, as she led us into the barn pointing at the part where Polly was.

She was here. I have it filled up now with s***e. Up there was where we had the cows. That wouldnt look good now.

Years ago this is how the barns were. You had two cows tied up there and two on the other side. That was how it was done in the old days and theyd be tied with chains and let them out in the springtime. Theyd go around the house and smash and break things [if they werent chained].

She said she had been feeding Polly but she was sick around the time of the inspection and hadnt been eating her food.

I was giving her feed. They said she was thin and that s***e. Ah she wanted a dose and to go out in the field but it was too wet. She wouldnt go out in the rain.

Despite the evidence given in court that she had been chained and Scanlon showing us how the cows were chained, she denied Polly was chained on the day.

She wasnt tied, she was just lying there.

Despite the evidence given that Polly was ill and had to be put down, Scanlon doesnt agree.

There was nothing wrong with her really. I should have said get out youre not getting in here. I beat myself up over it the whole time. Im as good as any vet in my own way.

She compared her legal struggles to that of teacher Enoch Burke.

Hes just standing up for his religious beliefs. Theyre out to get him. Its kind of the same in a way. Hes a teacher, Im a farmer.

Scanlon admitted she got worked up in court at the judge during her sentencing hearing.

The sergeant said sit down and dont say anything and Ill do the talking. Then she [the judge] said the wrong thing. She came out with the s**t again [about cruelty]. I jumped up.

There was this copper there and I thought he was going to grab me. I was furious with what she said about cruelty. She said it was a horrible case.

It was horrible [having to go to court]. I gave my point of view that the animal would have lived.

As well as giving out to the judge at the sentencing hearing Scanlon said she also ranted at the veterinary inspector when he visited the farm to put down Polly. I ate him, I f***ed him out of it before he killed her. I couldnt block him. He was hellbent on giving her the injection.

He was fully convinced it was cruelty. He said your father fed the cattle. I ate him, there was a bit of colourful language.

Im 550 out of pocket now after that. I paid that for her, why would I kill her after buying her?

Asked if she wanted to have more animals, she said: Ah yeah, youd like to. Just one or two, keep the numbers down.
Simeon Burke (24) was arrested and brought before Dublin District Court this evening accused of causing a breach of the peace at the Four Courts earlier today.

A younger brother of Enoch Burke has been charged with threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour following chaotic scenes at a Court of Appeal hearing today.

Simeon Burke (24) was arrested and brought before Dublin District Court this evening accused of causing a breach of the peace at the Four Courts earlier today.

The disturbance is alleged to have happened as appeal judges rejected Enoch Burke's appeal against High Court injunctions directing him not to trespass at a Co Westmeath school.

Simeon Burke had been among family members at that hearing to support his brother.

The accused, of Cloonsoona, Castlebar, Co Mayo is charged with using threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour at the Four Courts today.

The charge is under Section 6 of the Public Order Act.

Judge Paula Murphy granted him bail and adjourned the case to Cloverhill District Court next Tuesday. Mr Burke told the court he would not sign the bail bond and was remanded in custody with consent to bail.

The accused told the court he had been assaulted by gardai and treated in a brutal fashion by them because his family objected to having transgenderism forced down the throats of the people of this country."

He told Judge Murphy to stop this process now and said Im not signing anything, Im not a criminal here and I wont be treated as such.

Garda Conor Dwyer told Judge Murphy he was called to the Four Courts at 3.23pm where a man was allegedly shouting and provoking a breach of the peace, with several members of the public around.

They escorted the accused outside and he was shouting in an aggressive manner, he said.

I tried to reason with him and he did not comply, he said.

He was later charged, made no reply after caution and refused garda station bail.

The judge asked Simeon Burke if he had a solicitor.

I can speak for myself, he replied. This process needs to be stopped, I was unlawfully arrested and I have been treated shamefully and disgracefully by the gardai. I am shocked and shaken to the core by what happened. Its nothing short of disgraceful.

He said he had gone to the Court of Appeal today, as every citizen had a right to do, and during his time there the president of the court made statements, they were horrific statements, about transgenderism, justifying why it should be shoved down the throats of people in this country.

This was not only in schools but universities and was contrary to the Constitution, he said. He said citizens had religious rights and rights to express themselves freely.

Enoch Burke being removed from court. Photo credit: RTE News

Judge Murphy said that was a matter for the hearing of the case.

The family raised objections to what the judge said, Mr Burke continued.

A mob of gardai invaded the courtroom and assaulted my sister Ammi Burke, a solicitor, he claimed.

He said the gardai also assaulted his brother Enoch who had spent 108 days in prison because he "would not be forced to accept transgenderism in the school where he works.

He was assaulted by a mob of gardai and left bleeding by a mob of gardai, Mr Burke continued. What happened next is the gardai were making their way towards my mother after assaulting my sister and my brother, and I was in the pathway of the gardai as they moved to continue their violence against my mother.

He was then targeted and attacked by gardai who manhandled him and pushed him out of the courtroom," he claimed.

He alleged the gardai swore at him and one said eff him out of the courtroom, with another swearing at him as he was driven to court.

When he raised this with the gardai, he claimed, the reply was yes, I am swearing at you.

I am shocked, I am shaken to my core, Mr Burke told the court. I am not a criminal. Transgenderism shouldnt be forced down the throats of people. For the judge to have made that comment was wrong.

My shirt was ripped open, I have been left bleeding, my clothes have been taken from me, I have been brought in like a criminal. You have a responsibility to stop this process right now. He told the judge she had a duty before God and she had sworn before God to uphold the Constitution and the law.

Its shameful how I have been treated, I have been treated in a brutal fashion as have been my family, he said, and this was because they raised objections to having transgenderism forced down the throats of the people of this country.

The court heard there was no garda objection to bail subject to conditions and the judge set bail in his own bond of 200, with no cash lodgement required.

Under conditions, he is to stay away from the Four Courts and sign on three times weekly at his local garda station.

Im not signing anything, Im not a criminal here and I wont be treated as such, Mr Burke said.

The judge asked if he would not be taking up bail. I will not be treated like a criminal, judge, he said.

Several Burke family members in the public gallery were heard to say shameful while the accuseds mother Martina asked: Where are his shoes? and Why were his clothes ripped off him?

Shame on all of you, Enoch Burke said as his brother was led away by prison guards. Absolutely disgraceful.

His parents, his sister Ammi and his other brother Isaac were also in the district court for this afternoons hearing.

At the earlier Court of Appeal hearing, Enoch Burke lost an appeal aimed at overturning court orders preventing him from teaching or attending Wilsons Hospital School in Multyfarnham in Co Westmeath.

The three-judge court, in three separate judgments, dismissed the appeal. The delivery of the judgments was interrupted several times with gardai eventually intervening to remove members of the family.
Peter Whelan broke into Nichola Sweeneys home and began a frenzied and unprovoked knife attack on the women

A vicious murderer who took the life of a young Cork woman in 2002 and almost killed her friend has been out on day release when he shouldnt have been.

Sinead OLeary revealed to RTE how she learned that monster Peter Whelan has been enjoying day releases in Co Cork, the same place where he committed his heinous murder.

Un-constitutionally hes been out on day release, when he shouldnt have been. Hes been in Cork which is horrific, I will have to move away, Ms OLeary said.

Sinead and her best pal, Nichola Sweeney, were getting ready for a night out in 2002 when Peter Whelan broke into Nicholas home and began a frenzied and unprovoked knife attack on the women which left one dead and the other fighting for her life.

Now, it appears freedom may soon be on the horizon for the vicious beast, as Whelan will be eligible for parole in the next couple of years.

Hes constantly appealing for time off his sentence. He was sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder and life for Nicola.

I had faith in the justice system that the sentence would be upheld. But life doesnt mean life in Ireland, I didnt get that, Sinead said.

Nichola Sweeney

Whelan was successful in getting his 15-year sentence for the attempted murder of Sinead reduced to 11 in 2013 and has been out on day release at least four times.

In America, a life sentence from a federal court will result in imprisonment for the life of the defendant, unless a pardon or reprieve is granted.

In Ireland, a life sentence is normally reviewed after 12 years have been served. Ms OLeary is terrified of coming face to face with the killer.

I fought really hard to find a level of peace and safety in my life. At the moment I live in fear of the day that Peter Whelan could be allowed back in Cork, which would definitely mean I'd have to uproot my life completely and move away from my support system and my family, and it's the same for Nichola's family, she said.

Whelan is a particularly cold-blooded individual, as Sinead previously revealed in great detail what happened on the night she lost her friend.

He threw me on to the ground. He did not speak, he just had this really intense angry expression on his face.

I screamed to Nichola as he was stomping on me. She came out and was screaming at him to stop and he turned to her and looked at her really menacingly and lifted up his shirt to show two knives tucked into his belt and to show her what he was about to do.

He still didnt say anything, just pulled out the knife and started stabbing down on top of me.

He launched at her then. The blade had broken in my arm so he lunged with the other knife towards Nichola.

As Nichola tried to lock herself in the bathroom Sinead realised she would somehow have to get to a phone and call for help.

I had three stab wounds in my chest, two in the stomach and my arms were really bad in a lot of different places.

I ran to her parents room and then kept going, down the stairs with blood everywhere, it was squirting out of my arm.

Sinead locked herself in a downstairs bathroom and then heard the man walk past the door. She came out into the darkness not knowing if he was still there and ran to her friend.

Meanwhile, sadistic Whelan, then 19, had gone home two doors away, changed his clothes and had a cigarette with his mother before returning to the scene and asking gardai about events inside.

They recognised him from Sineads description and arrested him. He told them: Its a pity I did not do more.
They wined, dined and fled - but the law finally caught up with brazen thieves

A former Mexican beauty queen and her partner enjoyed a 14-course dinner at Atrio's Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel in western Spain followed by a guided tour of its wine cellar.

But when they left the hotel before dawn the next morning, they had spirited away 45 bottles of some of the finest wines available to humanity, worth a total of about 1.6m.

The law eventually caught up with them, however.

A court in the city of Careres said on Monday the woman had been sentenced to four years in prison and her Romanian-Dutch accomplice to four-and-a-half years after it found them guilty of aggravated robbery.

They were also ordered to pay damages to insurers worth over 750,000, the court said in a statement. It gave their names only as Tatiana and Estanislao.

According to the court, the 29-year-old Mexican checked in to the hotel in October 2021 using a fake Swiss passport and carrying only a backpack. A hotel employee who lifted the bag noticed it weighed very little.

The woman, who according to El Pais newspaper had competed in a beauty pageant in her homeland, was later joined by her 47-year-old male accomplice.

They had a 14-course dinner at the hotel's restaurant and were then taken on tour of the wine cellar.

Shortly after 2am, she ordered a salad to her room, distracting the sole night staff member and allowing her accomplice to swipe an electronic key from reception.

After he failed to gain access to the cellar as he had taken the wrong key, the woman tried another diversion by asking for a dessert.

The man managed to retrieve a master key and sneak into the cellar, where he stuffed 45 bottles - including a unique 19th-century vintage worth 350,000 - into the backpack and two bags with towels to prevent the glass from clinking.

The couple left the hotel before dawn and quickly fled Spain, but after a nine-month hunt across Europe, they were detained by border guards while crossing from Montenegro into Croatia.
This top spec MG will give you 400km in what looks like a baby Lamborghini but only costs 34k...whats not to love?

The sexy angles and lines on the side profile make this one of the best looking cars on the road

Ah folksthis is unreal. I love it. I loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it and the love affair only grew and grew as my test week continued.

I was so impressed with so many elements of this full-electric rookie that I was completely willing to forgive its flaws. One of my motoring peers commented late last year when he drove this exact car that it is a game changer and now I see why.

OK, so it aint perfect but sweet Lord, it is impressive. And one of the most astounding things about this is the asking price, which I will get to later.

The paint job might not be to everyones taste, but it didnt put me off one bit. Although I will say I saw a gorgeous black one with complementary black detailing during the week and I think I would opt for that colour scheme.

Two separate people in my circle of trust both independently commented on how the MG4 looks like a baby Lamborghini Urus; and I am not including my six-year-old nephew Ollie who ran over screaming Uncle Daragh has a Lamborghini.

So, safe to say, this gorgeous design is led, in part, by the Italian supercar. Its a scientific fact. Ollie is far cleverer than his age would suggest.

MG itself has taken a leap of faith on this as it is completely different to their other brands you see on Irish roads.

The Volcano Orange MG4 Exclusive was a big hit

There are enough MG taxis operating around Dublin to know that the recently-relaunched and now fully-electric brand has made a huge dent in EV sales here in Ireland. But until now they havent been known for producing overly-attractive cars. Let alone actual sexy cars.

But that has now changed, even if Volcano Orange isnt for you.

For starters, this is the companys first model based on a dedicated EV platform. That sounds awful boring but it means that the space inside is cleverly designed and laid out compared to the other cars that have taken combustion platforms and lobbed a giant battery in it. This makes the MG4 a practical hatchback like its nearest competitors the ID.3 and the Leaf.

But where the MG4 trumps the others is on price. I usually leave the cost to the end of my reviews but Im too excited to tell you  it starts at a mind-blowing 27,495 and even my fully-loaded top spec test car only costs 34,495. Ill take two, thank you very much.

There are two powertrain and two trim options to choose from for the moment with the Excite Standard Range, which comes with a 170hp electric motor and 50.8kWh (usable capacity) battery for a range of 350km.

The Excite Long Range is an extra 3,500 and has a larger (61.7kWh) battery as well as a more powerful motor with 203hp at your disposal. This version has a claimed range of 450km, while the top-spec Exclusive (which I drove), costs 34,495, only comes in Long Range guise and has an official range of 434km.

Incredibly, despite being bullied and harangued by motor journalists over the last couple of months the actual range is just under 400km, which is incredible.

The sexy angles and lines on the side profile make this one of the best looking cars on the road

The asking price doesnt mean it is completely devoid of gadgets and tech.

Possible exclusions that are still here include LED lights, rear parking sensors, heated door mirrors, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with smartphone compatibility, a 7-inch digital cluster, three USB ports, tyre pressure monitors, two ISOFIX points in the back, six airbags and an alarm and immobiliser.

Yes, yes, I know a lot of those are supposedly as-standard in a huge majority of cars but this price point usually indicates everything has been stripped out. But not here.

There is a large squared steering wheel and your seating position is higher than you would expect, giving very good visibility. There is a really good quality to the finish on everything inside the cabin including the normally-fragile buttons and controls on the steering wheel.

There is bucket loads of storage, including clever use of a shelf under the centre console.

The rear offers surprisingly good space too and while I didnt manage to get three adults into the back to test it, I found it roomy and neither of my kids complained at any stage during the week. And MG quotes 363 litres of space in the boot.

It is a gorgeous drive and very responsive. The weight of the battery means you always feel grounded to the tarmac and there is plenty of fire power if you need to overtake.

And now to the flaws. I would have loved a rear windscreen wiper, if Im telling the truth. MG claims that the rear spoiler design is in place, in part, to prevent rain and water rolling down on the window. Not true.

The radio in my test car repeatedly switched from FM to DAB radio at random times which was annoying but I am willing to accept that this is not a problem for every MG4 owner in the country, otherwise more people would be talking about it.

And the final gripe was that the battery size meant it was slower than other EVs to charge.

But I am clutching at straws here because I truly adored this car. I still cant believe how cheap it is. I declared to my family at the end of the week that it was a definite contender for our next family car, and it was greeted with huge enthusiasm. The only comment was maybe not in bright orange.

I can live with that.
?? #AHORA | El ministro del Interior, Vicente Romero, presenta los resultados del megaoperativo Impacto y Presencia Policial 2023 ejecutados por la @PoliciaPeru en #Lima, entre el jueves y domingo ultimo.#PeruPaisSeguro pic.twitter.com/79RjzP3wfj
The discovery of human remains was made yesterday around 3pm.

A north Dublin suburb. is the scene of an ongoing Garda investigation after the discovery of a skeleton there on Monday.

The discovery, which was made just after 3pm on March 6, occurred on the N2 interchange in Finglas.

A sgarda spokesperson today said: "Gardai at Finglas have commenced an investigation following the discovery of skeletal remains at the N2 interchange in Finglas Village shortly after 3pm on Monday, March 6, 2023.

Gardai have sealed off the area to allow for a technical examination. The Office of the State Pathologist has been requested to attend the scene.

The outcome of the examinations will determine the course of the investigation.

Analysis of bone mineralisation-calcification is one way which investigators can us to identify the identity of a skeleton.

Such specialist tests have proved crucial in numerous investigations into narrowing down a search area and indicating where a person grew up thanks to specific mineral markers in the bone.
Sharon Horgans comedy hit Bad Sisters - about a group of siblings who will go to drastic ends to protect one another - has received 12 nominations in the Drama categories.

The Banshees Of Inisherin has picked up multiple nominations and wins during the 2023 awards season (Ian West/PA)   Ian West

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in 'The Banshees of Inisherin'

It leads the green charge at the Oscars with nine out of a record 14 Irish Academy Awards nominees. So it comes as little surprise that Martin McDonaghs dark period comedy The Banshees of Inisherin is the leading movie contender at this years IFTA Film and Drama awards, with 11 nominations.

Shot in Achill and Inishmore Islands, as Banshees also leads this years Irish Film and Television Awards, while Sharon Horgans comedy hit Bad Sisters - about a group of siblings who will go to drastic ends to protect one another - has received 12 nominations in the Drama categories.

Bad Sisters TV sweep includes nominations for Best Drama, Sharon Horgan for screenplay and lead actress, and stars Eve Hewson, Eva Birthistle, Anne-Marie Duff and Sarah Greene.

Bad Sisters

The nominees were revealed as IFTA announced that this years Awards - celebrating IFTAs 20th anniversary - will take place on Sunday, May 7, at Dublins Royal Convention Centre. The Screen Ireland-funded awards is also backed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and Tourism Ireland.

This weeks Irish Oscar nominees Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan have all been nominated by their industry peers, as has moving short film An Irish Goodbye.

The Banshees Of Inisherin has picked up multiple nominations and wins during the 2023 awards season (Ian West/PA)   Ian West

As well as Banshees, the other nominees for Best Film include Aisha, Frank Berrys drama of a young Nigerian woman navigating direct provision; the forthcoming Gods Creatures, a tale of secrets in a small-town community starring Paul Mescal; charming Irish-language drama Roise & Frank; Netflixs Irish-set drama The Wonder, starring Florence Pugh; and the upcoming Lakelands, about a GAA player whose life is upended by injury.

Joining Bad Sisters in the Best Drama category is the Derry Girls special The Agreement, Conversations with Friends, Smother, The Dry and Vikings Valhalla.

In the film categories, Banshees leads with 11 nominations, closely followed by Aisha (10). Roise & Frank and The Wonder follow with six nominations apiece.

Actress Florence Pugh in County Wicklow during filming of 'The Wonder. Photo: Christopher Barr/Netflix   CHRISTOPHER BARR/NETFLIX

In the drama categories, Sharon Horgans comedy Bad Sisters has secured an impressive 12 nominations, followed by The Dry (eight) and Conversations With Friends (seven).

The IFTAS nominees were announced in what has been a historic year for the Irish screen industry, with Irish talent front and centre across numerous categories throughout awards season. That culminates in next Sundays Oscars - taking place in the early hours of Monday morning here - with Irish interest across 14 categories.

Announcing this years IFTAS nominees, Academy CEO, Aine Moriarty said: What an exciting time right now for the Irish screen industry. This superb line-up of nominees in the running for Irish Academy Awards showcases to the world the high calibre of acting, filmmaking and storytelling we have in this country.

"The Irish Academy is proud to acknowledge and reward their great work and we look forward to celebrating their achievements at the ceremony.

This is a really exciting time for the Film and TV Industry, added Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The IFTA awards night on May 7 will be a night full of glamour, excitement, and most importantly, a celebration of the incredible talent we are so lucky to have in this country.
Tom Maher (35), from Tyrrellspass Co Westmeath had to be rushed to hospital soon after

Tom finally got to go on a date with Regina

A love hopeful on TVs First Dates reveals he was so determined to sit through his audition for the show that he suffered through the pain of his gall bladder bursting and had to be rushed to hospital soon after.

Tom Maher (35), from Tyrrellspass Co Westmeath, will also be seen on the next edition telling how he ran his own gay bar in London from the age of 23 which had among its clients Cilla Black, Graham Norton, Paul OGrady and Brian Dowling.

I ended up getting ill as my gall bladder burst during the audition in Dublin and I got poisoned, he tells the Sunday World.

I was there at that stage and I said Id better do it now and that was it. The next day I ended up in the hospital in Tullamore, where I was in intensive care and had to have emergency surgery.

It took me a long time to get right because I had pneumonia as well. So, the whole lot hit me at once and let me down.

Tom gave up his job as a supplier of memorabilia and furniture to pubs so he could get his health back in order.

But once he recovered a few months later he filmed his date with Mayo woman Regina (30).

We had a great chat, there was no pauses, conversation flew. She is a nice, decent person, he stresses.

Toms longest relationship up to then was two-and-a-half years, when he was living in England after moving there at the age of 16 to work in the bar trade.

By the time he was 18 he was assistant manager in OGradys pub in Seven Sisters and then he started in the business of supplying the likes of poker and quiz machines and pool tables to bars.

While supplying one pub in London, gay bar 79CXR, he became friends with its licencee who, after a while, asked him would he like to take it on instead.

Tom roped in a gay friend who was in the pub trade and some family and friends to help him out even though he was aged just 23.

The next day we moved in and took over, he recalls.

Regina (30)

The gay pub had many famous customers.

Cilla Black, Paul OGrady, Graham Norton, Brian Dowling used to come in. Half of them I wouldnt recognise, he laughs.

I had a pub in Ilford at the same time, but there was a lot of conditions on the license and stuff like that. It ran out of steam after a couple of years and the place is now converted into a block of flats.

Tom moved back to Ireland and ran a bar in Rochfortbridge for a time, before trying his hand at the pub memorabilia business. Hes now training to be a driver with Dublin Bus.

With First Dates a friend of mine was on it. I suppose I was giving him a bit of slagging. He says to me I bet you wont go on it. I said, Ill go on it. He made the phone call and the next thing I got a call back and I said, I might as well.
Tauranga organisers of a local arts exhibition fundraiser to support the Hawkes Bay arts community are stunned with the response from all over the North Island.

The number of artists donating is staggering, well exceeding our expectations, says The Incubator Director Simone Anderson.

Not only from the Bay of Plenty but further afield including Rotorua, Hamilton, Auckland and even artist victims of the flood themselves from Hawkes Bay offering works to sell to collectively support others.

The generosity is heart-warming and highlights the amazing spirit of the arts community in Aotearoa- New Zealand.

Hawke's Bay artist John Gisborne lost his home, studio and livelihood as the floods and silt caused huge devastation through the Taradale Pottery Cub and Waiohiki Arts Centre. He has been selflessly and tirelessly leading the clean-up work at Waiohiki Arts Village and Taradale Pottery Club and helping others. Photo: Supplied.

The exhibition which opens at the Peoples Gallery Toi ka rere on Friday March 17 will run until April 10.

Funds from artist sales will be distributed to grassroots arts communities and artists in Hawkes Bay to help with replenishing their supplies and equipment and to help get them back on their feet to continue their creative mahi, says Simone.

One week after invitations to donate were opened, the number of artists was 65 and counting. Submissions include both emerging, mid-career and renowned NZ artists.

The Incubator Creative Hub have a great admiration for their artist friends in the Hawkes Bay, says Simone.

She says Hastings was the destination for their 2022 annual team field trip to explore other New Zealand Arts Hubs. They met with many art advocates, arts and festival managers, and creatives from the numerous community-driven arts hubs.

We were warmly welcomed, shown great hospitality and returned fizzing with newfound respect of the Hawkes Bay, says Simone.

We were totally inspired by their development of grassroots arts and impressed by the progressive impact they were making towards the vibrant transformation of their region.

All money raised from the exhibition will be given directly to Hawkes Bay Arts Collectives and the artists affected by the cyclone. Photo: Supplied.

Simone says seeing the photos of the devastation of some of the places in the Hawkes Bay following Cyclone Gabrielle was heart-breaking, so the team wanted to do anything to take a load off and show proactive support.

We saw the opportunity of an exhibition to express our support through art and give artists a platform to make a positive contribution, says Simone.

In the aftermath of this crisis, an art exhibition may be far from the minds of the affected creatives and artists of Hawkes Bay, many on the ground cleaning up, but also coming to terms with scale of loss of their stock, art materials, equipment and the damage caused to infrastructure of the arts hubs and studio spaces.

All money raised from the exhibition will be given directly to Hawkes Bay Arts Collectives and the artists affected by the cyclone. Photo: Supplied.

Other arts groups have got behind this kaupapa as well, including a group in Rotorua called the Pleasure Painters Rotorua. They meet once a week to paint and draw together.

Our whole group has been shocked by the devastation in the Hawkes Bay. Any way we can help we will, says Pleasure Painters Rotorua group member Dot Anson. For me personally, I have relations in Wairoa and Hastings and have heard first hand some of the problems that the area is facing.

I came across this fundraiser and thought it would be a great opportunity to do something to ease the burden people are facing.

All money raised from the exhibition will be given directly to Hawkes Bay Arts Collectives and the artists affected by the cyclone. Photo: Supplied.

Judging from the calibre and diversity of contributing artists, who include sculptors, ceramicists and painters, this exhibition will be one of a kind and an opportunity for art lovers to come along and purchase works and contribute to the fundraising that will give some relief to those facing a long road ahead to recovering their arts practices.

Artists can be viewed on the Incubator Fundraiser webpage. https://www.theincubator.co.nz/hawkes-bay-fundraiser-exhibition

The exhibition launches on Friday March 17 at 5.30pm in the Peoples Gallery Toi ka rere.  Historic Village and will be open to the public until April 10. For more information click here or go to www.theincubator.co.nz/hawkes-bay-fundraiser-exhibition

All money raised from the exhibition will be given directly to Hawkes Bay Arts Collectives and the artists affected by the cyclone. Photo: Supplied.

Flooding at the Hawkes Bay Arts Collective. Photo: Supplied.
One person has been flown to hospital following a water incident at Waihi Beach.

We were notified at 12.53pm that two people had been pulled from the water and were on land, says Surf Lifesaving New Zealand Eastern Region Lifesaving Manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell.

One person is status 2 and on their way by helicopter to hospital.

Surf lifeguard patrols are no longer operating during the week in the Bay of Plenty although there are volunteer patrols at some of the beaches on the weekends up until Easter.

We activated our call-out squad to provide assistance as we didnt know when the ambulance was arriving.

Chaz says Waihi Beach, like much of the beach along the Mount Maunganui area, has a lot of holes and troughs out in the water, and is quite rippy.

There is a lot of energy in the waves causing the water to move around, says Chaz.

He says the two cyclones off the coast at the moment are generating significant swell, and also creating a lot of energy in the waves.

It makes for very good surfing but theres a lot of water moving around.

Key Safety messages

Swim Between the Flags - If you are heading out to the beach, choose a lifeguarded one and remember the red and yellow flags show the safest area to swim. Go to www.safeswim.org.nz to find your nearest lifeguarded beach.

3Rs RIP Survival Plan - Rips are a major hazard on New Zealand beaches and can be deadly. Learn the 3Rs Rip Survival Plan  it could save your life! Relax & Float, Raise your hand, Ride the tide.

Talk to Surf Lifeguards - Even though conditions can change quickly, our lifeguards keep a constant eye on the beach situation as they continuously scope the beach for hazards, and keep on top of weather forecasts and understand the swell and tide conditions  theyre a friendly bunch too!

Know your Limits - Too many people get into trouble in the water because they simply overestimate their abilities and under-estimate the conditions.

Chaz says volunteer lifeguards will be back on patrol this coming weekend at Hot Water Beach, Whangamata, Waihi Beach, Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Papamoa. Weekend patrols at these beaches continues through until Easter weekend.
A pig farmer who tried to create a park for his family by dumping demolition waste into Tauranga Harbour has failed to appeal his convictions.

Tio Faulkners illegal expansion into Tauranga Harbour was spotted in a 2019 aerial survey by Bay of Plenty Regional Council, and follow-ups revealed a piggery releasing effluent into the water.

He was sentenced to three months and two weeks imprisonment back in February 2022 after being found guilty of six charges related to offending under the Resource Management Act and ordered to pay $5000 towards costs.

But he launched a high court appeal stating, among other things, that hed been railroaded and his indigenous rights to the whenua ignored.

At his sentencing Faulkner represented himself, and Judge Prudence Steven described his submissions as numerous, lengthy and bordering on being unintelligible.

His offending was sustained and unrepentant, she said.

He used broken concrete to build what amounted to a three-metre high platform, about 30 metres wide and stretching 15 metres into tidal flats.

In total, it covered some 1000sqm.

Stuff later revealed his offending left ratepayers with a $330,000 clean up bill.

Faulkners appeal to the high court cited breach of tikanga, unlawful actions by Bay of Plenty Regional Council and a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

This is noted in a written ruling by Justice Paul Davison, released to Stuff by the High Court in Tauranga.

Tio Faulkner, pictured at his sentencing in February 2022, submitted that his indigenous rights to the whenua were ignored. Photo: Benn Bathgate/Stuff.

Other matters listed are largely incomprehensible in terms of being any possible relevance to the appeal, Justice Davison said.

Describing Faulkners oral submissions, Justice Davison said they generally lacked focus and were difficult to follow.

As I understood him, his principal submission is that his rights as the owner or custodian of the aboriginal or native title to the land which is the subject of the charges have been disregarded and effectively ignored by the District Court Judge in her decision finding six of the charges he faced proved, he said.

He submits that his rights have been what he terms railroaded and his indigenous rights as owner of the whenua passed to him by his forebears have been ignored.

Prosecutor Adam Hopkinson told the High Court evidence put before the District Court clearly established that the appellant was responsible for hundreds of tons of hard fill waste being spread from the appellants property at Matapihi Rd and extending into the foreshore area of the Coastal Marine Area of Tauranga Harbour.

He also said Faulkners convictions came in the wake of an eight-day hearing and the presentation of substantial prosecution evidence to prove the charges.

He also described a number of writs issued by Faulkner as "largely unintelligible and not relevant to the appeal.

Justice Davison said it was clear from Judge Stevens decision that the evidence presented to the District Court by the respondent and accepted by the Judge comprised a compelling evidential foundation for the Judges findings regarding the charges being proved beyond reasonable doubt.

He said Faulkner had failed to show Judge Steven erred resulting in a miscarriage of justice.

The appeal against conviction is dismissed.

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.
15:06 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Mar. 7.





Speaking from Washington D.C., he noted that the aim is to provide them with the truth and evidence, because a false narrative has been created about what happened on December 7, the last day of the Pedro Castillo administration





In this regard, Adrianzen stated that the video showing the moments before the Address to the Nation , in which he is seen along with then-Prime Minister Betssy Chavez, will help prove that a coup d'etat took place.





The Permanent Representative of Peru to the OAS reiterated that said action did not prosper thanks to the democratic conduct of institutions and to the fact that the current President of the Republic Dina Boluarte assumed power thereafter through constitutional succession.





"Several representatives of the nations of the Organization of American States have expressed their solidarity with and commitment to Peru, as well as their strong support to contribute strengthening democracy," Adrianzen said in statements to RCR.





"Some have been a little more moderate, but our job is to get closer to them, we will reach out to each of them bringing a message of truth," he added.





Likewise, the diplomat indicated that part of the message that Peru seeks to send out is that Pedro Castillo will be prosecuted in Peru, with all the guarantees of due process.

In this regard, the Permanent Representative remarked that very few nations, those that are ideologically closest to him, still defend the ex-President.





(END) MRCA/JCC/RMB
Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription.

Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the transfer of 9 patients from blockaded Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) to Armenia for treatment on March 7, the healthcare ministry of Nagorno Karabakh reported.

Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, 9 patients from the Republican Medical Center the Republic of Artsakh with serious diseases of the oncology and pathologies requiring emergency surgical interventions have been transported today, on March 7, to specialized medical institutions of the Republic of Armenia with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ministry said in a statement posted on social media.

9 patients, who had been transferred to Armenia for medical treatment, returned to Artsakh together with their accompanying persons. Scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical centers of the Republic of Artsakh. 6 children remain in the neonatal and intensive care unit of the Arevik medical centre. 6 patients remain in the intensive care unit of the Republican Medical Centre, 1 of them in critical condition.A total of 153 patients have been transported so far from Artsakh to Armenia with the mediation and support of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ministry added.
The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime.
Offer a personal message of sympathy...

By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno Karabakh police officer who survived the Azeri ambush on March 5 is still under intensive care at the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert, the healthcare ministry of Nagorno Karabakh said Tuesday.

The officer is in non-life-threatening condition, the ministry added.

Three Nagorno Karabakh police officers were killed and another was injured when Azerbaijani military forces ambushed their vehicle on March 5 in what Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh described as a terror attack.
The global rising tide of cyber threats from nation-states should be a red flag for private sector security leaders in all industries to prepare for more frequent and brazen attacks in the future, according to Forrester Research.

To help companies prepare for the changing nation-state attack landscape, Forrester unveiled on March 2 a new model to defend themselves and prepare for an expected onslaught of regulations to follow.

Forrester senior analyst and lead author of the report, Allie Mellen, pointed out that 40% of reported cyber operations by country target the private sector. State-sponsored attacks have increased by almost 100% between 2019 and 2022, and their nature has changed  more are carried out for data destruction, denial of service, and financial theft than in previous years.

The Forrester model is built on three steps.

First, understand how nation-states attack organizations. A good starting point is the nation-state escalation ladder available in the model.

This is a wise approach, maintained Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, a security awareness training provider in Clearwater, Fla.

In the end, for the victim, does it really matter which actor is responsible for an attack that steals money or sensitive information? he asked.

Focusing on how these attacks are being performed, especially as cybercrime groups continue to mature, is far more important for most organizations than worrying about the source, Kron told TechNewsWorld.

Being aware that you may be a target is important, though, and planning must be a part of the threat models, he added.

Threat Modeling

Second, construct threat models based on organization-specific nation-state threats.

Threat models for geopolitical actors are living references of who, what, where, when, why, and how nation-state attackers target your organization, the report noted. They help predict future attacker activity, close visibility, and detection gaps, plan future market moves, and provide a tangible reference for executive discussions.

Proper threat modeling is absolutely important when talking about nation-state actors, said Alexis Dorais-Joncas, senior manager for threat research at Proofpoint, an enterprise security company in Sunnyvale, Calif.

An organization that wants to heighten its defense has to determine which of the hundreds of state-sponsored actors are targeting them. Then it has to prioritize countermeasures to those threats, Dorais-Joncas told TechNewsWorld.

The third step is to get involved in influencing the narrative around cybersecurity. To do that, security leaders need to know what government jurisdictions have security requirements for their business; manage their relationships with the government through vehicles like information sharing; prepare for geopolitical events ahead of time; and influence legislative proposals before they become regulations.

The report also recommends joining forces with others in an industry to gain some muscle in the legislative process and keeping board members informed about whats being done about nation-state threats before they come asking about the situation.

Strong Foundation Needed

I think the Forrester approach is headed in a good direction, observed James Lively, an endpoint security research specialist with Tanium, an endpoint management provider in Kirkland, Wash.

He added, however, that for the model to be effective, it must be built on top of an already strong foundation. If your company is having challenges maintaining a compliance or patch efficacy program, then most models are already rendered ineffective, Lively told TechNewsWorld.

Morgan Demboski, a cyber threat intelligence analyst with IronNet, a network security company in McLean, Va., called Forresters model a smart approach to contending with the nation-state problem.

Having a strategic and informed approach when defending against nation-state attacks is critical, Demboski told TechNewsWorld.

The cyber activity and strategic objectives of nation-state threat actors continue to show the interrelationship between the geopolitical and cyber threat landscapes, highlighting the importance of tracking government actions and international relations to assess their potential implications in the cyber domain, she continued.

Preparing for organization-specific activity is important since the threats facing different businesses are multi-faceted and differ between sector and region, she added.

Attacks Not Going Away

Robert Hughes, the chief information security officer at RSA, a cybersecurity company in Bedford, Mass., noted that the Forrester model appears to be very prudent advice.

It comes down to knowing the risk level your business is facing, Hughes told TechNewsWorld. While at some level its like trying to protect your home from a missile attack, there is a solid framework to start thinking through the questions and discussion points you should be aware of as a business to consider your risks and start to address them using a multi-pronged strategy.

Nation-state attacks are not going away, he continued. They are increasing in volume and capability, and we should expect to see more of this, not less, in the next couple of years.

While the Forrester approach is sound, its nothing new, maintained Mike Parkin, a senior technical engineer with Vulcan Cyber, a provider of SaaS for enterprise cyber risk remediation in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Its very much the same ideas the cybersecurity community and business, in general, has been pushing towards for years, with an added awareness of state-level threat actors, Parkin told TechNewsWorld.

It does reinforce those ideas, though, and thats a good thing, he added.

Unnecessary Distraction

While agreeing that organizations need to protect themselves from all attacks and have knowledge of how and to whom reports of attacks should be submitted, the scope of nation-state threats can be overwhelming, observed Todd Carroll, senior vice president of cyber operations at CybelAngel, a threat intelligence company in Paris.

You will spin in circles trying to think about every nation-state and organized team and method of attack out there, Carroll told TechNewsWorld. China alone has dozens of state-sponsored teams attacking verticals via different methods and for various reasons.

You dont have time to know the why, but you need to spend your limited resources on protecting access, knowing your attack surface, and tracking your critical data, he said.

Claude Mandy, chief evangelist for data security at Symmetry Systems in San Francisco, a provider of hybrid cloud data security solutions, however, was skeptical of the Forrester model.

In an industry struggling to handle less sophisticated attackers and basic attacks, a nation-state-specific threat model could be perceived as an unnecessary distraction to organizations who would benefit most from getting the basics right first, Mandy told TechNewsWorld.

Rather than investing in cybersecurity controls to attempt to thwart a sophisticated attacker like a nation-state, we like to encourage organizations to prioritize their cybersecurity on what matters most to them  their data  rather than starting from threats and trying to guess what attackers will do, he said.
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

Facepalm: Nvidia GPU users who have recently noticed abnormally high CPU usage after exiting games should know the company is aware of the issue and is developing a hotfix. Those seriously impacted by the problem should consider temporarily rolling back the driver.

Nvidia updated its list of known issues for GeForce driver 531.18 to acknowledge user reports of high CPU usage after exiting games. Developers are working on a hotfix, which will arrive on Tuesday.

Some users reported noticing CPU usage increased by up to 15 percent after closing out of a game. Checking the Process tab revealed that the Nvidia Container was the culprit. To be more precise, the latest version of the Nvidia Game Session Telemetry Plugin seems to be the source of the issue.

FYI - we'll be posting a hotfix driver tomorrow with a fix --- Sean Pelletier (@PellyNV) March 6, 2023

Most users probably shouldn't mess with Nvidia driver files, as neutralizing the DLL file requires deleting or moving it with administrator privileges. However, for those who feel comfortable doing so, blocking or removing the plugin's DLL file can fix the issue. Some Redditors posted instructions for doing this if you're up to it.

An extra 10-15 percent of CPU usage might not bother some, but it could impact CPU-intensive tasks. Those who need an immediate solution and don't want to mess with internal files should reboot their PCs after exiting a game or roll back to an earlier driver until the hotfix arrives.

Nvidia also added a few other known issues to the notes for 531.18. It may sometimes cause Adobe Premiere Pro and Assassin's Creed Origins to crash. Additionally, laptop users with GeForce GTX 10 series, MX250, or MX350 GPUs might see a random bugcheck.

While the issue may inconvenience some, Nvidia's driver problems have been mild compared to those AMD experienced recently. After users of most Radeon GPUs had to wait two months for new drivers, February's Adrenalin 23.2.1 release bricked some Windows installations, albeit in extremely rare cases. Team Red is working on an official solution to the problem, but unchecking the "Factory Reset" box when installing the drivers should prevent it from emerging.
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

In brief: It's a sad fact that we live in troubling times, as shown by the Doomsday Clock moving to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest we've ever been to reaching total destruction. As such, the US Air Force is ramping up efforts to protect its nuclear missile silos, and has just awarded a $75.5 million contract to New York-based firm Persistent Systems for the world's largest wireless ad-hoc network.

Persistent Systems will roll out its Infrastructure-based Regional Operation Network (IRON) for The Air Force Global Strike Command, creating a secure unified network for 400 operational Minuteman III intercontinental-range nuclear missile silos located across the US, writes Interesting Engineering.

Serving the US Air Force's Regional Operating Picture (ROP) program, IRON will cover a 25,000-square-mile geographic area, making it the world's largest wireless ad-hoc network. It connects MANET edge networks, which allow airmen to share voice, video, chat, sensor, and GPS data, into one unified Battlespace Awareness Network for increased situational awareness.

Around 700 IRON systems will be installed across this massive area. They use an easy-to-deploy Integrated MANET Antenna System on fixed towers and poles, connecting 75 operation centers and over 1,000 Security Force vehicles.

"US military bases can sprawl tens of thousands of square miles, and as it stands now, there's no dynamic, high-bandwidth way for headquarters staff to track, and reliably remain in contact with, the security personnel patrolling this vast area," said Adrien Robenhymer, Persistent's VP of Business Development. "Should personnel run into problems in the field, they wouldn't have effective support from an operations center."

With ROP in place, military personnel on a missile field will be able to maintain constant communication through the towers to an Operations Center (OC), while staff in the OC will be able to follow the movements and know the precise location of security forces on a digital map. ROP will initially be rolling out across Malmstrom, Minot, and F.E. Warren Air Force Bases.

Beyond Situational awareness, IRON facilitates a fully digital battlespace that links multiple weapon systems and programs in a unified network. "It provides the foundation on which a true Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) system could be built," said Robenhymer.

IRON systems are already being deployed across the missile fields and will continue to be deployed across the next 36 months.

In other recent military news, Shipbuilder Austal USA delivered a ship to the US Navy last month that can operate for up to 30 days at sea without human intervention, another step in the armed forces' shift toward more automation.
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

In brief: The United States' restrictions against China's semiconductor industry have seen the Asian nation's chip imports crash by 27% in the first two months of 2023. That's even higher than the total decline for all of 2022, and illustrates the effectiveness of US sanctions.

According to China's General Administration of Customs data published Tuesday (via The South China Morning Post), the country imported 67.6 billion integrated circuits (IC) in January and February. That's down 26.5% from the same period last year, and higher than the 15.3% fall recorded for the entirety of 2022.

The total value of these imports also declined, from $68.8 billion last year to $47.8 billion, a drop of 30.5%. That's partly due to chip prices that have fallen due to oversupply and the general economic downturn.

China's IC exports also fell in the first two months, down 20.9% to 37.3 billion units, while the total value of the exports dropped 25.8%.

The US has been tightening its restrictions on China's chip industry over the last 12 months, which the United States says will prevent its global rival from developing semiconductors for military applications, including supercomputers, nuclear weapons modeling, and hypersonic weapons.

October's restrictions on chipmaking tools from the Bureau of Industry and Security were some of the harshest, designed to cap China's logic chips at the 14-nanometre node, DRAM at 18nm, and 3D NAND flash at 128 layers. The US has also prohibited AMD and Nvidia from selling some of its high-performance AI-focused GPUs to China, including team green's A100 GPUs.

It's not just the US that is hampering China's plans to make its own advanced chips. In January, the Biden administration completed two years of negotiations with Japan and the Netherlands that will see the countries ban the export of advanced chipmaking devices to China. When the bans will come into effect is unclear, but Chinese chip firms are preparing for the new restrictions by stockpiling chipmaking equipment, components, spare parts, and materials in warehouses.

There was some good news for China's economy as the end of zero-Covid policies caused a rebound in other manufacturing sectors. Whether that will be enough to offset the damage chip sanctions are causing is unknown. What is clear is that these restrictions are having an impact. In addition to the latest figures, China saw its first annual fall in IC imports in two decades last year, and the country's semiconductor production industry experienced its largest-ever decline in August.

Despite the Biden administration restricting China's chipmaking abilities, a recent report claimed it is still ahead of the US when it comes to research in 37 out of 44 crucial and emerging technologies, including AI, defense, and key quantum tech areas.
For the past years, artificial intelligence has extended its service across different sectors, such as manufacturing and engineering.

Gradually, the system has also entered the healthcare industry, where doctors use AI-powered tools to yield faster and more effective results on their findings.

The emergence of generative AI, especially ChatGPT, has paved the way for everyone to solve problems easier than before. It can answer exams and homework, but of course, it's still flawed, with inaccurate results sometimes.

Ahead of ChatGPT4's release, which is slated in late 2023, let's talk more about ChatGPT's transformative role in medicine and health services around the world for the next few years.

How Helpful is ChatGPT in Healthcare Sector

Forbes listed some ways ChatGPT plays a vital role in transforming the medical practice into a whole new one. Just imagine how impactful AI's power is when healthcare experts start to adapt it to their daily tasks.

The Power of Emulation

Have you ever thought that an AI could copy how doctors formulate their clinical decisions based on the situation? ChatGPT can read large amounts of data in just a few seconds, which is beyond human capability.

AI-powered apps can contribute a lot to healthcare by extracting useful information about a patient's condition. It's also helpful in collecting data from a large database. That's something worth looking into if all the available materials are digitally published.

Aside from that, ChatGPT can predict the accurate process that needs to be done when doctors conduct diagnoses and analyses. It can decide what's better between two choices out of thousands of possibilities.

Faster and Better Results

Although humans can work on their craft with accuracy, we often fall behind AI when it comes to speed in how we solve things.

In the healthcare industry, ChatGPT can work wonders by improving the rate of growth it's showing for specific data or activity.

For instance, an AI can boast a strong computational power that doubles every two years. However, ChatGPT is deemed to be more effective 32 times during this period. This means that for the next two decades, it will be more than 1,000 times more powerful than it used to be.

Related Article: How ChatGPT Can Improve Your Health; Reliability, Command Tricks, Other Details

24/7 Monitoring

Since patients need to be regularly monitored by doctors and nurses, there's a need to invest time in identifying what's right and wrong for their condition.

With AI, the in-person medical system will be further improved. ChatGPT could be an effective monitoring unit that can provide 24/7 service to patients.

What's more, it can give individuals a daily health update and even an update if there's an error in the reading of the health-monitoring devices.

Prevention of Medical Errors

Given how ahead generative AI is compared to other technologies, it's understandable why it's so effective in healthcare.

A single mistake in the hospital can harm or kill a patient. This is why it's very important to be aware of the medical errors that might happen.

With video-enabled AI, avoiding miscalculations is possible. Of course, humans still need to supervise the machine-learning system to produce error-free results.

Doctor's Go-to Tool

Over time, ChatGPT will continue to improve as long as it is trained consistently. Predicting a series of clinical steps must be a chore for humans, but with the help of AI, this task becomes more simple for doctors.

Once machine-learning software becomes adept, just like what experts do in predicting potential solutions to problems, many hospitals will entirely benefit from it.

Meanwhile, Inbenta shares the key benefits of using chatbots in healthcare.

Read Also: 'One Piece' Author Eiichiro Oda Asks ChatGPT to Generate New Anime Chapter: Here's What Happened

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan on March 7 held a meeting with the United States Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, United States Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Louis Bono.

Grigoryan and Bono discussed the latest developments in the settlement process of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Grigoryans office said in a read-out.

The illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and its consequences were discussed, and in this context Secretary Grigoryan attached importance to the necessity for sending an international fact-finding team to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh.
Chinese state-sponsored hackers are currently spread all over the world to steal confidential information from their victims.

As the United States competes with China when it comes to tech supremacy, weapon advancement, and infrastructure, there's bigger trouble surrounding that needs to be addressed: the hacking spree in Southeast Asian countries.

China-backed Hackers are Stealing Hacking ASEAN Countries

According to a report by Wired, Chinese cybercriminals have been launching cyber espionage for some time in some countries in Southeast Asia.

The group, which is reportedly supported by Beijing, has carried out attacks on neighboring nations affiliated with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The report says that a widespread hacking of mail servers has been attributed to the notorious gang of Chinese hackers.

In February 2022, the group had compromised 10 ASEAN members where they stole millions of data containing information about the economy and politics.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that Southeast Asian countries were under attack by China-linked hackers. The group had been launching an all-out hacking campaign in the region since 2019, according to the cybersecurity document.

The alert says that the attackers were able to get over 10,000 emails which are said to exceed 30 GB. Additionally, the authorities alerted the governmental organizations and cybersecurity agencies of the 10 ASEAN countries about this case.

Organized Cyber Attack

According to Scot Marciel, a former US ambassador to Myanmar and Indonesia, the voice of ASEAN members should be amplified to address the issue.

While the organization has been discussing matters about geopolitics, they should further talk about the potential reasons why Beijing is pursuing an interest in their lands.

Cybersecurity experts suggest that Southeast Asian countries should improve their remote monitoring of email credentials to safeguard their files against hacking schemes.

The alert also urges them to reset their credentials to minimize cyberattacks in the affected nations.

It's interesting why China is heavily investing in its infrastructure across Southeast Asia where in fact it can establish more projects in other regions.

"Efforts to deepen positive relations are quite often offset by the Chinese government's approach to securitize everything," SOAS University of London's China Institute researcher Olivia Cheung said.

With that in mind, China is slowly building its foundation so it could easily gain access to the resources of ASEAN members such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

In 2021, state-sponsored threat actors have been linked to China. At that time, Recorded Future noted that 400 servers have been infected by malware in the region.

Related Article: Chinese Hackers Bring a New Security Threat Like Cobalt Strike-Attacks Prominent Now

Chinese Hackers on the Rise Outside SEA

Outside Southeast Asia, Chinese hackers also hit South American diplomatic organizations with ShadowPad trojan, a controversial malware tool, per The Hacker News.

In April 2022, some Chinese cybercriminals spread malware via VLC Media player, one of the most popular video players. Tech Times wrote in its report that the hacking campaign on the app started back in mid-2021

Read Also: Canadian Government Bans TikTok Across Government Devices

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Researchers found that coastal water pollution transfers to the air in sea spray aerosol. This can reach people across the land and can be affected by bacteria, viruses, and chemical compounds from the ocean.

(Photo : DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty Images)

A long-billed curlew walks through oily water near a containment boom as a 3,000-barrel oil spill, about 126,000 gallons, from an offshore oil rig reaches the shore and sensitive wildlife habitats in Newport Beach, California on October 3, 2021.

Coastal Water Pollution Transfers to Air

About 13 billion gallons of polluted water entered the ocean through the Tijuana River in California since December last year. Through this alarming amount of water that enters the ocean, The Guardian reported that Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers from the University of California San Diego started to conduct a study regarding the effect of this.

Atmospheric Chemistry Chair, Professor, and Lead Researcher Kim Prather stated that the study showed up to three-quarters of the bacteria that we breathe in at Imperial Beach are coming from the aerosolization of raw sewage in the surf zone.

Prather added that this has been a waterborne problem ever since. Researchers were bothered that several people have been worried to swim and surf in the polluted ocean but never worried about breathing in it. Especially that this study revealed that aerosols tend to reach people even over long distances.

Interesting Engineering reported that coastal aerosols at Imperial Beach and water from the Tijuana River between January and May 2019 were then collected and analyzed. Researchers were able to link bacteria and chemical compounds through the use of DNA sequencing and mass spectrometry.

Bacteria and Chemicals

These aerosols were found to contain bacteria and chemicals originating from the Tijuana River. As of the moment, the whole research team is conducting follow-up research as they attempt to detect viruses and other airborne pathogens.

However, the researchers noted that the sewage from sea spray aerosol does not automatically affect people's health. As per UC San Diego's Scripps, found bacteria and viruses are mostly harmless and it does not become airborne automatically.

Three different research groups collaborated in order for this study to be conducted. This includes the UC San Diego School of Medicine, Jacobs School of Engineering, and UC San Diego Skaggs of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science. Research groups were each led by Prath, and researchers Rob Knight and Pieter Dorrestein.

Both of the research groups involved are affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics to conduct research between bacteria and chemicals in sea spray aerosol with the sewage in the Tijuana River.

Also Read: UK's Environment Agency Plans to Increase its Civil Cap on Pollution Fines up to $240 Million

Meanwhile, infectivity, exposure levels, and other factors need further investigation through more studies. Lead Author Matthew Pendergraft stated that this is important for them to discover the level of risk of this kind of pollution. Conducting research would give further justification for groups and sectors to conduct clean-up drives for coastal waters.

Congressman Scott Peters (CA-50) secured additional funding in the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill for further investigation regarding the other factors of aerosolization, including its pollutants and pathogens, travel time of reaching people, and potential consequences for public health.

Related Article: NASA Warns Rising Sea Levels Could Flood US Coastal Cities by 2050

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The efforts of architects and designers resulted in a one-of-a-kind footbridge that presented a new typology of a bridge, now up and running over at East London overlooking Canning Town. The Cody Dock Footbridge does not need electricity to operate, and it helps the area lets boats pass through the waterway underneath, also ensuring that people may pass through at any given time.

Its team spent as much as 12 years restoring this historical site, particularly as the dock has been abandoned since the 1980s, featuring a new design for square-shaped bridges to roll over.

Cody Dock Footbridge Requires No Electricity to Roll for Passing Boats

(Photo : Thomas Randall-Page)

Gasworks Dock Partnership planned to create a "traditional bascule bridge" which is also known as a drawbridge that centers on opening up the pass for boats to go about their ways. However, Thomas Randall-Page, an architect, presented his new design to bring a new bridge design to life, centering on a rolling square that is never seen before.

Randall-Page's design centers on a square that will be mechanically operated using two operator cranks that require no power to do their job and "roll" the bridge.

(Photo : Thomas Randall-Page)

The team managed to create a 12-ton bridge in East London, given the same name as it had before, the Cody Dock Footbridge that keeps its history, as an economic and commerce figure.

Read Also: MASK Architects: Air-to-Water Tech from Solar Devices to Apply on African Safari Resort

Rolling Footbridge on Rail Cast Introduces New Typology

(Photo : Thomas Randall-Page)

The design inspiration comes from Victorian forbears says Interesting Engineering, as regarded by its creators.

"The bridge rolls on undulating rails cast into the concrete abutments on either bank. Ballast fills the top of each square portal, countering the weight of the bridge deck that connects them. This symmetry allows the whole bridge structure to smoothly role through 180 degrees to a fully inverted position facilitating movement of boats from the river to the dock."

Its latest development introduces a new bridge typology for bascules, preserving both history and its function in this architectural feat.

Architectural Feats in the World

The world is met with several of the top architectural feats from different designers and companies who wish to deliver different types of structures for the public. One of the most common types is residential houses, and designers who are known for their previous works and top-notch developments can sell up to $12.95 million in the market for their creations.

If you have seen a physics-defying or unimaginable structure design or creations, then these saw massive planning and developments from architects and engineers alike. There was a plan to design a suspended city from high-rise buildings that would surround the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, from an ambitious design from Znera Space.

When coming across structures that make the mind think about how it is possible to create them, we have to thank architects and engineers who made these impeccable designs to deliver not only a sight to see but functional creations for everyone.

The latest development from Thomas Randall-Page develops a rolling square that restores the former glory of the Cody Dock, all while introducing a new typology and preserving history.

Related Article: New Murabba: Saudi's New Skyscraper Unveiled, to Feature Digital Tech for Gigantic Mukaab

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A team of scientists from various parts of the world and researchers from NASA used Artificial Intelligence (AI) and commercial satellite images to mark almost 10 billion trees in Africa. This is to know the quantity of carbon outside the dense tropical forests of the continent.

(Photo : ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images)

Acacia trees are pictured some 30km east of El-Obeid, the capital city of the central Sudanese wilayet (state) of North Kordofan, on January 9, 2023.

Less Than They Expected?

The result is the first comprehensive estimate of tree carbon density in Sahel, Saharan, and Sudanian zones. Carbon constantly moves in a cycle between different parts of the Earth's environment. Trees take in carbon dioxide, a gas that contributes to global warming, from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and store it in their bodies. Because of this, planting more trees is often suggested as a way to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere that humans cause.

According to Interesting Engineering, in the semi-dry region of Africa, the tree population is more than they expected, but the quantity of carbon stored is less than their prediction. Their initial carbon estimate is approximately 0.84 pentagrams of carbon.

Also Read: New Study Proves Trees Are Crucial In Keeping Cities Cool

The Use of Machine Learning and AI

Machine learning software counts the trees during supercomputing on the Blue Waters supercomputer at the University of Illinois. The results were compared to human assessments and resulted in a high accuracy rate of 96.5 percent.

By examining the size of a tree's crown, scientists can calculate how much carbon is stored in its leaves, roots, and trunk. This is done using allometry, the science of how an organism's characteristics vary with size.

AI algorithm was used as well to work with over 300,000 commercial satellite images from the GeoEye-1, WorldView-2, QuickBird-2, and WorldView-3 satellites. The images were gathered via NASA's Center for Climate Simulation.

It is important to know the amount of carbon stored in a landscape in order to predict how the climate will be affected by vegetation accurately. Carbon residence time, or how plants and trees store long carbon, varies greatly depending on the vegetation type.

For example, grasses and bushes typically have a very short carbon residence time, while trees can store carbon for much longer periods. Therefore, to get an accurate estimate of carbon storage, we need to know exactly what type of vegetation is growing in the landscape.

The African landscape is diverse and expansive, ranging from dry grasslands with few trees to savannahs with sparse trees, to more humid areas with lots of tree coverage. Unfortunately, it's been difficult to accurately measure the number of trees due to the dispersed tree cover. This has made it hard to accurately assess the continent's tree population, which is needed for better conservation and understanding of the global carbon cycle.

Related Article: Natural 'Enemies' Of Trees Good For Keeping Up Tree Biodiversity

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The emergence of Unisoc as a key player in the global smartphone chip market is a remarkable accomplishment considering the hostile environment of US trade sanctions. The company's success is largely due to its focus on the low-end chip market, where US sanctions are less of an issue.

The Resilience & Innovation of the Chinese Semiconductor Sector

According to the story by Gizmo China, this has enabled them to remain largely unaffected by the US ban, and their success with 5G chips has further solidified their foothold in the market.

Unisoc's success with low-end smartphone chips is a testament to the innovation and resilience of the Chinese semiconductor sector. The company, one of the world's largest chip manufacturers, has emerged as a major player in the low-end market despite the effects of US sanctions.

Reduced Access to Production Facilities Complicates Unisoc's Chip Expansion Strategy

The company's chip design unit, HiSilicon, benefited from its focus on less advanced chips, allowing it to remain relatively unscathed from the US export restrictions. Nevertheless, Unisoc still faces challenges due to its reliance on production facilities outside China.

High-end chip fabrication remains a difficult hurdle for the company, as evidenced by its need to switch to a 6-nanometre EUV lithography process for 5G chips, which are particularly interesting for the low-end market.

Unisoc Overcoming US Sanctions to Thrive in Chinese Semiconductor Markets

Unisoc has been focusing on diversifying its operations in response to this constraint. The company's new 5G chip has already been used in industrial applications such as medical services and logistics.

Unisoc has also initiated a 10 billion yuan funding round to expand its market share further. Despite the obstacles, Unisoc's success demonstrates that the Chinese semiconductor market is still thriving, despite US sanctions.

Unisoc's Effect on Chinese Domestic Chip-Making Capabilities

Many chip design firms have seen increased sales, and Unisoc's case shows that Chinese chip producers can remain competitive through innovation and careful strategy.

The company has adeptly navigated around US sanctions while still meeting the needs of the low-end market. This success story undoubtedly inspires other Chinese chip makers and highlights the importance of solidifying their domestic production capabilities.

Read Also: Empower Robots With AI: Software Engineer Wenbo Zhang On Building Engineering Products From Scratch

Expanding Market Share on the Global Stage: Unisoc's Stride Towards Success

Given their success, it's no surprise that Unisoc is conducting a new fundraising round and has plans to extend the application of their 5G chips to various industrial solutions. This diversity will enable them to remain competitive and maintain their strong foothold, despite the hostile environment that has hampered many Chinese firms.

Unisoc's success inspires other domestic companies and gives them hope to survive and thrive in such an environment. In addition, their success gives credence to China's chip design industry, with sales up 16% from a year prior.

Now, with Unisoc's success in establishing a beachhead, domestic chip companies can focus on expanding their market share and establishing their presence on the global stage.

Related Article: Intel Releases Quantum Software Development Kit Version 1.0 to Grow Developer Ecosystem

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The anticipated wireless earbuds from Nothing are coming, and it is the latest iteration of their audio wearable, the Ear 2, following the successful release of its initial accessory to the public. The company teased an upcoming event for the world to check out, joining hands with them to welcome the new wireless earbuds coming early this year.

This event would also be available for people to watch the live stream, inviting the public to bear witness to their latest development for its wireless smartphone accessory.

Nothing Ear 2 Confirmed for Launch, to Unveil this March

(Photo : Nothing)

Nothing was unveiled on its latest Twitter post that the Ear 2 is an upcoming device from the company, and not only that, it will soon debut at its upcoming live event come March 22. The company aims to share its latest development with the world, with the Ear 2 wireless buds soon to deliver to all.

In its words, the company used clever phrases to tease its latest wireless earbuds to the world, saying "When (1) becomes (2). 22 March, 15:00 GMT. Get ready for Ear (2)."

In terms of its shared media, Nothing only shared a small glimpse of its wireless earbuds on its latest tweet, with the focus centering more on the beetle that was placed beside it.

All of what Nothing has to offer will be revealed by Wednesday, March 22, showing their wireless device to its fans and enthusiasts.

Read Also: Nothing Phone (2) Specs Revealed: 120 Hz, 12GB RAM, 256 GB Storage, and More

Nothing's Latest Wireless Earbuds Coming Soon

When venturing to Nothing's website, the company also provides a teaser of the Ear (2) wearable, also detailing the launch details coming later this month.

The company promises to bring better sound, better clarity, and an overall upgraded version 2 of the earbuds that will soon be available to the market.

Nothing's Technology and Developments

One of the most famous developments in technology is when Carl Pei decided to do Nothing, and it is not slacking off, but rather creating a new company that centers on unique branding for its consumer tech. The OnePlus co-founder decided to go on a different route which moves away from the traditional Android but offers a similar experience for it.

The Nothing Phone 1 received massive hype and excitement from the public, with many anticipating the smartphone's upcoming release, but sadly, its first release was not made available in the United States.

Still, there were a lot of people who managed to find ways in obtaining a Nothing Phone but also look forward to the Nothing Phone 2 release that will be available in the country.

Alongside the Nothing Phone 1 was its iconic Ear 1, which presents a notable wireless earbuds accessory to the smartphone. However, it proved itself to be more than its same-branded device, as many people enjoyed what it has to offer, now also seeing significant excitement for the arrival of the Ear 2, soon to be unveiled this month.

Related Article: Nothing Phone (2) Runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Chip, Confirms CEO Carl Pei

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft announced that it will introduce the next generation of AI product updates across its business portfolio. The company will be launching CoPilot in Dynamics 365, aiming to assist the company's suite of resource planning and customer relationship management.

(Photo : Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 13: Asignage of Microsoft is seen on March 13, 2020 in New York City. Co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board to spend more time on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dynamics 365 CoPilot

Dynamics 365 CoPilot was introduced by Microsoft to provide interactive, AI-powered assistance across the company's functions, all the way from sales service and marketing, to the supply chain. Microsoft claims this will be the first AI CoPilot that was built for Customer Relations Management and Enterprise Resource Planning.

Through these AI capabilities and natural language processing to Dynamics 365, business professionals will be helped to create ideas and content faster, complete time-consuming activities, and able to obtain suggestions and the best action on what is needed.

Microsoft released an update that will move email replies into general availability, which will add enhancements to create customizable emails accurately. A new feedback mechanism will also be added that allows sellers to rate the content made by AI with a thumbs up or down. This will help the system to improve its future replies.

Business Apps and Platform CVP Charles Lamanna stated in an interview with TechCrunch that the company securely and intelligently accesses information from customers' CRM, ERP, and other data sources at runtime for the business.

"We use large language models to combine the enterprise data with underlying knowledge to produce responses tuned for each customer. Importantly, we don't use customers' data to train the models," the CVP added.

Natural Language Capabilities

The new CoPilot feature uses Azure Open AI Service for natural language capabilities. This will draft a recap of a call with action items and follow-up dates based on the seller's CRM and meeting data.

Also Read: Microsoft and Intel Leak Windows 12 OS: 2024 Launch?

Customer service is very critical to maintaining customer loyalty as they face pressure to resolve the customers' needs quickly. Microsoft addressed these challenges by providing agents with needs that can help them streamline tasks across both simple and complex cases.

As per The Verge, Microsoft promises to make it easier to create "virtual agents" for customer support services. OpenAI can be used for this process to search Bing and other knowledge bases answers to help the customer right away.

Dynamics 365 Sales & Viva Sales

It can also help any sales organization to be more productive, effective, and accurate. Microsoft then included Viva Sales in Dynamics 365 Sales, available for purchase separately for other CRM systems like Salesforce.

This will revolutionize the process of working as they integrate it with Microsoft Outlook and Teams. New CoPilot features will help business people to save time, boost productivity, lighten workloads, and stay focused. But most importantly, it also helps them to connect with customers.

Related Article: Microsoft Bing ChatGPT Update Offers More Personalized Experience! How Does Chat Mode Selector Work?

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The famous South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai, recently unveiled the latest version of its Kona Electric SUV, centering on the clean energy deliverable which updates its current fleet. This new Kona boasts of a new design that takes on the upgraded looks compared to its previous releases, also including a longer range from its batteries, and more.

Hyundai is reinforcing its electric car development with the latest Kona EV, to join its iconic IONIQ lineup to further bring more choices from its clean energy fleet.

Hyundai Kona Electric SUV Debuts Latest Development

(Photo : Hyundai)

In the latest press release of the company, it proudly introduces its latest development on the Kona Electric SUV, which Hyundai claims to be its "upscaled multiplayer" for all needs. The South Korean tech giant boasts of a long-range 65.4-kWh battery that can output as much as 490 kilometers of range, or approximately 305 miles, based on European Specifications.

Other features of this latest electric vehicle include frunk storage, active air flaps, Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) outlets, Head-up Display, i-PEDAL driving mode, Smart Regenerative System, and electronic-Active Sound Design (e-ASD).

(Photo : Hyundai)

The Kona eSUV is the company's first release on its massive plans that would kickstart later in the year, to deliver 11 electric vehicles by 2030.'

Hyundai will give the Kona electric over-the-air updates for its features and systems.

There are different choices for the new Kona B-SUV, as Hyundai made a full spread that encompasses all types of modern vehicles including the standard EV, a Hybrid EV (HEV), and an internal combustion engine (ICE) with multiple variants, including an N sporty line.

Read Also: Hyundai Introduces EV Home Charging Ecosystem in Partnership With Electrum

Hyundai Kona Electric to Join Alongside the IONIQ

(Photo : Hyundai)

Hyundai said that Kona electric sits atop the many releases of the company, to join the likes of the IONIQ for its electric revolution coming soon.

"Kona Electric will play a major role alongside our IONIQ models in reinforcing Hyundai's EV leadership," said Jaehoon Chang, President, and CEO, Hyundai Motor Company.

Hyundai and its Clean Energy Works

This South Korean-grown company put in hard work and massive developments to its fleet, with Hyundai, now ranked as the third largest car manufacturer in the world. It bordered on its many significant developments for the automotive industry, but one of its key factors include its transition to clean energy, one of its early adopters.

Among its many car developments is the famed IONIQ lineup that centers on its battery electric vehicles (BEV) which mainly draw its power from its power cells. One iconic feature present on its IONIQ 5 is the crab walk feature, which the company dubs the e-Corner system, centering on the new steering capabilities that would sway people out of emergencies and tight situations.

Hyundai is also enjoying its massive prominence in the car industry, especially being a significant household name in the world for the public's vehicle choices, as well as for its EVs. The Kona was first released as a gas-powered SUV but now transitions its second version as an EV, offering an alternative to the IONIQ lineup which stands rightfully in its own league.

Related Article: Hyundai Taps in Kevin Bacon to Channel the Regular Dad Switching to EVs in New Ads

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms announces new rounds of layoffs and will cut thousands of employees this week. These cuts aim to target the financial goals of the company after experiencing a slowdown in revenue.

(Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 09: A general view outside the Meta office in King's Cross on November 9, 2022 in London, England. Meta, Facebook's parent company, officially opened its new office here in March at a ceremony attended by then-Prince Charles. The company announced late yesterday that it was cutting more than 11,000 jobs globally, citing declining revenues and saying it grew too rapidly in recent years.

Laying Off Thousands of Employees

Meta Platforms, the world's largest social networking company, is reducing its workforce, following multiple rounds of layoffs over the past few months. According to Bloomberg's report, this could be related to the company's efforts to flatten its organization and cut teams it deems nonessential.

As per the people who asked not to be identified, these fresh cuts are being conducted by financial targets. Meta has been experiencing a slowdown in revenue, especially in advertising as it shifted its focus to Metaverse. The company has been asking directors and vice presidents to make a list of employees that will be affected by the cuts.

By next week, this phase of layoffs could be finalized. As per the report, the people behind these plans are hoping to have the list ready before Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg goes on a paternal leave as he expects their family's third child.

The Strait Times reported that employees from Menlo Park, which is where the Meta headquarters are located, described their heightened anxiety and low morale among their co-workers lately. Some of them expressed their frustrations on whether they will receive their bonuses this month if they lose their jobs beforehand.

Previous Layoffs

Meta conducted mass layoffs that affected thousands of employees last November, hitting harder than Twitter's own mass layoffs. This was considered the company's first job cut that affected a huge number of people in history, 18 years after it launched.

About 13% of its workforce was reduced, affecting 11,00 employees. Aside from this, additional steps were also done like cutting discretionary spending and extending the company's freeze hiring. Zuckerberg stated, "I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here. I know this is tough for everyone, and I'm especially sorry for those impacted."

He added that the company will be focusing its investments on a small number of high-priority growth areas. This means that some teams will grow meaningfully. However, some teams will stay flat or shrink over this year.

Also Read: Meta Freezes Hiring, Possible Layoffs Coming to Employees Says Mark Zuckerberg

These cuts are not surprising as TechTimes reported that Meta already expects to conduct further layoffs amid delays in annual budgets that would normally be done last month. These rumors and lack of clarity have left frustrations from the workers and lost their motivation for the company.

During the mass layoffs last year, affected employees were given 16 weeks of base pay and additional two weeks for every year of service with no cap, paid PTO time, RSU vesting, health insurance for six months, three-month support for career services, and immigration support. It remains unclear whether Meta will be giving the same for the fresh cuts.

Related Article: Meta Increases Spending for Zuckerberg's Personal Security Despite 'Year of Efficiency'

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft is not yet done with its talk about AI as there is another event coming next week that centers on the "Future of Work with AI" to discuss further how deep learning will affect other aspects of technology. The software company only recently delivered an event featuring AI integration for its Bing search engine, with massive plans for its other tech available.

The event will deliver more information as to how Microsoft will adapt to AI, and there are expectations that OpenAI's partnership with them would offer more of their services in the upcoming revelations.

Microsoft 'Future of Work with AI' Event is Coming Next Week

(Photo : LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)

A new Microsoft event was recently announced by the company, and it is inviting the public to join to learn more about the "Future Work with AI," detailing what it has in store for this integration. AI's integration is growing and it is not only confined to browsers, as it is available on different applications and features for the public to use.

In this event, Microsoft would focus on how AI helps in shaping the future of technology, especially as it makes its way to a person or an organization's work.

The event would take place this March 16, with its live stream starting at 8 AM Pacific Time, to bring more about how work will be influenced by this growing use of artificial intelligence.

Read Also: Microsoft Expands ChatGPT's Capabilities to Control Robots

What to Expect on Microsoft's AI Event for Work?

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella will join Jared Spataro in delivering what the future has in store with the many AI integrations present in different work and business aspects of the company.

While it would focus more on the industry adapting to AI, Engadget claims that it may bring more information as to how OpenAI's tech will bring developments for what Microsoft has to offer for work, like its Azure and Office 365, among others.

Microsoft and its AI Applications

It may be unfamiliar to many, but before Bing's ChatGPT integration that delivered a significant boost to its search engine, Microsoft employed an AI for the platform years ago. This AI was known as Sydney, with Microsoft also previously introducing a chat assistant for the search engine to help people in their search and act as a chatbot.

The strategic partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI opened up significant doors for the public to enter, enabling them to harness the power of ChatGPT on the web, as released last February.

Still, there are many hiccups that Microsoft needs to address, as Bing with ChatGPT is not yet perfect, and it is considerable as it remains in the beta testing phase.

There are new plans for Microsoft with regard to its Business and Work suite that will allegedly improve using AI's power, and this would all be unveiled via the upcoming event. Microsoft is booming with events lately, and this is because of their newfound features via artificial intelligence, with OpenAI also playing a significant role, soon for the public to get informed.

Related Article: Microsoft Bing ChatGPT Update Offers More Personalized Experience! How Does Chat Mode Selector Work?

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. On 3 March 2023, an event dedicated to the 1st anniversary of AraratBank joining the United Nations Global Compact international initiative was held in the banquet hall of the Zargatsum branch of AraratBank.

Chairman of the Board, AraratBank, Mr. Grigor Hovhannissian, and UN Resident Coordinator a.i. in the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Nils Scott, made opening remarks. The event was attended by the representatives of the UN and the public sector, international financial institutions Yerevan branch and foreign offices, local and international organizations that are members of the UN Women Empowerment Program.

By joining the UN Global Compact international initiative in 2022, AraratBank has expressed its willingness to incorporate the UN sustainable development principles into its business practices and act in accordance therewith.

The Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact are derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organizations Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

We are committed to making the UN Global Compact and its principles part of the strategy, culture, and day-to-day operations of our company and to being involved in collaborative projects which advance the broader development goals of the United Nations, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals, stated the Chairman of the Board, AraratBank, Mr. Grigor Hovhannissian.

Providing a universal framework for corporate responsibility, the UN Global Compact, the worlds largest corporate sustainability initiative, sets principles to guide responsible business management. By joining the UN family through the UN GLOBAL Compact, a global movement of more than 12,000 businesses and 3,000 non-business stakeholders across 160 countries, AraratBank has a unique commitment to strengthen the cooperative, mutually supportive environment in Armenia for a more sustainable and inclusive future, noted the UN Resident Coordinator a.i., Mr. Niels Scott.

A number of the world's leading banks, such as Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Bank of America, British Business Bank, National Bank of Greece S.A., TBC Bank, Korea Development Bank, China Development Bank, Deutsche Bank AG.

The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.
NASA's Curiosity rover has captured a stunning image of the Martian sunset featuring "crepuscular rays," or sun rays, illuminating a bank of clouds. This is the first time that sun rays have been seen so clearly on Mars.

The image was taken during Curiosity's newest twilight cloud survey, which aims to understand Martian weather patterns and the composition of the planet's atmosphere.

Cold Martian Clouds

The clouds in the latest images appear to be at a higher altitude, where it is particularly cold, indicating that they are made of carbon dioxide ice or dry ice. Martian clouds, like Earth's, provide crucial information for understanding the planet's climate and weather patterns.

By studying when and where clouds form, scientists can learn more about the Martian atmosphere's composition, temperatures, and winds.

In 2021, Curiosity's cloud survey included more imaging by its black-and-white navigation cameras, providing a detailed look at a cloud's structure as it moves.

However, the current survey relies more often on the rover's color Mast Camera, or Mastcam, which helps scientists see how cloud particles grow over time.

The ongoing surveys of Martian clouds are essential to understanding the planet's climate and weather patterns, which could eventually facilitate human exploration of Mars. With this knowledge, researchers can make informed decisions about potential landing sites and resource availability.

Read Also: Garbage on Mars: Over 15,000 Pounds of Human Trash Pile up on the Red Planet, Researcher Says

Feather-shaped Colorful Clouds

In addition to the image of sun rays, Curiosity captured a set of colorful clouds shaped like a feather on January 27. Certain types of clouds can create a rainbow-like display called iridescence when illuminated by sunlight.

Continued study of Martian clouds is important for expanding our understanding of our neighboring planet and its potential for future exploration.

"Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud's particle sizes are identical to their neighbors in each part of the cloud," Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, said in a press release statement.

"By looking at color transitions, we're seeing particle size changing across the cloud. That tells us about the way the cloud is evolving and how its particles are changing size over time."

Each panorama that Curiosity took of the sun's beams and the iridescent clouds was created by stitching 28 photos that were delivered to Earth. The images have been processed to feature striking highlights, according to NASA.

In related news, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently photographed unusual sand dunes on Mars with striking round shapes using its High-Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRise) camera.

Related Article: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Zooms in on Mars for the First Time, Capturing Stiking Martian Details!

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Due to security concerns, Germany will ban the use of certain components manufactured by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE for 5G networks, Reuters reports.

This announcement follows similar actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, which have already prohibited the said companies from supplying critical 5G network equipment.

Security Concerns Over China Tech Pushes Ban

The German government's decision is based on some concerns that the close ties between Huawei and ZTE and Beijing's security services could grant Chinese spies access to critical infrastructure.

A number of countries share this concern, as 5G networks will be used to connect everything from self-driving cars to critical infrastructure such as power grids and hospitals.

Local news outlets say that the German ban may include components already installed in networks, necessitating their removal and replacement by network operators.

This could have significant financial and logistical ramifications, as removing and replacing 5G components is time-consuming and costly.

Critics of Huawei and ZTE argue that their close ties to the Chinese government render it difficult to rely on them to protect the security of the networks they provide.

Read Also: Microsoft Outlook is Available on Apple Macs for Free: No More Microsoft 365 Subscription or Office Purchase Needed

Huawei and ZTE have consistently denied these allegations, arguing that they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese competitors.

"Restrictions of an always reliable manufacturer with a very good security record are certainly not part of making infrastructures more secure," Bloomberg quotes Patrick Berger, a Huawei spokesman in Germany.

In 2021, Germany enacted an IT security law that imposed stringent requirements on telecommunications equipment manufacturers for next-generation networks. The South China Morning Post reports that the law did not prohibit Huawei and ZTE, as some other countries have done.

Why the Ban Is Critical for Germany

This information follows ZTE's announcement in early February that Germany's information security watchdog has certified its new 5G radio product (Telecoms.com)

Germany is even more reliant on Huawei for its 5G radio access network equipment than for its 4G network. This increases the implication of the German government's decision to ban Huawei components.

Global Crackdown on Chinese Tech

Only Britain and Sweden have thus far prohibited Huawei and ZTE from supplying critical 5G network equipment. Several other European nations are still trying to devise their telecom policies.

The end of 2027 deadline for telecom companies to remove all Huawei equipment from Britain's 5G networks remains unchanged.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Communications Commission banned Huawei and ZTE in Nov. 2022 due to data-security concerns and to limit the reach of Chinese telecommunications companies into the country's networks.

The ban on Huawei and ZTE components may significantly affect the global 5G market, as both companies are considered industry leaders.

Additionally, the ban is bound to heighten tensions between China and Western governments, as China has accused the United States and other countries of unfairly targeting its tech firms.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Unisoc Plans to Adopt MediaTek-Style Strategy to Compete with Global Chip Market

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in medicine, notably for disease diagnosis.

A rising number of specialists use deep learning, a machine learning technology based on artificial neural networks, to learn by a pattern like human brains. This helps identify potentially life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, and even asymptomatic COVID-19.

Yet the next breakthrough for AI in medicine might be detecting Alzheimer's, the dreadful illness that causes permanent cognitive decline and dementia. Its treatment and effective early diagnosis have baffled medical experts for a century.

AI for Alzheimer's Detection

According to Fortune's report, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital discovered that deep learning was more accurate than comparative AI models that were not taught to examine various characteristics. It could also identify Alzheimer's cases regardless of patient age, which generally complicates early-onset identification.

PLOS ONE, a scientific and medical magazine, released these results last week.

About 10,000 brain scan photos from patients with and without Alzheimer's disease were used to build a deep learning model. The model was then evaluated against clinical Alzheimer's diagnosis data.

The deep learning algorithm identified Alzheimer's cases with 90.2% accuracy, five percentage points higher than conventional AI models. Regardless of age, location, or diagnosis, this AI model performed better.

"This is one of the only studies that used routinely collected brain MRIs to attempt to detect dementia," said lead author Matthew Leming, a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Our results-with cross-site, cross-time, and cross-population generalizability-make a strong case for clinical use of this diagnostic technology."

According to a 2017 research, human clinical detection rates of Alzheimer's are 77%. A 90% accuracy rate would be much superior.

See Also: AI Ushers in New Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer Screening

AI's Impact on Alzheimer's Research

Alzheimer's is notoriously hard to forecast and diagnose, but this might all change if future studies make AI and deep learning more frequently employed in diagnosis.

Over 44 million individuals throughout the globe are living with Alzheimer's disease. Yet, Alzheimer's is only one manifestation of a wide variety of dementia-related illnesses.

Up to one-quarter of Alzheimer's patients were misdiagnosed in a 2017 study of over 900 persons, with false positives and false negatives accounting for around equal numbers of these errors. Several symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are similar to those of other prevalent neurological conditions, such as Lewy body or frontotemporal dementia, which contributes to the disease's high propensity for being misdiagnosed.

According to the American Academy of Neurology, dementias like Alzheimer's may be readily misdiagnosed among the elderly. This risk rises with the patient's age.

Almost 90% of Alzheimer's cases are considered "sporadic," emerging in people with no genetic relation to the illness, making it difficult to predict who will get the disease and when.

Due to these constraints, absolutely no effective early screening models exist for Alzheimer's disease. The majority of cases are recognized only after the onset of brain damage has occurred.

See Also: New AI System Selects Donor Organs More Accurately Than Humans

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TikTok bans have already reached Australia's federal department. However, while it's reasonable to issue restrictions on the app's usage on government-issued phones, the experts believe that it should also apply to other third-party apps.

TikTok Bans Should Not Be the Sole Focus

Many people are growing concerned about the security risks that they could face when they are using social media apps including TikTok, yet some of them still prefer using them despite the controversies.

In Australia, the federal department wants to impose a ban on using the Chinese app due to data-related issues. However, experts believe that issuing a ban hammer on this app alone won't solve the real problem.

According to a report by The Canberra Times, nearly 70 federal government agencies now banned the use of TikTok on devices issued by the government.

The opposition tackles how to ditch the use of the video-sharing platform but the review for the proceedings will still be evaluated by the Department of Home Affairs.

While it's easy to say on paper that the government should right away prohibit people from using it on their work devices, experts think that it should also apply to other apps which collect users' data.

"I don't think it's as simple as TikTok - bad; American companies - good. I think they're all bad," Australian National University cybersecurity researcher Vanessa Teague said.

She adds that switching off location permission won't entirely solve the issue given that the video or photo on a smartphone contains GPS coordinates.

Another expert, Dr. Abu Barkat Ullah who works at the University of Canberra as an IT researcher, highlights that all apps have risks.

Ullah warns the users that while they can limit the use of certain applications on their devices, their personal information can still be obtained by outsiders who want to hijack their gadgets.

Educating Australians About App Privacy

According to Teague and Ullah, Australians should be taught to learn more about their privacy outside TikTok and other apps. This means that banning an app won't remedy the concern.

Teague said in a report by The Guardian that addressing the issue for the sake of the privacy and security of all Australians can mean teaching them more about "strong" privacy laws, end-to-end encryption, and more.

Related Article: US TikTok Ban Shows Insecurities, Misuse of State Power, China Claims

US Senators Want Biden to Continue Banning TikTok

Outside Australia, two US senators are urging President Joe Biden to take the lead in banning TikTok and other social media apps that expose users' security information.

According to a story by Reuters, the two politicians will reveal legislation that will grant the current administration the power to decimate the ByteDance-owned platform.

Earlier this year, Tech Times reported that the TikTok ban even reached US schools that started banning this app on campus amid complaints about data privacy.

Read Also: US TikTok Ban Shows Insecurities, Misuse of State Power, China Claims

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Israeli startup D-ID, creators of Deep Nostalgia, has launched the beta version of their latest web application, chat.D-ID, according to a report by TechCrunch.

This application uses D-ID's text-to-video streaming technology and integrates OpenAI's ChatGPT to create an AI communication tool that appears in photorealistic form for a more accessible, face-to-face communication experience.

ChatGPT's Voice and Face

According to Gil Perry, D-ID's CEO and co-founder, the aim of chat.D-ID is to allow more people to use AI technology, even those who cannot read or write, by giving ChatGPT a voice and face.

Perry believes that face-to-face interaction is more effective and comfortable than communicating through text, and the addition of a face enhances the power of large language models.

The web app also targets the elderly population by making AI technology more user-friendly. Users are introduced to an avatar named "Alice," and can either type their queries or speak them out loud by clicking the microphone icon.

The application can respond to almost anything, including simulating a job interview or hosting a trivia night. Although the web app is still in the beta phase, it shows great promise for future AI communication tools.

According to Perry, the web app will soon provide multiple avatars for users to choose from and also allow them to upload any desired image, except for those of celebrities or public figures. In the upcoming weeks, users will be able to create a character and interact with it.

Perry emphasizes the importance of having a suitable face when conversing with AI, citing the example of an elementary school student using the app to learn about quantum physics and changing the face to Albert Einstein.

Read Also: 'One Piece' Author Eiichiro Oda Asks ChatGPT to Generate New Anime Chapter: Here's What Happened

Free to Use

While chat.D-ID is currently free to use, Perry mentions that if the app becomes too overwhelming for the startup to handle, they may start charging users for it. However, D-ID is already prepared for the app to become popular, and the ultimate goal is to keep it free for users.

D-ID recently released a chat API for enterprises that allows for more personal and interactive customer experiences through text chatbots. This move comes just a week before the launch of their new consumer app.

D-ID sees this as an opportunity for brands to engage more effectively with their customers, as consumers are increasingly turning to chatbots for interacting with brands.

In addition to these new products, D-ID is participating in an industry-wide effort for ethical and responsible development, creation, and sharing of synthetic media.

This framework involves D-ID, Adobe, OpenAI, and other companies working together to ensure that synthetic media is developed responsibly and ethically.

Related Article: Hard Time Adapting to ChatGPT? Don't Worry, It's Like During the Mesopotamian Era claims a Report

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The third annual World Nature Photography Awards (WNPA) has crowned its winners and this year featured some of the craziest and most fascinating snapshots in the wildlife realm.

An image of a scary-looking crocodile with a piercing yellow eye took home the top honors but the rest did not disappoint as well as they feature glimpses into the world of animals.

This London-based, entirely independent competition aims to inspire everyone to consider many viewpoints and alter their own actions and choices for the sake of the environment and other living things.



For each of the thousands of entries it receives, the World Nature Photography Awards team plants a tree.



"This year's winners continue to remind us that in protecting our home and all its inhabitants, we are protecting our own future," WNPA wrote on its website.

Let us take a look at the winners and awardees of the competition:

Read Also: This Haunting Image of a Dead Whale Being Circled By Sharks Wins Australia's Photography Prize

Danger in the Mud

The overall World Nature Photographer of the Year is Germany's Jens Cullman for the image "Danger in the Mud."

"This photograph is the result of my staking out the largest pool in Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe, at a time when an extended drought had reduced the pool to rapidly-drying mud. I had to be very careful not to disturb the crocodile, even though it was buried in dry mud. They will launch themselves with tremendous speed and power at any animal foolish enough to come too close," Cullmann said in a statement with WNPA.

Monkeys in a Huddle

Three pairs of monkeys have formed a huddle after grooming in this picture, which documents a rare occurrence during the lactation season. The majority of Awaji monkeys are not hostile, and when they are raising their young, moms form independent communities without social stratification, according to WNPA.



Hidetoshi Ogata from Japan captured this photo and bagged the gold medal for the "Behaviour - Mammals" category.

Spawning Time for Stream Toads

The "Japanese stream toad" inhabits the Owase Mountains in the Mie Prefecture of Japan and only descends to the river to spawn. This image was captured by Norihiro Ikuma and took the gold medal for the "Behaviour - Amphibians and reptiles" category.

A Fish-eating Duck Takes Off

A male Hooded Merganser soars toward the photographer in a direct line of flight. When ducks are getting ready to dive, they frequently start swimming more quickly.

"I saw that they began to swim more quickly and thus was prepared to catch them taking off. I was lucky that they headed directly towards me!" said Charles Schmidt from the USA, winner of the "Behaviour - Birds" category.

A Domineering Red Crab

A thin layer of water made by the sea waves surrounds a red crab (Grapsus adscensionis) as it strikes the rocks in quest of the tiny crustaceans and plants it consumes. This image was taken by Javier Herranz Casellas from Spain, who won the "Behaviour - Invertebrates" category.

Grasshopper Eats

Takuya Ishiguro snapped this wild encounter between what appears to be a grasshopper and a lizard. Ishiguro won the silver award for the "Behaviour - Invertebrates" category.

You can look at the full list of winners and awardees at WNPA's website.

Related Article: This Extreme Close-up of a Monster-Looking Ant Wins Award from Nikon l Creepy Facts About Ants

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
China president Xi Jinping recently expressed mixed emotions regarding the position of CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, on the global battery market, Nikkei Asia reports.

A state news outlet reports that the Chinese leader shared his concerns with industry and commerce representatives during a private meeting during the annual session of parliament.

Xi was concerned about the risks associated with their high position in the market, but he was also happy with the company's success.

Chairman of CATL Zeng Yuqun presented the company's commanding position, which includes a 37 percent share of the global battery market.

China's CATL Grip Over the Global Battery Market

According to Statista, CATL's revenue in 2020 was around 50 billion Chinese yuan (over $7 billion). This represents a nearly 11 percent increase over the previous year. This is a rapid jump, given that the company debuted its stock exchange in June 2018.

CATL has been rapidly expanding its foothold overseas, constructing factories, and licensing its technology to other plants.

According to Reuters, the company recently agreed to license its technology to a new $3.5 billion plant being built in Michigan by Ford Motor Company.

The company has previously offered cost-cutting services to Chinese automakers, aiming to undercut its smaller domestic rivals, such as CALB and EVE Energy. With this, Chinese officials are concerned about CATL's expansion.

Xi Jinping Cautions CATL About Growth

Xi Jinping noted in his address that emerging industries, such as CATL, must strike a balance between development and security while avoiding going it alone in an invincible manner, only to be caught by others and ultimately fail. Xi added that businesses must plan well, determine the size of the market, and identify potential risks.

Read Also: Germany Bans Huawei, ZTE 5G Components Over Security Concerns

Nikkei reports that CATL's share price dropped by 1.6% on Tuesday, March 7, in line with the decline of the CSI300 Index of China's leading stocks.

China's Control Over Its Businesses

Beijing has tightened its control on China's largest corporations in recent years, regulating their business practices in China and abroad, such as fundraising and data security.

China's gaming industry has experienced a decline in revenue since mid-2022 as a result of strict regulations.

Washington has also restricted Chinese firms' access to advanced artificial intelligence chips and semiconductors, citing national security concerns.

Additionally, US Senator Marco Rubio recently requested that the Biden administration review CATL's agreement with Ford, stating that it would increase the United States' reliance on China for battery technology amid sanctions.

China Responds

In response, China intends to scrutinize the deal to ensure that CATL's core technology will not be shared with the American automaker.

According to Dong Yan, a Chinese industry think tank, the benefits of the collaboration outweighed the risks of technology being leaked.

Dong notes that the partnership between Ford and CATL will be beneficial for both parties and will not jeopardize China's leadership position in the electric vehicle industry.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: UK to Pursue EV Revolution With New Battery Recycling Plant to Ease China Dependency

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. On March 7, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit on March 7.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the MFA Armenia, the interlocutors stressed that the relations between the Armenian and Arab peoples are based on centuries-old friendship and mutual respect, noting the role of Armenian communities in Arab countries.

Both sides noted with satisfaction that the Armenian presence in the countries of the Arab world is the best example of the coexistence of Christian and Muslim peoples. In this regard, Minister Mirzoyan considered unacceptable the attempts of Azerbaijan to artificially manipulate the religious factor, to disrupt the traditional grounds of Armenia's cooperation with the Arab world.

Periodic interaction and political dialogue with the Arab League and its member states were highlighted.

During the meeting, a number of issues related to regional and international security and stability were touched upon.

The Armenian FM presented to his interlocutor the regional situation resulted by Azerbaijan's aggressive actions in Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, as well as details of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh as a result of the blocking of the Lachin corridor since December, 2022.
"A deliberate and premeditated act": in Angers, an investigation opened after the ransacking of a church

"Can cause very serious complications": doctors - about the increase in the incidence of measles in Russia

10 restaurants to eat (very good) for less than 40 euros in Madrid

11 exclusive menus to try in the most fashionable places in Madrid

Bordeaux: a car ploughs into the crowd during a wild race, 7 injured, 2 of them serious

"I worked with incredible overstrain": a historian on the importance of the railway for the victory of the USSR over the Wehrmacht

The week of God Tuitero: Cain and Abel are a model of fraternity next to Iglesias and Yolanda Diaz

The story of the atonement for sins: the film "Russian Cross" is released in cinemas

Experience China from a street Students from many countries in China travel to the Tianjin Walled City - China News Network video

Suspect entered the speech hall immediately after the Prime Minister's arrival or explosives at the Prime Minister's address.

Nuria Espert announces her retirement: "I have no intention of accepting any more projects"

In Yemen, last day of a vast prisoner exchange between Houthi rebels and the government

Chen Yushen: You just have to work hard, and God has its own arrangements

Did the suspect use a homemade bomb made by himself? Explosives at the Prime Minister's speech

JGSDF helicopter accident 5 people on the seabed, 2 of them confirmed dead, considering salvaging the aircraft

Explosives at the Prime Minister's speech The focus of the investigation is the suspect [Updated from time to time on the 17th]

Representatives of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao business circles gathered at the Canton Fair to discuss and promote the development of the Greater Bay Area-Chinanews.com video

From the thrashing that did not go to trouble: Atletico remains unstoppable

There were further positive changes in the property market

Nine Arab countries want to weigh in for a resolution of the Syrian crisis

"Courtyard economy" is written into Central Document No. 1 for the first time What is the potential?

How can China's home appliance enterprises "go global" and tell the story of "strong alliance"?

China's "first quarterly report" on the economy will release a number of leading indicators that exceed expectations

WP: most of the companies that announced their withdrawal from Russia continued to work in the country

At least two dead in Iraqi Kurdistan in a new strike attributed to Turkey

Go deep into communities and villages to see how Tianjin can do a good job in "last mile" services

How are counties younger? Secretary Wuxing of Zhejiang Province talked about the travel and prosperity of a youth city

Iran: the police take action to enforce the wearing of the Islamic veil

Here the parrot Hugo is celebrated by the neighbors  disappeared for three weeks

A decisive victory for the army or a long war? Learn about the most prominent scenarios of the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support

The detainees in the eviction of the squatted building of Majadahonda add 100 antecedents: "They are a danger," says the judge

A fire on the border with France burns 750 hectares and approaches Portbou on two fronts

New members of the Fengyun meteorological satellite family What are the characteristics of China's first dedicated star for precipitation measurement?

Stina will farm in the middle of an intersection in town: "No April Fool's joke"

Mass poisoning on MasterChef 11: "We're sorry. It is an absolutely exceptional case in these 11 years"

Political scientist Dudchak on Hersh's statement about Zelensky: there are probably a lot of such stories

Naoko, Emma Nogueiro and the other women in Sanchez Drago's life (always younger and with short hair)

Former Pentagon adviser McGregor: Ukraine may disappear as a state by the end of the year

The sexist murder of an influencer shakes the Dominican Republic: her ex shoots her in the head three days after trying

The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It

Bad Bunny silences criticism at Coachella: "Don't believe what you don't see that came out of my mouth"

The questions surrounding Beatriz Flamini and her 500 days in a cave: "I can think of many questions"

The athlete Beatriz Flamini leaves the cave where she has remained alone and isolated for 500 days

Shahid  10 years old and his name is Khalil. Chelsea junior skill catches the eye

The head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov said that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are less than the victims of the earthquake in Turkey

"Nuclear phase-out" realized in Germany, the last three nuclear power plants in operation were shut down

Ex-intelligence officer Ritter believes that Zelensky risks dying at the hands of Ukrainians because of the rebellion

FT: advanced units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will die during a counteroffensive due to lack of air support

The Mossos investigate the theft in Barcelona of a watch valued at 70,000 euros to the tennis player Dimitrov days before the Godo tournament

A fire on the border with France burns 750 hectares and approaches Portbou on two fronts

 Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia informs that the message spread by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan that the convoy of military equipment of the Armenian Armed Forces accompanied by the Russian peacekeepers passed along the Stepanakert-Ghaibalishen-Lisagor road on March 7 is not true.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, the claims of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan regarding the transfer of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh for carrying out combat duty are also false.
Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, 9 patients from the Republican Medical Center the Republic of Artsakh with serious diseases of the oncology and pathologies requiring emergency surgical interventions have been transported today, on March 7, to specialized medical institutions of the Republic of Armenia with the mediation and escort of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Artsakh Health Ministry informs.

March 7, 2023, 11:12 ICRC facilitated transfer of nine people from Stepanakert to Yerevan for treatment

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: 9 patients, who had been transferred to Armenia for medical treatment, returned to Artsakh together with an accompanying persons.

Scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical centers of the Republic of Artsakh.

6 children remain in the neonatal and intensive care unit of the Arevik medical centre.

6 patients remain in the intensive care unit of the Republican Medical Centre, 1 of them in critical condition.
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.
As part of his Middle Eastern tour, the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, arrived on Tuesday in Iraq on an unannounced visit to discuss security issues, including Iran's file, Shafaq News Agency reported.

March 7, 2023, 16:00 US defense secretary arrives in Iraq on unannounced visit

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: A government source said that Austin would meet Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad S. al-Sudani and then head to Erbil, the capital of Kurdish autonomy, where he will meet with the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan.

The visit "to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq," Austin said on Twitter.

Austin started his Middle Eastern tour on March 5 by visiting Jordan. He plans to visit Egypt and Israel, too.
Editor's note: This story, written by David Zipper at Bloomberg CityLab, is part of the SoJo Exchange from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. Louisiana Inspired features Solutions Journalism stories that provide tangible evidence positive change is happening right now in other places and in our own communities  solutions that can be adopted around the world.
Veteran fund manager John Sevior says that after three decades of stock picking, his key lesson is the importance of sticking to an investment process rather than trying to make big calls on the overall market.

Sevior, one of the best known fund managers in Australia, on Tuesday announced he was retiring from Magellans Airlie Funds Management, which manages $9 billion, to be succeeded by his long-time colleague Matt Williams.

John Sevior (left) and Matt Williams of Airlie Funds Management. Credit: Louie Douvis

In an interview alongside Williams, Sevior said it was time for a change, and he was fortunate to be able to hand over to Williams, with whom he has worked for 24 years. Its just time to do some other things, Sevior said.

Sevior said the key investment lesson he had learned over the decades was the importance of sticking to a strategy, highlighting the folly of trying to make market calls.
Back in 2021, Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch was described by President Joe Biden as the the most dangerous man in the world, such was the raw power his cable news network had in shaping public opinion.

Flash forward to now, where a more diminished figure emerges from court filings revealed last week as part of a $US1.6 billion ($3.4 billion) defamation suit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems, one forced into an uncomfortable admission: He could have stopped the promotion of the false idea that the 2020 election was rigged against Donald Trump, but feared the network would lose loyal viewers and irritate the then-president.

Is Rupert Murdochs political influence waning? Credit: AP

Asked if he could have stopped producers and hosts from booking guests like Sidney Powell who propagated the election myth, Murdoch said, I could have, but I do not run Fox News that way. I appointed Ms. Scott to the job, referring to Suzanne Scott, the chief executive officer of Fox News. And I delegate everything to her, he added.

Just how influential Murdoch remains, whether he still has the ability make or break political careers, looms large in Republican circles ahead of what portends to be a contentious 2024 presidential primary race. The party is split between a zealous base still devoted to Trump and those hankering for a less controversial challenger in the form of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
When the royal commission into banking and financial services submitted its final report in February 2019, commissioner Kenneth Hayne did not mince his words when it came to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Pointing to ASICs ineffective enforcement culture when it came to wrongdoing in the financial services sector, Hayne considered whether it should be stripped of its powers to litigate in civil matters. The powers would then be handed to a new enforcement agency that ASIC would brief on investigations before the agency would decide whether to launch proceedings.

Although he decided not to recommend this move, Hayne added: If, over the coming years, it becomes apparent that ASIC is not sufficiently enforcing the laws within its remit, or if the size of its remit comes at the expense of its litigation capability, further consideration should be given to developing a specialist agency of the type I have described.

At the time, ASICs head, James Shipton, conceded problems with enforcement and took up Haynes call for a why not litigate? approach, instead of one that avoided going to court by seeking to negotiate compensation for consumers.
An estimated $2.8 billion in super savings will be forgone by those, mostly women, taking time out of the workforce to care for their children because super has not been paid on the Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay since its inception in 2011.

The estimate is for women at retirement, as they lose the compounding effect of not having super paid on government parental leave.

Debby Blakey, the chief executive of super fund HESTA, who commissioned research into the schemes shortfall, says adding super to Commonwealth Parental Leave Pay is one of the single biggest things that the federal government could do to help ensure better retirements for women.

Shani Jayamanne says financial independence for her means being able to support herself, regardless of unforeseen future circumstances. Credit: Wolter Peeters

Blakey says that super not being paid is an inequity that is contributing to the gender super gap and is unfair for new parents, especially women who were far more likely to take parental leave than men.
Public hospitals have been accused of stonewalling women seeking surgical abortions where senior staff are staunchly pro-life or fear an influx of abortions could cripple their already overstretched resources.

Dr Emma Boulton, the director of sexual health practice Clinic 66 in Chatswood, said her staff were given a gamut of excuses from public hospitals in both Sydney and regional NSW when they needed to refer women with complex cases or late-term pregnancies for terminations.

All local health districts in NSW should have referral pathways for abortion, but private abortion providers say this hasnt happened. Credit: istock

First thing they ask is where is she from? and if shes not from the hospitals local health district its a definite no-no, she said.

A public hospitals willingness to take on these patients depended on the obstetrics and gynaecology teams, who can harbour a faith-based ethos, are staunchly anti-abortion or believe its a social problem characterised by irresponsible women who cannot manage their contraception, Boulton said.
Perth men donating sperm for free

Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later.

Dismiss
A former Australian Federal Police officer has criticised Northern Territory Police leadership, telling an inquest Kumanjayi Walker and Zachary Rolfe should never have crossed paths.

Constable Zachary Rolfe (centre) leaves the Northern Territory Supreme Court after an appearance in March 2022. Credit: AAP

Rolfe fatally shot the Indigenous teenager three times during a bungled arrest in Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs, on November 9, 2019.

My personal belief is that those two young men, Kumanjayi Walker and Constable Zachary Rolfe, probably never should have met, Ben McDevitt, the AFPs former chief firearms instructor, told the inquest on Tuesday.

I believe that, quite frankly, the reason that they did was largely due to a tragic failure of leadership.
Carmine Appice, one of the most innovative drummers in rock n roll history, whose style inspired many other legends throughout his nearly si
Australia and its allies must persuade the US to move from defending the old flawed world order and to start creating a new, more inclusive, sustainable and democratic 21st and 22nd century one. Stewart Sweeney, Adelaide, SA US alliance deserves a rethink

US support was crucial to Australia during the Pacific war  but America today is a very different country. Since 1945 we have followed it into military disasters  all the way with LBJ; our man of steel with George Bush in Iraq; the Afghan catastrophe. Now experts like Mick Ryan say that We have made our choice. If the United States goes to war over Taiwan, we are going to support them ... The official defence review is timely, but there is little chance it will include any cool-headed, rational review of the American alliance. I would be surprised if a majority of informed Australians  armed with a comparison of Chinese and American military adventures over the past 50 years, and given our long support for the one-China policy  agreed with Ryan.

Norman Huon, Port Melbourne THE FORUM

Why get involved?

Were it not for the prospect of China taking military action to reunite Taiwan with the mainland, the future between it and Australia would likely be a long period of tranquillity and prosperity.

If America wants to defend Taiwan, that is not a reason why Australia should get drawn into a war with China. The terms of the ANZUS treaty do not require Australia to join in a conflict voluntarily entered into by another member state. No sane person can think that China could be defeated in a war. If America wants to have a go, please for once can we stay out of it?

Daniel Cole, Essendon Find a way to co-operate

While your panel of experts advises preparing for war, surely the only way forward is to work towards not having a war. Have they forgotten the untold misery of war? Do they predict that we will win? Do they really want us to live through perhaps years if not decades of unimaginable suffering? Please, for the sake of humanity, let us all work towards developing peace and co-operation between nations.

Keith Fletcher, Desa Banjar, Bali Better red than dead

I like my democracy, but would not want to die for it, nor would most Taiwanese, I suspect. Better red than dead. Lets duplicate those chip factories somewhere safe, and move on to challenges that concern all of humanity.

Ralph Bohmer, St Kilda West

Prepare to prevent

Surely, we must prepare to prevent a war, rather than always escalating the possibility there will be one. I suggest the Red Alert panel watch All Quiet on the Western Front and ponder the devastation of Ukraine instead of rushing us into a war that those panellists will not have to fight.

Judy Loney, Drumcondra Loading Asleep to the danger

The editorial Public should know our readiness for war (7/3) says Australians have been kept in the dark about the threat posed by China. Conventional wisdom in Canberra has been that Australia would have less than 10 years warning of war. While its true that efforts have been made by certain vested interests to keep Australians in the dark about the imminence and scale of the threat posed by a China under Xi Jinpings sway, nevertheless many voices in Australia have for the past decade, or so, been consistently warning of the dangers of a an expansionist, increasingly militaristic and aggressive communist China. But whether for financial, economic, political or ideological reasons such calls have been pooh-poohed, or damned as fearmongering and warmongering.

For years like a complacent sleeping koala, Australia has slumbered on, potentially only waking up as we come crashing down out of our comfort zone.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East Drums are beating

The drums of war are sounding with warnings we will be in military conflict with China within three years. Is this a revision of the 1950s yellow peril sweeping down from the north, or is it a rerun of the 1960s domino effect that led us into the Vietnam tragedy?

Peter Roche, Carlton Like dominoes

The analysis of your Red Alert panel is reminiscent of the domino theory that underpinned US and Australian involvement in the Vietnam War. The CIA and the Australian intelligence community had established an irrefutable linkage, so they claimed, between the communist organisations throughout South-East Asia. If Vietnam fell to the communists, according to the intelligence community, other countries throughout South-East Asia would also fall, like dominoes. Our nation was told by right-leaning politicians and analysts that we had to be proactive and adopt a forward defence posture. Well, Vietnam fell to the communists and that was it  no dominoes fell but estimates put the number of deaths from the war in the millions. Are we being sucked in again by the same sources?

Michael OBrien, Armadale Three years to act

The Australian government couldnt prepare for any major event, even a benign one such as the Olympics, within three years so the suggestion, by The Age panel of experts, that we need to be prepared for a full-scale war in that time is ridiculous. Indeed, Australia can never be prepared for the death and destruction that a major conflict, with any country, would bring. It would be better to spend the time, effort and money required on diplomacy and saving our world rather than destroying it.

Peter Martina, Warrnambool

Ask the people

Should the Australian government even countenance joining America in the defence of Taiwan then it should do so only after asking the Australian people. I, for one, would emphatically say no.

David Eames-Mayer, Balwyn Shift to electric

If we face the real prospect of war with China within three years we might as well cancel the order for nuclear submarines because they will be too late. We should instead invest in the wholesale electrification of our transport fleet. The weakest link in Australias defences is its heavy reliance on imported fuel. It would be easy for an aggressor to cut that fuel lifeline, leaving us completely immobilised and unable to defend ourselves. Electrification is the answer. We will never run out of sun and wind.

Helen Moss, Croydon China provoked

China trades, the US invades. History repeats itself. In modern times, China has been invaded by the US, Britain and Japan (twice). Its why China has been building a defence wall in the South China Sea. Taiwan is recognised by the UN as being part of China. The island was annexed in 1683 by the Qing dynasty. The Kuomintang retreated there in 1949 and the Taiwanese dont dispute that it is still part of China. Talk of Chinas pending invasion of Australia is mischievous. China is being provoked into conflict because China is surging towards being the No.1 economy, if it isnt there already. The old No.1 doesnt like it, and like failing empires of the past, will use military might as its last gasp. Russia is doing the same thing.

The US will find any excuse to invade as we saw in Iraq, and before that, in Vietnam. The same people who supported the illegal invasion of Iraq are now beating the drums of war on China.

Paul Kennelly, Caulfield North Loading US defence not a given

Should Trump regain the US presidency it should not be taken as a given that the US would involve itself in a conflict should China use force in an attempt to seize control of Taiwan.

That would leave Australia on its own or, more likely, sitting on the sidelines watching the events.

Garry Meller, Bentleigh Keep calm

It is hard to understand the motive behind your Red Alert article. While the information is no doubt accurate and Australian unreadiness for war is patent, what is the Australian population expected to do in response? The ordinary person cannot buy tanks or missiles, but panic could be generated which, given racism endemic in our ethos, could impact negatively on Australian Chinese citizens, or further enhance mental illness in the community, particularly in our young people.

We voted for a government of responsible, knowledgeable people who we need to believe will prepare for this looming possibility. In the meantime, generating calm, while warning against complacency, is surely one of the contributions expected of your newspaper.

Kay Moulton, Surrey Hills Jaw jaw, not war war

A headline I would love to see: Australia prepares for peace. Defending ourselves is one thing but the US military build-up on Australian soil is quite another: increased numbers of US marines stationed in the Northern Territory; six B52 bombers that may carry nuclear weapons at Tindal airbase; secretive Pine Gap; nuclear-powered submarines for which we will depend on others. And now we are advised to prepare for war with a neighbour and major trading partner? War is a huge cost to human life and the environment. It brings destruction, misery and death. Only the armaments industry profits. I do not want to be dragged into another war by the US, which has its own agenda. I want peace with our Pacific neighbours, China included. Talking, not fighting.

Anne Sgro, Coburg North Australia cant interfere

Australia cannot legally interfere in a Chinese civil war between China and Taiwan. We recognised the whole of China inclusive of Taiwan and so did the US.

Chinas overbearing interference in the South China Sea is another matter altogether. Threats to the maritime borders of any country in the South China Sea need defending. There are non-military ways to apply pressure in such circumstances.

Elizabeth Wirtz, Bass Firm without provocation

We cannot rely on a divided America for our ongoing security. Or on our defences to repel a full-scale Chinese attack on our shores. Nor can we be Switzerland. A dilemma? Certainly. Nonetheless we must pursue a diplomatic course in our region. If there is a right-wing agenda in our country then national security is top of the list. We are no longer living in a World War II scenario. We are living in a time of potential Armageddon. We have to believe that China is just as wary as we are of such a conflagration. We have to stand firm without provocation. We have to remain measured in areas of strategy. We have to be forthright in the values we hold and not be diminished by fear.

Tony Newport, Hillwood And another thing

Defence preparedness

Could the national security boffins ask China to hold off until we get our new submarines? By then a nice, friendly person might be the party leader.

John Bye, Elwood Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding So, is it possible, then, to reinstall the French submarine contracts so we might have some modicum of defence of our nation sooner rather than never?

Loucille McGinley, Brighton East Wake up Australia! Great work by the selected panel of five and The Age.

Ivan Gaal, Fitzroy North Lives at risk

It would only take the detonation of 100 nuclear weapons to kill everyone on Earth yet there are almost 13,000 in existence and around 2000 ready for use. Remember that when we talk about war preparedness.

Bruce King, Malvern East

The Red Alert report is beyond depressing. Human beings might be conquering the development of artificial intelligence, but sadly have a long way to go in developing emotional intelligence.

Fiona White, Alfredton Listen closely to the drumbeat of war and youll hear the digging of a young persons grave.

Scott Hurley, Brighton East Have we already had the debate about whether Australia should follow the US into another bloody war? Maybe I missed it.

Patrice McCarthy, Bendigo Predictable panic

Five people, jobs depending on the fear of imminent war, put forward their collective opinion on the anxiety of impending war  and lo and behold, we must prepare for war with China.

Tony McLean, East St Kilda In my opinion, the front page of The Age was inappropriate and fearmongering.

Carmyl Winkler, Benalla
Australia will ship more coal, gas and critical minerals to India under government plans to expand upon more than $24 billion in annual exports when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits three Indian cities this week after years of friction with China over trade and security.

The stronger strategic relationship is tipped to lead to more investment in Australian resources including lithium at a time when countries are racing to secure supplies to manufacture batteries and electric vehicles  a key objective for India this decade.

Resources Minister Madeleine King said the Indian government was showing great interest in Australian critical minerals. Credit: Trevor Collens

But the talks will also canvass ways to boost Australian supplies of fossil fuels when Indian demand for coal is forecast to grow by 7 per cent across its power stations by 2025 and by 20 per cent at its steelmakers and other industrial users over the same time.

Resources Minister Madeleine King, who will join the prime minister on the trip, said the Indian government was showing great interest in Australian critical minerals as part of its plan to lift the share of renewable energy in its economy.
Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe says she was mauled by the media and forced to admit she had a relationship with a former bikie when the pair shared only one kiss.

An Instagram post by Senator Lidia Thorpe with the caption: Ran into some old mates. Credit: Instagram

The former Greens senator, now an independent, was referred to the Senates privileges committee over allegations she failed to disclose a relationship with a former bikie despite sitting on a parliamentary law enforcement committee.

Senator Thorpe said she actually had no relationship with ex-bikie boss Dean Martin, but was told by Greens legal advisers to say they dated.

She previously said it was a mistake to not have disclosed the relationship, but changed her tune on Tuesday.
Given the choice between a frosted cupcake at an empowering morning tea, and a pay rise, most women will choose the latter.

But they dont often get that choice.

Sweet nothings: International Womens Day critics argue it has been corporatised beyond recognition.

So, on International Womens Day, which its critics argue has been corporatised beyond recognition, they will usually take the cupcake at the company morning tea, pink-iced and sugary with the promise of a better tomorrow.

I am not going to disparage them, but it is interesting how companies have latched onto International Womens Day and made it an event, says Professor Marian Baird, the Foundation Director of the Women and Work Research Group at Sydney University.
Brisbane City Councils initial proposal for a multibillion-dollar transport tunnel on Brisbanes northside has been rejected by the federal infrastructure assessment agency.

The LNP council received $10 million from the former Morrison government to research transport options in an area stretching from Alderley to Bald Hills.

The future of the North West Transport Corridor, centred on Trouts Road, remains unclear. Credit: Tony Moore

It spent three years on the project and deemed that a tunnel  either road or rail  rather than a surface-level motorway, was the only viable option because the North West Transport Corridor, preserved 40 years ago, had been surrounded by housing developments and bushland.

Under the federal funding agreement, the council was required to submit its plan to Infrastructure Australia.
The union representing hundreds of thousands of white-collar workers is gearing up to fight the government over tightening the rules for mental-health injury claims.

Public servants account for a third of WorkCovers mental-health claims, despite making up less than 10 per cent of the Victorian workforce.

Karen Batt, the secretary of the Victorian branch of the Community and Public Sector Union. Credit: Eddie Jim

On Tuesday, the state government declared WorkCover was fundamentally broken and said an overhaul was needed to stop billions in additional taxpayer funds being used to prop up the workers compensation scheme.

Payouts have exceeded premium revenue by more than $1 billion this financial year, a deficit that has been partly caused by the rising number of mental-health claims, according to the government.
It was March Madness time, and I was at a gathering to watch some hoops when I was approached by Emily, the wife of a friend of a friend.
Two of the four Americans kidnapped in Mexico have been found dead, while the other two were rescued alive, officials announced Tuesday.

The survivors -- Eric James Williams and Latavia "Tay" McGee -- have returned to the U.S., their families said.

PHOTO: Split photo shows Eric James Williams and Latavia 'Tay' McGee (Left Photo: Courtesy Michele Williams; Right: Tay McGee)

The four Americans -- Williams, McGee, Zindell Brown and McGee's cousin Shaeed Woodard -- arrived Friday morning in Matamoros, Mexico, which is in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas just south of Brownsville, Texas.

"Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle," the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said. The Americans had been traveling in a white minivan.

PHOTO: A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes, at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas, March 3, 2023. (AP)

"The gunmen herded the four U.S. citizens into another vehicle and fled," the embassy said.

The Americans were not directly targeted, Attorney General of Tamaulipas, Irving Barrios, said at a news conference.

It "seems to be that it was a misunderstanding," Barrios said.

Mexican investigators believe the kidnappers may have wrongly believed the Americans were rival human traffickers, a source close to the investigation told ABC News.

PHOTO: Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamoros, Mexico, March 6, 2023. (AP)

PHOTO: A general view of a storage shed behind a police cordon, at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. (Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

The two survivors were found Tuesday morning in a wooden house in the Lagunona area, outside of Matamoros, Mexican officials said at a news conference. One of the deceased was also found inside the house, and the second was found outside it, a source close to the investigation told ABC News.

Williams had a gunshot wound to his leg, said the governor of Tamaulipas, Americo Villarreal.

PHOTO: Eric James Williams is seen in an undated file photo. (Courtesy Michele Williams)

PHOTO: Images of the place where 4 American citizens were found are shown in screens during a press conference to give details after two American citizens were found dead in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on March 07, 2023 in Mexico City. (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

During the three days they were held, the Americans were transferred to various places, including a clinic, in order to create confusion and avoid rescue efforts, Villarreal said.

One person has been arrested. The 24-year-old suspect was in charge of looking after the victims inside the house where they were found, Mexican officials said.

One of the survivors, McGee, is a mother of five who traveled from South Carolina to Mexico for a cosmetic medical procedure.

PHOTO: Latavia 'Tay' McGee is seen here in an undated file photo. (Tay McGee)

Her mother, Barbara Burgess, told ABC News she "had to hold my heart" when the FBI came to her home on Tuesday with the news her daughter was alive.

Story continues

McGee spoke to her mother from a Texas hospital on Tuesday and told her mother she had no major injuries, Burgess said.

Williams, the second survivor, called his wife, Michele Williams, as he was being transported to a Texas hospital, she told ABC News.

"It was just tears of joy," she said.

Michele Williams said the FBI told her that her husband had been shot twice in one leg and once in the other. He underwent surgery in Texas for the wounds, she said.

MORE: 4 US citizens kidnapped in Mexico identified

The surviving victims were transported to the Port of Entry in Brownsville, where they are receiving medical care at a local hospital, the FBI said in a statement Tuesday. One of the victims "sustained serious bodily injuries during the attack," the FBI said.

"This is still an ongoing criminal investigation," the FBI said, adding that it is working with federal and international partners "to determine the facts of what happened and to hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes."

PHOTO: State police officers keep watch at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. (Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

PHOTO: Tamaulipas attorney general's office personnel walk at the scene where authorities found the bodies of two of four Americans kidnapped by gunmen, in Matamoros, Mexico, March 7, 2023. (Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

The bodies of the two deceased Americans will be transferred to the U.S. on Tuesday, Mexican officials said. The State Department is "in the process" of repatriating the two deceased victims, spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday afternoon.

Autopsies will be conducted on the two victims who were killed, a source close to the investigation told ABC News.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Tuesday, "We offer our deepest condolences to the friends and families of those who were killed in these attacks."

PHOTO: A woman is carried to the back of a white pickup truck in this still image obtained from social media video that shows the kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros, Mexico, March 3, 2023. (Video Obtained By Reuters)

Price said, "We thank our Mexican and U.S. law enforcement partners for their efforts to find these innocent victims and the task forward is to ensure that justice is done."

President Joe Biden has "been kept updated" on the situation, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday, adding that U.S. officials are in touch with the families.

Jean-Pierre called attacks on U.S. citizens "unacceptable."

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Tuesday that the Department of Justice will do "everything in our power" to hold those responsible for the attack to account.

ABC News' Ellie Kaufman, Matt Rivers, Anne Laurent, Shannon Crawford, Dan Carranza and Luke Barr contributed to this report.

2 Americans kidnapped in Mexico found dead, 2 rescued alive and back in US originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Scientists believe they have spotted fossilised sponges, corals, worm eggs, algae, fungi, lichen, shrimp, crabs, sea spiders, scorpions and a translucent millipede in photos of the planet

Is it a millipede? Is it a rock?

That is the question that is troubling some scientists who believe that life may already have been found on Mars, if you just look carefully enough.

It is a controversial topic, and one unlikely to be proven until humans set foot on the Red Planet, or Martian samples are returned to Earth.

Yet a small cadre of academics is convinced there is already good evidence that life once existed on the planet, and may even still be thriving today.

The scientists believe they have spotted fossilised sponges, corals, worm eggs, algae, fungi, lichen, shrimp, crabs, sea spiders, scorpions, the tell-tale green glow of living cyanobacteria, and yes, even a translucent millipede, on the surface.

Semi-translucent millipede-like organism

In the last month, a group of like-minded researchers have published four peer-reviewed papers in journals setting out their reasoning for believing proof of life is already there. The papers can be found at the bottom of this article.

We have photos of fungi growing out of the ground, increasing in size, increasing in number, as based on sequential images, said Dr Rudolph Schild of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, speaking on behalf of the researchers.

Imagine, if you saw some of these specimens in your backyard, or growing in your bathtub, wouldn't you spend a lot of time investigating, calling in experts, taking photos from every angle, trying to nudge it and see what happens?

He added: We have published photos of cyanobacteria growing. We have photos of an unusual specimen that may have been in a hole and two days later is outside the hole. Is that proof?

Proof would require one of these organisms to walk up and lick the camera. Proof would require extraction and direct examination.

Scientists say they have spotted the tell-tale green glow of living cyanobacteria

The theories are largely based on intriguing images beamed back from Nasas rovers which have been trundling over the surface for the past 26 years.

Many of the fossils were pictured inside the Gale Crater, a large impact basin near the equator, which was probably once a large lake.

Story continues

Researchers say the putative fossils seen there closely resemble those found in the Burgess Shale, a 500-million-year old fossil-rich layer in the Canadian Rockies.

Overall view of the best preserved specimen photographed in Gale crater by the rover Curiosity

There also appears to be evidence of microbialites - rock-like underwater structures that look like reefs, but are made entirely of millions of microbes.

One of the new papers, published in Applied Cell Biology, argues that semi-transparent cocoon-like eggs have been spotted, less than a millimetre in diameter with a single hole at one end, some of which appear to have non identifiable specimens exiting and entering.

Fossilised worm eggs can be seen

Fungal puffballs and specimens attached to rocks with stalks and topped with mushroom-like caps have also been observed in Meridiani Planum, a crater slightly north of the equator.

Another paper in the Journal of Astrophysics & Aerospace Technology argues that deposits in the Gale Crater resemble the Cambrian Explosion - a bio-boom period on Earth which gave rise to a period of rapid animal diversity, and which can be seen in the Burgess Shale.

All the authors of the recent papers are convinced that fossil evidence proved life once existed on Mars, although not all are in agreement there are still multiple lifeforms thriving today.

'I have may doubts'

Dr Vincenzo Rizzo, of the Dept of Geology, at the National Research Council of Italy, believes talk of growing fungi or spiders is hardly credible.

I believe that by now the presence of microbialitic structures and algal fossils should be considered established, he said

But about living organisms? I saw only rocks. Statements about spiders etc are based only on morphological aspects that are at odds with the biological evolution expected for Mars.

Even on the supposed mushrooms - although compatible with the actual Martian environment, I have many doubts.

This does not mean that current life does not exist. Some recent whitish spots and swellings recorded by the rovers may be fungal forms or lichens.

Multiple specimens can be identified

The suspicion that life is present in Mars goes back to the 1950s when oxygen was detected in the planets atmosphere, leading many scientists to believe that it had been produced by photosynthesis.

Specimens that resemble algae and cyanobacteria were first observed during Nasas Viking missions while probes hunting for biological signatures have recorded spurts of methane - often a byproduct of lifeforms. But real proof has proven elusive.

In an attempt to find out, Nasas Perseverance Rover is currently drilling at the Jezero Crater, an ancient Martian lake, with samples due to return to Earth in 2033.

The Chinese are also planning to bring samples home in the early 2030s, while Elon Musk has plans to put humans on Mars by 2029, potentially speeding up an answer to the riddle

Finding life somewhere other than Earth would have major implications for humanity, proving for the first time that we are not alone in the universe. And if life is present so close to home, it opens fascinating questions as to what life might be like further afield.

Definitive proof would tell us we are not alone, added Dr Schild. We could assume that life has evolved on innumerable Earth-like planets.

This then raises questions about the antiquity of life. There are planets and Solar Systems that are billions of years older than our own. What if human-like life evolved on those planets billions of years ago? The implications are staggering and humbling.

Arthropods on Mars

Annals of Experimental Biology (2023)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368450160_Arthropods_on_Mars

(See figures 1-10 / pages 2-8)

*****

Mars: Cocoons, Fungi, Nematodes, Rhizoids, Annelids, Eggs, Arthropoda in Gale Crater?

Applied Cell Biology (2023)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367049073

*****

Growth of Cyanobacteria In Gale Crater, Mars, Based on Sequential Images

Annals of Experimental Biology (2023)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368335877

Fossils on Mars: A "Cambrian Explosion" and "Burgess Shale" in the Lake Beds of Gale Crater?

Journal of Astrophysics & Aerospace Technology (2023)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/365926923

*****

A Mass Extinction on Mars? Evolution, Oceans, Obliquity, Colliding Worlds and the Magnetic Field Magnetosphere

Journal of Chemical, Biological and Physical Sciences (2023).

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368569906
Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 44F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 44F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
A 10-month-old Australian boy has tragically lost half his leg following a grave hospital mistake during an overseas family trip.

Melbourne mum Joanne Magri Seguna told Yahoo News the family of four flew to Malta for her husband's funeral at the start of November, when a few days in Zayn got sick and was diagnosed with influenza bronchiolitis.

Claiming negligent care at Mater Dei Hospital, Ms Seguna said Zayn's condition worsened and led to a punctured artery while trying to insert a central line, causing his leg colour to "change straight away" and go "white and cold".

An alleged hospital error in Malta led to Melbourne 10-month-old Zayn Seguna having the bottom half of his leg, from the knee-down, amputated. Source: GoFundMe

Instead of rectifying the situation straight away, the family was only told days later the hospital didn't have the resources to do so.

"Four, five days later they say they have no vascular surgeon for children and we need to take them to the UK. Why didn't they tell me the same day that it happened? Could've saved his leg," Ms Senguna told Yahoo News in December.

"All they did with his leg is watch it for four or five days. Gave him blood thinner and that's it," Mrs Seguna said at the time.

Alleged negligent care costs baby Zayn half his leg

After flying to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, the family still hoped that his leg could be saved, however the damage from the knee-down was too severe.

I used to take photos of his feet, and Ill treasure those photos forever," she told 7 News. "Im just grateful hes here. I want him to grow up doing anything he wants."

Mrs Senguna told Yahoo previously that according to the surgeon in London, Zayn's leg "should've been looked at within hours, not days".

Zayn is now recovering at home in Melbourne. Source: GoFundMe

The family is now considering taking further action against the hospital, having written a complaint about the doctors failing to send Zayn to another hospital after his artery was punctured, 7 News reports.

Family worry about 'lifelong complications' for 10-month-old

After the lower half of Zayn's leg was amputated, he was finally well enough to fly home on January 16. However, after suffering complications on the plane, he was quickly taken to the Royal Childrens Hospital, where he contracted another bout of influenza.

Story continues

Now after spending a total of 73 days in hospital, the family is "ecstatic" to have him home, according to the GoFundme, which has raised $90,385 out of the $100,000 goal.

"The family now face a lifetime of challenges ahead of them with the costs of prosthetics and mobility aids to support Zayn," the GoFundMe read.

"Although they are concerned for Zayns leg and the lifelong complications he may have, they are so very grateful to have their little boy awake and smiling.

Zayn has even started crawling, the mum told 7 News.

Yahoo News Australia has reached out to Mater Dei Hospital for comment.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
In a landmark free-speech case, a federal judge is being asked to block federal officials from continuing to commit some of the most egregious First Amendment violations in American history.

On March 6, attorneys pressing the case against President Joe Biden and various federal agencies cited 1,442 points supporting their motion for a preliminary injunction.

The proof of this sprawling federal Censorship Enterprise is voluminous and overwhelming, the March 6 court filing says (pdf). This enterprise is highly effectiveit has stifled debate and criticism of government policy on social media about some of the most pressing issues of our time.

At least 67 officials and agencies are accused of urging companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter to suppress alleged misinformation.

Impact Extends Nationwide

Two attorneys general, Andrew Bailey of Missouri and Jeff Landry of Louisiana, allege that federal employees pressured Big Tech to censor speakers and viewpoints on social media that the federal officials disfavor.

Discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic and the contents of a laptop that belonged to Bidens son, Hunter, were both heavily censored, court records show.

Bailey and Landry say the impact of the case extends to all Americans.

This case is the most important free-speech lawsuit in a generation, Bailey said in a news release. I will not rest until the court blocks unelected bureaucrats from violating our constitutional right to free and open debate.

Landry decried the egregious and unlawful viewpoint censorship by the White House, along with the FBI and many other agencies.

The White House did not respond immediately to The Epoch Times request for comment. But attorneys representing the accused agencies will get to argue against the allegations in a hearing, for which Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana, Monroe, will set a date.

Revelations in Depositions

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) served as Missouris attorney general when he and Landry launched the lawsuit in May 2022.

The suit, Missouri v. Biden, asks Doughty to declare that the defendants conduct violates free-speech protections in federal and state constitutions and to bar them from such actions.

Last July, Doughty ordered federal agencies to cooperate and respond to requests for information and depositions.

Evidence gathered since then showed a direct, blatant, and brazen coordination between the federal government and social media companies, Schmitt said during a March 2 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

On one occasion, a senior Facebook official  pledged to censor speech on COVID-19 more stringently, after the Department of Health and Human Services expressed displeasure, Schmitt said. He added that government agents had special portals to report posts they disagreed with quickly.
2 Americans Violently Kidnapped in Mexico Found Dead, 2 Alive

A woman is carried to the back of a white pickup truck in this still image obtained from social media video that allegedly shows the kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 3, 2023. (Video obtained by Reuters)

Mexicos president said Tuesday that two of the four U.S. citizens who were assaulted and kidnapped in Mexico have been found dead, while the other two have been found alive.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that one of the individuals who was found alive had been injured in last weeks violent abduction.

Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios confirmed the development in a tweet, noting that more details would be provided a later time.

Derived from the joint search actions, the four American citizens deprived of their liberty last Friday were found, Barrios said. Unfortunately, two dead. Investigation and intelligence work continue to capture those responsible. Details will be given later.

All four American citizens who were assaulted and kidnapped by gunmen in Mexico on Friday have been identified by family members.

It remains unclear which of the four have been found alive.

Latavia Tay McGee, Shaeed Woodard, Zindell Brown, and Eric James Williams are the names of the four abducted Americans, according to family members who spoke to CNN, ABC, and the Associated Press.

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, told the AP that her younger brother, Zindell Brown, was one of the four kidnapping victims.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she told the outlet in a phone interview. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

A dramatic video posted on Twitter shows the moment the Americans were held at gunpoint and forced into the back of a white pickup truck.

Armed men clad in what appear to be bulletproof vests and carrying long rifles are seen in the footage forcing a woman into the truck and dragging the others along the ground and hoisting them into the pickup.

McGees mother, Barbara Burgess, told ABC that her daughter traveled from South Carolina to Mexico for a cosmetic medical procedure.

Burgess told the outlet that she had advised her daughter against going, but McGee insisted, saying shed be okay.

She told ABC that the last time she heard from her daughter was when McGee called to say she was about 15 minutes from the doctors office.

Neither Mexican nor U.S. authorities have officially confirmed the victims identities.

Mexican authorities search for evidence to locate four Americans who were shot by gunmen and then kidnapped shortly after crossing the border from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Mexico, on March 6, 2023. (Stringer/Reuters)

More Details

Officials from Mexico and the United States said the four Americans entered Mexico on March 3 in a white minivan with North Carolina license plates.

The FBI said the vehicle came under fire soon after it entered Matamoros, located just across the U.S.Mexico border from Brownsville, Texas, in Tamaulipas.

All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men, the FBI San Antonio office said in a March 5 statement.

Tamaulipas is one of six states in Mexico that the State Department advises Americans not to travel to due to the threat of organized crime activity, including kidnapping for ransom.

The FBI didnt provide details about the abducted Americans and called for the publics help identifying those responsible for the assault and kidnapping.

A $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and arrest of the perpetrators has been announced.

The Mexican president told a March 6 press conference that the group of Americans had crossed the border to buy medicines in Mexico and that a confrontation between groups ensued after the U.S. citizens were kidnapped.

He said that the whole government is working on the case.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a press conference on Monday that President Joe Biden has been briefed about the incident and that U.S. authorities are working with Mexican agencies to locate the missing Americans.

We are closely following the assault and kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in Matamoros, Mexico. These sorts of attacks are unacceptable, Jean-Pierre said. Our thoughts are with the families of these individuals, and we stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance.

We will continue to coordinate with Mexico and push them to bring those responsible to justice, she added.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said in a statement on Monday that U.S. law enforcement is working with Mexican authorities to secure the safe return of the abducted Americans.

Salazar also said that an innocent Mexican bystander had been killed in the incident.

Tamaulipas is considered one of the more dangerous parts of Mexico, where drug cartels control much of the territory and often wield more power than local law enforcement.

The State Department warned in the advisory that organized crime is common in Tamaulipas, including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, forced disappearances, extortion, and sexual assault.

Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments, the State Department warned, adding that heavily armed gang members often patrol the state and operate with impunity.

On March 3, the day of the violent kidnapping, the U.S. consulate in Matamoros issued an alert, citing reports of an individual being shot in what seemed to be the same incident.

The alert warned U.S. government employees to avoid the area, noting that this area in Mexico is under the highest-level travel warning issued by the State Department, namely a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory.
When most people think about the cybersecurity threats facing this country, its often things like bank accounts or social security numbers getting stolenthings isolated to the digital realm. However, more and more, its become clear that cyberattacks are actual real physical threats that can cause physical harm because they have the potential to target our real-world infrastructure.

The Russian government has put out multiple statements saying that they are willing and able to launch cyberattacks against the United States. And the White House, on multiple occasions over the last year, has put out statements warning the country of an imminent Russian cyberattack.

All this comes as the Biden administration released a policy document laying out the cybersecurity threats to this country, how those threats have been addressed thus far, as well as what the administration plans to do in addressing those threats moving forward within the coming year.

Episode Resources:

 American Hartford Gold (866-242-2352):

https://ept.ms/3biH9MN

 Physical Cyber-Attacks:

https://ept.ms/3mxmoF7

https://ept.ms/3mzrMaM

https://ept.ms/3yhFT6V

https://ept.ms/3muU9H0

https://ept.ms/3L06tZQ

https://ept.ms/3Ynez1L

https://ept.ms/3YsmyuC

https://ept.ms/3JgdvIS

 2000 Attacks:

https://ept.ms/3mk00P9

 Biden Strategy Document:

https://ept.ms/3kOWuvO
Al-Qaeda Says 2 Operatives Killed in Drone Strike in Yemen

SANAA, YemenAl-Qaedas arm in the Arabian Peninsula said two of the terrorist groups operatives, including its media chief, were killed by a suspected U.S. drone in central Yemen last month.

The announcement came Sunday in a five-page obituary posted on websites typically used by the terrorist group.

It says the groups media chief was killed along with another al-Qaeda member when a purported U.S. drone strike hit their residence in central Yemen on Feb. 26.

The CIA declined to comment on the suspected attack.

Another suspected U.S. strike on al-Qaeda operatives in January reportedly killed three in Yemen.

Al-Qaeda said Hamad al-Tamimi, the terrorist groups media chief, was killed along with another member of the al-Qaeda branch when their house near the central Yemeni city of Marib was hit last month in an alleged U.S. strike.

In the January attack, the suspected al-Qaeda members appeared to have been killed by a Hellfire R9X, otherwise known as the flying Ginsu or knife bomb, based on images of the wreckage analyzed by the AP and weapons experts. The CIA is known to have deployed the drone against high-value targets in the past. The CIA declined to comment on the February attack when asked days after it took place.

The two attacks raise questions over the secretive U.S. drone campaign in Yemen, which started about 20 years ago.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also known by its acronym AQAP, is active in several regions in Yemen, including Marib and other far-flung provinces. It is believed to be one of the more dangerous branches of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

U.N. experts believe AQAP has a few thousand members, its ranks boosted by foreign fighters.

Years of civil war, which has pitted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore Yemens internationally recognized government to power, have allowed al-Qaeda to maintain a presence, particularly in remote and more lawless areas of Yemen.

Yemens war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and seized the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the countrys north. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015. The conflict has spawned one of the worlds worst humanitarian crises and pushed impoverished Yemen to the brink of famine.

By Ahmed Al-Haj
Two of four Americans kidnapped in Mexico tummy tuck trip are found dead

Two Americans in a group of four friends who were kidnapped during a trip to Mexico last week have been found dead.

The group was taken hostage on Friday (3 March) after entering the state of Tamaulipas in Matamoros  an area dominated by the Gulf cartel. The Americans, who had driven from South Carolina, came under fire from a group of armed men and were bundled into the back of a pickup truck.

Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal revealed on a call during a Tuesday evening press conference that two of the victims, Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown had been found dead. Eric James Williams was wounded on his leg while LaTavia Tay McGee was unharmed  they are back in the US, according to the Tamaulipas Attorney General.

Ms McGees mother Barbara Burgess told ABC News that her daughter had travelled from her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to get a tummy tuck in Mexico, and that her cousin Mr Woodard and their two friends were accompanying her on the ride.

US officials familiar with the investigation told CNN that authorities believe a Mexican cartel mistook the victims for Haitian drug smugglers.

A suspect, 24-year-old Jose N, has been arrested. The man was tasked with making sure the victims didnt escape during the three-day kidnapping and he was captured at the scene on Tuesday, Mr Villareal said.

An unnamed state authority told the Associated Press that the missing American citizens were found in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Longoreno on the way to the local beach known as Playa Baghdad.

Investigators reportedly received word of the victims location before dawn on Tuesday. Ambulance crews were sent to assist the surviving victims, according to Mr Villareal.

Shaeed Woodard was identified as one of the four Americans killed during the kidnapping (Facebook Shaeed Woodard)

We continue to work every day towards peace and are very sorry that this has happened in our country, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said during an earlier press conference on Tuesday.

We send our condolences to the victims friends and family and the American people. And we will continue to work towards peace.

Story continues

Mr Lopez Obrador also claimed that the tragedy will be seized by the American media to portray Mexico as a dangerous country, in stark contrast with their silence when Mexicans are killed in the US. He went on to say that GOP politicians will also use the crime as an opportunity to push their agenda.

LaTavia McGee was unharmed in the attack, according to Mexican offiicials (Family handout)

White House Press Secretary Karine noted during a briefing that the Biden administration remains committed to disrupting transnational criminal organizations including Mexican drug cartels and human smugglers.

We remain committed to applying the full weight of our efforts and resources to counter them, Ms Jean-Pierre said.

Right now, our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens, the health and well-being of those who survived this attack, and the support which must be rendered to the families of those who need it.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also decried the attack on the American citizens and vowed to get justice for their families.

We appreciate the hard work of the Justice Department the FBI and the DEA and the Department of Homeland Security  were grateful for their swift response to this dreadful incident and for their continued collaboration with Mexican authorities, Mr Kirby told reporters.

Were going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case.

When asked whether the White House was considering policy changes in response to the attack, Mr Kirby said that there were no immediate remedies but insisted US authorities are working extensively to get the fatal victims bodies and the survivors back on American soil.

Right now our focus is very squarely on these four Americans and the families that have been affected by the attack and I think youll hear more from the Justice Department as they learn more and can have more to share, he added. But its just too soon for me to be able to speak to any policy changes or, or vectors as a result of this attack.

Mexican crews rescued the American citizens (AP)

The group of four were travelling in a white minivan with North Carolina licence plates when they crossed the US border into Mexico on 3 March.

Ms McGees mother Barbara Burgess said she was worried about her daughter going and warned her it might not be safe. But, her daughter brushed off her concerns telling her: Ma, Ill be okay.

Ms Burgess last heard from Ms McGee on Friday when she called to say that they were just 15 minutes from the cosmetic surgeons office where she was scheduled to have the procedure that day. She never heard from her daughter again.

Ms Burgess said she tried calling Ms McGee later that day but her phone went straight to voicemail.

Not long later, she said she received a visit from an FBI agent, revealing what had happened.

Mr Browns sister Zalandria Brown told the AP that the situation felt like a bad dream as she revealed that her younger brother had voiced concerns about travelling to such a dangerous place.

Zindell kept saying, We shouldnt go down, she said.

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

But Mr Brown, a 28-year-old living in Myrtle Beach, still went on the trip with his three friends  in part because they had all agreed to help share driving duties.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, said Ms Brown. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable.

Mr Browns mother Christina Hickson told WPDE she immediately recognised him in the disturbing video circulating on social media.

The video, which has not been verified, shows armed men loading four people into the bed of a white pickup truck.

While one individual is moving and sitting upright, the other three are merely dragged limp into the vehicle.

Mr Williams North Carolina divers license was found at the scene of the abduction, reported ABC News.

The US State Department is advising Americans not to travel to Tamaulipas due to the risk of crime and kidnapping. The region is on the Level 4: Do Not Travel list.

The border city of Matamoros is largely controlled by the Gulf drug cartel, with violence and migrant smuggling rife.

A reward of $50,000 had been offered for information leading to the return of the victims and the arrest of the kidnappers.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI San Antonio Division at 210-225-6741 or to submit tips anonymously online at https://tips.fbi.gov
Amid Trump Probe, Georgia GOP Passes Prosecutor Oversight Bill

The Senate of Georgia passed a bill last week that aims to toughen up oversight measures on the states prosecutors, after a special purpose grand jury counsel wrapped up investigations into alleged election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies.

The bill, SB 92 (pdf), would create a Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, which would have the power to discipline, remove, and cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district attorneys or solicitors-general. The Republican-majority Senate passed the bill in a 32 to 24 vote on March 2.

Republicans introduced the bill in the House in February 2021 as HB 411. The House passed the bill by a 104 to 61 vote in March 2021. but it was held off in the Senate. It was revived in the Senate in March 2022.

The bill introduces several grounds for disciplining a state district attorney or solicitor general, including mental or physical incapacity, willful misconduct, willful and persistent failure to carry out his or her professional duties, the conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Disciplinary measures include removal or involuntary retirement.

The bill would protect the citizens of Georgia and clean up the criminal justice system where it needs to be cleaned up, Georgia Republican Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Catula), the bills sponsor, said on the upper chambers floor on March 2.

We have, in a community near our state university where somebody whos an elected DA says they can choosenot based on evidence but based on how they feel and what their political leanings areas to who they will prosecute, Robertson added. In order to solve this problem, there needs to be oversight.

Meanwhile, the opposition party warned that the state might use the proposed commission to target prosecutors who differ politically.

Were going to use a commission like this, potentially, to harass or put the fire under prosecutors of a certain party in certain urban areas that dont align with what state government wants, said State Sen. Josh McLaurin (D-North Fulton) on Thursday.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Georgia Senate for comment.

The Peach states GOP lawmakers in the lower chamber are also working to pass House Bill 231 (pdf) to mirror the upper chambers oversight body, which, if passed into law, would create a Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission in the House.

Context

The timing of this bills passing is significant because it closely trailed the completion of a special-purpose grand jury investigation of former President Donald Trump and his allies, which was initiated and largely run by District Attorney Fani T. Willis.

If passed, the bill would apply to Willis in its oversight measures, though it is unclear if or how lawmakers would approach Williss investigation.

A major focus of that investigation is a call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January 2021, when Trump asked Raffensperger to investigate potential voter fraud in Georgia.

Critics of Trump have alleged that the call constituted an act of election interference. Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing on his part.

The grand jury, which was discharged in January, reportedly recommended indictments. In early February, the Fulton County Superior Court released a portion of the jury panels final report, which did not include the list of names to whom indictments were recommended.

Willis objected to the proposal of an oversight body in the state legislature, calling it racist in an interview with The New York Times last week.

The Epoch Times contacted Fulton Countys District Attorneys office for comment. The DAs office had not return calls by press time.

In an interview with The New York Times last week, Sen. Robertson said the bill was not related to the Trump probe but was instead a response to the 2021 corruption case of Mark Jones, former District Attorney of Muscogee, Georgia.

The Georgian GOPs move is reflective of Republicans increasing scrutiny of the conduct of prosecutors across the nation, with some accusing prosecutors of wilful misconduct or negligence amid changes in the legal environment in recent years.

The most contentious of these clashes center on issues such as the alleged lack of enforcement of abortion laws following the Supreme Courts overturn of Roe vs. Wade, as well as the alleged refusals in prosecuting low-level crimes such as narcotics, retail theft, and prostitution arrest.

Some of these efforts include Republicans in Pennsylvania who attempted to impeach Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner (but later failed) for Prosecution Declination, and legislation introduced by GOPs in Indiana, South Carolina, and Texas to remove DAs who refuse to enforce abortion laws. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis removed a state attorney Andrew Warren last year for allegedly not following the rule of law.

Trumps Response

Trump touted the Georgia GOPs passing of this bill on Sunday.

The Racist District Attorney in Atlanta, Fani T. Willis, one of the most dangerous and corrupt cities in the U.S., is now calling the Georgia Legislature, of course, RACIST, because they want to make it easier to remove and replace local rogue prosecutors who are incompetent, racist, or unable to properly do their job, Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media company, on Sunday.

This is a great development for Georgia, but also other parts of the Country. Congratulations to the Georgia Legislature for having the courage to act boldly, fairly, and fast!
Amitabh Bachchan Injured While Shooting Film in India

Bollywood film actor Amitabh Bachchan talks to media during a promotional event of his film 'TE3N' or three in Kolkata, India, on June 8, 2016. (Bikas Das/AP Photo)

MUMBAI, IndiaAmitabh Bachchan said he was injured while shooting a film in southern India and is recovering at home.

The 80-year-old Bollywood superstar posted on his blog Sunday night that he sustained a rib injury while working in Hyderabad on the science fiction film Project K. Its being made in the Hindi and Telugu languages and is slated for release in 2024.

Bachchan wrote that he had a damaged rib cartilage and a muscle tear. He said the injury was painful and he consulted a doctor before he flew home to Mumbai, where he was advised to rest.

I shall be unable to meet the well wishers at Jalsa Gate this evening, so do not come, the actor said to fans who often gather outside his home in Mumbai. All else is well, he wrote.

He said his work on the film was suspended until hes healed.

Security guards stand at the entrance of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan house in Mumbai, India, on March 6, 2023. (Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

It was not the first time he was hurt on a film set. In 1983, during a fight scene on the set of Coolie, he suffered a serious injury in an accident and was declared clinically dead. People across India spent days holding public prayers. He eventually recovered and finished the film.

Bachchan has acted in more than 200 Indian films. His breakthrough came in the 1973 film Zanjeer, or The Chain, and he rose to superstardom playing bold characters, inspiring fans to copy his hairstyle, clothes, and deep voice.

The hugely popular actor is also a former politician and a television host.
Antiviral Drugs out of Stock as Influenza Rages Across China

Chinese media warn consumers against 'hoarding panic' as COVID fears grow

Elementary school students are accompanied by their parents as they walk to school on the first day of the new semester in Beijing on February 13, 2023. (WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Schools across China are closing their doors due to a surge of fever and flu-like symptoms throughout the country. Chinese authorities have insisted that the widespread outbreak is due to a strain of influenza A, while the antiviral drug Oseltamivir (available in the United States under the brand name Tamiflu) is sold out in many Chinese pharmacies.

The Epoch Times reported recently that China could be facing a massive wave of COVID-19 infections, with the Shanghai Metro system issuing a document to employees titled Procedure to Handle COVID-19 Positive Passengers and warning staff to prepare for epidemic control.

State-Controlled Media Report on Influenza, Not COVID-19

On Feb. 27, Chinese state media confirmed that the intensity of seasonal influenza epidemics is currently on the rise. However, the article said that members of the public should not self-medicate or try to stock-up on antiviral medication, warning that hoarding medicines is hoarding panic.

Doctors in China told the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that the flu-like illness has been more serious than in previous years, and that it is difficult to tell if the fever-type illness currently spreading in China is a strain of influenza or the CCP virus (COVID-19).

Raging Influenza

Chinese media reported this week that many schools were closed across the country due to the prevalence of the flu infection, including in larger cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Zhejiang.

A school in Shanghais Qingpu District notified parents that classes had been suspended because many students were reporting similar symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, headache, and fatigue. The similarity of these symptoms to those of COVID-19, however, caused widespread concern among parents. The local Education Bureau subsequently stated that the students were suffering from influenza A, Chinese media reported.

The article suggested that the world was moving from a COVID-19 season to an influenza season.

Flu or CCP Virus?

A doctor at the outpatient clinic of Beijings Youan Hospital told The Epoch Times that There are many patients with fever and flu at the ER  many children in Beijing are having fever. What is itflu, COVID, or something else? Its hard to say.

The doctor also mentioned that the hospital is out of drugs used to control fevers, but that Oseltamivir is still available.

A specialist at Beijing Childrens Hospital told The Epoch Times that the flu is indeed more serious than in previous years, while a doctor from Hebei Childrens Hospital confirmed this observation.

On Feb. 27, Chinese virologist Dong-Yan Jin told the Chinese state-controlled Economic View that, Judging from the data released by the China National Influenza Center, the influenza A infection is showing a slight upward trend  for most people, the lethality of influenza A is relatively weak, [but] attention should be paid to the infection of influenza A among the elderly and children.

When The Epoch Times consulted Beijings CDC, however, the staff member on duty denied that their office had received any notifications of a widespread influenza-like illness in Beijing.

A file photo shows a security operative in a protective suit keeping watch as medical workers attend to patients at the fever department of Tongji Hospital, a major facility for COVID-19 patients in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on January 1, 2023. (REUTERS)

Oseltamivir Out of Stock

Oseltamivir was out of stock at 4 pharmacies in Beijing contacted by The Epoch Times. According to one salesperson, it is unknown when it will be available again.

Zhao Fenghua, Hong Ning, and Alex Wu contributed to this report.
At Least 6 Killed in Blast at Oxygen Plant in Bangladesh

Firefighters and rescue workers gather at the site of an explosion at an oxygen plant on the outskirts of Chittagong, Bangladesh, on March 4, 2023. (AFP via Getty Images)

DHAKAAt least six people were killed and several injured on Saturday when a fire broke out following an explosion at an oxygen plant in southeastern Bangladesh, officials said.

The death toll could rise as a rescue operation was ongoing at the plant at Sitakunda, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the southeastern port city of Chittagong, they added.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, a fire service official said.

Six bodies were recovered from the site, local government official Shahadat Hossain told Reuters, adding a rescue operation was continuing.

A huge bang was heard which shook an area with a radius of up to two kilometers, police official Nayhanul Bari said, quoting witnesses.

A massive fire at a container depot in the area killed 50 people and injured nearly 200 in June last year.
Barbara Kay: Rooting Out Wrongthink Is the Mission of Ideologues Who Have Captured the Publishing Industry

Commentary

Why are so many children drawn to books in which the parents are absentdeath or abandonmentand the step-parent or guardian hostile? From Snow White to Cinderella, through Anne of Green Gables and Harry Potter, these stories take flight from a parentless childs insecurity and loneliness. The answer, I think, is that childrens deepest fears relate to separation from their parents before they are ready to negotiate their way in the world.

Children will accept frightening or grotesque material in the process of getting to the endings they favour, where the heros resilience and courage is rewarded within a circle of sustaining relationships. But there can be no happy ending without a satisfactory parenting, or substitute-parent, outcome.

The late Roald Dahl wrote literature for both adults and children, the adult stories often taking their inspiration from Dahls deeply cynical and misanthropic view of life. His childrens stories are quirky and imaginative, but edgy and suspenseful. His protagonists initial family situations are binaryeither wonderful (but threatened) or awful. But characters with an awful family end up with the loving substitute family they deserve.

In a moralistic update reflecting woke obsessions with race, gender, appearance, and neurodiversity, Puffin books made a slew of changes to Dahls childrens books. The word fat was disappeared, and female was changed to woman. Boys and girls became children; mothers and fathers became parents; the words crazy and mad were excised. In his story, Matilda, a double chin was excised. They even removed references to the black of a tractor and the white of a sheet. As if children, even subconsciously, would associate these words with race. Its an absurd but accurate indicator of the extent to which the publishing world has been colonized by political actors.

The irascible Dahl, who died in 1990, would never have agreed to a single change. It was Netflix, to whom the estate was sold in 2018, who gave consent. The sensitivity readers employed for the task diligently applied the social justice dogmas they had imbibed in university. It was not their job to consider whether their changes affected the quality of the prose, or the authors vision. It was their job to protect certain readers from presumed offence. As there are so many ways in which societys victims can be offended today, and as Dahl was a writer with a cruel streak who delighted in creating tension in his readers, it must have been a gruelling slog for the PenguinPuffin functionaries.

This isnt the first time pre-woke childrens books have been altered to meet newer standards of acceptable discourse and attitudes. The N-word in Huckleberry Finn was changed to slave; gender roles in Richard Scarrys books were tweaked to preclude traditional stereotyping; and six of Dr. Seusss books are no longer published. But it was the scale of the edits in the Dahl case that drew sharp remonstrance from commentators.

Salman Rushdie, who may justly claim special moral authority on the theme of writers freedom of speech, called the airbrushing insane, adding in a note to PEN Americas CEO: Roald Dahl was a bigot and he never supported me, but really? We cant say fat or female? Dahls French publishers, Gallimard, flatly refused to go along with the scheme and announced the books will remain as they were when published in the 1960s.

Such was the blowback that Penguin Random House announced it would publish unexpurgated versions of 17 of Dahls childrens novels as The Roald Dahl Classic Collection alongside the altered version. Thats a victory of sorts. But it wont alter the mission of ideologues who have captured the publishing industry. They have been momentarily thwarted, but not humbled, by this snub. They will continue to root out wrongthink in their collections. For the compelling urge to expunge the past in order to control the present and future is common to power-seeking ideologues of the left.

Orwells dystopian novel, 1984, published in 1948, is the urtext for totalitarianism in all its inglorious facets. But for prophecy regarding censorship in particular, we turn to Ray Bradburys 1953 novel, Fahrenheit 451. The title refers to the temperature at which paper will burst into flames. In the books imagined society, book burnings are meant to keep society safe from harmful knowledge. The governments firemen, who set fires rather than quell them, are portrayed as societys protectors, cleansing ignorance in the service of enlightenment. In fact, they use fire to destroy individual identity and the creative spirit, both the enemies of authoritarian regimes.

In a prescient explanation of how the censorship became widespread, the books protagonist, Montag, is told by his boss: There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Outlawing literature is presented as virtuous on the grounds of equity. If everyone is made ignorant, then everyone [is] made equal. And so we were warned, but this pretty well describes what is happening before our eyes today.

Back in 1994, Bradbury told an interviewer political correctness had proved his predictions accurate. Since then, social media and the advent of cancel culture have only reinforced his vision. Ironically, Fahrenheit 451 was itself subject to well-intentioned excisions of swear words and other changes. In a coda to the 1979 Del Rey edition, Bradbury wrote : [S]ome cubbyhole editors at Ballantine Books, fearful of contaminating the young, had, bit by bit, censored some 75 separate sections from the novel. Bradbury wasnt having it. He had the entire book reset and republished with all the damns and hells back in place. The only lesson publishers apparently took from this outcome was to wait until the author was dead before bowdlerizing his or her work.

Fahrenheits opening line is: It was a pleasure to burn. It is very clear to anyone who spends time on Twitter that social justice warriors take joy in shaming and humiliating those targeted for cancellation. They dont perceive their victims, or in this case dead writers, as human beings with rights to their intellectual and creative property. They look at wrongthinkers of the past in the way Bradburys firemen looked at books they burnt: you werent hurting anyone, you were hurting only things!  you were simply cleaning up. Janitorial work, essentially.

No, of course the sensitivity readers are not literally burning books. But, as Bradbury observed, There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Biden Officials Champion Digital Privacy at TikTok-Sponsored Event

Attendees mingle at the State of the Net 2023 conference in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 2023. (Courtesy of Internet Education Foundation)

News Analysis

WASHINGTONBiden administration officials on March 6 called for federal legislation to protect online user privacy at an event sponsored by TikTok.

The China-owned TikTok was listed as a platinum sponsor for the State of the Net event. The Biden administration late last month gave the federal government 30 days to ensure TikTok is removed from work devices to ensure data safety.

White House Chief Technology Officer Alexander Macgillivray said a litany of privacy horror stories demonstrate the need for federal privacy law.

Macgillivray offered several examples, including ad platforms targeting people with clinical depression and data brokers creating a subgroup for pregnant women, which he said is especially worrisome given the attacks on reproductive rights we are seeing.

We all know that we need limits on the data that companies collect, he said.

U.S. Chief Technology Officer Alexander amac Macgillivray speaks at the State of the Net 2023 conference on March 3, 2021. (Courtesy of Internet Education Foundation)

The White House CTO advocated for restrictions on the collection and use of data in categories such as internet history, personal communications, location, and biometric data.

Several actions by the administration stand in stark contrast to its stated goal of protecting personal privacy.

In February, FBI whistleblower George Hill told Just The News that the Bureaus D.C. field office used private financial data provided by the Bank of America to open criminal investigations on 140 individuals who traveled to the nations capital around Jan. 6, 2021, or who owned a gun.

Although pressured by D.C. to do the same, the leadership at his Boston field office refused to comply, Hill saida now-retired supervisory intelligence analystciting insufficient justification for the request to share citizens private data.

Theres no evidence of a crime being committed here, Hill told Just The News founder John Solomon. We cannot open up preliminary investigations on someone for using a financial instrument in the District.

Early on in the Biden presidency, Biden issued an executive order titled Executive Order on Improving the Nations Cybersecurity, which included 46 different mandates and called for removing information-sharing barriers between the intelligence community and technology companies.

The order asked companies to collect and preserve data, information, and reporting related to cybersecurity and proactively share this data with relevant federal agencies. The data types that would fall under cybersecurity are not specified, but the order asks that information relating to cybersecurity incidents or potential incidents be shared.

When asked about the order, Macgillivray told The Epoch Times that cybersecurity does not necessarily mean personal data.

There are a bunch of ways to balance that, he said. Particularly, making sure that youre doing the right thing in terms of responsibly sharing and then making sure that youre actually protecting people.

Cybersecurity is not all peoples personal information.

Also speaking at the conference was National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson, who echoed Macgillivrays calls for stronger federal regulation. Davidson explained that minority communities are disproportionately affected by private data collectors and said the NTIA is currently conducting an investigation into the civil rights and equity aspects of privacy.

The harms of privacy and security vulnerabilities are most starkly felt by our most vulnerable communities, he said, highlighting the elderly as another targeted group.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration Administrator Alan Davidson speaks at the State of the Net 2023 conference on March 3, 2023. (Courtesy of Internet Education Foundation)

In his State of the Union address last month, Biden mentioned the importance of data privacy, calling for clear and strict limits on data collection and for Big Tech companies to minimize how much information they collect.

These more recent remarks are at odds with some of the actions taken by the Biden administration in the last two years, including an October executive order which expressly permitted bulk collection of signals intelligencedefined as data intercepted from electronic signals and involving a foreigner.

Critics argued the order is too broad and allows American data to be swept up indiscriminately, including those of U.S. citizens corresponding domestically.

Bulk collectionthe collection of communications or other data not tied to any particular surveillance targetis inherently problematic, because it inevitably results in the collection of private information that the government has no legitimate need to collect, wrote Elizabeth Goitein, co-director for the Brennan Center for Justice, in October. She went on to accuse the order of undermining the privacy rights of Americans and foreign nationals across the globe.

Affronts on privacy have come from both sides of the aisle.

A 2020 bill introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) would require encrypted messaging service providerslike WhatsApp and Telegramto provide back doors for government agencies to access private messages. Former Attorney General William Barr backed the bill as well.

Andrew Milichfounder of email service provider Skiffcriticized the bill, saying it hinders data security.

Any backdoor for law enforcement would also be exploited by bad actors, Milich penned in the Wall Street Journal last month. Banning or undermining encryption protocols would make network traffic, private messages, encrypted emails, and digital voice or video calls vulnerable to surveillance, interception and misuse.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Big White Lockdown Enforcer Tells of Chinas Pandemic Corruption

A 'Big White' epidemic control worker is pictured wearing PPE as he guards the gate of a government quarantine facility in Beijing, China, on Dec. 7, 2022. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

During the Chinese Communist regimes strict COVID-19 lockdowns, Big Whites were often the greatest fear for ordinary Chinese citizens.

Big Whites were the workers who implemented the regimes measures against the CCP virus across Chinaso named because of the protective white suits they wore. They were authorized to restrict personal freedom at will in the name of pandemic prevention.

In a recent interview, former Big White Li Changlin told The Epoch Times that many such enforcers used their positions to gain special treatment during the lockdowns.

Li witnessed the chaos of Beijings almost fanatic pandemic control measures. Disgusted by the regimes inhumanity to its own citizens, he subsequently decided to leave China.

Quarantine as a Business

In Feb. 2021, Li left his factory job and began working as a Big White for a quarantine hotel in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in Chinas east. The local government designated the hotel for the isolation of Chinese persons arriving back in the area from overseasprimarily from Europe and Australia.

According to Li, each new arrival was required to stay in quarantine for 28 days at a fee of 300 yuan ($43) per dayexcluding the cost of food. The first two weeks were to be spent in Hangzhou, and then the person would be transported back to their hometown for a second quarantine stay of 14 days. The total cost, including that of expensive take-out meals at an estimated 100 yuan per day, would add up to at least 10,000 yuan ($1447.64).

However, Li found that many quarantined persons were simply allowed to leave after they paid the quarantine fee. The local government didnt bother questioning [whether they were infected or not] after the money was received, he said. Some inmates werent released for 45 days, while others, inexplicably, left after just two.

Li Changlin protests against human trafficking in China in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2023. (Courtesy of Li Changlin)

The Free Big Whites

Li revealed that on his first day on the job, the Big Whites were informed that their personal identification was stored on the server of the public security service. The health and itinerary codes of Big Whites would always present as greeneven if they came into contact with persons with the red code.

We just went wherever we wanted to, he said. To be honest, none of us would take it seriously.

In China, you just cant speak about such things openly, said Li.

The pay scales of the Big Whites were high for the region at a minimum of 10,000 yuan ($1,435) per month, while the work was easy.

Li said that in his opinion, the health codes and itinerary codes served merely as the Chinese communist regimes tools to collect wealth and restrict peoples freedom, and did not do anything for pandemic prevention. The security personnel in the hotel simply enforced the rules on the people quarantined.

As a believer in Buddhism, Li says his faith meant he could not participate in the deception, and he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. He left the job as soon as he found a way to leave China.

Shawn Ma contributed to this report.
Bipartisan Legislation Targets TikTok, Other Tech Companies Owned by Adversarial Nations

Reporters surround Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) as he heads for his party's weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 16, 2017. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking to expand the federal governments power in order to ban TikTok and other foreign-owned entities from operating in the United States.

Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) are co-sponsoring legislation that would increase the Commerce Departments power to take action against tech companies that are owned by six adversarial foreign nations.

I think we all know that over the past several years foreign technology products from adversarial nations China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela, have really tried to establish a foothold in American markets, Warner said at a March 7 press briefing.

Today, everybodys talking about TikTok and the ability of that platform to be used by the [Chinese] Communist Party (CCP) both to take on data but also potentially as a malign influence and propaganda tool.

Social media giant TikTok has long been flagged as a national security threat due to its connections to the CCP through parent company ByteDance.

China-based ByteDance is subject to CCP laws that require companies to hand over all data to the regime upon request. The company is also known to have used TikTok data to illicitly stalk American journalists who wrote stories about the companys relationship to the CCP regime.

Warner said that federal efforts to take action against TikTok and other companies had been stymied by their inability to do much more than add companies to various trade bans.

To that end, he said, the government needed a more comprehensive tool at its disposal.

These risks are not going away and, unfortunately, our tools to date have been relatively limited, Warner said.

We need a more comprehensive approach to evaluate and mitigate these threats posed by these foreign technologies from these adversarial nations.

Likewise, Thune said that the lack of a comprehensive process to deal with such issues had left Congress playing whack-a-mole with numerous foreign companies including Huawei, ZTE, and now TikTok.

The companys apparent ties to the CCP, he said, presented too grave a threat that the regime might use TikTok to expand its campaign to spy on American citizens and sow disinformation and propaganda among U.S. audiences.

It is widely acknowledged that TikTok is a threat to our national security, which is why Congress took steps last year to ban the platform on government devices, Thune said.

Im particularly concerned about TikToks connections to the Chinese Communist Party which repeatedly spies on American citizens.

Thune said that, given the CCPs malign influence and constant efforts to suppress the truth about its overseas espionage campaigns and even the origins of COVID-19, the government would need to take stronger action to prevent it from using TikTok to undermine the United States.

Its safe to assume that if the CCP is willing to lie about its spy balloon and cover up the origins of the worst pandemic in 100 years, theyll lie about using TikTok to spy on American citizens, Thune said.

The Chinese Communist Party has proven over the last few years that its willing to lie about just about everything. That likely wont end with TikTok, which is why its important to establish a holistic and methodical approach to the challenges posed by technology from foreign adversaries.
Britain Could Invest in Spy Balloons to Boost Intelligence Gathering

Britains Ministry of Defence (MoD) could invest in a fleet of spy balloons in a bid to boost surveillance and intelligence gathering.

According to MoD produced magazine Desider (pdf), its military procurement wing is looking towards balloon based systems to successfully exploit the stratosphere.

The new equipmentsimilar to the Chinese spy balloons shot down over America last monthwould be developed under Project Aether.

Last year, ministers signed a 100 million contract with a U.S. company to develop unscrewed platforms for stratospheric communications as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance purposes.

The surveillance balloons fly between 50,000 and 80,000 feet, meaning that they are less likely to be battered by turbulence.

Writing in the latest edition of Desider, Ross Corbett, Project Aether military requirements manager, said: Successfully exploiting this space could mean huge potential benefits but theres still a lot left for us to learn about how to operate there, especially for long periods of time.

Our working theory is that the turbulence weve all experienced in aeroplanes cruising at 40,000ft doesnt exist to the same degree in the stratosphere.

If thats right, we could send up really light aircraft for long periods of time, without worrying about them being battered by turbulent air. This could be a layer of the atmosphere with, we think, very little traffic or weather.

Test Flights Carried Out

Corbett said the ministry was looking at both balloon-based and fixed-wing systems.

He said it would be better to have a range of capabilities that included platforms that loiter in the stratosphere for longer periods of time and others that can stay there for shorter fixed durations instead.

He added that the project was currently running test flights with prototypes from three industry partners: Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), Voltitude, and Airbus.

Corbett added: I am absolutely convinced that Project Aether as a capability, and as a package, will give Defence that extra operational initiative to be more globally aware, more globally potent, more globally effective, both within the UK Armed Forces and alongside our NATO allies.

I really think the future capability of these platforms could be an important element in winning the battles to come.

In response to queries on the balloons from The Epoch Times, an MoD spokesman said, We regularly keep our capabilities under review and while assessment activity is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.

SNC was awarded the British government contract on stratospheric unscrewed platforms last year.

Since then, the company has successfully tested a balloon that took off from in the southwestern state of Arizona, before drifting northeast across cities in a number of other states.

According to a press release issued on SNCs website at the time, the company was delighted with the results.

The press release added: SNC has considerable experience with these lighter than air high-altitude platforms and collection systems. We are confident that our HAB both meets and exceeds the mission requirements of our MOD customer, as well as other SNC partners around the world.

The balloon is to embark on a 60-day flight in a trial this year, according to SNC.

Britains Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace poses for a group picture on the second day of a NATO Defence Ministers meeting at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 13, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)

Security Review

Last month, the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced he was launching a security review following the discovery of a number of Chinese spy balloons over the Americas.

The announcement came after the United States sanctioned six Chinese entities involved in aiding Beijings surveillance balloon programs.

The UK and her allies will review what these airspace intrusions mean for our security, Wallace said.

This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse.

The U.S. and Canadian military shot down one Chinese spy balloon, and three other unidentified flying objects in North American airspace within nine days at the beginning of February.

Another Chinese balloon was found flying over Latin America on Feb. 3.

On Feb. 4, U.S. military jets shot down a 200-foot-tall high-altitude surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after the balloon traversed from Alaska to across Canada and the United States.

A senior defence official told reporters that the balloon had flown near many potential sensitive sites.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he had considered shooting the balloon down earlier but decided against the move over fears of harming civilians on the ground.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has acknowledged that both that balloons over the United States and the one in Latin America were from China but insisted they were civilian weather balloons.

At the time, a U.S. State Department official told The Epoch Times that high-resolution imagery showed that equipment on the first balloon was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard weather balloons.
Cabinet Wasnt Told of Evidence in Favour of Shortening COVID-19 Quarantine, Rees-Mogg Says

Jacob Rees-Mogg, then serving as business secretary, is seen in Westminster, London, on Sept. 21, 2022. (Rob Pinney/Getty Images)

The Cabinet wasnt told during the COVID-19 pandemic about the argument for cutting short the self-isolation period, former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has said.

It comes after The Telegraph reported that Englands Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told former Health Secretary Matt Hancock as early as November 2020 that taking daily tests for five days would be pretty well as good as a 10-day isolation.

Reacting to the revelation, Rees-Mogg, who was a Cabinet minister during the pandemic, told GB News that he would have questioned the governments decision to stick with a longer isolation period.

The Telegraphs Lockdown Files series is based on more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages it obtained of government ministers and officials discussing work during the pandemic.

The messages, mostly involving Hancock, were released by journalist Isabel Oakeshott, who had been given access to them by the former health secretary himself when he enlisted her help to co-write his Pandemic Diaries book.

Since Feb. 28, the newspaper has published more than 40 stories based on some of the messages. The Epoch Times did not review the messages and could not independently verify the context in which the discussions were taking place.

Test-to-Release

The newspaper published a thread on Sunday that appeared to be a discussion between Hancock and Whitty on COVID-19 self-isolation on Nov. 17, 2020, shortly before the government announced its COVID-19 Winter Plan.

At the time, people who were told by NHS Test and Trace that they had come into close contact with someone who had tested positive had to self-isolate for 14 days.

Asked to give an update on the so-called test-to-release option, Whitty told Hancock that chief medical officers and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) were in favour of piloting a programme to try using five daily testings or a 10-day isolation instead of 14 days of isolation.

Hancock responded by saying five days sounded like a massive loosening. Whitty then said the modelling suggested its pretty well as good.

And we think adherence likely to be good. The modellers were in favour of 3 days (given the lag time to get a result) but we were not in favour, Whitty said.

Hancock pushed back again, saying, this sounds very risky and we cant go backwards.

He suggested a safer starting point to test every day for 10 days, but Whitty told Hancock that they could push out to 7 but the benefits really flatten off after 5 as those who showed symptoms were also supposed to take a PCR test.

So has the 14 day isolation been too long all this time? Hancock asked.

Britains then Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaks during the daily COVID-19 digital news conference in London, on April 15, 2020. (Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street/Handout via Reuters)

After being told 14 days was marginally safer than 10 but the marginal benefit would almost certainly be wiped out by reduced adherence, Hancock decided on seven days of daily testing, which he said would be HUGE for adherence.

But going below that would serious worry people and imply wed been getting it wrong. Presumably we can explain some of the shorter period because the test would pick up the disease before symptoms, he wrote.

Six days later, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs that week-long daily tests instead of two-week isolation for contacts would be tried out in Liverpool.

Hancocks office has said The Telegraphs Lockdown Files stories are wrong as theyre based on an entirely partial account.

The Quad Made Decisions

Speaking to GB News about the revelation, Rees-Mogg said the decisions during the pandemic were not made by the whole Cabinet, but by the quada nickname for the small group including Johnson, Hancock, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and then-Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove.

I was in the Cabinet  I didnt know that Chris Whitty was saying that we could perfectly safely reduce the quarantining period to three days. Otherwise I would have been saying, Well, why arent we doing this?' he said.

During the first two years of the pandemic, Rees-Mogg was the leader of the House of Commons. He later served in other ministerial roles under Johnson and his successor Liz Truss. After Sunak became the prime minister, Rees-Mogg was put on the backbenches and has recently become a host for GB News.

In this photo illustration, the UK governments new test-and-trace application is displayed on a handheld device, in London, on Sept. 24, 2020. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Questioned how he could have missed the information, which co-host Beverly Turner said has been there for anybody that wanted to find it, Rees-Mogg said it wasnt what was being briefed at the Cabinet.

The former minister said the wider Cabinet was told of the decisions being made, but the enthusiasm for locking people up was something that was not shared with the rest of the Cabinetor the evidence.

Noting that Sunak was making the case for easing lockdowns, Rees-Mogg said by the time Cabinet discussions happened, most of the decisions had already been made.

We had a pre-Cabinet briefing for those of us who werent in the quad, basically to tell us what had been decided, the result, he said.

Rees-Mogg agreed with the statement the lockdowns caused mental health and civil liberty issues and had a calamitous impact on the economy, saying, We must never do this again.
When psychiatrist Viktor Frankel published his book "Mans Search for Meaning" in 1946 many psychotherapists began to take more seriously the idea that a sense of meaning and purpose in life plays an important part in mental health. The author had survived time in a Nazi concentration camp and wrote that the difference between those who survived and those who did not came down to having an inner reason to live. While this insight seems valid, until recently it had never been extensively studied by psychologists.

The search to discover purpose and meaning in life goes back thousands of years. "Who am I?" and "How am I to live my life?" are perennial questions.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that the will to be happy is basic in human nature. He said happiness is achieved through the development of wisdom and putting that wisdom into action.

In the book of Micah in the Hebraic Scriptures, the road to happiness is summed up with: Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

In his book "The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan," Cornell professor Anthony Burrow reviews the research he and his colleagues have done to pin down the details of how meaning and purpose enhance the quality of life. A dramatic finding of his research is that people who have a strong sense of purpose live longer and are healthier both mentally and physically.

His research has shown that even a temporary awareness of purpose stabilizes emotions and reactions to stressful situations. In one of his studies, Burrow asked college students in Chicago to ride the north-south train corridor from one end to the other. It was known from earlier research that people get somewhat uncomfortable when they are surrounded by people of a different racial or ethnic group. As the train passed from one neighborhood to another, ridership varied. When students were asked simply to think about and write about their purpose in life for five minutes before the train ride, this stress reaction almost completely disappeared. Their emotional state remained about the same, whether they were surrounded by people like themselves or people who were different.

So, contemplating meaning and purpose helps us to deal with the ups and downs of life. In another study, subjects were told that they were participating in a new social media platform and asked to write an introductory piece to be posted. Later, some of them were told that people had reacted positively to their post, while others were told reactions were negative. Subjects who were known to have a higher sense of purpose were less affected by either the negative or the positive feedback. In other words, an inner sense of purpose reduces the highs and lows from the outside world and keeps a person steady with an internal anchor that provides emotional stability.

Burrow was interested in how developing and maintaining a sense of purpose changes over a persons lifetime. Prior to his work, studies on meaning and purpose focused on adults in midlife or later because it was believed that younger people are not yet thinking about such issues. So his research attempted to fill the gap and study the importance of purpose and meaning among adolescents and young adults.

The author worked with the New York State 4-H organization, which conducts enrichment programs for youth. It was found that when participants were asked to write about what gives their life purpose, they enjoyed the program more and got more out of it.

Burrow then worked with 4-H to develop an app called Pioneer that leaders and teachers can use to encourage adolescents to think about purpose in their lives. He said, Purpose is a developmental asset, and the earlier we start to cultivate it, the better off we are.

Philosopher Frederick Nietzsche said, He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. But these studies tell us that we dont have to take a philosophy course or change careers to find meaning and purpose. Most of us already have a sense of purpose but becoming more aware of it is what makes the difference. At any age, asking questions like, "What do I do in my life and why?" can strengthen our sense of purpose and improve our quality of life.
California Wont Be Doing Business With Walgreens Over Abortion Pill Policy: Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a United Nations climate action event in New York on Sept. 21, 2022. (Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Bloomberg Philanthropies)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed that the state will no longer be doing business with Walgreens after the pharmacy chain announced that it would not be distributing abortion pills in some states across the United States.

Newsom took to Twitter on Monday, where he declared of the state and Walgreens: Were done.

California wont be doing business with Walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk, Newsom wrote.

Separately, a spokesperson for Newsom told San Franciscos SFGATE that California is reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state.

We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right-wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls, the spokesperson added.

According to Walgreens, California was home to 586 of its stores as of August 2020.

The Epoch Times has contacted Walgreens for comment.

Republicans Say Walgreens Risks Breaking Law

The Democrats tweet came shortly after Walgreens said it will not dispense abortion pills 20 states whose Republican attorneys general wrote to the pharmacy chain stating that it risked breaking the law if it were to distribute the pills by mail (pdf).

That letter was sent on Feb. 1 and led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. It was signed by attorneys general from 19 other states: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The attorneys general, in their letter, addressed the companys recent announcement that it planned to obtain and sell mifepristone, one of the medications used in chemical abortions, via mail, and provided their thoughts on the current legal landscape pertaining to abortions.

Walgreens and a string of other pharmacy chains initially announced in January that they planned to seek certification with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to distribute mifepristone in physical stores and via mail after the agency rolled out a regulatory change allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the drug to people with a prescription, provided they were certified under special safety rules.

Prior to the regulatory change, only doctors and mail-order pharmacies or clinics were allowed to provide the pill.

In a letter responding to the attorneys general (pdf), Walgreens noted that while it has publicly expressed its intent to become a certified pharmacy under the Food and Drug Administrations program, it has made clear that it would do so consistent with all applicable laws and as a result would not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations.

Abortion Drugs Challenged in Court

Additionally, Walgreens has not made any representations about using our mailorder pharmacy business to dispense this drug, Walgreens Global Chief Legal Officer Danielle C. Gray said. Walgreens is not currently dispensing Mifepristone in any of its locations.

The company subsequently issued a statement on Monday clarifying its position, noting that it plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdictions where it is legally permissible to do so.

Currently, Walgreens does not sell Mifepristone anywhere as it is still seeking FDA certification.

Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws. Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate, the company said.

Mifepristone works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is needed for a pregnancy to continue. When used together with another medicine called misoprostol, it ends a pregnancy up to 10 weeks after conception.

Medical abortions account for more than 50 percent of pregnancy terminations in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research group.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is shortly expected to rule on a lawsuit filed in November by the Alliance Defending Freedom, challenging the use of medical abortions nationwide.

That lawsuit argues that the FDA did not properly approve mifepristone for terminating pregnancies.
Canadas Immigration Minister in DC for Meeting With US Homeland Security Boss

A family of asylum seekers from Colombia is met by an RCMP officer after crossing the border at Roxham Road into Canada, Feb. 9, 2023 in Champlain, New York. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)

Migration in both directions across the Canada-U.S. border is likely on the agenda today as Immigration Minister Sean Fraser visits Washington, D.C.

Frasers office says he is scheduled to meet with his American counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The federal Liberal government is under mounting pressure, particularly from Quebec, to do something about the flow of undocumented migrants into Canada from the U.S.

Some Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have been actively trying to make a political issue out of the number of migrants moving in the opposite direction.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declared publicly that its time to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement between the two countries.

That agreement allows migrants to seek asylum in Canada if they enter the country at unofficial entry points, such as the one in Quebec known as Roxham Road.
Netizens Call for Boycott of John Wick Star Donnie Yen After He Called Hong Kong Protesters Rioters

Yen expressed support for the CCP's human rights abuses

Actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan, attending the opening of the first session of the CCPs annual political gathering known as the Two Sessions that will convene leaders and lawmakers to set the CCP's agenda for the year. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Hong Kong martial art movie star Donnie Yen, appointed as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, faces backlash for his political comments in an exclusive interview with GQ Hype on Feb. 28.

In response to Yens comments, Hong Kong netizens organized a petition to urge the Oscars to cancel Donnie Yen as an award presenter of the evening, amid his support to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and condoning its human rights violation.

During the interview with the British magazine GQ Hype, Donnie Yen was asked about the boycott campaign against his film in 2019. He responded, It was not a protest, ok? It was a riot.

Yen stated in the interview he did not want to get involved with politics as some people might not like what he had to say, even though his words were based on his experience.

Netizens responded by saying Yen was a human rights abuser. He sided with the CCP and denied peoples right to freedom and human rights.

On Feb. 28, a group of netizens launched a joint petition campaign on change.org, pleading to the Academy Awards Committees to cancel its invitation of Donnie Yen as an award presenter amid his siding with the CCP and support of violations against human rights and freedom.

The petition has already gained over 27,000 signatures as of Mar 5.

Tong Wai-hung, widely known as Fu Tong, is a Hong Kong protester who launched an online signature petition urging the Academy Award Committee to cancel the invitation of Donnie Yen as an award presenter.

Tong migrated to Taiwan after being arrested, charged, and released for involvement in the Hong Kong Protests in 2019.

The joint letter noted that Donnie Yen was a supporter of the CCP and a member of the CCP national advisory body. Yen had repeatedly made statements and remarks supporting the controversial National Security Law and publicly accused Hong Kong protesters of being thugs.

The letter pleaded to the Oscars that Yen turned his back on Hongkongers as a Hong Kong actor and ignored the regimes human rights abuse.

As a globally recognized film award, the Oscars should respect human rights and moral values, rather than support for actions that violate them. The petition wrote.

Netizens React

As soon as the GQ interview was published, netizens flooded the social media pages of GQ to dispute Yens comments about the Hong Kong protests and protesters.

Netizens wrote, He (Yen) has to kiss the CCPs ass to make a dime.

Another commented, You dont need to sell your soul to the devil to make money.

Other online users echoed similar reactions, wondered where Yens backbone was, and said they would boycott Donnie Yens movies from then on.

Officially Part of the CCP

The 59-year-old actor, who said he did not want to discuss politics in the GQ interview, appeared in Beijing on Mar 5, when Yen officially stepped into the CCPs political circle to attend the Two Sessions as a member of the CCP advisory body.

The Two Sessions is an annual conference between the CCP leglative body and the CCP national advisory body.

Next, Apple Taiwan reported on Donnie Yens response to his new title, I have always done what I think is right in my movies. You can always see my spirit in my filmsthat is, my spirit and responsibilities as a Chinese person. It is an honor to be recognized by the country.

New Role to Influence Youth Development

Yen stated his role as a new member of the CCP national advisory body would be to attract more investment and expand the demands of Chinese movies, so the industry could create more filmmakers, making the country proud.

Yen also planned to send particular messages through his movies. I will focus more on nurturing Chinese film culture. As a father, I want to concentrate more on children and youth development in China.

The John Wick star also mentioned he would use the work of himself and his idol, Bruce Lee, to tell a great China story.

Guangzhou to Hong Kong

Yen has been acting since the 1990s. He is the third Hong Kong actor to become a member of NPCC, after Liza Wang and Jackie Chan.

Born in 1963 in Guangzhou, Donnie Yen Tze-dan, migrated to Hong Kong with his family when he was two years old before the Cultural Revolution took place in Guangxi between 1966 and 1976. His father was a newspaper editor. The Guanxi Cultural Revolution Massacre had killed about 150,000 people, who were slaughtered, beaten, beheaded, and buried alive.

Later, Yens family moved to the United States, where Yen began studying kung fu with his mom at a Chinese martial art center she founded in Boston.

Yen practiced martial arts because he had idolized Bruce Lee since his childhood. Yen said the series of Yip Man movies was a homage to Lees legacy in martial arts.

Be water

While Donnie Yens martial art is deeply influenced by Bruce Lee, throughout the Hong Kong Protests in 2019, Bruce Lees philosophy of Be water, my friend. was extensively used to demonstrate the spirit of the protesters: an ideal of being flexible, calm, and flowing like water, to represent their means of non-violent demonstration.

John Wick 4, an upcoming movie in which Donnie Yen plays a blind assassin alongside Keene Reeves, is set to premiere at the end of March.
TikTok is still in the crosshairs, and bipartisan support is building on the Hill for an outright ban.

Economists are warning of a stagflation recession, as Congress preps to probe two top executive officials on the state of the economy and President Joe Biden plans to release his national budget.

In an exclusive sit-down with the lone representative of the Equality State, NTDs Kelly Wright sits down with Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) who recently bumped out Liz Cheney for the states single congressional seat.

Iranian warships in the Atlantic Ocean docked in Rio de Janeiro. Brazils former president, Jair Bolsonaro, gives us his take on the situation.

The Chinese regime is boosting its military budget once again. A geopolitical analyst joins us to discuss what this means for the United States and its allies.

Former Trump adviser Paul Manafort is making headlines again, making a deal with the government.
Chicago Dad Who Spoke Out Against Porn in Schools Faces Extra Security Screening En Route to CPAC

A Chicago dad who found himself on a watchlist after opposing pornographic content in his kids school says he faced further harassment this weekend from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the way to and from the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in Maryland.

Terry Newsome of Chicago, found out in December 2022 that he had been placed on a terror watch list when he tried to fly from OHare Airport to Phoenix. On March 1, Newsome attempted to fly to Washingtons Ronald Reagan National Airport and learned that, despite positive signs to the contrary, his name remained on the watch list.

Though he is still permitted to fly, having his name on the listwhich federal law enforcement agencies have not explainedmeans invasive and embarrassing extra screening for Newsome.

In spite of his efforts to have his name removed from the list, Newsome continues to wrangle with the labyrinthian bureaucracies of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and TSA.

Ongoing Battle With Cancer

Since learning that he had been placed on the list, Newsome has worked incessantly to restore his good name even as he was undergoing brutal radiation therapy for stage four cancer.

A week and a half ago, I finished like seven weeks of intense radiation five days a week, Newsome told the Epoch Times in an interview.

The treatment left his immune system weakened and left him fatigued, he said, adding that he was worried about flying with his immune system so compromised by the radiation therapy.

I really shouldnt have went anywhere because my immune system is pummeled from the radiation, right? Newsome said.

Despite his usual opposition to masksquipping Im a Republican to explainNewsome said he took precautions and wore a mask on the plane to protect his health.

Though the journey made him nervous, Newsome said he felt he had to go to CPAC as part of his ongoing mission to clear his name. Thus, despite his weakened stateand defying his familys wishes that he not goNewsome boarded a plane to Washington last week to attend CPAC, where he hoped to find more assistance with his TSA problem.

Invasive Screening

On his arrival at Chicagos OHare on March 1, Newsome learned that his ticket still carried the quad-S (SSSS) designation, despite his being a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) pre-check-approved flier for over a decade before.

Earlier, the TSA had responded to a query by Newsome, indicating at the time that he would go through standard screening protocol moving forward.

In addition to much more rigorous screening of bags, SSSS fliers are typically on the receiving end of a full-body pat down. They also have their hands (and sometimes, according to some reports) their feet swabbed to check for explosives.

A photo of Terry Newsomes boarding pass, marked with the quad-S classification, as he tried to board his flight out of Washington on March 4. (Photo courtesy of Terry Newsome)

Just how invasive this search can be depends on circumstances, but fliers with the SSSS designation can also expect to be prodded on questions like whether they packed their own bag, where theyre headed, why theyre going there, and so on.

Newsome said that the specifics of SSSS screening are minor on their own, but that the inconveniences add up.

On Feb. 28, 24 hours before his flight was due to take off, Newsome attempted to check in for his flight on the American Airlines app.

As an American Platinum Flier, Newsome is entitled to several cushy benefits, including the chance for his seat to be bumped up to first class depending on availability. When he tried to check in, however, Newsome realized he couldntthe first indication that his flight status had not been resolved.

Upon arriving at the airport on March 1, Newsome found that he was still having trouble printing his ticket. As it happened in December, he was required to get federal approval before the airline could print his ticket.

For me, its not like Im just an enhanced security whatever else it is, Newsome said. I cant evennot only can I not enhance [my ticket], I cant even get a boarding pass until theres somebody from the government to give American Airlines the approval to print the ticket.

Realizing that he was still on the list, Newsome decided simply to check his bag in order to avoid the embarrassment of having all his clothing, medicines, and personal items taken out of his bag in front of everyone.

After checking his bag and receiving his ticket, Newsome proceeded to the TSA checkpoint.

When TSA agents began going through the line examining other fliers boarding passes, Newsome knew they were looking for him and told the TSA agents as much. At that point, he was pulled from the line and brought to an empty line for enhanced screening.

Newsome described his experience, citing how embarrassing the extra screening was even knowing he had done nothing wrong.

They stopped the whole line, Newsome said. They actually made everybody get out  And they had supervisors come and took me through the enhanced screening. All these people were watching.

Newsome and his bag were brought through a metal detector and X-ray scanner, as is the norm for most fliers.

However, they required much more of Newsome: I had to take off my shoes. Then they take my bags and everything else and I stand there while they go through everything. Newsome also had his crotch area patted down in view of other fliers.

Newsome added later, They swabbed everything for bombs.

Just 30 minutes later, a similar scene played out as Newsome was trying to board his flight.

The TSA announced over a loudspeaker near his gate that they would be checking everyones passports, IDs, and boarding passes before they could get on the plane. At the same moment, several TSA agents, joined by what appeared to be an undercover agent wearing sunglasses and coordinating security procedures with the TSA agents, began screening all boarders documents.

Several TSA agents crowd around Terry Newsomes gate as he tries to board a flight at OHare International Airport on March 1. (Photo courtesy of Terry Newsome)

I just knew it was for me, Newsome said.

Thus, he drew attention to himself, telling a TSA agent, Its me, Im the quad-S.

Newsome was pulled out of line at this point for further screening. Depriving him of yet another American Airline Platinum Flier benefit, Newsome was the last person to board; his ticket entitled him to be in the second group of boarders.

Newsome said this was even more embarrassing for him than the first screening, as that could have been written off as a standard random search.

Anti-Porn, Not Anti-Gay

Earlier, Newsome had been politically active in his school district after learning about sexually explicit images in a book at his childrens school libraryactivities which Newsome believes may be responsible for his placement on the list in the first place.

Newsome had never been involved in school board meetings or politics until mid-2021, when he attended a district school board meeting after his then-eighth-grade son came home and said his teacher had told him that there is no American dream.

Newsome, a descendant of Italian immigrants who himself had lived the American dream, was shocked to hear that. He called his childrens principal to discuss the issue, and suspected that these issues would only get worse when his kids, fraternal twins, got to high school.

In July 2021, Newsome attended his first school board meeting at Downers Groves Community High School.

Terry Newsome, dressed in Downers Grove South High School spirit wear, sits in the school auditorium where he spoke up about the book Gender Queer on Dec. 13, 2021. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Newsome immediately began a crusade on several hot-button topics, ranging from mask mandates to critical race theory, becoming the unofficial spokesman for several concerned mothers who were more hesitant to speak out.

The moms are so happy to have an aggressive, type-A-personality father to join them. They had mostly fought this battle alone, against the giant system of public schools, Newsome told The Epoch Times.

Newsomes most controversial activism came with his opposition to the book Gender Queer by Mia Kobabe, a book containing sexually explicit images that teaches children about oral sex and controversial notions of gender identity.

Selections from the book show a biological female adolescent struggling over her gender identity. The girl is also depicted wearing a device known as a binder, a tight-fitting brassiere-like garment meant to reduce breast size. At some points in the book, the girl is shown engaging in oral sex with another biological female identifying as male.

Newsomes opposition to the book led to his receiving a litany of ad hominem attacks from left-wing agitators in the Chicago area. However, he has insisted throughout his activist work that he and other parents are anti-porn, not anti-gay or homophobic.

Newsome has coordinated events in his area with Gays Against Groomers, an organization made up of homosexual and transsexual people who have been outspoken against inundating minors with gender ideology.

After Newsome began speaking out against the book and the left-wing ideology that had inundated his childrens schools, he began facing attacks from all corners, ranging from threats by Antifa to opposition by Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.).

Two days after the publication of an Epoch Times article about his activism, Newsome found threatening messages against him on a locally run Twitter account called Antifascist Rumor Mill.

Action items announced soon in regard to Terry Newsometime to Drop Pops and his hateful agenda, the tweet read, referencing Newsomes nickname Pops.

Terry trying to make a name for himself, look at his stupid face in the Epoch Times, the extreme #disinformation rag that echoed all the lies, the Big Lie, the Plandemic lie, etc., said another tweet from the account.

Newsome told The Epoch Times that many of those who have spoken against him and threatened him, including members of the school board, are in league with Casten.

The school board and the superintendent are all controlled by radical, radical leftists  that are very vocal in the Downers Grove Community and all supportive of Sean Casten, Newsome said. So anybody that speaks out with a different opinion is brutally attacked on social media and called racist, homophobic, and so forth, no matter the truth.

To make a point, Ive said it from the very beginning, through now: Me and the other parents are not anti-gay or homophobicwere anti-porn, Newsome said.

Judith Rose, communications director for the group Gays Against Groomers, told the Epoch Times that opposing gender ideology being imposed on children is not homophobic or bigoted.

A Gays Against Groomers van parked is for an event in Anaheim, California. (Courtesy of Gays Against Groomers)

Rose explained that the goal of the organization, a group made up of gay and transgender people, is to protect children from sexual content.

Our goals involve getting legislation put in place to make education more appropriate for children to keep adult material away from children [and] to classify drag shows like a burlesque or strip club type situation where they have to be away from children, Rose explained.

Asked about Newsomes situation, Rose called it heartbreaking.

I think its really heartbreaking, that theres this wedge being formed between parents and schools, she said. And I just think its awful whats happening, trying to classify parents as terrorists for standing up for how they want their kids to be raised or educated. Sometimes its not always an option to homeschool your kids.

Rose argued that the gender push on children was also bad for LGBT adults, saying it creates an even bigger wedge between our community and people who dont necessarily approve of us, Rose said. I respect their beliefs; I understand.

However, I really wish that more people could see that its time to put our differences aside for the childrenGays Against Groomers represents a part of the LGBT community that understands not everyone is going to accept us or wants to accept us. They have their religious beliefs, whatever it is. We respect that, she said.

Rose continued, We dont want kids to be raised in an environment where theyre heavily saturated with queer ideology or queer culture. And every parent deserves the right to know whats going on with their children.

We have people on the far left and people on the far right who dont like us. Were trying to find that middle groundthats really all we want to do, she stated.

At the end of the day, its about the kids: its not about us, or our feelings or our identities even. Its about making a safe environment for children.

Jan. 6 Rally

Some of Newsomes critics have in the past pointed out that he was present at the Jan. 6, 2021, Stop the Steal rally.

Newsome candidly admits that he attended the rally, but said he had no bad intentions and broke no laws that day.

I went to January 6, with my friend, a retired police officer, Newsome said.

According to Newsome, the FBI previously investigated his friend who attended the event, a retired Cook County police officer, and had cleared him of any wrongdoing.

The officer, who asked that his name be excluded from the story, has been Newsomes friend for decades.

Asked whether he had observed Newsome committing any act that could be construed as a crime, he quickly said he had not, and that the two were together 100 percent of the time in DC.

Additionally, Newsome was undergoing immunotherapy for cancer at the time, leaving him in a weakened state.

The day before, Newsome noted, I had been on the IV for my cancer.

While, at the time, Newsome was undergoing immunotherapy rather than radiation treatments, he was nevertheless weakened by the treatments. He said at one point he felt so exhausted he had to lie down on the sidewalk for a few minutes before he could continue to the rally.

Newsome and his friend said their only reason for attending the rally was to hear President Donald Trump speak and to ensure people were safe.

We went down there for two things, one to see our president speak. Two, because were both still big guys even though were older, Newsome said. We saw in November, December, families, parents overly attacked by Antifa [and] BLM in front of their hotels.

Newsome said he had left by the time order broke down at the rally. As proof, he provided time-stamped photos.

Newsomes companion backed up his story: When the alleged insurrection happened we were already gone, he said. We were halfway to our hotel, which was approximately three quarters to a mile away. Halfway during the course of our walk, we saw a bunch of squad cars, lights and sirens on, going in the direction of the Capitol.

It was not until after the two men returned to their hotel that they learned about the Capitol breach, they said.

Newsomes photos and time stamps from that day show that he did not trespass on Capitol grounds and was gone before the breach ensued.

Newsome said that he and his friend would not have attended the rally if they had known about the bad intentions some had that day.

Its not a crime to have been in DC on Jan. 6, whatever the Nancy Pelosis and Liz Cheneys would like you to believe, Ed Martin, a top attorney for Jan. 6 defendants, told the Epoch Times. The American people are so disgusted by this stuff.

If anyone that was there in Washington on Jan. 6 committed a crime in so doing, thats a mockery of what Americas about. Thats not the standard and thats not America.

Ambivalent Replies

Newsome has gotten lukewarm or ambivalent replies, or none, from the federal agencies with which he has discussed the issue.

Following his experience in December, Newsome sent a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to the FBI, seeking more information about his newly discovered status as an alleged terror risk.

The FBI refused to discuss details with Newsome.

The FBI letter Newsome received in response to his request, says in part: The U.S. Government can neither confirm nor deny whether a particular person is on any terrorist watch list. Maintaining the confidentiality of government watch lists is necessary to achieve the objectives of the U.S. Government, as well as to protect the privacy of individuals who may be on a watch list for a limited time and later removed. If the U.S. Government revealed who was listed on any government watch list, terrorists would be able to take actions to avoid detection by government authorities. Thus, the FBI neither confirms nor denies the existence of your subjects name on any watch lists pursuant to FOIA exemption.

Because the federal government refuses to so much as acknowledge that Newsome has been placed on a list, it is unclear why Newsomes name was flagged for enhanced screening.

Newsome told the Epoch Times that he thinks the addition of his name to the list may be in response to his past political activities.

In their response to an Epoch Times inquiry about Newsome, the FBIs press office insisted that the agency does not open investigations solely on the grounds of protected First Amendment activity.

The FBI seal is pictured in Omaha, Neb., on Aug. 10, 2022. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)

The FBI can never open an investigation based solely on protected First Amendment activity, the agency wrote.

Told about this reply, Martin immediately pointed out the key word in that reply: solely.

The wiggle word is solely, so that means they have to say something else, Martin explained. So its not solely because you asked about the pornography, its because you got a speeding ticket when you were 18 that wasnt resolved, or because you were in January 6.

So its not solely[the FBI is saying they] would never do it solely on constitutionally-protected grounds, Martin said, adding that the FBI had effectively named itself the judge of what adds up to something dramatic.

The FBI reply continued: We cannot and do not investigate ideology. We focus on individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security.

After hearing this reply, Martin made another observation of what he called a wiggle phrase: intend to commit.

[The FBI is] saying here that theyre gonna read minds, and theyre gonna tell us who is intending to commit a crime, Martin said. They didnt say a propensity for crime. At least with a propensity you can look at some factorsif you have a previous conviction, if you have were arrested multiple times, and othersso with the word propensity you can at least make an argument.

Theyre gonna be the mind readers? Theyre gonna read the minds of the American people? Thats insanity, Martin ruled.

The spokesperson expressly refused to answer questions relating to the process of placing someone on a watch list, including questions about oversight of the FBIs ability to place Americans on flight watch lists.

Its just stupid, ya know? Newsome said of the reply. Clearly I already know Im on the list, thats why Im writing to you.

Additionally, Newsome also reached out to the TSA.

In his query, Newsome requested information and tried to get back on the TSA pre-check list.

In its reply, the TSA said he was no longer eligible for its pre-check list, but suggested that Newsome would no longer be subject to enhanced screening. Newsome thought after receiving the letter that he had been removed from the list before his most recent flight.

As a result of recurrent checks and based on a comprehensive background check, TSA was unable to determine that you pose a sufficiently low risk to transportation and national security to continue to be eligible for expedited airport security screening through the TSA Pre-[Check] Application Program, the reply said. As a result, TSA has determined that you are no longer eligible to participate in the TSA Pre-[Check] Application Program.

This eligibility determination for the TSA Pre-[Check] Application Program is within the sole discretion of TSA, the letter added. Although you have been found ineligible to continue your participation in the TSA Pre-[Check] Application Program, you will continue to be screened at airport security checkpoints according to TSA standard screening protocols.

Told about these replies, Martin sighed, The bureaucrats will all say Its not me, its not me. At this point do we even know who has the oversight for this? Part of the problem with this government is now, when an official says Im not in charge of that, we cant believe it.

Newsome has been in contact with other legal and political figures as well, and remains committed to clearing his name.
China and US Caught in Dilemma of Military Escalation: Experts

Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers taking part in military training at Pamir Mountains in Kashgar, northwestern China's Xinjiang region, on Jan. 4, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States and communist China are caught in a dynamic of increasing military escalation that could result in overt conflict, according to security experts.

Despite the United States overarching goal of deterring military conflict, Chinese communist authorities dedication to reaching military parity with the United States and their belief that the United States is in terminal decline could pressure both sides into a standoff, according to Sean Monaghan, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Monaghan said that the increasing commitment of both sides to arming against the other could spark a new conflict over the future of democratic Taiwan, which Chinas communist regime claims as its own.

The most dangerous scenario is a cycle of commitment where both sides feel they have to prove their credibility, Monaghan said during a March 6 CSIS panel.

When you combine this with [Chinas] seeming belief in military parity and deterrence erosion, the belief that U.S. deterrence policy is actually more about coercion and looking to force the issue at some point, this adds up to a worrying mix.

Monaghan compared the situation to the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, which took place in 1995 and 1996. That incident ended with the Chinese regime firing several missiles into Taiwans waters as part of a wider effort to intimidate Taiwan from maintaining informal relations with the United States.

This is kind of the dynamic before the crisis, Monaghan said of the current brinkmanship.

To that end, Monaghan said that U.S. leadership would need to do more than merely invest in military deterrence capabilities and focus also on long-term diplomatic engagement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state.

Deterrence is not a solution on its own, Monaghan said.

The literature on deterrence tells us that deterrence, if it achieves anything, it achieves short-term solutions that then require longer-term diplomacy to solve the basic issues and tensions underneath.

CCP Charging Toward Dilemma

The CCPs commitment to expanding and modernizing its military forces for overseas operations was adding fuel to the fire of a potential crisis, said Mike Mazarr, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation.

The regimes dedication to expanding its nuclear arsenal would only encourage further military investments by the United States, effectively amounting to an arms race.

The security dilemma dynamic is very real, Mazarr said during the panel.

China is building up its military capability, so we feel trapped in a situation where any action other than rapid military reinforcement and development of the military relationship with Taiwan is seen as weak.

As long as that dynamic persists, I think it will continue to undermine the basis for peace.

Mazarr said that the situation was not helped by the CCP military leadership, whose writings often engaged in what he called a continuing theme of strategic self-righteousness, which fuse anti-U.S. propaganda with military doctrine.

The situation was such that Mazarr believed CCP leadership may fail to objectively calculate the United States position and goals during a new Taiwan crisis, and could opt for military action due to an assumption of U.S. hostility.

In a crisis, for example, it wouldnt be a calculation of what the military balance is, Mazarr said. Chinese leaders would just believe theyre right.

To that end, Mazarr said that deterrence strategies often failed because one side or the other was committed to adhering to an ideology rather than calculating the risks and rewards present at the time.

Oftentimes, almost always, when deterrence fails its not because one power got to a point on some magical objective sliding scale where it believed that it had overtaken its rival sufficiently that now it could launch a relatively cost-free attack, Mazarr said.

Its because states get to a point where they believe they have to act, or they are so in the grip of some ideology.
Chinese Community Members of Different Political Views United in Wanting End to CCPs Interference: Ex-Tory MP

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says members of the B.C. Chinese Community of various political convictions are uniting to call on the government to stop CCP Interference in Canada. (The Epoch Times)

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu says he and others who hold various political convictions in B.C.s Chinese community are all united on one aim: to end Beijings interference in Canada.

Sharing an article on Twitter from the Chinese edition of The Epoch Timeswhich featured interviews with himself, Hong Kong commentator Gabriel Yiu, and Civic Education Society Canada president Ken TungChiu pointed to their past political positions and what unites them today.

For past decades the 3 of us vigorously debated in GVRD [Greater Vancouver Regional District] Chinese media w/ our political conviction of Conservative, NDP (Gabriel Yiu) & Liberal (Ken Tung), Chiu tweeted on March 4.

Today, we are united in one voice  we MUST stop #CCPChinas interference in our home.

For past decades the 3 of us vigorously debated in GVRD Chinese media w/ our political conviction of Conservative, NDP (Gabriel Yiu) & Liberal (Ken Tung). Today, we are united in one voice  we MUST stop #CCPChinas interference in our home  #CdnPolihttps://t.co/imzQkRIemv pic.twitter.com/DuEkJGN9YZ  Kenny Chiu  (@RmdKenny) March 5, 2023

Recent media reports citing leaks from intelligence officials have shown the Chinese Communist Partys vast interference attempts in Canadas elections.

Chiu told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that the Chinese regime has set up extensive infiltration operations in Canada to serve its interests.

The CCP, or other countries that have ambitions for Canada, understand that they are engaged in an asymmetric game or warwhether it is a propaganda war or an information war, or what we now know [as] infiltration in an open, transparent, and democratic political system, he said.

Tung echoed Chius comment, saying Canada is an easy target for Beijing and that its necessary to pass new legislation while reviewing existing laws to prevent infiltration by foreign forces, especially China, which has been actively infiltrating Canada.

Foreign Agent Registry

The most recent allegations of Chinese interference stems from a series of reports by the Globe and Mail and Global News, based on information from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), which illustrated how an influence network involving the Chinese consulate, local associations, and even some Chinese students were employed to elect Beijing-friendly candidates.

Chiu, who lost his seat in the B.C. riding of Steveston-Richmond East in the 2021 election, was reportedly a victim of a disinformation campaign set up by pro-Beijing groups during the campaign. Chiu has pushed for the establishment of a foreign agent registry, which he said would compel individuals working on behalf of a foreign entity to register their activities with the government, thus increasing transparency and accountability.

Kenneth Tung, president of the Civic Education Society Canada. (The Epoch Times)

Chiu previously introduced the Foreign Influence Registry Act in Parliament, also known as Bill C-282. He says the Liberal government should work to pass the latest version of the legislation, Bill S-237, introduced by Senator Leo Housakos in February 2022.

Leo Housakos [bill] has been sidelined in the Senate. No ones giving it attention. This is a pity, Chiu said in Cantonese. This also gives foreign powers, those ambitious states, the impression that Canada is weak among Western democracies.

When asked what action the government should take in response to the series of reports by the Globe based on leaked top-secret documents from CSIS, Tung also said its vital that a foreign agent registry be established.

There is a public outcry for proposing legislation that requires foreign agents to be registered. This is very important to prevent some spies and infiltration activities in the country, he said.

Gabriel Yiu is an award-winning commentator from Hong Kong. (Courtesy of Gabriel Yiu)

This [legislation] is clearly overdue, and theres no need to wait any longer. Both the ruling and the opposition parties have proposed it.

Yiu, who moved to Canada in the early 1990s from Hong Kong, agreed with the need to set up a foreign agent registry. But he said that other existing legal tools could also be implemented to fight foreign influence, such as prosecuting individuals who made illegal contributions to certain candidates favoured by Beijing.

Yiu said no amount of foreign interference in Canada should be tolerated.

Even if just one MP who cannot be elected because of foreign interferencethis is a very serious matter, he said, pointing to Chius case.

Global News reported last November that China provided illegal funding to 11 candidates in the 2019 election, while a recent Globe report citing national security sources said Chinese diplomats encouraged some donors to contribute to certain candidates who later illegally received part of the contribution back from political campaigns.

Josie Yang contributed to this report.
Christians and Falun Gong Adherents Get Jail Terms for Posting Religious Messages Online

As people worldwide are awakening to growing threats to freedom of speech, citizens of a communist country like China are already living the nightmare of totalitarian state control.

In China, it amounts to risking ones life to express any views that dont follow the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) narrative. Something as simple as revealing your religious beliefs on social media, if your religious affiliation is not officially acknowledged by the CCP, can result in your being put under surveillance or even arrested.

In March 2022, Chinas new measures to monitor online religious content came into force following Xis complaints that the internet is being used to advertise faith and that social networking sites are becoming tools of religious propaganda, according to Bitter Winter.

Since the release of the draft of the new measures in 2018, chat rooms and several internet platforms have already been reportedly receiving warnings about using sensitive words such as Amen and Jesus, reported ChinaAid.

Here are some accounts of what happened when Falun Gong adherents and Christians were persecuted for sharing sensitive information online.

The WeChat app is displayed in the App Store on an Apple iPhone in Washington on Aug. 7, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Teacher Sentenced to 8 Years

Sun Wanshuai, an art teacher in his 50s living in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, was sentenced to 8 years in July 2022 with a 30,000 yuan fine (approx. $4,350) for posting sensitive information about Falun Gong on WeChat, a popular Facebook-like social media platform in China, reported Minghui.org. The internet police arrested him and confiscated his computer and cell phone.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient meditation discipline based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance. Falun Gong is freely practiced in over 100 countries but has been persecuted in China since July 20, 1999; countless adherents have been arrested and killed in the past 23 years.

Christian Preacher Arrested for His Evangelism

On March 5, 2022, Chen Wensheng, a Christian street preacher from Hengyang City, Hunan province, was arrested after he posted a message on social media asking people to participate in a ministry for ethnic minority groups in China, reported Persecution.org.

By 11:02 a.m. on the same day, he was taken away by the Hunan police. Chen has previously been arrested multiple times for evangelism.

Catholic Apps and Websites Shutdown

On Sept. 1, 2022, Chinas first Catholic app, CathAssist, announced the termination of operations of both its website and app, according to ChinaAid.

CathAssists operation team said that they made various efforts to apply for an Internet Religious Information Service License since the implementation of the new law but they did not meet the CCPs requirements as the government officials demanded significant reduction in functionality and content, according to the report.

An Ex-Police Officer and a Deputy Director Sentenced

Falun Gong adherent Zhang Xia, a former police officer from Shanghai, was arrested in February 2021 for posting information about Falun Gong on social media, reported Minghui.org. The 53-year-old woman was charged with promoting a cult with a communications network, sentenced to 9 years, and fined 30,000 yuan (approx. $4,350) in June 2022.

Huang Daimiao, former deputy director of the Business and Tourism Department at a vocational college in Yichang City, Hubei Province, was sentenced to 4 years and fined 10,000 yuan (approx. US$1,450) in July 2018 for sending videos about the persecution of Falun Gong on WeChat.

WeChat and Tencent QQ app. (Koshiro K/Shutterstock)

Ban on Publishing Live Christian Broadcasts

According to ChinaAid, on Jan. 29, 2021, the Three-Self Patriotic Association and Christian Association of Qingdao City, Shandong Province, published a notice on Restrictions on Churches in Chinas Shandong Province: A ban on live broadcasts as well as releases of preaching audios and videos.

Two days previously, Christians in the province were also prohibited from broadcasting religious activities via the internet, according to the report.

Online Church Service Terminated

ChinaAid also reported that on July 11, 2022, police raided the Shenzhen Trinity Harvest Gospel Church during their online service. Officers of national security, police, and the Religious Affairs Bureau broke into the rooms while Pastor Mao Zhibin and Elder Chu Yanqing were hosting the service via Zoom.

The Churchs online service was forcibly terminated, the report said.

A Business Professor Sentenced

Zeng Hao, a business professor in his 40s at Tianhe College of Guangdong Polytechnical Normal University, was arrested in August 2017 for sharing information about the persecution of Falun Gong on the Tencent QQ platform, a popular Chinese instant messaging service and web portal, between October 2014 and January 2017, Minghui.org reported. After a period of monitoring, the police arrested him. Zeng was later sentenced to 3.5 years and fined 10,000 yuan in January 2019.

Zeng Hao and his son. (Courtesy of Minghui.org)

Another Falun Gong adherent from Heilongjiang Province was also sentenced for posting on the Tencent QQ platform. Wang Xin, a man in his 40s, was arrested by Shanghai police officers in August 2016 after he posted a photo related to Falun Gong on social media, according to Minghui.org. He was sentenced to 8 months and fined 3,000 yuan (approx. $450).

Wang Xin. (Courtesy of Minghui.org)

Arrested for Sharing an Audio File Exposing Persecution

According to Minghui.org, Che Guoping, an employee of Huaneng Power Company in Dezhou City, Shandong Province, was arrested by over ten police officers in May 2017 while on her way home from work. Che had earlier shared an audio file online containing information about the persecution of Falun Gong.

The police ransacked her home and took away her cell phones, iPad, and personal belongings. She was later sentenced to 3.5 years and fined 5,000 yuan (approx. $960).
Citing Partisan Tendencies, Florida, Missouri, West Virginia Leave National Voter Verification Coalition

Ballots from the 2020 general election wait to be counted at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoenix, Ariz., where the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) uncovered more than 200,000 voters that had either moved or died before the 2022 midterms. (Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images)

Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia announced on March 6 that they are withdrawing from a nationwide coalition built to allow elections officials from different states to cross-check data in confirming the accuracy of their voter rolls.

The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) has been under fire from Republicans in several states in the wake of 2021 allegations by Gateway Pundit that it was a left-wing voter registration drive disguised as voter roll clean-up.

And the claim that it was founded in 2012 using Pew Charitable Trust donations from billionaire philanthropist and key Democratic contributor George Soros was later debunked.

But elections officials in the departing three states cited a host of other reasons for leaving the voluntary voter data-sharing system, including concerns about personal voter data safety and its cybersecurity protocols.

Former Florida State Rep. Cord Byrd (R-Neptune Beach), here on the floor of the Florida House of Representatives in Tallahassee in 2021, was appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January and on March 6 announced the state was leaving a 31-state voter verification network. (Courtesy of The Florida House)

Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia were among members that in 2022 proposed changes in how the states would work together, including eliminating a requirement for member states to send mailings to eligible, but unregistered, voters to encourage voter registration and to use ERICs data to verify voter rolls for inaccuracies.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in a statement that the mailing issue was just one of several matters his state had with ERIC because mailing information to all eligible voters is not something done in all states and could be exploited by fraudsters.

It appears that ERIC will not make the necessary changes to address these concerns, therefore, it is time to move on, Ashcroft said in a statement.

ERIC Rejected Changes

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrds office said in a statement that the decision to leave ERIC follows efforts led by Florida over the past year to reform ERIC through attempts to secure data and eliminate ERICs partisan tendencies, all of which were rejected.

Withdrawing from ERIC will ensure the data privacy of Florida voters is protected.

Byrd, a term-limited state lawmaker appointed Secretary of State by Gov. Ron DeSantis in January 2023, was in the State House when Florida joined ERIC in December 2019.

My administration is committed to protecting the integrity of Floridas voter rolls and preventing election fraud, DeSantis said in announcing the state was enrolling in the service more than three years ago.

As a member of ERIC, Florida is now equipped with more tools to further ensure accurate voter rolls, make voting easier and reduce costs to taxpayers.

Through ERIC, member states can share information from voter registration systems, motor vehicle databases, social security death records, and U.S. Post Office records. This data-sharing agreement will help identify voters who have moved to another state, passed away, or changed their name in another state, then-Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lees office said in December 2019.

Former President Trumps Promises for 2024. (NTD Screenshot)

Enrollment in 2019 was $75,000 a year for Florida. States now pay between $26,000 and $120,000 depending on size, according to ERIC.

In addition to enhancing the accuracy of voter rolls, Lees office in December 2019 said ERIC would also improve voter registration by providing information for member states to contact potentially eligible but unregistered voters with instructions on how to register to vote. Prior to the 2020 general election, Florida will spend $1.3 million to contact potentially eligible voter who are not registered to vote.

I have heard strong support for joining ERIC from supervisors of elections all over Florida, and I am excited to provide them with one more tool to serve voters in Florida, Lee said. Joining ERIC keeps Florida at the forefront of election security and will help us ensure fair and accurate election in 2020 and beyond.

Less than four years later, Lees successorshe is now a Florida Congressional representativeByrd said the service needed suggested reforms [that] would have eliminated concerns about ERICs potential partisan leanings, and made the information shared with ERIC more secure.

As Secretary of State, I have an obligation to protect the personal information of Floridas citizens, which the ERIC agreement requires us to share, Byrd said.

Florida has tried to back reforms to increase protections, but these protections were refused. Therefore, we have lost confidence in ERIC.

Trump Likes It

The three states decision to leave ERIC was applauded by former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has been critical of the consortium and has claimed that its board and operators use it to boost Democratic voter registration rolls.

In a TruthSocial statement after the states issued their announcement, Trump said, All Republican Governors should immediately pull out of ERIC, the terrible Voter Registration System that pumps the rolls for Democrats and does nothing to clean them up. It is a fools game for Republicans.

ERIC executive director Shane Hamlin in a March 2 open letter, citing recent misinformation spreading about ERIC, iterated the network is a bipartisan nonprofit, financed by members states, not connected to any states voting system, and follows standard safety protocols.

We analyze voter registration and motor vehicle department data, provided by our members through secure channels, along with official federal death data and change of address data, in order to provide our members with various reports, he wrote.

They use these reports to update their voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, investigate potential illegal voting, or provide voter registration information to individuals who may be eligible to vote.

Fewer States in Coalition

With Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia leaving ERIC, there are now 28 member states in the coalition. There were as many as many as 34 states when Florida joined it in December 2019.

Louisiana withdrew from ERIC in 2022. Alabama did so in January. Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio are among other statesall GOP-ledthat may do so this year. Meanwhile, bills have been introduced in California, Kansas, and New Hampshire to join it.

Ironically, through ERIC, Floridas new Office of Election Crimes and Security in January announced it had identified more than 1,000 voters who may have cast ballots in the state as well as in another member state during the 2022 midterms.

ERIC also uncovered more than 200,000 voters each in Alabama and Arizona that had either left the state, or were registered in multiple counties, or were dead in 2021.

ERIC data was used by Georgia to remove 114,000 voters from its rolls who had either died or moved out of the state, according to the secretary of states office.

Prior to the three states departures, ERIC had been relatively balanced in the leadership of member states and, in a recent Associated Press survey of 23 participating elections officials, was lauded by eight Republican state elections officials, including in Iowa, Georgia, and Ohio, where Secretary of State Frank LaRose called ERIC one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we haveyet, on March 6, said he would be supportive of Ohio leaving the consortium as well.
Connecticut Legislature Holds Emotional Hearing on Proposed Gun Control Legislation

The Connecticut General Assemblys Joint Committee on Judiciary held a public hearing on March 6 on firearms and gun-control legislation that lasted about 12 hours (approximately 9 a.m. to 8:45 p.m.) and which, at times, got testy and emotional.

Close to 5,000 people submitted written testimony, and more than 150 delivered their remarks in person or through an online video feed.

Individuals primarily speaking for themselves, municipal police chiefs and elected officials, and representatives of gun-control and gun-rights and Second Amendment advocacy groups gave testimony and answered questions.

Gov. Ned Lamont put forth two of the four bills discussed and debated at the hearing.

As The Epoch Times reported on Jan. 27, Lamont has been out-front in pushing legislation that would further regulate gun ownership in a state which already has some of the strictest state gun laws in the nation.

Connecticut also ranks among the states with the lowest gun crime rates.

The overwhelming majority of Connecticut residents want commonsense measures enacted that encourage gun safety and prevent harm from impacting our homes and our communities, Lamont said last month in a statement that announced a segment of his gun-control legislation. This is especially needed to prevent tragic accidents, as well as instances of domestic violence and suicide.

Lamonts bills, if passed, would impose on private citizensbut largely exempt police, the military, and other government agenciesnew gun restrictions, storage and safety requirements, fees, permitting procedures, and registration mandates.

Of the other two bills on the hearing docket, the legislative arm of the National Rifle Association (NRA) identified one as a pro-gun bill; and one of the bills contains items on which both sides of the gun debate have found common ground.

An attendee holds a Glock Ges.m.b.H. pistol during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in Houston, Texas, on May 28, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)

Powerful Debate

Nikki Goeser gave her riveting testimony remotely. She spoke in opposition to items in one of Lamonts bills that ban guns in establishments that serve alcohol and also mandates safe and locked storage of firearms.

In 2009, my husband, Ben, was shot seven times and killed in front of me by a man who I only realized that very night was stalking me, said Goeser. This occurred inside of a restaurant that served alcohol in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a gun-free zone.

At that time in Tennessee, handgun-carry permit holders were prevented by state law from carrying in these restaurants even though you are a designated driver like I was. Because of the law at that time, I had to leave my legal permitted firearm that I normally carried for self-defense locked inside of my vehicle that night. I obeyed that gun control law. My stalker did not. He had no permit to carry the gun.

He brought that gun into a gun-free zone illegally.

Goeser explained how Tennessee changed its law and now allows those permitted to carry a gun to bring it into a business that serves alcohol as long as the gun owner is not consuming alcohol.

A man openly carries a gun in a file photograph. (Loren Elliott/Reuters)

In addition to the parts of Lamonts bills that Nikki Goeser addressed, other changes that H.B. No. 6667 and H.B. No. 6816 would make to Connecticut gun laws include banning the open carrying of a firearm outside ones home, imposing new regulations on the registering of so-called ghost guns, which are firearms made from kits or 3D printers; outlawing the purchase of body armor; prohibiting the purchase of more than one gun per month; establishing a 10-day waiting period between the time a person seeks to purchase a gun and when he actual purchase can occur; expanding the scope of the states assault weapons ban; requiring firearms to carry microstamped markings in their firing mechanisms that will make it easier for law enforcement to match an expended bullet casing to the gun that fired the bullet; and increasing the minimum age to purchase and own a long gun (which includes a hunting rifle) from 18 to 21.

The written testimony filed with the Connecticut General Assembly opposed, in large measure, the governors bills.

In overwhelming numbers, the citizens were engaged and participated to express their objections to Governor Lamonts bills, said Holly Sullivan, president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL), in a conversation with The Epoch Times. Consider that for H.B. 6667, nearly 4,000 testified in opposition and only 261 in favor.

It goes to show that the people of Connecticut are not fooled by terms like common sense gun laws and are critically thinking about their safety in a state failing to curb crime despite onerous gun control.

Sullivan also noted, The reality is that Connecticut has always been one of the safest states in the country as far back as data exists. This has been the case since long before we had some of the toughest gun laws.

File photo showing people singing the national anthem during a rally promoting Second Amendment rights in Washington on July 7, 2018. (Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images)

Three RepublicansRep. Mark Anderson, Rep. Craig Fishbein, and Sen. Rob Sampsonand Rep. Travis Simms, a Democrat, co-sponsored H.B. No. 6817, a bill that the National Rifle Association-Institute for Legal Action (NRA-ILA) calls a pro-gun bill.

The act seeks to speed up the process through which the state approves a gun permit, eliminates certain gun licensing and permitting fees, removes some target shooting pistols from being included in the assault weapon ban, and requires the state to develop and put in place a mass shooting response plan.

H.B. No. 6834, An Act Concerning Serious Firearm Offenses By Repeat Offenders, did not receive as much attention in the hearing as the other three bills, but gun-control and gun-rights groups have both found merit and something to like in its contents.

The legislation aims to make repeat firearm offenders more accountable for their actions and provides law enforcement officials with new powers to arrest and detain those with firearm convictions who violate probation.

ConnecticutIts Place in the National Consciousness on Guns

Connecticut occupies a singularly poignant and emotional place and status in the national dialogue over guns.

The most deadly K-12 mass school shooting in U.S. history took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where on Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman, after shooting and killing his mother, fatally shot 20 children and six adults.

Firearms manufacture has also long been important and a major contributor to the states economy. Indeed, Connecticut played a founding role in commercial gun manufacturing in America.

Connecticut is also the home of companies that manufacture among the worlds most iconic guns: Colt Manufacturing (Colt), O.F. Mossberg & Sons (Mossberg), and Sturm, Ruger & Co. (Ruger).
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Monday urged proper guidance for the healthy and high-quality development of the private sector. Xi made the remarks when visiting national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. Xi stressed that the CPC Central Committee always unswervingly consolidates and develops the public sector, and unswervingly encourages, supports and guides the development of the non-public sector. The CPC Central Committee always maintains that the non-public sector's status and functions in the country's economic and social development have not changed, the principle and policies to unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the sector have not changed, and the principle and policies to provide a sound environment and more opportunities to the sector have not changed, Xi said. He also said the CPC Central Committee always believes that private enterprises and entrepreneurs "belong to our own family." Xi extended festive greetings and best wishes to the country's women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life ahead of International Women's Day, which falls on March 8. Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion. Xi said that the year 2022 was of great importance in the history of the CPC and the country as it saw fruitful achievements in the cause of the Party and the country. The past five years have been truly momentous and remarkable, Xi said. China registered an annual average economic growth rate of 5.2 percent during the period, won the critical battle against poverty as scheduled, finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, he said. Xi stressed the need to stay calm, maintain resolve, pursue progress while ensuring stability, take active steps, unite as one and have the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape. Xi hailed the private sector as an important force in the endeavor to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Efforts should be made to optimize the environment for private enterprises' development, remove institutional barriers that impede their participation in market competition in a fair manner, protect their property rights and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs in accordance with the law, and ensure the equal treatment of private enterprises and state-owned enterprises, Xi said. Xi stressed more effective measures to assist the development of micro, small and medium-sized firms as well as self-employed individuals, and support the platform enterprises in playing a bigger role in creating jobs, expanding consumption and international competition. Efforts should be made to put in place a cordial and clean relationship between government and business, Xi said. Private firms should take the initiative to pursue high-quality development, Xi said. The investment of private capital should be energized, and more private capital should be encouraged and attracted into major state projects and key industrial and supply chain projects, he noted. Xi also underlined the need to regulate all types of capital according to laws and guide their sound development, and effectively prevent and defuse systemic financial risks. Noting that Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all, Xi said both state-owned and private enterprises must shoulder the social responsibility of promoting common prosperity. Xi called on private enterprises to ensure that all employees share their development outcomes. Private enterprises and entrepreneurs should operate in accordance with laws and regulations, and actively participate in and launch public welfare and charitable undertakings, Xi said. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
Following the Cayuga County Legislature's vote asking the State University of New York to end its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney has introduced a bill in Congress targeting the requirements.

Tenney's legislation would present colleges and universities with an ultimatum: Either stop imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates or risk losing federal higher education funding.

SUNY requires students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Boosters are not mandated but are "strongly encouraged."

Cayuga County legislators passed a resolution last week asking the state university system to end the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Some lawmakers believe the requirement is a factor in declining enrollment at Cayuga Community College, which has campuses in Auburn and Fulton in Oswego County.

Tenney, who represents Cayuga County in Congress, said in a statement that the decision to get the COVID-19 vaccine should be between a student and their doctor, not their school.

"President Biden has said it himself: The pandemic is over," she continued. "Now it is time for colleges and universities to lift the mandates, as other institutions have done. Whether a young adult receives the vaccine should not impact their ability to access educational opportunities."

The bill introduced by Tenney, titled the Ending COVID Vaccine Mandates for Colleges and Universities Act, is cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Doug LaMalfa and Doug Lamborn, both Republicans.

Vaccine mandates were instituted by various businesses and organizations after the wider rollout of the shots in 2021. While the pandemic is not over, many institutions have lifted the requirements.

There was a vaccine mandate for U.S. military personnel, but it was lifted as part of the annual defense policy bill that was signed into law in 2022.
DA Stands by Prosecutor in Alec Baldwin Set-Shooting Case

Alec Baldwin stands in costume and speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M., on Nov. 11, 2022. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP)

SANTA FE, N.M.A district attorney in Santa Fe fought back Monday against efforts to disqualify the special prosecutor pursuing manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set.

Baldwins legal team in February sought to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican state Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis based on constitutional provisions that safeguard the separation of powers between distinct branches of government.

Defense attorneys argued that Reebs role as a state lawmaker and prosecutor are incompatible and could distort legislative and judicial actions, including state spending on the prosecution of Baldwin over the 2021 shooting on the set of the Western movie Rust.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies on Monday called the objection a novel theory that has no support in new Mexico statutes or case law.

She said the state constitution provides a variety of safeguards against legislators interfering with the outcome of ongoing court cases.

Any attempt by Ms. Reeb as a legislator to influence the outcome of this trial would be completely ineffective, Carmack-Altwies said in a court filing.

Since joining the legislature in January, Reeb has steered clear of voting on public spending to prosecute Baldwin and film-set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. She was excused from a House floor vote in February on a proposed state budget that includes $360,000 for special prosecution expenses in the fatal film-set shooting.

Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 18-months in prison and fines.

Hutchins died shortly after being wounded Oct. 21, 2021, during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza. A likely preliminary hearing is still months away to decide whether evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial.

(Left) Halyna Hutchins in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 28, 2019. (Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie); (Right) Alec Baldwin in East Hampton, N.Y., on Oct. 7, 2021. (Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic)

Prosecutors say assistant director David Halls, who oversaw safety on set, has signed an agreement to plead guilty in the negligent use of a deadly weapon. A judge is scheduled to consider approval of the plea agreement later this month.

Prosecution in the death of Hutchins is currently underwritten by an emergency state grant, approved in September 2022 by the State Board of Finance that is led by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Reeb is listed as a sponsor or cosponsor on several criminal justice initiatives, including enhanced punishments for firearms violations, as legislators explore ways to rein in surging violent crime. She previously served as district attorney for a judicial district on the eastern plains of New Mexico.

By Morgan Lee
Danish Defense Ministry Bans TikTok on Employee Work Phones

A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stands at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 25, 2022. (Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

COPENHAGEN, DenmarkNATO-member Denmarks Defense Ministry on Monday banned its employees from having video-sharing app TikTok on their work phones as a cybersecurity measure.

Its the latest government-related ban over security and data privacy for the app, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd..

In a statement, the ministry said the Scandinavian countrys Center for Cyber Security had assessed there was a risk of espionage, and said that TikTok asks for certain rights and access on the device.

The military agency is part of Denmarks foreign intelligence service.

The ministry said it would ban the use of the app on official units, saying there were weighty security considerations within the defense ministry combined with a very limited work-related need to use the app.

It said employees are required to uninstall TikTok on service phones and other official devices as soon as possible if they have previously installed it.

It wasnt immediately known how many members of the defense ministry have TikTok installed, nor whether the ban also applied to the armed forces.

Last month, Denmarks Parliament urged lawmakers and employees at the 179-member assembly against having TikTok on work phones as a cybersecurity measure, citing a risk of espionage.

Last week, the United States said government agencies have 30 days to delete TikTok from federal devices and systems. More than half of U.S. states, Congress, and the European Unions executive branch have already prohibited it from devices used for official business amid worries that TikTok could be used to promote pro-Beijing views or sweep up users information.

TikToks press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DC Council Pulls Controversial Crime Bill Before Block by Senate, Biden

A Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department vehicle is pictured in the U.S. Capital on March 23, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

Democratic D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announced at a press conference on Monday that he was withdrawing a controversial criminal code bill that sought to reduce sentences for violent crimes committed in the Capital.

While the Council had passed the Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA), it was vetoed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and, on Feb. 9, the House of Representatives introduced a measure to overturn it. The bill was scheduled to face a vote in the U.S. Senate that aimed to block it.

This morning, I delivered a letter to the Senate withdrawing the criminal code reform commission legislation, Mendelson told reporters at the legislative press conference on March 6.

Mendelson said that he was withdrawing the measure before the Senate would have a chance to vote on itwhich he said would give the Council time to rework the bill before resubmitting it at a future date.

The original D.C. legislation was a rewrite of the Districts criminal code that reduced maximum penalties for certain crimesincluding burglaries, robberies, and carjackingsand scrapped a number of mandatory minimum sentences.

The measure received backlash from Republicans and some Democrats who are concerned about the rising crime rate in the nations capital. Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had previously vetoed the bill, and President Joe Biden recently signaled that he would sign a Republican-led resolution to block it if one crossed his desk.

Its clear that Congress is intending to override that legislation and so my letter, just as I transmit bills for their review, withdraws from consideration the review, Mendelson said at Mondays press conference.

In his letter addressed to Vice President Kamala Harris, Mendelson explained that the Home Rule Act requires that before a D.C. Council act can become law, it must first be transmitted to both houses of Congress.

Since the Senate has not yet taken action on D.C. Act 24-789, my withdrawal of this legislation means that Act 24-789 is not properly before Congress at this time, he wrote.

Following Mendelsons move, author of the Senate resolution (pdf) Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) responded with a statement. The DC Councils desperate, made-up maneuver not only has no basis in the DC Home Rule Act, but underscores the completely unserious way the Council has legislated, Hagerty wrote. No matter how hard they try, the Council cannot avoid accountability for passing this dangerous soft-on-crime bill.

It was unclear at the time of publication whether the Senate would proceed with the vote to block the RCCA bill.

On March 2, however, President Biden released a statement on Twitter, saying that if the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council didIll sign it.

Biden qualified his commitment with a reiteration of his support for Washington D.C. becoming a state.

I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule, he wrote, but I dont support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayors objectionssuch as lowering penalties for carjackings.

The New D.C. Criminal Codes Chronology

According to the DC Council, all legislation approved by the 13-member body must be reviewed by Congress.

An approved Act of the Council must be sent to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate for a period of 30 days before becoming effective as law (or 60 days for certain criminal legislation), according to the Council. During this period of congressional review, the Congress may enact into law a joint resolution disapproving the Councils Act.

If, during the review period, the President of the United States approves the joint resolution, the Councils Act is prevented from becoming law. If, however, upon the expiration of the congressional review period, no joint resolution disapproving the Councils Act has been approved by the President, the Bill finally becomes a Law and is assigned a law number.

On Nov. 15, 2022, the D.C. Council unanimously approved the RCCA.

On Jan. 4, D.C. Mayor Bowser vetoed the bill, but on Jan. 17, the D.C. Council overrode Bowsers veto with a 12 to 1 vote.

On Feb. 9, the U.S. House overturned (or blocked) the sweeping rewrite of the criminal code with a resolution under the D.C. Home Rule Act, led by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and resulting in a 250 to 173 vote, according to Hagertys Feb. 9 statement. Thirty-one House Democrats joined the Republicans in the resolutions passage.

The D.C. Councils radical rewrite of the criminal code threatens the well-being of both Washingtonians and visitors  making our nations capital city a haven for violent criminals, Clyde said in the statement. In response to this dangerous and severely misguided measure, its now up to Congress to save our nations capital from itself.

Also on Feb. 9, Sen. Hagarty introduced a companion resolution in the Senate.

I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in this effort, Hagarty said in a Feb. 14 press conference about the resolution. Combatting crime should not be a Republican or a Democrat issueit should be a commonsense issue.

On March 2, President Biden said that if the Senate passes the resolution, he would sign it. The RCCA bill was withdrawn on March 6.

From NTD News
Defense Lawyers in Idaho Killings Case Want Gag Order Kept

BOISE, IdahoDefense attorneys for a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death asked the Idaho Supreme Court on Friday to keep a gag order in place, saying a challenge to the order filed by 30 news organizations is premature and that media coverage of the case has been twisted.

The defense team for Bryan Kohberger argued in a court filing that the news organizations should have first asked the magistrate judge who issued the gag order to reverse it, though they acknowledged the state has no rule specifically allowing outside parties to intervene in criminal cases.

What the media really seeks here is a procedural victory, knowing full well it cannot win on the merits of any test, given the pervasive and grotesquely twisted nature of media coverage that has occurred thus far, Jay Weston Logsdon, with the Kootenai County Public Defenders office, wrote in the court document. Logsdon did not cite any examples of what he believed to be twisted media coverage.

Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in connection with the stabbing deaths in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors have yet to reveal if they intend to seek the death penalty.

The bodies of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were found on Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home across the street from the University of Idaho campus. The slayings shocked the rural Idaho community and neighboring Pullman, Washington, where Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University.

The case garnered widespread publicity, and in January Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the sweeping gag order, barring attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and others associated with the case from talking or writing about it.

A private security officer sits in a vehicle in front of the house in Moscow, Idaho, on Jan. 3, 2023, where four University of Idaho students were killed in November 2022. (Ted S. Warren/AP Photo)

The coalition of news organizations, which includes The Associated Press, contends the gag order violates the right to free speech by prohibiting it from happening in the first place.

An attorney representing the family of one of the victims has also filed an opposition to the gag order in state court. Shannon Grey, who represents the Goncalves family, said in that challenge that the gag order is unduly broad and places an undue burden on the families. Marshall said a hearing on the matter would be held after the Idaho Supreme Court issues a ruling on the news organizations challenge.

Kohbergers attorneys contend the gag order essentially requires the attorneys involved in the case to act ethically to ensure Kohberger gets a fair trial.

This is not a case where the attorneys seek to use the rules as a weapon against one another. It is a case where a young man is on trial for his life, Logsdon wrote. There was nothing inappropriate about the Magistrate Court reminding the attorneys involved of their ethical obligations.

High-publicity cases often present a conundrum for judges, who work to protect the defendants right to a fair trial. Courts sometimes feel that controlling the flow of information around the caseby forbidding those involved from talking about itis an effective way to limit publicity.

But gag orders can infringe on the First Amendment rights of the public and of the people involved in the case. News organizations that cover the courts serve a watchdog role, keeping the public informed about how the judicial branch operates.

During the investigation into the University of Idaho students slayings, news organizations interviews with investigators and law enforcement officials often worked to quash misinformation spread online by people who styled themselves as sleuths on social media sites.

By Rebecca Boone
Defense Secretary Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq

Twenty years after the launch of the U.S.-led coalition invasion of Iraq, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Baghdad on March 7 to meet with the nations prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Austin is on a multi-day tour of the Middle East during which he will meet with the leaders of nations that are allied with the United States.

The focus of Austins meeting with al-Sudani was to discuss the future of the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

There are 2,500 U.S. troops in the country.

I just concluded a productive meeting with Prime Minister Sudani and Minister of Defense Abbasi. This was just the latest high-level contact between our governments, said Austin to a group of reporters in Baghdad. And all of these engagements underscore the U.S. commitment to expanding our partnership with the people and the government of Iraq. Were deeply committed to ensuring that the Iraqi people can live in peace and dignity, with safety and security and with economic opportunity for all.

Austin mentioned Daesh in his comments, the terrorist group that in 2014not long after the U.S. pulled most its forces from Iraqcommenced an offensive that eventually saw the organization control large areas of the country.

You know, just a few years ago, Daesh was marching across Iraq, terrorizing its citizens and threatening the stability of the entire region, said Austin. In response, the United States convened the global coalition of 80 countries, and that coalition responded to the request of the sovereign government of Iraq to work alongside them to defeat this ruthless terrorist enemy.

Austin commanded an American army infantry force on the ground during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2011, he led and oversaw the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq following the U.S. declaration that the goals of the invasion had been met.

The United States announced in early December 2021 that its combat mission in Iraq had ended, but that its troops would stay in the country.

At that time, commenting on the continued role of the U.S. forces in Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Brennan said, as we complete our combat role, we will remain here to advise, assist, and enable the ISF [Iraq Security Forces], at the invitation of Republic of Iraq.

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein points while listening to the prosecution during his Anfal genocide trial in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 21, 2006. (Nikola Solic-Pool/Getty Images)

Coalition forces, composed primarily of U.S. troops, with the United Kingdom providing the bulk of support assistance, invaded Iraq following former President George Bushs claim that former Iraq President Saddam Hussein and his regime had weapons of mass destruction.

Hussein had been given a deadline to step down as president or face military action. Saddam refused to vacate the presidency, and ordered his forces to oppose an invasion; and he went into hiding.

Although the United States and its allies crushed Saddams forces in three weeks, with relatively few casualties, guerilla attacks continued on coalition forces and American soldiers continued to see heavy combat and suffer death and injury.

U.S. soldiers captured Saddam Hussein in early December 2003, and turned him over to the new Iraqi government, which tried him for crimes against humanity. He was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, with the sentence carried out on the morning of Dec. 30, 2006.
Democrat Isaac Palmer Runs for Mayor of Otisville, New York

Isaac Palmer in front of the village hall in Otisville, N.Y., on March 1, 2022.

Otisville resident and former village trustee Issac Palmer said he is running for the villages top job to build on the legacy of longtime Mayor Brian Wona.

Wona, a Democrat, isnt seeking reelection this year after serving eight terms.

Under Wona, the small village in western Orange County has built many new projects with grant money while keeping taxes lowa governing vision that Palmer wants to carry on, he said.

Palmer was a village trustee for eight years and worked closely with Wona on many initiatives before losing his seat by 10 votes last year.

Brian Wona and I worked very well together, Palmer told The Epoch Times. He has done a lot for the village, and I have always been a strong supporter of him.

Palmer faces Republican candidate Brian Casey in the mayoral election, which will take place between noon and 9 p.m. on March 21 at the Village Hall.

Village Government Experience

Palmer became involved in village government following his retirement in 2011, first serving on the review committee and then the planning board.

Having been in the construction industry for most of his life, Palmer enjoyed a closer view of the village development and the highs of the approval process.

But the planning board post also came with its lows, such as when developers shelved approved projects and nothing happened for years, he said.

The village hall in Otisville, N.Y., on March 1, 2022.

In 2014, Palmer ran and won a trustee seat on the four-member village board.

The four trustees cast votes on most village affairs; the mayor also gets one vote, often cast to break a tie among board members.

As a trustee, Palmer worked on many village projects, including rebuilding water mains, upgrading the village hall, replacing the firehouse roof, and preventing stormwater runoff along Route 211, he said.

Most projects were made possible by state grants.

The Veterans Memorial Park in Otisville, N.Y., on March 1, 2022.

[Wona] felt confident in me in terms of dealing with engineers and contractors and putting the right people together, Palmer said. We worked very closely on a lot of these projects.

His construction backgroundin the gasoline industry and in elevator constructionhelped him understand almost every component of projects and related expenses, he said.

Losing the Trustee Seat

Palmer was reelected village trustee three times and served as deputy mayor for the last two terms before losing the seat last year.

In Otisville, a village of fewer than 2,000 residents, local election turnout can range from the mid-50s to about 200. Palmer lost by 10 votes.

He attributed his failure in part to the currently divisive national politics, adding that some residents said to his face that they could no longer support him simply because he was a Democrat.

Unfortunately, I cant get some people to understand that national politics shouldnt be a part of what we do here at the local level, Palmer said. Your concern should be what the village is doing with the tax dollars you are payingare they managing your tax dollars appropriately? And you should be the watchdog.

The county bridge in Otisville, N.Y., on March 1, 2022.

He added that he is a conservative Democrat when it comes to spending taxpayers money.

I could have walked away, but I remain active [in village affairs], Palmer said. It is not an ego thingI do it for the community, and I am not looking for praise.

He remains a member of both the review and park committees.

Action Plan

Running on the legacy of Wona, Palmer has a list of projects he plans to focus on if elected, he said.

Campaign signs of three Democratic candidates in the village election near the county bridge in Otisville, N.Y., on March 1, 2022.

First, he will continue to apply for grants to complete the water main upgrade project, which could cost another $1 million.

The next phase of the project has to do with a portion of water mains on Route 211, which has been delayed because of a lack of federal funding, according to a village newsletter.

In the past, the village largely relied on the state Community Development Grant and funding awarded by New York state Sen. John Bonacic for the project.

Palmer also plans to push through the county bridge replacement project, which has been in planning for years and is expected to start later this year.

If the bridge replacement gets done in a timely manner, he hopes to improve the nearby downtown parking lot afterward.

Downtown parking lot in Otisville, N.Y., on March 7, 2023.

We want to get rid of all the Jersey barriers and make it less like a construction sitebut we cannot make that investment until the bridge is replaced because [the latter] would destroy whatever improvement on the parking lot with all the heavy equipment going in and out, he said.

Both projects, when completed, will change the whole outlook of downtown Otisville, he noted.

He also plans several upgrades to the Veterans Memorial Park, including a new toddler swing, additional picnic areas beyond the pavilion, and new wildflower and grass sections.

Two other Democratic candidates, Robert Bennett and Bob Clouse, are running for two trustee seats.

Clouse serves on the village board, and Bennett was a former trustee.
DeSantis Takes Swipe at Newsom in California Speech

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about his new book "The Courage to Be Free" in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on March 5, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

SIMI VALLEY, Calif.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took several jabs at Gov. Gavin Newsom during a speech on March 5 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, stoking an ongoing rivalry between the two.

Your governor is very concerned about what were doing in Florida, so I figured I had to come by, DeSantis said jokingly to the crowd of more than 1,100.

The light-hearted banter spurs months of public sparring between the popular governors. Newsom, a Democrat, has recently targeted the Florida Republican on a number of policy decisions. Last year, Newsom pledged to donate to DeSantiss opponent during his reelection campaign and challenged him to a debate.

Ill bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray, Newsom tweeted in September.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Sacramento on Feb. 1, 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

DeSantis was welcomed by an enthusiastic audience Sunday in the Air Force One Pavilion as he spoke about Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival, described in his book The Courage to Be Free, released Feb. 28. He was joined by his wife and two young children at the event.

During the speech, DeSantis took aim at Democratic woke policies that have driven thousands of people to relocate to Florida from California, New York, and other blue states controlled by Democrats, he said.

I think we are drawing people who were very sensitive to the state governments they lived under, and they were coming because they believed in the free state of Florida and they wanted to be a part of the free state of Florida, he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida was one of the first states to ease lockdown restrictions. The state is now first in new business creation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the California Chamber of Commerce found its state has the third-worst business tax climate.

If you look over the last four years, weve witnessed a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians imposing leftist ideology and delivering poor results, and youve seen massive gains in states like Florida, he said.

Florida stood as a refuge of sanity, he added.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (C) enters with his wife Casey (2nd-L) before speaking about his new book The Courage to Be Free in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on March 5, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

According to recent census data, Florida became the fastest-growing state in the U.S. last year, gaining 1.9 percent in population between 2021 and 2022.

Florida was also one of the first to reopen its schools to in-person learning, when California and Illinois had less than 20 percent open, he said.

DeSantis has enacted a number of education-related laws boosting teacher pay, shortening term limits, and protecting teachers from unions or school districts. He has also supported school choice. The state is also empowering parents to be involved, he said.

In the state of Florida, were proud to stand for education, not indoctrination in our schools, he said. We believe the purpose of education is to pursue the truth, and to give students a foundation to think for themselves.

As governor, DeSantis has rejected legislative reforms passed in other states that put the rights of criminals over public safety and victims rights, impose unreasonable burdens on taxpayers to finance wasteful programs, and cater to partisan interests like school unions, he said.

In Florida, we say it very clearly. We will never ever surrender to the woke mob, he said. Our state is where woke goes to die.

As pessimism increases in the U.S., many people believe the best days of American are behind them, said DeSantis. But in the 1970s, before Reagan was elected governor and then president, people were feeling the same way, he said. Reagan believed the economy would get better, and it did, said DeSantis.

Reagan showed the country that success was attainable and freedom was worth fighting for, he said.

The last four or five years has shown us just how fragile our freedoms are, he said. Our rights come not from the courtesy of the state but the hand of the almighty. We must insist on the restoration of time-tested constitutional principles. It falls to people like us in Florida and the freedom-loving people of California, and all throughout our country.

We need to win the fight for freedom, DeSantis said, ending his comments with a nod to Reagan. And if we do, well be winning one more for the Gipper.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd after speaking about his new book The Courage to Be Free in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on March 5, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Although he stayed clear of any hints at his future during Sundays speech, DeSantiss national book tour and substantial fundraising has fueled speculation among political wonks of an impending presidential run.

Former President Donald Trump has already ramped up social media attacks against his expected opponent, labeling him Ron DeSanctimonius. National polls and a March 4 straw poll among conservatives show DeSantis as the former presidents biggest threat should he decide to run.

The 44-year-old Harvard Law School graduate and former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy JAG officer began his second term as governor of the Sunshine State after serving three terms representing Florida in the House of Representatives. He won his second term as governor with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

The event also drew several protestors who lined both sides of the street leading to the library holding pro-LGBT, anti-fascist, and anti-Christian signs.

One demonstrator, Amber Powell, of Simi Valley, said she heard about the protest on Facebook and decided to attend. She said she does not agree with DeSantiss views on women and gay rights.

It seems like hes taking things backwards, Powell told The Epoch Times. Its not where I think we should go.

DeSantis has drawn criticism in the past for passing a law in March 2022 to protect parental rights in education. The legislation, called the Dont Say Gay bill by some media outlets, drew national scrutiny for forbidding the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

Protestor William G., who declined to provide his last name, of Westlake Village, said he came out to stand up to the governor, who he called an existential threat and more dangerous than former President Donald Trump.

What Ron DeSantis is trying to do is genocide, he said. Hes a corrupt politician with a lot of money and power. The language he is using for trans and gay people is classic genocidal tactics. Its really scary stuff right now.
DOJ Sues to Block JetBlue Acquisition of Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines jets sit on the tarmac at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla. on May 20, 2020. (Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing to block JetBlue Airwayss proposed $3.8 billion acquisition of fast-growing rival Spirit Airlines, the agency announced March 7.

The two discount airlines currently compete on hundreds of routes serving millions of travelers.

Four domestic airlinesAmerican Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines reportedly now make up around 80 percent of the market. JetBlue is said to be the sixth-largest airline. Acquiring Spirit would make JetBlue the fifth-largest.

JetBlue unexpectedly launched a bid for Spirit in April. Spirit countered that the deal was not likely to pass scrutiny by regulators but Spirit shareholders gave the deal their blessing in July, The Washington Post reported. JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes told the newspaper recently that he expected the deal would be finalized by early next year.

The DOJ argues that the merger would hurt consumers by curbing competition and further consolidating the domestic airline industry. In the process, the merger would drive up airfares and reduce choice on routes across the United States, boosting costs for the flying public and inflicting serious harm on cost-conscious flyers, the agency said.

The federal government filed the 39-page legal complaint (pdf) in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts that seeks to prevent the merger using the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914. The attorneys general of Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia are also plaintiffs in the new lawsuit.

The acquisition would eliminate Spirit, which the complaint called the largest and fastest-growing ultra-low-cost carrier in the United States. JetBlue views Spirit as a serious competitive threat, but instead of continuing to compete, JetBlue plans to abandon Spirits business model, remove seats from Spirits planes, and charge Spirits customers higher prices.

This would eliminate the unique competition that Spirit providesand about half of all ultra-low-cost airline seats in the industryand leave tens of millions of travelers to face higher fares and fewer options.

The complaint quotes Spirit saying: A JetBlue acquisition of Spirit will have lasting negative impacts on consumers.

At a DOJ press conference March 7, Doha Mekki, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, said both airlines have a history of enhancing consumer choice.

At the media event, Mekki hailed Spirit as an innovator that has spurred competition and helped consumers, and praised JetBlue for its history of promoting competition, which she called the JetBlue effect.

But she singled out Spirit for special praise, saying consumers have benefited from the disruptive choices that Spirit made that the other airlines had to respond to.

The low-priced basic economy options that nearly all airlines offer today did not happen by accident, she said.

Yet Spirit has thrived even while cutting prices, she said.

Spirit is already six times larger today than it was in 2010. Even while the pandemic went on, Spirit stayed focused on its growth plans. It planned to double its fleet of airplanes by the end of 2025, she said.

Spirits plans for future growth, such as adding flights to five new cities this year and to four important cities that JetBlue focuses on, will be nipped in the bud if the merger goes through, Mekki said.

All that growth would have meant more competition for JetBlue and other airlines, she said.

Travelers know they will be better off if JetBlue and Spirit remain independent competitors.

If the two airlines merge, travelers will no longer benefit from the head-to-head competition between Spirit and JetBlue that drives down airfares, she said.

And in an industry already experiencing high concentration, travelers will no longer benefit from the fact that Spirit has no obligation to follow the herd when it comes to the airline industrys too frequent efforts to coordinate their price increases, Mekki said.

JetBlue and Spirit issued a joint statement after the lawsuit was filed, saying they plan to move forward with the merger.

JetBlue and Spirit will continue to advance our plan to create a compelling national challenger to the Big Four airlines, they said in a statement JetBlue forwarded to The Epoch Times.

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said: We believe the DOJ has got it wrong on the law here and misses the point that this merger will create a national low-fare, high-quality competitor to the Big Four carriers whichthanks to their own DOJ-approved mergerscontrol about 80 percent of the U.S. market.

Spirit CEO Ted Christie added: We disagree with the DOJs decision to seek to block the proposed merger, which will benefit consumers and employees. We will vigorously defend our position that a combined JetBlue and Spirit will be a game changer for customers nationwide, creating the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers. Together, we intend to democratize flying for travelers across the countrya goal we believe is worthy of the governments support.
Famous Mountain Lion, P-22, Buried at Secret Location in Santa Monica Mountains

LOS ANGELESMore than two months after his death, the Southlands most famous mountain lion, P-22, has been buried at an undisclosed location in the Santa Monica Mountains, a wildlife official said March 6.

According to Beth Pratt, California regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, the lion was laid to rest in a private ceremony arranged in conjunction with local tribal leaders, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and the National Park Service.

The burial location will not be revealed to protect and preserve the site, Pratt said in a statement.

She said P-22 was buried in a beautiful and moving ceremony that showed such reverence and respect for this remarkable animal.

The affecting songs and tributes helped me achieve some measure of peace, although I struggled the entire time to hold it together and wasnt always successful, Pratt said. I can also imagine P-22 at peace now, with such a powerful and caring send-off to the next place. As we laid him to rest, a red-tailed hawk flew overhead and called loudly, perhaps there to help him on his journey.

People arrive for a memorial for the famed mountain lion P-22 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Known as The Hollywood Cat, P-22 was euthanized Dec. 17 after being examined by wildlife officials who captured him following recent signs of distress, including a series of attacks on pet dogs in the area.

The lion was one of many Southland-area cats being tracked by National Park Service researchers. His exploits were documented in various media accounts, most notably for successfully crossing both the San Diego (405) and Ventura (101) freeways, making his home in the Griffith Park area.

He was believed to be about 11 or 12 years old, making him the oldest cat in the National Park Services study of Southland lions. Likely born in the Santa Monica Mountains, P-22 somehow found his way to his tiny, nine-square-mile home in Griffith Park, separated from his birth area by two of the busiest freeways in the world.

Defying expectations, he persisted for more than 10 years in the smallest home range that has ever been recorded for an adult male mountain lion.

P-22s life was celebrated at a February event at the Greek Theatre. But questions lingered about what would be done with the lions remains. The body was initially taken to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, but local tribal leaderswho consider cougars to be sacredobjected to suggestions the lion be placed on display at the museum, arguing instead that he be buried in Griffith Park.
Feds Moving Forward on Creating Agency to Tackle Financial Crimes Such as Money Laundering, Fraud

Cash seized by police during a bust is displayed at RCMP headquarters In Surrey, B.C., on Dec. 7, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward)

The federal government is moving forward with a plan to tackle financial crime by calling for consultants to assist with creating a Financial Crimes Agency, which the Liberals first promised in their 2021 election campaign platform.

The Department of Public Safety has a requirement for a contractor to conduct research, analysis and undertake key stakeholder interviews in order to develop a final report outlining options for the organizational design of the Canadian Financial Crimes Agency, the department said in a notice to contractors, obtained by Blacklocks Reporter.

Public Safety said its final report on the matter is due on March 31, 2024.

The final report will compliment internal research, analysis and policy development to inform a proposal to establish this new law enforcement agency, it said.

The proposed nationwide agency will target crimes like money laundering, insider trading, fraud, and organized crime, according to the Liberals 2021 election campaign platform.

The platform said the agencys sole purpose will be investigating and enforcing federal law in these areas of crime.

It added that the government will invest $200 million in the new agency over the next four years and will grant it new federal powers.

This agency will bring together, under one roof, existing law enforcement resources of the RCMP, the intelligence capabilities of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre, and expertise of the Canada Revenue Agency, the platform said.

A Dedicated Unit

In his 2021 mandate letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed him to accelerate work to establish a dedicated unit to investigate all forms of major financial crime and consider options to strengthen laws and investigative powers relating to financial crimes.

The mandate letter also instructed Mendicino to bring forward a proposal on the creation of the Canada Financial Crimes Agency, and that Mendicino would be assisted by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Justice Minister David Lametti.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety heard in April 2022 that the move to a federal beneficial ownership registry is an absolute national security requirement.

Whether this is 2025 or 2023, it should happen as soon as possible, said Alexander Cooley from Barnard College of New York while testifying before the committee on April 5, 2022.

Cooley said he believes every country needs to know what the anonymous shell companies are and whos behind them that are buying luxury real estate but also other assets.

I think any time you put the norm of privacy, and my clients privacy, against transparency  I think youre on the losing side.

Last week, after B.C.s prosecution service announced no charges will be laid in the E-Nationalize investigation into millions of dollars that moved through B.C. casinos and Chinese bank accounts, B.C. Premier David Eby called for tougher laws.

Obviously, theres a serious problem with federal criminal law that allows this conduct to continue in our province, he said on March 2.

Its probably shocking to British Columbians that you can have somebody in our province accepting suitcases full of bundled bills, operating in an unlicensed, illegal so-called money service business, receiving the money clandestinely, and that after teams of prosecutors have reviewed that conduct that there is no criminal charge that they can find that they can proceed with.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Kristine Lytle is hoping her experience will stand out in a three-way race to succeed Sue Dwyer as Cayuga County clerk.

Lytle has been endorsed by the Cayuga County Conservative Party in her bid to be the next county clerk. A registered Conservative, she also plans to run on an independent ballot line.

Lytle's familiarity with the clerk's office is a key part of her selling point to voters. She has worked for the Cayuga County Department of Motor Vehicles for 16 years, 13 of which she has spent in a supervisory role. The county clerk oversees the local DMV.

Early in her career, she had a part-time job in the clerk's office.

"Experience matters," Lytle told The Citizen. "I'm hoping that I'm not the only one who thinks that. I'm hoping our voters will think that as well."

The other candidates in the race are Chris Petrus, a Republican who serves as a Cayuga County legislator representing the town of Brutus, and Democratic candidate Brian Scanlan, a retired Auburn firefighter.

The three contenders are vying for an open seat. Dwyer announced in December that she will not seek reelection this year. She was first elected county clerk in 2003 and ran unopposed for reelection in 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019.

Lytle believes it would be a "smooth transition" if she is elected clerk because of her knowledge of the office and one of its main departments. She praised Dwyer for her service as clerk.

"She has brought us in such a positive director," Lytle said. "I just want to keep moving our offices forward."

If elected, Lytle plans to reestablish some services that were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also wants to make more services available online for local residents. That would help the county compete with the state DMV, which has a strong digital presence.

Lytle, like other candidates running for local offices, is in the midst of circulating petitions to qualify for the ballot. Petitions are due in early April. After that process is completed, she is planning a campaign kickoff party and will set up a website.

She welcomes questions and concerns from voters. She can be contacted by email at kristine.lytle@yahoo.com or by phone at (315) 776-2047.

Being elected clerk would be "the natural progression in my career," Lytle said.

"I've been there 16 years," she added. "I just want to continue serving the community."
Flight Attendant Spends 10 Years Savings to Migrate With His Cat to Australia as Illustrator

Yung Jai, a former flight attendant flying Australia for Virgin Airlines, lost his job during pandemic. He has been missing his life in Australia and is planning to migrate to Australia. Yung found his passion in illustration and became a university assistant manager. Jan. 23, 2023. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

When the skies are the limit, a flight attendant grows his dream of moving to Australia while working in the air.

Yung Jai is a young Hongkonger who found his dream amid the chaos of the pandemic and turned his passion into a career.

After the Australian government announced the Hong Kong Safe Haven Policy launch in October 2021, Yung decided to seize the opportunity to pursue his dream: Moving to Australia.

At 30 years old, Yung emptied his savings accounts of 10 years in Hong Kong, moved to Australia alone to study, and was ready to make Australia his new home.

Hongkonger Yung Jai used to work for Virgin Airlines as a flight attendant. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

Yung Jai studied for the IELTS test in May 2022 at an education center, where he did some graphic design work.

In September of the same year, Yung was informed his school application was accepted before getting his visa in November 2022.

Everything was free of turbulence for the flight attendant.

A New Safe Haven

Yungs decision to study in Australia was mainly due to a new policy of Australia for Hongkongers since the implementation of the infamous National Security Law.

The Australian government signed the Hong Kong Safe Haven Act, The Skilled Independent Visa.

Hong Kong Stream has been added to the Skilled Independent Visa, also known as the 189 Visa, and the Permanent Residence Visa for Skilled Immigrants in Remote Areas, also known as the 191 Visa.

Under the new policy, Hongkongers with a graduate visa can skip being scored and apply for permanent residence after obtaining a passport for 3 or 4 years and meeting the Common Criteria.

The policy came into effect in March 2022. Yung caught the train to Australia before the deadline to embark on an adventure as an immigrant.

Yung arrived in Wollongong, Australia, to study for a masters degree in 2023. The photograph was taken in January 2023 in Wollongong, Australia. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

Yung Jai explained he decided to further his study after carefully considering his financial ability and the minimum criteria for immigration to the down under.

If I could choose something I love, I would have chosen art or design from renowned universities. But these courses would cost at least half a million Hong Kong Dollars, which is too much of a financial burden. But if I choose to study business, the tuition fees are half the price of those in art.

Yung also added that his chance of being accepted was also higher.

Yungs move was not a hasty one, and planning was everything a lifeboat scheme required for a new beginning.

On the last day of 2022, eight months after his prep work, Yung visited Wollongong, south of Sydney, along the east coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Yung aims to spend two years studying, working, and eventually migrating to Australia to complete his studies.

Love Was in the Air

Yung graduated from the design department at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong. After graduation, he joined Virgin Atlantic Airlines as a flight attendant.

Incorporating his love for design, he creates a social media account where Yung shares many illustrations, poems, and journals of his life.

Having worked at different airlines, Yung said the most joyful time he had was between 2017 to 2020 while working for Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

I was flying mainly via Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Sydney, and I was the only Asian person among all my colleagues. After spending time with them, I became very fond of Australia; my colleagues were all kindhearted. It was a fun work environment, and they would invite me to meet their friends, their homes.

Feeling included is something that makes Yung feel at home in Australia.

Yung when he was working at Virgin Atlantic Airlines as a flight attendant. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

The sunny blue skies and fond memories of Australia have been imprinted on Yungs heart.

But the coronavirus changed everything.

Virgin Atlantic suddenly canceled all the flights routing via Hong Kong. The continual downfall of the economy overcast Yungs future in the air. Eventually, he had to part ways with his flying career.

Yung worked different jobs as an illustrator, graphic designer, advertising agent, and university administrative assistant for the following few years since he left the aviation industry.

But the dream of working and living in Australia has always been close to Yungs heart.

Yung Jai created a social media account to document illustrations of his daily life. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

Moving Castle With a Feline

Friends who know Yung online would remember his pet cat Mudyin. Mudyin was a big white fluffy cat that often followed his owner to picnics and the markets.

The cat is a frequent flyer in Maids diary.

Taking Mudyin to Australia was no easy task. So Yung had to plan for his feline buddys relocation and his.

He was not going to leave his buddy alone.

Yung mentioned that Australia has a wide variety of species of animals. Australia is also known as one of the most strict countries in the world for live animal customs.

As far as Yung knew, Australian airlines do not allow pets on flights, and they must be checked in.

After arriving in Australia, a fur baby must be sent to an isolation center and be quarantined for ten days. In the ten days, there will be a physical checkup to confirm whether the animal is virus and germ-free before sending it off to the owners new home.

The fluffy white cat Mudyin is a regular face on Yungs adventures, outings, and picnics around Hong Kong. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

The fluffy white cat Mudyin is a regular face on Yungs adventures, outings, and picnics around Hong Kong. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

Another challenge Yung faced was whether his pet was welcome in an Australian home, and he needed a home that would also love his cat.

Fortunately, Yung is now living with a roommate with two lovely bunnies. The only thing missing now is Yungs best travel partner, Mudyin.

Yung lives with a roommate who loves pets, as he has two rabbits. The photo was taken in January 2023 in Wollongong, Australia. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

Australia is rich in animal resources, where kangaroos and people live harmoniously. The photo was taken in Sydney, Australia, in January 2023. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)

A 30-year-old Dreamcatcher

Whenever Yung flew with the crew to Australia, it always seemed like a mini-holiday for him. But this time was different. He was about to leave a place he grew old with for 30 years.

I know I will not return to Hong Kong for a while once I leave. The feelings are different when you have to leave a place you know for 30 years.

Stepping into the land of Australia again, he realized his dream had come true. Even though many known challenges are ahead, Yung was ecstatic about his future in Australia.

Traditionally, heading to the big thirty is an essential milestone. In many Asian families, they consider it to be the golden year to plan their future, like saving money and getting married.

That is why it was a shock when Yung quit a great, prosperous job to spend all his savings studying elsewhere while serving tables.

Yung, however, thinks differently.

The Golden Year

I am over the moon! That is what Yung says to describe his feelings. It seems simple, yet so true. Listening to his gut and moving to Australia was one of the best decisions he has ever made.

I am so happy that I am one step closer to the life I have always dreamed of for myself, Yung said. Although it is still early, being able to drive around the islands with his friends and swim on different beaches and sea feels like a dream come true to Yung.

At 30, Yung cares little about what other people say. He listens to his inner voice as he dream-catches and fills his life with joy.

He wakes up every day with a smile on his face.

Enjoying the sunny beach in Australia and chasing dreams at 30, Yung listens to his inner voice, and living the life he wants is also a kind of success. The photo was taken in Sydney, Australia, in January 2023. (Courtesy of Yung Jai)
Florida-Bound Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Bird Strike Causes Fire

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 passenger plane takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, on April 20, 2021. (Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo)

According to officials, a Southwest Airlines flight bound for Florida was forced to return to Cuba on Sunday due to a bird strike reportedly causing an engine to catch fire, filling the cabin with smoke.

The air carrier confirmed in a statement that 147 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated from the plane via slides.

Southwest flight #2923 departed from Havanas Jose Marti International Airport and was en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport when it experienced bird strikes to an engine and the aircrafts nose, the company said.

The aircraft was seen flying at low altitude in video footage captured by a passenger on board, which was shared on social media. The clip shows a thick layer of smoke in the cabin and some passengers wearing oxygen masks.

In another video, likely captured by a passenger who just evacuated the plane, multiple fire trucks can be seen at the scene as people are being evacuated via a slide.

After the evacuation, the airline said the airport bused passengers and crew members to the terminal and transferred them to a different flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

A passenger described his experience in an interview with NBC 6, saying the bird strike sounded Like a big boom. Like an explosion.

To be honest, I thought it was my time to go, Steven Rodriguez told the network. I was terrified.

Rodriguez also said crew members aboard the commercial flight did not immediately drop overhead oxygen masks, prompting passengers to try to access them manually.

People started taking matters into their own hands and by force were punching the roof to eject the masks, he said. And people had bloody knuckles and all because they were punching the roof. There were little kids on the plane and elderly women.

A Southwest spokesperson told People that all passengers have been compensated as he commended the professional actions of our pilots and flight attendants in responding to this event.

We apologized to our Customers for the negative experience, extending compensation for the inconvenience and offering additional support, the spokesperson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Foreign Criminals Could Have Impunity to Commit Crime in UK If Plug Pulled on ECHR

Legal experts warn of the 'devastating' impact on justice if Britain leaves the European Convention of Human Rights

Joanne Jakymec, head of the Crown Prosecution Services International, London, and South-East Division (L) and Elise Martin-Vignerte, a member of the European Criminal Bar Association, give evidence to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee in London on March 7, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Senior politicians have been told of the devastating impact on UK crime and justice if the government leaves the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

Foreign criminals would have impunity to break laws in Britain, extradition between UK and European Union countries would cease, and investigators would no longer have access to DNA, fingerprint, and vehicle data, legal experts said on Tuesday.

The dramatic claims were made during the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee, which questioned defence and prosecution experts on post-Brexit UKEU security cooperation.

Members heard how Britains self-removal from the ECHR would leave it in a position of mistrustsimilar to Russiaby other countries under the framework.

Asked about the consequences of the UK leaving the ECHR, Rebecca Niblock, a partner of London-based legal firm Kingsley Napley LLP, said the most obvious is the immediate cessation of extradition from EU member states.

My biggest concern would be an almost guaranteed impunity for a time at least, where a person could come to the UK, commit an offence, and then jet off, she said.

And if there are no extradition arrangements, they wouldnt face justice.

Rebecca Niblock, a partner of London-based legal firm Kingsley Napley LLP, gives evidence to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee in London on March 7, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Criminal Impunity

Following the UKs exit from the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, the government was only allowed to continue using European Arrest Warrants (EAW)a simplified cross-border judicial surrender procedureuntil the end of the transition period.

That ended on Dec. 31, 2020, with the UK using primarily Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) warrants to extradite individuals from EU member states.

These are issued by British courts under Part 3 of the Extradition Act 2003.

However, if the UK pulls out of the ECHR, these warrants could no longer be used and no mechanism to replace those is in place.

On the cessation of extradition relations, there isnt an obvious mechanism to replace the TCA arrangements; the fallback position would be the 57th Convention on Extradition, but thats the Council of Europe convention, Niblock added.

So as a non-member of the Council of Europe, wed have to be invited back in to that unanimously by the remaining Council of Europe member states.

There would be the possibility of negotiating bilateral agreements with all of those countries.

But the sticking point there might be that the UK would have to give guarantees in respect of fundamental rights, she said.

Elise Martin-Vignerte, a member of the European Criminal Bar Association, said the UKs removal from the convention would have a very strong impact on the nation.

The UK would be placed at a very, extremely high level of mistrust from other member states due to loss of material trust, she said.

The legal expert said there would also be very tough scrutiny of UK domestic legal system and prison conditions.

For example, in terms of extradition, Rebecca highlighted the most primary concern, which is an impunity on the side of the offenders, she said.

It will also bring back extradition at a diplomatic and political level, which was the case prior to the conventions, that puts extradition at the judicial level. Courts were dealing with extradition requests, not the executive power. So there was no conflict of interest, or at least no suspicion on that side. So that could be a reintroduction, or that kind of issue we had before.

Asked by the committee if it was possible for the UK to remain part of the Council of Europe having pulled out of the EHCR, the lawyer said, I think that would be an extremely difficult position to maintain.

Joanne Jakymec, head of the Crown Prosecution Services International, London and South-East Division, said any loss of tools would reduce the UKs ability to tackle cross-border crime.

Baroness Hamwee chairing the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee in London on March 7, 2023. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Devastating Effect

Addressing the legal experts, Baroness Meacher said: It just feels to me as though were getting a very sort of gentle presentation here.

Whereas if were really thrown out of the TCA, were going to lose exchange of DNA fingerprinting, vehicle registration data, all sorts of basic information exchange that is fundamental to our judicial system, is it not correct to say?

And Im not sure that Im getting a sense of how serious this really is for this country.

In response Niblock said, Well, I dont want to be a doom monger, but I do think the effect would be absolutely devastating, because the idea that we have a respect for fundamental rights really underpins all of cross border cooperation.

Niblock said there would also be a significant negative impact on investigating crime.

More generally, crime is increasingly international, and even with domestic criminal investigation, even with the smallest, most domestic seeming criminal case, there is usually some international element involved, she said.

There might be a piece of evidence on a server in Ireland, for example, a witness located overseas, a transaction undertaken in another jurisdiction, and without being able to access that evidence it would make even those very purely domestic cases very difficult to both investigate and prosecute.

And the ultimate consequence of that is impunity.

The committee also heard that the UK would lose access to passenger name record data, collected by airlines to prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute terrorist offences and serious crime.

Britain would also lose access to the Prum frameworkan automated data exchange that allows EU member states to query DNA, fingerprint, and vehicle registration data in one or several other member states national databases.

Describing the situation as very serious, chair of the committee, Baroness Hamwee, said European colleagues were watching what the government was planning to do on these issues very carefully.

She added that the TCA is due to be reviewed in about 18 months time.
Former ICE Agent Victor Avila Challenges Rep. Tony Gonzales in Texas Amid GOP Censure

Victor Avila in an interview with The Epoch Times at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas in 2021. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agent Victor Avila is challenging Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) in the upcoming election.

Avila, who announced his run on Twitter on Monday, has grown in name recognition due to appearances in the media, his work on legislation, and his book, Agent Under Fire, about his experience being the target of Mexican cartel hitmen.

Avila has made a number of appearances at political events and in the media, making his stance on border security clear. The retired ICE special agent told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in early 2019 that border security is personal to him, having worked on the border and in Mexico.

Ive worked on the border. I was born and raised there, Avila said. I was attacked, and Jaime Zapata lost his life  right next to me, while we were on assignment in Mexico.

Gonzales has also been in the news, making headlines on Saturday when the Republican Party of Texas censured him for his stance on gun legislation, same-sex marriage, and his vote against the House rules package.

The Texas GOPs executive committee voted overwhelmingly to censure Gonzales due to his support for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in the summer of 2022, which subsidized red flag laws.

He also supported the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires that same-sex marriages be recognized at the federal level.

Additionally, the state GOP called out the lawmaker for failing to support the Border Safety and Security Act of 2023.

Gonzales was also the only Republican in January to vote against a House rules package brought in by the new Republican majority.

The Republican Party of Texas officially censured Representative Tony Gonzales today, imposing the full set of penalties allowed by the rules, for lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities, the Texas GOP said in a press release.

Avilas Credentials

Avila, a retired Supervisory Special Agent, formerly served with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ICE, overall, is responsible for enforcing federal laws related to border control, customs, trade, and immigration with the aim of promoting homeland security and public safety.

During his tenure as a special agent at the El Paso field office and as an assistant attache assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarezas well as U.S. embassies situated in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico CityAvila earned recognition from both ICE and HSI for his exceptional service and professional accomplishments.

The Epoch Times was unable to reach Gonzales for comment.
GOP to Use Power of the Purse Against FBI: Rep. Jim Jordan

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) presides over a hearing of the Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 9, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

House Republicans will use its spending power to restrict funding to the FBI, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), head of the lower chambers Judiciary Committee and its weaponization subcommittee, said on Sunday.

Jordan said on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures that Republicans in the lower chamber will use its power of the purse, or spending power designated to it by the Constitution, to restrict federal funding sent to the FBI, as the weaponization subcommittee progresses further in investigations into FBI conduct.

Were going to look to propose legislation, and in the end, the real power of Congress, the real power of the legislative branch, is the power of the purse, Jordan told host Maria Bartiromo. And were going to have to use that both on this issue where we think the governments been targeting the very people its supposed to serve. But also, frankly, on the borderI think were going to have to look at ways to use the appropriation process to deal with the border situation.

Egregious Behavior

Driving the Republican lawmakers proposed move is a long list of what Jordan describes as egregious behavior by the FBI.

A recent example was revealed when FBI Special Agent Garret OBoyle told lawmakers that the FBI created threat tags to target pro-life protesters, the lawmaker said, citing Boyles interview with Fox published on March 2, 2023. Before using the tags to track pro-lifers, the FBI used the threat tags to track potential threats to the Supreme Court following the courts overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Boyle told Fox.

A tag is merely a statistical tool to track information for review and reporting, the FBI said in a statement to Fox. The creation of a threat tag in no way changes the long-standing requirements for opening an investigation, nor does it represent a shift in how the FBI prioritizes threats.

A seal reading Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation is displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington on Aug. 9, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

Other allegations Jordan touched on in the Sunday interview include the FBIs involvement in alleged political censorship on social media, the agencys lack of transparency with intelligence on COVID-19 origins, alleged targeting of parents protesting at school boards and traditional Catholics, and suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, which Jordan characterized as election interference.

As a response to these allegations, the Judiciary Committee is laying the groundwork and collecting relevant information before eventually approaching the compulsory subpoena process targeting the FBI, the lawmaker said. He added that the legislative branch could prohibit the FBI from using federal funding for certain purposes.

[We can] say, this funding cant be used for X, this funding cant be used for Y, or limit the funding overall, Jordan said. Those are things you have to do, or you dont have the leverage to change, again, this egregious behavior were seeing from these agents.

FBI Whistleblowers

Jordan said the committee has spoken to three FBI whistleblowers who are willing to go public with their interviews and a couple of dozen others who choose to remain anonymous.

Currently, the Judiciary Committee is seeking to speak with 16 FBI employees for transcribed interviews, to inform potential legislative reforms to the FBIs operations and activities, according to a March 3 letter Jordan sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray. The letter was first reported by Breitbart News.

The Epoch Times has contacted Jordans office for comment.

The J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington on July 21, 2022. (Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times)

Agency Response

In response to a press inquiry from The Epoch Times on Jordans claims, a spokesperson from the FBI said the agency does not conduct investigations based on a persons views.

The men and women of the FBI devote themselves to protecting the American people from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats, and other dangers, the FBI spokesperson said.

We focus on violence, threats of violence, and other illegal activity regardless of the underlying motivation or what side of an issue a person is on. We do not conduct investigations based on a persons views. While outside opinions and criticism often come with the job, we will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, do things by the book, and speak through our work, the spokesperson added.
Greater Bay Airlines Agrees to Purchase Boeing 737-9 MAX Aircraft Instead of China-Made C919

China Greater Bay Airlines recently announced its purchase of 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft and plans to buy other Boeing planes soon.

Instead of buying the China-made aircraft C919, which the Chinese State Media boasted as a national pride, Greater Bay Airlines have agreed to purchase passenger planes from the regimes competitor, Boeing.

Outsiders questioned if it was related to the failure of the C919 test flight and the inability to stay safe while flying in the air.

On March 3, the new Greater Bay Area Airlines, established to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Partys development strategy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, held a signing ceremony with the American Boeing Company. The airline signed a procurement agreement to order 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX airliners.

The Greater Bay Area Airlines also planned to buy five 787 Dreamliners.

The Greater Bay Area Airlines told the media that the new planes would be delivered from 2024 to 2027. The Boeing 737-9 MAX would become the primary model of the airlines future fleet.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary For Finance Paul Chan Mao-bo, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Yau Ying-Wah, and other Hong Kong government officials attended the purchase signing ceremony.

Reporters asked the airlines representatives why it, as a Chinese-funded company, did not purchase China-made C919 planes instead of its competitors.

Bill Wong, president of the Greater Bay Area Airlines, said that he and Boeing Company have been dealing business for many years.

The founder said since Donghai Airlines uses Boeing 737 passenger planes, and after considering the Greater Bay Area Effect, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will also follow suit and use the same passenger aircraft for maintenance convenience and cost reduction.

Wong also told the reporters the 737-9 has far better carrying capacity and endurance, which helps reduce operating costs and expand the flight network, which brings better economic gains.

Wong said, We have had a great relationship with Boeing for many years. Twenty models of Shenzhen Donghai Airlines are all Boeing 737-800. The remarkable cost-effectiveness and safety performance make Boeing a fuel-saving and comfortable aircraft.

Wong then said that Greater Bay airlines would not rule out the possibility of using C919 airliners in the future, but its delivery capacity was not as robust as that of Boeing.

According to several Hong Kong media reports, the public was confused about why Greater Bay Airlines would buy American aircraft when the relationship between China and America continued to worsen.

Wong explained, The customer who bought the new airplanes is from Hong Kong, and as Hong Kong is under One country. Two systems, politics are irrelevant to their business exchanges.

Public data shows Greater Bay airlines opened four new routes to Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, and Seoul in July 2022. The airline also planned to add new flights to Osaka, Manila, the Philippines, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam before April 2023.

The C919 is a large passenger plane of Chinas first jet-powered regional airliner, developed per international aviation standards.

With a seat class of 158 to 168 and a range of 4075 to 5555 kilometers, C919 is comparable to the same class of Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 in the current international aviation market.

The Chinese Communist Partys mouthpiece media once vigorously promoted the domestic airliner and called it a national pride.

However, in early February 2023, just a few days before a C919 flight testing, there were rumors that a malfunction caused a 100-hour verification flight plan call-off.

At the time, some insiders familiar with the incident disclosed to foreign media that a domestic C919 passenger plane purchased by China Eastern Airlines, B919A, had a suspected failure when the left engine reversed during a test flight between Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Beijing Daxing Airport on Feb. 2.

China Eastern Airlines immediately canceled the rest of the verified flight plan and would not mention anything related to the allegedly failed test or the purchase of C919.

Professional insiders stated, as of now, flights of C919 have not hit commercial flying yet. But if the test flight were unsuccessful, commercial operations would not be possible soon.

The C919 aircraft has been in research and development for over a decade. It was also mentioned as a highly strategic product, regarded as a backup plan once Europe and the United States decoupled.

However, the insider revealed the industry is not optimistic about the fundamental safety of C919 amid the fear of an accident due to the aircraft being an adaptation of an assembly of various imported components.

The insider also shared that China Eastern Airlines is the only airline that dares to take over the C919. Everybody else will not get involved with the C919 aircraft.
Growing Number of Jan. 6 Defendants Ask Judges to Delay Trials in Light of Newly Released Footage

A growing number of people charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol are requesting trial delays so they can review newly disclosed footage.

Shane Jenkins became one of the latest defendants when he filed a motion through an attorney to delay the trial due to the disclosure of some 41,000 hours of security footage from Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Jenkins requests that his trial currently set to begin on March 21, 2023, be moved so defense counsel can review the additional discovery, Dennis Boyle, the attorney, wrote in the motion.

Republicans, having taken control of the House of Representatives in January, disclosed the footage to Fox News and said they were granting access to any defendants who want to view the video.

The tranche includes some 25,000 hours of footage that Jenkins hasnt been able to review, according to the new filing.

The request for additional time is necessary in order to adequately and diligently review all discovery pertaining to Mr. Jenkins and to determine whether any video contains relevant and material information that would pertain to Mr. Jenkins defense. Video evidence depicting Mr. Jenkins would constitute both exculpatory and material evidence, which would require disclosure from the government, Boyle said. Due to the large amount of video being released, and because Mr. Jenkins is currently incarcerated, we request additional time to review the information and prepare for trial.

Government prosecutors oppose the request.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, the Obama appointee overseeing the case, hasnt ruled on the motion yet.

Jenkins has been charged with physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building and disorderly conduct, among other charges.

William Pope, another defendant, told the court in a separate filing that he lacks access to more than 99 percent of discovery even though more than two years have elapsed since he was arrested.

Prosecutors have opposed making much of the footage available because the legislative branch was the original owner of the evidence, Pope wrote. However, now that the Legislative Branch has given defendants their blessing to have due process access to legislative files, the governments already weak argument to deny due process has collapsed. This court should immediately grant me full access to discovery, he wrote.

If the government continues to deny Pope access to discovery necessary for his defense, the case should be dismissed, Pope argued. He has been charged with civil disorder and other charges.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, another Obama appointee, is overseeing the Pope case. During a status hearing after the filing was lodged, Contreras delayed a trial in order to give the government time to respond to a different motion, which asks the judge to unseal footage from three undercover officers on Jan. 6, 2021.

Ryan Nichols, a third defendant, recently asked the court to delay his trial until his attorneys, and crowdsourced helpers, review the newly disclosed footage.

Defendants position is simple and straightforward: there is no justifiable reason why this newly available evidence had not been made available before todaythus, any possible prejudice to the prosecution from a continuance is dwarfed by Defendants constitutional right to defend himself, Nichols said through his lawyers. Hes been charged with physical violence, obstruction, and other charges.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee overseeing the case, hasnt ruled on the matter yet.

Request Denied

Another defendant, Sara Carpenter, saw her request to delay her trial in light of the recent developments denied.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, the Obama appointee overseeing the case, rejected the motion during a March 3 hearing.

Carpenters lawyers had argued that the surveillance disclosed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is far in excess of what was previously disclosed by the government and known to exist and that, while the government had disclosed some footage, there remain temporal gaps in the footage thus far provided between the moments Ms. Carpenter is shown entering and exiting the Capitol.

The government asserted that trial extensions shouldnt be granted on the unsupported allegation that pertinent information may exist somewhere, but is not currently known to either the prosecution or the defense.

Boasberg said Carpenter failed to show that the previously undisclosed footage would prove exculpatory, Politico reported. He said that allowing a delay for defendants could derail dozens of trials that are set in the next few months.

Carpenter has been indicted on three counts, including knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.

Not Gotten My Evidence

Rachel Powell, another Jan. 6, 2021, defendant, whos facing more than a half dozen charges, said that she hasnt received evidence crucial to her case.

McCarthy had told reporters that defendants had access to footage before.

I am a J6 defendant and have not gotten my evidence even though it has been over two years, Powell told The Epoch Times via email. So when McCarthy says January 6 defendants have had access to the evidence he is wrong and possibly lying.

She was preparing a motion to delay her trial.

William Shipley, a lawyer representing multiple defendants, wrote on Twitter that attorneys have access to thousands of hours of footage but that the Department of Justice (DOJ) database didnt include footage that Congress didnt give to the agency.

If Congress  held back video then DOJ would not have it to put in the database, he wrote. It is not possible to say definitively right now that defense attorneys did  in fact  have all the videos that Tucker/Fox is showing. McCarthy says he gave Fox everything. That might include videos not given to DOJ.
Commentary

Since its establishment, the World Health Organization (WHO) has assumed the role of an advisory entity in the international health domain. The WHO established International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005 as the main compliance tool to ensure that public health emergencies would be handled swiftly. The COVID pandemic perfectly illustrates how powerful the WHO already is.

However, a new set of amendments (pdf) proposed by state members of the WHO was published at the end of 2022, seeking to enhance the WHOs power under the guise of the IHR. This, in addition to a newly proposed Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) (pdf) and the addition of a pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response clause (pdf) in the INB, raises several red flags on the paradigm shift that the WHO is undertaking, from playing the role of an international health advisory body to becoming a global regime acting in the name of health.

From Patient-Doctor Relationship to Powerful Conglomerate

Throughout history, people have relied on connections with friends, family, and neighbors to maintain a healthy social life. This is important not only for wellness, but also for building the trust upon which the foundation of relationships lies. Just as its vital in relationships with family and friends, in regard to health, trust is vital in patient-doctor relationships.

Doctors across many countries and diverse regions have a plethora of different methods to treat something as simple as a cold. Some may give you a flu shot, some may prescribe you some minor medication, and some might even tell you to drink hot soup and get lots of rest. There may also be an unfamiliar remedy from Latin America or Southeast Asia that works just as well as something you could pick up in a U.S. pharmacy.

This is all to say that well-trained doctors know what theyre doing, given the methods available to them.

The one-on-one patient-doctor relationship has traditionally been the tried-and-true way to establish a health system in any society. Advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or other health agencies serves as nonbinding recommendations to doctors that give them the right to make their own decisions based on their knowledge of the patienteven under evidence-based medicine.

People make their own final health-related decisions; hence, doctors need consent from their patients for treatment or surgeries. The trust that people give to their doctors is sacred and demands that doctors practice medicine grounded in ethics and based on genuine medical knowledge, skills, and experienceall things that most doctors still have.

Notwithstanding what has been the norm for generations, the advancement of modern medicine and biotechnology has turned the fields of health and medicine into huge industries. As a result, the quality of health care has become increasingly dependent on the allocation of resources and distribution of wealth.

Big Pharma, powerful health agencies, and dominant health insurance enterprises are all intertwined, forming a tremendous conglomerate of power. In the name of protecting the people, this manifestation of power has reached an unprecedented level, which was on full display during the pandemic in the form of lockdowns, mandates, the rush of drugs and vaccines, insurance policies determining diagnosis, etc.

WHO: A Global Regime in the Name of Health?

Then, we have international organizations such as the WHO, with a role many people deem too arbitrary to consider an eminent element in their life. It was created within the United Nations and historically played a coordinating role in global health issues and resources, in helping with public health threats like polio, AIDS, and COVID. However, its latest proposed reform raises a serious concern over whether the WHO is turning into a global quasi-regime.

The newest changes the WHO is pursuing are amendments to the International Health Regulations agreement. The World Health Assembly first adopted the IHR in 1969 to cover six diseases and it has since been revised several times. A fully updated version was implemented in 2005 after Chinas SARS outbreak in 2003, after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) refused to maintain transparency during the outbreak. This 2005 edition of the IHR is now facing stark changes.

The IHR demands WHO nations detect, assess, report, and respond appropriately in regard to public health emergencies that can spread on an international scale. During the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during its onset, China demonstrated an aptitude for disinformation and a lack of transparency toward the international community with regard to sharing data, allowing a probe into the origins of the virus, and issues involving the most recent unprecedented spike of infections and death after the country lifted its zero-COVID restrictions.

Not unrelated to these international incidences, the WHO has published a number of amendments to the IHR that will strengthen the WHOs power considerably pertaining to global health emergencies. For example, the WHO will have the power to act upon potential rather than actual emergencies and allow the director-general of the WHO control over the production of medication that may be allocated as he or she deems fit.

One concern is that the WHO will have the authority to override health measure decisions made by individual nations and grant the organization the capacity to censor what it considers misinformation and disinformation, should the amendments be adopted. This is a serious threat to the sovereignty of every WHO member nation.

Another startling change was the removal of respect for the dignity, human rights, and fundamental freedoms of persons in Article 3 of the IHR, replaced with the terms equity and inclusivity.

At the same time, the WHOs new amendments change the advisory nature of the IHR to that of law, meaning that the organization will hold just as much powerif not morecompared with a governing body with legally binding jurisdiction and enforcement capabilities.

The aforementioned changes, and many more, are troubling because the amendments are vague in nature and leave much room for interpretation. For example, the amendments dont specify the amount of funding countries need to contribute, which could lead to an escalation of corruption in underdeveloped countries.

Global Health Certificate System With Multiple Risks

During the pandemic, there have been a number of health certificate systems set up across some parts of North America, Europe, and other countries, yet none was as pervasive and heavily enforced as the health QR-code system in China. Throughout Chinas three years of extreme zero-COVID measures, the color of a code on your phone decided whether you were allowed to leave the community grounds, eat in restaurants, or even be admitted to a hospital to give birth.

The QR-code system was able to track your movement and used an algorithm to determine if you were considered at risk of being infected. If you were at risk, your code would turn yellow and authorities would send you to a quarantine camp at your own expense. This QR-code system was also attached to your personal bank account so that your mandatory quarantine in a hotel could be paid for before you arrived.

Implemented by a regime that has little regard for human rights, codes were allegedly turned yellow or even red (indicating infection) for citizens who complained about the strict pandemic measures. Such an invasive system has immense potential to abolish privacy and self-determination, forcing residents to live under an Orwellian regime.

The superficial intent of the health certificate system is benign, yet it could be a convenient tool for driving the establishment of an overarching global government. It could be an integral component in achieving a globalist agenda without requiring support from the masses.

Health certificates arent the only thing the WHO wishes to add to the world government. The agency also demands an International Negotiating Body (INB) with the power of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response incorporated into its duties.

INB Might Be Another Excuse for Control

Citing the catastrophic failure of the international community in showing solidarity and equity in response to the  pandemic in its preamble, the zero draft for the INB initiated in 2022 and revised as of February 2023 calls for an international organization with authority exceeding some, if not most, governments across the world that are able to act in response to the next global health emergency.

At the same time, the INB also includes the One Health initiative, currently a five-year plan aimed at tackling zoonotic epidemics around the world. It can be interpreted that the INB would be the acting arm of the WHO superpower, while the IHR would provide the legal basis for the arbitrary government. Funding for these measures, as proposed, would come from the world bank.

While the WHO prepares to ballon its power with these amendments, one question begs an answer: Were people satisfied with how the organization handled the pandemic? Global public opinion seems to be divided on this topic. While European and North American developed nations seem to be supportive of the WHOs efforts, some Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea are voicing their dissatisfaction.

Public opinion regarding how well the WHO handled the COVID-19 pandemic seems to vary among nations. (The Epoch Times)

Meanwhile, the policies the WHO is trying to enact are also sources of potent social tension and division. Many seem to be divided between enacting a private health passport and a government-operated health passport that can be used as proof of vaccination or for similar causes.

When asked about their stance on vaccine passports, 1,315 Americans were divided between deeming passports issued by the government and ones issued by private entities as acceptable. (The Epoch Times)

Like any good government with checks and balances, doesnt the WHO also need an objective post-COVID evaluation before the amendments are adopted? This brings up the issues of what kind of supervising entity the WHO falls under, and whether legal mechanisms exist so the WHO can be held accountable should it fail to handle a critical public health crisis. These issues need to be addressed before any changes are adopted.

Therefore, one of the most pressing issues here might be the WHOs lack of transparency and proposed accountability measures. The language used in the amendment document is extremely vague and leaves much room for interpretation. At the same time, there seems to be a concerning lack of checks and balances within the proposed new order.

All 194 nations in the WHO are set to vote on the amendments and finalize the new INB by May 2024, which could bring sweeping changes to the livelihood of generations to come. Have people been well-informed and educated about these changes? Shouldnt there be more public and open debates for more transparency to show what is coming if the amendments are adopted? Why is the mainstream media not picking up on this?

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.
On my way up to see Pennsylvania family and friends from my home in western North Carolina, I spotted a small road sign in Rockbridge County, Virginia, on Interstate 81 that piqued my interest. I pulled down a simple road and into a parking lot that indicated it was the entranceway to the official state and historical landmark called Natural Bridge.

Besides a short trail that afforded an opportunity for a bit of fresh air, I recognized that the forested path provided surprising historical tidbits. Primarily, placards indicated that George Washington once traversed the area and Thomas Jefferson built a home there.

Although the focal point is the 90-foot-wide, 215-foot-tall limestone strata arch dubbed Natural Bridgeconsidered a geological marvel touted by the Department of Conservation and Recreation as one of the oldest geological features on the East Coastlearning about two Founding Fathers marks on the area proved much more enticing.

Washingtons Mark, or Not

According to one historical marker, young George Washington worked as a surveyor long before he solidified his place in American history as commander of the Continental Army and as the countrys first leader. By age 20, Washington had completed around 200 surveys, and centuries of speculation put him at Natural Bridge during his travels, with proof in the form of his supposed initials carved into rock.

Even though some historians question whether the initials are, indeed, Washingtons, there is less doubt that he navigated the area.

Eric Wilson, a cultural historian and executive director at Rockbridge Historical Society in Lexington, Virginia, said: The graffiti might be bogus, but its plausible that Washington, as an 18-year-old surveyor, was surveying with Peter Jeffersons [Thomas Jeffersons father] team in the area in the 1740s.

Jeffersons Investment

Further research determined that Thomas Jefferson was so enamored with Natural Bridge that he purchased 157 acres of the surrounding land in 1774, just two years before the War for Independence. Jefferson paid 20 shillings to obtain the land warrant, get the property surveyed, and file the necessary papers with the secretary of the colony in Williamsburg. Jeffersons rustic Rockbridge County property was 120 miles (by horse) from his more refined Monticello property, so he built a two-room log cabin retreat near Natural Bridge and invited family and friends to view the fascinating site. A few later guests would become historically noteworthy, including Henry Clay, Sam Houston, and Martin Van Buren.

Jefferson wrote about the area:

Looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head ach[e]. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime, to be felt beyond what they are here: so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing as it were up to heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable!

Jeffersons family members were just as enthralled. Cornelia Jefferson Randolph, one of Jeffersons granddaughters, wrote in 1817: We are returnd from the natural bridge more anxious to see it again than we were at first, because in the first place it far surpassd our expectations.

Jefferson retained ownership of his Natural Bridge property until his death in 1826. Afterward, the property was sold and stayed in private hands until an arrangement was made with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Visitors to this historic area have an opportunity to contemplate how Washington might have, and how Jefferson certainly did, stand captivated by the lofty rock arch that mans hands did not create.
It Was a Mistake for Fox News to Let Tucker Carlson Depict Jan. 6 Footage as He Did: McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on March 7 told reporters that it was a mistake for Fox News to allow Tucker Carlson to depict the events of Jan. 6 as he did on his March 6 daily program.

On Feb. 20, it was announced that Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had given Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of surveillance footage from the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Carlson has two programs: his primetime program Tucker Carlson Tonight, which earlier this month drew in over 3.5 million viewers in a week, and Tucker Carlson Originals, a new series of documentaries by Carlson. Carlson could draw from the footage provided by McCarthy for both programs.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson speaks during the 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

During the last Congress, the Jan. 6 panel pushed a narrative of events that portrayed the Capitol breach as the culmination of a months-long effort by Trump and his supporters to overthrow the U.S. government.

Notably that panel, formed in a mostly party-line vote, included only two Republicans: former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), both virulent Trump critics.

Thus, the narrative adopted by the panel was criticized for being unfairly weighted against the former president.

On his show, Carlson has often been critical of this narrative.

In the past, Carlson has dismissed Jan. 6 as an outbreak of mob violence, a forgettably minor outbreak by recent standards.

McConnell, by contrast, has largely rubber-stamped the official narrative of Jan. 6, leading to clashes with others in his party over the issue.

On March 6, Carlson aired the first of the unreleased Jan. 6 footage, coming to the conclusion that the true events of Jan. 6 were radically different from the committees narrative.

Taken as a whole, the video record does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection, Carlson said. In fact, it demolishes that claim.

Later, Senate GOP Leader McConnell was asked whether it was a mistake for McCarthy to give Carlson access to the footage.

My concern is how it was depicted, McConnell replied ambivalently, which is a different issue.

Clearly the chief of the Capitol Police, in my view, correctly describes what most of us witnessed firsthand on January 6, McConnell said, citing a letter from U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) Chief Steven Manger that was released after Carlsons segment.

Manger dismissed the segment, saying it came to offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack.

Asked about the situation, McConnell told reporters that he agrees with Manger.

It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way thats completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks, McConnell said.

The Findings

On March 6, Carlson aired his first segment using the newly released footage.

Virtually no one in Washington, D.C., Republican or Democrat, wanted these tapes released tonight, Carlson stated in the kickoff to the explosive segment.

Democrats in Congress, assisted by [Reps. Adam Kinzinger (D-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)], lied about what happened that day, he continued.

They are liars, he emphasized. That fact should prevent them from ever being taken seriously again.

The videos people havent seen paint a very different picture of what happened that day compared to the narrative of the Jan. 6 panel, Carlson said.

By controlling the images you could see from January 6, they controlled how the public understood that day.

Carlson said the USCP, despite dire warnings from the left of impending catastrophe if Carlson released the tapes, found little to criticize in the footage Carlson chose. Carlson said the only change requested by the Capitol Police was blurring out the details of a single door.

In the enormous crowd that entered the Capitol that day, Carlson said only a few were hooligans who committed illegal or violent acts.

These were not insurrectioniststhey were sightseers, Carlson said. Protestors queue up in neat little lines; they give each other tours outside the speakers office; they take cheerful selfies, and they smile. Theyre not destroying the Capitol: they obviously revere the Capitol. Theyre there because they believe the election was stolen from them; they believe in the system.

These are not rioterstheyre people who wandered over from a political rally, Carlson stated.
As a handful of cities allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney wants a constitutional amendment to end the practice.

Tenney, R-Canandaigua, has authored a resolution calling for the amendment, which would prohibit noncitizens from voting in federal, state and local elections.

The U.S. Constitution allows citizens to vote in federal elections. But some cities, including New York, have passed legislation that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. New York City's law was challenged and a state Supreme Court judge struck it down.

Most recently, the city council in Washington, D.C., approved a bill that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Tenney supported a House resolution opposing the law.

"The right to vote is one of the most sacred rights we have as American citizens," Tenney said. "A citizen of another nation should not be allowed to vote in elections that will influence government officials and U.S. laws at any level."

She added, "It is time to restore confidence in our elections and rebuild faith in our self-governing constitutional republic by making it explicit that only American citizens are permitted to vote in local, state and federal elections."

The U.S. Constitution has not been amended since 1992. A two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress is needed to advance a proposed amendment. To add the amendment to the Constitution, it must be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
Jet in Deadly Flight May Have Had Trim Issues: NTSB

A Bombardier Challenger 300 diverted to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., on March 3, 2023, after experiencing turbulence in flight. (NBC Connecticut via AP)

HARTFORD, Conn.A business jet may have experienced problems with its stability before severe roughness caused the death of a passenger, the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday.

The NTSB said its looking at a reported trim issue, a reference to adjustments that are made to an airplanes control surfaces to ensure it is stable and level in flight. The agency initially reported that the plane experienced severe turbulence late Friday afternoon.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration instructed pilots flying the same model of Bombardier aircraft to take extra pre-flight measures after trim problems had been reported.

The Bombardier executive jet was traveling from Keene, New Hampshire, to Leesburg, Virginia, before diverting to Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

Investigators will have more information after theyve analyzed the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and other information, such as weather at the time, the NTSB said.

Three passengers and two crew members were aboard. The person who died, identified as 55-year-old Dana Hyde of Cabin John, Maryland, was brought to a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was later pronounced dead, Connecticut State Police said Monday.

The jets owner, Conexon, a company based in Kansas City, Missouri, said Hyde was not an employee of the company.

Turbulence is unstable air in the atmosphere, which continues to be a cause for injury for airline passengers despite safety improvements. But deaths from turbulence are extremely rare.

Trim problems can also be responsible for buffeting or altitude changes.

The FAA issued its air directive last year after multiple instances in which the horizontal stabilizer on the Bombardier BD-100-1A10 caused the nose of the plane to turn down after the pilot tried to make the aircraft climb.

The directive, which applied to an estimated 678 aircraft registered in the United States, called for expanded pre-flight checks of pitch trim and revised cockpit procedures for pilots to be used under certain circumstances.

The Bombardier BD-100-1A10 is more commonly known as the Challenger 300 and Challenger 350.

By Dave Collins and David Sharp
Jim Jordan Subpoenas Former Disinformation Governance Board Head, Nina Jankowicz

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has subpoenaed Nina Jankowicz, who briefly served as the Biden administrations disinformation czar.

In a letter to Jankowicz accompanying her subpoena dated March 6 (pdf), Jordan explained that the committee is conducting oversight of the now-defunct Disinformation Governance Board, including its creation and activities.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the creation of the board in April last year before disbanding it four months later, amid concerns that the agency would be a tool for government censorship.

Jankowicz resigned in May 2022, just weeks after her appointment as the boards executive director.

We have repeatedly sought information from you concerning your official actions and duties as a DHS employee and former Executive Director of the Board, including how the Board intended to define disinformation, how it planned to collect information and from what sources, how it anticipated countering disinformation, and how it proposed to protect First Amendment rights, Jordan wrote.

Nina Jankowicz testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on misinformation, conspiracy theories and infodemics at a virtual hearing on Oct. 15, 2020, in a still from the video footage. (House Intelligence Committee/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

In the letter, Jordan detailed a timeline of how Jankowicz had failed to respond to the panels requests. In May 2022, before her resignation, the panel requested her voluntary cooperation. In December 2022, the panel requested that she appear for a voluntary transcribed interviewa request that was then repeated three more times this year.

To date, however, you have declined to comply voluntarily with our request for a transcribed interview, Jordan wrote. In light of your disregard of our earlier voluntary requests, please find attached a subpoena compelling you to appear for a deposition.

In response to Jordans request, Jankowicz wrote in a statement on Twitter that she is ready to continue to stand up for the truth and will not be cowed by conspiracy theories or intimidation.

I will happily testify to the truth of the Board under oath: That it was a working group meant to address disinformation that endangered Americans safety, and thatbecause of the Republican Partys irresponsible lies about itour democracy is less secure, she added.

Her brief role as the head of the board has put her past comments under scrutiny, particularly her citation of former British spy Christopher Steele as an authority on misinformation and her false claims in late 2020 about the New York Posts story on Hunter Bidens laptop.

In November last year, Jankowicz registered as a foreign agent of a British nonprofit organization.

Subpoenas

Separately on Monday, Jordan also subpoenaed Chip Slaven, the former interim executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), and Viola Garcia, the former president of the NSBA, for depositions.

The judiciary committee is conducting oversight of the misuse of criminal and counterterrorism resources by the executive branch against concerned parents at local school board meetings and the effect on parents protected First Amendment activity, Jordan wrote in separate letters to Slaven (pdf) and Garcia (pdf).

In September 2021, the two then-NSBA officials co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden, asking for federal law enforcement to deal with alleged threats from parents against school board members.

As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes, their joint letter reads.

The letter subsequently led to an October 2021 memo from Attorney General Merrick Garland, who launched a probe against parents.

Whistleblowers have disclosed that this memorandum resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) establishment of a threat tag and the Justice Department has confirmed that the FBI investigated at least 25 incidents as a result of the NSBA letter you co-signed, Jordan wrote.

The NSBA eventually issued an apology for the letter, saying that there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter.

Jordan reminded Slaven and Garcia that the committee had written to them in January to request that the two appear for voluntary transcribed interviews. The Ohio lawmaker said the interviews would shed light about the impetus for the September 2021 letter and related matters.

Given their decisions not to comply voluntarily, Slaven and Garcia will now have to sit for dispositions as required by the subpoenas.
Judicial Council Reviewing Complaint Against Supreme Court of Canadas Russell Brown

Brown looks on during his welcoming ceremony at the Supreme Court in Ottawa on Oct. 6, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

The Canadian Judicial Council is reviewing a complaint about the alleged conduct of Supreme Court of Canada Justice Russell Brown.

In a statement Tuesday, the council said the complaint against Brown, received Jan. 29, was referred to Christopher Hinkson, chief justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia and chairperson of the councils judicial conduct committee.

Under the Judges Act, the judicial council has a mandate to investigate complaints made against federally appointed judges.

The council did not disclose the nature of the complaint concerning Brown.

The Supreme Court recently said the judge had been on a leave of absence since early February, but it did not disclose the reason.

On Tuesday, the court said it was now at liberty to say more, noting the council told Richard Wagner, the chief justice of Canada, of the complaint on Jan. 31.

The following day, after speaking with Brown, Wagner put him on leave from his duties at the Supreme Court effective immediately, while the council looks into the complaint.

Wagner notified Justice Minister David Lametti of this decision without delay, as required by the Judges Act, the Supreme Court said.

Brown, 57, served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2015 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper.

Brown provided comments to Hinkson, at his request, about the complaint on Feb. 20, the council said.

It added that due to questions about Browns absence, Hinkson decided it was in the public interest to announce the review of the matter.

It noted that Hinkson, as chairperson, has the responsibility of determining when and what information must be disclosed regarding conduct matters. In doing so, he must weigh and balance various principles, notably transparency and public interest, as well as judicial independence and privacy.

The Supreme Court said in its statement that arrangements for the court to continue its work seamlessly have been made, including ensuring appeals are heard, reserved judgments are rendered, and applications for leave to appeal are decided.

Although the court has nine members, it can sit with as few as five.
Justice Minister Says Bail System Strong and Sound Ahead of Meeting With Provinces to Discuss Reform

Minister of Justice David Lametti prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Ottawa, on March 6, 2023. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)

Justice Minister David Lametti said Canada has a sturdy bail system ahead of a meeting with provincial and territorial counterparts as calls for bail reform increase after the killing of an Ontario police officer.

I believe our bail system is strong and sound. But we are always open to suggestions for improvements, both in terms of law reform and ways in which we might better support the administration of justice and our police officers, he said while testifying before the House Justice and Human Rights committee on March 6.

Lametti said he will be meeting with provincial and territorial justice ministers on March 10 to discuss bail reform.

All 13 premiers co-signed a letter earlier this year urging the government to review the bail system after the death of 28-year-old Const. Greg Pierzchala, a member of the Ontario Provincial Police. The premiers suggested a reverse onus on bail for certain firearm-related offences, which would require the individual seeking bail to demonstrate why they should not remain behind bars.

Randall McKenzie, a repeat offender and one of the two suspects who fatally shot Pierzchala in December 2022, was reportedly released on bail primarily because of his indigenous identity, which must be specially considered by judges according to federal law. He was banned from owning firearms stemming from court orders issued in 2016 and 2018.

While testifying on March 6, Lametti rejected criticism of Bill C-75, which modified bail provisions, citing in particular the overrepresentation of Indigenous persons and accused from vulnerable groups who are traditionally disadvantaged in obtaining bail, according to background information from the Department of Justice.

The bill, which became law in June 2019, codified a principle of restraint that had been affirmed in a 2017 Supreme Court case emphasizing the release of detainees at the earliest reasonable opportunity and on the least onerous conditions, based on the circumstances of the case.

Bill C-75  has made it more difficult to keep individualsrepeat violent offendersbehind bars while theyre awaiting trial. Do you accept the criticism thats coming unanimously from every premier in this country that says the criminal code changes that you brought inyour governmentare having a negative impact on public safety? asked Conservative MP Rob Moore.

I dont accept that, answered Lametti, adding that the legislation serves to make the whole criminal justice system more efficient.

The Conservatives have been pushing to repeal Bill C-75 since Pierzchalas death. Efforts include a motion introduced by public safety critic Raquel Dancho in the House of Commons on Feb. 2, asking the government to reform its bail policies. That motion was defeated in a vote of 205116 on Feb. 6, with the NDP and Bloc Quebecois siding with the Liberals.

Conservative MP Frank Caputo later introduced a private members bill on Feb. 9, seeking bail reform legislation at the federal level.

Marnie Cathcart, Noe Chartier, and Peter Wilson contributed to this report
Kari Lake Responds to Claim She Could Be Trumps 2024 Vice President

Former President Donald Trump and Kari Lake, whom Trump is supporting in the Arizona's gubernatorial race, speak during a rally at the Canyon Moon Ranch festival grounds in Florence, Arizona, on Jan. 15, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Arizona GOP candidate Kari Lake responded to reports claiming that she is atop the list of possible running mates being considered by former President Donald Trump, coming after she won a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) poll over the past weekend.

Currently, Lakes midterm election-related lawsuit is scheduled to be considered by the Arizona Supreme Court in the coming weeks. Lake has alleged that problems that occurred at polling locations in Maricopa County on Nov. 8 were so egregious that the election should be re-done or she be declared the winner.

I am 100 percent dedicated to serving as Arizona Governor, Lake told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. I will also work to make sure President Trump gets back in the White House ASAP.

Lake added that anything outside of those two goals is nothing but a distraction and again claimed she won the gubernatorial election. Her opponent, Democrat Katie Hobbs, was sworn in as governor in early January.

Two lower courts in Arizona have dismissed her election challenge. In both rulings, judges argued that Lake did not provide enough evidence to show that Republican voters were suppressed on Election Day.

Over the weekend, a CPAC vice presidential straw poll found that Lake, a former television journalist, came in No. 1 with 20 percent of the vote. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was second and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who announced a 2024 presidential bid last month, was third.

Our best days are ahead of us and it all starts with electing America-First candidates all across this country, Lake also told the Mail.

This week, a report from Axios, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Trump is considering Lake as a possible vice presidential pick. The report further alleged that Lake has echoed many of Trumps assertions that the 2020 election was rife with fraud.

Others who are reportedly being considered include Haley, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, according to the Axios report. The former president has not publicly commented on the Axios report, which cited some close to Trump.

Former President Donald Trump addresses the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., on March 4, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

But a campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, dismissed claims in the Axios article and said that anyone who thinks they know what President Trump is going to do is seriously misinformed and trying to curry favor with potential V.P. candidates.

President Trump will choose his running mate on his own time, Cheung said, and those who are playing the media game are doing so at their own peril.

Earlier this year, Steve Bannon, a former White House aide and 2016 Trump campaign manager, told NBC News that he believes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is angling to be Trumps running mate in 2024. Greene has not publicly responded to the claims.

This is no shrinking violet. Shes ambitiousshes not shy about that, nor should she be, he said in late January. She sees herself on the short list for Trumps VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back, Bannon continued to say.

And Trumps former vice president, Mike Pence, did not appear at CPAC over the weekend. In recent months, Pence has ramped up his media appearances and commented on a wide range of political hot-button topics, triggering speculation that he would run for president in 2024.

Several days ago, Pence gave yet another hint during a Fox News interview that he would be declaring his candidacy in the near future.

The American people love competition, Pence told Fox News. And its a free country. Everyone is entitled to vie for offices in this country of their choosing  I do believe that different times call for different leadership.

In previous statements, Pence said he would make a decision in the spring on whether to run. Other candidates that reportedly may run include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and more. Last week, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy announced his candidacy for president.

During CPAC, Trump easily won the groups presidential straw poll, beating out DeSantisthe No. 2by about 40 percentage points. Trump got 62 percent, DeSantis got 20, and businessman Perry Johnson got 5 percent.
Kenyas President Criticizes Court Ruling on LGBTQ Group

Kenyas President William Ruto looks on during an interview at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 19, 2023. (Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images)

NAIROBI, KenyaPresident William Ruto of Kenya criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows an activist to register an LGBTQ rights organization, reiterating that the countrys stance on same-sex marriage remained unchanged.

The national board that oversees non-governmental organizations had denied the activists registration request. Kenyas High Court and the Court of Appeal said the board acted improperly, and on Feb. 24, the Supreme Court agreed, dismissing the boards further appeal.

Ruto said on March 2 that the government respects the Supreme Courts 32 decision ruling but that our culture and religion does not allow same-sex marriages.

It is not possible for our country Kenya to allow same-sex marriages.  It will happen in other countries but not in Kenya, he added.

The Supreme Court majority noted in its decision that same-sex marriages are illegal in Kenya.

Kenyas penal code also criminalizes intimate relations between people of the same sex. Efforts by activists to get the court to scrap the colonial-era law have not succeeded.

A Mombasa-based group opposed to LGBTQ activism last week protested the Supreme Courts decision allowing a NGO focused on LGBTQ rights.

Kenya is largely a conservative and religious country. Ruto encouraged religious leaders on March 2 to ramp up education to promote what he referred to as traditional values.
Kyiv Vows to Send More Troops Into Bakhmut, Seeing Chance to Break Russian Force

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 5, 2023. (Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters)

KYIVUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly committed his troops to holding out in Bakhmut after days in which they had seemed likely to withdraw, apparently prolonging the wars bloodiest battle in a bid to break Moscows assault force.

Moscow has sent thousands of troops in waves over recent weeks to try to capture the eastern Ukrainian city. Ukrainian forces have dug trenches further west and in recent days had seemed to be preparing to pull out.

But Zelenskyys remarks in an overnight address suggested Kyiv had elected not only to stay and fight on but to reinforce the city.

The command unanimously supported the decision not to withdraw, Zelenskyy said. There were no other positions. I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut.

Russia says taking Bakhmut would be a step towards seizing the surrounding industrial Donbas region, a major war aim.

The liberation of Artemovsk continues, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the Soviet-era name for Bakhmut.

The city is an important hub for defending Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be conducted deep into Ukraines defensive lines.

Reuters journalists have not been inside Bakhmut for a week and could not independently verify the situation there.

The opportunity to damage the Wagner Groups elite elements, along with other elite units if they are committed, in a defensive urban warfare setting where the attrition gradient strongly favours Ukraine is an attractive one, wrote the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

Still, not every Western expert agrees with the wisdom of Ukraine fighting on in Bakhmut.

From artillery ammo shortages, increasingly contested lines of communication, and an attritional battle in unfavourable terrainthis fight doesnt play to Ukraines advantages as a force, wrote Michael Kofman, a U.S.based expert on Russias military who visited Bakhmut last week.

The United Nations said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was headed to Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy and discuss renewing an agreement safeguarding grain exports from Ukraine and Russia, both among the worlds biggest suppliers. The agreement, reached last year to prevent the war causing global famine, expires later this month.
Labor Refuses Greens Proposal to Ban Coal and Gas Projects in Climate Safeguard Mechanism

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)

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has brushed off the Greens proposal to ban coal and gas developments as the centre-left government seeks to pass the climate safeguard mechanism in the upper house.

Labors safeguard mechanism, which would deal the resource sector a heavy blow, would mandate Australias 215 businesses that emit the highest levels of greenhouse gas cut their emissions by 4.9 percent each year.

Facilities that breach the limit must purchase or trade their carbon credits with other firms, which Labor argued would bring the total emissions across the sector down by the same amount.

The left-wing Australian Greens have threatened to oppose the policy unless Labor takes a step further to prohibit new fossil fuel developments. The Greens repeated the warning in a Senate committee inquiry released on March 6 that said new coal and gas projects pose a danger to a stable climate and safe society.

Bowen said on March 7 that putting a blanket ban on coal and gas projects would be irresponsible as the government is undertaking this massive transition.

Thats their view, but its an offer, not an ultimatum. [Adam Bandt] is happy to have good-faith talks. Weve had those, and well continue to have them, he told ABCs RN Breakfast program.

In relation to the Greens, obviously, weve had ongoing discussions, and well have ongoing discussions, but our position is the same in private as it is in public  our position is we [have a] mandate to implement these reforms.

He said the parliament could either seize the opportunity to reduce emissions by 205 million tonnes or to squander it.

The choice for the parliament is: Do you want business as usualwhich is seeing emissions from these facilities go up, existing and newor do you want a constraint in place [that] will see emissions go down?

The sentiment was echoed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said on Tuesday that gas plays a key role in the energy transition, providing peaking power today as well as firming and backup power.

The work of transition will require massive investment in building new physical assets and modifying existing ones, he told the Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

In order for the mechanism legislation to pass the upper house, the government will need the support of the Greens plus two crossbenchers.

Greens Senator David Pocock said in the Greens Senate inquiry report that Labor should introduce an absolute cap on emissions and place harsher conditions on fossil fuel projects, such as being net zero since the beginning of their operation.

Liberals Warned Factories Would Move Elsewhere

Shadow Climate Change Minister Ted OBrien opposed the climate safeguard mechanism, saying it would force manufacturers to move their facilities to China and India, which have loose environmental regulations.

Such a move would be even more damaging to the environment, he said, as Australian manufacturers are three to four times more emissions efficient than those in China and India.

Steelmakers and smelters tell me theyre already considering relocating to China or India due to Labors energy prices, he argued in a commentary in the Australian Financial Review.

So if a manufacturer that generates one million tonnes of emissions annually relocates to India, an additional three million tonnes of emissions will be released into the atmosphere every year.

OBrien added that while Australian industry must keep reducing emissions, the policy should incentivise technology, engineering and enterprisenot taxes.

Other nations have looked to carbon taxes, but despite grand visions of a globally coordinated solution, one has never eventuated.
Lightfoot Goes Down, and a Moderate Liberal Faces a Leftist in Chicago

What do we know about police union-backed Paul Vallas and teachers union-backed Brandon Johnson?

Chicago police officers stand outside City Hall, watching as a caravan of protesters demand that Mayor Lori Lightfoot enact the ordinance for an all-elected Civilian Police Accountability Council, CPAC, on June 17, 2020. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)

News Analysis

The verdict was in: Lori Lightfoot was out.

The Feb. 28 election marked a decisive failure for Chicagos controversial incumbent and the first loss for a one-term mayor in the city in four decades.

She finished third in a crowded field, earning just over 17 percent of the vote.

Lightfoot edged out Jesus Chuy Garcia, a former favorite of the left, at 13.7 percent of votes.

She also defeated black Chicagos answer to former president Donald J. Trump, South Side businessman Willie Wilson.

The self-funded Wilson, who has endorsed Trump in the past, got almost 10 percent of the vote.

A glance at the electoral map shows how the Windy City foreshadows one potential future for the United States, should mass immigration continue alongside sustained attacks on a positive, shared American identity.

Votes balkanized along ethnic and racial lines, except in areas with many liberal or left-leaning whitesa group that exhibits a unique level of racial self-hatred, as detailed by political scientist Zach Goldberg with the help of national survey data.

A map from Northwestern Universitys Frank Calabrese shows that Lightfoot claimed much of Chicagos South Side and West Side. That marks a contrast from her performance in the 2019 general election, when her support was concentrated in whiter neighborhoods on the North Side. (Lightfoot went on to win most of the city in a runoff contest against Cook County Commissioner Toni Preckwinkle.)

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks during an election night rally at Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council in Chicago, Ill., on Feb. 28, 2023. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Wilson snatched up bits and pieces of heavily black neighborhoods on the South and West Sides.

Garcia, meanwhile, dominated Hispanic corridors on the Southwest, Northwest, and Far South Sides.

What about the two top vote-getters, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson?

Vallas, the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), did well on the Far Northwest Side and the Far Southwest Side, as well as in Bridgeport. Though theyre more black, Asian, and Hispanic now than in the past, they remain some of the final redoubts of ethnic, white, working-class Catholic Chicago in the southern half of the city.

Vallas also beat all comers downtown and in other parts of the North Side. He ultimately claimed 34 percent of the vote.

Brandon Johnsons performance, meanwhile, almost mirrors Lightfoots in the 2019 generalalmost, but not quite.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) organizer and Cook County commissioner won Logan Square, Lincoln Square, Uptown, and Edgewater. He also excelled in Mr. Obamas neighborhood, Hyde Park, and Kenwood on the South Side.

Although those neighborhoods arent ethnically uniform, their tone is influenced by young, left-wing, predominantly white Chicagoansa close cousin of Lightfoots heavily white, North Side coalition from 2019, albeit one further from the center of the political spectrum.

Johnson and Vallas will face each other in an April 4 runoff.

The two share some similarities. Theyre both Democrats. Theyve both worked in education. They both want to seem like a breath of fresh air after Lightfootherself a one-time reform candidate.

So, what really sets them apart from each other?

Political Life in a One-Party City

The answer has a lot to do with how Chicago, as a one-party city, actually works.

Writing in UnHerd, journalist Matthew Crawford described what Democratic rule in rapidly diversifying California means for individual American citizens who still imagine they matter:

There is little meaningful distinction to be made between the government and the Democratic Party. Competition for control of California takes place, not between two rival parties with different political visions and corresponding electorates in a general election, but between aspirants within the Democratic Party, under a shared political vision.

In practice, this means competition for money from [organized] interests that fund the activist networks, which in turn translate those interests into various moralisms and thereby shape the vision of the party. The electorate largely drops out of consideration as a constituency.

Thats pretty much the ground truth in the Second City. Organized ethnic lobbies, public sector unions, high finance, and a smattering of other powerful collectivities dictate who wins political office and how they govern.

In practice, anyone who wants to run Chicago must be a Democrat. Exceptions come from the left of the formal party, among groups that seek to steer the city toward socialism.

During the 2019 election, for example, multiple members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) were elected to City Council.

Vallas and Johnson should be viewed in the context of Chicagos one-party, left-skewed system.

Some have presented Vallas as a conservative, pointing to a 2009 interview in which he said he was more of a Republican than a Democrat now.

Yet, the veteran of school reform efforts is, by national standards, a man of the center-left.

Chicago mayoral candidate and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas arrives at Robert Healy Elementary School to cast his ballot in a Citys Mayoral Election on Feb. 28, 2023. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Vallas, who describes himself on Twitter as a lifelong Democrat, has the record of a moderate liberal. Thats evident in his platform too.

For instance, it includes a proposal to reestablish an environmental department for the city.

A healthy city, Vallas website states, is one where environmental justice and climate resiliency are incorporated into all aspects of municipal operations.

Vallas plan for homelessness would put in place a housing-first orientation. That could place him at odds with more conservative critics of housing-first policies, who argue that the approach undermines homeless shelters while also fueling crime.

Ideological Rationalizations

In a one-party city, politics still has something to do with ideology. Any City Council attendee who has heard aldermen speechify against President Donald Trump and conservatism can attest to that.

Yet, in some ways, ideology is merely a loose skein holding together very different and, at times, opposed interest groups.

Ideological formulas also fail when circumstances press upon political actors.

In Chicagos case, rising violence has apparently surpassed the populations high tolerance for lawlessness and criminality.

A few years after 2020, when talk of defunding the police and a racial reckoning was mainstream, law and order is back in style across much of the city.

For the most part, the mass demand for public safety drives ideological rationalizations, not vice-versa. Yet, the demands of earnestly held belief, and of factional allies, still hem in the universe of political possibilities.

The play between ideology, bloc politics, and mass public opinion explains Vallas vs. Johnson.

Vallas has the backing of a growing legion of top Illinois Democrats.

Longtime Secretary of State Jesse White, now retired, and former mayoral candidate Ald. Rod Sawyer, who is retiring, are two among the Democratic public figures to have endorsed Vallas in recent days.

Prior to the Feb. 28 election, Vallas secured the support of independent Ald. Anthony Napolitano, along with that of retiring Ald. Tom Tunney.

Johnson, meanwhile, has received the endorsement of Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.). The Chicago Sun-Times reports Preckwinkle is slated to endorse Johnson on March 7.

Chicago mayoral candidate and Cook County commissioner Brandon Johnson speaks during a press conference outside of City Hall to explain his proposed agenda if elected mayor on Jan. 24, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Vallas has made public safety a central theme of his candidacy, calling for more police officers and for the resignation of Lightfoots top cop, David Brown.

Brown has already resigned from his post, following the general election.

Vallas has also marshaled more traditionally liberal rhetoric in service of his tough-on-crime pitch; his website states that public safety is a human right.

In early Jan. 2023, Vallas was endorsed by Chicagos Fraternal Order of Policea cosign sought by just one other candidate, Willie Wilson, and one that may well have redounded to Vallas benefit, judging by the Feb. 28 results.

Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas speaks during a press conference at his campaign headquarters in Chicago, Ill. on Feb. 3, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

At the time, then-Mayor Lightfoot came after Vallas for the endorsement from the union, which represents more than 8,000 Chicago Police Department officers.

So much for being a lifelong Democrat,' she wrote on Twitter, citing remarks by that unions president, John Catanzara, on the events of Jan. 6, the COVID-19 response, and other topics.

Two Public Sector Unions Face Off

Now up against Vallas, the police unions pick, Johnson is the candidate of the very teachers union for which he has lobbied.

Indeed, the CTU endorsed Johnson in Sept. 2022, before he had formally entered the race.

The CTU and its affiliates at the state and national level went on to spend $2.5 million on Johnsons campaign, as documented by the Illinois Policy Institute.

Vallas, for his part, recently lent his mayoral campaign fund $100,100, meaning neither he nor Johnson will face caps on contributions.

His mayoral campaign has so far raised more than $6.5 million. That includes large donations from Citadel executive Peng Zhao, Koch Foods executive Joseph Grendys, and other wealthy members of Chicagos business community.

Johnsons campaign has raised a total of more than $5.4 million.

In practice, the CTUs opposition to Vallas has a great deal to do with his school reform philosophy, which encompasses support for charter schools. Like everything else in Chicago politics, it is framed in explicitly racial terms.

He boasts that as CEO he kept educators and schools accountable, but conveniently ignores the decades-long destabilization of Black and Latine schools and communities he set in motion, a CTU blog post on Vallas candidacy states.

Johnson has sometimes sought to position himself as a police advocate.

We have placed too much pressure and responsibility on law enforcement to behave as social workers, counselors, marriage therapiststhats not what law enforcement should be doing, he told WTTW on March 1.

Mayoral candidate and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson chats with a supporter inside Mannys Cafeteria and Delicatessen on Citys Mayoral Election day on Feb. 28, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois. (Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Yet, his campaign website is much longer on root causes of crime and poverty than it is on calls to support the Chicago Police Department. The explicit policiesfor example, a call to get rid of the citys gang databasetend to fall on the side of curbing the power of law enforcement.

Johnson explicitly called to defund the police in 2020, describing it as not simply a mantra for activists but as an actual real political goal.

Johnsons leftist bona fides dont end there. Jacobin, a socialist magazine, praised him for leading an unapologetic left-wing campaign that prioritized taxing the rich to fund social programs and reimagining public safety to increase investments in mental health and other city services.

Public Safety

The runoff may ultimately come down to whether fear of crime overrides other concerns, whether at the level of the alderman or that of the individual voter.

Johnson, an African American, is expected to do well in the parts of the city where Lightfoot, also African American, performed well in last months general election.

Although Vallas, who is of Greek descent, grew up in Roseland on the South Side, his skin color may still pose a problem in black neighborhoods.

On the other hand, the precedent set in 2019, when CTU-backed Preckwinkle lost badly to Lightfoot, suggests Johnson could still have an uphill battle, especially if Chicago voters worry more about public safety than about a few more charter schools.
Lindsey Graham to Introduce Bill Allowing Use of Military Force Against Mexican Cartels

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on July 30, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday he will introduce legislation laying the groundwork to use U.S. military force against Mexican drug cartels and foreign terrorist organizations.

Graham was responding to the recent kidnapping of four Americans in the border town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the flow of fentanyl from Mexico to the United States that has contributed to the increasing rise of American drug-overdose deaths.

This administration has done nothing about it, Graham told Fox News host Jesse Watters.

Graham said he would follow in the footsteps of former President Donald Trump in his handling of Mexico.

Id do what Trump did, Graham said. Id put Mexico on noticeif you continue to give a safe haven to fentanyl drug dealers, then you are an enemy of the United States.

The senator also referred to former Attorney General William Barr, whose op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday advocated for the Biden administration to use the U.S. military against Mexican cartels.

Almost all illicit drugs coming into the U.S. are controlled by the Mexican cartels, principally those based in the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco, Barr wrote. These paramilitary organizations use bribery and terror tactics to entrench themselves as essentially states within the state, controlling large areas of Mexico.

An anti-drug strategy that leaves the supply chain untouched will have minimal impact, Barr argued.

In an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime in March 2022, Barr praised Trumps handling of the border.

At least under President Trump, he established control over that border. He had to fight like hell for three years to do itagainst every district court judge in the country that wanted to try to impede himbut he finally got control of that border, Barr said.

Though Graham did not specify details on the legislation, he said he would follow Barrs advice and get tough on Mexico.

I would tell Mexican government, If you dont clean up your act, were going to clean it up for you,' he said.

Grahams office did not respond to a request for comment.
Plans to revitalize trails along an Erie Canal bed in the towns of Brutus and Mentz  part of a larger project that will involve rewatering the canal  are ready for some more public discussion, with a meeting planned Wednesday for consultants to provide an update and take feedback.

The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Weedsport High School cafeteria; refreshments will be provided and there will be a coloring station for children. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. The public presentation will be made by Bergmann Associates, the consulting firm that is handling the project.

The phase of the project currently under discussion involves improvements to a two-mile stretch of the Erie Canalway Trail between Aqueduct Park in Brutus and Schasel Park in the village of Port Byron, and currently does not involve introduction of water to the canal itself.

When people come and see what we have been trying to do they may have some ideas beyond our town boards vision, said Brutus Town Supervisor Jim Hotaling. Its a part of history and if we are going to do something to alter what is already there it is important for people to see how we are going to make it more of a historic preservation thing and have people be able to get use out of it.

The project was birthed through introduction of a state grant in 2017 of $418,300, along with a local match of $138,000 from Cayuga County and the Town of Brutus. The grant was provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.

The projects focus is on using the canal prism in the project area for eventual rewatering, which would allow light recreational boating such as canoes and kayaks, as well as terrestrial trail improvements.

But elements of the project became star-crossed, first through Mentz and Port Byrons initial decisions to place their involvement on hold, and later with some complications due to the COVID pandemic.

Brutus officials were able to bring the Cayuga County government on board, however, which made up for those issues. Ability to continue initially with the rewatering portions design was out of the budget that would have been permitted, given the current amount of funding, said Greg Hutnik, Cayuga County Senior Planner and GIS Analyst.

We modified the grant slightly and tabled some of the improvements, Hutnik said. So we are now looking at the land portion, and engineering and improvements for the bridge over Centerport Road. In 2023 our goal by the end of the grant is to have 100 percent of the trail designs permitted, ready to go for construction funding.

Bergmann Associates completed a study that showed rewatering would rely on project elements that would prevent any flooding issues for the area beyond what is already experienced naturally. That study was presented to the public in 2021.

Town and county officials said the project has a three-tiered benefit, by building on elements of the regions rich canal history while also creating commercial possibilities through tourism, and as a recreational bonus for residents.

In the historic context, people know about the Erie Canal and there are so many sites that draw on the canal, said Brutus Town Board member Amy Chirco, who is also secretary of the Old Brutus Historical Society. I want to make sure people can continue to learn about the bounty of the history, and that we keep moving forward to keep the project moving ahead and see the light at the end of the tunnel.
McCarthy Targeted With Ethics Complaint After Handing Over Jan. 6 Footage to Tucker Carlson

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gives remarks at a news conference in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 2, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) received an ethics complaint from a watchdog group which accused the speaker of acting in a politically motivated way when he released Jan. 6 footage to Tucker Carlson.

Members of the group Public Citizen, a left-wing nonprofit consumer advocacy group, sent a letter (pdf) on Tuesday to the Office of Congressional Ethics and requested an investigation into the recent exclusive release to a single news outlet of confidential records obtained by the House Select Committee. The group described the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol as an attack and later, an insurrection.

Those members include Obama-era ambassador and first Trump impeachment lawyer Norman Eisen; Richard Painter, a former Bush White House ethics adviser; lobbyist Craig Holman; and fellow lobbyist Lisa Gilbert. They expressed concerns that Carlson would use the footage to advance what they described as an inaccurate story of events about Jan. 6.

Without full public access to the complete historical record, there is concern that an ideologically-based narrative of an already polarizing event will take hold in the public consciousness, with destabilizing risks to the legitimacy of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the various federal investigations and prosecutions of Jan. 6 crimes, their letter stated.

And they said that McCarthys decision is merely partisan gamesmanship and is the very type of polarizing gamesmanship that has caused such damage to the publics perception of the integrity of Congress.

Police fire munitions into a crowd on the west side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

It was wrong for Speaker McCarthy to provide this footage to one organization that happens to be politically aligned with him and not release the videos to the media generally at the same time, the letter added. This is not like granting an exclusive interview; this is providing a valuable government resource exclusively to one news outlet and discriminating against others, which flies in the face of First Amendment values.

McCarthys move to give Carlson the footage came after GOP lawmakers pushed the party leader to release video footage. In response, McCarthy said that he promised to release the footage and said the public has the right to know what happened on Jan. 6, while adding that the Democrat-dominated House subcommittee to investigate the breach was biased.

Both McCarthy and another top Republican, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), have indicated that the footage will be released to the broader public and other news outlets in the coming weeks, although its not clear exactly when. Several corporate news outlets have sent letters to members of Congress, demanding the release of the footage.

The speaker also said that certain news outlets and journalists are jealous of Carlson. Thats interesting because every person in the press works off exclusives on certain things, McCarthy told the Washington Post in a recent interview.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have criticized McCarthy for releasing the footage to Carlson, saying that it will imperil U.S. Capitol security or even national security.

On Monday, Carlson released some new footage of the Jan. 6 breach, revealing that Capitol Police officers appeared to accompany QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, who is currently serving federal prison time, in the midst of the chaos. At one point, according to the footage, the officers appear to open doors for Chansley and make no attempt to detain him or prevent him from entering rooms inside the Capitol.

Other footage released Monday includes a clip of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who was seen walking around and directing protesters to leave the premises. Carlson said the video is more evidence that Sicknick was not killed by Jan. 6 protesters, dismissing claims that he was murdered.

The Fox News host, meanwhile, indicated that he will release more footage this week.

The Epoch Times has contacted McCarthys office for comment.
Mines Are Devastating Ukraine

A billboard indicates the presence of landmines at the position of a Ukrainian volunteer unit in a suburb of Kyiv on Feb. 28, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

People in conflict zones have been using mines since the U.S. Civil Warbut, whats going on in Ukraine today is unique in history.

For one, its happening at a larger scale than weve seen since World War II. Ukraine has the second-largest area of all European countries, and already large parts of it have been contaminated with mines and other explosives.

According to Valon Kumnova, chief of mine action programs at the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the intensity of combat means theres more unexploded ordnance than weve seen in other recent conflicts. In addition, the Russian forces are planting mines in urban and agricultural areas, and even in sea lanes. Never before have all three of these key forms of terrain been so extensively mined at once.

This is why its more important than ever that the Western world add to Ukraines defense and provide financial support for a major investment in mine-clearing operations. The harm done by Russias mining operations in Ukraine not only takes a physical and emotional toll on the nations citizens, but also stretches well beyond its borders. The mining of farms and the sea lanes that Ukraine depends on for food production and transport undermines the nations economic viability and contributes to increased food insecurity worldwide.

Kumnova has over 20 years of experience clearing mines and understands the enduring impact of these landmines in Ukraine. They will remain a lethal hazard for years, decades even, after the war ends. For instance, he helped in the demining effort in Georgia after Russias 2008 invasion.

Although the invasion of Georgia only lasted five days, 192,000 people were displaced and landmines were scattered throughout the territory. According to Kumnova, It took two years to clear the mines and unexploded ordnance.

Russias invasion of Ukraine is Europes worst war since World War II, has lasted a year, is high intensity, and takes place over a much greater expanse of land. Therefore, one can only imagine how long the demining effort will take.

The longer the conflict continues, the greater the civilian suffering in the years and decades to come, but this doesnt mean that mine-clearing cant start immediately.

Speaking from experience, Kumnova emphasizes the importance of a coordinated approach involving best practices, starting with legal standards that help the government create a strong framework for its mine-clearing effort. This includes a holistic plan for what to clear first and in what order and coordination among the various mine-clearing organizations coming from governments, humanitarian groups, and volunteers. They must also establish a system to ensure all safety standards are being met and information is being managed consistently and with the right tools.

Those on the ground know this, but for those trying to organize aid from thousands of miles away, its especially important to think through the logistics. When the stakes are this high, eliminating redundancies and proactively communicating is critically important to ensuring that funding and resources arrive on time and where most needed.



Kumnova has a personal reason for caring that the work is done right.

I was born in Kosovo, he explains, and Ive seen firsthand the suffering that landmines present. As a refugee myself, I understand that the last thing one wants in that situation is to know youre coming back to your home, but your home no longer has a roof, the farmland is mined so you cant grow food, and theres no way to earn a living. Its devastating. I want to do even a small part to help.

But one need not have been a refugee or Ukrainian citizen to recognize the importance of this work and want to make a difference. Its up to the world to help mitigate the devastation in Ukraine, and its essential that we get it right from the start.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Nevada Democrats Unseat Socialist State Party Chair in Campaign to Repair Party Rift

Campaign signs are shown near voters waiting in line at Desert Breeze Community Center on Election Day in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 8, 2022. (Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images)

The Nevada Democratic Party has elected Nevada State Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno to lead the party, ousting the incumbent chair Judith Whitmer, a self-styled democratic socialist.

Democratic Party members elected Monroe-Moreno by a vote of 31499 over Whitmer on Saturday.

Monroe-Moreno ran as the moderate candidate, leading a slate of self-styled unity candidates to lead the state party. Monroe-Moreno said her victory by a margin of more than three to one came after her predecessor had created division within the party after taking control two years prior.

Whitmers leadership had unsettled the existing state party apparatus. After Whitmer and her democratic socialist wing swept the party leadership elections in 2021, the entire staff of the Nevada Democratic Party resigned.

Powerful Nevada Democratic operatives also pulled much of their funds away from the official party structure and formed a new fundraising structure to support incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak and incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto in the 2022 elections.

While the Nevada Democratic Party continues to hold majorities in both state houses and its congressional delegation, Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo unseated the incumbent Sisolak in the 2022 election. Cortez-Masto narrowly won her own reelection with 48.8 percent of the vote while Republican candidate Adam Laxalt took 48 percent of the vote.

Nevadas other Democratic senator, Jacky Rosen, is up for reelection in 2024, and pundits have described her as one of the more vulnerable Democratic seats in an election cycle where party resources will be stretched more thinly defending 23 Senate seats compared to the 10 Republican senators up for reelection.

2024 is far too important, and the division within our party had to come to an end, Monroe-Moreno told the Nevada Independent following her victory on Saturday.

It wasnt going to do anyone any good, Monroe-Moreno added. The 2022 election cycle was difficult. We won a lot of seats, but we did it with division and we cant continue to do that. So I ran so we can bring the family, the Democratic family, back together.

Contentious Election

The leadup to the party election also saw another contentious moment over claims Whitmer purged 230 members from the partys central committee, or about 40 percent of the committee; 40 central committee members subsequently sent a letter to Whitmer, accusing her actions of being deeply alarming and [raised] serious doubts about the integrity of the upcoming election.

Whitmer also faced accusations she had unethically steered party funds toward a political ally, Chris Roberts, by granting a $34,000 contract to his Silver and Blue LLC for IT and communications services.

State party officials also accused Whitmer of undermining Democratic candidates in the 2022 elections, such as Cortez-Masto.

Whitmer denied the allegations against her, telling NBC her accusers were launching a smear campaign against me, personally.

Addressing claims she had undermined Democratic Party candidates, Whitmer said: Its so strange to hear that. I have not worked against them.

Whitmer launched a counteraccusation that those challenging her were motivated by consultants and special interests who wanted to profit off politics.

The party infighting went beyond mere differences in political opinions. Members of Whitmers own democratic socialist wing, who had initially supported her, broke ranks with her before the party election. The Las Vegas chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), had supported Whitmer in 2021 but said they saw no significant organization toward the political views they held in common and not enough was being done to stand up to the more moderate wing of the party, dominated by allies of the late Democratic Nevada Sen. Harry Reid.

We saw the ostensibly-progressive coalition move more and more to the center, making administrative and political choices that were more in line with the corporatists that we pledged to beat than the grassroots organizers who pushed the initial victory, the Las Vegas DSA chapter said. As the Ghost of the Reid Machine played dirty trick after dirty trick, the ostensibly progressive leadership oscillated between playing respectability politics and making compromises to the center.

From NTD News
On Sunday, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee released new emails (pdf) that prove that Anthony Fauci was instrumental in prompting the drafting of the fraudulent Proximal Origin paper. That paper was first published by a group of Fauci-funded scientists on Feb. 16, 2020. The paper immediately became the medias go-to evidence to propagate the fake natural origin theory. In fact, it became one of the most cited papers in history.

And it was all a fraud.

While bits and pieces of the fraud were already known, the stunning new emails released by House Oversight now place Fauci and his British side-kick, pharmaceutical trust CEO Jeremy Farrar at the center of the fraud. Its an incredible story of lies and deceit.
New Legislation to End Jobs for Mates Culture in Australias Politics

Government employees are seen entering the Alfred Street Public Housing Complex in Melbourne, Australia, on July 17, 2020. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

An independent Australian MP has tabled a bill to eradicate the jobs for mates culture in Australias political system, where public positions are appointed based on relationships rather than merits.

On March 6, Independent MP Sophie Scamps, who represents the Mackellar electorate in Sydney, introduced the Transparent and Quality Public Appointments Bill 2023 in the House of Representatives to ensure the transparency and quality of public appointments.

She also called out on the prevailing corruption culture in the political system, describing it as a national shame.

This bill would ensure that a candidate with the requisite expertise and knowledge gets the job, not the bloke the minister went to school with, she told parliament.

The people of Australia want and deserve a political system they can trust.

This bill aims to do just that by ending for good the cronyism and jobs for mates culture that has undermined our democracy for too long.

Independent MP Sophie Scamps poses at a pre-polling centre in Sydney, Australia, on May 18, 2022. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Also supported the legislation was Victorian independent MP Helen Haines, who said the current appointment process of public servants resembled a political loyalty award scheme.

Its time to stop this cronyism, this patronage for pals, she said.

This bill brings a clear fix that would align us with international best practices.

No more captains picks. Lets restore fairness, due process, and trust with quality non-political public appointments.

Details of the New Bill

At the core of the legislation is the establishment of independent selection panels (ISP) whose job is to carry out a competitive selection process to determine the suitable candidates for government positions in each federal governments department.

With the introduction of the ISP, the legislation changes the way public servants are selected to ensure the process is free from bias.

Under the new selection model, when a government department wants to appoint new staff, the responsible minister must first determine the criteria for recruitment.

The responsible ISP then conducts a selection process based on the criteria and presents to the minister a shortlist of suitable candidates.

After that, the minister will use the shortlist to decide on which candidate to appoint for the new positions.

Moreover, a new parliamentary committee will be set up to oversee the ISPs appointment process and provide reports to both houses of the parliament.

The legislation also introduces the new role of public appointment commissioners, who are responsible for providing guidelines for the selection process and other tasks concerning the appointment of public servants.

As Scamps unveiled the new bill, she called on the government to support the legislation to improve integrity and regain public trust in the appointment process.

The State of the Jobs for Mates Culture in Australias Politics

A 2022 report (pdf) by the Grattan Institute indicated that public appointments with direct political connections were common practice within federal and state governments.

Political connections in the reports context refer to the fact that a person is or has previously worked in politics as a politician, candidate, political advisor, or employee of a political party.

Many government boards, tribunals, and independent agencies are populated by former politicians, political advisors, and party officials, it stated.

Overall, around seven percent of 3,600 roles in the federal government were found to have direct political connections.

The figure was much higher among well-paid, powerful, and prestigious positions, with 21 percent of appointees having political connections.

In government business enterprises (GBE), including Australia Post, Australian Rail Track Corp, and Defence Housing Australia, one in ten appointees to GBE boards were not politically independent.

A general view of an Australia Post outlet in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 28, 2020. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Among the most prestigious federal boards, such as the Old Parliament House and the War Memorial, 20 percent of appointees had direct political, with most of them linked to the Coalition.

Even the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which conducts independent merits reviews of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws, was not free of political influences, as 22 percent of the members had a direct political affiliation.

The report also noted a drop in ethical standards used to measure the behaviour of public servants, leading to those committing misconduct being able to avoid resignation or firing.

Geoffrey Watson SC, from the Centre for Public Integrity, said politically-linked appointments indicated that the integrity and independence of public organisations were undermined, and the best person for the job missed out.

If you see a mate being appointed to such a position, then immediately you start asking yourself the question: Who are the politicians governing forfor us or for their own benefit?' Watson said in comments obtained by AAP.

The new legislation comes following the Labor governments announcement to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and replace it with a new body in December 2022.

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision was due to the irreversible damage to the tribunals reputation caused by the Coalitions political appointments in the past nine years.

Meanwhile, the Coalition alleged that the move was a purge and a means for Labor to settle political scores.
New Zealands Own Indigenous Voice to Parliament Has Failed Maoris: Advocate

A Maori poses for a photograph ahead of the ANZAC Day parade in Sydney, Australia, on April 25, 2021. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

In a warning to Australians set to vote on altering their Constitution, New Zealander Casey Costello says her countrys own Indigenous Voice to Parliament has not had the desired effect and has become a burden on its democracy.

Costello, part-Maori and Anglo-Irish, is the founding trustee of the Hobsons Pledge, said the Waitangi Tribunal, established in 1975 to give Maoris a greater voice in Parliament, has been unsuccessful.

[Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should be able] to say Look, there are no Maori unemployed anymore or Maori have the best education outcomes of the country or something that you could point to to say this has been a successful model, and there isnt any, she told The Epoch Times.

He just listened to rhetoric and gone oh, yeah, lets do what theyre doing and saying that if Australia does it, then youll get better outcomes.

Well, we havent got it.

In 2020, Albanese posted on Twitter that Australians could learn a lot from our mates across the ditch about reconciliation with First Nations people.

New Zealand has led the way. Its time for Australia to follow, he wrote.

The Albanese government has been pushing for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which would entrench into the Constitution a dedicated advisory body to the government for Indigenous Australians. The prime minister has flagged a referendum for the Voice be held in late-2023.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walks with Yolngu community during Garma Festival 2022 at Gulkula, Australia, on July 29, 2022. (Tamati Smith/Getty Images)

Costello also said the identity politics the Tribunal has brought into society was stripping citizens of their national identity, with the country shifting from a multicultural society to a bi-cultural one.

We are Maori and the rest  and thats really damaging, Costello said, adding that even the New Zealand Census no longer recognises New Zealander as an identity or ethnicity.

Looking Backwards a Hindrance

In February, former Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe quit the left-wing party after disagreeing with her colleagues on the best approach to Indigenous representation in Parliament.

This is the movement I was raised inmy Elders marched for Treaty. This is who I am, Thorpe said on Feb. 6. I have spent my entire life fighting for justice, to defend our Sovereignty, to save Blak lives. That is my goal.

Senator for Victoria Lidia Thorpe during the Invasion Day rally in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 26, 2023. (AAP Image/Diego Fedele)

But Costello believes Thorpes goal of signing a treaty is on the wrong track because, in New Zealands case, the mentality focused on reparation and retribution placed a stranglehold on the country from moving forward.

In New Zealand, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between Maori chiefs and the British Crown in 1840.

Costello said after the treaty had been signed, it allowed for the formation of the nation, laws, and parliament.

She added that the document had become irrelevant until New Zealand began looking back at it in the last 50 years.

To capture a treaty once youve formed nation, it seems ludicrous to me, she said.

Its actually become a hindrance to New Zealand because were continually looking backwards as opposed to looking forwards.

The Epoch Times reached out to Senator Lidia Thorpes office but did not receive a response.

Meanwhile, Thorpe has yet to announce her own final position on the Voice, despite her resignation centring on the issue.

I want to continue my negotiations with the government, she said.

First Nations Sovereignty is crucial, but so is saving lives today. They could do that by implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the recommendations from the Bringing Them Home report.

Thorpe has previously been critical of the Labor plan to support the Voice to Parliament, saying it did not help Indigenous communities.

Labor needs to stop tinkering around the edges with new so-called solutions. Im seeing a lot of time and energy being put towards laying out a pathway to the Voice while neglecting work that is decades overdue, Thorpe said in 2022.

Scope Will Inevitably Expand

A report by the Institute of Public Affairs highlighted that the history of the Waitangi Tribunal proves that the proposed Voice to Parliament will expand into a limitless scope of issues.

The author, research fellow John Storey, noted that the Tribunal has heavy involvement in COVID-19 health policies, negotiation of international treaties, as well as laws, policy, and culture.

That the Voice may involve itself in any or all legislation, government programs, or international agreements is fully borne out by the experience of the Waitangi Tribunal, Storey said (pdf).

There is no piece of legislation beyond its purview, no policies it cannot influence, no aspect of New Zealand culture free from its gaze.

Costello echoed these concerns, adding that it simply creates an extra layer of bureaucracy.

Youre just going to end up with everything in the court. For them to say that its not legislated  the tribunal was exactly the same, and weve been in court pretty much nonstop for the last 50 years, she said.

Indigenous Leaders Lacking Inspirational Messages

Costello criticised the highly successful Aboriginal and Maori advocates who fail to give their communities inspirational messages on how they can become successful in life.

They tell Maori that the worlds against you. What a horrible thing to tell young peoplethat youre trapped in the cycle of racism because you can never achieve on your merit, she said.

She pointed to the number of elected Aboriginals in Australias Senate was proof that it was already possible to achieve on merit without the special separatist agenda.

Like Australia, New Zealand has more parliamentary representatives of Maori descent in proportion to the population.

So to say  you cant achieve unless we do this special representation. Well, thats an insult too because they are achieving, Costello said.

She added that many bleeding heart liberals who support the Voice do it out of a way of replicating guilt but dont consider whether it will deliver better outcomes.

So youre saying Australia that you havent listened to all Aboriginals for the last 50 years? she said. Well, that doesnt pan out because thats not true. Thats not true by funding. Thats not true by representation.

Victoria Kelly-Clark contributed to this report.
No Country on Earth Can Resist Beijings Military on Its Own: Former Prime Minister Warns

South China Sea military build-up was a test of US resolve, Morrison says

Chinese soldiers taking part in military training at Pamir Mountains in Kashgar, northwestern China's Xinjiang region on Jan. 4, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Interlocking alliances between nations is the best way to counteract Beijings military build-up in the Indo-Pacific region, says former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison, now able to speak more freely after stepping down from office, delivered a gloomy outlook on potential conflict in the region.

He warned that no country on their own could resist the military strength of Beijings Peoples Liberation Army.

Theres no country, I would argue, almost on Earth that could, other than the United States. I mean, thats just the reality.

Were a country of just over 25 million people, their defence budget is multiple, multiple, multiple times that of Australias, the parliamentarian told Sky News Australia on March 6.

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Sydney, Australia, on May 21, 2022. (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Being prepared isnt just having your own capability; its having the interlocking alignments and alliances that actually provide the counterbalance to the threat, he added. The best outcome is there is no such conflict.

He further added that strategic ambiguity around which countries would come to Taiwans defenceif an invasion occurredcould serve as a deterrence and complicate the situation for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership.

The former prime minister played an integral role in setting up the AUKUS deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

AUKUS formalised several existing partnerships between the nations and aims to streamline collaboration in fields like quantum computing, undersea capabilities, hypersonic weapons, and cyber technology.

However, the centrepiece of the trilateral arrangement is the sharing of U.S. nuclear propulsion technology with Australia, something that had happened only once before, in 1958, when the United States shared the tech with the UK.

The successful arming of Australia will effectively tip the power balance of the Indo-Pacific.

Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Rankin is seen during AUSINDEX 21, a biennial maritime exercise between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy in Darwin, Australia, on Sept. 5, 2021. (POIS Yuri Ramsey/Australian Defence Force via Getty Images)

Beijing Aims to Be Controlling Power Over Indo-Pacific

Morrison also said the CCP was seeking to establish a hegemony and to be the controlling power across the Indo-Pacific.

Whether thats in the South China Sea or even further south, its to be the dominating and controlling influence over the economic, strategic environment in that part of the world, he said.

He argued that it was silence from the then-Obama administration that opened the door to the beginnings of the hegemony.

An airstrip made by China is seen beside structures and buildings at the man-made island on Mischief Reef in the Spratlys group of islands, in the South China Sea, on March 20, 2022. (Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

If you go back to when China was turning island atolls into airports  there was no one saying no,' Morrison said.

And they were testing the limits of the West, and when you keep getting the answer of: [Theyre] not doing anything, theyre not saying no, theyre not resisting. Well, why would he [Xi Jinping] stop?

AUKUS Priming Australia for Conflict

The former prime minister said it was ridiculous to think that a conflict over Taiwan would have no direct negative consequences for Australias national interest.

He also said that while his government did prepare contingencies around conflict, it was difficult to predict how an actual war would play out.

The Russians thought they could take Kiev in two days, Morrison said, while also referencing former Major General Jim Molan, who stated that no strategy survives contact with the enemy.

He said, once things are going down, everything changes. So, you take [assessments] with a grain of salt.

Morrison did, however, call on the current Labor government to raise defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP instead of the near-2 percent level it is currently at.

He also revealed that AUKUS was originally designed around the acquisition of a British nuclear-powered submarine fitted with U.S. weapons systems.

His former cabinet minister, now-opposition leader Peter Dutton, has been vocal in his support for the U.S. Virginia-class submarine, arguing it was a tried-and-true model.
Norfolk Southern Announces Safety Plan Amid Train Derailment Aftermath

Plagued by repeated freight train derailments, including a toxic crash in eastern Ohio in early February and another accident in southwest Ohio outside of Springfield on March 4, Norfolk Southern Railway introduced a six-point plan on March 6 to immediately enhance the safety of its operations.

The plan is based on the National Transportation Safety Boards preliminary findings of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine.

Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies, Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a March 6 statement. We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action.

Norfolk Southern said that it will immediately begin to enhance the hot bearing detector network, pilot next-generation hot bearing detectors, work with industry on practices for hot bearing detectors, deploy more acoustic bearing detectors, accelerate the companys Digital Train Inspection program, and support a strong safety culture.

These enhanced safety measures follow the Feb. 23 release of the NTSBs preliminary report, which traced the derailment and the initial fire to an overheated axle on car number 23, which was carrying plastic pellets, the statement continued. Subsequent NTSB testing indicated that the aluminum covers over the pressure relief valves on three of the five tank cars carrying vinyl chloride melted.

On Feb. 3, a 151-car freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, a village of 4,761 residents in eastern Ohio around a mile from the Pennsylvania border.

A train fire is seen from a farm in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023. (Melissa Smith via AP)

When the train crashed, 38 rail cars derailed. A fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars.

Of the 20 cars carrying hazardous materials, 11 derailed, the NTSB reported.

Hoping to avoid an explosion, officials intentionally released and burned vinyl chloride from the train on Feb. 6, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles and was likened to the mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear weapon.

Hot Bearing Detectors

NTSB findings have shown that the East Palestine derailment was likely caused by an overheated wheel bearing.

Hot bearing detectors are installed along railroad tracks to assess temperature conditions of wheel bearings along with the overall health of rail equipment and infrastructure.

Detectors had discovered the increasingly rising temperature of one of the Norfolk Southern trains wheel bearings, the NTSB preliminary report indicated. By the time the wheel bearing reached the temperature level for the train to stop and undergo inspection, the derailment had evidently already happened, investigators learned.

The Federal Railroad Administration last week released a safety advisory encouraging railroads to improve the use of hot bearing detectors.

In its March 6 statement, Norfolk Southern reported that it plans to install around 200 hot bearing detectors to its network with the first installed on the western approach to East Palestine.

The railroad has approximately 1,000 detectors along its routes, the company said, and it will evaluate the distance between hot bearing detectors, which currently averages 13.9 miles on its core network.

In addition, Norfolk Southern will examine every location on its core network where the distance is more than 15 miles and develop a plan to deploy additional detectors where practical due to terrain and operating conditions, the statement noted.

Norfolk Southern will work with rail industry peers to analyze data for patterns that could provide earlier warnings of potential safety issues and to review best practices, including response to high-temperature alarms, the company added.

Norfolk Southern will also immediately accelerate the deployment of acoustic bearing detectors, which play a different role in its safety inspection program, the railroad said.

These detectors analyze the acoustic signature of vibration inside the axle and can identify potential problems that a visual inspection could not, the statement continued.

Five detectors are already in service, and 13 new detectors will be added and stationed on high-traffic routes, which will strengthen the early-warning system that identifies potential risks before they become issues, Norfolk Southern explained.

In partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, the railroad will create more advanced safety inspection technology by incorporating machine vision and algorithms powered by artificial intelligence to identify defects and needed repairs much more effectively than traditional human inspection.

This new technology will feature ultra-high-resolution cameras stationed in strategic locations around its network and will provide Norfolk Southern with a 360-degree health check on railcars, improving its ability to detect, diagnose, and repair defects before they become issues.

The next phase of the technology will be installed on the railroads Premier Corridor, which connects Midwest and Northeast routes and passes through East Palestine.

Norfolk Southern will also join the FRAs Confidential Close Call Reporting System, or C3RS, as part of its safety plan.

Another Train Derails

The companys accident record grew longer on March 4 after another of its trains derailed outside of Springfield, Ohio.

Norfolk Southern confirmed in a statement that 20 cars of a 212-car train veered off the tracks near the Clark County Fairgrounds.

Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled on one another after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, on March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP)

No hazardous materials were aboard the train, and no injuries were reported, Norfolk Southern said.

Springfield is between Columbus and Dayton, about 200 miles southwest of East Palestine.

Mikal Watts is a Texas-based attorney who has partnered with environment activist Erin Brockovich and water expert Robert W. Bowcock to launch East Palestine Justice, an nonprofit group of lawyers, environmental activists, and scientific and medical professionals providing assistance to residents affected by the derailment.

Watts discussed Norfolk Southerns history of train derailments at a recent town hall meeting in East Palestine. Among the incidents was a 2012 crash in Paulsboro, New Jersey, where a train spilled 300,000 pounds of vinyl chloride. In East Palestine, 1.1 million pounds of the carcinogen were released into the environment.

Norfolk Southern has reported 3,397 events that could be classified as a derailment over the past 20 years, Watts said.

In 2022, Norfolk Southern had 770 train car derailments involving hazardous materials compared to 79 incidents in 2012, he added.

According to a 10-year safety summary from the Federal Railroad Administration, Norfolk Southern had an annual average of 163.6 derailments and 2.9 hazardous material releases.

The Atlanta-based company has a recent history of derailments in Ohio before those in East Palestine and Springfield.

Last October, in Sandusky, a town along Lake Erie in northwest Ohio, 21 cars from a Norfolk Southern jumped the tracks and spilled 10,000 gallons of paraffin wax.

Five years to the day before the East Palestine disasteron Feb. 3, 2018a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Loudonville. That incident sent 16 cars off the tracks. One car spilled more than 30,000 gallons of liquified petroleum gas, and another car released 200 pounds of solid environmentally hazardous substances.

Actions Mounting

Norfolk Southern released its safety plan as the company faces a pile of lawsuits related to the East Palestine derailment and proposed rail safety legislation at the state and federal levels.

On March 1, Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced The Railway Safety Act of 2023, a bill aimed to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine.

The bill takes steps to improve rail safety protocols, such as enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, and increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers.

Shaw will appear at a hearing conducted by the U.S. Senates Environment and Public Works Committee on March 9.

The Ohio House of Representatives last week passed its state transportation budget (HB 23), which included several amendments focused on rail safety like requiring two-person crews, ensuring wayside detector effectiveness, and mandating a report of hazardous chemicals transported through the state.

The Ohio Senate is holding hearings on the bill.

Clyde Whitaker is the state director of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers. He would like to see HB 23 passed and signed into law.

These railroads, they just dont care. Theyre not held accountable. They think theyre above the law, Whitaker said. We need shorter trains. We need better legislation on defect detectors. And right now our Senate in a state has the ability to do whats right.
Norfolk Southern Employee Killed When Train Collides With Dump Truck in Cleveland

A Norfolk Southern Railway employee was killed on March 7 when a freight train collided with a dump truck in Cleveland, Ohio.

Louis Shuster, a Norfolk Southern conductor, was fatally injured early Tuesday morning at the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works property in Cleveland, Ohio. At this time, officials are reporting that the conductor was struck by a dump truck as a Norfolk Southern train was moving through a crossing at the facility, a statement released by the railroad said. Norfolk Southern has been in touch with the conductors family and will do all it can to support them and his colleagues. We are grieving the loss of a colleague today. Our hearts go out to his loved ones during this extremely difficult time, the statement continued. The company is working with the Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland-Cliffs representatives to confirm the details and learn everything possible about the incident. Further, the company has been in contact with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, SMART-TD union leadership, and Cleveland-Cliffs leadership, the company added. A spokesperson for the Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works location told a northeast Ohio TV news outlet that the accident happened when the Norfolk Southern train was traveling through the companys property around 1:19 a.m.

Cleveland-Cliffs produces flat-rolled steel and supplies iron ore pellets.

The March 7 crash occurred at a time when Norfolk Southern is facing scrutiny over its safety record.

A 10-year safety summary from the Federal Railroad Administration shows that Norfolk Southern had an annual average of 163.6 derailments and 2.9 hazardous material releases.

On March 6, the Atlanta-based company announced a six-point plan to immediately enhance the safety of its operations.

The plan is based on the National Transportation Safety Boards preliminary findings of a fiery and toxic derailment that happened in early February in East Palestine, a village of 4,761 residents in eastern Ohio around a mile from the Pennsylvania border.

Reading the NTSB report makes it clear that meaningful safety improvements require a comprehensive industry effort that brings together railcar and tank car manufacturers, railcar owners and lessors, and the railroad companies, Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said in a March 6 statement. We are eager to help drive that effort and we are not waiting to take action.

On Feb. 3, a 151-car freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine.

When the train veered off the tracks, 38 cars derailed. A fire ensued, damaging an additional 12 cars.

Of the 20 cars carrying hazardous materials, 11 derailed.

Seeking to avoid an explosion, officials intentionally released and burned vinyl chloride from the train on Feb. 6, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles.

Six U.S. senators recently introduced The Railway Safety Act of 2023, intended to prevent future train disasters like the derailment that devastated East Palestine.

Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced the bill on March 1.

The measure is focused on enhancing safety procedures for trains carrying hazardous materials, establishing requirements for wayside defect detectors, creating a permanent requirement for railroads to operate with at least two-person crews, and increasing fines for wrongdoing committed by rail carriers.

Shaw will appear at a hearing conducted by the U.S. Senates Environment and Public Works Committee on March 9.

Last weekend, another of the railroads trains derailed outside of Springfield, Ohio.

The company confirmed in a statement that 20 cars of a 212-car train veered off the tracks near the Clark County Fairgrounds on March 4.

No hazardous materials were aboard the train, and no injuries were reported, Norfolk Southern said.
Norfolk Southerns Second Ohio Trail Derailment Under Investigation

Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled on one another after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, on March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP)

After another Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) train derailed in Springfield, Ohio, over the weekend, authorities have launched an investigation.

This is the third train derailment on a line owned by NSC after the toxic Feb. 3 incident in East Palestine, Ohioone of the worst environmental disasters in recent memory.

The first incident involved the deliberate release and burn of the carcinogen vinyl chloride from tanker cars by the authorities to manage the risk of a wider explosion, which prompted evacuations and environmental contamination that may last generations. Many residents living near the spill reported concerning symptoms likely from chemical exposure.

The second incident on Feb. 16 involved the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in the Van Buren township outside of Detroit.

A separate incident in Florida in February led to the derailment of a train carrying 30,000 gallons of propane gas, after six cars flipped over along the Gulf Coast of the Sunshine State.

Officials said they are investigating what caused the train to derail near Springfield, Ohio, but claim that no toxic chemicals or hazardous materials were aboard this time.

A Norfolk Southern official told The Wall Street Journal that the two derailments in Ohio were unrelated.

It was just bad luck, he said.

Company Officials And Ohio Investigators Say No Hazard For Residents

A least 20 of the trains 212 cars went off the tracks near Springfield on the afternoon of March 4, officials said, with no injuries being reported. I was just sitting there when the train was going by, playing on my phone, just goofing off, and I heard a loud bang, and when I looked up, there were all kinds of debris and metal shooting up from the train cars, Shaun Heathon, an eyewitness, told CBS Pittsburgh.

Local residents saw hazmat crews heading towards the train derailment site, with people living within 1,000 feet of the incident told to shelter in place as a precaution, despite there being no toxic cargo onboard. Springfield officials on Sunday told reporters that local hazmat crews were deployed after the crash out of an abundance of caution, there was no indication of any injuries or risk to public health at this time. Four tankers contained non-hazardous materials, with two holding a small amount of diesel exhaust fluid and the other two holding small amounts of polyacrylamide water solution. Polyacrylamide is a substance used in paper production and food processing that isnt toxic, officials said. Polyacrylamide water solution and diesel exhaust fluid are products routinely shipped by rail, an Ohio EPA official told The Wall Street Journal. A crew from Norfolk Southern, the Clark County Hazmat team, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency each independently examined the crash site and told The Epoch Times that there was no evidence of spillage. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency reported that the derailment is not near a protected water source and that there was little risk to the water supply. However, more than 1,500 residents found themselves without power in Clark County over the weekend after power lines were damaged in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Norfolk Southern said it was coordinating with local authorities at the scene and working to clear the debris. The track reopened on March 6. State, Local, and Federal Officials At the Scene Meanwhile, local and state officials held a press conference with Norfolk Southern executives on March 5.

The cause of the derailment is still unknown, said Kraig Barner, general manager for operations at Norfolk Southern. We cant speculate on the causes. This derailment, like every derailment, will be fully investigated, he said.

Matthew Smith, an assistant fire chief for Springfields Rescue Division, said that some cars carried liquid propane and ethanol, but there were no leaks.

There is no spillage onto the ground or into the waterways at this time, Smith said.

Anne Vogel, director of Ohios Environmental Protection Agency, also said that no hazardous materials were detected at the site. There was no release of any chemical or any hazardous material to the soil, to the air, or to the water, she said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted on March 4 that he had been briefed by Federal Railroad Administration about the derailment in Ohio and had spoken with the states governor, Mike DeWine, about the incident.

DeWine later posted on Twitter that he had been speaking to Buttigieg and President Joe Biden.

The governor reiterated that no hazardous materials were leaked and that multiple state agencies were on the scene.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency were investigating the derailment, said DeWine.

East Palestine Train Fire Haunts Ohio

The East Palestine disaster prompted an evacuation of about half the towns roughly 5,000 residents, an ongoing multi-governmental emergency response, and lingering concerns among the residents of the Ohio river valley of long-term health impacts.

A total of 38 cars derailed in the incident, including 11 tanker cars carrying hazardous materials, which then caught fire.

The train was carrying 115,580 gallons of highly flammable vinyl chloride in five tankers.

The substance is a known carcinogen and has been linked to cancers of the brain, lungs, blood, lymphatic system, and liver, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Other railcars carried hazardous materials such as isobutylene and butyl acrylate.

Authorities ordered crews to burn the chemicals in a controlled release on Feb. 6, over fears that the vinyl chloride would explode. That decision saw a plume of dark, toxic smoke to spread throughout the region and leak hazardous waste into the Ohio River.

The EPA on March 2 sent a letter (pdf) ordering Norfolk Southern to begin testing the area around the derailment for dioxins. The toxic compounds can be produced as byproduct during incomplete combustion of chlorinated carbon materials.

Congress to Investigate East Palestine
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) and local authorities of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) intend to jointly launch an industrial fund focusing on the investment in the automotive industry, according to a statement issued by TEDA.

The latest move marked one of the projects TEDA signed on Mar. 6.

Photo credit: Geely Holding

The fund will be set up to invest in the cutting-edge technologies and leading companies from such auto-related fields as automobile, new energy vehicle, integrated circuits, and V2X (vehicle-to-everything).

The initial-phase of the fund is expected to worth 1 billion yuan ($144.76 million). Geely Holding has already completed the fund structure building for the projects it intends to invest in.

Zhejiang Geely Industrial Investment Holding Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely Holding, set up Geely (Tianjin) Private Equity Fund Management Co., Ltd. in TEDA last year and has completed registration with the Asset Management Association of China. The establishment of the Tianjin-based subsidiary is part of preparations for Geely to launch the aforesaid industrial fund.

Aside from Geelys project, TEDA also inked an agreement on March 6 to introduce the German Volkswagen Transmission APP550 Electric Motor Project, under which the first phase will involve an investment of 150 million to build new electric motor production lines with a designed production capacity of 330,000 units per year.
North Korea Warns US Interception of Missile Tests Will Be Declaration of War

File photo provided by North Korean authorities shows Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles during a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Feb. 8, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea on Tuesday warned the United States and South Korea that any attempt to intercept its tests of strategic weapon would be considered a declaration of war against the reclusive nation.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said her nation is prepared to take overwhelming action at any time based on our judgment, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide the DPRK with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, North Koreas official name.

Her statement came after South Korea and the United States staged a joint air drill involving a U.S. nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber, which North Korea condemned as a reckless military provocation.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, attends wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 2, 2019. (Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Kim also criticized a South Korean news report published on Feb. 24 that quoted the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command as saying the United States would intercept if North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific.

The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the U.S. or Japan, Kim remarked.

It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons that are conducted without being detrimental to the security of neighboring countries in the open waters and air which do not belong to the U.S. jurisdiction, she added.

Unpredictable State

South Korea and the United States will hold their large-scale Freedom Shield drill from March 13 to March 23, which includes live exercises with constructive simulations focused on North Koreas aggression.

The drill will be held concurrently with field training exercises dubbed Warrior Shield on the Korean Peninsula to bolster their military cooperation through air, sea, land, space, cyber, and special operations.

The two allies said the upcoming Freedom Shield is meant to bolster defense, but North Korea regards them as hostile acts.

North Koreas Foreign Ministry warned on Tuesday that U.S. joint drills are pushing the Korean Peninsula to an unpredictable state, KCNA said.

If the dangerous military provocations of the U.S. and South Korea continue to remain undisturbed, there is no guarantee that there will be no violent physical conflict in the Korean Peninsula, where huge armed forces of both sides are in acute confrontation, it said.

South Korean Air Force F-15Ks and U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula in response to North Koreas intermediate-range ballistic missile launch earlier in the day on Oct. 4, 2022. (South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)

The United States has repeatedly refuted North Koreas assertions that its joint exercises were provocative, saying that its security support for regional allies serves no hostile aim toward North Korea.

It is the DPRK that, time and again, at an unprecedented rate, has engaged in provocations, including multiple tests of ICBM systems, other ballistic missiles, and other provocative activities that have posed a threat to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific and, in some ways, even well beyond, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Feb. 27.

Price said the United States has offered to engage in direct talks with North Korea without preconditions for over a year, but North Korea rejected the U.S. diplomatic overtures and only responded with provocations.

Our diplomatic overtures remain. We would like an opportunity to discuss these issues face-to-face if thats the preference, Price told reporters.

North Korea conducted a series of missile launches last year, including one involving its largest ICBM, the Hwasong-17, all of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Koreas missile program.

The United States, South Korea, and Japan have strongly condemned the missile launches and urged Pyongyang to stop its provocative acts.
NSC, White House Wont Confirm Pro-Ukraine Groups Alleged Role in Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage

Says European investigations must conclude before conclusions are drawn and 'follow-on actions' potentially taken

Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak are seen reaching surface of the Baltic Sea, near Bornholm, Denmark, on Sept. 27, 2022. (Danish Defence Command/Handout via Reuters)

The New York Times has reported that U.S. intelligence sources believe the September 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage may have been the work of a pro-Ukrainian group made up of Russian or Ukrainian nationals. Yet on March 7, a spokesman for the National Security Council (NSC) offered guarded answers to questions about the reports.

The NSCs John Kirby said Germany, Sweden, and Denmark are still investigating the causes of those leaks, which disrupted a formerly crucial conduit of energy between Russia and Europe in the midst of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Im just not going to get ahead of that investigative work, Kirby told reporters.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said much the same when asked by a reporter on March 7 about whether the Times story had come up in President Bidens meeting with German Chancellor Olof Scholz.

Im just not gonna go beyond the readout that we provided on Friday with the chancellors visit here, she added.

Russia had reduced and eventually cut off the flow of natural gas through the Nord Stream system in the months preceding the attack.

Germany on March 7 said it was aware of the report but is still at work on its own investigation.

The NSC spokesman was also asked whether the possible involvement of a pro-Ukraine group could compromise U.S. relations with Germany, which has struck a more neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict than many other European nations. Germany has historically relied on Russia for a significant percentage of its oil and gas, thanks in recent years to the Nord Stream network.

We do believe, and the president has said this, that it was an act of sabotage. But we need to let these investigations conclude. And only then should we be looking at what follow-on actions might or might not be appropriate, Kirby responded.

Reporting on the possible involvement of a pro-Ukraine group has said that no evidence links those actions with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy or other officials in the government.

According to the New York Times, the sabotage was not carried out with the aid of any British or American nationals.

The Epoch Times has not been able to independently confirm these reports.

Notably, the Times narrative comes just weeks after veteran U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the leak was the result of a covert sea operation allegedly by the United States.

An aide for Zelenskyy said Ukraines government was absolutely not involved, adding that the government had no additional knowledge on the incident.

In addition, Russia has not yet confirmed the reported findings from U.S. intel sources.

The Epoch Times has sought comment from the Russian government and Gazprom, the state-owned energy company that operates Nord Stream.

High-profile independent journalists have voiced skepticism about the latest disclosures from U.S. intelligence sources, suggesting it is unlikely the United States was ignorant of such an undertaking, or that U.S. operatives were not somehow involved.

Ukraine has virtually no Navy, but according to the new narrative, some pro-Ukrainian randos took it upon themselves without the approval of Zelensky to sail to Denmark and blow up nordstream in the deep sea, wrote journalist Jordan Schachtel on Twitter.

Two options: Either we helped Ukraine blow up the Nordstream pipelineor we didnt, found out later and continued to provide tens of billions to an ally which finds it preferable to risk great power conflict and draw us in, Breaking Points Saagar Enjeti said on Twitter. Not sure which is worse.

Reuters contributed to this reporting
At least 23 suspects are facing domestic terrorism charges after a planned training facility for police in Atlanta, Georgia, came under attack on March 5. The Atlanta Police Department said a group of violent agitators set construction equipment on fire and threw explosives at officers.

The U.S. and Mexican governments are on alert after four Americans were kidnapped in Mexico. They were in a city bordering Texas when gunmen took them away.

Retired Army Lt. General Keith Kellogg said at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the United States should work to quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war so it can finally focus on its main global threat, the Chinese Communist Party.
In one of the biggest recent discoveries of those migrant children traveling through Mexico, 103 unaccompanied minors were found inside an abandoned truck trailer. And the search for four Americans kidnapped in Mexico continues.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced trip to Iraq on March 7. His visit comes nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led conflict that toppled Saddam Hussein.

The attorneys general from Missouri and Louisiana are taking action as they believe the Biden administration is violating the free speech rights of Americans.

Topics in this episode include:

1. Search for 4 Kidnapped Americans Continues in Mexico

2. 103 Unaccompanied Minors in Abandoned Trailer in Mexico

3. Attorneys General Cry Foul on Alleged Censorship

4. Economists Warn of Recession, Stagflation

5. Ceiling Panel Falls, Narrowly Missing Boston Commuters

6. More Airlines End Family Seating Fees Amid Pressure

7. Newsom Threatens Walgreens Boycott Over Abortion Pills

8. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Visits Baghdad

9. Germany Planning to Ban Huawei, ZTE From Networks

10. Canada to Probe Allegations of CCP Election Meddling

11. Chinese Lunar New Year Travel Plunges

12. Plunge Indicates High Death Toll, Economy Hit Hard: China Expert

13. RV Exhibition Comes to Ocala, Florida
Over 14,000 Canadians Died While on Medical Waiting Lists During 20212022 Fiscal Year: Report

An image of a patients brain is displayed on a monitor screen as she lies in an MRI machine at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto on May 1, 2018. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)

More than 14,000 Canadians died while waiting for surgery, diagnostic scans, or other health services between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, according to an updated report published March 2.

The report by non-profit think tank SecondStreet.org cited updated government data from three provinces and calculated that 14,057 Canadians died while on wait lists during the 20212022 fiscal year. This is 476 more than the 13,581 figure cited in the original report released in December 2022.

The data indicate that the cases include a wide array of health servicesfrom hip operations and heart surgery to CT and MRI scans. Before dying while on a waiting list, patients had waited anywhere from less than a month to over eight years. Many died after waiting longer than the recommended wait time, said the report.

The pandemic made a bad situation worse, but Canadians should know this was a growing problem well before COVID arrived, said SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig in a Dec. 13, 2022, news release.

Each year, SecondStreet.org files freedom of information requests with health regions and provincial health bodies nationwide to obtain data on the number of patients who had been removed from waiting lists for surgery, diagnostic scans, and specialist appointments due to death. The organization also tracks the number of patients on wait-lists overall across Canada.

Some provinces extensively track and collect wait-time statistics, while some collect very little or none at all, said SecondStreet.org.

With the exception of the province of Nova Scotia, provincial governments and their respective health bodies do not break down the number of patient deaths potentially linked to the state taking too long to provide needed services, said Craig in a March 2 news release.

Oddly, governments across Canada routinely require businesses to detail even the most minor workplace injuries such as accidents where employees are bruised as a result. If this is something businesses must track, why cant the government tell us how many patients are dying due to long waiting lists? he added.

In December 2022, the organization said data showed that waiting list deaths were at a four-year high since it began tracking the information in 20182019, and that surgical waiting list deaths were up more than 24 percent over the past four years.
Over 55,000 Felons Will Have Voting Rights Restored Before Probation Ends in Minnesota

Felons in Minnesota are now eligible to vote immediately upon release from incarceration after Democrat Gov. Tim Walz signed the Restore the Vote bill into law on March 3.

Minnesotans who have completed time for their offenses and are living, working, and raising families in their communities deserve the right to vote. As a state that consistently ranks among the top three in voter turnout, Minnesota will continue to lead in the fight to protect and expand the right to vote, Gov. Walz said in a press release.

I am grateful to the community members, organizers, and legislators who are committed to strengthening the freedom to vote and ensuring every Minnesotan has a voice in our democracy.

The passage in the states Senate the week prior came after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the state Constitution didnt guarantee convicted felons the right to vote and that the state Legislature would ultimately make a decision on the issue.

As the law currently stands, felons who have completed their prison term but remain on felony supervision or probation are prevented from voting.

The Legislation

The bill goes into effect on July 1 and is estimated to apply over 55,000 convicted felons in the state, according to the press release.

Voting is one of the most basic building blocks of our democracy. By restoring voting rights for formerly incarcerated Minnesotans, we continue down a path of restorative justice for Minnesotans who have been historically and systemically disenfranchised, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in the release.

I cannot overstate the work of the countless organizers, community leaders, and advocates who never gave up the fight. Our democracy is stronger thanks to your work.

Under the new law, Department of Corrections or judiciary system officials will provide newly released persons a written notice of their rights to vote following their time served and an application to vote.

According to KWLM, in debating the legislation, Republicans had wanted the added stipulation that those convicted of serious crimes first complete their probation before regaining the right to vote. But Democrats insisted that individuals have their voting rights restored immediately following their release.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters during a press conference in St. Paul on June 3, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In a post on Twitter, the Minnesota Republican Party said the legislation undermines safe and secure elections and empowers violent criminals over law-abiding citizens.

They also wrote in the same thread that the GOP criticized Democrats in the legislature for killing legislation to require murderers and rapists to complete their sentences before becoming eligible to vote.

Felon Voting Rights Around the Nation

Currently, 21 other states restore the voting rights of felons once they leave prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, including Republican-led North Dakota, Indiana, and Utah.

In Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, convicted felons are allowed to vote while they are still incarcerated, irrespective of their crimesa situation some California lawmakers are currently looking to legalize in their state.

In 16 states, felons lose their voting rights while incarcerated and for a period of time after, according to the NCSL. Eleven other states completely strip felons of voting rights for some crimes, or require a pardon by the states governor or other action for rights to be restored.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, two of those 11 states, Virginia and Kentucky, permanently deprive anyone convicted of a felony of the right to vote.

In Minnesota, a separate bill known as the Drivers License for All bill (pdf) was also approved at the same time as the voting bill by the Senate. It passed the House in January but changes made by the senate must be approved again by the House before it is sent to Gov. Walz, who has indicated he will sign the legislation, according to media reports.

The legislation specifies that an applicant for a noncompliant license or identification card is not required to demonstrate United States citizenship or lawful presence in the United States.

While Democrats argue that the measure will make roads safer, Republicans raised concerns that illegal immigrants and potential terrorists could exploit the law to get access to voting and fly illegally, and sought to amend the text to prevent that.

Samantha Flom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Paris: Notre Dame Cathedral Set to Reopen in December 2024

People have a close look of Notre Dame cathedral as they visit the rebuilding site during Heritage Day in Paris on Sept. 17, 2022. (Michel Euler/AP Photo)

PARISThe reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is going fast enough to allow its reopening to visitors and faithful at the end of 2024, less than six years after a fire ravaged its roof, French officials said Monday.

The cathedrals iconic spire, which collapsed in the blaze, will gradually start reappearing above the monument this year in a powerful signal of its revival, the army general in charge of the colossal project, Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, said.

The return of the spire in Paris sky will in my opinion be the symbol that we are winning the battle of Notre Dame, he told the Associated Press.

The reconstruction itself started last year, after more than two years of work to make the monument stable and secure enough for artisans to start rebuilding it.

Authorities have made the choice to rebuild the 12th century monument, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the way it was before. That includes recreating the 93-meter-high (315 ft) spire added in the 19th century by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc.

Meanwhile, an exhibition called Notre-Dame de Paris: at the heart of the construction site is to open to visitors on Tuesday in an underground facility in front of the cathedral. Accessible for free, it highlights ongoing operations on the site and the expertise and skills of workers. It also features some remains from the fire and works of art from the cathedral.

Gen. Georgelin said the cathedral will reopen in December 2024, in line with the goal set by President Emmanuel Macron just after the fireyet it will be too late for the Paris Olympic Games scheduled in summer next year.

My job is to be ready to open this cathedral in 2024. And we will do it, Gen. Georgelin said. We are fighting every day for that and we are on a good path.

This means that the archbishop of the capital will be in a capacity again to celebrate the Catholic liturgy in his cathedral and the monument will also be open for tourists to visit, he said.

A worker takes a picture of the scaffoldings at the reconstruction site ahead a visit of the French President at the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2022. (Ian Langsdon, Pool via AP)

Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak told the AP that this doesnt mean all the renovation will be finished then. There will still be some renovation work going on in 2025, she stressed.

Meanwhile, the new exhibition near the cathedral will allow visitors, including those coming for the Olympics, to live what could be this experience of visiting Notre-Dame in a brand new way, she said. In addition to the free visit, a virtual reality show will allow paying visitors to dive into the history of the cathedral. That will help also tourism in Paris, she added.

Everyday in the capital and across the country, about 1,000 people work to rebuild Notre Dame, Gen. Georgelin said.

The biggest challenge is to comply precisely every day to the planning we have done, he stressed. We have a lot of different works to achieve: the framework, the painting, the stones, the vault, the organ, the stained glass and so on.

Philippe Jost, managing director of the government agency overseeing the reconstruction, noted that the result will be faithful to the original architecture both because we are sticking to the vanished shapes of the cathedral and because we are also sticking to the materials and construction methods of medieval times.

We dont do concrete vaults that look like stone, we do stone vaults that we rebuild as they were built in the Middle Ages, Jost said, adding that the roof framework will also be made from oak like it initially was.

By Jeffrey Schaeffer and Sylvie Corbet
Poiliviere Calls Trudeaus Rapporteur to Investigate Interference a Fake Job

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the prime ministers independent rapporteur to investigate foreign election interference will not be independent.

He could pick someone independent, but he wont, Poilievre told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. Hell pick another Liberal establishment insidera real Ottawa insider with some gray hair who looks like a reasonable fellow, but we all know that it will be someone tied to him, tied to the Liberals, here to protect the Liberal establishment.

He cited as evidence Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus recent appointment of Morris Rosenberg to head a panel examining foreign interference. Rosenberg was the CEO of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation in 2016 when it received donations of $200,000 from Zhang Bin, a wealthy Chinese businessman.

Trudeau announced on Monday that his government would appoint an eminent Canadian as an independent special rapporteur on the issue of interference. He said that, while the Liberal government will make the appointment, hes open to listening to recommendations from other parties.

All parties and the House of Commons should approve anyone heading the investigation into interference, Poilievre said. Trudeaus proposed rapporteur sounds like a fake job, he said.

Trudeau is trying to keep the investigation secretive and in his governments control, Poilievre said, but Conservatives are calling for it to be open and truly independent.

Calls for a public inquiry are partisan, Trudeau said Monday, and the rapporteur will decide if thats a necessary step.

In the meantime, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (a committee that reports to the prime minister) and the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency will be reviewing matters related to election interference.

Whistleblowers

Poilievre characterized the leak of Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents to the press as an uprising at our intelligence body.

On Feb. 17, The Globe and Mail published information from the top-secret documents detailing Beijings attempts to interfere in the 2021 federal election.

The documents said two goals of the Chinese Communist Party were to have a minority Liberal government elected and to defeat Conservative MPs it deemed critical of the regime.

Its unbelievable. In the history of our country we never had an intelligence service as preoccupied with a prime minister and his collaboration with a foreign power, willing to release that kind of information, Poilievre said in French.

Theyve been warning him for years about this and what has he done? Hes covered it up and even encouraged it to continue, Poilievre said.

Trudeau told reporters in Djerba, Tunisia, on Nov. 20 that he was never briefed about officials receiving money from China. He was, however, briefed on election interference multiple times, he told reporters in Ottawa on Dec. 14.

Foreign interference is a real thing, against our institutions, against communities, against Canadians, he said. I get briefed up on it all the time. And our intelligence and security agencies continue to act responsibly and ensure that were minimizing and avoiding any serious impact on Canadians.
Power Restored to Parts of Kenya After Nationwide Blackout

Residents walk past electricity cables near the power-generating wind turbines in Ngong hills, outside Nairobi, Kenya, on Feb. 14, 2022. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

NAIROBIPower was restored to parts of Kenya after a nationwide blackout lasting several hours which was thought to have been caused by a fault on a transmission line, electricity distributor Kenya Power said on Saturday.

Initial reports indicate that the outage was caused by a fault that occurred on the Suswa-Loyangalani high-voltage power transmission line, Kenya Power said in a statement.

The power supply was restored to parts of Eldoret, Kisumu, and Nakuru, the distributor said. Electricity had also returned to at least one part of the capital Nairobi, according to a Reuters journalist.

Kenya Power is the countrys sole electricity distributor and the bulk of its power comes from Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), which is the main producer.
Pro-American, Optimistic, Pro-Business: JP Morgan CEO on His Love for Florida and Texas

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, takes part in a panel discussion about investing in Detroit at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on April 11, 2018. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, expressed his choice of Florida and Texas for their pro-business approach, suggesting that other states have much to learn from these red states.

Weve loved Florida. Were growing in Florida left and right, you know, small businesses, large companies  Ive forgot how many total employees we have here. Im on my way to Tampa. Weve got major operations there. Orlando, major operations. Were opening branches. The mayor just joined us at a small business that we did here. Were very pro, pro-Florida, Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg at the JP Morgan Leveraged Finance Conference in Miami, Florida.

Dimon believes Texas is just like Florida in terms of openness to business. So, Florida likes business. They want you to come  Texas is the same way.

If I was some other states, Id be thinking about why do people like going to these states. Its their taxes, its their pro-business. They want a better life for the people.

Dimon pointed out that his investment company now has more employees in Texas than in the state of New York. Texas loves to be there. I mean, you go there, theyre optimistic. Theyre optimistic here. Pro-American, optimistic, pro-business.

Florida and Texas Attracting Business

Multiple businesses have migrated to Republican states like Florida and Texas in recent times. In June, Caterpillar, a major manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, announced that it will move its global headquarters to Irving, Texas. Hedge fund Citadel announced shifting to Miami, Florida the same month.

Major companies like Tesla, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among hundreds of firms moving out from states like New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California to places like Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, and Florida.

A 2022 survey of 700 CEOs picked Texas and Florida as the top two states for business, with California and New York getting lower rankings.

There is a great migration going on, and I expect it to accelerate, Glen Hamer, president of the Texas Association of Business, told The Epoch Times in July 2022.

When the Caterpillars and the Elon Musks relocate, its an advertisement to the entire country and the entire world that something positive is going on in that state. And there is a multiplier effect.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that there were 9,578,500 nonfarm jobs by the end of 2022 in Florida, higher than the 9,576,100 jobs in New York. This was the first time since 1982 that Florida had more employees than New York state.

Unlike @chuckschumers New York, Floridas low taxes and business-friendly environment is inspiring more job growth across the state. Florida is the best state to get a job and raise your family! Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in a Feb. 3 tweet.

Floridas Business Plan

On Feb. 1, Floridas Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced his Framework for Freedom budget proposal for fiscal year 2023-2024 which includes several initiatives to boost the states economy.

One hundred million dollars was set aside for the Job Growth Grant Fund that will provide local regions with funding for proposed public infrastructure and workforce training projects, according to Feb. 1 news release.

Thirty million dollars was set aside for the Rural Infrastructure Fund aimed at supporting projects for roads, telecommunication facilities, and so on. To boost tourism, $100 million was allocated for marketing and promotion efforts of the Visit Florida campaign.

Floridas focus on freedom has led us to outpace the nation on all fronts, DeSantis said. Through the Framework for Freedom Budget, we are establishing freedom first policies to benefit Florida workers and families and to provide a framework for future prosperity.
LOS ANGELESFollowing her 2021 and 2022 "State of the Sexual Union" (SOTSU) addresses, sexologist Dr. Susan Block (a.k.a. Dr. Suzy), returned to Active Radio with host Hartley Pleshaw on WCAP-AM 980 in the Massachusetts Valley on Feb. 25 to deliver a new address for 2023.

Listen to Dr. Suzys "2023 State of the Sexual Union" address on WCAP-AM 980 here.

Opined Hartley Pleshaw by way of introduction, "We had Joe Bidens State of the Union last week. We had Vladimir Putins address. Well, those were just amateurs. Today youre going to get what we consider to be the most important State of the UnionState of the Sexual Union, I should sayaddress of 2023, the one and only Dr. Susan Block sexologist supreme."

The two then discussed a variety of topics within the "meeting ground of sex, politics, and culture" which Pleshaw says, "I believe [Dr. Susan Block] covers and handles better than anyone in the present contemporary scene."

At the climax of the show, Block delivered the heart of her 2023 SOTSU address, her "I Have a Fantasy" speech, inspired by Dr. Martin Luther Kings 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech, updated for 2023.

Some of the subjects discussed include:
Railroad Offers Temporary Help to Residents Impacted by Ohio Toxic Train Derailment

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. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

As cleanup continues more than a month after one of its freight trains derailed in East Palestine, Norfolk Southern Railway said it will pay for residents who live within a mile of the accident site to temporarily relocate.

As soil work continues at Norfolk Southerns derailment site, some residents close to the derailment site may notice additional odors, the EPA said in a March 5 news release.

At EPAs request, Norfolk Southern has agreed to provide additional financial assistance to residents of the East Palestine area, including the portions of Pennsylvania within a mile of the derailment site. This assistance may include temporary lodging, travel, food, clothing, and other necessities.

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson said that the company is removing tracks and excavating the soil underneath, and using additional air monitors while continuing to monitor the communitys water.

River Valley Organizing, a local advocacy group, believes that the boundaries covered by Norfolk Southerns plans are not wide enough.

The cleanup of portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023, continues on Feb. 9. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A one-mile radius for relocation doesnt reflect the facts on the ground that this chemical disaster has had a far-reaching impact, said Jami Cozza, an East Palestine resident and River Valley Organizing volunteer. We need to stop letting Norfolk Southern put their profits ahead of the people of our community.

On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying 151 cars derailed in the village of 4,761 in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania border.

Fifty cars veered off the tracks, including 11 that contained hazardous chemicals, sparking a fire.

On Feb. 6, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine joined state and local officials, and the railroad, is deciding to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, believing it would prevent an violent explosion.

The burn sent flames and thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

A day before the vinyl chloride was released and burned, DeWine urged residents to evacuate, calling it a matter of life and death.

On Feb. 8, he held a press conference announcing that the evacuation order had been lifted and that it was safe for residents to return to their homes.

Since then, though state and federal officials have repeatedly said that testing shows the air and water are safe, people in East Palestine and surrounding communities have reported experiencing headaches, burning eyes, skin rashes, nausea, and other ailments.

Norfolk Southern provided $1,000 inconvenience checks to residents with an East Palestine zip code to help with lodging costs in the immediate aftermath. Some people have permanently moved, while others have reluctantly remained because of financial constraints.

Gregory Mascher and his wife, Traci Mascher, are longtime East Palestine residents who live a half-mile from the derailment site with their grandchildren. Like many people who call the village home, they love the close-knit community where everyone knows everyone and people look out for each other. But they are afraid of what will happen with their health if they stay.

A lot of people here are like me. They are worried about the kids, Gregory Mascher said. Im 61, and you know, I dont have forever ahead of me, but Im terrified for my granddaughters because you dont know what the long-term effects will be.

Many East Palestine citizens believe that the railroads March 6 announcement is a start, but compensation should be expanded to permanent relocation if that is what residents want. The Maschers lived at a hotel and then a family members home in West Virginia for the first few weeks after the derailment and burn. They then returned but experienced health issues and decided to leave again to a relatives West Virginia residence for the foreseeable future.

I think that Norfolk Southern should offer people who want to move a relocation package where they buy the properties at a price of the actual market value before the derailment, Mascher added. I dont think people should have been told they could return right away to begin with. And it was a big slap in the face, that 15 minutes after the evacuation order was lifted, another Norfolk Southern train came through town.

Lack of Trust Continues

On March 6, Cozza said many people are displeased about the timing of the decision to offer relocation support.

They started digging up that soil on Saturday, and theyre just now doing this today? Cozza said.

Cozza believes that the decision will create further division in the usually cohesive community.

Some residents are concerned about their safety if they remain. Some business owners are worried about fueling a negative perception, warranted or not, of East Palestine and want people to stay.

The business owners are of the mindset: The derailment happened. Lets move on, Cozza said.

East Palestine resident Jami Cozza, pictured here with her daughter, expressed concerns over the safety of her home at a town hall on Feb. 15. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times)

Cozzas family has lived in East Palestine for several generations near a creek that is now contaminated by toxic chemicals from the crash.

She told The Epoch Times that, initially, Norfolk Southern conducted air testing and told her it was safe to return home.

I asked for additional water and soil testing, and they [Norfolk Southern] agreed and sent a senior toxicologist, Cozza explained. He told me that my house was not safe and that I shouldnt return.

Im vocal and had I not used my voice and thrown a fit, I would be sitting in that house with my 3-year-old daughter breathing the toxic chemicals, Cozza said. How many childrenhow many peopleare inside their homes and are in danger? How can any of us trust the railroad? I dont trust them.

Cozza believes that the railroad should compensate residents and ensure that their homes and the air, water, and soil are safe.

Its not about the money. Its about our house. Its about our town, Cozza said. This is our home. This is our life, and we are not getting the help that we need. Everyone deserves to live and sleep in a home that is safe from toxic chemicals.

Relocation is voluntary. Norfolk Southern will keep paying expenses while the soil removal and transportation work is ongoing, according to the EPA.

Residents do not have to sign a waiver or release of liability to get the support, the EPA added. One payment option is a weekly prepaid debit card.

Remediation efforts are expected to last one to two months, the EPA explained, depending on weather conditions and unexpected delays.

EPA officials knock on doors and talk to residents in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 16, 2023. Residents of the Ohio village upended by a freight train derailment are demanding to know if theyre safe from the toxic chemicals that were released and burned off to avoid a deadly explosion. (Lucy Schaly/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

In its March 5 statement, the EPA also provided information detailing how people can ask to have the interior and exterior of their homes cleaned by a Norfolk Southern contractor.

Since soil removal got underway on Saturday, March 4, EPA has been monitoring and conducting real-time sampling near the worksite. To date, no off-site releases of vapor at levels of concern have been detected. EPA does not anticipate exceedances of levels of health concern because of this work, the EPA statement noted.

We are carefully overseeing this work to ensure residents safety. Protective measures include continued round-the-clock air monitoring at the site and throughout the community, as well as the use of EPAs TAGA mobile laboratory which is conducting a real-time air sampling route near the soil excavation area, the statement continued, before announcing the railroads financial assistance was provided at the agencys request.

This program is completely voluntary and is being provided as an option and a resource to interested residents to ensure they feel comfortable throughout the track excavation work, the EPA said.

Fighting for Their Future

Based on a village meeting last week that attracted more than 200 residents, River Valley Organizing wrote a list of five community demands addressed to Norfolk Southern and the federal government.

The demands include relocation for anyone who wants it, independent environmental testing funded by Norfolk Southern, ongoing medical testing and monitoring paid for by the railroad, and safe disposal of the toxic waste from the derailment site.

The group also believes that Norfolk Southern should pay 100 percent of the costs.

Taxpayers shouldnt foot this bill. Norfolk Southern made this mess, they should clean it up, a River Valley Organizing statement said. The company must commit to paying 100 percent of the costs for testing, relocation, cleanup, medical monitoring and costs, and an independent science advisor.

Cozza added that what the people of East Palestine want is safe homes and independent testing.

It is only through coming together and demanding action that we will hold Norfolk Southern accountable and get families and businesses in our community the help they are owed, Cozza said.
Rancher Pleads Not Guilty on Murder Charge for Allegedly Shooting Illegal Border Crosser Trespassing on His Land

George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Ariz., on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

An elderly Arizona rancher has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly shooting and killing an illegal immigrant from Mexico trespassing on his borderland property.

George Alan Kelly, 73, was initially charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the fatal shooting occurred on his ranch in Nogales at the Arizona-Mexico border on Jan. 30.

A judge late last month downgraded the murder charge to a second-degree one.

During his arrangement on March 6, Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is set to be on trial on Sept. 6.

Men Dressed in Camouflage

Kelly told authorities that he heard gunshot on the afternoon of Jan. 30. He claimed that he went out onto the porch and saw a horse running in his direction, then a group of men dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with AK-47 rifles.

According to court filings, Kelly claimed he fired multiple warning shots from his own AK-47 over the heads of the men when they pointed their weapons at him, causing them to scatter and run off his property.

During the alleged confrontation, Kelly called the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to report the incident.

An initial search of Kellys property by Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriff didnt find any of the men he described.

When Kelly later went out to check on his horse, however, he discovered the body of an unarmed man lying face down in the grass with a single gunshot wound in the back.

The dead man was later identified to be 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who lived on the Mexican side of Nogales. He had been deported multiple times, The Daily Mail reported, most recently in 2016.

Its unclear if he ever crossed the border onto Kellys property before he was killed.

I Couldnt Help Him

During a Feb. 22 court hearing, a man identified only by the initials D.R.R. testified that he was with Cuen-Butimea on Jan. 30 when Kelly allegedly started shooting at the group.

[The group was] walking when this gentleman shot at us, the witness testified through a Spanish interpreter. I saw Gabriel hold his chest.

He claimed to see Cuen-Butimea rolling his eyes before falling to the ground sideways. I ran. I couldnt help him.

The witness also testified hearing about 15 gunshots that sounded like they came from an AK-47. He said he thought the government had shot at him as the group fled back across the border fence into Mexico.

Kelly was released from prison on Feb. 24 after paying a $1 million bond.

The money was raised through a Christian crowdsourcing site, GiveSendGo, after the more popular GoFundMe platform took down all campaigns for the rancher from its site.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe explained in a statement that the platforms policy explicitly prohibit campaigns that raise money to cover the legal defense of anyone formally charged with an alleged violent crime.

Consistent with this long-standing policy, any fundraising campaigns for the legal defense of someone charged with murder are removed from our platform, the spokesperson said, noting that those who donated to the fundraising campaigns for Kellys bond payment have been fully refunded.
Reinstate Word Woman in NHS Cancer and Pregnancy Web Pages, Clinicians Demand

A group of clinicians has warned NHS bosses that they must remove dehumanising language such as people with a vagina and reinstate sex-based language in its cancer and pregnancy web pages.

In an open letter, the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG) called on NHS bosses to put back the word woman in communications about womens health.

The NHS had desexed some of its main sites on female medical conditions by using inclusive gender-neutral language that excludes the words female and women.

CAN-SG, a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, said they are concerned about changes to the NHS website which have removed accurate and respectful terminology about womens health.

Many NHS doctors, nurses, and health practitioners have put their signatures to the letter. They include Dr. David Bell, former president of the British Psychoanalytic Society and the whistleblower who raised concerns about the now-closed Tavistock gender clinic in London, which was accused of rushing vulnerable children into life-changing transgender treatments.

Inclusive

According to NHS Digitals response to the groups Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, recent changes in language stem from a desire to be inclusive.

This includes improving the structure of the pages, writing in plain English and improving the inclusivity of the language we use. All such changes are made with the intention of helping make sure people get the correct clinical information, NHS Digital wrote in its response.

CAN-SG claims that inclusivity has taken precedence over integrity, evidence-based care, and clarity of communication.

It said that the removal of sex-based language in health care communication is discriminatory and harms women and undermines health outcomes.

It added that the move could leave the NHS open to legal challenge and that full impact assessments should have been done before any changes to communications.

It said that if sex is omitted, female patients may also not fully understand that the literature relates to them or their own clinical risks.

Considered Misogynistic

The group pointed out, however, that the word men is used liberally, with a video on prostate cancer saying, Prostate cancer is the commonest cancer in men in the UK.

It said that in contrast, pages on the three main gynaecological cancerscervical, uterine, and ovarianhave virtually eliminated the words woman and women and there are no corresponding videos. Many of the pages on pregnancy and miscarriage have replaced the words woman and women with you, people, or person.

NHS.UK healthcare messaging shows a lack of concern for women, is disrespectful, and insults women, wrote the group.

Importantly, it is considered misogynistic by many, it added.

The letter stated that language such as people with a vagina is dehumanising and reduces women and girls to body parts, such as genitalia.

Given many women already feel ashamed about their bodies, such messaging perpetuates such negative attitudes, it added.

Britains then-Health Secretary Sajid Javid arrives for a Cabinet meeting at Number 10 Downing Street in London on Jan. 25, 2022. (Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images)

Sex Matters

Last year, the then-Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that sex matters when it was found that main NHS web pages on ovarian, womb, and cervical cancers no longer referred to women.

For example, the womb cancer page used to say: Cancer of the womb (uterine or endometrial cancer) is a common cancer that affects the female reproductive system. Its more common in women who have been through the menopause.

That was changed to most womb cancer usually starts in the lining of the womb (endometrium), this is also known as endometrial cancer.

Its important that when messaging is given to people for cancers that words like women and men are used, Javid said at the time.

I know theres some sensitivity around this language, but we have to use common sense and use the right language so that we can give people the best possible patient care, he added.

An NHS spokesman told The Epoch Times by email, The NHS website provides information for everyone and we keep the pages under continual review to ensure they use language that is inclusive, respectful, and relevant to the people reading it.

The word woman remains vital to health care information about womens health and this issue is currently under review, he added.
Reps. Jordan, Massie Ask ATF Director to Testify Before House Judiciary Committee

Steven Dettelbach testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be the next director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 25, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) of the House Judiciary Committee have requested that the director and employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) testify regarding the agencys firearms policies.

In a March 6 letter to ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, the congressmen invited Dettelbach to testify at a 10 a.m. hearing on April 26, noting that they had additional questions regarding his agencys efforts to regulate firearms through the rulemaking process.

The ATFs lack of transparency comes after the agency issued a final rule banning stabilizing pistol braces, and as the agency continues to shut down lawful businesses through the zero-tolerance policy for federal firearms dealers (FFLs), the lawmakers wrote.

The rule in question, which took effect on Jan. 31, classifies pistols equipped with stabilizing bracesalso known as pistol bracesas short-barreled rifles, making them subject to federal regulation.

In their March 6 letter, the Republican congressmen challenged ATFs authority to enforce the new regulation, noting the Supreme Courts 2022 ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency that a federal agency must have clear congressional authorization for the authority it claims.

This ruling raises serious doubts about ATFs ability to regulate pistol braces absent a clear mandate from Congress, they noted.

The hearing, the congressmen added, would provide the Judiciary Committee with an opportunity to hear directly from Dettelbach about the reasoning that led to ATFs implementation of the controversial policies.

Other ATF employees that the congressmen requested testimony from include chief of staff Daniel Board, acting assistant director of public and government affairs Justin OConnell, and deputy assistant director Megan Bennett.

In a March 7 statement provided to The Epoch Times, ATF deputy chief of public affairs Erik Longnecker noted: ATF received the letter in question today. Just a little over a week ago, ATF provided Chairman Jordan with detailed responses to questions he asked about rule-making along with more than 81,000 pages of documents responsive to his request.

We look forward to continuing productive and cooperative exchanges with Congress regarding ATFs mission to protect the public from violent crime.

The lawmakers requests come on the heels of a Jan. 4 lawsuit filed by a coalition of 24 states challenging the new regulation.

Holding that the rule marks a reversal of longstanding ATF policy and violates the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act, the states requested that the court declare the rule unlawful and enjoin ATF from enforcing it.

Lets call this what it is: an effort to undermine Americans Second Amendment rights, said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is leading the coalition.

This is an egregious final rule turning millions of common firearms accessories into short barreled rifles. This is a completely nonsensical regulation.

This is part of the continued attack by the Biden administration against lawful gun owners, Morrisey added.
Republican Senators Request All Records Behind Intelligence Chiefs COVID Origins Report

A group of Republican senators is calling on Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to turn over the materials that informed her offices latest assessment on the origins of COVID-19.

In a March 6 letter (pdf), the senatorsled by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Md.)asked that Haines provide the memoranda; emails; interim and final assessments provided by each IC [intelligence community]; and any other information that her office considered in developing its assessment by March 20.

Other senators who signed their names to the letter include Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

Congress should be able to review the independent evaluations without filters, ambiguity or interpretations of the intelligence, the lawmakers wrote. There is clear bipartisan support in Congress to make these assessments available immediately in full as evident by the unanimous March 1, 2023 Senate passage of the COVID-19 Origin Act to declassify information related to the origin of COVID-19.

Senate Vote

The Senate voted last week to declassify all information on the origins of COVID-19 following the wide circulation of a Wall Street Journal report that the Department of Energy had concluded the pandemic likely originated from a laboratory leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Chinaa conclusion that the FBI has also reached.

Security personnel outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in Chinas central Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Yet the White House asserted on Feb. 28 that there is no consensus in the U.S. government on the origins of the pandemic, echoing the inconclusive messaging of the Office of the Director of National Intelligences (ODNI) previous assessment (pdf).

According to the Monday letter, the senators received a classified update from ODNI after the Wall Street Journal report was published, building upon the declassified assessment (pdf) the office had previously released.

Despite that update, however, the senators questioned the credentials of the ODNI staff members who had published the prior assessment, charging that the office had not been transparent with Congress or the American public by standardizing agency conclusions and thereby ignoring the breadth of scientific and other expertise in each agency.

The COVID-19 origins investigation has been obfuscated by the Chinese Communist governments lack of cooperation, they noted. We and the American public expect better behavior from our own government.

In addition to the requested materials from the intelligence community, the lawmakers also asked for a detailed briefing on ODNIs process for developing its final report, including how records from agencies outside of the intelligence communitylike the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)were obtained and used in the analysis.

It is time for the Administration to declassify the assessments, make the information available to the public, and start rebuilding the publics trust through transparency, the senators contended.
A hidden corridor 30 feet (approx. 9 meters) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday, March 2.

The discovery within the pyramid, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing, was made under the Scan Pyramids project that, since 2015, has been using non-invasive technology including infrared thermography, 3D simulations, and cosmic-ray imaging to peer inside the structure.

An article published in the journal Nature on Thursday said the discovery could contribute to knowledge about the construction of the pyramid and the purpose of a gabled limestone structure that sits in front of the corridor.

A previously hidden corridor inside the Great Pyramid of Giza that was discovered by researchers from the Scan Pyramids project. (The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities/Handout via Reuters)

Many believe the Great Pyramid was constructed as a monumental tomb around 2560 B.C. during the reign of the Pharaoh Khufu or Cheops. Built to a height of 479 feet (146 meters), it now stands at 456 feet (139 meters) and was the tallest manmade structure until the Eiffel Tower was constructed in Paris in 1889.

The unfinished corridor was likely created to redistribute the pyramids weight around either the main entrance now used by tourists, almost 23 feet (7 meters) away, or around another, as yet undiscovered, chamber or space, said Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Were going to continue our scanning so we will see what we can do  to figure out what we can find out beneath it, or just by the end of this corridor, he told reporters after a press conference in front of the pyramid.

Tourists visit the Great Pyramid of Giza. (Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)

Five rooms atop the kings burial chamber in another part of the pyramid are also thought to have been built to redistribute the weight of the massive structure. It was possible the pharaoh had more than one burial chamber, Waziri added.

Scientists detected the corridor through cosmic-ray muon radiography, before retrieving images of it by feeding a 6-millimeter-thick endoscope from Japan through a tiny joint in the pyramids stones.

In 2017, Scan Pyramids researchers announced the discovery of a void at least 98 feet (30 meters) long inside the Great Pyramid, the first major inner structure found since the 19th century.

(Reuters)

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
The Florida Law Standing Between DeSantis and a Presidential Bid

Florida legislature quietly making preparations to change Florida law to pave way for DeSantis presidential bid

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd after speaking about his new book "The Courage to Be Free" in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on March 5, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

With the release of his book last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has begun his campaign for an office he hasnt declared hes seeking. Its not officially a campaign. Its called instead a book tour for The Courage to be Free: Floridas Blueprint for Americas Revival.

DeSantis will make two book-tour stops this week in Iowa, important to presidential contenders with its early primary caucuses. Hes likely to stop by in New Hampshire, with its early primary, as well.

DeSantis has other pieces of a campaign in place. He meets with and gets checks from big donors. Meanwhile, his campaign staff has stayed in place, paid by the Republican Party.

Why hasnt he declared for office? Hes said hes first concerned with Floridas legislative session, beginning March 7 and lasting until May 5.

Theres another reason, though. Florida law now requires him to resign as governorin a second term he took the oath of office for just two months agoif he runs for another office.

Florida lawmakers have gone back and forth on that law over the past two decades. They eased it for state or local officials considering a run for federal office in the late 2000s when then-Governor Charlie Crist sought the vice-presidential nomination in 2008.

But they changed it back in 2018, under then-Governor Rick Scott, having decided that easing it had led to costly special elections. The resign-to-run law was intended to avoid those.

If DeSantis resigned, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez would succeed to the office.

No bill has yet been introduced to ease the law once again. But behind the scenes, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled legislature quietly acknowledge that a plan for that is coming together.

And both state House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Passidomo hinted after the November elections that they favor fixing the resign-to-run problem. Neither responded to emails from The Epoch Times asking for their current positions.

Legislators have kept mum on the subject.

The law, as written, is ambiguous, and any change might be billed as an effort to clarify it.

Florida Statute 99.012 (4)(a) states: Any officer who qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms, or any part thereof, run concurrently with each other. The law goes on to state that resignation is irrevocable.

What needs to be clarified is when DeSantis would have to resign if the law isnt changed. Hed have to submit his resignation at least 10 days before the first day of qualifying for the office he or she intends to seek.

It would be effective no later than the earlier of two datesthe date he would become president if elected, or the date his successor as governor would be required to take office.

That leaves wiggle room, a lot of it, political scientists say. For most offices, the qualifying deadline is a single deadline, says Susan MacManus, professor emeritus at the University of South Florida.

Floridians running for governor, as DeSantis did last year, or for federal offices such as Senate or Congress, had to qualify by June 17, 2022. Someone with a conflict would have had to resign 10 days before that.

But someone running for president first runs in a host of primaries in other states. MacManus agreed Floridas law might not require DeSantiss resignation until 10 days before he first qualifies for a primary.

Aubrey Jewett of the University of Central Florida said DeSantis could push the deadline even further if he argues that seeking a partys nomination is not the same as running for office.

Under that scenario, Florida law wouldnt require him to resign until he, assuming he won the Republican nomination, qualified for the November 2024 general election.

Theres some ambiguity, if the law doesnt change, when Governor DeSantis would be required to file his resignation, Jewett said. Its confusing.

Jon McGowan, a lawyer specializing in federal and state law, told The Associated Press the same thing. Theres too much ambiguity.

The date of New Hampshires 2024 primary, traditionally and by state law the first in the nation, has yet to be established.

The national Democratic Party wants to oust the state from that position and shake up its primary schedule to get states with more minorities in sooner.

Still, New Hampshire is resisting, and the Republican party prefers the current status.

That primary has historically been early in February.

In 2020, it was held on Feb. 11, with a filing deadline on Nov. 15, 2019. So, assuming New Hampshire has the same qualifying period as in 2019, DeSantis would only have to resign 10 days before a date sometime in mid-November.

Republican voices raised in opposition have all been from outside the legislatureand all supporters of DeSantiss rival for the nomination, former President Donald Trump.

Critics so far include former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican activist Laura Loomer, and former state Rep. Anthony Sabatini.

Loomer has attacked DeSantis about it, most recently in a YouTube video she linked on her Twitter account on March 6.

In it, she decried his effort to abuse his authority, says he deceived Florida voters by running for a second term he had no intention of finishing, and accused him of thinking himself above the law.

She said the whole thing smacks of the self-serving political corruption associated with third-world leaders, dictators, or authoritarian individuals.

Neither DeSantiss spokesman Bryan Griffin nor his political adviser Lindsay Curnutte responded to emails from The Epoch Times asking for a response to Loomers remarks.

Palin was nicer about it. Shes said DeSantis is young and can wait before running for president.

DeSantis is a great governor, probably the best governor in the nation, she said recently at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

But nobody can compare to Trump.

Jewett agreed that DeSantis is formidable, not someone with whom a legislator wants to pick a fight.

Republicans dont want to cross him. It could come back to haunt them, particularly in a primary, Jewett said.

But I dont want to overplay that. A lot of it goes back to, hes really popular, and a lot of Republicans in the legislature like Ron DeSantis. They think hes good for the party and good for policy.

Hes perceived as the head of the Republican party in Florida. He has high popularity within GOP circles across the country and in Florida, and he has so much money.

Any Republicans opposed to DeSantis in the legislature dont have the votes to stop the law change if its introduced, MacManus said.

Jewett said that if legislators move to change the law, it will probably come near the end of the session.

DeSantis can keep his focus on, and be seen keeping his focus on, the states business during Floridas 60-day legislative session. Hell delay announcing his candidacy in the meantime.

Wide speculation is that he wants to wait until the legislative session is over, Jewett said.

The Republican National Committee recently announced the partys first presidential debate would be in Milwaukee in August. So far, only Trump, Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have declared their candidacies.

DeSantis is among several prominent Republicans expected to announce, including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

MacManus said DeSantis has numerous reasons to declare candidacy later rather than sooner.

Some candidates face pressure to do so before potential donors or campaign staffers commit to other candidates.

Neither applies to DeSantis, who has already raised a lot of money and retains millions from his 2022 reelection bid and with his 2022 campaign staff kept in the wings, paid by the Republican party.

Neither does he need to declare to build excitement and enthusiasm, Jewett said. Hes not hurting for those. He could wait until much later in the cycle if he wants to, and not hurt his chances.

Waiting also puts off his becoming even more of a target than he already is for hostile media or opponents.

Trump is already hammering away at him peripherally. Coming after him with nicknames and highlighting negative things on Truth Social, Trumps social media outlet, Jewett said.

But because DeSantis is not actually in the race yet, he hasnt gotten both barrels of Donald Trump. Once hes in the race, I presume that will happen. So that might be a reason to stay out longerto say out of Trumps sights longer.
Russia Gives Fertilizer to Malawi, Seeks African Support

LILONGWE, MalawiThe Russian government has donated 20,000 tons of fertilizer to Malawi as part of its efforts to garner diplomatic support from various African nations.

Russia will give 260,000 tons of fertilizer to countries in the continent, Russian Ambassador to Malawi Nikolai Krasilnikov said at a handover ceremony Monday at the capital, Lilongwe.

He said he hopes African leaders will press for the abolition of international sanctions against Russia when they attend the second Russia-Africa summit to be held in St. Petersburg at the end of July.

The Russian manufacturer Uralchem-Ukalkali had produced the fertilizer and made the gift to Malawi, said Dmitry Shornikov, head of the firms southern Africa branch, who also attended the handover.

A man carries bags of fertilizer on his bicycle in Lilongwe, Malawi, on March 6, 2023. (Gregory Gondwe/AP Photo)

The fertilizer should help Malawi achieve its goals of substantially boosting its agricultural production and helping families grow more healthy and nutritious food, said Shornikov.

Malawis minister of Agriculture Kawale said the fertilizer will reach 400,000 farming households and boost their agricultural production.

Also attending the event was a representative of the United Nations World Food Program.

Malawi voted to censure Russia at the United Nations last year for its invasion of Ukraine. More than 15 other African countries abstained from the vote.

By Gregory Gondwe
Schumer Calls on Fox News to Stop Tucker Carlson From Airing More Jan. 6 Footage

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) walks to speak to members of the media at the US Capitol in Washington on March 2, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. Senates top Democrat on March 7 called on Fox News to stop host Tucker Carlson from airing additional, never-disclosed footage from Jan. 6, 2021.

I dont think Ive ever seen a primetime cable news anchor manipulate his viewers the way Mr. Carlson did last night. I dont think Ive ever seen an anchor treat the American people and American democracy with such disdain, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor in Washington. And hes going to come back tonight with another segment. Fox News should tell him not to.

Fox News and Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch must order Tucker Carlson to stop, Schumer added in a written statement.

A Fox spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Carlson on Monday aired footage showing U.S. Capitol Police officers walking around with Jacob Chansley, a Jan. 6 defendant serving time in prison after pleading guilty. Another clip showed Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick inside the Capitol Rotunda after he clashed with people outside the building.

President Joe Biden has called the breach a deadly insurrection but the footage does not show an insurrection or a riot in progress, Carlson said. Instead, it shows mostly peaceful chaos.

Carlson also said that in the crowd, a small number of people were hooligans who committed vandalism. The overwhelming majority, though, were peaceful, he said. Some 1,000 people have been charged with Jan. 6 crimes, including 326 with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, and more than 100 officers reported injuries from that day.

Schumer claimed that Carlson told the bold-faced lie that the Capitol attack, which we all saw with our own eyes, was somehow not an attack at all. Carlson did not say that. Schumers office did not respond to a request for comment. Schumer also said that what happened was an insult to the memory of every single person who perished in connection to the attack, especially to the memory of Brian Sicknick. A medical examiner ruled Sicknick, who perished the day after the breach, died of natural causes. No officers died on Jan. 6, though several committed suicide within months.

Schumer condemned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who gave Carlson access to the footage, as well as Fox. I strongly condemn Speaker McCarthys actions, and fiercely oppose his decision to share this footage with Carlson, Schumer said. McCarthy, whose office did not return an inquiry, has defended giving Carlson access and has said the footage will be made available more widely in the future.

Carlson said it was a crime the footage had not been disclosed previously.

Whatever you think of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, he rectified that crime, and were grateful that he did, he said.

Some additional lawmakers also decried Carlsons segment. We warned Speaker McCarthy of the dangers of giving Capitol security footage to Tucker Carlsonone of Americas most extreme propagandists. Having watched his manipulative editing & narrative spinning refuel the fire that caused Jan 6, we were correct, Rep. Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.) said.

But others supported Carlsons segment.

Truth is beginning to be revealed. Thank you Speaker McCarthy, Tucker Carlson and company for showing America the rest of the Jan. 6 story, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson speaks during the 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards in Hollywood, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)

More Footage to Be Shown

Carlson told viewers more footage would be shown on Tuesday evening.

We have more and were going to show it to you tomorrow, he said.

That would include an interview with a top Capitol police officer who was there. Carlson said the interview raises a lot of pretty shocking questions about the Capitol Police response to January 6.

A U.S. Capitol Police spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that Carlsons team did not contact the agency before airing the segment.

The agency did not dispute a report describing a memorandum in which U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said Carlsons program was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack.

The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments, Manger was quoted as saying.

The agency declined to share a copy of the memo.

We cannot say much publicly because of the political nature of this whole thing, the spokesperson said.
Senator Pushes Labor Government to Keep up With Allies on TikTok Ban

A visitor makes a photo at the TikTok exhibition stands at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 25, 2022.(The Canadian Press/AP, Martin Meissner)

The federal government is under pressure over its slow response to bans on Tiktok in the United States, Canada, and the European Union.

The shadow minister for Cybersecurity and Countering Foreign Interference, Senator James Paterson, says the Labor government has been inconsistent and haphazard in its approach to national security.

According to an audit by the senator, 25 federal government departments in Australia have banned Tiktok from all workplace devices. However, another 12 have only partially banned the app, while 11 have no restrictions on it at all.

If its unsafe to be on the devices of some public servants, its not clear to me why its safe to be on the devices of other public servants, particularly in light, as you say, of the decision of the U.S. government to ban it on all government devices, Paterson told Sky News AM Agenda.

Thats been matched by the Canadian government, the European Commission and by other countries like Denmark. I think Australia is falling behind here.

Is Security a Priority? Senator Asks

Paterson is concerned that despite pushing for the app to be deemed a security risk.

Ive been calling on the Albanese government for eight months to do something about this after TikTok admitted to me in a letter in July last year that Australian user data is accessible in mainland China. Ever since then, I think theres been a compelling case to act. Unfortunately, we havent seen any action from the government yet, but I hope that changes soon, he said.

Paterson also called on Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil to act as soon as possible.

We should not fall behind our friends and allies, Paterson said.

We could have led the world like we did with Huawei in 2018, and our judgement on that issue has been backed by many other countries following us. But at the very least, we shouldnt fall any further behind when it comes to government devices.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers on March 1 said that the government was aware of the Biden administrations decision and that they would take the advice of Australias national security agencies.

Well take the advice of our national security agencies, he said, conceding no advice had been received so far.

Were obviously aware of the announcement the Americans made overnight. No doubt, our colleagues in the agencies will be considering that and factoring that into their own thinking. But the advice to us hasnt yet changed.

The TikTok Ban on US Devices

The call comes after the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the Biden administration had made national security a top priority.

Today, OMB is releasing guidance on the implementation of the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, requiring agencies to cease using the app except in select circumstances, the agency wrote on Twitter on Feb. 28

According to a memo to all federal agencies, IT vendors must ensure that within 90 days, no internet traffic goes though the Chinese-backed companys app. Further, all new vendors have 120 days to ensure TikTok is removed from their devices.

A woman walks past the headquarters of ByteDance, the parent company of video sharing app TikTok, in Beijing, China, on Sept. 16, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

Tiktok has been controversial due to concerns about its ties with parent company ByteDance, based in Beijing.

ByteDance, established in 2012, specialises in the development of artificial intelligence.

Its founder and now-CEO Zhang Yiming declared in 2018 that it would strengthen ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

This has raised concerns because CCP laws subject Chinese companies to potential intervention from the state, notably the National Intelligence Law 2017, which mandates in Article 7 that organisations or citizens shall support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.

Paterson noted that independent analysts like Australian cyber security firm Internet 2.0 have proven that TikTok collects vast information on its users, including their physical location.

TikTok on your phone checks your devices location. It asks you for your contacts. It maps all the other applications installed on your phone. It checks the Wi-Fi networks youve logged into.

And if you use the in-app browser on TikTok to look at other websites, it has the power to record every single keystroke that you enter. That could include passwords to websites that could include your credit card information, the senator said.

Like all large companies in China, its subject to Chinas National Intelligence law, which requires it to hand over information to Chinese intelligence agencies if requested. And that means we would never know if the information on Australian users, whether a government bureaucrat or private citizen, is being handed over to the Chinese Communist Party.
PHOENIXEntrenue has announced that it is now shipping the Niya line of sexual well-being products. Created by industry veterans, Rocks-Off, the line features versatile products in sustainable packaging that encourage sexual self-care.

The Niya collection includes six waterproof, rechargeable silicone pleasure products:

N1, The Kegel Massager, includes a flexible body and remote control for comfortable pelvic floor strengthening.

N2, The Couples Massager, is seductively curved and ideal for massage as well as more intimate moments.

N3, The Precision Point Massager, has a unique looped hand and offers focused stimulation.

N4, The Discreet Palm Held Massager, has an egg shape that fits in the palm of the hand and is ideal for massage and easy use in partnered play.

N5, The Multi-Choice Single and Couples Intimate Massager has a unique sting-ray-like shape, a remote control, and a flexible body that allows it to be used as a stroker as well as a couples toy.

N6, The Intimate Air Pressure Simulator uses focused air pressure for intense clitoral stimulation.

Entrenue VP of sales and marketing Lily Wang said, "The Niya collection is beautiful and has a spa-like look that will appeal online and on store shelves. And because its from Rocks-Off, consumers can trust that they are getting well-made products from a trusted brand. The beautiful designs and soothing color palette really make these stimulators stand out as luxury self-care purchases. Sexual wellbeing is important, and this collection is bound to appeal to Shoppers looking for a little pleasure pampering."

All six Niya items are made with smooth, dusty blue silicone. Each item comes in a sturdy brown cardboard box sealed with a label that displays an image of the product inside.

View Niya and the rest of Entrenues offerings at Altitude, scheduled March 20 to 22 in Las Vegas, at booth 334 and 335.

To view Entrenues newest catalog, visit entrenue.com to start browsing.

To place an order, call (800) 368-7268, email [email protected], or visit entrenue.com.
Silence on the Airwaves Ahead of Fatal Chopper Crash

Two cashed helicopters sit on the sand at a collision scene near Seaworld, on the Gold Coast, Australia, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Dave Hunt/AAP Image via AP)

Twenty-three seconds of silence may have contributed to a mid-air helicopter collision that killed four people and injured nine others near Sea World on the Gold Coast.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has found no recordings of radio calls between pilots Ashley Jenkinson and Michael James in the moments before their choppers collided about 40 metres off the ground and crashed on Jan. 2.

James had been coming into land with six passengers and Jenkinson was taking off with seven people on board.

Being too low for air traffic control to guide them, the pair relied on radio calls and vision.

James, who survived the crash, remembers seeing passengers boarding his late colleagues helicopter (XKQ) and thinking it would pass behind his aircraft.

They (James) did not recall the pilot of XKQ making a standard taxiing call announcing their intention to depart, the Bureaus preliminary report said.

Two other helicopter pilots from the nearby Marina Mirage were also interviewed about radio communications.

One remembered hearing James inbound call but not Jenkinsons outbound call, while the second Marina Mirage pilot didnt recall hearing either.

Bureau commissioner Angus Mitchell stressed that did not mean Jenkinson did not make an outbound call.

We do know that calls made down in low altitude are not routinely picked up by that recording, which is why we would not say that that call wasnt made, he told reporters.

We just dont have any evidence at this stage.

James also told investigators he did not see Jenkinsons helicopter take off.

While video footage taken by passengers in both helicopters on mobile phones contained images of the other helicopter, this does not mean the other helicopter was visible to either pilot, Mitchell said.

Sea World Helicopters had fitted both aircraft with traffic collision avoidance systems.

However, the systems hadnt been integrated and were only able to issue audio alerts. James said he didnt hear any alert that afternoon.

James aircraft also wasnt transmitting secondary surveillance radar responses about its position and altitude at the time, with Sea World Helicopters aware of the problem.

The aircraft was not able to be used in controlled airspace until it was rectified. Efforts to diagnose and address the transponder problem were ongoing, the Bureaus report said.

A review of all avionics and pilot assistance systems, and radar and surveillance information, is ongoing.

The ATSB will also probe the procedures and practices for the high volume of scenic flights scheduled that day.

Sea World Helicopters Director John Orr-Campbell said the company is reviewing the findings of the report.

The release of the ATSB interim report is another reminder of the tragic loss of life suffered that day, he said.

Jenkinson, 40, and his passengersBritish couple Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36died when the helicopter crashed.

Tadros son Nicholas, 10, has been undergoing procedures in hospital since the accident and last week had his leg amputated from the knee.

Victorian mother Winnie de Silva, 33, and her nine-year-old son Leon are recovering from injuries.

James landed his aircraft safely but he and two of his passengers were injured by flying glass from a shattered windscreen.

The injured were New Zealand women Elmarie Steenberg and Marle Swart, who had been on holiday with their husbands Riaan Steenberg and Edward Swart.

All at Sea World Helicopters pay their deepest respect to Vanessa Tadros, Diane and Ron Hughes, our friend and late chief Sea World Helicopters pilot Ash Jenkinson, their families, and those who suffered physically and mentally in the accident, Orr-Campbell said.

Our special thoughts go to Winnie De Silva and her son Leon as well Nicholas Tadros  and his father Simon who has been by his side all along.

A final report into the crash is not expected before September 2024.
State Department Warns Americans About Traveling After Kidnapping of 4 US Citizens

The U.S. Consulate in a Mexican border city issued an alert about violence and warned American citizens not to travel there after two Americans were killed by criminals and two more were abducted.

After the reported kidnapping, the U.S. State Department issued an alert about violence in Matamoros and reminded U.S. citizens that this part of Mexicoand other partsare under a Level 4: Do Not Travel warning. Thats the highest warning in the State Departments travel advisory system.

The U.S. Consulate General reminds U.S. citizens that Tamaulipas is classified as Level 4: Do Not Travel in the State Departments travel advisory for Mexico, it said.

An advisory that was issued in October said that in Tamaulipas, where Matamoros is located, there are reports of rampant kidnappings and crime. Several other Mexican states are under similar a Level 4 alert, including Guerrero, Colima, Michoacan, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas. Most other Mexican states are under some type of travel advisory.

Violent crimesuch as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robberyis widespread and common in Mexico, said the advisory. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in many areas of Mexico, as travel by U.S. government employees to certain areas is prohibited or restricted. In many states, local emergency services are limited outside the state capital or major cities.

The U.S. Consulate in Matamoros has issued at least four security alerts since early 2020, issuing warnings about kidnappings, cartel violence, crime, and other incidents. A report from CBS News noted that four American siblings went missing in Matamoros in 2014 before they were later found murdered and buried as their parents said they were allegedly abducted by men dressed in police uniforms.

Other Details

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal told reporters that two were found dead and two others were found alive in a wooden shack, where they were being guarded by a man who was arrested. Villarreal said the captive Americans had been moved around by their captors, and at one point were taken to a medical clinic to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them.

The two dead will be turned over to U.S. authorities following forensic work at the Matamoros morgue in the coming hours, the governor said.

A woman is carried to the back of a white pickup truck in this still image obtained from social media video that allegedly shows the kidnapping of Americans in Matamoros, Mexico, on March 3, 2023. (Video obtained by Reuters)

A relative of one of the victims said Monday that the four had traveled together from the Carolinas so one of them could get a tummy tuck surgery from a doctor in the Mexican border city of Matamoros, where Fridays abduction took place.

Villareal said the wounded American, Eric Williams, had been shot in the left leg and the wound was not life-threatening. The survivors were taken to Valley Regional Medical Center with an FBI escort, the Brownsville Herald reported. A spokesperson for the hospital referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Villarreal also told reporters that one person, a 24-year-old male, was arrested in connection to the incident. The suspect, he added, was undertaking surveillance functions of the victims.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the people responsible would be punished. He referenced arrests made in the 2019 killings of nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens in Sonora near the U.S. border.

On Tuesday, the State Department called for accountability after the kidnapping but did not say what it should look like. In a news conference, spokesman Ned Price did not rule out whether the United States may designate cartels as terrorist organizations, which is something that GOP lawmakers have promoted.

We want to see accountability for the violence that has been inflicted on these Americans that tragically led to the death of two of them, Price said.

When it comes to the drug cartels, were going to do what is most effective to limit their ability to traffic in their wares, he added. This is something that our colleagues at the DEA are extremely focused on. We have laws on the books, we have designated these criminal organizations, these drug trafficking organizations, consistent with the authorities that we as a government have.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Supreme Court to Hear Appeal After Insurer Refused to Cover a Yacht Wreck

The Supreme Court agreed on March 6 to take up an appeal by an insurance company that refused to cover non-fire damage to a yacht after it ran aground while carrying a fire extinguishing system whose inspection had lapsed.

The case is Great Lakes Insurance SE v. Raiders Retreat Realty Co. LLC, court file 20-500.

Great Lakes Insurance SE, a German corporation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Munich Reinsurance Company. Raiders Retreat Realty Co. LLC is based in Pennsylvania.

The case goes back to 2019 when a yacht owned by Raiders Retreat Realty Co. ran aground, experiencing several hundred thousand dollars worth of damage. Although the damage was not caused by fire, the insurer, Great Lakes, refused to cover the damage because the yachts fire suppression equipment had not been inspected or recertified on time. Great Lakes sought a declaration in federal district court in Philadelphia that the insurance policy was invalid and Raiders filed five counterclaims against Great Lakes, according to a SCOTUSblog summary.

The insurance policy contained a choice-of-law provision indicating that the policy should be interpreted according to New York law. This led the federal district court to dismiss three of the counterclaims that were based on the laws of Pennsylvania.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit went the other way, finding that under U.S. admiralty law the forum selection provision in the policy cannot be enforced if doing so would contravene a strong public policy of the forum in which suit is brought. Admiralty law, also known as maritime law, is the body of law that governs shipping and navigation.

The district court should have considered whether Pennsylvania has a strong public policy that would be thwarted by applying New York law, the 3rd Circuit ruled. The case was remanded to the district court.

Raiders attorney Shawn M. Rodgers said the 3rd Circuit ruling has the potential to change the landscape in the context of maritime insurance law, trade publication Business Insurance reported Aug. 31, 2022.

Many insurers, including Great Lakes, include choice of law provisions in their insurance contracts, selecting state lawsuch as New York lawthat does not recognize separate causes of action for bad faith insurance claims.

The circuit court ruling will compel insurers such as Great Lakes to face the likelihood that choice-of-law provisions will not shield the insurer from litigating bad faith insurance claims, where such causes of action evidence a strong public policy of the forum state, Rodgers reportedly said.

Great Lakes filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Nov. 23, 2022.

In the new decision, the high court granted the petition in an unsigned order that did not explain why the justices agreed to hear the case.

The issue to be decided, according to the court, is whether, Under federal admiralty law, can a choice of law clause in a maritime contract be rendered unenforceable if enforcement is contrary to the strong public policy of the state whose law is displaced?

Great Lakes argued in its petition (pdf) that the Supreme Court needs to address the case to bring clarity to a specific area of the law that lacks it.

This legal uncertainty has followed the Supreme Courts 1955 decision in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Firemans Fund Insurance Co. that threw the law of marine insurance into chaos.

Although Wilburn Boat clearly establishes that federal admiralty law is supreme, as it must be under the Supremacy Clause, the practical result has been that venerable marine insurance doctrines  have suffered constant erosion, with federal law constantly ceding ground to encroaching state law.

The uncertainty caused by Wilburn Boat means that every case turns into a choice of law battle as the marine insurer attempts to defend these venerable doctrines, which it has relied upon when evaluating risk and setting premium[s], and the disgruntled insured, with the active assistance of encroaching state law [and] attempts to undermine them and to replace them with more favorable state law, the petition stated.

The Epoch Times reached out to counsel of record for the insurance company, Michael I. Goldman of the Goldman Maritime Law Group, and in an email he replied, No comment.

The Epoch Times also asked counsel of record for the realty company, Howard Jonathan Bashman, for comment, but he failed to reply as of press time.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in its new term that begins in October.
Taiwan Warns of China Militarys Sudden Entry Close to Island

TAIPEITaiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned on Monday the island has to be on alert this year for a sudden entry by the Chinese military into areas close to its territory amid rising military tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

The Chinese regime has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, including almost daily air force incursions into the islands air defense identification zone.

However, Taiwan has not reported any incident of Chinese forces entering its contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles (44.4 kilometers) from its coast. But it has shot down a civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast last year.

Answering questions from lawmakers in parliament, Chiu said the Chinese military might find excuses to enter areas close to Taiwans territorial air and sea space as the island steps up its military exchanges with the United States.

He said the Chinese military might make a sudden entry into Taiwans contiguous zone and get close to its territorial space, which the island defines as 12 nautical miles from its coast.

[I] specifically make these comments this year, meaning they are making such preparations, Chiu said. Looking forward, they would use force if they really have to.

Taiwan has vowed to exercise its right to self-defense and counter-attack if Chinese armed forces entered its territory.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last year staged unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan in reaction to a visit to the island by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Chiu said the CCP was looking to make trouble under a certain pretext, adding that might include visits to the island made by senior foreign government officials or Taiwans frequent military contacts with other countries.

Asked by a lawmaker if the United States was planning to store some of its military equipment in Taiwan, Chiu said such discussions were ongoing but declined to elaborate.

The United States is Taiwans most important international arms supplier and increasing U.S. support for the democratic island has added to tension in already strained U.S.China relations.

Chiu said the Chinese military sends about 10 planes or ships to areas near Taiwan a day. Some cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which has traditionally served as an unofficial buffer, on an almost daily basis, he said.

Chiu said since the CCP has abandoned a tacit agreement on military movements in the Strait, Taiwan has made preparations to fire the first shot if Chinese entities, including drones or balloons, enter its territorial space.

The CCP claims self-governed Taiwan as its own and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control, if needed. Taiwan strongly rejects the CCPs sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide their future.
Is China gearing up for war? While tensions between the mainland and democratic Taiwan have been brewing for decades, Beijing is ramping up its war footingfrom increases in defense spending to Chinas military upping its combat readiness, to defense mobilization offices opening across the country. Taiwan meanwhile is on alert for a sudden attack by China. Communist China sees Taiwan as part of its own territory, despite having never ruled the island. And Beijing hasnt ruled out using force to achieve its goals.

Topics in this episode:
Taiwanese Fishing Boat Capsizes Off Disputed Japan Islands, 6 Missing

The disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China and Taiwan on on Sept. 15, 2010. (Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images)

A Taiwanese fishing boat reportedly capsized off the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands on Sunday, leaving one crew member dead and six others missing, according to Japanese authorities.

Japans navy patrol spotted the Hsin Chang Fa No. 88 vessel capsizing and drifting north of the disputed islandsalso known by China as the Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan as the Diaoyutai Islandsreportedly carying one Taiwanese and six Indonesians.

One body was found inside the fishing boat on Monday, and search efforts for the remaining six crew members are underway, according to Japanese coast guards spokesperson Masaya Tokita.

At around 9.15 a.m. (local time) on Monday, a body was found inside the cabin by divers, and an ID [identification] on the body suggests it was an Indonesian man, Tokita told reporters, The Japan Times reported.

Taiwan and Japan have both dispatched ships for search and rescue missions. Taiwans Foreign Ministry said it had requested help from other registered Taiwanese fishing boats in the search.

Indonesias Foreign Ministry said it was coordinating with Japan and Taiwan to find the missing Indonesians.

According to Taiwanese authorities, the Hsin Chang Fa No. 88 boat departed northern Taiwans Keelung fishing port at around 11 p.m. (local time) on Feb. 27.

The boat was found capsized 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of one of the Senkaku islets, Kuba Island, and 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Japans Ishigaki island in Okinawa prefecture on Sunday, Kyodo News reported.

The Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have mostly been administered by Japan since 1895, but Beijing began asserting its rights over the islands in the 1970s. Taiwan also has claims on the Senkakus.

The incident occurred as another Taiwanese fishing boat went missing last week. Taiwan has asked the Philippines and the United States for assistance in the search for the Sheng Feng No. 128 boat, which was last seen on Feb. 17 off the coast of Palau in the western Pacific. The boat was carrying one Taiwanese and five Indonesian fishermen.

U.S. Coast Guard aircraft have helped carry out a search, along with other Taiwanese fishing vessels for the Sheng Feng No. 128 boat. The Philippine coast guard deployed a Cessna plane and ordered five regional commands to launch a search off the countrys eastern coast where the missing fishing vessel may have drifted from the Pacific.

Taiwanese authorities are also searching for the 16 missing crew of the Lien Sheng Fa fishing vessel, which was found overturned in waters off the coast of Mauritius on March 2, according to local reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It would be wholly unreasonable to order independent MP Monique Ryan to continue working with the staffer who is suing her, a judge has said.

Sally Rugg had applied for an urgent court injunction to stop Dr. Ryan from ending her employment as chief of staff after she alleges she was pushed into resigning.

She wanted to continue working for the federal MP for Kooyong as an advisor, undertaking policy and media work while she pursued an unfair dismissal claim against Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth.

Rugg has alleged she was dismissed after being asked to work unreasonable hours of more than 70 hours a week on a salary of $166,000.

However, she will no longer be paid by the Commonwealth after the Federal Court in Melbourne dismissed her application on Tuesday.

Justice Debra Mortimer found there was no prospect whatsoever of a co-operative relationship being restored between the pair.

It is not rational to contend that Dr. Ryan can, or should be able to, put all this to one side and resume a constructive working relationship with Ms Rugg in what is on the evidence a pressured, extremely busy and demanding working atmosphere, at the best of times, she wrote in her decision.

She said Ms Rugg failed to show the court she had a powerful desire to continue working for Dr. Ryan.

That evidence could have been given. Ms Rugg has not given that evidence. She has given a lot of evidence about her own ambitions, her own desires to be in Canberra, Justice Mortimer wrote.

Even if Rugg had persuaded her she was dedicated to working for the MP, it was wholly unreasonable to impose such an obligation on Dr Ryan, she said.

Especially since the working relationship would be resumed while the parties continue to prepare for trial  a trial which, on any view, will be hotly contested and subject to considerable scrutiny, she said.

Justice Mortimer said Ruggs allegations against Dr. Ryan were serious and could affect the MPs reputation both personally and professionally.

She ordered the parties to decide on a timeline for the trial and meet for a case management hearing in the coming weeks.

Rugg claimed, in court documents, Dr. Ryan said, this is bigger than Kooyong and that she needed to know her staff were prepared to work hard for her if I want to be prime minister one day.

The staffer is seeking compensation and pecuniary penalties from both parties, and has added serious contraventions of the Fair Work Act against the Commonwealth to her dispute.

Dr Ryan disputes all of Ruggs claims that she dismissed her, effective January 31, after she refused to work unreasonable hours for the teal MP.
TEXIT Bill Proposes Vote on Texas Seceding From the US Ahead of 2024

The United States Flag and Texas State Flag are displayed at Murchison Rogers Park in El Paso, Texas, on June 24, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images)

A state lawmaker filed a bill in the Texas legislature on Monday to allow the states residents to vote on whether or not the state should investigate seceding from the United States.

State Rep. Bryan Slaton, a Republican, filed HB 3596, commonly known as the TEXIT Referendum Act (pdf), in a bid to put the issue on the ballot at the next general election.

The idea of state sovereignty is not a new platform for the Texas GOP. However, the Texit bill proposes something new by calling for a vote on the matter.

If the bill passes and a majority of Texans vote yes, a committee would be established to investigate the feasibility of independence and propose options and potential plans to the Texas legislature.

The Texas Constitution is clear that all political power resides in the people, Slaton said in a statement. After decades of continuous abuse of our rights and liberties by the federal government, it is time to let the people of Texas make their voices heard.

Similar legislation was filed by state Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg) in 2021 during the 87th Legislature, where it was referred to the State Affairs committee and failed to receive a hearing, and died.

Slaton is hopeful that his Texit bill will fare better, providing Texans with an opportunity to make their voices heard by voting on the future of their state.

The bill, which comes on the 187th anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, is part of a long-standing desire for liberty and self-governance that Slaton said continues to burn in the hearts of all Texans.

The fall of the Alamo, during the 1836 battle between Mexican forces and a group of Texans, became a rallying cry for Texans fighting for independence against overwhelming odds in the Texas Revolution.

After gaining independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas became a republic. It joined the United States in 1845, and seceded in 1861 due to disagreements over state autonomy and slavery expansion, leading to the Civil War. It was readmitted to the Union in 1870 during the Reconstruction period.

State Sovereignty

Daniel Miller, president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, responded to Slatons announcement, calling it great news and urged Texans to contact their state representatives asking them to support the Texit bill.

In a previous interview with The Epoch Times Crossroads program, Miller argued that the power to decide whether to secede lies with the people of Texas.

What we know is the United States Constitution, in Article 10, lists out all the things that states are prohibited from doing. Theres no prohibition against a state withdrawing. Its not in the [U.S.] Constitution, Miller said. In addition, it says specifically in the tenth amendment [that] any power not given to the federal government by that constitution are reserved to the people and to the states.

A giant cowboy hat is on display outside the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility during the Cyber Rodeo grand opening party in Austin, Texas, on April 7, 2022. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

State sovereignty was one of the issues adopted by the 2022 State Convention of the Texas GOP in June of that year, where it was voted to urge the state legislature to put Texit on the ballot in 2023.

At the convention, the party platform contained a planka policy position the party promotesunder the heading of State Sovereignty.

Citing Article 1, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution, the plank stated that the federal government has infringed upon the rights of Texans for self-government and, therefore, federally mandated legislation should be opposed, refused, and nullified.

Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should be called upon to pass a referendum consistent thereto, the plank states (pdf).

In further comments, Miller explained Texit was similar to other movements in Scotland in 2014 and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom.

Its a very similar situation, he said, adding that the difference in Texas was that the state doesnt have citizen initiative.

So we cantno matter how many signatures we collectwe cannot force something on the ballot, Miller said. He explained that Texans would need to engage their lawmakers and urge them to put a statute in place that would allow them to vote on the matter.

Second Attempt

When Biedermann introduced his version of the bill in 2021, he also cited the authority given by the Texas Constitution to secede.

The state constitution states that Texans have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.

For decades, the promises of America and our individual liberties have been eroding. It is now time that the people of Texas are allowed the right to decide their own future, Biedermann said at the time.

Texit was a feature of the Texas gubernatorial primary in 2022, with Gov. Greg Abbotts two main challengers favoring the platform. Abbotts challengers ultimately lost.

In debate about the legitimacy of secession, the 1896 Texas v. White case is often cited as evidence against it. The Supreme Court ruled that the United States is an indestructible union, and no state can secede, even if a majority of Texans support it.

However, according to Miller, this ruling is based on the wording of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, which is not legally binding, as established in the 1904 case Jacobson v. Massachusetts.

With the ninth-largest economy in the world, Miller has said that Texas could operate and care for itself more efficiently on its own.
The Attack of the Subversive Elites

Commentary

Its tempting, as Naomi Wolf has done recently, to ascribe the breakdown of Western civilization to the debasing of Judeo-Christian ethics and the reemergence of malignant supernatural forces. Witnessing the many assaults on the infrastructure and social order of the United States of late, I wouldnt rule out metaphysical causality either. But to blame the pagan gods, or, in specifically Christian terms, to blame Satan and not his legions, is to take comfort in an obscured perspective on the current global arrangement. To lay culpability strictly on gaseous, unknowable forces is to let the global elite off the hook.

As I write in The Great Reset and the Struggle for Liberty, the Western world is in the grips and under the control of subversive elites. With inordinate power and influence, these people arent naturally superior but have as their object the undermining of Western civilization.

They can be found in such globalist Round Table organizations as the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House), the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg Group, the Club of Rome, and the World Economic Forum (WEF); in their main international intergovernmental counterpart, the United Nations (U.N.); and in the monetary organizations that fund the globalist regime, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

All these organizations have had as their objective the undermining of nation-states, the destruction of the free market, and the control of the world economic system by a globalist elite. These objectives are now being conducted under the rubric of stakeholder capitalism, with the WEF running interference for and coordinating the public-private partnerships that are ushering in stakeholder capitalism, supposedly to combat climate change.

In the economic sphere, stakeholder capitalism is a cartel scheme that benefits the compliant and destroys the noncompliant. And the economics of stakeholder capitalism spill into a governance and geopolitical model: states and favored corporations in public-private partnerships in control of governance. The configuration yields a corporate-state hybrid largely unaccountable to the constituents of national governments. As Kurt Nimmo writes:

According to the Transnational Institute in the Netherlands, this initiative proposes a transition away from intergovernmental decision-making towards a system of multi-stakeholder governance. In other words, by stealth, they are marginalising a recognised model where we vote in governments who then negotiate treaties which are then ratified by our elected representatives with a model where a self-selected group of stakeholders make decisions on our behalf.

The cozy relationship between multinational corporations and governments has even aroused the scorn of a few leftist academics. Some note that the U.N.WEF partnership and the governance model of the WEF represent at least the privatization of the U.N.s Agenda 2030, with the WEF bringing corporate partners, money, and supposed expertise on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the table. And the WEFs governance model extends well beyond the U.N., affecting the constitution and behavior of governments worldwide. This usurpation has led political scientist Ivan Wecke to call the WEFs governmental redesign of the world system a corporate takeover of global governance.

This is true, but the WEF model also represents the governmentalization of private industry. Under Schwabs stakeholder capitalism and the multistakeholder governance model, governance isnt only increasingly privatized, but also, and more importantly, corporations are deputized as major additions to governments and intergovernmental bodies. The state is thereby extended, enhanced, and augmented by the addition of enormous corporate assets. These include funding directed at sustainable development to the exclusion of the noncompliant as well as the use of Big Data, artificial intelligence, and 5G to monitor and control citizens.

But first, the conditions for global government must be established and these conditions include the breakdown of national sovereignty, the abrogation of natural rights, and the reduction of the standard of living of the vast majority. Affluence, Sean Fleming wrote for the WEF, is the biggest threat to our world.  True sustainability will only be achieved through drastic lifestyle changes.

Thus, these elites are not only subversive, but also destructive. Its difficult to conclude that the many recent assaults on the infrastructure of the United States are anything but part of a coordinated campaign to destroy productive capacities and terrorize the population. Consider the use of vaccine mandates to choke supply chains, the multiple train derailments and chemical bombs, the undetonated bombs on railroad tracks, the mysterious explosions at metals plants and oil facilities, the coincidental fires at food processing facilities and chicken egg farms, the hazardous materials explosions in public transportation facilities, the shutdown of a major baby formula production lab, etc.

Consider these in connection with the operations of cultural, social, and political demoralizationthe COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates, the quasi-endorsed Black Lives Matter and Antifa riots, the election legerdemain, the January 6 show trials, the unfettered immigration, the foisting of the transgender movement and critical race theory onto elementary school students, the differential treatment of crime along political lines (with the apparent rewarding of criminals carrying out subversive acts and the imprisonment of those who merely protest the regime)and the effect is a politicized anarcho-tyranny unleashed on the populace. Dont all these phenomena have the common effect of producing social and economic insecurity and learned helplessness, while cowing any political opposition into submission?

Yet its essentially impossible to prove that a coordinated campaign by subversive elites is afoot. As internal Twitter documents made available to the public in December 2022 reveal, one of the most powerful communications and ideological apparatuses on Earth had gone to great lengths to snuff out and filter the visibility of any story that might provide a window into the coordination of the new world order.

If, however, as Pareto suggested, a governing elite is inevitable, then, as Jeff Deist has argued, were certainly under the wrong elites. Whether a circulation of elites can be completed in time to save the world economic system from ruin and the majority from destitution and veritable slavery is a question of no little urgency.

From Mises.org

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Bride Goes Wild (1948): Uncle Bumps and the Schoolteacher

Commentary

The Bride Goes Wild is an unfortunate name for a great movie. This 1948 romantic comedy stars Van Johnson and June Allyson in their third of five movie pairings. It really isnt about a bride for most of the movie, and she certainly doesnt go wild. Based on lead couples characters, Uncle Bumps and the Schoolteacher would have been a very fitting title. I can see why MGM didnt use that name, though.

My family is always on the lookout for cute movies, which arent epic stories and probably arent cinematic masterpieces but which are entertaining and easy to watch. Theyre fun but not too silly. Theyre romantic but not too deep. No matter what your mood is, theres a good chance a movie like this will lift your spirits!

The Bride Goes Wild fits the bill of a fun movie which my family can enjoy at the drop of a hat. Its a charming love story, but it has several unique characteristics beyond the usual boy-meets-girl scenarios. For one thing, theres the addition of an adorable little boy, a mischievous orphan played by Butch Jenkins who helps bring the couple together. Theres also another man for her and another woman for him. His old flame seems like a character destined to remain unseen, but she makes a dramatic entrance halfway through the film. The reason why its enjoyable in a mature way instead of just being silly is because it also has a good message.

The Bride Goes Wild film promo shot from 1948. (MovieStillsDB)

The Story

Martha Terryton (Allyson) is a schoolteacher from Vermont who wins a contest for drawing an illustration of The Bashful Bull for the upcoming book of the same name by beloved childrens author Uncle Bumps. The nervous publisher, John McGrath (Hume Cronyn), fears that the strait-laced teetotaler will be less excited about collaborating with the famous author when she meets the man behind the whimsical pen name. Uncle Bumps is really Greg Rawlings (Johnson), a young alcoholic playboy who hates children. Martha meets him at McGraths office, not realizing who he is. Greg is immediately attracted to the pretty young illustrator, so he convinces her that hes a tippling author who needs encouragement to sober up and do some writing. She agrees to have one cup of coffee with him, but he tricks her by ordering Coffee Tasmanian for both of them, which he doesnt tell her has brandy in it. She is outraged (and intoxicated) when she realizes how he deceived her to get her pie-eyed.

Greg claims that he drinks for the fun of it, but his shiftless lifestyle is really his way of drowning his sorrow about an ill-fated romance. Years earlier, he was in love with a girl named Tillie Smith (Arlene Dahl), who left him to marry a millionaire. She is now a wealthy widow; news of her arrival in New York in a few days makes Greg desperate to leave town. However, John is afraid that Martha, who is outraged by Gregs behavior, will denounce Uncle Bumps as a fraud to her cousin, a prominent moral guardian. John explained Gregs drunken behavior by saying that he is an unhappy widower with a wayward son. To validify his story, John borrows a mischievous eight-year-old orphan named Danny (Jenkins) from a boys home to pose as Gregs son.

When Danny shows his delinquent tendencies during Marthas visit, she takes pity on the fake father and son. She suggests that the three of them should go on a picnic in the country together, and Greg has no choice but to agree. As the trio spends more time together, Martha and Greg feel a growing bond, while Danny is becoming increasingly attached to his surrogate father. Meanwhile, the lads love for ants has given Greg an idea for a new book.

The Bride Goes Wild lobby card. (MovieStillsDB)

A Bad Influence

An important part of this story is Gregs low moral caliber when Martha first meets him. In order for him to mend his ways later, we have to see that he is a heavy drinker and a flirt. However, these topics had to be handled delicately enough to keep this in the family film category. I can just imagine how many shenanigans would ensue in a 1960s comedy about an alcoholic, philandering New York author, such as a Rock Hudson and Doris Day film, to say nothing of a 21st century movie! Thankfully, this movie was made in the 1940s, so its a very different story.

By the early 1960s, when those risque romps were made, Hollywood was tossing out its moral principles for film content like yesterdays newspaper. Beginning in the later half of the 1950s, every year brought new daring ideas from filmmakers until the movie industry seemed as lawless as the Wild West. Much like an old Western town, there were laws in place, but the bad hombres were running the town because the corrupt sheriff let them. Back in the 1940s, however, there was law and order in Hollywood, since a good sheriff made sure the citys laws were enforced through due process of law and justice. The laws were the Motion Picture Production Code, the justice department was the Production Code Administration (PCA), and the good sheriff was Joseph I. Breen. Unfortunately, after his weak deputy, Geoffrey Shurlock, took over in 1954 following Mr. Breens retirement, the Code was ignored, forgotten, and eventually replaced with the current Rating System in 1968. This inevitably led to Hollywood becoming the ghost town it is today.

In Code films, we often see characters who are understood to be wolves, flirts, playboys, or party girls. Like Greg Rawlings, they are described, discussed, and denounced by other characters for their behavior, usually with vague statements and few details. Most importantly, little or nothing is shown to provide condemning evidence of any suspicions we may be forming regarding such characters. Has Greg had a series of immoral affairs while trying to forget Tillie, or does he just casually flirt while drunkenly carrying a torch for her? I couldnt tell you for sure either way, since no definitive answer is given. Due to the wholesome quality of the overall film, I would guess the latter, but its open to personal interpretation. Thats the beauty of Code films. You can believe whatever you want, good or bad, since the graphic details of bad behavior werent shoved in viewers faces.

The Bride Goes Wild lobby card. (MovieStillsDB)

Love Makes the Difference

The Bride Goes Wild is a story about the transformative powers of true, selfless love. Greg and Danny are the same type of person. They both are badly behaved, in different ways, of course, because they crave love and attention but only know how to get it in negative forms. When McGrath describes Miss Terryton to Greg, he winces at the words schoolteacher and teetotaler. Martha is just the sort of woman a man like him should want to avoid, yet he is immediately drawn to her. Beyond his purely visual reaction of thinking her legs are cute, he continues to pursue the interaction, even after learning her identity. Its partly a game to him, but its also because, deep down, he realizes that she is just the sort of woman he needs. She is concerned for his wellbeing before she even knows who he is, urging him to get to work and avoid drinking. Once she thinks he is a widowed father, she goes out of her way to offer advice, support, and help to him and his son. This unconditional love from the pure young lady makes Greg want to mend his ways and live up to the image of him Martha is starting to form.

Similarly, Danny is the terror of the orphanage when we first meet him. He sticks live frogs in peoples pockets, puts dead cats in lockers, and traps another boy in a barrel full of water! The matron of the home tries to give affection and care to all her wards, but Danny needs the full-time love which only a set of parents can give. Although he doesnt want to pretend to be Gregs son at first, he quickly forms a bond with the equally-reluctant man. The lad clearly is desperate for a father figure, and he finds one in Greg, to whom he bears a remarkable resemblance! As Greg and Martha give him more attention and love than he has ever known, he wants to try to be a good boy. He reveals that the only reason hes been bad is that he thinks no one would ever want to adopt him.

This is a charming, heartwarming movie which the whole family can enjoy. If you are already a fan of Van Johnson and June Allyson, youll love them in this film. If not, this is a wonderful introduction to their work! I highly recommend Uncle Bumps and the Schoolteacher.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Meet Victoria! This 3-and-a-half-year-old domestic short hair has a striking orange and black coat. She is looking for a lap to curl up on to watch snowflakes outside the window. Of course it is possible the owner of the lap is wishing for an end to the Flagstaff snow! If that is the case, Victoria will keep the humans in the house warm and cozy. Victoria is eager to meet you when you visit Coconino Humane Association. To see other adoptable pets, visit coconinohumane.org.
The Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 21: Coke, Blackstone, and English Law

Commentary

British institutions were important (although not controlling) models for the American Constitution-makers.

For example, the Constitutions bicameral federal Congress had some similarities with the British Parliament. The Constitution built on the British concept of individual rights. The new U.S. postal system was a continuation of its British predecessor, with the Constitution borrowing its Post Office and Post Roads language (Article I, Section 8, Clause 7) from a 1767 parliamentary statute.

Further, the Constitution struck a balance of power between the federal government and the states similar to the balance existing prior to 1764 between the imperial government in London and the American colonies. To be sure, the Constitution did grant taxing authority to the new federal Congress although Americans had refused to concede such authority to Parliament (because they were unrepresented).

Adopting English Law

By the time of the Declaration of Independence, the legal system prevailing in England (although not in Scotland) had taken root in almost all of Britains American colonies.

There were exceptions: One colony, Quebec, applied French law. And other colonies rejected Englands rules of aristocratic privilege and much of her ecclesiastical and land law. Still, American judges usually imported and followed English case precedents, and their courts were patterned loosely on English institutions.

Thus, by 1776, the English legal system had become Anglo-American in scope.

Americans Continue to Apply Anglo-American Law

After Independence, some Americans proposed breaking with Anglo-American jurisprudence. In general, however, Americans continued to apply it. There were several reasons:

First, Americans were used to the pre-existing system. Radically altering it would have been very disruptive.

Second, Anglo-American jurisprudence incorporated Magna Carta (first adopted in 1215; final version in 1225). Magna Carta was probably the most significant secular constitutional document in human history. It served as the cornerstone for many of the rights of Englishmen and Americans. Likewise, Anglo-American jurisprudence incorporated other great documents fortifying individual liberties: the Petition of Right (1628), the Habeas Corpus Act (1679), and the English Bill of Rights (1689).

Another attractive feature of Anglo-American jurisprudence is that it was based on standing precedentfreely available in published law booksand the slow evolution of that precedent. This usually made the right answer in disputes fairly predictable.

On the other hand, Anglo-American jurisprudence could be flexible. When an old set of rules wasnt equal to a task, a new one was fashioned. By 1776, Anglo-American jurisprudence encompassed several discrete fieldsmost notably:

ecclesiastical law (used in America only for certain kinds of cases, such as divorce);

equity for cases involving fiduciaries and for specialized remedies;

the law merchant for regulating cross-border trade, and, most notably,

the common law for handling routine crimes, injuries, contracts, and property disputes. The principles of the common law were based largely on individual freedom and resistance to arbitrary power.

Anglo-American judges generally were of high quality. To an extraordinary degree, they decided cases independently of politics or personal interest. This had not always been true, but by 1776 it was predominantly true.

In most cases, Anglo-American jurisprudence granted at least one party a right to trial by jury. Juries introduced common sense into decision making. They also protected somewhat against abuse of power.

Still another reason for retaining Anglo-American legal practice is that it almost always gave unhappy parties a right to appeal.

The founding generations decision to retain Anglo-American jurisprudence was a lasting one. Even today, most states have reception rules. These rules direct judges, in the absence of other authority, to follow the common law of England.

Coke and Blackstone

In 1788 the London publisher John Worrell issued a bibliography listing then-published books of English law. I have placed it on the internet (pdf). Its merely a list of books, yet it consumes nearly 300 pages.

Obviously, no lawyer could own all those books. But many were generally available, at least in the larger cities.

They included (pdf) collections of statutes, collections of cases, multi-volume abridgments summarizing decided cases, law dictionaries, collections of forms for writing legal documents, and legal treatises. Treatises either focused on particular areas, such as commercial law or crimes, or were more generalpurporting to discuss the law covering all important areas.

In both England and America two general works stood out among the rest. The earlier was the Institutes of the Lawes [sic] of England, written by the great 17th-century judge and parliamentarian Edward Coke (pronounced Cook). This book was tough going, but served as a primary teaching guide for law students. Senior members of the founding generation, such as Edmund Pendleton of Virginia and John Dickinson of Delaware and Pennsylvania, learned their law from Coke.

The other popular general treatise was William Blackstones Commentaries on the Laws of England. Blackstone was a judge who became the first professor to teach the common law at Oxford University. His Commentaries were based on his university lectures. Published over the years 1766 to 1769, Blackstones work was both more up-to-date than Cokes and easier to understand. After 1772 and throughout much of the 19th century, Blackstones treatise was the backbone of legal education in America.

Anglo-American Law and the Constitution

The framers wrote the Constitution with Anglo-American jurisprudence in mind. In a 2016 article, I listed 68 words and phrases in the Constitution that derive directly or indirectly from 18th-century English law. (Most are explained in my book, The Original Constitution.)

Many of the framers probably wanted the Constitution to be understood by the average educated person. So why did they insert so many legal terms?

In part, it was unavoidable: The Constitution is a legal document, and if the framers had tried to explain everything in ordinary language, the Constitution would have stretched from here to Cincinnati. (If you live in Cincinnati, think here to Denver). It would have been immensely long.

But the other reason was thatas I noted in the previous essay in this seriesAmericans of the founding generation were more legally literate than most Americans today. In a March 22, 1775, speech, Edmund Burke, perhaps the greatest British parliamentarian of his time, said of the American colonies:

In no country perhaps in the world is the law so general a study. The profession itself is numerous and powerful; and in most provinces it takes the lead. The greater number of the deputies sent to the [First Continental] Congress were lawyers. But all who read, and most do read, endeavor to obtain some smattering in that science. I have been told by an eminent bookseller, that in no branch of his business, after tracts of popular devotion [i.e., religion], were so many books as those on the law exported to the Plantations [i.e., colonies].  I hear that they have sold nearly as many of Blackstones Commentaries in America as in England. General Gage [the British commander in Boston]  states that all the people in his government are lawyers, or smatterers in law .

A Problem With Modern Constitutional Law

Most lawyers and legal educators are unaware that so many of the Constitutions words and phrases arose from English practice. Students rarely learn about them in law schoola neglect characteristic of what Alan Watson, the noted Scottish scholar, called The Shame of American Legal Education.

Talk to any third-year law student, and he or she will tell you a professor assigned opinions authored by the great Chief Justice John Marshall. But examine the assigned versions, and youll find they omit Marshalls references to prior English and American cases and legal sources.

One reason for these omissions is editorial ignorance. But another, I think, is that most law professors are fans of liberal judicial activism, and omitting Marshalls sources fosters the illusion that Marshall himself was a liberal judicial activist. Whatever the reason, the result is ignorance among lawyers and judges of the background for much of the Constitutions language.

The Constitutions framers wrote the document to be construed by judges who understand the Anglo-American precedents and adhere to English-style judicial standards of independence and probity. When judges dont live up to those standards, they effectively subvert our constitutional structure.

Read prior installments here: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The New Frontiers for the Pro-Life Movement

Commentary

After the Supreme Courts historic Dobbs decision overturned one of the worst decisions in Supreme Court history, Roe v. Wade, the American pro-life movement celebrated its greatest victory for life in nearly 50 years.

At the same time, some on the radical left responded by attacking churches, pregnancy centers, and other pro-life institutions across the nation. One thing became absolutely clear: The decision instantly changed the landscape regarding abortion in America.

Besides providing an incredible victory for the pro-life movement, the courts ruling provided a strategic opportunity for pro-life Americans to expand their vision and bring more life to a portion of our culture that has been stained with death. This vision must include the careful consideration of ending chemical abortions, expanding the rights and responsibilities of the father, and providing avenues for much-needed support to crisis pregnancy centers.

The left has tried to claim that abortion is about choice; however, its views on abortion have morphed into an attitude of irresponsibility and coerced silence. Their approach is to practice reckless medicine that endangers the health of women, vilify pregnancy centers that promote life as an alternative to abortion, and muzzle the fathers voice in the life of his unborn child.

Sadly, abortion practices that pro-abortion activists framed as safe, legal, and rare have now mutated into abortion-on-demand. Telehealth has made chemical abortion easily accessible. More than half of abortions in the United States are now chemical abortions, which are being pushed by pro-abortion activist groups to be made available for at-home use. These methods have historically required a medical professional to administer, but theyre now available to be administered at home, alone, and without the proper supervision of medical professionals. Doing so has made many homes similar to abortion clinics and has enabled some minors to administer chemical abortion pills without their parents knowledge.

Chemical abortions are dangerous to women. In fact, one in five women experienced complications from this pill regimen, according to a study of more than 40,000 medical and surgical abortions in Finland. This absurd and reckless approach of making abortion easy and accessible is needlessly endangering women, and it must be stopped. At the very least, safeguards removed by the Biden administration should be reinstated to protect women from the harms of chemical abortion.

The pro-life movement also now has an important opportunity to support crisis pregnancy centers. Unfortunately, many on the left consistently vilify and attack these centers as illegitimate clinics that are only fronts for the pro-life movement. However, the truth is these clinics offer valuable services for expectant mothers who face difficult circumstances and look for support and solutions other than abortion. They serve more than 2 million people a year and provide an array of services from ultrasounds to pregnancy tests to counseling and other valuable resources. However, the pro-abortion movement discredits these clinics and works to silence their contribution only to promote their own solution of abortion.

Policymakers can do more to support pregnancy centers by creating additional tax incentives for those who choose to donate to them and by offering further public statements of support that highlight the value and expanding work of these centers.

Additionally, abortion significantly affects fathers. The pro-life movement can help support fathers, who often feel angry, guilty, depressed, and full of grief after a child is aborted. However, the issue is more than that. For too long, the voice of the father has been muzzled, leaving them no choice and no real opportunity to speak on behalf of their unborn child. Legal precedent through cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey established that a mother doesnt need to notify the father of her intention to have an abortion. The Supreme Court said the decision to have an abortion lies solely with the mother, and fathers dont have the power to veto this decision. Fathers must have a voice, because the fact remains that abortion leaves one dead and two wounded.

Fathers must also be held responsible. Those who seek to escape their responsibility and abandon their unborn child and expectant mother must be compelled to step up and support both the mother and her unborn child from the moment of conception onward. Mothers may not always receive the emotional support they need from fathers, but fathers can be held to a financial responsibility. Some fathersunfortunatelymay need to be compelled to do so, though others will gladly assume the responsibility to support the mother and the child.

The pro-life movement has won. Now it needs to cast an expanded vision for a culture that celebrates children, mothers, and fathers, and the stewardship of life.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Theorists Versus Practitioners

Commentary

Just this weekend, I spoke at one of my favorite venues, the Liberty Forum in New Hampshire, which is an annual conference center on the Free State Project. Its designed to encourage people to pick up and move to the freest state in the country for community and to help protect the state from the fate that befell Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

My first time speaking there was 2012, I believe, and I came away with an interesting revelation, which I can summarize as Liberty is a hands-on task. In my career until that time, the problem of economic and political matters were mostly matters of theory and I had spent most of my time reading and distributing high theory, a task I loved and still do.

But coming to this event in New Hampshire I found something else entirely; a group of people who were busy doing things in practice to live freer lives. They were small business people, real-estate agents, people with alternative currency systems, people raising and selling food on and from their own farms, organizers of houses of worship and community centers, homeschoolers and school entrepreneurs, and much more besides, including office holders focusing on laws and legislation.

It was here, for example, that I acquired my first Bitcoin, which in the early days showed great promise finally to recreate money in a way that government could not ruin. It struck me at the time as among the greatest inventions of the human mind. Tellingly, it did not come from academia (so far as we know) but from tinkerers who wanted to solve the problem of double spending on digital monetary units. It was genius. The economics journals ignored it for many years, of course.

At this event were and are the practitioners. There is not one path forward but many, each person creatively implementing their own version of the freedom ideal. I recall being puzzled a bit by this approach but later inspired. I felt like a pianist who had only known scales and arpeggios who finds himself listening to a concerto by Liszt. I came to realize the difference between theory and practice, between the academic class and the people in clinical practice.

Theory should never be put down but we make a mistake in thinking that this is the whole of the task. Theory alone introduces its own dangers of following a logic to the point of absurdity that goes unnoticed. Minor mistakes in thinking can metastasize and create models that make no sense in reality. Theory unchecked by practical experience can even be catastrophic.

I knew an architect at university who received a large grant to develop a community of residences, which he did according to the highest standards of then-fashionable art and a theoretically informed sense of how people should live. The results were intriguing but the builders fought with the architect the entire time. The roofs had no overhang, the wiring and pipes under the houses on stilts had no covering, and the bathrooms had no doors, to mention just three problems.

Sure enough, once houses went on the market and faced the first winter, many design elements had to change. Residents put doors on bathrooms, the roofs were all retrofitted, and the open basements were all closed in and insulated. This was all made necessary once the first rains led to flooding and the first freeze caused all pipes to burst. In essence, the result was a disaster simply because the architect was a designer and not a builder.

There is a lesson in this. Theory without a reality check can make the world unlivable. This is because theorists can build beautiful models that hide grave errors, intentionally or not, and there is no means by which their mistakes are revealed until you test them against the real world. You never want them in charge of the whole project.

This is essentially what happened in the COVID years. The designers of the response were academics, bureaucrats, modelers, and other highly credentialed experts. Sidelined were medical practitioners, clinical workers, and other people with hands-on experience in dealing with healthcare. As time went on a massive chasm opened between the two camps with the theorists and modelers prevailing with media megaphone.

Meanwhile, the doctors, nurses, teachers, parents, elderly in nursing homes, and really the whole of everyone else were left without discretion, their concerns and issues not only ignored but censored and blotted out from public life. To return to the above analogy, the houses were flooding, the pipes were bursting, the residents humiliated, but there was no one to fix the problem because the architect was sure that he was right.

The problem is nowhere more clear than on the issue of early treatment. Doctors know how to deal with respiratory infections. Among the products in their toolkit are nasal rinses, zinc and vitamins, HCQ and IVR, steroids for strengthening membranes, and antibiotics to prevent secondary infections. None of this was a focus of the CDC or the NIH. They had their sights on one thing only, the novel gene therapy they would call a vaccine, and they even went further to remove as far as possible repurposed drugs from the market.

This was a mind-boggling response because it contradicted all practical and clinical experience. What is the first thing one should do when faced with a new pathogen? Figure out how to make sick people get better. Aside from invasive ventilation, the government and academic theorists had no answers except for everyone to lock down and wait for the shot, which turned out to be a flop.

Here is the essence of the scandal without precedent that took place all over the world. The theorists triumphed entirely over the practitioners. The job of the rest of us was to place ourselves into their models. We were supposed to comply in order to flatten the curve as if any kind of widespread viral infection could be so easily modeled. We were supposed to watch the databases online to make sure we would all be doing the right thing according to someone elses plan.

Meanwhile, for nearly two years, if you could leave your home and go to the downtown area of anywhere in the United States, you saw boarded up businesses, empty streets, and the periodic saddened straggler making his way through alleyways in a mask while the kids and parents sat lonely at home consuming streaming videos and living on social media. The disaster was obvious to everyone but those who created it.

As time went on, we came to realize that the experiment was much bigger than we thought. They were not just trying to mitigate a pathogen. They were attempting to rebuild the infrastructures of human existence. Here we have a paradigmatic example of theory gone mad, a vision wholly unconstrained from any reality, a cockamamie idea wholly unmoored from practical tangibilities. Its utter madness. And yet they had the power and the rest still do not.

And even today, precious few have admitted that anything went wrong. They are still blocking unvaccinated foreigners from travel, still mandating shots for kids and students, still pushing for human separation with 15-minute cities, and still swearing without a shred of evidence that they saved millions of lives. If you doubt it, they will send you to an academic study hosted on the website of the NIH.

It was the triumph of theory over practice and experience. And look what they did to the world!

The writings of Friedrich Hayek, building on Adam Smith, take the insight to a deeper level. There are many answers to social problems that are not readily part of human cognition in the present generation, certainly not to the theorists in charge, and not even to any one of us as intellectuals.

Rather, the essential knowledge that makes society work properlyin vast amounts of its functioningand to the advantage of all its members, is dispersed among millions and billions of minds, living tacitly in our mental spaces, and it is often the product of habits and rituals of living that are inherited from long experience deep in history. We take all of this for granted and hardly think about it. Much of it is inaccessible to us and certainly cannot be extracted, modeled, and codified into a grand plan.

The great lesson of our time should certainly include grave incredulity toward any philosopher king who comes along to tell us that it is all wrong and must be replaced with a wholly new way, else we will all die from a scary new threat, whether be a new pathogen or a change in the climate or some other invisible enemy. Looked at this way, its truly hard to believe that anyone gave the time of day to these people in the first place.

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.
Totally Innocent: Trump Praises Tucker Carlson for Challenging Insurrection Narrative With Jan. 6 Footage

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the New Hampshire Republican State Committee's Annual Meeting in Salem, New Hampshire, on Jan. 28, 2023. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Donald Trump heaped praise on Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson for releasing unseen footage from the Jan. 6 Capitol breach revealing that events which unfolded on the day were not as violent or part of an insurrection as portrayed by mainstream media.

The Jan. 6 committee investigating the breach as well as other lawmakers, including Republicans like former Rep. Liz Cheney, have been claiming that protestors were part of an insurrection campaign. Carlson pointed out that even though a few protestors inside the building were hooligans engaging in vandalism, many others were not. Some were even assisted by the police. One footage shows Jacob Chansley, also known as the Qanon Shaman, being calmly escorted by officers through the Capital. Trump praised Carlson for the expose and for breaking the mainstream narrative.

Congratulations to Tucker Carlson on one of the biggest scoops as a reporter in U.S. history. The New Surveillance Footage of the January 6th Events sheds an entirely different light on what actually happened. The Unselect Committee was a giant SCAM, and has now unequivocally been stamped as CRIMINAL FABRICATORS OF THIS MOST IMPORTANT DAY, Trump said in a March 7 Truth Social post.

Pelosi & McConnell failed on security. The Police story is sad and difficult to watch. Trump and most others are totally innocent, LET THEM GO FREE, NOW!

In another post, Trump praised the great courage shown by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in releasing the surveillance footage to Carlson.

Officer Death

One clip revealed by Carlson concerns deceased Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. The New York Times had initially reported that Sicknick was beaten to death by a fire extinguisher during the breacha claim the outlet retracted a month later.

However, Democrats like Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Vice President Kamala Harris, and President Joe Biden have continued to cite his death as proof of an insurrection at the Capitol.

According to Carlson, the new footage reveals that Sicknick was alive after the time when he was said to be allegedly killed by the protestors. The Jan. 6 committee members who had seen the footage are said to have refused to release it to the public.

The DC Medical Examiners office eventually cited natural causes as the reason behind Sicknicks deatha conclusion accepted by the U.S. Capitol Police.

Truth is beginning to be revealed. Thank you @SpeakerMcCarthy, @TuckerCarlson & company for showing America the rest of the Jan. 6 story. When will judges begin applying justice equally? Doesnt look like thousands of armed insurrectionists to me, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in a March 7 tweet.

In June 2021, Johnson wrote a letter to the acting chief of U.S. Capitol Police Yogananda Pittman, requesting information regarding unauthorized access to the Capitol via the upper west terrace doors on Jan. 6.

Criticism and Support For Footage Release

Democrats have attacked McCarthys decision to hand over Jan. 6 footage to Carlson. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a former member of the Jan. 6 committee, called Carlson a right-wing propagandist who spreads the Big Lie.

McCarthy insists that the footage release is in the publics interest as the American people have a right to know the truth of events that took place on Jan. 6.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) thanked McCarthy for releasing the footage. J6 video tapes will also be available for all J6 defendants. All 42,000+ hours. Thank you Speaker McCarthy, she said in a Feb. 20 tweet.

For two years, the Department of Justice has selectively leaked footage to shape their preferred narratives. And for two years, Democrats in Congress worked to establish their own narrative, Jan. 6 defendant William Pope told The Epoch Times in February.
Trudeau Announces Ukraine Supports, Hydrogen Deal With Europe as EU Head Visits

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take part in a joint media availability at CFB Kingston in Kingston, Ont., on March 7, 2023, a day before arriving in Washington and meeting with President Joe Biden on March 10. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced more support for Ukraine and a new hydrogen deal with Europe alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the first day of her visit to Canada on March 7.

The new support to Ukraine will include the extension of military training for Ukrainian forces under Operation Unifier, Trudeau said in a joint press conference von der Leyen at a Canadian Armed Forces base in Kingston, Ontario.

The latest aid comes in addition to the $5 billion in direct financial, military, humanitarian, and immigration assistance he has pledged to the country since 2022.

Von der Leyen is visiting Canada for two days. Later in the evening on March 7, she will be addressing the House of Commons and attending a reception accompanied by Trudeau, according to the Prime Ministers itinerary.

Canada is one of the European Unions most trusted partners, von der Leyen said at the joint press conference. We share the same vision of the world, the same democratic values. We believe in the power of cooperation, solidarity, and multilateralism.

She also pointed to Canada and the EUs collaboration in supporting Ukraine through the past year in the war with Russia.

Canada is doing much more than its fair share already compared to others and is going way beyond what is necessary. So I want to thank Canada for that, von der Leyen said.

Trudeau also announced today that Ottawa has signed a new hydrogen agreement with the European Union.

The new Canada-EU enhanced action plan on hydrogen will mobilize investment, support businesses, share expertise, and get clean Canadian hydrogen to Europe, he said.

As part of broader talks on clean energy, von der Leyen said Canada and the EU have been making progress on a critical minerals agreement signed in 2021. They are also looking at a joint green alliance, she said, that would focus on boosting energy and climate co-operation across the board.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Tucker Carlson Shows Footage of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick Walking Around on Jan. 6

Family says video shows Sicknick 'shake off the chemical irritants and resume his duties'

Newly released footage from Fox News host Tucker Carlson appears to show U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick walking in the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach, which Carlson said is evidence that top lawmakers lied about his death to claim a deadly insurrection occurred that day.

The new footage released by Fox News on Monday evening shows Sicknick walking through the building and motioning to protesters. Carlson stated that the footage of him walking disputes allegations in anonymously sourced reports and by top members of Congress that he was killed by rioters outside.

At one point in the clip, Sicknick is seen gesturing to protesters to move out of the building. He does not appear impaired in any way, although the clip is only a few seconds long.

Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol. This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6, Carlson said, whose team reported that electronic tags indicate that the House January 6 subcommittee had examined the same footage of Sicknick but never brought it up in its final report or during several televised hearings.

Starting with a New York Times report published in early 2021, claims that Sicknick was bludgeoned to death by Jan. 6 rioters were circulated by top Democratic lawmakers and members of the Biden administration. They cited his death in claiming that the Capitol breach was a deadly insurrection.

An autopsy report released by the Washington, D.C. Medical Examiners Office shows that Sicknick died of a stroke the day after Jan. 6, ruling that it was caused by natural causes. The U.S. Capitol Police released a statement soon after, saying the officer died in the line of duty and was courageously defending Congress and the Capitol.

Authorities said that Sicknick was attacked with pepper spray by rioters, although the D.C. Medical Examiners office said that he did not suffer an allergic reaction from the spray. The report, released in April 2021, said the officer suffered two strokes and died on Jan. 7, 2021.

The examiners office also told The Washington Post at the time that it found no evidence of internal or external injuries. All that transpired played a role in his condition, the examiner said.

The Epoch Times has contacted the U.S. Capitol Police for comment.

Family Responds

After Carlson aired the footage, Sicknicks family released a rambling statement to news outlets and claimed Carlson is trying to rip our wounds wide open again. It added, Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again and we are frankly sick of it. Leave us the hell alone.

Later in their statement, Sicknicks family claimed that the video shows the officer is trying to shake off the chemical irritants and resume his duties. The statement did not address assertions that his death was not caused by the incidents at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

A U.S. Capitol Police officer stands at the door of the Capitol Rotunda near where the late U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick will lie in honor in Washington, Feb. 2, 2021. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Weeks after his death, a family member of the officer told the Daily Mail that he wasnt hit on the head, disputing the earlier NY Times reporting. Video footage released by Fox on Monday showed Sicknick was wearing a helmet.

Meanwhile, a New Jersey man who was at the U.S. Capitol and used pepper spray on officers, including Sicknick, received a sentence of 80 months in prison in late January 2023. Federal prosecutors alleged that 33-year-old Julian Khater sprayed Sicknick and two other officers, and he pleaded guilty in September 2022 to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon. He was not charged with murder, attempted murder, or negligent homicide.

Defense attorney Chad Seigel said earlier this year the medical examiners autopsy confirmed that Khater didnt directly or indirectly cause the officers death. If there was any evidence to the contrary, they would have charged him, Seigel said.

The four people who died at or near the U.S. Capitol that day were all supporters of former President Donald Trump: Ashli Babbitt, Rosanne Boyland, Kevin Greeson, and Benjamin Phillips.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
UCLA Staff Member Robbed At Gunpoint Off Campus; Suspects Sought

1100 block of Westwood Boulevard near University of CaliforniaLos Angeles in Los Angeles. (Screenshot via Google Street View)

WESTWOOD, Calif.Authorities March 6 sought the publics help to find two men who robbed a University of CaliforniaLos Angeles (UCLA) staff member at gunpoint near the campus.

The crime occurred about 5:45 a.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Westwood Boulevard, according to UCLA police.

The victim, who was not injured, was walking in the area when a vehicle pulled up to the curb and a male suspect wearing a black ski mask got out brandishing a gray handgun, police said.

According to police, the suspect took a cellphone, wallet, and backpack from the victim, and fled in the vehicle, which was driven by a second man.

The getaway vehicle was described as a red, two-door, 2018, or newer model Chevrolet Camaro with a black hood and hard top.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call campus police at 310-825-1491.
UK Ammunition Stockpile Dangerously Low Because of Ukraine War: MPs

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 5, 2023. (Anna Kudriavtseva/Reuters)

Britain and its NATO allies have allowed their ammunition reserves to fall to dangerously low levels as they seek to keep Ukraine supplied in its resistance against the Russian invasion, a parliamentary committee has said.

The Defence Committee in the House of Commons warned on Tuesday that rebuilding Britains munitions stockpile could take at least a decade, putting UK national security at risk.

The committee said the way in which Western governments procure armaments is not fit for purpose and it urged the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to draw up an action plan to speed up procurement.

Servicemen of Ukrainian Military Forces move U.S. made FIM-92 Stinger missiles and the other military assistance shipped from Lithuania to Boryspil Airport in Kyiv on Feb. 13, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

It is clear that the UK and its NATO allies have allowed ammunition stockpiles to dwindle to dangerously low levels, the MPs said.

Whilst Russia is also facing the diminution of its stockpiles, other adversaries are able to maintain and potentially increase their own.

This inability to replenish UK stockpiles therefore puts at risk not just our ability to resupply Ukraine but also to counter any threat to our own security.

Replenishing UK Stockpiles

The committee said it is essential that the UKs defence industrial capacity is both resilient and scalable if it is to be able to ramp up production.

The MoD produced a strategy aimed at improving the way that it engages with industry and allies almost two years ago and yet we have been told it will take at least a decade to replenish (and then increase to a sustainable level) UK ammunition stockpiles, it said.

We therefore recommend that the department produce an action plan of how it intends to grow defence industrial capacity and reduce the time taken to replenish UK stockpiles.

Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said: Russias invasion of Ukraine should be a wake-up call for the West. Safety, security, and democracy are hard won and easily lost.

A powerful, resilient armed forces, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies overseas, is the best deterrent against aggression.

An MoD spokesman said the ministry is continuing to place orders to replace ammunition given to Ukraine and has an extra 560 million to increase stockpiles.

We remain fully engaged with industry, allies, and partners to ensure both the continuation of supply to Ukraine and replenishment of UK stock as quickly as possible, he added.

Labours shadow defence secretary John Healey said, Our military stockpiles are depleted and the government is acting too slowly to replenish them.

Hollowing Out

Western military leaders have issued repeated warnings that the war in Ukraine has exposed the vulnerability of Europes defences.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said last month that armed forces across the continent are paying the price for years of hollowing out that has seen ammunition stocks depleted, readiness levels reduced, and essential maintenance neglected.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace meets Ukrainian soldiers during a visit to Bovington Camp in Dorset, England, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Ben Birchall  Pool/Getty Images)

Talking to the BBC in Brussels, where he was meeting other NATO defence ministers, Wallace said the problems facing the UK were not unique to Britain.

Ukraine has exposed across Europeincluding in France and in Germany and other nationsour own vulnerabilities, he said on Feb. 15.

It has been well known for decades that where the armed forces have had to save money on things like its readiness or its infrastructure, the places that got unfunded were the unsexy parts of defence.

Maintenance, ship lifts, all sorts of things that you and I dont think are that exciting but are nevertheless really, really important.

Step Up Even More

Also speaking at the meeting, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said member states are ramping up production of artillery munitions as Ukraine is burning through shells much faster than the West can make them.

He noted countries like the United States, France, Germany, and Norway have signed contracts for munitions that would enable them to replenish their own stocks but also keep supplying Kyiv.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a NATO defence ministers meeting at the Alliances headquarters in Brussels, on Feb. 14, 2023. (Johanna Geron/Reuters)

But he stressed, We need to step up even more, because there is a big need out there to provide Ukraine with ammunition.

Even before Russias invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, many NATO countries had fallen short of meeting the alliances munitions-stockpiling targets.

The pace of deliveries to Ukraine, where Kyivs troops are firing up to 10,000 artillery shells daily, has drained Western inventories even further.

Earlier this month, U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Army Douglas Bush said that U.S. Army officials are in the process of ramping up production to overcome challenges associated with replenishing domestic stockpiles of munitions that were either sold to Ukraine or would be needed for a potential fight in the IndoPacific.

The Army is now in execution mode, ramping up production to refill quickly draining stockpiles, although production timelines for many munitions have been complicated by complex supply chains and security requirements, Bush said during a March 3 talk at the security-focused think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Andrew Thornebrooke, Reuters, and PA Media contributed to this report.
UK Unveils New Law to Stop Illegal Immigration in English Channel

An inflatable craft carrying illegal immigrants crosses the shipping lane in the English Channel off the coast of Dover, England, on Aug. 4, 2022. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The UK government has unveiled plans for new laws to crack down on illegal immigration in the English Channel, which will ban anyone who arrives illegally from claiming asylum.

More than 45,000 illegal immigrants crossed the English Channel in small boats to reach the UK in 2022. And the latest Home Office figures show nearly 3,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel already this year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping the boats one of his five priorities, and has said he is determined to deliver on his promise.

Announcing the new legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said it would betray British voters not to tackle illegal Channel crossings.

She said the new legislation will remove asylum seekers and ban them from reentry if they arrive in the UK through illegal means.

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives in Downing Street, central London, on March 7, 2023. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Swift Removal

The home secretary told MPs, For a government not to respond to waves of illegal migrants breaching our borders would be to betray the will of the people we were elected to serve.

Braverman said: They will not stop coming here until the world knows that, if you enter Britain illegally, you will be detained and swiftly removedremoved back to your country if it is safe, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. And that is precisely what this bill will do. That is how we will stop the boats.

Braverman said that the new bill allows the detention of illegal arrivals without bail or judicial review within the first 28 days of detention, until they can be removed.

It also places a duty on the home secretary to remove illegal entrants and it will radically narrow the number of challenges and appeals that can suspend removal.

Detainees inside the Manston short-term holding centre for illegal immigrants wave to members of the media outside, near Ramsgate, Kent, southeast England, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Daniel Leal /AFP via Getty Images)

Only children under the age of 18 and those who are unfit to fly or at a real risk of serious and irreversible harman exceedingly high barin the country we are removing them to will be able to delay their removal, she said.

Any other claims will be heard remotely after removal.

The bill will also introduce an annual cap, to be decided by Parliament, on the number of refugees the UK will offer sanctuary to through safe and legal routes, Braverman said.

She also made a direct plea to immigrants not to fall prey to people smugglers and cross the Channel.

Do not hand over your life savings, do not get into that flimsy dinghy, do not risk your life, because you will not be entitled to a life in the UK, she told MPs.

1-Way Ticket to Rwanda

At the centre of the governments plan is its agreement with Rwandasigned by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel in April 2022under which people who have arrived in the UK illegally would be sent to the East African country on a one-way ticket for processing and potential settlement.

The Rwanda scheme has been mired in legal challenges, and so far, no flights carrying illegal immigrants to Rwanda have departed.

In a victory for the government, the High Court in London ruled on Dec. 19 in favour of the Rwanda plan, saying it was lawful.

However, the opposition Labour Party has said it would drop the Rwanda policy if it wins the next general election.

Unsustainable

The home secretary said the need for reform of the asylum system is obvious and urgent, as the problem is already unsustainable.

Braverman told MPs: The small boats problem is part of a larger global migration crisis. In the coming years, developed countries will face unprecedented levels with pressures from ever greater numbers of people leaving the developing world for places like the United Kingdom. Unless we act today, the problem will be worse tomorrow and the problem is already unsustainable.

She said the asylum system is costing the British taxpayer 3 billion a year.

Some 85,000 people have illegally entered the UK by small boat since 2018, the vast majority being adult males under 40 rich enough to pay criminal gangs thousands of pounds for passage, she said.

Upon arrival, most are accommodated in hotels across the country, costing the British taxpayer around 6 million a day. The risk remains that these individuals just disappear. And when we try to remove them, they turn our generous asylum laws against us to prevent removal.

She said the government is procuring accommodation, including on military land, to end the farce of accommodating migrants in hotels.

Groundhog Day

The new bill is facing resistance from opposition MPs and peers as it goes through Parliament.

The main opposition Labour Party dismissed the governments new plan as a con that risks making the chaos worse.

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: We need serious action to stop dangerous boat crossings, which are putting lives at risk and undermining border security. Instead, todays statement is groundhog day.

She accused the Conservative government of failing to go after people smugglers and to negotiate new return agreements with other countries.

The Scottish National Party said it will fight the bill every step of the way.

But campaign group Migration Watch UK warned lawmakers not to neuter the legislation.

The groups chairman Alp Mehmet said: As it stands, the small boats bill has many of the right ingredients to solve the Channel crisis. However, it is vital that it is not neutered as it makes its way through Parliament.

Enshrining in statute a requirement to detain and remove illegal arrivals is a vital first step. Furthermore, establishing the precedent that illegal entrants will be unable to claim asylum or other forms of refuge will serve as a powerful deterrent, he said.

PA Media contributed to this report.
United Airlines Planes Strike Each Other on Runway at Bostons Logan Airport, FAA Investigating

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the collision of two United Airlines planes on the runway at Bostons Logan International Airport that occurred on March 6, the agency has said.

According to the FDA, the two planes struck one another at the airport, but no injuries were reported.

As a tow tug was pushing it back from the gate at Boston Logan International Airport, the right wing of United Airlines Flight 515 struck the tail of United Airlines Flight 267 around 8:30 a.m. local time this morning, the FAA told Fox News of Mondays incident.

Both aircraft were Boeing 737s that were scheduled for departure, the FAA added. The FAA will investigate.

Flight 515 was heading to Newark, New Jersey, and Flight 267 was scheduled to fly to Denver, airport officials told The Associated Press.

The two aircraft were taken out of service, United said, adding that flights were rescheduled for later in the day.

While pushing back from its gate yesterday at Boston Logan, the wing of one United aircraft made contact with another United plane parked at the neighboring gate, United said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times. Customers on both aircraft deplaned normally and weve made arrangements to get them to their destinations on different aircraft.

The latest incident at Logan International Airport came just over a week after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that a separate incursion occurred at the same airport on Feb. 27 when a Learjet 60 began a takeoff roll as a JetBlue Embraer 190 was preparing to land on an intersecting runway.

That incident occurred just before 7 p.m. Eastern time.

A Delta Air Lines aircraft flies past the U.S. Capitol before landing at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 24, 2022. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

NTSB Investigating Near-Misses

According to a preliminary review by the FAA, an air traffic controller had asked the pilot of the Learjet 60 to line up and wait on Runway 9 while JetBlue Flight 206 was about to land on an intersecting runway. However, the pilot of the Learjet flight took off despite not being given clearance.

The Learjet pilot read back the instructions clearly, but began a takeoff roll instead. The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb-out as the Learjet crossed the intersection. The Learjet was operated by Hop-A-Jet, a private charter company. The FAA will determine the closest proximity between the two aircraft as part of the investigation, said the FAA in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

No damage or injuries were reported in that incident either. NTSB is probing that close call too.

The agency is also probing a string of other incidents that have happened in recent months, including near-misses in Austin, Honolulu, New York City, and Burbank, California.

In January, a Delta Air Lines flight at New Yorks John F. Kennedy Airport was forced to abort a planned takeoff after an American Airline flight crossed the same runway despite not being given clearance to do so. The two planes came within 1,400 feet of colliding.

Also in January, a Cessna flight and a United Airlines jet came around 1,170 feet from each other at the Honolulu International Airport, and in February, a FedEx cargo plane was cleared to land just as a Southwest flight was approved to take off from the same runway at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Texas.

In that same month, two planes nearly collided on a runway at Bob Hope Burbank Airport after the crew of a Mesa Airlines CRJ900 that was landing executed a pilot-initiated go-around as a SkyWest Embraer E175 was taking off from the same runway.

A Southwest Airlines airplane comes in for a landing at Los Angeles International Airport on May 12, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Southwest Airlines Flight Aborts Landing

More recently, a Southwest Airlines flight from Baltimore, Maryland to Raleigh, North Carolina left passengers horrified after the plane hit bad weather, causing the aircraft to shake like crazy as it landed.

The landing was eventually aborted and the plane diverted to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, instead. However, passengers were reportedly left stranded in a closed airport overnight.

Southwest Airlines told the New York Post that the shaky landing was due to weather conditions at RDU (Raleigh-Durham International Airport).

We made the decision to safely divert Southwest flight 3094 (BWI  RDU) to MYR due to weather conditions at RDU, the airline said in a statement. We brought in another crew and aircraft to transport the passengers to their final destination as soon as we were able to safely do so.

On Sunday, a different Southwest Airlines flight en route to Florida from Cuba was forced to turn back after birds struck the engine, causing it to catch fire and fill the cabin with smoke.

The plane returned to Cuba and landed safely. No injuries were reported.

It is unclear exactly what is prompting the uptick in near-misses and other incidents, however, Flight Safety Foundation CEO Hassan Shahidi told CBS News that they could be driven in part by increased demand in travel following the COVID-19 pandemic.

That, combined with thousands of new pilots that have entered the aviation industry, could be placing additional on the system, said Shahidi.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.
Northern Arizona University (NAU) recently received a $6.4 million grant as part of an Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) initiative meant to address Arizonas nursing shortage.

The university was one of five institutions across the state to receive grant money on Jan. 31, which together totals $43.1 million.

Each university will be using the grant to fund scholarships in accelerated nursing programs, with the requirement that recipients practice nursing in Arizona for at least four years after receiving their degree.

The ADHS announcement lists that NAUs funding will be used for 240 of the 900 total scholarships.

"We are committed to ensuring students are prepared to enter the nursing workforce our state desperately needs," president Jose Luis Cruz Rivera said in NAU's announcement. "Thanks to this state grant, NAU will significantly expand its nursing program offerings and educate more students who will positively contribute to serving Arizona's communities and address health equity throughout our state."

The scholarships will be awarded for students starting their programs as early as this summer, and will cover tuition and fees for the entire course of study after other grants and scholarships are applied. Any student entering an accelerated or compressed nursing degree program at NAU is eligible to apply -- the only requirement is that they will need to work in Arizona for four years after graduating.

Janina Johnson, the executive director of NAUs school of nursing, said while Arizona has an overall need for healthcare workers, the most critical one is nursing.

While traditional nursing programs typically take four years to complete due to the combination of the general education requirements and nursing-specific classes, accelerated programs, which take at most 18 months, are shrinking the ramp to practice.

This is done by offering the program in consecutive semesters rather than having a gap in the summer and increasing the number of credits taken each semester (from 12-15 to 17-19).

NAU has two accelerated nursing programs eligible for this scholarship -- the accelerated BSN available in Flagstaff and North Valley and the compressed BSN available in Flagstaff, Tucson and Yuma.

On Feb. 24, the State Board of Nursing approved NAUs expanding its accelerated nursing program to be offered in North Valley as well as Flagstaff, saving students some travel time. This program is a post-baccalaureate, requiring an existing non-nursing degree and takes 12 months to complete over three consecutive semesters.

The compressed BSN takes 16 months to complete and does not require a bachelors degree. It is offered at NAUs Flagstaff, Tucson and Yuma campuses and is completed through four consecutive semesters.

Scholarships for the accelerated program will be available to students starting this summer, while students starting in fall 2023 will be the first eligible for scholarships in the compressed program.

The goal of the grant is to accelerate nurses into the nursing workforce and to help address the shortage of nursing in Arizona, Johnson said. ...In Arizona, we rank in the top five states for the shortage, with critical shortages in areas for underserved populations, including rural areas.

She said NAUs programs had a focus on rural and underserved areas, including content about vulnerable populations and social determinants of health in their curricula and having a majority of placements in rural areas.

The majority of NAUs grant funding -- $5.2 million -- will go towards scholarships for students in its accelerated nursing programs. The rest will be used to support practicing physicians, track scholarships and student progress as well as other administrative tasks related to implementing the scholarships.

Over 200 scholarships will be awarded for the year this grant has been funded, Johnson estimated.

These scholarships come alongside an expansion of NAUs nursing programs, including the accelerated programs expansion to North Valley.

Enrollment across the programs is expected to double through this grant, Johnson said, with the compressed program doubling its current rate of 80 students each semester and the accelerated program growing from 30 to 70 students.

These totals are expected to continue, even after the scholarship funding has been exhausted. Johnson said this will also help with the shortage, as nursing programs often receive more applications than they have openings. The Flagstaff nursing program, for example, had 120 applicants for only 30 seats.

Nationwide, [nursing education programs] turn away many students because there's not enough seats in nursing, she said, noting that many nursing schools struggle to find clinical placements and faculty.

At NAU, 120 students will apply for 30 open seats in the Flagstaff nursing program and the seats added through these expansions will help bring more applicants into its programs.

Johnson also noted that this will further NAUs goal of providing equitable access to education, removing an economic barrier to higher education.

I think its a wonderful way for Arizona to support the growth that were seeing in the state, she said of the ADHS grant. I think thats something other states can learn from. Arizona is on the forefront of that as you provide state money to support building up the nursing workforce and addressing the critical shortage that we have.

More about NAU's nursing programs and the scholarships can be found at nau.edu/nursing.
University Warns Students About New TikTok Drinking Trend After Rash of Ambulance Calls

The University of Massachusetts in Amhurst warned its students about a new drinking trend after 28 ambulances were called to off-campus parties over the weekend.

The drinking trend entails mixing and drinking gallon jugs with a mix of alcohol, electrolytes, flavoring, and water, known as blackout rage gallons or BORGs. The university said students were observed carrying these jugs of alcoholic drink mix on Saturday during the annual Blarney Blowout, an unsanctioned drinking party that precedes St. Patricks Day.

According to UMass officials, there were so many calls for ambulances for student alcohol intoxication over the weekend that neighboring agencies were called in to assist. The Amherst Fire Department said none of the calls were for life-threatening cases.

The university said this is the first time they had observed widespread use of BORGs at off-campus parties.

UMass Police also reported two arrests for underage drinking over the weekend.

The university said it plans to assess the widespread drinking behavior related to the Blarney Blowout events and increase efforts to educate students. The university already teaches incoming students about the physiological and medical risks of binge drinking.

The Blarney Blowout typically begins on the weekend before the UMass spring break, which also coincides with St. Patricks Day. This years UMass spring break runs from March 12 to 19.

Dozens of posts on the TikTok app describe these BORG drinks. In one video, a TikTok user said he couldnt taste the alcoholic content of his drink mix and said, I now see why BORG stands for  blackout rage gallon, because this is a recipe for blacking out, before encouraging the apps users to follow him for more alcoholic drink recipes.

The increased palatability of an alcoholic drink can lead to people drinking it faster, and therefore consuming a higher amount of alcohol.

As with any other vehicle for consuming alcohol, the risks will primarily depend on how much alcohol a person consumes and how quickly they consume it, Dr. George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health, told CBS News in a recent interview on the BORG drinking trend.

Quite simply, as alcohol consumption goes up, so do the risks of injuries, fights, sexual assaults, emergency department visits, blackouts, car crashes, and other harms, Koob added.

Concerns Over Viral TikTok Trends

TikTok has become widely popular among teenagers and young adults. The social media app, which centers around short video content, has helped some internet trends gain broader attention.

One trend that caught viral attention on TikTok last year showed users how to break into and steal a number of different Kia and Hyundai models that were built between 2010 and 2021 that feature the same vulnerability, which allows people to steal them with simple tools and a USB cable. That TikTok trend coincided with a spike in thefts of Kias and Hyundais.

Another trend challenged TikTok users to hold their breath until they lost consciousness. One 10-year-old child died while attempting this breath-holding challenge and her mother filed a lawsuit against the social media platform, which is owned by the Chinese parent company ByteDance. The mother, Tawainna Anderson, alleged the social media platform was programmed to be addictive and was programming children for profits.

The algorithm is designed and employed to achieve a singular ultimate goal: increase corporate profits. The TikTok Defendants app and algorithm seeks to show users videos and content designed to keep users engaged and glued to the app where they are encouraged only to participate more, Andersons lawsuit reads. [TikToks] algorithm determined that the deadly Blackout Challenge was well-tailored and likely to be of interest to 10-year-old Nylah Anderson, and she died as a result.

A 12-year-old boy in Oklahoma died a year earlier while attempting the same blackout challenge.

TikTok recently announced a 60-minute screen time limit feature for minor users, in an effort to curb the amount of time young people spend on the app.

Government officials have called TikTok a national security threat over the apps Chinese ownership and ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Officials have warned that the app could be used to spy on Americans.

Congress banned TikTok on federal government devices, and dozens of other state governments have also banned the app on their devices. Theres a growing bipartisan effort to ban TikTok altogether in the United States and, last month, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their respective app stores.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

From NTD News
USDA Proposes New Rule for Product of USA Food Labels

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is considering a new rule regarding requirements on Product of USA labels in an effort to increase consumer understanding of what the claim actually means.

The proposed rule was announced on March 6 and would allow the voluntary label Product of USA or Made in the USA claim to be used on meat, poultry, and egg products only when they are derived from animals born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.

Current rules for those labels allow them to be used for meat derived from animals that were born and raised in other countries and only processed in the United States. Farmers and ranchers throughout the country have argued that this left domestic producers at a disadvantage.

American consumers expect that when they buy a meat product at the grocery store, the claims they see on the label mean what they say, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. These proposed changes are intended to provide consumers with accurate information to make informed purchasing decisions. Our action today affirms USDAs commitment to ensuring accurate and truthful product labeling.

Under the proposed rule, the Product of USA label would continue to be voluntary but would require supporting documentation to be on file so that it can be verified.

Unclear What Product of USA Means

The rulemaking also proposes to allow other voluntary U.S. origin claims we see on meat, poultry, and egg products sold in the marketplace, USDA said. These claims would need to include a description on the package of all preparation and processing steps that occurred in the United States upon which the claim is made.

The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 60 days and any comments can be submitted online at the USDA website.

According to the department, the proposed rule is supported by petitions, thousands of comments from stakeholders, and data.

A nationwide survey (pdf) of 4,834 consumers commissioned by the USDA and conducted between July to August last year found that just 16 percent of those surveyed identified the correct definition for the Product of USA labeling claim, while 63 percent provided an incorrect response, and 21 percent said they did not know the meaning of the claim.

USDAs comprehensive review shows there is a clear need to revise the current Product of USA label claim so that it more accurately conveys U.S. origin information, USDA said.

The latest label change was first proposed by President Joe Biden in 2021 under his Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and is part of a commitment made in the administrations Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain.

Around 12 percent of the total beef consumed in the United States is imported from countries including Australia, Canada, and Brazil, while imports of red meat and poultry overall account for less than 6 percent. Imports of eggs, meanwhile, account for less than half of 1 percent.

Current Label System Is Flawed

Roughly 12 percent of all meat, poultry, and egg products sold in the United States are labeled as Made in the USA, according to USDA.

The proposed rule change comes after consumer advocates and representatives for U.S. ranchers and farmers, including the U.S. Cattlemens Association (USCA) petitioned the USDA to stop allowing meats that were imported into the country from being allowed to use a label stating that it was a product of the United States.

USCA President Justin Tupper praised the announcement on Monday.

If it says Made in the USA, then it should be from cattle that have only known USA soil, Tupper said. Consumers have the right to know where their food comes from, full stop.

However, Kent Bacus, executive director of government affairs at the National Cattlemens Beef Association said in a statement that while there is no question that the current Product of USA label for beef is flawed, more needs to be done.

Simply adding born, raised, and harvested requirements to an already broken label will fail to deliver additional value to cattle producers and it will undercut true voluntary, market-driven labels that benefit cattle producers, Bacus said. We cannot afford to replace one flawed government label with another flawed government label.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Voluntary ArriveCAN Usage Low Despite Speedier Border Processing: CBSA

A person holds a smartphone set to the opening screen of the ArriveCan app in a file photo. (Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press)

The number of travellers who use ArriveCAN to submit their advance customs declaration when entering Canada has dropped 50 percent since the system stopped being mandatory for COVID-19 purposes last fall, says the border agency.

September 2022 was the last month ArriveCAN was mandatory to track the vaccination status and quarantine plans of travellers, with 31 percent of them submitting an advance declaration through the system.

After the government abandoned the mandatory usage in October, that number fell to 18.8 percent according to data from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided to The Epoch Times.

The number of travellers submitting an advance declaration fell further in November 2022 to 12 percent, but climbed back to 15 percent this February.

The service was initially only available at the airports in Vancouver, Toronto Pearson, and Montreal. It has now been expanded to Winnipeg, Halifax, Quebec City, Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto Billy Bishop.

Travellers landing at Pearson have been using ArriveCAN at a higher rate over the last three months: 15.55 percent, compared to 13.82 percent in Vancouver in December; 16.1 percent, compared to 13.8 percent in Montreal in January; and 18.67 percent, compared to 14.7 percent in Montreal in February.

The CBSA is aiming to increase the digitization of the border and the usage of ArriveCAN and other new technologies.

People who refuse to adopt them are likely to face a more sluggish travel experience. CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy says travellers who file an advance declaration through ArriveCAN spend 30 percent less time at the kiosk.

Express lanes for ArriveCAN users have also been set up at some airports, she added.

ArriveCAN is currently only available at airports but will be expanded to land borders under an unspecified timeline.

The CBSA expects that traveller uptake of this technology will continue to grow as availability increases and new features are added, says Purdy.

This is part of the CBSAs Traveller Modernization efforts to deliver new digital tools and technologies to improve and expedite traveller experience without compromising the safety and security of our border.

The new technologies being implemented by CBSA involve using facial recognition with applications, said Purdy, but she didnt specify whether ArriveCAN will serve as the platform.

Global News has reported that this is the case.

This is taking place as Air Canada in February started implementing voluntary digital identification using facial recognition through the Air Canada app for select in-country flights.

Modernization

CBSA President Erin OGorman told the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates on March 6 that consulting firm McKinsey & Company was hired to oversee digital transformation at her agency.

The work on the border of the future that stems from the second contract that was awarded to McKinsey relates to how we will be able to implement a digital experience for travellers, she said.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino also testified that McKinsey has informed some of the largest digital and organizational renewal efforts at the CBSA, with three contracts for a total of $4,337,610 since 2016.

The government operations committee is currently studying the exponential increase in contracts awarded to McKinsey since the Liberals took power in 2015.
A reminder that we choose our fates

Plato is justly famous as one of the worlds greatest philosophers. Indeed, 20th-century philosopher A.N. Whitehead once commented that all Western philosophy is but a series of footnotes to Plato.

At the end of his book Republic, Plato recounts the curious myth of Er. Myth here has its ancient Greek meaning of account rather than our contemporary understanding of it as something false or of its being a traditional story involving supernatural beings, heroes, gods, quests, and the like.

As it happens, this mythaccountof Er does involve supernatural beings! But this is not an ancient Greek myth as story; it is a philosophers account of how reality might be structured.

For these reasons, that it is not a traditional myth (and so does not feature in most compendiums of Greek myths) and that it has been written by a philosopher (remember, Plato wanted to ban the poets as too subversive), I am wary of according it too much status or credibility. But then again, it comes from one of the profound ancients, and I, for one, respect that deeply.

What is the myth of Er and how is it helpful today?

Platos work the Myth of Er tells how one warrior is allowed to see souls judged after death. (Thanasis F/Shutterstock)

The Myth of Er

A modern illustration of a passage in the Myth of Er, where Ananke, the personification of Necessity, is above the Moirai, the Fates. From Magasin Pittoresque, 1857, by Edmond Lechevallier-Chevignard. (PD-US)

Er was a man who died in battle, and with others who had also died, he was led to the afterlife. There, he came to a wonderful place where there were judges who decided where one was to go in the afterlife. There were two doors (one entrance, one exit) to heaven, and two doors (again, entrance and exit) into the earth. Good souls were directed into the heavens, and bad ones were sent down into the earth. The hero, Er, was not sent to either place but was told to remain where he was so that he could see the whole process and report back to the living what occurred after death.

What did occur? Those who went to heaven came back all clean and happy, reporting indescribable sights of beauty; those coming back from the earth were dirty and miserable. In fact, the latter had had to spend a thousand years atoning 10 times over for every sin theyd done.

Furthermore, there were some individualstyrants, murderers, and those guilty of other grossest of sinswho were not allowed back at all; their souls were continually flayed.

But for those who could return, their journey at that point had only been stage one. After seven more days, they all gathered in a meadow with Necessity, her daughters (the Fates), and the Sirens.

Here, a lottery takes place where it is clear that what is chosen by each individual is their own responsibility. In essence (quite a philosophical point from a philosopher), the choice they make needs to show that they have learned from their experiences, both in their physical life and what has happened to them so far in the afterlife.

At this point, they can choose to be reincarnated as another human or even as an animal. Before doing so, they drink the waters of forgetfulness and so start their new life with a clean slate. However, the fact is, the soul goes back to life because the soul is immortal.

Er does not drink these waters, and so he is able (on the 10th day and in dramatic fashion) to wake up on the funeral pyre that is about to dispatch his remains and to return to life to explain what really happens after death.

So why is this relevant or important today? Isnt it just idle speculation, albeit of a philosophic bent?

Our Souls Are Immortal

In the Myth of Er, souls drank from the river of Lethe and forgot their past lives. Sculpture of Lethe, 1908, by Wilhelm Wandschneider. Postcard collection. (PD-US)

I think there are four reasons why this story is important. The first and, possibly, the most important of all is that the great philosopher Plato seems to agree with the wisdom of the ages, namely that there is an immortal soul.

The soul is something that all cultures of the past knew and reverenced, be it the Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic cultures, not to mention the big religions of today, including Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and even Buddhism. I mention Buddhism last because of its own notions of reincarnation that partially tally with Platos version.

Keep in mind that reincarnation can be, in its way, a form of experiencing hell, for as Er observes, not all those who choose their new life choose wisely.

In the materialist world we live in now, this can seem antiquated and irrelevant, but the weight of this testimony is huge. To ignore it, wed have to dismiss all ancient as well as current religious peoples as primitive ignoramuses, and exude an arrogance of such staggering proportions that only the Greek word hubris really gets to the root of the sin.

And that leads us to the second point.

We Will Be Judged

Nearly all faiths tell of a last judgment. The Last Judgment, circa 1595, by Leandro Bassano. National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. (PD-US)

Conceding the immortality of the soul, there is also its judgment in the afterlife. If belief in the immortality of the soul is an unpopular notion in the West, then judgmentaccountabilityis even more unpopular and to be shunned.

We simply dont like to think that we are accountable for our actions, despite the fact that we all have a conscience. Until we bury or cauterize our conscience, it warns us of wrongdoing through the emotions of guilt, shame, remorse, and other such feelings.

Rather, in the West, we seek to undermine judgment. This we do firstly and foremost by corrupting language. As New York Times columnist and author David Brooks puts it in his book The Road to Character:

When modern culture tries to replace sin with ideas like error or insensitivity, or tries to banish words like virtue, character, evil, and vice altogether, that doesnt make life any less moral; it just means we have obscured the inescapable moral core of life with shallow language.  Furthermore, the concept of sin is necessary because it is radically true.

The Basic Vocabulary of Morality

A page from a Renaissance manuscript of Platos Republic in Latin. The Myth of Er appears at the end of Platos work. (PD-US)

This leads to our third point about the importance of Ers myth: The story stresses the need for personal responsibility. Of course, if we no longer have the basic vocabulary of moralitywords like good and evil, for examplethen taking responsibility becomes much more difficult for us. Writing long ago in the 1950s, Christian humanist Dorothy L. Sayers said: Our confidence in such faculties as will and judgment has been undermined, and in collapsing has taken with it a good deal of our interest in ourselves as responsible individuals.

Choosing Our Fate

Platos Myth of Er tells a story of souls being judged. Detail of Archangel St. Michael weighing souls, from the altarpiece of the Last Judgment, 14461452, by Rogier van der Weyden. Salle Saint-Louis in the Louvre. (PD-US)

Finally, the fourth point is a consequence of the third point: the importance of the choices that we make. These choices will determine everything, as in everything being our destiny, or our fate.

It is interesting that in the myth, the three Fates (daughters of Necessity personified here) are present at the drawing of the lots. As we say in the modern world, choices have consequences, but increasingly more and more people seem to want to ignore this fact. Writer and philosopher Ayn Rand had a wonderful aphorism that perfectly encapsulates the issue: We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

Another way of expressing this truth is to say that life has meaning because life is moral. There is right and there is wrong, and the Spindle of Necessity (the universe) upholds this structure. This leads us straight back to point number two: There is a judgment.

This, surely, is a big antidote to much of our contemporary thinking and beliefs, irrespective of our specific religious denomination: The soul is immortal. There is a judgment after death. (Although often in life too, for as the Buddhists say, You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.)

We are responsible for our actions, and therefore the choices we make have eternal consequences. Believing these propositions elevates human life, for as Dante scholar Prue Shaw observed, To act instinctively on desire is to be an animal. Morality is an antidote to that.
White House Dismisses Chinas Threat of Catastrophic Conflict

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington on Feb. 10, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The White House is responding to threats from a senior Chinese communist official who demanded the U.S. stop considering China a geopolitical threat or face consequences.

The Biden administration does not seek conflict with Chinas communist regime, according to National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby.

We seek a strategic competition with China, Kirby said during a March 7 press call. We do not seek conflict.

Theres nothing about our approach to this most consequential bilateral relationship that should lead anybody to think that we want conflict.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, has increasingly taken a more belligerent stance towards the United States since CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping came to power in 2012.

Kirby reiterated that the United States was dedicated to managing the competition between the two powers responsibly.

Everything that were doing is in keeping with the Presidents guidance that we aim to compete, and we aim to win that competition with China, but we absolutely want to keep it at that level, Kirby said.

His comments follow an inflammatory series of statements made by CCP Foreign Minister Qin Gang earlier in the day.

Qin delivered answers to pre-prepared questions at a conference on the sidelines of an annual regime meeting in Beijing. During the session, Qin accused the United States of suppressing China and threatened that the United States distorted attitude would result in conflict and confrontation.

Qin further added that no amount of guardrails could stop a catastrophic conflict should the United States continue to regard the regime as its primary rival.

The comments appear to be aligned with expert analysis which suggests that CCP leadership increasingly believes in its own propaganda, and may consider a war with the United States as inevitable despite U.S. efforts to deter such a course of events.

In recent weeks, Congress has stepped up actions to counter a range of threats posed by the CCP aggression, which has become an area of rare bipartisan consensus.

The White House on Tuesday reiterated that none of its policies towards Beijing had changed and that it would continue to pursue peaceful, if tense, relations between the two powers.

The presidents approach to China has not changed, White House Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said during a March 7 press briefing. Weve been very clear, we do not seek conflict and we do not want conflict.

What were seeking is competition. Weve been very clear about that these last two years.
The traditional ruler of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has claimed that Lagos State is not part of Yoruba land.

Akiolus statement is coming barely a week after he publicly humiliated the Ooni of Ife , Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi at an event.

In a statement from Akiolus palace, the monarch traced the historical background of the state and why it should not be regarded as part of Yoruba land.

The statement reads: Coming from the palace, with what I was told by my late paternal grandmother who is a descendant of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi and also reading from factual Historical books, let me share this Knowledge with you all on Eko/Lagos.

Modern day Lagos was founded by Prince Ado, the son of the Oba of Benin, Prince Ado was the first Oba of Lagos, the son of the Bini King, Prince Ado, named the town Eko until the Portuguese explorer Ruy de Segueira changed the Maritime town to Lagos, which at that time from 1942 was Portuguese expedition center down the African Coast.

It was a major centre of the slave trade until 1851. Lagos was annexed by Britain via the Lagos treaty of cession in 1861, ending the consular period and starting the British Colonial Period. The remainder of modern day Nigeria was seized in 1886 when the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria was established in 1914 Lagos was declared its capital due to the struggle of the Bini King.

Lagos experienced growth prior to the British Colonial rule and even more rapid growth during the Colonial rule throughout the 1960s, 70s, continued through the 80s and 90s till date. Thanks to the Aworis, Binis, Yorubas, migrants across the nation and world at large, as no particular group of people can take the glory alone.

Lagos is made up of Lagoons and creeks. The Lagos lagoon, Lagos Harbour, five cowne creeks, Ebute-Metta creeks, Porto-Novo creeks, New canal, Badagry creeks, Kuramo waters and Light house creeks.

The Aworis and Binis are known to be the first settlers of the Eko land. The Aworis are speakers of a distinct dialect close to that of the Yoruba language with a rich Bini mixture. Traditionally, Aworis were found in Ile-Ife, they were known to be the Binis who followed their self-exiled Prince, the first son of the Ogiso (now called Oba) of Benin Kingdom, whose step-mother was after his head.

The exiled Benin Prince Izoduwa known to the Yorubas as Ooduwa (Oduduwa) was made ruler of the Ife people due to his powers and followers from the Great Benin-Kingdom.

Izoduwa (Ooduwa) was made the first King of Ile-Ife in 1230 AD. His followers from his fathers Kingdom in Benin are the todays Awori people who settled in Eko now called Lagos.

In the 1300, the King of Benin-Empire heard from one of his traders who was a settler in Eko on how the Binis were treated by the Aworis who lived in their area. Upon hearing this, the King of Benin commanded the assembling of a war expedition, led by his son, Prince Ado, which headed the settlement of the Aworis and demanded explanation.

On arriving Eko, Prince Ado and his Army were more than received. The Aworis asked the Bini Prince to stay and become their leader. Ado agreed on the condition that they surrender their sovereignty to the Oba of Benin, to which the people agreed. Hearing this, the King of Benin gave his permission for Prince Ado and the expedition to remain in Eko.

The Oba of Benin sent some of his chiefs including the Eletu, Odibo, Obanikoro and others to assist his son, Oba Ado in the running of Eko.

From the crowing of Prince Ado as the first Oba of Lagos (then called Eko), Lagos served as a major center for slave trade from which the Aworis, the Oba of Benin and his son the Oba of Lagos and all the children/descendants who took over as his successors for over four centuries supported the trade.

The Oba of Benin was the head of the Benin Empire which are the present day Western, Southern and Eastern modern day Nigeria. The King never obliged anyone to speak the Bini language as he believed everyone was entitled to their own choice of language.

The name Eko was given to it by the first king of Lagos, Oba Ado, the young and vibrant Prince from Benin. Eko was the land now known as Lagos Island, where the king palace was built.

The palace is called Idugaran meaning palace built on pepper farm Oba Ado and the warriors from Benin together with the early Binis settlers in Eko and the Awori people settled in the southern part of Eko called Isale Eko. Isale literally means bottom . Must have been used to indicate downtown (as in down town Lagos)

Until the coming in of the Benins 1300AD , Lagos geographical boundary was Lagos mainland, Lagos Island, the seat of the Oba of Lagos then consisted of a pepper farm and fishing post. No one was living there.

About 1450 AD some Yorubas who hailed from Isheri in Ogun-state and Ekiti were allowed by the King to settle in Eko during a war, they came in a very large numbers thereby surpassing the numbers of the Aworis and Binis. (Hence Yorubas claim to own Eko due to their numbers).

Oba Ado fell in love with a beautiful woman whose father was Awori and mother a daughter to one of the chief; they had two sons and also a daughter Erelu Kuti, who begot Ologun Kutere who later became King.
New Kathu-Srisoonthorn road gains momentum

PHUKET: The move to build a new road directly linking Kathu with Srisoonthorn is gaining momentum with representatives of three influential Phuket families ready to donate the land necessary to build the road.

transportconstruction

By The Phuket News

Tuesday 7 March 2023, 10:52AM

The route the road will take over the hills in the heart of the island. Google Maps / PPAO

An artists impression of what the completed road would look like. Image: PPAO

Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO) President Rewat Areerob presided over the meeting held last week to discuss the dedication of land from the private landowners.

Mr Rewat said the PPAO welcome the project in order to help alleviate traffic congestion in the centre of the island.

The road, to be 12 metres wide, will start near the Phuket Mining Museum in Kathu and cross the hills in the heart of the island to connect with the east side of Bang Neow Dam reservoir in Baan Manik, Srisoontorn, Mr Rewat said.

The meeting was held to acknowledge the preliminary details and to ensure that the donation of the land required to build the road complies with government guidelines, namely regulations, under a Cabinet resolution made on August 1, 2007, said an official report of the meeting.

The essence of the Cabinet resolution was that such projects must be mutually beneficial and for the public benefit, the report said.

At the meeting representing the three families to donate the land were Sanguan Kulwanich, Kitti Saksaktawee and Nginao Ekvanich.

In announcing the intent to build the new road, patriarch Nimit Ekwanich last November explained that the road will start between two old tin mine ponds near the Tin Mining Museum in Moo 4, Kathu.

Motorists already use a dirt track over the hills from there, accessing it via Soi Kathu 4, he said.

The road connects to Moo 3 and Moo 7 in Srisoonthorn, covering a distance of about six kilometers, he said.

People have been using the route for many years, but developing the route into a proper road would bring much benefit to the island, Mr Nimit added.
Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the economic sector at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan) BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior Chinese leaders Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday attended group discussions with national political advisors at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). They stressed the significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and of establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Li Qiang participated in a group meeting of political advisors from the economic sector. He stressed that since the beginning of this year, Chinese economy has got off to a good start, but it still faces difficulties, challenges and uncertainties. Efforts must be made to follow the guidelines of the Central Economic Work Conference to comprehensively implement the new development philosophy and earnestly promote high-quality development. Scientific and precise macro-policy must be applied and extra efforts must be made to ensure stable growth, employment and prices, as well as ensure a sound economic recovery and realize annual growth target, he said. Joining political advisors from the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots in a group meeting, Zhao Leji noted that the upcoming five years will be crucial for getting our efforts to build a modern socialist country in all respects off to a good start. Zhao called on them to enhance their connection with the CPC, leverage the strengths of the country's new type of socialist political party system, coordinate efforts to promote democracy and unity, and create a powerful collective force for realizing the Chinese Dream. When joining discussions with political advisors from the CPC, Wang Huning underscored the need to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership over the work of the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body. He called on the political advisors to fulfill their duties with a focus on the central tasks of the Party on the new journey in the new era, and uphold the system and advance the cause of the CPPCC. Cai Qi, also a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, participated in a group meeting of political advisors from the China Association for Science and Technology and the sector of science and technology. He stressed the need to enhance research in basic and forefront areas, and accelerate efforts to achieve great self-reliance and strength in science and technology. He emphasized the importance of fostering strategic scientists, world-class leaders and innovation teams in science and technology, and of championing the spirit of scientists. Ding Xuexiang, also director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, took part in a group meeting of political advisors from the environment and resource sector. He underscored the need to accelerate the economic and social development with a comprehensive green transformation, proactively and steadily work toward the targets of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, enhance capacity to ensure the supply of key energy resources, and sort out prominent ecological and environmental problems that directly affect people's lives. Li Xi, also secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, stressed the need to advance the Party's self-revolution in a group meeting with political advisors from the China Association for Promoting Democracy and the sector of press and publication. On the new journey, the more complex the situation is and the more arduous the tasks are, the more necessary it is to unswervingly advance the Party's self-revolution and to provide a strong guarantee for making a good start in building a modern socialist country in all respects, he said. Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League and the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the CPC at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao) Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the China Association for Science and Technology and the sector of science and technology at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the environment and resource sector at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, participates in a group meeting of national political advisors from the China Association for Promoting Democracy and the sector of press and publication at the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
While there are blue skies over northern Arizona (for now), the lasting risk associated with heavy snowfall persists in Flagstaff. Multiple roofs across the city have collapsed in the days following the last round of snow.

As of Monday, four residences and one commercial property experienced roof collapse, according to City of Flagstaff officials.

Residential doesn't necessarily mean the main home, said city public affairs director Sarah Langley. A lot of those are garages, either separated or attached.

That was the case for Doug Gray, a resident of Continental Country Club whose garage caved in on Friday. He described the collapse as a violent scene.

The garage is destroyed, Gray said. It also destroyed a wall in the garage that adjoins the kitchen. According to the fire department, that wall is pretty much toast.

The house, which was built in the mid-1980s, is Grays primary residence, but this winter Gray was down in Phoenix. He said he was aware of the hazards of snow accumulation in Flagstaff  including the potential for ice dams  and had begun lining up a contractor for snow removal, but had to wait for the passage of the last storm.

I was going to call him that morning, Gray said, when my neighbor called me telling me about the roof collapse and sent me a picture.

Thankfully, Gray said, no one was hurt. There were also no vehicles in the garage  damage to which could have compounded the costs of the incident. As it currently stands, Gray is unsure what the full cost of repairing his house will be, but hes hopeful his homeowners insurance will kick in the majority.

According to National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Brian Klimowski, snow loads weigh about five pounds per square foot for every inch of liquid.

In this last storm, we had about two inches of liquid, which is another 10 pounds per square foot that in some cases is compounded by much of the snow that fell earlier in this cycle, Klimowski said. And perhaps even from the snow that fell in January.

Klimowski recommended that anyone unsure about the structural integrity of their roof be sure to address loaded snow. While the NWS forecast calls for normal temperatures that are likely to assist in snow melt, there is a small chance of precipitation on Saturday.

The City and Coconino County have also established a joint information line to assist with those burdened under roof snow. Residents who see signs of overburdened rooftops  such as sagging ceilings, popping and cracking sounds, severe roof leaks, or excessive accumulation of water at non-drainage points  can receive helpful information by calling 928-679-8525.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 76F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 56F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.
The writer is host of the Kane & Co. radio talk show, which broadcasts from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, on WARA, 1320-AM.
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.

Vote

View Results
Spending data from major banks indicates we've gone big on holidays this year.

This January, household spend at travel agents and airlines was up 83 per cent and 76 per cent respectively compared to last year, according to data from Barclays.

Lloyds Bank and Nationwide Building Society figures show a similar boom.

One sure-fire way to get ripped off abroad is to spend money with your bank's debit card.

Card sharks: One sure-fire way to get ripped off abroad is to spend on your bank's debit card. Often, they are loaded with fees for spending and even bigger ones for withdrawing cash

Often, they are riddled with fees for spending and even bigger ones for withdrawing cash.

That's one of the reasons why it's important to have a secondary current account. I use Starling because of its fee-free spending abroad  and I treat it like a savings pot so I can build up funds when a holiday is coming up.

I also like having half the money I'll need in physical cash. I don't know about you, but I still find it reassuring to have foreign currency in my hand abroad.

Currency fees feature in the long list of ways the major banks manage to keep profits rolling in. But bucking this trend, HSBC has launched a Global Money Account offering fee-free spending and cash withdrawals abroad.

The bank has clearly wised up to the fact that Starling and Co are hoovering up customers with this highly attractive perk.

One expert told me the account is a no-brainer for existing HSBC customers  although you can only apply for it through the bank's app.

I wouldn't be surprised to see other banks following suit. They already spend hefty sums on cash bribes of up to 200 for customers who switch to their accounts.

But don't wait around for your bank to act. It's vital to make sure you have the right card as you head abroad this year  you really can dodge this particular bank ruse.

Avios trick

On our honeymoon to Mauritius in 2019, Mrs B and I collected thousands of Avios points by booking with British Airways (BA).

Upon our return, I decided to bank those points by opening a BA Executive Club Membership  and then to keep stacking them up by getting a rewards credit card.

The American Express Gold card offered 30,000 bonus points for signing up if you spent 3,000 in three months. I hit the target by putting every penny of my everyday spending on the card.

After a year, I cancelled (to dodge the annual fee) and moved to a fee-free version, where I get one point per 1 spent.

It has been a hard slog to build up points, and you have to play by the rules  that is, pay off the balance in full every month to beat high interest that wipes out any potential financial gains.

If you're also getting frustrated with trying to spend points on the BA website, you're likely to find the BA app a far better way to hunt down good-value Avios flights

This done, I've subsequently been left scratching my head working out how to spend the points. The 'clunky' BA website certainly isn't much help, as one expert explains here. And that's putting it kindly.

However, a conversation with my brother-in-law finally unlocked the secret to a successful Avios flight booking  using the BA app.

It's far easier to navigate and quicker to use than the website and I've managed to bag that crucial 1p per Avios conversion rate on return flights to Dubai.

So, if you're also getting frustrated with trying to spend points on the BA website, you're likely to find the BA app a far better way to hunt down good-value Avios flights.

Tesco trouble

Money Mail continues to receive more tales of insurance-renewal madness from readers in our postbag each week.

One reader, Philip, wrote in and attached his quote for car insurance with Tesco Bank. The renewal was an eye-watering 990.80, up from 282.83. Incredulous, he says he rang Tesco to cancel only to be told the renewal was 'wrong' due to a 'systems error'. The onus, of course, was on him to call Tesco to find out this crucial piece of information.

He was then given a quote of 337.08. It begs the question . . . how could such a huge mistake be sent out in black and white to a customer without any kind of flag?

And if he hadn't seen it, would that amount have been taken from his account? Continue to keep an eye out for renewal shocks.

l.boyce@dailymail.co.uk
My aunt is 81 and lives alone in a three-bed house. In November, she bought a new gas cooker from Currys. She paid to have the old one removed and the new one fitted.

The cooker was installed on November 23. But, at 5.30am the following morning, my aunt was woken by an overpowering smell of gas. She phoned me and I told her not to turn on any more lights as I feared this could have risked sparking an explosion.

She phoned the National Gas Emergency Service, which quickly sent out an engineer who said the cause was the connection to the new cooker.

Cut off: Curry's left a reader waiting a week after botching the installation of her new cooker and causing a dangerous gas leak

The emergency team turned off the mains supply and left my aunt with a single-plate electric food heater and a fan heater  for which we are grateful.

Currys promised to investigate the case urgently  but my aunt made numerous fruitless calls in the days afterwards.

The cooker was finally reinstalled a week later without any offer of compensation, despite the dangerous situation she was put in and the lack of proper central heating. R. K., Walsall, W. Mids.

Sally Hamilton replies: You say your aunt made many calls to Currys in an attempt to get an emergency callout but no one came back to her.

After several days, your cousin was fed up and visited the Currys shop in Castle Vale demanding action. Your cousin claims Currys said it was busy with other calls  but surely your aunt deserved priority treatment given the danger and the fact she was without her proper heating?

The fitter arrived a week later to fix the problem. However, months down the line, there has been no offer of compensation.

It defies belief that Currys' response was so glacial following such an incident that could have turned out very badly had your aunt not smelled the gas and, on your advice, called the emergency service.

You'd think the embarrassment of its installer making a poor job of it would have spurred the retailer into rapid action to ensure your aunt was not only safe but comfortable.

Mercifully, the connection was finally fixed just before the severe cold snap that struck the country in December.

I contacted Currys on your behalf to express my own shock at the poor service your aunt had received and the lack of redress.

After investigating her case, Currys came back with a response I would say was as lukewarm as your aunt's house during the week without her heating.

A spokesman says: 'Having looked into the case we did fall short of our usual service expectations here.

'We've picked up with her nephew to apologise for the experience provided and we have fully refunded the installation fee, along with a gesture of goodwill.'

You confirmed that its recompense amounted to a refund of the 150 installation fee and 50 as an apology. While you said it does not reflect anywhere near what your aunt went through, since you had accepted it directly with Currys before I knew about the sums offered, you would not now go back on your word.

Although I believe the compensation is severely undercooked, I felt it more important to check whether lessons had been learned by the retailer from the whole distressing incident.

A spokesman told me the company could not talk about the individual steps involved but confirmed that 'appropriate action' had been taken to ensure such an incident doesn't happen again.

Having gas appliances installed is a serious business and should be carried out by a qualified fitter  one listed on the Gas Safe Register. The National Gas Emergency Service says if there is a smell of gas in a property, act quickly by opening windows and using the emergency shut off valve on the meter  unless it is in the basement.

Meters are often located in the garage, kitchen, under the stairs or outside the front of a property. If it's in a meter box, you will need a special key to open it.

Don't switch lights on or off as this might ignite escaping gas. Phone the relevant National Gas Emergency Service number for your area or the national number on 0800 111 999. Leave the supply turned off until it has been checked by a qualified technician listed with the Gas Safe Register.

Straight to the point I moved my broadband, landline and TV contract from Virgin to Sky in August, as it was too expensive. However, Virgin is still taking direct debit payments. J. J. F., Bath. Virgin has apologised for the issues you have had cancelling your direct debit and it has refunded you 359. It has also offered you 100 as a gesture of goodwill, cleared your balance of 170 and closed the account. *** I had a life-changing car accident in December that left me disabled and I'm still in hospital. Santander has frozen my account since the accident and will not let me access my money to pay bills. I need help as the firm won't listen. L .A. H., via phone. Santander has removed the temporary block on your account and apologised for the inconvenience, paying 500 as a gesture of goodwill. A spokesman says these blocks are placed on accounts when they need to verify payment requests are authentic. *** Utility Warehouse has been charging me for the gas supply to the wrong property for six months. In the past two months, it has also charged me for my own property on top. I live in a small village where there are houses with a variation on the same name. H. W., North Yorks. Utility Warehouse apologises and has credited back the overpayments. A spokesman says: 'We found there were numerous addresses registered on the national gas industry database which led to the customer being billed incorrectly. We've requested the database be amended.'

Charged 120 to fill up my little Citroen

On January 10, I visited my local Tesco petrol station and used the pay-at-pump option, inserting my debit card.

I reached for the unleaded petrol nozzle but realised it was out of stock, with only diesel available. I went to another pump and entered my card details again, which were accepted, and filled my small Citroen with fuel costing 30.89.

The next day, I checked my Santander bank account and saw I had been charged 120. I immediately rang the bank, which noticed that two additional transactions were about to go through from the petrol station.

The first was voided. The second was for 30.89, which was correct, but the third was 120 of diesel for which I was charged.

Tesco sent me a dispute form, which I found difficult to complete, so I went to my bank on January 25, and staff kindly helped me fill out the form.

A week later, Tesco said it hadn't received the form, so, with help from my granddaughter, I completed a new one online. But I was informed it could take up to 90 days to resolve.

Petrol problem: E.T was overcharged when they filled up their car at a Tesco petrol station

E. T., Chorley, Lancs.

Sally Hamilton replies: The pay-at-pump option at filling stations is convenient, saving drivers from queuing at the counter. But, frustratingly, you have spent many hours trying to resolve an obvious error.

There was no way you would have purchased 120 of fuel for your little Citroen  and certainly not diesel when you drive a petrol car.

Potentially waiting three months to be reimbursed would test anyone's patience, so I contacted Tesco to chivvy it along.

One mystery was quickly solved  why 120 was the sum involved in the ghost payment taken from your account.

Payment networks Mastercard and Visa recently changed their rules, meaning all fuel retailers must temporarily ring-fence a certain level of funds in a customer's account for purchases made via pay-at-pump.

The amount frozen can vary. But with Tesco, customers can have up to 120 ring-fenced while they refuel and authorisation checks are made, with the unused amount released back to their account shortly after they replace the pump.

For example, if a customer buys 70 worth of fuel, the remaining 50 will be returned to their account almost immediately.

It's meant to prevent customers from purchasing more fuel than they have funds for.

Tesco says errors are rare and believes the pump was working correctly in your case.

No one knows exactly what went wrong with your purchase and why you didn't get back your 89.11  the balance between the 120 ring-fenced sum and your fuel cost of 30.89. The likely explanation is that the first pump was still engaged when you moved to a different one and was then unwittingly used by another customer, running up a bill on your card.

Whatever the reason, Tesco was sorry to hear about your experience and, after my intervention, quickly refunded the 120, adding 50 as a gesture of goodwill.
Millions of us collect them to get discounts and upgrades on flights. But how many of us are squeezing the maximum value out of Avios points?

The experts say few collectors truly know the best ways to use their pots which vary depending on how many points you've racked up over the years.

Here, three points pros reveal how to get the most bang for your buck...

Experts say few Avios collectors truly know the best ways to use their pots - which vary depending on how many points you've racked up over the years

What are avios points?

Avios points are rewards earned through spending on specialist credit cards which users aim to pay off in full each month.

They can also be earned by flying with British Airways (BA), conversions from Nectar points and through sign-up bonuses from American Express and BA and Barclaycard Mastercards.

Staying with a BA hotel partner, renting a car with Avis, shopping at the BA e-store, buying fuel and converting BPme Rewards points and linking your Uber account to BA's Executive Club are other ways to grow your pot.

What can you spend Avios on?

Typically, Avios can be put towards the cost of flights or flight upgrades.

However, they can also be redeemed on BA hotel bookings, or converted to Nectar points and spent at Sainsbury's, Argos or eBay. Avios can be donated to charity through the BA Better World Community Fund.

They can also now be spent on BA package holiday deals for the first time . . . but experts say this new option doesn't typically offer good value.

When it comes to spending, Rob Burgess, editor of frequent flyer website Head For Points, says 'the 1p rule' is key to finding a good deal.

He aims for each Avios he spends to be worth 1p in value. So for example, 30,000 points should get you 300 of value on flights or upgrades.

If you get more than 1p of value per Avios, that's a good return; less than 1p represents a poorer deal.

If you've got a bumper pot...

If you are Avios points rich, booking long-haul business-class flights is almost always the best value way to spend them, according to experts.

BA's Reward Flight Saver programme, which gives users a way of spending more points in exchange for lower airline taxes and fees, is a good way to do this.

This scheme was recently changed to add long-haul destinations. It means Avios collectors can use more points on a booking than ever before.

Savings: BA's Reward Flight Saver programme gives users a way of spending more points in exchange for lower airline taxes and fees

Michele Robson, editor of travel website Turning Left For Less, explains: 'You can now fly business class to New York for 160,000 Avios and 350 in charges. Previously, the limit was 110,000 Avios, but an additional 853 in fees.'

The typical business-class flight from London to New York costs 2,000, according to the experts. So in the example above, where you're spending 160,000 Avios and 350 in charges, the value is 1.03p per Avios point.

However, there are limited numbers of reward flights, which can be difficult to pin down. You must also compare how much the same flight would cost without using Avios to ensure it offers good points value.

Nicky Kelvin, of The Points Guy UK, recommends the SeatSpy website. He says: 'The BA website is clunky, but SeatSpy allows you to find reward flight availability.

'You can look up specific dates and it will tell you which routes are on offer, or you can search for routes and it will give you available dates.'

If your haul is mid-sized...

Customers who are getting the knack for collecting Avios may be unsure how to make use of their growing pot.

Mr Burgess recommends looking at other airlines which accept Avios  Qatar Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus  for the best deals.

He says: 'While you'll need to spend 300,000 points and about 700 for business-class flights from London to Sydney with BA, you'll only need 180,000 Avios and 600 for business class on Qatar Airways.

'Around 3,500 is about as good as you'd get on a cash flight to Australia, so this works out at 0.93p per Avios in value for the BA flight, but a bumper 1.6p per Avios for Qatar.'

Shop around: In addition to British Airways, other airlines which accept Avios include Qatar Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus

Mr Kelvin says another good value way to use a mid-sized Avios pot is to book a premium economy cash ticket  and then use your points to upgrade.

'It depends on the route, but often it is better value to use points on an upgrade on peak dates.

'For example, upgrading a cash premium economy one-way London to Hong Kong ticket to business on BA would cost 36,000 Avios on off peak dates, but 30,000 Avios on peak dates.

'This is because you are paying the difference between how much it would have cost you to use Avios for business class and for premium economy, which are often closer in value at peak times.'

According to the 1p rule, this is the equivalent of upgrading for as little as 300, whereas buying a business-class flight outright can cost thousands of pounds extra.

Mr Kelvin adds: 'The important thing is there needs to be availability in a higher cabin, so you should plan upgrades in advance. Book a ticket and SeatSpy can send you an alert when a seat becomes available in business or first.'

And if you're starting out...

If you have a relatively small pot, you can still put it to good use. Experts agree that short-haul economy is almost always the best way to spend the points.

Michele Robson says: 'Booking a reward flight in economy on short-haul European flights can pay dividends. During half-term, for example, you can save because even budget airlines are expensive. The trick is to research how much the flight would cost normally.'

Reward Flight Saver means you can reduce taxes and fees to as little as 1 for a return flight. For an off-peak return trip to Berlin, you can spend 18,500 Avios and 1.

Going by Mr Burgess' 1p rule, this works out at 186  185 'worth of Avios' and the 1 fee.

But he warns the 1 tax option is rarely the best value on short-haul, and you're better off paying with fewer Avios and more cash. You get the best deal if you spend 9,500 Avios and 35  the equivalent of 130, with the Avios being 'worth' 95 added to the 35 in fees.

And if travelling isn't your thing, points can also convert to Nectar credit. One Avios is now worth 0.67p of Nectar points, so 30,000 Avios will give you 201 to spend. But this is not good value versus flights and upgrades.

t.armstrong@dailymail.co.uk
Wood Group has said it may reject another takeover offer from Apollo Global Management, which valued the energy services and engineering giant at 1.64billion.

The FTSE 250 business, whose customers include BP and Shell, said it received an offer of 237p a share yesterday, but was 'minded to reject' it as Apollo 'continues to undervalue' the group.

It follows three previous offers for Wood Group, with the most recent a 26 January bid of 230p per share, valuing the company at 1.8billion.

Takeover target: Wood Group said the latest offer from Apollo continued to undervalue it

'The board will continue to engage with its shareholders and intends to engage further, on a limited basis, with Apollo,' Wood told investors.

'There can be no certainty either that an offer will be made nor as to the terms on which any offer might be made. Further announcements will be made as appropriate.'

Wood Group shares rose nearly 15 per cent to 222.78p in morning trading on Tuesday. They have soared by nearly a third over the last year.

Apollo must announce a firm intention under the takeover code to make another offer for the company by 22 March or walk away.

Apollo's interest in Wood follows months of speculation the group would become a target as shares hovered at 14-year lows.

Activist investor Sparta Capital warned in December that bosses needed to bolster its share price to avoid a swoop.

It has also called on Wood, which employs more than 35,000 people across 60 countries, to return cash to shareholders.

The group is the latest firm on the London Stock Exchange to find itself in the crosshairs of private equity firms taking advantage of a weaker pound and relatively cheap share prices.

The company swung back to profit in the first half of 2022 thanks to strong demand for its services and the disposal of its built environment division.

Its business model has traditionally relied on high oil prices as demand for its services tends to expand when the oil and gas industry has significant cash to spend on projects.

In recent years, it has diversified its exposure away from the petroleum sector with a greater focus on renewable energy. Wind and solar power are now playing an increasingly prominent role.

It will report its full-year results on 28 March.
Fast fashion group In The Style has agreed to sell itself for 1.2million just two years after listing on the stock market with a value of 105million.

The Manchester online retailer set up by Adam Frisby in 2013 with a 1,000 redundancy payment from Burger King will be bought by UK private equity group Baaj Capital.

Its shares, which listed on Aim in March 2021 at 200p, fell 78.6 per cent, or 5.5p, to just 1.5p. Its value collapsed amid a string of profit warnings.

Rescue: In The Style, which was set up by Adam Frisby in 2013 with a 1,000 redundancy payment from Burger King, will be bought by UK private equity group Baaj Capital

In The Style said the deal with Baaj, which involves the sale of its only operating company In The Style Fashion Limited (ITSFL), was required to stave off administration.

It follows a strategic review that began in December when Frisby, 35, returned as chief executive. He will stay on as chief executive of ITSFL when the sale is completed.

In The Style chairman Jim Sharp said: Under the new structure, with Adams leadership and Baajs backing,

'In The Style can continue to build on its potential while protecting the interests of employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.
New measures making it easier for ministers to protect the embattled steel industry  by overruling independent advice on tariffs  are set to be announced by Kemi Badenoch.

They will allow the Business and Trade Secretary greater discretion when following recommendations by the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), the Mail understands.

The body was set up in 2021 as Britain took over responsibilities handled by the EU to combat unfair practices.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch is set to introduce new measures making it easier for ministers to protect the embattled steel industry

But its authority was called into question when then international trade secretary Liz Truss rejected some recommendations on steel tariffs amid an outcry from UK industry about Chinese dumping of cheap exports.

The TRA had said protectionist tariffs and quotas on ten types of product should be maintained for three years but removed on nine others.

Truss overruled it by prolonging quotas on five of the nine. To do so she had to create regulations to skirt round existing legislation.

A source said the changes to be announced by Badenoch would make it easier for ministers to take such decisions in the public interest.

The source said the TRA would continue to provide expert advice and analysis. Ministers may also take account of geopolitical factors affecting trade.

The source added: She thinks there are some tweaks that can be made which retain the original aim of the TRA but just give the Government slightly more flexibility over how we apply these sorts of remedies.

Details will form part of the Finance Bill  the Governments Budget legislation.

The changes are expected to be in force by the autumn.
Six members of Perus Army died after they tried to cross a river last weekend, officials said on Monday, as they tried to escape the latest in a series of anti-government protests that has rocked the country over the past three months.

The soldiers disappeared last Sunday after attempting to cross a river in southern Puno region, home to many of the most raucous protests calling for the release of jailed ex-President Pedro Castillo as well as the resignation of his successor, Dina Boluarte.

Officials said the soldiers were attacked by protesters as they tried to reinforce security operations in the region. They then decided to take an alternative route by crossing a river, according to a statement from the military on Sunday, but were swept away by the current.

The countrys human rights watchdog called for the Army to fully investigate the circumstances of the deadly incident in a post on Twitter on Monday.

Since Castillos ouster, Peru has been unable to quell the extended protest movement, which has claimed several dozen deaths, including in Puno.

SOURCE: REUTERS
The Irish weather agency has warned of icy stretches and some lying snow in parts of the country.

An ice warning had been in place for the entire island overnight but that expired at 10am on Tuesday.

Irish forecaster Met Eireann had issued a Status Yellow ice warning while the UK Met Office had issued a yellow snow and ice warning for Northern Ireland.

The warning was due to the risk of hazardous conditions during freezing temperatures including icy stretches on roads and paths.

Falls of sleet and snow in the south and south-west of Ireland are expected to clear away for a cold, mostly sunny and dry day, according to Met Eireann.

Temperatures are not expected to exceed 6C before a very cold and frosty night.

Overnight, there will be lowest temperatures of -4C to 0C, falling as low as -5C or -6C degrees in Ulster and the north west.

A Met Eireann meteorologist attributed the cold weather to northerly airflow moving over the country, introducing sharp frosts at night.

A cold bright day on Tuesday will be followed by a very cold night on Tuesday night with widespread frost and some icy stretches. Outbreaks of sleet or snow may develop late in the night in Cork and Kerry, forecaster Gerry Murphy said.
March 06, 2023





The construction industry is one of the oldest industries in the world, and it has always depended on technological advancements. As a result of technological innovations, experts like Thomas Kerbel in Wes Des Moines, Iowa, say modern construction processes are faster and more efficient than ever before. In this article, well explore how technology continues to impact the construction industry and what this means for businesses and consumers.







1. Automation & Robotics

Thomas Kerbel says automation and robotics transform how many construction tasks are completed. From robotic welders to automated bricklaying machines, these technologies make it possible to achieve many tedious functions with greater precision, speed, and efficiency. Automation also reduces human error, which can help minimize safety concerns on construction sites.

Robotics can also be used for more complex tasks, such as surveying land and creating 3D models of buildings. This technology allows engineers to create more intricate designs more accurately than ever. Additionally, robotic machinery reduces labor costs by eliminating the need for manual labor in specific tasks.

2. Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an advanced computer-aided design system that allows architects and engineers to create detailed 3D models of their projects before they break ground on them. BIM enables architects to present clients with realistic renderings of proposed buildings before they begin work so that clients can provide feedback or make changes early on in the process without costly delays or disruption once work has started. BIM also makes it easier for contractors to coordinate between multiple subcontractors and identify potential issues ahead of time so that they can be addressed before they become more significant problems later.

3. Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR)

Thomas Kerbel said virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR) are used to create immersive experiences where users can walk through proposed building designs before any physical work begins. This technology allows all stakeholders involved in a project  from engineers and architects to builders and clients  to get a better sense of what a finished product will look like without having to physically build it first or rely solely on 2D renderings or diagrams. VR/AR also enables users who may not have direct access to a job site due to time or distance constraints to get an up-close view of whats happening at any given moment during a projects progress without having to be physically present at all times during its duration.

4. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is becoming increasingly important for construction firms as it allows them to store and access large amounts of project data anywhere, anytime. This makes it much easier for all stakeholders involved in a project to collaborate on the same platform without having to be physically present or manage large amounts of physical paperwork.

Additionally, cloud-based systems make tracking a projects progress in real-time more accessible and shift resources around when needed.

5. Wearable Technology

Wearable technology is becoming increasingly popular in the construction industry, enabling workers to monitor their safety and productivity levels on-site. Wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers can be used to monitor safety protocols, detect hazardous materials, track worker fatigue levels, and provide real-time feedback on job performance. This technology can help to reduce the risk of injuries and improve overall job site safety.

6. Autonomous Vehicles & Drones

Autonomous vehicles and drones are used for various construction tasks such as surveying land, transporting materials, mapping job sites and inspecting infrastructure. Autonomous equipment can help reduce human labor costs while providing detailed insights into a project's progress. Additionally, drones are being used to capture aerial imagery that engineers and architects can use to create more accurate designs.

7. Internet of Things (IoT)

Thomas Kerbel says the Internet of Things (IoT) is used in the construction industry to monitor job sites in real-time and collect data on a project's progress. This data can then be analyzed to identify potential issues or delays and make timely adjustments. Additionally, IoT can be used to remotely control various machinery on a job site, helping minimize the risk of human error.

The IoT also helps to increase the efficiency of construction projects, as it allows all stakeholders involved in a project to access real-time data about how a job is progressing and quickly address any unexpected issues that may arise.

Conclusion

The use of technology in construction is becoming increasingly prevalent as businesses strive for greater efficiency, cost savings, improved safety standards, and better customer service experiences overall when it comes to completing their projects successfully within their desired budgets and timelines while still producing quality work that meets all applicable building codes and regulations for them to be approved by local governments before completion. Ultimately, these technologies are helping the entire industry move forward while providing contractors with invaluable tools that allow them to do their jobs better than ever before while creating excellent results for everyone involved in each project from start-to-finish no matter how complicated or ambitious its scope may be!
[March 07, 2023] Mastercard renews partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst for Emerging Leaders program that supports women leaders in cybersecurity

BRAMPTON, ON, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Mastercard Canada and Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University are proud to announce their continued partnership in delivering the Catalyst's Mastercard Emerging Leaders Cyber Initiative (ELCI): a unique leadership program for women and non-binary leaders who seek to advance into executive-level positions in cybersecurity or related fields. Women are seriously underrepresented in the cybersecurity sector in Canada , particularly in leadership positions. Mastercard's continued investment in this program enables the Catalyst to empower women and non-binary individuals to take on cyber leadership roles and shape the future of the Canadian cyber ecosystem. "Our inaugural ELCI cohort of 30 diverse women leaders is getting ready to graduate in April. The program has been a huge success in broadening their perspective and understanding ways to deploy cyber knowledge into all facets of the organization. Cybersecurity isn't just for the tech team," says Trish Dyl, Director of Corporate Training & Cyber Range and the ELCI program. "We are most grateful to Mastercard for their renewed support as we get ready to open applications for the next cohort of future women and non-binary cyber leaders."



Launched in October 2022, ELCI brings together established women and non-binary individuals in cybersecurity and adjacent roles for a seven-month program led by global cybersecurity expert, Melissa Hathaway. The program is specifically designed to provide participants with opportunities for enhancing their cyber leadership skills while also giving them access to a supportive, high-impact professional network. Details about the application process for the next cohort are forthcoming. "Mastercard is delighted to continue supporting this highly-engaging leadership program for women and non-binary individuals, especially as cybersecurity is a sector that struggles to attract and retain them," explains Sasha Krstic, President of Mastercard Canada. "As we acknowledge International Women's Day this week, we celebrate ELCI's role in empowering women to take a seat at the cyber leadership table."

"This investment by Mastercard will enhance the important work the Catalyst is doing to support the growth of women and non-binary individuals in cybersecurity," says Janice Fukakusa, Chancellor, Toronto Metropolitan University. "These kinds of programs are exactly what's needed to even the playing field in cybersecurity." For more details about the program, visit cybersecurecatalyst.ca/elci About Mastercard Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all. About Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst is Toronto Metropolitan University's national centre for training, innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, the Catalyst empowers Canadians and Canadian businesses to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity. Through its ground-breaking training and certification programs; unique commercial accelerator for Canadian cybersecurity scale-ups; first-of-its-kind cyber range; wide-ranging public education programs; and influential policy development platform, the Catalyst helps drive Canada's global competitiveness in cybersecurity. SOURCE Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 02, 2023] Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Market Report: Industry is Expected to Grow by 35% to Reach $1337.3 Million in 2023

DUBLIN, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

According to the publisher, social commerce industry in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow by 35.0% on annual basis to reach US$1337.3 million in 2023.



The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 21.7% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$1337.3 million in 2023 to reach US$4351.2 million by 2028.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of social commerce industry, covering market opportunities and risks. With over 50+ KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of social commerce market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view on emerging business and investment market opportunities.



Scope



This report provides in-depth, data-centric analysis of social commerce in Saudi Arabia. Below is a summary of key market segments:



Saudi Arabia Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 209-2028



Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028 Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028

Clothing & Footwear

Beauty and Personal Care

Food & Grocery

Appliances and Electronics

Home Improvement

Travel

Hospitality Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028 B2B

B2C

C2C Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028 Mobile

Desktop Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Domestic

Cross Border Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 Tier-1 Cities

Tier-2 Cities

Tier-3 Cities Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028 Credit Card

Debit Card

Bank Transfer

Prepaid Card

Digital & Mobile Wallet

Other Digital Payment

Cash Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms Video Commerce

Social Network-Led Commerce

Social Reselling

Group Buying

Product Review Platforms Saudi Arabia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour,2022 By Age

By Income Level

By Gender Reasons to buy In-depth Understanding of Social Commerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028).

Insights into Opportunity by end-use sectors - Get market dynamics by end-use sectors to assess emerging opportunity across various end-use sectors.

Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate social commerce strategy; assess market specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the industry. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/pa118a-arabia?w=5-arabia?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 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/saudi-arabia-social-commerce-market-report-industry-is-expected-to-grow-by-35-to-reach-1337-3-million-in-2023--301761284.html SOURCE Research and Markets

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] With a Two-Year Revenue Growth of 230%, Real Time Technologies Ranks No. 86 on Inc. Magazine's List of the Southeast Region's Fastest-Growing Private Companies

TAMPA, Fla., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real Time Technologies (RT), a leading enterprise software platform company delivering retail activation, point-of-sale (POS), payments, business intelligence, and inventory management solutions to the wireless industry, has been named No. 86 on the third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Southeast list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Southeast private companies, based in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Southeast economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

Real Time Technologies is honored to be named as one of the Inc. Southeasts fastest-growing private companies, said Omar Azrag, CEO and President of RT. We expect our rapid growth to continue as we look to cement our position as the market leaders in the provision of enterprise software solutions to the wireless industry. Our customers remain at the center of everything we develop and deliver, and we are determined to ensure they can spend more time on their business than in their business when it comes to their retail distribution and the delivery of world class service at point-of-sale. Real Time Technologies is a leading enterprise software platform company delivering retail activation, point-of-sale (POS), payments, business intelligence and inventory management solutions to the wireless industry. RT is the largest wireless retail management provider in the U.S. with over 13,000 wireless retailer locations nationwide, where $10 billion of transactions are completed on its platforms. With its recent acquisition of the IAS payments business from InComm, RT now also serves expanded geographies in Canada and Puerto Rico. The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Southeast region. Beteen 2019 and 2021, these 200 private companies had an average growth rate of 673 percent and, in 2021 alone, they added 25,844 jobs and nearly $7 billion to the Southeast regions economy. Companies based in the Miami, Florida, Fairhope, Alabama and Covington, Louisiana areas had the highest growth rate overall.



Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Southeast, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/southeast starting February 28, 2023. This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disruptors and job creators, and all delivered an outsized impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine.

About Real Time Technologies (RT)

RT offers the most flexible cutting-edge Retail Management Solutions that encompass sales, inventory management, frontline employee management & engagement, business intelligence, and digital automation tools for the wireless space. We support Fortune 500 companies unify their customer experience and remove pain points across multiple retail touch points. RT prides itself on fostering a family culture and a dynamic work environment where team members are set up to make meaningful contributions across the organization. Learn more at www.rt2.com . Methodology?

The 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2019 and 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2021. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.??? About Inc. Media??

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com .? MEDIA CONTACTS Chris Kooistra at Skyya PR

Media Relations

E: [email protected]

P: 773-972-0691



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Equifax Files Registration Statement with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Related to Acquisition of Boa Vista Servicos

ATLANTA, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax  Inc. (NYSE: EFX) ("Equifax") has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the company's acquisition of Boa Vista Servicos (BOAS3: SAO), the second largest credit bureau in Brazil. Equifax and Boa Vista Servicos entered into a Merger Agreement on February 9, 2023 (the "Merger Agreement"). Filing the registration statement with the SEC is an important step in being able to issue Equifax Brazilian Depository Receipts ("BDRs") and Equifax do Brasil S.A. ("Equifax Brasil") common shares to Boa Vista Servicos shareholders. "We are energized to continue progress towards the closing of the acquisition of Boa Vista Servicos. The strategic combination of our organizations will allow us to expand in the large and fast growing Brazilian market and bring Equifax cloud technology and products to provide new insights for Brazilian lenders and service providers to help meet the needs of the approximately 34 million unbanked or underbanked consumers in Brazil," said Mark W. Begor, CEO of Equifax. "The transaction also provides immediate liquidity at a compelling premium to Boa Vista Servicos' shareholders." Once declared effective by the SEC, Equifax will be able to issue BDRs to Boa Vista Servicos shareholders in connection with the closing of the merger. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, Equifax will offer all Boa Vista Servicos shareholders the option to receive (1) R$8.00 per share in cash, (2) R$7.20 in cash and 0.0008 of an EFX BDR representing an equivalent fraction of one share of Equifax common stock or (3) R$5.33 of Equifax Brasil common shares and R$2.67 in either cash or 0.0027 of Equifax BDRs. This price represents an 89 percent premium to the closing stock price of Boa Vista Servicos on December 15, 2022, the last unaffected trading day prior to the issuance of the notice to the market by Boa Vista Servicos acknowledging receipt of the Equifax acquisition proposal, and a 185 percent premium to Boa Vista Servicos' enterprise value based on such closing price on December 15, 2022. The closing is subject to Boa Vista Servicos' shareholder approval and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur by he end of the second quarter of 2023.



BofA Securities is serving as financial advisor to Equifax, and Hogan Lovells US LLP and Machado Meyer Advogados are acting as legal counsels to Equifax. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. All statements that address operating performance and events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future, including statements relating to our ability to consummate the proposed transaction with Boa Vista Servicos, the ability of Boa Vista Servicos to receive shareholder approval and satisfy other closing conditions, the expected financial and operational benefits, synergies and growth from the proposed transaction and our ability to integrate Boa Vista Servicos and its products, services, technologies, IT systems and personnel into our operations, and similar statements about our outlook and our business plans are forward-looking statements. We believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in our 2022 Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC. As a result of such risks and uncertainties, we urge you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended. This press release is for informational purposes only and should not, under any circumstances, constitute, be interpreted or understood as an investment recommendation, nor as an offer to acquire any of the securities of Equifax or Equifax Brasil. FILINGS WITH THE SEC

Equifax and Equifax Brasil filed a Registration Statement on Form S-4/F-4 with the SEC in connection with the transaction on March 6, 2023. The Registration Statement has not yet become effective. No securities may be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the Registration Statement becomes effective. The Form S-4/F-4 contains a prospectus and other documents. The Form S-4/F-4 and prospectus contain important information about Equifax, Equifax Brasil, Boa Vista Servicos, the transaction and related matters. Investors and shareholders of Boa Vista Servicos should read the prospectus and the other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the transaction carefully before they make any decision with respect to the transaction. The Form S-4/F-4 and the prospectus, and all other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the acquisition will be available when filed free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, the prospectus and all other documents filed with the SEC in connection with the acquisition will be made available to investors free of charge by calling or writing to Equifax Inc., Attn: Office of Corporate Secretary, P.O. Box 4081, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, telephone (404) 885-8000. ABOUT EQUIFAX INC.

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employers, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by nearly 14,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Kate Walker for Equifax

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/equifax-files-registration-statement-with-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-related-to-acquisition-of-boa-vista-servicos-301763887.html SOURCE Equifax Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Jackson Announces Pricing of Depositary Shares Offering

Jackson Financial Inc.1 (NYSE: JXN) (Jackson) today announced the pricing of a $550 million offering of 22,000,000 depositary shares, each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of its Fixed-Rate Reset Noncumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, $25,000 liquidation preference per share (equivalent to $25 per depositary share), with a 5-year call/dividend rate reset period and noncumulative dividends. The underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 2,000,000 depositary shares to cover over-allotments, if any. Jackson intends to list the Depositary Shares on the NYSE under the symbol "JXN PR A." The offering is expected to close March 13, 2023, subject to customary closing conditions. Jackson intends to use the net proceeds of the offering and cash on hand for the repayment of the $600 million outstanding principal amount of its senior notes maturing in November 2023. Pending that use, it may invest the proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing securities. Wells Fargo Securities, BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Jackson has filed an effective shelf-registration statement (including a prospectus) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the offering to which this press release relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the depositary shares filed as a part of that shelf registration statement and other documents Jackson has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Jackson and the offering of depositary shares. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov orupon request to Wells Fargo Securities, LLC toll-free at +1 (800) 645-3751; BofA Securities, Inc. toll-free at +1 (800) 294-1322; J.P. Morgan Securities LLC collect at +1 (212) 834-4533; or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC toll-free at +1 (866) 718-1649.



This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the depositary shares or any other security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which, or to any persons to whom, such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ABOUT JACKSON

Jackson (NYSE: JXN) is committed to helping clarify the complexity of retirement planning-for financial professionals and their clients. Our range of annuity products, financial know-how, history of award-winning service* and streamlined experiences strive to reduce the confusion that complicates retirement planning. We take a balanced, long-term approach to responsibly serving all of our stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, distribution partners, employees, regulators and community partners. We believe by providing clarity for all today, we can help drive better outcomes for tomorrow. *SQM (Service Quality Measurement Group) Contact Center Awards Program for 2004 and 2006-2022. (To achieve world-class certification, 80% or more of call-center customers surveyed must have rated their experience as very satisfied, the highest rating possible). Jackson is the marketing name for Jackson Financial Inc., Jackson National Life Insurance Company (Home Office: Lansing, Michigan) and Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York (Home Office: Purchase, New York). SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT The information in this press release contains forward-looking statements about future events and circumstances and their effects upon revenues, expenses and business opportunities. Generally speaking, any statement in this release not based upon historical fact is a forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the use of forward-looking or conditional words, such as "could," "should," "can," "continue," "estimate," "forecast," "intend," "look," "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "remain," "confident" and "commit" or similar expressions. In particular, statements regarding plans, strategies, prospects, targets and expectations regarding the business and industry are forward-looking statements. They reflect expectations, are not guarantees of performance and speak only as of the dates the statements are made. We caution investors that these forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, expressed, or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include those reflected in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Jackson Financial Inc. does not undertake to update such forward-looking statements. You should not rely unduly on forward-looking statements. 1 Jackson Financial Inc. is a U.S. holding company and the direct parent of Jackson Holdings LLC (JHLLC). The wholly-owned subsidiaries of JHLLC include Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Brooke Life Insurance Company, PPM America, Inc. and Jackson National Asset Management, LLC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005843/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] StringsSG celebrates 5 years of connecting locals with Personal Trainers in Singapore

SINGAPORE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StringsSG, a Singapore-based tech startup, is celebrating its 5th Anniversary of connecting people with personal trainers in the country. With over 250 freelance personal trainers and trainers from various gyms, the platform has become a go-to destination for fitness enthusiasts seeking to achieve their fitness goals. The company was incorporated in 2018 to provide a comprehensive and user-friendly platform for connecting individuals with professional services. Since its inception, the platform has gained thousands of users who rely on its fitness services to match them with personal trainers that fit their specific needs. The platform ensures that all personal trainers listed on its platform are certified and experienced, making it a trustworthy source for itness services that produce results. Its user-friendly interface allows users to quickly search for personal trainers based on location, experience, and specialization.



The platform offers a variety of personal training services to help clients achieve their fitness goals. These services include general fitness training, weight loss training, muscle building training, sports-specific training, functional fitness, rehabilitation training, Yoga/Pilates classes etc. The platform also offers very attractive fitness packages and deals which are a must to try out. The personal trainers at StringsSG work closely with clients to create a personalized program for their goals, fitness level, and preferences. With a team of experienced and qualified trainers, StringsSG is dedicated to helping its clients improve their overall health.

"We are thrilled to celebrate 5 years of helping individuals achieve their fitness goals. Our aim has always been to connect people with the best personal trainers in Singapore and we believe we've accomplished that. We're excited to continue growing and helping more individuals achieve their fitness objectives in the years to come." - said a spokesperson for StringsSG. Looking to the future, the company has plans to expand its services beyond Singapore. The company also plans to continue investing in technology and innovation to provide better services to its users. As the fitness industry continues to flourish globally, platforms like 'StringsSG' are becoming increasingly important in assisting individuals in achieving their health objectives. With its emphasis on quality and user experience, StringsSG is well-placed to continue leading the way in the years to come. Website  https://www.stringssg.com/sg/personal-trainer SOURCE StringsSG Pte Ltd

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] LUMEN TECHNOLOGIES SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors With Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Lumen Technologies, Inc. - LUMN

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 2, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN), if they purchased the Company's shares between September 14, 2020 and February 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. What You May Do If you purchased shares of Lumen and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ([email protected]sel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-lumn/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by May 2, 2023.



About the Lawsuit Lumen and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On November 2, 2022, the Company revealed delays in the buildout of its fiber optic cable services, branded as Quantum Fiber, and that it was "not yet where we want to be" with "much more to do." On this news, shares of Lumen fell more than 17.7%, from a close of $7.05 per share on November 2, 2022, to a close of $5.80 on November 3, 2022 Then, on February 7, 2023, the Company disclosed that, contrary to prior representations, work on Quantum Fiber had hit "more of a stop button than a pause button" and that its "location and subscriber results were impacted by the pause we had in place." On this news, shares of Lumen fell more than 20.8%, from a close of $4.99 per share on February 7, 2023, to a close of $3.95 on February 8, 2023. The case is Voigt v. Lumen Technologies, Inc., No. 23-cv-00286. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230306005851/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Vymo strengthens its Operational Resilience to mitigate Cloud Risks for Financial Institutions

Vymo successfully demonstrated its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCP & DR) capabilities in the production environment, significantly improving the platform's uptime. SINGAPORE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vymo , the world's leading sales engagement platform for financial institutions, recently announced that it has upgraded its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCP & DR) capabilities and implemented built-in redundancies for data availability & protection. Vymo's high-availability data architecture ensures customers have access to their data whenever they need it. The challenge of resiliency and security remains a key priority for IT leaders across the banking and insurance industries. Regulators increasingly require service providers to have a strong business continuity strategy that will allow them to fulfill their responsibility to their consumers and prevent any service interruptions, like those during the pandemic. Vymo's approach to a lean and agile cloud playbook replicates data across multiple zones and regions. In the rare occurrence that a data center fails, customers ca continue operating their business from the other data center without worrying about data loss. This improves the overall CSAT and allows customers to reliably run their businesses.



"Some of the world's largest banks and insurance companies rely on Vymo to provide real-time and always-on data accessibility to their teams for supporting their customers. With the industry adopting a cloud-first approach, we are continuously improving our data infrastructure which is consistent with our client's business operations. This further enables our customers to increase operational efficiency, streamline analytics and enable better decision-making to outpace industry changes," says Venkat Malladi, Co-Founder & CTO of Vymo. Existing customers are being migrated to the new cloud architecture without any disruption for end-users. Currently, Vymo is able to demonstrate a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of less than 2 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 4 hours.

"Our focus has been to provide stable cloud infrastructure to our customers. We are closely collaborating with our customers across North America & Asia to ensure a seamless transition to the new cloud architecture. Over the next few quarters, we are investing more on periodic recovery drills, technology upgrades to assist seamless data & services migration across data centers, and load testing of services to further improve our RTO & RPO benchmarks," adds Sujay Koduri, SVP - Engineering at Vymo. About Vymo Vymo ( www.vymo.com ) is the Sales Engagement Platform of choice for 350,000 salespeople across 65+ Global Financial Institutions such as AIA, Berkshire Hathaway, Generali, AXA, Sunlife, and HDFC Bank. The platform drives productivity bottom-up through nudges and interventions across the customer lifecycle. Gartner recognizes Vymo as a Representative Vendor in the Sales Engagement Market Guide and by Forrester in the 2022 Wave report on sales engagement platforms. Vymo has raised over $45M in funding from Sequoia Capital, Emergence Capital, and Bertelsmann India Investments and is also a winner of CB Insights' Demo Day and Microsoft's 'AI for All' awards. Additional Resources Watch Vymo in Action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8KODHivO_U Talk to an expert - https://vymo.com/request-a-demo/ Media Contact: Gunjan Saha

[email protected] SOURCE Vymo

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Set It and Forget It: LetYouKnow Launches "Autopilot" Sales Automation for Dealerships

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LetYouKnow, the nationwide, e-commerce marketplace that matches consumers with new car deals, is introducing its autopilot feature that allows new car dealerships to set automatic pricing thresholds to help them sell more new cars. With this new feature, LetYouKnow is making listing new cars even easier for the 100+ dealerships in its growing dealer network to fully automate their listings and offer their best prices for new cars without advertising their prices. LetYouKnow empowers new car dealerships to anonymously list their vehicles by automatically setting different pricing strategies determined by floor planning and market conditions. Dealership pricing thresholds are also encrypted to ensure that LetYouKnow transactions wont affect or disrupt dealerships ongoing walk-in sales. LetYouKnows patented algorithm empowers buyers to dictate prices on new car purchases. They can either search deals or name their own prices at LetYouKnow.com (or on its apps) within their desired search radius. The matched dealer information wont be visible to the buyer but will be within the chosen search radius. Once the consumer submits their price bid, they will receive an instant response if their price is accepted. If accepted, a nonrefundable service reservation fee is paid as a prepayment of the consumers price and the matched dealerships information is then revealed. LetYouKnow immediately initiates a $500 prepayment to the dealership to reserve the car deal for the buyer. The buyers vehicle information is transmitted to the dealerships CRM to mark the car as reserved. The process is highly automated, with autopilot helping dealerships put little effort into moving inventory to real buyers instead of pursuing paid leads. We give dealerships the power to save time and money by automating their sales with automatic discounts while helping them move new cars more efficiently by handing dealerships new car buyers at no cost, at prices that meet or exceed their set, hidden thresholds, says co-founder/CEO, Boris A. Zhukov. Other thir-party vendors can charge dealerships high fees for leads that they must spend time and human effort to follow up on, in hopes of closing a fraction of those leads. We understand how busy sales managers are, as they keep track of their inventory that often changes daily. By giving dealerships the option to set it and forget it, we streamline their operations by letting them focus on high markup sales.



Co-founder/CAO Leslie D. McGehee reveals that their inventory is nearing 5,000 new vehicles, all within the last 250 days despite the supply-side constrained environment, and that number continues to grow. As expected, we have faced challenges because of the chip shortage and resulting impact on dealerships and their own inventories, McGehee states. However, we have persevered and now have more dealerships signing up with our marketplace as the production of chips ramps up. Our new autopilot feature has also been welcomed by dealerships as inventory has increased from a few listings to nearly 5,000 within a short amount of time. LetYouKnow is also working to accommodate its growing number of dealerships in its network by developing Android and iOS apps for dealerships. The apps are designed for dealers to react to live bids that they missed and empower them to have data on what real buyers are willing to pay for their models, so they can utilize all of this data at the dealership level in their own pricing decisions, says McGehee. The level of data that we can provide to dealers on top of getting them committed buyers with prepayment at no cost is truly unprecedented, and we want to continue to offer more features to benefit dealerships. We are pushing forward to release autopilot modes for pre-orders and shipping options in the second half of 2023 to enable buyers and dealers to strike more transactions that are combining features of empowerment and convenience.

As LetYouKnow continues to grow, it has also expanded its board of directors by adding two seasoned professionals in the automotive industry. In April 2022, LetYouKnow welcomed Dyer Auto Group owner William (Will) D. Dyer and Marin Mazda owner Michael J. Glasser to its board. The addition of Will and Mike to our board is very beneficial to LetYouKnow, as they provide their automotive industry experience and expertise, making LetYouKnow even stronger, says Zhukov. LetYouKnow invites dealers to learn more about its highly innovative marketplace and how they can join the LetYouKnow dealer network to list their new car inventory on its platform and take advantage of its autopilot sales automation feature. The sign-up process is straightforward, and autopilot makes listings on LetYouKnow automated according to dealers desired pricing strategies. As we continue to innovate, LetYouKnow is attracting more and more fans among dealers and buyers that will further fuel our fire to design new features and technology that simply do not exist today to make the new car buying process faster and more efficient to both dealers and buyers, co-founder/CTO Gang Aaron Shao says. LetYouKnow was co-founded by CEO Boris A. Zhukov, who was frustrated after spending much time and energy helping his friends and families find the best new car deals, and he knew there had to be a better way. He and co-founder/CTO Gang Aaron Shao created the LetYouKnow marketplace to make it easier for new cars to be listed and sold. Dealerships anonymously list their new car inventory on LetYouKnows platform, and consumers choose their car specifications, submit their own prices, provide their zip codes, choose their desired search radiuses, and receive instant responses. Today, LetYouKnows AI-driven technology is connecting consumers with dealerships and changing how new cars are sold by dealerships and purchased by consumers. LetYouKnow is the only company currently using this patented technology. For more information about LetYouKnow, please see the companys reviews, visit the companys website, or contact: Boris A. Zhukov LetYouKnow, Inc.

844-873-8300

[email protected]



Boris A. Zhukov LetYouKnow, Inc. 844-873-8300 info at letyouknow.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] BLUETTI's Autumn Sale Adds More Fun to Autumn Outdoor Activities

SYDNEY, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting March 7, BLUETTI, the leading brand in clean energy storage industry, is offering a bundle of savings on power stations, solar panels and kits for people to explore nature. Versatile Power for Glamping and Emergency Backup Autumn is the time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Planning a glamping trip or resuming a van lifestyle cannot be done without mobile power. BLUETTI's AC200MAX, EB200P and AC200P are the perfect options with their massive power and flexible capacity. They can deliver around 2000W from their 2000Wh LPF batteries, which last over 3500 cycles. Typically, their capacities can be further increased by adding external battery packs of 2048Wh B230 or 3072Wh B300. Multiple outputs (13 for AC200P,15 for AC200MAX and EB200P) can charge various devices. The powerhouses also feature multiple charging options, including fast solar input or dual AC + solar input, to bring peace-of-mind for outdoor adventures.



Mobile Solar Power for Longer Playtime One of BLUETTI's goals is to provide enough power people need in the wild. The EB3A ,EB55 and EB70 portable solar generators can certainly live up to expectations. They are both handy and powerful enough: The EB3A can provide 600 W power to 8 different devices from its 268 Wh LFP battery. EB55 has a larger capacity of 537Wh and supports a 1400W surge, powering over 700W devices with 11 outlets. Rated at 1000 W, the EB70 can charge 10 devices from its massive 716 Wh storage.

Even if the solar generators are depleted, they can be quickly replenished by fast solar charging via BLUETTI portable solar panels. All BLUETTI panels, including PV120, PV200, PV350, use monocrystalline cells with up to 23.4% efficiency. They are IP65 rated for water and dust resistance. The fold-and-go design makes them easy to store and transport. About BLUETTI With over 10 years of industry experience, BLUETTI has tried to stay true to a sustainable future through green energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use while delivering an exceptional eco-friendly experience for everyone and the world. BLUETTI is making its presence in 70+ countries and is trusted by millions of customers across the globe. For more information, please visit BLUETTI online at https://www.bluettipower.com.au/. Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluetti.au

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluetti_australia/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BLUETTIOfficial SOURCE BLUETTI ENERGY PTY LTD

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] INSEAD reinvents lifelong learning with innovative subscription-based mobile app

The first business school in the world to offer content, community, curation and credentials on one platform.

Built to respond to the shifting needs of lifelong learning, given the challenge of leading and managing in today's fast-changing work environment.

Highly innovative learning journey bringing the latest and most relevant thinking from world renowned faculty , industry practitioners and leading organisations.

Personalised content delivery and community engagement on a mobile app enables self-driven learning anywhere, anytime. FONTAINEBLEAU, France and SINGAPORE and SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- INSEAD, The Business School for the World, today announced the launch of the INSEAD Learning Hub, a first-of-its-kind subscription-based mobile app for lifelong learning. As the world becomes increasingly complex and the business landscape changes faster than ever, success in the future of work requires continuous lifelong learning, an approach that has evolved from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Executives are increasingly looking for solutions that blend learning into the flow of work. INSEAD is a global pioneer in executive education, partnering with organisations and executives while continuously adapting its offerings to stay at the forefront of learning innovation. The INSEAD Learning Hub is the latest step in this process to shape the future of learning, built to respond to the changing needs of executives and leaders who are navigating disruption in today's exceptionally turbulent times. Through the INSEAD Learning Hub, learners will: Tap into the global INSEAD community and explore thought leadership from INSEAD faculty, leading INSEAD alumni, as well as other practitioners and academics, curated and personalised for them.

for them. Engage with global thought leaders and peers in the diferent communities designed to bring the best minds together.

designed to bring the best minds together. Gain free access to the latest and most relevant insights on how businesses can contribute to a nature-positive world, through unique content, covering topics including regenerative business, nature finance, and nature-positive governance collated and curated by INSEAD Hoffmann Global Institute for Business & Society in collaboration with World Economic Forum, and leading organisations Capitals Coalition, rePLANET and Systemiq Ltd .

world, through unique content, covering topics including regenerative business, nature finance, and nature-positive governance collated and curated by in collaboration with and leading organisations and . Gain priority access to the latest research and insights from INSEAD Knowledge, [email protected] and research centers such as The Rudolf and Valeria Maag INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship, Emerging Markets Institute, the Africa Initiative, among others.

and research centers such as The Rudolf and Valeria Maag INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship, Emerging Markets Institute, the Africa Initiative, among others. Participate in Hub Live , a series of regular live online sessions with thought leaders on contemporary topics.

, a series of regular live online sessions with thought leaders on contemporary topics. Earn 'steps' on their way to scaling peaks of learning that come with INSEAD benefits with different milestones. Eventually these will translate into certification pathways within the INSEAD ecosystem.



Professor Peter Zemsky, Deputy Dean of INSEAD and Dean of Innovation, said, "From pioneering the first one-year MBA programme, to launching the first company-specific programmes as well as customised online programmes  the spirit of innovation is an essential part of INSEAD's DNA. True to that entrepreneurial spirit, we have set up a Learning Innovation Team dedicated to keep INSEAD at the forefront of management education practice. The INSEAD Learning Hub is its first major new offering to reinvent lifelong learning.

By putting INSEAD in your pocket, it gives learners access to impactful tools to reinvent themselves, creates opportunities for engagement; and empowers learners to think, act and work differently. Its unique design is an excellent fit for busy executives looking to build the skills and competencies needed to thrive and drive impact today and tomorrow." INSEAD is steadfast in its belief that business can be a force for good, and the new Learning Hub model is a genuine pathway to the future of business management  enabling and empowering communities around the world to gain equitable access to high quality education. The INSEAD Learning Hub App Virtual Tour Video The INSEAD Learning Hub subscription model: Phase one: (until Summer of 2023) free access to allow executives, managers and leaders beyond the INSEAD community to benefit from its transformative learning experience

integrate into INSEAD customised executive education programmes and open enrollment programmes, enriching the learning experience as well as enhancing the diverse user community. Phase two: free access to standard content

annual subscription fee to access premium content tailored for learners seeking deeper level of engagement via a broader library of content, live sessions with academics and practitioners, exclusive connections with certain communities and a personalised learning journey to advance their knowledge and skills. For more information, contact the Learning Innovation Team: Swapnil Chugh , Chief Learning Innovation Officer, at [email protected]

, Chief Learning Innovation Officer, at Anitha Alappat , Director of Learning Content, at [email protected] INSEAD Press Contacts: Aileen Huang

[email protected] Cheryl Ng

[email protected] Gwenaelle Hennequin

[email protected] SOURCE INSEAD, The Business School for the World

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Taking further action on foreign interference and strengthening confidence in our democracy

OTTAWA, ON , March 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Canada's democracy is among the strongest, most stable in the world. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has taken significant action to combat foreign interference, while strengthening our institutions and our democracy, including protecting our elections from foreign threats. Any attack, or attempted attack, on our democracy is unacceptable and something we take very seriously. Today, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced further action to combat foreign interference and uphold confidence in our democratic institutions: He has asked the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) to complete a review to assess the state of foreign interference in federal electoral processes. The NSICOP is well placed to look at foreign interference attempts that occurred in the 43rd and 44th federal general elections, including potential effects on Canada's democracy and institutions, and have their findings and recommendations reported to Parliament.

democracy and institutions, and have their findings and recommendations reported to Parliament. He spoke to the Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) about a review of how Canada's national security agencies handled the threat of foreign interference during the 43rd and 44th federal general elections, specifically around the flow of information from national security agencies to decision makers. Given it is an external and independent body, the NSIRA will appropriately set its own mandate and scope of study in the coming days. Their findings will also be reported to Parliament. The Prime Minister also announced that in the coming days we will appoint an eminent Canadian to the position of Independent Special Rapporteur, who will have a wide mandate to make expert recommendations on protecting and enhancing Canadians' faith in our democracy. In the coming weeks, the Independent Special Rapporteur will be responsible for informing the work of the NSIRA and the NSICOP and any other existing processes and investigations that may be carried out by independent bodies like Canada's Commissioner of Elections and identify gaps that may still remain in the oversight and protection of our democracy. The Independent Special Rapporteur will make public recommendations, which could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review process, and the Government of Canada will abide by the recommendation. Together, these measures will give us a better understanding of what happened in the last two federal general elections: how foreign governments tried to interfere, how security agencies in Canada responded to the threat of interference, and how the information flowed across government. The Prime Minister today also announced a series of new measures to take immediate action to combat the threat of foreign interference. The Government of Canada is: Launching public consultations later this week to guide the creation of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry in Canada to ensure transparency and accountability from people whoadvocate on behalf of a foreign government and ensure communities who are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference are protected.

to ensure transparency and accountability from people whoadvocate on behalf of a foreign government and ensure communities who are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference are protected. Establishing a new National Counter Foreign Interference Coordinator in Public Safety Canada to coordinate efforts to combat foreign interference.

Developing a plan to address outstanding recommendations from the NSICOP, the independent assessment of the Protocol (Rosenberg Report), and other reviews on these matters, within the next 30 days.

Investing $5 .5 million to strengthen the capacity of civil society partners to counter disinformation.



Quote

"As a government, it's our job to protect our institutions and everyone who calls Canada home. Today, we're taking even further action to protect our democratic institutions, to defend their integrity, and to uphold and strengthen confidence in our democracy. We will always take foreign attempts at undermining our democracy very seriously."

 The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Quick Facts In 2017, we introduced legislation to create the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP), made up of Members of Parliament from each party and Senators with top-secret security clearance to review national security and intelligence activities across the Government of Canada . It was modelled on similar approaches taken by our international partners and has since reviewed and provided recommendations on issues concerning national security, like cyber attacks. In 2019, the NSICOP completed a review of foreign interference in Canada and published it in their 2019 annual report.

. It was modelled on similar approaches taken by our international partners and has since reviewed and provided recommendations on issues concerning national security, like cyber attacks. In 2019, the NSICOP completed a review of foreign interference in and published it in their 2019 annual report. In 2019, we introduced legislation to create the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), made up of top independent experts, to strengthen independent scrutiny and national security accountability in Canada . The NSIRA independently reviews all Government of Canada national security and intelligence activities to ensure are lawful, reasonable, and necessary, and provides recommendations to the Government of Canada .

. The NSIRA independently reviews all Government of national security and intelligence activities to ensure are lawful, reasonable, and necessary, and provides recommendations to the Government of . As part of the Plan to Protect our Democracy, starting with the 2019 election, we established the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol (the Protocol), which is administered by a panel of the most senior federal public servants who, working with national security agencies, are responsible for communicating with Canadians in the event of an incident or series of incidents that threaten the integrity of a federal election.

In both the 2019 and 2021 federal general elections, the panel reported that while foreign inference attempts existed, the elections unfolded with integrity.

The Protocol includes an independent assessment which, in both 2019 and 2021, reiterated the panel's findings that these elections were free and fair.

The government also created the Security and Intelligence Threats to Election (SITE) Task Force, composed of officials from the Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Global Affairs Canada. The SITE Task Force works to identify and prevent covert, clandestine, or criminal activities from influencing or interfering with the electoral process in Canada.

Canada established the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) at the G7 Summit in Charlevoix to help G7 countries identify and respond to diverse and evolving foreign threats to democracy.

established the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) at the G7 Summit in Charlevoix to help G7 countries identify and respond to diverse and evolving foreign threats to democracy. We have also taken a series of other measures to bolster our institutions:

In 2018, we strengthened our elections financing laws to keep foreign money out of our elections;



In 2019, we launched the Digital Citizen Initiative to help people better understand and identify online disinformation;



We introduced new legislation to protect our cyber security. Associated Links National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians

National Security and Intelligence Review Agency

Protecting democracy

Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force

Rapid Response Mechanism This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 06, 2023] Antaisolar Signs 23MW Solar Tracker Deal, Accelerating Its Deployment in India Market

XIAMEN, China, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Antaisolar, the leading supplier of the whole industry chain in PV mounting systems, has recently completed the signing of a 23MW supply agreement with WELSPUN INDIA LIMITED, committing to provide its classic slew-drive single-axis independent tracking system - TAI Simple for the solar plant. Having cultivated in the solar industry for seventeen years, Antaisolar is now developing at a rapid pace. This signing is another milestone for Antaisolar to expand its business presence in the Indian market. Solar tracking systems are proven to be more efficient than fixed mounting systems by making solar panels follow the sun's path to maximize absorbing the sunlight, which helps increase energy yield. Whereas, with advanced technology improving the energy yield, there also comes the drawback that utilizing tracking systems requires more investment. TAI-Simple, Antaisolar's intelligent 1P tracking system, adopts the patent single-point slew drive design with two dampers on both sides, which not only can greatly save cost in procurement, installation, and O&M, but also ensure the stability of the whole stucture.



Following the trend of reducing the LCOE of solar plants, purchasers are more interested in the solution of tracking systems combined with bifacial or large-size modules. Antaisolar has captured this demand and started R&D many years ago to optimize product adaptability. Until now, Antaisolar has the entire tracker product line matched perfectly with all types of solar panels. Indian solar market is growing at such an unimaginable speed that the installed capacity of PV systems in India has grown from 6.76GW in 2016 to 54GW in 2022. Competition becomes more fierce when the government announced the target to achieve 280GW of installed capacity by 2030. Antaisolar shows its confidence in exploring the Indian market and started deployment very early. The Indian office of Antaisolar is located in New Delhi where clients can find local sales and engineers providing the best solution for them. Antaisolar also cooperated with local supply chain factories and has secured 2.5 GW production capacity per annum, which enables fast delivery to the project location.

Holding the mission of Raise a Green World, Antaisolar is making strides to achieve the globalization, bringing cutting-edge technology and thoughtful service to clients around the world. Along with the rapid growth of the solar market, Antaisolar is strengthening itself, always ready to solve what's next. Contact us Website: www.antaisolar.com Email: [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/antaisolar-signs-23mw-solar-tracker-deal-accelerating-its-deployment-in-india-market-301764049.html

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] DFI To Showcase Latest Embedded Products and AIoT Solutions at Embedded World, Focusing on Edge AI Opportunities

TAIPEI, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DFI, the global leader in embedded motherboards and industrial computers, will release their latest products and embedded AI solutions this year at Embedded World in Germany. The three highlights of the exhibition include the launch of the 1.8-inch AMD Ryzen high-performance industrial motherboard, Intel's newest Raptor Lake-S and Alder Lake series processors, and the industrial motherboard with the Qualcomm high-performance QRB5165 processor. DFI's booth at Embedded World will focus on smart city, smart factory, Industrial Pi, industrial motherboards, and rugged products as its key edge computing applications in various fields to demonstrate flexible and customized systems. By leveraging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Internet of Vehicles (IoV), DFI can sufficiently meet customers' "new infrastructure" needs. In terms of smart cities, DFI will be showcasing a number of system solutions for roadside and vehicles such as Edge AI Boxes and T-Boxes. Vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X)can be effectively used to solve issues with traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, and smart transportation security.



Smart factories are still the main focus of global manufacturing development. Workload Consolidation created by advanced virtualization software and hardware technology is one of the highlights of this year's exhibition. As Intel's first partner with Intel Virtualization Technology verification (Graphics SR-IOV), DFI will create a virtualized environment on the exhibition floor while executing common applications in the industrial automation field. In terms of Industrial Pi and industrial-grade motherboards, after previously releasing the GHF51, the world's first miniature 1.8 inches high performance motherboard with the AMD Ryzen R1000 processor, DFI will be launching its new product PCSF51 equipped with the new generation AMD Ryzen R2000 processor, Not only are the CPU and GPU cores double compared to the previous generation, but the overall performance and computing power are also increased by 50% and 15% respectively.

Finally, in terms of rugged products, DFI will be illustrating superior product design when it comes to features such as shock resistance, waterproof, dust-proof, and wide temperature and pressure. Embedded World 2023 will be held from March 14th to March 16th at Nuremberg Messe in Germany. DFI visitors can use the code "ew23web" to register for free. Booth information: Hall 2-631 For more information, please visit: https://www.dfi.com/ or contact us. Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin. Contact:

Eva Chen [email protected]

Iris Chou [email protected] SOURCE DFI Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] ALX'S WOMXN AND TECH INITIATIVE SET TO HELP BRIDGE THE TECH GENDER GAP IN AFRICA

ALX's commitment to addressing the digital gender divide and increasing the participation of women in tech kicks off with their first-ever female only programme, aiming to provide up to 50,000 women in Africa with Software Engineering skills. NAIROBI, Kenya , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of International Women's Day (IWD) taking place on 8 March, ALX announced its first dedicated Software Engineering cohort for women, enabling up to 50 000 women across Africa to participate in the global technology revolution and helping to transform the tech status quo throughout the continent. The cohort forms part of ALX's 'WomXn and Tech' initiative and was inspired by the United Nations IWD theme of 'DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.' ALX is showing its commitment to bridging the digital gender divide in Africa, increasing the representation of women in the technology sector and driving the participation of women to innovate and create solutions for a diverse world. This cohort will provide a launchpad for women to grow their careers in one of the most exciting and in-demand fields in the world. Part of African Leadership International (ALI), ALX is a leading technology training provider that offers world-class programmes to thousands of young people across Africa, equipping them with both the professional and technical skills that enable them to thrive in high-growth industries. The statistics make for grim reading. Women comprise just 5% of global software engineers. Considering that there are an estimated 690 000 software engineers in Africa, even applying the global average means that there is a significant gender divide that must be addressed. It is through this female cohort that ALX will take the steps necessary to reduce this considerable dsparity. Thanks to its partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, ALX is offering sponsored placements to thousands of young women who meet the eligibility requirements for this programme.



"ALX knows that our collective future depends upon a female voice, a female brain, and her perspective in devising solutions for the world of tomorrow. Through 'WomXn and Tech', we are boldly proclaiming our call to action for women across the continent and the rest of the world to not just have a seat at the table, but to redesign the table. This 100% female software engineering cohort we are introducing helps to accomplish this," says Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of ALI. The programme has been made possible following the recent acquisition by ALI of leading Silicon Valley institution, Holberton Inc. ALX is now one of the largest software engineering trainers in the world, which aligns with the organisation's mission to develop Africa's human capital at scale and enable women with best-in-class digital skills and excellence.

"Imagine a world where every voice is heard, where every perspective is valued, where every person can contribute their unique talents and insights to create the best possible products and services. This is the world we must strive for in technology, where women make up half of all users but are often excluded from the engineering process," says Julien Barbier, co-founder of Holberton and Chief Product Officer at ALI. "By tapping into the full potential of our diverse communities, we not only foster innovation but also unlock the boundless talent and creativity of all Africans," he adds. The cohort has been designed to support women from the start of their training and throughout their career journeys as they become part of The ROOM, ALI's community of top technology professionals from across the globe. "We want to encourage young women in Africa to see technology as a pathway to a great career. As such, we are investing in young women to give them the support they need to thrive and either pursue a career in technology or embark on technology ventures themselves," says Sharon O'Donnell, Chief Experience Officer at ALI. Reeta Roy, President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, adds: "The quality of a girl's future is determined by the quality of the opportunities she has to learn and develop work-relevant skills. The Mastercard Foundation is committed to addressing systemic barriers inhibiting young women from accessing relevant learning and dignified economic opportunities. Through our partnership with ALI, we are working to help enable women to become catalysts and advocates for change in their communities, creating opportunities for future generations of girls and the economy as a whole." Applications for the ALX Software Engineering intake for women close on 15 March. The programme will start on 27 March. No prior experience or background in IT is required to apply. For more information on the programme and its entry requirements, please visit www.alxafrica.com/women-in-tech/ . Editor's notes/ additional information about ALX and the Mastercard Foundation ABOUT ALX ALX is a leading technology training provider that equips young Africans with both the technical and professional skills that enable them to thrive in the digital economy. Its world-class programmes are designed to help learners build their careers in high-growth industries and become agile digital leaders for the 21st century. As part of African Leadership International, ALX is connected to an innovative ecosystem that has been successfully producing competitive talent and placing them with the world's top employers over the past two decades. Together with its partners - the Mastercard Foundation and The ROOM - its mission is to transform the future of Africa by enabling 2 million young professionals to secure dignified and meaningful work opportunities by 2030. For more information about its courses or to find out more about ALX, please visit www.alxafrica.com . ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organisations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. It was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is an independent organisation, and its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its own Board of Directors and senior leadership team. It is a registered Canadian charity with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017091/Fred_Swaniker.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alxs-womxn-and-tech-initiative-set-to-help-bridge-the-tech-gender-gap-in-africa-301764368.html SOURCE African Leadership International

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Nexyst 360 selects Nexxiot to Digitalize 5000 Grain Transport Containers

Nexyst 360's transport assets equipped with Nexxiot's Asset Intelligence technology revolutionize supply chain accountability RICE, Minn. and MCKINNEY, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nexyst 360, an innovative grain transportation solution provider, has partnered with Nexxiot to digitalize its entire fleet of grain shipping containers with zero-maintenance IoT connectivity hardware. This enables real time transport intelligence across the entire journey, with user services made available through Nexyst 360's software solution - Traceable AG, LLC. We are changing the future of grain transportation Traceable AG, LLC links farmers, buyers, and retailers/consumers who use Nexyst 360's 'smart' NexBox container to drive higher standards in farm produce transportation and accountability. Nexxiot hardware and software, when combined with the NexBox container and Traceable AG platform, enables improved farm-to-consumer security, efficiency, and provenance monitoring and provides next-level quality assurance. Nexyst 360 will deploy 5,000 of Nexxiot's Globehopper IoT gateways and Cargo Monitors (cargo condition monitoring sensors) These devices will enable Nexyst 360's / Traceable AG customers to benefit from the latest innovations in Asset Intelligence technology, including real time monitoring of location and cargo conditions. Stakeholders receive supply chain insights and customizable alerts around risks and events that require intervention based on real time data.



Nexyst 360's unique NexBox container and digital services are made available via the Traceable AG, LLC platform to increase food security and human safety from loading to delivery. By mounting Globehopper gateways to the containers exterior and including Cargo Monitors inside each container, Nexyst 360 makes it possible for its customers to achieve inside-out visibility of assets to optimize food supply chain processes and support the highest standards of food transportation in the world. "This partnership with Nexxiot is an important milestone for Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC, as it encompasses the complete digitalization of our transatlantic fleet," said Robert Ankeny, Operations Manager and Partner at Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC. "We make it possible for our agricultural customers to maintain a high-quality product from the field to the point of delivery. We are the link between the farmers and the market, and this new capability sets the bar for grain transportation quality by focusing on accountability, transparency and speed," he said.

These containers covered more than one million miles in the past five months, carrying over 11 million pounds (5 million kg) of grain and food products globally. The digitalization of this fleet is a significant step - supporting a deep commitment to quality control for the benefit of grain producers and consumers. "We are changing the future of grain transportation and are excited that Nexxiot is able to equip our client's fleet to ensure visibility throughout the entire shipment journey," said Kenneth Mannka, Nexxiot's Executive Vice President of US Operations. About Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC:

Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG link farmers, buyers, and consumers, providing a supply chain solution to meet the quality, traceability, market access, mobility, and insurability goals through technology-enabled processes. Our customers digitalized fleets ensure cargo visibility and quality across the entire lifecycle of transport. To learn more, visit www.nexyst360.com. About Nexxiot:

Nexxiot is a TradeTech pioneer for Asset Intelligence with a mission to remove uncertainty and 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 can now 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. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexyst-360-selects-nexxiot-to-digitalize-5000-grain-transport-containers-301763421.html SOURCE Nexxiot

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Zimmer Biomet Unveils Latest Enhancements to ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence at AAOS 2023 Annual Meeting

-- New Updates to mymobility Digital Care Management Platform, ROSA Knee and Persona IQ The Smart Knee to be Showcased Alongside Comprehensive Portfolio of Orthopedic Solutions -- WARSAW, Ind., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH), a global medical technology leader, today announced plans to unveil the latest enhancements to ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon's (AAOS) 2023 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence integrates Zimmer Biomet's digital, robotic, and implant technologies, connecting and collecting objective data throughout the entire episode of care. ZBEdge is powered to transform data into insights to empower healthcare providers and elevate the standard of care. During the meeting, being held March 7-11, the Company will share updates to mymobility Digital Care Management Platform, ROSA Knee and Persona IQ The Smart Knee, while also highlighting HipInsight Mixed Reality System * on the OptiVu Platform and Omni Suite Intelligent Operating Room. "Nearly two years following its introduction, ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence continues to deliver innovations with breakthrough technologies designed to enable smarter decision-making, more efficient care and optimized user experiences," said Ivan Tornos, Chief Operating Officer at Zimmer Biomet. "AAOS has always been a premier event to showcase to the orthopedic community the latest developments in our ZBEdge portfolio that harness the power of robotics, artificial intelligence, mixed reality and predictive data analytics to help surgeons transform patient outcomes." Key enhancements to ZBEdge unveiled at the AAOS 2023 Annual Meeting include: mymobility: a digital care management platform that delivers support and guidance to patients and captures continuous data and patient-reported feedback to facilitate care, outcomes and satisfaction about patients' surgical preparation and recovery.

a digital care management platform that delivers support and guidance to patients and captures continuous data and patient-reported feedback to facilitate care, outcomes and satisfaction about patients' surgical preparation and recovery. Integration of WalkAI  Recovery Curves to help surgeons track their patients' recovery by benchmarking patient gait metrics to a matched cohort and providing predictions of their 90-day gait speed.

Recovery Curves to help surgeons track their patients' recovery by benchmarking patient gait metrics to a matched cohort and providing predictions of their 90-day gait speed.

Integration of WalkAI Patient Progress to help patients track and focus on their recovery through the smartphone app and see how their predicted gait speed recovery at 90 days after surgery compares with their peers.



Integration of Clinician Mobile Experience to allow health care providers to manage and track patients on the go, enable faster enrollment and receive a better user experience.

Persona IQ : the world's first and only smart knee implant that allows physicians and care teams to collect patient-specific kinematic data including functional knee range of motion, qualified step count, distance traveled, cadence, stride length and sampled average walking speed accessible, remotely through the mymobility platform. 

: the world's first and only smart knee implant that allows physicians and care teams to collect patient-specific kinematic data including functional knee range of motion, qualified step count, distance traveled, cadence, stride length and sampled average walking speed accessible, remotely through the mymobility platform. Integration of Canary Quantiles  Recovery Curves to offer surgeons cohort-comparative, post-operative gait parameters during the course of patient monitoring and treatment post-surgery.

Recovery Curves to offer surgeons cohort-comparative, post-operative gait parameters during the course of patient monitoring and treatment post-surgery. ROSA Knee: a robotically-assisted surgical system that leverages real-time insights to help surgeons optimize outcomes when performing total knee replacement surgery.

a robotically-assisted surgical system that leverages real-time insights to help surgeons optimize outcomes when performing total knee replacement surgery. Improvements to both software and hardware, including enhancements for optimized landmarks, knee state evaluation, cut validation and data.



Compatibility with Persona  OsseoTi  Keel Tibia for cementless knee replacement.

OsseoTi Keel Tibia for cementless knee replacement.

Integration of enhanced mixed reality to optimize intra-operative interaction with the ROSA Knee platform. The Zimmer Biomet booth (#2543) at the AAOS 2023 Annual Meeting will feature demonstrations of the Company's orthopedic solutions and ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence. For more information about Zimmer Biomet events at AAOS 2023, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com/en/academy2023.html. About Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet is a global medical technology leader with a comprehensive portfolio designed to maximize mobility and improve health. We seamlessly transform the patient experience through our innovative products and suite of integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence. With 90+ years of trusted leadership and proven expertise, Zimmer Biomet is positioned to deliver the highest quality solutions to patients and providers. Our legacy continues to come to life today through our progressive culture of evolution and innovation. For more information about our product portfolio, our operations in 25+ countries and sales in 100+ countries or about joining our team, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com or follow Zimmer Biomet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zimmerbiomet. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Zimmer Biomet's expectations, plans, prospects, and product and service offerings, including new product launches and potential clinical successes. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management and are subject to significant risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. For a list and description of some of such risks and uncertainties, see Zimmer Biomet's periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in Zimmer Biomet's filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Zimmer Biomet disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers of this news release are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements, since there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this news release. ________________________

* HipInsight System is a trademark of Surgical Planning Associates, Inc.  WalkAI is available to hip and knee replacement patients using mymobility on a compatible smartphone.  Warning  The kinematic data from this device have not been demonstrated to have clinical benefit. It is not intended to be utilized for clinical decision-making, and no data have been evaluated by FDA regarding clinical benefits.  The Canary Quantiles Recovery Curves software provides health care professionals (HCPs) with additional aggregate population data when managing a patient's total knee arthroplasty (TKA) post-surgical care. HCPs can filter or select options for additional views based on patient demographics (e.g. age), to analyze trends and outcomes. The Canary Quantiles Recovery Curves software allows HCPs to view aggregate patient population data to analyze patient recovery progress and direction of outcome. The Canary Quantiles Recovery Curves software does not control the function or parameters of the Canturio Tibial Extension (CTE) with Canary Health Implanted Reporting Processor (CHIRP) System and is not intended for active patient monitoring. The CTE with CHIRP System is intended to provide objective kinematic data from the implanted medical device during a patient's total knee arthroplasty (TKA) post-surgical care. The kinematic data are an adjunct to other physiological parameter measurement tools applied or utilized by the physician during the course of patient monitoring and treatment post-surgery. The device is indicated for use in patients undergoing a cemented TKA procedure that are normally indicated for at least a 58mm sized tibial stem extension. The objective kinematic data generated by the CTE with CHIRP System are not intended to support clinical decision-making and have not been shown to provide any clinical benefit. The CTE with CHIRP System is compatible with Zimmer Biomet Persona The Personalized Knee System.







Media

Investors Meredith Weissman

Keri Mattox 703-346-3127

215-275-2431 [email protected]

[email protected]









Zach Weiner

908-591-6955

[email protected]



View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zimmer-biomet-unveils-latest-enhancements-to-zbedge-dynamic-intelligence-at-aaos-2023-annual-meeting-301763972.html SOURCE Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Chesley Brown International Opens New Office in Pittsburgh

The new downtown office renews Chesley Brown's decades long commitment to the city of Pittsburgh, and our partners. PITTSBURGH, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chesley Brown International, a leading global strategic security and consulting firm, today announced the opening of a new regional office in U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.



"We are thrilled to open our new office in Pittsburgh," said Vice President, Bryan Taylor. "We've been in Pittsburgh for over 20 years and are rapidly expanding. We are excited to renew our commitment to the city and our partners and look forward to bringing more of our world-class security services to businesses in the area for many more years."



The new office will offer a wide range of services to businesses of all sizes, including corporate investigations, risk mitigation, brand protection, training, crime analysis, and more. The new office will be staffed by an experienced team of security experts and researchers who bring decades of combined experience in the field. Chesley Brown plas to hire additional staff as it expands its services in the coming months.







The opening of this office is another step forward for Chesley Brown , whose Corporate Headquarters is based in Atlanta , as well as an Operational Headquarters in Kansas City , and another regional office in Nashville , along with its numerous field offices. The Pittsburgh office will allow Chesley Brown to better serve its clients across the East coast and the Midwest. About Chesley Brown International

Chesley Brown International is a leading global security firm that has been serving clients worldwide since 1990. The firm specializes in providing made-to-fit security solutions that enable companies to achieve their long-term strategic goals. For more information about Chesley Brown and its services, please visit www.ChesleyBrown.com This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chesley-brown-international-opens-new-office-in-pittsburgh-301764024.html SOURCE Chesley Brown International

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] KuCoin Survey Reveals Women Prefer Long-Term Crypto Investments and Are Interested in AI-Related Crypto Projects

With the International Women's Day coming up, KuCoin - the People's Exchange, has conducted a women's day survey to celebrate the spirit of gender inclusion in the crypto market and to gather insights from those who invest in cryptocurrencies and use digital assets daily. KuCoin has developed this Women's Day Survey Report 2023 based on a total sample of 577 crypto investors, including 360 males and 217 females, polled from February 24th to March 3rd, 2023 via KuCoin's communities and social media. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005671/en/ KuCoin Survey Reveals Women Prefer Long-Term Crypto Investments and Are Interested in AI-Related Crypto Projects (Graphic: Business Wire) Five key insights were revealed in the survey report: Insight #1 - Women tend to be crypto HODLers and invest for the long-term. Despite the volatility of the crypto market, 52% of female crypto investors say that they HODL crypto, which the share is much higher than the 38% among male investors. When it comes to motivations for crypto investment, 44% of female crypto investors think that crypto is a great source of passive income for wealth accumulation, while only 36% of male investors could say the same. This suggests that women investors tend to invest with a long-term mindset, and more women entering crypto investment may contribute to the stability of the market. Insight #2 - Women are more cautious but less confident in crypto investment 35% of female crypto investors are self-reportedly "very confident" in crypto investment, which is lower compared to 47% of male investors who claim to be very confident in such. Nearly half of women investors say that they are "somewhat confident" in crypto investment, suggesting a more conservative and cautious attitude in this matter. When being asked about the challenges encountered when investing in crypto, 44% of women are concerned about the risk and instability associated with crypto, while it is significantly higher than the 28% of their male counterparts. This eches with the previous finding, implying that women tend to seek long-term value and are not easily swayed by volatility of the market. Both genders say that keeping up with the knowledge and skills required is the top challenge when it comes to investing in crypto, suggesting more education and learning resources are needed to fulfill the appetites of potential investors.



Insight #3 - 38% of female crypto investors are interested in AI-related crypto projects. Apart from Web3, DeFi and AI are the two hottest themes in crypto investment going forward, and are triggering women's interests more than men's. 41% of female crypto investors are interested in investing in DeFi projects and 38% are interested in AI-related tokens. On the other hand, women crypto investors are set to do more research before investing as 14% of them are not sure about which tokens to invest going forward.

Insight #4 - It's all about DYOR (Do Your Own Research). Women are self-motivated but talk less about crypto. It's important for women to start conversations around crypto. 58% of women say that they make crypto investment decisions by doing their own research, and when being asked about who motivated them to start their crypto journey, 49% of female crypto investors are reported to be self-motivated. However, we also found that women might be having less conversations around crypto, whether publicly on social media or privately among their circles of friends and families. When it comes to making crypto investment decisions, only 24% of women are influenced by social media trends and 19% by conversations with friends and families, while the percentages are much higher among men: 37% and 27% respectively. Only 54% of women claim that they have influenced or inspired others to start their crypto investment journey, which is lower than 66% among men. Insight #5 - Over a third will share investment tips to support women in crypto. Nearly 40% of female crypto investors look forward to more job opportunities and storytelling for women in crypto. In addition to joining online communities and attending online events, 37% of investors are open to sharing investment tips to encourage more women to step into crypto investment, which can be a great way for women to start conversations around crypto. More communities, educational resources, and rewards for women are considered the most effective ways for the crypto industry to become more women-friendly. In the women's point of view, having more females working in the industry and telling more stories about women in crypto can genuinely make a difference. 40% of female crypto investors think that recruiting more women to work in the crypto industry, and 37% think that telling more stories about women in crypto can help the industry become more women-friendly. These initiatives are relatively neglected by men, which respectively 30% and 32% think in the same way. At KuCoin, we believe in empowering women in every industry, including the world of crypto. This survey had gathered valuable insights into women in the crypto industry, and to inspire more women to get involved. As more crypto users onboarding, we are looking forward to seeing more representation from women. The crypto industry still has a long way to go to create a more inclusive space for women, but we believe that by working together, we can break down barriers and drive development. Read the full survey report here. About KuCoin Launched in September 2017, KuCoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange with its operational headquarters in Seychelles. As a user-oriented platform with a focus on inclusiveness and community action reach, it offers over 700 digital assets and currently provides spot trading, margin trading, P2P fiat trading, futures trading, staking, and lending to its 27 million users in 207 countries and regions. In 2022, KuCoin raised over $150 million in investments through a pre-Series B round, bringing total investments to $170 million with Round A combined, at a total valuation of $10 billion. KuCoin is currently one of the top 5 crypto exchanges according to CoinMarketCap. Forbes also named KuCoin one of the Best Crypto Exchanges in 2023. In 2022, The Ascent named KuCoin the Best Crypto App for enthusiasts. To find out more, visit https://www.kucoin.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005671/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Organon Launches "Her Plan is Her Power," a New Global Initiative to Reduce Unplanned Pregnancies Where Need is Great and Disparities Exist

Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global healthcare company focused on improving women's health, today announced the launch of a new global initiative, "Her Plan is Her Power," to accelerate progress toward addressing the public health crisis of unplanned pregnancy. Annually, nearly 50% of pregnancies (approximately 121 million) around the world are estimated to be unplanned, leading to health risks and reduced educational and employment opportunities for mother and child - challenges which can span generations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005176/en/ Unplanned pregnancies are in part caused by a lack of access to contraceptive information and services. Globally, of the 257 million women who want to avoid pregnancy, almost 67% are not using any contraceptive method. In response, Organon's multi-year effort (2023-2025) builds on previous programming launched in 2022 through the "Her Promise" ESG platform. This new effort includes a portfolio of programs, collaborations and investments designed to fuel public health solutions, address inequities, and accelerate progress to help ensure women have the power to plan their future. The $30 million "Her Plan is Her Power" initiative aims to address and overcome gaps and barriers to reduce unplanned pregnancies and empower women and girls when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It builds on existing company initiatives, with new funding to support: A planned three-pronged collaboration with UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to help reduce unplanned pregnancies focused on innovation, access and education, and financing and sustainability. Initial projects are planned to support the Equalizer: UNFPA Accelerator Fund, through the establishment of an innovation challenge to empower young people by increasing access to financing and training to enable innovations for SRH information, services and commodities; enhancing a digital SRH knowledge solution with ethical artificial intelligence capabilities to give information and analytics to frontline healthcare workers in low-resource settings; and support for the Equity 2030 Alliance to accelerate actions to normalize gender equity in science and technology with a focus on SRH and women-focused solutions.

Inaugural launch of a global grants program that provides resources to organizations working in communities to create a local response and empower people when it comes to reducing unplanned pregnancies and taking control of their reproductive health. The first cohort of grantees includes organizations across 13 countries including Dominican Republic, South Korea, Germany, and Thailand.

New funding and product donations to help improve access and outcomes related to unplanned pregnancy in select communities in the US. Initial planned NGO partners include Direct Relief and Power to Decide, with additional US-based organizations and communities to be announced later this year.



This announcement comes on International Women's Day and on the sidelines of the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, to raise awareness and spur action, because in this complex environment, there has never been a more critical moment to stand - and act - with her.

"UNFPA is very excited to be working with Organon to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights and choices," says Ian McFarlane, the Director of the Division for Communications and Strategic Partnerships at UNFPA. "The staggering number of unintended pregnancies that occur globally each year - nearly half of all pregnancies - require the power of public-private collaboration. We look forward to continuing to build upon our efforts to help improve the lives of women and girls around the world." Organon is working to ensure that all women and girls achieve the full potential of their promise through better health. In 2022, Organon made a commitment to help prevent 120 million unplanned pregnancies in the world's least-developed countries by 2030 as part of FP2030. Through "Her Plan is Her Power" the company will further accelerate progress towards this goal by working with global and local organizations across geographies with a focus on innovation, education, access, and advocacy. About Organon Organon is a global healthcare company formed to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon offers more than 60 medicines and products in women's health in addition to a growing biosimilars business and a large franchise of established medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. Organon's existing products produce strong cash flows that support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in women's health and biosimilars. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets. Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 10,000 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey. For more information, visit https://www.organon.com/ and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statement Except for historical information herein, this press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about Organon's launch of the "Her Plan is Her Power" global initiative. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005176/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Beatrice City Council spent the majority of the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening discussing an ordinance regarding the use of all-terrain vehicles and utility task vehicles on city streets.

Councilman Tim Fralin introduced the topic at the Feb. 7 council meeting and after discussion, the topic was sent to the traffic committee for further research.

The ordinance prepared for the council Monday included state statute information, with the added requirement of a helmet on an ATV. A helmet or a seatbelt for a UTV would also be required and a rearview mirror.

Neither an ATV or a UTV is allowed to pull anything behind it. The ATV or UTV are not allowed on Highway 77 or Highway 136 with a few exceptions. Other exceptions include use of the ATV or UTV in parades or for snow removal.

Councilman Mike McLain said he had been contacted by people with concerns.

There a lot of questions and opinions on the ordinance and I just want to be sure that people have the opportunity to voice their concerns, he said.

Fralin said hes been on the council for two years and noted this was the first time this has happened.

We supposedly rush everything else through the system, he said. The ill-informed people that are voicing opinions these days are beyond belief. Ive researched this for over a year and have answered all the questions several times about insurance and state statute.

Mayor Bob Morgan cautioned Fralin for insulting the public.

I think we need to be careful about calling constituents ill-informed, he said.

Rich Kerr argued for registration and insurance of the ATVs and UTVs.

This is not a right, but a privilege, he said. We need some time to take a look at this stuff.

Fralin said Legislative Bill 66 which is currently being considered would require registration of ATVs and UTVs.

Councilman Ted Fairbanks said he appreciated that the council would have time to discuss the issue more before a final vote in April.

We need to consider does this make our roads more safe or less safe, he said. Thats how Im going to make this determination.

Councilman Duane Ruh showed photos of scooters and compared them to ATVs and UTVs.

I dont think that safety is as big of a concern as we think, he said.

James Nelson of Beatrice spoke during the public forum section of the meeting.

I appreciate the opportunity to slow down in approving a new ordinance. When you suspend rules the public doesnt have opportunity to understand and have discussion on topics, he said.

Nelson spoke in opposition of ATVs and UTVs.

Whats the purpose of allowing all-terrain and utility vehicles on city streets?

Three other members of the community spoke in opposition of the ordinance with two members of the public speaking in support.

Margaret Haith of Beatrice said she thought of the use of ATVs and UTVs should be limited to smaller towns.

I think this is a step backwards. This is not for an up and coming city, she said.

Fralin noted in South Dakota ATVs and UTVs are allowed.

In the entire state of South Dakota you can ride anywhere and everywhere but the interstate and state parks at 12 years of age. Im sure a 17 or 18 year old in Beatrice, Nebraska can figure it out.

The council voted seven to zero to move forward with the ordinance and hear the second of three readings of the ordinance in two weeks at the next meeting.
[March 07, 2023] SNC-Lavalin Continues to Advance Romanian Nuclear Refurbishment with $65 Million Contract

MONTREAL, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX: SNC), has been selected by Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), operator of the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station in Romania, to conduct further pre-project work for Cernavoda's Unit 1 CANDU reactor, ahead of its life-extension to support European energy security and Romania's Net Zero goals. The win builds on SNC-Lavalin's last pre-project mandate at Cernavoda announced in 2022. The two-year mandate, worth roughly $65 million, will see SNC-Lavalin perform long lead and front-end engineering services for the utility. This is in preparation for the upcoming Cernavoda Unit 1 Refurbishment project, which would see the reactor's operating life extended to 2060. The two CANDU units at the facility supply 20% of Romania's electricity, providing an emissions-free, low cost, energy-secure, and uninterrupted flow of power to Romanian consumers and businesses. The Romanian government and SNN have also signaled their intent to complete Units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda. Both would be reactor new-builds, designed to use CANDU technology. Cernavoda's long-term operation is central to helping Romania reach its goal of phasing out nearly 4 gigawatt hours of coal-fired power by 2032. CANDU reactors in Canada similarly allowed the province of Ontario to phase out coal from its power grid in 2014. "Our longstanding work at Cernavoda is a leading example of how we operationalize our commitment to engineer a better future for our planet and its people," commented Ian L. Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, SNC-Lavalin. "This life extension will provide many future generations of Romanians with energy security, cost-efficient power, and will allow Romania to continue to benefit from the reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by over 10 milliontonnes a year that the CANDU reactors at Cernavoda have achieved."



SNC-Lavalin is the only organization which has taken a leading role in all CANDU reactor life extension projects to date globally. This includes projects located in New Brunswick (Point Lepreau), Ontario (Darlington and Bruce Power), South Korea (Wolsong), and Argentina (Embalse). The Company's full lifecycle nuclear expertise, and prior experience across original reactor design, design modifications, as well as prolonged operation and life extensions, will be leveraged to maximize customer outcomes for Cernavoda's pre-project work. "We are happy to continue the strategic partnership we have with SNC-Lavalin, advancing the NPP Cernavoda Unit 1 Refurbishment Project, which will provide Romania with another 30 years of baseload clean energy. Moreover, the extension of the lifetime of Unit 1 will continue to bring multiple benefits to Romania: preserving high quality jobs, as well as creating new ones, investments in the community, an important contribution through taxes, as well as projects for the local supply chain, as part of our vision to create a sustainable future for the next generations," said Cosmin Ghi?a, CEO of Nuclearelectrica SA.

Specialized personnel from SNC-Lavalin's Canadian nuclear business will carry out design and procurement engineering work necessary in order to execute design modifications and recommendations arising out of SNC-Lavalin's condition assessment, which have been selected by SNN as part of the mid-life refurbishment of Unit 1. Additionally, new infrastructure and buildings that are necessary at site to support reactor retubing activities will be designed. Also, within the project, SNC-Lavalin will work with Ansaldo Nucleare which will supply engineering services for the balance of plant activities, continuing the long term partnership between the companies. Other key supporting organizations include Sargent and Lundy, CITON, and GE (General Electric) Steam Power, who are expected to supply engineering services associated with the refurbishment of Unit 1. "Romania has long adopted a forward-looking view toward its energy needs," said Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear, SNC-Lavalin. "That includes its desire to continue leveraging the proven, affordable, efficient, and effective CANDU technology at Cernavoda. As the steward and original equipment manufacturer of CANDU technology, we are thrilled to be able to conduct this vital work for SNN and the Romanian people, just as we were entrusted to originally construct Cernavoda's reactors in 1996 and 2007." Preparing Cernavoda's CANDU reactors to continue serving Romania's future generations with stable, decarbonized power is another part of SNC-Lavalin's Engineering Net Zero blueprint; our commitment to advance projects that help clients decarbonize their assets, manage climate risk and build climate resiliency. About SNC-Lavalin

Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world dedicated to engineering a better future for our planet and its people. We create sustainable solutions that connect people, technology and data to design, deliver and operate the most complex projects. We deploy global capabilities locally to our clients and deliver unique end-to-end services across the whole life cycle of an asset including consulting, advisory & environmental services, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and capital  and delivered to clients in key strategic sectors such as Engineering Services, Nuclear, Operations & Maintenance and Capital. News and information are available at snclavalin.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About SNC-Lavalin's Nuclear Business

SNC-Lavalin has over 70 years' of global nuclear expertise, delivering nuclear technology products and full-service solutions to nuclear utilities around the world. With an innovative technology portfolio, including access to over 500 patented solutions, SNC-Lavalin solves technically complex challenges across the whole nuclear lifecycle from design and new build through asset management and from life extension and late life management through decommissioning and waste management. SNC-Lavalin operates and manages government nuclear research sites, transforming ageing infrastructure and safely managing legacy nuclear waste. SNC-Lavalin is the steward of CANDU nuclear technology, operating on four continents, and provides advisory and engineering services to other nuclear developers. SNC-Lavalin is also involved in developing medical radioisotopes for cancer research through its partnership with TerraPower. SOURCE SNC-Lavalin

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Edgeless Systems Raises $5m to Advance Confidential Computing

Confidential computing will revolutionize cloud security in the decade to come and has become a top C-level priority for industry leaders such as Google, Intel and Microsoft; Edgeless Systems is leading these advancements to ensure all data is always encrypted BOCHUM, Germany, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgeless Systems, a pioneering confidential computing company that is turning the public cloud into the safest place for sensitive data, today announced it has raised $5 million in its seed round led by Berlin-based SquareOne with angel investors that include Evan Weaver (founder of Fauna), Mirko Novakovic (exit of Instana to IBM), Paolo Negri (founder of Contentful), Mathias Biilman and Chris Back (founders of Netifly). Edgeless Systems raises $5 million in seed round hosts Open Confidential Computing Conference (OC3) on March 15 The company is also hosting the annual Open Confidential Computing Conference (OC3) on March 15, 2023 where CTOs from Intel, Microsoft, AMD, Nvidia and others will discuss the state of confidential computing. "Too many companies remain locked out of the cloud due to security concerns, but confidential computing technologies are poised to dramatically address this challenge in the coming months and years," said Georg Stockinger, Partner, SquareOne. "Edgeless Systems is already lightyears ahead of anyone else building the tools to make confidential computing easily accessible for developers in the enterprise. Its Constellation platform for Kubernetes is proof of its deep technical knowledge and first-mover position."



Edgeless Systems' flagship open source platform, Constellation and its associated tools, are already being used by hundreds of developers and DevOps engineers at companies such as Bosch, IBM and Intel, among others. Constellation is a confidential orchestration platform for Kubernetes. It leverages confidential computing to isolate and runtime-encrypt entire Kubernetes deployments, finally allowing enterprises to use the public cloud like their private cloud. "We are turning the public cloud into everyone's private cloud," said Felix Schuster, CEO of Edgeless Systems. "By encrypting data all the time, even at runtime, and providing the best possible protection against infrastructure-based threats like malicious admins or co-tenants, Edgeless Systems can transform the way developers build and secure their public cloud workloads."

Moving workloads to the public cloud has many proven benefits but raises major compliance and data security concerns. Unfortunately, data leaks and compliance violations are realities associated with cloud transformation. Confidential computing is a hardware-based technology that shields computer workloads from their environments and keeps data encrypted even during processing. The required hardware (largely big hyperscalers) to realize the promise of confidential computing has only recently become available. Edgeless Systems has been an active driver of this emerging technology and today brings to bear both the technologies and financial backing to take it to the next level. Edgeless Systems will use the seed funding to sustain its product lead, expand into the United States and add exciting features to its Constellation platform. It aims to be the defacto standard for 100 percent secure Kubernetes in the coming years. It will also build out its marketing and sales teams to help educate the industry on confidential computing and support advancements in this area. For more information about Edgeless Systems, visit GitHub or get in touch for a live demo. About Edgeless Systems

Edgeless Systems develops leading open source software for confidential computing to make the cloud the safest place for sensitive data. Edgeless Systems' Constellation is the first Kubernetes platform to ensure that hackers, cloud admins and foreign governments cannot access any data. The company was founded in 2020 by industry experts in Bochum, Germany, and has renowned investors and customers such as the Swiss stock exchange SIX and Bosch. For more information, please visit: https://www.edgeless.systems/ Media Contact

Ray George

[email protected]

650-922-3825 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edgeless-systems-raises-5m-to-advance-confidential-computing-301763856.html SOURCE Edgeless Systems

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Keysight and McGill University Demonstrate Record 1.6 Tbps O-band Coherent Transmission over 10 Kilometers

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) and McGill University have successfully demonstrated a world record 1.2 Tbps and 1.6 Tbps O-band coherent transmissions operating over 10 km using distributed feedback lasers (DFBs) for both the carrier and local oscillator. The achievement will be presented at OFC 2023, the largest global conference for optical communications and networking professionals. Artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, and internet of things applications are driving the demand for more bandwidth in optical networks. Leveraging high symbol rate systems increases the aggregate per-wavelength data rate to reduce the cost-per-bit in optical systems. A key trend in data centers is the transition to higher symbol rates through integrated optics, which reduces the component count, cost, and power consumption. To address growing short-reach intra-data center traffic demands -- from 2 to 10 km - coherent transmission systems are being considered as an alternative to intensity modulation direct detection (IMDD) systems that are currently operating at 200 Gbps per wavelength over 2 km in the O-band. Low chromatic dispersion makes power-efficient coherent links an attractive replacement for IMDD technologies at 1.6 Tbps and beyond. To demonstrate improvements in short-reach intra-data center transmission rates using coherent O-band solution, Keysight, McGill University, and other research partners collaborated to achieve the record-breaking transmission. The demonstration system consisted of Keysight's new M8199B 256 GSa/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator that delivers 75 GHz bandwidth in combination with a thin-film lithium niobate I/Q modulator with 100 GHz bandwidth and a 110 GHz 256 GSa/s Keysight Infiniium UXR-Series Oscilloscope. The accomplishment showcased how data centers can use coherent optical fiber transmission systems operating at 167 Gbaud, using dual-polarization, 64-quadrature amplitude modulation scheme to transmit signals at 1.6 Tbps in the O-band using DFBs for the carrier and local oscillators.



McGill University Professor and Canada Research Chair David V. Plant said: "The McGill University research team is very proud to be working with the test and measurement leader Keysight, and our partners, all of whom contributed to achieving this new record. The breakthrough was accomplished by using the latest technologies, including Keysight's recently announced and most powerful Arbitrary Waveform Generator. This achievement is a significant demonstration on the path to consolidating short-reach, O-band, coherent optical fiber transmission systems for data center interconnect applications." Dr. Joachim Peerlings, Vice President of Network and Data Center Solutions at Keysight Technologies, said: "Pushing coherent technologies into the O-band is essential for its future, ubiquitous use in data centers. Our record 1.6 Tbps O-band coherent transmission with Canada's McGill University is a key milestone towards this goal. The continued proliferation of AI requires new levels of server and network performance that must scale computing resources within reasonable energy bounds. This result is a milestone for the industry moving towards greener data centers."

Resources Keysight M8199B 256 GSa/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator

Keysight UXR1102A Infiniium UXR-Series Oscilloscope About Keysight Technologies At Keysight (NYSE: KEYS), we inspire and empower innovators to bring world-changing technologies to life. As an S&P 500 company, we're delivering market-leading design, emulation, and test solutions to help engineers develop and deploy faster, with less risk, throughout the entire product lifecycle. We're a global innovation partner enabling customers in communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics markets to accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Learn more at Keysight Newsroom and www.keysight.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005700/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Compass Datacenters Named to Fast Company's Annual List of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2023

Compass Joins the Ranks of OpenAI, Disney, Tiffany & Co., and More DALLAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass Datacenters has been named to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies for 2023. This year's list highlights the businesses at the forefront of their respective industries, paving the way for tomorrow's innovations. These companies are setting the standard with some of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. In addition to the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies, 540 organizations are recognized across 54 sectors and regions. "This accolade from Fast Company is a recognition of the strength of our Compass corporate culture," said Chris Crosby, Compass Datacenters' CEO. "We are committed to continuous improvement, innovating and developing solutions to better serve our customers. This is a powerful competitive differentiator, making us a trusted digital infrastructure partner for some of the world's largest companies. I'm incredibly proud of our team." Compass was recognized by Fast Company for its significant innovations in three areas: construction, sustainability and diversity. Construction  In its efforts to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, Compass has reduced GHG production by up to 260 tons per data center through its pioneering implementation of multiple technological advancements including: green concrete, artificial intelligence and "virtual rebar."





Sustainability  Compass has enhanced the sustainability of its construction and operations efforts: deploying air-side cooling, eliminating millions of gallons of water typically used to cool a data center; utilizing HVO-based biodiesel to reduce GHG emissions by 85%. The company has also augmented the existing EPA recommended Scope 1-3 emissions protocols through the development of Scope 4 GHG standards, looking at emissions avoided.



/li>

/li> Diversity  Compass is a leader in increasing the diversity of the data center and construction industries. Its innovative recruitment and professional development programs have resulted in 100% of its U.S. construction managers being women in 2022.



Fast Company's editors and writers sought out the companies making the biggest strides around the globe. They also judged nominations received through their application process. The World's Most Innovative Companies is Fast Company's signature franchise and one of its most highly anticipated editorial efforts of the year. It provides a firsthand look at the inspiring and innovative efforts of companies across all sectors of the economy. "What a strange and thrilling year it has been to honor this year's Most Innovative Companies.

This year's list compiles some of the most cutting-edge groundbreakers who are changing our world every single day, from legacy organizations like McDonald's to upstarts like MrBeast and institutions such as NASA. Everyone on this list does something completely, uniquely different, yet, they all have one thing in common: innovation," said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan.

Fast Company will host its third annual Most Innovative Companies Summit on April 19 and 20. The virtual summit celebrates the Most Innovative Companies in business, and provides an inside look at cutting-edge business trends and what it takes to innovate in 2023. Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies issue (March/April 2023) is available online here , as well as in-app form via iTunes, and on newsstands beginning March 14. The hashtag is #FCMostInnovative. About Compass Datacenters Compass makes lives better by providing the world's technology leaders a secure place to plug in wherever they grow. We provide custom, move-in ready data centers from edge deployments to core facilities serving hyperscale, cloud and enterprise customers. Since our inception, we have embraced sustainability with the efficient use of land, green energy, water-free cooling and building materials. Our campus approach empowers customers with easily scalable capacity, high levels of control and ultimate flexibility with the long-term perspective and financial strength of private investors, RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Azrieli Group. For more information, visit www.compassdatacenters.com . About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/compass-datacenters-named-to-fast-companys-annual-list-of-the-worlds-most-innovative-companies-for-2023-301763705.html SOURCE Compass Datacenters

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Quantumleaf Solutions Stokes Business Success With Cannabis & Hemp Industry's Top Business Management Platform

For too long, ambitious cannabis companies seeking business-management support beyond just spreadsheets and checklists have navigated a wilderness of complicated technology tools, all of which continue to prove ineffective in handling the complex, ever-evolving needs of the legal cannabis industry. But today, vertically integrated cannabis companies are turning to Quantumleaf Solutions, an intuitive, easy-to-use Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform designed from the ground up to help cannabis business leaders easily navigate the industry's dizzying layers of regulations while also giving them accurate, clear, real-time insights into all aspects of their operations. Working with Quantumleaf does not require specialized software knowledge. Comprehensive onboarding and training programs in addition to the platform's distinct simplicity (with options for much deeper functionality where required) serve as the keys to user success. "We took years of experience working in traditional ERP environments and applied it to the cannabis industry-quite possibly the most convoluted and challenging industry in the world today," said Jonathan Jaffe, Quantumleaf Solutions CEO and Co-Founder. "Now, savvy cannabis companies are capturing unrealizd profits, thanks to the ways in which Quantumleaf Solutions optimizes business practices and workflows, including compliance, accounting, costing, cultivation, manufacturing and inventory management."



In both new and established markets, cannabis businesses that fail to optimize efficiencies aren't surviving. The industry's increasingly challenging competitive environment only rewards especially savvy and nimble operators that capture every sliver of profit available. Licensed operators using Quantumleaf are able to track costs and key performance indicators (KPIs) at every level as they juggle their production schedules and cash flow. "To those who live and breathe supply chain, operations and information management in vertically integrated cannabis companies, the words `complicated' and `tedious' are all too familiar," said Kai Earthsong, VP of Supply Chain Management at Happy Valley, the most awarded cannabis brand in Massachusetts. "Problems are countless and solutions are few, as most cannabis-specific software startups focus on solving important but siloed problems. Quantumleaf Solutions harmonizes deep understandings of cannabis operations, accounting and software development to provide a true partnership. If your organization is ready to embrace and take control of complexity and tedium, Quantumleaf Solutions is your pathway to success."

About Quantumleaf Solutions: Quantumleaf Solutions provides cannabis and hemp companies a comprehensive seed-to-sale business management platform that eliminates the need for multiple software systems and spreadsheets. Company leaders can manage their entire operations, regardless of whether they are cultivators, processors, manufacturers or distributors, from one intuitive ERP platform, saving time and resources while empowering them to thrive and scale. For cannabis and hemp companies seeking the keys to unlocking their true potential-while simultaneously complying with challenging regulatory requirements across multiple jurisdictions-Quantumleaf is an invaluable partner. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005477/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Vecima Announces Compact, Affordable Legacy QAM Video Solution for Small Operators

Vecima Networks Inc. (TSX: VCM) today announced a new MediaScale video platform tailored to simplify maintaining QAM video on demand (VOD). Integrations with third-party QAM VOD back-office solutions, including CommScope ConvergeMedia Manager and SeaChange Adrenaline, facilitate straightforward replacement of aging library and streaming infrastructure that often leverage spinning disks nearing the end of their design life.

The Vecima platform uses compact MediaScale Origin and Storage implementations that can easily be repurposed or augmented to support IPTV and SVTA-compliant caching for third-party over-the-top content, providing operators a value proposition beyond sustaining the legacy QAM VOD ecosystem.

"Vecima's MediaScale solution enables operators to refresh old infrastructure, expand libraries, and continue to leverage investment in the existing back office," said Kyle Goodwin, Senior Vice President of Vecima's Content Delivery & Storage business. "It's an affordable, easy to deploy QAM VOD solution that can bridge operators' path to IPTV and Open Caching when they are ready."

Vecima's MediaScale uniied streaming video solution optimizes quality of experience and efficient delivery of Live Linear, nDVR, and Time-shifted TV, and VoD services. MediaScale can expand capacity while servicing a diverse client device ecosystem, including IP-enabled set-top boxes, smartphones, tablets, and other streaming devices. For more information about Vecima's MediaScale unified video streaming platform, visit vecima.com/video-streaming.







CommScope ConvergeMedia Manager and SeaChange Adrenaline are trademarks of those respective companies.

About Vecima Networks

Vecima Networks Inc. (TSX: VCM) is leading the global evolution to the multi-gigabit, content-rich networks of the future. Our talented people deliver future-ready software, services, and integrated platforms that power broadband and video streaming networks, monitor and manage transportation, and transform experiences in homes, businesses, and everywhere people connect. We help our customers evolve their networks with cloud-based solutions that deliver ground-breaking speed, superior video quality, and exciting new services to their subscribers. There is power in connectivity - it enables people, businesses, and communities to grow and thrive. For more information, please visit us at vecima.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005467/en/
[March 07, 2023] Rocket Software Names Puneet Kohli President of its Application Modernization Business Unit and Gary Gregory to Chief Technology Officer

Rocket Software, a global technology leader that develops enterprise software for some of the world's largest companies, today announced Puneet Kohli will serve as president of its application modernization business unit and Gary Gregory has been appointed as the company's chief technology officer. Kohli and Gregory step into their new roles at Rocket Software as the company continues to innovate and invest in the technology necessary to support customers' modernization efforts across infrastructure, data, and applications. The Application Modernization business unit helps enterprises modernize their critical applications while increasing the value of their existing business logic and data. Kohli assumes the president role as the business unit is experiencing significant momentum, while Gregory steps into his new position as CTO. Kohli recently led the enhancements of Rocket Modernization Suite for IBMi i, which empowers customers to extend and enhance the value of their IT systems. Reporting to Rocket Software's President and CEO Milan Shetti, Kohli will work with the application team to further enable its customers to increase business agility and drive better customer engagement across applications. During Kohli's 5-year tenure at Rocket Software, he has held multiple leadership roles leading the Quality, DevOps, and Product engineering teams and has been instrumental in standardizing Rocket Software's Quality and DevOps toolchain. "Rocket Software directly addresses the IT challenges mission-critical organizations face with solutions to help in their modernization journeys. Enabling our customers to better engage with and provide for their own customers is something I feel very passionate about," said Kohli. "I am fortunate to be able to continue to build upon the success of the entire Applications business unit and advance our application modernization solutions." As Chief Technology Officer, Gregory will work closely with Sheti on the company's strategic imperatives, ensuring Rocket Software continues to provide its customers with the holistic solutions to solve their most pressing IT challenges. Gregory will also look at opportunities to bridge the gap between the state of IT and how applications are written and maintained, driving innovations that reduce barriers to modernization by cutting costs and eliminating risk.



"The application market has exploded and evolved significantly in the decade since I joined Rocket Software and I've had the privilege of guiding many of our customers on their modernization journeys during that critical period," said Gregory. "As I pass the baton to Puneet, I look forward to uncovering the next great technologies and opportunities to advance Rocket's depth and breadth and continue to support our customers." "Both Puneet and Gary have been exemplary leaders and mentors to our Rocketeers, furthering the organization's ethos: putting the people behind the software first," said Shetti. "They each have played a significant role in the success of our application business unit and helping our customers build extraordinary applications. I look forward to seeing them both continue to exceed our business goals."

For more information about Rocket Software's leadership team, click here. About Rocket Software Rocket Software partners with the largest enterprises, in all industries, to solve their most complex IT challenges, across infrastructure, data, and applications - with solutions that simplify, not disrupt their modernization journey. Trusted by over 10,000 customers, Rocket Software helps enterprises modernize in place with a hybrid cloud strategy, so they don't need to re-platform or build from the ground up. The company's 2,600 global employees work with customers to accelerate and optimize their modernization journey while meeting evolving market needs. Rocket Software is a privately held U.S. corporation headquartered in the Boston area with centers of excellence strategically located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Rocket Software is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity. Follow Rocket Software on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit www.RocketSoftware.com. ______________________

i IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005349/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Job Research Foundation Announces 2023 Grant Recipients

Foundation Marks Five Year Milestone NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Job Research Foundation was established to underwrite research of Job Syndrome, also known as Autosomal Dominant Hyperimmunoglobulin E Syndrome (AD-HIES), a rare multisystem immunodeficiency disorder. The Foundation's main goal is to help advance research to find a cure for Job Syndrome, and in the short term, improve treatments for patients suffering from the disease. Since 2019 the Job Research Foundation has funded 14 scientific research projects. The scientists hail from Australia, Germany, Spain, the United States, and the UK. Additionally, the researchers are from prestigious institutions including the Garvan Institute, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, Hospital Infantil Universitario, Rockefeller University, Massachusetts General/Harvard Medical School, University of Newcastle, University of Pennsylvania, Boston Children's Hospital, University of Freiburg, Columbia University, and the DHHS/NIH. More info and research reports can be found here https://www.jobresearchfoundation.org/grant-recipients. The $200,000 research grants are distributed over a two-year period. While the pandemic presented challenges, all scientists are back on track to complete their projects. As stated by Dr. Alain Fischer, Chief Scientific Officer for Job Research Foundation, "The Job Research Foundation is transforming the perspective of "Job's disease." Both pathophysiology, namely the impact of STAT3 mutations on the lung function, how it heals following infection, and the clinics, for instance the impact of bone marrow transplantation and the prospect of gene therapy are being successfully investigated by scientists worldwide. JRF is truly a gamechanger." As stated by Hongmei Mou, an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and a recipient of a Job Research Foundation grant, "My laboratory uses stem cell technology to study genetic mutations and environmental perturbations-associated lung diseases. Patients with Job Syndrome ae prone to developing chronic airway infections with fungal pathogens and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. With the support from Job Research Foundation, we identified that abnormalities in airway epithelial differentiation and innate host defense are underlying mechanisms for pulmonary complications in Job Syndrome. This work created a publication and has accelerated my career growth in infectious disease modeling."



The recipients of the fifth round of grant funding are: Dr. Maria A. Curotto de Lafaille, Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. Research Project Title : "Cross-regulation of STAT signaling pathways in lung pathology of experimental HIES" (New York)

Professor Stuart Tangye, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Lab Head, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Darlinghurst. Research Project Title : "Immune dysregulation in Job Syndrome  elucidating mechanisms of STAT3-mediated host defense, humoral immunity and immune-mediated lung pathology" (Australia) Previous recipients: 2019 Ellen D. Renner , MD, Translational Immunology in Environmental Medicine - TU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, ( Germany ).

, MD, Translational Immunology in Environmental Medicine - TU Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, ( ). Stuart Tangye , PhD, Head, Immunology & Immunodeficiency Lab, Garvan Institute of Medical Research ( Australia )

PhD, Head, Immunology & Immunodeficiency Lab, Garvan Institute of Medical Research ( ) Bertrand Boisson , PhD, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, The Rockefeller University ( USA )

, PhD, St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, ( ) Peter Olbrich , MD, PhD, Principal Investigator/Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit, and Olaf Neth MD, PhD, Principal Investigator and Head of Department/Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit; Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiency Unit, Hospital Infantil Virgen del Rocio, Sevilla ( Spain ) 2020 Andrew Gennery , MD, Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies, University of Newcastle /Great North Children's Hospital ( United Kingdom ) with Alexandra Freeman , Austen Worth , Raffaele Badolato

, MD, Professor in Paediatric Immunology and Haematopoietic Stem Cell Therapies, University of /Great North Children's Hospital ( ) with Vera P. Krymskaya , PhD, MBA, FCPP, Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (USA) with Andrew Paris MD

, PhD, MBA, FCPP, Professor of Medicine, (USA) with Hongmei Mou , PhD, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School ( USA )

, PhD, Assistant Professor, General Hospital/ ( ) Scott B. Snapper, MD, PhD, Wolpow Family Chair & Director, IBD Center; Professor of Pediatrics, HMS, Boston Children's Hospital/ Harvard Medical School ( USA ) 2021 Mark Gorelik , MD , Assistant Professor Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Columbia University Vagelos School of Medicine ( USA )

Assistant Professor Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Vagelos School of Medicine ( ) Toni Cathomen, PhD, Professor of Cell and Gene Therapy, and Bodo Grimbacher, MD, Professor of Experimental Immunodeficiency, Medical Center - University of Freiburg (Germany) 2022 Beate Hagle , Deputy Director Translational Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, (German) with Carola Voss

Deputy Director Translational Immunology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, (German) with Suk See De Ravin, MD, PhD, Senior Research Physician, Chief, Gene Therapy Development Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology, DHHS/NIH, ( USA ) The Job Research Foundation will start accepting the next round of grant applications in July 2023. Visit https://www.jobresearchfoundation.org/ for additional details. Media Contact:

Risa B. Hoag, GMG PR, 845-627-3000, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/job-research-foundation-announces-2023-grant-recipients-301764211.html SOURCE Job Research Foundation

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] TVCoins Expands in Colombia with the Launch of Teleantioquia Play

The video distribution and monetization start-up is deploying its free direct-to-consumer streaming platform for multiple leading networks in Colombia BOSTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teleantioquia, Colombia's first regional channel, kicked off the new year with the launch of Teleantioquia Play, a direct-to-consumer streaming platform developed by TVCoins. TVCoins is a provider of white label, ad-supported video streaming platforms that has strongly positioned itself within Colombia and the Latin American market. By partnering with TVCoins, Teleantioquia rapidly entered the streaming market with a no-cost, quick-to-market solution. By partnering with TVCoins, Teleantioquia rapidly entered the streaming market with a no-cost, quick-to-market solution. Teleantioqua Play is supporting to the company's goal of transforming lives and contributing to social development through its humanistic content. The app is available to download today  keeping audiences engaged at any time and from anywhere.



"At Teleantioquia we are committed to informing, entertaining and educating viewers through our content. Today I can proudly say that we have transcended the borders of Antioquia and Colombia thanks to our partnership with TVCoins. We're confident that the Teleantioquia Play app will strengthen our convergent strategy to reach more homes around the world. It has also modernized our business, allowing us to stay ahead of the streaming trend," said Luis Felipe Hincapie Uribe, Manager from Teleantioquia. In early 2022, TVCoins also worked alongside Telemedellin, one of Colombia's largest public television channels, to launch its direct-to-consumer video streaming app, TM+ . Additionally, TVCoins is deploying its white-label platform for two networks based in Cali, Colombia. In December, Canal CaliTV, a local broadcast channel launched its app, CaliTV+  and a government-owned university, Universidad del Valle, will be launching the Univalle Play app later this month.

"We can see that the AVOD (Advertising-Based Video On-Demand) and FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) business models, which combine free content and advertising space, are driving the digital transformation of media companies in the region. In the case of Colombia, we have found a hotbed of opportunities and look forward to future projects, like the one we just carried out with Teleantioquia," explains Gustavo Marra, Chief Revenue Officer of TVCoins. Teleantioquia Play, TM+, CaliTV+, and Univalle Play are all available to download today in the Google Play Store, Apple App Store and on Roku devices. To learn more about how TVCoins can transform your content-driven business, head to tvcoins.com to request a demo. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tvcoins-expands-in-colombia-with-the-launch-of-teleantioquia-play-301764577.html SOURCE TVCoins

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
GoTo Announces 2022 Partner Award Winners

GoTo, the company making IT management, support, and business communication easy with flagship products GoTo Resolve, Rescue, and GoTo Connect, today announced the winners of its 2022 Partner Awards. The awards are given to top achieving members of the GoTo Partner Network, a global network of organizations dedicated to helping their customers do more by providing them with simple but robust Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) products and remote support tools as the company continues its growth into the IT Service Management (ITSM) space.

GoTo's Partner Awards recognized Partners selling GoTo Resolve, Rescue, GoTo Connect, and GoTo Contact Center. The winners were selected based on 2022 sales performance and were awarded to top Partners who were able to consistently provide their customers with hybrid work and IT management and support tools through GoTo's solutions following the company's rebrand and introduction of GoTo Resolve in 2022. Along with the recognition, GoTo Partner award winners will join members of the GoTo team at the company's Partner President Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico later this month.







"At GoTo, our Partners play a critical role in ensuring that our millions of users have the tools they need to succeed in a hybrid work environment. We are excited today to recognize the hard work of our Partners for the 2022 year. We thank them for their dedication to enabling their customers with products like GoTo Resolve and GoTo Connect, making IT and business communications easy from anywhere," said Michael Day, Vice President of Partner Sales at GoTo.

Full List of Winners:

Top New Partner: Caliber Voice & Data

Top Technology Services Distributor: Telarus

GoTo Resolve Pro: SHI International

GoTo Contact Center Pro: Proton Dealership IT

Top Platinum Partner: OneTel Holdings, LLC

Top Gold Partner: Davis & Hanley

Top Silver Partner: Global Communications, LLC

The GoTo Partner Network also recently introduced GoTo Resolve for MSPs, a new Partner Concierge Program, and a revitalized program specifically for Full Service Provider (FSP) partners, including lucrative incentives and dedicated sales resources. Additionally, GoTo's Vice President of Global Partner Sales, Michael Day, was recognized as one of CRN's top Channel Chiefs for 2023, and by Channel Futures as a Channel Influencer of the Year.

For more information about GoTo's Partner Network, please visit: www.goto.com/partners

About GoTo

GoTo, the company making IT easy, anywhere, with remote management and support, and business communication software, unified with one admin solution. GoTo's portfolio, which includes GoTo Resolve, Rescue, GoTo Connect, and more, helps securely support and connect businesses to what's most important: their teams and customers. GoTo's zero trust approach to security and 20 years of experience power more than 1 billion remote support sessions and over 1 million customers with easy-to-use, built-for-IT solutions that save businesses time and money. With more than $1 billion in annual revenue, the remote-centric company's physical headquarters is in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices and more than three thousand home offices across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005157/en/
A Yellowstone County district judge will be stepping down from the bench this summer, and a search is underway to fill the upcoming vacancy.

Judge Michael Moses will retire July 1 after serving as district judge for the 13th Judicial District for nine years, his office confirmed Tuesday. On Monday, the Governors Office announced it is accepting application and nominations for Mosess replacement.

Moses was sworn in as a judge in May 2014 following his appointment by then-Gov. Steve Bullock. Prior to that, he had practiced law in Billings since 1978. He was the principal in the firm Moses and Lansing P.C., the Gazette previously reported.

As a district judge, Moses has overseen criminal, civil and juvenile cases. In the past year, Moses struck down four voting laws passed by the majority-GOP Legislature in 2021, according to reporting from the Montana State News Bureau. Moses found the laws that imposed more voter ID requirements, moved the voter registration deadline back a day from Election Day and outlawed paid ballot collection to be unconstitutional. His ruling followed a nine-day bench trial in the summer of 2022. Moses previously struck down a law that barred anyone from getting a ballot before their 18th birthday.

In April 2022, Moses temporarily blocked a law that required transgendered people to undergo gender affirming surgery and obtain a court order before they could change the sex on their birth certificate. Moses ruled the law was too vague.

Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice alerted Gov. Greg Gianforte of Mosess retirement in a letter dated Feb. 24 asking the governor to begin accepting applications for a new district judge as soon as possible. The Governors Office will accept applications and nominations through April 5. The public will be able to comment on applicants from April 6 through May 5.

In December 2021, Gianforte appointed former Yellowstone County Prosecutor Brett Linnewber to replace retiring District Judge Gregory Todd. Following his appointment, county voters elected to retain Linneweber as district judge in 2022.
[March 07, 2023] Weebit Nano partners with University of Florida's Nino Research Group to examine effects of radiation on Weebit ReRAM

HOD HASHARON, Israel, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weebit Nano Limited (ASX:WBT), a leading developer of advanced memory technologies for the global semiconductor industry, is partnering with the Nino Research Group (NRG) in the University of Floridas Department of Materials Science and Engineering to study the effects of radiation on Weebits resistive random access memory (ReRAM) technology. Results of initial studies confirm Weebit ReRAM arrays are tolerant to high radiation levels.

Being conducted by NRG, Weebit, and Weebit's R&D partner CEA-Leti, initial studies show that Weebit ReRAM maintains data integrity and memory functionality after being subjected to doses of gamma irradiation exceeding the most demanding requirements. The group will next measure performance of the Weebit ReRAM module under a mixed radiation environment in real-time at the University of Florida Training Reactor (UFTR). Weebit Nano CEO Coby Hanoch said, There is growing interest in our ReRAM for applications in high-radiation environments, including aerospace and medical. Industry studies have shown ReRAM technology is inherently tolerant to the radiation that semiconductor chips encounter in those settings. Our work with NRG will enable us to demonstrate the radiation tolerance of Weebit ReRAM and gain additional insights into its robustness. NRG was established in 2003 by Juan C. Nino, Ph.D., professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida. The group focuses on developing advanced functional materials for sustainable energy solutions. Their research also includes investigating electronics under extreme environments, neuromorphic neural networks, energy conversion and storage, and semiconductors and scintillators for radiation detection. Commenting on the study, Dr. Nino said, We know ReRAM technology to be relatively insensitive to ionizing radiation, single event effect damage, and displacement damage given there is no direct interaction between radiaion and the storage mechanism of the technology. Our initial results show that Weebit ReRAM technology is very resilient to high radiation levels, and we look forward to leveraging the UFTR to conduct additional tests in mixed radiation environments.



Read the whitepaper based on the initial studies: https://tinyurl.com/dbk2nmwv About the MSE Dept. at the University of Florida

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida is the top-ranked program in the state and is one of the oldest in the country. The department offers a hands-on approach to engineering steeped in a foundation of theoretical and science education that bridges engineering, chemistry and physics. The goal is to educate well-rounded and successful engineers through design labs where students work on solving real problems facing society. The department also encompasses the Nuclear Engineering program, which is the top nuclear engineering program in the state and the only Florida university that offers graduate degrees in nuclear engineering. It is home to the UF Training Reactor (UFTR), one of only 31 in the country. The UFTR is one of two reactors in the southeast and offers a unique opportunity for nuclear and nuclear materials testing under harsh environments. See https://mse.ufl.edu.

About Weebit Nano Limited Weebit Nano Ltd. is a leading developer of advanced semiconductor memory technology. The companys ground-breaking Resistive RAM (ReRAM) addresses the growing need for significantly higher performance and lower power memory solutions in a range of new electronic products such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, smartphones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, 5G communications and artificial intelligence. Weebits ReRAM allows semiconductor memory elements to be significantly faster, less expensive, more reliable and more energy efficient than those using existing Flash memory solutions. As it is based on fab-friendly materials, the technology can be quickly and easily integrated with existing flows and processes, without the need for special equipment or large investments. See www.weebit-nano.com and follow us on https://twitter.com/WeebitNano. Weebit Nano and the Weebit Nano logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Weebit Nano Ltd. in the United States and other countries. Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. Investors

Eric Kuret, Automic Group

P: +61 417 311 335

E: [email protected] Media  Australia

Tristan Everett, Automic Group

P: +61 403 789 096

E: [email protected] Media  US

Jen Bernier-Santarini, Weebit Nano

P: +1 650-336-4222

E: [email protected]



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] General (Ret.) John E. Hyten Appointed Special Advisor to C3 AI CEO

C3 AI (NYSE: AI), the Enterprise AI software application company, today announced that General (Ret.) John E. Hyten has been appointed as Special Advisor to C3 AI CEO, Thomas M. Siebel. General Hyten initially joined the C3 AI advisory board in June 2022 after retiring from 40 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, most recently serving as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "General Hyten's deep experience and insights into the role of enterprise AI in enhancing security of the U.S. and its allies has been tremendously valuable and I am looking forward to deepening our relationship as C3 AI expands its engagements with U.S. defense and intelligence agencies," said Thomas M. Siebel, C3 AI CEO. C3 AI serves various agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Air Force, the Defense and Counterintelligence Agency, the U.S. Army, and others. "I am excited to provide enhanced suport for Tom and the entire C3 AI team as they lead the adoption and deployment of mission-critical AI across the nation," said General Hyten. "During my time on the advisory board, I have seen how impressive C3 AI's technology is and how it can transform the defense industry, bolstering our national and economic security."



"General Hyten has been an extremely valuable addition to the advisory board and as a strategic advisor he will continue to provide invaluable leadership in the adoption and implementation of enterprise AI capabilities to the defense community and the U.S. government, underscoring C3 AI's commitment to this critical sector," said Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ed Cardon, former Commander, U.S. Army Cyber Command, and C3 AI advisory board member. Prior to serving as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Hyten led the United States Strategic Command from 2016 to 2019 and Air Force Space Command from 2014 to 2016. Among many other assignments, he was deployed to Southwest Asia as the Director of Space Forces for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He has received numerous awards and recognition, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters; the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters; and Commendation Medals from both Air Force and the Army.

About C3.ai, Inc. C3 AI is the Enterprise AI application software company. C3 AI delivers a family of fully integrated products including the C3 AI Platform, an end-to-end platform for developing, deploying, and operating enterprise AI applications, C3 AI applications, a portfolio of industry-specific SaaS enterprise AI applications that enable the digital transformation of organizations globally, and C3 Generative AI, a suite of large AI transformer models for the enterprise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005290/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Stability AI Acquires Init ML, Makers of Clipdrop Application

Stability AI's First Acquisition Furthers Its Goal Of Delivering The Most Advanced Creative Applications With Its Open Source Generative AI Models LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stability AI, the world's leading open source generative AI company, announces that it has acquired Init ML, makers of the globally popular imaging tool Clipdrop. The deal bolsters Stability AI's drive to build best-in-class applications using its powerful open source generative AI models. It also provides Clipdrop's developers with the most advanced AI technology and computing power for its next generation of imaging tools. "We are excited to integrate the latest upcoming Stability AI generative models into the Clipdrop platform, enabling our technology to be easily accessible by creators everywhere," said Stability AI founder and CEO Emad Mostaque. "This acquisition will provide Clipdrop with the resources it needs to advance the next era of gener ative AI, marking a new milestone in our shared journe to democratize the power of AI and multimodal foundation models in creative workflows."



Paris, France-based Init ML was founded in July 2020, and garnered a seed investment from AI venture capital firm Air Street Capital. Since then, its flagship suite of imaging applications Clipdrop has amassed more than 15 million users. Init ML will operate as a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of Stability AI, with all of its employees remaining on board. Init ML CEO Cyril Diagne will take on the role of Vice President of Innovation, Clipdrop, COO Damien Henry will take on the role of Senior Vice President of Product, Clipdrop, and CTO Jonathan Blanchet will become Vice President of Engineering, Clipdrop.

Clipdrop incorporates advanced machine learning research and engineering in its industry leading imaging tools, including Remove Background and Super Resolution. In addition, Clipdrop has been incorporating Stability AI's powerful generative AI models into its beta applications. Init ML CEO Cyril Diagne said, "Stability AI's support of Init ML will bolster our efforts to create world-class, simple and elegant products powered by state-of-the-art multi-modal generative AI models. I'm proud to announce that the Clipdrop team is now working with Stability AI's researchers to bring exciting improvements to Clipdrop's line of products and launch new ones very soon." Clipdrop is a six-time winner of Product Hunt's Product of the Day and winner of the 2020 Golden Kitty Award for Augmented Reality Product of the Year. The Clipdrop app is available on all major platforms, including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Photoshop, as well as on the web (https://clipdrop.co/). About Stability AI Stability AI is the world's leading open source generative artificial intelligence company, collaborating with public and private sector partners to bring next generation infrastructure to a global audience. Headquartered in London with developers across the globe, Stability AI's open source ethos provides the definitive path for cutting-edge research in imaging, language, code, audio, video, 3D content, design, biotech and other scientific studies. For more information, visit https://stability.ai . Media Contact:

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stability-ai-acquires-init-ml-makers-of-clipdrop-application-301764600.html SOURCE Stability AI

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Zerto Appoints Matt Boris as Vice President of Global Go-to-Market

Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, has today announced the appointment of Matt Boris as its new head of worldwide Go-to-Market. Boris, who previously led Zerto sales in the Americas and Asia, will now be responsible for driving the company's overall GTM strategy around the globe. The appointment marks a significant investment by HPE in Zerto with a goal to double the size of the business in the next 24 months. Under Boris' leadership, Zerto will focus on maximizing growth opportunities by expanding into new markets and increasing its presence in EMEA and APAC, including Australia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. As part of his broader role, Boris will also focus on unifying the company's GTM strategy with Manager Service Providers (MSP) and channel partners. One of the key drivers of growth will be HPE GreenLake, its edge-to-cloud platform, where Zerto will play a critical role. The company is also expanding its reach into GSI through strategic alliances with Deloitte, HCL Tech, TCS, and Wpro.



Boris, who has worked in senior roles at Zerto for more than six years, is a strong advocate of the company's internal promotion culture and the growth opportunities presented by the expanded role. "I am honored to be given the opportunity to lead our worldwide efforts, and I look forward to working with the Zerto team to drive growth and expand our reach into new markets," said Boris.

"Matt's appointment as head of Worldwide Go-to-Market is a testament to his leadership and experience within the company," said Gilles Thiebaut, senior vice president of global partner sales and business development, HPE. "We are confident that his deep understanding of Zerto and our customers, coupled with his drive for success, will take us to new heights. We are excited for this next chapter under his guidance and look forward to the growth and success that lies ahead for the business." In addition, Zerto has appointed Ben Jenkins as sales director of Americas East and Sasha Acosta as sales director of Americas West. Along with Boris, the two roles are critical for the Zerto Americas business as it scales to meet customer demands in 2023 and beyond. The Americas roles will complement Vera Wolf, VP of sales EMEA, to build a global presence focusing on new customer acquisition, growing existing accounts, and supporting Zerto's partner Go-to-Market strategy. About Zerto Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, empowers customers to run an always-on business by simplifying the protection, recovery, and mobility of on-premises and cloud applications. Zerto's cloud data management and protection solution eliminates the risks and complexity of modernization and cloud adoption across private, public, and hybrid deployments. The simple, software-only solution uses continuous data protection at scale to solve for ransomware resilience, disaster recovery and multi-cloud mobility. Zerto is trusted by over 9,500 customers globally and is powering offerings for Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and more than 350 managed service providers. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005391/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] RAFAEL's DRONE DOME to be Tested by FAA for Use at US Airport

BETHESDA, Md., March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rafael Systems Global Sustainment, LLC (RSGS), a subsidiary of RAFAEL, has been awarded an Other Transaction Agreement by the Federal Aviation Administration to test the capabilities of RAFAEL's DRONE DOME, a C-UAS, drone detection, neutralization and interception System at the Atlantic City International Airport (KACY). The process will involve research, testing, and evaluations in order for the system to be properly utilized to deal with UAS threats and interference surrounding the KACY. The objectives of the research effor are to ensure that technologies and or systems that are developed, tested, or deployed by federal departments and agencies to detect and mitigate potential risks posed by errant or hostile UAS operations do not adversely impact or interfere with safe airport operations, navigation, air traffic services, or the safe and efficient operation of the National Airspace System. Testing will initially take place for several months at KACY with follow on performance validation at other airports in the United States.



In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) named and recommended for C-sUAS As A Service (CaaS) the DRONE DOME system. This followed a series of demonstrations of the system completed at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, in April of the same year. DRONE DOME successfully demonstrated its C-UAS capabilities, which included accurate detection, identification and soft-kill capabilities against a variety of drone targets and is now eligible and has been recommended to compete for future CaaS contract opportunities.

DRONE DOME is an innovative end-to-end, combat-proven counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS), providing all-weather, 360-degree rapid defense against hostile drones. Fully operational and globally deployed, DRONE DOME offers a modular, robust infrastructure comprised of electronic jammers and sensors and unique artificial intelligence algorithms to effectively secure threatened air space. SOURCE Rafael Systems Global Sustainment

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Lucius Partners Portfolio Company PD Theranostics, Inc. Signs Letter of Intent to Merge with Fulton Ventures Corp.

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucius Partners, LLC today announced that its portfolio company, PD Theranostics, Inc. ("PDTx"), has signed a non-binding letter of intent (the "LOI") to combine with Fulton Ventures Corp. ("Fulton"), a company incorporated in British Columbia, Canada. The LOI sets out the initial proposed terms and conditions pursuant to which Fulton and PDTx will effect a business combination that is expected to result in a reverse takeover of Fulton by the shareholders of PDTx (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Proposed Transaction will be structured as a three-cornered amalgamation pursuant to an amalgamation agreement to be entered into between Fulton, a newly incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of Fulton and PDTx. The material terms and conditions outlined in the LOI are non-binding on the parties and the LOI is, among other things, conditional on the execution of a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") to be negotiated between the parties. The LOI contemplates that the Proposed Transaction will be completed in or around March 2023, or such other date as may be mutually agreed to in writing between PDTx and Fulton. There can be no assurance that a Definitive Agreement will be successfully negotiated or entered into, or that the Proposed Transaction will be completed. After the closing of the Proposed Transaction, Fulton intends to file apply for listing on a recognized Canadian stock exchange in or around July 2023. There can be no assurance that any such listing application will be made or that it will be successful. "PDTx continues to develop its innovative, AI driven platform to help improve patient care in multiple disease states including prostate, renal, brain and cervical cancers," said Patrick Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer of PD Theranostics, Inc. "The proposed combination with Fultn Ventures will allow PDTx to leverage our original platform proof of concept work directed by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard to specific therapeutic areas. PDTx's initial AI effort is focused on refining the treatment of prostate cancer to reduce unnecessary surgery and cytotoxic chemotherapy. Through our ability to map tissue structures and immune populations, we believe we could more clearly define disease stage, likelihood of disease progression and identify the most efficacious treatment regimens for each patient."



"The Company is excited to take this important step toward advancing the company and providing investors liquidity," said PDTx board of directors member and Lucius Partners founder James Ahern. "The path forward for PDTx is quite promising and leverages our outstanding team to advance patient care and build shareholder value." About PD Theranostics, Inc.

PD Theranostics is developing AI guided algorithms while leveraging proprietary workflows and methods utilizing imaging-based methodologies to diagnose and guide clinical decision making around specific targeted therapies and their efficacy in human disease states, including cancer, infectious diseases and complications of diabetes including diabetic foot ulcers. Please visit www.pdtheranostics.com for more information. About Lucius Partners, LLC Lucius Partners is a consultancy that provides a broad suite of services to help healthcare companies grow, achieve milestones and generate value for their shareholders. This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statement that is not historical in nature is a forward-looking statement and may be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "will," "will likely result," "will continue," "plans to," "potential," "promising," "conditional" and similar expressions. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, including potential failure to complete the Proposed Transaction or to obtain regulatory approvals. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that it is not possible to predict or identify all the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results and that the risks described herein should not be a complete list. Contact:

Patrick Gallagher, CEO

PD Theranostics, Inc.

Managing Partner

Lucius Partners, LLC

[email protected] Matthew Duffy, President

PD Theranostics, Inc.

Managing Partner

Lucius Partners, LLC

[email protected] Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1846494/Lucius_Partners.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017602/PD_Theranostics.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lucius-partners-portfolio-company-pd-theranostics-inc-signs-letter-of-intent-to-merge-with-fulton-ventures-corp-301764610.html SOURCE Lucius Partners

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy Receives IACET Accreditation

Harpak-ULMA, the industry leader in smart, connected packaging solutions, announced that its Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy is now accredited by the International Accreditors of Continuing Education and Training (IACET). As a result, participants completing Academy coursework are eligible to receive professional Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230303005293/en/ Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy, now accredited by the IACET, is incorporating new technologies, including Augmented Reality (AR) and Digital twins, as part of its educational toolkit to accelerate professional learning. (Photo: Business Wire) Harpak-ULMA Packaging Academy is the first and only packaging industry vendor to achieve this status. IACET is the only standard-setting organization approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for continuing education and training. Its rigorous validation of training policies and processes against an ANSI benchmarked framework assures that the accredited provider is committed to learning process excellence, continuous improvement, and a superior learning experience for adult learners. A standards-based approach to professional training offers the additional benefit of supporting recognized Continuing Education Units (CEU) for Learners. CEUs are transferable between cooperating organizatins since they confer an assurance of quality content programming and standards-based record keeping. IACET has accredited more than 545 continuing education providers across multiple industries and organization types.



"The accreditation is an important milestone to the Academy - as well as the packaging industry," stated Cliff Fitzgerald, Manager of Harpak-ULMA's Packaging Academy. "Knowledge transfer is essential to the success of every automated packaging solution - but it's too often an afterthought for some OEMs. The quality of the training has a direct and measurable impact on a customer's packaging operations effectiveness and cost. We aim to improve staff learning curves while dramatically improving applied knowledge retention. A standards-based training program is the solution - requiring a strategic commitment and formulaic investment in people, processes, and tools to deliver a scalable, sustainable, and successful training experience." While accreditation is often seen as the domain of independent instructional institutions, the Harpak-ULMA team hopes that more equipment suppliers will follow its lead as today's increasingly smart "industry 4.0" solutions drive demand for well-trained operators and maintenance staff. "We offer end-to-end training around specific packaging line configurations, as well as a variety of content that targets production optimization, equipment sustainment, hygiene standards, and safety practices as they apply to our solutions," added Fitzgerald. He noted that the Academy is incorporating Augmented Reality (AR) as a training tool as "we fully expect to commercially introduce optional AR-enabled monitoring and servicing capabilities across many of our smart, connected packaging platforms in 2023."

For more information about Harpak-ULMA Academy, visit https://bit.ly/HUPAcademy or call 508-884-2500. To experience live smart, connected machine demonstrations, visit Harpak-ULMA at The Boston Seafood Show, March 12-14 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. About Harpak-ULMA Harpak-ULMA is the North American arm of ULMA, a $1B industry leader in complete packaging line solutions for Food, Medical, Bakery, and Industrial products. Harpak-ULMA provides smart, connected packaging systems utilizing Rockwell Automation's controls and information platforms to deliver greater efficiency, uptime, and throughput, as well as better package quality and reduced waste. Well-designed, reliable solutions reduce customers' total cost of ownership, help them overcome the challenges of an aging and evolving workforce, and improve control of maintenance expenses with competitive parts sourcing. In addition to offering ULMA primary packaging systems and comprehensive automation solutions, Harpak-ULMA is the exclusive North American distributor of G. Mondini tray sealers. Harpak-ULMA joined the Rockwell Automation Partner Network in 2018 as part of its initiative to build and deploy smart, connected packaging solutions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230303005293/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] New York Life Appoints Sandi Tillotson to Chief Compliance Officer

New York Life, America's largest mutual life insurer1, today announced the appointment of Senior Vice President Sandi Tillotson to Chief Compliance Officer. Ms. Tillotson succeeds Sara Badler who retired at the end of 2022. She will report to Michael McDonnell, General Counsel at New York Life. "Sandi's skills have allowed her to gain an unrivaled breadth of experience through the many different roles she has held in her 20 years with New York Life," said Mr. McDonnell. "We congratulate her on this well-earned appointment and know that her expertise will further the company's ability to successfully navigate the ever-changing business and regulatory landscapes." Since 2020, the same year Ms. Tillotson was promoted to Senior Vice President, she has led several key compliance functions: Sales Practice Compliance; Sales Standards and Product Compliance; Group Insurance Compliance; Market Conduct Reporting and Testing, and Compliance Analytics. Having joined New York Life in 2003 as an Associate Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, Ms. Tillotson has served as the Head of the Corporate Risk Practice team within Operational Risk Management, in a managerial position within the Litigation team, and as Chief of Staff to Sheila Davidson, now Executive Vice Presdent and Chief Legal & Administrative Officer at New York Life. Ms. Tillotson was promoted to Vice President in the Corporate Compliance Department in 2014. She served as co-chair for New York Life's The Women's Initiative from 2017 to 2018 and remains an active champion for this employee resource group.



Prior to her time with New York Life, Ms. Tillotson was a Litigation Associate at Bingham McCutchen and worked as a Public Affairs Specialist at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She earned a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. ABOUT NEW YORK LIFE

New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com), a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States1 and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies2. 1Based on revenue as reported by "Fortune 500 ranked within Industries, Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)," Fortune magazine, 5/23/2022. For methodology, please see http://fortune.com/fortune500/. 2Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 10/18/2022: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody's Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor's (AA+). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005310/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Southcoast Health Reduces In-Home Care Costs and Hospital Readmissions with Virtual Visits and Remote Patient Monitoring

Southcoast VNA saves an average of 4 in-home nursing visits leveraging virtual visits & remote patient monitoring with a 7% 30-day rehospitalization rate for 2,621 patients over the last 16 months FAIRHAVEN, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southcoast Health Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) saved an average of four in-home nursing visits annually, and generated over $500,000 in cost savings, while achieving a 7% 30-day readmission rate for 2,621 high-risk patients over the last 16 months leveraging remote patient monitoring (RPM) and a virtual visit program. With the goals of improving clinicians' workload and patient care transition, the Southcoast VNA began their partnership with Health Recovery Solutions (HRS) for RPM in 2017. Patients enrolled in the program are monitored daily, with clinicians responding to risk alerts based on their reported vitals and symptoms. To quickly evaluate patients and address any concerns, providers can contact patients directly via a virtual visit or text messaging. The virtual visit program began in 2021 leveraging the videoconferencing feature of HRS for patients while on RPM. This innovative care model replaces at least one in-person visit a week with a virtual visit, and the additional touchpoint has significantly improved physician-patient trust and communication, while decreasing care costs and staff workload by avoiding unnecessary in-home visits and exacerbations. The program can also incorporate a patients' primary care physician in a virtual visit to meet the face-to-face CMS home health requirement. "Our partnership with HRS and incorporating video visits into our daily routine has allowed us to provide care outside of the patients home as well as improve outcomes in term of hospitalization and cost savings," says Jessica Magalhaes, Southcoast VNA's Telehealth and Transitional Care Team Leader. "Having the tools to connect with a patient daily and monitor their vital signs closely has allowed many of our patients to remain at home with an improved quality of life." In the last 16 months, from October of 2021 until January of 2023, the Southcoast VNA's RPM program has achieved a low 30-day readmission rate at seven percent for 2,621 high-risk patients. Southcoast VNA additionally offers a specialized RPM pogram for high-risk chronic care patients not enrolled in home health services. Patients identified were enrolled in the RPM program for a minimum of six months to help them develop self-management skills and reduce care costs for the health system and ACO.



The chronic care RPM program has also demonstrated incredible success throughout the last 16 months, averaging another low hospital admission rate of 3% for 988 patients, with a daily adherence and satisfaction scores each above 90 percent. Beginning in 2002, the Southcoast VNA became an early adopter of telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM), launching a small program aimed at reducing hospital readmission for high-risk patients. In 2017, Southcoast partnered with Health Recovery Solutions (HRS), the KLAS-leader in remote patient monitoring, to expand their targeted patient populations and program objectives.

"Southcoast Health has always been an innovative and exciting partner. Improving patient care is at the crux of everything they dowhether it's expanding to new patient populations or launching new care modelsthe impact on their community always comes first." - Kimberly O'Loughlin, CEO of Health Recovery Solutions By expanding their RPM partnerships across the health system, and developing new partnerships within their ACO to meet the needs of their patients, Southcoast has shifted the goals of its RPM program to address growing challenges in the healthcare industryincluding staff retention and value-based care. In the coming months, Southcoast looks to develop new partnerships with health plans and providers that will collaborate with them to treat patients in need of the round-the-clock care offered by their RPM team. About Southcoast Health For more than 25 years, Southcoast Health has served communities across southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island as the largest provider of primary and specialty care in the region. The not-for-profit, charitable system includes three acute care hospitals  Charlton Memorial in Fall River, St. Luke's in New Bedford (a Level II Trauma Center), and Tobey in Wareham  as well as a network of over 700 physicians, hospitalists, and midlevel practitioners. Southcoast Health has established six Urgent Care Centers, two Cancer Centers, a Visiting Nurse Association, and numerous ambulatory facilities that ensure convenient access to services for 725,000 residents in 33 communities covering 900 square miles. In addition, the system partners with Acadia Healthcare to offer expanded resources at Southcoast Behavioral Health in Dartmouth. With upward of 7,500 employees, Southcoast Health is the largest employer in southeastern Massachusetts, and one of the largest employers in the Commonwealth, according to the Boston Business Journal. More information is available online at www.southcoast.org . About Health Recovery Solutions (HRS)

Health Recovery Solutions' (HRS) telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions empower the nation's leading providers and payers to deliver care to patients across the continuumreducing readmissions, optimizing clinician workflow, and improving patient satisfaction. HRS' disease-specific telehealth solutions are customized with educational videos, care plans, and medication reminders while also integrated with Bluetooth peripherals to engage patients in their self-management. HRS' mission is to create a new standard of care by providing advanced telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions that facilitate behavior change and ultimately improve patient outcomes. To learn more about Health Recovery Solutions, visit healthrecoverysolutions.com or email [email protected]. MEDIA CONTACT

Kaitlyn Cox

Phone 508-973-5926

Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/southcoast-health-reduces-in-home-care-costs-and-hospital-readmissions-with-virtual-visits-and-remote-patient-monitoring-301764631.html SOURCE HEALTH RECOVERY SOLUTIONS

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023]

Ibex Secures PathLAKE Contracts to Roll Out AI-based Cancer Diagnostics to UK Hospitals

NHS Expands Access to Ibex's Galen Breast and Galen Prostate Solutions to 25 Trusts Across the UK Following PathLAKE Plus Consortium Bid Wins

TEL AVIV, Israel , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex), the leader in AI-powered cancer diagnostics, today announced the receipt of multiple contract awards from the PathLAKE consortium to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to support cancer diagnosis at 25 NHS Trusts.

PathLAKE is a UK center of excellence consortium, founded by Innovate UK, that is delivering AI innovation in pathology across leading NHS Trusts and UK universities including Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire, and Oxford University Hospitals. The contract award follows a rigorous selection process which recognized Ibex as the top scoring solution provider for both the breast and prostate cancer categories, allowing up to 25 NHS Trusts to directly procure the Ibex Galen Breast and Galen Prostate solutions. Cambridge University Hospitals is one of the Trusts to subsequently select Ibex to support its pathologists by augmenting diagnostic workflows with enhanced quality, accuracy and efficiency.

"Cambridge University Hospitals is very proud to be a founding partner of PathLAKE Plus, teaming up to help secure the 13.5 million grant from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund," said Dr. Rebecca Brais, Clinical Lead for Digital Pathology and Major Projects in Diagnostics and Consultant Histopathologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. "We see ourselves, and the UK as a whole, at the cutting edge of innovation in digital pathology and look forward to implementing the Ibex Galen solution here in Cambridge as part of our Histopathology Team's digital transformation."

The worldwide shortage of pathologists combined with a rise in the number of cancer cases and their complexity has led to growing workloads imposed on pathology departments and delays in cancer diagnosis across the UK. With approximately 275,000 women undergoing breast biopsies and 100,000 men undergoing prostate biopsies in the UK each year1,2, there is a growing need for AI-powered solutions and decision-support tools that help pathologists detect cancer rapidly with the utmost accuracy.

The Galen suite of solutions from Ibex is the first and most widely deployed AI technology for pathology, used in routine clinical practice at laboratories, hospitals, and health systems worldwide. It supports athologists in a variety of tasks during the diagnosis of breast, prostate, and gastric biopsies and helps improve the accuracy of cancer diagnosis, reduce turnaround time, boost productivity, and improve user experience. Galen demonstrated outstanding outcomes across multiple clinical studies performed on various tissue types and diagnostic workflows3,4,5,6,7.







"We are extremely honored to be recognized by PathLAKE as the leading provider of AI solutions in pathology," said Richard Nicholson, Director of Sales, UK at Ibex. "Our team looks forward to supporting additional regions of the UK with our suite of Galen solutions. Building upon our successful AI deployments in NHS Wales, and our existing projects with hospitals and labs in England, we are uniquely positioned to further strengthen the adoption, deployment and routine use of AI in pathology across the UK."

About Ibex Medical Analytics

Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex) is transforming cancer diagnostics with world-leading, clinical grade AI-powered solutions, empowering physicians to provide accurate, timely and personalized cancer diagnosis for every patient. Our Galen suite of solutions is the first and most widely deployed AI-technology in pathology and used as part of everyday routine, supporting pathologists and providers worldwide in improving the quality and accuracy of diagnosis, implementing comprehensive quality control, reducing turnaround times and boosting productivity with more efficient workflows. Ibex's Artificial Intelligence technology is built on Deep Learning algorithms trained by a team of pathologists, data scientists and software engineers. For additional company information, please visit https://ibex-ai.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .

Multiple solutions under the Galen suite of solutions are CE marked (IVDD) and registered with the UK MHRA. Galen First Read for prostate is also CE marked under IVDR. Galen includes solutions which are for Research Use Only (RUO) in the United States and not cleared by the FDA. For more information, including indication for use and regulatory approval in other countries, contact Ibex Medical Analytics.

Media Contacts

Nechama Rosengarten

FINN Partners for Ibex Medical Analytics

[email protected]

+1-929-222-8006

[1] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/breast-cancer

[2 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-hospitals-join-pioneering-study-to-improve-prostate-cancer-diagnosis-using-ai

[3] Pantanowitz et al., An artificial intelligence algorithm for prostate cancer diagnosis in whole slide images of core needle biopsies: a blinded clinical validation and deployment study, THE LANCET Digital Health Aug 2020

[4] Sandbank et al., Validation and real-world clinical application of an artificial intelligence algorithm for breast cancer detection in biopsies, npj Breast Cancer, December 2022

[5] Comperat et al., Clinical Level AI-Based Solution for Primary Diagnosis and Reporting of Prostate Biopsies in Routine Use: A Prospective Reader Study, European Congress of Pathology 2021

[6] Raoux et al., Novel AI-Based Solution for Supporting Primary Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Increases the Accuracy and Efficiency of Reporting in Clinical Routine, USCAP 2021

[7] Sandbank et al., Validation and Clinical Deployment of an AI-Based Solution for Detection of Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsies, USCAP 2022

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1839936/Ibex_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ibex-secures-pathlake-contracts-to-roll-out-ai-based-cancer-diagnostics-to-uk-hospitals-301764634.html
In one of the deadliest winters for Yellowstone National Park bison, state and federal officials cooperated last week to clean up carrion left behind by tribal and state hunters.

A 14-foot trailer and three dumpsters  one 30-yard and two 20-yard containers  filled with bison entrails, hides and bones were hauled from the Gardiner Basin to the Gallatin County landfill near Logan last week.

The cooperative effort involved the Montana Department of Livestock, Custer Gallatin National Forest, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Workers used equipment like a backhoe and skid-steer to haul the heaviest remains, utilizing shovels to pick up smaller parts.

The main reason to do a cleanup this year is just the heavy concentration of carcasses on the landscape, said Mike Thom, Gardiner District ranger, in an email. When I say carcasses, Im meaning gut piles, spines, ribs and hides.

Hunts

The waste comes from bison shot mainly by tribal hunters just north of the Yellowstone National Park border. Thats where the animals migrate onto Forest Service land where they can be killed. Hunting is not allowed inside Yellowstone.

As of March 3, about 900 park bison had been killed by hunters, or agency officials who euthanized wounded animals. Seventy-five bison were killed by state-licensed hunters. Tribes with treaty rights police their own hunters and set limits. So far, eight tribes have taken part in this years bison hunts. The Nez Perce Tribe has killed more bison than any other, reporting the killing of 98 adult bulls, 101 adult females and 123 calves for a total of 322 bison.

The majority were killed or captured near the parks northern boundary close to the community of Gardiner. Thirty-nine were taken on the west side of the park, closer to West Yellowstone.

The Park Service has captured and corralled 276 bison for inclusion in its live bison quarantine and transfer program. Another 350 were captured and will be released back into the park once the hunting season is over, said Cam Sholly, Yellowstone superintendent.

Going into the year, the park's bison biologists did not want bison removals to exceed 25%, Sholly added, which would have been 1,500 animals. Altogether, 1,675 bison have been removed so far. When the 350 corralled bison are returned to the park that number will drop to 1,325, although tribal hunts are continuing. No more bison will be shipped to slaughter, Sholly said.

Critics

James Holt, executive director of the conservation group Buffalo Field Campaign and a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, criticized the Park Service, state of Montana and tribes in a recent online post for the number of bison killed and the firing line situation.

Today, the goal continues to be slaughter as an acceptable management tool, with every sovereign entity participating in the demise of the only continuously wild herd of buffalo in the contiguous United States, Holt wrote. This is an abject failure by every Decision-Maker.

Stephany Seay, cofounder of the bison advocacy group Roam Free Nation, said in a statement that Bison mismanagement is growing out of control. She called the state and tribal hunts a killing frenzy and pointed to natural winterkill deaths as compounding the dire consequences for the bison population.

Bonnie Lynn, who lives across from Beattie Gulch where a large percentage of the hunting occurs, is the executive director of Yellowstone Voices, a group formed to advocate for ethical bison management. She questioned the safety of transporting bison entrails from the fields to the Gallatin County landfill.

The Department of Environmental Quality has no requirements for such waste, a spokesperson said. The Gallatin County solid waste director said the remains were buried in lined cells at the landfill, as required by DEQ.

Deceased animals and animal carcasses are not regulated as bio-hazardous waste in Montana, he wrote in an email.

Dichotomy

The disposal and transfer of dead bison doesnt raise the states concern like live animals do. Live Yellowstone bison cannot be trailered across the state unless they have repeatedly tested negative for brucellosis. The disease is spread from contact with birthing material from an infected female bison. Elk also carry the disease, which can cause pregnant cattle to abort. In humans the disease can cause undulant fever and other ailments.

Lynn shot photos and video of the cleanup effort. Workers wore no protective clothing and the trailers loaded with bison entrails, hide and bones were not covered. Thom, the Gardiner District ranger, said workers took appropriate precautions. Montana veterinarian Marty Zaluski said any risk of spreading or contracting brucellosis during the cleanup effort was low.

Get social with Montana Untamed: Find this story and plenty of other coverage on our Montana Untamed Facebook page where we frequently post articles and other content related 

Aesthetics

Thom said the cleanup was organized to improve the visuals and aesthetics of the area.

Photos prior to the cleanup show mounds of bison parts scattered across a field close to the Old Yellowstone Trail, a gravel road on the west side of the Yellowstone River.

We all know people come to the area to check out the scenery, so lets help improve that, he said. Ancillary purposes are to mitigate the risk of human wildlife conflict as the spring approaches. Bears could be coming out of hibernation shortly. Wolves may come down, you never know. We havent seen any predators just yet on the landscape.

He added, Each tribe is offering support in different ways and exploring how they can help the situation.

Not new

In 2019, Lynn sued the Forest Service and National Park Service to halt the hunting across from her home. One of the documents submitted supporting her arguments was from Peter Nara, a veterinarian specializing in immunology. Nara was part of a national panel of scientists engaged by the federal government in 2013 to study brucellosis transmission in the park and surrounding areas.

In his statement to the court, Nara said, The small, quarter-mile acre area in Beattie Gulch in which hundreds of bison are killed by hunters in only a few weeks to months each season, creates an unstable and unpredictable environmental setting year to year for potential infectious spread of brucellosis to other wild/domestic animal species, including wild cervids such as elk, and people in the area.

Sholly agreed the concentration of carrion in such a small area is a concern, especially if grizzly bears move into the area to dine. He applauded the cleanup and said work needs to continue to deal with the issue of bison hunting outside Yellowstone in the future.

"I get it, this is not a super popular thing," he said, but noted the Park Service is shifting the paradigm from shipping the animals to slaughter to allowing tribal hunters to kill the bison. He also praised tribes and landowners for "making the best of a difficult circumstance.

"There needs to continue to be discussions about what that hunt looks like in the future," Sholly said.

This winters Yellowstone bison migration into the Gardiner Basin is the largest in about a decade  more than 1,200 animals as of this week. The animals leave the park only when food becomes difficult to acquire.

Heavy snow and cold arrived early last year. On Monday, Wyoming Game and Fish issued a press release highlighting the challenging conditions for wildlife across the state. Some mule deer populations were seeing greater than 50% fawn mortality due to malnutrition.

Large losses

This isnt the first time the parks bison population has taken a hit. In 2008 more than 1,600 were shot by hunters or sent to slaughter by the Park Service, with another 700 dying within the park due to a harsh winter. Two years ago and then four years ago, 1,200 bison were killed each winter.

Unlike those years, however, the Park Service is shipping fewer bison to slaughter plants this winter  88 so far, 107 in the last three years. That's down from 3,100 bison shipped to slaughter between 2013-19. The Park Services plan is to keep bison transfers to slaughter low in the future and instead rely on live bison transfers to tribes and tribal hunter harvest to keep the park population in check. Since 2019, the park has transferred almost 300 bison to tribal partners, a slow process because the quarantine protocol is lengthy and the available quarantine space is limited.

Last week, the Department of Interior announced the creation of a Bison Working Group to develop a Bison Shared Stewardship Plan to establish a framework for bison restoration. In addition, the department committed more than $25 million to promote bison conservation. Of that amount, more than $7.5 million will be dedicated to advancing bison and grasslands restoration at national wildlife refuges.
[March 07, 2023] Fruit of the Loom Kicks Off Partnership with National Nonprofit Undies for Everyone Donating Over 810,000 Pairs of New Underwear to Children in Crisis

National nonprofit Undies for Everyone (UFE) today announced an ongoing partnership with Fruit of the Loom - kicking off the partnership with a donation of 810,019 pairs of underwear to children in crisis. Fruit of the Loom's initial donation will give a week's supply of undies to 115,000 children across the U.S. who lack access to underwear. Since launching in 2012, UFE has provided over four million pairs of underwear to students living in poverty or experiencing crisis across 27 cities in the U.S. "Millions of students around the country are too embarrassed to attend school because they don't have clean underwear, a basic need many of us take for granted. Through their generous donation, Fruit of the Loom will impact the lives of 115,000 students facing underwear insecurity," said Rabbi Amy Weiss, UFE's founder and executive director. "New underwear builds confidence, self-esteem, and dignity - it's one piece of a complex puzzle to increase a child's chance for success, and we are thrilled to partner with Fruit of the Loom to help kids succeed academically and socially." New underwear is a rarely provided item for underserved children - it's one of the most requested, but least often purchased. With the help of partners, volunteers, and donors, Undies for Everyone helps to alleviate the burden of underwear insecurity - access to clean, size appropriate underwear for children - by providing a week's supply of undies. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Undies for Everyone on their important mission to deliver new, clean and fitting underwear for children in need," says JacLyn Ashby, who leads Fruit of the Loom, Inc.'s global giving program, Threads of Change. "Through our Threads of Change donations and with the help of the amazing team at UFE, we are proudly making a real difference in the lives of children across the U.S." Undies for Everyone is the nation's leading nonprofit exclusively providing new underwear to students around the country. UFE has 77 partners across he U.S. including, school district homeless departments, Child Protective Services Boys and Girls Clubs, Community Closets, and pediatric mobile clinics. UFE is distributing over 1.5 million pairs of undies in 2023 - impacting more than 214,000 children.



Undies for Everyone has two key programs to get businesses and local community groups involved: Undies for Change - Roll and pack undies at your office, organization or home and deliver them to local kids in need. This program is a sponsored event requiring a donation.

Roll and pack undies at your office, organization or home and deliver them to local kids in need. This program is a sponsored event requiring a donation. One Click Undies - Anyone can host a virtual undies drive. UFE provides everything needed for an easy way to help kids - linked QR codes, a linked Amazon Wish List, email templates and fillable flyers for printing or sending to other groups. To learn more about Undies for Everyone's work, including volunteer programs and how to get involved, visit UndiesForEveryone.org. To schedule a time to speak with UFE's founder Rabbi Amy Weiss, contact [email protected].

About Undies for Everyone Undies for Everyone (UFE) provides underwear to underserved students recognizing the importance of this basic need for a child's social and academic success leading to graduation. UFE is the only nonprofit to exclusively address this critical gap that is overlooked by other organizations working in the philanthropies space. Founded in 2012 by Rabbi Amy Weiss, who was named a 2022 CNN Hero, UFE has donated more than 4 million pairs of underwear to students across the country. Distribution partners include, school district homeless departments, Child Protective Services, Boys and Girls Clubs, Community Closets and mobile pediatric clinics in 27 cities across the U.S. UFE is proud to carry a GuideStar Platinum Transparency Seal. Find UFE at UndiesForEveryone.org. Follow UFE on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005718/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Acosta Group Names New President of OeP, Mike Burrington

Digital Commerce Veteran to Accelerate Growth for Brand Clients on Amazon JACKSONVILLE, Fla., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Acosta Group announced today that Mike Burrington has joined the company's Digital Commerce business unit as President of OeP, a best-in-class agency for brands selling on Amazon. In his new role, Burrington will report to John Carroll, President of Digital Commerce and Advanced Analytics, Acosta Group. Burrington joins OeP from Ideoclick, where he designed customer-focused initiatives across every e-commerce discipline, driving exceptional growth for brand and product manufacturer clients. Previously, he held a senior leadership position with Amazon and Amazon Fresh, launching over 15,000 Amazon items via relationships established with many leading CPG brans.



"I am excited for how Mike and the OeP team will elevate our white glove service to clients across multiple categories, bringing advanced insight, analytics and reporting tools to grow and win with Amazon," said Carroll. "His addition to the collective of Acosta Group agencies further bolsters our commitment to bringing differentiated digital commerce services to our CPG and retail partners." Acosta Group acquired OeP in early 2022 as part of its strategy to offer clients one-stop digital commerce services across retailer e-commerce platforms. OeP helps enable emerging and established brands bridge the physical and digital shelf in the modern marketplace as shoppers continue to rapidly embrace omnichannel retail. With an unparalleled depth of knowledge of Amazon, OeP increases brand presence and ROI for clients seeking to accelerate profitable growth on the world's largest e-commerce platform.

ABOUT ACOSTA GROUP Acosta Group is a collective of the most trusted retail, marketing and foodservice agencies empowering brands and retailers to win in the modern marketplace. By delivering transformative, commerce-focused solutions and more than 95 years of expertise, Acosta Group connects the company's partners with people at every point in the consumer journey. Comprised of Acosta, CORE Foodservice, Mosaic, Premium Retail Services and ActionLink, Acosta Group understands and anticipates evolving consumer needs, fueling accelerated performance to connect tomorrow's commerce today. For more information, please visit acosta.group View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acosta-group-names-new-president-of-oep-mike-burrington-301764338.html SOURCE Acosta Group

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Automated Financial Systems, Inc. Announces Latest Version of the Industry's Next-Generation Lending Solution, AFSVision

Automated Financial Systems, Inc. (AFS) is pleased to announce the delivery of our latest release 3.4 of AFSVision, the industry's only true real-time, end-to-end, commercial lending platform. "AFS has delivered the latest version of our revolutionary commercial lending - solution, AFSVision, to the market. This delivery demonstrates our continuing commitment to supporting financial institutions in modernizing and maximizing their commercial lending business," says Rick Bare, CEO and President of AFS. AFSVision is an integrated single loan platform for multiple commercial lines of business that has transformed how financial institutions manage commercial lending. Now, with more than a dozen major enhancements in functionality, this new release ncludes even greater capabilities in:



Integration-DIY APIs for easier end-to-end integration

Workflows-improved navigations and further streamlining

Account and Syndication Servicing-additional critical note flags

Capital Markets-enhanced notice history and resend

SOFR Processing-additional billing options "We are always exploring ways to bring technical innovation to commercial lending. With these latest enhancements, our clients can more easily take advantage of AFSVision's robust suite of features and functionality to advance their omnichannel strategies and deliver a leading customer experience," said John Dubil, CTO and Sr. Vice President, AFS. About AFS

AFS is the global leader in providing real-time, end-to-end lending solutions to the world's top-tier institutions as well as regional and de novo clients. Solely dedicated to the financial industry, AFS is uniquely positioned to support our client's business and technology transformation, evidenced by our solutions processing more than $3 trillion in small business, commercial, CRE, wealth management, and syndicated loans daily. AFS clients have achieved measurable results in customer expansion, revenue increases and efficiency gains that outpace their competition. AFS is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, with an office in Brussels, Belgium. For more information, please visit www.afsvision.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005304/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Wireless Infrastructure Leader at PCI GlobalCom Receives "Outstanding Heights Award" at Mark of 10-Year Anniversary

Telecommunications Industry Recognizes President and CEO, Michael Graham, for His Leadership and Dedication to Wireless Communications Solutions ALPHARETTA, Ga., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PCI GlobalCom's President and CEO, Michael Graham, has been awarded with the 2023 Outstanding Heights Award by NATE, the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. The award is one of the most prestigious honors in the industry and recognizes Graham's nearly 30 years of leadership and dedication to delivering innovative wireless infrastructure solutions. Graham's acceptance of the Outstanding Heights Award aligns with another accomplishment of PCI GlobalCom, as the company celebrates its 10-year anniversary in 2023. As a former tower climber, Graham not only understands the technical side of the industry but also understands the human side of the industry. Graham's decade-long tenure as leader of PCI GlobalCom has been marked by a commitment to a family-oriented and human-centered approach to wireless communication solutions, which has fueled the company's growth in the industry. "I founded PCI GlobalCom becaus I saw an opportunity for the telecommunications industry to go beyond communications technology and to really become an industry that takes care of and values its field members," said Graham. "I'm proud to say that in 10 years of business, we have successfully built a company that champions our people before all else."



With a human-centric focus, the PCI GlobalCom team recognizes its responsibility to ensure communities have the proper wireless communications technologies, especially in emergency scenarios. This led to PCI recently launching their own severe weather response program to help restore communication abilities in areas impacted by natural disasters. The company gives back by volunteering with the Boys & Girls Club of America and Habitat for Humanity. PCI also works closely with the Pope Francis Children's School & Health Center in Ghana. With Graham's leadership, the company has become a trusted name in the wireless infrastructure industry over the last decade, delivering innovative and reliable solutions to civilian and military communities worldwide.

To schedule an interview or learn more about how PCI GlobalCom is committed to helping communities stay connected, please email [email protected] or call 844.394.7326. Press Contact:

Joanne Sanders, Public Relations

[email protected]

4046442779 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wireless-infrastructure-leader-at-pci-globalcom-receives-outstanding-heights-award-at-mark-of-10-year-anniversary-301764682.html SOURCE PCI GlobalCom

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Leesfield Scolaro Files Lawsuit Against Airbnb For Wrongful Death After Infant Fatally Ingests Fentanyl

Today Leesfield Scolaro, the leading personal injury law firm representing plaintiffs in the state of Florida, announced a lawsuit against Airbnb, Inc. for wrongful death after a 19-month-old baby fatally ingested fentanyl while sleeping at an Airbnb in Palm Beach County. Leesfield Scolaro is representing the parents of Enora Lavenir, who died at Palms West Hospital after coming into contact with Fentanyl inside the house on August 7, 2021, one day after the family arrived at the Airbnb. The lawsuit names Airbnb, Ronald M. Cortamilia, the owner of the property, Yulia A. Timpy, a manager of the property, and Aaron Kornhauser, who previously rented the property via VRBO. According to the complaint, Kornhauser hosted a party with approximately a dozen other adults in attendance who used cocaine and other drugs in the rental. The Lavenirs rented this property for a family vacation with their infant, Enora, and her young siblings. They were promised a safe home where the strictest cleaning procedures were followed and parties banned. Unbeknownst to the Lavenirs, the property had a history of being used as a party house where fentanyl was left over in the rental. The case (2022-CA-011956) alleges that Airbnb was negligent for marketing and promoting its rentals as safe for children and infants when it knows these same rentals are often used for illegal drug-fueled parties where potentially lethal levels of opioids and narcotics are consumed. Airbnb deliberately hides the risks and prevalence of drug activity in its rentals. Unsuspecting parents, like the Lavenirs, are left completely in the dark about the dangers that await their families. As the country grapples with a grave fentanyl crisis, named the single deadliest rug threat our nation has ever encountered by the DEA, this issue deserves immediate attention, novel litigation and the families deserve justice under the law.



"Airbnb must be held accountable and we hope this case paves the way for the development of life-saving regulations for the company's six million listings in 191 countries," says Thomas Scolaro, Partner at Leesfield Scolaro. "This case demonstrates the audacious oversight and lack of accountability in the growing "shared" economy particularly in the hospitality industry where safety is paramount." Leesfield Scolaro has a history of using litigation to protect the lives of consumers across the world. High profile examples include the establishment of safety procedures against the Japanese motor industry, tougher furniture tip-over standards, and the passage of litigation mandating carbon monoxide detectors in public accommodations.

Please reach out to [email protected] with media inquiries or to obtain a copy of the full lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court for the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida. ABOUT LEESFIELD SCOLARO Founded in Miami-Dade County in 1976 by Ira Leesfield, Leesfield Scolaro has consistently been recognized as one of the leading trial law firms in the state of Florida and the nation. The firm represents individuals and families who have suffered serious injury or the loss of a loved one due to the fault, carelessness, and negligence of others. Recognitions include The Best Lawyers in America, Florida Legal Elite, South Florida Legal Guide Top Firm and Top Lawyers, South Florida Business Journal Key Partners Award, and Super Lawyers. For a list of the firm's representative verdicts and settlements, please visit its Verdicts and Settlements section. Leesfield Scolaro serves the entire State of Florida and visitors from all locations, including clients from South America, Europe and Canada. To learn more, visit: https://www.leesfield.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230301006018/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] CoreStack and TCS Partner to Provide NextGen Cloud Governance Solutions

CoreStack, a global multi-cloud governance provider, announced that it has partnered with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, to provide NextGen Cloud Governance to large enterprises looking to optimize their cloud operations. The joint solution, called CloudFinOps, is built on CoreStack's CloudOps, FinOps, and SecOps, and is available as a SaaS-based solution. TCS will leverage its customer-specific contextual knowledge to provide governance services to customers. The CloudFinOps solution provides a single pane of glass for monitoring multi-cloud operations, cost control, and security recommendations in multi-cloud environments across Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The solutions will be instrumental in securing perimeters of the cloud ecosystem. CoreStack's NextGen Cloud Governance platform is designed to improve process efficiency, productivity, and reliability by enabling rule-based automation, continuous monitoring, and improved visibility. With new levels of visibility into, and control over cloud costs, CoreStack FinOps empowers enterprises to reduce spend, create more accurate forecasts, optimize cloud usage, and attribute 100% of cloud costs, promoting a culture of financial accountability. CoreStack's SecOps makes it easy to assess, remediate, and ensure multi-cloud security with support for more than 2,100+ policies. "We are pleased to join forces with CoreStack to provide a comprehensive cloud governance solution to our customers," said Akhilesh Tiwari, President, Communications, Media & Information Services Americas at TCS. "Our customers are experiencing an increased drive to optimize their cloud spending. With CloudFinOps, which is jointly developed by CoreStack and TCS, along with TCS' value realization office framework, we help customers drive superior business outcomes, while reducing cloud spend across the organization." The CloudFinOps solution empowers enterprises to reduce cloud spend, optimize cloud usage, and ensure security and compliance. The flexible pricing model, makes it a cost-effective solution for large enterprises. "We are thrilled to partner with TCS to provide our mutual customers with a comprehensive solution for optmizing their cloud operations, finance, and security," said Suren Singh, Vice President of Global Partnerships and Alliances at CoreStack. "With TCS' expertise in IT services and CoreStack's innovative cloud governance platform, customers can reduce their cloud spending, increase their financial accountability, and maintain a high level of security and compliance."



CoreStack offers a suite of NextGen Cloud Governance modules that leverage AI to provide continuous and autonomous governance for FinOps, SecOps, and CloudOps across multi-cloud through one unified dashboard. This platform is designed to be Continuous, Holistic, Autonomous, Integrated, and Nimble (CHAIN) so enterprises can use cloud with confidence. NextGen Cloud Governance helps enterprises mitigate risk, accelerate delivery, optimize performance, and innovate. In addition, CoreStack offers a suite of assessment tools that include Well-Architected Assessments as well as FinOps and SecOps assessments. These solutions streamline the process of assessing, improving, and maintaining cloud workloads across all environments, including enabling auto-remediation directly from the CoreStack dashboard. About CoreStack

CoreStack provides a NextGen Cloud Governance platform that empowers enterprises to predictably increase top-line revenues, improve bottom-line efficiencies, and gain a competitive edge through AI-powered real-time cloud governance on autopilot. CoreStack's FinOps, SecOps, and CloudOps solutions embrace, enhance, and extend native-cloud capabilities, and help optimize cloud spend while assuring security and compliance across multiple clouds with a single solution to go further faster. Through executive dashboards for comprehensive real-time insights, CoreStack delivers transformative value, such as 40% increase in operational efficiencies, 50% decrease in cloud costs, and 100% security assurance and compliance. CoreStack helps 750+ global enterprises govern $2+ billion in annual cloud consumption, generating $300+ million in cloud cost savings. Frost & Sullivan, Forrester, Gartner, S&P Global, and IDC have recognized CoreStack as an innovator and leader in cloud management. CoreStack is backed by strategic advisors, including the ex-CEO of Wipro and ex-CIO of Microsoft. The company is a Microsoft Azure Gold Partner, Amazon AWS Advanced Technology Competency Partner, Oracle Cloud Build Partner and Google Cloud Build Partner. To learn more, visit www.corestack.io About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world's largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 50 years. TCS offers a consulting-led, cognitive powered, integrated portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions. This is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India's largest multinational business group, TCS has over 613,000 of the world's best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $25.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, and is listed on the BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) and the NSE (National Stock Exchange) in India. TCS' proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005089/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Insights Gained Through Bright Data Reveal Just 10% of Cross-Industry Company Founders Are Women

With insights gained from Bright Data's proprietary public web data classification tools, a new study undertaken by Susan Walsh, The Classification Guru, found that just 10% of cross-industry company founders globally listed on Crunchbase are women. That figure is significantly less than the findings of the World Bank's research of one in three businesses being women-owned. "Data insights empower business leaders to make the most informed decisions. With Bright Data's public web data platform, we were able to conduct research that shows why diversity in business needs to come off the back burner and take a more prominent position, especially in small businesses," said Walsh. Walsh's research found that: Out of approximately 8,800 active companies globally listed on Crunchbase, just under 900 of them - 10% - were founded or owned by women.

were founded or owned by women. In the same ataset, male founders received $272 billion in funding - 98% of all funding - while female founders accounted for just $5 billion.

while female founders accounted for just $5 billion. This gender gap among founders is evident in both the UK and the US, with the UK having a slightly smaller percentage of women founders.

Of the 532 companies in Crunchbase listed as being UK-based, just 43 of them - 8% - have women founders or owners.

have women founders or owners. Of the 5,379 companies listed as being in the U.S., a slightly higher percentage - 11% - are founded or owned by women.



About the research:

The full dataset with publicly available data, sourced from Crunchbase, contained public details of 31,388 founders and investors of various types of organizations across the globe.

For the purposes of this research, Walsh considered founders and owners to be the same thing.

Some founders started multiple companies, so the data was deduplicated to 14,877.

Walsh's research classified gender based on an individual's first name, excluding names that could not be determined. About Bright Data Bright Data is the industry-leading public web data platform. Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, nonprofits, and small businesses rely on Bright Data's solutions to retrieve web data in the most efficient, reliable, and flexible way so they can research, monitor, and analyze it to make better and faster decisions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005841/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] First Came Robotic Surgery. Then Artificial Intelligence. Now Leading Detroit-Area Physician Reveals a "Balancing Act" for Knee Replacement

During AAOS, Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire Discusses New Ligament Balancing Tool and Research Showing Better Outcomes and Almost 98% Patient Satisfaction LAS VEGAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeffrey DeClaire, M.D., a pioneer in robotic-assisted total knee replacement and founder of the Michigan Knee Institute, is the first in the world to use a new balancing tool that combines artificial intelligence and robotic-assisted technology, provides superior outcomes for knee replacement patients. Detroit surgeon Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire presents ligament tension study for knee replacement at AAOS Annual meeting Dr. DeClaire will discuss his research during the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in Las Vegas, March 7-11. He participated in clinical studies of the BalanceBot, a robotic knee ligament tensioning device that helps the surgeon balance knee ligaments and craft an accurate surgical plan. The result is a more normal ligament function tailored to the patient's unique anatomy. The BalanceBot, manufactured by Corin Group, allows physicians to have a "second pair of eyes" before they make the cuts. Combined with robotic-assisted surgery and artificial intelligence, Dr. DeClaire's "Elite Knee" results in a more successful knee replacement and reduces the risk of complications, which can sometims involve malalignment and knee instability, stiffness, limitation of motion, and pain. Multi-center clinical studies show a 98% patient satisfaction rate for patients two years post-surgery, which far surpasses an 81 percent satisfaction rate for traditional, non-robotic techniques.



"I am a nurse, so I did my research to find a physician using the most advanced procedure to properly fit the implant," says Gretchen Lapham, Grand Rapids, MI, who underwent knee replacement with Dr. DeClaire. "My recovery was faster than my friends who didn't have robotic surgery combined with the balance tensor device. I was pain-free within days and am back to hiking and swimming." Using a 3D model of the patient's anatomy and the BalanceBot to balance ligament tension, Dr. DeClaire can visualize and plan implant positioning. He utilizes a robotic cutting guide to make the planned bone cuts, with the BalanceBot ensuring soft tissue balance. Soft-tissue balance is vital to ensure the total knee replacement's short- and long-term success.

"This new high-tech combination of robotics, 3D computer technology, and the BalanceBot to monitor the tension guarantees an incomparable level of precision and accuracy compared to traditional methods," says Dr. DeClaire. It means that patients can resume all their activities without pain or mobility issues and never look back." During AAOS, Dr. DeClaire will join physicians representing multi-centers throughout the U.S. to present findings showing that balancing ligaments is more significant than alignment for the best outcomes of total knee replacement patients. The study measured pain levels of 266 patients two years after robot-assisted knee replacement to determine how joint laxity (ligament balance) and alignment play a role in improved joint pain. Researchers found no association between alignment and outcome, indicating joint balance may have a greater impact on outcome than alignment. Dr. DeClaire's clinical research addressing the impact of alignment and ligament following his "Elite Knee" procedure is published in The Journal of Arthroplasty. The study concluded that knee replacement patients who had surgery using this new technique have better outcomes two years post-operatively than patients who had traditional surgery. Jeffrey H. DeClaire, M.D. With more than 30 years of experience and 30,000 knee surgeries under his belt, Dr. Jeffrey H. DeClaire is a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic knee surgeon and the Founder of Michigan Knee Institute, Rochester, Michigan. He is Chief of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of Adult Reconstruction & Joint Replacement at Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital. He has been recognized as a "Top Doc" multiple times by Detroit Hour Magazine and an "Outstanding Physician of the Year" by former Michigan Governor John Engler. Dr. DeClaire's philosophy is to find practical solutions to preserve or restore normal knee anatomy using the least invasive approach possible. He prides himself on providing personalized treatment plans specific to each patient. To learn more about Dr. DeClaire and the Elite Knee procedure, visit michigankneeinstitute.com or call 248-609-9111. Facebook @JeffreyDeClaireMD

Instagram @JDeClaireMD

LinkedIn View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-came-robotic-surgery-then-artificial-intelligence-now-leading-detroit-area-physician-reveals-a-balancing-act-for-knee-replacement-301764622.html SOURCE Michigan Knee Institute

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] HP Celebrates Inaugural Amplify Impact Award Winners

News Highlights HP honors partner Sustainable Impact achievements worldwide

Celebrates six global winners and 43 total winners representing over 30 countries

100% of pledged partners have developed sustainable impact plans

New HP partner benefits expected to spur continued global momentum PALO ALTO, Calif., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today HP Inc (NYSE: HPQ) announced the winners of its inaugural 2022 Amplify Impact Awards, celebrating partner Sustainable Impact achievements across six categories, including the Amplify Impact Global Leader Award, Sustainability Business Award, Business Excellence Award, Climate Action Award, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy Award and HP LIFE Award. Winners will be honored at HPs upcoming Amplify Partner Conference March 28-30 in Chicago. The HP Amplify Impact program represents a first of its kind partner assessment, resource, and training program, leveraging HPs own extensive sustainable impact investments and initiatives. To date, 100% of pledged partners have developed sustainable impact plans using the worlds first, automated, modular sustainability plan platform and exceeding initial targets. HP Amplify Impact partners understand that leading with Sustainability is not only good for the planet - its good for business, winning deals, and driving profitable growth, said Kobi Elbaz, General Manager of HPs Global Channel organization. We are thrilled to celebrate the well-deserving partners who went above and beyond in driving significant impact in their respective categories and in the process, reducing their customers' footprint, while supporting HP's journey to become the world's most sustainable and just technology company. 2022 HP Amplify Impact Award Recipients

The 2022 HP Amplify Impact award recipients include: Global Leader Award

Winner: Introstat, South Africa - in recognition of the partner who demonstrates best overall sustainability performance.

Winner: Introstat, South Africa - in recognition of the partner who demonstrates best overall sustainability performance. Business Excellence Award

Winner: Bechtle Logistik & Service, Pan-Europe in recognition of the best peforming multi-country partner that shows outstanding performance in driving sustainable business.

Winner: Bechtle Logistik & Service, Pan-Europe in recognition of the best peforming multi-country partner that shows outstanding performance in driving sustainable business. Sustainability Business Award





Advania, Sweden - in recognition of the highest percentage of sustainability-influenced sales deals globally.

Advania, Sweden - in recognition of the highest percentage of sustainability-influenced sales deals globally. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Strategy Award

Winner: Truis Pty Ltd, Australia - in celebration of the most impactful DE&I strategy.

Winner: Truis Pty Ltd, Australia - in celebration of the most impactful DE&I strategy. Climate Action Award

Winner: CNW IT-Systeme, Germany - in recognition of the partner with the most comprehensive carbon footprint and action plan.

Winner: CNW IT-Systeme, Germany - in recognition of the partner with the most comprehensive carbon footprint and action plan. HP LIFE Award

Winner: Introstat, South Africa  in recognition of the partner with the highest number of HP LIFE courses completed. For the full list of the 43 winners across all categories worldwide, visit the HP Newsroom. New Benefits Support Continued Global Momentum

Based on HP channel partner feedback, new benefits have been added to continue to support partners in their Sustainable Impact journey. The new Global Good Community Project Platform connects partners with a curated series of projects offering volunteer and donation opportunities through NGOs around the world to empower partners to meet their sustainability goals. Another new benefit includes additional features on HPs Find a Reseller platform. These enhancements spotlight HP Amplify Impact partners to help purpose driven businesses stand out as customers look for resellers aligned to their values. As one company, we can have a meaningful impact, said James McCall, Chief Sustainability Officer at HP. But when we empower thousands of channel partners, we can accelerate change across the IT industry. The Amplify Impact leaders we celebrate today are going beyond, creating positive, lasting impact within their local communities and for future generations. The adoption of HP Amplify Impact by partners around the world is a testament to the high-performance, purpose-driven culture that unites the HP ecosystem and global partner community. Today, HP partners have continued to show tremendous interest with an over 250 percent increase in HP Sustainable Impact training courses completed. HP sets the bar regarding sustainability and partner care among the companies I follow. No place is this more apparent than in their HP Amplify event. This year, these two critical efforts come together at Amplify to reaffirm HP's commitment to its partners and their collaborative drive to improve the world, said Rob Enderle, Principal Analyst, Enderle Group. The Impact Awards recognize those that go above and beyond motivating everyone competitively and increasing the focus on sustainability and inclusion for the entire group. Congratulations to those partners who won and set the bar in one of the industry's most inclusive sustainability efforts. Partners can learn more on the HP Partner Portal and track their performance throughout the year via the HP Amplify Impact dashboard. For more information on HP Amplify Impact visit the HP Newsroom for additional assets. About HP

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) is a global technology leader and creator of solutions that enable people to bring their ideas to life and connect to the things that matter most. Operating in more than 170 countries, HP delivers a wide range of innovative and sustainable devices, services and subscriptions for personal computing, printing, 3D printing, hybrid work, gaming, and more. For more information, please visit: http://www.hp.com. Media Contacts



HP Media Relations

[email protected]

hp.com/go/newsroom





[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Bark Token Offers Additional Vital Utilities to Crypto Traders Seeking to Shift to Shibarium Network

Makassar, Indonesia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To address the new development, an innovatively designed $Bark token offers additional safety utilities to crypto traders seeking to shift to the Shibarium Network. Through innovation and value, Bark Tools intends to be one of the reliable platforms for crypto traders while flourishing community trust aspect. With the new development of Web3 safety dApps, staking pools, and more, the $Bark token provides benefits through adoption and generates revenue. The platform is developing an all-in-one HUB for traders and crypto enthusiasts who are planning to trade on Shiarium. The Bark token builds and develops necessary utilities for Shibarium. The $Bark token fueled by revenue-generating utilities is enabled to receive growth via mass adoption while managing a strong community DeFi experience. In addition, the $Bark token is an emerging token with a fully supported growing ecosystem, which offers usual tools from other networks but brings them all together in one place. The token also gives advantages through the revenue through its ecosystem, apart from that offering fun and rewarding $Bark token holders with token staking NFT farming options. Bark tools offer a variety of features that give opportunities to $Bark token holders. Bark Vanish: Bark tools introduce the first swap that allows users to trade the Shibarium Network without a trace.

Bark tools introduce the first swap that allows users to trade the Shibarium Network without a trace. Bark Rug Checker: Bark tools offer one-stop verification dApp, which enables the users to view important aspects of the token based on Shibarium.

Bark Locker: The platform provides other alternatives to lock their tokens LP or vested supply on the Shibarium Network.



About the Project - Bark Bark is a platform that gives the opportunity to crypto traders looking to build or trade on the anticipated Shibarium Network. Recently, the platform launched its Bark Tool token on March 2nd and intended to provide additional safety utilities to traders seeking to shift to Shibarium Network. The platform also rewards their token holders with staking as well as NFT farming options. Additionally, the platform's multiple tools give different services to their $Bark tool token holders; the tools are included bark vanish, bark rug checker, bark locker, and much more.

Furthermore, potential investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts interested in AI-Fitnes can visit the projects official website, or read the whitepaper for more details. Website | Twitter | Telegram | Facebook | DEXTools Chart Disclaimer: The information provided in this release is not investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is recommended that you practice due diligence (including consultation with a professional financial advisor) before investing or trading securities and cryptocurrency.

Lucas Wong Bark Team(at)bark.tools

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
On March 6th, the CPPCC members from Anhui attending the 1st session of the 14th National CPPCC Conference participated meetings in their respective panels and discussed the Government Work Report. The members unanimously agreed that the Government Work Report has set a clear direction, reviewed achievements in a truthful and pragmatic manner, and established scientific and reasonable goals, which is a good report that coordinates overall planning, seeks pragmatic truth, and opens up new horizons. The report includes a series of encouraging numbers, such as China's GDP increase to 121 trillion yuan, with an annual average growth rate of 5.2% in the past five years; victory has been achieved in the battle against poverty, and nearly 100 million rural poor have been lifted out of poverty. These numbers have become vivid footnotes to the past five years, which were extremely unusual and extraordinary. In the past five years, China has achieved historic progress and undergone historic changes in economic and social development, which is fundamentally attributed to General Secretary Xi Jinping's guidance and leadership as well as the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This is a vivid demonstration that the "Two Establishes" provide the greatest certainty, confidence and assurance in overcoming any and all difficulties and uncertainties. The members stated that this year marks the beginning of fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. They emphasized the importance of focusing tightly on the arrangements and deployments, as well as clear goals and tasks laid out in the 20th CPC National Congress and the Government Work Report, and earnestly shoulder the responsibility of "performing duties for the country and fulfilling responsibilities for the people." They will put forth their best efforts in providing suggestions and advice and building consensus, and contribute their wisdom and power to the comprehensive construction of a socialist modern country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
A commercial truck crashed into a Wyoming Department of Transportation snowplow on Sunday on Interstate 80 -- the 22nd time this winter that a snowplow has been hit.

The snowplow driver sustained minor injuries and was transported to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, spokesperson Jeremy Beck said Monday.

A WYDOT snowplow was removing snow near milepost 125 when a commercial truck crashed into it, the statement said. It happened west of Rock Springs on Sunday morning.

The commercial truck driver was trying to pass another car in the left lane when it crashed into the back of the snowplow, causing both vehicles to enter the median.

A citation for speeding too fast for the conditions and careless driving was issued to the commercial truck driver.

"The WHP and WYDOT want to remind drivers to slow down, increase their following distance, and use extreme caution when driving on snow-covered roadways, especially when passing snowplows," the statement said.

So far this winter, there have been 22 WYDOT snowplows hit by other vehicles. There were 18 struck in the winter of 2022, 26 in 2021 and 23 in 2020.

A state-by-state breakdown of crashes involving large trucks Crashes involving large trucks #51. District of Columbia #50. Massachusetts #49. Hawaii #48. New York #47. New Jersey #46. Vermont #45. Rhode Island #44. Connecticut #43. Michigan #42. Washington #41. New Hampshire #40. Delaware #39. Maryland #38. California #37. Nevada #36. Minnesota #35. Wisconsin #34. Pennsylvania #33. Utah #32. Ohio #31. Colorado #30. Virginia #29. Illinois #28. Alaska #27. Maine #26. North Carolina #25. Oregon #24. Arizona #23. Florida #22. West Virginia #21. Missouri #20. Iowa #19. Louisiana #18. Texas #17. Georgia #16. Indiana #15. North Dakota #14. South Carolina #13. Kansas #12. Oklahoma #11. Tennessee #10. Montana #9. Kentucky #8. New Mexico #7. Idaho #6. Nebraska #5. South Dakota #4. Alabama #3. Arkansas #2. Mississippi #1. Wyoming
[March 07, 2023] Inszone Insurance Services Completes Acquisition of Donna Ledwick Insurance Services

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing, national provider of benefits, personal and commercial lines insurance, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Donna Ledwick Insurance Services. The move is part of Inszone Insurance's strategy to expand its national footprint and build on its reputation as a leading insurance provider in the United States. Donna Ledwick Insurance Services, which opened its doors in 1997, has been a cornerstone in the area, supporting clients with their insurance needs and specializing in Life & Health, personal and commercial lines. Donna Ledwick, former proprietor of Donna Ledwick Insurance Services, studied financial services and obtained her series 6 and 63 licenses before ultimately deciding that the insurance industry was preferable to the financial industry. "I'm excited to join forces with Inszone Insurance, which will enable us to better meet the demands of our clients in every way," said Donna Ledwick. "Inszone Insurance places great importance on serving each client, especially those with extremely specialized needs, whichaligns perfectly with the values we hold dear."



"Donna has been a strong leader in the insurance industry, and we are thrilled to have her on our team," said Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Our clients can expect the same personalized care they are used to, with the added benefit of extra resources offered by a larger agency. We look forward to working together to help streamline efficiencies, add resources, and continue expanding throughout the state." The acquisition of Donna Ledwick Insurance Service is one of many important acquisitions that Inszone Insurance Services is expected to announce in the upcoming months. As the company continues to grow, it remains committed to providing exceptional customer service and insurance solutions to clients across the country.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm which provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance, along with employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically, as well as through acquisitions. With 39 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Illinois, the company is looking to further expand throughout the United States. For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005902/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] EnerDel Establishes Their California Tech Center Build Out

IRVINE, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EnerDel, a leading Li-ion battery pack manufacturer, has added cutting-edge technology with innovative build capability to their Advanced Engineering Tech Center (AETC) in Irvine, California. The AETC develops next-generation battery packs, brand name iEGO, with a focus on battery system engineering, battery management system 2.0 (BMS), and battery product design. In order to completely verify BMS functionalities, the AETC added a state-of-art BMS Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) system to simulate overall BMS interface and environmental testing. An Electrical Engineering Lab was set up for BMS prototyping, rework, electrical testing and Processor-In-the-Loop testing. Additionally, pack prototype benches were added to pilot assembly with part samples and assist with prototype build. Furthermore, FEA (finite elemental analysis)/CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation capability is also being added forbattery pack design analysis.



EnerDel's Advanced Engineering Tech Center (AETC) opened in July 2022. The AETC is currently hiring and plans to expand to 25+ engineers in 2023 to support the launch of the iEGO platform. In January of 2023, EnerDel completed iEGO's A sample design phase with a pack build at the Anderson manufacturing facility. The next generation iEGO battery packs will benefit customers with class competitive energy density and state-of-the-art features, including over-the-air connectivity for software updates, and active battery pack health monitoring. Mass production of iEGO battery packs for customers will commence mid-2024.? About EnerDel Energy Solutions

Founded in 2004, EnerDel is headquartered in Anderson, IN. EnerDel was the first in the U.S. for commercial-scale production of large-format, prismatic, lithium-ion battery packs. Over the last decade, EnerDel has worked to perfect the cell modular stacking architecture and battery management system, providing customers with production-ready solutions to address a variety of power and energy storage needs.

EnerDel's?Vigor+?packs offer versatility across applications, including transportation in EV/Hybrid buses and trucks; industrial equipment, trams, construction, agricultural machines, and military and civilian stationary and mobile hybrid power systems. They are designed and built in the United States in compliance with the various requirements of the Buy America Act. EnerDel's next generation of pack, the iEGO brand pack is the answer for flexible configurations and state of the art battery management system controls! It has many configurations, used in applications like transportation, mining, agriculture, construction, industrial lift, micro-grid, and marine.

For additional information, visit enerdel.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enerdel-establishes-their-california-tech-center-build-out-301764970.html SOURCE EnerDel Energy Solutions

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] PENTAX Medical INSPIRA Video Processor (EPK-i8020c) and the i20c Endoscope Generation Obtain CE Marks

MONTVALE, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PENTAX Medical Americas, a division of HOYA Group, is excited to announce that it has obtained CE marks, clearing it for commercialization in the European Union for two of its latest innovations: the PENTAX Medical INSPIRA premium video processor and the i20c video endoscope series. Developed with a focus on the healthcare provider's needs, the new video processor maintains compatibility with PENTAX Medical's current endoscope models and sets a new standard in image quality when combined with the new i20c video endoscope generation. David Harrison, Chief Commercial Officer for PENTAX Medical Americas, said, "At PENTAX Medical, we believe in working closely with physicians to help improve outcomes, elevate the caregiving experience, and deliver value to endoscopy suits. Our new PENTAX Medical INSPIRA platform and i20c series of endoscopes raise the bar in quality with 4K imaging, a customizable processor loaded with intuitive features controlled by a state-of-the-art touch panel." Harrison continued, "Our engineers worked closely with endoscopists worldwide to redesgn our scopes with lightweight connectors, easy-to-reach remote buttons, and angulation knobs offering superior ergonomics."



PENTAX Medical plans to launch its new system soon in Canada and Latin America, and the rest of the world in the coming months. About PENTAX Medical

PENTAX Medical is a division of HOYA Group. The company's mission is to improve the standard of patient care and quality of healthcare delivery by providing the best endoscopic products and services with a focus on QUALITY, CLINICALLY RELEVANT INNOVATION, and SIMPLICITY. PENTAX Medical strives to align with the healthcare community's Triple Aim goals through transparent partnerships with its customers and by providing the highest quality solutions to help them reach their goals, including enabling customers to improve patient outcomes by offering evidence-based solutions across the continuum of care; ensuring value by supporting the customers to improve their efficiency and minimise their healthcare costs; and enriching patient and provider's experience by empowering every member of the care team to achieve optimal outcomes through products, education, and support. Focused on the outcome instead of technological features, PENTAX Medical listens to the healthcare community and their patients, understands their daily obstacles and helps improve endoscopy with smart innovations. For more information: http://www.pentaxmedical.com About HOYA Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech and medical products. HOYA is active in the fields of healthcare and information technology, providing eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses, optical lenses, as well as key components for semiconductor devices, LCD panels, and hard disk drives. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit http://www.hoya.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pentax-medical-inspira-video-processor-epk-i8020c-and-the-i20c-endoscope-generation-obtain-ce-marks-301764978.html SOURCE PENTAX Medical

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] Leading the way on Canada's ESG journey

TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - The Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC) is proud to host its 4th Annual Conference on: "The ESG Journey: Crafting Effective Governance Solutions to Stay ahead of the Curve" which is being held in person in Toronto (as well as livestreamed online) on Tuesday, March 21, 2023. The ESG Journey: Crafting effective governance solutions to stay ahead of the curve This ESG (environmental, social and governance) event is designed to help Canadian Boards and governance professionals understand the upcoming environmental and social trends that are impacting boardrooms at an accelerated pace  and get ahead of them. President of GPC, Lynn Beauregard says "There are two unique features about this event. First, it focuses on the ESG topics that will disrupt boardrooms in the future, and secondly it focuses on the role of the governance professional and the Board, or the G in ESG  the governance practices that boards need to steer their organizations to a sustainable future." Over the pat four years the annual GPC ESG Conference has become a must attend for many Corporate Secretaries, Board Directors and management teams wanting to know the latest in regulation, investor and stakeholder expectations.



"Our members in their Governance roles consistently rate ESG as a top priority facing their organizations. This conference is designed to help Boards understand what their obligations are and to help them and their executive team navigate their unique ESG journey," Ms Beauregard said. The conference is also relevant for investment and sustainability professionals involved in ESG, CSR, risk, strategy, sustainability, investor relations, or capital markets, who seek to get ahead of the curve. Wherever you find yourself on the ESG journey  at the start or further along  this conference will be pertinent to your organization.

You can learn more about the conference and register here or download the full conference agenda here. GPC opens a few spots for students and faculty from Canadian Educational Organizations to attend the event free of charge. Contact [email protected] for more information. Topics and speakers for the event: Keynote: The future of Canadian Governance: How should Boards Evolve to Meet Rising Expectations?

Rahul Bhardwaj, LL.B, ICD.D , President & CEO, Institute, of Corporate Directors Thought Leader Panel Returns:

What If the Future Is Now? Preparing Your Boardroom to Face ESG Challenges

Moderator: Coro Strandberg, Conference Moderator, President, Strandberg Consulting and GPC advisor on Sustainability Governance.

Panel: Barbara Stymiest, Corporate Director at George Weston Ltd., President's Choice Bank, and Sun Life Financial; Carol Liao, Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia; Christie Stephenson, Executive Director, Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics, University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business; Michael Jantzi, Member, International Sustainability Standards Board. PANEL 1: Climate and Biodiversity Risk on the Path to Net-Zero

Moderator: Lianne Langstaff, Associate, Gowling WLG

Panel: Jason Storah, Chief Executive Officer, Aviva Canada; Ridhima Nayyar, AVP, Sustainability, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust; Zaneta Sedilekova, Associate, Biodiversity and Climate Risk Director, Clyde & Co. PANEL 2: Serving the Interest of All with Stakeholder Capitalism

Moderator: Dustyn Lanz, Senior Advisor, ESG Global Advisors

Panel: Suzanne Hathaway, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Communications and Corporate Secretary, Maple Leaf Foods; Rosa van den Beemt, Director, Stewardship, Responsible Investment, BMO Global Asset Management; Peter ter Weeme, Chief Social Purpose Officer and VP, Player Experience, British Columbia Lottery Corporation. PANEL 3: Govern with Purpose

Moderator: David Rutherford, VP Communications and Corporate Sustainability, Aviso Wealth

Panel: Monic Pratch, Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Sustainability FortisBC; Milla Craig, President & CEO, Millani Inc; Maureen Young, Vice President, Social Purpose, Coast Capital Savings. PANEL 4: Beyond a Partnership Approach: Indigenous Knowledge at the Board

Panel: Helen Bobiwash, FCPA, FCMA, CAFM, Corporate Director and Accountant;

Carol Danielson, Board Chair, Tahltan Nation Development Corporation (TNDC);

Mark Sevestre, Founding Member and Senior Advisor, National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA) Note to editors:

Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC) is a national professional association representing governance professionals in Canada. The organization serves as a voice for the profession and provides professional development, networking, and advocacy opportunities for its members. SOURCE Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC)

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[March 07, 2023] PrecisionOS Revolutionizes Orthopedic Residency Education with Immersive Virtual Reality Surgical Curriculum

A Group of North American Surgeons Align PrecisionOS Modules with ACGME and CanMEDs Framework. VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - PrecisionOS, a leading medical education simulation provider announced today a novel virtual reality curriculum for orthopedic training. The company has put together an extensive guide aimed at all residency programs in North America and beyond. The curriculum, compiled through consultation and input from a number of surgeon educators, is set to augment the way surgical residents are trained while making it not only relevant, but support skill acquisition and benchmarks in surgical training. "This virtual reality curriculum represents a true game-changer in surgical education," said Dr. Peter Ferguson, Albert and Temmy Latner Chair of the Division of Orthopedics, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto. "It follows the framework of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and allows residents to experience highly realistic and immersive simulations of surgical procedures in a safe and controlled environment. This will now provide them with a guide and level of training that was previously unattainable with traditional methods." "To truly harness the power of VR, we needed to offer a guide on how to seamlessly integrate VR within academic programs," said Danny P. Goel, MD, CEO of PrecisionOS. "This curriculum covers all orthopedic disciplines and provides learners with relevant and actionable data to becoming an integral pat of their current educational pathway, understanding when to use which medical devices all while enhancing performance in the operating room."



"I have been impressed with the effort and dedication to resident education during the development and expansion of the PrecisionOS system. Precision's new curriculum is based on sound educational principals and provides a roadmap for steps to integrate modules into training programs with a view to augment skills training of our residents," said Dr. Larry Marsh, MD, Department Head, Professor and Carroll B Larson Chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. This virtual reality curriculum is now available for all orthopedic surgical residency programs in North America and will be released at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas March 7-11, 2023. With over 60 residency and fellowship programs on the platform, the company will be adding significantly more content to the curriculum over the coming months. Program directors and residents can find more information and request access to the curriculum here.

About PrecisionOS: PrecisionOS is a leading provider of virtual reality surgical training for the medical industry. Healthcare professionals across numerous societies, universities, and medical device companies prefer PrecisionOS modules because they improve the transfer of knowledge and skills. Multiple, independent published trials confirm that participants using the PrecisionOS platform become better, more confident surgeons. PrecisionOS has collaborative affiliations with more than 60 major global medical institutions where the platform is being used in more than 55 countries globally. Learn more at www.precisionostech.com/. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/precisionos-revolutionizes-orthopedic-residency-education-with-immersive-virtual-reality-surgical-curriculum-301765007.html SOURCE PrecisionOS Technology

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
In this post we'll compile recent crime reporting, pending cases and all manner of metro news on worsening violence.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Woman found in home where 3 KCMO officers were shot transported fentanyl from California, court docs say KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A woman who was found inside a Kansas City, Missouri, home where three police officers were shot is accused of helping transport fentanyl from California, according to federal prosecutors. Ashley R. Davis, 34, was one of three people taken into custody after SWAT members entered the home in the 2300 block of Blue Ridge Road on Feb.

Kansas City man arrested during standoff in court on unrelated crimes KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City man arrested during last week's standoff that happened after three Kansas City police officers were shot made his first appearance on unrelated federal charges. Two men surrendered during the standoff, and one of them was arrested. Jimmie R. Lewis Jr., 50, is facing three federal charges.

Kansas City fired paramedic caught on video hitting a patient. Then the union stepped in A Kansas City fire department paramedic was allowed to return to work weeks after he was fired for repeatedly striking a patient with a laptop computer in an incident that was captured on hospital surveillance cameras. The assault happened on the evening of April 16, 2021, in the emergency room entrance at University Health Truman Medical Center, 2300 Holmes Road.

Suspect in threats that closed Jewell campus arrested same day in KCMO shots-fired incident KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- - The suspect charged for threatening the William Jewell College campus was involved in a shots-fired incident the same day the college cancelled classes. The KSHB 41 I-Team learned of the incident and an apparent lack of communication between Clay and Jackson counties.

KC-area fire chief recalls trying to save son after killer sentenced KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Inter City Fire Protection District chief rushed to save a shooting victim, initially unaware the life he was trying to save was his son. For 33 years, Jeff Jewell has been a public servant.

Widow of man killed in Johnson County hate crime talks ahead of documentary premiere KMBC got a new perspective this afternoon from the widow of a Johnson County hate crime victim.Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot and killed at Austin's Bar and Grill in 2017.Two others were injured in the attack.Kuchibhotla was an Indian immigrant.

Piles of trash, illegal dumping return to vacant Kansas City shopping center KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Trash continues to pile up behind a vacant shopping center in south Kansas City. FOX4 first told you about the illegal dumping at Robandee Shopping Center in 2021. For years, people dumped their trash behind the building, and nothing was done.

Developing . . .
First and foremost . . .

TKC WOULDN'T DARE SUGGEST THAT (GASP!) THERE MIGHT BE AN ETHICAL LAPSE IN KANSAS CITY LOCAL GOVERNMENT!!! HEAVENS NO!!! WE'RE SURE EVERYBODY IS FOLLOWING THE RULES AND WE'RE ALL PURE OF HEART!!!



However . . .

We'll admit that skeptics amongst our blog community are asking some important questions.

Here's the first one . . .

DID YOU KNOW THAT KCMO 5TH DISTRICT COUNCIL LADY RYANA PARKS-SHAW DUTIFULLY REPORTED 1000 BUCKS IN CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM MARK II TRANSFER STATION!!! AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE AN OPPONENT!!!

I guess you never can be too careful.

Also . . . Most people outside of the city manager's office don't know that council member Ryana Parks-Shaw is married to the director of public works Michael Shaw . . . But, again, we wouldn't dare cast aspersions on an elite local family.



Still . . . We credit KICK-ASS TKC TIPSTERS for doing the heavy lifting here and merely pointing out a bit of campaign finance inner-workings that might be worthwhile for voters to understand even if there's no alternative on the ballot.



Here is word sent our way . . . Check-it . . .

The Parks-Shaw & Shaw Double Dream Team!!! Campaign Finance Reporting And Glorified Trash Man Power Player Family Fun!!!



Can you trust Kansas City about the proposed landfill in South Kansas City?



Sources have guided us to Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw's city council campaign reports. In June of 2022, she took $1,000 from Mark Monheiser which seemed like a big nothing burger and a $1,000 from a Mark II Transfer Station.



Is this the same Monheiser fam and Mark II Transfer Station that KMBC identified as the proposed landfill developers?

Taking campaign cash from a developer who wants something is the Kansas City way but what makes this an interesting is Parks-Shaw husband is in charge of the city's monstrous trash budget and has been on KCMO government TV telling everyone that KCMO is going to run out of landfill space in 15 years. Does it seem odd that before this landfill conversation got going, Monheiser and Mark II dropped $2 grand on an unopposed city council race?

It stinks of impropriety when you have someone in a government executive position that can sign contracts who ALSO has a spouse that serves on that government's board.

But certainly that's not happening here, right? There are ethical protections, checks and balances that make any kind of undue influence impossible. We're happy to see Parks-Shaw has taken the first step to avoid any inkling of impropriety by disclosing the donation. Good for her!!!



We certainly hope they can be impartial. There is the potential that some might ask legitimate questions about donations to a candidate with a husband in an executive position which MIGHT lead to a potential conflict . . . Of course we trust EVERYONE is taking all the proper precautions and wouldn't mind at all if TKC raised the issue to highlight EXACTLY HOW they are avoiding any risk of ethical misunderstanding.

#############



Developing . . .


Here's something to consider as we start the work week . . .

In the simplest of terms . . .



TKC EXCLUSIVE DOX REVEAL THE 'STRUCTURAL IMBALANCE' OF KANSAS CITY'S BUDGET WIDENS!!! TRANSLATION: THIS COWTOWN IS GOING BROKE FAST!!!



In the aftermath of the pandemic every American town is confronting harsh times but here's is why KCMO's situation might get worse . . .

- Crime: High crime chases away investment and revenue from residents. Sure, luring biz both big & small is great but a city needs residents who contribute by working and powering the local economy. The historic rise in crime thwarts any progress in generating sustainable investment from residents because the most productive members of our town have incentive to move someplace safer.

- Spending Spree Persists: City Hall rarely meets a developer they don't like and this town is notorious for handing out freebies. Credit to KC Tenants . . . They've shut down more than their share of incentive chatter but only when their demands aren't first on the list.

- Entitlements: Under Mayor Q's leadership KCMO started giving away freebie bus rides AND freebie housing. The reality is that Kansas City doesn't have the cash to fund it's own welfare state and commitments made with Federal COVID dollars are now being paid out of the general fund.

And all of THAT leads us to this . . .

We've highlighted it . . . And now . . . Check the last line of this insider memo that reveals KCMO decision makers now confronted with a worsening budget crisis that was once only a worry confined to conversation amongst policy wonks.

Here's the word . . .



A reminder to submit today any requests for your department to rollfoward unencumbered appropriations for consideration via email. Requests should be in the format following the below example with an explanation of why the unencumbered funds are requested to rollforward from the current FY 2023 to FY 2024.



Fund-DeptID- Appropriation Unit-Project ID (if applicable) - Dollar amount requested for consideration to roll forward and justification why



Example: 1000-121465-B -

$200,000

This is the Linwood Line of Credit that the City is required to remain open through specific date (input date)



It is important to note that requests to rollforward General Fund appropriations not encumbered will be limited given the forward-looking structural imbalance of the General Fund. Call or email with any questions.

############

Developing . . .


A question confronting voters in what could be the lowest turnout election in KCMO history.

WILL KANSAS CITY ACCEPT CASH THAT WAS FORMERLY CONTROLLED BY ILLICIT DRUG DEALERS!?!?



What we suspect . . . The tax will pass and it will likely make the KC metro drug trade worse because of laws that remove most penalties but increase costs for LEGALLY traded weed.



Here are the basics about the upcoming vote . . .



Three percent is the highest city sales tax allowed under Missouris Amendment 3, which legalized recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older.



If each proposed tax on recreational marijuana sales is approved by voters, it would be in addition to the 6% tax Missouri charges.



Medical-use marijuana products are taxed at 4% in Missouri, and will not be subject to the additional taxes, if passed.



Kansas City-area leaders say there are more than 40 licensed marijuana dispensaries currently open in the four-county area.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas City-area leaders discuss proposed recreational marijuana sales tax INDEPENENCE, Mo. - Leaders across the Missouri side of the metro are meeting Monday afternoon to talk about proposed sales taxes on recreational marijuana. The following cities are some of the dozens across the state that are asking voters to pass the 3% tax when they head to the polls on April 4.

Kansas City-area dispensaries hiring after 1st month of recreational sales top $71M KANSAS CITY, Mo - During one of the slower days of the week, there's a constant stream of customers at Greenlight Dispensary near State Line Road and W 135th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. "We have seen a pretty substantial increase in volume," said Paul Baker, general manager at Greenlight Stateline.

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.
A Gackle man who authorities say was drunk while driving a combine has pleaded guilty to a charge of negligent homicide in the death of a South African farmhand.

Ryan Storbeck, 42, faces a possible five-year prison sentence on the felony charge. He also pleaded guilty at a Tuesday hearing to misdemeanors for DUI and false reports to law enforcement, court records show. Hell be sentenced later.

The charges were filed in connection with the death of Johannes Steenberg, 57, who authorities said is from South Africa but had a temporary residence in rural Gackle.

A deputy Stutsman County sheriff on Sept. 6 who responded at about 5:40 p.m. to the scene northeast of Gackle stated in an affidavit there was evidence that Steenbergs head had been crushed between the header of a combine and the wheel of a grain cart.

Storbeck unloaded the combine into the grain cart and went back to the field. He later called another man to check on Steenberg because he didnt see him in the tractor. The man found Steenberg near the right tire of the grain cart, according to the affidavit.

Storbeck initially told officials he hadnt been drinking but later allegedly admitted to drinking a six-pack or 12-pack of beer. He allegedly told authorities they usually start with a 30-pack and today they ran out before they started combining, the document states. His blood alcohol content at 8:30 p.m. was 0.11%, and at 9:18 it was 0.09%, according to the affidavit. The legal limit is 0.08%.
The Burleigh County Commission has approved a hazardous liquid pipeline health and safety ordinance in response to plans for a regional carbon dioxide pipeline that will cross the county -- a move the developer says unnecessarily duplicates federal regulation.

County officials also are crafting a zoning ordinance related to such pipelines that will determine requirements such as minimum distances from homes, schools and animal feedlots.

The ordinance the five-member commission unanimously approved Monday night is aimed at ensuring the safety of people in the area of Summit Carbon Solutions planned Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, which would cross the county 5 miles to the north of Bismarck.

Commissioner Wayne Munson stressed that it also applies to other future hazardous liquid pipelines, including natural gas, but he acknowledged that "I understand CO2 is the hotbed topic of the day."

The Midwest Carbon Express pipeline is to transport climate-warming CO2 emissions from ethanol plants in five Midwestern states to North Dakotas Oliver County for permanent storage underground.

Bismarck-Burleigh Health Officer Dr. David Pengilly told commissioners last month that the risk to public safety from a carbon dioxide pipeline is no greater than that associated with other types of hazardous gases and pipelines, and that There is no unacceptable risk to health, welfare and life safety for a CO2 pipeline.

But many residents and landowners north of Bismarck oppose the pipeline, and several spoke at Monday night's meeting, arguing for the adoption of the safety ordinance.

"We want it to be safe, and I don't feel it'll be safe where it's going," Karl Rakow said of the pipeline.

Former Bismarck Mayor John Warford said the pipeline would cross a mile of his land, and would be less than 2 miles from where his children live and where his grandchildren go to school. He also said there are 1,247 residents within 2 miles of the pipeline's path through the county.

"I fear for the safety of my family; I fear for the safety of the schoolchildren; and I also fear for the safety of those in the rural residential area that this pipeline is proposed to go through," he said.

Jeff Skaare, Summit's director of land, legal and regulatory affairs, and Alex Lange, the company's engineering manager, told commissioners that CO2 pipelines are safe, with risks "significantly less" than risks associated with other hazardous liquid pipelines. Summit recently submitted to the county a lengthy risk analysis.

"I'm not dismissing anybody's concerns here; I think they're genuinely held," Skaare said at the Monday meeting. "I'm not sure they're based in fact."

County Planning Director Mitch Flanagan told commissioners that the Summit analysis relied on data up to 2019 -- before a CO2 pipeline ruptured in Satartia, Mississippi, in 2020, prompting the evacuation of hundreds of people and sending dozens of people to the hospital.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is now updating safety regulations for carbon dioxide pipelines, including requirements related to emergency preparedness and response.

The fact that PHMSA regulates CO2 pipelines -- and has done so for more than 40 years -- makes local ordinances unnecessary, according to Skaare and Lange.

"They have the subject matter experts, they have the resources to invest all that time and make sure pipeline projects like ours are safe to the public," Lange said.

Flanagan said Summit is "dancing around the fact that PHMSA ordinances are old."

Safety ordinance

The commission, convening first as the County Board of Health on Monday, approved a public health statement that expresses concern for the risk of hazardous liquid gas exposure to humans, the environment and livestock. Commission Chair Becky Matthews said it is a "statement of concerns that we've heard from constituents and researched."

It set the stage for the safety ordinance that requires companies building hazardous liquid pipelines to submit emergency plans to local officials, to ensure public health and safety.

The ordinance requires a pipeline company to provide educational materials to landowners and upon request to any other "interested persons" about the project and any associated dangers, and to provide an emergency action plan for approval by local emergency responders. The pipeline company will then provide regular updates to county Emergency Management.

If a carbon dioxide pipeline falls under federal regulations, the ordinance requires the company to provide documentation that it complied with those rules, as well as submit a plan for how the company will work with local officials in the event of an emergency. Those provisions also apply to pipelines transporting hazardous liquids other than CO2.

If a carbon dioxide pipeline does not fall under federal regulations, the company has to submit an emergency response plan with numerous requirements. They include "an estimate of the worst-case discharge of carbon dioxide," a computer model showing the "blast zone" for the pipeline, an analysis of risks of alternative routes compared to the proposed route, and a map and legal description of all occupied structures and animal facilities within 2 miles of the route. The company also has to secure county approvals for road use and will be responsible for repairing any road damage.

Lange said Summit already is proactively meeting with emergency response officials in all 81 counties the pipeline would pass through on emergency response plans.

Skaare said there was "nothing in this ordinance that is overly offensive or burdensome," just duplicative of federal rules.

Munson said, "We've all heard about (the) Mississippi accident. I am horrified for what happened there. I don't want it here."

The county does not have any authority to stop the pipeline but it can approve certain restrictions. The Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss the second ordinance being drafted at a meeting on Wednesday night. It pertains to special use permits required for hazardous liquid pipelines. The meeting is at 5:15 p.m. in the Tom Baker Meeting Room of the City/County Building, at 221 N. Fifth St. in Bismarck. The ordinance ultimately will come before the County Commission for approval.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission will permit the route of the pipeline, and the state Industrial Commission will permit the CO2 disposal site. Summit must also comply with federal regulations.

The PSC will host four public hearings. The first is next Tuesday, March 14, at 8:30 a.m. Central time in Russell Reid Auditorium at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum on the Capitol grounds in Bismarck.

Commissioner Jerry Woodcox on Monday said he thinks the county needs to get rules in place "before the PSC gets too far down that trail."
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).
Bismarck City Commissioner Mark Splonskowski is resigning in the wake of attorney opinions that hell encounter conflicts of interest when he assumes the Burleigh County auditor/treasurer position in April.

Splonskowski was elected to the county post in November but had planned to also serve out his City Commission term, which ends in 2024. He had maintained that holding both positions would not be an issue.

Splonskowski told the County Commission on Monday night that he would step down as city commissioner effective March 20. He cited the question of an incompatibility between the positions of Burleigh County auditor and Bismarck city commissioner.

This is something that I believed could be worked out since I could not find major conflicts before or during the campaign and election, he said. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. We have recently received two opinions, one written and one verbal, stating that there are major conflicts between the two positions.

Splonskowski noted that during the last City Commission meeting he was excluded from voting on some matters out of caution.

I foresee this only increasing, and due to any real or perceived conflicts of interest, I would become relatively ineffective as a commissioner and hindered as a county auditor for the foreseeable future, he said. Due to these circumstances I have determined through long discussions, thought and prayer that I will be able to better serve the people of both Bismarck and all of Burleigh County if I resign my position as Bismarck city commissioner.

County Commission Chair Becky Matthews thanked Splonskowski for weighing (the matter) heavily.

I know it was a hard decision. I appreciate you making that hard decision, she said.

Matthews told the Tribune that the commission did not take a formal position on whether Splonskowski should resign his city seat, but she noted that Commissioners Brian Bitner and Wayne Munson during a previous meeting had said they stepped away from other positions after being elected to the commission. Splonskowski referenced those comments in his remarks Monday night.

Splonskowski submitted a resignation email to the city following the county meeting, according to city spokesman Kalen Ost.

The email to City Administrator Keith Hunke consisted of one sentence: "I would like to submit my resignation from the Bismarck City Commission effective March 20th 2023. Let me know if theres anything more I need to do or if you have questions. Thanks."

Splonskowski, who works for the county tax equalization department, did not immediately respond to Tribune requests for comment Tuesday.

There is no state law that addresses a person holding two elected offices. The City of Bismarck Policy Manual states that each employee and city officer is responsible for performing his or her job in accordance with the highest ethical standards of business conduct.

City and county leaders raised questions about a potential conflict of interest. City Commissioner Steve Marquardt in January requested the city attorney's opinion on the matter.

City Attorney Jannelle Combs said in a written opinion that "Commissioner Splonskowski will have a fiduciary duty to both entities therefore creating a potential conflict of interest."

She said at a City Commission meeting on Feb. 14 that We dont know if it will impact the ability of the (city) board to function and we cant foresee when that would happen.

The city and county work together on several projects -- such as the public health building -- that could force Splonskowski to recuse himself from voting due to fiduciary duties to both the city and county. If he were to recuse himself from an issue, he would need to do it in both his city and county roles, according to Combs' opinion, which notes the potential for "a significant number of recusals."

Burleigh County State's Attorney Julie Lawyer told county commissioners on Feb. 23 that she thinks the two positions are incompatible, and that "If (Splonskowski) is recusing himself from voting at the City Commission then he's not fulfilling the obligations of that position."

Really what it boils down to is which position hes going to choose, Lawyer said at the meeting.

Splonskowski had told the City Commission on Feb. 14 that Lawyer had informally told him last February there would be no conflict of interest in holding the auditor and commissioner positions.

In the days following he sent the Tribune a statement to correct the record, saying that he never spoke directly with Mrs. Lawyer, however I did speak with Burleigh County human resources on the subject. He told his fellow commissioners the same on Feb. 28.

Lawyer during the Feb. 23 County Commission meeting said she did not speak with Splonskowski about the matter in February 2022.

County Human Resources Director Pamela Binder told the Tribune that she never had a conversation with Splonskowski about the auditor position prior to the Feb. 14 City Commission meeting.

Splonskowski told fellow commissioners during the Feb. 28 meeting that he did not know why Human Services does not remember having that conversation.

Going forward

The five-member City Commission will have three options after Splonskowski steps down, according to Ost: have a special election to fill his seat, appoint someone to serve out the remainder of the term, or act as a body of four until the June 2024 election.

The cost of a special election might preclude that option, Ost said. The commission is likely to discuss the matter at its meeting next Tuesday, March 14.

(Reporter David Velazquez contributed to this story.)
The U.S. has received no intelligence that could confirm Belaruss readiness to take direct part in hostilities in Ukraine, but at the same time the regime of Alexander Lukashenko keeps providing the countrys territory as a bridgehead for the Russian forces.

Thats according to White House Security Council coordinator John Kirby, who spoke at a briefing on Tuesday, Ukrinform's own correspondent reports.

"We have not seen any indication that the Belarusian military or the Belarusian government plans to more tangibly support Russia in terms of putting their troops in the fight in Ukraine," the White House official noted.

At the same time, he emphasized that the Belarusian regime had already provided direct support to Russian aggression.

"The Russians continue to use Belarus as a staging base and as a place from which they can and have continued to launch strikes inside Ukraine," Kirby said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported on Tuesday some Russian forces, which had been undergoing training in Belarus, crossed out of the country.

Photo: defense.gov
The Government of Canada is finalizing negotiations on the supply of hundreds of modern reconnaissance drones to Ukraine.

Thats according to National Post, Ukrinform reports.

Ottawa is understood to be negotiating a deal to supply Ukraine with hundreds of high-tech, Canadian-made drones the Ukrainians have identified as the only product on the market that satisfies all our operational requirements, the report reads.

It is noted that Yuliia Svyrydenko, Ukraines First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development send last July a letter to Anita Anand, Canadas Defense Minister, and Chrystia Freeland, the Finance Minister, telling them that tactical drones have become crucial for the forces on the ground. In the letter, Svyrydenko said Ukraine has developed some home-grown unmanned aerial vehicles but they come with serious limitations  including their vulnerability to Russian electronic warfare that has led to the deaths of many drone pilots, and their limited ability to operate at night and in bad weather.

Svyrydenko said that the Teledyne Flir R70 Skyranger, manufactured in Waterloo, Ont., with training and field support provided by the Robotics Centre of Ottawa, has the thermal imaging, signals intercept and chemical warfare detection capabilities the Ukrainians are looking for.

She requested 300 drones as a donation from Canada  a commitment that likely would cost around $150 million.

These Canadian systems will be put to good and immediate service, she said.

The signals intercept capability of the R70, in particular, would be invaluable because it allows the drone to identify where enemy phones are, and can even identify individuals, the report reads.

The request for drones was not a priority until recently but sources suggest that the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation mandated to help governments abroad access goods from Canada, is now engaged in the deal.

Daniel Minden, press secretary for Anand, did not comment on the progress of any drone deal or why the government sat on Svyrydenkos request for months.

He said Anand is in close contact with Ukrainian officials about their most pressing security needs. We will continue to identify a variety of military assistance options to help Ukraine fight and win, he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Canada will start training Ukrainian defenders in tactical medical assistance and will continue until the fall of 2023 training Ukrainian military engineers.
The Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom is cooperating with the British police to find out the circumstances of the death of a Ukrainian citizen in the UK.

The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has been informed about the death of a Ukrainian citizen in the county of Devon in the United Kingdom. The Ukrainian embassy is already cooperating with British law enforcement officers to find out all the circumstances, and is establishing contact with her relatives," the ministry said.

The press service added that the cause of death should be determined by the investigation that has already been launched.

The police found an unconscious 14-year-old Ukrainian girl on Dawlish beach in the county of Devon. The teenager later died in the hospital.
Polands President Andrzej Duda told Prime Ministers Eduard Ngirente of Rwanda and Adrian Maleyani of Mozambique that Russia is pursuing an imperial, neo-colonial policy, trying through armed aggression to conquer the Ukrainian people and seize their natural resources and potential.

Duda addressed the issue on Monday, speaking at a briefing within the framework of the 5th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries, which is being held in Qatar, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As Duda noted, he held meetings with the prime ministers of Rwanda and Mozambique. Rwanda, he said, is Polands important economic partner, while Mozambique will for the next two years be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and is now temporarily presiding over the body.

According to the president, one of the topics was Russias aggression against Ukraine. He noted that he spoke with the leaders of African countries as a neighbor (of Ukraine - ed.) and as someone "who from the very beginning of Russias aggression, as well as before, has witnessed what is happening and knows the truth about Russias aggression in Ukraine."

Duda told the prime ministers that this is completely unprovoked aggression, and that the Russian propaganda, which is so massive in Africa and in the UN, is false.

"The information spread by Russian formal or informal sources and that spread by the Russian media has nothing to do with the truth, and this is actually Russian imperialism revealing its face. This is Russian imperialism, which is a kind of neo-colonialism, it is the will to subjugate the Ukrainian people and Ukraine, to take over its enormous natural wealth and the potential of Ukrainian society and Ukraine because it is about trying to take over this potential. This is the main motive behind Russia's actions," Duda emphasized.

The president added that he convinced the leaders of the two African countries that Russian imperialism must be stopped, as it has no place in the 21st century.

"In this context, it was a very powerful conversation," Duda stated.

The president also emphasized that he discussed countering Russian disinformation in this part of the world with representatives of the Arab world in Qatar. He noted that the influence of Russian propaganda on the Arabian Peninsula remains significant. Therefore, it is necessary to tell the truth about Russian aggression in Ukraine.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine discussed with the Egypt leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the issue of food security and the opening of Ukraines food hubs in Africa.
NATO member countries will continue providing Ukraine with what they need to prevail.

The relevant statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a joint press conference with President of Albania Bajram Begaj in Brussels, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We just discussed Russias brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. President Putin is launching new offensives and waves of deadly missile attacks. Our response must be to continue providing Ukraine with what they need to prevail, Stoltenberg noted, adding that the Allies are stepping up with unprecedented support.

In this regard, Stoltenberg welcomed Albanias pledge of aid.

We must continue our support for as long as it takes, Stoltenberg stressed.
The behavior and unacceptable statements by Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko testify to the hysteria growing in both Belarus and Russia. As they realize it is impossible to defeat Ukraine on the battlefield, they try to promote Plan B in an attempt to strike a truce deal similar to the Minsk Agreement.

Thats according to Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, who voiced his opinion on the air of the national telethon on Tuesday.

"What he said was absolutely politically incorrect in relation to our president. In general, Lukashenko's behavior starts to surprise me at times. Well see how things unfold. We are ready for any developments. This is our country and we will defend it no matter what anyone says or thinks of someone starting to support or strengthen someone. We understand where all this is heading, and today its only a matter of time before we will achieve our victory," Danilov stressed.

According to the official, its not only Lukashenko who is apparently nervous but also many in Russia. They don't know what to do or how to deal with the issues that they thought they could resolve very quickly, Danilov noted. He added that every day, the problems are mounting for Russia and Belarus, so preparations for Plan B are already underway.

"Today, the hysteria that exists in Belarus is increasing and it will only intensify further on. We must be ready for this and understand that the enemy, I emphasize once again, sees that they are unable to resolve the issue by military means, so they will opt for the so-called Plan B, which is already starting to unfold. We are getting more and more information about this every day. We are aware of this plan; it is clear who is to execute it, while preparatory work is already underway. Everything points to assuming that they no longer have any hope that they can solve the issue of taking over our country by force," Danilov said.

The NSDC secretary also noted that any proposals, such as the so-called Minsk-3 deal, would absolutely unacceptable for Ukrainian society.

"I can say that everything related to Minsk-3 is absolutely unacceptable for our society. Today, 95-97% of our population believe in the victory of our Armed Forces  they realize this will actually happen," the NSDC secretary emphasized.

He is convinced that returning to Ukraine "Russias influence or reviving any political projects wont be allowed by the Ukrainians as it would disrespect the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine.

Also, he emphasized once again that Russia is a terrorist state, so no government should negotiate with terrorists.

"We cannot agree on anything with terrorists. This is a terrorist state that must be held accountable," Danilov stressed, adding that the talks could only be about the international tribunal and accountability for the Putin regime.

As reported earlier, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said he considered the damage to the A-50 radar aircraft at the Machulischi airfield as an act of "sabotage" and that Ukraine challenged Belarus.
facebook like button Tweet tweet button for twitter

Published March 7, 2023

CAPTION: Back row L-R: Joanna Hunter, Owen Reppond, Dr. Leigh Hersey, Dr. Pearson Cross; Front row L-R: Anthony Trejo, Dr. John Sutherlin, Dr. Daniel Hummel

MONROE, LA  The University of Louisiana Monroe proudly hosted the annual meeting of the Louisiana Political Science Association on Friday, February 3, in the 6th floor Conference Room of the University Library. Participants from throughout the state presented original research on a variety of topics, including International Relations, Comparative Politics, American Politics, and Public Administration. Presenters included undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty members from several different Louisiana universities and programs, including ULM Political Science.

Joanna Hunter is a ULM MPA alumna and current Louisiana Tech doctoral student who presented at the conference. As a doctoral student, LPSA allowed me to present a piece of my research in an environment that provides feedback and encouragement. It was also great to hear other students and faculty from across the state share their knowledge. I enjoyed the experience, said Hunter.

The annual meeting also included presentations from undergraduate students like ULM Political Science major Owen Reppond. Reppond says the conference broadened his view of the field of political science and allowed him to receive valuable feedback from professors. This type of collaboration can be extremely useful for a political scientist who is hoping to polish their research. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere of the meeting, being that everyone was very kind and respectful to one another and provided only constructive criticism and advice, he added.

Dr. Jennifer Dumas, Assistant Professor of Political Science at ULM, serves as the current President of the Louisiana Political Science Association. According to Dr. Dumas, "It is critical that we bring together scholars from throughout the state, from undergraduates to full professors, to demonstrate the kind of talent and exciting research Louisiana is capable of producing. Conferences like this give participants the opportunity to workshop their ideas before an audience that is truly committed to offering constructive criticism, elevating the discourse, and sharing knowledge."

Reppond said that the conference left him feeling proud to be a part of ULMs Political Science Program. I hope that more students take advantage of this amazing experience in the coming years. I look forward to seeing the future of LPSA and encourage all students of political science to try to experience the conference for themselves, he said.
Many of the newly arrived Somali refugees, like this elderly woman and her grandchildren, are in desperate need of shelter, clothes and blankets.  UNHCR/Nimo Ahmed Abdullahi

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and partners are scaling up in Ethiopias Somali region to support and assist recently arrived refugees fleeing clashes in Somalia.

Some 100,000 Somalis have arrived in Ethiopias Doolo Zone in the Somali region in the past four weeks to escape clashes and insecurity in the city of Laascaanood, in Sool region. Most of them are women, children  many arriving unaccompanied  and elderly.

Many arrive in shock, telling stories of loved ones lost during flight or killed in the conflict. Some have arrived injured. Newly arrived families are sheltering in schools and other public buildings while others have no choice but to sleep outside.

They are in urgent need of food, nutrition screening, water, shelter, medical care and relief items.

The refugees are arriving in a remote area, heavily affected by drought. It takes UNHCR teams and partners two days of driving on dry, sandy roads to reach those newly arrived from Laascaanood. Health, schools and other services in the three areas hosting the refugees  Bokh, Galhamur and Danod -- are very limited, with only one hospital, one school and two boreholes for water supply in Bokh, the operational centre of the response.

Despite these challenges, the Ethiopian Government has kept its doors open and host communities have welcomed these families, sharing what they have with them.

Since the refugees started arriving in early February, the Ethiopian Governments Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) together with UNHCR and other UN and NGO partners have worked around the clock to provide these families with life-saving assistance.

So far, some 30,000 people have already been registered. Protection desks have been set up to rapidly identify vulnerable individuals and refer them to services. Family tracing and reunification support programmes have been put in place. Critical relief items, such as sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets and high-energy biscuits are being provided. While food distribution is expected to take place soon, the provision of water and shelter remain key challenges.

The newly arriving families say they want peace and to be able to go home. Until this is possible, support for this emergency response is critical.

Ethiopia, a long-standing refugee host country, is facing a worsening humanitarian situation with conflict and drought triggering large-scale internal displacement over the past years. Despite the increased needs, UNHCRs operation in Ethiopia was among the least funded last year. As this new emergency unfolds, UNHCR calls for additional financial support to meet the urgent needs of these newly arrived Somali refugees.

Note for editors

For broadcasters, news organizations and other media professionals, b-roll is available here.

For more information please contact:
Attorneys general in eight states including North Dakota have won court judgments against an operation they say was responsible for billions of illegal robocalls to people across the country.

The permanent injunctions signed by U.S. District Judge George Hanks Jr. in Texas shut down the operation involving John Caldwell Spiller II and his business partner Jakob Mears, the owners of Texas-based Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC and JSquared Telecom LLC, as well as Rising Eagle Capital GroupCayman.

The defendants in 2019 and 2020 made millions of illegal robocalls in North Dakota, including calls to people whose numbers were on the North Dakota Do Not Call Registry, according to state Attorney General Drew Wrigley.

The Federal Communications Commission a year ago fined the telemarketers $255 million. The payments will be largely suspended in favor of the permanent operational bans and because of the defendants' inability to pay, according to Wrigley.

While these legal enforcement actions wont stop all robocalls, they will significantly change the landscape by shutting down these defendants who made billions of calls throughout the country, he said.

The attorneys general of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas sued the defendants in September 2020 alleging violations of state do-not-call laws and state consumer protection laws, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule.

The plaintiffs are continuing their cases in the same litigation against Florida-based Scott Shapiro, Michael Theron Smith Jr., and Health Advisors of America Inc. Those defendants allegedly worked with Mears and Spiller, according to Wrigley.


(Photo : Billetto Editorial on Unsplash)

AI in the education system has been applied with a traditional approach for decades. On that note, computer-based teaching and learning programs were first developed in the 1960s. However, in the last few years, the presence of AI in schools and colleges has gradually become accepted as an effective tool for automating numerous tasks.

For example, If students have questions about their schedule, chatbots can answer them. AI-generated emails remind students to register for classes, notify them of important deadlines, and turn in assignments. Even plagiarism is something that AI-based software can efficiently detect and control. Chatbots are used along with virtual learning assistants that provide personalized feedback to students.

While developing AI, some creators overlooked the fact that machine-made decisions would reflect human biases. Bias is an issue with AI, so a need for regulating tools like the AI Bill of Rights appeared. According to ExpressVPN's blog piece, it aims to protect the public from the harm that automated systems can produce through their various algorithms.

Learning can be fun

With all the help it undoubtedly provides, AI can make education even more amusing. Interactive and personalized student learning experiences and using different gadgets make learning fun.

Every student has a different learning pace and style, so personalized learning can be an entertaining way to reach their educational goals. AI analyzes students' needs and customizes learning content to match their abilities and interests. An example of personalized learning is AI-powered voice assistants like Siri or Alexa. They can answer students' questions, provide information, and guide them through learning.

Even getting feedback on your work becomes more fun when you get it in real-time, with AI highlighting areas for improvement while providing resources and support.

Gamification is also an example of a jolly implementation of AI in education. Content creators or teachers can use AI to create educational games that make learning more engaging and entertaining. Gamification can help students learn through play and improve their motivation to learn.

Virtual and augmented reality in the learning process

VR, which stands for virtual reality, uses a computer-generated environment to stimulate a realistic user experience. A headset that displays 3D images and responds to their movement in real-time provides users with a unique experience, allowing them to interact with the virtual environment as if it were real. Unlike VR, in augmented reality, the user sees the real world with added computer-generated elements, usually displayed through a smartphone, tablet, or smart glasses. It does not create a wholly simulated environment but overlays digital information onto the real world.

So, how can you use them in the learning process?

Virtual and augmented reality can revolutionize education by making learning more interactive, engaging, and immersive. More interactive learning enables students to explore concepts more engagingly.

Even field trips to remote or inaccessible locations are just a few steps away. If students want to experience Europe, Asia, Antarctica, or even outer space or underwater ecosystems, now they can. Simulations provide adventures in a safe, controlled environment.

There are many VR field trip options available, like Google Arts and Culture. Using the app, teachers can take their students on virtual field trips to various locations around the globe. Discovery VR is another app that provides access to multiple trips, including visits to the Amazon rainforest and the International Space Station. At the same time, the platform VR Classroom allows teachers to create their own VR field trips using 360-degree photos and videos.

VR can provide students with immersive, interactive stories that bring literature, history, and other subjects to life. And, if students are in different locations, VR can facilitate collaboration, allowing them to work together on projects and discuss ideas.

AR allows students to visualize complex concepts by overlaying digital images or models onto physical objects or environments.

While VR and AR technologies are still relatively new and expensive, they are becoming more accessible, making it easier for schools and educators to incorporate them into their curriculums.

Final thoughts

Overall, AI is already making education more enjoyable and engaging for students, enabling them to learn more effectively and efficiently. Students can have fun while learning in a personalized way, with a customized approach and real-time feedback. AI will continue to develop and grow, and it certainly has its place in the education system.
What if listening was a guiding principle in our legislative bodies? If hearing and trying to understand were as important as speaking and trying to persuade?

What if our national, state and local elected officials would commit to treating others the way theyd like to be treated, and to assume the best of one another and their constituents? To pledge to keep their hearts and minds open and value community with one another even when there is tension and discomfort?

Pie in the sky?

Maybe. But theres a national church group that is focusing on principles such as these as it studies how to best be involved with government and civic engagement and to identify the best ways for the church and state to interact in a country that has decreed separation of the church and state.

This idea about the separation of the church and the state doesnt mean that religious people cant tell the state what they believe; it means the state cant tell the people what to believe.

The concept is enshrined right there in the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids Congress from passing laws controlling any religion, or prohibiting citizens from practicing their chosen religions, whatever they may be.

Historically, religious practitioners shied away from politics. That started changing 50-some years ago as the involvement of church in state grew, starting with the rise of the religious right political movement. The movements beginnings are traced back to the late 1960s when, in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, evangelicals and fundamentalists began establishing segregated private schools. The movement later expanded to include such issues as abortion, pornography and social ills as identified by those who claimed a moral majority.

More recently the Christian nationalist movement has taken hold, becoming clearly evident during the Jan. 6, 2021, attempt to throw out the results of the presidential election. Christian nationalism suggests that the U.S. Constitution was divinely inspired, that Americans should be Christian, and that God favors America over others.

At risk of painting with too broad a brush, it seems clear that evangelicals and fundamentalists have been at the forefront of the creep of religion into state. The mainstream denominations like Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians and others have often remained at arms length, at least officially, from the state.

Thats changing now, too.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is one example. The largest of several groups that use the word Lutheran in their name, the ELCA is in the middle of a five-year process of developing a social statement on government, civic engagement and the relationship of church and state.

At its heart is the concept of the common good, which assumes that the purpose of government is to seek the general welfare of all members of the public. Not some, not those who agree with me, but all. Like the Constitutional guarantee of freedom to exercise any religion, the common good means everyones voice should be heard.

Thats powerful.

While the religious right and the Christian nationalists seem to argue their beliefs should be imposed on the rest of us, the ELCA approach is to make room for everyone.

Thats what I like about it. Im an ELCA Lutheran, and theres room for me as well as for all other ELCA Lutherans whether they love, hate or couldnt care less about the views I hold.

As Lutherans of all different backgrounds and beliefs work through the process of making a statement on government and civic engagement, they commit to a process of civil discourse. Theyve established a guiding covenant that would translate well into guiding principles for legislative bodies:

Follow the Golden Rule; model respectful and careful listening without interrupting; strive to understand one another; speak honestly and as an individual; do not presume others speak on behalf of a group; step up to share thoughts then step back to allow others to share theirs; and be mindful of views not represented.

Lutherans, like legislators, often have strong views and theyre sometimes drawn to stating them strongly.

But that doesnt preclude open ears, open minds and open hearts.
(@FahadShabbir)

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :Closing the major gender gap in innovation and technology is the focus of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which opened in New York Monday, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres saying that progress on women's rights is "vanishing," citing Afghanistan among other countries.

Over the next two weeks, participants from across the world  including representatives from governments, the UN, civil society and youth groups, as well as activists - will examine how gender equality, empowerment and sustainable development can be achieved in the digital era.

The meeting, known as CSW67, will also highlight online violence and other dangers women and girls face, as well as the need for quality education in the information age.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is due to arrive in New York on Tuesday, will address the commission on March 9.

In her opening remarks, CSW67 Chairperson Mathu Joyini of South Africa, said although digital technologies were rapidly transforming societies, they were also giving rise to profound new challenges that might perpetuate and deepen existing gender inequalities.

"Gender-based discrimination is a systemic problem that has been interwoven into the fabric of our political, social and economic lives, and the technology sector is no different," she said.

"However, this is compounded when you consider the multiple factors that impact and exacerbate this inherent discrimination." The UN chief noted that the CSW was meeting as progress on women's rights was vanishing - including in countries such as Afghanistan, where women and girls had been, in effect, erased from public life - and as gender equality was growing ever more distant.

"Your focus this year on closing gender gaps in technology and innovation could not be more timely. Because as technology races ahead, women and girls are being left behind," he said.

"The math is simple: without the insights and creativity of half the world, science and technology will fulfill just half their potential," he added.

As gender inequality was ultimately a question of power, the Secretary-General called for urgent action in three areas, starting with increasing education, income and employment for women and girls, particularly in the Global South.

Furthermore, women's and girls' full participation and leadership in science and technology must also be promoted.

Guterres said the international community must also create a safe digital environment for women and girls, outlining his third point. In that regard, the UN was working to advance a code of conduct for information integrity on digital platforms, aimed at reducing harm and increasing accountability.

The Secretary-General stressed that promoting women's full contributions to science, technology and innovation was not an act of charity or a favour to women, but a "must" that benefits everyone.

"The Commission on the Status of Women is a dynamo and catalyst for the transformation we need.

Together, let's push back against misogyny, and come forward for women, girls, and our world," he said.

The world needed women's expertise to address complex and interlocking crises, such as climate change, conflict, poverty, hunger and water scarcity, said the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi.

However, he noted that women were still a minority in digital information technology, computing, physics, mathematics and engineering, and accounted for less than 35 percent of the global information and communications technology workforce.

"They are 20 percent less likely than men to use the internet  but 27 times more likely to face online harassment or hate speech, when they do. New technologies, if used well, offer a strong and equalizing force to rapidly change this state of affairs," he said in a video message.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, was among other senior officials who addressed the CSW opening ceremony.

She said the digital revolution offered the potential for unprecedented improvement in the lives of women and girls, and at a time when progress towards sustainable development was at risk.

"Harnessed effectively, technology and innovation, can be game-changers to catalyse poverty reduction, decrease hunger, boost health, create new jobs, mitigate climate change, address humanitarian crises, improve energy access and make entire cities and communities safer and more sustainable  benefitting women and girls," she said.

Given the pace of change, Bahous underlined the need for "a global normative framework" to mobilize technology towards achieving gender equality. She expressed confidence that the meeting would underscore that "digital rights are women's rights".

The CSW has met annually since 1946, but this is the first in-person gathering since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A special segment will be held where young people will discuss the priority themes, marking another first in the Commission's history.

Joyini, the CSW Chairperson, also outlined some of the objectives of this latest session in her opening remarks.

"We will consider the responsibilities of governments and private sector in ensuring that adequate safeguards, norms and standards exist, and women and girls' fundamental rights are not violated while using digital technologies," she said.

There will be calls also to provide more opportunities for women in innovation, as well as funding and investment, and to eliminate algorithms that perpetuate and deepen existing discrimination and biases.

CSW67 will conclude on Friday, March 17, and dozens of side events are also scheduled in the interim.

They include the UN Secretary-General's annual dialogue with women's and feminist civil society groups, a youth forum where particular focus will be given to grassroots and community voices, and a discussion on promoting women's and girls' equal social, economic and political rights in Afghanistan.
Tehran, March 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :Iran's deputy interior minister on Tuesday announced the first arrests in a spate of mystery poisonings of schoolgirls that has gripped the country for the past several months.

"Based on the intelligence and research measures of the intelligence agencies, a number of people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation," Majid Mirahmadi told state television.

Scores of schools have been hit by poisonings since late November, with pupils suffering symptoms ranging from shortness of breath to nausea and vertigo after reporting "unpleasant" odours on school premises.

Some have been treated in hospital.

"Twenty-five (out of 31) provinces and approximately 230 schools have been affected, and more than 5,000 schoolgirls and boys poisoned," Mohammad-Hassan Asafari, a member of the parliamentary fact-finding committee, told the ISNA news agency on Monday.

"Various tests are being carried out to identify the type and cause of the poisonings. So far, no specific information has been obtained regarding the type of poison used."The mystery poisonings have triggered a wave of anger and demands for action from the authorities.
Kyiv, Ukraine, March 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :Ukraine pledged on Monday to bolster its defences in frontline Bakhmut, after reports that Kyiv was withdrawing from the city that has become a symbolic prize in the war.

But Ukrainian forces fighting to retain control of the salt-mining town told AFP its capture by Russia was inevitable and that some units had already begun to pull back.

The eastern Ukrainian city has been badly damaged during the longest and bloodiest battle since Russia invaded more than a year ago.

Kyiv says the fighting is becoming increasingly difficult and analysts say its forces may have initiated a strategic retreat.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top commanders Monday and his office said they favoured "continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut.

" In his evening address, the president said he "told the Chief of Staff to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut." Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak also told AFP there was "consensus" within the military on the need to "continue defending" the city.

Neither side has said how many troops they have lost in the battle, with observers saying both Moscow and Kyiv are trying to exhaust each other.

Outside Bakhmut, some Ukrainian soldiers had lost hope that Kyiv would hold the city and looked set to retreat.

Near the town of Chasiv Yar, 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Bakhmut, one soldier said he came to repair his tank after a month of fighting.

"Bakhmut will fall," he told AFP from the vehicle.
ISLAMABAD, Mar 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :A Pakistan Navy ship while deployed on Regional Maritime Security patrol seized a huge quantity of drugs in a counter-narcotics operation at the North Arabian Sea on Tuesday.

According to a PN news release, the ship while undertaking maritime security operations intercepted a suspicious stateless fishing boat at the sea, and upon its search, the troops seized 280 kilograms of narcotics (crystal and Ice), worth approximately $15 million in the international market.

The vessel and crew members were later handed over to the law enforcement agencies for further legal proceedings.

"The successful anti-narcotics operation by the Pakistan Navy ship reaffirms the PN's resolve to deny illegal activities in maritime zones of Pakistan," the news release said.
At least 15 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in Bangladesh's capital Tuesday, officials said, after an explosion inside an office building in a bustling commercial district

Dhaka, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ) :At least 15 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in Bangladesh's capital Tuesday, officials said, after an explosion inside an office building in a bustling commercial district.

The cause of the blast remained unclear but fatal building fires and explosions are common in Bangladesh, where safety enforcement is often lax.

The blast shook the fourth and fifth floors of a seven-storey building in Gulistan, a major hub for wholesale goods in Dhaka.

Several floors of the building and the side walls were destroyed in the explosion, which sent rubble and splinters flying into crowded streets.

More than 100 people were treated for head wounds, fractures and other injuries at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, hospital director Nazmul islam told AFP.

"At least 15 people have died, including two women," he said, adding that hundreds of doctors and nurses had been mobilised to treat the injured.

No substantial fire broke out in the building, which housed dozens of warehouses, shops selling bathroom fittings, and other commercial spaces.

More than 150 firefighters were at the site to assist in rescue efforts, a fire services spokesperson said.

"Our officers are investigating whether it was an act of sabotage or an accident," police commissioner Khandaker Golam Faruq told reporters.

A bus driver caught in the blast said 30 of his passengers were injured when his vehicle passed the building as the blast hit.

"I heard a loud explosion and then I was hit in the head by a flying object," he told reporters.

Another witness said people were trapped in the second, fourth and fifth floors of the building when firefighters arrived and rushed them to hospital.

Explosions and fires due to gas cylinders, faulty air conditioners and bad electrical wiring are frequent in Bangladeshi buildings and factories.

They occur mostly between November and March when the weather is dry and cold.

An explosion at an oxygen plant near the southern port city of Chittagong on Saturday killed seven people.

A fire and subsequent explosions at a container depot in the same town in June last year killed more than 50 people.
VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said channels for dialogue with Russia cannot be blocked.

"Let there be no doubt: without any 'ifs' and 'buts' we support Ukraine in its struggle to restore territorial sovereignty and integrity. Russia grossly violates all the fundamental principles of the UN Charter," Schallenberg said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Standard.

"But we should not cut off any bridge, any channel of dialogue, and we will also need, when the time comes, sites for talks, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," he said.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The West responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Moscow while also ramping up its military support for Kiev. Moscow has accused Western governments and media of launching a disinformation campaign regarding the hostilities in Ukraine to promote their own vision of the events, in addition to disseminating Russophobic sentiment in society.

Moscow has also said that Western sanctions against its banking sector and insurance companies have led to massive disruptions in supplies, including of food, fertilizers and energy resources, prompting prices to spike worldwide and putting the food security of many countries at risk.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) Cees 't Hart, who has been in charge of the world-famous brewer Carlsberg for the last eight years, will leave office by the end of September, while the company will be looking for a replacement in the meantime, the company said on Tuesday.

"After a distinguished international career, including eight successful years as CEO of the Carlsberg Group, Cees 't Hart has decided to retire and has informed the Supervisory Board of his intention to leave Carlsberg by the end of Q3 2023 at the latest. A search for his successor is ongoing, and further announcement will be made in due course," the company said in a statement.

The statement specified that Carlsberg achieved great financial results under Hart, securing the highest ever profit in 2022 and increasing shareholder payouts fivefold since 2015.

"Staying on board for another half a year will allow me and the team to continue delivering on our challenging plans for 2023 and accomplishing the sale of the Russian business before the summer. Thereafter, I'll focus on some interesting non-executive roles," the executive said.

Last month, Carlsberg said it was going to negotiate the sale of its business in Russia by mid-2023.

Carlsberg A/S, founded in 1847 in Denmark, is one of the leading beer companies on the global market. It incorporates around 140 beer brands, including Carlsberg, Tuborg, and Kronenburg, among others. The company employs around 40,000 people.
BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) China is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine and does not supply weapons to either side, but Beijing is threatened with sanctions, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday at an annual press conference.

"China is neither the initiator nor an interested party to the crisis, we also do not supply weapons to any of the parties to the conflict. What is the basis for blaming China and even imposing sanctions and threatening? We will never accept this," Qin said.

He said the Ukrainian crisis has reached a critical point, and sanctions can't solve the existing problems, because dialogue is needed.

Qin said China will make every effort for a peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but is ready to take all required measures.

"The Chinese people have the right to ask: why does the US talk about respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Ukrainian issue, but does not respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan issue?" he also said.
BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) The China-Russia relations are not directed against third parties and do not pose a threat to other countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said at an annual press conference on Tuesday.

"Relations between Russia and China are characterized by non-alignment with blocs, absence of confrontation and are not directed against third parties," Qin said.

He said the relations "do not pose a threat to any country in the world."

Qin said the more unstable the world is, the more important it is for Russia and China to develop relations steadily.

"The Russia-China cooperation can become a driver for the world towards multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations," he said.

Qin said that the two countries' leaders will make the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and China stronger.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) The Moldovan government approved the creation of an energy ministry, specifying the structure of the new department during a session on Tuesday as the nation continues to struggle with a serious energy crisis, newly appointed Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said.

Moldova has a state of emergency regime, declared, among other things, due to the energy crisis caused by problems with gas shortages and a sharp rise in energy prices. The new Moldovan government led by Prime Minister Dorin Recean was formed on February 16. Parlicov, the former head of the national energy regulatory agency, also entered the cabinet as an energy minister, despite the fact that the relevant ministry did not exist. On Tuesday, the cabinet members unanimously approved documents on the ministry's creation.

"The Ministry of Energy will become a new structure, it will take over the entire energy agenda from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

This also applies to the supply of energy resources, energy efficiency, renewable energy, heat energy, electricity, natural gas, oil products," Parlicov said.

The minister specified that the central office of the department will include 60 people, as well as three state secretaries and one secretary general will work at the ministry. Seven people will move from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development to the Energy Ministry.

Recean said that the energy sector was very important for the Moldovan business environment, for small and medium enterprises, as well as for large investments. He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the Energy Ministry, the Environment Ministry and other departments.

In early December, Moldovan President Maia Sandu directed the government to take urgent measures to reorganize the energy sector to solve the long-lasting crisis. One option was to create the Energy Ministry as a separate entity.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended the cloud units new desk-sharing policy for employees, describing some of the companys offices as practically empty and reminding staffers that real estate is pricey.

To me its obvious that they are trying to be efficient and save money but at the same time also utilize resources, Pichai said in a companywide meeting last week, according to audio obtained by CNBC. There are people, by the way, who routinely complain that they come in and there are big swaths of empty desks and it feels like its a ghost town  its just not a nice experience.

Pichai's comments follow a CNBC report last month about Googles plan to ask cloud employees and partners to share desks at the divisions five largest locations, which include New York and San Francisco. The company is calling the downsizing effort Cloud Office Evolution (CLOE).

On Alphabets fourth-quarter earnings call in early February, executives said they expect Google to incur costs of about $500 million in the current period related to reduced global office space, as the company reckons with slowing revenue growth and ongoing recession concerns.

Pichai indicated that there are many people coming to the office only two days a week, which he said makes for an inefficient use of current space.

We should be good stewards of financial resources, Pichai said. We have expensive real estate. And if theyre only utilized 30% of the time, we have to be careful in how we think about it.

At the same all-hands meeting, Anas Osman, Google Clouds strategy and operations vice president, said about one-third of employees were coming into the offices at least four days a week, citing data from a pilot the group conducted in regards to returning to physical locations.

As part of the pilot, Osman said, employees were given the option of having a dedicated or a shared desk.

Those one-to-one desks actually were utilized roughly 35% of the time at four days or more, Osman said. We think this is a good balance of how to both find efficiencies and create a better experience.

In some ways, sharing also led to more productivity, he said.

The data from the pilot shows that Googlers reported significantly better collaboration when they had assigned days in the office even if that was in a rotational model and a shared desk, Osman said.

Pichai said the new policy is just for cloud employees at the moment, and added that the company is giving teams freedom to experiment. The cloud division makes up roughly a quarter of the companys overall workforce.

During the meeting, Pichai addressed employee concerns regarding the rollout of the desk-sharing policy and how it was communicated to the workforce. CNBC previously reported that memes started showing up in the internal Memegen system criticizing the messaging from leadership. One popular meme said, Not every cost-cutting measure needs to be word mangled into sounding good for employees.

In responding to questions and comments submitted by employees, Pichai read one that said, double speak is disrespectful and frustrating, and bad things happen, no need to make every bad thing sound like a miracle.

Pichai said in response, I agree with the sentiment here. The feedback is valid.

We should always strive to be as straightforward as possible, Pichai said. I think its important to understand at our scale, pretty much all communication are public in nature. Youre speaking to the world and there are many, many stakeholders and so at times, nuance is important and words can have a material impact and I think sometimes you see that reflected in some of the communications.

A Google spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.
New data assessed by the US intelligence community claims that the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was conducted by a pro-Ukrainian group, the New York Times reported, citing US officials

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) New data assessed by the US intelligence community claims that the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was conducted by a pro-Ukrainian group, the New York Times reported, citing US officials.

The report noted that the US officials did not have any evidence on whether President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation or if the perpetrators acted at the direction of any Ukrainian government officials.

According to the report, this is the first significant lead that has emerged from the investigation and could result in implications for the coalition supporting Ukraine, especially in Germany, as the German public has been enduring high energy prices 'in the name of solidarity.

'

The newspaper also said in its report that US officials said there was much they did not know about the perpetrators of the attacks. However, a review of new data suggests they were opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2023) The number of confirmed cases of measles in Armenia as of Tuesday morning increased to 29, the Armenian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.

The number of confirmed cases on Monday was 20.

"As of 10 a.m. (06:00 GMT), the number of laboratory confirmed cases of measles reached 29, 15 people were hospitalized, seven were already released," the ministry's statement read.

The condition of the patients is assessed as moderately severe.

Some of the patients were not vaccinated, while others had only one injection, the ministry said.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets. Young children are at the highest risk with serious complications, including death. Vaccination against measles is extremely effective with 97% of the vaccinated never catching this disease. Conversely, a non-vaccinated person has almost a 100% chance of being infected at the first contact with a carrier.
Sri Lanka's president said on Tuesday that China had agreed to restructure its loans to the bankrupt island nation, clearing the final obstacle to an International Monetary Fund bailout

Colombo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Mar, 2023 ):Sri Lanka's president said on Tuesday that China had agreed to restructure its loans to the bankrupt island nation, clearing the final obstacle to an International Monetary Fund bailout.

China's state-owned Exim Bank "sent a letter to the IMF" on Monday night expressing Beijing's willingness to "restructure" credit to Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament.

Wickremesinghe added that he expected the first tranche of the IMF package to now be released within the month.

"No sooner the letter from the Exim Bank of China went to the IMF, I signed Sri Lanka's Letter of Intent to go with the IMF programme," he said.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46-billion foreign debt last April during its economic crisis, which caused months of food and fuel shortages around the South Asian nation.

Just over $14 billion of that is bilateral debt owed to foreign governments, of which China holds 52 per cent.

Wickremesinghe's government has been working to secure a $2.9 billion rescue package from the IMF to restore Sri Lanka's ruined public finances.

His administration has imposed sharp tax hikes, ended subsidies on petrol and electricity, and made plans to sell off loss-making state enterprises to satisfy the terms of the bailout.
USM Salutes Renowned Benefactor Oseola McCarty on 115th Birthday

Tue, 03/07/2023 - 01:50pm | By: Van Arnold

March 7 will forever be recognized as a special day of remembrance and celebration for The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Today marks the 115th birthday of the Universitys most renowned benefactor, Ms. Oseola McCarty.

McCarty, a Hattiesburg, Miss., native, became a global sensation in the mid 1990s with an unexpected, planned gift to USM. Her act of phenomenal generosity captured the hearts of all who heard her story.

In 1995, she designated USM as the beneficiary of a $150,000 gift, forever changing philanthropy at the University. As an 87-year-old laundress who lived frugally, this gift represented the majority of her life savings.

On what would be Ms. Oseola McCartys 115th birthday, we celebrate her life, her giving spirit and her generosity, said Stace Mercier, executive director of the USM Foundation. If she could only see the life-changing impact her gift has made on the nearly 130 students from South Mississippi who have benefitted from the Oseola McCarty Scholarship Endowment. Her $150,000 gift coupled with the gifts of others who chose to honor her has awarded approximately $600,000 in scholarships.

Starting at the age of 8, McCarty worked after school beside her mother Lucy, grandmother Julia and aunt Evelyn. She began stashing away money she earned for safekeeping in her doll buggy. Her childhood dream was to become a nurse, but she left school in the sixth grade to care for her ill aunt and never made it back to the classroom. For 75 years, McCarty took in laundry and ironing work until arthritis forced her to stop.

In 1998, McCarty was awarded an honorary degree from USM, the first such degree awarded by the University. She received scores of awards and other honors recognizing her selfless spirit, and President Bill Clinton presented her with a Presidential Citizens Medal, the nations second-highest civilian award, during a special White House Ceremony. She also won the United Nations' Avicenna Medal for educational commitment. In June 1996, Harvard University awarded McCarty an honorary doctorate.

Mercier notes that because McCartys scholarship is an endowment, gifts made to the fund are invested and only the earnings are used to provide financial aid to promising USM students, ensuring Ms. McCarty's legacy will live on forever.

Our goal is to increase the corpus of the scholarship fund to $1,000,000, and we are less than $80,000 away from that goal, said Mercier.

Anyone wishing to make a gift to support Oseola McCarty Scholars while honoring her legacy, can visit www.usmfoundation.com/McCarty.
Karol Jozef Wojtya, Pope John Paul II, the subject of unlimited fawning praise and glorification, covered up child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church as a cardinal in Polanda fact long-suspected and finally demonstrated through newly-released Communist-era police records and leaked Church documents. He protected priests who abused children, recommended them for new postings, and "spoke" to victims who might have pursued legal action.

One of Gutowski's sources said on condition of anonymity that he had personally told Wojtyla about acts of paedophilia concerning one priest in 1973.

"Wojtyla first wanted to make sure it wasn't a bluff," the source said."He asked it not be reported anywhere  he said he would deal with it." The then-cardinal had explicitly requested the alleged affair be kept strictly under wraps, he added.

Thomas Doyle, an American former Catholic priest, canon law scholar, and the author of one of the first reports of Catholic clergy abuse in the United States, said Gutowski's investigation was groundbreaking. It showed that John Paul II knew this problem existed even before he became pope, he argued.
Foreign Universities and Higher Education in Vietnam

After regulatory changes to foreign investment in the education sector and the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Vietnamese students studying at foreign universities in Vietnam or in joint training programs has witnessed significant growth. Heres why.

After the introduction of Decree No. 86/2018/ND-CP in August 2018 regulating foreign investment in the education sector in Vietnam, regulations for foreign-funded schools were eased to allow more students to enroll.

This sector also received a boost because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereby a lot of students and parents chose to stay and study in Vietnam through international universities with in-country campuses rather than going abroad.

As a result, the demand for international universities and global training programs supported by them has been increasing rapidly  about 25,000 Vietnamese students were taking part in study programs connected to foreign universities, as of November 2022, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

This is creating a lot of opportunities for foreign higher education institutions (HEI) to enter the Vietnamese market.

Why demand for in-country foreign education is growing

There has been an increase in demand for education provided by international universities within Vietnam or joint training programs between foreign universities and local institutions in Vietnam. This is due to a number of factors.

Convenience

Instead of going abroad and living far away from families, students can have the opportunity to access comparable standards of foreign education within Vietnam. Parents dont have to worry about their children when they move to a new country, and students may avoid mental health problems associated with being isolated and living away from home.

Cost

Students can save on living expenses because in general, the cost of living in Vietnam is not too expensive compared to other countries in Europe or developed Asian countries. Also, the tuition fees in foreign universities or joint training programs, although quite high compared to Vietnamese institutions, are still less than in home campuses abroad.

International environment and qualifications

Students have the opportunity to study in an international environment with high quality teaching and can get an international diploma. Most of the training content is provided by partner universities and taught by foreign lecturers with the same techniques they use in their home countries. Also, with the curriculum and learning environment entirely in English, students can also develop their professional English skills.

Foreign higher education in numbers

There are two forms of partnership between Vietnam and overseas universities: international branch campuses and joint training programs between Vietnamese and foreign HEIs.

As of December 31, 2021, Vietnam had 408 joint training programs with foreign HEIs. Of these, 186 programs were between private higher education institutions and international partners, while the remaining 222 were HEIs licensed by the Ministry of Education and Training.

It should be noted that this number does not include 103 transactional education (TNE) programs between Vietnam and Australia, France, Germany, and Japan. TNEs are institutions whereby students study in Vietnam but receive decrees from the universitys home country.

Countries with which Vietnam has joint training programs

Country Quantity United Kingdom 101 United States 59 France 53 Australia 37 Republic of Korea 27 Taiwan 18 Malaysia 18 New Zealand 16 Belgium 10 Germany 10 China 10

Source: Policy update: Higher Education in Vietnam and partnership with overseas universities, Ministry of Education and Training

That said, the Ministry of Education and Training has pointed out that up to 62 percent of foreign partners in these programs are not ranked highly or do not feature in the top 1000 universities worldwide. This raises questions about the teaching quality of these programs, and subsequently, the young human resources they produce.

Regulations for foreign investment in higher education in Vietnam

In 2018, the National Assembly passed Law No. 34/2018/QH14 amending the Law on Higher Education to facilitate foreign investors to establish a university by one of two methods:

Establish a regular business and then transition said business to a private higher education institution; or

Directly invest in the establishment of a private higher education institution.

Decree 86/2018/ND-CP also added additional conditions for establishing joint training programs at the higher education level and establishing an international branch campus. These amendments aim to enhance the competencies of lecturers and administrators of foreign higher education institutions to meet set teaching standards.

In 2019, the government released Decree 99/2019/ND-CP, which became effective on February 15, 2020. This directive adds criteria for foreign higher-education institutions in establishing campuses in Vietnam alongside regulations for university boards and to what degree these institutions have autonomy.

This new legislation also grants greater authority to higher education institutions. They can now choose their academic activities, personnel, training, and educational structure, as long as they do not violate local laws and regulations.

The Ministry of Education and Training also issued Circular No. 38/2020/TT-BGDDT on joint training with foreign countries at undergraduate, masters, and doctoral levels. For undergraduate level, curriculum provided in these programs must be recognized by an education authority in their home country.

Key international universities in Vietnam

International University Programs in Vietnam

University Ranking in 2023 Linking university in Vietnam Education fields Institution fee, study time RMIT 301  350 RMIT Business, media, technology, language US$12,600/year (3 years) Swinburne 301  350 FPT Business, media, technology US$6,300/year (3 years) Staffordshire 1201  1500 BUV Business, technology US$10,000/year (3 years) Sunderland National Economics University, Banking Academy Business, technology US$4,000/year (3 years) Troy 1201  1500 Vietnam National University, University of Science and Technology, Saigon University of Technology Business, technology US$3,300/year

Source: International University Programs in Vietnam

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)

RMIT Vietnam was established in 2000 and has since developed into one of the top universities in the country. This university has two modern campuses in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, as well as an English language center in Danang. It provides courses in languages, design, fashion, business, technology, and communication. RMIT claims that 96 percent of its graduates are able to find a full-time position within a year of graduation.

Swinburne University

Swinburne Vietnam is a joint international university program between Australias Swinburne University of Technology and FPT University. Graduate degrees are awarded by Swinburne in Australia and meet the same criteria as those awarded to students studying down under.

British University Vietnam (BUV)

BUV is the first and only international university in Vietnam that is directly awarded by the University of London and the University of Staffordshire. All of BUVs lecturers are of an international standard. It claims to provide more than 2,000 internship opportunities for students, to have 400 companies in its partner network, and that 98 percent of its students find employment after graduation.

Australian HEIs in Vietnam

Australian universities are well represented in Vietnam, with education a key Australian export. RMIT, for example, is one of the oldest foreign institutions in Vietnam and has become a well and truly established brand in higher education.

Australias Swinburne University is also making headway in Vietnam. Its partnership with Vietnams FPT is raising the quality and standard of higher education on offer. This partnership may also serve as a blueprint for other institutions entering into partnerships with local institutions.

On that note, Australian vocational training providers are also making their presence felt. Box Hill TAFE and Chisholm Institute have both been active in recent years, reaching out to local vocational education providers and looking for fresh opportunities to expand their footprint.

These developing synergies are only set to grow stronger as the full benefits of Vietnams updated Law on Higher Education are realized.

Higher education in Vietnam moving forward

Laws and decrees in Vietnam, with respect to higher education, in recent years have focused on promoting the establishment of joint training programs with foreign HEIs. This reflects a positive attitude toward developing higher education and cooperating in training initiatives with other countries in the world.

These laws, however, may face some tightening moving forward in order to ensure the quality of their outcomes with respect to the quality of the human resources these arrangements and institutions produce.

In the meantime, the current framework is much more conducive to foreign investment than it has ever been before and there are ample opportunities for qualified foreign investors to participate in this potentially very profitable market.
One month after a powerful quake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, hundreds of thousands of people still need adequate shelter and sanitation, and an appeal for $1 billion to assist survivors is only 10% funded, hampering efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis, a United Nations official said Monday.

The February 6 earthquake and strong aftershocks have killed more than 46,000 people in Turkey, destroyed or damaged around 230,000 buildings and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless  making it the worst disaster in Turkey's modern history. The U.N. estimates that the earthquake killed around 6,000 people in Syria, mainly in the rebel-held northwest.

About 2 million survivors have been housed in temporary accommodation or evacuated from the earthquake-devastated region, according to Turkish government figures. Around 1.5 million people have been settled in tents while another 46,000 have been moved to container houses. Others are living in dormitories and guesthouses, the government said.

"Given the number of people that have been relocated, given the number of people that have been injured and given the level of the devastation, we do have extensive humanitarian needs now," Alvaro Rodriguez, the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Turkey, told The Associated Press.

"We have some provinces where up to 25% of the population  we're talking sometimes half a million people  have relocated. So the challenge we have is how do we provide food, shelter, water for these communities?" he said.

The U.N. representative said tents are still needed even though they are not "the optimal solution" for sheltering people. He reported some cases of scabies outbreaks because of poor sanitary conditions.

Last month, the U.N. made a flash appeal for $397.6 million to help Syrian quake victims  just over half of which has come in  and a $1 billion appeal for victims in Turkey to cover emergency needs, such as food, protection, education, water and shelter, for three months. Rodriguez said the appeal for Turkey is only about 10% funded.

"The reality is that if we do not move beyond the roughly 10% that we have, the U.N. and its partners will not be able to meet the humanitarian needs," he said.

Rodriguez added: "Turkey has been a country that has supported 4 million Syrian refugees over the last few years, and this is an opportunity for the international community to provide the support that Turkey deserves."

The World Bank has estimated that the earthquake has caused an estimated $34.2 billion in direct physical damages  the equivalent of 4% of Turkey's 2021 GDP. The World Bank said recovery and reconstruction costs will be much higher and that GDP losses associated to economic disruptions will also add to the cost of the earthquakes.

In Syria, the situation remained dire one month after the deadly earthquake, with aid groups citing fears of a looming public health crisis with families still packed into overcrowded temporary shelters and crucial infrastructure damaged by the quake.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that Aleppo's water infrastructure  already aging and damaged by the war  had been further damaged by the quake, which "reduced the system's efficiency and raised the risk that contaminated water could pollute the supply."

Water contamination is of particular concern in Syria as the country had already been battling cholera outbreaks before the earthquake.

While the quake generated an initial outpouring of aid, relief organizations cited fears that the world's attention will move on quickly, while basic humanitarian needs remain unmet.

Meanwhile, political and logistical issues have in some cases blocked aid from reaching those in need.

Amnesty International said Monday that between February 9 and 22, the Syrian government had "blocked at least 100 trucks carrying essential aid such as food, medical supplies and tents from entering Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo city," while Turkish-backed rebel groups in northwest Syria blocked at least 30 aid trucks sent by rival Kurdish groups from entering Turkish-controlled Afrin in the same period.

"Even in this moment of desperation, the Syrian government and armed opposition groups have pandered to political considerations and taken advantage of people's misery to advance their own agendas," Aya Majzoub, the rights group's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement.
Al-Qaida's arm in the Arabian Peninsula said two of the militant group's operatives, including its media chief, were killed by a suspected U.S. drone in central Yemen last month.

The announcement came Sunday in a five-page obituary posted on websites typically used by the extremist group.

It says the group's media chief was killed along with another al-Qaida member when a purported U.S. drone strike hit their residence in central Yemen on February 26.

The CIA declined to comment on the suspected attack.

Another suspected U.S. strike on al-Qaida operatives in January reportedly killed three in Yemen.

Al-Qaida said Hamad al-Tamimi, the terror group's media chief, was killed along with another member of the al-Qaida branch when their house near the central Yemeni city of Marib was hit last month in an alleged U.S. strike.

Days after the strike, three Yemeni tribal elders told The Associated Press the attack targeted a house where al-Tamimi was living in the Wadi Ubaydah area, not far from where another alleged U.S. strike killed three suspected operatives of the group in January. All three spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by extremists present in Marib.

In the January attack, the suspected al-Qaida members appeared to have been killed by a Hellfire R9X, otherwise known as the "flying Ginsu" or "knife bomb," based on images of the wreckage analyzed by the AP and weapons experts. The CIA is known to have deployed the drone against high-value targets in the past. The CIA declined to comment on the February attack when asked days after it took place.

The two attacks raise questions over the secretive U.S. drone campaign in Yemen, which started about 20 years ago.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, also known by its acronym AQAP, is active in several regions in Yemen, including Marib and other far-flung provinces. It is believed to be one of the more dangerous branches of the al-Qaida terror network.

U.N. experts believe AQAP has a few thousand members, its ranks boosted by foreign fighters.

Years of civil war, which has pitted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore Yemen's internationally recognized government to power, have allowed al-Qaida to maintain a presence, particularly in remote and more lawless areas of Yemen.

Yemen's war began in 2014 when the Houthis swept down from their northern stronghold and seized the capital, Sanaa, along with much of the country's north. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015. The conflict has spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and pushed impoverished Yemen to the brink of famine.
Young artists everywhere struggle to earn a living but that's especially true in South Africa, where youth unemployment is more than 43 percent. The International Public Art Festival is trying to help bridge that gap by connecting young artists with companies seeking creative marketing. Vicky Stark reports from Cape Town, South Africa.
A group of attorneys general from 45 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., demanded Monday that social media app TikTok produce materials as part of an investigation into its effect on young users mental health.

We know that social media is taking a devastating toll on young peoples mental health and well-being, and through our investigation we are getting a clearer sense of TikToks role, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.

The investigation began last year when eight states, including California, Massachusetts and Tennessee, launched a bipartisan probe of TikTok, focusing on whether the popular video-sharing app is endangering young people and violating state consumer protection laws.

On Monday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti asked a Tennessee court to order TikTok to produce subpoenaed materials sought by the investigation. Attorneys general from across the United States filed a brief in support of the motion to compel TikTok to hand over the information.

The Tennessee court petition alleges that TikTok has failed to preserve potentially relevant evidence in the investigation, including internal employee chat messages.

It says TikTok has shared some internal messages in response to its request but said the company has rendered them unrecognizable and nearly incomprehensible.

TikTok has not commented on the case.

We need to know more about the companys business practices so we can keep our kids safe, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement Monday.

Californias Department of Justice said in a statement that heavy use of social media is strongly associated with self-harm, depression, and low self-esteem in teens  and every additional hour young people spend on social media is associated with an increased severity of the symptoms of depression.

The latest court challenge comes as TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, faces security concerns. The United States, Canada and the European Union have all banned the use of the app on government-issued devices.

Like other social media apps, TikTok has also received criticism that it is not doing enough to protect younger users from inappropriate content.

Last week, TikTok said it was developing a tool that would allow parents to block certain content on the app. The company also said parents will now be able to set time limits on the app for their teens, depending on the day of the week.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
A massive explosion inside building in a busy neighborhood in Bangladeshs capital has killed at least 18 people and injured dozens, officials said Tuesday, after two other similar fatal explosions in the country recently.

The combined death toll from the three explosions now stands at 28.

The sudden explosion inside a building in Dhakas Siddik Bazar area on Tuesday evening rocked the neighborhood amid traffic congestion next to the roadside semi-commercial seven-story structure, police said.

At least 140 (people) are admitted in the Dhaka Medical College Hospital emergency, Inspector Bacchu Mia, in charge of the hospital police post, told VOA, referring to the state-owned hospitals figure alone.

Fire service duty officer Rashid Khaled said 11 fire units and scores of ambulances immediately rushed to the scene to get to people trapped underneath debris on the road. Bricks, mortars, shattered glass, and assorted items including furniture and electronic goods were scattered all over the road.

Search and rescue operations were suspended for the evening and were set to resume in the morning after army engineers take a closer look at the scene, Dhaka fire service chief Dinmoni Sharma told reporters.

Dhaka police chief Golam Faruq visited the injured victims at the hospital and later told reporters special units were working at the site to find the cause of the deadly blast.

Like an earthquake

Rickshaw puller Rafiqul Islam, who witnessed the explosion from a distance on the other side of the road, and who took an injured person to the hospital, told VOA about how the second-long explosion rocked the entire neighborhood.



I was taking a break from work and resting on my rickshaw when I felt like an earthquake happened with a huge noise. Moments within I saw a large cloud of dirt and I rushed to the spot, he told VOA.

A Dhaka Medical College Hospital emergency doctor said the number of casualties may rise as many critical patients are taken into the hospital.

All doctors in the hospital were called in to handle the situation, hospital director Nazmul Haque said.

Firefighters and police bomb disposal units were working in the Cafe Queen Bhaban, the affected structure, which accommodated a few floors of mostly sanitary and plumbing equipment and residential units on the top floors, to find out the cause of the explosion.

A private bank in the neighboring building was also badly damaged.

Repeated accidents

On Sunday, a similar explosion in a Dhaka clothing market killed three people and injured many others. Authorities said they could not yet find the reason behind the accident, but the fire service was investigating the possibility of a gas leakage.

Last Saturday, in the industrial town of Sitakunda, a deadly explosion at an oxygen plant killed seven people and injured at least 25 others.

In 2022, a huge explosion in a Sitakunda container depot killed 47 people, including firefighters, and injured upwards of 400 people. In 2021, an explosion inside a central Dhaka building left seven people dead and injured at least 100. In 2020, an explosion in a Fatullah mosque killed 34 people.

No one has been prosecuted or held responsible for these events.
Tourism officials in Cameroon are meeting to revamp the countrys most important wildlife reserve, Waza National Park, which has suffered from terrorism, poaching, and deforestation. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Cameroons northern border with Chad and Nigeria that used to attract thousands of visitors per year. Officials say Boko Haram terrorists scared off most tourists while poachers and illegal loggers continue to wreak havoc on the park. Moki Edwin Kindzeka reports from Yaounde, Cameroon.

Cameroons Waza National Park, on the borders with Chad and Nigeria, is the countrys most diverse wildlife reserve, with lions, elephants, giraffes, antelopes and numerous species of birds.

The 170,000-hectare park has been recognized since 1979 as a UNESCO World Heritage biosphere reserve.

But the government says the number of tourists visiting Waza dropped from close to 4,000 in 2013 to less than 300 last year.

Atsia Tailati is a tourism official in Logone and Chari, the administrative unit in charge of Waza.

She spoke to VOA via a messaging app from the northern town of Kousseri.

Tailati says terrorism started harming tourism in Waza in 2013, when Boko Haram at gunpoint abducted a French family of seven who were vacationing in northern Cameroon. She says in 2014 the Nigerian Islamist group again forced their way into a Chinese construction camp in Waza and abducted 10 road engineers.

Boko Haram released the hostages after some weeks but Tailati says the attacks scared off tourists.

Tailati says Cameroons tourism officials are meeting in the region this week to discuss how to attract tourists back to the park.

The militants attacks on farms and shops, including some that depended on tourism, forced youth in the area to turn to poaching and illegal logging to make a living.

Officials say improved security on both sides of the borders has reduced the threat from terrorists, with no large-scale attacks reported in the area for more than a year.

But officials say poachers and illegal loggers continue to destroy the park.

The governor of Cameroon's Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakari, spoke to VOA by messaging app from the regions capital, Maroua.

He says about 70 poachers and illegal loggers were arrested at Waza National Park this week. Bakari says those arrested are Cameroonians, Nigerians and Chadians who kill animals in the park, harvest wood from the park for charcoal and sell the wood and game to neighboring countries like Chad and Nigeria.

Bakari says theyve created local militias to assist ranchers and troops in protecting the park.

The head of the European Union delegation to Cameroon, Philippe Van Damme, says restoring the park would bring a multitude of benefits to the area.

He spoke Tuesday to Cameroon Radio Television.

Van Damme says protecting Waza National Park will stabilize the environment and climate, create jobs for several hundred unemployed youths, and bring in revenue from tourism. He says Cameroon and the European Union are evaluating what is needed to protect, redevelop, and bring back to life to the park, which was devastated by terrorism, poaching, and deforestation.

Van Damme, who took a group of five EU ambassadors to the park this week, said reviving it would also reduce poverty and inequality in the region.
A Buffalo customs and global logistics company was purchased by a Sri Lankan company for $42.5 million.

EFL Global bought Trans American Customhouse Brokers. EFL will retain the Trans American business model and name.

Established in 1984 as an in-house customs broker for a large U.S. food processor, Trans American now provides customs services, global logistics and technology solutions globally.

Trans American, based at 52 Sonwil Drive, is ranked within the top 20 of all U.S. customs brokers, according to Paramax Corp., which advised Trans American on the deal.

The buyer, EFL Global, is a supply chain and logistics solutions provider across many industries, including agriculture, apparel, pharmaceuticals, technology and automotive.

EFL's acquisition of Trans American will expand its capabilities and add more to its suite of customs brokerage offerings, including integrated U.S., Canada and Mexico customs services, a team of licensed customs brokers, and digital tools that make customs clearance processes more efficient and transparent.
The war in Tigray is over but the trauma lingers.

Tsega Fitsum is a volunteer teacher at the Mai Weyni school in the Tigray regional capital, Mekelle. She says that when school resumed soon after the cease-fire in November of last year, her students' minds were still focused on the conflict.

"They used to be inclined to draw guns instead of writing alphabets and numbers," she told VOA. "But now, we say 'The war has stopped. There is peace and there is no fear, and they should work freely.' When we tell them that, they started working on numbers and alphabets."

Even with that positive sign, the effects of the war are sure to be felt for years to come. The school compound is home to more than 8,500 people who were displaced by the war. About 5,100 are children under the age of 18, most of whom have been deprived of education for more than two years.

The war between Ethiopia's federal government and Tigrayan forces left many children orphaned or separated from their families. The impact of those emotional wounds linger for the children, experts say, as the challenges of healing the war-torn nation begin.

Etsedingel Hadera is a psychiatrist in Mekelle's Ayder Hospital. He said parents can make a difference in helping ease the hidden scars the children carry.

"When parents see behavioral changes, they should give their children hope and let them know it's okay and that it will all pass," he told VOA. "If they are not comforted that way, they listen to everything around them, even when we think they are not paying attention. But they record everything and are exposed to stress and suffering, there is more pressure on them because it is saved internally."

Tsega said the priority now must be healing the children in the school compound and reuniting them with their families.

"Many children were hurt and some were forced to live parentless although they have parents. But if there is peace, they want to go back to school and return to their families. We need to make an effort, especially for the children," she said.

Meresu Gebru, a mother who sought shelter in the compound after fleeing Mai-Kadra, agrees.

"Education is a solution for all. I want education, stability and a place where they can entertain themselves, like a playground. If there is an area where they can play, I think it might help calm them," she said.

Meresu fled the town where some of the war's worst violence occurred with one of her five children. Her four other children, along with her husband, fled to Sudan, seeking refuge. But even residents of the regional capital who live around the school compound say life is far from normal for children.

Mekelle was a site for government aerial bombardments, including a playground at a kindergarten. A resident of Mekelle, Gebregziabher Hadush, said the trauma left from aerial attacks is still felt.

"During the war, children were psychologically traumatized, especially when there were airstrikes and drone attacks," he said. "Even now children have doubts and feel pressured. They don't think planes are coming in for peaceful purposes. They also need physiological treatment."

Now that there is a peace deal, advocates say mental health services should be offered to children as they reenter the classrooms. Psychiatrist Etsedingel said the long-term effects of the war will impact the next generation.

"Children are experiencing behavioral changes in every household. Where can they go? What should they do?" he asked. "What's so sad is some of my patients under 18 say they have lost hope. They are thinking about committing suicide. Some ask, 'What is our hope? School has stopped and we are suffering.' They need psychosocial support."

According to a 2022 report by the U.N., 1.39 million children in the Tigray region are out of school because of Ethiopia's civil war.
The United Nations' top human rights official says the proliferation of crises brought on by conflict, climate change, poverty and discrimination are eroding people's fundamental rights and freedoms and threatening the stability of nations worldwide.

In a brisk overview of recent human rights developments around the globe, Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, told delegates attending the U.N. Human Rights Council on Tuesday that "one quarter of humanity is living today in places affected by violent conflict, and it is the civilians who suffer the most."

He then launched into a critique of Russia's war in Ukraine, which he said has led to "civilian casualties and destruction of a shocking magnitude."

"The rights of Ukrainians will be harmed for generations to come, and the war's impact on fuel and food prices, as well as geopolitical tensions, are impacting negatively on people in every region of the world," he said.

The invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago led to Russia being suspended from the U.N. Human Rights Council.

While the war in Ukraine is in its second year, Turk noted that people in Syria have endured 12 years of excruciating bloodshed, calling it "a microcosm of the wounds inflicted by utmost contempt for human rights."

He deplored alarming security situations in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while welcoming the implementation of an agreement ending hostilities between the Ethiopian government and rebels of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF.

Despite this progress, he warned that the presence in Tigray of Amhara regional forces and the Fano militia, as well as Eritrean Defense Forces, could result in "very serious violations." He added that "the human rights situation in other regions of Ethiopia is of great concern, particularly Oromia."

The Fano militia is an ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and fought alongside Ethiopian forces to stop the TPLF. Eritrean troops also fought on the side of the Ethiopian government.

Communal violence has been continuing in parts of the southern Oromia region between ethnic Oromo and Amhara. They are Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups.

The U.N. rights chief presented a snapshot of human rights conditions in dozens of countries in all regions of the world. He spoke of widespread violence in Libya, of armed gangs who have taken control of Haiti, and of the worrying human rights situation in the Kashmir region, which India and Pakistan claim.

He highlighted the virulent threats to human dignity posed by discrimination and racism, noting the unparalleled "repression of women in Afghanistan."

A fact-finding report submitted to the council on Monday accused the de facto Taliban rulers of pursuing a policy "tantamount to gender apartheid." A U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan reported that "the Taliban's intentional and calculated policy is to repudiate the human rights of women and girls and to erase them from public life."

Turk criticized Iran for its discriminatory behavior toward women and girls and denounced the executions of four people protesting the government's authoritarian rule and the death sentences handed down to 17 other protesters.

The high commissioner also took aim at the policies of powerful countries such as the United States, where, he said, "People of African descent are reportedly almost three times more likely to be killed by police than are 'white' people."

He added, "In the U.S. and all countries, swift and determined action to hold perpetrators accountable in each case should be the rule, not the exception."

Regarding China, Turk said his office had opened channels of communication to follow up on a variety of human rights issues, including the protection of minorities, such as for Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other groups.

"In the Xinjiang region," he said, "My office has documented grave concerns, notably large-scale arbitrary detentions and ongoing family separations  and has made important recommendations that require concrete follow-up."

A landmark report issued by the previous high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, concluded that Beijing's incarceration of nearly a million Uyghurs and other Muslims in so-called vocational centers in Xinjiang could constitute "crimes against humanity." China denies these charges.

Hilary Power, Geneva director, Human Rights Watch, said the test of the high commissioner's commitment to "follow up" on government abuses in Xinjiang "will be his willingness to continue monitoring and reporting on the situation, and to brief the U.N. rights council on his report and its key findings."

While the high commissioner's assessment of the state of global human rights was generally pessimistic, he sounded a positive note on progress being made in three African countries.

He praised Tanzania for opening civic and democratic space over the past two years. "Bans on media outlets and political rallies have been lifted and reform of restrictive legislation is promised," he said.

He said Zambia has "taken positive steps towards greater respect for human rights and the rule of law" and that Kenya has made some advances "towards accountability for serious human rights violations."
Losing a tank or valued U.S.-made high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) can hurt an army less if the weapon is a cheap inflatable decoy placed on the front lines to deceive the enemy.

With the war in Ukraine boosting the need for heavy military vehicles, guns and planes, it has also been a boon to Inflactech Decoys, a Czech maker of fake army equipment.

The company has added HIMARS to its fleet of over 30 types of inflatable real-size decoys it sells to customers worldwide, Chief Executive Vojtech Fresser said Monday.

Inflatech would not confirm Ukraine is among the destinations, but Fresser said he would expect them to find their way there.

"I can imagine that if we want to support a partner country which is in trouble, we will send them Inflatech inflatable decoys and they are already there or certainly will be," he said.

The Czech Defense Ministry, which helps organize Czech military supplies to Ukraine, was not immediately available for comment.

The decoys are made from synthetic silk and, apart from misleading the adversary visually, have a thermal footprint and appear on radars to fool enemy reconnaissance.

They pack into sacks that two to four soldiers can carry and can be inflated within 10 minutes.

The HIMARS inflatable top, without the heat generator and compressor equipment, weighs 43 kg (95 lbs.), Fresser told reporters at the company's factory in the northern Czech city of Decin.

The decoys cost from $10,000 to $100,000.

"If you lead the enemy to destroy my piece of equipment by something that is four, or maybe 20 times more expensive, then you are winning economically," Fresser said.

Inflatech has seen its business boom over the past year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raising production to dozens of decoys per month, and sees big growth this year  from 10% to maybe over 100%, Fresser said.
German police said Monday they have disrupted a ransomware cybercrime gang tied to Russia that has been blackmailing large companies and institutions for years, raking in millions of euros.

Working with law enforcement partners including Europol, the FBI and authorities in Ukraine, police in Duesseldorf said they were able to identify 11 individuals linked to a group that has operated in various guises since at least 2010.

The gang allegedly behind the ransomware, known as DoppelPaymer, appears tied to Evil Corp, a Russia-based syndicate engaged in online bank theft well before ransomware became a global scourge.

Among its most prominent victims were Britain's National Health Service and Duesseldorf University Hospital, whose computers were infected with DoppelPaymer in 2020. A woman who needed urgent treatment died after she had to be taken to another city for treatment.

Ransomware is the world's most disruptive cybercrime. Gangs mostly based in Russia break into networks and steal sensitive information before activating malware that scrambles data. The criminals demand payment in exchange for decryption keys and a promise not to dump the stolen data online.

In a 2020 alert, the FBI said DoppelPaymer had been used since late 2019 to target critical industries worldwide including health care, emergency services and education, with six- and seven-figure ransoms routinely demanded.

An analyst with the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, Brett Callow, said DoppelPaymer has published data stolen from about 200 companies, including in the U.S. defense sector, which resisted payment. And given DoppelPaymer's suspected connection through Evil Corp to the FSB  the successor to Russia's KGB spy agency  "the bust could provide law enforcement with some exceptionally valuable intel," he said.

Dirk Kunze, who heads the cybercrime department with North Rhine-Westphalia state police, said at least 601 victims have been identified worldwide, including 37 in Germany. Europol said victims in the United States paid out at least 40 million euros ($42.5 million) to the gang between May 2019 and March 2021 to release important data that was electronically locked using the malware.

The group specialized in "big game hunting," said Kunze, and ran a professional recruitment operation, luring new members with the promise of paid vacations and asking applicants to submit references for past cybercrimes.

He said police conducted simultaneous raids in Germany and Ukraine on February 28, seizing evidence and detaining several suspects.

Three further suspects couldn't be apprehended as they were beyond the reach of European law enforcement, Kunze said.

German police identified the fugitives as Russian citizens Igor Turashev, 41, and Irina Zemlyanikina, 36, and 31-year-old Igor Garshin, who was born in Russia but whose nationality wasn't immediately known.

Turashev is wanted by U.S. authorities since late 2019 in connection with cyberattacks carried out using a predecessor to DoppelPaymer, known as BitPaymer, that is linked to Evil Corp. The U.S. government offered a $5 million reward in 2019 for information leading to the capture of its alleged leader, Maksim Yakubets.
Several hundred thousand Russian citizens are thought to have fled their home country since February of last year, when the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine. While no official figures exist, some estimates put the figure at close to one million people.

The exodus includes Russian citizens seeking to avoid mandated military service, as well as political activists, journalists and artists. Critics of the war face imprisonment for discrediting the Russian military or spreading what the Kremlin calls "unreliable information.

Those who fled Russias government crackdown include Pavel Otdelnov, an artist whose works often critique Soviet and Russian history and politics. The 43-year-old found sanctuary in London and just completed an exhibition for Pushkin House, a Russian cultural center in the British capital.

Acting out

Otdelnov said the exhibition, Acting Out, was about the humanitarian catastrophe associated with the war in Ukraine, along with an attempt to find the signs hidden in history that led to the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine.

One of the first works, a painting titled "Money, showed old Soviet banknotes stored inside an unused missile silo, something that actually happened with the collapse of communism. The work is embellished with fragments of real bank notes.

In 1991, under [then-Prime Minister Valentin] Pavlov, monetary reform led to the impoverishment of the population, Otdelnov explained.

Many people lost their savings as they had to exchange the old-style bank notes for the new-style bank notes within only three days, and the amount to be exchanged was very limited. All the rest [of the cash] turned into worthless paper that was stored in warehouses and bank deposits in different parts of the Soviet Union and Russia, and later in missile silos, Otdelnov said.

Humiliated

Otdelnov grew up through the collapse of communism. His art works parody Russias feeling of injustice at the outcome of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union broke up.

This is a narrative that is very actively used in today's propaganda  this conviction that we were humiliated, that we were put on our knees, and that we are now finally getting up from our knees and showing the whole world how powerful we are. Putin's phrase that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century is very characteristic of this, Otdelnov told VOA, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russian laws

Shortly after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia passed a law criminalizing dissent against the war, punishable with huge fines and imprisonment. Thousands of people have been arrested at anti-war demonstrations and for voicing their opposition.

Otdelnov has exhibited his provocative works across Russia for decades. But like hundreds of thousands of other Russians, he feared for his liberty and safety. He left Russia shortly after the invasion began last year and was given a visa to live in Britain under the countrys Global Talent program.

Another of his works in the Pushkin House exhibition showed forlorn human figures lost in a vast sea of fog, apparently mirroring his experience. Otdelnov said the exhibit, A Generation, was about those people who left their country, who do not see any prospects, do not see an opportunity to continue to live and progress and work there.

Invasion of Ukraine

The final works in the exhibition addressed Russias war in Ukraine. One of the most powerful, "Cargo 200, showed a railway wagon standing in a flat, snowy field  the winter landscape of eastern Ukraine.

This is the refrigerated railway wagon that transports the bodies of the dead, Otdelnov said. This is the last work for this exhibition, and I decided to paint it when Putin announced mobilization, he said.

I thought about the fate of those people who will go to war, who will take up arms and who will be killed.
Iran's concessions to U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi during his visit to Tehran this weekend depend to a large extent on future negotiations, Grossi conceded Monday, walking back some comments he made upon his return.

Two days before a quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors, the IAEA and Iran said they had agreed to make progress on various issues, including a long-stalled IAEA inquiry into uranium particles found at three undeclared sites in Iran.

Grossi told a news conference Saturday they had agreed to reinstall all extra monitoring equipment, such as surveillance cameras, at nuclear sites that was put in place under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, but then removed last year as the deal unraveled following the U.S. withdrawal in 2018.

"We will have to discuss ... this, how do we do it," Grossi told a news conference Monday, conceding that this and other issues would largely hinge on future technical talks.

"We have our ideas, and this will be part of the technical discussions that are going to be undertaken as a follow-up to my visit, and to the joint statement. And a technical team will be traveling to Iran very soon to do that," he added.

The announcement of apparent progress in a joint statement Saturday that went into little detail appears to have been enough to stave off a Western push for another resolution like one passed at the last quarterly board meeting ordering Iran to cooperate with the investigation into the uranium traces.

The Islamic Republic usually bristles at such resolutions and has in the past responded by accelerating the very nuclear activities that the 2015 deal was designed to rein in.

"Why don't you let us do our job? Unless you want to join us as an inspector, which could be interesting. We know how to do these things," Grossi said when pressed on how much Iran had firmly committed to and how much relied on future negotiations.

"I believe that there is a good opportunity. I cannot guarantee, of course. When people say these were [only] promises: well, first, it's not [only] promises. We do have certain agreements which are concrete. And at the same time, I need to do my job and never give up."
The top U.S. Army commander in the Indo-Pacific recently gave a ground-up view of the challenges posed by Chinas military buildup in the region, citing munitions shortage as among the areas the United States should strengthen to effectively deter potential Chinese aggression.

Ive been watching the ground forces and the PLA [Peoples Liberation Army] since 2014, Commanding General Charles A. Flynn of U.S. Army Pacific told an audience in Washington last week. He was on a rare break from the Indo-Pacific theater, where he started off as Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division based in Hawaii.

Sitting alongside U.S. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, Flynn described Chinas military forces as extraordinary and on a historical trajectory, noting that theyre rehearsing, practicing, experimenting, and theyre preparing those forces for something.

He shared with the audience gathered at the American Enterprise Institute the steady buildup of the Chinese militarys presence and capacity in the Indo-Pacific region from 2014 to today, highlighting force reorganization combined with modernization that China undertook in 2015, and the establishment of newly structured theater commands that ensued.

Flynn said that by 2018, China had built and armed artificial islands in the South China Sea while ramping up joint operations. Today, he observes a significant increase of payload of activities that theyre doing with all of their services, from the rocket forces to the strategic support forces, to space, cyber, land and sea.

Absent them slowing down, thats a dangerous trajectory that theyre on, he warned.

Flynn noted three advantages China currently holds over the United States.

Theyre operating on whats called interior lines. Theyre right next to their primary objective. And make no doubt about it  the prize is Taiwan and the land.

The second thing they have is, they have mass, [I.E., numbers], he continued.

And then, of course, they have magazine depth. They have a lot of munitions, a lot of arrows in their quiver, Flynn explained.

The magazine depth issue is a real one, Wormuth said, telling the audience that America needs to recalibrate its strategy on munitions supplies.

Everything were seeing in Ukraine shows us that we have to ramp up production, Wormuth pointed out, especially considering the possibility of a protracted conflict.

The current U.S. peacetime supply chain model falls short of demand, she warned, while sharing with the audience that the U.S. Army has already taken steps to bolster strength in this area.

Were doing a lot in the Army to ramp up our own organic industrial base, and to work very closely with industry to see them ramp up their industrial base, she said.

The Army chief acknowledged that logistics will be very hard in the Indo-Pacific in the event of a conflict, and said the Army is focusing on this area of preparedness.

The Army is creating what Flynn called joint interior lines to both bolster and deter against a background of the Chinese militarys footprint of expansion in the Indo-Pacific.

Among the significant footprints China has amassed in the region are 12 airfields that fall under Chinas Western Theater Command, most of them [are] the size of Dulles, Flynn pointed out, referring to the huge international airport located just outside of Washington.

The Western Theater Command, one of the five military commands established on Chinese President Xi Jinpings watch, exercises operational jurisdiction over Chinas borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Myanmar.

Adding to the above, Beijing has also moved two army corps to be positioned along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between China and India, built heliports and surface-to-air missile sites, and choked off freshwater in the Mekong River, Flynn warned. Dams built by China in upstream locations within its territory have been described by researchers and investigators as by turn depriving livelihood and constituting a strategic chokehold to downstream nations and communities in southeast Asia.

Lines of communication being cut through Myanmar and Pakistan to get access to the Ottoman Sea was another worrisome development, Flynn noted, adding that the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh also posed a potential challenge. And thats just South Asia, alone.

While Southeast Asia is trending in a positive direction, according to Flynn, in terms of relations with the United States, Oceania, he said, currently is under duress. There, China has made great inroads by compromising local elites, Flynn said.

Their currency is corruption. Ultimately, China seeks to gain access to terrain, he said.

Flynn identified some of the features on or about the terrain that China seeks access: IT backbone, electrical grid, warehouses, piers, airfields and ports.

Flynn named Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, as places where Chinese influence poses a particular challenge.

Looking around the region, he pointed out other areas where tension has risen. Of course, the activity in the South and East China Sea, and around Taiwan, he said.

I cant go into great detail here on whats happening on the ground, but I can tell you that the PLA Army and the PLA Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force are in dangerous positions, Flynn alerted the audience in Washington.

He also hinted at a unique role the Army could play to counter Chinas strategy in the Taiwan Strait.

The A2AD arsenal that the Chinese have designed is primarily designed to defeat air and maritime capabilities, he noted. Secondarily, its designed to degrade, disrupt and deny space and cyber, he continued.

China is said to employ an A2AD [anti-access and area-denial] strategy concerning Taiwan aimed at keeping the United States and other friendly forces out of that theater during a potential invasion.

The A2AD strategy, Flynn pointed out, is not designed to find, fix and finish mobile, networked, dispersed, reloadable ground forces that are lethal and nonlethal, that are operating amongst their allies and partners in the region.

This, he said, is an important point.

Another point he emphasized is the United States would much prefer not to engage in a military conflict with China.

Our goal out there is no war. But we have to be in a position and be forward with combat-credible forces to deter that from happening, Flynn said. If deterrence happens to fail, then were at least in a position to take advantage [together] with the joint force, to achieve the national objectives set up by the National Command Authority and the president.

Wormuth noted that the U.S. is also paying attention to scenarios of potential conflict with China beyond the Taiwan Strait. Spikes in border clashes between China and India, Beijings belligerent behavior in the South China Sea or around the Senkaku Islands, a contentious point between China and Japan, are among those scenarios, she noted.
Iran said on Monday that it was open to a prisoner swap with Belgium after the latter's Constitutional Court upheld an exchange treaty in a case that could see a convicted Iranian diplomat switched for a jailed Belgian aid worker.

Aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele was arrested on a visit to Iran in February 2022 and sentenced in January to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges including spying.

Brussels called that retribution for a 20-year jail term given to Iranian diplomat Assadollah Assadi in 2021 over a foiled bomb plot in the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran's 1979 revolution.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said the way was now open to execute the prisoner exchange pact. "With the recent development, we hope to see an opening in connection with the case of this diplomat," the spokesperson said.

Belgian lawmakers cleared the treaty in July, but it was held up by legal challenges from an exiled Iranian opposition group.
Russia's ambassador to Malawi has said he hopes African leaders will call for an end to the international sanctions against Moscow at an upcoming Russia-Africa summit. Nikolai Krasilnikov made the comment Monday, as Russia made a donation of 20,000 tons of fertilizer to Malawi. An analyst says Russia is likely trying to win diplomatic support for its war in Ukraine.

The donation amounts to 3% of Malawis annual national fertilizer requirement of 600,000 tons.

Sam Kawale, Malawis minister of agriculture, said the fertilizer is a major boost for the country. Malawi is dealing with shortages in its Agriculture Inputs Program, which sells supplies like seeds and fertilizer to poor farmers at cheaper prices.

"The 20,000 tons of fertilizer, which we are receiving today, will help about 400,000 families," Kawale said. "We are estimating that 800,000 metric tons of maize will be harvested, either using the rain-fed or irrigation."

The donation is part of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain initiative, designed to end the disruptions in Russian and Ukrainian food exports caused by Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

The Associated Press quoted Krasilnikov Monday saying he hopes African leaders will help press to remove sanctions against Moscow at a July Russia-Africa summit. He said overall, Russia has given 260,000 tons of fertilizers to poor countries in Africa and other parts of the world.

"So, what we have now as the delivery to Malawi, is part of a big commitment of Russia being fulfilled by Uralchem-Uralkali, the main Russian manufacturer of fertilizer and one of the worlds leading producers and exporters of fertilizers," Krasilnikov said.

Malawian political analyst George Phiri said the donation may be driven by Russias desire to win more African support at the U.N. and against the sanctions that many Western countries placed on allies of President Vladimir Putin following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"In my view, it is possible that Russia would want to mobilize some African countries to be on her side, and Malawi could be one, looking at how many African countries are voting against Russia," Phiri said.

At the United Nations General Assembly last year, Malawi voted to censure Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but more than 15 other African countries abstained from the vote.

Krasilnikov said Monday that Putin has invited Malawian officials to attend the Russia/Africa Summit slated for July in Moscow.

"We expect a delegation from Lilongwe to the summit," Krasilnikov said. "As well as we expect the Malawian business community from all over the country to come to the economic forum. And we encourage all interested to approach the Russian embassy in Zimbabwe where my residence is, to come and find all necessary requirements and details."

Malawi minister of agriculture Kawale told reporters that Malawi has welcomed the Russian invitation.

In August 2022, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera had a phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and assured him of Malawis support as Ukraine continued to defend itself from Russias attack.

However, Russia has since pledged to assist Malawi to fight its worst cholera outbreak that has now killed over 1,600 since it started a year ago.

Phiri said it will be confusing if Malawi changes tune and begins to give support for Russia.

"Malawi seems to have a mixed position, Phiri said. I think it would be important for Malawi to decide whether for Russian or for Ukraine because now, Malawi shows that it has not decided on which team it supports in this case."

Phiri said Russia would only win support from African countries if it could make better economic deals than what the countries normally get from their Western development partners.
The Italian health minister's proposals to extend a smoking ban include the outdoor areas of bars and parks, according to details reported by local media, drawing the ire of right-wing Cabinet colleagues who labeled him a "communist."

Minister Orazio Schillaci, a technocrat with no party affiliation, said in January he would crackdown on smoking, including e-cigarettes, which are being widely used by teenagers.

The new rules will include the outside areas of bars and at public transport stops, La Stampa newspaper reported on Monday. The prohibition will also be extended to parks if pregnant women and children are present, it said.

Junior Culture Minister Vittorio Sgarbi, known for expressing his opinions, called Schillaci's view "intimidating" and said such bans would instead encourage people to smoke.

"This is something typical of an authoritarian and dictatorial communist regime," Sgarbi told AdnKronos news agency.

Italy's top health institute (ISS) said some 24% of adult Italians were smokers last year  roughly 12.4 million people and the highest percentage recorded since 2009.

The government passed a ban on smoking indoors in 2003, which came into force two years later.

Health association Fondazione Umberto Veronesi estimates at least 43,000 people die in Italy every year for smoke-related reasons.

But the proposed clampdown also faces skepticism from Deputy Prime Minister and League party leader Matteo Salvini, who quit cigarettes four years ago but said the open-air ban on e-cigarettes was "exaggerated."

"Electronic cigarettes are helping a lot of people to abandon regular cigarettes," he added on Twitter.

The Health Ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

The proposals would need to be approved by the Cabinet before being passed to parliament.
If bread is the staff of life, made-to-order bread is the scepter.

Everyone agrees fresh bread is best. How many dedicated eaters seek out the freshest of all  bread not baked until you ask?

Here are my favorite places to hunt down these treats. Try one, and perhaps youll agree that among all of the bready sensations youve chased, there's naan better.

Clay Handi

3054 Delaware Ave.; 716-877-7797; clayhandi.com.

Explore the diversity of made-to-order bread at this Pakistani standout amid one of the most fertile foodie hunting grounds in Western New York.

. . .

Grange Community Kitchen

22 Main St., Hamburg; 716-648-0022; grangecommunitykitchen.com.

Among the things that make this Hamburg landmark my favorite restaurant in my coverage area is the baking program. From breakfast to dinner, the skilled crew of veteran dough artistes can thrill you in a variety of yeasty ways. My pick is the hummus plate, which comes with judiciously charred warm-from-the oven laffa bread.

. . .

Shalimar BBQ & Grill

224 Plaza Drive Suite A, Amherst; 716-636-0250; shalimarbbqny.com.

This Pakistani restaurants specialties are bread and meat. Both make their way through the infernal temperatures of the tandoori ovens before arriving at your table.

. . .

Buffalo Bakery

205 Ontario St.; 716-768-3616; buffalo-bakery.com.

With the Italian neighborhood bakeries dwindling, Riverside residents head to this mainstay, wherein a dedicated crew of Iraqi bakers turn out fresh batches the pointy-ended samoon loaves every hour or so. In between batches, ask for manakeesh, dough stretched out, topped with zaatar and olive oil, savory spiced ground beef, or mozzarella cheese, and baked to order.

. . .

Alibaba Kebab

900 William St. and 827 Military Road, Kenmore; 716-800-2222; alibaba-kebab.com.

One of the reasons this Indian takeout-focused place outgrew its original William Street location was its bread. All the kababs and tandoori chicken on the menu taste better in bread baked just for you. Also, from a sandwich engineering standpoint, the pliability of fresh naan makes it an ideal sandwich fixings straitjacket if you should find yourself needing to dine while you drive.

. . .

2693 South Park Ave., Lackawanna; 716-783-9743.

The true satisfaction of fresh bread is made manifest in this little Yemeni restaurant practically in the shadow of the basilica. Order vegetable stew and a piece of bread. The stew comes out bubbling furiously in a battered cauldron, and the crackly, faintly smoky bread is just the right thing to scoop up mouthfuls of delight.

. . .

Almandi

797 Broadway; 716-853-1090.

The best Yemeni restaurant in Buffalo has a bread game to keep up with its lamb haneeth and chargrilled whole chicken dishes.

. . .

As-Salam Diner & Kabab House

1389 Bailey Ave.; 716-725-0603; assalamkababhouse.com.

If you asked Siri to show you a 1950s-style diner staffed with the most cheerful bunch of servers around, but in Indian, youd get As-Salam. The unflagging hospitality comes for free, but its bread is worth every cent.

. . .

Buffalo Tikka House

948 Main St.; 716-240-9324; buffalotikkahouse.com.

Right across from the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, this Bangladeshi Indian restaurant has been currying favor with Allentowns naan fans for years. Look especially for the bullet naan, fired up with verdant heat from finely chopped fresh jalapenos.
Lebanon has regained U.N. voting rights after paying dues for 2022 and 2023, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, after the country, which is in deep financial crisis, lost its rights at the world body for the second time in three years.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a Jan. 17 letter, listed Lebanon along with Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, South Sudan and Venezuela as countries that had lost their U.N. General Assembly vote. Guterres said Lebanon needed to pay a minimum of some $1.8 million to regain its vote.

A foreign ministry statement did not say how much Lebanon had paid. "Lebanon has returned to play its natural role... in the work and discussions of the United Nations and its specialized committees", it said.

Lebanon has been in deep crisis since 2019 when its financial system collapsed as a result of decades of profligate spending, mismanagement and corruption by ruling elites. The state, which defaulted on its foreign currency debt in 2020, has been largely paralyzed since, with spending slashed across the board.
Georgia's parliament on Tuesday gave its initial backing to a controversial law on "foreign agents" backed by the ruling party, which critics have said represents an authoritarian shift in the South Caucasus country.

The draft law would require any organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as "foreign agents" or face substantial fines. Critics have said it is reminiscent of a 2012 Russian law that has since been used to crack down on civil society.

The law passed its so-called first parliamentary reading on Tuesday comfortably, Georgian media outlets reported.

Hundreds of protesters opposing the bill gathered outside the parliament building in central Tbilisi, some carrying European Union and U.S. flags. Amid a heavy police presence, many shouted: "No to the Russian law."

Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili announced his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards."

"The future of our country doesn't belong to and will not belong to foreign agents and servants of foreign countries," he said.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, which says it wants Georgia to join the European Union, announced its support for the foreign agent law last month. It has accused critics of the bill of opposing the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most respected and influential institutions.

On Monday, a committee hearing on the law ended in a physical brawl in parliament, as the chairman of the legislature's legal affairs committee appeared to physically strike the leader of the opposition United National Movement, which opposes the bill.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who was elected as a Georgian Dream candidate, has said she will veto the bill, which she says endangers Georgia's hopes of joining the EU. Parliament can override her veto.

More than 60 civil society organizations and media outlets have said they will not comply with the bill if it is signed into law.

Georgia's government has in recent years faced criticism from observers, who say the country is drifting towards authoritarianism. In June, the EU declined to grant Georgia candidate status alongside Moldova and Ukraine, citing stalled political and judicial reforms.
Media reports say U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan during her scheduled visit to the United States in the coming weeks.

President Tsai will arrive in California in April and will give a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Center near Los Angeles ahead of her scheduled trip to Central America. The reports did not say if McCarthy, who represents a district in California, will meet with Tsai at the Reagan Library.

McCarthy had expressed an interest in visiting Taiwan if House Republicans took control of the chamber and he was named speaker, which happened in January in the wake of last Novembers congressional elections. But Taiwanese officials reportedly expressed concerns that a potential visit would further aggravate tensions with China, which considers the self-ruled island a breakaway province and believes official visits from foreign dignitaries is a move by Taipei to assert independence.

Beijing responded to a visit to Taiwan last August by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by launching several days of massive military drills over the Taiwan Strait, including firing ballistic missiles in the waterway that separates the island from mainland China.

Taiwan has been self-governing since the end of Chinas civil war in 1949, when Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalist forces were driven off the mainland by Mao Zedongs Communists and fled to the island. China has vowed to bring Taiwan under its control by any means necessary, including a military invasion.

The United States ended official relations with Taiwan in 1979 when it switched diplomatic recognition to China. But the U.S. has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan and supplies it with defensive weapons as mandated by the U.S. Congress.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
The Russian government has donated 20,000 tons of fertilizer to Malawi as part of its efforts to garner diplomatic support from various African nations.

Russia will give 260,000 tons of fertilizer to countries in the continent, Russian Ambassador to Malawi Nikolai Krasilnikov said at a handover ceremony Monday at the capital, Lilongwe.

He said he hopes African leaders will press for the abolition of international sanctions against Russia when they attend the second Russia-Africa summit to be held in St. Petersburg at the end of July.

The Russian manufacturer Uralchem-Ukalkali had produced the fertilizer and made the gift to Malawi, said Dmitry Shornikov, head of the firm's southern Africa branch, who also attended the handover.

The fertilizer should help Malawi achieve its goals of substantially boosting its agricultural production and helping families grow more healthy and nutritious food, said Shornikov.

Malawi's Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale said the fertilizer will reach 400,000 farming households and boost their agricultural production.

Also attending the event was a representative of the United Nations' World Food Program.

Malawi voted to censure Russia at the United Nations last year for its invasion of Ukraine. More than 15 other African countries abstained from the vote.
Russias defense minister said Tuesday that capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was important to launching offensive operations deeper in the region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to keep fighting for Bakhmut.

Russian defense chief Sergei Shoigu called Bakhmut an important defensive hub for Ukrainian forces as he spoke to military officials and said capturing it would allow Russian troops to push deep into Ukraines defensive lines.

In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said his military commanders unanimously supported not withdrawing from Bakhmut, which has been the site of months of fierce fighting.

I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut, Zelenskyy said. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned. There is no Ukrainian trench in which the resilience and heroism of our warriors would be disregarded.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday if Russian troops manage to seize control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, it would not represent a decisive shift in the conflict.

"I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is [of] strategic and operational value," Austin told reporters during a visit to Jordan.

Austin said Monday he would not view a Ukrainian decision to reposition its troops to the west of the city as a strategic setback for Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington research organization, said, Ukrainian forces are likely conducting a limited tactical withdrawal in Bakhmut, although it is still too early to assess Ukrainian intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city.

The analysts said Ukraines defense of Bakhmut remains strategically sound as it continues to consume Russian manpower and equipment as long as Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive casualties.

Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare, the analysts added.

They said, Russian forces are unlikely to quickly secure significant territorial gains when conducting urban warfare, which usually favors the defender and can allow Ukrainian forces to inflict high casualties on advancing Russian units  even as Ukrainian forces are actively withdrawing.

The institute concluded that endemic personnel and equipment constraints will likely prevent Russian forces from launching another prolonged offensive operation like the battle for Bakhmut in the coming months.

While the war rages on, the United Nations said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is headed to Kviv for a Wednesday meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss continuation of Ukrainian grain shipments to impoverished nations. Russia, even while attacking Ukraine, agreed last year to safe passage for the shipments through the Black Sea although the current agreement expires March 18.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Russias assault on Ukraine, now in its second year, has set off alarms in neighboring countries. Lithuania is redoubling efforts to prepare for a confrontation that many now see as more possible than ever. Jon Spier narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
Officials in Somalia say an al-Shabab attack on a military base in the south of the country has been "repulsed.

The deputy president of Jubaland state, Mohamud Sayid Aden, told VOA Somali that al-Shabab militants used explosives and armed fighters to attack Janaa Cabdalle, 60 kilometers west of Kismayo.

This morning the Khawarij (deviants) attacked Janaa Cabdalle base, a strategic base which was captured from them before, he said, using a term for al-Shabab militants.

As is the hallmark for their attacks they used a series of explosives and suicide bombing, but the Somali troops defended the base, he added.

He said Tuesdays al-Shabab attack failed as government troops fought off the militants. Aden said barriers erected by the soldiers in anticipation of the al-Shabab attack prevented explosives penetrating the base.

Five soldiers were killed and more than 10 others injured, according to Aden.

Brave men are among the dead, and as opined in fatwa (ruling) by the religious scholars, they will be in paradise, he said.

He said al-Shabab suffered higher casualties as a result of the attack.

Al-Shabab said its fighters overran the base and killed 89 soldiers, a figure that has not been independently verified.

The groups military affairs spokesperson, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, told al-Shabab media that 20 vehicles were seized from the government forces.

Abu Musab also said that al-Shabab ambushed reinforcements the government sent from Yontoy and Bar Sanguni bases, east of Janaa Cabdalle.

Aden denied al-Shabab claims of high casualty figures among regional and federal forces.

Its baseless, he said.

Somali government forces supported by local fighters have driven al-Shabab from large areas in Hirshabelle and Galmudug states in operations that began last August.

The governments national security adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, told VOA last week that authorities are preparing a second phase of military operations which will involve additional troops sent by the three countries bordering Somalia  Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Aden said government forces are in control of the Janaa Cabdalle base, which he said is key to advancing on al-Shabab strongholds in the Middle Juba region.

The target is their biggest base in Middle Juba, a final offensive on Jilib and Buale and the other big bases they have been occupying for a long time, he said. Janaa Cabdalle is the closest strategic base to launch an offensive from.

The government has been fighting al-Shabab for more than 15 years. Al-Shabab wants to remove the government and impose its brand of strict Islamic law.
South Africa's ruling ANC party has brushed aside criticism of a large donation it accepted from a mining company linked to a Russian oligarch under U.S. sanctions.

Viktor Vekselberg is an investor in United Manganese of Kalahari Ltd, which last year donated $826,000 to help fund the ANC's electoral conference. Critics say the donation undermines the party's claim to a "neutral stance" on the Ukraine war and its refusal to criticize Russia's invasion.

The donation, worth 15 million rand in the local currency, was made public recently when South Africas electoral commission released a statement detailing funds received by political parties in the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year.

Asked by VOA whether a donation by a company linked to a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin affected the ruling partys stance on the war in Ukraine, spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri demurred.

The ANC receives both solicited and unsolicited financial support from various parties from all over the world, she said by text message. Some get accepted and others returned if found not to be aligned to the ANC's values and policies. This current support will be looked at in the same light.

The ANC's stance on Russia-Ukraine conflict will remain the same. We do not believe that anything progressive can come out of conflict and war. We still urge all parties to meet and find amicable solutions.

Solly Malatsi, national spokesman for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, criticized the donation.

This explains what the ANC governments approach to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is because its on the receiving end of millions of rands in donations from Russian oligarchs, Malatsi said. It flies in the face of South Africas quest for and respect for human rights as the light that guides our foreign policy.

The money went toward the ANCs December electoral conference in which President Cyril Ramaphosa was given a second term. There had been problems in funding for the event, with the heavily indebted party battling to meet its costs.

United Manganese of Kalahari, Ltd., or UMK, is a South African company that mines the metal crucial to the production of iron ore.

One of the shareholders is the ANCs funding front Chancellor House, according to investigative reports in South African media, while a Vekselberg-linked company owns another share of less than 50%  effectively allowing UMK to avoid U.S. sanctions.

The Russian businessman, who is reportedly close to the Kremlin, was on U.S. sanctions lists even before the invasion of Ukraine last year. After the war started, his luxury yacht was seized by the U.S. government and his U.S. properties searched by the FBI.

South Africa, which has a history of close ties with Russia, has abstained from condemning Moscows invasion of Ukraine at the U.N.

The donation raises questions about Pretorias political stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, said Steven Gruzd, a Russia expert at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Viktor Vekselberg has been linked to the ANC before; this is not the first time his name has come up, and this is a sizeable donation to a very cash-strapped political party, Gruzd said.

Theyre trying to spin it that this is a regular donation, a run of the mill contribution to a political party among many others, and that they will screen it to see that its in line with their values.

Last month, South Africa hosted the Chinese and Russian navies for joint military exercises off its east coast, despite the concerns of the United States and European Union.

In August, Putin is expected to visit South Africa for the annual summit of BRICS  a group of emerging economies made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Nearly sixty years after one of the world's worst nuclear accidents, Spain has asked the United States to clean up tens of thousands of cubic meters of radioactive soil and end a controversial chapter of the Cold War.

Madrid hopes that improved relations with Washington may make the U.S. honor a promise made in 2015 to cart off the contaminated soil.

In 1966, a B-52 bomber lost four hydrogen bombs after it collided with a refueling aircraft over the village of Palomares in southern Spain.

While the hydrogen bombs did not explode, two of them released plutonium, contaminating a two square kilometer area of land.

About 1,600 U.S. Air Force personnel were sent from a nearby base to clean up the area but were issued little protective gear while they spent weeks working in the remote site. Some later died.

About 1,400 tons of contaminated soil were shipped to a facility in the U.S. state of South Carolina.

It was the height of the Cold War and the matter was considered highly sensitive, so Washington's priority was to quickly eliminate all evidence of one of the biggest nuclear accidents in history.

Years later, concerns over the lingering impact of the collision began to surface after a study conducted in 2007 by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council suggested that up to 50,000 square meters of land remained contaminated. The area was fenced off and barred from use for development or agriculture.

Promises

In 2015, after decades of pressure from Madrid, Spain and the United States signed a statement of intent to dig up a patch of contaminated soil near Palomares and bury it in a secure area in the desert near Las Vegas in the U.S. state of Nevada.

But no final agreement was reached, and nothing happened.

Diplomatic relations worsened between Washington and Madrid during the presidency of Donald Trump, especially after a leftist government took power in Spain in 2018.

Spain now hopes improved relations between the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and the Spanish government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez may resolve the issue.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has presented an official request to the United States asking it to retrieve the soil. So far, there has not been a response from the U.S. a source at the Spanish Foreign Ministry, who declined to be named in accordance with custom, told VOA.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported Monday that the request had been made a few months ago.

The United States conducted remediation following the 1966 accident at Palomares and met with Spanish government officials on numerous occasions to discuss a range of bilateral issues including possible further remediation of the site. The Biden-Harris administration is open to further dialogue on this issue, a U.S. State Department official told VOA.

Calls for action

Oscar Velasco, mayor of Palomares, said unless action was taken now, the plutonium in the subsoil could spread.

If they leave it until 80 years after the crash we could have a worse problem on our hands, he told VOA.

However, advocates, who have been fighting for removal of the contaminated soil, were not hopeful that Washington would deliver on Spains request to resolve the matter.

Jose Herrera Plaza, who has spent 20 years investigating the Palomares accident, said since 1966, the incident had been manipulated by politicians.

Unfortunately, I dont hold out much hope that this will be solved again. Once again, the politicians are using this for political ends, he told VOA from his home near Palomares.

We are two months before regional and local elections in May in Spain and we are expecting national elections in December. It is no accident that Spain has made this request now.

Herrera said successive governments in Spain had manipulated the accident for political gains.

In 1966, shortly after the accident, Manuel Fraga, a minister in the government of longtime Spanish ruler General Francisco Franco, and the U.S. Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke swam in a nearby waterway to prove everything was safe in a staged photo opportunity.

However, decades later, U.S. veterans started to suffer from cancer or other ailments that many claimed were caused by exposure to plutonium during the clean-up operation.

As more veterans started to die, a dwindling band of survivors fought for recognition that their conditions were linked to weeks spent collecting debris in the Spanish countryside.

In 2021, the retired U.S. servicemen scored a landmark victory, which meant the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had to re-examine claims by veterans of Palomares.

The decision was a major step toward ensuring veterans have access to benefits they earned while serving.

Until the 1980s Spanish scientists relied on outdated equipment to assess the pollution. Several areas are still contaminated and fenced off but the effect on local residents is unclear.

In 2015, we hoped they would remove 50,000 square meters of land, which we know is polluted. So far, nothing has happened. I am not hopeful," Jose Ignacio Dominguez, a lawyer for Ecologists in Action, a Spanish conservation group, told VOA.

Ecologists in Action is taking legal action to try to make the Spanish government reveal details of the accident, which remain state secrets 57 years after the crash.

In 2020, Spain's National Court, which deals with terrorism, major financial fraud or matters of national security, asked the government to open the files on the case.

Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press.
An Israeli airstrike knocked the airport in Aleppo, Syria out of service early Tuesday, Syrian state media reported.

The SANA news agency cited a military source saying the Israeli attack came from the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, and that it caused material damage to the airport.

There was no comment from the Israeli military, which rarely discusses individual strikes against targets in Syria.

Israel has acknowledged targeting sites linked to militant groups allied with Iran, including Hezbollah, as well as arms shipments from Iran bound for militants in Syria and Lebanon.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
A Buffalo woman died and two other women were seriously injured Sunday when a panicked crowd attempted to flee from a concert venue in Rochester, according to a news release posted on the Rochester Police Department's Twitter account. A second woman was pronounced dead Monday evening.

The Associated Press and other news media outlets identified the deceased Buffalo woman as 33-year-old Rhondesia Belton. She was one of three women taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with serious injuries following what was described as a stampede.

The seriously injured victims were described as a 35-year-old woman from Rochester and a 35-year-old woman from Syracuse. Both were both listed in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, according to the AP. The name of the woman who died Monday evening was not immediately released.

Seven other concertgoers were treated at Rochester area hospitals for less serious injuries after the incident Sunday night inside the Main Street Armory following a concert by the rapper GloRilla.

"So what began last night as a night of live music and fun for the performer GloRilla ended in tragedy with one person dead and two more fighting for their lives," said Rochester Police Chief David Smith in a video from a news conference Monday that was posted by the AP.

Smith said the crush began just after 11 p.m. Sunday as the show ended and concertgoers were heading for the exit.

"There are some reports that shots were heard, causing the crowd to panic, but that has not been confirmed," said Smith.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Mayor Bryron W. Brown in a tweet Monday noted that Belton worked for the City of Buffalo.

"This is another difficult day for our Citys workforce and our entire community. I join all of our City employees in mourning the loss of one of our own. 33-year-old Rhondesia M. Belton was hired last year and worked in the City of Buffalo Traffic Violations Agency," Brown tweeted.

During the recorded news conference, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said it was too early to say if appropriate actions were taken by the venue operators but added that they will be held accountable once a thorough investigation of the incident is completed.
A top Chinese official has told Hong Kong to "nip in the bud" any potential risks that might threaten national security and be vigilant of "destructive forces lurking in society," according to the city's Beijing-appointed leader.

On his return to Hong Kong after political meetings in the Chinese capital, Chief Executive John Lee said late Monday that China's top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, told him to be on high alert for national security risks.

China has used a harsh national security law passed in 2020 to charge human rights activists and pro-democracy figures with serious crimes such as secession and subversion that carry penalties up to life in prison.

Xia, director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told Lee to focus on Hong Kong's economy, but also warned that "national security risks still exist and that some destructive forces are still lurking in society," Lee said.

"We should thwart any moves that would jeopardize national security, public peace or Hong Kong's safety, nipping them in the bud and not letting them grow," he told reporters.

On Tuesday, the new United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk voiced concerns over the national security law that rights groups and western governments have denounced for crushing Hong Kong's previous robust civil liberties. In an address in Geneva, he said his office has opened communication channels with China to follow up on concerns over rights issues in China, including Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans.

The Hong Kong government said in a press release that the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' concluding remarks "selectively believed, and made sweeping statements based on certain false information and distorted narratives, and made one-sided and flawed comments on the human rights situation in Hong Kong."

Despite these criticisms, Lee said he pledged to Xia that his administration would step up intelligence-gathering and risk management.

"We will firmly crack down on any attempts to sabotage national security, Hong Kong's peace and overall interests, and hold perpetrators responsible under the law," Lee said.

Lee's comments came shortly after a local women's rights group canceled a demonstration at the last minute and police warned "violent groups" might want to join the protest.

Police initially granted the Hong Kong Women Workers' Association permission to hold a Sunday rally to call for labor rights, women's rights and gender equality ahead of International Women's Day. But the association canceled the march the night before without giving a reason.

Commenting on whether the police wanted to avoid a protest which might have embarrassed Beijing during the National People's Congress, Senior Superintendent Dennis Cheng told reporters earlier that some "violent groups" wanted to join the protest, without identifying them.

After the women's group canceled the march, one of Hong Kong's few remaining pro-democracy groups, the League of Socialist Democrats, revealed in a statement that four of its members had received verbal warnings from national security police officers that if they showed up at the rally, they would be arrested. At the original scheduled time of the march on Sunday, more than 30 police officers were standing guard around the Southorn Playground in downtown Wanchai.

If it had gone ahead, the demonstration would have been the first major civil rights rally to be approved by police since the national security law took effect in June 2020 after months of anti-government protests.

Since then, more than 50 civil groups including unions, rights groups, independent media outlets and political parties have closed. China has insisted that the law was necessary to restore order after the protracted protests in 2019.
Add a top U.S. intelligence official to the list of Americans expressing concern about Chinese-made technology and Chinese social media platforms like TikTok.

General Paul Nakasone, who heads both the U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, told lawmakers Tuesday there are multiple reasons to be wary of Chinas rapid expansion in cyberspace, calling Beijing "a very formidable foe."

"TikTok concerns me for a number of different reasons," Nakasone said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "One is that the data that they have. Secondly is the algorithm and the control. Who has the algorithm?"

Third, he said, "is the broad platform" both for unleashing potential influence operations but also for the ability to give China a way to "turn off the message."

Last month, the United States moved forward with plans to ban TikTok  a social media app used by more than 100 million Americans  from government devices. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for giving U.S. President Joe Biden the ability to ban use of the social media app nationwide.

Others, however, object to giving Biden the ability to issue a blanket nationwide ban, arguing TikTok is only a small part of a larger issue.

"The threat that everyone is talking about is TikTok, and how it could enable surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party or facilitate the spread of malign influence campaigns in the U.S," Democratic Senator Mark Warner told reporters."Before TikTok, however, it was Huawei and ZTE, which threatened our nations telecommunications networks. And before that, it was Russias Kaspersky Lab."

"We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America," he said.

The Restrict Act, being pushed by Warner and others, would establish a rule-based process  informed by the U.S. intelligence community and directed by the Department of Commerce  to identify and address foreign technological threats.

For its part, TikToks parent company, ByteDance, has dismissed concerns it would improperly use user data as "political theater."

But concerns about Chinese companies and Chinese technology keep growing.

On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported U.S. defense officials are worried that Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes used at many of Americas ports could be used to spy on materials being shipped in and out of the U.S.

Communist China has monopolized the port crane industry, and I will continue to spearhead efforts to decouple from the regime in Beijing and incentivize the near-shoring and reshoring of our strategic manufacturing capabilities, Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez told VOA when asked about the potential for Chinese espionage at U.S. ports. I will fight to protect our critical infrastructure from the CCPs espionage tactics."

Tensions also have been rising since the U.S. shot down what it identified as a Chinese spy balloon last month after it had traveled across much of the continental United States.

And Biden is expected to issue an executive order in the coming days that would tighten rules on the ability of U.S. companies to invest in China.

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang chastised the U.S. Tuesday, telling reporters in Beijing that Washingtons China policy has "entirely deviated from the rational.

But Nakasone told lawmakers that politicians and businesses alike would be smart to be careful about how they make use of Chinese-made platforms and technology.

"What I would do is ensure that the areas that are most sensitive to our operations are well-sensored, and I have the confidence that's whats being utilized there. I understand where that information may be going," the CYBERCOM commander said.

"I would take a very, very hard look at anything that would come from an adversarial nation," Nakasone said, though he acknowledged it would be "very difficult" to proceed with an all-out ban of Chinese products.

"So much of what we do is based upon international trade," he said, "and China has the corner on some things."
The United Nations Refugee Agency is calling for urgent support to help tens of thousands of Somalis who fled fighting in a disputed border town in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland.

The refugee agency is seeking urgent support for an estimated 100,000 Somalis who have fled to Ethiopias Somali region.

The Somalis were displaced by fighting in the town of Las Anod, the center of a conflict between the breakaway Somaliland region and locals who want to be governed by Somalia.

The support is necessary to reduce the risk of conflict between host communities in Ethiopias drought-affected Somali region, said Mamadou Dian Balde, the agencys representative in Ethiopia.

If we do not support the population who are hosting and who are doing their part, you know, we can do as much as possible, but, you know, we cannot reduce that risk, Balde said.

The communities affected by drought in Ethiopia were the first responders in welcoming the refugees, says Tesfahun Gobezey, director general of Refugees and Returnees Service in Ethiopia.

He says they are getting help from the U.N. World Food Program.

So far, we have been able to communicate with WFP, and they have generously agreed to the idea that they will consider all host communities that are affected by the drought to be included in the food distribution that would be happening to the refugees, said Gobezey.

The UNHCR is also appealing for solutions to the problem in Las Anod so that people can return home.

Somaliland Foreign Minister Essa Kayd says his government is open to dialogue  but not on the territorial integrity of Somaliland.

We want to give a chance to talks. We want peace and stability to take place. We want to be inclusive and have Las Anod, and Sool and Sanaag regions in Somaliland as they were before. As you know, members of the clan who live there are in the Somaliland government," said Kayd.

Garaad Mukhtar Garaad Cali, one of the traditional leaders in the Sool region, says the most important prerequisite to dialogue is a cease-fire, and that this is yet to be achieved.

Each time the Somaliland administration mentions the word cease-fire, it might mean something to the international community, but it has a different meaning to us, which is the preparation of a new attack to the city. So long as Somaliland troops are in and out, in and around the city and can fire at us easily, it wont be possible to have a cease-fire successfully," said Cali.

The first asylum-seekers arrived in Ethiopia on February 6. And while estimates by local authorities in Ethiopia put the figure at nearly 100,000, this number has yet to be substantiated.
Repeated failures by Russian cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns to inflict lasting damage during the Kremlins ongoing war against Ukraine is unlikely to dampen Moscows resolve and could instead spur a new wave of riskier efforts against a wider set of targets.

The assessment, from a variety of U.S. government agencies, comes as Russias invasion of Ukraine has dragged into a second year, with Ukraine and its Western backers preparing for Moscow to unleash a new round of cyber campaigns aimed at helping to change the trajectory of the battle on the ground.

The weight of this conflict remains significant, a spokesperson for U.S. Cyber Command told VOA, sharing information on the condition of anonymity due to the nature of the ongoing fight. We anticipate their cyber activities may become bolder and look at broader targets.

Officials at the National Security Agency have reached similar conclusions.

If the conflict continues to not go well for Russia, there is some chance that Russia will be increasingly brazen in its cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure as we have already seen with their kinetic activity, an NSA spokesperson told VOA, who like their Cyber Command counterpart spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Only Russias cyber wrath will likely not be limited to Ukraine.

We anticipate that Russian actors will increasingly look outside of Ukraine's territorial borders when planning and conducting operations, be it related to aid that Western countries are giving to Ukraine or to try to undermine Western unity with disinformation as the conflict drags on, the NSA spokesperson added.

Russian cyber forces unprepared

Hardening such assessments is the reality that Russias hopes that it would be able to quickly topple Kyivs government failed to materialize, leaving Russias military planners fighting a war for which they were not prepared.

By late last year, Pentagon cyber officials were warning the Kremlins inability to anticipate a long war with Ukraine was not a problem relegated to the physical battlefield, but one that extended into both cyberspace and the information environment.

So, when Russias first salvo against Ukraine in cyberspace failed to land a decisive blow, the Kremlins cyber forces had few answers and continued to underperform.

Russian cyber activities remained true to their established tradecraft, such as attempts to disrupt websites, extract Ukrainian data and trying to get a forward-facing presence on the internet. These TTP [tactics, techniques and procedures] werent a surprise for us at all, the CYBERCOM spokesperson said.

And due to the decision by U.S. President Joe Biden to declassify some of the early intelligence on Russias invasion plans and share them with allies and partners, to include Ukraine, meant Kyiv was not surprised either.

The U.S. governments ability to provide information and intelligence to Russias invasion were the critical difference, according to the CYBERCOM spokesperson.

It was a game changer, which Russia might not have expected, the spokesperson added, noting the sharing of cyber intelligence remains an incredible weapon for Ukraine.

So far, U.S. government agencies see few signs that Russias range of cyber actors have been able to adjust.

Unchanging tactics

Instead, both CYBERCOM and the NSA assess that despite what they describe as strategic and operational failure, Russia has stuck to its traditional cyber playbook, hoping the persistence will pay off.

It doesn't seem Russia has been able to accomplish widespread cyber disruptions to Ukrainian civil infrastructure thus far, but we know they are continuing to try to gain accesses that would allow them to do so, the NSA spokesperson told VOA. The longer Russia wages this war, the harder it will be on the Ukrainian people, and the more vulnerable they will be to destructive cyberattacks against critical infrastructure.

Some of Washingtons assessments align with the findings of other Western countries.

Russias influence operations in cyberspace have not had the expected effect, Estonias Foreign Intelligence Service said in its report, released earlier this year.

It is possible that specific cyberattacks against energy, water supply or other similar critical infrastructure, which would lead to long-term service interruptions, were not organized early on because Russia expected to achieve its military objectives quicker and wanted to maintain the support of the local population, the Estonian report added.

But Estonian intelligence also cautions that Russia has not been looking to cyberspace just for an immediate impact.

The report cautioned that Russia often uses cyberattacks in a similar manner to its armed forces, with actions wearing down Ukraines cyber defenders in the hopes of eventually finding a weak link to exploit.

Estonia intelligence officials also noted expanded targeting, both with cyberattacks and influence operations, of countries supporting Ukraine, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Some cybersecurity companies have also noted a shift.

Focus on Ukrainian allies

A report last month by Check Point Research (CPR) found that since September 2022, weekly cyberattacks targeting Ukraine dropped by 44%, while attacks targeting key NATO countries began to increase.

CPR found Estonia saw a 57% increase in cyberattacks related to Russias invasion of Ukraine. In Poland and Denmark, the number of such cyberattacks jumped by 31%, compared to an 11% increase in Britain and a 6% rise in the U.S.

According to CPR, many of the attacks involved the use of malware, though there was also a growing focus on influence operations and disinformation.

The Kremlin uses its full disinformation ecosystem to spread and amplify multiple narratives across sources and platforms, including the heavy use of proxy websites, a State Department spokesperson told VOA, noting Ukraine itself remains a major target.

As with Russian troop attacks and cyberattacks, Russias efforts in the information domain have often been aimed at wearing down audiences.

The main idea here is just to over-exhaust people who are reading the news in order to make them actually puzzled at what actually happened, Roman Osadchuk, a research associate at the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensics Research Lab, said during a recent webinar.

Osadchuk further described Russias approach to confuse and overwhelm audiences as baking a layer cake of falsehoods in which one bit of disinformation is built on top on a previous disinformation campaign, which itself is based on yet an earlier disinformation campaign, which can make the falsehoods difficult to refute.

Many times, he said, Russia based these efforts on forged documents, which he said Moscow was producing on an industrial level.

Only success for Russia has not been consistent.

Mixed results

Russian propaganda has been failing, especially in Ukraine, said Ksenia Iliuk, a co-founder of LetsData, an information security company.

The social polling of Ukrainians showed that despite all those enormous flows of propaganda and disinformation, almost 90% of Ukrainians fully believe in Ukrainian victory, Iliuk said, speaking at the same webinar as Osadchuk. Ukrainians were the ones who were just doing the most amazing things when it comes to pre-bunking, debunking and various forms of communication.

However, Osadchuck and his colleagues at the Digital Forensics Research Lab caution that while Russias reputation as a disinformation champion has taken a hit, the Kremlins efforts remain dangerous.

In Europe and North America, where support for Ukraine generally remains high, contentious debates persist over supplying Ukraine with advanced weaponry and additional funding, while attitudes toward Ukraine have become increasingly partisan in the United States, they wrote in a report released ahead of the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

In parts of Africa, anti-imperialist sentiment manifests itself paradoxically in favor of Russia, where it is often presented as a friend and ally in opposition to historic colonizers such as France, rather than as a 21st-century colonizer in its own right, the report found. These examples, and countless others, continue to present opportunities for Russia to increase its stature and influence while simultaneously eroding Ukraines.

Russian cyber actors are also ramping up new campaigns or reviving old ones.

Renewed efforts

A report by the cybersecurity firm Proofpoint issued Tuesday warned that a Russian-aligned threat actor known by a number of names, including TA499, Vovan and Lexus, has been expanding a campaign using emails and video calls to create and spread negative narratives about those who have spoken out against Russian President Vladimir Putin, and in the last year, opposed Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Targets include high-profile North American or European government officials, chief executive officers at prominent companies and even celebrities, often by impersonating Ukrainian government officials or even the chief of staff for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

TA499 is a very public group that is garnering a fan following, the Proofpoint report warned.

Both U.S. CYBERCOM and the NSA told VOA they continue to work with a range of partners to detect Russian activity against Ukraine, as well as against allies, and share details that can stop cyberattacks before they happen, or at least allow for a quick response.

We continue to see Russian attempts to gather information, data and accesses while indiscriminately trying to cause widespread cyber disruptions, the CYBERCOM spokesperson said. They havent been successful.

And although such failures give officials and researchers some hope, there remains a sense of foreboding.

I don't think that this is a reflection on necessarily Russian cyber capabilities, said Samantha Lewis, a threat intelligence analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, during a recent webinar on Russias cyber operations.

It is not necessarily a statement on Russian cyber forces not being able to do better, because I think that there is absolutely potential for that to happen in the future, she added. The ongoing threat that comes from not knowing how much has been reserved up to this point.
Two men have been convicted of helping Somali pirates who kidnapped a U.S. journalist for ransom and held him for 2 1/2 years, prosecutors said.

Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed and Abdi Yusuf Hassan were convicted by a federal court jury in New York on February 24 of hostage-taking, conspiracy, providing material support for acts of terrorism and other crimes that carry potential life sentences.

Michael Scott Moore, a German-American journalist, was abducted in January 2012 in Galkayo, Somalia, 400 miles (643.7 kilometers) northeast of the capital of Mogadishu. He was working as a freelancer for the German publication Spiegel Online and researching a book about piracy.

The kidnappers demanded $20 million in ransom and at one point released a video showing Moore surrounded by masked kidnappers who pointed a machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade at him.

Moore was freed in September 2014. Moore has said his family raised $1.6 million for his release.

"Tahlil, a Somali Army officer, left his post to take command of the pirates holding Moore captive and obtained the machine guns and grenade launchers used to threaten and hold Moore," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Hassan, the Minister of Interior and Security for the province in Somalia where Moore was held hostage, abused his government position and led the pirates' efforts to extort a massive ransom from Moore's mother."

Hassan, who was born in Mogadishu, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was arrested in Minneapolis in 2019 and charged with federal crimes.

Details of Tahlil's arrest haven't been disclosed but he was jailed in New York City in 2018.

In a 2018 book Moore wrote about his captivity, he said that Tahlil got in touch with him from Somalia by Facebook two months after the journalist's release and included a photograph. Moore recognized him as the "boss" of his guards.

The men began a correspondence.

"I hope u are fine," Tahlil said, according to the book. "The pirates who held u hostage killed each other over group vendetta and money issues."

According to the criminal complaint reported by the New York Times, that was consistent with reports that some pirates were killed in a dispute over division of Moore's ransom.

Hassan and Tahlil were scheduled to be sentenced on September 6.

Attorneys for the two men were emailed for comment by The Associated Press after hours on Monday but the messages weren't immediately returned.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday during an unannounced visit to Iraq that U.S. forces operating in the country are focused on supporting Iraqi forces and defeating the Islamic State group, while highlighting the need for security to carry out that mission.

Our defense cooperation against Daesh is a key pillar of our bilateral relationship, and the United States remains committed to this fight in support of Iraqs security and the security of the entire region, Austin told reporters after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Austin thanked Iraqi leaders for a commitment to ensuring coalition forces operating in Iraq would be protected from state and non-state actors.

U.S. forces and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have been the targets of rocket fire from Iranian-backed militia.

The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq with a mission to advise and assist Iraqi troops in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Austin praised Iraq for repatriating Iraqi citizens from detention facilities and displaced persons camps in northeast Syria and encouraged all countries to do the same with their nationals.

The U.S. State Department said last month there were about 10,000 people in the al-Hol and Roj displaced persons camps.

Austins visit follows one last week by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who pledged deep solidarity with the Iraqi people and my hope that Iraq will face a future of peace and prosperity and with consolidated democratic institutions.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights says the international community continues to be united around the necessity of Afghan womens rights.

In an interview with VOAs Afghan Service late Monday, Rina Amiri said that the international community has made it clear to the Taliban that ... if they do not restore the rights of women and girls ... theres going to be no progress in terms of further normalization on any of the issues with which the Taliban seeks to make progress.

An experienced diplomat who served in various posts at the United Nations, Amiri also served as an adviser to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke under the Obama administration.

Amiri spoke to VOA via Skype. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: It has been more than 500 days since the Taliban banned girls from attending school. No international pressure has worked on the Taliban. Do the U.S. and the international community have any plans to force the Taliban change their policies toward girls' education?

Rina Amiri: The international community, the U.S. and many of the interlocutors that I spoke to have made it clear to the Taliban that if they do not take the right course in terms of respecting the rights of the Afghan population, if they do not restore the rights of women and girls, particularly the right to education and work, there's going to be no progress in terms of further normalization on any of the issues with which the Taliban seeks to make progress.

But what we see is that the Taliban continues to prioritize its internal politics over the fate of the Afghan population. And that is one really important factor that has hindered progress on the situation of women and girls.

VOA: Thousands of women lost jobs as a result of the Taliban's takeover of Kabul and its subsequent anti-women policies. In what ways is the U.S. helping these women? Is the U.S. still engaged with issues that Afghan women are facing?

Amiri: The situation of women and girls continues to be a significant priority for the United States. The U.S. is the only government thus far that has established an office specifically dedicated to the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. I think that that in itself should signify how important this issue is to the [U.S.] government in terms of what is being done. The Taliban's recent decree in December, which banned women from working for NGOs, it not only had a devastating impact on women but on the country as a whole. It affected both women's and men's jobs. And it has had a very devastating impact on being able to reach the most vulnerable Afghans, those that are in dire need of food assistance.

To address this, the U.S. has been working very closely with the U.N. You saw that the U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, along with Martin Griffiths, the head of the United Nations humanitarian and emergency relief coordination, came out and met with the Taliban. So those types of efforts continue to be underway to make sure that assistance continues to be provided to the Afghan population and that the devastating policies do not further harm the Afghan population.

In addition, the U.S. and the international community have stressed that assistance will be provided where women are able to work. In addition, last June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and I launched the Afghan Women's Economic Resilience Alliance, which is a public-private partnership specifically dedicated to supporting Afghan women and girls on everything from mentoring and capacity-building to women's organizations and entrepreneurs. It also assists those seeking virtual education and other means of getting education to girls, even as we continue to put pressure on the Taliban.

We know that there's not a day to waste in terms of Afghan women and girls being stripped of education. So we are trying to find entry points and identify ways to support women and girls both ourselves and by mobilizing the international community.

VOA: The Afghan Taliban seem to be on good terms with regional Muslim countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. What role have those countries played in pushing the Taliban to change their policies toward women?

Amiri: I've spoken to many leaders in the region as well as Muslim-majority countries. They continue to be extremely concerned about the situation of women and girls. And one of the key issues in which the international community remains united  that is, Muslim-majority nations in the region and nations in the West  is specifically the right of women and girls to education and work. Saudi Arabia issued a very strong statement condemning the Taliban's actions that have taken away women's right to work and girls right to education. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has put out very strong statements, as have Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and countries in the region.

The one point that the region bears in mind is that they do not want to walk away from the Afghan population. They remember the 1990s in which the world walked away and the Afghan people suffered. And the challenge right now is how do we collectively work to put pressure on the Taliban while not inflicting further harm on the Afghan population?

VOA: You have also said you are seeking a partnership to mobilize support to help Afghan women gain a stronger voice. How successful have your efforts been?

Amiri: I think there's been a great deal of traction. Quite honestly, circumstances faced by Afghan women and girls is the one issue that continues to unite people more than anything else, whether I'm talking to citizens in the private sector, academics, to think tanks or governments. The sense of injustice, the sense that this is something that is setting Afghanistan back and that is going to create greater impoverishment and instability is of huge concern.

And in December, the Indonesian government, in partnership with Qatar, put together a conference in which 40 countries were brought together to identify how greater support could be provided to women and girls. They committed to over five hundred scholarships. And a few weeks ago, I was in Qatar and the Qatari government also was looking for ways to bring direct support to women and girls.

This is an area in which I expect growing enthusiasm. The question is how to do it in a way that's targeted, that meets the needs of the Afghan population, and that gets support directly to Afghan women and girls in a way that is effective. I think that's what we're looking for.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has triggered an unprecedented wave of U.S. sanctions on Russia.

In the year since the onslaught, the U.S. The Treasury Department has sanctioned about 2,400 entities and individuals, while the Commerce Department has imposed prohibitive controls on exports to Russia and its ally Belarus.

While the Biden administration says the restrictions have significantly degraded Russias military-industrial complex and supply chains, it appears equally concerned that Moscow has proved increasingly adept at skirting the sanctions.

Using intermediaries, Russian companies continue to ship oil across the globe despite wide-ranging Western sanctions on its energy industry, while at the same time importing U.S. and European technology through intermediaries in countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia.

In a bid to close the loophole, the Biden administration has been homing in on what it calls evasion-related targets, designating more than 200 entities in connection with evading the sanctions. Spanning Europe, Africa and Asia, the targets include transshipment points in the Middle East, the Eurasian Economic Union, and East Asia, the Treasury Department said last month.

Putting companies on notice about the risk of violating U.S. sanctions on Russia, the U.S. departments of Justice, Treasury and Commerce last week released a compliance note to highlight what they described as one of the most common sanctions evasion tactics: the use of third-party intermediaries and transshipment points.

In the joint notice, the three agencies responsible for sanctions enforcement cited more than a dozen common red flags that suggest the use of a third-party intermediary  or a foreign company based outside Russia  to evade the sanctions.

Among the tell-tale signs: Using shell companies to execute international wire transfers, being reluctant to share information about the end user, and routing shipments through certain transshipment points commonly used to illegally redirect restricted items to Russia or Belarus.

"Businesses of all stripes should act responsibly by implementing rigorous compliance controls," the notice warned.

Antonia Tzinova, a partner at the Holland & Knight law firm in Washington, D.C., said the administrations sanctions compliance notice reflects growing concerns that Russian entities have found ways to circumvent the restrictions.

The concern is that Russia keeps getting the technologies that have been embargoed in support of its war and keeps getting the resources to finance its war, Tzinova said.

Sanctions  when targeted, closely coordinated and multilateral  work, she said. But they lose potency over time as their targets learn to evade them.

This is part of the adjustment process, she said of Russias ability to weather the sanctions effects. Theyll find ways because for them its a matter of survival.

Jim McWeeney, chief executive officer of Integrity Risk International, said the compliance note amounts to a warning signal to governments that are helping Russia evade the sanctions.

These aren't just the typical bad actors that we normally see around the globe, McWeeney said.

The notice mentioned China, Armenia, Turkey and Uzbekistan among the countries commonly used as transshipment points to Russia and Belarus.

In January, the non-profit Silverado Policy Accelerator reported that some former Soviet states had increased their transshipment of goods produced by multinational firms that no longer export the goods directly to Russia.

Another alleged transshipment point to Russia and Belarus is the United Arab Emirates.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, U.S. assistant secretary of Treasury for terrorist financing, said the administration is concerned that UAE-based companies exported more than $18 million worth of goods to U.S.-designated Russian entities between July and November 2022.

In addition, she said, UAE firms shipped more than $5 million in U.S.-origin, export-controlled goods to Russia, including semiconductor devices.

We are specifically concerned about increases in trade with Russia in the kind of goods that can be used on the battlefield and those who are aiding designated Russian entities, Rosenberg said last week at the Association of Women in International Trade. We are investigating this type of assistance at the individual, firm and sector level.

The embassies of China, Armenia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan in Washington did not respond to VOAs requests for comment.

McWeeney of Integrity Risk said the Biden administration is clearly concerned about Russias efforts to circumvent international sanctions.

The more they can evade sanctions, the longer that Russia can continue to pursue this war, McWeeney said. The more that the sanctions can be enforced, the more difficult it is on Russia to fund the war, to continue the war.
Russias defense minister said Tuesday that capturing the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was important to launching offensive operations deeper in the region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to keep fighting for Bakhmut.

Russian defense chief Sergei Shoigu called Bakhmut an important defensive hub for Ukrainian forces as he spoke to military officials and said capturing it would allow Russian troops to push deep into Ukraines defensive lines.

In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said his military commanders unanimously supported not withdrawing from Bakhmut, which has been the site of months of fierce fighting.

I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut, Zelenskyy said. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned. There is no Ukrainian trench in which the resilience and heroism of our warriors would be disregarded.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday if Russian troops manage to seize control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, it would not represent a decisive shift in the conflict.

"I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is [of] strategic and operational value," Austin told reporters during a visit to Jordan.

SEE ALSO:

Austin said Monday he would not view a Ukrainian decision to reposition its troops to the west of the city as a strategic setback for Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington research organization, said, Ukrainian forces are likely conducting a limited tactical withdrawal in Bakhmut, although it is still too early to assess Ukrainian intentions concerning a complete withdrawal from the city.

The analysts said Ukraines defense of Bakhmut remains strategically sound as it continues to consume Russian manpower and equipment as long as Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive casualties.

Ukrainian forces are unlikely to withdraw from Bakhmut all at once and may pursue a gradual fighting withdrawal to exhaust Russian forces through continued urban warfare, the analysts added.

They said, Russian forces are unlikely to quickly secure significant territorial gains when conducting urban warfare, which usually favors the defender and can allow Ukrainian forces to inflict high casualties on advancing Russian units  even as Ukrainian forces are actively withdrawing.

The institute concluded that endemic personnel and equipment constraints will likely prevent Russian forces from launching another prolonged offensive operation like the battle for Bakhmut in the coming months.

While the war rages on, the United Nations said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is headed to Kviv for a Wednesday meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss continuation of Ukrainian grain shipments to impoverished nations. Russia, even while attacking Ukraine, agreed last year to safe passage for the shipments through the Black Sea although the current agreement expires March 18.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
TUNIS, TUNISIA 

Tunisia's president denounced racism on Sunday and pointed to possible legal consequences for perpetrators 10 days after announcing a crackdown on illegal migration using language the African Union condemned as "racialized hate speech."

During a statement on February 21 telling security forces to expel all illegal immigrants, President Kais Saied called migration a conspiracy to change Tunisia's demographics by making it more African and less Arab.

Police detained hundreds of migrants, landlords summarily evicted hundreds from their homes and hundreds of others were fired from work, rights groups say.

SEE ALSO:

Many migrants said they had been attacked, including being pelted with stones by gangs of youths in their neighborhoods, and rights groups said police had been slow to respond to such assaults.

While Saied denied racism in a statement on February 23, he repeated his view of immigration as a demographic plot. Before Sunday, Saied had not publicly warned of any legal consequences for the attacks.

In Sunday's statement he described the accusations of racism as a campaign against the country "from known sources," without elaborating.

SEE ALSO:

But he added that Tunisia was honored to be an African country and announced a relaxation of visa rules for African citizens, allowing stays of up to six months instead of three without seeking residency, and of a year for students.

He said migrants who had overstayed could leave without penalty after many of those authorities sought to deport had proven unable to pay fines for late stays.

He painted his crackdown on illegal migration as being a campaign against human trafficking and pointed to a law passed in 2018 against discrimination to say that any verbal or physical attacks on foreigners would be prosecuted.

Opposition parties and rights groups have said Saied's crackdown on immigrants, which coincided with arrests of senior opposition figures, was aimed at distracting from Tunisia's economic crisis.

Saied seized most powers in 2021, shutting down the elected parliament, moving to rule by decree and rewriting the constitution, steps his foes including the main political parties call a coup.

SEE ALSO:

He has said his actions were legal and needed to save Tunisia from chaos.
In a rare step, the Buffalo Common Council passed a resolution on Tuesday to seize two deteriorating 19th-century properties in the city's Cobblestone District that have languished in Housing Court for years.

The Council's decision to use eminent domain to put the properties in the city's inventory will be challenged in court, said Darryl Carr, who purchased the 1869 building at 118 South Park Ave. in 2003 and the 1852 building at 110 South Park Ave. in 2008.

Carr has sought to demolish the two buildings to make way for a development project he is planning.

Tuesday's 7-2 vote for the eminent domain measure comes just over a month since Housing Court Judge Patrick M. Carney ordered an emergency demolition of the two historic properties.

Carr said he plans to fight the Council's move.

Judge approves emergency demolition of 19th-century Cobblestone District buildings "I spent 14 years trying to salvage these buildings, and could not find an avenue to do it," Housing Court Judge Patrick M. Carney said.

"They have absolutely no right to do this, and I'm not letting them take my property," Carr said. "This would set a dangerous precedent for any other property owner in Western New York."

Preservationists have long been frustrated by Carr's failure to fix the historic properties and at how long the court case has dragged on. The locally landmarked district is certified by the National Park Service as a neighborhood that meets the requirements of the National Register of Historic Places.

Preservation organizations expressed their approval of the Council's decision.

"We are extremely thankful that the city is supporting basically the centerpiece of the Cobblestone Historic District," said Paul McDonnell, president of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo, History, Architecture & Culture. "Without these buildings, there would be no historic district, and without a doubt numerous developers will come forward tor develop these buildings and make them into a vibrant centerpiece of the district."

"We strongly support the city in their pursuit of eminent domain proceedings, as well as any further efforts by the city to hold negligent property owners accountable," said Corey Fabian-Barrett, interim executive director of Preservation Buffalo Niagara.

Early step taken toward eminent domain of Cobblestone properties The buildings at 110 and 118 South Park Ave. have faced code violations for years that city inspectors have said represent health, welfare and safety issues.

What happens next to the buildings is unclear. The properties that have been in limbo in Housing Court for years are now the subject of two parallel actions to be decided in the courts. Carney, when he announced his demolition decision, cast doubt on the legality of the city seizing Carr's property, calling the process "basically kind of a sham."

The judge said the buildings "represent a danger to public welfare and safety" made worse by the Christmas week blizzard. The city is appealing his demolition order to a county court.

The next step for the Common Council resolution is to have it published three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. Carr then has 30 days to appeal to the appellate division. If the court rules for Carr, the city loses its case.

If the court rules in the city's favor, the case would go to State Supreme Court to arrive at a financial settlement based on the property's appraisal, which by law would allow Carr a minimum of one year to contest the valuation.

Freshman Fillmore Council Member Mitchell Nowakowski, whose district includes the Cobblestone District, introduced the measure for the city to take the properties with the Brown administration's support.

"We're here because Darryl Carr wanted to usurp municipal protocols for years and is now seeking a court order for demolition," Nowakowski said. "I didn't do this in a flip manner. I did it because I'm trying to protect a preservation district and two very large parcels that contribute to it."

Council Members Darius Pridgen and Rasheed Wyatt voted against the measure.

Judge grapples over fate of Cobblestone buildings: 'I'm begging for anybody to propose a solution' Next week, Housing Court Judge Patrick M. Carney will consider pending motions to either stabilize the buildings or order an emergency demolition. He indicated he's running out of patience, and the buildings are running out of time.

It is the first time since Mayor Byron Brown took office that the city has taken steps to seize a property through eminent domain.

Carr, who also owns the Cobblestone Bar and Grill just east of the targeted buildings, has long contended that the buildings are structurally unsafe and contaminated from industrial chemicals, and he has an engineering report that supports his position. He wants to build a high-rise building in their place that will use green energy technology and feature housing, a hotel and shops.

Carr said the Council showed no interest in his concern about the buildings.

"This has been a one-way street and a sham," Carr said. "No one on the Council, including Mitch Nowakowski, who has been pushing this, or the Brown administration, has ever reached out to talk to me. This was very apparent at the public hearing, when the Council had absolutely no questions for me while directing all the questions to the people speaking for eminent domain."

When the building at 110 South Park opened in 1852, it was home of the George Mugridge & Son Steam Bakery, makers of hardtack  a type of biscuit  for the Union Army during the Civil War. The building was also used by Phoenix Die Casting Co., which operated a machine shop in the front and a foundry in the back from 1950 to 1988. The 1869 building at 118 South Park was the longtime home of the Buffalo Blacksmith Shop
We accept many different kinds of announcements. Just click on the button below and submit a form.

Go to forms
Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.



Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.
(St. Paul, MN) Governor Tim Walz announced a state of emergency in Minnesota. Additionally the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced a series of community-level strategies to help slow the spread of novel coronavirus in Minnesota communities. With a total of 14 cases of travel-associated COVID-19 now confirmed in Minnesota, health officials urge swift action to limit the spread of the infection and reduce its impacts on our communities and our health care system.

The broad set of recommendations will remain in place until further notice, and touch on many aspects of society, including families, faith-based organizations, employers, assisted living facilities, schools and health care settings. Each strategy is designed to make person-to-person transmission less likely by reducing the close-contact interactions (interactions with others within 6 feet for 10 minutes or more) that tend to result in passing along the illness.

The full set of recommendations is available on the MDH Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) website. Key items on the list include:

 Event organizers cancelling or postponing gatherings with 250 or more people, including concerts, conferences, professional and amateur performances or sporting events.

 Event organizers cancelling or postponing smaller events (those with less than 250 people) that are held in settings that do not allow social distancing of 6 feet per person.

 Event organizers limiting attendance to no more than 10 people for events where the majority of participants are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

 People and families at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness staying at home and avoiding gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including travel.

 Employers making telework arrangements for workers whose duties can be done remotely.

 Employers staggering work schedules and limiting non-essential work travel.

 Health care facilities and assisted-living facilities more strictly limiting visitors.

 Faith-based organizations offering video or audio events.

More from this section How gas prices have changed in Minnesota in the last week

 Hospitals and other health care facilities implementing triage before entering facilities (for example, parking lot triage, phone triage, and telemedicine to limit unnecessary visits).

The Minnesota recommendations include school-specific guidance for limiting close-contact interactions. However, consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MDH has not recommended that K-12 schools close unless specifically advised to do so by health officials. However, as the situation evolves there may be points where specific or broad closures would be ordered. Parents of children and teens with underlying health conditions should consider distance learning as a precaution.

Shopping for groceries and other items is not affected by these recommendations, although it is a good idea to limit close contact when doing so  and people who are sick should not be shopping or using transit. They should stay home until they recover.

The recommendations to avoid mass gatherings do not pertain to normal operations of airports, bus and train stations, medical facilities, libraries, shopping malls and centers, or other spaces where 100 or more people may be in transit. Even so, people in high-risk categories (the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions) should consider limiting such activities.

According to Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm, these recommendations show that every Minnesota resident and organization has an important role to play in protecting our state from the risks of this disease.

We know these strategies will impact the lives of all Minnesotans, but we are hopeful we can reduce the impacts of this outbreak by working together, Commissioner Malcolm said. All Minnesotans share the risks and the responsibilities now.

"For everyone, the responsibility first and foremost is to stay home when you are sick, Commissioner Malcolm said. I want to make it clear that this applies to everyone  no exceptions during a serious outbreak like this. For communities and organizations, the responsibility means making temporary adjustments to events, operations and activities to help make person-to-person transmission less likely.

Since the outbreak started in December 2019, more than 134,000 cases and 4,967 deaths have been reported worldwide. That includes 1,701 U.S. cases and 40 deaths as of this morning.

The virus that causes COVID-19 is spread primarily by respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza spreads. It can also spread when people touch contaminated surfaces and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. More information can be found on MDHs Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) website. MDH has set up a COVID-19 public hotline that is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The hotline number is 651-201-3920.

To listen to Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm and MN Attorney General Keith Ellison during their press conference on Friday, March 13th.
User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale

Contribute:

Leave a comment if you find a particular report interesting or want to add to it.

Flag as inappropriate.

Mark as helpful or interesting.

Send your own user report!

Translate

Apokon, Tagum City (48.8 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 5-10 s : I was in the 2nd floor of the house and was sitting on the floor and suddenly I felt intense shaking that our sliding door and windows are creaking and even if the intense shaking subsides there's still swaying and I was dizzy for 2 minutes or so. | 5 users found this interesting.

Butuan agusan del Norte (165.4 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s : I was in my room, 4th floor and I thought I was feeling dizzy when I saw the towel hanging in the bathroom swaying. | 3 users found this interesting.

Central, Davao del Sur, Davao (87.5 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Another sideway shaking on the surroundings. Felt much stronger than the last quake hours ago. | 4 users found this interesting.

Abrezza Mall (88.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s Visible shake feet it in the legs | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Amador at Prk#3, Brgy New Malitbog, Panabo City (72.7 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes While eating at home | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes

Davao City (84.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) I'm just sitting when everything around me started to move. It only lasted for seconds. | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V)

San Francisco Agusan Del Sur / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes Swaying and could hear a faint rumbl | One user found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes

Tagum city (68.2 km WSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating

Ampayon, Butuan City, Philippines (163 km NNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 15-20 s : Spiriling movement of mixed direction.

1079.7 km W of epicenter [ Map ] / not felt not felt (reported through (reported through our app / not felt

Cagayan de Oro Philippines (196.8 km WNW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I'm on the bed in my hotel at the 8th floor

tagum (55.6 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 5-10 s

New Katipunan Davao Del Norte (62.5 km W of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / very short

Ula, Davao del Sur, Davao (96.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s

Balingasag / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Tagum City / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 10-15 s

Ecoland, Davao City / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Davao City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 30-60 s

Davao City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s

Davao City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 10-15 s

panabo city / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s (reported through our app / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s

Panabo City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s

Davao City / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s Dizzy (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Davao city / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s

Davao City / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 1-2 minutes (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 1-2 minutes

Davao City / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app / Light shaking (MMI IV)
For the past two years, Israelis have been divided and unable to choose a government. After five general elections, they decided to dismiss the Lapid/Gantz team and put a new coalition around Benjamin Netanyahu in power. However, two months after the formation of the new government, they have changed their minds again. A majority of Israelis already dont want the people they chose.

Indeed, to everyones surprise, Benjamin Netanyahu has formed a coalition with small Jewish supremacist parties. He has promised them to :

 remove from the Basic Law clause 7a prohibiting openly racist parties from running for office.

 amend the anti-discrimination law to allow funding for gender-segregated events or structures and to allow denial of services on the basis of belief.

 compel local governments to fund ultra-Orthodox schools, even if they are not centrally controlled, do not follow the curriculum and refuse to teach basic secular subjects such as Math and English.

 to remove the allocation of food stamps from the Ministry of Social Welfare and entrust it to the Ministry of the Interior. It will apply the criterion of not paying taxes as a criterion for distributing them, knowing that the ultra-Orthodox are exempted regardless of their resources.

However, the Prime Minister was keen to distance himself from his allies. He declared that he would never allow his faith to be used to deny services to an Israeli citizen. "There will be electricity on Shabbat. There will be [mixed] swimming beaches. We will maintain the status quo. There will be no country [governed] by halakha [Jewish law]" "There will be no amendment of the Law of Return" (the Prime Ministers allies require that any candidate for return prove that he or she has a Jewish parent in the strict sense of the word). He disavowed his son, Yair Netanyahu, for whom the judges who indicted him while he was still Prime Minister are traitors and must be punished as such. Finally, he elected the only openly gay member of parliament, Amir Ohana, president of the Knesset.

As shocking as this program is, it is not important. Benjamin Netanyahu has announced an overhaul of the judicial system that challenges the balance of power on which this unconstitutional country has been based until now, to the point that his opponents are calling it a "coup.

The demonstrations followed one another and grew in number. At first, they were only from the center and the left. Then former allies of Benjamin Netanyahu joined in, and now right-wing groups and, finally, some Arabs.

Drawing a parallel between the current Netanyahu government and the Nazi regime, former Chief of Staff General Moshe Yaalon said, "The Jewish people paid a heavy price for the fact that in democratic elections in Germany, a government came to power that eliminated democracy, and the first thing it eliminated was the fundamental democratic principle of the independence of the judiciary.

Moshe Yaalon is a long-time opponent of Benjamin Netanyahu, but in a few weeks, former allies of the Prime Minister have agreed.

 Former Likud justice minister and deputy prime minister under Netanyahu, Dan Meridor, spoke at the main demonstration outside the Knesset on February 20. He said, "Who would have thought that we would need to defend democracy in Israel, but it is under attack!"

 Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo, chosen by Benjamin Netanyahu at the time, is now one of the coordinators of the protests. In an interview with Kan Public Radio, he accused the Prime Minister of reforming the justice system only to escape it personally. In addition, he accused elements of the government coalition of wanting to build "a racist and violent state that cannot survive.

 Former Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen, who was also chosen by Benjamin Netanyahu at the time, told a right-wing rally: "The proposed reform will change the structure of government in Israel, since the executive branch - headed by the Prime Minister - will have unlimited power. The checks and balances necessary for a democratic society will disappear. Every citizen must be concerned about such a situation, regardless of political affiliation. The reform in its current state, [imposed] with brutality and [developed] without dialogue with all components of the nation, could lead to disaster."

Several petitions from economists and high-tech entrepreneurs have sounded the alarm that the announced reforms will scare off foreign investors. 56 world-renowned economists, including 11 Nobel Prize winners, published an open letter. They wrote: "Israels ruling coalition is considering a series of legislative acts that would weaken the independence of the judiciary and its power to compel government action. Many Israeli economists, in an open letter which some of us joined, expressed their concern that such a reform would harm the Israeli economy by weakening the rule of law and thus displacing Israel towards Hungary and Poland.

The justice reform plan will be carried out in four phases, of which, for the moment, only the first phase has been presented to the public.

 This phase (phase I) includes

(1) legislating an override provision that would allow the Knesset to pass a second time by a simple majority legislation that was struck down by the Supreme Court;

(2) eliminate the standard of reasonableness for judicial decisions;

(3) strengthen the power of the governing coalition in the Judicial Appointments Committee;

and (4) weaken the status of legal advisors in government ministries.

 Phase II will make the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty a mere text with no more value than any other law. It can therefore be easily replaced.

 Phase III will limit the right of appeal to the Supreme Court.

 Phase IV will divide the current powers of the Attorney General. A second body, a "chief prosecutor", will be the only authority to bring politicians to justice.

This reform will change the nature of Israel completely. It is openly supported by two think tanks, the Kohelet Policy Forum and the Law and Liberty Forum. The latter is inspired by one of the groups that make up the Federalist Society in the United States; the association that secretly drafted the USA Patriot Act and imposed it on the occasion of the September 11 attacks [1]. The Law and Liberty Forum is funded by the Tikvah Fund, which is chaired by the US-Israeli neo-conservative Elliott Abrams (known for his role in the Iran-Contra affair and in numerous coups in Latin America) [2].

The Federalist Society and the Law and Liberty Forums strategy is to change jurisprudence by changing judges [3]. Over a period of 30 years, the Federalist Society has succeeded in legally justifying neo-liberalism, limiting the possibilities of recourse against big business, deconstructing the way in which the Democratic Party had imagined the fight against discrimination and for the right to abortion, preventing the USA from joining a number of international treaties and, finally, transforming the balance of power in the USA so that the president can wage whatever wars he wants and practice torture.

The originality of the Federalist Societys approach was to reinterpret the principles of Anglo-Saxon law. Drawing on the writings of the philosopher Leo Strauss, it substituted "natural law" for "positive law. For example, during the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan wanted to deregulate the economy, but he was constrained by law and could not. A Federalist Society theorist, Professor Richard Epstein, argued that property was not a matter of positive law, i.e., conventions drawn up by legislators, but of natural law, i.e., that it was instituted by God. Now, any regulation of an economic activity consists in limiting the way in which certain owners behave. Therefore, any regulation is an expropriation that requires compensation.

Thus, if a law, in the interest of the community, requires industrialists to produce only products of a certain quality, it limits their property rights, and they must therefore be compensated. This interpretation of the law allowed President Ronald Reagan to deconstruct all pre-existing economic regulations.

Most of the Federalist Societys adherents are just conservative or libertarian lawyers. They were only concerned with family law and economic law. However, within the Society, a small group became involved in international politics. It is this group that influences Israel today. In the United States, it first succeeded in making "American exceptionalism" triumph .

[4].

This school of thought refuses to apply international treaties in domestic law; judges the behaviour of others harshly, but absolves Americans who do the same on principle; and refuses to allow any international jurisdiction to take an interest in its internal affairs. In short, it believes that, for religious reasons, the United States is not comparable to other states and should not be subject to any international law. This US ideology is perfectly compatible with the political interpretation of the theological theory of the "chosen people". If from a religious point of view this means that men who turn to God have been chosen by him, understood literally, it means that men are unequal, with the Jews being above the gentiles (in Hebrew, the "goyim").

The other major struggle of this Federalist Society group was to overturn the "non-delegation doctrine. American jurists believed that the separation of constitutional powers did not allow the executive to encroach on the privileges of the legislature and to define the criteria for the application of a law. Now, the opposite is true: the separation of powers prohibits the Legislative branch from interfering with the activities of the Executive branch. The Congress thus loses its power to control the White House. It is on the basis of this sleight of hand that President George W. Bush was able to launch a series of wars and to generalize torture.

The links between this Federalist Society group and the Israeli Likud are not new. In 2003, Elliott Abrams organized the Jerusalem Summit with the participation of almost all Israeli political groups. He said that there would be no peace in the world until Israel crushes the Palestinians demands [5].

Following this logic, once the Netanyahu government was formed, General Avi Bluth, commander of Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, distributed a book to his officers: Ours in Tabu: The Secrets of Land Redeemers From Our Father Abraham to the Young Settlements. It presents as divine will the Jewish occupation of Palestine, whether by land purchase or violence, from Abraham to the illegal settlements.

The first visible consequence of this shift and propaganda occurred in the West Bank when 400 settlers from Har Bracha attacked the town of Huwara. They intended to take revenge for the murder of two of their number, allegedly by Palestinians from that town. For five hours, they pelted the inhabitants, burned several hundred cars and 36 houses. Under the eyes of the Israeli army, which sealed off the village to prevent its inhabitants from fleeing, they attacked them, injuring more than 400 people and killing one. Far from condemning the violence, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, regretted that private individuals had done what he said was the responsibility of the state: to "annihilate" the village.

In the statements of its leaders, the ruling coalition, already complicit in these abuses, announces that it will use the means of the state to extend them to the entire Arab population, not only Palestinians, but also Israeli Arabs.

Mass demonstrations follow one another in Israel, while foreign politicians sympathetic to Israel multiply their warnings. But nothing happens. The process is underway. Bezalel Smotrich sees the Arabs as wild animals that must be tamed by force. But the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, approaches the issue from a different point of view. For him, God gave the land to the Jews who must expel the Arab squatters from it. Regardless of the points of view, all members of the coalition agree on one thing: the government is sovereign and should not be restricted by laws. This suits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under judicial investigation.

What is going on in Israel is not just about Israelis and Palestinians. Elliott Abrams is a historic Straussian, even more so than the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and his deputy, Victoria Nuland. It is therefore foreseeable that if the "reform" of the Israeli justice system continues, the new regime will be fully aligned with the positions of the Straussians. For the time being, Israel refuses to send arms to Ukraine according to the principle of General Benny Gantz: "No Israeli arms should reach the mass murderers of Jews". The risk of an alliance between Ukrainian "integral nationalists", American "Straussians" and Israeli "revisionist Zionists" has never been greater [6]. The United States has just banned the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, from visiting its territory. They still sanction his racist remarks, but for how long?
In the face of pressure from faculty, students and civic officials and institutions, University at Buffalo president Satish K. Tripathi emphasized First Amendment freedoms in a letter Tuesday explaining why a speaker condemned for anti-transgender statements would be permitted on campus later this week.

And that affirmation brought forth still more criticism.

Michael Knowles, the Daily Wire political commentator who on Saturday declared transgenderism should be eradicated from public life, had been invited by the student chapter of Young Americans for Freedom to speak Thursday evening at UB's North Campus. Knowles' speech, which is open to the public, is entitled "How Radical Feminism Destroys Women (And Everything Else)".

The president stressed the protections of the First Amendment, which he said "protects speech no matter how noxious the content," while admitting his explanation may not be popular.

"When faced with the prospect of intolerant and hateful speech directed at transgender people entering the campus dialogue, I understand that espousing our universitys values and clarifying the First Amendment may ring hollow  and, indeed, feel wholly inadequate," Tripathi said.

UB walks a fine line as student group invites a controversial speaker to a campus focused on inclusivity As the impending visit of Michael Knowles stirred a wave of reaction on social media, the university on Monday sought to clarify its commitment to "fostering a safe, welcoming environment at all times.

In response to Tripathi's statement, a group of Buffalo's political leaders shared a joint statement condemning the university.

"I am absolutely disgusted by the decision of the University at Buffalo to allow this person to speak on campus, said Buffalo Common Council Member Mitchell P. Nowakowski, joined by Assembly members Karen McMahon and Jon D. Rivera in the statement.

"This is a clear violation of the values of inclusivity, respect, and diversity that we hold dear, and it sends a dangerous message to our students that bigotry and hate speech are acceptable. I urge the University to step in and stand up for the LGBTQ community and all marginalized groups by refusing to allow Michael Knowles to speak on campus."

Nowakowski is expected to join Kelly Craig of the Pride Center of WNY at noon Wednesday for a news conference about the issue.

PUSH Buffalo, a local nonprofit whose mission touches on racial, economic and other forms of justice, believes Tripathi's remarks following the May 14 racially motivated shooting at Tops Markets run counter to Knowles' scheduled appearance.

"President Tripathi, in giving this speaker a platform on your campus, you enable their hate and threats of violence to grow and fester. If this event proceeds, you will be going back on your own commitment last spring to 'combat hate' and 'cultivate justice,' " wrote Dawn Wells-Clyburn, PUSH's executive director, and Carl Nightingale, a PUSH board member, in a tweet.

"You will be making your campus unsafe. You've sanctioned this event under the guise of 'freedom of speech,' but there is no freedom in hate speech. There is no debate about genocide."

PUSH Buffalo is committed to the liberation of all marginalized people. We organize and operate under the premise that liberation is collective, that none of us is free until all of us are free. We stand in solidarity with trans people everywhere.@UBuffalo: SHUT THIS DOWN! pic.twitter.com/GxyE19eLTq  PUSH Buffalo (@PUSHBuffalo) March 7, 2023

In his statement earlier Tuesday, Tripathi stressed the importance of civil discourse and the power of UB's guiding principles, even though constitutional law dictated the speech be allowed to go on.

"But let me reassure you: These values of diversity, equity, inclusion and respect keep us grounded. They guide our every action. As the bedrock of our university, they most certainly do not crumble when confronted with dehumanizing, transphobic rhetoric. Since our universitys founding, our power of reason and our ability to engage in civil, humanizing discourse have always been the source of our scholarly communitys greatest strength."

Tripathi's letter to the UB community also condemned hateful language.

"Hateful and dehumanizing rhetoric is an affront to everything our community embraces," Tripathi wrote. "To all those who are disenfranchised, marginalized and persecuted, including our transgender community, please know that we support you, and we will continue to uphold UBs cherished values of diversity, equity and inclusion to ensure that the university remains a safe and welcoming place for you."

Tripathi specifically highlighted the contributions of UB's feminist activists and students, as well as the university's LGBTQ+ community. He said, however, that as long as the Young Americans for Freedom follows the school's guidelines and state law for inviting a speaker to campus, the university cannot intervene.

UB won't keep student club from bringing controversial conservative commentator Michael Knowles to speak UB released a statement Sunday about the upcoming appearance of Michael Knowles. The university said it supports the fundamental right of its community and invited guests to peacefully express their views and opinions  even when others disagree.

Knowles, a right-wing political commentator, made anti-transgender statements at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. According to national media reports, Knowles and the Daily Wire have said the statements were about a set of ideas and not humans. New York magazine argued that it's impossible to eradicate an idea.

In the letter sent Sunday, three UB professors  Carrie Tirado Bramen, David Schmid and Michael Rembis  called on Tripathi to rescind Knowles invitation and cancel the event, so as not to provide a platform for hate speech, while standing by UB's "stated core values of diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect."

Knowles is a notorious right-wing provocateur with a long history of hate speech that implicitly calls for and condones violence against minority and marginalized groups, the three wrote to Tripathi. We believe that this inflammatory language is effectively a call for genocidal violence against members of the transgender community and will, at the very least, encourage acts of violence against members of that community.
The University at Buffalo is straddling a fine line in how it handles Thursdays visit by controversial political commentator Michael Knowles, balancing free speech on campus with its ongoing efforts to prioritize inclusivity.

On the free speech side, UB is not standing in the way of a conservative student political group's event that will bring in a controversial media host, who last week called for "transgenderism" to be "eradicated" from public life.

At the same time, UB leaders are trying to make clear the university values diversity, inclusion, equity, social justice and mutual respect. On Monday, as the controversy roiled on social media, the university sought to clarify its commitment to "fostering a safe, welcoming environment at all times.

Please know that our commitment to transgender inclusion is stronger than one speaker and one event, said Sharon Nolan-Weiss, director for UBs Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, in a UB statement updated early Monday morning. It is ongoing and will continue through our policies, our educational offerings, our resources, and our interactions.

The controversy ahead of the Knowles event on Thursday echoes debates happening at colleges across the country. Schools for years have had to face these types of discussions when high-profile controversial speakers are scheduled to appear at an institution of higher learning. Last year, a speech by Allen West, a former congressman and Tea Party figure, sparked student protests at UB's North Campus.

On Sunday, the head of UB's Gender Institute and two other professors wrote a letter to UB President Satish Tripathi urging him to cancel the Knowles event. Community leaders have also voiced their opposition to Knowles' visit, and the union representing graduate and teaching assistants said Monday it was "profoundly disgusted" that UB would allow the speech to go on.

UB won't keep student club from bringing controversial conservative commentator Michael Knowles to speak UB released a statement Sunday about the upcoming appearance of Michael Knowles. The university said it supports the fundamental right of its community and invited guests to peacefully express their views and opinions  even when others disagree.

At the center of the issue is Knowles, who gave a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend where he called for "transgenderism" to be "eradicated" from public life. He has been invited to speak Thursday by the student group Young Americans for Freedom, and for now, those plans remain intact.

On the one side, UB is trying to uphold the principles of free speech in the First Amendment and the exchange of ideas  even if some of them may be extreme. UB says it does not want to tell the student chapter that it cant invite controversial speakers to campus, even if the views of the speaker may be hurtful or demeaning.

Universities, especially public ones, have to balance these concerns with their obligation to allow for free speech, said Zach Greenberg, senior program officer from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which touts itself as a defender of free speech rights on college campuses.

Speakers who come to campus may not agree with the university or the university doesnt agree with the speaker, but you can have a wide variety of speakers on campus without endorsing what they say," Greenberg said.

Although people may be offended by what Knowles has to say and has said previously, the mere offensiveness of the speakers viewpoints doesnt disqualify the speaker and the student group from their First Amendment protections, he added.

Colleges take differing approaches

This type of controversy swirling around a visit by Knowles to a college campus has happened before. Knowles talks at schools have often sparked protests and sometimes have been canceled due to public pressure.

Last year, when Knowles spoke at Boston University, multiple student group members walked out of the auditorium. The groups also organized safe spaces throughout campus for trans and queer students while the event was being held.

In a statement at the time, BU said it believes that freedom of speech and expression are essential to, and compatible with, the principles articulated in Boston Universitys Statement on Diversity. It added that the remedy for speech that some may find hurtful, offensive, or even hateful is not suppression of speech, but more speech.

Then there are schools like the Catholic private institution, the University of St. Thomas, which last year rejected the universitys College Republicans chapters request to host Knowles. According to administrators, all campus speakers must align with our St. Thomas Conviction Statements on dignity and diversity.

Spencer Williams, a transgender graduate student at UB, said the university's failure to take a stronger stance against Knowles visit perpetuates the idea that there is a lack of understanding and sympathy for trans people.

Williams is pressing for "something more rigorous at a top public research institution than the intellectually bankrupt rhetoric of Michael Knowles, and something more readily tangible than UBs deference to the First Amendment in their complicit and passive platforming of him, and by extension, his call for the eradication of transgenderism from public life entirely. 

West speech drew protests

Its also not the first time that a Knowles appearance has created controversy at the University at Buffalo.

Knowles was originally slated to speak at the school in April of last year, weeks after another Young Americans for Freedom-sponsored speech by West, the former congressman, sparked student protests on the North Campus.

YAF wound up postponing Knowles speech, citing time constraints, and discussions with the Student Association and a need to hire security outside of the university, following allegations of online threats made toward protestors, UBs campus newspaper The Spectrum reported.

Three police reports were filed by people alleging they were harassed or assaulted by demonstrators after last years early April speech by West in the Student Union.

The president of the UB chapter of Young Americans for Freedom said she hid from the crowd in a men's bathroom while being pursued by demonstrators, while the group's treasurer was allegedly punched and kicked after the event in front of Knox Hall.

YAF seeks to introduce students and student activists to conservative ideas through conservative conferences, speakers, campus lectures and initiatives, but some have labeled it as a hate group.

Lawrence Mullen, president of UBQ  the LGBTQ graduate student club, said there will likely be student pushback at Thursdays event but wants people to stay safe with Knowles appearance and his rhetoric potentially stoking violent behavior.

Im so happy to see that theres such a wide response of people both inside and outside of the university who are just appalled by UBs decision, said Mullen, a UB doctoral student in English. Its difficult as someone who attends UB and is employed by UB to know that my university would rather remain neutral in the face of violent remarks about people like me.

UB said its Office of Student Engagement has been providing support to students who have been hurt by the news of Knowles visit.

UBs original statement Sunday and the updated version Monday came as the outrage over Knowles was being expressed on social media and directly to the university.

That included a letter to Tripathi from Carrie Tirado Bramen, professor of English and director of the UB Gender Institute; David Schmid, associate professor of English; and Michael Rembis, associate professor of history and director for the UB Center for Disability Studies.

In the letter sent Sunday, they called on Tripathi to rescind Knowles invitation and cancel the event, so as not to provide a platform for hate speech, while standing by UB's "stated core values of diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect."

On Monday, Harper Bishop, executive director of Our City Action Buffalo, was one of a number of community leaders to publicly speak out against Knowles' visit, saying "trans and gender non-conforming allies need to show out and show out hard, not only on Thursday, but for the foreseeable future.
When Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz rolled out his 2023 budget proposal, he highlighted the fact that the countywide property tax rate would drop to the lowest level in modern history for the second year in a row.

Yet despite this fact, county property taxes actually rose in more than half of all county towns and cities, according to data provided by the county's Department of Real Property Tax Services.

This sounds contradictory, but it's actually common for any county or local government that charges taxes on the property people own.

In Erie County, Amherst property owners saw their tax rates rise by nearly 8%. Buffalo and the towns of Tonawanda, Lancaster and Newstead saw their property rates rise by between 3% and 5%. Meanwhile, the Town of Cheektowaga saw a property tax rate decline of 9%, while Concord and Clarence saw tax rates fall by 4%. A few towns saw barely any change at all. Overall, county tax rates fell in 11 of 28 communities.

How can some tax rates go up and some tax rates go down when  as Poloncarz points out  the county's overall property tax rate has fallen to the lowest recorded level in decades?

The answer is complicated.

Property taxes 101

Property taxes are charged by local governments and school districts. The property tax rate roughly refers to the amount of taxes a government collects for every $1,000 a property is worth. So, if you own a home assessed at $100,000, and the tax rate is $2, then you'll pay an annual property tax bill of $200.

If the property tax rate goes down, and the value of your home stays the same or loses value, then your tax bill will go down. But if your home increases in value  which tends to happen  then even if the tax rate goes down, you may still wind up paying more out of pocket.

As long as a community's property values rise, local governments can raise more tax revenue without raising the tax rate at all. In fact, counties like Erie can cut tax rates and still rake in millions more every year.

Over the last decade, Erie County's economic growth has led to property values rising by $27 billion overall, according to the county's assessment records.

That makes tax rate numbers misleading. Erie County tax rates have either stayed the same or fallen nearly every year since 2009. Yet, the county collects about $106 million more in property taxes now than it collected back then.

Takeaways from the approved $2.1 billion Erie County budget The budget addresses overtime spending concerns and remains under the state tax cap. But personnel increases, both in new jobs and raises, will affect budgets long after the next fiscal year passes.

The fact is, county government spending  like most local governments  has risen every year to cover wages and public services under both Democratic and Republican leadership, and county tax collections have risen along with it. To complicate matters further, the county also tacks additional charges onto property tax bills for certain community college fees and Erie County Board of Elections operations.

That's why the better gauge of whether your property tax bill will rise is to know the county's "tax levy," the total amount of taxes collected by a government.

Erie County will collect $9.7 million more in property taxes this year than it did last year, as part of the 2023 tax levy, an increase of 3%. That's a bigger increase than 2021 and 2022, when more federal stimulus money flowed into local governments, but less than in 2020.

Taxes and politics

Erie County elected leaders, past and present, have claimed credit for either cutting spending or lowering taxes even though the annual amount collected in property taxes has risen every year since 2004. They refer to the falling "tax rate."

For instance, in unveiling his proposed 2023 budget, Poloncarz pointed out that Erie County's tax rate is the lowest of all Western New York counties and lower than other upstate urban counties, including Monroe and Onondaga counties. He also noted that the county's budgets have also consistently remained under the state-imposed tax cap, and the county's credit ratings and overall financial health remain strong.

Meanwhile, his political opponents tend to talk about how incumbents have raised taxes. They refer to the rising "tax levy" and complain that local residents are overtaxed, especially when given the county's budget surpluses. That was especially true in 2021, when the county was looking at a year-end budget surplus of more than $74 million. Opponents argue that a county can easily afford to give more taxpayers a break.

This year will be no exception, especially since Poloncarz is running for re-election, as are all 11 county legislators.

In each of the last two years, Republican-supported legislators unsuccessfully pushed to lower the overall tax levy and provide "meaningful property tax relief" to residents in light of the record levels of outside federal funding the county has received and high year-end surpluses. Poloncarz and Democratic legislators, meanwhile, have talked about the need for greater community investment and support as the county emerges from Covid-19, and questioned the sustainability of lower taxes.

Assessments vs. true value

When the 2023 budget was approved by the County Legislature, the administration said the county's tax rate would fall from $4.32 to $3.92. But this is a reference to the "full value tax rate," the rate the county would charge property owners across the board, assuming all homes are assessed at what they are really worth.

In reality, few properties have assessments that match their true market values.

Many local governments do not reassess their residents properties on a regular basis because it is costly, time-consuming and politically unpopular. In most communities, homes are worth more, and sell for more, than what they are assessed at by their city or town.

So the state tries to close that gap with an "equalization rate" that is dropped into the tax rate calculations for every community every year.

When leaders of thriving communities refuse to reassess property values for a long time, a disparity grows between a property's government-assessed value and its true market value. In such communities, changes in tax rates become an almost meaningless indicator of how much more or less a taxpayer must fork over in property taxes because of the state equalization rate.

For instance, the Town of Aurora has gone so long without reassessing its properties that it has an equalization of 26.5  as in, the state considers homes in Aurora to be assessed at only 26.5% of their true worth. For that reason, Aurora has the county's second highest tax rate of $13.85.

While that is nearly three times higher than Buffalo city's tax rate, Aurora's county property tax rate fell slightly this year, while Buffalo residents saw their tax rates rise. As a result, the owners of a home with an unchanged assessment of $100,000 would have received a tax cut of $9 if they lived in the Town of Aurora and tax hike of $14 if they lived in Buffalo.
Health minister to "follow science, not ideology".

Smoking could soon be banned in Italy's outdoor bar areas and at bus stops, according to the contents of a draft bill published by Italian newspaper La Stampa on Sunday.

The proposed crackdown on smoking by the health ministry would cover e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products as well as regular cigarettes.

In addition to outdoor bars, the ban would be extended to parks if in the presence of pregnant women and children, La Stampa reports.

The proposed move, which comes after health minister Orazio Schillaci promised in January to clamp down on smoking and vaping outdoors, was met with criticism by several figures in the right-wing government.

Italy's deputy premier and Lega leader Matteo Salvini wrote on Twitter: "E-cigarettes are helping so many people to give up regular cigarettes," adding: "As an ex-smoker who quit four years ago, the ban on smoking them outdoors seems over the top."

Culture undersecretary Vittorio Sgarbi, known for his outspoken views, told new agency Adnkronos that the proposed ban was reminiscent of "an authoritarian and dictatorial communist regime".

On Tuesday Schillaci told reporters that the proposals were part of a draft that he "had not even seen", stressing that he would "follow science, not ideology" when drawing up smoking laws.

Schillaci also stated: "I reiterate, as a doctor and as a minister, that smoking is bad for you, we all know it and we've known it for years."

Smoking in Italy has been banned in public places including bars, restaurants, night clubs and offices since 2005.
Fiumicino airport celebrates its latest award.

Rome's Fiumicino airport, known officially as Leonardo da Vinci, has been rated Best Airport in Europe with more than 40 million passengers, for the sixth year in a row.

The recognition is awarded by Airports Council International (ACI), the international association that interviews passengers to measure perceived quality in more than 350 airports all over the world.

The award, based on the quality of services at Fiumicino, is the first time in the history of ACI surveys that the same airport wins the top prize for six consecutive years.

Per il VI anno consecutivo, il Leonardo Da Vinci si aggiudica il "Best Airport Over 40 Millions Passengers In Europe" di @ACIWorld , nel contesto dell "Airport Service Quality 2022", programma internazionale di rilevazione della soddisfazione dei passeggeri pic.twitter.com/a9zhGIelKE  Aeroporti di Roma (@AeroportidiRoma) March 6, 2023

Fiumicino also received ACI awards for "Airport with the most dedicated staff", "Most pleasant airport" and "Cleanest airport".

The recognition - the latest in a string of awards for the Rome hub - comes after Fiumicino airport won the highest 5-Star Airport Rating from Skytrax, the principal rating and assessment company in the international airport sector, earlier this year.
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

Here in New Delhi, policy makers are beginning to worry. Indias long-awaited presidency of the G-20 grouping is turning out to be even more difficult than they anticipated. Indian leaders hope the G-20 can effectively replace the various other atrophied organs of multilateralism. But two major summits in recent weeks ended without a joint communique, with countries so sharply divided over the war in Ukraine that they could not even sign up to a common statement on other pressing issues.

This is a clear step backwards from the Bali G-20 summit last year, where leaders managed to agree on a paragraph about Russias invasion of Ukraine. Similar language seems to have been unacceptable to Russian and Chinese representatives this time around. Their unwillingness to cede any ground on paper appears to have grown over the months that the Russian military has ceded actual ground in Ukraine.

Advertisement

They are responding, also, to a changed atmosphere among neutral nations in Asia and Africa. New Delhis Raisina Dialogue is one of the rare platforms that foregrounds the emerging worlds approach to global problems. (Full disclosure: The event is co-hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, where I work.) There, last week, Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the crowd shortly after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

A clip of Lavrov being laughed at as he claimed that war was launched against us went viral; everyone knows who invaded whom. But Lavrov was applauded as well when he deftly painted the West as warmongers. A lacklustre Blinken, repeating familiar talking points, received a much more subdued response.

By contrast, at the same conference last year, European leaders successfully portrayed the invasion as imperialist revanchism. At the time, though, Russias armies were rampaging across a third of Ukraine. Today, after a series of humiliating retreats, they are throwing all they have at one small, strategically irrelevant town in Donbas and have failed to take it for months.

Advertisement

Messaging that might have worked when Ukraine was playing defense against a terrifying ex-superpower isnt as persuasive when its military no longer looks like the underdog.

In effect, what the emerging world wants to hear from the West is less talk about defending Ukraine and more about seeking peace. The fact that even China has felt compelled to release its own (vague and impractical) roadmap for peace is a sign that the world wants to see that leaders are actively seeking to end this war.

Naturally, this does not mean that the US and its allies should cut off support for the Ukrainian military. Defending Ukraines sovereignty and seeking a sustainable peace are not substitutes in reality, even if they are rhetorically. Nor can anyone claim that the Russian government appears particularly interested in sitting down for meaningful negotiations at the moment.

Advertisement

But Ukraines allies should worry that Moscows intransigence is being obscured by the idea that the West is unwilling to accept compromises for peace. That is a problem of communication and messaging, one that needs to be addressed swiftly.

While Frances Emmanuel Macron is a magnet for criticism in the West, he is also the only one among its leaders who has consistently said that this war will ultimately end through negotiation and compromise. He repeated at the Munich Security Conference last month that the goal was to achieve an imperfect balance that is sustainable for Russia itself. Given that no nuclear-armed power has ever been forced into unconditional surrender, Macrons French rationalism is, as usual, on point.

The rest of the world sees what Macron sees. Like him, it understands that at some point we will have to start thinking about the guarantees, reparations, and peacekeeping arrangements that will need to accompany any ceasefire.

Advertisement

That point is now. Nobody expects any real negotiations to begin tomorrow. But everyone has a right to expect that work towards a peace plan is intensive and ongoing. And, certainly, they will want to hear that commitment to peace from the world leaders best placed to make a difference.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Its Not Ukraines Peace-for-Our-Time Moment: Leonid Bershidsky

 After Ukraine, What Country Might Putin Target?: Andreas Kluth

 Dont Abandon Democracy to Save It in Ukraine: Pankaj Mishra

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Mihir Sharma is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, he is author of Restart: The Last Chance for the Indian Economy.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

As Nigeria digests the outcome of its general election, one group will be especially disheartened by the outcome: Young voters, whose hopes for change through the ballot box have been stymied. How they respond to their disappointment will be crucial. If they remain politically engaged, they may yet reshape how the country is governed.

Africas most populous nation has a median age of 18, and nearly 40% of those registered to vote on Feb. 25 were under 35. More than 7 million had their first chance to pick a president. Ahead of the vote, young Nigerians seemed especially motivated to take that chance.

Inspired by a dark-horse candidate in Peter Obi of the Labour Party, many saw the election as an opportunity to break the duopoly of the ruling All Progressives Congress Party and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party. Obis relative youth (he is 61) held out the captivating prospect of fresh ideas in a corrupt political elite dominated by gerontocrats who havent had an original thought in decades.

Advertisement

Many of the young people who rallied to Obis banner  they were inevitably dubbed Obedients  had previously participated in people-power movements for change to the political status quo. These include the Not Too Young To Run campaign that in 2018 led to the reduction in the age for Nigerians to stand for office and 2020s mass protests against police violence, known as the #EndSARS movement, after the acronym for an anti-robbery squad.

For this politically active cohort, this election was an opportunity to seize the day. Young Nigerians demonstrated their enthusiasm in early January when millions queued  many for hours  to register as voters. The 18-34 cohort made up 37 million of the 93.5 million who registered. A few days later, 87.2 million voters collected their biometric permanent voting cards, or PVCs. As a result, turnout on election day was expected to spike.

The opposite happened: Turnout, at 28.6%, was the lowest since the end of military rule in 1999, and down from 34.8% in the previous presidential election in 2019. The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Bola Tinubu of the APC as the winner, with a mere 8.8 million votes, or 35.2% of the total. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP got 7 million, and Obi 6.1 million.

Advertisement

Taken at face value, these numbers suggest that the majority of those who took the trouble to register and collect their PVCs chose not to follow through with the relatively simple process of voting. Abubakar and Obi are not inclined to take the INEC at its word, however. Both have said they will challenge the results in court. Their supporters are crying foul, accusing the ruling party of suppressing the vote and manipulating the results.

But the losing candidates may not get very far in the courts. Although the election was messy, proving comprehensive electoral fraud will be difficult. International observers criticized the INEC for incompetence; they did not report wholesale vote-rigging. Reports of violence were sporadic, and no more intense or widespread than in previous elections.

Even if the results stand, though, Tinubu will struggle to rule with a weak mandate: No previous president has won office with less than a simple majority. The opposition thus has an unprecedented influence over the government. If Obi can keep the Obedients behind him, he could exert considerable influence on Tinubus policy agenda and push for anticorruption measures as well as economic reforms.

Advertisement

But if young Nigerians, disheartened by what many see as an unfair system, opt out of politics, they will strengthen the status quo they detest, with Tinubu and Abubakar in centerstage and Obi out in the wings. Issues they care about  such as widespread graft and waste in government, mounting criminal violence and chronic unemployment  will get no more than lip service from the old guard.

In turn, this will accelerate the pace of emigration, which has already reached alarming levels. One measure of this is the rate of visa approvals for travel to Britain, Nigerias former colonial ruler. If they decide to vote with their feet, you can expect a lot of our young people turning up in the West, says Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a rights activist and former chairperson of Nigerias National Human Rights Commission.

The big test of the Obedients resolve will come soon: On March 11, Nigerians will vote for the governorships and assemblies in 28 of the countrys 36 states. In contrast to the Feb. 25 vote, the turnout is expected to be low and the establishment parties are expected to dominate. Obi has issued a rallying cry to his supporters: Please, do not despair at a time when we can still achieve massive victories in the forthcoming elections.

Advertisement

Will young Nigerians stay the course? The youth movement is strong, and will endure, says Odunayo Eweniyi, a fintech entrepreneur who backed the #EndSARS campaign. Its not about one man, its about young Nigerians engaging in the system and trying to change it.

Odinkalu is not so certain. This has been very deflating for young people, not just because of the defeat but because of the injustice of it  they feel they have been robbed, he says. Whether they draw energy from the experience, or cut and run  that will be the key.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Nigerias Election Chaos Will Test Winner and Loser Alike: Bobby Ghosh

 Nigerias Oil Curse Could Become an Opportunity: David Fickling

 Can Nigeria Escape Becoming a Failed State?: James Gibney

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs. Previously, he was editor in chief at Hindustan Times, managing editor at Quartz and international editor at Time.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

With his post-Brexit deal for Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is building a reputation as a leader who mastered the detail of complex policy areas and displays a knack for finding technocratic fixes. It would be some feat if he could bring those qualities to bear to solve a problem that has eluded even more governments than Brexit.

The government is preparing to announce a new law aimed at stopping small boats of migrants crossing the English Channel, one of Sunaks five priorities for this year. Perhaps once again Sunak will surprise on the upside. But unlike with Northern Ireland, the migrant issue doesnt lend itself to a Big Bang announcement; solutions cant be put in place with the stroke of a pen.

From the policy changes that were briefed, the priority here seems to be, above all, demonstrating the firm smack of government. Under new rules, migrants arriving across the Channel will be temporarily detained and then removed from the UK to a third country. They would then be banned from future re-entry and unable to apply for British citizenship in the future should they make their way back. Make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not be able to stay, Sunak told the Mail on Sunday.

Advertisement

The threat implies that Sunak has somewhere to send those who dont heed the warning. But unless he has managed to quietly negotiate bilateral agreements with a number of European Union or other countries, its not clear where Britain will deport those who dont heed the warning.

You would think that as an island, the UK is spectacularly well-placed to keep out those it doesnt want. But the English Channel is only 20 miles at its narrowest point; migrants willing to risk their lives in dinghies are, by definition, desperate; they are not likely to read the fine print of national asylum policies or be deterred by them. Many seek a life in the UK because they speak some English, have better prospects of finding work and want to join relatives.

Much of the border control has to happen on the French side of the Channel. A deal with France last year guaranteed an increase in the number of border patrols, with UK officers joining French counterparts for the first time, but the effect has been limited. Anglo-French relations have warmed of late, and Sunak may be hoping for enhanced agreements when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the week. But it would take a major step-up in policing along with an unlikely agreement on deportations to achieve real change.

Advertisement

Draconian new rules meant to deter smuggling gangs could have some impact on the margins. Of over 45,000 migrants who made the perilous cross-Channel journey in 2022, 27% of them came from Albania  an EU candidate country that the UK describes as safe and prosperous. In December, the UK announced it would be putting UK border officials in Albania and would speed deportations of Albanian migrants back to Albania.

Other countries have had similar or higher levels of claims, but Britains system for dealing with them has grown dysfunctional. Lack of adequate training, low morale and high turnover among Home Office case workers have left a burgeoning backlog, which was up 60% last year from the year before. Meanwhile, migrants are crammed into often squalid conditions and given no right to work, or sent to hotels and facilities the government has been forced to book, building resentment in local communities and increasing the financial burden.

A decade ago, a Home Office case worker would typically decide 14 cases a month; by last year it was more like five. David Normington, a former permanent secretary at the Home Office, notes in a recent article for Prospect magazine that it took four years to reduce a much larger backlog after he arrived in 2006 doing much the same things the current government is promising. Unless the underlying causes of this decline are addressed, there is no prospect of the backlog being cleared, he writes.

Advertisement

With no quick fixes, the government has placed its hopes on deportations and making it nearly impossible for asylum-seekers to make a claim, a right protected by international law. A much-criticized agreement to deport migrants to Rwanda has so far survived legal challenges (an appeals process is ongoing), but not a single migrant has been deported. For all the public relations effort on both sides to sell it, Rwanda would only be able to accommodate a small fraction of the thousands of migrants that the UK hopes to send to Africa. And most refugee experts say the idea that those willing to risk their lives in the Channel would be deterred by a small chance of being sent to Rwanda isnt credible.

For a policy to be both effective and fair it will have to balance carrots and sticks. The Biden administrations program of humanitarian parole also seeks to crack down on migrant arrivals, but it allows as many as 30,000 migrants a month from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti to apply for temporary visas before reaching the border provided they have a sponsor. Those who cross the border without permission can be expelled to Mexico. There is room for criticism, but its worth noting that in the first two months of the year, border protection officials reported the lowest number of encounters in two years.

Sunak doesnt have the political room for generosity or the scope to fulfill his deportation pledges. But since he made stopping migrant boats one of his five priorities this year, he needs to either deliver results or find someone to blame. The government may welcome a legal challenge that allows it to portray human rights organizations and their lawyers as the enemy. And a showy announcement also allows Sunak to rebuff pressure from some Conservatives who want to see the UK pull out of the European Convention on Human Rights in order to thwart legal challenges to deportations and refused claims.

Advertisement

Even if it survives legal scrutiny, a policy that would make it all but impossible for asylum-seekers to claim refuge doesnt reflect well on Britain, a country that has benefited enormously from migration  some of them even producing the odd cabinet member. Better to take a page from the Biden playbook and offer both a path to refuge and tighter controls. To do that, though, the UK badly needs an effective system for processing asylum applications and closer cooperation with allies and neighbors. Neither will happen overnight.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Sunak Walks Right Into an Immigration Lose-Lose: Therese Raphael

 Golden Visa Doors Close, But Windows Are Open: Rachel Sanderson

 Economic Necessity Will Force Immigration Reform: Eduardo Porter

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering health care and British politics. Previously, she was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

When Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in Dec. 29 as Israels prime minister, it was for the sixth time. This is the first time, however, that his right-wing Likud party is the most moderate component in his governing coalition. With once-fringe, far-right politicians now a key part of the government, critics are raising alarms that the countrys democracy is in danger, and violence between Palestinians and Israelis is unusually high. Amid these twin crises, relations between Israel and its neighboring states and allies, including the US, are growing increasingly strained.

1. Who are the most controversial players in the government?

 Itamar Ben Gvir. Named national security minister, Ben Gvir is the leader of the nationalist Jewish Power party. As a teenager, he led the youth wing of the Kach party, which campaigned for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Kach was later banned from politics and designated a terrorist organization by Israel and the US. Ben Gvir was spared from prohibition from political office because his participation in the party occurred when he was underage, but he says his involvement did result in his being barred from military service. He went on to train as a lawyer, and in 2021 he was elected to the Knesset, representing Jewish Power. In his 2022 campaign, he advocated the deportation of citizens who are disloyal to the state.

Advertisement

 Bezalel Smotrich. The new finance minister is the leader of the Religious Zionism party. An Orthodox Jew, hes a lawyer and a vociferous supporter of Jewish settlement in the West Bank, territory conquered by Israel in 1967 that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Smotrich also has a junior position in the defense ministry that gives him some control over the settlements. He has defined himself as a homophobe, and in 2006 he helped organize a protest against the gay pride parade in Jerusalem.

2. Who is raising alarms about Israels democracy?

Business leaders, retired military officers, educators, opposition politicians and jurists have signed letters and taken part in weekly mass street demonstrations. Some soldiers and reservists are threatening to refuse to show up for service, and the national carrier, El Al, had a hard time staffing a plane to fly Netanyahu abroad. In late January, Moshe Hazan, a voting member of the Bank of Israels monetary committee, resigned to become more involved in political activity. In a newspaper interview, he said the governments policies will put Israels democracy and economy in danger.

Advertisement

3. What are their concerns?

A judicial overhaul proposed by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a Likud member, aims to weaken the independence of Israels High Court, which in recent decades has played an active role protecting civil rights, including those of Palestinians, women, and the rights of minorities in Israel, including the LGBTQ community. The package of bills, most of which have been approved in preliminary and first votes, would allow the Knesset to override decisions of the court with a simple majority vote. The bills would give members of the Knesset from the government coalition a majority on the committee that appoints the courts judges and could eventually lead to the dropping of bribery charges against Netanyahu. Another source of complaint against the government is the use by police of stun grenades, water cannons and mounted officers against protesters, tactics advocated by Ben Gvir in his capacity as national security minister.

4. Whats the state of relations between Israelis and Palestinians?

Advertisement

Clashes between the two sides have produced the worst hostilities in years. With the prospect of using diplomacy to advance the goal of an independent Palestine all but dead, new groups of Palestinian militants have emerged in the West Bank. Under Netanyahu, Israeli security forces have launched raids aimed at the militants that resulted in significant Palestinian deaths. Violence has spiraled, with Palestinians attacking Israeli civilians and vice versa. A number of flashpoints fuel the acrimony:

 Settlements. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are a continuing source of strife. After two settlers were shot dead in late February, hundreds of others went on a rampage in the nearby Palestinian village of Huwara, burning cars and homes and leaving one man dead. In a broadcast interview, Smotrich stood behind the mob, saying the village must be wiped out, though he later retracted that and said it was important only to act against the terrorists and their supporters and extract a heavy price from them. Smotrich and Ben Gvir, both settlers themselves, advocate not only expanding settlements but annexing existing ones to Israel. That ambition is included in the government coalition agreement though without a definite timeline. Annexation, which Netanyahu proposed in 2020, would make any future Palestinian state a disjointed patchwork of enclaves, challenging its viability by impeding the development of infrastructure and the movement of people and goods. The US, Israels most important ally, has strongly condemned annexation as an impediment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 Jerusalem. Under long-standing arrangements between Israel and neighboring Jordan, the latter maintains control over the site in Jerusalem revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Once the seat of the biblical temple, today it houses the Al-Aqsa mosque. The rules permit Jews to visit but not pray there, and violations have led to clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. After being named a minister, Ben Gvir made a high-profile visit to the site. A similar visit in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then an Israeli opposition leader, helped sparked a four-year uprising among Palestinians. Concern is rising that the upcoming Muslim holiday of Ramadan will lead to a further escalation of violence.

Advertisement

 Autonomy. Under preliminary peace agreements signed in the 1990s, the Palestinians are guaranteed self-rule (albeit of a limited nature) administered by a body called the Palestinian Authority. In practice, however, the Israelis continue to exercise considerable control over nearly every aspect of Palestinian life. Netanyahus government has withheld tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority, frozen construction by Palestinians in part of the West Bank, and canceled VIP travel permits for a number of Palestinian officials. This was in retaliation for the authority seeking a judicial review of Israels occupation by the United Nations.

5. How has the outside world reacted?

When four Arab states  the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan  began normalizing ties with Israel in 2020, it was clear that their relations with Israel were no longer strictly bound to the Palestinian cause. Still, tensions on that front are likely to color those ties. After Ben Gvirs Temple Mount gambit, the UAE postponed a planned visit by Netanyahu, citing technical reasons. Smotrichs inflammatory remarks were condemned by officials from, among other countries, the UAE and the US. American Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier cautioned against moves to further marginalize Palestinians or diminish their horizon for hope. Jordans King Abdullah II warned that hes prepared to get into a conflict if Israel changes the status of the religious sites in Jerusalem that are under his countrys control.

--With assistance from Marissa Newman.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share

For nearly three decades the United Nations has been holding global climate summits known as COPs, which stands for Conference of the Parties. Delegates fly in to the chosen city from around the world for a few days for a renewed effort to find ways to prevent or ameliorate the worst effects of climate change. Experience has shown progress can hinge on a variety of factors  including which country is hosting. Skeptical eyebrows were raised when an oil state, the United Arab Emirates, was selected for this years COP28. Meanwhile, the need for action has only gotten more vital.

1. Whats the point of COPs?

Put simply, the aim is to mobilize global action to tackle climate change and keep track of the progress that has been made by individual countries. The first COP wasnt really a COP at all, but an Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which brought together 179 countries to formulate a blueprint for action. It established the UN framework for the first official meeting, COP1, held in 1995 in Berlin. (Each one is numbered.) Decisions are reached by governments through consensus  meaning no votes are held, but everyone must agree. But everyone is invited to take part, from politicians and scientists to non-governmental organizations and concerned citizens. COP28 is set to take place in Dubai, part of the UAE, between Nov. 30 and Dec. 12.

Advertisement

(Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, parent company of Bloomberg News, has served as the UN secretary generals special envoy for climate ambition and solutions since 2021.)

2. What happens at a COP summit?

The main focus is the negotiation on how best to accelerate efforts to cut emissions and protect those countries that suffer the biggest impact from climate change. Breakthroughs were seen in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, which for the first time outlined the legal obligations of rich countries to cut their emissions; and in Paris in 2015, which set the target of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), ideally 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels. The summits typically last two weeks. For the last few, world leaders have come at the start to provide political direction for negotiators, with those from low-lying islands and poorer countries particularly visible in calling for more to be done. The second week is dominated by technical discussions over the final deal. All the while activists keep up the pressure on negotiators with public demonstrations.

Advertisement

3. Whats the role of the host?

The host plays the role of navigator, assessing the level of ambition to shoot for without jeopardizing a successful conclusion. Its an exhausting task, which starts many months in advance of the summit. Before COP26 in Glasgow for example, Alok Sharma, a UK politician who served as the meetings president, traveled the world sowing the seeds for a pledge to reduce the use of unabated coal power (meaning generated without measures such as carbon-capture technology to abate its harmful emissions). But the real work starts at the conference  two weeks without sleep, running between 195 different national delegations to get a deal over the line. Theres also a huge practical and security element, with thousands of delegates descending on the host city.

4. How is the host chosen?

Advertisement

The responsibility is meant to rotate among the UNs five regional groups. The UAE was chosen to follow Egypt after it received the unanimous backing of the Asia-Pacific group. While theyre both Arab countries in the Middle East, Egypts COP was touted as Africas turn.

5. What are some examples of how hosts have made a difference?

The French were lauded in 2015 for securing what became known as the Paris Agreement, which set a clear goal. Laurence Tubiana, an architect of the deal, was named as one of the Financial Times women of the year as a result. The UKs stewardship of COP26 was also widely praised for keeping the deal on track and clinching the agreement to phase down (a compromise in place of phase out) coal. But presidencies can also come in for sharp criticism. While Egypt secured a major win last year in Sharm El-Sheikh in creating a loss and damage fund to help the poorest nations deal with the impact of climate change, it failed to find consensus on further reducing the use of fossil fuels or otherwise build on previous commitments. European countries and their allies complained that oil-producing nations had been empowered by a hands-off Egyptian presidency that failed to launch early negotiations, foster trust among countries or even circulate draft proposals in time. (These are 197 countries with very different levels of aspiration and capacities, Wael Aboulmagd, Egypts special representative, told a news conference as talks dragged on. We think we are following a very, very clear game plan.) Similarly, the Copenhagen summit in 2009 was seen by many green activists as a failure after it descended into finger pointing over who should do what to combat climate change.

Advertisement

6. What is the controversy over the UAE?

Environmental activists are concerned that ambitions for phasing out fossil fuels could be watered down, especially given that the conference is taking place in a petrostate and is being presided over by Sultan Al Jaber, who heads the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the UAEs state producer. Their fear is that the UAE could use its presidency to focus on policy areas like how to pay for damages, rather than the need to stop such damage in the first place. Supporters have argued that the UAE could prove crucial in persuading other oil-rich countries to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. In 2021, it was the first of the Persian Gulfs petrostates to commit to eliminating planet-warming emissions within its borders. Both John Kerry, the US special envoy for the climate, and his European counterpart Frans Timmermans have welcomed that move. For his part, Al Jaber has spoken in favor of developing sufficient clean power so as to phase out oil and gas production as quickly as possible, and in a way that lifts living standards. His country and neighboring Saudi Arabia also argue that oil-producing companies and states should be given a bigger say in global climate talks.

7. What are the expectations for COP28?

Advertisement

Countries are set to complete a once-every-five-years assessment of where the world is at in meeting its climate targets  a critical step for assessing how much of an impact theyre having. After the experience in Sharm El-Sheikh, some developed countries, particularly in Europe, are likely to call for greater emissions-cutting ambition, such as by phasing down all fossil fuels  not just coal  and peaking emissions (stop them from climbing) by 2025. Financing for climate adaptation and loss and damage are set to remain at the forefront  the world has yet to meet a $100 billion annual commitment it was supposed to hit at the end of the last decade. Watch out too for efforts to boost the role of nuclear power and other so-called low-carbon energy sources, like burning gas and capturing the CO2. Failure to reach a deal that significantly moves the needle closer to holding the global average temperature below 1.5 degrees of warming could see countries like small island states start to question the multilateral process.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

GiftOutline Gift Article
The misstatements are part of a pattern that has raised questions about how the justice views his obligation to report details about his finances to the public.
Today in America, we have the publishers of the late author Roald Dahl editing his works to eliminate anything offensive to readers. Conversely, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis removes books from school library shelves for anything offensive to his worldview. We now have a definitive answer of Ray Bradburys sci-fi work, Fahrenheit 451. We have learned that books actually burn at the temperature of the publishers New York offices, as well as the daytime high in Tallahassee.

With the school libraries DeSantis-zed for your childrens protection, bored kids will have little incentive to check out one of the three remaining library books left on the shelves to challenge their minds. Instead, they can stay put with their convenient and trusted device to seek out absolutely any information on the internet, truth, fiction or intentional lies. The Supreme Court does not seem likely to modify the Communication Decency Act of 1996/Section 230, for better or worse.

There was avid support for a herd immunity to ward off Covid-19 and avoid the courtesy of wearing a mask. Meanwhile, the same crowd with wannabe leader DeSantis implements a different type of mask mandate: filter out the mental contamination of ideas. Parents might wish to have some faith in their own skills at raising their children, while also fortifying their critical thinking skills and their own confidence in themselves to make the right decision. Teach some kids some decency, and they most likely will not be led astray.

Philip Rico

Buffalo
Pundits tuning into Teslas marathon annual investor day last week admitted being bored. So was the market: the companys share price fell by 5 per cent after a four hour slog that offered nothing much, according to one business publication.

No new models were revealed, nor were eagerly awaited production dates or prices disclosed. Even the rock star chief executive himself, Elon Musk, was much more muted and low profile than in previous years.

Investors saw a more muted Elon Musk last week. Credit: AP

It was dull for a reason: the Chinese are coming, bringing cheap electric cars to Western markets, potentially in huge quantities. They may have unpronounceable names, such as Aiways, and corny marketing slogans (bring your own dreams), but they are fulfilling demand for cheaper electric vehicles, which are what the sector is crying out for as demand stalls.

As the electric car market leader, Tesla has never done affordable, nor has it really ever cracked reliable high-volume production.
In early December last year, Australia followed suit, with changes to the Fair Work Act introduced by the Albanese government. Loading Under the changes, workers have a new right to disclose their pay and also to ask others what they are paid. Importantly, everyone also has the right to not answer such questioning. However, it will take some time before the changes wash through the system. For contracts entered into from December 7 last year, employers are forbidden from taking action against any employees who breach pay secrecy clauses. From June, it will be illegal for contracts to have pay secrecy clauses written into them at all and companies face fines for doing so.

However, anyone on a contract signed prior to December 7 with a pay secrecy clause included is still bound by that contract until you either sign a new contract, or have your existing contract varied in some way, such as a pay rise. So, in reality, not every Aussie worker is at liberty  yet  to shout their pay from the rafters. Its time we broke the pay secrecy taboo with our colleagues. Credit: iStock Not that many are champing at the bit to do so, it must be said. Of all the taboos around money, talking about ones pay has got to be the most difficult to break down.

Employers have long argued disclosure of pay causes jealousy and disquiet among employees who discover they are relatively lower paid. However, it is precisely this disquiet, I would argue, which needs to be unleashed to encourage women to push for higher pay. So, for anyone not currently bound by an existing pay secrecy clause, I urge everyone  both men and women  to consider using this International Womens Day as the trigger to start a conversation about what you are paid, either with colleagues or competitors. Knowledge is power, and until women realise they are underpaid, there is little they can do about it. Its particularly important that men serious about supporting womens equality join the conversation and agree to share their own info to help female colleagues.

If we are to have this conversation, everyone needs to agree that nobody is allowed to get shirty with a colleague about what is disclosed. There are many good reasons why some people are paid different amounts, owing to relative performance, length of service, negotiation skill and willingness to switch employers to bargain for higher pay. Loading So, if you do ask a colleague and discover they are paid more than you, dont begrudge them, simply ask them how they got there. If you are interested in broaching this tricky topic with a colleague, one potential script could be to simply ask them if theyve seen a very fascinating article in the newspaper by Jessica Irvine that suggests it could be mutually beneficial to quietly swap salary information. To which you might breezily add: are you up for it? Another potentially significantly less awkward strategy is for employees to band together at the workplace level to have a slightly more anonymised discussion around pay. In the United States, a former Google employee created a spreadsheet that was then filled out by around 1200 employees to reveal and share their pay. At Microsoft, employees did much the same, creating a private group and spreadsheet to share information.

Getting this information across to employers is potentially valuable, too. Perhaps organisers of next years International Womens Day events  particularly those providing a networking opportunity across a particular industry or occupation  could replace the traditional lucky door prize with a bowl into which attendees could drop cards detailing their own salary, occupation, part-time or full-time status and level of experience, which could be later shared with attendees. Loading Or, if you really want to spice up an International Womens Day event youre attending this year, why not find a way to casually steer conversation towards the topic of ending pay secrecy, swap some pay numbers and get a real discussion going about gender pay equity in your industry. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
So let me set the scene, sings Eamon the lifesaver, a snarling guitar below his words. Its two in the afternoon and 34 degrees. Too hot for a bloke like Eamon, youd think, his lily skin complementing his ginger mullet. But the singer keeps marching, confessing, The Queensland harsh summer heat had me sweating buckets up and down my street.

Thirty-four degrees, and 18 million YouTube views  thats the nutshell history of Smoko, the 2017 debut single of The Chats, a shed-rock trio out of Noosaville. Seeming more Weasley than punk god, Eamon Sandwith meets a tradie perched atop of his milk-crate throne. Meet Josh Price, the hi-vis guitarist, while Matt Boggis and his drums appear beside the cyclone fencing.

Verse by verse, the song tackles Centrelink payments and lastly lifesaver Eamon ignoring a drowner at the beach, Coz Im on smoko, so leave me alone! Repeat. Repeat. The tone is cranky, the riff catchy. To the point a million offshore listeners began to wonder what the hell smoko meant.

Viral songs can also see their novel lyrics spread. Warren Zevon taught me Naugahyde, Jay-Z (Manolo Blahnik) and B-52s (bikini whale). As for Smoko, the songs narrative, plus the video, set the scene for most fans. Despite the tradie opting for a sausage roll over a rollie, the slangs meaning is guessable. Graspable. But where did the Australianism first appear?
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Reuben Kaye and I meet in a cafe at Heathrow Airport. Its a lucky overlap. I arrived from Australia the previous night; he is about to leave Britain for an Australian tour of two cabaret shows  one total drag razzamatazz, one smaller and more intimate, where he spends most of the show among the audience  taking in Sydney Pride, Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and a string of other gigs. I spot him checking in at the premium economy counter of Emirates, where the luggage allowance  47 kilos, he tells me later  just about accommodates his six bags, including two suitcases of make-up in case one gets lost. Im often overweight and so Ill say ooh, I didnt know high heels and eyelashes weighed so much! he says, his drag fabulousness seemingly turning up to full beam just at the mention of eyelashes. And the check-in person says why, what do you mean? At which point he whips out a picture of himself in full regalia, all glitter and make-up. Nod, wink. That is his open-sesame to get waved through. See, there are some benefits to being a pariah, he says, sounding rather more queenly than a pariah should. To tell the truth, were both excited by being such jet-setters that we have to meet on the fly in departures. Kaye has lived in Britain since 2010, first playing an Argentinian aristocrat in Evita  in which he felt like a fraud  before sliding into the London cabaret scene, which was wilder and less grounded in music theatre than the Australian equivalent. And thats how the monster was born, he says. I fell in love with it. I fell in love with the fact that anything could happen on any night. He worked at the Savoy; he had a residency at the Cafe de Paris; he toured. Ive loved the last three years, of living and constantly travelling, he sighs. There is an adrenaline to it. There is a show business aspect to it too. I mean, Im now doing a press interview in an airport before I get on a 24-hour flight. All that showbiz stuff! Im trying to say its an inconvenient perk, which kind of gets it. Its fab! Being queer is, in Kayes view, a f--- you to any kind of expectation. Credit:Kyahm Ross Kaye is 36. Of course, he loves the idea of show business  its tatty glamour and people who, as the song says, smile when they are low; its commitment to going on with the show. People tell him hes doing something new; he says he is essentially an old-school song and dance man. But Kaye is also a stirrer. His politics are firmly on the left, his sexual identity on lurid display, his love of a show tune equalled by his love of filth. He is inspired, he says, by rage, unrest and dissatisfaction and is not bothered if people find that rage uncongenial. Which, of course, plenty of neo-conservative haters do. People say: this isnt comedy, he told Australian magazine The Modern Gays Guide. And its like, well, you know what? If people are laughing, then Im sorry, mate, thats comedy. Last week, he caused no end of trouble on The Project with a risque crack about the crucifixion, which drew the ire of bishops and a subsequent on-air apology from host Waleed Aly. Kaye hasnt responded, but there is little point; poking at pieties is his stock-in-trade. Cabaret is lawless; being queer is, in his view, a f--- you to any kind of expectation, meaning that the life itself is a form of rebellion. And as much as we have hatred and judgment and religion coming for us, we were here before them and we will outlast them all, he told Time Out. Including the idea of God. Anger can be a force for change, he says. And there is so much to be angry about  and so much that is funny.

Advertisement

There was never a time when Kaye wasnt a performer. His family were all artistically inclined  his mother was a former dancer and filmmaker  and loved opera, which meant that his earliest shows were renditions of great operatic deaths. My brother had to stand there with a breadknife and a bag of Ribena while I was playing Carmen in a bedsheet flamenco dress, he says. Or Id be doing Ophelias mad scene and they would have to watch me stick my head in the sink. Or throw myself off the back of the couch doing Tosca. Kaye making that joke on The Project last week. Credit:Network Ten This was when he was at kindergarten. I was always a camp child! I used to try to change my name in primary school so I wouldnt get bullied, thinking that my name, Reuben, was the reason. Meanwhile, Im seven years old and singing the entire score of West Side Story down the halls at full volume. Somewhere along the line he was diagnosed with ADHD, but his parents baulked at a child being given drugs, so that was that. All the teachers would say the same thing: oh, we love having Reuben in the class, hes so charming and so funny, to the extent that they didnt realise I wasnt handing in any work. High school in Balwyn was worse. I got thrown in front of cars, that kind of thing. At his 10-year school reunion  which he attended, he now thinks, out of morbid curiosity to see what these terrorists had become  a string of grown men came up to him to apologise. Which I was not expecting. It gave me a glimmer of hope that people who have done shitty things know, that they are holding on to it in some way  although it didnt help that one guy who apologised then tried to get me to be a brand ambassador for his tequila brand. That took the joy out of it, somehow. There was another guy I had to fake remembering. And one guy came up to me and really started getting quite emotional, started crying on my shoulder, which was in turn touching and then tedious. Because there is a moment when you realise the apology is not really about you. Because Ive moved on from this. In fact, Ive made it tax-deductible. Kaye says he is inspired by rage, unrest and dissatisfaction. Credit:Vincent Van Berkel How much does anyone move on, though, when it comes to it? Kaye is endlessly interested in families, especially families with gay children. The moment he came out to his father is the subject of both a TED talk he gave recently and the bigger of the two shows he is bringing to Melbourne, Live and Intimidating. I know thats what the world needs, another coming-out story, he says, with a wotcha-gonna-do grin. But specifically, this is designed to let people know that if the coming out isnt smooth, it doesnt mean the parental relationship has to be sacrificed. Sometimes parents speak from their own place of trauma or confusion and just say the wrong thing. Although my parents were very supportive, my dad fumbled the coming-out response because he said, Im just sad youll never be a father because that means Ive failed. Kaye was devastated. My take on that, after talking to him  and this went on for years  was that I felt so unseen, he says. And that I was a failure.

Advertisement

It wasnt what he was expecting. His parents were progressive. Kaye was, he says, obviously gay. I wonder that he felt he had to come out at all, what with the school beatings and his penchant for making jewelled costumes. Coming out is so big, he counters. The aim ultimately is not to have to come out at all, but at the moment its still a wonderful statement of being, of your own identity. When a kid says Im gay to a parent, what theyre really asking is: Am I OK? Do you still love me? I have such amazing leftie, artistic parents and I had no reason to think they would reject me, but it was still a really scary thing to do because the world was feeding me narratives, especially in the 80s and 90s, like youre gay and deserve to die of AIDS; you will be rejected. On television, gay characters were victims or psychotic villains. Even in Disney, the villains are queer-coded. Ka the snake, Captain Hook, Ursula the Octopus: all caustic, evil and camp as Christmas. Well, you know what? If people are laughing, then Im sorry, mate, thats comedy. Reuben Kaye, comedian By that time, his parents were divorced. I was already a very angry kid. It took a while before I really got to know my dad and realised were post-Holocaust Jews. Were built with the mindset of the faceless 6 million. And Dad was raised in this Russian family unit  a unit in the military sense, almost. I had to understand that. Fortunately, they had many reconciled years. I think a lot of kids dont think of their parents, when theyre that young, as fully rounded humans with backstories, Kaye says. So the show is designed around that. Young gay people bring their parents. Parents bring their gay children. Its a way of bridging gaps  and thats beautiful. It also has, he hastens to add, 25 songs, ranging from country queen Bobbie Gentry to Stormzy, mashed into four big musical numbers by Kaye and his musical director, Shanon Whitelock. Its still cabaret. As is the smaller show, The Kaye Hole, which is improvised chat and songs played on a grand piano. Its relaxing, you know. An intimate candle-lit supper, as Hyacinth Bucket would say, as opposed to a Bacchanalian extravaganza. TAKE 7: THE ANSWERS ACCORDING TO REUBEN KAYE Worst habit? Overthinking things to the point I never start them. Greatest fear? Stopping. The line that stayed with you? After several sinus surgeries I can safely say no line has stayed with me. But I think the last line of Billy Wilders Some Like It Hot is the cherry on top of a wonderful Sundae. Its no good Osgood. Im a man! Nobodys perfect. Biggest regret? Not working harder as a dancer when I was a kid. I wouldve loved to go into acrobatics and circus. Favourite room? Cafe de Paris in London. Its where Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Noel Coward, The Rat Pack, The Stones, Prince and everyone in between gigged and drank and I was lucky enough to work there as host and MC for almost 5 years. It was the best room in London. The artwork/song you wish was yours? Oooh! I could go monetary and wish that I owned a Banksyor perhaps to have written something like Timewatching by Divine Comedy. I think Id rather have written something that I would still love to perform until I die, that still hits hard. The Stones - Gimme Shelter. If you could solve one thing? That no child should go unfed, unhoused and without books or that every aeroplane seat should be designed for people over 6ft. My back is killing me. While reflecting on his own story, the tricky negotiation between parents and children has become his special subject. Its very rich. Its very complex, its a relationship that can be incredibly close with people who are similar to you, and yet you still want to divorce yourself from them or find your own identity. Look how many times children say: oh they are so similar to me and yet they fight like cats and dogs. In what other position do you get such a brutal peer review? He has been making a podcast called Come to Daddy, in which his guests  most, but not all, comedians  talk about their parents. Because every comedian has a bit about parents, for good or bad and with their approval or not, he says. So whats that relationship like? And do comedians who make jokes about their parents suffer the fate of becoming their parents, given theyve been doing material about them for years? He doesnt have an answer to that one  not yet, anyway. You can cover a lot of ground in a conversation over coffee. It certainly wasnt all about queer identity and rhinestones. A full 10 minutes was spent on pug dogs and the cruelty of their breeding. Donald Trump came up, inevitably, but with an extra spin about rumoured incontinence. There were tales from the cabaret demi-monde, such as the time a tall woman behind him told him how great his show was, he turned around and it was Elle Macpherson. He tells me he is thinking of having his ADHD assessed again because a fellow comedian told him the medication gave her more focus. I wonder if that would put a lid on all this ricocheting repartee. That would be a shame.

Advertisement
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When celebrated photographer Nan Goldin had tendonitis in her left wrist in 2014, she was prescribed OxyContin for the pain. She had no idea what she was in for. Initially, the 40 milligram dose was too strong for her. Eventually, in the grip of a three-year addiction, she needed 450 milligrams a day just to keep a lid on withdrawal symptoms and would stop at nothing to get the drug, moving to the black market to buy more and then transitioning to street drugs, eventually overdosing on a mixture of heroin and fentanyl. I survived the opioid crisis, she wrote in Artforum in 2018 after beating her addiction. I narrowly escaped. Goldin in 2021 protesting against the Sackler family, whose company Purdue Pharma produced the drug OxyContin. Credit:AP Photo Many havent been so lucky. There have been about 500,000 deaths from opioid overdoses since the crisis began in 1999. By some estimates, 145 people are dying each day. Rather than simply count her lucky stars, Goldin decided to do something about it. And, being Goldin, she was not backward in coming forward. That journey, from artist to activist, informs the Oscar-nominated documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, directed by Laura Poitras, whose previous films include Citizenfour, about Edward Snowden, and Risk, about Julian Assange. Im drawn to stories that allow me to say something critical about US injustice, and to show the people who are doing something to confront it, says Poitras. Edward Snowden and Julian Assange fall into that category, and so does Nan.

Advertisement

The film also delves deeply into Goldins personal life and art. She was the product of a loveless household in suburban Boston. Being given a camera while attending an alternative school in the 1960s was a revelation. I was pretty much mute back then, she says, speaking from her home in Brooklyns Fort Greene and dragging on a cigarette. I was very shy and spoke in a whisper. With a camera, I felt like I had a voice. Suddenly I could approach people. Having a camera is a good way to walk through fear. And as the film details, Goldin had a lot of fear, engendered by a repressive upbringing that drove her much-loved and unconventional older sister Barbara to suicide at age 19. The film is dedicated to her. I dont think I would have rebelled without her death, says Goldin. I was a good little girl, but after she died I became a bad girl, which is a far better way to be. It took me on a path that freed me. That path started in late 60s Boston, where she fell in with a group of drag queens and started documenting their lives with her camera. Then, when she moved to downtown Manhattan in the late 70s, she did the same with the denizens of the underground scene there. Her frank and intimate images of sex, drugs and alternative subcultures were controversial and groundbreaking, and she displayed them in slideshows, accompanied by music that veered from showtunes to the Velvet Underground. Goldin protesting in a die-in the Guggenheim. Credit:The New York Times

Advertisement

She also trained the lens on herself, capturing on film her own drug use and her horrific physical abuse at the hands of a boyfriend. By the time she started taking OxyContin, her position as one of the worlds most celebrated photographers was assured. When she kicked her addiction (she is at pains to point out she used medical-assisted treatment, and thats what everyone should have) she read Patrick Radden Keefes New Yorker story about the Sackler family, who were responsible for manufacturing and aggressively marketing OxyContin to doctors, who in turn pushed this synthesised opioid onto their patients, reassuring them it wasnt addictive. Goldin recognised the Sackler name immediately. The family was heavily involved in art philanthropy and had galleries, halls and wings named after them in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre and other august institutions. She organised a group called PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and proceeded to hit the Sacklers where they lived. Laura Poitras (left) and Nancy Goldin at this years Academy Awards Nominees Lunch. Credit:AP The film opens with the group undertaking a protest at the Met in 2018, where the Sacklers had a wing named in their honour. Goldin and the protesters chant slogans such as Sacklers lie! People die! then throw empty pill bottles into the indoor pond, bearing labels with quotes attributed to the family, including Were going to make a blizzard of prescriptions that will bury the competition. Then they all lie motionless on the floor, staging a die-in. Goldins aim was to get these prestigious galleries and museums to take down the Sackler name from their walls and refuse further donations.

Advertisement

I never thought we would succeed, she says. I didnt go into this thinking it would work. I just knew I needed to do it. The groups actions began to take effect. The first domino to fall was the National Portrait Gallery in London, which turned down a one-million pound donation from the Sacklers after Goldin said she would pull her work from a planned exhibition. And then one by one, they started caving in. Towards the end of the film, the group rushes to the Met when they hear the Sackler name has been removed from the same exhibition hall where they started their protests. How did Goldin feel in that moment? It was incredible. The Met is the most important museum in New York to me. Thats why I started the actions there. So when they took the Sackler name down it was justification for all we had done. I was just so happy. You dont succeed that many times in life. It was a big moment. Nicholas Rivers of Maine protests outside the Department of Justice in Washington. Credit:AP Perhaps the most powerful and distressing part of the film is footage of victims families testifying at a hearing last year, where members of the Sackler family are on camera, listening to how lives have been destroyed by losing a loved one to OxyContin. At one point a recording of a 911 emergency call is played and as a distraught father explains that his 20-year-old son is dead on the floor of their home, the mother can be heard wailing inconsolably in the background. Another parent tells the Sacklers, I hope that every single victims face haunts your every waking moment, and your sleeping ones too. The Sacklers barely bat an eyelid, seemingly unaffected.

Advertisement

Goldin also testified. But today she regrets listening to the advice of the victims lawyer and tamping down what she said. Loading I wish Id told them how monstrous they are, she says now. Theyve left all these bodies everywhere. How can they be that inhuman? I wanted to ask them if they ever had a moment of guilt and regret. I wanted to wake them up. I wanted to go for the jugular. But, in fact, Goldin did go for the jugular. She just went about it in her own way. And she achieved more than she thought she ever would. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival (making it only the second documentary to win that honour) and has been nominated in the best documentary category at this years Academy Awards. Its rising visibility is already shining a light on both the opioid epidemic and the remarkable life of Nan Goldin. Although shes gratified, she says making the film and dredging up a lot of old memories was hard on her. And its still hard on me, she says. It was very intense and it messed me up a lot. I gave those interviews with the understanding that I would have control over editing them. I worked hard to make sure the film was something I could live with. Its amazing Laura allowed me to do it. Laura was true to her word and I respect that. At age 69, Goldin has wrestled with a hell of a lot and she still has a hell of a lot to do. On a card found in her sister Barbaras bag after her death was a typed quote from Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness: Droll thing, life is  that mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for futile purpose. The most you can hope from it is some knowledge of yourself  that comes too late  a crop of inextinguishable regrets.

Advertisement
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's state-controlled companies should have at least one leader who is a woman, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, ahead of appointments at key firms such as ENI, Enel, Poste Italiane and Leonardo.

"The challenge is not how many women sit on a board of directors, the challenge is when will we have the first woman chief executive in a state-controlled company," Meloni said at an event in parliament.

"Because, I am telling you, it is one of my objectives," she added.

Meloni, 46, is Italy's first female prime minister.

Her right-wing government, which took office in October, is expected to decide on chairperson and CEO positions at major state-controlled companies by the end of the month, sources have said.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Kirsten Donovan)
The federal government has been urged to make an immediate improvement to the lives of prisoners by providing Medicare in custodial settings, in a change that coroners have argued could reduce Indigenous deaths in custody.

An investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes has raised questions about the medical treatment provided in prisons, as well as the failure of governments to implement the recommendations from the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

A smoking ceremony is held at the NSW Coroners Court in July 2022 during the inquest for Mootijah Shillingsworth, who died from an ear infection. Credit: Dean Sewell

Advocates have argued for decades that Medicare should be available in custody. However, the change has not yet been made. Medicare is not available for prisoners because of a section of the Health Insurance Act that prohibits Medicare benefits from being paid when state funding has been provided.

Nadine Miles, principal legal officer of the NSW and ACT Aboriginal Legal Service, said her organisation had appeared at inquests where Indigenous men in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s died in custody from ailments including an asthma attack, organ failure, an ear infection, a clot in the lung, and coronary artery disease.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Within 72 hours of a conflict breaking out over Taiwan, Chinese missile bombardments and devastating cyberattacks would begin pummelling Australia. For the first time since World War II, the mainland would be under attack. Meanwhile, 150,000 American troops would descend on the Top End seeking refuge from the immediate conflict zone. These are the scenarios Peter Jennings, a former deputy secretary for strategy in the Defence Department, says the nation needs to prepare for. As I think of a conflict over Taiwan, what Im thinking about is something that very quickly grows in scale and location, says Jennings, who led the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) for a decade after leaving the Defence Department. That matters to Australia. It could very quickly find its way down to our shores. While historian Geoffrey Blainey famously argued Australia suffered from the tyranny of distance, the nations geographical isolation has often been a blessing. The major conflicts of recent years  Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine  have taken place in distant lands, allowing Australians to feel secure in their southern sanctuary. Distance is no longer equivalent to safety That could all change in a war between China and the US. Five defence experts assembled by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for Red Alert, a special review of Australias national security, agree such a conflict could break out within three years and would almost certainly involve Australia.

Advertisement

Jennings believes Japans strategy in World War II  in which it launched deadly aerial raids on northern Australia to isolate the country from the US  offers a guide for how China may approach a war over Taiwan. Loading Distance is no longer equivalent to safety from our strategic perspective, he says. In the first three days of a war, he says Beijing would be tempted to target Australian military bases with a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile attack to minimise our usefulness in the conflict. If China seriously wants to go after Taiwan in a military sense, the only way they can really contemplate quick success is to pre-emptively attack those assets that might be a threat to them. That means Pine Gap goes, he says, referring to the top secret US-Australian base in the Northern Territory that the US uses to detect nuclear missile launches. It means our naval bases go, it means our air bases go very quickly. Jennings knows he is breaking a powerful unwritten rule in Australia: dont mention the war. Critics will accuse him of fearmongering. It is a real national taboo to think about the likelihood of a conflict in anything other than the most remotely theoretical perspective, he says.

Advertisement

He counters that we will sleepwalk into disaster unless we openly discuss unpalatable scenarios. The Red Alert panellists all agree the ultimate reason for maintaining a well-armed defence force is not to fight wars, but to prevent conflict by deterring would-be attackers. Lavina Lee, a foreign policy expert at Macquarie University, agrees we need to smash the taboo. She urges Australia to confront the possibility that we might go to war and what would happen either way. We should talk about what the world would look like if we win and what it would look like if we lose. The biggest danger the nation faces is complacency rather than alarmism, she says. Take Australias military bases. These facilities  especially those shared with or controlled by the US  are obvious targets for an adversary.

Advertisement

But retired Army major general Mick Ryan says Australians would be scandalised if they knew just how poorly prepared our defence assets were for a potential attack. Like most other Western militaries, we believe in the cult of the offensive, so we have underinvested in defensive capabilities, Ryan says. Our bases are absolutely undefended. Says Jennings: No Australian defence facilities are protected beyond sort of hired contract guards, and there is no plan to move our own forces quickly in a crisis. Old, rickety and stuck together with Blu Tack Ryan says he would expect China to unleash a blizzard of cyberattacks on our communication systems, and potentially the electricity grid, if a war breaks out. The aim would be to sow confusion, degrade national cohesion and delay decision-making by upending everyday life. Jennings agrees Chinese cyberattacks on Australian critical infrastructure  electricity and gas distribution, ports, airports, communications networks  would be a logical first step in a conflict. He doubts any of them could withstand a serious attack.

Advertisement

Australias critical infrastructure is old, rickety and is kind of stuck together with Blu Tack, he says.It will be thoroughly penetrated by Chinese malware really to shut the place down. The implications of that should remind us just how quickly we will sort of erode from an orderly civilisation. Pine Gap, a satellite surveillance base south-west of Alice Springs. Credit:Defence.gov.au Alan Finkel, Australias former chief scientist, warns: Airlines in particular can be taken down very, very easily. Electricity, probably less so in a sense, because most of our generators are not that sophisticated in terms of cyber. They will be [more sophisticated] five to 10 years from now. Things like the telephone network and airlines are very obvious targets. Lesley Seebeck, former head of the Australian National Universitys Cyber Institute, says that the state of our critical infrastructure has just been let lie. Theres no sense of investing for the future. Once the chief information officer at the Bureau of Meteorology, she says: I know that from my time at the BOM it was just creaking, it was knitted together, it barely kept up a lot of the time. But Chinas attacks on Australia would not necessarily be limited to cyber. Ryan says there is a strong agreement among military strategists that a war over Taiwan would involve strikes on US bases, on fuel and munitions holdings, ships across the region, including our own country potentially. Another possibility: China could lay mines to blow up vessels travelling in and out of Australia, a tactic that could devastate the nation by cutting it off from critical supply routes. Ninety per cent of Australias fuel is imported and much of it arrives on tankers that transit through the South China Sea  an inevitable hotspot in any war over Taiwan. Australia has only enough fuel on hand to last 61 days, according to the International Energy Agency, the lowest of any member state.

Advertisement
London: Former British prime minister Boris Johnson has nominated his father Stanley for a knighthood in the list of honours he could grant as an outgoing leader, the Times newspaper has reported, drawing accusations of cronyism.

The Times, said Johnson had put forward as many as 100 names for awards. His predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron nominated roughly 60 each. The newspaper did not specify what service Stanley Johnsons nomination would acknowledge.

Boris Johnson has nominated his father for a knighthood. Credit: Bloomberg

Johnsons father is a former member of the European Parliament, an author and television personality. He acquired French nationality last year.

A spokesperson for the ex-prime minister declined to comment.
Whatever trials and troubles Israel has experienced over the decades, it has long been one of its proudest boasts that it is an island of democracy amid a sea of autocracies.

Today, that status is under severe test. The new government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is proposing a law to allow the parliament by a simple majority to overturn decisions of the Supreme Court. This is such a blatant power grab, so direct an assault on the doctrine of the separation of powers, that it has brought enormous crowds onto the streets in resistance.

Hundreds of thouands of Israelis are taking to the streets daily to protest against the actions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Credit: AP

After two months of near-continuous protests, the government last week ordered the security forces to crack down and violence began.

Writes Jonathan Shamir in the Israeli daily Haaretz: On last Wednesdays unprecedented day of disruption, the police brought tools usually reserved for Palestinians  horses, stun grenades and water cannons  into the heart of Israel.
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who ordered his military commanders on Monday to summon more forces to defend Bakhmut, said in an interview that giving up the besieged city would give Russia an open road to capture cities in eastern Ukraine.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said as much: that taking the city would let Kremlin forces push farther into Ukraines defenses, as he vowed to continue a months-long attack thats shown limited results so far. Fewer than 4,000 civilians remain in Bakhmut, including 38 children, compared with a population of about 70,000 before the invasion, according to Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

Key Developments

Georgia Targets Foreign Agents as Critics See Tilt to Putin

Hungary Moves Toward NATO Expansion With Sweden, Finland Visits

Swiss Arms Exports Jump 29% as Industry Laments Neutrality

Georgia Targets Foreign Agents as Critics Allege Tilt to Putin

Wealthy Russians Hit by Travel Curbs Go Hunting in Zimbabwe

Cyberattacks Are Just One Part of Hybrid Warfare: QuickTake

(All times CET)

European Bank Eyes Loan to Ukraines Railway (8:41 p.m.)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will consider a loan of as much as 200 million ($211 million) to Ukraines state-run JSC Ukrainian Railway, as the nations first lady Olena Zelenska discussed the war humans cost with the lenders President Odile Renaud-Basso in a video talk.

The bank is to approve on March 10 a sovereign-guaranteed loan to the railway consisting of 100 million for emergency capital expense financing and 100 million for supporting capital structure, it said in a statement on its website. The loan, which is expected to be supported by G-7 and European Union guarantees of as much as 50% is intended to facilitate an expansion of cross-border capacity and improve railway connectivity corridors with the EU.

Story continues

Zelenskiy Says Abandoning Bakhmut Would Give Russia Open Road (6:54 p.m.)

Russian troops would have an open road to capture cities in eastern Ukraine if they took control of Bakhmut, Zelenskiy said in an interview with CNN. This is tactical for us, he said.

We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further, Zelenskiy said. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk. It would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction. Thats why our guys are standing there.

Ukraine to Enforce Evacuating Children from War Zone (5:50 p.m)

Ukraines government approved a mechanism to allow local authorities begin the compulsory evacuation of children from areas of active fighting.

Children must be accompanied by at least one parent or legal representative. Parents wont be allowed to prevent children from being moved out once evacuation officially begins, the ministry in charge of reintegrating occupied territories said.

Kazakhstan Struggles to Find Crude to Pipe to Europe (4:12 p.m.)

Germany is supposed to take delivery of a total of 40,000 tons of piped Kazakh oil this quarter, according to KazTransOil, the state oil pipeline operator. Thats down by almost 90% from what was originally planned.

Kazakhstans producers are struggling to find spare barrels that would help European firms to wean themselves off Russian supply, people with knowledge of the matter said. On top of that, they are also wary of using the Druzhba link because they can earn better returns by using other export routes from the landlocked central Asian nation, they said.

Ukraine, Russia Swap Hundreds of Prisoners (4:03 p.m.)

Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner swap in which Kyiv brought home 130 of its troops and Russian 90.

Zelenskiys Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said the Ukrainian contingent included soldiers captured in the battles of Mariupol, Bakhmut and Soledar, and that most had serious injuries. Russias Defense Ministry said the 90 prisoners were returned on Wednesday, the Interfax news service reported.

Hungary Is Training Ukrainians Despite Opposition to War (1:33 p.m.)

The Defense Ministry said it was training Ukrainian military medical specialists for humanitarian purposes in Hungary, according to news site 24.hu.

The EU and NATO member has stood alone among the blocs eastern states in refusing to give military aid to Ukraine, and it barred the direct transfer of weapon shipments to its eastern neighbor.

Poland Ready to Set Up Leopard Maintenance Hub (1:19 p.m.)

Poland is ready to set up a maintenance hub for Leopard tanks transferred to Ukraine, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Tuesday.

Blaszczak expects his German counterpart Boris Pistorius to convince the countrys industry to deliver spare parts for older-type Leopard tanks that Poland has committed to deliver to Ukraine.

The main problem is the lack of spare parts, Blaszczak said. I hope for a breakthrough. He added that Poland will deliver 10 more Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine this week after handing over four last month.

EU to ask EIB to Help Boost Europes Defense Industry (1:08 p.m.)

The EU will ask its lending arm, the European Investment Bank, to help finance the ramp-up of Europes defense industry as it seeks to ensure sufficient stocks of weapons for Ukraine and its member states.

We must mobilize private funds, in particular from the EIB and the banks, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton told reporters. It is essential that the financial system contribute to the effort needed to prepare our industry to meet the challenges of our security.

Putin Praises Bank Chief Gref (12:30 p.m.)

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Sberbank Chief Executive Officer Herman Gref in their first publicly disclosed meeting since the invasion of Ukraine. Sber has not only gotten through this difficult period, but practically fully restored its operations and is making a profit, Putin said in a televised meeting.

Gref touted the banks home-grown software developers, who were able to replace imported products cut off by sanctions, and what he called an unprecedented cost-cutting program since the start of the war. A Putin ally since the 1990s, Gref has long been thought of as one of the relative liberals among his entourage, many of whom were privately skeptical of his decision to go to war.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Recognizing the critical importance of Customs Human Capital in organizational performance and resilience, Members requests for Capacity Building and Technical Assistance in the HRMD area have increased. To effectively address this increased need, the World Customs Organization (WCO) organized a Pre-Accreditation Workshop of Customs Modernization Advisors specialized in Human Resources Management and Development (HRMD). The workshop was held from 27 February to 3 March 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia, with the financial support of the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme and the Sida-WCO Trade Facilitation and Customs Modernization Programme.

Mr. Dingani Banda, Commissioner General of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), opened the workshop with welcome remarks. In his remarks, Mr. Banda stressed that a well-equipped Customs HRMD is vital for driving higher and achieving better productivity since it enables employees to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for achieving goals in the Customs and Revenue authorities. He said that the workshop comes at the right time as it will equip HRMD experts with the competencies needed to manage change and mentor Customs administrations in human capital management and development. He added that this pool of HRMD experts in Customs modernization will, among others, play an essential role in ensuring that African countries are ready to enhance trade amongst themselves as we advance the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The Pre-Accreditation Workshop aimed at developing a pool of highly competent experts capable of organizing and delivering HRMD capacity building activities on behalf of the WCO to support Members in improving their human capital management based on WCO standards and international best practices.

During the five-day intensive programme, experts from 12 countries, namely, Angola, Botswana, Cameron, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, demonstrated their knowledge, skills and attitudes as experts in the area of HRMD and organizational development.

At the end of the workshop, candidates who successfully completed this phase were designated as WCO pre-accredited experts. As part of the second phase of the accreditation process, they will be invited to an in-country mission as co-facilitators to demonstrate their technical, behavioural and leadership skills. Pre-accredited candidates who successfully complete the second phase will become WCO Customs Modernization Advisors for Human Resource Management and Development (CMA-HRMD).

For more information about this activity and the WCO People Development Programme, please contact: capacity.building@wcoomd.org
Legislative Republicans seemed poised Tuesday to block a recently implemented state policy requiring students to get the meningitis vaccine and medical providers to document a history of chickenpox in order for children to skip a vaccine against that disease.

Sen. Steve Nass, who co-chairs the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, has alleged that parts of the policy that the state Department of Health Services announced for K-12 schools in early February do not comply with state law because they are arbitrary and capricious and impose an undue hardship.

Nass, R-Whitewater, said the committee could vote to suspend the rule within days of Tuesdays hearing in an email to citizens provided to the Wisconsin State Journal last week. The committee blocked a similar vaccine policy in 2020.

Under the new policy, the meningitis vaccine, which protects against meningococcal disease types A, C, W and Y, is required at seventh grade, with a booster dose required at 12th grade. The vaccine wasnt required before.

Parents who want their children to avoid the chickenpox vaccine have to provide documentation of prior chickenpox infection from a medical professional. Previously, parents could get exceptions by saying their children had had chickenpox.

While Tuesdays meeting in the Capitol was focused on the states recently implemented rules for chickenpox and meningitis vaccines, the topic often shifted back to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Calling Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for communicable diseases at DHS, Wisconsins Dr. Fauci, Nass asked how lawmakers can trust the department.

Westergaard said that trust is built through conversations, discourse and becoming familiar with the benefits of immunization.

We want to make our community spaces as safe as they can be, Westergaard said.

Tara Czachor, co-founder of Wisconsin United for Freedom, a group that advocates against vaccine mandates, pushed back against the rule Tuesday, asking committee members, How many is too many and who gets to decide?

The state has messed with my kids, all our kids, enough, Czachor said. We want more options, not less. We want less mandates, not more.

The new rule also includes chickenpox and meningitis, or meningococcal disease, in the definition of an outbreak, which can trigger actions to stem the spread of disease. Five or more related cases of chickenpox are considered an outbreak, as are three or more related cases of meningococcal disease and three or more cases of mumps.

The new policy doesnt change existing exemption options for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. It requires a whooping cough shot  known as tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine, or Tdap  by seventh grade instead of sixth grade.

Dr. Stephanie Schauer, the DHS immunization program manager, said meningitis vaccines have been recommended for students by the Advisory Council on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 2005.

Wisconsins most recent vaccination rates in child care centers and schools show a decline, as parents and providers put vaccinations on hold during the pandemic. Thats the case in other states, too.

In the 2021-22 school year, 88.7% of students met the minimum immunization requirements, a 3.2% decrease from the previous year. Some 3.3% of students were behind schedule on their vaccinations, a 0.4% increase from the previous year. Data from this school year wont be available for a month or two, officials said.
The largest Methodist congregation in Dane County has voted to break from the United Methodist Church over disagreements regarding gay marriage and gay leadership, leaving people on both sides of the vote brokenhearted and dismayed at the rupture in their church.

Members of Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Ave., voted 224-76 Sunday to separate from the denomination. In order to disaffiliate from UMC, two-thirds of those in attendance needed to vote to leave.

Since 2019, many members of the Far West Side church have stopped attending services in response to its opposition to gay marriage and gay clergy.

But some in that group, including Robert Squires, retained their official membership and returned Sunday to vote to stay with UMC.

Squires, who had attended Asbury for more than 25 years, said he was distressed by the audiences cheerful reaction to the vote.

The eruption of yells and applause after the announcement of the vote results was disrespectful to the 'no' voters, he said. It was so upsetting that we had to leave immediately.

Its heartbreaking and sad, lead pastor Harold Zimmick said of members choosing to leave the church. Our bond in Christ is stronger than any difference we have, and my hope is that we could be a church with differences, knowing that our unity is in Christ. But some people feel like the issue of marriage is stronger.

Disputes over the Methodist Church's policies regarding homosexuality are splitting congregations across the country.

Currently, UMC maintains bans on same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy. However, amid speculation that the United Methodist Church may make an official stance in support of gay marriage and LGBTQ+ pastors in the coming years, hundreds of Methodist churches have responded with disaffiliation, in an effort to cement their opposition to the potential change.

After Sunday's vote, Carey Fleischmann asked the church to remove her and her family from the member registry.

Fleischmann said conversations regarding disaffiliation started last summer, and in the fall the church started hosting listening sessions.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, Fleischmann said, Zimmick made frequent comments related to his personal stance on gay marriage and clergy to the congregation.

About six weeks ago, before the service started, he announced, Please don't think we don't love gay people. We just can't allow gay marriages, and we can't allow gay clergy,' she recalled. Hes been doing that every week.

We were stunned that this could happen in Dane County," Fleischmann said. Now that theyve decided to be an anti-gay church, Ill never step foot in there again.

Zimmick denied that UMCs possible reversal of its ban on gay marriage and gay clergy members played a major role in his churchs disaffiliation, but instead cited increasing tensions within the UMC as a leading factor.

In the larger United Methodist denomination, there's been polarization. People have been pushed to one side or the other, he said. The vote that we took last night doesn't change our DNA. It doesn't change our desire to love, welcome and accept all.

Churches departing

As reported by UM News, the official news-gathering agency of the United Methodist Church, UMC has lost more than 2,000 churches since 2019, out of nearly 30,000 congregations in the United States.

According to Lisa Wink, communications director for the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church, around 50 churches, or 10% of all Methodist churches across Wisconsin, are currently undergoing the disaffiliation process. All requests to disaffiliate must be approved at the Wisconsin Annual Conference session in June for it to become official, Wink noted.

We were not surprised by the vote, but we are saddened, Wink said. We are committed to supporting the churches that remain in the conference.

With disaffiliation, churches become independent of UMC, while keeping their property and assets. The denomination's disaffiliation plan gives churches until Dec. 31 to decide to leave.

Some churches that have disaffiliated from UMC have gone on to join the Global Methodist Church, a new denomination started by former conservative leaders within UMC, with a doctrine that does not support or recognize same-sex marriage. Zimmick said the church has no current plans to join Global Methodist Church and wants to keep our options open.

Squires doesn't plan to join another church anytime soon. Despite the outcome of Sundays vote, he has no regrets about standing up for his beliefs.

It may be a while before I am ready to commit to another denomination, he said. I have a lot of friends and family in the gay community, and I just felt like the social justice part of me needed to stand up.
Altus Continues to Increase its Presence in Ireland at The National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Exhibition Published: 07 March 2023 by Tyler Hanes by Tyler Hanes

REDDITCH, UK  On the heels of the companys strong sales growth in Ireland in 2022, Altus Group, a leading distributor of capital equipment for electronics assembly, will continue to increase its presence in the region when it exhibits at The National Manufacturing and Supply Chain in Dublin from 23-24th May 2023.

In the last two years, Altus has invested in new staff with the expertise and experience to offer unrivalled customer service and pre-sales validation of new processes for the region. Exhibitions are an important part of the companys growth plan, with The National Manufacturing and Supply Chain an important date in the diary to expand its reach.

Gareth Fenton, Altus Sales Manager Ireland, said: We are delighted to be back at RDS Simmonscourt and supporting a local show and our local sector. We had an excellent first year as a new team in 2022, with existing and new customers trusting us with significant projects. So we are really pleased to say that 2023 looks like it will be more of the same.

During the exhibition, we will be presenting cutting-edge technologies that the market is calling out for. Its a, excellent chance for visitors to get hands on with the latest equipment to assist with electronics manufacturing.

Together with Michael Ostrykiewicz, Senior Applications Engineer, I will be available to discuss specific projects and show how Altus can support companies with innovative equipment from the worlds leading suppliers.

Technology taking centre stage at the Altus stand includes the Koh Young Zenith Alpha HS+ 3D AOI inspection platform. Combining the best hardware and 3D algorithm technologies and teamed with artificial intelligence, it delivers the first-class accuracy for any inspection application.

The team will also demonstrate the YJ Link YLM Laser Marker, which helps ensure manufacturers easily meet high production targets. Another machine earmarked to create interest at the exhibition is the Scienscope AXC-800 III Xray component counting unit, designed with smart camera technology and automatic label reading and printing, to offer uses automated and de-skilled abilities to count components in their facility. With an increases global focus on component supply, this solution is proving to be hugely popular in the Irish market already.

To learn more about Altus' range of equipment, visit stand J02 at The National Manufacturing and Supply Chain at RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, from 23-24th May 2023.
If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

- Air Products & Chemicals Inc. plans to invest a half-billion dollars to produce environmentally friendly hydrogen in New York state.

- The Trexlertown Chick-Fil-A plans to add a second drive-thru lane as part of a plan to reduce traffic congestion.

- The Harrisburg-based Mid Penn bank has opened its first full-service branch in the Lehigh Valley in South Whitehall.

- The Allentown Planning Commission put off a decision on a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at the site of the former Nostos Greek restaurant.

- The former Star Crete concrete plant at the intersection of Farmersville Road and Easton Avenue has been sold for $1.58 million, and that may clear the way for a medical office building.

- The local business SuperSets Gym will open its third location in Allentown's South Mall, with no opening date set yet.

- The jewelry boutique Versant will close later this year, but the business will be consolidated at Gary Werkheiser's other location in Saucon Valley Square.

- The DSW Woodmill Commons has moved to Berkshire West, 1101 Woodland Road in Wyomissing.

- Trainer Michael Melendez has opened his new Reading Extreme Boxing Club where PacSun used to operate in the Berkshire Mall.

- Frackville NAPA Auto Parts held a grand opening with the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce and Frackville Business & Professional Association.

- Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers in North Manheim Township held a grand opening, in conjunction with the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce and Pottsville Business Association.

- PDC Machines, a maker of hydrogen compressors, showed off a new plant in Lower Salford.

- Maya Capital Partners has acquired Amwell Valley Self Storage, a 265-unit storage business on Route 31 in Ringoes, New Jersey.

- Norwescap is buying the former Sullivan's on the Main restaurant in Phillipsburg to renovate the building and then use it for programs to help educate and feed people.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is preparing to deliver his first budget address and the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, Dr. Edward Albert, said he would like to see more money for education.

"So, I have no idea of what the governor is going to be presented, but I know the timing of this is important because of coming off the heels of the lawsuit that we just had a favorable response on," said Dr. Albert.

His group is part of a lawsuit that resulted in a Commonwealth Court judge ruling that the state does not fairly fund schools.

The push for change dates back to more than a decade ago. While campaigning, Shapiro said he supports "fully funding" schools. The Lt. Governor has said that the Governor will "have a lot to say" about equitable school funding. Dr. Albert, who was once a superintendent in Berks County, said the funding affects what courses schools offer.

"We have school districts that have instructional math and language arts teachers, we have some school districts that can't provide that," said Dr. Albert.

He said now would be a good time to make a first down payment following the court ruling.

"I'm not saying that we rob from the rich to pay the poor. I'm not saying that at all, I want to make that perfectly clear, but you know it's time that these school districts that really lack resources because of money and one of the reasons is they just can't go back and tax the taxpayers," said Dr. Albert.

He said that is because these districts do not have as many taxpayers or businesses as some others.
Reading, PA (19601)

Today

Clouds and some drizzle or fog possible early, then clouds break for sun..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy and breezy with a round of showers overnight and perhaps a thunderstorm.
Activists say they're trying to stop Lehigh Valley Hospital from sending a comatose patient - who's an undocumented immigrant - back to her home country.

Immigrant activists claim the woman's family is unable to pay the growing medical bills, and because of that, LVHN is considering flying the wife and mother of two back to her native Dominican Republic as early as Wednesday to receive care there instead.

The immigrant advocacy group CASA says the woman has been in a coma after suffering complications from aneurysm surgery in late December.

Advocates say she requires a high level of care and they fear transporting her to a facility in the Dominican Republic - something they refer to as "medical deportation" - could put her life at risk.

LVHN sent us a statement in response, but it did not specifically address any of the allegations made by the activists.

The hospital said it would be illegal to discuss patient matters publicly.

The statement said in part that LVHN "works tirelessly with patients and their families to ensure they receive appropriate care."
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Bethlehem's Southside has changed since the Bethlehem Steel Corp. era, and land use should change too, according to a city memo that supports making way for 240 apartments.

Serfass Development has proposed a six-story residential building for 119 Technology Drive, just to the east of the Fahy Bridge's southern end. The name Technology Drive is not known to many, but the four-acre site is two blocks from the busy Third and New streets intersection.

The land is now an IR, or Industrial Redevelopment, zone. A memo to the city Planning Commission from Darlene Heller, Bethlehem's director of planning and zoning, recommends a change to CB, or Central Business. That would allow the plan to move ahead.

"The IR zoning district was created during the period of the closure of Bethlehem Steel," according to Heller's memo on the city website. Bethlehem Steel poured its "last cast" in its namesake city in 1995 after years of declining operations.

"The real estate market is much different than it was more than 30 years ago," Heller's memo says. "At the time, there was very little demand for additional housing in the downtown areas."

Now, according to Heller, there is increased demand for dense development in "walkable" downtowns with stores, restaurants and nightlife.

Hundreds of apartments have been proposed for South Bethlehem in the last few years, near Lehigh University, ArtsQuest, and the bar and restaurant scene on Third and Fourth streets.

The current occupant of 119 Technology Drive is IQE Plc, a U.K-based maker of semiconductor wafers. The company is moving out, and the interior "is considered nearly obsolete for current standards for a research facility," Heller's memo says. IQE's nitrogen tanks are visible to pedestrians on the east side of the Fahy Bridge. The land and building were up for sale for $6.95 million earlier this year.

The nearby area is also zoned for Central Business development, and Heller's memo concludes, "our office recommends that the parcel be rezoned to CB as proposed." The memo is on the letterhead of the city's Department of Community and Economic Development.

Serfass Development describes its plan as "one of the largest redevelopment plans in recent Bethlehem history," an apartment building with parking and amenities "that will rival our larger metropolitan neighbors."

The plan reflects Heller's comments on South Bethlehem: "The current industrial zoning does not reflect the vibrant, trendy and diverse that the Southside has transformed into over the past decade," Serfass says in documents provided to the city by attorney James Preston.

Serfass is based in North Whitehall Township. The company says on its website that it is responsible for 1.6 million square feet of past and future development.

The Planning Commission will review the proposal at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 9, at Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast online.
HELLERTOWN, Pa. - Police in Northampton County are concerned about a woman who hasn't been seen since November.

Ashley Payung, 32, walked away from a rehab facility in Dallas, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 8, 2022, said Hellertown police.

Family members received a suspicious phone call on Feb. 26.

"The conversation seemed as if Ashley was instructed what to say due to long pauses before answering where whispers could be heard in the background and the speaker being muffled or muted periodically," police said in a news release Tuesday.

She said she was okay and was near the Mohegan Sun Casino, then the call was ended, authorities said.

Payung is about 5-foot-4, with blond hair that was recently died dark brown/black. She has tattoos on both inner forearms and wrists, a butterfly on her upper back and a mushroom on her outer right ankle.

Anyone with information or who has contact with Ashley is asked to call Hellertown police at 610-838-7040 or leave an anonymous tip with Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers.
A former state representative and the former leader of a local community college has died.

Donald Snyder died Saturday at the age of 71, his family tells 69 News. He passed away at home after several years of health complications.

Snyder was the president of Lehigh Carbon Community College from 2000-2013, when he retired a few months earlier than planned due to health concerns. He was diagnosed with cancer not long after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.

Before that, Snyder served in the state Legislature from 1981-2000, representing the 134th District of Pennsylvania.

He was also a member of the board of PBS 39, the Lehigh County Historical Society, Good Shepherd, Boy Scouts Minsi Trail Council and many others.

Local leaders paid tribute to Snyder Monday.

"He was such a great dedicated public servant," said Lehigh County Judge Douglas Reichley.

"He was a very much respected by his colleagues. He was, you know, a very friendly, affable guy," said former congressman Charlie Dent.

"He was a spiritual man. And he was an honorable man," said Sara Glassman, a former legislative aide to Snyder.

Reichley says he worked alongside him closely in the state House.

"One thing has always stuck out about Don was his humility, very humble guy, but also very highly regarded for his honesty and being straightforward and his leadership," Reichley said.

Dent says Synder was a mentor.

"I just remember having a lot of fun on the House floor, talking with him about the various things we need to discuss," Dent said.

"Don was pretty good about this, you know, kind of helping guide me through some of the issues that were really affecting our community."

His colleagues say he was a spiritual man and dedicated to tackling homelessness, going so far as spending time on the streets of Allentown.

Former legislative assistant Glassman remembers what came of his efforts.

"He had pocket pamphlets made up that listed all of the places that people could go for food, for shelter, for any kind of problems that they were having within the city of Allentown," Glassman said.
When someone can hear something in their "heart language" or the language they grew up with, the one they hear inside their mind, they understand it in a very different way, the Rev. Mariano Menendez of Word of Life Community Church said.

"When you can speak in your heart language, something happens," Menendez said.

The heart language, Menendez added, is even more so important in a religious context, as there are tiny differences in the way things have to be said. Recently, Menendez said, Spanish services have been a topic of discussion at the church, but finding somebody to deliver sermons in another language is only one half of the equation.

For Menendez to also essentially rewrite his sermon every week would require a lot of work. When a member of the congregation, Santiago Vasquez, came forward offering to start doing services in Spanish, he took him up on it.

"There was no way I could do both. When Santiago approached me I was so excited because I've been wanting to reach out to the community. I just knew I couldnt," Menendez said. "I feel Santiago is an answer to my prayers because he will be able to help us shepherd and reach out to the Spanish communities here in town."

The church had previously tested Spanish translation using headset devices, similar to how some theaters operate, but translating something like a religious service, Menendez said, isn't easy as it doesn't always translate directly.

"There's a couple of factors. One is the cultural factor, culturally they're very different, people get used to things and adjust but there's a difference when you can worship God in your first language, your mother language, your heart language," Menendez said.

Menendez said humor is one thing he has run into in the past that can be very different between cultures, something he's still getting a grasp on after living in the U.S. for so long.

"Still today I make mistakes. The humor is so different, I still laugh at the wrong moments sometimes. People say 'thats not funny' and I say 'thats hilarious!'" Menendez said.

Vasquez said he felt called to ask about the position. Being bilingual himself, being able to focus specifically on the Spanish services, he said, will hopefully allow the church's message to reach a broader audience, with services starting at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays, shortly after the English service.

"In our faith circles, we say it's a God thing. It's a calling in my life and I'm just answering the call to preach God's word and minister in that capacity," Vasquez said.

Vasquez has a history of helping the Spanish-speaking community as he has worked with Platte County as director of bilingual services, where he managed juvenile diversion cases. He also has worked as a bilingual parent liaison for Columbus Public Schools, coordinator for Time for Change and a board member at Centro Hispano.

"I've always had a heart for the Latino community and tried to help out every which way. I've done a lot through, like school programs to educate the Latino community and families on the education system," Vasquez said. "I worked through the county to provide other resources to help them establish themselves in the United States and be successful citizens in the community."

In order to take on the role, Vasquez had to take courses from Global University, a higher learning institution the church was partnered with, based out of Springfield, Missouri. In order to meet the spiritual needs he saw in his community, he thought it was a good choice.

"They actually had a tutor center for Global University, so I started taking courses through Global and started attending tutoring sessions, thats how I completed my certification," Vasquez said.

Menendez said he had known about Vasquez when they both worked in diversion. From knowing him there and as a member of the church congregation, he knew Vasquez was the right person.

"I will say I could tell he was there for people," Menendez said. "That was the thing I noticed right away, I knew he loved God just as he loved people, he loved God. You need to love God and love people and he does that well."

This isn't Vasquez's first time in a pastor role, but it is in this particular role. He taught vacation bible school and Sunday school at his previous church. With his newfound training, he's excited to have already started.

"After I felt Gods calling me to be a pastor, I went and prepared myself for that. I'm kind of excited to connect God with his word in this capacity," Vasquez said.
L. MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. - A man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend with a homemade air gun is getting ready to stand trial in Lehigh County.

Monday was jury selection in the trial of Josef Raszler. We were told early Monday morning jury selection was going to take place behind closed doors, so we won't be able to start our coverage of the trial until opening statements begin, but it's taken more than six years to get to this point, so we wanted to take a look at everything we know about the murder charge against Raszler.

Raszler is charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Roof. The prosecution is arguing he shot and killed her in her own driveway in Lower Macungie Township with a homemade air gun in September of 2016. Raszler and Roof both worked at the Allen Organ Company and lived across the street from each other.

The two had a romantic relationship, but investigators said Roof broke it off in 2015. Detectives were able to retrieve around 4,000 text messages sent between the two from April to October of that year. Even though Roof stopped responding to Raszler in July, the texts show Raszler kept messaging her. One of them reads "How many men have you run over before me? It stops here."

When police searched Raszler's home, they found materials in his bedroom to make the air gun, and data on his computer showed he had been searching for the "most powerful air rifle."

We also have some insight into Raszler's possible defense strategy. His attorney may try to say another man who used to work at the company, Michael Horvath, was behind Roof's death. Horvath was found guilty in June of last year of stalking and killing his coworker Holly Grim. Investigators have said the two cases are completely separate.

We covered Michael Horvath's trial as well and, in closing arguments, his attorney tried to pin Holly Grim's death on Josef Raszler, but the judge didn't buy it. In a decision in July of 2021, another judge denied Raszler's attorney the ability to present any evidence from the Horvath trial in his defense in Lehigh County.

We have no word yet when opening statements are going to get underway.
WASHINGTON  Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff shared an update Monday, as the senator continues to be treated for clinical depression.

Adam Jentleson, Fetterman's chief of staff, said in a Twitter post that Fetterman is "laser focused" on Pennsylvania and "will be back soon."

"John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes," Jentleson said.

Productive morning with Senator Fetterman at Walter Reed discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill and other Senate business. John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes. He's laser focused on PA & will be back soon. pic.twitter.com/143uAhoQRx  Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 6, 2023

Jentleson said he met with Fetterman Monday morning to talk about rail safety legislation, a farm bill, and other Senate business.

Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February to receive treatment.

"While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks," a statement from Fetterman's office said at the time.

Fetterman continues to struggle with the aftereffects of a stroke he suffered last May.

In early February, Fetterman stayed two days in George Washington University, checking himself in after becoming lightheaded.

The 53-year-old Fetterman, who was born in Berks County, won the seat held by now-retired Republican Pat Toomey.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  State lawmakers are coming together in the wake of scenes like the one from early February at the Jesus Is Alive World Center in Reading: stained glass windows shattered, sound equipment damaged.

"It's devastating. It strikes me how someone could be so hateful," said Democratic state Sen. Judy Schwank, who represents Reading.

1:52 +3 'It's beyond comprehension': Vandals wreak havoc on Reading church A church community is looking for answers after discovering its place of worship was vandalized over the weekend.

"Sadly, we're seeing an increase in vandalism and hate crimes against religious institutions in our communities across the commonwealth," Schwank said, "so my colleagues and I have introduced legislation  "Save Our Sacred Spaces"  that will classify the institution of a church or synagogue or mosque not only as institutional vandalism, but also as a hate crime."

Schwank, who represents the city and a big portion of Berks County, is sponsoring the bill that she says sends a message to people who commit these types of acts.

She says the bill would allow prosecutors to classify vandalism against churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious spaces as hate crimes  upping the potential penalties imposed if and when someone is found guilty.

"This is serious," the Berks lawmaker said. "This is not going to be taken lightly in our community. We have to try and reign in this kind of behavior."

A native of Pittsburgh, Schwank has been to the Tree of Life Synagogue several times. It's where, in 2018, a gunman shot and killed 11 people and left six others with injuries.

Late last month, a national "Day of Hate" targeting Jewish institutions left people of the faith and police on high alert.

"Last week, there was some postings online about a 'Day of Hate' against Jews, that was widely distributed among fringe groups that support that type of ugly behavior," Schwank said. "As far as I know, there was nothing significantly done as far as harm to Jewish institutions or Jewish people, but it was certainly concerning."

"Just the very fact we would be talking about a 'Day of Hate,'" Schwank said. "It's just so disturbing to think something like that would happen in this country."

In 2019, Schwank was a prime backer of a now-law that creates grant opportunities for nonprofit entities looking to improve the security and safety of their facilities.

As for "Save Our Sacred Spaces," the proposed law is in its early stages.

The legislation's current Democratic co-sponsors  Senators Schwank, Vincent Hughes, Sharif Street and Christine Tartaglione  are hoping to reach across the aisle and to hear from district attorneys and the religious leaders it is designed to help.

"Maybe they'll have other examples that didn't rise to the level of reporting but have created an uncommon atmosphere for the ministers, religious leaders, as well as the congregants," added Schwank.

When the co-sponsors feel they have enough support, they say they will release a corresponding bill number, and the legislation will be referred to either the Senate Law and Justice Committee or the Judiciary Committee.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Clouds and some drizzle or fog possible early, then clouds break for sun..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy and breezy with a round of showers overnight and perhaps a thunderstorm.
PHILADELPHIA - A court date for the suspect in the killing of a Temple University police officer has been delayed.

Miles Pfeffer, 18, was scheduled for his preliminary hearing at 9 a.m. Tuesday, but it was postponed, according to online court records.

The hearing, in which a judge will determine if there is enough evidence in the case to move forward with the charges, is now scheduled for May 9.

Authorities say Pfeffer shot Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald on Feb. 18, then stood over him and kept shooting. Pfeffer then carjacked someone, drove a short distance before ditching the car, then got a ride from his mom to his family home in Buckingham Township, Bucks County, where he was arrested the next morning.

Fitzgerald was the son of former Allentown Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald.
Take a look at what's heading to a theatre near you over the next 12 months!

Wicked, Hamilton, Heathers, Jesus Christ Superstar and Come From Away

( Matt Crockett / Danny Kaan / Pamela Raith / Johan Persson / Craig Sugden)

There are a plethora of celebrated musicals easing on down the road over the next year or so and we thought it might be useful to assemble a list of 20 of these award-winning gems for you right here on WhatsOnStage.

For the purpose of this article, we've selected titles that have previously triumphed at either the Tony, Olivier or WOS Awards.

How many will you be attending in your hometown?

42nd Street

Promotional image for 42nd Street

( Curve)

Come and meet those dancing feet at your local theatre! This quintessential Broadway musical, which explores the trials and tribulations of mounting a show on the Great White Way during the height of the Great Depression, was crowned Best Musical at both the 1981 Tonys and 1984 Olivier Awards. Under the direction of Jonathan Church, a new production will open at Leicester's Curve in May and also spend a summer season at Sadler's Wells in London.

On tour from 17 May

Disney's Aladdin

A scene from the original West End production of Disney's Aladdin

( Disney / Deen Van Meer)

Not only does the "shining, shimmering, splendid" stage adaptation of Disney's Aladdin feature the multi-Grammy and Oscar-winning score by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, but the original Broadway premiere also earned James Monroe Iglehart his first-ever Tony Award for his formidable portrayal of Genie. And for the first time ever, the production is packing its magic carpet and heading out on tour across the UK, opening at Edinburgh's Playhouse Theatre this October ahead of a festive season at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

On tour from 24 October

Annie

Craig Revel Horwood and Paul O'Grady as Miss Hannigan

( Hugo Glendinning / Matt Crockett)

Maybe far away or maybe real nearby? Everyone's favourite singing orphan managed to scoop a whopping seven Tony Awards (including Best Musical) back in 1977 and she's proving as popular as ever! Currently on tour and starring Craig Revel Horwood, Paul O'Grady, Elaine C Smith or Jodie Prenger as Miss Hannigan (depending on which venue you attend), Annie is a bona fide crowd-pleaser... and you can bet your bottom dollar on that!

Currently on tour until 25 November

Blood Brothers

A scene from Blood Brothers

( Jack Merriman)

Willy Russell's seminal tale of two Liverpudlian twins separated at birth won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical back in 1983 and it features such classics as "Tell Me It's Not True" and "Marilyn Monroe".

Currently on tour until 7 October

The Bodyguard

Melody Thornton as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard

( Matt Crockett)

The stage adaptation of the Whitney Houston-led thriller The Bodyguard  infused with all her greatest hits from "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" to "I Will Always Love You"  took home the 2013 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical. It's now back touring the country with former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton starring as "Queen of the Night" Rachel Marron.

Currently on tour until 30 December

The Cher Show

Millie O'Connell, Debbie Kurup and Danielle Steers in The Cher Show

( Pamela Raith)

If we could turn back time, we'd re-visit this dazzling bio-musical all across the country, but it's last chance saloon now to see Gabriella Slade's stunning WhatsOnStage Award-winning costumes as The Cher Show tour comes to an end at Norwich's Theatre Royal this week.

Currently on tour until 11 March

Come From Away

A scene from the West End production of Come From Away

( Matt Crockett)

Winner of Best New Musical at both the Oliviers (2019) and WhatsOnStage Awards (2020), Come From Away has warmed the hearts of countless audiences at the Phoenix Theatre and is gearing up to launch its first-ever UK and Ireland tour at Leicester's Curve next year. Celebrating the generosity of spirit of the people of Gander, who took in stranded travellers from across the globe during the aftermath of 9/11, the musical is a must-see for 2024.

On tour from 1 March 2024

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

A scene from Everybody's Talking About Jamie

( Matt Crockett)

The 2018 WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best New Musical has played the West End and stages across the country and has even been adapted into an acclaimed movie starring Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire and Richard E Grant... and still everybody's talking about Jamie! The show, inspired by the true story of a 16-year-old from Sheffield who longs to become a drag queen, will be back on tour from September, opening at The Lowry in Salford.

On tour from 7 September

Girl from the North Country

Katie Brayben and Shaq Taylor in Girl from the North Country

( Cylla von Tiedemann)

It's your last chance to experience the Tony Award-winning orchestrations of those classic Bob Dylan hits, as Conor McPherson's Girl from the North Country comes to the end of its tour in Wimbledon this month. Set in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression, it follows the lives of a diverse set of characters at a rundown guesthouse and it's reportedly set for a film adaptation too.

Currently on tour until 18 March

Hamilton

The current London cast of Hamilton

( Danny Kaan)

With a staggering seven Oliviers and 11 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) to its name, Hamilton is simply a musical phenomenon. Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hip Hop-infused juggernaut, telling the story of United States founding father Alexander Hamilton, will be launching its first-ever UK tour in Manchester this autumn.

On tour from 11 November

Heathers

A scene from Heathers The Musical

( Pamela Raith)

Winner of the 2019 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical, Heathers has one of the most loyal and active fan bases we've ever seen. The teenage dark comedy  with extra lashings of murderous intent  is set in an Ohio high school ruled by an infamous trio, who all happen to be called Heather.

Currently on tour until 7 October

Jersey Boys

A scene from Jersey Boys

( Birgit and Ralf Brinkhoff)

The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons took home the 2006 Tony Award and 2009 Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards for Best New Musical and it's not showing any signs of slowing down. The current touring production will walk like a man to its final destination, Leicester's Curve, this May.

Currently on tour until 6 May

Jesus Christ Superstar

The US touring cast of Jesus Christ Superstar

( MurphyMade)

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre's celebrated staging of Jesus Christ Superstar was crowned Best Musical Revival at the 2017 Olivier Awards and it is this very production that will be given further life this autumn with a brand-new tour launching in Manchester. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's classic gives Jesus' final days and Judas Iscariot's betrayal a rock opera spin and features such standards as "I Don't Know How to Love Him", ""Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)" and, of course, "Superstar".

On tour from 11 September

The King and I

A scene from The King and I

( Johan Persson)

The 2015 Tony-winning Best Revival of a Musical is back on tour in the UK, headlined by Call the Midwife's Helen George as Anna Leonowens and Broadway's Darren Lee as the King of Siam. The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic about a British governess and her rocky relationship with a Southeast Asian monarch features such standards as "Getting to Know You", "Something Wonderful" and "Shall We Dance?"

Currently on tour until 1 July

Disney's The Lion King

A scene from Disney's The Lion King

( Disney / Johan Persson)

The 1998 Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Lion King is the crown jewel of the Disney Theatrical empire and is still wowing audiences across the UK and Ireland over two decades later. The current tour ends in Dublin this autumn. Be Prepared, folks!

Currently on tour until 11 November

My Fair Lady

Michael D. Xavier as Professor Henry Higgins, Heather Jackson as Mrs Higgins, Charlotte Kennedy as Eliza Doolittle and Sinead Kenny as Clara Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady

( Marc Brenner)

Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's iconic musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion garnered a "loverly" total of six Tony Awards in 1957 (including Best Musical). If that wasn't enough, the current production also features sumptuous Tony-winning costumes from Catherine Zuber and a cast that includes Michael D. Xavier, Charlotte Kennedy and Adam Woodyatt. The tour is now entering its final weeks, so if the street where you live is in the Birmingham or Manchester area, don't miss your opportunity!

Currently on tour until 1 April

Six

A scene from Six the Musical

( Joan Marcus)

Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived... at a theatre near you! Similar to Heathers, Six has also nurtured a passionate fan base (affectionately known as the "queendom") since its 2017 premiere. Presented in the format of a modern-day girl group concert, where each Queen has the opportunity to tell their testimony of life with Henry VIII through song, the piece features a Tony Award-winning score by Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow and Tony-winning costumes by Gabriella Slade. It also was recently voted Best West End Show for a second consecutive year at the WhatsOnStage Awards.

Currently on tour until 26 November

Titanic the Musical

A scene from Titanic the Musical

( Scott Rylander)

This particular staging of Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's Titanic the Musical is about to set sail on a 10th anniversary UK tour. When the show originally premiered, it took home no less than five Tony Awards (including Best Musical). It revolves, of course, around the passengers and crew onboard the Titanic, when it infamously sank on 15 April 1912 and over 1,500 lives were lost.

On tour from 16 March

Wicked

Laura Pick as Elphaba in Wicked

( Matt Crockett)

Thank Goodness! The global phenomenon Wicked  the 2007 WhatsOnStage Award winner for Best New Musical  will be heading out on another UK and Ireland tour this December, regaling the masses with the "untold story of the Witches of Oz" one more time. West End alum Laura Pick will once again be defying gravity in the central role of Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. Get ready for the most swankified musical in town, folks!

On tour from 7 December

The Wizard of Oz

A scene from the Curve production of The Wizard of Oz

( Marc Brenner)

Wicked isn't the only Oz-themed musical hitting the (Yellow Brick) road this December. The 2011 adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (featuring additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, alongside the classics from Harold Arlen and E Y Harburg) won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Musical Revival in 2012 and was successfully revamped at Curve last year. It's now set for a summer season at The London Palladium and a tour launch in Liverpool.

On tour from 13 December

Tickets for select dates are on sale below.
Grace Mouat and the company of The Great British Bake Off Musical

( Manuel Harlan)

The Great British Bake Off Musical is a critics dream - the subject matter provides a veritable cornucopia of puns and innuendos, ready to be sprinkled onto critical assessment with unabashed glee. Expect headlines choc(k)-full of references to soggy bottoms, theatrical treats, and sugar-coated delights.

Its lovely to report, therefore, that the musical exudes a sweet smell of assured success. First concocted in Cheltenham, it is now whisked into the West End for an amuse-bouche eight-week season - though I'm fairly confident well be seeing dollops more of the show over the coming months and years.

Charlotte Wakefield (centre) and the cast of The Great British Bake Off Musical

( Manuel Harlan)

Over the course of 140 minutes or so, writers Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, building on their triumphant take on Adrian Mole a few years back, have served up a perfectly blended irreverent love letter to that most famous of TV series. Brunger and Cleary also know exactly how to cater to both the Bake Off devotees and theatre fans. For the former, there are not-so-subtle references to fridge mix-ups, Bingate, and a certain judges famous handshake. For the latter, you get magical trips across the channel and echoes of An American in Paris, as well as roof-raising 11 oclock numbers and some witty choreographed moments.

Modelled entirely on the format of the series, the stage show follows eight contestants, each provided with their own easily-accessible backstory, vying for the coveted cake stand-trophy. From carers with lost family members through to widowers with headstrong children and immigrants learning to fit in through the medium of cooking, theres the sort of inoffensive, charming, and endearing quality to the storytelling that is typical of the TV phenomenon.

Clearys music riffs off Tom Howe's orchestral score used on the telly (the Hug Song is especially amusing), while also adding catchy, pacy numbers that hold the audience and give each of the cracking cast a chance to shine.

Haydn Gwynne and John Owen-Jones in The Great British Bake Off Musical

( Manuel Harlan)

There are clear odes to Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith in the forms of John Owen-Jones and Haydn Gwynnes judges Phil Hollinghurst and Pam Lee, a lovable musical duo that shine in Id Never Be Me Without You - a contemporary tribute to Cole Porters Youre the Top with added references to Torvill and Dean and tinnies. Owen-Jones gets a barnstorming number Slap It Like That to ratchet up the pace early on, while Gwynnes sparkling act two opener is a certified crowd-pleaser. The pair also look uncannily like their subjects  so all credit has to go to casting director Jim Arnold.

On the presenter side, Scott Paige and Zoe Birkett act as the comedy glue keeping things together, with Paige in particular whipping out zippy one-liners that land without fail.

But the show wouldnt work without its contestants, and the eight performers in question revel in their various numbers. Cat Sandisons tender Grow provides a quietly self-contained ballad, while Grace Mouat chews every bit of Alice Powers scenery (including her immaculate cake designs) as the entitled snob Izzy in Obviously. Charlotte Wakefield, the underdog protagonist of the night, gets a perfectly plotted character arc that culminates in the big hit Rise, and Claire Moore proves why shes a theatrical legend in an act two number that flies the flag for the sexual urges of older women.

Will it win Oliviers? Probably not. But it also probably never wants to. Some characters feel more wafer-thin than others and the ending doesn't quite get the showstopper it might have liked, but Bake Off is a guaranteed feel-good night-out that achieves everything it sets out to do. The musical you never knew you kneaded.
The hit production will be visiting venues from September

The artwork for Peter Pan Goes Wrong

( Mischief)

Exclusive: Mischief's hit Peter Pan Goes Wrong will embark on a UK tour from September, it has been confirmed.

Penned by Mischief's writing trio Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, the piece provides a comedy twist on the classic J M Barrie tale. It was first seen in late 2013 and broadcast on the BBC in 2016, with a Broadway run also currently in technical rehearsals.

Jonathan Sayer, creative director of Mischief said: I'm absolutely delighted that Peter Pan Goes Wrong will be returning to bring joy across the country. It's such a special show for us and includes some of our most ambitious comic sequences to date.

The show will open at Richmond Theatre on 23 September, before visiting Aylesbury, Nottingham, Liverpool, Southampton, Wolverhampton, Bath, Leeds, Cardiff, Canterbury, Newcastle and Sheffield, with further dates coming soon. Tickets go on sale today (at some venues). Touring cast to be announced.

It is directed by Adam Meggido, with set designs by Simon Scullion, costumes by Roberto Surace, lighting by Matt Haskins and sound by Ella Wahlstrom. Peter Pan Goes Wrong is produced by Kenny Wax Ltd and Stage Presence Ltd.

Sign up for our newsletters for more stories like this
Loup Public Power District is considering the beginning stages of a project that would remove silt from Lake Babcock, thereby increasing storage and potential revenue.

Korey Hobza, vice president of engineering at Loup, gave an overview of the project during the Loup board meeting held last week in Columbus.

Hobza reported they are reapplying for an America the Beautiful grant to clean 10 to 12 acres of Lake Babcock near the Girl Scout camp. Loups previous application had not gone through.

However, management began looking at the project on a larger scale.

When you look at this from Google Earth, you can see there are about 273 acres that are that we know are completely silted in, potentially a larger area than that but just what you can see on Google Earth  it's 273 acres, Hobza said. I did some calculations on that, and just looking at that area alone could add an extra million dollars to our bottom line every year.

Loups hydroelectric system begins near Genoa, where water from the Loup River is diverted into a man-made canal which then flows through the Monroe facility. The water flows to the regulating reservoirs of Lake Babcock and Lake North, which provide storage for generation at Columbus Powerhouse. Once power is generated, the water re-enters the canal and flows into the Platte River.

With Lake Babcock the way it is, we have a limited amount of storage behind Columbus, Loup President/CEO Neal Suess said. If you can dredge up that lake and have more water basically, instead of soil, you would then have more capability to  go a couple of days of storage. Or probably what would be better is  timing up with some of the pricing signals you get from the Southwest Power Pool.

That would, in turn, Suess said, give more flexibility in maximizing revenue from the Columbus Powerhouse.

Hobza said they looked at the finer details of what the project would require, such as how much material would need to be removed, what they need to do to make sure the area doesnt get silted in again, what permits will be required, etc.

All of that leads to a feasibility study.

We want to create a step-by-step project plan for what we want to do, how do we do this? Hobza said. Something I can bring to (the board) and say, here's our plan from A to Z, we can do this, it's going to cost us X, our benefit is going to be why, here's what our problems are, here's how we plan to solve them.

The feasibility study would cost anywhere from $80,000 to $125,000, depending on the amount of detail wanted, he said, and they are writing a grant for the Nebraska State Water Sustainability Fund, the filing of which is due this month.

With a 60/40 split, Loup is left to pay 40% of that. But we can use labor in lieu of payment on that as well, Hobza said. If we have $20,000 in labor that we've spent working on this, that is in lieu of payment for our unmet need that we have to come up with.

If the feasibility study indicates the project would be possible, Loup would then apply to the federal WaterSMART grant program, though that part would be a year or two out from now, he added.

Because a federal grant can be stacked with state and local grants, he said, and they are looking for other funding opportunities to help with the projects cost.

Hobza said they are working on letters of support and are currently focused on the grant for the feasibility study. If that funding is received, he added, they will ask the board for permission to move forward with the study.
Taliesin Preservation and the University of Wisconsin Press release the first detailed portrait of Frank Lloyd Wrights fascinating and complex mistress, Mamah Borthwick, in a new book about her life, A Brave And Lovely Woman.

She was an energetic, intelligent, and charismatic woman who earned a masters degree at a time when few women even attended college, translated writings by a key figure of the early feminist movement, and traveled from the American prairie to Europe, Scandinavia, and Japan.

She is best known as the mistress of the famous American architect and for her shocking murder at the Wisconsin home he built for her, Taliesin.

The book offers an important corrective to the narrative of Wright and Borthwick, a love story as American in character as it is Shakespearean in conclusion.

Mark Borthwick, a distant relative, presents a detailed portrait of a fascinating woman, a complicated figure who was at once a dedicated mother and a faithless spouse, a feminist and a member of a conservative sorority, a vivacious extrovert and a social pariah.

For more information, visit mamahborthwick.com. Signed copies are limited at taliesinpreservation.org/product/a-brave-and-lovely-woman.

A virtual release and Q&A with the author will take place from 6:30-7:30 p.m. March 14. Register at taliesinpreservation.org/event/a-brave-and-lovely-woman-virtual-book-release.
Brendon Meyer grew up in the little town of Nekoosa, in Wood County, Wisconsin. As a boy he knew he wanted to help his community when he grew up.

Now, as a member of the Baraboo Police Department, Meyer is helping youth. Meyer has recently been installed as student resource officer for the Baraboo Public School District. The 25-year-old has been in the police force since 2018.

I want to be a person they can come to, Meyer said. I want to be that in-between, between school and the real world.

A school resource officer is a sworn law enforcement officer with arrest powers who works in a school setting. Daily duties include law enforcement, informal mentoring, counseling, and more.

Not every day is the same, Meyer said, and thats just the way he likes it.

He wants his new presence at the school be a positive one.

I want students and staff to feel safe, Meyer said.

Particularly with the rash of school shootings happening nationwide, he feels his place at the school will be a calming one.

To be a familiar presence, he said, is important. To be that person anyone can come to, to report a crime, or simply someone that will listen and understand.

Nationally, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 5,500 law enforcement agencies employed a total of 24,900 sworn SROs in 2019. ACLU Washington noted that, in 1975, 1% of schools were policed. Currently, 48% are. Youth crime, nationally, is on the decline. By 2020, noted the U.S. Department of Justice, the number of violent crime arrests involving youth reached a new low, 78% below the 1994 peak.

Meyer thinks his impact can be strengthened by the support of both the school community and the Baraboo community at large.

The police are the people, Meyer said, and the people are the police.

Meyer encourages everyone, regardless of age, to get involved. What can the police department do better? What improvements can be made?

Were all in this together, he said.

Meyer is eager to be a positive influence on Baraboos youth, as he, himself, recalls his time in Nekoosa dreaming of the days in which he could help others. Those days are here.
JUNEAU  The Dodge County Sheriffs Office said goodbye to K-9 Tek on Friday; however they welcomed a new K-9 into the department named Cade, a 14-month-old German shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix.

K-9 Tek was 2 years old when he joined the Dodge County Sheriffs Office in July 2017. Tek was born in the Czech Republic, has been with Dodge County Sheriffs Office Lt. Taylor Nehls for almost six years, and will remain with Nehls and his family.

Deputy K-9 Tek is 1042 (end of duty) for his final tour of duty today, Friday March 3rd, Dodge County Dispatch announced on Friday. We would like to thank K-9 Tek for his 38-and-a-half dog years otherwise known as five-and-a half years of distinguished service to the Dodge County Sheriffs Office and to your handler, Lt. Nehls.

Thank you, Tek, for serving the citizens of Dodge County with over 98 arrests and 314 deployments, assuring the safety of our deputies and other agencies each and every shift and making sure your partner went home safely every night. You can now take your well-deserved rest. Chase rabbits instead of bad guys, enjoy your well-deserved belly rubs and back scratches. Your pet presence will be greatly missed. Go enjoy being a dog.

Dodge County Sheriffs Office Deputy Matthew Mayer is Cades new K-9 handler. Cade is named after a boy who died following a car accident that occurred in southeastern Dodge County on March 14, 2017.

As a result of that accident a 14-year-old boy, Cade, lost his life but his family made sure the legacy of Cade lived on, according to a press release from the Dodge County Sheriffs Office.

Cade immediately became a true hero, as his organs were donated which resulted in saving the lives of four others. His family and loved ones started a local fundraiser to raise awareness for organ donations called Play 4 Cade. Throughout the years, the Play 4 Cade organization has raised funds that have been donated for scholarships, activities, memorials, to other organizations, and raised awareness for organ donations in memory of Cade.

The Play 4 Cade organization also donated $15,000 to the Dodge County Sheriffs Office K-9 program on Dec. 15.

That generous donation was used to purchase and pay for training for a new K-9 for the sheriffs office, according to the press release. The Dodge County Sheriffs Office K-9 program is fully donor funded.

The sheriffs office is grateful to be able to honor Cades legacy through his name. K-9 Cade and Deputy Mayer start a five-week, K-9 training course through Jessiffany Canine Services, LLC out of Iron Ridge on March 6, according to the release.

Tek also had trained through Jessiffany Canine Services.

K-9 Cade will be trained in narcotics detection, article searches, tracking, area/building searches, and handler protection. Once training is completed, K-9 Cade and Mayer will be assigned to second shift patrol.
Moraine Park Technical College dean of economics and workforce development JoAnn Hall will remember one of the graduates who walked the stage last December for a long time.

The graduate was unknown to any of the students but worked hard while studying at a local prison and achieved two goals in a short period of graduating: earning his associates degree and ending his term in prison.

We had our very first student who started his degree while incarcerated, was released while in the program and finished the program post incarceration, and he walked our graduation stage in December, Hall said. I had the privilege of chatting with him after graduation that day, and his family couldnt have been more proud, and the college couldnt have been more proud.

More inmates could have the opportunity to take college classes soon, because starting July 1 Pell grants will be available to people who are incarcerated. Its the first time since 1994 that the grants will be widely available to inmates.

And Moraine Park Technical College, which has offered education inside the prison system for decades, is in a good position to help them prepare.

The college is the latest to be part of the Ascendium Education Groups Ready for Pell initiative. It is one of 20 colleges and two state systems throughout the nation to receive up to $120,000 in funds to expand postsecondary education before the Pell grants become available.

Following the July 1 deadline, the program will no longer be an experimental program, so any school that is approved to be a Prison Education Program site will be able to draw down Pell dollars on their students.

Currently some of those incarcerated can benefit from the Second Chance Pell experiment that has been going on for the last five years. Now that Pell eligibility is being fully restored, it opens up the chance for all the inmates to receive an education.

All of these are the same programs if you would come here to campus, Hall said.

Options for incarcerated students include a business management associate degree, small business entrepreneur associate degree, health and wellness technician which is a technical diploma and administrative coordinate associate degree program.

All those programs have certificates inside them as well so students can start a career pathway, Hall said.

For example, business management has three different pathways in it so students can work their way through those certificates but with the intent of getting the associate degree, Hall said.

On campus, the student could take the courses full- or part-time. In the Wisconsin Department of Corrections facilities they are offered in the cohort format so students go through the program together.

It is really better for the students to stay with the other students in that program, and we scheduled them in a three-year, lock-step program, Hall said.

There are two programs that start twice a year which help students who have to miss a course for whatever reason, Hall said.

Moraine Park has some competition inside the prison system.

Madison Area Technical College and Milwaukee Area Technical College were chosen earlier to be part of the program, said Ben Jones, Education Director at the DAI Central Office with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Milwaukee was first and had three years before any other colleges were in the area and Madison was second which put a head start on Moraine Park, Jones said.

There are five prisons in the boundary of Moraine Park Technical College district, but two or three of those prisons already had agreements with other colleges. Jones said there are currently more than one school that can run in any of those facilities either in an online or face-to-face program.

The department believes that some competition between college partners is healthy and provides students with different opportunities for what they want and not what we want them to have, Jones said. There is a point of saturation and confusion that creates, so we have to define what that looks like.

Jones said that there has not been any definite answers on what the future structure of the educational programs will look like in the prisons.

Hall said that Moraine Park is currently working in four prisons and plans to offer the Pell grant opportunity to those students as well as expanding the institutions they provide the service to next year.

Our goal is to offer inside every institution in the state our online programs, Hall said. Weve been doing Department of Corrections work at Moraine Park since 1974. We have a strong sense of what these students need, how to manage these students, how to help them through the educational process and for us Pell is just one more step for what we have been doing in many different pathways. This just gives us a new opportunity.

Hall said that Moraine Parks Pell-based programs are currently offered at Taycheedah Correctional, Kettle Moraine Correctional, Waupun Correctional and Fox Lake Correctional.

Prior to Pell, Hall said that Moraine Park would see about 400 students enroll in 8,000 courses. Under Pell, which was started as a pilot program at Moraine Park in August of 2022, Moraine Park has 95 additional full-time students inside the prison walls.

How to measure the program

Molly Lasagna, senior program officer supporting Ascendiums Expand Postsecondary Education in Prison, said one important thing that schools and the Department of Correction have to look at now is how they measure success for this population of students.

There are concerns in the world out there that schools will gobble up the Pell dollars because they see it as an opportunity to bring in some revenue for their schools without actually showing some demonstrative evidence that they can take a cohort of students into this program from enrollment to graduation.

Lasagna said she has not seen something like this happening with Moraine Park but feels one of the interesting changes in this field with the return of Pell access is that the Department of Corrections is in a better position to work in favor of the students in the institutions.

It is really important for the Department of Corrections to be thinking with their college partners, current and future, about what they mean by the best interest of students, Lasagna said. Do we mean graduation rates? Do we mean inmates getting out and staying out of prison? Do we mean they are achieving meaningful employment as a result of this degree? Do they mean the credential is somehow shoring up economic security for folks and their families and communities when they get out of prison?

Lasagna said it is obvious that there is a conversation between MPTC and the Department of Corrections going on that will help them to answer these questions here, but she has not seen the same conversations everywhere in the country.

Hall said that MPTC worked with Jones and his team to select the programs offered based on two criteria: that the inmate could continue at Moraine Park if they were released and that the programs were transferable into a four-year baccalaureate degree.

If a student wants to continue on and get their baccalaureate degree, how do we make that a seamless career pathway? Hall said. We already have those articulation agreements with multiple institutions in the state of Wisconsin.

While incarcerated, inmates can take one bachelor program offered at Waupun Correctional in divinity studies with a minor in psychology, Jones said. There is interest by some Wisconsin four-year schools to provide a Bachelor of Arts program in the prisons.

There are some kind of unique challenges with sentence structures and how long they are in before they are released, Jones said.

The funds from the Pell grant are capped and do not pay for the bachelor level credits, Jones said.

There are some challenges but we are actively working toward that, Jones said.

Lasagna said that beginning on July 1 the funds from the Pell grant can be used by incarcerated individuals at any accredited institution up to a four-year program.

Jones said there are some limitations to offering programs in the college, for instance, inmates cannot use the internet so some computer classes would not be an option.

We know that over 93% of those incarcerated are going back to live where they were at some point, Jones said. The question often asked is, how do we want them to return and do we want them to return educated and prepared to be productive?
Conservative Dan Kelly and liberal Janet Protasiewicz have agreed to one Wisconsin Supreme Court debate before they face off in a crucial election to decide the courts ideological balance.

The announcement of the March 21 debate  co-hosted by the State Bar of Wisconsin, WisPolitics.com and WISC-TV (Ch. 3)  follows several forums or debates being canceled or adjusted after Protasiewicz declined to participate in them.

The candidates will face off in an April 4 election for a 10-year term on the states highest court.

The race is already the most-expensive judicial election ever in American history.

The winning candidate will join the court as it appears slated to weigh in on the future of abortion in Wisconsin. It also could decide how the states legislative maps are drawn, the 2024 presidential election and have the final say on other policies as the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic governors office continue to clash.

The State Bar of Wisconsin debate, which will begin at 12:45 p.m. and be broadcast at 4 p.m. on WISC-TV (Ch. 3), so far is the only scheduled post-primary debate featuring both candidates.

Other meetings set

Kelly and Protasiewicz have agreed to meet separately with the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial boards. Protasiewiczs campaign said she also agreed to participate in a March 28 forum hosted by All Voting is Local, Campus Vote Project and VoteRiders. Kelly couldnt participate in that forum because of a scheduling conflict, a spokesperson said.

Judge Protasiewicz looks forward to the opportunity to participate in the State Bar of Wisconsins debate and these other forums, and highlight her three decades of experience and service to the state, campaign spokesperson Sam Roecker said in a statement.

Most of the hosts of the events Protasiewicz declined to attend have welcomed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates in the past.

Contenders for public office across the country are increasingly less likely to participate in debates, often to avoid the risk of public gaffes or allowing opponents to voice attacks that can be publicized later.

Of the many proposed debates, Kellys campaign tweeted that he is ready to be at all of them.

Kelly spokesperson Ben Voelkel said in a statement that Protasiewicz isnt willing to defend or explain her record.

Strategy involved

Given Protasiewiczs first-place finish in the Wisconsin Supreme Court primary followed by liberals outspending conservatives so far in the general election, the difference in Protasiewicz and Kellys willingness to debate is consistent with recent campaigns debate strategy, said Anthony Chergosky, a UW-La Crosse political scientist.

When a candidate has a huge spending advantage and is leading in the campaign, they may be unwilling to take the risk of the unpredictable environment of a debate, he said. And meanwhile, a candidate who is being outspent and is trailing in the polls will be eager to participate in a debate.

Some examples:

Kelly agreed to participate in an event hosted by the liberal American Constitution Society, but Roecker said Protasiewicz couldnt make it due to a scheduling conflict. The organization hosted a pre-primary debate in 2019, months before then-Justice Kelly lost to liberal Justice Jill Karofsky.

Protasiewiczs campaign also said scheduling conflicts would keep her from participating in a nonpartisan Milwaukee Press Club event, where the candidates were scheduled to take questions from a media panel and the audience on March 14, according to Club President Maryann Lazarski. Kelly will still participate in the panel, which is co-hosted by WisPolitics.com and the Rotary Club of Milwaukee.

The Milwaukee Press Club hosted conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn in 2019; his challenger, Appeals Judge Lisa Neubauer, didnt accept the invitation to appear at the same event.

On Wednesday, WISN-TV announced Protasiewicz declined to participate in its debate; Kelly had agreed to it. Hagedorn and Neubauer appeared at a WISN debate in 2019, which was co-hosted by Marquette University.

A planned forum at Marquette University also was cancelled, a university spokesperson told the Kelly campaign in an email, without specifying why.

Replying to the cancellation email, Voelkel said, We are happy to do this at any date, time or location, even if Protasiewicz does not participate.

A Marquette spokesperson didnt respond to a request for comment about why the event was cancelled.

Both candidates were invited to participate in a PBS Wisconsin debate, which has hosted Wisconsin Supreme Court debates since at least 1995, but only Kelly has agreed to the debate so far, said Frederica Freyberg, the executive producer of news for PBS Wisconsin.

Trend toward fewer

In the past, voters could assume that debates would happen in high-profile campaigns, Chergosky said.

They can no longer make that assumption, he added.

Aside from campaigns political priorities, political observers have pointed to a clear loser produced by candidates continued unwillingness to debate: the public.

Though such debates may be a casualty of electoral calculus, their diminishing frequency means the loss of a valuable democratic institution that encourages principled policy engagement and dialogue in an ideas-challenged political moment, Colby Galliher, a senior research analyst at the Washington, D.C., based think tank Brookings Institution, said in a report about declining debate participation rates across America.

Last year, Wisconsins U.S. Senate candidates participated in two debates after the primary. They stuck close to their campaign talking points in the first one and were more animated in the second one. The gubernatorial candidates participated in just one debate, also sticking close to their talking points.

Thats in line with national trends.

In 2010, contenders in the top-five U.S. Senate elections debated 17 times, according to the Brookings Institution. By 2022, contenders in the top-five U.S. Senate contests only debated six times.

Even if debates ultimately dont decide elections, they still matter as a ritual in democracy, and they still matter as a norm in our political system, Chergosky said.
Brasserie Saison, a Franco-Belgian restaurant on Charlottesvilles Downtown Mall, has been temporarily closed amid claims that employees have gone without pay.

Hunter Smith, whose Champion Hospitality Group is the parent company of the restaurant, said that the restaurant would reopen soon after customers reported the restaurant had closed over the weekend.

Were open Wednesday with reservations on the books all week, Smith told The Daily Progress via email on Monday.

Smith did not respond to an email asking why the restaurant had closed and has not addressed multiple claims that employees at Brasserie Saison have gone without pay.

Marijean Oldham, who has acted as a spokeswoman for Champion as recently as this past January, told The Daily Progress on Monday that she had been out of the loop for a while regarding Champion Hospitality. She referred all questions to Smith.

Brasserie Saisons temporary closure comes a little less than two months after Champion told The Daily Progress it owes its vendors money.

Champion has been working diligently with vendors to settle any issues that resulted from a challenging 2022, Oldham said in an email to The Daily Progress in January.

Oldham did not say how much the company owes and who is still waiting on a check, but she did say that Champions businesses will remain open and that the company even intends to expand existing restaurant operations on the Downtown Mall despite standing in arrears with more than one vendor.

Champion Hospitality Group is the parent company of several businesses in downtown Charlottesville including its flagship bar and restaurant Champion Brewing Company and Brasserie Saison as well as the Latin-inspired eatery Passiflora.

Its a large footprint, but it used to be larger.

Last year, Champion Hospitality shut down both the Champion Grill in the Shops at Stonefield north of Charlottesville, the Champion outpost in Lynchburg and Reason Beer in Seminole Place shopping center north of Charlottesville, whose operations merged with Champions in late 2021.

There were 16 people laid off as a result of the closures.

The company said in January that there are still 60 people employed under the Champion Hospitality umbrella, and it is looking to hire more.

Smith, whose family also owns Afton Mountain Vineyards in Nelson County, said in a January statement that Champion planned to expand and renovate both Brasserie Saisons and Passifloras operations on the Downtown Mall, saying news would be announced in the weeks to come.

That news has not yet emerged.

The most recent news regarding Brasserie Saison posted on Champions website is a Feb. 10, 2022, announcement that Chris Humphrey would be joining the restaurant as its new chef de cuisine.

Humphrey, a Charlottesville native, has been a fixture in the Charlottesville restaurant scene since the 1990s, according to Champion. Hes previously worked at Bizou, Maya and Rapture, as well as the now-closed Metropolitain and Fellinis restaurants.
The Charlottesville-based construction nonprofit Building Goodness Foundation is holding a free International Womans Day event featuring two speakers on Wednesday morning.

The event features Niya Bates and Zuliana Cristabel Lopez Toledo. Bates is a Ph.D. candidate in history and African American studies at Princeton who has worked to help preserve rural African American community history in Central Virginia, according to a foundation statement. Meanwhile, Toledo serves as the assistant director of the Colegio Horizontes school in Guatemala, which was built in partnership with the Building Good Foundation.

Its the fourth time that the foundation has celebrated International Womens Day with an event focusing on building a gender-equal world, according to the foundation. This years theme, Embrace Equity, emphasizes the ability to challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination and seek out inclusion, according to the foundation.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday in Old Trinity Church at the corner of 10th Street and Grady Avenue, across from Charlottesvilles Dairy Market. Registration is required to hold a seat and is available at www.buildinggoodness.org/iwd.
A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes.
China's new foreign minister Qin Gang warned Tuesday that "conflict and confrontation" with the United States is inevitable if Washington does not change course.
"Were launching a new program  Supply Kentucky  a supply chain initiative to help our companies and our workforce succeed. For the first step, were announcing CONNEX Kentucky, a database that will connect companies across the commonwealth with resources they need." Gov. Andy Beshear said in a series of tweets Monday. "Companies are betting their futures on us, and we're committed to ensuring Kentucky is the best place to do business. Thank you to @kymanufacturing and @CEDkygov."
A Fredericksburg man has been arrested and charged with the armed robbery of the Locust Grove Walmart.

Kelvin Jackson, 51, was apprehended on Friday in a joint effort between the Orange County Sheriffs Office and the Virginia State Police, according to Lt. Becky Jones with the sheriffs office.

Jackson has been charged with felony robbery and is being held at Central Virginia Regional Jail without bond.

The Spotsylvania County Sheriffs Office and local civilians also assisted in identifying and locating the suspect, police said.

Jacksons arrest was made one day after the Orange sheriffs office initially responded to a report of a possible armed robbery at the Walmart on Germanna Highway.

According to reports, an employee at the Walmart was robbed by a man who implied he had a firearm.

Jones said that the suspect left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Jackson is scheduled to have his first appearance in Orange General District Court on Friday.
An online workshop on community fundraising will be held on Tuesday, hosted by Charlottesville-based nonprofit group Virginia Organizing.

The "Creative Fundraising" workshop will include topics such as grassroots fundraising, events, social media and fundraising committees.

Closed captions, American Sign Language and Spanish interpretation will also be provided, according to a Virginia Organizing statement.

The event is part of the Community Learning and Strategy Sessions series by Virginia Organizing, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to encouraging political participation in Virginia, according to its website.

The virtual event will be held at 7 p.m. through Zoom. Registration for the event is available at https://virginia-organizing.org/join-us-for-class.
Ongoing attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank make it clear that the pogrom-like rampage by hundreds of Israeli settlers on the town of Huwara on February 26, while Israeli troops stood by, is part of a broader campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Waged by Zionist settlers, it proceeds under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and is led politically by the newly installed government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which includes fascistic, racist and ultra-religious parties. Their declared aim is to annex the Palestinian territories and implement apartheid rule, as embodied in the Nation-State Law enshrining Jewish supremacy as the legal foundation of the state.

Vigilante mobs attacked Huwara, beating residents with metal rods and rocks, killing one person and injuring 400 more, as well as setting fire to scores of homes and shops and hundreds of vehicles in a four-to-five-hour orgy of violence. They also attacked Burin and Einbus in the northern West Bank. All are in a part of the West Bank under Israeli security control and just minutes away from an army brigade headquarters. But Israeli soldiers stood by during the rampage. Not a single government minister condemned the atrocity. Just 10 people were arrested, of whom all but one were released.

A Palestinian man walks between scorched cars in a scrapyard, in the town of Hawara, near the West Bank city of Nablus, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. [AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg]

Itamar Ben-Gvir, national security minister and fascistic leader of Jewish Power, declared, The government of Israel, the state of Israel, the IDF, the security forcesthey are the ones who have to crush our enemies, not the settlers. On Wednesday, Finance Minister and Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich, responsible for the settlements in the West Bank, said that Israel should wipe out Huwara, a demand tantamount to the horrors inflicted on the Palestinians when more than 700,000 were driven out in 1948-49 at the hands of Zionist militias.

The towns stores have only just reopened, following orders by the IDF to keep their doors shuttered that left storekeepers without an income. Settlers have issued threats on social media that they will return to the town in a repeat of their rampage. They plastered the area with posters demanding the army crush its enemies. One declared, The intifada is here. We demand to crush! We demand to respond with war!

Yesterday, Israeli forces stormed the Umm Said area, southeast of Beit Lahm, and demolished a Palestinian mosque, claiming it had been built without a building permit, which the Israeli authorities never grant. On January 23, soldiers stormed the Palestinian town of Isawiyyeh and the Khan Al-Ahmar community in East Jerusalem, where they demolished a greenhouse.

The United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently called on the major powers to take action against Israels systemic and arbitrary demolition of Palestinian buildings. Israel demolished 132 Palestinian structures, including 34 residential and 15 donor-funded structures, across 38 West Bank communities in January alone, a 135 percent increase on 2022.

On Monday, Ben-Gvir demanded that police continue demolishing Palestinian homes during Ramadan, set to begin on March 23, overturning the past practice that has seen Israel refrain from doing so to avoid inflaming tensions further. The attempted expulsion of families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem during Ramadan in 2021 was one of the factors that precipitated the firing of rockets by Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group that controls Gaza, followed by Israels bombardment of Gaza and riots in Israels mixed Palestinian-Jewish cities in May of that year.

Israels escalating violence and criminality has killed at least 67 Palestinians so far in 2023, more than one per day, a rate far higher than last year when at least 171 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalemthe highest death toll since 2005. It is setting the stage in the run-up to Ramadan and Passover for a violent conflagration that threatens to engulf not just the occupied Palestinian territories, but Israel and its neighbours.

This growing threat has led increasing numbers of Israelis to take to the streets in protest. Last Saturday evening, around 160,000 rallied in Tel Aviv, Israels commercial capital and largest city. An even greater number took part in pro-democracy demonstrations across Jerusalem, Herzliya, Netanya, Beersheba, Haifa, Ashdod and scores of other towns, with organisers claiming that there were some 400,000 protesters in all.

This is particularly significant given that the organisers have sought to restrict the demonstrations focus to opposition to Netanyahus plans to trim the powers of the judiciary. The main speakers at the rallies have been former generals, heads of the intelligence services and government ministers. Most of them were members of the misnamed government of change headed by Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, had served under Netanyahu in the past, and have few substantive political differences with him.

They have deliberately ignored or downplayed growing social inequality and poverty and the worsening suppression of the Palestinians, ensuring that very few of Israels Palestinian citizens have participated in the rallies. Their sole concern is to protect the Israeli state in the interests of the plutocrats.

In marked contrast to the hands-off approach taken by the military and border police during the raid by Israeli settlers on Huwara, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai readied 1,000 police officers for the demonstrations, particularly in Tel Aviv. He was determined to stop them blocking the Ayalon Highway, the citys chief highway, which has become a symbol of resistance in demonstrations in recent years.

Until last Wednesdays National Disruption Day, the police had largely refrained from interfering in the rallies. Their intervention followed Ben-Gvirs provocative demand that the police chief stop the protesters, whom he branded anarchists, from disturbing the order.

Saturday saw a second eruption of violence after the authorities in Tel Aviv deployed mounted police, special forces and water cannons against demonstrators who had broken through the barriers leading to the Ayalon Highway and halted traffic. They chanted Shame! and Where were you in Hawara? at police officers making arrests. Following the rallies, Ben-Gvir said that he had no intention of apologizing to anyone, certainly not to the anarchists who seek to set the State of Tel Aviv on fire.

The protest organisers announced that they would hold another day of disruption around the country on Thursday, March 9.

But it is impossible for Israeli workers to halt the governments plans for dictatorship or prevent all-out war with the Palestinians without rejecting nationalism and allying themselves directly with the Palestinians. This means rejecting the Zionist project of a Jewish state based on the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population and unifying their struggles with those of their Arab class brothers and sisters for the overthrow of the capitalist profit system and the nation-state framework on which it is basedfor the socialist reorganization of the economy of the entire Middle East region so that its vast resources can be utilised for the benefit of all its peoples.

Such a perspective must be fought for against all those parties and organisations that work to subordinate the working class to an alliance with one or another of the imperialist powers and the Arab regimes. It means building sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International in Israel/Palestine and throughout the Middle East to lead and organize this struggle.
The 2023 school year began in late January and early February with public schools facing an unprecedented crisis, due to staffing shortages, worsening conditions, poor pay, and with COVID-19 infections spreading in the schools.

This has resulted in increasing numbers taking early retirement, others shifting into the private school sector and many leaving education altogether. A recent survey of 4,000 teachers by the Black Dog Institute indicated that 47 percent of teachers were considering changing careers in the next 12 months due to unmanageable workload. One in four teachers reported that they were being forced to teach outside their expertise and qualifications.

In the state of Victoria, the Australian Education Union (AEU) last year rammed through a regressive industrial agreement covering 90,000 school workers. Nearly 40 percent voted to reject the deal struck by the union bureaucracy and the state Labor government of Premier Daniel Andrews.

The Committee for Public Education (CFPE) spearheaded the campaign to reject the enormous real wage cut and entrenched excessive workloads. The onerous agreement is now being enforced in the face of ongoing hostility among teachers.

Committee for Public Education graphic opposing AEU-Labor sellout [Photo: WSWS]

Several teachers in Victoria recently spoke with the CFPE about the mounting crisis.

Leanne (not her real name), a primary school teacher from southeast Melbourne, explained: I voted against last years agreement. The extra one hour per week time release from face to face teaching does not decrease our work load, and the pay rise was not nearly enough. The union said they were going to ask for 7 percent but we did not even get half of that. Two percent is not a wage increase.

Describing the complex issues educators confront, Leanne said, Our school has a huge number of students from low socio-economic circumstances and we have some kids who receive the highest disability funding. We have students with ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder], ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder], Oppositional Defiance Disorder, developmental delays, lots of kids with intellectual disabilities, speech problems and even then, the government lifts the threshold to get funding.

I had a kid who was analysed as requiring the highest level of support, but even then he did not have a full-time support staff member to assist. At a friends school they have a staff member who is allocated entirely to writing submissions for funding for kids with disabilities and learning issues. And the government is wondering why we dont want to stay in teaching?

Leanne explained how the pandemic has affected staffing in her school: Pre-COVID we would advertise jobs and we would get 50 applicants, now we are lucky to get five. CRTs [casual relief teachers] were hard to get last year, so students are split into other classes and that is an extra load for teachers. We are expected to have work packs ready to go when the kids are split. And when teachers are sick, you still are expected to prepare work for the class. I often think, well I might as well go into school even though I am sick. Lots of teachers say that.

Leanne spoke on the AEUs censorship. Before the 2022 agreement was passed, a guy on the unions Facebook page wrote, dont vote yes, vote no to the agreement. He had this awesome argument and he got something like 400 likeswithin a few hours, his post was deleted by the union. Teachers need to be making decisions, not the AEU president. The government and union officials are not in the classroom, they have no idea what we are dealing with.

She added: I have attended one of the CFPEs online meetings. It provided very insightful stuff. We need to get the CFPE out there, known. So many people would benefit from the Facebook group the CFPE has created. I am glad I found it. I think there are a lot of people out there who would like to participate in discussions and improve our situation.

Lorelai, a casual relief teacher (CRT) working in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne, said: Full time work is too stressful. Working as a CRT means I have no marking, no after-school meetings, no curriculum designs to create, and no contact with parents. Before the year had started, I had already been signed on by a school for all of Term one for 4 days a week. Last year, the school struggled to get more than 2 CRTs per day. This is not enough for a large school. They already know that they are not going to fill all positions by the start of this year and they are desperate.

Lorelai commented on how demands on teachers have intensified over the last decade: When I started teaching 7 years ago it was hard to get a job, especially an ongoing permanent position. There was so much competition for every job. Depending on how good the school was there could be a hundred applicants for a job, but now so many positions are not being filled. There are always new initiatives demanded by the Department of Education, this is even before we have implemented and understood the last one. We are continually playing catch up. Workload has become unmanageable.

Lorelai said that she opposed the industrial agreement, but like other CRTs had not been permitted to vote on it. The union tried to guilt trip everyone into voting for the agreement saying that if you dont vote for it then all the hard work we have done to earn these great wins will be lost, she explained. The unions cower down to what the government wants. I quit the union after the last agreement.

Sandra, (not her real name), a teacher in a P-12 school in the northern suburbs of Melbourne with 16 years of teaching experience, said: We definitely have staffing problems and have increasing enrolments every year. We are even getting kids from the independent schools who are being thrown out because they are not reaching the academic standards of the school. Where I am, there are housing estates popping up all the time in predominantly immigrant areas with refugee communities.

To cover classes, schools are reshuffling allotments. Some teachers are teaching outside of their expertise for the first time. One of the biggest problems is students lacking English language skills. Some students have been in Australia long enough not to qualify for an EAL [English as Second Language] classroom and have to go into mainstream classes. We have some students in Year 11 that are at a Year 5 reading level. During COVID, like a lot of the schools, we had to funnel the tutoring program teachers to cover classes without teachers.

Even though the Department offers Targeted Financial Incentives for teachersthere is an extra $9,000 bonus to come to our schoolwe still do not even get applicants. It is hard where we work, there is a stigma and some behavioural issues, like many secondary students. Kids come from situations of domestic violence, substance and drug abuse, and we have a big student vaping problem.

Sandra spoke on the unresolved COVID crisis: When masks were taken off as mandatory for students, I caught COVID for the first time and brought it home to my family. I describe it as the gift that keeps giving. I was told that I needed to get a statutory declaration that I caught it at school so I could claim infectious diseases leave. We had no PPE, no protections and kids unmasked. I tried to get a statutory declaration from three doctors and they said I dont know whether you got it at school. Luckily my principal accepted my infectious diseases leave.

The union did not advocate for our healthwe have a lot of immune-compromised staff. I dont agree with putting our health at risk to open the economy, not without pandemic leave and not without PPE. It is hard to find a staff member that has not had COVID, some have had it twice or more.

She added: The union agreement is revolting. One hour a week or half an hour of planning and assessment time a week does not give me time to do anything. I argue, give me money, not time, because time will be taken away. I think the 1 percent nominal wage rise over 6 months is a jokethe union lied to us.

Our school was nearly 90 percent opposed to the agreement, and Im guessing 60 percent have left the union. I have been deleted on the union Facebook. Why cant I be critical of what the union has done as a member? Meredith Peace the AEU state president has close ties to the Andrews government and did not want to ruffle feathers. Peaces salary is exorbitant compared to ours.

Contact the CFPE:

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/commforpubliceducation

https://www.facebook.com/groups/opposeaeusellout

Twitter: @CFPE_Australia
With barely any media coverage, and total silence from the Labour Party-led government and opposition parties, New Zealands COVID-19 disaster is continuing. In the past fortnight alone there were 58 COVID-related deaths reported, including two children under 10 years old.

Medical staff test shoppers who volunteered at a pop-up community COVID-19 testing station at a supermarket carpark in Christchurch, New Zealand, 2022. [AP Photo/Mark Baker]

The media has provided extensive coverage relating to the 15 deaths in catastrophic flooding in January and February. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and other political leaders have expressed condolences to the affected families and communities. There are serious questions about whether lives could have been saved with more resilient infrastructure and housing and better disaster management.

By contrast, no details are reported about COVID-19 victims, only statistics about age, gender and ethnicity. Politicians do not speak about these deaths and generally behave as though the pandemic is over.

Since December 18, 2022, according to the ministry of health, 311 people have died from COVID, an average of 28.2 per week. This is likely an undercount.

Since the start of the pandemic, 4,010 people have died in New Zealand within 28 days of a COVID-19 infection. The government claims that nearly a quarter of these, 969, were not due to COVID and 493 are unconfirmed, but there is no detailed information about these deaths.

These deaths were not inevitable, but the result of deliberate and criminal policy decisions. All but 30 fatalities occurred after then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the abandonment of the COVID-19 elimination policy in late 2021, and adopted the let it rip agenda that has killed more than 20.5 million people globally.

The removal of all public health measures, including mask mandates, social distancing and temporary lockdowns, caused the countrys total all-cause mortality to increase by 10 percent in 2022, with 3,642 more deaths compared with 2021. This was the largest annual increase since the 1918 influenza pandemic, when deaths jumped by 55.4 percent.

Hipkins, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall and other politicians made no statement when this extraordinary surge was revealed on February 20. Until recently, the government would often boast about New Zealands relatively low death rate.

On May 18, 2022, for instance, Hipkins and Verrall issued a press statement hailing statistics that showed deaths had not increased during the first two years of the pandemic.

Hipkins, who was then the COVID-19 Response Minister, declared: This reflected the benefits of our COVID-19 response in reducing exposure to the virus and protecting our more vulnerable New Zealanders Vaccination has played a key role, along with border and isolation measures, in keeping people safe from the more deadly variants of COVID-19 by keeping them out of the community or significantly limiting their spread.

These words read like an indictment of the current policy. Scrapping the zero COVID policy has had devastating consequences for vulnerable people.

Recent data from the ministry for disabled people shows those receiving Disability Support Services are only 9 percent less likely to test positive for COVID, but 4.2 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for the virus and 13 times more likely to die from it.

According to the health ministry, 60.5 percent of people who died after a positive COVID test were over 80 years old. The virus has ripped through aged care facilities, killing people that the corporate elite regards as unproductive and a drain on profits.

While COVID deaths have been lower over summer, the weekly toll will undoubtedly rise as temperatures fall, immunity wanes and people are infected again and again. Last week, 42 percent of the reported cases (4,811 out of 11,453) were reinfections, which increases the risk of debilitating Long COVID.

The coronavirus has contributed to a crisis in public hospitals, already understaffed and under-resourced before the pandemic.

According to Radio NZ, in December in Counties Manukau, South Auckland, there were 6,637 patients who had been waiting more than four months for a first specialist appointmentan increase of 46 percent compared with a year earlier. The number of people in the district waiting for so-called elective surgeryoften vital operations such as knee or hip replacementshad increased by 69 percent to 1,569.

Last Friday, Stuff reported that Christchurch Hospital was recently at 106 percent capacity and has had to transfer patients to other hospitals for surgery due to a shortage of anaesthetic technicians. The hospital was also recently understaffed by 100 nurses for a whole day, due to large numbers being sick.

In the year to November 2022, according to One News, hospitals hit 100 percent occupancy a total of 656 times, meaning on average each day roughly two hospitals around the country were running at an occupancy higher than they were resourced for.

Far from allocating more resources to the crisis, this year the Labour government halved funding for the COVID-19 response. Most COVID patients are now forced to pay for follow-up doctor appointments, something that was previously free.

More cuts are in the works, as the government seeks to impose the cost of the countrys worsening economic crisis on working people through austerity measures.

Last week Rob Campbell, the outgoing Health NZ chief executive, told the media that many hundreds of workers would soon lose their jobs following the amalgamation of the countrys district health boards into the new centralised health service.

Prime Minister Hipkins confirmed the change, telling Stuffs Newsable podcast the cuts were about making the back office as lean and efficient as possible, so that the funding and the people and the resource can be directed to frontline health services. In the same interview, however, he acknowledged the governments cuts to COVID-related frontline services.

Campbell said the cuts should be imposed in partnership with the union bureaucracy. Public Service Association (PSA) national secretary Kerry Davies told Newsroom that some redundancies are inevitable and the union wanted sufficient and appropriate support for all workers through this challenging time. The role of the PSA is to ensure the cuts are implemented in an orderly fashion.

Working people cannot accept the forever COVID agenda of the ruling class, which is leading to a mounting death toll and a decline in life expectancy worldwide. To defeat this criminal agenda, workers need new organisations, independent of the pro-capitalist trade unions, which have enforced the removal of COVID protections in schools, public transport and other workplaces.

The Socialist Equality Group calls for rank-and-file safety committees to be built in every workplace, including hospitals and schools, to fight for a fully-funded elimination strategy to save lives. This fight requires a socialist strategy: the resources needed to stop the virus and to rebuild the healthcare system must be expropriated from the corporations and banks, which have made record profits during the pandemic.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and the Plantation Workers Action Committee held an open-air meeting on February 26 at the Maskeliya bus stand in the central plantation district of Nuwereliya. The meeting was part of the SEPs campaign in the previously scheduled March 9 local government elections.

K. Kandeepan, SEP candidate in the Maskeliya local government elections, addressing outdoor public meeting on 26 February 2023. [Photo: WSWS]

The SEP is standing a slate of 53 candidates for three local government (LG) bodiesthe Kolonnawa Urban Council in Colombo, the Karainagar Pradeshiya Sabha in Jaffna and the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha in Nuwereliya.

Fearing a resounding defeat in the LG polls, President Ranil Wickremesinghe last month declared that there was no money to run the elections and that they were cancelled. No new date for the elections has been announced.

The meeting, which was chaired by K. Kandeepan, an SEP Central Committee member and leader of the Glenugie Plantation Workers Action Committee, denounced Wickremesinghes anti-democratic act.

Kandeepan told the meeting that Wickremesinghes decision had nothing to do with a lack of election fund money. Instead, it was part of a broader attack on the democratic and social rights of workers, young people and the rural toilers.

The speaker reviewed the severe social conditions now confronting plantation workers: Plantation workers poverty-level wages now mean that they face difficulties even getting just one healthy meal per day.

Kandeepan explained how the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and the other plantation unions were supporting the government and the plantation companies. This is why workers need to form action committees, independent of the trade unions, at every estate and workplace in order to fight for their rights, he said.

The next speaker was SEP Political Committee member M. Thevarajah, who is leading the partys slate of candidates for the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha in Nuwereliya.

Although the results of these local polls will not change the government, the outcome will deepen its political instability and encourage workers and the oppressed masses to revolt against the government. Thats the real reason the government doesnt want to hold the elections, he said.

Any future Sri Lankan governmentwhether led by the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya of Sajith Premadasa or the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-led National Peoples Power of Anurakumara Dissanayakewill implement the harsh austerity measures dictated by the International Monetary Fund.

There is no solution to the burning issues confronting workers, youth and the rural toilers under the profit-driven capitalist system. Workers and the oppressed masses need to fight for a government of workers and farmers committed to socialist policies, Thevarajah said, explaining that the SEP is the only party fighting to mobilise the working class on that perspective.

SEP candidate A. Parimaladevi, a plantation worker from Alton Estate in Upcot and a member of the Alton Estate Workers Action Committee, also addressed the meeting. She was one of 38 workers victimised by the estate management for their involvement in a strike for higher wages in February 2021.

SEP election candidate A. Parimaladevi at her home in Alton Estate. [Photo: WSWS]

When I and 37 other workers from Alton Estate were witch-hunted by management and the police, including a court case on false charges that we assaulted the manager and damaged his bungalow, the SEP was the only party that came forward to defend us, she explained.

Our action committee and the SEP initiated a campaign demanding our reinstatement and the withdrawal of all the charges against us. All workers must support this struggle, Parimaladevi said.

The last speaker was SEP Political Committee member Pani Wijesiriwardena. He began by presenting a brief account of the SEPs principled history.

The SEPs predecessor, the Revolutionary Communist League, was founded in 1968 as the Sri Lankan section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world Trotskyist party.

This was a principled response to the great betrayal of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party which joined a coalition with Sirima Bandaranayakes capitalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1964. The RCL/SEP has fought relentlessly for more than half a century for the political independence of the working class, he said.

Wijesiriwardena pointed out that the SEP was the only organisation running in the local elections that has fought throughout its history to unite the Sinhala and Tamil speaking workers on an international socialist program.

He continued: This meeting is being held at a very important turning point in Sri Lankan politics. On one side, the Wickremesinghe government has unleashed an unprecedented attack on the social and democratic rights of the workers and the oppressed masses. On the other side, millions of workers are continuously entering into struggle against those attacks.

Wijesiriwardena pointed out that the economic meltdown in Sri Lanka was part of an escalating international crisis of capitalism, which has been deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine.

Pani Wijesiriwardane (right) addressing the meeting with Tamil translation by SEP Political Committee member M. Thevarajah at Maskeliya on 26 February 2023. [Photo: WSWS]

Wickremesinghe calculates that his government, which is deeply hated by the people, will suffer a humiliating defeat in the local elections, further deepening the countrys political instability and making it difficult to implement the IMF austerity policies. This is what is behind his moves to cancel the local government elections.

The government and the entire ruling class fear that the rising struggles of the working class will develop into the sort of mass uprising that ousted President Gotabhaya Rajapakse and his government last year, the speaker continued.



Wickremesinghes repeated vows that the country will never be allowed to fall into anarchy, means that he will try to crush these rising struggles by using the entire state power, including the police, the military and all the anti-democratic laws, he explained.

Wijesiriwardena said that an independent political movement of the working class is needed to fight the governments brutal social measures, aimed at placing the burden of the crisis on workers and the oppressed masses. This movement, he continued, must rally the rural poor and launch a political counter offensive against the Wickremesinghe government and capitalist rule, based on international socialism.

Wijesiriwardena said the trade unions and pseudo-left parties, such as Frontline Socialist Party, were hostile to this program. He then reviewed the treacherous role being played by the CWC, the largest plantation trade union, and Jeevan Thondaman its leader. He explained that Thondaman, who was a cabinet minister in the Wickremesinghe government, was a direct participant in the social assault on plantation workers and the working class as a whole.

Millions of workers participated in the uprising and demonstrated their enormous social power by ousting the former president and his government. But because the uprising was not based on a revolutionary socialist perspective, it ultimately failed to achieve the desired goals of the masses.

Wijesiriwardena quoted from the SEPs statement, issued during last years uprising, which called for the convening of a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and the Rural Masses:

The foundations for the Democratic and Socialist Congress need to be laid by the workers and rural toilers themselves, through the establishment of action committees in workplaces, factories, plantations, neighborhoods and rural areas throughout the island to fight for their class interests. If these committees are to give genuine voice to the aspirations of working people, it is essential that they be independent of all the parties of the capitalist class and its trade union flunkeys.

SEP and plantation action committee members campaigned for several weeks in the estates around Upcot and in Maskeliya town to build last months open-air meeting. Thousands of copies of the SEP statement denouncing the cancellation of the elections were distributed, along with plantation action committee statement fighting the witch hunt of the Alton Estate workers.

Workers discussing with SEP Political Committee member Pani Wijesiriwardena after meeting in Maskeliya on 26 February 2023. [Photo: WSWS]

After the meeting, one worker from Maskeliya estate said: I agreed with what speakers said about the difficulties we face. When I went to hospital, all they gave me was a prescription to buy medicine outside. When we send our children to school, the school asks for money for everything. How can we live in this situation? We expect a solution from your party. I carefully noted the speech of the final speaker and I want to talk to him about our problems.

Another worker from the Lanka estate in Maskeliya bought a copy of the SEPs statement calling for a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses. Ive never heard of this type of detailed explanation of the economic and political situation in Sri Lanka and world, he said.
On Wednesday, March 1, 25-year-old Chase Allan was shot and killed by police in Farmington, Utah, following a traffic stop. Police report that Allan was pulled over for not having a license plate on his vehicle. He was killed when five officers fired up to 12 bullets into his car.

Chase Allan [Photo: Allan family]

A statement from the Allan family says that they were not informed of Chases death as next of kin by the police and only found out that he had been killed by reading local news articles. They described his death as tragic and devastating and a brutal murder that occurred with police shooting him while he was still in his automobile and likely terrified for his safety. They shot 12 plus rounds at him while he was still inside the car with the engine running and lights on when reporters arrived.

On Friday, Farmington police Chief Eric Johnsen told reporters Allan was pulled over by an officer for having an illegitimate license plate but did not clarify what it was.

After being signaled by a cop, Allan pulled into the parking lot of a United States Postal Service office. He reportedly rolled his window down only a few inches and refused to comply with demands from the officer to present his license and registration.

Johnsen said in a statement, The driver asserted his independence from the laws of the land as well as his belief that he was not required to provide information to the officer, nor was he required to cooperate. The officer called for backup, with a supervisor, two additional officers and a trainee arriving on the scene shortly after.

The officers then ordered Allan to exit his vehicle. When he reportedly refused to comply they attempted to pull him from the vehicle, at which point a struggle ensued that lasted only seconds before an officer allegedly called out that there was a gun. The police report does not say how many times Allan was shot and only says that body camera footage confirms that gunshots can be heard.

The body camera footage has not been released, but the Farmington Police Department claims that it shows that Allan had an empty holster on his hip and that there was a handgun on the floor of the drivers side.

Without the release of the body camera footage the official police account of the incident cannot be verified. Photos of Allans car show that there are at least eight bullet holes through the passenger side windows and Johnsen confirmed that there were officers on both sides of the vehicle.

The bullet holes in the passenger windows complicate the claim that Allan was engaged in a struggle with officers. The police claim of a struggle is reminiscent of the 2022 police murder of Richard Ward in Pueblo, Colorado. The release of body camera footage in that case a few weeks ago showed that the police report that he attacked officers was untrue.

However, there is a history of conflict between the Allan family and the Farmington police department that corresponds to some of the police story.

The Allan family are members of the Sovereign Citizen movement, a right-wing ultra libertarian ideology that holds that government authorities do not have the right to enforce laws on them. They are particularly known for denying the authority of police officers to enforce traffic laws, claiming that it is their constitutional right to travel without a license or vehicle registration.

Journalist photos of the scene show that Allans car did not have a Utah license plate, and news reports state that there was a placard stating his constitutional sovereignty in its place.

Chase Allans mother, Diane Allan, had a similar encounter with a Farmington police officer last year as well.

This past October, Diane Allan filed a lawsuit against the police department claiming that a police traffic stop was illegitimate because she had an inherent right to access the public roads without her Liberty restrained as one of the sovereign people of Utah. The lawsuit claims that the police officer did not have any right to pull her over for an alleged expired vehicle registration because it was a violation of her constitutional rights. The suit also alleges that Diane Allan and her son, Chase, attempted to hand deliver a Rescissioned citation to the police department but Lieutenant Eric Johnsen crumpled up the citation and threw it in the trash.

This history of conflict with the police and his familys political views may be why Allan would refuse to comply with demands to present his license, but does not explain why he was forcefully removed from the vehicle and ultimately killed.

The Farmington Police claim that their officers were concerned for their lives and that they are prioritizing the release of the body camera footage.

Chief Johnsen said on Friday that Video footage is only one part of complete comprehension of the incident, and we recognize that our understanding of the incident may change as more information and evidence is gathered and analyzed. We dont draw any final conclusions regarding the actions of the officers until the protocol investigation has been completed.

Allan is the third person to be killed by the police in the past three years in the city of 25,000, located north of Salt Lake City, and is the fourth in Utah so far this year. Based on previous years averages, he is among the more than 1,000 people that will be killed by police in 2023. The fact that Allan is white cuts across the claim by the pseudo-left that police violence is a fundamentally racially motivated occurrence.

In 2022 the police fatally shot 1,232 people, more than any year in the past decade. People of all races and ethnicities are affected by police violence. While African Americans and people of Pacific Islander descent suffer proportionally more deaths at the hands of the police, deaths among those identified as white make up around 40 percent of all police shootings in the United States.

The main unifying feature among those killed by the police is that the vast majority are working class and are the victims of the increasingly militarized police, which draws upon the most reactionary sections of American society to enact violence against the working class on behalf of the capitalist ruling elite.
The University of Virginia has announced plans to demolish two unused structures: one on Grounds and another at the College at Wise.

In a unanimous vote at its Friday meeting, the universitys Board of Visitors decided to raze a communications shed at Zehmer Hall on West Grounds as well as town houses at the College at Wise.

The shed and the town houses have not been used in several years, according to the boards Buildings and Grounds Committee. And at least one of the structures removal could make room for future green space or redevelopment, according to the university.

The demolitions are part of a package of construction projects presented to the Board of Visitors on Friday.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee said the cost for all 2023 projects would total more than $2.5 billion. Of that, the university is set to spend $946.7 million on projects that are already in the planning and design processes; $985.7 million on projects that are under construction; and $557.4 million on projects that have not been started yet, including the town house and shed demolition projects.

The town houses slated for removal sit on Darden Drive across from the College at Wise campus. The structures been vacant since 2013 due to structural, electrical and moisture infiltration issues. The residences once provided space to house 40 students in 20 double-occupancy rooms.

Today, the College at Wise has two traditional-style dormitories and four apartment- and suite-style residences to house its 2,021 students.

Meanwhile, the shed on West Grounds, which sits in a woody area behind a fence by Zehmer Hall, was picked for removal after the committee decided it no longer served its former purpose and had reached the end of its useful life. The shed was once used to store telecommunications.

Zehmer Hall is home to the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at UVa. The hall also has a conference center that is open to UVa faculty and clients for professional, not social, use.

Once removed, the university has said the space could be used for for greenery or redevelopment.

UVa President Jim Ryan called for a moment of silence at Fridays meeting while reading the resolution to tear down the structure, prompting laughter from the table of board members present.
This article was originally posted on Twitter.

Seventy years ago, on March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin died at the age of 73. To the extent that the worst defeats of the working class in the 20th century can be attributed to the crimes and betrayals of an individual, that person is Stalin.

As early as 1927, Trotsky described Stalin, to his face, as the gravedigger of the revolution. That proved to be true in the most literal sense of the word.

Joseph Stalin in 1943 [AP Photo]

Stalin is remembered in history as a mass murderer, who ordered the killing of the leaders of the Bolshevik Party and hundreds of thousands of socialists who had fought for the victory of the October Revolution, the creation of the USSR and the victory of world socialism.

But Stalin, the individual, was a mediocrity. His rise to power was entirely bound up with the bureaucratic degeneration of the Bolshevik Party. Stalinism was, in essence, the outcome of the bureaucracys usurpation of political power from the working class.

The bureaucracy chose Stalin as its leader because he possessed the personal and political characteristics required to defend its interests and privileges, i.e., ruthlessness, lust for personal power, vulgar pragmatism, and nationalist outlook.

The latter element of his political outlook was of decisive importance. The programmatic foundation of Stalinism was the anti-Marxist theory of socialism in one country, which was first advanced by Stalin in December 1924.

This nationalist revision of Marxism justified the abandonment of the program of world socialist revolution and the subordination of the struggles of the international working class to the national interests of the Soviet bureaucracy.

This was the theoretical and political basis of the Stalinist attack on Trotsky, the denunciation of the theory of permanent revolution, and the Soviet bureaucracys betrayal of the working class.

The Stalinist regime had become, by 1933, a counter-revolutionary force. The victory of Hitlers Nazis in Germanya political catastrophe for which Stalin and Stalinism were responsibleled Trotsky to call for the building of the Fourth International.

Trotskys analysis of the counter-revolutionary role of Stalinismsubstantiated in his great book Revolution Betrayedhas been vindicated by history. Trotsky warned that the Stalinist regime, unless overthrown by the working class, would result in capitalist restoration.

Stalins political heirsi.e., the bureaucratic flunkeys selected to replace the Bolsheviks that he had murderedcontinued and completed the process of political betrayal. The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, only 38 years after Stalins death.

Trotsky predicted, The laws of history are more powerful than the bureaucratic apparatus. The edifice of Stalinism is a heap of ruins. But as the centenary of the founding of the Trotskyist movement approaches, the Fourth International is growing throughout the world.
In a revealing declaration, former federal Government Services Minister Stuart Robert last week bluntly told a royal commission that he had deliberately misled the public on the legality and human impact of the robodebt crackdown on welfare recipients in order to maintain cabinet solidarity.

Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert (left) with Australian PM Scott Morrison in December 2020. [Photo: Facebook]

Robodebt, officially known as Online Compliance Intervention, was introduced in 2015 to accelerate the already existing hounding and persecution of welfare recipients. It automated the dispatch of letters alleging that recipients owed massive debts to the government, supposedly due to exceeding harsh income limits.

Roberts extraordinary admission to the robodebt inquiry laid bare the reality that, far from this being an exception, all governments, federal and state, whether led by Labor or Liberal-National, lie and deceive the population on every front.

Asked several times why he had made public media comments in 2019 that he believed at the time were false, in which he vehemently defended the robodebt system, Robert told royal commissioner Catherine Holmes: As a dutiful cabinet minister, maam, thats what we do.

Robert was not alone in this deception. A plethora of ministers in the Liberal-National Coalition government, including two prime ministers, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, hailed and defended the automated system, which illegally claimed nearly $2 billion from at least 433,000 welfare recipients.

Collectively, these ministers are directly responsible for causing grief, stress, trauma and, inevitably, suicide among some of the most vulnerable members of the working classincluding those suffering homelessness, medical conditions, mental ill-health, family and domestic violence, or facing crisis situations or caring responsibilities.

Despite terrible individual cases reported to the media and the robodebt inquiry, no reliable statistics exist on the number of suicides that resulted. In 2018, however, the Senate was provided with figures showing that, from July 2016 to October 2018, 2,030 people had died after receiving a robodebt notice.

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is standing in the March 25 New South Wales state election to take forward the fight against the entire profit-driven system that inflicts such social misery on the working class for the benefit of the wealthy elite.

Although the cruel robodebt process was finally ended in late 2019, after four years of public outcry, the underlying offensive against working-class living and working conditions is intensifying, supported by every other party, in which prices, rents and home mortgage payments are soaring.

The robodebt process was based on income-averaged data from the Australian Tax Office that distorted the meagre incomes of victims who took often-irregular casual or part-time work because they could not survive on the sub-poverty welfare payments.

After receiving computer-generated letters declaring that they owed the government thousands of dollars, the victims were subjected to harassment by profit-driven debt collectors. The government threatened to jail them unless they paid the demanded amounts or produced documents, going back up to seven years, to disprove alleged over-payments.

Robert admitted that he had continued to make false comments on the scheme throughout 2019, including that 99.2 percent of the alleged debts were accurate, and that an ultimately successful $1.2 billion class action against the government by the victims was a political stunt.

Robert also claimed he was waiting for official legal advice from the solicitor-general on the automated system before publicly conceding its illegality and shutting it down.

But the Liberal-National government had known since at least 2016 that the regime was unlawful. Media reports, including on the World Socialist Web Site, had already exposed its arbitrary and false methodology and shocking personal toll on distressed welfare recipients.

During 2017 moreover, the illegality was officially proven repeatedly. Longstanding Administrative Appeals Tribunal member Terry Carney ruled in five appeals cases that a persons failure to disprove a possible debt was not a legal foundation for a debt. The government subsequently terminated Carneys membership of the tribunal.

Robodebt was not a mistake. Whether fully automated or not, the income compliance programs continue. They are part of a wider offensive to drive people off welfare and into cheap labour for the benefit of employers, and to meet the demands of the corporate elite for ever-lower company and income taxes.

When robodebt was launched, the government boasted it would save billions of dollars. Human Services Minister Alan Tudge insisted people were cheating the welfare system. Well find you, well track you down, you will have to pay those debts and you may end up in prison, he said.

Yet Tudge was not the first government minister to declare such a war on welfare recipients. It was the previous Labor government, from 2007 to 2013, that launched the income averaging and data matching drive.

As assistant treasurer in the Greens-backed Gillard Labor government in 2011, Bill Shorten, currently the government services minister, vowed: The new matching data link is expected to increase the number of former customers identified for this process by an additional 65,000, above current detection levels, over four years. It would see more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt. The only difference was that a Centrelink staff member checked the debt letters before they were dispatched.

Over the past two decades, Coalition and Labor governments alike have driven thousands of people off benefits or denied them eligibility in the first place. The number of people aged 1864 receiving income support fell from 2.6 million in 1999 to 2.3 million in 2018, despite a rising population.

This has been achieved primarily through punishing work tests for unemployment benefits, harsher rules for disability pensions, and higher means tests and eligibility requirements for various entitlements, including aged pensions. In 2012, the Gillard Labor government played a key part in this process by cutting thousands of single parents off benefits.

Labors utter hypocrisy is underscored by the fact that the present Albanese Labor government is continuing the assault on welfare recipients, notably by refusing to lift the below-poverty levels of benefits. Jobseeker unemployment payments average around $50 a day, far below the $88 that would meet the updated Henderson Poverty Line, which was accepted in the 1960s as the best measure of poverty.

The Labor government is also enforcing the Morrison governments Points Based Activation System that mandates an extensive series of tasks to be completed by unemployed workers to receive their JobSeeker payments.

People living in poverty continue to be treated like criminals. By contrast, the banks and finance houses that have defrauded customers of millions of dollars, via scams such as fees-for-no service, compromised financial advice and predatory mortgage defaults, have escaped with token penalties compared to their profits.

As we explain in our election statement, the SEP advances a socialist program to reorganise society to meet the pressing social needs of the working class, the vast majority, not the private profits of the super-rich. That means placing the banks and huge corporations under public ownership and democratic workers control.

Decent welfare entitlements on which the recipients, including the jobless, disabled and elderly, can live are a basic social right. We say: Hundreds of billions for public education, healthcare and other essential social programs, not for corporate enrichment and war! And Everyone who wishes to work must be given a decent job, with enough pay for a dignified and comfortable life!

We urge all workers and young people to support and participate in our election campaign and to join the SEP to build the mass revolutionary party of the working class needed to lead this struggle in Australia and globally.

Contact the SEP:

Phone: (02) 8218 3222

Email: sep@sep.org.au

Facebook: SocialistEqualityPartyAustralia

Twitter: @SEP_Australia

Instagram: socialistequalityparty_au

TikTok: @sep_australia

Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000.
If you are a fired Dana worker, or if you would like to join the rank-and-file committee to fight against the mass firings, text or call the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter at 2486020936 today.

Autoworkers at parts manufacturer Dana Inc.s Toledo Driveline Plant are continuing to come forward with more reports of how the company is working with the UAW to fire workers en masse. As corporate profits and prices of basic goods soar and wages stagnate, workers are realizing there is no option but to fight back.

Tayon Roach, 22, is the latest Dana auto parts worker to step forward for opposing abuse carried out by the corporation with the acceptance of the UAW.

Roach represents a generation of younger workers eager to fight for equality. In November 2022, Roach lost his mother, a devastating blow for any young person. But because Roach is an autoworker, he had to fight to be allowed just three days off for bereavement.

Tayon Roach, fired Dana worker [Photo by Tayon Roach]

Im a 22-year-old with no parents, no guidance, no anything. Ive explained this to Dana so many times, but they dont offer me any help. My car just got repossessed yesterday morning. Im trying to get back on track, but its not easy. The union just says theres nothing we can do for you. Im trying to find a rental assistance program. But its not easy. Dana has ruined my whole 2023 already because of how far behind I am now. I am going to be spending all my time and money now just catching up.

Roach is one of many workers who have been fired for speaking out against the the company and union, which have many ways of forcing workers out of their jobs. Dozens of Dana workers say they were fired for reporting sexual harassment and wage theft, for taking parental leave, or for standing up for the rights of their coworkers in even the most basic ways.

Like many of his co-workers, Roach reports that he was sexually harassed by management and then victimized for standing up for himself. The UAW, Roach says, did nothing to help him.

He says a team lead invited him over for a drink outside of work. He turned her down when he realized it would only be the two of them. The following day he told her he was engaged and not interested in a sexual relationship with her.

I told her in person, Hey, I dont feel comfortable with this. As punishment for refusing her advances, Roach was put in a position on the line that he was not trained for.

When the line got backed up with materials, the team lead reported Roach to a supervisor and said he was on his phone, though this was not true. The supervisor then attempted to write Roach up for his phone use. I told him, This is very personal. I want to go to HR and file something. I need to talk to my union. I then talked to the union about it, showed them the screen shot of the text messages I had received from [his team lead], and I ended up getting moved permanently to a different line. He urged the company to review camera footage, but workers report the company does not honor such requests.

Roach explained:

Two weeks later, the superintendent came and asked for more information and more evidence of the harassment. But what more can I give? I gave a simple screenshot right there. It has [the team leads] name in it, her phone number was there, the text messages were right there. What more could they need to see? What more could they want? They then threatened to move me back to the old line or else I would be fired. Thats not okay. Why would they make me uncomfortable as a worker? Why would I want to work in an uncomfortable spot where I know that I cant be myself, that I would have to be quiet or not be able to speak up?



It only takes one person to get the word out. Now other people want to join in and stand up because nobody wants to do it alone, and we have had enough.

One of Roachs former co-workers, Rayshawn Doyle, witnessed this harassment but was also fired.

He believes he was fired for attempting to take time off for the birth of his son and was never even informed by the UAW that he had the right to file a grievance.

My environment was fine until I told my supervisor that I needed time off to bond with my new child, he told the World Socialist Web Site.

Rayshawn Doyle, fired Dana worker [Photo by Rayshawn Doyle]

I let them know that Im expecting to have a child, and as soon as I told them they treated me differently. After I asked for time off, Dana made excuses as to why they couldnt answer my request. Before my son was born the supervisors were picking on me for the most minor things. I quit after all of this, it was getting to the point where I couldnt take it.

It was incredibly stressful. I want to be able to feed my kid, I didnt want to quit, but they made it impossible to stay. My last straw was they called a standup meeting, and they said we cant have water bottles or eat snacks, nothing with lids, and they sell those at the plant! We basically live here, we work seven days a week. I couldnt wrap my mind around that. You will prevent me from taking sips of water on a hot night? The UAW never gave me a chance to complain. There was never anyone from the UAW there on the floor. Nobody told me how to get a hold of anyone in the union. I never met any of them.

This type of abuse is not only happening to younger workers. Donna Williams, known as Starr to her friends and co-workers, is 58 years old. She began working at Dana in July 2022 and was forced to quit in January 2023.

Donna "Starr" Williams [Photo by Donna Williams]

Like Roach, Williams was harassed by her team lead as well. My team lead was going around asking people about my personal business, things like who am I going out with, who am I related to, where do I live, which made me very uncomfortable. Her team lead was off for a few months on FMLA but continued to text Starr anyway to inquire about what time she arrived at work and whether she was doing her job or not.

I want to talk about the hardship I dealt with at Dana, Williams told the World Socialist Web Site. Ive been a forklift driver for 23 years, and Dana just didnt appreciate anything I did for them. The seven months that I was there was hell for me. Ive never been so stressed as I was there. I couldnt eat. I couldnt sleep. My hair fell out. I wouldnt wish that on anybody. Working seven days a week like that and being on a forklift is just not safe. Your mind is not sharp the way it needs to be to be able to do a good job. Ive never been to prison, but I think its kind of like that at Dana, she said.

An individual close to the UAW began harassing her, she says, and her repeated requests to move to a different part of the plant were denied. The union did not do anything for me. I went to my UAW rep and complained on several occasions, and nothing came out of any of it. It became too much for her to handle, and although she left her job, in reality, she was forced to leave, which is the legal equivalent of firing under the legal doctrine of constructive discharge.

As corporate profits soar and inequality grows worse, Dana workers are beginning to recognize that the fight against the company and the union must be conducted with the broadest possible support. This year contracts expire for 150,000 autoworkers at Ford, Stellantis and GM, and they all handle Dana parts. Dana employs 30,000 workers at 139 factories across five continents. Workers are increasingly realizing that what is required is to unify across all companies, all industries and all countries against the capitalist system.

If you are a fired Dana worker, or if you would like to join the rank-and-file committee to fight against the mass firings, text or call the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter at 2486020936 today.
Many in the Corvallis community will get their first taste of authentic Syrian cuisine with the opening of Khalo Naser in mid-March.

Naser Wanli has been cooking since 1989, when he got his start in the restaurant business in Syria. He expanded his business to Saudi Arabia in 1991, where he joined his brothers restaurant franchise.

Wanli and his wife, Roula Hendawi, moved to Oregon six years ago to be closer to their two children, who were attending Oregon State University. They didnt have plans to open a restaurant, but at the request of many Middle Eastern friends and other community members, they decided to bring the rich taste of Syrian cuisine to Corvallis.

Khalo translates to uncle in Arabic. The family business will open at the old Beerhaus Tap House location, 115 NW Jackson Ave. in Corvallis.

Wanli and his family will make the food from scratch every day, even the bread. They said theyre looking forward to providing more Middle Eastern cuisine to the people of Corvallis, and the only Syrian option in the city.

It actually reflects our culture, Wanli said. Its pretty much the same food we would be eating back home.

Falafel, Arabic shawarma, sfiha (flatbread with minced meat), hummus, baba ganoush (eggplant dip), stuffed grape leaves and tabouli are just a few of the many items on the menu, which Wanli plans to expand even more in time.

He hopes to implement a new kind of ordering, where people can call him with a special dish and he will make it for them, even if it is not on the menu. Some dishes can take up to several hours to prepare, and Wanli said he is willing to make whatever people want if they know what its called.

They want this to happen in the town that they work in, to eat their familys food, Wanli said, just to have it in their normal life.

While there are a few Middle Eastern options in Corvallis, the Middle East is huge, Wanli said, and his goal is to expose people to dishes they may be unfamiliar with, especially from Syria.

The family plans to use local ingredients when possible, including meats, cheeses, eggs, coffee and spices from Corvallis businesses and farms.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

Khalo Naser will be open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

Wanli said he plans to stay in Corvallis for a long time, as hes grown to enjoy living in a close-knit community with kind and welcoming people. He said he wants to open more restaurants in the future.

(Our parents) have a sense of belonging to their community, his children translated. It has given them a lot, and this is a way for them to give back.
Endeavor Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuels longstanding ties with Elon Musk led to the company investing a small amount in Twitter, a source has confirmed to Deadline.

Axios broke the news of the investment earlier Tuesday, noting that Endeavor is the first public company to be identified as an investor in Twitter. Musk took the social media giant private last year in a $44 billion acquisition backed by a number of financial institutions. He has let go of thousands of workers and signaled at times that bankruptcy could potentially be in its future.

More from Deadline

The amount of the investment was not specified, but was characterized by the source as immaterial to the operations of Endeavor. The only other explanation offered for the buy-in beyond the relationship with Musk is that Emanuel has long been fascinated with technology. Last month, his introductory remarks during a conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss fourth-quarter results were rendered with AI technology Endeavor owns.

Musk, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, was added to Endeavors board of directors in 2021 after the company had its IPO, though he later exited. Emanuel also is believed to have engineered the booking of Musk as host of Saturday Night Live in 2021. A photo of a shirtless Musk photographed on a yacht in Greece with Emanuel and several others circulated widely in mid-2022.

After offering his unsolicited bid for Twitter in the spring of 2022, Musk then spent months in a legal fight to extricate himself from the acquisition. In the end, he withdrew his claims and the deal officially closed last October. The transaction kicked off a chaotic period of layoffs and disarray in the companys operations, with many longtime advertisers heading to the sidelines amid the tumult. Just yesterday, Musk himself  an unavoidable presence for any user  responded in a tweet about a glitch on the site by conceding that the companys technology is brittle but vowing that it would be fixed soon.

Story continues

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsETTn7DehI  Arnold Schwarzenegger Denounces 'Easy Path of Hate' in Heartfelt Speech: 'The Path of the Weak'

youtube

Arnold Schwarzenegger is using his platform to denounce a rise in anti-semitism and other forms of hate across the United States.

Following a recent visit to Auschwitz, the former governor of California, 75, pondered how "we stop this from ever happening again" in a 12-minute speech he shared Monday on YouTube, noting he doesn't "want to preach to the choir here."

"Today, I want to talk to the people out there who might have already stumbled into the wrong direction, into the wrong path," he explained.

"I want to talk to you if you've heard some conspiracies about Jewish people or people of any race, gender or orientation and thought, 'That makes sense to me.' I want to talk to you if you've found yourself thinking anyone is inferior or out to get you because of their religion or the color of their skin or their gender.

"I don't know the road that's brought you here, but I've seen enough people throw away their futures for hateful beliefs, so I want to speak to you before you find your regrets at the end of that path," continued Schwarzenegger.

RELATED: Auschwitz Museum Explains Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Signed Their Guestbook with Famous Line from Terminator

He referenced his father, who reportedly belonged to the Nazi party, and "the broken men that I grew up surrounded by" in his home country of Austria after World War II, who "felt like losers" because they "fell for a horrible loser ideology."

"They were lied to and misled, into a path that ended in misery," he said.

Schwarzenegger added: "Throughout history, hate has always been the easy path, the path of least resistance. I get it, it's easier to find a scapegoat for a problem than to try to make things better ourselves. But let me be clear, you will not find success at the end of that road.

Arnold Schwarzenegger visits former Nazi German Auschwitz Birkenau concentration and extermination camp

Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty

RELATED: Joe Biden Addresses Rise in Anti-Semitism at White House Hanukkah Reception: 'Hate Will Not Prevail'

"You will not find fulfillment or happiness because hate burns fast and bright. It might make you feel empowered for a while but eventually consumes whatever vessel it fuels. It breaks you, it's the path of the weak," he said. "That's why there has never been a successful movement based on hate."

Story continues

An audit conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and published last year found that anti-semitic incidents reached an all-time high in 2021, with the ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt saying in a release, "Jews are experiencing more antisemitic incidents than we have in this country in at least 40 years, and that's a deeply troubling indicator of larger societal fissures."

RELATED VIDEO: Kim Kardashian Speaks Out After Ex Kanye West's Antisemitic Remarks: 'Hate Speech Is Never OK'

President Joe Biden denounced the rise in anti-semitism during the White House's Hanukkah celebration in December.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Today, we must all say clearly and forcefully: Anti-semitism and all forms of hate and violence in this country can have no safe harbor in America. Period," said Biden. "And evil  this is not hyperbole  evil will not win. Hate will not prevail."
The week before hometowns is always eventful, and this episode of The Bachelor was no different, rose lovers. Greer emerged from COVID quarantine, a woman was sent home during her one-on-one date, and the group date played out like an episode of The Mentalist: Budapest.

Let's recap!

Welcome to Budapest, Hungary, a.k.a. The Epitome of Romance, a.k.a. The Perfect Environment to Fall in Love, a.k.a. The Ideal Locale to Choose a Final Four. (OK, Zach didn't say that last one.) The remaining women  Kaity, Gabi, Charity, Brooklyn, Kat, Ariel, and Greer (in absentia for the moment)  are super excited at the idea of bringing the Bachelor home to meet the family.

The first woman to get a second one-on-one date is Kaity! Everyone coos and congratulates her when Ariel reads the card, but once she leaves for her date, the spiraling begins. "I'm really disappointed," says Kat. "I feel, like, not chosen." Girl, that's because you were literally not chosen! (I know she meant "chosen" as in "made to feel special," but whatever.)

Hungarian huju!

The Bachelor grab

ABC Kaity and Zach

"I can't wait for my family to meet Zach," gushes Kaity. But she knows "nothing is guaranteed," and that their day strolling around Budapest could make the difference in whether she gets that all-important hometown date rose. Their first stop is the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular (or "fer-nicular," as the Bachelor says it), which leads them to a scenic viewpoint overlooking the city.

Bachelor grab

ABC Kaity and Zach in Budapest

While taking in the sights, Zach does something very unusual for a star of The Bachelor: He admits out loud that he and this woman he might propose to do not know the most basic facts about each other. "We're far along, and some of the simplest things we don't fully know about each other," he says. "So, if you ever want to just throw out a thing, like  I want to know your favorite color." To that end, they both vow to start spouting random facts about themselves. (Kaity's favorite color is purple! Zach's original last name was "Shacklecross"!) Who knows? By the end of the day, these two might even know each other's middle names.

Story continues

Kaity and Zach enjoy some traditional Hungarian palinka ("It actually boosts your appetite for everything," notes the salesman with a wink). Then they stumble upon a typewriter just sitting out in the open, next to a sign that urges lovers to "share their hearts" and "unlock love's fiery sparks." Is this a real thing in Budapest or something producers just made up? I'm guessing the latter  but it's good to know that Zach understands how to operate a typewriter.

Bachelor grab

ABC Zach can type!

He's definitely a hunt-and-peck style typist, however. Still, he manages to produce a few lines on paper. "Dear Kaity, ever since the day I met you, I knew there would be something special" and so on. Kaity's message, meanwhile, has a few typos, but is equally heartfelt.

Bachelor grab

ABC Kaity's note

Sorry, did Kaity spell her own name wrong? The girl must really be infatuated.

That night, she and Zach have dinner at the Kiraly Bath, the oldest bathhouse in Hungary. It's a gorgeous building, which I guess makes the idea of having dinner in a bathhouse a little less weird. Knowing that this is her last chance to impress the Bachelor before hometowns, Kaity lets Zach know that she is in it to win it  and by "win it" I mean "settle down with a husband and have a family." All she wants is a man who's going to "be there" for her. "When I'm with you, I can see that safety, that security, that stability," she says. "You're an amazing guy, inside and out... I want this more than anything."

Kaity is yearning for stability, you see, because her father walked out when she was still very young  and she didn't really meet him again until she was 16. But by then, it was a little too late to build a real relationship. Her mom did remarry, but then that dude left, too, when Kaity was in 8th grade. "At the end of the day," says Kaity, "I lost two father figures in my life." Damn! I'm really beginning to wonder if producers added a question like this to the Bachelor application: Has a man in your life ever caused you to suffer significant emotional damage? Yes/No (If yes, please explain).

It's very moving and emotional  and of course, Zach LOVES it. "Recognizing how hard it is for her to share that just shows real strength," he says. "That's pretty damn special." You know what that means, rose lovers.

Bachelor grab

ABC Kaity gets a hometown date

Kaity's going to hometowns, y'all! Naturally, they celebrate by making out in a Hungarian bath.

It's time for the group date. Kat, who took it very hard when she didn't get the second one-on-one of the week, has rebounded and is determined to have a good time. "I'm just hoping that we're getting back on track before bringing him back to my family," she says, while walking to the Kalman Imre Theater with Ariel, Charity, and Gabi. Inside, they're greeted by the Bachelor and Labib Malik, a self-described "magician, mindreader, alchemist, and psychonaut."

Hungary, explains Zach, is "basically the birthplace of magic," and he believes you need magic "to find some answers and clarity" when looking for love. To that end, Mr. Malik asks the women to hold out their hands. The magician proceeds to draw a heart with a red pen on the base of Zach's left palm and then "takes" the heart with his fingers. He has Zach blow on his fingers to transport the heart to one of the women. "If the connection is real," explains the magician, "the heart will appear." The winner is Gabi!

Bachelor GIF

ABC You have to believe we are maaaaagic...

LOL at Kat's face. Props to producers for coming up with the most insecurity-inducing sleight of hand nonsense possible. And the parlor tricks aren't over yet! "I'm going to read your minds," announces Labib. Okay, Simon Baker. Let's do this! Everyone takes a seat on the stage. First, Zach is paired up with Gabi, and the mentalist asks her to imagine that she's standing in a vast desert. "On the desert, I want you to place a cube," he continues. "What is your cube made of?" Gabi says glass. "That's very interesting!" says Labib. Is it though? Gabi is perplexed.

Bachelor gif

ABC Gabi can't believe her eyes

The mind-reader says that cube represents Gabi as a person, and because she decided it was made of glass, that means people can see through her. Wait, does he mean that she's transparent, or that people can tell when she's dissembling? I think the latter. Anyhow, he asks Gabi to think two words that represents what she's looking for in a relationship with Zach. He then writes something down on his little chalkboard and asks Gabi to reveal her words, which are "safety" and "comfort." Cut to:

Bachelor grab

ABC Holy Criss Angel mindfreak!

What in the name of Neuro Linguistic Programming is going on here? One by one, the remaining women take their place in the hot seat. Having been prepped well by producers, Mr. Malik is able to make seemingly sharp insights into each of their psyches: Ariel is a "mystery" who is trying to protect her heart "at any cost"; Charity is still scarred from her ex's infidelity; Kat once considered walking away from this "journey" because it was too painful; Gabi sometimes leaves people "confused."

By the end of the exercise, all the women are in tears, because they're all worried that the magic man's insights will make Zach doubt their commitment to him. "I just feel beat down right now," says Kat, sobbing. "The things I say, I just don't want them to be misinterpreted."

Everybody is on edge as they head into the after-party. "I want Zach to feel comfortable to meet my family," says Charity. "And after today, I don't know if he does." Cheer up, honey  looks like the Bachelor interns made you all some fruity drinks.

Bachelor grab

ABC Great, now I want some pink lemonade.

Alas, Charity is still tortured by her experience with the mentalist. Will Zach decide that she has too many trust issues? "I'm actually terrified," she says, wiping away tears. Hang in there, boo. And don't forget: You can do better than Zach  and probably will.

Ariel sits down with the Bachelor first, and she immediately launches into a hilarious impression of her father. "My Dad was like, 'Ariel, you can't do the show. I know what they do there: Orgies,'" she says, speaking in a Ukrainian accent. "He's like, 'You'll walk into a room, and they will force you to get naked.'"

Okay, we must meet Ariel's father  and we definitely need to know what reality shows he's watching. Ariel raves to Zach about her loving family and community, saying that she feels the love and support of the "entire Ukrainian Jewish immigration in New York." Still, Ariel says she misses having the love of a partner. "That's the thing I want most in the world," she admits. He LOVES it.

Bachelor grab

ABC Ariel and Zach

When it's Charity's turn to talk to Zach, she assures him that she is "100 percent ready" to be engaged, even though she's still working through her own issues from her last relationship. "It's a risk that I'm honestly willing to take," she says. "I have no doubt with you." Zach is grateful for her candor, and he wants Charity to know that he sees a "possible forever future" with her. Hearing that is a balm of Charity's soul, and she returns to the holding pen in a much better mood.

Even though Gabi "received" the heart from Zach's palm, she's still feeling very insecure about Mr. Malik's comments that she can confuse people. "I'm super ADHD," she tells Zach during their one-on-one chat. "So, I've always worked on controlling that." She's worried he won't want to deal with the manic pace of her thoughts or her easily distractable nature. Pish-posh, says Zach. You're fun to be around! (I'm paraphrasing.) They end the conversation with a make out session on the landing of the grand staircase.

Will Kat's chat with Zach end on an equally positive note? She goes into it worried about how Zach will feel now that he knows she's contemplated leaving this "journey" in the past. But it turns out the Bachelor is more nervous about the moment the Mentalist asked Kat if she was ready to have Zach to meet her family and she said, "Mmm-hmmm. [awkward pause] I think so?"

So, Kat, what gives? "These days have been so hard," she tells him, choking up. "It was just too much." Dabbing away the tears, Kat explains that in life she often finds herself looking for an escape "when things get hard" because "it's easier." But she wants Zach to know that she was and is determined to push through those moments with him. "I, too, want that forever feeling," she insists. "I see that as our future so well." Ding ding ding! That's exactly what Zach was hoping to hear.

Bachelor grab

ABC Zach and Kat

Way to play through the pain, Kat. But was it enough to earn her that all important hometown date rose? Survey says

Bachelor grab

ABC Gabi gets a hometown date

Oh, no  Kat's crying again. "I hate not feeling wanted," she says, weeping. "It sucks." It sure does, honey. But at least you're not about to get dumped after spending six days quarantining in an Estonian hotel room. In other words, Greer's back, everybody! And she's super excited to continue her "journey" with Zach. Little does she know, it's going to be a short one.

Zach greets Greer in his hotel room. It's been three weeks since they've seen each other in person  though she did have a very uncomfortable FaceTime chat with him during the COVID cocktail party two episodes ago. She barely survived that virtual rose ceremony, so the chances that Zach's still going to want to keep her around now are slim. But she's gotta give it a shot. "I do see something between us," she says shakily. "I guess I was just wondering where you're at."

Resting his hand on her knee, Zach begins reminiscing about their night-one connection, and how "fast and hot" it was. Unfortunately, though, "we've both had weeks stolen from us," he continues. "Day one to now, I'm just following my gut, my heart. And to give a hometown rose I need to feel 100 percent confident that I can see a future, and I don't feel that."

Ooof. Greer does NOT love it.

Bachelor grab

ABC Greer tests positive... for loneliness.

"I, like, completely understand," she whispers. "I understand where you're coming from, and I respect it. Time is really of the essence, and we haven't had much of it." She's obviously genuinely upset, but Greer still thanks Zach for being so "honest and transparent" with her. Her voice never rises above a whisper the whole time  maybe she's worried that if she speaks any louder, she'll cry harder. They share a sad hug goodbye. "I'm tired of putting myself out there and getting nothing in return," she says softly, before breaking into sobs. Hang in there, lady  you're a prime candidate for Paradise.

Wow, it's been a busy morning for Zach. First, he had to dump Greer, and now he's off to meet Brooklyn for the final one-on-one date of the week. Hungarian huju number 2!

Bachelor grab

ABC Brooklyn and Zach

It's one of those "do as the locals do" dates, so Zach and Brooklyn hop on bikes to explore Budapest. (Producers love to put this guy on bikes, don't they?) "I think the last time I was on a bike, I was probably, like, 12," says Brooklyn, as she and Zach wobble their way through a local park. From there they board a hot air balloon for a panoramic tour of the city, and then from there, it's off to the Szechenyi Bath spa house. (Whoever planned this date probably schedules their vacation days down to the minute.)

After wading into the warm pool, Zach and Brooklyn strike up a conversation with a cute old Hungarian couple who are playing chess nearby.

Bachelor grab

ABC Zach, Brooklyn, and a sweet Hungarian couple

Turns out the couple had their first date at this very spa house 25 years ago. It's simply too adorable for words. Brooklyn and Zach are certainly feeling the romantic vibes, and when they smooch in the pool, the other spa-goers burst into (producer prompted) applause.

bachelor grab

ABC I hope that pool has a lot of chlorine

Love is in the air. Or maybe that's just steam.

Everything seems to be going really well. That night at dinner, conversation naturally turns to Brooklyn's family  who Zach may or may not be meeting soon. Brooklyn's dad was not in the picture growing up, but her mom raised her with a lot of help from her grandpa, who she loves dearly. "He stepped in when my dad stepped out," she explains. "He took me and my sister in and treated us like we were his own daughters. He's just my hero." After her last disastrous relationship, Brooklyn vowed not to introduce anyone to her family unless she "truly saw a future" with them  and guess what, rose lovers? She sees one with Zach.

Awww, that's sweet. How are you feeling about it, Zach? What's that? You need some time away from the table to "just breathe and think"? Uh-oh  that's not a good sign. "She has this incredible grandfather who loves her and wants the world for her. And she doesn't take it lightly when she brings someone into the house," he says, his voice tightening with emotion. "If I'm not feeling sure, who am I to be in that house?"

Oh boy. We know where this is going, rose lovers. Zach returns to the table and delivers the bad news.

Bachelor grab

ABC Sorry, Brooklyn

"It's not fair to you to have me not be fully confident and fully sure going into meeting your family," he says. "You do deserve the love I can't give you. I'm so sorry." They're both crying now. Like Greer, Brooklyn thanks Zach for being honest and upfront with her, and they share a tearful embrace before she climbs into the Reject SUV.

The Suitcase Ninja arrives at the women's suite and removes Brooklyn's bag. The remaining women are SHOOK, and they end the night in a group hug.

Bachelor grab

ABC Group hug!

Such sisterly support  we love to see it!

Holy cow, is it rose ceremony time already? I guess we're just skipping the cocktail party and going right to the pre-hometowns carnage. Rose ceremony roll call: Ariel and Charity join Kaity and Gabi in the Circle of Safety. So sorry, Kat, but that means your "journey" is over. Crying, the women wrap her in another group hug, and then she heads outside to have a farewell talk with Zach on the Bye-Bye Bench.

Kat just has one question for the Bachelor: "Why?" Zach says that their "connection" changed since the Bahamas, and he simply couldn't be confident in their future together. "I shared so much that I've never shared before, because I thought we would be so worth it in the end," Kat chokes out as tears stream down her face. "I tried; I really did." Zach wants her to know that this isn't her fault  it simply just wasn't the right fit. Honestly, there's not much the poor guy can say that's going to make her feel better; breakups are just a big old bummer.

Once Kat drives away in the Reject SUV, host Jesse Palmer emerges from the shadows to give our distraught Bachelor a hug.

Bachelor grab

ABC Jesse and Zach

Normalize grown men crying on television!

Well, rose lovers, we have our final four. Were you surprised to see Kat get the boot? Did your soul die a little bit when you learned that there will be two episodes of The Bachelor next week (Monday and Tuesday)? And what is YOUR cube made of? Post your thoughts below!

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:
biden admin border - Credit: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

President Biden entered the White House promising to take a more humane approach to the U.S.-Mexico border. Humanity has its limits, apparently. The New York Times is reporting that the administration is considering re-instituting a policy of detaining migrant families attempting to cross the border, after previously having shut down the practice.

Illegal border crossings have plummeted in 2023, despite what you hear from Republicans, but officials are worried a surge could be coming after Title 42  a Trump-era Covid-19 policy that allowed authorities to deny asylum on public health grounds  expires on May 11, according to the Times. The Biden administration recently announced a new policy going into effect May 11 that could prevent tens of thousands of migrants from being able to seek asylum at the border.

More from Rolling Stone

The Biden administration currently allows migrant families into the U.S. temporarily, tracking them through various means. The George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations both held families at the border, but Trump tried to expand the practice and remove restrictions on how long minors could be held, developmental concerns be damned. Its unclear what form the policy would take should the Biden administration choose to reinstate it.

Democrats and advocacy organizations have been quick to respond to the Times report.

Locking immigrant families and children into cages along the border is dangerous, ineffective, and wrong, tweeted Texas Rep. Greg Casar. The Biden Administration did the right thing by ending family detention. We cant go back.

Look, weve known the Biden administration is on a callous, cruel, stupid, and frequently extralegal quest for deterrence at the border. But even against that backdrop this is nauseating, wrote Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project.

Story continues

I was a stranger and you did not welcome me (Mt. 25), added Jesuit priest James Martin.

One thing thats certain is that theres nothing Biden can do that will lead Republicans to soften their criticisms of his approach to the border. The party has staked itself not only on keeping people of color out of the United States  including, still, by building a wall  but that Democrats are doing everything they can to let them in as part of an insidious scheme to change the culture and tilt the nations electoral demographics in their favor.

Biden could announce tomorrow that hes building the wall himself, and Republicans would complain that its not high enough. The alternative would be to simply lean into to taking a humane approach, as he promised he would. It doesnt seem like thats going to happen, either.

Best of Rolling Stone

Click here to read the full article.
A bipartisan group of senators on Monday introduced a bill that would end the commercial blockade on Cuba while maintaining other U.S. laws that impose human rights-based restrictions on the island nation.

The bill, introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), showcases political divisions over a blockade thats been in place more than six decades.

An array of powerful Democrats and Republicans oppose leniency toward the Cuban regime, to say nothing of a radical policy shift such as lifting the trade embargo.

But some Republicans see Cuba as an untapped market of 11 million people a stones throw from Florida, and some Democrats see the embargo as a Cold War-era anachronism.

I have long pushed to reform our relationship with Cuba, which for decades has been defined by conflicts of the past instead of looking toward the future, Klobuchar said in a statement.

By ending the trade embargo with Cuba once and for all, our bipartisan legislation will turn the page on the failed policy of isolation while creating a new export market and generating economic opportunities for American businesses, she added.

Its no coincidence that both Republican co-sponsors are from Kansas, a major agricultural state.

The unilateral trade embargo on Cuba blocks our own farmers, ranchers and manufacturers from selling into a market only 90 miles from our shoreline, while foreign competitors benefit at our expense, Moran said.

In 2020, Cubas top imports were poultry meat, wheat, corn, concentrated milk, rice and dried legumes, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. And its top import partners were Spain, China, Italy, Brazil, Canada and the United States.

While the United States is one of the top exporters of food to Cuba  indeed the top exporter, according to a January 2022 report by CBS Miami  restrictions on trade make it harder for U.S. farmers to export their food there, according to a 2021 report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Story continues

And because of the embargo, the Cuban government imposes restrictions on who can import and distribute U.S. products, further diminishing the market for those goods.

Im proud to sign onto the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act. Its important for the United States to boost our economic opportunities and increase market access for American-made goods, said Marshall.

According to the CRS report, Cuba was the ninth largest export market for U.S. agricultural products before 1960; it now ranks as the 50th market, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Dominican Republic, a U.S. ally in the Caribbean with a population similar to Cubas, ranks 15th and over the past three years has imported seven times more U.S. agricultural products than Cuba.

Because of its proximity to Cuba, the United States has a baked-in advantage over other major agricultural producers, but countries such as Brazil remain competitive because of unfettered trade with the island.

This legislation will expand market opportunities for U.S. producers by allowing them to compete on a level playing field with other countries. It is time to amend our own laws to give U.S. producers fair access to market to consumers in Cuba, Moran said.

While the economic argument may sway some Republicans from the plains states, any easing of sanctions on the communist regime is an uphill battle.

According to the bills proponents, it would maintain restrictions tied to the Cuban governments human rights record and to its takeover of private property following the 1959 revolution.

We can expand opportunities for American businesses and farmers to trade with Cuba while still holding the Cuban government accountable for its human rights record. This bipartisan legislation is a smart fix that will create American jobs and benefit the Cuban people, Murphy said.

But if the bill is picked up by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), it will face two powerful Cuba hawks on either side of the aisle in Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and panel Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

So good luck with that, said a senior Democratic aide.

And even if the bill manages to avoid SFRC, its unlikely it will be put to a vote unless leadership is convinced theres enough support for to get 60 votes.

Still, the bill gives voice to those who seek to rethink a policy toward Cuba thats remained essentially static for more than half a century.

It is long past time for us to normalize relations with Cuba, Warren said. This legislation takes important steps to remove barriers for U.S. trade and relations between our two countries and moves us in the right direction by increasing economic opportunities for Americans and the Cuban people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Editor's note: Below are updates for testimony March 6-9 in James Irven Staley III's murder trial in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, in Wichita Falls.

Wilder was found dead in Staley's home, and law enforcement officials suspect the child was smothered with a pillow. Staley has maintained his innocence.

The blog for Week One of testimony is here. A jury is expected to hear closing arguments and deliberate on a verdict Monday, March 13. Check the Week Three blog for live updates.

FORT WORTH, Texas  4 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: Bill Clutter of Illinois is called to testify for the defense.

He will be the final witness in this phase of Staley's trial.

Clutter is a private investigator for criminal defense who started the Illinois Innocence Project over 20 years ago. The point of his testimony is to raise questions about bloodstain spatter analysis, one of Bevels areas of expertise.

Clutter testifies that he has participated in the science of bloodstain pattern analysis, and he doesn't have a high opinion of it.

Clutter is dismissed from the stand at about 4:07 p.m. The defense rests at 4:08 p.m. and both sides close.

"That's all the evidence you're going to hear in this case," Senior District Judge Everett Young tells the 12 jurors and two alternates.

He recesses them to the jury room until it's determined what will come next.

After a bit, the judge says he is telling the jury they don't have to report back until 9 a.m. Monday.

The prosecution and defense will work on the charge to be given to the jury on Friday. Staley does not have to be present Friday.

The judge leaves the bench, and there is some discussion among observers as the news sinks in.

It's likely both sides will present their closing arguments on Monday, and then the jury, with the charge in hand, will retire to deliberate on Staley's fate.

A charge formally sets out the allegations against someone, a jury's options within the charges against a defendant and the choice to find the defendant guilty or not guilty.

Story continues

The charges against Staley include murder and capital murder of a person younger than 10. It is up to a jury to choose which one if he is convicted.

Murder is punishable by up to life in prison. The maximum punishment he will face if convicted of capital murder is life without parole, which the Wichita County District Attorney's Office is seeking. The DA's Office has waived the death penalty.

Staley has maintained his innocence of charges related to Wilder's death.

If he is found not guilty, the trial will end. If he is found guilty, there will may be a punishment phase in the trial.

More: Jury expected to return Monday for closing arguments in Staley's trial

Jason Wilder McDaniel

3:37 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: The jury returns. Senior District Judge Everertt Young swears in James Varnon, a retired Fort Worth police officer who served 25 years as a crime scene officer, as a witness.

Varnon, 69, says he worked hundreds of homicide scenes.

He discusses how evidence collected from a crime scene is supposed to be handled. He testifies that evidence such as a pillow and bedding collected from a crib should be packaged separately to avoid cross-contamination.

Varnon reads a list of evidence for the Wilder case put in one bag. The list includes a stuffed dog, Mickey Mouse blanket, a pillow and a pink sheet.

He tells the jury he knows Tom Bevel from a school he attended in 1988 at the Houston Police Academy. It was in bloodstain pattern analysis, which is what Bevel called it. Varnon prefers bloodstain pattern interpretation.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel starts to ask Varnon a question about Bevel, and Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects.

"His reputation is completely at issue your honor, and she knows it," Daniel says about Bevel.

Tanner says she objects to Daniel's line of questioning as a "backdoor way around the court's ruling."

Earlier in the trial, Daniel attempted to shoehorn in negative information about specific cases that Bevel, who has encountered controversy in his career, has been involved in. The prosecution objected, and Judge Young sustained it.

Bevel is a bloodstain spatter and crime-scene reconstruction expert who testified for the prosecution earlier in the trial.

Eventually, Varnon is allowed to respond to a question from Daniel as to whether he has a bad opinion as far as Bevel's character for truthfulness.

Varnon testifies that he does and that Bevel is also not seen as competent in the forensic community. He contends that Bevel's testimony was excluded from the Alex Murdaugh's double-murder case in South Carolina.

Now infamous, Murdaugh was recently convicted of killing his wife and son in the widely publicized case.

Tanner says there is no such finding about Bevel's testimony, and Varnon's statement is false.

Judge Young says he is aware of the Murdaugh case, but he doesn't know the details of it.

Varnon's testimony regarding the Murdaugh case eventually proceeds, but Daniel and Tanner continue to butt heads, at times speaking over each other, including into her cross examination of Varnon.

Daniel asks the judge to instruct Tanner to allow the witness to answer a question at one point.

"All right, I'm going to allow the question to be asked, and the question to be answered," Judge Young says to resolve the dispute.

During Tanner's cross examination, Varnon says he is familiar with some of the issues in Murdaugh's case. He testifies that he found information about Bevel's testimony online from a news source.

Tanner says he can find a motion to exclude Bevel from testifying but asks him if Varnon found a ruling on that motion. She says if a defense attorney made allegations but there's no ruling on them, then they're just allegations.

Their exchange turns heated, and the judge tells them to talk one at a time.

Tanner maneuvers Varnon into acknowledging he doesn't know of a ruling on the exclusion of Bevel's testimony.

"OK. We're done. No further questions," Tanner says.

Varnon is dismissed from the stand about 3:58 p.m.

James Irven Staley III, center, leaves court after a day in his trial Friday, March 3, 2023, in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. Staley is being tried on a murder charge in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

2:14 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: The jury comes back, and Dr. John Gilbert Galaznik begins his testimony.

He tells the jury that he has testified over 150 times for the defense in 33 states and Canada, he testifies. He also stopped counting at 400 cases when it comes to cases he was asked to review by defense that he didnt testify for.

"My role in these case is not to prove abuse or non-abuse," he tells the jury.

It's to evaluate the case and make sure a complete workup has been done, Galaznik testifies.

He tells the jury about a study that showed 1,000 kids were taken to the emergency room with a concussion in 2011.

But if a child with a concussion was treated by a private pediatrician or in emergent care, then he wouldn't have been in the study, he testifies. In addition, a child who died and went to the morgue also wouldn't have shown up.

The study looked at children who were 24 months to 36 months old, he tells the jury.

The Atkinson study was a study of witnessed short falls, and the witness's account was accepted as accurate, he testifies.

Galaznik said there were serious injuries and death that resulted from the short falls.

He testifies that he reviewed Wilder's autopsy, and he was struck by bleeding into his scalp that could have represented an impact to that area. An injury in his right scalp was potentially from an impact that could have been from a fall.

Guidelines are to seriously consider thinking about getting him out from the crib by the time he is approaching 35 inches tall, he testifies. There are other guidelines, too.

"If the child is succeeding in getting out of the crib, then it's time to end cribs," he told the jury.

He confirms that he is testifying there is information to suggest an alternative possibility for injury from a fall in or around the crib that should be explored.

He confirms the jury needs to know what the literature says, and they can make up their own mind.

Hypothetically, a child could stop breathing if he falls from a crib and becomes unconscious, he testifies.

When a person has a concussion, they generally stop breathing but also generally, the breathing resumes and the person doesn't proceed quickly to death, Galaznik testifies.

Rarely, in a concussion, the breathing does not come back, he tells the jury.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner begins her prosecution by asking Galaznik if he wrote a report for the Wilder case.

He says no.

Then Tanner focuses on his education and credentials.

Galaznik testifies that he received his medical education in the 1970s, served as a hands-on practicing pediatrician for a time in the military.

In 1980, he started another job at the University of Alabama Health Center where he treated college students 17 to perhaps 25 and a few older people, he testifies.

Tanner drives home her point that he hasn't treated small children full-time for decades.

She also says that when she and Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie did their undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University, they called the health center there, "the quack shack."

By 2001, Galaznik had 25 years of service with UA, so he retired and then pursued his interest in certain child injuries, he testified.

Tanner asks him if he has ever spoken with Wilder's pediatrician in Wichita Falls.

Galaznik tells the jury he hasn't.

Im not here to do an investigation," he testifies.

He confirms that he was not provided with text messages, witness interviews and Amber's repeated statement during the investigation that Wilder never tried to get out of the crib.

Tanner dissects studies he has provided to the jury, saying she is having trouble finding a child who is 2 years and seven months old -- Wilder's age at the time of his death -- who died from incidents in the studies.

Galaznik turns toward the jury and says that about 1,000 concussions came to the ER in one study, and of the falls that were self-induced -- werent drops or slams but initiated by the child -- if a fall produced a concussion, then you say what is the potential for a head impact to cause severe bodily injury, potentially death?"

Then you go to the Atkinson study, Galaznik says.

She goes on to ask him if he quibbles with Hasting's testimony that Wilder had no injuries consistent with a serious fall.

Galaznik testifies the quibble would be injuries to the scalp, but he is not here to pour through the details of the case.

He sees in the autopsy report some acute bruising that needs to be seriously considered if it indicates a fall, he testifies.

"I have no idea what was going through Dr. Hastings' mind," he tells the jury.

Tanner asks if he disagrees with Dr. Hastings' statement that he can think of no other reason Wilder died.

Galaznik testifies that it's not his job to assess smothering versus not smothering. He doesn't disagree Wilder had no documented skull facture or epidural hemorrhage.

He is dismissed from the witness stand about 3:20 p.m.

Senior District Judge Everett Young says he is sending the jury to recess, and he leaves the bench.

1:35 p.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: The jury has not yet been called in because the defense and prosecution are wrangling over providing notice of experts.

The defense has a certified pediatrician in the hall who is to testify as an expert for them today.

Prosecutors say there was a reciprocal agreement to give a 36-hour notice of calling an expert who will testify in the trial.

A defense attorney contends that agreement was not reciprocal but only for the prosecution to provide the defense notice.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner says it was discussed recently in court.

The judge is allowing a hearing to give prosecutors a look at the expert's testimony to resolve the issue. Defense Attorney Mark G. Daniel tells the judge that apparently the expert witness got lost in the building.

The judge calls a recess so the expert can be found and leaves the bench. Then a man gets up who has been in the courtroom for an unknown period of time. He says that he is actually the expert, prompting chuckles among observers in court.

The judge returns to the bench, and Dr. John Gilbert Galaznik takes the stand to testify in the hearing.

Defense attorney Terri Moore questions Galaznik, who says he is here to offer basic information about well known research about falls in and around a crib.

He testifies that he is supposed to testify about short falls and injuries from them. The most recent article about that is the Atkinson study, a 2017 piece examining self-initiated falls in children 24 months to 36 months old.

Galaznik testifies that about 1,000 children a year show up in emergency rooms with concussions, and concussions can cause serious bodily injuries and death.

He says he is also familiar with the Chadwick study.

The previous expert who testified, Dr. Suzanne Dakil, told the jury the Chadwick report found that less than one in 1 million deaths of small children are the result of a short fall -- from about 5 feet.

In addition, he knows the standard recommendations to move a child from a crib to a bed are to do that by the time a child approaches 35 inches in height, should be transitioning out, if the child is trying to get out of the crib and if the rail of the crib is at the child's nipple level.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner wants to know if he has written a report on Wilder's case.

He says no.

Tanner wants to read a copy of the Atkinson study, and there is some delay as she obtains a copy and apparently examines it outside court.

Defense attorney Terri Moore leaves court after a day in James Irven Staley III's murder trial in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

11:54 a.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: The prosecution rests its case outside of the presence of the jury.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel asks Senior District Judge Everett Young to acquit Staley on the basis that prosecutors did not prove the cause or manner of Wilder's death.

Young rules against his motion. The jury comes back in, and the prosecution rests again in front of the jury.

The defense calls Nathan Scott, a paramedic with AMR who responded to Staleys house a the morning of Oct. 11, 2018, to find Amber, Wilder's mom, outside in the driveway. He was on scene for 16 minutes.

She was crying and holding a deceased child," Scott testifies.

She said, 'Hes dead. My babys dead.' She thought he fell out of the crib," Scott tells the jury.

Amber was reluctant to release Wilder for five or 10 minutes, he testifies. Eventually she was persuaded to.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner cross examines Scott.

He testifies that he didn't go into the bedroom where Wilder was found, but his coworker, Charity Harrison did.

Scott sat on the couch with Amber while he was there. He never saw Staley come up to her during that time.

"From what I remember, he was off kind of in the hallway," Scott testifies.

Scott testifies Amber seemed distraught and utterly devastated.

We werent going to force the issue of her letting the child go, Scott testifies.

Yes his report says, I think he fell out of his crib.

No, they didnt try to do life-saving measures. Yes, it is his first time to testify.

You done good, Tanner says.

Scott is dismissed from the stand about 12:13 p.m.

The defense calls Jason Lynn Odom of Wichita Falls to the stand. He is not related to Amber Odom McDaniel, Wilder's mom.

Jason Odom knows Amber because his girlfriend also worked at bars, Odom testifies.

He talked to Staley after midnight Oct. 11, 2018, and they discussed him working as a landman in Staley's oil and gas exploration business. They were going to meet the next morning in his office, thinks maybe at 9 a.m.

Jason Odom knew Amber was seeing Staley, he testifies. During the call, Staley was talking to another person in the background.

Jason Odom testifies that Staley said, "I'm on the phone with your brother," to Amber.

"I said, 'It's not her brother. It's her ex-husband,'" Jason Odom testifies. He was making a joke.

He testifies that he was on his way to meet Staley the next day when he found out something had happened.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie cross examines Jason Odom.

He testifies he didn't reach out to the police and tell them he had information for them. Instead, the police tracked him down in May 2020.

Jason Odom confirms that Staley is his friend and that he previously said they talked for a long time during the Oct. 11 phone call, perhaps over an hour, but cell phone records showed it was only eight minutes.

He steps down from the witness stand, and the judge sends the jury to lunch until about 1:30 p.m.

Dr. Suzanne Dakil, an expert in child abuse pediatrics, takes a few minutes Thursday, March 9, 2023, before continuing her testimony in the murder trial of James Irven Staley III at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center.

9 a.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: Dr. Suzanne Dakil takes the stand again, and she zeroes in on the petechiae found on Wilder after his death.

"Theyre usually not common findings," Dakil tells the jury.

Theyre not things doctors see with a normal childhood accident, she testifies.

Petechiae look like pinpoint red dots on the skin, and they are related to the breakage of really small blood vessels in the skin, Dakil testifies.

More: Key expert in Staley's murder trial: Wilder died from asphyxiation at hands of another

Theyre somewhat uncommon in normal falls, but they are seen in significant illness and injuries, she tells the jury.

They're seen patients with bad infections, as well as kids with whooping cough, she testifies.

The kids are coughing so hard that they lose their breath and cant breathe," Dakil tells the jury.

Also, violently retching when stomach is empty can cause petechiae, she testifies. Wilder had a lot of petechiae, including facial petechiae, around his ear, neck and chest and internally in his lungs and heart.

He also had hemorrhaging around a muscle in his neck and on his neck externally, and hemorrhaging around the neck is most commonly seen from direct physical pressure, she testifies.

Dakil confirmed she has seen kids who were strangled or suffocated or a combination of those two things.

She tells the jury she reviewed the autopsy, autopsy photos and all material provided to her by Wichita County law enforcement.

Dakil testifies she did not find anything indicating Wilder died because of a fall from a crib.

She also thinks a child falling from a crib onto a hard surface would make a loud thud that could be heard by others in the house.

Her opinion is that Wilder was suffocated at the hands of another, dying from asphyxiation, she tells the jury.

Asphyxiation is deprivation of oxygen, resulting in unconsciousness and death.

Dakil testifies that it would take from two to 10 minutes for a child to die of suffocation, depending on what was happening.

"This is going to sound off-color," she says in her testimony at one point.

She tells people if you want to kill a kid, suffocate them because theres no way it can definitively be proven, Dakil testifies.

If a child died from a fall from a crib, the most common reason would be an epidural hemorrhage, she tells the jury. Usually such bleeds, don't require as much velocity or force. It just happens the right part of the head gets hit.

There was no sign of that kind of injury on Wilder, Dakil tetifies.

Defense attorney Terri Moore cross examined Dakil, raising questions about her narrow subspecialty. About 400 people are in the field in the U.S.

Moore also zeroes in on some possible errors in Dakil's report on Wilder's death, getting her to concede in at least one instance that it was incorrect when she characterized bleeding in the neck area on the child's body.

The defense attorney also brought up a report about shortfalls to dispute Dakil's contention that a child dying from a fall in a crib is rare. She didn't appear to be familiar with it.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner raised the findings of the "Chadwick report" with Dakil during another turn at questioning her.

Dakil said she was familiar with the report from the Journal of Pediatrics, a publication of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The article says, Less than one in 1 million deaths of small children are the result of a short fall -- from about 5 feet, Dakil testified.

Dakil is dismissed from the stand, and the jury is sent out for a break.

James Irven Staley III is on trial for a murder charge in this courtroom at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. Staley is accused of killing 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel Oct. 11, 2018.

8:30 a.m. Thursday, March 9, 2023: Testimony in the murder trial of James Irven Staley III is set to resume at 9 a.m. this morning at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center.

It will be the ninth day of testimony in a trial that has seen some witnesses on the stand for extended periods.

An expert in the prevention and treatment of child abuse is expected to resume her testimony this morning, possibly delving into her opinion on the events of Oct. 11, 2018, when 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel was found dead by his mother, Amber Odom McDaniel at Staley's Country Club home in Wichita Falls.

Staley maintains his innocence.

Dr. Suzanne Dakil, an expert in child abuse pediatrics, began testifying Wednesday afternoon after a forensic expert spent several hours on the stand. You can find information about her background in the last update for that day.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie said in an Oct. 8, 2020, press conference that Dakil's work as an expert was key to moving the case forward to an arrest after two years.

Wednesday, bloodstain spatter and crime scene reconstruction expert Tom Bevel testified, giving his expert opinion about Wilder's death.

Perhaps most importantly, Bevel's analysis was that Wilder did not fall out of the crib, sustain injuries from a fall and die.

This is counter to the defense's theory, and defense attorney Mark G. Daniel sought to sink Bevel's credibility by pointing out errors in his 15-page report on the death, ranging from typos to the expert calling a photo an arm when it was of Wilder's leg.

Daniel also touched on controversy that has surrounded Bevel's work as an expert.

But Bevel stuck to his opinion that there was a struggle in Wilder's crib, and the child was placed on the floor to stage the death scene. Then later, he was picked straight up from the floor, leaving a U-shaped bloodstain from abrasions in his mouth that was echoed on the pillow, the floor and the T-shirt his mother wore.

There was much discussion of salsa possibly being around Staley's fingernails and Bevel's supplement to his report that what he thought was possibly blood could have been salsa.

Daniel was almost derisive at times in his efforts to chew up Bevel and his supplemental report.

But ultimately, the substance around Staley's fingernails was not tested for either blood or salsa, Bevel testified.

Dr. Suzanne Dakil

4:37 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: The state calls Dr. Suzanne Dakil, a child abuse pediatrics expert.

At a hospital in Dallas, she helps evaluate for child abuse. She is an assistant professor at UT Southwestern Medical School and directs the fellowship program for child abuse pediatrics.

Dakil is board certified in general pediatrics and child abuse pediatrics, and she sees patients. Her time is spent 65% in clinical activities, 5% in research and 20% in education and teaching.

Dakil has apparently helped law-enforcement officials in Wichita Falls overcome a major hurdle in the case.

During an Oct. 8, 2020, press conference, Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie said Dakil tied things together for a death by suffocation and asphyxiation in the circumstantial evidence case.

Dakil testifies that she was asked to review the case and give an opinion on Wilder's death, an opinion excluding citing who might have caused it.

Dakil reviewed all of Wilder's medical records, which showed he hit his developmental milestones and had no chronic health issues.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner is about to delve into the events of Oct. 11, 2018, with Dakil. The judge decides that's a good stopping point.

Just before 5 p.m., the judge releases the jury for the day and tells them to report back at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie brings up an issue related to evidence.

The judge says the court will take it up at a later time.

A forensic expert used this doll for a courtroom demonstration in the James Irven Staley murder trial Wednesday, Match 8, 2023, in Fort Worth. Staley is accused of killing 2-year-old Wilder.

3:24 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: The jury comes back, and forensic expert Tom Bevel continues to be questioned by defense attorney Mark G. Daniel.

He says that Bevel referenced bruising on Wilder as an indication that a struggle took place.

Bevel says there was a bruise on the child's left elbow, and bruising, period, wherever it was located would support evidence of a struggle.

He did say the bruise was on Wilder's lower arm in his report, he testified.

Daniel notes that the autopsy report says the cause and manner of death may be amended if additional information becomes available. He wants to know if Bevel went to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences where the autopsy was performed to share his findings.

Bevel testifies he didn't.

He confirms his report says the attacker held a hand against the child's neck.

His report used to contain pictures of external injuries, but they were removed, he testifies.

Daniel asks Bevel to look at the jury and tell them he saw a photograph with injuries on the child's neck.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects that Bevel wants to answer but doesn't want to violate the defense's motion to exclude some evidence from going before the jury.

Senior District Judge Everett Young tells the attorneys to approach.

They have a short conference, and Daniel goes back to his questioning.

Daniel asks Bevel about a nationally televised piece that Anderson Cooper did on CNN criticizing his work.

Bevel says he didn't know about it, but he does know about the David Camm case, which Daniel has asked him about.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects.

So Daniel asks a general question about criticism of Bevel's work.

Shortly after, the defense attorney moves on to a supplemental report Bevel issued in March about the Wilder case.

Daniel says Bevel backed off and came up "with salsa rather than blood" in it.

"To include salsa as a possibility," Bevel testified.

At 3:40 p.m., Daniel passes the witness.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner rises up to work on shooting down all of the defense attorney's criticisms of Bevel and his report on the case.

"Let's talk about the salsa and put it to bed. OK?" Tanner says.

A photo of one of Staley's hands from the day Wilder died is displayed on the screen. There is a reddish colored substance around and on his fingernails that Bevel testifies is possibly blood, but it wasn't tested.

Later, when Bevel went back and saw photographs of salsa in the sink from Staley's house, the forensics expert issued a second report referencing salsa, Bevel testifies.

He tells the jury that he can't eliminate the red stuff on Staley's hand as blood or salsa since it wasn't tested.

As for the technical review of his report by a colleague, it wasn't the reviewer's job to find typos and grammar errors, he testifies.

Bevel testifies he received no evidence from any source that indicated Amber put Wilder back in the crib after she found him on the floor.

So all the blood in his crib was from before he was found by Amber, Bevel testified.

As for CPR being performed in the kitchen or where Wilder was carried after he was found, that had no bearing on Bevel's analysis of bloodstains in the bedroom, he tells the jury.

He testifies again that he thinks there was a struggle in Wilder's crib.

The blood evidence on the pillow is indicative of a lot of movement that could have resulted from a struggle, Bevel tells the jury.

Tanner picks up Wilder's pillow to talk about it.

Is it at all uncommon for an item like this pillow to look quite different after forensic testing on it? she says to Bevel.

Its quite common," he says.

She wants Bevel to show why the blood being in different places on the pillow was indicative of a struggle.

Bevel steps down and goes up to the screen to point out the various areas of bloodstains with spaces in between them.

If a child has been injured, lays down and stays there, there shouldnt be a lot of different locations of blood, Bevel testifies.

The jury gets a look at the suspected bloody palm print on the pillow in a slide displayed on the screen facing the jury.

As for the U-shaped stain on the floor, whether its blood or not, there is no movement he sees indicated in it that would be consistent with Wilder falling from the crib, Bevel testifies.

He would expect to find spining if there was an impact from a fall, Bevel testifies. But he saw no evidence of that in the photos of the blood on the floor.

At about 4:10 p.m., Daniel takes another turn at questioning Bevel, working to erode his credibility again. By 4:20 p.m., Daniel is finished attempting to rake Bevel over the coals, and he is allowed to step down from the witness stand.

The attorneys go up to the judge for a whispered conference.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner leaves court after the third day of testimony in James Irven Staley III's murder trial on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth.

2:53 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: Forensic expert Tom Bevel says he has no explanation for the additional substances extending out from the primary U-shaped bloodstain on the floor.

These additional substances show up in photographs introduced by the defense.

You also concentrated on trying to suggest some evidence of a struggle when noting Staleys DNA was under Wilders fingernails, defense attorney Mark G. Daniel says.

You do know this was his home? Daniel says.

Bevel testifies that he didn't know who the crib belonged to.

Daniel says there has been testimony about the crib's ownership and to presume it belonged to James.

You were at least aware that all of these surroundings was something he owns?" Daniel says.

Daniel asks if there is some way to test for salsa on Staley's fingernails.

"When I taste it, that's how I know it's salsa," Bevel said making a joke.

James Irven Staley III was eating chips and salsa in the time leading up to the discovery of Wilder's body, according to earlier testimony.

Bevel submitted an addition to his report addressing the salsa issue, noting it could have been the substance photographed on Staley's hand the day Wilder was found dead.

Daniel says Bevel has now found out it was either salsa or ice cream sandwich wafers on Staley's fingernails.

Bevel says the wafers are brown and can be excluded.

The judge gives the jury a recess at about 3:12 p.m.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel leaves after a long day in court this week in the murder trial of James Staley Irven III, who is accused of killing 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

1:06 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: Bloodstain spatter and crime scene reconstruction expert Tom Bevel is on the stand again when the jury comes back in from lunch.

Bevel testifies that his conclusions include:

An attack created a bleeding wound while the child was in a crib.

The bleeding wound creates the beginning of the U-shaped pattern on child's right cheek and transfers to pillowcase.

The child was placed right cheek down on the floor.

Bevel also doesn't think the child fell from the crib.

The bloodstain patterns in the crib are consistent with movement and activity with the pillow and the bottom sheet over the mattress, and the bloodstain on the floor has no smearing on the edges, he testifies.

If a child had blood on his cheek, just the act of falling will cause smearing on the edges of the U-shaped bloodstain, he testifies.

Likewise, if the child is picked up other than straight up from the floor, he would also expect some smearing, Bevel testifies.

He later does a demonstration with a doll to show the jury what he means.

The bloodstains inside the crib don't make nay sense if Wilder crawled out of the crib, fell and died, Bevel testifies. He would also expect to see blood on the railing if there had been a fall.

Theres a number of individual acts or activities transferring blood from different places in the crib," he testifies.

The transfer of the U-shaped bloodstain to the floor is much more consistent with someone laying the child's body down and then later someone picking the body straight up from the floor, Bevel testifies.

He testifies that staging mostly has to do with manipulating physical evidence at the crime scene for an attempt at misdirection.

More: UPDATED Live blog: WEEK ONE James Staley trial coverage

It is usually to misdirect either the investigation or the investigators," Bevel tells the jury.

Its his analysis or opinion that would be consistent with someone laying the child down as if he had fallen out of the crib, he tells the jury.

Bevel also concluded there was a struggle inside the crib before Wilder was laid down on the floor.

It is consistent with a struggle where something has been held over the mouth of the child," he testifies.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel starts in on his cross examination of Bevel by asking him about his fees: $295 an hour.

"I get less," Bevel says.

The $295 an hour is what his company gets, Bevel testifies.

The defense attorney's next gambit is soliciting testimony to point out that Bevel's company workers are not housed in a common building, and its "international" headquarters is in Edmond, Oklahoma, with a billing address coinciding with an employee's home.

Bevel and his wife, who is the company secretary, have offices inside their home, he testifies.

He tells the jury he did crime scene evidence collection as a cop.

Daniel says for 11 days the crime scene was left unsecured for all intents and purposes, and anyone might dispose of evidence as they see fit. So collecting it right away would have been the best case scenario

Bevel testifies that if there were flags signaling they should collect evidence and they didnt, then that they would be correct.

Wichita Falls Police Department investigators returned to Staley's Country Club area home with a search warrant on Oct. 22, 2018. Wilder was found dead on Oct. 11, 2018.

Daniel tears into Bevel's May 4, 2021, 21-page report submitted on the Wilder case, taking issue with everything from typos to Bevel's presentation of the facts to what he did not include.

Daniel asks him about whether Amber carried Wilder to a couch in the home.

Bevel says there was a U-shaped stain on her shoulder and to his knowledge, she never took the kid back to the crib.

Daniel goes on to say that Amber took the child into the kitchen and yelled at Staley to call 911, which he did on his phone. In addition, did Bevel know Staley put the child on the kitchen floor and did CPR?

I dont recall CPR being actually done," Bevel said.

But that would call for checking for expectorant on the kitchen floor, he testifies. In addition, he never mentioned CPR or that Staley dialed 911 in his report.

Daniel tells him his report is not accurate.

She never took him to the sofa? Bevel says about Amber and Wilder.

Daniel says, No, Amber ended up going outside, and the AMR ambulance pulled up. Amber came into the living room with Wilder, and AMR staff took him from her and put him on the sofa.

Bevel agrees he needs to have an accurate account of the facts. He does recall Amber saying, "Stop, James," on the 911 call.

Daniel says that was in reference to Amber not wanting Staley to do CPR on her child.

The defense attorney notes that Bevel has recently submitted an addendum or addition to his report.

Bevel said he wrote in the addendum that Staley was eating salsa that night, and neither it nor blood can be eliminated as being on his fingernails because it has never been tested or collected.

Daniel goes to stand beside the witness box for awhile where Bevel is. Daniel is tallish and seems to dwarf the expert beside him. He goes back and forth from one side of the room to another, often returning to the witness box.

Daniel says, Sometimes people make mistakes in life, right?

"All of us are human," Bevel testifies.

He agrees with Daniel that he is "dead wrong" about a bruise on Wilder's body because it was on the child's leg and not his arm.

"I grabbed the wrong picture," Bevel testifies.

Daniel is hammering at Bevel about whether a colleague read over and checked his report, basically saying all these mistakes he is pointing out indicate the colleague didn't.

"I did not sit there and watch him," Bevel testifies. "I take him at his word he did."

A graphic photo of Wilder, showing the U-shaped bloodstain on his check goes up on the overhead so Daniel can question Bevel about his analysis.

Daniel says the U-shaped bloodstain on the floor shows a full inch across, and a U-shaped stain on the pillow is a half inch, so they don't look like they match.

But Bevel does not yield that point.

"When you consider the expectorant and the overlay, it is my opinion the better explanation is that it is associated with the U," Bevel testifies.

Daniel keeps working to punch holes in Bevel's conclusions about the U-shaped stains and how they got on Wilder's face and the floor.

He says there appears to be two items extending out from the U on the floor in the picture he puts up on the screen.

Bevel agrees that is what it looks like in that picture.

Daniel also contends there is a blood spot on the floor in another photo although it could be something else.

Wichita Falls police investigate the death of Wilder McDaniel.

11:08 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: The jury comes back in, and Tom Bevel, an expert in blood splatter analysis and crime scene reconstruction takes the stand.

His company is Bevel, Gardner and & Associates, a forensic consulting firm that also offers courses. He is angling toward retirement at his wife's request, and his company will continue going strong without him actively involved.

Bevel is coauthor of textbooks on bloodstain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction.

The FBI appointed him to a working group on bloodstain pattern analysis and has taught in many states and several foreign countries, he testifies.

He has also been consulted in hundreds of cases and has testified in Texas many times on different criminal cases, he tells the jury. In addition, Bevel has been on true crime shows such as "Forensic Files" possibly over 60 times.

He was contacted Nov. 17, 2020, and provided with extensive information about the case, Bevel testifies.

On April 20, 2021, he traveled to Wichita Falls to look at the evidence from the case, Bevel tells the jury. He looked at the bedding but not the crib and could have asked for more information if he needed it.

Bevel confirms he has prepared a slide show to help him explain his conclusions to the jury.

Then he launches into an explanation of what bloodstain pattern analysis is, including slides.

He shows a slide with a drop of blood, and what it looks like when the drop hits a surface.

Blood does not break up unless something is acting upon it," Bevels testifies.

It pools and expands with no "satellites" out to the sides, he tells the jury. A drop hitting a surface forms into a sort of crown shape and sends "satellites" of blood out. Blood is also influenced by inertia.

Blood wants to continue going the same direction it travels," he testifies.

Later, he says, Blood points in the direction of travel. To figure out where it came from, you go backwards from that.

His explanation goes deep, touching on the Newtonian and non-Newtonian. In any case, he tells the jury that the actions of blood are reproducible in experiments, and he has done these experiments hundreds of times in his teaching.

The first question Bevel sought to answer was: Does the physical evidence support the idea that Wilder died from a fall from a crib?

Bevel testifies that the crib was about three feet tall and has a curved railing with a varying height.

Where the child was reportedly picked up by the mom, we can see out from the edge of the crib a U-shaped bloodstain pattern, Bevel said.

Amber found Wilder dead the morning of Oct. 11, 2018, and picked him up from the floor, according to earlier testimony.

The bloodstain on the floor is about 1 foot 5 inches to about 1 foot 7 inches away from the curved crib railing, Bevel says. The same U-shaped patterned bloodstain also appeared on Wilder's cheek. The stains match each other.

He testifies that blood ran from Wilder's mouth and down his cheek to the U-shaped pattern.

There has been much testimony about abrasions found in Wilder's mouth. These types of abrasions can result from suffocation.

Bevel shows a slide comparing a bloodstain on the pillow to stains on Wilder's face.

Bevel testifies that it looks like blood was breathed or coughed out of the childs mouth. Another possibility is that someone was trying to perform CPR while Wilder was in the crib.

Now, this would be over the top of the railing, Bevel tells the jury.

If enough force was used in CPR, it could have made blood come out of the child's mouth, he testifies.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner asks Bevel to explain what he means by expectorate blood.

If you sneeze and youve got sunlight coming from behind you, youll see mist-type saliva, in essence, that is out there," Bevel testifies. "Expectorate comes from an individual breathing outward as opposed to breathing inward.

A cough, for instance, could cause expectorate to happen, he testifies.

He tells the jury that CPR can cause the bloodstain pattern he is talking about, but he didn't find evidence it was performed in or around the pillow.

A bloodstain on the pillow appears to be a palm print in blood that was a transferred bloodstain, Bevel said. If blood was pooling on the pillow, someone could touch that, and the blood would be transferred.

Bevel shows a slide of an enlargement of the suspected palm print in blood.

He testifies that it looks like there was blood in creases in the pillowcase where the palm print is, and it transferred.

Bevel considered if the child transferred a bloody palm print, but there was no blood on his palm or fingers showing that, so it did not come from him, Bevel testified.

Judge Young calls the attorneys to the bench for a quick conference. Then recesses jurors for lunch until 1 p.m.

10 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2023: Forensic expert Tom Bevel takes the stand for a hearing about his abilities and credentials as an expert with the jury not present.

The hearing is to determine if Bevel qualifies as an expert.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner is asking him questions about his expertise, noting he is a renowned blood spatter expert.

Tanner asks him if blood stain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction is still considered valid forensic science in the courts even though it has been questioned.

Bevel says yes. Training and experience is necessary to conduct that analysis.

He testifies that he has reached conclusions about Wilder's case, including about whether the crime scene was staged. Bevel believes his analysis shows the child's body was moved from the crib.

Staley has been charged with evidence tampering and is accused of staging the death scene.

Theres a tremendous amount of movement from the crib area where the blood is being transferred," Bevel says.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel questions whether a license is required to do what he does.

Bevel says no.

Daniel wants to know if there's a body regulating experts in crime scene analysis.

Bevels says no, other than the courts.

It's up to the judge to decide whether Bevel is allowed to testify as an expert for the prosecution in Staley's trial.

Daniel says there is no regulatory body or organization that can prevent him from testifying.

Bevel says yes, if certain groups issued a letter of censure against him, he wouldn't be able to testify.

Daniel disagrees. He says what you're really telling the judge here is you belong to some organizations, and they can criticize you.

"They can criticize or expel," Bevel said.

Still, Daniel makes his point that there is no organization that can keep Bevel from testifying or licensure from a regulatory body.

Bevel leaves the stand, and Tanner and Daniel present their arguments before or against him being allowed to testify.

The judge gives the attorneys a recess so he can consider what they've presented. He leaves the bench apparently to go to the judge's chambers at about 10:40 a.m.

The judge comes back about 11:02 a.m. and delivers his decision on Bevel.

Young found that Bevel is qualified as an expert in blood spatter analysis and crime scene reconstruction.

But he's not been shown to be an expert regarding the autopsy and is not an expert in petechiae, so he won't be allowed to expert in the medical area of petechiae found during the autopsy, the judge says.

The judge also found the subject matter of the expertise is legitimate and relies on science, Young says.

James Irven Staley III returns to court Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in Fort Worth after a the judge called a recess so he could determine if Tom Bevel is qualified to testify as an expert in bloodstain spatter and crime scene reconstruction. Staley was convicted Monday, March 13, 2023, of murdering 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

9 a.m. Wednesday, March 8: The eighth day of testimony in James Irven Staley III's murder trial in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel on Oct. 11, 2018, begins with another DNA analyst taking the stand.

Courtney Ferreria of the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, or the Dallas County Crime Lab, testifies about the samples she analyzed from the pillow in Wilder's crib.

There were 11 samples submitted for DNA testing from the pillow. DNA analyst Angela Thomas handled samples No. 1-4. Ferreria tested samples No. 5-11.

She testifies that samples No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 9 were positive for two people's DNA. Wilder was the major contributor, and Staley was a potential minor contributor.

No. 8 and No. 10 had a single source, which was Wilder's DNA. No. 11 showed DNA from two people but no major contributor. Wilder's DNA showed up, but Staley and Wilder's mom, Amber Odom McDaniel were excluded.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner, who is questioning Ferreria, dons gloves and holds up the pillow to point out where the cuttings for samples were taken while the DNA analyst identifies who was included as contributing DNA to the pillow.

Ferreria tells the jury that Amber was fully excluded from all the samples from the pillow. No. 11 did have some DNA that was not identified.

She also testifies the fingernail samples from Wilder. DNA will show up from a person's body when such samples are taken. That is listed as ISMS -- intimate sample, no statistical analysis.

The first and second samples showed only Wilder's DNA, she testifies. The third sample from the left hand was a mix of two people, including Wilder and Staley's DNA.

Amber was excluded from the samples, Ferreria testifies.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel objects to a summary of the samples and test results that Tanner submits, questioning Ferreria.

She says the summary includes samples that she didn't analyze.

Tanner tells Senior District Judge Everett Young that summaries are allowed to be submitted into evidence.

Young overrules the objection. Tanner asks a few more questions, and then Daniel starts his cross examination.

Daniel puts a photo on the screen facing the jury of the crib Wilder slept in the night he died. The pillow is in the crib, along with bedding.

He pursues a line of questioning to show that people leave DNA everywhere, including witnesses who sat in the same witness box Ferreria is testifying from.

Ferreria tells the jury that finding Staley's DNA on stuff in the crib wouldn't be surprising since it is in his home.

Daniel pursues a line of questioning that solicits answers from Ferreria that the DNA attributed to Staley from a Wilder fingernail sample is not as robust as it would be if a person scratched someone and got DNA from skin cells under his fingernails.

Ferreria also confirms that she cannot tell through her testing when the DNA was deposited.

The judge sends the jury out for a break.

Jason Wilder McDaniel

4:21 p.m. Tuesday, March 7: The state calls Angela Thomas, a DNA analyst qualified both in serology and DNA, to the witness stand.

She works at SWIFS or the Dallas Crime Lab. She has college degrees and also went through SWIFS in-house training to qualify to analyze DNA. She doesn't currently work in serology but does proficiency tests in it once a year to remain qualified.

She has testified on DNA many times. Thomas says that humans share 99 percent of their DNA, and analysts look at the remaining 1 percent. Identical twins have the exact same DNA, but on one else.

DNA profiling is used to solve crimes, an analysts look at samples and compare them to a known DNA profile to see if they match, Thomas testifies. She has excluded suspects in crimes.

Thomas testifies about quality control in the lab. For serology once a year and for DNA twice a year, she has to take tests to show her proficiency.

SWIFS is accredited by the Texas Forensic Science Commission and by ANSI National Accreditation Board or ANAB for short, she testifies.

She does testing of tiny pieces of DNA that is junk DNA, but it is highly variable and so good for testing, Thomas testifies. They are called STRs for Short Tandem Repeats.

Thomas did some of the DNA testing, and another analyst did the rest.

A complete profile is one that she is sure she's seeing all the information available as opposed to an incomplete profile. Mixed profiles have DNA from more than one person.

She worked from Wilder, Amber and Staley.

Thomas described what touch DNA, also known as "handler DNA," is.

"Your skin cells have DNA, so when you touch things, your skin cells can slough off," she testified.

That leaves DNA behind.

She found indications that there was DNA from Wilder on a cutting from a sheet, Thomas tells the jury.

Specifically, Thomas testifies she would expect less than one in 10 trillion people would have Wilder's DNA profile.

Audrey Basse had done testing that indicated there was blood on that cutting.

Thomas goes on to say that she found Staley's DNA was also indicated to be on at least one of the samples, along with Wilder's. Amber was excluded from that sample.

In fact, Amber's DNA was excluded from all four samples Thomas tested from the pillow.

Tanner asks if a person used a pillow like this to smother someone to death, would Thomas expect them to get their DNA on it?

Thomas says that's a possibility, and she confirms only Wilder and Staley's DNA were found on the pillow -- not Amber's.

At about 4:55 p.m., the judge gives the jury a short break while telling them the trial will continue.

The jury is back in by 5:03 p.m., and Tanner questions Thomas some more.

Tanner approaches Thomas and asks her if paperwork she gives her is a summary of some of the relevant DNA results.

Thomas confirms it is an accurate summation.

Tanner holds up the pillow and asks Thomas about results from testing of various sites.

The T3 site show Wilder and Staley both included, and Amber excluded, for instance, Thomas testifies.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel begins his cross examination, saying DNA testing has no timeline.

"We can't say when it was deposited," Thomas testifies.

She tells the jury she has no knowledge of how WFPD packaged the items sent to the Dallas Crime Lab for testing.

Daniel puts diagrams showing testing of the pillow from Wilder's crib on a screen facing the jury.

Thomas confirms that DNA can get under a person's fingernails from touch DNA.

Daniel asks her if a person set up a crib and handled the sheets, couldn't touch DNA come from that?

Thomas says there are many ways DNA can come to show up.

The judge dismisses Thomas and recesses the jury at 5:20 p.m. and tells them to come back at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The murder trial of James Irven Staley III is taking place in this courtroom in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center. Staley is accused of murdering 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

3:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, 2023: A serologist takes the stand.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner questions her.

Audrey Basse of SWIFS or the Dallas County Crime Lab is not a DNA analyst, but she performs presumptive tests as a screening tool for the presence of blood.

They are chemical color change tests, Basse testifies. The lab received buccal swabs from Staley and Amber Odom McDaniel. The swabs have samples of DNA from the inside of a person's mouth.

Basse testifies she tested for blood on a white T-shirt and found the presence of blood. She tested a sample from the floor of the master closet.

Wearing gloves, Tanner is presenting various items from evidence to Basse for her testimony, asking her if she received them. Extensive packaging rustles as Tanner retrieves items from it.

That includes a fitted sheet that Basse confirms her lab received for testing.

She tested the sheet and confirmed the presence of blood, Basse tells the jury. The sample went to DNA analysis. It was the cuttings from the pillow Basse sent for DNA testing and not the pillow itself.

Basse testifies she also received fingernail clippings from Wilder's autopsy. She tested them for the presence of blood and swabbed them for skin cells.

The left hand fingernails tested presumptively positive for blood. She did not see any staining for the right hand, so she swabbed the entire area for skin cells. The samples went into storage for DNA testing.

Basse testifies a pillow produced in court was one that she subjected to tests. She confirms there were a bunch of stains on that pillow.

Diagrams of the pillow showing Basse's work on it are displayed on a screen for the jury.

She testifies that she tested all the stains appearing to be blood. A dark colored stain tested positive for blood. The rest of the pillow was tested for the presence of blood.

She also tested for "touch DNA," Basse testifies. That is to see if someone handled or touched it.

Another part of the pillow tested positive for the presence of blood, and she also swabbed for touch DNA, Basse testifies.

As Tanner painstakingly goes over apparently every stitch of the pillow, Basse explains where she tested for blood and swabbed for DNA.

Basse testifies there appears to be a visible blood stain in one part of the pillow. She tells the jury the different tests she does to confirm the presence of bodily fluids such as blood and seminal fluid.

Basse confirms that SWIFS doesn't do amylase testing, which tests for saliva. She doesn't know whether the Texas Department of Public Safety forensic lab do those tests, either.

"Last week, a detective got excoriated here in this courtroom for not having you do amylase testing, and you don't do it," Tanner says.

Basse confirms they don't.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel starts cross examining her just before 4 p.m.

Daniel launches into an explanation of primary, secondary and tertiary transfer, getting Basse to confirm his definitions.

He asks Basse if she has any knowledge of four items being packaged together in one bag when collected as evidence.

"We receive items packaged together frequently," Basse testifies. "We test them the exact same way."

It's noted if they're tested together, she says. Transfer of material among items is possible.

She testifies that all of her notes reflect how she received the item. She confirms she doesn't know where an item has been or if it's been handled properly before she receives it.

Basse tells the jury she uses different gloves to prevent contamination between samples.

Daniel asks her what the pillow was packaged with.

Basse says it was by itself in a brown paper bag. She confirms that WFPD Detective Chad Nelson requested amylase testing from the SWIFS lab.

Basse tells the jury the lab workers always have a conversation with the investigators to discuss what kind of testing they want.

She saw requests for DNA testing and amylase testing from Nelson, and there was a conversation about what testing the lab does and what services they would provide, Basse testified.

Daniel passes the witness at 4:16 p.m. Tanner has a few more questions for Basse.

She asks Basse if a detective should not be fussed at about amylase testing if her lab doesn't test for it.

Basse says that her lab doesn't do the testing.

Senior District Judge Everett Young of Tarrant County is the fourth judge appointed to preside over 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel's murder case.

2:16 p.m., Tuesday, March 7: Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel is trotting out information from respected sources that seems to conflict with Hastings' opinions and findings.

Editors note: Content warning  The following update contains details about a childs death that may be disturbing to some readers.

Daniel also produces a caveat from such a source that a medical examiner should never make a cause of death determination based on prosecution.

Hastings testifies that he agrees.

Daniels starts writing on a big white tablet facing the jury, and Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects to that and says counsel should stop writing on the board until the judge rules.

Senior District Judge Everette Young calls the defense and prosecution to the bench for a whispered conference.

After their short consultation, Daniel returns to the big tablet and starts asking a question as he rips off the page he's written on. A blank sheet is left behind.

Hastings rejects what Daniel said is "the actual formal definition" of what he is required to use to issue an undetermined manner of death.

Hastings testifies that it is one line from an article of several pages, and information elsewhere in the article contradicts it.

More: Autopsy findings: 2-year-old Wilder McDaniel may have been smothered with pillow

"If you read the entire article, it would be very clear what they mean," the medical examiner tells the jury.

He indicates Daniel is knit picking, and the atmosphere is a little tense. His testimony moves on.

Daniel passes the witness at about 2:31 p.m., and Tanner takes another turn at questioning Hastings.

He testifies that there is a meeting at 2 p.m. to discuss cases among the medical examiners at SWIFS.

Hastings testifies that prior relationship evidence regarding the victim may or may not be relevant to him. He says it is common for medical examiners to meet with experts in child abuse, and there is almost always a multi-disciplinary meeting about a child death in Dallas County.

And no, he doesn't recall what Dr. Suzanne Dakil said during the meeting on Wilder's case some years ago.

He says he has met with Dakil on other cases since she specializes in child abuse.

It is incorrect to say there must be torn frenulum in a suffocation case, Hastings testifies. He confirms there was a lot of petechiae in a lot of places on Wilder.

Tanner says when a smothering is confirmed, will you have any findings to go with that?

Hastings said not usually, and he confirms he testified earlier that smothering is a way to kill someone that won't leave a trail of evidence.

As for using a pillow, it is very soft so generally is not going to leave many marks, Hastings testifies.

He reads from his final autopsy report dated Jan. 24, 2019: The scene information is irregular and highly suspicious of a homicidal death."

Hastings also reads: "If additional information becomes available, the cause or manner of death may be amended."

He confirms that some of the injuries Wilder sustained might have been caused by a struggle, and that a 2 and a half year old is able to resist at some level.

He also confirms he believes Wilder's death was a homicide and that his report renders a medical opinion not a law enforcement opinion.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel takes a crack at Hastings again, and they get into an arcane discussion about editions of a medical book, and Hastings says he probably has 100 books.

"Your opinion rendered four years and 40 days ago is still one and the same?" Daniel asks. "Nobody shared a thing with you in those four years and 40 days that caused you to change your opinion."

Hastings says yes to both questions.

Tanner has a question: How long would it take to smother a 2 and a half year old to death.

Hastings said it would vary and be a dynamic event, but it would take over a minute. A person would struggle and might get a gasp of air.

Besides petechiae to indicate possible homicide, there were also abrasions on the lips, a hemorrhage in the neck and other indications.

Also there has never been an explanation provided to Hastings for the bloody pillow and child being on the floor, he tells the jury.

Hastings testifies there is no evidence of a natural reason Wilder died.

The medical examiner is dismissed from the stand about 3 p.m., and the judge gives the jury a break.

Wichita Falls police investigate the Oct. 11, 2018, death of Wilder McDaniel.

1:08 p.m. Tuesday, March 7: Cross examination of Dr. Stephen Hastings, medical examiner, begins after lunch.

Defense attorney Mark G. Daniel is cross examining Hastings, who performed the autopsy on 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel's body.

Editors note: Content warning  The following update contains details about a childs death that may be disturbing to some readers.

Hastings confirms that the medical examiners who signed off on the final autopsy report were unanimous about the finding of undetermined manner of death for the little boy.

He testifies that the undetermined finding has stood for about four years.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie has taken him up on the offer about looking at other information that could change Hasting's finding, he testifies.

The medical examiner testifies that he did look at a 50-page expert's report from Everett Baxter provided by Gillespie, and it didn't change the undetermined finding. He was also provided with a transcript of an interview with Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom.

Hastings confirms every step of an autopsy procedure is documented, and that he had a meeting with a Dr. Susan Dakil on Teams with others also in attendance. He doesn't recall if she said anything during the meeting.

Hastings testifies that Gillespie set up the meeting.

Mark G. Daniel

"I'm always open to considering any additional information that may become available," Hastings testifies about Wilder's case and any other case.

Daniel starts talking about the frenulum, a membrane inside the mouth. There are two, one for the upper and lower part of the mouth. It can be damaged during smothering.

Hastings testifies that he examined Wilder's frenulum and found no damage. Besides working at SWIFS, Hastings teaches at UT Southwestern Medical School.

Daniel puts up photos of the buildings where Hastings works with its labs and pathology area.

Hastings confirms that for every one of his autopsies, he issues a report and an opinion on.

He is not comfortable with Daniel using "sponsoring" as in an agency sponsoring his opinion.

Hastings testifies he has never talked to a Tom Bevel about the case.

Bevel is an expert listed by both the defense and prosecution.

Hastings confirms there is a cause of death and a manner or method of death. He testifies that a final autopsy report is detailed, accurate and signed off on by the chief medical examiner.

Hastings could not categorize Wilder's death as natural, accidental, homicide or suicide, he testifies. So he classified it as undetermined even though he is of the opinion it is could be a homicide.

He tells the jury he didn't find bruises on Wilder's extremities had contributed to his death. In addition, he found the cause of death was suggestive of asphyxiation, citing the petechiae.

"Petechiae are not unique to asphyxia and can occur in other conditions," Daniel says, reading from the book.

Hastings confirms that performing CPR on someone could cause petechiae, as well as vomiting. He testifies that he is familiar with a pathologist's book that is considered a learned treatise.

Petechiae on the surface of the eyes and inside eyelids are consistent with asphyxia, according to the book.

But Hastings didn't find petechiae on the eyes although he found some inside eyelids.

Hastings testifies about the issues with using rigor mortis in a body to estimate the time of death.

"Rigor mortis can actually happen immediately after death if there is a struggle," Hastings said. "It can be immediately after to hours to days."

But he agrees decomposition can contribute to petechiae being present.

Wilder was found on his right side, and his body had stiffened in death, according to previous testimony in the trial.

Daniel goes over the superficial wounds discovered in the child's mouth with Hastings.

The medical examiner said they were superficial in that they did not go very deep.

Daniel gives the photos to the jury so they can look at the injuries described.

Hastings testifies that he found no external injuries to the child's neck. He also found no internal injury to the actual muscle itself although he found internal hemorrhages in the neck.

Daniel goes to great lengths to point out how small the injuries are as in they are much smaller than the thumb of the gloved hand shown in an autopsy picture.

Then Daniel, saying he's not going to choke Hastings, demonstrates on the medical examiner's neck where fingers might go if someone was being choked or strangled.

Hastings testifies that abrasions and bruises aren't usually present in smothering, making them difficult to diagnose.

He acknowledges that there are differing opinions. He testifies that he has heard the pathology expert lecture, the man who has written a book Daniel has read from.

Daniel brings back the book by the pathology expert and starts to read from it.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects to Daniel just reading from a book. The judge says he will allow it this time.

The books says suffocation-related injuries are often in the face in certain areas.

Hastings testifies that he didn't see injuries like that on Wilder.

James Staley far right, is shown here in 89th District Court with defense attorneys Terri Moore, far left, and Mark G. Daniel, middle, on Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

10:20 a.m. Tuesday, March 7: Dr. Stephen Hastings, a key medical examiner in the case, takes the stand.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner questions him.

Editors note: Content warning  The following update contains details about a childs death that may be disturbing to some readers.

He works at the Southwest Institute for Forensic Sciences in Dallas where the autopsy of Wilder was conducted. He gives a quick description of how an autopsy is conducted.

Manner of death is different from cause of death, he testifies. Manner of death can be, for instance, homicide, natural, suicide or accidental.

He has to be 51% sure of a natural death, but he has to have the highest degree of certainty to call a death a homicide, Hastings testifies.

He agrees that it's ultimately up to a jury to determine the manner of death, and that a jury can look at far more information to decide than he can as a medical examiner.

A fifth manner of death is undetermined, Hastings testifies. Wilder had some bruises, a few with slightly different colors.

More: UPDATED Live blog: WEEK ONE James Staley trial coverage

He performed the autopsy on Wilder's body on Oct. 18, 2018, he testifies. The child was dressed in a diaper, weighed 34 pounds and was 38 inches long.

He tells the jury sometimes it's obvious how the person has died, such as when he has suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The petechiae on Wilder were something he noticed, Hastings testifies. He found an apparent source for the blood in Wilder's mouth. It was from abrasions on the inner part of the his mouth, as well as one external one.

They would be consistent with some sort of pressure on the mouth that pushed the lips against the teeth, Hastings tells the jury. They could also be caused by the mouth falling on something.

The injuries on his mouth were the only bleeding injuries on the child, Hastings testifies.

Petechiae are ruptured blood vessels, Hastings says. They may appear in deaths caused by strangling or smothering.

His petechiae were very prominent in a large distribution, Hastings testifies.

"It's certainly very suspicious of an asphyxial death," he tells the jury.

They were on his face, around the left eye and in front and behind the left ear and the left side of his neck, Hastings testifies. In addition, there were some contusions or bruises on the child's head.

The jury is listening attentively, the faces of the 12 jurors and 14 alternates turned toward Hastings.

Since Wilder was found below the crib, Hastings examined him for the possibility of fall injuries or a fall-related death, he testifies.

He is explaining what sort of injuries a child would suffer in a deadly fall and testifies that Wilder did not have any of those injuries, such as skull fractures or brain swelling or bleeding.

The child did not have old breaks or new breaks in his bones, Hastings testifies. Injuries to the wrists are not uncommon in falls, but he didn't see any such injuries.

Hastings testifies he also looked for evidence that Wilder could have died from a disease or some sort of heart defect. He did not find that.

In addition, blood, hair and fingernail samples were taken, he testifies.

Dr. Stephen Hastings

Hastings testifies he decided Wilder's manner of death could not be determined. But he wrote in his report that it was very suspicious that another individual had placed a pillow over the child's face and smothered him.

Under cause of death, he put suggestive of an asphyxial death, Hastings testifies.

An undetermined manner of death is not uncommon, he tells the jury.

"We are open to any additional information," he testifies.

He can change the manner of death in light of new information, Hastings said.

There would need to be some clear and convincing evidence of a smothering homicide to change his ruling, such as a confession and possibly an eyewitness, but he would have to evaluate all of that on a case by case basis, Hastings testifies.

He tells the jury that smothering doesn't leave clear evidence typically.

James Irven Staley III, 40, is suspected of smothering 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel with a pillow at Staley's Country Club area home. He is on trial for a murder charge in Fort Worth since Senior District Judge Everett Young decided the trial should move from Wichita County. Staley maintains his innocence.

Hastings testifies has seen some of the photos from the scene of Wilder's death.

Hastings examines photos and confirms they are photos from Wilder's autopsy. There is a pause as Staley's defense attorneys look through the photos. They have no objections to the exhibit.

One woman in the gallery shields her eyes and looks away from the photos. The jury is calmly watching as Hastings points out harmless things that do not indicate foul play and don't concern the cause or manner of death.

Hastings moves on to point out things he has already testified about that are relevant to the findings in the autopsy report such as petechiae that dot the child's body.

Hastings testifies that the hyoid bone is looked at if strangulation, for instance, is suspected. It's more common for this bone to break in adults than in children in such cases.

It is a small, horseshoe-shaped bone in the neck.

Wilder's hyoid bone was intact, Hastings testifies. He goes on to discuss signs of hemorrhaging in the child's body.

The autopsy photos are graphic and keep coming relentlessly as Hastings matter-of-factly testifies about them. Besides the medical examiner, Staley has the closet view of them since he sits nearest the screen.

Back on the witness stand with the photos now gone from view, Hastings confirms he couldn't think of any other explanation besides a homicidal suffocation for Wilder's death.

Even though he has ruled the manner of death to be undetermined, he has concluded in the autopsy that looking at scene information, Wilder's death is highly suspicious of a homicidal death. He has also testified to this before a grand jury.

In his response to Tanner's final question, Hastings testifies that he has found nothing to indicate that Wilder died from falling from a crib.

The judge gives the jury a lunch break close to noon through 1 p.m. It is expected that the defense will cross examine Hastings after lunch.

Final Autopsy Report by Denise Nelson on Scribd

Wichita Falls police investigate the Oct. 11, 2018, death of Wilder McDaniel as shown in this file photo.

10:06 a.m. Tuesday, March 6: Staley's younger sister, Martha Bea Staley, takes the stand to testify against her brother and almost immediately begins to cry.

Wichita County District Attorney District Attorney John Gillespie says he is sorry she has to be there and asks her if she was subpoenaed to appear.

She says yes. She starts to read electronic messages from Staley to her and their dad, and she begins to cry.

"I don't know what would be worse, holding my breath and waiting to hear from either of you and dying from lack of oxygen or actually hearing from you," he messages them.

Goodbye, James," his sister messages.

Martha Bea Staley

Is that something new? Good luck out there. Youre response was actually worse than asphyxiating," Staley messages.

Moore cross examines her, saying she and her brother have been estranged for years.

"I do not view my brother as estranged, and I love him very much," she says.

Moore asks her if she is writing a book about her "messed-up childhood."

She says she hopes to.

"So this would be a good scene to put in the book, yes?" Moore says.

She says perhaps and testifies that she didn't meet Amber until Monday. She agrees that she has nothing to tell the jury about what happened at Staley's Wichita Falls home.

"I never have proclaimed that I have," she testifies.

Gillespie takes a turn.

She testifies that her brother is manipulative and that the texts she and her dad received from Staley speak for themselves.

The judge excuses her from the stand.

Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie stands outside the courtroom in Fort Worth Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, where the James Staley murder trial in connection with the death of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel is taking place.

9:40 a.m. Tuesday, March 6: Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner takes up the messages Staley sent her after Wilder's death.

Amber testifies that Staley never used Wilder's name, said he missed him or offered her condolences in those messages.

Moore says, On Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, Moore says there was no discussion of, "No James," in those messages.

Amber says she no.

Moore says there was a part of one of her interviews with police in which she says there were no issues, and Staley had been up for two days, but things were fine.

Amber confirms that.

Tanner takes another turn.

On Oct. 12, Amber told Chad, "He was scared and didn't want to be with James."

And Wilder would say, "No, James," Amber said, reading from a transcript.

Moore takes another quick turn, and then she's done.

Amber steps down from the witness stand at 9:49 a.m., finally dismissed by the judge after a grueling perhaps nearly 10 hours of testimony.

From the witness box, she has relived the morning she found her son dead at least twice, including being asked to demonstrate physically what was happening by a defense attorney.

More: UPDATED: Wilder's mother charged with child endangerment, evidence tampering

Amber has been confronted with alleged inconsistencies in her statements. The prosecution sought to counteract any of that by emphasizing the shock and cloudy mind Amber had to operate under following her son's death.

In addition, a defense attorney has questioned her motives for testifying against Staley, and Amber has been reminded multiple times that she is charged with felony child endangerment and evidence tampering.

She has had to watch videos of her little boy that brought tears to her eyes -- all the while facing the ex-boyfriend she believes killed her precious child.

8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 6: When the jury comes in, Amber McDaniel, Jason Wilder McDaniel's mom, is already on the witness stand to testify against her ex-boyfriend, James Irven Staley III in his murder trial in connection with her son.

Defense attorney Terri Moore continues her cross examination, warning Amber that she is going to show a series of videos of Wilder, and it might be emotional for her.

The first video shows Wilder and James Irven Staley III lighting a grill together in 2018 and several short videos follow.

Moore tells Amber it was made the day of the cookout with her family on Oct. 6, 2018.

Amber disagrees that it was made then and testifies that it was sent to her on Oct. 10.

Amber tears up during one of the videos, but fights off the tears.

In one video, Wilder is talking excitedly while Staley holds him.

Moore wants to know if Wilder looks uncomfortable.

I dont know if he was comfortable but he was in his arms," Amber tells the jury.

Moore presses her, and Amber says that no, Wilder doesn't look uncomfortable.

In another short video, Wilder and Staley's then 4-year-old daughter are in bed watching TV when Staley comes in.

Moore asks if it looks like Wilder is trying to get away.

Hes continuing to watch TV," Amber testifies.

After the videos, Moore questions Amber about electronic messages. The defense attorney is at the witness stand beside Amber, showing her the messages. Moore reads the messages and asks Amber questions as she does it.

In the messages, Amber and Staley talk about loving each other and their future together.

"Babe, I wouldn't do life with anyone else ever," Staley says in a message on Oct. 10, 2018.

Moore emphasizes that the messages are in the time frame of Oct. 10, 2018.

Amber testifies that she quit her job at the bar and was able to go to school full time at Vernon College, as well as take care of her child.

Amber confirms that Staley gave her an American Express card, and she could put her expenses on that.

On Monday, Amber testified from about 9 a.m. until about 5:18 p.m. with about an hour break for lunch.

Amber testifies that she does not recall doing an internet search for the woman Moore calls Staley's ex-wife, Tara Campisi or for Staley's business partner during the night before she found Wilder deceased.

Moore asks Amber if she ever told Detective Chad Nelson about her argument with Staley when he mocked Wilder saying, "No, James," and she told Staley to shut the (expletive) up in the bathroom the night before the child's death.

Amber says she doesn't believe she told Nelson.

Moore criticizes her for not telling Nelson about the argument.

"My child had just died. I was more concerned about that," Amber testifies.

Amber McDaniel, second from left, enters a courtroom in Fort Worth to testify in the murder trial of James Irven Staley III in connection with her son Wilder's death on Monday, March 6, 2023.

She tells the jury she is still trying to wrap her head around what happened.

Moore's cross examination ends about 9:07 p.m.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner takes a turn at questioning Amber.

She testifies that reading the transcripts Tanner gave her was hard, and that she and Tanner have never engaged in a question and answer session as they have in court.

Amber testifies that no one has ever engaged in that kind of question and answer session.

She confirms that when she was interviewed Oct. 11, it was just a couple of hours after she found Wilder. She testifies that she tried to think clearly, but she was not.

On Oct. 12 when she initiated an interview with Nelson, she was still not thinking clearly and was still in shock, Amber testifies.

Tanner gives Amber the transcript from her Jan. 25, 2019, interview for police to read part of it.

Amber confirms that Nelson told her he wanted to ask her some stuff because she would be thinking more clearly at that time.

Amber testifies that Nelson gave her a notebook to jot things down in. She tells the jury her mind was more clear three months after her son died.

She reads from the transcript from the Oct. 11 police interview that she doesn't know what time she went to bed. She didn't have her phone.

"Is there any reason there would be blood on his pillow and in his crib?" Nelson asked her.

Amber testifies that Nelson asked her that question, and he didn't plant a seed in her mind about foul play as the defense attorney has characterized it.

Amber testifies that she reached out to Nelson on Oct. 12 because she had thought of some things and needed to talk to him.

"I think James hurt my baby," Amber told Nelson in the Oct. 12 interview.

She also told him Staley called Wilder a gay slur and an off-color name.

Amber testifies that it was normal for Staley to say Wilder was whiny and tell him to shut the (expletive) up.

Tanner and Moore butt heads over whether Tanner is asking leading questions. Tanner rephrases her question to "normal" or "abnormal," raising her voice to speak over Moore as she objects.

Moore tells her that she's not supposed to talk over someone objecting.

The judge tells Tanner to rephrase her question.

"Thank you, your honor," Tanner says, continuing her questioning.

Later, Tanner says that the jury has heard all about the night of Sept. 1 in relation to Staley saying Wilder has fallen off the bed, which was less chaotic as was a night in August.

Amber agrees.

Amber tells the jury that Wilder said, "No Summer," in the beginning of meeting her then best friend. But then after about two weeks of going to Summer's house, it went away.

In contrast, Wilder said, "No James," later in their relationship.

Amber testifies that there were several people at Staley's house the night of the cookout, but she does not hear other people in the background of the video.

Staley would send her the same video multiple times, and a video can be taken and sent anytime after that.

Amber testifies that Wilder was in control of his own body, and Amber tears up and says she knew Wilder better than anyone.

Tanner says the jury has heard a lot of "lovey dovey" messages between her and Staley.

"If there were only the bad texts, would you have stuck around?" Tanner asks.

"No, I would not," Amber says.

She agrees with Tanner that the romantic messages were needed to blunt the others.

Amber testifies that Staley joked about hitting, punching and putting Wilder in the trash.

"If in fact, the jury knows irrefutably that he hit your child in the face, those stop being jokes. Don't they?" Tanner says.

Amber says yes and starts to cry and pats her face with a tissue.

She testifies that doesn't show a "funky sense of humor," as Tanner puts it.

During messages on Oct. 10, 2018, Staley says, If he cries, I'm going to have to stop ignoring him and beat him.

Amber confirms that was their last their last text exchange then.

Jason Wilder McDaniel is shown here with his father, Bubba McDaniel.

4:30 p.m. Monday, March 6: With the jury out, the judge is hearing from defense attorney Mark G. Daniel.

He is talking about the McDaniel's lawsuit against Staley in which they are suing him for $1 million in connection with Wilder's death. He is pushing for the lawsuit to be admitted into evidence and/or questions to be allowed about it.

Their lawsuit filed in Dallas County alleges that Staley "through his wrongful actions and negligent conduct caused his (Wilder's) death and took Amber's and Bubba's pride and joy away from them forever."

Staley has denied the allegations in the lawsuit.

Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner says it is not relevant.

The judge says he will continue to sustain the prosecution's objection, and any relevant information, such as about the dollar amount the couple is suing Staley for, was already brought up in court.

The jury returns, and Moore continues cross examining Amber and going through text messages. The defense attorney goes through message after message to solicit Amber's agreement that they are either harmless or positive.

"So two days before he's alleged to have killed Wilder, he's telling you he loves him" regardless, Moore asks Amber.

She agrees.

Amber is coming up on about six hours or so of testimony from the witness stand in a courtroom in downtown Fort Worth.

She messages Staley that while they were backing out, Wilder said, "Bye. Love you, James. Love you, James."

Amber says she doesn't think she made a video of that.

"I'll show you one in a minute," defense attorney Terri Moore says.

The defense attorney says Amber was making a video of Wilder saying that when her phone died. Moore contends this contradicts what Amber has said before about how Wilder felt about Staley.

On Oct. 9, 2018, at 10:44 p.m., Amber messages Staley that her parents just came home, asked her why she was there and if they were fighting. "LOL."

Moore says, basically, Amber is ribbing Staley, telling him she's told her parents that Staley kicked her out.

Amber agrees.

Staley messages, don't tell them that, and that he is working on his taxes, and she didn't want to stay.

Amber messages Staley that she is kidding. She didn't tell her parents that. She doesn't ever want to leave, but the house gets lonely without him.

On Oct. 10, 2018, she sends a photo to Staley of Wilder's day at school when the fire truck came.

Amber agrees with Moore that the messages are showing two people in a relationship talking about daily life.

The jury seems fatigued as the avalanche of messages continues. A juror yawns. One or two jurors are flipping through their binders of messages between Staley and Amber. Another juror is tapping his cheek with one finger. The clock ticks past 5 p.m.

Amber says a message about a 12-pack refers to paper towels not beer.

Moore remarks more than once that there is no fussing and fighting going on in these messages. They just show, "every day life between two people just living life together," the defense attorney says.

Moore later adds, "It's pretty boring, but this is just life" as the messaging about paper towels continue.

Amber testifies that she lived with her parents and kept a few things at Staley's house in a closet. She would go home to get her and Wilder's stuff.

Moore says there were several videos sent in the messages, including the pooping video. Moore tells the judge she has more to go over and asks the judge what he want to do. It is about 5:18 p.m.

The judge calls the lawyers up to the bench, and they have a conference in low voices.

The judge recesses the trial but tells the jury to be back at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday because they are not near done.

Outside the Wichita County Courthouse July 10, 2020, protesters gathered to demand justice for 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel. Wilder was found unresponsive Oct. 11, 2018, in the Wichita Falls home of James Irven Staley III in the 2000 block of Irving Place. Police are investigating Wilder's death as a possible homicide.

3:18 p.m. Monday, March 6: Amber testifies that her story to police changed from October 2018 to when she gave a later interview with police.

Amber at first didn't suspect foul play, but she did after a detective planted a seed for that.

Defense attorney Terri Moore questions Amber about the civil lawsuit against Staley. Moore is in the middle of a question about how a person can't be sued for intentionally causing a death.

But Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner objects, saying that Amber is not a lawyer.

The judge sustains the objection. In addition, the judge sustains an objection to the lawsuit as a defense exhibit. He allows it to be entered only for the purposes of being put in the record.

Amber testifies that she wasn't hiding texts between her and Staley from Bubba.

"You were scared of Bubba weren't you?" Moore says.

No, Amber testifies. She confirms that she was putting down Bubba in texts to Staley.

Amber tells the jury she doesn't know yet what she will do in relation to the felony charges against her.

Moore asks her whether "owning" her misdeeds means going back and pleading guilty in Wichita Falls, pointing out that the DA is sitting right in front of her.

Amber again says she doesn't know what she will do. She takes full responsibility for her actions in relation to her son's death, she tells the jury.

Next, Moore delves into messages between Staley and Amber in which Staley refers to Bubba and Wilder as "scumbags" and an off-color insult. Amber messaged Staley that Bubba would beat the (expletive) out of him if he knew what he was saying.

Staley messaged he has a lot of guns, apparently to show he was not afraid of Bubba.

Amber tells the jury she knew Bubba wouldn't appreciate what Staley was saying. She confirms she went back to Staley the next day after the above fight with Staley and that she wasn't afraid Staley would hurt Wilder.

Moore asks Amber why she wasn't home one day around 5:30 a.m. when Staley is texting her that Wilder slept on him and was "actually sweet. LOL."

Amber testifies that she doesn't recall.

During the cross examination, Amber has maintained her composure while the defense attorney has put her through the ringer.

Moore is dissecting some of the messages between Amber and Staley.

"I love you for wanting to take Wilder even though you know he's a hell child," Amber messages Staley.

She testifies that Wilder was in the terrible twos and threw tantrums.

Staley messages that it would be good for Wilder to get out and do stuff without her once in a blue moon.

Amber testifies that yes, Staley was giving her some advice.

Staley messages her at one point that he is trying to secure all of their futures.

Amber testifies that she and Staley talked about marriage and having children together. She was probably working when Staley texted her that he had bathed both of the children. He babysat Wilder more than once or twice.

Staley messages Amber that, "Wilder is a little angel," but also sends devil marks.

Amber confirms that is Staley's sense of humor, and she confirms that some of the messages show tenderness.

Moore says Staley texted Amber that when he put Wilder down, he said, "Daddy. Daddy," and wanted Staley to hold him again.

There are references to a tinderbox, which holds firewood.

Amber testifies that Staley joked about putting Wilder into the tinderbox.

Moore says, here's a good example of Staley's sense of humor. He joked about dropping Wilder off at an adoption agency.

Amber agrees that is just Staley joking.

Moore picks apart messages apparently with the goal to cast Staley in a good light and drive home her contention that he has what she calls a "funky" sense of humor.

She talks about, "James being James," referring to James Staley Irven III, who is on trial for murder in connection with Wilder's death.

The courtroom seems restless, possibly because most of these messages appear to be among those already heard last week. However, the jury seems to still be focusing on the overhead projection of the text messages.

On Aug. 22, 2018, she messages Staley that she is going to Weatherford.

They are supposed to go to a wedding.

He messages her that she loves him, hopes she finds a good dress and that a cow eats Wilder. Staley messages not to think Wilder is a burden.

On Oct. 9, 2018, Amber messages Staley, asking if he has gone to the office. He says, yes.

"Are you spying on me?" he messages. Amber messages back no.

Staley messages that she is amazing.

Amber sent him a Snapchat video Oct. 9 of Wilder pooping. She asks Wilder if he is pooping, and Wilder said, no, Mamma, I'm not.

Amber dabs at her eyes with a tissue.

"That could be on 'America's Funniest Home Videos,'" he messages in response to the video.

James I. Staley III

2:10 p.m. Monday, March 6: Defense attorney Terri Moore begins cross examining Amber.

Moore asks her if she wasn't accepted to the WFPD police academy because she told too many lies.

Amber says yes.

She testified earlier while Tanner was questioning her that she had lied on an application about her drug use before. She applied to the police academy but was fired as a dispatcher when her police academy application described different drug use from her dispatcher's application.

Amber testifies that she met with Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie two or three times before she was arrested for the felony charges, which was possibly 2022.

Amber was arrested and never spoke to Gillespie again, she testifies. Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner dropped off transcripts of her police interviews at Amber's workplace before the trial started, and she has read through them once.

Amber met with Tanner at her hotel the Sunday before trial started, Amber testifies.

"She showed me texts that I had sent," Amber tells the jury.

They spent about an hour looking at them.

Amber testifies that she doesn't know if she told ambulance workers that she didn't know if Wilder had fallen out of the crib.

At WFPD on Oct. 11, 2018, she met with police. She told them she thought Wilder had fallen out of the crib.

Moore asks Amber if Detective Chad Nelson didn't plant the seed of foul play.

Amber said yes, he did.

Moore plays a clip from Amber's interview with police on Oct. 12. On the videotaped interview, Amber says she and Staley had not been fighting. He had been up for two days. But things were normal, and they were talking about taking the kids on vacation.

Amber agrees that she is there to help the police, and yet she told them there was no fighting, and everything was normal between her and Staley.

Moore questions her about the events of the morning after Amber found Wilder dead on the floor of a bedroom next to the crib, seeking contradictions between her testimony Monday and what she told police.

It appears this will be a long cross examination of Amber. The jury is watching everything attentively.

Moore brings out a map of the layout of Staley's home and brings it up to the witness stand to show Amber.

Amber testifies she was in the bedroom where Wilder was and ran looking for help. She saw Staley jump up over on the sofa after she goes into the kitchen.

"I fell to my knees holding Wilder," Amber testifies.

She tells Staley to get a phone, she testifies. The first time he came back to her, he didn't have a phone. She yells at him to get a phone. Staley comes back, likely is the one who dials 911, and throws the phone on the ground.

Moore says, Staley started giving Wilder CPR on the floor.

Amber says Staley did perhaps one compression or so. She has testified earlier Monday that she rubbed Wilder's chest.

Amber tells the jury she was doing a sternum rub. She testifies that she was holding Wilder with one arm on her left shoulder and is reaching down onto the floor for the phone.

Then Staley took Wilder and put the child onto the floor and starts doing compressions.

The defense attorney is having Amber demonstrate while she fires questions at her about what happened, and Amber gives confirmations.

Moore moves on to address Staley's movements overnight, asking Amber about her knowledge that Staley was working on his taxes Oct. 10 and Oct. 11.

Last week, an expert in cell tower data testified that information he gathered indicated Staley was gone from the home for as much as an hour in the early morning hours of Oct. 11.

Amber testifies that to this day, she does not recall being on her cell phone overnight looking up Tara Campisi, the mother of Staley's daughter, and his business partner.

She confirms that police took her phone Oct. 11 and gave it back to her the same day. They also took it on Oct. 22.

Amber testifies that she was told the police found her phone in her bed.

Moore says that Amber told police that when she came in from swimming, she was done for the night and put on one of Staley's T-shirts and went to bed.

Amber agrees.

The defense attorney launches into a full-on attack, citing what she contends are inconsistencies in Amber's story to police and/or her testimony.

Moore says, you said you gave him the cold shoulder because you were hoping he would follow you and apologize.

"This is a completely different picture -- ," Moore says before being interrupted with an objection sustained by the judge.

Senior District Judge Everett Young gives the jury a break at about 3:04 p.m.

2:04 p.m. Monday, March 6: Amber testifies about filing a civil lawsuit against Staley over Wilder's death with Bubba, Wilder's father.

She tells the jury she does not want to profit from her son's death, but that lawyers said they could get certain information on the death through a lawsuit.

Amber testifies that Bubba has stood by her even after she was charged with child endangerment and evidence tampering. They have been married going on four years and had another son, Phoenix in March 2022.

While he can "never" replace Wilder, Phoenix "has kept her alive," Amber tells the jury.

"After I was arrested for child endangerment, I was at my lowest point and did not want to go on," she testifies.

She found out she was pregnant after she got out of jail.

1:30 p.m. Monday, March 6: The jury comes back from lunch, and Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner continues questioning Amber McDaniel, Wilder McDaniel's mom, in a courtroom at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center.

Tanner is questioning her about how she would respond when Staley ran Wilder down and made dark jokes about the child.

Amber tells the jury that she would push back at first but then less as her relationship went on with Staley because he made her feel crazy for pushing back and say he was just joking.

At times, Amber would join in the joking. One day Staley messaged her about how Wilder was doing, using a racial slur in reference to the child as he often did.

"Being an extra person of color today," Amber responded in the messages.

She testifies that "He constantly used that word. I don't like it. That was my response."

In another exchange, Staley talked about Wilder dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and she pushed back. Staley responded that he was just kidding around.

Amber ended up apologizing to Staley, she testifies, tearing up.

Amber tells the jury she was interviewed multiple times by police, and she submitted voluntarily, as well as voluntarily providing her DNA, palm prints, fingerprints and footprints voluntarily.

During an interview shortly after Amber discovered Wilder dead, she called her lost phone so that police could find it. They found her phone that day, Oct. 11.

On Oct. 22, police asked for her phone. 
Boygenius, Blur, Pusha T, Susanne Sundfr are among the latest names to join ya festivals stacked 2023 line-up.

Also announced in the ya Festivals' latest wave of acts are: Ayra Starr, Dry Cleaning, Uncle Waffles, Liv.e, Boldy James & The Alchemist, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Oxlade, Billy Strings, Snail Mail, Domi & JD Beck, Balming Tiger, Lars Vaular, Dina Ogon, Fangst, Tigerstate, Bigbang, Malin Pettersen, and Valkyrien Allstars.

The acts will perform between August 8 and August 12 at Oslos Tyenparken for the Norwegian festivals 23rd edition.

ya Festival is the largest outdoor festival in Norway, taking place on the east side of Oslo at the beautiful Tyenparken. 60,000 festies are drawn every August for four days of a wonderfully curated international lineup that pulls in some heavy hitters as headliners. ya Festival also prides itself on its sustainability and their groundbreaking green initiatives.

Boygenius - the acclaimed trio of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus  also recently released Not Strong Enough, the fourth track taken from its highly anticipated debut album, the record.

Through soaring harmonies and the bands signature candid lyricism, the song is about paradoxically experiencing self-hatred while having a God complex. The accompanying video, which was self-shot by the band and edited by Jackson Bridgers, feels like a home video reel, offering a glimpse into their close bond as they spend a carefree day together. Not Strong Enough premiered on BBC Radio 1 Hottest Record.

The supergroup will also visit the UK in August for a pair of gigs. The trio will headline Londons Gunnersbury Park on August 20, with support from MUNA and Ethel Cain. Two days later, on August 22, it will head to Halifaxs Piece Hall, where it will once again be joined by Cain.

Story continues

Visit the official ya Festival website for further information.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
Miocene Astoria Sandstone at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Oregon

Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty

A California man has died after he tumbled off a rocky bluff in Oregon and was swept out to sea, according to authorities.

Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, Calif., was hiking at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area in Tillamook County on Saturday when he "slipped and fell approximately 20 feet to the waters edge," according to a press release from Oregon State Police.

The victim had ventured "beyond a safety fence" in an area known as "the punch bowl," police said on Monday.

Hoang reportedly lost consciousness as a result of the fall, and was eventually "swept into the ocean by the waves."

RELATED: 1 Body Pulled From Water After Twin Boys, 13, Went Missing While Swimming at Texas Beach

State police said the California man's body was located nearly 24 hours later "at the bottom of a nearby cliff" along the shoreline.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area is said to offer "one of the best viewpoints on the coast for witnessing the ocean's power," which visitors can access by climbing a "steep" and "towering" dune, according to Oregon State Parks' website.

Visitors are also encouraged to stay behind the fence due to safety concerns.

RELATED: Utah Teen Dead After 150-Ft. Fall from Cliff in Second Hiking Tragedy in 8 Days: 'It Devastates Us'

"The cliff edge can  and will  crumble without warning," the park's website says, stating that "people have died after climbing over the safety fences. "

"Don't do it," the page reads. "The views are spectacular from the established viewpoints, on the safe side of the fence."

RELATED: Man and His Dog Who Went Missing While Hiking in Scotland Are Found Dead in Gorge, Officials Say

The Nestucca Fire Department and the United States Coast Guard assisted state police in the search for Hoang, according to Monday's press release.

Search efforts began Saturday evening, but were briefly halted until Sunday so "searchers could safely resume their efforts," police say.

Hoang's body has since been recovered and transported to a local funeral home.
This story was first published by Grist in collaboration with KCET.

Before the sun rose on a cold January morning, Alex Lopez navigated an 18-wheeler through busy traffic on the 710 freeway. He was headed to the Port of Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles, to retrieve a shipping container and haul it to a warehouse. In the eight years hes been driving trucks, it was a process Lopez had done thousands of times.

Theres usually nothing new with the routine we have as truckers, he said.

But on this day, there was something new: He was driving an electric truck.

Lopez drives for Hight Logistics, a family-owned company that moves cargo in and out of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. In January, Hight added four battery-electric trucks to its 50-vehicle fleet. They will mostly haul containers between Hights warehouse and the port, a route that cuts through a cluster of communities that have some of the dirtiest air and highest rates of asthma in the country.

Trucks play a foundational role in the U.S. economy. Forty million of them roam the nation, carrying nearly three-quarters of its freight. They generate 23 percent of the countrys vehicular greenhouse gas emissions and 32 percent of its nitrogen oxides, or NO x , a main contributor to air pollution. Going electric would significantly cut those emissions and nearly eliminate the NO x .

As the country begins to decarbonize its trucking fleet, drayage trucks  which transport cargo containers from ports and rail yards to distribution centers  are a logical place to start. They run short routes that require less battery range and operate out of centralized locations where they could charge. Electrifying them would have a transformational impact on the frontline communities near drayage hubs that struggle to breathe heavily polluted air.

No state has moved more aggressively to decarbonize drayage than California, where 33,500 trucks trundle in and out of ports and rail yards. Statewide, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles account for one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions.

Story continues

Hight is one of about a dozen fleets in California that have added electric trucks, a number that will grow as companies rush to comply with looming zero-emissions mandates. But as the states effort to electrify the sector begins, some fear it is moving too quickly and could drive small operators out of business.

While the Biden administration hopes to see zero-emissions trucks make up 30 percent of big-rig sales by 2030, California has more ambitious plans. It wants to make all trucks used for drayage zero-emissions within 12 years and do the same for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles of all kinds where feasible by 2045. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Oregon also are moving to decarbonize drayage.

It was a wake-up call, Rudy Diaz, Hights CEO, said of Californias drayage goal. He knew some of the trucks Hight used would need to be retired, so he moved quickly to find zero-emissions replacements. I dont want to be in a position where the mandates are on top of me and its too late.

No regulation will put more pressure on companies like Hight than Californias Advanced Clean Fleets rule. It would require that beginning next year, all newly registered drayage trucks must be zero-emissions. It also mandates that beginning in 2025, any rigs with engines 13 years or older must be replaced with a zero-emissions truck once the engine hits 800,000 miles or the engine reaches 18 years old, whichever comes first. The California Air Resources Board is expected to approve the rule in April.

The accelerated decarbonization timeline for drayage is an acknowledgment of the logistical challenges of electrifying long-haul trucks. About half a dozen manufacturers offer battery-electric big rigs, but none offer more than about 200 miles of range. Charging can take hours, an impractical proposition for a driver who must cover 500 miles in a day.

If youd told me five years ago that batteries were going to haul freight, Id have said no way, said Mike Roeth of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. Now, manufacturers have started to deliver, but its still in very early stages.

Early, but perhaps far enough along for drayage. The trucks often travel just 50 to 100 miles daily and could charge between shifts. Because they have a contained route, its a predictable, controlled atmosphere, said Roeth.

Focusing on transportation around ports and rail yards also addresses the industrys toxic impact on frontline communities. According to Roeth, drayage has historically been the realm of older, less reliable vehicles. Drayage is where diesel trucks used to go to die, he said. They were spewing emissions.

Those pollutants expose residents to dangerous levels of ozone and particulate matter that can cause respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. This is true of the cities around the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which sit alongside each other on San Pedro Bay. Together they comprise the largest port complex in the United States and the ninth-largest in the world.

There are 6,000 trucks that go in and out of the port every day, said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson. The most significant driver of poor air quality is diesel exhaust from those trucks.

Richardson said Long Beach residents closest to the ports and freeways have a life expectancy 10 or more years shorter than those who live farther away. Many neighborhoods in the nearby communities of Carson, Wilmington and West Long Beach rank in the 99th percentile in the state for emergency-room visits related to asthma.

The communities have been treated like pass-through dumping grounds for industry to continue to operate in a way that is really out of date, said Sylvia Betancourt of the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma. The alliance helps families manage childhood asthma, but Betancourt said all those trucks make that difficult. When children are constantly exposed, no amount of medicine will help, she said. How do you expect a child [to manage] when you have trucks that are idling just outside their playground?

Truck pollution isnt the only culprit. The area is also home to oil refineries, railyards, chemical facilities and an oil field. Although particulate pollution around the ports has dropped significantly in the last two decades due to more stringent pollution standards, Betancourt said thats not the experience of people who live alongside industrial sites. Mario Diaz Salazar has lived in a small house on Pacific Coast Highway, one of the areas busiest thoroughfares, in West Long Beach since 2010. Trucks queue up to refuel at the Chevron station next to his home, which is constantly exposed to pollution.



I actually have a cup of soot that Ive collected, he said. It looks like dirt, but its not dirt. Its a combination of exhaust emissions and maybe brake dust.

If Californias Advanced Clean Fleets rule goes into effect as expected, some fleet operators would have to buy zero-emissions vehicles as soon as next year. Advocates for trucking fleets say that would be impossible for many operators.

The road to get there will be littered with the corpses of businesses that no longer are going to be able to afford to do business in California, said Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association, a trade organization that represents drayage fleets on the West Coast.

An Air Resources Board spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the board is still taking public comment on the regulation. We listen to trucking industry concerns as well as those of other parties, including utilities, environmentally impacted communities and environmental advocates.

The federal Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last year, includes a tax credit of up to $40,000 for battery-electric trucks and 30 percent of the cost of a charger. California offers a $120,000 rebate for battery-electric big rigs and, in some cases, as much as $410,000 to scrap an old polluter for a zero-emissions machine. But for some operators, the cost of a zero-emissions vehicle may still be prohibitive. A battery-powered truck can cost as much as half a million dollars with taxes and fees. Thats more than twice what a diesel costs.

Before joining Hight full-time to drive one of its electrics, Lopez drove under a contract for the company while operating two diesel rigs of his own. He said independent drivers are already under financial strain, and buying a new zero-emissions vehicle wont be feasible for many of them. These people had their trucks paid off, he said. They dont want to finance again and fall into another debt.



Schrap said getting loans can be difficult, and some banks are hesitant to finance them because there isnt an established resale market for vehicles that might be repossessed.

The financial impacts go beyond the hefty upfront cost. Because of their enormous batteries, the vehicles can weigh around 10,000 pounds more than their diesel counterparts. Federal law limits a loaded truck to 80,000 pounds (the law grants electrics an additional 2,000 pounds), forcing drivers to haul less cargo. That means less profit.

Drivers may also need to reduce the number of trips they make in a day. The electric semi Lopez drives provides a real-world range of about 130 miles  fine for going from the port to Hights warehouse, but not enough to reach Southern Californias inland valleys. How long it lasts is the limitation, he said. How do you tell a customer that you cant take your truck to them because you dont have the range?

Charging in the middle of a shift would take too long and assumes drivers can find charging stations. The Port of Long Beach currently has just two.

Infrastructure is what keeps us up at night, said Schrap. This is where environmental justice groups and the trucking industry should be on the same page to say to the state, Show us that theres going to be enough energy deployed to support these trucks.

The California Energy Commission estimates that supporting the 180,000 medium- and heavy-duty trucks it hopes to see on the road by 2030 will require installing 157,000 chargers. Thats 52 installed per day, every day, for seven years. We need a Manhattan Project for chargers, CEC commissioner Patty Monahan said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hights electric fleet.



Hight Logistics installed three charging stations with two ports each to power its four zero-emissions trucks. By the end of the year, it plans to have five stations and 10 electric trucks, thanks to its partnership with Forum Mobility, a Bay Area company that wants to make it easier for fleets to decarbonize. Hight pays Forum a monthly fee to use its trucks and charging stations, a model called "truck-as-a-service."

Its really good to clean up ports, but we cant crush small businesses at the same time, said Matt LeDucq, the companys CEO. Rather than expect fleets to navigate the transition on their own, LeDucq said the key will be building large-scale infrastructure. Forum wants to create a network of centralized depots that can house and charge 50 to 150 trucks from multiple fleets. Operators can use Forums vehicles or drive their own.



By 2024, Forum hopes to offer 500 chargers across California. The company just announced a $400 million joint venture that would allow it to install thousands more over time.

Until networks like these exist, Hight cant use zero-emissions vehicles on all of its routes. In the meantime, the company is learning how to integrate the new machines. It operates them only during the day and makes about three runs to the port before plugging in overnight.

Were exploring it at the same time as were doing it, said Lopez. On that chilly morning in January, he was making a pickup at the Long Beach Container Terminal, a newly completed, fully electric site. An automated crane hoisted a 40-foot container and placed it perfectly onto the trucks chassis. We have to adapt, he said. The future is already here.


Netflix entered into the realm of live television over the weekend with Selective Outrage, a Chris Rock comedy special that streamed live on the service Saturday night. And after much hype  as well as controversy over some of Rocks material  the special appears to have found the audience that the streamer was hoping for.

Selective Outrage was the No. 7 show on Netflix in the United States last week, the streamer said. That should not be confused with its overall Global Top 10 chart, which has been made publicly available since Summer 2021. As such, Netflix did not offer any specific data on the specials viewership numbers. As a live special, Selective Outrage was only available in English, and only for accounts with English set as their default language. The special began rolling out to other territories following its live premiere.

More from IndieWire

Although No. 7 for a highly-hyped event might sound a bit of a letdown, the internal ranking tracks viewing over the week of February 27 to March 5. Rocks special debuted via livestream on 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET on March 4, meaning it managed to crack the list with a little over a day of viewing. In addition, Netflix measures viewership for their lists via hours watched, which heavily favors longer shows; as a comedy special, Selective Outrages total runtime amounts to a little over an hour. Netflix did not state if the Selective Outrage pre- and after- shows exclusive to the live Selective Outrage debut were counted towards its viewership totals.

Selective Outrage was announced by Netflix last November, as the streamers first ever live broadcast. Rock performed his set at Baltimore, Marylands Hippodrome Theatre, with the show appearing like any Netflix title available to be watched on the streamers interface. The pre-show and after-show were hosted at Los Angeles Comedy Store, with Ronny Chieng presenting the pre-show and David Spade and Dana Carvey presenting the after-show; Amy Schumer, Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, Matthew McConaughey, Paul McCartney, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan, Wanda Sykes, and Woody Harrelson, JB Smoove, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made appearances as special guests.

Story continues

Despite attracting plenty of audience members, Selective Outrage received mixed reactions upon its premiere; IndieWire TV critic Ben Travers gave it a C- rating and wrote that the special was in no way built to last. Half the jokes were obsolete before he finished saying them and that its material felt like top-of-mind observations, uninterested in deeper scrutiny or even overall cohesiveness. The special also provoked reactions for some of Rocks jokes at Smith over the much-talked about Oscars slap, which included claiming that he watched the stars slavery drama Emancipation just to see him get whooped.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
For Iranian director and co-writer Cyrus Neshvad, bringing the story of The Red Suitcase to life was a matter of urgency. The film follows the harrowing journey of a 16-year-old Iranian girl as she attempts to flee an airport undetected by the man that shes been sent off to marry. One of the shorts most instrumental scenes involves the girl removing her hijab for her safety, but also at the detriment of defying her culture. Considering the timely release of his short film coinciding with the recent female-led anti-hijab protests in Iran, Neshvad explains, I dont want the movie to be political. I just wanted to give this message that we should be free to do what we want when I did this movie, I said, I want a woman who has the choice to take this off, even if its for her freedom, for her free will.'

More from Deadline

Here Neshvad discusses freedom for Iranian women, the importance of expression, and the symbolism behind The Red Suitcase.

DEADLINE: What was the inspiration behind making this short film?

CYRUS NESHVAD: During one dinner, my mother, who is connected with Iran because we have half of our families still living there, mentioned that women are disappearing for a ridiculous reason sometimes because their hijab [is considered to] not be [a] good [way to wear it], or they say something which is not accepted so theyre just disappearing and they were never appearing back. So, for me, this was frightening information. And this was back in 2020 when nobody was talking about this; I was terrified. So, I said, I really want to do something about it, because its also my home country. So, I decided to talk about this, even if its in a short movie. And then I decided to have this girl, an Iranian girl with a hijab on her hair. And that was the beginning of the story.

Story continues

DEADLINE: One of the films most instrumental scenes involves the main character removing her hijab, which, as you mentioned, there are many circumstances where women can go missing or get killed for arbitrary reasons. Can you talk further about the impact of this scene? And what has the experience been like in your home country since the shorts release? Can it play at the Tehran International Short Film Festival?

NESHVAD: First of all, since this movie came out, it got more visibility because it was nominated for the Oscars. So, I got messages online and social media threats. It [couldnt be] shown in Tehran because its being considered as an anti-Iranian movie and anti-Islamic, so Ive got some threatening stuff there on social media. I dont think any festival in Iran, even if they were for the movie, will show this. Everybody wants to be far from this movie in Iran because, if you are close to this movie, youll get problems. They are already circulating that Cyrus Neshvad is anti-Iranian.

DEADLINE: How are you handling that pressure?

NESHVAD: I mean the movie; I dont want the movie to be political. I just wanted to give this message that we should be free to do what we want. We should be free to wear the hijab; we should be free to not wear it. But if we are not wearing it, it should not be damaging. And right now, the situation in Iran is like, you have to wear a hijab. The hijab means a lot in Iran; its a sign of the domination of the man, the domination of the patriarch, domination of the woman to serve. Domination that the man is allowed to have few women. Domination that the woman needs the consent of the man to do something.

[For example] when theres a meeting, all the men are allowed to sit on chairs. The women have to sit on the floor. I have photos I could show you; they were in a meeting and taking notes while kneeling on the floor because they are not allowed to sit in the chairs. So, for today, the revolution in Iran is happening slowly; its a revolution brought by women. The women said, We, as a protest, we dont wear it anymore. And in this scene today, its very important, because when I did this movie, I said, I want a woman who has the choice to take this off, even if its for her freedom, for her free will. And today, its got an even bigger message for what is happening in Iran.

DEADLINE: In the short, we only get a glimpse of her relationship with her dad. He seems genuinely worried about her by the end, but its also implied that we might be unable to trust him. What exactly is their bond? And what were you and co-writer Guillaume Levil trying to get across here?

NESHVAD: This is a situation in which we are with a girl we dont know, but I dont think its a matter of trust or not trust. Its a matter of she understood her father is also a patriarch. Its a part of this tradition. If she wanted to be free, she [realizes] that she has to get out of there. Its not even about family, but rather the tradition. Even if she goes back [home], the tradition will not change. So, the message behind this is if you want to be free will, she had to get out of this patriarchal tradition. Thats why you see that moment when she cuts off her phone to ignore his messages, so she could choose to be free. And the freedom you get for such a price? For losing everything, losing this red suitcase, which was her heart. Losing her family, losing her only money. She has nothing anymore, but she has the free will, and thats the most important thing.

DEADLINE: Wait, wow, the suitcase represents her heart?

NESHVAD: Yes. When I constructed the inside of the luggage, I said, What she could have inside that could also represent her heart? I wanted to have the inside be very tender and sensitive. Shes got tissue and paints a bit, so she has her drawings, a book, and even [Iranian] Pistache, which is very famous, especially when Iranian people are going abroad. So, she has all these tender things. And when [the suitcase was packed], I went to the main actress [Nawelle Ewad] and said, Look, this is your heart now; how will you carry it? And she wanted to put it on the floor. I said, No, its not really luggage; its your heart. And she didnt really know, but then I suggested to hold it the way that she does in the movie, close to her chest instead of on the floor. The suitcase is also red, the color of the heart.

I wanted to have this idea of the film be the tenderness of this girl with her tender luggage, this red suitcase. And I want people to take this with them in their hearts also.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Disneyland has nixed an Oscar-winning song from its Magic Happens parade.

Amid Disney parks' ongoing initiative to transform two popular Splash Mountain attractions to remove controversial elements from the 1946 movie Song of the South, the California resort has also removed the memorable "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" tune from the daily parade.

Park officials confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times, though representatives did not immediately respond to EW's request for information.

Magic Happens

Joshua Sudock/Disneyland Resort Disneyland has removed 'Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah' lyrics from daily Magic Happens parade

The parade recently returned on Feb. 24, following a multi-year hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic, which also brought on unprecedented, lengthy closures of Disney parks around the world, from Hong Kong and France to Florida.

According to the Times, the parade returned without "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah," and instead featured a song from the 1953 animated classic Peter Pan.

Orlando's Disney World resort shuttered its Splash Mountain flume ride in January. Its reimagined Princess and the Frog version  dubbed Tiana's Bayou Adventure  is set to open in 2024 alongside Disneyland's iteration of the beloved ride, which is still operating before it, too, will close for refurbishment at a future date. The parks will remove inspiration from the Song of the South movie, which was based on Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus book, and is widely considered to portray racist representations of Black people in the American south.

Disneyland also previously revamped its long-operating Jungle Cruise boat ride to remove "negative portrayals" of native people.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:
small dog wearing cone and bandages stands on gray floor

Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group

Benji the Morkie had escaped his New York City home recently when he arrived at Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group (VERG) in Brooklyn. He was in dire shape after being stabbed.

In a news release issued last week, VERG surgery chief Matthew Morgan said Benji had escaped from his home and sustained a "large stab wound"a devastating injury for a breed so small.

But Benji is still alive today, thanks to the quick work of the VERG team and an extremely useful drug called Vetigel.

Vetigel is a, well, gel that stops bleeding in a matter of seconds when it's applied to a wound. Because it's a plant-based medication, the gel, which almost looks like applesauce, is safe for an animal's body to absorb. Vets can apply the gel both internally and externally.

RELATED: Clever Canine: This Injured South African Dog Found His Way to an Animal Hospital All By Himself

In Benji's case, the gel saved his life. He's now at home recovering, according to the news release from VERG. The circumstances of Benji's stabbing remain unclear.

Benji's story is also a good reminder to always know where you can find the nearest emergency vet's office. Hopefully, you never need it, but you don't want to be in a situation where you don't know.
Indie filmmaker Gregg Arakis wild, violent, and erotic The Doom Generation has been mostly available on middling DVD releases and occasional repertory prints since its radical release in 1995. Arakis fifth feature film and the second in his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy  bookended by Totally Fucked Up and Nowhere  The Doom Generation will soon re-open in 4K thanks to a new restoration. Watch the new trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.

In Arakis chaotic road trip nightmare, headed home after a wild night at a Los Angeles club, young lovers Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) pick up a dangerously handsome drifter named Xavier Red (Johnathon Schaech). Jordan doesnt see a problem with offering Xavier a quick ride, but his acid-tongued girlfriend thinks hes a creep. When Xavier inadvertently kills a convenience store clerk, they are forced to go on the run, traversing a bizarre and ultra-violent America. Somehow, every random thug, drive-thru operator, and neo-Nazi they encounter seems to recognize Amy as a past fling or alter ego, adding to the already explosive sexual tension brimming among the renegade trio.

More from IndieWire

Restored in 4K with scenes edited for its theatrical release in 1995, this version reflects the directors cut, intended by Araki. The film has been completely retimed and re-edited for todays technological standards. The sound is remastered to complement new audio standards in a new 5.1 mix.

The Doom Generation is set to play on April 7 in New York at the IFC Theatre, where Araki will present the movie, as well as the Music Box in Chicago and the Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angeles, plus other dates and theaters around the country, in the following weeks.

However, the New York Premiere of the restoration will screen on April 6 at BAM as part of NewFests upcoming series Queering the Canon: Totally Radical, followed by a Q&A with Gregg Araki.

Story continues

When Living End came out, it was so polarizing in the gay community, Gregg Araki explained to Fire Island director Andrew Ahn in a recent conversation for IndieWire. Jim Stark, the producer, hed say to me, You make these gay movies that gay people hate. Theyre too punk rock for gay people and they hate them. So hes like, If you make a straight movie, Ill produce it and get you real money for it. And I said, OK, sure, because fuck it. Why not? So thats why Doom Generation has a subtitle, A Heterosexual Movie. So I made this heterosexual movie, but in a very punk rock bratty way, made it so gay.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Jeff Bezos has a new toy in the works, and it looks like hes making sure itll be ready for summertime travels.

The Amazon founders $500 million megayacht, Y721 Koru, was seen having its first day of sea trials, and its just as luxurious as you would expect for the third-richest person in the world. The footage of his new vessel was posted by Dutch Yachting, which showed the megayacht sailing out of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, and heading toward the North Sea. The 417-foot-long ride is the largest sailing yacht in the world, the company notes, and the video shows off the vessels three sails and three decksone of which features a swimming pool.

More from Robb Report

Bezos ran into some trouble earlier this year when it came out that the Koningshaven Bridge in the Netherlands might have to be dismantled to let Y721 Koru pass through, as the megayachts 229-foot masts exceeded the bridges 131-foot clearance. City officials briefly agreed to disassemble the bridge but then decided against it in the face of public backlash, according to The New York Times. That negative reaction included a threat from residents to show up and pelt rotten eggs at the $500 million behemoth.

Oceanco, the company that built Y721 Koru, ultimately decided against applying for the permit that would be required for dismantling Koningshaven Bridge, and the boat was instead quietly towed to another shipyard without its mast.

The historic De Hef, also known as Koningshaven Bridge, in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam

Bezoss completed yacht will be accompanied by a 246-foot-long shadow yacht called YS7512, Damen Yachts largest-ever support vessel. It will fit 45 people onboard, feature a helicopter hangar and storage for Jet Skis and other water toys and is reportedly called Abeona, according to Boat International.

As for the main event, Bezoss Y721 Koru is believed to be based on the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean, with its unique three-mast design and eco-friendly sailing capabilities. Other amenities beyond the on-deck swimming pool include a cinema, meeting spaces and lounges, according to Luxuo. Oceanco has declined to comment further on included features in order to protect its clients privacy, but if this vessel is up and running as soon as we think, it wont be long until more details come out.
Police Training Facility Atlanta - Credit: AP Photo/R.J. Rico

Thomas Jurgens, a legal observer and attorney with civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), was arrested and charged with domestic terrorism during a Sunday night demonstration against the development of a 85-acre police training complex in Atlantas South River Forest.

Jurgens is one of more than 40 people charged with domestic terrorism in connection to the facility, which demonstrators have dubbed Cop City. The attorney was acting as a legal observer at the time of his arrest, the National Lawyers Guild (which monitors protests) said in a statement, according to the Daily Beast.

More from Rolling Stone

An employee at the SPLC was arrested while actingand identifyingas a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG), the SPLC stated, per the report. The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters.

Terrorism charges have been used as a tactic to snuff out protests against Cop City, which is home to a band of environmentalists and anarchists. In January, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp charged demonstrators in downtown Atlanta with domestic terrorism, calling up the National Guard to stand by to put down any further resistance.

In two raids on the protesters forest encampment in December and January, over a dozen other protesters were arrested and hit with similar charges, despite many of their arrest records showing that they committed no specific crimes other than misdemeanor trespassing. Police killed Manuel Tortuguita Teran, a 26-year-old during one of these raids on Jan. 18. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation claimed that Teran shot first, hitting an officer from the Georgia State Patrol in the abdomen, before he was gunned down by police. However, forest demonstrators have rejected the narrative, as there is no body camera footage or civilian witnesses to Tortuguitas killing.

Story continues

All of these arrests are part of ongoing state repression and violence against racial and environmental justice protesters, who are fighting to defend their communities from the harms of militarized policing and environmental degradation, NLG added in a statement. Each of these instances, including the many protesters charged with domestic terrorism, make clear that law enforcement views movement activists as enemies of the state.

Best of Rolling Stone

Click here to read the full article.
A local animal rescue is asking the public for help as they seek a permanent home.

FENNVILLE  A local animal rescue is asking the public for help as they seek a permanent home.

The nonprofit, For The Sake Of Being Humane, helps dogs others might turn away  the underdogs, the imperfect dogs  as director Ashlynn Cluchey describes them.

More:'We are breaking': West Michigan shelter issues plea for help as Michiganders stop adopting

More:Animal shelters report fewer adoptions, more surrenders as life goes 'back to normal'

The nonprofit recently found itself scrambling when its landlord decided to sell the property the organization calls home, instead of continuing to rent to them. As the organization searched for answers, the solution became clear.

We've laid out a plan now, and the plan is to finalize the purchase (of the property) if we can raise the down payment within the next two weeks, Cluchey said.

Cluchey said the goal is to raise $17,500 to use as a down payment to purchase the facility and continue the organization's growing mission. Should they raise the money, the nonprofit plans to expand into spay and neuter programs, vaccine and microchipping clinics, and more.

The organization launched in 2017, moving into its current facility at 2525 68th St. in Fennville in 2019. Its ultimate goal is to find dogs loving homes that meet their needs and give them the forever families they deserve.

For The Sake Of Being Humane, helps dogs others might turn away  the underdogs, the imperfect dogs  as director Ashlynn Cluchey describes them.

We also want to help families keep their pets if we can help in any way to reduce the number of homeless pets in West Michigan, Cluchey said.

Currently, the organization has 51 rescue animals on-site and five in foster homes. Out of the 51 dogs, 12 are four-month old puppies, three are considered seniors, and the rest are adults of various breeds and sizes.

By noon Monday, the organization had raised over $11,000 toward its goal.

There are several ways to donate to For The Sake of Being Humane, including through PayPal, Venmo, Cashapp and Patreon, as well as via mail or by dropping off returnable pop cans to their facility. Visit facebook.com/forthesakerescueandrehome to learn more.

Story continues

We're so grateful for all the support we've received so far, and we truly cant do (it) without all of you, Cluchey said.

 Contact freelancer Austin Metz at ametz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Local animal shelter needs money for permanent home or risks closure
Gathering at Netflixs Amsterdam office on Monday, multiple creatives spoke about how working with the streaming giant has allowed them to tell stories authentically and give their voices reach around the world.

Mandla Walter Dube from South Africa (Jiva!, Silverton Siege), Belgian-Dutch writer/producer Nico Moolenaar (Undercover, Ferry), Norwegian director Roar Uthaug (Troll), Jordanian director Tima Shomali (Al Rawabi School for Girls) and German writer Katharina Eyssen (The Empress) shared their experiences in an event set up for reporters.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Shomali said creating for Netflix was about freedom to tell stories that I believe in and that I want to be heard. She added: I always call Netflix the global village of the world where all the countries meet and creatives get a chance to be seen.

Meanwhile, Dube said the streaming company opened opportunities to storytellers. I always tell my students: dont go to Hollywood anymore. Let Hollywood come to you, he said. I think this is a case in point of what Netflix has done. And he shared that he also felt the end of traditional limitations. For me, being supported that you can tell your story in your own original language, and youre like, Are you serious? Yes, you can do that. And it is literally decolonizing, for me, the lens. I dont have to see my world, my soul in an English kind of set-up.

Uthaug similarly said that traditionally when a big American company signs on to make a creators movie, they worry that they will run all over you and use you as a puppet, but that was not the case at all with Netflix, he said. We were given great freedom and lots of support in making the movie I wanted to make and supporting my vision for the movie. As a result, he could make an authentically Norwegian movie about trolls for Netflix rather than an Americanized version of his story.

Story continues

Asked what other stories he would like to tell, Uthaug said: I think there may be more trolls out there.

Meanwhile, German creator Eyssen discussed the success of Germany- and Austria-set royal drama The Empress. It was very moving and very humbling to me to see that it wasnt only hit in Germany, but also around the world, she shared. I was so moved by the messages I got from around the world, from people from Nigeria and South America, a lot from Colombia, the States a lot and the U.K. and Canada. I was completely overwhelmed. And we were successful in Ukraine, which is, of course, very important to us as Europeans.

Eyssen also highlighted the intense back-and-forth with her Netflix contact though to ensure the best version of the show. I was lying in the editing room crying because my executive and I were fighting so hard, she said, but also lauded the feedback for making her work better. I really learned to elevate my work.

During the same event on Monday, Larry Tanz, vp, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) content at Netflix, discussed what subscribers watch and how stories have increasingly emerged from across the world. And Netflix executive chairman Reed Hastings and co-CEO Greg Peters talked about risk-taking, as well as their focus on member satisfaction and profitability.

Netflix, which ended 2022 with 230.75 million subscribers, has been expanding its presence and production operations in various international markets.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) quietly became the streamers biggest region in terms of subscribers in 2022, overtaking the combined user figure of 74.3 million for the U.S. and Canada with its 76.7 million. Its revenue for last year reached $9.75 billion, with average revenue per user (ARPU) of $10.99, compared to $15.86 for the U.S. and Canada.

Ampere Analysis has said that Netflix has become the second-largest TV company in Europe in terms of European revenue, accounting for 7.7 percent in 2022, before including online video advertising revenue, which the streamer just started recording. That was only behind Comcast with 10.3 percent of all European TV revenue across subscription streaming, pay TV, public TV and TV advertising, according to the firms analysts.

Click here to read the full article.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) blasted Walgreens on Monday for its decision to stop dispersing abortion pills in 20 states and said California will not be conducting business with the company.

California wont be doing business with @walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk. Were done, Newsom tweeted on Monday.

Walgreens announced last week that it will no longer sell abortion pills by mail in 20 states after attorneys general in those states warned that the company and CVS could face legal consequences for selling the pill. The states include Iowa, Alaska, Arkansas, Alabama, South Dakota, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas; several of the states have strong restrictions on abortion.

California is reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state. We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls, a spokesperson for Newsom said in an emailed statement to The Hill.

Walgreenss move, which was first reported by Politico, also drew criticism from the White House on Friday, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying it was dangerous and unacceptable for Republicans to target pharmacies for offering the pills.

The Food and Drug Administration expanded availability of the abortion pill in January by allowing U.S. retail pharmacies to offer them directly to patients with a prescription instead of requiring the pill to be dispensed in person by doctors or clinics.

Spokespeople for both Walgreens and CVS said in January that the companies were planning to seek the certification needed to dispense abortion pills in the states where it is legal.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Senate Bill 152 would create a committee tasked with exploring the workforce needs of a Gulf of Maine offshore wind industry.

The anticipated development of wind power off New Hampshires coastline will require a workforce likely numbering in the thousands.

Though a project is still years away from becoming a reality, a group of senators is urging the state to start looking toward the future now, potentially through the creation of an offshore wind workforce training center.

Passed in the state Senate last month by a voice vote, Senate Bill 152 would create a committee tasked with exploring the workforce needs of a Gulf of Maine offshore wind industry, including the possibility of a training center conveniently located near the Port of Portsmouth. The committee would also make a plan for including Seacoast-area career and technical education centers, Great Bay Community College, and union apprenticeship and training programs.

The prime sponsor of SB 152, Sen. David Watters, a Dover Democrat, introduced it in the context of New Hampshires critical workforce shortage. A workforce training center, he said, would service and bolster a Gulf of Maine project.

The nations first utility-scale wind farm being constructed 15 miles south of Marthas Vineyard, Vineyard Wind is expected to ultimately create 3,600 jobs, for example. In the blue-collar city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which will have several key sites related to the development, that could mean an economic boom.

In its first annual report submitted last fall to the Massachusetts Department of Energy, Vineyard Wind said its development phase from 2017-2021 produced 666 jobs, $59.3 million in labor income, $79.1 million in value added, and $166.6 million in economic output.

Requested by Gov. Chris Sununu in 2019, the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Ocean Energy Management convened a Gulf of Maine task force with New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. Sununu, in an introductory letter as part of a state report last year on the potential for offshore wind, wrote, New Hampshire is uniquely situated to benefit from this new industry in ways that will attract investment, boost the states economy, and create good paying jobs.

Story continues

Gulf of Maine RFCI area

The Gulf of Maine could see up to 12 floating wind turbines generating up to 144 megawatts of renewable energy, the BOEM has said, and the proposed area is located approximately 37 miles off the coast of New Castle. A series of public meetings held in January, including one in Portsmouth, updated on the progress.

Maine has submitted an application to the BOEM to lease a limited site about 44 miles off the coast of Portland for the nations first floating offshore wind research site in federal waters.

This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH considers offshore wind workforce training center in Portsmouth
Nicolas Cage is a man of many talents. With an Academy Award, a SAG Award and a Golden Globe, the actor has taken on many different genres over the last four decades, which made him the perfect recipient of the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award at Miami Film Festival.

While accepting his award on Sunday night, Cage reflected on the numerous projects hes worked on  even those that never got made. Although hes dabbled in the world of superheros, hes never actually been part of the cinematic universe.

More from Variety

Ive gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage. What am I going to do, put Marvel movies down? Stan Lee is my surrealistic father. He named me, he said when asked about the state of superhero movies today. I understand what the frustration is. I get it. But I think theres plenty of room for everybody. Im seeing movies like Tar. Im seeing all kinds of artistic and independently driven movies. I think theres plenty of room for everybody.

So, would he want to be in the MCU? His response is easy: I dont need to be in the MCU, Im Nic Cage.

In the 90s, he was set to enter the comic book world even more, taking on the titular role in Tim Burtons Superman Lives. However, that never came to light. To this day, he says, hes not 100% sure why.

They wanted Renny Harlin to do the movie. I sat down with Renny. I was doing another picture, he came to the trailer and we talked. I liked Renny but I thought if Im going to do this, its such a bullseye to hit, Cage explained. I said, this has to be Tim Burton. I called Tim and said, Would you do this? Tim didnt cast me, I cast Tim, and Tim said yes. I loved what he did with Michael [Keaton] and Batman, and I was a big fan.

Story continues

He continued, I love Mars Attacks. I thought Mars Attacks was just a fantastic, groundbreaking movie. Hes a groundbreaker! But they were scared at the studio because of Mars Attacks. Warner Brothers had lost a lot of money on the movie. These movies that are really weird, that challenge and break ground, they piss a lot of people off. I think they got cold feet. Theyd spent a lot of money already building the sets and the costume and what have you. But you never know. I dont mean to be cryptic Cage, but you never know!

The actor really enjoyed the character they were building, he explained: It was more of a 1980s Superman with like, the samurai black long hair. I thought it was gonna be a really different, sort of emo Superman, but we never got there.

As for the many genres Cage has acted in, two stand out as his most desired.

My personal favorite is independently spirited family drama, he shared. I like movies that take place at home and the struggles we have at home and how were trying to either succeed and become better people or succumb to the pressures of the human experience. My other favorite genre, I would say would be horror. Some of the most talented artistic people now are making horror films. I think you can do so much. The reason why science fiction and horror is so important to me is that it gave me a format where I could express some of my more surrealistic and abstract dreams with film performance.

He added that with science fiction, it also provides a way to say anything you want. Everybody is very sensitive right now, Cage explained. If you look at the science fiction format, you put it on a different planet, you put it in the future, what have you, you can pretty much say what you want, because its not right now. Oh, I didnt I didnt mean that  it was on a planet called Exeter or something. Thats where it happened. I didnt mean that! You can get your freedom speech mojo on and do what you want.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
The Gaylord Community Schools reported just one less student during the 2022-23 school year than the year prior.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN  As school enrollment in Michigan declines, Northern Michigan was not immune from the pupil losses.

Enrollment numbers come from count day numbers. For in-formula schools, count day determines how much state-finding schools get. Districts get per-pupil allowances, set this year at $9,150.

In Michigan, there are two count days each year. The fall count day, held on the first Wednesday in October, counts for 90 percent of the count. The winter count day counts for 10 percent and is held on the second Wednesday in February. The numbers in this article are collected by the Center for Educational Performance and Information and come from the October count day.

The Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District has had fewer enrolled students each year since the earliest data available on MI School Data. In 2013-14, the ISD had 9,372 students enrolled. This year, 7,903 students are enrolled throughout the 19 schools the district serves.

In the Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District, the district had a total of 7,453 students enrolled among the 23 schools in its 10 districts, just one student less than the year prior. The district has also had steady declines in enrollment, but hasnt seen a sharp drop since 2019-20, when 7,826 students were enrolled. The next year, just 7,440 students were enrolled in the ESD.

In the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District, there have been declines in enrollment every year since the 2015-16 school year. For 2022-23, 6,314 students are enrolled in the ISD, according to MI School Data.

More:Northern Michigan sees graduation rate climbs and falls in new report

Here are how some Northern Michigan districts fared:

Alanson Public Schools

Alanson Public Schools saw less enrollment this year than the year prior, but more than all years between 2018-21.

The 2022-23 school year has 229 enrolled students, while the year prior had 232. Both of these are up from the 2020-21 school year, which had 210 students.

Story continues

Boyne City High School stands Monday, March 14, 2022 at 1035 Boyne Ave.

Boyne City Public Schools

For the second year in a row, Boyne City Public Schools saw an increase in enrollment. The district is up to 1,293 for the 2022-23 school year. For 2021-22, the district had 1,279 enrolled students, and 1,270 in 2020-21.

While the district isn't back up to the 1,344 enrollment number it held in 2019-20, it's on its way.

Charlevoix Public Schools

For 2022-23, there are 806 students enrolled at Charlevoix Public Schools. This is down from the number of students enrolled in 2021-22, 816, but up from the 2020-21 school year, 786.

The 2021-22 year was the first time the district had an enrollment increase since 2015-16.

Cheboygan's East Elementary School sits Monday, July 11, 2022.

Cheboygan Area Schools

According to MI School Data, Cheboygan Area Schools saw an enrollment decrease in 2022-23, down to 1,505 students in the district. The 2021-22 school year had 1,550 students, which was up from the 2020-21 school year, when there were 1,515 students enrolled.

During a Feb. 27 Cheboygan Area Schools Board of Education meeting, trustee Roger Cronk said he expected enrollment to increase in response to a paper mill being purchased in the city.

I truly believe that we're all done with losing students. I think (the districts) going to grow, Cronk said. We're looking at the paper mill, who's going to be trying to get a new whole line, a new product. They're going to be looking for 200 people to go in there, and if each of those people have a kid or two, I think our schools are going to grow.

More:Great Lakes Tissue changes ownership, now named Tissue Depot

More:DeTour principal selected to be next Cheboygan superintendent

East Jordan Public Schools

East Jordan has had a steady decline in student enrollment since the 2018-19 school year. Now, the district is down to 743 students for the academic year.

The district had 762 students in 2021-22, and 769 the year prior.

Gaylord Community Schools

In Gaylord, enrollment is sitting at 2,793 for the 2022-23 school year. This is down from 2,814 for 2021-22, as well as down  just barely  from the 2,794 the district had in 2020-21.

The district had been sitting over 3,000 until dipping just below for the 2019-20 school year, and the district has not earned back those extra few hundred students.

Harbor Springs Public Schools

Harbor Springs Public Schools is an out-of-formula district and does not receive its funding from count day numbers and is rather funded based on property taxes. However, the district still tracks enrollment year to year on count day.

The district saw an increase in enrollment, the first time the district has done so since the 2018-19 school year.

According to MI School Data, the district had 737 enrolled for the 2022-23 school year. In 2021-22, the district had 726 students, and 757 in 2020-21.

Subscribe:Get unlimited access to the local news about your community

Pellston Public Schools

For the second year in a row, Pellston Public Schools had an increase in enrollment.

This school year, 459 students are enrolled in the district. This is up from the 442 the district had for 2021-22, and from the 440 enrolled the year prior.

However, the number is still down from the 476 enrolled in the district for the 2019-20 school year.

Public Schools of Petoskey

A total of 2,526 students are enrolled in the Public Schools of Petoskey for 2022-23, continuing a trend of less enrollment.

According to MI School Data, the district has consistently been on the decline, having 2,612 students in 2021-22; 2,741 for 2020-21; and 2,821 in 2019-20.

Sault Ste. Marie High School is shown.

Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools

Crossing into the U.P., Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools saw an enrollment decline.

For 2022-23, the district had 1,957 enrolled pupils. In 2021-22, the district saw 1,978 students, and in 2020-21, 1,939 students.

Wolverine Community School District

This year, Wolverine saw the exact same enrollment numbers as the year prior: 256. This is up by two students from the 2020-21 school year.

 Contact education reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Northern Michigan follows state trend in declining student enrollment
The source is thought to have been a battery-powered vape (Twitter/ @nottajshow)

A Spirit Airlines flight was forced to divert after a battery caught fire in the aircraft cabin.

Flight 259 was travelling from Dallas Fort Worth to Orlando, Florida on Wednesday 1 March at 2pm when a small fire broke out onboard.

After the blaze was spotted, passenger and retired New York firefighter Rocco Chierichella worked with crew members to put it out.

Mr Chierichella said: What it was, was a battery-powered vape tied to a battery charging inside the compartment. Very dangerous. And it ignited a piece of luggage next to it.

We are safe after a scary fire broke out during our @SpiritAirlines flight. We made a quick decent and emergency landing into Jacksonville. After waiting for over an hour they grounded the plane and we had to find our own way to Orlando. All rental cars were sold out. $250 uber pic.twitter.com/miFrR2bPKq  Joseph Fleck (@nottajshow) March 1, 2023

The flight was then diverted to Jacksonville, Florida where firefighters arrived at the scene and boarded the aircraft on the ground.

Passenger Joseph Fleck shared footage of the incident unfolding on social media. One video shows crew tackling the flames.

In another, firefighters are seen opening an overhead locker on the plane where the battery apparently was. The passenger also posted an image and video showing smoke filling the cabin.

Mr Fleck subsequently tweeted: We are safe after a scary fire broke out during our @SpiritAirlines flight.

We made a quick decent and emergency landing into Jacksonville. After waiting for over an hour they grounded the plane and we had to find our own way to Orlando, Mr Fleck said, before adding he spent $250 (208) on an Uber.

A spokesperson for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that 10 people had been taken to hospital, including crew members and passengers.

Story continues

Mr Fleck later posted an additional update. He said: Spirit has issued me a full refund, $100 future travel voucher, food vouchers and reimbursement for the $200 uber to Orlando.

This was no fault of Spirit, they handled things with great respect. I only wish we had been able to evacuate the plane once we landed, Mr Fleck added.

In a statement shared online a Spirit Airlines spokesperson said: We thank our crew and guests for their quick actions to ensure the safety of everyone onboard, and we thank first responders for meeting the aircraft. We are arranging alternate transportation for our guests from Jacksonville to Orlando.

The Independent has contacted Spirit Airlines for comment.
Officers had gone to Lewis' apartment in the city's Hilltop neighborhood to attempt to arrest him on outstanding warrants for charges of domestic violence, assault and a felony charge of improper handling of a firearm. Anderson fired a single shot about one second after opening Lewis' bedroom door, fatally striking him.

Anderson was placed on administrativeleave following the shooting.

Attorneys for the family of Donovan Lewis who had called for Anderson to be fired said his relatives were "outraged" that the city allowed Anderson to retire.

"This family deserves so much better," a statement from lawyers Rex Elliott, Michael Wright and Ben Cooper said. "Mr. Lewis family and our community will not forget about him and the way in which city leaders have so poorly handled this totally unnecessary killing."

Donovan Lewis

Columbus Police policy states that the police chief determines whether good standing status will be given to an officer who retires or resigns while facing criminal charges or an internal investigation that could lead to termination or a suspension of more than 120 hours, Brian Steel, a police union official, said on Twitter.

What happened the night Donovan Lewis was killed

Police body camera video shows Lewis did not answer repeated knocks on his door for about 10 minutes. One of two other young men inside the apartment eventually let officers in.

'No justification': Family calls for accountability after unarmed man fatally shot by Columbus police

Anderson unleashed the K-9 he was handling and the dog turned a corner in the apartment, where it appeared to encounter a person. The bedroom door to the apartment can be heard closing.

Anderson called the K-9 back and leashed the dog, then entered the apartment with at least two other officers while warning they would release the dog. Anderson approached the closed bedroom door and Anderson leashed the K-9.

Anderson opened the door as another officer yelled "hands" and pointed his weapon with a flashlight at Lewis, who began to sit up in bed. Within a second of the door opening and the command, Anderson leaned into the open door and shot once, striking Lewis in the abdomen, bodycam video shows.

Story continues

Lewis was holding in his left hand what Police Chief Elaine Bryant said later turned out to be a vape pen.

Who is Ricky Anderson?

Anderson has been a Columbus police officer since 1991, The Columbus Dispatch, a member of the USA TODAY Network, previously reported.

The Dispatch reported in 2003 that Anderson was indicted on charges of theft in office for taking pay for guarding a bank when he wasn't actually there. He admitted to the theft in 2004 and completed a Common Pleas Court diversion program, which resulted in his record being cleared. He was later fired over the theft.

But a federal arbitrator reinstated Anderson in November 2004, saying the city should have given him a 30-day suspension rather than terminating him.

At the time, Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 said the city had "overdisciplined a mistake made by what otherwise would be considered an outstanding officer," The Dispatch reported.

Anderson has had 10 complaints filed against him during his 30-year career, according to his police Internal Affairs Bureau history.

In 2020, a complaint related to an incident in 2019 was sustained, according to the history. However, no additional details were immediately available about that incident.

Behrens can be reached at cbehrens@dispatch.com or on Twitter @Colebehr_report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Ohio police officer who killed Donovan Lewis retires in bad standing
PS5 Sales 'Comfortably' Beating Switch and Xbox in Europe for February 2023

PS5 sales continue to be impressive at the start of this year. The Sony console is comfortably overtaking both the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S consoles for February 2023 in Europe, according to GamesIndustry.biz on the latest GSD numbers.

Xbox Series console sales have improved but theyre still in third place

PS5 sales during this time period is more than double the Nintendo Switch, which is down 28% across Europe and face a similar decline in the UK. This is based on the latest analysis by GamesIndustry.biz, which also reveals that Microsoft had a 13% sales increase when compared to its results in February last year. However, the Xbox Series X|S is still in third place across Europe.

This follows an earlier report that PS5 sales in the UK have spiked up 316% in February 2023. This is mainly due to sluggish sales last year due to a shortage in PS5 consoles that no longer seems to be an issue. GSD sales dont cover the UK and Germany, so its good to see these sales figures coincide with one another, at least for one of these territories.

Meanwhile, Hogwarts Legacy had an extraordinary launch month as well. It not only took the top spot on the European charts above FIFA 23 for February 2023, but its launch was bigger than every Call of Duty game released since 2017.

An industry analyst in late February stated that PS5 sales are beating Microsofts consoles during this console generation by 11.5 million units sold. However, its still behind PS4 sales in terms of the number of consoles sold by this point in time in their lifecycles.

The post PS5 Sales Comfortably Beating Switch and Xbox in Europe for February 2023 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.
After helping a family save their restaurant, Quantum Leaps Ben found himself this week in the body of Rossi, the operations manager and third in charge aboard the U.S.S. Montana in 1989.

In a strange turn of events, Bens host body worked directly under Commander Alexander Augustine (played by guest star Brandon Routh), who also happened to be Addisons father. His mission was to ensure that Augustine answered a distress signal which would rewrite history so that his military reputation wasnt tarnished.

More from TVLine

The story on record was that the commander refused to respond to an SOS call from a nearby U.S. submarine that had been working on a covert mission in the East China Sea before being sunk by an unexplained explosion. When everyone on board died, Augustine was forced to resign from active duty, and that day was remembered infamously by those within the Navy.

Given Addisons close ties to the leap  and her complicated relationship with her father  Ben offered the military vet a chance to opt out of this one, but she declined.

Quantum Leap Season 1

When he and Addison saw Augustine order his crew to answer the distress call, they quickly realized there was more to the story. It was Captain Drake who ignored the SOS because he didnt want to pull out of the war games for a call they werent completely sure didnt come from Chinese forces. Ben eventually convinced the captain to change course and provide aid, but then Drake ordered a warning shot with live torpedoes as an intimidation tactic.

In present day, Magic met with a Chinese veteran to get the real story of what happened that day. The submarine was sunk by one of the mines the Chinese military laid around their territory to force Americas hand in revealing they violated Chinese waters. The plan was to then hold the ship under an investigation, steal U.S. tech in the process and then return the vessel when they were finished. Unfortunately, a terrible storm dragged the mines further out to sea and in direct path of the submarine.

Story continues

Commander Augustine, in a private conversation with Ben, revealed a tender side he had never shown Addison. He recalled how he came from an abusive home and immediately enlisted in the Navy the night he almost killed his father. He was a mess, and Drake took him under his wing. Augustine knew the captain to be a good man just going through a hard time, which is why he was quick to defend him despite the potential for war if those torpedoes were shot.

Addison barely had time to process her father showing his vulnerability because the ship took a massive hit, and the crew wasnt sure if it was a torpedo or something else. Ben pieced together that the explosion was caused by one of those mines and not a torpedo. Captain Drake ordered his crew to fire their torpedoes in response, which would most likely send them into war, and Ben turned to Commander Augustine to talk the man down. Augustine succeeded, a war did not break out, and Addisons suggestion that they remotely detonate the remaining mines allowed the U.S.S. Montana to reach the sinking submarine and save everyone on board.

In a touching moment, Addison got some closure and told her father that everything would be OK, even though he couldnt see her. Still, he somehow got the message and uttered the same thing to himself.

Leaper X in Quantum Leap Episode 14

And just when it looked like things were calming down, Martinez (the mystery leaper from Episode 5) revealed hed been there all along and even managed to help Ben out during the leap.

If were being fair, Id say you helped me, he said cryptically to Ben. Not sure I could have pulled this off from where I was sitting today. 

When Ben relayed that he didnt understand what Martinez meant by that, Martinez added, I know, and thats why Im going to win. He then leapt into the next body, Ben shortly after.

Who else is scratching their heads after that twist ending? Drop your thoughts and predictions below.

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter

Click here to read the full article.
In November 2022, the filmmaking team of Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella) signed on to helm the remake of John Carpenters 1981 cult classic Escape From New York. Though little is known about the film, Radio Silence describes their version of Escape From New York as a requel.

In a requel, the topics and themes portrayed in an earlier film are revisited. However, it is not considered a direct sequel or full reboot. There is no linear continuation of the earlier films plot, though legacy characters may return. Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin coined the term requel while directing Scream V and even incorporated the term into the films plot. When asked by Comicbook.com if their version of Escape From New York would include Kurt Russells Snake Plissken, Radio Silence could not share that information, but they did explain how the film will be a requel.

I dont think we know enough about the movie yet to be able to say anything. But yes, requel is the idea, Radio Silence said. Theres no way to remake how great that movie is, would be a fools errand to try. So, you know, well try to borrow what we love from it and find a new way to put the package together.

Though the original report from Deadline said Carpenter would executive produce, Carpenter told Variety in January that no one told him about it. Carpenter said, I havent heard about this latest thing. No one wants me around, and they dont tell me anything to keep me in the dark. However, Carpenter later clarified via his wife that he received an email about the requel.

Despite Carpenters uncertainty about the requel, Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin praised the legendary director, calling him a master.

Do you agree with the decision to make a requel? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Recommended Reading: Escape From New York: The Official Story of the Film

We are also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. This affiliate advertising program also provides a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Image via Getty/David McNew

Two teenagers who found themselves stranded in a California snowstorm for days said they were already convinced they werent going to make it out.

According to a press release from the Morongo Basin Station of the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department, deputies were notified on Friday of two teenagers who had been determined to be lost on the Pacific Crest Trail near the San Gorgonio Mountain area.

The teens, later identified as Riley Ramirez (17) and Cole White (17), had initially been dropped of in Whitewater ahead of a planned hike of part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Weather, including extensive snow, caused reduced visibility in the region and made it more difficult for the young hikers to follow the trail. Per law enforcement, parents had last had established contact with Ramirez and White on Feb. 28.

One parent, identified in an Associated Press piece as Cesar Ramirez, told reporters that both teens had accepted the likelihood of a worst-case-scenario situation before being rescued.

Theyve told us, We were already convinced we were going to die, Ramirez said.

Ultimately, the two teens were spotted from a helicopter near a remote part of the trail. After being flown to a sheriffs facility, both hikers received medical attention. In discussions with law enforcement, the pair detailed the extreme weather they faced on the trail.

Recent weather in the region has resulted in a number of similar rescue operations. At the top of March, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in affected areas including San Bernardino, Amador, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and more.

Related Articles

More Complex

Sign up for the Complex Newsletter for breaking news, events, and unique stories.

Follow Complex on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok
Sweden's Princess Madeleine is returning home. Along with her husband, Christopher O'Neill, and their three children, Princess Leonore, Prince Nicolas, and Princess Adrienne, the family will move to Stockholm from their current home in Florida. She was one of many royals living in America, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Japan's former princess Mako.

"Princess Madeleine and Mr Christopher O'Neill have decided that their family shall relocate to Sweden indefinitely," the Swedish Royal Court said in a statement Tuesday. "Princess Leonore and Prince Nicolas will begin elementary school in Stockholm in the autumn. Princess Adrienne will start preschool."

Rune Hellestad - Getty Images

The court added, "the family will take up permanent residence in an apartment at the Royal Stables in Stockholm."

The Royal Stables are located in central Stockholm, and will be a definite shift from the private life the family has enjoyed for much of the past decade. In 2015, she and O'Neill moved to London, and in 2018, they relocated to Florida. Though they have lived abroad, they remained active members of the royal family, and often traveled back to Sweden for formal events.

Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images

Princess Madeleine, the youngest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, is currently eighth in line to the Swedish throne. In 2019, her children, along with her brother Prince Carl Philip's children, were stripped of their official HRH (His or Her Royal Highness) titles, but they retained their "Prince and Princess" titles.

At the time, Madeleine wrote, "This change has been planned for a long time. Chris and I think it's good that our children are now getting a greater opportunity to shape their own lives as private individuals in the future."



You Might Also Like
Tears For Fears' 'The Hurting' - cover art courtesy of Universal Music Group

The Hurting, the debut studio album by Tears for Fears, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it will be reissued as an Abbey Road Half Speed Mastered vinyl and as a newly created Dolby Atmos mix by renowned artist and mixer, Steven Wilson, on May 12. The Dolby Atmos mix, along with a 5.1 mix, an instrumental mix, the original album master and two previously unheard tracks, will also be released as a limited edition standalone blu-ray disc exclusively via superdeluxedition.com.

Initially released on March 7, 1983, The Hurting featured three classic top-five hit singles: "Mad World," "Change" and "Pale Shelter." The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks, staying in the charts for over a year and reaching Platinum status in early 1985. The album also entered the Top 40 in several countries, including Canada, Germany, and Australia. The Hurting was an incredibly influential album in America, and its influence can be felt in the work of The Weeknd, Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire, Smashing Pumpkins, and the massive hit version of "Mad World" by Michael Andrews & Gary Jules from the cult movie Donnie Darko.

The Hurting, written solely by band member Roland Orzabal is a loose concept album focusing on themes of childhood psychological trauma and Arthur Janovs Primal Scream therapy, the theories behind which gave the band their name. Despite its dark subject matter, the album was a huge commercial success and continues to resonate with younger audiences.

Speaking last year, Tears For Fears co-founder Curt Smith remarked, We only noticed it in the last couple years, when we played Bonnaroo, which is ostensibly a far younger festival. We expected maybe a thousand people if we were lucky, and it was stretched past the tent overhang and went all the way back. Im looking at the front of the audience and theyre all far younger than me and theyre all singing all the lyrics to every song from The Hurting. It was shocking to me. When you look at it retrospectively, it makes sense, because the album was written we when we were that age. Those lyrics resonate with a younger audience. But that was when I noticed a shift, when we started playing festivals and noticed there was a younger audience we were gaining in America.

Story continues

Musically the album was informed by Roland & Curts shared love of Remain In Light by Talking Heads, David Bowies Scary Monsters And Super Creeps, David Byrne and Brian Enos My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts and especially Peter Gabriels untitled third album aka Melt.

Roland Orzabal said: Its a very consistent album with its own distinct personality. Im not sure if weve made a more emotional record since, but Id like to think weve hit higher musical peaks.

The new Half Speed Remaster of The Hurting was done by respected audio engineer Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios using a half-speed mastering technique which produces a superior vinyl cut. The Dolby Atmos mix, which remixes the album into spatial, three-dimensional audio, has been created by the artist Steven Wilson who has previously remixed Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair, The Seeds Of Love and The Tipping Point into spatial audio formats.

As well as streaming, the Dolby Atmos mix will be available as a standalone blu-ray disc featuring Wilsons Atmos Mix, his 5.1 mix and his stereo instrumental mix as well the original 1985 stereo master and two recently rediscovered unreleased versions of "Mad World" & "Watch Me Bleed" produced by Mike Howlett.

Pre-order The Hurting.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
New research has predicted that 2023 will be the final year American consumers spend on TV and film rises before hitting a steady decline over the coming years.

According to an Ampere Analysis report, U.S. spend on video services  encompassing streamers, pay-TV and theatrical  will decline by 8% between 2023 and 2027, leaving the figure just above the $1000 per household mark. This represents a decline of $90 per household by 2027.

More from Deadline

Annual bills for video content peaked at $1,146 per household in the U.S. in 2022 with a post-pandemic bounce-back in theatrical expenditure and an 18% year-on-year increase in streaming spend to $374 per household per year, Ampere said. But the research predicted 2023 will see this streamer growth slowing while the impact of cord-cutting leads to the beginning of a slow decline in annual average household expenditure on TV.

Meanwhile, consumer spend in Western Europe will rise by 11%. Norwegian households are set to hit a major landmark in 2025 by overtaking the U.S. on TV and film spend, by around $50 per household.

All major Western European households are set to increase spend on TV and film over the coming five years, according to Ampere, with the U.S. the only nation spotlighted by the research forecast to fall. Spend in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy will all shoot upwards, although each nation will still be below the U.S. in 2027.

Maria Dunleavey, a Senior Analyst at Ampere, said recent moves from streamers to focus on hybrid tiers and ad services represents one approach to compensating for the downward pressure in the U.S., but pay-TV spend in Europe is more stable than the U.S. and streaming continues to expand.

Story continues

For U.S. groups, capitalizing on this international growth is increasingly key given the pressures on domestic income, added Dunleavey. Spend on video has finally hit its limit for U.S. households.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Ive got one daughter, and youve got one daddy, Edwin (Delroy Lindo) reminds his daughter Paige (Kerry Washington) in the trailer for the new Hulu series UnPrisoned. Their relationship is at the heart of the comedy, in which they reunite after Edwin spent 17 years in prison on drug charges. Based on writer and executive producer Tracy McMillans own life, the show will chronicle how that reunion unfolds and the impact Edwin has on Paige and her son, Finn (Faly Rakotohavana), when he moves in with them. All ten episodes premiere on Friday, March 10. Watch the full trailer above.

The trailer also offers glimpses at the adventures that await the family: Paige pursues a dream of owning a home  and gets a cathartic moment when she takes a sledgehammer to the dated wood paneling in the living room; Edwin teaches Finn how to drive and how to deal with glares from their white neighbors. Edwin seems to have brought Paige together with one of the employees working in his former prison, while he himself looks to spark a connection with a character played by Brenda Strong. The trailer touts Washington, McMillan, Lindo, and Yvette Lee Bowser  who was just honored with the Patty Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing at the WGA Awards  as executive producers.

More from GoldDerby

WATCH UnPrisoned red carpet interviews with Kerry Washington, Delroy Lindo and more

The series marks a change of pace for both Washington and Lindo, who have both recently starred in dramatic roles. Washington famously played Olivia Pope in Shonda Rhimes thriller Scandal for seven seasons, earning two Emmy nominations. She has also recently portrayed Anita Hill in the HBO film Confirmation, earning another Emmy nom; a small screen adaptation of the police brutality drama American Son, claiming another Emmy bid as executive producer; and miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, landing two more bids. She did take home her first trophy in 2022 as executive producer of Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times.

Story continues

Lindos most recent projects have all skewed dramatic, too. He earned a host of critics awards nominations and trophies for his captivating performance in Spike Lees Da 5 Bloods. Around the same time, he wrapped a four-season run in the critically-acclaimed series The Good Fight opposite Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald, for which he earned two Critics Choice Awards nominations. He most recently appeared in the western The Harder They Fall, and will soon star in the Neil Gaiman adaptation Anansi Boys in the title role.

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominations through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Dont miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Danielle Miller (left) and Anna "Delvey" Sorokin (right). Sarasota County Sheriff's Office/Reuters/Mike Coppola/AD/Getty Images for AB

A social media influencer admitted to illegally obtaining over $1 million in pandemic-related loans.

Danielle Miller used the money to help fund a lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said Monday.

Miller told New York Magazine last year that she befriended fake heiress Anna "Delvey" Sorokin.

A social media influencer, who befriended fake German heiress Anna Sorokin in jail, pleaded guilty to $1 million COVID loan fraud on Monday, according to the Department of Justice.

Danielle Miller, 32, from New York, appeared before a judge in Boston by video from a prison cell to plead guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

Between July 2020 and May 2021, Miller stole the identities of more than 10 people to set up bank accounts and obtain pandemic-related loans that were meant for small businesses, prosecutors said. She assumed some of these identities via an online Massachusetts driver's license portal, they added.

Miller used the money to help fund her lavish lifestyle, which included buying luxury clothing and accessories, hiring private jets, and staying in five-star resorts, prosecutors said.

Her Instagram shows the influencer posing in front of a Rolls-Royce at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, and relaxing on Joia Beach in Miami. At the time of writing, Miller has more than 3o,000 followers.

During her video hearing on Monday, Miller agreed to forfeit $1.3 million as part of a plea deal with prosecutors and serve six years in prison. She is currently already carrying out a five-year sentence that was handed down to her in October last year in relation to a separate Florida bank fraud case.

Miller told New York Magazine in an interview last year that she considers herself to be a "con artist" who is "really charismatic" and good with people.

She said that during her time at Rikers, New York City's largest jail, she met Sorokin  also known as Anna Delvey  who showed her around and introduced her to people.

Miller said Delvey gave her lessons about how to live in jail, which included what the safest way was to make her bed, and how to trade potato chips for the chance to cut in line for the phones, New York Magazine reported. They have kept in touch, and even FaceTime, the magazine said.

Story continues

As of January 2023, Delvey is under house arrest in her East Village apartment. She did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

COVID-19 was a "huge wave" for scammers, Miller also told New York Magazine, adding that she learned how to do it online and that it was something that she was especially good at.

"I'm so sought after it's insanity," she told the magazine. "My Instagram account from me being locked up has thousands, thousands of DMs asking me what my Telegram name is to work with me. Thousands."

Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27.

Read the original article on Insider
WASHINGTON  U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger blasted Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday for showing cherry-picked video from calmer moments of the riot Jan. 6, 2021, rather than the chaos and violence that erupted that day in what officers described as Medieval warfare.

Carlson got exclusive access to 41,000 hours of surveillance video recorded the day of the riot from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Carlson portrayed the event Monday on his program as mostly peaceful and described as liars the officials from President Joe Biden to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for calling the attack a deadly insurrection.

The riot was the worst attack on the Capitol in 200 years. About 140 police officers were injured during the attack; one died the next day and at least four others died by suicide in the weeks that followed. Fellow officers described hand-to-hand combat with rioters, as officers slipped in blood and vomit on the Capitol steps. More than 1,000 people have been charged in the attack and more than 500 have been convicted, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday.

Manger criticized the program for saying police officers acted as tour guides and portraying calmer moments during the day. This is outrageous and false, Manger said in an internal department statement.

More subpoenas from Rep. Jim Jordan: Jordan subpoenas former school board association execs, disinformation official in Biden admin. probe

GOP Senate leader goes after Carlson: Mitch McConnell calls out Tucker Carlson's downplaying of Jan. 6

What did Tucker Carlson say about Jan. 6?

The tape that we reviewed from within the building on that day proves it was neither an insurrection nor deadly, Carlson said. Everything about that phrase is a lie. Very little about Jan. 6 was organized or violent. Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.

The 187 minutes: A breakdown of the 187 minutes Trump was out of view on Jan. 6 as aides urged him to act

Story continues

Trump, Russia, Biden: The US has 3 special counsel investigations at once. What are they?

Fox News host Tucker Carlson has said of Marthas Vineyard: They are begging for more diversity. Why not send migrants there, in huge numbers?

What happened to Officer Brian Sicknick?

Carlson focused part of his report on Officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after the riot from two strokes, which the medical examiner ruled was natural causes.

Sicknick was sprayed by chemicals outside the Capitol and collapsed, according to witnesses. Officer Caroline Edwards, who was near Sicknick and saw him fall, described battling rioters as an absolute war zone, with officers slipping on their own blood.

Carlson showed video of Sicknick walking through the Capitol later and described him looking healthy and vigorous. He said reports that he was slain by the mob were indeed a lie.

Ex-Trump campaign chair settlement: Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort strikes $3.1M settlement with Justice Department

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, pose for a photo after a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Dec. 6 honoring law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Sicknicks family, Capitol police, lawmakers outraged by Carlson

Sicknicks family issued a statement to CBS News that said they were outraged at the ongoing attack on our family by the unscrupulous and outright sleazy so-called news network of Fox News.

Manger called Carlsons accusation about Sicknick the most disturbing of the program.

The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day, Manger said.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who headed the committee that investigated the attack, criticized McCarthy for deciding it was more important to give in to a Fox host who spews lies and propaganda than to protect the Capitol and the police, members, and staff that serve in it.

Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer criticize Carlson's depiction of Jan. 6

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., holds up a letter from the U.S. Capitol Police as he denounces Fox News' Tucker Carlson's recent coverage of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Senate leaders of both parties also criticized Carlson for denying the violence on Jan. 6.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., held up Mangers statement and said he agreed with everything he said about what happened on Jan. 6.

Clearly, the chief of the Capitol police in my view correctly describes what most of us witnessed firsthand on Jan. 6, McConnell said. It was a mistake in my view for Fox News to depict this in a way that is legally at variance with what our chief law enforcement official here at the Capitol thinks.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the lives of staffers and colleagues were put in danger on Jan. 6. Schumer said he was within 30 feet of before fleeing with his security detail.

Last night, millions of Americans tuned in to one of the most shameful hours we have ever seen on cable television with contempt for the facts, disregard for the risks and knowing full well he was lying  lying  to his audience, Schumer said. To say Jan. 6 was not violent is a lie.

Biden's budget proposal: Plan would increase Medicare tax for Americans earning more than $400K

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 video blasted by Capitol Police Chief Manger
A mother stabbed her five children inside a Texas home, killing three, authorities said.

Shamaiya Deyonshana Hall, 25, is accused of killing her 6-year-old son and her 5-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.

Authorities discovered the slain children just after 4 p.m. Friday when they were called to a home in Italy, Texas by Child Protective Services, who had ordered the children to be removed, the Ellis County Sheriffs Office said in a statement Saturday.

Investigators also found Hall's 4-year old son and a 13-month-old daughter with injuries from a knife attack. The two surviving children were taken to a hospital for treatment, investigators said.

Hall faces three counts of capital murder and is being held on $2 million bond for each charge, officials said.

She is expected to face additional charges, Ellis County Sheriff Deputy Jerry Cozby told USA TODAY.

Hall's five children had been in the temporary custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, but the agency cited the ongoing investigation and declined to provide any other details in a statement to USA TODAY.

Italy is a small community about an hour south of Dallas with less than 2,000 residents, according to Census data.

'I don't want to be next': Milwaukee sees 3 Black transgender women killed in 9 months

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas mother stabbed own children, killing three, officials say
Pavlo Tsviliuk considered emigration to Canada long before February 2022, but had been planning to move there only after giving birth to his children in Ukraine.

A 28-year-old software engineer and developer and his wife -- an influencer with over one hundred thousand subscribers working with Ukrainian brands -- used to have a decent life in their home city of Odesa in southern Ukraine. But the unprovoked military invasion of the Russian army destroyed this pastoral.

"It was understood that the war is coming and some of my friends moved from Odesa to western Ukraine even in January," Pavlo said, speaking very slowly as it is harder for him to speak Ukrainian but he doesn't want to speak Russian any more.

"On February 23, we purchased new suitcases and power banks in order to get on the bus to the neighboring Moldova, but the next morning, when the invasion started and Russian missiles hit Odesa, we were only partially packed," he said.

PHOTO: Pavlo Tsviliuk supplied this photo of his family as they traveled through Budapest in March 2022, while fleeing the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Pavlo Tsviliuk)

In a hurry, they reached the bus station with a 4-year-old son, Tymofiy, in his hands while his pregnant wife was carrying the luggage.

"There was a panic, chaos all around and the sounds of explosions in the city," Pavlo said

The family crossed the Ukrainian border on Feb. 24 and for weeks traveled through Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Switzerland. They arrived in Germany, where In May their second child -- a boy named Ian -- was born. From there, the family chose Canada to become their new home and now they live in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

PHOTO: Pavlo Tsviliuk takes a photo with his family in Canada after fleeing Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, in this undated handout image. (Pavlo Tsviliuk/Handout)

Over eight million people fled the war in Ukraine, according to the U.N. Refugee Agencys statistics. Many were women and children. Many have been very warmly welcomed in countries in the world, said Yuliya Kovaliv, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada:

MORE: 8 million refugees have fled Ukraine after a year of fighting, UN data shows

"It is unbelievable when you see so many open hearts, open doors of the houses -- many Canadians who welcomed Ukrainian families for the first days and weeks upon their arrival," Kovaliv said.

Story continues

During a webinar organized by Canadian International Council, the diplomat sounded optimistic, talking mainly about the renovation of Ukraine after the war ends and expressing her confidence that the majority of Ukrainians who were forced to move to Canada will return home.

"Most of them want to come back home -- especially families whose husbands and parents are in Ukraine," Kovaliv said, adding, "We value the support of Canadian government who helped Ukrainians more easily to get to Canada, to provide them with health insurance, with financial support, because many of them just lost everything what they had in Ukraine -- many of them arrived in Canada even without their passports."

PHOTO: Yuliya Kovaliv, ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, speaks during a vigil marking one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. (Spencer Colby/AP)

Between March 17, 2022, and Feb. 23, 2023, over 882,000 Ukrainian nationals and their family members applied for a temporary resident visa to travel and stay in Canada temporarily, according to official statistics. Many used the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET) program. And about 575,210 applications were approved during that period.

Ambassador Kovaliv said these newcomers are an asset for the Canadian economy. She said she admires Ukrainians, many of who want to be self-sustaining and have already found jobs and have been trying to settle down in Canada.

A family uproots, their renovated home abandoned

"We will survive anywhere, we are people of work, we have been working during our whole life, we never lived at someone's expense --not even at the expense of our parents," said Olga, 50, from the city Rubizhne in Luhansk. "At first, we worked for others, and then we opened our own business. Over 10 years we had our own jewelry workshop -- my husband is a very good jeweler, and I helped him."

She said she remembers the early stages of the Russian aggression in 2014 -- at that time it was only a couple of weeks of gun fire. But in 2022 it was different: heavy battles in Eastern Ukrainian forced Olga, her husband and their 10-year-old daughter to leave their home.

Since there was no possibility to cross the frontline as many vehicles with civilians were shot by Russian invaders, the family decided to choose the longer path. They traveled through Russia, the Baltic states and Poland. Olga's sister-in-law helped a lot -- and she invited the family and submitted all the documents needed for them to enter Canada.

MORE: Map: Where Ukraine refugees are heading

The family waited for their visas in Russia for over a month, since the closest visa center was in Rostov. They started on bus through Moscow, then to Riga and on to Warsaw, where they boarded a plane to Canada. It took them seven days to reach British Columbia with a hope to start a new life in here.

Several weeks before the full-scale invasion the family had finished the renovation of their apartment.

"We never left Ukraine before that -- never visited any other country," Olga said. "For years we had been saving money for the renovation -- every detail was chosen thoughtfully but now we have lost our cozy nest."

Olga said she is grateful to the Canadian people for their warm support: "One Canadian family bought us the tickets and paid for our hotel in Poland. As at that time we were out of money -- we had enough means just to get to Poland as we spent almost all our savings in Russia on food and accommodation."

The same family hosted Olga, her husband and their daughter for two months.

"This family owns a big house, everything inside is snow white -- when we entered it I was afraid even to sit down somewhere," Olga said. "I was asking myself, 'For God's sake, why these people are bringing some three total strangers into their beautiful, snow white home?' But at the same time, they didn't host another family after us -- we were lucky that they helped us. It is very hard to find people like that -- it is a rare thing now."

Olga's family had spent their last month spent at home in Ukraine in the basement because of constant shelling. In Canada they at first felt excitement and admiration, she said. "It was like a real heaven for us here -- people are walking around, smiling," Olga said. "During the first two months I guess I couldn't stand the sound of an airplane or a helicopter -- overreacting to those."

Both of them were lucky to find jobs immediately. He found work as a jeweler two days a week. He also works as a loader at the airport. She works as a sales associate in the Salvation Army thrift store.

PHOTO: Zlata, 10, celebrates her birthday in Canada after spending her last months sheltering in her family's basement in Ukraine. (Olga/Handout)

"We don't complain at all," she said. "You have to survive somehow especially without proper command of English language. People there were very kind to adjust the work schedule to my needs as I have to take the kid from school, and I am grateful. I do not worry at all here -- in any case we will be able to find some work to do."

Although a part of her family still lives in Ukraine on the territory occupied by the Russians, Olga said she does not see her family going back in the near future: "I see no end of the war in the nearest years. It will take not a year or two -- it will go on for several years. And, naturally, during it we will not return -- we are going to do everything possible to stay in Canada. There is no point in getting back there. Even when the war is over there will be complete destruction -- our town is plundered for 80%." Five years from now, Olga hopes to learn English and possibly start a business in Canada to move forward.

The biggest concern for Olga is the future of her daughter, 10-year-old Zlata, who enjoys her elementary school in Canada very much. During the winter break, she was sad, as she would prefer to be at school. "The teachers here are glad to interact with children and children feel that it makes the school interesting for them, not so plain and boring as back in Ukraine," Olga said.

Offers of support, as some struggle to live away from home

"It is hard to say if the newcomers will return to Ukraine soon," father Mykhailo Ozorovych, the abbot of the Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster, said. During the last year, his parishioners have at least tripled, he said. The longer refugees stay in Canada, the less likely they are to return, he said.

"People have changed a lot: It makes a big difference for them how they live, how they pay their taxes. A lot of things were reconsidered," Mykhailo said. "And all these small beams of hope allow people to think that there are enough changes to let them return to Ukraine."

He added, "I hope that people who are staying here for a longer time because they are less emotionally traumatized, they are more capable in terms of finance, they have significant experience of life in Canada and they may bring more rapid changes in Ukraine for its restoration and development. I can see some signs of it."

In the eyes of newcomers, he tends to see a mixture of feelings. He said he sees relief, disappointment and sometimes fear. Despite the distance between the people and their motherland, they cannot completely separate themselves from what is happening there. People have relatives there and in their thoughts, in Viber and in Telegram they are in Ukraine, Mykhailo said.

"Sometimes this kind of dichotomy turns into a sort of schizophrenia," he said. "The person is disoriented in order to define where to live  here or there. So, people are getting tired very fast. It is hard to start a new life. This process takes a lot of time and people are tired already."

Not only Ukrainian churches and community are supporting those Ukrainians who arrived in Canada during the last year. Local residents who have no direct connection with Ukraine are also trying to accommodate the families with children and turn at least some their days into a holiday.

"As a Jewish person I remember the Holocaust history in particular and that is why I want to do everything I can to help poor people who are fleeing the war and terror spread by another dictator -- now the Russian one," said Rita Albano, who organized a Christmas party for Ukrainians at her apartment in North Vancouver.

These kind of parties with Santa and presents might be very helpful for Ukrainian children  possibly traumatized by the war and their refugee experience.

Struggles continue, for all members of a family

"We were trying to represent the situation as some kind of a game to our son but after all these months I understand what kind of stress it was for him, this experience traumatized him as a child really understanding what is going on," Pavlo said of about his 4-yer-old son. "I started to read a lot of memoirs of the Holocaust and concentration camps survivors and I know that even a 2- or 3-year-old child understands everything. This trauma will more or less stay forever."

As he attempts to take care of his children, providing for their future, Pavlo is constantly applying for the relevant job positions and simultaneously taking some courses to obtain proper certificates.

"In Ukraine these certificates were useless -- your experience is more important and after the interview, when people see your account with your code, you might be hired without any certificates," he said. But in Canada the situation is different.

After ten interviews he is still in the process of searching for the best position as sometimes the conditions were unsatisfactory for him or the proposed salary was too low. His country is at war, and his family won't be able to return home for years, perhaps more than a decade, he said.

"I have big ambitions," he said. "During this year I reconsidered my life goals and things I really want to do. I am planning to open another startup and cooperate with some powerful companies that make a difference in terms of the globe. And it doesn't matter where to live -- in here or in the US. I want to develop myself as a specialist capable of bringing something into this world. Because every day is too precious to be lost."

As Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion settle in Canada, some wonder if they'll ever return originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Let traffic jams and cramped quarters be travel problems of the past.

Getty Images / nicholashan

With sugar-white sand and glittering blue-green water, Floridas beaches are among the best in the world. Rivaling tropical Caribbean islands and far-flung bucket list destinations like Bali and the Maldives, Southernersalong with folks from all over the U.S. flock to the Sunshine States sandy shores each year. There, they seek rest, relaxation, and a welcome retreat from the grind of everyday life.

While the phrase beach vacation may conjure memories of long hours spent riding in the family minivan, a road trip isnt the only way to get to the coastnor is an expensive plane flight. Our new favorite way to hit the beach starts with a scenic train ride down the eastern coast. Thats right, Amtrak runs two separate trains along the east coast, connecting Florida to northern hubs like New York City and Philadelphia, as well Southern cities like Baltimore, Washington D.C., Richmond, Raleigh and Charleston.

The Silver Star and Silver Meteor routes travel daily between New York City and Miami, making several stops in Florida beach towns like Jacksonville, Tampa, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale along the way. Both routes take between 28 to 32 hours total, so in a day (and likely less unless youre traveling from way up north), you can go from landlocked living to oceanfront views.

The best part? Theres no driving required. Instead, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the romantic nostalgia of train travel. Pick out a good book and cozy up to a window seat. If you want to catch up on some sleep, reserve a sleeper car and youll be at your destination before you know it. And of course, it wouldnt be a proper train trip without a visit to the dining car. For breakfast, try a three-egg omelet with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella plus sides of potatoes and chicken sausage. Lunch and dinner entrees are served with a complimentary alcoholic beverage, so we recommend classing up your journey by ordering Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs and pairing them with a rich glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Story continues

Once you make it to Florida, you may be tempted to do a little beach hoping. For that, the best strategy is to take the Brightline, Floridas eco-friendly, door-to-door, high-speed train. The Brightline launched in 2018, connecting five of South Floridas hottest beach citiesMiami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beachas well as Orlando.

Courtesy of Brightline

Passengers can choose between a Premium or Smart ticket. Premium ticket holders get access to an exclusive train station lounge stocked with complimentary coffee, soft drinks, beer, and wine, plus some light bites. Once on board, theyll have access to more snacks and drinks. They also can use complimentary ride share with a five-mile radius of the train station upon embarkation and debarkation.

Travel time between each destination (not including Orlando) is about 20 minutes, with the entire route from Miami to West Palm Beach taking just an hour and a half. Tickets start at just $10, and trains run every hour or two, so you can catch a train to a sunny beach whenever youre ready.

Happy traveling!

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
Best Dog-Friendly Countries For Your Next Vacation

Dog asleep on vacation.

(Picture Credit: Justin Paget / Getty Images)

Are you thinking of traveling overseas for a vacation with your dog? Or perhaps youre planning on relocating altogether?

But wheres best to go if youre bringing your furry friend with you? Some countries are better for pet-friendly travel than others, and here are some of our favorites.

The Netherlands

Do you want to see the sights with your dog? In the Netherlands, its free to take your pup on public transport with you, or you can get an all-day pass to take them on the train for just 3.

There are a whole load of great outdoor attractions across the Netherlands for you and your pup to enjoy, and being a small country you can discover plenty in even just a short trip! But Amsterdam has been named the most animal-friendly city in the country, so the Dutch capital might be an ideal starting point.

Switzerland

Remaining in Europe, this Alpine nation is perfect for pups. If you feel like a bite to eat, there are plenty of dog-friendly restaurants complete with bowls of water and treats for your canine friend, while your dog can even enjoy the fondue tram with you too.

If you and your pup enjoy spending time in the outdoors, there are all sorts of walks and hikes for you to try out, and then of course youve got the cities too. No matter the sort of vacation youre after, Switzerland will make it a happy one for both you and your dog.

Canada

A little closer to home, Canada is great for dogs. Vancouver in particular is dog-friendly, with lots of hotels that welcome pets, but no matter where you decide to venture for your vacation, youll be in luck!

Take a trip on a pet-friendly ferry, or make the most of the beautiful Canadian outdoors. Why not head to Lake Banff, the Buena Vista Dog Park in Edmonton, or one of the many dog-friendly beaches?

France

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, France is largely dog-friendly and takes quite a relaxed attitude to pets in public. Why not head to the Alps or the Pyrenees for an outdoor adventure with your canine?

Story continues

Many restaurants are happy for well-behaved dogs to enter too, while plenty of parks and outdoor attractions welcome pooches too. You could even take your dog on a canoe trip!

Brazil

Its such a huge country that it could feel daunting, but the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro is a good starting point if youre trying to find somewhere in Brazil to visit with your dog. Head to the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a large park containing two dog parks, as well as trails and seating too.

But across the country, youll find dog-friendly hotels and restaurants, and theres an off-leash area of the Copacabana beach too.

Japan

Japan boasts myriad dog-friendly hotels and parks up and down the country, and then theres the Grandberry Park Mall, which is quick to welcome pups. Even in such a busy city like Tokyo, you can take your dogs to places like Yoyogi Park  admission is free, so you can enjoy a great day with your dog at very little cost.

While bringing your pup into Japan can be quite a complex process, with their stringent laws, it could be well worth it for an adventure youll never forget!

The post Best Dog-Friendly Countries For Your Next Vacation appeared first on DogTime.
Denver will spend almost a quarter of a billion dollars on homelessness and housing stability in 2023 and the city council on Monday approved eight related contracts and resolutions worth $17.8 million.

The amount represents just over 1/14th of Denver's total budgeted amount for the year. Mayor Michael Hancock's final adopted budget contains $254 million to address those issues citywide.

Like other metro cities, Denver is struggling to curb homelessness, even as state and local governments have poured significant resources into tackling the crisis. The problem sits atop the list of worries for Denver voters, according to a recent poll on the mayor's race. The issue also permeates the debates among the mayoral aspirants, some of whom seek a more strident approach to tackling the crisis.

The largest item at Monday's meeting was a $7.5 million contract amendment with the Colorado Village Collaborative, a nonprofit which operates homeless camps in the city. The new total comes out to $12.3 million.

Included in the amendment is $225,000 from the 2022 participatory budgeting program, where Denver citizens had a direct say in how $2 million of capital money would be spent. The $225,000 will be used for three new shower trailers, according to Denver Gazette media parter 9News.

The remaining money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The added money will allow the Colorado Village Collaborative to operate two outdoor sites that support 110 households, according to city documents. The contract amendment also extends the lifespan of the outdoor spaces by 24 months. Originally, the contract ended on Dec. 31, 2022.

The Colorado Village Collaborative operates three outdoor spaces and has plans to add more locations. The tent-based option began in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when traditional, congregate shelters presented a significant health risk to homeless people.

In September, the council approved opening a new outdoor space in the parking lot of the Arie P. Taylor building at 4685 Peoria St. It has 60 tents and can house up to 70 people.

Other business before the council Monday included two public hearings on zoning map amendments and the application of an overlay district allowing older mobile homes to be replaced. Denver has five mobile home parks housing 300 families.

Currently, Denver code prohibits the replacement of mobile home units built before 1976, according to a city presentation. The amendment to the code, brought forward by Council President Jamie Torres and Councilmember Candi CdeBaca, makes it possible to replace older mobile homes, removes a building separation requirement and allows permanent foundations to be laid.

Sixteen people signed up to speak at a public hearing on the map overlay and zoning change. Many, like Ruben Parades, are residents of the affected areas. He said he fears what may happen to him and his family should the bill fail.

"It's very important to us that you guys help us realize this dream. For us as immigrants from other countries, the opportunity we have is rare," Paredes said. "If this law doesn't pass, we are not going to be able to purchase the place where we want to live."

The council passed the overlay district and zoning change, 11-0. Both Torres and CdeBaca took time to thank the residents who came to speak, with CdeBaca encouraging them to keep the dialogue going with the city.

"The reason we're doing this is because of the voices that we heard tonight," Torres said.
Good times and good eats abound in this beloved South Carolina city.

Peter Frank Edwards

I dont have to work hard to convince my fiance to join me for a weekend trip to visit my parents in my South Carolina hometown. For starters (and this admittedly is a biased opinion), my mom and dad are a delight to be aroundbut they also live in Charleston, which Southern Living readers have named The Souths Best City several years running. At this point, the Holy City requires no introduction or persuasive arguments in its favor: The booming food scene, colorful historic homes, and waterfront views make the case for themselves. Its easy to fill a weekend itinerary there, and Im never able to hit all my favorite spots in just one trip. Here are the places that land on my Charleston bucket list whenever Im home, from the lauded, well-known destinations to the ones that fly a bit further under the radar.

Leons Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop

The worst kept secret in the city is hands-down my favorite restaurant to take visitors, especially first-timers. For me, no other place in town captures so well the relaxed ease that seems woven into Charlestons very DNA. Housed in an old garage and outfitted with warm wooden tables and an art collection that feels like it was passed down from generation to generation until it landed here, Leons is the kind of place that feels like its always been part of the Charleston dining landscapea triumph considering its a relative newcomer, opened in 2014. Fried chicken and oysters may be the main draws on the menu, but dont miss the scalloped potatoes either.

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

The two-and-a-half mile cable-stayed crossing between downtown Charleston and the suburb of Mount Pleasant is a scenic place to break a sweat. Climb the hilly spans on the protected pedestrian path, and stop at the top to catch your breath and score a birds-eye view of the sparkling Cooper River and downtown Charleston, including the many steeples that earned my hometown its Holy City moniker.

Story continues

Marina Variety Store & Restaurant

In a destination filled with Instagram-worthy diners and boutique-y brunch spots, this casual, teetering-on-unbothered, harborfront joint isnt appearing in the curated pages of luxury travel magazines. But at breakfast time, its familiar siren call beckons locals in droves. Here, you can count on a well-poached egg, plenty of salt in your grits, and silver dollar pancakes thatll please even the pickiest tiny eater.

Croghans Jewel Box

When theres a special occasion to be celebrated in my family, our go-to spot for finding meaningful, heirloom-worthy gifts is this century-old shop on King Street thats helmed by the third and fourth generations of the same family. Beyond curating an incredible assortment of new and estate jewelry and silver, they also carry the Goldbug Collection, a cheeky, more approachable line of pieces designed in-house and inspired by the city.

Cru Cafe

Just steps off the beaten path in an old Single House, this Charleston institution (it celebrated 20 years in 2022) serves up a thoughtful medley of flavors in homey surrounds. For a true Holy City experience, snag a table on the porch, and start with an order of the fried green tomatoes, which come topped with sheeps milk feta, smoked tomato caramel, and pork belly croutons so good that my dads been known to order a side dish of just those.

Melton Peter Demetre Park

Only a few miles from downtown, James Island is largely residential without much draw for tourists. Its where I grew up, and we spent many a low-tide afternoon hunting for sharks teeth on the little beach at a place we called Sunset Park. (Ive since learned that many other locals refer to it as Sunrise Park. Tomato, to-mah-to, I suppose.) For a true locals-only experience, head to the city-owned waterfront spot, where you can picnic with panoramic views of downtown Charleston and Mount Pleasant or cast a line off the 190-foot fishing pier.

Sullivans Island

For a quintessential Lowcountry beach day, theres no stretch of sand more alluring than the pristine shore of Sullivans Island, a small barrier island ten miles from downtown Charleston. Theres not a trace of touristy kitsch in this bitty beach town, where historic homes line oak-shaded streets and storybook cottages invite passersby to stop and smell rose-wrapped trellises.

Chez Nous

Tucked in an historic house on a hidden away street, you likely wouldnt just happen upon this neighborhood eatery that feels like a mini escape to Europe, and thats half the charm. The cozy surrounds are elevated but inviting, and the handwritten menu of seasonally driven dishes changes daily. Its fortunate, too, that the menu is so tiny (two appetizers, two mains, two desserts), as it provides a good excuse to order one of each.

Bowens Island Restaurant

Even after nearly eight years in Birmingham, Alabama, there's one thing I still can't stomach: Gulf shrimp. I'll take South Carolina's small crustaceans any day over the rubbery monstrosities they've tried to talk me into eating here. So when I'm home, there's only one place to load up on the good stuff, and that's Bowens Island, a nearly 80-year-old family-owned restaurant perched in a few ramshackle structures on the river. Order a fried shrimp platter with hushpuppies and slaw, or go for the Frogmore Stew (for the uninitiated, that's a shrimp boil), a drool-worthy combination of boiled shrimp, potatoes, corn, and sausage.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
Experience a day in the life of a veteran server to see why it was voted Alabama's Best Local Restaurant 2023.

PHOTO: ROBBIE CAPONETTO

On an overcast afternoon at a sleepy corner in downtown Bessemer, The Bright Stars doors keep swinging open as hungry guests shuffle in. Linda Vansweringen has waited tables here for over 15 years. She is one of a fleet of servers with an average tenure of seven years, an almost unimaginable amount of time in an industry where, especially recently, managers can only hope for an employee to stay a year.

Vansweringens shift starts at 10 a.m., an hour before the restaurant opens for lunch. She begins by sanitizing the tables and chairs, setting out the place mats and silverware, cleaning the salt and pepper shakers, brewing sweet tea, and putting out bottles of pepper sauce. The staff has a lot of ground to cover (more than 12,000 square feet) to get ready before patrons arrive.

The oldest restaurant in Alabama, The Bright Star opened in 1907 just a few blocks from where it now stands. It started as a 25-seat establishment, and today it can hold 330 customers (with five dining rooms plus a bar) and a staff of 70. Recently restored murals painted in 1915 line the wood-trimmed walls; only the back corner of the restaurant still has the cigarette-smoke patina of another era.

Not long after lunch begins, Vansweringens section is stacked with customers. Half are regulars who ask for her by name. She serves this places signature blend of Greek and Southern food to over two dozen people, including a 12-top table. While the menu doesnt include moussaka or dolmas, oregano makes its way into most entrees, garlic is liberally used, and lemon brightens the hearty fare. For first-timers, Vansweringen often brings a complimentary cup of gumbo and welcomes them with an introduction that feels both practiced and genuine.

As diners debate over what to order, she fields their questions, rattling off the ingredients in dishes as if reciting the alphabet. She suggests the Greek salad, which has tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives, and pepperoncini. It comes with two dressings, a vinaigrette and a garlic-cheese sauce, and she explains the delicious alchemy that occurs when theyre combined. The garlic is going to be your friend for the rest of the day, she warns with a wink to couples traveling home in the same cars.

Story continues

Linda Vansweringen PHOTO: Robbie Caponetto

Her customers fill up on fried snapper throats, which come from the underside of the fish, behind the gills. This was once the staff meal, leftovers from cutting up whole fish in-house, but now the throats often sell out faster than the fillets. Carl Thomas, a line cook, has been at The Bright Star even longer than Vansweringen. He has butchered the fish here since 1975. Alongside a few other cooks, he regularly preps 1,400 to 1,500 pounds of snapper every week.

Vansweringen began working in the food-service industry as a teenager in Panama City, Florida, at a short-order restaurant. When she first started at The Bright Star, years later in 1997, she hosted to learn the table layout before she moved into serving. After three years, she took a break before returning to the restaurant in 2010. It reeled her back in, as it does so many people. I love the environment; the customers are like family, she says.

The Bright Star is definitely a family affair. It was passed from founder Tom Bonduris to brothers Bill and Pete Koikos in 1925 and then to Bill and his sons Jim and Nick Koikos in 1968. After Jims passing in 2019, Nick took over ownership along with his niece Stacey Craig (who also serves as the manager) and his cousin Andreas Anastassakis (the executive chef). Craig grew up watching her grandmother, Anastasia Koikos; her uncles; and other relatives shape the business, both behind the scenes and on the dining room floor. You are never too big or so important that you wont wash a dish or bus a table, Craig says. She fondly remembers her grandmother cutting lemons, making tea, and greeting guests. The matriarch was also known for baking loaves of bread to give to regulars. Its this close-knit dynamic that permeates the restaurant and keeps longtime servers around.

After taking orders, Vansweringen weaves through the narrow alleyways between tables, scanning as she passes to look for low water glasses or empty plates to clear. But she doesnt stop to rest. If youve got time to lean, youve got time to clean, she says.

Once diners polish off their meals, they dont have room for pie, but the way Vansweringen runs through all the flavorsLemon Ice Box, Coconut Cream, Chocolate Almond, Pineapple Cheese, and Peanut Butterhas customers testing the strength of their waistbands. Over the loudspeaker comes bad news: 86 Pineapple Cheese pie. Everyone will have to choose a different flavor, but Vansweringen assures patrons that they cant go wrong with any of the options. After disappearing to the kitchen for a few seconds, she returns with slices of pie that nearly envelop the plates.

As she delivers checks to neighboring customers and starts closing down her section to prepare for dinner service, she tells diners getting up to leave, Yall come back and see me. Something about their grins hints that they will.

thebrightstar.com, 205-424-9444, 304 19th St. N, Bessemer, AL 35020

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
Corey Calliet attends Inas X Birthday Bash at Los Globos on January 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

If youve ever wondered just how Creed III director and star Michael B. Jordan stays looking better and better with each film, or how his fellow costar, Jonathan Majors, got hella ripped for the record-breaking film, look no further than celebrity trainer and body transformation specialist Corey Calliet.

The Louisiana native first connected with Jordan back in 2014, while on the set of Fantastic Four. Calliet would eventually take the leap out to Los Angeles to whip Jordan in shape for the first installment of the Creed franchise, which was released the following year. Calliets transformation of Jordan would prove beneficial when he later landed a role as a celebrity trainer on E!s popular show Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian, where his physical and mental training garnered international attention.

Read more

But it was his consistent, physical, upping of the ante for the Fruitvale Station star, and their brotherhood, that would make Calliets work stand out amongst the rest and cement his status as the go-to trainer in Hollywood.

We created something that was different, Calliet told The Root. I felt like [with] what I can do and who I was, I was more than just a trainer. I was more than just somebody whos gonna tell you how to exercise. I believe I impacted him on another level where I wanted the world to see that it was possible to form a brotherhood, to grow, and to be something amazing like it is now.

When it came to turning both Jordans and Majors physiques into the thirst-inducing bodies that they are in Creed III, Calliet shared how he prepares for the task, examining the needs of the characters, script and storyline in order to sculpt and shape each actor. He also divulged the difference he found this time around between training the Ant-Man and the Black Panther villains.

Story continues

Jonathan came in in more shape than Mike did a long time ago, Calliet began. But Jonathan had that dog mentality, which is kind of the same with me. Michael had it at the beginning of our training because it was new to him and he wanted it so badly. But as time went on, we were able to do it but his load got bigger.

He continued, With Jonathan, the first time we trained, I couldve told Jonathan, I need you to bear crawl 500 meters, then sprint and bear crawl right back, and he wouldve done it. And Jonathan just had a physiqueits genetics. I knew what I could do with that and how I could make it look crazy and I just went for it and I did it.

Speaking about molding Jordans physique, Calliet added: He has to look better than the last time. Hes gotta beat the last body. And then Ive got to beat everybody else. Nobody can have nobody else on TV that looks better than my guy. They just cant, that aint happening. I have a reputation and Im very cocky about that.

But before you dive headfirst into RDLs and Russian twists, Calliet explained that the number one way to ensure your own physical transformation is long-lasting is by changing your mindset first. By doing so, not only will you reap external rewards through a healthier physique, but youll also have the mental fortitude to push forward, overcome and conquer anything else that you want to do.

Its not just about the physical transformation because the physical transformation you can lose, he said. The mental aspect of the transformationwhere you have to change your mind, change your way of thinkingthats whats gonna keep the transformation living long and well. The time that you put all that work into the gym, the days, the consistency, doing it over and over again, putting your body through that every day, the amount of pain and agony to get your body where it needs to be at, thats building a strong mental.

If youre ready to get in Creed shape, Calliet is making his expertise available through his all-new fitness app ACHV Fitness, where you can join other folks who are ready to get a grip on their fitness goals. Or if youd rather have some non-virtual training, be sure to keep an eye out for his new ACHV Fitness gym opening up this October in Inglewood, Calif. But above all else, be prepared to stick with whatever your game plan is so you can achieve the result you want.

If you dont do the work on yourself first, the transformation will never happen, Calliet concluded. You think about people who always want to start and start and stop, its because theyre not mentally committed to doing the work inside first. You have to make a decision first in your mind to say, You know what? I want to change something about myself starting today. And if you can do that, if you can make that happen, then your life can change.

Creed III is in theaters everywhere now.

More from The Root

Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
A sustainably sourced New York sushi restaurant and the CEO of South Africa's only fully Black-owned winery are reshaping what's possible in the food industry.

Dina Litovsky/Redux A diner at Rosella, in New York City's East Village

The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations that are taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving; they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What's more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.

Creating sustainable change in the food and beverage industry often requires starting from the ground up  or, in some cases, the ocean. To keep up with consumer tastes and demand for certain ingredients, restaurants may find themselves sourcing products from halfway around the world, especially when it comes to prized seafood. That way of operating stresses not only the buyers budgets, but the environments resources, which is why New York Citys Rosella is looking closer to home when it comes to procuring fish for its sushi. The disparities that exist on the human side of the industry can be just as troubling  an issue Paul Siguqa is all too familiar with as the owner and CEO of South Africas only fully Black-owned winery. In both instances, these thought-leaders are carving out new paths forward for food and drink professionals, showing both their colleagues and travelers what can be accomplished when the status quo is challenged.  T+L Editors

Adam Friedlander/Courtesy of Rosella Sustainably sourced nigiri at the New York City restaurant Rosella.

Rosella

If you eat high-grade sushi in the U.S., theres at least a 70 percent chance the fish on your plate was imported, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). But Rosella, a 22-seat sushi restaurant that opened in New York Citys East Village in 2020, isnt importing any fish at all. Chef Jeff Miller, who owns the place with business partner TJ Provenzano, is obsessed with sustainable sourcing, relying on data from Seafood Watch and NOAA to make informed choices about what to serve.

The result is a menu that merges Japanese traditions and locally available products  approximately 95 percent of the sushi comes from the East Coast. We source porgy and bluefish as much as possible, Miller says. Theyre exemplary fish that both make great sushi.

Miller believes the key to change lies in leading by experience. We want to create a fun environment where people know exactly what theyre eating  and enjoy it, he says.

From left: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images; Courtesy of Klein Goederust From left: Paul Siguqa at his Klein Goederust winery; a Klein Goederust shiraz.

Paul Siguqa

Winery CEO Paul Siguqa grew up watching his mother, Nomaroma Siguqa, work as a laborer in South Africas Winelands, first among the vines and later in the cellar. I used to hate the idea of working on a farm, because normally Black people are the labor while white people are the landowners, Siguqa says. According to a report by the trade organization Vinpro, Black people constitute roughly 80 percent of South Africas population, yet own just 2.5 percent of the countrys vineyard acreage.

Siguqas passion for wine slowly grew over time. He got his first college job at a winery and saved funds for 15 years while working in corporate media. I always wanted to come home to the Winelands, he says. In 2019  28 years after the fall of apartheid  Siguqa bought a 25-acre estate in the Franschhoek region and, within two years, had transformed it into Klein Goederust, the first fully Black-owned winery in the country. Today the property has a tasting room and fine-dining restaurant amid thriving vines of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Siguqa now uses his role as CEO to help others in the industry, mentoring Black youth from the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which provides skills development and work placement. The narrative I hope we can achieve with this vineyard is to show whats possible, Siguqa says. The tide is changing.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Documentarian Ken Burns on Tuesday said the bills that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is advocating for resemble the Soviet system in deciding what students are allowed to be taught in a classroom.

Burns said during an interview on CNN This Morning that the suppression of ideas, where those ideas might lead and facts is not what makes the United States great. He said the countrys greatness comes from who the American people are, how they investigate who they are and how they celebrate their diversity.

All of these bills that DeSantis and others are doing limit our ability to understand who we are, and they are not inclusive  they are exclusive. They are narrowing the focus of what is and isnt American history. Its terrifying. It feels like a Soviet system or the way the Nazis would build a Potemkin village, he said.

Burnss appearance came after he posted a Twitter thread on Monday criticizing a proposed Florida bill that would prohibit public universities in the state from promoting, supporting or maintaining programs or campus activities that espouse diversity, equity and inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric.

DeSantis and other prominent conservatives throughout the country have railed against initiatives to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory, which is a graduate-level theory that examines how race has played a role in the development of U.S. law and society.

By trying to dictate what teachers can and cannot teach, Florida House Bill 999 is an assault on the very liberties articulated by the Founders and something that all Americans should speak out against, Burns tweeted.

DeSantis has also faced sharp criticism from opponents for pushing for legislation like the Parental Rights in Education law, which restricts teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in certain cases.

He told CNN that he is currently working on a series about the American Revolution, and the Founding Fathers would not approve of the actions that DeSantis is taking.

Story continues

I can tell you that Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine and George Washington and John Adams and James Madison and Alexander Hamilton are rolling over in their graves if they think that this person is carrying the mantle of what it is to be American, Burns said.

He said DeSantis and others are reacting to issues that challenge the idea of a neat, tidy, white picket fence view of society. He said the world is complicated, and race is in everything we touch.

Burns said Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, declared that all men are created equal but also owned slaves.

Our whole story is based in a discussion in race along with the meaning of freedom, and thats complicated too, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Dotdash Meredith and Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Its easily packable and worth every penny.

Travel + Leisure / Marcus Millan

I recently traveled to Singapore for the first time, and despite being overjoyed, I found myself ridden with more anxiety (than usual). It wasn't culture shock or being all alone in a foreign country that had me worried. Instead, I was nervous about embarking on one of the world's longest commercial flights, direct from San Francisco to Singapore, in economy.

Im no snob (okay, so what if I am?) but being stuck anywhere for 14-plus hours next to anyone is going to make me upset. I could be on a private island with my partner, and Id probably be on edge if we had to stay seated the whole time. When you add the fact that the seat only goes back 15 degrees, and theres potential for a screaming kid somewhere aboard the aircraft, I was ready to have a meltdown (bigger and better than the one the imaginary kid would have, easily). So, I started searching for things that might make my flight more enjoyable. Noise canceling headphones topped the list, then a good book, and the last thing I needed was the kicker that helped me make it back from Southeast Asia in one piece  a humble neck pillow, the Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow to be exact.

Amazon

To buy: amazon.com, $60

But this isnt just any neck pillow  its a luxurious, ergonomic memory foam pillow that hugs your neck with 360-degree coverage, meaning no matter which way your head tilts on the plane, youre covered. The 10.5-inch by 9.5-inch by 6-inch pillow also compresses up to 60 percent, making it a compact, easily packable addition that can fit right in a carry-on. And best of all, its got a machine washable cover, too.

I was and still am the first person to judge anyone in an airport wearing just any old neck pillow, but Ive seen the light. They are brilliant  at least, this one is. The the Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow is more of a wrap than your typical travel pillow, and the end result is something that is shaped more like the neck brace I had to wear in high school after getting whiplash during a snowboarding accident (which makes it seem way cooler than it was). Its the type of design you would expect from the brand behind something Moira Rose wears.

Story continues

But flying has something uniquely in common with Schitts Creek: Were all just trying to get out of there. This makes the endeavor all about comfort, especially when, as I mentioned earlier, youre saddled in economy. And while I mightve looked silly, I slept way better than the guy next to me. How do I know? He asked me if he could borrow the neck pillow halfway through the flight.

Not a chance, dude. This thing is a memory foam wonder. Because of the supportive cushioning and the velcro to ensure a tight wrap, my (big) head stayed upright and in a comfortable position. I didnt have any neck pain the next day, which was honestly strange because Ive had neck pain everyday since I turned 25.

For style preferences, I opted for the gray color to match my sweats (because Im classy). But if you prefer a black one, which screams that youre traveling for business, not pleasure, in my opinion, you can have it. Heres a picture of me sporting the neck pillow in all of my glamour.

Travel + Leisure / Daniel Modlin

Beyond being comfortable, one of my favorite things about the pillow is that it packs down small. You roll it up, kind of like a cinnamon bun, and put it inside a little pouch. Its much sleeker than its counterparts that dangle off of backpacks, whipping around aimlessly throughout baggage claim, and because it nestles inside of my bag, I like to think it's much more hygienic, too.

I wont go as far as saying this neck pillow prevented jet lag (there are other cures for that,) but the Ostrichpillow Go Neck Pillow did get me through the flight of a lifetime twice. I never thought Id say this, but Im even considering bringing it on a flight from LA to San Francisco. Couldnt hurt, right?

At the time of publishing, the price was $60.



For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
The housing market has been a bit of a mess recently, thanks to fears of a recession and high mortgage rates. But one sector serving the ultra-wealthy is doing quite alright.

Branded residencesthose affiliated with hotels or other high-end companiesare attracting buyers left and right, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal. Their focus on luxe design and amenities has proved fruitful, even if the larger housing sector is struggling. We always believed if there was a downturn thered be a flight to quality, the developer Jon Cronin told the WSJ.

More from Robb Report

At the end of 2022, there were 38,900 branded residences across 200 developments in the United States. Thats a 40 percent increase from 2010, according to the real-estate firm Savills. Of those homes, about 80 percent are affiliated with a hotel, such as the St. Regis, the Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental. But other types of companies are getting into the business as well.

The Bentley residence

Notably, the British automaker Bentley is working on a luxury condo building in Florida. There, every residence will come with a three- or four-car sky garage, with a high-speed lift that will catapult your vehicles to their parking spots. And the fashion brand Diesel is building a 159-unit tower in Miami, where the interiors will give off haute couture meets well-worn denim.

For those branded residences with a hotel name, buyers pay an average 30 percent premium for perks like in-room dining, butler service and housekeeping. In just one example of such a property, the Four Seasons is developing a private residence resort near Austin, Texas. The 179 homes and nine villas will be accompanied by 53 private pools, a lake club with more than three dozen boat slips and 100,000 square feet of indoor amenities.

Story continues

A Four Seasons residence in LA

Some hotel groups are even offering up their residences fully furnished: Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open a property on Manhattans Fifth Avenue later this year where inhabitants wont even have to buy their own furniture. (That will be the companys third standalone residence, following one in Beverley Hills and one in Barcelona.)

There is a certain allure to living like youre in a hotelwithout actually having to live in a hotel. Very Eloise of the 21st century, if you ask us.

Best of Robb Report

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
The new route, will travel from New Yorks JFK Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

JetBlue is heading to Paris in June, and tickets are now available to book.

Launching June 29, and starting at less than $500 roundtrip, the trip will be offered once per day each way, Joanna Geraghty, JetBlues president and chief operating officer, confirmed to Travel + Leisure. The new route, which the airline first announced late last year, will travel from New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport with plans to launch flights from Boston later this year.

It's part of our long term transatlantic strategy... with the routes that are most frequently requested by customers, Geraghty told T+L. When we go into Europe, I think oftentimes the notion of a low cost carrier is viewed differently through a European lens we're very much not that. It's a low fare and a great experience.

Fares will start at just $479 roundtrip for core and at $1,899 for Mint from the U.S.

The flights will operate on JetBlues Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft and include 24 Mint suites, including two larger Mint Studio suites, and 114 core seats (the airlines version of economy). The flying experience will be similar to JetBlues other transatlantic service to London, which the carrier launched in August 2021 and later expanded, and will feature a partnership with fast-casual restaurant Dig for a build-your-own meal concept in core.

The aircraft will also feature several of JetBlues signature amenities like unlimited free high-speed Wi-Fi and live TV channels along with extra-large overhead bins. Geraghty said the onboard experience will also be complete with some French flare, including a selection of French films to watch.

Our view... is you don't have to compromise great service for low fares, you can do them both, Geraghty said. We want to continue to do that in Paris.

Flights from New York to Paris will take off at 5:09 p.m., while flights from Paris back to New York will take off at 8:55 a.m. each day.



Story continues

Beyond these flights, JetBlue has its sights set on expansion further into Europe, starting with Amsterdam.

We'd love to explore other cities, Geraghty said. Amsterdam has been very high on the list.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Love Islands winter edition is in full swing, with recouplings and bombshells aplenty.

For the current series, the show has relocated from its usual summer location of Mallorca, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa.

The winter edition, which began in January, is expected to run for a similar length of time to the regular version  roughly eight weeks.

This would mean that the finale will air sometime in March.

As usual, viewers are invited to vote during the course of the series, with the most popular contestants ultimately landing the chance to win 50,000 in prize money.

How do I vote?

In order to vote on Love Island, you need to download the free Love Island app.

The app is available for iOS (version 9+ or later) and Android (version 4.4x or later). It is the only way to vote.

This series marks the debut of Maya Jama as series host, after previous presenter Laura Whitmore stepped down from the role.

The 28-year-old TV and radio star is Love Islands third host after Caroline Flack, who died in 2020, and Whitmore.
The Egyptian government is reportedly mulling selling a 10% stake in its state-owned operator Telecom Egypt, Reuters reported.

The sale would be the first to buyers that are not from Gulf sovereign wealth funds and is part of a wider strategy launched in April by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to attract US$10 billion in private investment over the next four years into state-owned assets.

Currently, the government owns 80% of Telecom Egypt shares and the sale will be handled by local banks CI Capital and Ahly Pharos, according to the sources, who also added foreign appetite seems low.

At the current price, shares, a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt is worth around EGP4.5 billion ($147 million). The share sale comes at a time of difficulty for the Egyptian government as it suffers from a shortage of foreign reserves since the Ukrainian invasion, pushing investors to pull US$20 billion out of Egyptian treasuries.

Egypt seems to be a hotbed for investment as the Qatari Investment Authority was reportedly considering acquiring shares in Vodafone Egypt.

Telecom Egypt recently acquired spectrum for US$125 million to support increasing traffic.
A squirrel was revived with CPR after it was injured from crawling along a power line that exploded in Bangkok, Thailand, on 24 February.

The rodent was badly burned and passed out.

Footage shows a local resident applying pressure on the animals chest to massage its body.

Moments later the squirrel is seen wriggling around.

We were hopeful that it would survive. We were so glad when it did. Every life is important, onlooker Aunyada Thanimwas said.

Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Siobhan Wescott

Siobhan Wescott keeps a small framed photo in her office that reminds her of home  and of just how far shes come. Its a picture of a wide dirt road in a forest near the tiny cabin outside Fairbanks, Alaska, where she grew up. Along the horizon, the road meets a billow of clouds, then fades to a white nothingness. As kids, Siobhan and her brother would sometimes walk that road to catch a ride to school, clambering over snow drifts to get there.

Courtesy of the University of Nebraska Medical School

Siobhan, now 55, is an Alaska Native of the Athabascan tribe. She holds both an M.D. and M.P.H., and serves as the director of American Indian Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center, and is one of the few Native people in the U.S. to hold an endowed professorship. The Athabascans are a group that is inherently nomadic, says Siobhan, which might account for the many addresses she's had over the years. But even nomads find a way to have a home base. Alaska always seemed like home.

Today, Fairbanks is the second largest city by population in Alaska, a hub for regional transportation, military operations and a thriving tourism industry. But Siobhans ancestors survived their harsh homeland by following the migration of animals. They lived in small bands with simple camps that could be broken down and carried to the next hunting site, she says.



Similarly, Siobhans path to health and policy and teaching wasnt a straight line. She and her mother, Betty Parent, are living proof that you don't have to be static to stay in touch with your roots. In fact, your origins can motivate everything you chase in life. What Siobhan has long been chasing is better health for families like hers, and families in other Native communities around the country. I made my way to medicine because of the impact that illness, and bad policy, had on my family, she says, her dentalium-shell hair tiesa gift from her mothercatching the silvery threads in her hair. "But, to tell my story," she says, "I need to start with my mothers story.

Story continues

Siobhan Wescott

No Dogs, No Natives: A Brutal History

Betty, Siobhan's mother, doesnt try to downplay the struggle that lives behind her own incandescent smile. I had a very hard early life. For my generation in the territory in Alaskait was very rough, she says. But before she went on to Harvard and Stanford, became chair of the American Indian Studies department at San Francisco State, hosted a PBS show, and was inducted into the Alaska Womens Hall of Fame, Betty was born in 1941 in Bethel, Alaska, and lived in Crooked Creek, a remote village with a population of 55. There, at age 4, she lost her entire family.

The early 20th century was a time in Alaska when Natives were treated similarly to Black Americans under Jim Crow. But instead of designating "white" and "colored," it was common for stores and restaurants to have signs in their windows saying, No Dogs, No Natives. And despite having the largest share of the Native American population, at 22%, Alaska Native people had virtually no representation in the territorial government, and Alaska didnt become a state until 1959. Alaska Native children living in rural communities had to go away to boarding school if they wanted education higher than the eighth grade.

And then there was the sickness. Russian explorers and missionaries brought tuberculosis with them, and even after treatment became available, TB continued to hit Alaska Natives hard. Between 1948 and 1951 in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, TB ravaged Native children: Seventy-five percent of kids under age 8 tested positive for TB and the disease was the number one cause of death in Southwest Alaska in the 1930s through the early 1950s.

TB hit Bettys family hard. They had already suffered one tragedy when her father drowned in an accident when Betty was 3 years old. Later, her mother contracted TB. At some point, she went to an Alaska Native hospital to have a baby, which she left at the hospital after signing away her parental rights. That child was then adopted out to a white family. And it was perfectly legal: The practice at the time dictated that Alaska Native children who became orphaned had to be adopted out to non-Native families, even in cases where there were Native relatives who could have cared for them. This appalling practice happened nationwide, with 35% or more Native children being removed from their families and put in non-Native foster and adoptive homes. In fact, this practice wouldnt change until 1978, with the passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Bettys younger sister, Irene, also contracted TB and eventually died in a hospital in Washington. Beginning at age 4, Betty lived with an aunt. I had to be hidden, she says. Otherwise, her aunt feared her mother would come for her or that the government would take her. White families would shop for Native babies to adopt at the public health hospital, Betty says. By her sophomore year of high school, Betty was attending a Catholic boarding school in Seattle. She went on to get a degree from the University of Alaska, a masters degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, the first Alaskan Native woman to do so.

Bad Policy = Bad Outcomes

Siobhans own nomadic journey also started when she was 4 years old. Thats when Betty moved them to Cambridge, after she and Siobhans father separated. Unfortunately, Siobhan was bullied by some of the other kids at Harvards preschool when she told them she was Indian. They thought it was a game, cowboys and Indians, she says.

It was traumatic, but it also steeled Siobhan for her own journey. That included getting a degree in government from Dartmouth College, a masters in public health from the University of California, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, where she was the oldest graduate in her class at the age of 40. Each additional degree gave her one more tool to effect change in her community.

Siobhan Wescott

I wanted to change things so that no family would have to go through what my family went through in the 1940s, Siobhan says. Because if you dont have good medical treatment, and you have policies that tear families apart, you get bad outcomes for a population.

Unfortunately, the TB rate is still seven times higher for Native people than white people. Native people also face greater health inequities than any other population in the U.S.and they die younger. In fact, 25% of American Indian/Alaska Native deaths occur before age 45, compared with 7% of whites and 15% of African Americans.

These disparities are common in indigenous populations all over the world, says Donald Warne, M.D., M.P.H., a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and co-director of the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. When policies are written with majority population in mind, we dont always have access to needed health services for minority populations or marginalized populations, and we certainly dont have adequate, culturally appropriate healthcare, Dr. Warne says.

Improving healthcare access and recruiting more Native physicians are two of Siobhan's focuses today, especially since Native doctors still make up less than 1% of U.S. physicians. Her position as the Dr. Susan and Susette La Flesche Professor of American Indian Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is named for two sisters from the Omaha tribe, Susan and Susette La Flesche. Dr. Susan La Flesche was the first Native American physician, graduating from medical school in 1889 and running her own practice in Nebraska. Before coming to UNMC, Siobhan also served as assistant director of the Indians Into Medicine (INMED) program at the University of North Dakota.

As part of her role at UNMC, Siobhan leads a project called NE  HEALING, which stands for Nebraska  Health, Education, Advocacy and Leadership across Indigenous and Native Generations. That involves understanding and serving the Native community in Nebraska, and across the country. One of the first steps in healing is understanding the role identity and labels have played in native communities.

Even the Simplest Thing Isnt Simple

Racial identity is complicated. Even the simplest thing isnt simple, Siobhan says. Take her own background. Her great-grandfather was an indigenous Norwegian Sami, or Laplander, and his family lived off the land. In the late 1800s, he ran away from home at age 14, stowing away on a ship carrying reindeer from Norway to Alaska. His race was 'white,' but that didnt capture the story of his heritage, Siobhan says. In addition to being an Alaska Native, she is also Norwegian, Irish, English, Swiss and French.

That rich, multi-ethnic, multiracial identity is more common than not. The number of Americans who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, jumping from 5.2 million in 2010 to 9.7 million in 2020. This is, in part, due to better-designed race and ethnicity census questions and improved community outreach and engagement regarding the importance of Census participation, according to Dr. Warne.

What hasnt improved, however, is our terminology for indigenous people in the U.S., which is another one of the issues Siobhan is trying to tackle. I put together an indigenous-led research team to study terms people have used, and we discovered that the vast majority of the terms for Native people have been imposed by others, not chosen by the communities themselves, she says.



That imposition on Native communities is at the root of so much bad policy, because when others define who you are, they also tend to decide whats best for you, Dr. Warne explains. This is one reason why the center at Johns Hopkins changed its name from the Center for American Indian Health to the Center for Indigenous Health; names hold stories about who people are and what has happened to them. For example, Navajo Nation is the legal name, but Navajo is a Spanish word imposed on them and American Indianwhich is the federal governments racial designation for native peopleis based on Christopher Columbuss 500-year-old mistake, believing that he was in India.

Siobhan would like to see leaders of Native communities guide the conversation about updating and improving the terms governments and institutions use. The general public may understand the term American Indian, but its neither a chosen nor an accurate one.

Generational Healing

Theres a reason the overall name of her project is called HEALING. As a physician, shes a healer. But as someone with a strong public health background, Siobhan knows healing also depends on building trust. Thats one of the things shes trying to do among the Native communities in Nebraska. Inspired by the AIDS quilt, Siobhan is in the early stages of working with the different tribes there to create a quilt memorializing indigenous lives lost from COVID-19. (AI/AN people were 2.5 times more likely than white, non-Hispanic persons to be hospitalized for COVID-19higher than any other population, according to the C.D.C.).

As Im working with the Nebraska tribes to get the COVID quilt underway, Im also asking them: What are your urgent health needs? Siobhan says. Thats how healing starts: by asking questions and by listening, and by practicing collective decision making, which involves making sure all groups have a seat at the table so they can ask for what they need and be part of devising solutions.

For her part, Betty is unbelievably proud of her daughters work, and sees Siobhans story as an updated version of her own. Hers is a different generation because her parents were faculty members, whereas mine didnt finish high school, Betty says. Siobhan also has the benefit of practical tools to help her move through the generational trauma she inherited. Going through medical and public health training helped me frame feelings I had brought about by the trauma and keep it from controlling my life.

When the stress of life gets to be too much, Wescott pulls out whatever beadwork project shes working on. Beads are the pixels of Natives, she says. It soothes her mind. Perhaps her nomadic heritage is one reason Siobhan hasnt ever worried too much about getting lost or stuck. That nomadic pull still calls to me, she says. Its a fundamental part of me, a gift from my ancestors.

You Might Also Like
Krysta Chapman

When you ask Charleston residents about their favorite places to eat, Pages Okra Grill comes up often. Although technically in the nearby suburb of Mount Pleasant, Pages has cemented itself as a standout restaurant in a city full of destination-worthy dining. Once you visit, its easy to see why. The restaurant combines down-home charm with an irresistible menu of elevated but familiar Southern staples.

Many of the dishes were created by co-owner and chef Ashleigh Sbrochi, who dreamed up the menu with the help of her father, Tony Page. She also consulted the hundreds of cookbooks she has read over the years, including her copy of Charleston Receipts, before opening her spot in 2006.

Almost immediately, locals began buzzing about the food. Weve been super lucky to have this community, says Chase Page, part of Pages founding family. We have people still eating with us today who were here when we started over 15 years ago.

When the weather is balmy, Pages expansive covered patio is the hottest spot in town. If youre just visiting and have time for only one meal, weekend brunch is the way to go. It typically includes live music, so youll have something to tap your toes to. We suggest starting with Pages Sampler Platter (fried spring rolls filled with barbecue and pimiento cheese, fried green tomatoes with roasted red pepper-and-peach jam, and a shrimp bacon-chipotle cheese dip). Follow that with Pages Famous Chicken & Waffle (loaded with Cheddar cheese, sage sausage, roasted corn, and jalapenos) or Ashleighs Shrimp & Grits (the grits take shape as fried Cheddar cheese cakes and come topped in a smoked andouille sausage cream sauce).

As Pages Okra Grill expands its fan base, the restaurant is finding even more opportunities to feed the community. After a two-year stint with a food truck in Summerville, they plan to open a brick-and-mortar location there this year. And if their Mount Pleasant outpost is any indication, there will be a whole new batch of regulars to keep the business thriving for many years to come.

Story continues

pagesokragrill.com, 843-881-3333, 302 Coleman Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.
Waves of crime in Portland, Ore., have prompted some retailers to wind down their businesses there.

Walmart confirmed to FN this week that it will close the last two of its stores in Portland by March 24. The news comes months after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told CNBC that its stores are grappling with an increase in organized retail crime.

More from Footwear News

Theft is an issue. Its higher than what it has historically been, McMillon told CNBC.

Walmarts U.S. communications director said these stores, located at Hayden Meadows and East Port Plaza, were underperforming and did not confirm if the closures were a result of increased retail crime in the city. In recent weeks, Portland police have increased efforts to crack down on organized retail theft via specifically targeted operations in areas of high theft, KGW8 reported. On Sunday, Portland police conducted a retail theft blitz mission in northeast Portland to help curb shoplifting at businesses in the area, KPTV reported.

A Nike Community Store in Northeast Portland was also reportedly impacted by waves of crime in the region, which likely prompted the closure of the store for weeks, between October and November, KGW8 reported. FN has reached out to Nike for a comment regarding the status of this store. (Its website currently leads to a dead end.)

Nike asked Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler last month to station off-duty police officers as a security measure for the store, The Oregonian reported. Wheeler declined, though outlined a plan to introduce increased safety measures in the area and asked Nike and other retailers to step up their own security measures.

Outside of Portland, retail theft is plaguing other industry players. The National Retail Federations 2022 National Retail Security Survey found that retail shrink  or when stores have fewer products than recorded in inventory books  when taken as a percentage of total retail sales in 2021, accounted for $94.5 billion in losses in 2021.

Story continues

Target CEO Brian Cornell said in November that the company has seen a significant increase in theft and organized retail crime across its business and has invested in new training and technology to combat the problem, which is typically driven by organized crime rings that sell stolen goods online.

At the time, Target said retail shrink had reduced the companys gross margin by $400 million and could grow to a $600 million impact by the end of the year.

This is a nationwide problem that we need to address nationwide with other retailers, said Target COO John Mulligan. There is a role for us to work as a retail group with law enforcement and with the government to help find solutions.

Rite Aid in September also noted a $5 million headwind from shrink, mainly in its New York urban stores. Retail crime has also been especially problematic in California. In October, Cotopaxi closed its San Francisco store after a stream of smash-and-grab thefts hit the store.

To combat the issue on a national level, the U.S. House of Representatives in November passed the Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces (INFORM) Consumers Act, which works to help inform consumers about this illicit activity and helps law enforcement target criminals who sell high volumes of stolen merchandise on e-commerce marketplaces.

We have to come together with retailers, legislators and police and band together to combat this growing epidemic that we have on our hands, Millie Kresevich, senior director of asset protection for luxury eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica, said during a session during the National Retail Federations Big Show in January. Retailers are spending a lot of money to secure stores, from security guards, to different technologies that were using. But its not enough. We have to be able to combat this from many different angles, and its going to take a coalition being built to be able to combat it through legislation, policing and retailers.

Best of Footwear News

Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast

Americans are about to dabble in a split-screen presidential primary for the first timeand no one knows exactly how it will all work out.

It might not be as much of a nightmare to follow as the 2020 Iowa caucuses, but American presidential elections are about to undergo either a one-off oddity, or the biggest reorganization to the presidential primary calendar since 1968.

The dramatic changes stem from the Democratic National Committees decision to shake up the order of the primaries. But, according to Derek Muller, a leading election law professor at University of Iowa College of Law, the changes hinge on two key factors.

The first is whether President Joe Biden runs unopposed in 2024. That possibility is looking increasingly likelymeaning the order of the Democratic primaries wouldnt actually matter that much this cycle. The DNCs calendar is only on the books for 2024, with the party set to re-examine its primary process for 2028 and onwards.

New Hampshire Dems Promise a Fight for First Primary Spot

And if this 2024 calendarwhatever it shakes out to beis just a one-off, then the process could very well turn into a quadrennial bidding war among states. That would be the second key factor that Muller said would lead to the most transformative shakeup since 1968.

A constantly shifting calendar would present some challenges for Democrats. Say what you will about the current system where Iowa and New Hampshire always get to go first, but Democratic candidates and consultants know how to run that sort of race.

Im a big fan of people working in environments that they actually know and understand, one Democratic strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to candidly discuss how the consultant class is navigating the new split calendar.

This strategist said a constantly changing calendar might actually disadvantage New Hampshire more than one where the Granite State goes a little later in the year. And it would hurt much of the consultant class that knew the state inside and out.

Story continues

The time between 2024 and 2028 will be when strategists and their firms make any long-term shifts, with the gap being a lifetime for consultant politics, this strategist continued.

Then theres the issue of so-called rogue primaries and any punishment the parties may dole out. For Democrats, its New Hampshire causing most of the problems, while the Republicans may have their hand forced by Michigans newly minted Democratic majority in both chambers of the state legislature. The Michigan Senate already moved up the primary date to comply with the DNC.

Unless Republican Gov. Chris Sununuhimself a likely GOP presidential candidate in 2024and the Republican majorities in the New Hampshire statehouse suddenly change their minds and give the DNC what it wants, the Granite State wont be able to comply.

"Were waiting to hear what kind of penalties there will be, but the reality is, there is nothing we can do to prevent them," New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Raymond Buckley told The Daily Beast. "Our only concern is that the penalties should not punish our 2024 candidates. NHs governor and state Republican majority leaders have already expressed their unwillingness to change our state law, and the Secretary of State has made clear that hes going to follow the state law and make our primary first."

Unlike most other states, New Hampshires secretary of state oversees the presidential primary elections, and state law has enshrined the right to hold a primary before anybody else into the state constitution.

DNC Moves First Presidential Primary from Iowa to South Carolina

So what happens when Republicans hold their primary before the Democrats kick off their race in South Carolina in February 2024? As long as a candidate pays the $1,500 filing fee, they can make it onto the ballot for the first and true New Hampshire primary under the Democratic column.

Former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has already said an upcoming return to the Granite State would give her a more informed decision over her political future. Democratic operatives have voiced concerns that a candidate like her could camp out in New Hampshire and draw attention in an unsanctioned rogue primary.

As far as possible punishments from the DNC go, nothing has been specified yet beyond anxieties, previously reported by The Daily Beast, of Delaware usurping New Hampshire on the calendar. That move looks increasingly unlikely now that the committee has ratified the calendar order and states have been given an extension until June to comply.

How do they wanna penalize New Hampshire, which has a law in the books saying they have to go first, and just essentially flatly ignoring what Democrats do? Muller said. Are they gonna really hold fast to a penalty when they get to the convention in 2024?

A source familiar with the back-and-forth said the DNC has yet to name sanctions for the NHDP, leaving the state party guessing.

Muller cited the only remotely recent precedent, from 2008, when the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaigns split on Florida and Michigan having unsanctioned primaries. Initially, the DNC threatened to dock 50 percent of the delegates from both states if they didnt comply. But by the time it was clear Obama would win the nomination, he ended up getting all of the delegates anyway.

Its a harsh penalty, but its not consequential if its not gonna be a close election, Muller said of a possible delegate knock to New Hampshire, which Granite State Democrats have said theyre prepared for. Then again, its consequential for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

Representatives for the DNC did not return a request for comment.

Looking beyond the relatively minute delegate math, a perpetual bidding process for the DNCs calendar could have ripple effects in the staffing of campaigns for years to come.

The other thing that's really gonna shift is the color, for lack of a better term, of who your early consultants are, the Democratic strategist said. Because if you are going to pick a lot of Iowa and New Hampshire people, it does mean that you have mostly white staffers who pick up the early wins, and then that helps them shoot up the ranks within a campaign structure or within a party infrastructure. So I think it will also lend itself to more diversity within.

For scholars like Muller, the shifting landscape provides almost too much material to delve into.

I mean, there's all kinds of questions that happen. Now maybe we in Iowa, we are left out in the cold altogether, he said. But when you add these other changes, yeah, definitely one of the bigger shakeups.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
When Jonathan Finn was in high school in the 1970s, he knew he was gay.

"It was paralyzing because there was nobody to talk to about it and it was uncomfortable to even think about telling anybody," said Finn, a member of Sandwich For All, an inclusive, nonpartisan group dedicated to making Sandwich welcoming and supportive.

Once Finn arrived for college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he found an open environment and supportive LGBTQ+ organizations.

"All of a sudden, it was like there were other people that I could have conversations with and I wasn't on my own," he said.

Equity and inclusion consultant Tracy Morin will led a program on inclusion and LGBTQIA+ identity at 7 p.m. on March 9 at the Sandwich Public Library.

Finn, a freelance copywriter and Sandwich resident, said Sandwich for All hopes to offer that same feeling of comfortability and inclusion to people on Cape Cod, with a program entitled "LGBTQIA+ Allyship, Our Youth, and Our Town." LGBTQIA+ stands for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and others.

The program, which will be led by Tracy Morin  an identity-conscious leader, scholar and practitioner  will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Sandwich Public Library,

Concepts of gender and sexuality, mental health, and concerns for marginalized youth

Morin, who has been living in Sandwich since 2016, will cover a spectrum of topics including concepts of gender and sexuality and how those concepts evolve over time.

"It's important to keep a dialogue going so we are all using language that has some understanding, inclusiveness and an affirmation of different identities," she said.

Morin, who is a doctoral candidate in the Higher Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, will also speak on trends surrounding the mental health of youth who identify as LGBTQIA+.

More:'Most open, most caring and kind town': Century of LGBTQ+ history in Provincetown revealed in new exhibit

A study published by The Trevor Project in 2022 reported that LGBTQ youth aren't inherently prone to death by suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Instead, they are at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society. For LGBTQ youth in Massachusetts, 41% considered death by suicide, and 11% attempted death by suicide in the past year. What's more, according to the study, 53% of LGBTQ youth in Massachusetts who wanted mental health care in the past year weren't able to access it.

Story continues

There is a concern for youth within the Sandwich school system, who may be subject to discrimination and bullying based on homophobia, Morin said.

"We need to talk about mental health data, and depression, and suicide risk for LGBTQIA youth," Morin said. "That's the really heavy part  talking about statistics that are troubling."

More:A future in which LGBTQ members don't feel obligated to explain or qualify their sexuality will require sweeping societa

Morin said she will also discuss ways to make Sandwich safer and a more inclusive place.

"From my vantage point, marginalized groups sometimes get pushed aside because Sandwich is such a predominantly white, middle-class community, she said. "If we want to be inclusive, affirming and welcoming, we need to embrace the lived experiences of everyone that resides in Sandwich."

Critical conversations about LGBTQIA+ issues can bring about change

For Finn, Morin's programming can help people have difficult conversations in a safe space.

"Inclusion topics usually get swept under the rug because people find them uncomfortable," he said. "That's the first step towards acknowledging differences among us."

More:Sandwich school officials accused of ignoring, being blind to racism and racist acts

Morin hopes to also take conversations a step further, and engage with town leadership and local school systems to prioritize LGBTQIA+ inclusion. That process is about continuing the dialogue and offering people an opportunity to learn and understand what the experiences of marginalized groups are, she said.

"This is a chance to begin to understand how identity, justice and equity can inform the world around us and how we interact with and relate to others," she said.

Contact Rachael Devaney at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

Stay connected with Cape Cod news, sports, restaurants and breaking news. Download our free app.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: How to make Sandwich safe: LGBTQIA identity, inclusion talk on March 9
The honeycomb pattern in a salt desert landscape.

The honeycomb pattern in a salt desert landscape.

The mesmerizing honeycomb patterns found in salt deserts such as Badwater Basin in California's Death Valley and Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia have perplexed tourists and inspired sci-fi movie-makers for decades. Scientists, too, have struggled to elucidate the mechanism behind the iconic shapes.

Now, physicists think they've finally solved this natural puzzle.

"The fantastic landscape demands an explanation," Lucas Goehring , an associate professor of physics at Nottingham Trent University in England, said in a statement . "What we've shown is that a simple, plausible explanation is there, but hidden beneath the ground."

The answer lies in the groundwater beneath the salt crust, according to a study published Feb. 24 in the journal Physical Review X . In the study, researchers describe how layers of salty and less salty water circulate up and down in donut-shaped currents, which are squeezed together horizontally to form the regular pattern.

Previously, scientists suggested that the cracks and ridges form as the salt crust expands and dries out, bending and fragmenting under the strain.

Now, the researchers note that previous attempts to understand the iconic landscape didn't account for the uniform size of the hexagons, which are always 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) across, wherever in the world they are found.

Related: What's the largest desert in the world?

The new study confirms the widely accepted idea that the geometric patterns are formed by a mechanism rooted in basic thermodynamics , similar to the movement of hot and cold water in a radiator or in a pot of boiling water. "The surface patterns reflect the slow overturning of salty water within the soil, a phenomenon somewhat like the convection cells that form in a thin layer of simmering water," Goehring said.

Salt deserts aren't as bone-dry as they seem. Beneath the salt crust sits a layer of extremely salty water, which can be reached by digging with your hands. The water evaporates in the hot summer months, leaving only a blanket of salt, some of which dissolves into the next layer of water. This layer is then more dense than the one below it, and the salty water sinks in a ring that surrounds fresher, less dense water rising to replace it. The water evaporates and leaves a salt residue, which dissolves into the top water layer again. The cycle repeats itself to form what scientists call a convection roll.

Story continues

Research on salt deserts has focused either on these subsurface currents or on the crust. The new study argues that the two features interact and mirror each other to form the tessellations. Where the dense, salty surface water sinks, salt accumulates on the crust to form ridges. The salt crust grows more rapidly around the edges of each hexagon because it is in contact with saltier water than the middle.

Normally, a convection roll would adopt a circular donut shape. Because there are so many of them packed closely together on a salt flat, however, the rolls are squeezed against each other to form hexagons, the researchers said.

RELATED STORIES

Utah's Great Salt Lake is on the verge of collapse, and could expose millions to arsenic laced dust

Strange ice formations may have tricked physicists into seeing mysterious particles that weren't there

25 strangest sights on Google Earth

The authors present a convincing explanation for the striking pattern, Stuart King , a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland who did not participate in the study, told Live Science in an email. "It is well known that hexagonal patterns arise from convection and evaporation processes, [but] this paper connects that with the penetrative convection of the porous layer underneath, which seems very plausible as a wider mechanism driving the whole salt formation."
American Cruise Lines will launch its all-new American Serenade ship in April  here's how to get on board.

Courtesy of American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines is kicking off its biggest season yet on the Mississippi River with itineraries on its all-new American Serenade ship.

The sixth ship in the companys American Riverboat series will set sail on April 20, 2023, on its inaugural journey down the Mississippi River. On the eight-day trip, American Serenade will be joined by sibling ships American Melody and American Symphony, along with two of the companys classic paddlewheelers, American Heritage and American Splendor.

Like American Symphony, the 180-passenger American Serenade introduces an updated modern interior design, integrating an elegant and refined aesthetic with our tradition for the spacious comfort found aboard all of our ships, the company says of the new ship on its website. Drawing inspiration from the geography across America, the new interior design highlights natural textural elements and serene color palettes. Rooms range in size from 250 to 650 square feet, and all include full-size baths, closets, and private balconies. Beyond the rooms, the new ship also allows guests to drink in the views from every angle in its four-story glass atrium, located in the middle of the ship.

After the christening cruise, the ship will continue on the companys eight-day Tennessee rivers itinerary, which travels between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, including stops in Decatur, Alabama; Florence, Alabama; Savannah, Tennessee; and Paducah, Tennessee.

Additionally, American Cruise Lines is adding a host of new shore excursions to the Tennessee River and Mississippi River sailings, including the Mark Twain Cave Exploration & Wine Tasting, the Natchez Trails to Tamales Experience, and even offering one-of-a-kind VIP access to a taping of Antiques Roadshow for those who time their trip right.

Not a long enough trip for you? American Cruise Lines will continue to offer the longest river cruise itinerary in the U.S., its 22-day Complete Mississippi River trip, which traverses 10 states as it travels almost the entire length of the river. Dates for that itinerary kick off in June and August aboard the American Serenade in August 2023.

Story continues

Those ready to set sail can see all the itineraries and available dates at americancruiselines.com.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Mesa, Arizona, was designated America's first Autism Certified City. Here's what that means for visitors.

Courtesy of Visit Mesa Hiking in the Superstition Mountains, just outside of Mesa.

Mesa, Arizona, a city of over 500,000 residents located next to Phoenix, wants to make it clear its a place that welcomes everyone.

In 2019, the destination, an honoree in Travel + Leisure's 2023 Global Vision Awards Accessibility category, became the nations first-ever Autism Certified City, a designation bestowed by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). And it got there thanks to the personal dedication of Marc Garcia, president and CEO of Visit Mesa.

As Garcia shared in a news release in 2019, the idea was sparked after his six-year-old sons autism diagnosis and a few less-than-desirable personal travel experiences he wanted to rectify for himself and others. The idea of earning the unique certification quickly gained traction with local leaders, including Mayor John Giles, who noted at the time, "We commend Marc Garcia and the staff at Visit Mesa for their vision."

Over the course of a year, Visit Mesa encouraged and worked with local businesses to partake in autism training programs so they could better assist all traveler needs. In total, more than 500 Mesa Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities employees completed the training, along with nearly 4,000 community members representing 60 businesses and organizations. Visit Mesa explained on its website, "Certification illustrates to those families affected by ASD that they can trust Mesa as a dedicated tourism destination serving individuals with autism. Certification is achieved when at least 80 percent of guest-facing staff is trained and certified in the field of autism."

This list of certified spots includes several hotels, including Delta Hotels by Marriott, Sheraton Mesa Hotel at Wrigleyville West, and Hyatt Place Phoenix/Mesa.

To help visitors make the most of their stay, Visit Mesa put together an in-depth website, which includes sensory guides, a list of Certified Autism Centers, dining options, attractions, and more, as well as a free digital passport so visitors can check off every destination theyve seen. That digital passport also comes in handy as guests will receive a little prize after checking into five locations on the list.

Story continues

Courtesy of Visit Mesa The Arizona Museum of Natural History is one of the autism-certified attractions in the city of Mesa.

"Visit Mesa is helping inspire and encourage other destinations and organizations to take on this journey, and we will always advocate for the benefits of an inclusion-first approach to visitor marketing," Michelle Streeter, chief marketing and communications officer for Visit Mesa, shared with T+L. "This experience has had such positive impacts on the health of our entire community, a city that fully embraced the process of certification and continues to dedicate time and resources to this movement."

Learn more about the destination and all the certified businesses you can visit at VisitMesa.com.



The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving, they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What's more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Studying abroad changed this teacher's life, and now he's paying it forward.

Courtesy of Lamar Shambley Lamar Shambley and his nonprofit, Teens of Color Abroad, works to address racial gaps in foreign-language learning and study-abroad participation.

Lamar Shambley began to get serious about studying Spanish when he was 13 years old. As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, hed had his share of Spanish classes. "But it wasnt really being able to speak the language," he says. "It was all farm animals and colors and numbers."

He would practice his fledgling grammar in chat rooms with native speakers from around the globe, but his dreams stretched further. "I just thought it would be really cool to travel to those places," he says. The actuality of doing that, however, seemed impossibly distant.

A few years later, as a student at Virginias William & Mary, he was accepted to a public health program in the Dominican Republic. There was just one problem. "I told my professor, 'I dont have a passport  no one in my family has every traveled outside of the country.'" The professor said he would take care of it. And so, Shambley joined the mission. "I got to do translation work, ethnographic work, and actually use the language, whereas in school I sat behind a desk and conjugated verbs."

The experience resonated with him. A few years later, now working as a Spanish teacher in Brooklyn at a charter school called Brooklyn Ascend, he wanted to give students "that looked like him" the opportunity to become, as he puts it, a "global citizen."

With funding from a variety of institutions  from Ascend to the Pincus Family Foundation  Shambley, an honoree in Travel + Leisure's 2023 Global Visions Awards, founded Teens of Color Abroad. The acronym, TOCA, is by design. "I thought of the Spanish word tocar, which means to touch," he says. "And thinking of TOCA as a cultural touch, knowing our students would learn about these new places and this language, and that they would also share their language and culture."

Courtesy of Lamar Shambley Lamar Shambley (far right) in Seville, Spain, with a Teens of Color Abroad group.

Last summer, Shambley led a group of 12 students on a two-week language program in Seville. "Some of my students hadnt been on an airplane before, and some havent been to Manhattan," he says. "It was an eye-opening experience for them." His students, he says, were suddenly looking at the world in all kinds of new ways. "We had a flamenco dance class, and the boys werent really into it," he says. In Spain, he took them to see a flamenco performance. "One kid said, 'Mr. Shambley, that really moved me. The guy was really powerful,'" he adds.

Story continues

For this years program, hes adding new components, including a storytelling project (in the form of a podcast), so students can translate their experiences to others. While it began simply to spread Shambleys love of language, learning, and travel, he wants TOCA to help prepare students for life. He says, "We want to give students the skills they need for college, and hopefully inspire them to look for opportunities at college  and beyond."

The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving, they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What's more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.



For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Its nickname is the "Quilt City."

Paducah CVB

Set halfway between St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, is the unassuming town of Paducah, Kentucky. It may not have the clout of other small Southern towns like Eureka Springs, Arkansas, or Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but Paducah has something very few cities can boast: Its a UNESCO Creative City, a designation it has held since 2013.

Paducah stands alongside other U.S. cities like Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Austin, Texas, as well as international destinations like Sydney, Australia, and Rome, Italy, on the coveted UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Cities can be recognized for their contributions to film, music, media arts, gastronomy, crafts, and folk art. Paducah was shoe-in for the latter category, thanks to its long-standing, quilt-making tradition.

Nicknamed the Quilt City, Paducah is home to The National Quilt Museum, the world's largest of its kind. It features 320 contemporary quilts that showcase various quilt-making methods and hosts workshops with world-renowned instructors.

In addition to being a top destination for quilters, Paducah is home to a thriving arts community, with ongoing live theater, performances by the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, and wall-to-wall murals throughout the city depicting pivotal moments in Paducahs history.

Heres what to know about this largely undiscovered arts community, including when to go, where to stay, and what to do.

Best Things to Do in Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is a true art community, with several theaters and art centers. A visit to the The National Quilt Museum is a must, especially because contemporary quilt maker Velda Newman will have her work displayed through mid-July. Newmans large-scale designs showcase subjects from nature, while the "Flora, Fauna, and Landscape" exhibit, which is on display through early May, features nature-inspired work by quilters from all over the world.

Meanwhile, near the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers are the citys renowned floodwall murals, a series of 50 life-sized masterpieces by Robert Dafford that showcase Paducah's rich history. With a self-guided tour of the murals, travelers can learn about the destination's past, which includes a founding by William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame and a key role in the Civil War.

Story continues

No trip to Paducah is complete without a visit to the offbeat Maiden Alley Cinema and a performance by the Paducah Symphony Orchestra.

Best Places to Stay in Paducah, Kentucky

Belle Louise Historic Guest House is set in an impressive Italianate mansion built in 1879. The well-loved bed-and-breakfast has five distinct rooms and is located in Paducahs artsy Lower Town district near The National Quilt Museum and riverfront.

Nearby, The 1857 Hotel has 10 rooms set in a historic building downtown with vaulted ceilings and exposed brick. The boutique property is adjacent to the historic Market House Theatre and The Carson Center for the Performing Arts.

Best Places to Eat and Drink in Paducah, Kentucky

One of the best places to grab a bite is The Coke Plant, an abandoned Coca-Cola bottling plant that was renovated into a mixed-use space that includes a coffee shop and craft brewery. The impressive art deco building is only eclipsed by the brews at Dry Ground Brewing Company inside. The beer is good, and theres a never-ending list of events, including their Geeks Who Drink trivia night.

Dont miss a meal at the Freight House, a unique Kentucky-style restaurant located in a historic railroad depot, or the shrimp tacos at Flamingo Row, a Caribbean eatery with lively tropical decor. Meanwhile, the family-owned and operated Purple Toad Winery is a must-visit for wine lovers.

Best Time to Visit Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is a four-season destination, but its hard to beat the temperate climate found in spring and fall.

Quilters won't want to miss the American Quilters Society QuiltWeek, which takes place from April 27 to 30. The Lower Town Arts & Music Festival happens in May, while the Rivers Edge International Film Festival kicks off in November.



For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
These Global Vision Awards honorees are making travel experiences more equitable and inclusive.

Courtesy of Lamar Shambley Lamar Shambley (far right) in Seville, Spain, with a Teens of Color Abroad group.

The Travel + Leisure Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations that are taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving; they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What's more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.

Travel can be a tremendous force for positive change. Yet the biggest benefits (in every sense of the word) are too often limited to those with the most means and disposable income. The honorees in this category aim to change that by addressing key inequalities that persist throughout the industry. The first winner, Access Development Services, is determined to eradicate child labor in Jaipur while providing necessary business training and income for women in the city. The second, Lamar Shambley, has dedicated himself and his organization, Teens of Color Abroad, to creating language-learning opportunities for American BIPOC students, including study abroad trips that allow participants to put those skills into real practice. As these remarkable endeavors remind us, its in everyones best interest to make the industry more equitable and inclusive.  T+L Editors

Access Development Services

Vibrant crafts are sought-after souvenirs for those visiting India. Sadly, in many cases, those purchases run the risk of supporting child labor, which remains present across the country. In 2020, Access Development Services, an NGO, took ownership of the Child Labour Free Project (CLFP) in Jaipur, which is known for its rich textile heritage. By equipping women in the city with skills and business-development training, CLFP hopes to eradicate the need for children to take on the burden of earning money for their families.

Roughly 600 participants receive technical instruction on how to design and produce bags, embroidered textiles, lacquered bangles, and other items. The women can then work at the companys production center or at home, where families are monitored to ensure children arent being put to work. Participants, who are all shareholders in the company, are also provided with business education so that they can, in the long term, run these companies as independently and sustainably as possible.  Chadner Navarro

Courtesy of Lamar Shambley Lamar Shambley and his nonprofit, Teens of Color Abroad, works to address racial gaps in foreign-language learning and study-abroad participation.

Lamar Shambley, Teens of Color Abroad

As a Brooklyn-born Black student learning Spanish, Lamar Shambley always dreamed of traveling overseas. But when he spent a semester of college in 2009 studying the language in Seville, he had a disappointing realization: I didnt see many American students who looked like me.

That trip inspired him to become a high school Spanish teacher in New York City. I wanted to stand in front of kids who came from the same neighborhood and get them excited about learning languages, he says. In 2018, he created Teens of Color Abroad (TOCA), a nonprofit that works to address racial gaps in foreign-language learning and study-abroad participation. Since its launch, the program has sponsored first-time U.S. passports for 20 high- school-age students and provided more than $100,000 in scholarships.

Shambley didnt allow the pandemic to slow him down. In 2020, he partnered with NaTakallam, a company that hires refugees and displaced persons as tutors and translators, to create TOCA Online, a digital language-learning and cultural-exchange portal. It connects U.S. teens of color with refugees across the world and offers virtual activities from cooking classes to DJ showcases. Our students are going to make a profound impact on their communities and the world, Shambley says.  Tom Vanderbilt

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
LANSING  Federal agencies continue investigations into threatening letters received by Lansing area businesses in the mail.

The FBI's Detroit field office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service, are asking people to reach out to them after 517 Coffee Company and Dicker & Deal, both of Lansing, told the Lansing State Journal they received concerning mail. In recent weeks, Strange Matter Coffee and the Gathering Coffee companies received letters containing threatening messages.

517 Coffee Company owner James Defrees told the State Journal Friday he received a 10-page letter on Feb. 16 with "police" as the recipient on the envelope but with the shop's address. He said the letter seemed more "prophetic in nature rather than direct threats." The letter had swastikas, planes dropping bombs and other "ramblings" relating to WW III and former President Donald Trump.

"As far as content goes the letter claims to be from someone who is Russian. Lots of Bible references, number sequences, drawings like: swastikas, planes dropping bombs, etc., and references to WWIII and Jewish people/Jewish religion," Defrees wrote in an email. "In parts, the letter claims "they have Nazis" in the U.S., Russia will bomb US power plants, Don Trump is or will be back, Trump is starting a war, as well as mentioning other countries like Israel, Iran, France, and the UK."

What happened last week:Coffee shops in Lansing, Detroit closed due to anti-LGBTQ mail

The owner of the company on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard contacted the Lansing Police Department and gave the letter to an officer.

"I showed the letter to the officer, he called his superior and they determined they should take it 'just in case,' but didn't feel there was any threat to us."

An employee with Dicker & Deal Second Hand Store in Lansing who declined to provide their name and said the company's Cedar Street location received "two or three" letters within the past month and trashed them.

Story continues

The Lansing Police Department wrote on Facebook last week it's aware of the letters and there isn't a credible threat to the public. LPD's Public Information Officer Jordan Gulkis confirmed the FBI took over the investigation. She declined to elaborate on what led the department to conclude there is no credible threat from the letters, and referred additional questions to the FBI.

FBI Detroit Public Affairs Officer Special Agent Mara Schneider said last week is aware of the threats.

"The FBI takes threats to the public very seriously. We work closely with our local partners to assess and respond to threats and keep our community safe," she wrote." As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities that could represent a threat to public safety."

A message was left with Schneider Monday.

More:A mail theft epidemic? Stolen checks are only the beginning, researcher says.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, asked Monday for people to report related letters to inspectors immediately by calling 877-876-2455. They've cautioned people to keep the letters sealed for investigators.

"The Postal Inspection Service is coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as other state and local agencies, in our investigation of these suspicious letters and would like to assure the American public that these suspicious letters are being investigated and taken seriously," Postal Inspector Team Leader Andrew Brandsasse wrote in an email.

Mailing threats is punishable by up to five years in prison, Brandsasse added.

Defrees received the letter days after the mass shooting at Michigan State University. He said the letter triggered emotions of fear and uneasiness as his daughter was on campus that night, and he wondered about the mailer's mental state in comparison to the shooter.

Defrees shared images of his letter with the State Journal. He said in an email he took pictures of them before handing them over to police. The letter contained copy-pasted text of the origins of the 12-month calendar, bible verses, writings about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the writer proclaiming they know cargo planes (written as "plans") will kill Americans.

More:Man allegedly threatened to kill Nessel, other Jewish government officials in Michigan

The writer made several anti-Semitic claims, said movies and songs like Austin Powers, "Adoms" Family and others predicting mass death, included several math equations and maps of the U.S., Michigan and violent acts with several countries written as owners of planes and power plants.

"It seemed more prophetic in nature rather than direct threats," Defrees wrote.

Elaine Barr, co-owner of Strange Matter, said her staff has been OK since reopening Friday and an outpouring of support has helped. She added the letter they received was dissimilar to Defrees' and had to close because of the threats contained.

She closed last Tuesday after discovering the letter.

She doesn't know what could make a person send such mail and said the letter's gibberish threats were still literate and "gave her a pause."

A message was left with a phone number associated with the Gathering Coffee Company in Detroit, which closely for a time last week.

Barr is however confused by naysayers and skeptics online who questioned the contents of the letter and its severity.

"What interest does it serve my business to have to close," Barr asked. "If it wasn't real, why wouldn't I have to close my business for three days? That's not something I can claim on insurance. We did it out of an interest of safety. Why would I do something that would cost me so much money if it wasn't real."

Support local journalism and get unlimited digital access! Subscribe for only $1 for three months!

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at 517-267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: 2 more Lansing businesses receive threatening letters as FBI investigates
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced trip to Baghdad on Tuesday, where he promised to continue to battle the Islamic State until the group is defeated.

Austins trip comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, led by the United States, that ousted former leader Saddam Hussein.

Wheels down in Baghdad. Im here to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq, Austin tweeted, accompanying a video of him stepping off the plane and greeting Maj. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, the U.S. commander in Iraq.

During the visit, Austin met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad Al-Abbasi.

Iraq has served as a point of friction between the U.S. and Iran, with Tehrans influence in the region growing over the past two decades. Despite U.S. successes in ousting the group from territory it controlled six years ago, Islamic State fighters and sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in Syria and Iraq, killing or wounding dozens of Iraqi troops in recent months.

Well continue working to accomplish this mission together. Through the global coalition to defeat Daesh, we liberated more than 50,000 square kilometers from Daesh and freed more than 4.5 million Iraqis from their cruel grip, Austin told reporters, using an Arabic name for the Islamic State.

In his address, Austin also underscored the United States' long-term commitment to Iraq, vowing to defend the nation and outlast the extremist group.

"We continue to believe that Iraq's greater integration with its Arab partners in the region will deliver increased stability, security, and prosperity, and it will pay dividends not only for Iraqi citizens, but for all people of the region," he said, according to a readout.
Abandoned well.

Even from a distance its clear that an oil and gas well called State Senate #2 in New Mexico has seen better days. The pumpjack sits idle, tumbleweeds surround the once-moving parts, and the earth smells of crude saturating the soil.

According to state records, this well last produced oil in 2007, and even then it was at a rate of about 25 to 50 barrels per year. Though the state inexplicably lists the wells status as active, its not. And the listed owner is a company that no longer exists in any solvent form.

In other words, State Senate #2 meets the criteria for an orphaned oil and gas well. Its just one of more than a million such wells nationwide, which are a growing environmental threat resulting from decades of policy failure by state and federal regulators.

Jonathan Thompson.

Orphaned is an inaccurate term. The parent companies that originally drilled and profited from these wells mostly didnt diethey fled. Once the wells stopped making money, they were sold to smaller, less solvent companies that then vanished into a haze of bankruptcy. The unplugged wells were left to ooze methane and other nasty stuff with no one around to clean it up.

Its abandonment, plain and simple.

The State Senate #2, for example, was originally drilled by Standard Oil Co. of Texas  yes, that Standard Oil  back in 1960, but the hole was dry, so workers plugged it and moved on. Two decades later, Raymond E. Sitta, Jr., took over the lease and applied for a permit to reopen the well. When oil came bubbling out, he named it State Senate #2.

After Sitta died in 2008, his estate sold the well to BIYA Operators, a local mom and pop company, which sold it in 2014 to Colorado-based Diversified Resources.

Three years later, Diversified filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and abandoned its interest in all the mineral leases in the Horseshoe Gallup field. Thats how State Senate #2, along with some four-dozen other wells and a leaky pipeline network, became wards of the state.

Story continues

Its a common story. The Horseshoe Gallup field is rife with such stories. Another group of wells down the road changed hands several times before being acquired by Chuza Oil, owned by the Dallas producer of a reality television show called Cheaters. Now Chuza is bankrupt, and its wells and assorted other detritus are a methane-oozing mess.

The pattern repeats across New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Wyoming has at least 1,500 orphaned wells.

In theory, the companies took care of the cleanup tab as a condition of their drilling permit. In reality, the required bond amounts dont get close to covering the costs. The Bureau of Land Management, for example, requires an operator to put up just $10,000 per individual well. Bigger operators can take out a single, $150,000 blanket bond that covers all of their wells  whether its five or 500  on public lands nationwide.

Yet the average cost to plug and reclaim a single oil and gas well, according to a 2021study, is a whopping $76,000, with costs for deeper wells shooting up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That would add up to a $3.8 million cleanup bill for Chuza Oils 50 wells in the Horseshoe Gallup field.

Court records show the companys reclamation bonds with the Navajo Nation and federal government add up to less than $130,000, or about $2,500 per well. That means federal taxpayers  you and me  are on the hook for the remaining $3.7 million and change. And thats just for one companys wells in one location.

Equally maddening is that the regulators must have seen the warning signs but didnt  or couldnt  act to make the responsible parties take responsibility while they were still somewhat solvent.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized $4.7 billion in federal funds for cleaning up abandoned oil and gas wells. On the one hand, its necessary to end this massive threat to the climate, the environment and public health.

But the truth is that its also a corporate bailout.

The antiquated federal royalty rate of 12.5% must be jacked up considerably  25%, anyone?  to bring it in line with what states charge. A portion of the royalty should also go into a reclamation fund so that corporate owners pay to clean up the messes they leave.

Jonathan Thompson is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is the editor of the Land Desk and a longtime Western journalist.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Chronicle of an abandoned oil and gas well  one of millions
Employees at a third REI store have unionized.

Workers at an REI store in Cleveland on Friday voted 27-12 in favor of unionizing their store.

More from WWD

The employees, which will be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), initially filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January. With this vote, the Cleveland store joins two other REI stores  one in Berkeley, California, and one in New York Citys SoHo neighborhood  that voted to unionize their stores in 2022.

REI believes in the right of every eligible employee to vote for or against union representation, the company said in a statement. We fully supported our Cleveland employees through the vote process and we will continue to support our employees going forward as they begin to navigate the collective bargaining process.

RWDSU said in a statement that the REI Cleveland employees endured an exceptionally harsh union busting campaign from management, which included alleged attempts to delay voting, conducting intimidating meetings with management and unlawfully surveilling workers.

When their employer tried to aggressively delay their election, workers walked out and went on strike, until the employer backed-off, said Stuart Appelbaum, president of RWDSU. They have stuck together through a horrendous, relentless and unlawful union-busting campaign and have come out the other side stronger. REI Cleveland workers will now bring their strength to the bargaining table, and we know that together they will win a strong contract.

The Cleveland employees said previously that they were galvanized by the first union win for REI workers in a New York City store last year. In March 2022, 86 percent of workers at the REI Co-Op in Manhattans SoHo neighborhood voted to join RWDSU in a vote conducted by the NLRB. In August, an REI store in Berkeley, California, voted to unionize, making it the second organized REI store in the U.S.

Story continues

Other retail workers across Starbucks, Target and Amazon warehouses have also joined the wave of unionization efforts across retail in the last year. In April, employees at an Amazon warehouse on New Yorks Staten Island officially formed a union, becoming the first Amazon group to do so.

Best of WWD

Click here to read the full article.
Seeking to crack down on gun violence, state attorney general William Tong filed a lawsuit Tuesday against four out-of-state manufacturers for shipping ghost gun parts to Connecticut.

Tong filed the civil suit against two manufacturers from Florida and one each from Utah and North Carolina after all four companies shipped the parts to an undercover investigator working for the attorney generals office, he said.

During a press conference Tuesday, Tong displayed some of the parts that had been shipped to Connecticut, where ghost guns have been banned since October 2019.

Ghost guns are unserialized, untraceable, unregistered, fully functional, in most cases fully automatic firearms that one can make at home, Tong told reporters in Hartford. These are guns that put Connecticut families, residents and law enforcement at risk because we cant trace them.  Theyre a menace.

Using detailed information from the internet, a ghost gun can be assembled in 20 minutes to one hour in someones basement.

Ghost guns are illegal in 10 states, but parts are often being manufactured in the 40 states where the practice is legal.

The guns have been reaching Connecticut at a brisk pace, according to big-city police chiefs and mayors who are pushing for gun control in the current legislative session. The number of ghost guns seized in Hartford has jumped to 57 in 2022, up from 21 in 2021 and only 7 in 2020. Overall gun seizures in Hartford last year reached 353 of all types of guns.

The difference in Connecticut is that state law says that no person shall purchase, receive, sell, deliver or otherwise transfer an unfinished frame or lower receiver of a gun, Tong said.

The four defendants listed in the 22-page lawsuit are Hell Fire Armory of North Carolina, Steel Fox Firearms of Florida, Indie Guns of Florida, and AR Industries of Utah. They each sold and shipped illegal ghost guns to an undercover investigator from the Office of the Attorney General, Tongs office said.

The lawsuit states, Each of the defendants not only sell or sold illegal, unserialized unfinished lower receivers to consumers in Connecticut in violation of state law, but each defendant also mails or mailed these illegal ghost gun parts directly to consumers without confirming whether the consumers are licensed to possess a firearm, or first shipping to a federally licensed firearms dealer, as required by law.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Tallahassee Tuesday to open Floridas 2023 legislative session  but his sights were set on a much larger stage.

DeSantis delivered the annual State of the State address to the GOP-dominated Florida House and Senate, a speech that came against the backdrop of a national book tour, planned trips to early presidential primary states and inescapable buzz surrounding an expected 2024 presidential bid  likely officially launching after the states two-month legislative session.

We rank number one in the nation for education freedom. We rank number one in the nation for parental involvement in education, DeSantis told lawmakers, using the start of his roughly half hour speech to compare Florida to the rest of the nation. We rank number one in fourth grade reading and math amongst all large states. And we have the number one higher education system in the country.

While DeSantis has brushed off questions about his political ambitions, hes checked many of the boxes that White House hopefuls seek to accomplish as they gear up for a national campaign.

As Floridas legislative session begins this week, DeSantis will head to Iowa and is planning trips to Nevada and New Hampshire. Those visits come after DeSantis held a series of campaign-style events to hype his new book, "Courage to be Free."

Hes has also come under increased attacks from Donald Trump as the former president focuses on the Florida governor as the biggest obstacle to getting the 2024 Republican nomination. DeSantis has noticeably lost weight, another common feature of politicians planning high profile future runs. Trumps insults, at times, have centered on DeSantis physical appearance.

DeSantis couldnt ask for a better runway for a national Republican primary than Florida. The Republican-dominated Legislature over the past two years has handed him almost anything he wanted as he has ascended through the national conservative ecosystem and appears poised to continue the trend.

Story continues

Both Florida Republican House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo opened their speeches Tuesday by praising DeSantis, which has become common among the states Republican leaders.

Our governor is truly Americas governor, Passidomo said. He has defended our conservative values, challenged the individuals and institutions who pose threats to others, and introduced innovative solutions to better our state. It is often said that states are laboratories for democracy. Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Florida is more than a laboratory, we are the model.

DeSantis used his speech to highlight his policy portfolio, which is largely defined by culture war-infused fights. That includes urging lawmakers to expand Floridas Parental Rights in Education bill, known by opponents as Dont Say Gay, which bans instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms up until third grade. Legislators want to broaden the ban until eighth grade.

About a half-dozen bills lawmakers are proposing are inspired by DeSantis hard-right agenda, including mandating that teachers use pronouns that match those assigned to their students at birth, ban gender studies in the states higher education system and prohibit gender-affirming care for trans minors under 18.

Its sad that we have to say this, but our children are not guinea pigs for science experimentation and we cannot allow people to make money off mutilating them, DeSantis said.

Attending the State of the State speech was Chloe Cole, an 18-year-old who has referred to herself as a former trans kid, and who has spoken to state legislatures across the country in support of banning gender-affirming care.

Both state and national Democrats quickly released a slate of press releases and fact checks blasting DeSantis, a rapid response effort thats ramping up as Democrats prepare to do battle with DeSantis heading into the 2024 presidential election cycle.

Ron DeSantis is set to deliver his State of the State address today -- where he will unveil his extreme wish list for the upcoming Florida legislative session as he continue his desperate chase for the MAGA base, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement.

Unexpectedly, GOP lawmakers on Tuesday also proposed a six week abortion ban just minutes before DeSantis delivered his State of the State address even as the states previous 15 week abortion ban is mired in legal challenges and is awaiting a Florida Supreme Court hearing. The proposed six-week ban, which has the support of legislative leaders, includes language tying its effective date to a ruling by the conservative-leaning state high court. If the court upholds the law, the six-week ban could take effect if passed, but it would not if the 15-week ban is found to be unconstitutional.

The new proposal includes exemptions up to 15 weeks for rape and incest if the victim provides documentation that they were victimized. That can include things like police reports, court records, or restraining orders.

DeSantis told reporters after his State of the State speech that he thought the exemptions were acceptable but kept his comments brief.

I have not seen what is filed, but I think that in the discussion that I had heard them [lawmakers] having, they were recognizing [the challenge to the 15 week abortion ban] was pending and that whatever they do this year would be basically only in effect if that case was resolved in a favorable way, DeSantis said.

Pilloried by Dems

Democrats immediately railed against the proposal and cast DeSantis as extreme for supporting the measure. Democrats nationally used the same technique in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, and it was credited, in part, with helping Democrats enjoy a much more successful 2022 midterm than predicted.

Each of us should be free to live our lives with dignity and to make the decisions that are best for our lives, families and communities, said state Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat who previously worked for Planned Parenthood. No one wants Ron DeSantis in the exam room with us; personal medical decisions should be between me, my family, my doctor, and my faith. Not politicians.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday also told reporters that elected officials like DeSantis espouse quote, freedom for all, unquote, while directly attacking the freedom to make ones own health care decisions. Their rhetoric doesnt come without consequences here.



But in the wake of midterm elections that saw Republicans dominate in Florida and build legislative super-majorities, Democrats have largely acknowledged there is little they can do to slow down DeSantis agenda.

And DeSantis does not appear poised to ease up.

We will stand strong. We will hold the line. We wont back down, he said to conclude his speech, before borrowing a line made famous by former President Ronald Raegan. And I can promise you this, you aint seen nothing yet.
The House Republican chairman with oversight of border issues said Tuesday that it was a mistake that former President Donald Trump didnt bomb meth labs in Mexico, an idea so extreme that even Trump wouldnt confirm he reportedly said this behind closed doors.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, said during an appearance on Fox and Friends that it was too bad that Trump didnt launch a military attack on Mexico, a longtime U.S. ally, to try to stop drug traffickers.

One of the things we learned post-Trump presidency is that he had ordered a bombing of a couple of fentanyl labs, crystal meth labs, in Mexico, just across the border and for whatever reason, the military didnt do it, said Comer. I think that was a mistake.

In 2020, Trump allegedly proposed firing missiles into Mexico to his then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who wrote about it in his book, A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Defense Secretary in Extraordinary Times. Esper, stunned, said Trump suggested this several times, telling Esper he believed no one would know it was us so they could keep it a secret.

When asked later if this was true, Trump said only, No comment.

A Comer spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on why he thinks it would have been a good idea to attack Mexico.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, thinks we should have fired missiles into Mexico.

Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the new chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, thinks we should have fired missiles into Mexico.

Comer also called for keeping a military presence along the southern border  both on the U.S. and Mexican sides.

The GOP chairmans extreme pronouncements are part of a bigger push by House Republicans to appear tough on border issues. Its all so jumbled, though, that Comer may have forgotten that he proposed cutting off all funding for border security just a few months ago.

Comers comments come a day before Republicans on his committee are set to hold another subcommittee hearing on disrupting crime at the border.

Related...
Ever since Donald Trump left the White House, Ivanka Trump has been slowly drifting away from her father and the family business. That sentiment seems very apparent now that she, the former president, and brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are involved in a $250 million fraud lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. They, and the Trump Organization, are accused of manipulating the value of their real estate holdings in order to turn a profit.

Now, Ivanka is asking for a trial delay, saying her job description at the Trump Organization had nothing to do with the lawsuit. According to court documents obtained by the U.K.s Independent, the complaint does not contain a single allegation that Ms. Trump directly or indirectly created, prepared, reviewed, or certified any of her fathers financial statements. Shes passing the buck to her father and brothers and saying that theres nothing to see here. Her legal team wrote, Other individuals were responsible for those tasks.

More from SheKnows

Donald Trump is back to figuring out how he can take down other competitors. https://t.co/8hjeWL8mMO  SheKnows (@SheKnows) March 6, 2023

Shes asking the judge to see the unique role she held at the company and why it doesnt fit into the accusations. She left her job at the Trump Organization in 2017 to join Donald Trumps administration, where shes currently facing a subpoena about her fathers role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron doesnt seem very sympathetic so far to her pleas, noting that the trial will start on Oct. 2, come hell or high water. Her fathers legal team has also asked for a delay in the trial because of the staggering volume of allegations lodged at his business. It doesnt look like Ivanka nor Donald Trump will see their wishes granted, but shes drawn a line in the sand  and it doesnt seem like shes on her fathers side right now.

Story continues

Click here to read the full article.

Before you go, click here to see every time Ivanka Trump has tried to distance herself from the Trump family:

Ivanka Trump

Launch Gallery: Donald & Ivana Trump's Life in Photos: A Timeline of Their Marriage & Divorce

Best of SheKnows

Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter.

For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Mexican authorities said Monday that 343 migrants, including 103 unaccompanied minors, were found in a trailer abandoned on a highway in Veracruz.

Among those found in the trailer Sunday night along the Cosamaloapan-La Tinaja highway were migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador, Mexicos National Institute of Migration (INM) announced. Most of the minors reportedly hailed from Guatemala.

The hundreds of migrants were found alive, according to authorities, and the trailer transporting them notably had fans and vents for air circulation in the container, which had a double-layer metal structure. INM also said the migrants wore colored bracelets as identifiers.

The unaccompanied children will be under the care of the Veracruz family services system, while the adults will be processed through Mexicos immigration system.

Fifty migrants were found dead last summer in a tractor-trailer near San Antonio, Texas, in a tragedy that added to ongoing concerns about human smuggling and immigration in the Americas.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MAGA Republicans in Pennsylvania often refer to the debunked conspiracy film 2000 Mules to bolster their assertions that the 2020 election outcome was fraudulent.

Playing off former President Donald Trump's claims about widespread cheating, the movie asserts that nefarious political operatives, or mules, illegally collected ballots and stuffed drop boxes to help President Joe Biden capture victory.

But this month, GOP activist Scott Presler told Pennsylvania Republicans they must start embracing legal ballot collection and mail-in voting, the very systems that three years of election denial have convinced them to distrust.

My argument is that each of us can become a mule," Presler said at a voter training session in Delaware County, one of several he led in the commonwealth in February. "I dont want 2,000 mules. I want 2 million mules."

His support for legal ballot collection  which he believes could increase GOP voter turnout  echoes a broader messaging change among Republicans who are smarting from last years midterm losses and searching for lessons they can carry into this years election and the 2024 presidential contest.

These GOP figures havent abandoned their ultimate goal of banning mail-in voting or their opposition to ballot collection, pejoratively called "ballot harvesting." But theyre starting to say that, as long as these voting methods are allowed, their party must use them to win.

Even Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko, who spent more than a year battling in court to overturn Pennsylvanias mail-in voting act, believes Republicans should take advantage of the law while its still in place.

Im not dumb, he said in an interview. Were going to have to do the mail-in voting.

While this new America First strategy means turning on Republican voters to mail voting, that effort might be exerting a lot of energy for little reward.

Roughly 5.3 million Pennsylvania voters cast a ballot for statewide races this past November, but the 2022 midterm saw the lowest rate of mail ballots cast compared to past elections. Just 1.2 million ballots, or 23%, cast in the gubernatorial race in November were from no-excuse mail-in ballots.

Story continues

So its not clear how much this tactical change might help Republicans win future races, said Sarah Niebler, a political science professor at Dickinson College. In a state as competitive as Pennsylvania, almost anything can tip the balance in favor of one party or the other, and its often impossible to isolate any one factor as determinative, she said.

But Niebler said focusing on voting methods does enable Republicans to avoid introspection about their lackluster midterm showing.

If a candidate thinks they lost because of their policy positions, then the path forward for them for a future candidacy is to change their policy positions, she said. If they think they lost or they can tell a story about why they lost because of a process, then they dont have to consider the policy positions.

Why the change of tune on mail-in voting?

Following the lead of former President Donald Trump, some Pennsylvania GOP leaders and activists have spent years sowing distrust about the commonwealths mail-in voting systems.

Attempts to erode faith in Pennsylvania's mail-in balloting might have contributed to the partisan schism in its use: Democrats accounted for roughly 63% of the 3.1 million mail ballots requested in the 2020 general election, while Republicans only accounted for 25% of them.

But now, some Republicans are saying their partys insistence on in-person voting makes them vulnerable to Election Day problems, such as inclement weather, long lines and polling place snafus. In their view, this could be dampening GOP voter turnout compared to Democrats, whose embrace of mail-in voting gives them more flexibility about when and how to cast their ballots.

We simply cannot allow the Democrats to continue to bank hundreds of thousands of votes before Election Day arrives, state Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, wrote in a late November blog post. Voting by mail is legal, it will be legal for the foreseeable future, and if we reject it we do so at our own peril.

More:PA Patriots Coalition teeing up America First candidates in local races

In the aftermath of the midterms, Sam Brancadora, chairman of the Berks County Patriots, also said the GOP needs to adopt the Democrats playbook when it comes to turning out the vote.

Except for the cheating part, he qualified.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a 2020 election denier who was defeated by now-Gov. Josh Shapiro in last years gubernatorial contest, also argued his partys avoidance of mail-in voting is hurting its performance.

This new messaging is somewhat muddled, since it clings to past election fraud claims while also asserting that Republicans should try legal forms of the voting methods theyve been decrying, according to Niebler.

The natural follow-up question then is, OK, what do you mean when you say, Lets do ballot harvesting but in the legal way, or, Lets adopt the Democrats playbook for mail-in voting but without the cheating? she said.

Since no courts have found any evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, the answer isnt clear, she said.

Sam Faddis, head of UnitePA and a leader of the Pennsylvania Patriot Coalition, said he understands why Presler and even some in his own coalition are leaning into mail ballots, but the plan comes with drawbacks that could end up working against the ultimate goal of the Patriot Movement.

A network of grassroots groups largely made up of organizations that opposed coronavirus mitigation rules and supporters of stolen election claims, the Pennsylvania Patriot Coalition formed after Faddis organized an election integrity petition signing in Harrisburg last May.

UnitePA leader Sam Faddis speaks at the capitol rotunda in Harrisburg on May 11, 2022, introducing his group's declaration calling on lawmakers to end mail-in voting allowed by Act 77. The group behind him represented over 50 groups that have since become the Pennsylvania Patriots Coalition.

The coalition and Faddis have made repealing Act 77, Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law, their goal since 2021, with Faddis saying Tuesday that its a vote method with too many points of vulnerability.

Faddis unveiled the broad goals of what the coalition called the Youre Fired Campaign to the Berks County Patriots in November. The centerpiece of that initiative being the replacement of Republican officials, who took no action to end mail-in voting since Act 77 was passed in 2019.

With Democrats favoring mail ballots far more than Republicans, Faddis said it makes sense why the pivot is coming up to increase voter participation.

I recognize that it is probably reality that Republicans have to embrace that to a certain extent, Faddis said.

Telling Republican voters to cast mail ballots, however, could end up making them more popular.

If youre going to say, We have to accept mail-in voting in the short term, yes, there is a real danger that by doing so you ultimately are putting yourself in a position where you will never go back, Faddis added.

Republicans also suggest ballot harvesting tactics

While ballot harvesting has become synonymous with voter fraud in conservative circles, some Republicans have been trying to redeem the term in the wake of the November election.

Brancadora advocated for GOP ballot collection efforts in his post-midterm address to the Berks County Patriots. Presler did the same, while acknowledging that many people in his audience would have a visceral reaction against the idea.

Republicans, he contended, must employ every legal tool at their disposal to win races. He recently launched a super PAC, Early Vote Action, to encourage this all-of-the-above approach among GOP voters in swing states including Pennsylvania.

More:Hard-right activists in Pa. want to take over the GOP from the ground up. In this county, they already have.

For instance, he explained, Pennsylvania does allow people to return ballots for someone who is disabled, as long as they follow legal guidelines.

The voter in these cases must sign a form naming someone as their designated agent  authorizing that person to pick up a ballot for them or return it on their behalf. By law, a person cant serve as a designated agent for more than one individual with disabilities per election.

But Presler said that could still make a difference if adopted on a large scale.

"If each of you ballot harvested one legal vote, that doubles the amount of Republicans that are voting in elections," he told Republicans in Delaware County earlier this month.

Republicans who want to adopt ballot collection tactics insist theyre strictly adhering to the law, seeking to differentiate themselves from the Democrats theyve baselessly accused of perpetrating widespread election fraud. Still, attendees in Preslers voter training sessions seem to have gotten the impression that some of the legal lines are malleable.

During his Pennsylvania sessions, Presler read from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which defines a person with a disability as someone who has substantially limiting physical or mental impairment, someone who previously has had such an impairment or someone perceived as having an impairment.

Were all disabled! a man laughingly responded at a Franklin County meeting.

I didnt say it. You didnt hear me say it, Presler said, according to a video recording.

In a statement, Pennsylvania state department officials said its wrong to suggest almost anyone could be considered disabled. They noted that on the designated agent form, a voter must attest that they have a disability as defined by the ADA.

Voters could face criminal prosecution for falsely signing this affirmation, according to the state department.

In this May 28, 2020, file photo a voter casts her mail-in ballot at in a drop box in West Chester, Pennsylvania, prior to the primary election.

Faddis said he, and others, asked Presler previously not to use the term ballot harvesting in any way because it equals illegality, theft and fraud.

Regardless of the fact Presler is referring to a legal method of returning a ballot on behalf of a disabled person, Faddis said using the term could come off as promoting voter fraud and muddies the waters in the larger fight against Act 77.

I'm not suggesting that (Preslers) use of this term ballot harvesting suggests that he is, for a second, promoting illegality or anything like that, Faddis said.

I get it that (Preslers) got a technical definition that doesn't include (illegal ballot harvesting). I'm clear on that, but it doesn't matter. That's not what people hear.

The end-game is still to abolish mail-in voting

Niebler believes this change of tune on mail-in voting and ballot collection could sink in among some Republicans, depending on which party elites embrace it again.

Trump, arguably the most influential figure in the GOP, is already softening his once-strident opposition to mail-in voting  which he even recently claimed was fraught with corruption, and always will be.

Now, in a sudden pivot, Trumps 2024 campaign is looking at harnessing the mail-in system and ballot harvesting to potentially advance the candidates presidential bid, the Wall Street Journal reported this month.

But because of the paperwork required for ballot collection in Pennsylvania, Niebler doesnt see it scaling into anything that will make a huge difference in the commonwealths elections.

And shes not sure the about-face on by-mail ballots will do much, either. The scholarship around mail-in voting is quite muddy, and hasnt clearly shown the system increases election turnout, she said.

More:5 ways the Pa. Legislature can improve transparency almost overnight

For many of the Republicans who are encouraging a revised voting strategy, the ultimate goal is still to get rid of Act 77, the 2019 law that created Pennsylvanias system for no-excuse, mail-in voting.

Even as Mastriano encourages Republicans to embrace vote-by-mail, hes also sponsoring legislation that aims to eliminate no-excuse, by-mail balloting (although he supported Act 77 in 2019).

And McLinko recently introduced a resolution to the Pennsylvania Republican Partys committee that demands a return to in-person-only voting.

While he agrees the GOP must incorporate mail-in balloting as part of their election strategies for now, he says he hopes Republicans would repeal the system as soon as they claim power in Harrisburg. He doesn't have much faith GOP officials would actually follow through, though.

These are the same people that gave us Act 77, he said.

Is it a winning strategy?

While far-right organizers hang their hats on mail voting being the biggest obstacle to victory, a closer look at voter registration data suggests the problems might lay at the feet of the candidates themselves.

Mastriano, R-Franklin, lost his run against Shapiro, who was then serving as attorney general, in November by about 792,660 votes.

During a brief visit to Preslers speaking engagement in Franklin County, Mastriano thanked Presler for fighting the good fight before recounting the challenges that lie ahead for the GOP.

I think one of the biggest challenges we face, of course, is our reluctance to embrace the reality and the laws we have in the state. We won on Election Day by 70,000. But we fight for one day, the Democrats fight for six weeks of voting. And so we have to change our paradigm, thats a fact, Mastriano said.

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks to supporters during an election night campaign event at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill, Pa., Nov. 8, 2022.

Mastriano received about 2 million votes from in-person voters compared to Shapiros 1.97 million ballots on Election Day, but Shapiros 1 million mail-in votes were more than five times higher than mail ballots choosing Mastriano.

The Associated Press called the race for Shapiro hours after polls closed on Nov. 8 and Mastriano conceded the race in a Twitter post five days later.

Dan Cox, a former Republican in Marylands House of Delegates who lost his race for governor last year, joined Mastrianos team as chief of staff this year and was with the Franklin County lawmaker at Preslers event.

And then, of course, we found ourselves fighting against fellow Republicans, even after winning the primary.  Weve got to get our stuff together. Running around saying Dan and Doug cant win the general (election)  thats why we lose: Republicans not enthusiastically getting on board, Mastriano added.

Like most candidates, the biggest challenge after winning a primary race is attracting voters from across the aisle or those who fall somewhere in the middle.

Mastrianos hardline stance that all abortion should be illegal and support of disproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump caused a rift in Republican leadership early in the election that raised doubts around his electability over Shapiro.

More:'Campaign malpractice': How Doug Mastriano flamed out after a Trump-fueled surge

Voter registration data doesnt show which candidate a person voted for, but a few statistics from those records suggest party unity might not be the solution for candidates like Mastriano in Pennsylvania.

The total number of registered Republicans who voted in 2022 falls almost 128,000 people shy of the total 2.23 million votes Mastriano received in the last election.

The total number of registered Democrats and other party voters who voted in 2022 is just 7,000 people shy of the just over 3 million votes Shapiro took.

Additionally, only 31% of those Democrats and 17% of other voters also voted by mail compared to just about 8% of Republicans who voted in 2022.

With these two statistics in mind, it seems unlikely that the biggest problems Mastriano and other candidates to the extreme far-right face are not in the voting method or bringing the party together.

Bethany Rodgers is a government accountability reporter for the USA TODAY Network and can be reached at brodgers@gannett.com. Chris Ullery is an extremism and social justice reporter for the USA TODAY Network and can be reached cullery@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Pennsylvania Republicans warm to 'ballot harvesting,' mail-in voting
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jon-Un, said the nation was ready to take "quick, overwhelming action" in response to US and South Korean joint military drills elsewhere on the peninsula.

The US and South Korean militaries were training together on Monday. The exercises included the use of B-52 bombers, which are capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, according to the Associated Press.

North Korea has previously test-launched its own missiles in response to US and South Korean military exercises.

We keep our eye on the restless military moves by the U.S. forces and the South Korean puppet military and are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment, Ms Yo jong said in a statement featured on North Korea's state media.

She claimed the "frantic" military exercises of the US and South Korea may require North Korea to "cope with them."

The demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric by the U.S. and South Korea, which go so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked, undoubtedly provide (North Korea) with conditions for being forced to do something to cope with them, she said.

North Korea's top military leadership, the General Staff Department, claimed hours later that "the enemy" had committed a "very grave military provocation" by firing artillery near the border town of Paju on Tuesday.

The GSD then demanded that the US and South Korea cease their military activities near the border. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the claims were nonsense and that no artillery training occurred in that region.

The US and South Korea are also on track to renew large-scale field exercises for the first time since 2018. The drills were significantly scaled back after 2018 due to the stagnation of US-North Korean diplomacy efforts and the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Story continues

North Korea is also revving its military machine, conducting more missile tests last year than at any other point in modern history.

The isolated nation's fiery rhetoric is back in full force as well, with Ms Yo Jong threatening to turn the entire Pacific into North Korea's firing range in a statement she gave last month.

She also said that if the US were to intercept a North Korean ICBM, her brother might consider the move a declaration of war. Ms Yo Jong cited a report in South Korean media saying the US would shoot down North Korean missiles if there is a test launch aimed at the Pacific.

In the past, North Korean missiles have generally landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Court documents from recent federal prosecutions offer a glimpse at what border patrol agents have termed an unprecedented influx of human trafficking along sections of New Yorks northern border.That trend is prompting responses, including from law enforcement, advocates for immigrants and a conservative member of Congress who visited Rochester on Friday to express concerns.

Between October and January, apprehensions of and encounters with persons crossing the border in the vicinity of Swanton, Vermont, jumped nearly 850% compared to the same four months a year ago, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Many of the immigrants were families with children, according to a recent report in the Burlington Free Press.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney discusses norther border issues Friday outside the border patrol office on Pattonwood Drive in Irondequoit.

U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican representing a Central and Western New York congressional district, visited with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Buffalo and Rochester to discuss the issue.

"The worsening crisis at our Northern border is real," Tenney said. "Our CBP agents face unprecedented challenges because of Joe Biden's failure to address his disastrous open border policies."

On Tuesday, Tenney joined the Northern Border Security Caucus, a coalition of 28 members of Congress concerned about "the increased human and drug trafficking along the U.S.-Canada border."

New York Senate Republican Minority Leader Rob Ortt met with Tenney at the Buffalo Border Patrol office. He complained that "Albany Democrats' soft-on-crime policies have already endangered public safety in our communities."

Advocates for migrants disagree.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney discusses norther border issues Friday outside the border patrol office on Pattonwood Drive in Irondequoit.

Such rhetoric in the U.S., said Meghan Maloney de Zaldivar of Buffalo and the director of organizing and strategy for the New York Immigration Coalition, will hurt sectors such as dairy farming, which is heavily worked by immigrants, that officials such as Tenney purport to represent. Harder-line approaches will also sow more fear and distrust of law enforcement in local communities, she said.

Story continues

What we really need is humane and dignified immigration policies, she said. That is what Washington should be focusing on.

Rise in northern border crossings began in mid-2022

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began seeing an uptick in illegal crossings along the northern border in June 2022. And the pace has stepped up this winter despite sub-zero temperatures.

Over the four months that ended in January, agents tallied more than 1,500 encounters with people suspected of crossing into the country illegally through the CBPs Swanton Sector, which stretches from Vermont to New York.

The 367 encounters and apprehensions recorded in January surpassed the 344 logged for the 12 previous Januaries combined, officials say.

Nearly 1,000 of the encounters and apprehensions were with people from Mexico, followed by Haiti and Guatemala. Among the immigrants are parents with young children and infants who must navigate challenging terrain along the border to make it to the U.S. side.

There are always dangers when attempting to illegally cross the U.S./Canadian border, a spokesman for the CBP said. In Swanton Sector, the terrain can be mountainous, heavily wooded and boast multiple rivers, streams and swampland. When you add sub-zero temperatures to that equation, the real risk to human life multiplies dramatically. Hypothermia and loss of life are very real dangers.

And yet, the surging numbers do not approach the totals seen at the nations southern border with Mexico.

In the 2022 fiscal year, federal agents had encounters with 109,000 individuals at the northern border compared to 2.3 million during the same time period at the southern border.

Smugglers are making thousands of dollars to pick up people who, in some cases, fly into Canada from Mexico before making the trek across the border, court documents show.

Around 8 p.m. Sept. 25, 2022, border patrol agents spotted a Toyota Venza driven by a Queens man traveling through Churubusco, an unincorporated hamlet in Clinton County, New York near the New York-Quebec border. The Toyota traveled along Route 189, a popular route for human smugglers because it leads to and from the border.

Two passengers were riding in the backseat while the passenger seat was empty  an indication the driver didnt know his passengers, according to the criminal complaint. And the windows were fogged on a rainy night, a sign that the people inside had wet clothing, a criminal complaint adds.

Inside a duffel bag belonging to one of the backseat passengers was a ticket for a plane ride from Cancun, Mexico, to Toronto the day before.

One of the men said hed agreed to pay the driver $2,000 once he got him to his destination in New York.

A few weeks later on Oct. 8, 2022, about 30 miles east in Champlain, New York, agents using remote surveillance observed several people in a wooded area beside a road that dead ends into the New York-Quebec border, a criminal complaint says.

Someone living nearby spotted several people emerge from the woods and get into a Chevy Camaro and an SUV. The cars were stopped about two hours later along Interstate 87 in the town of Plattsburgh.

The driver of the Camaro acknowledged driving to the border to pick up individuals whod crossed into the U.S. illegally and said he was promised $500 for each person he picked up.

Eleven people were arrested. All claimed to be from Mexico.

The SUV driver said he was promised $3,000 by a smuggler to drive up to the border and deliver several people to Maryland. He knew what he was doing was wrong but claims he was looking to make easy money, according to an account provided by a border agent.

Casualties of 'inhumane U.S. policy'

In Burlington, Vermont, the nonprofit Migrant Justice said the reported increases of crossings in the Swanton Sector are an outcome of denying human rights to migrate.

"The draconian restrictions that the U.S. employs against people seeking refuge from violence and poverty only push migrants to more dangerous routes," the nonprofit said in a statement. "Every migrant who dies attempting to enter the U.S.  whether from dehydration in the Sonoran desert, drowning in the Rio Grande, or hypothermia and exposure on the Canadian border  is a casualty of inhumane U.S. policy."

Organizations that assist immigrants settling in Western New York and the North Country said they havent seen increases in people requesting services. Instead, many saw Rep. Tenneys call as rhetoric for hard-line immigration enforcement.

Absolutely no one at the Rochester nonprofit Marys Place Refugee Outreach has entered through the northern border, Executive Director P.J. Ryan said. Most people enter through the southern border. They are released on parole as they await their immigration cases, he added.

The southern border should be a cautionary tale for politicians, said Jessica Maxwell, the executive director of the Workers Center of Central New York, based in Syracuse but with members in the North Country, which has workers in sectors such as agriculture, sawmills and renewable energy installation.

These militarization policies on the border have done nothing to stem flows of migration, and certainly have contributed to human rights abuses, she said.

It really seems to be a reflection of, unfortunately, some really deep racism against immigrant communities, she said. And not a reflection of good, solid policy.

In Buffalo, Maloney de Zaldivar from the Immigration Coalition said shes used to seeing ebbs and flows of immigrants at the border with Canada, often as a result of southern border policies.

Many immigrants have also made a reverse journey to leave the U.S., which she said could skew American immigration figures.

In light of labor shortages, the Canadian government has promised to accept nearly 1.5 million immigrants by 2025. Numbers have surged of people entering from the countrys border with the U.S., according to the Canada Border Service Agency. The Quebec and Ontario provinces, which border New York, have the largest numbers of people entering.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Surge in immigrant crossings at U.S.-Canada border since mid-2022
The two surviving Americans in a group of four violently abducted last week in Mexico returned to U.S. soil Tuesday, one of them with a leg wound not considered life-threatening.

Mexican authorities said the two other members of the group traveling for cosmetic surgery were killed Friday after getting caught in a drug cartel shootout in the border city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas state, just south of Brownsville, Texas.

Tamaulipas Gov. Americo Villarreal said the Americans, traveling in a white minivan, had crossed the border only 2 1/2 hours before the shooting occurred. A 33-year-old woman not linked to the group was killed by a stray bullet, he said.

Attorney General Irving Barrios said no ransom was demanded and all signs point to the U.S. travelers being the victims of mistaken identity. They were kidnapped after the attack and located Tuesday around 8 a.m. in a house outside Matamoros, Barrios said. A suspect who was standing guard over them has been arrested.

Barrios said the two deceased Americans  identified by authorities as Shaeed Woodard, 33, and Zindell Brown, in his mid-20s  are undergoing autopsies to determine the time and cause of death. They will be returned to the U.S. after that.

Both survivors, one of them unharmed, were rushed to the U.S. and taken to a hospital after a convoy of Mexican ambulances and SUVs was escorted by Mexican military Humvees, armored vehicles, state police and the National Guard. The injured survivor was identified as Eric Williams. The other one is Latavia Washington McGee.

Justice Department vows 'relentless' pursuit of those who perpetrated attack

Federal investigators believe the Americans were mistakenly targeted, and there was nothing to indicate they were in Mexico for any other purpose than a medical procedure, a person familiar with the investigation said.

This is still an ongoing criminal investigation and the FBI will continue to work with other federal and international partners to determine the facts of what happened and to hold those responsible for this horrific and violent attack accountable for their crimes, the FBI said Tuesday.

Story continues

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the two surviving victims are receiving medical treatment in the United States.

I want to offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of this heinous attack. The Justice Department will be relentless in pursuing justice on their behalf, Garland said.

-- Kevin Johnson

How did the kidnapping happen?

The Americans crossed the border in a minivan with North Carolina license plates, according to Mexican officials and Special Agent Oliver Rich, who is in charge of the FBI's San Antonio Division.

Sometime after, unidentified gunmen fired upon the occupants of the vehicle, and the four Americans were placed in a pickup and taken from the scene by the men.

A woman driving in Matamoros who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal told The Associated Press she witnessed what appeared to be the shooting and abduction. The white minivan was hit by another vehicle near an intersection, then gunfire rang out, the woman said. Another SUV rolled up, and several armed men hopped out.

All of a sudden (the gunmen) were in front of us, she said. I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing: If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.

'We shouldn't go down': Why Americans had traveled to Mexico

Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, whose brother Zindell Brown was one of the two Americans killed, said the four had traveled from South Carolina so one of them could get a tummy tuck in Matamoros.

This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from, she told The Associated Press. To see a member of your family thrown in the back of a truck and dragged, it is just unbelievable."

Brown said the group was extremely close and they all made the trip in part to split the driving. They were aware of the dangers in Mexico, she added, and her brother had expressed some misgivings.

Zindell kept saying We shouldnt go down, Brown said.

Garland says US fighting to 'dismantle and disrupt' cartels

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday that he had been briefed on the status of the kidnapped Americans by the FBI, which was working with Mexican authorities along with officials from the Justice and State departments. He offered sympathies to the victims and their families.

Referring generally to the violence that the Mexican drug cartels have wrought, Garland said: "Look, the cartels are responsible for the deaths of Americans. ... We are fighting as hard as possible. The DEA and FBI are doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks they depend on."

 Kevin Johnson

US working with Mexico on investigation

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the Biden administration is working with Mexico to learn more about the kidnapping.

We're going to work closely with the Mexican government to ensure that justice is done in this case, Kirby said, adding that the Justice Department was in contact with its Mexican counterpart. Right now, our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens, the health and the well-being of those who survived.

Attacks on U.S. citizens "are unacceptable, no matter where, under what circumstances they occur," he said.

 Rebecca Morin

A member of the Mexican security forces stands next to a white minivan with North Carolina plates and several bullet holes at the crime scene where gunmen kidnapped four U.S. citizens who crossed into Mexico from Texas on March 3, 2023.

A TREK FOR HEALTH CARE: 4 kidnapped Americans crossed into Mexico to purchase medicine, Mexican president says

Video appears to show attack

A video posted to social media Friday showed men with assault rifles and tan body armor loading the four people into the bed of a white pickup in broad daylight.

One was alive and sitting up, but the others appeared either dead or wounded. At least one person appeared to lift his head from the pavement before being dragged to the truck.

Mexican president blasts US media coverage

Mexicos president complained about coverage of the incident in the U.S., accusing the media of sensationalizing the events.

Its not like that when they kill Mexicans in the United States, they go quiet like mummies, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.

Its very unfortunate. They (the U.S. government) has the right to protest like they have, he said. We really regret that this happens in our country."

Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico, on March 6, 2023.

How is the US responding?

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said various U.S. justice agencies have been working with their Mexican law enforcement counterparts.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was aware of the situation and is "closely following the assault and kidnapping."

She said the U.S. Department Homeland Security is also coordinating with Mexican authorities to "bring those responsible to justice."

Jean-Pierre declined to answer other questions, citing privacy concerns.

When the Americas were abducted, the FBI offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to their return and the arrest of those responsible for the attack.

Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen at Matamoros, Mexico, on March 6, 2023.

Matamoros, Tamaulipas under US travel advisories

The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for U.S. citizens in Tamaulipas, citing crime and kidnapping there. The alert level is the same travel designation given to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

The kidnapping illustrates the terror that has prevailed for years in Matamoros, a city dominated by factions of the powerful drug cartels that often fight among themselves.

Amid the violence, thousands of Mexicans have disappeared in Tamaulipas state alone.

Attack may spur concerns among US travelers to Mexico

The kidnapping and killing of Americans visiting Mexico likely have travelers and at least one expert taking stock.

"Im sure people will have some pause after such a graphic and horrible incident," Gabby Beckford, author of the travel blog Packs Light, told USA TODAY. "This will remind me not to be lax about my safety precautions and to always be mindful of my surroundings."

Mexico is one of the top destinations for Americans  nearly 29 million traveled to Mexico in 2021, according to data researcher Statista. Roughly 75 U.S. citizens died in Mexico by homicide that year, U.S. State Department statistics show.

Beckford, who spent two months traveling across Mexico last year and has visited Hildago, Mexico City, Cabo San Lucas and Oaxaca, said there are cities in Mexico where she feels just as safe as some cities in the U.S. But she said travelers should monitor advisories ahead of time and find online communities where they can likely get the locals point of view on where to go, not to go, and travel safely.

Is Mexico travel safe?: What to know about visiting Cabo, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and more

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Americans kidnapped in Mexico updates: 2 found dead, 2 survive
[Source]

The Singaporean teen who faced ridicule online after referring to a bag from an affordable fashion company as "luxury" has been named a brand ambassador by the company.

Early this year, Zoe Gabriel, 17, uploaded a TikTok video of herself receiving a Charles & Keith handbag as a gift from her father. Captioning the video with, my first luxury bag, Gabriels video went viral on social media and received harsh criticism, forcing her to explain her perspective in a follow-up video.

Gabriels story caught the attention of Charles & Keith, who initially invited her and her father to have lunch with the brands founders and tour the companys headquarters in Singapore.

More from NextShark: Beloved The Walking Dead character Glenn makes appearance in emotional finale

In honor of International Womens Day, Gabriel joined the brands campaign as both a model and brand community ambassador.

Gabriel shared the news through a post on her Instagram on Friday:

Women are like flowers: our time and needs to grow may not always align, but that is okay. We are like fields of poppy and lakes of lotus - diverse and bold in our differences, beautiful in our own ways. This international womens day, let us celebrate with compassion. Let us celebrate with equality through equity, the way flowers do. More from NextShark: Indian soldier goes viral for his keen' introduction to a Chinese soldier

Gabriel was photographed with Charles & Keiths special bag for the event: a purple Alia Chain-Strap Crossbody Bag, which retails for $73.

According to the brand, the campaign supports womens rights through the UN Womens Storytelling for Gender Equality program.

More from NextShark: 'You will have a better life if you wear impressive clothes': Ambush founder talks fashion with Bella Poarch

The women involved, including Gabriel, detailed what equity means to them and joined the network of UN Women advocates, Charles & Keith shared.

Twenty percent of all proceeds from the Alia Chain-Strap Crossbody Bag will go towards the UN program.

Charles & Keith, also known as C&K, is a Singaporean fashion label with a global presence. With over 600 stores in 37 countries, the brand specializes in handbags, fashion accessories and footwear.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday the state will not be doing business with Walgreens Boots Alliance over its decision not to dispense an abortion pill.

Last week, the national pharmacy chain said it would not distribute mifepristone in 20 states after conservative attorneys general threatened legal action.

MORE: USPS is allowed to continue delivering abortion pills, Justice Department says

In a tweet, Newsom criticized the decision, writing, "California won't be doing business with Walgreens or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. We're done."

In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Newsom said the state was "reviewing" its relationship with Walgreens.

"We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls," the statement read.

PHOTO: Walgreens signage is seen at a store on Court Street, Jan. 5, 2023, in Brooklyn. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Last month, the group of attorneys general sent a letter to CVS and Walgreens saying that if they sold mifepristone, they would be in violation of the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that makes it illegal to send contraceptives, substances that induce abortion, pornographic content, sex toys and any written material about these items.

Several of the states that signed the letter -- including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana -- currently allow abortion access, including abortion medication, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focusing on sexual and reproductive health.

In a statement to ABC News last week, Walgreens said it sent a letter to each of the attorneys general confirming it would not sell mifepristone in their states

"From the outset, we have made our intentions clear to become a certified pharmacy to distribute mifepristone wherever legally possible," a spokesperson said about the Newsom decision.

The spokesperson said Walgreen still intends to become certified under an FDA program to dispense the drug elsewhere but has not done so yet.

Story continues

MORE: If an abortion drug is banned, could misoprostol be used as a safe alternative?

Newsom has been outspoken about his support of abortion rights. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade over the summer, he vowed to protect both women and healthcare providers.

"California must do everything it can to protect the fundamental rights of all women -- in California and beyond," Newsom said at the time. "California will continue to be a safe haven for all women seeking reproductive healthcare services in our state."

More than half of abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, meaning they involved the use of mifepristone, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

PHOTO: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference, Feb. 1, 2023, in Sacramento, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The drug, which was authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000, works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which the body needs to continue a pregnancy.

This causes the uterine lining to stop thickening and to break down, detaching the embryo. The second drug, misoprostol, taken 24 to 48 hours later, causes the uterus to contract and dilates the cervix, which will expel the embryo.

ABC News' Anne Flaherty and Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.

Gavin Newsom announces California is 'done' with Walgreens due to abortion pill originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A Republican lawmaker from Louisville has filed a bill in the Kentucky General Assembly to require special elections to fill vacant Metro Council seats in certain cases after some residents and candidates critiqued the current appointment process.

House Bill 191, which state Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville, filed Tuesday, would require a special election to fill a vacant Metro Council seat if the vacancy occurs more than three months before a regular election.

The bill would require a special election to take place 60 days after a seat becomes vacant. HB 191 currently has seven Republican sponsors who all represent parts of Jefferson County.

This year alone we have filled two vacancies by appointment, leaving almost 50,000 people out of the process entirely," Bauman said in a news release, referring to Metro Council members voting last week to appoint Kumar Rashad and Phillip Baker to the District 3 and District 6 seats vacated by Keisha Dorsey and David James, respectively, as they joined Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration.

Who will replace Morgan McGarvey?What to know about special election

"Those who live in Metro Louisville should have the opportunity to choose their elected representatives. This is a basic and fundamental promise of our government, said Bauman, who defeated incumbent Charles Miller in November to take over the 28th House District seat.

The release on Bauman's bill added that "keeping track of applicants, deadlines and the appointment process is also unnecessarily burdensome for constituents as well as potential candidates."

State Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville

"There seems to be a great deal of agreement that this process needs to change," Bauman said. "As the legislative branch of local government, the council plays a major role in setting public policy for the states largest city, including voting on billion-dollar budgets and addressing public safety issues. This isnt a partisan issue  both sides have called the existing process 'anti-democratic' because voters play no role in choosing immediate replacements to the council."

Story continues

Bauman added his bill would not disregard Section 152 of the Kentucky Constitution, which allows the Metro Council president to appoint someone to fill a seat if a vacancy occurs within three months of the end of an outgoing council member's term.

But HB 191 would exclude those who have filed to run in the regular election from being appointed to the seat.

"I have no issue with putting the decision in the hands of voters," Metro Council President Markus Winkler, D-17th, told The Courier Journal in an email Wednesday. "I do have a concern when Louisville is singled out for legislative action. Doesnt this same issue exist for all offices across the state? If so, shouldnt a change like this apply to every elected office?"

In response, Bauman told The Courier Journal in an email that "as a legislator representing Louisville, Im focused on our community and continue to hear from constituents about this particular issue.

"Im certainly open to working with anyone interested in broadening the language, but dont want to see our communitys needs take a backseat," Bauman said.

Stephen Haag, director of the Metro Council's Minority Caucus, which is made up of nine Republicans, told The Courier Journal the GOP members "support anything that helps bring the decision process closer to the people of the District that are affected by the vacancy."

More Metro Council news:Ordinance targets non-disclosure agreements after Racing Louisville scandal

"We have previously taken efforts to move the replacement process to a vote of the people, through Metro Council resolutions, but it is our understanding that those proposed laws have met legal roadblocks at the state," Haag wrote in an email. "Support to change the process for filling a Metro vacancy has been led by members of both parties and includes the passage of a resolution in 2018 calling for a change in the process."

State law surrounding consolidated local governments in Kentucky, such as Louisville and Lexington, says council members, not voters, must appoint a qualified resident of the council district no later than 30 days after the vacancy occurs. The appointment process involves applicants submitting resumes and then undergoing public interviews before Metro Council members, who can ask them questions about their backgrounds and priorities, for example.

After the recent appointments of Rashad and Baker, Metro Council has 17 Democrats and nine Republicans.

If Metro Councilwoman Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-8th, wins the Feb. 21 special election to fill U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey's state Senate seat, then Metro Council will have another vacancy.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky bill aims to change Metro Council vacancy appointments
Business Reporter

Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports.
What you should know about heat pumps in the Pacific Northwest
The pop-up memorial for slain Spectrum News 13 journalist Dylan Lyons at the University of Central Florida Nicholson School of Communications in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 23. Lyons, a graduate of UCF, was shot and killed while covering a homicide in Orlando.
Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.
The development of a 1,000-qubit quantum computer is under way with the participation of 28 research partners from 10 countries, including Hungary, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) said.

Hungary is contributing research from the BMEs natural sciences department and the Wigner Research Center for Physics to the 7-year OpenSuperQPlus (Open Superconducting Quantum Computers) project, the statement said.



OpenSuperQPlus is the continuation of the OpenSuperQ project, which also involved researchers from Hungary, France, Holland, Finland, Germany, Sweden and several startups specialising in quantum research.



The first phase of the project lasting 3.5 years is planned to develop a 100-qubit quantum computer.



European Unions Horizon Europe programme is providing 20 million euros to the OpenSuperQPlus project, and BME will receive 274,000 euros for its related research.
For four decades, the Esther Freshman Memorial Scholarship has provided awards of $2,500 to students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who are academically qualified, of good moral character, and show promise of becoming leaders in their chosen field.

A provision in the last will and testament of Ida Freshman, who bequeathed $195,000 to the University of Nebraska Foundation in honor of her late sister in 1979, will require a court-ordered change after it was determined that it did not comply with federal law, however.

Ida Freshmans last will, as amended in 1970, stipulated that an applicant need not be a resident of the State of Nebraska, but must be a natural born citizen of the United States."

In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Nyquist v. Mauclet, held that it was unconstitutional for a state program providing scholarships for education to discriminate against resident aliens who otherwise qualified for financial aid.

The NU Foundation, with approval of the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, applied to Lancaster County District Court in late January to make the change to say an applicant "must be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States."

As the provision of the Freshman Will restricting scholarship recipients to natural born United States citizens has become unlawful, the (foundation) seeks to modify the Freshman Will to conform with applicable laws, the application states.

The change is part of managing more than 11,000 funds providing everything from scholarships to students to endowed positions for faculty to construction of new campus facilities, the NU Foundation said in a statement.

Donors create the criteria under which theyd like their funds to be awarded, and foundation staff continually monitor and audit these donor funds to ensure they follow all applicable laws, a foundation spokeswoman said.

Because the Nyquist case focused on financial aid offered by the state of New York and not a private entity like the NU Foundation, the Esther Freshman Scholarship remained as is for more than 40 years.

Further consideration of this case in the last few years led to a change in our position, said the foundation, a nonprofit organization that manages an endowment of $2.1 billion.

We now believe that even though this and other foundation scholarships are private funds, since they are awarded to students of a public institution, it is prudent to apply this decision to foundation scholarships.

The NU Foundation said it identified the unlawful provision of the Freshman Scholarship during an internal audit done in 2022.

Because Ida Freshman, who split her estate between the NU Foundation and the Johns Hopkins Fund, died in 1977, a decade after the scholarships namesake, the foundation worked with an attorney to draft a petition to modify the will.

In a Jan. 24 letter, the attorney generals office said the change to the will to bring it in line with current law was allowed under state statute.

Based on the representations made and the information provided, the Office of the Attorney General finds no reason to object to the modification, Assistant Attorney General Justin McCully wrote.

Both Esther and Ida Freshman grew up in Beatrice and became teachers before retiring to Los Angeles, California.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
The Nebraska State Patrol arrested two men in the Panhandle after finding more than 100 pounds of suspected marijuana during a traffic stop for speeding Thursday.

A state trooper stopped a Chrysler 300 traveling east on Interstate 80 in Kimball County at 1:25 p.m. Thursday, according to a news release. The trooper detected the odor of marijuana during the traffic stop.

As the trooper prepared to search the car, the driver, a 42-year-old man from Atlantic City, New Jersey, attempted to flee on foot, according to the patrol. The trooper followed him. A bystander stopped at the scene and assisted in taking the driver into custody.

A search revealed numerous bags of suspected marijuana in duffel bags located in the back of the car. The patrol said the total weight was approximately 120 pounds.

In addition to the driver, a 48-year-old passenger from Sacramento, California, also was arrested.

Both were booked into jail on suspicion of possessing more than 1 pound of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute and no drug tax stamp. The patrol also alleges the driver resisted arrest and obstructed a peace officer.
On Feb. 21, a Union Pacific train derailed near Gothenburg, spilling 31 cars carrying thousands of tons of coal in a messy tangle that crews have been cleaning up ever since.

The recent derailment, although more severe than most, is not unusual for Nebraska. Since 2000, a train has derailed in the state roughly once every seven days, according to a Journal Star analysis of federal railroad safety data.

Over that span, Nebraska has had the fifth-most derailments in the country. Texas, with its vast land area, leads the nation; Illinois, California and Ohio round out the top five.

According to federal Office of Railroad Safety data, there were 42 derailments in Nebraska from January 2022 to November of last year, the most recent data available. Since 2000, there have been 1,473 derailments in the state. But only 8% of those  111  caused damage to train cars.

Public attention to train derailments has heightened since a fiery crash in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 contaminated the towns air and water supply with toxic vinyl chloride. The adverse health consequences for residents are yet to be fully determined.

The incident has forced federal regulators to respond to ongoing concerns about railroad safety measures. This after Congress voted in December to quash a threatened rail union strike centered on calls for paid sick leave for rail workers.

Last week, two Ohio senators introduced a bill that aims to address several key regulatory questions that arose from the disaster, including why the state of Ohio was not made aware the hazardous load was coming through and why the crew didn't learn sooner of an impending equipment malfunction.

The Railway Safety Act of 2023, co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and J.D. Vance and four others representing both parties, would require railroads to create emergency response plans and provide information about trains carrying hazardous materials to the emergency response commissions of each state a train passes through.

After the Ohio derailment, federal Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called for the freight rail industry to accept rail worker demands for paid sick leave, employ new rail safety inspection technologies while maintaining human inspections and accelerate the process of phasing in safer tank cars in compliance with a federal mandate that gives rail companies until 2029 to do so.

Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people, Buttigieg said in a letter to Norfolk Southern, the company responsible for the East Palestine mishap and subsequent contamination. We at (the Department of Transportation) are doing everything in our power to improve rail safety, and we insist that the rail industry do the same.

The Ohio derailment has commanded headlines, but train derailments overall are down considerably since 1975, when the federal railroad safety office started tracking them. Nationwide, there were 6,935 derailments in 1975. In 2021, the most recent full year of data available, there were 1,227.

But that trend does not hold true for Nebraska, which has seen broad variation in derailments that cause damage to at least one car since 1975, albeit with a significantly smaller sample size.

Union Pacific, which has its headquarters in Omaha, declined to comment specifically on the Gothenburg incident and the overall downward trend in derailments, but said in a statement that new technology has played a pivotal role in helping the company reduce risks.

Concerning human safety measures, Union Pacific has worked at enhancing training programs and reemphasizing (its) safety culture while also conducting root-cause analysis of incidents and engaging with employees to help them identify areas of risk.

Concerns remain among some lawmakers regarding the widespread adoption by major railroads, including Union Pacific, of precision scheduled railroading (PSR)," a rail operations philosophy that emphasizes cost efficiency and profit maximization by shifting the focus of moving freight from a train-by-train to a car-by-car basis and reducing the number of rail workers needed for a trains operation.

A common criticism of PSR surrounds the latter practice, with workers being required to schedule sick leave up to 30 days in advance, and reduced staffing leading to more burnout and fewer hands on deck to address potential problems on the train.

Representatives of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, the nations foremost rail union, did not respond to the Journal Stars request for comment.

While federal regulations currently require a minimum of two workers while a freight train is in operation, some lawmakers worry that the statute might soon dissolve under increased pressure from rail industry lobbyists.

Sen. Mike Jacobson, who represents the 42nd District in the Nebraska Legislature, introduced LB31 in early January, which would enshrine the two-worker minimum into state law, with the intent to pressure the federal government to maintain the statute.

Jacobsons district encompasses six counties that have three major rail lines, including a Union Pacific line through the senators hometown of North Platte  the same one that the Gothenburg derailment occurred on. The juncture near North Platte has had a high volume of derailments that caused damage since 2000 relative to the rest of the state.

And in Southeast Nebraska, a BNSF coal line has seen at least two significant derailments in nearly the same location southeast of Bennet since 2021.

In June 2021, 10 cars derailed near 148th Street and Bennet Road  about 10 miles southeast of Lincoln  after days of heavy rain saturated the area. Then in July 2022, 18 rail cars fell from the track and a nearby bridge collapsed near 190th Street and Bennet Road.

The two-worker minimum measure has been a priority for Jacobson for well more than a year since he began campaigning for office in a district dominated by rail workers.

He said the growing power exerted by the freight rail industrys top players has provided ample justification for closer oversight by government entities.

Let me underscore: Im a conservative Republican; I dont like mandates, and I do not like government interference in private business, Jacobson said. But I also see the fact that weve got three major railroads that have a lions share of the business. They really operate more like public utilities.

Although his bill has been met with some opposition, Jacobson said hes also received a broad swath of support from across the political spectrum, including Democratic Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, who added her name to the bill shortly after it was proposed.

Jacobson said hes seen a notable increase in support in the wake of the derailments in Gothenburg and East Palestine. The bill is slated for hearing by the Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunications Committee on Monday.

As people are starting to see whats happening here, theyre getting more concerned that there needs to be some intervention here to ensure that (this bill) happens, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bookings for the Hyundai Alcazar with the powerful 1.5L turbo-petrol engine opened some time back in the country. The three-row SUV of the South Korean brand is now finally launched with the new power plant, and prices for the Alcazar with the new powertrain start from Rs 16.75 lakh, ex-showroom. Also, there are a total of 4 variants on offer, namely Prestige, Platinum, Platinum (O), and Signature (O). However, only the Platinum (O) and Signature (O) trims will come with the option of an automatic transmission and 6-seater configuration. Well, the SUV is now RDE-compliant, and the new motor is E20 flex-fuel ready.

The new power plant is capable of pushing out a peak power output of 160 PS and 253 Nm of max torque. It will be available with two transmission choices - 6-speed MT and 7-speed DCT. Alongside, the existing 1.5L oil burner will be available, which produces a peak output of 116 PS and 250 Nm. The diesel engine is available with either a 6-speed MT or a 6-speed AT. Prices for the diesel variants start from Rs 16.70 lakh, ex-showroom.

Furthermore, the design of the front radiator grille is tweaked a bit, making the Alcazar look a little fresh. Also, the puddle lamps now get the Alcazar logo. Other changes on the 2023 Hyundai Alcazar make it feature-loaded. Well, the SUV gets an idle start-stop system and 6 airbags as standard affair across the range.

Also read - Meet 2023 Honda City Facelift, India's Cheapest Car with ADAS - IN PICS

The Alcazar is loaded to the gills, it comes with features like automatic climate control, ambient lighting, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, a 10.25-inch LCD for the instrument cluster, panoramic sunroof, an air filter, cruise control, Bose sound system, powered seats and more. As regards dimensions, the Alcazar is 4,500 mm long, 1,790 mm wide, and 1,675 mm tall. It also gets a 2,760 mm long wheelbase.
On Holi and Shab-e-Baraat, special squads of traffic police will be stationed alongside PCR and local police to check for drunk driving and traffic rule violations, according to officials on Tuesday. According to them, extensive preparations have been made to ensure the protection of drivers and pedestrians in the national capital, maintain traffic flow, and prevent reckless driving and two-wheeler stunts. Shab-e-Baraat and Holi both occur on that day.

During Shab-e-Baraat, people belonging to the Muslim community offer prayers besides the grave of their ancestors and also at mosques. More than 150 company security personnel other than police, 800 traffic police personnel and 9,000 local police will be deployed for Shab-e-Baraat, which will be observed on the intervening night of March 7 and 8, officials said.

Also read: Bollywood Actor Sherlyn Chopra Buys MG Gloster SUV Worth Rs 32.59 Lakh: Watch

More than 600 pickets and 1,300 motorcycle patrolling teams will be deployed across the national capital. Also, 759 traffic officers will be deployed at 283 strategic locations, the Delhi Police stated in an advisory.

Traffic Advisory



In view of the festival of Shab-e-Baraat on the intervening night of 07/08 March, 2023, elaborate traffic arrangements have been made by the Delhi Traffic Police.



Please obey the traffic rules and enjoy the festival of joy.#DPTrafficAdvisory #ShabeBaraat pic.twitter.com/ngE2xU11Rv  Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) March 6, 2023

Radar guns will also be deployed to check incidence of over-speeding, it said. According to the advisory, special teams comprising 2,033 officers will be deployed at 287 major intersections and 233 drunken and vulnerable points for Holi.

"As per the directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, in cases of drunken driving, red-light jumping, using mobile phone while driving, dangerous driving and over-speeding, driving license will also be seized and will be liable for suspension for a period of minimum three months.

"Action shall also be initiated against the registered owners of vehicles whose vehicles are found to be driven by minors/unauthorised persons, performing stunts, driving without a license, etc," it said. Public is advised to obey traffic rules and not to drink and drive, the advisory stated.

"Observe prescribed speed limits. Obey traffic signals. Do not indulge in racing or competition with other vehicles. Two-wheeler drivers and riders to wear helmets and avoid triple riding," it added.

With PTI Inputs
Expressways in India are developing at a rapid pace. The minister for road transport and highways - Nitin Gadkari, has been vocal about the new-age road infrastructure of the country, which will help in the booming economy. Gadkari has today shared the images of the just-opened Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, which is developed under the Bharatmala Project. Ministers tweet reveals that the expressway is constructed at a total expenditure of Rs 8,478 crore. Furthermore, the expressway gets a 6-lane carriageway, and there are 2-lane service roads on either side. The 10-lane access-controlled expressway is roughly 120 kilometres long, and it is claimed to bring down the travel time between two cities to just 90 minutes.

The 118 Km long #Bengaluru_Mysuru_Expressway is featuring 6 main carriageway lanes and 2 service road lanes on either side, developed at a cost of 8478 Cr as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana.#PragatiKaHighway #GatiShakti pic.twitter.com/WqKlyzmgdP  Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) March 7, 2023

The expressway will be inaugurated on March 12 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, Nitin Gadkari said, "Chennai and Bengaluru are the most important metro cities of the country. The expressway reduces the distance by 38 km and reduces the travel time from five hours to 2.15 hours. It will also reduce logistic cost by four to six per cent. We are also considering a forest underpass in the Bannerghatta forest area. If there is thick forest, then we will realign the route. He further stated that Karnataka is an important state and decongestion of traffic in Bengaluru will be considered. The introduction of a double-decker sky bus with a capacity of 200 people will also be considered.

Also read - Nitin Gadkari Says Govt Working To Make India A Global Automobile Manufacturing Hub

Furthermore, the minister quoted a few days back that before the end of 2024, Uttar Pradesh will have road infrastructure like in the US and the picture of the state will change with the development of roads. Gadkari said UP will become the leading state in the country and called upon farmers to become a provider of food as well as energy. Earlier, Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of seven National Highway projects worth Rs 6,500 crore at Chitbadgaon here. "The condition of roads in UP was not good before the year 2014. After the Narendra Modi government came to power, National Highway has increased from 7,643 km to 13,000 km in the state," Gadkari said.
Boston's Logan International Airport has been at the centre of controversy over lack of aviation safety recently. Three aviation safety related incidents have been reported in the US-based airport in a span of less than a week, while a total of five close call incidents were this year. In the latest incident, two United Airlines flights scheduled for departure from Boston Logan International Airport made contact with each other ANI reported citing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While no injuries were reported, the Federal Aviation Authority has launched an investigation into the incident involving two United Airlines flights.

As per a report, FAA in the statement said, "As a tow tug was pushing it back from the gate at Boston Logan International Airport, the right wing of United Airlines Flight 515 struck the tail of United Airlines Flight 267 around 8:30 a.m. local time this morning." The passengers on both flights were rebooked on other flights, as the passengers called the incident a little jarring.

"Both aircraft were Boeing 737s that were scheduled for departure," the statement added. A passenger Martin Neusch stressed that it was "just a pretty big shake." Neusch further said, "While we were on the plane, it just clipped the wings, so the two wings clipped each other on the plane."

Meanwhile, a passenger Nicholas Leone said, "I felt a sudden jolt and look to my right to see that the plane had crashed into the still plane," according to CNN. Nicholas Leone further said that people were a little rattled after witnessing the fire trucks and police cars. He added, "Thankfully everyone was able to offboard quickly."

Earlier, two planes narrowly escaped a crash after coming within 500 ft of each other at the airport. In this incident, a plane crossed the same runway on which a flight was about to land, forcing the pilot to abort the landing.
In a shocking incident, a United Airlines passenger tried to stab one of the flight attendants on the Los Angeles to Boston flight in the United States. As per a report on AP, a Massachusetts man named Francisco Severo Torres, 33, of Leominster travelling on United Airlines Flight 2609 tried to open the flight's emergency door when the plane was about to land at the Boston Logan International Airport. He then tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon, federal prosecutors alleged. The US attorney's office in Boston has charged Torres with attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon, the statement added.

The report further states that the plane was about 45 minutes from arrival in Boston when the crew received an alarm for emergency door. The crew noticed that a side door on the aircraft was disarmed, and the locking handle had been moved out of the fully locked position about a quarter of the way toward the unlocked position. Also, the emergency slide arming lever had been moved to the disarmed position, authorities said.

Man tackled by passengers after trying to open the emergency exit door and then attempting to stab a flight attendant with a broken spoon while on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston. https://t.co/c3YKFFlytw pic.twitter.com/abeTaNJnTO  Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) March 7, 2023

The flight crew secured the door and slide immediately and doing so, noticed that Torres was seen near the door and believed he had tampered with it. The crew then informed the captain of the flight and termed Torres as a threat to the safety and requested the captain to land the plane as soon as possible.

Torres got out of his seat and approached the two flight attendants standing in the aisle. He used a spoon to make stabbing motions, hitting a flight attendant three times in the neck area. Fellow passengers on the flight tackled Torres, who was restrained with the assistance of the crew. United Airlines said no one was injured.

"Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on United flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston," the company statement said. "The flight landed safely and was met by law enforcement."

Torres was later detained by the Federal authorities after landing at the Boston Airport and made an initial appearance in federal court. He is awaiting a hearing scheduled for Thursday. The airline said Torres will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation.
An Indian-origin woman has died in a small plane crash in the New York area while her daughter and the pilot were injured when they were on a "demonstration flight" to explore flying lessons, according to media reports. Roma Gupta, 63, was killed on Sunday on Long Island when the plane, a four-seater single-engine Piper Cherokee, went down in flames as it was returning to the Republic Airport on Long Island from where it had also taken off. Her daughter Reeva Gupta, 33, and the pilot are in hospital with severe burns, according to NBC New York TV channel.





"It was a demonstration flight, an introductory flight to see if people are interested" in flying lessons, Oleh Dekajlo, the lawyer for Danny Waizman Flight School, told the channel. The crash in a residential area of Lindenhurst that missed houses and crashed in a field was captured on home surveillance cameras.A witness told CBS New York TV, "The pilot did a great job, in my opinion, trying to avoid any houses, people and traffic." Reeva Gupta is a neurosurgery physician's assistant with the Mount Sinai Hospital System, according to an appeal set up by co-workers on Gofundme."To help fulfil a long-standing wish of theirs, they booked a flight lesson", according to the appeal which had collected nearly $70,000 by Tuesday evening to help Reeva Gupta and her family". It said that she is "fighting for her life" with third-degree burns all over her body.WABC TV reported that the 23-year-old pilot is a certified flight instructor who issued a "May Day" call - the aviation distress signal - that there was smoke in the plane before it went down.
New Delhi: The CBI on Tuesday started questioning former railway minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the land-for-jobs scam case where people were allegedly given jobs in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and associates, officials said. The examination of the RJD supremo comes a day after his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi was quizzed at her Patna residence by the agency for nearly five hours.

According to officials, a team of five CBI officials arrived in two cars at 10.40 AM at the residence of Lalu Yadavs daughter Misha Bharti in Pandara Park on Tuesday where the Bihar politician is currently residing and the questioning will continue during the day.

Delhi | A CBI team arrives at the residence of RJD MP Misa Bharti to question party chief and her father Lalu Prasad Yadav in connection with the land-for-job case. pic.twitter.com/KnTm2iPCXq  ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2023

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already filed a chargesheet in the case against Prasad, Rabri Devi and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, in which all the accused have been summoned on March 15. .

The CBI officials said that a fresh round of questioning is taking place as part of "further investigation" where the investigation agency is trying to ascertain the money trail and larger conspiracy.

The fresh questioning of ailing Prasad, who was convicted in a fodder scam, and his wife had evoked sharp criticism from opposition parties on Monday. Prasad's son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav termed the CBI action a result of his family's "relentless opposition" to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It is an open secret that probe agencies are acting against political opponents of the BJP and helping those who agree to align with that party," the RJD leader told reporters outside the Bihar Assembly on Monday.

Tejashwi Yadav said as the then railway minister, Prasad, had "no powers" to give employment in exchange for favours. He got support from Congress and the AAP which targeted the central government alleging that the saffron party wanted to "suppress" the voice of the opposition.

"Today Rabri Devi ji is being harassed. Lalu Prasad ji and his family have been harassed for years because they did not bow down," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.

AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said targeting and harassing opposition leaders is wrong. The CBI had recently arrested the then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy scam case.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad for more than two hours in connection with the land-for-jobs case. The CBI team left the residence of Lalu Yadavs daughter Misa Bhartis residence after questioning the RJD chief. RJD supremo's questioning was entirely video-graphed and all safety protocols were followed by the CBI officials as the ailing Bihar politician faces a risk of infection, said reports.

Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti was present during the questioning. According to the CBI, people were allegedly given jobs in the railways in return for land parcels gifted or sold at cheap rates to the Yadav family and associates when Lalu Yadav was Railway Minister.

#UPDATE | Delhi: The CBI team that arrived at the residence of RJD MP Misa Bharti to question the party chief and her father Lalu Prasad Yadav, leaves.



Yadav was questioned in connection with the land-for-job case. pic.twitter.com/1pdWsQGkqy  ANI (@ANI) March 7, 2023

The questing of the RJD supremo comes a day after his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi was quizzed at her Patna residence by the agency for nearly five hours.

A team of five CBI officials arrived in two cars at 10.40 AM at the residence of Misha Bharti in Pandara Park on Tuesday morning where the Bihar politician is currently residing to question him in connection with the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already filed a chargesheet in the case against Prasad, Rabri Devi and 14 others under charges of criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, in which all the accused have been summoned on March 15.

The CBI officials said that a fresh round of questioning is taking place as part of "further investigation" where the investigation agency is trying to ascertain the money trail and larger conspiracy.

The fresh questioning of ailing Prasad, who was convicted in a fodder scam, and his wife had evoked sharp criticism from opposition parties on Monday. Prasad's son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav termed the CBI action a result of his family's "relentless opposition" to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It is an open secret that probe agencies are acting against political opponents of the BJP and helping those who agree to align with that party," the RJD leader told reporters outside the Bihar Assembly on Monday.

Tejashwi Yadav said as the then railway minister, Prasad, had "no powers" to give employment in exchange for favours. He got support from Congress and the AAP which targeted the central government alleging that the saffron party wanted to "suppress" the voice of the opposition.

"Today Rabri Devi Ji is being harassed. Lalu Prasad ji and his family have been harassed for years because they did not bow down," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.

AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said targeting and harassing opposition leaders is wrong. The CBI had recently arrested the then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy scam case.
MUMBAI: Superstar Hrithik Roshan has completed the Hyderabad schedule of his upcoming movie 'Fighter'. Touted as India's first aerial action magnum opus, the film is directed by Siddharth Anand of 'Pathaan' fame.

Hrithik announced the wrap by sharing a clip of the crew returning home on a plane after finishing the shoot.

Also featuring Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor, 'Fighter' is homage to the valour, sacrifice and patriotism of the Indian armed forces.

The film, backed by Viacom18 Studios and Marflix Pictures, will arrive in theatres on January 25, 2024.

Hrithik was last seen in the neo-noir action crime thriller 'Vikram Vedha', the Hindi adaptation of the 2017 Tamil film of the same name.
New Delhi: Zomato has taken swipe on a user who asked the food delivery app 14 times if it could deliver bhang ki goli (pills of hemp) to him. It shared the post on its Twitter handle and said someone please tell Shubham from gurgaon we dont deliver bhang ki goli. He has asked us 14 times.

Delhi Police taking the dig in the entire conversation, tweeted and said, if anyone meets Shubhamtell him not to drive if he consumes Bhaang.

someone please tell shubham from gurgaon we don't deliver bhaang ki goli. he has asked us 14 times  zomato (@zomato) March 7, 2023

If anyone meets Shubham.... tell him not to drive if he consumes Bhaang. https://t.co/r94hxt5jeL March 7, 2023

A Twitter user shared the picture of a small govt-authorised bhang shop and said Zomato to sign an MOU with it. He in fact, even shared the location of the shop in the tweet.

A commercial account Beeji said Puttarji, Shubham nu Lassi behj do, Bhaang da kam te nahi kardi par aatma tript zaroor ho jayegi es garmi vich ( Son, Send Lassi (Cold Indian beverage) to Shubham, though it wont work like bhang (cannabis), but your soul will satiate).

Commenting with a light humour, a Twitter user babita Sharma wrote, plz someone tell Zomato itni baar high delivery charges k badle ess baar free ki gujiyaa deliver ker do (After taking high delivery charges for many times, please deliver gujiyaa (Indian sweet dish) to customers for free).

Rohan Agarwal commented that Rohit sitting in Bangalore got a startup idea from your tweet.
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate is expected to question and record the statement of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday as part of its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy. The central probe agency also made a fresh arrest in this case as it took into custody Hyderabad-based liquor businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, they said.

According to reports, the ED officials will reach the Tihar Jail around noon to record the statement of Sisodia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Sisodia To Remain In Jail Till March 20

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was on Monday remanded to 14-day judicial custody till March 20 in the excise scam case amid an escalating political slugfest. Sisodia will spend Holi in jail after the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) said it did not require his custody for now. His bail plea hearing is expected to come up on March 10.

Sisodia, who joins his former Cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain in jail, was produced before special judge M K Nagpal on the expiry of his seven-day custodial interrogation allowed by the court earlier after his arrest on February 26. Jain is lodged in Tihar jail since May last year following his arrest in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate(ED).

During the hearing, the CBI also accused supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) of 'politicising' the matter. It had arrested Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22.

Sisodia Allowed To Take Bhagavad Gita, Spectacles, Medicine

The court allowed Sisodia to carry the Bhagavad Gita, spectacles, medicine etc. To jail while directing the Tihar jail authorities to consider his request for being allowed to do Vipassana meditation. A Tihar jail official said Sisodia was brought to prison following the court order and he will be lodged in jail number-1 after the completion of due formalities.

As the AAP stepped up its attack on the BJP and also maintained that the CBI had no grounds to seek Sisodia's further interrogation, the Congress sought to clear the air over its stand on his arrest, asserting that the allegations in the Delhi excise policy case are serious and must be probed.

The Congress, which has largely kept its distance from the arrest of Sisodia, however, said its stand on misuse of central agencies is clear that they are used against the Opposition in most of the cases. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate told reporters that the Congress was 'not at all confused' about its stance on Sisodia's arrest and that its stand is clear. She also said the AAP does not utter a word when central agencies act against other Opposition leaders, be it from those in Congress, in Bihar or Maharashtra.

Political Slugfest Over Sisodia

AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday said the Congress never stands by the Opposition and engages in a war of words with the BJP merely to "fool" the country. At the CBI court, the counsel for the investigating agency submitted it was not seeking his custody right now which it may do later.

The CBI claimed that the witnesses yet to be confronted are under apprehension and terrified by the conduct of the accused. "They are giving political colour to this. Entire arguments are running in media even before the court order is passed," CBI counsel Praneet Sharma told the court.

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that the CBI had no questions, no grounds to seek his interrogation. "They have no documentary evidence." Attacking the BJP, he said its spokespersons have been alleging on TV debates that the excise policy case is an open-and-shut case and showing fake documents to claim that there was a scam.

"If they have evidence, why don't they hand it over to the CBI," the AAP leader told reporters. He said the court will hear Sisodia's bail plea on March 10.

The Delhi Congress stepped up its attack on the AAP and put up posters showing Sisodia and Jain behind bars with the caption 'the corrupt are in jail'. Asked why the Congress was "confused" about its stance on the issue, Supriya Shrinate said, "We are not at all confused, our stand is clear."

"Our stand is clear, the allegations (in the excise policy case) are very serious, we are the original complainant, and they should be probed. But in the same breath, we would say that these agencies are used against the Opposition in most of the cases."

Intensifying its attack on the AAP, BJP workers burnt effigies of "corruption" and "liquor scam" near Hanuman Mandir here, as it reiterated its demand for resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the excise scam.
New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly shot by her friend on Monday evening in northeast Delhi's Nand Nagri district. Police received information at 8:27 pm regarding the incident, they said. They reached the spot at Subhash Park and found that the girl had been shot at by her friend Kasim. She was shifted to the GTB hospital by her family members, a senior police officer said.

"The girl was shot in the shoulder. Her friend Kasim, aged 19-20 years fired at her over an argument. We formed multiple teams to nab him. The accused Kasim has been caught. A case under IPC 307 has been registered. Probe underway," said Joy Tirkey, DCP (Northeast), Delhi as quoted by ANI.

The girl is under observation at the hospital and her condition is stable. Efforts are on to trace and apprehend the accused, the officer said, adequate personnel have been deployed in the area.

According to a police official, they received a call about 8.30 p.m. telling them of a shooting in the Subhash Park neighbourhood of Nand Nagri. Seeing the gravity of the situation, adequate police staff have been deployed in the area to avoid untoward incidents. Further investigation in the matter but no arrest has been made as of now, police said.
NEW DELHI: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Chief Arshad Madani, who had recently triggered a controversy by saying that Om and Allah are one, has now changed his tracks and said that we all are children of the same parents. Madani, who was invited to a Holi celebration event organised by BJP leader Colonel Rajiv at his Bhayala village residence, stressed on universal brotherhood and unity in his message to Hindus and Muslims

Speaking on the occasion, the noted Muslim cleric said that We all are children of the same parents. We should rise above caste and religion and live in peace and harmony.'' During his speech, the Madani stressed on Hindu-Muslim unity and warned the two communities not to fall prey to those who fuel the divide, sow seeds of distrust, and spread hatred by constantly spewing venom against each other.

The noted Muslim scholar urged the two communities to uphold the age-old Ganga-Jamuni tradition and defeat the secessionist forces. It may be noted that Madani, president of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Arshad Madani faction), was recently in the eye of a storm for saying that Om and Allah are one.

When there was no one (no Gods), the question is who did Manu worship? Very few people know that when there was nothing in the world, Manu would worship Om. I asked, Who is Om. Some said Om has no colour, no shape. Like the air, it is everywhere. It made the skies and the earth. I said this is what we call Allah. You call the same thing Ishwar, Madani said.

The Muslim cleric, who heads the Arshad Madani faction of the outfit, said that he asked the "dharma gurus" as to who was worshipped when there was no Shri Ram, Brahma or Shiva.

Madani made these remarks while addressing the three-day general assembly of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) at Ramlila Ground, with Hindu, Jain, Christian and Sikh leaders in attendance.

During the same event, his nephew Maulana Mahmood Madani also claimed that India is the birthplace of Islam and asserted that the country belongs to him as much as it does to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. The cleric stated that it is wrong to suggest that Islam came from outside while claiming that the "first Prophet of Islam, Adam, descended here".

However, the Hindu Sena  a right-wing outfit  later lodged a police complaint against Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani and his nephew, Maulana Mahmood Madani over their controversial remarks.

In its letter to Delhi Police Commissioner, Hindu Sena alleged that the statements of Maulana Mahmood Madani and Maulana Arshad Madani have hurt sentiments of Hindus.

The letter also stated that the remarks made on the second and third day of the 34th general session of the Jamiat at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi could cause an "environment of instability" in the country. The right-wing group even urged Delhi Police to register a case of religious frenzy in the matter.
Coimbatore: Members of Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam on Tuesday filed a complaint against Lok Janshakti Party chief Chirag Paswan, a day after he met Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over "rumoured" attacks on migrant labourers, in Coimbatore district of the southern state. Citing confusion in the state, triggered by Paswan`s meeting with Governor Ravi, the members filed a complaint with the police in Coimbatore. Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam said, Paswan met with the Governor and also filed a petition regarding the incident despite the attacks having been termed "false" and "fake". "This is creating a confusion," they added. Condemning the incident, the members of Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam also met City Police commissioner and urged him to take action against the leader.

Paswan on Monday called on Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai. The meeting came in the bakdrop of panic sweeping the state`s migrant labourers from Bihar amid rumours of attacks. Paswan also interacted with migrant labourers from Bihar amid rumours of targeted attacks.

Also Read: Fake News On Migrant Workers In Tamil Nadu Is Disheartening, Tamils Don't Endorse Separatism: K Annamalai

"Today, the national president of Lok Janshakti Party @iChiragPaswan met Bihari labourers living in Tamil Nadu and assured them of all possible help against the atrocities being committed against them," the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) said in a tweet. Earlier on Monday, Tamil Nadu DGP C Sylendra Babu said that the situation is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work.

    (.)      @iChiragPaswan                           pic.twitter.com/YhBRviZsMM  Lok Janshakti Party (@LJP4India) March 6, 2023

While speaking to ANI, the top cop urged the media to act responsibly while also asking the people not to spread any such messages on social media which are "offensive".

"The situation now is peaceful and the workers have resumed their work. A few of them have left for the Holi celebrations. They had already booked their tickets and therefore they are gone, otherwise, we are able to convince them through the employers. The police officers have reached out to the migrant workers and also convinced them that there is no such incident of attack on Bihari workers or workers from any other state here. Whatever they have seen in the media that the migrant labourers are attacked, they are all fake videos," the police official said.

He said that the migrant labourers are now convinced, as a result of the reach out by the police. He also appealed to the migrant workers not to believe in what has been reported in the media and the rumours on social media stating that the police officials are active in their protection.

"Rumours are very dangerous and can cause serious law and order problems. Therefore, do not forward any such posts on social media which is very offensive and which can cause serious bitterness between two groups of people. I appeal to the migrant workers that there is nothing of this nature which has been reported in the press has happened. You can trust our officers, we are in touch with you. Keep attending to your work. There is nothing adverse here. We are always here for your protection," he said.

"Everybody must act responsibly including the members of the press," the DGP added.
Bangladesh, Dhaka Blast: A blast inside a building in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has left 11 people dead and more than 100 injured.

The horrific pictures and videos of the blast are going viral online.

The explosion took place at a 5-storey building near a BRTC bus counter in the capital's Gulistan area. The death toll likely to increase, local media reported.

The Dhaka Trinune Digital reported that 11 firefighting units were rushed to the spot.

The Rapid Action Battalion's bomb disposal unit is heading to the spot to inspect the buildings.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Kolkata heaved a sigh of relief after the flight with Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal took off from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport for Delhi sharp at 6.56 p.m. on Tuesday. Mondal was allotted the middle seat on the Vistara flight, with two ED officers occupying the seats on either side. A total of three ED officers and one medical official are accompanying Mondal in the flight.

"The process of taking Mondal to Delhi by ED started almost three months back. However, it got delayed repeatedly as he approached multiple courts. But better late than never and ultimately, he is on his way to Delhi," said an ED officer. Mondal was arrested in September last year by the Central Bureau of India (CBI) for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cattle scam in West Bengal. Since then, he has been under judicial custody at the Asansol Special Correctional Home.

On Tuesday morning, first a joint team of the correction home and Asansol-Durgapur Police Commiserate reached the ESI hospital in Kolkata at around 11.15 a.m. After a four-member medical team conducted a three-hour medical examination and provided the `fit` certificate to the accused, the ED took over.

They started for the airport escorted by central armed forces personnel at 2.30 p.m. After reaching the airport at around 3.20 p.m., the escorting ED officers took him to the VIP lounge and started waiting for the boarding announcement. Throughout the waiting period at the VIP lounge, Mondal and his escorting ED officials were surrounded by a team of CISF personnel engaged in airport security duty.

The flight is scheduled to reach Delhi at 9.10 p.m. From the airport, Mondal will be taken to the Safdarjung Hospital after which he will be housed at ED`s national headquarters for the night. On Wednesday, he will be presented before the Rouse Avenue Courts.

(The above article is sourced from news agency IANS. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency IANS is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the basic idea behind the Chinese troops on the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh borders is similar to what is happening in Ukraine, adding that he mentioned this to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar but he disagreed terming it a "ludicrous idea". The Congress MP, who is in London these days, made these remarks during an interaction at the Chatham House.

He said, "In my view, the basic idea behind the troops in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh is similar to what is happening in Ukraine. I mentioned this to the Foreign Minister (S Jaishankar) but he completely disagrees with me and thinks it is a ludicrous idea."

Comparing the Indian borders to that of Ukraine, the Congress leader said, "The basic principle that has been applied in Ukraine is that Russia has told Ukraine that we do not accept your relationship with Europe and America and if you do not change this relationship, we will challenge your territorial integrity."

"I think this is what is happening on the borders of my country. China doesn`t want us to have a relationship with the US. It is threatening us by saying if you continue to have a relationship then we`ll take action. That is why they have got troops in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh," Rahul Gandhi added.

BJP Will Not Be In Power Eternally: Rahul

During his interaction, Rahul Gandhi also attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, saying the party likes to believe it will be in power in India eternally but that is not the case. And to say the Congress is "gone" is a ridiculous idea, Opposition MP Rahul Gandhi said in London on Monday.

Addressing an in-conversation session at the Chatham House think tank on Monday evening to round off his week-long UK tour, Gandhi also pinpointed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's lack of focus on a shifting nature of the political discourse in India as the key factor behind its failure.

"To put it in perspective, if you look at the time from independence to now, the Congress party has been in power for the majority of the time," he said. "Before the BJP was in power for 10 years, we were in power for 10 years. The BJP likes to believe that they have come to power in India and they are going to be in power eternally, that is not the case," the Congress leader added.

The BJP-led government came to power in India in 2014. Gandhi, the MP from Kerala's Wayanad, pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and the UPA government off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.

"We were focusing a lot on the rural space and we missed the ball at the beginning on the urban space, that is a fact. Those things are there. But to say that the BJP is in power and the Congress gone, that is actually a ridiculous idea," he said.

Rahul Maligning India's Image: BJP

The BJP has accused Gandhi of maligning India on foreign soil while praising China. Union minister Anurag Thakur hit out at the Congress leader on Monday for his remarks and asked him not to betray the nation.

"Don't betray India, Rahul Gandhiji. The objections to India's foreign policy are evidence of your scant understanding of the issue. No one will believe the lies you spread about India from foreign soil," Thakur told reporters in New Delhi.
New Delhi: Conrad Sangma and Neiphiu Rio will take oath as chief ministers of Meghalaya and Nagaland respectively on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expected to attend the swearing-in ceremonies of the two northeastern leaders.

While Sangma's NPP-led alliance in Meghalaya will lead the government with the support of 45 MLAs, including two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party's Rio will head an all-party government with no opposition in Nagaland.

Conrad Sangma to take oath as Meghalaya CM for second straight term

In Meghalaya, NPP chief Sangma, whose party secured 26 seats in the February 27 elections, will take oath as the chief minister for a second consecutive term along with other cabinet ministers.

Handed over the letter of support to Honble Governor, Sh. Shri Phagu Chauhan Ji from UDP and PDF to form the Government in alliance with the NPP . pic.twitter.com/a1spSGX3KQ  Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023

On Monday, 58 newly elected MLAs were sworn in as members of the Meghalaya assembly with pro-tem speaker Timothy D Shira administering the oath of office and secrecy to them. The speaker of the newly formed assembly will be elected on March 9 during a special House session.

Glimpses of the oath taking ceremony of Honble MLAs to the 11th Meghalaya Assembly.



It is the faith of the people that has led us this far. Proud to represent South Tura Constituency as their MLA. My best wishes to all fellow MLAs.



To God be the glory. pic.twitter.com/Wfohb0cSuw  Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023

Neiphiu Rio to be sworn as Nagaland CM for fifth time

In Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, 72, will be sworn as chief minister of the northeastern state for the fifth term.

As per reports, BJP National President JP Nadda will also be present at the swearing-in to be held at around 1.30 pm.

In the recently concluded Nagaland polls, the NDPP-BJP coalition had won 37 seats in the 60-member Assembly. The alliance was the only pre-poll one in the state and contested on a 40:20 seat-sharing formula.

I express my grateful appreciation to the electorates of Northern Angami-II A/C for the confidence and collective efforts which ensured my victory in the Assembly Elections. I accept with humility and gratitude the responsibility reposed upon me. pic.twitter.com/xQoAYjtMP6  Neiphiu Rio (@Neiphiu_Rio) March 3, 2023

The regional party increased its tally from 18 in 2018 to 25 this time, while the saffron party retained its tally of 12 seats, giving the alliance the absolute majority to retain power for the second straight term.

Subsequently, all other parties in Nagaland extended their letters of support to the Rio-led alliance.

Meanwhile, the BJP in Tripura stated that its leader Manik Saha will continue to hold the post of chief minister and will take oath on Thursday, a day after Holi.

Saha was named as the CM at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in Agartala on Monday.

My sincere gratitude to all for electing me as the leader of legislature party.



Under the guidance of Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, we shall work together to build 'Unnata Tripura, Shrestha Tripura' & ensure the welfare of all sections of people.@blsanthosh pic.twitter.com/UC0IrV3QOA March 6, 2023

After being elected as the Leader of the Legislature Party, today called on Hon'ble Governor of Tripura Shri Satyadeo Narain Arya Ji at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form the Government in the state.@blsanthosh pic.twitter.com/Zotjy6yaj4  Prof.(Dr.) Manik Saha (@DrManikSaha2) March 6, 2023

In the recently held Tripura elections, the saffron camp had bagged 32 seats in the 60-member Assembly, while its ally -- Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) -- won one seat.
New Delhi: National People's Party (NPP) chief Conrad Sangma on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) took oath as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya for the second consecutive term.

Sangma, whose party won 26 seats in the February 27 elections, took oath along with other cabinet ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda and other senior leaders.

Swearing-in ceremony of new Meghalaya government in Shillong. https://t.co/EIhU1uEJO2  BJP (@BJP4India) March 7, 2023

Sangma has eight ministers from his party in the new Meghalaya government headed by him, while its allies have four ministerial berths.

While NPP's ally UDP has two ministers, the BJP and the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) have one each.

According to the rule, Meghalaya with a 60-member assembly cannot have more than 12 ministers including the CM.

The NPP president currently has the support of 45 legislators.

Handed over the letter of support to Honble Governor, Sh. Shri Phagu Chauhan Ji from UDP and PDF to form the Government in alliance with the NPP . pic.twitter.com/a1spSGX3KQ  Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023

On Monday, Sangma had said that the name of the ruling coalition's Speaker candidate will be announced after further consultation with allies.

The NPP became the single-largest party winning 26 seats in the recently held Meghalaya Assembly polls.

The UDP bagged 11 seats while the BJP, HSPDP, and the People's Democratic Front (PDF) got two seats each. Besides them, two Independent members also extended support to Sangma.

Earlier on Monday, the newly elected members of the Meghalaya assembly also took the oath with pro-tem speaker Timothy D Shira administering the oath of office and secrecy to them.

Glimpses of the oath taking ceremony of Honble MLAs to the 11th Meghalaya Assembly.



It is the faith of the people that has led us this far. Proud to represent South Tura Constituency as their MLA. My best wishes to all fellow MLAs.



To God be the glory. pic.twitter.com/Wfohb0cSuw  Conrad K Sangma (@SangmaConrad) March 6, 2023

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma fought his first election in 2004

US and UK-trained Conrad Sangma, who now runs the NPP formed by his father PA Sangma, had fought his first election in 2004, which resulted in a narrow defeat. However, since then, the 45-year-old has emerged as a powerful politician in his father's mould, growing stronger by the election.

Elected for the first time as an MLA in 2008, Sangma who did his MBA in finance had served as the finance minister till 2009.

He was the Leader of the Opposition from 2009 to 2013 when Mukul Sangma became the chief minister of the Congress government.

In 2015, he ensured the victory of his party in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council Election.

The next year saw the death of his father, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, and he became the president of the NPP.

Conrad Sangma was elected to Lok Sabha in 2016

In 2016, Conrad Sangma was also elected to the Lok Sabha in a by-poll from Tura, but two years later, he was back at the helm of Meghalaya.

Apart from politics, he also serves as president of the PA Sangma Foundation which runs four colleges in rural Meghalaya.

Conrad Sangma did his schooling from Delhi's St Columba's School

Conrad Sangma did his schooling at Delhi's St Columba's School.

He also has a BBA degree in entrepreneurial management from the University of Pennsylvania and did his MBA in finance from Imperial College, University of London.

The NPP supremo is married to a doctor Mehtab Chandee.
New Delhi: Amid border tensions with China, Indian Army on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) commenced a maiden joint military exercise -- FRINJEX-23 -- with the French Army.

The two-day exercise is taking place at the Pangode Military Station, Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. It is the first time armies of both nations are engaging in this format with each contingent comprising a Company Group each from the Thiruvananthapuram-based Indian Army troops and French 6th Light Armoured Brigade.

According to India's Ministry of Defence, the exercise is aimed at enhancing inter-operability, coordination and cooperation between both forces at the tactical level.

Maiden Joint Military Exercise #FRINJEX 2023 between the #IndianArmy and the #FrenchArmy commenced at #Thiruvanthapuram. The exercise aims at enhancing interoperability and synergy between the armies of the two Nations.#IndiaFranceFriendship @adgpi pic.twitter.com/nwmwLy0esa  Southern Command INDIAN ARMY (@IaSouthern) March 7, 2023

"The scope of the exercise involves establishment and operationalisation of a joint command post to secure an envisaged area for undertaking joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, establishing an Internally Displaced Population (IDP) camp and move of disaster relief material," an official statement read.

The French contingent, which arrived in Kerala on Monday, comprised six officers and 111 troops.

#FRINJEX 2023



The French Naval Warship #DIXMUDE reached #Kochi & received a warm welcome by the #IndianArmy and #IndianNavy. Armies of the two Nations will be participating in the maiden joint military exercise #FRINJEX at #Thiruvananthapuram.#IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/SPzco5sJti  ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) March 6, 2023

The joint exercise will further cement defence cooperation with France which is a key aspect of the overall Indo-France strategic partnership, the statement added.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday (March 6, 2023) reviewed the operational capabilities of the Indian Navy and told the top Naval commanders "to be ready" as future conflicts will be "unpredictable". During the Naval Commanders' Conference held aboard India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant, he examined the operational demonstrations at sea and highlighted the Navy's capability to undertake multi-dimensional missions towards safeguarding the maritime interests of the country.

"Future conflicts will be unpredictable. The constantly-evolving world order has forced everyone to re-strategise. Constant vigil on the Northern and Western borders as well as the entire coastline must be maintained. We need to be ready to deal with all future challenges," Singh said.

In his address to the Commanders, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader lauded the Indian Navy for "standing firm" and protecting national interests with "courage and dedication".

Addressed the Indian Navy Commanders Conference onboard @IN_R11Vikrant and reviewed their operational capabilities.



The Indian Navy has strengthened Indias position as Preferred Security Partner in the Indian Ocean Region. https://t.co/kq7Szc4M0Z pic.twitter.com/4ZZn6mJBQL  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) March 6, 2023

He exhorted them to continue focussing on futuristic capability development to effectively overcome the emerging security challenges in the maritime domain.

'Secured borders' first requirement to ensure economic progress

Rajnath Singh asserted that "secured borders" are the first requirement to ensure social and economic progress and said that India -- under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership -- is moving forward in 'Amrit Kaal' with renewed thrust and zeal to achieve this objective.

"In the next 5-10 years, orders worth over $100 billion are expected to be placed through the defence sector and it will become a major partner in the economic development of the country. Today, our defence sector is on the runway, soon when it takes off, it will transform the countrys economy," he said.

A Day At Sea#INSVikrant is an outstanding symbol of Indias self reliance in ship building and maritime security. pic.twitter.com/mvmTfqXgFS March 6, 2023

"If we want to see India among the top economic powers of the world by the end of Amrit Kaal, we need to take bold steps towards becoming a defence superpower," Singh added.

Huge country like India needs to be 'completely self-reliant'

Rajnath Singh said that a huge country like India needs to be "completely self-reliant" and not dependent on others for its security.

The BJP parliamentarian, who also celebrated 'Holi' with the naval personnel on board INS Vikrant, termed the recent announcement of an earmarking record 75% of the defence capital procurement budget for the domestic industry in 2023-24 as a testament to the Governments "firm commitment to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing".

He listed out numerous steps taken by the Modi Government to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in defence, including notification of four Positive Indigenisation Lists, increase in FDI limit and creating a favourable environment for Indian vendors including MSMEs.

On the commissioning of INS Vikrant, Singh said that it has further reinforced the belief that Indias Naval designing and development is at a promising stage and more progress will be made in the times to come.
New Delhi: India, the current chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), is all set to host the organization's first ministerial meeting- Energy Ministers meet on March 14th. India has already extended formal invitations to all the members of the organization for an in-person meet in Delhi, with participation still being confirmed.

In the run-up to the SCO summit under India's presidency, India will be holding meetings for SCO defense, National Security Advisor (NSA), interior, and environment ministers. India is expected to hold transport, culture, Defense minister meet in April, Foreign minister meet in May in Goa and summit on 25th June in Delhi.

SCO Energy minister meet comes days after India hosted key meetings of the G20 grouping, the finance minister meeting in Bangalore and the foreign minister meet in Delhi. India this year is the chair of both G20 and SCO groupings.

SCO was founded over 20 years ago, with the goal of promoting economic, political, and military cooperation among its member countries. The organization's members include Russia, India, China, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The SCO covers over 60% of the Eurasian landmass, 40% of the world population, and 30% of global GDP.

Additionally, with Iran becoming the latest country to join the organization, it will attend the grouping's meetings as a full-fledged member for the first time this year under Indian Presidency. As more and more countries from west Asia express their interest in joining the organization as dialogue partners, the SCO's importance continues to increase.
New Delhi: Reacting to BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad's criticism of Rahul Gandhi's comments in the UK, the Congress on Tuesday accused him of lying "with a straight face," twisting, and distorting the truth. The Congress launched its assault when Prasad, a former Union minister, attacked Gandhi for his criticism of the RSS and the situation of democracy in India (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). The BJP leader`s remarks came after Rahul Gandhi in the UK said, "Why Europe and the US - the defenders of democracies were oblivious of how a huge chunk of democracy in India has come undone?" At a press conference, the BJP leader accused Gandhi of seeking the intervention of Europe and the US in India, and said he has gone against the consensus in India against any interference in its internal affairs by foreign powers.

"Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad is doing what he and his Supremo do best-- distort, twist, defame and lie with a straight face," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad is doing what he and his Supremo do best--distort, twist, defame and lie with a straight face. https://t.co/8GuRmohU3Z  Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 7, 2023

Tagging a media report on Prasad's remarks at the presser, Congress' media department head Pawan Khera said on Twitter, "There is nothing more amusing than watching an unemployed leader of a ruling party trying to seek relevance and re-employment."

"Those who have a full time job of twisting statements of opposition leaders forget their own favourite slogan 'Ab Kii Baar, Trump Sarkaar'," Khera said.

There is nothing more amusing than watching an unemployed leader of a ruling party trying to seek relevance and re-employment.

Those who have a full time job of twisting statements of opposition leaders forget their own favourite slogan Ab Kii Baar, Trump Sarkaar. https://t.co/F8sMB9ZBjq March 7, 2023

Earlier today, Prasad urged Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge to clear the party`s stand over Rahul Gandhi`s statement in which he asked for America and Europe`s interference to restore democracy in India. The BJP leader termed Rahul Gandhi`s remark as an "utterly irresponsible statement" and "shameful".

Gandhi's remarks at various interactions in the UK have triggered a political slugfest with the BJP accusing him of maligning India on foreign soil and the Congress hitting back by citing instances of Prime Minister Narendra Modi raking up internal politics abroad.
At least 15 students from the minority Hindu community celebrating Holi at the University of Karachi were injured when they were attacked by some members of a radical Islamic student organisation, the second such incident in Pakistan in two days.

A University of Karachi official confirmed there had been an incident in the Sindhi department where Hindus and other students were celebrating Holi and throwing colours at each other when some students attacked and injured them.

"We are looking into the incident which is totally against our policies," he said. An unnamed Hindu girl student, wearing a mask along with other students, later released a video on Twitter outlining the entire incident.

"The Islaami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists came and attacked students celebrating Holi in the hall. They beat some of us," she said.

"They also harassed female students and we had to leave the place. We had assembled to celebrate the Holi festival. I want the government and varsity to take action against those responsible," she said.

The attack on Hindu students in Karachi was the second such incident in Pakistan since Monday.

At the Punjab University campus, 15 students were injured when IJT activists allegedly stopped them from celebrating Holi at the premises here.

Holi, a festival of colours, is celebrated to mark the onset of spring.

The incident took place at the Law College of Punjab University on Monday, when around 30 Hindu students gathered to celebrate Holi.

When contacted by PTI, IJT (Punjab University) spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid denied the involvement of its students in the incident.

(The above article is sourced from news agency PTI. Zeenews.com has made no editorial changes to the article. News agency PTI is solely responsible for the contents of the article)
The Christian Mission Center Food Pantry is the beneficiary of the recent Soup-er Bowl Party hosted by the Off Our Rockers senior group at the Church on the Boll Weevil Circle in Enterprise.

Off Our Rockers is an informal group of senior church members started late last year by church members Lynn and Greg Watson. The group meets monthly following a Sunday night church service.

After choosing a name and a T-shirt design, the group traveled to DeFuniak Springs, Florida, for the Christmas Reflections light display around the lake as their first group event. The trip was followed by the Soup-er Bowl Party canned soup collection event to benefit the mission food pantry.

Tentative future events include riding the Harriot Paddle Boat in Montgomery, a Kentucky Derby themed party, and another project supporting the Christian Mission.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (March 6, 2023) chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness for the hot weather conditions in the upcoming summer season and called for a detailed fire audit of all the hospitals. In a meeting at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital, PM Modi was briefed about the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) weather forecast for the next few months and on the likelihood of a normal monsoon.

According to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Modi was also briefed about the impact of weather on Rabi crops and the expected yield of major crops. The Prime Minister was briefed about the preparedness of states and hospital infrastructure in terms of the availability of required supplies and preparedness for emergencies. He was also updated on various efforts underway across the country to prepare for disasters related to heat and mitigation measures in place.

The efforts underway to monitor irrigation water supply, fodder, and drinking water were also reviewed.

ALSO READ | Global Warming Effect: India Records Warmest February Since 1877; Centre Issues Heat Wave Advisory

During the meeting, which was attended by the Principal Secretary to the PM, Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Secretary Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Secretary Ministry of Earth Sciences and Member Secretary of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), PM Modi said that separate awareness material should be prepared for different stakeholders including citizens, medical professionals, municipal and panchayat authorities, disaster response teams like firefighters, etc.

He also instructed the concerned officials to incorporate some multimedia lecture sessions in schools to sensitise children on dealing with extreme heat conditions.

Issue daily weather forecasts in a manner that can be easily interpreted: PM Modi tells IMD

PM Narendra Modi said that protocols and dos and donts for hot weather should be prepared in accessible formats, and various other modes of publicity like jingles, films, pamphlets etc. should also be prepared and issued.

He also asked IMD to issue daily weather forecasts in a manner that can be easily interpreted and disseminated.

The Prime Minister suggested that TV news channels, FM radio, etc should spend a few minutes daily to explain the daily weather forecast in a manner that would allow citizens to take necessary precautions.

Need for detailed fire audits of all hospitals: PM Modi ahead of summer

Ahead of the summer season, PM Modi also stressed the need for detailed fire audits of all hospitals and that mock fire drills be done in all hospitals by firefighters.

The need for a coordinated effort to deal with forest fires was also pointed out, the PMO said.

ALSO READ | Early Onset of Summer in Delhi? Maximum temperature above normal, says IMD

In the meeting, it was discussed that systemic changes should be made to support efforts to prevent and tackle forest fires.

Chaired a meeting today to take stock of the preparedness for the upcoming summer including aspects relating to agriculture, augmenting medical infrastructure and disaster management apparatus. https://t.co/mhuwkqWFn0 pic.twitter.com/9cTFW6qmgu March 6, 2023

He instructed that the availability of fodder and of water in reservoirs should be tracked.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) was also asked to prepare to ensure optimal storage of grains in extreme weather conditions.
Amritsar: Holding three meetings of the G20 has become a monumental litmus test for the Punjab government amidst incessant warnings and threats by the terror organisation Sikh for Justice (SFJ) to disrupt the international summits and propagate Khalistan. Two Congress MPs Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Jasbir Singh Gill and one MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira has already apprehended at Punjab government's intentions to shift the venue of G 20 meets out of Punjab. In wake of the law and order situation such as seizing Ajnala police station by the activists of Waris Punjab De on February 20 and the SFJ threats but at the same time they have challenged Punjab governments for its incapability to host the international event. This led to Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann himself visit Amritsar, review the security situation, monitor the ongoing preparedness of the administration, and motivate everyone involved in the process of making arrangements for the three meets.

Sikh For Justice (SFJ), the radical organization, banned in 2019 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for anti-India Khalistan Referendum and running a secessionist drive, has already raised a flag eulogising Khalistan in Makhu and Amritsar -Verka bypass and have also threatened to disrupt the rail traffic by blocking rail tracks in Punjab on March 15 and 16 bringing which if materializes will bring much embarrassment to Punjab government.

Also Read: Situation Totally Peaceful: Punjab DGP After Violence Reported In Gurudwara Sahib Manikaran

Notably, a G20 Meeting on Education and a Meeting on Labour is scheduled to be held from March 15 to 17 and March 19 to 20 respectively and a separate Y 20 meeting is scheduled to be held on March 15 in Amritsar.

The Punjab government is busy giving a cosmetic touch to the holy city and has launched a beautification driver but the moot question remains how the Punjab government is going to deal with such elements and if anything goes wrong, it will put the nation in a bad light and give much-needed ammunition to the opposition political parties.

Sources here are of the view that all the concerned security and intelligence agencies are working overtime to rule out any possibility of separatist elements making any trouble but so far they have not been able to stop the fringe elements from acts like hoisting flags welcoming delegates to Khalistan. When asked about security preparedness, Amritsar police commissioner Naunihal Singh said they were making arrangements for all possible contingencies.
New Delhi: Holi is here and so our favourite Bollywood actors are busy celebrating the festival of colours. Sisters Kareena Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor were the first ones to share pictures from their holi celebrations. Taking to Instagram, Kareena posted pictures with her kids Taimur and Jeh as they played Holi and are all wet with water and colours.

In the first picture, Kareena could be seen posing with both the kids. In second picture, Taimur can be seen with a pichkari while in the third, Jeh can be seen with a pichkari and a bucket. Saif Ali Khan, however, was missing from the celebrations. Can't wait for the nap we're going to have post this fab #holi session (miss you you Saifuuu), Kareena captioned the post.

Fans could not control their excitement as soon as they saw the pictures and shared their love in the comments section. Happy Holi Tim and Jeh Love you beboo, a user commented. taimur looks like Raj Kapoor Sahab, another user commented.

Karisma Kapoor also dropped pictures from her Holi celebration. In the pictures, Karisma could be seen alone smiling as posed in several different ways. Karisma wore a white kurta which was all coloured by the end of her string of pictures. How it started and how its going Happy Holi, she captioned the post.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kareena will next be seen in Rhea Kapoor`s `The Crew`, which also stars Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh and Tabu. She also has Sujoy Ghosh`s next thriller film which is based on the book The Devotion of Suspect X. It also stars Vijay Varma and Jaideep Ahlawat. Karisma Kapoor, on the other hand, will be seen in 'Murder Mubarak' alongside Sara Ali Khan and upcoming drama series Brown which has been directed by Abhinay Deo.
New Delhi: Ahead of the Oscars, RRR actor Jr NTR has arrived at the Beverly Hills in California. The actor shared a glimpse of his back while sitting in California. Earlier, photos and videos of the south superstar leaving for the US at Hyderabad airport on Monday had gone viral on the Internet. The actor was seen wearing a beige-coloured hoody with black pants in the video as he greeted the fans. Jr NTR has gone for the ceremony as RRRs song Naatu Naatu is competing for the Academy award in the category of Best Original Score.

See the pic shared by Jr NTR

Last week, Jr NTR along with Alia Bhatt were awarded the `Spotlight Award` at Hollywood Critics Association 2023. "Dear RRR supporters & fans, We would like to share with you the awards for N.T Rama Rao Jr. & Alia Bhatt. We will be sending them out next week. Thank you for all your love and support. The Hollywood Critics Association #RRRGoesGlobal #RRRMovie #AliaBhatt #NTRamaRaoJr," the organisers wrote on Twitter.

Speaking of `Naatu Naatu`, the song is competing with "This Is A Life" from "Everything Everywhere All at Once," "Applause" from "Tell It Like a Woman," and "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," all of which are part of the scheduled performances for the 95th annual ceremony, Variety reported. Before entering the Oscars, the song bagged awards on the global stage. In January, `Naatu Naatu` won the Golden Globes in the `Best Original Song` category.

Five days later, `RRR` bagged two more awards at the 28th edition of the Critics Choice Awards. One is for the best song and another is for `best foreign language film.` Since then, `RRR` and `Naatu Naatu` are riding high on the global chart. The song was also released in Hindi as `Naacho Naacho`, in Tamil as `Naattu Koothu`, in Kannada as `Halli Naatu` and in Malayalam as `Karinthol`. Its Hindi version was sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Vishal Mishra. The hook steps, performed by Jr NTR and Ram Charan, went viral on social media and their energetic synchronisation made the song a treat to watch.

(With ANI inputs)
New Delhi: In a shocking incident, Malayalam actress Anicka Vikhraman made explosive allegations against her ex-boyfriend Anoop Pillai, accusing him of assault. The actress took to her social media handle and shared heart-wrenching photos of her bruised face. She also shared disturbing details about her abusive relationship with Pillai. She claimed to have filed a police complaint against him but alleged that her ex is absconding.

WHO IS ANICKA VIKHRAMAN?

Anicka Vikhraman is a famous Malayalam actress known for her act in Vishamakaran. She made her debut as a lead in the film K and will next be seen in Enga Pattan Parthiya. In Vishamakaran, she has a pivotal part. Anicka shared her side of the story on a Facebook post. It reads: "I was in love with a person named Anoop Pillai. He has abused me mentally and physically for the past few years. Never seen such a man. After doing all this he is scaring me. I never had a bad dream that he would do this to me. The second time I filed a complaint with the police in Bengaluru about him beating me. The first time he beat me in Chennai, he fell at my feet and cried."

"Inspite of leaving these incidents behind I ve been receiving threatening calls, me and my family is being degraded continuously. The last pic was clicked before my ex boyfriend s attack on me. I was very excited to show my hair cut anyways it's in the past. I ll start posting pics from this week. I have completely recovered now I have started doing shoots hope everything will be fine now onwards," she wrote in the caption.

The actress shared a series of picture proof along with the claims alleging mental and physical trauma.
New Delhi: The Department of Consumer Affairs has released a set of guidelines called "Endorsements Know-hows!" for celebrities, and influencers on social media platforms, aiming to ensure that individuals do not mislead their audiences when endorsing products or services. The government wants to ensure that the endorsements are in compliance with the Consumer Protection Act and any associated rules or guidelines. The government said it is essential for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers to adhere to these guidelines to maintain transparency and authenticity with their audience.

The guidelines state that endorsements must be made in simple, clear language, and terms such as "advertisement," "sponsored," "collaboration" or "paid promotion" can be used. Individuals must not endorse any product or service that they have not personally used or experienced or in which due diligence has not been done by them.

The department has observed that there is confusion regarding which disclosure word to use for what nature of partnership it is. Against that backdrop, disclosures such as "advertisement," "ad," "sponsored," "collaboration," or "partnership" may be used for paid or barter brand endorsement. However, the term must be indicated as a hashtag or in headline text.

The disclosures must be placed in the endorsement message in a manner that is clear, prominent, and extremely hard to miss. Disclosures should not be mixed with a group of hashtags or links. For endorsements in a picture, disclosures should be superimposed over the image enough for viewers to notice.

For endorsements in a video or a live stream, disclosures should be made in both audio and video format and displayed continuously and prominently during the entire stream. Also, according to the guidelines, individuals or groups who have access to an audience and the power to affect their audiences` purchasing decisions or opinions about a product or service must be disclosed.
Hyderabad: BJP`s Telangana unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar has said that if his party is voted to power in Telangana, the BJP would bulldoze the houses of those indulging in crimes against women. Exuding confidence that BJP will come to power in Telangana, he said it would follow the model of Uttar Pradesh which is using bulldozers to demolish the houses of offenders.

He was addressing a day-long protest at the party office in Hyderabad to protest against increasing atrocities against women in the state. Sanjay spoke extensively about the death of Preethi, the MD student of Kaktiya Medical College (KMC), who committed suicide due to alleged harassment by her senior.

He reiterated that the government should order a probe by a sitting judge into the death of Preethi. He alleged that the BRS government was siding with Preethi`s senior Saif who was harassing her. Sanjay, who called on the family members of Preethi in Jangaon district on Sunday, alleged that Preethi`s murder was being portrayed as suicide.

After the meeting, Sanjay said that all evidence in the case was destroyed. He claimed that the government was acting in favour of the accused as it fears that the accused will cause communal riots. He also claimed that the government is threatening the family members of Preethi to follow their command.

The BJP leader said Preethi would have been alive if her complaint about harassment was taken up seriously and acted up immediately by authorities. He slammed state minister K.T. Rama Rao for terming the incident as a small issue. He also questioned if home minister Mehmood Ali is confined to the old city of Hyderabad.

Sanjay said police did not reveal full facts of how Preethi died. He also wanted to know if her mobile phone was unlocked by the fingerprints of the dead body. BJP leader and actor Vijayashanthi alleged that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was raising the issue of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia`s arrest in Delhi liquor policy scam as he fears the arrest of his daughter K. Kavitha in the same case.

She slammed Chief Minister KCR for speaking about Sisodia while forgetting the safety of women. She came down heavily on KCR for writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other opposition leaders over Sisodia`s arrest.

Vijayshanthi also alleged that the chief minister was promoting liquor consumption in the state, thus turning the state into a curse. "Women have no protection in the state. What is the government doing when women are being murdered," she asked.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that her government will not be able to provide the enhanced dearness allowance on par with that of the Central government it even if the protestors "behead" her. Speaking at the extended budget session in the Assembly, Banerjee cited the difference in the salary structures of the central and West Bengal governments and claimed that the TMC government in the state is already giving its employees DA of 105 per cent.

"How much do you (agitating government staffers) want? How much will satisfy you? Please chop off my head and then hopefully you will be satisfied ... If you do not like me, chop off my head. But you will not get any more from me, she said.

Various organisations of state government employees, including the Sangrami Joutha Mancha (united platform for struggle) are agitating for raising the DA on par with the central government employees.

DA, she said, is not given by the governments of BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Tripura and pension to retired state government employees is given only in West Bengal.

The Mamata Banerjee government raised DA for its employees by three per cent in this year's budget. It also issued a notification for DA grant to employees, pensioners and family pensioners at the rate of six per cent of their basic pay with effect from March 1, 2023, following the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission.

Alleging financial deprivation by the Centre, she said, "The state government is giving as much as possible. Paying DA is not mandatory. The scales of pay of central and state government employees are different. State government employees get more leaves. It will not work to get more leaves and demand more DA".

Continuing to speak in defense of her government's stand on the issue, Bannerjee said, Does the state have a Reserve Bank? We are yet to get Rs one lakh crore from the Centre. Money will not fall from the sky. I have given government employees the opportunity to go to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand.

No objection certificates are mandatory for government servants who apply for leave to go abroad on a private vist. Prior permission of the competent authority for such visit is also required. The West Bengal government in 2015 allowed benefits under LTC scheme to the state government employees once in ten years to visit neighbouting countries.

Apparently hitting out at the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari for visiting the agitating employees at Sahid Minar area, Banerjee asked whether she should stop pension as it will save money and help her government raise the DA.

Last week, agitating government employees held a 48-hour 'pens down' in this connection ignoring warnings of action against them.
Washington: Even as the Republican Party predicts it's a `Ron vs Don` for nomination for 2024, former US President Donald Trump feels he has not been done yet and has vowed to remain in the 2024 presidential race even if he ends up being criminally indicted by various congress committees and the courts. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is no longer the dark horse for 2024 as a vast majority of the party backs him against Trump.





Trump in his characteristic flamboyant style said: "Oh, absolutely, I won`t even think about leaving. Probably, it`ll enhance my numbers, but it`s a very bad thing for America. It`s very bad for the country."Trump made the remarks while being asked at a gaggle before his conservative political action conference address, media reports said.Trump is up against a barrage of investigations or legal challenges, including a civil lawsuit over alleged business fraud from the New York Attorney General Letitia James; a sprawling criminal inquiry from the Manhattan District Attorney`s Office; an investigation from Fulton County; and special counsel Jack Smith`s two-pronged Justice Department investigation into the Georgia poll interferences by him and his supporters in 2020.Trump drew an enthusiastic crowd at the CPAC where he decried the litany of investigations against him, contending "they`ve weaponised justice in our country", the Washington Examiner reported.He declined to commit to Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel`s call for 2024 candidates to make a pledge to back the eventual nominee. This was evidence he saw no one but himself being in the race for 2024."There are probably people that I wouldn`t be very happy about endorsing that are running, so we`ll see. I think some of them, I won`t use names, I don`t want to insult anybody, but some of them, I would not be very happy about," Trump told reporters.McDaniel had sought to corner all Republican 2024 contestants to back the eventual nominee in exchange for access to the debating platform.However, not just Trump, candidates or potential 2024 hopefuls, such as former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, have been noncommittal, reports said.Trump presented himself as "retribution" for his loyal followers. He had won the CPAC straw poll at the confab, which appeared to have lower attendance levels than in the past."In 2016, I declared: I am your voice," Trump said. "Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution."
Lahore: At least 15 students from Pakistan's minority Hindu community were injured on Monday after members of a radical Islamic student organization allegedly stopped them from celebrating Holi at the Punjab University premises here. Holi, a festival of colors, is celebrated to mark the onset of spring.

The incident took place at the Law College of Punjab University on Monday, when around 30 Hindu students gathered to celebrate Holi. As students gathered at the lawns of the law college, the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT) activists forcibly stopped them from celebrating Holi, which led to a clash resulting in injuries to 15 Hindu students, Kashif Brohi, a university student and an eyewitness told PTI.

They had taken prior permission from the university administration, Brohi claimed. Khet Kumar, who suffered injuries on his hand, said the university guards thrashed them when they held a demonstration outside the Vice-Chancellor's office to protest the treatment meted out by IJT members.

We have filed an application with the police against the IJT and the security guards involved in thrashing and torturing us, but FIR has not been registered as yet, Kumar said.

When contacted by PTI, IJT (Punjab University) spokesperson Ibrahim Shahid denied the involvement of its students in the incident.

None of the students involved in a brawl with the Hindu students belong to the IJT, he said, and added the IJT organized 'Quran Reading' at the law college. Punjab University spokesman Khurram Shahzad told PTI that the varsity administration had not given permission to hold Holi celebrations on the lawns of the law college.

There would not have been any problem had the celebrations were observed indoors, he said. Shahzad added the V-C has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Chubby Helan Shan pika spotted after a 6-year lapse in NW Chinas Ningxia

People's Daily Online) 14:44, March 06, 2023

Photos shows a Helan Shan pika at the national forest park of Helan Mountain, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nie Wei)

A Helan Shan pika, a globally critically endangered species, was spotted at the national forest park of Helan Mountain, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, on Feb. 28. It marks a reappearance of the species at the same park after six years.

Helan Shan pika, or silver pika, is under second-class state protection in China and only inhabits at Helan Mountain that lies between Ningxia and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The species, a relatively larger one in Chinas pika family, weighs between 176 and 236 grams. It features fluffy long fur and round ears, with its back side grayish black in winter and reddish tan in summer. The mammal lives in gravel-covered mountainous areas at an elevation of over 2,000 meters, and grazes on plants.

Thanks to years of ecological conservation efforts, Helan Mountains ecology has recovered quickly, and has exhibited a marked increase in local fauna and flora populations.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
A Houston County judge upheld a City of Dothan decision to terminate the embattled head of the citys feeding program.

According to a WDHN report, Stephanie Wingfield, the former head of the Dothans feeding program, and her attorney argued last month that she was wrongfully terminated from her position.

The city provided a variety of different reasons for Wingfields termination, following an investigation into apparently falsified documents.

Her attorney however believes the rationale behind her termination changed after Momma Ts put in a bid for the feeding program, but the bid amount was leaked to another local restaurant, Breakfast at Tammys, and they were able to underbid, WDHN reported.

Last Friday, Houston County judge Butch Binford upheld the decision to fire Wingfield stating there was substantial evidence that she was afforded due process through the termination proceedings.
BEIJING: The U.S. should change its recent mistaken policies towards China or "conflict and confrontation" will follow, China's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while reiterating Beijing's call for dialogue to end the conflict in Ukraine. The U.S. has been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than fair or rule-based competition, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a news conference in Beijing on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting.

"The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," Qin said. "It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong."

The US perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the biggest geopolitical challenge. And the result is that the US China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track. pic.twitter.com/gMMMXLlVXt  Hua Chunying  (@SpokespersonCHN) March 7, 2023

Relations between the two superpowers have been tense for years over a number of issues including Taiwan, trade and war in Ukraine but they worsened after controversy involving a balloon which the U.S. said was a Chinese spying device and shot down last month.

The U.S. says it is establishing guardrails for relations with China and is not seeking conflict, but what this means in practice is that China is not supposed to respond with words or actions when slandered or attacked, Qin said.

"That is just impossible," he said. "If the United States does not hit the brake, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?"

Elsewhere during Tuesday's news conference Qin said an "invisible hand" was pushing for the escalation of the war in Ukraine, without specifying who he was referring to.

The "invisible hand" is "using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas", Qin said, whilst also reiterating China's call for dialogue.

China has fiercely defended its stance on Ukraine, amidst Western criticism of its decision not to call Russia the aggressor in the conflict.

Since Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour last February Xi has held talks several times with Putin but is yet to speak with his Ukrainian counterpart, a fact which undermines China's claims of neutrality, Kyiv's top diplomat in Beijing said on the anniversary of the start of the war last month.

Beijing has also vehemently denied accusations from Washington that it has been considering providing lethal weapons to Russia.

But China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent, Qin said.

Qin said the close interactions between President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin provided the anchor for China-Russia relations.

Live: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang briefs media on foreign policy and external relations #2023TwoSessions https://t.co/aPUM89LDXR  CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) March 7, 2023

He did not give a definite answer when asked if Xi would visit Russia after China's parliament session, which goes on for one more week.

Asked whether it is possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said countries should use whatever currency is efficient, safe and credible.

"Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion," he said.

China has often criticised the United States for bullying other countries with unilateral sanctions.
Lahore: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Tuesday handed life terms to three persons for their role in orchestrating a powerful bomb blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's residence here in June 2021 that killed three people. Three people were killed and over 20 others injured in the blast outside Saeed's Johar town residence here on June 23, 2021, which also damaged a number of houses, shops and vehicles in the area. Last year, the anti-terrorism court in Lahore handed down death sentences to four other persons in this case. "On Tuesday, the ATC-I Lahore sentenced to death Samiul Haq, Uzair Akbar and Naveed Akhtar in the Johar Town bomb blast after the prosecution presented evidence against them," a court official told PTI. The official said the suspects were convicted under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code. "The convicts will have to undergo life imprisonment and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment that will run concurrently," he said.

Judge Abher Gul Khan pronounced the verdict during the in-camera trial proceedings at the high-security Kot Lakhpat Jail here. The official said the three convicts were facilitators of the prime suspects.

Also Read: Pakistan: Hindu Students Attacked, Female Harrased For Celebrating Holi By Muslim Extremists In Karachi

In January 2022 the ATC Lahore sentenced to death Eid Gul of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Peter Paul David, Sajjad Shah and Ziaullah on nine counts in this case.

Another suspect Ayesha Bibi was handed down five years imprisonment. According to the CTD, Eid Gul had installed explosives in the car used in the blast. The car belonged to Peter Paul David and the other three - Sajjad Shah, Ziaullah and Ayesha - were facilitators.

The Punjab government claimed to have unearthed the network of all the "ten suspects" involved in the blast.

Saeed, 72, an UN-designated terrorist on whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty, was arrested in July 2019 in the terror financing cases.

Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
New Delhi: As Vladimir Putin's Russian forces fight in Bakhmut against Volodymyr Zelenskiy's troops to secure their first major battlefield gain in more than six months, China on Tuesday (March 7, 2023) said that the Ukraine crisis is a tragedy that "could have been avoided". Speaking on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing, China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that the Ukraine crisis seems to be driven by an "invisible hand" pushing for the protraction and escalation of the conflict.

The "invisible hand" is "using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas", he said.

"Conflict, sanctions, and pressure will not solve the problem... The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected," Qin added.

ALSO READ | 'If United States Does Not Hit The Brake...': China Warns Joe Biden Against Suppressing It

He also stated that Beijing has not provided weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict, amid loud warnings from US officials on unspecified "consequences" for China, should it send lethal aid to Russia.

"(China) is not a party to the crisis and has not provided weapons to either side of the conflict. So on what basis is this talk of blame, sanctions, and threats against China? This is absolutely unacceptable," he told reporters.

"The Ukraine crisis is a tragedy that could have been avoided. But it has come to where it stands today. There are hard lessons that all parties should truly reflect upon," the new Chinese FM said.

The Ukraine crisis is a tragedy that could have been avoided. But it has come to where it stands today. There are hard lessons that all parties should truly reflect upon. pic.twitter.com/orc0koUwWt  Hua Chunying (@SpokespersonCHN) March 7, 2023

Qin's reiteration of Beijing's position on the Ukraine war comes amid growing tensions between Beijing and the European Union, which has questioned China's sincerity as a mediator when it has refused to name Russia as the aggressor in the conflict.

"China-Russia relationship is based on no alliance and no confrontation, and it is not targeted at any third party. It is not a threat to any country, nor is it subject to any interference or discord sowed by any third party," Qin said.

"Those who are inclined to view China-Russia relations through the lens of Cold War alliances see nothing but their own image... With China and Russia working together, the world will have the driving force toward multipolarity and greater democracy in international relations, and global strategic balance and stability will be better ensured," he added.

Qin said that China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent.

Live: Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang briefs media on foreign policy and external relations #2023TwoSessions https://t.co/aPUM89LDXR  CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) March 7, 2023

He said the close interactions between both leaders - President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin - provided the anchor for China-Russia relations.

Ukraine vows to defend Bakhmut city as Russia tries to storm it

Meanwhile, Ukraine's top generals vowed to keep defending the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Russian forces fought to tighten their siege and secure their first major battlefield gain in more than six months.

Russian forces have been trying to take Bakhmut for months and say capturing it would be a step towards its objective of seizing all of the surrounding Donbas region. But Western strategists say it would be more of a pyrrhic victory given the time taken and casualties suffered.

Ukrainian troops have been reinforcing positions west of the city in apparent preparation for a possible withdrawal but appear not to have decided to pull out.

Zelenskiy said he discussed Bakhmut with the regional commander and Ukraine's commander-in-chief and both had said "not to withdraw" and to strengthen defences.

"The command unanimously supported this position. There were no other positions. I told the commander in chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut," Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on Monday.

Vladimir Putin's Russia initially described its February 24, 2022, invasion as a "special military operation" to "denazify" and demilitarise Ukraine, but now increasingly casts it as a fight against the aggression of the "collective West".

Ukraine and the West, however, say it is a baseless pretext for an illegal land grab.
Kyiy: Ukraine`s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the operations to defend Bakhmut will continue, and the army have been instrusted to find forces to bolster the defence of the embattled city. "I told the Chief of Staff to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut. There is no part of Ukraine about which one can say that it can be abandoned," Zelensky said on Monday during his evening address to the nation.

Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut for months, as both sides suffer heavy losses in a grinding war of attrition, the BBC reported. However, Deputy Mayor Oleksandr Marchenko has said that Russia had not yet gained control of the city.

Meanwhile, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private army involved in the Russian campaign, has complained of a lack of ammunition amid apparent friction between his fighters and regular Russian forces, the British news broadcaster reported. He also said that his representative had been barred from a Russian military headquarters.

Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value but has become a focal point for Russian commanders who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin, the media outlet reported.

Capture of the city would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine it annexed last September after referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham, it added.

His top adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak said that Ukrainian forces around Bakhmut have been grinding down enemy forces, reinforcing their positions and training tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel for a possible counteroffensive.

Intense Russian shelling targeted the city in the Donetsk region and nearby villages as Moscow waged a three-sided assault to try to finish off Bakhmut's resistance.

The nearby towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka came under heavy shelling, damaging cars and homes and sparking a fire. No casualties were immediately reported.

Police and volunteers evacuated people from Chasiv Yar and other front-line towns in an operation made difficult by the loss of bridges and constant artillery fire that has left barely a house standing.

Russian forces have been unable to deliver a knockout blow that would allow them to seize Bakhmut. Analysts say the city does not hold major strategic value and that its capture would be unlikely to serve as a turning point in the conflict.

The Russian push for Bakhmut reflects the Kremlin's broader struggle to achieve battlefield momentum. Moscow's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022 soon stalled and Ukraine launched a largely successful counteroffensive. Over the bitterly cold winter months, the fighting has largely been deadlocked.

The city's importance has become mostly symbolic. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, prevailing there would finally deliver some good news from the front. For Kyiv, the display of grit and defiance underscores the message that Ukraine is holding on after a year of brutal attacks, justifying continued support from its Western allies.

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin endorsed that view on Monday, saying during a visit to Jordan that Bakhmut has "more of a symbolic value than ... Strategic and operational value". Moscow, he added, continues "to pour in a lot of ill-trained and ill-equipped troops" into Bakhmut, while Ukraine patiently builds "combat power" elsewhere with Western military support ahead of a possible spring offensive.

On Monday, Prigozhin warned in a Russian social media post that the situation in Bakhmut "will turn out to be a pie': The filling is the parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surrounded by us (in the case, of course, if there is a complete encirclement of Bakhmut), and the shell is, in fact, the Wagner" Group.

Bakhmut has taken on almost mythic importance. It has become like Mariupol -- the port city in the same province that Russia captured last year after an 82-day siege that eventually came down to a mammoth steel mill where determined Ukrainian fighters held out along with civilians.

Moscow looked to cement its rule in Mariupol. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu toured some of the city's rebuilt infrastructure -- a newly-built hospital, a rescue centre and residential buildings -- the Defence Ministry said.

The Russian Volunteer Corps last week claimed responsibility for an attack on Russian villages on the border with Ukraine. The FSB said on Monday that Kapustin organised and spearheaded the raid, which killed two civilians and wounded two others. The FSB's allegations could not be independently verified.
New Delhi: Continuing his attack on the Narendra Modi-led government during his UK tour, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday (March 6, 2023) told British parliamentarians that functioning microphones in the Indian Parliament are often silenced against the Opposition. During an event organised by veteran Indian-origin Opposition Labour Party MP Virendra Sharma in the Grand Committee Room within the House of Commons in London, Gandhi used a faulty microphone in the room to make his point about what he described as a "stifling" of Opposition in India.

"Our mics are not out of order, they are functioning, but you still can't switch them on. That's happened to me a number of times while I am speaking," Gandhi told the gathering, in response to a question about sharing his experience of being a politician in India with his British counterparts.

The Wayanad MP stated that they were not allowed to discuss demonetisation, which he said was a "disastrous financial decision".

Opposition leaders not allowed to discuss several topics

Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition leaders were not allowed to discuss several topics including the GST.

"Chinese troops entering Indian territory -- we were not allowed to discuss. I remember a Parliament where there were vibrant discussions, heated debates, arguments, and disagreements but we had a conversation. And, that's frankly what we miss in Parliament. We have to use debates to fit in other debates. There is a stifling that is going on," the former Congress chief said.

Congress has successfully 'ruled country for many, many years'

During the meeting, Indian-origin peer Lord Navnit Dholakia asked Rahul Gandhi about the Congress Party's delivery record, to which he blamed a "propaganda machine" that does not reflect a "strong undercurrent" against the government.

He also pointed out that the Congress had successfully "ruled the country for many, many years" and dismissed what he dubbed as a flawed media narrative against the Opposition party's electoral prospects in the future.

"This idea that the BJP is unbeatable is a narrative that is being created. It was the same narrative in the media in 2004, about India shining and when the result came it was a shock for the BJP. So, I don't buy the narrative in the media. I listen to the people on the ground," he said, adding that he is "pretty confident" of bringing the Opposition together on one platform.

When asked about his "hopes and dreams" for India, he said that the "future of India is very good as long as we can take care of this turbulent period we are going through where our structures are being attacked".

Shri @RahulGandhi had an insightful interaction with UKs Members of Parliament, respected academics, journalists, community leaders and leaders of the Indian Overseas Congress at the Grand Committee Room, UK Parliament, earlier today. pic.twitter.com/cqSPRIAALR  Congress (@INCIndia) March 6, 2023

"It is in the DNA of our country to be affectionate," he added.

Congress would focus on protecting Indian democracy

On India-UK relations, Rahul Gandhi admitted that a lot has already been done to strengthen bilateral ties and said a Congress-led government would focus on creating greater employment opportunities and also protecting Indian democracy.

"Democracy in India is a global public good. India is big enough, and if democracy is weakened in India, it is weakened on the planet. India's democracy is three times the size of the US and Europe and if this democracy crumbles, it will be a huge setback for democracy on the planet," he said.

The gathering of parliamentarians included Indian-origin Labour MPs Seema Malhotra, Navendu Mishra, Valerie Vaz and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi as well as Kim Leadbeater and Gareth Thomas, among others.
ENTERPRISE- A public involvement meeting about expanding Alabama State Route 167 (SR-167) will be held Tuesday at the Enterprise Civic Center.

The 60-mile roadway is the major connector between Troy and Panama City Beach, Florida, SR-167. The two-lane road for most of its length enters Coffee County from Dale County, passes through Enterprise, and proceeds northerly into Pike County. The route is a heavily traveled by freight traffic also serves as an emergency access route.

Expanding 167 from two lanes to four lanes will benefit the entire Wiregrass region and the state of Alabama, Enterprise Mayor William E. Cooper said.

Improving this north/south corridor has the potential to not only improve the FEMA evacuation route, allow our military community to more easily receive and deploy sasets, create economic trade opportunities with a robust roadway to get goods where they need to go, and attract visitors from around the country.

SR-167 is the primary source for north/south transportation of goods and services from Coffee and Geneva Counties in Alabama, as well as Holmes County, Florida. The southern end point of the route is at the Florida state line, where SR-167 transitions to Florida State Road 79 (SR-79). The Florida Department of Transportation has signaled its intent to 4-lane SR-79 from I-10 to the Alabama state line.

Tuesdays open house-style meeting, which runs from 5-7 p.m. is hosted by the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (SEARP&DC), will allow the public to review project maps and information.

Representatives from SEARP&DC, Sain Associates, and Barge Design Solutions will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the proposal.

We hope that the citizens of Enterprise will come out to show their support for this expansion, Cooper said. Its important for our community to have their voices heard and communicate how passionate they are about widening this roadway.

To allow city leaders to attend and show their support for the project, the Enterprise City Council work session will begin at 4 p.m. at the Enterprise Civic Center. The City Council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Enterprise City Hall.
A plan to save the burned-out and crumbling Powell School, Birminghams oldest standing school building on the site of its first school, has been approved by the Birmingham City Council, but nobody is guaranteeing it can be saved.

The Birmingham City Council voted this morning to approve the mayors plan to terminate an agreement with the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation to redevelop the property.

This is the city removing itself from this process, said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Time is running out on the school, said David Williams, president and CEO of Harbert Realty Services. It is unsafe. Part of the building is collapsed.

There are no guarantees the school can be preserved, he said. The condition of the school is really poor, Williams said. I make no promises.

Williams said after the meeting that the Alabama Trust has a contract to sell the property to Harbert Realty, Stewart/Perry Co. and Sloss Real Estate. They expect to close on the deal within 30 days.

Williams said a potential tenant has been identified, a national non-profit organization with a large local presence. The details have not been finalized.

Williams said all three companies involved in the development deal have a history of preserving Birminghams historical buildings and will do their best to save what they can.

Maybe a facade, or saving some of the bricks, Williams said. Were not sure if we can preserve it.

In order to get a historic tax credit, the facade and basic structure would have to be preserved, he said. Restoration will require at least a $20 million investment, he said.

Weve been working tirelessly for two years, Williams said. If it doesnt survive, we will work to re-purpose it.

Council member Valerie Abbott questioned Woodfin about whether there was any guarantee the building would not be demolished, as happened when the city relinquished control of Quinlan Castle.

I want to see whats being built, she said. Wheres the design?

Woodfin said the property has simply been deteriorating further as no solutions have been put forth over the past 11 years that the Historic Trust had a chance to find one. Nothing has happened, he said.

The question is, Can they preserve the building? Woodfin said. The answer: I do not know. Some decision has to be made.

Powell School, at the corner of Sixth Avenue North and 24th Street North, was built in 1887 on the site of the citys first school that was built in 1874, after the city was founded in 1871. The Elyton Land Company, which founded the city, donated the lot for a school, with the covenant that it must always be used as a school or else ownership reverts back to the original owners. That claim to ownership would belong to Barber Properties, which is a successor to Elytons stake in the land. Barber has agreed to forego its ownership in the land, Council member Darrell OQuinn said.

The first free school on the site was damaged by fire in 1886 and the new school was named after one of the citys founders, former Mayor James Powell, who donated his city salary to the project.

The building, already deteriorated and not used as a school since 2002, caught fire in 2011 and sustained serious damage. It is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence and much of it remains open to the elements.
Durians are sold at a market in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Hong Chau

Vietnams fruit and vegetable exports in the first two months of this year increased by 17.8% year-on-year to US$592 million.

China accounted for 57.5% of the exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments department of agricultural products processing and market development.

Since early February when it reopened after Covid, China has been importing large volumes of Vietnamese agricultural products like durian, jackfruit, watermelon, and sweet potato.

Exports to Laos have tripled.

The U.S. and Europe have also imported large volumes of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables.

A Tien Giang Province-based company told VnExpress that its exports of durian and pomelo to the U.S. and China have been increasing steadily this year. Freight rates have decreased to pre-Covid levels, creating favorable conditions for exporters.

Surveys in the Mekong Delta show that the prices of durian, dragon fruit, jackfruit, and sweet potato have all doubled or tripled from 12 months ago, with the durian price surging to a record high of VND190,000 ($8) per kilogram at the farm gate.

Last year exports were worth $3.34 billion, down 5.9% from 2021, according to the agriculture ministry.

Vietnam imported fruits and vegetables for $289 million in the first two months of this year, a 12% increase, the department said.
An aircraft at Dien Bien Airport in the northern Dien Bien Province. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Linh

The Dien Bien Airport in the northern eponymous province will close for six months of expansions and upgrades starting April 1.

The closure of the airport was approved by the Dien Bien Province Peoples Committee following a proposal submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

In early February, the investor of the project, the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), committed to complete the expansion before October. ACV said it would build a new security fence until June, then a runway, a taxiway, and an apron.

The upgrade will enable the airport to handle bigger aircraft like the Airbus A320 and A321.

The new passenger terminal will have two floors. The first floor is for arrivals and departures, while the second floor will have a waiting area, a lounge for wealthy business class travelers, commercial retail stores and other services. The newly designed blueprints will expand the current terminal's capacity from 300,000 to 500,000 people.

The project is planned to cost a total of VND1.467 trillion (US$62 million) paid for by ACV.

In addition, total site clearance costs of VND1.555 billion will be paid for by the Dien Bien Province coffers. The project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Of the six northwestern border provinces, only Dien Bien has an airport, which is strategically located for national defense and security purposes, as well as local and regional economic development.

The airport is not far from former battlefields made famous by the defeat of the French military in 1954 at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The victory won by the hands of Vietnamese guerilla insurgents against one of the most powerful colonial armies in the world mostly ended European control of Indochina.
South Korean tourist found after getting lost in national park

A South Korean tourist who had gone missing inside Bidoup Nui Ba National Park in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Monday has been found.

The man's health is in a stable condition and he only suffered some scratches on his hands, police said on Tuesday as cited by Vietnam News Agency.

On Monday, a group of foreign tourists trekked through dense forests inside the national park, a popular destination for mountain climbing and overnight camping, around 50 km from Da Lat.

However, Song Mun Su, 71, was separated from his group and got lost.

The national park's staff and other tourists rushed to find the South Korean tourist but failed.

After receiving reports from the national park's staff, local police stepped in and found the missing tourist that same night.

Last year, a Singaporean tourist and his Vietnamese friend were found one day after getting lost in the national park.
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They are mostly protons that originate from many sources including our Sun, our Milky Way Galaxy, and even other distant galaxies far off in some obscure corner of the universe. After traveling for perhaps millions of years, they impact with Earths atmosphere and collide with the oxygen or nitrogen molecules producing huge showers of secondary particles, some of which reach us here miles below on Earths surface. That is the end of their long trip, winding up here on Earth.

When I used to demonstrate the Geiger counter in Chemistry 122 at Great Basin College, the students could hear these rays clicking the electronics where every tick represented some particle passing through the pick-up tube. They became a little unnerved when I put my hand over the tube showing that these outer-space bits, coming in at about 20 per minute, could pass right through my body without me feeling it. Then, using inductive reasoning as if a light bulb went off in their young minds, realizing that if my hand passed 20, they themselves must be getting hit by thousands a minute. What a profound teaching moment that $200 Geiger counter made.

We know that many of the particles that traveled through my hand during that demonstration were muons, an elementary particle with the same charge as an electron but much heavier. Scientists believe muons are fundamental particles and are not composed of quarks like protons and neutrons. However, unlike protons, neutrons or electrons, we usually dont see or have muons as building blocks of our physical world because muons have a short lifetime of only 2.2 microseconds.

Back in the 1950s, before a zoo of other subatomic particles were discovered, muons were called mu mesons but they have been permanently moved from the meson category. Because they have such large mass (approximately 207 times that of an electron), their greater momentum allows them to penetrate far into the Earths surface, even down into mines.

Since muons are much more deeply penetrating than X-rays, muon imaging can be used with much thicker material. For example, if ones goal was to look inside a cargo container coming from overseas, a powerful X-Ray machine would only allow you to see through an inch of lead for explosives or dirty bomb material. Muons, on the other hand, can make an image after traveling through thirty-five inches of lead shielding if the detector is made sensitive enough. Plus, since the muons come from cosmic rays, you cant beat the free price of producing them. Those interested in this technique are directed to the 2003 paper published in Nature, Radiographic Imaging with Cosmic-Ray Muons by Konstantin N. Borozdin.

Actually, the idea of using muon transmission radiography based on cosmic ray sources dates back to 1956 when physicist E.P. George, working in Australia, made the first known attempt to measure the density of the rock overburden of the Guthega-Munyang power-plant tunnel detecting the particles with a Geiger counter. A few years later, the American scientist Luis Alvarez (of Asteroid Dinosaur Extinction Theory fame), used muon transmission imaging in an attempt to search for hidden chambers in the Pyramid of Chephren in Giza. Another area where this technology comes in handy is in the science of volcanology, where density of magma chambers can be estimated by the detection of the muon flux piercing through.

In a paper published March 2 in Nature Communications, more than 40 years since Alvarezs initial experiment, researchers reported on using muon technology to exactly measure the dimensions of a void area they had found within the Great Pyramid of Khufu, one of the largest stone monuments in the world. Even though the top is over 300 feet high and is made from several million blocks of limestone, the muons pass right through. Many archeologists believe there are many hidden passageways still undiscovered within its structure.

The muon measurements indicate that the newly found void is a 9-meter-long corridor about 2 meters wide by 2 meters tall, close to the pyramids north face. ScanPyramids, the organization funding much of this work, also made additional measurements with ground-penetrating radar and ultrasonic testing to confirm. After the discovery was announced, scientists fed a small diameter endoscope through a crack between stones to obtain images of the space from inside. The images reveal a corridor with a vaulted ceiling, presumably one that was hasnt been seen by humans since the pyramid was built more than 4,500 years ago. The corridors purpose is still unclear.
MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania  A cold wind pushed the frosty breath of winter from the Black Sea over the eastern flank of Romania, once a foe more than 30 years ago but now a major partner in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO grew out of the rubble of Europe after World War II and became a solid front to the Soviet Unions Iron Curtain during the 45-year Cold War. The Berlin Wall, the symbol of divide between the NATO allies and Warsaw Pact nations, toppled in 1989 to signal the end of the Soviets domination over eastern Europe.

Since that time, Eastern Europe flipped with many of the former Iron Curtain countries to join NATO during the following decade. Romania, along with five other countries, became a member in 2004 and within the past two decades. The country that has a window facing the Black Sea is now an integral member housing troops and aviation.

How we show up in the world sends a message of how weve done everything right with leadership, said Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, the adjutant general for Nevada.

Romania: An eye on Ukraine Brig. Gen. Troy Armstrong, the Nevada Army National Guards Land Component commander, speaks with Capt. Bryan Hernandez, commander of the 137t

The planning for the June 2022 deployment of the Nevada Army National Guards 137th Military Police Detachment to Romania occurred months before the fighting broke out between Russia and Ukraine. The deployment of 40 soldiers from the Carson City company was and still is to provide security to the garrison comingled with the Romanian Air Force at Mihail Kogalniceanu (MK) Air Base, 25 miles east of the countrys second largest city and major Black Sea resort, Constanta.

Soldiers from throughout northern Nevada  including the Reno-Sparks area, Fallon, Fernley, Winnemucca and Elko  comprise the ranks of the 137th Military Police Co. This is the second Nevada unit to deploy to Eastern Europe this decade. Berry said he sees additional units coming to this part of Europe again, specifically to Romania and Poland.

In January 2020, the first Nevada Army National Guard battalion to deploy to Europe in peacetime received a sendoff. The one-year deployment took the battalion to Poland and other countries in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

Berry and a small contingent of seven soldiers from the Nevada Guard visited the military policemen for several days at the end of January. Not only did Berry and his staff seek more information about the MPs mission, but they also wanted to learn the importance of the NATO installation that now houses American troops and the relationship thats developing with Romania.

The times that we are in, said Berry when discussing the current state of affairs. Its a very tenuous area in the world right now. At times theres no end in sight.

When the unit deployed, two dozen soldiers remained in Nevada.

I love visiting countries that are our partners and allies, Berry pointed out. I like to see how they (Romanians) have put together their military and see their quality of life.

What Berry saw was a great relationship between the United States and Romania.

The leadership between Romania and the United States didnt develop overnight. During the war in Afghanistan, U.S. military personnel began using Romania as a staging area for Afghanistan in October 2013 after a former Soviet republic, Kyrgyzstan, opted not to extend a lease into mid-2014.

Troops heading to Afghanistan and returning home to the United States after deployment flew to MK Air Base. When Turkey opted not to continue involvement with the Iraq War, the MK Air Base also became an important stop for the refueling and supplying of troops in Iraq and also countries within the region.

Lt. Col. Brian Fiddermon, garrison commander of the Army Support Activity Black Sea since August, has seen rapid growth at the installation.

We have 4,200 here and thats not including our NATO partners, Fiddermon said in a meeting with Berry, his staff and the 137th MP commander, Capt. Bryan Hernandez of Fernley.

Fiddermon said Hernandez and the MPs have done everything he has asked of them. Back in Nevada, Hernandez is a full-time Guardsman who commutes from his hometown of Fernley to Carson City. Being on another deployment is nothing new for the career soldier. Hernandez has been with MP company for more than six years and has spent 19 years in the Army. His previous deployments have been to Iraq and Kuwait.

At the end of the day, weve taken the bull by the horns to make it work, Fiddermon added.

Brig. Gen. Troy Armstrong, the Nevada Army National Guards Land Component commander, said Fiddermon has a huge task of commanding the garrison especially when the camp population experiences a tremendous, yet quick population spurt.

What he wants to do is to build and bring in resources, Armstrong said.

Hernandez, though, said the MPs have to be flexible because of the command environment.

We, the MPs, and any unit for that matter, must always expect to operate in a resource-constrained environment, he said. We are asked or tasked with a variety of mission tasks in addition to traditional law enforcement. These tasks have included things such as escorting VIPs, providing additional security for special events, supporting gate/ECP operations, completing random anti-terrorism measures, and providing manning for the base defense operations center to name a few.

Hernandez said his position is that of a provost marshal or police chief and with that also comes community policing.

Its not like Afghanistan, Hernandez said. We go out in the community.

The air base is like a small town compete with its own fire department, recreational facilities, housing, a small post exchange, dining facility, medical facility and engineers. Soldiers from the 137th MPs also investigate crime and work with CID (Criminal Investigation Division) agents on specific cases. Soldiers from Fort Carson, Colorado, also share the building and conduct patrols within the garrisons perimeter.

The Romanians, though, are responsible for both the airfield and aviation assets.

In addition to the soldiers assigned at MK Air Base, another six Nevada Guardsmen have been sent to Bulgaria, another NATO partner, to perform similar duties. A helicopter flight with several members of Berrys group to Bulgaria on one of the mornings was scrapped because of inclement weather.

Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Curtis Kolvet, who accompanied Berry on the visit, said he was disappointed the trip was cancelled. When Kolvet was commander of the 593rd Transportation Co., at Camp Phoenix, Afghanistan, in 2011-2012, one of the other companies his unit trained came from the Bulgarian Army.

According to the Black Sea Command, The Novo Selo Training Area is a major Bulgarian military training facility established in 1962. NATO and other nations use the training area, frequently. The facility has designated areas and sectors for tank shooting, and nuclear, biological, and chemical defense and reconnaissance training.

The U.S. Army began using the installation in 2008.

The next 60 days are crucial for Nevadas MPs, however. Fiddermon said the MPs will transition from the MK Air Base back to Nevada and another brigade will report to the base. Fiddermon said many soldiers reporting to the base have never deployed together.

Berry said he was very pleased with the visit to Romania. To date, he has received many accolades on the MPs.

As recently as today, I received an email from one of the commanders from the active Army, Berry said, before reading the message. Your troops have been outstanding, and they came here in one environment and changed their ability to adapt and be flexible and pivot very quickly and take some of the challenges.

From the time the MPs arrived last summer at the MK Air Base, the number of garrison personnel has rapidly increased. Fiddermon knows the importance of the installation and the responsibilities the MPs have. In the short time he has been there, the base population has increased four-fold for a mission thats more important now than what is was one year ago. Fiddermon welcomes guests and VIPs to the garrison on a weekly basis.

Fiddermon, though, becomes serious when he describes the tension in the region. The career Army officer from Maryland quickly points out to his guests the MK Air Base is a short 7-minute missile launch away from the Russian-held Crimea.

This location and Poland are more strategically located in Eastern Europe to defend the area, Fiddermon said. Those are the facts. This is a tough mission.

The response to Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014 first prompted NATOs Enhanced Air Policing that has involved air forces from Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. The Italian Air Force rotated into MK Air Base during the 137th MPs deployment, relieving the Canadians.

While the U.S. Army including the 137th MPs ensure the garrison is safe, the Romanian Air Force takes responsibility for the security of the fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.

If we live together, we have to learn how to fight together, Fiddermon said.
ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn announced the information in his recent interview with Japan's Kyodo News.

He stressed that ASEAN agreed to upgrade ties with Japan due to the country's track record of support, engagement and cooperation in areas such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and maritime security.

Under the upgraded partnership, ASEAN is looking for strong cooperation in areas such as technological innovation, people-to-people contact and cultural collaboration, according to Kao.

He specifically hopes Japan will initiate more scholarships for citizens of ASEAN member countries.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

ASEAN and Japan first established informal dialogue relations in 1973, which was later formalized in March 1977 with the convening of the ASEAN-Japan Forum. Since then, significant progress has been made in all areas of political security, economic-finance and socio-cultural cooperation.

Japan remains a key trade and investment partner to ASEAN. Two-way trade between ASEAN and Japan reached US$240.2 billion in 2021 and placing Japan as ASEAN's third largest trading partner.

Japan was ASEAN's fourth largest external source of foreign direct investment (FDI) among ASEAN's Dialogue Partners in 2021 with FDI flows from Japan to ASEAN amounted to US$12 billion.




The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 hosted by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) kicked off on Feb. 27 in Barcelona, Spain.

The four-day event, focusing on the new impetus of 5G development, digitalization and financial technology, called for enhanced international cooperation to narrow the technological gap and strive for a sustainable future.

As one of the grand events in mobile communication industry, the MWC was joined by over 2,000 exhibitors from more than 200 countries and regions.

At the event, Chinese communication and tech firms displayed their latest results in frontier communication and electronics technology, attracting high attention.

GSMA CEO John Hoffman told People's Daily that China has built the world's largest and technologically leading 5G infrastructure and has the largest number of 5G users in the world. He believes that Chinese enterprises would share more stories and experiences of technological development with the world via this year's MWC.

Thanks to the in-depth application of 5G technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, metaverse and other futuristic application scenarios based on the technology are bringing profound changes to people's life and work.

The upgrading of 5G technology and infrastructure is constantly accelerating Africa's development, said John Omo, Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union.

He said China's Huawei has provided technologies and equipment for the digitalization of South Africa's mining industry, helping the latter improve its management, productivity and safety.

In a plant producing cardboard boxes in east China's Zhejiang province, an intelligent industrial cloud base station has been built by China Mobile, one of the largest mobile communication carriers in China and Chinese communication giant ZTE. The base station covers the entire plant with 5G network and connects every production device. The plant employs 5G-guided robots with machine vision to accurately achieve pick-up, delivery and coordination. Images and videos in the plant are sent back to the control end in real time for analysis and management.

China Mobile and ZTE have won the 2023 GSMA 5G Smart Production Challenge Award for their exploration and innovation in the application of 5G in manufacturing.

"Today, the role of people working in the communication industry is changing rapidly," said Wang Xiyu, executive vice president and chief technology officer of ZTE, adding that the evolution of the industry is making the impossible possible and becoming an important driving force for social transformation.

The MWC 2023 was joined by about 150 Chinese communication and tech firms, such as China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi. Their digital technologies exhibited at the event are empowering the global development, especially the sustainable development of developing countries.

Huawei had a 9,000-square meter exhibition booth at the MWC 2023, which, according to CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona Francesc Fajula, is the largest in history of the MWC.

"Chinese companies keep close cooperation with international organizations and communication carriers in many countries, which has not only improved their capability in 5G application, but also created opportunities for these countries in training young talents in digital technology," Fajula said.

As the world pays more and more attention to carbon emission reduction, Chinese enterprises are joining hands with domestic and foreign partners to contribute to carbon emission peak and carbon neutrality in the communication field.

In Chile, China's Lenovo is cooperating with a non-profit organization Island Conservation and has launched Work for Humankind initiative in the Robinson Crusoe Island. Volunteers with different backgrounds and knowledge came to the island to work with local communities to promote technology upgrades, update education and digital approaches and help with ecological protection as well as cultural preservation.

Lenovo has set up a cutting-edge technology center for the initiative, equipped volunteers and staff members on the island with laptops, augmented reality goggles and smart home appliances. The center also offers online education software for local schools. So far, the center has benefited around 30 percent of residents on the island.

During the 2023 MWC, Huawei announced it has joined the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) and will work with relevant parties to raise literacy with technology.

Only by enhancing education on digital technology and ensuring no country or individual is left behind can true sustainable development be achieved, said David Atchoarena, director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, adding that Chinese enterprises are offering richer educational resources for young people through cooperation and investment.
Secretary of Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha presents Ms. Mori Masako with a traditional Vietnamese conical hat. (Photo: VNA)

Secretary of the Party Committee of the northern province of Ninh Binh Nguyen Thi Thu Ha on March 5 received Mori Masako, Special Advisor to the Japan Prime Minister.

Saying that she was pleased to welcome the Japanese delegation on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Vietnam, Ms Ha highlighted some key features of the province's socio-economic development achievements, including the results of cooperation between Ninh Binh and a number of Japanese localities.

According to Ms Ha, the province has worked with some Japanese delegations to discuss cooperation promotion activities in localities including Okayama and Kagoshima prefectures, Saiki city, and Tokyo.

It is expected that in the second quarter of this year, Ninh Binh province will coordinate with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to organise a trade promotion conference for Japanese investors, she said.

She noted that in Ninh Binh province, the Kyoei Steel project, an FDI project with 100% investment capital from Japan, with a total investment of USD33.6 million, is being carried out. Although the number of investment projects from Japan is still modest, they have made positive contributions to the province's socio-economic development, especially in economic restructuring, job creation, and increased labor productivity, modern technology and management experience, according to Ms Ha.

She added that the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have had a policy and are suggesting the Consulate General of Vietnam in Fukuoka, Japan, pay attention to and create conditions for connection and promote cooperation and establish friendly relations between Ninh Binh province and Fukuoka, supporting investment promotion, image promotion, and potential strengths and cooperation opportunities between organizations and enterprises in Japan to Ninh Binh province.

Besides economic cooperation, the province also expects more experience exchange in women-related issues including family health care, reproductive health, and responses to natural disasters and climate change.

For her part, Ms Mori Masako expressed her deep impression of the beautiful scenery and friendly people when visiting the Trang An World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

She said the 470,000-strong Vietnamese community in Japan is the second largest group and greatly contributes to the countrys socio-economic development, adding she will do her best to promote a friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Japan in general, and between Ninh Binh province with the regions of Japan in particular.

She added that she would do her best to promote the friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and Japan in general, and between Ninh Binh province and Japanese localities in particular, especially in Ninh Binhs care, related to cooperation, socio-economic development, and promotion of the role of women in the family and in social work.

She also applauded Ninh Binh provinces proposal on organising the Cherry Blossom Festival in the province, pledging she will try to help make it come true./.
This photo taken on March 4, 2023 shows a press conference about a new discovery of the domestication of different wild grape ecotypes in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Yang Jing)

KUNMING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A joint study conducted by 89 Chinese and overseas scientists has proved that domestication of different wild grape ecotypes occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus, which yielded table and wine grapevines.

The findings were published by the journal Science on Friday and chosen as the cover story.

According to the paper, "Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the late Neolithic."

Analyses of domestication traits also reveal new insights into selection for berry palatability, hermaphroditism, muscat flavor, and skin color.

Dong Yang, a professor at Yunnan Agricultural University, and his team assembled some 5,000 grape genetic resources globally, spent three years completing genome analysis, and mapped the reference genome of cultivated grapevines.

The team said the research results support the functional genomics research and breeding of grapes.

A child eats grapes at the Dongfeng Farm in Mile of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Aug. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

Editor: WJH
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province, at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed on Sunday that high-quality development is the first and foremost task in building a modern socialist country in all respects.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while attending a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature.

Efforts should be made to fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, and better coordinate the effective upgrade in quality with the appropriate expansion in quantity in economic development, Xi said.

The country must unswervingly deepen reform and opening up and transform the development model to accelerate the formation of sustainable institutions and mechanisms for high-quality development, said Xi.

China's development must serve to continuously strengthen the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness and security, Xi said.

He spoke approvingly of the government work report, and recognized the achievements Jiangsu Province made in various areas including economic and social development and Party building in the past five years.

Speeding up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology is the path China must take to advance high-quality development, said Xi.

To open up new areas and new arenas in development and foster new growth drivers and new strengths in face of fierce international competition, China should ultimately rely on scientific and technological innovation.

Building self-reliance and strength in science and technology is key to building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects within the set time frame, Xi added.

He called for accelerating the implementation of the innovation-driven development strategy, furthering cooperation between industries, universities and research institutes, supporting top scientists to lead original and pioneering research to achieve scientific and technological breakthroughs, and ensuring self-reliance in major areas and key links.

Efforts must be made to build industrial science and technology innovation centers with global influence and deepen scientific and technological system reform, he told the NPC deputies.

Accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern is the strategic priority in pursuing high-quality development, said Xi. He called for efforts to integrate the implementation of the strategy of expanding domestic demand with deepening supply-side structural reform, and modernize the industrial system in a speedier manner.

Noting that the real economy should be the focus in seeking economic development, Xi stressed advancing reforms in key areas, coordinating the building of a modern infrastructure system and a high-standard market system, and expanding institutional opening up.

Xi stressed that building up strength in agriculture is the foundation of a great modern socialist country, and promoting agricultural modernization is an essential requirement for achieving high-quality development.

Xi said China must take concrete moves to ensure stable and secure supply of grains and major farm produce. The country should foster and develop new industries and new forms of business in rural areas and broaden channels for farmers to increase their incomes and get rich, he said.

Xi further stressed that China should speed up the building of a beautiful and harmonious countryside that is desirable to live and work in.

The country needs to both improve science and technology and advance reforms in order to add impetus and vitality to agricultural and rural development, said Xi.

Xi said that the happiness and well-being of the people are the ultimate goals of promoting high-quality development. Primary-level governance and ensuring people's well-being are crucial to the people's immediate interests, and are fundamental to advancing common prosperity and building high-quality lives, he noted.

He called on Party committees and governments at all levels to bear in mind these tasks and strive to accomplish them at all times, so as to yield concrete results.

Xi emphasized the need to enhance the system of basic public services, noting that efforts ought to be exerted in facilitating the employment of key groups, regulating the distribution of incomes, and improving social security system and the services for elderly and underage groups.

He added that COVID-19 prevention and control work in the new phase must be carried out in a solid and meticulous manner, and underscored the need to continuously enhance China's systems of public health, disease prevention and control, and medical services.

To advance high-quality development, it is a must to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership and ensure the Party's full and rigorous self-governance, said Xi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province, at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province, at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

Editor: WJH
This photo taken on Dec. 29, 2021 with an infrared camera shows a wild giant panda drinking water at the Ya'an area of the Giant Panda National Park in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)

CHENGDU, March 6 (Xinhua) -- While conducting a field patrol, staff with China's Giant Panda National Park found two wild giant pandas in search of mates.

On March 3, Ma Wenhu, a staff member with the park's Tangjiahe area in southwest China's Sichuan Province, found a giant panda lying on a tree branch in the sun.

"Because the light was particularly good that day, I scanned the slope opposite me with a monocular telescope. As a result, I accidentally came across the animal," Ma recalled.

Ma added that another wild giant panda climbed up the tree and gradually approached the one in the tree. Ma observed that the giant panda who approached the tree constantly smeared perianal gland secretion on the branches and attracted the attention of the other by shaking the tree trunk.

Park experts said the behavior of giant pandas smearing odor with their perianal glands, coupled with the fact that the first panda to climb the tree was a female, indicates the arrival of giant panda estrus in spring.

The fourth national survey of giant pandas in 2015 found that there were 1,864 wild giant pandas in China.

Owing to the relentless protection efforts by Chinese zoologists, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded the giant panda from endangered to vulnerable in 2016.

This photo taken on March 3, 2023 shows two wild giant pandas in search of mates in the Tangjiahe area of the Giant Panda National Park in Qingchuan County of Guangyuan City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo by Ma Wenhu/Xinhua)

Editor: WXY
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference Tuesday on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.

Qin is expected to answer questions of journalists from home and abroad on China's foreign policy and foreign relations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (2nd L, rear) attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A journalist asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

A journalist with Xinhua News Agency asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists raise hands to ask questions during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (C, rear) attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
People communicate at the International Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry (BEVALG) in Algiers, Algeria, on March 6, 2023. This fair is held in Algiers from March 6 to March 9. (Xinhua)

People visit the International Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry (BEVALG) in Algiers, Algeria, on March 6, 2023. This fair is held in Algiers from March 6 to March 9. (Xinhua)

People visit the International Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry (BEVALG) in Algiers, Algeria, on March 6, 2023. This fair is held in Algiers from March 6 to March 9. (Xinhua)

Exhibitors work at the International Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry (BEVALG) in Algiers, Algeria, on March 6, 2023. This fair is held in Algiers from March 6 to March 9. (Xinhua)

Editor: WXY
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the opening of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 6, 2023. Guterres on Monday called for actions to close gender gaps in science, technology and innovation, saying women's full contributions will benefit all. (Manuel Elas/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, March 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for actions to close gender gaps in science, technology and innovation, saying women's full contributions will benefit all.

"The math is simple: without the insights and creativity of half the world, science and technology will fulfil just half their potential," Guterres told the opening of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The priority theme of the two-week meeting is "innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls."

The theme could not be more timely, Guterres said, "because as technology races ahead, women and girls are being left behind."

Three billion people are still unconnected to the Internet, and the majority of them are women and girls in developing countries. In the tech industry, men outnumber women two to one, and in the field of artificial intelligence, only about one out of five workers is a woman, he said.

He pointed to "centuries of patriarchy, discrimination and harmful stereotypes" that have created a huge gender gap in science and technology, noting that women account for just 3 percent of Nobel Prize winners in science categories.

"Promoting women's full contributions to science, technology and innovation is not an act of charity or a favour to women. It is a must and it benefits everyone," the UN chief stressed.

For example, when women scientists and technologists tackle global problems, they multiply the chance of finding solutions, he said.

Guterres urged increasing education, income and employment for women and girls, particularly in the Global South.

He also called for promoting women's and girls' full participation and leadership in science and technology, from governments to board rooms and classrooms, as well as creating a safe digital environment for women and girls.

The meeting this year comes at a time "when women's rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world," said Guterres, warning that "progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes" and "gender equality is growing more distant."

"Let's be clear: global frameworks are not working for the world's women and girls. They need to change," he said. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (at the podium and on screens) addresses the opening of the 67th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 6, 2023. Guterres on Monday called for actions to close gender gaps in science, technology and innovation, saying women's full contributions will benefit all. (Manuel Elas/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

Editor: Zhang Zhou
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference Tuesday on the margins of the First Session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Media Center, during which he answered questions from Chinese and foreign media about China's foreign policy and external relations.

Here are some highlights.

- China's diplomacy has pressed the "acceleration button" and sounded the clarion call.

- China has had a growing network of friends, made more and more new friends, and strengthened ties with old ones.

- We will always bear in mind the well-being and security of our overseas compatriots, and honor our commitment to serving the people.

- We will meet challenges head-on, boldly take on responsibilities, foster an enabling external environment for building a modern socialist country in all respects, and write a new chapter in China's distinctive major-country diplomacy in the new era.

- The new journey of China's diplomacy will be an expedition with glories and dreams, and it will also be a long voyage through stormy seas. The harder the mission, the more glorious its accomplishment.

Editor: WXL
Ukraine, under the coordination of the Ministry of Energy, has received 450 cargoes of humanitarian aid with energy equipment with a total weight of more than 5,650 tonnes in the year since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko says.

"Among the equipment that Ukraine received are more than 1,700 generators, about a thousand transformers, mobile gas boilers, special equipment, high-voltage equipment for the repair of power lines, a mobile cable laboratory and a lot of materials," the Minister of Energy is quoted on the ministry's Telegram channel on Tuesday.

The minister noted that thanks to this assistance, Ukraine was able to resume the operation of a large number of energy infrastructure facilities fired by the Russians with missiles, drones and artillery.

The report states that more than 30 countries have provided assistance: Austria, Great Britain, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Italy, France, Latvia, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, North Macedonia, Switzerland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, as well as Azerbaijan, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Canada and the United States.

As reported, the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, established by the Energy Community Secretariat in April 2022, received EUR 144.366 million as of February 1, 2023.
The Kyiv Economic Court at the request of the Deposit Guarantee Fund has seized the assets of owner of JSC Finance and Credit Bank Kostiantyn Zhevaho to secure a claim to recover UAH 46 billion damages caused to the bank and its creditors.

According to the fund's press release, the Kyiv Economic Court made the decision following the application of the fund seeking to secure the claim. It concerns 50.3% of the charter capital of three enterprises: Poltava Mining, Yerisovo Mining LLC and Bilanovo Mining LLC, which indirectly belong to Zhevaho through Ferrexpo.

At the same time, when making this decision, the court took into account the confirmation provided by the fund that the defendant for a long time tried in various ways to hide the fact of ownership of property belonging to him, using which the claims of the fund against Zhevaho could be satisfied in the future.

In addition, the court prohibited other companies associated with it from alienating these assets.

"This decision is another step to protect the interests of the creditors of Finance and Credit Bank," Viktor Novikov, the deputy managing director of the fund, said.

According to him, now, the fund's claim against the owner of the bank is in the trial court of Ukrainian jurisdiction, and it is extremely important that during the consideration of this case, the assets are preserved in full and can subsequently be used to compensate for the damage caused to the bank's creditors.

"The fact that the High Court of England and Wales when considering the lawsuit of the fund against the owner of the bank came to the conclusion that there was enough reason for the universal seizure of Zhevaho's assets was of great importance," Novikov said.

Ferrexpo in its exchange report late on Tuesday said that the Company can confirm that it has no intention, and never has had any intention, of transferring the shares referenced above.

"In any event, the Company has previously successfully appealed a similar share arrest (freeze) action applied to the shares held by Ferrexpo AG in Ferrexpo Poltava Mining. Further details on the previous share arrest can be found in the Company's press releases dated 31 January 2020, 6 October 2020 and 30 November 2020, and associated disclosures in the Company's full year and interim financial accounts," the company said in the report.

The SPF said that it filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv Economic Court against Zhevaho seeking to recover UAH 46 billion in losses of the bank and its creditors on January 4, 2023. These losses were inflicted on the bank by systematic lending to the borrowers related to Zhevaho and transferring funds belonging to him by nonresident companies without proper security, which has signs of fictitious, the Fund claimed. On March 1, 2023, the Fund filed an application seeking to secure the claim, which the court satisfied.

The next session of the Kyiv Economic Court in this case is scheduled for March 13, 2023.
MIGA to provide three state banks in Ukraine with up to $10 mln trade finance guarantees to EBRD, receives $23 mln from Japan for future projects in Ukraine

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), under a joint project with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will provide state-owned Ukrgasbank, Ukreximbank and Oschadbank with a total of up to $10 million guarantees against the risk of non-payment of their obligations to the EBRD on funds received from it under the trade finance programs, according to information on the MIGA website.

The first TFG (Trade Finance Guarantees) under this project will be in the amount of up to $10 million for Ukrainian state-owned banks, MIGA notes on its website.

Earlier, the EBRD noted that the total size of the cooperation program with MIGA on trade finance in developing countries through state-owned banks is $200 million and the first project will be in Ukraine, but did not specify its volume.

Guarantees are issued for up to six years with an initial period of three years.

MIGA also announced the launch of the Support for Ukraine's Reconstruction and Economy (SURE) Trust Fund, a new humanitarian initiative to support economic activity and reconstruction in war-torn Ukraine, with Japan's first contribution of $23 million.

"The fund, which MIGA expects to grow to $300 million through contributions from additional donors, will allow MIGA to provide trade finance guarantees, insurance on bank reserves during the conflict, and political risk insurance to support reconstruction after the war," the agency said in a press release.

MIGA emphasized that this tool, in addition to grants and loans to the government of Ukraine, would allow the private sector to invest in infrastructure reconstruction and economic activity.

MIGA was established in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies, helping to reduce the risks of currency conversion and transfer restrictions, government breaches of contracts, expropriation, war and civil unrest.

Since its inception, MIGA has provided almost $70 billion in guarantees in 122 developing countries in support of nearly 1,000 projects.

Earlier this year, MIGA already provided one-year guarantees of up to EUR 100 million for Raiffeisen Bank International AG's (RBI) investment in the capital of its Ukrainian subsidiary, Raiffeisen Bank.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NUB) has written and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill, the adoption of which will allow the state to nationalize Sense Bank (formerly Alfa-Bank) of sanctioned Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and several other Russian shareholders, the Economic Pravda publication reported in Tuesday and published a corresponding letter to the relevant parliamentary committee.

"The key change proposed by the NBU is to oblige the regulator to recognize the bank as insolvent and withdraw it from the market if Ukrainian and international sanctions are applied against the owners of such an institution," the newspaper wrote.

Earlier in 2022, the Rada already adopted a law on a simplified procedure for the nationalization of systemically important banks, which allows it to be carried out without additional capitalization from the state. However, it names the illiquidity of a financial institution as the only condition for nationalization.

Some MPs and experts argued that this law would be applied to Sense Bank, but at present, its financial indicators do not give grounds for this.

In turn, the bank, at the request of the agency to comment on the new bill, said that they were aware of such an initiative and called it one of the possible scenarios for the development of events. However, they continued work to find investors and capitalize the bank with private money of $1 billion.

"We are ready for any scenario: to remain a private bank or become a public one," the bank said in the response to the request.

In addition, it contains the words of the head of the supervisory board of the bank, Roman Shpek, who reported on negotiations with Polish investors.

"Last Friday, a Memorandum was signed with potential investors from Poland who are interested in entering the Ukrainian market. We also know that investors sent their letters to the leadership of the NBU and the Deputy Head of the President's Office," Shpek said.

The bank said that at this stage they cannot disclose the names of potential investors.

According to the NBU, as of January 1, 2023, in terms of total assets, Sense Bank ranked ninth (UAH 99.93 billion) among 67 banks operating in the country.
The position to strengthen the defense of Bakhmut was unanimously supported by the Headquarters, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address on Monday.

"Frankly speaking, there are a lot of disinformation messages from those who cannot even hear absolutely closed conversations, but they claim something about some decisions in the defense sector," he said.

According to Zelenskyy, "society should understand the meaning of our defense operations. True meaning. Today at the Headquarters meeting, I directly asked the commander of Khortytsia General Syrsky and Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny about how they see the future defense operation in Bakhmut direction."

"Withdraw or continue the defense and strengthen in the city? Both generals answered  not to retreat and strengthen. This position was unanimously supported by the Headquarters," the president said.

"There were no other positions. I told the Commander-in-Chief to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut. There is no such part of Ukraine to say that it can supposedly be abandoned," Zelenskyy said.
Ten more military pilots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may arrive in the United States to improve their skills in controlling combat aircraft, CNN said, citing a U.S. official.

According to him, the assessment of the level of professionalism of Ukrainian pilots will be carried out at the military base of the National Guard of the U.S. Air Force in Arizona.

Earlier, the U.S. media said two Ukrainian military pilots were already being trained in the United States in order to "become more effective pilots."

The interlocutor of CNN said there is no new information about the possibility of providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, which Kyiv requested from Washington.
Some 464 children were killed and 931 wounded in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression, in total 1,395 children have suffered since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine has said.

It is noted that these figures are not final. Work continues to install them in places of warfare, in temporarily occupied and liberated territories.

Children suffered the most in Donetsk region, namely 446, some 273 in Kharkiv, some 123 in Kyiv, some 94 in Kherson, some 84 in Zaporizhia, some 83 in Mykolaiv, some 68 in Chernihiv, some 66 in Luhansk, some 64 in Dnipropetrovsk.

Due to massive bombardments and shelling during the year, some 3,126 educational institutions were damaged by the Russian armed forces, while 438 of them are completely destroyed.
According to preliminary data, a Ukrainian prisoner of war from the 30th separate mechanized brigade, Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, was shot on video, the command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

"Yesterday, a video recording of the execution of a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who was executed by the Russian invaders after his words 'Slava Ukraini (Glory to Ukraine!' was published on social networks and the media. According to preliminary data, a serviceman of the 30th separate mechanized brigade, Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, was killed," the command said on the Telegram channel.

Shadura has been considered missing since February 3, 2023 after military operations near the town of Bakhmut.

The body of a serviceman is in the temporarily occupied territory. The final confirmation of the identity can be established after the return of the body and the appropriate examinations.

"The command of the 30th separate mechanized brigade and the brothers of the Hero express their sincere condolences to his family and friends. Revenge for our Hero will be inevitable. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!" the military said.
The Polish Ministry of Defense has clarified the words of Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak, who said Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems have already arrived in Ukraine, the Polish edition Defence24 said.

It is noted that Baszczak's statement concerned the decision to transfer the indicated air defense systems to Ukraine, and not their direct arrival in the country.

"The meaning of the words of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense, Mr. Mariusz Baszczak, was to indicate that thanks to the efforts of Poland, decisions were made to transfer the Patriot battery," the Polish Ministry of Defense said in a statement, which was sent to the publication in response to the publication of Baszczak's words.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said that another batch of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks will be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days, Sky News reports.

"Four [tanks] are already in Ukraine, another 10 will go to Ukraine this week," Baszczak said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will pay an official visit to Ukraine to discuss the Istanbul grain deal, the UN press service has reported.

"The Secretary-General has just arrived in Poland on his way to Ukraine. On Wednesday morning he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to discuss the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in all its aspects, as well as other pertinent issues," the message says.

This is the Secretary-General's third visit to Ukraine in the last year.

As reported, the grain deal was concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022. With the participation of the UN, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, two documents were signed  on the creation of a corridor for the export of grain from three Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdenny), as well as on the removal of barriers to the export of Russian food and fertilizers.

The deal expires March 18. The UN Secretary General had previously expressed hope for its extension.
Experts of the Council of Europe (CoE) generally positively assessed the law "On Media" adopted by the Verkhovna Rada, the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting reported.

"At the request of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, the Council of Europe provided an expert opinion on the compliance of the new law On Media with the EU Directive 2018/1808 on audiovisual media services (AVMSD). It is published on the European Council website. It says that the law On Media complies with the Directive and standards of the Council of Europe," the National Council on TV and Radio reported on Tuesday.

The National Council stressed that "the assessment of experts is quite positive."

The analysis of the legislative act was carried out by experts of the Council of Europe Yves Salomon and Tanja Kersevan.

Experts noted that the adopted law "On Media" is much better than the previous version of the draft law "On Media" No. 2693-d, however, there are still points that are recommended to be resolved.

"The scope of the media law is wide and covers, in addition to broadcasting, custom media services and video sharing platforms, also print and online media and electronic communications operators. This, according to experts, is unusual, but is not prohibited by the AVMSD and Council of Europe standards," the report says.

At the same time, experts noted that there is no consistency of the law with the Directive on the Language of Hostility, since not all characteristics protected by Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union fall under the prohibition of the language of hostility. All of these characteristics fall under the prohibition of discrimination or harassment, but they should also be extended to the category of hatred.

According to the experts' conclusions, the article on the protection of minors in the new law is now consistent with the standards of the Directive and the Council of Europe on Audiovisual media services.

"The only minor drawback ... is the fact that the restrictions on temporary screening for 16+ films come into force only a year after the adoption of the law. This seems to be a long time and technically does not comply with article 7.2 of the Regulation on Cross-Border Broadcasting," the report says.

The experts of the Council of Europe in their conclusions noted that the Ukrainian legislator eliminated the main shortcomings of the bill and found a way to ensure effective regulation of the retransmission of foreign services without violating the principle of the EU country of origin. However, in their opinion, for a full assessment of the consequences, the law "On the Foreign Broadcasting System of Ukraine" should be taken into account.

Experts were concerned about two provisions of the law related to the so-called prohibited list. In their opinion, the legal grounds for not disclosing the reason for getting a person on the list are not clear. Experts believe that common causes should be transparently disclosed. The experts also drew attention to the provision of the law related to the re-evaluation of persons already on this list.

"Although the transitional provisions of the law provide that the names on the list available on the date of entry into force of the law do not need to be re-evaluated, they are convinced that such a re-evaluation should be carried out, since inclusion in the list is a serious restriction of freedom of expression," the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting noted.
Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak has said in response to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's statement that definitions should be clarified.

"A terrorist attack is when rockets are fired at Ukrainian cities from the territory of Belarus. Sabotage is when subversive groups enter from the Belarusian border. The attack on the A-50 is an anti-terrorist act carried out, by the way, by local partisans," he said on Twitter on Tuesday.

Earlier, Lukashenko said that the attack on the A-50 aircraft on the Machulishchy air base was "a terror act."
The Ukrainian side has returned 130 of its servicemen from Russian captivity as part of the exchange procedure, including 71 defenders of Azovstal, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said.

"Another prisoner exchange - we managed to bring home 130 of our people - 126 male defenders and four female defenders. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National guardsmen, border guards, specialists of the State Special Transport Service. Among them are 87 defenders of Mariupol, 71 of whom are from Azovstal. We are also returning those captured in the area of Bakhmut and Soledar - a total of 35 people from Donetsk direction," Yermak wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.

According to him, most of those released from Russian captivity have serious injuries. "As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, the state should take care of each of them. Each of our heroes should feel that the state cares about him," the head of the President's Office said.

Yermak thanked the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War "for excellent work."

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported earlier on Tuesday that 90 Russian servicemen who were in Ukrainian captivity had been returned to Russia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine categorically refutes Alexander Lukashenko's insinuations about the alleged involvement of the Ukrainian side in the events at the Machulishchy airfield and considers it an attempt to create an artificial threat from Ukraine in order to justify its support for Russia's aggression, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oleh Nikolenko has said.

"We categorically reject Alexander Lukashenko's insinuations about the alleged involvement of the Ukrainian side in the events at Machulishchy airfield. Obviously, this is another attempt to create an artificial threat from Ukraine in order to justify its support for Russia's aggression, Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

The Foreign Ministry stressed that the threat should not be sought in Ukraine, which is fighting for itself and is looking for peace.

"It lies in Russia, which is trying in every possible way to draw Belarus even more into the war, to finally deprive it of independence and sovereignty," Nikolenko stressed.

The ministry also noted that "Lukashenko allowed himself a rude personal attack on the President of Ukraine."

"We will leave this act of impotence unanswered," the Foreign Ministry said.
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the sentences handed down to members of the Belarusian opposition in Minsk the previous day.

"The EU condemns these absurd sentences," the communique, which was released in Brussels, said.

The European foreign policy chief said that the EU would continue to support all those who advocate an independent and democratic Belarus, and was ready to undertake measures in response to "bulldozing of the rights of its population."

The sentences were handed down in the case against members of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian opposition in Minsk on Monday. In particular, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was tried in the case and sentenced to 15 years in prison. One of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition and former Belarusian Culture Minister Pavel Latushko and members of the Coordination Council of the opposition Maria Moroz (she headed Tikhanovskaya's campaign headquarters), Olga Kovalkova and Sergei Dylevsky were convicted, as well. Latushko was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Moroz to 12, Kovalkova to 12, Dylevsky to 12.
Ukraine remembers every military and civilian who are in Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

"Just like about every corner of our country that is under occupation, we remember about every one of our people who is being kept in Russian captivity. We will release everyone," Zelenskyy said in a video message released on Tuesday.

At the same time, he thanked all Ukrainian soldiers on the front line who realize how important it is to replenish the exchange fund for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also thanked all those involved from government departments for the return home of 130 soldiers from Russian captivity, among whom were privates and sergeants.
U.S. Embassy in Georgia calls consideration of foreign agent bills 'dark day' for Georgian democracy

The Embassy of the United States in Tbilisi has criticized consideration of two bills on foreign agents by the Georgian parliament.

"Today is a dark day for Georgia's democracy," the embassy said in a statement released on Tuesday evening.

According to the statement, the continuation of consideration of the bills on foreign agents goes against Georgia's aspirations for integration into Europe and its democratic development.

The passing of these bills will harm Georgia's relations with its strategic partners and undermine the important work many Georgian organizations are doing to help compatriots, it said.

"The process and the draft laws raise real questions about the ruling party's commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration," the embassy said.

The two bills on foreign agents are being considered by the Georgian parliament amid the opposition protect outside the parliamentary building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.

The Georgian Interior Ministry released a statement on Tuesday evening calling on the organizers of the protest and opposition leaders to refrain from calls for violence and ensure that the protest does not become violent.
Cherevaty: Main task of our forces in Bakhmut is to wear down enemy's military capability, deplete its combat potential

The Russian occupation forces continue their vain offensive attempts in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Shakhtarsk directions. In the past 24 hours, the enemy shelled this section from cannon artillery and multiple launch rocket systems 306 times, and 56 military clashes occurred there, including nine near Bakhmut alone, Spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Cherevary has said.

The invaders lost 244 KIA and 315 WIA on this section in the past 24 hours, he said on the air of the national telethon on Tuesday.

"The main task of our forces in Bakhmut is to wear down the enemy and deplete its combat potential. Thanks to the mass heroism of our soldiers, conditions are being created for our future offensive there," Cherevaty said.

According to him, successful operations of the Ukrainian defenders force the enemy to use its reserves while suffering huge losses and having no chance to stop.

"They currently look for reserves and involve event the forces they used to preserve  the core of the Wagner PMC, those who had undergone training before the war, those who have combat experience from Syria," In addition, the group is being strengthened at the expense of not only regular army and artillery but also aircraft," Cherevaty said.

Commenting on the government's decision to hold compulsory evacuation of children with parents from the frontline areas, he said that this decision was correct and timely. According to Cherevaty, the evacuation of the civilian from the battlefield will allow the defense forces to focus on their combat tasks without getting distracted by other tasks.
The Defense Ministry of Hungary has recognized the fact that it participated in the "training of military medical specialists", the 24.hu news website reported on Tuesday.

"Hungary's position did not change: we are on the side of peace and do not support any steps that lead to the escalation of the war  that is why we do not send weapons or soldiers to Ukraine. Nevertheless, as a neighboring country, Hungary helps those in trouble and those in need within the framework of the largest humanitarian campaign in its history. We helped to hospitalize wounded Ukrainian soldiers, and the Hungarian Defense Forces also participate in the training of Ukrainian military medical professionals for humanitarian purposes," the Defense Ministry said.

According to 24.hu, earlier, this information was made public by Defense Minister of Slovakia Jaroslav Nad at a forum hosted by eastern Slovakia "when a pro-Russian audience member snapped that the Hungarian government could stay away from assistance to Ukraine."
The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon discussed issues of current cooperation and prospective interaction with Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia, Anna Bjerde, the republic's presidential press service said.

Support for continuing economic reforms was noted, as was financing for the development of the energy sector and ensuring food security, the report said. In addition, in the context of the difficult geopolitical situation in the world and the increasing effects of its consequences, it has been recognized that it is necessary to carry out continuous reforms to prevent and reduce risks and factors that negatively affect the national economy.

During the conversation, there was also an exchange of views on attracting investments from development partners in the areas of healthcare, education, and the social protection of the population, the report said.

As of today, the World Bank has provided $1.54 billion in financing for 24 projects in Tajikistan. Since 1996, the republic has received more than $2.72 billion in the form of grants from the International Development Association, which is part of the World Bank, and preferential loans.
Preparatory work is underway in Russia for negotiations, since they have no hope of resolving the issue by military means, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said during a telethon on Monday.

"The plan is known, preparatory work is underway," he said, stressing: "Everything concerning Minsk-3 is unacceptable for our society."

"Our people will not allow us to return the influence of Russia, Medvedchuk and others," Danilov said.

He found it difficult to answer the question when a "negotiation situation" would arise. "There is a decision of the NSDC, on which we cannot conduct any negotiations with Putin. He is a terrorist," he said.

According to Danilov, "the issue of principles is fundamental. We cannot compromise principles, including territorial integrity. Otherwise, it will end in a new war. Principles are a sacred thing."
Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metals group of companies, has suspended almost all strategic investment projects due to the war in Ukraine.

"Almost all current strategic investment projects have been suspended, with the exception of the construction of a new block of mine No. 11 at Pokrovsk-Vuhillia to maintain production volumes," Metinvest stated in a presentation at the 14th annual corporate conference J.P. Morgan Global Emerging Markets, held on Monday.

It clarifies that although decarbonization initiatives were delayed due to the war, the strategy for iron ore assets has not changed, and the group continues to focus on high-quality products.

"Strategic priorities will need to be comprehensively reviewed after the end of the active phase and assess the impact of the war. The group is looking for opportunities to improve synergies between Ukrainian and foreign assets as they are vertically integrated," the company's future plans after the end of the war are explained.

According to the presentation, since the outbreak of hostilities, Metinvest has transferred part of its assets to a hot conservation mode to ensure the safety of employees, protect equipment and prevent any industrial accidents that military operations could potentially lead to. At the same time, critical repairs continue to ensure an adequate level of productivity, as well as in preparation for increasing production after the end of the war.

"The group has some power generation capacity at some of its assets and is considering expanding it to prevent damage from emergencies due to power outages," the presentation said.

Regarding the period of post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, the company points to the political and economic rapprochement of the country with the EU, as well as the reduction of competition from Russian manufacturers. If the reconstruction program is implemented on a large scale, it could increase domestic demand for steel products, the group believes.
In a phone call on Sunday, both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and South Sudan President Salva Kiir said they were willing to mediate between the Sudanese parties amidst ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has issued decree No. 141 of 2023 to establish the Supreme Council For Investment.
Several Egyptian human rights groups that are set to participate in the National Dialogue, which will start on 3 May, stressed on Friday the need for legal amendments that would protect their freedom to work across the country.
Ethiopia's army chief said on Saturday the country had completed the dismantling of "special forces" created by some regions, finalising a policy which sparked recent unrest.
The G7's top diplomats arrive Sunday in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa for talks set to be dominated by twin crises: China's growing pressure on Taiwan, and Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Israeli air strike on a residential neighborhood in Damascus killed 15 people early Sunday and badly damaged a building in a district housing state security agencies, a war monitor said.

Civilians, including two women, were among those killed in "the deadliest Israeli attack in the Syrian capital" since the civil war began, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The overnight strike cratered a road and wrecked the adjacent 10-storey building in the Kafr Sousa district, which is home to senior state officials and Syrian intelligence headquarters, said the UK-based Observatory.

A woman was also killed in the Mazraa district, possibly hit when Syrian anti-aircraft munitions crashed down, it added.

It was not immediately clear who was the intended target of the strike, which AFP correspondents reported shook Damascus and left a gaping hole in the street.

Other missiles overnight hit a warehouse used by pro-regime Iranian and Hezbollah fighters near Damascus, said the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.

Syria's defence ministry gave an initial death toll of five, including one soldier, and 15 wounded civilians, some in critical condition.

Shortly after midnight "the Israeli enemy carried out an aerial aggression from the direction of the occupied Golan Heights targeting several areas in Damascus and its vicinity, including residential neighbourhoods", a statement said.

Defence forces "shot down several missiles", it added.

Historic buildings near the medieval Damascus citadel were also "severely damaged", said the head of the Syrian antiquities department, Nazir Awad, blaming "an Israeli missile".

An Israeli military spokesperson said: "Israel does not comment on reports in foreign media."

Syrian government ally Russia condemned the strike, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also urging Israel "to put an end to armed provocations" against Damascus that could endanger "the entire region".

- More than decade of war -

Israel, during more than a decade of war in Syria, has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbour, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

"We will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and we will not allow it to entrench on our northern border," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Sunday's cabinet meeting, without referring directly to the Damascus strike.

In Tehran, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned the attacks of the Zionist regime against targets in Damascus and its suburbs, including against certain residential buildings".

The raids had left "a number of innocent Syrian citizens" dead and injured, he said.

The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful protests, and escalated to pull in multiple foreign powers.

Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes.

President Bashar al-Assad's regime receives military support from Russia as well as from Iran and Shiite groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, which are declared enemies of Israel.

Sunday's attack comes more than a month after an Israeli missile strike hit Damascus International Airport, killing four people, including two soldiers.

Syria is currently seeking to recover from the February 6 earthquake, which did not affect Damascus but which killed more than 44,000 people across the country's north and southern Turkey.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The West and the Arab countries are facilitating the flow of aid to Syria in the wake of the February earthquake, but the sanctions against the regime remain in place.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February and after rescue and relief operations have faltered, especially in northern Syria, the Western and Arab countries have taken several steps to facilitate the flow of aid to Syria.

They have announced a freeze or suspension of some of the sanctions imposed on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad for a period of time, giving the impression that the restrictions imposed on Syria by the West have started to erode and that the Arab rapprochement has started to turn into tangible action on the ground.

The US Treasury has decided to partially and temporarily suspend some measures it has imposed on the Syrian government. It will also allow the transfer of funds to Syria for six months if these pertain to sending assistance in the wake of the earthquake. It said that the US sanctions are not an obstacle to humanitarian aid, adding that the measures do not cover the sale of Syrian oil or apply to individuals under US sanctions.

The European Commission said it will act on calls for assistance from the Syrian government and will provide more emergency support to the country as well as urgent humanitarian aid. The EU has exempted humanitarian organisations from obtaining prior permission from member states to transfer or deliver supplies or services for humanitarian purposes in Syria. It said it will seek guarantees to ensure that aid reaches those in need.

The UK has taken similar steps to the EU to facilitate the flow of humanitarian relief to Syria, in order to facilitate the work of relief agencies without violating the sanctions that target the Syrian regime.

These steps suggest a new leniency by the West towards the Syrian government, but they are only temporary humanitarian measures that are not long-term. The declarations were accompanied by assurances that the sanctions by the West against the Syrian regime do not primarily target humanitarian aid, food, or medical supplies.

Any easing or suspension of the sanctions for these purposes will not violate the existing sanctions, which will continue to target the Syrian regime and its supporters, they said. Pressure will also continue to be put in order to progress on a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

The Syrian government described the decisions of the US and EU on the sanctions as deceptive and a repeat of previous decisions giving a false humanitarian impression. The US cannot deceive the Syrian people by attempting to improve its image and shirk its responsibility for obstructing efforts to rescue and support the earthquake victims, said a statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri visited Damascus earlier this week and met with President Al-Assad to deliver a message from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi confirming that Egypt will continue its support for Syria in the aftermath of the earthquake. Shoukri also met with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Al-Miqdad.

During a news conference, Shoukri noted that the primary goal of his visit was humanitarian, and he declined to answer questions by journalists about possible normalisation by the Arab countries with the Syrian regime and Syrias return to the Arab League.

In this ordeal, we are motivated by our human bonds, and that is what we are currently focused on, Shoukri said.

One day before Shoukris visit, a delegation from the Arab Parliamentary Union visited Syria and also met with Al-Assad. The delegation expressed its solidarity with the people of Syria, and one member spoke of the need for Syria to return to the Arab League 10 years after its membership was suspended.

A few days earlier, Al-Assad went on an official visit to Oman, the first of its kind in 12 years of the Arab boycott of the country. Nothing was said about the reasons for the visit and there were no announced outcomes, though it has been suggested that Oman is playing a mediating role.

Al-Assad has received a deluge of communications from Arab officials, however, and more than 250 relief flights have landed in Syrian airports, though nothing has been delivered to areas under opposition control. This has been the case even though the damage there is three times worse than in areas under regime control, with four times the number of victims.

The Syrian government has been under sanctions by the West for the past 12 years since the start of the Syrian Revolution in 2011. The EU and US have imposed various sanctions against Damascus, including a ban on selling oil, the restriction of investments, the freezing of the assets of the Syrian Central Bank, the restriction of imports of equipment and technology, and the monitoring of communications.

The sanctions affect any country that deals with the Syrian regime.

Other sanctions target hundreds of individuals affiliated with the regime and its security apparatus. In 2019, the US issued its Caesar Act that tightened the screws on the Syrian regime and its associates. Sanctions under the Caesar Act can be used against anyone dealing with the Syrian government or Russian and Iranian entities in Syria.

Despite the tragedy, the earthquake has been an opportunity for the regime to end its isolation, and the Syrian Foreign Ministry has urged UN member states, agencies, and other international organisations to give help in dealing with its aftermath. Syrian officials have called for the lifting of sanctions and taken advantage of the catastrophic conditions suffered by the Syrian people that have been compounded by the disaster.

The Syrian government has welcomed all Arab assistance, even though all responses so far have been limited to humanitarian relief aid and do not impact political or economic matters.

The majority of the Syrian opposition believes that the sanctions against the Syrian government are primarily meant to punish the Al-Assad regime for its abuses of the Syrian people, said Said Moqbel, a Syrian political analyst.

It is a form of international pressure to force the regime to enter into a political process in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and a moral affirmation that justice will reach those affected by these sanctions.

But some believe that the sanctions also impact the people, depriving them of any opportunity to escape from their dire living conditions. In order to avoid the sanctions impacting the humanitarian relief, some countries in the West have suspended some sanctions in order to enable Syrians to salvage what they can in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Meanwhile, Europe and the US persist in their three Nos regarding normalising relations with the Syrian government until it takes steps towards a genuine political solution in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions. These are no to normalisation, no to the lifting of sanctions, and no to reconstruction.

There have been European attempts to improve interactions with the Syrian regime in the hope that this will change its behaviour, while some Arab countries are trying to buoy up the regime. These have been met with caution by other Arab countries because they precede any progress on the political track.

While the Arab moves are gaining momentum, they have not yielded any tangible results in political terms. The positions of influential Arab countries and the Arab League are clear and have not changed for a decade.

They want to see the scaling back of the regimes relationship with Iran and the limitation of the Iranian influence in Syria. The regime should also move forward on a political solution based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254 as the key to Arab rapprochement.

Without these two requirements being met, it will be difficult for the Arab countries to have any tangible relations with Syria or invite it back into the Arab League. No Arab country is willing to ignore the US sanctions against Syria.

Only signs of moving forward on a political solution will convince the West to start easing the sanctions against the regime and allow the Arab countries to renew their ties with the Syrian government.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Spanish troupe Abrego Producciones will tour Egypt to give workshops and participate in a theatre festival.

The troupe is participating in the International Theater Festival for Southern Youth in Egypt (Qena) and offer training activities at the Superior Institute of Theatrical Art, Academy of Arts of Alexandria.

The Spanish troupe's tour, which is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Egypt, is taking place in the first half of March to develop an extensive cultural program in Alexandria and Qena (Upper Egypt).

Abrego Teatro was formed by Spanish director and playwright Pati Domenech and Spanish actress Maria Vidal.

On 5 March, the troupe performed Hundreds of Birds Prevent you from Walking. Blood Wedding (Cientos de pajaros te impiden andar. Bodas de Sangre) at the Superior Institute of Theatrical Arts in Alexandria.

Meanwhile, on 3, 4 and 6 March, the troupe gave an acting workshop at the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts of Alexandria.

In Qena (Upper Egypt), the group will be presenting the same theatrical piece on 8 March within the framework of the International Festival of Theatre for Southern Youth in Egypt (which takes place on 7-12 March with plays from a dozen countries). During this show, Vidal and Domenech will carry out training activities and professional exchanges with other participants.

Hundreds of Birds Prevent You from Walking. Blood Wedding is written by Domenech. The interdisciplinary show combines singing, flamenco and contemporary dance, acting and video projections.

Abrego Producciones is an international group based in Cantabria (northern Spain). Their works have been showcased on several stages in five continents for more than 20 years.

Domenech is the director and author of more than 20 theatre plays that have been performed in more than 40 countries around the world. His plays have been translated into many languages including Arabic, French, English, German, Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek, and Italian.

With more than 30 years on the charts, Maria Vidal is the only European actress who has reaped two awards in the same year: the OutStanding Solo Performance of the Association of Latin Actors, and the Award as Best Foreign Actress of the Association of Critics, both from New York City.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb announced on Monday that he has given directives to send relief aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees after a devastating fire destroyed their refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Al-Azhar, whether professors, scholars or students, is in full solidarity with the Rohingya Muslims that were harmed by the huge fire that erupted at one of the refugee camps in Coxs Bazar district, which resulted in the burning of 2,000 tents and the destruction of medical and educational centres and mosques, in addition to harming thousands of Rohingya refugees who have become homeless, El-Tayebs statement said on Monday.

The huge fire raced through the densely populated Balukhali camp for Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh on Sunday, displacing thousands.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 2,000 shelters were damaged or destroyed, and 90 facilities, including hospitals and learning centres, were burned.

UNHCR officials added that despite no one being killed or injured, some 12,000 Rohingya refugees lost everything.

El-Tayeb said that he has instructed Al-Azhar officials to send tents, clothes, medical supplies and food to the refugees, as well as to communicate with the appropriate parties to ensure the relief aid reaches the refugees in the nearest possible time.

El-Tayeb also called on everybody to support and help the Muslim Rohingya refugees, especially since the Holy month of Ramadan is only days away.

He also called to the world to remember the agony of those who were forced to leave their homes in search of security and food and to escape injustice, torture, discrimination, and genocide.

Al-Azhar has sent relief aid to the Muslim Rohingya refugees over the past year.

Egypt has expressed solidarity with Rohingya Muslims and its support for the Bangladeshi governments efforts to address the fallout from the crisis.

The Balukhali Refugee camp is home to more than 1 million Rohingya refugees who, over several decades, have fled to Bangladesh from persecution in Myanmar. Approximately 740,000 have crossed over since a brutal crackdown by the Myanmar military starting in 2017.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Israeli warplanes struck Aleppo airport before dawn Tuesday, causing significant damage that halted flights to and from Syria's war- and quake-battered second city, the defence ministry said.

"At exactly 2:07 am (2307 GMT Monday), the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the Mediterranean west of Latakia targeting Aleppo international airport," Syria's defence ministry said in a statement.

The damage forced authorities to close the airport to all flights, the ministry added. There was no immediate word on any casualties.

The Foreign Ministry called the Israeli strike a double crime, saying that it targeted a civilian airport and a main channel for the flow of aid to areas hit by last month's earthquake.

The airport has been a major conduit for aid flights since a February 6 earthquake devastated swathes of southeastern Turkey and neighbouring Syria, and they too were brought to a stop, a transport ministry official said.

More than 80 aid flights have landed in Aleppo over the past month with relief supplies for quake-hit areas, transport ministry official Suleiman Khalil told AFP.

"It is no longer possible to receive aid flights until the damage has been repaired," he added.

He said all flights that were supposed to head to Aleppo will land in the capital, Damascus, or the international airport in the coastal province of Latakia.

There was no comment from Israeli officials. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.

Israel has attacked Aleppo airport several times in recent years, with a strike last September putting it out of service for a few days.

On February 19, Israeli airstrikes targeted residential areas in Syrias capital, Damascus, killing at least five people and wounding 15, according to Syrian state news.

On January, the Syrian army said Israels military fired missiles toward the capitals international airport, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers. That attack came amid Israeli fears the Damascus airport was being used to funnel Iranian weaponry into the country.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Egyptian government has no intention of taxing the income or remittances of Egyptians working abroad, Egypt's Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Gendy said on Tuesday.

Gendy made the remarks a day after local media reported on Deputy Senate Speaker Bahaaeddin Abu Shokas alleged proposal to allocate a percentage of the salaries of Egyptians abroad for the state  a statement that Abu Shoka himself denied later in the day.

In a statement to Egyptian news agency MENA, the emigration minister said the government could not possibly access the salaries or personal bank accounts of Egyptians, whether at home or abroad.

"There is no intention to deduct part of the wages of workers abroad or from their personal [financial] transfers," the statement quoted Gendy as saying.

Abu Shoka's alleged proposal was initially reported by local news websites on Monday afternoon, causing controversy for several hours before he denied making it.

In a phone-in with talk show host Amr Adib, Abu Shoka said that such a proposal would be unconstitutional, clarifying that he only called for legal measures to protect Egyptian expats, who number 12 to 14 million and represent part of the countrys national wealth, and should therefore be protected.

Abu Shoka said he made the comment in a Senate session that was set to discuss the government's incentive policies for Egyptians working abroad, and that he called for a governing legal umbrella to protect Egyptians abroad.

"I did not call for collecting money from Egyptian expats, but rather for protecting them. We preserve the money of hardworking Egyptians abroad through a set of guarantees, as well as when they transfer their money to their families and keep it in bank accounts in Egypt, with safe and regulated procedures, he explained.

Minister Gendy said that the Egyptian state fully supports Egyptian expats and is keen to protect and preserve their rights and settle their problems.

The Ministry of Emigration and Expatriates Affairs is always in close touch with the Egyptian communities abroad, listens to their proposals and requirements and offers programmes that are in their interests, the minister added.

The ministry spares no efforts to link the expats to their homeland and encourages and involves them in the ongoing development process in the country, Gendy added.

Remittances sent by Egyptian expats are one of Egypts key sources of foreign currency along with exports, tourism and the Suez Canal.

Egyptian expats remittance inflows to Egypt grew in FY2021/2022, which ended in June 2022, recording $31.9 billion, a slight increase from $31.4 billion the previous fiscal year, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

According to the CBE, during the first quarter of FY 2022/2023, remittances from Egyptians working abroad decreased by 20.9 percent to $6.4 billion compared to $8.1 billion during the same period of FY 2021/2021.

The country's net international reserves in February reached $34.3 billion, up from $34.2 billion registered by the end of January 2023, according to the CBE.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Palestinian health officials say at least six Palestinians were killed and two dozen others were wounded in an Israeli army raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank

After Israeli troops entered the Jenin refugee camp, witnesses reported heavy gunfire between militants as forces surrounded a house.

Two witnesses said rockets had been fired at a building housing a group of militants, and reported gunfire in the streets elsewhere in the northern West Bank camp.

Thick plumes of smoke were seen rising from buildings, as Israeli armoured vehicles moved through the streets, according to an AFP photographer.

The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that six men had been killed, one aged 49, and the rest in their 20s.

Sixteen others were wounded, the statement added, two of them with serious injuries.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, called the use of rockets in the city an act of "all-out war", Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Rudeineh accused the Israeli government of being "responsible for this dangerous escalation which threatens to inflame the situation and destroy all efforts aimed at restoring stability".

The Jenin Brigade, a militant group in the camp, said on one of their Telegram channels that their gunmen fought "violent clashes" with Israeli forces.

Surge In Violence

Early Wednesday, Palestinian militants launched a rocket toward Israel but it fell short and exploded inside the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The rocket activated warning sirens in open areas in southern Israel.

There were no reports of casualties.

Tuesdays raid was the latest in a string of deadly arrest operations by the Israeli military in the northern West Bank, as violence surges to its highest levels in years since the beginning of the year after one of the most right-wing governments led Netanyahu took office.

The raid raised fears of further bloodshed as Israel struggles to contain growing unrest led by young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who are increasingly taking up arms against Israel's open-ended occupation, now in its 56th year.

Elsewhere, in a separate raid on the occupied West Bank town of Nablus, the army entered a building in the Askar refugee camp and arrested three men, according to witnesses.

About 64 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year. Palestinian response against Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank have killed 14 people during that same time.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israels far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined Jewish revelers in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, dancing with residents from the hard-line settler community.

It was the latest show of force by extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank, who have been bolstered by Ben-Gvir and other allies in the new Israeli government. Overnight, settlers injured a Palestinian man in the same Palestinian town where a settler mob burned cars and houses last week.

Hebron is an occupied city that is home to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site considered holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews. Hundreds of hard-line settlers live in fortified enclaves under military protection in the heart of a city of more than 200,000 Palestinians.

Tuesday's celebration came under heavy security and passed from a settlement to the Israeli-controlled downtown area where Palestinians have been evicted or forced to close shops over the years.

Before entering office, Ben-Gvir was arrested dozens of times and was once convicted of incitement and supporting a Jewish terrorist group.

Late Monday, Jewish settlers wounded a Palestinian man in the town of Hawara, which was torched in a settler rampage last week. Mobs of Israeli settlers had set buildings and cars on fire in revenge for the shooting in a rampage that also left one Palestinian dead.

Stirring fears of further mayhem, settlers returned to the main Hawara thoroughfare Monday in a van, blasting music. Several of them attacked a supermarket, said Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official who monitors Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, injuring one man in the head.

Security camera footage from near the shop appeared to show Israeli settlers throwing rocks, and Palestinians hurling stones back.

Other footage appeared to show Israeli settlers dancing with soldiers on the main Hawara road, alongside a van emblazoned with the words Happy Purim." The army said the soldiers conduct was not aligned with the behavior expected and that the incident was under review.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians seek for their future state. In the decades since, more than 500,000 Jewish settlers have moved into dozens of settlements, which the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace.

* This story has been edited by Ahram Online.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egypt stressed on Tuesday that the resumption of the peaceful settlement track for the Palestinian cause would reflect positively on the work of the UNs Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Peacefully settling the Palestinian cause will also help the agency overcome the multiple challenges it faces, Egypts Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry told Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini in a Cairo meeting on Tuesday.

In this regard, Shoukry stressed Egypts support for all efforts to break the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Shoukry affirmed Egypts continued support for UNRWA in light of its important role in providing basic and essential services to Palestinian refugees, noting that this helps enhance security and stability in the region.

Egypt also continues to urge the donor states to provide the required funding for UNRWA through the various international frameworks.

For his part, Lazzarini affirmed UNRWAs keenness to coordinate and consult with Egypt closely and continuously in light of the countrys important role in supporting the UNRWAs activities and mobilising international support for the agency.

Lazzarini highlighted the big challenges that UNRWA faces currently, which prevent the agency from fulfilling its commitments toward Palestinian refugees and the countries hosting them.

The commissioner-general also said he looks forward to holding a dialogue within the framework of the League of Arab States (LAS) to discuss efforts to enhance UNRWAs role in light of Egypts presidency of the upcoming session of the Council of LAS at the level of foreign ministers.

Lazzarini also met with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit on Tuesday, who hailed the agencys role as a safety valve for stability in the entire region and called for filling the funding gap in UNRWAs budget, which amounted to $70 million.

Egypt has always affirmed its support for UNRWA, which was established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to provide educational, health, and other aid to around 6 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


American University in Cairo

Thurs 9, 12:45 - 2pm (Online event): Active Learning Meets Productive Failure, How do we come to understand something new? How do we design learning in a way that helps people understand something new? Join Manu Kapur, professor and chair of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, as he describes mechanisms for initial learning and how we can design for them. Kapur will illustrate his research programme on Productive Failure and connect it with active learning and flipped learning literature.

New Cairo Campus

Moataz Al Alfi Hall

Sun 12, 1-2pm: RCC 2023: Egypt and Climate Change - Post COP27 talk will feature Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Ministry of Environment of Egypt, as a keynote speaker discussing Egypt and climate change post-COP27.

Malak Gabr Arts Theatre

Tues 14, 6-8pm: The Power of Culture, a conversation with Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the first African American and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian. Moderated by the AUC President Ahmad Dallal (The event is open to the public).

Mary Cross Lecture Hall

Tues 14, 1-2pm: A discussion covering the controversial questions about what existence tells us about God and man. And if we can even know anything about God?



The discussion will be conducted between AUC Philosophy students Ahmed Badr, Khaled Hamza, and Omar Saleh.

Mohamed Shafik Gabr Lecture Hall

Wed 15 and Thurs 16, 3-6pm (Free entry): Brain Awareness-AUC Conference 2023 the first-ever Brain Awareness event at AUC, as part of International Brain Awareness Week. Join the conversation with prominent speakers to discuss different topics of neuroscience. Speakers: Kateri McRae, Professor of Psychology

University of Denver in Colorado, Firat Soylu,

Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Alabama, with

Antoine Adamantidis, Associate Professor in System Neurophysiology in the Department of Neurology

University of Bern, Jamie Berry, a Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist.

Italian Cultural Institute

3 El-Sheikh El Marsafy St, Zamalek, Tel 02 2735 5423/2735 8791

The registration for the Italian language general courses (April-June 2023 session) will be open from 10 to 25 March 2023. The registration for face-to-face/online general courses is open (session April - June 2023). The course will last for 50 hours and will be carried out face-to-face at our premises in Zamalek and Downtown and online through Zoom, with native/bilingual teachers.

For more information write to [email protected]

Arabic courses

Registration is open for face-to-face Egyptian Arabic and classical Arabic courses offered by Ahlan World school, at the premises of the Italian Cultural Institute. Classes will be held in the morning starting from 13 March for beginners level 1 and from 27 March for beginners level 3.

For information and registration, please contact 01129891993 or email [email protected]

For information on advanced levels, please contact 01222143876. Registration is open until March 11.

ALEXANDRIA

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Tel (03) 4839999

Conferences Centre Lecture Hall

Sun 12, 4pm: Designing Egyptian Folk Ornaments between Originality and Modernity a lecture by Nashwa Mohamed Hassan, Assistant Professor of Design, Faculty of Specific Education at Alexandria University, and jewellery designer Shafiaa El-Wakil.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


This week the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi left Tehran on a positive note regarding Irans nuclear programme. Over two days meetings with Iranian officials that culminated with an audience with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Grossi received sweeping assurances of full cooperation on safeguards from the Iranians.

Iran is supposed to provide access to information, locations and people, Grossi told a news conference at Vienna Airport soon after returning from Tehran. By the end of his visit, the joint statement said, Iran expressed its readiness to... provide further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues. Iran would also allow the re-installation of extra monitoring equipment that had been put in place under the 2015 nuclear deal, but then removed last year as the deal unravelled in the wake of the US withdrawal under then president Donald Trump in 2018 .

Yet, it is not clear if the IAEA accepted the Iranian explanation for traces of uranium enriched to 84 per cent  a level close to weapons grade fissile material. A quarterly meeting of the IAEAs 35-nation Board of Governors this week will decide on the matter. A confidential IAEA report to member states seen by Reuters, Grossi said, looks forward to... prompt and full implementation of the joint statement. Western powers were expected to push for another resolution in the Board of Governors meeting, ordering Iran to cooperate.

European signatories to the 2015 deal  Germany, France and the UK  want to take the matter to the UN Security Council to further censure Iran, which the Israelis have been pushing for. But according to an exclusive report in the The Wall Street Journal this week, the US administration is not in favour of the kind of public rebuke of Iran that the Europeans and Israelis would like.

This news did not receive the warmest of welcomes in Israel, which has been campaigning for more American and European pressure on Iran  probably as a pretext to a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear installations. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin toured the Middle East, visiting Egypt, Israel and Jordan. Though tension in the Occupied Palestinian Territories might be the headline of the visit, Iran was still high on the agenda.

So far, the Biden administration is not keen on Israels desire for escalation against Iran to the point of war. But, while the effort to rejoin the nuclear deal remains frozen now, Washington might see the Israelis calculated escalation as a bargaining chip to bring Iran back to the negotiating table and improve provisions for a renewed deal.

European and American think tanks have been cautioning against that US approach. At the end of last month Foreign Affairs published a lengthy analysis of the dangers of American tolerance to Israeli escalation towards Iran concluding, the bottom line is that Washington should not put too much faith in its ability to calibrate the pressure to just the right level. Military escalation is containable until it is not, and the time horizon for conflict can be longer and more painful than countries anticipate.

Two senior researchers at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) wrote this week in Foreign Policy magazine warning that too little is being done to avert the possibility of war with Iran. They summed up the situation: Military confrontation would be catastrophic. It must be averted before it is too late; war would have significant and counterproductive consequences for the West, Israel, Irans neighbours, and the Iranian people.

Arguably even the Gulf countries are not on the same page when it comes to war or negotiations with Iran. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain might be content with any escalation with Iran while Qatar and Oman are for negotiations, with reports noting Doha and Muscat are already playing a behind-the-scenes role in reviving Iranian-American contacts.

In fact, some in the region have been expecting the recent escalation in political manoeuvring ahead of a new round of negotiations between Iran and The West. Last month, Saudi political commentator Abdul- Aziz Alkhames told Al-Ahram Weekly that this is a known Iranian tactic: they keep blackmailing the world and at the eleventh hour they compromise and go for a deal. He added then: I still think, as long as the Democrats are in the White House, there will be a deal with Iran. It is essentially just political manoeuvring.

The outcome of the IAEA heads visit to Tehran and the promised full cooperation might be a last attempt to return to negotiations to revive the nuclear deal. Though Israel and many in the West are keen to keep the issue of Irans nuclear violations separate from the deal negotiations, the main concerned parties, Tehran and Washington, are using that IAEA dispute to push for returning to dialogue.

Though some are anxious enough to compare the latest inspectors dispute to the one that preceded the war on Iraq in 2003, the situation seems totally different. Iran looks like its resetting its position on nuclear cooperation with the UN watchdog. Still, nothing can be ruled out. And if hardliners succeed in referring the matter to the Security Council with another resolution against Iran, escalation may not be avoidable.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A breakthrough may be in sight in the truce negotiations in Yemen as talks between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Houthi Movement continue.

Omani-brokered truce negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni Ansarullah (Houthi) Movement were still in progress this week, meaning that a breakthrough may be in sight in the negotiations between the Houthis and the internationally recognised government of Yemen.

The Saudi-Houthi truce concluded in spring last year expired in October and has not been renewed, and this has led to the new round of negotiations building on efforts made by UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and US Special Envoy for Yemen Timothy Lenderking.

According to Yemeni sources, there is a possibility of a return to the Geneva-sponsored political process. Although the upcoming talks on 10 March in Geneva are expected to cover POW swaps, the sources believe that other issues will be added to the agenda in order to prepare the ground for a convergence of the Saudi Arabia-Houthi and Yemeni government-Houthi tracks.

The chances for a return to the political process seem greater now than ever before. The belligerents have come to realise that military victory is impossible and tacitly acknowledge what most observers recognise, which is that both sides will have to accept the realities on the ground.

The Yemeni government and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition that backs it understand that it is no longer possible to defeat the Houthi Movement and eliminate it from domestic politics in Yemen, while the Houthis no longer have the ability to expand their area of military control. The parties have essentially reached a stalemate and have exhausted themselves after eight years of civil and proxy warfare.

Important political developments might also enhance the prospects for peace, among them recent steps taken by Russia. In late February, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov travelled to Muscat to discuss bilateral cooperation as well as the question of Ukraine with his Omani counterpart.

He also took the opportunity to meet with the head of the Houthi negotiating delegation, Mohamed Abdel-Salam, and to discuss mediating efforts between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis with Omani officials. Moscow is close to Iran, which backs the Houthis, but it also has good relations with other Yemeni parties as well as with Riyadh.

Shortly after Bogdanovs trip to Oman, a high-ranking Saudi delegation headed by Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohamed Al-Jaber flew to Moscow to meet with Bogdanov and tour a number of Russian think tanks. In the course of these visits, he and the members of the delegation discussed the Saudi vision for a peaceful settlement to the Yemeni crisis and the development efforts that Riyadh has undertaken in Yemen.

Yemeni observers believe that the Saudi-Russian talks could help to facilitate the UN Security Councils management of the Yemeni crisis and avert a Russian veto.

With the Russian-US rivalry projecting itself onto the Yemeni crisis, as it has in Syria, Libya and other ongoing crises in the Middle East, Washington could soon pick up the pace of its mediating efforts in Yemen. Meanwhile, the US, together with Britain and France, have stepped up their clampdown on weapons smuggling in the region.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has intensified its manned and unmanned aerial and maritime surveillance network and intercepted at least eight smuggling operations in the Gulf of Oman. The French and British navies have contributed to intelligence-gathering and surveillance operations and have also intercepted some smuggling operations.

According to statements from all three parties, the seized shipments contained advanced weaponry including missiles, missile fuel components, anti-tank artillery, and individual weapons. Iran has denied responsibility for the smuggled weapons, and the Houthis this week denied having received weapons from Iran. This contradicts a report by UN experts in Yemen that found evidence that the weapons came from Iran and were destined for Yemen.

In Yemen itself, two main challenges now intersect with the revival of the Yemeni government-Houthi political process. One is the rivalry between the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which originated as an umbrella body in the framework of the secessionist Southern Movement, and the Saudi-backed Presidential Council headed by Rashad Al-Alami.

In recent remarks, Al-Alami has suggested that a settlement of the southern question in Yemen could not be addressed until after the government had re-established control over the capital Sanaa. The remarks infuriated the STC, which saw them as a deliberate ploy to procrastinate on having to deal with the Southern demands.

It is commonly accepted that all tracks of the Yemeni crisis, whether related to the Houthis in the north or the Southern Movement in the south, should be dealt with simultaneously in a single comprehensive process. Among the frames of reference for this are the outputs of the Riyadh Agreements, the last of which was the April agreement to restructure the Yemeni government so as to include the STC as a key partner.

However, the relationship between the STC and the Al-Alami faction remains fraught, and if that friction escalates it could rupture the Presidential Council.

The second challenge centres around the Yemeni city of Taiz, which has been under Houthi siege for years in defiance of the provisions of the Stockholm Agreement of 2019. Last week, Tarek Saleh, a nephew of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, visited Taiz and declared his intention to liberate it from the Houthis.

While the new headquarters he set up for the new West Coast Resistance group was then shuttered by the Houthis, his action still adds a new dimension to the already complicated question of Taiz, long a base for the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood and its political facade the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, commonly called the Islah Party.

In fact, some believe that the Houthis have surrounded the city not so much to take it over as to contain the Muslim Brotherhood influence. Tarek Saleh is the adversary of both the Houthis and the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood. The latter was the dominant political force in the revolution that overthrew the Saleh regime in 2011. The Houthis, who had briefly allied with Ali Saleh after taking control of Sanaa, assassinated him in December 2017.

Another important challenge resides in the approach of the belligerents to the political process in Yemen itself. The Houthis see this as a gateway to an economic peace with the promise of material advantages, formal recognition, and political empowerment. To the government, it is a way to turn the clock back to the period before the Houthi putsch in September 2014 when the government at the time proposed a power-sharing formula that would have included the Houthis.

But these perspectives are both influenced by the regional dimension of the Yemeni conflict as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This in turn interweaves with the question of the Iranian nuclear programme, US and international sanctions against Iran, and the negotiations over a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

In other words, any Iranian willingness to help advance the Yemeni political process will hinge on both Tehrans regional agenda and its stance towards the Western powers. Ultimately, the main challenge to the peacemaking efforts now is the complex, multifaceted, and multitiered nature of the Yemeni crisis itself.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


France is trying hard to erase its dark colonial history in Africa, but in some countries its efforts may not be welcome.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrapped up his 18th tour of Africa on Sunday, after visiting Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Congo-Brazzaville. Macron made headlines at the outset declaring that the era of intervention in African affairs is well over and that France has become a neutral interlocutor. With this four-nation tour, Macron has now visited a total of 12 African countries once, eight twice and Tunisia thrice.

Opponents of Gabonese President Ali Bongo and his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi criticised Macrons visit, saying it gives the two heads of state the legitimacy and popularity they need the year of the elections.

In Kinshasa, Tshisekedi wants Macrons support to take on the Rwanda-backed M23 group, an accusation Kigali denies. Macron vowed to defend Kinshasa, indicating that Frances role as a neutral interlocutor was a message for Rwanda and Congo to come to the negotiating table in the hope of a political solution.

Macron ordered the formation of two committees to write about the war (liberation) in Algeria and the 1994 Rwanda and Burundi massacres to uncover two of Frances greatest historical mistakes on the continent.

Algerians have been demanding an apology and compensation for the victims, with a complete condemnation of the period of French colonialism, which exceeded 130 years.

Meanwhile, Rwanda accuses France of negligence that amounts to conspiracy, which resulted in massacres claiming the lives of 800,000 people in 100 days, rendering the incident one of the most horrible tragedies of the last century.

Macron also pushed forward a French programme to return looted African treasures. Paris returned a historic Senegalese sword belonging to Hajj Omar Talal, a prominent leader of the resistance against French colonialism in the 19th century, as well as part of the Malagasy royal throne to Madagascar, several items to Benin, and a historical drum to the Ivory Coast. These are all symbolic gestures that Africans hope will be followed by other more significant steps.

Before flying to Libreville, the Gabonese capital, to attend the One Forest Summit, meant to curb the repercussions of climate change on the forests of the Congo River on 1-2 March, Macron announced Frances new strategy in Africa, which was reminiscent of his speech in November 2017 at the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The Congo Basin, which includes 220 million hectares of forest, is the worlds second largest forest after the Amazon. The basin runs through several countries, including Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, and Gabon. Forests, from Africa to Brazil and Southeast Asia, are threatened by over-exploitation for agriculture, industry and oil production.

Macron said during his latest African tour that the remaining French bases in Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and Gabon will now be co-managed with the forces of the host nations. However, the base in Djibouti will remain exclusively French, he added.

After decreasing the number of French troops in Africa, France now has around 10,000 soldiers in the continent, the majority of whom are concentrated in west and central Africa. Macron added the base in the Ivory Coast ready to train troops from different West African states.

Many observers feel it is late for these French measures, especially after the Malian ruling military council expelled French forces taking part in the anti-terrorist Barkhane operation on the African coast. Such observers opine that French efforts to combat terrorism in the Sahel countries  Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania  did not yield tangible results.

Announcing his strategy to fix relations with Africa, Macron emphasised the importance of civil society, culture and trade, and declared the beginning of the reform of the CFA Franc, a currency used in 14 West African countries and tied to the euro.

If the new African eco replaces the CFA Franc  currently a subject of discussion by the Economic Community of West African States  many African countries will disengage from France by 2027. However, doubts about the ability of those African countries to take this step persist.

The countries that use the CFA Franc are in two minds. One group believes the currency is one form of colonialism, having to pay 50 per cent of their foreign exchange reserves to the French treasury. The other group supports the CFA Franc, believing it is a guarantor of financial stability.

Thousands of French companies operate in Africa. Paris is the third largest investor in the continent after the US and the UK. All are facing challenges from China and Russia.

China has been welcome in tens of African countries since the 1990s, especially with its economic formula based on constructing a solid infrastructure in populous capitals and offering loans at low interest in return for African raw materials and resources.

China has not put pressure on its African partners regarding human rights, democracy, and corruption, which are all thorny issues the West insists on discussing with African leaders.

Nonetheless, 23 African countries are heavily in debt, particularly to China, and they may not be able to pay their dues, according to a United Nations Development Program report released on Saturday. The debts are hindering development efforts, the report added.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which the majority of Africans consider of no concern to them, has revealed Russias ability to provide relatively cheap food to almost all developing countries. Its abundant energy production has affected global oil and gas prices, which has severely exhausted the fragile African countries.

In addition, Moscow exports arms at relatively affordable prices to African countries that face security challenges, such as terrorism in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Libya, and northern Mozambique, and political threats, including rebellions and separatist movements.

The Russian presence in Africa takes more than one form, such as military cooperation, which takes a formal tone. According to Western reports there are also private military companies, the most famous of which is Wagner, active in Mali, Sudan and Burkina Faso, among other countries. However, both Russia and the African countries consistently deny those reports.

Despite the Sino-Russian challenge, France is still more appealing to African elites in education, culture  such as facilitating visas to complete postgraduate studies  and the economy. However, France needs to exert more effort to erase its dark colonial history in Africa.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The announcement on Monday by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi that Iran would allow the agency more access and monitoring of its supposedly peaceful nuclear programme should be welcome news.

Speaking in Vienna after his first visit to Tehran in a year, during which he met with top Iranian officials including President Ebrahim Raisi, Grossis announcement was made after reports that uranium particles enriched to near bomb-grade levels had been found at an Iranian nuclear facility, and months of escalation and retaliatory measures between the United States and Iran while the two sides failed to reach an agreement on re-commitment to the international nuclear deal reached in 2015.

Since 2018, when former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA  which had the support of the UN Security Council  Tehran responded by restricting IAEA access to its nuclear facilities and resumed enrichment of uranium to levels barred by the agreement.

When US Democratic President Joe Biden took office in early 2021, he said pulling out from the JCPOA was a mistake that allowed Iran to resume its alleged military nuclear programme secretly. However, for two years now, negotiations between the two sides, backed by the European Union, have failed to renew US participation in the nuclear agreement. Such failure has only resulted in the deterioration of the situation in the entire Middle East, further fuelling several ongoing conflicts.

Israels right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu, facing unprecedented domestic protests against laws he wants to approve to overhaul the judiciary in order to restrict its ability to stall his governments extremist agenda and to overcome corruption charges he has been facing, immediately picked up reports on Irans higher uranium enrichment levels to renew his long-standing demand to consider military action against Iran.

He also rebuffed as unworthy comments made by IAEAs Grossi while in Tehran that any Israeli or U.S. attack on Irans nuclear facilities would be illegal. Are we forbidden from defending ourselves? We are obviously permitted to do this, Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Such rhetoric describing a possible military confrontation with Iran as a trivial matter in a troubled region already suffering many ongoing conflicts and miseries, is to say the least irresponsible. Hopefully US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, who has been touring the region this week, with stops in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, will deliver a clear message to the Israeli government that this is not the right time to push for escalation with Iran.

Netanyahus relentless efforts to exaggerate the Iranian threat in order to escape his domestic problems, and even more in order to avoid international pressure to renew peace talks with the Palestinian Authority and stop the nearly daily bloody army raids of Palestinian cities in which scores are killed, are only making matters worse and are the real threat to regional security.

That is not to say that Iran shares no part of the blame in creating serious concerns over its regional ambitions and its role in deepening conflicts in several countries in the region.

Irans nuclear programme poses a threat more directly to its Arab neighbours, and they are entitled to receive strict assurances that it will remain peaceful. The last thing we need in this region is a nuclear arms race. Iran must also reverse its policy of meddling in regional conflicts, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Lebanon.

Support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, for example  providing them with drones and missiles capable of attacking oil facilities and civilian targets in neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  is totally unacceptable.

Threats to the free flow of oil in the strategic Gulf region are also not just a source of regional but international concern at the end of a year during which oil prices due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.

These are key areas in which Iran needs to adopt a more constructive policy, providing assurances to its Arab neighbours in the first place that it has no intention to pose a threat to their security or sovereignty.

There have already been several positive signs on this level, with direct talks being held between Iranian and Saudi officials.

The Iranian leadership could also be helpful in maintaining the ongoing truce in Yemen, sparing the Yemeni people greater misery and hardship. Tehran can certainly play a positive role in ending the ongoing political deadlock in Lebanon by putting pressure on its close ally, Hizbullah, in order to elect a new president.

Amid an extremely complicated situation in the Middle East, all efforts should be directed towards de-escalating existing conflicts and tensions, instead of creating new, more dangerous ones.

Equally, international and regional partners, led by the United States, must set their priorities right, handling first immediate, serious threats to regional security, topped by the miserable failure to renew peace talks between Palestine and Israel and finding a just settlement for this decades-long conflict.

Racist attacks by extremist settlers against innocent Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, backed by calls by senior Israeli ministers to erase their villages and Israeli army raids of their cities are the more immediate source of danger which could easily flare up into a wider conflict, and the world needs to deal with it now.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Press Release

March 6, 2023 Senate condemns brutal murder of Negros Oriental governor; denounces increasing killings of govt officials The Senate adopted two resolutions, Monday, March 6, 2023, expressing sympathies and condolences on the death of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo; and condemning the recent spate of killings and attacks against government officials and private persons. Both Senate Resolutions No. (SRN) 520 (Adopted Resolution No. 47) and 517 (Adopted Resolution No. 48), were sponsored by Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" F. Zubiri and unanimously adopted by the chamber with all Senators as co-authors. "The tragic death of Governor Degamo is a great loss not only to his bereaved family but to the province of Negros Oriental as well, and the Senate of the Philippines joins Negros Oriental in mourning the death of its patriarch," SRN 520 expressed. Describing Degamo as a "hardworking civil servant", Zubiri emphasized in his sponsorship speech that Degamo has left a legacy of service, discipline and humility that is palpable in his political career. "The fact that he spent his last moments on earth opening his home and attending to his constituents is telling of the kind of man he was. A truly committed public servant," the Senate President said. "We are taking this time to honor Gov. Degamo, who has exemplified kindness, generosity, competence, diligence, hard work, patriotism, and bravery while in public service," Sen. Cynthia Villar also said. Degamo, 56, was shot and killed by assailants bearing high-powered weapons at their family's residential compound on March 4, 2023. It was reported that Degamo was distributing financial assistance to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) when he and eight other civilians were murdered. "To the families and constituents of Gov. Degamo and others, whose families are victims of these senseless killings, we are one with you in demanding justice," Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva expressed. "And for the families who have been orphaned and left behind, hold on to our promise that we will be with you seeking justice," Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. said. Sens. Pia Cayetano, Ronald "Bato" M. Dela Rosa, Christopher Lawrence T. Go, Win Gatchalian, Raffy Tulfo, Risa Hontiveros, and Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada also offered their sincere sentiments and condolences to the bereaved family of Degamo in their respective manifestations during the plenary session. On the other hand, the Senate, through SRN 517, also denounced the increasing number of killings and ambushes against elected and appointed government officials. The resolution noted that aside from Degamo, there were at least three more local executives who were either injured or killed in ambushes in just a span of 15 days - from February 17 to March 3. "Injustice and violence do not have a place in any civilized society, and no cause justifies brutalities against the lives of all persons," SRN 517 said. "The Senate of the Philippines, in the strongest sense, urges the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies to exert all efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice not only for the sake of all victims and their families but also to ensure that the rule of law is upheld at all times for an orderly and peaceful society," the resolution added.
The Egyptian authorities are currently finalising the procedures to release a new batch of 30 pretrial detainees, Tarek El-Khouly, a member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, said on Monday.

The detainees were incarcerated pending investigation into cases not related to violence or terrorism, El-Khouly wrote on Facebook.

Since the reactivation of the Presidential Pardon Committee in April 2022, more than 1,000 pretrial detainees have been released and 12 convicts pardoned.

Pardons and release orders included high-profile figures, such as political activists Hossam Mones, Yahia Abdel-Hady, Hisham Fouad, as well as leftist activist and lawyer Haitham Mohamadein.

The committee was originally established in 2016 to review the cases of those imprisoned for political crimes and others who meet certain criteria set by the committee.

The committee receives appeals from entities and political bodies such as the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and parliaments Human Rights Committee as well as through its website.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Egypt rejects such Israeli policies and the killings of innocent Palestinians in a blatant violation of international law.

Egypt urged all international parties, particularly the United States, the European Union and the United Nations Security Council, to act urgently for putting an end to such escalating acts and defuse tension between the two sides, according to the statement.

It stressed that peace can be only achieved through engaging into serious negotiations in accordance with the two-state solution and international legitimacy resolutions in order to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the region and set up an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (Al Quds) as its capital.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Rescue teams continued on Tuesday to search for six people who are still missing after their boat sank in the Nile River in Aswan governorate on Monday amid bad weather conditions.

Those missing include two children aged 3 and 5 years old and their fathers.

The felucca boat, which was carrying seven people, sank near Abu-Hur Marina in Aswan Governorate, according to a statement issued by Aswan governorate on Monday.

Governor Ashraf Atteya said rescue teams pulled one passenger alive.

The governor said that the accident occurred amid inclement weather, strong wind, and airborne dust.

Dust storms are reducing visibility for tourist ships, sailing and fishing boats as well as ferries on the Nile, the governor said.

He ordered a halt to river navigation on the Nile from Aswan city to Edfu city and on Lake Nasser and the High Dam port as well as restrictions on vehicles on highways until the weather improves.

The prosecution is currently investigating the incident.

On Saturday, the Egyptian Metrological Authority (EMA) warned against reduced visibility this week due to strong winds and dust and sand storms that will hit different parts of the country.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Al-Azhar warned on Tuesday that the recent statements of the Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for the continuation of the demolition of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem could lead to a flare up in confrontations between the two sides during the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism (AOCE) warned that "Despite the suspension of demolitions of unlicensed buildings of Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan in fear of flaring up of the situation and a possible third Palestinian intifada, still, the statements made by the security minister could ignite confrontations in the city."

The observatory stressed that the statements of the extremist Zionist Ben-security minister Gvir's remarks in which he called for continuing to demolish Palestinian homes comes in the same context of what Jerusalem faces in terms of a systematic Zionist plan to force a new reality on the city and its sacred sites and ignores the sanctity of the holy month.

The statement cited a report in the Israeli paper Yedioth Ahronoth which indicated that the occupation forces plan to evict six Palestinian families from their homes in the neighbourhoods of Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah during the month of March under the pretext that the land belongs to a settlement association and settlers families.

This is an unprecedented number of evictions in one month, the statement warned.

In recent months, repeated deadly Israeli raids in the West Bank and the continued demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have led to major confrontations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

The statement also cited a leaked audio recording in which Ben-Gvir can be heard rejecting the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque to Israeli settlers during the last ten days of Ramadan - which is set to start on 23 March - claiming that such closure amounts to a surrender to terrorism.

The far-right government of PM Benjamin Netanyahu has triggered widespread anger in the occupied territories and beyond after it announced to build thousands of new settlement units in the West Bank.

However, under pressure from Arab and world leaders, Netanyahu agreed in late February to put the construction of new settlement units in the West Bank on hold for six months.

In January, Ben-Gvir led a group of Israeli settlers in storming Al-Aqsa under the protection of Israeli police.

Last week, Ben-Gvir drew widespread local and international condemnation after he called for the wiping out of the Palestinian village of Huwara near Nablus in the West Bank following the killing of two settlers by a Palestinian man in a nearby Israeli settlement.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The authoritarian leader of Belarus said Tuesday that an alleged Ukrainian saboteur and more than 20 accomplices were detained over an attack on a Russian warplane stationed near his countrys capital.

President Alexander Lukashenko said a Beriev A-50 parked at the Machulishchy Air Base near Minsk was attacked on Feb. 26. It was the first official acknowledgement of the incident, which Belarusian opposition activists first reported last week.

Belarusian guerrillas from the Association of Security Forces of Belarus claimed responsibility for the attack last week, saying the group, also known as BYPOL, used two armed drones to damage the early warning aircraft known for its distinctive rotodome above the fuselage.

Both Russia and India's air forces have A-50s in service. About 40 of the planes have been built.

Lukashenko said Belarusian security forces detained the suspects and that the main one allegedly has ties to Ukrainian security services.

The Belarusian leader accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraines Security Service and the CIA of plotting the attack on the plane.

Ukraine and guerrilla activists in Belarus rejected the accusation.

In a tweet, Ukraines presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak described the attack as an anti-terrorist act carried out, by the way, by local partisans.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said the ministry categorically denies Kyiv's involvement, calling Lukashenko's claims another attempt at creating an artificial threat from Ukraine to justify his support of Russia's aggression.

Belarusian authorities did not comment on the incident before Tuesday, but Lukashenko held a meeting with military and security officials shortly after it was reported.

He urged them to strengthen discipline in the ranks and to stand ready to quickly respond to any sign of aggression along Belarus' 1,000-kilometer border with Ukraine.

Lukashenko insisted Tuesday that the aircraft hasn't suffered any significant damage, aside from, as they say, scratches and a hole in the body (of the plane), which doesn't hinder a war plane from carrying out its duties."

He said he had asked Moscow to supply him with the plane for control along the perimeter of our Belarusian border." Following the attack, Belarusian authorities asked the Russians to take this plane for maintenance works and send another one to us. Lukashendo added. "And that is what happened.

Russia has used the territory of its ally Belarus to invade Ukraine a year ago. Belarus has continued to host a contingent of Russian troops, warplanes and other weapons, including the A-50 plane that

While hailing the importance of his country's defense cooperation with Russia and expressing support for the Kremlins action in Ukraine, Lukashenko has emphasized that he would only send troops into Ukraine if Belarus were attacked.

The Belarusian president alleged that hundreds, if not thousands of security and military operatives were involved in chasing the drone operator, and they managed to detain more than 20 of his accomplices.

Lukashenko said the main suspect was an IT specialist with Russian and Ukrainian passports who was born in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih and lived in Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

In a Tuesday interview with The Associated Press, BYPOL leader Aliaksandr Azarau rejected Lukashenko's account of the attack and its aftermath.

We are not familiar with the person Lukashenko talked about, Azarau said. There has been no coordination with the Ukrainians during this operation.

Those involved in the attack are Belarusian citizens who all have departed abroad and are safe, the activist said. He refused to disclose how many people were involved.

Azarau said Belarusian authorities have carried out mass arrests of demonstrators, drone owners and residents of the Machulishchy area.

The BYPOL project was founded after mass protests in Belarus in 2020, with former military forming its core, and created an underground network of anti-government activists.

According to Azarau, this network, dubbed Peramoha, Victory in Belarusian, has some 200,000 participants, and two-thirds of them remain in Belarus.

Lukashenko has something to be afraid of, Azarau said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


UN chief Antonio Guterres arrived in war-torn Ukraine Tuesday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his third trip since Russia's full-scale invasion, the United Nations announced.

Guterres "is currently in Ukraine," his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters, after UN officials had said the secretary-general had arrived in Poland en route to Kyiv.

Guterres was due to arrive in the capital later Tuesday before meeting with Zelensky Wednesday morning, according to his office. He is due to depart Ukraine that day and be back at United Nations headquarters in New York on Thursday.

"We'll give you details of the discussions he has with the president of Ukraine once those have happened," Haq said, adding that "there's no visit to Moscow planned" after the Kyiv stop.

The leader of the global body will meet Zelensky "to discuss the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (grain export scheme) in all its aspects, as well as other pertinent issues."

No further substantive information was provided about the visit, the third by Guterres after trips to Ukraine in April and August last year following Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022.

At a UN Security Council meeting held on the anniversary of the start of the war, Guterres slammed the invasion is a "blatant violation" of the UN Charter and international law.

"It has unleashed widespread death, destruction and displacement," he told the 15-member council, which includes permanent member Russia, saying life was "a living hell for the people of Ukraine."

Guterres has emphasized the human toll of the war, saying more than eight million Ukrainians have fled to other parts of Europe, and another 5.4 million are internally displaced.

Half of Ukrainian children have been forced from their homes, and face higher risks of violence, abuse and exploitation, he told the Security Council last month.

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in late February to demand Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

But the Security Council meeting on the anniversary was largely symbolic.

The UN's most powerful body has met 40 times over the past year on the Ukraine war but has achieved little binding action due to Russia's wielding of its veto power.

Over the past year, Guterres has regularly offered to act as mediator between Kyiv and Moscow should the two sides want to start a dialogue.

During his first visit to Ukraine after Russia invaded, Guterres called war "an absurdity in (the) 21st century."

That trip, during which he also met with Zelensky, was marred by a Russian air strike on Kyiv that left a journalist dead. The visit had followed talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Guterres's trip in August focused on unblocking grain exports.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative was brokered by the United Nations with Turkey last July and has helped reduce spiraling food prices that contributed to hunger in the developing world. The deal is set to expire this month.

Kyiv has seen a string of high-profile visits from Western leaders in the past year.

President Joe Biden of the United States, a key Ukraine backer, made the journey last month.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Iraq on Tuesday on an unannounced visit barely two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

"I'm here to reaffirm the US-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq," Austin tweeted as he landed in Baghdad.

The defense secretary is expected to meet top officials during his visit to Iraq, which is home to about 2,000 of American troops. NATO has also several hundred troops there.

Iraq has endured nearly two decades of turmoil since a US-led coalition invaded Iraq in 2003.

The IS group seized roughly one third of Iraq and declared a "caliphate" in 2014, before its defeat more than three years later.

Despite their defeat, IS militants and their sleeper cells are still launching attacks in the country, as well as in neighboring Syria. IS has killed and wounded dozens of Iraqi troops over the past months.

The United States has been urging countries around the world to repatriate their citizens from al-Hol camp in northeast Syria, which holds tens of thousands of mostly women and children linked to IS. The vast majority of them are Iraqis and Syrians.

Iraq has repatriated more than 500 women and children from al-Hol over the past weeks.

Iraq has been caught for years in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies, the United States and Iran, and Baghdad only recently arrived at a fragile compromise government after a year of political stalemate.

Months earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani defended the open-ended presence of US and other foreign troops in his country, in an interview to The Wall Street Journal, published on January 15.

In February, Iran's top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with neighbouring ally Iraq to ease regional tensions and discuss security along their shared border.

On several occasions, Sudani expressed his country's desire to have good relations with both the United States and Iran.

"We strive for that," he added. "I don't see this as an impossible matter, to see Iraq have a good relationship with Iran and the US."

Search Keywords:

Short link:


American actor and director slammed calls by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to wipe out the Palestinian town of Huwara, in the occupied West Bank.

The 55-year-old actor took to his official Twitter page to say that Israeli officials in the right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu should be denied entry visas to the United States.

They are saying the quiet part out loud. Its time to sanction the new hard right-wing government of Netanyahu and deny them visas for their calls of genocide, Ruffalo tweeted.

They are saying the quiet part out loud. Its time to sanction the new hard right wing government of Netanyahu and deny them visas for their calls of genocide. This is why Amnesty International calls it apartheid and why it is apartheid. https://t.co/liiIJ0NK07  Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) March 6, 2023

This is why Amnesty International calls it apartheid and why it is apartheid, he concluded.

The US State Department has condemned Smotrichs comments as"repugnant, irresponsible and disgusting."

US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Netanyahu and other top officials to "publicly and clearly" disavow Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's comments.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

He added that Smotrichs provocative remarks amount to incitement to violence.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Damage from the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria last month has been estimated at over $100 billion for Turkey alone, the United Nations said Tuesday.

"Already it is clear that just the damages alone will amount to more than $100 billion," Louisa Vinton of the UN Development Programme told reporters via video link from Gaziantep in Turkey, adding that the recovery costs "will be on top of that".

The 7.8-magnitude earthquake on February 6 struck 11 Turkish provinces at 4:17am local time as people slept in homes not built to withstand powerful tremors killing over 45,000 people in Turkey and thousands more in neighbouring Syria.

Turkish officials said 214,000 buildings collapsed following the quake, many of them in Hatay and Kahramanmaras.

Teams of workers are still toiling to clear the rubble that now dominates quake-hit cities.

The World Health Organization called the quake the "worst natural disaster" in the European region for a century with estimates of 14 million people - one sixth of the country's population - affected by the disaster.

One month on, Turkey is facing the daunting task of rebuilding flattened cities, with tens of thousands buried and many survivors barely subsisting in tents or containers.

There has been mounting frustration at the government over its handling of the disaster. Opposition media and politicians blamed government institutions including the disaster agency for its slow response.

In some provinces, including Adiyaman, anger at the state remains strong. Survivors told AFP they had been left to save loved ones trapped under the rubble with their bare hands because there were no rescue teams, soldiers or police for days after the quake.

Some survivors recounted witnessing the death of their relatives because they weren't able to pull them from the rubble due to a lack of equipment needed to drill through slabs of concrete.

Erdogan conceded "shortcomings" and asked for "forgiveness" after criticism of his government's response.

"It's not possible to be ready for a disaster like this", he said during a visit to the quake region.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Press Release

March 6, 2023 TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH - SENATOR FRANCIS 'TOL' N. TOLENTINO

06 March 2023 | Privilege Speech Last March 3, 2023, we celebrated World Wildlife Day. It is a United Nations International day to celebrate all the world's wild animals and plants and the contribution that they make to our lives and the health of the planet. The World Wildlife Day is the celebration for the birth of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which we ratified in 1981. The Convention seeks to prevent extinction of species affected by trade. However, Mr. President, as we celebrated the World Wildlife Day, our maritime commercial activities threatened and may likely cause tragedy to global marine diversity. In the past month, Mr. President, we have been riddled with maritime incidents. On February 10 of this year, LCT Pacifica 1, a cargo ship, capsized off Surigao del Norte while traversing the waters between Hinatuan Island and Bucas Grande Island. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, it was slammed by big waves about three meters high, and the waters then entered the engine room of the vessel which caused an engine trouble. The Philippine Coast Guard is still assessing the situation as to whether it would cause an oil spill. On February 27, MV Manfel Carrier V, a bulk carrier vessel, ran aground Lubang Island, Occidental Mindoro. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, it departed from Subic, Zambales, going to Bauan, Batangas, when it encountered engine trouble while traversing the vicinity waters off Fortune Island. It was hit by large waves which caused it to drift towards Lubang and ran aground. The incident caused damage to the coral reefs. On February 28 of this year likewise, Mr. President, MV Starlite Saturn, a roll-on roll-off vessel, ran aground in the shallow waters of Bohol. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, the vessel ran aground at the Danajon Bank. A while ago, the wife of former Governor Chatto was here. Calituban, and Talibon in Bohol while en route to Pier 5 in Cebu City from a port in Surigao. The incident caused damage to the reefs. Earlier that day, February 28, MT Princess Empress, an oil tanker, sank off Oriental Mindoro with her 800,000 litres industrial fuel oil cargo. According to the Philippine Coast Guard, initial investigation revealed that the distressed motor tanker encountered engine trouble, trouble causing due to overheating. It then drifted towards the vicinity waters off Balingawan Point due to rough sea conditions until it submerged. After MT Princess Empress sank, an oil slick emerged, which has now spread over 24 square kilometers. According to the DENR, within the 40-kilometer radius from the epicenter is home of approximately 591 hectares of coral reefs, 1,626 hectares of mangroves and 362 hectares of seagrass/seaweeds. There are also 21 locally managed marine protected areas (LMMPAs) located in the city of Calapan (4), towns of Naujan (3), Pola (7), Pinamalayan (4), and Gloria (2) in Oriental Mindoro Province and the town of Gasan (1) in Marinduque Province. It has already affected 9 towns in Oriental Mindoro, these are: Naujan, Pola, Pinamalayan, Gloria, Basud, Bongabong, Roxas, Mansalay and Bulacacao. It was also reported that it has now reached the province of Antique. The provincial agriculture office reported sightings of dead fishes and sea birds on the shorelines of Pola, Naujan and Pinamalayan towns. The PDRRMO of Oriental Mindoro reported that more than 10,000 families were affected by the oil spill. There are also reports of residents falling ill. The Department of Health is now assessing whether water from the deep wells, shallow tube wells, and water pumps and other sources of water are already contaminated by the oil spill. Due to the oil spill, Mr. President, fishing has now been banned by Governor Dolor of Mindoro Oriental who have around 18,000 registered fishermen in his province. An oil spill of this magnitude was last experienced in 2006 when M/T Solar 1 sank off the coast of Guimaras, which carried 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel. It affected 1,500 hectares of the local ecosystem comprised of mangroves, seagrass, and coral reefs. It ended the livelihood of 20,000 fishermen, and required a long period of rehabilitation. Ngayon, Mr. President, nangyari nanaman po ito. The current oil spill trajectory model by marine experts projected that approximately 20,000 hectares of coral reef, 9,900 hectares of mangroves, 6,000 hectares of seagrass may be affected, and the oil spill may also potentially reach as far as the shores of Palawan. This is more far reaching than the damage caused by M/T Solar 1. Under UNCLOS, Mr. President, we have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment, and enact measures and deal with all sources to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment. These maritime incidents could have been prevented. In LCT Pacifica 1, the huge waves caused engine trouble. In MV Manfel Carrier V also encountered engine trouble. For MV Starlite Saturn, the cause is still being determined by the Coast Guard. In MT Princess Empress, it had engine trouble due to overheating. Under Executive Order No. 125, as amended, MARINA is mandated to undertake the safety regulatory functions pertaining to vessel operations. Under Republic Act No. 9993, or the Philippines Coast Guard Law of 2009, the Philippine Coast Guard is mandated to enforce all maritime laws. The question Mr. President is: were LCT Pacifica 1, MV Manfel Carrier V, MV Starlite Saturn, and MT Princess Empress found to be seaworthy by the regulatory agencies? In Insurance Law, seaworthiness is defined by the Supreme Court ruling in Santiago Lighterage Corporation vs. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 139629, June 21, 2004) by citing Eduardo F. Hernandez and Antero A. Penasales, Philippine Admiralty and Maritime Law 501-502 (1987), as follows: "To be seaworthy, a vessel "must have that degree of fitness which an ordinary, careful and prudent owner would require his vessel to have at the commencement of her voyage, having regard to all the probable circumstances of it." Thus the degree of seaworthiness varies in relation to the contemplated voyage. Crossing the Atlantic calls for stronger equipment than sailing across the Visayan Sea. It is easier to consider that once the necessary degree of seaworthiness has been ascertained, this obligation is an absolute one, i.e. the undertaking is that the vessel actually is seaworthy. It is no excuse that the shipowner took every possible precaution to make her so, if in fact he failed." End quote. If seaworthiness is relative to the circumstances, then the standard of seaworthiness should be higher during the "amihan" season. In fact, last February 22, PAGASA advised fishing boats and small sea vessels not to venture into the sea, and larger sea vessels have been alerted against big waves. Bakit po pinayagan sila? Now that it can no longer be prevented, the oil spill caused by the sinking of MT Princess Empress will devastate our marine ecosystem. The coral reef, mangrove areas, and the marine protected areas are breeding grounds of fish which are among our top sources of food. According to BFAR, and this can be confirmed by Senator Cynthia Villar, marine municipal fisheries output for the entire country reached 946.88 thousand metric tons in 2022. The oil spill is occurring in a major fishing areas, and is spreading to pristine fishing breading grounds. It threatens Verde Island Passage, one of the country's richest areas of biodiversity. And might even reach the world-famous Boracay. Our laws is not poor when it comes to oil pollution. We have R.A. 9993 - Philippine Coast Guard Law of 2009; P.D. 602 - National Oil Pollution Operations Center Decree; P.D. 979 - Marine Pollution Decree of 1976; R.A. 10654 - Amended Fisheries Code of the Philippines; R.A. 9275 - Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004; R.A. 9483 - Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007; and R.A. 10121 - PH Disaster Reduction & Management Act of 2010. Mr. President, the Philippine Coast Guard is the responsible agency for preventing and controlling pollution in the country's territorial waters. It made a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan or the NOSCP. However, the policy for combating oil spill is limited because of lack of resources. While we are seeking accountability, our efforts in the mean time should be focused on the containment of the oil spill to prevent it from causing further irreversible damage to our marine ecosystem. Next should be the recovery. Ito rin po siguro ang dahilan, Mr. President, kung kaya nangailangan na ng tulong si Secretary Bautista ng DOTR sa bansang Japan para mabawasan ang oil spill. As we have experienced in the Guimaras oil spill, recovery and rehabilitation will be extensive. It will affect not just the marine ecosystem but also those who depends on it. Those who will be primarily affected will be the fishermen and their families. Today, 18,000 fishermen lost their livelihood. If we fail to contain the oil spill, it will affect thousands more. But, just as we have done again and again, we will rise as a nation and face this tragedy as one. Salamat po, Mr. President.
United Nations rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday demanded action from Beijing to address "grave concerns" over the human rights situation in China's Xinjiang province.

Turk has been under pressure from Western nations and rights organisations to take a firm stand on Xinjiang following a bombshell report by his predecessor which cited possible crimes against humanity in the far-western region.

The UN is concerned about the protection of minorities such as the Uyghurs in Xinjiang and Tibetans, Turk said in his speech to the first UN Human Rights Council session of the year.

"Regarding China, we have opened up channels of communication with a range of actors to follow up on a variety of human rights issues," Turk said.

"In the Xinjiang region, my office has documented grave concerns -- notably large-scale arbitrary detentions and ongoing family separations -- and has made important recommendations that require concrete follow-up."

He also voiced unease over restrictions of civic discourse in China and the far-reaching national security law in Hong Kong imposed in 2020 to stamp out dissent following the city's huge and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations.

"We also have concerns about the severe restriction of civic space more generally, including the arbitrary detention of human rights defenders and lawyers, and the impact of the National Security Law in Hong Kong."

Torture Allegations 'Credible'

It was Turk's first set-piece speech to the council in Geneva since taking office as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in October.

Just minutes before her term ended on August 31, Turk's predecessor Michelle Bachelet published a long-awaited report on Xinjiang.

It detailed a string of rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, highlighting "credible" allegations of widespread torture, arbitrary detention and violations of religious and reproductive rights.

Beijing vehemently rejects the charges and insists it is running vocational training centres in the region to counter extremism.

US-led Western countries sought in October to hold a debate on the report at the UN's 47-country rights council.

But intense Chinese lobbying saw nations vote 19-17 against discussing the findings, with 11 abstaining.

Amnesty International chief Agnes Callamard said the vote was "unconscionable" and called on Turk to publicly put his weight behind the Xinjiang report.

Turk "will be assessed on the basis of his work and commitment to the Xinjiang people and to his courage in tackling China," she told reporters ahead of his speech.

US ambassador Michele Taylor told reporters last month that Washington was intent on continuing "to shine a spotlight on documented abuses of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang."

"I'm especially grateful to High Commissioner Turk, who has made a commitment to me and others that he will stand behind his office's report."

Search Keywords:

Short link:


In his first official visit to Egypt since taking office in October, Iraqs Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani stressed on Sunday Baghdads keenness to bolster cooperation with Egypt and benefit from its expertise in various fields in light of Egypts prominent role in fostering joint Arab action mechanisms in the face of the current crises and challenges in the region.

During his meeting with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, Al-Sudani praised Egypts regional role in this regard as a role model for preserving stability and advancing development and economic and social conditions, expressing Iraqi appreciation for Egypts efforts to support Iraq on all levels.

Al-Sisi stressed Egypts unwavering support for Iraqs security and stability as well as its appreciation for the strategic relations binding the two countries, highlighting Egypts eagerness to expedite the implementation of joint projects with Iraq in order to accomplish their shared development objectives, promote integration between the two nations, and satisfy the needs of the Iraqi people.

The president also emphasised Egypts sturdy commitment to backing Iraq and providing full support to the Iraqi people on all levels, particularly in the areas of counterterrorism and consolidating security and stability.

During a separate meeting on the same day, Al-Sudani and his Egyptian counterpart Mustafa Madbouli agreed on assigning the relevant ministers in both governments to work over the coming two months on activating the already-existing MoUs between the two countries.

The two premiers agreed that this should coincide with thorough preparations for the meetings of the upcoming round of the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Higher Committee to ensure outcomes that meet the expectations that the people of both countries have for a prosperous future.

Al-Sudani expressed his aspiration for well-planned preparation for the next session of the Joint Higher Committee based on the MoUs and agreements previously signed, and that the next two months must witness a redoubling of efforts in order to agree on MoUs and agreements to be signed during the joint committee meetings.

Egypt and Iraq have intensified bilateral cooperation in recent years and have embarked on a number of joint development projects along with Jordan as part of their tripartite cooperation mechanism.

The three countries have signed many agreements to boost relations and implement joint projects, including power linkage between them.

Madbouli said that Egypt already has a power link with Jordan at a capacity of 550 MW, which can be boosted to up to 2-3 GW, and that work is underway to boost the capacity of the power line in order for it to reach Iraq. Al-Sudani said the first phase of the trilateral power linkage project will be completed in June.

Al-Sudani also pointed to consultations to establish a logistical zone on the Iraqi-Jordanian border to contribute to securing goods and commodities, adding that Egypt can benefit from the zone by providing Egyptian goods to Iraqi markets.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


US Secretary of Defense LIoyd J Austin is visiting the Middle East this week to reinforce relations with partners in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, reports Gamal Essam El-Din

US Defense Secretary LIoyd Austin arrived in Jordan on Sunday at the start of a Middle East tour that will also take him to Egypt and Israel. Before his departure from the US, Austin wrote on Twitter that he would meet key leaders in the region and reaffirm the US commitment to regional stability and advancing the shared interests of our allies and partners.

A senior US Defense Department official said ahead of Austins visit that discussions with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan would focus on advancing multilateral security cooperation with integrated air and missile defence. In Israel, he would debate the growing threat that Iran poses to regional stability, the official said.

Austin will also raise concerns about a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank that has alarmed Egypt and Jordan and discuss diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions ahead of Muslim and Jewish religious holidays, he said.

He said that Austins trip to the Middle East in the first week of March seeks to reaffirm the US commitment to the security and stability of its three strategic allies  Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

Secretary Austin will convey the enduring US commitment to the Middle East and provide reassurance to our partners in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel that the United States remains committed to supporting their defence and increasing and strengthening the strategic partnerships with each of these countries, the official said.

While in talks in the Middle East, Austin would convey his belief and that of the Defence Department that the best path for sustainable and effective security in the Middle East is through integration and multilateral security cooperation among partners, he said.

Austin would address the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and Israel about the tremendous opportunities that the US represents because of cutting-edge innovation, emerging technology, shared assessments of what the threats are facing our partners in the region and that now is the time to improve collective and shared defence, the official said.

Also central to the discussions will be the full constellation of Iran-associated threats, the official said, adding that these include Irans arming, training, and funding of violent proxy groups, aggression at sea, cyber-threats, its ballistic missile programme, and drone attacks.

Every partner in every capital Austin visits in the Middle East will talk about their concerns related to these threats, the official said. Austin will consult with those partners on how these threats can be pushed back and undermined.

According to the Western media, Austins visit shows that the US is determined to keep its foothold in the region and that the war in Ukraine and the tensions in relations with Russia and China will not distract Washington from advancing its close military relations with three of its key allies in the region.

It is a visit to convey a message of reassurance about Americas commitment to the security of its allies in Jordan, Egypt, and Israel and that it will not let Russia and China gain a foothold in the Middle East, said one Western newspaper.

Austins visit to Egypt is the first since he took office in January 2021. However, he met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi in Washington last December and also spoke on the telephone with Egypts Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki last August to thank Egypt for its leadership role in the region and vital assistance in securing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

President Al-Sisi visited Washington last December to attend the US-Africa Leaders Summit. He also visited the Pentagon and met with Austin, who welcomed him by saying that Egypt is not only a leader in the Middle East and Africa, but also on the world stage.

Austin noted that the US and Egypt are marking 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Al-Sisi and Austin discussed a number of issues during their meeting. The administration greatly appreciates Egypts leadership and cooperation in achieving our shared objectives, Austin said in the meeting. We have seen that leadership and Egypts courage in achieving peace in the region and the vital assistance that Egypt provided for securing the ceasefire in Gaza.

Austin thanked President Al-Sisi for Egypts assuming the command of the Combined Task Force 153 that ensures the security of communications in the Red Sea. The United States remains committed to ensuring Egypt has the capabilities to defend its people and its territory, and that we will continue to work with Egypt to strengthen interoperability, integrated air and missile defence, and maritime security, Austin said.

President Al-Sisi thanked Austin for his welcome at the meeting in December and said that Egypt and the US had much in common and that Egypt was keen to strengthen its strategic partnership with the US in the areas of defence and security in the light of the threats facing the Middle East region.

He said that he and Austin had had many constructive conversations when the latter served as the commander of US Central Command.

A presidential statement said at that time that Egypt and the US had agreed to push their joint military relations forward, given that these are the cornerstone of US-Egypt ties. These relations were essential to achieving stability and security in the Middle East, the statement said.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Russian private military companies are now operating in dozens of countries around the world, often in areas of political instability and with abundant natural resources, writes Mohamed Hafez

Burkina Faso joined its neighbour Mali in January in expelling French forces and exploring hiring Russian private military companies (PMCs) to replace them. These African countries are not alone, as Russian PMCs continue to operate in many countries around the world. The best known of them is the Wagner Group that took part in the Crimean crisis in 2014 and is now taking part in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Numerous factors, some external and others domestic related to the return to power of Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russians to follow the US and Western model of such companies.

With the collapse of the former Soviet Union and end of the Cold War in 1991, the Western powers shifted away from the principle that the state should have the sole right to the use of military force and began to use the paramilitary forces of private contractors like the Titan Corporation, MPRI, Blackwater, DynCorp and CACI in the conflicts in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan despite the fact that the UN Security Council has never issued a mandate permitting such deployments abroad.

As a consequence of the breakup of the Soviet Union, vast numbers of Russian military and security personnel were discharged. Many of them established relations with private military and security firms abroad, especially US and British ones (DynCorp and Blackwater) which operated in Afghanistan and Iraq.

At the same time, entire Soviet military units that had been dissolved after the collapse formed private military firms. The Alpha Group was a Soviet-era counterterrorism task force that then became attached to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Rubikon, which oversaw arrangements for organising transport for volunteers to combat fronts, fought alongside the Serbs during the Yugoslav Civil War in the 1990s.

Such companies were given a boost with Putins rise to power in 2000 and the privatisation of many economic sectors in Russia, leading to the establishment of major defence and energy companies in which the state retained a majority share. The management of these companies was assigned to intelligence and political leaders close to Putin such as Sergei Ivanov, Igor Sechin, and Sergey Chemezov.

These firms needed security, so they turned to Russian private contractors to perform the tasks of private security companies everywhere, namely to protect their premises, staff, and activities. However, the security companies also performed military functions abroad, whether attached to the Russian military or in collaboration with the forces of Russian allies.

From 2000 to 2021, there was an increase in Russian PMCs to around 20 major firms, according to some intelligence agencies. Prominent examples are Lukom-A, founded in 1992 by the Russian oil company Lukoil to protect its investments in Iraq, Anti-Terror Orel, founded in the Russian city of Orel (Oryol) in 2003 as a non-governmental education and training centre, and the Moran Security Group, an offshoot of Oral that was registered in 1998 and eventually established a subsidiary in Hong Kong called Slavonic Corps owned by former Moran Group deputy director Vadim Gusev.

The Wagner Group surfaced for the first time in 2014 during the war in the Donbas. Founded by Dmitry Utkin, a military intelligence officer, it has roots in other PMCs including Anti-Terror Orel, Moran, and the Slavonic Corps.

According to a report published by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in July 2021, the number of countries in which these Russian PMCs operate increased sevenfold from four in 2015 to 27 in 2021. They have been particularly active in Africa (in, for example, Botswana, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Madagascar, Sudan, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mali and Eritrea), but they have also operated in Latin America (Venezuela), Europe (Belarus, Serbia, and Ukraine), the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, and Yemen), Southwest Asia (Afghanistan), and the Caucasus (Azerbaijan).

The Russian PMCs serve the Russian state in various ways. They are used to support the governments of allied nations against uprisings and revolutions, to protect vital economic interests and facilities abroad, and to perform and secure logistical operations for the procurement, transport, and distribution of raw and primary materials.

In short, they are a cost-effective means for Russia to achieve important foreign-policy goals without having to officially engage in conflict. On the one hand, this averts the risk of public anger over Russian troop losses abroad, as occurred during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, while on the other, it also helps to counter US and Western hegemony and work towards a multipolar order.

The roles and services the PMCs perform vary according to needs and circumstances. For example, the functions they are required to perform in Libya are not the same as they are in Syria. Moscow has a relatively limited role to play in Libya compared to its role in Syria. In the former, the PMCs serve economic and political purposes intended to ensure that Russia has a place in any political settlement process, while in the latter they support and sustain a strategic alliance.

In the Central African Republic, Russian PMCs have been engaged by the Russian Lobaye Invest Company to support gold and diamond mining activities. They also train the Republics presidential guards and army. In northern Mozambique, they serve in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) group. In Sudan, Wagner PMC oversees a camp recently established in Omdurman to train Sudanese special forces and intelligence operatives.

But regardless of how their functions might vary from one country to another, the Russian PMCs all perform the following services: providing operational and tactical support during military operations; training governmental and non-governmental forces; collecting and analysing intelligence information; protecting commercial vessels and shipments in the ports and high seas; mine removal; securing refugee convoys; protecting and equipping forces; providing onsite security; engaging in propaganda warfare, information gathering and analysis; strategic planning for conflict zones; guarding and security; supplying goods and logistics services to military forces; and participating in combat operations and the recruitment of volunteers.

While Western PMCs perform pretty much the same roles and services, the Russian PMCs differ from their Western counterparts in several respects. They are prohibited by law from operating inside Russia itself, and they engage in offensive operations that the Western PMCs are officially not allowed to do. They also tend to be more ideologically motivated, are less inclined to offer logistics and support services, and operate at the direction of the Russian security agencies and are therefore not governed by market pressures, unlike the Western PMCs.

The Russian PMCs started out under the supervision of the Kremlin and the Russian security agencies. Over the past two decades, the Russian authorities have increasingly come to feel the need for measures short of war of the sort that proved successful in defending South Ossetia in 2008.

Developed, strengthened, and honed during the war in Ukraine that began after the regime change in Kyiv in 2014, such measures involve clandestine operations that sometimes include assassinations, the use of mercenaries, unconventional warfare, disinformation campaigns, and other covert activities.

Many of these types of activities have been farmed out to PMCs formed under the auspices of the Russian intelligence agencies.

If Moscows use of PMCs to advance its foreign policy goals has met with mixed success, it will probably still continue to refine the Russian model for these firms as it utilises them to broaden its influence in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere where political instability and an abundance of natural resources happens to coincide.

At the same time, the US and the other Western powers will increase the pressure on Moscow and other countries to rein in Russian PMCs that have come to pose a threat to US and Western interests.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Every two minutes, nine newborn babies and one mother die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. What can be done?

In total, this year 2.4 million newborn babies will die within the first month of their lives and 295,000 women will die from pregnancy-related complications.

These deaths represent 2.7 million annual tragedies that are immeasurable for families and communities. For societies, the deaths also represent losses that undermine growth and prosperity. For the worlds low-income and lower-middle income countries, these deaths add up to a loss of almost half a trillion dollars each year, or six per cent of their annual GDPs.

In 2015, world leaders promised to fix maternal and newborn health, along with hunger, peace, education, and virtually every other major problem area by 2030 in what has become known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unfortunately, we are far off-track on virtually all the promises.

For mothers and newborn babies, progress is happening far slower than it should. Given our current trends, by 2030 some 131,000 mothers and 900,000 infants will die each year that wouldnt have if we had achieved the promises.

It doesnt have to be this way. In a world without fiscal constraints, all governments would invest lavishly across all the SDGs. In the real world, governments can only moderately increase investments in some policies. My think tank, Copenhagen Consensus, has undertaken extensive research with dozens of the worlds top economists to discover where extra resources can do the most good. Maternal and newborn health is one of those areas.

In fact, new research published this week shows that a focused investment in maternal and newborn health can deliver astonishing returns to society, saving lives and delivering an astounding $87 of social benefits back for every dollar spent.

The researchers focus on the 55 countries that suffer almost all the global deaths for mothers and newborns. They investigate a vast plethora of potential policies: making more pregnancy check-ups, prescribing more iron supplements, or paying for more health worker visits to counsel mothers after birth.

The research demonstrates that the very best investment is to increase access to family planning, and most importantly, increase access to a package of simple procedures known as Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care. This package, known by the term BEmONC, means delivering better care at low cost, often with nurses and midwives instead of more costly doctors.

For example, BEmONC ensures access to neonatal resuscitation. This requires only a hand pump or resuscitator, which costs around $65. If this is used 25 times in a year, the cost per use is just $2.60. Adding the health workers time, the total cost of saving a childs life is in the order of $5a tiny amount spent to achieve amazing good. Neonatal resuscitation can avoid 30 per cent of deaths associated with asphyxia, one of the leading causes of newborn mortality.

Another example of an approach delivered under the BEmONC package is kangaroo mother care, which promotes skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby, a simple act that could halve mortality in premature children.

A large part of the cost of increasing BEmONC comes from ensuring better access for pregnant women in birth facilities, which lowers death risks for both mother and child. Today, two-thirds of women in those 55 countries give birth in such facilities. The researchers proposal is to drive investment in order to get 90 per cent of women into these facilities.

Family planning is an important part of the package because an estimated 217 million women who want to avoid pregnancy still dont have access to safe and effective family planning methods. If 90 per cent of women in the 55 hardest-hit countries had access to such services, fewer would become pregnant, and 87,000 fewer mothers would die each year.

The annual financial cost is $2.1 billion with womens additional time costs valued at $1.6 billion. Yet, this modest total cost of just $3.7 billion a year can each year avert 161,000 maternal deaths, more than 1.2 million newborn deaths, and almost as many stillbirths across the 55 countries.

On top of saving millions of lives, a reduction in mortality and fertility can also lead to a significant increase in income per capita, because fewer but healthier children become more productive. This is known as the demographic dividend. In total, the reduction in fertility is estimated to yield a benefit equivalent to $28 billion annually.

When adding up all the returns to society, it turns out that the annual cost of $3.7 billion will deliver overall benefits of fewer deaths and higher economic growth worth $322 billion every year.

The death toll of mothers and young infants in the worlds poorest countries is an unacceptable and largely avoidable tragedy. Investing just $3.7 billion annually in BEmONC and family planning is not only low-cost but one of the very best ways the world can invest to deliver on our global promises.

* The writer is president of the Copenhagen Consensus and visiting fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

* Click here to read the story in arabic.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Have you heard of the Egyptian engineer Irene Estemalek? She is currently overseeing the construction of the worlds largest sewerage plant at Gabal Al-Asfar. The plant will purify and recycle wastewater, turning the waste into an energy resource. I doubt you have heard of her or the project. Even though it is one of the mega-projects currently in progress in Egypt, for some unknown reason little has been said of it. It is as though people are not supposed to know that Egypt is in the process of laying solid foundations for a strong, advanced, prosperous future. I admit that I, too, had never heard of Estemalek before. It was a friend of mine, Ambassador Raouf Saad, who recently drew my attention to her.

Some might argue that we need not know the names of the people working on our national mega-projects. But I believe that we, as Egyptians, should know Estemalek, who constructed water purification plants in Turkey, Vietnam, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Iraq and China, as well as we know the many names on the list of Egyptian scientists, such as Magdi Yacoub, Farouk Al-Baz, Ahmed Zewail and Hani Azar, who gained worldwide recognition even before we, ourselves, recognised their value.

Irene Estemalek went to Germany to continue her studies after obtaining her BA in engineering from the University of Ain Shams. As the Germans did not recognise her degree, she was unable to work there during her studies. However, it so happened that the Germans wanted to convert a facility that had been used to wash tanks during World War II to a water treatment plant. German engineers said that the old plant should be torn down to make way for the water treatment plant because the purpose was so different. Estemalek submitted a proposal detailing architectural modifications that could repurpose the old plant, averting the need to rebuild from scratch and reducing costs considerably. The Germans, who had not recognised her Egyptian engineering certification, approved her proposal and the project was completed according to her designs and specifications within six months.

Estemalek was now well on her way to becoming an Egyptian legend in the tradition of the long line of descendants of the great Imhotep, the first engineer in history. But where is our media? Why isnt the Egyptian press covering these success stories and telling the public more about the mega-projects they know so little about?

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Many years hence and when historians are debating who was mainly responsible for scuttling the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, I suspect that the consensus among them will be that one Israeli politician was the culprit. They will likely point the finger at present Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

From his first mandate as Israels prime minister back in 1996, Netanyahu has done irreparable harm to the chances of peace and reconciliation between the Palestinians and Israelis. His latest government is considered to be one of the most extreme as far as peace with the Palestinians is concerned since the creation of the Israeli state in 1948.

The political game that he has been playing after taking the reins of power in Israel has been to portray his cabinet as being divided between those who advocate the annexation of the Occupied West Bank and those who do not object to a peace deal with the Palestinians but on Israeli terms. He has been claiming that he is doing his best to maintain the political balance between the hawks and the less-hawkish members of his cabinet.

Nothing could be further from the truth, however. In fact, Netanyahu is supportive of the hawks, very much in line with the example of his mentor former Israeli prime Minister Menachem Begin, but is trying to convince the international community, and particularly the US administration, that the Palestinians are the ones responsible for the rising tensions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The last few weeks have witnessed a flare up in the West Bank at the hands of Israeli settler vigilantes who went on a rampage in a Palestinian village called Hawara. Netanyahus minister of finance, himself drawn from the settlers ranks, Bezalel Smotrich, demanded that the village be wiped out.

In order to contain the rising armed violence in the West Bank, Jordan called for an emergency meeting between the Palestinians and the Israelis. This took place on 26 February at Aqaba in Jordan and was also attended by Jordanian, US, and Egyptian officials.

After the hastily arranged Aqaba meeting, a joint communique was released in which the Palestinians and Israelis committed themselves to all previous agreements and to work towards a just and lasting peace.

The two sides confirmed, according to the communique, their joint readiness and commitment to end unilateral measures for a period of three to six months. They also recognised the importance of upholding the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem while stressing the Hashemite custodianship of these sites and the special role of Jordan.

The participants agreed to meet again at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt in March to go over the progress achieved in carrying out the objectives laid down in the communique.

Fewer than 24 hours after the Aqaba meeting ended, the extremists in the Israeli cabinet announced that the Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank would continue regardless of the Aqaba communique. The Israeli prime minister himself sounded the retreat from the commitments that the Israeli team at the Aqaba meeting had signed on to, especially by legalising outposts built by the settlers and building new settlements.

This retreat on the part of the Israeli government raises questions about the scheduled follow-up meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, all the more so since Israeli soldiers are now killing Palestinians almost every day. Over the last two months alone, the Israeli military has killed 61 Palestinians. The question is what benefit will the delegations to the planned Sharm El-Sheikh meeting get from it other than the Israelis?

The US reaction has been forceful in public, but we should not expect more than that from Washington. The high level coordination between the US and Israel is concentrated now on Iran and how to prevent it from manufacturing a nuclear bomb. Both the Americans and the Israelis have said that they will go the extra mile to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is scheduled to visit Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in the period from 6 to 8 March.

Meanwhile, some US Congressmen known for their support for Israel have prepared a letter to US President Joe Biden urging him to use all the diplomatic tools available to prevent Israels far right government from further damaging the nations [Israels] democratic institutions and undermining the potential for two states for two peoples.

They added that in the present fragile situation, consistent and sustained US diplomatic leadership is critical to prevent counterproductive unilateral actions and prevent violent escalations.

The letter, prepared by Representatives Rosa DeLauro, Jane Schakowsky, and Jim McGovern, all strong supporters of Israel, further stated that in the event that the Israeli Knesset votes to strip Israels judiciary of the capacity to hold its far right government in check, the president should make clear that the US will firmly oppose any moves towards annexation that the Israeli government may pursue as a result.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the main lobbying group for Israel in the US, has been trying to convince the Congressmen that sending the letter would be ineffective and counterproductive, insisting instead that the present strategy of the Biden administration is working. Of course, the overall security and political environment in the Occupied West Bank tells a different story.

If for one reason or another the three US Congressmen change their minds, another letter, this time from a US Senator, was already delivered to Biden last week.

Senator Peter Welch (Democrat - Vermont) wrote that it is time to acknowledge what is painfully apparent, as far as Netanyahus government is concerned, that the two state solution is dead. He added that Netanyahus government dismisses the long term security threat his governments policy of de facto annexation poses to Israel.

Quoted in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Welch said that if this policy continues, the US advocacy of the two state solution will be meaningless.

He spoke the truth. The Arab governments should listen to him and act accordingly. There must be no normalisation with Netanyahus government. Postponing the Sharm El-Sheikh meeting will perhaps send a credible message to the Israeli government that the time for more serious efforts to negotiate peace and security has come.

* The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Catalogues of work by celebrated artists are more widespread than ever before. Although they are published in limited editions and remain expensive, they remain a valuable reference and enrich the body of literature available on contemporary Egyptian art.

The 200-page monograph of work by the renowned artist Nazli Madkour, first published by Al-Karma in 2022, is an exquisite piece of art in itself, containing dozens of high-quality reproductions of paintings representing different phases of the artists long career.

After a brief biography, unusually for a catalogue or autobiography, Madkour, born in 1949 in Cairo, gives a detailed Q&A interview in English providing a detailed picture of her journey as an artist, her unique style and techniques, along with other interesting aspects of her life. The fairly long conversation with Maie Yanni, a multidisciplinary artist and curator, covers many personal and professional aspects of the artists life and presents visual art students and professionals with a uniquely educational experience.

It is worth mentioning that the journey of the artist, whose works have been acquired by the Egyptian Museum of Modern Art, Al- Ahram newspaper, and the New Hall Art Collection at Cambridge University, among others, started painting many years after her graduation from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University. In 1981, Madkour, a self-educated artist, decided to nurture her passion for art and therefore resigned from her job as an economist and undertook several courses in painting and drawing.

Asked by Yanni if she faced prejudice as an emerging female artist in a patriarchal society, Madkour says that since she was not a graduate of any local art school, it wasnt strange that she got no support from any group or camp. I was not entitled to the support system extended to art graduates. However, I dont see my work as falling under a womans gender designation and I dont believe it was ever received as such, she said, adding that her work is neither feminine nor masculine. I view my work as a manifestation of universal values engraved in the human psyche since the beginning of time.

This statement perfectly sums up the abstract art ethos she has adopted since the beginning of the 1990s though not so much the womens issues that come through in her figurative art of the 1980s, which isnt as well known to her audience and admirers.

The artists journey from figuration to pure abstraction is indeed fascinating in itself. At the start of her career, Madkour was inspired by womens issues and nature, especially the desert, the rural landscape and greenery, all of which she will later reconstitute in abstract work.

The first phase of her career extends from 1982 to 1993 and it featured nature-focused experiments with palm strips and papyrus, among other media. The enchanting spiritual paintings of this period explore new compositions that integrate human figures, provincial houses and palm trees, in a lyrical style. In another, captivating collection of abstract paintings, an introspective journey, as the artist calls it, dated 1993-2004, the viewer is mesmerised by a journey into the depths of the earth and the human psyche.

Using mixed media on canvas, with rich layers of brown, grey, black and orange in larger works, the artist establishes her mastery of abstract expressionism. One beautiful painting (reproduced on page 69) is itself a journey from bottom to the top, from the depth of earth to the sky, each layer an enjoyable scene imparting a sense of warmth and hope.

The last chapter of the book, entitled Foliage, includes paintings from the period 2010-2022, which show botanically inspired abstract work that strikes a truly female chord. Here she makes use of vibrant greens to convey the widest range of emotions beyond the tranquility associated with it, evoking the spiritual power of flowers in ingenious new ways.

The catalogue is supplemented by a captivating chronology, which features posters of some of the artists 40 solo shows, in addition to group exhibition posters and snapshots with famous artists such as the legendary George Bahgory and the American Robert Rauchenberg and many others. Two studies in Arabic by critics Ezz Eddin Naguib and Farouk Youssef bring the rich compendium to a close.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Whether you spell it with a K or a C, history is replete with many Kates, both in real queens to Hollywood royalty.

The most popular Kate today is Catherine, princess of Wales, also known as Kate Middleton who has rapidly won the hearts of many Brits with her beauty, grace, and fashion sense.

Britain has bred many Kates, a diminutive of Katherine, starting with Catherine of Aragon, first wife of king Henry VIII, who changed the course of history when the Catholic Church refused to grant him a divorce. He severed his relation with Rome and became the head of the new Anglican Church of England, attained his divorce and married his beloved Ann Boleyn. After four more unfortunate marriages, his sixth and last wife was another Catherine, a devout queen and a best-selling author.

How about Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, who helped the country become one of the great powers in Europe?

There are more royal Catherines, but let us move on to Hollywood where more Cates are popular, especially the late queen Katherine, as in Hepburn.

We have Kate Winslet, Oscar-winning British actress of Titanic fame, Kate Hudson, Kate Beckinsdale, as well as designer Kate Spade and the waifish British fashion model, Kate Moss.

Our great Cate, spelled with a C, is the incomparable Cate Blanchett, who hails from Australia and dazzled Hollywood with her first internationally acclaimed film, Elisabeth I, for which she was nominated for an Oscar in 1999.

Ironically, it was her portrayal of a Hollywood queen that won her the golden statuette for Best Supporting Actress in 2004. It was the beginning of a flood of awards for this young Aussie whose versatile talent, and perfect pitch, became the source of her rapid rise to Hollywood royalty. She won Best Actress Award for the comedy-drama Blue Jasmine in 2013.

The 1920s became the Blanchett era, with films and stage performances that mesmerised audiences throughout the world

Oscar night, Filmdoms annual biggest event, takes place on 12 March. Our publication appears every Thursday, by then the news of winners and losers will already be known worldwide. We choose to precede the event by reviewing the entries and often predicting results or justifying our favourites.

Our focal point this year is to highlight the life and work of a great actress of our time, Blanchett, nominated for a third Oscar this year for her portrayal of lesbian musician Lydia Tar, about to conduct the German Symphony Orchestra. It was named the years best film by more critics than any film released last year.

Cate won Best actress at the Venice Film Festival, the Golden Globe, the Critics Choice Award and the BAFTA Awards. One would conclude the Oscar is a sure thing, but it is not.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awarded Michelle Yeoh Best Actress for a film often referred to as nonsensical by critics, yet has been given 11 nods by the Academy  the most nominations this year. The title alone is a sign of its absurdity, Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

The reason is purely political. The intention is to give an opportunity for minorities to shine, with or without reason. This displays an American guilt syndrome, causing great harm to every profession. The award is supposed to celebrate the most outstanding achievement not a reward for the minority population in America. It is an unfair practice, depleting enthusiasm, unless you are black, Asian or other.

Oddmakers are divided between Cate and Michelle Yeoh, a Malaysian actress of Chinese origin, who has by far the less experience and ability in this competition.

Why then did her fellow actors, members of SAG, overlook Blanchette for Yeoh? Because they may be branded as racist.

What happened to the principles of the academy? They are as solid as tinsel.

What are they thinking those academy members? Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar, neither did Richard Burton as well as many of Hollywoods elite filmmakers.

The precise ways by which thy come up with their opinions is dubious, to say the least.

Will our Cate win her golden boy come Sunday night? We believe she will for her masterful mind and unique ability that shine through her portrayals.

Should she not be considered a minority too? Shes one of a score of Aussies in Hollywood. Thats a minority.

Blanchett stands alone with her remarkable character development. Her shining star is her raw, natural, unbridled talent that grabs a role, and makes it her very own. She worked endless hours to learn to play the piano, the accordion, dance, sing and learn German and conduct a real orchestra. She never repeats her roles, but varies her abilities through multiple challenges, regularly and effortlessly.

Born in Melbourne on 14 May 1969, Catherine Elise Blanchette attended the National Institute for dramatic Arts. As a student her travels brought her to Cairo, where she accepted to be an extra in an Egyptian movie Kaboria (Crab) because she needed the money.

Television viewership for Oscar night has fallen every year since 2015. From 53 million viewers in 1988 to 3.8 million in 2021.

Politics is a spoiler. Oscar gold has turned to brass. It is not the glitz and glamour, but the best in the art of film.

Give us back our gold.

An Academy Award nomination is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (1948- )

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Press Release

March 7, 2023 Tolentino: Mindoro oil spill threatens fisherfolk, biodiversity and tourism MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino is seeking an in-depth assessment that would look into the vast damages brought by an oil spill incident in Mindoro last month and now threatening lives of fisherfolk, marine biodiversity and tourism as it heads towards the famous beaches of the world-renowned Boracay Island. During the period of interpellation following Tolentino's Monday's privilege speech in connection with the February 28 incident in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, the senator disclosed that the extent of the oil spill coming from motor tanker MT Princess Empress has already reached major fishing areas, and continues to spread to pristine fishing breeding grounds--threatening the Verde Island Passage, which is considered the world's "Center of the Center of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity" and along Western Visayas where Boracay Island is situated. "Because the passageway from Mindoro to Romblon via the Verde Island Passage, it would mostly affect Oriental Mindoro and perhaps Boracay," said Tolentino. "Today, 18,000 fishermen lost their livelihood. If we fail to contain the oil spill, it will affect thousands more," the senator added. Tolentino expressed concern that the Mindoro oil spill incident would be a deja vu or worse than of the 2006 tragedy when MT Solar-1 sank off the coast of Guimaras, which carried 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel. "Ngayon, Mr. President, nangyari na naman po ito. The current oil spill trajectory model by marine experts projected that approximately 20,000 hectares of coral reef, 9,900 hectares of mangroves, 6,000 hectares of seagrass may be affected, and the oil spill may also potentially reach as far as the shores of Palawan. This is more far reaching than the damage caused by MT Solar-1," the senator stressed in his privilege speech. The 2006 Guimaras incident had affected 1,500 hectares of the local ecosystem comprised of mangroves, seagrass, and coral reefs, as well as affecting the livelihood of 20,000 fishermen, and required a long period of rehabilitation. "The projection, Mr. President, right now coming from the local PDRRMO of Oriental Mindoro is that more than 10,000 families are already affected by the oil spill alone but this is an evolving story... as days, as hours pass by we, will have additional reports perhaps of a greater damage and I think the estimate right now is that it would pass the Guimaras oil spill," he added. Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda, Majority Floor Leader Sen. Joel Villanueva, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources chair Sen. Cynthia Villar, and Sen. Pia Cayetano, threw their full support over Tolentino's call for an in-depth assessment of the Mindoro oil spill. Authorities at present continue to race against time in containing the 800,000-liter that spilled out from the sunken oil tanker. As of Monday afternoon, 76 coastal barangays across nine towns in Oriental Mindoro have been placed under the state of calamity. "We have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment," Tolentino said.
The discovery of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian golden boy-king Tutankhamun by British archaeologist Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor in November 1922 has led to a raft of new titles about the king and his tomb by English-speaking and other Egyptologists.

Publishers have been competing to mark the centenary, with books appearing on everything from the tomb and its contents and the biography of the young Pharaoh for whom it was made to the story of the man who found it and the afterlife of the discovery.

Carter published his own version of the discovery even before he had finished clearing the objects from the tomb for display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. One hundred years later, what new material do the new books hold that have been issued to mark the centenary?

The raft of new books certainly bears witness to a new diversity in the questions asked about the discovery, with their authors being as likely to write about those that made it and the different meanings of Egyptology as a field of study as they are about what the tomb can tell us about its long-dead owner. Some of them also do not hesitate to tell us a lot about themselves.

Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive edited by British Egyptologist R B Parkinson and published by the Griffith Institute in Oxford in the UK is in some ways typical of this new interest in the development of Egyptology and the place of Carter and his aristocratic patron Lord Carnarvon in it.

Produced to accompany an exhibition of the same name held last year, it re-examines materials deposited at the Institute after Carters death by his niece Phyllis Walker and consisting of his notebooks, letters, and private diaries about the excavation of the tomb. It casts light on the day-to-day issues confronting early 20th-century Egyptologists, at least those working in the field, and it helps readers to understand what was going on behind the scenes during and after the discovery.

In his introduction, Parkinson explains how the archive came to be in Oxford and gives a sketch of its contents. Much of it is also available on the institutes website, which includes digital images and transcriptions of Carters dig diaries and journals for the years leading up to and after the discovery. There are some 3,500 cards bearing descriptions by Carter of materials found in the tomb and over 1,000 photographs taken by Harry Burton, the American photographer whose famous photographs of the excavation fixed its image worldwide.

Staff at the institute chose 50 objects from the archive for the exhibition, and these are reproduced with accompanying commentary in the book. There are letters, diaries, drawings, maps and photographs bearing witness to Carters activities in Egypt before and during the excavation of the tomb, and there are many of Burtons famous photographs. These were taken using glass plates coated with silver and gelatin emulsion that were exposed for up to several minutes but nevertheless yielded astonishingly clear high-resolution prints.

Some of the photographs show the arrangement, or disarrangement, of the objects in the tomb when it was discovered, with some of them being piled up in corners or swept together in heaps as the ancient Egyptian priests hurriedly repaired the damage of several break-ins before resealing the tomb. There are now-iconic images of Carter at work in the tomb, and there are others that bear witness to the decisions of those that built it.

The ancient Egyptian workman produced some of the tomb furniture in flatpack form, for example, leaving ink markings on it to show how it should be reassembled in the tomb. However, in the case of the gilded shrines designed to be re-erected around the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun in the burial chamber they made a mistake in the measurements, meaning that the shrines had to be reassembled in the opposite direction to that originally intended.

In the nested coffins containing the boy-kings mummy, Carter found withered garlands of cornflowers, blue lotus, and olive and willow leaves placed by the ancient Egyptian priests at the moment of burial in a gesture of mourning. These few withered flowers still retaining their tinge of colour were among the most poignant objects in the tomb, Carter wrote in his book on the discovery.

Also found were objects  items of furniture, jewellery, domestic items  that showed signs of wear as if they had been favourite objects that Tutankhamun had been attached to in life and that had accordingly been selected to be interred with him in his tomb.

SHAPING A CENTURY: Parkinson writes in his introduction to Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive that the Oxford Carter archive, however intriguing, might be thought to give a highly partial view of events.

The discovery is seen entirely through the eyes of Carter and his associates, he says, and the lack of [modern] Egyptian voices in the archive starkly reveals the inequalities of power in both the social and academic worlds of Carters time.

The theme of the story of the discovery sometimes being used to uncritically endorse a nostalgic story of a golden age of archaeology in Carters time is one of the ideas also examined in US Egyptologist Christina Riggss Treasured: How Tutankhamun Shaped a Century, a wide-ranging examination of different aspects of the afterlife of Tutankhamun since the discovery of his tomb a century ago.

Riggs, an academic in the UK, is the author of a clutch of well-regarded books on different aspects of Egyptology including Unwrapping Ancient Egypt, an exploration of the wrapping techniques used for sacred objects, including mummified bodies, in ancient Egypt, and Photographing Tutankhamun, a book about the photographs taken by Burton and others of the tomb and its contents. In her new book, she writes on the discovery and clearance of the tomb, but also on the subsequent exhibition of the objects in Egypt and abroad and on the ways in which Tutankhamun and his tomb have been used for commercial and other purposes.

Many stories jostle for attention in Riggss book, including the authors own, as she begins by writing on how she first became aware of ancient Egypt and Tutankhamun at primary school in the US in the 1970s, later deciding to make Egyptology a career. Her book recounts my own discovery of Tutankhamun, she says, being a reckoning of what Ive learned and unlearned since that jewel-like coffin flickered into view upon a classroom screen decades ago and particularly of how different people, at different times and places, have imagined ancient Egypt.

Among those people are Carter and Carnarvon, of course, the discoverers of the tomb, but also many others, including Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, the French Egyptologist who arranged the first major tour of the objects from Tutankhamuns tomb abroad in the 1960s, and many other lesser-known figures who arranged similar tours in the 1970s and later.

Noblecourts triumph was the 1967 Paris exhibition of objects from Tutankhamuns tomb, the first time so many of them had been seen outside Egypt. It was the precursor of a string of later shows that included similar exhibitions at the British Museum in London in the 1970s and then a tour of the US where the objects from the tomb were given pride of place at exhibitions in New York and Washington.

Riggs also brings the story right up to date with a consideration of international tours of objects from the tomb over the last decade as well as of the transfer of the ancient Egyptian royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in 2021 and the new Tutankhamun galleries at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on the Pyramids Plateau.

Interwoven into this material are considerations on Egyptian and international politics, the economics of tourism, and the history and present character of the Egyptology profession as well as the continuing public interest in material on Tutankhamun worldwide. One of Riggs strongest chapters may be that on the US tour of objects from the tomb in the 1970s, when different agendas came together to ensure its success.

Having seen the crowds at the Paris and London exhibitions, curators in the US pulled out all the stops, including diplomatic ones, to ensure that Tutankhamun and his treasures would visit the US. In Egypt, the focus was on the pride and possibilities the vast American operation represented in seeing Egyptian culture acclaimed in the United States, with millions expected to see the exhibition at one of multiple venues or to watch the visit on television.

There was great interest in the tour among African-Americans, some of whom saw Tutankhamuns visit as an opportunity to raise the issue of race in museum exhibitions in the US and the African character of ancient Egyptian civilisation, a theme explored by the Senegalese scholar Cheikh Anta Diop. Then US president Jimmy Carter visited the exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, along with other leading figures from politics and the arts. Tutankhamun became a kind of cultural ambassador of modern as well as ancient Egypt and a beautiful cultural bridge between Egypt and the US during the latters bicentennial celebrations, as the Egyptian ambassador in Washington put it at the time.

For all the cultural complications and hackneyed stories attached to the history of Tutankhamun and his tomb, and all the inaccuracies, oversights, and bland superlatives that every iteration of the tale repeats, nearly everyone can agree on this: there is genuine wonder in the burial of this young man and the wealth of objects that were found with him, Riggs writes.

My childhood encounter with Tutankhamun shaped what became a privileged career In the hundred years since he was brought back to life, Tutankhamun has been an inspiration to hundreds of children who, like me, needed something outside the everyday to raise their eyes just high enough to see over the limitations of life.

CHANGING THE WORLD: There are similarities between Riggs approach and that of US Egyptologist Bob Brier in his Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World.

Brier is the author of multiple books on ancient Egypt, including several about Tutankhamun, most of them aimed at a popular audience. His new book is no exception, being written in an attractively chatty style and doing a good job of updating general readers about intriguing recent developments in Egyptology.

Even if not everyone will agree that Tutankhamuns was a tomb that changed the world, as the title of Briers book claims, few readers are likely to come away from it without agreeing that the tomb at least changed the world of Egyptology. When it was discovered in November 1922, many Egyptological excavations were still in the hands of amateurs, with the British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who held the concession to excavate in the area of the Valley of the Kings in which the tomb was found, and the US businessman Theodore Davis, who had held the concession before him, being fairly typical of the field.

Carters discovery changed all that as a result both of his own high standards and the unprecedented demands made by the clearance of the tomb. As Brier explains in the first section of his book, Carters work set the standard for all subsequent excavations, notably with regard to the care with which the objects in the tomb were recorded and preserved, often requiring new chemical procedures to preserve fragile organic materials and arrest processes of decay. In this respect the discovery forced all subsequent excavators to up their game, even if some earlier practitioners had also insisted on the need to keep careful records and adhere to established procedures in the field.

However, there was another respect in which the discovery changed the world of Egyptology, Brier writes, and one that was at least at first more difficult for some foreign Egyptologists to accept. Carters discovery was made at the height of the Egyptian nationalist movement following the 1919 Revolution, and the clearance of the tomb, undertaken by Carter almost from the day after the discovery, was punctuated by the end of the British protectorate over Egypt and the establishment of an independent kingdom. Politics in Egypt were changing, and the new government was less likely to accept the former practice of sharing the finds made by foreign excavators between the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the funders of the excavations abroad.

To their chagrin, Carter, and, until his early death in April 1923, Carnarvon, discovered that they could no longer behave as they liked in the Valley of the Kings, notably when it came to taking control of the excavation and clearance of the tomb and appropriating a portion of the finds themselves. The discovery, Brier writes, played a significant role in changing the political landscape of Egypt [since] both the tomb and the boy-king became rallying points for Egyptian nationalists and their efforts to end British rule in Egypt. While it is true that many people, not only Egyptian nationalists, were irritated or worse by Carter and Carnarvons proprietorial attitude to the discovery, it would probably be more accurate to say that this constituted simply another irritation rather than the cause of the nationalist movement.

While Briers re-examination of this history is useful, perhaps the main appeal of his book lies in his account of the research subsequently carried out on the objects found in the tomb. In the books second and third parts, he fills contemporary readers in on some of the latest thinking on traditionally unsolved questions regarding Tutankhamun and his tomb, including what sort of Pharaoh he was, how he died, and what to make of some of the ambiguities of his tomb.

Working from X-rays of the mummy of Tutankhamun, some early investigators believed that he could have died from a blow to the back of the head since they seemed to indicate damage consonant with it. Even Brier seems to have thought so at one stage, since he used the X-ray evidence to support his theory that Tutankhamun was murdered, explained in his 1999 book The Murder of Tutankhamun. Now, however, Brier and others have had to amend their views since more recent CAT scans of the mummy have shown that there had been no blow to the back of the head. Tutankhamun may still have been murdered, Brier writes, but it wasnt in the way I thought.

Recent CAT scan evidence has also allowed investigators to build up a better picture of Tutankhamun in life, though here the evidence is less clear-cut. While X-rays only allow high-density material such as bone to be investigated, CAT scans can be used to investigate soft tissues as well, including the desiccated tissues of ancient Egyptian mummies.

One new finding from the CAT scans is that Tutankhamun may have had a club foot and that he may have walked with a pronounced limp, explaining the presence of 130 walking sticks in his tomb. He may also have died as a result of an infection from a broken leg. Brier is sceptical about this new evidence, believing it does not allow for the drawing of any firm conclusions.

Like Riggs, he has some pages on the afterlife of Tutankhamun in the shape of the blockbuster exhibitions inaugurated with the 1967 Paris show and reaching an early peak with the New York and Washington shows in the 1970s. He writes amusingly of the rivalry between John Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, and Thomas Hoving, legendary director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Hoving wanted to do for the Metropolitan Museum what [the popular musical] Jesus Christ Superstar did for the Bible, and Tutankhamun was part of his plans. The museum gift shop made a lot of money out of replicas of tomb artefacts and other souvenir items about Tutankhamun, and much of this was sent to Egypt.

CENTENARY OF TUTANKHAMUN: UK Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves is given some respectful pages in Briers book, even if the theory with which he has been most associated has not stood up to scientific investigation.

Looking again at the painted north wall of the burial chamber of the tomb, Reeves decided that there could be further hidden rooms behind it, perhaps even the final resting place of the woman who may have been Tutankhamuns mother, queen Nefertiti. However, as Brier notes, subsequent investigation, including ground penetrating radar studies of the rock surrounding the tomb, have not supported this conclusion.

Nevertheless, as Brier also notes Reeves is the author of books to which generations of amateur and professional Egyptologists have referred when looking for an authoritative modern account not only of the tomb of Tutankhamun but also of the Valley of the Kings more generally. His Complete Tutankhamun first appeared in 1990, and a sumptuously illustrated new edition has now been published to mark the centenary of the discovery.

All Tutankhamun fans will want to read the new edition of Reevess book, even if, weighing in at well over a kg and of artbook size, it is best kept at home as a coffee-table book rather than employed as a real-time guide to the tomb. The publishers seem to have spared no expense in filling it with high-quality illustrations, and these alone, when added to Reevess text, completely revised for this edition, provide hours of fascinating perusal.

Reeves says in his introduction that since the first edition of the book was published three decades ago there have been major advances in our knowledge of Tutankhamun and his tomb, partly to do with new technologies such as CAT scans and DNA analysis and partly to do with new and more careful attention being paid both to Carters excavation records and to the materials that were found in the tomb. He is alive to the controversies outlined by Brier, reporting much of the same evidence, but his book has a much wider scope. It is hard to imagine any reader not taking away fresh nuggets of intriguing information from it.

Reeves has also added to his account of Carter, retaining the overall admiration for the man and his methods that was evident in the first edition of his book but tempering this with a more realistic account of his failings. Carnarvon does not emerge well from Reevess account, which is more alive to the political situation in Egypt at the time of the excavation. The chip that Carter seems always to have had on his shoulder as a result of his being deprived of a proper education while being surrounded throughout his life by the rich or very rich is now seen as having interfered with his professional work. The book also contains new material on objects illicitly lifted by Carnarvon and Carter from the tomb.

Reeves writes clearly and authoritatively, and for the general reader at least there do not seem to be any aspects of the tomb and its contents that he does not consider, even down to minute descriptions of tomb contents often overlooked in other accounts. Of Tutankhamuns collection of walking sticks, Reeves says that these do no indicate anything about his mobility or general health since they were probably used for ceremonial purposes.

There is still a lot more that can be learned from the tomb and its contents, he says, even if some have in the past been disappointed by the absence of documentary evidence such as papyrus scrolls in it. Resistant to the glitz that so distracted in the past, the focus now is not on what we dont have but on the extraordinary and scarcely perceived depths of information the tomb does contain  if we care to look, Reeves comments.

He spends several pages rehearsing his theory that the tomb of Tutankhamun that we know today, and that Carter thought he had completely excavated, is in fact only part of a larger tomb complex that includes, hidden behind the walls of the burial chamber, further rooms and corridors in which queen Nefertiti may be buried. He seems unbothered by the CAT scan and other evidence reported on by Brier.

While the rest of this fascinating book expertly presents the modern consensus on Tutankhamun and his tomb and the results of recent research, on the latter point readers will have to draw their own conclusions.

R.B. Parkinson, Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive, Oxford: Griffith Institute / Bodleian Library, 2022, pp 144; Christina Riggs, How Tutankhamun Shaped a Century, New York: Public Affairs, 2022, pp 426; Bob Brier, Tutankhamun and the Tomb that Changed the World, New York: Oxford University Press, 2023, pp 320; Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun: 100 Years of Discovery, London: Thames and Hudson, 2022, pp 464.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 March, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


More than 100 of Egypts most prominent visual artists are taking part in the Capital Art collective exhibition starting Friday - with 500 exclusive artworks.

In cooperation with CLEG art gallery, Capital Promenade is holding Capital Art at Capital Business Park in El-Sheikh Zayed city from 10 to 12 March.

We are proudly launching the first round of Capital Art to highlight the key role played by art in addressing the climate change. Eyeing Egypt Vision 2030 and advocating the UN's SDGs, Capital Art exhibition embraces a number of masterpieces that are exquisitely made of recycled material to educate the public on preserving the environment," artist and CLEG gallery co-founder Dina Fahmy stated during a press conference on Sunday.

The artworks displayed at Capital Art range from paintings, sculptures, prints, mixed-media, photography as well as artworks made of recycled and environment-friendly materials.

Participating artists include Omar El-Nagdi, Salah Taher, Adham Wanly, Seif Wanly, Abdel-Aziz Darwish, Sabry Ragheb, Kamel Mustafa, and Ragheb Ayad.

Hesham Abdel-Moaty, Khaled El-Samahy, and Deena Fadel will enrich the senses of Capital Art's visitors by sharing their artistic experiences.

The exhibition will feature art-related talks, workshops tailored for children and adults, along with live sketching performances.

Inaugurated in January 2020, CLEG art gallery pledges to become a hub for contemporary arts, playing a vital role in Egypt's artistic landscape.

CLEG, which stands for 'Colours of Egypt', is a touring exhibition that was co-founded by visual artists Dina Fahmy, Farida Darwish, Farida El-Kouni, and Rasha Ghaleb.

The co-founders toured different countries with the exhibition, including France, Italy, Germany, and the UAE, to promote modern Egyptian art through their paintings.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


El-Qabbaj added that those who would suffer from permanent disability as a result of the crash will receive EGP 100,000 each in compensation.

The minister noted that all of the injured and their families will receive necessary social services but did not specify a monetary compensation for those who suffered injuries that did not lead to permanent disabilties.

Coordination is underway with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to mobilise resources and provide support to the families of the victims, El-Qabbaj added.

Two people were killed and 16 others injured as a train crashed into the platform before derailing at Qalyoub train station in Qalyoubiya governorate in the Nile Delta north of Cairo on Tuesday evening, according to the most recent figures released by the Ministry of Health and population.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the Egyptian National Railways (ENR) said that passenger train 557/3027 on the Shubra El-Kheima - Kafr El-Zayat line crashed in the Qalyoub train station at 7:20 pm.

The train failed to heed the semaphore signal and crashed into the buffer stopper at 7:20 pm, which caused the locomotive and the front car to derail, the ENR said.

The injuries took place among passengers who were riding in the cars between the locomotive and the front car, the ENR explained.

Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir ordered the immediate formation of a committee to determine the cause of the crash and identify responsible individuals as well as assess the damage.

Meanwhile, the health ministry said in a statement that injured passngers who are hospitalised at Qalyoub Specialised Hospital are in stable condition.

The prosecution is investigating the incident.
The government wants to extend the maximum working week from 52 hours to up to 69 hours at busy times.

Employers will be allowed to offer flexible working hours not only weekly, but monthly, quarterly and longer so that they can put their staff to work for longer hours at times with a heavy workload and have them take a long rest when the workload is light.

But average weekly working hours are to remain within the 52-hour limit.

The government on Monday proposed its first labor bill, which will be submitted to the National Assembly around June.

But the majority opposition Minjoo Party, which was behind slashing the working week in the first place, is unlikely to consent, and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have already protested, calling the idea a license to "work staff to death."
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday welcomed the Korean government's proposal to compensate victims of wartime forced labor. The government here on the same day announced that it will compensate the victims through a government foundation by gathering donations from private companies like POSCO and other conglomerates that benefited from lump sum reparations Japan paid under a 1965 treaty, rather than making responsible Japanese businesses pay. Kishida hailed the proposal as the "return to healthy relations between Japan and Korea," saying, "I look forward to continuing to work closely with President Yoon Suk-yeol to further develop bilateral ties." Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi also welcomed the proposal. "I hope that this announcement will serve as impetus for the implementation of the measures and the strong expansion of exchanges between Japan and Korea in the political, economic, cultural and other fields," Hayashi told reporters.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affair in Tokyo on Monday. /AP-Yonhap

"Our position has been consistent with the 1965 agreement, and that has not changed. As a government, we also maintain the position taken by previous Japanese cabinets on historical recognition as a whole, including the Japan-Korea joint declaration issued in October 1998." Korea wants Japan to commit itself to upholding the 1998 declaration, where President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi pledged to overcome the past while Tokyo voiced remorse for its wartime atrocities. Hayashi stressed that Japanese companies will not be asked to contribute to the victims' compensation fund, but he added Tokyo will not take a position on any voluntary steps private companies may choose to take over the matter. U.S. President Joe Biden also welcomed the proposal and said, "Today's announcements between Korea and Japan mark a groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States' closest allies. As we move ahead, I look forward to continuing to strengthen and enhance the trilateral ties between Korea, Japan, and the United States."

Activists protest against the government's plan to compensate wartime forced labor victims at Seoul Plaza on Monday. /Yonhap

Yoon hopes to visit Japan on March 16-17 and also attend the G7 meeting in Hiroshima in May to hold a three-way summit with Biden and Kishida. However, some former forced laborers and civic groups supporting them have criticized the proposal and accused Yoon of "absolving" Japan of legal responsibility for the crime.
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will visit South Korea and Japan late this month before he retires this year, a military source said on Monday.

He wants to stress the importance of tripartite cooperation between Korea, the U.S. and Japan and send a warning message to North Korea.

The U.S.' highest-ranking military officer last visited Korea in 2021.

Milley will arrive here from Japan right after joint South Korea-U.S. exercises dubbed Freedom Shield on March 13-23. He is expected to review the drills with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Korean counterpart Gen. Kim Seung-kyum.

He will also visit the demilitarized zone.

The U.S. has been sending more strategic weapons to South Korea in the face of increasing provocations by North Korea including a possible fresh nuclear test.
Toyota's sales in Korea increased sharply last month, reversing a drastic decline since an unofficial boycott of Japanese products that started in 2019.

The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Monday said sales of imported cars overall rose 11.1 percent on-year in February to 21,622 vehicles.

BMW topped the list with 6,381, followed by Mercedes-Benz (5,519), Audi (2,200), Lexus (1,344), Porsche (1,123), Volvo (827) and Toyota (695).

Lexus and Toyota's sales rose a startling 183 percent and 149 percent, and their combined sales increased 2.7 times.
By Christine T. Tjandraningsih, KYODO NEWS - Mar 7, 2023 - 09:42 | World, All, Japan

Leaders of Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will formally elevate their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" in December during a special summit commemorating their 50 years of friendship and cooperation, the chief of the regional bloc said Monday.

The plan comes as the United States and China increasingly vie for influence in Southeast Asia. It follows both countries upgrading their ties with ASEAN to a comprehensive strategic partnership -- China in 2021 and the United States in 2022.

"There has been a lot of discussion already (about the planned upgrade), and we expect it (during the special summit) in Tokyo in December," ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn told Kyodo News in an interview.

Japan, for its part, has been trying to boost its relationship with the 10-member ASEAN at a time when some of the bloc's members are increasingly vigilant against Beijing's assertiveness in the East and South China seas. Four ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam -- have overlapping territorial claims with China and Taiwan.

"We've seen that Japan is working" on the planned elevation, Kao said, adding that ASEAN and Japan hope "to have a very good list of deliverables."

He stressed that ASEAN agreed to upgrade ties with Japan due to the country's track record of support, engagement and cooperation in areas such as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and maritime security.

Under the upgraded partnership, ASEAN is looking for strong cooperation in areas such as technological innovation, people-to-people contact and cultural collaboration, according to Kao.

He specifically hopes Japan will initiate more scholarships for citizens of ASEAN member countries.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

On the political crisis in Myanmar, which has been under military rule since February 2021, Kao confirmed that the Office of Special Envoy set up by Indonesia as ASEAN chair this year has been "working very hard" to engage all stakeholders in Myanmar.

"Now, of course, how this would be implemented remains up to the special envoy and the chair. But at the end of the day, what we want to see is that Myanmar returns to peace and becomes an active member of ASEAN," the secretary general said.

However, Kao refused to go into details, saying that "Indonesia works in quieter diplomacy."

ASEAN only allows a nonpolitical representative from Myanmar's junta in ASEAN ministerial meetings or summits. But Myanmar has strongly opposed this and has never sent a representative.

ASEAN has been urging Myanmar to follow up on the regional group's so-called five-point consensus agreed upon by leaders, including Myanmar junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, two years ago. Among other things, it calls for an end to violence against the junta's political opponents and civilian protesters "through concrete, practical and time-bound actions."

Kao also touched on a working-level group meeting between ASEAN and China this week to discuss a regional code of conduct to defuse tensions in the South China Sea.

He welcomed the commitment between the two sides "to move forward" on drafting a binding code of conduct. Negotiations toward such ends have been ongoing since 2018, but there has yet to be much progress.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 7, 2023 - 10:14 | All, World, Japan

The United States on Monday continued to express its strong backing for a South Korean government plan to end a long-running dispute with Japan over wartime labor, despite an immediate backlash from victims and their supporters.

At the top of his press briefing, State Department spokesman Ned Price hailed the plan and said the United States will "encourage" its two key Asian allies to build on the step to improve their relations.

His comment came a day after South Korea's announcement of its decision to compensate wartime laborers under Japan's 1910-1945 colonization through a government foundation with donations from South Korean companies. Opponents of the move have criticized it as excusing Japan from taking responsibility for past wrongdoing.

In a statement released by the White House late Sunday, President Joe Biden called the plan a "groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States' closest allies."

Biden said the U.S. government is ready to assist Japan and South Korea to turn "this new understanding into enduring progress," and that measures to be taken by the two will help the three countries advance their "shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific."

The rapprochement has been seen as essential by the U.S. government to reinforce trilateral cooperation to curb North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, as well as China's military and technological advances.

Unlike previous breakthroughs, the deal struck this time by Seoul and Tokyo is likely to live on beyond their current leaders, Victor Cha, the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Christopher Johnstone, the Japan chair at the Washington-based think tank, said in a commentary.

The pair said the United States had been asked to stay out of the countries' reconciliation efforts and the absence of Washington's involvement would contribute to shielding the agreement from domestic criticism in its two allies.

The experts, both former senior U.S. officials, said there were two other reasons for optimism.

They noted that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who assumed office in May 2022, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are both early in their tenures and that they took a "political risk" as they agree on the strategic importance of closer ties in the face of more severe security challenges.

The relationship between the two U.S. allies has been overshadowed by a number of issues, mostly stemming from Japan's past colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

The wartime labor dispute intensified and brought the relationship to its lowest point in decades following South Korean top court rulings in 2018 that ordered two Japanese companies -- Nippon Steel Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. -- to pay damages to Korean plaintiffs for their forced labor during colonial rule.

That occurred under the previous administration of Moon Jae In, who upon taking office repudiated an agreement with Japan over the so-called comfort women issue. Unlike the latest breakthrough, the 2015 deal was concluded just months before the departure of Moon's predecessor.

Japan has maintained that all claims relating to colonization were settled "completely and finally" by a 1965 bilateral agreement.

The proposal, following consultations with Tokyo, to resolve the wartime labor dispute through a foundation has prompted criticism from the victims and groups supporting them, which have sought direct payments from the Japanese companies.

In response to the proposal, the Japanese government reaffirmed its past statements showing remorse over the colonization, and said it is prepared to lift export controls imposed in 2019 on materials vital to South Korea's semiconductor industry.

South Korean business circles largely welcomed both the proposal and the planned relaxation of export measures.

Asked what kind of role the United States may play in moving forward the relationship between Japan and South Korea, Price stopped short of elaborating, stressing instead that senior U.S. officials have already had about 25 trilateral engagements with the two countries over the course of the Biden administration.

The spokesman said their historical issues are "difficult" and "complex" but "we have sought from the earliest moments of this administration to deepen and to advance the trilateral relationship."

Related coverage:

Japan, South Korea move to solve wartime labor dispute, other concerns

FOCUS: Japan-S. Korea wartime labor row still far from fundamental solution
KYODO NEWS - Mar 7, 2023 - 15:49 | World, All, Japan

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday that China hopes for "friendship and good neighborliness" with Japan but warned Tokyo not to take part in a "new Cold War" led by Washington to exert pressure on Beijing.

"Should some people from the Japanese side choose the beggar-thy-neighbor approach rather than a friendly partnership and take part in a new Cold War to contain China, bilateral relations will only suffer new wounds when the old ones are yet to be healed," Qin said told a press conference in Beijing.

When asked about China's relations with Japan, Qin touched on historical issues, saying, "The immense sufferings imposed by the Japanese militarists on the Chinese nation are still painful today. The Chinese people will not forget this and the Japanese side must not forget."

The foreign minister expressed concern about Japan's plan to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, crippled in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, into the sea, saying it is "a major issue vital to the marine environment and human health."

"We urge the Japanese side to properly handle this matter in a responsible manner," Qin said at the press conference on the sidelines of China's annual congress to outline the policies of President Xi Jinping, who started a norm-breaking third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party.

On relations with the United States, Qin accused Washington of pursuing "hegemony" and "camp-based confrontation," and of seeking with its allies to contain China.

Regarding Taiwan, Qin said China will "continue to pursue peaceful reunification" with the self-governed island but added that Beijing retains "the option of taking all necessary measures."

He said no country, including the United States, has the right to interfere in Taiwan affairs.

The Taiwan issue is "the first red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations," said Qin, former ambassador to the United States who assumed the post of foreign minister in December.
Press Release

March 7, 2023 Tolentino urges academe officials to beef-up monitoring vs. 'non-recognized' school organizations MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino urged officials from the academe to beef-up its monitoring on the activities of 'non-recognized' organizations within their respective colleges and universities. Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights made the remarks following the upper house's inquiry on Tuesday in connection with the death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig who died due to hazing last month. "They could have monitored activities of non-recognized organizations. Tungkulin nila iyon eh. Makikita naman iyan, kumpol kumpol lagi iyan eh," said Tolentino during a press briefing right after the inquiry. According to Tolentino, although the school management of the Adamson University made it clear that fraternities like "Tau Gamma Phi" are supposedly banned in their campus, it seems that its underground chapter continues to conduct activities within the premises of the said educational institution. "We heard the President of Adamson University say that fraternities are banned in their university. However, also through Facebook, we see how the Triskelion-Adamson Chapter so freely conducts the activities of their organization within school premises," Tolentino stressed during the course of the Senate probe. Salilig, a chemical engineering student died last February 18 due to "severe blunt force trauma to the lower extremities" after his supposed initiation rites with other members Tau Gamma Phi-Adamson Chapter. The Zamboanga City native's decomposing body was found dumped in a vacant lot along Barangay Malagasang in Imus City, Cavite 10 days later. Tolentino explained that although the current Anti-Hazing Act of 2018 is stricter than the previous laws against hazing, the senator thinks that there is an urgent need to amend it and fine-tune some provisions--including the command responsibilities of the educational institutions--so that it will have enough teeth against future violators. "Ang kailangan lang po natin matukoy kung ano po talaga ang responsibilidad ng isang eskwelahan under that 'loco parentis' doctrine. Is it not the responsibility of educational institutions under RA 11053 to exercise reasonable supervision in loco parentis over the conduct of students?" said Tolentino "The line is murky in so far as school-based and organization-based or community-based. But the venue is still in far-flung barangays, yung walang nakakarinig, walang nakakakita," he added.
By Donican Lam, KYODO NEWS - Mar 7, 2023 - 10:57 | Feature, All, Japan

Scattering cremated remains in the sea or even burying them with planted trees have long been popular ways to send off the dead, but now loved ones can be remembered with a shooting star-like farewell, a journey to the moon or even an eternal voyage through deep space.

Thanks to a growing number of space burial services, taking life's symbolic final stage out of this world is not just science fiction. For Tomoko Kasai, a veteran of over three decades in the funeral industry and founder of a rare Japanese company offering such services, imagination is becoming a reality.

"I had been (in the funeral business) for 20 years but felt something was lacking. Then I remembered that as a child I wanted to become a star when I died, and got the idea of doing space burials. But I knew from the start that it couldn't be done in Japan," the 62-year-old said.

Kasai, who founded Space NTK in 2017, sought ways to realize her dream by traveling to the United States to give an impassioned speech at a space industry conference. There she met a Japanese engineer of SpaceX, the groundbreaking rocket and spacecraft maker founded by Elon Musk, and her plans were set into motion.

In the summer of 2020, Kasai received a call from none other than Musk -- or rather, his Japanese-speaking representative at SpaceX.

"I was told, Mr. Elon is next to me right now, and would like to help you scatter ashes in space. I was happy just being able to send a portion of a person's ashes, but Mr. Elon said a whole body's worth was also possible since (SpaceX's) rocket was big. Since Mr. Elon suggested it, I decided to do it," Kasai said.

Kasai soon signed a contract to put payloads aboard Falcon 9 as part of SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare Program, and in April 2022 Space NTK successfully conducted the first launch of its Magokoro satellite, jettisoning the remains of five people and five pets, as well as DNA and messages, around 500 to 600 kilometers above the Earth's surface, where they currently remain in orbit.

Space burials at Space NTK start at 550,000 yen ($4,000) for up to 50 grams of ashes, with a whole human body's worth of ashes, roughly 2 kilograms, starting from 7.7 million yen. The company also caters to pets.

Maki Tamura, whose rescue dog Isshin was among the ashes on board the April 2022 launch, said she wanted to use the unusual method of space burials to raise awareness for shelter dogs. But the poignant symbolism offered her comfort as well.

"By returning (Isshin) to the grand nature that is the universe, I feel like we will meet again after I die," Tamura said. "I now feel like I am being watched over by a beloved member of my family every time I look up at the night sky."

With Space NTK's next launch planned for late 2023, Kasai said she makes sure to personally take her customers' ashes to the United States, staying until the very last possible moment to ensure everything is in order.

"It is, of course, a huge responsibility that I cannot entrust to anyone else. As long as I am alive, I will take (the ashes) there personally," Kasai said.

After the rocket is launched and its second stage placed in Earth's orbit with the satellite attached, customers can see the position of their loved ones in real-time using a provided QR code. That is, until it reenters the atmosphere and burns up like a shooting star -- a journey that takes around five to seven years.

While this type of space burial does not add to the space junk problem above Earth, it could still cause issues as demand for unique end-of-life experiences continues to grow.

"Even if the remains are not in orbit for long, if hundreds or thousands of space burials are performed a year, those remains could very well constitute dangerous space debris," said Alexander Wagner, an assistant professor in astrophysics at the University of Tsukuba's Center for Computational Sciences.

One possible consequence of increased space debris is accelerating the degradation of the James Webb Space Telescope, which is "regularly pummeled by 'micrometeoroids'," he said.

But launching ashes to orbit above Earth is not the only space burial service on offer, with Space NTK also partnering with U.S. firm Space Perspective to hold living funerals -- known as "seizenso" in Japan.

This form of ceremony, held for an individual while they are still alive, is chosen by some elderly Japanese to lift the burden on their children of organizing a funeral after they die.

Kasai said that Space NTK has already reserved 64 seats with Space Perspective for trips in 2026 and 2027 to hold such funerals. The package, starting from $175,000 per person, includes the roundtrip flight to the United States for launch in Florida, a luxury hotel stay, and full Japanese-language support.

Unlike rockets, no special training is needed to ride in the stratospheric balloon-borne capsule that will take passengers on a six-hour trip to the edge of space above 99 percent of Earth's atmosphere and back.

"Anybody that is physically able to fly to the United States can go on this trip. People can go as a family, or even hold a wedding ceremony on board," said Kasai.

Space NTK is also currently accepting bookings for lunar burials to be held in late 2023 in collaboration with a Japanese company developing a moon rover -- something that has only been achieved by U.S. spaceflight company Celestis Inc. to date.

Celestis, which has completed memorial spaceflights for more than 1,000 families from over 20 countries since introducing the services in 1997, also plans to launch the first-ever memorial spaceflight to deep space as early as May 2023 with United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket, according to the company.

"The Enterprise Flight carrying its ashes, DNA, and Celestis MindFiles will be the first true outpost of humanity beyond the Earth-Moon system," a company spokesperson said.

Among the flight capsules that will enter a stable orbit around the Sun will be the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel, and Philip Chapman, the first Australian-born astronaut and a mission scientist for Apollo 14, according to a press release.

While the capsules will, in essence, embark on an eternal journey through interplanetary space, the universe and time will decide their fate. Wagner said that due to energy losses in the real world, "a real equilibrium, such as an indefinitely stable orbit, never really exists."

Still, for Kasai, the allure of space has not waned since childhood. Her dream of having her ashes sent into the grand vastness after she dies remains unchanged.

"In the end, I want to return to my place of origin. And I believe that place is not the earth or the sea, but the universe," she said.

Related coverage:

Japan billionaire Maezawa says K-pop star, 7 others to join Moon trip
KYODO NEWS - Mar 7, 2023 - 17:22 | All, Japan

Over 86 percent of people polled in a Japanese government survey released Tuesday said they see a danger of the country being involved in a war, a figure that is slightly up from the previous poll in 2018.

In the Cabinet Office survey, conducted between Nov. 17 and Dec. 25, 86.2 percent of the respondents said they see such danger or would say there is if they had to say, the highest figure since the 2009 survey when the response choices were changed to the current format. In the previous survey, 85.5 percent of the polled cited such a risk.

A Defense Ministry official said the respondents seem to believe there is a worsening security environment due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China's military moves in the East and South China seas and North Korea's repeated launches of ballistic missiles.

In a multiple-response question asking why they see such danger, 85.7 percent cited international tensions and conflicts, while 38.2 said the United Nations is not functioning sufficiently and 28.2 percent said Japan does not have sufficient defenses.

The survey also showed that fewer people were satisfied with the Self-Defense Forces' current capability at 53.0 percent, down from 60.1 percent in the previous survey in 2018, while 41.5 percent said they believe it should be enhanced, increasing from 29.1 percent in the 2018 poll. Some 3.6 percent said it should be reduced, down from 4.5 percent.

The survey took place around the time last year when the government updated the country's three key defense documents in which it pledged to enhance its deterrence by obtaining "counterstrike capabilities" to hit targets in enemy territory in case of emergency. Japan also committed to doubling its defense spending.

When asked which defense-related issues are of concern in a multiple-response question, North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles drew the highest number at 68.9 percent, followed by Japan's level of defense capabilities at 64.0 percent.

China's modernization of its military and its moves at sea around Japan was picked as concerning by 61.3 percent of the respondents and Russia's invasion of Ukraine by 52.1 percent.

In a new question about using cutting-edge science and technology developed by universities and private companies for defense purposes, 83.6 percent said they are in favor or are moderately so, while 15.1 percent said they are against the idea.

The Cabinet Office noted that the latest data cannot be compared directly with previous figures as the survey method shifted from in-person interviews to mail-in surveys due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Cabinet Office surveyed 3,000 men and women at least 18 years old, of whom 53.4 percent responded.

Related coverage:

Japan to build depots as likely sites for new missiles in Oita, Aomori

Japan to buy Tomahawks in one go from U.S. in FY 2023

Japan Cabinet OKs bill to help defense industry, tighten info security
BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The following are the schedules for the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Tuesday.

-- On Tuesday morning, NPC deputies will hold group meetings to deliberate the draft amendment to the Legislation Law.

-- At 3 p.m., the NPC session will hold its second plenary meeting to hear the work report of the NPC Standing Committee, the work report of the Supreme People's Court, the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and an explanation of the plan on the reform of State Council institutions.

-- At 9 a.m., the CPPCC session will hold its second plenary meeting to hear an explanation of the draft amendment to the CPPCC charter. In the afternoon, members of the CPPCC National Committee will sit in on the second plenary meeting of the NPC session as non-voting participants.

-- At 10 a.m., Foreign Minister Qin Gang will meet the press. 
JERUSALEM, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's former prime minister Yair Lapid and former defense minister Benny Gantz on Monday urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt his judicial overhaul plan, which sparked massive protests, and open a dialogue.

"In order to have honest and effective dialogue that will lead to preserving democracy and national unity, Netanyahu must announce a complete, comprehensive, and actual halt to the legislative process," Lapid and Gantz, leaders of two centrist opposition parties, said in a joint statement.

"Israel stands at the threshold of a national emergency and Netanyahu refuses to stop," the two former leaders warned, adding that every attempt to reach out and initiate talks with the religious-nationalist coalition government has failed.

Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the pro-settler Religious Zionism party and Israel's finance minister, denounced the statement by Lapid and Gantz as "politically motivated." In a statement, he said the two wish to topple the government and are not interested in a real dialogue.

Earlier in the day, Israeli President Isaac Herzog also called for a dialogue. In a statement, he said he has been working "behind the scenes" in an attempt to broker talks between the coalition and opposition on the suggested reforms. According to Herzog, the two sides were "closer than ever" to reach a compromise agreement on the controversial reform.

Netanyahu's new government, which was sworn-in in late December, is swiftly advancing a plan to overhaul the Israeli legal system.

The plan sparked the largest protests seen in Israel for years. Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets across Israel for the past two months, protesting the government's plans to put further limits on the Supreme Court and change the appointment of new judges.

According to Netanyahu, the overhaul is needed in order to curb the overly activist Supreme Court, but critics fear that Netanyahu, who is facing an ongoing graft trial, wishes to gain excessive power over the legal system. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday that it is unnecessary to be concerned about China's economic outlook.

Qin made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.

As China accelerates high-quality development, promotes high standard opening-up and fosters a new development paradigm, it will surely bring new opportunities to all countries in the world, especially regional countries, he said. 
TOKYO, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The president of Japan's space agency on Tuesday apologized for its new flagship H3 rocket being ordered to self-destruct after another major technical problem, raising questions over the country's future space missions.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) President Hiroshi Yamakawa apologized at a press conference, saying that the mission being aborted had "failed to meet the public's expectations."

The self-destruct order being issued to blow up the successor to the country's reliable H2A rocket, follows a similar order being issued for the agency's Epsilon-6 rocket last October just minutes after blastoff.

JAXA said of Tuesday's failure that the 57-meter rocket blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center launch site in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in the morning as scheduled, but was ordered to self-destruct minutes later because the second-stage engine failed to ignite.

Yamakawa said JAXA would "devote itself to finding out the cause of the issue and restoring public trust in the agency."

The launch of the H3 rocket has been delayed a number of times for multiple system glitches and bad weather.

On Feb. 17, JAXA said it scrapped the launch of the rocket after an electrical current from the airframe's battery to its main engine's control unit was cut for several seconds.

The latest in a string of delays to the rocket's maiden mission has now raised serious questions over the future of Japan's plans to be a viable contender in the competitive satellite launching business for domestic and international clients.

JAXA jointly developed the H3 rocket with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in the agency's first upgrade of its mainstay launch vehicle in around 20 years.

With revamp costs topping 200 billion yen (1.47 billion U.S. dollars), along with satellites, the new rocket has been designed to carry a cargo transporter capable of delivering supplies to the International Space Station and the planned Gateway lunar-orbiting outpost.

The H3 rocket can potentially carry a payload roughly 30 percent heavier than its predecessor, with launches estimated to cost 50 percent less.

It was supposed to put into orbit Tuesday an earth observation satellite called DAICHI-3, which was purportedly to be used to assist in disaster management situations.

But Katsuhiko Hara, a senior science ministry official, said at the JAXA press conference Tuesday that the latest failure would have a significant impact on the space program and pending the outcome of the investigation, its future plans would be carefully considered.

Keiko Nagaoka, minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, also expressed her disappointment and concern at the latest mishap, describing it as "extremely regrettable."

She said her ministry along with JAXA would "promptly and thoroughly determine what caused the failure."

The new rocket's H2A predecessor, since its introduction in 2001, failed only once in 46 launches, and had raised hopes for Japan to be a viable contender in the competitive and highly lucrative satellite launching business. 
COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber (at the podium and on screens) delivers a keynote address at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

HOUSTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber on Monday highlighted the need for unity and solidarity in tackling the energy trilemma and fighting the climate change.

"This is a global challenge that calls for global solutions from every stakeholder acting in unity and solidarity," he said in a keynote address at the CERAWeek, an influential global energy forum kicking off in the U.S. city of Houston on Monday.

"Let's unite a divided world with a COP of solidarity, a COP of action and a COP for all. All of us need to be pulling in the same direction. Because there is more energy in unity than division," he told the delegates.

The 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), later this year.

"By 2030, there will be an extra half a billion people living on the earth, demanding more energy every year. At the same time, the world needs to cut emissions by seven percent each year to keep 1.5 alive - that's 43 percent in less than seven years," said Al Jaber, also chief executive of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

"The entire financial community needs to play a bigger role. In 2022, the world invested $1.4T in the energy transition. According to the IEA, we need over three times that amount," he continued.

Meanwhile, Al Jaber noted that only 15 percent of clean tech investment reaches developing economies, where 80 percent of the global population live.

"That's why we need to think seriously about fundamental reform of IFIs and the multilateral banks to unlock concessional finance, lower risk and attract greater private investment," he said. "We must ensure that no one is left behind."

As mandated by the Paris Climate Agreement, COP28 UAE is expected to deliver the first ever global stocktake, a comprehensive evaluation of progress against climate goals.

"This year, the world will evaluate exactly where we are when it comes to climate progress through the first Global Stocktake. And we know we are way off track. We need a major course correction," said the COP28 president-designate.

When asked about what he hopes to achieve at COP28, Al Jaber outlined the key priorities across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, climate finance, and process innovation.

The term "loss and damage" in UN climate negotiations refers to expenses already incurred as a result of climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels or extreme heat waves.

"We want real results. The world must move from treaties to implementation. Solutions are needed inside and outside formal negotiations. It will also be a COP for all: inclusive of diverse stakeholders, accountable for commitments, and actionable on solutions," he said.

"Let's aim to achieve net-zero even earlier. Let's also scale up best practices to reach net-zero methane emissions by 2030," he said, adding that making a dent in the climate crisis is not just about decarbonizing oil and gas operations since aluminum, steel, cement, and many other heavy industries make up 30 percent of global emissions.

More than 7,000 participants including policymakers, industry leaders, company executives, investors and researchers from over 80 countries and regions around the world are expected to attend the five-day CERAWeek energy forum, according to S&P Global, the organizer. 

COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber (R) speaks at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Daniel Yergin, S&P Global Vice Chairman, speaks at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Participants attend the Innovation Agora at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Participants attend the Innovation Agora at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Participants attend a session of the Innovation Agora at the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Participants attend the Innovation Agora of the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)

Participants attend the Innovation Agora of the CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, the United States, on March 6, 2023. On the theme of "Navigating a Turbulent World: Energy, Climate and Security," the influential global energy forum CERAWeek kicked off here on Monday, focusing on the dual challenges of meeting the world's growing energy demand while reducing emissions. (Photo by Chen Chen/Xinhua)
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to work with Europe to uphold the real multilateralism, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- There is no shortage of kindness and goodwill in China's diplomacy, but in face of "jackals or wolves," Chinese diplomats would have no choice but to confront them head on to protect the motherland, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday, when refuting the claim that the country adopted the so-called "wolf warrior" diplomacy.

"The so-called 'wolf warrior' diplomacy is just a narrative trap," Qin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of China's national legislature.

Those who made up the term and set the trap either know little about China and the country's diplomacy or have a hidden agenda in disregard of facts, Qin added. 
DHAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in a massive explosion that took place in a commercial building in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday, officials said.

Bachchu Miah, chief of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's police outpost, told Xinhua that "10 bodies have been brought to the hospital from the explosion site."

Brigadier Gener Md Nazmul Haque, director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told journalists that more than 100 people were treated for their injuries in the hospital, with several of them in the intensive care unit.

Officials said at least 11 firefighting units are working at the site.

Because of the explosion, they said two buildings -- one seven-story and the other one five-story -- were damaged at the Siddique Bazar area in old Dhaka.

The incident occurred around 4:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the fire service control room said.

The blast occurred at the seven-floor building which housed several stores for sanitary items on the bottom floor.

The explosion also reportedly shattered the glass walls of a bank branch located in the building adjacent to it.

Apart from this, the incident damaged a passenger bus standing on the opposite side of the busy road.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately. 
Herdsmen use BeiDou-based intelligent grazing system to herd camels in Inner Mongolia

People's Daily Online) 14:45, March 06, 2023

Herdsmen in the Alxa League of north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have started to use an intelligent grazing system based on the countrys independently developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System to remotely graze and track camels.

The system enables herdsmen to monitor the real-time location and activities of the animals and find lost ones by using a smartphone app.

Wuni Menghe attaches a navigation collar to a camel. (Photo courtesy of Wuni Menghe)

In Alxa, a camel moves in a radius of 30 kilometers to 100 kilometers. Sometimes, a herdsman took several months or even more than a year to find a lost camel. Thanks to the intelligent grazing system, herdsmen can easily find lost camels, said Wuni Menghe, a researcher with a livestock workstation in Alxa Left Banner of Alxa League, and also the inventor of the intelligent grazing system.

People need such a system, and pastoral areas need to pursue development, said the researcher who has been engaged in animal husbandry for more than 40 years, adding that Alxa is large but sparsely populated, and what strikes him the most is that farmers and herdsmen are eager to share the benefits of the countrys reform and opening-up.

Alxa League is also one of the areas most affected by water scarcity in China and the hospitable area in the league accounts for only 6 percent of its total area, which poses a challenge to herdsmen who dwell in scattered areas as they need more grasslands to meet the needs of livestock farming and protect the local ecology. In the past, they had some difficulty accessing telecommunications services.

Wuni Menghe began to develop the intelligent grazing system suitable for camels in 2000. Using the Internet of Things (IoT), information such as herds information and movement are connected to monitoring equipment to realize intelligent identification, positioning, tracking, monitoring and management. The system can identify remote grazing areas while providing automatic data, a real-time grasp of pasture information, and timely acquisition of unusual and abnormal conditions.

Photo shows camels, one of which is attached with a navigation collar, drinking water. (Photo courtesy of Wuni Menghe)

Facts have proven that camel herders can save at least 50 percent of grazing time and grazing costs of at least 5,000 yuan ($723) per year.

Tumen Bateer is one of the beneficiaries of the intelligent grazing system. He raises over 100 camels on a desert pasture covering over 60,000 mu (4,000 hectares) in Alxa Right Banner but lives in Badain Jaran town which is over 100 kilometers away from his pasture. Thanks to over 10 navigation collars attached to my camel herds, I can receive their position information on my mobile phone regularly, the herder said.

Over 500 herding households like Tumen Bateers family in Alxa have used more than 2,000 sets of Beidou positioning equipment to manage 20,000 to 30,000 camels.

In addition to the intelligent grazing system, Wuni Menghe also took the lead in developing an intelligent drinking water system. Based on the systems, a project of intelligent management of ecological animal husbandry on the Alxa desert grassland was selected as an outstanding case for national intelligent agriculture development in 2022.

In a village nestled deep in the Badain Jaran Desert, 12 herding households, including Jiri Geres family, stay connected to Wi-Fi signals from tens of kilometers away thanks to Wuni Menghe. Now we can have a video chat smoothly and attach navigation collars to camels, the man said.

File photo shows people installing facilities that enable herdsmen to have access to internet services. (Photo/Jiri Gele)

According to Jiri Gere, the 12 herding households could only contact one another through interphones in the past because there were neither internet services nor cellphone signals. He said that optical fiber and 4G networks were established 80 kilometers from the village in 2019. One year later, Jiri Geres home got access to internet services.

Wuni Menghe said so far, over 1,000 herding households have had access to Wi-Fi signals, which enables them to use the intelligent grazing system and the intelligent drinking water system.

Alxas successful experience has been extended to other areas of Inner Mongolia, as well as Gansu and Qinghai provinces in northwest China.

File photo shows people building facilities that enable herdsmen to have access to internet services. (Photo/Jiri Gele)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Press Release

March 7, 2023 Bill condoning loans of agrarian reform beneficiaries approved The Senate on Monday, March 6, 2023, voted to approve on third and final reading a bill, which seeks to free farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) from the burden of debt. Senate Bill No. 1850 proposes to condone all principal and interests of loans from the award of agricultural lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as of December 31, 2022. "Many farmers who were beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program have been waiting for their titles but they have been saddled by issues on how to pay their loans' annual amortization, interests, including penalties and surcharges, which hinder their full ownership over their land. Without land in their name, these farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, and principal sponsor of the bill, said. Once enacted into law, ?57.5 billion principal debt of more than 610,054 ARBs, tilling a total of 1,173,101.57 hectares of agrarian reform lands would be written off. The principal loan of ?14.5 billion of 263,622 ARBs, tilling 409,206.91 hectares of agrarian reform lands, whose names and other loan details were already submitted by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to Congress, would be condoned outright. The inclusion of the remaining ?43.057 billion loan would take effect only upon submission by the LBP and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of details of the indebtedness to government of the 346,432 ARBs, tilling 763,894.66 hectares of agrarian reform lands. "This bill seeks to help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," Villar said. Villar added that condoning farmers' amortization "will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy, improve the lives and that of their families, reduce poverty, accelerate rural development and promote food security." Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva in co-sponsoring the measure, said the emancipation of agrarian reform beneficiaries from the debt burden is "necessary if we are to seriously address rural poverty and improve the lives of Filipino farmers." He said the passage of the bill shows how the Senate recognizes the urgency of addressing the concerns of the agriculture sector. "It is our hope that this important measure will help end the cyclical and generational poverty among our ARBs. The condonation of a total of P57.557 billion principal debt of 610,054 ARBs tilling a total of 1.17 million hectares shall emancipate them from debt burden and shall help them refocus their resources and energies instead to increasing their productivity and improving their lives," Villanueva said. The bill is also co-sponsored and co-authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Sens. Sonny Angara, Francis Escudero, Imee Marcos, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Manuel Lapid, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr, Christopher Lawrence Go, and Robinhood Padilla. Bill sa pag-condone ng utang ng agrarian reform beneficiaries inaprubahan Inaprubahan ng Senado noong Lunes sa third at final reading ang bill kung saan wala nang babayarang utang ang mga magsasaka at agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB). Ipinanukala sa Senate Bill No. 1850 na hindi na kailangang magbayad ng utang at interes ang mga nabigyan sakahang lupa sa ilalim ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program noong December 31, 2022. "Many farmers who were beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program have been waiting for their titles but they have been saddled by issues on how to pay their loans' annual amortization, interests, including penalties and surcharges, which hinder their full ownership over their land. Without land in their name, these farmers cannot access credit as they lack collateral to secure the same," ayon kay Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson ng Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, at principal sponsor ng bill. Kapag naisabatas, mawawala ang ?57.5 billion principal ng 610,054 ARBs na nagsasaka sa 1,173,101.57 ektarya ng agrarian reform lands. Mawawala na rin ang principal loan na ?14.5 billion ng 263,622 ARBs na nagsasaka sa 409,206.91 ektarya ng agrarian reform lands. Naisumite na ng Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) sa Kongreso ang pangalan at iba pang detalye ng utang ng mga ito. Mapapasama ang natitirang ?43.057 billion utang kapag naisumite ng LBP at Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) ang detalye ng pagkakautang sa pamahalaan ng 346,432 ARBs na sumasaka sa 763,894.66 ektarya ng agrarian reform lands. "This bill seeks to help alleviate the plight of ARBs, who are farmers; for them to recover and overcome the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the devastating African swine fever, the ongoing avian influenza, the increasing cost of fertilizer, fuel, and other farm inputs, and climate change," sabi ni Villar. Dagdag pa ni Villar, "condoning farmers' amortization will provide them much-needed financial resources that shall help them develop their farms, increase their productivity, and advance an agriculture-driven economy, improve the lives and that of their families, reduce poverty, accelerate rural development and promote food security." Bilang co-sponsor ng bill, sinabi ni Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva na ang pagpapakawala ng ARBs mula sa kanilang utang ay kailangan kung kailangan nating seryosong tugunan ang rural poverty at mapabuti ang buhay ng Filipino farmers. "The passage of the bill shows how the Senate recognizes the urgency of addressing the concerns of the agriculture sector," giit ni Villanueva. "It is our hope that this important measure will help end the cyclical and generational poverty among our ARBs. The condonation of a total of P57.557 billion principal debt of 610,054 ARBs tilling a total of 1.17 million hectares shall emancipate them from debt burden and shall help them refocus their resources and energies instead to increasing their productivity and improving their lives," ayon pa sa senador. Co-sponsor at co-author din ng bill sina Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Sens. Sonny Angara, Francis Escudero, Imee Marcos, Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Manuel "Lito" Lapid, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr, Christopher Lawrence Go, at Robinhood Padilla.
Swans are seen at a wetland in Pinglu, north China's Shanxi Province, Dec. 13, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhan Yan)

TAIYUAN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- About 16,000 white swans that migrated to a wetland in north China's Shanxi Province for winter, are now returning to Siberia due to a rise in local temperatures.

Swans are listed as a national second-level protected animal in China and are considered globally vulnerable species.

"Every year between late February and early March, the swans will choose to migrate north when the maximum temperature rises to above 10 degrees Celsius," said Wang Chao, head of the wildlife conservation station of Pinglu County, Shanxi.

In 2012, Pinglu was named "China's Swan County" by the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

The swans were seen practicing taking off, landing and flying after spending more than four months at Pinglu Yellow River Wetland.

"Because of the long journey, the swans' flight will consume a lot of energy. So before returning north, they have to do a lot of flying practice to ensure their successful flight back to Siberia," said He Jianxi, a patroller at Pinglu Yellow River Wetland.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the wetland's ecological environment, the number of white swans wintering there annually has topped 10,000.

The wetland, covering over 6,000 hectares, has a pleasant climate and abundant food, and is one of China's three major winter habitats for white swans. 
ANKARA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye's opposition bloc announced Monday a presidential candidate to run against the incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May elections.

Following hours-long negotiations, the six-party Nation Alliance picked Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition party, as their joint candidate, Felicity Party head Temel Karamollaoglu told a gathering in the capital Ankara.

Addressing the alliance's supporters, Republican People's Party leader Kilicdaroglu promised to appoint prominent bloc members as vice presidents if he was elected, including two party rivals and leaders of other allied parties.

The decision was made after Kilicdaroglu's major rivals, Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, said they would endorse his candidacy, saving the bloc from dissolution.

Earlier, Iyi Party leader Meral Aksener threatened to quit the bloc if it did not pick Imamoglu and Yavas, who serves as mayor of Istanbul and Ankara and are seen as hopefuls with larger voter base. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Should some people from the Japanese side choose the beggar-thy-neighbor approach rather than pursue a friendly partnership, and take part in a new Cold War to contain China, the bilateral relations would only suffer new wounds when the old ones are yet to be healed, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday. 
Zeren Zhima, chief designer of the application system for China's first seismo-electromagnetic satellite, the Zhangheng 1, speaks in an interview with Xinhua at the National Institute of Nature Hazards in Beijing, China, Feb. 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Yanan)

by Xinhua writers Yuan Quan, Jia Zhao

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Many people, when asked to picture a Tibetan woman, will think of a weaver, a shepherdess or someone who performs folk dancing in music videos. However, Zeren Zhima does not conform to any of these stereotypes.

This slender woman is often spotted carrying a heavy laptop with complicated diagrams and curves displayed on the screen. She spends hours every day typing computer code and processing mass data received from a satellite 500 km away. Despite her origins in a remote area of the Tibetan countryside, Zeren now works at the cutting edge of modern science, specializing in the physics of the Earth and space.

Working at the National Institute of Nature Hazards, Zeren is the chief designer of the application system for China's first seismo-electromagnetic satellite, the Zhangheng 1. In service for five years, the satellite, which was named after an ancient Chinese seismograph inventor, has provided a large amount of scientific data on earthquakes around the globe.

Before a quake, movements of rocks deep below ground generate electromagnetic waves, which can travel through the air and even space. The Zhangheng 1 satellite was designed to capture the electromagnetic signals and send them back to Earth. By analyzing the data, scientists can trace the electromagnetic circumstances of previous shaking events and identify natural laws that will eventually help forecast impending quakes.

While using a space satellite to measure the shaking of the Earth's surface sounds cool, it can also be challenging. Many countries have launched similar satellites before, but they have all been retired from service. Zeren says it may take years before scientists can realize the goal of predicting earthquakes, but she doesn't regret undertaking such a task, as the work could save many people from disaster.

The desire to perform good deeds was nurtured in Zeren's mind from an early age. She was born into a rural family in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, in 1976. At that time, local women were destined to do farm work. But Zeren's parents did not want her to be reconciled to such a life. Her father, a voluntary school teacher, made sure his two daughters studied hard so that they could leave the countryside.

Zeren did not let her parents down. In her county's school graduation exams, she scored the highest marks, and was admitted to a college of disaster prevention technology in Beijing.

Her hometown is located in a zone prone to natural disasters, such as quakes, forest fires and landslides. She witnessed some terrible catastrophes in her youth.

"My parents always taught me to give a helping hand when people are in trouble," Zeren said. "I think that pursuing studies in disaster prevention means putting this idea into practice, which can benefit a lot of people."

However, coming from a simple rural environment, it took her some time to adapt to modern urban life. "I didn't know how to use a telephone or how to take the subway," Zeren said, recalling her early years in Beijing.

Added to which, she could not speak Mandarin very well and suffered from dyslexia. She had to work extra hard to overcome her various difficulties.

She practiced Mandarin pronunciation by reading newspapers out loud for hours, and immersed herself in piles of tapes and books to train in English listening and speaking skills. With two years of hard work, she became a straight-A student at the disaster prevention college.

In 1999, Zeren took her next step, pursuing a bachelor's degree at Guizhou Normal University in southwest China. She majored in computer science, a popular subject back then due to the rise of the internet in China. She was good at math and got offers of web engineering jobs from several foreign companies. But Zeren turned them down and chose instead to study geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

At the country's highest academic institution in natural sciences, the workload was heavy, and she suffered from depression as a result. However, what kept her going was her original aspiration to devote her life to the welfare of others.

She received her master's degree in 2005 and found a job at the Institute of Earthquake Forecasting of the China Earthquake Administration. Three years later, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan County, causing widespread devastation. The "Zhangheng 1" project was raised on the agenda.

In 2009, Zeren took on two challenging responsibilities, becoming a key member of the research project while giving birth to a baby girl. She was able to balance the duties of mother and scientist largely due to the support of her family, with the mother-in-law taking on some childcare tasks.

Aware of the need for an interdisciplinary background, Zeren began to apply for doctoral studies in space physics. Juggling motherhood with in-depth research, she finally obtained a Ph.D. from Beihang University in 2014 after two failed attempts.

In her senior thesis, she thanked her parents-in-law, husband and daughter, saying that her family had provided the strong support necessary for her career.

The Zhangheng 1 satellite was launched in February 2018. Over the past five years, it has racked up numerous achievements, including obtaining global space electromagnetic field data, strengthening the monitoring of space weather events, and offering support for research into earthquake forecasting.

Zeren's team is now planning the second Zhangheng 1 satellite, followed by others that will eventually form a constellation of satellites.

She stressed that scientific research needs to be practical and realistic. Forecasting earthquakes is fundamental research requiring patience and persistence.

"We would rather spend decades on the research than rush ahead seeking quick results," she said.

The Wenchuan earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008. Since then, the National Disaster Prevention and Reduction Day has been observed each year on May 12. The room number of Zeren's office is 512. She said it acted as a reminder of her mission to help predict earthquakes and prevent such disasters in the future.

In the run-up to International Women's Day on March 8, Zeren's story has come under the spotlight, providing an example of the varied and important work women are doing in the modern world.

In pondering the reasons for her success, she said she kept her sights on "surpassing my previous self and fulfilling my potential."

She is also mindful of her parents' priceless guidance on the value of doing things for the well-being of others.

"I am glad of having a science career that can protect people's lives and safety," Zeren said. 
Spring is arguably the best time of year to visit Tianmen Mountain in central China. Seasonal temperatures create one of nature's most stunning natural phenomena, transforming the forest park into a Chinese ink painting.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council, the cabinet, on Tuesday unveiled a plan on reforming its institutions.

The plan was submitted to the first session of the 14th National People's Congress for deliberation.

Explaining the plan to national lawmakers, State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council Xiao Jie said the State Council institutional reform focuses on optimizing and adjusting the responsibilities of institutions in key areas such as science and technology, financial supervision, data management, rural revitalization, intellectual property rights, and elderly care.

The following are the highlights of the plan:

-- MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The ministry will be restructured to better allocate resources to overcome challenges in key and core technologies, and move faster toward greater self-reliance in science and technology.

The restructured ministry will play a bigger role in improving a new system for mobilizing the nation to make technological breakthroughs, optimizing sci-tech innovation, facilitating the application of sci-tech advances, and coordinating science and technology with economic and social development.

Its macro management functions in science and technology-related strategic planning, institutional reforms, allocation of resources, comprehensive coordination, formulating policies and regulations, and supervision and inspection will also be strengthened.

-- NATIONAL FINANCIAL REGULATORY ADMINISTRATION

China will set up a national financial regulatory administration. Directly under the State Council, the proposed administration will be in charge of regulating the financial industry except the securities sector.

It will be established on the basis of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which will not be retained. Certain functions of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will be transferred to the new administration.

-- LOCAL FINANCIAL REGULATORY MECHANISM REFORM

China will deepen the reform of its local financial regulatory mechanism.

To do that, China will develop a local financial regulatory mechanism with agencies dispatched by central financial regulators as the mainstay.

The institutional structure and resources of these dispatched agencies will be optimized in a coordinated manner.

-- SECURITIES REGULATORY AGENCY

The CSRC will become a government agency -- rather than a public institution -- directly under the State Council.

-- CENTRAL BANK'S LOCAL BRANCHES

China will advance the reform of the branches of the PBOC, or the central bank.

-- STATE-OWNED FINANCIAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

China will improve the regulatory mechanism on state-owned financial capital.

-- STAFF MANAGEMENT OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS

China will unify and standardize the management of the staff of financial regulators.

-- DATA MANAGEMENT

China will establish a national data bureau.

The proposed bureau, to be administered by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), will be responsible for advancing the development of data-related fundamental institutions, coordinating the integration, sharing, development and application of data resources, and pushing forward the planning and building of a Digital China, the digital economy and a digital society, among others.

Certain functions of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the NDRC will be transferred to the new bureau.

-- RURAL REVITALIZATION

China will improve the functions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

-- ELDERLY-CARE WORK

China will improve its elderly-care work mechanism to implement the proactive national strategy in response to population aging and to expand the basic elderly-care services to cover all senior citizens.

-- IPR MANAGEMENT

China will improve the management mechanism for intellectual property rights (IPR) to upgrade IPR creation, application, protection and management.

The China National Intellectual Property Administration, currently administered by the State Administration for Market Regulation, will be adjusted into an institution directly under the State Council, a move aimed at adapting to the demand of building a country of innovation.

-- NATIONAL PUBLIC COMPLAINTS AND PROPOSALS ADMINISTRATION

The administration will become an institution directly under the State Council from one under the general office of the State Council, aiming to strengthen and improve the handling of public petitions and better safeguard the interests of the people.

-- CENTRAL-LEVEL STATE INSTITUTION STAFF MANAGEMENT

China's state institutions at the central level will downsize their staff by 5 percent.

The State Council will still consist of 26 departments besides its general office after the reform plan is implemented. 
HAVANA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese economy is one of the engines of the global economy, and China's 3 percent GDP increase in 2022 is important to the world economy, a Cuban scholar has said.

China's economic growth demands a considerable amount of raw materials and products, which will boost the world economy's growth, Eduardo Regalado, a researcher at the International Policy Research Center of Cuba, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Global institutions have heightened their projections for China's economic revival. In January, the International Monetary Fund increased its estimate for China's economic growth this year to 5.2 percent, up 0.8 percentage points from last October.

"The whole world is waiting for the moment China's economic rate accelerates at its normal pace once the impact of the pandemic has been overcome and global value chains articulated again," he said, adding that China is one of the main economic partners of Latin American countries that rely on exports the most.

"Many of these countries are very dependent on exports to China. That is why the Chinese economy's performance is strategic," the scholar said.

As for Cuba, Regalado said, China is one of the fundamental economic partners of the Caribbean nation, which has contributed to strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese courts and prosecuting agencies will strive to serve Chinese modernization, particularly the country's high-quality development, Chief Justice Zhou Qiang and Procurator-general Zhang Jun said Tuesday.

Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), delivers a work report of the SPC at the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

A justice system with modernized capacity will contribute to Chinese modernization and provide powerful judicial services for building a modern socialist country in all respects, Zhou said when delivering a work report of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) at the ongoing session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

The country's high-quality development needs high-quality judicial service, Zhou added.

The SPC plans to issue guidelines to improve business environment for the private sector. Chinese courts will take resolute actions to protect legitimate property rights and interests of private businesses and entrepreneurs, according to the SPC report.

Judicial policies will be upgraded in terms of property rights, market access, fair competition and social credit to facilitate the development of a national unified market, while judicial protection of intellectual property rights will be intensified and actions taken to contain monopoly and unfair competition. Courts will also better serve the country's higher-level opening up by building the capacity of foreign-related justice system.

Zhang Jun, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), delivers a work report of the SPP at the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

When reporting the work of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) at the NPC session on the same day, Zhang also pledged that prosecuting agencies will fully leverage the rule of law to facilitate high-quality development.

Serious economic crimes will be punished to the full extent of the law, and prosecuting agencies will support innovation-driven development and enhance protection on intellectual property rights, Zhang said.

Both courts and prosecuting agencies have made notable progress in serving the country's economic development over the past five years, in terms of business environment, economic security, market competition and higher-level opening-up.

From 2018 to 2022, wrong verdicts of 209 major criminal cases involving property rights had been corrected, and 290 business operators acquitted.

"All enterprises were treated equally no matter whether they are state-owned or private, domestic or foreign-funded, small or big," Zhou said.

During the same period, courts across the country concluded 95,000 foreign-related commercial cases and 76,000 maritime cases. A total of 10 special courts were established to handle international commercial disputes.

China prosecuted 13,000 people over crimes concerning the rights of trademarks, patents, copyrights and commercial secrets in 2022, a 51.2-percent rise from 2018, according to Zhang.

Over the past five years, a total of 621,000 people were prosecuted over disruption of market and economic order, up 32.3 percent from the previous five years.

Prosecuting agencies also endeavored to protect the legitimate rights of both Chinese and foreign parties when handling more than 20,000 foreign-related criminal cases in the five years.

High-quality development in China is in great need of supports and services from judicial agencies, and the agencies should also continue streamlining and reforming themselves, said Tang Weijian, a professor with the law school of Renmin University of China.

"I believe that the prospect for socialist rule of law in China will have a brighter future, and so is Chinese modernization," said Tang, also a deputy to the 14th NPC. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator on Tuesday expounded on the defining requirements of the people's congress system.

Delivering a work report at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th NPC, said the people's congresses must uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The legislative bodies must adhere to the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics, and remain committed to the major concept of whole-process people's democracy and the people's congress system, Li said.

They are also obliged to adhere to the nation's fundamental tasks, development path, and goals as written in the Constitution, Li added.

The ongoing annual session of the NPC, which started on March 5, will run through March 13. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China's tea exports logged stable growth in 2022, data from the General Administration of Customs shows.

The country exported 375,300 tonnes of tea last year, up 1.59 percent year on year, according to the administration.

In breakdown, green tea exports stood at 313,900 tonnes, amounting to 83.6 percent of China's total tea exports. The exports of black tea and oolong tea accounted for 8.9 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively.

East China's Fujian Province ranked first in the country in terms of tea export value, accounting for 25.52 percent of the country's total, the data also reveals. 
The Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia supported the first hearing of the bills "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" and "On Registration of Foreign Agents" initiated by People's Power."Here there is no talk of referring to individuals as agents, and in no case talk with something stigmatizing and in a negative context. No specific person is referred to, as if the specific person were an agent. This does not happen. Regarding the terminology, other issues, we will have a discussion on these issues within the second hearing and only on the principle that it is important for us to ensure transparency, that awareness is an important component in a democratic society, with these principles we propose to support both bills.Also, both draft laws should be sent to the Venice Commission and in accordance with the recommendations issued by the Venice Commission, which should be consistent with the Constitution of Georgia, we should discuss further issues. Both projects were unanimously supported by those present at the committee," said MP Anri Okhanashvili.Simultaneously with the consideration of the draft laws, the protest took place outside the parliament where the opposition MPs along with civilians protested the 'Foreign Influence Agents' law. Before the start of the hearing, a physical fight broke out in the meeting hall, later the opposition MPs were dismissed from the committee room by force.The Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck at the opening ceremony of ITB Berlin said that Georgia wants to move towards Europe and that Europe is waiting for Georgia.In his speech, the German Vice-Chancellor talked about the events of 2008 and said that Georgia also suffered from Russia which Ukraine is now facing."I remember when I traveled to Georgia, I will say more about it later, but you know what I remember, I think it was during the Covid period, I was in Georgia, I remembered the events of 2008. I know that Georgia also experienced what Ukraine is facing now from Russia. I was in your country four years ago. I thought it was a very distant past, but the same aggression has returned to the world. We must understand these events. "When we think about everything that Russia did in Georgia in 2008, it was probably a sign that showed that the Russian leader Putin has become a tyrant, and we all see that the current problems that are happening in Ukraine started in Georgia from the Russian side," stated Habeck.
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that China has not provided any weapons to either side of the Ukraine conflict.

China is not the creator of the crisis, nor a party directly concerned, Qin said. 
Demonstrators light a bonfire during a blockade as part of the movement against the government pension reform plan in Le Havre, northwestern France, on March 8, 2023. Fuel shipments were suspended in all refineries across France on Tuesday as a nationwide strike was mobilized against the government pension reform plan, but fuel suppliers excluded severe impact on service stations. (Photo by Glenn Gervot/Xinhua)

PARIS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Fuel shipments are suspended in all refineries across France on Tuesday as a nationwide strike was mobilized against the government pension reform plan, but fuel suppliers excluded severe impact on service stations.

"The strike started everywhere ... with shipments blocked at the exit of all the refineries this morning," France's largest union the General Confederation of Labour was cited by the French daily Le Figaro on Tuesday.

However, Frederic Plan, general delegate of the French Federation of Fuels and Heating, told the French radio FranceInfo in the morning that the block of fuel deliveries from refineries would not have a severe impact on service stations.

He said the energy management had prepared for this kind of situation with strategic stocks.

"We confirm that there is no lack of fuel in our stations. In addition, stocks in depots and service stations are at a high level," France's largest fuel company Total Energies also said on Tuesday, assuring that its teams were mobilized to meet an as-usual or even surplus demand.

Main French unions have called on workers to "bring France to a halt in all sectors on March 7" in order to protest against the long-disputed pension reform.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne laid out details of the pension reform plan in January, which would progressively raise the legal retirement age by three months a year from 62 to 64 by 2030, and introduce a guaranteed minimum pension.

Under the plan, it would require at least 43 years of work to be eligible for a full pension starting in 2027. 

Demonstrators maintain a blockade as part of the movement against the government pension reform plan in Le Havre, northwestern France, on March 8, 2023. Fuel shipments were suspended in all refineries across France on Tuesday as a nationwide strike was mobilized against the government pension reform plan, but fuel suppliers excluded severe impact on service stations. (Photo by Glenn Gervot/Xinhua)

Demonstrators light a bonfire during a blockade as part of the movement against the government pension reform plan in Le Havre, northwestern France, on March 8, 2023. Fuel shipments were suspended in all refineries across France on Tuesday as a nationwide strike was mobilized against the government pension reform plan, but fuel suppliers excluded severe impact on service stations. (Photo by Glenn Gervot/Xinhua)

Demonstrators maintain a blockade as part of the movement against the government pension reform plan in Le Havre, northwestern France, on March 8, 2023. Fuel shipments were suspended in all refineries across France on Tuesday as a nationwide strike was mobilized against the government pension reform plan, but fuel suppliers excluded severe impact on service stations. (Photo by Glenn Gervot/Xinhua)
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a press conference Tuesday on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.

Qin is expected to answer questions of journalists from home and abroad on China's foreign policy and foreign relations. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (2nd L, rear) attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Journalists work at a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

A journalist asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

A journalist with Xinhua News Agency asks a question during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Journalists raise hands to ask questions during a press conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (C, rear) attends a press conference on China's foreign policy and foreign relations on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
TEHRAN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that during the recent visit by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Tehran, a new chapter was opened in the cooperation between Iran and the agency.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference, saying that "good agreements" were reached between Tehran and the IAEA during Grossi's visit.

The Iranian spokesman lauded Grossi's trip as extension of Iran's "active diplomacy" with the agency, expressing hope that such efforts would prepare the ground for the resolution of technical differences.

Kanaani said Iran expects the IAEA to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations and defend the member states' nuclear rights.

He said in view of the agreements reached between Iran and the IAEA in Tehran, it is expected that the ongoing meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors would reflect a technical trend free from "politicization of the issues and political pressures by certain sides."

In reference to the talks on the revival of a 2015 nuclear deal, Kanaani said although no official and overt negotiations have been held between Iran and the United States, the two sides are exchanging messages, and the European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is among the channels through which messages are exchanged.

He said Grossi's visit to Iran was part of efforts to pave the way for all parties' return to the nuclear deal.

In the joint statement issued at the end of Grossi's two-day visit on Saturday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and IAEA said they have reached a consensus that their interactions should be carried out "in a spirit of collaboration and in full conformity with the competencies of the IAEA and Iran's rights and obligations."

In recent months, the IAEA had criticized Iran for its lack of cooperation with the agency.

In November last year, 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 "uranium traces."

Iran has repeatedly rejected such allegations and emphasized the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough has been achieved after the latest round of talks in August 2022. 
DHAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- "China and Bangladesh are natural cooperation partners," the newly-appointed Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen said here on Tuesday.

"The potential of China-Bangladesh relations is unlimited," he said at a welcome reception held in his honor at the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Tuesday night.

"There are no unresolved disputes or historical burdens between us."

Yao said the cooperation on economy, trade and mega projects serves as the pillar of the bilateral relations, he said, adding, "The China-Bangladesh cooperation improves well-beings of our two peoples."

A good number of roads, bridges, power plants, ports and other infrastructure projects have been completed, which have reshaped the landscape of Bangladesh, provided more than 1 million jobs, and promoted socio-economic development as well as people's livelihood in Bangladesh, he said.

China and Bangladesh would also closely cooperate and coordinate on regional and multilateral affairs, so as to inject more stability and certainty into this uncertain and unstable world, Yao noted.

"As close neighbors, the people of the two countries enjoy a natural sense of intimacy and similar ideas and values," he said, adding that he is confident that China-Bangladesh relations will set a good example for developing countries to understand, trust and support each other.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, Chief of Army Staff General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed and Secretary (West) of Foreign Ministry Shabbir Ahmad Chowdhury, along with over 400 dignitaries attended the reception. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that on the Ukraine crisis, China chooses peace over war, dialogue over sanction, and lowering the temperature over fanning the flame.

China always makes a conclusion independently based on the merits of the matter, Qin told a press conference on the sidelines of China's annual legislative session. 
BAGHDAD, March 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived unannounced in Baghdad on Tuesday to discuss the fight against the extremist Islamic State (IS) militant group and expand the partnership with Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani met with the U.S. delegation, where the two officials "discussed the cooperation between Iraq and the United States, the performance of the Iraqi forces in combating terrorism and pursuing the terrorist militants of the IS group," the president's media office said in a statement.

Al-Sudani affirmed that Iraq pursues balanced relations regionally and internationally on the basis of common interests and respect for sovereignty.

The stability of Iraq "is the key to the security and stability of the region because of its role in bringing views closer and easing tensions in the region," he added.

For his part, Austin said the United States looks forward to strengthening relations with Iraq and developing their partnerships in various fields, according to the statement.

At a news conference in the Iraqi capital, Austin said U.S. forces in Iraq are remaining "at the invitation of the government of Iraq," adding these forces are operating non-combat, providing advice to assist and support the Iraq-led fight against terrorism.

Austin's visit to Iraq came days before the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, which toppled former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday called on the international community to stay united.

With solidarity and cooperation, the world can beat COVID-19, address climate change, tackle the deficit in peace, development, security and governance, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, Qin said at a press conference. 
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday that the Ukraine crisis is in essence an eruption of problems in European security governance. 
LOS ANGELES, March 6 (Xinhua) -- NASA plans to launch a new science mission to the International Space Station in March on studying heart diseases, life in space and more, the agency announced on Monday.

It will be NASA's 27th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. The mission, carried by the uncrewed Dragon spacecraft, will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will conduct research including examining how the heart changes in space, testing a student-designed camera mount, comparing surfaces that control biofilm formation, and studying life in space, according to NASA. 
Qabil Ashirov

ASK Glass, which used to be under Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation, became Garadagh Glass Joint Stock Company for the purpose of further privatization, Azernews reports citing Head of the Privatization Department of the State Service on Property Issues under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy Aziz Mirzayev.

According to him, 85 percent of the company's shares will be put up for investment competition.

"Currently, a privatization commission has been set up, which is involved in preparing a draft investment competition and determining its amount and conditions. After all these procedures are completed, the competition will be announced. Thus, the independent auditor determined the charter capital of the new joint-stock company as AZN36m ($21m). Some 15 percent of the company's shares will be offered to employees of the joint-stock company on preferential terms, Aziz Mirzayev said.

Aziz Mirzayev also noted that Garadag Glass signed a contract for the production of 30m glass containers in 2023 and the company produces glass containers for various purposes for different companies, including Aznar, AzGranata, Sirab, Azersun, Badamli.

"The enterprise can process 120 tons of glass per day, and annual production is 80-100 million bottles. The company has installed Italian and Czech equipment. Last year, the joint-stock company signed an agreement with Coca-Cola company on the production of glass bottles, he added.




TAIYUAN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- About 16,000 white swans that migrated to a wetland in north China's Shanxi Province for winter, are now returning to Siberia due to a rise in local temperatures.

Swans are listed as a national second-level protected animal in China and are considered globally vulnerable species.

"Every year between late February and early March, the swans will choose to migrate north when the maximum temperature rises to above 10 degrees Celsius," said Wang Chao, head of the wildlife conservation station of Pinglu County, Shanxi.

In 2012, Pinglu was named "China's Swan County" by the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

The swans were seen practicing taking off, landing and flying after spending more than four months at Pinglu Yellow River Wetland.

"Because of the long journey, the swans' flight will consume a lot of energy. So before returning north, they have to do a lot of flying practice to ensure their successful flight back to Siberia," said He Jianxi, a patroller at Pinglu Yellow River Wetland.

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the wetland's ecological environment, the number of white swans wintering there annually has topped 10,000.

The wetland, covering over 6,000 hectares, has a pleasant climate and abundant food, and is one of China's three major winter habitats for white swans. 
The "two sessions" underway in Beijing are not only of great significance in China's political calendar, but also closely watched internationally. Xinhua's Wu Yao talked with foreign ambassadors to check out what topics they care about this year. #GLOBALink







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States should stop containing China by exploiting the Taiwan question and return to the fundamental of the one-China principle, said Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday at a press conference. 
Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)

Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

A journalist with Xinhua News Agency asks a question during an interview with ministers after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Haoyuan)

Minister of Emergency Management Wang Xiangxi gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Head of the State Administration for Market Regulation Luo Wen gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Head of the State Administration for Market Regulation Luo Wen gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

Head of the State Administration for Market Regulation Luo Wen gives an interview after the second plenary meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
TEHRAN, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran will start extraction from its newly-discovered lithium ore deposits in two years, Iran's IRIB news agency recently reported.

The two deposits in the western province of Hamedan contain 8.5 million tons of lithium ore, which took four years to prospect, the IRIB quoted Mohammad Hadi Ahmadi, the deputy head of Hamedan province's industry, mine and trade organization, as saying.

The official added that someone had expressed readiness to invest in the extraction, which covers 11 square kilometers.

The discovery of the deposits was announced on Feb. 27 by Ebrahimali Molabeigi, director general of the exploration department of the Iranian ministry of industry, mine and trade.

Molabeigi added more lithium ore deposits are expected to be discovered in the same province.

Lithium is one of the key components in electric vehicle batteries. 
UNITED NATIONS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Wednesday, a UN spokesman said.

"The secretary-general has just arrived in Poland on his way to Ukraine," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres, in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Guterres and Zelensky will discuss the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in all its aspects, said the statement.

On July 22, 2022, Russia and Ukraine separately signed a document in Istanbul with Turkiye and the United Nations on grain and fertilizer exports from Ukraine and Russia to ensure supplies to global markets amid the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict.

The deal, due to expire on Nov. 19, 2022, was extended for another 120 days. Guterres has repeatedly called for the deal's further extension.

While in Kiev, Guterres will also talk with Zelensky about "other pertinent issues," Dujarric said in the statement, noting that it is the UN chief's third visit to Ukraine in the last year.

Guterres will be back to the United Nations headquarters in New York Thursday, according to the statement. 
ACCRA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday urged his country's citizenry to unite by working to attain the goal of their forebears as the country celebrated its 66th Independence Day.

He made the call during the celebration at Ho, the capital of Volta Region, stressing the unity of purpose with which the founding fathers of the country worked to attain independence from the colonial imperialists and urged the same from the Ghanaian people to attain meaningful development.

"Our forebears were united and strong toward a common purpose of attaining independence. It did not matter which ethnic group or religious persuasion they related to, or their standing in society generally. They recognized that colonialism did not collectively inure to their benefit. They were determined to end it, and indeed they did," said Akufo-Addo.

Touching on the economic challenges Ghanaians are going through presently, Akufo-Addo emphasized that the government has put in place quite a number of interventions that will soon alleviate the suffering of the people.

At the celebration, Economic Community of West African States Chairman Umaro Sissoco Embalo paid tribute to Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, for the struggle he led in liberating the continent, calling on all to work toward ensuring political stability, prosperity, and development within the West African sub-region.

Ghana's Independence Day, which falls on March 6 every year, is an official state holiday for the citizens of Ghana, both within the country and in the diaspora, to honor and celebrate the heroes of Ghana who led the country to attain its independence from the United Kingdom. 
An award ceremony is held during the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on March 5, 2023. On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

by Mahmoud Fouly

ASWAN, Egypt, March 6 (Xinhua) -- On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights.

Sixty feature, short, animated, and documentary films from different countries including Egypt, Algeria, France, Switzerland, Argentina, South Korea, Bulgaria and Latvia take part in the competitions of the AIWFF that runs from March 5 to 10.

The festival's founder and president, screenwriter Mohamed Abdel-Khalek, said at a red-carpet gala on Saturday evening that holding the festival in such difficult economic conditions was a challenge, hoping that "imagination would overcome economic conditions" in this AIWFF version.

The festival's activities include symposiums, lectures and filmmaking workshops for young people in Aswan, who managed through training in past editions to make qualified films that competed in Arab international film festivals.

Egyptian 40-minute short feature film Sara's Birthday, produced by Plan International Egypt and the National Council for Women and directed by Yasser Shafiey, was screened as the opening film of the festival.

Fatima Nouali, president of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival and a jury member at the Egyptian film competition of AIWFF, said that this opportunity will allow her to watch various new Egyptian films, some of which might be picked to be screened at her festival in Morocco.

"The role of women is very important in society and cinema is a reflection of society, so it is very important to have festivals concerned with women's causes and films," Egyptian actress Bushra Rozza told Xinhua.

In the opening ceremony attended by the Egyptian culture minister and the governor of Aswan, the festival honored a number of filmmakers and stars, including Egyptian veteran movie star Nabila Ebeid, Spanish actress Cuca Escribano, Tunisian filmmaker Salma Baccar and Dutch filmmaker Mijke de Jong.

"I mainly make films about women - brave women, lonely women and beautiful women. I think it's very important to hear women's voices," De Jong said.

The festival is held with the support of the Egyptian ministries of culture, tourism and social solidarity and in partnership with the European Union delegation to Egypt.

Since its first edition in 2017, AIWFF has established itself as a "window" drawing the features of the worlds of Egyptian and Arab women, said Egyptian Culture Minister Neveen El-Kilany in her remarks during the opening ceremony. 

People attend a red-carpet ceremony of the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on March 5, 2023. On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Spanish actress Cuca Escribano is interviewed with Xinhua during the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on March 5, 2023. On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Dutch filmmaker Mijke de Jong is interviewed with Xinhua during the Aswan International Women Film Festival in Aswan, Egypt, on March 5, 2023. On the bank of the Nile River, Upper Egypt's charming city of Aswan is hosting this week the seventh edition of the Aswan International Women Film Festival (AIWFF) that seeks to shed further light on women's causes and rights. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Thailand and China jointly launched a training program on Monday at Thailand's Chiang Mai University to sharpen e-commerce skills among vocational school students in the Southeast Asian country.

The "Chinese Language plus Professional Skills" e-commerce training program features Chinese e-commerce experiences combining with Thai characteristics, according to the training program organizers.

The five-day training program, with 65 participating students, provides courses on development of the China-Thailand e-commerce industry, e-commerce platform operations, short video making, e-commerce platforms basics, and network marketing.

"Thai vocational students will improve their e-commerce skills while also learning Chinese through this training program," said Somporn Pandam, deputy secretary general of Vocational Education Commission, Thailand's Ministry of Education.

According to the official, the training program is a cooperation project between multiple partners in Thailand and China.

The training program is part of a series of "Chinese Language plus Professional Skills" projects organized by Chiang Mai University and the Confucius Institute at Chiang Mai University, said Pitipong Yodmongkol, Vice President of Chiang Mai University.

It is expected to help cultivate knowledgeable and capable talents and has become an important force in promoting the exchanges on culture, economy and trade between the two countries, he said.

Hao Shumei, vice president of Yunnan Normal University, which provides support for the training program, said the training program will promote the expansion of cultural and economic exchanges between China and Thailand.

Data showed over 2,000 Thai vocational school teachers and students have participated in the e-commerce training programs introduced in 2021. 
DHAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and scores of others injured in an explosion that took place in a commercial building in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday, an official said.

The police official who did not like to be named told Xinhua that the explosion took place at around 4:45 p.m. local time near a bus counter.

"Seven bodies were recovered from the explosion site," he said.

At least 70 people were being treated for their injuries in the hospital, with several people in the intensive care unit, he added.

Firefighters remained at the scene as work continued. Police and ambulance service are also said to be in attendance.

The official said at least seven firefighting units are working at the accident site of the five-story building, which houses a bank branch, shops of ceramics and sanitary items.

The cause of the explosion could not be known immediately.

Security has been tightened in and around the explosion site. 
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has expressed its regret for the biased information released by Russian Defense Ministry over the shootout in Karabakh by Armenian separatists on 5 March, who tried to smuggle in weapons, ammunitions from Armenia.

"We regretfully note that on March 6, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation distorted the facts and spread untruthful information in its bulletin regarding the armed incident that took place yesterday on the Khankendi-Khalfali-Turssu dirt road".

"We inform that on March 5, on the basis of operative information, the Azerbaijan Army Units attempted to stop and inspect the vehicle of the Armenian military formations transporting illegal military supplies. While approaching the vehicle, Azerbaijani servicemen were subjected to fire from weapons by the members of the Armenian armed detachment inside the vehicle, as a result of which two servicemen became Shehids (Martyrs) and one was wounded. Three members of the illegal Armenian detachment were killed and one was wounded by the return fire. It is hypocritical to present these servicemen, fully equipped with weapons and ammunition, as police officers performing a "passport and visa" service.

The spread information about providing first aid by representatives of the Russian peacekeeping forces and the evacuation of Azerbaijani servicemen who were injured as a result of the incident is also not true. The evacuation of Azerbaijan Army's Shehids (Martyrs) and wounded servicemen from the territory was carried out by its servicemen.

Contrary to the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, Armenia continues to supply weapons, ammunition, and other military means to illegal Armenian armed formations in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan, and military personnel rotation is also carried out. In order to immediately prevent such unacceptable situations, the Russian peacekeeping forces must completely fulfill the assigned duties.

It should be noted that the policy of mine terror carried out by Armenia against Azerbaijan is still ongoing. Despite the repeated warnings, mines illegally transported to Azerbaijan and buried in its territory lead to casualties among civilians and servicemen of the country. Thus, on March 4, a serviceman of the Azerbaijan Army became Shehid as a result of a mine explosion in the Karabakh economic region. The facts of mass transportation of 2021-Armenia-produced mines through the Lachin road and their burial in the territory of Azerbaijan were established, and a visit of representatives of the Turkish-Russian Joint Monitoring Center and military attaches to this territory was organized to investigate the facts.

In August 2022, the Azerbaijan Army conducted the "Revenge" operation in response to such actions of Armenia and illegal Armenian armed formations and the death of our serviceman who became Shehid.

We warn once again that the transportation of military cargo by Armenia to the territory of Azerbaijan, the dispatch and rotation of the Armenian armed forces military personnel must be stopped immediately and permanently, and that the Armenian troops must be completely withdrawn from the territory of our country. Otherwise, the Azerbaijani side will have to take decisive and necessary measures by using all possibilities in order to disarm and neutralize illegal gunmen.

Such actions of Armenia are considered as a continuation of military aggression.

The events occurred and the continuation of illegal military transportation by Armenia to the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan once again confirm the need to ensure the control regime on the Lachin road located in the territory of Azerbaijan," the ministry added.




KABUL, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police have arrested nine people on charge of involvement in criminal activities in the country's capital Kabul, a local police officer said Tuesday.

The people arrested on Monday were allegedly involved in illegal activities such as robbery, mobile snatch, drug smuggling, stealing gold from jewelry shops and creating law and order problems in the country, according to police officer Mawlawi Abdullah Ghaznawi.

According to police, the arrested men have confessed to their crimes.

In a similar operation on Sunday, police collected a huge quantity of arms and ammunition including five AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols and a few more pieces of military equipment in Kabul.

Afghan police have arrested over 190 criminals in the eastern Nangrahar province over the past month.

Afghan caretaker government has vowed to crack down on criminal elements in Afghanistan to ensure law and order in the war-torn country. 
ISLAMABAD, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and four others injured on Tuesday in a gas explosion in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, the rescue service reported.

According to the reports, the accident took place early morning in a house in Sarki Kalan area of the city due to gas leakage resulting in the collapse of the roof.

Rescuers reached the site and shifted the victims to a local hospital, said the rescue service.

All the deceased were from the same family that included four children and two women, it added. 
KABUL, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 3,000 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan on Monday, said a statement of Afghanistan's Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation Affairs, released here Tuesday.

According to the statement of the ministry, the process of returning the refugees to Afghanistan continues.

More than 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees reportedly have been living in Pakistan and about the same number are living in Iran.

More than 270,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran over the past six months. 
DHAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and dozens of others injured in an explosion that took place in a building in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon, a police officer said. 
BERLIN, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany is set to lose up to 900 billion euros (960 billion U.S. dollars) by 2050 due to climate change related damages to its economy, according to a study published Monday by Germany's Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

Even the best-case scenario calculating with only a moderate rise in temperatures forecasts losses of around 280 billion euros in the same period.

In addition to financially measurable effects, there will be "numerous health impairments, deaths from heat waves and flooding, a strain on ecosystems, a loss of biodiversity, and a reduction in quality of life," the ministries said.

"Climate change is already having severe economic consequences today," parliamentary state secretary Stefan Wenzel said. "Every euro invested in climate protection reduces the economic costs that could arise in the future as a result of extreme events."

Hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters inflicted damages worth 270 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2022, according to recent figures by German reinsurer Munich Re. Although the figure was less than that in 2021, the trends in recent years had shown a steady increase in such damages, the company said.

"Climate change is taking an increasing toll," Thomas Blunck, member of the board of management of Munich Re, said in a statement. According to Blunck, the damages in 2022 were mainly caused by events that were more intense or were occurring more frequently than in earlier years.

On Monday, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina called on the government to speed up the transformation of the country's energy system to help achieve the Paris climate targets both in Germany and Europe. "It is also important to come up with the technologies that make this possible worldwide," it said.

Germany aims to be climate neutral by 2045, partly by increasing the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption from around 44 percent in 2022 to at least 80 percent by 2030.

The energy transition in Europe's largest economy is "not progressing fast enough," a study published in February by the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) and the consulting firm Ernst and Young (EY) has found. In particular, the roll-out of renewable energy technologies was still proceeding "far too slowly." (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollar) 
Lukashenko alleges Ukrainian terrorist detained after attack on plane at Machulyshchi 7 March, 03:10 PM Alexander Lukashenko (Photo:BelTA/Handout via REUTERS)

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko says his security forces have detained terrorist from the Ukrainian special services and his accomplices who were involved in an attack on a Russian plane at the Belarusian Machulyshchi airfield, the Belta news agency reported on March 7.

The Russian A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft of the Russian Air Force was damaged on Feb. 26 when two drones are thought to have landed on it and exploded.

Lukashenko claimed the training of an allegedly Russian IT professional with Russian and Ukrainian passports was started by Ukraines SBU and the CIA half a year or eight months ago, and he was recruited back in 2014. Referring to the Belarusian KGB security service, the dictator said that the terrorist allegedly has relatives in Kyiv and Austria.

Video of day

He gave no evidence to back up his claims.

Lukashenko said a small drone was chosen for the attack because a large one would be tracked by our surveillance systems.

Officials in Kyiv have not yet commented on Lukashenkos claims.

On Feb. 26, two explosions were reportedly heard at Machulyshchi military air base, which is 12 kilometers away from the Belarusian capital and is used by Russian aviation. According to preliminary data, the A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft of the Russian Air Force was damaged.

Alexander Azarov, head of the Belarusian opposition initiative BYPOL, said that the sabotage was organized by Belarusian partisans.

After the attack, Belarusian border guards increased security checks at the border. According to the human rights organization Vyasna, at least six people were detained after the explosion at the airport in Belarus.

The monitoring group Belarusian Hajun reported on Telegram on March 2 that the A-50 had flown to Russia, probably to the 25th Aviation Repair Plant in Taganrog.

The BYPOL stated that the three-coordinate radar station (locator) and damage in the area of the faring of the antenna of the satellite radio line in the front part of the aircraft may be damaged. According to the initiative, the attack was carried out with the help of two drones, which each carried 200 grams of TNT-equivalent explosives and a striking element  metal balls.

The only possible signs of damage to the aircraft on satellite images are traces of dark spots on the aircrafts radar antenna and a dark spot on the right wing.

Later, video released by Belarusian partisans showed the view from a drone apparently flying to and landing on the satellite communications faring of an A-50 plane, which is located on top of the fuselage, behind the cockpit. Shortly after landing, the signal from the drone is lost, with only static showing  presumably because the drone has exploded.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
Say you have a small dairy in Indiana, and you want to update your milking machines. Or youre a farmer, processor or value-added agricultural manufacturer wanting to modernize your equipment or expand your operation.

Youre very good at what you do, but you dont have a business background, and you need a business plan. Youre unsure where and how to get a loan or grant. You may need crop yield projections or information about exporting commodities.

An advisor from the Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Agribusiness Initiative can help. The service is one on one, confidential and free. And beginning this year, your advisor might also be a Purdue Extension educator.

As a new partner in the Agribusiness Initiative, Purdue Extension strengthens a well-established program. Weve done one-on-one advising in the SBDC for all kinds of small businesses, from widget factories to restaurants, for years, says its director, Monty Henderson. But the SBDCs recognized that most of our clients are non-ag.

In cooperation with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), the SBDCs invited Purdue Extension to help extend its distinctive advising model to agricultural businesses, largely using existing resources, Henderson says.

Since leaders announced the initiative in March 2022, Henderson  also an employee of the Purdue Center for Regional Development  has trained nine Extension staff as new advisors. They join about 80 advisors already working across the state.
The concept of smartphones and electric cars seemed like a pipe dream 20 years ago, but today, nearly 6.92 billion people, or 86.4% of the global population, have personal smartphones. Governments worldwide are moving toward a green future by encouraging the use of electric cars instead of vehicles with combustible engines.

Investing in burgeoning technologies could increase your wealth within the next two decades. Take look at some of the most promising technologies poised to catch on.

Generative Artificial Intelligence

In recent months, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken a much larger role in daily life than normal. ChatGPT is rewriting curriculums and being used at publications like Buzzfeed Inc. But thats just the beginning. While ChatGPT has been growing in prominence, other aspects of the field have been under-reported.

For example, RAD AI is a startup using generative AI to increase the efficiency of marketing campaigns with the worlds first AI marketing platform built to understand emotion. The startup is raising on startup investing platform Wefunder and has raised over $2.5 million from everyday investors.

Other types of generative AI examples include programs used to generate images, paintings, drawings, text-to-speech and full videos using nothing but AI.

To stay updated with top startup investments, sign up for Benzingas Startup Investing & Equity Crowdfunding Newsletter

Commercial Space Exploration

2021 was a pivotal year for commercial space exploration, with startups such as Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin LLC and Elon Musks Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) successfully kickstarting commercial space travel. Virgin Galactic, backed by billionaire Richard Branson, also launched the first fully crewed flight to the edge of space in July 2021.

These startups are gearing up to begin commercial space travel by 2024. But given recession concerns and supply chain issues, no concrete plans have been made. Many companies delayed their schedules by at least a year as the macroeconomic headwinds piled on.

Story continues

With tickets priced at nearly $500,000 each, commercial space travel is currently only accessible to high-net-worth individuals. But you can expect prices to drop over the next two decades, as companies invest heavily to develop sustainable space stations and other infrastructure. China Business Knowledge predicts space travel to become more affordable over the next 15 to 20 years, stating, Many people alive today will have a real chance of traveling to space in their lifetimes.

Green Hydrogen

The majority of policies developed by nations over the past two years has been focused on transitioning to carbon-neutral energy. While the energy crisis resulting from the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war has thrown off the timeline, several countries have pledged to phase out fossil fuel emissions to eliminate their carbon footprints by 2050.

Solar, wind and geothermal energy are at the forefront of this transition, and the popularity of hydrogen as an alternative source is peaking. Green hydrogen has immense applications across the agriculture, manufacturing and transportation industries. Boston-based startup Electric Hydrogen, which produces green hydrogen from water, raised $198 million in Series B funding last June.

While green hydrogen production is expensive, scientists worldwide are working toward developing ways to produce carbon-neutral hydrogen commercially. Norwegian fuel cell company Nel ASA, the worlds largest manufacturer of electrolyzers, expects green hydrogen production costs to become equivalent or lower than fossil fuel production by 2025 at the earliest.

Private Equity Secondary Markets

The private equity market is dominated by venture capitalists and angel investors. This has been a point of contention for retail investors for some time. It triggered the meme stock rally in the last two years as retail traders used social media to create immense selling pressure on institutional investors.

But with the rising popularity of startup investments among everyday investors, companies are working on establishing a solid secondary market for reselling private equity assets. Startups typically remain private for 10 to 12 years before becoming mature enough to go public while seed money invested remains locked in. But with the development of a secondary trading market, institutional and retail investors do not have to wait for an initial public offering (IPO) to cash in their investments.

StartEngine, the largest equity crowdfunding startup in the U.S., is working toward developing an inclusive secondary market for trading such securities. As the private equity market rapidly evolves, secondary trading markets facilitating reselling of such asset classes are expected to be one of the biggest advances in the retail investing space.

Read More in Startup News & Investing Opportunities:

Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - join Benzinga Pro for free! Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.

This article 4 Technologies That Aren't That Big Today but Will Likely Be Massive in 20 Years originally appeared on Benzinga.com

.

 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

The AI in cybersecurity market is rapidly evolving, and businesses and investors need to thoroughly understand the industry's dynamics to stay ahead of the curve. SkyQuest's market report is an essential resource that employs advanced methodologies to analyze the industry comprehensively. Moreover, the report covers recent developments, mergers and acquisitions, and collaborations in the industry, providing a comprehensive overview of the market landscape. The report allows businesses and investors to stay up-to-date with emerging trends and key developments in the market.

Westford, USA, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The increasing number of cyber-attacks on high-tech companies, defense establishments, and government agencies has led to North America taking a significant position in the AI in cybersecurity market . The banking industry also recognizes the importance of AI-based cybersecurity solutions in safeguarding customer privacy and protecting sensitive financial information. The rise in privacy concerns and the frequency and complexity of cyber threats have contributed to the market's growth. With the advancements in AI technology, cybersecurity professionals are increasingly turning to AI solutions to combat cyber threats effectively.

The global cyber security market is rapidly growing and is expected to surpass USD 242 billion by 2028, according to SkyQuest. This growth is due to increasing cyber threats and attacks on businesses and individuals worldwide. As a result, the industry is witnessing a significant demand for advanced technology solutions to address the growing cyber security concerns.

Get sample copy of this report:

https://skyquestt.com/sample-request/global-ai-in-cybersecurity-market

Browse in-depth TOC on the "AI in Cybersecurity Market"

Pages - 265

Tables - 149

Figures - 87

Artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity has become highly important in recent years as the number and complexity of cyber threats have grown. As a result, AI in cybersecurity market has also seen significant growth, with various organizations and industries investing in this technology to enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Story continues

Prominent Players in AI in Cybersecurity Market

Intel Corporation

IBM Corporation

NVIDIA Corporation

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Amazon Web Services, Inc.

Xilinx Inc.

Micron Technology Inc.

Imperva

Fortinet, Inc.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Cisco Systems, Inc.

McAfee LLC

Juniper Networks, Inc.

Sophos Ltd.

Darktrace

Vectra AI, Inc.

LogRythms, Inc.

Cylance Inc.

NortonLifeLock Inc.

Machine Learning Algorithms Pave the Way for More Efficient and Accurate Cybersecurity Solutions in the AI-driven Era of Digital Protection

The AI in cybersecurity market is witnessing significant growth, with the machine learning segment leading in revenue share in 2022. The adoption of deep learning across various end-use industries is expected to drive further the growth of the machine learning technology segment, which is projected to witness a higher CAGR from 2023 to 2030. According to recent research conducted by SkyQuest, the global machine learning industry is expected to grow significantly and reach a value of USD 164.05 billion by 2028. This projection indicates the positive outlook for the machine learning segment in the AI cybersecurity industry. Machine learning has emerged as a vital tool in combating these threats by enabling computers to learn from data and identify patterns that can help detect and prevent cyber-attacks.

The AI in cybersecurity market has been rapidly growing, and North America had been leading in revenue share in 2022. This can be attributed to the increase in network-connected devices and the growing use of the region's IoT, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6 technologies. In addition, the surge in 5G network expansion across various industries, including automotive, healthcare, government, energy, and mining, has created potential entry points for hackers. Therefore, organizations have invested heavily in AI-based cybersecurity solutions to safeguard their networks and data.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://skyquestt.com/report/global-ai-in-cybersecurity-market

Service Segment to Capture Significant Share Thanks to Increasing Emphasis for AI-Powered Cybersecurity Services to Protect from Evolving Cyber Threats

AI in cybersecurity market has grown tremendously recently, with the service segment accounting for the largest share in 2022. Such a trend is projected to remain prevalent in the coming years, with the service segment likely to take a giant lead from 2023 to 2030. According to a recent study conducted by SkyQuest, cybercrime has significantly impacted people in the United States, costing them an estimated $6 billion in 2021-2022. This figure highlights cybercriminals' increasing threat to individuals, businesses, and the wider community. As a result, many organizations are turning to AI-based cybersecurity services to improve their overall security posture.

According to recent market research, Europe is set to emerge as a promising growth destination for companies operating in the AI in cybersecurity market by 2030. This trend is primarily driven by the region's robust government policies and a surge in cyber threats across various sectors such as automotive, healthcare, government, and IT & telecommunication. To capitalize on this growth opportunity, businesses in the AI cybersecurity market are expected to invest heavily in organic and inorganic growth strategies. This will help them enhance their capabilities in AI cybersecurity and bolster their market position.

AI in cybersecurity is highly competitive, and companies in this industry must be vigilant about emerging opportunities and trends to maintain a competitive edge. SkyQuest's report on AI in cybersecurity market provides valuable insights for businesses seeking to expand their operations and take the lead in the competitive industry. This knowledge can aid in making informed decisions that will drive success in this rapidly changing market.

Key Developments in AI in Cybersecurity Market

Microsoft and MITRE have collaborated to develop a new plug-in that incorporates various open-source software tools aimed at helping cybersecurity experts effectively prepare for potential attacks on machine learning (ML) systems. The plug-in combines several open-source tools already widely used in the cybersecurity industry, including Adversarial Robustness Toolbox, CleverHans, and ART. With this new plug-in, security experts can identify and address potential threats before they cause significant damage.

DarkLight, a renowned technology firm, has recently partnered with Resecurity, a prominent cybersecurity company. This partnership aims to integrate their strengths and deliver an advanced, comprehensive endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence platform. The company's unified platform enables organizations to effectively manage their security risks and mitigate potential cyber-attacks. The platform combines threat intelligence, risk management, and endpoint protection to deliver an all-in-one solution for cyber defense.

SlashNext, a leading cybersecurity firm, has launched new capabilities that leverage generative AI technology developed in-house. These advanced capabilities are designed to protect against email-based attacks created using similar technology, such as OpenAI's popular ChatGPT application. However, as more and more organizations rely on AI-powered applications to streamline their operations and enhance their customer experience, cybercriminals have quickly exploited this technology for malicious purposes.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/global-ai-in-cybersecurity-market

Key Questions Answered in AI in Cybersecurity Market Report

How do driving factors in the global market positively impact the growth of specific industries, and what hindering factors can hinder this growth?

Which are the most successful strategies and tactics top companies have used to overcome challenges and seize lucrative opportunities in the global market?

In which geographic regions are the highest growth rates in revenue and sales projected within the global market, and which sectors are expected to experience the most growth?

What are players' most significant opportunities and obstacles when operating within specific global market segments, and how can they navigate them effectively?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Automotive Dealer Management System Market

Global ETL Software Market

Global AI in Call Center Operations Market

Global AI For Risk Management Market

Global Kubernetes Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter




DUBAI, UAE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), a company that provides information and analytics to support credit decisions, has announced a strategic collaboration with Nova Credit, the world's leading consumer-permissioned credit bureau, to enable newcomers to leverage their home country credit history when applying for financial services upon arrival to the UAE.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB) Logo

Staking its position as a leader in cross-border credit, the collaboration facilitates real-time, large-scale application approvals by enabling AECB subscribers, namely UAE-based local and international financial institutions and lenders, access to translated credit history of new UAE expatriates, upon their approval as part of credit applications.

The initiative reiterates AECB's commitment to enhancing the UAE financial ecosystem as the first institution in the GCC with the capability to provide real-time access to standardized foreign credit data from multiple bureaus around the world.

Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, CEO of AECB, said: "AECB is proud to be among the region's first federal entities to provide cross-border credit solutions, creating value for lenders, individuals, businesses, government entities, and the public through key collaborations with international bureaus. As we continue to introduce cutting edge products to our customers, we reiterate our commitment to creating a positive social impact, in line with the UAE's vision of becoming the epicentre of a borderless global economy."

"Building a borderless financial system has been our guiding vision since our inception and by bringing the Credit Passport to new parts of the world we are one step closer to making this a reality," said Misha Esipov, Co-Founder and CEO of Nova Credit. "With this collaboration, AECB will be able to better support the thousands of newcomers to the UAE every year seeking access to the financial services they need to get started and thrive in their new home."

Story continues

"Today's consumers deserve the ability to take ownership of their financial data and not be locked out of accessing basic services due to the siloed characteristic of our global credit reporting system," said Collin Galster, VP of International at Nova Credit. "We are looking forward to taking this next step with AECB and expanding the global footprint of Credit Passport so consumers around the world can experience borderless credit reporting."

Credit Passport powered by Nova Credit is now available for AECB subscribers to support credit applications with history in countries including India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, with other countries to follow in the near future.

Feedback from early subscribers has been positive:

Iftekhar Salim Chief Executive Officer of Appro, said: "AECB plays an instrumental role in upscaling the lending ecosystem within the UAE and the introduction of the "Foreign Credit Report" is a significant milestone. Appro is delighted to avail these disruptive solutions from AECB, which will help the UAE residents to meet their financial product needs within minutes. There will be more visibility on the new to country applicants' credit health based on their home country credit portfolio, which will allow them to have any lending product rather than waiting for 2-3 months."

Chandra Ganapathy, Group Chief Risk Officer of Dubai Islamic Bank said, "As part of DIB's continuous endeavor to unlock the potential of data and analytics, our collaboration with AECB augments the bank's analytical prowess. The bank has been a regular user of AECB's suite of products including AECB Credit Score, Bureau Alerts and has now also subscribed to their latest offering of Foreign Credit Report. AECB solutions enable DIB to have a holistic assessment of the customer's profile and credit behavior through data feeds that are collected from all the credit institutions across UAE. AECB credit reports and data also serve as an input to our internal underwriting policies. Furthermore, DIB has leveraged AECB information to further strengthen its credit and fraud risk modelling framework."

Farhan Mahmood, Group Chief Risk Officer of RAKBANK commented: "At RAKBANK, we are dedicated to elevating the customer experience and controls through innovative technology. Our collaboration with AECB will play a crucial role in achieving this goal by transforming risk management and optimizing processes through digital solutions. AECB understands the importance of providing transparent and seamless access to customers' data and offering a comprehensive view of their credit worthiness across borders. This is especially critical in the UAE market where many expatriates seek to take advantage of their home market credit history. With advanced scorecard models, we aim to enhance our performance and offer seamless access to credit and banking services for all customers entering the UAE."

AECB's new foreign credit data offering brings multiple benefits to subscribers including integrated access to hundreds of millions of standardized consumer data records from dozens of leading credit bureaus around the world. AECB and Nova Credit's end-to-end data delivery model, which undergoes rigorous quality control processes, is fully compliant with foreign and UAE jurisdiction regulations.

About Al Etihad Credit Bureau

Al Etihad Credit Bureau is a Public Joint Stock Company wholly owned by the UAE Federal Government. The company was established as per UAE Federal Law No. (6) of 2010 concerning Credit Information and its amendments in Federal Decree Law No. (8) of 2020. Al Etihad Credit Bureau is mandated to request and organize the collection, preservation, analysis, classification, use and dissemination of credit information and is authorized by law to perform these activities. The information then produced into a variety of credit-related products in a fully digital process. For more information visit www.aecb.ae or download the AECB app available in App Store and Google Play.

ABOUT NOVA CREDIT

Nova Credit is a consumer-permissioned credit bureau with two products, Credit Passport and Cash Atlas, that help businesses make more fair and informed decisions on millions of 'thin file', no credit history, or new-to-country applicants. The company's differentiated data sources and proprietary analytics are used by leading organizations like American Express, Verizon, HSBC, SoFi, and Yardi.

For Media Inquiry:

ASDA'A BCW

Omar Nasro

Tel: +971 4 450 7600

Email: omar.nasro@bcw-global.com

www.asdaa-bcw.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017440/Al_Etihad_Credit_Bureau_Logo.jpg

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/al-etihad-credit-bureau-aecb-accelerates-cross-border-credit-access-in-collaboration-with-nova-credit-301764352.html
Latvian President Egils Levits will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan on March 8, Azernews reports.

The president of Latvia will hold a number of bilateral meetings in Baku and take part in the Global Baku Forum slated to be held in the Azerbaijani capital on March 9-11.

The X Global Baku Forum will be conducted under the title "World Today: Challenges and Hopes".

The forum will discuss issues of energy security, the relevance of transport corridors in the Eurasian space, the role of China in global development, etc.




Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Increasing Popularity of Automation and lightweight Electric Vehicles is likely to Open up Lucrative Aluminum Extrusion Market Potential. FMI Records a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2033. China, the leading market for aluminum extrusions, accounts for 59.5% share of the global market value.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- By 2033, the aluminium extrusion market is anticipated to have grown from US$ 126.67 billion to US$ 195.48 billion. Aluminum scrap can be completely recycled into new aluminum extrusions. The development of aluminum is being fuelled by the use of green activities



Aluminum Extrusions are becoming Popular due to their Excellent Performance

Aluminum is a light metal that weighs around one-third that of steel or copper. Aluminum extrusions are suitable for the construction industry due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Aluminium is nearly 43 times more durable than wood. It may even outlast some steel grades, with the proper treatment or alloying. The highest tensile strength of aluminum material can reach 90,000. As a result, the manufacturing industry is attempting to transition from steel to aluminum.

Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5463

Because oil-based plastics harm the environment, the global manufacturing industry is gradually transitioning to a non-plastic world. Moreover, aluminum, the most prevalent metal in the world's crust, is also one of the most well-known sustainable resources. Although steel is the most often utilized alloy worldwide, aluminum's market has a high potential.

Scrap metal can be completely recycled into brand-new aluminum extrusions. The increasingly prevalent use of green initiatives is encouraging aluminum growth. These applications are only possible because of aluminum's favorable properties, which include its unique combination of strength and durability, conductivity, non-magnetic properties, and ability to be recycled repeatedly without losing integrity. Due to these characteristics, aluminum extrusion is a viable and versatile solution for an increasing range of industrial requirements.

Story continues

Hindalco Industries, Jindal Aluminium Limited, China Zhongwang Holdings Limited, Constellium N.V., Hydro Extrusions, Arconic Inc., Zahit Aluminum, Bonnell Aluminum, SKM Co., Ltd., Keymark Corporation, Kaiser Aluminum Corp., Hulamin Ltd., WISPECO Aluminium and others are the top market players in the aluminum extrusion market

Key Points from the Aluminum Extrusion Market:

The surge in demand for lightweight, long-lasting products is projected to drive the market.

The aluminum extrusion market is expected to hold a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period 2023 to 2033.

North America dominated the aluminum extrusion market.



Key Developments in the Aluminium Extrusion Market:

December 2021 - Aluminum Products Corporation signed a pact to become a member of the worldwide copper alliance.

April 2021 - Arconic Corporation purchased the Group annuity contract, reducing the gross pension obligation by US$ 1 billion.

December 2020 - Hindalco announced the inauguration of a new production facility in Silvassa to strengthen the company's market position in India's western and southern regions.

February 2022 - Novelis opened a net zero lab in conjunction with HES-SO Valais-Wallis to investigate carbon-neutral solutions for aluminum manufacturing. As a result, the corporation could engage in decarbonization research, to become carbon neutral by 2050.

August 2022 - Norsk Hydro ASA (Hydro) announced a NOK 300 million investment in a new automobile extrusion press at its Tonder, Denmark, company. The new 12-inch, 6000-tonne extrusion press serves the European automotive and electric vehicle markets, increasing manufacturing capacity and enabling larger cross-section extrusions.

March 2022 - Etem Gestamp indicated that it plans to invest 60 million euros to expand its operations in Bulgaria for electric vehicle components. Etem Group and Gestamp Group decided to form a joint venture focused on the extrusion and processing of aluminum profiles for the automotive industry.

September 2021 - Constellium SE announced that it is going to supply aluminum structural components for the recently unveiled all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning, which might go on sale in the spring of 2022. The F-150 Lightning, like all F-Series pickup trucks, is constructed primarily of high-strength aluminum alloys. Constellium supplied the windscreen header, rocker, radiator support, and other structural components for the F-150 Lightning.



Ask an Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-the-analyst/rep-gb-5463

Aluminum Extrusion Market Key Segments

By Product:

Automotive Chassis

Profile for Poles

Profile for Bridges

Profile for Rail Tracks

Door & Window Profiles

Curtain Walls

Profile for Heat Exchangers

Machinery Components

Others



By End User:

Aerospace

Building & Construction

Railways & Seaways

Energy

Defense

Others

By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

East Asia

View full Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/aluminium-extrusions-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Aluminum Extrusions Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations



2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage/Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition/Scope/Limitations



3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

Request Customization @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-5463

About the Packaging Division at Future Market Insights

The packaging division at Future Market Insights provides an in-depth historical analysis and projections for the next ten years and covers the competitive landscape through a unique dashboard view. Ranging from packaging materials, and packaging machinery to packaging designs & formats, Future Market Insights has an exhaustive database for these industry verticals, serving clients with unique research offerings and strategic recommendations. With a repository of 1,000+ reports, the team has analysed the packaging industry comprehensively in 50+ countries. The team evaluates every node of the value chain and provides end-to-end research and consulting services; reach out to explore how we can help.

Explore Research Related Reports of Packaging:

Collapsible Aluminium Tube Market Size: Global Industry Analysis 2014 - 2018 and Opportunity Assessment 2019  2029

Blown Film Extrusion Machine Market Share: Blown Film Extrusion Machine Market by Machine Type, Material Type, Application & Region - Forecast 2022 - 2032

Aluminium ROPP Closures Market Trends: Aluminium ROPP Closures Market by End-use, Size & Region | Forecast 2023 to 2033

Aluminum Aerosol Cans Market Analysis: Aluminum Aerosol Cans Market By Capacity Type, Product, End-use Industry & Region | Forecast 2023 to 2033

Aluminum-Free Food Pouch Market Outlook: Aluminum-Free Food Pouch Market by Material Type, Pouch Type, Application & Region - Forecast 2022 - 2032

About Future Market Insights, Inc.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

Contact Us:

Future Market Insights, Inc.

1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower,

Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A,

Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai,

United Arab Emirates

Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

Web: www.futuremarketinsights.com

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs | YouTube




PS752 Justice

Resignation will allow Esmaeilion to pursue formal role in Irans revolution

TORONTO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It is with both sadness and understanding that the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims (the Association) announces the resignation of Dr. Hamed Esmaeilion from his role as President and Spokesperson effective immediately.



Hameds resignation follows his acceptance of a formal and involved role in Irans revolution. Resigning will allow Hamed the time and capacity to take on this new role with the focus and attention it deserves and reflects this pivotal moment in history for Iran.

It has been incredibly meaningful to be the voice of the Association over the past three years, says Hamed Esmaeilion, former President and Spokesperson of the Association. This was a difficult decision to make, however, I am confident and hopeful that the time is now for Iran  the time is now for freedom. I believe it is my duty to do all that I can and to use my voice to help the country and people that I love.

Hamed remains an active member of the Association, including his position on the Board of Directors. He will continue to play an important role in fighting for truth and justice for the victims of Flight PS752, as well as advocating for countless Iranians who are bravely standing up for their rights and freedoms.

The Association has appointed Kourosh Doustshenas as its new spokesperson. Kourosh has been closely involved with government, legal, and advocacy efforts since the Association was formed in 2020. The role of president will be decided on and announced in the coming months.

Hamed has been an extraordinary leader for our association over the past three years and we are all very grateful for the sacrifices he has made. We will continue to support him in every way that we can, says Kourosh Doustshenas, Board Member and newly appointed Spokesperson for the Association. I view my new role as Spokesperson as both an honour and responsibility and am fully committed to continuing to advocate for truth and justice for every victim of Flight PS752.

Story continues

Hamed will continue to engage publicly and with media as it relates to his ongoing activism. All media engagements as they relate to the Association will now be under the purview of Kourosh.

The Board of Directors remain committed to supporting members and are determined to continue building upon the momentum and progress the Association has achieved over the past years. The Association currently awaits the formal referral of Flight PS752's case by Canada and the other affected countries to the International Court of Justice, which can take place in June following the expiration of the six-month arbitration period under the Montreal Convention.

Media Contact

Oliveah Numan

onuman@sussex-strategy.com




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) ("Aton" or the "Corporation") announces that it has entered into an additional bridge loan (the "Loan") with OU Moonrider ("Moonrider"), a significant shareholder of the Corporation.

Aton Resources, Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

The Loan

The Corporation has borrowed C$4.0 million from Moonrider, which Loan is repayable on the earlier of 12 months from closing, on the occurrence of various standard events of default, or on the closing of any debt or equity financing by the Corporation in an amount in excess of C$5.0 million. The Loan will bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum, payable when the Loan is due.

In connection with the Loan, Moonrider will be issued bonus warrants upon each drawdown on the Loan entitling it to acquire common shares of the Corporation. The number of bonus warrants issuable upon each drawdown shall be determined by dividing the drawdown amount by the share price of the Corporation's common shares on the date of the drawdown. The bonus warrants will be exercisable for a period of 12 months from each drawdown.

Under the terms of the Corporation's loan agreement with Moonrider, Moonrider will be issued to 20,000,000 bonus warrants with an exercise price of $0.20 per share and an expiration date of March 6, 2024. The issuance of the bonus warrants is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The proceeds of the Loan will be used by the Corporation for working capital as well as funding ongoing exploration and upcoming drilling, and for ongoing mineral resource estimate and technical studies by external consultants in the lead up to the anticipated transition to the exploitation lease at the Abu Marawat Concession. With the Loan, the total indebtedness of the Corporation to Moonrider totals $11,737,553.

About Aton Resources Inc.

Aton Resources Inc. (TSXV:AAN) is focused on its 100% owned Abu Marawat Concession ("Abu Marawat"), located in Egypt's Arabian-Nubian Shield, approximately 200 km north of Centamin's world-class Sukari gold mine. Aton has identified numerous gold and base metal exploration targets at Abu Marawat, including the Hamama deposit in the west, the Abu Marawat deposit in the northeast, and the advanced Rodruin exploration prospect in the south of the Concession. Two historic British gold mines are also located on the Concession at Sir Bakis and Semna. Aton has identified several distinct geological trends within Abu Marawat, which display potential for the development of a variety of styles of precious and base metal mineralisation. Abu Marawat is 447.7 km2 in size and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure; a four-lane highway, a 220kV power line, and a water pipeline are in close proximity, as are the international airports at Hurghada and Luxor.

Story continues

For further information regarding Aton Resources Inc., please visit us at www.atonresources.com or contact:

Tonno Vahk

Interim CEO

Tel: +1 604 318 0390

Email: info@atonresources.com

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions; by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Aton Resources, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742541/Aton-Announces-Bridge-Loan




Most trusted aged cheese brand launches the slowest delivery service (ever) to remind Canadians that great taste takes time.

TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Balderson Cheese, owned by Lactalis Canada, has become the newest player in the food delivery service game, but they're hitting the market with a twist. Starting today, Canadians can get their hands on a complimentary block of mouth-watering, 1-year old cheddar cheese. The catch? This masterfully aged and bold-tasting cheese will be delivered one year from the order date. That's right, Canadians will have to wait 525,600 minutes for their cheese to be made and delivered before they can savour its iconic taste.

Balderson Cheese (CNW Group/Balderson Cheese)

Leading up to delivery, Balderson will send the limited number of recipients with updates throughout the year, so consumers can check in on their cheese before they receive itone year later.

"Consumers have grown so accustomed to instant gratification and quick meal delivery at the touch of a button without stopping to appreciate the craftsmanship behind each bite," says Bindia Wijesekera, Brand Manager at Balderson Cheese. "At Balderson Cheese, we know the value of slowing down and allowing the right amount of time to heighten the flavour experience. We want to remind Canadians that true, premium quality is worth waiting for. And great taste takes time."

Balderson Cheese has been crafting masterfully aged cheddar cheese for over a century, while Lactalis Canada has been providing Canadian families with premium, quality dairy products that are a staple in most homes across the country.

The delivery service will be available to 100 lucky Canadians who will be randomly selected to receive the complimentary cheddar. The giveaway opens today and will be available until March 26, 2023. For more information about the new Balderson Cheese delivery service or to place an order, visit www.baldersondelivery.com .

About Lactalis Canada Inc.

With 140 years of brand heritage, Lactalis Canada is committed to enriching and nurturing the lives of Canadians by producing nutritious and great tasting dairy products. Named on Forbes list of Canada's Best Employers, Lactalis Canada directly employs more than 4,000 employees, supports hundreds of farming families and contributes to the livelihoods of thousands of Canadians who provide essential services to Lactalis Canada's more than 30 operating sites including 19 manufacturing facilities. The company's iconic brands include Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, P'tit Quebec, Balderson, Cheestrings Ficello, aMOOza!, Astro, Khaas, siggi's, IOGO, IOGO nano, Olympic, Lactantia, Beatrice, Galbani, and President. Lactalis Canada's commitment to responsible and sustainable growth has been recognized with the 2021 Canadian Grocer Impact Award for Sustainability and its CDN $2.9 million investment to the communities in which it operates. Lactalis Canada is part of Lactalis Group, the world's leading dairy company, headquartered in Laval, France. For more information, visit www.lactalis.ca .

Story continues

SOURCE Balderson Cheese

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c7161.html
Creative for Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival and Oktoberfest Honored at Annual Fete

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / The Barber Shop Marketing, heralded as one of the Top Marketing and Advertising Agencies in Dallas/Fort Worth, was presented with the Gold ADDY Award for their event marketing campaign on behalf of their client The City of Richardson's Wildflower! Arts and Music Festival and the Extreme Makeover Award for their rebrand of the Town of Addison's Oktoberfest logo, at the 61st annual Dallas American Advertising Federation (AAF) ADDY awards.

The Barber Shop Marketing, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

The Barber Shop Marketing, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

"We have been working with both The Town and Addison and the City of Richardson for many years to bring fun and innovative branding to their annual heritage events. The creative direction by The Barber Shop Marketing's David Adkins is refreshing and exudes fun and festivity while also staying true to the purpose of special event advertising and promotion," said Amy Hall, president of The Barber Shop Marketing.

For the ADDY Awards, top agencies in and around Dallas, Texas submitted more than hundreds of entries which were judged by four of the top Creative Directors from around the U.S.

The Barber Shop Marketing, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

As they approach their 20th anniversary, The Barber Shop Marketing boasts a record-breaking tenure in awards and business growth for the past year. The agency was named one of Dallas Business Journal's Top 25 Advertising and Marketing Agencies in 2022 as well as one of their Top Women-Owned Businesses. In 2022, they received three coveted Telly Awards and 17 International Festival and Events Association Pinnacle Awards for their excellence in delivering their clients' messages creatively and with intent to consumers through various mediums.

"We absolutely love what we do, and it shows. In 2023, we will continue supporting events and clients with innovative and creative ideas with supercharged energy and tireless drive to success," says Hall.

About The Barber Shop Marketing

The Barber Shop Marketing, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

The Barber Shop Marketing is a full-service marketing and advertising agency in Dallas with category-leading clients including Uplift Education, Baker Brothers Plumbing, Air & Electric, Yo Quiero!, City of Richardson, Smith Thompson Home Security, Town of Addison, and Bill Dickason Chevrolet Buick. Their specialization includes advertising, creative, media, digital, social media, public relations, and search optimization. For more information about The Barber Shop Marketing, visit www.thebarbershopmarketing.com or phone 214-217-7177. Follow The Barber Shop Marketing on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thebarbershopmarketing or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-barber-shop-marketing.

Story continues

Contact:

Amy Hall, amy@thebarbershopmarketing.com

SOURCE: The Barber Shop Marketing





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742527/The-Barber-Shop-Marketing-Scores-Big-at-the-2023-Addy-Awards-in-Dallas




Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd.

Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market by Product (Self-monitoring {Glucometer, Test Strips, Lancets}, Continuous Glucose Monitoring {Sensors, Receiver, Transmitter}), Diabetes Type, End User (Self/Home Care, Hospital, Clinic) - Global Forecast to 2030

Redding, California, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled,  Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market By Product (Self-monitoring {Glucometer, Test Strips, Lancets}, Continuous Glucose Monitoring {Sensors, Receiver, Transmitter}), Diabetes Type, End User (Self/Home Care, Hospital, Clinic) - Global Forecast to 2030,' published by Meticulous Research, the blood glucose monitoring devices market is expected to reach $21.71 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2023 to 2030.

Download Free Sample Report Now @ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=5470

Blood glucose monitoring devices are used to quantitatively measure the amount of blood glucose levels in an individual. These devices help to monitor and manage diabetes patients blood glucose levels. The rising prevalence of diabetes globally drives the demand for blood glucose monitoring devices.

The factors driving the blood glucose monitoring devices market are the rising prevalence of diabetes, the increasing number of people living unhealthy & sedentary lifestyles, and product innovations in diabetes care. Furthermore, the growing demand for non-invasive glucose monitoring devices and increasing awareness regarding diabetic health in developing countries are expected to provide significant growth opportunities for this market.

However, the insurance coverage and reimbursement scenarios and product recalls are expected to hinder the growth of this market. In addition, factors such as the large number of people living with undiagnosed diabetes and the high costs of continuous glucose monitoring devices are major challenges to the markets growth.

Story continues

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market

The COVID-19 virus, which emerged at the end of 2019, became a global pandemic by the start of 2020. The infection spread quickly, resulting in a large number of hospitalizations. According to various studies, the disease impacted diabetic patients more severely. Individuals with diabetes who were infected with COVID-19 required emergency admissions and proper medical management.

Speak to our Analysts to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/cp_id=5470

This crisis led to increased demand for blood glucose monitoring devices. In the U.S., the FDA authorized the use of personal blood glucose meters and continuous glucose monitoring devices in hospitals during the pandemic. Virtual consultations and remote patient monitoring for diabetic patients also increased during the pandemic. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic boosted the demand for blood glucose monitoring devices and positively impacted the market's growth.

The blood glucose monitoring devices market is segmented based on product, diabetes type, end user, and geography. The study also evaluates industry competitors and analyzes the market at the country level.

Based on product, in 2023, the self-monitoring devices segment is expected to account for the largest share of the blood glucose monitoring devices market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the advantages offered by self-monitoring devices, including convenience and cost-efficiency and the recurring demand for test strips used in blood glucose monitoring devices.

Based on diabetes type, in 2023, the type-2 diabetes segment is expected to account for the largest share of the blood glucose monitoring devices market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the rising prevalence of diabetes due to the increasing number of people living unhealthy lifestyles without any physical activity.

Based on end user, in 2023, the self/home care segment is expected to account for the largest share of the blood glucose monitoring devices market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to the increased awareness about self-management of diabetes, easy access to blood glucose monitoring devices, and greater convenience offered by self-monitoring of blood glucose compared to testing in healthcare facilities.

Quick Buy  Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market Research Report: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/Checkout/76015583

Based on geography, in 2023, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the blood glucose monitoring devices market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. North Americas major share is primarily attributed to the large number of people living unhealthy lifestyles, resulting in the high prevalence of obesity and diabetes, the presence of key players in the region, the high purchasing power of the population, and government initiatives promoting diabetes care. However, Asia-Pacific is slated to register the fastest growth rate in the blood glucose monitoring devices market during the forecast period. The growth of this regional market is driven by the increasing diabetic population, especially in countries such as India and China, government initiatives to increase awareness about self-diabetes management, and the increasing awareness of diabetes management among the population.

The report includes an extensive assessment of the market based on product, diabetes type, end user, and geography. The study also provides valuable insights into the key growth strategies adopted by major market players between 2020 and 2023. In recent years, the blood glucose monitoring devices market has witnessed numerous product launches, agreements, collaborations, partnerships, and acquisitions.

Some of the key players operating in this market include Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Ascensia Diabetes Care Holdings AG (Switzerland) (A Part of PHC Holdings Corporation), Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.), DexCom, Inc. (U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), LifeScan IP Holdings, LLC (Switzerland) (Subsidiary of Platinum Equity, LLC [U.S.]), Medtronic plc (Ireland), Ypsomed Holding AG (Switzerland), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), and Nipro Corporation (Japan), ARKRAY, Inc. (U.S.), Prodigy Diabetes Care, LLC (U.S.), ACON Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), and Nova Biomedical Corporation (U.S.).

To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/blood-glucose-monitoring-devices-market-5470

Scope of the Report:

Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market, by Product

Self-monitoring Devices Blood Glucose Meters Test Strips Lancets

Continuous Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Sensors Transmitters & Receivers

Other Devices & Accessories

Note: Other Devices & Accessories include Hemoglobin A1c Testing Kits and Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices.

Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market, by Diabetes Type

Type-2 Diabetes

Type-1 Diabetes

Gestational Diabetes

Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market, by End User

Self/Home Care

Hospital & Clinics

Other End Users

Note: Other End Users include Physician offices, Ambulatory Care Settings, and Diagnostics Labs.

Blood Glucose Monitoring Devices Market, by Geography

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany France U.K. Italy Spain Rest of Europe (RoE)

Asia-Pacific China Japan India Indonesia Rest of Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC)

Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest of Latin America (RoLATAM)

Middle East & Africa

Download Free Sample Report Now @ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=5470

Related Reports:

Diabetes Care Devices Market by Type [Diabetes Monitoring (CGM, Test Strips, Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Meters, Lancets, Haemoglobin A1C Testing Kits)], [Insulin Delivery (Syringes, Pens, Pumps, Jet Injectors)] - Global Forecast to 2028

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/diabetes-care-devices-market-3438

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Laboratory Testing Market by Application (Genetic Testing, COVID-19, Diabetes, STD, Risk Assessment, Cancer, Routine Testing, CBC, CNS, TSH), Sample Type (Saliva, Urine, Blood, Nasopharyngeal, Fecal) - Global Forecast to 2029

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/direct-to-consumer-laboratory-testing-market-5351

Point-of-care Diagnostics Market by Application (Influenza, Pneumonia, COVID-19, TB, HAI, Hepatitis, HIV, Glucose, Coagulation, Hematology, Cancer, Cardiac), Platform, Purchase Mode (Prescription, OTC), End User (Home Care, Hospital)Global Forecast to 2029

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/point-of-care-diagnostics-market-4871

Rapid Diagnostics Market by Product (Kits [OTC, Professional], Readers), Platform (Lateral Flow, Serological, PCR), Application (Blood Glucose, Infectious Diseases, Pregnancy, Drugs of Abuse), End User (Hospitals, Diagnostic Labs, Home Care) - Global Forecast to 2029

https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/rapid-diagnostics-market-5240

About Meticulous Research

Meticulous Research was founded in 2010 and incorporated as Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. in 2013 as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. Since its incorporation, the company has become the leading provider of premium market intelligence in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

The name of our company defines our services, strengths, and values. Since the inception, we have only thrived to research, analyze, and present the critical market data with great attention to details. With the meticulous primary and secondary research techniques, we have built strong capabilities in data collection, interpretation, and analysis of data including qualitative and quantitative research with the finest team of analysts. We design our meticulously analyzed intelligent and value-driven syndicate market research reports, custom studies, quick turnaround research, and consulting solutions to address business challenges of sustainable growth.

Contact:

Mr. Khushal Bombe

Meticulous Market Research Inc.

1267 Willis St, Ste 200 Redding,

California, 96001, U.S.

USA: +1-646-781-8004

Europe : +44-203-868-8738

APAC: +91 744-7780008

Email- sales@meticulousresearch.com

Visit Our Website: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/

Connect with us on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-research

Content Source: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/pressrelease/699/blood-glucose-monitoring-devices-market-2030

CONTACT: Mr. Khushal Bombe Meticulous Research Direct Lines: +1-646-781-8004 (North America) +44-203-868-8738 (Europe) +91 744-7780008 (Asia-Pacific) Email- sales@meticulousresearch.com Visit Our Website: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/ Meticulous Research Blog: https://meticulousblog.org/ Connect with us on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-research




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 7, 2023) - Brascan Gold Inc. (CSE: BRAS) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has entered into a second option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in a second lithium property ("Property #2") with BHBC Exploracao Mineral Ltda. ("BHBC") and RTB Geologia E Mineracao Ltda., both limited companies incorporated and existing under the laws of Brazil (together, the "Optionor"). Property #2 is a 2,963.7-hectare mineral claim package comprising 1.5 contiguous claim blocks in Brazil's Minas Gerais State, a mining-friendly jurisdiction located approximately 55 kms from Sigma Lithium's Grota do Cirilo property, the largest lithium hard rock deposit in the Americas. Brascan's Property #2 is located immediately west of the first property optioned from the Optionor in February 2023 and the two properties are separated by less than 500 m.

Sigma Lithium is located in an emerging world class hard rock Lithium District in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Lithium Ionic, CBL and Latin Resources are very active in exploration and discovery of new lithium deposits.

Latin Resources (A$275M mkt), Sigma Lithium (C$4.1bn mkt) and Lithium Ionic (C$288M mkt) indicate the potential valuations possible for the two Brasil-Li properties upon exploration, discovery and development of a new lithium resource in the district.

Claims map (below) of the Brasil-Li Lithium Property #2 in relation to CBL and SIGMA. Salinas Formation in blue, intruding granitoids in various shades of pink to red (After CPRM Geology Map, 2016).





Figure 1: Claims Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7954/157491_c3476818946a5891_006full.jpg

Brascan notes that no Qualified Person working for Brascan has verified the reported occurrences on Sigma, CBL and the Ionic claims, and the information is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on Property #2.

Property #2 covers mapped metasediments of the Salinas Formation (unit 1), comprising mica-quartz and quartz-mica schists, as well as locally occurring meta conglomerates and micaceous quartzites (CPRM Geology map, 1:250:000 scale; 2016). This is the same unit of the Salinas Formation that has been mined by CBL for spodumene lithium for almost 30 years, and contains Sigma's Grota do Cirilo deposit. Brascan intends to start prospecting, sampling, detailed mapping and multispectral analysis of satellite data immediately to identify potential exploration targets.

Story continues

Brascan has been granted an option to acquire a 100% right, title and ownership interest in Property #2 by (i) paying an aggregate of $150,000 in cash, (ii) issuing an aggregate of 3,000,000 common shares and (iii) incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of $100,000 over a 3-term period. Upon earn-in under the option, BHBC will retain a 2% Net Smelter Royalty (the "NSR"), but the Company will have the right to purchase 1% of the NSR for $500,000. The Option Periods and payment schedule (in Canadian dollars):

Option Period 1

$50,000 cash payment within 5 days of the term option agreement

issuance of 2,000,000 shares within 5 days of the term option agreement

$100,000 in exploration expenditures before September 20, 2023

$50,000 cash payment before September 20, 2023

issuance of 2,000,000 shares before September 20, 2023

Option Period 2

$50,000 cash payment before October 1, 2024

issuance of an 1,000,000 shares before October 1, 2024

$100,000 in exploration expenditures before September 20, 2024

Option Period 3

$50,000 cash payment before September 20, 2025

Balbir Johal, Chief Executive Officer of Brascan, states, "Brascan is very excited to double our lithium landholdings to 60 square kilometres in the Sigma Lithium District in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the potential to explore and discover hard rock lithium deposits. Exploration will begin immediately after exploration planning is quickly completed."

He further said, "Brascan will continue to implement the business plan to acquire several highly prospective lithium assets in two World Class Hard Rock Lithium Districts in Minas Gerais, Brazil and the PMET camp in Quebec, Canada. Our model is similar to Brunswick Exploration Inc."

Qualified Person

Harrison Cookenboo (Ph,D., P.Geo.), is a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

About the Company

Brascan (CSE: BRAS) is a Lithium and Gold exploration issuer based in Vancouver, B.C. BRAS owns a 100% interest in the Quebec-Li properties in northern Quebec. Also the company owns 100% of the Albany Forks Rare Earth Elements (REE) property in northern Ontario and an option to earn 100% of the Alegre Gold Project in Para State in Northeastern Brazil.

For more information, investors should review the Company's filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Contact Information

Balbir Johal

Director and CEO

Telephone: 604 812 1747

Email: bjohal75@gmail.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the option, the obligations thereunder, exploration at Property #2 and valuations possible for Brascan's two Brasil-Li properties upon exploration, discovery and development of a new lithium resource are "forward-looking information". These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/157491
DUBAI, UAE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The British Council held its annual Schools Now! Conference recently in Dubai, which brought together over 2,000 education leaders and professionals from British Council's Partner Schools around the world, to discuss the latest innovations in teaching and learning across international education.

Schools Now! Conference

Schools Now! 2023, themed 'Transforming Schools: Leadership at all levels', explored effective leadership across school communities through keynote presentations, panel discussions and workshops. Delegates learned about the importance of developing student leaders, as well as professional pathways to leadership.

Yvette Hutchinson, Senior Consultant, Schools Global Program, British Council, spoke of promoting leadership at all levels in schools to enable an inclusive culture, that nurtures talents and distributes leadership effectively across staff. Through this approach a safe and enriching environment is enabled where students will have the confidence to step up and develop their own leadership skills that will support them in schools and throughout their lives. He also touched upon how effective leadership is more important for schools than at any time in the past as we emerge from the pandemic.

The conference was a hybrid event, connecting 300 delegates face to face in Dubai with a further 1,700 virtual attendees from around the world. This unique format allowed for an even greater exchange of ideas, insights and best practices from attendees from different regions and cultures. Special guests of the conference included His Excellency Patrick Moody, British Ambassador to UAE.

Keynote speakers and workshop presenters from Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Spain and the United Kingdom, contributed to the rich and diverse discussions.

Sir Mark Grundy, CEO of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, who delivered the first keynote, explored the topic of retaining our best staff and achieve the highest and most specific levels of achievement for our young people. Professor Eman Gaad, Dean of the Faculty of Education and a Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, British University in Dubai (BUiD) spoke about the perceptions of educational leadership for inclusivity. Other keynotes focused on developing 21st century student leaders and leadership development at multiple levels in the school community.

Story continues

Simon Higgins, Global Head of School Exams, British Council said, 'We were delighted to host our eighth annual flagship event Schools Now! global conference in Dubai. This year's theme, 'Leadership at all levels' helped school leaders to reflect on the challenges they continue to face daily in a post pandemic world, and also explored ways to develop leadership throughout their school to better support staff, students, and the wider community.'

Mark Walker, Director English & Exams, British Council highlighted the importance of bringing together education leaders from around the world to share ideas, best practices, and perspectives, 'At the British Council, we are passionate about changing lives. We work hand-in-hand with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence, and connections they need to transform their lives and shape a better world. From learning English to gaining internationally recognized qualifications, we are dedicated to helping our partners build networks, explore creative ideas, and access high-quality education.'

Globally, British Council Partner Schools work with more than 2,000 schools, support over 100,000 teachers and touch the lives of about one million students. With attendees from the Americas, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, South Asia and East Asia, the truly global event helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding and trust through education.

For media enquiries, please contact: Anna Koniuhova, Senior Communications Manager, MENA at Anna.Koniuhova@britishcouncil.org

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 202021 we connected with 67 million people directly and with 745 million people overall.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org . You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017467/British_Council_Conference.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2017466/BC_Schools_Now.jpg

Schools Now! Conference

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-british-councils-schools-now-conference-2023-gathered-over-2-000-delegates-from-30-countries-across-the-world-to-explore-the-future-of-international-education-301764361.html
BEIJING, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

"Chinese-style modernization" has been frequently overheard at this year's two sessions.

When joining a group deliberation with fellow deputies of the 14th National People's Congress from Jiangsu province, President Xi Jinping called for more efforts to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects.

What is Chinese-style modernization? How is it different from Western modernization? China Daily reporter Samantha Stimer spoke with British scholar John Ross to hear his opinions on the subject.

Here are the excerpts:

Q: So my first question is that Chinese-style modernization is a buzzword for the two sessions. In your own words, what exactly is Chinese-style modernization?

A: The core for me is that it's a people-centered development from several points of view.

First, the goal is the improvement of the conditions of the people.

Then, I think, we also take it that it focuses on poverty alleviation. China recorded very dramatic economic growth, particularly after 1978, the fastest of any country in world history. Nevertheless, despite the growth, it left around 50 to 100 million people who were in very inaccessible places or very underdeveloped regions.

But they weren't left. Instead, what happened was that China mobilized all the resources of the state, all the resources of the Communist Party to make sure that these last 50 to 100 (million) people were taken out of poverty.

Q: With globalization, with these differences, with China's people-first policies, what do you think will be China's biggest obstacle as it continues to modernize as it moves forward within this year and the next?

What you would hope to see is China's development of course benefiting other countries. It is a win-win development.

China has been developing itself. If we look at the two most recent crises, it came out through the international financial crisis much, much more successfully. It emerged through the COVID crisis more successfully. I think it's quite clear on the basis of more than last 70 years that China will come through the crises.

Story continues

To learn more, watch the video:

https://youtu.be/GYz6GcOgTjI

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/british-scholar-discusses-chinas-approach-to-modernization-301764459.html

SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn
MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd.

Chicago, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The report " Battery Technology Market by Lithium-ion Type (Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Li-Iron Phosphate), Lead-Acid Type (Flooded, Valve Regulated), Nickel Metal Hydride, Flow, Metal-Air, Nickel-Cadmium & Solid State Battery), Vertical, Region - Global Forecast to 2027", The global battery technology market size is estimated to be USD 95.7 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 136.6 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 7.4%.

The increasing demand for battery-operated electric vehicles and rising adoption of various batteries in renewable energy industry are responsible for the growth of battery technology market. Additionally, the installation of batteries is increasing rapidly in utility sector, which is also responsible for the growth of the market.

Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=253343109

Key Market Players

LG Chem (South Korea),

Hitachi Ltd. (Japan),

SAMSUNG SDI CO. LTD. (South Korea),

GS Yuasa International Ltd. (Japan),

Enersys (US),

Panasonic Holdings Corporation (Japan), and

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (China).

Battery Technology Market and Top Technologies

Lithium-Ion Battery

The Lithium-Ion battery market is the largest due to the application of these batteries in consumer electronics, which accounts for the major share of the overall lithium-ion battery market. Lithium-Ion batteries have a high energy density, making them suitable power sources for consumer electronics. The transportation application has also dominated the lithium-ion battery market. Electric vehicles require high capacity and high power, which can be provided by NMC batteries.

Lead-Acid Battery

Lead-acid batteries are extensively used for telecommunication, UPS, and automotive applications, as well as for several other purposes in the utilities, marine, manufacturing, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. The decomposition process of Lead-acid batteries is less cumbersome compared to other battery storage systems. Lead-acid batteries mostly cater to the backup power needs of this industry and are used to provide Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

Story continues

Nickel Metal Hydride

Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries have a higher capacity, less toxicity, and are more cost-efficient than nickelcadmium batteries. These batteries can be used in a wide range of environments and in various applications such as mobile devices, automobiles, electrically powered devices, and backup equipment. NiMH batteries have a long life, are small in size, and lightweight, thus helping.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is one of the key players in the battery market. It researches, develops, and manufactures energy storage battery systems and electric vehicle (EV) battery systems. It offers a wide range of products that meet the demands of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers globally. The company has adopted various strategies to tap business opportunities in emerging markets. It intends to expand its presence in new markets and has a clear and dedicated customer focus.

Panasonic Holdings Corporation holds the major share of battery technology market in 2021. The company focuses on maintaining high-quality standards throughout its business activities, as quality assumes greater importance and significance in retaining its customers. The company focuses on investing in new technologies to develop high-performance, energy-efficient products. The companys R&D department primarily focuses on developing new technologies and products for industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, housing, and battery solutions.

LG Chem - Another important player in battery technology market is LG Chem. It is an established manufacturer of batteries for various applications. It leads the advanced batteries market for grid-scale, residential storage, and automotive applications. The company is engaged in the development and production of mobile batteries and large-format batteries for automotive and energy storage systems.

Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=253343109

OPPORTUNITIES: Increasing research and development for advancements in batteries

Various manufacturers undertake research and development to develop durable and safer batteries. As the world is moving toward adopting clean energy, there has been a significant increase in the R&D initiatives undertaken by battery manufacturers for developing different battery chemistries. For instance, major players such as Amprius Inc. (US) and Nexeon Corporation (UK) are developing silicon anode batteries with enhanced features. These advanced silicon anode batteries are expected to be adopted in different industries and sectors in the coming years.

CHALLENGES: High cost of battery-operated industrial vehicles

Automated and customized industrial battery-operated mining vehicles, material-handling equipment, AGVs, and forklifts have high manufacturing and installation costs. Industrial vehicles require high energy capacity to be operational anytime and over a long period. The high installation cost is one of the major factors preventing manufacturers from entering the cost-conscious market.

Recent Developments

In June 2022, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. has launched its new cell-to-pack battery Qilin, with record-breaking volume utilization efficiency of 72% and energy density of up to 255 Wh/Kg. This is the highest achievable integration level around the globe.

In October 2021, LG Energy Solution, a subsidiary operated by LG Chem, entered a memorandum of understanding with Stellantis N.V. to form a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America. This joint venture will help Stellantis N.V. achieve a 40% of the companys sales of electrified vehicles by 2030 in the US. The batteries produced in this plant will be supplied to assembly plants of Stellantis N.V. in the US, Canada, and Mexico for installation in next-generation EVs.

In April 2021, Hitachi Ltd. developed an organic solid electrolyte to reduce the life cycle cost of Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are needed for electric vehicles, stationary use, etc., as it is safe, compact, and long life.

Related Reports:

Lithium-ion Battery Market by Type (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LI-NMC), Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO)), Capacity, Voltage, Industry (Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Aerospace)  Global Forecast to 2031

Solid State Battery Market by Type, Rechargeability, Capacity, Application (Consumer Electronics, Electric Vehicles, Energy Harvesting, Medical Devices, Packaging, Wireless Sensors) & Region (2022-2028)

Metal-air Battery Market by Metal (Zinc, Lithium, Aluminum, Iron), Voltage, Type (Primary, Secondary), Application (Electric Vehicles, Military Electronics, Electronic Devices, Stationary Power) and Region - Global Forecast to 2027

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




By Azernews

Qabil Ashirov





Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held meetings with the UN Officials in the fringe of a business trip to Qatar to participate in the Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5), Azernews reports, citing the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan.

First, he met with Rabab Fatima the UN Deputy Secretary General, and High Representative of the United Nations for the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states (UNOHRLLS).

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov spoke about Azerbaijan's close cooperation with the UN and its institutions, and about Azerbaijans participation in projects implemented in the humanitarian field, aid provided to the least developed countries, and aid programs for about 130 countries.

Besides that, Jeyhun Bayramov gave detailed information about the large-scale restoration and construction works carried out by Azerbaijan in the liberated territories, including the efforts made by our country in the direction of advancing the peace agenda, and also informed about the Armenian provocations.

Rabab Fatima spoke about the work done by the organization led by her in order to solve the problems faced by least-developed and landlocked countries. She expressed her belief that the large-scale projects implemented with the initiative and support of Azerbaijan will increase the transport capabilities of the landlocked countries of the region, and will make a substantial contribution to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It was stated that Azerbaijan's aid programs are important.

Later, Jeyhun Bayramov met with Dima Al-Khatib the new Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation.

The meeting discussed the role of aid in technological, social protection, healthcare, education, and other fields in the least developed countries, as well as the possibilities of cooperation in providing aid in this direction.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov gave detailed information about the aid provided by Azerbaijan to the least developed countries. He spoke about the scholarship programs for the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation provided by Azerbaijan.

In addition, the minister gave information about the post-conflict situation in the region, Azerbaijans peace-building steps, the normalization of relations with Armenia, the restoration and construction works in the liberated territories, and the ongoing mine threats. At the same time, the minister informed the other side about Armenia's provocations and obstacles to the peace process.

Furthermore, both the meetings were followed by discussion of other issues of mutual interest.




Shares of Carisma to commence trading on Nasdaq under new ticker symbol "CARM" on March 8, 2023

Resulting cash position of approximately $140 million provides runway through 2024; expected to enable multiple clinical readouts across Carisma programs

PHILADELPHIA, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Carisma Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative immunotherapies, and Sesen Bio, Inc. ("Sesen Bio"), announced today the closing of their previously announced merger. The combined company will operate under the name Carisma Therapeutics Inc. and shares of its common stock will commence trading under the ticker symbol "CARM" on March 8, 2023 on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

(PRNewsfoto/CARISMA Therapeutics Inc.)

"This merger represents a very exciting opportunity for stockholders of each company, and we believe it gets us one step closer to our goal of revolutionizing the field of immunotherapy," said Steven Kelly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carisma. "It will provide us with the financial strength to not only continue to develop our lead candidate CT-0508 but also accelerate the growth of our platform and pipeline within and outside of oncology and continue to develop additional strong strategic partnerships."

Dr. Thomas Cannell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sesen Bio, said, "I want to thank the entire Sesen Bio team for their steadfast commitment to our mission to save and improve lives. Patients, caregivers and investigators around the world have been important advocates of Sesen Bio and I want to thank them for their support. I am confident in the potential of Carisma's promising technology and through the combined company, we can continue to advance our shared mission of saving and improving the lives of patients with cancer. I know the future of Carisma is bright and I am optimistic for their continued success."

Concurrent with the closing of the merger, Carisma completed a $30 million financing from a syndicate of investors, including HealthCap, AbbVie, Wellington Partners, SymBiosis, Penn Medicine, TPG Biotech, MRL Ventures Fund, the therapeutics-focused corporate venture arm of Merck & Co., Agent Capital, Solasta, Livzon, Pictet Alternative Advisors and 4Bio. The projected cash and cash equivalents as of the close of the business combination are expected to be approximately $140 million, providing anticipated operating runway at least through the end of 2024.

Story continues

In connection with the closing of the merger, a one-time special cash dividend of $75 million, or approximately $0.36 per share, will be paid no later than March 10, 2023 to Sesen Bio stockholders of record at the close of business on March 7, 2023. Under the terms of the merger, Sesen Bio stockholders also received one Contingent Value Right, which entitles the holder to receive a cash payment related to any potential proceeds from the sale of Sesen Bio's legacy assets, including Vicineum, and the potential $30 million milestone payment under the Roche Asset Purchase Agreement.

The combined company will be headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and will be led by Steven Kelly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carisma. The board of directors of the combined company will be composed of seven members, including Sanford Zweifach (Chair), Regina Hodits, Briggs Morrison, Bjorn Odlander, Chidozie Ugwumba, Steven Kelly (Carisma President & Chief Executive Officer) and Michael Torok.

"The successful completion of this merger marks an important milestone in Carisma's journey and significantly strengthens its cash resources to advance the company's differentiated pipeline and platform," said Chairman of the Board Sanford Zweifach. "The dedication of the Carisma team, as well as the support and guidance of our advisors and stockholders, have been instrumental in bringing us to this moment. The Board and I look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead."

SVB Securities acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Sesen Bio for the transaction, and Hogan Lovells US LLP served as Sesen Bio's legal counsel. Evercore served as lead financial advisor to Carisma for the transaction, and BofA Securities, Inc. also served as financial advisor to Carisma for the transaction. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is serving as legal counsel to Carisma. BofA Securities, Inc. and Evercore served as co-placement agents for Carisma's concurrent financing and Shearman & Sterling LLP is serving as the placement agents' legal counsel.

About Carisma Therapeutics

Carisma Therapeutics Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing a differentiated and proprietary cell therapy platform focused on engineered macrophages, cells that play a crucial role in both the innate and adaptive immune response. The first applications of the platform, developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania*, are autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-macrophages for the treatment of solid tumors. Carisma is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit www.carismatx.com

*Carisma has licensed certain Penn-owned intellectual property from the University of Pennsylvania, and Penn's Perelman School of Medicine receives sponsored research and clinical trial funding from Carisma. Penn and certain of its faculty members are current equity holders in Carisma and have received and may be entitled to receive future financial consideration from Carisma from the development and commercialization of products based on licensed Penn intellectual property.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about Carisma's future expectations, plans and prospects, strategy or future operations, and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "target," "potential," "possible," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For example, statements concerning Carisma's business, strategy, future operations, cash runway, the advancement of Carisma's product candidates and product pipeline, and clinical development of Carisma's product candidates, including expectations regarding timing of initiation and results of clinical trials are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including without limitation: (i) risks associated with the possible failure to realize certain anticipated benefits of the merger, including with respect to future financial and operating results; (ii) the effect of the completion of the merger on Carisma's business relationships, operating results and business generally; (iii) the outcome of any legal proceedings instituted against Sesen Bio, Carisma or any of their respective directors or officers related to the merger agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby; (iv) the ability of Carisma to protect its intellectual property rights; (v) competitive responses to the merger and changes in expected or existing competition; (vi) the success and timing of regulatory submissions and pre-clinical and clinical trials; (vii) regulatory requirements or developments; (viii) changes to clinical trial designs and regulatory pathways; (ix) changes in capital resource requirements; (x) risks related to the inability of Carisma to obtain sufficient additional capital to continue to advance its product candidates and its preclinical programs; (xi) legislative, regulatory, political and economic developments; and (xii) other factors discussed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent Carisma's views as of the date hereof. Carisma anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Carisma may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Carisma specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, except as required under applicable law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Carisma's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

Media Contact:

Julia Stern

(763) 350-5223

jstern@realchemistry.com

Investor Contact:

investors@carismatx.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carisma-therapeutics-closes-merger-with-sesen-bio-301765135.html

SOURCE Carisma Therapeutics Inc.
LIBOURNE, France, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceva Sante Animale, (Ceva), the #5 animal health company present in 110 countries, participates in the VIV Asia in Bangkok, Thailand. Earlier today, the One Health company held the "Ceva Innovation Day" pre-opening symposium, featuring a keynote speech from President and CEO Marc Prikazsky. His presentation focused on the critical need to move from conceptual thinking to concrete execution  through innovation to address the major challenges facing the world.

Marc Prikazsky, President and CEO of Ceva Sante Animale

Ceva Innovation Day: The Power of innovation.

The Ceva Innovation Day brought together a range of experts from the animal health industry. In his opening speech, in front of an audience of 600 guests, Marc Prikazsky underlined the need to collectively take up 3 major challenges which, if they are not met, will lead us to a very dark future:

The threat of climate change: Ceva is committed  in line with its business purpose - to "drive innovative health solutions for all animals, contributing to the future of our diverse planet." The company has, for several years, worked with organizations dedicated to protecting our living biodiversity, with a specific focus on wildlife: from koalas in Australia to the Amsterdam Island albatross in the remote Pacific. As the UN is warning that up to 1million of plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, Ceva recently launched the Ceva Wildlife Research Fund, to focusing on the development of health solutions for wildlife.

Preparing to prevent the next pandemic by focusing on zoonoses: 75% of emerging human infectious diseases are estimated to come from animals. Ceva therefore supports the call from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedeness (CEPI) backed by the G7 and G20 for a shift of paradigm to compress the development time of vaccines. The current avian flu pandemic, which recently spread to mammals and a few humans provides a concrete example of the need to speed things up. Vectormune AI, which is a reference vaccine for the control of HPAI H5, has been deployed and registered in a large number of countries, including in Asia and is recognized for his cross-clade protection and his capacity to reduce the virus transmission. This vaccine should become a cornerstone of HPAI control and biosecurity. The extraordinary collective scientific and public health achievement in rolling out Covid-19 vaccines pointed the way to what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work effectively together.

The need for safe and sustainable food systems: as the global population heads to 9 billion, we need to create more resilient food systems that guarantee food security, are adapted to and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure that we do no further harm to our rich biodiversity. In a recently published sustainability report commissioned by Health for Animal (Global Animal Health Association), Oxford Analytica estimated that 1.6 billion people could be fed with the animal production that is lost each year because of diseases.

Story continues

In addition, this growing population does not have equitable access to quality animal protein. Malnutrition, which is particularly prevalent in Asia, has a major impact on the development of children. This is why Ceva has created the CourFuture program to fight against the devastating effects of stunting by creating awareness on the benefits of poultry protein (eggs and chickens).

"Innovation is a key driver of progress and is essential to addressing the global challenges we face today," said Marc Prikazsky, President and CEO of Ceva. "We are committed to driving innovation forward in a more sustainable, holistic and collaborative way. However, new ways of execution are needed. We must re-think the way we work together, across sectors and borders, to create a more sustainable and collaborative future for all people, animals, and our planet."

The Ceva Innovation Day symposium provided a platform for industry leaders to share their insights and innovations in animal health. The event highlighted the importance of taking a One Health approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, in driving innovation and creating sustainable solutions for the benefit of all.

VIV Asia: a unique platform to engage with partners and stakeholders.

At VIV Asia, Ceva showcases its innovative solutions for the prevention and treatment of animal diseases, with a strong focus on poultry and swine. The company also presents its range of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and innovative equipment, which are designed to help veterinarians and farmers improve the health and well-being of their animals.

"VIV Asia is a great platform for us to engage with our customers, partners, and stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region," added Marc Prikazsky. "We are proud to showcase our latest innovations, share our knowledge and expertise, and learn from their feedback as we work together to meet the challenges of animal health and welfare."

About us

Ceva Sante Animale is the 5th global animal health company, led by experienced veterinarians, whose mission is to provide innovative health solutions for all animals to ensure the highest level of care and well-being. Our portfolio includes preventive medicine such as vaccines, pharmaceutical and animal welfare products for farm and companion animals, as well as equipment and services to provide the best experience for our customers.

With 6,500 employees located in 47 countries, Ceva strives daily to bring to life its vision as a OneHealth company: "Together, beyond animal health".

https://www.ceva.com

CONTACT:

Emilie Barrail

Head of external communication

emilie.barrail@ceva.com

Ceva Sant Animale Logo

SOURCE Ceva Sante Animale
Airline resumes flights at pre-pandemic frequency with larger aircraft

ONTARIO, Calif., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China Airlines will fully restore daily round-trip service between Southern California's Ontario International Airport (ONT) and Taipei beginning March 26, 2023, ONT officials announced.

China Airlines will resume daily service to and from Southern California's Ontario International Airport later this month.

The return of daily service connecting ONT and Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) marks a major milestone in Ontario's recovery of international air service, all of which was suspended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly three years ago.

"We have eagerly awaited the resumption of daily service between Ontario and Taiwan," said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA). "This exciting development is a testament to the demand for long-haul international travel from the Inland Empire and the exceptional service provided by our global gateway."

After suspending service in March 2020, China Airlines resumed ONT-TPE flights in June 2021, gradually increasing service levels as demand returned. The resumption of daily service occurs at the same time that China Airlines marks its five-year anniversary at ONT.

The first carrier to offer nonstop, transoceanic passenger service to ONT after its transition to local ownership, China Airlines will upgrade the aircraft operating the route from an Airbus A350-900 to a larger Boeing 777-300ER, increasing seat capacity from 306 to 358 across premium business, premium economy and economy classes. The service is also scheduled to provide customers with seamless one-stop connections to additional destinations throughout Asia.

TPE is the primary international gateway to northern Taiwan's more than 9 million residents, while ONT is the closest and most convenient international gateway airport for more than 10 million Southern California residents in San Bernardino, Riverside, northern Orange and eastern Los Angeles counties.

Domestic air travel through ONT surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2022, a milestone achieved by few other airports in California.

Story continues

About Ontario International Airport

Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest growing airport in the United States, according to Global Traveler, a leading publication for frequent fliers. Located in the Inland Empire, ONT is approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport which offers nonstop commercial jet service to more than two dozen major airports in the U.S., Mexico, Central America and Taiwan. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com. Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA)

The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario City Council Member Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario City Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner).

OIAA Media Contact:

Steve Lambert (909) 841-7527 slambert@flyontario.com

Ontario International Airport (ONT) (PRNewsfoto/Ontario International Airport)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-airlines-restores-daily-service-between-ontario-california-and-taipei-301763632.html

SOURCE Ontario International Airport
MAXIMIZE MARKET RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED

Circuit breaker is a switching device, which interrupts the faulty current and performs the function of switch. The general function of circuit breakers is to remove power from a faculty system automatically often known as the OverCurrent Protection Device. There are two contacts in a circuit breaker namely Fixed contacts and Moving contacts.

PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maximize Market research, a global Electronics market research firm, has published a competitive intelligence and market research report on  Circuit Breaker Market . The Circuit Breaker market size was valued at USD 6.13 Bn in 2021. The total Circuit Breaker Market revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9 percent from 2022 to 2029, reaching USD 9.71 Bn during the forecast period.



Market Size in 2021 USD 6.13 Bn Market Size in 2029 USD 9.71 Bn CAGR 5.9 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 260 No. of Tables 125 No. of Charts and Figures 115 Segment Covered By Voltage. Type, 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.

Request For Free Sample Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11577

Circuit Breaker Market Scope and Research Methodology

The Circuit Breaker Market is segmented by voltage, type, end-use, and Region, with a focus on major firms such as market leaders, followers, and new entrants. The report on Circuit Breaker market is an investor guide that provides a comprehensive picture of the competitive landscape of leading players in the Circuit Breaker Market by goods and services, revenue, financial status, portfolio, growth strategies, and geographical presence.

The report is a detailed analysis of the Circuit Breaker Market by country, regional and global presence. By collecting historical data pertaining to the industry, current and future trends in the Circuit Breaker Market are presented in the report along with growth rate and market size forecasts. Regional analysis of the Circuit Breaker market is conducted at local, regional and global levels for a better understanding of the market penetration, competitive structure, pricing and demand analysis. The report on Circuit Breaker Market covers the strategies followed by key players in the market and gives analysis on the basis of Circuit Breaker Market growth in the last few years in the industry which helps investors and major companies decide their investments and make data-driven decisions.

Story continues

Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11577

The competitive analysis of the Circuit Breaker Market provides details of the goods and services, the companys target market, the changes in consumer patterns during the forecast period and pricing analysis. Major manufacturers in the Circuit Breaker Market are listed by region, total market revenue, financial status, technological advancements adopted by the market players, and mergers & acquisitions. Data for analysis from the Circuit Breaker Market is collected by both primary and secondary research methods.

Circuit Breaker Market Overview

A Circuit Breaker is an electrical device designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by excessive current. It interrupts the current flow to protect the equipment and to prevent the risk of fire. Circuit breakers are available in different sizes to protect low-current circuits and high-voltage circuits. The general function of circuit breakers is to remove power from a faculty system automatically often known as the OverCurrent Protection Device.

Get the Sample PDF of Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11577

Circuit Breaker Market Dynamics

Electrification initiatives in developing countries are running electrification programs, to help connect rural areas to the grid. Increasing availability of electricity in fast-paced infrastructure development, is leading to the availability of abundant electrical energy, which is the factor expected to drive the Circuit Breaker Market growth. Electrical networks in residential and commercial buildings and industries have become a mandatory part of electrical networks with the use of Circuit breakers. Heavy-load equipment requires an individual circuit breaker for safe and reliable operation. Increasing investment in power generation, from renewable energy sources to connect power generating stations to switch yards and electrical grid are the factors expected to drive the Circuit breaker market growth.

High competition from unorganized sector due to huge investment for the advancement in technology is expected to restrain the Circuit Breaker market growth. Strict environmental and safety regulations for SF6 circuit breaker are the restraining factor for the Circuit Breaker Market growth.

Circuit Breaker Market Regional Insight

The Asia-Pacific region held the largest Circuit Breaker Market share in 2021. China is the leader in power transmission and distribution, where it is primarily focused on developing transmission lines capable of transferring huge loads across long distance. Wind and Solar are the renewable energy initiatives rapidly developing and growing in China.

Europe and North America region are expected to witness significant growth in the Circuit Breaker Market during the forecast period. Modernization and automation of industries in the region is expected to influence the regional Circuit Breaker Market growth.

Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/checkout/?method=PayPal&reportId=11577&type=Single%20User

Circuit Breaker Market Segmentation

By Voltage:

High Voltage

Medium Voltage

By Type:

Indoor Circuit breaker

Outdoor Circuit breaker

By End User:

Transmission & Distribution Utilities

Power Generation

Renewables

Railways

Circuit breaker Market Key Players include:

ABB

Siemens

Eaton

Mitsubishi

Toshiba

Fuji Electric

TE connectivity

L&T

Powell

Tavrida

Schneider Electric

CG Power and Industrial Solutions

XIGAO Group

LS ELECTRIC

Huayi Electric

Myers Power Products

Meidensha



Key questions answered in the Circuit breaker Market are:

What is Circuit Breaker?

What was the Circuit Breaker market size in 2021?

What is the expected Circuit Breaker market size by 2029?

What is the growth rate of the Circuit Breaker Market?

Which are the factors expected to drive the Circuit Breaker market growth?

Which segment dominated the Circuit Breaker market?

What is the demand pattern for the Circuit Breaker market?

Which region held the largest share in the Circuit Breaker market?

Who are the key players in the Circuit Breaker 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

Market Dynamics  Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by Voltage. Type, and 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 Electronics research firm, has also published the following reports:

Fault Circuit Indicator Market : The total market was worth USD 1.62 Bn in 2021 and overall revenue is expected to grow at a rate of 6 percent from 2022 to 2029, reaching almost USD 2.59 Bn. Increased expansion and formation of new smart grids, industrialization, and the installation and rearrangement of transmission lines is expected to drive market growth.

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) Market : The market size was valued at USD 11.35 Bn in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 14.72 Bn by 2029 at a CAGR of 3.30 percent during the forecast period of 2022-2029. Due to the growing demand for multi-functional systems, the PCB has become a significant factor in determining the functioning is the factor expected to drive the market growth.

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) Market : The market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.01 percent during the forecast period and is expected to reach USD 3.81 Bn by 2029. The increasing popularity of sensing technologies used in various applications and need for safeguarding the customer health are the factors expected to drive the market growth.

Multilayer Flexible Circuit Market : The total market size was USD 25.96 Bn in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 55.64 Bn by 2029, at a CAGR of 10 percent during the forecast period. Increasing requirements of multilayer flex circuits for shielding applications, power plane and ground applications are expected to drive the market growth.

Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) Market : The total market is expected to reach USD 4.72 Bn by 2029, at a CAGR of 17.7 percent during the forecast period. Proliferation of information and communication technology, reduction of telecommunication and network devices, and increasing demand for high bandwidth transmitting devices are expected to drive the market growth.

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.

CONTACT: Contact Maximize Market Research: 3rd Floor, Navale IT Park, Phase 2 Pune Banglore Highway, Narhe, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India sales@maximizemarketresearch.com +91 96071 95908, +91 9607365656




Cleveland, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cleveland, Ohio -

Cleveland State Universitys College of Law (CSU College of Law) now offers an online Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree for those who want to pursue a legal career without having to relocate.

Strong, long-term demand for law school graduates makes the J.D. degree an attractive credential. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 10% growth in jobs for lawyers from 2021 to 2031, which is higher than the average for all occupations. A wave of retirements after years of the pandemic, along with an ongoing need for legal expertise, drives this increased demand.

Many people consider the field of law a prestigious career, as attorneys play an essential role in solving legal problems and pursuing justice. While this profession requires substantial education and training, those with an online Juris Doctor degree often enjoy personal, professional and financial fulfillment. As CSU Law Dean Lee Fisher often says, A law degree is a leader degree.

Cleveland State Universitys Online J.D. Program

The CSU College of Laws Online J.D. is a rigorous, part-time program that provides integrated experiential learning opportunities that put classroom theory into practice. Coursework is 100% online, and students can finish in as little as three years and three months. The hybrid format of the online J.D. is uniquely designed for affordability and access. No matter where students live, they can continue to work in their current job and earn their Juris Doctor without having to relocate.

CSUs Online J.D. also includes six in-person residency weekends, where students gather on campus to work with faculty, alumni, and experienced legal professionals to develop critical professional skills in areas such as litigation, oral advocacy, and negotiation.

In their first year, students are paired with an alumni mentor to connect them directly to the profession and help guide their professional development. Throughout the program, students learn core legal concepts, perform legal research and analysis, and hone their problem-solving and professional competencies for ethical practice. Numerous specializations are available, including health law, business law, corporate compliance, criminal law, cybersecurity and space law.

Story continues

In both live and simulated experiences, students have the opportunity to interact with clients, counsel and advise on trial strategy, prepare briefs, research client questions and prepare legal arguments.

Experiential Learning Provides Practical Legal Training

CSU College of Laws online J.D. program offers experiential learning opportunities for students to learn the law by being active participants in the legal process. We believe in experiential learning, an educational strategy that provides real-world opportunities to immerse yourself in your field and apply your growing knowledge, said CSU President Laura Bloomberg, Ph.D. Experiential learning combines civic involvement with academic coursework in a way that benefits you and the community.

Law Externships

The CSU College of Law currently has more than 40 externship placement locations, including government agencies at the federal, state and local levels, judicial chambers, nonprofit and public interest organizations and corporations. Under the close supervision of an attorney or judge and with a faculty mentor, students contribute to the ongoing work of the externship site, giving them a chance to learn the law by being active participants in the legal process.

Law Clinics

By working in one of the law schools clinics, students will have the opportunity to engage in various litigation, transactional and advocacy experiences that serve the community. Under the close supervision of experienced attorneys, students put what they learn in the classroom to work in the service of real clients with real legal problems. Whether or not students intend to practice public interest law, the clinics allow participation in a case from intake to resolution with full mentoring by clinic professors.

Students from all states are welcome to apply to CSUs JD program online. It should be noted that Alabama, Colorado, New Hampshire, New York and West Virginia do not allow students enrolled in fully online programs to take the Bar exam.

About the University

Cleveland State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the largest regional accreditor in the U.S. The CSU College of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association. CSU is nationally recognized by esteemed organizations and partners with more than 250 organizations to provide a well-rounded education.

Visit the online JD program at Cleveland State University for more information.

###

For more information about Cleveland State University, contact the company here:



Cleveland State University

Jenni Tuttle

admissions@onlinelearning.csuohio.edu

2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115

CONTACT: Jenni Tuttle




Ontario hospital will use Connected Health for its Congestive Heart Failure program, complementing successful Perioperative RPM deployment

News in Summary

Three-year contract provides RPM to Congestive Heart Failure patients

The Connected Health platform replaces a current CHF telehealth program

This is the 7th contract the Company has signed to date in 2023

KITCHENER, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Cloud DX (TSXV:CDX)(OTC:CDXFF), a leading health data platform, announces a new contract with a prominent Ontario health care organization specializing in heart health to establish a remote patient monitoring program for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients.

Cloud DX Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

The company's state of the art Connected Health devices and data platform will replace the organization's current heart failure telehealth program. The 3-year contract aims to enroll congestive heart failure patients in a three-month remote monitoring program with up to 100 patients onboarded per month. The contract value is expected to be up to $171,000 CAD in first year.

In Canada, heart failure is one of the top reasons for hospitalizations, per the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada . CHF is often referred to as a revolving door' condition since one in five heart failure patients will be readmitted to hospital within a month of being discharged. By 2030, healthcare costs associated with heart failure are expected to reach $2.8 billion per year, in Canada.

Cloud DX COO and Co-founder Anthony Kaul says "At Cloud DX we work with our customers to improve healthcare delivery, provide better care outcomes, and lessen the burden on our national healthcare system. Peer reviewed studies show our Connected Health platform successfully lowers hospital readmission rates. Coupled with reported 97% patient satisfaction scores , the remote monitoring for congestive heart failure patients provides high level specialized treatment along with peace of mind for chronically ill patients in their homes."

Story continues

This contract was initiated with Cloud DX and its exclusive national partner, a global leader in healthcare technology. This is the third contract signed together since the announcement of said partnership. It follows the recent announcement of a new cardiac program in Ontario. This cutting-edge level of care offered by the two partners stands to directly impact over 1 million Canadians with life changing support and truly modern healthcare solutions.

About Cloud DX

Cloud DX is on a mission to make healthcare better, for everyone. Clinics and hospitals across North America use our Connected Health data platform to incorporate remote and virtual technology in care delivery. Our remote monitoring solutions lets care teams virtually and efficiently monitor hundreds of patients; Patients use medical devices connected to our platform to take vital sign reading at home letting the platform securely transmits the data to the care team's dashboard or EMR. Connected Health supports remote vital sign monitoring, behavioral medicine, telehealth, care pathways for chronic care, aging in place, palliative or perioperative hospital-at-home, and more. Our customers achieve better healthcare and patient outcomes, reduce hospitalizations and readmissions, lower care delivery costs, and grow patient panels, revenue, and more.

Cloud DX is an exclusive partner to Medtronic Canada, Teladoc Health Canada, and Equitable Life of Canada.

Cloud DX is the co-winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, 2022 Top Innovator by Canadian Business, a 2021 Edison Award winner, a Fast Company "World Changing Idea" finalist, and one of "Canada's Ten Most Prominent Telehealth Providers."

For more information on Cloud DX (TSXV:CDX), visit www.CloudDX.com and follow @CloudDX on Twitter or LinkedIn .

Cloud DX Investor Site https://ir.clouddx.com/overview/default.aspx

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.

# # #

Media Contact

Janine Scott

Marketing Lead

888-543-0944

Janine.Scott@CloudDX.com

Investor Relations Contacts

Canada

Jay Bedard

647-881-8418

Jay.Bedard@CloudDX.com

USA

Gary Zwetchkenbaum

516-455-7662

IR@CloudDX.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. In particular, this news release includes certain forward-looking statements concerning the advancement of the Company's business and partnerships, the expected proceeds therefrom, regulatory approvals, as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions.

Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, the Company's the ability of the Company to fulfill the terms of and derive the benefits from the contract extension.

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.

SOURCE: Cloud DX Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742494/Cloud-DX-Signs-Contract-with-Heart-Centre




Competition Tribunal orders Secure to sell 29 facilities to resolve ongoing harm to competition in Western Canada

GATINEAU, QC, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - On March 3, 2023, the Competition Tribunal ruled in favour of the Commissioner of Competition in his challenge of Secure Energy Services' acquisition of Tervita Corporation. The Tribunal ordered Secure to sell 29 facilities to resolve the substantial lessening of competition found in 136 relevant markets.

Competition Bureau logo (CNW Group/Competition Bureau)

The Commissioner is pleased with the decision, which protects competition for oil and gas waste services used by producers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB).

The Bureau launched its challenge on June 29, 2021 when it filed an application with the Competition Tribunal. Prior to the merger, Secure and Tervita were the two largest suppliers of oilfield waste services in the WCSB. The Commissioner alleged that the loss of rivalry between the two would result in oil and gas producers likely paying higher prices and experiencing a reduced quality of service as a result of the transaction. The Commissioner also stated that the transaction would result in Secure having market power with respect to three different types of oilfield waste services in 143 local markets in the WCSB.

In its decision, the Tribunal agreed that there was a substantial lessening of competition in 136 of these 143 markets. In addition, the Tribunal also determined that Secure did not meet the requirements of the efficiencies defence which it invoked during the hearing.

The Commissioner is aware that Secure intends to appeal the Tribunal's decision at the Federal Court of Appeal. The Bureau is hopeful that this appeal will be heard as quickly as possible to remedy the harm to competition in the affected markets which has been ongoing since July 2021.

Although the Tribunal's full reasons are confidential at this time, a summary of the decision is available on the Tribunal website. A public version of the reasons will be released at a later date.

Story continues

Quotes

"Secure and Tervita were close competitors pre-merger, which led to better outcomes for their customers. I am pleased with this result, as it means that Canadian businesses using oil and gas waste services will once again be able to have access to competitive pricing and quality service."

Mathew Boswell,

Commissioner of Competition

Quick Facts

Pre-merger, Secure and Tervita were the two largest suppliers, and in many areas, the only suppliers of oil and gas waste services in the WCSB and vigorously competed with one another to win customers.

The WCSB, which spans southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories, contains one of the world's largest reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

Section 96 of the Competition Act prevents the Competition Tribunal from issuing an order with respect to a merger if the merging parties can demonstrate efficiencies that will be greater than, and offset, the anticompetitive effects resulting from the merger.

Related products

Associated Links

Contacts

For general enquiries, please contact:

Enquiries | Complaints

Stay connected:

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube | RSS Feed | Email Distribution List

The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.

SOURCE Competition Bureau

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c4491.html
INVL Baltic Farmland

Public joint stock company INVL Baltic Farmland, legal entity code 303299781, the registered address Gyneju str. 14 Vilnius, Lithuania (hereinafter  the Company or  INVL Baltic Farmland), informs that on the initiative and decision of the Management board, the General Ordinary Shareholders Meeting (hereinafter- the Meeting) is to be held on 29th March 2023.

The place of the Meeting: the office of Company, the address Gyneju str. 14, Vilnius.

The Meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. (registration starts at 8:30 a.m.).

The Meetings accounting day 22nd March 2023 (the persons who are shareholders of the Company at the end of accounting day of the Meeting or authorized persons by them, or the persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, shall have the right to attend and vote at the Meeting).

The day of accounting of rights is 13th April 2023.

The total number of the Company's shares is 3,291,549 shares. Considering that the Company has acquired its own shares, the total number of votes at the Company's shareholders' meeting is 3,228,510 votes.

Agenda of the Meeting:

Presentation of the Companys consolidated annual report for 2022 Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and consolidated annual report of the Company Regarding the assent to the remuneration report of the Company, as a part of the consolidated annual report of the Company for the year 2022 Approval of the consolidated and stand-alone financial statements for 2022 of the Company Deciding on profit distribution of the Company Regarding the amendment of the Articles of Association of the Company, the approval of the new version of the Articles of Association and the appointment of a person authorised to sign the new version of the Articles of Association Regarding the approval of new version of the Remuneration policy of the Company Regarding the approval of new version of Regulations of Audit Committee Regarding the purchase of own shares of the Company Regarding the Report of the Audit Committee of the Company

Story continues

Draft resolutions of the Meeting:

1. Presentation of the Companys consolidated annual report for 2022

1.1. Shareholders of the Company are presented with the consolidated annual report of the Company for 2022 (there is no voting on this issue of agenda).



2. Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and consolidated annual report of the Company



2.1. Shareholders of the Company are presented with the independent auditor's report on the financial statements and consolidated annual report of the Company (there is no voting on this issue of agenda).

3. Regarding the assent to the remuneration report of the Company, as a part of the consolidated annual report of the Company for the year 2022

3.1. To assent to the remuneration report of the Company, as a part of the consolidated annual report of the Company for the year 2022 (attached).

4. Approval of the consolidated and stand-alone financial statements for 2022 of the Company

4.1. To approve the consolidated and stand-alone financial statements for 2022 of the Company.

5. Deciding on profit distribution of the Company

5.1. To distribute profit of the Company as follows:

Article (thousand EUR) Retained earnings (loss) at the beginning of the financial year of the reporting period 8,817 Net profit (loss) for the financial year 1,968 Profit (loss) not recognized in the income statement of the reporting financial year - Shareholders contributions to cover loss - Distributable profit (loss) at the end of the financial year of the reporting period 10,785 Transfers from reserves - Distributable profit (loss) in total 10,785 Profit distribution: -484 - Profit transfers to the legal reserves - -Profit transfers to the reserves for own shares acquisition - - Profit transfers to other reserves - - Profit to be paid as dividends* -484 - Profit to be paid as annual payments (bonus) and for other purposes - Retained earnings (loss) at the end of the financial year 10,301

*0.15 EUR is paid per share



6. Regarding the amendment of the Articles of Association of the Company, the approval of the new version of the Articles of Association and the appointment of a person authorised to sign the new version of the Articles of Association



6.1. Considering that from 2022 November 30 the new version of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter  Law on Companies) entered into force, by which the provisions of Article 37 (2) were also adjusted, it is proposed to the shareholders of the Company to specify the competence of the Company's Board, established in the Company's Articles of Association, regarding transactions with related parties and to approve a new version of the Companys Articles of Association (the draft of the Articles of Association is attached hereto), by replacing the entire text of the Articles of Association (without further approval of the amendments of individual clauses of the Articles of Association).

6.2. To authorise the director of the Company Egle Surpliene (with the right to sub-delegate) to sign the new wording of the Companys Articles of Association and to register it in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation and the General Meeting of Shareholders.

7. Regarding the approval of new version of the Remuneration policy

7.1. Considering the fact that after the appointment of an independent member of the board, he is paid the remuneration determined by the decision of the general meeting of shareholders, the Company's Remuneration Policy is updated accordingly. It is proposed to the shareholders of the Company to approve the new version of the Company's remuneration policy (attached).

7.2. In accordance with the provisions of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania, when changing the remuneration policy, all remuneration reports approved after the last general meeting of shareholders voting on the remuneration policy are submitted to the general meeting of shareholders (attached).

8. Regarding the approval of new version of Regulations of Audit Committee

8.1. Considering the changes in the Law on Companies regarding the evaluation of transactions with the Company's related party, the Regulations of the Audit Committee are updated accordingly. It is proposed to the shareholders of the Company to approve the new version of the Regulations of Audit Committee (attached).

9. Regarding the purchase of own shares of the Company

9.1. Until the day of the General Shareholders Meeting the reserve for the purchase of own shares which is equal to EUR 3,079,669 not used.

9.2. To use the reserve (or the part of it) for the purchase of own shares and to purchase shares in the public joint-stock company INVL Baltic Farmland by the rules mentioned below:

(i) The goal for the purchase of own shares  to ensure for shareholders a possibility to sell companys shares.

(ii) The maximum number of shares to be acquired  the nominal value of own shares by the public joint-stock company INVL Baltic Farmland, which may not exceed 1/10 of share capital.

(iii) The period during which the public joint-stock company INVL Baltic Farmland may purchase its own shares 18 months from the day of this resolution.

(iv) The maximum and minimal one share acquisition price: the maximum one share acquisition price- EUR 5.00, the minimal one share acquisition price  EUR 3.00.

(v) The conditions of the selling of the purchased shares and minimal purchase price: the acquired own shares may be annulled by the decision of the General Shareholders Meeting or sold by the decision of the Board on condition the minimum price of sale of own shares shall be equal to the price at which they were acquired and the procedure of selling the shares shall ensure equal opportunities for all shareholders to acquire the said shares.

9.3. The Board of INVL Baltic Farmland is delegated on the basis of this resolution and the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania to organise purchase and sale of own shares, to organise purchase and selling procedure of own shares, and to determine order and timing for purchase and sale of own shares as well as the amount of shares and shares price, and to complete all other actions related with purchase and sale procedure of own shares.

From the date of this resolution, the resolution of the General Shareholders Meeting on 27 April 2022 on the acquisition of own shares expires.

10. Regarding the Report of the Audit Committee of the Company

10.1. In accordance with the rules of procedure of the Audit Committee of the Company (approved on 22 March 2017 by decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company), the shareholders are hereby briefed on the activity report of the Audit Committee of the Company (attached) (no decision is taken on this item of the agenda).



The documents related to the agenda, draft resolutions on every item of the agenda, documents that have to be submitted to the General Shareholders Meeting and other information related to the realization of shareholders' rights are published on the Companys website https://invlbalticfarmland.com/ section For investors, and also by prior agreement available at the premises of the Company, located at Gyneju str. 14, Vilnius (hereinafter  the Premises of the Company) during working hours. Phone for information +370 5 279 0601.



The shareholders are entitled:

to propose to supplement the agenda of the Meeting submitting draft resolution on every additional item of agenda or, than there is no need to make a decision - explanation of the shareholder (this right is granted to shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes). Proposal to supplement the agenda is submitted in writing sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail farmland@invaldainvl.com. The agenda is supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the Meeting. In case the agenda of the Meeting is supplemented, the Company will report on it no later than 10 days before the Meeting in the same way as on convening of the Meeting; to propose draft resolutions on the issues already included or to be included in the agenda of the Meeting at any time prior to the date of the Meeting (in writing, sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail farmland@invaldainvl.com or in writing during the Meeting (this right is granted to shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes); to submit questions to the Company related to the issues of the agenda of the Meeting in advance but no later than 3 business days prior to the Meeting in writing sending the proposal by registered mail to the Company at Gyneju str. 14 LT-01109 Vilnius, Lithuania, or, by prior agreement, delivered in person to the representative of the Company at the Premises of the Company on business hours or by sending proposal to the Company by e-mail farmland@invaldainvl.com. All answers related to the agenda of the Meeting to questions submitted to the Company by the shareholders in advance, are submitted in the Meeting or simultaneously to all shareholders of the Company prior to the Meeting. The Company reserves the right to answer to those shareholders of the Company who can be identified and whose questions are not related to the Company's confidential information or commercial secrets.





The shareholder participating at the Meeting and having the right to vote, must submit the documents confirming personal identity. A person who is not a shareholder shall, in addition to this document, submit a document confirming the right to vote at the Meeting. The requirement to provide the documents confirming personal identity does not apply when voting in writing by filling in a general ballot paper.

Each shareholder may authorize either a natural or a legal person to participate and to vote on the shareholder's behalf at the Meeting. An authorised person has the same rights as his represented shareholder at the Meeting unless the authorized person's rights are limited by the power of attorney or by the law. The authorized persons must have the document confirming their personal identity and power of attorney approved in the manner specified by law which must be submitted to the Company no later than before the commencement of registration for the Meeting. The Company does not establish special form of the power of attorney. A power of attorney issued by a natural person must be certified by a notary. A power of attorney issued in a foreign state must be translated into Lithuanian and legalised in the manner established by law. The persons with whom shareholders concluded the agreements on the disposal of voting right, also have the right to attend and vote at the Meeting.

Shareholder is entitled to issue power of attorney by means of electronic communications for legal or natural persons to participate and to vote on its behalf at the Meeting. No notarisation of such authorization is required. The power of attorney issued through electronic communication means must be confirmed by the shareholder with a safe electronic signature developed by safe signature equipment and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the power of attorney issued through the means of electronic communication by e-mail farmland@invaldainvl.com not later than on the last business day before the Meeting. The power of attorney and notification must be issued in writing and could be sent to the Company by electronic communication means if the transmitted information is secured and the shareholder's identity can be identified. By submitting the notification to the Company, the shareholder shall include the internet address from which it would be possible to download software to verify an electronic signature of the shareholder free of charge.

Shareholders of the Company are urged to use the right to vote on the issues in the agenda of the Meeting by submitting properly completed general voting bulletins to the Company in advance. The form of general voting bulletin is presented at the Company's webpage https://invlbalticfarmland.com/ section For Investors. If shareholder requests, the Company shall send the general voting bulletin to the requesting shareholder by registered mail or shall deliver it in person no later than 10 days prior to the Meeting free of charge. If general voting bulletin is signed by a person authorized by the shareholder, it should be accompanied by a document certifying the right to vote.

The Company invites its shareholders who decide to participate in the Meeting to choose one of the following alternatives:

__________

Alternative No. 1:

A shareholder or person authorised by them should complete and sign a written voting bulletin and send it to the Company by e-mail ( farmland@invaldainvl.com) and send the original bulletin by registered or ordinary post to the address Gyneju str. 14, LT-01109 Vilnius. Properly completed written voting bulletins may be sent by registered or ordinary post to the address Gyneju str. 14, LT-01109 Vilnius without submitting a copy to the e-mail address specified or delivered in person to the Company on business days at the Companys registered address mentioned above. Along with a bulletin, a document confirming the right to vote must also be sent. Those voting bulletins shall be deemed valid which are properly completed and are received before the start of the general shareholders meeting.

__________

Alternative No. 2:

A shareholder or person authorised by them should complete a written voting bulletin, save it on their computer and sign it with a qualified electronic signature. Send the written voting bulletin which is properly completed and signed with a qualified electronic signature to the Company by e-mail at farmland@invaldainvl.com.

The Company suggests using the following free qualified electronic signature systems: Dokobit and GoSign.

__________

Alternative No. 3:

If shareholders of the Company do not have the possibility to use voting alternatives No. 1 or No. 2, the Company will provide conditions for the shareholders or persons duly authorised by them to come on 29th March 2023 to the address Gyneju str. 14 in Vilnius, to the Companys Meeting.





The person authorized to provide additional information:

Director

Egle Surpliene

E-mail egle.surpliene@invaldainvl.com

Attachments




VANCOUVER, BC, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - CubicFarm Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms" or the "Company") (TSX: CUB), a leading local chain agricultural technology company, today announced that its livestock feed subsidiary company, HydroGreen Inc. ("HydroGreen"), has finalized the installation of two previously sold machines to Jim Cheney Inc. in Utah.

CubicFarm Systems Corp. Logo (CNW Group/CubicFarm Systems Corp.)

The equipment was delivered on-site in late December with installation complete in February 2023. Cheney Farms, a beef operation in Fairview, Utah, are now feeding sprouted grain from two HydroGreen DGS 66 machines to their own and neighbouring cattle and can harvest up to 1,150 dry matter pounds per day. Owners Jim and Judy Cheney plan to use the investment to expand their cattle ranch.

"For us the decision was simpleit made a lot more sense to invest in HydroGreen equipment to expand our business than it did to acquire more land," says Jim Cheney. "With the first two machines, we can feed approximately 250 head of cattle, and if we purchase a third machine in the future, which we've built the barn to accommodate, we'll be able to add another 100 to 130 animals which will allow us to sustain our family with the ranch, and that's been a long-time goal."

"HydroGreen has continuously focused on research and development, enabling us to explore the potential applications of our sprouted-grain feed for ruminant livestock," says HydroGreen President, John de Jonge. "By including HydroGreen in beef programs like Cheney's, producers can improve ration consistency and quality, enhance animal productivity, extend the functional life of pastures, and increase stocking densities. The Company has successfully installed 24 machines, with another 19 projects in our global pipeline of potential machine sales contracts, and we continue to see strong demand for the HydroGreen solution."

"Our growing customer base continues to solidify their understanding of what HydroGreen sprouted grains can do for their animals and their businesses," says Candace Dyer, Director of Sales and Customer Service at HydroGreen. "They are consistently growing high-quality sprouted grain forage in the tonnage they need, and this progress is garnering a lot of attention which has intensified awareness, especially in the Intermountain West region in the US, where there is a strong need for our technology and our high-performance feed ingredient."

Story continues

For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com.

Forward looking and other cautionary statements

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to: the estimated harvesting capabilities of the machines, nutritional benefits of feed produced by the machines and quality of the feed in general. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "can", "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. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.

About HydroGreen

HydroGreen produces Automated Vertical Pastures, a type of smart farming equipment that uses a unique process to sprout grains such as wheat and barley, in a controlled growing environment to efficiently produce a high-performance feed ingredient for livestock 365 days a year. HydroGreen's equipment is simple and easy to operate and performs all growing functions automatically, including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding, which allows livestock businesses to feed consistent nutrition every day with minimal labour. When balanced correctly in the ration, HydroGreen sprouted grain modifies animal digestion which enhances productivity and reduces the amount of enteric methane emitted in ruminant livestock. The result also enables environmental benefits to the farm while helping to meet increasing demand for valuable farm-based inset and offset carbon credits.

About CubicFarms

CubicFarms is a leading local chain agricultural technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary ag-tech solutions enable growers to produce high quality, predictable produce and fresh livestock feed with HydroGreen Nutrition Technology, a subsidiary of CubicFarm Systems Corp. The CubicFarms system contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops on-site, indoors, all year round. CubicFarms provides an efficient, localized food supply solution that benefits our people, planet, and economy.

SOURCE CubicFarm Systems Corp.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c1245.html
MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Cymat Technologies Ltd. (TSXV: CYM) (OTCQB: CYMHF) (the "Company" or "Cymat") is pleased to announce that it intends to reprice outstanding warrants and initiate a warrant exercise incentive program.

Cymat Technologies Ltd. (CNW Group/Cymat Technologies Ltd.)

The Company intends to reprice an aggregate of 3,859,862 outstanding common share purchase warrants ("Warrants") issued pursuant to its May 5, 2021 private placement. The Warrants have an exercise price of $0.90 and an expiry date of May 5, 2023. Management believes repricing these "out of the money" Warrants could encourage their earlier exercise, improving the Company's balance sheet and helping to finance a number of business development opportunities in the automotive and military sectors. The Warrants will be deemed to be amended to adjust their exercise price to $0.45 per share (the "Amended Warrants").

The Amended Warrants will also be deemed to have been amended to include an acceleration provision whereby, if for any ten (10) consecutive trading days (the "Premium Trading Days") following the repricing the closing price of the Company's common shares ("Common Shares") exceeds $0.5625, the Amended Warrants' expiry date will be accelerated such that holders will have thirty (30) calendar days to exercise the Amended Warrants (if they have not first expired in the normal course)(the "Acceleration Clause"). The activation of the Acceleration Clause will be announced by press release and the 30-day period will commence seven (7) days after the last Premium Trading Day.

The amendment of the Warrants is subject to the prior consent of all Warrant holders and the approval and the approval of TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") ("Warrant Amendment Approval").

The Company also announces that if it obtains Warrant Amendment Approval, it will institute a warrant exercise incentive program (the "Incentive Program") designed to encourage the early exercise of the 3,859,862 Amended Warrants. Under the Incentive Program, the Company will offer an inducement to each Warrant holder that exercises its Amended Warrants prior to 4:00 pm Toronto time on March 31, 2023, by the issuance of one additional Common Share purchase warrant (an "Incentive Warrant") for each Warrant exercised. Each Incentive Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional Common Share of the Company at a price of $0.60 for a period of two (2) years from the date of the Warrant Amendment Approval and will be subject to a four month and one day hold period from their date of issuance.

Story continues

The Incentive Program will commence upon receipt of Warrant Amendment Approval and will expire on March 31, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. (Toronto time).

Michael Liik, CEO and Chairman of Cymat commented "The company is currently involved in several automotive and military development programs which require ongoing funding." He added, "The proceeds from the exercise of these warrants will also buttress our balance sheet and demonstrate staying power to our commercial partners at this critical juncture."

The Company intends to issue an updating news release upon receipt, if any, of Warrant Amendment Approval and commencement of the Incentive Program, outlining the terms and conditions and the method of exercising Warrants pursuant to the Incentive Program. The Incentive Program is subject to approval by the Exchange.

About Cymat Technologies Ltd.

Cymat Technologies Ltd. has the global rights, through patents and established know-how, to manufacture and sell Stabilized Aluminum Foam ("SAF"), a unique, ultra-light, cellular metallic material. The proprietary production process entails the injection of gases through a molten bath of alloyed aluminum infused with ceramic particles. The result is an advanced, lightweight, recyclable material that exhibits unique characteristics including customizable density and dimensions; mechanical energy absorption; thermal and acoustic insulation; and time, temperature, and strain-rate insensitivity. A key benefit of this continuous foam production process is its scalability and resultant low cost of production. SAF is used in such industries as architectural design, military and automotive. Cymat markets its architectural SAF under the AlusionTM brand and its automotive and military SAF under the SmartMetalTM brand. For further information, please visit our website at www.cymat.com.

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed amendments to the Warrants, the Company's proposed use of proceeds from the exercise of the Amended Warrants and the Incentive Warrants, and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the failure to obtain the Warrant Amendment Approval, failure to obtain Exchange approval for the Warrant amendments and the Incentive Program, impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements may be discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any person in the United States, absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any common shares in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. We seek safe harbour.

Neither the Toronto Venture Exchange (TSXV) nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Not intended for distribution to United States Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of United States Securities laws.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cymat-reprices-warrants-and-announces-warrant-exercise-incentive-program-301764562.html

SOURCE Cymat Technologies Ltd.
Qabil Ashirov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Ghanas Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey within the framework of a business trip to Qatar to participate in the Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5), Azernews reports citing MFA.

First, Jeyhun Bayramov congratulated his Ghanaian counterpart on the occasion of Ghanas national day and wished progress, peace, and tranquility to the friendly people of Ghana.

The meeting discussed issues included in the agenda of cooperation on bilateral and multilateral platforms and discussed potential directions of future cooperation.

Jeyhun Bayramov gave detailed information about the process of normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in the post-conflict period, as well as the current security situation in the region. He noted that the ongoing Armenian military provocations, including the incident on March 5, once again show that this country is not interested in achieving lasting peace in the region and establishing relations based on mutual respect with Azerbaijan.

The meeting also discussed the issues of cooperation within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement. Emphasizing the active participation of Ghana in the activities of the National Assembly as one of the founding states of the movement, Jeyhun Bayramov spoke about the Summit Meeting of the Contact Group of the National Assembly on the fight against COVID-19, which took place in Baku March 2.

During the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.




The round was co-led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Droit, a technology firm at the forefront of computational law and regulation, today announced it has closed a $23 million Series B investment in its latest funding round. The round was led by Pivot Investment Partners and UBS, the leading global wealth manager, through its venture and innovation unit UBS Next. Goldman Sachs, an existing investor, is also participating in the financing round.

Droit Logo

Since its founding in late 2012, Droit has established itself as a technology provider advancing global regulatory compliance in the capital markets space, with its patented Adept platform now used by the world's largest financial institutions for pre- and post-trade decision-making and auditability.

The investment will support Droit's expansion into wealth management through the development of new products specifically for the sector, including Cross Border and Product Suitability. This natural extension of the Adept platform for use in wealth management will allow financial institutions to benefit from the same transparent decision-making infrastructure deployed for capital markets. The investment will also support Droit's expansion of new and existing products, including Position Reporting, Transaction Reporting, advancements in Droit's Pre-Trade product suite, and the build-out of new cloud-based services.

"This year marked Droit's 10-year anniversary and we greatly appreciate the support from our investors and their confidence in our future success. This funding will enable us to accelerate the innovation of our new product lines," said Brock Arnason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Droit. "We are also excited to join UBS Next's portfolio of fintech companies and look forward to partnering with them on building out our wealth management capabilities."

"We believe Droit's capabilities will help companies unlock potential revenue streams by simplifying and driving real-time regulatory compliance," said Mike Dargan, Chief Digital & Information Officer, UBS. "Through this investment, we will work with Droit to build out their product offering to support the industry and look forward to extending our relationship with them across our wealth management business."

Story continues

This funding round comes at a period of strong growth for Droit. Over the past two years, Droit commercialized four new product lines and increased its headcount by nearly 70 percent, adding key leadership roles in business development and technology. Droit also expanded its global footprint establishing a presence in Singapore to support existing clients and build new relationships in the region.

"Since our initial investment in Droit, we have been incredibly impressed with how the team leaned into regulatory complexity, built breakthrough products using its innovative and patented platform, and paved the way for a new approach to consensus-driven compliance. We are proud to co-lead this round and see immense potential in the expansion of the Adept platform for use in Wealth and beyond," said Dinkar Jetley, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Pivot Investment Partners.

About Droit

Droit is a technology firm at the forefront of computational law and regulation within finance and other domains. Founded in 2012, Droit counts many of the largest financial institutions as its clients. Its award-winning, patented platform Adept provides an implementation of regulatory rules reflecting industry consensus. The Adept platform processes tens of millions of inquiries a day, deciding in real-time which interactions are legally permissible across the globe. Adept is used by institutions to evaluate, with sub-millisecond latency, the full regulatory implications of any given interaction within their transactional infrastructure.

For more information visit droit.tech. To obtain more information about Droit's products, please contact sales@droit.tech.

About Pivot Investment Partners

Pivot Investment Partners LLC is a team of CEO-level operating executives who have grown and transformed financial services businesses around the world. The firm works closely with a select set of high-potential FinTech and InsurTech companies, investing operating expertise and capital in their success and accelerated growth. For more information, please visit www.pivotinvestment.com.

About UBS

UBS convenes the global ecosystem for investing, where people and ideas are connected and opportunities brought to life, and provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as to private clients in Switzerland. UBS offers investment solutions, products and impactful thought leadership, is the leading global wealth manager, provides large-scale and diversified asset management, focused investment banking capabilities, and personal and corporate banking services in Switzerland. The firm focuses on businesses that have a strong competitive position in their target markets, are capital efficient and have an attractive long-term structural growth or profitability outlook.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in more than 50 regions and locations, with about 30% of its employees working in the Americas, 29% in Switzerland, 20% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 21% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs more than 72,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2016603/Droit_Logo.jpg

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/droit-raises-23-million-in-series-b-funding-round-supporting-global-growth-and-wealth-product-development-301763618.html

SOURCE Droit
REPORTSINSIGHTS CONSULTING PVT LTD

The global drug discovery informatics market is estimated to register a CAGR of 10.9% during 2023-2030, boosted by rising adoption of big data analytics to analyze complex drug datasets such as genomics and proteomics data in order to gain precise insights in drug development.

New York, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Drug Discovery Informatics Market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 10.9% from 2023 to 2030, reaching a value of USD 5.5 Billion by 2030, according to the research report by Reports Insights. The market was valued at USD 2.7 Billion in 2022. The report provides an analysis of the market by segmenting it into different components, such as software, services, end-users, and regions. It offers insights into the competitive landscape of the market, including key players, their strategies, and market share.

Drug Discovery Informatics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Type (Software, Services (Sequence and Target Data Analysis Platforms, Libraries and Database Preparation, Docking, Molecular Modeling, and Others), Workflows (Discovery Informatics (Lead Generation Informatics, Identification & Validation Informatics, Assay Development Informatics) Development Informatics (FHD Preparation, Lead Optimization, Phase IA Informatics, Phase IB /2 Informatics), Mode (In-House Informatics, Outsourced Informatics), End Use (Pharmaceutical Companies, Biotechnology Companies, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and Others), By Region and Segment, Forecast Period 2023  2030.

Get Sample Report@ https://www.reportsinsights.com/sample/673780

Drug discovery informatics is the application of computational and information technology to accelerate and streamline the drug discovery process. Informatics involves the usage of computer algorithms and data analytics to design, develop, and test new drugs in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Drug discovery informatics integrates a variety of disciplines, including chemistry, biology, pharmacology, statistics, and computer science.

Story continues

The drug discovery process typically involves several stages, from the identification of a potential target molecule to the development of a safe and effective drug. Such informatics tools are used at each stage of such process to help researchers make informed decisions and improve their chances of success. One of the primary applications of drug discovery informatics is in the context of the identification of potential drug targets. This involves the use of bioinformatics methods to analyze large datasets of biological information such as genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data to identify molecules that play a role in disease development or progression Informatics methods are also used to optimize the properties of lead compounds and predict the efficacy and safety. This involves the usage of computational modeling and simulation tools to predict the physicochemical properties of a drug, along with pharmacokinetics, and the interactions with target molecules and other biological systems. Thus, researchers have the opportunity to identify potential problems by simulating the behavior of a drug in-silico and make informed decisions about how to modify the structure of a drug to improve overall drug efficacy and safety.

Moreover, drug discovery informatics is a rapidly evolving field that is becoming increasingly important in the pharmaceutical industry. By leveraging the power of data science and computer technology, researchers pose chances to accelerate the drug discovery process, reduce costs, and ultimately develop more effective treatments for a wide range of diseases.

Report Attributes Report Details Market Size By 2030 USD 5.5 Billion Forecast Period 2023-2030 CAGR (2023-2030) 10.9% Base Year 2022 Study Timeline 2017-2030 Key Players Clarivate Analytics, Certara, Infosys Ltd., Agilent Technologies, Inc., IBM, Dassault Systemes, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Charles River Laboratories, Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc., Eurofins DiscoverX Products, GVK Biosciences, Jubilant Biosys, Selvita, Cognizant, Albany Molecular Research Inc., Oracle, Accenture, Illumina, Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., OpenEye, Cadence Molecular Sciences, Schrodinger, Inc. By Type Software, Services (Sequence and Target Data Analysis Platforms, Libraries and Database Preparation, Docking, Molecular Modeling, and Others) By Workflows Discovery Informatics (Lead Generation Informatics, Identification & Validation Informatics, Assay Development Informatics) Development Informatics (FHD Preparation, Lead Optimization, Phase IA Informatics, Phase IB /2 Informatics By Mode In-House Informatics, Outsourced Informatics By End Use Pharmaceutical Companies, Biotechnology Companies, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), and Others Report Coverage Company Ranking and Market Share, Growth Factors, Total Revenue Forecast, Regional Competitive Landscape, Business Strategies, and more. By Geography North America [United States, Canada, Mexico]



Asia-Pacific [China, Southeast Asia, Japan, India, Korea, Western Asia]



South America [Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Peru]



Europe [Germany, UK, Spain, Turkey, France, Italy, Russia, Netherlands, Switzerland]



Middle East & Africa [GCC, North Africa, South Africa]

Immediate Delivery Available, Buy Now @ https://www.reportsinsights.com/buynow/673780

Key Market Highlights

The global drug discovery informatics market size is expected to reach over USD 5.5 billion by 2030 and grow at a CAGR of 10.9% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

Globally, drug discovery informatics is categorized based on the type into software, and services (sequence and target data analysis platforms, libraries and database preparation, docking, molecular modeling, and others).

In the context of workflows, the market is divided into discovery informatics (lead generation informatics, identification & validation informatics, assay development informatics) and development informatics (FHD preparation, lead optimization, phase IA informatics, phase IB /2 informatics.

On the basis of mode, the market is separated into in-house informatics and outsourced informatics.

As per the end use, the market is categorized into pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, contract research organizations (CROs), and others.

The market is geographically divided into five regions: Europe, South America, the Asia-Pacific, North America, and the Middle East and Africa.

North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific are projected to support the market growth during the forecast period in terms of favorable investments in research and development of drug discovery studies by several clinical trial networks, academic institutions, and others.

Drug Discovery Informatics Market Segmentation Details:

Based on the solution, the services segment contributed the largest shares to the market growth in 2022. The large-scale usage of computational methods to analyze large datasets such as genetic and protein sequence data supports the demand for such services in drug discovery processes to identify potential targets. Moreover, the need to manage and analyze large amounts of data supports the high demand for informatics services such as databases, data visualization tools, and statistical analysis that allow researchers to organize, analyze, and interpret complex data.

Based on workflows, the discovery informatics segment accounted for the largest share contribution to the drug discovery informatics market in 2022. The high demand for discovery informatics to build predictive models supports segment growth in terms of the identification of potential drug targets and predicting the efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates to optimize the properties of lead compounds. Also, the large-scale usage of such discovery informatics to analyze the complex interactions between proteins, genes, and other biological molecules supports the demand for such informatics to identify key pathways and targets that are relevant to drug discovery.

Based on mode, the in-house informatics segment is expected to contribute substantial shares to the market growth during the forecast period. The growing demand for customized analysis methods supports the demand for in-house informatics that allow researchers to work in terms of specific datasets, such as in-silico modeling, network analysis, and machine learning. Further, in-house informatics also witnesses high demand among organizations to manage intellectual property related to drug discovery, especially in terms of patent applications and licensing agreements.

Based on end use, the pharmaceutical companies segment accounted for the largest share contribution in 2022. The growing demand for drug discovery informatics in drug development in terms of prediction of ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) properties support the demand for such informatics in pharmaceutical companies that help identify potential safety issues early in the drug development process.

Based on region, North America accounted for the largest share contribution in 2022. The large and established presence of major pharmaceutical companies, especially headquartered in the United States and Canada supports the growth of drug discovery informatics statistics in the North American region. Moreover, access to high-quality research infrastructure including high-performance computing clusters, advanced imaging technologies, and large-scale data storage and management systems in world-class universities, research institutes, and government research agencies supports the market growth in the region.

Browse Full Report @ https://www.reportsinsights.com/industry-forecast/global-drug-discovery-informatics-market-statistical-analysis-673780

Recent Developments

In January 2023, Agilent Technologies Inc. announced plans to invest more than USD 725 million for the expansion of the production capacity for therapeutic nucleic acids. The initiative is a response to the rapid growth of the USD 1 billion market and the high demand for the company's top-class active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

In January 2023, Agilent Technologies, Inc. formed a collaboration with Akoya Biosciences, Inc. (also known as "The Spatial Biology Company") to create multiplex-immunohistochemistry solutions for tissue analysis and to promote workflow solutions in terms of multiplex assays in the clinical research sector.

In January 2023, OpenEye Scientific announced the release of the 2022.4 Orion Suites and Modules. The launch aims to provide users with advanced scientific capabilities, superior calculation performance, and scalability to meet the complex requirements of drug discovery.

In February 2023, Medidata, a renowned subsidiary of Dassault Systemes, has been acknowledged as a leader in the 2022 IDC MarketScape evaluation for "Worldwide Life Science R&D Risk-Based Monitoring Solutions".

List of Major Drug Discovery Informatics Market Players



The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for drug discovery informatics, as researchers race to find treatments and vaccines for the disease. Additionally, advances in genomics, proteomics, and personalized medicine have increased the demand for drug discovery informatics tools and software. The companies offer a wide range of products and services, including software platforms, data management solutions, consulting and outsourcing services, and others. Various market players heavily invest in research and development to stay ahead of the competition and to offer the latest and most advanced drug discovery informatics tools and services to customers. Listed are the market players that currently operate in the market environment

Clarivate Analytics

Infosys Ltd.

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Certara

IBM

Dassault Systemes

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Charles River Laboratories

Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc.

Eurofins DiscoverX Products

GVK Biosciences

Jubilant Biosys

Selvita

Cognizant

Albany Molecular Research Inc. (Curia Global, Inc.)

Oracle

Accenture

Illumina, Inc.

PerkinElmer Inc.

OpenEye, Cadence Molecular Sciences

Schrodinger, Inc.

Global Drug Discovery Informatics Market Segmentation:

By Solution Software Services Sequence and Target Data Analysis Platforms Libraries and Database Preparation Docking Molecular Modeling Others

By Workflows Discovery Informatics Lead Generation Informatics Identification & Validation Informatics Assay Development Informatics Development Informatics FHD Preparation Lead Optimization Phase IA Informatics Phase IB /2 Informatics

By Mode In-House Informatics Outsourced Informatics

By End Use Pharmaceutical Companies Biotechnology Companies Contract Research Organizations (CROs) Others



Our Related Research Reports here:-

Pediatric HIV Infection Treatment Market Size, Growth, By Regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East And Africa), Analysis, Trend and Forecast (2022-2028)

Pyrogen Testing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Testing Type (Bacterial Endotoxin Testing (BET), Rabbit Pyrogen Testing, Monocyte Activation Test, Recombinant Factor C (rFC) Testing, and Others ), Product Type (Kits and Reagents, Instruments, and Others), End-Use (Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies, Medical Devices Companies, Biomedical Companies, Food and Beverages Companies, Test Service and Diagnostic Laboratories, Clinical Research Organizations (CRO), and Others), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030

Population Health Management Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Component (Software and Services), Deployment (On-premise and Cloud-based), End-use (Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Payers), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030

Hospital Asset Management Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Product Type (Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems, Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), Ultrasound and Infrared Sensors, Barcode Scanners, and Others), Application (Inventory Management, Equipment Tracking, Patient Tracking, Staff Management, Instrument Management, Supply Chain Management, and Others), End-User (Hospitals, Laboratories, Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Pharmaceutical Companies, Biotechnology Companies, and Others), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030

Allergy Diagnostics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Allergen (Inhaled Allergens, Food Allergens), Product (Instruments, Consumables), End User (Diagnostic Laboratories, Hospitals), by End-use, Region, And Segment, Forecast Period-2022  2028

About Reports Insights Consulting Pvt Ltd

ReportsInsights Consulting Pvt Ltd. is the leading research industry that offers contextual and data-centric research services to its customers across the globe. The firm assists its clients to strategize business policies and accomplish sustainable growth in their respective market domains. The industry provides consulting services, syndicated research reports, and customized research reports.

Topnotch research organizations and institutions to comprehend the regional and global commercial status use the data produced by ReportsInsights Consulting Pvt Ltd. Our reports comprise in-depth analytical and statistical analysis on various industries in foremost countries around the globe.

CONTACT: Contact: Email: sales@reportsinsights.com USA: +1-214-272-0393 Europe: +44-20-8133-9198




SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

The E-commerce logistics market is a fast-paced and ever-changing market that requires businesses to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and advancements to remain competitive. In this regard, SkyQuest's latest report is an invaluable resource that provides insightful information on the industry's key growth areas and innovations. By leveraging the insights provided in the report, businesses can gain a comprehensive understanding of the market landscape, enabling them to make informed decisions that enhance their operations. This, in turn, can lead to improved competitiveness, increased profitability, and better customer satisfaction.

Westford, USA, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asia Pacific has emerged as a dominant force in the e-commerce logistics market . This is largely due to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, which enables customers to access reliable tracking information and facilitates more streamlined and cost-effective operations. Additionally, printed electronics technology has become increasingly prevalent, as it can help reduce shipping costs in e-commerce. Furthermore, implementing automated identification and data capture (AIDC) technologies has contributed to the market's growth by improving inventory accuracy, reducing data entry costs, and minimizing shipping errors. The trend toward customization of e-commerce logistics services has also played a significant role in driving market expansion.

The E-commerce industry has been experiencing phenomenal growth in recent years, and according to SkyQuest, this trend is set to continue. The E-commerce market is anticipated to cross a staggering USD 58.74 trillion by 2028, indicating a massive growth potential for the E-commerce logistics market. As online shopping continues to gain popularity, the demand for efficient and reliable logistics solutions has become increasingly important.

Get sample copy of this report:

https://skyquestt.com/sample-request/e-commerce-logistics-market

Story continues

Browse in-depth TOC on "E-Commerce Logistics Market"

Pages - 274

Tables - 121

Figures - 67

E-commerce logistics encompasses a range of processes involved in transporting and delivering goods purchased online. These processes include inventory management, warehousing, packaging, labeling, invoicing, shipping, payment collection, return, and exchange. An efficient e-commerce logistics system relies on detailed information about territories, roads, road conditions, regulations regarding the movement of goods, and transport laws to deliver goods faster and more accurately.

Prominent Players in E-Commerce Logistics Market

DHL International GmbH

S.F.Express

Amazon

Ceva Holdings LLC.

Aramex International

Gati Limited

Xpo Logistics Inc.

FedEx Corporation

Rhenus Group

Clipper Logistics Plc.

Kenco Group, Inc.

United Parcel Service, Inc.

Transportation Segment to Attain Higher Growth Rate owing to Rising Demand for Reliable Transportation Services to Deliver Products to Customers

In the E-commerce logistics market, the segment of transportation has proven to be a crucial component. It plays a significant role in ensuring that the products purchased online are delivered to their respective customers on time and in good condition. In 2022, this segment accounted for a significant revenue share, and this trend is projected to continue from 2023 to 2030. The transportation segment's growth is expected to continue and reach even greater heights. With the rise of major technologies such as drones, autonomous vehicles, and robotics, the transportation industry is set to undergo a significant transformation.

In the rapidly evolving world of e-commerce logistics, the Asia Pacific region established itself as the top-performing E-commerce logistics market in 2022, surpassing other growth and market share areas. As per the predictions by SkyQuest, the number of internet users is expected to reach an impressive 1,476.83 million users by 2028. This forecast indicates significant growth in the accessibility of the internet, not only in urban areas but also in rural regions. The increasing penetration of the internet in both these areas holds great promise for the growth of e-commerce businesses.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://skyquestt.com/report/e-commerce-logistics-market

Domestic Segment to Garner Swift Growth Rate Thanks to Rapid Expansion of e-Commerce Platforms Requiring a Robust Logistics Network

The E-commerce logistics market has witnessed significant growth in recent years, fueled by the growing popularity of online shopping. However, in 2022, the domestic segment emerged as the dominant player in the market, and experts predict that it will continue to hold the leading position in the years to come. The domestic market segment refers to the movement of goods within a country from the seller to the buyer. This segment has seen tremendous growth due to the increasing number of online shoppers who prefer to buy products from the comfort of their homes.

According to recent market research, North America is a significant player in the global e-commerce logistics market. With the second-largest revenue share in 2022, this region is a hub for e-commerce giants. According to market research firm SkyQuest, the retail revenue generated from consumer electronics and technology sales in the United States reached USD 634 million by the end of the fiscal year 2020. This figure highlights consumers' substantial spending on electronics products in the US market. Furthermore, as technology advances and new products are introduced, the demand for e-commerce logistics is expected to rise.

SkyQuest, a reputable market research company, recently unveiled a detailed report that covers the E-commerce logistics market. The report offers a comprehensive industry analysis, presenting valuable insights into the prevailing market conditions, emerging trends, major players, and novel product innovations. Investors can leverage this information to make informed decisions and pinpoint high-potential investment opportunities in the market.

Key Developments in E-Commerce Logistics Market

TForce Logistics, a prominent provider of final mile delivery services for e-commerce, has recently announced its collaboration with Shipium, a well-known enterprise shipping platform catering to the needs of e-commerce retailers and third-party logistics companies (3PLs). This partnership is expected to significantly transform the delivery landscape of the e-commerce industry by leveraging both companies' expertise and capabilities. Overall, this partnership between TForce Logistics and Shipium is predicted to offer a comprehensive solution for e-commerce businesses looking to improve their shipping operations.

Colavita USA, a renowned Italian food brand, has recently partnered strategically with an e-commerce technology provider to upgrade its Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) logistics. The partnership will enable Colavita USA to leverage the latest e-commerce technologies to improve its supply chain, logistics, and distribution capabilities. The DTC model has gained immense popularity recently, especially in the food and beverage industry. It allows brands to sell their products directly to customers without any intermediaries.

Yusen Logistics, the forwarding arm of Japanese shipping group NYK Line, has recently acquired Taylored Services Parent, a third-party logistics provider based on the US west coast. The acquisition of Taylored Services Parent by Yusen Logistics is expected to create a stronger logistics network with enhanced capabilities and wider reach. Taylored Services Parent has a strong presence on the US west coast, a critical hub for trade with Asia. In addition, its expertise in e-commerce logistics will complement Yusen Logistics' existing strengths.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/e-commerce-logistics-market

Key Questions Answered in E-Commerce Logistics Market Report

How can companies gather and analyze consumer data to inform business strategies and improve customer satisfaction in different markets and sectors?

How can companies effectively adapt to high-growth sectors' rapidly changing market conditions, such as technology and e-commerce, while maintaining a competitive edge?

How can companies stay up-to-date on emerging trends and technologies in their industry, and what are some effective approaches to proactively identify and respond to these developments?

What are the most significant government policies and regulations affecting different industries, and how can companies navigate and comply with these regulations?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Delivery Drones Market

Global Pharmaceutical Logistics Market

Global Freight Brokerage Market

Global Aircraft Line Maintenance Market

Global Shopping Trolley Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter




Pune, India - (NewMediaWire) - March 7, 2023 - Absolute Reports Published a Report for Global "e-Invoicing Market" that provides crucial details on company opportunities, growth plans, trends, innovations, the competitive landscape in 2022, and the geographic outlook. Based on relevant market and regional segmentation, a thorough assessment of this worldwide market includes the historical analysis of this market (From 2017 to 2022) and develops reliable and approximative timeline estimations up to 2027.

What is the projected market size & growth rate of the e-Invoicing Market?

e-Invoicing Market Size is projected to Reach Multimillion USD by 2027, In comparison to 2023, at unexpected CAGR during the forecast Period 2023-2027.

Get a Sample PDF of report on Global e-Invoicing Market Spread across 100 Pages (Including Full TOC, Tables & Figures, and charts) Covers Precise Information on Pre & Post COVID-19 Market Outbreak by Region. (Ask For Sample Report)

Client Focus



1. Does this report consider the impact of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on the e-Invoicing market?



Yes. As the COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war are profoundly affecting the global supply chain relationship and raw material price system, we have definitely taken them into consideration throughout the research, and in Chapters, we elaborate at full length on the impact of the pandemic and the war on the e-Invoicing Industry.

Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of Russia-Ukraine War and COVID-19 on this e-Invoicing Industry.

TO KNOW HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR WILL IMPACT THIS MARKET - REQUEST SAMPLE

Furthermore, our report also provides detailed information about the usage of e-Invoicing products and services, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the pricing trends in the market. Moreover, the report provides insights into the regulatory landscape governing the use of e-Invoicing and highlights potential opportunities for growth. Thus, this report is an invaluable resource for buyers for determining their investment decisions in the e-Invoicing market.

Story continues

Get a Sample PDF of report - https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/request-sample/21610399

e-Invoicing Market - Competitive and Segmentation Analysis:

2. How do you determine the list of the key players included in the report?



With the aim of clearly revealing the competitive situation of the industry, we concretely analyze not only the leading enterprises that have a voice on a global scale, but also the regional small and medium-sized companies that play key roles and have plenty of potential growth.

Who are the Key players and innovators in the ecosystem of the e-Invoicing Market?

Araize, Inc. Sovos Sage Group PaySimple Acclivity Group LLC FinancialForce KashFlow Software SAP Xero Tipalti Solutions Ltd. Mercury Systems, Inc. EDICOM Brightpearl FreshBooks Intuit

Short Description About e-Invoicing Market:

The Global e-Invoicing market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2023 and 2027. In 2022, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.

The global e-Invoicing market size was valued at USD 6042.37 million in 2021 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.98% during the forecast period, reaching USD 10689.84 million by 2027.

The report combines extensive quantitative analysis and exhaustive qualitative analysis, ranges from a macro overview of the total market size, industry chain, and market dynamics to micro details of segment markets by type, application and region, and, as a result, provides a holistic view of, as well as a deep insight into the e-Invoicing market covering all its essential aspects.

For the competitive landscape, the report also introduces players in the industry from the perspective of the market share, concentration ratio, etc., and describes the leading companies in detail, with which the readers can get a better idea of their competitors and acquire an in-depth understanding of the competitive situation. Further, mergers & acquisitions, emerging market trends, the impact of COVID-19, and regional conflicts will all be considered.

In a nutshell, this report is a must-read for industry players, investors, researchers, consultants, business strategists, and all those who have any kind of stake or are planning to foray into the market in any manner.

Get a Sample Copy of the e-Invoicing Report 2022

3. What are your main data sources?



Both Primary and Secondary data sources are being used while compiling the report.



Primary sources include extensive interviews of key opinion leaders and industry experts (such as experienced front-line staff, directors, CEOs, and marketing executives), downstream distributors, as well as end-users.Secondary sources include the research of the annual and financial reports of the top companies, public files, new journals, etc. We also cooperate with some third-party databases.

What segments are covered in the e-Invoicing Market?

The Global e-Invoicing Market is segmented into Product Types, Applications, Key players and Geography

What are the key factors driving the growth of the e-Invoicing Market?

Growing demand for Energy, FMCG, Finance, E-Commerce, Express Services, Others around the world has had a direct impact on the growth of the global e-Invoicing market

What are the upcoming trends of e-Invoicing market in the world?

Increasing adoption of Cloud-Based, On-Premises is major trend in marrine battery industry

What are the key regions in the global e-Invoicing market?

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

This e-Invoicing Market Research/Analysis Report Contains Answers to your following Questions

What are the global trends in the e-Invoicing market? Would the market witness an increase or decline in the demand in the coming years?

What is the estimated demand for different types of products in e-Invoicing? What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for e-Invoicing market?

What Are Projections of Global e-Invoicing Industry Considering Capacity, Production and Production Value? What Will Be the Estimation of Cost and Profit? What Will Be Market Share, Supply and Consumption? What about Import and Export?

Where will the strategic developments take the industry in the mid to long-term?

What are the factors contributing to the final price of e-Invoicing? What are the raw materials used for e-Invoicing manufacturing?

How big is the opportunity for the e-Invoicing market? How will the increasing adoption of e-Invoicing for mining impact the growth rate of the overall market?

How much is the global e-Invoicing market worth? What was the value of the market In 2020?

Who are the major players operating in the e-Invoicing market? Which companies are the front runners?

Which are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams?

What Should Be Entry Strategies, Countermeasures to Economic Impact, and Marketing Channels for e-Invoicing Industry?

Customization of the Report

4. Can I modify the scope of the report and customize it to suit my requirements?



Yes. Customized requirements of multi-dimensional, deep-level and high-quality can help our customers precisely grasp market opportunities, effortlessly confront market challenges, properly formulate market strategies and act promptly, thus to win them sufficient time and space for market competition.

Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at -https://www.absolutereports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/21610399

Detailed TOC of Global e-Invoicing Market Insights and Forecast to 2027

Global e-Invoicing Market Research Report 2023-2027, by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications

1 Introduction

1.1 Objective of the Study

1.2 Definition of the Market

1.3 Market Scope

1.3.1 Market Segment by Type, Application and Marketing Channel

1.3.2 Major Regions Covered (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Mid East and Africa)

1.4 Years Considered for the Study (2015-2027)

1.5 Currency Considered (U.S. Dollar)

1.6 Stakeholders



2 Key Findings of the Study



3 Market Dynamics

3.1 Driving Factors for this Market

3.2 Factors Challenging the Market

3.3 Opportunities of the Global e-Invoicing Market (Regions, Growing/Emerging Downstream Market Analysis)

3.4 Technological and Market Developments in the e-Invoicing Market

3.5 Industry News by Region

3.6 Regulatory Scenario by Region/Country

3.7 Market Investment Scenario Strategic Recommendations Analysis

4 Value Chain of the e-Invoicing Market

4.1 Value Chain Status

4.2 Upstream Raw Material Analysis

4.3 Midstream Major Company Analysis (by Manufacturing Base, by Product Type)

4.4 Distributors/Traders

4.5 Downstream Major Customer Analysis (by Region)

5 Global e-Invoicing Market-Segmentation by Type

6 Global e-Invoicing Market-Segmentation by Application



7 Global e-Invoicing Market-Segmentation by Marketing Channel

7.1 Traditional Marketing Channel (Offline)

7.2 Online Channel



8 Competitive Intelligence Company Profiles

9 Global e-Invoicing Market-Segmentation by Geography

9.1 North America

9.2 Europe

9.3 Asia-Pacific

9.4 Latin America

9.5 Middle East and Africa



10 Future Forecast of the Global e-Invoicing Market from 2023-2027

10.1 Future Forecast of the Global e-Invoicing Market from 2023-2027 Segment by Region

10.2 Global e-Invoicing Production and Growth Rate Forecast by Type (2023-2027)

10.3 Global e-Invoicing Consumption and Growth Rate Forecast by Application (2023-2027)



11 Appendix

11.1 Methodology

12.2 Research Data Source

Continued.

Purchase this report (Price 3250 USD for a single-user license) -https://www.absolutereports.com/purchase/21610399

About Us:

Absolute Reports is the credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs. At Absolute Reports, our objective is providing a platform for many top-notch market research firms worldwide to publish their research reports, as well as helping the decision makers in finding most suitable market research solutions under one roof. Our aim is to provide the best solution that matches the exact customer requirements. This drives us to provide you with custom or syndicated research reports.

Contact Us:

Organization: Absolute Reports

Web: https://www.absolutereports.com
Highlights:

E3 Lithium awarded $3.545M in funding through Natural Resources Canada's Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program

The non-dilutive and non-repayable funds will be used to support the construction and operation of E3 Lithium's 2023 field pilot plant

CALGARY, AB, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - E3 LITHIUM LTD. (TSXV: ETL) (FSE: OW3) (OTCQX: EEMMF), Alberta's leading lithium developer and extraction technology innovator, today announced it has been awarded $3.545M CAD in funding from Natural Resources Canada's Critical Minerals Research Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program.

E3 Lithium Ltd. Logo (CNW Group/E3 Lithium Ltd.)

Funds for the CMRDD program were allocated under the Government of Canada's federal Budget 2021 to support the development of Canadian critical minerals in recognition of the crucial role they play in the energy transition. E3 Lithium (E3) was one of six organizations selected from applicants from across Canada.

"Canadian innovators are leading the way towards a cleaner future. Today's investment of more than $3.5 million in E3 Lithium will help to advance the development of a dynamic and competitive critical minerals sector through the development and demonstration of innovative processing technologies. This means good jobs for workers, more investment in Canadian innovation, and lower emissions across the country - all part of our plan to build a cleaner Canada and a prosperous, sustainable economy that works for everyone."

- The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources Canada

The $3.545M in funding will be allocated in its entirety towards the design, construction and operation of E3's field pilot plant, which is on track to begin operations in Q3 2023. Natural Resources Canada joins Alberta Innovates and the Government of Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development's (ISED) Strategic Innovation Fund in providing support to E3 for the development of the lithium industry in Western Canada.

Story continues

"We are ecstatic to receive funding from Natural Resources Canada to support the work we are doing to produce battery-grade lithium. Receiving support from all levels of government to develop our lithium resource speaks volumes to the importance placed on commercializing critical minerals from Alberta and the progress E3 has made in developing this industry."

- Chris Doornbos, President and CEO, E3 Lithium

The funding from the Government of Canada is non-share dilutive and is not required to be repaid. E3 shall submit and be reimbursed for eligible expenses on an ongoing basis throughout the term of the agreement. Additional and previously announced funding to support E3's pilot plant includes a $1.8M grant from Alberta Innovates and a $27M conditionally repayable investment from the Strategic Innovation Fund to support a breadth of development costs towards E3's commercial operations.

About E3 Lithium

E3 Lithium is a development company with total of 24.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) inferred mineral resources1 in Alberta. As outlined in E3's Preliminary Economic Assessment, the Clearwater Lithium Project has an NPV8% of USD 1.1 Billion with a 32% IRR pre-tax and USD 820 Million with a 27% IRR after-tax1. Through the successful scale up its DLE technology towards commercialization, E3 Lithium's goal is to produce high purity, battery grade lithium products. With a significant lithium resource and innovative technology solutions, E3 Lithium has the potential to deliver lithium to market from one of the best jurisdictions in the world.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chris Doornbos, President & CEO

E3 Lithium Ltd.

1: The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Clearwater Lithium Project NI 43-101 technical report is effective Sept 17, 2021. The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the North Rocky Property, effective October 27, 2017, identified 0.9Mt LCE (inferred). The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bashaw District Project, effective July 11, 2022, identified 23.4Mt LCE (inferred). All reports are available on the E3 Lithium's website (e3lithium.ca/technical-reports) and SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of emerging lithium extraction technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale or on the Company's brine, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE E3 Lithium Ltd.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c6023.html
Elcora Advanced Materials Corp.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ELCORA ADVANCED MATERIALS CORP. (TSX.V:ERA | Frankfurt:ELM | OTCQB  ECORF) (the "Company" or "Elcora") is pleased to announce that it has received, through its Ermazon SARL wholly owned subsidiary, a Manganese Exploitation License from the Moroccan government for its site named Atlas Fox Deposit in the region. This license allows Elcora to mine, extract, process and sell Manganese from its 16 km mining concession in Morocco.



The Atlas Fox Deposit had been mined until the mid-fifties when the French rule in Morocco came to an end. A representative amount of the mineral was sent to the SGS-certified African Laboratory for Mining and Environment (AFRILAB). Manganese (Mn) masses tested between 16% and 50% for an average of 34% before sorting or processing.

The mining method will initially be open pit, the production potential run rate at the Atlas Fox Deposit is thought to be approximately 2,500 metric tonnes / month. Manganese ore 37% sells at about $331USD / metric ton (https://www.fastmarkets.com) on the international market. The price is not necessarily indicative of the sales prices to be received by Elcora.

Recently passed EU, US and Canadian policies and laws aim to support local economies, secure their battery raw material supply chains, and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels into clean energy. The objective of these policies and laws has direct benefits to the Manganese Market.

Manganese is not only an essential metal in converting iron into steel, but it also plays a crucial role in the longevity, energy and performance of the batteries produced to power electric vehicles. The Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt oxide battery is most common in power tools and in powertrains for vehicles. In these batteries, electrolytic Manganese dioxide is used as a cathode material.

The increasing use of electric vehicles is expected to drive the demand for Manganese, investors are optimistic that lithium-ion batteries that require Manganese will become more common in the future.

Story continues

Troy Grant, Elcoras CEO, commented, The use of Manganese not only provides a solution for renewable energy storage, but it also has the potential to create new jobs and stimulate local economic growth. The extraction and processing of Manganese requires specialized skills and technology, and the development of Manganese-based batteries has the potential to create new industries driving Elcoras growth.

Elcora would like to thank the Moroccan Government and all its departments and especially Mr. Mohamed LEMNIAI (Regional Director Beni Mellal) and Mr. Abdelali JIRARI (Provincial Director Khenifra) for their support in granting this important exploitation license. We look forward to contributing to the economic growth of Morocco and the region.

About Elcora Advanced Materials Corp.

Elcora was founded in 2011 and has been structured to become a vertically integrated battery material company. Elcora can process, refine, and produce battery related minerals and metals. As part of the vertical integration strategy Elcora has developed a cost-effective process to purify high-quality battery metals and minerals that are commercially scalable. This combination means that Elcora has the tools and resources for vertical integration of the battery minerals and metals industry.

For further information please visit the company's website at: http://www.elcoracorp.com

For further information please contact: Troy Grant, Director, President & CEO, Elcora Advanced Materials Corp., T: +1 902 802-8847

Qualifying Statements: Klaus Leiders P. Eng., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, approves the technical information contained in this news release.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 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. No stock Exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This News Release includes certain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization and reserves, exploration results, and future plans and objectives of Elcora, 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Elcoras expectations are exploration risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Elcora with securities regulators.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the filing statement prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon.




ReportLinker

Increasing focus of countries on promoting electrification of mass transit solutions due to increased concerns over pollution and government support in terms of subsidies and grants are propelling the growth of the electric truck market.

New York, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Electric Trucks Market by Propulsion, Type, Range, Battery Type, Battery Capacity, Level of Automation, End User, GVWR & Region - Global Forecast to 2030" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06130513/?utm_source=GNW





Reducing cost of EV batteries

The cost of EV batteries has been decreasing over the past decade due to technological advancements and the production of EV batteries on a mass scale.In 2010, the price of an EV battery was USD 1,100 per kWh.



According to Bloomberg, the price fell to USD 138 per kWh in 2022 and as low as USD 100 per kWh in China.This is due to the reduced manufacturing costs, cathode material prices, and increased production volume.



Prices of EV batteries are expected to be USD 40-60 per kWh by 2030, which will reduce the price of EV trucks, making them priced similarly to conventional ICE trucks.Other top battery manufacturers like Samsung SDI, Panasonic, LG Chem, SK Innovation, and CATL have been working with top EV manufacturers to achieve this goal in the next 4-5 years.



In April 2022, Samsung SDI announced the development of cobalt-free batteries to secure the price competitiveness of its EV batteries.



Lower operating cost

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), 94.1 million barrels of gasoline per day were consumed in 2021 around the world. According to Forbes, petrol prices in the international market have been rising over the years. The demand for petrol and diesel in the world is high as they are non-renewable resources, which may get exhausted in the next few decades. Even though many treaties have been made to control the price of petrol in the international market, prices have been rising over the years. As most countries import petrol, its usage contributes to lowering the balance of trade in the economy. The limited petroleum reserves and rising prices of fuel have led automakers to consider alternative fuel sources for their vehicles. The operating cost of electric trucks is lower than petrol and some other fuel alternatives. Along with environment conservation, this is a major factor in the growing demand for EVs in the market.



Increasing vehicle range

The major area of development in electric trucks is their driving range on a single charge.With improvements in EV battery technology, various OEMs are working on developing longer-ranged electric trucks.



This will make electric trucks more viable as part of the commercial vehicle sector in the coming years.In February 2022, BYD launched Q1 for heavy-duty operations 25 with a 5 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.



It delivers a range of around 200 km while the top-speed is restricted at 85 km/h.In October 2022, PepsiCo (US) announced the delivery of 100 electric truck Semi with a range of 500 miles to be used in its fleet for delivery purposes.



The logistics sector is the most contributing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Governments across the globe are constantly introducing new initiatives and policies to endorse long-range electric trucks for the logistics sector. These are expected to have a large market across major European countries such as Germany, UK, and France. US and China will also have a large market for upcoming long-range electric trucks due to strong government support.

The study contains insights from various industry experts, ranging from component suppliers to tier 1 companies and OEMs. The break-up of the primaries is as follows:

 By Company Type: Tier 1 - 29%, Tier 2  14%, OEMs - 57%

 By Designation: CXOs - 54%, Directors - 32%, Others - 14%

 By Region: North America - 32%, Europe - 36%, Asia Pacific- 32%

The electric truck market is dominated by players such as BYD(China), Mercedes Benz Group AG (Germany), AB Volvo (Sweden), Ford Motor Company(US), Rivian(US) and others.



Research Coverage

The report segments the electric trucks market and forecasts its size, by volume, on the basis of propulsion type (BEV, PHEV, FCEV) vehicle type (light-duty trucks, medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks), battery type (lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt Oxide, lithium-iron-phosphate, others), end user (last mile delivery, long haul transportation, distribution services, refuse services, field services), by range (upto 200 miles, above 200 miles), GVWR (upto 10,000 lbs, 10,001-26,000 lbs, above 26,000 lbs), level of automation (semi-autonomous trucks and autonomous trucks), battery capacity (< 50 kWh, 50-250 kWh, above 250 kWh) & Region. It also covers the competitive landscape and company profiles of the major players in the electric truck market ecosystem.



Key Benefits of Buying the Report:

 The report will help market leaders/new entrants in this market with information on the closest approximations of revenue and volume for electric truck market and its sub segments.

 This report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insights to better position their businesses and plan suitable go-to-market strategies.

 The report also helps stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06130513/?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




Elevar Therapeutics

Presence in pharmaceutical industry hotbed allows Elevar to recruit top talent as it continues toward a commercial launch of cancer drug rivoceranib

Elevar Therapeutics Debuts New Corporate Headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Interior photo of Elevar Therapeutics' new corporate headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Elevar Therapeutics Debuts New Corporate Headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Elevar Therapeutics' new corporate headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey, overlooks the Hudson River

FORT LEE, N.J., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elevar Therapeutics, Inc., a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company dedicated to elevating treatment experiences and outcomes for patients who have limited or inadequate therapeutic options, today announced the opening of its new corporate headquarters in Fort Lee, New Jersey.









The move from Elevars former headquarters in Salt Lake City comes as the company prepares to file a New Drug Application (NDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for rivoceranib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Elevar and its parent company, HLB, are developing rivoceranib in combination with Hengrui Pharmas PD-1, camrelizumab, as a treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common type of liver cancer. Elevar intends to submit the NDA filing for the combination therapy during the first half of 2023.

Elevar is excited to debut our U.S. headquarters in New Jersey as we move closer to an NDA for rivoceranib in combination with camrelizumab as a treatment option for patients with unresectable HCC, said Saeho Chong, chief executive officer of Elevar. Now is the right time to make this move, establishing Elevars presence amid some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, and some of the best talent.

The new office is located in 1 Bridge Plaza (North Central Road, Suite 850, Fort Lee, N.J., 07024), directly across the Hudson River from New York City. Elevar will maintain an office in Utah and also has offices in California, Ireland and South Korea.

Though Elevar is fully committed to remaining a remote work company, locating our headquarters in New Jersey will help us further build our staff and give team members an option to work from our offices should they wish to, said Chong. We are thrilled to call Fort Lee home.

Story continues

About Rivoceranib

Rivoceranib is the first small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved in gastric cancer in China (November 2014). Rivoceranib is a highly potent inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), a primary pathway for tumor angiogenesis. VEGFR-2 inhibition is a clinically validated approach to limit tumor growth and disease progression. Rivoceranib is co-developed by Hengrui Pharma in China and by Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. globally (excluding China). It has been studied in more than 6,000 patients worldwide and was well tolerated in clinical trials with a comparable safety profile to other TKIs and VEGF inhibitors. Rivoceranib is currently being studied as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy in various solid tumor indications. Clinical studies are ongoing in multiple solid tumor types including gastric cancer (as a monotherapy and in combination with paclitaxel), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (in combination with camrelizumab), adenoid cystic carcinoma (as monotherapy) and colorectal cancer (in combination with Lonsurf). Orphan drug designations have been granted in gastric cancer (U.S., EU and South Korea), in adenoid cystic carcinoma (U.S.) and in HCC (U.S.). Elevar holds the global rights (excluding China) and has partnered for the development and marketing of rivoceranib with HLB-LS in South Korea. Rivoceranib, under the name apatinib, is currently approved in China for advanced gastric cancer and in second-line advanced HCC by the Chinese-territory license-holder, Hengrui Pharma, under the brand name Aitan.

About Elevar Therapeutics

Elevar Therapeutics, Inc. is a rapidly growing, fully integrated biopharmaceutical company built on the promise of elevating treatment experiences and outcomes for patients who have limited or inadequate therapeutic options. Elevars lead proprietary drug candidates include rivoceranib and paclitaxel micellar (Apealea). Rivoceranib, under the name apatinib in China, was developed by Hengrui Pharma in China and approved in China as a single agent for treatment of gastric cancer in 2014 and second-line advanced HCC in 2020. It has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S., Europe and South Korea and has been clinically tested in more than 1,000 patients worldwide in numerous cancer indications. Apealea is a non-Cremophor EL based formulation of paclitaxel that received marketing authorization by the European Commission in November 2018, making it Europes first non-Cremophor EL formulation of paclitaxel approved for use in ovarian cancer. Elevar is headquartered in New Jersey, with offices in Utah, California, Ireland and South Korea. Additional information is available at ElevarTherapeutics.com .

Media Contact

Rosemary Ostmann

Phone: 201-615-7751

Email: rostmann@rosecomm.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e6f73860-5c8d-41a5-b6b5-a0783523eff7

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f6397a42-173d-4e90-aa96-df9508dd6a35




Shenzhen Century Joint Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.

Shenzhen, China , March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Elite Secondary Desktop Monitor for the Lenovo Yoga 9i is the INNOCN 32Q1U 32 Inch OLED 4K Computer Monitor

Shenzhen, China  China's Shenzhen Century Joint Innovation Technology Company Ltd. (INNOCN) has been making high-quality desktop computers, smart displays, and portable monitors for global customers for nearly a decade. The company's stated mission is to raise the value of screen display monitors and develop cutting-edge technology to increase the potential of creators everywhere.

Pairing the INNOCN 32Q1U 32-Inch OLED 4K Computer Monitor with any of the other popular smart devices on the market is an easy decision. This new smart desktop will be on sale from March 6 to March 13, 2023, for $1159.99. This price includes a $400 Amazon coupon.

The INNOCN 32Q1U 32-Inch OLED 4K Computer Monitor is a great fit for the Lenovo Yoga 9i due to its built-in USB Type C port. Lenovo's Yoga 9i, with its 14-inch OLED screen and 4K resolution, is a top-notch laptop. When paired with the Lenovo Yoga 9i, the INNOCN 32Q1U gives users a larger display on which to do things like administer online meetings, display PowerPoint presentations to large groups, and so on.

The 32-inch screen on the 32Q1U smart computer monitor is also great for live streaming, doing exercises at home, and more. It features a sharp and detailed 32-inch OLED 4K UHD screen. HDR10, 99% DCI-P3, 99% sRGB, 1M: 1, and E1 color accuracy are a few of the other features that contribute to the incredible true-to-life image quality.

The USB-C port on the 32Q1U computer monitor supports 90W PD charging, making it ideal for powering up a Lenovo Yoga 9i and any other compatible devices. Users can adjust the height, angle, and tilt of this slick computer monitor for the best viewing experience. This 32-inch smart display is also VESA mountable, making it a versatile addition to any room that can accommodate a modern monitor of that size.

Story continues





CONTACT: Media Contact Manufacturer's Name: Shenzhen Century Joint Innovation Technology Company Limited Manufacturer's Official Website: https://www.innocn.com/ Manufacturer's Email Address: marketing@innocn.com




Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival 2023 is set to take place from March 3rd to March 31st, welcoming international tourists to explore the vibrant city.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual festival of Ao Dai is a month-long extravaganza of Vietnam's rich culture and traditional costumes through a diversity of feisty activities throughout the city. Since its inception in 2014, Ho Chi Minh City Ao dai Festival has become a much-anticipated part of the city's annual calendar.

The Ao Dai parade with over 3,000 participants in Ao Dai Festival 2023

This year's Festival is graced by the presence of esteemed beauty queens such as Miss H'Hen Nie (Miss Universe Vietnam 2017 and Top 5 Miss Universe 2018), Miss Annabelle Mae McDonnell from the Philippines (First Runner-up of Miss Charm 2023), as well as Nguyen Huynh Kim Duyen (Runner-up in Miss Supranational 2022). Joining them are music icons Kyo York, Soobin, Nguyen Phi Hung and other renowned artists.

The festival features an exquisite fashion show with over 500 Ao Dai models, showcasing 21 Ao Dai collections by celebrated designers such as Si Hoang, Do Trinh Hoai Nam, Lien Huong, Trisha Vo, Viet Hung, Ao Dai Nam Tuyen, Ao Dai artist Trung Dinh, along with Anna Hanh Le, Ella Phan, and Ho Tran Da Thao, etc., each of which celebrates and pays tribute to the unique and distinctive cultural identity of Vietnam.

The highlight of the festival is the vibrant parade of stunning Ao Dai designs that takes place on March 5, 2023, along a pedestrian route from Nguyen Hue to Le Loi, Dong Khoi and other popular tourist attractions. Over 3,000 participants joined the spectacular Ao dai parade in the traditional costume through boulevards of the city. The parade showcased a wide range of Ao Dai designs, from the traditional to the modern, embodying the festive spirit and promoting Vietnam's rich culture and heritage.

Beyond the festival, Ho Chi Minh City is a captivating city for you to explore, a perfect blend of vibrant modernity and cultural tradition. With its bustling nightlife, renowned street food, iconic landmarks, and rich history, Ho Chi Minh City is an ideal destination for international tourists looking to experience something new this summer.

Story continues

For more information please visit:

Website: http://lehoiaodaitphcm.com.vn .

SOURCE Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Tourism
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria Rouslan Stoyanov.

Ambassador Rouslan Stoyanov presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.

Emphasizing that the two countries are close and strategic partners, the head of state expressed confidence that the bilateral ties would continue to develop. Touching upon the importance of the high-level reciprocal visits, President Ilham Aliyev underlined that these trips, which demonstrate the friendly ties, featured the adoption of decisions on very important issues on the bilateral agenda.

The head of state highlighted the energy sector as one of the areas of current cooperation. The Azerbaijani leader touched upon the importance of the South Gas Corridor project, and expressed hope that both countries would continue to be close partners in terms of ensuring energy security for the many years to come. President Ilham Aliyev said that implementation of joint projects had enabled Bulgaria to evolve into the transit country for the Azerbaijani gas.

The Azerbaijani President pointed out there is potential for development of cooperation in other spheres along with the energy one, and highlighted the importance of making efforts to boost the trade turnover.

The head of state hailed mutual political activity between the two nations, and stressed the role of Bulgaria in Azerbaijan-European Union and Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation.

The President of Azerbaijan wished the ambassador success in his activities.

Rouslan Stoyanov extended Bulgarian President Rumen Radev`s greetings to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings, and asked the ambassador to communicate his greetings to Rumen Radev.

Describing Azerbaijan as a strategic partner for Bulgaria, the ambassador said that the existing mutual trust and high-level meetings between the two countries are the sign of the strategic partnership. Rouslan Stoyanov underscored that Azerbaijan-Bulgaria relations are not only of a strategic nature, but they are also friendly ties. The ambassador also stressed the significance of commissioning the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria.














TORONTO, March 6, 2023 /CNW/ - RYAH GROUP Inc. (RYAH-CSE-the 'Corporation')

RYAH Group Logo (CNW Group/RYAH Group, Inc.)

RYAH wishes to announce that it has received and responded to the Second Comment Letter from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) regarding the Failure-to-File Cease Trade Order issued under National Policy 11-207 Failure-to-File Cease Trade Orders and Revocation in Multiple Jurisdictions (the Policy) and RYAH's application for relief from section 144 of the Securities Act (Ontario).

As announced in late July 2022, the OSC had issued a Failure-to-File Cease Trade Order (''FFCTO'') on the trading of RYAH Group's subordinate voting shares listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. This FFCTO was instituted because of delays in filing the audited financial statements and related documents in accordance with regulatory dispositions. This FFCTO is still in place.

RYAH management endeavors to respond rapidly to any further comments or queries from the OSC. Management hopes to obtain the revocation of the FFCTO as soon as possible. RYAH will keep investors updated with regular news releases.

About RYAH Group Inc.:

RYAH is a global Big Data and cannabis and other nutraceutical delivery technology company enabling valuable AI-powered predictive analytics of the efficacy of plant-based medicines and other substances administered through its IoT-connected devices including the world's only Smart InhalerTM and Smart PatchTM.

AI: Artificial Intelligence

IoT: Internet of Things

Disclaimers: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Story continues

SOURCE RYAH Group, Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/06/c7008.html
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY) is pleased to announce it has closed the previously announced acquisition of the Mercer Ranch land package for US$10 million, consisting of approximately 6,000 deeded acres (private land) within 32,000 acres of controlled ranch land. For additional details see the Company's news release dated February 27, 2023.

About Faraday Copper

Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing its flagship copper project in Arizona, U.S. The Copper Creek project is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the TSX under the symbol "FDY".

For additional information please contact:

Stacey Pavlova, CFA

Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications

Faraday Copper Corp.

E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com

Website: www.faradaycopper.com

To receive news releases by e-mail, please register using the Faraday website at www.faradaycopper.com.

SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742206/Faraday-Copper-Announces-Closing-of-Mercer-Ranch-Acquisition-at-the-Copper-Creek-Project-in-Arizona




Season 1 of the FieldRoutes Field Famous podcast will launch March 7, 2023, presenting stories of dedicated professionals from the pest control and lawn care industries.

MCKINNEY, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldRoutes , a ServiceTitan company and a leading cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses, today announced the launch of its Field Famous podcast , a new show for listeners and viewers to hear stories of driving success, overcoming challenges, and reaching goals from pest control and lawn care professionals.

FieldRoutes, a ServiceTitan company (PRNewsfoto/FieldRoutes)

"FieldRoutes salutes the hard-working professionals in the industries we serve," said Patti Newcomer, chief marketing officer for FieldRoutes. "FieldRoutes is invested in empowering those in the field service industry to reach their goals and grow their businesses. The Field Famous podcast provides a dynamic new medium through which we will showcase their achievements."

Field Famous, which makes its debut with the launch of Season 1, will be hosted by Dr. Christopher Fasano, director of growth marketing for FieldRoutes. Dr. Fasano, a neuroscientist passionate about connecting with others to understand their journeys and a veteran podcast presenter, began laying the groundwork for Field Famous to a positive reception at the National Pest Management Association's annual conference, PestWorld, in October 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Episodes will feature interviews with industry leaders achieving what FieldRoutes calls "fame-worthy" status in pest control and lawn care. FieldRoutes recognizes that fame-worthy achievements look different for everyone. It might mean maximizing their profit margins, being known by name in a market, or scaling a business so they can make it home in time for dinner with their family.

The podcast, available on platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, will cover a wide variety of topics including technology, business growth, and marketing. Field Famous guests will inform and inspire others in the industry through their interviews.

Story continues

In one of the first episodes, Adam Creed, the recruiting director for ABC Home & Commercial Services in Texas, discusses proven strategies companies can use not just to fill jobs but to fill them with top talent. In another, Breanna Neerland of Kwik Kill Pest Control explains how she brought positive change and efficiency to her second-generation family business in Madison, Wisconsin, and why her leadership in the state's Professional Women in Pest Management (PWIPM) chapter matters to her.

The Field Famous podcast is an opportunity for FieldRoutes to help ensure these industry professionals, regardless of their software provider or company affiliation, get the recognition they deserve by celebrating their accomplishments for all to hear.

"No two stories of success and no two experiences are the same in the pest control and lawn care industries," Newcomer said. "Listeners and viewers of Field Famous, whether they're business owners, field employees, office staff, or others, will come away as energized by what they can learn from these real stories and by the people telling them as we are at FieldRoutes."

If you are interested in sharing your story on the Field Famous podcast, contact FieldRoutes via email at fieldfamous@fieldroutes.com . Learn more at BeFieldFamous.com .

About FieldRoutes

FieldRoutes, a ServiceTitan company, is a cloud-based and mobile SaaS provider for field service businesses. FieldRoutes' platform automates many aspects of field service operations for enterprise and small business customers with office management, advanced route optimization, payment processing, digital sales, marketing, and customer acquisition capabilities. Contractors across the country rely on FieldRoutes to provide them with data-driven insights to become more efficient and drive revenue to their business, so they can grow quickly, scale intelligently, and serve their customers relentlessly. In 2018 PestRoutes and Lobster Marketing joined together and in 2021 unified under one brand, FieldRoutes.

 2023 Field Service Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved. FieldRoutes, PestRoutes, and all FieldRoutes and PestRoutes product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or unregistered trademarks of Field Service Holdings, LLC or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other brand names and marks mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fieldroutes-introduces-the-fame-worthy-leaders-of-field-service-301762738.html

SOURCE FieldRoutes, a ServiceTitan company
Good morning, Broadsheet readers! California calls it quits with Walgreens over its abortion pill stance, Yum China Holdings seizes on China's post-COVID boom, and former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty shares her personal side in her new book Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World, which is out today. Have a great Tuesday!



- The personal side. In her new book Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World, Ginni Rometty describes arriving at IBM as an entry-level systems engineer in 1981. The company had a buttoned-up culture, well-known enough that Rometty purchased a navy-blue pinstripe suit before her first day.

Forty-two years and one CEO job later, Rometty is on the other side of that formal culture. In her new book, published today, she shares personal stories that shaped her professional life.

I knew that if I didn't do it, it would not help people, Rometty told me of her decision to share her personal life.

"Good Power: Leading Positive Change in our Lives, Work, and World By Ginni Rometty

Rometty tells readers how her father left their family when she was 16. Her mother was forced to support four kids outside of Chicago without a college degree or any work experience. Rometty took on the responsibility of caring for her younger siblingswhich she says is one reason she never had children of her own. Watching her mother go back to school as an adult inspired Romettys support for continuing education programs and hiring employees from nontraditional career paths.

She shares her experience with her weight; colleagues in the 1980s told her to lose weight, saying that her physical appearance was holding back her career. While Rometty acknowledges such a comment would be inappropriate in todays corporate environment, she says the advice was well-meaning.

She reflects on her mixed feelings about being the first female CEO of IBM, a job she held between 2012 and 2020. She tried to avoid the label for a long time but ultimately came to the same conclusion she did about IBMs struggles to evolve from a legacy business to a modern tech company. If I didn't define who the company was, other people would define it for me, she remembers; the same applied to her own experience.

Story continues

Rometty opens the book with the story of her father leaving her family. The formative experience influenced nearly everything that followed, including the CEOs determination to succeed and rise to the top of corporate America. As she navigated challenges as IBMs CEO, traveling constantly, overseeing complex transactions, and attempting to turn around a struggling business, her familys experience grounded her. That, to me, set the bar for what bad was. No matter how bad other things got, Id say its not that badI can keep working through this.

She hopes that people come away from her book with a new understanding of how to do hard thingswith a positive impact. You have to reveal things, she says, for people to learn.

Emma Hinchliffe

emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

@_emmahinchliffe

The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Kinsey Crowley. Subscribe here.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

More from Fortune:






PARIS (AP)  More than a million demonstrators marched in cities and towns across France on Tuesday, in a new round of protests and strikes against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 64. Unions called for more protests this weekend while warning that the situation could become explosive."

The government must withdraw its project now, unions demanded after an evening meeting to decide their course of action.

They had hoped Tuesday's show of force would undermine President Emmanuel Macron's showcase draft legislation. The bill was under debate in the Senate this week.

Garbage collectors, utility workers, train drivers and others walked off the job across the country to show their anger at the reform.

The silence of the president constitutes a grave democratic problem that inevitably leads to a situation that could become explosive, unions said in a joint statement.

They asked for an urgent meeting with authorities while calling on citizens to continue and amplify the protests, and join new marches Saturday.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Paris, Marseille, Nice and other cities. Minor clashes with police broke out in Nantes, Rennes and Lyon. In Paris, police used tear gas to stop black-clad protesters from carrying out violent attacks on banks and shops and to disperse them long after the protest march ended.

Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez said that 43 people were detained in a march that drew 81,000. The Interior Ministry said that nearly 1.3 million demonstrated around France. The CGT union put the number of Paris protesters at 700,000 and estimated 3.5 million around the country.

In the French capital, workers, families and activists gathered in a joyful atmosphere, chanting slogans.

Opinion polls suggest that most French voters oppose the bill.

To see so many people today gives me hope, said 38-year-old Sarah Durieux. The activist said the protests have extended beyond their initial agenda, attracting climate activists, feminists and students. The movement has spread because to defend workers rights means defending a social model based on solidarity, she said.

Story continues

Unions threatened to freeze up the French economy with work stoppages across multiple sectors, most visibly an open-ended strike at the SNCF national rail authority.

Some unions have called for open-ended strikes in sectors from refineries and oil depots to electricity and gas facilities.

All oil shipments in the country were halted Tuesday amid strikes at the refineries of TotalEnergies, Esso-ExxonMobil and Petroineos groups, according to the CGT.

Truckers sporadically blocked major highways in go-slow actions near several cities.

In Paris, garbage collectors started an open-ended strike and on Tuesday morning blocked access to the incineration plant at Ivry-sur-Seine, south of the capital, Europe's biggest such facility.

The job of a garbage collector is painful. We usually work very early or late ... 365 days per year. We usually have to carry heavy weight or stand up for hours to sweep, said Regis Viecili, a 56-year-old garbage worker.

Some strikers said that the work pace has a negative impact on their health, causing tendinitis and aches. The hard work earns them a special pension plan with retirement at 57. The government's planned changes would make them work until 59.

A lot of garbage workers die before the retirement age," Viecili said.

Figures from government statistics agency Insee showed that in 2009-2013, the latest period studied, the life expectancy of unskilled male workers was 6.4 years below that of men in management positions  compared with 3.2 years of difference for women.

A fifth of flights were canceled at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and about a third of flights at Orly Airport. Trains to Germany and Spain were largely halted, and those to and from Britain and Belgium were reduced by a third, according to the SNCF rail authority.

Most high-speed trains and regional trains were canceled.

Public transportation and other services were disrupted in most French cities. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was closed, as was the Palace of Versailles, west of the capital.

According to the Education Ministry, about a third of teachers were on strike nationwide.

At Paris-Nord train station, some unionists voted to continue the strike Wednesday.

We are convinced that the government will step back only if we block the economy," said Xavier Bregail, a 40-year-old train driver in northern Paris. The subject behind this is inflation, soaring food and energy prices. I just want to live decently from my work.

Transport company RATP said that disruptions on the Paris Metro would continue Wednesday.

The reform would raise the minimum pension age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work by 2030 to earn a full pension, amid other measures. The government argues the system is expected to dive into deficit within a decade as Frances population ages and life expectancy lengthens.

At the Saint Lazare train station in Paris, Briki Mokrane, a 54-year-old fire safety worker, said obviously its very very difficult for workers, but unfortunately in France its always the same: we have to have strikes or demonstrations to preserve our rights.

Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.

___

Angela Charlton and Jade Le Deley in Paris, and Barbara Surk in Nice, contributed to this story.
Fraser Institute

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Fraser Institute today published the annual rankings of British Columbia elementary schools, the most easily accessible tool for parents to compare the academic performance of the provinces schools.



The Report Card on British Columbias Elementary Schools 2022 ranks 870 public and independent elementary schools based on 10 academic indicators derived from the provincewide Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) results.

The report card offers parents information they cant easily get anywhere else, about how schools perform over time and how they compare to other schools in B.C., said Peter Cowley, report co-author and senior fellow at the Fraser Institute.

Contrary to common misconceptions, the data suggest every school is capable of improvement regardless of type, location and student characteristics.

For example, Kootenay Christian in Cranbrook is the provinces fastest-improving school, climbing from a score of 5.7 (out of 10) in 2017 to 9.1 in 2021, the latest year of available comparable data. Kootenay Christian achieved these improvements despite 13.6 per cent of students having special needs who require additional support.

Over the same time period, Central Community School in Port Coquitlam improved from 3.7 to 5.1despite 47.8 per cent of the schools students being English Language Learners.

We often hear that schools cant improve student performance because of the communities and students they serve, but the evidence suggests otherwise, Cowley said.

For the complete results on all ranked schools and to compare the performance of different schools, visit www.compareschoolrankings.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Peter Cowley, Senior Fellow

Fraser Institute

Mark Hasiuk

(604) 688-0221 ext. 517

mark.hasiuk@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institutes independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org.




TAMPA BAY, Fla., March 7, 2023 /CNW/ -- TeamViewer , a leading global provider of remote connectivity and workplace digitalization solutions, today announced Georg Beyschlag as President of TeamViewer Americas. Georg, who until now held the position of Chief of Staff & Strategy, will assume his new role with immediate effect. He succeeds Patty Nagle who ensured a smooth transition before pursuing new opportunities outside the company.

TeamViewer Logo

Georg Beyschlag has been an integral part of TeamViewer's success story since he joined the company in 2018. He was a driving force behind TeamViewer's landmark IPO in 2019 and has been responsible for some of the company's most important projects since then, including key acquisitions and overall strategy development. Georg combines a finance and business development background and a track record of project execution with an outstanding network within and outside the company. His experience in working closely with the management board, the global sales and customer support organization as well as HR teams will help him leverage best practices and increase sales effectiveness and efficiency in the Americas region.

TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil said: "Georg Beyschlag is the ideal candidate to take over the position of President of TeamViewer Americas. He has the right mentality and brings in fresh perspectives to boost growth and to drive the region's success for the coming years. He has proven to be an excellent leader in various roles at TeamViewer, where he successfully brought people and departments to the next level. Georg's comprehensive product know-how and his strong ties to the global headquarter and the EMEA market will be beneficial in his new role. At the same time, I want to thank Patty Nagle for the enormous impact she had on the Americas organization and the entire company and for the good collaboration over the past years. She has been instrumental in building our enterprise sales and strategic alliances muscle and thus in supporting our transition into the enterprise software space. I wish her all the best for her next endeavor."

Story continues

Georg Beyschlag, President TeamViewer Americas, said: "It's a great honor to be given the opportunity to bring in my experience in a market that is crucial for TeamViewer's ongoing success. I am fully committed to accelerate growth in the Americas region together with a stellar team, which I am very much looking forward to working with. My most important priority is to further develop and strengthen our sales organization across the region to leverage their full potential."

About TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a leading global technology company that provides a connectivity platform to remotely access, control, manage, monitor, and repair devices of any kind  from laptops and mobile phones to industrial machines and robots. Although TeamViewer is free of charge for private use, it has more than 625,000 subscribers and enables companies of all sizes and from all industries to digitalize their business-critical processes through seamless connectivity. Against the backdrop of global megatrends like device proliferation, automation and new work, TeamViewer proactively shapes digital transformation and continuously innovates in the fields of Augmented Reality, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence. Since the company's foundation in 2005, TeamViewer's software has been installed on more than 2.5 billion devices around the world. The company is headquartered in Goppingen, Germany, and employs more than 1,400 people globally. In 2022, TeamViewer achieved a revenue of around EUR 566m. TeamViewer AG (TMV) is listed at Frankfurt Stock Exchange and belongs to the MDAX. Further information can be found at https://www.teamviewer.com/.

Press Contact:

Michael Kornspan

Phone: 727-910-7340

E-Mail: press@teamviewer.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/georg-beyschlag-appointed-president-of-teamviewer-americas-301764054.html

SOURCE TeamViewer

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c3269.html
(Bloomberg) -- Germany will likely prohibit some components in the countrys fifth-generation wireless network manufactured by Huawei Technologies Co. once an assessment of potential security risks is completed, according to a person familiar with the plan.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Network operators could be ordered to remove some of the Chinese companys components that are already installed, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.

The government in Berlin is taking a harder line on critical network infrastructure that serves as the backbone of its latest generation mobile technology after admitting last month that it doesnt know how prevalent Chinese equipment is in its systems.

The plan to ban certain Chinese components was reported earlier by Die Zeit newspaper, which said parts produced by ZTE Corp. would also be targeted. The move comes as the US administration increases pressure on Chinese tech companies amid worsening relations between the two biggest economies.

Asked about the Zeit report at Tuesdays regular government news conference, Interior Ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall said Germany is looking at parts that are currently used in its networks and whether theres an excessive reliance on certain providers.

No components have yet been prohibited, which is due to the fact that the assessment is still being carried out, Kall said, without specifying any companies under investigation.

A supplier could be restricted from providing key components if it is directly or indirectly controlled by another government, according to an Interior Ministry paper on the ban seen by Bloomberg.

Story continues

Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to answer a question on Tuesday about banning Huawei components, saying the issue is about enforcing existing laws and there are also institutional responsibilities related to this.

The US, UK and European Union have become increasingly focused on security risks posed by Chinese companies. The European Commission last month banned staff from using TikTok on official phones after the US Congress restricted the use of the app on federal devices last year.

The US is reviewing existing licenses for exporting items to Huawei due to national security concerns. Some officials in the Biden administration are advocating for banning all US sales to Huawei, Bloomberg News reported in January, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.

Restrictions of an always reliable manufacturer with a very good security record are certainly not part of making infrastructures more secure, Patrick Berger, a Huawei spokesman in Germany, said by email. A spokesperson for ZTE said the companys products are secure and comply with German standards.

Unlike many EU countries, Germany originally avoided an outright ban of Huawei 5G technology in the face of US pressure to cut out Chinese infrastructure providers. Instead, the government decided all components for the 5G network deemed critical IT infrastructure need to be certified by the authorities.

The plan to ban some components comes as pressure on Berlin to act has steadily increased. In November, the EUs competition chief Margrethe Vestager said countries need to phase out the use of high-risk 5G suppliers as a matter of urgency.

The US has spearheaded efforts dating back to the Trump administration to limit Huaweis reach based on security grounds. Huawei is already subject to US trade restrictions and a group of senators including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have proposed legislation that could cut off its access to US financing.

Before the US slapped sanctions on Huawei, the Chinese giants equipment was regarded as among the industrys more advanced yet also most economical. Many carriers initially resisted calls to switch out its equipment, worried about costs and the difficulties of servicing new components. But wireless operators have bitten the bullet, worried that persistent US restrictions on American technology will eventually degrade or even cut off their access to Huawei products.

--With assistance from Jillian Deutsch and Steven Arons.

(Updates with Interior Ministry paper in eighth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
- Fireside chat with Kyle Kazan and Graham Farrar hosted by Roth MKM Senior Research Analyst Scott Fortune at 8:00am PT Tuesday March 14th to be Webcast live and archived

LONG BEACH, Calif. and TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Glass House Brands Inc. ("Glass House" or the "Company") (NEO: GLAS.A.U) (NEO: GLAS.WT.U) (OTCQX: GLASF) (OTCQX: GHBWF), one of the fastest-growing, vertically-integrated cannabis companies in the U.S., today announced that its Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Kazan and Co-Founder, President and Board Director, Graham Farrar will participate in the 35th Annual Roth Conference to be held March 12-14, 2023 in Dana Point, CA.

Glass House Brands Inc. logo (CNW Group/Glass House Brands Inc.)

Mr. Kazan and Mr. Farrar will meet with investors and participate in a fireside chat hosted by Scott Fortune, Senior Research Analyst at Roth MKM on Tuesday, March 14th, 2023 at 8:00 am PT. A live webcast of their discussion will be available on the Glass House Brands Investor Relations site at https://ir.glasshousebrands.com/ in "Events and Webcasts" under the "News & Events" drop down menu or directly here https://wsw.com/webcast/roth46/glasf/1965435. The webcast will be archived for approximately 30 days.

ABOUT GLASS HOUSE

Glass House is one of the fastest-growing, vertically integrated cannabis companies in the U.S., with a dedicated focus on the California market and building leading, lasting brands to serve consumers across all segments. From its greenhouse cultivation operations to its manufacturing practices, from brand-building to retailing, the Company's efforts are rooted in the respect for people, the environment, and the community that co-founders Kyle Kazan, Chairman and CEO, and Graham Farrar, President, instilled at the outset. Through its portfolio of brands, which includes Glass House Farms, PLUS Products, Allswell, Forbidden Flowers, and Mama Sue Wellness, Glass House is committed to realizing its vision of excellence: outstanding cannabis products, produced sustainably, for the benefit of all. For more information and company updates, visit www.glasshousebrands.com.

Story continues

SOURCE Glass House Brands Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c0056.html
Company Logo

Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "The Global Market for Cultured Meat - Market Size, Trends, Competitors, and Forecasts (2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report reveals all major market competitors worldwide, including their strategic advantages, core technologies, and products under development.

It describes the current state of cultured meat research, as well as emerging technologies, patents, funding events, scientific papers, strategic partnerships, and the market's presumed trajectory toward global adoption. It presents a comprehensive market size breakdown segmented by type of meat and geography. It also provides future projections through 2032, segmented by type of meat, geography, and year.

The number of startups focused on developing cultured meat (and the required cell culture media, supplements, and methods to produce them) has been rising year after year. There are now an impressive 99 companies worldwide developing cultured meat components, services, and end-products, compared to only four in 2016. Additionally, nearly 40 life science firms have declared and formally launched products to supply market competitors with the essential inputs they need to support cultured meat and seafood production.

Because cultured meat is an early-stage industry, the language to describe it is evolving in real-time. Currently, company executives use a range of terms to describe the field, including but not limited to cultured meat, cultivated meat, cell-based meat, clean meat, cellular agriculture, and lab-grown meat, as well as slaughter-free meat and ethically grown meat, to a lesser extent. The potential of cultured meat has captured the imagination of investors, researchers, and consumers alike.

Although the cultured meat market is a nascent industry, 2020 was a landmark year because a cultured chicken product developed by the company Eat Just made its debut on a restaurant menu in Singapore, after the country's food agency approved its sale to the public. The regulatory approval of this cellular food product within Singapore provides hope that other regulatory approvals could follow worldwide.

Story continues

Flow of capital into the cultured meat industry has also grown substantially in recent years, reaching approximately $1.0 billion per year. Major investments within the cultured meat market have included Cargill's investment into Memphis Meats and Aleph Farms, as well as Tyson Foods Venture Fund's investments into Memphis Meats and Future Meat Technologies. Wealthy investors are also piling into the cultured meat market.

For example, billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson joined with Tyson Foods, DFJ, Atomico, and Cargill to invest in the Silicon Valley start-up Memphis Meats. The start-up company rose to fame when it produced the world's first lab-grown meatballs made by cultivating cow muscle tissue within a sterile environment. Another notable name in cultured meat investing is Dr. Rick Klausner, who is a lead investor in the Dutch company Meatable.

He is the former director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) and former Executive Director of Global Health for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, the cultured meat industry has witnessed public-sector R&D funding awards within the U.S. and the European Union, and China signed a $300 million deal to buy lab-grown meat produced in Israel in a deal that openly signals its intent to supply cultured meat to its massive population of 1.4 billion citizens.

By 2040, a projected 60% of the meat will be created from cells grown within bioreactors and sold across grocery stores and restaurants worldwide. The rise of the cultured meat market will be supported by the sustainability of the process, as well as the industry's ability to provide "tailor-made nutrition" through its meat and seafood products.

Recent surveys indicate that nearly 50% of consumers do not have reservations about consuming cultured meat. Over the next 10 to 20 years, the cultured meat market is projected to act as a major disruptor to the conventional meat market.

Key Topics Covered:

1. CULTURED MEAT OVERVIEW

2. HISTORY, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY OF CULTURED MEAT

2.1 Nomenclature

2.2 History of Cultured Meat

2.3 The Science of Cultured Meat

3. POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF CULTURED MEAT

3.1 Sustainability

3.2 Environmental Benefits

3.3 Animal Welfare

3.4 Food Safety

3.5 Novel Foods

4. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF CULTURED MEAT

4.1 Structure and Texture

4.2 Color

4.3 Flavor

4.4 Nutritional Composition

5. CULTURE MEAT PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND ADVANCES

5.1 Step 1: Acquisition of Seed Cells

5.2 Step 2: Large-Scale Expansion of Seed Cells

5.3 Step 3: Induced Differentiation of Seed Cells

5.4 Step 4: Assembly of Cultured Cells into Meat Products

5.5 Technical Challenges for Large-Scale Production of Cultured Meat

5.5.1 Animal Component-Free Medium for Cell Culture

5.5.2 Intelligent Bioreactor for Scale Up

5.5.3 Degradable/Edible Scaffold for a 3D Structure

5.5.4 Technological Challenges in Cultured Meat Production

5.5.5 The Biggest Challenge

5.5.6 Mass Production Technology

5.5.7 Other Technological Challenges

5.5.8 Production Cost of Cultured Meat

5.6 Additional Emerging Applications of Cultured Meat Technology

5.7 Cultured Meat Reaching the Retail Market: Possible Scenarios

6. ANALYSIS OF CULTURE MEDIUM COSTS FOR LAB-GROWN MEAT

6.1 Cost Breakdown of Pharmaceutical Grade Culture Media

6.2 Cost Breakdown of Food Grade Basal Medium Ingredients

6.3 Potential Scenarios to Reduce Cell Culture Medium Cost

6.3.1 Projected Cost and Fold Reduction (Cost Comparisons)

7. RESEARCH LANDSCAPE

7.1 Cell Line Research at ETH Zurich

7.2 Culture Media Research at New Castle University

7.3 Research at University of Wisconsin, Madison for Scaffolding

7.4 Research on Bioprocess Design at the University of BATH

7.5 Cultured Meat Research Lab Database

7.6 Scientific Publications on Cultured Meat

8. PATENT LANDSCAPE

8.1 Types of Patent Claims

8.2 Notable Patent Holders in Cultured Meat

8.2.1 Impossible Foods

8.2.3 Beyond Meat

8.2.4 JUST

8.2.5 UPSIDE Foods (Memphis Meats)

8.2.6 Perfect Day Foods

8.3 Patent Applications for Scaffolds

9. INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE

9.1 Capital Invested by Type of Cultured Meat

9.3 Cultured Meat Companies by Size of Investment

9.4 Agronomics: The Largest Investor

9.5 Public Sector Investments in Cultured Meat Sector

9.6 A Bird's-Eye View of Investments in Cultured Meat Sector

9.6.1 A Complete List of Venture Investments in the Cultured Meat Industry

9.6.2 Most Active Investors in the Cultured Meat Industry

10. CULTURED MEAT INDUSTRY: CURRENT STATUS, BREAKTHROUGHS, AND HISTORIC EVENTS

10.1 Global Presence of Cultured Meat Companies

10.2 Cultured Meat Products under Development

10.2.1 Chicken Nugget from JUST

10.2.2 Chicken Tender from Memphis Meats (UPSIDE Foods)

10.2.3 Cultured Beef Meat Ball by Memphis Meats (UPSIDE Foods)

10.2.4 Cultured Pork Belly and Bacon from Higher Steaks

10.2.5 Cultured Pork Sausage by New Age Meats

10.3 Share of Companies by Product Type

10.4 Cultured Meat Industry's Landmark Events

10.4.1 First QSR Partnership in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.2 First Partnership in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.3 First Restaurant Concept in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.4 First Acquisition in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.5 First Commercial Sale of Cultured Meat Product

10.4.6 First Series B Fund Raising in Cultured Meat Space

10.4.7 First U.S. Government's R&D Funding for Cultured Meat

10.4.8 First E.U. R&D Funding for Cultured Meat

10.4.9 First Paper on Soy Protein Scaffolding

10.5 Major Recent Developments in Cultured Meat Sector

10.5.1 Aleph Farms' Partnerships with Mitsubishi and BRF S.A.

10.5.2 BlueNalu's $60 Million Convertible-Note Financing

10.5.3 Future Meat Produces Cultured Chicken Breast for $7.50

10.5.4 Breakthrough Energy's Recommended Policy Priorities

10.6 Tasting Events

10.6.1 Israeli PM Tasting Aleph Farms Cultured Steak

10.6.2 SuperMeat's "The Chicken" Project

10.6.3 Lab Farm Foods' Cultured Chicken Nuggets and Pork Liver Pate

10.6.4 Avant Meat's Cultured Fish Fillets

10.6.5 Wildtype's Cultured Sushi-Grade Salmon

10.6.6 Shiok Meats' Tasting Event for its Cultured Lobster

10.7 The Leading Edge of Cultured Meat Production

10.7.1 Factory Capacity for Supplying 10% of the Conventional Meat Market

10.7.2 An Option for New Bioreactor Designs

10.7.3 Location of Large-Scale Manufacturing Facilities by Geography

10.7.4 Cultured Meat at a Premium Price

10.8 Time for Cultured Meat to Reach the Market

10.9 Current Limitations in Cultured Meat Industry

10.9.1 Design and Optimization of Bioreactors

10.9.2 Serum-Free Culture Media Development

10.10 The Race toward Pilot Plant Setup

10.11 Hybrid Products: The First to Reach the Market

10.12 Cost Parity of Cultured Meat with Conventional Meat

10.13 World's First Cultured Meat Facility in Israel

10.14 Proliferation of Cultured Meat Nonprofits

11. STARTUP LANDSCAPE

11.1 Complete List of Cultured Meat Startups

11.2 New Startups Focusing on Enabling Technologies

11.3 Startups Specializing in the Development of Growth Factors

12. REGULATORY LANDSCAPE

12.1 Australia-New Zealand

12.2 Canada

12.3 United States

12.4 European Union

12.5 United Kingdom

12.6 Singapore

12.7 Japan

13. CULTURED MEAT MARKET: MARKET SIZE, TRENDS, AND FUTURE PROJECTIONS

13.1 Global Market for Conventional Meat by Type

13.2 Changing Landscape of Global Meat Market

13.4 Global Market for Cultured Meat by Geography, with Forecasts through 2032

13.5 Global Market for Cultured Meat by Type, with Forecasts through 2032

14. CULTURED MEAT MARKET: COMPANY PROFILES

Agulos Biotech, LLC

Aleph Farms

Alife Foods

Ants Innovate

ArtMeat

Artemys Foods

Avant Meats Company Limited

B.I.F.E. Laboratorios-Craveri

BIOMILQ

Back of the Yard Algae Sciences

Balletic Foods

Because Animals

Bene Meat Technologies AS

Biftek, Inc.

BioBQ

BioFood Systems

BioMilk, Ltd.

BioTech Foods

Blue Ridge Bantam

BlueNalu, Inc.

Bluu Biosciences

Boston Meats, Inc.

Bruno Cell SRL

CELL AG TECH

CELLINK

Cass Materials Pty Ltd.

Cell Guidance Systems Ltd.

CellMEAT

CellX

Cellivate Technologies

Celltainer Biotech BV

CellulaREvolution

Cellular Agriculture, Ltd.

Clear Meat Private Limited

Core Biogenesis

Cubiq Foods

Cultured Blood

Cultured Decadence

D Bio-Tissues Ltd.

DaNAgreen Co., Ltd.

Defined Bioscience, Inc.

Dipole Materials

Diverse Farms

East Just, Inc.

Finless Foods, Inc.

Fork & Goode

Future Fields

Future Meat Technologies

Gelatex Technologies, Ltd.

HCS Pharma

Heuros

HigherSteaks

Hoxton Farms

Incuvers

Innocent Meat UG

IntegriCulture, Inc.

Investment from DX Ventures

JOINN Biologics

Jellatech

KosmodeHealth

Lab Farm Foods

Luyef Biotechnologies

Magic Valley, Pty, Ltd.

MagicCavier

Matrix Meats

MeaTech D Ltd.

Meatable

Metalytics, Inc.

Mirai Foods AG

Mission Barns

Mogale Meat Co.

Mosa Meat

Multus Media

MyoWorks, Pvt. Ltd.

Mzansi Meat, Co.

NUProtein Co., Ltd.

New Age Meats

Novel Farms, Inc.

ORF Genetics Ltd.

Orbillion Bio

Ospin Modular Bioprocessing

Peace of Meat

Perfect Day Foods

Roslin Technologies Ltd.

Shiok Meats

SingCell Tx Pte. Ltd

SunP Biotech

SuperMeat

Tantti Laboratory, Inc.

TeOra

Tiamat Sciences

TissueByNET Co., Ltd.

TurtleTree Labs

Umami Meats

Unicorn Biotechnologies

Upside Foods, Inc.

Vivax Bio

Vow

White Board Foods

Wildtype

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dv59r2

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev congratulated Vo Van Thuong on his election as President of Vietnam.

Dear Mr. President,

I sincerely congratulate you on your election as the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

We attach special importance to the comprehensive development of traditional friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Vietnam. I believe that we will continue our joint efforts to strengthen interstate relations and expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation in line with the interests of our peoples. I wish you robust health, happiness, and success in your state activities for the welfare of the friendly people of Vietnam.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 6 March 2023
Zion Market Research

[190 + Pages Research Study] According to a market research study published by Zion Market Research, the demand analysis of Global Donkey Milk Market size & share revenue was valued at around USD 26.89 million in 2022 and is estimated to grow about USD 55.63 million by 2030, at a CAGR of approximately 10.6% between 2023 and 2030. The key market players are listed in the report with their sales, revenues and strategies are Donna Tina Farm, Asinus Atlanticus S. A., Eurolactis Italia SRL, Dolphin IBA, Hellenic Asinus Farms, Golden Donkeys Farm, Stephenson Group Ltd, Dolphin IBA, Kailash Dairy Farm, Anakae, Yeshmitha Haran, The White Sea & Baltic Company Limited, The Donkey Dairy PTY LTD, Vro Enterprises, and others.

Tulsa, OK, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Market Research has published a new research report titled Donkey Milk Market By Form (Liquid And Powder), By Application (Cosmetics & Personal Care And Food & Beverages), And By Region  Global And Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, And Forecasts 2023  2030 in its research database.

According to the latest research study, the demand for global Donkey Milk Market size & share in terms of revenue was valued at USD 26.89 million in 2022 and it is expected to surpass around USD 55.63 million mark by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 10.6% during the forecast period 2023 to 2030.

What is Donkey Milk? How big is the Donkey Milk Industry?

Donkey Milk Report Coverage & Overview:

Donkey milk, obtained from female donkeys, is quite similar to human mothers milk due to the presence of pertinent components such as vitamin E, amino acids, calcium, selenium, omega 3, omega 6, vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, protein, lactose, and other minerals. It has comparatively low contents of fat, calories, and cholesterol than other milk types and has a considerably longer shelf life due to the absence of any foodborne pathogens.

Story continues

In addition, donkey milk helps in retarding the aging process due to the presence of rich ingredients and has immense antioxidant activities. It favors the growth of essential viruses and bacteria that help in minimizing stomach illnesses. Apart from that, it forbade plaque to build up in arteries and appreciably enhances blood circulation. They also have a wide range of applications in the food and beverages industry in the production of chocolate, cheddar, cheese, and others.

Get a Free Sample PDF of this Research Report for more Insights with a Table of Content, Research Methodology, and Graphs - https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/donkey-milk-market

(A free sample of this report is available upon request; please contact us for more information.)

Our Free Sample Report Consists of the Following:

Introduction, Overview, and in-depth industry analysis are all included in the 2023 updated report.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis is included in the package

About 190+ Pages Research Report (Including Recent Research)

Provide detailed chapter-by-chapter guidance on the Request

Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share, and Trends for the Year 2023

Includes Tables and figures have been updated

The most recent version of the report includes the Top Market Players, their Business Strategies, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis

Zion Market Research research methodology

(Please note that the sample of this report has been modified to include the COVID-19 impact study prior to delivery.)

Global Donkey Milk Market: Growth Dynamics

The demand for the global donkey milk market is expected to surge exponentially due to the immaculate demand and utilization of donkey milk in the cosmetics industry for making different kinds of creams, moisturizers, soaps, face wash, body washes, shampoos, and others. The extensive use of donkey milk in these products is mainly due to the presence of huge amounts of vitamins and minerals that makes it an ideally rich ingredient as far as skin treatment and skincare are concerned.

They have healing and anti-aging properties, making their application increasingly popular and common in cosmetic products. Thus, the rise in inclination among people towards personal grooming and skincare drives the demand for the market. In addition, an increase in the adoption of donkey milk among fitness enthusiasts and health-conscious individuals due to the less amount of fat and cholesterol in them further drives the growth of the market. Furthermore, an incre

+-/ase in the use of donkey milk for the production of cheese and chocolates in the food and beverage industry creates ample opportunities for the growth of the market during the forecast period. However, the high cost of donkey milk compared to other alternatives impede the growth of the market to an extent.

Directly Purchase a copy of the report with TOC @ https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/buynow/su/donkey-milk-market

Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2022 USD 26.89 million Projected Market Size in 2030 USD 55.63 million CAGR Growth Rate 10.6% CAGR Base Year 2022 Forecast Years 2023-2030 Key Market Players Leading Manufacturers Key Segment By Type, By Application, and By Region Major Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East &, Africa Purchase Options Request customized purchase options to meet your research needs. Explore purchase options

Donkey Milk Market: Segmentation Analysis

The global donkey milk market is segmented based on form, application, and region.

Based on form, the market is bifurcated into powder and liquid segments. The powder segment held the largest market share in 2022 and is further projected to grow rapidly at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The major reason for the growth of this segment is the increase in demand and extensive use of powder as an important element in the personal care and cosmetics industry around the world. Ease of access, convenient handling, low costs, and an increase in expenditure among private companies to readily invest and procure powdered milk further bolstered the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Based on application, the market is bifurcated into cosmetics & personal care and food & beverages. The food and beverages segment held a notable market share in 2022 and is further predicted to grow rapidly at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. The major reason for the growth of this segment is an increase in the use of donkey milk in the production of different types of chocolate and cheese products. The increased amount of minerals, lactose, and protein in donkey milk compared to other alternatives is among the driving factor for its large-scale utilization. In addition, the presence of immune-increasing compounds in donkey milk that helps in keeping away infections and diseases further drives the growth of the segment during the forecast period.

The global Donkey Milk market is segmented as follows:

By Form

Liquid

Powder

By Application

Cosmetics and Personal Care

Food & Beverages

Browse the full Donkey Milk Market By Form (Liquid And Powder), By Application (Cosmetics & Personal Care And Food & Beverages), And By Region  Global And Regional Industry Overview, Market Intelligence, Comprehensive Analysis, Historical Data, And Forecasts 2023  2030 Report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/donkey-milk-market

Competitive Landscape

Some of the main competitors dominating the global Donkey Milk market include -

Donna Tina Farm

Asinus Atlanticus S. A.

Eurolactis Italia SRL

Dolphin IBA

Hellenic Asinus Farms

Golden Donkeys Farm

Stephenson Group Ltd

Dolphin IBA

Kailash Dairy Farm

Anakae

Yeshmitha Haran

The White Sea & Baltic Company Limited

The Donkey Dairy PTY LTD

Vro Enterprises.

Key Insights from Primary Research:

According to the analysis shared by our research forecaster, the Donkey Milk market is likely to expand at a CAGR of around 10.6% during the forecast period (2023-2030).

In terms of revenue, the Donkey Milk market size was valued at around US$ 26.89 million in 2022 and is projected to reach US$ 55.63 million by 2030.

Donkey milk, obtained from female donkeys, is quite similar to human mothers milk due to the presence of pertinent components such as vitamin E, amino acids, calcium, selenium, omega 3, omega 6, vitamins A, B1, B6, and C, protein, lactose, and other minerals. It has comparatively low contents of fat, calories, and cholesterol than other milk types and has a considerably longer shelf life due to the absence of any foodborne pathogens.

Based on form, the powder segment held the largest market share in 2022.

Based on application, the food and beverages segment is expected to cite the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on region, Europe held the dominating market share in 2022.

Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/donkey-milk-market

Key questions answered in this report:

What is the market size and growth rate forecast for Donkey Milk industry?

What are the main driving factors propelling the Donkey Milk Market forward?

What are the leading companies in the Donkey Milk Industry?

What segments does the Donkey Milk Market cover?

How can I receive a free copy of the Donkey Milk Market sample report and company profiles?

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20232030

Market Dynamics  Leading Trends, Growth Drivers, Restraints, and Investment Opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis By Form, By Application, By Region

Competitive Landscape  Top Key Vendors and Other Prominent Vendors

Request for Customization on this Report as per your requirements - https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/custom/6988

(We tailor your report to meet your specific research requirements. Inquire with our sales team about customising your report.)

Regional Analysis:

The global market for donkey milk is expected to rise at the greatest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the forecast period. Europe currently holds the largest proportion of the market. The existence of significant producers in the region is responsible for this phenomenon. In addition to this, Europe is the primary market for the consumption of donkey's milk, with major countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Greece accounting for the majority of this market. During the course of the projected period, it is anticipated that Asia Pacific will also contribute a considerable amount of revenue to the global market.

China is the leading producer of donkey milk in Asia. China also has the largest donkey population in the world, with over 8.7 million animals. It is anticipated that the demand for donkey milk in the nutraceutical and cosmetic industries in Asia would increase, which will positively influence the expansion of the market. In addition, there is a growing requirement for donkey milk in both Africa and Latin America.

By Region

North America U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe France UK Spain Germany Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Rest of Asia Pacific

The Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa Rest of the Middle East & Africa

Latin America Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America



Recent Developments

In August 2021, Aadvik Foods, India's first camel milk brand, has recently released Lac Jennius, a donkey milk powder. With this launch, the company aims to strengthen its business along with other unique lines of products, which includes frozen camel milk, raw camel milk powder, camel milk chocolates as well as goat milk powder, and frozen goat milk.

To know an additional revised 2023 list of market players, request a brochure of the report: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/donkey-milk-market

Donkey Milk Market: Opportunities

Increasing demand in emerging countries will provide better growth opportunities for market growth.

The donkey's milk business is mainly concentrated in developed countries, however, due to its nutritional benefits, it is getting more traction in emerging countries such as China, India, and some part of the Middle East. Along with this, increasing spending power and availability of distributors for donkeys milk in these countries are offering new opportunities for global donkey milk market expansion. The nutraceutical and cosmetic industries in these countries are flourishing and also investing more in newer supplements to increase the consumer base which is likely to boost the market growth over the forecast period.

For Infographics: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/content/uploadedimages/global-donkey-milk-market-growth.png

Donkey Milk Market: Challenges

Unavailability and dearth of government support to expand donkey farms is the major challenge for the market.

The most significant disadvantage of donkey milk is its cost and unavailability. Because the quantity and volume of donkey dairy farms are restricted, it is costly to make & sell and hence tough to obtain. Some major producers in Europe sell powdered milk, although shipping it internationally can be costly.

Also, donkey milk is likewise exceedingly expensive and difficult to use for cheesemaking due to its low casein concentration and high price. Another disadvantage is that most small farms only offer raw donkey milk, which poses a risk of foodborne illness if consumed. Although donkey milk has antibacterial capabilities and is typically devoid of hazardous pathogens, there is always the possibility that raw milk contains bacteria or other poisons. If fed to newborns, the elderly, or anybody with a weakened immune system, this can be harmful. Thus, many governments around the world are not willing to invest in such businesses.

Browse Other Related Research Reports from Zion Market Research:



Global Kid Snacks Market to Collate Huge Earnings worth USD 110.2 Billion by 2028 - Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-kid-snacks-market-to-collate-huge-earnings-worth-usd-110-2-billion-by-2028---zion-market-research-301411166.html

At 4.3% CAGR, Global Crash Barrier System Market Size, Trends & Share to Surpass USD 8.11 Billion by 2028: Industry Demand, Value, Analysis & Forecast Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-4-3-cagr-global-crash-barrier-system-market-size-trends--share-to-surpass-usd-8-11-billion-by-2028-industry-demand-value-analysis--forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301745149.html

Global Wine Market to be worth around USD 680.99 billion by 2028 - Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-wine-market-to-be-worth-around-usd-680-99-billion-by-2028---zion-market-research-301402293.html

Predictive Analytics Market to Take Huge Leap with Returns worth USD 39.1 Billion by 2028 - Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/predictive-analytics-market-to-take-huge-leap-with-returns-worth-usd-39-1-billion-by-2028--zion-market-research-301404758.html

Global Smart Home Market Size is expected to reach USD 137.9 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 10.2% from 2020-2026 - Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-smart-home-market-size-is-expected-to-reach-usd-137-9-billion-by-2026--registering-a-cagr-of-10-2-from-2020-2026---zion-market-research-301404737.html

Smart Agriculture Market Revenue to Hit US $15,344 Million by 2025 - Latest Research Report with Global Industry Analysis Published by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smart-agriculture-market-revenue-to-hit-us-15-344-million-by-2025---latest-research-report-with-global-industry-analysis-published-by-zion-market-research-301409689.html

At 5.6% CAGR, Global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Market Size & Share to Surpass USD 101.45 Billion By 2028: Industry Trends, Forecast Report by Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-5-6-cagr-global-polyvinyl-chloride-pvc-market-size--share-to-surpass-usd-101-45-billion-by-2028-industry-trends-forecast-report-by-zion-market-research-301512626.html

At a CAGR of 54.1% Automotive Platooning System Market Size | 2022 - 2028 | Industry Share, Trends, Forecast | Growing Massively - Projected to Reach Worth USD $ 30.2 Billion by 2028: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/at-a-cagr-of-54-1-automotive-platooning-system-market-size--2022--2028--industry-share-trends-forecast--growing-massively---projected-to-reach-worth-usd--30-2-billion-by-2028-zion-market-research-301509867.html

Land Mobile Radio (LMR) System Market | 2021 - 2028 | End-User (Defense & Public Safety, Commercial, Transportation, And Construction) | Globally Hit to USD 50.12 Billion By 2028: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/land-mobile-radio-lmr-system-market--2021---2028--end-user-defense--public-safety-commercial-transportation-and-construction--globally-hit-to-usd-50-12-billion-by-2028-zion-market-research-301510725.html

Global Water Desalination Equipment Market Size | 2022 - 2028 | Technology & Application | Share to Massive Growth up to USD 13.2 Billion By 2028 | Exhibit a CAGR of 9.8%: Zion Market Research: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-water-desalination-equipment-market-size--2022--2028--technology--application--share-to-massive-grwoth-up-to--usd-13-2-billion-by-2028--exhibit-a-cagr-of-9-8--zion-market-research-301511547.html

About Zion Market Research:

Zion Market Research is a leading market research organization offering industry expertise and scrupulous consulting services to clients for their business development. The reports and services offered by Zion Market Research are used by prestigious academic institutions, start-ups, and companies globally to measure and understand the changing international and regional business backgrounds.

Our clients/customers conviction on our solutions and services has pushed us in delivering always the best. Our advanced research solutions have helped them in appropriate decision-making and guidance for strategies to expand their business.

Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zion-market-research/

Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zion_research

Follow Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zionmarketresearch

Follow Us on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/zionmarketresearch/

Follow Us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y0Yfi7N8zSs

Contact Us:

Rushikesh Dorge

USA: +1 347 690-0211

United Kingdom: +44 2032 894158

Japan: +81 50 5806 9039

India: +91 7768 006 007

Web: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/

Blog: https://zmrblog.com/

Still, Looking for More Information? OR Want Data for Inclusion in Magazine, Case Study, or Media?

Email Directly Here with Detail Information: sales@zionmarketresearch.com




NEWWARK, DE / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / The hair styling products market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 23.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to be worth US$ 39.9 billion by 2033. The market is expected to record a significant CAGR of 5.4% CAGR.

Hair styling product manufacturers are increasingly developing multi-functional and innovative products that cater to the changing needs of consumers. Products that offer benefits such as heat protection, anti-frizz, and UV protection, along with their primary styling function, are becoming more popular among consumers.

Hair styling products that offer long-lasting shine and volume without causing damage to the hair are also in high demand. Multiple-purpose hair styling products, such as hair dryers with built-in styling tools, are becoming increasingly popular. The demand for these products has increased significantly due to the better quality and results that professional hair styling products provide compared to alternatives that can be made at home.

Request A Sample PDF: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-8445

The market for high-end, specialized products for professional use is increasing, focusing on efficiency, longevity, and great styling results. These products meet the needs of both consumers and experts by accommodating a variety of hair types, textures, and styles. Many people are searching for the same products used by top stylists for the ultimate in hairstyle perfection, which has only served to fuel this trend as a result of the growth of digital networking.

Growing Innovation and Product Improvement in Hairstyles, as well as a Huge Shift in Global Fashion Trends

As a result of developments, ingredients used in hair styling products have changed, as has the technology behind them. For instance, hair care products that stop hair loss, improved product preparations, and an increase in the availability of hairstyling and colorant products, have been a sign of individual identity. Earlier, only women purchased hairdo products. Guys are becoming more interested in using clays, waxes, and other styling products on their hair. This is also relevant because the world's fashion trends are ever-evolving.

Story continues

Growing Popularity and Introduction of Organic Hair Styling Products:

The introduction of organic products is another significant aspect that is driving the hair styling products market. People were hesitant to use hair products because they had so many drawbacks. A lot of people are also experiencing excessive hair loss, which makes it difficult for them to use hair products. The demand for organic hair care products is expanding significantly in the global market for hair styling products. The leading players in the market have launched a new line of organic products to draw clients.

Access Full Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/hair-styling-products-market

Key Takeaways:

The market in Japan is expected to record a CAGR of 4.1% over the forecast period.

Several companies focus on sustainability, eco-friendliness, and ethical sourcing in their product offerings to meet consumer demands and remain competitive.

The use of social media and influencer marketing is becoming increasingly important in promoting hair styling tools and building brand awareness.

Asia Pacific is expected to be a significant market for hair styling tools due to increasing disposable income, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences.

The hairspray segment is expected to record a CAGR of 6.1% through the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape:

The competitive landscape of the hair styling products market is highly fragmented, with global and regional players competing for market share. Some key players in the market include L'Oreal SA, Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever PLC, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Amway Corporation, Avon Products Inc., Revlon Inc., Kao Corporation, Shiseido Company Limited, Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

These companies compete on product quality, pricing, marketing, and distribution strategies. They are investing in product innovation, expanding their portfolio, and exploring new distribution channels to remain competitive. Furthermore, companies focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing to meet changing consumer demands and stay ahead of the curve.

Customization Before Buying, Visit: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-8445

Key Segments

Hair Styling Products Market by Product:

Hair Gels

Hair Sprays

Styling Creams & Waxes

Hair Mousse

Others

Hair Styling Products Market by End Use:

Household

Salons & Spas

Fashion Industry

Hair Styling Products Market by Gender:

Male Hair Styling Products

Female Hair Styling Products

Unisex Hair Styling Products

Hair Styling Products Market by Sales Channel:

Wholesalers/Distributors

Supermarkets/Hypermarkets

Convenience Stores

Specialty Stores and Online Stores

By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

The Middle East and Africa

Buy this Premium Report At a Profitable Rate: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/8445

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Hair Styling Products Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Product Life Cycle Analysis

3.5. Supply Chain Analysis

3.6. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.7. Value Chain Analysis

3.8. PESTLE and Porter's Analysis

3.9. Regulatory Landscape

3.10. Regional Parent Market Outlook

3.11. Production and Consumption Statistics

3.12. Import and Export Statistics

4. Global Market Analysis 2017 to 2022 and Forecast, 2023 to 2033

4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis, 2017 to 2022

4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Projections, 2023 to 2033

Full TOC Cont..

Explore wide-ranging Coverage of FMI's Consumer Product Market Insights Landscape:

USA Bed Pillow Market Size: The United States bed pillow market size is set to reach ~US$ 837.1 million in 2023. Overall bed pillow sales across the USA will surge at 5% CAGR between 2023 and 2033. By the end of 2033, the USA bed pillows market valuation is forecast to reach ~US$ 1,365 million.

Oceania Commercial Ice Machine Market Share: Oceania commercial ice machine market size would be worth US$ 80.9 million in 2023. It would exceed US$ 133.9 million by 2033. Commercial ice machine demand would surge at a steady 5.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.

Middle East and Africa Latex Foil Balloons Market Analysis: The Middle East and Africa (MEA) latex foil balloons market is likely to record US$ 187.2 million in 2023. From 2023 to 2033, a moderate 5.6% CAGR should propel the market to a valuation of US$ 322.8 million in 2033.

USA Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) Retail Vending Machine Market Demand: The USA beauty and personal care (BPC) retail vending machine market size would surpass US$ 91.6 million in 2023. It would expand rapidly at a CAGR of 10.5% from 2023 to 2033.

Desert Air Cooler Market Growth: The desert air cooler market is likely to record a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period. As per FMI analysis, the market is anticipated to hold a share of US$ 1.47 billion in 2023 while it is expected to cross a value of US$ 3.90 billion by 2033.

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 the Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of a 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.

Contact Us:

Future Market Insights Inc.

Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive,

Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA

T: +1-845-579-5705

LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube

For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

SOURCE: Future Market Insights, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742403/Global-Hair-Styling-Products-Market-Projected-to-Exceed-US-399-Billion-by-2033-FMI




GOWIN Semiconductor Corp.

LONDON and GUANGZHOU, China, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GOWIN Semiconductor Corporation, the worlds fastest-growing FPGA provider, will attend Embedded World 2023 on 14th-16th of March in Nuremberg, Germany. This will be the third time GOWIN has had its own stand (Hall 3A Stand 340) at Embedded World to showcase and demonstrate our latest FPGA technology to the European market.



Embedded World, held annually in Germany, is Europes leading trade show for all embedded solutions and technologies. With over 1000 exhibitors it is one of the worlds largest fairs focussing exclusively on state-of-the-art embedded technologies for IoT and related market spaces.

This year GOWIN will be showcasing and demonstrating, amongst other things, our new Arora-V family of high density, high performance, and low power FPGA. Built on a highly optimized TSMC 22nm process this family will compete fiercely with similar competitive FPGA devices by offering not just the lowest power and prices but also pin-compatible footprint options that will offer customers real alternatives without changing their PCB layout.

Also on the stand will be demonstrations of our latest USB offerings which include for the first time a fully integrated FPGA based solution supporting high resolution UAC (USB Audio Class) 2.0 with integrated soft PHY and controller. Additionally, there will be various demos showcasing display and camera solutions.

Lastly, we are very pleased that, for the first time, the sales and technical team will be joined on our stand, by Jason Zhu, GOWIN CEO, who will be hosting various meetings with invited customers and partners. Let us know if you would like to spend some time with an FPGA industry visionary.

We are immensely proud to be exhibiting again at Embedded World, and to have Jason joining us, said Mike Furnival, Vice President of International Sales. It speaks volumes to the progress that we have made during the past year in terms of differentiated as well as pin-compatible FPGA solutions. Whilst we continue to be the lowest cost provider of low and mid density FPGA devices, we are now in the high-density FPGA world and have emerged as one the most innovative in terms of advanced solutions in the marketplace, adding significant value to our customers and partners.

Story continues

GOWIN Semiconductor looks forward to welcoming all interested potential customers and partners to our booth in Hall 3A Stand 340.

About GOWIN Semiconductor Corporation

Founded in 2014, GOWIN Semiconductor Corp. with sales and R&D locations worldwide has the vision to accelerate customer innovation worldwide with our programmable solutions. We focus on optimizing our products and removing barriers for customers using programmable logic devices. Our commitment to technology and quality enables customers to reduce the total cost of ownership by using FPGA on their production boards. Our offerings include a broad portfolio of programmable logic devices, design software, intellectual property (IP) cores, reference designs, and development kits. We strive to serve customers in the consumer, industrial, communication, medical, and automotive markets worldwide.

For more information about GOWIN, please visit www.gowinsemi.com

Copyright 2023 GOWIN Semiconductor Corp. GOWIN, LittleBee, GW1N/NR/NS/1NSR/1NZ, Arora, GW2A/AR, GOWIN EDA and other designated brands included herein are trademarks of GOWIN Semiconductor Corp. in China and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information, please email info@gowinsemi.com

Media Contact: Andrew Dudaronek

andrew@gowinsemi.com




HappyMiner

Oklamoma City, OK, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HappyMiner, a licensed cloud mining company founded in 2018, is facilitating individuals with the opportunity to earn passive income through its cloud mining services. With industrial facilities located in Iceland, Norway, and Canada, HappyMiner owns a big tech park of professional Bitcoin mining rigs, allowing 2,800K+ individuals from all around the globe to earn cryptocurrency.







The company provides a range of features for investors, including automated daily payouts, a free package that can be purchased daily, an affiliate program with 4.5% lifetime rewards, different crypto contracts to choose from, no overhead or electricity fees, 24-hour online support, and DDos and SSL protection.

HappyMiner generates numerous advantages, including a $10 sign-up bonus, a minimal deposit amount of $100, a quick and straightforward start process, instant daily payouts, no commitments, and high profitability. The daily yield rate starts at 1.5%, depending on the chosen crypto package.

HappyMiner is a certified cloud mining company that works under the license of the United States. The company provides SSL protection for personal and financial information and guarantees 24-hour payouts. Users must use real emails to register to ensure the security of the cloud mining process.

For people who are interested in the profitability of cloud mining on HappyMiner, the contracts start at $10 for a one-day term with a fixed return of $10 + $0.8 (8% daily rate). Longer-term contracts provide a higher daily rate, with a 60-day contract offering a fixed return of $6,400 + $8,880 (2.31% daily rate).

HappyMiner also yields an opportunity to get indulged with an affiliate program, where every customer has a unique referral link that can be shared with anyone. Referrers can receive up to a 4.5% referral reward for every purchase made by any of their referrals.

Individuals worldwide can join HappyMiner if they are at least eighteen years old and have an internet connection.

Story continues

About the Company  Happy Miner

HappyMiner is a licensed cloud mining company founded in 2018 in the United States that provides cloud mining services to traders. The company provides the ability to earn passive income, automated daily payouts, and an affiliate program. In conclusion, cloud mining with HappyMiner can be a profitable experience for traders and crypto enthusiasts.

For more information on HappyMiner and its cloud mining packages, please visit the company's website at https://happyminer.us/

YOUTUBE TWITTER

CONTACT: Michael Junius HappyMiner support(at)happyminer.us




Harvia Oyj

Sauna Sazae, Naoshima, TTNE inc

Sauna Sazae, Naoshima, TTNE inc

Press release 7 March 2023





Harvia to boost sales in Japan by establishing a joint venture





Harvia Plc and Bergman Ltd have signed a letter of intent (LOI) on 7 March 2023 to create a joint venture in Japan with the mission to becoming a substantial local player in the attractive and growing Japanese sauna and spa market. Harvia will own 51% and Bergman 49% of the company.

The joint venture will focus on sales and marketing of Harvias sauna and spa offering on the Japanese market, and it is planned to be operational later this year.

Harvia signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Bergman Ltd, of Tokyo, Japan on 12 October 2021 to build awareness and demand for Harvias sauna and spa offering in Japan among both commercial and consumer customers. During the first 12 months of operations, Bergman increased presence with over 20 local representatives and opened a total of 15 showrooms in the market, with 7 more under way. In 2023, the plan is to increase the number of Harvia Sauna & Spa showrooms in Japan to a total of over 40.

Our strategic partnership with Bergman has proven to be successful. We have been able to expand our presence in the Japanese sauna and spa market and sales have developed very favorably. The joint venture will further boost our activity in Japan and our aim is to become the number one sauna brand in Japan in the long run, says Tapio Pajuharju, CEO of Harvia Plc.

We are most pleased to deepen our co-operation with Harvia through the joint venture to be established. The sauna culture in Japan is enjoying a boom, and I am confident that our systematic activities with Harvia will help us to grow together to be the number one brand in both in residential and commercial sauna needs. Harvia already has a presence in major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo  and the presence is growing rapidly, says Seiji Kasama, CEO of Bergman Ltd.

Bergman has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and selling branded European heating devices in Japan. The company has strong engineering and technical knowledge in design, installation, and after-sales services.

Story continues





For more information, please contact:

Tapio Pajuharju, CEO, tel. +358 50 5774 200

Ari Vesterinen, CFO, tel. +358 40 5050 440





Harvia is one of the leading companies operating in the sauna and spa market globally, as measured by revenue. Harvias brands and product portfolio are well known in the market, and the companys comprehensive product portfolio strives to meet the needs of the international sauna and spa market of both private and professional customers.

Harvias revenue totaled EUR 172.4 million in 2022. Harvia Group employs more than 600 professionals in Finland, China and Hong Kong, Romania, Austria, United States, Germany and Estonia. The company is headquartered in Muurame, Finland, adjacent to its largest sauna and sauna component manufacturing facility.

Read more: https://harviagroup.com

Attachment




Wealth manager Elliott Kallen hosted an educational health and wealth event for around 40 guests at Crow Canyon Country Club, alongside Dr. Bill Lloyd, the National Health Director of Transamerica.

Elliot Kallen gives presentation in Danville, California

Wealth manager Elliott Kallen hosted an educational health and wealth event for around 40 guests at Crow Canyon Country Club, alongside Dr. Bill Lloyd, the National Health Director of Transamerica.

Danville, CA, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Bill Lloyd, considered an authority on health, wealth and pandemic recovery, highlighted ways people can preserve their wealth throughout retirement as mortality rates shift throughout the United States. Dr. Lloyd covered issues related to longevity, money and staying healthy in retirement.

Americans are now living longer than any previous generation, and adults can anticipate living another 20 or 25 years (or more) after leaving work, Lloyd says. Retirement is one of the longest chapters in our lives. Over this period, health care costs can become a major concern. However, there are many ways to counter these concerns and, along the way, help plan participants improve their retirement readiness.

Elliot Kallen, President of Prosperity Financial Group (which won the Worldwide Finance Award for Most Trusted Asset Management Company in Northern California), noted that one in nine people over the age of 65 will develop Alzheimers disease, and that its Prosperity Financial Groups goal to provide the necessary tools to build financial security to last throughout retirement.

We want to make sure that our clients dont run out of money while they still have lots of life in front of them, Kallen said.

Shane Kennedy of Columbia Threadneedle also spoke at the event about behavioral finance, exploring why investors so often seem to sell at the wrong time.

The purpose of behavioral finance is to understand the clients psyche, Kallen said. Our job is to help reinforce them to make the right decisions at the right time, rather than what so many clients doespecially in volatile markets.

Kallen plans to host a series of events to equip participants with wealth management skills. Among those: a dinner on Thursday, April 20th at the Crow Canyon Country Club, focusing on successfully transferring wealth to the next generation.

Story continues

About Elliot Kallen: Elliot H. Kallen is an Independent Financial Advisor and the founder of Prosperity Financial Group, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisory Firm. He is a keynote speaker on motivation and marketing in the independent financial advisor industry, utilizing his previous experience in international distribution to teach other investment professionals nationwide and in the San Francisco area.

About Dr. Bill Lloyd: Dr. Bill Lloyd is an experienced clinician and award-winning medical educator who serves as Transamericas National Health Director. He shares his insights to audiences nationwide through impactful, authentic and unapologetically humorous presentations.

About Prosperity Financial Group: Prosperity Financial Group is a wealth management firm offering holistic wealth management to clients throughout San Ramon, the East Bay, and beyond, delivered by a team of experienced, trusted financial professionals.

Media Communications:

Inquires: adamtorres@missionmatters.com

Attachment




MAXIMIZE MARKET RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED

The Healthcare Consulting Service Market is majorly driven by the increasing number of new entrants due to favorable government regulations and the increasing number of healthcare consulting service providers.

PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maximize Market research, a global Healthcare market research firm, has published a competitive intelligence and market research report on the  Healthcare Consulting Service Market . The total market opportunity for Healthcare Consulting Service was USD 14.70 Bn in 2021 and is expected to grow at 22.88 percent CAGR through the forecast period to reach USD 76.44 Bn by 2029. As per the report, the market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period.



Healthcare Consulting Service Market Report Scope and Research Methodology

Market Size in 2021 USD 14.70 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 76.44 Bn. CAGR 22.88 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 285 No. of Tables 119 No. of Charts and Figures 116 Segment Covered Types of service 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.

Request For Free Sample Report : https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/17103

The main aim of the report is to provide a detailed analysis of the Healthcare Consulting Services Market in simple language to the stakeholders in the industry. The report provides a region-wise and segment-wise analysis of the market size with a global market size analysis. To estimate the global and regional market size in terms of value, the bottom-up approach was employed. The report also provides the global trends influencing market growth including drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges.

Story continues

Data collection and base year analysis of the global Healthcare Consulting Services Market is done using data collection modules. By using market statistical and comprehensible models, the data for the Healthcare Consulting Services Market has been analyzed and forecasted. Primary and secondary research methodologies were employed to collect the data for the market report and later the data gathered was combined to get accurate inferences, which makes the report an investors guide. The primary research for the report includes administering questionnaires, surveys and telephonic interviews with industry specialists, market leaders, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals. The secondary data was collected from the list of sources including official databases of various organizations and government sites, industry journals, white papers, annual reports of the companies along with paid databases. To provide the strengths and weaknesses of the Healthcare Consulting Services Market, the SWOT analysis was used.

Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/17103

Healthcare Consulting Service Market Overview

Healthcare Consulting Services include professional guidance provided by health organizations. A healthcare consultant provides advice based on a persons experience. The market is majorly driven by the increasing competition in the healthcare business across the world.

Healthcare Consulting Service Market Dynamics

The increasing developments in treatment and diagnosis is the main factor expected to contribute to the Healthcare Consulting Services Market growth. The factors that are driving the market are the integration of artificial intelligence with healthcare IT consulting services to optimize resource management, ensure data privacy, gain insights from unstructured data and provide a modernized approach to decision-making processes. The Healthcare Consulting Services Market is also driven by extensive research and development activities, increasing adoption of electronic record maintenance and the growing geriatric population.

Healthcare Consulting Services Market Regional Insights

In 2021, the North America region dominated the global Healthcare Consulting Services Market. This dominance is majorly attributed to the high adoption of digital solutions in healthcare organizations such as public agencies, biotechnology companies' hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other institutions.

Get the Sample PDF of Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/17103

The Healthcare Consulting Services Market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a high CAGR due to the presence of the large number of consultants in the region.

Healthcare Consulting Services Market Segmentation

By Type of Service

Digital Consulting

It Consulting

Strategy Consulting

Operations Consulting

Financial Consulting

HR & Talent Consulting

By End user

Government Bodies

Players

Life Science Companies

Providers

Healthcare Consulting Services Market Key Competitors include:

Accenture

McKinsey & Company

Cognizant

Deloitte Consulting

KPMG

McKinsey & company

The Boston consulting group

Huron consulting

Ernst & Young.

INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing

STREIT Group

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG

Oshkosh Corporation

Elbit Systems Ltd.

PWC

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

Bain and Company



Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/checkout/?method=PayPal&reportId=17103&type=Single%20User

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

Healthcare Consulting Service Market Dynamics  Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region

Healthcare Consulting Service Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by Type of Service, End-User and Region

Competitive Landscape  Profiles of selected key players by region in 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

Key questions answered in the Healthcare Consulting Services Market are:

What are Healthcare Consulting Services?

What is the CAGR of the Healthcare Consulting Services Market?

What was the Healthcare Consulting Services Market size in 2021?

What are the global trends in the Healthcare Consulting Services Market?

What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for the Healthcare Consulting Services Market?

What are the factors contributing to the final price of Healthcare Consulting Services?

What is the expected demand for different types of products in the Healthcare Consulting Services Market during the forecast period?

What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Healthcare Consulting Services Market?

Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in Healthcare Consulting Services Market?

What are the major challenges that the Healthcare Consulting Services Market could face in the future?

Who held the largest market share in Healthcare Consulting Services Market?



Maximize Market Research is leading Healthcare research firm, has also published the following reports:

Smart Healthcare Products Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 663.59 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 16.08 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by smart healthcare solutions that are becoming technologically advanced such as cloud-based records.

Healthcare Facility Management Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 435.55 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 9.87 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by global smart city initiatives, the growing hospitality industry and AI and IoT integration in healthcare facilities.

Software Consulting Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 606.19 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 12 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for various software services in the information technology (IT) department.

Weight Loss Services Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 30.67 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 9.10 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the prevalence of the obese population and initiatives carried out by key players and the government for rising awareness about health & fitness.

Management Consulting Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 570.77 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 8.6 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the minimization of costs and increasing digital marketing.

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.

CONTACT: Contact Maximize Market Research: 3rd Floor, Navale IT Park, Phase 2 Pune Banglore Highway, Narhe, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India sales@maximizemarketresearch.com +91 96071 95908, +91 9607365656




Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

The global heat pump market size was valued at USD 67.38 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 132.45 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 7.8% from 2023 to 2031. North America is the highest contributor to the global heat pump market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.23% during the forecast period

New York, United States, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A heat pump is a mechanical or electrical device that uses a compressor and a refrigerant to move heat from a source to a specific location. Heat pumps are more energy-efficient than other heating and cooling appliances like air conditioners and heaters because they can be used for heating and cooling. Heat pumps are generally recognized as a critical clean energy technology for the energy transition. Heat pumps are highly efficient and primarily rely on thermal energy from renewable sources as opposed to burning fossil fuels. 7080% of the energy a typical heat pump provides is renewable because a large portion of the usable heat produced by a heat pump is derived from public environmental sources.

Heat pumps have long been acknowledged as an essential, financially sound option for lowering the carbon emissions associated with maintaining indoor temperatures on a national, regional, and international level. The dramatic drop in the price of low-carbon electricity over the past ten years has strengthened the case for electric heat pumps.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/heat-pump-market/request-sample





Market Dynamics

Reduction of Carbon Footprint Through Heat Pump Technology

In addition to other places, homes, hospitals, and schools depend on energy as a power source. However, its creation and use lead to a sizable amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, significant economies worldwide are gradually shifting away from non-renewable energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and toward renewable ones. Heat pump technology is a promising strategy for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal and aerothermal heat pumps provide a space-heating method that is energy-efficient. The heat pump is frequently regarded as a sustainable heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technology. In the commercial, residential, and industrial sectors, heat pumps are used for space heating, cooling, and water heating. Both the air and the ground contain enormous thermal energy reserves. Heat pumps primarily use electricity, energy input, to increase the temperature to extract ambient heat from the air and cold surfaces.

Story continues

Increasing Internet of Things (IoT) Integration with Heat Pumps

Heat pumps powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) allow for component real-time monitoring, proactive maintenance, and remote diagnosis. Smart thermostats that help monitor environmental changes and communicate with their water heater equipment are part of the Internet of Things (IoT)-based heat pumps. Heat pumps are being adopted by end users from various industries more frequently. Their structures and methods of operation, however, have not changed. Heat pumps now come with LCDs and warning lights to make them easier to understand. The major market players, including Panasonic and Samsung, focus on integrating different technologies into their heat pumps to ensure ease of use and maintenance. The heat pumps' integration eliminates the need for physically turning on or off heat pumps with machine learning and artificial intelligence, which can study consumer usage patterns and analyze their operational time and duration.





Report Scope

Report Metric Details Market Size USD 132.45 Billion by 2031 CAGR 7.8% (2021-2031) Historical Data 2020-2021 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2031 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, By End User, By Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAME and Rest of the World Key Companies Profiled/Vendors Mitsubishi Electric, Enertech Group, Carrier Corporation, Bryant heat pumps, Robert Bosch, NIBE, Ingersoll Rand, Viessmann Key Market Opportunities Increasing Internet of Things (IoT) Integration with Heat Pumps Key Market Drivers Reduction of Carbon Footprint Through Heat Pump Technology

Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/heat-pump-market





Regional Analysis

North America is the highest contributor to the global heat pump market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.23% during the forecast period. The increase in consumer demand for energy-efficient systems , government programs to encourage clean heating and emission reduction, and cooling systems to adopt clean and sustainable technology has significantly impacted North America's demand. Additionally, the rise in household units and population growth will accelerate the expansion of the residential market. Stakeholders anticipate that the area will attract significant business investment and grow into a hub for the heat pump industry. The demand for green heating and cooling solutions has increased due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. New initiatives are being introduced to promote the development of HVAC technologies to address the effects of severe weather in nations like the United States and Canada. To launch the Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge, the US Department of Energy (DOE) reached an agreement with six top businesses, including Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Johnson Controls, Lennox International, Carrier, and Trane Technologies.

Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 8.79% during the forecast period because of the rising demand from the construction, residential, and industrial sectors. China is in the lead in producing heat pumps in the area. East Asia is still creating a pool of opportunities in the heat pump market as it is also rapidly urbanizing and industrializing. Consumers' growing preference for green technology, government awareness campaigns, and consideration of the effects of climate change and rising global temperatures are expected to influence demand in the East Asian heat pump market significantly. A notable increase in the use of heat pumps has also been brought on by various energy-efficient and environmentally friendly heating technologies adopted by the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.





Key Highlights

The global heat pump market size is projected to reach USD 132.45 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period (2023-2031).

Based on type , the global heat pump market is bifurcated into air-source heat pumps, water-source heat pumps, and ground-source heat pumps. The air-source heat pump segment is the highest contributor to the market and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% during the forecast period.

Based on rated capacity , the global heat pump market is bifurcated into Up to 10 kW, 10  20 kW, 20  30 kW, and Above 30 kW. The Up to 10 kW segment is the highest contributor to the market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.74% % during the forecast period.

Based on refrigerant , the global heat pump market is bifurcated into R410A, R407C, R744, and Others. The R410A segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.41% during the forecast period.

Based on end users , the global heat pump market is bifurcated into commercial, residential, and industrial. The residential segment owns the highest market share and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period.

North America is the highest contributor to the global heat pump market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.23% during the forecast period.





Competitive Players

The global heat pump markets major key players are

Mitsubishi Electric

Enertech Group

Carrier Corporation

Glen Dimplex Group

Ingersoll Rand Plc

Bryant heat pumps

Robert Bosch

NIBE

Ingersoll Rand

Viessmann, Daikin Industries Ltd.

Melrose Industries PLC

Stiebel Eltron

Vaillant Group

Panasonic Corporation.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/heat-pump-market/request-sample





Global Heat Pump Market: Segmentation

By Type

Air-Source Heat Pumps

Water-Source Heat Pumps

Ground-Source Heat Pumps

By Rated Capacity

Up to 10 kW

10  20 kW

20  30 kW

Above 30 kW

By Refrigerant

R410A

R407C

R744

Others

By End-User

Commercial

Residential

Industrial

By Regions

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

LAMEA





TABLE OF CONTENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RESEARCH SCOPE & SEGMENTATION Research Objectives Market Definition Limitations & Assumptions Market Scope & Segmentation Currency & Pricing Considered MARKET OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT Emerging Regions / Countries Emerging Companies Emerging Applications / End Use Investment Landscape New Business Models / Revenue Streams TAM MARKET TRENDS Drivers Market Warning Factors Latest Macro Economic Indicators Geopolitical Impact Human Factors Technology Factors MARKET ASSESSMENT Porters Five Forces Analysis Value Chain Analysis Raw Material Analysis Sales And Distribution Channel Analysis Trade Analysis M & A Agreements & Collabration Analysis Export Import Analysis Cost Structure Analysis ESG TRENDS GLOBAL HEAT PUMP MARKET SIZE ANALYSIS Global Heat Pump Market Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value NORTH AMERICA MARKET ANALYSIS Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value U.S. By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Canada EUROPE MARKET ANALYSIS Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value U.K. By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Germany France Spain Italy Russia Nordic Benelux Rest Of Europe APAC MARKET ANALYSIS Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value China By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Korea Japan India Australia Taiwan South East Asia Rest Of Asia-Pacific MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA MARKET ANALYSIS Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value UAE By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Turkey Saudi Arabia South Africa Egypt Nigeria Rest Of MEA LATAM MARKET ANALYSIS Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Brazil By Type Introduction Type By Value Air Source Heat Pumps By Value Water Source Heat Pumps By Value Ground Source Heat Pumps By Value By End User Introduction End User By Value Industrial By Value Residential By Value Commercial By Value Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia Rest Of LATAM COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT Adoption Matrix Heat Pump Market Share By Manufacturers Heat Pump Market Ranking By Revenue For Manufacturers Average Price By Manufacturers Vendor Footprint Analysis MARKET PLAYERS ASSESSMENT Mitsubishi Electric Overview Business Information Revenue ASP Gross Margin Swot Analysis Recent Developmments Enertech Group Carrier Corporation Bryant Heat Pumps Robert Bosch NIBE Ingersoll Rand Viessmann RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Data Secondary Data Major Secondary Sources Key Data From Secondary Sources Primary Data Key Data From Primary Sources Breakdown Of Primaries Secondary And Primary Research Key Industry Insights Market Size Estimation Bottom-Up Approach Top-Down Approach Market Projection Research Assumptions Assumptions Limitations Risk Assessment APPENDIX Discussion Guide Customization Options Related Reports DISCLAIMER





Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/heat-pump-market/toc





Market News

July 2022, Viessmann Werke GmbH & Company KG announced that it was constructing a new production facility in Legnica, Poland, to hasten the ramp-up of heat pump production in Europe. Additionally, the business might be spending 200 million euros on new technology sites. In 2023, the construction is anticipated to be finished.

May 2022, A contract for the purchase of 50% of the shares of the Italian company Argoclima and the remaining stake within five years was signed by NIBE Industrier AB. Heat pump and air conditioning products are produced and distributed in Italy by Argoclima SpA.





News Media

Geothermal Heat Pumps Market Size Worth USD 17,119 Million by 2030 | CAGR of 7%





Have a Look at the Related Research Report?

Refrigerants Market : Information by Product Type, Application (Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Chillers, and Heat Pumps, and Others), End-User, and Region  Forecast till 2030

Metal Hydride Market : Information by Metal Hydride (Alloys Metal Hydride and Complex Metal Hydride), Application (Fuel Cell, Heat Pumps), and Region  Forecast till 2026

Dosing Pump Market : Information by Type (Diaphragm, Plunger, Peristaltic), Application (Chemicals, Wastewater Management), Sales Channel and Regional Outlook  Forecast Till 2031

Magnetic Drive Pump Market : Information by Type (Stainless Steel, Reinforced Polypropylene, Polyvinylidene Fluoride), Product, Flow Rate, Application, and Region  Forecast till 2031





About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd.

Straits Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision-making and ROI.

Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches.





For more information on your target market, please contact us below:

Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.)

+91 8087085354 (APAC)

+44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.)

Email: sales@straitsresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




The world's largest provider of hemp-derived cannabinoids is leading the charge to defend and advocate internationally

FLOWER MOUND, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, MCG, the world's largest provider of hemp-derived cannabinoids, along with the Virginia Healthy Alternatives Association, released an Economic Impact Report detailing the positive growth potential for small businesses, stemming from this industry. MCG is forecasting that the hemp industry will reach $20-$25 billion in value by 2024. A report , conducted by Whitney Economics, reveals that Virginia alone stands to see a $3.3 billion gain in economic impact related to legalized hemp-derived cannabinoids.

(PRNewsfoto/MC Global Holdings)

"This is our second major economic report done with the cooperation of The American Healthy Alternatives Association. Colorado and Virginia have had extremely interesting stories to tell about the sheer size of their markets. We're looking forward to the Florida report as well which will be out in two weeks. We're expecting the report to give a final prediction on Florida's massive market, which has been supported primarily by Delta 8 THC. Special thanks to Beau Whtiney, JD McCormick, and Yan Gleyzer for their help with these reports," said Bret Worley, President at MC Global.

The new report, An Economics Impact Analysis of Cannabinoid Retail in Virginia, also found that any changes to the current legalized status of cannabinoids could put more than four thousand jobs at risk. This would include a staggering $161.8 million loss of wages. The bulk of these losses would stem from small, local businesses. This would have a tangible and direct impact on unemployment rates, resulting in a 1% increase in unemployment in Virginia. Beyond the stores seeing a $1.2 billion loss in sales related to hemp-derived cannabinoids, impact would extend into the supply chain process, affecting distributors, manufacturers and farmers. 68% of stores said they would be forced to shut down if unable to sell hemp-derived cannabinoids in their locations.

Story continues

"After doing the research and analyzing the results, it appears that legislators and key stakeholders do not realize the size and scale of the cannabinoid industry in the United States. We are seeing similar results in our research across the country. It is important to have data on this market in order to make informed decisions," said Beau Whitney of Whitney Economics.

Whitney Economics has taken a similar deep dive into the market of Colorado, tallying $500 million in exported bulk cannabinoids per year, with sales growing to $700 million in 2024. Whitney Economics has also commenced a study in Florida, which is expected to have a retail sales market of $3-$5 billion.

About MCG

MC Global Holdings, LLC is dedicated to changing lives for the better by providing safe, effective and affordable hemp-derived cannabinoid products that improve health, well-being and happiness. MCG is on a mission to revolutionize the hemp wellness industry by being the leader in professionalism, promotion and distribution of responsibly produced cannabinoids worldwide. Supporting budding industries and small-to-medium businesses across the country is a key driver of their work.

Websites:

www.MCGlobal.io

www.MCNutraceuticals.com

www.Vivimu.com

https://AmericanHealthyAlternatives.org

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hemp-industry-leader-mc-global-holdings-llc-mcg-expects-hemp-derived-cannabinoid-market-to-exceed-20-billion-in-2024-301764063.html

SOURCE MC Global Holdings
The iconic brands' newest chocolate confections made with dairy alternatives are everything you love about milk chocolate minus the milk

HERSHEY, Pa., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As more people reach for plant-based snacks, The Hershey Company is offering two delicious options sure to satiate their appetite for a milk chocolate alternative. Today, the legendary chocolatier is announcing the nationwide launch of Hershey's Plant Based and the new addition of Reese's Plant Based.

Reeses Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups

Whether you're vegan or simply looking to limit dairy, the iconic Reese's and Hershey's brands give you yet another melt-in-your-mouth experience with its latest treats made with dairy alternatives: Hershey's Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt and Reese's Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups.

"We are excited to introduce these delicious, plant-based options," says Teal Liu, Brand Manager of Better For You, The Hershey Company. "Our purpose is to create more moments of goodness for consumers. Those moments are now more accessible for chocolate lovers looking for plant-based alternatives."

Hershey has long offered a wide variety of choices for consumers to enjoy their favorite sweet and salty snacks for everyday moments, seasons and special occasions. To meet the changing needs of some snackers, Hershey's expertise and capabilities help us deliver more, great-tasting alternative options including portion-controlled treats, no sugar added, zero sugar, high protein and now plant based.

Plant Based is coming to shelves nationwide this spring. Reese's Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups are available in March, followed by Hershey's Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt in April.

To learn more and find the new products near you, visit www.hersheyland.com.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has approximately 19,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 100 brand names in approximately 80 countries around the world that drive more than $10 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers, and fast-growing salty snacks including SkinnyPop, Pirate's Booty and Dot's Homestyle Pretzels.

Story continues

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed.

To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com.

Hersheys Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt

The Hershey Company Logo (PRNewsfoto/The Hershey Company)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-hershey-company-introduces-new-plant-based-additions-to-hersheys-and-reeses-brands-301763933.html

SOURCE The Hershey Company
Qabil Ashirov

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov delivered a speech at the Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC5), Azernews reports citing MFA.

During the speech, the minister first expressed his condolences regarding the earthquake in Turkiye and Syria.

He also thanked Qatar for organizing the event at a high level. Confidence was expressed that this prestigious conference will take important decisions in the direction of solving the problems of 46 underdeveloped countries and 1.1 billion people living in these countries.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov pointed out that this conference, which is held every 10 years, is not only solidarity but also an important event for reaffirming the obligations of partners on development to meet the needs of less developed countries and for the implementation of the Doha Action Plan for 2022-2031 in this field. It was mentioned that 39 of these 46 countries are members of the Non-Aligned Movement chaired by Azerbaijan.

The minister emphasized that despite the fact that the territories of Azerbaijan have been under the occupation of Armenia for nearly 30 years, over a million Azerbaijanis have been displaced from their homelands, thousands of people have died, and the devastating effects of the occupation on the socio-economic well-being of Azerbaijan, as a result of a successful domestic and foreign policy, Azerbaijan has overcome difficulties and turned into donor country from aid receiving country.

Besides that, at the meeting the assistance provided by Azerbaijan to about 130 countries in the fields of health, education, technical and humanitarian has been brought to attention.

Jeyhun Bayramov noted Azerbaijan's practical contributions to the Istanbul Action Plan and Sustainable Development Goals.

He added that within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement, Azerbaijan provides scholarship programs; and furthermore, training was held for the diplomats of 21 least-developed countries.

The minister also gave detailed information about Azerbaijans donation activities and contributions to the fight against the Global Pandemic during the Covid-19 pandemic. In connection with the pandemic, it was reported that Azerbaijan provided material and humanitarian support to 80 countries and offered 1 million doses of vaccine to 14 countries.

He also touched on the Summit-level meeting of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement on the fight against "Covid-19" held in Baku on March 2, 2023, and said that during the Summit-level meeting, Azerbaijan took the initiative to create a fund for assistance to Africa and developing small island states, and 1 million US dollars was allocated to each of these funds.
BOWLING GREEN, KY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Hughes & Coleman ERTC team is dedicated to helping businesses who may be owed significant tax credits due to the CARES Act established during the COVID-19 pandemic. If your business retained employees through COVID shutdowns, your business could be eligible for a tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee.

"Deadlines for small businesses in 2023 are ramping up, and we're here to help hardworking businesses get the money they are owed by the government," said Lee Coleman, Attorney and Founder Partner, Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers. "Let us help you through the ERTC program complexities so you can obtain your credits and maximize your refund as quickly and easily as possible before the deadline."

Hughes & Coleman offers free consultations 24/7 to see if your business qualifies for the ERTC credit of up to $26,000 per employee. There are no costs involved or obligation to check to see if a business qualifies for the ERTC credit.

Congress developed the CARES Act to help businesses secure employment for their workers and keep them on the payroll during COVID-19-related shutdowns. The ERTC was intended to incentivize employers to retain workers by offering a quarterly credit for each qualified employee on the payroll during that time. As a federal stimulus program, ERTC is not a loan; the money received is distributed directly from the IRS and does not have to be repaid.

ERCT Qualifications

Your company may qualify for the ERTC of up to $26,000 by employee by showing either:

A full or partial suspension of operation during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel or group meetings due to COVID-19, OR

Your business experienced a 50% quarteroverquarter decline in revenue compared to the same quarter in 2019.

In Q4 of 2020, you experienced a decline in gross receipts of 50% from the corresponding quarter in 2019 or less than 80% of gross receipts in the preceding quarter.

All 3 quarters in 2021 are eligible to use the 80% gross receipts test versus the preceding quarter or the corresponding quarter from previous year instead to 50% drop in gross receipts, refund up to 70% of $10,000 per employee.

Story continues

Hughes & Coleman, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Press release picture

Even if businesses made money during the COVID-19 pandemic, compensation is still possible. Businesses across a wide range of industries, including education, government contractors, healthcare, hospitality, retail, restaurants, industrial, not-for-profit, professional services, real estate, construction, and technology, plus more may be eligible for ERTC. The types of instances that would qualify companies for the ERTC are supply chain disruptions, time taken away for sanitation or cleaning, limited capacity to operate, and other federal, state, or local mandates which affected normal business operations.

Complete details to help businesses determine their eligibility can be viewed on the Hughes & Coleman website at ERTC Funds Recovery. The Hughes & Coleman team is ready to help businesses that may benefit from the CARES Act of 2020.

Call the Hughes & Coleman ERTC Recovery team today at 800-800-4600 or complete a simple online form to determine qualification. There are time restrictions to file for your business, so contact Hughes & Coleman today to take advantage of the employee retention tax credit while it's still available. There are no costs involved or obligation to check to see if your business qualifies for the ERTC credit.

Hughes & Coleman, Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Press release picture

About Hughes & Coleman:

Hughes & Coleman was founded in 1985 and has recovered over a billion dollars for our clients in Kentucky and Tennessee injured from auto accidents, big truck wrecks, motorcycle accidents, defective medical products, nursing home abuse, slip and fall accidents, and wrongful death. Hughes & Coleman believes that Control Starts With A Call. Hughes & Coleman operates 10 offices in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Contact:

Lora Fisher, Brand Development Director

270-782-6003 ext. 147

lfisher@hughesandcoleman.com

SOURCE: Hughes & Coleman





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/741588/Hughes-Colemans-Employee-Retention-Tax-Credit-ERTC-Team-Can-Help-Eligible-Businesses-Get-Maximum-Tax-Refund-of-Up-To-26000-Per-Employee




NHS Expands Access to Ibex's Galen Breast and Galen Prostate Solutions to 25 Trusts Across the UK Following PathLAKE Plus Consortium Bid Wins

TEL AVIV, Israel , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex), the leader in AI-powered cancer diagnostics, today announced the receipt of multiple contract awards from the PathLAKE consortium to provide Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to support cancer diagnosis at 25 NHS Trusts.

Ibex Logo

PathLAKE is a UK center of excellence consortium, founded by Innovate UK, that is delivering AI innovation in pathology across leading NHS Trusts and UK universities including Nottingham University Hospitals, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire, and Oxford University Hospitals. The contract award follows a rigorous selection process which recognized Ibex as the top scoring solution provider for both the breast and prostate cancer categories, allowing up to 25 NHS Trusts to directly procure the Ibex Galen Breast and Galen Prostate solutions. Cambridge University Hospitals is one of the Trusts to subsequently select Ibex to support its pathologists by augmenting diagnostic workflows with enhanced quality, accuracy and efficiency.

"Cambridge University Hospitals is very proud to be a founding partner of PathLAKE Plus, teaming up to help secure the 13.5 million grant from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund," said Dr. Rebecca Brais, Clinical Lead for Digital Pathology and Major Projects in Diagnostics and Consultant Histopathologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. "We see ourselves, and the UK as a whole, at the cutting edge of innovation in digital pathology and look forward to implementing the Ibex Galen solution here in Cambridge as part of our Histopathology Team's digital transformation."

The worldwide shortage of pathologists combined with a rise in the number of cancer cases and their complexity has led to growing workloads imposed on pathology departments and delays in cancer diagnosis across the UK. With approximately 275,000 women undergoing breast biopsies and 100,000 men undergoing prostate biopsies in the UK each year1,2, there is a growing need for AI-powered solutions and decision-support tools that help pathologists detect cancer rapidly with the utmost accuracy.

Story continues

The Galen suite of solutions from Ibex is the first and most widely deployed AI technology for pathology, used in routine clinical practice at laboratories, hospitals, and health systems worldwide. It supports pathologists in a variety of tasks during the diagnosis of breast, prostate, and gastric biopsies and helps improve the accuracy of cancer diagnosis, reduce turnaround time, boost productivity, and improve user experience. Galen demonstrated outstanding outcomes across multiple clinical studies performed on various tissue types and diagnostic workflows3,4,5,6,7.

"We are extremely honored to be recognized by PathLAKE as the leading provider of AI solutions in pathology," said Richard Nicholson, Director of Sales, UK at Ibex. "Our team looks forward to supporting additional regions of the UK with our suite of Galen solutions. Building upon our successful AI deployments in NHS Wales, and our existing projects with hospitals and labs in England, we are uniquely positioned to further strengthen the adoption, deployment and routine use of AI in pathology across the UK."

About Ibex Medical Analytics

Ibex Medical Analytics (Ibex) is transforming cancer diagnostics with world-leading, clinical grade AI-powered solutions, empowering physicians to provide accurate, timely and personalized cancer diagnosis for every patient. Our Galen suite of solutions is the first and most widely deployed AI-technology in pathology and used as part of everyday routine, supporting pathologists and providers worldwide in improving the quality and accuracy of diagnosis, implementing comprehensive quality control, reducing turnaround times and boosting productivity with more efficient workflows. Ibex's Artificial Intelligence technology is built on Deep Learning algorithms trained by a team of pathologists, data scientists and software engineers. For additional company information, please visit https://ibex-ai.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter .

Multiple solutions under the Galen suite of solutions are CE marked (IVDD) and registered with the UK MHRA. Galen First Read for prostate is also CE marked under IVDR. Galen includes solutions which are for Research Use Only (RUO) in the United States and not cleared by the FDA. For more information, including indication for use and regulatory approval in other countries, contact Ibex Medical Analytics.

Media Contacts

Nechama Rosengarten

FINN Partners for Ibex Medical Analytics

nechama.rosengarten@finnpartners.com

+1-929-222-8006

[1] https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/breast-cancer

[2 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-hospitals-join-pioneering-study-to-improve-prostate-cancer-diagnosis-using-ai

[3] Pantanowitz et al., An artificial intelligence algorithm for prostate cancer diagnosis in whole slide images of core needle biopsies: a blinded clinical validation and deployment study, THE LANCET Digital Health Aug 2020

[4] Sandbank et al., Validation and real-world clinical application of an artificial intelligence algorithm for breast cancer detection in biopsies, npj Breast Cancer, December 2022

[5] Comperat et al., Clinical Level AI-Based Solution for Primary Diagnosis and Reporting of Prostate Biopsies in Routine Use: A Prospective Reader Study, European Congress of Pathology 2021

[6] Raoux et al., Novel AI-Based Solution for Supporting Primary Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Increases the Accuracy and Efficiency of Reporting in Clinical Routine, USCAP 2021

[7] Sandbank et al., Validation and Clinical Deployment of an AI-Based Solution for Detection of Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Helicobacter pylori in Gastric Biopsies, USCAP 2022

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1839936/Ibex_Logo.jpg

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ibex-secures-pathlake-contracts-to-roll-out-ai-based-cancer-diagnostics-to-uk-hospitals-301764634.html
InvestorBrandNetwork (IBN)

LOS ANGELES, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via InvestorWire  IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork), an innovative corporate communications firm and content distributor, is pleased to announce today that it is collaborating with ROTH MKM on the occasion of their 35 th Annual Roth Conference taking place at The Ritz Carlton in Dana Point, California.



ROTH MKM, a relationship-driven investment bank focused on serving growth companies and their investors, specializes in partnership building between c-suite executives of pathbreaking companies and seasoned investors across a variety of sectors. The investment banks network comprises many clients and partners who work at the cutting edge of high-growth industries, including business services, healthcare, oil & gas, metals & mining, technology, media, AgTech and sustainability.

During its upcoming conference on March 12-14, 2023, ROTH MKM analyst-selected companies will engage in meaningful one-on-one or small-group conversations with highly respected institutional investors in a bid to cultivate lasting professional relationships and drive new collaborative opportunities. The annual conference will also feature fireside chats and thematic industry panels.

In its capacity as a media sponsor for the event, IBN will leverage its array of extensive corporate communications solutions to heighten the visibility and widen the recognition of the conference, institutional investors and presenting companies via an array of digital channels. InvestorWire, one of 50+ brands part of IBN, will be a key part of syndicating content across thousands of news outlets.

ROTH MKM has been at the forefront of transactions management, advisory services and research over the past three decades. We have worked with their event team for more than 12 years now and are excited to be supporting this years flagship conference, said Jonathan Keim, communications director for IBN. Our team is leveraging an extensive network of thousands of downstream publishers and strategically targeted social media channels to drive interest among millions of online investors.

Story continues

The 35th Annual Roth Conference will provide a unique platform for investor education and identifying hidden high-growth opportunities across a variety of sectors. Following unprecedented monetary tightening the past year, the investment atmosphere has become especially challenging with many institutions now struggling to meet their mandates. ROTH MKMs upcoming event is uniquely placed to help deliver fresh deal flow.

Additional information about the event can be found at the following website: https://ibn.fm/ROTH2023Conference

To view profiles of each participating company, visit: https://ibn.fm/ROTH2023Profiles

About IBN

IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork) consists of financial brands introduced to the investment public over the course of 17+ years. With IBN, we have amassed a collective audience of millions of social media followers. These distinctive investor brands aim to fulfill the unique needs of a growing base of client-partners. IBN will continue to expand our branded network of highly influential properties, leveraging the knowledge and energy of specialized teams of experts to serve our increasingly diversified list of clients.

Through NetworkNewsWire (NNW) and its affiliate brands, IBN provides: (1) access to a network of wire solutions via InvestorWire (IW) to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible; (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets; (3) enhanced press release solutions to ensure maximum impact; (4) full-scale distribution to a growing social media audience; (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions; and (6) a total news coverage solution.

For more information, please visit https://www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the InvestorBrandNetwork website applicable to all content provided by IBN, wherever published or re-published: http://IBN.fm/Disclaimer

Corporate Communications

IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork)

Los Angeles, California

www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

310.299.1717 Office

Editor@InvestorBrandNetwork.com




Online Pharmacy to Offer Hypothyroidism Treatments at Low Cost

PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IBSA Pharma announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, PBC (Cost Plus Drugs) to offer Tirosint (levothyroxine sodium) oral capsules at a low cash price via the Cost Plus Drugs online pharmacy. The agreement is the first of its kind for a branded levothyroxine drug. Levothyroxine is a synthetic hormone used to treat hypothyroidism. It is one of the most widely dispensed prescription medications in the United States with an estimated 116 million prescriptions filled in 2016.

IBSA Institut Biochimique SA, Lugano, Switzerland (PRNewsfoto/IBSA Pharma, Inc.)

Tirosint capsules is the leading branded gel capsule formulation of levothyroxine in the US. It is formulated without excipients that can cause tolerability and drug absorption problems commonly observed with traditional levothyroxine tablet therapies. Tirosint has money savings options available for patients, their availability in the Cost Plus Drugs program is a first for both companies.

Cost Plus Drugs launched its online pharmacy in 2021 and was co-founded by investor-entrepreneur Mark Cuban to reduce the cost of prescription medications. It offers the most commonly prescribed drugs at low transparent prices by negotiating prices directly with manufacturers and passing along the savings to consumers. "Everyone should have access to safe, affordable prescription drugs at transparent prices" commented Cuban at the company's founding. Currently, most of Cost Plus Drugs' offerings are generic drugs. The agreement with IBSA marks one of the company's first forays into the branded segment of the US pharmaceutical market. Cuban is currently a Tirosint patient.

Commenting on the agreement, IBSA Pharma CEO Nicholas Hart stated that "hypothyroidism is a prevalent condition with significant public health implications. We are delighted to offer Tirosint capsules to patients via Cost Plus Drugs. Tirosint has been clinically proven to provide the benefits of levothyroxine, the standard of care for treating hypothyroidism, in a formulation that is free of gluten, dyes, lactose, sugars and other excipients commonly found in tablet formulations. These can be problematic for many patients. Studies have shown that up to 31% of levothyroxine-treated patients have gastrointestinal and other problems that can lead to underperformance of levothyroxine therapy and suboptimal control of hypothyroidism."

Story continues

Tirosint capsules is a prescription medication that IBSA Pharma markets to physicians and patients. Tirosint capsules are indicated to treat hypothyroidism in patients six years and older and available in 13,25,50,75,88, 100,112,125,137, 150, 175 and 200 mcg doses. Additional information, including money saving options, can be found at www.Tirosint.com.

About Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disorder with numerous causes resulting in a deficiency in thyroid hormone. More than 27 million adults have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  Up to 13 million Americans have undiagnosed hypothyroidism.  About 2% of the U.S. population has pronounced hypothyroidism, and as much as 10% has subclinical (mild) hypothyroidism. The condition is most common in women over 40 years of age and in the elderly of both sexes. The signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism are nonspecific and may include fatigue, forgetfulness, depression, constipation, muscle cramps, weight gain, dry skin and hair loss. TSH laboratory tests are recommended as first-line screening tests for thyroid dysfunction. Levothyroxine sodium is a synthetic version of a hormone that is normally produced by the thyroid gland. It is used to treat patients who suffer from hypothyroidism or inadequate levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).

About IBSA Pharma Inc.

IBSA Pharma is part of IBSA Group, which is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland. It currently markets 4 prescription medications in the United States: Tirosint capsules and Tirosint-SOL (levothyroxine sodium) oral solution for the treatment of hypothyroidism; Licart (diclofenac epolamine) topical system 1.3% and Flector (diclofenac epolamine) topical system 1.3% for the treatment of acute pain from minor strains, sprains, and contusions.

IBSA Institut Biochimique SA

IBSA (Institut Biochimique SA) is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical Company, founded in 1945 in Lugano. Today, its products are present in over 90 Countries on 5 continents, through the Company's 17 subsidiaries located in Europe, China, and the United States. The company has a consolidated turnover of 800 million CHF, and employs over 2,000 people between headquarters, subsidiaries, and production sites. IBSA holds 90 families of approved patents, plus others under development, as well as a vast portfolio of products, covering 10 therapeutic areas: reproductive medicine, endocrinology, pain and inflammation, osteoarticular, aesthetic medicine, dermatology, uro-gynaecology, cardiometabolic, respiratory, consumer health. It is also one of the largest operators worldwide in the area of reproductive medicine, and one of the world's leaders in hyaluronic acid-based products. IBSA has based its philosophy on four pillars: Person, Innovation, Quality and Responsibility.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact IBSA Pharma Inc. at 1-800-587-3513 or FDA at 1-800- FDA-1088

For more information about IBSA, visit www.ibsagroup.com/media. For full prescribing information, visit www.Tirosint.com.

References

Verble, M. Inappropriate use and overdose of PPIs: a strategy for discontinuation. Pharmacy Times, August 2018:35. IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics Report, "Medicine Use and the Shifting Costs of Healthcare"; 2014; pg. 46 Booth, M, 2019. Published online at: http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/health/thyroid-disease-common-us Canaris GJ, Manowitz NR, Mayor G, Ridgeway EC, "The Colorado Thyroid Disease Prevalence Study", Arch of Internal Medicine; 2000;160: 526-534 McDermott MT. "In the clinic: hypothyroidism". Annals of Internal Medicine; 2009;151 (11): ITC-6-1 Soh SB. Laboratory testing in thyroid conditions: pitfalls and clinical utility. Ann Lab Med. 2019;39(1):3.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Warning: Not for the Treatment of Obesity or for Weight Loss

Thyroid hormones, including TIROSINT, either alone or with other therapeutic agents, should not be used for the treatment of obesity or for weight loss.

In euthyroid patients, doses within the range of daily hormonal requirements are ineffective for weight reduction.

Larger doses may produce serious or even life-threatening manifestations of toxicity, particularly when given in association with sympathomimetic amines such as those used for their anorectic effects.

Contraindications

Uncorrected adrenal insufficiency

Warnings And Precautions

Cardiac adverse reactions in the elderly and in patients with underlying cardiovascular disease . Initiate TIROSINT at less than the full replacement dose because of the increased risk of cardiac adverse reactions, including atrial fibrillation

Myxedema coma : Do no use oral thyroid hormone drug products to treat myxedema coma

Acute adrenal crisis in patients with concomitant adrenal insufficiency : Treat with replacement glucocorticoids prior to initiation of TIROSINT treatment

Prevention of hyperthyroidism or incomplete treatment of hypothyroidism : Proper dose titration and careful monitoring is critical to prevent the persistence of hypothyroidism or the development of hyperthyroidism

Worsening of diabetic control : Therapy in patients with diabetes mellitus may worsen glycemic control and result in increased antidiabetic agent or insulin requirements. Carefully monitor glycemic control after starting, changing, or discontinuing thyroid hormone therapy

Decreased bone mineral density associated with thyroid hormone over-replacement . Over-replacement can increase bone reabsorption and decrease bone mineral density. Give the lowest effective dose

Use for the suppression of nontoxic diffuse goiter or nodular thyroid disease: Use is not recommended in iodine-insufficient patients

Limitations of Use

Not indicated for suppression of benign thyroid nodules and nontoxic diffuse goiter in iodine-sufficient patients

Not indicated for treatment of transient hypothyroidism during the recovery phase of subacute thyroiditis

Adverse Reactions

Common adverse reactions with levothyroxine therapy are primarily those of hypothyroidism due to therapeutic overdosage. They include the following:

Genera l: fatigue, increased appetite, weight loss, heat intolerance, fever, excessive sweating

Central Nervous System : headache, hyperactivity, nervousness, anxiety, irritability, emotional lability, insomnia

Musculoskeletal : tremors, muscle weakness

Cardiovascula r: palpitations, tachycardia, arrythmias, increased pulse and blood pressure, heart failure, angina, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest

Respirator y: dyspnea

Gastrointestinal (GI ): diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, elevations in liver function tests

D ermatologic: hair loss, flushing

Endocrine : decreased bone mineral density

Reproductive: menstrual irregularities, impaired fertility

Adverse reactions in Children

Pseudotumor cerebri and slipped capital femoral epiphysis have been reported in children receiving levothyroxine therapy. Overtreatment may result in craniosynostosis in infants and premature closure of the epiphyses in children with resultant compromised adult height. Seizures have been reported rarely with the institution of levothyroxine therapy.

Hypersensitivity Reactions

Hypersensitivity reactions to inactive ingredients (in this product or other levothyroxine products) have occurred in patients treated with thyroid ho0rmone products. These include urticaria, pruritis, skin rash, flushing, angioedema, various GI symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea), fever, arthralgia, serum sickness and wheezing. Hypersensitivity to levothyroxine itself is not known to occur.

PM-04-23-0001

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibsa-pharma-and-mark-cuban-cost-plus-drug-company-team-up-to-make-tirosint-more-affordable-301758391.html

SOURCE IBSA Pharma Inc.
NAPOLEONVILLE, LA / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / (OTC PINK:IFUS) The challenge facing Impact Fusion's path to attaining our goal of having SGP+ accepted as a widely utilized, high-performing supplement for beef and dairy cattle is to simplify the information gathered by hands-on ranchers, dairymen, and scientists.

SGP+ is a technology supported by a product line that, when mixed with the specific ration of any given rancher or dairyman, has shown to produce incredible results. Ration mixing and ration management, as determined by manure scoring, provides guidance as to how much SGP+ should be mixed with a rancher's or dairyman's ration to achieve herd performance. Working in tandem with ranchers and dairymen, our scientific team strives daily to better demonstrate the impact SGP+ has on the health and well-being of the herds which includes environmental compliance. We, then, have a multi-tiered approach to conducting the requisite studies geared towards product, service, and sales, while doing more advanced scientific studies to confirm the results discovered at the grass roots level.

Currently, these studies are being conducted under the close supervision of the IFUS scientific team and follow established and accepted testing protocols.

Concurrently, the Company is assessing which universities and private research institutes will be chosen to conduct deeper and more complex studies. Since the Company applied for a grant from the U.S.D.A., it has learned that if the grant were to be approved, the U.S.D.A. required in excess of 60% of any funding awarded to be spent on internal company expenses. That requirement would have left less than 30% for testing from outside, objective third-parties such as Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Hence, the funding would have proved woefully inadequate for critical testing to further understand the positive impacts being reported by ranchers and dairymen.

Story continues

Also, that particular study would have been limited to "Carbon and Nitrogen Reduction on Beef Heifers Interpolated into Nutritional Effectiveness." Our studies address the environmental crisis impacting present-day beef and dairy herds through a reduction in Carbon-load from excessive respiration and waste elimination. However, the broader focus targets improved digestion and absorption in a healthier herd, while reducing food and supplement quantities including the need for antibiotics all the while significantly reducing feeding costs. Environmental compliance is a result of dealing with the root cause of the problem rather than the symptom.

Marc Walther, CEO, stated: "Following the submission of its application for a grant and subsequent requests for more information, we learned that the U.S.D.A would have not allowed adequate funding for external third-party testing. It is our opinion that on-going testing is essential to continue to validate our proprietary technology.Hence, outside investment was sought and successfully secured to conduct said testing. Additionally, where available, we will continue our independent pursuit of grants directed to small businesses as well as Angel Investment while continuing our independent testing.

"We have developed a multi-tiered approach to conducting basic science geared towards product, service and sales, while doing more advanced scientific studies. I have personally visited ranches currently feeding their herds our SGP+ brand and witnessed first-hand the immediate acceptance by both cattle and goats. Currently we have research projects being conducted at two large ranches located in Texas and Louisiana, with more being currently added. The results to date are incredibly encouraging." Marc Walther, CEO, stated.

If you are a rancher or dairyman and wish to participate in our research project please contact the Company by email at impactfusionintl@gmail.com or call 1-800-775-4130

Please visit our website at https://www.impactfusionbrands.com/nutri-mastic-2/ for more information about our proprietary formula Nutri-Mastic.

About Impact Fusion International Inc.

Impact Fusion International, Inc. is in the business of marketing products in the "Health and Wellness" sector of all international markets. It is the company's mission to invent, develop and market these proprietary products worldwide for the health and well-being of humans and animals.

The information contained in this release includes some statement that are not purely historical and that are "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our and their management's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including our financial condition, results of operations. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipates," "believes," "continue," "could," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "may," "might," "plans," "possible," "potential," "predicts," "projects," "seeks," "should," "would" and similar expressions, or the negatives of such terms, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and the potential effects on the parties and the corporate and administrative transactions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Updates can be found at the official Impact Fusion Twitter account @impactfusionl

Contact:

Impact Fusion International Inc.

204 Highway 1011

Napoleonville LA 70390

1-800-775-4130

Email: impactfusionintl@gmail.com

https://www.impactfusionbrands.com/brands

https://www.impactfusionint.com

SOURCE: Impact Fusion International Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742300/Impact-Fusion-International-Inc-Implements-Hybrid-Research-Model-to-Accelerate-Testing-and-Research-of-its-SGPTM-Brand




FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Intel logo is seen behind LED lights in this illustration

(Reuters) - Intel Corp is seeking an additional 4 billion to 5 billion euros ($5.28 billion) in subsidies from the German government to build a chip manufacturing complex in the country, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. chipmaker last year postponed the plant construction in Magdeburg - for which it had reached a 6.8 billion euro deal in government subsidies, subject to approval from the European Commission - due to economic headwinds and is now looking for more aid, the report said on Tuesday.

Intel did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company in March 2022 picked Germany as the site for a huge new chipmaking complex, as part of an $88 billion investment drive across Europe, which included boosting an existing factory in Ireland, setting up a design and research facility in France, and a packaging and assembly site in Italy.

The initial spending was then estimated to total 33 billion euros, including 17 billion euros in Germany. However, Bloomberg News reported Intel now expects to spend 30 billion euros in its project in Germany.

Intel was expecting roughly 40% of its Germany project to be subsidized, under the EU's Chips Act, but is now also open to other sources of government aid including tax breaks or energy subsidies, the report added.

The expansion in Ireland and France, meanwhile, remains largely on track, the people told Bloomberg News.

($1 = 0.9478 euros)

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

The global intrauterine contraceptive devices market size was valued at USD 2.89 billion in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 3.95 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period (20232031).

New York, United States, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The intrauterine device , or IUD, is a small, T-shaped contraceptive implanted inside the uterus. Such methods of contraception are effective, convenient, and safe. Using an IUD to prevent pregnancy is generally considered safe. To achieve their contraceptive effect, IUDs cause localized inflammation. Chemicals released during the inflammatory response in the uterus are fatal to sperm. There could be repercussions for sperm's capacity to fertilize eggs. These can be helpful even if you've already had an abortion. An intrauterine device is one of the most effective and low-risk ways to prevent pregnancy (IUD). Intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs) are medical devices that can prevent pregnancy after they have been implanted. These can last anywhere from three to ten years in length.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/intrauterine-contraceptive-devices-iud-market/request-sample





An Increase in Awareness of These Devices' Availability through Campaigns and Digital Advertisements Drives the Global Market

Small T-shaped devices called intrauterine devices (IUDs) are implanted in women's uteruses to stop pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives, such as copper IUDs, are very popular. The market for intrauterine contraceptives is growing due to the products' many positive attributes. Government programs that emphasize the benefits of using IUDs have a significant impact on market demand. Even in developing countries, the need for these tools is the only reason for spreading the word about them. Intrauterine contraceptive devices are experiencing rapid market growth due to increasing demand and continuous innovation's stimulating effect.

Story continues

Increasing Inclination towards Planned Delayed Pregnancy Creates Tremendous Opportunities

Growth of the market is expected to be driven by rising demand from women who want to postpone having children voluntarily. The adoption of novel strategies by the United States government to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services and products is expected to increase the number of people interested in delaying pregnancy. In women, intrauterine devices prevent fertility for 3-10 years with a 99% success rate. In many parts of the country, teenage girls are rising. That means more women must have access to and use contraceptives like intrauterine devices to stop unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions. It has significant implications, in addition to the high product adoption rates for preventing unintended pregnancies. The far-reaching effects of unintended pregnancies are expected to increase market opportunities for IUDs in the coming years.





Report Scope

Report Metric Details Market Size USD 3.95 billion by 2031 CAGR 3.5% (2023-2031) Historical Data 2020-2021 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2031 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Type, Product, End-User Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAME and Rest of the World Key Companies Profiled/Vendors Agile Therapeutics, Bayer Healthcare, Fuji Latex Co. Ltd, Pfizer, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, Mylan Laboratories, Merck & Co., and Okamato Industries Inc. Key Market Opportunities Increasing Inclination towards Planned Delayed Pregnancy Key Market Drivers An Increase in Awareness of These Devices' Availability through Campaigns and Digital Advertisements



Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/intrauterine-contraceptive-devices-iud-market







Regional Analysis

Europe is the most significant shareholder in the global intrauterine contraceptive devices market and is expected to grow during the forecast period. Europe is expected to lead the market for intrauterine contraceptive devices due to the region's high adoption of IUDs over oral contraceptives. Effective and relatively side-effect-free, intrauterine devices (IUDs) are a popular method of birth control. The fertility rate in Europe is the lowest of any continent. Across the region, the average number of children per family is 1.44. Manufacturers invest heavily in R&D to develop novel products with enhanced efficacy and reduced side effects (R&D). As a result of rising healthcare costs and personal preferences, consumers are increasingly putting off having children, which is expected to boost demand further.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow during the forecast period. Because Asia and the Pacific have a higher rate of unintended pregnancy, it stands to reason that this region would have a disproportionately large share of the market for intrauterine contraceptive devices. The market expansion is also aided by the growing number of healthcare-related government initiatives in Asia. Government and non-government organizations have made strides in recent years to increase access to intrauterine contraceptive devices to decrease the number of abortions and unintended pregnancies.

There is an expected rise in the North American market for intrauterine contraceptive devices to the position of second largest in the world. Women are becoming increasingly aware of the issue, and IUDs are an effective and long-lasting solution. According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, long-acting intrauterine devices (IUDs) are women's most common form of contraception. Because they are one of the most effective forms of reversible contraception, UDs are gaining popularity among women and doctors. The highest levels of demand have been seen in the United States market for both hormone-free copper IUDs and IUDs that use hormones. Many American women use hormonal IUDs; three of the most popular brands are Mirena, Skyla, and Liletta. Patients' access to IUDs has grown thanks to new recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Slow development in LAMEA is likely due to low awareness and unfulfilled demand. The UN report found that 24% of the unmet need was in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. The unmet need is usually the highest in areas where contraceptive use is low. Furthermore, most Latin American and Caribbean countries had relatively high rates of contraceptive use. The many benefits of intrauterine devices, such as their high efficacy as a method of birth control and their low impact on fertility and menstrual symptoms, have increased in popularity in recent years.





Key Highlights

The global intrauterine contraceptive devices market was valued at USD 2.89 billion in 2022 . It is projected to reach USD 3.95 billion by 2031 , growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period (20232031).

Based on type , the global intrauterine contraceptive devices market is bifurcated into hormonal and copper intrauterine devices. The hormonal intrauterine devices segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow during the forecast period.

Based on product , the global intrauterine contraceptive devices market is bifurcated into Mirena, Skyla, paragard, essure, levosert, and others. The Mirena segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow during the forecast period.

Based on end-user , the global intrauterine contraceptive devices market is bifurcated into hospitals, gynecology clinics, and community healthcare centers. The hospital segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow during the forecast period.

Europe is the most significant shareholder in the global intrauterine contraceptive devices market and is expected to grow during the forecast period.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/intrauterine-contraceptive-devices-iud-market/request-sample





Competitors in Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market

The global intrauterine contraceptive devices markets major key players are

Agile Therapeutics

Bayer Healthcare

Fuji Latex Co. Ltd

Pfizer

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

Mylan Laboratories

Merck & Co.

Okamato Industries Inc.





Segmentation of Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market

By Type

Hormonal Intrauterine Devices

Copper Intrauterine Devices

By Product

Mirena

Skyla

Paragard

Essure

Levosert

Others

By End-User

Hospitals

Gynecology Clinics

Community Healthcare Centers

By Regions

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

LAMEA





Table of Content

Executive Summary Research Scope & Segmentation Research Objectives Market Definition Limitations & Assumptions Market Scope & Segmentation Currency & Pricing Considered Market Opportunity Assessment Emerging Regions / Countries Emerging Companies Emerging Applications / End Use Investment Landscape New Business Models / Revenue Streams TAM Market Trends Drivers Market Warning Factors Latest Macro Economic Indicators Geopolitical Impact Human Factors Technology Factors Market Assessment Porters Five Forces Analysis Value Chain Analysis Sales And Distribution Channel Analysis Trade Analysis Average Pricing Analysis Patent Analysis M & A Agreements & Collabration Analysis Cost Structure Analysis ESG Trends Global Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market Size Analysis Global Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value North America Market Analysis Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value U.S. By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Canada Europe Market Analysis Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value U.K. By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Germany France Spain Italy Russia Nordic Benelux Rest Of Europe APAC Market Analysis Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value China By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Korea Japan India Australia Taiwan South East Asia Rest Of Asia-Pacific Middle East And Africa Market Analysis Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value UAE By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Turkey Saudi Arabia South Africa Egypt Nigeria Rest Of MEA LATAM Market Analysis Introduction By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Brazil By Type Introduction Type By Value Hormonal Intrauterine Devices By Value Copper Intrauterine Devices By Value By Product Introduction Product By Value Mirena By Value Skyla By Value Paragard By Value Essure By Value Levosert By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Hospitals By Value Gynecology Clinics By Value Community Healthcare Centers By Value Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia Rest Of LATAM Competitive Assessment Adoption Matrix Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market Share By Manufacturers Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices Market Ranking By Revenue For Manufacturers Average Price By Manufacturers Vendor Footprint Analysis Market Players Assessment Agile Therapeutics Overview Business Information Revenue ASP Gross Margin Swot Analysis Recent Developmments Bayer Healthcare Fuji Latex Co. Ltd Pfizer Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC Mylan Laboratories Merck & Co. Okamato Industries Inc. Research Methodology Research Data Secondary Data Major Secondary Sources Key Data From Secondary Sources Primary Data Key Data From Primary Sources Breakdown Of Primaries Secondary And Primary Research Key Industry Insights Market Size Estimation Bottom-Up Approach Top-Down Approach Market Projection Research Assumptions Assumptions Limitations Risk Assessment APPENDIX Discussion Guide Customization Options Related Reports DISCLAIMER





Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/intrauterine-contraceptive-devices-iud-market/toc





Recent Development

In October 2022 , Pfizer Inc. completed its acquisition of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd., the developer of NURTEC ODT, a novel migraine therapy approved for both the acute treatment of migraine attacks and their prevention.

In September 2022, The CytoReason and Pfizer Collaboration Agreement were expanded to include the Provision of Artificial Intelligence for Drug Discovery and Development.





News Media

Intrauterine Contraceptive Devices (IUD) Market: Blocking Fertilization

Asia-Pacific Region Exhibiting the Fastest Growth in the Global Pregnancy Tracking Application Market





Have a Look at the Related Research Report

Womens Health Care Market : Information by Drug (Vagifem, Lupron, and Yasmin), Application (Hormonal Infertility, Postmenopausal Osteoporosis, Endometriosis), and Regional Insights till Forecast to 2031

Pregnancy Tracking Application Market : Information by Solution (Fertility Tracking), Deployment Type (Android System), Application (Private Users), and Region  Forecast till 2026

Fertility Test Market : Information by Product (Ovulation Prediction Kits, Fertility Monitors), Mode of Purchase (OTC-based, Prescription-based), Application, and Region  Forecast till 2030

Fertility Services Market : Information by Procedure (IVF with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Surrogacy), Service (Fresh Non-Donor, Fresh Donor), and Region  Forecast till 2030

Maternity Wear Market : Information by Product Type (Outerwear, Innerwear, and Nightwear), Distribution Channel (Store-Based Retail, Convenience Stores), and Region  Forecast till 2029





About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd.

StraitsResearch is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision-making and ROI.

Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches.

For more information on your target market, please contact us below:

Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.)

+91 8087085354 (APAC)

+44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.)

Email: sales@straitsresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




As per report by Fortune Business Insights, the global IoT in healthcare market size is projected to reach USD 446.52 billion in 2028, at a CAGR of 25.9% during the forecast period, 2021-2028

Pune, India, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global IoT in healthcare market size was USD 71.84 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow from USD 89.07 billion in 2021 to USD 446.52 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 25.9% during the 2021-2028 period. Increasing awareness of self-health management drives the market growth.

Fortune Business Insights, provide this information in its report titled, IoT in Healthcare Market Forecast, 2023-2028.





Request a Free Sample PDF: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare-market-102188





Key Industry Development:

Intel Corporation announced the launch of enhanced IoT capabilities in its 11th Gen Core developed for several industrial applications. According to the company, the solution offers AI-based diagnostics and high-resolution displays by adopting advanced medical imaging devices.

SAP SE announced the launch of a new healthcare platform to provide patient-centric solutions. The company states that through this platform, hospitals, healthcare providers, and researchers will be able to reduce operational and maintenance costs and as well as offer connected healthcare services.





Report Scope & Segmentation

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 25.9% 2028 Value Projection USD 446.52 Billion Base Year 2020 IoT in Healthcare Market Size in 2020 USD 71.84 Billion Historical Data for 2017 to 2019 No. of Pages 140 Segments covered Component, Application, End User and Geography





Key Takeaways:

IoT in Healthcare Market Size in Asia Pacific was USD 28.46 billion in 2020

Major driving factors include increasing demand for remote monitoring and technological advancements

The services segment has the largest share in the global market.

Global demand is driven by the need to improve healthcare outcomes and patient satisfaction.

The patient monitoring segment will drive the market in the forecast period, 2023-2028

Story continues













Browse Complete Report Details: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare-market-102188





Drivers and Restraints:

Increasing Focus on Self-Health Monitoring to Promote Growth

The increasing awareness regarding fitness and health is leading to the demand for self-health management techniques. This has surged the demand for several medical wearable devices globally as people can easily access and monitor their health at any given time. Moreover, several manufacturers are focusing on introducing advanced monitoring devices to cater to the growing consumer demand. This is expected to favor the global internet of things (IoT) in healthcare market growth in the forthcoming years.

Increasing Number of Company Mergers Will Emerge in Favor of Market Growth

The report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the overall market in recent years. Among all factors, the increasing number of company mergers and acquisitions has made the highest impact on market growth. The high investment in adoption of technologically sound methods in several healthcare applications by major companies will create several opportunities for market growth. In March 2018, Koninklijke Philips N.V. announced that it has collaborated with Samsung Electronics. Through this collaboration, Philips will look to connect its digital platform with Samsungs ARTIK Smart IoT platform. The companies will boost their research and development activities associated with integration of IoT in healthcare services. Koninklijkes collaboration with Samsung Electronics will not just benefit the company but will have a direct impact on the growth of the overall market in the coming years.

Segments:

Based on the component, the market is trifurcated into devices, software, and services. IoT devices are increasingly being used in healthcare as they offer a number of potential benefits. For example, IoT devices can help to improve patient care by providing real-time data that can be used to make decisions about treatment. IoT devices can also help to improve efficiency in healthcare by automating tasks and reducing the need for manual input. Furthermore, IoT devices can help improve healthcare data security by tracking and monitoring data.

On the basis of application, the market is divided into telemedicine, patient monitoring, operations and workflow management, remote scanning, sample management, and others. Theres no doubt that the healthcare industry is in the midst of a major transformation. And one of the driving forces behind this change is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT applications are already having a major impact on healthcare, improving patient care and making the delivery of healthcare services more efficient.

Moreover, based on the end-user, the market is segmented into laboratory research, hospitals, clinics, and others. On the basis of end-user, the hospitals segment held a global internet of things (IoT) in healthcare market share of about 34.6% in 2020. The segment is expected to dominate during the forecast period owing to the increasing investment by hospitals in the adoption of IoT-based technology.

Lastly, based on region, the market is categorized into Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.





Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare-market-102188





Regional Insights:

Asia-Pacific- The region is expected to remain at the forefront and hold the highest position in the market during the forecast period. This is due to the presence of a large population and the rising investment in digital technology in the healthcare sector in the region. Asia-Pacific stood at USD 28.46 billion in 2020.

Latin America  The region is expected to experience considerable growth backed by the increasing focus on developing healthcare settings. For instance, February 2020, several Brazilian Ministries such as innovation, healthcare, and technology collaborated to integrate the internet of things (IoT) in healthcare schemes for the betterment of patients.

Competitive Landscape:

Product Innovation by Key Players to Strengthen Their Market Positions

The market is segmented into several major companies striving to maintain their dominance by introducing advanced IoT in healthcare solutions to cater to the growing demand from patients worldwide. Additionally, the adoption of strategies such as merger and acquisition, collaboration, and partnership by other key players is expected to boost market growth during the forecast period.

Leading Global Players for IoT in Healthcare Market are:

Amazon, Inc.

Cisco system Inc.

General Electricity Company

IBM Corporation

Intel Corporation

Microsoft Corporation

SAP SE

koninklijke philips n.v.

Senseonics Holdings, Inc.

SGH Group

TeleTracking Technologies Inc.

Wipro Ltd.





Quick Buy - IoT in Healthcare Market Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102188





Major Table of Contents:

Global Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare Key Players Market Share Insights and Analysis, 2020

Key Market Insights and Strategic Recommendations

Companies Profiled Overview Key Management Headquarters etc. Offerings/Business Segments Key Details Employee Size Key Financials Past and Current Revenue Geographical Share Business Segment Share Recent Developments

Annexure / Appendix Global Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2017-2028 By Component (Value) Devices Software Remote Device Management Data Analytics Compliance and Security Asset Performance Management Others (Data Storage, Electronic Health Record, etc.) Services By Application (Value) Telemedicine Patient Monitoring Operations and Workflow Management Remote Scanning Sample Management Others (Predictive Device Maintenance, Medication Management, etc.) By End-User (Value) Laboratory Research Hospitals Clinics Others (Clinical Tests, Pathology, etc.) By Region (Value) North America Latin America Europe Middle East & Africa Asia Pacific North America Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2017-2028 By Component (Value) Devices Software Remote Device Management Data Analytics Compliance and Security Asset Performance Management Others (Data Storage, Electronic Health Record, etc.) Services By Application (Value) Telemedicine Patient Monitoring Operations and Workflow Management Remote Scanning Sample Management Others (Predictive Device Maintenance, Medication Management, etc.)



TOC Continued!





FAQs

How big is the IoT in healthcare market?

IoT in healthcare market size was USD 71.84 billion in 2020. It is expected to reach USD 446.52 billion by 2028.

How fast is the IoT in healthcare market growing?

The IoT in healthcare market will exhibit a CAGR of 25.9% during the forecast period, 2021-2028





Related Reports:

Internet of Things Market Size, Share, Revenue Forecast and Opportunities

Artificial Intelligence Market Overview, Industry Share and Forecast

5G Infrastructure Market Size, Share, Opportunities & Analysis

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

US: +1 424 253 0390

UK: +44 2071 939123

APAC: +91 744 740 1245

Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com




Company Logo

Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "IoT Telecom Services Market by Connectivity, Network Management Solution, Service Type, Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

According to the report the IoT telecom services market was valued at $17.4 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $254.2 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 31.1% from 2022 to 2031.

With the advent of the digital age, the Internet of Things is no longer a radically new concept; instead, it has become an everyday practice that is constantly being improved upon and expanded. Around the world, IoT solutions are actively being implemented in a variety of industries.

Recently, the telecom sector has witnessed a significant increase in the use of IoT, and this trend is predicted to continue. Therefore, adopting novel, forward-thinking, and customized strategies is essential. For telecom companies looking to embrace the digital age, gain a significant competitive edge, and take full advantage of the opportunities that contemporary technology presents, the deployment of IoT-based initiatives is now a need.

The reality is that Internet of Things (IoT) communication tactics have been profoundly altering the technical landscape and establishing a new universe. IoT for telecom operators offers a variety of benefits and prospects, transforming the telecom industry. It is anticipated that the Internet of Things will continue to alter how telecommunications service providers facilitate connectivity between gadgets and humans. As a result, telecommunications firms must create fresh IoT solutions for the clients..

A surge in technological advancement and innovation and adoption of IoT powered smart cameras for security primarily drive the growth of the IoT telecom services market. However, lack of guidelines for spectrum allocation hampers the market growth to some extent. Moreover, adoption of blockchain technology is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market growth during the forecast period.



KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS

Story continues

The study provides an in-depth analysis of the global IoT telecom services market forecast along with the current & future trends to explain the imminent investment pockets.

Information about key drivers, restraints, & opportunities and their impact analysis on global IoT telecom services market trends is provided in the report.

Porter's five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers operating in the industry.

The quantitative analysis of the market from 2022 to 2031 is provided to determine the market potential.

Key Market Segments

By Connectivity

Cellular Technology

LPWAN

NB-IoT

RF-Based

By Network Management Solution

Network Performance Monitoring and Optimization

Network Traffic Management

Network Security Management

By Service Type

Business Consulting Services

Installation and Integration Services

Devices and Applicaton Management Solution

IoT billing and subscription management

M2M Billing Management

By Application

Smart Building and Home Automation

Capillary Network Management

Industrial Manufacturing and Automation

Vehicle Telematics

Energy and Utilities

Smart Healthcare

By Region

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

UK

Germany

France

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

Australia

South Korea

Rest of Asia-Pacific

LAMEA

Latin America

Middle East

Africa

Key Market Players

T-Mobile

Sierra Wireless

LM Ericsson Telephone Company

Vodafone Idea Ltd

TELUS Corporation

MediaTek Inc

telstra

Orange

Sequans Communications

puresoftware ltd

KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS



The study provides an in-depth analysis of the global IoT telecom services market forecast along with the current & future trends to explain the imminent investment pockets.



Information about key drivers, restraints, & opportunities and their impact analysis on global IoT telecom services market trends is provided in the report.



Porter's five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers operating in the industry.



The quantitative analysis of the market from 2022 to 2031 is provided to determine the market potential.





Key Topics Covered:



CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION



CHAPTER 2: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



CHAPTER 3: MARKET OVERVIEW



CHAPTER 4: IOT TELECOM SERVICES MARKET, BY CONNECTIVITY



CHAPTER 5: IOT TELECOM SERVICES MARKET, BY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION



CHAPTER 6: IOT TELECOM SERVICES MARKET, BY SERVICE TYPE



CHAPTER 7: IOT TELECOM SERVICES MARKET, BY APPLICATION



CHAPTER 8: IOT TELECOM SERVICES MARKET, BY REGION



CHAPTER 9: COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE



CHAPTER 10: COMPANY PROFILES



Companies Mentioned

T-Mobile

Sierra Wireless

LM Ericsson Telephone Company

Vodafone Idea Ltd

TELUS Corporation

MediaTek Inc

telstra

Orange

Sequans Communications

puresoftware ltd

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1rrhv7

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Company Logo

Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Ireland Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



According to the publisher, social commerce industry in Ireland is expected to grow by 47.8% on annual basis to reach US$1524.0 million in 2023.



The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 25.6% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$1524.0 million in 2023 to reach US$5981.4 million by 2028.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of social commerce industry, covering market opportunities and risks. With over 50+ KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of social commerce market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view on emerging business and investment market opportunities.

Reasons to buy

In-depth Understanding of Social Commerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028).

Insights into Opportunity by end-use sectors - Get market dynamics by end-use sectors to assess emerging opportunity across various end-use sectors.

Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate social commerce strategy; assess market specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the industry.

Scope



This report provides in-depth, data-centric analysis of social commerce in Ireland. Below is a summary of key market segments:



Ireland Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028

Clothing & Footwear

Beauty and Personal Care

Food & Grocery

Appliances and Electronics

Home Improvement

Travel

Hospitality

Story continues

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028

B2B

B2C

C2C

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028

Mobile

Desktop

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Domestic

Cross Border

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Tier-1 Cities

Tier-2 Cities

Tier-3 Cities

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028

Credit Card

Debit Card

Bank Transfer

Prepaid Card

Digital & Mobile Wallet

Other Digital Payment

Cash

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms

Video Commerce

Social Network-Led Commerce

Social Reselling

Group Buying

Product Review Platforms

Ireland Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour,2022

By Age

By Income Level

By Gender

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hellgc

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Japan to uphold key postwar apology: PM

Xinhua) 16:56, March 06, 2023

TOKYO, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Monday that his government will uphold a key postwar apology, previously issued by Japan following South Korea provided a solution to a protracted wartime labor row.

Kishida said Japan will stand by an apology that was issued by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama in a statement in 1995, on the 50th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.

The statement has been mentioned by successive Japanese cabinets as the government's basic stance, although the terminology, particularly with reference to the word "remorse", has not always remained the same, which has drawn the ire of Japan's neighbors who were victims of its wartime aggression.

"We have taken over the position articulated by the previous cabinets on the view of history and will continue to do so," Kishida said at a parliamentary session, the same day the South Korean side provided a solution to resolve a longstanding wartime labor issue that had adversely affected bilateral ties.

Local media reported that Seoul's plan revolves around the formation of a government-backed South Korean foundation that will be responsible for compensating Korean plaintiffs, rather than the two Japanese firms that had been ordered by rulings by South Korean courts to pay damages.

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, some plaintiffs affected by the wartime labor forced upon them by their Japanese aggressors said they would refuse to accept the compensation from the South Korean fund.

They said they believe an apology from Japan and damages paid by the Japanese firms involved are the only way to settle the matter.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
By MP Mazahir Afandiyev

World states, particularly developed states that can ensure their economic stability and participate in global projects, being the main subjects of the new order that is being formed, are aiming once more at reviewing the directions of action in all fields, determining their place, and securing their interests. This is happening against the backdrop of the transformation of this new era in which the fourth industrial revolution is taking place.

A new political architecture is being significantly hampered by the Russian-Ukrainian war, which has been going on for more than a year and has had a fundamental impact on the system of international relations.

Issues related to the security of the people living in the Middle Eastern states, the policy of the European Union aimed at expanding to the east, the conflict between the United States of America and China for economic dominance, as well as the conflict centers awaiting resolution in different continents of our planet, are great threats to the peace of the world of tomorrow. These threats require international peace institutions, including specialized international think tanks, as well as influential political leaders of the world's countries, to urgently gather together and discuss ensuring the stability of the global peace system.

The Republic of Azerbaijan, which has a 30-year modern political history, demonstrates its sensitivity to contemporary global challenges and contributes to the realization of a lasting peace in the world by safeguarding its independence and sovereignty and considering the interests of the peoples residing in its historical lands.

The Non-Aligned Movement, founded in 1961, is the second-largest international institution after the UN General Assembly, uniting 120 countries, whose goal is to defend justice and international law. Today, it has been running smoothly for more than three years under Azerbaijani leadership, and it actively engages in setting up debates of issues of global importance that the rest of the world finds troubling.

The fact that the Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19 was held in Baku on March 2, 2023, in this challenging geopolitical environment, during a time of conflict of interest, and was specifically focused on the effects of the pandemic and the creation of a roadmap for the post-COVID era, is related to the position of the wise leader of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in international politics.

Generally speaking, the Non-Aligned Movement was one of the first international organizations to mobilize actions against COVID-19 as soon as the pandemic was announced. The fact that the heads of state and government from 70 different nations, as well as high-ranking officials from several other nations, attended this summit shows faith in the President's resolve and humanity.

The establishment of a Contact Group Contact Group in response to COVID-19 at the initiative of our state in 2020 and its summit meeting in the format of a video conference, the coordination of international humanitarian aid arising from internal discussions and the challenges of the pandemic, and Azerbaijan's support for the powerless states in the face of the coronavirus crisis increased the importance and influence of the Non-Aligned Movement on the global stage.

In the last three years, during the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement of Azerbaijan, the institution has had great achievements, especially in laying the foundation of the organizational process. As Mr. President noted in the excellently organized summit-level meeting, "Our goal is to create institutional continuity and leave a successful legacy to the members who will take over the presidency after Azerbaijan."

Today, the governments of the UN member states are working to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals reflected in the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," adopted unanimously in 2015. The implementation of this global document is one of the main activities of the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Azerbaijan, a full member of the UN family, has become an exemplary state in the international arena by performing activities based on the UN Charter. Azerbaijan also contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals document, which is of great importance for the world. Almost in all his speeches, President Ilham Aliyev drew attention to the 2030 Agenda and repeatedly emphasized that those 17 goals are also a priority for Azerbaijan. It should be noted that our country is the only country that has prepared 3 Voluntary National Reviews on Sustainable Development Goals since 2016.

In his speech at the Summit, Mr. President touched on the important issue encountered in practice and for the first time proposed to the event participants to add the actual problem as the 18th goal to complete the principle of "Leaving No One Behind" in the philosophy of this universal document.

After the Second Karabakh-Patriotic War, which lasted 44 days, Azerbaijan exposed new realities in the region, and it is now expertly carrying out restoration and building tasks independently in order to realize the Great Return in the areas it freed from occupation. Azerbaijan is demining the areas that have been liberated from occupation in order to enable the swift and effective completion of these projects, the return of former internally displaced people, and individuals who were forcibly removed from their homes.

Azerbaijan proposed making demining the 18th Sustainable Development Goal in order to increase the movement's visibility on a global scale while also considering the fact that many of the Non-Aligned Movement's member nations are among those most contaminated by landmines and unexploded ordnance.This specific national sustainable development goal fully embraces the "Leaving No One Behind" principle while accelerating the return of displaced people to their homelands.

This suggestion from the president of Azerbaijan will once more assist in resolving current issues, considering the interests of all peoples worldwide, and setting up a lasting peace system

* Mazahir Afandiyev is the member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan
ORRVILLE, Ohio, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The J.M. Smucker Co. today announced the Officer elections of Gail Hollander, Chief Marketing Officer; Robert Crane, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization; Tim Wayne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Away From Home, Canada and International; and Angie Burick, Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller.

From left to right: Gail Hollander, Chief Marketing Officer; Robert Crane, Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization; Tim Wayne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Away From Home, Canada and International; and Angie Burick, Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller.

"These leadership updates reflect our commitment to evaluate our organizational structure, as necessary, to ensure the continued advancement of our organization and that we execute with excellence," said Mark Smucker, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am confident these leaders will help drive the continued progress of our strategy and support the growth and development of our talented teams."

Marketing and Commercial Organization Leadership

The Company's marketing and commercial leadership updates reflect its commitment to build upon the momentum of its commercial organization, supporting continued brand share growth and category leadership.

Hollander will assume the Chief Marketing Officer role, effective April 10, following a 20-year career at Publicis Groupe, the third largest communications firm in the world, where she most recently served as President, Groupe Client Lead. As president, Hollander led Publics' client relationship with Smucker, including overseeing the successful introduction of an innovative model to bring together talent from across Publicis' diverse roster of agencies to create multi-functional teams in collaboration with the Company's broad marketing leadership and dedicated teams. The new model supported an infusion of creativity and a data-focused approach that has refreshed the Company's key brands and made them more relevant to today's consumers.

With her previous experience and familiarity with the business, brands and processes, Hollander will support a continued commitment to delivering bold, breakthrough creative and leveraging sophisticated media modelling to deliver efficient and effective reach through the Company's advertising investment. Hollander will report to Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Smucker.

Story continues

Crane has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and Sales Commercialization, effective March 13, following his leadership of the Company's Pet sales division. He brings nearly 20 years of experience highlighted by sales leadership roles of increasing responsibility with the Company. In his new role, Crane will oversee the Company's sales and commercialization functions to ensure successful collaboration with customers, promoting continued productivity and category growth. Crane will report to Chief Operating Officer, John Brase.

Away From Home, Canada and International Leadership

Wayne has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager, Away From Home, Canada and International, effective March 13.

He brings more than 32 years of CPG industry leadership experience, most recently leading the Company's Away From Home division, spearheading the successful recovery of the business following the significant impacts of the pandemic. In his new role, Wayne will oversee the execution of the dedicated strategies for each business area.

Finance Organization Leadership

To ensure continued alignment between M&A activities and financial priorities, the Company has announced that oversight of corporate development and M&A will transition under Chief Financial Officer, Tucker Marshall.

In light of Burick's scope of responsibilities and Marshall's expanded role, Burick has been promoted to the new role of Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller, effective March 13.

Burick has held a series of finance leadership roles with the Company over the past 20 years, most recently serving as Vice President, Corporate Controller. In her new role, Burick will ensure coordination between the finance organization and the strategic business areas to deliver monthly, quarterly and annual financials.

About The J.M. Smucker Co.

At The J.M. Smucker Co., it is our privilege to make food people and pets love by offering a diverse portfolio of brands available across North America. We are proud to lead in the Coffee, Consumer Foods, Dog Snacks and Cat Food categories by offering brands consumers trust for themselves and their families each day including Folgers, Dunkin', Cafe Bustelo, Jif, Smucker's Uncrustables, Smucker's, Milk-Bone and Meow Mix. Through our unwavering commitment to producing the highest quality products, operating responsibly and ethically and delivering on our Purpose, we will continue to grow our business while making a positive impact on society. For more information, please visit jmsmucker.com.

The J.M. Smucker Co. is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin' which is a trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. The Dunkin' brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Co. for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and drug stores. This information does not pertain to products for sale in Dunkin' restaurants.

The J.M. Smucker Co. logo (PRNewsfoto/The J.M. Smucker Co.)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-jm-smucker-co-announces-leadership-updates-301764980.html

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Co.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, one of Japan's leading hospitals for the treatment of oncology, cardiology, and stroke cases, has joined the TriNetX Network to utilize global real-world data to better understand rare diseases, treatments, and outcomes, as well as provide additional clinical trial opportunities to its patients.

TriNetX, Inc. Logo

"Novel therapies may have unanticipated outcomes across diverse patient populations," said Isamu Koyama, Hospital Director Emeritus, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center and Senior Management Director, Saitama Medical University Foundation. "It is important to share real-world data on those treatments and outcomes from an international perspective, and that is precisely what TriNetX brings to the investigators at Saitama Medical University as well as peer institutions across the TriNetX Network."

TriNetX is the largest and fastest-growing collaborative research network comprised of healthcare organizations and life sciences companies driving real-world research to accelerate the development of new therapies. TriNetX puts the power of real-world data into the hands of its worldwide community to improve protocol design, streamline trial operations, refine safety signals, and enrich real-world evidence generation.

"One of the most important values of our health system is patient-centered care, which always places the interest of patients first," said Toshiaki Saeki, Director of Saitama Medical University International Medical Center. "TriNetX is the global leader in the field of secondary use of real-world data for clinical and observational research and is in the best position to effectively connect our hospital with other medical institutions and corresponding real-world data from around the world."

"We are thrilled to welcome Saitama Medical University to the TriNetX Network," said Shogo Wakabayashi, Country Manager, Japan, TriNetX, "We look forward to helping the university's investigators generate real-world evidence and increase the clinical trial opportunities available for their patients."

Story continues

About TriNetX, LLC

TriNetX is a global network of healthcare organizations and life sciences companies driving real-world research to accelerate the development of new therapies. Through its self-service, HIPAA, GDPR, and LGPD-compliant platform of federated EHR, datasets, and consulting partnerships, TriNetX puts the power of real-world data into the hands of its worldwide community to improve protocol design, streamline trial operations, refine safety signals, and enrich real-world evidence generation. For more information, visit TriNetX at www.trinetx.com or follow @TriNetX on Twitter.

About Saitama Medical University International Medical Center

In striving to create a world-class hospital, we have contributed to the advancement of medical care in Japan while at the same time valuing local medical care. "Patient-centered care" is the most important value of our hospital. We believe that the center of health care is always the patient, his/her family, and the people in the community and society. The hospital has become one of the leading hospitals in Japan in terms of the number of cases in all divisions of oncology, cardiology, and stroke. Furthermore, we are actively working to improve quality, and in February 2015, we became the first university hospital in Japan to receive JCI (Join Commission International) certification, an international hospital functionality evaluation, and we continue to renew this certification. We will continue to tirelessly pursue improvements in the quality and safety of medical care and aim to be a medical institution that is trusted by patients and the local community in all situations, including emergencies such as new coronavirus infections and large-scale disasters. For more information, visit Saitama Medical University at https://www.international.saitama-med.ac.jp/en/

Media Contacts

TriNetX, LLC

Bill Stetson

(857) 285-6038

press@trinetx.com

japan@trinetx.com

Saitama Medical University International Medical Center

Hideo Takehisa

take39@saitama-med.ac.jp

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/542641/TriNetX_Logo.jpg

SOURCE TriNetX
Pioneering Business Executive Recounts Two Decades of Leadership with the Company

OMAHA, Neb., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jet Linx, the only locally-focused, global private jet management and Jet Card company with 21 locations nationwide, recently celebrated the 20th career anniversary of President and CEO Jamie Walker, and the innovation and growth experienced under his tenure thus far.

(PRNewsfoto/Jet Linx Aviation, LLC)

Throughout his two decades of growing the business, from the inception of the industry's first "private terminal" concept in 2002 (later expanded to a network of Base locations nationwide to offer guaranteed private jet services to Fortune 500 companies and private individuals in 2008), to the introduction of the first operator-backed Jet Card in 2004, to partnering with Forbes Travel Guide to establish the industry's first independent Five-Star training and audit standards in 2019, Mr. Walker has helped redefine the paradigm of private aviation services, pioneering a revolutionary business model, introducing unprecedented standards of service excellence and implementing an unrivaled commitment to safety.

Mr. Walker has navigated a successful trajectory for Jet Linx through both robust and challenging economic times, as well as during an unprecedented global pandemic. Under his leadership, Jet Linx has grown from a dozen total team members to over 585 (a 1,850% increase), and from eight pilots to more than 265 (a 3,212% increase). With a current fleet size of over 110 private jet aircraft, Jet Linx maintains a 1-to-12 aircraft-to-member ratio, supporting its commitment of guaranteed jet availability for its valued Members.

When Mr. Walker joined Jet Linx in 2002 as its Director of Sales & Marketing alongside his father Denny Walker  who founded the Company in 1999  they had a vision for the client experience that ultimately transformed the then family-owned, local business into a globally-respected private aviation provider. Alongside a team of 12, Mr. Walker instituted a client-first mindset by codifying the Company's core values  compassion, integrity, selflessness, dedication and enthusiasm. The simple mantra "Supply the High" was established to encapsulate this commitment for how they would operate in support of one another.

Story continues

By 2004, Mr. Walker created a vertically-integrated organization, with a Jet Card program and a formal Aircraft Management program, providing full-service, local support to oversee maintenance, management of personnel and pilot training. He also led the effort for Jet Linx to obtain its own FAA Part 135 certificate. In 2007, he took the reigns as Company President and CEO.

Mr. Walker pioneered the locally-focused Base model - the first in the industry - offering personalized, high-touch local service to Members and Aircraft Owners through exclusive, well-appointed private terminals. In 2008, Jet Linx Indianapolis became the second private terminal outside of Omaha, while locations in Dallas and Denver soon followed. Today, Jet Linx is the only private aviation company that operates private terminals exclusively for its Aircraft Owners and Jet Card Members featuring local pilots, local aircraft and local Flight Concierge in more than 20 cities nationwide - from the East Coast to Florida, the Midwest, Texas and beyond. Jet Linx Base locations have grown 2,000% under Mr. Walker's tenure, with additional locations on the horizon.

Mr. Walker's dedication to service excellence has spurred additional innovations, including a strategic partnership with Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) in 2019. In this industry-first partnership, Jet Linx collaborated with FTG to create a customized, proprietary training regimen, establishing an industry-leading standard of luxury customer service in private aviation. Mr. Walker also supported the creation and continued development of the Company's client-focused luxury benefits program Elevated Lifestyle, established in 2015, as well as an exclusive hotel benefits program, which features over 80 starrated partner properties worldwide.

Another foundational event orchestrated under Mr. Walker's leadership is the Jet Linx Safety Summit, an annual all-hands Summit that began in 2017 and was a first-of-its-kind for airlines. Every year, Jet Linx voluntarily grounds its fleet and ceases retail flight operations for a full business day, allowing for a Company-wide assembly to examine and improve safety practices and standards. To date, Jet Linx remains one of the only aircraft operators to bring together its entire team for a proactive, day-long safety event. The Company has also distinguished itself as a leader in safety thanks to its firm commitment and robust technologies, such as the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and pilot fatigue monitoring software, earning WYVERN Wingman status every cycle since 2014, becoming the first operator to earn the ARGUS Platinum Elite rating (having maintained the Platinum designation every cycle since 2007), while also maintaining IS-BAO Stage 3 status since 2015.

Mr. Walker is not only committed to standards of service excellence and safety, but to giving back to the local communities Jet Linx serves. He launched a partnership with The Tutu Project, which provides everything from wigs and lymphedema sleeves to transportation, childcare, and counseling to families impacted by a breast cancer diagnosis. In 2022, the Company celebrated its eighth year in partnership with this outstanding nonprofit organization.

Beyond business solutions, Mr. Walker has been instrumental in creating career-path and professional advancement programs that address industry-wide challenges. Announced in 2019 in partnership with Southwest Airlines, the Destination 225 program provides pilots with a career path from private aviation (Part 135) at Jet Linx to the commercial airlines (Part 121). In April 2022, the Company announced a new partnership with ATP Flight School (ATP), the nation's largest flight school, to create a new hiring pathway program that provides qualified ATP candidates with a direct path to join Jet Linx as a First Officer, allowing over 2,000 qualified candidates access to career opportunities. In recognition of his steadfast efforts to improve aviation, Mr. Walker was also honored with the prestigious Bill Shea Award from the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute in April 2022. Given in honor of William F. Shea, an aerospace educator, lecturer, renowned aviation industry leader, and pioneer, the award honors aviation industry leaders who have gone beyond the call of duty and given their time, energy, and resources to significantly impact the aviation industry for the better.

With two decades of innovation and best-in-class service under Mr. Walker's leadership, Jet Linx is poised for exponential growth and continues to set the standard for the industry, redefining the private aviation paradigm. For more information about the Company, visit www.jetlinx.com.

About Jet Linx Aviation

Jet Linx Aviation is a locally-focused private jet company founded in Omaha, NE in 1999 as a more personalized approach to national private jet companies. Jet Linx offers three different ways to experience private aviation  a guaranteed Jet Card, Joint Ownership, and private jet management program  providing its clients with an all-encompassing, local solution to all of their private jet travel needs. Jet Linx is an IS-BAO Stage 3, ARGUS Platinum Elite and Wyvern Wingman safety rated operator, an accomplishment earned by less than one percent of all aircraft operators in the world. In 2019, Jet Linx became the only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star trained and accredited private aviation company in the world. In addition to establishing the independent global rating system's preeminent and unparalleled service standards for the in-flight experience, Jet Linx also collaborated with Forbes Travel Guide to develop their own customized, proprietary Jet Linx standards of service excellence. Jet Linx is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and has Base locations in Atlanta, Austin, Boca Raton, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Omaha, San Antonio, Scottsdale, St. Louis, Tulsa and Washington D.C. For additional information, please visit the Jet Linx website (www.jetlinx.com).

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jet-linx-ceo-jamie-walker-celebrates-20-years-of-putting-the-client-first-301764038.html

SOURCE Jet Linx Aviation, LLC
ROCK HILL, SC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / There are many upcoming IRS deadlines for businesses to file their annual tax returns with the IRS. Specifically, there are a few filing deadlines in a week, most notable are the deadlines for Partnerships to file Form 1065 and for S-Corporations to file Form 1120-S.

The deadline for filing these forms and several others with the IRS is March 15, 2023. The IRS does offer the option for businesses to file an extension of up to 6 months to complete their business tax returns. Therefore, this extends the filing deadline until September 15, 2023. This extension does not, however, extend the deadline for paying any taxes due to the IRS.

This extension is automatic, which means the IRS will approve the form as long as it is filed correctly. The IRS doesn't require any explanation or reasoning as to why the business is requesting the extension.

Businesses must file Form 7004 to request their extension, and ExpressExtension offers an easy solution for businesses to complete and e-file this form. With ExpressExtension, the filing process is simple, easy to follow, and can be done in minutes from a desktop or on the go from a mobile app.

ExpressExtension's built-in error check system ensures that businesses transmit accurate extension forms. ExpressExtension also provides businesses with the option to pay their taxes due, if any, while e-filing their 7004 form .

Once the extension Form 7004 is transmitted to the IRS, ExpressExtension provides instant updates on the IRS status of the form until it is accepted. If the form is rejected, ExpressExtension shares the reason for the rejection and clients have the opportunity to correct and retransmit the form for free.

Under the ExpressGuarantee, any clients that have a Form 7004 rejected as a duplicate filing, meaning more than one extension was filed for the business's EIN, their filing fee will be automatically refunded.

In addition to federal extensions, there are some states that require businesses to file separate extension forms in order to get an extension of time for filing state tax returns. ExpressExtension allows businesses to complete and download their business tax extension forms for certain states .

Story continues

ExpressExtension is known for offering excellent customer support, and their team works extended hours around major deadlines like March 15th, to ensure their clients are taken care of.

When asked about the many upcoming deadlines for business tax returns, the CEO and Co-founder of SPAN Enterprises, the parent company of ExpressExtension, responded by stating, "There is a common misconception among business owners that filing a tax extension is a misstep with the IRS. This is a complete myth, the IRS prefers that businesses file their tax returns accurately and on time. If filing an extension is the best way for your business to do this, we recommend that you file an automatic extension with us. Our team makes this a simple process and offers excellent customer support along the way."

ExpressExtension takes the risk out of filing an IRS tax extension and simplifies the process. Begin filing a business tax extension Form 7004 today by creating a free account at ExpressExtension.com .

About ExpressExtension

ExpressExtension is the one-stop solution for IRS Tax Extensions. As an IRS-authorized, SOC 2 Certified e-file provider, ExpressExtension has been helping businesses, individuals, and non-profit organizations obtain IRS extensions for over a decade. Supported forms include Form 7004 , 4868 , 8868 , and 8809 .

About SPAN Enterprises

Based in Rock Hill, South Carolina, SPAN Enterprises has been developing industry-leading software solutions for IRS e-filing and business management tools for over a decade.

The SPAN Enterprises portfolio of products includes ACAwise, TaxBandits, Tax 990 , ExpressExtension, 123PayStubs, and TruckLogics.

For any media inquiries, please reach out to Stephanie Glanville, Content Writer at stephanie@spanenterprises.com .

SOURCE: SPAN Enterprises







View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742455/Just-One-Week-Until-March-15th-E-file-Form-7004-With-ExpressExtension-To-Extend-Form-1120-S-1065-Deadlines




Korber's supply chain software solutions improve digital end-to-end capabilities in the bookselling industry

HAMBURG, Germany, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Korber has announced that OLF, leading Swiss distributor of French literature, has selected Korber to modernize its supply chain infrastructure. The transition will include the integration of Korber's Warehouse Management System (WMS), Shipping & Dispatch System (SDS) and Track and Trace solution by introducing digital capabilities to increase performance, visibility, competitiveness and responsiveness towards bookstore partners, supermarkets and e-commerce platforms.

OLFs digital transformation accounts for a new level of efficiency, integration and insight into supply chain operations powered by Korber.

Key to this is the modernization of a 12,000 m2 warehouse in Fribourg, Switzerland, through which OLF represents nearly 3500 Swiss, French, British and American publishers that are distributed to more than 3.000 bookstores, supermarkets, schools, kiosks, and other points of sale throughout Switzerland, France and Belgium. Korber's integrated technologies provide planning, control, execution and monitoring functionalities to manage 4 million books for over 130,000 titles held by OLF.

Theophile Renard, Logistics and Services Director at OLF explains: "Looking for the right partner, we put major focus on finding someone helping us to stay confident in what we are doing. Our business is changing and we needed to be sure that Korber had the expertise to realize our full growth potential and ensure our solidity. The flexibility of Korber's technology enables us to meet our customers' demands in a context of rising resource costs, labor shortages, and geopolitical tensions. We are now perfectly positioned to achieve our ambitions. In Korber, we have found a partner who is able to reassure us, both in terms of technology and economic performance.

OLF's digital transformation accounts for a new level of efficiency, integration and insight into supply chain operations. With the goal of capitalizing on an integrated supply chain software platform and end-to-end transparency, the modernization will allow greater efficiency to meet the new challenges in the bookselling sector. Korber's WMS, easy to use and configure, will provide streamlined control of automated warehouse processes. It will also significantly optimize slotting management and order processing. At the same time, digital capabilities will expand improvements to package labelling and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) with Korber's SDS, especially in collaboration with carriers. On the last mile, track and trace capabilities will remove functional silos by enhancing data visibility comprehensively  in line with the goal of advancing customer and service quality up to the last mile. The new software platform will be integrated by summer 2023.

Story continues

Michael Brandl, Executive Vice President Operations Software EMEA at the Korber Business Area Supply Chain explains: "All organizations, regardless of their size or industry, are faced with the obligation to leverage the potential of the digital era and adapt their infrastructure to new market demands. The world of supply chain and publishing is changing, both in terms of functional and service expectations. OLF's choice of Korber confirms that our solutions are 100% on par with the needs of companies to conquer the complexities of constantly growing customer demands with digital capabilities, end-to-end."

About OLF

OLF ensures the distribution of thousands of copies every day on behalf of publishers and major brands, on a wide network of points of sale: bookstores, department stores, kiosks, post offices, specialized stores, schools, e-commerce sites, and more  in Switzerland and beyond. OLF develops its strategy in order to offer value-added logistics services adapted to the needs of its clients.

About the Korber Business Area Supply Chain

Supply chains are growing more complex by the day. Korber uniquely provides a broad range of proven, end-to-end supply chain solutions fitting any business size, strategy or appetite for growth. Our customers conquer the complexity of the supply chain thanks to our portfolio that includes software, automation, mail and parcel solutions, voice solutions, robotics, and materials handling  plus the expertise to tie it all together. Korber helps to manage the supply chain as a competitive advantage. Conquer supply chain complexity  with Korber. The Business Area Supply Chain is part of the global technology group Korber. Find out more on www.koerber-supplychain.com

Contact:

Mary-Jane Wurker

Corporate Communications Manager

Korber Business Area Supply Chain

Mary-Jane.Wuerker@koerber-supplychain.com

T +49 6032 348-2921

SOURCE Korber Supply Chain
Avista Corporation

SPOKANE, Wash., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) announced that Kevin Jacobsen, age 56, has been nominated to join the Avista Corp. Board of Directors. Jacobsen will stand for election by the shareholders and, if elected, will join the board effective May 11, 2023.



Currently Mr. Jacobsen is the Chief Financial Officer at The Clorox Company and has held this role since 2018. As CFO, Mr. Jacobsen is responsible for Cloroxs financial activities, including general accounting, external reporting, financial planning, tax, treasury, and investor relations, plus oversight of Cloroxs internal audit function. From 2011 until his appointment as CFO, Mr. Jacobsen served as vice president of financial planning and analysis for Clorox. Prior to that, Mr. Jacobsen held several positions dating back to the start of his Clorox career in 1995.

Before joining Clorox, Mr. Jacobsen spent five years working for General Motors Corporation in numerous finance and accounting roles based out of New York.

A native of Northern California, Mr. Jacobsen serves on the Economic Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He holds a masters degree in finance from the University of Rochesters Simon School of Management and a bachelors degree in finance from the University of California, Riverside.

We are grateful for Kevin Jacobsens deep knowledge of financial and accounting issues that he will bring to Avistas Board of Directors, as well as his experience as an executive in a publicly traded company that operates in competitive product markets. We expect Mr. Jacobsens background and experience will enable him to provide a unique and valuable perspective on the companys business, operational and financial risks, and look forward to his insights on our board, said Dennis Vermillion, Avista President and CEO.

Mr. Jacobsen will fill the vacancy that will be created when Kristianne Blake retires from Avistas Board on May 11, 2023.

Story continues

Ms. Blake has been a Director since 2000, is the Lead Independent Director of the Board, currently chairs the Governance & Corporate Responsibility Committee, and also serves on the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee of Avistas Board.

Were grateful for Kristiannes longstanding dedication to Avista. For the past 23 years, she has provided valuable leadership, experience, and strategic counsel to Avistas Board. She will be greatly missed. As the longest-tenured current Board member, Kristianne has been involved in numerous changes in our industry and our company. We appreciate her support and wise counsel over the years, said Vermillion.

About Avista Corp.

Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is the operating division that provides electric service to 411,000 customers and natural gas to 377,000 customers. Its service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million. Alaska Energy and Resources Company is an Avista subsidiary that provides retail electric service in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska, through its subsidiary Alaska Electric Light and Power Company. Avista stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the companys current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the companys control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022.

To unsubscribe from Avistas news release distribution, send reply message to lena.funston@avistacorp.com

Contact:

Avista 24/7 Media Line (509) 495-4174

Media: Laurine Jue (509) 495-2510 laurine.jue@avistacorp.com

Investors: Stacey Wenz (509) 495-2046 stacey.wenz@avistacorp.com




STATESVILLE, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (NASDAQ: KEQU), a recognized global leader in the design, manufacture, and installation of laboratory, healthcare, and technical furniture products, today announces that the Company's Indian subsidiary has been awarded a contract for laboratory furniture and technical products, delivered on a turnkey basis for Indian Oil Corporation Limited's ("IOCL") new green field research and development facility, located in Faridabad, India. The project was awarded by the project general contractor, Shapoorji Pallonji Ltd.

Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (PRNewsFoto/Kewaunee Scientific Corporation)

IOCL has committed to building a new, world-class research and development center in Faridabad in Haryana. IOCL is focused on converting its refineries into integrated complexes where differentiated petrochemicals can be produced alongside the development of alternative fuels. This new facility will perform research on areas like alternative and renewable energy, and nanotechnology, among other areas of interest.

Kewaunee will be releasing earnings for the Company's fiscal year third quarter after the close of the market on March 8, 2023. This award will be included in the order backlog number presented in the March 8 Q3 earnings release.

"We are very excited to be associated with this project, which allows our team to deliver yet another state-of-the-art facility with the latest laboratory furniture and technical products to one of India's most prominent Maharatna companies," said Mr. B. Sathyamurthy, Managing Director & Vice President  International Operations, Kewaunee Scientific Corporation. "This order reaffirms Kewaunee India's execution prowess across the laboratory infrastructure value chain and leadership position as a one-stop solution provider."

"Kewaunee's international team continues to perform at a high level, working with customers to design and construct world class laboratory spaces as India's economic engine continues to roar forward," said Thomas D. Hull III, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kewaunee Scientific Corporation. "India's economy continues to be robust with significant investments being made in the public and private sectors by organizations requiring the products and services Kewaunee provides."

Story continues

About Kewaunee Scientific

Founded in 1906, Kewaunee Scientific Corporation is a recognized global leader in the design, manufacture, and installation of laboratory, healthcare, and technical furniture products. The Company's products include steel, wood, and laminate casework, fume hoods, adaptable modular systems, moveable workstations, stand-alone benches, biological safety cabinets, and epoxy resin work surfaces and sinks.

The Company's corporate headquarters are located in Statesville, North Carolina. Sales offices are located in the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. Three manufacturing facilities are located in Statesville serving the domestic and international markets, and one manufacturing facility is located in Bangalore, India serving the local, Asian, and African markets. Kewaunee Scientific's website is located at https://www.kewaunee.com.

This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, including statements regarding the Company's future financial condition, results of operations, business operations and business prospects, are forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "predict," "believe" and similar words, expressions and variations of these words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors that could significantly impact results or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to: competitive and general economic conditions, including disruptions from government mandates, both domestically and internationally, as well as supplier constraints and other supply disruptions; changes in customer demands; technological changes in our operations or in our industry; dependence on customers' required delivery schedules; risks related to fluctuations in the Company's operating results from quarter to quarter; risks related to international operations, including foreign currency fluctuations; changes in the legal and regulatory environment; changes in raw materials and commodity costs; acts of terrorism, war, governmental action, and natural disasters and other Force Majeure events. The cautionary statements made pursuant to the Reform Act herein and elsewhere by us should not be construed as exhaustive. We cannot always predict what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Over time, our actual results, performance, or achievements will likely differ from the anticipated results, performance or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements, and such difference might be significant and harmful to our stockholders' interest. Many important factors that could cause such a difference are described under the caption "Risk Factors," in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2022, which you should review carefully, and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. These reports are available on our investor relations website at www.kewaunee.com and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. The Company assumes no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact: Donald T. Gardner III 704/871-3274

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kewaunee-scientific-corporation-announces-continued-backlog-growth-with-indian-oil-corporation-contract-301765095.html

SOURCE Kewaunee Scientific Corporation
TipRanks

While last year saw a wicked bear market, coupled with high volatility, investors have had an easier time of it so far in 2023. Volatility remains an issue, but it has moderated  and both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 are up nicely year-to-date. The NASDAQ has gained over 16%, and the S&P is up more than 8%. The Dow is the laggard here, having gained only 2.2% in the same time. Its a market environment thats sure to present opportunities for gains  so long as investors can cut through the noise
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Kingfisher Metals Corp. (TSXV:KFR)(FSE:970)(OTCQB:KGFMF) ("Kingfisher" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into two option agreements on March 6, 2023 (the "Effective Date") to consolidate a 362 km2 copper-gold project in the Golden Triangle region of NW British Columbia, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

Highlights

Two 4-year options to earn 100% of the Ball Creek East Project and the Hank Project, now referred to as the HWY 37 Project.

Highway 37 and the Northern Transmission Line passes through the HWY 37 Project and lies within 9-15 km of main historical zones of drilling.

Multiple open ended mineral deposits including the Mary Cu-Au Porphyry, the Williams Cu-Au Porphyry, and the Hank Au-Ag Epithermal deposits.

Same mineralization age and scale of alteration as the tier one Treaty Creek-KSM-Brucejack Trend.

Limited historical drilling on project outside of known deposits despite widespread soil anomalies and gossans over 17 x 9 km porphyry-epithermal footprint.

Located within the traditional territory of the Tahltan First Nation, with a communications agreement in place.

Dustin Perry, CEO of Kingfisher, states, "The consolidation of this porphyry-epithermal district represents a significant opportunity for discovery of tier one deposits of critical and precious metals. The HWY 37 Project has a distinct advantage over much of the Golden Triangle given the proximity to infrastructure crucial to any future development. Our VP-Exploration, Gayle Febbo, and our technical advisor, Charlie Greig, have both worked in the past at the comparable KSM project and Brucejack mine, as well as the HWY 37 Project location, and have extensive knowledge of the area. We look forward to commencing exploration at the HWY 37 Project in due course."

Gayle Febbo, VP-Exploration of Kingfisher, states, "The Iskut region is host to an array of Au-rich deposit types formed at various times throughout the Mesozoic, but the most productive of these was during the emplacement of Early Jurassic Texas Creek intrusions. This suite of intrusions is known to have formed the largest gold resource globally at KSM and one of the highest-grade operating gold mines at Brucejack. The HWY 37 Project represents a rare and ideal land position with both a district-scale Cu-Au porphyry belt and superimposed Au-Ag epithermal belt caused by the same suite of intrusions as KSM and Brucejack."

Story continues

About the HWY 37 Project

The 362 km2 HWY 37 Project is in Northwest British Columbia's Golden Triangle (Figure 1). The Stewart-Cassiar Highway (37) and the 287 kV Northwest Transmission Line pass through the eastern portion of the project. The project encompasses a broad area of porphyry Cu-Au and epithermal Au-Ag mineralization and alteration.

Figure 1: HWY 37 Location

The HWY 37 Project is located (Figure 2) within the Stikine terrane of NW British Columbia and is underlain by the Stuhini and Hazelton groups. Mineralization spans porphyry to epithermal deposit types and is related to Early Jurassic Texas Creek Intrusions which are also responsible for mineralization at the Treaty Creek-KSM-Brucejack District. The northeastern part of the project is underlain by Iskut River Formation, which also host the Eskay Creek past producing mine and are favourable for VMS mineralization.

Figure 2: HWY 37 Overview

Historical work on the project has delineated three advanced deposits with several other targets and anomalies at earlier stages of exploration. Historical drilling on the project has outlined the Mary porphyry, with 13,506 m of drilling, and Williams porphyry, with 6095 m of drilling. Mary and Williams porphyries are both open in multiple directions and show distinct similarities with porphyry systems along the KSM-Treaty porphyry belt. The Hank Au-Ag epithermal deposit has seen 21,623 m of exploration drilling, albeit mostly focused within a small area within the larger 6 x 3 km gold-silver anomaly. Drilling at Hank has mostly been confined to shallow depths (<200m).

The footprint of alteration on the project is at a similar scale to the Treaty-KSM-Brucejack district (Figure 3), although exploration maturity is much younger at HWY 37.

Figure 3: HWY 37 vs Treaty-KSM-Brucejack District

Mary Porphyry

The Mary Porphyry (Figure 4) was first worked in 1963 and was most recently drilled in 2019. The porphyry deposit crops out on the north and northeast slopes of a relatively flat-topped mountain. Cu-Au patterns at Mary define marked low angle trends open along trend (Fig. 4). Although unusual globally, this unique low angle Cu-Au trend is common to porphyry systems in the region, such as the Goldstorm (Treaty) and Sulphurets (KSM) deposits. Historical drilling was confined to a small percentage of the Mary porphyry footprint and has not focused on low angle ore geometries. Along the Cu-Au trends at Mary is a ~1500 m gap in drilling extending to the Cliff showing with an untested chargeability anomaly at depth (Fig 4). The Mary Porphyry footprint spans 6 x 6 km and is cored by an untested chargeability anomaly. The dimensions of this footprint are characteristic of multiple, coalesced porphyry centres and are likely too laterally extensive to be caused by the Mary deposit alone. The area is fully permitted, and the Company is planning to complete a program of detailed mapping, geophysics, and step out drilling to test a much larger area than was historically drilled.

Figure 4: Mary Porphyry Cu-Au

Williams Porphyry

The Williams Porphyry (Figure 5) was discovered by Golden Ridge Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: GLDN) ("Golden Ridge") in 2017 and drilled from 2018-2019. Potassic alteration crops out at surface and mineralization has been traced to a depth of ~550 m. A large continuous chargeability anomaly extends from the area of drilling to the east and southeast for over 1.5 km and is yet to be drill tested. The Williams Porphyry is considered to be the high-level porphyry feeder to the Hank Au-Ag epithermal system although based on the 6 km lateral extent to the epithermal system, it is likely that more porphyry centers exist in this area. Future drilling at Williams will focus on defining the limits of the system and vectoring towards a copper-rich core zone. Low angle metal patterns at Williams and the presence of a chargeability anomaly lateral to the Williams porphyry reflect a similar pattern as the Mary deposit and those at KSM and Treaty. These patterns suggest that future drilling will favour lateral, same elevation targeting rather than vertically deeper targets. Permitting is underway with drilling anticipated in 2024.

Figure 5: Williams Porphyry Cu-Au

Hank

The Hank epithermal Au-Ag system was first discovered in 1980 and spans over 6 x 3 km. The epithermal system has seen considerable drilling (21,663m) which has been mostly confined to shallow depths (<200m). The majority of drilling has focused on bed-parallel shallow targets with limited testing for structural feeders and steeper gold zones. The most recent drilling at Hank (2017-2019) tested deeper holes and intercepted higher grades than seen before including visible coarse gold. Of the 120 historical diamond drill holes at Hank, all were drilled in a narrow northwest-southeast geometry, and none have targeted the potential for feeders along cross-structures. Future work at Hank will focus on infill drilling across the historical areas of drilling with the goal of producing a complaint resource as well as testing additional targets and exploration concepts throughout the 6 x 3 km trend. Permitting is underway for 2024 drilling.

Figure 6: Hank Epithermal Au-Ag System

Summary of Option Agreements

Ball Creek East Project

The Company has entered into a property option agreement (the "Ball Creek East Option Agreement") with Evrim Exploration Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Orogen Royalties Inc. (TSX.V: OGN) ("Orogen"), whereby Orogen has granted Kingfisher the right to acquire a 100% interest in a series of mineral claims located in the province of British Columbia commonly referred to as the "Ball Creek East Project" (Figure 2), subject to a 2% net smelter return to be retained by Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (the "Ball Creek East NSR Royalty") and the right to up to $4,100,000 in milestone payments.

Pursuant to the terms of the Ball Creek East Option Agreement, Kingfisher has the right to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Ball Creek East Project as follows:

issuing common shares with a value of $300,000 on the date that the TSXV approve the Ball Creek East Option Agreement;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $400,000 on or before the date which is the 1 st anniversary of the Effective Date;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $500,000 on or before the date which is the 2 nd anniversary of the Effective Date;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $1,000,000 on or before the date which is the 3 rd anniversary of the Effective Date;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $1,300,000 on or before the date which is the 4 th anniversary of the Effective Date;

granting a 1% net smelter returns royalty to Orogen in respect of the Company's Ecstall Property on the Effective Date; and

in order to maintain the Ball Creek East Option Agreement in good standing until exercised to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Ball Creek East Project, Kingfisher must carry out mining work on the Ball Creek East Project incurring aggregate expenditures of $7,500,000 on or before the 4th anniversary of the Effective Date.

The Ball Creek East NSR Royalty may be bought down by Orogen at any time by one half with a cash payment of $1,000,000.

Hank Project

The Company has entered into a property option agreement (the "Hank Option Agreement") Golden Ridge whereby Golden Ridge has granted Kingfisher the right to acquire a 100% interest in a series of mineral claims located in the province of British Columbia commonly referred to as the "Hank Project" (Figure 2), subject to a 3% net smelter return to be retained by Orogen (the "Hank NSR Royalty") and the right to US$2,500,000 in milestone payments by Golden Ridge.

Pursuant to the terms of the Hank Option Agreement, Kingfisher has the right to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Hank Project as follows:

cash payment of $25,000 and issuing common shares with a value of $75,000 on the date that the TSXV approve the Hank Option Agreement;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $150,000 on or before the date which is the 1 st anniversary of the Effective Date;

issuing additional common shares with a value of $300,000 on or before the date which is the 2 nd anniversary of the Effective Date;

cash payment of $100,000 and issuing additional common shares with a value of $1,000,000 on or before the date which is the 3 rd anniversary of the Effective Date;

cash payment of $125,000 and issuing additional common shares with a value of $1,475,000 on or before the date which is the 4 th anniversary of the Effective Date; and

in order to maintain the Hank Option Agreement in good standing until exercised to earn a 100% ownership interest in the Hank Project, Kingfisher must carry out mining work on the Hank Project incurring aggregate expenditures of $3,000,000 on or before the 4th anniversary of the Effective Date.

Pursuant to the Hank NSR Royalty, 1% may be purchased by Golden Ridge at any time with a cash payment of US$3,000,000. Also, if the Company acquires earn a 100% ownership interest in the Hank Project, then Sandstorm will be entitled to a 2% net smelter return on the Hank Project, which may be bought down by the Company by one half with a cash payment of $1,000,000.

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, including the Golden Triangle region. Kingfisher has three 100% owned district-scale projects and an option to earn 100% of the HWY 37 Project, 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/742364/Kingfisher-Signs-Definitive-Option-Agreements-to-Consolidate-362-Square-km-Copper-Gold-Project-in-Golden-Triangle-British-Columbia




Former Twitter employees are pursuing legal recourse over layoff severance packages. Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Getty Images

A laid-off Twitter engineer told CNN that they'd faced a "wave of rejections" for job applications.

This person is among those seeking recourse since being laid off after Elon Musk's takeover.

Twitter is facing complaints over the size of severance packages for people let go recently.

Former Twitter employees have been struggling to land work in a "hot garbage" job market since Elon Musk pushed them out, Justine De Caires, a former Twitter engineer, said.

"The market is hot garbage right now," De Caires told CNN. They're one of the hundreds of former Twitter employees who have sought legal recourse over severance packages offered to laid-off staff members.

De Caires told CNN that the grim market for tech jobs was making them contemplate dramatically different career options.

"I was sitting down earlier this week after a wave of rejections, and I was kind of like, 'Maybe I should go be a firefighter or something'  because the tech jobs are just not happening," they said.

De Caires was among a group of named plaintiffs who sued Twitter last year. The group told a California federal court that the severance packages offered under Musk's leadership weren't as good as what the company had previously offered.

De Caires and the other employees suing Twitter said they'd counted on assurances by Twitter's prior leadership that the company's severance policy would stay the same after Musk took over, according to an amended complaint they filed in December.

Twitter's severance packages before Musk took over included two months of pay or more, along with other benefits, while under Musk, laid-off employees have been offered one month of severance pay, their complaint said.

"Twitter employees had been promised that, should layoffs occur after the sale of the company, they would be entitled to the same benefits and severance that employees had previously received," they said in the complaint. "However, following Musk's purchase of the company, Twitter reneged on this agreement."

Story continues

Twitter's press address and Musk's Tesla and SpaceX addresses did not respond to requests for comment Monday morning.

De Caires and other employees also said any pay they received in the period between when they were informed of the layoff and their official last day at the company did not count as severance pay. De Caires, who'd worked for Twitter in San Francisco, was notified of their layoff on November 4 but separated from the company on January 4, according to a court filing.

De Caires' case has since been moved to arbitration, as they are among Twitter's former employees who signed arbitration agreements when working for Twitter, according to the California federal court's order in January.

Their attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan told Insider that she's representing more than 1,500 laid-off Twitter employees in multiple arbitration cases.

"It would be far less expensive for Twitter to just pay employees what they are owed than to defend against all of these cases," Liss-Riordan said. "We hope Elon realizes this soon, but if not, we look forward to taking him on in the courtroom, as well as in arbitration."

Nearly 124,000 tech employees have been laid off this year from more than 450 firms, according to Layoffs.FYI, a website that records layoffs in the industry. Big Tech companies like Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon have all signaled large-scale layoffs.

Some companies, like Uber, are also implementing tougher performance reviews, though the ride-hailing company previously told Insider that it planned to backfill the roles of employees it cut in the process.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Qabil Ashirov

The delegation of TURKPA's Environment, Natural Resources, and Health Protection Commission visited West Azerbaijan Community, Azernews reports.

Speaking at the event, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Community, MP Aziz Alakbarli greeted the guests and informed them about the turbulent history of West Azerbaijanis, their deportation four times during the last century, and the genocides.

Aziz Alakbarli noted that in accordance with the goals of the 2008 Istanbul Agreement on the establishment of TURKPA, bringing the issue of the rights of Azerbaijanis expelled from Western Azerbaijan and their cultural heritage to the agenda of the Assembly may be useful.

Besides that, Aziz Alakbarli spoke about the goals and activities of the Community.

Then, the chairman of the Council of Elders of the Community and the Commission for Environment, Natural Resources and Health Protection of TURKPA, Deputy Ahliman Amiraslanov noted that the Community is interested in the field of activity of TURKPA.

The members of the delegation of TURKPA said that they are happy to meet the community and that what happened is a painful page for the Turkic world, and they will provide moral support to the Western Azerbaijanis in this direction.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 2nd, YBhg. Dato' Lee Chee Weng represented the Lang International Corporate Titan Awards (LICTA) and held a simple yet grand appointment ceremony for the nomination committee. Several business leaders were invited to accept the appointment of LICTA, including:

Dato' Lee Lin Fong, the founder of Lee & Partners, Advocate and Solicitor

Dr. Gan, founder of Genesis Academy

Iris Teoh, business development manager of Genesis Academy

Luke Saw Eng Loke, CEO of Adcellent Brand Building,Acing ASEAN

Khor King Lieh, Senior Partner of Ecovis Malaysia Tax Sdn Bhd

Lee Shek Fern, First Vice President of UOB Bank

Winson Chew, Founder of Kimda Hardware Sdn.Bhd

Jodie Tan, Founder of JTY NEW MEDIA

Lee Shek Fern, Khor King Lieh, Winson Chew, Lee Lin Fong, Iris Teoh, Jodie Tan, Dr. Gan, Luke Saw Eng Loke, Lee Chee Weng, Ace Wong, Isabella Dai

Furthermore, LICTA also issued a Brand Public Relations Commission to Soarits PR, Isabella Dai, and Ace Wong, who represented the acceptance of this honor. Soarits PR is a global media and brand communication service company, currently providing brand network communication services to LICTA.

LICTA, the beacon of Outstanding, Genuine, and Trustworthy, awards its annual certification to a select forty outstanding enterprises, and fosters a public-private sector ecosystem where businesses and influential figures collaborate to drive progress in society. Reputation, the bedrock of establishing and expanding connections in the business world, paves the way for a virtuous cycle of mutual aid, where reputable individuals converge to exchange knowledge, resources, and ideas. A conclave of society's finest, including legendary business icons such as Buffett, Soros, and Jobs, will undoubtedly help engender a utopian society.

For entrepreneurs to succeed, they must possess a panoramic vision and wield the power of networking resources. The coveted Malaysia Business Award and Outstanding Enterprise Leader Nomination are the keys to enhancing a company's reputation and unlocking the doors to the public-private sector ecosystem. LICTA, the visionary of sustainable business growth, unveils surprises at every turn of its ecosystem, leaving society in awe. It steadfastly provides a platform for business and influential figures to create value for society, while the Business Award and Outstanding Enterprise Leader Award attest to LICTA's unwavering mission of excellence and a harmonious business ecology.

For more details, please visit: https://langawards.com/en/business-award-malaysia/.

SOURCE Soarits PR
MORTON GROVE, Ill., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lifeway Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: LWAY), a leading U.S. supplier of kefir and fermented probiotic products to support the microbiome, will debut new flavors, including Guava Lowfat Kefir, Organic Strawberry Banana Whole Milk Kefir and Organic Black Cherry Whole Milk Kefir, along with the seasonal flavors Rainbow Cake Lowfat Kefir and Campfire S'mores Lowfat Kefir, at Natural Products Expo West 2023, which will take place from March 7-11th at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA.

Campfire S'mores and Rainbow Cake Lifeway Kefir

Nutritious and satisfying, all flavors of Lifeway Lowfat Kefir and Whole Milk Kefir are up to 99% lactose-free, gluten-free, and made with all natural, non-GMO ingredients. Each serving is packed with protein, calcium, and 12 live and active probiotic cultures to help support a healthy gut and immune system. Natural Product Expo West attendees will get the exclusive opportunity to sample Lifeway's latest flavors before hitting store shelves in April, as well as taste test the brand's upcoming seasonal lowfat flavors, including Rainbow Cake to honor Pride Month and Campfire S'mores to celebrate summer. In addition, 8oz bottles of the brand's best-selling flavors, which are perfect for gyms, health care, quick service and convenience stores, will be available for attendees to take with them on-the-go.

"We are thrilled to be headed back to Natural Products Expo West again this year," said Julie Smolyanksy, CEO of Lifeway Foods. "This show gives Lifeway the platform to share our brand story with an enthusiastic audience of passionate foodies who will get a preview of Lifeway's latest product innovations. As we travel to Expo West, I know we're all focused on fortifying our immune systems with healthy foods, and Lifeway brings the probiotic microbiome support to every event we attend. Bottles of Lifeway belong anywhere you need a probiotic and protein boost, from traditional grocery to gyms, offices, convenience stores and campuses. We're excited to share our growing portfolio of versatile Lifeway products and connect with retailers looking to bring nutritious kefir to their shelves."

Story continues

Attendees are encouraged to stop by booth #755 to sample Lifeway's latest products and discover the many health benefits of probiotics. The brand will also have their Charity Relief Kefir benefitting Ukraine on-hand, as well as the innovative Adaptogenic Functional Mushroom Beverages. Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky will also be signing copies of her book, The Kefir Cookbook: An Ancient Healing Superfood for Modern Life, Recipes from My Family Table and Around the World on Thursday, March 9th from 2-4pm at the Lifeway booth.

For more information about Lifeway and its products, visit lifewayfoods.com.

About Lifeway Foods, Inc.

Lifeway Foods, Inc., which has been recognized as one of Forbes' Best Small Companies, is America's leading supplier of the probiotic, fermented beverage known as kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable kefir, the company also produces cheese, probiotic oat milk, and a ProBugs line for kids. Lifeway's tart and tangy fermented dairy products are now sold across the United States, Mexico, Ireland and France. Learn how Lifeway is good for more than just you at lifewayfoods.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release (and oral statements made regarding the subjects of this release) contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, future operating and financial performance, product development, market position, business strategy and objectives. These statements use words, and variations of words, such as "continue," "build," "future," "increase," "drive," "believe," "look," "ahead," "confident," "deliver," "outlook," "expect," and "predict." Other examples of forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, (i) statements of Company plans and objectives, including the introduction of new products, or estimates or predictions of actions by customers or suppliers, (ii) statements of future economic performance, and (III) statements of assumptions underlying other statements and statements about Lifeway or its business. You are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events and thus are inherently subject to uncertainty. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from Lifeway's expectations and projections. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include: price competition; the decisions of customers or consumers; the actions of competitors; changes in the pricing of commodities; the effects of government regulation; possible delays in the introduction of new products; and customer acceptance of products and services. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties, and other factors can be found in Lifeway's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC. Copies of these filings are available online at https://www.sec.gov, http://lifewaykefir.com/investor-relations/, or on request from Lifeway. Information in this release is as of the dates and time periods indicated herein, and Lifeway does not undertake to update any of the information contained in these materials, except as required by law. Accordingly, YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE ACCURACY OF ANY OF THE STATEMENTS OR OTHER INFORMATION CONTAINED IN ANY ARCHIVED PRESS RELEASE.

Media:

Derek Miller

Vice President of Communications, Lifeway Foods

Email: derekm@lifeway.net

General inquiries:

Lifeway Foods, Inc.

Phone: 847-967-1010

Email: info@lifeway.net

Strawberry Banana and Black Cherry Lifeway Whole Milk Kefir

Guava Lifeway Kefir

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lifeway-foods-to-debut-new-kefir-flavors-at-natural-products-expo-west-2023-301764972.html

SOURCE Lifeway Foods, Inc.
C$ unless otherwise stated TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK: 945

TORONTO , March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Manulife Financial Corporation ("MFC") announced today that it intends to issue $1.2 billion principal amount of 5.409% fixed/floating subordinated debentures due March 10, 2033 (the "Debentures"). MFC intends to file a prospectus supplement to its existing base shelf prospectus in respect of this issue.

Manulife Logo (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)

The Debentures will bear interest at a fixed rate of 5.409% until March 10, 2028 and thereafter at a rate of 1.85% over Daily Compounded CORRA. The Debentures mature on March 10, 2033.

Subject to prior regulatory approval, MFC may redeem the Debentures, in whole or in part, on or after March 10, 2028 at a redemption price equal to par, together with accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the date fixed for redemption. The Debentures will constitute subordinated indebtedness, ranking equally and rateably with all other subordinated indebtedness of MFC from time to time issued and outstanding (other than subordinated indebtedness which has been further subordinated in accordance with its terms).

The offering is being done on a best efforts agency basis by a syndicate co-led by RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank and TD Securities. The offering is expected to close on March 10, 2023.

MFC intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Debentures for general corporate purposes, including investment in subsidiaries and potential future redemptions of existing securities.

The Debentures have not been and will not be registered in the United States under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S. person" (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities in the United States and any public offering of the securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus.

Story continues

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. We trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manulife-announces-subordinated-debenture-issue-301765051.html

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c3541.html
Marias Technology

Marias will test Cumberlands policy administration system

COVINGTON, Ohio, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marias Technology, a provider of software testing and implementation services to the insurance industry, has been contracted by Cumberland Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Cumberland) to assist with quality assurance and user acceptance testing.



What attracted us to Marias was their high level of experience testing software systems for companies like us, said Noel Young, Assistant Vice President, Strategic Business Unit, at Cumberland. The Marias team knows our system. So, they were able to get to work immediately with no ramp-up time.

Under the terms of the agreement, Marias will test changes and updates to the system, including quality assurance and user acceptance testing, in coordination with Cumberland staff members.

We greatly appreciate this opportunity to work with Cumberland, said R. Christopher Chris Haines, President and CEO of Marias. We look forward to working with Noel and her team to leverage our insurance system experience to help Cumberland continue to operate at the high level for which they are known.

About Marias Technology

Marias Technology, headquartered in Covington, Ohio, a privately held company, offers insurance technology services to property/casualty insurance companies. Services range from system testing and configuration, to defining specifications and defect analysis and investigation. For more information, please visit www.mariastechnology.com , email info@mariastechnology.com , or call 866-611-2212.

About Cumberland

Founded in 1844, Cumberland Mutual Fire Insurance Company is the oldest mutual property and casualty insurer domiciled in the state of New Jersey. Cumberland protects more than 100,000 policyholders in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Located in Bridgeton, New Jersey, Cumberland holds an A- (Excellent) financial rating from the A.M. Best Company, the insurance industrys leading rating organization. Cumberland has built lasting partnership with more than 400 independent agencies representing the company throughout its four states. Cumberland is committed to helping policyholders gain peace of mind and protection that fulfils their ever-changing needs. For additional information, please visit www.cumberlandmutual.com.

Story continues

Media Contact:

JoAnna Bennett

203-341-2360

joanna@obriencg.com




The unified customer data, analytics, and marketing automation platform Ortto, formerly Autopilot, continues to see double-digit monthly growth a year on from its rebrand. The martech company now has more than 3,000 customers globally and was recognized in 49 categories in G2's biannual report.

SYDNEY, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ortto, which started as Autopilot Journeys in 2015, rebranded in early 2022 following the launch of a revolutionary new platform that allows marketers to effortlessly connect previously siloed data sources to get a complete view of their customers. Marketers can analyze and operationalize this data without the need for specialized support, enabling them to deliver personalized customer journeys at scale, increasing the impact of their campaigns with powerful event-based triggers and AI-content optimization. In the year since the rebrand, Ortto's users have built some 5,000 journeys and sent more than 210 million emails to their customers, contributing to the company's sustained 16% month-on-month growth.

Ortto helps data-driven marketers easily build powerful reports to understand whats working and make decisions with confidence. Dashboards allow teams to pin key reports to a shared space so they never lose sight of key metrics.

The powerful platform received the 'High Performer' badge in 11 categories in the G2 Winter 2023 reports, including marketing automation and marketing platform, across multiple regions (APAC, ANZ, Europe, UK, etc.)

Ortto was also awarded the 'Best estimated ROI' badge and the 'Easiest to use' badge in the customer journey mapping categories, as well as the 'Users Love Us' badge.

The platform was also ranked number one for data personalization by SoftwareReviews.

Customer, Mica Shtewi, Tech Manager at Pattern, comments:

"When you're moving into a world we're moving into, you have so many data sources that you're trying to bring together and various communications to get clients moving through the sales process. We needed something flexible that works and had a robust integration with Salesforce, and with Ortto we can target people the way we want to target them."

Visually design journeys that automate personalized messages and trigger actions across the customer lifecycle with Ortto.

Michael Sharkey, CEO and co-founder of Ortto, comments:

Story continues

"Everyone recognizes the importance of data in building better, more personalized customer experiences, but the problem is, for many businesses, this data is located across a number of different tools and isn't easily accessible to marketers. That's why we rebuilt our platform to make it easy to bring all of that data together in one place and remove the barriers to entry, so marketers have ready access to the data they need without having to lodge a ticket or learn SQL. The response to the new platform has been incredible - not only from our Autopilot customers, who are realizing new value through Ortto, but also from new customers who have come on board in the past year."

About Ortto

Ortto, the world's first complete marketing automation, AI and analytics platform, empowers marketers to act with confidence and increase their impact on revenue. By combining three powerful tools into one intuitive platform, teams finally benefit from their customer data, messaging, and analytics working together.

Sophisticated yet easy to use, more than 3,000 customers trust Ortto to understand their impact, discover their next marketing opportunity, and continuously iterate to deliver great customer experiences at scale. Learn more at: www.ortto.com

Launched in 2015, Ortto's team is located in Australia, Europe and the US. To date, the company has raised $35M in venture funding from backers including Blackbird, Rembrandt and Salesforce Ventures.

Ortto

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/martech-platform-ortto-celebrates-record-growth-on-the-anniversary-of-its-rebrand-301764019.html

SOURCE Ortto, Inc.
SASKATOON, SK, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - MAS Gold Corp. ("MAS Gold" or the "Company") (TSX.V: MAS) (OTCQB: MSGCF) (FSE: 63G) announces podcast interview with The Stock Day Podcast.

MAS Gold Corp. Logo (CNW Group/MAS Gold Corp)

CEO of the Company, Jim Engdahl, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly. Jolly began the interview by asking about the Company's background and current projects. Engdahl elaborated on how the Company acquired its numerous gold assets, which have grown to include the North Lake, Preview SW, Greywacke North, Contact Lake and Point gold deposits and the historically defined Elizabeth Lake copper-gold deposit. "The idea that Ron Netolitzky had when he formed the company in 2010 was to consolidate a string of properties located in Saskatchewan and create a whole new gold play," said Engdahl.

Jolly then asked about the history of gold resources in the La Ronge Gold Belt of Saskatchewan. "The only producing gold mine in Saskatchewan right now is the Seabee Gold Mine, which went into production in 1992 and is now being operated by SSR," explained Engdahl. "It has now mined out about 2 million ounces of gold and is producing at a rate of 120,000 ounces per year," he said. "That mine is about 40 kilometers from our closest property called Greywacke North, which has 155,000 ounces that we have drilled alone."

"What was MAS Gold Corp.'s original strategy?", asked Jolly. "It was our original strategy to consolidate properties along the La Ronge Gold Belt of Saskatchewan," said Engdahl. "Before I joined in January of 2021, the company had about 400,000 ounces; by the end of March we hope to be able to say that we will have at least 1.3 million ounces to 1.4 million ounces when our new resource calculations are completed," he continued. "However, the exciting part about the belt is that none of these properties have been drilled past 300 meters."

The conversation then turned to the Company's strategy and revenues as they continue to develop their gold assets. "There are no revenues at the moment, we are still in the planning stages," said Engdahl, adding that over the next 6 to 12 months the Company will continue to gather economic data for their resources to determine their next steps. "Our Greywacke property could be put into production on a small scale because of the excellent metallurgy we have for that location," added Engdahl.

Story continues

"We have another property in the area that is still a target for acquisition and it is a past-producing mine," shared Engdahl. "This acquisition would establish complete ownership of the belt and would be an exceptional long-term gold play with the potential to be one of the best in Canada as that further develops."

"What do you expect to see over the next 6 to 12 months?", asked Jolly. "We are going to be doing some serious planning, while also looking for potential partners to help us take it to the next level as there will be a reasonable amount of capital required to do that," said Engdahl, adding that the Company will continue to strategize and gather data from their assets.

To close the interview, Engdahl encouraged listeners and shareholders to keep up-to-date on the Company's current and upcoming projects as they continue to grow and advance their gold assets along the La Ronge Gold Belt in Saskatchewan.

To hear Jim Engdahl's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here:

https://audioboom.com/posts/8258769-mas-gold-corp-discusses-potential-of-its-la-ronge-gold-belt-gold-assets-with-the-stock-day-podcast

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/

About MAS Gold Corp.

MAS Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on advancing its gold exploration projects in the prospective La Ronge Gold Belt of Saskatchewan. MAS Gold is active on four properties in the Belt, including the Preview-North, Greywacke Lake, Elizabeth Lake and Henry Lake Properties totalling 35,175.6 hectares (86,920.8 acres). These properties extend along the geologically prospective La Ronge, Kisseynew and Glennie Domains that make up the La Ronge Gold Belt in north-central Saskatchewan.

MAS Gold currently has five advanced deposits including the North Lake, Greywacke North, Preview SW, Contact Lake and Point gold deposits.

The North Lake Deposit hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 13.8 M t averaging 0.88 g/t Au for 389,000 insitu ounces of gold, plus an Inferred Mineral Resource of 3.6 M t averaging 0.82 g/t Au for 95,000 insitu ounces of gold. (Fourie, L. Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Update for the North Lake Gold Project, La Ronge Gold Belt, Saskatchewan, Canada.; effective date January 6, 2023). The Technical Report about the updated North Lake Mineral Resource Estimate was filed on SEDAR February 17, 2023.

The Greywacke North Deposit has a combined open pit and underground Indicated Mineral Resource of 645,000 t averaging 4.90 g/t Au for 101,000 insitu ounces of gold (600,000 t at 4.89 g/t Au, and 45,000t at 5.03 g/t Au, respectively), plus a combined open pit and underground Inferred Mineral Resource of 410,000 t averaging 4.12 g/t Au for 55,000 insitu ounces of gold (35,000 t at 1.97 g/t Au, and 375,000 t at 4.33 g/t Au, respectively). The Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources were estimated using open pit and underground cut-off grades of 0.65 g/t Au and 1.75 g/t Au, respectively (Godden, S, Thomas, D. Tupper, D. Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Updates, North Lake and Greywacke North Gold Projects, La Ronge Gold Belt, Saskatchewan, Canada.; effective date December 1, 2021). The Technical Report regarding the updated Mineral Resource Estimate was filed on SEDAR January 12, 2022.

MAS Gold Corp.

Jim Engdahl

Chief Executive Officer & Director

Jim@masgoldcorp.com

(306) 262-4964

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements:

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions, and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. MAS Gold cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to MAS Gold's limited operating history, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations, results of exploration programs on their projects and those risks and uncertainties identified in each of their annual and interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, MAS Gold undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

SOURCE MAS Gold Corp

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c1936.html
DALLAS, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MedCore Partners, a healthcare and senior living commercial real estate company, announces the hiring of Angela Dreiske as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective January 17, 2023. In her role, Angela will design and manage all aspects of MedCore's accounting division and help enhance and refine the company's financial strategy and operations.

Angela Dreiske

"Angela brings an abundance of pertinent experience and leadership to our organization," said Nick Farris, Partner at MedCore. "We are very excited to have her insight and skillsets to bolster the MedCore vision and team."

Prior to joining MedCore, Angela was the Senior Vice President of Accounting for the Investment Management team at Stream Realty Partners in Dallas. While at Stream she managed five discretionary funds and separate account mandates totaling over $1.7 billion in equity and three of Stream's co-investment vehicles. Before her time at Stream, she was a Senior Manager at Standish Management, a third-party administrator, with $450 billion in assets under management. At Standish, Angela worked exclusively on the Crow Holdings funds. Angela holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and is a licensed certified public accountant in the state of Texas.

"I am thrilled to join the MedCore team as the company continues its work in healthcare and senior living services," said Angela Dreiske, Chief Financial Officer at MedCore. "MedCore has a promising future, and I am excited about the opportunity to help build on its strengths."

About MedCore Partners

About MedCore Partners, LLC - Based in Dallas-Fort Worth, MedCore Partners is a full-service real estate company dedicated exclusively to the healthcare and senior living industry. By leveraging off both its intimate knowledge of the dynamics of the medical sector and its comprehensive platform of real estate services, MedCore is uniquely qualified to identify and capitalize on healthcare projects around the nation and to maximize the potential profits returned to its investors. Over their careers, the principals of MedCore have led the development and investment efforts for healthcare projects around the country that have been valued in excess of $1 billion in addition to executing brokerage transactions for over 1,500 physicians. This level of experience within the medical real estate industry has allowed MedCore's principals to build trusted relationships with both healthcare providers around the United States as well as numerous capital sources.

Story continues

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medcore-partners-announces-the-hiring-of-new-chief-financial-officer-301764071.html

SOURCE MedCore Partners
From travel tips to technology  representatives from YTZ will show you how to make the most out of your March Break with smooth airport travels.

TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - On Thursday, March 9, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport will host a media availability on March Break Travel at YTZ.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (CNW Group/Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport)

Spokespeople from PortsToronto, owner and operator of Billy Bishop Airport, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Air Transport Security Agency (CATSA), and the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program will be available for interviews to discuss upcoming March Break travel, what passengers should expect, and provide travel tips to help make the most of your March Break travels.

CATSA will provide tips on how to ensure a smooth security screening experience  along with a display of common items confiscated at security, St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program will host visits with therapy dogs Pablo and Mr. Darcy, and CBSA will be offering a tour of the customs hall where media can participate in a demonstration of the new Advance Declaration app and Express Lane that will streamline the customs process for arriving passengers.

Media are also welcomed to speak to passengers in the public spaces of the airport.

WHEN: Thursday, March 9, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Customs Hall  10:00 a.m.

Tour of CBSA customs area and demonstration of the new Advance Declaration app and express lane.

Atrium  Beginning at 10:30 a.m.

Visit with SJA Therapy Dog Program

CATSA display and information session

Billy Bishop Airport spokesperson on the March Break experience at YTZ

WHERE: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, island-side terminal.

WHAT: Interview availability; opportunity to speak with passengers travelling ahead of March Break.

WHO:

Deborah Wilson, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, PortsToronto

Ryan O'Connor, Superintendent, CBSA

Tamara Lopez, Border Services Officer, CBSA

Hira Ramzan, Service Delivery Manager, CATSA

Marilynn Wong, Toronto Region Therapy Dog Program Advisor, St. John Ambulance

Story continues

NOTE

Media are asked to RSVP by Wednesday, March 8 at 4:00 p.m. to confirm their attendance.

Media that are interested in the tour of the customs hall and/or an interview with a CBSA spokesperson need to RSVP by email to CBSA-ASFC_GTAR_Communications@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca to receive more details and instructions.

Satellite trucks/camera operators may take the ferry across to the island at no cost where parking is available. Please coordinate with Jessica Pellerin at jpellerin@portstoronto.com or (647) 298-0585 to have your parking ticket validated before departure.

About Billy Bishop Airport Toronto City Airport

Offering service to more than 20 cities in Canada and the U.S., with connection opportunities to more than 80 international destinations via our airlines' networks, Billy Bishop Airport is an important international gateway and a key driver to Toronto's economy which traditionally welcomes approximately 2.8 million passengers per year. Billy Bishop Airport is renowned for its unique travel experience, efficiency and customer service and has won a series of passenger-driven awards. With a focus on cleaner, greener and quieter operations, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport has made significant upgrades in recent year to achieve its sustainability goals which are reported on an annual basis. Billy Bishop Airport is owned and operated by PortsToronto.

About PortsToronto

For more than 100 years PortsToronto has worked with its partners at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. PortsToronto owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomed approximately 2.8 million passengers in 2019; the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada's largest freshwater marinas; and the marine Port of Toronto that includes businesses in a variety of sectors including marine shipping, cargo services, media production and passenger cruises. PortsToronto is committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities and has invested more than $14 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto's waterfront and beyond. PortsToronto operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and is guided by a board with representation from all three levels of government.

SOURCE Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c6515.html
BANGKOK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Informa Markets and IMPACT Exhibition Management Co.,Ltd. have confirmed that Medlab Asia and Asia Health, a major healthcare event, will return to Thailand following the success of the 2022 edition, after shining a spotlight on the growth of healthcare and laboratory industries in Southeast Asia and securing business deals worth over US$35 million last year.

Mr. Loy Joon How - General Manager, IMPACT Exhibition Management, Mr. Tom Coleman - Exhibition Director, Informa Markets

According to ASEAN Medical Diagnostics Market: Insights & Forecasts with Potential Impact of COVID-19 report, the ASEAN medical diagnostics market is anticipated to reach over US$14 billion by 2026, denoting a CAGR of 12.60% between 2022 and 2026.

The research revealed various factors contributing to this growth, including ageing population, increased stress levels, growing healthcare expenditure, expanding urbanisation, and a surge in western-type diseases. This, in turn, is creating various new trends within the health and laboratory sectors, such as an upsurge in medical tourism, the emergence of POC testing, growing awareness of personalised medicine, new specialised tests, and escalating shift towards preventive healthcare.

Tom Coleman, Exhibition Director, Informa Markets said: "With the unprecedented growth of healthcare and laboratory industries in Southeast Asia, the timely return of Medlab Asia and Asia Health, will showcase the latest innovations and technology driving the industry forward in the region, and providing the ideal platform for meeting colleagues and discussing the latest trends impacting their respective industries."

The events are expected to welcome more than 5,000 visitors from over 50 countries, with 500+ exhibitors expected to showcase the latest cutting-edge technology taking the healthcare world. There will be six dedicated product sectors, including medical equipment, imaging and diagnostics, disposables and consumer goods, healthcare and general services, emergency medicine, wellness and prevention.

Story continues

Loy Joon How, General Manager of IMPACT Exhibition Management, said: "Medlab Asia & Asia Health will be welcoming world-class suppliers, industry leaders and top-of-the-line buyers in healthcare and laboratory sector to explore the APAC market. The show is set to bring together healthcare and laboratory professionals from ASEAN countries to network, learn and do business."

A total of eight clinical conferences will take place as part of Asia Health, including Radiology, Sterilisation & Decontamination, Doing Business in Thailand, Digital Health, Nursing, Future Health Panel, Emergency Medicine, and Patient Safety & Infection Control. Medlab Asia will host six conferences, including Laboratory Management, Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Microbiology, Molecular Diagnostics, Haematology and Immunology.

For more information, please visit https://www.medlabasia.com/asiahealth/en/home.html

SOURCE IMPACT Exhibition Management
(Bloomberg) -- With students taking advantage of ChatGPT for homework and term papers, theres a lot of handwringing about whether artificial-intelligence tools are appropriate for school. Alex Kotran said his group wants to make sure those tools are used even more.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Kotran is the chief executive officer of the AI Education Project (aiEDU), a nonprofit backed by companies such as Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.s Google, OpenAI and AT&T Inc., that provides free materials and teacher training to boost AI understanding in school districts. The idea is to teach kids about the technology, its limits and promise, and prepare them jobs where theyll need to use AI.

The group on Tuesday is announcing a national call for AI education with an expanded list of backers and partner schools at the South by Southwest EDU conference in Austin, Texas. So far, aiEDU has reached 100,000 students and has relationship with districts representing 1.5 million low-income and underserved kids across the country.

The non-profit was founded in 2019, and Kotran thought it would take a few years before there was widespread demand from educators for these kinds of programs. We were kind of wearing the T-shirt before the band was cool, he said. Instead the rapid increase in interest in generative AI with the popularity of programs like OpenAIs chatbot and Dall-E, its tool for digital images, has dramatically boosted demand, and the group could use more funding, he said.

The focus is on marginalized regions and students, especially because some of those areas are the most likely to be negatively affected by automation and a gap in skills caused by AI. In 2018, Kotran said he was in San Francisco and struck by all the talk of AI changing the future of work, while his mother, a public school teacher in Akron, Ohio, commented that she wished her students were learning about the technology.

Story continues

It just was startling to me that in Akron, Ohio, which is on the Brookings Institution list of 20 cities most at risk for automation job displacement, how's it possible that high school students aren't learning about the future of work, let alone artificial intelligence, he said. He found that throughout the US there was no specific curriculum or requirement to learn about AI.

Other backers include Nvidia Corp., Intel Corp., GSV Ventures, Verizon Communications Inc. and nonprofits such as Teach for America and the Boys and Girls Club.

Kotrans group is working with Educational Service Centers  groups of school districts  serving 420,000 students in Texas, 300,000 in Wisconsin and 250,000 in Ohio, as well as public school districts in Atlanta, Spokane, Washington, and Anaheim, California. The goal is to make sure these students are ready for jobs that in just a few years may require or prefer experience with AI programs.

People may not be replaced by AI directly, but people will be replaced by people that are proficient users of artificial intelligence, Kotran said. So students who have no experience or no knowledge of how to use a tool, have no experience creating projects with generative AI, are going to totally be out classed by students who have.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Hello again. Thank you for coming. This is indeed the first time in history that the President of Timor-Leste has visited Azerbaijan. I am sure that this is an important step that will ensure the successful continuation of friendly relations, an effective cooperation and partnership between our countries. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude for the high level of representation of your country at the recently held Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement. The meeting was very successful and once again demonstrated the solidarity between the member states.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the support of Azerbaijans chairmanship and our initiatives aimed at strengthening the cooperation between our member states and protecting their interests.

Our countries are located far from each other, but I believe that this should not prevent our cooperation in various fields. While there is cooperation at the political level, we should consider opportunities in other areas as well. Of course, your visit to Azerbaijan creates an opportunity to discuss broad issues of mutual interest. Mr. President, welcome to Azerbaijan again. I wish you a pleasant time in Azerbaijan.

x x x

President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos-Horta said:

- Your Excellency, thank you for meeting with me in Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the Forum I will be participating in. I was invited to this Forum before, but for certain reasons I could not attend. This time, I really wanted to make this trip. I wanted to participate in the Forum and personally get acquainted with Azerbaijan, which has achieved progress and development under your leadership and about which I have read a lot. Thank you for such an opportunity.

x x x

The President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste hailed Azerbaijans chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and emphasized the successful organization of the recent Summit-level meeting of the Movement held in Baku.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the President of Timor-Leste for his support of Azerbaijans chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement.

During the meeting, the sides discussed cooperation in the fields of gas, investments, fertilizer production, and education.

President Jose Ramos-Horta asked President Ilham Aliyev to consider the possibility of providing scholarships to students from Timor-Leste in the educational institutions of Azerbaijan.

Highlighting the educational potential of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev noted that educational scholarships have been allocated for foreign students, including students from the NAM member countries, and said that this issue will also be considered.




MitoRx Therapeutics

OXFORD, England, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MitoRx Therapeutics (MitoRx), a biotechnology company developing revolutionary therapeutics that reverse mitochondrial dysfunction to arrest the progression of degenerative diseases, announces Christine Charman as Chief Development Officer, David Richardson as Finance Director, and four appointments to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): Prof Chas Bountra, Prof Dame Kay Davies, Prof Laurent Servais, and Dr Bernd C Schwahn.



Prof Chas Bountra OBE is now Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He commented on his appointment: Its an honour and a pleasure to come together with top international scientific and clinical experts to build the MitoRx Scientific Advisory Board. Together we are working to become a global leader in treating diseases caused by impaired mitochondrial function.

Chas is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford, Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Director of the Centre for Medicines Discovery, and Professorial Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. Prior to coming back to Oxford in 2008, Chas was Vice President and Head of Biology at GlaxoSmithKline. Chas is an invited expert on several government and charitable research funding bodies, and an advisor for many academic, biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes. In 2012 he was voted one of the top innovators in the industry, in 2014 received the Rita and John Cornforth Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, in 2017 and 2018 was voted Master of the Bench from the Medicine Maker Power List, and in 2018 was awarded the Order of the British Empire in the New Years Honours List.

Also joining the board is Prof Dame Kay Davies CBE DBE FRS FMedSci, Dr Lees Professor of Anatomy Emeritus at the University of Oxford with an international reputation for work on Duchenne muscular dystrophy paving the way for several nucleic acid related therapies. Prof Davies is a co-founder and co-Director of the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre, and co-founded Summit Therapeutics plc to translate her work into the clinic.

Story continues

Prof Laurent Servais MD PhD directs the Specialised Translational Research Oxford Neuromuscular Group as Professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease at the University of Oxford, and he is Professor of Child Neurology at the University of Liege. He brings a wealth of experience to the Scientific Advisory Board having led many clinical trials as principal investigator for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy treatments.

Dr Bernd C Schwahn MD PhD FRCPCH, Consultant in Paediatric Metabolic Medicine at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in Genomic Medicine, also joins the board. Dr Schwahns scientific interest focuses on disorders of sulfur amino acid metabolism and has been involved as principal and chief investigator in clinical trials for the treatment of molybdenum cofactor deficiency, lysosomal storage disorders and disorders of intermediary metabolism.

Chief Development Officer Christine Charman PhD comes with close to 26 years experience in accelerating transformational therapies as Senior Global Program Lead for Takedas Rare Diseases, Respiratory and Immunology and Neuroscience therapy areas. She also worked as consultant CDO at Izana Bioscience and development consultant for a range of Biotechs and NewCos and Program Lead supporting UK Vaccine and Antiviral Task Forces, with further development experience at Novartis from preclinical research leadership to Senior Global Programme Director, including the planning, clinical execution and launch of two products.

David Richardson BSc ACMA AMCT brings over 30 years finance experience to his new role as Finance Director. He has held board positions at a number of venture-backed technology companies and his experience in the industry includes senior finance roles within both AstraZeneca and Evotec.

Jonathan Rees PhD, CEO of MitoRx, said, We are thrilled to welcome our new SAB members, as well as Christine Charman as Chief Development Officer and David Richardson as Finance Director, who together bring a wealth of renowned experience across financial, scientific and clinical backgrounds. The wide ranging expertise gained from our growing team and advisory board will accelerate progress of our first-in-class, first-in-target small molecules which are now being pre-clinically tested in a mammalian model of muscular dystrophy. We look forward to working with them all.

Notes to Editors

Media Contact (Scius Communications)

Katja Stout

Email: katja@sciuscommunications.com

Phone: +44(0)7789 435990

Daniel Gooch

Email: Daniel@sciuscommunications.com

Phone: : +44(0)7747 875 479

Company Contact (MitoRx)

Jonathan Rees, CEO

Email: jon.rees@mitorxtherapeutics.com

Phone: +44(0)7826 556622

About MitoRx

At MitoRx our mission is to become the leading global developer of medicines arresting the progression of degenerative diseases driven by mitochondrial dysfunction. We are a preclinical research stage biotechnology company developing our first-in-class, orally delivered, mitochondrial protective therapeutics targeting rare neuromuscular disorders, rare metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Located in Harwell Oxford, we have raised seed financing from a broad range of investors including the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, The Fink Family Office, Science Angel Syndicate, Oxford Technology Management, Wren Capital, Longevitytech.fund, as well as angel investors. For more information visit our website at www.mitorxtherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn.




Municipality Finance Plc

Municipality Finance Plc

Stock exchange release

7 March 2023 at 12:00 pm (EET)

Municipality Finance Groups Annual Report for 2022 published

Municipality Finance Groups Annual Report and Corporate Governance Statement for the year 2022 have been published in English and Finnish.

MuniFin Groups Annual Report fulfills the reporting requirements of European Single Electronic Format (ESEF). In accordance with these requirements, Report of the Board of Directors and the Consolidated Financial Statements are published not only in the Annual Report file but additionally in a separate zip file in which Report of the Board and the Financial Statements are marked up with XBRL tags. These ESEF Financial Statements have been subject to an independent auditors assurance.

MuniFin Group has also published Pillar 3 Disclosure document in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 and Directive 2013/36/EU. The document is available in English. The remuneration aspects of Pillar 3 reporting are also available separately in Finnish in MuniFin Groups Remuneration Report 2022.

MuniFin Group has also published its Green Impact Report and Social Impact Report for 2022 in English and Finnish.

All of the above-mentioned reports are available on MuniFins website at www.munifin.fi.



MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC

Further information:

Esa Kallio

President and CEO

tel. +358 50 337 7953

MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finlands largest credit institutions. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the Republic of Finland. MuniFin Group also includes the subsidiary company, Financial Advisory Services Inspira Ltd. The Groups balance sheet totals nearly EUR 48 billion.

MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. Our customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, joint county authorities, corporate entities under their control and affordable social housing. Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.

Story continues

MuniFin's customers are domestic but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

Attachments




Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

The global myocardial infarction market size was valued at USD 1.92 billion in 2021. It is estimated to reach USD 3.85 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8% during the forecast period (20222030), North America is dominating the market and accounted for the highest share in the forecast period.

New York, United States, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myocardial Infarction or heart attack is a condition when blood flow at a heart muscle stops or decreases. The condition may occur due to various reasons, including excessive smoking, unhealthy food habits, and others. It is more common in elderly people and may lead to death. Many treatment methods are available for the condition including various types of drugs and drug classes, surgeries, and others. All the treatment methods may differ from individual to individual. High chances of reoccurrence are the major factors leading to the increasing usage of prevention and treatment drugs.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/myocardial-infarction-market/request-sample





Increasing research and development activities for safe drug development

Increasing research and development activities and growing technological advancements by various companies and government organizations are creating lucrative opportunities for market players. Various companies are emphasizing on developing innovative drugs. For instance, Novartis has developed a drug called canakinumab (ACZ885). It helps to prevent heart attacks by controlling inflammationa different approach than lowering cholesterol level. According to Novartis, it reduced the cardiovascular risk by 25% in the trial presented at American Heart Association Session 2017.





Report Scope

Report Metric Details Market Size USD 3.85 billion by 2030 CAGR 8% (2023-2031) Historical Data 2019-2020 Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product Type, Distribution Channel Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAME, and Rest of the World Key Companies Profiled/Vendors Apotex Inc., AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., Mylan N.V., Novartis AG, Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc., Pfizer Inc Key Market Drivers Increasing research and development activities for safe drug development

Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/myocardial-infarction-market

Story continues





Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the forecast period

Myocardial infarction is one of the major diseases in China. It has become the major cause of an emergency over the past few decades owing to changing lifestyle and declining physical activity. In China, of men aged 3044 years who die from cardiovascular disease, 46% of these deaths are attributable to tobacco. Additionally, there are more than 300 million smokers in China, nearly one-third of the world's total smoking population. This is projected to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, which is also expected to increase the demand for their demand. Thus, China is projected to witness considerable growth in the market during the forecast period.





Competitive Landscape

Daiichi Sankyo, Co. Ltd is one of the leading providers of the medical solution of various segments including cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction or heart attack and angina, kidney disease, and oncology segment across the globe. The company is differentiating itself with continuous innovations and expansion in various regions. Several products such as Efient and Ovisot have been launched by the company for the treatment of heart diseases over the last few years. The products have helped the company to strengthen its position in the market and also, to expand their product portfolio related to heart attack and other diseases.

Some of the prominent players in the market are

Apotex Inc.

AstraZeneca

Bayer AG

Boehringer-Ingelheim

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd.

Mylan N.V.

Novartis AG

Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc.

Pfizer Inc.





Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/myocardial-infarction-market/request-sample





Global Myocardial Infarction Market Segmentation

By Product Type

Analgesics

Antiplatelet agents

Vasodilators

Thrombolytics and anti-thrombotic agents

Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors

 adrenergic blockers

Angiotensin receptor antagonists

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors

By Distribution channel

Hospitals

Hospital Pharmacies

Drug Stores

Online drug stores

Regions Covered

America

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

South America

Europe

Western Europe UK Germany France Italy Spain Rest of Europe

Eastern Europe

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Rest of Asia-Pacific

Middle East Saudi Arabia UAE Qatar Rest of The Middle East

Africa South Africa Ghana Nigeria







Table of Contents

Executive Summary Research Scope & Segmentation Research Objectives Market Definition Limitations & Assumptions Market Scope & Segmentation Currency & Pricing Considered Market Opportunity Assessment Emerging Regions / Countries Emerging Companies Emerging Applications / End Use Investment Landscape New Business Models / Revenue Streams TAM Market Trends Drivers Market Warning Factors Latest Macro Economic Indicators Geopolitical Impact Human Factors Technology Factors Market Assessment Porters Five Forces Analysis Value Chain Analysis Sales And Distribution Channel Analysis Case Study Analysis Patent Analysis M & A Agreements & Collabration Analysis ESG Trends Global Myocardial Infarction Market Size Analysis Global Myocardial Infarction Market Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value North America Market Analysis Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value U.S. By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Canada Europe Market Analysis Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value U.K. By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Germany France Spain Italy Russia Nordic Benelux Rest Of Europe Apac Market Analysis Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value China By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Korea Japan India Australia Taiwan South East Asia Rest Of Asia-Pacific Middle East And Africa Market Analysis Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value UAE By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Turkey Saudi Arabia South Africa Egypt Nigeria Rest Of MEA LATAM Market Analysis Introduction By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Brazil By Product Type Introduction Product Type By Value Analgesics By Value Antiplatelet Agents By Value Vasodilators By Value Thrombolytics And Anti-Thrombotic Agents By Value Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors By Value  Adrenergic Blockers By Value Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists By Value Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors By Value By Distribution Channel Introduction Distribution Channel By Value Hospitals By Value Hospital Pharmacies By Value Drug Stores By Value Online Drug Stores By Value Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia Rest Of LATAM Competitive Assessment Adoption Matrix Myocardial Infarction Market Share By Manufacturers Myocardial Infarction Market Ranking By Revenue For Manufacturers Average Price By Manufacturers Vendor Footprint Analysis Market Players Assessment Apotex Inc. Overview Business Information Revenue ASP Gross Margin Swot Analysis Recent Developmments AstraZeneca Bayer AG Boehringer-Ingelheim Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. Mylan N.V. Novartis AG Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. Pfizer Inc. Research Methodology Research Data Secondary Data Major Secondary Sources Key Data From Secondary Sources Primary Data Key Data From Primary Sources Breakdown Of Primaries Secondary And Primary Research Key Industry Insights Market Size Estimation Bottom-Up Approach Top-Down Approach Market Projection Research Assumptions Assumptions Limitations Risk Assessment APPENDIX Discussion Guide Customization Options Related Reports DISCLAIMER





Table of Content @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/myocardial-infarction-market/toc





News Media

Myocardial Infarction Market was Valued at USD 1,530.7 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 8.0%.





Have a Look at the Related Research Report

Cardiovascular Ultrasound (CVUS) Market : Information by Type (Transthoracic Echocardiography), Technology (2D, 3D/4D, Doppler (Display: B/W, Color)), End-Use, and Region  Forecast till 2030

Cardiovascular Needle Market : Information by Type (Round-bodied needles, Cutting needles), Application (Open heart surgery, Cardiac valve procedures), and Region- Forecast till 2030

Heart Pump Device Market : Information by Product (Ventricular Assist Devices, Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps), Type (Implantable Heart Pump Devices), Therapy, and Region  Forecast till 2031

Coronary Heart Disease Diagnostic Imaging Devices Market : Information by Modality (Computed Tomography, X rays), and Region- Forecast till 2030





About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd.

Straits Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision-making and ROI.

Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches.





For more information on your target market, please contact us below:

Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.)

+91 8087085354 (APAC)

+44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.)

Email: sales@straitsresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




BANGKOK, THAILAND --News Direct-- NaRaYa

NaRaYa, a leading lifestyle brand that manufactures and retails handbags and accessories to customers worldwide, has partnered with PChome, one of Taiwan's most prominent eCommerce platforms to bring its products to Taiwanese consumers. This collaboration with PChome will provide Taiwanese customers with easy access to NaRaYa's products with convenient logistics, as well as special promotions available exclusively on the platform.

NaRaYa is a leading Thai brand with over 15 branches worldwide. Headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, NaRaYa's products are handmade and produced by skilled local artisans from Thailand, where it is meticulously crafted using high-quality materials to offer exemplary products at reasonable prices. The company is constantly developing products to meet the ever-changing needs of consumers, and it also supports growth and economic development in local communities through job creation opportunities.

"As our customer base in Taiwan continues to grow, we see huge potential in this market. This business partnership with PChome will allow us to expand our reach to the Taiwanese market, giving customers more choices and convenience for their shopping experiences. In addition, this partnership will also provide us with a platform to market and sell our products, enhancing brand awareness among Taiwanese consumers, said Pasin Lathouras, Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of NaRaYa. Lathouras added, "With PChome as our trusted partner, NaRaYa is determined to expand our presence in this market and offer customers the best product and experience we can."

We are very excited about this partnership; Thai products are attractive by their great design, quality, and price, our goal is to bring Thai products to Taiwanese consumers, and we are glad that NaRaYa trusts us to offer their products through our platforms. With our well-known presence and strong technological foundation in Taiwan market, we believe NaRaYa is a perfect fit for us. This, in turn, will also assist NaRaYa in reaching more customers in Taiwan; it's a win-win situation," said Sam Tsai, Managing Director of PChomeThai.

Story continues

Highlights of the partnership:

 NaRaYa products are now available on PChome in Taiwan

 Expansion of NaRaYas business in the Taiwanese market

 Smooth logistics and seamless payment services & buyer protection policy

 Special promotions available exclusively on the PChome platform

For international partnership inquiries with NaRaYa, please get in touch with our export team at export@naraya.com

About NaRaYa

NaRaYa is a leading Thai brand with an extensive portfolio of products that appeal to a wide range of customers, including handbags, clothes, and accessories. Founded in 1989, NaRaYa has grown into one of the most well-known Thai brands, with over 15 branches worldwide. NaRaYa and its sub-brands are committed to producing high-quality products at affordable prices while supporting various social causes and local communities and pursuing a sustainable business to reduce its environmental impact. For more information about NaRaYa, please visit http://www.naraya.com/

About PChome Online & PChomeThai

The largest eCommerce group in Taiwan which was established in 1996 and publicly listed on Taiwan stock market in 2005 (stock symbol 8044.TWO) offers comprehensive eCommerce, logistics and FinTech services in Taiwan market. Operates 254,000 square meter warehouses and provides delivery service within 24 hours after an order is placed in the whole island-wide and delivery within 6 hours in the great Taipei area. In 2015, PChome Thai was established as a joint venture with Cal-Comp Electronics, a listed company in Thailand. PChomeThai ThaiShopping Service, is an overseas shopping service which dedicating in providing Thai products to Taiwanese consumers, with a full Chinese interface, direct fright free shipping from Thailand to Taiwan when an order reaches 490 THB. For more information about PChome, please visit https://www.pchome.co.th/tw

Contact Details

NaRaYa

export@naraya.com

Company Website

https://www.naraya.com/

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/naraya-partners-with-pchome-to-expand-into-the-taiwanese-online-market-584010770
Sacramento, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sacramento, California -

Nature's Rise, a leading natural health supplement provider, has just completed its landmark research study on the optimal dosage of Lion's Mane for different forms and diseases. Led by Sony Sherpa, the research took more than 12 months to complete and was conducted under the supervision of David Longacre, CEO of Nature's Rise.

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) is an edible mushroom that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. It has long been believed to have medicinal properties, but until now, the best dosage for different forms and diseases had not been explored in depth.

Lions Mane Dosage

Therefore, the Nature's Rise research was a comprehensive investigation into the effects of Lion's Mane supplementation on numerous forms and diseases. Drawing on data from over 1,000 different medical trials, Sony and her team worked to quantitatively analyze the benefits of Lion's Mane in treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.

The study found that recommended dosages ranged from 500 mg to 3000 mg per day, depending on the severity of the condition. Furthermore, they also discovered that taking Lion's Mane extract in combination with other natural remedies was more effective than just taking it alone. In addition, Nature's Rise found that Lion's Mane could improve cognitive function regardless of age or gender.

The results revealed that the most effective dosage of Lion's Mane depends on the form and purpose of consumption. For instance, when taken as an oral supplement, it is recommended to take between 500-1000 mg daily for optimal benefits. However, for those looking to consume Lion's Mane to treat neurological conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, higher doses of up to 3000mg per day may be required for maximum benefit.

"This research is the first of its kind," said Sony Sherpa, Lead Researcher at Nature's Rise. "By understanding the optimal dosage of Lion's Mane for different forms and diseases, we are helping our customers make more informed decisions when choosing supplements like Lion's mane mushroom powders or capsules."

Story continues

According to David Longacre, CEO of Nature's Rise, this research gives people access to information that can help them improve their overall health and well-being. He added: "Our goal is to make natural health products more accessible and easier to understand so that everyone can make the best decisions regarding their health."

Through their deep dive into the optimal dosage of Lion's Mane, Nature's Rise is again proving why they are a leader in the natural health supplement industry. In addition, their commitment to providing top-notch research and quality customer service ensures that customers get only the best from Nature's Rise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvTmY6l2qtw

Nature's Rise is a leading provider of high-quality natural health supplements. Founded in 2021 by David Longacre in Sacramento, California, Nature's Rise specializes in natural remedies focusing on holistic healing through nutrition and herbal medicine. The company's mission is to provide customers with safe, affordable, and effective natural health solutions to meet their individual needs. For more information about Nature's Rise and its products, please visit naturesrise.com.

###

For more information about Nature's Rise, contact the company here:



Nature's Rise

David Longacre

(866) 443-0966

sales@naturesrise.com

1401 21st Street Suite R

Sacramento, CA 95811

CONTACT: David Longacre




Nexyst 360's transport assets equipped with Nexxiot's Asset Intelligence technology revolutionize supply chain accountability

RICE, Minn. and MCKINNEY, Texas, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nexyst 360, an innovative grain transportation solution provider, has partnered with Nexxiot to digitalize its entire fleet of grain shipping containers with zero-maintenance IoT connectivity hardware. This enables real time transport intelligence across the entire journey, with user services made available through Nexyst 360's software solution - Traceable AG, LLC.

Nexyst 360 equipped shipping containers with Nexxiot's Asset Intelligence technology

Traceable AG, LLC links farmers, buyers, and retailers/consumers who use Nexyst 360's 'smart' NexBox container to drive higher standards in farm produce transportation and accountability. Nexxiot hardware and software, when combined with the NexBox container and Traceable AG platform, enables improved farm-to-consumer security, efficiency, and provenance monitoring and provides next-level quality assurance.

Nexyst 360 will deploy 5,000 of Nexxiot's Globehopper IoT gateways and Cargo Monitors (cargo condition monitoring sensors). These devices will enable Nexyst 360's / Traceable AG customers to benefit from the latest innovations in Asset Intelligence technology, including real time monitoring of location and cargo conditions. Stakeholders receive supply chain insights and customizable alerts around risks and events that require intervention based on real time data.

Nexyst 360's unique NexBox container and digital services are made available via the Traceable AG, LLC platform to increase food security and human safety from loading to delivery. By mounting Globehopper gateways to the containers exterior and including Cargo Monitors inside each container, Nexyst 360 makes it possible for its customers to achieve inside-out visibility of assets to optimize food supply chain processes and support the highest standards of food transportation in the world.

"This partnership with Nexxiot is an important milestone for Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC, as it encompasses the complete digitalization of our transatlantic fleet," said Robert Ankeny, Operations Manager and Partner at Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC. "We make it possible for our agricultural customers to maintain a high-quality product from the field to the point of delivery. We are the link between the farmers and the market, and this new capability sets the bar for grain transportation quality by focusing on accountability, transparency and speed," he said.

Story continues

These containers covered more than one million miles in the past five months, carrying over 11 million pounds (5 million kg) of grain and food products globally. The digitalization of this fleet is a significant step - supporting a deep commitment to quality control for the benefit of grain producers and consumers.

"We are changing the future of grain transportation and are excited that Nexxiot is able to equip our client's fleet to ensure visibility throughout the entire shipment journey," said Kenneth Mannka, Nexxiot's Executive Vice President of US Operations.

About Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG, LLC:

Nexyst 360 and Traceable AG link farmers, buyers, and consumers, providing a supply chain solution to meet the quality, traceability, market access, mobility, and insurability goals through technology-enabled processes. Our customers digitalized fleets ensure cargo visibility and quality across the entire lifecycle of transport. To learn more, visit www.nexyst360.com.

About Nexxiot:

Nexxiot is a TradeTech pioneer for Asset Intelligence with a mission to remove uncertainty and 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 can now 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.

Nexxiot (PRNewsfoto/Nexxiot)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexyst-360-selects-nexxiot-to-digitalize-5000-grain-transport-containers-301763421.html

SOURCE Nexxiot
Infosys research reveals a blueprint for the 21st century enterprise focused on live data, responsible risk-taking and product-centricity

BANGALORE, India, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 7% of companies have the correct combination of culture and operating structure to boost growth from digital technologies, according to new research from the Infosys Knowledge Institute, the thought leadership arm of Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting.

Infosys_Logo

Digital Radar: The Next Digital Frontier, surveyed 2,700 business executives across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India, and found that companies that make decisions based on high quality, transparent data and build a culture of responsible risk-taking are more likely to deliver profitable growth in today's tough macro-economic conditions. In addition, organizing around products, not process, gets new products to market faster, increasing early-mover advantage.

This research suggests three differentiators for success: use data internally, design organization culture to take responsible risks and organize the business around products. Companies that excel in these capabilities enjoy increased profit, brand perception, and employee as well as customer engagement. However, our report found that less than 10% of firms have mastered these three differentiators, highlighting significant opportunities for those that do.

Live Data: The report finds that only 5% of firms currently implement what it defines as a universal 'live data' approach. This is defined as data that is high-quality, timely, and readily available across the organisation. These data practices drive profit through better innovation and new product speed to market. For instance, companies that follow robust data practices for decision-making improved their new product introduction capability by as much as 85%.

Product-centricity: Companies that organize their teams around their product offerings, instead of business functions, are 50% more likely to be top performers in new product introduction and improve both employee and customer engagement significantly. Yet only half of respondent companies are currently organized in this way, highlighting a tremendous market opportunity.

Story continues

Responsible risk-taking culture: Finally, a company that takes responsible, considered risks, backed by live data, is more likely to create products faster, retain employees, and increase profit than those that do not. We identified five culture levers that can improve innovation fivefold: flexible leadership style, leadership and employee diversity, data-driven leadership, rapid test-and-learn, and encouraging risk-taking.

Together these findings further highlight that digital success is contingent on the way a company organizes itself around technology, rather than being something that can be delivered by technology alone.

Mohit Joshi, President, Infosys, commented; "We are at a time when businesses and consumers are facing change, tough macro-economic headwinds, and a challenging competitive environment. Leaders must see this period as an opportunity to think differently, unlock new structures and ways of working to drive much needed innovation and growth. Yet, in practice, very few businesses are accomplishing this. The opportunity lies in the hands of the C-suite to develop a 21st century enterprise that builds resilience, agility, and growth into their operating models."

Jeff Kavanaugh, VP and Global Head at Infosys Knowledge Institute, said; "The 2023 Digital Radar reveals a new frontier for business. It outlines three areas to spark innovation and bottom-line growth, showing that highly successful firms recognize the relationship between live data, product-centricity and a responsible-risk taking culture. These companies are a step ahead on their digital journey while caring for people and planet."

To read the full report, visit here.

Methodology

Infosys Knowledge Institute used an anonymous format to conduct an online survey of 2,700 business executives across industries across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, China, and India. To gain additional, qualitative insights, the researchers interviewed subject matter experts and business leaders. Linear regressions were then used to analyze which technologies and business practices correlate with profit and revenue growth.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Media contacts:

For more information, please contact: Dena Tahmasebi, Director of Communications EMEA, Infosys: Dena.Tahmasebi@infosys.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nine-out-of-ten-companies-lack-the-culture-and-organizational-structure-to-unlock-digital-growth-infosys-report-finds-301764345.html

SOURCE Infosys
Noema Pharma

Oversubscribed financing to support continued development of its diversified pipeline focused on central nervous system disorders



Nanna Luneborg, General Partner at Forbion and Rachel Mears, Partner at Jeito Capital to join Board of Directors

Multiple Phase 2b trials in orphan and mainstream CNS indications continue to advance



BASEL, Switzerland, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noema Pharma, a clinical-stage biotech company targeting debilitating central nervous system (CNS) disorders, announced that it has successfully closed an oversubscribed Series B financing round, raising CHF 103 million (approx. USD 112 million) from new and existing investors. The round was co-led by leading European healthcare focused investment firms Forbion and Jeito Capital. UPMC Enterprises and an additional new investor joined existing investors Sofinnova Partners, Polaris Partners, Gilde Healthcare and Invus to complete the round. Following the close of the Series B financing, Nanna Luneborg from Forbion and Rachel Mears from Jeito Capital will join the Board of Directors of Noema Pharma.

The proceeds of the Series B financing will be used to advance Noema Pharma's clinical-stage assets including its lead compound basimglurant (NOE-101), an mGluR5 inhibitor which is being evaluated in Phase 2b clinical trials for severe pain in Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC). The Company is also developing gemlapodect (NOE-105), a PDE10a inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 2b clinical trials for Tourette Syndrome and Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder (COFD) or Stuttering; and NOE-115, a Phase 2 ready triple reuptake inhibitor for Atypical Depression and Binge Eating Disorder.

"We are excited to announce the successful completion of this oversubscribed Series B financing round and very pleased to have a world-class group of investors supporting our vision of bringing much-needed treatments to those living with debilitating central nervous system disorders," said Luigi Costa, Chief Executive Officer of Noema Pharma. "We welcome our new investors who bring extensive expertise and knowledge of drug development and company building and add further strength to our robust investor base. This financing comes at a key time for Noema Pharma as we look forward to extensive news flow over the next 24 months.

Story continues

"We have been following Noema since inception and have been impressed by the quality and progress of Noema Pharmas clinical pipeline. We believe this is the right time to invest as the Company has started to generate very encouraging clinical data in indications of high unmet need and particularly with its lead asset basimglurant. We are therefore delighted to back Noema from our second Growth Opportunities Fund which focuses on investments in late-stage European drug development companies. We believe Noema to be at the forefront of a significant new wave of innovation in the field of central nervous system disorders which impact millions globally" explained Nanna Luneborg, General Partner at Forbion.

"One of the pillars of our investment strategy is to deploy capital in truly differentiated and innovative therapies with high unmet medical need," said Rachel Mears, Partner at Jeito Capital. "The research and clinical work being undertaken by Noema Pharma fit these criteria exactly. The dedication of the Noema team and the quality of their work is clear to see and positions the company as the upcoming global leader in its field."

As co-founders and initial investors of Noema Pharma, we are incredibly proud of what the company has accomplished since its inception, said Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners. Raising an oversubscribed funding round of this magnitude is a significant achievement, that further reinforces our conviction that Noema can make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from debilitating CNS disorders."

The Series B financing follows a CHF 54 million (approx. USD 60 million) Series A financing concluded in December 2020, led by Sofinnova Partners and Polaris Partners. Noema Pharma was founded in 2019 with a seed investment from Sofinnova Partners and four clinical stage assets in-licensed from Roche.

About Noema Pharma

Noema Pharma ( www.noemapharma.com ) is a clinical-stage biotech company targeting debilitating central nervous system (CNS) disorders characterized by imbalanced neuronal networks. The Company has a well differentiated pipeline with four mid clinical-stage therapeutic product candidates in-licensed from Roche. Noema currently has 3 active Phase 2b clinical trials in highly undertreated CNS conditions: seizures in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, severe pain in Trigeminal Neuralgia and Childhood Onset Fluency Disorder. The Company has completed a Phase 2a clinical trial in adult patients with Tourette Syndrome that is currently being extended with an adolescent cohort. The Company has also completed preclinical validation studies in Atypical Depression and Binge Eating Disorder. Noema Pharma was founded in 2019 by the leading venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners. Additional investors include Biomed Partners, Forbion, Gilde Healthcare, Invus, Jeito Capital, Polaris Partners, UPMC Enterprises, and an undisclosed investor.

Contacts

Noema Pharma

Michael Gutch, PhD

Chief Financial Officer

info@noemapharma.com Investors

LifeSci Advisors  Guillaume van Renterghem

gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com

+41 (0) 76 735 01 31








CHICAGO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American healthcare IT industry is expected to experience strong growth in the near future. The aging population, increased demand for healthcare services, and advancements in technology are driving the need for innovative healthcare IT solutions. As a result, the healthcare IT industry is expected to experience an accelerated rate of adoption of new and innovative healthcare IT solutions. The focus of the healthcare IT industry is on developing solutions that enable healthcare providers to provide better care at lower cost. This includes developing solutions that enable providers to manage patient data more efficiently, improve communication between providers and patients, and enable better decision making and data analysis. Additionally, there is a need for solutions that allow healthcare providers to better monitor and manage population health.

MarketsandMarkets Logo

North American Healthcare IT Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $193.2 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach $496.7 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 20.8% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Growth in this market is driven by the opportunities offered by the market such as growing inclination towards home healthcare, increasing deployment of cloud based EMR solutions. However, IT infrastructural constraints in developing countries and resistance from traditional healthcare providers are expected to challenge the growth of this market to a certain extent.

Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1190

Browse in-depth TOC on "North American Healthcare IT Market"

198 - Tables

47 - Figures

318 - Pages

North American Healthcare IT Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2022 $193.2 billion Estimated Value by 2027 $496.7 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 20.8% Market Size Available for 20202027 Forecast Period 20222027 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product & Services, Component, End user, and region. Geographies Covered US, Canada, Mexico Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Rising use of healthcare IT solutions in outpatient care facilities Key Market Drivers Growing need to curtail escalating healthcare costs

The services segment accounted for the largest share in the North American healthcare IT market, by component

The North American healthcare IT market, by component, is segmented into hardware, software, and services. In 2021, the services segment accounted for the largest market share. The growth of the services segment can be attributed to the complex software used in HCIT that require integration and interoperability, hence extensively trained professionals. Moreover, the software updates and upgrades, pertaining to the changing healthcare regulations, is further fueling the demand for HCIT services.

Story continues

By type, the clinical HCIT solutions segment registered the highest growth in the healthcare provider solutions market during the forecast period

The clinical HCIT solutions segment is projected to register the highest growth in the North American healthcare IT market. The increasing demand for improved patient safety and patient care, stringent regulations regarding healthcare providers are the major driver for the growth of this market.

Request for FREE Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=1190

North American Healthcare IT Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Growing need to curtail escalating healthcare costs Favorable government mandates and support for healthcare IT solutions Shift toward patient-centric healthcare delivery High returns on investments associated with healthcare IT solutions

Restraints:

High cost of deployment of healthcare IT solutions for small and mid-sized organizations

Opportunities:

Increasing use of healthcare IT solutions in outpatient care facilities Growing inclination towards home healthcare Increasing deployment of cloud based EMR solutions Growing blockchain, AI, and IoT markets Expanding mHealth, telehealth, and remote patient monitoring markets

Challenges:

Lack of integration of healthcare IT solutions Increased data security concerns Reluctance among medical professionals to adopt advanced healthcare IT tools Dearth of skilled IT professionals in healthcare industry

Key Market Players:

Cerner Corporation (US), Veradigm, Inc. (Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.) (US), Mckesson Corporation (US), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), Optum, Inc. (US), Oracle (US), Change Healthcare (US), Cognizant (US), GE Healthcare (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Epic Systems Corporation (US), Athenahealth (US), Infor (US), Dell Technologies, Inc. (US), CVS Health (US), IBM (US), EClinical Works (US), Nextgen Healthcare, Inc. (US), Greenway Health, LLC (US), Nvidia Corporation (US) are the major players in this market. These companies are majorly focusing on the strategies such as acquisitions, product launches, agreements, collaborations, partnerships, and expansions in order to remain competitive and further increase their share in the market.

Recent Developments

In October 2022, Optum acquired Change Healthcare. The acquisition will connect and simplify the core clinical, administrative, and payment processes that providers and payers depend on to serve patients, resulting in lower costs and a better experience for all stakeholders. The company announced plans to acquire Change Healthcare in 2021.

In June 2022, Cerner partnered with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. The Oracle Cerner EHR and Xealth's digital therapeutic distribution platform made it easier for Hazelden Betty Ford clinicians to personalize patient care by assigning them digital content, including therapeutic education, exercises, and workshops, accessible via the EHR's patient portal.

In March 2022, Cognizant (US)) collaborated with Microsoft (US). The collaboration aimed to deliver a new digital health solution to enhance remote patient monitoring and virtual health, utilizing products like smart watches, blood pressure monitors, and glucose meters to collect and communicate patient health data to providers for improved medical care.

Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=1190

North American Healthcare IT Market Advantages:

Highly Connected: North America has a highly connected and well-developed healthcare IT infrastructure, which enables healthcare providers to quickly and easily access digital health records, analyze data, and share information, providing better patient care.

Advanced Technologies: North America is leading in the development of advanced technologies, such as electronic health records, telemedicine, digital imaging, and artificial intelligence. This gives healthcare providers access to the latest tools to improve patient outcomes.

Streamlined Processes: Healthcare IT in North America has streamlined processes and improved efficiency, which saves time and money. This also improves the quality of care and reduces costs.

Quality Information: North American healthcare IT systems provide high-quality information and analysis, which supports decision-making and patient care.

Cost-Effective Solutions: North America provides cost-effective, innovative solutions to healthcare providers, resulting in improved patient care and lower costs.

High Security Standards: North American healthcare IT systems are highly secure, which helps protect patient data and privacy. This ensures patient safety and prevents unauthorized access to sensitive information.

North American Healthcare IT Market- Report Highlights:

SUMMARY OF CHANGES:

The competitive landscape chapter has been updated with the market evaluation matrix and an evaluation matrix for start-ups. The chapter also includes the revenue share analysis of the top players and the competitive scenario of the global market.

The impact of the recession has been included in the research methodology chapter.

Updated Financial Information/Product Portfolios of Players:

The new edition of the report provides updated financial information until 2021 for each listed company in a single diagram (instead of multiple tables). This will easily help analyze the present status of profiled companies in terms of their financial strength, profitability, key revenue-generating regions/countries, business segment focus in terms of the highest revenue-generating segments and R&D investments.

Updated Market Developments of Profiled Players:

Recent developments are important to understand the market trends and growth strategies adopted by players in the North American healthcare IT market. The current edition of this report provides updated developments of profiled players from January 2019 to January 2023, indicating a continuation of the previous version. Acquisitions, partnerships, and product launches have been the principal growth strategies adopted by market players during this period.

Related Reports:

eClinical Solutions Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare Analytics Market - Global Forecasts to 2027

Healthcare IT Integration Market - Global Forecasts to 2026

Healthcare Interoperability Solutions Market - Global Forecasts to 2026

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

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/north-america-healthcare-it-market.asp

Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/north-america-healthcare-it.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/north-american-healthcare-it-market-worth-496-7-billion--marketsandmarkets-301763086.html

SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Novotech

SINGAPORE, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novotech, the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO will be at BIO Europe (March 20-22, 2023) to meet with clinical-stage biotechs and to share the benefits of Novotechs recently expanded operations in Europe.



Novotech announced at JPMorgan this year that it had acquired EastHORN, a European CRO with clinical, medical and regulatory expertise in multiple strategically important locations across the continent.

EastHORN which is retaining its brand, is now a Novotech company and is integrating into Novotech systems and processes so clients benefit from working with one CRO globally.

The acquisition is part of Novotechs global expansion program. EastHORN was established in 2004 and has over 250 employees.

The acquisition of EastHORN, means biotech clients can access Novotechs unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase CRO services across Europe and the US, with a specialist focus on Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Novotech CEO Dr. John Moller said:

This acquisition is a strategic move to further expand our CRO operations and provide biotech clients with in-country expertise across Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe to deliver their global drug development programs.

We have been working together for many years and we share a culture of clinical excellence in biotech drug development.

Clients can now access our exceptional European infrastructure, local knowledge. site relationships and access to diverse patient populations.

Novotech has decades of biotech drug development experience, established site and investigator relationships, access to vast patient populations, and a project management approach focused on problem-solving, ownership and flexibility. Consistent investment in advanced training and technology combines to deliver an exceptional full-service biotech CRO solution.

Novotech has recently been recognised with significant CRO awards including the Asia-Pacific Biotech CRO of the Year by Frost & Sullivan, benchmarked as a top 10 CRO among the worlds leading CROs, a finalist in the prestigious Scrip awards, and has just been awarded the Gene & Cell Therapy Excellence Award.

Story continues

In Asia Pacific Novotech has more than 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements with major medical research institutions which deliver exclusive benefits for sponsors.

About Novotech Novotech-CRO.com

Novotech is the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities. Novotech is a clinical CRO with labs, phase I facilities, drug development consulting services and FDA regulatory expertise and has experience in over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. Novotech is positioned to serve biotech clients conducting clinical trials in Asia Pacific, the US and Europe. Novotech has over 3,000 staff globally and 33 office locations across the US, Europe and Asia Pacific.

For more information visit https://novotech-cro.com/contact

CONTACT: Media Contact David James communications@novotech-cro.com AU: +61 2 8218 2144 USA: +1 415 951 3228 Asia: +65 3159 3427




Qabil Ashirov

On March 7, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kurmangazy Center for the Development of Children's Creativity, which will be built and donated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, was held in the liberated city of Fuzuli, Azernews reports.

The special representative of Azerbaijans President for the Karabakh economic region Emin Huseynov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Serjan Abdikarimov, the Chairman of the executive company "BI-Group" Holding Aydin Rahimbayev and other authorities attended the event, which was held in accordance with the road map of the art school.

According to the project, the art school will be located in the city of Fuzuli with a total area of 1.5 ha. The construction area of the school will be 2708 sq.m., and it will consist of a 2-storey building, with 300 students each. Here, it is planned to organize education in the art of singing, carpet making, sculpture and jewelry arts, music and painting classes, as well as graphic design training for students.




Employees Surpass Goal with Additional Donation

EDMESTON, N.Y., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The NYCM Foundation announced a $50,000 donation to the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties in support of its mission to improve the quality of life for local residents in the areas of income, education, and health.

NYCM Insurance CFO/CRO/Treasurer Michael Perrino, NYCM Insurance First SVP Jeremy Robinson, United Way of Otsego and Delaware Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco, NYCM Insurance President/CEO Cheryl Robinson, and NYCM Insurance SVP of Risk Management.

NYCM Insurance President and CEO Cheryl Robinson said, "At NYCM, our purpose is to express and demonstrate genuine care for people's well-being so that others have hope for a better tomorrow and the courage to persevere. NYCM has always had a strong commitment to our local communities, and we are excited to strengthen our relationship with the United Way and demonstrate our genuine care."

In addition to the foundation's donation, NYCM Insurance employees surpassed their goal in fundraising for the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties. A total of $2,077 was donated by 130 employees across the state, surpassing their goal of $2,000. The company also held a "Lunch and Learn" info session on the United Way's impact, which was attended by 231 employees.

"Having NYCM's support this year is such a blessing," said United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco. "NYCM kicked it off with a corporate donation of $50,000 and I was stunned. Then employees began to donate, and they generously contributed more than $2,000. From the bottom of my heart I cannot thank everyone enough for their support and generous donations. Because of NYCM we have surpassed our goal for Otsego County, and we will be able to provide funding at a level higher than organizations have received in that community in several years."

Robinson added, "We felt it was a critical moment for NYCM to support our local United Way chapter. Reaching out to our local counties is important as there is currently a large gap in available funds with the needs of these communities which the United Way is uniquely positioned to meet."

Story continues

To learn more about the NYCM Foundation's support of community organizations, click here.

About NYCM. NYCM Insurance is a property and casualty insurance carrier that has been providing coverage to residents and businesses in New York since 1899. The company has grown tremendously over the last 120 years and is currently under the direction of founder VanNess Robinson's great-great-granddaughter, Cheryl Robinson. Aside from the Edmeston headquarters, NYCM Insurance has three additional offices in Sherburne, Canajoharie, and Orchard Park. With a team of over 850 employees, and a network of over 1,200 independent agents, NYCM Insurance is dedicated to providing superior service and a quality customer experience to their over 535,000 customers. Insurance lines include Home, Auto, Umbrella, and Business. NYCM Insurance is recipient of A.M. Best Company's Standing the Test of Time Award for maintaining an A rating for over 75-years. To learn more about NYCM's services, visit www.nycm.com.

Contact Information for Media Inquiries:

800-234-6926

media@nycm.com

NYCM Insurance Logo (PRNewsfoto/NYCM Insurance)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nycm-foundation-announces-50-000-donation-to-local-united-way-301764752.html

SOURCE NYCM Insurance
TORONTO, March 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Box Labs and the Ontario Pharmacists Association have announced an exciting advancement in their recently established partnership that makes OPA the lead investor in this innovative, cloud-based pharmacy management solution.

Box Labs and Ontario Pharmacists Association (CNW Group/Ontario Pharmacists Association)

Box Labs' simple, efficient, and powerful pharmacy suite automatically identifies new opportunities for enhancing patient care at booking, service provision and point of sale. Its unique, streamlined workflow lets clients register and complete all relevant forms online through the user-friendly service scheduling module. Clients can rest assured their data is securely and conveniently stored and will remain accessible directly within Box Labs' intuitive, cutting-edge platform.

"Box Labs is pleased OPA has joined as lead investor, accentuating the comprehensive value that a cloud solution like ours can deliver to pharmacies  here in Ontario and right across Canada," says Michael Demian, CEO of Box Labs. "This partnership with OPA focuses on creating a software suite that brings retail pharmacy into the twenty-first century by integrating digital tools, including a full dispensing suite, in our all-in-one platform, allowing pharmacies to do everything in a single place and remotely as well."

Pharmacy professionals are often patients' first, most frequent point of contact with the health care system, managing confidential information and meeting strict privacy, security, and governance requirements. Through Box Labs' highly customized approach, clients can also generate regular performance reports, helping to support increasingly effortless administrative tasks and records management from virtually anywhere in Canada. The end-to-end solution includes a specialized dashboard, a dedicated mobile app, and valuable point-of-sale features.

"We're thrilled to advance our partnership with Box Labs, highlighting that OPA is at the forefront of innovation for the benefit of our members and patients," notes Tim Brady, pharmacist and Chair of OPA's Board of Directors. "As health systems increasingly leverage pharmacy professionals' expertise and accessibility, digital health tools and applications like Box Labs drive agility and responsiveness. This ground-breaking partnership paves the way for more efficient delivery of services."

Story continues

About Box Labs

Box Labs is a first-of-its-kind cloud-based pharmacy management solution that automatically identifies new opportunities to provide better care for patients. With its streamlined workflow, clients can register and fill out all relevant forms online, with data securely and conveniently stored and accessible directly within the Box Labs platform. The cutting-edge platform also creates weekly performance reports to allow for effortless management from virtually anywhere. With a dashboard, mobile app, and point-of-sale features, Box Labs' pharmacy suite is simple, efficient, and powerful. To learn more about Box Labs, visit boxlabs.ca or contact Michael Demain directly at mdemian@boxlabs.ca.

About Ontario Pharmacists Association

The Ontario Pharmacists Association is committed to evolving the pharmacy profession and advocating for excellence in practice and patient care. OPA is Canada's largest advocacy organization, professional development, and drug information provider for pharmacy professionals across Ontario. By leveraging the unique expertise of pharmacy professionals, enabling them to practice to their fullest potential, and making them more accessible to patients, OPA is working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system. For more information, visit opatoday.com.

SOURCE Ontario Pharmacists Association

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2023/07/c1688.html
Oxford BioTherapeutics

Oxford BioTherapeutics wins Tech Company of the Year and Special Recognition Award at Thames Valley SME Growth 100 Awards

Oxford, UK and San Jose, Calif., 7 March 2023- Oxford BioTherapeutics Ltd. (OBT), a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology and Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC)-based therapies, announces it has been honoured with two prestigious awards: the Tech Company of the Year and the Special Recognition Award, at The Business Magazines fourth annual Thames Valley SME Growth 100 Awards. These awards celebrate the region's most active small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have grown significantly in the past year.

OBT was declared a double-award winner in recognition of its successful growth in 2022, which saw the company double both its turnover and headcount, and apply these additional resources to establish new R&D and clinical partnerships with major players in the international biotechnology space while simultaneously strengthening and extending its drug development pipeline.

The Tech Company of the Year award recognises exceptional use of technology to advance company objectives, improve communities and/or empower clients. OBT received this award for its application of cutting-edge technology approaches - including its proprietary OGAP platform, mass spectrometry and analytical biochemistry  in order to develop new therapeutics to treat unmet needs in cancer. The judges comments acknowledged OBT as An exemplary business in its field, specialising in immunotherapies for cancer, with significant rates of success and continued business growth in recent years, they scored highly across several award categories. Their advancements in using technology to innovate T cell therapies, harnessing immune cells to help cure cancer, are industry leading and quite remarkable.

The Special Recognition Award recognises a team, individual or company that has shown outstanding innovation, commitment, or achievement, while significantly contributing to the Thames Valley economy and the wider community. OBT received this award in recognition of its two-fold increase in revenue and number of employees in 2022; its successful progress of its own drug in Phase 1 clinical trials and its 17 partnered programmes with pharmaceutical companies through which it has two clinical molecules in a partnership with a major pharmaceutical company that are progressing well in the clinic. The judges honored OBT with their comments calling the Company Leaders in their field developing life-changing T cell therapies that help identify and target cancer cells and map their interaction with the T cells that help form our bodys own immune response  they are making truly ground-breaking advances on the pathway towards curing cancer. This companys ground-breaking achievements make them a very worthy winner.

Story continues

We are honoured to have received these awards, said Christian Rohlff, CEO at Oxford BioTherapeutics. The Thames Valley is one of the most important areas for biotech innovation in the UK, and we are privileged to be named as a leader in our field in the region. This has been made possible through the hard and enterprising work of our highly motivated team members, and their long-standing commitment to our shared goal of delivering innovative therapeutics to cancer patients.

Our business is about identifying new ways to tackle cancer and working with major pharmaceutical companies to develop therapies. What drives the company is the passion we all have for what we do. We are striving for the same thing: to help cancer patients who dont have other methods of treatment available to them, added Ben Thomas, Senior Vice President of Operations, and Lindsey Hudson, Senior Director of Business Development & Partnership Alliance at Oxford BioTherapeutics.

About Oxford BioTherapeutics

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) is a clinical stage oncology company based in Oxford (UK) and San Jose (USA); with a pipeline of first-in-class immuno-oncology (IO) and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) based therapies designed to fulfil major unmet patient needs in cancer therapeutics. These include bispecific, Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR-T), Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) and Antibody Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) therapeutics.

OBT's first clinical program, OBT076, initiated expansion in a U.S. Clinical Trial in 2021 in patients with advanced or refractory solid tumors, including gastric, bladder, ovarian and lung cancer, where CD205 is overexpressed. Infiltration of tumors by immunosuppressive cells correlates with adverse outcomes (lower progression free and overall survival), suggesting that this process contributes to the progression of several cancers.

OBTs proprietary OGAP target discovery platform is based on one of the worlds largest proprietary cancer membrane proteomic databases, with data on over 5,000 cancer cell proteins providing unique, highly qualified oncology targets, of which three programs are in clinical development in the USA and Europe. OBT's IO discovery process provides unique insights into the cancer-immune cell synapse and has identified several novel IO monoclonal and bispecific antibody candidates for cancer therapies.

OBTs pipeline and development capabilities have been validated through multiple strategic partnerships including with Boehringer Ingelheim, ImmunoGen, Genmab and our cell therapy research collaboration with Kite Pharma as well as other world leaders in antibody development (such as Amgen, WuXi, Medarex (BMS), Alere (Abbott), BioWa, and Nerviano). OBT has a strong oncology focused management team and board with significant experience in developing IO and antibody-based therapies.

For more information on Oxford BioTherapeutics, please visit www.oxfordbiotherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn

Investors:

Dr Christian Rohlff, CEO

christian.r@oxfordbiotherapeutics.com

Media:

MEDiSTRAVA Consulting

Eleanor Perkin, George Underwood, Sylvie Berrebi

E : OBT@medistrava.com

T : +44 (0) 203 928 6900 




WILMINGTON, N.C., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of entrepreneurially minded Veterans and Military Spouses from all over North Carolina and neighboring military installations will muster at the Patriot Franchise Expo in the Wilmington Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday (March 11-12, 2023, 10am5pm) to meet with America's leading franchise brands.

Lets do well together, by doing right by our nations heroes.

"Dozens of major franchise brands such as the Melting Pot, Snap-On Tools, Senior Helpers, and Ace Handyman Services will be on hand to explore post-military career opportunities with our nation's heroes and their spouses." said Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Schmiegel, Chief Executive Officer at ZeroMils. "Franchising truly enables Veterans to be in business for themselves, but not by themselves".

Approximately 17,000 service members exit the military and seek opportunities in the civilian sector.

25% of Post 9/11 Veterans say they want to start their own business, yet only 4% do.

97% of Franchisors report that Veterans have proven to be an excellent fit as franchise operators.

Veterans account for 14% of franchisees nationwide.

Over 500 franchise brands offer discounts to prospective Veteran candidates.

Veterans make great franchisees, and franchising is a gateway to small business ownership, prosperity and success for many of our nation's heroes.

In addition to showcasing America's top franchise brands, the Expo will also feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and several breakout educational sessions designed to educate Veterans and help them transition to their new mission.

VetFran, a strategic initiative of the International Franchise Association and the IFA Foundation based out of Washington DC will also be presenting at the Expo as a Liberty Sponsor. VetFran will be joined by Veteran friendly lenders who can assist with startup funding, and several local Veteran non-profits will be on hand to provide valuable resources for Veterans and their family members.

Story continues

"We are expecting 40 national franchise brands that represent hundreds of Veteran franchisees and employ thousands of Veterans and Military Spouses in communities nationwide" said CW4 (Ret) Stephen Davis, a Senior Partner with Patriot Expo, and Service-Disabled Veteran. "What better candidate to replicate a franchisor's proven roadmap for success than those that have already demonstrated the same for our country".

The Expo is Veteran centric and also open to the general public. There is no cost for Veterans and Military Spouses to attend. Interested? Please register at www.PatriotFranchiseExpo.com.

About Patriot Expo LLC

Patriot Expo LLC is a Florida based Joint Venture comprised of several Veteran owned companies joined together to assist military Veterans and military families achieve their dreams of entrepreneurship.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/patriot-franchise-expo-helps-veterans-transition-to-their-new-mission-301765015.html

SOURCE Patriot Franchise Expo
EMERYVILLE, Calif. , March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of International Women's Day, Peet's Coffee is continuing a beloved tradition: celebrating the founding of the company with a special Anniversary Blend that pays tribute to and supports women coffee growers.

Lucia Alvarez tends her farm as a recipient of Peets Coffees Mujeres to Market program, which supports female entrepreneurs in Columbia. Peets Coffee operates more than 30 Sourcing with Impact programs globally to benefit communities that are part of the companys supply network.

Peet's will donate a portion of every sale* of this year's Anniversary Blend to Mujeres to Market, an inaugural micro-financing program underwritten by Peet's to aid women growers in Huila, the southern coffee growing region of Colombia. The program is the culmination of a multi-year effort that began with the training of more than 100 women farmers in entrepreneurship thinking and business planning. Now the graduates of the training program will be eligible to apply for the new loans to fund their business ideas.

"What we love most is crafting great coffee and finding a way to support the people who grow it," said Phil Maloney, head of coffee purchasing at Peet's. "By diversifying their crops, the women growers are diversifying their income, making farming for them truly sustainable, providing year-round income, and leading to healthier families and communities."

The women farmers in the program are members of Coocentral, a farming cooperative in the department of Huila, high up in the Andes. The co-op created Mujeres Cafeteras (Women Coffee Makers), a brand of coffee grown only by its women members and committed to paying a premium price for the women's crop. Soon Peet's Coffee was buying the bulk of the Mujeres Cafeteras beans and looking for ways to further support the initiative.

"Learning was the thing I wanted most of my life," said Lucia Alvarez, who completed the Peet's training program. "Now I have expanded my farm from coffee only and I am selling eggs and a variety of vegetables at market."

Mujeres to Market is just one of more than 30 programs Peet's supports across the coffee-growing regions of the world, ranging from multi-stakeholder efforts to improve gender equity to supporting clinics and childcare facilities designed to help the families of coffee farm workers. In 2021, Peet's became the first coffee company to be verified for achieving 100 percent responsibly sourced coffee, according to the standards set by sustainability non-profit Enveritas. The groundbreaking achievement was the result of a multi-year process to verify the conditions and practices of the thousands of mostly small coffee farms in countries around the world that supply coffee to Peet's.

Story continues

Peet's opened its first coffee shop in Berkeley in April 1966 and celebrates its founding every year with a special Anniversary Blend. With this year's blend, the velvety chocolate of the Mujeres Cafeteras from the women growers in Colombia meets the juicy plum and aromatics of a coffee from Rwanda. The special blend will be available in Peet's coffee bars and online at peets.com for $22.95/pound through June.

* Peet's has pledged $50,000 to Mujeres to Market in 2023.

About Peet's Coffee

Peet's Coffee, part of JDE Peet's (JDEP.AS) the world's largest pure play coffee and tea company by revenue, is a U.S. specialty coffee company founded in March 1966 in Berkeley, California, by Alfred Peet. Peet pioneered the craft coffee movement in the U.S and his legacy lives on today in every cup whether ordered online, selected at a grocery store, or served in any one of more than 370 Peet's Coffee locations in the U.S. and China. Peet's Coffee is verified as 100 percent responsibly sourced, per Enveritas standards.

Images available here

In honor of International Women's Day, Peets Coffee is celebrating the founding of the company with a special Anniversary Blend that pays tribute to and supports women coffee growers.

Peet's Coffee is proud to support Mujeres to Market through the sales of their Anniversary Blend. Mujeres to Market is an inaugural micro-financing program underwritten by Peets to aid women growers in Huila, the southern coffee growing region of Colombia, and is just one of more than 30 programs Peets supports across the coffee-growing regions of the world

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peets-dedicates-annual-anniversary-blend-to-international-womens-day-launches-micro-financing-program-for-women-coffee-farmers-301764124.html

SOURCE Peet's Coffee Inc.
Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

The global potassium citrate market was valued at USD 787.20 million in 2022. It is projected to reach USD 1102.14 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.81% during the forecast period (2023-2031), Asia-Pacific is expected to hold the largest market share, owing to the increasing use of cosmetic products.

New York, United States, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The body needs potassium, a mineral present in many foods, to carry out a number of tasks, especially those involving the heart. Potassium salt and citric acid are combined to form potassium citrate , also referred to as tri-potassium citrate. It is primarily produced by neutralizing citric acid with potassium carbonate or potassium bicarbonate, followed by crystallization. The widespread use of potassium citrate as a food additive can simultaneously enhance bone and heart health. Additionally, renal tubular acidosis, a condition associated with kidney stones, is also treated with it. As an electrolyte, potassium citrate supports the regulation of muscle and nerve activity. Additionally, it has alkalizing effects on the body, which balance the pH levels in the urine. The market for potassium citrate is anticipated to grow as a result of the expanding processed food industry and rising demand for processed foods. Market expansion is anticipated to be assisted by rising urbanization, industrialization, and consumer demand for non-GMO potassium citrate products. Additionally, potassium citrate's exceptional qualities, such as its high chemical and microbiological stability, high water solubility, and outstanding biodegradability, fuel demand for this product on a global scale.

Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/potassium-citrate-market/request-sample

Numerous Applications of Potassium Citrate Drives the Market

The numerous industries it is used in will likely lead to an increase in demand for potassium citrate. Potassium citrate is primarily used as an acidity control agent in the food and beverage industry. Additionally, it is used to preserve processed foods like sugar, syrups, and fish products. It also appears in alcoholic and dairy-based beverages. The pharmaceutical and personal care industries are two of the major ones that use potassium citrate extensively. Potassium citrate supports a number of bodily processes, including the healthy operation of many organs, as well as cardiovascular health. Potassium citrate is suitable for vegans to consume because it is GMO-free. Potassium citrate is anticipated to experience an increase in demand due to its numerous diverse applications.

Story continues

Increasing Cases of Chronic Kidney Diseases give an Opportunity for Exponential Growth

The leading cause of death in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is cardiovascular disease, which is much more likely to affect people with kidney disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for dialysis patients, with rates 1020 times higher than in the general population. CKD can also be brought on by HIV infection, exposure to toxins, or heavy metals. It is frequently caused by high blood pressure or diabetes. The underlying cause of someone's CKD can occasionally remain a mystery. Scientists' estimates indicate that 14% of Americans suffer from CKD. Potassium citrate is utilized to treat a kidney stone condition known as renal tubular acidosis. It's also used to prevent kidney stones from forming as a result of gout. The urine is alkalinized by potassium citrate. It works by increasing the urine's alkalinity (less acid).

Report Scope

Report Metric Details Market Size USD 1102.14 Million by 2031 CAGR 3.81% (2023-2031) Historical Data 2020-2021 Base Year 2022 Forecast Period 2023-2031 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Function, End-User Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, LAME and Rest of the World Key Companies Profiled/Vendors Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd, Evonik Industries AG, BASF SE, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Baker Hughes Incorporated, FBC Industries Inc., Cargill Incorporated, The International Group Inc, American Tartaric Products Inc, Jungbunzlauer Company, Foodchem International Corporation, Tate & Lyle. Key Market Opportunities Increasing Cases of Chronic Kidney Diseases Key Market Drivers Numerous Applications of Potassium Citrate

Buy Now Full Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/buy-now/potassium-citrate-market





Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific is the highest contributor in the global potassium citrate market and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of XX% during the forecast period due to the rising popularity of cosmetic products like sunscreen, lotions, creams, and makeup, where potassium citrate is used in food, drinks, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The region's market is also expected to grow as a result of the rising use of potassium citrate in pet food and feed as a systemic alkalizer for pH buffering, potassium fortification, and enhancement of stability and complexity. The U.S. Meat Export Federation predicts that as living standards rise and consumption habits change, China's average annual meat consumption will rise by 20 kg or more.

Due to rising consumer demand for various skin care products like peels, creams, and face masks, particularly in the United States, North America is expanding significantly. Additionally, according to The NPD Group, Inc., the prestige beauty market in the United States reached USD 18.8 billion in 2018, representing a 6% increase in sales over 2016.

Due to the region's robust healthcare infrastructure and ongoing improvements, Europe is seeing strong growth in the global potassium citrate market. Government support, expanding healthcare spending, and favorable reimbursement practices all contribute to the market's expansion in Europe.

During the forecast period, the LAMEA region is anticipated to experience consistent growth. One of the main things preventing growth in the area is poor economic development. The lack of government support and resulting lack of information are also impeding market expansion in the LAMEA region.

Key Highlights

The global potassium citrate market size was valued at USD 787.20 million in 2022 . It is projected to reach USD 1102.14 million by 2031 , growing at a CAGR of 3.81% during the forecast period (2023-2031).

Based on function , the global potassium citrate market is bifurcated into emulsifiers, acidulants, and diuretics. The emulsifier segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a Higher CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on end-use , the global potassium citrate market is bifurcated into food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, personal care, industrial, and others. The food and beverage segment is the highest contributor to the market and is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific is the highest contributor to the global potassium citrate market and is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period

Get a Free Sample Copy of This Report @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/potassium-citrate-market/request-sample

Competitors in Potassium Citrate Market

The global potassium citrate market's major key players are

Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. (Israel)

Evonik Industries AG (Germany)

BASF SE (Germany)

Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.)

Baker Hughes Incorporated (U.S.)

FBC Industries Inc. (U.S.)

Cargill Incorporated (U.S.)

The International Group Inc. (Canada)

American Tartaric Products Inc. (U.S.)

Jungbunzlauer Company (Switzerland)

Foodchem International Corporation (China)

Tate & Lyle (U.K).

Segmentation of Potassium Citrate Market

By Function

Emulsifier

Acidulant

Diuretic

By End-Use

Food & Beverage

Pharmaceuticals

Personal Care

Industrial

By Regions

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

LAMEA

Table of Content

Executive Summary Research Scope & Segmentation Research Objectives Market Definition Limitations & Assumptions Market Scope & Segmentation Currency & Pricing Considered Market Opportunity Assessment Emerging Regions / Countries Emerging Companies Emerging Applications / End Use Investment Landscape New Business Models / Revenue Streams TAM Market Trends Drivers Market Warning Factors Latest Macro Economic Indicators Geopolitical Impact Human Factors Technology Factors Market Assessment Porters Five Forces Analysis Value Chain Analysis Raw Material Analysis Sales And Distribution Channel Analysis Trade Analysis M & A Agreements & Collaboration Analysis Export-Import Analysis Cost Structure Analysis ESG Trends Global Potassium Citrate Market Size Analysis Global Potassium Citrate Market Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value North America Market Analysis Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value U.S. By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Canada Europe Market Analysis Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value U.K. By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Germany France Spain Italy Russia Nordic Benelux Rest Of Europe APAC Market Analysis Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value China By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Korea Japan India Australia Taiwan South East Asia Rest Of Asia-Pacific Middle East And Africa Market Analysis Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value UAE By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Turkey Saudi Arabia South Africa Egypt Nigeria Rest Of MEA LATAM Market Analysis Introduction By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Brazil By Function Introduction Function By Value Acidulant By Value Emulsifier By Value Diuretic By Value Others By Value By End-User Introduction End-User By Value Food & Beverage By Value Pharmaceuticals By Value Personal Care By Value Industrial By Value Others By Value Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia Rest Of LATAM Competitive Assessment Adoption Matrix Potassium Citrate Market Share By Manufacturers Potassium Citrate Market Ranking By Revenue For Manufacturers Average Price By Manufacturers Vendor Footprint Analysis Market Players Assessment Gadot Biochemical Industries Ltd. (Israel) Overview Business Information Revenue ASP Gross Margin Swot Analysis Recent Developments Evonik Industries AG (Germany) BASF SE (Germany) Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.) Baker Hughes Incorporated (U.S.) FBC Industries Inc.(U.S.) Cargill Incorporated (U.S.) The International Group Inc.(Canada) American Tartaric Products Inc.(U.S.) Jungbunzlauer Company (Switzerland) Foodchem International Corporation (China) Tate & Lyle (U.K) Research Methodology Research Data Secondary Data Major Secondary Sources Key Data From Secondary Sources Primary Data Key Data From Primary Sources Breakdown Of Primaries Secondary And Primary Research Key Industry Insights Market Size Estimation Bottom-Up Approach Top-Down Approach Market Projection Research Assumptions Assumptions Limitations Risk Assessment APPENDIX Discussion Guide Customization Options Related Reports DISCLAIMER

Table of Content and Figure @ https://straitsresearch.com/report/potassium-citrate-market/toc

Recent Developments

In June 2022 , BASF SE launched a new biopolymer for smoother skin called VerdessenceTM RiceTouch.

In September 2022 , Cargill Incorporated launched Plant-based dielectric cooling for data centers.

In September 2022, FBC Holding launched an exclusive NFT project.

News Media

Increasing Consumption of Processed Food in Europe to Drive the Global Potassium Citrate Market

Have a Look at the Related Research Report

Potassium Carbonate Market : Information by Product Type (Electrolysis Method, Ion Exchange Method, Ash Method),Application, and Region Forecast till 2026

Persulfates Market : Information by Type (Ammonium Persulfates, Sodium Persulfates, Potassium Persulfates), End-Use, and Region  Forecast till 2030

Chondroitin Sulfate Market : Information by Source (Bovine, Poultry, Swine), Application (Nutraceuticals, Pharmaceuticals, Animal Feeds), and Region  Forecast till 2030

Strontium Market : Information by Product (Strontium Carbonate, Strontium Sulfate, Strontium Nitrate, Others), Application (Electrical and Electronics), and RegionForecast till 2031

Titanium Dioxide Market : Information by Grade (Anatase and Rutile), Production Process (Sulfate and Chloride), and Region  Forecast till 2030

About Straits Research Pvt. Ltd.

StraitsResearch is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt. Ltd. provides actionable market research data, especially designed and presented for decision-making and ROI.

Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches.

For more information on your target market, please contact us below:

Phone: +1 646 480 7505 (the U.S.)

+91 8087085354 (APAC)

+44 208 068 9665 (the U.K.)

Email: sales@straitsresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter




Municipality Finance Plc

Municipality Finance Plc

Stock Exchange Release

7 March 2023 at 11:00 am (EET)

Proposals to the Annual General Meeting of Municipality Finance Plc

Municipality Finance Plcs (hereinafter MuniFin) Board of Directors (the Board) and the Shareholders Nomination Committee (the Nomination Committee) have made the following proposals to the Annual General Meeting (the AGM) convening on 28 March 2023 at 10:00 am (EET).

Use of profit shown on the balance sheet and the distribution of dividend

MuniFin has distributable funds of EUR 365,774,616.34 of which the profit for the financial year totaled EUR 138,060,709.21. The Board proposes to the AGM that a dividend of EUR 1.73 per share, totaling EUR 67,580,370.54 shall be distributed based on the balance sheet to be adopted for 2022.

MuniFins profit for the financial year is very good. The Board considers the proposed payment of dividend justified. MuniFin clearly fulfils all the prudential requirements set to it. No substantial changes in the companys financial position have occurred after the end of the financial year and the Board estimates that the distribution of dividends will not place the fulfilment of the capital requirements or the company's liquidity in jeopardy nor is it incompatible with the legislation applicable to MuniFin.

The dividends will be paid to shareholders who are recorded in the company's list of shareholders on 4 April 2023. The Board proposes that the dividends be paid on 13 April 2023.

Remuneration and composition of the Board

The Nomination Committee proposes to the AGM the following remuneration of the Board for the term from the closing of the 2023 AGM to the closing of the next AGM (the Term 20232024):

annual fixed remuneration of a Board member EUR 24,000;

annual fixed remuneration of the Vice Chair of the Board EUR 27,500;

annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Risk or Audit Committee EUR 29,500;

annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Board EUR 42,000; and

for each Board and committee meeting as well as for each meeting required by the authorities, to the members, a fee of EUR 600 per meeting attended and to the chairs, EUR 950 per meeting attended.





Story continues

The proposed remuneration means an increase of EUR 2,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of the Chair of the Board, an increase of EUR 1,500 to the annual fixed remuneration of the Vice Chair of the Board and the Chairs of the Risk and Audit Committees and an increase of EUR 1,000 to the annual fixed remuneration of a Board member. The proposal will also increase the meeting fees by EUR 150 for the chairs of the Board and its committees and by EUR 100 for other positions.

The Nomination Committee proposes to the AGM that eight members will be elected to the Board for the Term 20232024. The Nomination Committee proposes that the following current members will be re-elected: Mr. Kari Laukkanen, Ms. Maaria Eriksson, Mr. Markku Koponen, Mr. Tuomo Makinen, Ms. Minna Smedsten, Mr. Denis Strandell and Ms. Leena Vainiomaki. In addition, the Nomination Committee proposes that Mr. Arto Vuojolainen will be elected to the Board as a new member. Ms. Vivi Marttila, a current member of the Board, is no longer available to the Board for the next term.

Arto Vuojolainen is the Operational and Financial Director of the City of Tampere. Before his current employer, Vuojolainen worked for a long time in various banks in expert and management positions related to credit granting and customer relations.

The Nomination Committee proposes to the Board to be elected by the AGM to reappoint Kari Laukkanen as the Chair and Maaria Eriksson as the Vice Chair.

Election and remuneration of the auditor

The Board proposes to the AGM to re-elect KPMG Oy Ab as the companys auditor for the Term 20232024. KPMG Oy Ab has announced that in the event they are elected as the companys auditor, Ms. Tiia Kataja, APA, will act as the principal auditor. Tiia Kataja has acted as the principal auditor during the previous term as well. The Board proposes to the AGM that the auditors fees will be paid against reasonable invoices.

Election of the auditor for the term commencing in 2024

The Board proposes that the AGM takes note of the Audit Committees recommendation concerning the election of the auditor for the term commencing in 2024 and the Boards proposal, which was made based on the recommendation, on the election of the auditor to the AGM of to be held next year, i.e. in 2024.

For the term commencing in 2024, the company is required to arrange the election of the Auditor in accordance with the selection process for an audit firm as referred in the EU Audit Regulation (Regulation) due to mandatory rotation required by the Regulation. The Boards Audit Committee launched the tendering process required by the Regulation in April 2022 and completed it at the end of 2022 and gave its recommendation to the Board on the auditor for the term commencing in 2024. As the Audit Committee has already issued its recommendations for the term commencing at the end of the AGM 2024, and the Board has decided to make a proposal to the AGM 2024 in accordance with the Committee's proposal, the Board has considered it best to bring the Committee's recommendation and the proposal of the Board to the attention of shareholders without delay already at the AGM 2023.

Thus, the Board will propose to the AGM 2024 based on the Audit Committees recommendation that PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy will be elected as the Auditor for the term beginning from the election and ending to the closing of the next AGM, i.e., the AGM 2025.

Dividend policy

The Board proposes to the AGM that the AGM adopts a dividend policy to the company. In accordance with the proposed dividend policy in the coming years MuniFin aims to pay 30-60% of the Groups financial years profit for in dividends. However, dividend distribution must not jeopardize MuniFins solvency, liquidity or its ability to meet the commitments.

The proposal for the dividend policy is based on the core mission of MuniFin, which is to ensure, in all market conditions, the accessibility and affordability of financing for its limited customer base with a public service mission. MuniFins target is to maintain a sufficient profit level, which ensures both carrying its core mission in the long term and fulfilling the owners proportionate expectations for revenue.

Incorporation of MuniFins shares in a book-entry system and amendments to the articles of association

A) Incorporation of MuniFins shares in a book-entry system and the required amendments to the articles of association





The Board proposes that the AGM decides on incorporating the shares of MuniFin in the book-entry system maintained by Euroclear Finland Oy as well as the amendments to MuniFins articles of association required by the incorporation. In addition, the Board proposes that the AGM authorizes the Board to decide on the registration period, after which the shares of the company will be in the book-entry system.

The following amendments to the articles of association are proposed in order to incorporate the shares to the book-entry system:

A reference of the shares of the company being incorporated into a book-entry system after the end of a registration period defined by the Board is proposed to be added to the article three.

The sentence The consent clause must be noted on the share certificates and in the register of shareholders, as well as on any temporary certificates and subscription right certificates is proposed to be deleted from the consent clause in article four.

The sentence The redemption clause must be noted on the share certificates and in the register of shareholders, as well as on any temporary certificates and subscription right certificates is proposed to be deleted from the redemption clause in article five.

The article 13 concerning the summons to general meeting is proposed to be reworded as follows The summons to a General Meeting shall be delivered in writing by publishing it on the companys website, by sending it to the e-mail addresses as notified by each shareholder to the company, by sending it by post to the address entered to the shareholder register or by publishing it in a publication specified by the Board of Directors. The summons to a General Meeting must be delivered at the earliest three months before the General Meeting and at the latest one week before the record date of the General meeting. The last date for advance notices of participation shall be mentioned in the summons of a General Meeting.

B) Other amendments to the articles of association





The Board proposes that the AGM also decides on the following amendments to the articles of association:

The article two of the articles of association concerning the companys line of business states that the company serves the whole Finnish municipal sector, and particularly the corporations as referred to in Section 1 of the Act on the Municipal Guarantee Board. The section is proposed to be amended to the company serves the corporations as referred to in Section 1 of the Act on the Municipal Guarantee Board.

The article eight of the articles of association states that the Managing Director, the Deputy Managing Director and company officers may only belong to another companys management with permission from the Board of Directors of Kuntarahoitus Oyj. The reference to company officers is proposed to be replaced by the words persons reporting directly to the Managing Director.

In addition, the Board proposes that small technical amendments will be made to the articles of association.

The invitation to the AGM, including relevant appendices, is available on MuniFins website in Finnish.

MUNICIPALITY FINANCE PLC

Further information:



Esa Kallio

President and CEO

tel. +358 50 337 7953

MuniFin (Municipality Finance Plc) is one of Finlands largest credit institutions. The company is owned by Finnish municipalities, the public sector pension fund Keva and the Republic of Finland. MuniFin Group also includes the subsidiary company, Financial Advisory Services Inspira Ltd. The Groups balance sheet totals close to EUR 48 billion.

MuniFin builds a better and more sustainable future with its customers. MuniFins customers include municipalities, joint municipal authorities, wellbeing services counties, corporate entities under their control, and non-profit organisations nominated by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA). Lending is used for environmentally and socially responsible investment targets such as public transportation, sustainable buildings, hospitals and healthcare centres, schools and day care centres, and homes for people with special needs.

MuniFins customers are domestic but the company operates in a completely global business environment. The company is an active Finnish bond issuer in international capital markets and the first Finnish green and social bond issuer. The funding is exclusively guaranteed by the Municipal Guarantee Board.

Read more: www.munifin.fi




Following Management Buyout, Qorvis Puts Focus on Delivering Influence and Capital to Global Clients

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Qorvis announces the relaunch of the global advisory and strategic communications agency's brand, combining a 20-year legacy with new markets and expanded capabilities to more effectively serve clients in the face of an increasingly volatile geopolitical climate and economy.

Qorvis

The relaunch comes following the management buyout announced December 31, led by long-time Qorvis executive Matt J. Lauer.

"We are a reborn agency, with a unique offering at the nexus of influence and capital," says Lauer, who serves as the new chief executive officer after nearly two decades at Qorvis. "We have the reach and resources to help clients accelerate growth, secure capital, and influence outcomes in the markets that matter most."

In addition to a refreshed brand, the Qorvis relaunch includes:

Two new primary hubs in Geneva and Dubai, in addition to the Washington, D.C. HQ and a presence in additional global business and policy centers.

Three purpose-built practice groups: Strategic Communications, Geopolitical Solutions, and Market Intelligence & Compliance, a new offering to help corporations navigate the increasingly complex financial and regulatory environment, access capital markets, and communicate with transparency.

New capabilitiesincluding capital and financial transaction compliance and transparency solutions, and branded news and premium contentas well as expanded advocacy, strategic communications, creative, and digital services.

"I'm excited to return to Qorvis, which has been reimagined with an unmatched global outlook, and expanded set of capabilities," says Richard Silipigni, who will lead global business development efforts from the D.C. office. "We offer the creativity, dynamism, and agility of a startup, with the depth of expertise of a 20-year brand, and we plan to leverage our position to continue to serve both existing and new clients and markets worldwide."

Story continues

The management team includes:

Matt J. Lauer, Chief Executive Officer: With Qorvis since 2004, Lauer founded the agency's public diplomacy brand and manages communications campaigns for multinational corporations and sovereign governments. In the aftermath of 9/11, he served as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the Department of State under Secretary Colin L. Powell, and he advises the board of Mercuria Energy Trading, one of the largest commodities traders in the world, as global head of public affairs.

Maria Jose Abad, Chief Operating Officer: Previously a vice president at Qorvis, for over a decade she has advised consumer and corporate clients and sovereign governments on strategic communications and event management in Europe, Africa, and South America. Originally from Ecuador, she's been named among Huffington Post's 40 Top Latinos in American Media, 50 Top Latino Voices to Follow on Twitter, and 7 Young Latinos in Online Media.

Samantha Sault, Chief Editorial Officer: Sault joined the buyout after founding The Samantha Sault Agency, which provides bespoke editorial content and branded newsrooms to clients worldwide. She has 15 years of experience in media and communications in D.C. and Geneva, notably as vice president of communications for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and an editor in the World Economic Forum's Davos content newsroom. A Hachette Book Group author, she began her career as a digital editor at The Weekly Standard.

Richard Silipigni, Chief Development Officer: After leading the strategy behind the inception, growth, and ultimate acquisition of Bluetext, one of the top digital agencies in the U.S., Silipigni returns to Qorvis to lead business development and leverage the agency's global footprint to expand its digital-first branding, marketing, and policy communication strategies into new markets. Previously, he held top sales positions with WTOP Radio and the Washington Redskins.

Ozkan Yilmaz, Chief Financial Officer: Yilmaz is a highly experienced professional in the banking and energy trading industries. He has spent a significant portion of his career working for ING Bank, holding various positions in New York, London, and Amsterdam. He also held a leadership role at Mercuria Energy Trading as Vice President of Investments, and he is a CFA charterholder.

Grace Fenstermaker, Managing Partner, EMEA: In her return to Qorvis, Fenstermaker oversees campaigns for sovereign governments and multinational corporations from Dubai, primarily in the energy and banking sectors. She has served as a public affairs advisor to SOCAR Trading, Wellbred Trading, and Novum Energy. She was a media strategy advisor to Egypt's Office of the Presidential Spokesperson during the country's 2014 election and began her career at Fox News.

Brad Klapper, Managing Partner, Washington, D.C.: Previously a senior vice president at Qorvis, Klapper has advised foreign ministers, ambassadors, CEOs, and global religious leaders on communications, strategy, and geopolitical dynamics. Previously, he was an award-winning writer and editor at The Associated Press, covering the biggest stories in world affairs and reporting from more than 70 countries.

For more information, visit www.qorvis.com.

Our New Address:

The National Press Building

529 14th St NW, Suite 1101

Washington, D.C. 20045

+1-202-725-5623

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qorvis-relaunches-brand-with-new-markets-expanded-capabilities-301764264.html

SOURCE Qorvis Communications
RMC secures digital currency mining industry leader Neil Galloway as new COO and increases sales team with two industry veterans.

JACKSON, Wyo., March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebel Mining Company (RMC), an industry- leading operator of Blockchain and High-Performance Computing Data Centers, announced today the hiring of three highly experienced industry professionals. Neil Galloway, a seasoned leader in cryptocurrency mining, now serves RMC as Chief Operating Officer, replacing Mason LeGrange as LeGrange steps into a new position at RMC's parent company Pangaea General Management (PGM). The addition of Tyler Abad and Max Niederluecke as Senior Account Executives, also strengthen RMC's place as a premier US-based data center operator.

Rebel Mining Company recently secured three mining industry veterans. Pictured, from left: Max Niederluecke, Senior Account Executive; Neil Galloway, Chief Operating Officer and Tyler Abad, Senior Account Executive. As it continues to expand, Rebel Mining Company's focus is to further deepen its core competencies to serve large-scale operators as well as high-net-worth family offices within the mining industry.

"Neil is arguably the single most capable, experienced operator in the space, and we are excited to have him running the operations at RMC. Under his command, we can all rest assured that there are adults in the room making sure things get done correctly and on schedule, something this industry needs more of." Said Thomas Guel of PGM.

Neil Galloway, a true industry veteran, has been operating in digital currency mining since 2013. Having operated nearly every ASIC model since, Neil rapidly accelerated his way through the mining industry, working with industry leaders and operating some of the largest sites in this space. As a well-respected professional within the large-scale mining industry, his move to RMC signals the company's momentum and exciting trajectory.

"Rebel Mining Company understands the value in the underlying infrastructure that powers the Bitcoin network," explains Neil. "Owning every aspect of the infrastructure gives us a great amount of control over the operational quality we can provide miners. I'm confident in our ability, and I'm excited to deploy hash power with such a capable and skilled team."

RMC's new sales team hires will further deepen Rebel's ability to provide top-level consultation and service to every RMC client. Tyler Abad, an experienced mining operator in his own right, is uniquely positioned to assist potential and current customers. His work in the legal, government, financial and technical sectors provide him with a broader understanding of customer needs, creating a significantly higher level of support. Max Niederluecke is a seasoned industry expert that has successfully onboarded over 500 megawatts worth of commercial colocation contracts. Having navigated some of the largest deals in this space, Max is uniquely positioned to provide seamless support for even the most complicated deals.

Story continues

As it continues to expand resources, RMC's focus is to further deepen its core competencies to serve large-scale operators as well as high-net-worth family offices within the mining industry.

About Rebel Mining Company.

Rebel Mining Company (RMC) is a US-based operation strategically developed to support the rapidly growing Blockchain and High-Performance Computing (HPC) industry through power infrastructure, co-location sites, and network solutions that can support and propel any project through this hyper-growth field.

To discover more about RMC, visit: https://rebelmines.io/.

Rebel Mining Company is an industry-leading operator of Blockchain and High-Performance Computing Data Centers serving large-scale operators and high-net-worth family offices within the mining industry.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rebel-mining-company-solidifies-foothold-as-industry-leader-in-digital-currency-colocation-space-with-new-hires-301762850.html

SOURCE Rebel Mining Company, LLC
Recharge Resources Ltd.

Figure 1

Recharges QP Phil Thomas at Ekosolve Testing Facility  Melbourne, Australia

Figure 2

Dec, 2022 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Figure 3

2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Figure 4

2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Figure 5

Pocitos 1 and Pocitos 2 blocks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recharge Resources Ltd. ("Recharge" or the "Company") (RR: CSE) (RECHF: OTC) (SL5: Frankfurt) announced today that its brine samples containing 161ppm lithium taken from the companys 2022 DDH3 drill program at the Pocitos lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina, have arrived at the Ekosolve Testing Facility at the University of Melbourne.



The lithium will now be extracted using the Ekosolve 10 stage extraction, washing and stripping process to produce battery grade lithium chloride, as contemplated as the end product under the offtake LOI between Recharge and Richlink Capitals clients.

This study will also act as a pre-engineering step for Ekosolve Extraction performance and to test recovery, in consideration for full sized plant scale-up of 10,000-20,000 tonnes per year Ekosolve Lithium Brine Extraction plant implementation at the Pocitos project, under the companys technology licensing agreement announced on September 27th, 2022.

Recharges QP Phil Thomas at Ekosolve Testing Facility  Melbourne, Australia





Figure 1. Recharges QP Phil Thomas at Ekosolve Testing Facility  Melbourne, Australia

Please click to view image



The Ekosolve Lithium Solvent Exchange Extraction process can efficiently manage the processing of lithium brines to produce lithium carbonate with a grade higher than 99.2% and a recovery of 97%, far exceeding any ion exchange or adsorption process available to date. Ekosolve is licensed from the University of Melbourne, Australia and Ekosolve Ltd is the exclusive master licensee.

The key advantage of the Ekosolve system is the exceptionally high lithium yield with past yields of 93%-96% and 97.5% of the solvent being reclaimed. Other systems such as adsorption may achieve 72-80% yield, fractional crystallization of 50-70%, and membranes and ion exchange up to 70-90%. In adsorption and ion exchange systems, extra processes may be required to manage the magnesium and boron in the brines whereas this is not an issue with the Ekosolve process. Hence the capital expenditure and operating costs are anticipated to be substantially reduced. A significant benefit, evaporation ponds are not required, providing a more eco-friendly solution.

Story continues

The study has cost Recharge USD $34,000 and will take place over the next four weeks.

Learn more about the Ekosolve process on Recharges website here https://recharge-resources.com/technology/

Ekosolve pre-engineering studies have shown that provided brine flow exceeds 35,000 megalitres per year, 110ppm lithium content and above have been deemed economic. Recharge successfully completed a 2022 drill campaign at Pocitos 1 assaying 169 PPM and over a two-week period averaging 161 PPM Lithium. Further surface pit samples taken from the recently acquired contiguous Pocitos 2 project sampled 181 PPM lithium, the highest lithium value found on the Pocitos salar to date. All three drill holes at the project have had exceptional brine flow rates.

This is another milestone in the company's endeavour to build up to a 20,000-tonne Ekosolve lithium extraction plant at the Pocitos project in order to supply Richlink Capital Pty. Ltd. up to 20,000 tonnes of lithium chloride/carbonate per year, as previously announced under a letter of intent of offtake and with the potential increased size of the resource should improve both the economics and the mine life.

Dec, 2022 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Fig 2. Dec, 2022 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Please click to view image

2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1



Fig 3. 2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Please click to view image

2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Fig 4. 2018 Drilling at Pocitos 1

Please click to view image



Lithium is selling in the spot market at 362,500 Yuan per tonne or the equivalent of US$52,476 per tonne according to TradingEconomics.com. (March 5th, 2023).

As previously announced, the basis for the NI 43-101 report is well underway after Mr. Thomas set up the drill program in Argentina when he was there in November 2022 and again in January 2023 to measure review core, flow rates and assays to create the anticipated NI43-101 compliant report. Thomas, BSc Geol, FAusIMM MAIG, has spent the past 22 years exploring for lithium brines, including building and operating a pilot plant for production at Rincon Salar (sold to Rio Tinto for US$825 Million) as well as he and his team developed the Pozuelos salar, producing an indicated and inferred resource, from four exploration wells. (recently sold to Ganfeng for US$962 million).

CEO, David Greenway stated, "The world needs more lithium and Recharges expanded Pocitos Project continues to improve with excellent progress. This is another exciting milestone for Recharge and stakeholders as we move toward our next goals of establishing a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource, a scoping study of the project and formalising our offtake agreement for lithium chloride and/or carbonate.

About Pocitos Lithium Brine Project

The Pocitos Project is located approximately 10 km from the township of Pocitos where there is gas, electricity, and internet services. Pocitos (1 &2) is approximately 1,352 hectares and is accessible by road. Collective exploration totaling over USD $2.0 million developing the project, including surface sampling, trenching, TEM geophysics and drilling three holes that had outstanding brine flow results. Locations for immediate follow up drilling have already been designed and identified for upcoming exploration. Our next step is to do a Magnetic Telleric geophysics survey to position the next drill hole. This survey will go down to 1000m.

Lithium values of up to 169 ppm from Laboratory analysis conducted by Alex Stewart were recorded by during the projects drill campaigns as recent as December 2022. A double packer sampling system in HQ Diamond drill holes drilled to a depth of up to 409 metres. The flow of brine was observed to continue for more than five hours. All holes had exceptional brine flow rates.

Placeholder



Figure 5. Pocitos 1 and Pocitos 2 blocks

Please click to view image



Qualified Person



Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein.

Mr. Thomas is independent of the company and is NOT a shareholder of Recharge Resources. Mr. Thomas visited the property to view the core between January 15th-22nd 2023 and arrange additional flow tests.

About Recharge Resources

Recharge Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on exploring and developing the production of high-value battery metals to create green, renewable energy to meet the demands of the advancing electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle market.

All Stakeholders are encouraged to follow the company on its social media profiles on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram .

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

David Greenway

David Greenway, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Recharge Resources Ltd.

Joel Warawa

Phone: 778-588-5473

E-Mail: info@recharge-resources.com

Website: recharge-resources.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding Recharges intention to continue to identify potential transactions and make certain corporate changes and applications. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits Recharge will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect managements current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including Recharges results of exploration or review of properties that Recharge does acquire. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Recharge assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.








Fuad Muxtar-Aqbabali

Armenia has resorted to another provocation against Azerbaijans stout resolve to enforce its own national laws across the whole of Karabakh, and the situation in and around the troubled region, once under Armenias occupation regained during the 2020 war, has again escalated to the limit.

What is behind fresh Armenian provocation?

This provocation was long in coming and Azerbaijan sustained two losses on March 5, while preventing another attempt of the Karabakh separatists to smuggle weapons and mine into the country from Armenia using a dirt road.

The truce violations were registered simultaneously in Daskasan, Kalbajar, and Gadabay districts on the Armenian border between March 5-6 as well the shelling of Azerbaijani army positions in Shusha by illegal Armenian armed groups in Karabakh was to distract attention to the major shipment of weapons to the separatist region. Truce violations along the Azerbaijani and Armenian borders and inside Karabakh usually occur when Armenians plan military shipments to the region to distract Bakus attention and this was also not excluded on Sunday.

Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Azerbaijan is aware of illicit deliveries from Armenia to the separatist region via the road beyond its control under the supervision of the Russian peacekeepers as the 86-day-long picketing of the Azerbaijani eco-activists and civil society representatives on the Lacin road turned upside down plans of the separatists to use the ultra-modern transport link for shipment of weapons and military personnel to the area to beef up positions after the defeat in 2020.

In a statement on Armenias provocation in the close proximity of Shusha, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said the incident happened when servicemen tried to stop a vehicle of the separatists to check the information that the Khankandi- Xalfali-Turssu unpaved road is used for weapons, mines, and troops deliveries from Armenia to the breakaway region.

The latest shootout on the Khankandi-Xalfali-Turssu road proved one more time that both the separatists in Karabakh, backed by Armenia and their many-tentacled network of patrons and media outlets work hand in hand, and their efforts are to torpedo the confidence-building measures being spearheaded by Azerbaijan over recent months.

Reconciliation backlash?

The March 5 shootout in Karabakh occurred four days after the talks between Azerbaijani and Karabakh community representatives in Khojaly with the mediation of the Russian peacekeepers.

On March 1, Azerbaijan initiated a meeting with representatives of the Karabakhs Armenian community in anticipation of restarting the reconciliation process following the ousting of Ruben Vardanyan, a Moscow-sent emissary to heighten tension in the region and upset the applecart.

The ministry said that the Lachin-Khankandi road is the only route that could be used for connection between Armenia and Karabakh and that the use of alternative roads is absolutely unacceptable. It added that the March 5 incident demonstrated the importance of establishing a checkpoint by Azerbaijan on the Lachin road.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in remarks for reporters on February 18 in Munich unveiled Bakus proposal for the erection of checkpoints on the Armenian border to keep under control what is brought in and taken out of the region.

it would be good if Armenia and Azerbaijan established checkpoints on the Armenian-Azerbaijan border in a bilateral manner. We made this suggestion earlier and made it official today. Previously, this suggestion was communicated through unofficial channels. Armenia did not voice any position. They probably need some time to discuss it, the president said.

What emboldens Armenia?

Nowadays Armenia seems confident with the deployment of the EU observation mission on the undelimited border with Azerbaijan and pins great hopes on the mission to be a remedy for and protect it against anti-Azerbaijani provocations.

On 6 March, a series of footage was in the public domain, which showed military deliveries from Armenia to Karabakh via the road where the shootout happened.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement on March 5 that Armenia should halt military deliveries to Karabakh and immediately withdraw armed forces from the region.

The provocation in Karabakh shows Yerevans intention to go ahead with similar policies designed to preserve neither peace nor war status quo for wishful for Armenia days to attempt to regain control again if Azerbaijan fails.

Armenia has not given up its policy of occupation against Azerbaijan and is not interested in establishing peace and security in the region. Armenia has substantially modified ways of presenting its own foreign policy objectives, avoiding loaded language, and pretending that the Karabakh issue is off its agenda by spotlighting the humanitarian aspect of the issue. However, military deliveries speak volumes about its overt and covert undertakings and lay bare targets of Yerevans future-oriented but futile hopes for the situation to revamp one day.

Armenias call on the international organizations for an international fact-finding mission to Azerbaijans sovereign territories is another brazen effort of Yerevan to pose its nose into Baku affairs.

"Under the current circumstances, sending an international fact-finding mission to the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh is of vital importance, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

Military action in Karabakh is a must

Limited military operations are a must in Karabakhs separatist areas nowadays to crush negative developments in the bud and the issue has never been off the table. Azerbaijan can start an anti-terror operation any moment now.

The Russian peacekeeping troops, who are in control of the area, are also to blame for the deadly incident as they turn a blind eye to Armenians use of alternative roads in Karabakh in return for bribes and other gifts, and this is beyond any doubt.

The Russian military contingent makes money on the disaster, conflict, and bloodshed of the two nations and this is one of the reasons for the failure of the Russians in the region to keep the Armenian armed forces in Karabakh.

Dissatisfaction with Russia

The shootout took place in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. And this circumstance immediately caused a wave of criticism against Moscow, both in Baku and in Yerevan.

Armenia reproaches the peacekeepers for the inability to end the blockade of Karabakh and Baku is dissatisfied with the fact that the peacekeepers allow the Armenian security forces to move along country roads in their area of responsibility, which opens up the possibility for unauthorized transportation of weapons into the region. Azerbaijan believes that the Russian command is cooperating too closely with the power structures of the separatists.

Yerevan is dissatisfied with the current situation and is also trying to influence Moscow, but by other geopolitical methods. The team of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at every opportunity, shows the Kremlin that the West can be chosen as the main mediator, protector, and sponsor. It is no coincidence that recently Yerevan has sharply increased contacts with European and American representatives, and more and more willingly discusses ways out of the conflict with Azerbaijan not in Moscow, but in Brussels.

Media and Telegram channels associated with Nikol Pashinyan and his team are very critical of Russia. The situation is more and more reminiscent of zugzwang when each of the possible moves only worsens the position.

On March 6, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry blamed the Russian Defense Ministry for spreading false information that serves Armenia's interests and runs principles of the mission it has been vested with since 2020.
Recludix Pharma, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recludix Pharma, a leader in platform approaches to discover inhibitors of challenging cancer and inflammatory disease targets, today announced that Nancy Whiting, Pharm.D., chief executive officer of Recludix, will present an overview of the company at the virtual Oppenheimer 33rd Annual Healthcare Conference. The companys presentation will be on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 12:40 p.m. Eastern Time.



To access the live and archived webcast of this presentation, visit the News & Events page of the companys website at https://recludixpharma.com/news-events. The archived webcast will be available for 90 days following the presentation.

About Recludix

Recludix is a leader in developing platform approaches to discover potent and selective inhibitors of challenging protein targets. The company was founded by members of Blueprint Medicines founding scientific team and its management team includes industry veterans with a track record of success in the discovery, development and commercialization of multiple oncology drugs. Recludix has developed a unique drug discovery platform that integrates custom generated DNA-encoded libraries, massively parallel determination of structure activity relationships, and a proprietary screening tool to ensure selectivity. The company is employing this approach first in the development of SH2 domain inhibitors. Recludixs most advanced programs are focused on Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins -- STAT3 and STAT6 -- where abnormal activation is found in numerous cancer types, such as multiple leukemias and lymphomas, as well as inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and others. The company is advancing three other programs to undisclosed targets that also play a significant role in both cancer and autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit the companys website at https://recludixpharma.com.

Story continues

Recludix Contacts:

Alexandra Santos

asantos@wheelhouselsa.com

Aljanae Reynolds

areynolds@wheelhouselsa.com




SEngine Precision Medicine, Inc.

From a single sample taken from a patients tumor, SEngine scientists can discover which drugs or combinations of drugs are most effective in killing or disabling that individuals cancer

SEngine now certified to perform first patient-derived solid tumor organoid test for drug sensitivity in all 50 US states

SEATTLE, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEngine Precision Medicine , the precision oncology innovator matching patients to medicines based on their own tumor samples, has been certified through New York State Department of Healths Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP) to perform the PARIS Test on samples from the state, making the PARIS Test CLIA certified in all 50 states.

The first-in-class PARIS Test uses tissue from any solid tumor  including colon, breast, lung, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers  to generate actionable reports highlighting drug sensitivity for their individual disease.

SEngines PARIS Test consists of 3D organoids grown from patients own tumor cells in a lab, which can then be tested with a library of more than 240 small molecule drugs. The results decode the most effective treatment options that DNA sequencing alone cannot reveal. Our test also reveals which chemotherapies will most likely not work in a specific case, saving patients time, money, and unnecessary side effects. More importantly, our test will help oncologists determine the best treatment strategy or clinical trial for each individual patient.

With this rigorous certification process complete, patients in New York seeking treatment for cancer can more easily access our unique test, which measures and compares the response of their own cancer tissue to a range of possible therapies, said Dr. Shalini Pereira, Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) Laboratory Director for SEngine. Were elated to partner with New York-based oncologists and cancer centers, as we have been throughout the rest of the country.

Story continues

We are grateful to New Yorks Department of Health for this approval. CLEPs stringent standards are recognized as exceeding even federal CLIA benchmarks, marking this moment as confirmation of our dedication to following the science, said SEngine CEO and co-founder Dr. Carla Grandori. As the only high-throughput test of its kind, the PARIS Test represents a new hope for a growing number of patients with cancer and their care teams as they seek a personalized course of treatment. Its the first step towards fulfilling our commitment to better, more precise cancer therapy.

About PARIS Test

The PARIS Test is a next-generation diagnostic test that predicts drug responses integrating knowledge of cancer genomics with drug sensitivity testing of patient-derived live cells combined with robotics and proprietary algorithms. SEngine's CLIA certified PARIS Test generates actionable drug sensitivity reports for patients and is applicable to all solid tumors including colon, breast, lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancer. Cancer derived cells grown in 3D outside the body maintain the functionality of the original tumor as well as its genomic characteristics. For cancers where a treatment path is not clear, such as many metastatic and recurrent cancers, the PARIS Test provides crucial information to treating physicians to match the right drug to the right patient.

About SEngine Precision Medicine

SEngine Precision Medicine Inc. is a precision oncology company revolutionizing cancer therapies by pre-testing drugs on patient-derived 3D cultures utilizing patient specific tumor cells. As a spin-out from world-renowned experts at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, SEngine is leveraging over two decades of R&D in diagnostics and drug discovery. The company is commercializing the PARIS Test, a next-generation diagnostic test that predicts drug responses  integrating knowledge of cancer genomics with phenotypic testing of patient-derived live cells combined with robotics and proprietary algorithms. SEngine's CLIA certified PARIS Test generates actionable drug sensitivity reports for patients with solid tumors. SEngine is also pursuing drug discovery via strategic collaborations with biopharmaceutical / pharma companies by deploying its precision oncology platform.

Discover more at SEngineMedicine.com and follow the latest news from SEngine on Twitter at @SEngineMedicine and on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

connect@senginemedicine.com




SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 07, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ANAFLASH, a smart microcontroller developer for edge computing based in Silicon Valley, has acquired an exclusive license for a single-poly based embedded flash memory technology from the University of Minnesota. The company seeks to commercialize this cost-effective and energy-efficient non-volatile memory technology, which is now available to be licensed to collaborative partners with a primary application for numerous battery-powered devices such as medical wearables, wireless sensors, and autonomous robots.

"We are thrilled to see the opportunity around the single-poly embedded flash memory technology, which does not require any process overhead beyond the standard logic process, making it easy to deploy in advanced nodes without adding extra cost," said ANAFLASH CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Seung-Hwan Song.

Such energy constrained devices require an embedded non-volatile memory to store information without consuming power during the sleep mode of the devices. Differently from alternative non-volatile memory technologies, the companys embedded flash memory technology is fully logic compatible and can be scalable in advanced logic process technologies of various silicon foundries. This alleviates cost and supply concerns of microchips, too.

The first chip track portfolio company of Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, ANAFLASH has validated this technology through multiple generations of silicon wafers and various process technology nodes. The company presented a prototype chip for a single-poly embedded flash-based non-volatile neural network accelerator at Flash Memory Summit.

"The Berkeley SkyDeck chip track was designed to tap into the enormous potential that the industry holds and find companies that are capitalizing on that potential. ANAFLASH's licensed technology, with its multitude of applications, promises more efficient and more affordable devices for people around the world, and that vision for changing these devices for the better is what drew us in," said Chon Tang, Founding Partner, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund. "We look forward to seeing how Seung-Hwan and the team continue to leverage this important research to make a real difference."

Story continues

Using the companys logic-compatible embedded flash IP, ANAFLASHs research partner, KAIST, has fabricated an energy-efficient edge AI test-chip, which will be presented at the 2023 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, April 23-26 in San Antonio, Texas.

ANAFLASH has received multiple awards from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, and NASA, and recently closed its latest funding round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investment and We Ventures. The company also holds several patents in the United States and other countries, with multiple applications pending, and has established a wholly owned subsidiary called SEMIBRAIN, which was recently awarded the opportunity to develop the embedded flash memory IP in advanced process nodes of Samsung Foundry.

The single-poly based embedded flash memory technology was originally developed by Professor Chris Kim at the University of Minnesota and was recognized by the IEEE with the Low Power Design Contest award. Professor Kims group continued to develop this technology for various applications, including embedded non-volatile memories, counterfeit detection sensors, and neuromorphic computing cores, and these developments have been published in over 10 papers.

About ANAFLASH

ANAFLASH Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA funded semiconductor technology startup, providing a cost-effective smart microcontroller for energy efficient edge computing. With the integrated non-volatile neural network computing engine built using a cost-effective standard logic chip fabrication process, various smart edge AI tasks can be performed securely without requiring cloud resources. For more information, visit www.anaflash.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005097/en/

Contacts

Seung-Hwan Song, CEO/Co-Founder of ANAFLASH Inc.

612-237-4629

ssong@anaflash.com
(Bloomberg) -- Salaries for software engineers in Singapore rose by an average of 7.6% last year, with pay increases falling short of rent hikes after technology companies worldwide slashed jobs.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Even as the increase slowed from a 22% surge a year earlier, the city-states tech salaries stand out among countries in South and Southeast Asia, according to a report published Tuesday by hiring service NodeFlair and startup accelerator Iterative. Software engineers in Singapore command thousands of dollars more each month than their counterparts in nearby countries.

Singapore has attracted several fast-growing startups while also hosting the Asia-Pacific hubs of global companies like Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.s Google. Yet the wealthy island nation hasnt been immune to the tech industrys slowdown, with companies including Sea Ltd. slashing thousands of positions to curb costs.

Factors driving up Singapores salaries include the rising cost of living, with rents soaring last year and forecast to jump a further 10-15% this year on limited supply. Tightening conditions for worker visas have also made it harder to bring in less senior workers.

ByteDance Ltd., Govtech Singapore and Seas e-commerce arm Shopee were the most searched-for employers in the countrys tech sector, beating big US companies such as Apple Inc., Visa Inc. and Meta, according to the report.

Lead software engineers in Singapore commanded a median monthly salary of $6,666 last year, compared with $1,309 drawn by their peers in Indonesia and $1,357 in India, according to the researchers, who verified payslips and offer letters as part of procuring their figures.

Story continues

--With assistance from Vlad Savov.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Allied Market Research

Increase in the prevalence of skeletal dysplasia, an increase in government expenditure on healthcare, and commercialization of novel drugs and the presence of pipeline products drives the growth of the global skeletal dysplasia market. By type, the morquio A syndrome segment contributed major share to the market in 2021. By region, Asia-Pacific is expected to register the fastest CAGR by 2031.

Portland, OR, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global skeletal dysplasia market was estimated at $1,638.10 million in 2021 and is expected to hit $ 2,360.51 million by 2031, registering a CAGR of 3.7% 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.

Download Sample Copy of the Report- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/14802

Report Coverage & Details:

Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $1,638.10 million Market Size in 2031 $2,360.51 million CAGR 3.7% No. of Pages in Report 237 Segments Covered Type, Treatment, Distribution Channel, and Region. Drivers Increase in prevalence of skeletal dysplasia Commercialization of novel drugs and presence of pipeline products Increase in government expenditure on healthcare Increase in the number of clinical trials and collaborative research for skeletal dysplasia treatment Restraints Strict regulatory rules and high cost Opportunities Growth opportunities in the emerging markets

Impact of COVID-19 on the Skeletal Dysplasia Market-

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply chain for medical devices and drugs, which has impacted the availability of treatments for skeletal dysplasia. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the ongoing clinical trials for skeletal dysplasia, which is anticipated to hinder the growth of the global skeletal dysplasia market as a result of the delayed clinical trials of products.

However, as the global situation has recovered, the market has now got back on track.





Story continues

Procure Complete Report (355 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures)

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/skeletal-dysplasia-market

The global skeletal dysplasia market is analyzed across type, treatments, distribution channels, and regions. The report uses the tabular and graphical representation to provide a thorough study of the segments and their sub-segments. The segmentation can help investors and market participants to develop strategies based on the top revenue-generating and fastest-growing segment stated in the report.

By type, morquio A syndrome the segment held the largest share in 2021, garnering more than one-third of the global skeletal dysplasia market revenue. However, other segments would showcase the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period.

By treatment, the enzyme replacement therapy segment contributed to around three-fifths of the global skeletal dysplasia market share in 2021. The same segment would display the fastest CAGR of 3.9% throughout the forecast period.

For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/14802

By distribution channel, the drug store and specialty pharmacies segment accounted for the largest share in 2021, generating up to two-thirds of the global skeletal dysplasia market revenue. The same segment would also portray the fastest CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period.

By region, North America held the major share in 2021, garnering more than half of the global skeletal dysplasia market revenue. Asia-Pacific, simultaneously, would showcase the fastest CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2031.

The key market players analyzed in the global skeletal dysplasia market report are Amgen Inc., Ascendis Pharma a/s, AstraZeneca plc., Biomarin Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cipla Ltd, Eli Lilly and Company, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Merck KGaA, Pfizer, Inc., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. These market players have embraced several strategies for product approval and acquisition to highlight their prowess in the industry. The report is helpful in formulating the business performance and developments by the top players.

Similar Research Reports for Information, Communication, and Technology:

Hyperhidrosis Treatment Market - Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030

Smart Medical Devices Market- Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030

Specialty Medical Chairs Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030

Connected Drug Delivery Devices Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030

Non-Animal Alternative Testing Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20212030



AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model):

AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer a cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports.

Get access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access

About Allied Market Research:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences , Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms the 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 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 the domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

David Correa

5933 NE Win Sivers Drive

#205, Portland, OR 97220

United States

Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285

UK: +44-845-528-1300

Hong Kong: +852-301-84916

India (Pune): +91-20-66346060

Fax: +1-855-550-5975

help@alliedmarketresearch.com

Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com




Skyharbour Resources Ltd

Vancouver, BC, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skyharbour Resources Ltd.s (TSX-V: SYH) (OTCQX: SYHBF) (Frankfurt: SC1P) (the Company) partner company, Basin Uranium Corp. (Basin Uranium) is pleased to announce the intersection of significant mineralization from the three-hole Phase 2 drill program at its Mann Lake project located 25 km southwest of the McArthur River Mine and 15 km to the northeast along strike of Camecos Millennium uranium deposit. A total of 6,279 metres of diamond drilling was completed on the Mann Lake property during the 2022 season.



Mann Lake Uranium Project:

https://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/SKY_MannLake_20211129.jpg

Highlights:

Drilling continued to intersect notable pathfinder elements (B, Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb) which provides for vectoring towards uranium mineralization as it is typically associated with Athabasca Basin unconformity-style mineralization.





Hole MN22-0007 intersected the unconformity at 671.8 metres and returned anomalous boron (dravite) and uranium mineralization at and above the unconformity. Dravite is a boron rich clay mineral, often found in association with uranium mineralization and is considered an important pathfinder in uranium exploration.





Notable intercepts include 1,060 ppm B from 669.3  669.8 metres (0.5 metres), 931 ppm B from 668.8  669.3 metres (0.5 metres), and 614 ppm boron (B) from 668.8  671.8 metres (2.5 metres) in conjunction with 41 ppm U 3 O 8 from 671.8  672.3 metres (0.5 metres).





Significant polymetallic mineralization was intersected below the unconformity of hole MN22-007 including 884 ppm Cu from 679.2  679.7 metres (0.5 metres) and 158 ppm Zn from 676.0  683.75 metres (17.75 metres).





Significant boron mineralization was also encountered in hole MN22-008 which intersected the unconformity at 649.02 metres and returned 386 ppm B from 646.02  648.52 metres (2.5 metres).





Mann Lake Dill Plan 2022:

https://skyharbourltd.com/_resources/maps/Completed-drill-holes-at-Mann-Lake-2022.jpeg

Story continues

Phase Two Drill Program Summary:

The Phase 2 program was comprised of 2,776 metres of diamond drilling over four holes. The first hole MN22-006 was wedged and re-started at 572 metres (MN22-006A), serving as a follow up hole to MN22-002 which was drilled during Phase 1 and hosted prospective uranium mineralization. The following two holes MN22-007 and MN22-008, targeted the southeastern portion of the tenure which had previously been untested. This southeastern zone was drilled to test a strong interpreted basement conductor that was situated on a magnetic low and on the border of a gravity low anomaly which is interpreted as a basement fault structure.

Hole MN22-006/MN22-006 :

This hole was a 150 metre step out to the south-east designed to follow up mineralization intersected in hole MN22-002 which returned 323 ppm U 3 O 8 U and 17 ppm Th from 660.05  660.55 metres. The hole tested an interpreted basement conductor (2022 Mobile MT resistivity survey), inverted resistivity low, corresponding with a northeast ground UTEM conductor (A3), magnetic low (interpreted metasediment basement) and was along the edge of a gravity low.

Hole MN22-006A was successful at crossing the unconformity at 617.48 metres and intersecting the intermittent psammite, pegmatite, and monzodiorite units that make up the basement lithologies but no notable assay results were returned.

Hole MN22-007 :

This hole was designed to test an interpreted basement conductor, inverted resistivity low (2022 Mobile MT resistivity survey), corresponding with a northeast ground UTEM conductor (A3), magnetic low (interpreted metasediment basement) and is along the edge of a gravity low.

Hole MN22-007 intersected graphite enriched psammite throughout the entirety of the basement rocks until about 880 metres, whereby it became more silicified until the end of the hole at 887 metres. Two major fault structures with abundant graphite mineralization were intercepted in the basement, potentially serving as an explanation to the resistivity low and magnetic lows. Possible origins of the graphite mineralization could be from the graphite bearing pelites, however, due to the abundant graphite mineralization in conjunction with the major fault zones in the basement, it is possible that the graphite is being supplied from the basement structures.

Further investigation along the margins of this magnetic low and gravity low anomaly of MN22-007 is required in order to further understand the source of the graphite mineralization and potential interception of uranium mineralization in this area.

Hole MN22-008 :

This hole was designed to test an interpreted basement conductor, inverted resistivity low (2022 Mobile MT resistivity survey), corresponding with a northeast ground UTEM conductor (A3), magnetic low (interpreted metasediment basement) and is along the edge of a gravity low.

The most significant intersection in the upper portion of MN22-008 was the dravite mineralization present in the fault zones and fractures in the upper Athabasca group sediments. These were more well developed than previous drill holes and the potential for nearby structures with remobilized mineralization in the area is still high. In the basement, the intersected graphitic metasediments host to significant amounts of pyrite and minor chalcopyrite. The presence of a fault zone in proximity to the unconformity is notable, the graphite could be diagenetic and or could be present due to remobilization within basement structures. The chalcopyrite mineralization has the potential to host gold mineralization and further follow-up in the area is recommended. The graphite mineralization in conjunction with the pyrite does explain the presence of a resistivity low at depth.

About Mann Lake:

Skyharbour entered into an Option Agreement (the Agreement) with Basin Uranium whereby Basin Uranium has an earn-in option to acquire a 75% interest in the Mann Lake Uranium Project. Under the Option Agreement, Basin Uranium Corp will contribute cash and exploration expenditure consideration totalling CAD $4,850,000 over a three-year period (Project Consideration). Of the Project Consideration, $850,000 will be in cash payments to Skyharbour and $4,000,000 will be in exploration expenditures on the project. Basin Uranium Corp will also issue to Skyharbour the equivalent value of CAD $1,750,000 in shares of Basin Uranium over the three-year earn-in period to complete the earn-in.

The Mann Lake Uranium Project is strategically located 25 km southwest of the McArthur River Mine, the largest high-grade uranium deposit in the world, and 15 km to the northeast of Cameco's Millennium uranium deposit. The Mann Lake project is also adjacent to the Mann Lake Joint Venture operated by Cameco (52.5%) with partners Denison Mines (30%) and Orano (17.5%). Denison Mines acquired International Enexco and its 30% interest in the project after a 2014 winter drill program discovered high-grade, basement-hosted uranium mineralization at this adjacent project.

QA/QC:

Samples were sent for geochemical analysis with SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories, Saskatoon for the following analyses: ICP-MS1 (Sandstone) and ICP-MS2 (Basement) which includes both partial and total digestion methods as well as an additional Boron analysis. Over limit analysis were completed using U3O8 total digestion when U >1,000ppm.

On receipt of final certificates of analysis, the QA/QC sample results were reviewed to ensure the order of samples were reported correctly, that the blanks ran clean, and that the results for each standard had minimal variance from its certified value. QA/QC for the Mann Lake drilling included certified reference material (CRMs) and blanks that were inserted into each sample batch in order to verify the analytical from the lab.

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 and approved by David Billard, P.Geo., a Consulting Geologist for Skyharbour as well as a Qualified Person.

About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.:

Skyharbour holds an extensive portfolio of uranium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with eighteen projects, ten of which are drill-ready, covering over 460,000 hectares of land. Skyharbour has acquired from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, a 100% interest in the Moore Uranium Project which is located 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced-stage uranium exploration property with high-grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone that returned drill results of up to 6.0% U 3 O 8 over 5.9 metres including 20.8% U 3 O 8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical depth of 265 metres. Adjacent to the Moore Uranium Project is Skyharbours recently optioned Russell Lake Uranium Project from Rio Tinto, which hosts historical high-grade drill intercepts over a large property area with robust exploration upside potential. The Company is actively advancing these projects through exploration and drill programs.

Skyharbour has a joint-venture with industry-leader Orano Canada Inc. at the Preston Project whereby Orano has earned a 51% interest in the project through exploration expenditures and cash payments. Skyharbour now owns a 24.5% interest in the Project. Skyharbour also has a joint venture with Azincourt Energy at the East Preston Project whereby Azincourt has earned a 70% interest in the project through exploration expenditures, cash payments and share issuance. Preston and East Preston are large, geologically prospective properties proximal to Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit as well as NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit.

Skyharbour has several active option partners including: ASX-listed Valor Resources on the Hook Lake Uranium Project, CSE-listed Basin Uranium Corp. on the Mann Lake Uranium Project, and CSE-listed Medaro Mining Corp. on the Yurchison Project. More recently, Skyharbour announced two new earn-in option agreements with Yellow Rocks Energy, a private Australian entity, to option the Wallee and Usam Island projects, and Tisdale Clean Energy at the South Falcon East Project.

Furthermore, the Company owns a 100% interest in the South Falcon Point Uranium Project on the eastern perimeter of the Basin. Skyharbour has recently optioned the South Falcon East Project, a uranium project in the southeast Athabasca Basin and represents a portion of the larger South Falcon Project, to Tisdale Clean Energy whereby Tisdale will fund exploration, pay Skyharbour in cash, and issue shares of the company over a five-year earn-in period.

Collectively, Skyharbour has now signed option agreements with partners that total over $34 million in partner-funded exploration expenditures, over $22 million in stock being issued and just under $15 million in cash payments coming into Skyharbour, assuming that these partner companies earn-in the full amounts at their respective projects.

Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

Skyharbours Uranium Project Map in the Athabasca Basin:

http://www.skyharbourltd.com/_resources/images/SKY-SaskProject-Locator-20220324.jpg

To find out more about Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: SYH) visit the Companys website at www.skyharbourltd.com.

SKYHARBOUR RESOURCES LTD.

Jordan Trimble



Jordan Trimble

President and CEO

For further information contact myself or:

Nicholas Coltura

Corporate Development and Communications

Skyharbour Resources Ltd.

Telephone: 604-558-5847

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@skyharbourltd.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

The securities offered 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 U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements, including the Private Placement. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, regulatory approvals, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.




SolarWinds database experts will present multiple sessions

CORK, Ireland, March 07, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI), a leading provider of simple, powerful, and secure IT management software, today announced it will attend SQLBits in Newport, Wales, from March 14  18 as a platinum sponsor.

SQLBits is one of the largest data platform conferences, featuring more than 300 sessions over five days covering data technologies, including SQL Server, Azure, big data, and machine learning. The event provides data professionals opportunities to network, develop, and share data knowledge.

"Organisations need support with their database management, no matter how large their workloads," said Charles Damerell, senior director of United Kingdom and Ireland (UKI) sales at SolarWinds. "SolarWinds helps our customers manage on-premises and cloud databases with connected monitoring and observability. At SQLBits, well share how organizations of all sizes can make the best use of their database management systems."

As a platinum sponsor of the event, attendees can talk with SolarWinds IT pros at our stand and learn more about how SolarWinds can optimize the database performance and data ops driving business-critical applications. The SolarWinds database management portfolio consists of SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer, SolarWinds Database Performance Monitor, SolarWinds SQL Sentry, SolarWinds Database Insights for SQL Server, SolarWinds Database Observability, SolarWinds Database Mapper, and SolarWinds Task Factory.

At the event, SolarWinds IT experts will also lead the following sessions on Thursday, March 16, and Friday, March 17:

"Stop Indexing the Query" with Robert Mandeville, solutions architect, SolarWinds

"Should We Defragment Indexes?" with Robert Mandeville, solutions architect, SolarWinds

"Understanding Alert Fatigue" with Owen Murphy, senior product marketing manager, SolarWinds

Story continues

Additional Resources

Connect With SolarWinds

#SWI

#SWIevents

#SWIdatabase

About SolarWinds

SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI) is a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software built to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Our solutions provide organizations worldwideregardless of type, size, or complexitywith a comprehensive and unified view of todays modern, distributed, and hybrid network environments. We continuously engage with IT service and operations professionals, DevOps and SecOps professionals, and database administrators (DBAs) to understand the challenges they face in maintaining high-performing and highly available hybrid IT infrastructures, applications, and environments. The insights we gain from them, in places like our THWACK community, allow us to address customers needs now and in the future. Our focus on the user and our commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT management have established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in solutions for observability, IT service management, application performance, and database management. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com.

The SolarWinds, SolarWinds & Design, Orion, and THWACK trademarks are the exclusive property of SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC or its affiliates, are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and may be registered or pending registration in other countries. All other SolarWinds trademarks, service marks, and logos may be common law marks or are registered or pending registration. All other trademarks mentioned herein are used for identification purposes only and are trademarks of (and may be registered trademarks of) their respective companies.

 2023 SolarWinds Worldwide, LLC. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230307005131/en/

Contacts

Samantha Browning

Wildfire

Phone: +44 0208 408 8000

SolarWinds@wildfirepr.com

Nik Koutsoukos

SolarWinds

Phone: +1-512-682-9530

pr@SolarWinds.com
SINGAPORE, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Solas, an Asian market leader in providing independent non-executive directorships to funds and fund managers, announces the expansion of its core team in Singapore.

Solas announces the joining of Ashmita Chhabra as the company continues expansion of its core team in Singapore

We are delighted to announce that Ms Ashmita Chhabra, a Singapore asset management industry ecosystem specialist has recently joined Solas. Ashmita has over 20 years' experience in the investment funds industry, providing oversight in building infrastructure and recommending best practices and solutions catered for institutions expanding into Asia.

She has in-depth experience with regional and global asset managers exploring Singapore for their business and fund set-ups, service provider selection, due diligence processes and operational infrastructure and outsourcing models.

Ashmita has dedicated her career towards enhancement of Singapore's funds ecosystem in various capacities and has participated in a variety of industry initiatives. She is the Chairperson of the Singapore Fund Administrators Association (SFAA) and on the Executive Committee of the Singapore Funds Industry Group (SFIG) [a unique public and private market collaboration set-up by the Singapore regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)], and co-chairs the Promotion and Advocacy Working Group that works towards showcasing Singapore value-proposition with global asset management leaders and the services ecosystem.

Ashmita Chhabra said "Today, on International Women's Day, I am proud to announce the start of my enhanced career in Corporate Governance. It has been a privilege to work closely with global asset owners, fund managers and collaborating with influential peers and partners, lifting the standards and offerings within the alternative funds industry in my varied asset management career and roles. This next phase in my career will help connect the dots from my rich experience, thereby bringing holistic value to fund boards.

My focus is on contributing to high quality governance practices, particularly amongst groups that would gain from a female perspective. Despite much advancements, female representation in this industry lags behind while it is an undeniable fact that board gender diversity and engagement yield proven benefits. Along with Solas' institutional and dedicated platform, I look forward to working with asset managers towards creating a more inclusive and diverse board".

Story continues

"Martin O'Regan, Managing Director and Founder at Solas said "With the growth of alternative managers in Singapore and the growing adoption of the Variable Capital Company (VCC) and other Singapore investment structures by regional and global managers, Solas stays committed to bringing the right governance skillset to support our clients. I welcome Ashmita to our team, she brings immense value to Solas and our clients, I am confident that with her extensive experience and knowledge of the industry, she is well-positioned to help fund managers implement and achieve their optimal governance framework".

About Solas

Established in April 2016, Solas is a fully independent company based in Singapore and Hong Kong, with access to professional directorship networks and knowledge of international jurisdictions, multi-lingual coverage and a global network. The teams have in-depth experience and expertise across alternative investments, including hedge funds and long only funds as well fintech, private equity funds, credit funds, VC funds, infrastructure funds, property and real estate funds, discretionary and private funds and special purpose investment vehicles.

In addition to board support, the company offers consultancy on the full lifecycle of fund set-up, service provider selection, fund structuring advice, fund document review, due diligence, regulatory analysis, ongoing governance support and advisory, M&A activity and guidance. With strong business networks across the Americas, Caribbean, Europe, MENA and Asia-Pacific regions, the team is highly experienced with Singapore, Cayman, Hong Kong, Bermuda, and other offshore jurisdictions.

Website: http://www.solasfs.com

SOURCE SOLAS
Food Lion

First 100 Customers to Receive Free Mystery Food Lion Gift Card Valued up to $200 and Other Giveaways

New South Boston, VA, Food Lion Opens March 8

The new store is located at 3346 Halifax Road, South Boston, VA 24592, and open daily from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.

SALISBURY, N.C., March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Food Lion has nourished the South Boston, VA, community for more than 30 years, and on March. 8, neighbors in the community will be able to nourish their families at their new Food Lion, located at 3346 Halifax Road, South Boston, VA 24592. The new store will open to the public at 8 a.m. on March. 8, following a 7:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterwards, the first 100 customers in line will receive a mystery gift card valued up to $200 and free reusable shopping bag. The store will be open daily from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.



I am very excited to continue serving our South Boston community by bringing an even better, easy and affordable shopping experience to our customers, said Christy East, Store Manager of the new South Boston Food Lion. My team and I are looking forward to serving our neighbors and deepening roots in the community even more at our brand-new location.

The new store features an extensive product assortment, freshly made sushi, in-store prepared pre-cut fruit and a wide variety of affordable and easy grab-and-go options to help make any meal easier. Customers have a large selection of organic, gluten-free and plant-based items to choose from, including Natures Promise-brand items, which are Food Lions affordable brand of wholesome and organic products made with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors. Additionally, the store features a walk-in produce cooler, ensuring the freshest items available, and a self-service hot wing and Asian food bar.

To make shopping easier for customers, the store offers self-checkout lanes and the Food Lion To Go grocery pick up service. Online orders may be placed on the Food Lion To Go website or the Food Lion To Go app. The convenient service allows customers to place an order with the click of a button while experiencing the same low prices and fresh food items they receive in the store.

Story continues

The store is proud to also offer a wide variety of great local offerings, including in-season produce grown at Reeses Farms in nearby Scottsville, VA, and beverages produced from Springfield Distillery in Halifax, VA. A list of additional Virginia-based suppliers that may be featured in the store can be found here.

Furthering Food Lions commitment to sustainability, the store features energy-efficient overhead LED lighting. Food Lion is the only company in the country to receive the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for 21 consecutive years.

In another commitment to the South Boston community, associates from the store will volunteer at Jane Jones Food Pantry, an agency of FeedMore. The food bank will also regularly collect food from the store to distribute to neighbors in need through Food Lion Feeds industry-leading food rescue program, in which food safe for human consumption is donated to a local feeding agency before the food spoils. Food Lion Feeds, the retailers hunger-relief initiative, has donated more than 1 billion meals to neighbors in need since 2014.

About Food Lion

Food Lion is an omnichannel retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors during the moments that matter most. More than 82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Through its Count on me culture, Food Lion fosters a sense of belonging for all associates, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment that has supported LGBTQ+ equality for nearly two decades. Food Lion is the only company in the country to be named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 21 consecutive years. It also pioneered a food rescue program to support food-insecure neighbors. Through Food Lion Feeds, the retailer has donated more than 1 billion meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit foodlion.com.

CONTACTS:

Food Lion Media Relations

704-245-3317

publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e31d4a58-32ed-46ce-b03a-b6b019615dc2




President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Special Representative of the Chinese Government on European Affairs Wu Hongbo.

Wu Hongbo conveyed the greetings of President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping to the head of state, and recalled his previous meetings with the Azerbaijani President.

He said that they were greatly impressed by the country`s achievements in economic and other areas under the strong leadership of the Azerbaijani President.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings, and asked Wu Hongbo to pass on his greetings to Xi Jinping.

Recalling his official visit to China, his meetings with the President of the People's Republic of China during this trip and international events, the head of state noted that he is pleased that Xi Jinping called the President of Azerbaijan a big friend of China.

Underlining that he has always supported the one-China policy, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of China, President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that cooperation with China is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan`s foreign policy. The Azerbaijani leader hailed the strengthening of bilateral relations year by year, adding that cooperation between the two countries is expanding not only on various political platforms, but also in the economic sphere and as part of One Belt, One Road. In this regard, the head of state described the increase in the volume of goods transported from China through Azerbaijan to the west as a good example of this.

President Ilham Aliyev recalled his letter to the President of the People's Republic of China during the Covid-19 pandemic, and underlined that Azerbaijan had been one of the worlds first countries to begin vaccination after Chinas allocating vaccines to the country. He described this fact as a striking example of friendship between the two countries, adding it had been praised by the people and government of Azerbaijan.

The head of state provided information about the renewable energy potential of Azerbaijan. He pointed out that China has great technological capabilities in this field.

During the conversation, Chinese companies were invited to take part in reconstruction activities in the liberated lands.

The Special Representative noted that China supports territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

The head of state hailed participation of Wu Hongbo in the Global Forum to be held in Baku, and expressed confidence that his visit would contribute to expansion of bilateral ties.

The Special Representative of the Chinese Government on European Affairs underlined that the Nizami Ganjavi International Center has already become one of the internationally recognized centers where important issues of international peace and security agenda are discussed. Wu Hongbo wished the Center every success in its future activities.

They exchanged views on the further expansion of economic, humanitarian and tourism cooperation, noted the existence of great opportunities for the development of bilateral relations, and stressed the importance of enhancing contacts among media, research centers and peoples.




A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was forced to circle back to Cuba when a bird strike caused the cabin to fill with smoke.

Flight #3923 returned to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on Sunday morning after an engine fire caused by a bird strike occurred shortly after takeoff, Southwest Airlines confirms in a statement to PEOPLE.

Passenger video filmed on a cell phone has circulated on social media and shows thick smoke inside the aircraft. Emergency oxygen masks can be seen dangling above some of the seats. The footage also shows passengers fleeing the plane via emergency inflatable slides on the airport's runway.

Passenger Steven Rodriguez told NBC News 6 that the initial impact sounded "like a big boom. Like an explosion."

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Sign of the Jose Marti international airport in Havana

Getty Images Jose Marti International Airport

RELATED: Matthew McConaughey, Wife Camila Were on Flight That "Dropped Almost 4,000 Feet," Hospitalized 7: "Chaos"

The airline tells PEOPLE in a statement the bird strike hit one of the engines and the aircraft's nose shortly after takeoff.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 airplane

Getty Images Southwest Airlines plane

"The pilots safely returned to Havana where the 147 customers and six crew evacuated the aircraft via slides due to smoke in the cabin," a spokesperson says.

"The customers and crew were bussed to the terminal and are being accommodated on alternative flights to Fort Lauderdale," they add.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737

Getty Images Southwest Airlines plane

RELATED: JetBlue Plane Nearly Collides with Private Jet at Boston's Logan Airport: "Close Call"

The spokesperson says that they "commend the swift, professional actions of our pilots and flight attendants in responding to this event."

"We apologized to our Customers for the negative experience, extending compensation for the inconvenience and offering additional support," they add.

No passengers or crew suffered serious injuries, Southwest Airlines told NBC 6 News.
Company Logo

Dublin, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Spain Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



According to the publisher, social commerce industry in Spain is expected to grow by 36.1% on annual basis to reach US$5755.1 million in 2023.



The social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 24.6% during 2022-2028. The social commerce GMV in the country will increase from US$5755.1 million in 2023 to reach US$21489.2 million by 2028.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of social commerce industry, covering market opportunities and risks. With over 50+ KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of social commerce market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view on emerging business and investment market opportunities.

Reasons to buy

In-depth Understanding of Social Commerce Market Dynamics: Understand market opportunities and key trends along with forecast (2019-2028).

Insights into Opportunity by end-use sectors - Get market dynamics by end-use sectors to assess emerging opportunity across various end-use sectors.

Develop Market Specific Strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities to formulate social commerce strategy; assess market specific key trends, drivers, and risks in the industry.

Scope



This report provides in-depth, data-centric analysis of social commerce in Spain. Below is a summary of key market segments:



Spain Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028

Clothing & Footwear

Beauty and Personal Care

Food & Grocery

Appliances and Electronics

Home Improvement

Travel

Hospitality

Story continues

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Segment, 2019-2028

B2B

B2C

C2C

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End Use Device, 2019-2028

Mobile

Desktop

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Domestic

Cross Border

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028

Tier-1 Cities

Tier-2 Cities

Tier-3 Cities

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028

Credit Card

Debit Card

Bank Transfer

Prepaid Card

Digital & Mobile Wallet

Other Digital Payment

Cash

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms

Video Commerce

Social Network-Led Commerce

Social Reselling

Group Buying

Product Review Platforms

Spain Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour,2022

By Age

By Income Level

By Gender

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vni6iv

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Additionally 100% of TREE's Sampled Contain High Levels of REE's

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Spark Energy Minerals Inc., ("Spark" or the "Company") (CSE:EMIN)(Frankfurt:M1N)(OTC:MTEHF), has received from Foxfire Metals Pty Ltd, (Foxfire) its joint venture partner and manager of the Minas Gerais Lithium and REE project in Brazil, that the results of a soil and rock chip sampling program completed in December 2022 have been received from independent SGS laboratory in Brazil.

The Joint venture ground is located just 38km S.E. of Sigma Lithium tenements (TSX-V: SGML). in the "Lithium Valley" of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The laboratory results confirm both Lithium and REEs present in the saprolite soils and altered granite/pegmatites associates with these soils.

All soil samples were collected over 13 different areas within the 3500 Hectares of Joint Venture ground and indicate the presence of Lithium and REE (rare earth element) mineralisation.

Highlights:

Lithium (Li):

Li (see table 1) confirmed in 90% of the samples of the analyzed saprolite soils: -

Up to 154 ppm Lithium reported in surface soil samples.

Pegmatites and altered granites were confirmed in the rock chips analyzed and contain Lithium mineralization.

Rare Earth Elements (REE):

Every sample (100%) analyzed contains REEs with 16 of the 17 TREE elements confirmed.

average TREE of ~2055 ppm over selected samples.

highest individual sample (PMG2) recorded TREE of ~3050 ppm.

Average TREE used in magnets 25.5%.

Light REE: 86% average of total REE

Heavy REE: 14% average of total REE

Mineralized zones:

Confirm mineralization for Lithium and REEs in at least 13 locations over the 3,500 hectares JV ground.

Geological structures:

Mapping identified several structures for hosting potential mineralization.

Plans moving forward:

June 2023 Quarter

Planned Auger drilling for next quarter to further test for Li and REE in the saprolite soils and oxidized pegmatite and granite.

A geochemical and geophysical work program to identify primary ore drilling targets planned in the June 2023 quarter.

Story continues

As previously reported, Foxfire completed a geochemical and mapping program in December 2022. Soil and rock chip samples collected were sent to SGS laboratory in Brazil to analyse for Lithium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs). These samples were collected from thirteen locations over the 3500 hectares JV licenses.

Every location that was sampled indicated lithologies (Saprolite soils and altered pegmatites and granites) containing Li and REE mineralisation.

The SGS laboratory results confirmed the presence of Lithium and Rare Earth Elements (REE) in the saprolite soils tested. Lithium was found in 90% of the samples analysed and REEs were found in all the samples analysed with 16 of the 17 TREE groups present.

Old workings are present on one of the 3 licenses and have confirmed previous mining activities.

The samples were prepared and analysed by SGS laboratories in Brazil and confirm Lithium and REE mineralisation in the saprolite soils and altered pegmatites and granites.

90% of the lithium in the saprolite soils contain up to 154ppm Lithium and 100% of the rock chips sampled contained lithium.

100% of the samples contain REEs in the saprolite soil and in the rock chip samples with the highest TREE (total Rare Earth Elements) sample PMG2 containing ~3050 ppm REE.

A further geochemical soil program and geophysics - airborne radiometric program is scheduled to commence in the next quarter with the objective of identifying drill targets focused on intercepting the primary zone of potential mineralisation for Lithium and Rare earths (REE).

A shallow auger drill program to test the extent of the mineralisation in the soils is also planned to commence in the next quarter.

REEs and TREE calculation

The average grade presented in this table is based on the samples result that exceeded 1000ppm of TREE.

Table 1:

Lithium results from SGS analysis of samples. Also elevated levels of Nb, Zr, and Rb were reported.

Sample ID Li Nb Zr Rb PPM PPM PPM PPM PMGL 0001 49 45 543.7 259 PMGL 0002 41 43 559.9 233 PMGL 0003 30 20 61.3 67 PMGL 0004 41 23 46.4 281 PMGL 0005 57 22 239.6 159 PMGL 0006 46 12 17.6 164 PMG1 0001 154 107 767.7 511 PMG1 0002 68 18 178 270 PMG1 0003 29 62 587 5 PMG1 0004 0 56 862.1 0 PMG1 0005 37 68 550.2 13 PMG1 0006 24 49 721.8 4 PMG1 0007 0 50 593.8 13 PMG1 0008 80 117 907.2 428 PMG1 0009 33 47 484.4 186 PMG2 0001 40 51 537.1 317 PMG2 0002 27 61 707.5 8 PMG2 0003 32 57 839.7 7 PMG2 0004 28 24 255.9 13 PMGLR 0002 58 58 547.7 300 PMGLR 0001 108 40 20 131

Legend:

PMGL = Soil Samples from EL831.515/2020 | PMGLLR = Rock chips from EL 831. 515/2020

PMG1 = Soil Samples from EL 831. 524/2020 | PMG2 =Soil Samples from EL831.458/2020

REE and TREE summary results:

Light REEs represent 86% average of the TREE

Heavy REEs represent 14% average of the TREE

Magnet REEs represent 25.5% average of the TREE (TREE% Magnets: REE 25.5% (Nd+Pr+Dy+Tb))

Table 2: REEs and TREO Calculation

Average Magnet Heavy PMGL0001 PMGL0002 PMG10001 PMG1005 PMG1 0008 PMG1 0009 PMG2 0001 PMG2 0002 PMGLR 0002 PMGLR 0002 REE REE REE LIGHTREE La 478.1 624.7 438 140.2 802.8 395.6 949.6 161.8 681.9 641.5 531.4 Ce 553.2 614.9 550.1 1412 896.6 400.9 679.1 939.4 507.4 464.1 701.8 Nd 373.2 419.7 297.1 45.2 523.9 342.9 752.9 108.6 478.4 438.2 378 378 Pr 103.9 123.3 84.6 14.8 150.6 97.3 214.2 30.3 132 126.2 107.7 107.7 Sm 56.4 57 42.6 7.4 75.6 50 99.5 13.7 70.1 66.1 53.8 86% 1564.8 1839.6 1412.4 1619.6 2449.5 1286.7 2695.3 1253.8 1869.8 1736.1 1772.8 HEAVY REE Dy 32.6 23 19.4 3.8 36.6 22.2 35.7 4.2 30.4 27.9 23.6 23.6 23.6 Er 15.1 8.4 8 1.6 15.4 9 13.4 1.5 12.8 11.4 9.6 9.6 Eu 7.5 8 7.7 0.5 9.2 6.3 18.4 2 11.8 10.7 8.2 8.2 Gd 52.6 46.8 33.9 5.6 65.8 38.2 73.8 9.8 52.5 50.6 43 43 Ho 6 3.7 3.4 0.7 6.3 3.6 5.7 0.7 5 4.7 4 4 Lu 1.5 0.7 0.9 0.2 1.6 0.8 1.2 0.2 1.3 1.2 1 1 Sc 8 6 11 9 6 8 9 10 9 8 8.4 8.4 Tb 7 5.8 4.4 1.4 8.4 4.9 8.7 1.5 7 6.3 5.5 5.5 5.5 Th 74.3 61.7 163.3 124.7 71.5 27.9 56.8 47 45.1 40.9 71.3 71.3 Tm 1.8 0.9 1 0.2 2 1 1.6 0.2 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.2 Y 175.4 96.3 83.7 14.1 159.7 93.5 120.5 14.5 118.9 115.1 99.2 99.2 Yb 11.3 5.2 6.4 1.6 11.1 6 9.3 1.2 9 8.1 6.9 6.9 393.1 266.4 343.1 163.4 393.5 221.5 354.1 92.6 304.4 286.3 281.8 14% 1957.9 2106.1 1755.5 1783 2843 1508.2 3049.4 1346.4 2174.3 2022.4 2054.6 514.8 281.8

The average grade of this table is based on the samples result that exceeded 1000ppm.

Light REEs TREO 86% | Heavy REEs TREO% 24%

Magnet REEs TREO % | Magnet REE 25.5%

Location Map: Inset 1

These Three lithium licenses lie within the highly prospective northern portion of the state of Minas Gerais in the municipality of Padre Paraiso -the location of the Brazilian lithium producing districts and lithium belt. The areas are known to host lithium bearing pegmatites associated with spodumene, lepidolite, and amblygonite.

Spark Energy Minerals Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Detail Location Map: Inset 2

Spark Energy Minerals Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Inset 2 is a location map of Spark's Minas Gerais lithium and rare earth licences. The dotted lines indicate the distance from Spark's licences to the state owned Companhia Brasileira de Litio's mining operation, Lithium Ionic (TSX-V: LTH) and SGML. Recent discoveries in the same, well known lithium province and pegmatite area of Minas Gerais have also been made by Latin Resources (ASX).

Minas Gerais Area Plays: Inset 3

Spark Energy Minerals Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Collection Sample Map: Inset 4

Spark Energy Minerals Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Collection points of samples sent for analysis: every sample contained either LI or REE Mineralisation confirmed in all of the 13 collection points over the 3500 ha square area.

Highlight: (Insets 5,6 & 7) An exploration program completed in December 2022 confirmed pegmatites on the license areas. Old workings were also identified where pegmatites have been mined. Lab results received confirmed mineralisation for Li and REE in the saprolite soils and pegmatite rock chips analysed.

Spark Energy Minerals Inc., Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Insets 5, 6: Old workings at Minas Gerais and surface exposure of pegmatities have confirmed Lithium and REE present. Inset 7: Samples of different rock type collected from the Joint Venture ground.

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Paul Woolrich (BSc Geology, MSc Geochemistry, PhD Metallurgy) who is a Member of the MAusIMM, a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and is a Technical Director of Foxfire Metals Pty Ltd.

About Spark Energy Minerals Inc.

Spark Energy Minerals, Inc., is a Canadian company pursuing battery metals and mineral assets with newly acquired interests in Brazil and Canada. The Company has acquired assets in some of the world's most prolific mining jurisdictions, Brazil's growing lithium and provinces and in the Newfoundland, Canada region which is gaining recognition as a world hot spot for lithium and rare earth mineral exploration.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE COMPANY'S WEB SITE AT

https://sparkenergyminerals.com

Email to info@sparkenergyminerals.com

Contact: Peter Wilson, CEO, Tel. +1-604-649-0945

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.

Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDAR.com under the Company's profile.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, the Property, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Spark Energy Minerals Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742442/Spark-Energy-Minerals-Exploration-Program-Confirms-Li-in-90-of-Soil-Samples-and-100-in-Chip-Samples




MAXIMIZE MARKET RESEARCH PRIVATE LIMITED

The growing construction industry is the major factor to drive the Steel Wire Market during the forecast period. The construction industry is growing majorly due to the high investments by the government. Steel wire has wide applications in the construction industry and increasing demand from these applications is expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

PORTLAND, OR, UNITED STATES, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A global Material & Chemical business consulting firm, Maximize Market research, has published a market intelligence and competitive landscape report on the  Steel Wire Market . The report is a combination of primary data and secondary data and domain experts have analyzed the Steel Wire Market from a local as well as a global point of view. Over the forecast period, Maximize Market research expects the market to grow from USD 99.24 Bn in 2021 to USD 151.85 Bn in 2029 at a CAGR of 6.26 percent. As per the report, the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period.



Market Size in 2021 USD 99.24 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 151.85 Bn. CAGR 6.26 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 276 No. of Tables 118 No. of Charts and Figures 114 Segment Covered Type, Form and End-Use 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.

Request For Free Sample Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

Steel Wire Market Report Scope and Research Methodology

The Steel Wire Market report offers both qualitative and quantitative analysis. It provides a detailed segment-wise and region-wise analysis of the market. The report categorizes the Steel Wire Market based on type, form and end-use. The report provides market statistics including market size, regional shares, competitors with market share, market trends, market drivers, restraints, challenges and prevailing opportunities. Such information makes the market report a guide for investors and helps new entrants to get knowledge about the Steel Wire Industry.

Story continues

The Steel Wire Market report highly depends on both primary and secondary data sources. The research process involves the investigation of various factors affecting the industry, such as government policy, competitive landscape, historical data, current market trends, market environment , technological innovation, upcoming technologies, and technical progress in related industries. All conceivable elements influencing the Steel Wire Market included in this research have been considered, analyzed in depth, validated through primary research, and evaluated to provide the final quantitative and qualitative data. Extensive primary research was conducted to acquire information and verify and confirm the important numbers arrived at after comprehensive Steel Wire Market engineering and calculations for market statistics, market forecasts, market breakdown, market size estimations and data triangulation. The bottom-up approach was used to estimate the global and regional Steel Wire Market size.

Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

Steel Wire Market Overview

Steel wire is a mechanical tool used to lift and transport loads and objects. Key factor driving the Steel Wire Market is the increasing demand for high-quality steel wire among medical original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Stainless steel wires are majorly used in modern medical applications such as vascular therapy, endovascular medical devices and others. Carbon steel wires are used in various applications such as construction, military and construction industries.

Steel Wire Market Dynamics

The growing urban population, technological advancements and increasing research and development activities are the major factors expected to create growth opportunities during the forecast period. The Steel Wire Market is also expected to grow due to the growing commercial, infrastructural and residential construction of government and private firms.

The Steel Wire Market is expected to be limited by the increasing use of plastic ropes in mobile cranes as they offer better lifting efficiency, extend the life of the rope and lower maintenance costs.

Steel Wire Market Regional Insights

In 2021, the Asia Pacific region dominated the global Steel Wire Market and is expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period. This growth of the Steel Wire Market is majorly expected due to the growing construction and infrastructural activities in developing countries such as China and India.

Get the Sample PDF of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/117044

The Steel Wire Market in the Europe region is also expected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period due to the presence of major automotive manufacturing companies that are increasing the demand for steel wire for automobile applications.

Steel Wire Market Segmentation

By Type

Carbon Steel

Alloy Steel

Stainless Steel



By Form

Non-rope

Rope

By End-Use

Construction

Automotive

Energy

Agriculture

Industrial



Steel Wire Market Key Competitors include:

ArcelorMittal

Nippon Steel

JFE Steel Corporation

TATA Steel Limited

Bekaert SA

The Heico Companies

Ferrier Nord

Byelorussian Steel Works

Kobe Steel, Ltd.

VIRAJ PROFILES LTD.

JSW Steel Ltd.

Hendrik Veder

Kiswire Inc.

Mahadev Industries

Mazzella Companies

Fasten Group

Gustav Wolf GmbH



Immediate Delivery Available | Buy this Premium Research Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/checkout/?method=PayPal&reportId=117044&type=Single%20User

Key Offerings:

Past Market Size and Competitive Landscape (2018 to 2021)

Past Pricing and price curve by region (2018 to 2021)

Steel Wire Market Size, Share, Size & Forecast by different segment | 20222029

Steel Wire Market Dynamics  Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region

Steel Wire Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by Type, Form, End-Use 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

Key questions answered in the Steel Wire Market are:

What is the global Steel Wire Market structure?

What is the CAGR of the Steel Wire Market?

What are the global trends in the Steel Wire Market?

What are the upcoming industry applications and trends for the Steel Wire Market?

What is the revenue generated from the sales of Steel Wire across the world?

What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Steel Wire Market?

What growth strategies are the market players considering to increase their presence in Steel Wire Market?

Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in Steel Wire Market?

What are the major challenges that the Steel Wire Market could face in the future?

Who held the largest market share in Steel Wire Market?

Maximize Market Research is leading Material & Chemical research firm, has also published the following reports:

Automotive Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 53.24 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 13.6 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing acceptance of lightweight steel in automobiles and the increasing adoption of EVs.

Carbon Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 1228 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 3.37 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing use of carbon steel in the production of construction materials, such as pipes and tubes and increased demand for shipbuilding materials.

Sintered Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 35.98 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.7 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the growing car component sector during the forecast period.

Weathering Steel Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 2.59 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 6.3 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand from the construction industry due to its outstanding characteristics in terms of durability, low maintenance, and a longer life cycle.

Corrugated Steel Sheets Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 3.26 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 3.4 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the wide usage of corrugated steel sheets in agriculture for warehousing, sheds, porches, and farmhouses.

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.

CONTACT: Contact Maximize Market Research: 3rd Floor, Navale IT Park, Phase 2 Pune Banglore Highway, Narhe, Pune, Maharashtra 411041, India sales@maximizemarketresearch.com +91 96071 95908, +91 9607365656




STMicroelectronics N.V.

P4519S -- Mar 7 2023 -- STM32H5 MCUs_IMAGE

STM32H5 MCUs

New STM32H5 MCU series from STMicroelectronics boosts performance

and security for next-generation smart applications

Features Arms Cortex-M33 embedded microcontroller core running at 250MHz

Contains STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager that makes stronger security simpler

Geneva, Switzerland, March 7, 2023  STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, has introduced its new performance-oriented STM32H5 microcontroller (MCU) series with cutting-edge security provided by STM32Trust TEE Security Manager for smart, connected devices.

The new STM32H5 MCUs contain the embedded core from Arm, the Cortex-M33, which blends high performance with security, energy efficiency, and affordability, to best address the mid-range class of MCU-based applications. Indeed, its the worlds highest performing Cortex-M33 implementation, running at 250MHz and 375 DMIPS for an EEMBC CoreMark industry-reference score of 1023.

The STM32H5 series is designed to accelerate innovation at scale for the coming generations of smart, connected devices, which provide more intelligence in the edge and also strengthens defenses against attacks on IoT assets. The Cortex-M33 core brings Arms TrustZone architecture. Building on this, ST adds a range of its own security features, including some developed with ST Authorized Partner, ProvenRun.

The STM32H5 is the first MCU series to come with system-on-chip (SoC) security services accessed via an industry-standard API. This facility, called STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager, saves developers writing their own code while providing security services developed according to known best practice. It simplifies development while ensuring effective protection.

Our connected world is ready for the enhancements coming with the STM32H5 series, to support advanced services while keeping users, assets, and data secure, said Ricardo De Sa Earp, Executive Vice President General-Purpose Microcontroller Sub-Group, Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group. We expect these new MCUs to become the preferred controllers making tomorrows smart homes, factories, and cities intelligent, safe, and sustainable.

Story continues

Challenging the perception that increased performance comes with power dissipation constraints for developers, the STM32H5 MCUs also improve energy efficiency by leveraging STs advanced 40nm CMOS process technology and improved on-chip power-conversion circuits. With these MCUs, power dissipation is no longer a constraint when using a 250MHz device in harsh environments where the ambient temperature can reach 125C. In addition, STM32H5 MCUs are SIL-ready for products that must meet an appropriate safety integrity level (SIL), thanks to native hardware features that address a wide range of industrial and medical applications.

Typical applications for the new MCUs include air conditioning systems, appliances, and alarm systems, industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs), motor controls, industrial pumps, communication gateways, lighting controls, and energy conversion. They are also used in consumer products such as PC peripherals, smartphones, and accessories.

Further technical information:

ST has worked with highly regarded technology companies to achieve the significant improvements in performance and security now available with the STM32H5 series. The Company has been a lead development partner with Arm, supporting development of the Cortex-M33 core to comply with the PSA Certified Level 3 and GlobalPlatform SESIP3 security specifications. In addition, ST has collaborated with Microsoft Azure on middleware with strong security.

The STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager is developed with ProvenRun and powered by ProvenCore-M to ensure todays highest security-assurance levels. The SoC security services provided include isolation, cryptography, key storage, and initial attestation. To help users maximize its potential, ST has created dedicated development kits NUCLEO-H503RB for $15, NUCLEO-H563ZI for $29, and STM32H573I-DK for $99 with examples showing how to use the security services and integrated all the necessary software tools and support in the STM32Cube development ecosystem.

The new devices also provide in-ST factory pre-provisioning credentials for seamless registration to various cloud and OEM servers, multi-tenant IP protection, and remote pre-integrated 3rd party public key infrastructure (PKI) lifecycle management.

In addition, the Kudelski IoT keySTREAM root of trust, from ST Authorized Partner Kudelski IoT, was pre-qualified on the STM32Trust TEE Secure Manager to allow remote credential lifecycle management services.

With its improved power-conversion circuits, the STM32H5 MCUs raise dynamic efficiency to 61A/MHz in switched mode (SMPS) and 120A/MHz running off the linear (LDO) converter (at VDD = 3.3V and 25C) in Run mode with peripherals off. Consistent with other STM32 MCUs, STs advanced peripherals are engineered for maximum efficiency, while precision power management lets developers optimize performance versus power consumption in all operating modes.

The product lines initially available include the STM32H503 product line with128KB Flash, allowing 250MHz computing capability in space- and cost-constrained applications. Also, the STM32H562 and STM32H563 product lines have up to 2MB Flash, rich connectivity, and deliver 250MHz over the extended temperature range up to 125C. The STM32H573 includes AES cryptographic acceleration and security services.

Prices at 10,000 units for the new MCUs start at $1.44 with 128KB Flash in UFQFPN32 package. Devices with 2MB Flash size are priced from $2.93. Mass production is beginning now, starting with the STM32H503 and STM32H563. The full lineup and package choices will be introduced in June.

For further information please go to www.st.com/stm32h5.



STM32 is a registered and/or unregistered trademark of STMicroelectronics International NV or its affiliates in the EU and/or elsewhere. In particular, STM32 is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office.

About STMicroelectronics

At ST, we are more than 50,000 creators and makers of semiconductor technologies mastering the semiconductor supply chain with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities. An integrated device manufacturer, we work with more than 200,000 customers and thousands of partners to design and build products, solutions, and ecosystems that address their challenges and opportunities, and the need to support a more sustainable world. Our technologies enable smarter mobility, more efficient power and energy management, and the wide-scale deployment of the Internet of Things and connectivity. ST is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2027. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

For Press Information Contact:

Michael Markowitz

STMicroelectronics

Tel: +1 781 591 0354

Email: michael.markowitz@st.com

Attachments




Biopharmaceutical research company specializing in cannabis- and plant-inspired medicines shares strategic plan for 2023 and key developments from 2022

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Gb Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB:GBLX), a leading cannabis- and plant-inspired biopharmaceutical research and development company, issued a letter to shareholders today from President, Chief Science Officer, and Director Dr. Andrea Small-Howard and Chairman and CEO John Poss summarizing key developments from 2022 and providing strategic plans for 2023. Full text of the shareholder letter follows.

Plant Investment

A MESSAGE FROM BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND THE CHAIRMAN OF GB SCIENCES, INC.

To Our Shareholders:

In 2022, Gb Sciences achieved significant milestones advancing our plant-inspired drug development pipeline for the treatment of a broad spectrum of critical and prevalent diseases, which supports the value of PhAROS, our proprietary AI-enabled Drug Discovery Platform. Gb Sciences is entering 2023 with very good reason for excitement and optimism for our shareholders and for the potential to develop first-in-class drugs to treat serious disorders such as: Parkinson's Disease, Advanced Heart Disease, Chronic Pain, Inflammation, Anxiety and Depression. In addition, our intellectual property portfolio currently contains six issued U.S. and four issued foreign patents, as well as 15 U.S. and 49 foreign patent-pending applications that cover our novel AI-enabled drug discovery platform and proprietary therapies for more than 65 different disorders.

Recognizing the value of our PhAROS Drug Discovery Platform for expediting our novel plant-inspired drug pipeline, we also realize that PhAROS has the potential to be of high value to other drug development biotech and pharmaceutical companies. With its data analytics and machine learning capabilities providing a breakthrough in drug discovery, our PhAROS Drug Discovery Platform greatly reduces the time and money required to discover and bring novel formulations to market. Therefore, in addition to developing our own biopharma pipeline, we plan to monetize PhAROS by pursuing potential licensing and/or partnerships with other drug developers that offer the potential to generate substantial, recurring, high-margin revenues to Gb Sciences.

Story continues

While other drug developers pursue conventional drug pathways, Gb Sciences is developing novel Minimal Essential Mixtures derived from the active ingredients found within traditional plant-based medicines that are still commonly used across the world. Traditional medicines that are mostly plant based have been used for centuries and are composed of all the ingredients for specific plants which can number in the hundreds or even thousands. Gb Sciences uses our novel PhAROS Drug Discovery Platform to determine which three ingredients of the hundreds of ingredients found in each plant are the most effective and with the fewest adverse side effects.

In 2022, Gb Sciences has successfully prepared our lead program in Parkinson's disease for a first-in-human trial through the following essential steps: a) creating clinical prototypes by combining our proprietary Parkinson's formulas with a convenient oral delivery system; b) performing a dose response study in rodents to establish the correct range of active ingredients for our first-in-human trial; c) performing necessary ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicology) tests on the clinical prototypes; and d) selecting a Contract Research Organization (CRO) to prepare an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. FDA to begin our first-in-human trial.

Working with Catalent Pharma in 2022, Gb Sciences has successfully prepared the clinical prototypes of our proprietary cannabinoid-based formulations for Parkinson's disease in Catalent Pharma's proprietary Zydis delivery system. Catalent Pharma's Zydis delivery system is an Orally Disintegrating Tablet format that should be ideal for delivering our cannabinoid-ratio controlled formulations to Parkinson's patients. More than 50% of Parkinson's patients have trouble swallowing, but the Zydis format delivers the active ingredients into the mouth by dispersion without needing water or the ability to swallow.

In February of 2023, the University of Lethbridge has successfully completed our dose response study in rodents, which helps us to establish the correct dosing of our cannabinoid-containing Parkinson's formulations in our first-in-human trial. The results of this important study will be delivered to Gb Sciences from the University of Lethbridge within the next six weeks.

Prior to filing our IND application for our first-in-human trial on our Parkinson's formulations, Gb Sciences must conduct ADMET testing on the clinical prototypes being formulated for us by Catalent Pharma. Gb Sciences has selected Labcorp Drug Development, formerly Covance, to perform our IND-enabling studies due to their expertise and testing locations in the United Kingdom near to where the ODT tablets are being manufactured by Catalent Pharma.

In the IND application for our Parkinson's disease therapeutics, the ADMET testing data from Labcorp will be combined with the Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) data prepared by Catalent Pharma and our proof-of-concept data from the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada. In the near future, we expect to announce the selection of the Contract Research Organization that will write the IND application and run the first-in-human trials for our novel treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Gb Sciences has four other promising late-preclinical stage programs, including our COVID-related cytokine release syndrome (COVID-CRS) formulations and our time-released oral nanoparticle formulations for chronic pain. We have achieved preclinical proof-of-concept for our COVID-CRS formulas in studies performed by Michigan State University. Our chronic pain formulations are being validated in animal trials at the National Research Council of Canada. Recently, we have announced that our kava-inspired formulas for anxiety have achieved animal proof-of-concept. Gb Sciences is now preparing its non-psychedelic, kava-based anxiety formulations to treat the growing global need for anxiety and depression relief.

In closing, we would like to thank those shareholders who have supported our company this year and in past years. Our goal remains to produce maximum shareholder value while also providing innovative new therapeutic options for patients that need them.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrea Small-Howard

President, CSO & Director

Gb Sciences, Inc.

John Poss

Chairman & CEO

Gb Sciences, Inc.

To learn more about Gb Sciences, visit www.gbsciences.com.

About Gb Sciences and GbS Global Biopharma

Gb Sciences, Inc. is a plant-inspired, biopharmaceutical research and development company creating patented, disease-targeted formulations of cannabis- and other plant-inspired therapeutic mixtures for the prescription drug market through its Canadian subsidiary GbS Global Biopharma, Inc. The "plant-inspired" active ingredients in its therapeutic mixtures are synthetic homologues identical to the original plant compounds but produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices. Gb Sciences' intellectual property portfolio contains six issued U.S. and four issued foreign patents, as well as 15 U.S. and 49 foreign patent-pending applications. In its drug development pipeline, Gb Sciences has five preclinical phase product development programs. Gb Sciences' lead program for Parkinson's disease is being prepared for a first-in-human clinical trial. Gb Sciences' formulations for chronic pain, anxiety and depression are currently in preclinical animal studies with researchers at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The company also received positive preclinical proof-of-concept data supporting its complex mixtures for the treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome, and its lead candidates will be optimized based on late-stage preclinical studies at Michigan State University. Gb Sciences' productive research and development network includes distinguished universities, hospitals, and Contract Research Organizations. To learn more, visit www.gbsciences.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements relating to future results or events, which are forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "may," "could," "should," "anticipates," "likely," "believes" and words of similar import may identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. It is possible that the Company's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Further, information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's business and financial and other results, are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which we hereafter become aware.

Contact Information

Alexis Quintal

grow@rosarium.work

SOURCE: Gb Sciences

.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742405/Successful-2022-Milestones-Support-Value-of-Gb-Sciences-AI-Enabled-Drug-Discovery-Platform




Internationally recognized for her scholarship and expertise in faculty affairs and diversity, equity, and inclusion, O'Meara has a proven track record of implementing innovative and effective organizational change to advance the field of higher education.

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers College, Columbia University today announced the appointment of KerryAnn O'Meara as its next Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost and Dean of the College, effective July 5, 2023. Dr. O'Meara, who currently serves as Professor of Higher

TC Logo

Education and a Distinguished Scholar Teacher, and as Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives, at the University of Maryland, is an internationally recognized expert on faculty affairs and diversity, equity and inclusion, with research continuously funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) since 2010.

"KerryAnn O'Meara is an esteemed scholar and expert on the development and implementation of organizational practices that empower and support faculty diversity and inclusion, and strengthen institutions overall," said Thomas Bailey, President, Teachers College, Columbia University. "Dr. O'Meara's leadership and expertise will be instrumental in helping the Teachers College community achieve new heights of academic excellence and social impact for the future."

Under President Bailey's leadership, Teachers College has embarked on an ambitious set of strategic priorities designed to strengthen the institution for the future, with a focus on the areas of: research; diversity, equity and inclusion; student pathways; digital innovation; and organizational design and structure. Dr. O'Meara's wealth of research expertise and direct experience leading change in organizations will be invaluable in helping Teachers College to advance these efforts and meet the demands of an ever-evolving higher education landscape.

"I am thrilled to join the Teachers College community," said KerryAnn O'Meara, the incoming Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost and Dean of the College at Teachers College, Columbia University. "I have long admired TC's deeply held commitments to social justice, groundbreaking research, outstanding graduate programs, and multidisciplinary approaches to creating a more equitable world. As I learned more about President Bailey's strategic priorities, as well as where TC faculty, students and employees would like to see the College go in the future, I realized I had discovered a new home. I am inspired by the ways in which faculty and students are extending their scholarship into the world, and I look forward to finding new ways to support, connect, and amplify this work and its impact."

Story continues

In her current role at the University of Maryland, Dr. O'Meara has been instrumental in creating and implementing various strategic initiatives, including faculty diversity and inclusion programs and interdisciplinary research collaborations. Throughout her career, Dr. O'Meara has earned a reputation for her collaborative leadership style, commitment to mentoring and supporting faculty, and ability to unite diverse stakeholders around a shared vision.

"Dr. O'Meara has been a true servant leader at the University of Maryland," said Darryll J. Pines, President, University of Maryland. She helped transform our university by not only leading our proposal effort to win an NSF ADVANCE grant on Inclusive Excellence to advance women's agency across our campus, but was also the program's inaugural director for a decade. In addition, she was a key leader in spearheading the TerrapinSTRONG onboarding initiative that has educated every citizen of our campus community on our history, values, traditions, and diversity, equity and inclusion activities. I am extremely proud of her work here and I believe she will be a transformative leader for Teachers College."

"Dr. O'Meara has long been a leading voice in higher education, and she has always demonstrated a rare ability to do work that is rigorous, meaningful, and impactful on a local and national level," said Kimberly Griffin, Ph.D., Professor and Dean, College of Education, University of Maryland. I am certain that her work as Provost and Dean of the College will be transformational, grounded in her equity-based scholarship and rich leadership experiences. While we will miss her vision and wisdom here in College Park, we also feel great pride as Dr. O'Meara embraces this new opportunity."

Dr. O'Meara's research examines faculty careers and academic rewards systems with a particular focus on organizational practices that support and limit the full participation of women, minoritized faculty and engaged scholars. Before joining the University of Maryland, she held academic appointments at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Dr. O'Meara will succeed Interim Provost William J. Baldwin, appointed on July 1, 2022.

About Teachers College, Columbia University

Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States, is perennially ranked among the nation's best. Teachers College's mission is to create a smarter, healthier, and more equitable and peaceful world. Teachers College engages in research and prepares professionals in its three main areas of expertiseeducation, health and psychologyto work with public and private entities in local, national and global communities and inform public policy. Students choose from nearly 150 academic programs to earn graduate degrees, which are conferred by Columbia University. While it is closely affiliated with Columbia University and collaborates with it on many programs, the College is an independent, autonomous institution with a separate, independent governing board, president, and financial endowment.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teachers-college-columbia-university-announces-kerryann-omeara-as-next-vice-president-for-academic-affairs-provost-and-dean-of-the-college-301764618.html

SOURCE Teachers College, Columbia University
Northbrook, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northbrook, Illinois -

David Hochberg at Homeside Financial is helping residents in Northbrook and nearby areas find ways to afford a new home or leverage the equity they already have in their property.

Aspiring homeowners often get discouraged to pursue their dream of homeownership due to the long-standing assumption that they need 20% of the homes value as a down payment. However, while the 20% estimate undoubtedly applies to some premium properties, the average downpayment that first-time buyers pay is much lower, around 6% according to the National Association of Realtors.

Team Hochberg - Chicago

There are many ways in which you can make owning a home easier for yourself, David Hochberg says, If you qualify for certain government assistance programs, homeownership ceases to be a pipe dream and becomes a reality. That day you have been waiting for, when you finally move into a home that you can call your own, might not be as far away as you think.

For starters, the Federal Housing Administration helps out individuals and families who have poor credit and are struggling to raise the money for a down payment. With an FHA mortgage, those with credit scores between 500 and 579 can qualify for up to 90% of the homes value and those with a credit score higher than 580 can qualify for 96.5%. Banks will still consider the applicants credit score, their debt history, whether they have steady employment, current income, and other factors. However, since the mortgage is backed by the government, it opens up a lot more opportunities for those who would not have qualified for a conventional mortgage.

Some American households can qualify for VA mortgages if the applicant is a veteran or active service personnel, or is a surviving spouse of such an individual. VA mortgages offer a host of benefits such as no down payments, no requirement of signing up for mortgage insurance, and no penalties if the applicant decides to pay off the mortgage early. Those who qualify are also assisted by the VA to avoid defaulting on their mortgage.

Story continues

David Hochberg talks about the many options available to those looking for a first home or refinancing their existing property by saying, Applying for a VA or FHA mortgage is a great way to fight the odds and succeed in the real estate market. Regardless of whether you are a first-time home buyer, need funds to sustain yourself post-retirement, need the money to pay off other debts, or want to undertake significant home improvement tasks, these government programs may be just what you need to get started. Call up Team Hochberg today so that I can look over your case and guide you to the program that you can qualify for. You can also check out this news article to find out more about my VA mortgage services.

Team Hochberg has been originating mortgages since 2000 and has, to date, made available over $15 billion for its clients in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The mortgage services provider, a part of Homeside Financial, has a dedicated in-house support staff, underwriters, and closing department that can process applications in as little as a few days.

Several Illinois residents have expressed their approval of Team Hochbergs services on its Google Business Profile where it has an impressive 4.8 out of 5.0 rating from over 400 reviews. One reviewer writes, David willingly goes above and beyond to help you and answer your questions. I would definitely recommend David and his team for all your needs.

Another homeowner shares their journey of getting approved with Team Hochberg by saying, I highly recommend Team Hochberg. Brian was very knowledgeable and explained the process step by step. The portal was a great resource to see how the process was moving along. I was fully funded on my mortgage in 11 days! It was a pleasure doing business with Brian!

Readers can follow David Hochberg on Twitter to stay updated on mortgages and real estate in Chicago and nearby areas.

###

For more information about David Hochberg - Mortgage Lender, contact the company here:



David Hochberg - Mortgage Lender

David Hochberg

(855) 563-2843

dhochberg@gohomeside.com

3100 Dundee Rd Suite 906

Northbrook, Illinois 60062

CONTACT: David Hochberg




COVID-19 Remained in Third Place Nationally and across All Four Census Regions among Top Five Telehealth Diagnoses While Increasing Its Share of Claims, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

NEW YORK, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National telehealth utilization increased 3.8 percent in December 2022, from 5.3 percent of medical claim lines in November to 5.5 percent in December, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.1 The growth in telehealth utilization continued an increase begun in November. In December, telehealth utilization also increased in three US census regionsthe South (7.1 percent), Midwest (5.0 percent) and Northeast (3.3 percent)while remaining unchanged in the West. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicaid.

Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, December 2022

Diagnoses

In December 2022, COVID-19 remained in third place among the top five telehealth diagnoses nationally and in every region, the rank it had held since November. While maintaining that rank, it increased in percentage share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region.

In December, acute respiratory diseases and infections remained in second place nationally and in every region, the rank it had held since October. It continued to climb in percentage share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in the Northeast and South.

In the South in December, encounter for examination went from unranked to fifth place among the top five telehealth diagnoses.

Specialties

The rankings of the top five telehealth specialties did not change in December 2022. Social worker remained in first place nationally and in every region, though it fell in percentage share of telehealth claim lines everywhere but the Northeast. Primary care physician, in second place nationally and in every region, increased everywhere in percentage share of telehealth claim lines.

Story continues

Procedure Codes

From November to December 2022, the rankings of the top five telehealth procedure codes did not change nationally or in any region when compared to the prior 10 months. The number one telehealth procedure code nationally and in every region remained CPT2 90837, one-hour psychotherapy. However, CPT 90837 and CPT 90834, 45-minute psychotherapy, declined in their percentage share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in most regions. The exception was the Northeast with CPT 90837, which exhibited an increase.

Costs

For December 2022, the Telehealth Cost Corner spotlighted the cost of CPT 99442, telephone medical discussion with physician or other qualified healthcare professional, 11-20 minutes. Nationally, the median charge amount for this service was $124.50, and the median allowed amount was $49.35.3

About the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

Launched in May 2020 as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in the nation as a whole or in individual regions. Each infographic shows month-to-month changes in telehealth's percentage of medical claim lines, as well as that month's top five telehealth procedure codes, diagnoses and specialties. Additionally, in the Telehealth Cost Corner, a specific telehealth procedure code is featured, with its median charge amount and median allowed amount.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "We welcome sharing these varying windows into telehealth utilization as it continues to evolve. This is one of the many ways we pursue our healthcare transparency mission."

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, 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

rkent@fairhealth.org

1 A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.

2 CPT  2022 American Medical Association (AMA). All rights reserved.

3 A charge amount is the provider's undiscounted fee, which a patient may have to pay when the patient is uninsured, or when the patient chooses to go to a provider who does not belong to the patient's plan's network. An allowed amount is the total fee paid to the provider under an insurance plan. It includes the amount that the health plan pays and the part the patient pays under the plan's in-network cost-sharing provisions (e.g., copay or coinsurance if the patient has met the deductible).

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/telehealth-utilization-increased-nearly-four-percent-nationally-in-december-2022-compared-to-prior-month-301763003.html

SOURCE FAIR Health
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Some of the key players in the network security firewalls market are RODER HTS HOCKER GmbH, Shelter Tent Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Spaciotempo, Portable Venues (Group) Ltd, Big Top Manufacturing, MAHAFFEY FABRIC STRUCTURES, Losberger US LLC, USA, Kopron Spa, MegaDome Buildings, and Milestones Building & Design

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global temporary storage buildings market is predicted to create opulent growth over the forecast period from 2022 to 2032 by registering a CAGR of 6.3%. The market was estimated to reach around US$ 1536.9 Million in 2022 and surpass a valuation of US$ 2831.3 Million by 2032. The growth of the market is attributed to the surging industrialization around the globe resulting in the need for storage space to store tools, equipment, and raw materials in one given space. This will surge the demand for temporary storage buildings in the future.



Temporary storage buildings are known for their swift and easy arrangements that are massively utilized for storage-based applications. Furthermore, these storage spaces are easy to set up as they do not need any concrete foundation or brick walls. Overall, these storage buildings are cost-efficient and contemporary.

Request a Sample to Obtain Authentic Analysis: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5415

Temporary storage buildings are also known as temporary warehouses or temporary sheds. These storage building structures are made from galvanized steel frames for high-quality structural integrity, which are covered with flame-retardant PVC vinyl fabric. The majority of the temporary storage buildings are made of waterproof materials, which makes them safe for storing items in extreme weather conditions. However, storage sheds made out of wood and metal are vulnerable to rotting due to water. Therefore, it is vital to invest in waterproofing solutions.

Report Highlights

Temporary storage buildings are known for heightened durability and long-lasting substitutive solution. Moreover, it can be easily dismantled and repositioned between worksites to fulfill future requirements.

Story continues

The adoption of temporary storage buildings is augmenting globally as they virtually accommodate any size and can be used in numerous industries. Temporary outdoor sheds are upgraded by adding features such as flooring, specialty doors, HVAC systems, and a lot more, depending on the needs.

Recent Developments

The global trends of surging retail stores and factory outlets are expected to surge the market growth exponentially. Other factors resulting in higher sales of temporary storage buildings comprise winter protection for livestock, storage space harvesting in the agricultural sector, temporary buildings for car shows, and construction equipment storage at construction sites.

One of the primary factors behind the growth of the temporary storage buildings market is the growing demand for products resulting in production and expansion in the end-user industry. The market competitors in this industry have obligated the management to bring down the operational cost of production and inventory. Additionally, the increasing price of construction materials for buildings and high inventory costs pave the way for a temporary storage building.

The demand for temporary storage sheds is flourishing owing to the several advantages they offer, such as versatility, portability, easy assembly, minimal maintenance, convenience, and affordability. These benefits will push the sales of temporary storage buildings market further and thereby contribute to the growth of the global market.

Talk with our expert: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-5415

Competitive Landscape

Primary operators in the global temporary storage buildings market are focusing on setting up effective joint ventures, acquisitions, and/or collaborations to expand their individual customer bases. The rising focus of industries to encourage implementing push marketing strategy in several industries, such as FMCG, electronics, etc., which have the need for inventory, is an aspect that boosts the growth of the market.

Manufacturers are working on enhancing and adding additional features such as access to electricity, a single roof, etc. Moreover, these outdoor storage sheds can be locked for additional security and to prevent theft.

In August 2017, Mahaffey Fabric Structures, a United States-based leading provider of temporary turnkey structures and shelter solutions, announced the acquisition of over $24.2 million in assets from Classic Party Rentals, including structure frames, tents, fabric pieces, and specialty structures.

More Insights into the Temporary Storage Buildings Market

The North American region is expected to dominate the global temporary storage buildings market over the evaluation period. The market is expected to account for around 25.8% market share in the assessment period. Extensive applications of a temporary storage building in the manufacturing industry. In North America, a key country like the United States has been experiencing considerable growth in the manufacturing units, pharma units, retail sector, etc.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to create flourishing growth over the next decade. The growth is attributed to the favorable initiatives from governments in countries like China and India to encourage manufacturing. This factor will contribute to the lucrative growth of the market.

Access Full Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/temporary-storage-buildings-market

Key Segments of The Temporary Storage Buildings Market

By Type:

Storage Buildings

Retail & Showroom Buildings

Educational Buildings

Recreational Buildings

Public Sector Buildings

Emergency Buildings

By Structure:

Industrial Canopies

Storage Protect Range

Insulated Buildings



By End Use:

Chemicals & Petrochemicals

Automotive

Mining & Metals

Cement

Construction

Shipbuilding and Construction

Logistics

Agriculture

Others



By Region:

North America

Latin America

Asia Pacific

MEA

Europe



Customization Before Buying, Visit: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-5415

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations



2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage/Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition/Scope/Limitations



3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.5. PESTLE and Porters Analysis

3.6. Regulatory Landscape

3.7. Regional Parent Market Outlook



4. Global Temporary Storage Buildings Market Analysis 2017 to 2021 and Forecast, 2022 to 2032

4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) Analysis, 2017 to 2021

4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) Projections, 2022 to 2032 Full TOC Continue..

Explore wide-ranging Coverage of FMIs Industrial Automation Market Insights Landscape:

Dewatering Pump Market Size: The global dewatering pump market size would reach US$ 7,356.8 million in 2023. It would expand at a CAGR of 5.2% from 2023 to 2033. By 2033, it would reach a valuation of US$ 12,213.6 million.

Milk Tank Cooling System Market Share: The global milk tank cooling systems market is set to reach a value of US$ 678.0 million. Between 2023 and 2033, a slow 3.4% CAGR is likely to fuel market acceleration. This should result in a US$ 947.1 million in 2033.

Carbide Tools Market Analysis: Sales in the global carbide tools market are slated to top US$ 7.6 Billion in 2023. Expanding at a healthy 7.1% CAGR, the market size is projected to total US$ 15 Billion by 2033.

Polymer Seals Market Demand: The global polymer seals market was estimated to have reached a value of US$ 11.3 billion in 2022. From 2022 to 2032, the market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.1% to reach a valuation of US$ 18.7 billion in 2032.

Gaskets and Seals Market Growth: Global demand for gaskets and seals is estimated to reach US$ 154.7 billion by 2033. Over the forecast period, the market is projected to attain US$ 154.7 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 6% in the meantime.

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.

Contact Us:

Future Market Insights, Inc.

1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower,

Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A,

Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai,

United Arab Emirates

Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com

Web: www.futuremarketinsights.com

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs | YouTube




Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday said that his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will continue on their planned course and dismissed the opposition split, in his first comment regarding the fracturing of the opposition alliance.

We decided not to speak on the issue until a second development. As the AK Party, we will conduct the necessary evaluations during our MYK (Central Administration Board) and MKYK (Central Executive Committee and Central Decision Board) meetings and then decide, Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.

He added he predicted that the six-party opposition coalition would fall apart.

The public split on Friday in the alliance of opposition parties followed months of simmering discord in the group and was seen by analysts as a blow to opposition hopes of unseating Erdogan  who has been in power for two decades.

Meral Akshener, leader of the center-right nationalist Good Party (IP), the second-biggest in the alliance, announced Friday the party was leaving the bloc.

She said that at a presidential candidate selection meeting this week, five parties in the alliance proposed Kemal K?l?cdaro?lu, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), as their candidate.

"Personal ambition was preferred to Turkiye," Akshener said. This was not what the Good Party was founded for, she added.

The 74-year-old former civil servant's failure to light up opinion polls had been causing divisions within the six opposition parties for some time.

Akshener accused members of the alliance of pressuring her party and defying the people's will, adding that she proposed Mansur Yavash and Ekrem Imamoglu, CHP mayors of the capital Ankara and Istanbul, respectively, as candidates.

Yavash had recently indicated that he would accept the duty of a presidential candidate if the opposition coalition would ask him to, while Imamoglus candidacy was seen as risky because of an ongoing judicial process.

He was sentenced in December to over two years imprisonment and a ban from political office for insulting election officials following his win four years ago.

Aksheners announcement, just 10 weeks before the planned May 14 election, was not anticipated as the parties had been negotiating with each other for a year.

After Aksheners announcement, Yavash and Imamoglu posed in a photo with Kilicdaroglu and stated that they would adhere to CHP decisions.

Kilicdaroglu seemed unruffled by Aksheners speech as he left a meeting in Ankara. Dont worry, all the pieces will fall into place, he told journalists.

Kilicdaroglu has said there is no room for political games in the alliance and signaled that more parties could join the bloc.

Before the splinter, the CHP, Felicity Party (SP), IP, Future Party (GP), Democrat Party (DP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) formed the opposition.

Opposition leaders said they will announce their joint candidate to challenge Erdo?an on March 6. IP officials said that Akshener would not attend Mondays meeting.

A staunch nationalist and a skillful orator, Akshener, a former interior minister, is one of the few prominent women in domestic politics.

Separately, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a key actor in the bid to defeat Erdogan on May 14, called on the opposition to unite around democracy, justice and freedom.

The third-biggest party with 12% support nationally, the HDP is not part of the alliance. But in 2019 its supporters helped the alliance win mayoral elections in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities.

HDP co-leader Mithat Sancar said after an extraordinary meeting of the HDP senior ranks that the party is still reconsidering a previous decision to field a presidential candidate.

The five-party opposition coalition met on Saturday at the headquarters of the SP, after which Kilicdaroglu announced: We continue our path with the same faith and determination.

In a joint written statement following the 4.5-hour meeting, the parties said: Our goal is a victory without a loser. In this context, as we decided in our previous meeting, we will meet again on Monday, March 6, hosted by the Felicity Party. We will share with the public the final statement on our common presidential candidate and the transition process road map in the 28th term Parliament and 13th presidential elections.

Turkiye heads to a critical election on May 14 three months after a devastating earthquake hit several provinces and claimed over 45,000 lives.

Erdogan this week dismissed the speculation that the election might be postponed because of the disaster and said the vote would go ahead as planned.
Terrestrial Energy Inc.

Office supports Generation IV small modular reactor development in Alberta, creating high-quality jobs and a pathway for reduced emissions in the oil and gas, and petrochemical industries.

CALGARY, Alberta, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Terrestrial Energy, an advanced nuclear technology company, has opened an office in Calgary, Alberta, to support the commercial development of the companys Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) plant for industrial cogeneration in Western Canada.



Terrestrial Energys new Alberta operations will expand its partnerships with Albertas industry, its academic institutions, suppliers, local and indigenous communities, as well as municipal and provincial governments. Terrestrial Energys focus in Alberta will support high-quality engineering and industrial jobs to deliver IMSR cogeneration plants to multiple industries, bringing Terrestrial Energys world-class partnerships to Alberta, and supporting the provinces emissions reductions goals.

The fission technology and plant design choices used by the IMSR plant meet the economic and net-zero objectives of energy-intensive industries. The plant is designed to be small and modular, but its use of molten-salt reactor technology delivers transformative advantages. Central to this is its zero-carbon high-temperature (580C) heat supply, which is essential for many industries operating in Alberta and across Western Canada.

Albertas government is proud to create an environment that attracts forward-thinking companies on the cutting edge of technological change like Terrestrial Energy. Innovative SMR technology has great potential to strengthen and diversify Albertas economy, and Terrestrial Energys investment in our province is even more proof of the Renewed Alberta Advantage. More and more investors are choosing to come to Alberta for our skilled workforce and low-tax, business-friendly environment. I cant wait to see the next game-changing innovations in our province.

Story continues

- Brian Jean, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Northern Development



Terrestrial Energys investment into an office in Calgary is welcome news for the Alberta government. Our government has worked hard to ensure Alberta provides a corporate climate that allows organizations like Terrestrial Energy to come to our province and thrive. This investment is another tip of the hat towards that investment climate. This move is also a massive step for Albertas nuclear energy future that will help many communities around Alberta.

- Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism



Terrestrial Energys expansion into Alberta reflects the potential Alberta holds for energy transition and emission reduction. Innovative nuclear technology companies like Terrestrial Energy are paving the way toward a net-zero future  and its investment in Alberta will create 29 more jobs in a sector that is seeing rapid growth in our province.

- Rick Christiaanse, CEO, Invest Alberta



Calgary is a global leader in cleantech innovation and companies like Terrestrial Energy will help power our pathway to a net-zero economy. Our city is home to experts in all things energy and has the companies, capital and talent to achieve Canadas energy transition goals.

- Brad Parry, President & CEO, Calgary Economic Development



Alberta is a global energy hub with a track record of pursuing innovation in energy markets. Today its industries are investigating the potential of nuclear innovation to deliver transformative changes, supported by the provincial governments continued focus on innovation and growth. We look forward to growing our company in Alberta and delivering the first operating IMSR cogeneration plant, and by doing so demonstrate a solution to the greatest unsolved problem on the global pathway to net-zero: clean thermal energy supply for global industry.

- Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy



In August 2022, Terrestrial Energy signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Invest Alberta, the Government of Albertas crown corporation promoting high-value investments to support the commercialization of the IMSR cogeneration plant. Under the terms of the agreement, Invest Alberta will work with Terrestrial Energy on federal and provincial policies, and industrial incentives supporting transformative energy innovation in the province.

Terrestrial Energy has invested over $100 million in its Ontario operation, where it employs more than 100 personnel who supported its multi-year Vendor Design Review engagement with the CNSC. The Company is engaged with industrials operating energy-intensive plant infrastructure in multiple jurisdictions worldwide.

About Terrestrial Energy

Terrestrial Energy is developing for near-term commercial operation a zero-emissions cogeneration plant for global industry using its proprietary Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR) fission technology in an innovative, small and modular plant design. The IMSR is a non-Light Water Reactor of the Generation IV class that operates at the high temperature required for broad industrial relevance with transformative economic potential. The IMSR plant is capable of grid-based electric power generation and industrial cogeneration in many energy-intensive industries, including petrochemical and chemical synthesis for hydrogen and ammonia production. The IMSR plant offers a near-50 percent improvement in efficiency of electric power generation compared to Light Water Reactor nuclear plants. Its industrial cogeneration capability delivers to todays markets industrial competitiveness, security of energy, and zero-emissions industrial production. The IMSR plants use of existing industrial materials, components, and fuels supports its near-term deployment, setting the stage for a rapid global decarbonization of the primary energy system.

E-mail: info@terrestrialenergy.com

CONTACT: Media contact Jarret Adams Phone: +1 202 815 9234 Email: jadams@fulloncom.com




Fortune Business Insights

As per the report by Fortune Business Insights, the global Threat Intelligence Market Size is projected to reach USD 18.11 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 20.4% during the forecast period, 2023-2030

Pune,India, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Threat Intelligence Market Size stood at USD 4.24 billion in 2022 and is estimated to expand from USD 4.93 billion in 2023 to USD 18.11 billion by 2030 exhibiting a CAGR of 20.4% over the projected period. The rise is due to the soaring implementation of artificial intelligence for cybersecurity.

Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its research report, titled Threat Intelligence Market Forecast, 2023-2030.

Key Industry Development-

August 2022  Microsoft launched the latest threat intelligence and attack surface management solutions. The new products ease the tracking of threat actors, providing a better understanding of behavior over time.





Request a free sample PDF- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/threat-intelligence-market-102984





Report Scope & Segmentation

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 CAGR 20.4% 2030 Value Projection USD 18.11 Billion Base Year 2022 Threat Intelligence Market Size in 2022 USD 4.24 Billion Historical Data for 2019 to 2021 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered Component, Type, Deployment, Enterprise, End-User, Region





Key Takeaways-

Threat Intelligence Market is expected to flourish & reach USD 18.11 Billion in 2030

Threat intelligence provides contextual and real-world advice on cyber threats to the organization.

The pandemic has led to an increase in work-from-home situations, resulting in an increase in cyberattack rates.

The tactical portion will increase to the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Threat Intelligence Market Size in North America was USD 1.94 Billion 2022

Drivers and Restraints-

Escalating Adoption of Digital Technologies to Fuel Industry Expansion

One of the key aspects fueling the threat intelligence market growth is the upsurge in the adoption of digital technologies for the purpose of data security. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in an increase in work-from-home culture, leading to an escalation in the rate of cyberattacks.

Story continues

However, the industry growth could be hindered driven by the lack of trained security analysts and skilled professionals.





Browse Complete Report Details- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/threat-intelligence-market-102984





Regional Insights-

North America to Emerge as a Leading Region Owing to Growing Adoption of IoT Devices

The North America threat intelligence market share is anticipated to grow at a substantial rate over the study period. The rise is due to the escalating adoption of IoT devices. This is on account of the availability of appropriate infrastructure.

Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the second-leading region over the projected period. This is being driven by the vulnerability of data and the threat of cyberattacks in economies such as China, India, South Korea, Japan, and others.

Report Coverage-

The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the major factors boosting the global business scenario throughout the forecast period. It also gives an insight into the significant trends powering industry expansion across various regions. The data has been provided after extensive data collation from credible sources.

Threat Intelligence Market Segments-

Solutions Segment to Register Appreciable Growth Owing to Escalated Demand for Advanced Products

By component, the market is segmented into solutions and services. The solutions segment is anticipated to depict substantial growth over the study period. This is on account of the surging adoption of a range of solutions, including security information and event management, log management, risk and compliance management, and others.

Operational Segment to Exhibit Commendable Surge Driven by Surging Demand for Data on Incoming Attacks

On the basis of type, the market has been categorized into strategic, tactical, and operational. The operational segment is estimated to register lucrative surge throughout the forecast period. The rise is due to the soaring demand for information on certain attacks.

Cloud Segment to Lead Owing to Soaring Adoption of Cloud-based Solutions

By deployment, the market is classified into cloud and on-premise. The cloud segment is slated to exhibit appreciable expansion throughout the anticipated period. The rise can be attributed to the growing use of these solutions for minimizing the attack surface.

Large Enterprises Segment to Gain Traction Due to the Advantage of Cost Reduction

By enterprise type, the market is categorized into SMEs and large enterprises. The large enterprises segment is poised to record commendable growth throughout the estimated period. These solutions allow large enterprises to decrease costs.

BFSI Segment to Depict Considerable Expansion Driven by Growing Deployment of Digital Channels

Based on end-user, the market is subdivided into energy & utilities, retail, BFSI, IT & telecom, manufacturing, healthcare, and others (education, government, and others). Of these, the BFSI segment is estimated to exhibit notable expansion over the anticipated period.

On the basis of geography, the market has been analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America.





Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/threat-intelligence-market-102984





Competitive Landscape-

Major Players Enter into Partnership Agreements to Increase Geographical Footprint

Key industry participants are focused on the formulation and implementation of various strategic initiatives. These steps are being adopted for reinforcing the market share. Some of the initiatives comprise merger agreements, formation of alliances, and acquisitions. Other steps include the development and launch of new products.

List of Key Players Mentioned in the Report-

CrowdStrike, Inc. (U.S.)

AO Kaspersky Lab. (Russia)

IBM Corporation (U.S.)

Vmware, Inc. (U.S.)

Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.)

Dell, Inc. (U.S.)

Fortinet, Inc. (U.S.)

Anomali, Inc. (U.S.)

Check Point Software Technologies (Israel)

Huawei Technologies (China)

Major Table of Contents-

Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Methodology/Approach Data Sources

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities and Trends Impact of COVID-19

Competition Landscape Business Strategies Adopted by Key Players Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Global Threat Intelligence Key Players Market Share/Ranking, 2022

Global Threat Intelligence Market Size Estimates and Forecasts, By Segments, 2019-2030 Key Findings By Component (USD) Solution Services By Types (USD) Strategic Tactical Operational By Deployment (USD) Cloud On Premise By Enterprise Type (USD) SMEs Large Enterprise By End User (USD) BFSI IT & Telecom Manufacturing Healthcare Energy & Utilities Retail Others (Education, Government, and Others) By Region (USD) North America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa South America

North America Threat Intelligence Market Size Estimates and Forecasts, By Segments, 2019-2030 Key Findings By Component (USD) Solution Services By Types (USD) Strategic Tactical Operational By Deployment (USD) Cloud On Premise By Enterprise Type (USD) SMEs Large Enterprise By End User (USD) BFSI IT & Telecom Manufacturing Healthcare Energy & Utilities Retail Others (Education, Government, and Others) By Country (USD) United States Canada Mexico

Europe Threat Intelligence Market Size Estimates and Forecasts, By Segments, 2019-2030 Key Findings By Component (USD) Solution Services By Types (USD) Strategic Tactical Operational By Deployment (USD) Cloud On Premise By Enterprise Type (USD) SMEs Large Enterprise By End User (USD) BFSI IT & Telecom Manufacturing Healthcare Energy & Utilities Retail Others (Education, Government, and Others) By Country (USD) United Kingdom Germany France Italy Spain Russia Benelux Nordics Rest of Europe



TOC Continued!





Access Full Report- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/102984





Related Report-

Cyber Security Market Share, Industry Report, 2023-2029

Security Analytics Market Revenue Growth Forecast to 2027

Security as a Service Market Share, Revenue And Growth Rate Till 2030

Security Solutions Market Share, Industry Report, 2023-2026

FAQ-

How big is the Threat Intelligence Market?

The global threat intelligence market size was valued at USD 4.24 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 4.93 billion in 2023 to USD 18.11 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 20.4% during the forecast period.

How big is Threat Intelligence Market in North America?

The market in North America stood at USD 1.97 Billion in 2022 and is expected to gain a huge portion of the market share in the coming years.

About Us-

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Contact Us-

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

US: +1 424 253 0390

UK: +44 2071 939123

APAC: +91 744 740 1245

Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com




(Bloomberg) -- The US is moving closer to restricting access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok, with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner set to unveil a bill Tuesday that the Biden administration is poised to support, according to people familiar with the issue.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The measure, one of many being proposed in Congress to restrict Bytedance Ltd.s TikTok but isnt expected to pinpoint the company by name, would give the US the power to ban or prohibit foreign technologies or companies when necessary, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

The White House is likely to support the bill, as it would update and codify authorities granted to the Commerce Department through an existing executive order, issued under former president Donald Trump, to manage threats to information and communications technology, according to people familiar with the matter.

That approach differs from other proposals winding their way through Congress, which would allow President Joe Biden to outright ban TikTok. The Warner bill, however, could be applied to more companies and technologies, and would grant the Commerce Department the authority to scrutinize any threats and decide on remedies.

Read more: Raimondo Says Biden, Congress Seek to Blunt Risk From China Apps

Lawmakers say the measures are intended to counter security threats from apps like TikTok, which they say can be used to gather user data or as tools for propaganda. Last week, legislation authorizing the US to ban TikTok in the US advanced through the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican.

Story continues

Separately, the companys operations in the US are under investigation by the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, known as Cfius, which is led by the Treasury Department. The company and the Biden administration have so far been unable to reach a mitigation agreement that resolves the governments national security concerns.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Warner, a Virginia Democrat, had called it a broad bipartisan bill that would be co-sponsored by Republican John Thune of South Dakota.

The text of the Warner bill has yet to be released. CNBC reported earlier that it would be made public Tuesday and that Warner and Thune would hold a briefing at 3 p.m. Washington time.

ByteDance has sought to distance the service from its Chinese roots, including by hosting user data in Singapore, though threats of a ban in the US have lingered for years. President Donald Trump was nearly able to force the sale of TikToks US operations to Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. before his term expired.

TikTok Hawks in Congress Weigh Options to Restrict App From US

TikTok Inc. Chief Operating Officer Vanessa Pappas said during a Senate hearing in September that the company has strict controls over access to data and where its stored, and that the company wouldnt give that data to the Chinese government.

--With assistance from Anna Edgerton.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Toubani Resources, Inc.

Figure 1

Plan showing location of Kobada North and Kobada South

Figure 2

Plan showing Kobada North targets and Toubani drilling

Figure 3

Kobada North 1 cross-section showing results from Toubani drilling

Figure 4

Kobada South showing Toubani drilling location and results

TORONTO, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toubani Resources, Inc (ASX: TRE; TSX-V: TRE) (Toubani Resources or the Company) is pleased to provide the first set of results from the ongoing drilling program at its Kobada Gold Project in southern Mali.



Highlights

Drilling has extended mineralisation by almost 1km to the north and south of the Kobada Main Deposit

Kobada Main Deposit currently hosts a Mineral Resource 1 of 3.1 million ounces of gold over a strike length of 4.5km

Mineralisation remains open north and south of the Kobada Main Deposit

Excellent first results from the Kobada North 1 target area with 9m at 1.32g/t and 14m at 1.02g/t

Further assay results at Kobada North 2 testing along an additional 1.7km of strike are pending

Drilling continues on site with the focus now moving to step out holes at the Gosso target, where previous drilling has already intersected mineralisation

Chief Executive Officer, Phil Russo commented: For the first drill holes of the program to extend mineralisation by 1 km, including 650 meters at Kobada North alone, is an exceptional result. These results demonstrate both the scale and the potential of the Kobada district and to be able to expand the footprint of mineralisation so quickly, while still open along strike, is a significant step forward in unlocking this project. We believe we have a very large system across an extensive and, remarkably, still underexplored belt. We now look forward to drilling at Gosso, which is currently underway and has returned excellent initial results in historical drilling.

Drilling Results and Commentary

Drilling was designed to test potential extensions to mineralisation at the Kobada Main Deposit (Figure 1). Extensive artisanal workings can be found along strike and along trend from Kobada Main, yet almost no drilling has been undertaken.

_____________

1 Combined Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource of 103.57Mt at 0.94g/t.

Refer to the Company's prospectus dated 12 September 2022 and released on ASX on 25 November 2022





Story continues

Plan showing location of Kobada North and Kobada South





Figure 1: Plan showing location of Kobada North and Kobada South

At Kobada North 1, two fences of drilling were completed stepping out 400 metres and 650 metres, respectively, north of the last fence of drilling within the Kobada Main resource. The drilling tested below and adjacent to artisanal workings.

Results are shown on Figure 2 and 3 and detailed in Appendix 1 with key intersections including:

9m at 1.32g/t from 112 metres including 4m at 2.64g/t (KN1/22_P009)

14m at 1.02g/t from 81 metres including 1m at 2.28g/t and 1m at 3.75g/t (KN1/22_P008)

1m at 7.86g/t from 59 metres (KN1/22_P007)



With drilling successfully confirming the continuity of the mineralised system to the north, follow up drilling will now be planned to systematically test the tenor of mineralisation along the structure. This will then enable this area to be included in a forthcoming update to the Kobada Mineral Resource.

Plan showing Kobada North targets and Toubani drilling





Figure 2: Plan showing Kobada North targets and Toubani drilling

Kobada North 1 cross-section showing results from Toubani drilling





Figure 3: Kobada North 1 cross-section showing results from Toubani drilling

At Kobada South, three fences of drilling were completed. The most southerly of these stepped out 250 metres south from the last fence of drilling within the Kobada Main resource and successfully intersected mineralisation, including:

3m at 1.81g/t from 50m and 3m at 1.20g/t from 61m (KS22_P003).



Drilling was also carried out to infill a 500m gap in drilling at the southern end of the Mineral Resource with results to inform a resource update planned for later in 2023. Key results included:

1m at 8.35g/t from 68m (KS22_P012) and 3m at 1.8g/t from 82m (KS22_P014).



In addition, drilling was completed to test extensions to mineralisation on a parallel lode to the Kobada Main lode. Intersections of 2m at 0.75g/t from 6m and 4m at 0.52g/t from 40m (KS22_P025) were returned, demonstrating continuity of mineralisation on this eastern lode for a further 200m. Further work is planned in future programs to test the potential of this parallel lode.

All results are shown on Figure 4 and detailed in Appendix 1.

Kobada South showing Toubani drilling location and results





Figure 4: Kobada South showing Toubani drilling location and results

Forward Work Program

Following the drilling at Kobada North 1 the drilling rig has completed two further fences of drilling at Kobada North 2, which steps out a further 1.7 km along strike to the north to test for the presence of the mineralised system. The fences are sited based on interpretation of geophysical data and artisanal workings. Results are awaited with laboratory turn around times significantly improved in recent weeks.

The rig is currently drilling at the Gosso target, which is located on a parallel structure to the Kobada Main Deposit. Previous drilling at Gosso2 returned results including:

36m at 1.64 g/t from 72m (KBRC11-140)

3.1m at 4.25 g/t from 34.6m (G20_PH3A_20)

3m at 2.59 g/t from 30m (KBRC11-144)

5m at 1.90 g/t from 133m (KBRC11-142)

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board.

For more information:

Phil Russo Jane Morgan Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Investor and Media Relations

+(61) 478 138 627 + 61 (0) 405 555 618

Phil.Russo@toubaniresources.com jm@janemorganmanagement.com.au

About Toubani Resources Inc

Toubani Resources (ASX: TRE; TSX-V: TRE) is an exploration and development Company with a focus on building Africas next mid-tier gold producer. The Company has a highly experienced Board and management team with a proven African track record in advancing projects through exploration, development and into production.

For more information regarding Toubani Resources visit our website at www.toubaniresources.com

_____________

2 Refer to the Company's prospectus dated 12 September 2022 and released on ASX on 25 November 2022



Competent Persons Statement

The information in this press release relating to geology and Exploration Results is based on information compiled, reviewed and assessed by Mr. Bill Oliver, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr. Oliver is a consultant to the Company and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code). Mr. Oliver consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this press release relating to the Mineral Resources at the Kobada Deposit is extracted from Company's prospectus dated 12 September 2022 and released on ASX on 25 November 2022 (Prospectus) which is available on the ASX announcements platform. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information relating to the Mineral Resources at the Kobada Deposit included in the Prospectus and all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources estimate in the Prospectus continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Cautionary statements

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, the expansion of mineral resources and reserves, and drilling and exploration plans of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: receipt of necessary approvals from Canadian and Australian regulatory authorities; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages; available infrastructure and supplies; the COVID-19 pandemic and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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

Appendix 1. Kobada RC Drilling Data and Results

Hole ID Target Easting Northing RL Dip Azi Depth From

(m) To

(m) Length Au (g/t) KN1/22_P004 Kobada North 1 548080 1293602 382 55 295 140 117 119 2 0.30 120 122 2 0.34 135 138 3 0.72 KN1/22_P005 Kobada North 1 548029 1293625 375 55 295 140 31 32 1 1.52 59 60 1 7.86 KN1/22_P007 Kobada North 1 548179 1293841 380 55 295 102 NSI KN1/22_P008 Kobada North 1 548131 1293857 377 55 295 140 81 95 14 1.02 incl. 81 82 1 2.28 incl. 85 86 1 3.75 107 111 4 0.50 129 130 1 4.88 135 136 1 0.86 KN1/22_P009 Kobada North 1 548083 1293883 372 55 295 140 27 28 1 1.72 43 44 1 0.86 112 121 9 1.32 incl. 112 116 4 2.64 126 127 1 0.86 KS22_P001 Kobada South 544332 1286489 391 55 295 150.00 NSI KS22_P002 Kobada South 544285 1286507 397 55 295 72.00 63 67 4 0.66 KS22_P003 Kobada South 544241 1286526 389 55 295 140.00 36 41 5 0.61 50 53 3 1.81 61 64 3 1.2 KS22_P004 Kobada South 544191 1286550 367 55 295 150.00 121 123 2 0.29 KS22_P005 Kobada South 544152 1286559 389 55 295 150.00 NSI KS22_P006 Kobada South 544107 1286577 389 55 295 150.00 NSI KS22_P007 Kobada South 544054 1286604 391 55 295 150.00 17 18 1 0.69 KS22_P012 Kobada South 544484 1286859 385 55 295 124.00 0 2 2 0.31 11 13 2 0.53 21 27 6 0.28 42 48 6 0.27 52 56 4 0.31 68 69 1 8.35 74 75 1 1.65 120 124 4 0.5 KS22_P013 Kobada South 544434 1286877 403 55 295 150.00 119 120 1 0.38 129 130 1 0.45 149 150 1 1.87 KS22_P014 Kobada South 544390 1286900 401 55 295 127.00 15 16 1 1.96 82 85 3 1.8 incl 82 83 1 4.94 102 103 1 0.67 KS22_P015 Kobada South 544335 1286920 404 55 295 140.00 11 16 5 0.28 56 57 1 1.34 KS22_P016 Kobada South 544296 1286936 407 55 295 150.00 NSI KS22_P017 Kobada South 544250 1286953 413 55 295 150.00 NSI KS22_P018 Kobada South 544517 1286953 422 55 295 150.00 72 74 2 0.27 79 80 1 0.32 KS22_P019 Kobada South 544475 1286971 402 55 295 150.00 84 85 1 0.35 111 113 2 0.59 146 148 2 0.32 KS22_P024 Kobada South 544825 1286935 433 55 295 100.00 39 41 2 0.74 66 68 2 0.71 KS22_P025 Kobada South 544780 1286950 430 55 295 100.00 6 8 2 0.75 40 44 4 0.52 KS22_P026 Kobada South 544738 1286971 412 55 295 100.00 15 16 1 0.32 KS22_P027 Kobada South 544699 1286988 423 55 295 100.00 17 18 1 0.45 58 59 1 0.46 KS22_P029 Kobada South 544599 1287029 417 55 295 100.00 66 67 1 4.29 94 95 1 0.48 KS22_P030 Kobada South 544558 1287046 425 55 295 100.00 88 89 1 0.58 96 99 3 0.41 KS22_P031 Kobada South 544513 1287064 430 55 295 100.00 89 90 1 0.58 96 99 3 0.41 KS22_P032 Kobada South 544463 1287084 430 55 295 100.00 25 26 1 1.72 KS22_P033 Kobada South 544415 1287106 422 55 295 100.00 13 15 2 0.39 KS22_P034 Kobada South 544369 1287122 419 55 295 100.00 NSI KS22_P035 Kobada South 544322 1287140 419 55 295 100.00 25 26 1 0.39



Appendix 2. The following tables are provided to ensure compliance with JORC Code requirements for the reporting of Exploration Results from the Kobada Project

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections.)

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling.

Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used.

Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report.

In cases where industry standard work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Drilling samples collected using reverse circulation (RC) percussion drilling.



The entire sample is collected , homogenised and split to achieve a sample of approximately 2kg which is submitted for analysis.



Analysis is carried out in an independent commercial laboratory using fire assay. Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc). Reverse Circulation drilling using 127mm face sampling hammer Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed.

Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples.

Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. RC samples are weighed to quantify recovery



Recovery is also noted in the sampling sheet. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies.

Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography.

The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Geological logging of RC drilling is completed to an acceptable standard for use in Mineral Resource estimation.



Logging is both qualitative (weathering, colour, lithology, alteration) and quantitative (% veining, sulphides)



All drilling reported (100%) has been logged.



Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken.

If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry.

For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique.

Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples.

Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling.

Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. All RC samples are split using a riffle splitter with one split (approximately 1 to 2 kg) collected for laboratory testing and the remaining amount after splitting is retained in the bulk bag for future reference. All samples were sampled dry.



Sample moisture is noted in the sampling sheet.



Appropriate sampling procedures are used to ensure representivity.



It is believed that the sample size is in line with standard practice and is appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled.



Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total.

For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc.

Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established. Samples were submitted to the SANAS and ISO/IEC 17025 accredited SGS Laboratory in Bamako. Samples were tested by fire assay with an AAS finish. Samples < 3.0 kg were dried in trays, crushed to a nominal 2 mm using a jaw crusher, and then < 1.5 kg were split using a Jones-type riffle splitter. Reject sample was retained in the original bag and stored. The sample was pulverised in an LM2 pulveriser to a nominal 85 % passing 75 m. An approximately 200 g subsample was taken for assay, with the pulverised residue retained in a plastic bag. All the preparation equipment was flushed with barren material prior to the commencement of the job. A 50 g subsample was fused with a litharge-based flux, cupelled, and the prill is dissolved in aqua regia, and gold is determined by flame AAS (Detection Limit 0.01 ppm).



Every 10th sample is a CRM, blank or duplicate. It is believe that acceptable levels of accuracy and precision have been achieved based on the control samples.



Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel.

The use of twinned holes.

Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols.

Discuss any adjustment to assay data. Significant intersections have been estimated by consultants to the company and cross checked.



Twinned holes are not being used in the current programme which aims to test for mineralisation away from previously drilled areas.



All data is entered into logging templates using codes on site and validated in appropriate software.



No adjustment to assay data has been carried out. Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation.

Specification of the grid system used.

Quality and adequacy of topographic control. The drillhole collars have been located with a Garmin handheld GPS with a  5 m accuracy



Co-ordinates presented are in UTM format using the WGS84 datum (zone 29N)



A high-definition stereo satellite survey was conducted in 2020 over the main mineralised body to assist with the updated topography for the geological modelling and to improve the accuracy of artisanal mining depletions. This survey is deemed of sufficient quality to utilise in the Mineral Resource estimation. Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results.

Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied.

Whether sample compositing has been applied. Drillholes are being drilled at spacings between 50 and 100m on section, with sections 200  400 metres apart.



Drill spacing is intended to provide an initial test for mineralisation and may not be sufficiently close spaced for inclusion in a Mineral Resource estimation.



Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type.

If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. Drilling orientation is planned perpendicular to the regional structural trend (NNE).



No sampling bias is expected. Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. Industry best practice has been applied to the drilling sampling processes carried out. Drilled samples were transported in a manner to prevent loss or cross-contamination. All samples were stored in a secure storage facility pending dispatch to laboratory in Bamako. In line with protocol, two people were used to transport the samples directly to the laboratory. Once at the laboratory, the samples were subject to the standard security measures of the laboratory. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data. No audits have been completed.



Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections.)

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings.

The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area. African Gold Group Mali SARL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TRE, holds a mining permit No. PE 15/22 encompassing an area of 135.7 km for the Kobada project area valid to 30 July 2045. Two adjacent exploration permits are also held, namely Kobada-Est (No. PR 18/957 over 77 km valid to 15 August 2024 for three years) and Faraba (for which renewal was granted under Arrete No. 2021-3226/MMP-SG effective 6 April 2021 for a further three years.



An environmental permit No. 2021-0045 MEADD-SG was issued on 18 October 2021 relating to the oxides project. An ESIA amendment is underway development and mining of the sulphides portion of the Project.



Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres conducted historical exploration in 1982 to 1988, which respectively identified and delineated the Kobada Shear Zone through geochemistry surveys and latter diamond drilling. La Source undertook RC drilling in 1996, followed in 2002 and 2004 respectively by RC and air core drilling by Cominor. IAMGold completed diamond and RC drilling in 2009.



Previous exploration by Toubani Resource is detailed in the Company's prospectus dated 12 September 2022 and released on ASX on 25 November 2022 Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. The Project is located in the Bagoe Formation on the north-central edge of the Birimian rock units that form part of the Leo Rise in the southern part of the West African Craton. The Project is situated on the western flank of the Bougouni Basin, composed primarily of sedimentary rocks with minor tholeiitic volcano-sedimentary intercalations.





The Kobada gold deposit is a quartz-carbonate veined mesothermal orogenic gold deposit hosted within a greenstone belt. Gold is present in the laterite, saprolite, unaltered rock as sulphides, and in the quartz veins. Placer-style deposits occur and have largely been exploited by artisanal miners.





Mineralisation extends for a minimum strike of 4 km and is associated with narrow, irregular, high-angle quartz veins and with disseminated sulphides in the wall rock and vein selvages. Mineralisation occurs as free gold, whereas in sulphides mineralisation includes the occurrence of arsenopyrite, pyrite and rarely chalcopyrite. Arsenopyrite is localised near vein selvages and as fine-grained disseminated patches within the host rock. Pyrite occurs in finely disseminated patches within the host rocks, generally as traces up to 3 % by volume with up to 10 % locally in the wall rock at centimetre-scale intervals adjacent to the quartz veins. Drill hole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drill holes: easting and northing of the drill hole collar elevation or RL (Reduced Level  elevation above sea level in metres) of the drill hole collar dip and azimuth of the hole down hole length and interception depth hole length.

If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case. Refer Appendix 1







Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.

Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.

The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. Averaging is weighted based on length, with all samples 1m in downhole length.



All results > 0.3g/t are reported in Appendix 1 with high grade intervals (> 2g/t) reported separately.



No metal equivalent results are reported. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drill hole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg down hole length, true width not known). Downhole lengths are presented in Appendix 1. True widths have not been calculated.



Drillholes are designed to intersect the mineralised shear zones as close to perpendicular as is possible. Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drill hole collar locations and appropriate sectional views.  Refer to figures within this report.



Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results. All meaningful information has been included in the body of the text and all results are presented in Appendix 1.



Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples  size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. All material data and information is detailed in the Company's prospectus dated 12 September 2022 and released on ASX on 25 November 2022.



Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. As detailed in the text  drilling is ongoing at the project and further drilling will be planned to follow up these results.







Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca04066b-86f1-4a93-a341-db2ce2fbd114

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e79faaa2-40c7-4dfc-b6ab-3ea1a9b9c109

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8aa4e810-72ef-49db-addc-5e422fb15e0a

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2f7840a0-8977-44d8-b6d0-1c16e341f5de




NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 7, 2023 / Trusted Partners Inc is a real estate investment firm that focuses on buying residential and commercial properties. This successful business was founded by Sonia Medrano , a passionate real estate investor, a philanthropist and a successful entrepreneur.

Trusted Partners Inc, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, Press release picture

Through Trusted Partners Inc, Sonia buys properties in cash, whether commercial or residential, remodels them, and then rents or sells them. They specialize in properties in bad condition, properties facing mortgage or tax foreclosure and properties that are in bankruptcy or probate court.

At Trusted Partners, they have a team with a lot of experience in the industry which allows them to offer their clients reliable offers. Thanks to her expertise Sonia is an investor who can be trusted, with extensive professionalism and knowledge of the market.

The company manages to stand out from the crowd because the quality of their work is exceptional and they love to support others. "We are genuine, congruent, we have integrity and we always give our clients and partners great attention."

Currently, Trusted Partners Inc is a national leader in real estate investing.

"My life purpose is to serve others. I created this company due to my passion to contribute to improving my community. I wanted to be able to spend quality time with my loved ones and to add value to people's lives through my knowledge and experience", Sonia shares.

Trusted Partners Inc focuses on creating value for sellers across the real estate market. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, they are one of the most respected real estate firms in Texas and in the United States in general.

"What makes us unique is our ability to provide quick and accurate solutions for clients who wish to sell their home for cash with a fair offer, whether they are single family homes or commercial. Also, that we teach people how to be financially independent by learning real estate investing", Sonia adds.

Story continues

What's more, Sonia is a philanthropist who loves to support her community. She is based in Houston, Texas, where she has a non-profit organization. Her selflessness has improved the quality of life for so many people.

Sonia Medrano has contributed greatly to many worthwhile causes, championed for change and continues to be a pillar of the community. As a founder of Houston Entrepreneur Society has utilized her staunch advocacy and selflessness to support the development of her community.

In fact, the Mayor of Houston proclaimed July 13rd as Sonia Medrano Day, thanks to her tireless contributions and dedication to her community. Sonia also received the Yellow Rose of Texas, which is given only through the Office of the Governor to recognize women for their significant contributions to their communities and to Texas.

Sonia gives free webinars and mentoring for everyone interested in learning how to invest in the real estate market. Sonia started this initiative with the purpose of continuing to help others and to establish connections with potential partners and investors.

Trusted Partners Inc has big plans for 2023 such as expanding their portfolio of commercial properties and buying more properties throughout the US. They also plan to offer asset and property management soon.

"We want to buy diverse businesses as well as real estate, I also want to create a non-profit that works in all US and that contributes to improving the lives of many talented young people through mentoring and personal development", Sonia details.

To find out more about Trusted Partners Inc, click here. You can also follow Sonia Medrano on Instagram here.

About Trusted Partners, Inc:

Trusted Partners Inc is a real estate investment firm that focuses on buying residential and commercial properties.

Contact:

Paula Henderson

561-768-4444

phendersonnews@gmail.com

SOURCE: Trusted Partners, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/742458/Trusted-Partners-Inc-Created-By-The-Entrepreneur-Philanthropist-Sonia-Medrano-Is-a-National-Leader-Firm-in-Real-Estate-Investing-in-the-US-Learn-More-Here




Omega Accounting Solutions

Companies on the 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list had an average growth rate of 559 percent

IRVINE, Calif., March 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inc. Magazine today revealed that Omega Accounting Solutions is No. 35 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Pacific private companies, based in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful private companies within the Pacific economy generating sustainable growth and jobs.

We are grateful to be honored by Inc. for our fast-paced growth and rapid expansion, said Jay Woods, founder & president of Omega Accounting Solutions. I am so proud of the team we have built -- and continue to build. This recognition reflects the hard work and commitment of every single employee to serving the needs of our customers.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific. Between 2019 and 2021, these 185 private companies had an average growth rate of 559 percent and, in 2021 alone, they added 14,536 jobs and $4.6 billion to the Pacific regions economy. Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/pacific starting February 28, 2023.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, said Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine.

Omegas growth is largely a result of the organizations strategic integration of government tax credit services for small and medium-sized companies, particularly the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). Knowing how many small businesses struggled under the mandates and closures associated with the coronavirus, Omega committed extensive resources and staffed up the ERC processing division, helping businesses calculate, claim and file this refundable tax credit. The company has also introduced an all-new funding arm, Omega Funding Solutions, serving small business owners. Combined, these momentous achievements help Omega fulfill its mission of empowering small business owners to make better-informed decisions. For more information, visit omega-accounting.com.

Story continues

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2023 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2019 and 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2021. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.



ABOUT INC. MEDIA

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent. For more information, visit www.inc.com .



ABOUT OMEGA ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONS

Omega Accounting Solutions is an accounting and data firm that empowers small businesses to make informed decisions through powerful accounting, advanced analytics and tax credit expertise. The Irvine, Calif., firm founded by Jay Woods in 2007 works with CFOs, controllers, accountants and software developers to collect, integrate, analyze and present essential data that allow for healthy corporate operation and growth. Omegas tax credit division has specially trained teams to help businesses claim the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and Research & Development tax credit. In 2022, Omega introduced a new funding division, Omega Funding Solutions (OFS), a third-party lender offering short-term bridge loans to those organizations anticipating ERC refunds. For further information, visit omega-accounting.com.





Media Contact: Sabrina Suarez (714) 573-0899 ext. 227

sabrina@echomediateam.com




Vital Battery Metals Inc

Figure 1

Vital Battery Metals Schofield Lithium Project Map

Figure 2

Schofield Lithium Project Claim Map

The Schofield Lithium Project is adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Lowther Pegmatite Project



With 17 pegmatite outcrops mapped on the Project and preferred geological environment, the Schofield Lithium Project shows potential for LCT-type mineralization

Highlights:

Adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Hearst Lithium Project

Brunswick Explorations Hearst package has shown 5.15% Li 2 O in historical chip samples (see Brunswick Exploration Inc. news release dated October 3, 2022).

There are 17 mapped pegmatite outcrops on the Project which have not been thoroughly tested for LCT mineralization.

The Project is located 15km north of the Quetico-Wawa subprovince terrane boundary. These deep-seated regional structures have been recognized to play a role in LCT pegmatite mineralization.

Located within the Quetico subprovince and contains a variety of evolved S-type granitoids and pegmatites hosted by metamorphosed sediments (paragneisses) and metavolcanics.



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vital Battery Metals Inc. (Vital or the Company) (CSE: VBAM |OTC: VBAMF | FRA: C0O), is pleased to announce it has entered the Lithium market by acquiring, for the cost of staking, the Schofield Lithium Project (Schofield or the Project). The Project consists of 416 single-cell mining claims covering approximately 8,824 hectares and is located approximately 60km south of Hearst, Ontario. The Project is easily accessible by logging road networks and is directly south of the Brunswick Explorations Hurst Lithium project. The Project was staked based on preferred geological environments and historical mapping of pegmatite outcrops.

Adrian Lamoureux, Chief Executive Officer and President of Vital, commented Our management team has a strong history in the lithium sector, evident in our work with Patriot Battery Metals and its acquisition of the Corvette property. We strongly believe the Northern Ontario Region is underexplored and this Project acquisition brings a low-risk opportunity to drive value to the Company. With our Schofield Lithium Project in Ontario Canada, our Sting Copper Project in Newfoundland, Canada and our Vent Copper-Gold project in British Columbia, we believe we are building a portfolio of strong properties that will continue to deliver shareholder value. We will continue to build a robust and diverse critical minerals portfolio of projects.

Story continues

Vital Battery Metals Schofield Lithium Project Map





Figure 1: Vital Battery Metals Schofield Lithium Project Map

Schofield Project Geology

Historical mapping indicates that there are 17 pegmatite outcrops on the Project1. These range in size from decimetre veins to ~1600m x ~500m. Although the mapping indicates there are pegmatites present on the Project, the company has yet to confirm the dimensions, extent, or any mineralization that may be present on the Project. The Project area has been under-explored but has seen sporadic exploration for gold, base, metals and more recently diamonds from 1960 to 2001. No work completed on the Project has been focused on the economic potential of the pegmatites present.12

The Project is located within the Quetico Subprovince and contains a variety of evolved S-type granitoids and pegmatites hosted by metamorphosed sediments (paragneisses) and metavolcanics. The Quetico Subprovince is host to several pegmatite swarms such as Georgia Lake, Lowther and Wisa Lake. The pegmatites in the Quetico Subprovince are hosted by medium-grade unmigmatized metawacke with subordinate interbedded metapelite (e.g., spodumene-subtype Wisa Lake pegmatite and albite spodumene-type Georgia Lake pegmatites) and by their parent granite (e.g. petalite-subtype MNW pegmatite and lepidolite-subtype Lowther Township pegmatite) (Pye 1965; Breaks, Selway and Tindle 2003a, 2003b).12

Schofield Lithium Project Claim Map





Figure 2: Schofield Lithium Project Claim Map

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Garry Clark, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The reader is cautioned that the mineralization on nearby or adjacent properties does not necessarily indicate that any mineral resources may be discovered on the Schofield Lithium Project, or if discovered, that such resources would be economically recoverable.

About Vital Battery Metals Inc.

Vital Battery Metals Inc. (CSE: VBAM |OTC: VBAMF | FRA: C0O) is a mineral exploration company dedicated to the development of strategic projects comprising battery, base and precious metals in stable jurisdictions. The Company is working to advance its Schofield Lithium, Sting Copper and its Vent Copper-Gold Projects.

The Schofield Lithium Project covers 8,824 hectares and is adjacent to Brunswick Explorations Hearst Lithium Project. With 17 pegmatite outcrops mapped on the Project and preferred geological environment, the Schofield Lithium Project shows potential for LCT-type mineralization. The Project is located ~60km south of Hearst, Ontario.

The Sting Project covers approximately 12,700 hectares and hosts multiple historic Newfoundland and Labrador Government documented mineral occurrences and is located within a 50 km corridor known for significant volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), copper quartz vein lode and low sulphation epithermal gold showings. The Vent Copper-Gold project covers 1,562 hectares in British Columbia. Vital continues to evaluate value-add assets to bolster its project portfolio.

For more information, visit www.vitalbatterymetals.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Adrian Lamoureux

Chief Executive Officer, Director

+1 (604) 229-9772

info@vitalbatterymetals.com

References:

1 - Berger, B.R., MacMillan, D.W., and P.L. Roy 1986: Precambrian Geology of Caithness, and Parts of Schofield, Pellitier, and Doherty Townships, Hearst-Kapuskasing Area, Algoma and Cochrane Districts; Ontario Geological Survey, Geological Series  Preliminary Map P.2961. Scale 1:31,680. Geology 1985.

2 - Breaks, F.W., Selway, J.B., and Tindle, A.G., 2003, Fertile peraluminuous granites andrelated rare-element pegmatite mineralization, Superior Province, northwest and northeast Ontario: Operation Treasure Hunt, Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 6099, 179 pp.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the Project acquisition bringing a low-risk opportunity to drive significant value to the Company, the Company building a portfolio of strong properties that will continue to deliver shareholder value and the Company continuing to build a robust and diverse critical minerals portfolio of projects are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Project and its mineralization potential; the Companys objectives, goals or future plans with respect to the Project; the commencement of drilling or exploration programs in the future. These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1120289d-c3c3-468c-b5e3-e4676759a54e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2c58e2bc-0b96-4a6d-b0bf-220c2285dbeb




Vymo successfully demonstrated its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCP & DR) capabilities in the production environment, significantly improving the platform's uptime.

SINGAPORE, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vymo , the world's leading sales engagement platform for financial institutions, recently announced that it has upgraded its Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCP & DR) capabilities and implemented built-in redundancies for data availability & protection. Vymo's high-availability data architecture ensures customers have access to their data whenever they need it.

Vymo Logo

The challenge of resiliency and security remains a key priority for IT leaders across the banking and insurance industries. Regulators increasingly require service providers to have a strong business continuity strategy that will allow them to fulfill their responsibility to their consumers and prevent any service interruptions, like those during the pandemic.

Vymo's approach to a lean and agile cloud playbook replicates data across multiple zones and regions. In the rare occurrence that a data center fails, customers can continue operating their business from the other data center without worrying about data loss. This improves the overall CSAT and allows customers to reliably run their businesses.

"Some of the world's largest banks and insurance companies rely on Vymo to provide real-time and always-on data accessibility to their teams for supporting their customers. With the industry adopting a cloud-first approach, we are continuously improving our data infrastructure which is consistent with our client's business operations. This further enables our customers to increase operational efficiency, streamline analytics and enable better decision-making to outpace industry changes," says Venkat Malladi, Co-Founder & CTO of Vymo.

Existing customers are being migrated to the new cloud architecture without any disruption for end-users. Currently, Vymo is able to demonstrate a Recovery Point Objective (RPO) of less than 2 minutes and a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) of 4 hours.

Story continues

"Our focus has been to provide stable cloud infrastructure to our customers. We are closely collaborating with our customers across North America & Asia to ensure a seamless transition to the new cloud architecture. Over the next few quarters, we are investing more on periodic recovery drills, technology upgrades to assist seamless data & services migration across data centers, and load testing of services to further improve our RTO & RPO benchmarks," adds Sujay Koduri, SVP - Engineering at Vymo.

About Vymo

Vymo ( www.vymo.com ) is the Sales Engagement Platform of choice for 350,000 salespeople across 65+ Global Financial Institutions such as AIA, Berkshire Hathaway, Generali, AXA, Sunlife, and HDFC Bank. The platform drives productivity bottom-up through nudges and interventions across the customer lifecycle.

Gartner recognizes Vymo as a Representative Vendor in the Sales Engagement Market Guide and by Forrester in the 2022 Wave report on sales engagement platforms.

Vymo has raised over $45M in funding from Sequoia Capital, Emergence Capital, and Bertelsmann India Investments and is also a winner of CB Insights' Demo Day and Microsoft's 'AI for All' awards.

Additional Resources

Watch Vymo in Action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8KODHivO_U

Talk to an expert - https://vymo.com/request-a-demo/

Media Contact:

Gunjan Saha

pr@getvymo.com

SOURCE Vymo
Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz has advanced to the general election in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. She was the top vote-getter in the primary.

MADISON  Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz agreed Monday to one televised debate and has turned down other public forums that voters have used to hear from candidates for the state's highest court  including a debate that has been televised statewide in every Supreme Court race for nearly 30 years.

Protasiewicz is competing in the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, one that holds enormous implications for Wisconsin, including setting new policies related to abortion access, voting rules and the state's legislative and congressional maps.

But she has so far agreed to one major public forum with opponent former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly and declined to answer questions about her candidacy at events organized by the nonpartisan Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and Rotary Club of Milwaukee, WISN-TV, the Wisconsin chapters of the liberal-leaning American Constitution Society and the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, and the Milwaukee chapter of the conservative-leaning Federalist Society  resulting in at least two of the organizations to cancel their events.

Protasiewicz will appear with Kelly on March 21 for a debate in Madison hosted by the State Bar of Wisconsin, WISC-TV, and Wispolitics.com. She and Kelly also are scheduled to meet with the editorial boards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal.

"The State Bar of Wisconsin has a long history of conducting debates in this race and we know this will be one great way for voters to hear from the candidates," Sam Roecker, spokesman for Protasiewicz, said in a statement.

"Judge Janet Protasiewicz has spent the past year traveling across Wisconsin and speaking directly with voters about whats at stake in this race and why she is the best candidate to return fairness and impartiality to the court," he said.

Roecker also said Protasiewicz has also agreed to participate in a forum hosted by All Voting is Local, Campus Vote Project, and VoteRiders, a March 28 event Kelly is not scheduled as of Monday to attend. Protasiewicz and Kelly also both appeared at a public forum hosted by Wispolitics.com in January during the primary election.

Story continues

Hosts of major primetime televised Supreme Court debates, Marquette University Law School's Lubar Center and PBS Wisconsin, have not yet announced whether the organizations will host candidate events this year. A spokesman for Marquette said he was unsure at this point of whether a program would take place before election day.

Frederica Freyberg, the executive producer of news for PBS Wisconsin, said Monday both candidates have been invited for a Supreme Court debate on March 24. So far, just Kelly has accepted. PBS Wisconsin has hosted Supreme Court debates since at least 1995.

Freyburg said PBS Wisconsin is still deciding whether to hold a primetime event with just one candidate.

Kelly has agreed to appear at multiple events

Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice, has agreed to appear at more than 10 events as he competes against Protasiewicz, according to his campaign.

More:Bice: Dan Kelly once said legal abortion promotes 'sexual libertinism' and government assistance is 'stealing'

It is outrageous that Politician Protasiewicz has promised to put her thumb on the scales of justice and rule based on her values instead of the law, but now wont even explain her soft-on-crime record and ties to extremist activists, Ben Voelkel, a spokesman for Kelly, said in a statement.

Well, I was - and still am - ready to debate. Guess Politician Protasiewicz doesn't want people to know the cases for which she will put her thumb on the scales of justice.https://t.co/PEZdf5izBq  Justice Daniel Kelly (@JusticeDanKelly) March 3, 2023

Roecker said "over the next four weeks, voters will have every opportunity to hear from Judge Protasiewicz through events, media appearances, and forums."

"While Dan Kelly apparently would like even more opportunities to stand next to Janet while he lectures Wisconsinites about his extreme views, she has an aggressive schedule and will continue meeting voters across Wisconsin," he said.

Justice Janine Geske, who was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by former Gov. Tommy Thompson and served from 1993 to 1998, said campaigns have to make strategic decisions when deciding where to appear.

"I know that there is a major upcoming debate through the State Bar of Wisconsin that will be televised," Geske said. "She has been out in the public campaigning for a long time. I assume they are just deciding what is the wisest use of the time she has before the election."

Past candidates for the state Supreme Court have appeared at events hosted by the affected groups, including in 2018 when the Federalist Society of Milwaukee hosted Justice Rebecca Dallet, Madison attorney Tim Burns and Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock.

Marquette University and WISN-TV hosted a televised debate with Justice Brian Hagedorn and Appeals Judge Lisa Neubauer ahead of the 2019 election. That fall, the American Constitution Society hosted Justice Jill Karofsky, then-Justice Kelly and Marquette University law professor Ed Fallone ahead of the 2020 race.

On Monday, WISN-TV announced the station would not be hosting both candidates in a debate after Protasiewicz had declined to participate.

New: WISN-TV invited both Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates to participate in a debate ahead of the April election



Former Justice Daniel Kelly agreed. Today Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz officially declined pic.twitter.com/E61U76Of2o  Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) March 6, 2023

The Milwaukee Press Club, WisPolitics.com and Rotary Club of Milwaukee are moving forward with an event on March 14 with only Kelly in attendance. A spokesman for Protasiewicz told event organizers the campaign couldn't make it work in the judge's schedule.

In 2019, Hagedorn appeared at a Press Club newsmaker event while campaigning. Neubauer turned down the Press Club's invitation.

Wisconsin voters also saw fewer opportunities to hear from statewide candidates in public forums and debates during the 2022 midterms, too.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican challenger Tim Michels agreed to a single debate during the general election. In the U.S. Senate race, incumbent Ron Johnson and Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes agreed to just two.

More candidates are avoiding once-traditional public forums

Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Elections Research Center, said the growing tendency of candidates nationwide to avoid debates and forums that had been standard practice in prior years is in part due to a "fear of doing something that could become a tool used against them in a campaign ad or by sharing on social media."

"Candidates are opting for messaging they fully control such as press releases and social media posts over unscripted activities that put them in more risk," Burden said.

Burden said in most states, more Republican candidates avoid debates than do Democratic candidates, especially in the era of former President Donald Trump as Republicans "become leerier of traditional media and tend to grant access to outlets such as talk radio they know will treat them more favorably."

"Wisconsin is showing a different pattern from other states in that Democratic candidates rather than Republicans have become more reticent about doing debates," Burden said. "That might have hurt Mandela Barnes in last year's senatorial election when a larger number of debates could have helped combat the flood of advertising criticizing him."

Burden said Protasiewicz's calculation could be that she believes she is the "leading candidate" heading into the April 4 election and debates and other events with uncontrolled questions could be "more likely to complicate her path to victory than provide a boost." Protasiewicz finished first in the four-way Feb. 21 primary, picking up 46% of the vote to Kelly's 24%.

"The absence of debates does a real disservice to voters. This is especially true in a nonpartisan spring election where the campaigns are shorter and the candidates are not as well known," Burden said. "A large number of voters will learn about the candidates mostly through TV and Internet ads. That is problematic because ads can distort the truth and often do not deal with issues that are actually most important to the public and the office being sought."

Molly Beck and Corrinne Hess can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com and chess@gannett.com.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Protasiewicz agrees to 1 Supreme Court debate, skips other forums
$250 million practice joins from Park Avenue Securities

LOS ANGELES, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cetera Financial Group (Cetera), an at-scale wealth hub that offers financial professionals and institutions the latest solutions, support and services, announced today that the advisors of Wooster Square Advisors have affiliated with Cetera Advisor Networks via Cetera Wealth Partners.* Led by managing partner and wealth manager Brett Amendola, Wooster Square manages approximately $250 million in assets under administration, as of January 30, 2023**, and was previously affiliated with Park Avenue Securities.

(PRNewsfoto/Cetera Financial Group)

Wooster Square's veteran team of six professionals brings a combined 150 years of financial services experience to its comprehensive wealth management process, delivering sophisticated financial advice and planning services to families, business owners and professionals. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, a hub of top universities and hospitals, Wooster Square serves the local small business community, legal professionals, and clients in the higher education and medical fields.

"Cetera Wealth Partners is a welcome home for advisors who, like us, are driven to deliver a premium client experience with cutting-edge advice and sophisticated planning strategies," Amendola said. "With Cetera's industry-leading technology, a broad product and platform suite, and a clear vision for our practice, Cetera is the right partner for our business and our clients. In addition, Cetera embraces the importance of independence in an advice-based relationship, and we look forward to accelerating our growth and better serving clients together for years to come."

"We are excited to welcome the Wooster Square team as the latest addition to the Cetera Wealth Partners family," said Tom Halloran, president of Cetera Wealth Partners. "Brett and the Wooster Square team share our vision and values as we work to maximize strengths, drive meaningful growth, and serve clients in new and innovative ways."

Story continues

On the heels of a year that saw a record $13 billion in organic recruiting of assets under administration for Cetera communities, Wooster Square Advisors represents the firm's latest recruiting win and rounds out a strong first quarter of 2023.

Visit https://www.woostersquareadvisors.com/ and www.cetera.com to learn more.

About Cetera Financial Group

An at-scale wealth hub, Cetera Financial Group (Cetera) offers financial professionals and institutions the latest solutions, support, and services. Breaking away from a commoditized and homogenous IBD model, Cetera instead creatively addresses advisors' and institutions' unique needs, whether they are seeking to grow, scale, or transition with a merger, sale, investment, or succession plan. Cetera proudly serves independent financial advisors, tax professionals, licensed administrators, large enterprises, as well as institutions, such as banks and credit unions, providing an established and repeatable blueprint for scalable growth.

Cetera's approach empowers advisors to affiliate in whichever way they deem most appropriate. During the professional life cycle of their practice, the Cetera wealth hub helps to ensure each advisor's affiliation model identifies and ignites growth levers in a way that helps increase the value of their practice, people, and legacy. Cetera delivers holistic, unbiased financial planning and advice to Main Street investors, helping them achieve their version of financial wellbeing at all life stages. For financial professionals, Cetera provides growth and succession resources, an enhanced advisor tech stack and importantly, an experience where financial professionals don't feel like a number, but an integral part of Cetera's rich and thriving ecosystem.

Home to more than 8,000 financial professionals and their teams, Cetera oversees approximately $322 billion in assets under administration and $115 billion in assets under management, as of December 31, 2022. In a recent advisor satisfaction survey of more than 14,000 reviews, Cetera's Voice of Customer (VoC) program vigorously measures advisor experience and satisfaction 24/7. Currently, it's ranked 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Visit www.cetera.com, and follow Cetera on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

"Cetera Financial Group" refers to the network of independent retail firms encompassing, among others, Cetera Advisors LLC, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, Cetera Investment Services LLC (marketed as Cetera Financial Institutions or Cetera Investors), and Cetera Financial Specialists LLC. All firms are FINRA/SIPC members. Located at: 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101.

Individuals affiliated with Cetera firms are either Registered Representatives who offer only brokerage services and receive transaction-based compensation (commissions), Investment Adviser Representatives who offer only investment advisory services and receive fees based on assets, or both Registered Representatives and Investment Adviser Representatives, who can offer both types of services.

*Cetera Wealth Partners is a region of Cetera Advisor Networks. Securities and advisory services offered through Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, a broker dealer and Registered Investment Adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.

**Value approximated based on asset holding details provided to Cetera up to January 30, 2023.

Media Contacts:

Cetera Financial Group



Ryan Hoffman

ryan.hoffman@cetera.com

CeteraPR@Cetera.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wooster-square-advisors-team-joins-cetera-advisor-networks-301763917.html

SOURCE Cetera Financial Group
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that during the recent visit by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Tehran, a new chapter was opened in the cooperation between Iran and the agency.

Nasser Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference, saying that "good agreements" were reached between Tehran and the IAEA during Grossi's visit.

The Iranian spokesman lauded Grossi's trip as extension of Iran's "active diplomacy" with the agency, expressing hope that such efforts would prepare the ground for the resolution of technical differences.

Kanaani said Iran expects the IAEA to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations and defend the member states' nuclear rights.
Fortune Business Insights

The global Workplace Safety Market is exhibiting a huge growth with steady CAGR. Driving factors include cost-effectiveness, convenience and accessibility. Technology advancements will further boost the global market.

Pune,India, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global Workplace Safety Market Size is expected to experience dynamic growth in the upcoming years owing to the increasing need for safety systems across the world, finds Fortune Business Insights in its report, titled Workplace Safety Market Forecast, 2023-2030.

There has been an increasing need for safety systems around the world in order to identify the safety at the workplace such as corporate offices, industries, and other places. For instance, as per the report by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fatal work injuries recorded in the United States increased from 5,250 in 2018 to 5,333 in 2019.

However, the rising trend of automation in several industries is projected to hinder the growth of this market.

In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a high demand for workplace safety systems in order to ensure safety at the workplace. Hence, this pandemic has not impacted the growth of workplace safety market, which acts as a driving factor for this markets growth.

Industry Development-

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA) launched a free, online video training course for the roofing industry workers to increase their ability to address fall hazards.





Request a free sample PDF Brochure- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/workplace-safety-market-104923





List of Key Players in the Workplace Safety Market Report-

Cegid Group,

Celerant Technology,

Clover Network, Inc.,

EPOS Now (ePOS Inc.),

ERPLY,

Future POS,

Kounta Holdings Pty Limited,

Lightspeed POS Inc.,

NCR Corporation,

Oracle Corporation,

PAR Technology,

Phorest Salon Software,

Revel Systems, Inc.,

Shopify,

Shopkeep, Inc.,

Square, Inc.,

Toast, Inc.,

TouchBistro, Inc.,

Upserve, Inc.,

Vend Limited.

Story continues

Drivers/Restraints-

Increasing Investments in Research and Development of Workplace Safety Systems to Fuel the Market

The leading companies in the workplace safety market are concentrating on increasing their investments in the research and development of safety systems at the workplaces in order to ensure a safe and secure environment for the workers in the offices. Thus, this is a crucial factor driving the growth of this market.

Market Segmentation-

On the basis of component, this market is divided into solution, services  safety consulting, safety training, site safety staffing, and others. Based on type, the market is classified into personal safety, public safety and machinery and equipment safety. By industry, the market is categorized into oil and gas, chemical, automotive, energy and power, transportation, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, aerospace and defense, energy and utilities, and others. In terms of geography, the market is clubbed into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.

Highlights/Summary-

This research report offers an in-depth study of the driving factors, restraints, and trends related to the growth of the market. In addition, this report offers a detailed evaluation of the market segments and regional developments in the market. Further, this report also incorporates a comprehensive analysis of the strategies adopted by the leading players to boost their market position.

Regional Insights-

Increasing Tech-Savvy People to Boost the North America Market Growth

North America region is projected to dominate in the workplace safety market share on account of the increasing number of tech-savvy people and the rising number of workplace safety system providing companies in this region.

Asia Pacific region is anticipated to grow rapidly in this market due to the strict government and regulatory framework for labor safety and well-being in the countries such as India, China, and others.





Ask for Customization- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/ask-for-customization/workplace-safety-market-104923





Competitive Landscape-

Rising Adoption of Workplace Safety Systems with Enhanced Features to Intensify Competition

The prominent companies in the workplace safety market are focusing on the rising adoption of enhanced safety systems equipped with the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), and others. This has resulted in the increasing competition among key companies which will help them to widen their product offerings and establish a strong footprint in this market.

Key Points from TOC:

Introduction

1.1. Research Scope

1.2. Market Segmentation

1.3. Research Methodology

1.4. Definitions and Assumptions

2. Executive Summary

3. Market Dynamics

3.1. Market Drivers

3.2. Market Restraints

3.3. Market Opportunities

4. Key Insights

4.1 Global Statistics  Key Countries

4.2 New Product Launches

4.3 Pipeline Analysis

4.4 Regulatory Scenario  Key Countries

4.5 Recent Industry Developments  Partnerships, Mergers & Acquisitions

5. Global Workplace Safety Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast

5.1. Key Findings/ Summary

5.2. Market Analysis  By Product Type

5.3. Market Analysis  By Distribution Channel

5.4. Market Analysis  By Countries/Sub-regions



11. Competitive Analysis

11.1. Key Industry Developments

11.2. Global Market Share Analysis

11.3. Competition Dashboard

11.4. Comparative Analysis  Major Players

12. Company Profiles

12.1 Overview

12.2 Products & Services

12.3 SWOT Analysis

12.4 Recent developments

12.5 Major Investments

12.6 Regional Market Size and Demand

13. Strategic Recommendations

TOC Continued.





Pre-Book- https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/104923





About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

US: +1 424 253 0390

UK: +44 2071 939123

APAC: +91 744 740 1245

Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com




DUBLIN, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Business and Investment Opportunities Databook - 75+ KPIs on BNPL Market Size, End-Use Sectors, Market Share, Product Analysis, Business Model, Demographics - Q1 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Logo

BNPL payments are expected to grow by 19.3% on an annual basis to reach US$1,452.3 million in 2023.



The BNPL payment industry in New Zealand has recorded strong growth over the last four quarters, supported by increased ecommerce penetration.



Medium to long term growth story of BNPL industry in New Zealand remains strong. BNPL payment adoption is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 10.7% during 2023-2028. The BNPL Gross Merchandise Value in the country will increase from US$1,217.5 million in 2022 to reach US$2,410.5 million by 2028.



This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) industry, covering market opportunities and risks across a range of retail categories. With over 75 KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of BNPL market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



It breaks down market opportunity by type of business model, sales channels (offline and online), and distribution models. In addition, it provides a snapshot of consumer behaviour and retail spend dynamics in New Zealand. KPIs in both value and volume term help in getting in-depth understanding of end market dynamics.



Reasons to buy

Get a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics for Buy Now Pay Later: Identify market opportunities, major trends, and forecasting (2019-2028). Understand market trends through crucial KPIs like Gross Merchandise Value, Volume, and Average Value per Transaction, to stay ahead of the curve.

Insights by end-use sectors: Evaluate new opportunities across multiple end-use sectors, and obtain market dynamics by end-use sectors in order to swiftly catch up with the latest and upcoming developments in BNPL markets.

Market-specific strategies: Identify growth segments focused on specific opportunities, and analysing market-specific risks and important trends in the BNPL sector with our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and innovative insights.

Gain knowledge of consumer attitudes and actions: This report identifies and interprets important Buy Now Pay Later KPIs, such as spend by age, gender, and income level, using data from a proprietary survey.

Develop proactive and lucrative business strategies through market intelligence and forward-looking analysis of BNPL market spend and major opportunities in New Zealand.

Story continues

Scope

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Market Share Analysis by Key Players

OpenPay

Afterpay

humm

Laybuy

Zippay

Payright

Genoapay

Art Money

New Zealand BNPL Market Size and Spending Pattern, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Revenue Analysis, 2019-2028

Buy Now Pay Later Revenues

Buy Now Pay Later Share by Revenue Segments

Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Merchant Commission

Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Missed Payment Fee Revenue

Buy Now Pay Later Revenue by Pay Now & Other Income

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Operational KPIs & Statistics, 2019-2028

Buy Now Pay Later Active Consumer Base

Buy Now Pay Later Bad Debt

New Zealand BNPL by Purpose, 2019-2028

Convenience - Short Term Loans

Credit - Loan Term Loans

New Zealand BNPL by Business Model, 2019-2028

Two-Party (BNPL offered by retailers)

Three-Party BNPL Offering

New Zealand BNPL by Merchant Ecosystem, 2019-2028

Open Loop System

Closed Loop System

New Zealand BNPL by Distribution Model Analysis, 2019-2028

Standalone

Banks & Payment Service Providers

Marketplaces

New Zealand BNPL Analysis by Channel, 2019-2028

Online Channel

POS Channel

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Retail Shopping: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Home Improvement: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Travel/Entertainment: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Services: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Automotive: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Healthcare and Wellness: Market Size and Forecast, 2019-2028

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later in Groceries: Market Size and Forecast

Gross Merchandise Value Trend Analysis

Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis

Transaction Volume Trend Analysis

New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later Analysis by Consumer Attitude and Behaviour

Sales Uplift by Product Category

Share by Age Group

Share by Income

Share by Gender

Adoption Rationale

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sdmir9

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900

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

Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-zealand-buy-now-pay-later-market-databook-report-2023-75-kpis-on-bnpl-market-size-end-use-sectors-market-share-product-analysis-business-model-demographics-2019-2028-301764514.html

SOURCE Research and Markets
A Locust Grove man who was found dead in his home last week had been celebrating his birthday before suffering an apparent drug overdose, court records show.

Sidney M. Cramer, 22, was found dead Thursday at his home in Lake of the Woods in Orange County, police and court records state. One of his friends, 23-year-old Christopher Jordan Rodriguez of Spotsylvania County, was arrested later that day and charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of illegal drugs.

According to an affidavit for a search warrant filed in Spotsylvania Circuit Court, Rodriguez, Cramer and others attended a party Wednesday at Cramers home to celebrate his birthday. Two witnesses told police that Rodriguez gave Cramer and another party-goer pills that both ingested.

Rodriguez left the home about 2 a.m. Thursday, the affidavit states. When Cramers mother went to wake up her son and two other party attendees later that morning, she found Cramer cold and not breathing. The other person who had taken the pill was also sleeping in the room, but was able to wake up.

Statements from two people who attended the gathering led police to Rodriguez, who was spotted later Thursday in a motel parking lot on U.S. 1 in Spotsylvania in a vehicle registered to Rodriguezs girlfriend. Rodriguez told police that he knew he was being arrested in connection with Cramers death, and said that he and at least one other person had ingested Percocet pills but were not harmed. He said that Cramer appeared to be fine when he left, the affidavit states.

Police searched the vehicle and Rodriguez and recovered more than five pounds of marijuana, along with fentanyl, cocaine, ecstasy and other suspected drugs, along with more than $2,000 in cash.

The criminal case against Rodriguez will begin in Orange General District Court. A hearing date had not been set as of Monday.
A Spotsylvania County man whose guilty conscience led to child sexual assault convictions was ordered Monday to serve 20 years in prison.

Alexander James Brodeur, 36, was sentenced in Stafford County Circuit Court to 30 years with 10 years suspended. He had previously pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual battery and indecent liberties for offenses involving two different children in 2008 and 2013.

Judge Victoria Willis sentence exceeded the recommended state sentencing guidelines, which called for a maximum active sentence of 12 1/2 years. Prosecutor Philip Chichester requested the sentence, saying that although Brodeur confessed, he still poses a significant risk to children.

Defense attorney John Mayoras asked for mercy, saying Brodeur should get some credit for finally coming forward on his own.

Court records show that Brodeur was investigated in 2009 after a girl claimed she was molested by Brodeur the previous year when she was 14. Brodeur denied the allegations, and police eventually decided not to pursue the he said, she said situation.

In April last year, Stafford Deputy David Jett went to the Fredericksburg Police Department to interview Brodeur. He told police that he lied when he was investigated in 2009 and that the girls allegations were true.

He also admitted to sexual contact with a 1-year-old boy in Stafford in 2013. Police were not aware of that incident prior to Brodeurs confession. He also admitted to molesting young children in North Carolina and claimed to have destroyed pornographic pictures of children that had been on his phone.
The University of Mary Washington and Germanna Community College are among 13 institutions to receive planning grants from the state to support the development of lab schools.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the grants Tuesday.

Restoring excellence in the commonwealths education system has been a top priority of this administration since day one, Youngkin said in a press release. By fostering partnerships between our top-ranked education institutions and Virginias most critical employers, we are preparing our young people to graduate workforce or college ready.

Lab schools are public, nonreligious schools established by public institutions of higher education to stimulate the development of innovative education programs for students in preschool through grade 12, according to the press release.

The General Assembly in 2022 approved spending $100 million to support the development of lab schools in the state. Of that, $5 million is available to provide planning grants of up to $200,000 to institutions that are interested in establishing a lab school.

Fredericksburg, UMW unveil Civil Rights Trail Robert Christian was 12 when he desegregated Fredericksburgs Maury School in 1962.

UMW is proposing a computer and data science high school focused on preparing students for college, career opportunities and teaching.

Germanna is proposing the Piedmont Regional Pathway to Teaching, a pre-K through grade 12 school meant to streamline the education and licensure process for future teachers. It would provide students with work-based learning opportunities and a route to placement in a teaching position within two years of graduation from high school, according to the press release.

Old Dominion University, Old Dominion UniversityChesapeake, Norfolk State University, Virginia Union University, the University of Lynchburg, the University of Virginia, Emory and Henry College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Eastern Shore Community College, George Mason University and Mountain Gateway Community College will also receive planning grants.

The Virginia Department of Education is reviewing three more planning grant applications and two lab school launch applications.

More information about lab schools is available on the VDOEs website.
Fredericksburg resident Natalie Ealy is a finalist in the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year competition.

On Monday, she was chosen as the Marine Corps representative in the annual program, which recognizes the important contributions and unwavering commitment made by more than 1.1 million military spouses to community and country, according to the MSOY website.

Ealy is one of seven finalists representing each branch of the military: Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and National Guard.

Everyone that was picked is really awesome, Im kind of awestruck by some of them, she said about the spouses whose profiles are listed online. This level is unbelievable and fabulous and Im really happy to be here, even if I dont win overall.

After she was notified on Monday, Ealys first call was to her husband, Dan, an officer assigned to Bahrain. He was so excited, I think more than me.

Ealy, 42, said in a Free LanceStar story last week that shes not comfortable in the spotlight but wants whatever attention comes her way to benefit the Ohana Homefront Foundation. Thats an organization she and fellow military spouse Sarah Otto created in 2021 to highlight the need for mental health services in the military community, not just for those in uniform but also for their families.

Shes already received calls since the finalists were announced from friends and military members her husband has served with, asking how they can help.

Dan Ealy has been in the Marine Corps since 1998, both enlisted and as an officer. His wife doesnt publicize his rank because she doesnt want to suggest she can only associate with wives whose husbands are on the same level.

I dont wear his rank, she said. He earned that, not me. Im not gonna let that determine who Im going to be friends with.

Her friend Otto, who lives in Caroline County, said thats one of many ways in which Ealy is rare.

Natalie has a heart like no other military spouse that I have ever met, and I am proud to call her my friend, Otto wrote in her nomination. She has gone out of her way time and time again to make a difference in the lives of others.

Ealy said she and Otto have been serial volunteers with all kinds of organizations at the various bases where their husbands have been assigned. But as they worked with family readiness groups or mentored new military spouses, both realized there isnt one overarching group that can help all those associated with the military find mental-health services.

The two hope their foundation, Ohana  the Hawaiian word for family  will provide a one-stop shop, as Otto called it, for people in crisis or those who need to confide in someone outside their base. Theyre looking for licensed counselors in each state who can help military members and their families as well as veterans who may need help.

Theyre also looking to pool other resources for anyone who reaches out to them and needs help quickly, through their website at ohanahomefront.org or at 804/214-2763.

The Military Spouse of the Year program is in its 13th year. Representatives are chosen on the base level, and because Dan Ealy is not stationed at a particular base, his wife initially was selected in Marine Corps unattached category. The top three spouses from each branch were selected next, then the competition was narrowed to the seven finalists.

The winner, which will be announced May 12, will be determined by popular votes, which account for 25% of the total, and interviews with two teams of judges. The popular voting takes place this Thursday and Friday only at msoy.afi.org.
In some ways, Cade Rasmussen and Abbie Bigsby can relate to characters they play in the new musical Footloose.

Yet in other ways, the students are very different than the roles theyll bring to the stage when Fremont High School presents the lively musical, which starts Thursday, March 9.

This marks the first time FHS has staged the musical about a big city teen who tries to adjust amid a small towns rigid restrictions. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. March, 9-11 and 2:30 p.m. March 12 in the Nell McPherson Theatre of the high school at 1750 N. Lincoln Ave.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students, 0-18. Tickets can be purchased online at fremont.booktix.com. At the door, tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for students.

Set in the mid-1980s, Footloose is the story of a Chicago teenager who moves with his mother, Ethel, to small-town Bowmont, after his father leaves their family.

FHS junior Matt Canales plays Ren McCormack, who doesnt exactly fit in when he comes to Bowmont.

The town is pretty judgmental. They dont necessarily love outsiders and there are some rules in town that he finds out about the hard way. The most difficult one for him is that theyve outlawed dancing, said Mark Harman, vocal music teacher and musical director.

McCormack continues to have run-ins with the school and the law, because people misunderstand him  and he doesnt understand why.

Hell learn that years earlier, students were killed in a car accident and the town reacted by instating laws, including one against dancing.

McCormack and other students opt to challenge the anti-dancing ordinance and seek permission to have a dance.

Harman said Footloose is the coming-of-age story of Ren, whos dealing with the trauma of losing a father. Its also about a town leader navigating the loss of a child.

Rasmussen plays the Rev. Shaw Moore, who sought to have the town enact the strict laws after the tragic accident.

He describes Moore as an honest-hearted man, but stern community leader, who takes his passions a little too far.

The student sees a couple of similarities between his personality and Moores.

Im probably the same kind of confident personality and I can also be single-focused, Rasmussen said.

But Rasmussen is very different than Moore in other ways.

He takes his position and uses it to enact lots of control over the people of Bowmont, Rasmussen said. He also is kind of an angry person.

Bigsby, a senior, plays Urleen  a school friend of the pastors daughter, Ariel.

They hang out at the Burger Blast together, Bigsby said of Urleen and Ariel. She (Urleen) is a very fun-loving, carefree girl, who doesnt care about school at all and mainly just wants to find a guy.

Bigsby likes how Urleen finds fun in everything.

Theres parts in the school scenes where all the kids head back to class and she and one of her friends talk and would rather have fun than go to class, Bigsby said.

Bigsby doesnt relate to Urleens limited set of goals.

At school, Im definitely more studious, said Bigsby, who unlike, Urleen, is conscientious about getting good grades.

Although their personalities differ, Bigsby enjoys playing the part of Urleen.

Its a fun way to try something different and be a little more out there than I am in real life, Bigsby said. Ive leaned into the fun-loving, carefree side of her.

To prepare for their roles, Rasmussen and Bigsby watched the original Footloose movie and the remake of the film.

The only other preparation Ive done is Ive been going to church for 18 years, Rasmussen said. Ive been in lots of Sunday mornings so Ive learned what a pastor sounds like.

Students believe audiences will like the musical.

Its a really high-energy show, Bigsby said. It doesnt really slow down at any time. Its always upbeat. Its pretty different than what weve done in years past, so for people who come to see the show every year, I think it will be something new and refreshing.

Harman notes this is the productions first time on the FHS stage and tells why he decided to have students stage this show.

I know its a type of show students have interest in, Harman said. Its also the 22nd time Ive directed a show in Fremont, so Im looking for new things, too. As much as I love The Music Man and Oklahoma, theres a need to do some things that are different sometimes.

Harman said musical theater gives students involved in music and acting an opportunity to showcase their talents.

He also believes attendees will enjoy the show. Many people are familiar with the movie and the story.

Its a show that our community, people who are generally coming to the show, will really like, Harman said. Theres popular music from the day that people will recognize. Theres something to love about it. I hope people take a look and cheer on our students and have a good time.
The Legislature strode immediately into its next filibuster Monday as senators launched debate on a bill that would provide state income tax credits for donations to fund scholarships to attend parochial schools in Nebraska.

The bill (LB753), authored by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and supported by Gov. Jim Pillen, began the day with 31 legislative sponsors, just two senators short of the 33 that eventually will be required to free the proposal from a filibuster and move it on to second-stage consideration.

Monday's standoff followed on the heels of last week's filibuster of a bill to allow concealed carrying of handguns without permits or safety training, a blockage that was broken Friday after three days of debate.

"Every child in Nebraska deserves the best possible education," Linehan said, arguing that there is abundant evidence that public schools are not the best fit for every student.

While higher-income Nebraskans can afford to make the choice of sending their children to private or parochial schools, low-income families do not have the same option, Linehan said.

"This would level the playing field," she said.

"Our kids are our future and we need to give them every educational opportunity possible to help them succeed," Pillen said in a news release.

"LB753 gives kids in need, including kids in poverty, kids in foster care and kids of military veterans, more choices when identifying a school which best meets their needs."

First-year tax credits would be capped at $25 million, with an accompanying reduction in state revenue that is projected to rise to $39 million by fiscal 2026-27.

Failure to enact the bill would "jeopardize funding for all Nebraska students," the governor said.

Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha, a supporter, argued that "kids in North Omaha" should have the same opportunity to find the educational home that fits them best as the children of higher-income Nebraskans already do.

The Legislature should "give their parents a choice" in seeking what's best for their children, Wayne said. He represents a largely Black and low-income constituency.

"Only privileged people have choice now," Linehan said.

"It's not about choice," Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha countered.

"It's about incentivizing donations to private schools  and giving a tax credit to wealthy donors."

Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha said he will propose an amendment that assures that those private scholarships could go "only to those with low family income  only to kids in need."

Cavanaugh said his children currently attend private Catholic schools, but he and his wife will move them into Omaha-area public schools next year.

"Private schools can discriminate, and they do," he said.

That is counter to "my beliefs and my values," Cavanaugh said.

Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln questioned whether the bill could withstand a constitutional challenge by providing what he said amounts to "appropriation of funds to private schools."

Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln said the bill provides an avenue for parents to "have a choice because of philanthropy (if) a school is failing their children."

Providing an opportunity for children to attend schools that "better fit their needs  will not harm public education one bit," Sen. Tom Briese of Albion said.

Opponents can consume eight hours of debate before the bill's supporters could force a vote to end the filibuster and attempt to move the proposal forward. That vote would likely come Wednesday.

The bill would provide income tax credits for both corporate and individual contributors.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023
The status of a more than 12-year-old contract for legal services between the City of Fremont and now-Kansas Attorney General Kris W. Kobach remains a mystery.

When he was a private practice attorney in 2010, Kobach was hired at the rate of at least $10,000 a year to defend from any past or future legal challenges to Fremonts controversial Ordinance 5165, a local law that prohibits renting residential dwellings to undocumented or illegal immigrants.

The contract between the city and Kobach was renewed in 2016, but no payments have been made to Kobach since he was paid $10,000 in December 2020. Under the terms of the contract, the arrangement can be ended at any time by either party for no reason.

As of March 6, 2023, requests from the Fremont Tribune for statements, communications or any documentation made to either the City of Fremont or Kobach indicating an ending or termination of the contract have resulted in no response or records.

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, Fremont City Administrator Jody Sanders said she had no comment on whether or not the citys contract with Kobach was still in effect.

On the same night, Fremont City Attorney Travis Jacott also refused to comment on the status of the arrangement.

Multiple requests made to Kobach via his official spokesperson at the Kansas Attorney General Office  John P. Milburn, public information officer for the Office of Attorney General  resulted in no response from Kobach.

The AG has been out of the office and I have been unable to get a response for you, Milford wrote on Feb. 28. He is scheduled back tomorrow and if you can give me until then I will have something for you.

Milford did not respond to follow-up emails from the Tribune seeking comment from Kobach as of press time on March 6.

From 2011-2019, Kobach was the Kansas Secretary of State, where he developed a reputation for challenging the administration of former President Barack Obama. He was elected as the Kansas attorney general in 2022.

When asked about the contracts status on Feb. 28, Fremont City Council President Mark Jensen said he did not know the answer to the question.

I cant answer that, Jensen said in response to a question from the Fremont Tribune about whether or not the city is still actively in a contract with Kobach.

(The annual payment) has not come up this year, Jensen added, noting to his knowledge, the city has not paid Kobach since 2020. I voted against it every time it was possible.

Issue 1st questioned by Yerger

Former city council member Brad Yerger brought the payment to the attention of the city council during the consent agenda portion of the councils Feb. 14 meeting, during which he probed into the citys expenses in regard to legal services.

I had this pulled for a couple of quick questions. The first one being, Ive been monitoring the paid claims and to date, I have yet to see the $10,000 retainer fee paid to Kris Kobach to defend the immigration ordinance, Yerger said. Normally that is paid by January. I have not seen that paid. I am wondering or not whether we have inquired or paid.

In response to the question from Yerger, there was confusion among the city council about whether or not Kobach had been paid or was still in a contract with the city.

Jensen asked the city administrative staff that since Kobach had been elected attorney general of Kansas, could he still perform legal services for the city or not?

Jacott said that was a question for officials in Kansas.

If we were concerned, if we want to continue to use his services, we can pay it. If he can perform those services, we have to look into Kansas law, Jacott said.

The city administrator told council members she would contact Kobach and consult with him about the contract.

In answer to the question, it has not been paid. I am not aware if anyone has been in contact with him. The council would decide if they wanted to continue the contract, Sanders said. I dont know that anyone has been in contact with him. I can bring that to the next council meeting after consulting with him.

Kobach 1st retained in 2010

According to documents and contracts provided to the Fremont Tribune in response to a public records request, Kobach was first retained as a lawyer for the city as of June 21, 2010, during tenure of former mayor Donald B. Edwards.

The last official action on the agreement was in December, 2020, when the city council voted 5-3 to pay Kobach his $10,000 annual fee. Kobachs contract was renewed on Jan. 12, 2016.

The controversial Ordinance 5165 was initially passed in 2010 through a special election, and it prohibited businesses and landlords from hiring or renting to people in the United States illegally.

The city council temporarily suspended the ordinance shortly after its passing in 2010 due to ongoing litigation, but it ultimately took effect in 2014 following an Eighth Circuit Court panels decision to uphold it.

The agreement to defend the ordinance between Kobach and the city will continue in perpetuity unless either party gives notice of termination.

During the December 2020 discussion, Jensen objected to the payments. According to a Fremont Tribune archive article, Jensen said at the time he couldnt justify throwing more money at the former politician.

Weve already spent at least $90,000, maybe $100,000, Jensen said during the December 2020 meeting. I cant look at my constituents in the eye and do it again. I will vote against this and I urge everybody else to do the same.

Jensen voted against the payment at the time, as did Ward 2 Council Member Dev Sookram and former Ward 1 Council Member Mark Legband.

According to financial records provided to the Tribune in late February 2023, the city has not paid Kobach the agreed upon $10,000 since 2020, failing to pay the fee in 2021 or 2022.

In 2014, according to Fremont Tribune archived stories, then city officials had not decided what to do with almost $2 million that was raised through a special levy for defense, implementation and enforcement of the illegal immigrant ordinance.

Built up from 2010-2014, the fund initially was intended as a safety net in case the city found itself on the losing end of legal challenges to Ordinance 5165. The fund was then expanded to included implementation and enforcement costs, according to prior coverage by the Tribune.

With no apparent legal challenges, the city council voted on Aug. 26, 2014, to remove the 5.7-cent portion of the levy that would have generated an additional $757,500 in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

According to City of Fremont Billing records, the city has paid Kobach $121,817.26 since the contract began in 2010. That total includes $11,817.26 in associated expenses such as research work by legal aides, airplane travel, hotels or other miscellaneous expenses.

Jensen said he did not believe the city needed to continue to retain Kobach as a legal counsel for the ordinance.

Were spent more than $100,000 on his services, Jensen noted. I think if there was going to be a challenge to the immigrant ordinance, it would have happened already. I dont think him being on retainer affected that.
The Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi Exim) signed a MoU with the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) to establish a cooperation framework between the two sides.

The framework aims to explore various fields of cooperation, including knowledge exchange, employee training, and finance and investment opportunities in both countries, said Dr Nayef Al-Shammari, Deputy CEO of the Saudi Exim after signing the deal with Sinosure Vice President Xu Xinwei.

This partnership is expected to contribute to enhancing the kingdom's non-oil exports, stated Al Shammari at the signing ceremony held at the Saudi Exim Bank headquarters in Riyadh, in the presence of several senior executives from both sides.

This presents an opportunity to exchange information, enhance training, and develop businesses, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
During a record crime wave, Colorado should:

A. Get tough on crime and encourage cops to enforce the law;

B. Pretend nothing is wrong, ignore the crime rate and take no action; or

C. Reduce arrests

Congratulations to those who chose C. They stand with Assistant House Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, who wants fewer arrests for low-level crimes. Bacon introduced House Bill 23-1169, which prohibits a peace officer from arresting a person based solely on the alleged commission of a petty offense The law, she claims, would help "people of color."

Petty is relative. A banks petty cash could pay a poor familys rent and bills for months. Petty crimes are not trivial to those who endure them.

The commission and resulting custodial arrest of low-level offenses, commonly tied to behavioral health, substance use, and homelessness issues, which are often exacerbated by jail, are most effectively addressed by alternate-responder models, the bill explains

Colorados law-enforcement establishment and much of the business community are not buying it.

 This bill will tie the hands of our states law enforcement professionals at a crucial time when crime is increasing...  Estes Park Police Chief Dave Hayes, president of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.

 The success of businessesis vital to the provision of essential services, a strong sense of community, and the economic vitality of CMLs 270 member municipalities,  Kevin Bommer, Executive Director of the Colorado Municipal League.

 Our communities are asking law enforcement to get tougher on crime and to protect the publics safety this does just the opposite...  Eagle County Sheriff James Van Beek, president of the County Sheriffs of Colorado.

 Colorado retailers are already experiencing daily challenges with trespassing, product theft, harassment of customers, and illegal drug use in their storeswe are certain that these problems would be exacerbated.  Christopher Howes, President of the Colorado Retail Council.

 The authority to arrest to intervene in illegal activity, even those deemed low level is critical for law enforcement to keep peace and order  Sandra Hagen Solin, head of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance.

 This legislation says that a person can willfully disregard the stores that people use to provide for their own families,  Grier Bailey of the Colorado Convenience Store Association.

Leading civic, business and law enforcement organizations list 30 crimes the bill would exempt from arrests, including: prostitution; sexual intercourse and genital exposure in public; arson causing up to $300 in damages; disorderly conduct; check fraud; harassment; trespassing on fenced and unfenced property; and more.

Left-leaning legislators of all backgrounds gratuitously exploit minorities to justify any brand of legislation. In addressing roads, energy, education, health care or crime they are in it to help people of color. There are no limits to this key component of identity politics. As an example, consider a new Senate Bill that addresses eating disorders and suggests they affect "people of color" more than whites. It may help pass the bill, but the National Eating Disorders Association reports similar rates of eating disorders among non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians."

Lady Liberty implores that justice be blind. In a snub to blind justice, HB-1169 protects suspects of color more than victims of color. It does so while the crime spree hurts people of color at higher rates than whites.

The threat of handcuffs and jail prevents a lot of crime  from murder and rape to check fraud and arson. All crime victims, including those of color, deserve full enforcement of the law. No one needs another bill to coddle suspects, tie the hands of cops and welcome more crimes. To victims, no crimes feel petty.
Members of the Colorado Springs community sat down with 10 of the citys 12 mayoral candidates in an original speed networking event aimed at educating voters ahead of the municipal election on April 4.

Hosted by the Southern Colorado Womens Chamber of Commerce, the event separated voters into small groups in rooms within the New Altitude Coworking and Office Space in north Colorado Springs. Candidates rotated between the rooms with 11 minutes on the clock to introduce themselves and answer questions from community members.

The 12 candidates running in the crowded race to succeed Mayor John Suthers, who is term-limited, are Sallie Clark, Kallan Reece Rodebaugh, John "Tig" Tiegen, Yemi Mobolade, Christopher Mitchell, Lawrence Joseph Martinez, Longinos Gonzalez Jr., Tom Strand, Andrew Dalby, Jim Miller, Darryl Glenn and Wayne Williams; all but Rodebaugh and Martinez participated in the networking event.

From those with local government experience to others moving into politics from other fields, the event put each candidate on an even playing field to engage with voters, a format retired professor Schon Beechler praised as innovative and informative.

It is very overwhelming with 12 candidates running," said small-business owner Tiffany Antone, who said she appreciates "getting to know them on a personal level and whats important to them because I think a lot of times you hear some of their core issues, but you dont really get to connect to the person whos going to be making the decisions. So this is a really great format to do that.

Antone hadnt yet identified which candidate would get her vote before Mondays event. Im kind of starting from scratch. I know a couple of the candidates and thats really it, so Im here to learn as much as I can, she said.

Even voters going in with a clearer idea of where they will cast their vote on April 4 were grateful for the opportunity to hear from others in this format.

I have someone in mind, said retired teacher Georgia Paul. But Id like to get some more information from the other candidates because the candidate that Im tending to vote for has an awful lot of political money to advertise and so I want to meet with the ones that dont have that.

Paul said the top issues that will influence her vote are answers on homelessness and repairing roads, both among top discussion items in questions to candidates. Paramount issues for voters in attendance also included crime, growth, water usage and affordable housing.

Voters asked questions catered to issues that their votership is hinged on, but also on candidate's less-addressed stances, qualifications and personal reasons for running, be it a love for the city or a need for different type of leadership. Candidates gave insight into their platforms and plans, taking around five questions in each room within the allotted timeframe, coordinated by a mediator.

You have my vote! one voter told a candidate at the end of one 11-minute session, hitting home Southern Colorado Womens Chamber of Commerce's goal of supporting voters' upcoming decision-making process.

We just thought this was a really innovative way to format to be able to get to know the candidates," Beechler said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) will be hosting a public meeting at Rifle Gap State Park in Garfield County on March 16 to discuss how the presence of invasive zebra mussels may impact the 2023 boating season.

In September 2022, CPW discovered a single adult zebra mussel on a piece of PVC pipe in Highline Lake. The lake has since been upgraded from "suspect" to "infested."

Zebra mussels are considered extremely invasive and can travel to different waters by clinging to the bottoms of boats.

CPW officials are now considering what changes need to made in order to lower the risk of introducing the mussels to the nearby Rifle Gap State Park and Harvey Gap State Park lakes.

According to a news release, park staff is recommending that boat ramp gates be closed outside of boat inspection hours.

We know how important our reservoir is to our boating community and anglers who enjoy night fishing from boats, Rifle Gap and Harvey Gap State Park Manager Brian Palcer.

We are looking at ways we can mitigate the impacts of this change and still be able to protect our waters. Your feedback is valuable as we make these types of changes.

The meeting will take place from 6:00 p.m to 7:30 p.m., at the Rifle Gap State Park Visitor Center. More information on how to attend can be found here.
A petition has been launched following the announced ban of hiking on multiple popular mountains in Colorado. The ban follows the death of Senate Bill 103, which would have bolstered liability protection of landowners who open up their property for recreational use.

This liability concern stems from a 2019 decision that found the Air Force Academy liable in a mountain bike accident that took place when a biker hit a sinkhole on a washed out trail.

With the recent failure of the bill, the landowner of property on Mount Democrat and Mount Lincoln decided to close the property to the public.

The petition created as a response makes the plea for the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee to reconsider their decision on the bill.

Since its creation, more than 100 people have signed.

Find the petition here.
The body found in Divide along Colorado 67 on last week has been identified as Eduardo Castaneda, according to the Teller County Sheriffs Office.

Officials said Eduardo Castaneda, 21, was reported missing on Feb. 27 in Cripple Creek. He was last seen alive in the Woodland Park area that same day between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

Officials are investigating the death as suspicious and the office will not comment further.

Colorado 67 south from U.S. 24 in Divide was closed for around five hours Thursday, beginning shortly after noon, after Castaneda's body was discovered.

The Sheriff's Office said Colorado State Patrol has assisted in the investigation.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family of Castaneda.
The 78-year-old subject of a missing senior alert issued by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Monday afternoon has been located.

Randall J. Austin was last seen in Manitou Springs wearing a bright blue shirt and navy-blue pants at 10:15 a.m. in the area of El Paso Boulevard and U.S. 24. The alert, which has since been canceled, said he is 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds with blue eyes and white hair.

Austin may have been driving a silver 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe with Colorado plates, Z2L026, possibly in the direction of Breckenridge, according to investigators.

The alert said Austin suffers from cognitive impairment and a disability.

Anyone with relevant information was asked to call 911 or the El Paso County Sheriff's Department at 719-390-5555.
Colorado 94 is back open after a deadly crash in eastern El Paso County claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl Monday morning, according to the Cimarron Hills Fire Department and Gazette news partner KKTV.

The crash, reported by the department around 7:15 a.m., shut down both eastbound and westbound lanes of traffic between Page Road and Peyton Highway, just northeast of Schriever Space Force Base.

The road reopened shortly after 1 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Colorado State Patrol.

The State Patrol told KKTV that several cars were stopped while children boarded a school bus when an oncoming vehicle failed to stop and struck one of the waiting vehicles. Two more cars were unable to avoid the wreck site and also crashed, KKTV reported.

Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Troopers told KKTV that a girl in one of the middle vehicles was killed, but that the school bus was not involved and none of the children were injured.

Three others sustained injuries, one of which was serious, according to the spokesperson.

Distracted driving was likely the cause of the crash, according to the State Patrol. The agency's vehicular crime unit is investigating the incident and plans to pursue charges against the driver.
Despite global disruptions, the GCC has remained stable, with continuous investment and diversification leading to a buoyant labour market in 2023, creating new jobs across multiple sectors and geographies in the region, says a new report.

This is exemplified by 85% of employers planning to recruit permanent employees this year. However, with 45% professionals looking to change organisations, greater competition for the best talent is to be expected, said the Hays Middle East releases the GCC Salary Guide 2023.

The guide provides comprehensive salary data for over 400 roles across 13 industries across the region, with the latest workforce trends based on expert insights and the analysis of a survey of over 2,000 employers and professionals.

Sarah Dixon, Managing Director of Hays Middle East, said: 2023 promises to be a prosperous year for the labour market and the GCC in general, with new jobs being created across multiple sectors and geographies in the region through investment initiatives from a multitude of sources. The Hays GCC Salary Guide 2023 provides valuable insights for both employers and professionals, helping them navigate the recruiting landscape of today and stay competitive for tomorrow.

Employers can leverage flexible working

Offering flexible working options is a viable way for employers to counter the fierce competition. The guide shows that while only 49% of organisations in the GCC currently offer remote or hybrid working options, 20% of employers anticipate that employees will be required in the workplace more. Professionals place work-life balance and flexible working as a top priority when looking for a new job.

Addressing the skills dissonance is vital

Employers and employees in the GCC have different perceptions of talent availability within their organisations. The guide indicates that while 82% of employees firmly believe they have the necessary skills to fulfill their role in 2023, only 35% of employers strongly agree they have the talent needed for the coming year. Employers and employees must work together to address this disconnect to ensure success in the future, says the guide.

Growth on the horizon for technology and industrial sectors

The guide highlights that technology remains the most active industry sector for hiring, with 77% of organisations increasing their headcount last year, thanks to consistent local and foreign direct investment in focus areas such as data, cyber security, and cloud solutions. Despite uncertainty in the global Technology sector, growth in the GCC continues at pace. Indeed, 88% of employers plan to recruit permanent employees in 2023.

In Saudi Arabia, the industrial sector is expanding at an exponential rate. With the Kingdom poised to take further advantage of its abundant natural resources and central geographical location, industrial diversification into new products and materials will lead to a focus on talent with experience, technical skills, and operational knowledge.

In the UAE, almost one in two (49%) of employers will ramp up their hiring of UAE national citizens this year as they work to meet Emiratisation quotas and diversify their workforce.

Key findings from the guide include:

 74% of employers expect salaries within their organisation to increase this year, most commonly by 5% or less.

 Of the 45% of employees who plan to change roles this year, lack of career development opportunities is the number one reason why.

 Aside from salary, benefits package is the number one factor attracting employees to a new role.

 The top three most valued benefits include flexible working, child education allowance, and air ticket allowance.

 65% of employers feel optimistic about the wider economic climate and employment opportunities for the coming years, down from a record 78% last year.  TradeArabia News Service
Xi stresses healthy, high-quality development of private sector

Xinhua) 08:07, March 07, 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Monday urged proper guidance for the healthy and high-quality development of the private sector.

Xi made the remarks when visiting national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions.

Xi stressed that the CPC Central Committee always unswervingly consolidates and develops the public sector, and unswervingly encourages, supports and guides the development of the non-public sector.

The CPC Central Committee always maintains that the non-public sector's status and functions in the country's economic and social development have not changed, the principle and policies to unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the sector have not changed, and the principle and policies to provide a sound environment and more opportunities to the sector have not changed, Xi said.

He also said the CPC Central Committee always believes that private enterprises and entrepreneurs "belong to our own family."

Xi extended festive greetings and best wishes to the country's women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life ahead of International Women's Day, which falls on March 8.

Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion.

Xi said that the year 2022 was of great importance in the history of the CPC and the country as it saw fruitful achievements in the cause of the Party and the country.

The past five years have been truly momentous and remarkable, Xi said.

China registered an annual average economic growth rate of 5.2 percent during the period, won the critical battle against poverty as scheduled, finished building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in all respects, he said.

Xi stressed the need to stay calm, maintain resolve, pursue progress while ensuring stability, take active steps, unite as one and have the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape.

Xi hailed the private sector as an important force in the endeavor to realize the two centenary goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

Efforts should be made to optimize the environment for private enterprises' development, remove institutional barriers that impede their participation in market competition in a fair manner, protect their property rights and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs in accordance with the law, and ensure the equal treatment of private enterprises and state-owned enterprises, Xi said.

Xi stressed more effective measures to assist the development of micro, small and medium-sized firms as well as self-employed individuals, and support the platform enterprises in playing a bigger role in creating jobs, expanding consumption and international competition.

Efforts should be made to put in place a cordial and clean relationship between government and business, Xi said.

Private firms should take the initiative to pursue high-quality development, Xi said. The investment of private capital should be energized, and more private capital should be encouraged and attracted into major state projects and key industrial and supply chain projects, he noted.

Xi also underlined the need to regulate all types of capital according to laws and guide their sound development, and effectively prevent and defuse systemic financial risks.

Noting that Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all, Xi said both state-owned and private enterprises must shoulder the social responsibility of promoting common prosperity.

Xi called on private enterprises to ensure that all employees share their development outcomes.

Private enterprises and entrepreneurs should operate in accordance with laws and regulations, and actively participate in and launch public welfare and charitable undertakings, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits national political advisors from the China National Democratic Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, who are attending the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, capital of China, March 6, 2023. Xi participated in their joint group meeting, and listened to their comments and suggestions. Wang Huning, Cai Qi and Ding Xuexiang, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, joined the visit and discussion. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company has announced that it has partnered with primary investor Stone Point Capital, a private equity firm focused on the global financial services industry, alongside other co-investors, to purchase a 20% stake in US-based Truist Insurance Holdings, for $1.95 billion.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Truist Insurance Holdings, a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corporation, is the sixth-largest insurance broker in the US and operates more than 240 offices through its subsidiaries.

According to Mubadala, the transaction represents an aggregate value of $14.75 billion for Truist Insurance Holdings.

Upon closing of the investment, expected in Q2 2023, Truist will own 80% of Truist Insurance Holdings, which will continue to be an important contributor for Truist and its shareholders, it stated.

On the strategic move, Luca Molinari, the Head of Financial Services at Mubadala, said: "We are excited to partner with Stone Point, Truist and the management team of Truist Insurance Holdings to enable the business to accelerate in its growth trajectory."

"Truist Insurance Holdings is a very attractive business with a leadership position in US insurance distribution and has generated a consistently strong financial performance," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
On Feb. 8, the Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education discussed their staff conduct policy. In that meeting, Director Jason Jorgenson proposed an addition that would bar D-11 teachers from asking students to declare their pronouns. In response, a few D-11 students protested Director Jorgenson and the school board. But those students do not speak for all of us.

I am a high school student in D-11, and I am in support of this policy and grateful to Director Jorgenson for proposing it.

K-12 is a time when most students are wrestling with their identity. For many, that struggle includes gender. Its nothing short of callous and cruel to force a student struggling with the question of her gender identity to out herself in front of her friends by demanding that she, along with everyone else in the classroom, announce her preferred pronouns. Maybe that student isnt comfortable giving an answer. Maybe she doesnt know what to say.

At the Feb. 22 board meeting, several retired and current teachers spoke out in favor of the policy.

One teacher said that he once had a young girl approach him and ask if she looked like a girl. He answered yes. She was disappointed in his answer and wanted to appear to be a boy. A couple of years later she told him that she had wanted to be a boy at the time because she was having a hard time with her mom and didnt want to be like her. The teacher asked the board what would have happened had he not said yes.

Maybe it would have led this young girl down a road that she would later deeply regret.

If a student wishes to express her preferred pronouns to her teacher, she is more than welcome to do so, which Director Jorgenson has explicitly stated. But asking everyone in the classroom to give an answer can create turmoil in a students life that our teachers shouldnt be guilty of creating.

An added issue with asking every student their pronouns is that it introduces an emotionally wrought political issue into the classroom. Not all students or teachers believe the same thing about gender. Some believe it is a social construct; others believe it reflects biological facts. Students who fall into the latter category also deserve privacy.

Sign up for free: Gazette Opinion Receive updates from our editorial staff, guest columnists, and letters from Gazette readers. Sent to your inbox 12:00 PM. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Asking a student who holds a traditional view of gender for her preferred pronouns forces her to choose between publicly affirming the teachers worldview by answering his question or refusing the question and alienating her teacher, and perhaps her peers as well.

For some teachers, forcing that moral and political dilemma might be the entire point of the exercise. While surely certain teachers ask the question in good faith, with the intention of respecting their transgender students, others ask their classes for pronouns to make a demand that students affirm a worldview where gender is fluid and a matter of choice.

Teachers wield a unique level of authority in our classrooms that naturally creates a power imbalance. Our academic futures are in their hands, and therefore, they are positioned to compel conformity to their way of running things. But that power should never be used to force a student to reveal something about herself that she is uncomfortable revealing.

All students deserve privacy, regardless of race, religion, creed, or gender.

Compelling students to answer a question that has nothing to do with education is a mistake.

Doing so with something as personal and delicate as gender is an even bigger one.

Quentin Allen is a freshman at Doherty High School in D-11.
Lets all get out and vote

Active engagement in the upcoming municipal election should be a priority for every eligible voter in Colorado Springs. With the diverse selection of mayoral and city council candidates, we have an opportunity to address whether we want more development (including annexations), better management of our utility resources, improved crime enforcement, innovative solutions to affordable housing, and focus on improving and repairing existing infrastructure over building new.

Having recently attended one of the mayoral candidate forums, the range of diversity was quite remarkable. At least three candidates seemed to be running to challenge the old guard with no real qualifications to serve as Mayor. Current council members running for mayor seemed to offer the same, same old. Three candidates who currently do not hold office actually offer some thought-provoking ideas that may be more advantageous for the local citizens and not so much for the development community. I for one would like to see some significant changes to what we have today. Most importantly, I would like to see a high turn out of voters in this election, so lets all get out and vote!

Alan Goins

Colorado Springs

Take a deep dive into candidates

Here we are at the start of another group of city elections with mayor and City Council positions on the ballot. And as usual we have the current mayor who has been employed by the taxpayers for many years endorsing another man who always seems to always have a job the taxpayers have to pay for. And lest we forget that Norwood Development wants to keep our city for their own development interest and are trying to buy the next mayor to keep the city in their pocket.

So dont buy all the slick advertisements and do your own research into all the candidates to get someone who truly wants to do something good for our city and not just another government job to step into. Take a deep dive into those running for council as some have a very sad past that brings up things that are not so good. Remember that these people you elect can make decisions that will affect you for years to come!

Walter Taylor

Colorado Springs

Honoring students pronouns

I am writing today out of concern for the welfare of the diverse student and staff population within the District 11 school system. In a board meeting on February 8, 2023, it was proposed by a couple of the board members to forbid teachers from asking for students pronouns, deeming it inappropriate and offensive.

Gender identity has become a divisive political topic, reducing the complexity of human identity to a partisan talking point. There are many youth within District 11 schools that identify differently than their assigned gender at birth or outside of the gender binary. This is not just a topic for conversation for them, but it is a fight for their lives. Sadly, not every youth has survived this fight. Transgender and nonbinary youth are considerably more at risk of attempting suicide or self-harm. Honoring preferred pronouns and chosen names can reduce this risk.

Creating spaces where young people can be embraced for who they are is vitally important. Many teachers are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment for our youth, for all of our youth, and this requires honoring students chosen names and preferred pronouns. To deny teachers their right to ask for pronouns would be cruel and unjust, putting in jeopardy the lives of many young people.

On behalf of First Congregational Church United Church of Christ, we call on the District 11 School Board and Policy Committee to continue to allow teachers and staff to ask for the pronouns of their students. For the sake of our youth, the change in policy cannot be allowed to continue.

Joshua Rumple, Director of Youth and Pastoral Care, Rev. Lee Ann Bryce, Lead Minister

First Congregational Church

Sign up for free: Gazette Opinion Receive updates from our editorial staff, guest columnists, and letters from Gazette readers. Sent to your inbox 12:00 PM. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

The humane thing to do

I have a kind neighbor who called animal control to help her capture a feral cat with an injured back leg. The animal control officer has been out three nights in a row to try to trap the cat. The point I am making is that most people will try to save the life of a defenseless animal. That is the humane thing to do.

What I do not understand, is why some women do not give that same humane gesture to an unborn child.

All these women holding up protest signs stating Abortion is my right! They hide behind the word abortion because it makes them feel less guilty than a sign that says, Ending the life of a baby is my right! May God have mercy on all of you and all of the innocent lives of the babies who never had a chance at life.

Theresa Brown

Colorado Springs

Deed fraud alert system

We have seen advertisements for protection against property deed theft resulting in citizens losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of their equity to deed theft. Some counties around the U.S. do have an automatic deed fraud alert system. I searched for such a system at the El Paso County but found none. I urge the El Paso County commissioners to have such a system installed for our citizens to register for.

Politicians and government workers are often thought of as being a nuisance instead of providing essential services. Protection of our property equity would be a tremendous service each commissioner could take credit for. Id certainly thank them.

Rodger Jump

Colorado Spring

Skyline of big boxes

While Im pleased to see the construction cranes towering about our downtown, Im very disappointed that none of the buildings now under construction are anything but big boxes. No pleasing or interesting architectural features, rather just straight flat roofs and boring appeal.

We are beginning to look like east Berlin, full of dull uninspiring structures that cover our downtown skyline. Thank goodness for the Olympic museum, lest we look like a small cowtown but without wooden sidewalks.

I urge our successful candidates for Mayor and city council to inject some appealing and artistic architectural standards on future building permits so we can complement the inspiring views to the west and be proud of where we stand and how we live.

Don Addy

Colorado Springs
The ranks of Colorado Republicans vying to chair the state GOP have grown to seven with the addition of Kevin McCarney, a former Mesa County Republican chair who says he's the only candidate with "actual hands-on experience" running a party organization.

McCarney launches his bid less than a week before the state GOP's leadership election, joining former state lawmakers Kevin Lundberg and Dave Williams, former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, former congressional nominees Casper Stockham and Erik Aadland and grassroots organizer Aaron Wood. The Republican state central committee is set to meet Saturday in Loveland to pick a chair, vice chair and secretary, part of the biennial reorganization process both of the state's major party's began last month.

The Republicans' incumbent state chair, Kristi Burton Brown, announced in December that she wouldn't seek a second two-year term, meaning the Colorado GOP will name its sixth chair in as many terms.

McCarney said he decided to jump in the state chair race at the 11th hour after several Republicans told him they couldn't get behind any of the other candidates.

The state GOP is charting a course forward in the wake of last year's election losses, when Democrats swept every statewide race, won Colorado's new congressional seat and expanded majorities in the Legislature, leaving Republicans with less power than at any time since at least the 1930s.

McCarney, an insurance agent and campaign veteran  he ran former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign in Mesa County  says Republicans of all stripes need to set aside their differences and get on the same page.

"If were going to win in Colorado, were going to need everybody in line, pulling the same way," he told Colorado Politics.

Referring to a scene from the 1960 Kirk Douglas movie "Spartacus," McCarney said in an email announcing his candidacy that it's time for Republicans to stop trying to outdo each other by boasting that they're more conservative than their fellow partisans.

"I strongly argued for the need to rid ourselves of the Spartacus syndrome of who is more conservative," he said. "Unfortunately, we have become even more divided. Some folks think that they have (the) right to judge who is a 'Real Republican.' We can not go down that road anymore. If we are going to change Colorado, we are going to need every single Republican to be involved. Moderate, Conservative, Rural and Urban."

Added McCarney, who is fond of capitalizing words in his written communications: "We either lift every Republican Voice, or we doom ourselves to Failure."

He maintains the party's internal divisions spelled disaster in last year's midterms.

"We were our own worst enemies," McCarney said. "A lot of it was our own infighting, which cost us a lot of votes. A lot of it was the Tina Peters effect, which cost us a lot of votes. We did our own damage to our own selves. Who wants to be involved with a group if the people cant even get along with one another?"

Last summer, McCarney urged Peters to resign as Mesa County's top election official when she pursued a statewide recount after losing the GOP primary for secretary of state by more than 86,000 votes, or nearly 15 percentage points.

"Tina, all on your own you have created a new Wing of the Republican Party, the Delusional Sore Loser Wing," McCarney wrote in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, adding that he was "embarrassed to ever have been a supporter."

Peters is facing a trial in Grand Junction in August on seven felony charges related to allegations she helped breach her county's secure voting system as part of a scheme to prove unfounded claims that the election equipment was rigged.

Peters, who denies she broke the law and insists the charges against her are politically motivated, was convicted last week on a misdemeanor obstruction charge for trying to prevent local prosecutors from obtaining a tablet computer she used to record court proceedings in an unrelated case, in defiance of the judge's prohibition.

In last week's testimony, it emerged that Peters had help creating an email account for a pseudonym she sometimes used, in an effort to perpetuate the fiction that the tablet computer sought under a search warrant belonged to someone else.

McCarney said Peters' habit of blaming "the machines" and political rivals for her difficulties runs contrary to Republican values.

"Were supposed to be the party of accountability, and 'its not my fault' doesnt work," he said.

Distinguishing himself from the other six Republican state chair candidates, McCarney says there's no question Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, though he suggested in an interview that social media companies helped tip the scales to Biden by blocking conservative voices.

"I think people going after the machines are going down a hole we dont need to go down," McCarney said. "The result was, Joe Biden won, and its pretty clear. We need to look forward. If we keep fighting 2020 over and over again, we're going to lose over and over again."

Three of his rivals  Peters, Williams and Wood  stated flatly at a recent state chair debate that they believe Trump won the 2020 election. At the same debate, Lundberg said he thinks Trump won but can't be sure. Aadland said the party needs to quit rehashing the last presidential election and conceded that Biden won "by hook or by crook," adding, "Whether fraud dictated a role in the outcome of 2020, well, sadly, we'll never know folks." Stockham said he agreed with Aadland.

Instead of fighting old battles, McCarney said, Republicans need to "be much sharper" and focus on turnout, including encouraging campaigns to "harvest" mail ballots up to the legal limit.

McCarney told Colorado Politics that he supported the state party's decision to impose outside supervision on last month's El Paso County GOP leadership election.

He volunteered that as a member of the state Republicans' executive committee he voted to censure El Paso County chair Vickie Tonkins after she reprimanded local Republican candidates just days before the November election.

"Your job as county chairman is to support the candidates brought before you in the primary, and she didnt," he said, adding, "If I had pulled what Vickie did (as county chair), my butt wouldve been bouncing on I-70  they wouldve thrown me out so fast."

It's the second time McCarney has sought the state GOP's top job. In 2017, McCarney campaigned for state chair for about a month before switching to the race for vice chair but lost to Colorado Springs activist Sherrie Gibson by a wide margin. At the same time, Republicans elected former El Paso County GOP chair Jeff Hays as party chair in a two-way race.

During the 2017 party race, McCarney turned heads when he declared that Mesa County would break away from the state if a Republican wasn't elected governor in 2018.

If we lose the governors race, youre going to see me and other western counties in Colorado leave Colorado  we will secede, McCarney said at a state chair debate, adding, We feel like the left-out children.

Democrat Jared Polis won the governor's race in 2018  and was reelected to a second four-year term last year  but Mesa County has remained one of Colorado's 64 counties.
The long-awaited bill to ban so-called "assault weapons" surfaced in the House late Friday afternoon  and has already lost a key supporter, raising questions about the viability of its path to the governor's desk.

Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, was listed as a first prime sponsor in previous drafts, but his name is no longer on House Bill 1230, which is sponsored by Rep. Elisabeth Epps, D-Denver, and Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora.

The measure may not have enough support from Democrats, and is in danger of dividing the Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Caucus.

A draft of HB 1230 had been floating around the Capitol and on social media since the first day of the 2023 session, but sponsors, including Boesenecker, were less than certain on whether it would be introduced at all.

When Democratic lawmakers unveiled a package of four gun control bills on Feb. 23, the assault weapons ban was notably not on the list. Nor did lawmakers mention it.

Under HB 1230, "assault weapons"  a nonspecific term  is defined in several ways:

a semi-automatic rifle that can accept a detachable magazine, along with modifications, such as a pistol grip, a detachable stock, a flash suppressor or a grenade launcher;

a semi-automatic rifle with a fixed large-capacity magazine or a semiautomatic pistol with the same list of possible modifications;

a semi-automatic shotgun, including those that can accept the same modifications;

a semi-automatic firearm that can accept a belt ammunition feeding device or a semiautomatic firearm modified to be operable as an assault weapon as defined in the bill.

Gun rights groups said they plan an all-out offensive on the proposal when it comes up for its hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, a date not yet set. They also promised lawsuits, should the legislation succeed.

Daniel Fenlanson of the Colorado State Shooting Association said the bill is exactly what critics thought it would be  basically a ban on everything.

Anything that accepts a magazine and is semi-automatic would be prohibited under HB 1230, he said.

"We will fight this as hard as we can at the Capitol," he said, adding critics will sue if it is enacted.

The bill's introduction on Friday led to a lot of chatter on social media, most notably a tweet from Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, in which he called for "civil war."

Come and take it! Theyll have to invade the West Slope and murder us if they intend on us being defenceless! We will NOT bow to tyrants and those who seek to disarms us need to be prepared for civil war!#repsoper #soperhd54 #mesacounty #mesacountycolorado #deltacounty pic.twitter.com/CBQ54iazqx  Representative Matt Soper (@SoperMatthew) March 5, 2023

Soper, a right-of-center Republican who works well across the aisle, apologized for what he described as his poor choice of words on the House floor Monday morning. Despite his apology, the tweet has not been deleted.

The bill's introduction has ramped up questions about where its support lies.

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Following his State of the State address in January, Gov. Jared Polis demurred when asked what he thought about a draft on an "assault weapons" ban that had been circulating for weeks.

"We specifically, looking at the data, believe that extreme risk protection orders can work better," the governor said.

Asked to contrast that stance with a 2018 bill he co-sponsored while in Congress titled "Assault Weapons Ban of 2018," Polis said federal action on guns is needed first, noting there is a limit to what states can do.

Nine states have already passed assault weapons bans in jurisdictions mostly controlled by Democrats.

The assault weapons ban measure also isn't playing well within the Democratic caucus, even with those who support bills that would add more tools to deal with gun violence.

Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, whose son, Alex, was murdered in the Aurora theater shooting in 2012, has spoken in favor of other measures to deal with gun violence.

The assault weapons ban hasn't been on his list, putting him at odds with outside organizations that are pushing hard for the proposal, including some that backed his candidacy for the state Senate last year.

Everytown for Gun Safety's independent expenditure committee spent more than $1 million supporting Sullivan or opposing his 2022 Republican opponent. An "assault weapons" ban is high on the group's list of priorities.

One of the big questions is where Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, will be on the measure. McCluskie attended the Feb. 23 news conference in support of the package introduced that day, but she also voted against a gun bill recently, House Bill 1165, which would allow county officials to prohibit a firearms discharge on unincorporated county lands with 35 dwellings, or 91 residents, per square mile.

In an interview with KDVR in January, McCluskie was asked if she supports a ban.

The legislation that comes forward has to be about saving lives, she replied, speaking about bills that would later become part of the package introduced on Feb. 23.

I will take a position on a bill when it is introduced, she said. Its unfortunate that a draft of the bill was shared in a public way when it is a work in progress. You can be passionate about an issue, very committed to making change in a public policy space. Language on that bill paper matters. When a bill is introduced, has gone through the process and has input from stakeholders, Ill let you know.

In a statement to Colorado Politics Monday, McCluskie hinted at concerns about the bill.

As Speaker of the House, I am committed to ensuring a fair process for every bill that is introduced," she said. "I plan to spend some time listening to my constituents and hearing their voices on this important issue. While I am still reviewing this legislation and have some questions, Im proud of our efforts this session to pursue common sense and evidence-based solutions that will reduce gun violence and improve public safety in our communities.

McCluskie's district includes ski resort counties, but it also encompasses counties where ranching  and worries about restrictions on firearms  are likely to be an issue.
A total of 28 companies from the French electricity industry are showcasing their solutions at Middle East Energy 2023, the largest event for the energy industry in the region, which opened today (March 7) in Dubai.

In 2022, the post-pandemic edition was attended by 11 French exhibitors, who were able to meet and connect with new international prescribers and current buyers, said the organisers.

This increase in French attendance over one year is a clear indication that France is a major player in the Middle East energy landscape, and its strong presence at this three-day event serves as a reminder of the importance of the sector to the region.

The French pavilion is run by Business France, the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy and will display the unique branding of La French Fab, representing the French industrial ecosystem, they stated.

As a prelude to COP28, which will take place in Dubai at the year-end, the Middle East Energy Conference is set to highlight French equipment and solutions for energy production, transmission and distribution of low- and medium-voltage electricity, energy storage, network integration of renewable energy, and network protection to assist the energy transformation.

Applications will be made in a variety of fields, including industrial, energy production, transmission, and distribution networks for electricity, and building energy efficiency.

While the UAE has taken a regional leadership ramping up its efforts in the global energy transition towards a more sustainable future through reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and diversifying its energy mix, crucial changes to the climate and ecology are being caused by expanding demography, regional tourism, mass-market retailing, and transportation.

The emergence of renewable energies such as solar power, hydrogen and the increase in nuclear capabilities act as key enablers of the local energy transition. French companies have been particularly active in the development of renewable energy sources in the Middle East.

Indeed, French utility firm EDF teamed up with Abu-Dhabi based Masdar to develop a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) plant to power Khaznas new data center in Masdar City while TotalEnergies and Veolia have signed an agreement to start the construction of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) systems providing power for a desalination plant in Oman, in the city of Sur in August 2022.

Axel Baroux, French Trade & Invest Commissioner & Managing Director of Business France Middle East, said: "The strong French presence at the event is a testament to France's position as a major player in the Middle East energy landscape."

"With the emergence of renewable energies and the region's focus on sustainable development, French companies have been particularly active in the development of renewable energy sources in the Middle East. We are excited to showcase the latest innovations in the sector and to support the UAE's ambitious green diversification program through our expertise in energy production, transmission, and distribution," stated Baroux.

Thus, this event provides a new platform for French companies to showcase their latest innovations in the sector, he stated.

The UAE is the first country in the area to unveil an ambitious green diversification program with a total investment of $163.3 billion by 2050 through the UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategy.

To promote the expansion of networks and renewable energy, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) is boosting its investments in digital technologies. To deliver cutting-edge capabilities like interoperability between its energy and water networks, it intends to invest $1.9 billion in putting its new smart network strategy for 20212035 into action.

The ten programs in the smart network strategy, all of which are technologically challenging yet within the reach of French businesses, are to be completed in the short, medium, and long terms by 2035, he added.

Because of its ambitious public policies, favourable regulatory environment, and powerful energy industry, France is a prominent player in Europes energy transition sector.

According to Baroux, the New Energy Systems Industries sector employs 210,000 people directly and indirectly and generates $41 billion in revenue.

France is Europe's third largest generator of renewable primary energy and is home to large energy and equipment groups; as well as leading public and private research institutes; and a network of industrial companies of all sizes with global reach whose expertise also extends to digital systems.

Because of these benefits, France continues to have one of the highest levels of electricity supply and offers very high-level electrical equipment, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
A Colorado Springs man accused of attempted first-degree murder has been missing since El Paso County judges lowered his bond on two separate occasions.

Initial arrest

On Aug. 8, 2022, Jerry Hoshour, 47, was arrested by Colorado Springs police and charged with attempted first-degree murder of his girlfriend after Hoshour barricaded himself inside his home and threatened to shoot at police officers.

According to the arrest affidavit of the incident Hoshour and the victim, who the affidavit states was in a relationship with Hoshour, had a verbal altercation that became physical when Hoshour began to threaten to kill her and himself.

The affidavit states that Hoshour strangled the victim once for "three or four seconds" and again a second time shortly after when Hoshour allegedly told her "I'm gonna kill you."

Hoshour also allegedly told the victim that if she called law enforcement he "would shoot it out with police," and "if you call the cops and I go down for it, I'm going to make it worth it," according to the arrest documents.

The affidavit states that the victim then ran to a neighbor's house where she called 911. When police arrived they found Hoshour barricaded inside his home.

Previous reporting from The Gazette states that Hoshour barricaded himself inside his home in the 3500 block of North Carefree Circle for about three hours before being arrested by Colorado Springs police.

Hoshour was charged with attempted first-degree murder, second- and third-degree assault and felony menacing after the incident. Hoshour's initial bond was set at $50,000.

Bond lowering

The $50,000 bond would go on to be lowered on two separate occasions by El Paso County judges Hilary Gurney and Samuel Evig.

According to court transcriptions acquired by The Gazette, Hoshour's bond was first lowered by Gurney at his first appearance on Aug. 18, 2022, despite objection from the prosecuting attorney.

Hoshour's defense attorney Andrew Friedrich requested for his client's bond to be reduced from $50,000 to $10,000, citing strong family ties to the community of Colorado Springs and that there "could be difficulties" of proving the high charge of attempted first-degree murder at a preliminary hearing, according to the court transcripts.

The prosecution requested no bond reduction, stating "the allegations in this case are very serious," and also that in 2007 Hoshour had pleaded guilty to an "assault charge for serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon," according to the court transcripts.

Court records show that in 2007 Hoshour pleaded guilty to first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon in Mesa County and received a 10-year prison sentence in the Department of Corrections.

After hearing argument from both parties Gurney opted to lower Hoshour's bond to $25,000, saying the allegations in the arrest affidavit are more in line with a second-degree assault charge and not attempted first-degree murder.

Gurney did note, however, that she had not seen any of the discovery in the case and the evidence presented there could change things, according to court transcripts.

One month later a new judge would lower Hoshour's bond a second time after the victim in the case appeared in court to request a lowering of bond, according to documents.

On Sept. 19, Hoshour appeared in court for his preliminary hearing, which would be waived by his defense attorney Deana O'Riley, according to court transcripts of the hearing.

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

O'Riley did, however, request a bond reduction for Hoshour, citing that he is the "sole provider of income" for his son and girlfriend, who is the victim in the case. The victim appeared in court to ask Evig for a bond reduction, claiming she had been evicted from her apartment and that she needed him back out for support.

"I dont worry about Jerry (Hoshour) when hes sober, hes a great dad and my son misses him, and I just want things to start going to the better and I cant do anything with him in here," the victim said in court. "I guess thats it, Im just, Im scared and I feel pushed up against a wall because I have a 6-year-old thats looking to me to give him a good place to live. ... I guess I just need some help and Im coming to you to ask you to help me because the only way I can do it is with (Hoshour)."

Despite the appearance of Hoshour's girlfriend in court, the prosecution still requested no reduction of bond for Hoshour.

"I understand some of the dynamics of domestic violence that are going on here and the financial aspects of it and the living arrangement aspects of it, but I would be remiss if I didnt remind the Court of the seriousness of the allegations in this case," prosecuting attorney Carrisa Cruson told the court. "Frankly, (the victim) was the one who ran out of the house begging her neighbor to call 911 for her because the father of her child had strangled her. ... So theres some very, very serious concerns about her safety."

Cruson also noted that Hoshour in 2021 had a domestic violence case in El Paso County where the same woman was the listed victim, but the case was dismissed.

Evig, after hearing argument from both parties, opted to lower the bond again to $15,000  $35,000 less than the standard bond on a class-2 felony  stating: "I believe that is sufficient to assure his appearance in Court," according to court transcripts of the hearing.

Release from jail, new criminal charges

Hoshour would remain in custody until Nov. 1, 2022, when court records show that Hoshour posted the $15,000 bond and was released from custody.

Hoshour returned to his former apartment building that day and allegedly assaulted the owners before fleeing with his girlfriend.

An arrest affidavit for the incident states that Hoshour broke into the apartment yelling "it's moving day (expletive)," before hitting one of the residents in the face two times with a piece of wood that "had nails protruding from it."

When law enforcement arrived Hoshour and his girlfriend had fled and responding officers were unable to locate them, according to the affidavit.

Court records show that Hoshour is charged with second-degree assault and a violation of a protection order as a result of the incident, and that he has yet to be arrested on any of these charges.

Since being released from jail Hoshour has not appeared to court for any of his scheduled hearings, and now has a warrant open for his arrest. Court records show that Hoshour failed to appear for hearings on the attempted first-degree murder case on both Dec. 19, 2022, and Jan. 24, 2023.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney spokesperson Howard Black provided a statement to The Gazette regarding the decision to lower Hoshour's bond:

"We objected to both of the bond lowering requests," Black said. "Obviously, we were disappointed with the court's decision."

Black declined to comment further because Hoshour's case remains open.

Lt. Pamela Castro, a spokesperson for CSPD, confirmed to The Gazette that Hoshour is still considered a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown.

"If anyone has information about his location we would ask them to call Crime Stoppers or our non-emergency dispatch," Castro said.

Castro declined to comment on the court's decision to have Hoshour's bond lowered.

Anyone with information about Hoshour's whereabouts is asked to call police at 719-444-7000. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867 or 1-800-222-8477.
Should the newly-introduced bill on "assault weapons" reach the state Senate, it's unlikely to find enough friends who could get it out of that chamber, according to Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday.

While they didn't offer an official position on how they would vote, Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, and Senate Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Adams County, noted just how contentious the last time legislators tackled similar proposals.

Fenberg hinted the "hesitation" toward the "assault weapons," and how some people, even if supportive of the idea, view it as a potential distraction.

The two leaders discussed the upcoming gun bills on Tuesday morning, a day before three gun control bills are up for debate in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee:

Senate Bill 170, which would add district attorneys, health care professionals and educators to the list of persons who can seek an extreme risk protection order, better known as a "red flag";

Senate Bill 168, which would allow victims of gun violence to sue firearms manufacturers and gun dealers; and,

Senate Bill 169, which would ban the sale of firearms to anyone under the age of 21. Current state law allows those purchases to be made at the age of 18.

Moreno noted he is one of just three current lawmakers who was in the General Assembly in 2013, the year three gun control bills were passed by the legislature and which resulted in the recalls of two Democrats, including the Senate President.

That year was "contentious and intense. But maybe Colorado has changed in the decade since," Moreno said.

Emails indicate the bills are receiving pushback, he said.

Whether that will translate into a lengthy hearing and lots of witnesses against the bills on Wednesday is unknown.

From the other side, Fenberg noted hundreds of high school students came to the state Capitol last Friday to urge legislators to pass legislation they believe would prevent gun violence. They included students from East High, where a student died after he was shot while in a car outside the school.

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

"I don't think the opposition has gone away but they're being well-matched by people who are demanding the legislature take action," Fenberg said. "When you look at the rhetoric from some of the organizations, they're no longer saying, 'We'll beat these bills.' Now, it's that they don't expect to do that, and pivoting to: 'We'll see you in court.'"

That, Fenberg said, will "not dissuade Democrats from doing what they need to, he said.

Fenberg also addressed House Bill 1230, the assault weapons ban introduced in the House last Friday. The bill is likely to face opposition from the governor as well as from Senate Democrats, including those who are leaders on the issue, such as Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial.

Fenberg said there is a lot of "hesitation" on the bill within the Senate. It's not that people don't support the concept, but they don't feel it's the right policy at the right time, he said, adding it could also serve as a distraction and not the most effective way to save lives.

"These other bills have gone through a very strenuous process" and will continue to be amended as they move through the legislature, he said. People are thinking hard about what's the right policy, what's defensible and can be enforced, and what will be effective, he added.

On the other hand, the discussion around the "assault weapons" ban bill has been more political, he said, and, as a result, people may not have as much confidence that it will be a policy that delivers the results it promises.

As to where that policy should reside, Fenberg said he agrees with the governor, who sponsored an assault weapons ban bill in 2018 when he was a member of Congress but who has since said the policy should come from the federal level, not the state.

Fenberg said the federal government should deal with all these gun proposals aimed at preventing gun violence, especially a ban on assault weapons, which the Democratic leader said makes a lot more sense at the federal level. The latter doesn't mean the states shouldn't do it, Fenberg said.

Nine states, in mostly Democratic-led states, have adopted "assault weapons" bans.

The bills that will be heard in the Senate committee Wednesday are expected to be debated by the full Senate on Friday, with a final vote likely early next week.
Shipley Do-Nuts, a nearly 90-year-old Texas chain known for its doughnuts, kolaches and cream cheese rolls, is expanding its presence in Colorado Springs and Denver.

Meisternuts, a Utah-based franchisee that already operates a portfolio of burger and chicken restaurants, says it plans to add 16 Shipley locations in the Springs and Denver areas over roughly the next eight years.

Meisternuts has acquired two Shipley locations that were opened in recent years by other franchisees in Fountain, south of Colorado Springs, and in Aurora, outside of Denver, said Jeff Howes, a Meisternuts co-owner. His company now plans to ramp up the Shipley brand along the Front Range, he said.

Of the 16 new locations, four to five  and possibly more  would be developed in the Colorado Springs area, Howes said; the remainder would be in greater Denver.

The newest Shipley in Colorado Springs will be part of a 7,836-square-foot, multitenant retail building being developed by New Life Church in a portion of its parking lot, northeast of InterQuest and Voyager parkways on the citys far north side.

A previous franchisee originally planned that location, which also has been taken over by Meisternuts, Howes said. His company hopes to start construction of the north-side Shipley within 30 days and open it this summer, he said.

Meisternuts also is on the hunt for additional Springs-area sites, some of which will be free-standing buildings and others that would be part of shopping centers or larger retail spaces, he said. All locations will have indoor seating and drive-thrus, he added.

Colorado Springs has a lot of new growth and new development going on, Howes said. In fact, in some ways I see the growth of Colorado Springs outpacing Denver right now.

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Like other food concepts, competition among doughnut restaurants is fierce.

In the Colorado Springs area, national and regional brands include Dunkin, Krispy Kreme and Hurts Donut Co., while Amys Donuts, the Donut Mill and Horseshoe Donuts are among local favorites. Safeway, King Soopers and Walmart also sell doughnuts as part of their grocery bakery departments.

Howes, however, said he welcomes competition. Expanding the Shipley brand provides more choices and makes the doughnut market stronger, which is good for customers, he said.

Im fine with competition, Howes said. I love other good concepts. Were never going to sit here and say, oh were better than somebody else. I do think we have a great doughnut and I do think we are great.

I think well have a good time bringing that concept out there, he added. Well see how Denver and Colorado Springs respond. So far, Colorado Springs has been a great market for Shipley; its done really well.

Meisternuts, under different franchise names, has 15 years of restaurant experience.

Since 2008, its been a franchisee for Virginia-based Five Guys Burgers and Fries and currently operates 42 of the burger restaurants. Meisternuts also operates 13 locations for the Zaxbys chicken chain of Georgia. The Five Guys and Zaxbys locations are in Idaho, Massachusetts, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Founded in 1936 and based in Houston, Shipley has more than 330 franchised locations in 11 states, according to a news release. Its online menu shows it serves more than 60 varieties of doughnuts, along with cinnamon rolls, apple fritters, doughnut holes, kolaches, twists and beverages, among other items.

The chain announced in 2018 that it was expanding to Colorado, and its Fountain location opened the following year.
On Nov. 11, 2015, Michael Marshall was a street preacher with a history of mental illness. He was arrested that day on suspicion of trespassing and disturbing the peace at a motel, and taken to jail in Denver.

But it was what happened to him at the jail that led Democrats at the state Capitol to seek to prohibit arrests for petty offenses.

Marshall was killed by Denver sheriff deputies, a death ruled a homicide by the coroner due to positional asphyxia due to restraint by law enforcement and the city paid out a $4.6 million settlement to Marshalls family in 2017.

On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee will review House Bill 1169, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and named for Marshall. It would prohibit law enforcement from arresting people for a laundry list of petty offenses, except for offenses such as victims rights, petty theft or driving under the influence.

Instead of an arrest, suspects would face a summons.

Notably, the proposal would prohibit an arrest for prostitution offenses, with one backer arguing that sex workers should not face jail.

Most people who are arrested for petty offenses are homeless or suffer from substance use disorder or serious mental illness, said Tristan Gorman of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, which backs the bill.

Gorman said that, more than anywhere else in the criminal legal system, police arrest mentally unwell people  many of whom are homeless  and put them in jail pretrial, while theyre still presumed innocent. Just to get out of jail, they often plead guilty to something that they may not have even done, or that is overcharged, she said.

Gorman said what the bill seeks is mild reform.

Were not going to detain people pretrial and destabilize them further, particularly if their issues are mental illness or housing insecurity, for the benefit of something that at worst would amount to 10 days in jail, Gorman said.

The bill has drawn strong opposition from law enforcement, retailers, building managers and others.

The petty offenses that would result in a summons instead of an arrest include:

 Public Indecency  Lewd Fondling

 Public Indecency  Expose Genital

 Arson (2nd Degree)  Less than $300 Damage

 Criminal Mischief Less than $300

 Disorderly Conduct  Fighting in Public

 Disorderly Conduct  Noise

 Disorderly Conduct  Offensive Gesture, Utterance, Display

 Escape  In Custody but Not Convicted

 Fraud By Check  Less Than $300

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

 Pawnbroker  False Information Less than $300

 Possession/Consumption of Alcohol or Marijuana by Underage Person

 Possession of Forged Instrument Second Degree

 Possession/Consumption of Marijuana by Underage Person

 Trespass (2nd Degree)  Enclosed or Fenced Premises

 Trespass (2nd Degree)  Hotel, Motel, Condo, Apt Building

 Trespass (3rd Degree)  Premises

 Unauthorized Use of a Financial Transaction Device Under $300

 Dangerous Dog  Damage Property

 Dog Offenses  Unregistered Dog

 Dog Offenses  Dog at Large

 Dog Offenses  Vicious Dog

 Dog Offenses  Barking Dog

 Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Gorman said the public indecency charges the bill would apply to do not put a person on a sex offenders list. For example, that could include a college student streaking in the buff across campus.

With regard to prostitution charges, we shouldnt be prosecuting sex workers at all, let alone jailing them, Gorman said.

Law enforcement and retailers are fighting back.

In a statement Monday, Chris Howes of the Colorado Retail Council said, Colorado retailers play an important part in maintaining the vitality of our neighborhoods. They are already experiencing daily challenges with trespassing, product theft, harassment of customers, and illegal drug use in their stores. If House Bill 1169 were to pass and law enforcement could not make arrests, we are certain that these problems would be exacerbated, not improved.

Sandra Hagen Solin, head of the Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, the joint public policy arm of the Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley chambers of commerce, added that the authority to arrest to intervene in illegal activity, even those deemed low level is critical for law enforcement to keep peace and order across Colorado.

Our communities are asking law enforcement to get tougher on crime and to protect the publics safety, said Sheriff James Van Beek of Eagle County, president of the County Sheriffs of Colorado. Legislation like this does just the opposite by requiring law enforcement to look the other way on crimes that impact public safety, hurt local businesses and put employees and customers in harms way.

Bacon told Colorado Politics she is listening to opponents and plans amendments to address some of those concerns.

The bill is slated for a 1:30 p.m. hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
Even though Longmont police warned a man four times he was under arrest, told him we are going to take you to jail and stood in his doorway, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the man was not effectively in custody at the time.

The 4-3 decision from the Supreme Court meant the Longmont officers did not need to read Brent A. Willoughby his Miranda rights and, therefore, the incriminating statements he made while officers were inside his apartment can be used against him at trial.

Citing the officers conversational tone, the fact that the door remained open and Willoughbys ability to smoke a cigar in front of police, Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright explained in the majority opinion that on balance, Willoughbys freedom of movement wasnt restricted to the degree associated with a formal arrest. Thus, he was not in custody at the time of the interrogation.

Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter disagreed. To her, the majority minimized the most important factor in Willoughbys 30-minute interaction with police: officers advised him multiple times he was under arrest.

Would a reasonable person whose only way out of their home was blocked by an uninvited officer after repeatedly being told that they were under arrest and had to go to jail  really believe that they were not deprived of their freedom to the degree associated with formal arrest? The answer, I suggest, is no, Berkenkotter wrote for herself and Justices Monica M. Marquez and Richard L. Gabriel.

The case implicated Miranda v. Arizona, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that held police must provide certain warnings to a criminal suspect before they interrogate him in custody, namely his right to silence and to the presence of an attorney. A violation of Miranda can result in the suspects incriminating statements being excluded, or suppressed, from the evidence at trial.

There was no dispute that Willoughbys questioning constituted an interrogation. Instead, the issue was whether he was in custody.

On the evening of Oct. 19, 2021, four Longmont officers went to Willoughbys apartment based on claims that he threatened his girlfriend and destroyed her property. The officers treated the allegations as domestic violence, which, under Colorado law, requires arrest when there is probable cause.

Willoughby did not answer the door, but instead appeared on his second-floor balcony to speak to the officers below. Body-worn camera footage captured the interaction.

Brent, you have two choices: You can come downstairs, said Officer Chrystie Wheeler, or I get a warrant for your arrest.

Willoughby denied the allegations and started talking about his girlfriend. Several minutes later, Officer Walter Arvisais and Wheeler agreed that Wheeler would leave to obtain an arrest warrant. Arvisais remained below Willoughbys balcony and made it clear Willoughby would be arrested.

We have probable cause, the officer said. At this time, you are under arrest for criminal mischief and domestic violence.

Arvisais repeated three more times that Willoughby was under arrest and that they could not walk away from this because the officers would be liable under the mandatory-arrest law.

We are going to take you to jail, Arvisais added.

Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.

Willoughby grew emotional and asked if Arvisais would look inside his apartment at evidence that would allegedly clear him of charges.

Im not gonna lie to you and tell you youre not going to jail, Arvisais responded. If Willoughby showed him evidence that proved his side of the story, then it will probably change you going to jail, but Im not going to tell you one way or another.

Arvisais then entered the apartment. Although Willoughby did not consent, another officer stood inside the entryway holding the door open. While Willoughby talked to Arvisais, a fourth officer called Wheeler to tell her to come back, as Willoughby had allowed them inside. Upon Wheelers return, she began questioning Willoughby.

Without reading Willoughby his Miranda rights, Wheeler got Willoughby to admit to a potential crime. The officers arrested him and Boulder County prosecutors charged Willoughby with six counts of domestic violence-related offenses.{/span}

Willoughby attempted to suppress his incriminating statements, arguing he was in custody and police had not given him a Miranda warning. District Court Judge Dea M. Lindsay agreed, finding a reasonable person in Willoughbys position would have felt unable to leave. Prosecutors appealed directly to the Supreme Court.

Boatright, in the majoritys March 6 opinion, noted Lindsay had used the incorrect standard. Custody is not defined by whether a person is free to leave, but whether their movement is restricted in a way that resembles a formal arrest. There are multiple factors to consider when answering that question.

Boatright acknowledged Arvisais repeated statements that Willoughby was under arrest were significant. But officers also visited the home in the early evening, they asked open-ended questions and they even let Willoughby smoke a cigar during the encounter.

No one who had their freedom of movement restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest would reasonably feel like they could smoke a cigar, let alone without asking for permission, wrote Boatright.

Finally, Arvisais suggested going to jail was not a foregone conclusion if Willoughby had exculpatory evidence. For those reasons, the majority declined to find Willoughby was effectively in custody.

The dissenting justices believed the majority failed to recognize the importance of Arvisais repeated assertions that Willoughby was under arrest and the officers stated obligation to arrest him for a domestic violence offense.

Officer Arvisais explained to Willoughby why the police wanted him to come downstairs and why he had to be arrested: that is, he committed a crime of domestic violence, a mandatory-arrest crime, Berkenkotter wrote. The majority doesnt even mention that statement, let alone consider the impact it would have on a reasonable person gauging their breadth of freedom.

She added that the officers made clear they did not simply want to talk to Willoughby  they wanted to take him to jail. The fact that Arvisais allowed Willoughby to smoke changed the circumstances little, in her view.

(T)he message was clear: you are under arrest, and we are just waiting until we can get close enough to handcuff you to take you to jail, Berkenkotter wrote.

The case is People v. Willoughby.
It is an unfortunate reality that, for many people, the word traditional has become synonymous with the words boring, backward or pretentious. Breaking down time-honored customs and moral codes has been in style since the 1960s, a trend that many find increasingly disturbing.

Thanks to Shen Yuns performances in major theaters around the world since 2006, the associations with traditional are being replaced with a very different set of words: exciting, profound, and very daring, according to audience reactions from Shen Yuns 2023 world tour.

It enchants me again and again. I could watch it for hours! said the young and handsome violinist Philip Kesmarki, who saw Shen Yun in Ludwigsburg, Germany in February. Mr. Kesmarki was speaking of Shen Yuns orchestra, which features the traditional strings, woodwinds and brass of a symphony orchestra as well as traditional Eastern instruments. Kesmarki, who had seen Shen Yun once before, added, I would like to come much more often.

Mr. Kesmarki attended with his family, including his father Mr. Zoltan Kesmarki, a professional ballroom dancer. He, too, was impressed by Shen Yuns message of returning to more traditional ways.

Back to the old traditions. Everybody should write that on their foreheads to remind them every day thats how life should be, Zoltan Kesmarki said. Life is moving fast, and everything is crazy; we should return to the old values.

Worse than in Europe or America, in Communist-controlled China, tradition has been looked down on and violently attacked. While the West had a mostly nonviolent cultural revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, Chinas was more intense, with students physically attacking their teachers, and scholars versed in the rich traditions of ancient China being sent to the countryside to do manual labor. Ancient relics, documents, monuments and buildings were burned and destroyed. The officially atheist Chinese Communist Party sought to crush the backbones of all religions and spiritual practices, only allowing them to have leaders who were loyal party members.

Among the 20 or so dance pieces that a Shen Yun performance features, it typically includes a couple that shed light on the violent suppression of traditional spiritual beliefs in communist China that continue today.

Mrs. Christine Kesmarki, owner of a ballroom dance school, commented on this aspect, It was very interesting, very exciting and very daring too. I find it quite great to take a behind-the-scenes look at China  the violence, the restriction of freedom and the oppression of the people.

Mrs. Magalie Delhumeau, a professor at the Ecole Superieure dAgriculture, saw Shen Yun in France in February, and picked up on parallels between traditional Western and Eastern faiths from the performance.

There are many beautiful things to see and hear, but there are also profound messages that are cross-cultural and current  and true in various cultural civilizations. There are a lot of parallels to be drawn with todays events and with Judeo-Christian culture, Mrs. Delhumeau said.

Meanwhile, in the United States, retired Brigadier General Garry Bahling saw Shen Yun in Phoenix, Arizona, in February. He said Shen Yuns revival of tradition was very relevant to the world today.

It resonated with me, that there is good, theres evil  I like that the evil is atheism  and if you stick to tradition to do whats right, good things will happen for you, he said. Look whats happening in this world, whats happing to the cities, how we get away from tradition, from family values.

Ms. Kirsten Thomas saw Shen Yun in Salt Lake City, Utah in February. She also picked up on the positive themes about rediscovering lost traditions. I think it focuses on all of the positive parts of human nature, whereas I think its gotten lost with how the political situation is now. It kind of crushed that. So this reminds us of what it was all about before. Thats wonderful, she said.

Mr. Jeremy Thompson, a dentist, also saw Shen Yun in Salt Lake City in February. He read into the performance a profound warning for anti-traditional trends in the world.

It made me feel that we all know were in the last days and something is going to happen. Weve been told for thousands of years that this is the time. This is the time of the judgment, he said.

Its all going to come together. The judgment is coming. Its the first time Ive ever seen that done [on stage]. It was done so beautifully and helped us all realize that we need to stand for whats right, and that, if we will, then were not alone, Mr. Thompson said.

Shen Yun will be returning to the Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts in Colorado Springs on March 17-19, 2023. In Colorado, Shen Yun will also visit Cheyenne Civic Center March 14-15, and the Buell Theatre March 8-12, at DPAC, in Denver.
Roshn, a leading Saudi real estate developer powered by kingdom's wealth fund PIF (Public Investment Fund), has announced the launch of Warefa, a key residential project in capital Riyadh, featuring 2,000 housing units in addition to other key commercial and lifestyle amenities.

Located on a 1.4 million-sq-m area in the Janadriyah district, east of Riyadh, Warefa will be home to some 13,000 people who will be housed in residential units built as per Salmani architecture.

Roshn's second residential project in the capital, Warefa is being established as an extension of its success in its first projects - Sidra.

It will boast several key commercial and service centres, health and educational facilities, mosques, green spaces, squares and public parks as part of the kingdom's efforts to build vibrant communities that raise the style of living for its residents as per Saudi Vision 2030.The development will also contain 160,000 sq m of public parks and open spaces to enhance the wellbeing of residents.

On the new project, Roshn Group CEO David Grover said: "The success story of Roshn, one of the major projects of the Public Investment Fund, continues, building the future of human societies throughout the kingdom. We are now heading to the east of Riyadh to set up our new community (Warefa), being implemented using the Salmani architecture."

This project is being established on the lines of our recently launched Al Arous community in the port city of Jeddah, he added. Al Arous community is Roshn's second project in Saudi Arabia.

Grover pointed out that in all of Roshn's projects, sustainability is a prominent element - be it the design or construction, and all of it is being done within that framework to create the urban environment with shaded pedestrian paths and bicycle tracks.

"The project also took into account the use of solar energy, and the efficient distribution of air-conditioning units to save energy, in addition to modern sanitary and irrigation fixtures and tools that reduce waste," he stated.

"All of this boosts the role of Roshn communities in supporting the Saudi Green Initiative by raising the percentage of green spaces and improving design quality and implementation efficiency, he added.

-TradeArabia News Service
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced in a press release Tuesday that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has awarded 28 Choose Iowa cost-share grants to Iowa farmers, small businesses and non-profits totaling $463,000.

According to a press release, Mossycup Farms of Clear Lake was awarded $4,173 to upgrade on-farm commercial kitchen processing capacity from small batch to larger scale production and increase farm store capacity to offer additional value-added products.

We put in a commercial kitchen last year, and this gives us the opportunity to expand production. Were making handmade soaps, rendering lard and now able to use soup bones for stocks and soups, said Mossycup Farms owner Laura Tidrick. By taking advantage of underutilized ingredients we can increase our sustainability.

The Choose Iowa cost-share grants were created to assist Iowa farmers, businesses and nonprofits with efforts to increase or diversify their agricultural product offerings, expand markets and shorten the supply chain.

Choose Iowa is about connecting consumers to the great products that Iowans are growing, raising and processing in communities of all sizes across our state, Naig said. As Choose Iowa builds into an easily recognizable brand that can be used by farmers, producers, processors, farmers markets, food retailers and many others in the supply chain, these cost-share grants will help build capacity to meet the growing consumer demand for Iowa products.

Mossycup Farms is located at 20573 Finch Ave.
Danville is set to receive nearly $1.2 million from the federal government to help improve access to affordable housing.

The money is part of about $98.3 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced recently by Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine for affordable housing, community development and homelessness assistance throughout the state.

All Virginians should have a safe place to live, Kaine and Warner said in a news release. Were glad this funding will support community development projects, improve affordable housing options and help more Virginians find a home.

Danville will receive $853,442 in Community Development Block Grant money and $335,524 in HOME Investment Partnerships.

The block grant program provides money to states, cities and counties and to support community development, including infrastructure, economic development projects, housing construction or rehabilitation, public facilities upgrades, homeowner assistance and more.

The HOME program provides grants to states and localities that communities use, often in partnership with nonprofits, to build, buy or rehabilitate affordable housing and provides direct rental assistance to low-income people.

Chasta White, housing and redevelopment specialist with Danvilles community development department, said the money will be used for fair housing, homeowner rehabilitation and housing counseling through the Center for Housing Education.

Money will also go to numerous organizations including:

Haven of the Dan River Region;

Danville Parks and Recreation, for public parks;

Habitat for Humanity;

Southside Outreach Group;

Pittsylvania County Community Services;

Neighbors Helping Neighbors;

Temporary shelter through Danville Social Services;

Danville Speech and Hearing Center;

Virginia Legal Aid Society;

Big Brothers/Big Sisters;

Boys & Girls Club; and

Head Start.

It is important to fund these nonprofits, White said.

Those groups give help in providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons, she added, referring to the what the Community Development Block Grant program does.
More budgetary allocation needed for research  NITA to ICT companies

Emmanuel Bruce Business News Mar - 07 - 2023 , 13:05

The Director General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Richard Okyere-Fosu, has called on companies in the ICT space to invest in research, scholarships and award schemes at the various institutions of higher learning.

He said that would help produce the kind of skill set required to power the ICT industry and also support the governments digitisation agenda.

Speaking at the 2023 Tech Job Fair, Mr Ofosu also urged the companies to provide internship opportunities for ICT students and graduates for them to gain the practical skills required to work in the industry.

He also called on the academia to consult the ICT industry, especially in their curriculum development for technology-related programmes and adopt a more dynamic framework in the review of the course content for continuous improvement.

We on the side of the government will also have to look into what kind of incentives we can put in place for businesses that collaborate with academia and have special budgetary allocation to help train our young graduates.

He said the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation was in the final stages of drafting and adopting the Digital Economy Policy Document which had skills development as one of its pillars.

The objective of this pillar is to ensure that we are able to develop the right kind of skills to support our digital economy and emerging technologies, he stated.

Torch bearers

Mr Fosu said the country stood out as one of the torch bearers when it came to digitalisation in Africa, with the government investing a lot of resources in digitalising the economy.

He noted that the private sector had also equally invested in technology, infrastructure, and people to also digitalize their business processes to interface with government systems.

As much as digitalisation propels our development and offers opportunities to leapfrog most of the challenges we face as a developing country, it also comes with great risk if we dont manage the process well and put the right structures in place.

One of the areas of concern is the calibre of human capital and in the right numbers to support the digitalisation agenda. he stated.

Pathway out of poverty for youth

In her keynote address, the Founder and Executive Director of Womens Haven Africa, Adwoa Fosua Owusu Ofori, said digital jobs were the pathways out of poverty for the youth in Africa.

She said the digital economy had enormous potential for creating formal jobs for historically marginalised youth.

These 'digital jobs,' which are defined as any short-term or permanent positions that use information technology to deliver a product or service, are in the formal sector and thus, provide higher wages and long-term job stability, both of which are critical mechanisms for people to work their way out of poverty.

In Ghana's IT Enabled Services (ITES) Secretariat programme, for example, youth wages are 5.5 times higher than the official minimum wage, she stated.

She said formal employment was also less volatile than informal work, resulting in greater income stability and job continuity.
Filling pivotal healthcare market gaps  internally and within the Triad  is the motivation behind Atrium Healths proposal to open a $246.5 million, 36-bed community hospital in northern Greensboro by July 2026.

The Charlotte-based healthcare system has filed a certificate-of-need application with state health regulators that became public in late February.

The system projects getting a decision from the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation by Sept. 1 and  if approved  construction commencing by December 2024.

Atrium has said little about its proposal. Its clear, however, from the application that Atrium desires a hospital presence in the states third-largest city, which also is the largest city without two competing hospitals.

Atrium also wants to become the first healthcare system to operate a hospital in the Triads three largest cities.

Approval of Greensboro Medical Center will enable Greensboro to match the other top five North Carolina cities in hosting multiple hospital systems and having local hospital competition, which will be a benefit to local residents, according to the application.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS Atrium Health's proposal to open a 36-bed community hospital in northern Greensboro would make it the first healthcare system to operate such a facility in the Triad's three largest cities. Here are some key proposed development dates:  Aug. 1, 2024: Architecture drawings completed  Dec. 1, 2024: Start of construction  May 1, 2025: 25% of construction completed  Oct. 1, 2025: 50% of construction completed  Feb. 1, 2026: 75% of construction completed  May 1, 2026: Construction completed; building occupation begins  May 15, 2026: Equipment installed  June 15, 2026: Equipment operational  July 1, 2026: Services begin

Atrium said the proposed campus at 2909 Horse Pen Creek Road would provide more healthcare services for city residents and surrounding counties.

Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said she looks forward to learning more about the proposal and why the Horse Pen Creek location was chosen.

Last year, Cone Health opened a new integrated healthcare facility less than two miles away, she said. We have a need for healthcare in underserved areas of our city. We welcome more healthcare providers especially in areas where they can really have an impact.

Replanting flag

Atrium would be able to replant a strategic flag as it grows comfortable in its affiliation with Advocate Health, the nations fifth-largest healthcare system.

This time, the Atrium brand would be front and center in Greensboro.

Keith Debbage, a joint professor of Geography & Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality at UNCG, said that a healthcare market that offers choice may well translate to healthcare services that offer more competitive, affordable prices.

Given the large market share that Cone enjoys in Guilford County, he said, this may be a good thing.

In June 2012, Atrium (then branded as Carolinas HealthCare System) entered into a 10-year management contract with Cone in which it gleaned valuable operational insight into the Greensboro and Guilford County marketplaces. That contract ended in February 2020 by mutual consent as Atrium was negotiating with Wake Forest Baptist to expand its collaboration beyond a November 2019 agreement. That agreement proved to be the catalyst that led to Atrium acquiring all of Baptist in October 2020.

Meanwhile, Cone said it will carefully study the proposal (from Atrium) to build a new hospital in Greensboro.

In 2022, Cone opened the 160,000-square-foot MedCenter Greensboro facility at Drawbridge Parkway thats just 2.1 miles away from the proposed Greensboro Medical Center site.

For 70 years, Cone Health has been the healthcare provider of choice to people in the Greensboro area. In that time, we have developed a reputation for compassionate, nationally-leading, high-quality health care. That will not change.

Primary motivations

The system lists in the application nine primary reasons in support of the proposal.

The common denominator is that providing Atrium-branded services as competition to Moses Cone Hospital would be good for consumers and patients in a part of the city lacking nearby hospital options.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist has had a presence in Greensboro for years, including a number of primary, specialty and urgent-care clinics, according to the healthcare system.

Greensboro and Guilford County residents  as expected  are projected to represent the most potential patients being served at the Greensboro Medical Center campus, according to the application.

However, while 47% of the projected nearly 20,000 patients in the first year would be from Guilford, another 31% are expected from Forsyth County, as well as from Rockingham County (10%) and Stokes County (7%).

Atrium said its Greensboro hospital campus could reach nearly 25,000 patients by the third year.

The N.C. Office of State Budget and Management projects that Guilford County will grow from 546,934 residents at the start of 2023 to 571,828 by the end of 2029. More than 15,000 people would be residents ages 65 and older.

The county is home to a growing segment of residents over the age of 65, according to the application. These factors will continue to create ongoing future demand for hospital services capacity, including emergency department visits, inpatient stays and surgery procedures.

Healthcare systems have been an under-the-radar component of economic development in recent decades. Having nearby emergency departments as well as outpatient and inpatient care is a key checkoff factor that relocating companies consider along with a skilled workforce and affordable housing options, according to John H. Boyd with site-selection firm The Boyd Co. of Boca Raton, Fla.

For example, Davie Medical Center was marketed by Baptist in the late 2000s as a potential retail catalyst around the 88-acre Bermuda Run campus.

Ashley Furniture Industries (1,600 jobs) and Gildan Activewear (more than 200 jobs) both cited having a nearby community hospital as a determining factor in choosing Davie County for major manufacturing campuses.

Meanwhile, similar hospitals in suburban Mecklenburg County, such as Huntersville, Matthews and Pineville, have been accompanied by significant retail development.

Guilford expectations

Atrium said adding Greensboro Medical Center would be complementary and supplementary to Moses Cone.

Easily accessed by five interstates, three major rail lines and an international airport, Greensboro economic development is gaining momentum, Atrium said in its application. Guilford County corporations have announced regional expansions, new development and more jobs that will fuel future growth in 2023 and beyond.

The application references the future workforces of Boom Supersonic (between 1,750 and 2,400 jobs) at Piedmont Triad International Airport and Toyota North Carolina (2,100 jobs) at the Greensboro-Randolph megasite  people who will not only require residential housing, but also retail services as well.

The application also cited the completion of the Greensboro Urban Loop as being a catalyst for significant population increase and development. Development of Greensboro Medical Center will help insure a solid foundation for the thousands of additional residents and jobs that will continue to migrate to Greensboro and Guilford County.

Tony Plath, a retired finance professor at UNC-Charlotte, said Atriums plan for the Greensboro community hospital is a natural progression given its acquisition of Wake Forest Baptist.

How can Atrium maintain and advance its market leadership position without maintaining a major branded industry presence in Greensboro, which is the largest urban market in the Triad area? Plath asked. Answer: It cant. To do otherwise would be like Bank of America having no branches in Greensboro, and simply ceding a growing, profitable and lucrative market to Wells Fargo, which is just preposterous.

Atrium simply cant leave the Greensboro market unchallenged for Novant to claim.
Longleaf Film Festival begins next month

RALEIGH Longleaf Film Festival, a free-to-attend festival that highlights the

best of independent film demonstrating a Tar Heel State connection, will announce

its Official Selections on April 14, 2023. These films will screen at the festivals home base, the North Carolina Museum of History, a place that seeks to share the stories that connect us all. While the Official Selection announcement will livestream at LongleafFilmFestival.com, the festival will occur in person on May 1213.

The festival is held in partnership with Carlyle Adams Foundation, the-freelance-editor.com, Empire Properties and Ricci Law Firm P.A.

Blue Ridge Parkway visitors topped 15M

An estimated 15.7 million people traveled along the Blue Ridge Parkway last year, once again making the scenic highway one of the nations most-visited national parks.

The count for 2022 was slightly below the previous years tally of 15.9 recreational visitors to the parkway, which runs for 469 miles through the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.

Of the countrys 464 national park sites, only three had more than 10 million visitors last year  the Blue Ridge Parkway (15.7 million), the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (15.6 million) and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12.9 million).

We recognize the parkways popularity is due in large part to the variety of opportunities and experiences it was designed to provide for the visitor  both on and off the parkway, parkway Superintendent Tracy Swartout said in a news release Tuesday.

Passing through 29 counties across two states, through some of this nations most beautiful scenery, the parkways design lends itself to the interests and abilities of many people.

Something lurking in seashells may give Outer Banks beachgoers a scare, park warns

MARK PRICE

The Charlotte Observer

Everything from World War II explosives to dead whales wash up on the Outer Banks, but the National Park Service warns seemingly safe seashells can pose a risk, too.

Collectors typically assume theyre empty, but Cape Lookout National Seashore shared video on Facebook showing thats not always the case.

In the brief clip, a disconcerting pair of claws is seen retreating into a very collectible knobbed whelk shell.

Whenever you find a snail shell on the beach, be sure to check for living occupants inside, the park wrote Feb. 22 .

If it appears empty, be sure to look carefully in the opening for legs. ... More than one beachcomber has been startled by the crab coming out unexpectedly.

The shell had been taken over by a striped-leg hermit crab, a species of crustacean that is not a threat to humans.

However, they can offer a good scare by popping out from seashells at inopportune moments. They are experts at cramming themselves deep inside, and are not always evident, the park said.

If one is found in a shell at the park, its the crab that has property rights.

Return any shells with living creatures inside back to the water, park officials says.

The Outer Banks is considered a prime spot for shell collectors due to frequent hurricanes that stir the sand, along with colliding north and southbound currents just offshore.

Cape Lookout National Seashore and Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials have reported finding oddities such as seashells from the Pacific Ocean and prehistoric clam shells that weigh as much as 2 pounds.

Female inmate dies Saturday of medical emergency, Rockingham sheriffs officials say

ANNETTE AYRES

Staff Reporter

A female inmate at the Rockingham County Detention Facility died Saturday after an apparent medical emergency, according to a news release from the Rockingham County Sheriffs Office.

Detention officers and medical staff, along with Rockingham County Emergency Services, responded at approximately noon Saturday to provide emergency medical assistance to the inmate, officials said.

While they were rendering aid, the inmate died as a result of the apparent medical emergency she was having, officials said in the news release. Neither suicide, nor foul play, is suspected in the inmates death.

The inmate was housed in a cell by herself, officials said.

At the request of Sheriff Sam Page, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been contacted and will conduct an investigation, per standard procedure.

The SBI will determine when to release the inmates name, according to Lt. Kevin Suthard, spokesman for the sheriffs office.

The inmates death is the first reported at the detention facility in 2023. In 2022, there were three inmate deaths while in custody and another death while the person was in pre-booking and in the custody of the arresting officer prior to being turned over to the jail, Suthard said in an email.
The British Council held its annual Schools Now! Conference recently in Dubai, which brought together over 2,000 education leaders and professionals from British Council's Partner Schools around the world. They discussed the latest innovations in teaching and learning across international education.

Schools Now! 2023, themed 'Transforming Schools: Leadership at all levels', explored effective leadership across school communities through keynote presentations, panel discussions and workshops. Delegates learned about the importance of developing student leaders, as well as professional pathways to leadership.

Yvette Hutchinson, Senior Consultant, Schools Global Program, British Council, spoke of promoting leadership at all levels in schools to enable an inclusive culture, that nurtures talents and distributes leadership effectively across staff. Through this approach a safe and enriching environment is enabled where students will have the confidence to step up and develop their own leadership skills that will support them in schools and throughout their lives. He also touched upon how effective leadership is more important for schools than at any time in the past as we emerge from the pandemic.

Hybrid event

The conference was a hybrid event, connecting 300 delegates face to face in Dubai with a further 1,700 virtual attendees from around the world. This unique format allowed for an even greater exchange of ideas, insights and best practices from attendees from different regions and cultures. Special guests of the conference included Patrick Moody, British Ambassador to UAE.

Keynote speakers and workshop presenters from Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Spain and the UK, contributed to the rich and diverse discussions.

Sir Mark Grundy, CEO of Shireland Collegiate Academy Trust, who delivered the first keynote, explored the topic of retaining our best staff and achieve the highest and most specific levels of achievement for our young people. Professor Eman Gaad, Dean of the Faculty of Education and a Professor of Special and Inclusive Education, British University in Dubai (BUiD) spoke about the perceptions of educational leadership for inclusivity. Other keynotes focused on developing 21st century student leaders and leadership development at multiple levels in the school community.

Challenges

Simon Higgins, Global Head of School Exams, British Council said: This year's theme, 'Leadership at all levels' helped school leaders to reflect on the challenges they continue to face daily in a post pandemic world, and also explored ways to develop leadership throughout their school to better support staff, students, and the wider community.

Mark Walker, Director English & Exams, British Council highlighted the importance of bringing together education leaders from around the world to share ideas, best practices, and perspectives: At the British Council, we are passionate about changing lives. We work hand-in-hand with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence, and connections they need to transform their lives and shape a better world. From learning English to gaining internationally recognised qualifications, we are dedicated to helping our partners build networks, explore creative ideas, and access high-quality education.

Globally, British Council Partner Schools work with more than 2,000 schools, support over 100,000 teachers and touch the lives of about one million students. With attendees from the Americas, Europe Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa, South Asia and East Asia, the truly global event helps to support the mission of the British Council in building connections, understanding and trust through education.-- TradeArabia News Service
RALEIGH  Elaine Marshall, North Carolinas Secretary of State since 1997, thought she knew the patterns of new businesses registering with her office, but starting in mid-2020 she saw a puzzling change.

It was June 2020 and the rocket started shooting up, she said.

Amid the disruptions of the pandemic, the numbers surged. Filings for new business in 2021 set a record at 178,300. Last years filings nearly matched that peak. Since 2019, new business creations in North Carolina are up by more than 70%.

Marshalls office began a survey, she said, to find out what was going on. More than 4,000 people responded.

The results revealed that many new businesses were being launched by women and minorities, with low-income counties in eastern North Carolina showing major upticks. Some people were looking for ways to balance work and child care. Some had lost jobs and learned new skills. Some were turning a hobby into a business.

There are a lot of folks who really want to be their own boss, Marshall said.

Of course, thats not a new feeling, but the pandemic has created new opportunities to act on it. The American Rescue Plan Act has provided more than $6.6 billion for small business expansion and the worker shortage has given individuals confidence that if a venture fails, they can find a job.

The trend is a national one. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 10.4 million new businesses were formed in 2021 and 2022  the highest two-year total on record.

There are a lot of unknowns about this surge, especially how long it will last and how many of the startups will survive. But it may well be an indicator that President Joe Biden is moving the nation away from trickle-down economic policies of tax cuts and deregulation that benefit corporations to a build from the middle out approach that favors middle-class entrepreneurs. In Raleigh, Amanda Buck, 36, is part of that trend. A veterinary technician, she recently launched her own pet care business.

This is something Ive been thinking about for years, she said.

A strong job market provides a backup as Buck sets out on her own. My field is very short-staffed, she said. So, if I need to get a job, I can find one. Thats a very big plus for me.

Anne Shaw, state director of the Small Business Center Network, an agency within the community college system said, North Carolina is just a hotbed for entrepreneurship right now. Its part of what she called a great reset as people look for more autonomy in their work.

I do believe we have had a fundamental shift in terms of how people look at the work that they do and how they want to live their lives and that is translating into an economic shift, she said. Whether that is temporary or long term, it will take a long time before we are able to see that.

Marshall is encouraged by so many people starting their own businesses, but shes worried about how many will make it. She said 25% of new businesses fail in the first three years and 50% end within seven years.

We want to improve those odds, she said.

One problem with people going into business on their own, she explained, is that they often have passion, but lack planning. Most people surveyed by her office said they relied on the Secretary of States registration process for information on how to get started, but Marshall said they also need help with business plans and funding options. Her office has set up a new business checklist to make those starting out aware of the many state services that can help.

Marshall is still not sure whats behind this burst of new businesses, but she knows its still happening.

Januarys numbers were the highest for January ever, she said. We were just a few shy of 60,000 new entities. So this years off to a robust start.
MADISON  A fire deep inside a storage tanker containing 11,500 gallons of liquid asphalt was brought under control by firefighters here Tuesday afternoon after seven harrowing hours during which they feared the massive chemical load might explode.

Fire officials struggled Tuesday morning to find a way to extinguish the fire that erupted in the tanker at Seal Master contracting company at 703 W. Decatur Street before dawn. The company deals in asphalt for paving and sealant for roofing.

And after regional hazardous materials teams and firefighters consulted with a Canadian company that produced the asphalt, local emergency responders arrived at a solution for snuffing out the fire that had resisted dry extinguishing powder known as Purple K, and other conventional abatement methods, said Madison Fire Chief Jim Ritchey during a 2 p.m. news conference at Madison Town Hall.

That method involved creating a permanent hatch along the side of the tank that will allow firefighters to "smother'' the product, Ritchey said.

By 1:35, Ritchey had cleared firefighters from the scene and left monitoring of the still-burning tanker in the hands of Seal Master staff, he said.

"The company is going to monitor the situation and keep fire watch for 24 hours,'' Ritchey said, adding that Seal Master officials will try to determine the cause of the fire by disassembling the tanker for clues, once the fire is completely extinguished.

Calls to the Rockingham County Fire Marshal's office were not immediately returned. The agency usually investigates chemical and other hazardous fires.

Seal Master officials have posited a theory, Ritchey said, that the fire may have been caused by a malfunctioning heating unit that overheated the product in error.

" ... Somehow it got hotter than it was supposed to and caught fire deep inside the vessel, expanded, and the insulation around it ignited as well,'' Ritchey said of Seal Master's hypothesis.

Oxygen "was able to get in through some openings and cracks,'' Ritchey said, noting an air bubble deep within the tank that fed the inferno.

Like lava, asphalt hardens as it cools, and Ritchey expects the material will convert to a big rubber plug. "They will haul it off,'' Ritchey said of the company.

Officials were frank during a 9:45 a.m. news conference at Madison Town Hall about their concerns that the tank might explode.

For that reason, police and EMS officials worked during the early morning to evacuate 50-75 residents living within 1,000 feet of the fire, just a half-mile from downtown and entrenched in one of the area's poorest neighborhoods.

There were no reports of injuries.

By 12:30 p.m., all residents, except for those who lived immediately beside Seal Master, were allowed to return to their homes, Ritchey said. A Code Red alert, which had blocked off streets a half mile from the plant, was lifted at that time, as well.

The fire was first reported by a delivery driver who observed smoke and flame from the tanker at around 6 a.m.

But Catherine Rodenbough, a mail carrier who lives on W. Decatur Street about a quarter mile from Seal Master, said she noticed a strong odor of burning asphalt as early as 3:30 a.m. when she began her work route.

Another Decatur Street resident, Lynette Cardwell, who lives next door to Rodenbough, did not see smoke or smell asphalt, but began feeling ill at around 12:45 p.m. after talking outside for 15 minutes about the fire with emergency personnel.

"The wind was blowing from the plant towards me, '' said she. "I experienced dizziness and chest tightness, which continues. I also have a metallic taste in my mouth,'' Cardwell said.

Because of explosion risk, by mid-morning, emergency response leaders had pulled all firefighters, including firefighters from Stokes and Guilford counties, from the scene and dispatched drones to monitor the fire.

Further troubling to firefighters and residents on Tuesday was the fact that another tank of 6,000 gallons of asphalt sat just 3 feet from the burning tanker, officials said during a morning news conference.

The fire in the first tanker, which has a capacity for 17,000 gallons, appeared to have gone through cycles, seeming to abate, then increasing in temperature, Ritchey said. Hissing noises from the tanker also signaled trouble, Ritchey said. We dont like that, he said, explaining hisses could hint at an explosion.

Air quality was a concern early in the day for emergency officials who cautioned those with asthma and other respiratory problems to stay away from the smoke and fumes caused by the tanker fire.

All residents should stay out of the evacuation zone and keep windows and doors closed, Ritchey said.

Nearby schools, which include Dillard Elementary and Western Rockingham Middle School, were alerted and asked to have students and staff shelter in place, according to a spokesman for the Madison Police Department.

Its unclear just how long the fire could last, but health risk is minimal, officials said by late afternoon, noting air quality monitors had found 12 parts per million of fumes in the air near the Seal Master plant. A reading of 35 parts per million is considered relatively safe, by comparison, Ritchey said.

Seal Master manager Paul Kemler declined to comment on the potential cause of the fire Tuesday morning, saying: We are trying to deal with the situation.

Early on Tuesday, EMS workers took precautions and moved all non-ambulatory residents from the immediate area to shelters, including nearby hospital rooms, where they were safe from fumes and the threat of an explosion, officials said.

Other residents took shelter at the Madison Fire Department.
SUMMERFIELD  Mayor Tim Sessoms and town council members held an emergency meeting Saturday about concerns that a local developer may seek legislative help to de-annex his property for a master planned development.

It has come to Councils attention that State legislation is in motion that would greatly alter the heart of Summerfield, according to a statement posted on the towns website. The proposed State bill aims to de-annex (remove from corporate limits) a substantial part of our town, and it involves properties owned by Mr. David Couch.

The town council recently voted 4-1 to turn down Couchs request for an amendment that would have paved the way for Couchs plans to build Villages of Summerfield Farms on nearly 1,000 acres stretching from Summerfield Road to Interstate 73. The planned development community would include apartments, cottages, townhouses, traditional and estate homes, as well as small stores and restaurants.

Saturdays emergency meeting included a closed session to consult with an attorney, according to the meeting agenda posted on the towns website.

While a specific bill was not cited in the towns statement, the message contends NC Sen. Phil Berger is knowledgeable about this effort.

I dont know if the plans submitted by a local developer should or should not be approved by the local board, Berger said in a statement provided by his office Monday.

What I do know is the Triad is attracting billions of dollars in new economic development, and as our area continues to grow, additional housing is urgently needed so the nurses, teachers, first responders and construction workers our area relies on can live in the communities they serve.

When asked to respond to the towns statement, David Couch declined to specifically answer whether he was pursuing any of the actions mentioned.

What I can say is, for 25 years, the Summerfield Town Council has adopted zoning policies that have served to exclude residents of modest means, and theyve done so with great effect, Couch said in a statement.

Couch said although Summerfield abuts Greensboro, Summerfields median income is over twice as high and its proportion of Black residents is 90% lower.

The Town Council has even sacrificed basic environmental and safety best-management practices and standards to maintain its exclusivity. Summerfield is the largest town in North Carolina without sewer and water service, even though Ive offered to bring this infrastructure at no cost to existing residents except any extension and hookup fee, Couch said. The Town continues to ignore this beneficial offer in their exploration of opportunities and alternatives to supply the town with water for fire suppression and clean, plentiful domestic drinking water.

We desperately need more housing supply, especially with the successful job recruitment efforts by many, and the billions of dollars in economic development in the immediate vicinity, Couch said.

Sessoms said in the towns statement that he would be disappointed if Couch pursues a path to de-annex his property instead of working through the towns development ordinances to provide housing and amenities that residents want.

Removing a substantial core of Summerfield would be detrimental for our residents, according to the statement, which said the town has fairly considered The Villages of Summerfield Farms project thus far.

Following an emergency meeting of Council, town leaders are opposed to any de-annexation, Sessoms said in the posted statement. If this proposed legislation gains traction and continues to move forward, a provision should be included to require a referendum so that our 12,000 citizens can be heard.

Sessoms said Monday hes not aware of any specific proposed legislation at this time, but expressed concern about add-ons to existing bills.

It could happen very quickly, said Sessoms, which is why he said he is encouraging local residents to contact lawmakers to express their views. We have not approved apartments. Thats what it comes down to.

Couchs latest proposal reduced the number of apartments  the most controversial part of his plan  from 1,200 to 600. Still, residents criticized the CEO of Blue Ridge Cos. and his development.

Couch, who has lived in Summerfield for more than 20 years, recently told the News & Record that hes not ready to give up his dream. Were going to continue to work to find a way.
Happy Tuesday. Five more days til we get our evening sunshine back.

Three deputies stood in a tight circle outside their patrol cars late Monday morning.

Theyd backed into parking spots in front of a new Tractor Supply in Clemmons and were talking among themselves quietly while still paying close attention to radios mounted on their body armor.

Two looked to be nearer their starting dates than filing retirement papers. The third, older with flecks of gray in his hair, wore stripes on his sleeves.

After the day local law enforcement had experienced, itd be understandable - laudable, even - if they were taking a moment to breathe, feel the sunshine on their faces and decompress.

Just hours before, one of their colleagues had suffered cuts to his face caused by bullets fired at him by a 29-year-old South Carolina man named Alexander Parks Holland at the end of an intense 11-minute car chase on nearby U.S. 421.

The injured deputy, two others with the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office and two patrol officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department had all been placed on routine administrative duty after Holland was killed in a fusillade of return fire - their only recourse after an obviously distressed young man crawled out of a wrecked Toyota Tacoma.

All other law-enforcement officers were physically unharmed during this incident, reads a formal statement prepared by the sheriffs office.

The key phrase being physically unharmed. Obviously.

One suspects that must have been a leading topic of conversation among the deputies taking a moment Monday morning; its why I felt the urge to stop.

You guys OK? That was a hell of a thing this morning, I asked, not expecting much by way of an answer.

Generally speaking, on-duty cops are professional and polite, but guarded and projecting stoicism even if their stomachs are churning.

Yes sir, Were good, the deputy with the stripes answered. Another flashed a thumbs up in confirming that his colleagues involved in the mornings incident were OK, too.

The takeaway?

Debate policy - adding community mental-health resources, treating drug addiction as a treatable disease rather than a war, and holding to account officers who step outside laws theyve sworn to uphold - all you wish.

But no matter how you feel about police and policing, remember that the working cops, the ones in uniform sweating under heavy body armor and the ones crawling out of bed to investigate murders, are human beings, too.

Legislative assistance?

SUMMERFIELD - Battles over zoning and growth are nothing new. Nothing fires up and unites neighborhoods like proposed change.

A case in point, with a very interesting twist well worth watching, is brewing in burgeoning western Guilford County.

Fresh off applying what members likely felt the coup-de-grace to a proposed 1,000-acre development, the Summerfield Town Council held an emergency meeting over the weekend to plan for an unexpected twist.

They fear the developer of the Villages of Summerfield Farms, a sprawling community of apartments, townhouses, cottages, traditional houses, restaurants and small stores, might ask the Legislature to de-annex his property from the village proper so that he can proceed.

And worse, that the plan might gain traction in Raleigh and could take a huge chunk of land.

I don't know if the plans submitted by a local developer should or should not be approved by the local board," said Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger of neighboring Rockingham County in a statement Monday.

What I do know is the Triad is attracting billions of dollars in new economic development, and as our area continues to grow, additional housing is urgently needed so the nurses, teachers, first responders and construction workers our area relies on can live in the communities they serve.

Fights over affordable housing, rental property and expansion of infrastructure are nothing new. The acronym NIMBY - Not In My Backyard - is known to every neighborhood association and commercial developer.

But what is somewhat novel is asking for legislative intervention in what are traditionally local matters.

Mountains and sea

WINSTON-SALEM - Take it for whats it worth - an 8-second click and a grin, nothing more.

The latest in a conga line of research has it that Winston-Salem, the Camel City, is the 114th happiest place to live in these United States.

An outfit called WalletHub, which publishes these sorts of findings constantly, has ranked the 182 largest American cities according to which has the happiest residents. Researchers, per the Website, looked at emotional and physical well-being, income and environment, among other factors.

Raleigh clocked in at Number 22, Charlotte 46th and Durham 71st. Greensboro waded in at Number 130 and Fayetteville 170th.

For whatever reason, Asheville and Wilmington didnt rate. Perhaps the mountains and the sea arent what theyre cracked up to be?
If you live in Pennsylvania, you can use marijuana to treat anxiety disorders, autism and a variety of other ailments.

Alabamas medical marijuana program covers depression and panic disorder.

Mississippis program covers Alzheimers and dementia.

All of these states, along with Florida, cover all diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder.

None of these conditions, except for PTSD in certain cases, are in the bill that could potentially bring medical marijuana to North Carolina.

The state Senate recently voted to push forward with the Compassionate Care Act. It's a bill that would legalize the use of medical marijuana for 15 conditions, ranging from HIV/AIDs and Crohns disease to various versions of end-of-life care.

Its a significant and welcome expansion from the version of the bill presented last legislative session that would have only approved medicinal use for people who had only a few months to live. Unfortunately, mental illnesses were almost entirely left off the list, despite these conditions being some of the most popular reasons to use marijuana as medicine.

A study from the Journal of Internal Medicine found that of the 7% of Americans who use marijuana medicinally, nearly half were treating anxiety and/or insomnia. Then there was the 42% who were using marijuana to treat chronic pain and 39% were treating symptoms of depression. While women were more likely to use marijuana for PTSD and anxiety, there werent notable discrepancies between races.

Other doctors arent sold on the benefits of marijuana for mental health patients. In 2019, the American Psychological Association released an official statement opposing marijuana and CBD, saying that there isnt enough evidence to support their use to treat mental disorders  in fact, the organization warned that there is a strong association of cannabis use with the onset of psychiatric disorders.

Dawn Adams, a nurse practitioner and a delegate in Virginias General Assembly, says she would recommend North Carolina listen to doctors and practitioners instead of the dispensaries that would profit from sales. The best thing about Virginias medical marijuana law, Adams said, is the power it gives physicians and patients to decide what works best as treatment. Virginias law does not include a list of conditions that qualify for medicinal use. It simply asks that patients who want to use marijuana as medicine, for any reason, talk with their doctor. This, of course, includes mental health provisions.

She noted that the reason so few studies have been performed on the impact of marijuana on mental health is its prohibition at the federal level. This is what makes some doctors, like those at the American Psychological Association, hesitant to endorse marijuana use for mental health.

What we do have are years of clinical expertise that comes from having a patient base over several years, Adams said.

The North Carolina bill includes PTSD as a qualifying condition, but its the only mental health disorder included in the bill. It also stipulates that evidence of PTSD will be required. Adams says that this is an instance of legislators assuming they know better than doctors.

A true clinical diagnosis of PTSD is not dependent on being in a war, Adams says, it can be because of many, many variables.
A woman from a Helena-based charity said she is en route once again to war-torn Ukraine to provide medical aid.

Valerie Hellermann said in an email Monday night that Hands on Global has a team of five planning to meet in Budapest, Hungary. She departed Tuesday.

They will be met by a Ukrainian driver and taken to the Slovakia -Ukraine border and cross there, she said.

We are delivering trauma equipment and limb-saving orthopedic hardware to four trauma surgeons at four trauma hospitals, Hellermann said in an email. We will be doing some wound care clinics at two trauma hospitals.

She said she received six boxes on Monday, which she said was the last delivery of supplies.

I spent the day packing and repacking four-50 lb bags from me alone, Hellermann said, adding she hoped the airline would waive some of the shipping costs.

Helena-based Hands On Global Inc. provides basic health care, mostly in remote underserved areas and refugee camps.

This is Hellermanns third trip to the region since the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022, spending several weeks there in March 2022 and again in December. She said this March trip would be for 3-and-a-half weeks.

In January, she told Hometown Helena, a grassroots civic group, that the equipment Hands On Global is bringing to Ukraine is critical to saving limbs.

For more on Hands on Global, go to https://handsonglobal.org/
The Montana Department of Transportation is set to host two open houses in March to educate the public on its proposed Lola Shephard Intersection Improvements project.

A virtual webinar will be held on March 14 from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. In addition, an in-person meeting will be held on March 22 from 3:30-6 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 725 Carter Drive, according to an MDT news release.

Both events will cover the same information, and project team members will be available to present information and answer questions regarding project design.

The proposed work includes the addition of a traffic signal and roundabout; improved pedestrian and cyclist crossings; and traffic flow enhancements.

"The purpose of the project is to address operational issues for all users within the project area and enhance roadway safety features," the news release states.

Those seeking more information are encouraged to visit the project website at mdt.mt.gov/pubinvolve/lolashephard/. A link to March 14's virtual webinar can also be found on the project website.

"An important part of properly planning for future projects is partnering with the community," the news release states.

Public comments may also be submitted online or in writing to Montana Department of Transportation, Great Falls office, PO Box 1359, Great Falls, MT 59403-1359.

Please note that comments are for project UPN 9026000.

The public is encouraged to contact MDT Consultant Design Project Manager Ben Schendel at 406-444-6248 or Darren Hippenstiel, PE, Kittelson & Associates, at 503-535-7488 with questions or comments about the project.

The proposed project aims to improve safety along U.S. Highway 12 "due to the high frequency of crashes resulting from vehicles turning left from the Lola Street onto the westbound lanes of U.S. 12," according to the project website.

The plans call for a traffic light at Nicole Street, a roundabout at the intersection of Tricia and Lola streets, and the closing off of Shephard Way from access to the highway.
With a production of 1,600,111 metric tonnes (MT) in 2022, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) continues to be the worlds largest aluminium smelter ex-China, according to a recent rating released by Wood Mackenzie.

Wood Mackenzie is a global research, analytics and consultancy business that provides quality data, analytics, and insights across multiple industry sectors.

Commenting on this ranking, Albas Chairman of the Board of Directors Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa stated: Albas journey of a thousand miles starts with a vision and I take this opportunity to thank the leadership of Bahrain and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom, for his strategic vision that has seen Alba to where it is today.

We are proud to be the worlds number one aluminium smelter ex-China thanks to the successful operations of Potline 6. The potline not only has boosted Albas per-annum production by 540,000 metric tonnes but also set global benchmarks in sustainable aluminium production, said Shaikh Daij.

It is noteworthy that Alba has been surpassing its annual production target for more than five years, the credit of which goes to the companys ambitious organic growth objectives and its dedicated workforce who always go by Safety is Operating License, said a statement. -TradeArabia News Service
To our community and leaders,

The number of adults over the age of 65 year is growing in Montana. As of 2017, 18% of Montanans were 65 or older, up from 14% in 2001. It is expected to climb to 22% by 2030. With our aging population, caring for Montana seniors needs to be a priority for funding. Aging in is a challenge. In Montana, there is currently not a viable continuum of care for seniors to age with dignity. Now is the time to strengthen the infrastructure that will support our aging population now and in the future.

Big Sky Senior Services, a nonprofit organization based in Billings, has and will continue to take a leading role in supporting independence and sustaining or increasing quality of life for senior citizens and preventing elder abuse. We are a guiding force in the important notion that aging at home is best for our seniors/clients. There comes a time, however, that caring for a loved one at home becomes unsustainable. Administering medications, mobility and personal care issues are a challenge for the most dedicated caregiver. Increasing paid homecare can be considered but the cost is prohibitive. The reality for many Montana families is an eventual search for a bed in a nursing home or skilled care facility.

This past year 11 nursing homes closed, losing the state 850 beds at a time when many of our Montana Seniors have outlived their retirement funds and are eligible for Medicaid beds in nursing homes. Unfortunately, Medicaid nursing home beds are few and far between, particularly in rural parts of our state.

The primary cause of the closure of so many nursing homes is the low Medicaid reimbursement rate of $212 per day. That rate is inadequate to pay the staff qualified and needed to provide care for our loved ones 24 hours a day. Currently our legislative leaders have looked at a benchmark of $278/day based on a study run three years ago, the governors budget suggested $249/day. The reality is that actual costs are estimated to be $350/day.

The fact remains, our state is not reimbursing nursing homes at an adequate rate to keep facilities open with qualified and caring staff. In the big picture, our seniors deserve our best care. Please contact your legislators to tell them to take this issue seriously and take time to read more on aging care in Montana.
For many years, the closest most Montanans came to dangerous drug cartels and the brutal crime they have made their calling card was through television shows.

Our great state is more than a thousand miles from the southern border, but recently the same cartels that have turned Mexican cities into war zones, smuggled countless illegal immigrants into our country and trafficked deadly drugs into our communities, have brought their operations to Montana.

Montana is already suffering the consequences. Recent reporting shows robberies, aggravated assaults, and rape are on the rise. In December, right in Butte, law enforcement announced the conviction of 22 people involved in a large-scale, multi-million dollar drug trafficking network that had ties to the infamous Sinaloa Cartel from Mexico.

The arrival of drug cartels in Montana and recent spikes in violent criminal activity are a stark reminder of the dangers our law enforcement officers face every single day they put on their uniforms.

At this critical time, Montana law enforcement officers need the support of our leaders at every level of government  federal, state and local  to be able to carry out our mission to keep our communities safe. In the past few years, those of us in uniform watched as many activists and elected officials demeaned law enforcement, discredited our sacrifices and pursued policies that would make it harder to protect and serve.

That is why it is so concerning that President Biden recently nominated one of these anti-police activists, Gigi Sohn, to be a senior leader at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Many may not know this, but the FCC is key partner for law enforcement. The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau helps ensure that the 911 system facilitates the fast and effective deployment of emergency law enforcement assistance, especially in remote areas that we patrol.

If Ms. Sohn becomes a FCC commissioner, this key partnership will be put at risk, which could have serious implications for public safety in Montana.

Ms. Sohn has a well-documented anti-police record. Time and again, she's promoted social media posts that defended and supported defunding the police. She's also spread hateful comments that described federal law enforcement officers as "armed goons in riot gear," as these officers sought to quell violent riots in the summer of 2020.

At Ms. Sohn's recent Senate confirmation hearing when she was confronted about her record, she didn't apologize. Instead she said that her anti-police social media activity was "about as ... basic as you can imagine." In other words, she thinks that calling law enforcement officers "armed goons" and trying to defund the police are normal things to do.

If that's not extremist, I don't know what is.

Ms. Sohn's anti-police rhetoric has rightfully drawn a strong rebuke from my fellow sheriffs and other members of law enforcement. For example, the National Sheriff's Association noted in a letter opposing her nomination that law enforcement officers "deserve the support of senior officials in the federal government who help to set policy.

Unfortunately, Ms. Sohn has failed to provide such support by using social media to promote alarming statements that denigrate law enforcement. "

To put it bluntly, Ms. Sohn and her views are far too dangerous to be anywhere near the FCC. As Montana law enforcement deals with the unprecedented threats posed by violent cartels and the crime spikes that will follow their expansion into our communities, it is more important than ever that our leaders in Washington have our backs.

Through the years, I've been proud to work with both of Montana's U.S. Senators, Jon Tester and Steve Daines, in our shared mission to protect our communities, keep deadly drugs off the streets, and ensure Montana law enforcement can arrive at emergencies swiftly and safely.

Now we need them to support law enforcement and promote public safety for all Montanans by voting against Ms. Sohn and her dangerous anti-police views.
DECATUR  The city's months-long effort to demolish the former Woodrow Wilson Junior High School building is now in its final stages.

The Decatur City Council on Monday approved a $622,000 contract with Granite City-based Shafer Excavating for demolition of the nearly century-old structure.

This represents a major, but not the final, hurdle toward removing a historic structure that ultimately became a blight on the neighborhood after years of neglect. It was built in the 1930s, closed as a school in 1979, and has been vacant for decades.

Two obstacles remain: getting the school district to formally agree to assume half the cost of demolition and receiving approval from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The latter is needed because the city is seeking to use federal funds for the structure's demolition.

In a Feb. 15 letter, deputy state historic preservation officer Carey Mayer informed the city that since American Rescue Plan funds were being used, a review of the New Deal-era building was required.

Mayer noted that staff at the state agency, in their most recent review of the site in 2003, "determined the school to be individually eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places."

The state has requested that representatives from historic preservation groups Landmarks Illinois and History of the Heartland "be invited to participate in consultation to avoid, lessen, or mitigate this adverse effect to historic property."

History of the Heartland Chair Bret Robertson has been among the most vocal in opposition to the proposed demolition  pleas that have not moved council members or the school board to reconsider their positions.

Monday night, council members and city staff dug in further, seeming to view state approval as a temporary pause rather than a derailment of the project.

Approval from the school board and state are both expected, said Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth.

"Ultimately, I think the city made the right decision by proactively getting involved in the process and acquiring the property through that tax sale process  with the intention of essentially cleaning up that blighted property and ultimately trying to remove that from the neighborhood that has been waiting for a long time," Kindseth said.

The city of Decatur purchased the property at 1140 W. Sunset Ave. for $813 in a tax sale in October.

In January, the city and the Decatur school board approved an intergovernmental agreement that allows the city to handle demolition of the former school building and then sell the vacant property to the school district for half the cost of demolition.

At that same meeting, the council approved a $375,000 agreement with Blue Island-based M&O Environmental for asbestos abatement at the school site.

With that work nearing completion, demolition is near.

Councilwoman Lisa Gregory said she was "extremely disappointed" in the state's "decision to step in and to tell the city of Decatur we cannot complete neighborhood revitalization without their approval."

"My suggestion to those who think that that is the right move to take (is) to knock on the doors of the neighbors in that community and ask them if they would like to have the Woodrow Wilson (Junior) High School stand as it is today," Gregory said. "The answer is no  because we've talked to them."

Councilman David Horn said that moving forward with the demolition was "the correct move for the city."

"Removal of blighted properties and increased green space collectively are thought to be linked to a reduction in crime, reduction in gun violence, increased mental health and increased physical health," Horn said. "And so what we are doing is we are ultimately going to be removing a structure that is blighted and it's an eyesore and we're going to be improving a distressed neighborhood."

The property, neglected over the years by a series of absentee owners, has been subject repeated break-ins and has been used as a dumping ground for trash and debris.

According to the city, the break-ins have forced them to secure the site 20 times since 2009. Fourteen "public nuisance" cleanups have been held since 2004 and the city has mowed the property 69 times since 2002.

The building has been stripped of all its wiring, all plumbing fixtures have been stolen or damaged and the roof has multiple holes.

Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe said that "we're gonna follow the procedures that we need to follow" to get the necessary approvals to demolish the structure.
Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review magazine and author of the new book "A Year With the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living." She is also chair of Cardinal Dolan's pro-life commission in New York. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com.
Vote now until noon on April 20th to support the businesses that you think are the best in the New Braunfels area.
Newspapers provided a cheap canvas for Mark Batos early art as a young man in the Philippines. He used Wite-Out and acrylic paint to transform discarded newspapers into a backdrop where he could express his thoughts and emotions in colorful art reminiscent of graffiti.

Today, he draws in a sketch book.

Bato, 31, is a multimedia artist from the city of Tacloban in the Philippines. He and his wife landed in Hickory in late 2022, when she took a job as a nurse at Catawba Valley Medical Center.

Batos centerpieces are often human or human-like figures with objects such as torpedoes for heads. His subjects are drawn with dramatic, expressive faces.

Many of Batos drawings start on paper. Once the sketch is complete, the image is scanned and finished digitally, he said. He also finishes the on-paper pieces in paint and Sharpies, creating several variations of a single drawing.

His art is inspired by his life experiences, Bato said. It is also how he copes with stress. I just let my emotions pour into my art, he said.

But the drawings are open for interpretation. Bato encourages others to consider what his work means to them personally, because everyone has their own perspective.

Bate said he has been drawing since he was 8 years old. He said his style developed from his love of graffiti and street art. Banksy and Ungga are two of his biggest inspirations, he said.

Banksy is described on Encyclopedia Britannica as an anonymous British graffiti artist known for his antiauthoritarian art, often done in public places.

Ungga is a prominent street artist in the Philippines and a founding member of the Philipinas Street Plan group, Bato said. The group describes themselves on their website as, a community that has grown committed in showcasing and celebrating ephemeral artworks on streets. From graffiti, posters, stickers, objects and happenings.

There is little difference between graffiti and street art, according to dictionary.com. The differences are in technique and intent.

In terms of technique, street art tends to be image-based, whereas graffiti is more commonly word-based, according to dictionary.com. Regarding intent, graffiti artists are, in general, unconcerned with the publics reaction to their work  in contrast, street art is created with a specific public audience in mind.

Despite the prominence of graffiti and street art in the Philippines, Bato said his art was not well-liked there.

It has been well-received in the U.S., he said, and he hopes to sell prints and get more involved in the local art community.
HICKORY  The Hickory Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will hold its March branch meeting on Sunday, March 12, at 3 p.m. The group will meet at Hartzell Memorial United Methodist Church.

Featured speaker for the meeting is Jerisha Farrer, local community advocate and recent applicant for a vacant Hickory City Council seat.

Additional Items on the agenda will include:

 An overview of upcoming programs and activities

 Formation of youth council

 Task force tweaks

 Opportunities for attendants to identify how they can best support the branch, such as join a committee

 Focus on membership

This meeting is open to the public. All members, friends and concerned citizens are invited to attend at Hartzell Church located at 465 South Center St. in Hickory. The Rev. Cassandra Rawls is the pastor.

Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. Its mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.
A Conover man will spend up to 19 years behind bars following a statutory rape conviction in Catawba County Superior Court this week.

Darwin Aguilar Vasquez, 23, of Conover entered a guilty plea on Monday.

Judge Greg Hayes handed down a prison sentence of 12-19 years for statutory rape of a child younger than 15 years of age.

Vasquez also will have to register as a sex offender for 30 years and will be deported when his prison sentence ends.

The offenses covered a period of 10 months from November 2021 to August 2022 and involved a 13-year-old female victim.

The victim divulged during a forensic interview with the Childrens Advocacy and Protection Center of Catawba County (CAPC) that the defendant had intercourse with her. He also forced her to send him photos of herself in provocative positions that investigators corroborated by finding the images on his phone.

The case was investigated by Curt Smithey of Newton Police Department with assistance from the Childrens Advocacy and Protection Center of Catawba County.
Farm transition planning creates a path forward to move a dairy from one generation to the next. In our March issue of Hoards Dairyman, four families shared their transition planning experiences in a round table article.

While many of the skills needed to dairy farm are learned on the job, some parents encourage their children or incoming partners to gain experience elsewhere before joining the business. For Kari Gribble, Nick Schultz, and Katy Schultz, siblings that own Tri-Fecta Farms in Fox Lake, Wis., their parents were very proactive when it came to succession planning. Transition planning was always part of Keven and Cheryl Schultzs business model, and they welcomed all three of their children back to the dairy. However, they were expected to first obtain additional education following high school and then work somewhere else to gain skills they could bring back to the business. The trio says they will follow this same model with their children, who currently range in age from 9 to 16 years old, if they show interest in joining the dairy that currently milks about 425 cows.

Todd and Louise Malecha are farming at Malecha Enterprises with five of their seven children near Villard, Minn. They said that they encouraged their children to pursue education following high school, and they all attended community college. Most of them held internships off the farm as well. With this experience in hand, when they returned to the farm, they were able to gravitate to the areas they were skilled at and that they enjoyed. In addition to the dairy herd of 1,200 Holsteins, the Malechas have a manure pumping business, a gravel pit, and a custom cropping business.

Scott Wedemeier returned to his familys farm after college and worked with his parents, Gary and Becky, to transition the herd of 180 Brown Swiss and Holsteins to an organic, grazing system. As he looks to the future and the potential that one or more of his children might want to farm someday, he said he and his wife, Catherine, would likely require some advanced educational training through college or mentoring to gain an understanding of farming systems, the environment, and how they function together.

Kurt Steiners father and uncles established a transition plan for their Steinhurst Farm LLC near Creston, Ohio, that included the stipulation that new partners must work at the dairy for three years before joining the ownership team. Kurt and his wife, Robin, are following that same plan with their sons. Both Zach and Christian obtained college degrees and had off-farm jobs prior to returning to the 675-cow dairy as the ninth generation to farm in their township.

If you want to learn more about how these farms transferred ownership from one generation to the next, please read the article, These farms share their transition planning experience, which starts on page 126 of the March 2023 issue of Hoards Dairyman.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2023

March 6, 2023
The Cabarrus County Board of Education could soon be a partisan political body.

N.C. Rep. Kevin Crutchfield (R-Cabarrus) is considering introducing a bill that would make the change.

While the final decision has not yet been made, I am considering introducing legislation to help recognize the Cabarrus School Board race for what it is  partisan, Crutchfield said when asked about the issue. Our school board is critical to our childrens education. I want to make sure that our school board which is responsible for setting educational policy, managing the financial affairs of the schools, providing adequate school facilities, and ensuring every child is provided the opportunity to receive a sound basic education properly reflects the values of the community.

N.C. Rep Diamond Staton-Williams (D-Cabarrus) is not in favor of such a move.

I do not believe a partisanship school board is warranted. I believe it would negatively impact our standing in the community, Staton-Williams said.

N.C. Rep. Dr. Kristen Baker (R-Cabarrus) did not respond to a request for her position on the issue.

Crutchfield said he believes going partisan will give voters more opportunities to learn about the school board candidates.

Nonpartisan school board races cause much confusion and lack of participation, and thus this important election is often not at the top of most voters lists, Crutchfield said. Primary elections give the voters the opportunity to decide from a pool of candidates; provide voters a greater opportunity to learn about the candidates; as well as higher profile elections (that include a primary) increase voter turnout and down-ballot voter participation. I believe that by recognizing our school board race as partisan we work to help increase voter participation for our school board members, create a more informed voter base, and provides for a school board that properly reflects the values and goals of the larger population of the county.

Another bill might make the change

Carol Moreno Cifuentes, Policy and Programs manager for Democracy North Carolina, said another bill might make the change quicker.

Many educators have expressed concerns over these partisan election shifts, and the impact that it could have on representation across the state. H88: Omnibus Local Elections would shift board of education races from nonpartisan to partisan in Ashe, Cabarrus, Henderson, McDowell, and Mitchell counties, Cifuentes said.

HB 88 is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Rules Committee which was to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The committee meeting was to be live streamed at http://bit.ly/3IRg9U1

In recent years, North Carolina has seen more than a quarter of the states 116 local school boards shift from nonpartisan races to ones in which candidates are identified by party affiliation, Cifuentes said.

Cifuentes said HB 88 is a local bill and would not be subject to a veto from the governor.

N.C. Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) is a member of the Senate Rules Committee.
Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, said it has collaborated with long-standing partner Dubai Holding in its Dubai-based data centre to upgrade the facility with state-of-the-art cloud infrastructure and wider range of products and services in analytics, databases, industry solutions and AI services.

The collaboration aims to offer customers the best possible digital solutions during their digitalisation journey, said Alibaba Group in a statement.

Through the upgraded data centre, Alibaba Cloud will make available to the local customers a series of its proven infrastructure products such as Alibaba Cloud 6th Generation Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance and latest Elastic Block Storage (EBS) service which offer significantly higher computing capacity, higher bandwidth, lower latency and improved performance.

This range of latest products aims to provide enterprise customers with a wider scope of cloud services covering network, storage security and compute. Additionally, the upgrade to the data centre will include providing best-in-class cloud solutions to meet business needs with the latest analytics tools to improve business operations and performance.

The facility will also comprise a revamp of its advanced database to provide faster, more efficient data processing as well as industry-specific solutions and AI-powered services that will address unique challenges of a customers industry and drive better results, it stated.

The announcement was made during Alibaba Clouds Cloud Day summit in Dubai in the presence of Dubai Holding's Chief Technology Officer Boris Rusafov and Daniel Jiang, General Manager of the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

On the announcement, Jiang said: "We are thrilled to host Alibaba Cloud Day in Dubai for a second consecutive year. Our continued partnership with Dubai Holding is in line with our commitment to continuously investing in the Middle East region and supporting the local businesses with their digital journey."

"By leveraging Dubai Holdings local expertise and Alibaba Clouds trusted cloud-based technology, we believe that our upgraded data centre will be able to provide local businesses with more robust, secure and high-performing capabilities to achieve stronger growth and better respond to the evolving digital landscape across the region," he noted.

Alongside the commitment with Dubai Holding, Alibaba Cloud also revealed an enhanced partner strategy with more allocated resources and dedicated initiatives to provide comprehensive support for partners throughout local customers digitalisation journey in the UAE and the wider Middle East region.

To accelerate partners growth, Alibaba Cloud launched a MEA Alliance boosting program to provide the local partners with customised business collaboration model and incentives in the MEA region including dedicated partner management channel, extra cloud resources, wider product margin as well as expanded marketing initiatives.

Such initiatives also aim to boost partners income and strengthen their technical expertise. Alibaba Cloud currently works with more than 40 partners in the Middle East and Africa region.-TradeArabia News Service
Kim Cantu was recently at a Speedway in Greenville, North Carolina, when he decided to buy a $1 Cash 5 ticket.

But when Cantu, 65, went to cash in his prize, the store clerk couldnt pay out his winnings, according to a March 7 news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery.

The clerk just told me he couldnt cash the ticket in the store because it was too large to pay out, Cantu told officials. I thought it was maybe $500.

When he got home, Cantu double-checked his numbers online. Thats when he realized his prize was a lot more than just $500.

Cantu won a $504,104 jackpot after beating the 1-in-962,598 odds, officials said.

I was actually shocked when I saw the amount, he said.

After telling his wife, Cantu said they couldnt stop high-fiving each other with excitement.

We were going around the house doing high-fives, Cantu told officials.

After taxes, Cantu took home $359,183, which he plans to use to remodel his house and save for retirement, he told officials.

Greenville is about 80 miles east of Raleigh.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Last week in a federal courtroom at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an American physician hired by the Pentagon testified about the CIA's use of rectal "feeding" tubes on prisoners it detained and tortured in Thailand from 2001 to 2006.

The physician, Sondra S. Crosby, M.D., an expert on tortures and other trauma, described the painful repeated insertion of plastic tubes into the anal cavity of the defendant in the case, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, over a period of four years. Al-Nashiri is on trial for conspiracy to bomb the USS Cole in October 2000.

The hearing at which Dr. Crosby testified was ordered by the military judge when defense counsel told him the nature and extent of the torture visited upon their client by the CIA and its contractors. Dr. Crosby was given access to CIA raw notes and reports, some of which had not been seen by the investigators who produced the 2014 U.S. Senate 500-page documented study on CIA torture during the administration of President George W. Bush.

The site in Thailand at which al-Nashiri was tortured was run by Gina Haspel, the future CIA Director, nicknamed by her colleagues "Bloody Gina." The CIA infamously made videos of the torture of al-Nashiri and others which Haspel destroyed.

Dr. Crosby, who was harshly critical of the CIA's use of this internationally condemned interrogation technique, which is criminal under federal law, revealed that the CIA notes reflected that al-Nashiri, and others who received this barbaric treatment, were actually being fed nutrients via these anal tubes. She told the court that this must have been a subterfuge as there is simply no biological means to nourish a person via the person's anal cavity.

The purpose of the hearing at which Dr. Crosby testified was to demonstrate to the judge that al-Nashiri made statements to his tormentors only so as to induce them to stop the torture and thus the statements are inherently unworthy of belief. All American courts that have addressed torture have ruled that statements made under torture are not admissible as evidence in a courtroom against the tortured victim. They are, however, admissible in prosecutions against the torturers.

The reason this is not cut-and-dry is that al-Nashiri repeated to FBI agents at Gitmo the same statements he made under torture in Thailand, out of a primordial fear, his lawyers argue, that the failure to do so would result in more torture. This permanent fear of torture is itself a form of torture not unlike the post-traumatic stress disorder often suffered by troops years after battle.

Dr. Crosby also testified that testimony given after torture is unreliable due to the manipulation of thought processes brought about by great pain and suffering.

SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here.

The use of rectal feeding tubes was expressly authorized by Bush, even though forced entry into an anal cavity is the very definition of rape.

Do U.S. courts have jurisdiction over American government personnel who authorize or commit crimes outside the United States? The short answer is: yes. The longer answer abides numerous Supreme Court rulings, not the least of which addressed Gitmo itself, to the effect that generally, wherever the government goes, the Constitution goes with it, as well as federal statutes and the jurisdiction of federal courts.

I say "generally," as the courts have distinguished fleeting presence from quasi-permanent presence. Fleeting presence, where jurisdiction is diminished, means government agents are continually moving and only stop temporarily. Quasi-permanence means the government sets up a facility  here a prison and a torture chamber  over which it has control, and thus the Constitution and federal laws apply. The latter is the case with the CIA's so-called black site in Thailand.

The government has had its fill of torture-related legal issues at Gitmo. When Bush decided to employ and authorize a torture regime, he was advised to do so outside the U.S. because, his initial advice went, the Constitution didn't apply, nor did federal law, and happily, he was told, federal judges couldn't restrain him.

Yet, his administration lost five of six cases before the Supreme Court concerning the application of the Constitution and federal law at Gitmo. The sole Gitmo case the Bush team did win was about where to file a complaint against the president.

Today, the government so fears the full exposure of its torture regime that it is negotiating a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 mastermind, whom it tortured for three years.

Bush also lost a human nature argument. Pushed by Vice President Dick Cheney, who praised rectal "feeding" as saving lives from starvation, Bush had no fear of the legal consequences of torture even if its horrors crept into military courtrooms. Bush believed that military men on military juries would not hesitate to convict those who confessed under torture and would not cringe at its revelation.

That, too, was a profound error in judgment and an insult based on a stereotype. Military juries have themselves asked judges to be merciful on convicted defendants because of the criminal acts the CIA committed upon them.

Like the dictators against whom he railed, Bush had a personal army and torture machine answerable only to himself  the CIA.

Has the government prosecuted anyone after 9/11 for engaging in acts of torture or for authorizing or aiding them? No.

While the five-year statute of limitations on prosecutions for violations of federal criminal statutes has obviously expired, there is no statute of limitations for war crimes, of which torture is one.

The Supreme Court itself has ruled that among the rights universally recognized by all nations is the right to be free from physical and psychological torture. Federal courts have even referred to torturers as akin to pirates and slave traders. In the classic judicial reference to torture, "the torturer is hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind." So, too, are those who authorize him.

(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.
Lexington has landed a $220 million, 506-job commitment from global manufacturer Siemens Mobility Inc. planning its first East Coast operations.

The manufacturer plans to purchase the 202-acre Lexington Industrial Park off Brown Street and begin production in 2024 of passenger rail cars, also known as rolling stock.

For comparison sake, Siemens had more than 2,400 employees on a 65-acre site in Sacramento, Calif., growing from 34 employees when the plant debuted.

The job and capital investment commitments were significantly different than the $300 million and 300 jobs that had been listed in legal notices.

Roland Busch, Siemens AGs chief executive and president, said the plant will play a pivotal role in transforming the U.S. rail and transportation sectors through clean energy.

This plant will be a showcase of what Made in America looks like in the future because it will help make passenger rail travel safer and more efficient in the design, production and maintenance phases, Busch said.

Siemens officials said they chose the Lexington site because of three local factors: rail service, local workforce availability and cost of construction. The average annual wage was disclosed as $51,568.

The plant site will feature more than 11,000 feet of rail track.

Gov. Roy Cooper made the official announcement at Lexington Historic Depot. Lexington Industrial Park is a public-private joint venture between the city and Front Street Capital.

This is the perfect time and the perfect place for this project, Cooper said. Leading global companies like Siemens Mobility continue to choose North Carolina to build the next generation in innovative clean transportation.

Thanks to our states skilled workforce, and the proven education and training systems that help people maintain and build those skills, North Carolina is the number one state for manufacturing.

The goal with the plant is meeting increasing domestic demand for passenger trains, particularly in metro areas along the East Coast.

Siemens Mobility North America said it will fulfill the growing demand ... by producing some of the North American markets most innovative and sustainable passenger trains.

Now is the moment in time for rail in America, and this facility supports our strategy to grow in close proximity to our customers, as well as provide us with the added capacity needed to push the boundaries of innovation, said Marc Buncher, chief executive of Siemens Mobility North America.

Lexington Mayor Jason Hayes called the project transformative and the largest single capital investment in city history.

Siemens announcement catapults the growth Lexington and Davidson County have recently been experiencing, Hayes said. The investment and jobs that this project brings to the area will improve the quality of life for countless in our community.

How we got here

Project Gemini surfaced in December in local incentive packages and in legal notices.

The job creation and capital investment commitments are for five years.

Siemens Mobility is a division of Siemens. It has four core business units: mobility management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems; railway electrification; rolling stock, and customer services.

The state Economic Investment committee said Tuesday that Lexington was competing with a site in Spartanburg County, S.C., for the project.

The committee approved making Siemens Mobility eligible for up to $5.63 million in performance-based incentives from the states Job Development Investment Grant program, and total state incentives of $16.8 million that include community college training assistance.

The company was made eligible last week for performance-based economic incentives from the Lexington City Council and Davidson County Board of Commissioners. The committee said the county has offered up to $8.4 million in incentives, and Lexington up to $7.7 million.

The city and county have agreed to refund about 50% of the companys property taxes over 12 years for the county, and over 10 years for the city. Those incentives could be worth up to $30.5 million in property tax repayment.

The project will receive a $1 million grant from the N.C. Railroad Co. to assist with the costs of construction and materials needed for the on-site rail infrastructure operations.

This project will produce an estimated 264 rail cars per year at build-out and significantly contribute to North Carolinas railroad industry, N.C. Railroad Co. said.

The proposed project would be done in two phases over 12 years.

Part One would involve a commitment to create at least 200 jobs and spend at least $200 million on capital investments within three years of the grants effective date.

Part Two would start no later than five months after completion of Part One. It would involve an additional minimum investment of $100 million and create up to 100 jobs, also with an average annual wage in excess of the Davidson average.

Response

Cooper said the project will enhance North Carolinas reputation as a destination for clear energy and clean transportation.

Its important to note that these rail cars can be used with battery and hydrogen propulsion, and this facility will be carbon neutral.

Robin Team, partner with Front Street Capital, said the genesis for Lexington Industrial Park began in fall 2019 when he approached Terra Greene, Lexingtons city manager, for the joint venture proposal.

This inventive approach to risk and reward sharing turned an underutilized parcel of land into the most successful economic development project in the citys history, Team said.

Team touted the citys role in collaborating with ElectriCities, which enabled site certification through the ElectriCities Smart Site program.

This insured that all due diligence was completed, documented and the site was deemed shovel ready for potential development, Team said.

This global company joins the ever-expanding list of industrial partners who share in the vision that Lexington provides a centralized location with access to all critical transportation in the global economy, a long history of industrial production, and a progressive community in which to conduct business.

Mike Fox, president and chief executive of the Piedmont Triad Partnership, touted the Siemens Mobility project as adding to the Triad and Carolina Core regions profile as a leader in innovation and what he called transportech.

The new manufacturing facility will provide high-quality jobs as well as innovative transportation equipment, joining other significant new employers like Toyota Battery, Boom Supersonic and VinFast in the region that has emerged as North Carolinas next economic engine, Fox said.
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences held its annual Flavors of Carolina show Feb. 27 in Concord, once again giving N.C. food producers an opportunity to showcase some of their new or best products.

The show is part of the departments Got to Be NC program that promotes food products made in the state, and it provides a pretty good snapshot of value-added food products being produced throughout North Carolina.

It turns out that quite a few of these companies are based right in the Triad.

One of the biggest companies at the show was Winston-Salems own T.W. Garner Foods. Last year, it was promoting its new Texas Pete Popcorn  produced in conjunction with Shallowford Farms of Yadkinville. It also was there this year with its Texas Pete, white cheddar, kettle and other popcorns.

This year, Garner was prominently displaying its Texas Pete barbecue sauces. Theyre available in Traditional, Sweet Flame, Eastern Carolina and Carolina Mustard flavors.

Garner also was showcasing a new hot sauce  but not with a Texas Pete label. Instead, this sauce is part of the Green Mountain Gringo brand that also includes salsa and chips. Curiously, though, the label lists Texas Pete hot sauce in the ingredient for Green Mountain Gringo sauce. With cumin, garlic and chili powder, its pretty much like Texas Petes Sabor Mexican-style hot sauce. Greenmountaingringo.com, texaspete.com

If youre into hot sauce, you might want to check out Ah Fiwi, based in Winston-Salem, created by Jamaica native Verna Mcpherson-Liles. Available in mild, medium and hot, this sauces primary ingredients are Scotch bonnet peppers and pineapple, but it also contains soy sauce, tomato paste, thyme and more. For more information, visit Ah-fiwi.com.

I also got to try a new salsa from Food Cravings, based in Greensboro, run by Denise Goga with help from her husband, Robert. The couple, who used to own a restaurant in Texas, started this company three years ago. Their salsa, sold at Gate City Butcher Shop, is mild to medium in heat and contains fresh tomatoes, serrano and chipotle peppers, as well as garlic, cilantro and touches of brown sugar and balsamic vinegar  making it a more versatile dip. To find out more, visit mfoodcravingscompany.com.

Dream Kreams Artisanal Creamery, based in Kernersville, was at the show with a large sampling of ice cream, including the new nondairy Biscoff Cookie Butter Crunch. Thats just one of a long list of both dairy and nondairy flavors.

Winston-Salem residents know Dream Kreams from Cobblestone Farmers Market, and owner Kyndra Bell said she expects to be back at the market as the weather warms up. See more at Instagram.com/dreamkreams.

Also from Kernersville, Gypsy Road Brewing was showing off its first venture into canned beer. It recently put its Gypsy Juice and Mystical Child beers in 16-ounce cans. Mystical Child is a fruited sour beer with mango and passion fruit. Gypsy Juice is a New England IPA. Both are available at the brewery. To find out more, visit gypsyroadbrewing.com.

Speaking of beverages, Le Bleu Corp., based in Advance, is known for its bottled water, but you may not know it also sells muscadine juice  touted for its high level of antioxidants. Its Mighty Muscadine is 100% juice with no sugar added. For more information, visit Mylebleu.com.

Most folks know the Musten & Crutchfield store in Kernersville for its pimento cheese, but did you know that the store has about 40 of its own label products? John Crutchfield is particularly excited about its pastas. They arent exactly new because the store has been carrying these pastas for years  but under a different label. In fact, Crutchfield bought out the Pasta Wench company in Boone in 2014 but continued to sell pasta under that label. Cruchfield is happy to now have the pastas under the Musten & Crutchfield name  and they come in a lot of different flavors, including spinach and tomato, lemon pepper and chocolate cabernet. FYI, some other M&C products you might want to check out include barbecue slaw and fudge. Visit mustenandcrutchfield.com.

Visitors to the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market may recognize Chengers, a line of soups, baby food and smoothies from Trina Pratt, a professor of kinesiology at N.C. A&T University. Pratt, whose interests include diabetes and cancer research, started looking for heathier foods once she became a parent. She started out making baby food with such superfoods as blueberries, bananas, spinach and sweet potatoes. Next came smoothies, and now she is making soups, utilizing such healthy ingredients as ginger and turmeric. To learn more, visit Chengers.com.

Some other Triad vendors at Flavors of Carolina included Carolina Fine Snacks in Greensboro (which makes Wicked Crisp snack chips), Chads Carolina Corn in Lewisville and Little Black Dressing Co. in High Point.

Still, this list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to local food producers. For more tasty products, check out the local farmers markets and such stores as Buies Market in Winston-Salem or Deep Roots in Greensboro.
A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to prison last week after he pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in a spree of shootings that left several people injured in 2022, authorities said.

Jarod Kevon Hall, 22, pleaded guilty Friday in Forsyth Superior Court to four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and 13 other offenses including robbery with a dangerous weapon, the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office said.

Judge Patrick Nadolski sentenced Hall to serve 21 to 28 years in prison, the district attorneys office said.

Winston-Salem police received a report at 7:43 p.m. on May 15, 2022, that 95 gunshots were fired on Bethlehem Lane in the citys northeastern section, the district attorneys office said.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found multiple shell casings. Investigators determined that shots were fired into an apartment in the 1200 block of Bethlehem Lane.

Police then learned that a stray bullet struck a pickup traveling on U.S. 52, the district attorneys office said. One occupant was hit in the head, and another person was injured by shattered glass.

The pickups occupants were not the targets of the shooting, the district attorneys office said. A witness told officers that a white car drove to a dead end on Bethlehem Lane, and three men with guns got out the car and started shooting.

Three minutes later, police received another report of gunshots on East 25th Street, the district attorneys office said. Officers found 13 shell casings at that location.

Shots were fired into an occupied home and a store in the 2000 block of East 25th Street, the district attorneys office said. Five people were injured in that shooting.

On June 17, 2022, an employee of the Ramada Inn in the 500 block of Akron Drive was robbed at gunpoint, the district attorneys office said. A witness told police that the victim was leaving the hotel with her purse containing the hotels bank deposit bag.

A man then got out of a car and threatened the victim with a gun, the district attorneys office said. The man pointed the gun at the victims head and shouted, Give me the bag.

The man then left the scene with the victims purse that contained the money belonging to Ramada Inn. The victim wasnt injured.

Investigators linked these crimes to Hall, who police described as a gang member.

Police then went to an apartment in the 5000 block of Eltha Drive to arrest Hall, the district attorneys office said.

Officers arrested Hall, and they found two stolen handguns and property from the hotel robbery, the district attorneys office said.
Three deputies stood in a tight circle outside their patrol cars late Monday morning.

Theyd backed into parking spots at the new Tractor Supply in Clemmons  in case they needed to leave in a hurry  and were talking among themselves while paying attention to their radios.

Two looked to be nearer their starting dates than filing retirement papers; the third, older with flecks of gray in his hair, wore stripes on his sleeves.

After the day local law enforcement had experienced, itd be understandable  laudable, even  if they were taking a moment to breathe, feel warm sunshine on their faces and decompress little.

The reminders of the job theyd taken  hours of tedium interrupted by sudden spikes of adrenaline and occasional life-and-death, split-second decisions  had been plainly laid out for all to see.

Questions remain

Just hours before, shortly after 2 a.m., one of their colleagues had suffered cuts to his face caused by bullets fired at him by a 29-year-old Alexander Parks Holland at the end of an intense car chase on nearby U.S. 421.

The injured deputy, two others with the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office and two patrol officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department had all been placed on routine administrative duty after Holland was killed in a fusillade  their only recourse after a distressed young man crawled out of a wrecked Toyota Tacoma with an upraised rifle.

It all began when a deputy sheriff, still unnamed, pulled in behind the Tacoma shortly after 2 a.m. and hit the blue lights as the pickups driver was pulling onto U.S. 421 South from Lewisville-Clemmons Road.

But instead of pulling over, Holland hit the gas.

The chase took all of about 9 minutes to reach its conclusion as other deputies, Winston-Salem police and state troopers responded. The driver, authorities said later, shot at his pursuers.

Using what law-enforcement euphemistically calls a pursuit intervention technique  others might call it a calculated crash  a deputy flipped the Tacoma before Holland was killed.

Questions, obviously, remain.

What caused the deputy to initiate the stop? What was going through Hollands head? What kind of rifle did he fire and where did he get it?

Some have easy answers that need to come out sooner rather than later. Other answers will take longer to find or may be known only to a dead man.

In the aftermath, the sheriffs office issued a statement which mentioned that other than a deputy who was treated for cuts, all other law-enforcement officers were physically unharmed.

The key phrase being physically unharmed. Only those directly involved, their families, a few close friends and commanders will know about other potential injuries including post-traumatic stress.

Different pressures

One suspects the events of the day  and the aftermath  were a leading topic of conversation among the scrum of deputies taking a moment Monday morning.

Its why I felt the urge to turn into the Tractor Supply parking lot  to see and offer a word of support.

You guys OK? That was a hell of a thing this morning, I asked, not expecting much by way of an answer.

Generally speaking, on-duty cops are professional and polite, but guarded.

Yes, sir, Were good, the deputy with the stripes answered. Another flashed a thumbs up in confirming that his colleagues involved in the mornings incident were OK, too.

Theirs is a difficult job, and as much as some might still think cops are two-dimensional automatons, theyre not.

One set of stressors were on public display early Monday morning on U.S. 421. Another less visible sort manifested itself in the form of a trial date in a federal civil lawsuit filed by the mother of 18-year-old man Fred Cox against a Davidson County deputy who shot him to death in November 2020.

In the aftermath, authorities said that rival gangs had been shooting at each other after a funeral. Cox, investigators said, was seen with a gun and killed by deputy Michael Shane Hill.

An autopsy showed that Cox had no gunshot residue on his hands. Hill attended the funeral in plain clothes in an attempt to find witnesses to an earlier shooting.

Prosecutors reviewed the findings and declined to file criminal charges. The civil lawsuit is scheduled to begin in early December.

The takeaway from all of this is that police work is dangerous and snap decisions are subject to second-guessing and civil liability.

Debate policy  the need for more community mental-health resources, treating drug addiction as a disease rather than a cause for war, and holding to account officers who step outside laws theyve sworn to uphold  all you wish. Its fair.

But no matter how you feel about police and policing, remember that the working cops, ones in uniform sweating under heavy body armor and detectives crawling out of bed to investigate murder, feel the pressure more personally than the brass or those who make policy.

Is it any wonder that so many law-enforcement jobs are unfilled?
A South Carolina man who allegedly fired on law enforcement officers during and after a chase on U.S. 421 near Peace Haven Road was fatally shot by officers on Monday, authorities said.

A Forsyth County Sheriffs deputy received cuts to his face when his patrol vehicle window was shattered by gunfire, but the deputy did not receive life-threatening wounds. No other people were injured.

The dead man was identified as Alexander Parks Holland, 29, of Charleston, S.C.

The chase began shortly after 2 a.m. when a Forsyth County deputy tried to stop a Toyota Tacoma on Lewisville-Clemmons Road as the driver was pulling onto U.S. 421 southbound toward Winston-Salem, authorities said.

The sheriffs office said the deputy tried to stop the Tacoma because of a motor vehicle violation.

During the short chase that followed, the driver fired at deputies from the vehicle he was driving, the sheriffs office said. Officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department and troopers with the N.C. Highway Patrol responded as well.

Multiple patrol vehicles, including one of the police departments vehicles, were struck by gunfire during the chase.

During the chase, the Tacoma apparently exited U.S. 421 onto Peace Haven Road, and then turned onto the ramp leading to northbound U.S. 421, where the Tacoma crashed and rolled over.

The chase ended about 2:21 a.m., Winston-Salem Police said, when the sheriffs deputies used a pursuit intervention technique that caused the Tacoma to crash. Police said that after the crash, the Tacoma driver got out and was holding a rifle. The sheriffs office said the Tacoma driver continued to shoot at deputies, who returned fire.

Authorities said that after Holland was shot  he also received injuries from the crash  law enforcement officers tried life-saving measures until emergency medical services personnel arrived. Holland died on the scene, authorities said.

U.S. 421 northbound at Peace Haven Road was closed until shortly after noon on Monday.

The deputy injured by broken windshield glass was treated at a local hospital and released. The sheriffs office did not release the name of the injured deputy, nor did it name three deputies who were involved in the shooting and who are now on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Online court records from Charleston show that Holland was actually scheduled to appear in court there on Monday, in connection with driving under the influence and simple possession of marijuana. Holland was also scheduled to appear in court on March 31 in connection with a charge of disobeying a lawful order and another marijuana charge.

The simple possession charge was made against Holland by Charleston city police on Sept. 19, 2021, when Holland was also charged with the unlawful carrying of a pistol, and with the count of disobeying a lawful order. Hollands bond was set at $26,080, mostly because of the gun charge, which came with a bond amount of $25,000.

Holland appears to have made bail on Sept. 21 or 22, 2021. The court record shows a dismissal in the gun case that was filed Oct. 26, 2022. An order for the forfeiture of a weapon was made in the case on Nov. 8, 2022.

In the aftermath of Mondays shooting, the State Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation of the death of the suspect, which is also standard procedure.

Police said two of its officers are on administrative duty as they fired their weapons during the incident. The officers were identified as J.C. Lancaster, a five-year veteran of the police force, and A.J. Perrell, a four-year veteran.

Police officials said its own investigators would be probing the assault on city police officers and that an administrative investigation would be carried out by the police professional standards division.

Kimbrough released a statement expressing condolences to the family and friends of Holland. The sheriff said the incident is a reminder of the danger that law enforcement officers encounter every day.

Because of our love and our commitment to the community, you can rest assured that we are proud to serve and protect, and will continue to do so, Kimbrough said. All that we ask in return is your continued prayers and support.

The last time a Forsyth County sheriffs deputy was involved in an officer-involved shooting was on March 24, 2020.

That afternoon, deputies shot Christopher Joel Mock, 45, following a car chase that ended at a convenience store on Lewisville-Clemmons Road. Mock died in the emergency room at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital.

In that case, deputies were attempting to stop a Dodge pickup truck that matched the description of a vehicle officers were searching in a missing persons case.

Winston-Salem police officers later discovered the body of Toni Renee Handy, who had been reported missing, inside her home on Kimball Lane.
Happy Tuesday. Five more days til we get our evening sunshine back.

Three deputies stood in a tight circle outside their patrol cars late Monday morning.

Theyd backed into parking spots in front of a new Tractor Supply in Clemmons and were talking among themselves quietly while still paying close attention to radios mounted on their body armor.

Two looked to be nearer their starting dates than filing retirement papers. The third, older with flecks of gray in his hair, wore stripes on his sleeves.

After the day local law enforcement had experienced, itd be understandable - laudable, even - if they were taking a moment to breathe, feel the sunshine on their faces and decompress.

Just hours before, one of their colleagues had suffered cuts to his face caused by bullets fired at him by a 29-year-old South Carolina man named Alexander Parks Holland at the end of an intense 11-minute car chase on nearby U.S. 421.

The injured deputy, two others with the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office and two patrol officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department had all been placed on routine administrative duty after Holland was killed in a fusillade of return fire - their only recourse after an obviously distressed young man crawled out of a wrecked Toyota Tacoma.

All other law-enforcement officers were physically unharmed during this incident, reads a formal statement prepared by the sheriffs office.

The key phrase being physically unharmed. Obviously.

One suspects that must have been a leading topic of conversation among the deputies taking a moment Monday morning; its why I felt the urge to stop.

You guys OK? That was a hell of a thing this morning, I asked, not expecting much by way of an answer.

Generally speaking, on-duty cops are professional and polite, but guarded and projecting stoicism even if their stomachs are churning.

Yes sir, Were good, the deputy with the stripes answered. Another flashed a thumbs up in confirming that his colleagues involved in the mornings incident were OK, too.

The takeaway?

Debate policy - adding community mental-health resources, treating drug addiction as a treatable disease rather than a war, and holding to account officers who step outside laws theyve sworn to uphold - all you wish.

But no matter how you feel about police and policing, remember that the working cops, the ones in uniform sweating under heavy body armor and the ones crawling out of bed to investigate murders, are human beings, too.

Legislative assistance?

SUMMERFIELD - Battles over zoning and growth are nothing new. Nothing fires up and unites neighborhoods like proposed change.

A case in point, with a very interesting twist well worth watching, is brewing in burgeoning western Guilford County.

Fresh off applying what members likely felt the coup-de-grace to a proposed 1,000-acre development, the Summerfield Village Council held an emergency meeting over the weekend to plan for an unexpected twist.

They fear the developer of the Villages of Summerfield Farms, a sprawling community of apartments, townhouses, cottages, traditional houses, restaurants and small stores, might ask the Legislature to de-annex his property from the village proper so that he can proceed.

And worse, that the plan might gain traction in Raleigh and could take a huge chunk of land.

I don't know if the plans submitted by a local developer should or should not be approved by the local board," said Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger of neighboring Rockingham County in a statement Monday.

What I do know is the Triad is attracting billions of dollars in new economic development, and as our area continues to grow, additional housing is urgently needed so the nurses, teachers, first responders and construction workers our area relies on can live in the communities they serve.

Fights over affordable housing, rental property and expansion of infrastructure are nothing new. The acronym NIMBY - Not In My Backyard - is known to every neighborhood association and commercial developer.

But what is somewhat novel is asking for legislative intervention in what are traditionally local matters.

Mountains and sea

WINSTON-SALEM - Take it for whats it worth - an 8-second click and a grin, nothing more.

The latest in a conga line of research has it that Winston-Salem, the Camel City, is the 114th happiest place to live in these United States.

An outfit called WalletHub, which publishes these sorts of findings constantly, has ranked the 182 largest American cities according to which has the happiest residents. Researchers, per the Website, looked at emotional and physical well-being, income and environment, among other factors.

Raleigh clocked in at Number 22, Charlotte 46th and Durham 71st. Greensboro waded in at Number 130 and Fayetteville 170th.

For whatever reason, Asheville and Wilmington didnt rate. Perhaps the mountains and the sea arent what theyre cracked up to be?
Fluke, a leading provider of safe, rugged, and reliable industrial tools and integrated software, has launched its innovative solar tool, Solar Multifunction Tester 1000 (SMFT-1000), in the Middle East market at Middle East Energy 2023.

Equipped with best-in-class hardware and software integration, the SMFT-1000 streamlines PV installation, commissioning, and maintenance procedures. In addition, the tool also eliminates installation time by up to 20% and documentation time by up to 50%, enabling professionals to manage PV systems efficiently and accurately.

The I-V curve is one of the most common methods of determining how solar modules or solar strings operate in different working areas. The versatile SMFT-1000 enables I-V curve data to be compared instantly to measured data while in the field, displaying pass/fail visuals in real-time on the devices high-definition colour screen for easy detection without the need for a laptop or tablet. The tester can also be used for measurements of open voltage, short circuit or operating current, insulation tests, polarity checks, diode and earth bond testing. In addition, AC/DC power measurements to improve efficiency can be performed on the inverter.

Safe solutions

Zaid Asfour, Regional Sales Manager Middle East at Fluke, said: The introduction of the SMFT-1000 to the Middle East market is a significant development for Fluke, as it confirms the company's commitment to providing cutting-edge safe solutions to its customers in the region. Flukes PV testing tools are designed to operate reliably in extreme environments and are tested to survive errors that can occur in fieldwork, meeting all recommended safety requirements.

With the launch of our all-in-one PV tester, SMFT-1000 in the Middle East, we seek to leverage the increasing potential of the solar energy market. SMFT-1000 enables PV professionals to compile and analyse data as per industry standards, and provide a comprehensive and visual client report, making solar site installation and commissioning testing hassle-free.

Fluke has a strong presence in the Middle East, and the introduction of the SMFT-1000 to the market further strengthens the company's position as a leading provider of electronic test tools and software in the region. The company remains committed to delivering innovative solutions to its customers in the region, and the SMFT-1000 is just one example of this commitment.

Visitors to Flukes stand at MEE 2023, which get under way on March 7, will get an opportunity to closely observe the demonstration of SMFT -1000 and test the hardwares performance under the guidance of experts.-- TradeArabia News Service
This January and February were the warmest first two months of any year on record in the Triad and much of North Carolina.

The average daily Triad temperature for January and February 2023 was 47.95 degrees, topping the previous mark of 47.5 set in 1949, according to National Weather Service data covering 120 years from a station now housed at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

The PTI statistics are typically used for historical analyses because theyre the longest uninterrupted stretch of climatological data for the region.

Why does record-setting warmth for the first two months of the year matter? A half-dozen North Carolina climate and nature experts offered their thoughts.

Nature confused

For me, its personal, said North Carolina State Climatologist Kathie Dello. As an allergy sufferer, I found I had to start taking daily medicine closer to Valentines Day instead of mid-March, because everything is blooming and flowering so early.

This Februarys average Triad temperature of 50.8 degrees  the second-highest ever recorded  was actually nearly 2 degrees warmer than the normal average for March.

The trees and flowers are confused, Dello added. But these experiences are how we personally feel climate change.

In fact, six of the last seven Februarys in the Triad have been at least 1.5 degrees warmer than the average for the past three decades. So a balmy start this year didnt come out of the blue, especially during a La Nina event when above-normal temperatures are common in the Southeast, noted Assistant State Climatologist and Kernersville native Corey Davis.

However, the magnitude of our recent warm weather was still surprising, he said. We just dont tend to see days in the 80s in the month of February.

This year, a reading of 81 degrees on Feb. 23 was the warmest ever recorded for that date and one of only five February days historically when the temperature reached at least 80 in the Triad. Three of those five examples have been in the last five years (2017, 2018 and 2023).

Those are temperatures more typical of the end of May, so its like our weather skipped an entire season ahead of schedule during those warm days over the past week or two, Davis said. For nature, especially plants, thats like waking up at 4 a.m. when your alarm is set for 7. It disrupted their period of dormancy that they count on during the wintertime to continue maturing, and the big risk now is that those blooms and fruits can be easily damaged if and when our temperatures drop again.

Freeze warning

Despite overall warming, cold snaps will still interrupt stretches of higher temperatures.

During the winter, air masses to our south are getting fairly tropical and reaching us more often, Davis explained. But cold air to our north is still lurking through the spring, and we seem to tap into it at some point in March or early April. That just adds to the confusion for vegetation, and even for some people, like when pollen starts coating our cars while the calendar still says its February.

North Carolina typically experiences freezing temperatures well past the end of March, added Ken Kunkel, a senior scientist at the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies in Asheville.

There is no reason to believe that, just because it has been warm in the first two months of the year, we will not experience freezes into April, he said.

In fact, the average date of the Triads last post-winter freeze over the years is April 3. Nighttime Triad temperatures were forecast to come close, but not reach, freezing Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those few degrees can make a significant difference.

Just one freeze could damage exposed buds and blossoms, which could end up making yards and landscapes less lush and colorful for a season. That could pose a particular risk this year because trees are about three weeks ahead of normal in emerging from dormancy, explained Kelly Oten, assistant professor and extension specialist for forest health at N.C. State University.

Not only are trees flowering earlier, but theyre leafing out earlier and insects are waking up earlier as well, she said.

Bradford pear trees  the onetime Southern landscaping staple turned scourge  are among the ambitious bloomers this year, as are saucer magnolias, ornamental cherries, paperbush and camelias, added Leslie Rose, an N.C. State extension agent in Forsyth County.

A cold snap could also eat into yields for commercial fruit growers.

Fruits such as blueberries  which bring in more than $55 million a year to North Carolina farmers, according to the N.C. State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and are grown on dozens of small farms in the Triad  also are at risk.

As with other fruits, blueberry bushes must go through a dormant period every winter in preparation for producing fruit the following spring and summer. This so-called chilling period is directly related to the temperature.

When the weather warms, if they have gone through a sufficient chilling period, the plants begin to flower and lose their hardiness in the face of freezing temperatures.

North Carolina blueberry growers experienced the worst of that phenomenon in 2017, when extremely warm Februarys in the Southeast essentially fooled nature into thinking it was spring. Fruit trees and plants responded by blooming weeks early. But a March cold snap damaged the just-opened flowers.

Across the entire South, freezing conditions that March led to agricultural losses of more than $1 billion.

We will have to wait and see whether that happens later in the spring, Kunkel, from the Institute for Climate Studies, said of a potential damaging freeze. But the warm weather has certainly increased the risk of such an event.

Warmer winter, hotter summer

Warmer winters do have their advantages of course.

I just came back to my office from eating lunch outdoors, Walt Robinson, a professor and co-director of the Climate Change and Society Program at N.C. State University, said recently. So, like a lot of people, Id be inclined to say, Warm winters, bring em on!

If that seasonal trend didnt pose significant threats, he added.

One warm winter does not prove global warming, but recurring warm winters certainly are consistent with it, Robinson said. Each year is a roll of the dice, but we are loading the dice toward higher temperatures by putting more and more heat trapping gasses into the atmosphere.

Across much of the U.S., including North Carolina, winters are heating up faster than any other season.

On a decade-by-decade basis, the Triads annual average temperature in winter  commonly defined by weather scientists as December, January and February  has increased 4.5 degrees over the past 60 years, according to an analysis of National Weather Service data.

Those averages have climbed consistently in every decade, with the biggest increase  nearly 2 degrees  over the past 10 years.

The trend towards warmer winters will mean ecological shifts over time, Robinson said.

Those shifts will include new species of plants  some of them invasive  in our yards and forests, he explained. Some disease-carrying pests also could end up living through winter, and additional species will move to the area as climate conditions become more welcoming.

And, of course, the global warming that produces warmer winters also makes summers hotter, with increasing risk of heat-related illness, more days when it is just too hot to engage in outdoor activities, increasing cooling costs and more rapid onset of drought  with associated fire risk  during dry spells, Robinson added.

But, more immediately, record warmth in the first two months of this year is significant, noted Reide Corbett, dean and executive director of Integrated Coastal Programs at East Carolina States Coastal Studies Institute.

That is cause for some concern, or at least pause to consider what that means in the grand scheme of changes that are taking place on longer timescales, Corbett said.

While winter temperatures are rising fastest, continued year-round warming is expected, according to the North Carolina Climate Science Report, a 2020 assessment of past and projected changes authored by 15 North Carolina climate scientists, including Corbett, Robinson, Kunkel and Dello, the state climatologist.

We will certainly see more warmer-than-usual days and months in the years to come, Corbett added. North Carolina has a roadmap of that change (through the North Carolina Climate Science Report). Now its time to develop the map of how we respond.

Conditions so far this year  extremely warm and without any measurable snowfall in the Triad, which has averaged more than 7 inches of annual accumulation in this century  offer a preview of winters to come.

By the end of the century, snowfall will become rare except in mountain areas in the western part of the state, the Climate Science Report projects.

North Carolina is warming, and were stacking the deck with more warmer-than-normal Februarys than we are cooler ones, Dello said. And for the snow lovers, its been a real drag these past few years.

Close Bradford pear trees  the onetime Southern landscaping staple turned scourge  are in peak bloom in the Regent Village neighborhood off Peace Haven Road. Bradford pear trees are in peak bloom in the Regent Village neighborhood off Peace Haven Road, March 6, 2023. A cherry tree are blooming in Miller Park. A cherry tree is peak bloom in Miller Park, March 3, 2023. A Bradford pear tree is peak bloom, March 3, 2023. A forsythia bush along Peters Creek Parkway is peak bloom, March 3, 2023. Forsythia is blooming. A forsythia bush along Peters Creek Parkway is peak bloom, March 3, 2023. PHOTOS: Blooms of Spring Bradford pear trees  the onetime Southern landscaping staple turned scourge  are in peak bloom in the Regent Village neighborhood off Peace Haven Road. Bradford pear trees are in peak bloom in the Regent Village neighborhood off Peace Haven Road, March 6, 2023. A cherry tree are blooming in Miller Park. A cherry tree is peak bloom in Miller Park, March 3, 2023. A Bradford pear tree is peak bloom, March 3, 2023. A forsythia bush along Peters Creek Parkway is peak bloom, March 3, 2023. Forsythia is blooming. A forsythia bush along Peters Creek Parkway is peak bloom, March 3, 2023.
A Lincoln Police officer shocked a 27-year-old man with a Taser on Monday after the man allegedly threatened three teenage girls with a pocket knife in central Lincoln.

Police were called at about 4 p.m. to the area near 12th and F streets, where Trevor Wilson had threatened three girls with an open blade, Lincoln Police Sgt. Chris Vollmer said.

As officers arrived, Wilson fled on foot toward a nearby alley as an officer, who Vollmer did not identify, gave chase, the sergeant said.

The officer caught up with Wilson, who then shoved the officer and started to run again.

The officer then shocked Wilson with his Taser and restrained him until help arrived.

Wilson was taken to a local hospital and medically cleared before police arrested him on suspicion of terroristic threats and resisting arrest.

While police interviewed witnesses in the area, they encountered another man threatening neighbors with a knife, according to court filings.

Joseph Welsh, 39, pointed a knife toward two men and told them to mind their business as officers were canvassing the area, investigating the previous threat, Lincoln Police Officer Lee Dalhgren said in the affidavit for Welsh's arrest.

Police heard the commotion from around the corner of 1202 F St. and arrested Welsh at the scene. Prosecutors charged him Tuesday with two counts of terroristic threats.

Both men were later taken to the Lancaster County Jail.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska Dangerous Cities in Nebraska 6. South Sioux City 5. Scottsbluff 4. North Platte 3. Lincoln 2. Grand Island 1. Omaha A note about the numbers
The Nebraska State Patrol on Monday identified a 31-year-old Michigan man as the victim of last week's fatal shooting near Hartington.

The investigation began after the Cedar County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call regarding a shooting March 1. They responded to a tower construction site 2 miles north of Hartington and found Israel Matos-Colon of Fowlerville, Michigan, with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the State Patrol.

Several crew members working on the tower were present at the time of the shooting and were attempting life-saving measures when law enforcement arrived.

Matos-Colon was transported to a hospital in Yankton, South Dakota, where he later died from his injuries.

Investigators said they believe the shooting occurred during a workplace argument between Matos-Colon and 20-year-old David Phillips, of Kenner, Louisiana.

Phillips was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, possession of a stolen firearm and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. He was lodged in the Cedar County Jail.

The sheriffs office requested that the State Patrol conduct the homicide investigation.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
Haymarket business owners and tenants, who say their businesses are just recovering from the impact of the pandemic, told the Lincoln City Council on Monday that construction of a proposed high-rise at the northwest corner of Ninth and P streets would be economically devastating.

Those opponents urged the council to deny or delay approval of a redevelopment agreement for the 22-story mixed-use building they said is the wrong project for that spot  where Melichars 66 gas station has been for years.

Russ Bayer, who owns condos in the Haymarket and is a former planning commission member, said if its such a good project it will happen in a better location.

If you vote no, if its such a great project and so good for Lincoln, if Lincoln Bold decides not to build someplace else, someone else will, he said.

Steve Glenn, one of the developers of the Lincoln Bold project, painted a different picture, saying the project will be a striking addition to Lincolns skyline that will attract people from the high-tech centers on the coasts to what developers believe will be the most beautiful building between Chicago and Denver.

I think people in Lincoln will be very proud of this project and I think well be able to attract tremendous people to our community, Glenn said.

But opponent after opponent argued that the project would be detrimental.

A significant concern included a lack of notice of the project, with several Haymarket business owners saying they found out about it in the newspaper. The fact that no one showed up to testify at a Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission hearing is evidence that the city did not adequately notify those most affected, they said.

Give us a seat at the table, said Joel Schossow, who owns McKinneys Pub. We need to have a voice.

They also argued that the project would have a negative effect on already limited parking both during and after construction; that it is inappropriate to use $24.1 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) to subsidize luxury apartments and condos; and that the modern building doesnt fit with the historic character of the Haymarket.

Opponents filled the council chamber at a public hearing on a redevelopment agreement for the 254-foot high-rise that would include 36,000 square feet of office space, 70 luxury apartment units and 33 condos. The high-rise would become the second-tallest building in the city, surpassing the Lied Place Residences at 11th and Q streets by 6 inches.

The council gave its initial approval in December, when it found the project conformed with the comprehensive plan. The redevelopment agreement, which the council will vote on March 13, sets out the parameters for a record $24.1 million in TIF.

TIF would divert taxes paid on the improved property for 20 years to pay for infrastructure improvements and some up-front costs of the project, which includes a $90.8 million private investment.

DaNay Kalkowski, the attorney representing the developers, said the use of TIF means the city gets input on the project, which is a benefit to the community. As a result, developers have made several design changes, $3.2 million of the TIF will go directly to streetscape and right-of-way improvements and developers will contribute $721,000 to the citys affordable housing efforts.

Opponents said subsidizing luxury apartments and condos is not an appropriate use of TIF.

How is deferring $1.9 million for the next 20 years good for taxpayers? asked Mike Martin, a business owner in the Haymarket.

Zoning downtown does not require that businesses provide their own parking but Haymarket business owners say the number of residential buildings added downtown in recent years has  and will  add considerable parking demand.

But city officials presented the council with parking numbers that show parking usage in the Haymarket has declined significantly since the pandemic, as more people continue to work remotely.

In most garages, occupancy doesn't exceed 50%, said Urban Development Director Dan Marvin.

The redevelopment agreement includes allowing the developer to lease up to 200 parking stalls at the Market Place parking garage at 925 Q St., and to make up to 30 parking stalls available to the developer for valet parking during construction. Occupancy in that garage at night is about 15%, Marvin said.

The Downtown Lincoln Association and Lincoln Haymarket Development Corp. have supported the project, and DLA President and CEO Todd Ogden said theyre doing all they can to mitigate the negative effects, especially parking.

Much of the testimony Monday was about how the disruption during three years of construction  particularly the loss of parking  would hurt surrounding businesses.

A group calling itself Save the Historic Haymarket, which represents 50 Haymarket businesses, estimates businesses would lose $14 million in revenue, as well as a loss in sales and occupation tax revenue to the community.

The developers have said theyd offer free valet parking for patrons of businesses along P Street during construction, and have committed $250,000 to the effort.

But Kevin Witcher, who owns Screamers, said valet parking wont make a difference because if patrons think traffic congestion and parking is an issue, theyll just stay away.

This feels like a second wave of COVID, he said. It will have a similar effect.

He also disagreed that the luxury high-rise would attract people from the coasts. Instead, he said, they will be owned by wealthy people in other parts of Nebraska so they have a nice place to stay during Husker gamedays.

Other business owners recalled how redoing the nearby Harris Overpass on O Street years earlier hurt their businesses and it wasnt even directly in the Haymarket.

People avoided the Haymarket and we suffered tremendously, said Melinda Martinson, who owns Crescent Moon Coffee. She said she nearly lost her business that year.

Schossow, McKinneys Pub owner, said one of the biggest problems with construction is that it will prevent his and other businesses from holding annual special events.

Theres a chance over the next three years we wont be able to do those events, he said. Thats part of our brand. Weve invested a lot and thats a lot of lost revenue over those years.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
As the weather warms up and the snow melts, more and more bicycles are making their way onto the streets of Lincoln.

The Lincoln Bike Kitchen is to thank for many of them.

In 2022, it donated almost 1,000 bikes to Lincoln area schools, and has already started giving away bikes in 2023.

But there's one problem: it's running low.

So, it's asking for help from the community. Clayton Streich, a member of the Bike Kitchen board, says the shortage is new for him.

"I've been here for seven years," he said. "This is the first time ever that we're this low on inventory."

Streich is asking Lincoln residents to consider donating their old bikes.

In January, the Bike Kitchen gave 19 bikes to McPhee Elementary School students, thanks to the attention of physical education teacher Alex Hyde.

"He knows every single kid, and learns about the ones in need," Streich said.

Schools can request bikes from the Bike Kitchen, and Streich says Hyde has ordered bikes for students in nearly every grade.

Organizations such as Nebraska DEVO, which teaches kids about mountain biking, and the Streets Alive! movement festival, which celebrates fitness across the United States, have received donations as well.

Streich says the group also takes individual requests, and has shared more than 100 bikes that way.

The organization keeps bikes rolling thanks to the help of volunteer mechanics who repair bikes.

There are three different shifts that volunteers can work on bikes, and the volunteers are from all walks of life.

Streich says retirees enjoy working the Monday morning shift, and mechanical engineering students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln come in on Thursday nights.

Volunteers were plentiful this winter, and the surplus in labor eventually led to the current situation.

"We usually have stacks on stacks of bikes," Streich said.

Nonetheless, he says volunteers are always welcome, especially as donations pick up this spring.

The Bike Kitchen is at 1635 S. First St. and accepts donations 9-11 a.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Mondays, and 5:30-7 p.m. Thursdays.

Top Journal Star photos for March 2023
The Legislature inched its way forward Tuesday toward a showdown vote on a bill to provide state income tax credits for donations to fund scholarships to attend parochial schools in Nebraska with the outcome still in doubt.

A motion to invoke cloture and end debate on LB753, authored by Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and supported by Gov. Jim Pillen, would be in order Wednesday after completion of eight hours of first-round debate, and it would need at least 33 votes to clear a path for advancement to second-stage consideration.

The bill has 31 sponsors and at least one more identified supporter, but one of the sponsors, Sen. Raymond Aguilar of Grand Island, might not be able to attend Wednesday's session because of scheduled surgery.

While first-year tax credits would be capped at $25 million, leading to an accompanying reduction in state revenue, they would rise to a projected $39 million by fiscal 2026-27.

"Charity is supposed to be a gift," Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington said during debate Tuesday. "You give without expecting a return," she said in opposing the bill.

Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, who is attempting to amend the measure, said the proposed scholarships should be limited to children in need as measured by low family income.

"If you think private schools would be better, you should support them without tax benefits," Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha argued.

Hunt has proposed an amendment that would prohibit private schools from discriminating against students based on gender identification.

Linehan said the bill would help provide an education for needy children who struggle in the public school environment.

Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney, both of whom represent Black neighborhoods in North Omaha, strongly supported the bill.

"This would help Black kids, poor kids, marginalized kids (who) are historically uneducated in the public school system," McKinney said.

"I don't know why people wouldn't want to help these kids," Linehan said.

Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, who identified herself as "a parent, a teacher and a legislator," said she does not support the bill even though she has enrolled her own children in parochial schools.

Walz said she does not agree with the philosophy that "if you give something, you should get something in return."

And, she cautioned, "this is going to open the door to charter schools" in Nebraska, which opponents have said result in more racially and economically segregated schools.

Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha said "it's not clear whether my son could attend a parochial school  because he has two dads, or if my husband and I could be allowed on campus."

Later, on Twitter, Fredrickson wrote: "I said it on the floor and I'll say it again: I'm not convinced this is a 'choice' for everyone."

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023
RACINE  The man accused of kidnapping and killing a mother of six and attempting to kill his former partner was in Racine County Circuit Court on Monday where a trial date was set.

Terry L. Jackson, 42, will face a jury Oct. 23 on a long list of felonies that includes first-degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide with domestic abuse assessments relating to multiple attacks on his former partner and her friend, Brittany Booker.

Booker, 30, was found dead in her car April 24, 2022, with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Booker reportedly had been trying to help her friend out of an abusive relationship with Jackson.

In court, Jackson said he wanted to represent himself at trial.

His counsel, Elizabeth Angove and Addison Kuhn, both of the Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office, said they would file to withdraw from the case.

However, whether Jackson is allowed to represent himself will be determined at a separate hearing.

If the court denies his request and defense attorneys must be found to represent him, the case could be delayed for a substantial amount of time because of an ongoing shortage of defense attorneys.

Case history

The charges against Jackson stem from three separate allegations of violence against his former partner and Booker.

The first allegation is in connection to an attack on Jacksons former girlfriend that happened Feb. 21, 2022, that left the woman in the hospital with significant injuries.

On Feb. 27, 2022, the woman attempted to return to her former residence, the one she shared with Jackson, to retrieve some belongings. Booker and her 2-year-old daughter accompanied the woman.

The womans belongings were not in the residence.

Believing Jackson to be out of town, the woman called and asked him where her belongings were, according to the criminal complaint.

However, Booker became concerned that Jackson might, in fact, still be in the area. She convinced her friend that they needed to leave, but Jackson allegedly arrived at the residence armed with a hammer and is accused of attacking the woman.

Booker told investigators that she had her toddler in her arms and was trying to call 911 when Jackson approached her and began striking her with the hammer in the face and head after saying Im going to kill you.

The women were able to escape and warrants were issued for Jacksons arrest following the attacks.

On April 24, 2022, one of Bookers children woke up and found his mother was gone. There was blood on the bed and the pajamas of the toddler who was sleeping with her.

Surveillance video showed a man leading Booker from the house about 5:30 a.m.

Booker was later found deceased from a single gunshot wound to the head. She also had a serious injury to her forehead.

Jackson is in custody at the Racine County Jail. His bail was set at $10 million.

In Photos and Video: A vigil calling for an end to the violence after killing of Brittany Booker
RACINE  When Dirk and Graciela Baldwin learned about an event taking place Monday, they had three reasons to go: the soup, the bowls and the cause.

The 26th annual Empty Bowls event at Festival Hall, 5 Fifth St., attracted hundreds of people who selected handmade bowls, participated in a silent auction and enjoyed some soup.

It was a nice opportunity to eat good soup, get a bowl, and help contribute to the food hunger, Dirk Baldwin said.

About 1,500 bowls were made by local artists and Racine Unified School District teachers and students. Students at Horlick High School crafted 230 bowls.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Racine County Food Bank and Homeless Assistance Leadership Organization, area organizations that work to combat hunger and assist with homelessness services.

Members of the Racine Fire Department were in charge of reheating the soup that was kept in the festival hall freezer. The soup came in containers of all sizes, including some gallon buckets.

Twelve soups were on the line at a time and were replaced once they ran out.

From enchilada to chicken pot pie to Navy bean, the rotating roster of soup was donated by nearly 70 vendors, from cooks to restaurants to local businesses and grocery stores, with an estimated 325 gallons being prepared for hungry donors.

Heidi Fannin, co-chair of the Empty Bowls Committee, said she picked up two buckets of soup Monday morning from Captain Johns Sammys and Such, 1240 N. Main St. When she arrived at Festival Hall, she received help unloading from RFD members.

Its such a collective, collaborative, amazing event, Fannin said. In a world full of craziness, it shows me such kindness  how people are so kind in our community. It brings me to tears how giving our community is, it really does.

If there is any soup left over, it will be donated so none will go to waste.

Jim Deibler, owner of Sew and Save of Racine, 3701 Durand Ave., was one of more than 100 volunteers who spent the day serving soup and handing out bread.

Deibler said his favorite thing about helping was seeing some of his frequent customers and being able to talk to them as he poured them a warm ladleful of soup.

Its fun to get out of work for a little bit and have some fun, Deibler said.

Jonathan Delagrave, Racine County executive, has served soup at the event for about a decade, usually taking on both lunch and dinner duties.

Delagrave said that he likes the sense of community the event brings and the overall feeling in the room.

Its just the community coming together, he said. Not every event gets that vibe, and this one for sure does. Its one of my favorite ones I get to do every year.

Dirk and Graciela Baldwin are big fans of soup and were surprised by the amount provided at the event.

So that means we have to stay longer, Dirk said.

Eight photos and a video of the Empty Bowls event at Festival Hall Picking out a bowl An executive bowl Lunch with grandpa Empty Bowls 2023 Jim Deibler A look at some of the bowls on display at Festival Halls Empty Bowls event The hand off Eating away Nick Ramsey
Kenosha County is a step closer to banning its employees from interacting with a popular social media app on county-owned devices. It also seeks to block access for those already using or trying to download it while accessing free, public Wi-Fi the county offers.

The Finance and Administration Committee voted 6-0 to approve a resolution Monday night that bans TikTok, the video-sharing mobile application, which logged more than 94 million users in the U.S. as of last year.

The app is owned by ByteDance Ltd., which also has a subsidiary partially owned by the Chinese Communist Party, according to the resolution. The ban would not affect app users who are interacting with it on their own data plans or private mobile networks. County employees and anyone else using a non-county network to access the internet would not be blocked.

Supervisors Brian Bashaw, Erin Decker, William Grady, John Poole, Tim Stocker and Terry Rose, the committee chair, voted in favor of the resolution. Supervisor David Geertsen was absent.

The proposed policy aims to thwart the apps ability to harvest large amounts of data that often includes when, where and how users conduct activities on the internet.

This resolution is asking that the (countys information technology) department  that we dont allow TikTok on any of our county devices, said Supervisor Erin Decker, a co-sponsor of the resolution. And, that we recommend our employees not have them on their personal devices that have access to county servers.

Law enforcement exception

The one exception to the proposed policy would be law enforcement officers who conduct sanctioned criminal investigations, according to the resolution.

The countys Chief Information Officer Shawn Smith said while its not widely distributed among employees, currently they can download TikTok, as well as any other social media app, including Facebook, Instagram and others.

We can evaluate if someone has installed it on a county device, said Smith. Its not something that you install on a computer. That would just be a website. If you installed it on a phone, on a county-issued phone, we would be able be able to see it. We wouldnt see it if it was on a personally owned device.

Kenosha County Sheriffs Department Chief Deputy Justin Miller said investigators use TikTok, which has mapping capabilities similar to Snapchat, another social media app, which shows hotspots.

Our detective bureau does use it or has used it. If they dont have it, its just taking a tool away from them. But, they can still make do without it, he said.

Supervisor William Grady wondered whether law enforcements use of the app would allow backdoor access into the countys database.

Generally speaking, the Sheriffs Department staff arent using their combination device as a personal device, Smith said. If its for investigation purposes, those devices tend to be fairly restricted because they dont want to put anything personal on there. They know what theyre doing. Theyre not going to put the county or themselves at risk.

The new policy would still need to go before the entire County Board for consideration and action before it could take effect.

D.A.R.E. oversight on hold

In other business, the Finance Committee voted 5-1 to table discussions on a resolution that calls for creating a new board of directors for the Sheriffs Departments D.A.R.E. program. Decker, a co-sponsor to the proposal, cast the dissenting vote.

The proposal, which was approved by the Judiciary and Law Committee on Feb. 1, also contained a directive that called for department to seek approval from the committee if it intended to spend D.A.R.E. program funding on any alternate use or expenditure for beneficial collaborations or supportive activities.

The proposal was pulled from the County Board agenda last month by Board Chairman Gabe Nudo who was concerned that the resolution had not gone through the appropriate committee process, which would include the Finance Committee, before being taken up by the full board.
The worlds first Metaverse Discovery Day will take place at in Riyadh on June 8, 2023, and will welcome a line-up of Metaverse experts from California, New York, Helsinki, Berlin, Cairo, Edinburgh, Dubai and Seoul.

Metaverse Discovery Day 2023 will serve as a catalyst for the kingdoms leap into the Metaverse across key sectors shaping the Vision 2030 agenda including Healthcare, Sustainability, Tourism & Leisure, Smart Cities, Construction and Development, Finance, Government, and Retail.

It is the only dedicated event that will inform and empower attendees with the pertinent knowledge to unlock opportunities and potential of their organisations within the Metaverse, to provide unique and ground-breaking experiences to customers and other stakeholders.

The inaugural edition of Metaverse Discovery Day has been jointly organised by TRACCS, the Mena regions largest independent communications consultancy, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, and V7 Events, a leading events management company behind the delivery of some of the Middle Easts most iconic events.-- TradeArabia News Service
RAYMOND  Racine County Sheriffs Office deputies saved a man and a dog who were stranded in icy water over the weekend.

Deputies and members of Raymond Fire and Rescue arrived at a residence on Three Mile Road in the Village of Raymond on Sunday after a report that a 58-year-old man had fallen through the ice on a large pond, according to a news release from the RCSO.

Responders were told that the man was about 50 feet off the shore and had been trying to rescue a dog named Bo, who had fallen through the ice chasing geese.

By the time responders arrived, the man and Bo had been in the frigid water for more than 10 minutes.

Deputies and a Wisconsin state trooper deployed a life safety throw rope, a device included in all RCSO patrol vehicles, to help in the rescues.

The rope was used to drag the man and Bo through the ice and toward the shore.

Two RSCO investigators who also are members of the Racine Sheriffs Dive Team pulled the man out of the water and onto the shore.

Fire and Rescue took the man to a local hospital for treatment of lacerations and hypothermia evaluation.

Bo was helped out of the water and put in a warm vehicle.

He appeared to be OK after warming up, licking deputies and wanting attention. Both the man and Bo are expected to make a full recovery.

Upon further investigation, it was determined that Bo belongs to the mans elderly neighbor.

The man fell through the ice trying to help Bo and another dog, which managed to pull itself out of the water before deputies arrived.

Five photos of ice sculptures at the 2023 Chili Ice Walk Chainsaw Birds of a feather Bonsai 'Let's hope it turns out to look like a bunny' Working together
ROCHESTER  A resident with years of experience in local government has become the newest member of the Rochester Village Board.

Lori Peternell of 404 Paul St. has been selected to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of longtime trustee Chris Bennett.

Peternell was selected from among four applicants to complete Bennetts two-year term, which continues until April 2024.

The other applicants were Russell Kumbler, Angie Sterling and Jack Trautman.

The remaining members of the seven-member Village Board voted Feb. 27 to appoint Peternell to the post. Village trustees serve two years at a salary of $4,200 a year, plus $25 a meeting.

Peternell, who has lived in Rochester for 26 years, works as the municipal treasurer for the Village of Williams Bay in Walworth County. She previously held a similar position with the Village of Waterford for 10 years.

Municipal treasurer is a non-elected government staff position that involves helping to manage a communitys finances.

Peternell said her years of work in village government gives her a familiarity that will help her become a productive member of the Village Board.

Im just going to be on the other side of it now, she said.

Peternell is expected to be sworn into office at the next board meeting, scheduled for March 13.

Bennett stepped down in November during his seventh term, because of time constraints related to his job as neighborhood services director for the City of Whitewater.

Village President Ed Chart said the process took a few months because officials wanted to attract a good batch of applicants.

We had a good group to select from, he said.

Chart said Peternell was particularly well-qualified because of her previous and current work in village government. Her experience with municipal finance could prove helpful during Rochesters budget process, he said.

She brings knowledge, he said.

Peternell said she hopes to work on trying to bring more state funding into the village so local taxpayers will face fewer referendums to raise property taxes.

In her application to the Village Board, she wrote about her strong affection for Rochester and her desire to serve.

Rochester isnt only the place Ive called home for over 26 years, but is also a village where we have raised our family, she wrote. After over two decades of this village serving my family and me, it is my desire to now pay it forward.

IN PHOTOS: Rochester Day In The Country A Day in the Country Emily Young Burlington Gaby's on Main Mya Puls Appleton Nyah Henningfeld Yorkville KR Bluegrass Crowd Reagan and Rylee Cartwright KR Bluegrass performing Margaret Hurley Tosa Chicago Police Donna Hanekamp Burlington Bustling on Main Olivia Conklin Elkhorn Jim Chocola Mike Serpe Davey Gabby Malchine Davey 2 Mya Puls Appleton
A speech therapist said Bob Nichols, who had few teeth, trouble swallowing and dementia, should be closely supervised while eating.

His daughter said he should never be left unattended at meals.

But at The Bay at Belmont Health and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home on Madisons East Side, Nichols slumped over in his wheelchair, turned blue and died in the dining room at dinner time on Aug. 15, 2018. The cause of death: choking on food.

I had warned them, said Kristi Kading, daughter of Nichols, 90, who was deaf from childhood. I tried so hard to get them to take care of my dad. But every time we had a meeting, there was no follow-through.

Belmont had the most regulatory violations of any nursing home in Wisconsin over the past four years, according to a database by ProPublica, a nonprofit public interest newsroom. The facility also had the most serious violations, known as immediate jeopardy citations, with eight of its 13 coming in September following new ownership early last year.

Read more:

Belmont and Middleton Village Nursing and Rehab in Middleton, which had numerous violations and six immediate jeopardy citations, are among 12 of the states 342 nursing homes on federal lists of the countrys worst-performing facilities.

Waunakee Manor Health Care Center was added to one of the lists in February after receiving two immediate jeopardy citations in November.

President Joe Bidens administration said last year it would increase scrutiny of facilities on the government lists, known as the Special Focus Facility program.

It is surprising Belmont is still open, given its history of problems, said Matthew Boller, a Madison attorney who sued the facility on Kading's behalf over her fathers death, resulting in an undisclosed settlement.

It is so seemingly unbelievable that you could choke to death in the dining room, at dinner, Boller said. For loved ones of nursing home residents, its a cautionary tale that you cant be too careful, he said.

Patricia Blum, 68, was living at Belmont when she started to have abdominal pain. In September 2021, her nurse practitioner ordered a CT scan to check for kidney stones. Belmont failed to get Blum to the appointment in October 2021, according to an inspection report and Blums medical records.

In November 2021, Blums pain got worse. She was taken to the emergency room at UW Hospital, where doctors discovered a large kidney stone and performed emergency surgery. Blum died a week later from a widespread infection related to the kidney stone.

If the scan had been done when scheduled, the surgery could have been done earlier and the deadly infection could have been prevented, the nurse practitioner told inspectors.

It is inexcusable neglect, said Boller, who also negotiated an undisclosed settlement with Belmont for Blums children, who declined to comment for this article.

Staff and management turnover are key factors in Belmonts history of violations, said Mark Ruvel, a managing partner of Champion Care, a for-profit company based in Rockville Centre, New York, that bought Belmont in January 2022.

Reversing this disturbing trend has been more difficult than we anticipated when we assumed ownership, Ruvel said in a statement.

The company is making great progress on hiring workers so it doesnt have to rely on staffing agencies, he said. It is rebuilding relationships and restoring the trust that was lost with the facilitys hospital partners and with our community, he said.

Champion Care owns 15 nursing homes, 12 of them in Wisconsin. One is The Bay at Burlington Health and Rehabilitation Center in Burlington, about 75 miles southwest of Madison, which is on one of the federal lists.

Fines questioned

Rick Abrams, CEO of the Wisconsin Health Care Association, which represents mostly for-profit nursing homes, said low Medicaid payments contribute to facilities problems. The state has recently increased Medicaid rates, which has helped, but they remain a challenge, Abrams said.

Youre still not receiving the cost of providing the care, he said.

In 2021, Medicaid accounted for 73.4% of patients at Belmont and 69.5% at Middleton Village, compared to a median of 64.8% at nursing homes statewide, according to an analysis by LeadingAge Wisconsin, which represents mostly nonprofit nursing homes. At Waunakee Manor, the figure was 38.7%.

Abrams said the inspection and citation process for nursing homes, which the state Department of Health Services conducts for the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is too punitive and should focus more on helping facilities improve. John Sauer, CEO of LeadingAge Wisconsin, agreed, saying a small number of facilities have been poor performers for a long time.

Belmont has been fined $300,000 and Middleton Village has been fined $430,000 since 2019, according to the state health department. Waunakee Manor has had about $27,000 in fines.

Youre taking even more resources away from the facility, Abrams said. We need (regulators) to be more consultants and collaborators to fix problems.

More oversight

The federal Specialty Focus Facility program increases oversight of nursing homes with the most problems. Nationwide, 87 facilities are in the program, including Pine View Care Center in Black River Falls and Allis Care Center in West Allis.

Another 434 facilities with recent poor performance are on a candidate list for the program, including Belmont, Middleton Village, Waunakee Manor and the Burlington facility. The other Wisconsin facilities on the candidate list are Aspen Health and Rehab in South Range, Crossroads Care Center of Milwaukee, Ignite Medical Resort in Oak Creek, Minocqua Health and Rehab, Southpointe Care and Rehab Center in Greenfield and Waterfall Health of Brown Deer in Milwaukee.

Requirements to be released from the program are being increased and enforcement actions are being enhanced for nursing homes that dont improve, the Biden administration said in October.

Abrams said the changes will make it harder for nursing homes to rid themselves of a bad label. The death spiral for facilities like these will accelerate, he said.

Belmont, Middleton Village and Waunakee Manor are among 11 of Dane Countys 18 nursing homes owned by for-profit corporations or limited liability companies, according to the state health department. The county owns Badger Prairie Health Care Center in Verona, and the rest are owned by nonprofit organizations.

Abrams said the large number of violations at Belmont and Middleton Village isn't related to their for-profit status. Whether a facility is for-profit or not-for-profit, nobody wants to give bad care, he said.

Trying to improve

At Middleton Village, a resident with fever and shortness of breath called 911 after staff didnt seek medical attention for him, inspectors said in January 2021. He was taken to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died. At the time, the facility was in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak.

Another resident died at the facility from a heart condition after staff failed to seek medical attention, inspectors said. The facility failed to properly monitor bed sores, including in one patient who died. Last year, a resident fell out of a lift while being transferred and hit his head on the floor, causing a blood clot and a fractured bone spur.

Middleton Village, formerly called The Villa at Middleton Village, was bought in January by EOM Healthcare Group, which also owns nursing homes in Milwaukee and Racine. The companys owners are based in Florida.

Jacob Jeidel, the main owner, said the company has boosted wages and benefits at Middleton Village. Since the company is small, it can give its nursing homes the attention they need, he said.

Theres lots of positive changes happening in the facility, Jeidel said.

Waunakee Manors citations in November came after inspectors said the facility abruptly discharged five residents on ventilators, sending them to another facility 80 miles away. The nursing home said it didnt have enough respiratory therapists to care for the residents, but backup therapists had been identified and the facility was aware they had the staffing, inspectors said.

Emily Kornhoff, Waunakee Manor administrator, didn't respond to requests for comment.

No action taken

At Belmont, Champion Care has a solid track record of turning around troubled facilities, Ruvel said. Its employees strive each and every day to provide only the highest quality of care, he said.

Kading said Belmont was one of the few nursing homes in the Madison area that would take her father. On Medicaid and previously in assisted living, he went to Belmont in 2017 to get more help following a series of mini-strokes. Kading, who lives between Middleton and Waunakee, was working at the Goodman Community Center, about two miles away from Belmont, so the facility's location allowed her to frequently visit her dad.

Kading was used to advocating for her parents, both of whom were deaf from their youth. Her mother died in 2013. At Belmont, she said, she repeatedly told the staff her dad ate impulsively and needed to be monitored during meals.

A speech therapist who evaluated Nichols upon admission said he needed to be closely supervised while eating, according to a statement the therapist signed as part of Kadings lawsuit.

The evening he died, Nichols was eating in the dining room when a nursing assistant saw him slumped over in his wheelchair and another nursing assistant saw him turn blue, the workers said, according to a police report. They got a nurse, who came to the dining room but didnt notice any food in Nichols' mouth. Nichols died at the scene.

An autopsy found a mass of food blocking Nichols airway. The Dane County Medical Examiners Office said the cause of death was choking on food.

"The whole purpose of eating in the dining room was so he could be watched," Kading said. "They werent paying attention to people."

Inspectors visited Belmont the following month. But their report doesnt mention the incident, apparently because Nichols death was still under investigation. The medical examiner's report wasn't released until seven months later.

His death resulted in no regulatory action.
1. Yes. Switching back and forth every spring and fall is cumbersome and annoying.

2. Yes. It makes sense, although it would take a bit of getting used to at first.

3. No. The bill isnt enforceable. The federal government would have to approve the switch.

4. No. If other states dont follow suit, it could make long-distance travel problematic.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say without knowing all the impacts of the proposed change.

Vote

View Results
1. Yes. Having a community member interview panel is an excellent opportunity for input.

2. Yes. Its good that the city will allow residents to meet the finalist at a reception.

3. No. The city should have conducted a public survey early in the process, as KISD is doing.

4. No. Residents should be able to meet candidates before a lone finalist is chosen.

5. Unsure. Its hard to know how to gauge the proper level of public involvement.

Vote

View Results
Serco, the international public services company, is exploring new initiatives and opportunities to empower women and promote diversity and inclusion across the organisation.

To mark the International Womens Day on March 8 Serco organised a curtain-raiser at the Womens Pavilion at Expo City, led by the companys Middle East CEO Phil Malem.

Women in Serco: Leading with Purpose, was attended by 100 employees and was organised in collaboration with SercoInspire, the companys internal global platform, which empowers the development of female emerging talent in the business, to encourage them to develop and progress in their careers. The event focused on celebrating the achievements of women in the business over the past year.

Encourage more women

Under the leadership of Malem, who joined the business in 2019, Serco Middle East now has an Executive Leadership team that is 50% female. As a company, they established a focus to encourage more women into leadership positions, and further support women throughout the business to achieve their ambitions.

Today, 38% of critical roles at Serco Middle East, including high potential roles, are held by women. In 2022, the number of national females working for the company also increased year-on-year by 76%. Initiatives, including todays event, continue to identify how the company can support female employees internally, as well as the role of Serco in supporting the push for gender equality reflected in local government visions.

External speakers invited to speak at the event included Michelle King, author of the award-winning book The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers that are Holding Women Back at Work. Michelle also leads the UN Womens Global Innovation Coalition for Change, which oversees three key initiatives focused on leveraging innovation and technology to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and womens empowerment. Mae Al-Mozaini, the Founder and CEO of the Arab Institute for Womens Empowerment (Nusf) also spoke about her journey and what has inspired her so far. Nusf was founded to help Saudi nationals and Arab women develop professionally and lead in the corporate world.

Leading with Purpose

Serco, which recently launched its own Advisory with Purpose division, aimed at supporting its clients implement their own ESG goals, was also joined by representatives from UAE-based sustainable streetwear brand, The Giving Movement, which has partnered with Serco to produce their own bespoke company polo shirts. They joined the event to talk about Leading with Purpose, building on their focus on sustainability, and also sharing The Giving Movement specially designed bags with the employees who attended.

Malem said: The equality of women in the workplace is something I personally am very passionate about. We have incredible females in leadership roles already at Serco Middle East, but I want to see even more women excelling in their careers with us.

Our focus as a business is on how we can use our experience and our people, to bring national visions to life and that means focusing internally, as much as externally. Vision 2030 has a clear objective of both increasing womens participation in the workforce and giving more local women the tools to achieve success in the workplace. As a public-services employer, we need to make sure we are setting excellent standards in equality and then working with our clients to achieve the same.

Brilliant speakers

Hana Abu Kharmeh, Chief Human Resources Officer at Serco Middle East said: Today was about giving the floor to some brilliant speakers, delivering advice to help our female colleagues achieve their own goals, and empowering us all with the tools to work together to create an equal world, where even more women have a seat at the table. To be our best we need a company culture that is diverse, equal and inclusive - encouraging women into more roles that are traditionally male-dominated will not only allow them to accelerate their path to leadership, but also ensure Serco as a business continues to thrive.

International Womens Day is just one day in the calendar, so todays agenda has been focused on the take-away actions we need to make sure that in the other 364 days, we are all still working towards equality.

Commenting on the event, Samantha Rowles, Operations Director  Transport at Serco Middle East, who is the executive sponsor for the Serco Inspire network  a group that champions gender diversity in the business, said: Were proud to have brought everyone together today to highlight our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive environment that operates with purpose. Im extremely passionate about encouraging more women to take on leadership roles in operations and bringing with them a variety of skills that will be an asset to the business.

Diversity is key

This is not a tick-the-box exercise for gender diversity; as a business we have a responsibility to help change mindsets to encourage more women to take a seat around the boardroom table. Diversity is key, and events like today, signal our intention to keep investing in women, to encourage them to excel.

Mae Al-Mozaini, founder of Nusf, added: Vision 2030 is a great opportunity for us to harness the incredible momentum of growth we are seeing in Saudi and use the backing of the government and large private sector employees such as Serco to get more Arab women into leadership roles where they are then excelling, because they have the tools and support to do so.

The event concluded with a final focus on purpose  a theme that Serco is embracing moving forward. Serco announced that as part of its drive to operate sustainably, both through its focus on diversity and inclusion and its wider business efforts, it will be undertaking a major tree planting initiative. Serco is collaborating with UAE-based, The Storey Group to support The One Billion Tree-Planting Initiative in partnership with EcoMatcher. The company is encouraging its community to get involved to do their bit to help protect the planet. Serco hopes in doing so, it can show its commitment to helping the environment by leveraging its community of employees to help.

Karen Storey, Founder of The Storey Group added: In line with the UAE hosting COP28 and this also being the Year of Sustainability, we are hugely privileged to be charting the course to help Serco make a meaningful sustainable impact. We firmly believe women will play a pivotal role in our collective response to climate change and what better place to announce our tree-planting partnership than in the presence of Sercos inspiring community of amazing women.-- TradeArabia News Service
FURNAS COUNTY  The Furnas County Sheriffs Office has opened an investigation as a communications tower south of Oxford was intentionally destroyed.

The sheriffs office said the tower, owned by Strayer Communications, was toppled and completely destroyed. Preliminary findings indicated intentional damage to a guide wire anchor that resulted in complete structural failure of the tower, causing it to fall to the east. Authorities were alerted about the damage on Saturday.

The office requested a forensic evidence team from the Nebraska State Patrol, in order to collect as much evidence as possible in the investigation. Deputies have also filed for and received a preservation of cellular data from the tower in hopes of identifying a suspect or suspects. Several items of evidence were seized and will be examined at the Nebraska State Patrol crime lab, the office said.

Local authorities contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is considering investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism.

The suspect or suspects caused an estimated $575,000 in damage to the tower. Also, the Oxford Fire and EMS, Southern Valley Schools, Verizon Wireless and the Furnas County Sheriffs Office all had equipment on the tower that was destroyed, the sheriffs office said.

Verizon was able to erect a temporary tower to provide limited cell phone coverage for the area. Furnas County was able to relocate the Fire and EMS channels for Oxford to a temporary location. Southern Valley and the FCSO are still trying to find a suitable location for their equipment.

Oxford is about 53 miles southwest of Kearney.

The Furnas County Sheriffs Office requested anyone with information on the incident, even if they just heard something, contact authorities. The office can be reached at 308-268-2245.
LEXINGTON  EducationQuest recently announced that 12 Nebraskans have been awarded more than $72,000 in Reaching Your Potential Scholarship funds.

Brooke Draskovic of Lexington is a recipient of the scholarship. Draskovic attends Central Community College in Hastings.

EducationQuests Reaching Your Potential Scholarship Program provides renewable scholarships to low-income Nebraska students who face obstacles to college. Applicants are referred by community agencies and schools. Recipients attending a four-year college receive $6,300 annually, and recipients attending a two-year college receive $3,000 annually.

Since the program began in 2000, EducationQuest has awarded more than $8 million in scholarships to 622 Nebraskans. Of these, 81% are either currently enrolled in college or have graduated.

Vice President of Grants and Scholarships Eric Drumheller said, We welcome these recipients to our program and are humbled by the challenges they face. We are excited to work with them as they earn their college degrees.
BUFFALO COUNTY  Every spring Nebraskas central Platte River valley hosts one the most remarkable wildlife spectacles in North America: sandhill crane migration. More than 500,000 cranes will descend there to rest and refuel before continuing their journey north.

One popular place to view these birds is Fort Kearny State Recreation Area, located southeast of Kearney.

At dawn and dusk, visitors can walk the parks hike-bike trail to a bridge over the Platte, where birds gather to roost in the river. And during the day, the cranes take to the surrounding fields to find food. The visitor center at Fort Kearny State Historical Park  adjacent to the SRA  acts as an information center for crane viewers, offering tips on where to find the birds.

Park superintendent Joe Blazek says this is perhaps the greatest advantage to viewing cranes at Fort Kearny: all the information thats available. We know where the cranes are, Blazek said. Well guide you and tell you where you can have the best chance of seeing the cranes. Its better than being on your own.

The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The admission fee is $4 for adults, $1 for children ages 3 to 12 and free admission for children ages 2 and under. Guests also can watch a 15-minute video presentation on the cranes and learn more about their migration journey.

Another advantage to viewing cranes at Fort Kearny, Blazek said, is the range of viewing experiences available. Besides watching the cranes feeding during the day, visitors can see as many as 20,000 birds roosting in the river at night from the Hike-Bike Trail bridge. The bridge is one-third mile from the parking lot, and the best viewing times are a half hour before sunrise and sunset.

The trail is flat and paved, Blazek said, and it isnt a strenuous walk.

Blazek offered a few tips for those planning to view the cranes from the bridge:

Dress appropriately. This time of year, we get all kinds of weather. One day itll be 70 degrees and the next day itll be a blizzard, Blazek said. I would pay attention to the weather and make sure youre ready for the elements.

Bring binoculars.

Observe crane viewing etiquette: Keep your voice low and avoid sudden movements; wear darker colors; no flash photography.

Crane numbers typically reach their peak in the third week of March, though cranes can be viewed from early March to early April.

Crane viewers have available to them 120 campsites at Fort Kearny SRA.

A Nebraska state park entry permit is required at Fort Kearny SRA and SHP. Daily permits are good until noon the next day, and cost $6 for residents and $12 for nonresidents. You also can purchase an annual permit, which is $31 for residents and $61 for nonresidents.

For more information about Fort Kearny SRA, visit OutdoorNebraska.org or call 308-865-5305.
Tomah Health Hospice Touch is creating memories through one-of-a-kind, handmade Memory Bears.

Hospice Touch & Life Choices Palliative Care director Siera Williams, BSN, RN, said the project kicked off earlier this year upon the arrival of recently hired hospice volunteer coordinator Chad Dobson.

The idea came up by our former volunteer coordinator, and when we heard about it, we were so excited and started making plans of how to make this dream a reality, said Williams.

She said Chad was able to take the project and run with it.

We got the ball rolling with a particular family that we had in mind  a young family with young children that we thought would love to have something tangible as a memory product for their loved one, Williams said of the Memory Bear concept.

Williams said they brought together a group of current volunteers who had some sewing experience and explained the situation and the rest was history.

They were on board and got them the materials that were required and they had bears back to us within a few weeks, Williams said.

She said the bears are special since they are crafted from a loved ones clothing, like a favorite shirt or sweater, which helps build that special memory for the family members.

Our goal is always to create a legacy or a memory for the family members who are going to grieve the loss of a loved one, said Williams. The Memory Bear project is so cool because it is something that they can keep forever and is a tangible item that they can hold when they are thinking about their loved one. Were excited to do this.

Williams said that the first family to receive a bear was at a loss for words.

The bear also contained a small heart-shaped device that had the family members heartbeat that we were able to record and put inside the bear, said Williams. They were really excited and surprised  it was just a really cool experience to be able to give back to them from us.

Hospice volunteer Annette Eagan of Tomah made the first Hospice Touch Memory Bear and said it was a worthwhile project.

I do a lot of volunteering, so its in my faith to give to others, she said. Its something the family will surly treasure.

For family members interested in the Memory Bear project, Williams said it is a unique way to create a memory.

It is never too early to talk about how you want to be remembered. Loved ones often dont realize how much these things mean days, months, or even years down the road, said Williams.

Dobson said the Memory Bears are part of legacy projects offered to families.

Legacy projects are a wonderful way to preserve the memories we have with our loved ones and are highly encouraged, said Dobson. These projects give hospice patients an opportunity to process their life by remembering everything they have done and the memories they have shared. The patient and their loved ones can capture that and pass it down from generation to generation. Its a little piece left here on Earth of those that we love so very much.

Williams and Dobson said hospice volunteers have made five Memory Bears, and they are looking for additional volunteers to help construct more.

We would like for the volunteers to have some experience in sewing, Dobson explained. We purchase the pattern and supply them with threads, needles and supplies they need, said Williams. The bears are not the easiest sewing project, so people who have had some life experience with a sewing machine, would really be our ideal candidates, she added.

Anyone interested in making Memory Bears can contact Dobson at Tomah Health Hospice Touch & Life Choices Palliative Care at the main office at 601 Straw Street in Tomah at 608-374-0250.

For the person making the bears, they know they are doing something good for themselves and the person receiving the bears, Dobson saidd. Its a good feeling knowing that what they are doing matters while creating a memory for a family that will last forever.
A Coon Valley man was injured in a tractor trailer semi rollover, Monday, March 6, on County Hwy. P and Carlson Ridge Road in the town of Christiana.

According to a press release from the Vernon County Sheriffs Office, at about 12:07 p.m. the Vernon County Emergency 911 dispatch center was notified of a semi truck rollover north of Westby. Thomas R. Malzacher, 24, was traveling eastbound on County Hwy. P near Carlson Ridge Road. Malzacher was negotiating a curve when he lost control of his semi loaded with corn. Malzachers semi crossed the centerline, and rolled into the ditch, spilling part of the load. Malzacher was able to get out of the semi on his own.

County Road P was closed for approximately 3 1/2 hours while crews unloaded the semi trailer and removed the wreckage from the ditch.

Malzacher received minor injuries and was checked out by medical personnel and released at the scene. At the request of Malzachers employer, he was later transported to the hospital by private vehicle to be examined.

The vehicle was removed by Rush Hour Towing. Responding agencies included the Westby Fire Department, Westby First Responders, Tri-State Ambulance, Westby Police Department,Vernon County Sheriffs Office, Vernon County Emergency Management and Vernon County Highway Department.
Newly appointed UAE ministers were sworn in today before President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, at a ceremony held at Qasr Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi.

The ministers taking the oath of office were Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of Community Development; Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture and Youth; Maryam Al Hammadi, Minister of State and Secretary-General of the UAE Cabinet; and Jabr Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Minister of State, said a Wam news agency report.

President HH Sheikh Mohamed wished the ministers every success in performing their duties and serving the interests of the UAE and its people.

His Highness stated that the UAEs ongoing development will be enabled by continuous efforts to boost the country's achievements, underscoring the importance of teamwork and collaboration.

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid reaffirmed the UAE leadership's keenness to constantly develop the government ecosystem and remain flexible, stating that this is the way to achieve excellence and be prepared to meet the requirements of the future.
A March 2 traffic crash in La Crosse has led to drug charges against a 29-year-old La Crosse woman.

Taylor A. Riniker was charged March 3 in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony counts of possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver, possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of narcotic drugs and bail jumping.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Monitor Street shortly after 8:30 a.m. on a report of a vehicle that had crashed into a traffic light pole at Copeland Avenue. Police identified the driver as Riniker, who police recognized from previous drug contacts. She reportedly told police she fell asleep at the wheel.

As Riniker was being interviewed, a witness approached police and said that Riniker threw two needles into a garbage can. When police asked Riniker about the needles, she reportedly acknowledged throwing them away and that she had used heroin the day before. She also admitted to having other used needles on her person.

Police placed Riniker under arrest and searched her. Police allegedly found two gem bags with 4.2 grams of methamphetamine and 7.9 grams of heroin.

Police then searched the vehicle and allegedly found 4.6 grams of fentanyl and 3.8 grams of heroin.

Riniker is free on a $5,000 signature bond. Her next court date is a March 10 preliminary hearing.

Photos: Advocates boost opioid rescue drug access to save lives
In the late 19th century, millions of mussels were harvested from the Black and Mississippi rivers for the button-making trade. The Clammers Wife: The Life of a Clammer and the Industry in La Crosse by Terry Visger will address the pearl button industry, mussel harvesting and the Wisconsin Pearl Button Co. of La Crosse.

A professional storyteller, Terry Visger will share what shes learned about the history of clamming in the area at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at the La Crosse Area Heritage Center, 506 Main St. The story Visger created is one that could have been told by the wife of a clammer.

This event is free for La Crosse County Historical Society members. There is a $5 fee for nonmembers, which includes admission to the museum. Space for this event is limited, and advance registration is required at lchshistory.org or 608-782-1980.
More than 35 years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the dogs of Chernobyl roam among decaying, abandoned buildings in and around the closed plant  somehow still able to find food, breed and survive.

Scientists hope that studying these dogs can teach humans new tricks about how to live in the harshest, most degraded environments, too.

They recently published the first of what they hope will be many genetics studies in the journal Science Advances, focusing on 302 free-roaming dogs living in an officially designated "exclusion zone" around the disaster site. They identified populations whose differing levels of radiation exposure may have made them genetically distinct from one another and other dogs worldwide.

"We've had this golden opportunity" to lay the groundwork for answering a crucial question: "How do you survive in a hostile environment like this for 15 generations?" said geneticist Elaine Ostrander of the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the study's many authors.

Fellow author Tim Mousseau, professor of biological sciences at the University of South Carolina, said the dogs "provide an incredible tool to look at the impacts of this kind of a setting" on mammals overall.

Chernobyl's environment is singularly brutal. On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Ukrainian power plant caused radioactive fallout that spewed into the atmosphere. Thirty workers were killed in the immediate aftermath while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is estimated to eventually number in the thousands.

Researchers say most of the dogs they are studying appear to be descendants of pets that residents were forced to leave behind when they evacuated.

Mousseau has been working in the Chernobyl region since the late 1990s and began collecting blood from the dogs in about 2017. Some of the dogs live in the power plant, a dystopian, industrial setting. Others are about 9 miles or 28 miles away.

At first, Ostrander said, they thought the dogs might have intermingled so much over time that they'd be much the same. But through DNA, they could readily identify dogs living in areas of high, low and medium levels of radiation exposure.

"That was a huge milestone for us," said Ostrander. "And what's surprising is we can even identify families"  about 15 different ones.

Now researchers can begin to look for alterations in the DNA.

"We can compare them and we can say: OK, what's different, what's changed, what's mutated, what's evolved, what helps you, what hurts you at the DNA level?" Ostrander said. This will involve separating non-consequential DNA changes from purposeful ones.

Scientists said the research could have wide applications, providing insights about how animals and humans can live now and in the future in regions of the world under "continuous environmental assault"  and in the high-radiation environment of space.

Dr. Kari Ekenstedt, a veterinarian who teaches at Purdue University and was not involved in the study, said it's a first step toward answering important questions about how constant exposure to higher levels of radiation affects large mammals. For example, she said, "Is it going to be changing their genomes at a rapid rate?"

Researchers already started on the follow-up research, which will mean more time with the dogs at the site about 60 miles from Kyiv. Mousseau said he and his colleagues were there most recently last October and didn't see any war-related activity. Mousseau said the team has grown close to some dogs, naming one Prancer because she excitedly prances around when she sees people.

"Even though they're wild, they still very much enjoy human interaction," he said, "Especially when there's food involved."